Ch 51 The Decisions

Newly invigorated by Sophie's smile, I left our hidden home with confidence. I made my way to the main path before I attempted to call Taaffeite. The horn she gave me was small and made almost no sound that I could hear. There was no way for me to know if it worked or not. There was no way to know for sure right away. It would take time for her to travel here.

What if she was asleep? Out waiting for other eggs to hatch? What if, in the worst-case scenario, she were dead and never came? How long would be a reasonable amount of time to wait for her?

Maybe I should meditate while I wait. I sat down against a tree just off the path and closed my eyes. There seemed to be no time lag between closing my eyes and being in my darkness. I was almost hesitant to step on a light. Would the malevolent voice I heard still be here? Like someone who could hack a phone line and intercept calls.

Could my own mind be hijacked?

If I never try, I'll never know. I stepped onto Rage's light.

"You called again? What happened last time? I could hear you talking but, it seemed as though you could not hear me. Who were you talking to?"

Rage's words were troubling. I thought he could experience everything I did. Why did he have no knowledge of what happened?

"What do you mean? What happened?"

Once again, he could read my thoughts and I forgot about that fact.

"When I tried to call you last night, you never came. I heard a voice calling out for help. I remembered the voice as Delicia. Another voice told me to go to the southern base of the tallest mountain in the Faelands. I fear that Delicia is in danger. Why don't you remember what I saw and heard?"

"I don't know. Something must have been interfering with the two of us. Call out the others. Do any of them recall what happened?"

The thought of all the voices in my head at the same time was not one that I enjoyed. Especially Sorrow. Her form still haunts me.

"It's just you. She won't hurt you. She won't hurt herself."

Rage reassured me. I reluctantly began to comply. I started with Wisdom and moved on to Mother after. I then brought out Anger and Fear. I took a deep breath and brought out Sorrow last.

I looked down before her form could be completely revealed to me. I saw her feet and legs as she approached. Just the sight of her skin brought my heart pain. I turned away before she could get any closer.

I walked to the center of the room with sorrow at my back.

"If you were all listening to my conversation with Rage, I need to know. Did any of you know what happened last night? The voice of Delicia and the other voice?"

No seemed to be the common consensus.

"If I may..."

Wisdom spoke up.

"Maybe your analogy of a hacker was not too far off. At the same time, what if it was an unintended side effect, you not being able to hear or see us."

Rage nodded his head in agreement before speaking up.

"I agree. So few people know how the potion of Rage can really work. If they know about the potion, maybe they know only what the stories are. The potion itself could be the reason why you are the target. If so, I can only think of two reasons why this individual wants to see you. Either they have a way to extract the potion from your body or they have a way to subdue you and want to get you out of the way for the sake of Eyse. Maybe even out of their own way."

"If they want the potion, why not just go to the elves and take it? Don't they always have one on hand? Wouldn't an elf army be easier to get through than getting at me?"

"The elves don't have a potion right now. You are the potion."

I tilted my head.

"I don't get it."

"The potion's primary ingredient is a flower that only grows when the presence of the previous flower is entirely gone or, diminished enough to have almost no power left. That is why there was never more than one potion of Rage user at a time. Never more than one potion at a time."

"But, you said you were the first? Were you not still alive before you got into my head? All the other users came before me and you were still alive then, no?"

"I was alive, yes. But, when I diluted the potion in my blood with the next potion that I made to extend my life, my powers were diminished. I could not do all the things you can for a vast majority of my life. Thus, a new flower bloomed. The crimson flower of Anemone. Other colors of the same flower are found all over the world. The crimson-colored Anemone only grows one at a time and in one place. A hidden chamber that the elf city of Ula Thyfe is built around. The color of the potion comes from that flower."

"So, a new flower will not bloom until I lose my powers or get sent to another dimension?"

"Exactly."

Rage seemed satisfied that I was able to keep up with his explanations.

"That means that they could have a way to drain my power since there isn't any magic to send me away. I can't be careless and let myself be hit by just anything."

"We can help."

Anger chimed in.

"Your survival is ours as well. If you need to rely on our powers, don't hesitate to ask. Anything for you!"

Fear also put in his two cents. I was dreading hearing that next voice. It never came. Instead, Mother walked up to me.

"I can feel what you do in your heart. I know it hurts. I know you miss her. But, this isn't her. She is gone."

Mother wrapped her arms around me. I didn't return the hug. I knew she was just trying to comfort me.

"You know sorrow is only another part of you. Her form comes from your deepest pain. You don't have to dread the sight of her. Use her form to your advantage. Remember her in all her beauty. Like a picture to remember her by. Would you shun a picture of her that you could keep in a pocket?"

No. I guess I wouldn't. I would treasure it. Why does a fully moving bodily image of her bother me so? I pulled away from Mother. She smiled at me and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

"Thanks."

I said. I turned around to find Mery's image staring at me. She was simply idle. No emotion or voice. I got closer to inspect her.

She had on one of her more commonly used clothes. I remember seeing her in them on a regular basis. Her top was a violet color and her skirt was white. I liked the getup when she wore it because it showed off her legs and cleavage.

This was what she wore on the last day I saw her in humanoid form. It brought back more memories of moments we shared.

I had lost count of the days early on in this world. When her birthday came up, she realized that she had no idea when my birthday was. I was as much lost as she was on that subject. She decided that we would just use the same day for both of us. I never really advertised my birthday but, I was excited to have something like that to share with her.

She made a cake for me. I asked for help from Pinyola to make a popular kind of cake among the Setangyan for her. She was so happy when I showed up with it. I had cut a piece for her and was walking over to give it to her.

