"You have so much sorrow to battle inside of you, ZenToYa... and all I can give you... is a hug."

The Spiral lands stretched out before Zento in every direction, reminding him how far he was from home. Soft rolling hills of yellow-tinged grass ran up to greet the edge of the lilac-leaf forests. Groups of stone huts huddled together in their tell-tale circular patterns. Banners emblazoned with a glittering gold lion snapped in the late summer breeze. Soon, autumn would be upon the land and the distant harvest fields lay heavy with anticipation.

ZenToYa had visited the Spiral on a number of occasions in his life. Sometimes as an enemy. Sometimes on a mission for his people’s survival. It had only been lately that he had come as a friend, despite the general unrest that the Spiral people still held for their white-haired neighbors.

But never had he come with such a heavy heart and shattered spirit.

They said it was here that Tsu was turned…

While the battle had raged hot in the sky Islands, a different battle had taken place here. A battle where his youngest son, TsuYa, had fought to protect the children of Nefol. It was here that the great warrior’s spirit had Awakened within him. But upon the Awakening, the wards that had protected him from Zerom’s shadows were destroyed.

He had so little time to know his Awakening…

All Zento had left of his youngest son were stories. Stories and the fleeting mind images from those who had been there. Terrible images and feelings he couldn’t bear to see. And so the winged man had fled, searching for a place far away from anyone who held the dark memories of his son’s fall.

We had so little time together, Tsu. That’s all you really wanted, in the end. For us all to be together.

His burdened mind wandered back to a time long ago, to the first time Zento felt such a crushing pain. The loss of his wife. It had been sudden. Unexpected. Unexplained.

YuKai…

Zento had been out in a hunting party — it had been nothing out of the ordinary. But when he returned home at the end of that week, everything in his life had changed. No one could explain what had happened to his wife. There was no body left behind to tell the tale. Nothing was left but a gaping hole in his heart that had once been filled with her laughter and light.

When you left us, the boys were never the same.

SoYa had grieved for the loss of his mother, as was expected. But TsuYa had been so young, so deeply affected. He had grown more distant, more serious… become so different from the happy little boy he had been while his mother was still alive. Left a widower father of two children, Zento had felt helpless to stop the changes he saw in his youngest son then. Just as he felt helpless to protect his son from the dark transformation that had changed him now.

I was his hero. But time and again, I have let him down.

It was too late, now. Zento’s world had shifted and spun out of control, once more leaving a gaping hole in his soul. For as hard as he had fought and struggled to find a way to save his child, TsuYa was still swallowed by the darkness.

Just as Nefol was.

Just as Ceiswyr was.

Just as we all will be…

He bowed his head, shoulders sagging with the burden of sorrow. The burden of a leadership that he didn’t know if he could rightly bear any longer. Telltale grey strands of hair fell into his eyes, sticking to his face where it was hot with shameless tears.

“That’s not true,” a soft voice carried to his ears from somewhere just behind.

Zento’s head jerked up in momentary surprise. He had not expected anyone to be able to find him, let alone reach the spot where he had chosen to mourn. And he certainly had not expected that anyone could sense his thoughts.

A soft hand touched his shoulder. A tingling sensation spread from the touch, a warm and comforting feeling spreading through his chest.

“Times feel dark right now, ZenToYa. But you must never give up the fight to save your son,” the voice sounded again, this time just beside his ear.

Zento stiffened slightly, head turning. A woman leaned over him, her slender hand soft upon his shoulder. At first, he thought she may have been one of the Spiral people, for she had a similar coloration. But her features were small and delicate, unlike the inhabitants of the Outter Realms. She seemed to glow faintly with a wavering golden light that accented her deep golden skin and pale blond hair. Her eyes shown with quiet violet wisdom and intense concern.

As Zento stared into her face, he felt at once that he should know her. But when he shook his head out, the nagging familiarity scattered away, blamed on a trick of the sunlight’s reflection.

“Zento,” she spoke his name again, a soft accent between slender lips. Her hand lifted from his shoulder, brushing his cheek ever so slightly.

A shiver rushed through his body, his mind reeling back instantly, reaching to hold fast to his internal dedication to his late wife. It was only then that he realized he could hardly remember what she looked like.

“E-Excuse me!” he gave a gasping exclamation. His wings flailed as he jerked away from the woman’s hand, eyes staring at her in shock. “Do I know you!?”

She pulled her hand away, face mirroring his surprise. Then calmness draped back over her features and an easy smile curved her lips. “ZenToYa… relax. You’d think I was a Dragon come for her prey.”

That’s when the voice clicked in his mind. And though he had never seen her person form before, he recognized her. The name whooshed out of his lungs in an embarrassed stammer, “K-KaiShi?”

The woman rewarded him with a silvery laugh.

“KaiShi!” Zento choked, caught somewhere between staring awkwardly and an immense sense of relief. “Why…”

“Silly Zento,” she answered, gently chiding. “I knew that you’d run off and find a secretly secret place to cry your sorrows out. What else would you do if I wasn’t there?”

He couldn’t help but swallow down the last of his discomfort, staring into the light of her eyes. KaiShi was someone whom he had always trusted with the deepest burdens of his soul. And when he came for her council, she always had known exactly what he needed to hear.

She turned her head, a subtle shyness showing, “I just didn’t think the Dragon would cut it this time.”

“What do you mean?” he arched one eyebrow curiously.

“You have so much sorrow to battle inside of you, ZenToYa… and all I can give you… is a hug.” Before he could protest, KaiShi wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulder. Her touch was vibrant and warm, once again spreading the soothing sensation through his grief-tightened chest.

Zento didn’t pull away this time. His strength had been stolen by the sorrow… a sorrow that, for the moment, was put to rest by the unexpected care of another. They sat there together, her arms comforting him, watching as the sunlight began slipping downward, setting the violet treeline aflame.

After time had passed, KaiShi was the first one to speak, “I know that is it difficult for you to show your pain to others. I know what it is like to try to remain the strong leader for your people.”

He leaned back on his palms, sucking on his bottom lip for a moment. Allowing her to finish.

“But no one expects you to be an unemotional, unmoving mountain. Especially not right now,” she told him.

“We’ve lost so much,” Zento picked his words slowly. “I have no right to show my grief for the loss of one life… when so many others have died. When I was unable to protect our homelands… unable to–”

“Shhh…” KaiShi reached up and tapped him on the lips, deftly interrupting. “What is it with you guys… always thinking the weight of the world must be born upon your shoulders alone?”

“But I’m–”

“You’re a man, ZenToYa,” she intercepted quickly. “You’re a great man. A man with so much power… but at the same time, so much love. You’re more than just some bedtime story legend told to children in Nefol.”

He found no words to answer.

“You’re a man… and you have a right to be a grieving parent if you need to be. There is no shame in that.”

Zento turned his head slightly. She reached up and gently turned it back with the touch of one finger.

“You have earned the love of your people. Don’t shut us out in your time of grief,” she pleaded softly. “Let us help you… let us help TsuYa.”

He furrowed his brow with a questioning frown, “You don’t think it’s too late for that?”

“I’ve come to believe almost anything is possible,” she lifted her chin slowly. “TsuYa has the same strong spirit as his father. I don’t think he has given up the fight to return to us. That’s why he needs us to keep fighting as well.”

Tsu… would keep fighting…

The thought had not come to him before now. Not with his mind clouded with so much grief. But he knew that she was right… if there was anything left of his son’s spirit, TsuYa would never stop fighting.

Then, I must keep fighting, too…

“That’s right,” she whispered quietly, the twilight glow reflecting from her eyes. “We must all keep fighting. You’re not alone in this battle.”

Not knowing what else to say, Zento lowered his head, “Thank you.”

KaiShi nodded and slowly pulled away, getting to her feet. He could feel a puzzling tinge of reluctance as she did, as if it was so difficult to let him go.  But her face didn’t let it show.

Instead, she straightened, peering off into the sky, “Please come back to us when you’re ready. We still need you.”

Zento nodded, trying to reassure her despite his lack of words.

She said nothing more… she simply took a few steps away. Then her form was encased in a brilliant shaft of golden light. The stone outcropping shook under Zento’s palms momentarily, his breath stolen from his lungs as he stared up. Great Dragon wings unfurled above him, reflecting the sun’s dying glow in unspeakable grace and beauty.

Then KaiShi was gone, a golden Dragon winging off over the crest of the Spiral lands.

SoYa looked so different encased in the shimmering spirit armor.

AsaHi woke to a long, low rumble followed by a sharp crack. A jolt sent her sprawling out of her bed as the world tilted sideways. She scrabbled hand over hand to get a hold of her blankets, grasp her bed and get some sort of footing under her. As she jammed her feet into her tall boots, she heard the sound of yelling and barked orders out in the halls.

The alarms sounded out over the islands of Ceiswyr.

The girl rushed quickly to her closet and threw a half robe over her shoulders, then secured a wooden staff in one hand. Only a moment later, her door flung open, admitting a ruffled-haired SoYa. He was just pushing one arm through his vest, reaching out for her.

“What’s going on?” AsaHi didn’t hesitate to rush to her Promised. “Are we under attack?”

“It seems like it,” SoYa spoke slowly, getting that odd look on his face that he always had when he was relying on senses beyond what normal people possessed. Then he frowned. “We need to find Father. They’re going to need all the help they can get.”

Help? Me? How?

AsaHi was more than willing to do everything she could to defend their home on Ceiswyr. She wasn’t afraid to fight. She wasn’t afraid to face whatever Zeromus tried to throw at them. But she just didn’t know what she could do against monsters like the Marked or the winged Esgyll. The girl had spent time with the fighters and with Zento learning how to protect herself the best she could in the time she had. But that was a far cry from being of offensive value in a battle.

If SoYa felt her doubts, he didn’t respond to them. He simply led her briskly through the halls, passing out orders to the ground troops in a level, firm voice. He organized the troops where he saw confusion. Offering vibes of support and confidence to those who faltered in the fear of facing battle. With each step that he took, he carried a sense of hope and determination. And the men responded with a mixture of respect and gratefulness.

Even she could feel the effects of the soft encouragement of the Athrylith. And somehow, she found that she didn’t feel so inadequate in the face of what was to come.

SoYa…?

AsaHi followed, looking up at the eldest son of ZenToYa. And she saw, for the first time, the leader that he was becoming. The strength that had been developing, growing silently within him through his training and all of the hardships. Everything that he now wielded at this point, for this battle. Which they all knew would probably be the final turning point for them.

Word had it that Lucci has found a weapon we can use to fight Zeromus. If we can just hold out a little longer. He’s on his way…

And surely, Zeromus knew this as well. Even with the power of his Champion, he was unable to prevent Lucci from obtaining that which could be used to destroy him. This was a battle of desperation for both sides. Zeromus would seek to crush them… and they just had to hold out until Lucci could arrive with the weapon.

They were not taken completely unawares. Ever since reports came to Zemi that Lucci had been successful in his journey, they had been gathering resources, training doubly and running mock-up drills. They hadn’t known exactly when Zeromus would strike or what he’d strike with, but the people of the Dreigiau had done everything within their power to be ready for this battle.

I just hope it was enough.

As they rounded the corner, AsaHi could hear the voice of ZenToYa advising and giving orders to the troops. It was not so much unlike the voice of his son.

“Father!” SoYa led her carefully through the organizing troops.

“SoYa! AsaHi! Good!” Zento waved them forward the moment they caught his eye.

“Where do you need us positioned?” the Athrylith asked, his light voice talking the best that he could over the sound of alarms and men.

“You’ve been requested in the Dragon ranks,” the winged man answered.

“Dragon ranks?” SoYa asked with some surprise. He looked over towards AsaHi, seeming to think that the order was aimed towards the girl alone.

“Both of you,” Zento clarified. “By Zemi’s orders.”

“Huh?” the Athrylith’s air of certainty was beginning to flake away, taken by surprise.

AsaHi had perked up, however. Working with the Dragons was something she could do. Even riding, if she needed to – her riding skills certainly matched anyone else’s there on the Islands.

Not that winged people really need to ride Dragons… but…

SoYa, however, didn’t seem so thrilled at the thought. But he didn’t complain or argue. He simply gave a slow nod.

“SoYa,” Zento reached his hand out to his son. There was the look of age on his face, framed in long silvering strands of hair. It was a father’s face of worry and love. “Please be careful. I’ve arranged an escort to get you to the Dragon compound.”

“What are you going to be doing?”

