“Awaken. Heed my call.”

…

Today was already off to a great start with both my head pounding and my joints aching for reasons I couldn’t yet understand. Thank you Charles, I am aware of the psychic invasion, you can turn off the alarm now. I didn’t want to have to deal with this today, but if the dragon’s going to be a prick and give me orders while I’m trying to sleep then by golly it looks like I’ve got another reason to be at the ritual tonight. Looking around the room told me that perhaps I wasn’t the only one who’d heard something in their dreams, because all three of my brothers were looking quite a shade paler and one hundred percent more anxious than they should be. Oh dear, it looks like I’m going to have to be the stable one today.

I went and checked on them one at a time, starting with Mibata and ending with Tokols in order of where their beds were in relation to mine, and each of their stories matched mine to a small degree but was custom tailored for each person. Mibata saw loads of people chasing him in an angry mob, Humey watched as the world was set on fire, and Tokols fell into a hole with no bottom. For once I felt a tiny bit grateful that my dream was always just the colorless empty city with no actual sky, and not some play on my deepest fears or whatever these visions meant for them. Here, you three read these breathing exercise notes from this parchment while I go get mom and dad.

I’d never tried waking them before, but now that I was it became apparent that mom was a dangerously light sleeper that reacted to being woken by grabbing you in a panic, while dad could sleep through an earthquake without stirring. I don’t want to bother writing to explain and it’ll be a lot faster if you two go and check in on the situation yourselves. They went into the dorm and began to counsel my brothers and tell them it was alright, but I knew that something good to eat would do wonders for their worried minds. Screw it all, I need some comfort food right about now and I don’t want to have any breakfast food right now, it’s burger time.

Everything after the thought of burgers went by as a sort of mechanical blur. Mince the meat until moldable, slice the ingredients that taste like toppings but have absolutely no visual similarities to Earth veggies, cut the bread into slices and set aside, and break into the cheese wheel for a few slices of that good stuff. Damn, how am I going to heat this stuff up… oh hi mom, when did you come over here? Well since you’re here and are a fellow fire heart like your big red son, maybe you have the same level of temperature control and can be my sous chef for today. As expected, she’s a natural living stovetop, and I’ve still got my burger flipping skills from fast food work that I hated every summer.

I must have really been spacing out when I was cooking, because I didn’t even notice that everyone had come into the room and were trying to get my attention. It seemed that they all tried at least once, but when mom told them to leave me be they all just went silent and waited for me to return to this plane of existence. Sorry everyone, I must have just detached myself so I could keep composed, but now that that’s all taken care of I’m going to enjoy one of these from a spot on the kitchen floor. Yes boys you can all sit around with me if you want, but don’t expect me to contribute to the conversation until I’m done eating.

I just kept eating my burger in silence as a conversation went on around me, but I couldn’t pay attention to it through my own thoughts. How do I approach the topic of going to the moon-rise ritual today when the damn dragon god or whatever is under the altar sent out a psychic pulse to all four of us? No way would any of them agree to going with me after something as jarring as that, and I didn’t have the heart to ask because I knew they’d try to come along for my protection. I can’t break my promise to Vimna, but I also can’t bring myself to go alone. Damn it, I have to come up with a way to meet both criteria without stepping on any tails, but how can I do that if it’s a lose-lose scenario?

I was fully trapped in a mental loop of my own making when I felt a pinch on my elbow, one that actually hurt quite a bit. Mibata was the culprit, and in his otherwise passive expression was a subtle look of deep seated concern.

“You have remained detached from the conversation for long enough, Kayrux. Come to your senses and tell us what is bothering you.”

Right, you make it sound so easy to do like it won’t cause a small feud between you and the others again. I went ahead and chalked down an answer to his query, all the while grumbling in my mind about how he was a nosy brother that was too nice for this world.

“I can’t stop thinking about the moon-rise and the dreams we all had. Something is happening again, and we’re being strung along without any way of pulling back.”

He nodded along with the others, then turned back to me with a reassuring hand on the knee.

“That is what we were just discussing, if you were not aware. We had just determined that playing along might get us closer to some answers, but we also know better than to go in blind or unarmed.”

For real? I looked at everyone else in turn, and the general consensus seemed to be that they were all in agreement, though not everyone looked eager to go through with this. Tokols looked to be the most disgruntled with this decision, and made his voice heard for what must be the second telling of his perspective.

