377. Of reflections, delays and a little arrival

Cassandra Pendragon

I had always loved trees. The coarse bark under my fingers, the branches I could wrap my tails around, the smell of life pouring into me, the soft, verdant hue of sunbeams filtering through a canopy of leaves and blossoms… not to mention that it was a perfect hiding spot. Don't ask me why but somehow most races, the winged ones were an exception, never bothered to look up. They'd stumble along on the ground, peeking behind bushes, scratching in the dirt, but they never raised their heads to the sky. Strange, really, since most cultures associate the sky with the heavens. Something to strive for, something to admire, but they never found the courage to gaze upon what they thought was sacrosanct. Which, of course, made it all the more appealing.

As you might have guessed I had run away, once again, after Arthur had taken off. He wanted to ensure that everything was in order on his ships and that the cubs had been stowed away safely. Which had put me in a decidedly tough spot. With that additional delay there was no chance in hell I'd be able to get my perky ass away from here before Jabba was going to make an appearance. And I couldn't even try with a clean conscience since either the dwarfs or the kitsune would run into him midair if I didn't speak up. Not that I actually expected mayhem and murder but if something was going to happen to them, I'd regret it for the rest of a, possibly, very long life.

So, instead of rushing through my goodbyes I had stretched my wings and soared back up Greta's tree, balancing on one of the highest branches, the entire island sprawling away in front of me. Up here it was peaceful, the noise, the smell… the breath of the city muted. I could still hear the celebrants fooling around below me, I could still see the colourful, effervescent waves, surging in and out of the Garden, but it felt much farther away, almost like a dream I could choose to forget. Up here, I could take a few minutes to order my thoughts without anyone stepping on my tails. And I needed it, dearly. Even by my standards the last two hours had been… overwhelming.

Kana's and Brianna's connection, Serena's prayers, not to mention that I had actually faced Amazeroth and won, Arthur's plans… in a single word I felt drained. I had never expected to leave behind some tidied up place, a pipe dream that had come crushing down around my fluffy ears when I had decided against visiting each and every troublemaker Rachmahn had written down and handed the list over to Mordred, but I hadn't thought I'd be stumbling across even more secrets and conspiracies on my very last day. Not to mention there was a good chance that a handful of assassins, powerful enough to threaten dragons, were right about now plotting our downfall. At least if Viyara could be trusted and I did trust her. Explicitly.

Which made my situation all the more difficult. The most rational decision would probably have been to stay. There was nothing more important than keeping your own house in order, especially when at war, but I simply couldn't. I missed Ahri. To a degree that was just as painful as pathetic. It felt like an open wound in my chest every time I thought about her and if I had to spent weeks without seeing, without touching her I'd most likely end up making everything worse. Much worse.

No… I had to go and I had to trust my family to deal with the mess I was going to leave behind. I was convinced they could, in most regards they were even more suited to the task than I was. My mom was much better versed in anything political and my brother was… well, first and foremost he was calloused. If he put his mind to something he'd see it through. With Greta, Sera, the two newly arrived dragons and the rest of Free Land backing them up there was no way in hell they'd need me, but still… I was an immortal and they weren't. It was as simple as that. 

Fortunately I was very much able to travel between the Emerald Island and Free Land, if push came to shove within the blink of an eye, with or without portals, otherwise I probably wouldn't have found the courage to actually leave. As it stood… I just had to convince myself that it wasn't a mistake, that I wasn't putting my own aching heart above the needs of the people I was responsible for. Hence the few minutes I had stolen, even though there was still so much to do. I had to know what the Broken Wheel had stumbled across while he had been out and about, I had to make the introductions I had promised, I had to properly say goodbye to my blood, I had to… face the music, one way or the other.

Sighing I got to my feet, gently caressing the warm, vibrant bark. "It hasn't been long, but I'm still going to miss you," I whispered. "I never thought I'd find a new home only to leave the very next day." A soft breeze rustled through the canopy, as if the enormous plant was trying to reply. Maybe it did. A speck of colour glided through the air, red and white petals danced in the wind and a soft touch made me shiver as the first blossom that had ever bloomed here caressingly brushed against my cheek. With a nimble movement I snatched it before it could vanish among the green expanse. The little thing was delicate and beautiful, its sweet aroma an unspoken promise I couldn't quite understand. My fingers trembled slightly as they closed around the magnificent memory made real. "I'll keep it safe until my return," I promised and fanned out my wings, allowing the breeze to carry me away from my aerie. "You do the same for my family," I added, just as I passed by the last branches, their leaves dancing in a final, mute farewell.

