Gersius held Thayle in his arms as Lilly flew through the sky. Sarah, Numidel, and Shadros flew nearby, looking ahead in the darkness for their prey. The maps said it was a city named Kingscrest and was the largest of such in this small kingdom. After looking at the nearby towns, they agreed this was likely where the weavers went to hide. With any luck, they were right, and the weavers would be trapped.
Thayle was silent for most of the trip, her thoughts deep and withdrawn. He dared to peek at them and saw her lamenting the death of that man. She worried that killing him was somehow proof she was no better.
“You are wrong,” he said in her mind. “That man admitted his crimes and promised there would be worse ahead. You punished a criminal, nothing more.”
“I keep taking more and more lives,” Thayle answered back silently. “I took my first in Lengwin’s tower, and now it seems like I can’t go a day without taking more.”
“This road leaves you no choice. Your order will suffer more if you refuse to kill. That you feel remorse when you take life shows it is not in your nature, you are a better person than they are.”
“I don’t understand your human anguish over taking life,” Lilly chimed in silently.
“Many humans see life as sacred and won’t take one willingly,” Gersius replied. “Some would rather die themselves than take a life in defense.”
“That's silly,” Lilly replied. “The raven guard doesn't care who they kill, why should we?”
“Sometimes, I wish I was a dragon,” Thayle replied. “I wish I saw it the way Lilly did.”
“But you don’t see it my way?” Lilly asked.
“When you see the world through eyes of compassion and love as Thayle does, taking a life is abhorrent,” Gersius answered.
“It's not abhorrent,” Thayle replied. “I knew that one day I might be forced to take a life. I was trained in the sword and wanted to be good at it. I had no delusions as to where that path would lead. I am upset by how many lives I will have to take in the future and worried that I won't feel anything for them like I did that man.
“It is not the same,” Gersius interjected. “That man did not he feel a shred of remorse over what he did. He had no pity for those women, so you showed him none in return.”
Thayle sighed and leaned back into his chest as his arm tightened around her.
“At least I have you and Lilly to remind me how to love.”
“And we will always be at your side,” he replied. “No matter how great the pain may be, we will be right there.”
A loud flap made them look up as Sarah moved closer. They saw her gaze look over Lilly and linger a moment on his grasp around Thayle.
“Did you need something?” he asked, going back to his voice.
“What is your plan when we find this town?” Sarah asked.
“Lilly will land, and we will approach to demand the weavers present themselves. You and the others will fly overhead to help them understand they have nowhere to run.”
“And what if they refuse to come out?” Sarah asked.
“I will convince them,” he replied.
“That is your entire plan?” she balked.
“There is no time to plan an elaborate effort to drag them out. I am gambling on a bold display of power coupled with a reasonable request will convince them.”
Sarah huffed, producing a cloud of smoke and tossed her head.
“I can’t believe my order has fallen so low,” she lamented.
“Your order has not fallen at all,” Gersius corrected. “Those whose hearts truly belonged to Astikar are still his. The men who work these evils were never part of his house.”
“Tell that to those women back there,” Sarah said. “I see how they look at the priests of Astikar. They despise them for what they are.”
“That is misplaced anger,” Gersius replied. “It will pass when the time comes.”
“Will bringing back the people who helped keep them isolated in that camp help it pass?”
Gersius clenched his jaw as she spoke the truth. These men were a part of the system that kept these women trapped. There might be a great deal of resentment toward them. There might be some trouble when they are brought back.
“I will speak to them,” he replied. “I will explain how we are using these men to prevent an even worse crime in the next camp down the road. They will understand the importance of that.”
“I hope your right,” Sarah said.
“I see lights,” Lilly interjected and lowered her head so Gersius could look over her shoulder. Down below were the twinkling lights of fires and street lights. The city was found, now would come the confrontation that would decide the future of his march.
He guided Lilly to the road outside the gates, intentionally touching down in sight of the walls. He wanted to make sure the guards saw him and knew what was coming. Overhead, Sarah roared waking any who were asleep from their beds and began a slow circle of the city with the other dragons. He knew word would spread quickly, and soon there would be a response. He wanted to make a display of control and show them that they had no choice.
