Not So Flighty

The being known to some as Julisa sighed deeply as she closed down the link to Edris. It was out of her control now. Seeker Cassandra was not as her reputation implied. She had not simply cut Edris down when Julisa had spoken. Julisa had half way feared that. Part of her would not have really blamed the Seeker for such an action. It wasn't every day that another being spoke through an unconscious mage. But that wasn't what bothered Julisa the most. The one who called herself Tamar was lost. The little one was so lost. She knew that, the dragon did, if not how or why. Julisa did not -quite- remember her life before she had met Edris. She knew she had lived a long, long time as humans counted time. Her kind did. But despite every attempt, her past before the horror filled time when she had met Edris was essentially blank to her. Part of her was glad of that. If she... remembered...

She shook herself. Dwelling on the past was pointless. If there was one thing these clever humans with their tools and tricks had taught her, it was that. She had to focus on the now and the future. The past could instruct, true. But focusing on it could lead to inattention and that could be fatal to both her and Edris. She wasn't sure which of them fulfilled the role of the elder in this odd relationship. Julisa was far older than the elf, to be sure. But she was also far less experienced with the world as she now perceived it. Her clear memories encompassed less than six human months worth. It felt... odd considering Edris a child. She wasn't one. Not in temperament or in training. Julisa also knew that Edris considered her the dominant of the pair and that didn't feel right either.

It was very strange, but at the same time, it felt right. Both were separate beings. Both had their own desires, their own wants, their own needs. But both were also connected in some deep metaphysical way. They knew each other's thoughts. She could feel the elf's fear fading as whatever the Inquisition people did to help her took effect. She hadn't expected that. Neither of them had. She certainly hadn't expected to find a bound Reaver in the Inquisition's service. She...wasn't sure exactly how she knew what the woman Tamar was. She wasn't sure she wanted to know how she knew that other language of grunts, hisses and other guttural sounds that was nothing like the common tongue. From her past... before Edris. The fury and fear that raged deep within her every time she focused on that part of herself.

Something changed nearby and Julisa went still. Then she relaxed as she realized what it was and set herself. What she did wasn't a defined spell, not really. More a fudging of things. Anyone outside of a certain distance wouldn't be able to see details or hear anything. For a time. It had saved her life and Edris' more than once. But more importantly it protected their few allies.

"We couldn't get me away until now." The female elf in the garb of a magister's apprentice said sadly as she dropped her Fade Cloak. "I am sorry it took so long,... Wait! Where is Edris?" Julisa shook her head and the elf paled. "She isn't...? Maker no... Not after all of that!"

Julisa held out a slow claw and the elf swallowed hard, but stepped close and took it in careful hands. She was very wary to keep the edge away from herself. Then she focused her magic. It wasn't as easy for her to do this as it was for Edris or Julisa and it was only one way. She could hear Julisa, but not reply the same way.

"I am sorry it took me so long." The elf said quietly. "Is she...?"

Edris is alive. Julisa reassured the other and the elf exhaled in relief. Not exactly safe at the moment, but she was so sick. She needed help. She is in the Chantry being tended by the sisters there.

"Are you insane?" The elf nearly exploded. "If they figure out what she was, they will never let her go. They will call the Inquisition!"

The Inquisition knows some of it, Varanla. Julisa said softly and the other went still, frozen in fear and shock. And they haven't killed her. They have been... kind. The dragon said in a musing mental tone.

"That is insane, Julisa." The elf called Varanla shook her head. "You know what she was. They will kill her."

They don't know all of it. They are trying to help. Julisa said softly. If... If they do...execute her, it may be a mercy. She was fading, Varanla. So long without sleep and then unable to eat... I could almost see through her. The sadness was palpable and the elf sighed.

"This has been horrible for both of you." Varanla said softly. "We haven't been able to help as we should."

You and your master have already done so much. Julisa said with a fond, gentle nuzzle with her snout that had Varanla smiling. Do not take any more chances. Edris and I could never forgive ourselves if you... If he...

"We may be mages from Tevinter, but we do know what is right and what is wrong. Especially when it is rubbed in our faces so bluntly." Varanla snorted, but there was little humor in her firm tone. "What was done to you both was wrong. Marilius actually suggested the Chantry here. They don't get along with the Imperial one." Julisa had to chuckle at that sheer level of understatement.

Putting it very mildly. The dragon said with a mental snort. The sisters and Inquisition people managed to get Edris to eat something and sleep. We shall have to see if she does better. She shook her huge head. Has there been...any more sign or residue?

"No." Varanla said with a shrug. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed it. Master Marilius says the same. And we cannot tell anyone back in Tevinter about it."

Even if he hadn't commanded us, bound us to not speak of it, it wouldn't go over well, no. Julisa agreed with a deep mental sigh.

"Bad enough that he just appeared." Varanla said with shudder. "If it has been an illusion, no one would have thought twice. But illusions don't pound people into goo."

Or disappear after shattering the magic chains binding a dragon to the machine tormenting her. Julisa replied. Can you check again?