“Leading the ground troops against the Marked. We’ve already had a breech in security on the northwest isle. No doubt, Zeromus is going to be pouring them down on us,” the winged man frowned.

Now it was SoYa’s time to look worried. “Father…”

Zento gave the softest smile he was able, then hugged his eldest son, “Protect AsaHi… and don’t forget your Arfogaeth.”

“Oh! My armor! Right!” the Athrylith exclaimed suddenly, as if reminded of something that completely slipped his mind. His hand clutched at the throat of his vest for a moment.

Zento reached around with arms and wings and hugged AsaHi to his chest gently. His voice was soft as he murmured, “Take care of SoYa… protect Zemi…”

The girl nodded, looking up into the Champion’s face. “I’ll do my best, Master ZenToYa.”

He cracked a grin and rubbed his hand through her hair affectionately. “You’ll do great. Just be careful for me. Okay?”

“Yes, sir,” AsaHi nodded. Then SoYa took her hand again and she was led off with the accompaniment of a troop of winged men. Heading towards the Dragon compound.

Mind mage or not, there was no holding back the look of open heart ache on Zento’s face as he watched them go.  And being led away, all AsaHi could do was make sure that SoYa didn’t turn around to see it.

As they stepped out of the safety of the Compound, the sky was alive with terror from above. Dragons were locked in terrible battle with the huge dark-winged Esgyll. AsaHi’s eyes were drawn to the streaks of flame and darkness that exploded through the sky above, just inches from the wavering dome barriers that were placed to protect the Islands. Every now and then, she could see the fall of a dark winged form plummeting out of the battle and into the cracks between the Islands. Whether it was an Esgyll or a Dragon, she could not see.

After darting between clumps of trees and buildings, they finally came to the open yard of the Dragon’s compound. The girl could already make out the figures of other Dragons there. As they came closer, she could hear the rumbling sound of Brunswik’s voice.

“They’re different this time, Lord Zemi,” the huge Crimson reported. “I don’t know what Zeromus has been feeding those Esgyll but they’re far stronger than they were in the first two attacks.”

“We’re doing what we can to keep them away from the barriers,” KaiShi flicked her tail with a dragon scowl at her companion.

“I mean, talk about just one chomp – just one — and a man is gone. Gone like that,” Brunswik continued, stretching his wings for effect.

“I see,” Zemi’s face was grim. Strangely, though he was meeting with Dragons, he has not yet taken his own Dragon form yet.

“Chomp!” Brunswik repeated, clamping his huge jaws together. “And gone!”

KaiShi eye ridge twitched with a hint of irritation.

“Thank you, Brunswik,” Zemi intercepted, patting the Crimson on the snout. “Your report was very enlightening.”

“Anytime, Lord Zemi!” Brunswik lifted his head proudly. “I’ll return to my post now?”

“Yes. And please spread the news to anyone who has not engaged yet that the Esgyll may pose a bit more of a threat than they did before,” the Dreigiau nodded.

“Yes sir!” with a hurricane swoop of wings, the huge Dragon winged into the skies, flying fearlessly towards the battle ahead.

KaiShi gave a long suffering sigh.

“He’s got a good heart,” Zemi answered the unspoken question. “And he’s a war machine in battle when the time comes.”

“I know… I know… ” the golden Dragon shook out her mane. Then her ears perked forward as she caught sense of the newcomers. “Zem?”

“Hrm?” the Arweinydd paused, turning and looking directly at them.

AsaHi felt SoYa pause a moment, then stiffen a bit.

“Lord Zemi,” the Athrylith gave a slight bow. “Lady KaiShi.”

KaiShi’s momentary irritation had turned to hope. “You got here safely. Good. Where is that scamp of a father of yours?”

“He’s leading the ground troops,” Zemi answered. “But I’ve asked SoYa and AsaHi to join us in our maneuvers.”

“Oh?” the golden Dragon seemed somewhat surprised.

“Everyone needs to be mobilized in flight for this battle,” the Arweinydd answered and offered nothing else.

AsaHi felt SoYa shiver under her hand at the statement. She didn’t know what the motion meant.

“Are we ready to head out then?” KaiShi asked, tilting her head downward.

“W-wait. Just a moment,” SoYa rasped, fumbling with the front of his vest. After opening his collar and doing a bit of digging, he produced a thin silver chain with a small, round stone on the end.

“Oh?” AsaHi knew what that was. Zento had one similar to it… though she had rarely ever seen it used.

“Arfogaeth? Zemi?” KaiShi gave the Dreigiau a questioning look. Afterall, the spirit armor was something crafted only by the Arweinydd and gifted to certain, special individuals.

“The boy needs to protect himself?” Zemi shrugged.

“I suppose so,” the golden Dragon frowned a little. “Very well…”

SoYa had walked a few paces away, face a blanket of concentration. He cupped the stone between his hands, sweat on his brow as he closed his eyes. It responded, giving off a soft, lilac light that slowly inched its way along the outline of his hands… then up his arms and along his shoulders.

AsaHi drew in a quiet breath as she watched the outline build itself, bit by bit, into long slender shoulder plates, padded vestments and sturdy plated gloves. Weightless and ethereal, tiny etched designs of loops and weaves spread along the white armor as it began to solidify. It was a good deal different from the armor that his father wore – more mage-like and ornate in quality. Embedded within the center of the chest piece, the small lilac stone gave off a quiet light.

“It worked?” SoYa stretched out his hands, staring at them in wonderment. Then he looked up at AsaHi with an excited boyish grin. “AsaHi… it worked! Look!”

“It’s… wonderful, SoYa?” AsaHi smiled warmly, lost what else to say. SoYa looked so different encased in the shimmering spirit armor. So grown. So steady and sure. Even the smile was one of knowledge and understanding that had come to him.

He looks so much like Zento sometimes…

“Well, someone has an artistic streak in them,” KaiShi commented as she watched. There was a hint of pride in her words.

“Must have gotten it from his mother,” Zemi’s voice rumbled far above their heads.

AsaHi blinked up in surprise. Staring straight at the huge muzzle of the great white Dragon. As SoYa had been discovering the workings of his armor, Zemi had also transformed. His huge wings half unfurled covered them all, even KaiShi, in a soft white glow that streamed down around them.

There was something that had changed about him, too. Something protective. Something caring and concerned. Not that he hadn’t been in the past… but the feeling of the Dreigiau’s mind was different.

It was as if he understood now exactly what he risked… for himself. And for others.

“Zemi…” AsaHi reached a hand upwards, pausing a moment before touching the white mane. Instead, she looked at SoYa, in concern of what he would think.

It was obvious what she was meant to do… that she would Ride the Dreigiau in facing the darkness. In hopes that her Drei’distau would be enough to protect him from the grasps of the Chaos that had taken Zeromus.

But at the same time, AsaHi had no idea what SoYa thought of it. That the Arweinydd who was in love with his Promised would sweep her away in Dragon wings.

The Athrylith was watching them, a forced look on his face. As if part of him was struggling with it. But the other part spoke instead, somewhat comforted by her concern, “AsaHi… don’t worry about me. We all have to do what we can to protect the people. This is your place in the battle. I’ll do mine.”

The words sounded so much like something Zento would say. Even the way he lifted his chin with the last few words. Enduring things that were personal struggles… for the good of other people.

“SoYa…” AsaHi suddenly rushed over, throwing her arms around SoYa’s neck.

The girl was awed and stricken by who her Promised was becoming. She wished that they had never had to live through times that forced him to be this way. That she had put him in the position of conflict with their Patron. That he couldn’t remain as he had always been — simple and kindly SoYa.

His embrace was gentle, though. And his voice was soft as he reassured her. SoYa offered a quiet smile as he leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Everything will be okay…”

AsaHi nodded and after a moment they parted, walking their separate ways. He, to the golden Dragon. And she, to the waiting Dreigiau.

Unruffled, Zazo paced forward and shoved her nose right up in TsuYa's face. ~Lazy Earthian. Wake up!~

“TsuYaaa!” the name ripped out of Zento’s hoarse throat as he swooped down towards the splayed body below. He had been searching up and down the western edge of the main Island for any sign of his son, in trepidation. What he finally found didn’t leave him with any comfort at all.

TsuYa lay face down in the grass. It looked like he had been dragged under cover after he had been overcome. There was blood, both black and red, everywhere that the winged man looked. His terrified eyes couldn’t measure how much of it might belong to his son.

Light. Please… please… don’t let him be dead. I’ll never forgive myself if…

The winged man dropped lightly to his knees, reaching both hands down to support TsuYa’s limp head. He fought back the threat of tears that blurred his vision and made it so hard to tell whether or not his son was still breathing.

“Tsu… please. Please stay with me. Zemi will be here soon,” Zento pulled him up, cradling his head against his chest. His hands were shaking as he stroked through the dirt-matted hair.

~ZenToYa…~

A familiar voice sounded in his senses. The winged man drew in a choking breath and turned his eyes to the crest of the hill. His gaze was met with the unblinking green eyes of the giant white wolf.

“Lady Zazo?”

~If awards were given for theatrics, you would certainly have won something tonight.~ she gave a panting laugh.

Despite the fact that he was facing down an Arweinydd, Zento found himself gritting his teeth at her casual disdain. He wanted to yell at her. To rant and rage. To get her to understand that the life of his child was far more than just a game.

Zazo’s tail flicked back and forth. As if his agitation only served to amuse her all the more.

The Champion balled his fist. “When Zemi gets here, he’ll–”

~Relax, ZenToYa. You don’t have to threaten me with my brother’s so-called ire. Your son is alive. I have personally brought him here and seen to his well being.~

Zento’s mouth shut with a click.

She gave a wolfish grin at his sudden turn of discomfort. ~Now tell me again. What will Zemi do when he gets here?~

“Nothing,” the winged man turned his head, eyes focusing back on the quiet face of his son.

Is Tsu really okay? He’s so still…

~It is the nature of what he has become.~

“What are you talking about?” Zento glanced up at her, holding TsuYa closer to his chest.

~Certainly you do notice. As much as Zemi and his pet Watcher would like to say otherwise, your son has begun to change.~

“No…” he shook his head, fingers tightening on the cloth of the blue coat. “You’re wrong.”

~Am I?~

“Aur has created a cure for Tsu..?” Zento heard the questionmark at the end of his own statement and gave a frown.

~Aur has created a delay.~

“What do you mean?”

Zazo shook out the ruff of her coat. ~I felt it in TsuYa today as he fought. I feel it in him now. Until Zeromus is completely gone, the threat to your son remains.~

There was far too much truth to the words. And after all that had happened that day, they were far too much to bear. Zento felt his will sag and his body slump forward, still cradling his youngest son. Tears threatened to come. But he knew if he released them, he may never get them to stop.

~Don’t start that now. There is still time. TsuYa has a powerful fighting will. You must continue to hold your strength in the face of the changes that will come.~ Zazo gave him a very serious look. ~Also… do not be fooled into believing that a band aid is a cure.~

The winged man peered at the white wolf. Once again, something in her words rang true.

As he drew in a deep breath, TsuYa uttered a low, guttural sound. Something between a groan and a growl. Zento felt the speckle of goose bumps rush over his skin. But as his sons’ dark eyes fluttered open, he did everything he could to suppress the encroaching feeling of uncertainty.

She’s right… I can’t… let myself doubt.

Unruffled, Zazo paced forward and shoved her nose right up in TsuYa’s face. ~Lazy Earthian. Wake up!~

TsuYa jerked back with a startled shout, accidentally jabbing his elbow into Zento’s stomach as the two of them scrabbled in the grass. Much to Zazo’s obvious amusement.

~I knew there was a reason I stopped by today.~

“Zazo!” TsuYa choked, eyes flicking around frantically. Then he seemed to realize that Zento was there, too. “Father!?”

“Tsu… are you okay?” the winged man choked down the flood of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him.

“I’m… I’m alright, Dad,” TsuYa nodded in response. Then, much to Zento’s surprise, he added with a quick breath, “I’m so glad you’re here…”

Against his son’s better wishes, the winged man pulled him close into a long, relieved hug.

TsuYa took in a long, broken breath. He seemed to sit there for a moment before his thoughts were collected. Then he gave a shudder, like a skittish animal, and took a hold of Zento’s robe. His voice croaked out one heavy word, “LuShi?!”

Puzzled, the winged man shook his head, “I didn’t see LuShi here. Only you?”

“LuShi!?” the young warrior turned, stammering at Zazo when he didn’t receive the answer he seemed to be looking for.

