When she woke up, Haelith and Barret were already awake, sitting beside the fire. The smell of fish filled her nose, as did a number of herbs and spices. The ground was damp with dew, making it cold on her feet, even through the fur. Haelith leaned on Barret as he stoked the fire to bring more heat out. "Good morning. Shouldn't be too long until this is ready to eat." Raine smiled. Seeing her best friend so happy was a good distraction from the images that swirled in her mind, and from the name that echoed in every heartbeat. But as she sat down, she could feel herself slouch, the weight of everything she had heard pulling her down.
"Raine?" Haelith sat up, concerned. "What's wrong?"
"I…" She wasn't sure if Barret knew about Aruhn, or what either of them would think if she told them everything she saw and heard. "I had another vision last night."
"Vision?" Barret asked, sliding the fillets around the pan to heat them better.
"I've had a few before, but none like this. I saw Aruhn, and we actually just talked for a while. It was strange."
"Who is this 'Aruhn'?" Haelith asked. "You mentioned him before, and I'm certain that whoever this person is, they were the cause of your panic attack back in Valinos."
"He's a dragon."
Barret's head whipped around. "Dragon? An actual dragon? Like, one of the ancients kind of dragon?"
"Yeah. He's been watching me for a while. It hasn't been fun, but I understand why now. He told me so much, it explains a lot. I'm not sure if I understand it all yet, but he did tell me some very interesting things."
"Don't you have a journal that you… borrowed… from Trace?" Haelith smirked. Raine reached into her bag and pulled out the light, leather bound book. "Try writing it all down. That way you don't have to remember it all."
"I forgot I took this from the estate. That's not a bad idea, but I'm not sure how good it will be. He mentioned a name, and I'm not sure how to spell it."
"Just give it your best guess. You're the only one who will read it, so you're the only one it will matter to." Haelith smiled as Barret pulled a pair of thin wooden plates out of his bag. Pulling two of the fillets off, he gave one to Haelith, and began slowly eating the other. Raine stopped writing, and also got food, but between bites, she would pick up the pencil again.
"Does the name 'Thandolin' mean anything to you?" Raine asked as she wrote it down.
Haelith shook her head, and Barret frowned, racking his mind. "Never heard that before. Who is it?"
"He's the person Aruhn grew afraid of. He said that he leveled a city within a day, turning the stone defenders against it. He was sick, and began siphoning life away from other creatures to keep himself alive. I can't shake the feeling that I've heard of something like that before though."
"That can't be!" Barret said, shocked. "That sounds very similar to what happened to Mount Tanji! The Sentinels turned against the city, and reduced it to rubble, killing almost everyone. Soldiers of stone turning against a city and leveling it in a day? That can't just be a coincidence."
"But would make sense. If this 'Thandolin' was able to level a city in a day because Aruhn interfered, then I can understand why he would be so hesitant to interfere again."
"True. But that was five hundred years ago. We won't have to worry about it." Haelith said, finishing up her food. "I'll start packing up the tent. We should get a move on."
Not long after, the fire was doused and the camp was little more than a cluster of stones and ash on the ground. The Northern Wastes lay before them, an endless plain that stretched to the horizon, blurring to a field of white at the very edge of their view. Nothing moved, nothing changed, nothing was different. As though the world had run out of things to put here, there was truly, absolutely nothing here. Except for one thing.
To their right, to the east, was a cloud of dust slowly rising and falling. Barret turned, and began walking toward it. "We're looking for nomads, and that's probably them." Through the day, their feet grew sore from walking on the hard and rocky ground, and the old pine forest shrank behind them. Slowly, it came into view: a caravan of people. As they approached, they could see that whoever they were, they were giants, and wore something that reflected the sun. They were Ishtaer.
It was afternoon when Barret, Haelith, and Raine stopped in front of the caravan. There were a hundred and thirty individuals, and only ten weren't Ishtaer. Their scales shone with all the colors of the rainbow, and as the caravan approached them, the three stopped. One stepped forward, and signaled to everyone else to keep moving, but walked over to the trio. "Well, Fate is on your side. I am Vehc [Veh-KHK is difficult to say, as you must exhale while speaking the 'K']. Who are you, and why have you come seeking us?" his voice was deeper than Barret's but not by much. Green scales shone like emeralds, and unlike so many others, he did not have a secondary color. The way he was dressed reminded Barret of how he used to look: disheveled and worn down, but all of this man's clothes looked like they fit him, and were just worn from time.
"My name is Barret. This is Haelith, and Raine. We have come to learn from you." As Barret spoke, the man slowly walked away, and waved his hand for them to follow.
"Learn? From your bow, her medicine bag, and her book, I cannot see what you want to learn. You did not come here to learn to hunt, but perhaps to go further north?"
