# Rite of Passage: Words of Influence

Author: Icurthus
Tags: Dragon, Dragoness, Fox, Horse, Human, Suggestive Themes, Wolf, storyline

It seems that even while trying to hide in the most unlikely of places, the Lúgroccae is unable to find the time they need to make the dangerous choice that now lies before them: To return to the unpredictable Human lands from whence they fled in the first place or to seek refuge with the Elves and condemn the weakened kingdom to war on both fronts. Then there is always the question of what they are to do with the captured Claw-of-the-Master, as well as the dangerous lure of Juinkarr’s mysteries to content with.  
  
Hi again to all my readers. Here is the second part of last time’s post which I’ve split out into a chapter of its own. I hope you enjoy it.  
  
And of course, again a big shout of thanks to Vurumal for his support and reviews of my story.

"Although classes such as Summoning and Mind-Bending is tolerated from time to time when used upon non-sentient creatures as previously discussed, Morturing on the other hand is the only class within the Forbidden Arts that is strictly and without question banished. Use of these spells is dealt with severely by the Circle of Five, more often than not resulting in the death penalty of the magus who is caught practising it.

The spells that fall under Morturing is directly associated with pain and death. This includes spells designed to reanimate dead bodies (Necromancy), as well as the causing of extreme pain (Torturing) or even killing of something with purely magical means, such as Petrification or Asphyxiation. Some argue for the use of most of the spells in the School of Elemental Magic to be counted among this class when used against other sentient beings, however, as this would deny magi of their attack spells it is not likely they would ever receive any real support.

Other spells that seem impossible has also been described, though the shapes had been lost along with the rest of the contents of the Sealed Library in the Mana Flashback at the start of The Shattering. These include Leeching, a Spirit-spell wherein life-essence is extracted from one living being for the benefit of another, be it for healing or curing of a life-threatening condition, or even simply to counteract ageing. Another shape described by some scholars is Preservation, a little-understood spell that allows a section of a body to survive after being separated from the orgasm. Though it has been suggested that the last spell could be used to save amputated limbs long enough so that they could be reattached, its use has been criminalized because it is most often used in the gathering of muti."

Extract from "Introduction to Magic" often given to aspiring apprentices starting their tuition in magic at one of the towers of the Circle of Five.

\*\*\*

"How in Gullivarth's name...?" Jerielle growled deep in her throat as she watched the incoming group as Gharavhan landed next to them. "We spend ten years chasing her all over the Curndors and now she just glides up to us?"

It was just before noon when the young trainee who had been sent to assist with the morning hunt returned with the most incredible news. As soon as Gahntuar had heard who they had cornered, he had sent Gharavhan along with the other pairs who had escorted them from the forest to assist in bringing her in.

Now, the council was standing grouped on the third floor of the old Guard Tower which was serving as their roof, watching the four battle-hardened pairs bring in their arch enemy. The four lúggae were walking in a square around the dangerous draine, whose wings and tail was secured to her sides with ingenious use of the Bindflesh spell. The strange shape even shimmered around the pale blue draine's snout to ensure she could not bite or spit fire-oil at them. Furthermore, the elf rider who had set the binding also created a golden restraint spell that shone brilliantly between each of the guards and the base of her neck, forcing her to comply with the orders of her captors.

"I'd not call it gliding up to us" Gharavhan commented with a frown, crouching to let his rider climb off his back. "She put up quite the fight, from what I heard!"

"Who's the whelp?" Aerhin asked surprised, indicating towards the back where the original two pairs and the undergraduate drake who had gone hunting in the first place were flanking a small drake. The maroon drake was still very young, so he was too intimidated by the armoured dragons to put up any kind of fight and followed them meekly. "How young is he anyway?"

"Her brother? Hard to say on such short notice," Gharavhan stated, squinting at the unbound whelp. "We've concentrated more on making sure the Claw won't be getting away from us! But he cannot be older than twelve, though he is nine at the very least! But he is definitely old enough to go exploring his parent's territory on his own by now."

"At that size?" Felicity asked surprised, looking up at the old drake as if he was making fun of her.

"Yes, easily!" Jerielle confirmed. "We grow quickly until that age and then thighs just slow down drastically. He will only gain his last two feet over the next fifty years or so. But," the draine added with a frown, glancing further back down the road as if suddenly realizing something. "Where are the rest of his clutch?"

"We've searched the entire hillside where they were found," Edward stated firmly, "there is no trace, track or scent of anyone else. It may be they had not survived to this age."

"The young one has not been hurt, right?" Gahntuar growled thoughtfully, though something to his voice did suggest that it was an important question to the Lúg'hir.

"Of course not!" the lupine insisted quickly. "He is a little shaken up by the events, but that was unavoidable."

"Good!" the Lúg'hir hissed with a satisfied nod as they watched the Claw being led into the Guard Tower. The pale blue draine did try to resist as she realised they were going to enter through the shattered gate, but one of the golden strands connecting her to a yellowish drake in front of her snapped taught, causing her to choke a bit and forcing her to relent.

"I wonder if she isn't playing at something again?" Audenier hissed thoughtfully, looking up at the sky as if expecting a whole thunder of Umbrins to dive on their little hideout. "It is just strange how she had allowed herself to be caught so easily!"

"Right now, I don't care that much about how she got herself captured!" Gahntuar announced, turning around towards the crooked armoured door leading to the stairs. "I have some important questions for her!"

"Agreed!" Felicity hissed as the entire council followed their leaders down the stairs.

They descended in nervous silence, reaching the basement just as Amaren and Shella were finishing up briefing two of the guards who had brought Ikessa in. In the time when Juinkarr was still active, this level had been used for general storage, with several small security rooms. Now, the Claw was being restrained inside one of the small rooms by the other two Yellows as the other two Lúgroccan pairs stood to watch over them.

"Where is the whelp?" Merec asked curiously when Shella and Amaren were done checking that everything was in order.

"He is in that room there," Shella stated, the lupine pointing to where one of the dragons who had lost a rider the month before stood guard by a door. "He had been very cooperative, so we don't expect him to be an issue."

 "Although, if the Claw manages to get free of her cell, she will undoubtedly try to reach him!" Gharavhan commented thoughtfully, not taking his eyes from where Ikessa's limbs were bound to the stone floor by one of the Yellows. "From what I heard she refused to abandon him, even when she could have escaped herself."

"I doubt she will be able to escape from this," Edward commented, also looking over at the lone draine thoughtfully. "But have the other two pairs that brought her in guard him instead of the single dragon. At least, for the time being."

"Yes, sir!" Amaren stated crisply. "We'll inform them as soon as they come out."

Gahntuar only gave Amaren a quick satisfied nod before he stepped into the room where the last of the restraint spells was dissolved by the equine magus. Ikessa snorted in fury and tried to jump to her feet again, but the Bindflesh spells that had been added to the ones already holding her wings in place locked her firmly to the ground. All four of her legs, from her feet up to her elbows were stuck to the cracked stone floor as if they had always been part of it.

"It is strange to be casting this spell," the other Yellow commented to her companion, the she-wolf nodding in satisfaction that the restraints on the draine's back legs were holding before she got to her feet again. "Usually, I always thought it was considered strictly illegal because the only application was in cursing tools."

"I know!" the stallion grinned. "But as a restraint, I think it works better than metal shackles! All about the intention of the magic one uses, I guess!" He considered the angry dragon for a moment, falling backwards when the pale blue draine tried to bite at him. Of course, the spell around her muzzle was still firmly in place and there was no real danger to the equine.

"Should we maybe not tie her head down as well?" the insulted horse mumbled, the shape already forming between his fingers.

"You can leave her neck!" Gahntuar rumbled as he stepped up to Ikessa. "I would like to see her reactions while we talk." The draine hissed through her gag and a thick plume of smoke escaped her nostrils as she glared at the Shameblood unblinkingly.

"Yes sir," the female magus replied quickly, the two magi stepping away from the Claw as quickly as they could without appearing to be fleeing her dangerous presence.

"Is she secure?" Felicity quickly asked as she followed the black dragon inside.

"Yes, ma'am!" the lupine magus added quickly. "Only her neck and head are still able to move more than an inch."

"And she doesn't have any Operaether charms?" the vixen magus asked worriedly, her gaze gliding across the draine's long ears quizzically.

"No, we checked as instructed and found nothing!" the equine magus added after clearing his throat awkwardly, hoping the Lúgroccan council had not seen him scared off by a bound dragon. "She will not be able to break out of this room on her own."

"Good," Felicity smiled as Gahntuar sat down directly in front of Ikessa. His movements were patient, but he did not for one moment break eye contact with her. "You may go."

The other two Yellows bowed quickly in respect and rushed as fast as was descent out of the room as the last of the council followed Gahntuar inside. Then, the door clanked shut, cutting off Amaren's orders to have the young whelp guarded more securely as well. Ikessa continued to stare at Gahntuar with deadly intensity, ignoring all the other dragons who sat down in a semicircle around her. She didn't even seem to notice when the riders took their positions in front and slightly to the side of their steeds, although her gaze did snap for the briefest of moments to Merec as he joined Gahntuar in staring her down.

