Coruscare (35)

They climbed until they came to what might have been the highest point of the peak. They entered another large rotunda with a vaulted ceiling. To their left gaped a hole that allowed passage to the air out side of the mountain. The hole was as large as the initial one they had come through, allowing bright light from the sun to shine into the room. The light reflected off of the gold gilded floor and radiated brightly giving the room a warm glow.

A large table with an enormous matching chair stood opposite the group. Behind it, the indented wall was lined with shelves that bore the weight of an unimaginable number of books. 

This room was significantly more refined than the others they had come to see as of yet. The floor was not only gold, but etched with intricate drawings and Old World speech. The artists' extraordinary delineation of dragons and Folk made it seem as though they would lift themselves from the ground, and with golden skin, come to life in the room.

The dragon stopped in the center of the rotunda to turn towards the she-wolf and Caeli's companions. He crossed his arms sternly and raised a scaly eyebrow above his golden eyes.

"I'd like to hear how a bleeding human woman with one foot in the grave came to my kingdom.", he said, not unkindly.

The she-wolf told all that she knew. From that point Coruscare turned to the other two and asked them for their story.

And he got the entirety of it.

Aurum, seemingly unable to contain himself started from, well, the beginning.

He told of how Caeli's village had burnt and she had been cast aside by the townsfolk. He told of how she had saved his life, that she had passed the test of the spirit that lived in the Cheshire Wood. He recalled their encounter with Callon in Flumen. He spoke of a black beastly creature that put them all to sleep and whisked Caeli away for weeks on end. He explained her return and the circumstances that had transpired while she had been away. He spoke of the Old World map that led them to the hillsides where they met a ghostly dragon that had once tended the area and it's occupants. Of the prayers they had given and life being brought back to the hilly landscape. Expressed their shock at discovering that the mountains were actually an island that had not appeared on the map from the Old World. And thusly they made it to the point of which he had been told about by the she-wolf.

Coruscare stood silent for the whole of the story-telling, making mental notes of things of interest as the snake went on.

A black beast named Raven? That was new to him. He would ask the girl when she woke for more detail. If she awoke. This creature being present on his continent could be an early sign of danger to come.

He also noted that they must have met Ysera, the dragon who used to rule over the hillsides long ago when Folk outnumbered humans. He himself had placed her in charge due to her kind and caring nature. She was a good leader, strong and steadfast with many years of battle experience being just a few things that made her more than qualified. She was an excellent chief, until the end, he recalled it all too well.

The power that radiated from the girl and the Seeing Stone explained life being restored to the hills, but it did not explain how a simple human child acquired these powers.

There was much they all did not understand yet, and he intended to find out.

If the human was a threat she would be eliminated immediately. If she could possibly be an asset, that would change things as well.

He needed more information, and quickly.

He had a feeling that time was not on their side.

He chuckled sardonically to himself.

Had it ever been?

He would need the trio close, learn what he could, and re-evaluate as he went.

"Well, I must offer thanks for saving Aowin and her pups lives. She is one of my most trusted and powerful warriors, if the elfling had achieved his goal, Ausia and it's people would have suffered greatly. I will offer this thanks to the human as well, should she survive her wounds. In the meantime, I invite you to remain here. Rest, recuperate, your journey has been long, and surely difficult. I will have you shown to your quarters. All of the plateau is open to you both while you await news of your friend. If anything changes you will be found and informed immediately. Now I have much to discuss with Aowin and the grove. We will do what we can for your friend.", he said as he slammed his tail against the floor, three times consecutively.

A moment later, more wooden people with foliage for hair, arrived and began escorting Aurum and Brego out of the room.

"Thank you my lord! Thank you!", Aurum shouted from atop Brego as they were turned to leave. The kings words rang loudly against the walls of Aurum's mind, "... should she survive...".

The dragon smiled kindly and nodded his head in acknowledgment.

He turned to Aowin before saying, "I will see the girl."

——————————————————————————

Coruscare entered the infirmary once more. The grove members bowed to him upon entrance.

"Syll, what are we facing in terms of the woman's condition? Will she survive?", he said, his deep baritone kind but authoritative.

Syll resembled what a weeping willow would look like in human form. Her long hair was composed of silver leaved lengths, delicate and smaller leaves grew where a humans eyebrows would be. Her skin was bark like with rough textured surfaces. Despite this, she looked very young. Her cheek bones high, her face smoother than that of her body, her eyes large and green with long lashes framing them. Her lips full and dark.

