All eyes returned to the two docks and the pair behind them.
Yet when she turned, Raphtalia noticed something...off.
She rubbed her eyes, thinking it a trick of the light, but when she opened them again she saw that a red haze covered over everyone.
"What's - Master Naofumi, what's -"
Her voice faded off as he remained beside her frozen in place. She shakily raised her hand and waved it back and forth in front of his face. Master Naofumi didn't so much as blink.
"What's happening?"
She whispered weakly, fighting back the tears in her eyes. A comforting hand rubbed her back and restored the peace to her turmoil, looking back over her shoulder she saw Lady Iwatani standing just behind her with a loving smile. She continued to rub her back with the experienced air of a mother soothing a frightened child until Raphtalia felt her emotions ease away. Then it clicked in the back of her mind why she knew Lady Iwatani.
"You were here."
She turned to look up at the kind emeralds smiling down at her.
"When Master first changed, you comforted me when my emotions were beginning to become too much."
She smiled and nodded, while she reached up and softly petted Raphtalia's head.
"As I told you before Raphtalia, I am a Banshee. I exist for the sole reason to soothe those touched by death and guide them to their finality."
She continued to pet the younger girl's head as she spoke, which seemed to soothe the anguish in Raphtalia's heart more.
"Your brush with death allows you and I to meet in this realm."
Raphtalia looked around and saw that no one was moving at all, time seemed to have stopped altogether. She sighed and looked around the entire room before returning to look up at the beautiful woman.
"This doesn't make any sense."
Lady Iwatani's smile changed into a smirk as she took her hand from Raphtalia's head and patted her shoulder.
"Of course it does, you simply don't understand the full scope of what you have exchanged with my son."
She turned and walked to an open doorway without so much as waiting for Raphtalia to blink. Once she had she took one last look around the room, particularly an appreciative look of Master Naofumi's profile, before dashing off to catch up.
"What do you mean, 'exchanged?'"
Lady Iwatani looked down at her from the corner of her eye and her smile returned in full.
"That is precisely why I had to halt the proceedings for our discussion. It would seem my eldest has been neglectful in telling you what it exactly means to give and receive a Heart."
Before Raphtalia could ask what she meant, she stopped when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Looking around, she felt her panic mount as the castle itself began to fade away before her very eyes. She made to run back to the throne room and try to rescue her friends and Master but stopped as a gentle yet firm grip found her shoulder.
"It will be alright young Keeper. For this discussion, I must show you all that we were and all that we are. Your Dragon will be fine."
Raphtalia weighed the other woman's words, as her face heated instinctively when she called Master Naofumi 'her Dragon.' She hadn't done anything against them, was the mother of her Hero, and seemed to want to help her understand the full meaning of the warm ruby around her neck. She looked down at the rose-colored gem as she felt the reassuring beat of a heart. Without thinking, she softly brought it to her lips and kissed it lovingly before turning back to the older woman. Her eyes shone with understanding and patience when she held out her hand for her.
Raphtalia breathed in deep and exhaled softly as she reached out to grip the offered hand.
"Walk with me Keeper and listen well."
Everything faded to shapes, then shadows, then nothing. Raphtalia looked around curiously, before shielding her eyes from a ferocious explosion of brilliant light.
"First made was our world, one of richness and beauty."
Raphtalia had her breath taken away as she saw a barren land flood with green grass, a gentle cool wind blew in from the north, water so pure and blue it could pass for liquid jewelry.
"Second made was Mana, that which ties us to our creation."
Raphtalia turned just in time to see a rainbow of colors touch the ground, then suddenly surge out under their feet to the tips of every blade of grass.
"Third and lastly made was each one of us. First, those born of Nature; All animals, even the multitude of humans come from the first ones crafted. The next born were the Others. Those meant for harm, those meant to heal, and those meant to simply keep the world as it is."
She looked on as Lady Iwatani recited the tale of her world's creation, but she became confused when she saw something or the lack of something.
"Where are the other Dragons?"