"Remove the gag!" Merec ordered and with a quick flick of her one talon, Felicity cast a spell to dissolve the shimmering strands of Mana around her muzzle.

As soon as the bands snapped, Ikessa reacted. With all the strength her throat muscles could muster, she blasted the Shameblood and his pet human with a sheering torrent of fire-oil. But protective runes that warded against fire lit up in a wide ring around her and her liquid inferno did not reach her intended target. Instead, some of the oil splashed back onto her own muzzle and shoulders. However, it was not near enough to drip between the scales, and the draine ignored the irritation as she continued with her assault unphased. If she could overwhelm the magic reserves of the runes, she would be able to reach them.

But her ability to continue broke down long before the runes failed. Only after ten seconds of determined blasting, the oppressive heat and noxious fumes of her own fire started to choke Ikessa and before she could catch herself, she started to cough and wheeze for breath.

"Are you done?" Merec asked deadpan as if he was talking about the weather. Ikessa coughed a few times more before she directed a furious hiss at the annoying human before she turned her gaze back to Gahntuar. He returned her steely gaze with equal ferocity, though he remained silent.

"What are you doing here?" Felicity demanded as if she had the authority of the entire Circle of Five behind her.

Ikessa only hissed in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar.

"Have you come to see your Master?" Felicity tried again, stepping in front of the draine but keeping well out of reach of the dangerous jaws that were still free to inflict damage.

Ikessa only hissed in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar.

"Tell us about the Master!" Gharavhan growled, a dangerous hiss colouring his voice. "Who is the Master?"

Ikessa only hissed in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar.

"Where is the Master?" Audenier tried his luck, switching to draconic instead of the common trading language they had been using for Felicity's sake. "We know he is not here!"

That statement seemed to have caused a reaction from Ikessa, but not a useful one. Her hissing stopped instantly at the mention of the Master and she remained silent as she continued to glare at Gahntuar as if her stare could do him harm with only her eyes.

"Tell us about the Master!" Gharavhan growled again, following Audenier's example to use draconic instead of common.

Ikessa remained silent in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar. Though, her crest did quiver ever so slightly when the old brown drake spoke.

"You know," Felicity purred with fake bravado, "I hear everyone has a breaking point."

As she spoke, the vixen's thoughts ran through her significant knowledge of spells as she tried to come up with a way to get the draine talking. The simple light tricks she often used on unknowledgeable simpletons obviously won't work here, against the dragon revered throughout Selebore as the Claw-of-the-Master. No, she would not be scared into submission by a simple display of light! Something more... physical was required here. Of course, some spells could cause a feeling of incredible pain anywhere the caster desired to inflict it and all without causing any real harm to the individual being mortared. But the entire Morturing class was part of the Forbidden Arts and the use thereof can have her executed if she was found out.

That is if she knew any good Morturing spells to begin with. She did acquire a few spells she was not proud of, but she doubted any of them would have a significant enough impact on the bound dragon. She was skilled with Heat spells, but she doubted a dragon would so much as flinch at a little flame. Ice was a better option though, but that would have to cause significant damage and instead of assisting them, it may only provide the Coral Tower with even more ammunition to throw against them. For a moment she wished she had a better understanding and control over electricity. It was a dangerous and rarely used class as it was near impossible to control beyond a few yards and more often than not equally dangerous to the wielder as to the target if the right precautions were not taken. Still, she wondered for a moment how the other two magi were with it. But even as she was wondering how best to ask her fellow Yellows to torture the bound dragon, a realization hit her.

The captured draine did not know what her abilities were. The worst weapon she had found to use against her opponents was the fear of the unknown. Let their imaginations run wild with improbable possibilities of what the vixen was capable of and willing to do.

With a simple thought, Felicity ignited a series of small Manashapes that danced as brilliantly coloured lights across her hands. It looked impressive but was only a basic skill and one of the first a novice had to achieve.

"You know what I mean with a breaking point, right?" Felicity stated calmly, looking a little bored at her hand as she commanded the lights to run a few times across her palm before they scurried along her fingers up to her claws where she ignited a few equally simple Candleflames. "A threshold beyond which you are not willing to go. I wonder where yours will be?"

Ikessa remained silent in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar. She did not even seem impressed with the dangerous looking display of magic.

"I don't think she understands common," Edward smirked, trying not to laugh and spoil Felicity's elaborate scare tactic even further. "How is your draconic?"

"I'll translate for you!" Gharavhan hissed when Felicity stared defeated at his rider. The old drake leaned in closer to Ikessa, though still careful not to get within her striking distance before he rumbled softly but menacingly. "The Yellow magus here tells us that everyone has a point where they stop resisting the inevitable. And I can tell you that we have time to find out where that point will be for you."

Though her crest twitched ever so slightly, Ikessa remained silent in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar.

"Who is the Master?" Jerielle demanded, a dangerous growl touching her voice. "Where is the Master?"

Ikessa remained silent in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar as if the others in the room were beneath her worry.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Gharavhan added, slamming a forepaw down on the ground. "Even for the Umbrins, there is nothing of interest here!"

Ikessa remained silent in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar as if the others in the room were beneath her worry. Her crest remained flat and still now as well, giving the illusion that she was completely calm and collected as opposed to the agitated dragons of the Lúgroccae arranged around her.

"That is true!" Merec suddenly stated softly, looking up at Gharavhan. "There has been no sign of dragon anywhere near here, in either direction."

Though the human's speech seemed slurred and badly accented, he spoke the nuances flawlessly and with enough clarity that any could understand him without any issue. Ikessa's mental wall shattered completely when the human spoke draconic and before she could catch herself, her crest had shot up in utter surprise and she twisted to stare dumbfounded at the human. Then, with a snarl at herself, she forced herself to return her attention solely on her direct foe, the Shameblood who just sat there, returning her death stare with equal force. She should have known better than to be surprised that the human had picked up the language. Dragons spoke Ziurum easily enough and a few even the common trading language after all and the two in front of her had been together for well over a dragon's whelphood.

"So, who did she come to meet?" Merec continued, unable to hide a smile that he had caught the Claw off guard, even if only for a moment.

Ikessa remained silent in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar as if the others in the room were beneath her worry. Not that it mattered though, as Merec was not directing his attention specifically at her.

"What was so important to come here for?" the human continued unphased. "And why, with a whelp in tow as well?"

Ikessa's mental defences showed another crack at the mention of the whelp as she risked a quick glance at the door behind the Shameblood.

"The whelp, yes!" Edward agreed, quickly pouncing on the lapse in Ikessa's resolve. The wolf standing by the side of the deep brown drake also spoke a badly pronounced form of draconic, though much less accented than the human's attempt. "Who is the whelp anyway? Given how he continues to call you 'Mom', I doubt he is your brother as you had said."

Ikessa remained silent in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar as if the wolf was beneath her worry. Yet her crest quivered now nonstop and a slight twitch in her forepaws, which was all her talons was capable of moving, betrayed her failing nerves.

"Ah, yes, the hatchling!" Gahntuar suddenly spoke, breaking his staring contest with the Claw to face the door momentarily. "The family resemblance is obvious, though the colour seems a bit off. Brother from another sire... possibly!" Gahntuar turned his attention back to where the draine lay bound to the floor. "But judging by his age, he may even be your own."

When Ikessa's crest rose sharply at the Lúg'hir's accusation, Gharavhan snorted in surprise.

"Her own?" the old drake snapped. "How old was she when she conceived?"

"Well past her first few heats!" Jerielle quickly stated. "She is very young to have attained the role of Claw, yes! But she has not been a whelp for a long time. Although, where are his siblings?"

Ikessa remained silent in defiance, never looking away from Gahntuar. But of the calm and collected prisoner, there was barely anything left.

"That is a good question," Gharavhan agreed. "With their father maybe? Which begs another question, why is this one special?"

"He does resemble Seghrien a bit, doesn't he?" Merec suddenly suggested.

Ikessa hissed loudly before she could catch herself as Merec spoke, all her attention instantly focused on the human. But though the sound seemed fierce and angry, the riders knew their dragons well enough to recognize her vocalization wasn't one of anger, but fear.

"Seghrien had a kid!" Felicity yelped in shock, the name of their old rival the only thing she could recognize from the strange language.

"Of course, why would he not have?" Gahntuar told the vixen, frowning thoughtfully for a moment.  "It would also explain how this one here became Claw at such a young age and why the whelp is so important!" The black drake turned back to Ikessa, addressing her once more in draconic. "But given that Seghrien is his father, at that age the whelp couldn't have been more than an egg when his father died. Maybe even just a pool of Seghrien's slime in your belly…"

Ikessa hissed again at the drake sitting in front of her, a little anger colouring her idle threat this time.

