After waking early, Lavitz quickly wrote and shipped a letter to Bale, notifying King Albert of their success with the dragon and the situation with Shana. At the end, he requested orders for their next destination – or at least his. Lavitz was no longer sure that Dart would follow him into another battle. Maybe healing Shana would offer Dart the peace that he needed.
Only an hour or so after sunup, Lavitz, Dart, and Rose loaded up, left Lohan, and headed east. Although they had left Shana's horse behind in the inn's care, they had decided that it would be best to take along her supplies, and the extra pack had been strapped onto Lavitz's horse. It now bounced noisily next to his left leg.
As they crossed the distance between the city and the mountains rather hastily, question after question burned within Lavitz, and he could think of almost nothing but when he might be able to speak to Rose. He wanted to know more about dragoons and what led a dragoon spirit to choose someone. He wanted to understand the new power that he felt rushing through him even now. What were the odds that all three of them would be chosen? Was something greater at work?
As they reached the foot of the mountains, the sun was climbing higher over the peaks and shining brightly into their eyes. Lavitz was grateful for the shade of the mountains and trees as they approached the steep slope that they had climbed down a couple days before. Urging their horses forward, they ascended into the mountains, forced to slow as they left the grassy terrain behind them. Then, they turned northeast.
Their slower pace drew them closer to each other, and Lavitz seized his opportunity. He subtly tried to maneuver himself over to Rose, but his plan was routed as Dart approached and spoke up first.
"Hey, Lavitz..." he said, his face contemplative.
Patiently, Lavitz waited for more. Curiously, Dart's mind seemed to be on something other than Shana.
Finally, Dart asked, "Are you okay?"
Shocked and almost amused, Lavitz replied, "Yeah, I guess. Why? Do you need to talk about something?"
"No," said Dart hastily. "It's just, with everything that's happened... with Greham and everything..." Lavitz's chest tightened. "I just wanted to make sure that you're doing okay. Everything happened really fast."
Lavitz realized the depth of effort Dart was exerting, and his urgency to speak to Rose vanished in favor of his friend's kindness.
"Yes, it certainly did," said Lavitz. "I'm still not sure how I feel about everything, since there was just no time to sit and think about it, like you said. I never expected to meet him there. I've never been so blinded by anger before..." Regretfully, Lavitz recalled his brash, aggressive actions.
"Do you feel better now that he's dead?"
Shaking his head, Lavitz said, "No... I don't. I am only grateful that the dragon will no longer plague my people. I thought for so many years that killing Greham would satisfy me, and that somehow everything would be better once he was dead. But—" His voice caught, and he paused. "My father is still gone. He'll never come back, no matter what I do."
They fell silent, and one glance at Dart told Lavitz that the second question was of personal interest. However, he also was confident that Dart would not want to discuss it. So instead, he let the conversation die.
A lonely breeze picked up and ran through the trees, and Lavitz breathed it in deeply. He felt strangely rejuvenated by the flow of air and was sad to feel it pass. As the air grew still once more, he found himself longing for a powerful gale, as if that would bring even more life to him. The still air grated on his nerves. He wanted to feel the wind tousle his hair.
Suddenly the air stirred before whipping up into a gust, rustling the trees mightily and tossing Rose's long hair about.
"What was that?" asked Dart concernedly, eyeing the trees around him as the wind died down.
"Magic," said Rose simply. Without turning, she added, "Lavitz, I'm impressed that you were able to do that so quickly."
"I did that?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes."
"That's amazing!" said Dart.
Before the topic changed again, Lavitz spurred Luna forward and fell into step with Rose. "Can I talk to you about all that?" he asked as Dart came along her other side.
Raising her eyebrow, Rose asked, "What would you like to know?"
"So, I control wind?" he asked.
"Air is more specific, but, yes."
"How many elements are there?"
