Chapter 43-Trust

Finca found Tamli asleep upon her return, his emotional state draining his strength. She wished she could take his place and fight his demons for him, but she dared not ask for she knew what his response would be anyway. He had seen so much in his years wandering the earth, a life she deeply regretted she had allowed him to turn to. She should have fought for him, letting Amia take her soul if that was what she could do to keep Tamli from going down into darkness. Turning him into a dragon hadn't been in her best interest either, another decision she blamed herself for as she laid down beside him and watched him sleep.

Makiar, she growled, casting out her thoughts for the red dragoness that she had known all of her life. Can you meet me in my chamber? I have reached a decision concerning Tamli.

The she-dragon came a moment later, a low growl rising from her throat as Finca turned to deliver the judgement she had held so long about her mate since his return and his memory loss. Makiar stopped at the entrance to the room, waiting for her to speak. Her limbs shook as Finca got her feet, meeting her friend at the opening of the chamber, their eyes meeting as a lingering worry over Tamli's most recent vision caused her to break contact first.

Thank you for coming, Makiar, Finca admitted as they left the room, walking down the hallway as she gathered her nerves for what she was about to do to her soul mate.

I understand your worry over this but we both agreed it was for the best. During that month he was unconscious following Amia's attack, we both wondered if he would ever wake back up and were pleased to find that he did . . . only to give us a new set of problems to deal with. The dragoness paused for a moment, glancing away. I did some remembering and happened to recall that Attor, your former love interest, traveled to an island off the mainland following the Battle of Corruption . . .

Why did you decide to bring that up? He always pined for me but I never gave him any attention. Why does the island he went to come into this?

Makiar snorted, tapping the floor with her tail. Because he took a dragon egg with him when he fled. The hatchling inside was a rare dragon species, known for curing any mental issue, including amnesia.

Finca growled in surprise, impressed with Makiar's knowledge of dragons that far surpassed her own. So there was a species of their kind that could heal mental issues, a dragon that only lived beyond the sea. A low snarl rose from the back of her throat. No matter what it took, she would get Tamli there and see to his memory returning to him.

Where did Attor settle? Finca questioned, figuring out how best to approach the subject with Tamli on her new knowledge of how to help him.

The island was an old part of our realm, prior to the Flood it was home to a colony of terror-fright dragons, or rather fear-users. If I recall correctly, it was renamed after the Battle of Corruption in honor of our former siblings and parents that lost their lives due to the raging torrent of water . . .

Yes, yes, I get that but what is its name? Makiar, get to the point, Finca hissed, narrowing her eyes as the lack of a clear answer was starting to irritate her.

The red she-dragon snorted, smoke rising from her nostrils. Fine. The island was formally known by a name lost to us, but upon it's rebirth it was changed to Tel-var, the cradle of sorrows.

Tel-var, fitting name for Attor to flee to. I shall inform Tamli and we will leave at once . . .

Makiar halted her for a moment. I want you to take Raoul with you. He may prove useful to you during your journey. It couldn't hurt to bring along someone to keep Tamli and you company, other than myself.

I will bring Raoul along as you wish. We will leave soon, now whether that be in a few days or a month I leave up to my mate-of-soul. Finca growled brushing past Makiar as she turned to go back to Tamli. I take my leave.

Nethial stood, her arms crossed as she watched Tanui and Ladetis stare down each other, a mental conversation fervently passing between them. She regretted suggesting Tel-var, or even bringing up the name of her dragon. How she missed Attor for that matter . . . her heart still ached over his mournful gaze as she drew what she had thought was her last breath. Waking up in the . . . darkness had terrified her, driven her to inflict . . . pain on herself to make sense of the . . . silence she had been delivered into upon the release of the shadows. She had seen the monstrosity dragon the shadows had fled into, a she-dragon broken by so much then claimed by a . . . darkness that should never have returned to the land.

She lifted a hand to her head, squeezing her eyes shut as she sensed the faintest humming of the coming madness that plagued her waking hours. The altered mind state came and went, often times leaving her immobile, paralyzed by the wild strains of pulsations that overcrowded her mind and confined her to where she was, unable to understand anything going on around her. Tanui's dragon was in no condition to travel over the salt-sea with its limited wingspan, she had to help, despite her distrust of the poison-wielder.

'Ladetis, come here,' she requested, barely opening her eyes as she lowered her hand from her head, gripping the pommel of her sword for a sense of balance.

The hatchling came to her immediately, his head bowing before her in a display that drew her thoughts back to Attor. They had been partners, equals, and yet Tamli had prevented her own partner-of-mind from comforting her as she died . . . The pain, the agony of getting speared by the shard of light. She would never forgive Tamli as long as she could continue to remain in some state. He deserved to feel the mind-numbing aguish she went through, losing everything.

"Nethial?" Tanui's concern drew her from her thoughts and she briefly met his gaze, wondering what lay underneath his calm exterior. He was a spawn-clone like all the others yet having a dragon made him different in their eyes?

'I know of something from the . . . darkness that can help get Ladetis to Tel-var. The procedure is painful, somewhat . . . maybe.'

What will this do? The dragon asked, its deep bass tone bringing up more memories of Attor for her.We need to not dwell here much longer . . .