"No. We are in need of guidance. We need to learn magic." Vehc stopped suddenly at that word.
"Magic?" He glanced back. "You are Ishtaer. Magic is as natural as breathing to us. Why would you say this?"
"It may be natural to you, but I grew up without it, as did Haelith."
"And my magic is wild and uncontrolled." Raine interjected. "I've tried to have others teach me, and no one has been able to. I'm desperate. I have no one else to go to."
The man was quiet for a moment. "Those who raised you are a disgrace then. Did you not learn from your parents of magic?"
Barret furrowed his eyes. "My parents were stolen away from me at a young age. They sacrificed themselves so I could live. They will never be disgraced." he said curtly.
"I never knew my parents." Haelith responded just as sharply. "I grew up around Humans and Keidrans."
Understanding came at last to the man. "I apologize. I did not mean to insult you. Come then. We must not fall behind. Losing sight of the Tribe is the easiest way to get lost here, and once you are lost, it is very hard to be found again." For the rest of the day, they walked with the tribe of nomads, and when the sun hung low in the sky, they stopped. The three watched the interactions between the Ishtaer with wonder. They seemed to share everything between them, and there was little they kept for themselves. While many of them walked, there were a few elders who sat on sledges to be pulled through the day, occasionally getting up to walk with the rest when they could. There were a few children Ishtaer, who held their parents close, but when they stopped, they ran and laughed.
"I've been wondering something." Raine asked Barret quietly. "Why don't those children look like their parents? He has yellow scales, she has red, but their kid has green. Does scale color not matter?"
Vehc answered her when Barret seemed to not have an answer. "While we inherit many things from our parents, such as magical ability, stature, build, and some of our personality, scale color is entirely unique from one generation to the next. For a while after a child is born, they actually have no color in their scales, being gray and dull. As they grow, their scales grow with them, and color comes with it. When a child's first color is seen, normally around the age of seven, it is a time of great joy, but not always. Very, very rarely, their color never comes in, and they are called 'Undar'ilk', which means 'child of ill fortune'. They are normally looked down upon, but there are exceptions. One of our elders is among these ill-Fated children, and she is now the oldest and wisest among the tribe. In fact, we should go speak to her. Please, follow me."
Through the camp the four walked. Tents had been set up at expert speeds, and fires were stoked to life faster than even Barret could make. Chatter filled the evening, laughter and joy came from the nomads, despite their wandering way of life. At the center of the camp, there was a large tent that stood out from the rest, and Vehc led them inside. Within the tent, there was a smal fire, and five people around it. There were four Ishtaer, as well as a snow leopard Keidran, who were having a conversation, but grew silent when the tent opened. On the far side, sat an Ishtaer who had no color in her scales, wore a dull gray dress, but carried a cane made of gnarled wood. "You must be the ones I have heard talk of." she said, her voice sounded ancient. "Come, sit with us."
The strange council shifted to make space for them around the fire, and Vehc stood behind them. "This is Barret. Haelith. And Raine. I take my leave at your permission, elder Yapha [Yah-fah]." The elder waved her hand, and Vehc left the tent.
Her eyes were the only color she had, glowing bright blue. She looked at each of them in turn, and sighed. "You came here to learn magic from your own kind. Why should we teach you how to call forth the fire in your veins? Why should we care for you outsiders?"
The three were quiet for a time, but Barret leaned forward to answer first. "Because we have no one else to turn to. We have traveled far to find you. I have used magic on instinct before, and the power within me is frightening. I lashed out twice before, and both times, I had no control. I cannot call the power within me, but neither can I channel it to my will. My power is wild and uncontrolled. I wish to learn how to control it, so I do not hurt those I care about the next time my magic lashes out."
The elder was quiet, squinting her eyes. She looked at Haelith next, waiting for her to speak next, but it was Raine who spoke next. "I have tried to learn magic from my kind, from my family. But my magic is also uncontrolled and wild. I am unique, a strange child of both human and Keidran, able to shift my form between both. I hope to learn something, anything new. If you can help me, then please do so."
Still squinting, the elder listened to her, but then turned once again to Haelith, who remained silent. "And you, young hatchling. Why are you here?"
Haelith swallowed the knot in her throat, and spoke in a slow, uneasy voice. "I… I came to be with them. And… because I grew up without anyone else. I cannot feel a fire in my veins like they can. I grew up with humans and Keidrans. I want to learn how to use magic so that I can help people. I am a nurse, a doctor. I want to use magic to heal people." The elder leaned back, and the rest of the council turned to her.
"A doctor, a shifter, and a wild caster. Not the most unusual thing I have seen in my long years, but very strange indeed." Yapha was quiet for a moment, closing her eyes, and thinking. "You have given us much to think about. We must discuss this further. We will call you back when we have reached a decision. Now, leave us."