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Chapter 19
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A Song of Candasar
As recorded by the elf, Cantrell
On the day of her second birth.
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When your inside is bigger than your outside
But your face is all they can see
It can not help but hurt your pride
And make you long to be free
You know you’re more
But can’t say why
While standing on the shore
It must feel great to fly
But now we soar on rainbows bend
At top of sky, we roll
With an elven partner as our friend
To heal our wounds and fill our soul
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Do you trust me, Candasar? asked Ardwella.
"I barely know you lady elf, but you are the mother of one I have reason to trust and the bonded of my queen. Do what you need to do. My life is in your hands."
Turning and gazing at Abarad, Cantrell and Ardwella, she shouted, "Think what you wish of me for killing those elves that unleashed the dragon fire, I accept your distain. Know that when I strike now, it is for healing!"
The white sword cleared the sheath with a sound like the ringing of a bell. Ardwella looked at the glowing blade and read out loud some of the runes that were etched upon its surface. Then she swung it hard for one of Candasar's rear legs. By then, Lothinar had already started chanting. The sword sliced through the leg well above the flipper, which flopped onto the rocky shore. Candasar moaned. A terrible cry filled with shock and pain. But she did not try to flee. Her weight shifted, and it looked like she leaned heavily, but valiantly, somehow, she compensated. Tundor had lunged forward to catch her, only to stop when she didn't fall. He began to let out a keening sound. There was no flow from the stump of the leg where it had been severed, but the severed flipper bled strongly and then suddenly stopped, deprived of blood pressure. Lothinar stood, hands outstretched as he channeled his shaping.
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"Eldhrimner nuanen, dautr abr phalangix, Eldhrimner un fortha femua Heill'
Ardwynn watched, awestruck. She had once had the opportunity to watch Lothinar repair a ravaged forest after a fire had come through. He had shown a mastery over the plants in the area that had perished, stirring their growth and finding still viable seeds in the soil, restoring the area to life. Now a very similar skill had found its target in the living flesh of the dragon. But what had taken hours or even days in the restoration of plants now exploded into the rapid healing of writhing, twisting flesh. In only seconds, the stump was reformed into a healthy leg. Not the kind laying on the ground in Candasar's blood, but a leg and talon similar but smaller than Esmarilla's
Lothinar met his mother's eyes and nodded, saying only.
"Again!"
Ardwella only nodded. The beautiful elven woman walked around the back of the dragon and swiftly struck. Even though they knew what to expect, it was still a terrifying thing to witness the second and last remaining flippers fall to the ground. Again, the magic flowed, its strange crackle filling the air with a smell of ozone and blood. When the legs were done, Lothinar walked to the front of Candasar and put his forehead against her snout.
"Are you ok, Candasar?"
The dragon looked into his eyes.
"That HURT little brown man, but now the pain is completely gone. Are we finished?"
"I'm afraid not, Candy, we are just getting started. This is the part where you and I need to get to know each other much better"
The dragon chuckled. "You have shown me your strange white elven behind. I survived that! I am not afraid to see your heart"
"And I do not fear what I may see in yours!" Said Lothinar. He placed a hand on each side of her face. "Let us begin!”
The next hour and a half was the most remarkable thing Cantrell had ever seen. Swiftly Ardwella and Lothinar worked on the dragon's body. Ardwella no longer used her sword but, with brisk movements of her hands, pressed and pulled at invisible things inside Candasar's body. Occasionally something hit the ground with a wet splooch. Lothinar, his face, sweaty and pinched, continued following his mother's path of destruction through the dragon's body, sending waves of healing immediately after. Both Ardwella and Lothinar were obviously growing weary. As he watched, Ardwella stumbled, falling toward him. He caught her and set her back on her feet. She grimaced, mumbled a thank you, and resumed her grim work. A sheen of sweat covered her as well.
As fascinated as he was with what was going on with the two elves, Cantrell spared a look at the dragon Esmerilla. He wasn't surprised to see that instead of an obsidian black color, the huge dragon had faded to a light charcoal grey. She looked on, her face a mask. She showed no other signs of distress,
Finally, she grunted, and a cloud of steam rose from her nostrils. It is finished, she said. Moving from her position, she wobbled over to three animals she had dropped on the beach a few hours ago and began devouring a deer. Lothinar and his mother seemed to slump in place, looking each other in the eyes and smiling slightly. The creature where Candasar, the water dragon, once stood was gone. In her place was something that looked a lot like a smaller Esmerilla, but instead of Obsidian black, she was deep sapphire blue. Her wings slowly unfurled and arched over her back in triumph!
"I was first born of water, but I am now who I was always intended to be. A creature of air and fire. I am at last me!"
Tundor stood frozen in amazement. All he could say was, "She is beautiful!"
"She sure is," quipped Ardwynn. "But I can't believe my boyfriend has only kissed me once and is already in a permanent relationship with another woman!"
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