'Expand your wings, allow flight possible . . . Starting now,' Nethial remarked as she forced herself to lift up her hands, Ladetis bringing his snout up to touch her outstretched hands.

The contact sent a chill through Nethial, nearly making her break away before anything was done. She could feel the nestling's mind, sense its distrust of her but also belief that she would help and grant him flight, as she withdrew one hand, curling it and turning it around to her body. Her own burned skin touched the strips of cloth on her chest and she jerked her hand away, returning her clenched hand to Ladetis's snout. If the dragonet was scared, he didn't show it, allowing her to close her eyes and reach deep in his mind, unknowingly opening herself up to the hatchling.

Power . . .

Nethial jerked her head back, keeping her body still as she grimaced, feeling the wild music threatening to take hold, to keep her locked within the mind of the dragon. She didn't want that, she wanted to help him. That was all she meant to do was give them a future, while she fought against her past. A past that plagued her with vivid images so real that she nearly forgot they were memories, dragged up from the blackness of her maddening persona.

Filth . . .

Ladetis whimpered, trembling as she mentally touched the bones in his wings, pressing against them with her consciousness as she broke them apart, elongating them and then bringing them back into place. She had told him it was painful so his discomfort was understandable yet . . . she hadn't meant to hurt him by an action needed to keep him and his rider safe. Her path was already laid out before her, despite what the clone wanted to believe from how his thoughts seemed to her. A broken shell of a once mighty protector of peace . . . a ruined mother of a child destined to hold more sway than she . . .

Useless . . .

A spasm of pain jolted up from her spine, her contact with Ladetis the only thing keeping her standing. She withdrew from him gently, trying to avoid his mind to protect him from her own. He didn't need to fall prey to the same madness that had come upon her, he was too young to have to deal with its constant destruction of identity.

Nothing . . .

Her broken mind touched his, unwillingly, as he sought her out to make sure she was fine. The wild music drifted from her, swirling between them like a vast chasm neither was brave enough to cross. Ladetis growled, twitching as he reached out to her, shielding her from herself as Attor had done so long ago. She felt the presence of Tanui briefly but her attention was focused on the dragon she had brought harm to without meaning to.

Broken . . .

She felt Tanui grab her and then Ladetis withdrew from her mind, roaring in pain, in the pain she had caused. Her eyes opened slowly to the light above, noticing how much larger the dragon had gotten from his wing stretch she had done to give him and his master a way of further escape. The broken state of her mind was still there, the same reflected to the white beast she had tried so hard to save from all she knew.

"What did you do to him?" Tanui growled as Nethial allowed herself to be jerked up off the ground by him, his face right in front of hers. "I can't sense him at all. What did you do?"

. . . Broken chains, shattered dreams, lost faces that drift from memory to never be seen again . . .

Nethial coughed, eyeing him with determination that masked her inner sorrow. 'He's fixed. You can cross the sea, but I remain as I once was . . .' She was brutally thrown to the ground, landing hard on her back, the impact knocking the wind from her lungs.

She heard the sound of metal sliding free as she closed her eyes, trying to get her breath back, and realized Tanui had drawn his sword. The thin blade-tip soon pointed directly at her face as she opened her eyes back up, the calmness of his eyes lost in the apparent anger of losing contact with Ladetis. Nethial pushed herself up with a hand and stared into his weapon, her mind reeling as she felt the coming of the wildness once more.

'The nestling will return soon,' she commented as she noticed the smooth steel gleaming with a faint shadowy light, a symbol of either an aura wielder or one whose blade had been carved from an ancient powdered bright steel lost to civilization.

"You better hold true to that promise." Nethial coughed again, reaching out with her mind to Ladetis, who had crawled away under a tree to examine his new wings.

Tanui stepped away as Ladetis emerged from the shadows, the new wings she had made for him gleaming in full glory as the white leather pulsed with fresh life. Nethial sat up, understanding the beauty of the risen dragonet as she had felt the same upon Attor's first flight. The rush of wind under her . . . the exhilaration of joy from her bonded partner-of-mind . . . she had felt it all before yet seeing it now made her ache for what she had lost.

Thank you for what've you done, Nethial, Ladetis hummed, speaking to her directly as she closed her eyes, turning her head away. This will allow us to get to Tel-var faster and meet your former mind-partner.

'I worry for what I haven't done,' she whispered back, being as brief as possible to spare him the agony of touching her mind any longer than he had to.

You saved our entire trip . . . The hatchling paused for a moment. Oh, you mean what happened when you were expanding my bones. Think nothing of it, I'm sure it will be harmless . . .

'And if it isn't? This could put you in a state similar to mine. Who would protect Tanui then? I will find a way to reverse what I've done . . .'

Ladetis growled, walking over to her and placing his snout on her chest. Don't, he warned. I asked for this and I will not turn back on my word.

"He's right you know," Tanui added, sheathing his blade and placing a hand on its pommel. "He asked for it and you did what you could. I'll keep watch on you both and make sure nothing comes from what you unwillingly did to him."

Nethial sighed, realizing they were right. She wouldn't fight their decision since it was the truth. The madness could affect Ladetis different than it had with her, maybe sparing him from the worst of the agony. Whatever came, she would act on it while figuring out a way to save both her and the fledgling from what had driven her solely through six years of misery.