“Lilly, take us to the wall,” he said.
“The wall?”
“It is only a little taller than you are. Fly to it and land directly on it. I will speak to the city from there.”
Lilly nodded and spread her wings, taking a few firm flaps as she quickly arrived at the wall. She hit it firmly, causing loose dust and bricks to fall as Gersius and Thayle stood up. The guards on the wall retreated in a panic, barricading themselves in a nearby tower. Gersisu could see them peeking through the narrow slits that served as windows, unwilling to venture out. Gersius waited until men appeared in the street, moving in formation with bows in hand.
Gersius walked to Lilly's shoulder so he could be seen and dipped into the dragon voice.
“If any of you fire on us, I will order the dragons to burn your city to the ground.”
Men froze in place, looking up at Gersius in his silvered dragon knight armor. Thayle came to stand beside him with sword in hand as if daring them to act.
“We have not come here to cause your city any harm,” he continued. “We are looking for weavers who fled here after abandoning a prison camp. We wish to give them a chance to redeem themselves and undo some of the harm they did.”
“There are no weavers in the city,” a man called from below.
“Do not lie to us!” Thayle shouted back. “I am a priestess of Ulustrah, and I can see the lies of men!”
Gersius glanced at Thayle with a smirk and spoke silently over he bind.
“You can see his aura from here?” he asked silently.
“No, but he doesn’t know that,” Thayle said in reply.
Gersius nodded and turned back to the men in the street.
“Do not force us to burn these men out to find them,” Gersius said. “We are not leaving here without them. Bring them forth, and we will leave your city in peace. If they come forth willingly, we will overlook their crimes at the camp. If you have to drag them to us, they will pay for their crimes. If we have to burn them out, they will pay for them, and so will you.”
He used the dragon sight to study the men before him. They were whispering between themselves and arguing about what to do. The men were divided until Sarah roared and added a gout of flame in the sky. The men fell silent as the light of the display illuminated their panicked faces.
“Call your dragon off!” one of the men shouted. “We will make your demands known to the weavers. Give us some time to deliver it!”
Gersius nodded and pointed to the man. “You and they have one hour. We will wait just outside this gate while you choose how we will collect them. Also, tell them the dragons above are watching the roads. If weavers try to run, the dragons will eat them.”
Orders were shouted below, and men began to scatter down the narrow lanes of the city.
“Let us wait in the road and see just how long it takes,” Gersius said as he moved to sit down. Thayle dropped into the saddle before him, and Lilly hopped from the wall, gliding to the ground. She walked a dozen paces from the gates before turning to face them.
“Do you think they will come out?” Lilly asked.
“Thayle made them aware they couldn’t lie to us,” he mused.
“I said that on impulse,” Thayle said. “My anger boiled out.”
“It was a good thing to say,” he replied and stroked her arm. “If they believe they can’t conceal the truth from us, they have no choice but to face it.”
“What if they refuse to give us the weavers?” Lilly asked.
“Then we will burn something to show them we mean it,” Thayle said.
Gersius felt the anger over the bind and certainly understood it, but she needed to temper that. The townspeople were innocent; it wasn't their fault the weavers choose to hide here.
“It will not come to that,” Gersius said. “The Father Abbots lies about is will work in our favor here. They will believe in our threat and do what they must to protect the city.”
Thayle turned her head and let out a deep sigh as her anger boiled.
“My love, why do you feel angrier now?” Lilly asked as she turned her great head to look Thayle in the face.
“I was thinking about this town. It almost certainly had a temple of Ulustrah in it. I am trying not to think of what happened to it or the women who served there.”
“Maybe we rescued them in the camp,” Lilly said. “They might already be free.”
Thayle smiled briefly, and her anger tempered. She looked up to meet Lilly's blazing blue eyes and nodded her agreement. “Your words are sweet, but I have to face the fact that we have moved into the battleground. The temples ahead have been behind enemy lines for weeks. I doubt any of them have survived unscathed.”
“We will make it right,” Gersius said. “These weavers will help us put an end to the men who are doing most of the harm, and get us to Calathen to put an end to it all.”