"If that is the case, it would explain where the others are," Jerielle commented, sounding a little upset at the thought. "I doubt there was enough time to mate properly during the siege, so the other eggs never conceived. He is Seghrien's only heir…"

"I wonder what he thinks of his father though," Audenier asked, studying his claws idly. "How he lived, how he died..."

"Seghrien was brave and courageous, unlike..." Ikessa screeched furiously, losing her cool completely. However, she quickly regained her composure, snapping her jaws shut and staring at an indistinguishable spot on the wall off to the side. But her crest failed to remain calm, revealing her fraying nerves.

"Why is that?" Gahntuar asked softly, leaning in interested to hear what she had to say. But Ikessa tried to ignore him, her crest jerking erratically as she tried to keep it still. "Come now, Seghrien was brave and courageous. And I am a coward and untrustworthy. Why do you say that?"

Ikessa remained silent in defiance, never looking away from the spot on the wall she had suddenly taken an interest in. She ignored everyone in the room as if they all were beneath her worry.

"She clamped up again!" Merec stated in common to the room in general before he ignored the draine as much as she did him and started to resume the discussion in draconic. "So, what do you think she was doing bringing Seghrien's whelp up here?"

"Show him the sights?" the other human guessed. "Proud history, you know."

"Maybe show him why he has to obey his future Master?" Aerhin suggested with a shrug, the elf's ascent even worse than the two humans'. "Make sure he understands that he has to proudly follow in his father's footsteps."

Ikessa did not move as the riders threw a few ideas around, but Gahntuar did perk up when he noticed her crest rise in distress momentarily at the mention of the Master.

"I doubt it was to let him play with the Kuhiuns!" Audenier suddenly quipped.

"Kuhiuns?" Ikessa yelped terrified, her composure completely shattered again.

"Yeah, we noticed a pack of them just the other day down in the valley there," Merec stated offhandedly as if she was part of a conversation between friends. "They seemed hungry though..."

"You wouldn't dare!" Ikessa hissed appalled, all composure gone. She strained against her bindings and tried her luck at spitting fire again but still without any luck.

"Dare what?" Merec asked, turning to wink at his dragon when Gahntuar raised a questioning eyebrow at him. Ikessa, completely oblivious to the finer mannerisms of the civils, didn't recognize either of the gestures at all.

"He is just a whelp!" Ikessa roared desperately, fighting against her restraints until her strength gave out.

"Well, desperate times, desperate measures, right?" Gharavhan rumbled, picking up what the human was doing. The other dragons in the room hissed in shock at the disturbing trend the interrogation was suddenly heading, but the old drake pressed on regardless as their prisoner was in too much of a panic to have noticed. "And he is hardly a whelp anymore. He can start his own family if he were to find a territory he could hold. You could not have been that not that much older when you and Seghrien conceived him, I would guess." It was a horrible exaggeration, but he didn't care. It brought the point home either way.

"Please, he has nothing to do with this!" Ikessa begged, her strength spent and near to tears. "He is just a whelp!"

"Enough of that," Gahntuar hissed, glaring dangerously first at his human and them the others around the room. "I am not Seghrien! No harm will come to the whelp, as long as I am Lúg'hir, understood!"

"Just stating facts, as you know, sir!" the brown stated with exaggerated innocence. "Though I doubt the courageous Seghrien would have let something between his jaws go, as you are well aware."

"Seghrien would never harm those who did not deserve it!" Ikessa hissed furiously. Though her strength had failed her, there was still nothing wrong with her spirit.

"He smashed my current mate's previous clutch of eggs!" Gahntuar quickly hissed back.

"You lie!" Ikessa growled, looking away from Gahntuar.

"After he had killed their father..." Gahntuar insisted sternly.

"You lie!" Ikessa growled a little louder but still refused to make eye contact.

"...whose only wrongdoing was being conceived to the wrong sire!" Gahntuar pressed on, talking clearly and firmly over the captive draine's rants.

"You lie!" Ikessa growled a little louder still, finally twisting back slightly to look sideways at her captor.

"Defenceless eggs..." Gahntuar continued unrelentingly.

"YOU LIE!" Ikessa screeched, turning back to the black drake to glare hatefully at him.

"...whose only wrongdoing was to be conceived..." Gahntuar continued unintimidated.

"STOP!" Ikessa screeched, finding the strength to attempt another short-lived blast of fire.

"... by someone whose sire he didn't like!"

"Why do you think their mother killed him as she did?" Merec suddenly asked.

Ikessa did not think before she reacted, snapping her jaws at the human in a dangerous display that stated unequivocally to even the human that he had to keep his stubby nose out of this conversation between dragons, or risk career-altering injuries. But Merec was so used to the dragons doing it to them all the time that outwardly, he did not even flinch when those deadly jaws snapped feet from his face. Though the display did have his heart racing faster and memories of her teeth sinking into his shoulder flooded his mind, the lack of a satisfying outward reaction left Ikessa much more rattled than the human was.

"There is a human saying 'the most dangerous thing to exist is a mother defending her children'!" Merec continued, sounding calmer than he felt. "What will you do if something was to happen to the little one in the next room?"

"Seghrien was a brave and honourable drake!" Ikessa growled dangerously, smoke curling from her nostrils. "He would never... I don't believe you!"

"And what about when the Master orders it?" Gahntuar asked flatly from over his human's shoulder. Ikessa snapped her head back to him and the drake could see a part of the draine die in her eyes. She held the stare only for a brief moment before turning away from him as far as her bound state could allow.

"He... he wouldn't..." she whimpered, but there was no conviction in her voice anymore. She was all too well aware of the lengths the Masters would go to get what they want.

"I know full well what Seghrien was willing to do for the Master!" Gahntuar hissed, a growl of anger now colouring his voice as he stood up to lean in towards to bound draine, well within her striking range. "He killed my parents… and the little hatchlings they had with them at the time. I know this because I was there! He nearly killed me then, as well. Had I not accidentally taken his eye that day, I would not be here!"

Despite herself, Ikessa snapped her gaze back to the drake to stare at him in surprise when he mentioned Seghrien's eye. And in his gaze, she could see that he was telling the truth. But also, that he had a deep loathing for the drake she had always held so dear. An emotion that filtered through his voice as he spoke, giving it a sharp edge that made Ikessa's scales rattle as she recognized her own desire for vengeance... against one who had sought, and found vengeance of her own.

"After that, he killed a family of elves who had dared to accept me as a friend!" the drake continued, a plume of thick smoke now curling from his nostrils.  "He did not even allow their little girl to survive. Not that he had anything against elves, he just wanted to get to me. Then, as you should well know, he attacked a whole human village who didn't even like dragons at the time… again just to get his claws at my throat. Yes, I know all too well what the Claw-of-the-Master is willing to do for the glory of Juinkarr!"

"I... I never..." Ikessa whimpered, unable to hold the gaze of the dragon she had despised for so long.

"And we are supposed to believe you?" Gharavhan snapped quickly, causing the captured draine to shrink silently in on herself. What could she answer? She was all too familiar with the dishonourable views of the Masters and how far they were willing to go for their selfish desires. Their hold over all they commanded!

Unbidden, she recalled the human apprentice in the Jet Tower, the one she had often gone to visit in years gone by and how he had become as selfish, twisted and manipulative as his Mistress. Her scales rattled again as she suddenly recognized some aspects of that human in Seghrien as well. Not when he had been looking and speaking with her, but it was always there when he interacted with others. He had the same contempt for those who did not give their all for the Shadowlands, the same loathing for those who dared to oppose the power of Barathrum... the same fanatical shine in his eyes whenever he spoke of the glory of Juinkarr...

"Strange, I believe you!" Gahntuar suddenly announced, leaning back from her and lifting his presence that was more intimidating than his slightly smaller stature should have allowed.

"Sir?" Jerielle gasped, gaping with unveiled surprise at her superior.

"Your body language betrays you," the black drake continued, ignoring the red draine's shock. "All the time you've been here, you pretended to be defiant of our demands but instead you were terrified. Not for yourself, it seems, but your whelp for you only reacted whenever he was brought up. And now, the perfect image of the one you had admired and shared your body with has been shattered and you are no longer sure how to respond. No, I get the feeling you've tried to fight this war with virtue and honour and not because of the demands of the one you serve!"

Ikessa remained silent as she looked away from them in shame, not daring to meet anyone's gaze.

"If you don't agree with what Seghrien has done in the service of the Master, then why do the same?" Jerielle asked with a scoff. "What hold does this Master of yours have over you?"

Ikessa remained silent as she looked away from them, not daring to meet anyone's gaze.

"How you ever thought you could achieve something of value, serving a creature like that, or why you are doing so in the first place, I do not know," Gahntuar added softly, almost tenderly while his gaze never left the cowering draine. "But what interested me most was your irritation at the mere mention that you were going to introduce the youngster to this 'Master'. Why was that?"

Ikessa remained silent as she looked away from them, not daring to meet anyone's gaze. But her crest did twitch in agitation again at the mention of the Master.