"Seven. And seven dragoon spirits to match." At the opportunity to share her knowledge, Rose had almost imperceptibly raised her shoulders and held her head slightly higher. "Fire, which Dart controls. Darkness, which I control, and which also spawns fear. You have control over air. There is also water, earth, light, and electricity."
Dart butted in, just as eager as Lavitz. "And they have opposites, right? Like water and fire. That's why the rain bothered me so much."
Rose nodded and said, "Exactly. Water and fire, earth and wind, light and dark: these are all opposites. Dragoons of a certain element typically feel more comfortable around that element and uncomfortable when surrounded by its opposite. Your strong desire for wind is probably what summoned that gust a moment ago," she told Lavitz.
"Wait," said Dart. "If I got that uncomfortable when getting rained on, are you uncomfortable when you're outside in the sunlight?"
Interesting, thought Lavitz. He had never considered it before, but he suddenly felt guilty that they consistently traveled during the day.
"To an extent," said Rose, stoic as ever. "I've been a dragoon far longer than you and have grown accustomed to the feeling. And the level of irritation dwindles as you become more skilled and experienced. Also, if it ever became overwhelmingly irritating, I could shield myself from the light if I chose."
"But you feel better during the night, don't you?" asked Lavitz precariously.
"Yes. Darkness... comforts me," replied Rose.
Feeling momentarily satisfied with this level of information, Dart and Lavitz fell silent as they ruminated over it. Lavitz considered his weakness to earth and tried to imagine what could possibly happen to make him uncomfortable like Dart had been in the rain. He wasn't fond of the idea of getting covered in dirt, but that had been true since joining the military. Then he recalled the two recent times that he had been completely underground, and he almost screamed as the memories resurfaced. He remembered how they had gone six or so hours without being able to see the sky in the northern cave, and then being in that dark tunnel in the mountain. He was surprised at the powerful aversion he felt toward just these memories, and he realized that Rose spoke truth.
As time passed, Lavitz began to feel his stomach rumble, and he bent down to pull some food out of his pack. He didn't feel tired at all, and he was sure that Rose and Dart felt the same, as they made no mention of taking a break. A few days ago, he would have been sluggish thanks to their early start and sore from their time in the saddle. Now, he felt as if he could travel hundreds of miles without rest. Part of him wanted to have a duel with someone normal to test his new capabilities. But above all, he wanted to learn how to transform, enabling him to fly and become one with the wind itself. As he ate, he craned his neck to see the cloudless sky above him and wondered what the world looked like from above.
Well before noon, they reached the edges of the dragon's nest. Although the beast was dead, the plants in the immediate area were still trying to shrug off the effects of the poison. Lavitz mentally recoiled as the shades of green darkened and the light started to fade in the deepened shade of the trees. The air grew stale, as he had remembered, but new to him was the intensely oppressive feeling that the stale air carried with it. He made note of this and asked if the others had noticed the change.
"It feels the same as before," said Dart quizzically.
"It feels different to you because of your dragoon spirit," said Rose. "You're more sensitive to changes in the air than the first time we came through. You may not have noticed last time because of the lifted effects of the poison, or perhaps your concern for Shana."
"Let's get out of here as quickly as possible," he muttered in response, eyeing the dark trees around him. He could not see the sky through the leaves, and his heart quickened. He imagined flying up through the leaves and soaring through the sky, and a moment later a gust of fresh air blew over them, rustling the leaves rejuvenating him as he breathed deeply. But in an instant, it was gone.
"Whoa, was that you?" asked Dart. "That smelled like… roses."
"I guess…?" replied Lavitz. He was utterly unsure of how this worked, and his ignorance frustrated him. "Rose," he asked, "when we get out of this forest, can you teach me how to use this power, like you did for Dart?"
"That… would be wise," she said thoughtfully.
He wanted to fly forward, to escape the blanket of darkness, but he thought of Luna beneath him. Already her breath had become ragged. "I had forgotten that the poison affects the horses, too. How long until the forest is clean?"