Thayle sighed and nodded her head as two forms appeared in the gate.
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“I think your plan is working,” Lilly said as a third form joined them.
Gersius studied the three and smiled. There were two women and a man dressed in fine clothes and wearing jewelry. They were well-groomed and held themselves like nobles with dour faces that spoke of arrogance. As they waited, two more arrived, and the five began to approach slowly.
“We understand you wish to bargain with us?” one of the women said when they were ten meters away.
“No, we're here to collect you, or kill you, there will be no bargain,” Thayle said.
The woman tossed her dark curly hair and glared at Thayle for only a moment before Lilly snorted at them. They all took a careful step back before finding the strength to speak again.
“And what do you want with us?” the woman asked.
“You’re going to help us,” Thayle said. “You will use your weaves to aid our advance in repayment for your crimes.”
“We committed no crimes,” the woman argued. “We only maintained the weave.”
“That cut off my sisters from their goddess!” Thayle shouted.
“It was to keep them safe,” the woman shouted back. “If we hadn't cut them off, they would have fought, and the guards would have killed them.”
Thayle went to shout back, but Gersius put a hand to her shoulder and answered for her.
“You and the others will aid our advance,” he said firmly. “Or, you will feed the dragons.”
Lilly let out a snort and a low growl, lowering her head so they could see her more clearly. The woman took another step back with her arm out as if to ward Lilly off.
“We will do as you say,” the woman pleaded.
“Where are the rest of you?” Gersius demanded. “I know there are many more.”
“I am sure they will be here shortly,” the woman answered, her voice growing weak.
Gersius gave her a firm scowl and turned to Thayle.
“We need to climb down and tie them so they can be transported.”
Thayle nodded as Lilly carefully lowered herself until her belly was on the ground. From this height, Thayle slipped down, and Gersius followed quickly behind. They approached the frightened weavers even as more of their number arrived.
Over the next twenty minutes, sixteen of them gathered outside the gates trembling before the Lilly and the dragon knights. He asked where the others were and was truthfully told that a single pair had fled the other direction. Accepting the answer, he waived skyward and alerted the others that they were needed. One by one, the dragons circled low, joining them on the road to the shock of the weavers.
They were tied in pairs, and each dragon took a pair in their hands. Many screamed as they were lifted skyward and carried off for the distant camp. They pleaded for their lives, stating that all they did was maintain the weaves, they did nothing to harm the women.
Gersius ignored them and focused on getting back to the camp. He was surprised to see that the vast majority of them were women. It was rumored that women had a greater talent for the weave than men did, but many colleges would not take them. This could only mean that this group was from the north of the old empire, where schools did not discriminate. If you had the talent to learn and the coin to pay for it, they would teach you.
Thayle was not at all pleased by the number of women in the group. She felt they should have had more mercy for the women of Ulustrah. He wondered if that was true. Men certainly didn't show each other preference when they stood on opposite sides of issues, why would women?
By the time they reached the camp, it was late into the night. Gersius had made arrangements for a tent to be ready when they arrived and ordered the weavers inside. It was heavily guarded by the women of Ulustrah, and one of the dragons would sit outside at all times.
Now that the chore was done, Gersius wanted to take Thayle directly to bed, but she refused. She wanted to visit the injured women and speak with any who were still awake. He understood her desire to offer comfort and watched her go with a heavy heart. Lilly was more than ready to go to bed, however, and practically dragged him in with her.
When the night was ready to fade to morning, Thayle finally returned. Both he and Lilly were still awake, staring at the doorway when Thayle arrived. Lilly wasted no time in getting up and rushing to her. She wrapped Thayle up with those slender arms and demand she get out of her armor. Thayle was forced into bed so Lilly could lay on her and sleep. She insisted that Thayle was her treasure, and she wanted to sleep on her hoard.
He was pleased to see Thayle relent and settle in, stroking the back of Lilly’s head as the dragon finally allowed sleep to overtake her.
“She was very worried about you,” he said softly.
“How is it the dragon is the one who isn’t affected by all this? Why is her love growing in the face of all this suffering?”