"If you did not know what Seghrien had done, why do you not want his whelp to follow his father's tail?" Gahntuar insisted, but again he was only met with silence.

"So, why do you guys think she doesn't the whelp to meet his Master?" Merec suddenly quipped, his tone almost jovial as if they were busy discussing plans for something fun.

"Are you serious?" Jerielle hissed at the Roccan'hir, glaring at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Well, think about it," the human insisted, ignoring the sombre mood that had fallen over the group. "She is obviously devoted to this Master, yet something..."

"I'm right here, Unblessed!" Ikessa hissed upset, the fury she has displayed before all but extinguished.

"You're free to join the conversation anytime," Merec commented offhand, turning back to the red draine he had been addressing. "So, as I was saying: Something about this Master must be..."

"I will not let the Masters have Seghrien!" Ikessa snapped frustrated, lifting her head again to glare at the annoying human. Only, as soon as she saw his face, she realized she had flown blindly into his trap.

"Seghrien?" Audenier asked surprised. "But he is already dead..."

"I think the whelp was named after his father," Aerhin commented softly.

"I guess," Merec pondered, frowning in worry, "but what worries me was the use of the plural noun!" He turned to his dragon speaking once more in the common language to make sure he had not misunderstood. "That was plural, right? 'Masters'?"

"There is more than one?" Felicity yelped in utter shock, unable to have followed the conversation up to that point.

"You are right, that was the plural form of the noun!" Gahntuar agreed with his human, also in common. "But her title only refers to a singular one." He turned back to the draine, who was looking down at a crack in the floor in defeat. "So, despite being his Claw, the Master doesn't have your loyalty! Am I right?"

Ikessa only snorted in disgust at the mere suggestion, turning away from them again. For a time, the room was silent and Merec was about to start the conversation without her when the draine spoke up.

"Will you allow your offspring to carry a pet around on his back as you do?" the pale-blue draine hissed annoyed. "Will you be proud if they were to follow your tail?"

"If they don't want to, they are free to go where they will! I will not think less of them!" Gahntuar commented with a shrug to show that he did not think it important. "But my eldest joined us long ago and has his own rider." Ikessa looked up at him again, a deep frown of disbelief on her features. But then something seemed to register to her and with a new understanding, she glanced back at the door. "Yes, you've met him a few moments ago. So, to answer your question, I am very proud of him. But what about you? Will you not be proud of your offspring if he was to follow your tail?"

Ikessa growled and turned away from them again with a determined hiss, making it clear she has had enough of this game. Instead, she focused determinedly on the talons of her one forepaw.

"You know," Merec added quickly. "If you were to win, there would be no place where this Master cannot find him... or Masters as the case seems to be!" Ikessa's frill twitched in agitation, but she refused to look at the human again. But his words stung a little as she couldn't deny the logic.

"His only hope to get away is to stay with us," the other human added from the side.

"And you really believe you can protect little Seghrien against any of the Masters?" Ikessa growled, glancing a moment up at the Shameblood with a defiant glare before she resumed her study of the stone to which her claws were bound. "You could not protect your own against my dragons six weeks ago!"

Gahntuar hissed angrily at the comment and he jumped to his feet, intending to strike at the insolent draine. His momentary loss of self-control made Ikessa smirk victoriously, but the moment was only fleeting. The Lúg'hir regained his composure impressively quickly and he leaned in towards her again.

"You have beaten us down, yes!" he hissed, a dangerous edge to his voice, "and yet here we still are!"

"To be fair, we cannot guarantee his absolute protection," Merec suddenly agreed with her, "unless we maybe lock him up for the rest of his life. And doing that would 'spoil the hunt' as dragons say. We can only try our best, and that is much better than any alternative you face at the moment."

Ikessa hissed at him, not even looking up at the human though her crest did twitch ever so slightly at his words.

"I take it the Master has been demanding you to bring, Seghrien is it, to him," Merec voiced his opinion. "But as you just stated, you will never let him have the whelp. And that is why you are hiding here, to escape his influence. But that also means all your previous allies have now turned against you. On the other hand... wing, you will be hunted by every Lumor you meet. So, other than hiding the rest of your lives, what exactly did you intend to do?"

Ikessa remained silent as she looked away from them, not daring to meet anyone's gaze. But her whole demeanour wilted as Merec spoke, suggesting that he had it correct.

"Right then, what do you think she intended?" Edward suddenly asked his dragon, trying to play the game the Roccan'hir had used against the Claw.

"There is always the poss..." Gharavhan started to reply, but Merec silenced him with a wave of his hand.

"I think we should let her ponder the question on her own," the human stated in common as he turned towards the door. "Let her wallow in the hopelessness of her situation. Let's go."

Wordlessly, they all turned to leave. Ikessa forced a sigh of fake relief as she was left alone but she was unable to hold back a whine of worry from escaping.

"You know," Felicity growled upset at Merec as Edward started to open the heave door with a loud creak. "It is very annoying not to know what you are all talking about..."

"Wait!" Ikessa called just as the two guarding pairs outside the room snapped to attention when they saw Edward and Gharavhan in the doorway. The whole group stopped immediately and turned to look expectedly at the bound draine, but she had not moved an inch. She was still studying the cracks in the stone beneath her claws as if with idle interest, but her fidgeting crest was betraying the turmoil of emotions fighting their own battle inside her.

"Swear to me, upon your bloodline, that you will not allow any harm to come to little Seghrien!" Ikessa demanded, finally looking up at Gahntuar. The look of defiance that had made her such a dangerous Claw had returned to her eyes and she glared at her rival with an intensity that could never come from a broken creature.

"Why?" Gahntuar hissed angrily, his own eyes flashed with equal intensity and his crest erect in agitation. "His father had hunted my family to near extinction and had never shown any mercy to our hatchlings. Why should we not give what we have received for over a century in return?"

"I... I cannot lose him!" Ikessa growled, her crest falling finally flat in defeat. "He is all I have... Everything I've done, from entering into the Master's service to fighting the elves last year was to protect him! Just... swear to me that you will protect him like your own!"

"That, I can never do!" Gahntuar growled appalled, starting to turn away from her again. "How can you even think for one moment that I will be able to take in the family of my family's killer like that?"

"His safety is all I care about!" Ikessa begged, turning her gaze to the human she had tried to kill so often. "You are right, the Masters do not have my loyalty, but I will do anything for his safety! I... I need to know he will be alive and happy when I die today."

"What makes you sure you are going to die?" Merec asked, dodging Gahntuar when the drake tried to push the human out of the room with his snout. "Do you fear us that much?"

"It is not you, I fear!" Ikessa hissed a little insulted. "I... I made an unbreakable vow to avenge Seghrien's death. When I willingly break it... I know it will kill me! That is what has kept me loyal to the Master, not fear of his strength nor loyalty to his childish wants. Already the vow burns in my chest something fierce... worse than I have ever felt it before. It... it is almost hard to breathe with its intensity!"

"Fine!" Gahntuar finally growled, turning back to address the captured draine. "I have already agreed that I will not cause him harm, nor will I send out anyone to do it for me. Despite how his father had treated us, he won't need to live in fear of us! If... IF what you can give us turns out to be of any value, he will be allowed to disappear in between the Lumors and live his life as he wishes. His heritage will be lost to history and not be held against him in any way. BUT I will NOT be adopting him as one of my own! That… is asking too much!"

"What we are trying to say is that as long as he doesn't actively turn against us or our allies, he will be treated as one of us!" Merec stated quickly, calming the dragon down with a pat to his neck. "It is the closest thing you will get to him being protected like one of our own."

Ikessa hissed upset, but she also knew she had no options.

"I... I will tell you all I can," she finally agreed defeated. The draine was silent, slumped into herself as she watched the crack in the stone while her enemies settled down around her again.

"Can you speak common?" Merec asked a little softly as if he was worried about pushing her too far again with such a request, "for the sake of the Yellow magus there?" Ikessa silently shook her head, still without looking up at him. "I guess we'll just have to translate then," the Roccan'hir sighed.

"I'll do it!" Jerielle said quickly. "I helped out with the translations in the early days of the Lúgroccae."

"Let's start with who this Master is then if you please?" Gahntuar rumbled emotionlessly as his human nodded his thanks to the red draine.

Ikessa was silent for a moment, breathing deeply as if gathering courage.

"What his true name had been, was lost with The Shattering," the pale-blue draine finally spoke in a clear, determined voice even though she still held her head low. "And the name he goes by now I will not speak out of fear of drawing his attention upon us. I don't know how, but he can sense whenever and wherever his name is spoken. They all can."

"Good thing we don't know it then," Audenier grumbled, looking awkwardly at the ceiling.

"They can also communicate in some way with anyone they wish, irrespective of where the person is," Ikessa continued, ignoring the blue drake who interrupted her as well as the brown who scolded him. "They do this by appearing to the other person as some kind of... ghost... or something. And I've even seen them travel long distances with a single step, so nowhere is beyond their reach."