~I got you away from there before things got too dangerous,~ she informed him. ~Zemi is taking care of the boy Sygnus right now.~

“What? Why?” Zento’s chin jerked up as a sick, heavy feeling began to churn in the pit of his stomach. For the first time, he began to sense that something about the air felt wrong. Up until that point, he had been so engrossed in his son’s health that he had completely overlooked everything else.

~It seems the enemy has attempted to awaken the boy Sygnus’ innate power.~

If the whole Island had come down on his head, Zento didn’t think he would have felt more shocked. This was the first time that he had been informed that the Arweinydd did, in fact, know of some sort of danger that LuShi held.

“Innate… power?” the winged man choked. “What innate power?”

~We do not know yet. That is what Zemi is checking on right now,~ she replied with a warning cock of her head.

I… KNEW it! I KNEW something like this would happen all along!

Zento’s fingers tightened upon his son’s shoulder. He gave a hiss of displeasure.

But did Zemi listen to me! NO!

“Dad…” TsuYa gave a low sound. “Dad, that hurts?”

“Huh?” the winged man pulled his hand back with a jerk. “I’m… sorry, Tsu.”

Zazo interrupted the frothing tide of thought with a well-jabbed nose. Straight into his son’s face. ~TsuYa… what happened to cause this?~

Instead of answering her, the young warrior rose to his feet and gave Zento an incredulous look. “Dad… you’re never going to believe this. But I saw KoGuRai!”

“What?” it was so out of the blue that he completely lost all track of angry thoughts. He found himself standing, too. “KoGuRai?”

“He’s one of them… he’s the one that caused all this with LuShi,” TsuYa looked down, shaking his head. “KoGuRai… looked like one of the Marked. But he was different. He could talk… had a mind of his own. The same old attitude, of course. And he had wings. Except… they were black.”

“I see…” Zento couldn’t think of anything else to say to the rush of upset words that came from his son.

~Zerom has chosen his Champion?~ Zazo’s tone seemed surprised.

“I guess so?”

~That is peculiar.~

“Why?” the winged man frowned slowly, pushing himself up on the palms of his hands.

The she wolf didn’t reply, however. He knew from experience with Zazo that when she wanted to say something, you’d hear it whether you wanted to or not. But when she wanted to keep her secrets, to get her to speak was like trying to move a mountain.

“What happened to KoGuRai?” TsuYa asked. His knees seemed wobbly. But he was holding. An iron will that seemed ready to try and face down the dark winged Champion if he were to appear right then and there.

~I left him there to reap the darkness that he attempted to sow,~ the she wolf finally spoke. There was a nasty gleam to her fangs as her lips curled back in pleasure. Or displeasure. He couldn’t tell which.

“Is he dead?”

~Doubtful. The boy Sygnus has power… but he is not yet strong enough to destroy the Rhyswyr of Zeromus.~

“Darn…” TsuYa muttered under his breath.

Just then, a soft galewind kicked up the stray grass around them, sending it scattering up into the sky. Zento craned his head back to see the lithe golden shape of KaiShi backwinging down for a landing only a few yards away. He could hear the joyful shout of SoYa as the winds died down.

Only a moment later, the Athrylith had slid down the Dragon’s shoulder and was rushing over to greet them. “Father! Tsu! Tsu – you’re alright?”

“Of course…” TsuYa gave a grimace at all the fuss his brother was making.

“Why do you always have to go running off alone like that! You had us worried SICK!” SoYa scolded momentarily. Then he grasped TsuYa by the shoulders, shaking him around good-naturedly.

“Yeah… yeah…” the young warrior rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. But he didn’t protest too much when his brother gave him a long pat-on-the-back hug.

Zento let out a long breath, allowing much of the tension to drain out of him. With a grim face, he strode up to the golden Dragon, KaiShi. She was also watching the two brothers, an unreadable look on her face.

“Hey,” he said quietly, just trying to capture her attention.

“Zento,” she acknowledged, tilting her head down towards him.

He reached up and touched her nose with the palm of his hand. An appreciative gesture. “You saved my hide back there. Thanks.”

“Nonsense,” she flicked her tail slowly. “ZenToYa always has everything under control.”

The winged man laughed, “Of course. That’s right. I forgot.”

They stood together quietly for a while as the sound of the battle faded into the distance. The shadows crossed the sky far less often and plumes of smoke grew weaker as fires were tended. Not far away, SoYa and Zazo seemed to be prodding TsuYa on some matter while the young warrior mock protested with crossed arms.

“Is it over…” he heard himself ask of no one.

“The battle is. For now, we’ve held Ceiswyr,” KaiShi replied. “But there is trouble with LuShi, it seems.”

The golden Dragon had adopted a wait-and-see stance on the issue of the boy Sygnus. Though she had never verbally rebuked Zemi’s choice of raising LuShi on the Islands, neither did she seem to completely agree with the decision. Like Zento, she was a leader of her kind. And her thoughts hovered on what was best for those that she was responsible for.

“I guess I better go see what damage has been done,” the winged man sighed grimly. “I’m sure things will need tending.”

“Would you mind if I joined you, Zento?” KaiShi asked quietly.

Taken by surprise at the question, Zento realized that he wouldn’t mind. Not one bit. As he turned his head back towards the waiting Compound, he told her so.

SoYa grabbed AsaHi's hand as a second Esgyll swooped down towards them, out of the flashing battle skies above.

“Quick! This way!” SoYa grabbed AsaHi’s hand as a second Esgyll swooped down towards them, out of the flashing battle skies above. The girl gave a soft sound as he led her towards a nearby grove of trees, just on the fringe of the Compound.

“Zento!” she cried, looking back over her shoulder at the lone winged warrior.

The name alone almost made SoYa’s step falter. But he forced himself to keep moving. He knew that if he looked back, he would never be able to follow his father’s instructions. That he would want to stay and face the dangers instead of leading AsaHi to safety.

If there is safety anywhere on the Islands now.

“Keep going!!” Father’s shout was muffled, strained with the sound of intense battle. A flash of brilliant light from behind told SoYa that the winged man had called on the power of his arfogaeth. “I’ll come to find you! Just don’t stop no matter what!”

He could hear the sound of AsaHi’s sobs between her gasps for breath. It was hard to know in the pressure of battle what was right. What was wrong. Which way was up or down. Father had taught him that everything in war was about survival — because you couldn’t help anyone else if you were dead.

Still, these were the hardest steps that SoYa had ever taken in his life. Even if it was to protect AsaHi.

We’ll find help and come back for you, Father. I’m not leaving you alone here to face the Esgyll by yourself!

Not that the winged man wasn’t perfectly capable, SoYa had learned. Wounded or not. The moment that Father had leapt out of the doorway to the Compound, he was already slashing through the waiting creatures on the other side. The thick scale-bone hide gave just as easily as the flesh. The first Esgyll had fallen to Father’s blade with a gurgling shriek before SoYa even had a chance to gather his wits about him.

But that had called the attention of more Esgyll. And seeing the demise of one of their own, these Esgyll would not make the same mistake as the first.

The sound of leaves crunching under his boots alerted SoYa to the fact that they had reached the tree line. The swooping Esgyll must have responded to Father’s diversion because they had not been followed. Still clinging tightly to his hand, AsaHi collapsed in the thick underbrush, fighting to find her breath between choked sobs.

“Zento…” she sounded more afraid than he had ever heard before.

“I know… I know…” SoYa wrapped his arms around her protectively, stroking his hand through her hair to calm her. It was all that he could do not to join her lament.

This wasn’t the way this battle was supposed to happen. We weren’t ready again. There are a lot more than there were the first time.

Something in SoYa’s mind chided him that he should be out on the battlefield rather than hiding in the brush. But to gaze upon the destruction that lay everywhere — the crumpled walls of the Compound… the thick oily smoke that spoke of the tell tale signs of a fire getting out of hand in the distance… the splurts of flame that shot across the sky… and the flickers of white that indicated the approaching Cyngan troops — it all seemed too big for him to take in.

How am I supposed to get AsaHi to safety… when there isn’t even safety for someone like Father?

Squinting hard, SoYa could make out the lumbering shadows of the two Esgyll in the midst of battle in the field. Every now and then, a flash of brilliant blue spoke of Father’s presence as he battled. And though he fiercely believed in the strength that his father possessed, he could only suck on his bottom lip and wonder how long it would be before the wounds and loss of blood would weaken the winged man’s blow.

Where do we go? Maybe we shouldn’t have left him out there.

Just as his mind began to swing towards disobedience, he heard a muffled gasp escape AsaHi’s lips. She grabbed tightly to the sleeve of his robe and jerked once to get his attention. “SoYa! Look!”

The girl pointed up towards the churning clouds. The Athrylith’s eyes lifted opening wide in a shock of fear. Two huge shadows were bearing down upon the battle near the compound from above, rocketing groundwards in a blinding speed.

“Father!” SoYa choked, stumbling towards the edge of the brush. He knew that no matter how fast he would run, he could never make it that far fast enough to warn him. “Father… no!”

“Wait!!” AsaHi grabbed the edge of his cloak, yanking back with all of her strength.

“But..!” he protested over his shoulder.

“SoYa, they’re Dragons!”

It took a moment for his brain to process the words that the girl spoke. When the meaning finally struck him, he didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry, “Dragons…?”

As the two shapes corkscrewed down through the parting clouds, SoYa began to make out the descending forms. A glint of gold reflecting against the blue. Wide, elegant wings. Silken spun mane. The Dragon form of Lady KaiShi skimmed the tops of the bushes as a plume of flame erupted from her open maw. The blast took one of the Esgyll by surprise, causing the creature to rear back, writhing as its back half ignited and burned in a flare of greasy smoke.

In the glow of flame and darkness, SoYa could see Father’s form peering up at the sky. His wings glittered silver as his hair swept back in the warrior’s knot, his hair flung by the blast of air from the Dragon’s wings. Next to the great battling beasts, he looked so tiny.

AsaHi gave a shout that sounded like a combination of joy and a call to get the Dragons’ attention. SoYa almost reached to stop her as she rushed out of the treeline, waving one hand around wildly. But then he realized that Dragonback might be their only way out of there.

A tremendous roar shook the Islands, cutting off AsaHi’s cheerful display. SoYa’s hands flew up to his ears, pressing against them desperately. Though the girl had fell silent, she remained out in the open, head raised and eyes fixed with a glittering light on the sky above. He could feel it — the pressure of a huge presence that swept around him like the dislodged leaves as the winds whipped through the trees.

The glimmering white Dragon was suddenly above them, the belly just barely cresting the tops of the trees. SoYa felt his breath ripped from him as the thunderous sound of beating wings reverberated the ground. The creature was so huge that it seemed as if he could reach up and touch the white scales, despite the distance that it had from the ground.

“Zemi…” AsaHi’s awed voice was tiny to SoYa’s ears.

But then, everything was tiny in the wake of the Dreigiau.

It felt so unreal. As if time itself had come to a stop to watch the Arweinydd’s approach.

The white Dragon’s great head reared back, gleaming fangs showing in the firelight. A stream of pure white light burst from the Dreigiau’s throat, so huge that it would surely take out the entire Compound in one blast.

SoYa felt his throat tighten as the world was bathed pure white. The light was cooling. Healing and gentle. He felt it race over his limbs, strengthening both body and spirit with a rush of power unlike any he had ever felt before. For just a moment, he wondered if that was what it felt to Awaken.

When the light had faded, the Esgyll were gone. Not even a charred body remained laying there in the field. Simply gone. Where the light had given healing to those who followed the Dreigiau, it had blown away the darkness of their enemies without question.

SoYa craned his head back as the enormous white Dragon landed. The Dreigiau’s wings stretched towards the sky, towering far above the blue and silver of his Champion. And though there wasn’t really a sense of fear in the back of his mind, even AsaHi seemed hesitant to approach. Though SoYa had seen Zemi’s Dragon form back in the cave of Wyndor, it wasn’t quite the same as standing before the Dreigiau in his full, uncloaked battle form.

“Trying to take on the whole army by yourself again, Zento?” the deep rumbling voice filled their ears with in droll, almost amused tone. The huge white head lowered until it lay unceremoniously upon the ground.

“Did you expect anything less, Zemi?” Father grinned back, approaching the Dreigiau without a hint of fear. He placed one palm upon the white nose, a smile of gratitude playing on his lips, “You’re late.”

“I am right on time,” Zemi replied with a twitch of his ears.

“Late,” Father repeated.

“You’re not dead? Therefore, I am right on time,” came the half purred response.

AsaHi had gathered herself up during the exchange, chancing an approach towards the two. SoYa got to his feet as well, not wanting to appear to be the only one to look as shaken as he was.