"Julisa, we got all of it that even might have been residue." Varanla said with a frown, but the dragon lowered her head to the ground and the elf frowned but nodded. "I know you are scared. Especially after what happened to your mother. But we got it all out."

Please. Julisa begged and the elf nodded again.

Varanla let go of the claw and moved around the dragon's huge head. Back between the horns was an area with smaller scales. New scales. The elf's hands were gentle as she slowly checked with both sight and touch. The skin underneath it was pale and new. Many other places on the dragon's body showed similar signs. The elf opened herself to her magic and it seeped through Julisa's skull, seeking, probing. She shook herself and moved back around to take hold of the claw again.

"Nothing." Varanla said with a small smile. "No red lyrium." The dragon slumped in relief and the elf smiled wider. "I am glad. That stuff gives me the creeps."

You and me both. You and me both. The dragon agreed. What now? If the Inquisition kills Edris, either as a mercy or if they...find out who and what she was... I... She broke off as Varanla hugged her claw tight.

"No matter what happens." The elf promised. "We will not forget. It was intended to be memorable and it was. We do what we have to, to survive in Tevinter. But there are limits. My master and I have been talking about sending a letter to Dorian Pavus." The dragon looked at her and the elf shrugged. "You won't know the name. He is the estranged son of Magister Halward Pavus. Dorian is a bit of a renegade and joined the Inquisition."

Oooo...That didn't go over well in Tevinter, did it? The dragon asked slyly and Varanla chuckled.

"Not in the slightest." The elf shook her head. "Supposedly, you could hear the screams of outrage from one end of Minrathous to the other."

Poor blood mages. My heart bleeds. The dragoon chuckled, but then she sobered. And...about hearts... I don't know for sure, Varanla. But I saw something that might have been your brother.

"What?" Varanla jerked back and only the fact that Julisa swayed with her kept the elf in contact with the dragon's claw. She had every right to her fear! "Leto? Here?"

Redcliffe. The dragon sent. A troop of men in Tevinter garb were attacked and killed, apparently by one assailant. If he is here, then you and your master are in grave danger.

"I saw what Leto did to Danarius." Varanla said with a gulp. "You don't need to tell me twice. I will go. We will try to keep in touch." She raised a hand to touch the dragon's snout. It was oddly formal, that touch. "Fare thee well, chosen of the Guardian."

The elf bowed formally. Then she was gone. Teleported or something. Julisa had never bothered to ask.

Fare thee well, Varanla of Tevinter. The dragon said into the silence of her mind. Now if only I had a clue what he meant when he said I was 'chosen'. She thought sourly. Julisa froze. Something... Her head arced slowly from one side to the other. Nothing had moved. Nothing had changed. But... Something had. She just wasn't sure what. A rock shifted quite a ways away from her and she did not move as the night came alive.

"I know you can understand me." The black robed magister said with a smile that utterly fake. "Surrender and it will go much better for you." At least a dozen forms appeared behind him. Some in armor, some in robes. "Whoever that was that you were hiding under your cloak, we will find them. The elf cannot hide forever in that Chantry. We will have her as well."

YOU WILL NEVER TOUCH EDRIS AGAIN! Julisa's scream of rage rent the mountain air. He couldn't understand her words, but her meaning was clear as she rose to her full height, wings outstretched. More than one of his companions retreated from her fury. The leader did not. Typical Tevinter. Arrogant and stupid.

"You cannot win here, beast!" The magister snapped, a staff appearing in his hand. It glowed with fell energies. "Submit!"

Instead of answering, Julisa spat at him. The blue orb of electrical energy bounced to one side, deflected by a mystic shield. It crackled and sparked, and then faded. Energy arced from his staff all over, a shield and net. If she tried to fly, it would ensnare her. Probably either drain her energy or knock her out. Either way, that would be bad for her.

"We came prepared." The dark mage smiled evilly as Julisa stared. Then he paused as she smiled as only a dragon could.

Did you?

Again, he couldn't possibly hear her. He did hear the rustle as she inhaled again and raised his staff again, but this time, she didn't aim at him. The ball of fire she spat hit two of his men and they screamed as they burned. She had been learning a lot. About a lot. And this was going to hurt them. A lot.

"Alive!" The magister shouted as his men charged. "We need it alive!"

Julisa had no such compunctions.

Close, but not too close

What the hell?

Thornton hadn't been sure about these orders. Not at all. 'Find the dragon'. No big deal except for the extreme danger. Dragons were no joke at all. He had fought them on several occasions with patrols of Inquisition troops. Once he had been severely burned and only the heroic efforts of one of the Inquisition's mages had saved his life. After that, he had studied up on them. He knew dragons. He knew most of what the Inquisition knew of dragons.

What he was watching from his high perch in a tree was nothing he knew.