Gersius reached out a hand and joined Thayle in stroking Lilly’s head.
“She isn't attached to anyone but us. She doesn't feel the kind of pain for others that we do. Her whole world is in this bed, and all she wants is to sleep in your arms.” He noted a tear on Thayle's cheek and reached over to wipe it away.
“I love her so much,” Thayle said. “It was so hard to put your love of her ahead of mine.”
“You did what you had to do. In tests of war, I might be the one who strongest, but in tests of love, you are unmatched.”
Thayle closed her eyes and cradled Lilly tightly as more tears ran down her cheek.
“I got to love you anyway,” Thayle whispered to the sleeping Lilly. “I got to share the love of this beautiful dragon.”
Gersius could see her aura flashing in pain and love. The strain of the day was finally breaking and pouring out in an emotional torrent. Thankfully Lilly was there to turn that outpouring into love. It was a healthy way to let the pain out, and he gave her a few moments.
Thayle looked up at him and smiled gently. He knew what she was going to say even before she said it.
“I love you too. I don’t want you to think I only want Lilly.”
“I know how you feel about me,” he replied. “I can see your light traveling to me.”
“It isn't the same,” Thayle said. “We spoke about this before. Sometimes you need to hear it said, and you need to feel it. I love you, Gersius, you and Lilly are everything to me.”
“You should try and get some sleep,” he suggested.
“No, I want to stay awake and hold her. Sometimes I feel like one day she will be gone, and I will regret not spending more time with her in my arms. I want to stay awake so that I can remember every moment.”
“Lilly will always be in your arms,” he replied. “She will never leave our side.”
“We don't know that,” Thayle said. “We're fighting a war that grows more terrible by the day. Who's to say which of us will be around to hold the other when it's over?”
He was saddened that this conversation had come out again, but he wasn't surprised. The day's turmoil had been a terrible strain on their emotions, and it dragged out all their secret fears. War was war, and no matter how they planned for it, things would go wrong. Thayle was right; who was to say which of them would survive the coming storm?
He shuffled over so he could put an arm around Thayle. If she was going to stay awake to hold Lilly, he would stay awake to hold her. Her emotions were strained, and right now, she needed a moment of peace.
It wasn’t until the acolytes began to gather in the outer tent that he relented and got up.
“Isn’t Lilly supposed to lead them this morning?” Thayle asked as he began to dress.
“She is, but I think she is more needed in your arms,” he said with a smile.
“I really do love you,” Thayle whispered as she cradled Lilly to her chest.
“I know,” he replied and began to button his shirt. He leaned over them to give her a final kiss before heading out.
He took charge of the acolytes and led them in prayers to the goddess. He prayed as well, asking Balisha for the wisdom to do what was right in her name. There were challenges that needed to be met, but time was quickly running out. He knew from experience that he would be pressed into making snap decisions, and those almost always led to casualties.
After prayers, he led them in a single training exercise, walking them through the dragons claw blessing. It was a combat blessing that Lilly was avoiding teaching them. She much preferred teaching them how to bless and heal, but the dangers ahead mandated they know.
He kept the session short and dismissed them early. The camp was to be broken down an hour ahead of schedule to buy them a little more time. Nobody would be given breakfast except the wounded and even then only a basic meal. All would sacrifice for the goal of catching the raven guard and stopping the next tragedy.
Lilly and Thayle were awake and dressing when he checked on them. He helped them pack the room and gave them both a kiss before facing the next task.
“We need to deal with the weavers,” he said. “I want you both with me, as well as Sarah and Numidel.”
“We’re just going to have them enchant the wagons?” Lilly asked.
Gersius nodded. “And some of our heavy infantry to lighten their armor.”
“We need to ask them what they know about the weave that blocked our power,” Thayle said.
“That is why I want you all there,” he replied. “We need to know more about this mysterious woman who created them as well.”
Thayle nodded, and together they went out to find the others. Numidel was in his dragon form, sitting beside the tent of the weavers. Sarah was with Lengwin berating him for not taking action against the decay of the order sooner. He and the other high priests were trying to defend themselves and arguing that they had little say in what happened.
