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"The five Divine Commandments are a list of religious concepts which form the basic rules of civil life:

* “Thee must honour and obey thy God in all aspects of life.”

The most important of all the commands. Often these include not idly using a name attributed to any of the Divines (the Great Creator or any of his appointed Divae) as well as to respect and obey any who has been assigned as representatives of said divinity, be it priest, prophet or in some instances even the king.

* “Thee must honour and act with respect towards thy equal before The Creator.”

Often claimed to be second in importance after the first. This is usually interpreted to include offering assistance whenever it is needed, or a prohibition against deceiving, stealing and killing. However, throughout history, there have often been comments and arguments regarding the exact identity of the 'Equal before the Creator'. Though this is usually understood as any sentient creature [or human as the case may have been before The Shattering], there have often been examples where some arguments were given as to why some may be considered above others. Though the most often used arguments refer to the 'Great Ladder of Being' the best example of this remains the Divergence of Species, when both Anthropos and Theranthropes assumed they were more important than the other, respectively because they were preserved as they were or on the other hand gifted with additional attributes and abilities.

* “Thee must pursue thy duty with courage, determination and passion.”

It is commonly believed that each person has a specific role to play during their lifetime. Whatever this task may be, is usually a subject of debate but is most often agreed that it is part of the person’s life-duty to discover. Though 'mundane' jobs like farming or shopkeeping may also be highly praised as Callings that serve other servants of the Creator or his appointed Divae, some sects have existed that demanded the only duty worth pursuing is something that causes some significant change or to further the glory of the given sect.

* “Thee may not challenge the Great Ladder of Being, as it has been ordained by The Creator.”

This is yet another divine commandment that has often been misrepresented and abused for personal gain. The 'Great Ladder of Being' is a concept which dictates that everyone has a certain position within society and that one class has authority over another. This ladder is often oversimplified as follows: The common folk are under the authority of regional lords, whom in turn are under the authority of the king, whom in turn are under the authority of the Theosae [aka saints or demigods], whom in turn are under the authority of the Divae [aka Divines or Lesser Gods], whom finally are under the authority of the Great Creator at the very top. Other examples even include various classes of animals and natural structures and phenomenon such as mountains and storms, to even parents being in charge of offspring. However, it should also be noted that the ladder works both ways: Those below must respect and obey their betters, yet those on top must respect and provide for their charges. Disrespecting either flow of authority is usually said to lead to your position on the Ladder being revoked and is often used by rebels to give divine authority to their rebellion.

* “Thee may not challenge the Natural Balance, for I alone am The Creator.”

This is usually simplified as 'you are not allowed to play God', and is especially held against rulers who execute and destroy on a whim. During the Great Witchhunts, this was an especially popular commandment used to justify the ruthless persecution of magi, who at the time was seen as playing with powers not naturally allowed to mere mortals. In turn, after the Battle of the Bloodstorm, the Ivory Tower declared several uses of magic as part of the Forbidden Arts on the back of this commandment. Gryphons, in particular, have trouble with this command as their very existence is forbidden by it [an act of Creovita or the 'Creation of unnatural life' by the Witch King of the Second Ivory Tower]. However, they usually argue that the sin of their creation lies at the feet of their creators and their species should not be held accountable for it. In fact, most see their continued existence as a divine contract to protect Selebore in the name of Nixoruma, the Divus of the realm.

Though each sect often adds rituals and commands of their own, this core list is considered irrefutable and may not be changed."

Gladrea of Ealydore, respected theologist of the Second Age.

***

It was already late in the night. A thin slither of moon cast what silvery light it could over the ancient port of Lendor. It was surprisingly peaceful after the long day of doing business and making deals. The only activity that could be seen was there where the city never sleeps, the harbour itself. Mostly, the responsible sailors of various species were busy with final preparations to cast off with the turning of the tide only an hour away or helping to moor the ships that were coming into anchor. The less responsible ones were still at one of the several nearby pubs, getting a last drink or sating their carnal desires one final time before the long trip across the Barthon Gulf to the rest of the continent. The rest of the city was dark and quiet. All, that is except for a lone lantern casting its golden light through a window high up in the royal palace. Overlooking the ocean as it was, everyone still busy on the docks could see it but they were busy with their own chores and paid it little mind, never realizing the dangerous play of power going on within.