Rose shook her head. "Some months, probably, but it's hard to tell."
They continued to weave through the trees, and Lavitz's skin crawled for the duration. The only thing that made him feel better was recalling the scent of the fresh air in Bale right after a heavy rain. To cope with the irritation, he focused on a memory from his youth when he had jumped around in fresh puddles on the way to the castle. He remembered his father trotting alongside him, chuckling as Lavitz had greeted each and every passerby.
As the horses began to pant and struggle, Lavitz grieved that they had to come back through this forest. As he patted Luna on her neck, he wished her all the strength he could.
They trudged on this way for some time, and each of them began to wish desperately that they could leave. The only one who drew any comfort from the eerie trees was Rose, who clearly preferred the shady dark under the thick canopy. Despite the weariness of the horses, they continued for several more hours, doing their best to head northwest, until finally the dark grayish leaves gave way to brighter greens. Smelling the difference in the air, Lavitz's spirits lifted, summoning another breeze. Breathing in the fresh scents, he felt rejuvenated.
From then on, travel was much easier and faster, and conversation flowed. Dart and Lavitz chatted for some time about their days traveling through the countryside and exchanged their most interesting or humorous stories. However, Rose only listened, never contributing, never laughing. This bothered Lavitz, and as their chatter died down, he decided to try to include her.
"Rose, do you have any stories you want to tell?" he asked cautiously, studying her face for a reaction.
Obviously shocked by the request, she reflexively declined, but Dart cut her off.
"Yeah, you had old friends, right? Tell us a story about them," he said. Lavitz pursed his lips; he feared this request was too personal for Rose. Her immediate rejection had confirmed Lavitz's suspicions that her past was not a topic she enjoyed discussing. He'd planned to leave out specifics and let Rose decide if she truly wanted to share, but Dart seemed to have decided otherwise.
"Our lives weren't interesting," said Rose curtly.
"There had to have been something interesting that happened," prodded Dart.
Catching his eye, Lavitz shook his head slightly, warning him to stop, as Rose's temper flared. Her eyes flashed as she gritted her teeth.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said coolly.
Lavitz was amazed at Rose's self-control. If he hadn't seen her reaction, he would have assumed that she was completely unperturbed by her simple reply, for her voice remained steady and calm. Even so, Dart caught the hint and said no more on the subject but looked down awkwardly for the next several minutes.
They traveled in silence for a time, picking up speed as the horses recovered from the effects of the poison. As the sun began to set, Lavitz expected them to slow and come to a stop, but they pressed forward. Mountains slid past them as darkness surrounded them, and Rose became eerily shadow-like as the light left. They continued for a couple hours past sunset before they finally stopped near a stream.
Dismounting, Lavitz left Luna by a tree where she could drink from the small creek. He patted her nose, and she snorted and shook her head defiantly, still irritated at their long day of travel through the poisoned forest. He held up his hands in surrender, and she nuzzled him gently. He laughed and stroked her long mane, although he still regretted putting her through all that he had. Whispering an apology, he rested his forehead on her snout. She seemed to accept his regret and stepped over to the creek to take several long draughts. Lavitz removed his bedroll and turned back to see Rose standing alone.
"Dart went to get firewood," she said simply. "You and I have some work to do."
Lavitz cringed at the ominous statement. She drew her sword and waited expectantly, and he hesitated before readying his lance.
"Can we at least… move away from the horses?" he asked cautiously.
Rose sighed and nodded. They walked a short distance away, and Lavitz peered at her through the darkness. Luckily, there were few clouds, and the moons were just enough illumination so that Lavitz could see her and the occasional glint of moonlight off her sword. He had a slight advantage because of the reach of his lance, but he still couldn't imagine that this could go very well. He readied himself, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh and crisp night air.
"So, to transform, we have to be in combat," he said. "And I'll just… let the dragoon out?"
"More or less."