"She will likely survive, my lord. Although, something strange is at work in the girl. She has yet to come to consciousness. Her condition is stable but indefinite. She may not wake ever again.", she said sadly looking back at the curtain that concealed the outsider from view. "I heard of what she did for our Aowin. I am grateful.", she said with a sad smile.

Coruscare rested a comforting claw on her shoulder. "As am I.", he responded reassuringly.

He began to step forward and Syll followed.

"We've been able to stop the bleeding but the wound is through and through, it will take much time for it to mend itself without the assistance of magic. Unfortunately for her, the dark magic used on her is something we are not well equipped to treat here in Ausia. The magic used to wound her is that of the Midnight Forest. It has been many years since their people have been seen. Our knowledge is limited. Ora and Cain are looking through the archives now searching for answers.", she said as they moved to the other side of the curtain to observe the woman.

As they came around the edge, two of the grove members were finishing up with Caeli and gathering their supplies. When they noticed the king they both bowed deeply until Coruscare gave them a nod and a grunt of acknowledgement. They picked up what they had brought and left the two to stand on either side of the woman's bed.

"It is so strange. Her slumber is deep. Akin to hibernation we've seen in the animals. What's more is since she's gotten here her hair is becoming rapidly more white. I've seen such changes due to stress and age. Perhaps the stress the wound is causing on her body is causing it? It's all very unusual. We've been effectively cut-off from the humans world. Many of us know very little about them. Our hands are tied until sufficient research and information can be found.", she sighed shrugging her shoulder simultaneously.

Coruscare observed the girl closely. The grove had removed her top and wrapped her torso and breasts in the fabric they had developed to pull infection away from wounds. Composed of cotton from trees and willow bark, it was often used to apply plant based coagulants to keep a patient from bleeding to death. The many years of peace had resulted in their ability to experiment and develop things that could greatly improve their lives, this fabric just being one of many.

The girls breath came quickly and painfully. Coruscare found it difficult to see such a small fragile creature so painful.

At seeing her unconsciously furrowed brow he turned to Syll.

"It needs time to work, my lord. The apprentices just finished their work. She had quite a bit of dead tissue that needed removed in order to encourage the healthy tissue. She also had a significant amount of dirt and horse hair in her wound so cleaning it took longer than we expected. Give the bandaging time to work, she will hurt less soon. Especially since her slumber is so deep.", Syll said smiling sadly at her master. He had always been kind despite his quick temper. Her master had always cared deeply for all living things. Although this woman was human, her master felt pain on her behalf. Syll was not surprised. She had heard how devastated he had been when the quarrel between Folk and Hunan had become fact and no longer rumor. He had always believe that the world could be shared back then.

Syll knew he put on a show of being strict and stringent about isolating himself from the humans, but she also knew deep down that he cared either way.

This fact made him a good ruler.

"I will join the others in the research and prepare the treatments she will need going forward. Should you need us or have questions let us know.", she bowed deeply before giving him a gentle pat on the arm before walking away from the woman's bedside.

Coruscare crouched next to the woman, elbows resting on his knees, clawed fingers woven together in thought.

How long since he'd seen a human so closely?

Had he not enjoyed their existence until things turned sour? He recalled the days in the beginning when humans and Folk lived side by side, advancements in knowledge and science made leaps and bounds at the time. Both working together for a better world. It had been a utopia in his eyes.

He sighed heavily. The sight of the human exhumed something deep within him. A hurt he had buried hundreds of years ago. A hurt that had resulted in the mountains becoming a lonely island.

He reached a clawed hand to lift a thick strand of hair and allowed it to run off of his finger silkily.

He could not turn her away. He could not leave her to hurt. She had saved a wolf 10 times her size.

He chuckled sadly. He noted that it would be much more humorous had she been able to walk away unwounded. He admired her bravery, very few humans possessed that trait, he thought scornfully to himself.

He lifted himself to straighten, the air around swirled and carried her scent up to him. It made him stop still as a statue.

She smelled like the sun and fog she traversed through on her way there, mingled with horseflesh and the botanical cleaning solutions the grove had used to clean her up. But there was more, something underneath, something he could only describe as sweet.

He huffed vehemently and turned on his heel to walk away, getting tangled in the curtain as he did so.

He swore under his breath and headed for the rotunda at the peak. He had work to do and very little time to do it.