The sleeping room of Lady Fucia was lit only by that single lantern, the soft golden light enough for the two occupants. The bed creaked with an increasing pace in rhythm with the rise and fall of the dark red satin draped over the two humans. They were huffing and moaning in delight as they shared the pleasures of the flesh, trying to keep their tryst quiet. Not that they truly succeeded, as every now and then a particular loud gasp reached the lone servant. A young, pretty girl who stayed just outside the private quarters of the king's mistress and were to see to her every whim. But she was loyal to her sovereign and would never reveal to anyone that the king chose to spend at least one night a week with his mistress rather than his true queen. Not that the young girl could blame her lord, for the queen was rather unintellectual in her opinion, viewing politics as nothing more than a game to play and trusted that any consequences will be handled by her husband or her brother, the lord of Perston. From personal experience, she knew Lady Fucia to be a much more interesting companion to be around, not that she will admit it to anyone aloud of course.

"Oh, your ... your majesty!" Lady Fucia wailed as the king hit a particularly sensitive spot inside her. "I'm going ... I'm cumming!"

The king did not reply, only picked up his pace as fast as he could manage. As a result, his laboured huffs also increased in volume, uncaring now if anyone heard.

"Yes. Oh... Oh yes!"

As Lady Fucia's orgasm hit her, the king lost all control as well. With a last gasp of delight, King Loburt plunged himself fully inside his mistress. She wailed a last, victorious "Yes!" as the king emptied his royal semen into her.

King Loburt held himself still for a while as he rode out his own orgasm before he seemed to relax fully over her. As he lay there huffing for breath, Lady Fucia lovingly stroked his head where his long black hair was starting to become silver against his temples. In the after sex euphoria, her touch seemed cold with a slight tingle and he smiled as he started to play with her firm breasts again.

"That was once again exceptional, my dear," he whispered as he reached up to give her a quick, but passionate kiss. Then without warning, he extracted himself from her with a huff and rolled over onto his back beside her.

"I am the one honoured to serve, your majesty." Lady Fucia confessed, also rolling onto her side to play a finger across the expanse of the king's chest. The little designs she drew also seemed to leave a slight tingle to his sensitive skin and the king smirked like a teenager who had just gotten rid of his virginity. Then, the king suddenly grunted in irritation.

"Is something wrong, my lord?" Lady Fucia gasped, seemingly a little worried that she may have gone too far this time with her liege.

"Don't worry my dear." the king comforted her with a quick peck on the cheek. "You were brilliant as always. It is just ..." He sighed in defeat at the admission. "Matters of Court that refuses to be set aside, even for time with you."

"Please tell me what is wrong then." Lady Fucia encouraged him. "I am here to help, after all. And not just with carnal needs." As if to emphasise her statement, she reached into the king's groin to play with his still heavy balls. As she fondled him, the king only smiled and kissed her other hand. For a moment, she wondered if he wasn't going to confide in her, but after a heavy silence, the king finally spoke.

"It is just these rumours of Dragonriders that keeps on popping up everywhere" he grumbled with a scowl. "Most of the rumours claim things that are completely ridiculous, but there are enough that are plausible to make even me wonder. Even my own scouts have confirmed the presence of dragons in the north. I ... I just don't know what to make of it."

"But what is the problem?" Lady Fucia asked innocently. "Even if there are people riding on the backs of dragons, I doubt it should have a serious effect on the court. It is an interesting story, but nothing more I think."

"But where did they come from?" the king insisted. "An order like that doesn't just appear from nowhere. Who trained them? Who is supporting them? And most importantly, what do they intend?" At the last question, a dark mistrust seemed to cross the king's features.

"I wouldn't trouble myself too much with them." Lady Fucia commented, finally releasing the king's testicles and leaning her head on his chest. "You know how easily commoners can exaggerate stories they find inspiring. And what could be more inspiring than a human gaining the obedience of a dragon and using its strength to do good?"

