“Almighty, ancient Keuvra! Appear before us!”

A pillar of azure fire erupts from the Gathering Stone, rising towards the ceiling of the aerie and fanning outward in all directions. As the roiling flames dissipate, I look to the smaller fires illuminating the mountain and hold my breath, silently pleading for the flames to snuff out and finally herald the arrival of our leader. But, just as it’s been the past two seasons, a silent moment passes, and nothing unusual happens. Yet again, Keuvra has refused to appear at the most critical time.

A heavy sigh escapes me. Without Keuvra, our chances of avoiding death are bleak. How could Gust lead us to Keuvra’s den, only for the elders to discover us? What are we supposed to do?

After Asha and I were apprehended, the elders quickly separated us, fearing that we might try to work together and flee the judgment now owed to us. I wouldn’t do such a thing, but Asha was far less cooperative. She remained upset, growling at Khosa and refusing to leave the den until she had time with Keuvra. It took Grandmother, Uma, and Ashene working together to keep her subdued, nipping her feathers until she finally calmed down enough to be led to the Gathering Stone in the heart of the aerie. A gathering was called from the top of White Mountain shortly thereafter, and the flock soon assembled.

As we paced out of the den, the much larger Ashene at my side, I could feel Asha’s piercing gaze against my feathers. She was wondering, pleading to know why I wouldn’t join her in resisting something so plainly unjust. But I won’t fight back against my Grandmother. I know that the other elders didn’t have to save us, and they could have chosen to simply take our lives instead of offering a chance of a reprieve. I feel terrible about it. In a way, I’m less of a mate for not fighting alongside Asha until the bitter end. But I’m also not going to force my Grandmother to send another family member to the skies of Maki. I can’t leave that burden on her conscience.

I tried talking to her as we left the den, but she refused to meet my gaze. Once we arrived at the top of the Gathering Stone, she and the rest of the elders had a long conversation that lasted until the entire flock had arrived from the rest of our territory. Grandmother was facing away from me for most of the talk, but I could tell by her body language she was terribly upset. Eventually, she skulked away from the group, her wings folded tight and her tail between her legs. After doing so much to protect me over the seasons, I got the impression that her influence among the elders had run dry.

Across the gathering stone, the elders fold their wings and solemnly lower their heads. Feeling a pang of guilt for Grandmother, I take a gentle step forward before a strong wing whips me back to where I was sitting. Um, right. Well aware of my fighting prowess, the elders asked no less than four Kin to surround me, keeping me constrained away from the comfort of my mate. Embarrassed, I gaze across the stone to see Asha staring at the elders, flanked by two drakons much larger than her. But instead of being anguished, she looks furious. After everything that’s happened, I can’t say I blame her. I just wish I could be at her side, comforting her in perhaps our final moments together.

“It would seem our leader has once more entrusted us to handle the affairs of the flock,” Uma announces as he turns to face the overcrowded aerie. Flickering light dances across his slate-gray feathers from the roaring ember root fire at the back of the gathering stone. “Keuvra’s decision is difficult to understand. But we must respect his wishes and the faith he has placed in us all. It will be us mortals who decide the fate of Kuro and Asha.”

My tail whacks against the hindlegs of the Dragons surrounding me. I can’t believe this is happening. And I can’t even speak out to defend myself! I just have to keep my muzzle shut and allow our lives to rest on the wings of the elders.

“To enter the elder’s den is strictly forbidden,” Khosa bellows, stepping past a sullen Grandmother. Golden barbels drag across the ground as she faces the throngs of Kin. “Keuvra’s edict is clear: Those caught before their time must be thrown to the fires of White Mountain, never to share the knowledge of what they’ve seen.”

I cast an anxious glance at the fire in the back of the rock, belching crimson flames high into the air. Jawfulls of ember root were added in preparation for the gathering, causing the flames to explode to a size rarely seen. All we saw was some weird, misty tree! It wasn’t even that unusual! Why is it so important that we be punished?