He watched in awe as the black dragon spat balls of fire, frost and lightning in rapid succession. Opposing it were ten troops and five mages. All of the humans were well armed with magic weapons that they knew how to use. None of them had a chance. The troops went first. Cold and lightning seared through their armor as if it wasn't there. Few of them even had time to scream. Then it was the mages' turn. All of them, including the leader, were casting fire and lightning of their own. But none of it seemed to touch the black scaled form. Or... was it black? There was blue shimmering around it that looked a lot like a mage's Barrier. But that was insane. Right? Then the veteran ranger's eyes went huge as the dragon waved a claw and a shimmering blue circle appeared on the ground around four of the mages. One of them ran and hit a barely seen wall. He was cast back into the group in a blast of blue energy. A Static Cage! The dragon was casting spells!

Thornton swallowed hard as the dragon cast another spell. A fist of stone appeared in mid-air, slamming the mage leader to the ground where he lay, groaning. None of the other mages were moving and Thornton swallowed again as the dragon stepped towards where the mage leader lay. But instead of biting, or clawing, or even breathing elemental damage at the mage... The dragon picked up the mage's staff, held it in two claws and snapped it like a twig. Thornton felt his eyes bulge. He had no idea what mages' staves were made of. But he did know they were strong. And that one had looked old. The old ones were always rare, powerful and expensive.

Then the dragon turned, defecated on the groaning mage, flapped it's wings and flew off. Some of the other mages were rising, running to help the leader! Only a few of them were dead! Several of the troops were rising as well. Others lay still. It had not killed them all! Fighting to disable was far harder than fighting to kill, Thorton knew that well from his time as a bounty hunter.

That...dragon... just fought to escape. Not to kill. The veteran ranger thought to himself. The mage was holding it here somehow. Maybe with that staff. But the dragon was casting spells like a mage. Nonlethal as much as it could. That is not possible. Is it? This makes no sense. He strained his ears and he could hear their words. Barely.

"Sir!" One of the mages said sharply. "We can track it." The mage leader was staring at the remnants of his staff in shock.

"And do what, pray tell?" The leader demanded as he rose, brushing the still smoking bits of dragon dung from his robes. "No one said that beast had the skills of the mage! We will track it, but we need to rethink our plans. Maybe call in special assistance."

"Sir..." The subordinate said slowly.

"I like involving them as much as you do." The leader snapped as he started walking. The others hurried to catch up, leaving the slain there they had fallen. "But this... We need it alive. And we cannot beat it with the forces we have. So-"

Whatever the subordinate said was lost in the distance. Thornton stayed where he was for several long minutes before slowly easing himself down from the tree. This dragon hunt had just become far, far more. More complicated. More dangerous. More everything.

The ranger slid through the night to where the fallen lay and started searching them quickly. None of them carried anything of value. Their weapons and armor were mostly destroyed. Not that surprising considering what they had faced. It was surprising that any of them had survived. Then again... Had the dragon wanted them dead?

Thornton went still as he checked the last form. One of the troops. This one had caught a lightning burst almost square. Likely he had never known what hit him. But that wasn't the problem. Thornton had seen death far too many times in his life to be bothered by such. No, what had him stiffened was what the man wore under his surcoat. Around his neck.

"Oh, shit." The ranger breathed as he stared at the insignia marked with the symbol of the Imperial Tevinter Chantry.

He froze as a sound came to him. An odd sound. Crying? He slid back into the meager shadows and worked his way around the area, seeking the sound. It wasn't coming from nearby. None of the others had slowed. He checked and they were running now, trying to put space between them and the scene of battle.

The ranger carefully slid his way up a hill and peered over. He stared into a tiny, hidden valley at what lay within. The black dragon was kneeling. It -she- was crying. Tears were falling down the armored snout to pool below her head. Dragons didn't cry. They didn't. But this one was.

He stared as the dragon mourned. For what? Or who? He didn't know. Then he stared down at the insignia in his hand. He knew what it was. It was the insignia of a covert agent of the Imperial Tevinter Chantry. Operating in Ferelden, chasing an unknown type of magic using dragon. A dragon that as not acting like a dragon. Indeed, it was acting like a person. A fugitive. And a mage...

This is not good…

The valley

Maker forgive me... I didn't mean to kill any of them...

Julisa was sobbing. She had never known grief before meeting Edris. Now? It seemed every time she turned around, she was causing harm. She had killed at least four of those humans, despite her care in casting what she had. Her nature screamed at her, her dragon side had wanted to kill them all. Thankfully, she had stopped herself. Edris would have told her to do it anyway. Then again, Edris had not been a merciful soul before meeting Julisa. Edris still wasn't really a merciful soul even now, but she was getting better. Not that anyone would have expected mercy from Edris as she had been. She had been what she had been. A slave with the gift of magic freed by a radical mage and trained to follow said radical on her quest to save Tevinter. It hadn't worked out so well for Calpernia, but Edris had served her well until the Venatori leader's death. Edris had not reacted well to seeing her mentor destroyed and well, Corypheus had much to answer for.

Selling Edris to the Imperial Chantry to be used as an experimental animal was high on Julisa's list of things that monster had to answer for.