Gersius interrupted the tense moment and explained his intentions. Sarah agreed to help and offer any insight she might have. Together they brought the weavers out and confronted them with Numidel glaring down from overhead.
“We have already agreed to help,” the woman from the night before said. “There is no reason to threaten us so.”
“We have some questions first,” Gersius replied as he moved close enough to study their aura. “We want to know how you managed the weave that blocked the divine power.”
The weavers looked uncertain, and their aura's reflected that fact. The woman before him had a light pulsing over her head, the sign that an important choice was being made.
“If you are about to lie, you may as well abandon it,” he said. “You are surrounded by women who can see the truth. If you lie to me, I will make you regret it.”
The pulsing vanished, and the woman before him lowered her head.
“We don't know how it worked,” she admitted. “A woman came to the camp and created it herself. She would not allow us to see the process, and she gave us no detail of how it worked. We studied it as much as we could, but not one of us understands its nature. Our purpose was only to refresh certain weaves to keep the magic from fading.”
Gersius saw the truth in her light and sighed in frustration.
“This woman, do you know her name?”
“Lady Carigara was her name.”
Gersius looked to the faces around him to see only Sarah reacting.
“You are sure that was her name?” Sarah asked with an angry toss of her red hair.
“She introduced herself to us all, and demanded we stay out of her way,” the woman said.
“What else do you know about her?” Sarah asked.
“Only that she is the most powerful weaver we have ever seen.”
“What does she look like?” Lilly asked.
The woman looked up to meet Lilly’s eyes and chewed on her lower lip a moment.
“She was a little taller than you, with bronze skin and long flowing hair that is dark like hers,” she added with a nod to Thayle.
Sarah frowned and let out a tense huff. Gersius could see her aura flaring with reds, and she folded her arms in obvious irritation. It was clear the weavers knew very little that would be of use to them, but that name meant something to Sarah.
“You are dismissed,” Gersius said. “I have assigned priestesses of Ulustrah to be your personal escorts. They will take you to your wagons. I want the weaves completed in twenty minutes.”
The woman nodded, and they were hurried away by the guards as Gersius waited for them to go.
“Would you like to share with us what has you so angry?” Gersius asked as he looked at Sarah.
“You realize this Carigara is a dragon, don't you?” Sarah stated in a voice that dripped with annoyance.
“How can you be sure?”
Sarah shook her head and started to pace. “Her name and her description. That is a very dragon name, and copper skin is common among reds.”
“You have very pale skin like Lilly’s,” Gersius pointed out. “And this woman’s hair is black, not red.”
“Not all reds have red hair,” Sarah protested. “Just as not all blues have blue hair. They can range from nearly black to silvery white.”
“So this woman is likely a dragon,” he replied to show his agreement.
“And her knowledge of the weave betrays hundreds of years of practice,” Sarah pointed out.
“Likely thousands,” Numidel added. “If she is taller than Lady Lilly, then she is two thousand or more.”
“Why would she be helping the Father Abbot?” Gersius asked.
“I don’t know,” Sarah replied. “But this is the war all over again. Dragons are taking sides with men for and against Balisha.”
“This is nothing like the old war,” Numidel said. “It is confined to a small region with relatively few dragons.”
“Only because there are few dragons left,” Sarah snapped. “How many will remain when this one is over?”
He was silent as Sarah turned in annoyance, casting Lilly a strange angry glance.
“This was meant to be our world,” Sarah said. “Now we stand on the brink of extinction. Balisha has but two true followers, and the war threatens to return to finish us off. She isn't the queen of dragons; she is the doom of them!”
Gersius understood the anger and saw the red in her aura, but it was blended with streaks of blue that caused purple spikes. He wasn’t sure what it meant and glanced at Thayle for an explanation.
“The purple lines mean she is afraid,” Thayle said silently in his mind. “She is terrified this is the end of her kind.”
Gersius stepped forward and reached a hand out to pause her pacing. She froze as his hand closed around her wrist and turned to glare into his eyes.
“You are a great dragon and are stronger than this. I promise you, I will do all I can to end this war quickly and with as few casualties to your kind as I can manage,” he said in a firm voice.
