57.3 Blood's End

General Summary

Day 1118

The next day passes peacefully — just some quality time with new arrivals and new family. As the day inches forwards, I grow more and more aware of Mistress’ approaching presence, heralded by flute song in the evening as both she and Uncle Red arrive.   Magdalena and Evismora are there for the arrival as well, and Evismora latches onto him as soon as he lands. He looks at us in amazement as he beholds their little sister alive and well.  

How…?

  Uncle Red will hear the whole story later, of course. He is so gentle and sweet with her — delighted to have her back. I think I am justified in having chosen favourites amongst the Treeborn (especially given that so many are family now) but Uncle Red with his instinctively gentle spirit…it makes me grateful that he found a place with elves. Seeing how the other fae in the Grove flee from his aura is terribly sad.   And I enfold Mistress in a warm hug — it hasn’t been so long since she left, considering the other times we have been parted. Together, we go off to find Kaide — she and Starfield are drawing up plans and examining the landscape for a good spot to begin Qishali’s spring of spirit water.   Kaide sweeps Mistress up into a hug as well. My love has been touring battle fields with Uncle Red, gathering spirits who died at war with the Collective who could not return to the shade of the Empress because of how they died. Their souls have been gathered into a host that could be directed by Mistress in continued service of the Empire, or they could be re-sworn and laid to rest, or anything else Kaide wishes.   But she turns the choice back to each soul, asking them whether they wish to be taken back into shadow and released, or continue to serve. Those who are not able to choose will be laid to rest — a stark difference from the Kaide who would have kept everyone in service to keep the Empire strong.   Executing on that plan can wait — Kaide sends us off for our own reunion in my little cottage. I give her the briefest update on recent events — bringing Thalien back to life, rescuing the White Death, meeting Liliales’ birth parents. Normal things, of course.   She tells me that The Collective is in retreat — whatever deal they struck with the demons emboldened them to over-extend themselves and now the Collective is alone and unsupported. It will be a few years before they can recover, and it will be easy to rebuff them when they do.   Mistress and Doraal and Trillium are finally all together, with little Shadows Dancing’s egg. Mistress raised both Starfield and Starfury’s eggs, and she speaks so gently and happily to Shadows Dancing. Wildfire looks on proudly, and doesn’t back down from Mistress’ frank gaze on him. I think the two of them will get along well.   The evening is full of laughter and reconnection but I can sense Lyssa and Ausha off in the distance, approaching much slower than I expect. It should only take them a few hours’ flight at Lyssa’s pace but if they keep going at their pace, it will take them a few days. Everyone at our gathering checks in on me and there’s an atmosphere of suspense and amusement that I eventually notice when I stand and announce that I’m going to go fetch them. Apparently everyone has been waiting to see how long it took me to get impatient.   It takes me two hours to reach them and I am scanning the ground, expecting to see them walking or riding at the pace they’re going. But no — it’s Lyssa, Ausha, Randall and many other dwarves stop a 50m airship. The dwarves from the Valley are bringing gifts, and their pride prevents me from just scooping up the ship and ferrying it back to Dreamfall.   I give the ship a deep, respectful nod of recognition before Lyssa and Ausha transfer over to me and I dash off into the night.   Lyssa pushes Ausha to the one to recount their adventures to me. Ausha was trying to find a way to break the Ventarri collar because the relationship is so uneven, blocking the dwarves’ creativity and dampening some other traits. It makes them good commanders but not leaders, good administrators but not creators. They were meant to be first among servants but not loyal subjects.   She has come up with a short bracer that represents a new bond. It strips the Ventarri of the ability to command, and creates a new oath that will give them more freedom, make them into the best of dwarvenkind. The transitive oaths between the Ventarri and other dwarves will dissolve and transform as well, with each Ventarri who chooses to transition.   She’s been enticing them with the idea that those who wear a bracer can become heroes — Ventarri are allowed to take up weapons now.   And she’s given a different sort of bracer to all the leaders in the Valley, none of whom were Ventarri to begin with. Theirs is more symbolic, but at least it marks the leaders as leaders — makes it clear who is accountable to the Empress.   At Lyssa’s urging, Ausha also tells me that the airship itself is the product of her own collaboration with the Valley dwarves. Moving through air is not so different from moving through water, so they created the airship together. It seems slow to me in my dragon form, but it is many times faster than any beast of burden.   These two are the second-last to arrive, and our giddiness takes over as I bank East and fly out to meet the last remaining group as well.   Tire is there with Haze, and four other dragons in their humanoid forms. I come in from above in a playful act that I realize is probably quite rude from one enormous dragon to another when I see Tide amongst them. Haze, Tide, and two much warmer dragons of Flame’s bloodline.   Tira comes rushing over to greet us, full of laughing apologies for the last 200 years of her apprenticeship with me. Having taught a hundred elves for the last little while, it seems she has developed an understanding of how complicated it is to teach youngsters.   Caravel steps forwards too, looking much better than he has in years. Tide looks more energetic as well…and I smile at the two of them standing next to each other. It seems that Tide has found a rider more his own age. The two of them have come along for the wedding and will likely be off on their own mischief and adventures afterwards — both elders are ready to see life with new eyes again.   The other two dragons are Blaze and Spark, dragons of Cataclysm. Blaze and Ember were of the same first generation after the original five — it must have been terribly sad to receive her bones.   In their humanoid forms, both dragons are fae with blazing, living fire wings. The guises are those of an elemental fae in a fire cycle. Blaze tells me that he saved a few of their trees in the Pruning and has been nurturing them on his mountaintop. It takes active tending to keep them alive and safe but there are about 700, he says. It is very fitting that Cataclysm has taken in such destructive, bombastic fae friends. And after I was told many times by Magdalena that elemental fae were inherently self-destructive…knowing that they have survived against all odds is enough to bring out my weepy Hope self.   Spark is his many-times-great-neice, also an elemental fae of fire. We fall eagerly into conversation about fae and Inferno trolls — I will have to point them towards the forest after the wedding.   Tira pipes up that Blaze has taught dragons of Cataclysm how to sense fate. Part of what they do is sense the end of things and collect them up before their demise. I wonder how many times Starfield, Wraith, and the dragons of Cataclysm have descended upon an area and changed its course…I wonder how many times Wraith has been foiled by these dragons.  

Some things are meant to die in the fires of cataclysm — empires ruled by wickedness. But empires have a tendency to crush things beneath them that don’t deserve it…so we take them in and give them a place.

  He also has a favour to ask. Apparently he is not willing to match Spark with any of the heroes who Tira brought, but she is enchanted with the idea of having a rider. So Caravel suggested that they come visit and perhaps I will have a young elf in my orbit who might be a good fit. Blaze cautions her, sternly, to not grow attached to the first shiny person she sees. It is clear that he adores her, and she is happy and excited about the adventure ahead.   Privately, Blaze tells me that Spark is the end of a bloodline. Each generation of dragons grows weaker and weaker, and Spark is diminished enough that she will be the last of her line — unable to lay eggs. He thinks that she might be able to have children, just not with other dragons. Other clans have been trying to reinvigorate bloodlines before they end, and it is a problem that will need to be solved in other ways eventually. But for now, finding happiness with other will be necessary for dragons like Spark.