Lily had made excellent time, shaving a full four days off the usually two-week walk between her Master's new home and Deim. She'd passed through two small villages on the way and took a little time to walk through their markets. Talking loudly to herself in draconic, musing out loud about how much she wished she could find someone that might help her bring dragons back into the world.
She'd never been described as subtle.
Lily was used to being stared at, with her ruby scales and golden hair, and that was before anyone noticed her eyes were slit. But this had some people running home and slamming their doors and others standing in shocked awe of her apparent insanity. It had been hilarious. But it also made it very difficult to tell if anyone was paying any more attention to her than anyone else.
There had been one man that stood out from the rest in the most recent town, just down the mountain from the Kensai Monastery and her Master's home. He'd worn a high, tight-fitting, collared shirt under his desert clothes, very unusual in this land. She'd met his eyes and shrugged at him, and he looked away from her. But everyone did when she made eye contact behaving like this. Oh well.
She hiked her way halfway up to the Monastery then took the fork in the path to the large plot that had been granted to Master Velona and Grandmaster Veon-Zih. She surveyed the property with its smattering of exercise dummies and garden pagoda for meditation, then marched directly to the tiny one-room house.
She didn't bother to knock and swung the unlocked door open wide, announcing, "Master Velona I..." It was empty. Lily had made excellent time, but still hadn't been fast enough. The Monk couple had moved on to their northern home in Oane.
With a disappointed sigh, Lily flicked her fingers at the hearth, and fire immediately burst to life, lighting the clay walls with flickering light and shadows. "Damn it..." she muttered, "I was really hoping you would still be here..." Lily pulled out one of the table's chairs, "This might be better, though. This way, I can't get you into trouble..." She sighed again, this time at herself. She'd definitely been alone for too long if she was holding entire hypothetical conversations out loud.
She started to sit then stopped as a breeze blew her way from the door, a door that suddenly led to a star-filled void. Lily's eyes flicked to the windows; she could jump through them if necessary. Reaching for her staff in her bag, Lily pulled out the weapon to lean on casually and took a calming breath. Putting on an air of being relaxed while also being ready for a fight. She just hoped the approaching Warlocks wouldn't be able to hear her heart pounding as loudly as she could.
The man she'd taken note of before stepped out of the stars, the darkness pulling away from him as if he'd walked through some kind of liquid, showing nothing beyond until he passed the threshold. He held a long dagger with a black blade but didn't lift it threateningly, so Lily just cocked her head at him.
He bowed to her. Lily shifted her tilted head to the other side.
"Firewyrm..." Lily rolled her eyes at the title, but the Warlock continued, "I am here to bring you to the Waterwyrm. If you will..." he faltered as Lily laughed.
She made a show of it, resting her staff in the crook of her shoulder and hugging her sides. Wiping a non-existent tear from her eye, she gasped, "You... you think I'm going to go with you? Through that portal to who knows where? Ah... wow... I didn't know Warlocks had a sense of humor."
"Firewyrm-"
"I have a name," Lily snapped at him, then waved a dismissive hand. "There's no way I'm going with you. If you, or my watery sister, wish to speak to me, you can do it here." Lily sat in her chair, crossing her legs and bobbing her foot in the air. She knew they were mad, but did they honestly think she would walk with open arms into their din of snakes?
To her surprise, the Warlock bowed to her again, "I will pass your words to my lady." and walked back to the portal, actually turning his back to her, and stuck just his head through. It made him look like a headless corpse propped against a black star-filled wall, though his hands gesticulated as though he were using them as he spoke. Or flailing in death throws...
After a moment, his hands stopped moving, and he pulled his head back, stepping to the side and keeping his face down. Someone else came through his stary portal, and Lily stood once more.
It was a woman, not dressed in a robe but in a gown, with a well-oiled whip coiled at her waist. She surveyed Lily with eyes that were somewhere between green and blue, aqua, and slit like a cat's. Her hair fell in rippling waves to her waist and shone with the light of Lily's fire, metallic bronze. She had stripes of black scales on both her cheeks, one each pointing to the bottom of her eyes and trailing down her jaw and neck to twist around to her back, returning to peek out in points on the backs of both hands.