Everything… will be okay now. Right?

Not far away, the golden Dragon of Lady KaiShi stood watching, proud head arched back, seeming to be testing the winds. Somehow, she gave him a sense of comfort and encouraged him to continue forward simply by being there.

When the two of them finally stood before the Dreigiau, all SoYa found he was able to do was stare. There was the constant feeling of shrinking there in the presence of a creature so large. Zemi, however, seemed completely oblivious to this, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary at all.

“Father…” SoYa’s voice croaked in concern.

The winged man turned at the sound. For a moment, the Athrylith thought he saw a strange blueish light glimmering around him. But it was gone with one passing blink.

“SoYa. AsaHi,” Father walked towards them, hands outstretched. Any wounds he may have suffered from the fight were completely gone. “Are you alright?”

AsaHi nodded. Then with a quiet sound, she ran up to the winged man and hugged him tightly, choking with relief.

Father’s face was awash with surprise. “Now… what was that for?”

The girl didn’t answer. Instead she broke from the embrace and stumbled up to where the Dreigiau’s head lay in the grass. Somewhat shyly, she placed both of her palms up upon his muzzle. After a testing moment, she placed her cheek against it, too.

SoYa coughed, feeling a strange, biting emotion rise up in his chest. An emotion that he fought to strangle down as quickly as he could. Afterall, Zemi did just save their lives.

And I would be a real Grade A idiot to even think like that…

Instead, the Athrylith shook his head, forcing his focus back on the winged man, “Father. What about Tsu and Lucci?”

Father’s face grew grim, his green eyes shifting towards the two waiting Dragons.

“What is this about TsuYa and Lucci?” KaiShi asked with a slow flick of her tail.

“TsuYa has been out here on his own during the battle. We returned to the Compound after training before he did,” Father winced, attempting to skirt around the details the best that he could. From the look on the golden Dragon’s face, he wasn’t pulling anything over on her. “And LuShi ran out after him to bring him his weapon.”

Lady KaiShi unfolded her wings, “I did not see any sign of them as we flew over. But then, I was not looking to find wayward boys in the forest.”

“We must find them,” Zemi’s head slowly lifted, a rumbling sound of concern in his throat. “There are worse things attacking the Islands than just the Esgyll.”

What does that mean?

SoYa shifted uncomfortably under the weight of the statement. But before he could say anything, the large form of the golden Dragon was crouching next to him on the field. “Come with me, SoYa. You’ll be safer if we fly together.”

His reply caught in his throat as he blinked at the creature’s gentle face.

“Are you afraid to fly?” she asked.

“No, Ma’am. Of course not…” SoYa shook himself out.

“Then let us go and find your brother?” Lady KaiShi extended one slender claw to him.

Hoisting himself up on the claw, he managed to grab a hold of the silky mane and pull himself up upon the golden Dragon’s back. It took a moment for him to righten himself and find his balance. He was still no where near as skilled at Dragon riding as AsaHi was, but he was learning and getting better.

There seemed to be silent words spoken between the girl and the Dreigiau. For neither said anything as AsaHi made her way to the white Dragon’s side and climbed up his great shoulder. With a practiced motion, she was mounted, her fingers woven into the wild white mane, face unafraid. As if the huge beast was an extension of herself — a source of power and comfort.

Father had already taken to the skies, winging up from the broken ground into the dizzying heights above. SoYa watched his father’s movements, wishing for the courage and the surety that the winged man always seemed to have. He was jolted from his thoughts as the golden Dragon under him shifted, rising to her feet. As the wings spread, the Athrylith gripped the mane tightly, laying flat against her back.

In a smooth sweeping motion, the ground vanished underneath them. The sound of vast wings flapping told him that the Dreigiau was not far behind.

Brother… we’re coming. Just hang on.

“Zemi... you’re falling in love with AsaHi.”

“Zemi,” KaiShi’s voice drifted up quietly from somewhere just behind the Dreigiau, “I think we need to talk.”

There was the sound of importance in the statement. An irrefutable solidity to her voice. Zemi recognized the sound when he heard it and knew it was best to allow whatever was about to happen follow through. There was a prickling along the nape of his neck as his eyes gave the horizon one last pass. Then he turned to give the golden-haired woman his best attention.

“Sure, what’s on your mind?” he replied with a genuine smile.

A soft breeze blew between them, adding a gentle day-draft to the warmth of the early afternoon. Zemi had come up to the Outlook to take a break from the lingering after-battle excitement of his Dragons. He needed to think about things. About the Spiral. About Zento. About Kudako. And especially about Aur.

“I’ve spoken at length with Zento,” she told him. The words should have been warning enough, even without the sharp golden eyes keeping watch over him intently. “From what I’ve seen over the past weeks and the things that Zento has seen as well, we’ve come to the conclusion that you’re growing fond of AsaHi.”

His brow furrowed at the obviousness of the statement. He leaned back on his haunches a moment before rising to his full height. “Of course I’m fond of AsaHi. Most everyone who knows her is?”

KaiShi gave a gentle sigh and shook her head. “Not that kind of fond, Zemi.”

“What kind of fond, then?”

There was a reluctance to the words as she placed them out on the table before him. But they came, clear and unwavering. Solid and factual. “Zemi… you’re falling in love with AsaHi.”

“What?” the Dreigiau’s head jerked around, both eyebrows arched as far up as they could go.

“That’s what I thought,” she said quietly. “You didn’t even realize it, did you?”

Zemi was just grappling with the idea that he hadn’t denied her statement from the outset. He gave a gruff snort, leaning forward to get a better view over the edge of the Outlook, “What makes you so sure of that?”

“I told you. Zento and I spoke and we–”

“Conspiracy,” Zemi grumbled. “Can’t trust anyone now days.”

“I’ve been watching you and Asahi,” KaiShi simply continued pressing over the Dreigiau’s offhand-remarks. “It’s all the classic symptoms… the way you favor her, the time you spend with her, the looks that you give her. Zemi… I’ve been around the Earthian block long enough. I know love when I see it.”

Zemi gave another mutter, rubbing at his nose with the back of one hand. He wasn’t really angry at the directness of her approach – KaiShi had always been like that. It was part of the reason she had been chosen to lead his Dragons… while Zento had been chosen to lead the Cyngan.

But this proposal had come completely out of the blue. Though KaiShi could be trusted on the matter of good council over most people any day of the week, the impossibility of the situation she was detailing struck a discord in his mind.

“It’s just the Drei’distau,” Zemi finally spoke, trying to shrug it off.

Afterall, one of his kind couldn’t fall in love with an Earthian. Befriend them, spend time with them, care about them – yes. However, Arweinydd did not fall in love.

“I don’t believe it that’s all there is to it,” the she shook her head vehemently. “Not for one second.”

“It’s not possible,” he informed her, echoing his thoughts. “My kind can not manifest that sort of emotion.”

“Well, you ‘manifest’ plenty of other emotion. What’s the difference?” KaiShi pointed out.

“There is a difference,” Zemi glanced over at her. “Even your own people have always categorized love as an emotion all unto itself. Yes?”

KaiShi stated firmly, “Just because you can’t comprehend something, doesn’t mean that it is impossible.”

“What are you trying to say?” he felt a sudden heat rise in his cheeks.

“After all, I thought that’s what we’re here for,” she didn’t seem to notice, refusing to let him get a statement in. “To break the chains of near-reality. To expand upon the flight of imagination…”

“Even the Arweinydd have their rules,” Zemi grimaced.

“Oh, come on, Zemi! Since when did you ever play by anyone else’s rules?”

The Dreigiau took in a deep breath. He knew he couldn’t get out of that one. “That’s… true… I suppose.”

“Trust me on this one, Zemi,” KaiShi told him, seeing that she had gotten him to agree with her on one thing. “This isn’t just the Drei’distau at work between you and her. You’re falling for her. So, get it out of your head that such an emotion is impossible for you to feel.”

He sat in a confusing swirl of thought, the facts of his origins in conflict with the determination of her voice. Surely, she was the servant and he was the Dreigiau. If there was one that knew of the Arweinydd, it was himself.

Though one couldn’t push aside the fact that even what the Arweinydd knew of their own kind was very little. No where had it been set in cosmic stone that Arweinydd were limited in emotion. If anything, Zemi had proved that basic feeling and emotion could be developed through enough exposure to the Earthian kind.

But falling in love?

That would put some major complications into the already muddled mix. After all, the most devastating stories that the Earthians told were all about people who did stupid things all in the name of this emotion called love. Certainly he, Lord Zemi Dreigiau, would not allow himself to fall into such pitiful heart-set traps.

“You know something? It’s really a wonderful thing, falling in love,” KaiShi had suddenly taken on a whimsical tone, her head lifted towards the sky. “I know how you desire knowledge about the Earthians…”

She paused for a moment.

“Love is the ultimate teacher in our world.”

“Is that so?” Zemi squinted a bit.

“Oh, yes. So don’t let it seem like I’m against you falling in love,” her words continued to assume that her stance was correct. And rather than dispute her, Zemi simply let her continue on, “I’d wish all the best for you if it were under better conditions.”

The Dreigiau could hear the shift in her voice. The turning point of the conversation. There was something more going on. He knew that he wouldn’t have to wait too long for it to come out. And he was right.

“Of all the girls out there for you to become fond of…” KaiShi gave a long sigh, “Why did you have to go and pick AsaHi?”

“What?” Zemi said, for the second time during the course of that conversation. For some odd reason, that had been the last thing he had been expecting to hear. Instantly he found himself balanced on the edge of curiosity and a strange sort of trepidation.

“Zemi… you don’t know anything about the Bonding Ceremonies of the Earthians, do you?” she asked gently.

He fished around in his mind for a moment before shaking his head. “Seems to be a familiar term. But I don’t know anything particular about it. No.”

“How is it that you can make an Earthian into a Dragon and have no clue as to a very common ritual like that?” she chided him. Just a bit. There as a hint of pity in her words. As if she was approaching something sad and wasn’t sure how to break the news.

“Maybe because I’ve only been able to associate with people for a very short amount of time now?” Zemi chided back. “It’s not as if I’ve had a chance to learn much culture, you know?”

“Oh, Zemi…” she sighed. Her gold eyes turned the other way.

He read her hesitance and offered her a leeway into the topic. “It’s okay, KaiShi… just tell me what I need to know. It seems to be important, yes?”

“Yes…” she took a deep breath, then began, “You have an idea of what the Earthian concept of a ‘promise’ is, don’t you?”

“Of course. It means that you tell someone that you’re going to do something, and you follow through with it. Correct?” Zemi was trying to figure out what that had to do with AsaHi. And with being supposedly in love.

“That’s pretty close,” she nodded. “Well, in our culture, when a young man and young woman are both in love with each other, they can choose to become something called Promised.”

“As in a state of being promised…?”

“To each other,” KaiShi tried to explain further. “It means that they will be true to each other. They will honor the love that the other feels for them. And they promise not to betray the person by falsely loving someone else.”

“That would mean that they belong to each other?” Zemi perked up, thinking of the possibilities of such a concept.

AsaHi could be his Drei’distau… and his Drei’distau only.

“Somewhat,” she nodded. “Once they have spent time together as Promised and they know that they wish to be with that person for the rest of their life, they make a vow to Bond themselves to each other in love. That is what is known as the Bonding Ceremony.”

“Sometimes you Earthians really do come up with the most fascinating concepts,” the Dreigiau churred under his breath, his mind calculating. For if he could have claim over AsaHi, then certainly he would be able to fight back against the encroaching Chaos.

“Yes, well…” KaiShi swallowed. She was pausing again.

“Well?” he peered over at her, curiously.

“Zemi… I know you’re not going to be happy about this,” she began, voice gentle. “But you do know that AsaHi is already Promised to someone else, don’t you?”

The entire world fell silent around him. So silent, he could hear the distant stars singing beyond the pale blue of the sky overhead. A song of deep, sudden lament. Of something that might have been wonderful gone terribly wrong.

He could feel his face whitening. Was he growing pale? Could he, the Dreigiau do that? And through the depth of the silence, the sound of his heartbeat thumped rapidly within his ears. His palms were clammy when he clasped them together. And though he tried to smile, it crossed his face as a grimace of sharp pain.

“What… do you mean?” his voice was hoarse and gravely. Somewhere between a choke and a growl. Somewhere between grief and fury — balanced on the edge of Chaos.

“AsaHi is Promised to someone else,” she repeated. Quietly. Firmly. There was no question as to what she said this time.