Lady Iwatani nodded behind her. Turning Raphtalia watched as from the earth a clawed hand emerged and made a grasping gesture to the light above them, before clawing at the earth and dragging out a boy with dirty hair, horns on his head, and a splash of silvery scales upon his cheeks.
"Dragons or Sun Touched were last born, as they serve the most important purpose. For you see the Natural and Other folk feared the other, one for their looks, the other for their sheer numbers."
Raphtalia turned and froze as she saw the groups rally themselves into lines, yet before the first blow could be thrown a burst of fire erupted overhead.
Both groups turned, then dropping their weapons, bowed toward Raphtalia and Lady Iwatani. Turning, Raphtalia had to crane her neck back farther than she expected, to look up at the pale eyes of the massive silver Dragon that now stood behind them where the boy had just clawed out of the earth.
"That is Roku, the very first Dragon Emperor to ever exist. Under him, the three born races; Natural, Other, and Sun Touched prospered. For the Sun Touched, give and support the balance among all kinds."
Before her very eyes, Lady Iwatani waved her hand and the world changed to one that looked like her own with a few minor differences from what she could tell. She saw Roku in his human form hand over a cord wrapped around a stone to a young woman, she then saw them hold the others' wrists. A golden light surrounded them and winked out after slowly building in intensity. The couple smiled at each other as the stone faded away to show the beautiful ruby underneath.
"The bond?"
Lady Iwatani nodded as the past continued to play out before them.
"The bond between a Dragon and a Heart Keeper is a sacred thing. It's mentioned as one of the Three Principles of Claw."
Raphtalia turned away from the festivities as every kind of being celebrated and sang with each other equally. Her confused look was simple enough for Lady Iwatani to understand, she giggled quietly as she watched Roku dance with his Keeper.
"Roku forged three guiding laws to keep peace among the many, these became the Three Principles of Claw. The first is that all will take heed of the Dragon Emperor's voice. The second, an oath made is honored in blood. The third and most important is that none are ever to force upon the bond of a Heart Keeper to another, it will be done freely by both parties."
Raphtalia looked on in worry as she saw Lady Iwatani's face tighten in pain. She gently patted the older woman's shoulder and gave her a questioning look when she turned her face to her. Her smile returned and she patted Raphtalia's hand in thanks as she straightened.
"I still don't understand what you mean when you say 'exchange.' I didn't give Master anything when he gave me this."
Raphtalia gently cradled the Heart in her hands as she softly stroked it, glancing up she looked around until she saw Lady Iwatani walking away. Racing again to catch up to her, she watched as the world disappeared around them a second time.
"When a Dragon and a Keeper find one another, they enter into a bond that goes beyond time and space themselves. A Dragon is an immortal and powerful being that can bend the world to their whim if they so wished. However, when a Keeper is found a Dragon learns what it means to be mortal. To survive, to live, to love."
Lady Iwatani stopped in her walk unexpectedly, Raphtalia didn't notice until she was a few paces ahead of her. She turned back and looked at the older woman as she sighed then looked off to her left. Following her gaze, Raphtalia froze at the sight of a tomb for Roku and his Keeper.
"And to die. This is the binding contract on the Dragon's part. Once a Keeper breathes their last, so too does the Dragon they keep."
Raphtalia walked back to her, as Lady Iwatani lightly trod up to the gorgeously carved stone door until she was beside her. Raphtalia didn't know why exactly, but she backed away a step and knelt on her knees much like when she had visited her parent's grave in the past. Lady Iwatani knelt beside her softly, and together they sat like that in the whispering winds that blew around them.
"Do not fret young one. Roku and Rui lived a long time together and died in the arms of the other. However, there is a word of caution to this; you are now my son's chosen Keeper. Should you die, he will follow you. But if you are slain by treachery, my son would release wrath the likes of which you haven't seen. He cannot be reasoned with, nor stopped. He will raze everything in sight to nothing but ash, once done he will kill himself to join you."
Raphtalia looked at her horrified, while the emotions she had battled against during this day exploded outward.