It couldn't really be this easy... could it? While Shon and the others traipsed around the countryside looking for the dragons and Warlocks, they came straight to her. How much easier would it have been if the damn kingdom had just swallowed its pride and let her help them instead of wanting to lock her up in the Mages Guild?
The water dragon looked Lily up and down three full times before settling on her eyes and saying only, "Firewyrm."
That snapped Lily out of her shock. She groaned, loud and dramatic. Twisting her chair around to face the woman, she let herself plop down into it, crossing her arms and legs petulantly this time. "Seriously? You too? I have a name, damn it."
The woman lost her imperious expression instantly. It was replaced with a look of confusion and... longing? "You... How? How did you discover it?"
The Warlock beside the door shifted uncomfortably, "Waterwyrm..."
But She snapped Her fingers at him; Lily flinched, but neither noticed, "Quiet. If I can finally find my name..." She turned back to Lily and stepped further into the room, "What is your name? How did you learn it?"
"I picked it," Lily said, waving a dismissive hand.
The Waterwyrm pulled Her head back and blinked at Lily, "You picked it? But we're dragons. We're supposed to know our names."
Lily shrugged, "And I do. Because I picked it." she pointed at the Warlock, "What right do they have to tell us, dragons by their own admission, what our names should or shouldn't be? Why should we give them that much power over us?" Lily took her time to look the water dragon over herself. They'd let Her leave Her tower to talk to Lily, and the other Warlock had said that She worked with them willingly. But was She really free if She couldn't even pick Her own name?
"What is it?" She breathed.
"Lily," Lily answered. The woman tilted Her head in question, and Lily continued, "Like the flower."
Her jaw dropped, and She spun on the Warlock, "Flowers have names?! You humans have named flowers but won't give me one?!"
The Warlock fell back from Her rage, bowing in supplication. That made Lily snicker, which drew the water dragon's attention again, "I will have a name as well. Thank you for bringing this to my attention."
Lily tilted her head, "You already have one in mind?"
She hesitated, Her eyes flicking around the room as if looking for inspiration, "I... I will think of something..."
Lily giggled, reaching into her bag. The Warlock started to lift his blade, but the water dragon snapped Her fingers at him again; this time, Lily didn't flinch. She pulled out a leather-bound folio, and opening it, withdrew an old and much-folded paper. Laying it out on the table, she lit another fire to float above the drawings, making the Warlock jump again. The water dragon ignored him, stepping forward to examine the six flowers drawn in exquisite detail on the page.
"My greatest treasure drew these for me," Lily told Her, she rested her palm over the wood lily, "This one is mine, a lily." She could almost see Shon as he was back then, nearly sixteen and sitting on the tower of Hamerfoss. He'd been the one to tell her that she could pick a name, that those who had told her she couldn't weren't around to stop her anymore. He had given her the one thing no one could ever take. A name. An identity...
The woman scanned the drawings then pointed at one of the flowers, "What is this one called? The one with the thorns..."
That one had been Lily's second choice. She smiled, "A rose. And those thorns are sharp."
The dragon smiled, "Rose..." She hummed to Herself, then looked at the ceiling and repeated it, "Rose..." then She spun on the Warlock and declared, "My name is Rose."
Turning back to Lily, Rose whispered, "Thank you... Lily."
Lily grinned at Rose and shrugged, "You picked it." she returned the picture to the folio with her other paper treasures, then sat back down and gestured for another chair.
Rose looked at the chair for a moment, then sighed and pulled it out, sitting like a noble on its edge. It reminded Lily of Lady Raina. "I heard you were looking for me," Rose said, "and yet you refused the invitation to my tower."
Lily shrugged, "I've had enough experience in Warlock towers, thanks."