A trickle of energy reached my eyes and my vision expanded as I soared into the sky. The city unfolded below me like a chessboard, red, grey, brown and black tiles clustered together to form a maze of roofs, divided by deep, shadowy alleys and surrounded by an impenetrable forest. Plumes of smoke rose here and there, some from regular fires, others from the smouldering ruins that hadn't been put out properly, yet. The former mansion of the Ironhands looked like a festering wound from up here, a pitch black ulcer that had been burned away, leaving behind a dead and aching scar. The impressive residences the Captains had built for themselves were another matter. Kirena's home was a crumpled, pillaged ruin on one of the hills just outside the city proper but the others hadn't fared half as badly. Even Captain Dawn's villa still stood, despite the lifeless, abandoned air the erstwhile magnificent building gave off. Its broken windows felt like empty eyes to me, mirroring the ambitious yet futile attempts of his former owner to reach for the stars, leaving behind a crippled husk, an eerie memorial for misguided pride and deceptive dreams. 

The warm air guided me higher into the sky like a gentle embrace, carrying with it the myriad of smells I had already gotten used to. The miasma of too many humans living together on too little land, the scent of granite, breathing in the sun, the distant flavour of verdant trees and tropical plants, mixed with the musky aroma of wild, roaming animals, the salty, ever present strength of the sea and, of course, the calming, welcoming taste of cherry trees. There were other, fainter notes as well, the individual scent of my friends, which I would have recognised everywhere by now, the enticing odour of the celebration, prepared food and spilled liquor, and the almost drowned out nimbus of magic, like the tingling of ozone and stardust in the back of my throat.

My eyes roamed from the skeletal walkways and bridges of the harbour, lonely and abandoned without the fleet of ships I had seen on my first day despite the few dwarven and kitsune vessels, along the broad, empty roads that connected the remaining markets and the Garden to the colourful, lively sea of faces, surging peacefully below me. The bright, intimidating display I had provided not even half an hour ago was already forgotten, the eccentricities and little faults of Free Land's magical population forgiven in exchange for a taste of peace and camaraderie… fuelled by copious amounts of free booze. Even the moving, glittering mountains, Sera had never transformed back after having used her bulk to shield me from the onlookers and Quenda and Narros had taken the chance to roam around in their actual skin in stride, didn't stand out. True enough, they were more than eye catching from high above but the waves of people didn't break around them anymore like the tide on the shore, they surged and flowed peacefully like a calm river, dancing around a rocky outcrop at its centre. 

A few, fragmented lines of foreign songs, each preformed in a different language, reached me, the soft whispers of the wind a perfect canvas to highlight the intricate, interwoven melodies. A gentle smile tugged on the corners of my mouth as I looked down on a scene that could have been taken from a fairytale, the pain, the strive… the inhumane fear of the last days nothing but a powerless shadow of the past, vanquished and banished by the blossoming ties of an actual community. I wasn't conceited enough to think it had been our doing alone, but we had helped, we had burned away a major part of the poisonous, infected scab and now something new could actually grow.

My ears twitched and swivelled as deep, gravely voices rang out, accompanying the slow, resounding beat of a drum I knew all too well. I turned around, expecting to see the dwarven ships covered in smoke while the furnaces were fired up, maybe a few stragglers who said their goodbyes to the kitsune they had come to know but instead the ships, dwarven and kitsune alike, appeared like prodded anthills, teeming with unfettered movement while bearded and tailed soldiers reached for their weapons. Damn it!

"You can say that again," Viyara quipped. "What did you expect? That they'd take the appearance of a ship, about twice as large as any one of ours, in stride? It's a miracle they haven't spotted it sooner, the kitsune especially. What do we do now?"

"What I didn't want to do in the first place. Is Mordred with you?"

"Yes. He and your mother are listening right now… so is Reia. Should I exclude her?"

"No… she's been through enough already, she knows the rules." My sister's voice, slightly distorted through Viyara's mid, replied:

"Stay close to you and do as I'm told?"

"Precisely. Viyara, would you mind carrying them? Arthur and Richard as well. We'll pay a visit to our new friends. Maybe I'm wrong and they're only here to say hello."