"Records from the Golden Age do speak of the higher councils of the Circle of Five projecting spectres to communicate with one another," Felicity suddenly stated with a satisfied nod. "And travelling distances in a single step is definitely a portal, which we still use today though the shape for creating one without a portalstone is long lost."

"Allow her to speak at her own pace," Merec reprimanded the vixen, who only scoffed at him.

"I'm just confirming her story!" she stated before adding quickly, "although, ask her how many Masters are there still?"

Jerielle translated quickly when Merec nodded in agreement and Ikessa snorted in annoyance, finally looking up at her captors again.

"In the glory days of Juinkarr, there were seven demons in total," she announced. "They had given up their true names, taking on titles in the old human tongue after the number of their rank within the Council of Juinkarr. For instance, Unus, who died at the last siege of Juinkarr, was the Great Overlord of Barathrum. Duas, the demon who died leading the disastrous invasion of Thendor, was the High General. Then there was Tribus, the Mistress of Enchantments, who died trying to defend her castle that stood where the Coral Tower can be found today. They were the Juinkarr Triumvirate of old, whose word was law and breaking it was death."

Ikessa was silent for a moment to allow her audience to think about what she had told them.

"The Master whose Claw I am... was, stands at number four in the ranking," the draine continued, "and a such he is the highest-ranking demon still alive today. He is the Master of Arms and still has absolute command over all the military forces of the entire Shadowlands."

There was a worried hiss from one of the dragons, but Ikessa did not hesitate to continue her descriptions of the Masters. Now that she was finally speaking of these things, it felt as if she couldn't stop even if old Quattor himself appeared to yell at her. Which was saying something.

"Then there was Quinque, the Master Blacksmith who forged Helegnal amongst other things." Ikessa continued undeterred. "He was the one who died where the Nacre Tower now stands after having abandoned his castle near the Thirstlands..."

"If this Quinque is dead," Jerielle suddenly translated for Felicity, "then why is the Master after Gahntuar and Merec's hearts?"

"Sorry," Felicity smirked unapologetically when Merec glared at her.

"To have Helegnal's twin forged!" Ikessa answered the question curtly. "You see, along with the Master, two more demons from the glory days of old remain alive this day. Number Six is the Mistress of Beasts, and the last, Number seven is the Master of the Aetherfontes. Quat... The Master had ordered Number Seven to find Helegnal, for as you know, they need it to reopen the gateway to Barathrum and restore Juinkarr to its former glory. However, it is also important to understand that each demon also has a specific emotion that rules their existence. For the Master, it is anger while for Number Six, it is sexuality. Number Seven is laziness, so the chances that Helegnal will ever be found is extremely small."

Ikessa hesitated, obviously wanting to elaborate on something but then thinking better of it.

"Don't hold anything back!" Merec said softly, but firmly. The restrained draine glanced warily at him before relenting with a sigh.

"There is more as to why the Sha… the Lúg'hir was hunted like this," she admitted, looking down at a piece of rubble that had fallen from the wall long ago. "Why it had to be his heart!"

"And that would be?" Gharavhan prodded her when she fell silent again.

"I do not know the full story," Ikessa admitted worriedly, "but some two hundred years after the fall of Juinkarr, a goblin shaman had a foreseeing that an offspring Lunintur, two-generations-past, will capture the Aether-fountain of Juinkarr for the Circle of Five. The surviving Masters are desperate to prevent that from ever happening, so Lunintur's entire bloodline had to die."

Felicity made a soft coughing noise and although she didn't say anything, Gahntuar still glared at her with a wordless threat.

"But... what does that have to do with...," Audenier started to ask with a deep frown when his face suddenly lit up with understanding. "Wait," he yelped, turning to Gahntuar and staring at him in awe as if he saw the Lúg'hir for the first time. "Don't tell me you are you really are Lun..."

"No!" Gahntuar growled annoyed, risking a meaningful glance at Jerielle. "My heritage is not important!"

"I beg to differ, sir!" Gharavhan rumbled in agreement. "This changes everything! If more dragons knew you were...!"

"I said 'No'!" Gahntuar insisted. "I may be descended from Lunintur and through him from Gullivarth Himself, but I will not become known as the king of all dragons and we will not use my bloodline to coerce dragons in joining up with us! So, this stays here, Understood?" Not waiting for a reply, Gahntuar whirled on Ikessa to change the topic. "Where are these... masters now?"

Ikessa blinked in surprise at Gahntuar for a moment, unable to avoid thinking of Fernel and how he always like to announce his lineage all the way back to Gullivarth.

"I don't know exactly," Ikessa stammered, a little intimidated by the looming presence of Gahntuar even though she wasn't the one he was upset with. "Seven hasn't been heard of since he had gone in search of Helegnal, four hundred years ago! The Master has taken refuge in a deep cave high up a cliff about a day's flight south of here, and only the Claw is allowed to know where exactly the entrance is."

"Only a day's flight?" Gharavhan whimpered as he looked to the southern wall of the cell, sounding genuinely worried for the first time since the interview began.

"But I'm afraid that, even though I was Claw for a decade, I have made it a point of avoiding his lair, so I am not entirely sure of the exact location," Ikessa continued quickly. "I am confident however that his ghost would have guided me to where I had to go when I was to present Seghrien to him! He has not come out of his Inner Sanctum since the fall of Juinkarr, instead, he uses his ghost to order his subordinates around."

A disrespectful scoff slipped from her as she spoke of the Master, think of how easily he ordered hundreds to their deaths, yet he was unwilling to leave the safety of his lair. How many times he had ordered her on a suicide mission that was sure to fail, how many times he must have done the same to Seghrien. It was just one more reason she despised the creature.

"Quat- er, Four and Seven are dangerous in their own right," she continued just as Jerielle was to translate a new question from the vixen, "but it is Six is the one you really need to worry about. Unlike the other two, she has been very busy preparing for the rise of Juinkarr."

"How so?" Merec asked.

"She has spies all over the place to keep her informed of what is happening where, and as many agents she uses with deadly effect to corner off prey for her," Ikessa stated, a horrified shudder running through her at the thought of Senna with little Seghrien. "She does this without anyone realizing she is involved, and she is not afraid to go on the hunt herself when needed. She can shift her body to any form she needs, you see, and I know she has been stalking her own ideals from the shadows for decades now."

"Do you know where she is now?" Edward asked worriedly, already grasping the importance of what Ikessa was telling them.

"I don't..." Ikessa started to say, but then hesitated. "I hear she moves around a lot, but a year ago she was somewhere in the lion territories, I think. I saw her once come through a hole in the air from one of the big cities by the sea."

"Do you know who these spies of hers are?" Merec asked hopefully, grunting upset when the draine shook her head.

"No, there are too many and they were kept mostly away from each other to make sure one doesn't betray the others!" Ikessa stated solemnly. "But nowhere is safe, I fear. Though I do not know their names, I am aware of spies amongst all the various authorities... Field-Marshal Veryalas's second in command is one of her high-ranking agents!"

"What?" Aerhin gasped in complete shock.

"At my request, he played a crucial role in getting the elves to call you out to Ealyndore earlier this spring," Ikessa admitted, "and he helped greatly in convincing the Field-Marshal to push ahead recklessly into the trap on the Echoren River. He was especially important to hold back the message that was to warn your army to stay at Eydelvise."

Despite her situation, Ikessa still found herself smiling when Gahntuar growled in anger at the thought of the disastrous battle. But he reigned in his frustration and fury at having been outmanoeuvred, waving the puff of smoke he released with an irritable wave of his paw.

"You've made your point," he hissed, glaring again at the draine. "Do you perhaps know the whereabouts of any other of these spies she has? You did mention she has someone in all the kingdoms of Selebore!"

"Not just all the kingdoms," Ikessa corrected him. "I am also aware that she has contacts within the Circle of Five. I have heard rumours of a Cervid in the Corel Tower and I know of more in the Jet Tower, but nothing more than that. As I said, they prefer to hide their identities, even from each other. There is very little comradery amongst the followers of Barathrum!"

"Merciful Nixoruma!" Merec whispered, feeling a little lightheaded at the implications. "What could she achieve with so much influence?"

"That would explain why the war in Ealyndore is taking so much longer than it was supposed to," Aerhin muttered. "She helped drag it out to cause instability in the region and to further her own ends. But what else had she achieved already? The war between the humans and the canids? The animosity between the Circle and the Alliance? Things we are not even aware of yet?"

"It could be any of those or everything for all we know! But how is not knowing the names of her agents any help to us?" Edward asked with an upset growl as he folded his arms like he was scolding a naughty child.

"It is a start!" Charl commented with a sigh. "At least we know the danger is far more widespread than we initially thought!"

"And which makes our current situation even more dangerous!" Aerhin asked. "Who can we trust then?"