“But she can’t be!” he objected as if his words alone could will his desires into being.

She couldn’t belong to someone else — that was simply too stupid to believe. AsaHi was meant to be his Drei’distau! Why else would things have happened the way that they had?

“Zemi… she has been Promised… long before you even came from the cave,” KaiShi tried to reason with him, sensing the danger in his voice.

“AsaHi should belong to me!” he balled his fists, clutching the front of his robes. His fangs glimmered wickedly as his lip curled fiercely.

She flinched back, a look of alarm on her face.  “Belong? Oh, Zemi, no! It doesn’t work that way… you can’t own a person!”

“Who is it?” he leapt suddenly to his feet. “Who does AsaHi belong to!?”

KaiShi took a choking breath in. Alarm had shifted into anxiety and fear.

Zemi choked down the panic, trying to hold on to anything he could. He could feel himself – almost see himself slipping… slipping… the influence of Chaos reaching for him. If he couldn’t have AsaHi… how could he possibly fight back against the darkness that threatened to consume him?

“Please… no… don’t be this way, Zemi,” she whispered.

“Who!” he demanded again, voice almost spiraling up into a roar.

“It’s SoYa!” the words came in a rasping gasp, her head wrenching the other way. As if she couldn’t bear to look at the Dreigiau any longer. As if even she could sense the taint of the Chaos seeping into his soul.

“SoYa?!” Zemi echoed in an incredulous tone. His slitted eyes shot towards the arch of doorway. Towards the Great Chamber, where the Apprentice would most certainly be found. “SoYa!?”

“Zemi, I know what you’re thinking. But you can’t!” she was almost begging now.

“Tell SoYa to come to me,” the Dreigiau commanded.

“You have to remember that being a Promised means that AsaHi loves SoYa, too!” she was throwing all the facts in the book at him in desperation. And though she may have been right, he didn’t want to hear it.

He was the Dreigiau, after all. Who was to tell Lord Zemi Dreigiau what he could and could not do?

“Bring him here!” Zemi ordered again.

“Only on one condition,” KaiShi suddenly snapped back.

The Dreigiau found himself strangely subdued at her turn of demands. It had always been that way with him – Zemi was impressed by people who would stand up to him. Finding a core of calmness once more, he answered, “What?”

“Before I bring him here, I want you to think about what I’ve said. Think about it real hard,” she said.

He furrowed one brow in question.

“Think about SoYa — one of your own Apprentices! Think about Zento. Think about AsaHi. And consider what your actions can do to everyone else around you,” KaiShi’s voice was grave.

Zemi found himself surrounded by silence again.

“The hard part of interacting with an Earthian world is that disappointment is real. You can’t always fill every desire, every feeling, every whim that you have. And everything you do has a consequence, Zemi,” she rose to her feet, peering down on him. “The more powerful you are, usually the larger the consequences will be.”

KaiShi then turned, making her way into the Great Chamber. Leaving the Dreigiau to his thoughts. Leaving him to his silence.

And Zemi discovered within that stillness the faint, uncharacteristic shattering of what seemed to be his heart.

He propped himself against her tail, letting out a long breath.

“Alright, how’s that feel for you?” ZenToYa asked as the blue healing glow faded from the edge of his fingertips. He drew his hands back away from the creature’s leg.

A pair of bright golden eyes shown down at him from within the face of the young, green Dragon. Shaking out his dark mane, the youthful voice replied quirkily, “You still got it in you, Ole Man.”

Zento grinned, leaning back against the white stone wall of the overhanging cave with a casual air. “Glad to know I haven’t lost my touch.”

Purk was possibly the youngest of all the Dragons who had come to take up residence in the realms of Wyndor. Though Zento never pressured Zemi to talk about who the Dragons had once been and why they were chosen for their tasks there, it was not hard to figure out the young Green’s special talents.

Once you got past all the flack-mouthing, of course.

“So what happened,” Zento asked, teasingly putting a finger to his bottom lip. A single mock-critical glance was all it took. “I thought you never went down in battle?”

Finned ears rose to the challenge as a wide Dragon-grin crossed the creature’s maw. “Give me a break, Ole Man. I just got knocked by a bit of ricocheting fire. That’s all.”

“Suuure,” the winged man waved one hand in return. “That’s what they all say.”

Known for a quick and clever mind, in life the young Green Dragon might have stood a chance of becoming one of the best battle tacticians of his nation. Zento didn’t know what had happened to him to have brought him into Zemi’s service at such a young age.

“Hey, it’s true! Blame it on Brunswik’s bad aim,” Purk snorted and glanced the other way. “Don’t know why we bother dragging him into such a delicate operation to begin with. He just bungles everything up!”

‘Purk’ was originally a nickname, just a jest that happened to stick. That much Zento did know about him. The winged man could also sense that a lot of the Green’s light verbal animosity was mostly for show — nothing more than a perpetual teenager wanting to play the part of the know-it-all-punk.

Despite that, Zento couldn’t help but extend his own naturally fatherly tendencies towards the young Dragon. For the long time that he was unable to have contact with his own sons, Purk had often unknowingly served Zento as an outlet for his misplaced longings.

“Now, then…” Zento chided softly. “Brunswik does what he can. Just like the rest of us do.”

“Yeah well, it was my battle plan that pulled down the defenses of the Spiral,” Purk bragged, nostrils flaring wide with pride.

“I don’t doubt that it was,” the winged man replied in all seriousness.

“Though I heard that you kicked a lot of tail, too, Ole Man,” the Green’s fangy grin returned as the Dragon stuck his nose straight into Zento’s face. One snuff sent the silvery-white hair scattering over the warrior’s brow.

“What do you mean by that?” Zento arched one eyebrow, rearranging the misplaced hair.

“Only that you happened to be the one to take down Aur – the Creature from the Time Before!”

“I wouldn’t exactly say that,” the warrior grimaced deeply.

The Dragons seemed to have little thought about the situation that happened in the Spiral besides the idea that victory had been won in Zemi’s name. To them, the war towers had been brought down and the enemy scattered. Aur had been captured. And the day belonged to the Dragons.

“ZenToYa,” Purk flicked his tail with an incredulous tone, “Since when have you ever been modest?”

Zento responded with a shrug and thoughtful silence.

Seeing that he wasn’t going to get much more of an answer than that, Purk shook his mane out. “You fret yourself too much, man.”

“You’re probably right,” the warrior nodded in agreement. “Just comes with the territory.”

If I don’t, who will?

There was a familiar shifting sound of Dragon scale and claw-upon-stone from down the narrow corridor that led to the white-walled caves. Purk turned with a careless rustle of his wings, making a bit of room as a second, larger Dragon shape filled the mouth of the cave.

“Lady KaiShi?” Zento could pick out the features of the slender golden muzzle even before he had a chance to get a good look at it. Though, perhaps it was easier to identify her mostly because he had been expecting her to search him out… just like she always did when he was there visiting in the Dragon Realms.

“Zento…” the Lady Dragon’s eyes fell upon him softly for a long, hazy moment. Then she seem to realize that they were not alone and offered the Green a greeting as well. “Purk? What are you doing here? Were you wounded in the skirmish?”

“Bah,” Purk snorted in response, shifting his once-afflicted paw back as if to block it from her all-knowing gaze. “Wounded? Hardly a scratch. Not even worth calling a wound.”

“I see,” a quiet croon-purr colored her voice, “I heard that it was quite a victory in the Spiral? Congratulations.”

The Green hungrily responded to the offered compliment, like a starving man might to a piece of offered bread… one that he would have to fight to the death for.  ”Naturally. Lord Zemi told me to get the job done. That’s what I do.”

“There’s no doubt in that?” she gave him a kindly, but humoring look. Then with a flip of her mane, she intoned, “I’m sorry to interrupt here, but I need to speak with Zento about some pressing matters.”

“Already figured you’d say that,” Purk gave a sly wink, followed by a suggestive grin. “It’s always pressing matters when you want to talk to the Ole Man all alooone!”

“Purk!” Zento coughed at the intoned implications of the statement and waved both hands at the Green’s backside. “Don’t make a nuisance of yourself.”

“But that’s what I’m good at!”

“We can see that,” the winged man continued to shoo him from the room, good naturedly.

Slipping out the door, the young Dragon couldn’t seem to bring himself to leave without at least one more jab on his way out. A teasing warble floated back to them, followed by a laugh, “Aloooone….”

After a moment of silence, KaiShi finally gave a quiet sound. “Incorrigible.”

Zento grinned lightly, “Dragon or not… boys will be boys.”

“It seems so,” she turned slowly soft expression gazing down at the warrior. When she spoke again, it was with a change of voice. Kindly. And deeply touched. “It is good to know that you returned from the battle safely, ZenToYa. I heard rumors that you fought against some very powerful foes…”

“Were you worried about me?” he teased gently in return, eyebrows arched as he brought himself a few steps closer.

“With you, one can only worry,” finned ears perked forward, eyes twinkling in mischief as KaiShi arched her graceful neck down to regard him more closely.

“Good point,” Zento agreed, one hand reaching out to stroke the golden forelock.

Something about the Golden Dragon’s presence had always brought him comfort and shelter against the storms of his mind. There had rarely been a time when he had come to visit the Dragon Realms that they did not spend at least a short period of time locked in conversation. And feeling the way that he did now, Zento was deeply grateful for the chance to confide in KaiShi’s welcoming reassurance.

It was like coming home to an old friend every time the two of them sat down. And though it was true, the two of them had known each other for a very long time, it was also true that Zento really knew very little about who KaiShi had been before coming to be the leader of Zemi’s Dragon Servants. In fact, though he had heard that the Golden Dragon was one of the few that actually possessed the ability to take on a person-form, Zento had never actually seen it.

Not that he’d ever ask to see it – despite all curiosity. It was just bad manners. And one didn’t want to get on the bad side of Dragons… much less women Dragons.

“How have you been?” KaiShi asked, settling down with her tail curled about the two of them. It was a common way for Dragons to converse with people, it seemed.

“Tired… and stressed,” Zento answered, truthfully. She was one of those people that deserved more than a ‘I’m fine, how are you’ answer. He propped himself against her tail, relaxing against the feeling of the silky hide and soft flow of mane, letting out a long breath. “Things in the Spiral were not pretty. And even if we’ve won the battle there, I’m not sure what will become of the situation. But most of all, I’m just worried about…”

“TsuYa?” she finished for him.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“I’ve spent time speaking with SoYa. He told me of the things that were happening in Ceiswyr,” KaiShi said with a flick of her ear.

“Yes, of course. SoYa,” Zento rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He should have realized that in all the time his son had spent there in the Dragon Realms that KaiShi would have introduced herself.

“Actually… that is what I am meaning to talk to you about, Zento.” The Golden Dragon spoke gently. Like one who didn’t want to add more pain to a situation, but knew things were far too important to go unsaid. “I know you have a lot to think about with TsuYa. However, there is another situation at hand that may be just as troublesome for your eldest son as well.”

The winged man lifted his head with a glance of deep concern. “SoYa? Why, what’s wrong with him? Is there a hold-over from the illness that inflicted him in the Cleft?”

“No… no… nothing like that. His health has recovered… that is not what I am concerned for,” KaiShi shook her head quickly.

“Then, what’s wrong?” he puzzled, running things through his mind, trying to fall upon the meaning of the Dragon’s words.

She took a deep breath, pausing for a short moment, gathering her words for a proper approach. Zento watched, and braced himself.

“While you have been fighting in the Spiral, I have been watching a situation unfold here that is most concerning, Zento,” KaiShi chose the direct method. As she always tended to. “Do you realize that Lord Zemi is falling in love with the girl that is Promised to your eldest son… and that the girl, AsaHi, may have feelings in return?”

Not at all what Zento was expecting, the warrior found himself unable to do much more than stand and stare. His mind was skipping in circles in attempt to catch up, giving him no chance to redeem himself before the Lady Dragon.

“You did not know of this, Athrylith?” her chiding was gentle, yet stern.

“I… sorta knew. I mean, I had an idea that Zemi was attracted to AsaHi. But I thought it was just passing fancy on his part… or just the effect of Drei’distau?” With that though, he turned a hopeful look up, “Are you sure that’s not what it is, KaiShi? The girl has a certain bit of attraction to all Dragons because of her abilities. Maybe Zemi is simply responding to this?”

“I think it is more than that, Zento.” Everything in her voice spoke plain: that SoYa was his son and he should not be overlooking such important happenings as this. “I’ve watched them together… I’ve seen the signs.”