I had tripped and the cake landed in her face. I thought I was about to witness the first truly angry face from her. After a few seconds of silence from all the guests and her, she began to laugh. As she did so, some of the cake fell into her cleavage. She ran to the bathroom to try to clean it off. I followed to try to help her since it was my fault.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to."

"I know. It's okay. Did you like your cake? Did you?"

"Anything made by you is good. This was no exception."

She turned to me before she could finish wiping off the frosting from her chest. I got close to feign a kiss and went straight for the frosting.

"AHAH! Lake! STOPIT! S... stop it."

She lowered her voice to a whisper.

"People are going to think we are fooling around in here. They are?"

"Aren't we?"

After I was done, there was no more frosting to clean off.

"That's enough, you."

"Aw, come on! I didn't even get to undress you!"

"That comes later. It does? For now, we still have guests."

She gave me the eye to indicate that the fooling around was done for now.

The memories I had of these clothes were countless. It was bittersweet to remember.

I reached out to touch her shoulder. As I expected, no form means nothing to touch. It was a disappointing feeling.

"I can show you more clothing from your past if you wish."

Sorrow spoke. Her voice was just as painful to remember as the clothes. But... Mother was right. To be able to have this vivid memory of her is beyond what any normal individual on Eyse can ever hope to have. Paintings are common but, photographs are not something this world has discovered. I have something even better than a photograph.

"No. Just stay like this for now. You look good."

My voice was meek.

"Okay, Lake."

Rage was on high alert.

"Lake! Something is coming!"

I looked back, he seemed worried.

"Got it. Thanks for the heads up."

I left my darkness and Mery's form behind.

I opened my eyes to the bright day. I used the leaves of the tree above me to compare where the sun was before and after meditation. I must have been meditating for nearly an hour. The sun was in a noticeably different position.

Suddenly, I heard a large crash in front of me and I felt the ground shake violently. The form before me began to change until Taaffeite was revealed to me.

"Lake! I'm sorry it took so long. I was defending a lost hatchling from a lava creature. I wasn't able to get away until the other dragons came to help."

"That's okay. I need your help."

"What's wrong?"

"I need to get to the Faelands. It may..."

"I told you, emergencies only! I am not some transport for casual travel! I..."

"It may be life or death for a friend of mine."

She got quiet.

"I was told to meet someone at the southern base of the tallest mountain there. I don't know what will happen if I don't go. It could be a trap. It could be a lie and my friend is in no danger at all. I don't have all the info but I know one thing. I have to see for myself if I can help."

She exhaled a large amount of heated breath. She lowered her wing to give me access to her back.

"Get on. I can get you there."

"Thank you, Taaffeite."

"Just get on. Do you have some kind of weapon?"

I began walking up her wing.

"No. I don't have any."

She gave me an annoyed look right as I reached the center of her shoulders.

"You seem a bit useless. Are you sure you want to go?"

"I think I have to. As far as I'm aware, I am the only one who knows about my friend. Aside from my wives and now you."

She let out a sigh.

"I guess I have to do everything for you."

She began rummaging through what I can only assume was her under-scales. Eventually, she came out with a longer scale that was just as crystalline as the rest of her. It was long though. She began to chew on it for a minute.

She spit it out and it landed in her hand. The sound of crystal on crystal was eerie and haunting. She reached back and opened her hand. The scale was crudely shaped into a sword. A short dulled handle on one end and a longer-edged blade on the other.

I picked it up. It was actually heavier than I thought it would be.

"Thanks."

"Don't lose it. It is evidence that I exist."

"I understand. I am ready now."

She reached up with her wings and made a herculean flap downward. We were already twenty feet above the ground before she began to flap at a regular pace.

Once more, I was flying high with Taaffeite. We flew above the clouds. It had not been that long since the last time I was up here. It was still an amazing sight.

An hour into our flight, something in the distance caught my eye. There was a dark cloud ahead to the east. It didn't look like a natural storm cloud.

"Taaffeite. Can we check that out?"

I pointed toward the dark area in the distance. She brought her head to the side and saw the direction I was pointing.

"Are you sure? It may delay us."

"I'm sure. Whatever it is, it looks ominous."

"I agree."

She veered to our right and made a B-line for the black smoke. Another half an hour and we were nearly in the thick of it. She dropped altitude until we were just below the clouds. They were spotty over here.

The smoke was rising from Bastion. I could never forget the shape of the mountain that the humans lived on. There were abundant fires and chaos across the city. I didn't need Taaffeite's scales to see that much.

Maybe it was an uprising. I never did learn about the fate of the city after I left. Their King was dead. I have no idea if he had any heirs.

"You should take a closer look."

Taaffeite informed me. I was curious now. Her scales in front of me transformed into a magnifying glass like before. I began shifting around the landscape.

"Orcs?"

"Morcs. They are a similar species compared to orcs but they are much shorter and have different facial features."

Morcs? It was hard to see but, I think I could make out pig-like snouts on them. They were roaming in groups and attacking the humans. Setting fires and causing chaos all throughout Bastion.

This was not the beginning of an invasion. They were cleaning up. This has been going on for a while now. The humans were on the losing side.

"What do you want to do, Lake?"

Should I forsake Delicia and attempt to help the people below?

Fuck.

I hated choices like this in the video games I played back home.

...

"Lake?"

"Let's continue on to the Faelands. I don't know if I can really make a difference here."

Taaffeite's face seemed unsure about my decision. I'm honestly not sure about it myself.

I made the call though. I'll have to live with it.