Dragon Mirror- Ties Between the Veil
23: The Tension, The Deidades, And A Dusk Run

I do not like any of this, the very air feels wrong.

Raina clutched Iyzdra close to under her chin. The Aya’Chyn was still small enough to drape across her shoulders in dragonet form, and Raina took comfort in scratching behind her delicate horns.

She silently agreed, but didn’t comment aloud as she rode on Tralna, who followed alongside Ian on his suket, Aylla. Supi followed behind the group in a surly snit, his reins tied to Kasey’s loupp’a.

It had been two days since leaving the Lift, and little more than a day after deviating from the main road.

Things had been uncomfortably tense. Kasey had apparently tried to apologize after Tralna’s admonishment. Which had only exploded into a very loud, vociferous shouting match in mixed spanish, daka, and darkuni epithets. The argument had caused one of the Lift operators to ride out on an okapi to make sure there wasn’t an attack.

The argument had ended abruptly when Tralna had roused herself, sauntered over across the camp, and released an ear shattering roar that had spooked dozens of flying fauna from their roosts.

The twins had stood rigid, across from each other, breathing hard. Their faces had been masks of frustration. The Lift operator had wheeled about and hightailed it back into the dark.

Since then, the entire group had remained hushed and reserved. When they had reached the turn off point, there had been a moment when Ian had turned his mount to stare down at his sister.

Kasey had simply lifted her chin, gesturing to the path, then looked away. They had quietly turned off the main road to follow their leader.

The Wilds had closed around the path, and the humidity of the air had begun to make Raina’s hair cling to her face. She rode Supi alongside Tralna, trailing behind the last ranks of the group.

Kasey reclined on her loupp’a with a sour look plastered across her face. Several times she looked as if she would say something, but her eyes would dart back away to stare into the Wilds.

She is struggling with her own bias. Tralna’s voice interjected into her own speculations. Her twin was raised in the capital of the Human nation, which contains multitudes of different peoples, while she herself absorbed all of the politics and inherent bias of a homogenous culture. There was a long pause. The Charbitian peoples have a certain notion of superiority that comes from isolation.

A loud huff from Kasey indicated the last sentence had been shared with her. “It is hard to prioritize human settlements when they so often cause issues between the Deidades, Protectora, and the Council.” She shrugged at Tralna when the Aya’Chyn turned an eye towards her.

“And the humans.” She added as an afterthought.

Raina had a moment of uneasiness as something Kasey had said struck home.

“When you said Deidades earlier, did you mean-” She blew out a breath and mumbled. “Like, actual gods?”

Tralna made a startled honking noise, arching her neck. Her sinuous form had fully reverted back to her more comfortable draconic state, which made long distance riding uncomfortable. She tended to have a side to side waddle, but Raina squashed that thought.

You see myself and your Aya’Chyn, your own abilities utilizing your Will… and you do not believe in Gods? The humor was palpable and Raina rolled her eyes when she felt Iyzdra’s own mental giggle.

“So the Deidades are like, roaming around and not…” She struggled for a moment and helplessly pointed upward. “Some aloof SkyDaddy?”

Kasey raised her eyebrows. “You mean Rhagnar?”

“What-nar?”

Tralna whuffled, shouldering Supi as the suket tried to push past her. The suket was better behaved, but still pushed the boundaries in his horny quest to get at the suket leading the group.

The Deidades are more closely related to the Will of the Gods. They are the Aya’Chyn to the Elemental Forces. The draconic Aya’chyn raised the crest of her mane. Rhagnar is not so aloof, but he is most definitely a ‘SkyDaddy’.

Raina felt like she was missing something, but let it slide. “So there’s a handful of these divine Aya’Chyn running around?”

Kasey coughed.

“What?”

“I’ve never heard them described as such.” She looked down at the back of the head of her loupp’a. “But there are definitely thousands of them in the Wild’s. And elemental sprites, fae, and a whole mess of nasty creatures are spawned from them.” The woman shuddered.

“The Charbitian’s pay respect to the Deidades, and in return, their offspring leave us be… for the most part.”

“That sounds… fun.”