"These are serious accusations that must be acted upon!" Jerielle suddenly spoke determinedly from the side, translating something the vixen had asked of her. "But to know if you are telling us the truth, we will need some kind of tangible proof we can test. Field-Marshal Veryalas's second in command is a good start but is there anything else you can give us to prove that these demons in particular exist. Especially this Number Six who has been pulling strings behind the scenes as you say."

"Pulling... what?" Ikessa started to ask before Jerielle waved the question away with a scoff.

"Sorry, my bad," the red draine smiled awkwardly. "It is just a civil way of saying she had someone corner off prey for her!"

"Oh," Ikessa sighed, thinking about the question for a bit. "No, I'm sorry. There is very little else I know. The Masters insist on their privacy and secrecy!"

Felicity sighed, scratching her brow as she tried to think of something else she could report back to the Amber Tower with, but before she could get her thoughts into order Ikessa spoke again.

"Although," the bound draine suddenly said a little hesitantly after a moment of thoughtful silence, "I do remember my sire mentioning that the demons were once human, but they had to sacrifice their identity to become what they are now. His sire two-generations-past knew their names, as he had been the first Claw-of-the-Masters, even before Gullivarth first came through from Barathrum... but I don't recall most of them. Only, Unus was once Leradde of Naeve... and Senn- six was some Lady Fucia of Caraphelle. I am sorry, but that is all I have."

"That is better than nothing, I guess," Merec muttered thoughtfully, before turning back to the beaten-down draine and speaking to her in a gentler tone. "Thank you, you have been of great help."

"Sure," Ikessa growled dejectedly, fully aware that she had betrayed all she fought for the past years. And she did it willingly, without being tricked or broken. At least, not by her enemies.

"We'll leave you in peace," Gahntuar growled a little unsympathetically. He turned around and with a curt 'Come!' to the rest of the occupants of the room, he walked outside.

Ikessa allowed her head to slump to the ground in defeat, huffing at herself for her lack of honour as she watched the last tails of the Lúgroccae High Command disappear through the door. What had bewitched her to comply with their wishes in the first place? Sure, they would not hunt little Seghrien to the ends of Selebore, but was he now in any better position than he had been before? She heard the Shameblood speak to someone on the other side for a moment, but they were talking in common which she did not understand. Not that it mattered anymore, she thought bitterly to herself. She would be dead soon as her vow took its toll. Not only had she knowingly betrayed her Masters, but she had assisted those who had killed her mate! A direct contrast to that ridiculous vow she had made. What had ever gotten into her to do such a thing, and how did she manage to do it in the first place? Then again, what was the point anymore? There was no way back for her now and already that damned vow burned...

Ikessa got up so quickly that she nearly pulled her shoulders out of their joint. Astounded, she sought inward for the bright burn of the vow in her chest she had come to live with as part of her the past decade. But for once it was not there at all. It wasn't just so dim as to be nearly undetectable, but it was truly gone.

The vow... had faded to nothing.

It had been fulfilled.

\*\*\*

"What do you think it is about?" Sean asked, the young wolf motioning with his snout to where the strange pale blue draine was led down to the basement. "I mean, have you ever heard of one of the bad dragons being captured before?"

"No, never!" his elder sister replied, watching the last of the Lúgroccae dragons start to follow the strange golden ribbon down the stairs with a slight pang of envy. For a moment she wished she could work with magic, but though the Lupinae were on average not that bad with casting, she as an individual had trouble acquiring the needed Mana.

"Do you know who that is?" Cornelia asked, the unicorn mare who had joined the two siblings a few months ago on the road to the Lúgroccan Camp coming over to sit with the two wolves.

"No idea," Elize growled in annoyance. She was about to add something when a movement at the door drew her attention. "Wait, there is two of them?"

The three trainee riders turned to see the second group of dragons enter through the front door and the mare perked up visibly as she spotted the golden drake she had been temporarily paired up with. Smiling broadly, she gave him a slight wave. For a moment it seemed as if the golden drake did not notice, as he was concentrating on escorting a small maroon dragon about two-thirds his height towards the stairs. But then Velron smirked when he spotted her, lifting a wing in acknowledgement before he followed the rest down to the basement as well.

"Stop embarrassing yourself," Elize hissed, elbowing the mare. "He's a dragon, not your boyfriend!"

"It's not like that!" Cornelia insisted awkwardly, tossing her head so that her horn stabbed in a mock challenge at the lupine, but still pinning her ears back at the implication. "But Roccan'her Glenn did say that we need to have a good relationship with our chosen steeds! The closer we are the better, right?"

"That doesn't mean that you..." the she-wolf started to argue for no good reason, but her brother quickly shushed them.

"Do you think they will tell us what is going on?" Sean asked, indicating to the council members who descended from on high to visit the strange dragons in the basement. The young wolf gasped when the black dragon himself nodded a quick greeting in their direction before he and his human rider led the Lúgroccan Council down the stairs. Somehow, despite being slightly smaller than most dragons he had an aura of purpose and authority that the young lad found very intimidating and inspiring at the same time.

"I doubt it," his sister whined, leaning back in her seat as she sighed deeply with the boredom that had become their daily routine. Unlike the graduated pairs, they were not trusted enough yet to take on guard duty. And with no one being allowed to leave this structure because of the proximity of some kind of dangerous ruins, it meant no training for them for the time being.

"But do we need to know?" Cornelia countered, giving her travelling companion an evil eye. "We've become part of the Lúgroccae not two months ago and barely started our training, you know."

"Oh, come on," Elize argued out of sheer boredom and desperate to break the monotony they were suffering. "Why should we not need to know what is going on?"

"Seriously?" Cornelia countered. "Why do you need to know?" She indicated to where the fox and gryphon, who they had first met when arriving at the Dirt Tower, were busy talking to three of the dragons who had returned from the basement. The mare tried to wave inconspicuously at Velron again when he was dismissed by the gryphon, but the drake missed her this time and quickly headed off to join a few of the other dragons in training.

"Are we not part of the Lúgroccae?" the she-wolf she was arguing with suddenly asked, pretending not to have noticed the mare's attempt to get her steed's attention.

"As is Roccan'gon Alex and Lúg'gon Aesu," the mare insisted, "and it doesn't seem as if they had been told!" Next, she motioned to the top of the stairs where their Aerial Combat Instructors were trying to reorganize a new guard duty roster. "Not even Roccan'her Glenn and Lúg'her Lekreh were invited downstairs and they are our instructors and as much part of the Council as any of the others!"

"And your point is," Elize whined, glaring at the annoying mare.

"I don't want to argue," Cornelia stated softly. "I'm just saying that there are very important pairs who are also kept out of the loop. We, on the other hand, are still getting airsick all the time and Sean here, it turns out, is afraid of heights! What does it matter if they tell us what is going on or not?"

"Fine," the wolf relented with a defeated groan, getting tired of arguing with someone who is not interested in arguing back. "It is just frustrating not to be able to do anything."

"You guys bored?" a light brown drake suddenly asked.

"Not that bored, Svern!" Cornelia quickly quipped, making the two wolves with her frown at the sudden, determined reaction from the usually timid mare. The drake however only laughed as he and a purple draine crouched down comfortably by the three riders. The two dragons were young for Lúggae standards, just old enough to naturally be settled down with the first clutch of their own.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," Svern stated in a voice plastered with fake innocence. "Although, now that you mention it, Velron can also join us!"

The drake winked and indicated with a toss of his snout to where the golden dragon sat comfortably nearby with his back to them, trying his utmost not to look like a lookout and failing badly at it. With his ear pulled back in their direction, he was close enough to be in earshot but far enough not to seem like he was part of the discussions.  The brown drake purred victoriously when the mare failed to hide a smile.

"What are you talking about?" the younger wolf asked, looking up at the drake his sister was paired up with for their initial training.

"I doubt he wanted to talk about flying manoeuvres," the mare stated firmly, giving the golden drake a death glare that was completely unthinkable coming from her a moment before. For his part, Velron glanced back at her with an apologetic grin, but quickly resumed his guard duty.

"She's got you there, Svern!" the purple draine who had been paired up with Sean smirked, nipping playfully at the drake.

"I wasn't asking you, Ghelea!" Svern hissed, returning the nip in kind.

"I'm up for anything more interesting than hiding in a ruin and keeping quiet!" Elize stated quietly, leaning in towards her temporary partner conspiratorially. "I even miss the training we used to have."

"That's the spirit!" Svern hissed under his breath, leaning his head down to them.

"So, what did you have in mind?" Sean asked in a whisper, the wolf following his sister's queue to remain quiet.

"I doubt that is a good idea!" Cornelia insisted, though she also spoke softly so as not to attract any unwanted attention.

"And why not?" the drake hissed, nipping at the mare and grinning when she flinched back in surprise. "It will be a good opportunity to develop our friendship..."

Svern was suddenly interrupted by a soft, low cluck Velron produced from deep in his throat. It was the perfect warning: Soft enough not to draw attention from a descent distance yet audible enough for the troublemakers to switch their line of conversation.