"Tell yourself whatever you want. Aurelia is going to come as well… so is Sera. Any objections?"

"Would it make a lick of a difference if I had any?"

"Not really. I'll be up there with you in a moment. Anything else?"

"What about our fey and the elves?"

"Aspera, Astra and Lyra are still in the tree. I don't know what they're up to, but I'm sure you'll find out as soon as we're back. Erya and Morgan have their hands full with their new stray. That wolf keeps them on their toes, even without his magic. I don't think you'd want to leave him unsupervised or take him with you, do you?"

"No, I really don't. Thanks. I'll wait here." She severed the connection just as I felt the warmth of her magic spread through every one of her tendons, every muscle in her body. A moment later a golden shimmer engulfed a large chunk of the Garden and when it faded away another towering dragoness had appeared on the lawn. Damn it, with four of them around I really had to start thinking about species-appropriate husbandry… the island we were on wasn't that larger after all. Shoving the stray thought aside, which would probably have earned me quite a bit of grief if anybody had picked up on it, I focused on the small dot in the sky, the root of my most recent headache. 

The scene on board hadn't changed much, the same stalwart rows of guards sheltered the ugly worm in their midst, but he wasn't lazying around on his cushions anymore. Instead he was leaning against the railing, his fat, pale, squishy coils quivering excitedly. For a moment I thought he was marvelling at the dragons below him, taking in their awe inspiring appearance, but half a heartbeat later his slitted, yellow eyes turned to me and found my gaze. Surprised I stilled in midair, holding his inquisitive stare for a few seconds until a wide smile revealed his sharp, pointed teeth. Reflexively I searched for the traces of a spell, the distance was far to great for him to see my face without the help of magic, but there were none. Apparently his eyesight was much better than I had expected, much better than I had thought possible.

He inclined his head in an almost demur gesture before his thin, bloodless lips formed words in the common tongue: "greetings, Lady Pendragon. I come in peace bearing gifts. I will halt our passage. Please, do join me with how ever many allies you think appropriate. I'll save the introductions for when me meet. It's been a while since I have left my home but rest assured, my manners haven't suffered." I held his gaze for a moment longer before I jerked my head, an admittedly barely acceptable response but his behaviour had taken me off guard. A shiver ran along his bloated body and with an unnatural movement he seemed to fold in on himself, turning around and slithering away toward the massive doors that led into the bowels of the ship.

I shook my head, grinning self deprecatingly. I wasn't yet fully convinced that the new arrival wasn't out for blood or bounty but the first encounter had definitely gone differently from what I had expected. If anything I was the one who had made fool of herself, hovering confusedly on the spot, while the ugly creature had not only known my name, my title, but had also taken the initiative and turned us into guests he had cordially invited. Not that I particularly cared about the subtle dynamics but I knew my mom, at the very least, would have been impressed. As for me… the refined understanding of human interactions made me hope that I wouldn't have to burn my way through yet another sky ship. This one in particular would have been a waste as a destroyed wreck. I didn't know enough about the trade but I'd have put its value at the price of a large palace, or maybe even a small island… including the inhabitants. Goodness gracious, maybe he actually did have something to offer, after all.

My mind churning I whirled around and called out mentally: "Viyara, before you leave, please look for Rachmahn. He should be conscious again. If he wants, he can bring his son as well. Ask Greta to lead them outside. Something tells me that we're going to need a merchant much more dearly than our magic." The dragoness had just been about to spread her wings, Aurelia, Reia and my mom seated safely on her back while the rest had climbed up onto Sera's mountainous shoulders, when she paused. A ticking sensation in the depth of my mind told she was once again rummaging through my memories. A second later she replied:

"Good Lord," apparently Ahri wasn't the only one whom I had infected with Earth's colloquialisms, "who in the hell…," a feathered shadow shot away from the group around Kana and Brianna and fluttered towards the dragoness. A moment later I heard the voice of the Broken Wheel:

"Take me along. Me and Nightshade. I already told you that I've stumbled across something interesting, didn't I? Well, maybe you should have listened sooner. I don't know him but I know his race. They've been subjugated and nearly eradicated by Free Land. They were a considerable force around these parts, almost two decades ago. He isn't the only one who's made an appearance ever since you and your nemesis have stirred up a storm. They're smelling blood and whatever he's here for, it won't be to offer his unconditional help. You'll need us." Damn it!