He nodded. "Great…"
Lavitz leapt forward to attack, holding nothing back. He lunged at her with his lance, and she sidestepped and batted his lance up, but he maintained control of it, blocked her next attack, spun, and struck out at her leg. She jumped over his weapon and swung at him, and he raised his lance to block it. Cringing at the sound of the rapier cutting into the wooden shaft, he spun the lance up to smack her wrist, but she stepped back to avoid it.
With his heartbeat elevated, Lavitz took a step back. It was clear to him that they were almost evenly matched, although Rose was faster. As he paused, he felt a gentle tugging inside him, pushing its limits and asking to be freed. With a smile, he released it, and a gale swept through the trees, swirling around him as the power took over his body. A bright green light pierced the darkness, and Rose flinched in response. Then he stood, transformed, brimming with power, like a powerful gust heralding a vicious thunderstorm.
Upon seeing his success, Lavitz laughed joyously and returned his attention to Rose, who appeared somewhat taken aback. But she recovered quickly, returning to her stony demeanor as Lavitz explored his new armor and wings.
"Impressive," she said coolly. "Your military training is apparent."
Then she transformed before him, casting off that strange, dark light once again. The two dragoons faced each other and readied their weapons, but they were interrupted by footsteps. Whirling toward the noise, Lavitz readied his lance, accidentally firing a breeze ahead of him.
"Whoa!" came Dart's voice over the rustling branches. Stepping forward, he glared at them and demanded, "You couldn't even wait for me to get back? I can help."
Lavitz frowned. He hadn't considered that Dart would want to join them. Feeling guilty, he turned to Rose in the hopes that she would explain for him. Instead, she ignored the issue altogether.
"Now that you're here, transform," she ordered.
Without waiting for a response, she created a ball of dark energy and hurled it at him. Lavitz watched in fear as it drove straight for Dart's chest and prepared to intervene. However, just before he was about to move, Dart's chest flashed red, he transformed, and he deflected the ball with his hand while shaking his head at Rose. The magic bounced off harmlessly and collided with a nearby tree, wrapping around it like a snake before dissipating into the air. Lavitz was surprised at the lack of effect, but just as he was diverting his attention, the needles on the pine shriveled to brown. The tree was dead.
"Now we can begin," said Rose. She beat her wings and rose high into the air, and Dart followed.
Closing his eyes, Lavitz tried to remember Rose's directions to Dart all that time ago. "Flight is as much about magic as it is about your wings," she'd said. The wings were easy; he flapped them once and felt his feet lift slightly. The magic was different.
Looking up at Rose and Dart, he longed to be in the sky with them. What could the air feel like another thirty feet up? What about a hundred? A thousand?
As he considered it, he grinned to be able to sense it. The air was up there, waiting for him, asking him to join. How could he resist such an invitation? With purpose, he leapt off the ground and beat his wings, pushing into the air. Wind whipped about him, and he soared into the sky as freedom surged through his chest. Laughing, he met Dart and Rose and then flew straight past them, savoring the feeling of the wind on his skin. He stopped three hundred feet off the ground and stared in awe at the sights sprawled beneath him, veiled as they were in the night. He longed to fly higher and higher until he could see all of Serdio, but that would have to wait.
"You seem to need little instruction," said Rose as she and Dart came to hover next to him. "Can you summon a breeze?"
With a smile, Lavitz obliged, tugging at the air with his mind until it rushed past them. He was proud; he hadn't even had to use his hands.
"Good," said Rose. "What about controlling your flight? You're not scared of heights like Dart, are you?"
Laughing, Lavitz turned to Dart, who was repeatedly glancing at the mountains beneath them.
"No, I wouldn't say that I am," he chuckled.
Then he dived downward, stopped, and shot back up into the air. He swirled around Rose, rustled her hair with wind, and then hung upside down in front of her for a second before righting himself.
She raised an eyebrow but was otherwise unamused.