“Like we’d just talked about while you were in your own head again, we’re going to do what we do best and do some scouting and investigating. Humey wants to go to the scribe hall with dad, mom’s gonna chat with the guards again to see what the status is, and both me and Mibata will scout things out. I hate this plan, but it’s our best shot at keeping any surprises from getting us by the tail. We were wondering where you’d be best going to, and we thought that going to Tuleni’s would be the safest choice.”

I really wanted to protest this idea, but Mibata pushed my slate down so Humey could be the next to speak his mind.

“We’re getting nowhere trying to hide from the elders, and now we’ve got the dragon telling us to show up tonight anyways. Plus we all know that your helper in the workshop is going to be on the altar tonight. Mibata told us about how close you two were since she got bigger, so it made sense that you’d be there even if we weren’t around. Anyone who’s close enough to be like your sister is our sister too, so we’ll be there for her too. In the meantime it’s a good idea to keep you somewhere we know the elders don’t go, and Tuleni’s got a reputation of not backing down to anyone but Faerkurch.”

Dad finished dabbing at the corner of his jaws with a rag when he included himself in the discussion as well.

“It’s a good idea, and it gives you a way to talk to her about having her treat your friend if she is sick afterwards. Even if there is nothing bad happening tonight because of the elders or the ritual, it is still good to be there to pay respects to the dragon in hopes that it shows mercy. Although the odds are small, tonight might pass by like a regular moon-rise and end with no dead or rejected.”

Both Mibata and I snapped to look at him when he said that last part, my brother acting as my very own voice in that instant.

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“What did you mean by that? What happens to those rejected?”

Our parents shared a nervous glance, but it was mom who gave us the answer through a hard swallow.

“Those rejected by the dragon are taken to a special function scanner that lets them choose their fate. Some become forever miners, others tunnel surveyors, and in rare cases exiles. They are considered cursed and rarely live happy lives. The one rejected from your moon-rise chose to become a miner for life.”

Humey nodded solemnly as she said this.

“Yeah, I know him. Poor guy works all the time and has few friends. Only the younger crew like him because we’re close in age, but the meaner guys treat him like…they treat him like he’s got no value as a person.”

My hands balled into fists hard enough to make my knuckles pop. Really, so we’re running a social outcasting or exile system if you don’t get chosen by this holy dragon? I’m going to find whoever made this system of rules and introduce them to my fists. God, just imagining Vimna becoming some kind of lonely outcast and spending her life scorned by her peers made my jaw clench and my vision blur. Was I actually snarling right now, or was that just my imagination?

Mibata squeezing my knee and jostling me slightly told me that perhaps my animalistic frenzy was a real thing that was going on. Mom seemed to agree with me as she let out a worn out sigh and put a hand to her head.

“Your anger is justified. This is not how things were run in days of past times. Tuleni tells that she was one of the last raised in the old way before an elder made this new system. That elder is gone now, but the system has remained and become harsher as the years went away. People with good hearts hate the way it is, and people with cruel minds abuse the rules to make others suffer. Despite its cruelty, it is very rare that any are rejected, and even rarer that they stay here and accept such a cruel life in favor of willing exile to find a new life.”

That didn’t make me feel any better about the status quo, in fact it just made me even angrier at the assholes running this show. Tokols hissed through his teeth as he rose to his feet, an uncharacteristic scowl coming over those deep amethyst eyes of his.

“It’s cruel and twisted, and I hate that. I’m going to swing by the armory and get my knives. Hu, Bata, you two wanna come and get some gear too?”

Both of them rose to their feet, and Humey extended a hand to help pull me up. He smiled at me briefly before responding to Tokols.

“I don’t think the guards are gonna be happy if we show up with weapons, and I don’t like the idea of bringing them either. Your knives are fine and Mibata’’s dagger might slip by, but that awful mace the armory gave me is too big and rough feeling for me to use right and I don’t want to bring it anyway. Not gonna stop you if you don’t count me in on that part of the plan. I’ll get my gloves from the armory though since they’re meant to stop sharp things from cutting me up.”

Mibata went and got my bag for me while Humey spoke, and as he handed it over he smirked at the steel hammer hanging next to the joint between strap and bag.

