The Song of Spelt and Smoke

We are Spelt and Smoke, partners these two thousand years... we expected longer, but it's enough of a miracle that we survived to return here. We weren't the first dragon and rider, but we'll be the first to leave our song. Though it will be long, we'll try to leave it all with you.

  The song is sung as a duet, the light and airy voice of an elven man and the rich depth of a dragon woman.   When the song begins, Spelt sings of his youth while Smoke hums a soft melody.   Spelt was raised with a sword and shield on the stories of great knights who protected not only their own, but all those weak and in need. Despite his upbringing, Spelt himself did not grow up to be strong or sturdy, rather, he grew up frail and was frequently ill. Many, including his parents, encouraged him to give up on the idea of becoming a knight, imploring him to find a path in magic or mysticism. Still, he would not yield his dreams and as a young man barely past a century in age, he snuck away from home to take the trial set by Ember and Nimbus.   The trial he faced was one of endurance. It began with frigid cold and icy winds while lightning struck terrifyingly close around those attempting the trial, Many fled at the first stage, and others were thrown away by Nimbus for huddling together in fear while sharing warmth. Spelt came close to dying - by the end of this part of the trial he was shivering with pale skin and lips turned blue. He had also done something completely unnecessary: He was curled around one of the eggs, protecting it from the wind and sleet with his own body.   When Nimbus asked why, he said

Lord Nimbus is immune to the sting of the wind and cold, but this egg is half of Lady Ember... if it has a heart of fire, then it might need protection during this trial

  Ember rewarded him with healing, but told him that his only concern for the rest of the trial should be himself.   The second stage of the trial reversed everything as Ember and Nimbus combined their magic to create a sweltering sauna. Here too, Spelt clung stubbornly to consciousness, even as others fainted from the heat. Some elves stripped naked in the hopes of lessening the impact of the heat but at the end, Ember threw them out saying  

A dragon can yield many things but never their pride or dignity

  By the end of the second stage, a group of 500 had been winnowed to 20. The final stage required the exhausted candidates to walk ten meters across a bed of Ember's coals.   Half of those who remained quit on the spot   Spelt only made it 5 meters before falling but when he fell, he did the unthinkable and crawled the next 4 meters. With a meter to go his body failed him and he collapsed on the coals. Still, he reached out and grabbed at the coals, trying to drag himself forward.     At this point, Ember swept him off the coals and Nimbus cooled his body.    

It's enough... it's more than enough

    In the end, only 5 elves remained to greet the two hatching dragons... Smoke and her sister Steam. Smoke turned out to be the egg he'd sheltered, and when she saw his pitiful figure she stumbled across the floor to twine around him.  

When all else is burned away, only Smoke remains to drift on the wind... When all others are burned away, you'll remain to protect me won't you?

  After that, the two became a bonded pair - the magic of the bond gave Spelt the health and strength he'd lacked, finally becoming not only a knight but a Dragon Knight. Smoke was ever a drifter, and the two went where the wind took them, returning home every century or so.   They became not only friends but lovers, a thing that was shocking to even other bonded pairs. They had no children, both believed that it was impossible between dragon and elf, but they wanted none as they had each other. They'd seen the sorrow of riders who outlived their children and grandchildren and wanted none of it.   In the end, they died saving a small Grove of Seasons from the army of a Dwarven sorcerer king. The dwarf had come to plunder the magic of the Grove. With just the two of them, Smoke commanded the Fae warriors and others capable of fighting to protect the other Fae as they fled. What Spelt and Smoke fought to protect was the trees themselves.   They won the day, destroying the Dwarven army and slaying the sorcerer king; their wounds were severe but not life threatening, or rather, they shouldn't have been. The final spell of the sorcerer king placed a heavy curse on them that their wounds would never heal.   Even dragon mystics were unable to remove the curse. So, knowing their end would come soon, they came to this hall to sing their song. Their song ends sung faintly, their strength clearly fading, but never once do you hear pain in either voice.   At the end, Spelt is heard asking Smoke to carry him to another part of the wall...  

Mother's song is there... I'd like to hear it... one more time...