Kasey made a wry face. “One of our most beautiful and tragic stories is about a Deidades that fell in love with a Charbitian Priestess. He did ten astounding feats of kindness to earn her regard-”

She laughed without meaning to, “Like Hercules?”

Kasey made a face and Tralna interjected. She is referring to an Earth demigod myth. And no, Heracles performed his labors as a penance that wouldn’t have been necessary if he had not been driven to madness.

“How the fuck you know about Greek mythology?”

The Aya’Chyn stared at her for a moment.

The response was dryly amused. How the fuck are you hearing my voice in your head? Really. I lifted the story out of the front of your mind, you were broadcasting it.

Iyzdra, who was snugged around her shoulders pipped up. You were.

“Ok, I get it. Don’t like that, though. Stay outta my shit.” The blue-green brat rolled her haunches at her and turned away.

Learn to shield your mind.

“Whatever.” She could feel that she was wearing her irritation on her face, and Kasey was looking up at her inquisitively.

She was about to ask her to continue the story, when there was an elevated buzz in the conversation at the front of the group. Tralna raised her head, then turned to Raina broadside.

Tie Supi’s reins to my saddle and ride up front with Kasey. There is a problem.

His mind had not stopped racing since splitting off from Tralna and Raina on the road back to Auscilla. As soon as he had traveled out of sight of their group, he had broken into a jog.

He was overwhelmed and felt his eyes watering as he ran. It was the wind, stinging his eyes. Just the wind.

The ability to reconcile everything that had happened in the past week seemed to be beyond him. He was bonded to an unorthodox creature that had drained the lifeblood of sentient beings. His breathing labored as he pushed the limit of his stamina. The fact that the creatures Ramoth had drained were affected by Blight seemed small and insignificant.

Sunlight began to dim as he sped down the path. He knew he could maintain the pace after years of running down prey in the surrounding woods of his Grandmother’s cottage. But as dusk drew near, he began to slow.

He was supposed to enter Auscilla, ask Camilla for a mount and ride to his Grandmother to tell her about how serious the Blight had become. And to tell her… about all the rest.

Jrash came to a stop, breathing hard and squeezing his eyes shut. If he kept running, he would make it to Auscilla only a few hours after dark.

But he just did not want to continue. His bones ached in a way that made him feel as if his soul were shrinking. The pain in the pit of his stomach spread outward and stole the little breath he had left.

He sank to the ground by the side of the road and sobbed piteously. Not since his mother had passed had he felt this gaping chasm of emotion. It would not be bridged. Just as he had felt then, he felt that he would never overcome the sensation of loss and sorrow.

Perhaps only time would ease this turmoil, as time had scarred over the loss of his family. He scrubbed at his head with his fingers, just to feel the sensation of his fingertips digging into his scalp. There was a soft noise, the beat of quiet wings, and Jrash looked up to see Ramoth.

In the shape of a large black cat, her shoulders were hunched, and her head was low. Two darkly feathered wings half unfurled to either side gave the impression of repentance and supplication.

The muted voice was subdued in his mind. I did not mean to cause harm.

Jrash laughed helplessly. He dropped his face into his hands. Hiding from the sight of her.

I could not give them back the spark that the Blight had stolen.

“Do you think that's all that matters?!” Jrash threw his hands out, his voice cracking as he yelled. Ramoth jerked back, her mouth opening in a silent hiss.

“You murdered someone!”

It is not murder, because you cannot kill what is already dead! Jrash leaned back on his arms, letting his head fall back with a groan of frustration.

They both sat there, Jrash studiously ignoring his bondmate, while her red eyes stared at him as the last light faded behind the trees. When darkness fully enveloped them, Jrash leaned forward.

He reached out his hand without speaking, and the daroul quietly slipped into his embrace. Jrash cradled her as he cried in frustration, losing himself in the soft touch of her fur and feathers.

We do not need to go into Auscilla. Nor go back to the Holder of Bonds. The voice in his mind did not sound stridently or demanding as usual, but hesitant. I am sorry I have hurt you. It feels as if I have hurt myself.

Jrash squeezed his eyes shut. We will go back to my Grandmother. But after that…

He did not say aloud or in his mind that afterwards, they would likely be hunted by the Protectora. And that he did not view their future together as favorable for prosperity.