“However,” Uma continues, Keuvra has entrusted us to navigate this sordid affair. We would be remiss if we didn’t recognize Kuro and Asha’s contributions to the flock. Daughter-Of-Mecali has been a stalwart huntress, selflessly providing prey for untold seasons. It was Kuro who saved Asha's life, the Kin who would go on to discover a treatment for the blight that sent so many Dragons to the skies of Maki.”

“The Kin who discovered the treatment,” Ashene chuckles. The oldest Kin in the flock slowly rises from his perch at the back of the stone. Tattered gray feathers drag from his haunches as he ambles forward and speaks, “You denigrate the work of our accomplished healer, Son-Of-Yzori. To compare him to this lost girl, this Farlander who has yet to be formally recognized as Kevura’s Kin is an insult to Nakino’s tireless—“

“SHUT UP, BITCH!!”

Something happens as I splay my wings and take a provocative step forward — perhaps it’s the drakon to my right or the haughty drakaina to my left. Either way, quicker than a wingbeat, I feel myself dragged to the ground, and the weight of four dragons pile on top of me. The sound of heavy growls and thunderous snarls overwhelm my ears.

“KURO!!” Asha’s voice rises over the chaos.

I roar in pain, feeling my captor’s claws sink into my flesh — but I don’t care. Anyone who still believes Nakino was responsible for the treatment is a featherbrained fool. It was ASHA who discovered it, nobody else!! Screaming at Ashene will make me look terrible to the rest of the elders, but a certain bitter part of me has already accepted my fate. I allowed Asha to question my loyalty to her because I believed our leader would save us. What a fool I was! If I’m truly destined to die here today, then I would rather be remembered as a fiercely loyal mate than a silent coward.

“Arrogant fress,” A voice whispers into my ear. A heartbeat later, pain shoots through my neck as a set of jaws clamp onto my crest and tear away a patch of feathers. I snarl in pain, helpless to stop the onslaught of those restraining me.

“Release her,” Khosa growls, agitation fringing her voice.

Slowly, the Kin relax their talons but remain close, ready to subdue me should I cause another disturbance. I loosen a growl and shake my head, gazing past the disappointed stares of the elders to see Asha breathing heavily with a look that could either be morbid concern or tacit approval. I can’t help but smirk — I get the distinct impression that either way, Asha was pleased by my outburst.

As I rise to my talons, Uma looks down on me and growls, “You are not making a good case for yourself, Daughter-Of-Mecali.”

“Whatever,” I spit, puffing my feathers to loosen the dirt on them. “If you think I’m going to stay quiet while this featherbrain speaks lies about my mate, you’re wrong.”

“You speak of lies, yet the truth is that you and your ‘mate’ are only together because of the insistence of one Dragon,” Ashene rumbles, refusing to meet the gaze of the Dragon in question. “In the eyes of our leader, your union is illegitimate.”

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I slam my tail against the ground and snarl, “Is this gathering about us entering the elder’s den or not?!”

“It is a judgment of your character,” Kohsa answers. “Because your lives are on our wings, and we are more forgiving than our leader. You would do best to remember that, Daughter-Of-Mecali.”

I snort, folding my wings and wrapping my tail around my forelegs. Khosa’s wrong, but I’m not going to argue with her. Quite frankly, I’m just relieved that she didn’t linger on the thorny subject of me and Asha’s union. Normally, the rules about us are clear: because we can’t have a brood, drakaina couples must have their union approved by Keuvra. But with his absence the past two seasons, the elders have been more proactive about making decisions. Grandmother insisted that Asha and I be allowed to love each other, and after everything she did to save lives at the Grandfather Tree, the elders relented. It shouldn’t be a problem — they were the ones who allowed us, after all. But it seems such things are no longer important.

“If we are to judge her character, then I would first like to know why Kuro was in the elder’s den.”