“But how? I mean… Zemi’s kind can’t really fall in love the way Earthians can… right?”

“I don’t know,” KaiShi peered over at him. “But when it’s love, it will find its way. Even the mighty of our world fall when stricken by emotion. Could you not say the same for yourself, the Mighty ZenToYa?”

He gave a soft, sad laugh. “Yes, well… Kudako always said I had a foolish, soft heart when it came to matters of love.”

“Perhaps. But, then, so may your son,” she flicked the tip of her tail slowly. “And I am concerned for many things… namely… the things that Zemi does not seem to know or realize…”

“What do you mean?” There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He already knew the answer to his question. Still, there was something in him that wanted to hear someone else’s take on the situation.

“I don’t think that Zemi even realizes the gravity of what he feels,” KaiShi informed him. “He doesn’t know what love is, Zento. He’s simply acting on instinct… he feels this attraction and is following it. He doesn’t know that AsaHi is Promised to SoYa. And when he figures out the whole of it all… I fear his reaction.”

Zento’s face grew grim. “I see…”

“Not only does he feel this emotion that is foreign to him… something that even us Earthians have trouble dealing with at the best of times… but then…” she lowered her head, “He has to be told that the one that he desires is already taken. Despite the fact… I believe… AsaHi may be beginning to returning the feeling.”

“Are you certain?” the winged man choked on the thought.

“From what I’ve seen, I would say yes.”

“AsaHi wouldn’t do something like that to SoYa. She’s a good girl…” he found himself protesting defensively. He just couldn’t believe something like this could be happening.

“Sometimes, feelings happen that no one can explain or control,” KaiShi responded with a soft sigh. “I don’t think AsaHi means for this to happen. I have seen her acting just as devoted to SoYa in her time here, as well. And I believe that the poor child is caught in the middle of a very troublesome emotional mess.”

“Especially considering someone like Zemi is involved…” Zento drooped a bit, leaning more heavily against the Dragon’s tail as the full implication of the situation dawned on him. “Oh… man… what do I do?”

“Zento…” her voice was soft, a feeling of warm breath against his cheek as she drew closer to him. “I’m sorry… I did not mean to bring more trouble to your heart. But it was important…”

“Yes…” he ran his hands over his face, trying to regain his composure. “I understand.”

“And you are not alone in facing this,” KaiShi prompted.

Zento paused for a moment as the statement drew up around him. Then he glanced up at her, “What do you mean?”

“Let me help you and SoYa,” the Golden Dragon replied quickly to his question.

“KaiShi, you don’t need to be getting into this mess…”

“I have already chosen to become involved by coming here to talk to you today, Zento. As the leader of Lord Zemi’s Dragons, I do have some responsibility in things that would have such a big impact on us as this,” she interjected.

“Yes, but…”

“Besides, you are too close to the situation, Zento,” the Dragon shifted arguments. “You are Zemi’s Champion as well as SoYa’s father. It is important that you should not get yourself drawn apart in this. I have a feeling that both Zemi and SoYa are going to need your council before it is all over.”

Zento fell silent at the logic. Then he asked, “What do you suggest, then?”

“Let me approach Zemi. Let me see what I can do to help him understand,” KaiShi coaxed softly.

The warmth of her breath was at his cheek again. And Zento felt himself giving way to the pure sympathy of the Dragon’s request with an attempted jest, “Are you suggesting I’d only botch it?”

“Never send a man in on a mission of love… nothing good ever came of that,” she took up his hint with a tease of her own.

Zento gave a strained chuckle. “You’re probably right, KaiShi.”

“Of course,” the Golden Dragon curled her tail tighter about the two of them, a gesture of comfort. “Just let me see what I can do with that impossible Dreigiau.”

"I thought I didn’t have any magic,” AsaHi told him, hands bunching up the front of her tunic.

AsaHi’s mind had unfolded for Zemi like a map. A map to vastly extraordinary things.

Her abilities were so easily unlocked due to all of the time AsaHi had spent with the Dragons in Wyndor. That had been the chief reason that Zemi had sent his Servants to bring the girl to stay the realm to begin with. Enough exposure to the Dragons would have eventually triggered something. It had been obvious to them all that she had been right on the edge of finding it for herself.

Now that Drei’distau had finally been revealed, the Arweinydd sat expectantly next to AsaHi by the flower-shrouded pool. AsaHi’s excitement of the discovery seemed to have faded upon their landing. Strangely enough, a mixture of quiet apprehension and anxiety had replaced it.

The look upon AsaHi’s face had been deeply troubled when Zemi had return to his Earthian form. Her replies to his prompts were shaky and she seemed to almost refuse to meet his gaze. This brought a wave trepidation washing over the confused Dreigiau.

Zemi couldn’t understand this strange reaction. After all, AsaHi seemed to have taken the news of Drei’distau so well — if only everyone woke so easily to their calling. He figured that the cause of her apprehension couldn’t have solely come from the revealing of her innate abilities.

Still, it was obvious that there was something bothering her… something more going on behind the light of her eyes. After floundering together in an uncharacteristic puddle of awkward silence, Zemi decided it was time to unravel the source of the unfathomable feminine mystery.

“What’s wrong? Did you think my landing was off?” Zemi gave an easy, fangy grin. Tilting his head forward, he peered into the girl’s down-turned face, trying to snag some of her attention for himself.

“What?” AsaHi seemed a little surprised at the abruptness of his question.

“I’ll have you know it was a perfect 10 point 0! Never less than the best from this Dragon, yes-no?” he thumbed back at his chest, turning up the charm now that he had finally managed to get her to look at him.

“Ah… sure..?”

“You don’t sound so sure?” he prodded playfully. But all his efforts to lighten the mood seemed to be about as futile as the flight of a dust mote upon a beam of sunlight. So he changed his approach. “I bet I surprised you real good, eh?”

Perhaps that was the trouble, Zemi mused. Perhaps she was recovering from surprise. After all, it seemed that sometimes Earthians didn’t always emotionally react to a situation until the aftermath.

“Surprised..?” she blinked over at him. Again, rewarding him with eye contact.

“About Drei’distau?” he grinned encouragingly. If there was anything that captured AsaHi’s interest, it was the search for knowledge.

She gave a watery laugh. It was weak… but it was a start. “I don’t think ‘surprise’ quite covers the whole of it, Zemi.”

“Is it such a bad thing?” the Dreigiau inquired, baiting up the topic.

“N-no. Not at all. It’s just… I thought I didn’t have any magic,” AsaHi told him, hands bunching up the front of her tunic.

“It’s not exactly what I’d call magic,” Zemi replied, picking his words carefully. “Not in the sense of the word as you know it. Drei’distau is something more… deeply innate.”

“What do you mean?” the girl’s hands dropped from her tunic as she peered at him. Her usual steadfast curiosity was trickling down to overcome the troubled expression on her face.

“Well, for starters, it’s not so much a skill that you command. Not like tossing around a fireball or turning something invisible,” the Dreigiau scratched at his chin. “It’s more like… part of what you are. Part of your nature. Part of your existence.”

“Isn’t magic part of a person’s nature, too?” AsaHi asked.

“Somewhat, but in a different way. Magical ability is a talent, a special sensitivity to the world’s forces,” Zemi spread one hand, grasping for a way to bring his point home. “But the Drei’distau is something that is inherently a part of your being. Something you were born to become. You could no more avoid being Drei’distau than you could change the color of your eyes.”

“So you’re saying this would have happened no matter what? Even if I had never met the Dragons?” she asked, slowly becoming more and more engrossed in the conversation. Loosening up as the words began to flow between them.

“You would have met the Dragons,” he told her resolutely. “You would have sought them out eventually. You may not have understood why. But you would have been called to do so. Why do you think you were so drawn to the Host Gate?”

“Because I thought that the whole Zemi Dreigiau thing was just a big pack of silly stories?” AsaHi answered. Then with a sense of someone taking the first steps into the vast unknown, she gave a nervous grin.

Zemi was taken off guard for a moment. Then he grinned in return, fangs showing at the corners of his mouth. “I sure fooled you?”

“If that’s what you want to believe.” Slowly, the final strands of tension seemed to be draining from her limbs, leaving behind something else. When AsaHi leaned back, there was a mysterious look on her face.

“Heh… well…” Something about the look was intriguing. And strangely delightful. But Zemi couldn’t figure out why such thoughts should cross his mind when there were other, more pressing issues to be thinking about.

He knew that Drei’distau had done more than just brought AsaHi a new understanding. It had created a new-found balance between the Arweinydd and Earthian realms of their world, a sense of semi-equality that he now offered to share with the girl. For Zemi knew it was only through the power of AsaHi’s compassion that he would be saved from the Chaos.

The Chaos was something he had decided not to tell AsaHi about. Not just yet. Some things were far too complicated for him to explain this early into the game. Besides, the girl always found the hard questions to ask even without his encouragement.

Eventually he knew he would have to tell her about the forces that fought for control of his soul. And how it was only by the solace of her presence that his heart had been soothed. How he was fortunate to have been bound to the physical laws that drove the Dragon-kin when he had chosen to take on a Dragon form… for otherwise, even the Drei’distau may not have worked.

And then Zemi Dreigiau would have been lost. Devoured by the Chaos.

But none of this she needed to know. Not right now.

The only thing that mattered was that she remained nearby. That she belonged to him as Drei’distau.

“Brunswik told me that the Dragons had once been people,” she spoke suddenly. It wasn’t a question. But it held the hints of one.

One of those hard questions — AsaHi never gave up seeking for the highest truth.

“That’s right,” Zemi nodded, giving a half-answer in trying to skirt the issue.

“But they don’t have a people form? Like Kudako?”

“No,” he buckled a little, “Only Kudako and KaiShi have an Earthian form. The rest of them are pure Dragons.”

“But how can they be pure Dragons if they were once people? What… did you do to them, Zemi?” her eyes focused on him with new intensity.

He winced thinking that perhaps his efforts to get AsaHi to loosen up had worked a little too well. There was no getting out of answering this one. So he went for the charm.

The Dreigiau stretched his hands out in front of the girl, cupping palms together as a soft blue-white light began to grow between them. In a gentle sweep of rainbow colors, tiny glowing images of Dragon-illusions took flight towards the sky.

The distracted expression of delight on AsaHi’s face was just what he was hoping for. Transfixed, she watched the tiny illusions wing away and vanish into the blue.

She was one of the few people that loved Dragons as much as he did. That in itself had been enough to connect them from the beginning.

“The real Dragons of your world… actually died out a very long time ago,” Zemi’s voice was heavy-hearted.

AsaHi’s head jerked up with a look of surprise. “They did? I didn’t know that!”

“Yes. I’m not sure what caused the weakening and eventual death of the Dragons as a whole. There were only a few left even when I first came to visit your world,” the Arweinydd peered at her with a somber face. “I did manage to have the time to study and associate with them before they vanished. They were the first type of creatures that I had any real contact with here. I was stricken by their raw magnificence…”

“So you decided to make yourself like them?” she asked. She reached down and idly plucked a small red flower, pinching the stem and pulling it away.

“Yes,” Zemi answered slowly. The illusion of rainbow Dragons began to fade away. “It was before the rise of the Earthian peoples. I thought it was a terrible shame that the Dragons should vanish from this world. So I decided to construct my first form in replication of the creatures. Thereafter, I also chose to make my Servants in the forms of Dragons as well.”

“But they were people first?” she went back to her original question. Not detoured for long.

“That’s right,” he sought to find the easiest way to explain it. “But they decided to become my Servants. So I gave them the form of a Dragon.”

“They decided?” AsaHi tilted her head, picking a second flower, a white one. She began to weave the stems of the two flowers together between her fingers as she listened.

“Yes. I could not make such a vast, permanent transformation without their permission. They had to be willing to make the change.”

AsaHi seemed to mull over that for a little while, plucking more flowers and adding them to the little chain. White and red, alternating. The silence was unnerving. He knew the longer she remained silent the more questions would come.

“They just decide to leave their life behind… and become Dragon Servants? I think that would be rather… awkward…”

“Not if that person was at their final moment of life,” Zemi’s sharp eyes turned towards the girl. Now they were getting into rocky territory.

“What do you mean?” she asked, one white flower in her hand as she paused to look at him.

“Each Servant was once a person who lived a full life and then passed from this world for one reason or another. In that last moment, I came and offered them a chance to carry on,” the Dreigiau spoke slowly. “In life, each had some special spark in them… something that I knew could bring light to this world if nurtured in the right way. I offered them a choice — a new form and a new life. So far, I’ve never been turned down.”