Rose hummed, "Yes... I heard you had a hard time, even with Morndancer as one of your Archmages."
"A hard time?" Lily asked, uncrossing her legs and shifting her chair to lean over the table, "They kept me collared. At first, it sealed my magic completely..."
Rose shrugged, "Yes, well, we were young and needed to learn control, but-"
Lily kept talking over her, "Then they replaced it with one they could use to choke me with a snap of their fingers. They kept me locked in a basement and gave me books to read just so they would have something to take away when I misbehaved."
That had Rose blinking in shock, then she whispered, "That's why you left then?"
Lily laughed, though it was strained even to her ears. She tried with all her might to keep herself from crying at the memory as she spat the rest of her story to this woman who would work willingly with Warlocks. "They killed my treasures. The animal subjects they bred at my tower. They were my life, my everything; I loved them and they me, far more than the Warlocks, even Brom and Ran," who were kind, she reminded herself. "They were mine, and they just... killed them, all of them." her voice turned to a rumbling growl, not entirely human, "And I melted them for it."
And not just Morndancer, who she was sure was the actual perpetrator, but Brom and Ran, and the entire tower too. Her memories of the event were disjointed and scattered. She had gone into a ferocious rage, feeling nothing but hate and pain and seeing red. Then a road of ice... and blue eyes...
Rose lifted her hand to her throat and swallowed. Lily leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms once more. Then Rose surprised her by saying one word, "Good."
The Warlock in the corner spluttered, but they both ignored him and Rose continued, "I knew you were held against your will... and the others... but you must understand, they need us to save..."
Lily huffed, turning her nose up, "Save the world, yeah yeah, I've heard it. The storms are going to destroy everything, blah blah, but is the world really worth saving if that's the life I have in it? I won't let the kingdom hold me in one of their towers, and I'm not going to go back and let the Warlocks keep me either."
Rose opened her mouth, then closed it again, then opened it again, then sighed and rubbed her head. "There's far too much to address there..." she folded her hands in her lap, like a true Lady, "So why were you looking for me then, if you don't plan on helping?"
"I was going to help you if you needed it. None of us should be kept imprisoned for what we are. And if that nice Warlock lady who told me about you was right, and you were willingly working with the Warlocks, I was going to ask you my questions." Lily shrugged, "Once I have those, I'm going to look for the others and free them too. If they want to stay and work to 'save the world,'" she made air quotes with her fingers, "then that's their choice, but they should at least have a choice."
Rose hummed, tapping the scales on the back of her hand with one carefully painted nail; she really did live in luxury compared to Lily's experience. "You don't believe the world needs saving..."
"Why would it?" Lily asked, "And how would bringing back dragons help? They've been gone for thousands of years."
Rose took a deep breath and met Lily's eyes, "The world is in danger. Because Ryuugen is going to destroy it and make it anew."
Lily's counter died on her lips, and she blinked at Rose, finally managing, "Ryuu... Ryuugen?" One of the beings of origin that dwelt in the outer planes? The embodiment of both destruction and creation and father of the dragon gods.
Rose nodded, "He's the one the Warlocks have made their pact with, and they are the only reason he has waited this long. His children are the embodiment of his power, and they are the ones who shaped this world. Humans and their gods, Horsa and Hengist, came later, and yet it was humans who slew them. If we can't find a way to restore the dragons to the world, he will remake it."
"But..." Lily searched frantically for an argument, "It's been thousands of years."
Rose just shrugged, "What is time to a timeless being? And we have made some progress, creating the wyverns, leviathan, and drakes, even the draken and drakwalves. Though the greatest achievement was when they managed to make us."
Lily stared at Rose, trying to digest everything and come up with something to say. Finally, she forced herself to shake her head, "Us... dead ends, and transformed into humans..."
Rose curled her nose at that, "Yes, well, I'm working on a way to fix that, regain my true form. And find a way to either split an equal mix into two. Or, baring that, continuing your Talon's work to find the proper mix to allow for both life and reproduction before attempting another creation as costly as the one that made us."