"...thinking of ways to try and help your airsickness." Svern suddenly said, slipping from one sentence to another with almost practised ease. "You know, since we can't go flying..."

"And what is going on here?" a loud voice interrupted him yet again.

"Nothing!" Ghelea quickly chirped, the purple draine pretending to be the face of innocence itself as she turned to face the gryphon who had joined them.

"I used to be part of the town guard before joining the Lúgroccae, you know!" Aesu stated with an emphasizing clack of his beak. "I can see when a group of troublemakers is planning something someone will regret."

"We are not planning trouble, sir! Honestly!" Svern insisted.

"Right..." Alex agreed sarcastically, glaring a moment at Velron who was inspecting a crack in the far wall too closely as he tried not to be noticed.

"We were only discussing... er... flying manoeuvres," Cornelia of all people suddenly admitted.

"We cannot do any aerial training while we are here," Svern added, gratefully falling in with the mare's explanation as to why they were huddled into a small group. "So, we are just throwing some ideas around on how we can break the new riders in..."

Despite knowing the truth, the younger wolf still groaned upset at the mere thought of being broken in, unknowingly adding to the illusion and causing the two Squad-leaders to smirk momentarily at each other as they recalled the unpleasant experience themselves.

"Just, don't do anything stupid!" Aesu insisted. His instincts were warning him that the group was up to no good, but he could not pinpoint exactly what that was. "You know it is extremely dangerous out here and we don't want you to get hurt. So, we'll be keeping a close eye on you."

"But working on a solution for the inability to train might be a good idea," Alex smirked, the fox patting his gryphon's chest as he smirked at his partner. "Good work on thinking ahead! I tell you what, come up with something and we will arrange with the council for you to come and discuss it with them!"

"What?" Svern yelped in shock as their cover bit them back.

"That's right!" the gryphon smiled as well, picking up on what his rider was doing. "Yes, well done indeed. We'll inform the council of your little project as soon as they are done downstairs."

"But... we..." Svern started to argue, but when the gryphon turned a steely gaze upon him, the dragon had to give in or admit to their true intentions. With his head hung in defeat, he chose the former. "Y-yes, sir."

"Right then, can we expect to hear your initial ideas by nightfall then?" Alex asked, smiling when he received a series of reluctant nods.

"Good, we're looking forward to hearing what you came up with!" Aesu agreed and with a nod of their own, the fox and gryphon departed again.

"Hopefully that will keep them too busy to be stupid," Alex whispered to his friend as the two left the group of troublemakers.

"Well done, you thick-horned idiot!" Ghelea snarled, nipping at the brown drake with enough force to make him yelp. "Now we have additional work to do!"

"So, what are we really talking about?" Elize asked softly, quickly bringing the topic of discussion back to where they had started.

"You know how dragons bond best, right?" Ghelea stated with a mischievous smirk, her annoyance with Svern forgotten.

"They mean sex!" the mare finally hissed when the two wolves frowned up at the draine as if they were expecting her to elaborate.

"What?" the young wolf gasped, his gaze immediately dropping the groin area of the dragons with them. When the draine he was paired up with covertly lifted a hindleg to give him a better view, he snapped his gaze back up to her face as his own started to heat up. "But... but..."

"You are old enough, right?" Svern asked quickly. "I doubt they would have allowed you to become trainees if you weren't!"

"Of course, we are!" Sean insisted, his gaze travelling lower to Svern's groin as well now for a moment. "It is just... I mean... you're so big..."

"You don't have to join if you are scared," Ghelea whispered, leaning in to nuzzle her appointed rider reassuringly. "But aren't you even a little curious what it could be like?"

"But it can't work, can it?" Elize agreed with her brother, turning to her steed. "I mean, you'll probably be... er, well... the size of my forearm..."

"I heard rumours that Lúg'gon Ethiene is allowing her rider to mate with her!" Ghelea suddenly stated.

"What?" Elize gasped, recalling the impressive Battlewing Commander pair who they had only met briefly when they were preparing to fly south. "No way!"

"And I know Cornelia and Velron made it work back at the Dirt Tower..." Svern added with a victorious smirk.

"You... what?" both wolves gasp, turning as one to gape at the equine.

"I thought you promised to be quiet about it!" Cornelia hissed upset at Velron, ignoring the bug-eyed expressions of her friends.

"I did!" the golden drake hissed in return, daring to look back at them long enough to glare at the brown drake. "But they noticed before I could clean up properly."

"But... how?" the she-wolf stuttered, yelping in surprise when her dragon suddenly nuzzled her with loaded affection.

"There is an easy way to find out, you know!" Svern purred, the horniness in his voice now clearly evident.

"Keep it in your slit, you horny drake!" the mare hissed, sitting up straighter and looking around to make sure their antics were not noticed. "Where did you even plan to try it out? There is nowhere we can slip off to where we cannot be discovered around here."

"Oh, there is plenty of space to hide in the rest of the ruins just to the east," Svern suggested with a smirk.

"But we were specifically told not to go there!" the youngest wolf said worriedly, also looking around to make sure they weren't overheard. "No exceptions, remember!"

"Oh, we'll be fine," Ghelea huffed, and she nearly waved the comment off with a dismissive flick of her wing. Instead, she turned around as well to make sure they would not be heard before she leaned in to whisper a great secret. "Svern and I had snuck out last night to go have a look... and some fun."

"Yeah," Svern agreed, smirking even broader now. "It looks dangerous, true. Especially those strange plants. But if we watch our step, there is nothing in there three dragons can't handle."

"But… what about those… what were they called again? Kuhiuns?" Sean asked worriedly. "They sounded dangerous…"

"Kuhiuns are never good news!" Ghelea agreed a little sombrely, sharing a meaningful look with the other dragons.

"But…" Svern insisted with a nip at the draine, "we barely encountered their scent anywhere, so I don't think they come here often. And, there was no scent of them beyond the river, so we'll be fine!"

"And how do you expect us to slip away, even for twenty minutes?" Cornelia asked, the unicorn flicking her horn in defiance at the drake. "Roccan'gon Alex and Lúg'gon Aesu are aware that we are planning something that doesn't involve flying maneuverers!"

"And how do you expect us to slip away, even for twenty minutes?" Cornelia asked. "Roccan'gon Alex and Lúg'gon Aesu are aware that we are planning something that doesn't involve flying maneuverers!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it!" Svern grinned, looking back at Velron who was watching them with a smirk of his own, his duty of keeping watch forgotten. Then the brown drake indicated with a snout down to the basement. "We've been thinking of this for a while already, and now Velron just told me that our opportunity to sneak away has arrived. You see, it was the Claw-of-the-Master herself they had caught!"

"The..." Sean gasped, looking in awe back at the stairs. "No way!"

"So, everyone is going to be too busy to notice we are gone for a bit," Svern smirked victoriously. "We just have to be quick… "

"And you know all about being ' quick'!" Ghelea grinned, giggling as she earned a reprimanding nip for her comment.

"So, who's in?" Velron practically chirped with excitement, no longer caring about trying to seem separate from the group as he shuffled closer.

"I don't know..." Sean muttered worriedly, though he did smile up at his dragon appreciatively.

"Oh, come on!" Elize grinned as widely as the dragons. "Don't you at least want to get out a little? And this will be an experience we won't forget." With a determined nod, she turned to her steed. "You can count me in!"

\*\*\*

"Are you sure?" Lekreh growled, clacking his beak as he tried to fight back the rising panic in his chest. "She specifically named Lady Fucia?"

"That is what I said!" Merec replied, frowning at the gryphon who he knew was always quite level-headed and not prone to panic. "Why?"

"Lady Fucia is the name of King Loburt's mysterious mistress!" the gryphon hissed, as he started to pace in the small room, his nerves making it impossible for him to sit down anymore. "It is also no secret that she has significant influence over the High Command of the Alliance of Light."

"Wait, are we sure this is the same Lady?" Glenn cautioned, getting up to try and soothe the worried gryphon. "It is entirely plausible she just has the same name!"

"But what if it isn't?" the gryphon snapped, pulling his head away from the comforting hands. "How can we know?"

"If a demoness has been pulling strings behind the scenes," Charl added thoughtfully, adding fuel to the fire of Lekreh's worry, "it will explain the king's sudden mood swings and those unexplainable changes in government policy. Not to mention his unreliable memory and short temper."

"Still, we shouldn't jump to conclusions!" Glenn tried to calm everyone down. "All I'm saying is that we need more proof than just a name. We shouldn't ignore the Claw's warning, but we shouldn't simply trust her either!"

"But looking at the symptoms you described, those may be signs of long-term, mind alteration spells!" Felicity cautioned from the other side. When the vixen received a disheartening glare from Glenn, she quickly added, "Look, I've sent the names the Claw gave us through to the Amber Tower to follow up on as soon as we left her alone! So, we will hear soon enough if we need to be worried!"

"And if it turns out this mistress of the human king is indeed a demon?" Edward growled.

