"We are not your wet-nurses," The dragon said a bit taken aback.

"I need to hide my children, they need sanctuary." Aulder plead.

"Hiding them from The Accord?" Another Dragon piped in while inspecting a claw disinterestedly.

"Do my children have sanctuary or not?" Aulder grew bored of the conversation quickly.

"Why are you asking us to be involved?" The first dragon asked.

"The necromancers are back, and I fear this will not keep itself to Meskindir this time," Aulder said almost sadly.

"We thought you had dealt with this permanently over a thousand years ago." The first dragon was alarmed.

"We were mistaken." Aulder reluctantly admitted.

"And we had assurances." The First dragon looked furious.

"And for that, I beg your forgiveness." Aulder bowed their head, which was more awkward in dragon form than they remembered.

"And yet you want more than forgiveness." The Second dragon raised a wispy eyebrow.

"She has been found. And you, like me, swore an oath to follow Eskidir." Aulder said in an attempt to persuade them.

"And what has this to do with raising your clutch for you?" The second dragon sounded perturbed.

"She will need an army at her back, and not of just dragons," Aulder said.

"And so you plan to birth this army?" The second dragon scoffed.

"I... Yes, I do." Aulder stood resolute.

"Then we accept your children and their caretakers into Sebehla." The first Dragon said.

"Are you so ready to break the treaty?" The second dragon cried.

"For Eskidir, yes." The first dragon looked back to the second and sneered, "Besides, we did not sign the Accord, we are not bound by it."

"I am grateful," Aulder bowed once more, this time it was easier than the first. 

From the shadows, a very nervous Lyros, and a slightly amused Dragonis walked into the light. Lyros was getting a crash course in Dragons and what he actually had accomplished just days after crashing down. Dragonis was afraid the poor boy would lose his mind if things continued to make him question the reality he knew before. At the moment Lyros was staring up at Aulder with his mouth open wide. Dragonis chuckled and it broke the storm traveler's stupor.

"So you had no dragons and no magic where you came from?" Dragonis asked incredulously. Lyros just shook his head slowly.

"I am so sorry we had to surprise you," Dragonis apologized.

"What happened to the man I slept with?" Lyros was still confused.

"It was not a man, they were a dragon in humanoid form," Dragonis replied. 

"Can he, um they, just take any shape at will?" Lyros asked a bit terrified at the prospect.

"No," Dragonis almost felt sorry for him again.

"So, I am going to be a father, really? How? How can any of this be possible?" Lyros asked still in shock.

"I can explain Aulder's biology later. For now, we need to keep up and make sure we do not give the other dragons reason to devour us." Dragonis grinned as he saw Lyros visibly shiver, "I'm joking, mostly."

Dragonis then walked off following Aulder to the city gates. He was impressed how the city was built for both dragon and humanoid forms to fit somewhat comfortably at the same time. He assumed they would pick a more watery section of the city because Lyros was more aquatic, so it followed that the children would need a large amount of moisture.

He marveled once again at the city and the way the elemental dragons had constructed a masterpiece of art and function. Truly Maenik was the real gem of the dragon kingdoms and not the Crystal City. Queen Ada would have him for heresy if she heard of his admiration for Maenik. Then he soberly thought that Queen Ada would sooner have his head for treason. He had aided a dragon breaking the Accord of his own free will. Never mind that the Dragon was his family. He sighed audibly. Lyros looked at him troubled. There was not much he could do to settle his or Lyros' worries , Lyros was an innocent swept away by a thousand-year-old plot. A plan they were blind to evidently for just as long. 

His mind would not rest. Dragonis sighed again and looked at his hands. He concentrated and called dragon flame and let the green fire dance on his palm and between fingers. This eased his mind because it kept him busy as he walked. Lyros looked over and jumped a bit. It annoyed him how jumpy the poor lad had become. He grunted and Lyros looked away. This was going to be a very long exile he thought. He was sad that now he did not have any of the books that Xander had brought for them to study. They were currently sitting in a hidden stash alcove in the library. And he worried it would be discovered. Just one more thing to prove how Faris was a traitor and heretic. Surely he would be executed to much fanfare. It saddened him, Faris tried so hard to overcome all his shortcomings.

They reached a large building built to resemble a cave with a separate human entrance that led to a downsized living quarters. It was painted with all shades of blue with the depiction of water in all its forms. The human portion of the dwelling smelled of fresh terracotta and cedar. Dragonis was pleased. There was a small pool in the middle of the room, and sparse furniture around the spherical space. He opened another door and saw Aulder settle into the larger room. From here on out Aulder would need to remain in dragon form to safeguard the clutch. Off to one side was a much larger water pool than what was in their smaller quarters. Two more round rooms were in the other direction with beds and other amenities. He watched Lyros go into one of them and heard the lock on the door turn. Dragonis sighed again.