Lily rubbed her face as she tried to sort her thoughts. She'd wanted answers but hadn't been prepared for what she might find. Ryuugen was a genuine threat; she knew it deep in her bones. But the kingdom would never allow dragons to return... " One thing at a time..." she whispered to herself, "Deal with what is right in front of you, the ones who are alive now..."
Louder, she said, "And what about the others? Do you really think it's worth keeping them locked up for this? The first dragons in millennia, even if we're dead ends?"
"We're not dead ends," Rose snapped at her, "Just because we can't breed doesn't mean we aren't still dragons, and I hear one of the Talons is working to fix that particular issue."
"You don't know for sure?" Lily asked.
"I..." Rose hesitated, then explained, "The Talons work as separate cells, though they occasionally share their results. Only the Central Talon knows everything we each do."
"The Central Talon..." the headquarters for the entire Warlock organization, they would know what Lily needed and where the others were.
Then a new voice spoke, another woman, "We would like to invite you to the Central Talon, Firewyrm, and Waterwyrm as well, if you wish." Lily and Rose both stood, Lily brandishing her staff and Rose reaching for her whip. In the corner, the Warlock smiled at them. His eyes had changed color, one going completely white and the other entirely black.
When he spoke again, his voice was male, but not his own, "You have questions, and we have answers."
Then it switched to female again, "You have enjoyed these last years of freedom and have worked with the kingdom for pay. Perhaps you might do the same with us?"
Back to male, "Information for work... and samples."
Female, "You need only meet with us and set your terms."
Male, "For the sake of the world..."
Female, "And all the people you love in it."
Lily somehow managed to keep her hands from shaking, but the fire died to coals behind her. Go to the Central Talon, walk right into what could very well be a trap at the headquarters of the Warlocks... But what if they were right, as she felt they must be... Shon. Could she really let Ryuugen, or anyone, destroy the world and everyone she loved if she could do something to stop it? And what of the kingdom? Couldn't they do something to stop it? Not without information, she thought, information these people have...
Lily brought her staff down and slammed it against the ground at her feet, "Fine. Give me a week."
The male voice spoke, "The Waterwyrm's Journeyman can bring you."
Then the female, "We have missed you, Firewyrm."
Lily growled at the Warlock intermediary, "I have a name; we both do, damn it."
Neither voice responded to that. Instead, the male said, "We will see you in a week's time."
The female said, "Or longer if you need it."
The male, "Don't take too long, however. Ryuugen grows impatient, and the kingdom is hunting us."
"Of course they are!" Lily shouted, "After what you did in Swailand. If you think I will ever help you with that kind of work-"
The female interrupted, "We will discuss your terms when you come see us in person."
Then the male, "Until then, Firewyrm..." The Warlock sagged, his eyes rolling back in his head as he crumpled. Rose didn't even reach for him. His portal disintegrated into black ash.
Rose sighed, sitting back down, "Well... I guess we're staying here for tonight." she shot a glance at Lily, "You'll really talk to them? Help us?"
Lily put her staff back in her bag and fell into her chair, "We'll see... I have my price." the freedom of her siblings and her answers, but most importantly, Shon's safety.
She needed to plan, something she didn't do much of in general. "I wish Master was here..." Lily whispered to herself. But Velona wasn't; all Lily had was Rose, someone who worked with the Warlocks.
As if reading her mind, Rose whispered, "Lily." the other dragon was looking down at her hands. "I want to free the others. You're right. We shouldn't be held against our will. We are dragons. This world is ours, our legacy and birthright. If nothing else, I will help you with that." she clenched her hands into fists, "This will not be a trap for you or for me. Together, we have the power to fight them."
Lily felt herself grin, "Well, we are dragons, after all."
Rose returned her smile, "And we will show them what that means if we have to."
So Lily would go to the Central Talon, the last place she ever wanted to go. She could only hope that Shon was having a better time than she was.
***