"Then this is far worse than we could ever have imagined!" Felicity said with a soft sigh, not daring to look at them in the eyes and staring out the broken arrowslit instead. "On one side, I hope she is wrong! But on the other, I hope that what she had given us would be enough to get the Circle to finally act instead of continuing to posture for one another!"

"Manoeuvring the various authorities against one another, I understand completely!" Aerhin commented thoughtfully. "If everyone is fighting each other, it will be impossible to focus on Juinkarr waking up and she can follow whatever plans she has with it. But why then create the Alliance to specifically watch what Juinkarr is doing? Would she not want to draw attention away from the Shadowlands completely?"

"I... don't know," Lekreh replied, clacking his beak unsurely. "A double bluff maybe?"

"Maybe... she had no control in the creation of the Alliance in the first place," Merec suggested, thinking of how he and Gahntuar were pushed into their current roles by fate.

"She is sometimes called the True High Commissioner of the Light, you know!" the gryphon hissed in annoyance.

"But think of it like this," Merec insisted. "She wakes up one day to hear that the Alliance of Light had been re-established, so instead of trying to destroy it and possibly draw attention to herself, she made sure to steer it wherever she wanted it as soon as she could. They had always been rather dubious in their convictions, but remember that in the past few years, the Alliance had started to become much more concerned with returning to its original roots of 'purity before the Light' than fighting Shadowspawn."

"I agree," Edwards nodded. "I mean, if they were really concerned with Juinkarr, why are they not here right now?"

"They do have a large encampment on the Belthean River to block off any Shadowspawn army trying to invade Selebore again," Felicity quickly reminded them. "We passed close by it when we reached the Belthean ourselves, remember?"

"But they are not doing anything constructive," the lupine insisted. "Instead, they have started coming into confrontation with all the Circle of Five and all the magic-loving species, especially the lizards. Had it not been for the Grand Priest in Kerrathiene reigning back the representatives of the Light in the south all those years ago, they would have preferred to attack the Cervidae and elves rather than assist them against the horde."

"That is true," Charl agreed thoughtfully. "They have lost a significant portion of their original strength as a result. All the Varanidae and elves they had with them are long gone by now, and the few Cervidae that still worship the Light do so out of fear that the Alliance will pull out of the forest completely as soon as they leave as well."

"Then, if she has influence over the Alliance of all things, who is to say she doesn't have one of her minions inside the Lúgroccae as well?" Audenier suddenly commented.

For a moment, they all stared in wide-eyed disbelief at the young blue drake. But as the realization of what he suggested sunk in, they started to glance at each other suspiciously.

"Enough!" Gahntuar growled, stamping a foot onto the floor. "Our trust in one another is our greatest strength and at the moment our only hope. Unless there is specific proof to the contrary, I will not allow anyone to risk that trust we share, understood?"

"Y-yes, Lúg'hir!" Audenier quickly stated, bowing respectfully to the dark drake. "I, I am sorry."

"No, it is okay," Merec stated softly, rubbing Gahntuar's neck as the drake settled down. "Though I agree with Gahntuar, it was an important comment to raise and one that we have to address sooner than later."

"Thank you, sir!" the young drake replied a little more relieved.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Edward asked a little challengingly.

"There are ways to identify if a mind had been tampered with recently," Felicity stated unperturbed, "but I have never been good with the Spirit-class shapes, except maybe for a trace or the like. So, for the best results to test who we can trust, we will need the help of a White magus. But until the issue with the Corel Tower is resolved, getting aid from them may prove to be problematic. Though, I may have some contacts I can convince to bend the rules for us a little."

"Bend it a lot, you mean!" Gharavhan rumbled, though he did give an appreciative purr at the suggestion. "But to tell you the truth, I think it may be a good..."

The old drake was interrupted suddenly when the room to their impromptu meeting chamber was suddenly flung open Alex practically fell into the room.

"What in Gullivarth's name?" Gahntuar snapped in surprise, getting to his feet. The fox who had just burst unannounced into their serious discussion did have a history of being difficult, but in recent years he was one of the more reliable members of the Lúgroccae. For him to invite himself into the room like this could not be good.

"Sorry to burst in like this," the fox announced, his eyes a little wild with panic, "but we have a serious problem. One I fear could not wait!"

"What is it?" Merec snapped worriedly, getting up to look out of the broken arrowslit for any approaching danger.

"Our last trainees had gotten it into their heads to go explore the ruins..." Alex started to say, but a shout of shock from all the council members drowned out anything else he was trying to say.

"Enough!" Gahntuar snapped firmly, turning to the fox when a heavy calm descended on the room. "When?" was all he asked.

"An hour or so ago, from what I can make out," Alex admitted, ears flat in shame. "I am sorry, Aesu and I suspected they up to something and we were meaning to look in on them earlier, but we had our hands full trying to reorganize the watch roster, now that we have the Claw as a guest! We only realized they were gone when one pair came to find help..."

"Wait," Merec gasped. "Are they still there?"

"Yes and no," the fox replied awkwardly. "As I was saying, one pair had returned to find help. The other two pairs seem to have gotten themselves trapped. The pair who returned is quite hysterical about something, but they are talking over each other and we're not sure yet what exactly had happened."

"Damn it!" Merec cursed. "What were they thinking? Where is the pair who came back now?"

"Jerielle, Aerhin," Gahntuar snapped as his human started to furiously march to the door. "With me, we need to get those idiotic..."

"Lúg'hir, sir!" Gharavhan snapped equally exasperated as he came to stand sideways in front of the black dragon. "Let us handle this."

"I am responsible for all Lúgroccae..." Gahntuar started to hiss, puffing a plume of smoke in his fury.

"As are we!" Edward insisted, having stopped Merec from going downstairs as well. "Stop risking yourselves like you always do and allow us to do our job for once!"

"But," Gahntuar started to argue, but he was interrupted yet again by the elf next to him.

"The Lúgroccae is staggering right now," Aerhin insisted quietly, calming the drake with a soft pat against the neck as he so often did for his own dragon. "We cannot afford to lose the two of you. And this has nothing to do with prophesies of any kind."

"Who is to take over if something were to happen to you?" the Lekreh quickly added when Gahntuar pulled his head away from the elf's hand to glare threateningly at him.

"The Lúgroccae does not exist to protect me!" Gahntuar growled, now glaring at the gryphon as he also stepped in front of the Lúg'hir in support of the brown drake. Though he was a little less tense now, for the gryphon in question had been one of the trainers he had trained under long ago and as such both he and Merec still valued his advice highly.

"Of course not!" the gryphon replied with a clack of his beak. "But as you have seen yourself in battle, the loss of a leader is always devastating to the lower rank's morale. Even with both Jerielle and Amaren capable of taking your place, should you be lost today the wounded Lúgroccae may not find the strength to get up again."

"They are right!" Merec sighed, finally pulling away from the lupine who had been blocking his exit.

"And what about you?" he asked Gharavhan. "Just like you cannot afford to lose me, I cannot afford to lose any of the council!"

"We are more expendable than you, sir!" the brown drake insisted. "You can still call on the retired trainers if we must. But we do not have a retired Lúg'hir… if you understand what I mean."

"We also do not have the manpower to send in someone else at the moment," Edward added. "At least, not until we have enough squads again to create that Lúgroccan Camp Guard we talked about back at the Dirt Tower. Once we have that set up, you can send them to do dangerous jobs like this. But right now, that duty falls on us!"

"Very well then," Gahntuar growled after glaring a moment longer at Gharavhan, sitting down with a huff like a naughty hatchling. "Do what you can!"

"Thank you, sir!" Gharavhan said quickly before, with a nod to his commander, he turned to the door. He called Audenier and the two of them, along with their riders descended the stairs already planning on who to take along and what they needed to be careful of.

"Felicity," Merec asked, turning away from the door. "Can I ask you and your colleagues to assist..."

"You don't need to ask!" the vixen replied, already pushing past him on her way downstairs as well. "I brought you here, so there is more blame on me for their fate than anyone else."

"Yet, I was the one who was wondering about finding riches in the ruins only hours ago!" Merec hissed at himself, walking back to his window.

"It wasn't your fault, sir!" Aerhin stated solemnly, joining the Roccan'hir by the broken arrowslit. "There is no way they could have heard our conversation, so what they did was on them."

It was only moments later when Gharavhan, Audenier and six other dragons exited the Gatehouse where they had been hiding. The two trainers were taking an escort of two pairs with them, as well as three Lúggae who had lost riders on the Echoren to carry the visibly nervous Yellows along. Gahntuar hissed upset when he recognized the golden drake who had assisted only a few hours ago to capture the Claw with them. The young equine mare on his back sat awkwardly in the saddle, pointing worriedly back to where the Citadel of Juinkarr was located around the bend. And then, with a quick bark from Gharavhan, the group took to the skies.

    ... to be continued.

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/V1YrKveD
Part of the series Tales from Selebore: War of Shadows
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