“But they knew they’d become…”

“A Dragon?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t hide it from them,” Zemi shrugged. “And the Dragons here, they don’t seem all that unhappy after making that choice, do they?”

“No…” she was thinking again. “No, I guess not.”

There was silence for a moment. Unease.

Zemi surprised himself when he asked, voice full of uncharacteristic meekness, “You think it is wrong of me to do these things… even with their permission?”

“I don’t know,” AsaHi answered, truthfully. “I suppose it depends… you don’t make people Dragons simply because you want more Servants, do you?”

“No. Otherwise, what would stop me from having many hundreds of Servants around here?” he chuckled at the thought. Then his face grew strangely compassionate. “I choose the people who are to become my Dragons for special reasons. Often there will be things that were left unsettled in their former lives… that I wish to offer them a chance to complete.”

“Like Kudako?” She wove a red flower into the chain.

“Exactly!” Zemi smiled, cheered at her keen observation. “In his previous life, Kudako died as a miserable, defeated creature that had never been given a chance to live a life with feeling or emotion. He was used for terrible things by the Spiral, transformed into an Annihilator…”

“Though what is the difference between him being used by the Spiral and being your Servant?”

His eyes lowered as he gave a great sigh, “AsaHi… I care about Kudako. He may carry out my orders, but I don’t use him like they did. I try to give him missions that will help break the chains of his past.”

“Like?”

Zemi chuckled lightly. “Oh, you should have seen him when he was first assigned to be Zento’s teacher.”

“Did Kudako not like Zento?” the girl finally connected the two ends of the flower chain, making a loop.

“Well, it’s not that. Just, Kudako thought he was going to train this great, talented young warrior,” the Dreigiau smirked at the memory of it. “Young was right. Zento was merely a child when he and Kudako met. And I’ll have to say that raising Zento and Sara from a young age did a lot to soften old ‘Dako up. It really was a good experience for him – even if he didn’t appreciate it at first.”

“Really? Kudako raised them from children? That’s hard to imagine,” AsaHi was now grinning, too. It was quite the sight to see. “There was actually a time when Kudako was more stern than he is now?”

“You have no idea,” Zemi smirked even more. “So… you think you can trust me to run these Dragon affairs? I might just have an idea of what I’m doing every now and then, yes-no?”

She looked up into his face, then down at the finished ring of flowers in her hands. Seeming not to know what else to do with it, she placed the ring of flowers on his brow. A crown of red and white upon the wild mane of hair. Her words were slightly teasing, “Do we really have much of a choice, Lord Zemi Dreigiau?”

“That just depends,” Zemi laughed warmly in return, lifting his head with the delight of his newly acquired adornment.

That was when he caught the distant form of KaiShi standing in one of the doorways, watching them. There was a stern look of disapproval on her face as she turned and walked back the other way.

“Hot-roll!” he exclaimed, embarrassed again at the sudden turn of childishness that colored his voice.

“Ah, so you’ve found your way to the Outlook, have you?” the gentle, melodic voice came from somewhere behind.

SoYa peered back over his shoulder, realizing that someone had followed him. Strangely enough, he was not startled by the Lady Dragon’s sudden appearance. He decided that there was just something about the kindly woman was too serene to startle anyone.

“Yes, Ma’am,” the Apprentice answered quickly. “Is it wrong of me to be out here?”

“No, not at all,” KaiShi smiled. A golden smile. “I come to sit out here quite a bit myself. It’s the best view of the mountains over, don’t you think?”

“I haven’t had a chance to look around all that much, but it seems very beautiful from here,” SoYa felt a strange sensation tickling the back of his mind as she drew near. The Lady Dragon had some sort of basket hanging from one arm. Alarmingly pleasant smells rose from within, making his stomach gurgle, much to his embarrassment.

It only made KaiShi smile all the more, looking pleased. “Ah, I’ve come at a good time?”

“Yes, Ma’am, you certainly have?” SoYa smiled back, trying hard to relax. There was still a bit of jitter in his relations with the Dragons, despite having been in Wyndor for a number of days already.

Has it been three… or four days…? A week..? It’s really hard to tell. Time feels so strange in this place.

Not that time mattered to the Dragons. If they were anything like Kudako, none of them ever aged.

KaiShi pulled a small blanket from over her shoulder and unfolded it over the quiet white rock. “I was always amazed at how warm it was here. Being so high up, with snow everywhere else, you’d think it would be freezing. But it’s not. The Outlook always seems to be the perfect temperature, no matter what season it is.”

“Lord Zemi probably had something to do with it?” SoYa suggested, trying to sneak a look into the basket.

She paused in the middle of folding down her robes, “Do you still refer to him as ‘Lord’? I would have thought he’d broken you of doing that by now.”

SoYa swallowed. The mental picture of the Dreigiau breaking him across his knee came to mind.

When he didn’t answer, she left the question and turned her attention to the basket. Her slender hands reached inside and pulled out a small, rounded package, wrapped in a papery napkin. Cupping it within both of her hands, KaiShi lifted it, offering the first one to SoYa.

He gave a pleasant sound as he reached to retrieve it from her, his fingers closing around the still-warm wrap. Instantly, the scent filled his senses and SoYa found himself keeling over from a wave of powerful nostalgia.

“Hot-roll!” he exclaimed, embarrassed again at the sudden turn of childishness that colored his voice. “Oh, wow… these are my favorites! I haven’t had one in forever!”

“I’m glad,” she said simply, smiling as she watched him.

SoYa had already pulled the paper wrapping, biting into the bread and cheese. The thin crust had been browned to a soft perfection. The meat and cheese that mingled inside were an unusual combination to his tastes. But it was good. Very, very good.

He tried to tell her so, but his mouth was too full.

She only laughed, “Don’t forget to chew before you swallow or you’re going to choke. I’ve made a full batch of these, now. And they’re not going anywhere, I promise you.”

A flush rose in his cheeks as SoYa realized how he must have seemed to the Lady Dragon. But for that passing moment, he had forgotten who she was – AsaHi said that KaiShi was the leader of Zemi’s Dragon Servants. And for just that moment, he had the fleeting sense of comfort and home. Though he didn’t know why.

Maybe because… something about her is familiar.

SoYa paused to ponder the sudden thought as it rippled through his mind. Before that, he hadn’t even considered such a speculation. But now that it had been formally stated, he couldn’t shrug the thought off.

“We used to have these all the time when we were kids,” he finally ventured to talk after slowing down his wolfing pace. “Father used to say that there was a hot-roll for every occasion. I guess it was because you could put anything inside of them and it could still taste good!”

“Ah… your father,” her eyes peered at him intently. “How is the old rascal?”

For some reason, the question didn’t surprise him. It seemed like the Dragons all knew quite a bit about himself and AsaHi. Not to mention that Father had always talked about his time and adventures with the Dragons when he had been younger.

Maybe she’s an old friend of Father’s that I’ve seen visiting once? Like Kudako used to from time to time?

“He’s doing pretty good, I suppose. Considering everything that’s been going on lately,” SoYa answered, remembering to swallow before attempting to speak. “I hope we’re not going to worry him when he finds we’re missing.”

“I wouldn’t be concerned about that,” the Lady Dragon told him. “I believe Islay was sent to relay the message that you were brought safely here.”

“That’s good to know,” the Apprentice gave a sigh of relief. It had really been bothering him that they hadn’t had a chance to inform Father of what had really happened at the campsite.

Espcially since I know he’s under enough pressure with trying to find help for Tsu. I would have liked to have helped but… I suppose in the end, I would have only gotten in the way.

“And what of your brother?” KaiShi inquired, offering him another roll.

“Tsu? Well he’s doing f–” SoYa froze, caught up in the Lady Dragon’s gaze.

He had almost said “fine”. Almost. But something about the way she was watching him made him second-guess offering her the easy, fictitious answer.

Tsu wasn’t fine. And that was the thing that scared SoYa the most.

The silence fell around his shoulders. Awkward. It was pretty obvious to them both that he had almost lied to her. And he wondered if he had not just lost a lot of respect in her eyes because of it.

When KaiShi finally spoke again, it was in a kindly, supportive tone. “I know your brother has fallen ill. I know he’s being taken care of in Ceiswyr while you and your father have been looking for a way to help him.”

SoYa let out a deep breath, “Lord Zemi probably told you?”

“Considering I’m supposed to be some sort of leader around here, I need to keep on top of things?”

“Yes, of course…” he couldn’t look her in the eye.

“Sometimes untruths are spoken… not to harm… but because there’s a deep, unconscious desire to make that hope come true,” her musical voice was soothing. Not angry. Not even disappointed.

As if she somehow understood.

“You must love your brother very much,” KaiShi said.

“I do..!” SoYa heard his voice crack slightly. He peered up, almost childlike, pain scrawled across his face. “I’m so scared that we’re going to lose him…”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I saw…” the Apprentice’s words faded on his tongue. The image that had haunted his memory since the trip through the Passage rose once again to his mind. So far, he had not spoken to anyone about it.

I couldn’t have told Father… he would have been upset by it. And if I told Kudako, Father would have heard from him. And AsaHi… she’s got enough to think about just dealing with me. But…

SoYa’s gaze fell on the Lady Dragon where she sat, hands folded in her lap, face warm and inviting. There was concern in her eyes, he could sense it. Concern and true sympathy for himself and his family. Something about her forthright honesty and that faint tickle of distant familiarity made him want to believe in her.

AsaHi did say that she was the one that nursed me while I was sick. And she’s brought meals for us. And clothes… And she’s kept our chambers comfortable…

He drew in a deep breath, green eyes focusing on the Lady Dragon. Very slowly, he started at the beginning, telling about AsaHi’s adventure to the Host Gate… and about all the things that started to happen in Nefol. About the darkness that had taken Tsu… and how everyone in the School found out about the Athrylith…

Once SoYa had begun to speak, he found it easier and easier to do so. KaiShi was a quiet and dedicated listener, her face mirroring just the right responses, offering just the right encouragement. And though the story was deep and involved, the Apprentice found himself finally detailing the encounter in the Passage… and the fear that was welling in his heart for what he had seen.

Then, he fell silent, having nothing more to say. All the words had drained out of him, leaving him feeling strangely tired, as if he had just run a very long distance. But there was another feeling there too. One of peaceful release.

“SoYa…” KaiShi said, voice full of gentle lament. One hand trailed up, touching his cheek gently, the prints of her fingers tingling. “I’m sorry to see that you bear such a heavy burden. There’s so much that you try to do on your own, but there’s only a certain amount that any one person can manage.”

“But… I’ve been no good,” SoYa shook his head. “See, even now… I’m here, whining to you about what I saw and not doing a thing to help Father find a cure for Tsu.”

“There are other ways of helping, SoYa. Even if they are indirect,” she replied.

“Like what?”

“Your vision, for instance. I do not think it was a mere illusion of the mind that should be dismissed,” KaiShi pursed her lips.

“What do you mean?”

“Athrylith don’t have visions without a purpose,” she told him. “Not even induced visions like this should be overlooked. Not with the detail you described seeing. I believe it’s something important, SoYa. And I think we need to tell Zemi.”

“Really?” he swallowed. “You don’t think it means that we’re too late, do you?”

“Truthfully, I can’t tell you what it means,” her violet eyes met his. “But I feel it’s very important that we bring this to someone who might be able to find out.”

SoYa looked down at his feet thoughtfully. Then he blinked up. “Maybe you’re right. We should tell Lord Zemi…”

“You mean, you should tell him.”

“What?”

“This is your mind illusion, after all. Not mine,” she pointed out.

SoYa swallowed deeply, shakey at the thought of approaching the Dreigiau alone. “Will you… come with me, at the least?”

KaiShi peered at the Apprentice for a moment. Then she nodded gently, “Of course.”

As she walked past the Arweinydd on her way out, she pointed a finger towards his midsection. “And you behave yourself, Zemi!”

“Zemi… made all this?” AsaHi gasped as she slipped from Brunswik’s back into the light of the Great Chamber. For a moment, she was far too dazzled to even think, the prismic embrace wrapping around her in a symphony of warm light.

“Well, he pieced together a bit of this and a little of that, but overall, yeah. He made it,” the Red Dragon lifted his great head to study the room along side of her. “Pretty cozy, you think?”

I don’t think that cozy would be the word I’d pick…

AsaHi felt herself shrink as she walked into the hall.