"I'm not sure why I'm even doing this," she muttered. "I suppose… it would be worth mentioning that elements can complement each other. Think about how air and fire interact. Without air, fire cannot exist, and given the right conditions, fire can be bolstered by air. Dart, create a fire."
Dart nodded and held out his hand. A moment later a bright flame appeared, harsh to Lavitz's eyes that had adjusted to the darkness.
"Lavitz, send a gentle breeze across it."
"What will that do?" he asked.
"Try it and see," replied Rose simply.
Watching the flame closely, Lavitz imagined a wide shaft of air moving slowly past him, and a moment later a warm breeze tickled his ear and sauntered toward the flame. He gasped as the fire flared, fueled by the fresh air in the wind. He was reminded of billows heating a smithy's fire.
"Wow!" exclaimed Dart. "So, he can help me?"
"Yes," said Rose. "But he can also do the opposite. Lavitz, now send a quick burst of air, like when you blow out a candle."
Focusing once again, Lavitz summoned a strong gale that blew over them with such force that Dart and Rose threw their arms up against it and were pushed back slightly, although Lavitz felt no pressure. The flame was snuffed.
"You're a fast learner," remarked Dart.
"Faster than you, for sure," said Lavitz, smirking. "All that flailing about you did on the road from Hoax was just sad."
Dart chuckled and shook his head. "Hey, you had the advantage of seeing my training session before yours. I had no idea what was going on back then."
"I guess… we'll never know who's the better dragoon…" Lavitz spun his lance ostentatiously before aiming it toward Dart and feigning a thoughtful look as he fingered the intricate carvings of the transformed weapon. "It's not like I used magic before I transformed…"
Dart opened his mouth to respond, but Rose interrupted him.
"While you two compare sizes, I'm going to go get some sleep," she scorned. "We can practice some more later if you want." She descended quickly, and Lavitz could just see the flash of her dragoon spirit as she returned to human form.
"As much as I hate to admit it," said Lavitz, "Rose has the right idea. Dragoons we may be, but we still need sleep, and tomorrow will be an early day."
Dart nodded, and Lavitz saw the reminder of their true purpose slide back into his mind. Dart's brow furrowed, and his expression soured as he thought of Shana, left behind in Lohan. Lavitz sighed quietly before easing his way toward the ground. He did not enjoy landing as much as flying, but he did so anyway, and Dart soon joined him.
"So, to get out of this…" prompted Lavitz.
"Just kind of… I don't know," struggled Dart. "Try?"
"Try what?"
"Being human…?"
Lavitz shook his head and laughed softly. Dart took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and a moment later he was back to normal.
"See?" he said, extending his arms to showcase his success.
Stifling laughter, Lavitz closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. He felt the wind rush about him once again, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that he, too, had returned to human form. Moving his lance to his left hand, he placed the other on Dart's shoulder.
"I want you to know… You'll always be the better dragoon," he said warmly. And he meant it. Dart's innate sense of battle was sure to surpass his own in a short time. What Lavitz had achieved over sixteen years of service, Dart was close to achieving in five.
"Thanks," said Dart with a small smile. "I don't really believe you, but… thanks."
They turned and walked toward the distant orange light of the fire that Dart had started several minutes earlier.
"Someday, though," announced Lavitz, "we really will have to duel it out. I've never actually fought you before, unless you count the whole thing in Hellena, which I don't."
"Deal," laughed Dart. "One day, you and I will fight to see who's really the better dragoon. After we heal Shana and everything calms down."
Arriving at the campsite, they found Rose already lying on her bedroll with a blanket draped over her.
Lavitz pursed his lips, still puzzled at the mystery of Rose, and began removing his armor as Dart did the same. Appreciating the evening breeze as it tossed around the loose fabric of his tunic, he took a seat leaning against a tree. Luna snorted from behind him in greeting.
"You sleep," he said to Dart. "I'll take first watch."