Finally, after remaining silent this entire time, Grandmother lets her voice be heard. Sitting by the back of the fire with her wings partly open — as if to prevent me from being thrown into it — she meets my gaze for the first time tonight. A potent mix of fear, longing, and anger is scrawled across her ash-plumaged face. She wishes she could do so much to protect me right now, but her wings are furled. As an elder, her commitment to the flock precedes her commitment to family. If necessary, she must condemn her Granddaughter to the skies of Maki.

An unspoken tension passes through the air. Seemingly, every Dragon in the aerie is aware of the implications. Ahene’s eyes dart to Grandmother, but nobody offers a rebuttal. Slowly, the flock's gaze turns towards me for my explanation.

I better make this sound good.

I straighten myself and project my voice across the aerie. “Me and Asha had just returned from the Farlands, on our way to White Mountain to request an audience with Keuvra. You see, a rival Kingdom has conquered Asha’s Kingdom, and her family’s whereabouts are unknown. Asha wanted to look for them in the rival Kingdom, but I convinced her it would be safer first to ask Keuvra for guidance. It would be dangerous to fly into her enemies' territory and attract the attention of airship-prey.

“But as we approached the entrance to the aerie, we noticed… um, some unusual rocks on the ground in one of the nearby valleys. We thought it looked strange, like the stones at the ruins Asha and I visited, so we decided to investigate. We discovered it was an entrance into White Mountain that had been uncovered by the greenwing thaw.”

“Another entrance?” Uma’s tail twitches behind him.

“That’s right,” I say, tipping my wings.

Ashene’s eyes narrow to slits. “Don’t bite my tail, Daugher-Of-Mecali. Nobody has flown the skies of Felra longer than I have. There is but one entrance into White Mountain, and it is the entrance that every Kin passed through today. Yourselves included.”

“Did anyone see them?” Grandmother asks, facing the crowd. “Kuro, or Asha. Did they enter the aerie before they were discovered in the elder’s den?”

Feathers shift as anxious Kin gaze around the aerie, waiting for someone to speak up. After nobody answers, Grandmother relaxes against her haunches. She seems fairly content but steadies her gaze on the crowd instead of facing me directly.

With nobody winging forward, the other elders exchange glances. Khosa tips her wings to Ashene before asking, “What compelled you to enter the mountain? You know that Kevura can only be summoned from the aerie.”

“We… decided we wanted to investigate first,” I answer.

Slowly, Khosa crosses the stone towards me. “You flew from deep within the Farlands, deeper than any Kin has flown in nearly a generation, only to get distracted at White Mountain?”

Khosa’s gaze pierces me like talons. Can she tell I’m concealing Gust’s existence? If Asha and I want any chance of a reprieve from Keuvra, then we can’t mention anything about him. I need to tell her the truth, but…

“Yes,” I lie. “That’s what happened.”

The pale elder frowns; she seems unsatisfied by my response. She approaches Ashene, still perched by the fire, who stretches his neck forward and allows Khosa to whisper something into his ear. When he doesn’t respond, she turns back to me and asks, “This was how you entered the elder’s den? Through this entrance nobody has seen before and is no longer there?”

Urk…!

Did someone fly around the mountain before the gathering? How did they know to check? Agh, skuntscent! I’ll just have to keep telling my story!

“We followed the entrance deep into the mountain. The path opened into a larger den, one that had nothing inside it, before passing a rockfall leading into a smaller passage. We followed it until we arrived in the den where… you found us.”

For a wingbeat, Khosa stares at me in faint disbelief.

“Daughter-Of-Mecali,” Uma speaks up. “There is no other entrance into the elder’s den.”

My heart just about stops. “…Really?”

“There is another passage,” Khosa concedes. “But it ends at a cave-in. There has always been a cave-in for as long as any Kin can remember. Yet somehow, you passed through—“

“Keuvra cleared it for us,” I quickly declare, attempting to take a step forward before the wings of my captors pull me back. “He told us he wanted an audience with me and Asha, and led us to the second entrance on the side of the mountain.”