The Great Chamber was the centermost point in the realms of Wyndor, a place of mystery that was nestled into the heart of the mountain itself. It reminded AsaHi of the gardens that Zemi had kept back on Ceiswyr. Except it was bigger… maybe a hundred times bigger. It was hard to tell — the way that the light reflected from the multi-faceted walls made reality blend with illusion.

Wyndor…

It seemed as if some gentle hand had reached into the center of the highest mountain in the range and coaxed the earth into a new form. Huge spiraled pillars of sparkling stone rose from the black-glassed floor to tickle the underside of a vanishing dome. The walls reflected in myriad-patched colors, a sweeping mural of gem-stone and earth crystal more wondrous than any Earthian hand could capture in paint.

So beautiful… can it be real?

At the top of the room was the grandeur of the sky’s vast dome. Even though AsaHi knew they were tucked away deep in the mountainside, when she looked up towards where the dim stone roof should have blocked the sunlight, a pastel blue sky shown through. It seemed as if from the inside, the stone was invisible… though from the outside, it had looked like a solid rock mountain.

Everywhere that the girl looked the sunlight illuminated the vast Chamber, setting it a blaze of opalfire under dapples of capering cloud-wisp. A wide circle of tall stone platforms ringed the center of the room. Great globes of clear white hovered just above each, humming softly with their own, slumbering power.

And I thought Ceiswyr was something that couldn’t be rivaled. But here… now this…

Smaller archways branched out from the Chamber’s walls, leading off to what AsaHi figured must have been separate living quarters for the Dragons that took up residence in Wyndor. Some areas of the Chamber had surrendered completely to carpets of soft plant life. This seemed to be mostly gathered around the single trickle of waterfall that pooled cheerfully in one corner, ringed in flowers of many colors.

AsaHi found herself drawn towards the pool. The flowers reminded her of Zemi for some reason. Maybe… it was the strange, comforting scent.

He must really like plants a lot.

Her eyes brushed over the quilted brilliance. Most of the flowers were unlike anything she had ever seen before… except…

“Oh!” the girl leaned down quickly. “It’s a cred! What’s this doing here?”

The strange flower of the mountaintops… the one that Apprentices used in their meetings with the Dreigiau in the Host Gate. The flower she had quested after for many days, so that she, too could enter the Gate and…

…Try to prove that Zemi didn’t exist…

“Ah, that. It would be one of Zemi’s favorite,” a silvery, warm voice came from the other side of the pool.

“I… I…?” AsaHi jerked back, feeling at first as if she might have been caught doing something wrong. After all, cred were very, very rare. But here, they dotted the vine-like grass just as common as all the rest of the flowers.

A small woman sat watching her from a mossy rock next to the pool. Her skin was a warm, golden color, a few shades darker than the long stream of pale-gold hair that trickled down her shoulders like a wave of pure sunlight. Her eyes were bright violet, shining with a friendly, welcoming light. And though she didn’t look much older than AsaHi, there was a feel of timelessness about her that gave the impression of wisdom that ran the depth of the ocean.

She smiled, a kind smile, gathering up her simple white robes as she rose to her feet. “Zemi only lets certain people find that flower, you know.”

AsaHi blinked a few times.

“Usually people he wants to meet,” her feet didn’t so much as crush a leaf of the vines as she walked through the carpet of green. She lifted a graceful hand in a way of greeting. “And now, it is my honor to finally meet you, AsaHi.”

Absolutely dumbfounded, the girl could only stare. Such a beautiful vision… such a wondrous place… everything far beyond her imagination… yet…

Everyone knows who I am before I even meet them. It’s as if people here were waiting for SoYa and I to come.

AsaHi had never learned much in the way of etiquette. But she did the best that she could to give a polite bow to the strange, golden woman.

“No need to do that, child. If there’s one thing I agree with Zemi on, it’s that formality is for the birds,” she smiled. “And as you can see, we are Dragons. Not birds.”

“You’re… you’re a Dragon?” AsaHi’s mouth almost fell open, her green eyes staring at the woman in disbelief.

“It seems pretty unlikely, doesn’t it?” there was a hint of laughter in her voice. “Don’t you ever let the world only go as deep as your vision can see. It will deceive you of the best, most wonderful parts.”

What should I say…? I’m just making myself look silly now!

“My name is KaiShi,” the woman offered, as if sensing that AsaHi was having a hard time figuring out what to do. “And I am certain that you and I will come to know each other very well.”

“Oh..?” was all that the girl could manage. Feeling dumb, she tried to force more words from her leaden lips. “Why… why do you look like a person if you’re a Dragon? Are you like Kudako… or do all the Dragons shift shape?”

“Like Kudako? You mean Old Somber-pants?” KaiShi laughed. It was an inviting laugh that somehow made AsaHi feel a bit more easy. “No… Kudako is different from all the other Dragons. Even myself.”

“Oh…” AsaHi found herself saying again. Then chided herself for it.

“As for me, I’ve been gifted a form that the rest of my kind do not have. It is simply because I lead the Dragon Servants here in Wyndor. And to have an Earthian form may prove useful should I ever need to spend time among the people.”

“You’re… the leader?” the girl blinked, heart sinking.

Great… she’s the leader and I’ve done nothing but been a bumbling dolt around her. She must think I’m a real dim-wit.

“That’s right. But to look around this place, sometimes you wouldn’t know it,” the woman wrinkled her nose. “Some of these guys are no better than a bunch of little boys who haven’t learned how to play in the sandbox together.”

AsaHi found herself smiling in spite of herself.

KaiShi smiled back, and gave a beckoning wave. “Follow me. SoYa is resting, but it would probably do you good to have a look at him, yes?”

Does she know about that, too?

A bit taken back, AsaHi followed the Lady Dragon as they strode across the black-glass floor towards one of the tall archways on the other side of the Chamber. The girl made to wave her thanks to Brunswik, but she found that the huge crimson Dragon was already in a state of deep slumber… right where she had left him only minutes ago.

“That’s Brunswik for you,” KaiShi shook her head, then tapped her finger against her temple with a slight grin. “Nice enough fellow… sometimes a bit more muscle than mind. But well-meaning at heart, all the same.”

A soothing dimness fell over the girl as she walked under the archway into a long, smooth stone corridor. AsaHi had expected that the adjoining passages might not have been as polished as the main Chamber. But she found herself proven wrong. It was as if every inch of Wyndor had been crafted with the most exquisite detail and care.

Only a few doorways down, KaiShi turned, leading AsaHi into a small side room. It would have hardly fit Brunswik’s head should the vast Red Dragon have wanted to peer in. But it was quite comfortable for someone like AsaHi.

The stone walls were draped with soft flows of off-white cloth. A large bed-like structure had been coaxed out of the dip in the far wall. AsaHi wasn’t certain what was being used for a mattress, but the way that SoYa was sleeping, tucked between folds of cream on white, it certainly looked to be very comfortable.

“SoYa…!” her voice came, unattended. AsaHi rushed over to the bedside, placing her hand against his forehead.

He didn’t stir as she touched him. But his sleep seemed deep and untroubled. As if somehow he was being healed, very slowly, as the moments of slumber passed him by.

“He’s going to be okay, right?” the girl peered up at the Lady Dragon.

“It’s only exhaustion,” KaiShi answered. She reached her slender fingers out, combing them slowly through SoYa’s curls. There was a sad, but familiar manner to her touch.

AsaHi watched, uncertain as to what the exchange meant. Something about it stirred a feeling deep inside her. A feeling that was completely unknown.

Finally, the woman peered up, soft violet eyes drinking in AsaHi’s image. “He should be fine after a bit of rest. You should see that you get some rest if you can, too. We will be serving a welcome dinner as soon as the both of you are well enough to attend.”

A banquet… with Dragons? That would be a sight to see…

Her thoughts were interrupted by the slow motion of KaiShi’s hand as it lifted and gestured across the room. For the first time, AsaHi realized that there was a second huge, comfortable bed. And this one practically had her name written on it.

AsaHi crossed the room, smoothing her hands over the bedding, face lit up with great cheer. The knowledge that SoYa would finally recover, that the both of them were somewhere safe and beautiful… on top of the sight of the big cozy bed… allowed all the tension of the dark journey to drain away.

“For me!?” she squeaked, sounding much more like a little girl than she would have liked to.

That’s when she first heard the sound of laughter – familiar laughter. The girl jerked her head around and saw him standing in the doorway. Her heart leapt into her throat, unbidden, every inch of her body suddenly going quivery and weak.

“Zemi!?” AsaHi managed to speak his name.

He leaned against the archway, looking much the way he always did in Ceiswyr – she had half expected him to have taken the vast, majestic Dragon form that Brunswik had described. Instead, he stood there, dressed in his normal overrobes, hands tucked into his pockets, a smile made just for her.

Nothing at all like that night she had found him, scrabbling to hold on to his senses in the midnight forest.

“Well, look who’s poking his nose in where it doesn’t belong,” KaiShi scrunched her face at the Dreigiau, breaking AsaHi’s daze. “Hasn’t anyone taught you to knock before you enter a bed chamber, Lord Dragon?”

“Sorry, not yet,” he gave a quick grin.

“Well, you certainly don’t look sorry,” the lady Dragon scolded gently, picking up a pile of washing cloth that was on a platform next to SoYa’s bed. “You should leave these children to their sleep. They’ve had a hard time of it.”

“That’s exactly why I was checking in on them,” Zemi’s smile widened.

“Of course it is,” KaiShi sighed, then turned to look at AsaHi. “I’m going to get some wash done, but I will return shortly. Is there anything that you need?”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you,” AsaHi shook her head.

“Get some rest then,” the lady Dragon nodded. As she walked past the Arweinydd on her way out, she pointed a finger towards his midsection. “And you behave yourself, Zemi!”

AsaHi gave a quiet smile, watching KaiShi vanish through the doorway. That’s when she realized she was now all alone with the Dreigiau. And he was looking right at her.

“Hi… AsaHi..?” he sounded strangely uncertain of himself. As if now that the girl had seen part of his secret, he wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk to him again.

But she did.

“Zemi..? I’ve been worried about you!” she knew how childish it probably sounded to the Dreigiau. But she said it anyhow. Mostly because it was the truth.

“You have?” there was a hint of delighted surprise to the words. As if it was a cue, Zemi began to make his way from the door towards where she was standing.

“Yes… I didn’t know if you were okay. You simply vanished…” AsaHi swallowed, fighting the apprehension and happiness that battled to get the best of her.

The warm, pleasant scent filled her senses as it always did when Zemi was near. Her mind could now picture the little sunlit pool garlanded with flowers, knowing that was where the scent had come from. And she couldn’t help but smile.

“No worries. Everything is just fine now, Sunshine!” a large, hearty laugh rippled along his words.

It made her wonder how much he was really holding back.

“So… what do you think about the digs, eh?” Zemi eyed her and changed the subject. Possibly sensing that she had caught on to him. “Pretty hi-res, you think?”

AsaHi found a pathetic lack of words to describe anything, her mind still trying to wrap around the immensity of the place. “It’s… it’s really something else, Zemi. I wish I could tell you how amazing it is. I never even imagined something like this could exist… I just…”

The Dreigiau raised a finger, giving a simple nod. She knew he understood her, words or not. Zemi was just like that.

“Well… I’ll leave you to your rest, then. I just wanted to see if everything was okay on your arrival,” Zemi turned and began to make his way back towards the door. His steps were slow, obviously unwilling.

AsaHi’s throat tightened as she watched him. Her hands clutched at the white bedsheets, eyes never leaving the Dreigiau’s back. Finally, she managed to peep, “Zemi?”

The Arweinydd paused, peering over his shoulder. His face was questioning. And hopeful.

“Thank you..?” she offered. Simply because she didn’t know what it was that he really was hoping for. And it made her feel bad.

“Sure thing,” he gave a wide, fangy grin. And looked for all the world like the Kaze she remembered.

Just as he went to step out the door, she found herself calling again, “Z-Zemi?”

Again, the Arweinydd stopped. A quiet patience was written on his face. “Yeah?”

“I’m going to see you again, right?” AsaHi found herself asking, though confused as to why. “I mean, you’re going to be staying here in Wyndor for a while?”

I really never got to know you that well… and it’s not every day that someone has the chance to have conversations with the Arweinydd.

“I’m gonna be staying here. Yes,” he answered, face brightening. “We can hang out anytime that you want. Anytime is good, okay?”

“Okay..?” she gave a small, uncertain smile.

“Sleep well, AsaHi,” Zemi said softly, as if he understood anything about the concept of sleep. Then he turned and left the room, a swirl of crimson and gold.