"I'm not actually all that tired," said Dart as he sat near Lavitz.
"Crazy how much a little gem can affect you, isn't it?" said Lavitz. He reached down to his waist, where a tiny leather pouch hung from his belt. Untying it, he reached inside and pulled out the dragoon spirit. He studied it in his palm, marveling at its deceptive simplicity. It appeared to be no more than an emerald, albeit a massive one at an inch across, but the power it possessed was beyond fathom. Rubbing his thumb across it, he felt the tiny facets decorating its surface.
"It's not just that," said Dart.
Pulled from his reverie, Lavitz hurriedly replaced the gem and gave Dart his full attention.
"Shana?" he asked simply.
Dart nodded solemnly, toying with a bit of grass before him. "I just…" he began. "I just feel like this is all my fault. If I hadn't left her all those years ago, I could've been there to stop the soldiers from taking her, and we wouldn't be here to begin with. Or if I had just made her stay in Hoax…" He violently ripped up a tuft of grass and tossed it away from him.
"Dart—" said Lavitz, but he was interrupted.
"I know I told you all this before, I know that she made the decision to follow us, and that she can make her own decisions, but I should have been able to protect her better than this! I…" He faltered as his voice caught. Then quietly: "It's not worth killing even a thousand dragons if she dies."
He took a deep breath.
"Ever since my parents died, I've felt alone," continued Dart. "Except for when I was with Shana. She was the only person who really cared about me. She gave me a reason to keep going. And it was always just me and her… And then I left, like a fool. And when I came back, I had failed at the one thing I had always promised to do. I wasn't fast enough to save her... What if I'm too late this time?"
All this spilled out of Dart, like water bursting through a broken dam. Lavitz grieved for Dart and at once wished that he could lift the burden from Dart's shoulders and take it as his own. But he knew that he could do no more than shoulder the weight.
He paused for a moment as he searched for the right words. Finally, he spoke.
"There is no one in this world better suited to taking care of Shana than you. You have everything it takes to do that, and you have done it well. And none of this is your fault. But even so, that doesn't mean you have to do it alone anymore. You have us now. We didn't just send you on your way and hope you'd get the job done. We hunted around Lohan with you, and we're traveling with you. I know that nothing could ever replace your parents. Trust me, I know. But we're family now, and you can't get rid of us."
Dart's jaw tightened as he stared off into the forest.
"And together, we'll find a way to save her," added Lavitz. He placed a hand on Dart's shoulder. "We'll find the shrine, get a dragoni plant, and make it back to her in plenty of time. She'll be ecstatic when she wakes up and sees your face."
"How do you do that?" asked Dart, laughing even as he reached up to wipe his eyes.
"Do what?"
"Always know the perfect thing to say."
Lavitz chuckled and said, "I think it's a thing I inherited from my dad. He always did that to me, too."
For several moments, only the crackling of the fire and the sounds of the forest met them. Realizing how chilly the evening had become, Lavitz was suddenly grateful for the warmth of the campfire and leaned forward to get closer to it.
"Also, I wanted to say thanks… for everything," he said slowly. "You're the first real friend I've ever had, besides Shana. I guess… I never let myself have friends before. At least not good ones. You know, ones you can talk to about stuff like this."
Grinning, Lavitz replied, "My pleasure. And the same to you."
"And you're even friends with a king," said Dart, smiling.
"That's true!" said Lavitz with a chuckle. "Although, I guess the 'king' thing got in the way of that a few times."
Dart and Lavitz chatted for several more minutes before Dart finally decided to sleep. Lavitz settled in, entertaining himself with summoned breezes and tiny whirlwinds that fit in his palm. Grabbing a stray leaf leftover from last fall, he blew it into the air, managing to keep it aloft for several minutes before becoming bored yet again. Finally, when it felt like three hours had passed, he woke Rose and settled in to sleep, quickly drifting off and dreaming of flying high above the mountains.