She looked down at his hand, and he quickly took it away. Her gaze returned to his eyes, and he noted a glance at Lilly before she spoke.
“I will do my duty to the best of my ability. I will honor Astikar in this matter and see his house set right. I only worry that we will never see the world that once was again.”
“That world existed because of dragons,” Gersius said. “I promise you, one day, the dragons will return to their proper place.”
Sarah shook her head. “We have already lost too much. Unless the divines can reset the order of things, we will never see those days again.”
“I don’t understand?”
Sarah closed her eyes and lowered her head as her aura filled with the dark blues and blacks of sadness.
“There were more dragons than red and blue in the beginning,” she said. “There were six colors in all, and all of them were devastated in the conflict.”
Thayle covered her mouth in shock and looked between the two dragons. “Where are the other colors?”
“Dead,” Sarah said matter of factly. “Not one of them survived.”
“How horrible,” Thayle said as her aura joined Sarah’s with shades of dark blue.
“This is why I see this war growing, and my anguish rises to match it. Only two of the six species of dragons still exist. How many will remain when this war has run its course?”
“You are sure there are no survivors? They could be hidden in the far corners of the world,” Gersius suggested.
“The divines made it clear the others were gone,” Sarah said. “They all reacted in some way when a species was wiped out. We could hear Ulustrah weeping from her heavens.”
Thayle’s face looked broken as tears ringed her eyes. Lilly wrapped her up from behind and whispered something in her ear that made her nod. Gersius gave them a moment before pressing his thoughts.
“We humans say that red dragons descend from Solesta, is that true?”
Sarah shook her head and let out a resigned sigh. “No, all dragons descend from a long lost progenitor, but because Solesta represented the fire of the sun, many reds took her to be their patron. Just as the blues looked to Balisha and the ice of her moon to be theirs.”
“The green dragons were gifted in growth,” Numidel said. “Where they walked, flowers would spring up around their feet. Many of them called Ulustrah their goddess, and where they laired in hidden groves, nature spirits would abound.”
“There were green dragons?” Thayle said. “And they called Ulustrah their goddess?”
“Not all of them did,” Sarah corrected. “Just like I call Astikar my lord, not Solesta, but yes, many of the greens shared a like heart with your goddess and sang her praises.”
“And they are all dead?” Gersius asked.
“Slain in the war,” Sarah said with a sadness in her voice. “Lost forever to this world.”
“I never knew any of this,” Lilly said, drawing a glare from Sarah.
“You aren’t aware of our history?” Sarah asked.
“No,” Lilly said. “My mother tried to teach me things, but all I could think of was building my hoard and eating.”
Sarah rolled her eyes and began to tap a foot angrily.
“This is the fate of our kind,” she said bitterly. “Our history is forgotten, and our blood is dying out. You are a perfect example of why I am so angry.”
“Don't accuse Lilly of wrongdoing,” Thayle argued. “She was under the curse, and it drove her not to care.”
Sarah glared at them both and sighed.
“Forgive me,” she said at last. “I am a relic of a glorious time that was lost and will never return. I can't help but feel bitter about having lived in those days, and see just how far we have fallen.”
Lilly pulled Thayle in tightly and looked at Sarah with sadness in her eyes.
“Could you teach me our history?” she asked. “Maybe you could teach Shadros too; his mother died when he was very young.”
Sarah's face took on a stone expression, but Numidel answered for her.
“We would be honored to teach you of your history,” he said with a dip of his head. “Perhaps a new day can dawn with you.”
“Our times are ending,” Sarah said.
“Our times began in the twilight just like this,” Numidel replied. “The world once existed with only the twelve divines and from them came the orders of dragons. No matter how dark it might get, so as they exist, all of it can be restored.”
“Only ten of that twelve remain,” Sarah said.
“Balisha has replaced one, maybe one of the lesser divines will rise to replace the other.”
Sarah looked up at him and shook her head. “If it was that easy, they would already have done it.”
“Maybe they are waiting for a hero to prepare the way,” he replied with a glance to Gersius. “Maybe the time for that hero has come.”