As my words settle across the aerie, quiet discussions roll through the crowd. Everyone on the rock looks very surprised… everyone except Asha, of course. I was committed to explaining our story without mentioning Keuvra, but it was beginning to fall apart. More importantly though, as Khosa was speaking to me, I realized something critical:

Gust warned us about this.

He foresaw… no, he intended this outcome. He left his glowing feathers in the passageway as a reminder that he had cleared the cave-in for us to pass. He knew the elders would discover us, attempt to summon Keuvra, and be forced to decide our fate. It all makes sense to me now! This is a part of my Divine Flight to protect Asha! For some reason, Keuvra is testing us before the flock!! But why?

…I push the thought aside. There’s no time to speculate on the reasons why; I just have to keep telling my story and save our lives! Keuvra will intervene and stop all this, but only if we can prove ourselves to him before the flock! I’m certain of it!

Khosa looks agitated by the crowd’s response. She hisses, “Why didn’t you tell us this before?”

“I can’t say.”

“Why not?!”

I hold my tongue. Keuvra is certainly testing us to see if we’ll reveal Gust's existence to the flock. The deities are trying to make this as uncomfortable as possible to see if we’ll break. But I won’t say a word. I’ll happily defy the elders for my leader and my mate.

Khosa stares at me, one talon held in the air like she was about to jump forward and attack me. “Alright, fine.” Her barbels twist as she casts about and turns to face the opposite side of the gathering stone. “What about you? Why did you enter the elder’s den?”

Oh, fwegh.

Asha stares into Khosa’s face, solemn and reserved. “Because Keuvra wanted to discuss the downfall of my Kingdom.”

Scant murmurs pass through the crowd. Does Asha realize that we’re being tested by Keuvra? I could pull her aside and tell her what’s happening if we were together. But how am I supposed to tell her we can not reveal Gust’s existence? Everything hinges on her story being consistent with mine!

“Keuvra did?” Khosa’s head tilts. “And somehow, he asked you this directly?”

She shakes her head. “No.”

“Then how did you know?”

Feathers quaking, I hold a deep breath. Will she…?

Asha frowns and stares at the ground. She looks about to say something before she shuts her muzzle and shakes her head. After gathering her composure, she answers meagerly, “I was told to seek him out because the deities have forsaken my family.”

For a silent moment, Khosa says nothing. She relaxes on her haunches and asks in a more measured voice, “What do you mean?”

Asha smirks and ruffles slightly. “Everything started on the day of my transformation. First, it was the Goddess who caused my Mother to collapse while trying to commune with her. Then, while I was trapped in Felra, she allowed our Kingdom to be conquered and our authority to dissolve. Now, Keuvra has tricked me and my mate into entering the elder’s den so they can inflict the final blow and end my life.”

I avert my gaze from Asha—I can’t stand to be separated from my mate while she’s miserable. From her perspective, it must be easy to assume that Keuvra is manipulating us. He hasn’t appeared to the flock for over two seasons, so she’s never had the chance to see the fair and wise leader like I have. If only she knew he was testing us, then perhaps none of this would be happening.

"So, you believe Keuvra cleared the cave-in for you to pass.” Khosa assumes.

“No,” Asha quickly shakes her head “Keuvra didn’t help us. He did."

Oh, no.

Khosa’s tail twitches. “He…?”

“You’ve met him too, haven’t you?” Asha asks, her misery replaced by a surging anger.

Uma flashes a glance at Ashene before asking, “To whom are you speaking?”

“Asha…!” I furiously whisper across the rock, but it’s too late.

“You know,” Asha smirks. “Him. That red bird.”

Khosa’s neck lowers — I can’t tell her expression from here. Does she…?

“And what about all of you?!” Asha thunders, addressing the flock directly. “How many of you have encountered a glowing red bird? The ‘harbinger’ of the deities, Gust?!”

She just…!

Asha, you fool!!