"Why me? WHY, WHY, WHY!? WHY AM I SO IMPORTANT!? I DON'T DESERVE TO BE HI -"
SMACK
The sound of skin meeting skin echoed loudly around the entrance to the tomb. Raphtalia slowly brought a hand to her cheek and rubbed it softly as her panic faded, Lady Iwatani just lowered her palm and fixed Raphtalia with a sharp look that had the other woman frozen in place.
"Did I not already answer your question once before Raphtalia?! Since fear and doubt seem to have clouded your mind, I will aid you in seeing the light of truth."
She took Raphtalia's face in her hands and the memories played out all around them; her childhood, the fated meeting, her growing up under Master Naofumi's care. Through it all she watched herself grow and grow to become what she once was before. Then growing past it to become something more than she once thought possible.
"Now, do you see what Naofumi and I already see inside of you my sweet?"
Raphtalia lunged forward and hugged her tightly as the first sob ripped out of her throat, Lady Iwatani cooed soothingly as she stroked back the brown hair.
Once she had calmed down, Raphtalia sat up slightly and leaned against Lady Iwatani's shoulder as they sat in front of the tomb to the first Dragon Emperor and his Keeper. Lady Iwatani then reached down into the neck of her dress and picked up her mate's Heart again.
"In exchange for the mortal wisdom they offer, the Keeper receives certain gifts; longevity with heightened senses, and a piece of their chosen Dragon's soul to name a few."
Raphtalia straightened and wiped at the grit on her face while Lady Iwatani stood up, and walked closer to the tomb entrance.
"What do you mean 'a portion of their soul?' "
The question had barely left her lips when Lady Iwatani spun around and hurled a dagger right at her head. Raphtalia didn't even have time to scream as she screwed her eyes shut and made ready to feel the cold, sharp sting.
Hesitantly after a few beats of quiet, she opened her eyes and fell over from her seated position. A massive shadowy figure of a Dragon stood in front of her, the dagger gripped firmly in its claws. Lady Iwatani calmly walked over to her side and helped her up.
"Does that answer your question succinctly enough for you my dear?"
Raphtalia nodded dumbly as the figure disappeared into her shadow at their feet. Hesitantly she poked it with her foot, before waving her hand experimentally. Her shadow followed her move for move, not showing a hint of the entity that had saved her life. She turned and looked back at Lady Iwatani for an explanation as she forced her mouth to shut.
"Naofumi's soul, in particular, is very powerful due to his heritage. While it is not unusual for a Dragon to find a Keeper of a different species, Takeshi was the first to find his Keeper among the Banshee, I. Naturally, our children would be looked upon with awe. Naofumi's destiny is to become stronger than any Dragon Emperor before him or after him."
Raphtalia eventually remembered how to use her voice as she focused on Lady Iwatani while keeping her shadow in the corner of her sight.
"How can you be so sure?"
Lady Iwatani motioned for them to resume their walk.
"Because he has found you, his Keeper. Many assumed he would never find a Keeper and turn to stone as time passed. Such is the fate of those who never find their Keepers, they do not die young one. Rather they fall into a deep slumber until their Keeper discovers them. Now that my son has found you, he will not face the stone-sleep, there is now no limit to what he can do. Many will fear and hate you for that."
Raphtalia halted and looked down in thought, there was something else. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she thought it had something to do with the pained look when Lady Iwatani mentioned the third Principle of Claw. Looking up she saw Lady Iwatani looking at her with a sad smile, and in that look, she knew.
They both knew that there was something that Lady Iwatani wasn't telling.
Walking up to her, Lady Iwatani stopped a pace away but made no move to take her hand as Raphtalia had come to expect. Lady Iwatani looked at her with a pleading look reflected in the deep green eyes.
"If I tell you the truth of my son, will you promise to stay by his side, to not abandon him to become stone?"
Raphtalia smiled and hugged the woman close.
"I solemnly swear to you Lady Iwatani, that I will stay by Lord Naofumi Iwatani's side until we both draw our last breath."
Hugging her back, Lady Iwatani stepped back and held out her hand to her. Without waiting a moment, Raphtalia took it and followed her forward.
