Time ticked away and our entourage traveled unhindered. Our ‘little caravan’ was hardly disguised, as per Lily’s idea of hiding in plain sight. We drew stares and pointed fingers wherever we went. Soon enough we reached the southern lands of Gransus.

“We’ll be arriving at the Fort Clyfton soon,” said one of the guards riding alongside the carriage. The sun was getting low on the horizon and it would be dusk soon. I stretched, arching my back into the cushioned seats.

“We’re going to be spending the night at the Fort,” said Lily. I nodded my head in reply. I feared the coming days a bit, but I knew full well I could handle whatever came.

I would find the healer we needed and I would fix Lily’s legs. There was no room for hypotheticals. I needed to move forward with conviction.

-

The Fort stood just as imposing as the first time I saw it, and the mountains in the background looked stunning as they cast long shadows eastward under the setting sun. A fire stirred in my heart and I thought back to my battle with the poor dragon here. I knew now that he meant no harm, and it hurt my soul a bit to see his home.

Our souls were one. I was Calliope and I was also that poor dragon that greeted the human world in a long-dead language.

And, at that moment, I knew I needed to go greet the dragon’s family to tell them of his fate. It wasn’t something I could overlook.

“Lily,” I said as I wrung my hands, “I’m going to take a trip into the mountains tonight while you rest. I’ll leave RED to guard you.”

“I told you earlier, you can do whatever you want to do, Calliope,” she replied. I smiled at her gentle tone. She really was my best friend.

-

Nightfall came and I set out from the fort. The sleeves of my Heaven Garb transformed into a long leash and I tied it around Huggs neck. I dragged him behind me and smiled as he desperately fought to get free.

I figured if I was going to meet some dragons I should bring along my pet dragon too. Though, for a moment, I did wonder if doing that would be considered a social faux pas.

That thought vanished like clouds on a windy morning as I reached the base of the mountains. The trees were wide enough that seven men linking arms couldn’t reach around them. They were taller than buildings and had rugged bark.

Memories came to me from the Dragon Soul, and I felt an intense nostalgia overwhelm me. I knew this place and I knew these trees. Every small scratch on the bark, every pattern in the groves, they were all markings I could follow.

My feet moved on their own. I was reminded of the times when RED controlled my body… Those were all times when I messed up in the past. They were moments when I needed someone else to bail me out of my own mistakes.

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No more!

My eyes snapped shut and I regained control. The dragon’s soul within me tried to fight back, but with a thought I forced it to dissolve.

I understood, from this moment, that the souls I absorbed through murder and killing weren’t perfect. They weren’t naturally part of me.

They could still bubble to the surface and fight for control.

I killed a lot of terrible people in my time here in this world, and I killed a lot of monsters too. Each one, like the World Dragon, could influence me. They were now a part of me, too.

This world was fucked up. The Fae were fucked up.

I looked up and found a sea of stars above. Between me and them was a film of energy surrounding the world, the terrible device that set up this twisted place, that locked the reincarnation cycle.

I wondered, for a moment, how I could go about shattering it… Or even if I could shatter it.

-

I walked on, following the familiar trails and the dark paths through the giant woods. I moved fast and with a bit of recklessness. Huggs bounced on a few branches and through a few bushes behind me, making throaty noises in irritation the whole way.

After a long climb I reached a clearing, an end to the forest where a the path opened up into a wide dale. There, moving almost in a swarm of black and grays, were numerous dragons.

I could see Rank 4 Earth Dragons, a few World Dragons, but the largest numbers belonged to the Rank 7 Chaos Dragons. Their dark scales glistened in the moonlit night, shimmering like the endless stars above.

One Chaos Dragon stood up after sensing my presence. The rest seemed to pay me little mind, perhaps viewing a single humanoid as no possible threat.

When the dragon stood up, though, and I saw its face, I recognized it. It was the mother of the World Dragon whose soul was now part of my own.

The Dragon approached me, an intelligent light in its eyes. It didn’t speak. It didn’t need to. It set its head down by me and nuzzled up to me. Its nostrils flared and the wind they exhaled knocked Huggs off his feet. He grumbled and chirped as he rolled back to his feet, baring his fangs. I bopped the top of his head with an open hand to hush him.

Reluctantly, I held my hand up and caressed the mother dragon’s snout. Her eyes were gentle and calm despite looking at her own son’s killer.

Or, perhaps, she saw her own son in me. What portion of my soul was constituted of that World Dragon? One percent? Two? It wasn’t a large amount.

I looked into her eyes and I could feel the Dragon in me crying out, his sadness overwhelming.

I didn’t say a word. I just leaned my body into the snout of the mother dragon and laid my head down on her scales. They felt warm to the touch. I could hear her heartbeat, a distant echo, through her skin. It comforted me and sounded like home.

-

Morning came and I set off from the mountain. I felt refreshed and a bit melancholic. The question: ‘Who am I?’ continued to thunder in my head, but I was starting to see the answer in front of me.

Memories were just that, memories. Is a man with amnesia a different man? Does a Dementia patient become someone else entirely?

I didn’t know the answer to those questions, but I knew in my heart that it probably didn’t matter.

A person wasn’t judged by their thoughts, their memories, or their soul. A person was judged by their actions alone.

I looked up to the dawning sun as its light swept away the stars. My words echoed through the woods, “Who I am is determined by what I do.”