“Kayrux has made herself a fine weapon that is easily disguised as a simple tool of her trade, and bladed implements are a part of our trade. I could easily pass my dagger off as a mushroom cutting tool, and Tokols could say that his knives are for surgical purposes. I’m sorry to say that even if there was a weapon you were comfortable with carrying around it would not be easily explained as anything other than a weapon unless it were a pickax or hammer, both of which you have mentioned to be unwieldy for you. Your assessment of bringing your gloves is a sound decision that I agree with wholeheartedly.”

Mibata and Humey shared a kind of forearm impact from elbow to wrist with their hands curled into fists, like some sort of chivalrous high five. Tokols looked almost jealous of their gesture, but his change to a smile was a welcome shift from his dour outlook he had shared previously. I’m so glad that they’re my brothers. These three seemed to be much more aware of their surroundings and how other people viewed them than I had thought, and it was a welcome surprise that they were all so strong and cunning. I shook my head and chuckled to myself at the idea that I was an inspiration to them, but I knew it was true in a sense.

When my eyes went back to them I saw a shared smile between the three of them. What, did I do something weird? I looked around to figure out what was up, and it was Mom that finally caught on that I was confused.

“Your voice, Kayrux. Although you still cannot speak, your laugh has grown stronger, if only just a little bit. We can ask Tuleni to check on your voice once we are there to talk to her. I will escort you there, but first I suggest that all of my spawn take some medicine for their pains, unless they all desire to fight through their aches and pains all of the day.”

Okay mom, we get the message. Tokols did the measuring of our doses of the pain reducing syrup with surprising accuracy despite not having actual medical info. Finally I could walk around without my joints protesting every step. Dad willed the stone of the entrance to open once again, and once everyone was through he shut it behind us. Everyone walked together until we reached the main spire of the city, then it was my brothers going down to the armory, my father taking the slow route to Rakyat’s store to see Yabtin, and mom and I taking the strange horizontal lift to get across to Tuleni’s clinic. The city was a flurry of activity today almost as if there was a party and everyone had been invited but us.

We muscled our way to the clinic, which was actually not that hard considering both of us were some comparatively big kobolds in the crowd. Tuleni was sitting atop one of Wilter’s roots when we came in, and upon seeing us dropped to the ground and crept towards us with arms outstretched. I couldn’t help but beam with joy at seeing her so happy again.

“Daughter, Kayrux, welcome! Tuleni missing both greatly! Come, give Tuleni greeting.”

I was perhaps a bit too eager to greet her, as I nearly magnetized myself to her with a slap of scaled hides meeting abruptly. Tuleni seemed unfazed even when mom wrapped her muscle bound arms around her with an adequately forceful collision. It was like hugging a tree, one that smelled of spicy herbal powders and dense vegetation. She pushed us both away from her gently, then once both of us were before her she changed from a gleeful expression to one of surprise.

“Daughter, either you’ve grown shorter otherwise Kayrux grown taller. Granddaughter taller than you.”

Mom and I shared a look, and true enough it seemed that I was just a tiny bit taller than her. Mom rolled her eyes and pouted at the floor while Tuleni cackled with joy.

“Stubborn girl, always afraid having spawn bigger than mother! Tempted future mischiefs, definitely mistake there. Not feeling embarrassed regrets Kayrux, bigger body meaning stronger body. Oh! Receiving Wilter’s giftings? Tuleni must know!”

Oh right, I’d forgotten about that magic stone until now. I wrote my reply to her, but before I mistakenly pointed the slate to her I also remembered her not being able to read. Here mom, you answer for me. She flicked her tongue at me at first but still complied with my need for a interpreter.

“She got your gift, Tuleni. Already figured it out and put it away in her own vault. She says thank you, since pure alcohol is a great thing to have access to. Wait, you gave her what?”

Tuleni shook her head and jabbed a thumb towards the trunk of her pet tree.

“Not Tuleni, Wilter. Strange thing grows new magic stones sometimes within growths, made one special for Kayrux. Asking why told Tuleni nothing, Wilter seems liking Kayrux much.”

I looked up to the tree centered within the clinic, and for a moment I almost felt like it was smiling at me. I reached out and touched the nearest root so I could run my hand across the wooden surface gently. You’re a strange plant monster Wilter, but you’re a big old softie just like granny. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m thankful for your gift. Tuleni smiled at my display of affection towards her beloved pet, then waved for us to sit with her by the trunk.

“Come sit here, listen Tuleni words. Guessing you having worries must discuss with Tuleni. Allow Tuleni speak truths. Important truths.”

We all took a seat on the chair height roots at the foot of the monster tree while Tuleni told us what she had to say.