34.4 Kindred Spirit

General Summary

Day 517

The hour I have with Doraal before the Empress' energy wanes is comfortable in the special, safe way that only he can be. Despite the enormous support of all members of my own family there is something unique about Doraal and my relationship in Mistress' family.   For a while he lets me soak up news of home - his sight is returning and he has been resting in the Capital. He's been gardening and my mother has been making him juice oranges and lift things around my villa since we are so lacking in strapping young men. It seems all the ones I've adopted (except Bran) are more finely built. Doraal quite likes Alder and all of the people I sent across the Barrier, of course. But after a while he just wants to hear everything he can about the places I've seen and what I have done on this side. The time passes faster than I thought possible and we are still deep in conversation when the Empress comes to find us.   Before we part she gives me a particular rite for Liliales, should he choose to undertake it. Outside of her chambers he tells me that she asked about the grove, fae of day and night, about his ancient memories of fae and elves living together. She said he should think about whether he wants to be a Prince of the Empire.   My little son is so serious and pensive as he tells me that if he were still a seasonal fae the answer would be yes in a heartbeat - it would make a unique song after all. But speaking with the Empress and considering how ancient she is shifted his perspective even further. Spending time with elves has forced his awareness that he will live for much longer than he ever thought but the Empress shifted it even further. Now he must reckon with the idea that if he was to tie himself to the Empire he must be mindful of his legacy and the impact he would have. He wants to learn more about the Empire before making such a commitment.   The oaths for this rite are unique to him and this new position as well. They name him as a pillar of the Empire and a force to guide and shape it, as well as giving him particular magic for him as the first fae to take unique oaths to the Empire. He would cast shade from his wings, reminiscent of the stories I'd heard of No Moon.   Before leaving the library I ask Cycadaes to show me the seeds she hid in the binding of her books. She asks me to plant them in the Weaver's Village (Whisper Wind, for the sound of the wind through the hills and trees) if the trees planted by her great-uncle are no longer there. Despite the Empress telling me they still stand and are safe to greet, there is still a beam of doubt in my mind and I simply agree to check when I pass through. If they are there then I'll carry the seeds wherever is suitable for them and Cycadaes hopes that they will find good soil perhaps in the Empire, by other fae groves, or wherever else elves have settled.   Before I depart she gives me a book containing much information about restoring documents and preserving text, and also asks if I will help her make a piece of magic that will let her better understand the flow of time. She doesn't want to get carried away and forget that Dedrafel needs to actually surface to see the sun and bathe. This makes me laugh - I had already decided I would set him the task of creating something to accomplish this.   Above ground I hurry over to meet up with Ricken for coffee.   He tells me about the shadow magic he has been learning and his demonstrations pique my curiosity. It is distinctly not Zephyr but the way he touches the shadow doesn't feel elvish either. Apparently he has been trying to learn more from elves, especially because he worries that the human guild members will not eager to take whatever he has learned and created instead of helping him.   The shadows, he explains, started coming more naturally when he found a black scale buried in rubble when he was 15. He turned it into a necklace and has been wearing it ever since. Where he pulls back his shirt to show me there is seeping shadow magic beneath his skin emanating from where the scale must touch him. When I take it in my hands I feel the flood of draconic presence from it, as strong Tide's presence felt. Whoever carried this scale was one of the early generations and perhaps as old as Tide himself.   Ricken tells me he also has dreams of flying and it seems like he can travel miles just by thinking about it. He's heard from elves that there is a place where dreamers can do such things but he can't sustain it for long, nor control it very well.   I have no idea what might happen to Ricken if he simply keeps the necklace on and continues with whatever transformation might be occurring. To me he looks about 30 years old (it's so hard to tell with humans) but he tells me that he is actually 45...he only has a few more years before people start thinking it really strange that he is aging so slowly.   The rest of the afternoon passes in a bit of a blur as I do some research and line up some strategies for him to get access to the sort of growth and mentorship he likely needs as someone growing into something new. I find geneology charts in the library that map out the lineage of various dragons and find records of four dragon riders who once protected Deldrin, one partnership of which was Catena and Shrouded Petrichor. The other dragons were Nightfall, Leaf Shadow, and Black Tourmaline and when I try to find resonant magic with this one loose scale I find that it likely belonged to Black Tourmaline.   Cycadaes tells me that there is another archivist currently sleeping who knows a lot more about dragons and perhaps they will be able to wake next and speak with Ricken.   I tell him about Solace and Amytri and suggest that when he's ready to leave Deldrin it would be wise to head there and then maybe continue North to Dreamfall if Crag is still there, and then to Avan'Nal to meet Sandstorm and Shale if she is awake. He takes the flood of information remarkably well. Somehow I find that the people who end up in such unique situations are, fortunately, emotionally equipped to handle the complications. Ricken strikes me as a steady, intellectually curious man and I am hopeful that he and Amytri might find some kinship. I do my best to reassure him that he has nothing to fear from elves (no elf anywhere I have been would accuse him of co-opting or stealing shadows).   And I can give him one further piece of advice as well. He has an elven woman he quite likes and has been hesitant to pursue a relationship because he knows he'll die first and it would be so painful for her. Again and again I find people who are afraid to offer people joy just because it will one day end, as though there is anything in the world that does not eventually end.  

Do not let fear of the end prevent you from starting.

  Eventually I leave him to his thoughts and promise to set up as many opportunities for him as I can, both in Solace and elsewhere. Back at the inn Trillium and I spend some time working on pigments and I manage to create something special as a gift for Norrick the Lapis, former council member. Nowadays it seems he is taking a step back from active politics and doing more to improve his social standing and position in his guild before returning to policy. I prepare a small pot of shadow pigment that deepens the shade of whatever it is applied over - I hope that as he continues to grow he will become an ally for the Empire.   Before we leave Deldrin I'll meet with Wyn the Azure and Risi the Gold as well - it's sort of a cold stance to take but if our human allies only live for less than a century it will be a constant effort to be cultivating new relationships.   Over dinner Lyssa and I begin telling Liliales about the the structure of the Empire, something that is largely new to Trillium as well. She herself has reconnected well with some elvish friends that she remembers from past visits and might invite to travel with us towards Ivar if they can find mercenary work for that route.   We'll stay in Deldrin for two more days, intending to leave on the morning of the third day. Tomorrow, at least, I have meetings with some officials and Jaeril has a second date with the boy she has been flirting with. She says that her memories certainly have a type and she is still navigating what it means to figure out a relationship. Of course, we all agree that we will also attend this dusk concert (separately) so that she has an easy way to avoid being tempted to go home with him.   Trillium congratulates her on her safety but as I remark to Lyssa, dating was so much safer and easier when it just meant falling in love with a lost woman who was magically destroying mountains with her uncontrolled storms.