"Yet, the fact remains that something significant happened in the north of my kingdom." the king grumbled, an old instinct in him refusing to dismiss this fanciful hearsay. "Something that revolves around a couple of dragons and their ... riders." King Loburt hesitated at the last word, as if not willing to believe it himself.

"Their existence has been confirmed," Lady Fucia conceded "but not their skill. Judging by the damage reported by your own agents, I get the impression that they were just at the right place in the right time. Or maybe the invaders was sent to destroy them before they could become a true threat and it was more the town defending them than they who defended the town."

"So you are saying that I should ignore them since they will soon disappear from notice?" the king asked, raising an eyebrow. His young mistress was wise beyond her years and it was never smart to ignore what she had to say. Yet, she had the strange habit of first saying something and then giving the exact opposite advice only a bit later. It was as if she knew he would not take her suggestions seriously if she presented them directly, so she helped him to sort through the various points of view before telling him what she truly intended.

"On the contrary," Lady Fucia smiled, unaware that she confirmed the king's impression of her yet again. "I think you should summon them to the capital. Grant them an honorary position within your army as a reward for their services during the siege. Then you are the one who is supporting them, training them ..." she played with the hair on his chest again, pausing a little for effect "... and the one in control of their destiny."

The king suddenly rolled onto his side and propped himself up onto an elbow to look at her with a dangerous smirk that really didn't suit him.

"I like the sound of that!" he grinned, but then his demeanour fell a bit again. "But... I doubt the gryphons of the spine will like it. And since The Shattering, they have been such an integral part of this kingdom's defence that it will not be a good idea to alienate them."

"Then you can always set the dragons up close to Lamthorre." Lady Fucia smiled confidently as if the solution was as obvious as daylight.

"Lamthorre?" the king questioned with a frown. "But that is vulpine territory. I specifically recall telling High Commissioner Achius just last month that I will not be sending any of our forces off the..."

Lady Fucia silenced the king with another gentle caress against his temple.

"But you confided in me that Lamthorre was under Thendor control at the start of The Shattering," she said, sounding a little confused. "I know you considered recapturing the old territory to strengthen your authority as king a while ago. And with the assistance of dragons, it should not be a problem."

"I... I vaguely remember something like that now that you mention it," the king whispered, frowning at himself for forgetting something so important. "But it was only a suggestion, not something I truly considered. The peninsula's isolation may have been our saving grace during the Dark Age, but now it is our greatest weakness and I do not want to make enemies on the continent."

"Of course, a decision like that should never be rushed," Lady Fucia agreed. "But gaining control of lost territory, as well as the support of something as powerful as the Dragonriders will definitely help you get out of your father's shadow." She suddenly smiled mischievously and reached down to caress the king's penis again. "But come, let us leave thoughts of Court for the morrow before it gives you another headache. I do believe I still have space in me for more of your royal seed..."

"I'm afraid that talk of Dragonriders and conquest has already given me a headache" the king grumbled. Still, he gave her a quick parting kiss before rolling over onto his other side to climb out of bed. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can continue again tonight."

With a grunt, King Loburt stood up. He quickly cleaned the last juice off his dick with a handkerchief that lay waiting for him on her dresser before he threw a dark red nightgown across his shoulders.

"I promise to make it up to you!" he told her with a sad smile as he tied the front of his gown closed.

"I'll keep you to that promise!" Lady Fusia smiled, rolling onto her stomach to watch the king as he stepped into a rather deep shadow next to her dresser. "Though I don't want to be left waiting too long you know!"

The king, however, didn't answer. He was already gone, having seemingly disappeared into thin air. Lady Fucia smiled to herself, recalling her youth and how she liked to explore the secret tunnels and rooms of the castle she herself had grown up in. She loved sneaking about and discovering the dark secrets of everyone in the court she were once part of before her gift with magic was discovered. Even now, the first thing she did when she had secured her position as this king's mistress was to find and map all the secret doorways and tunnels, so that she could use the tunnels to her own ends.

For a moment she wondered if the king knew she was aware of how his disappearing trick worked. Probably not, she guessed, or he wouldn't have still tried to impress her with it as often as he did. Or at the very least, he wouldn't have tried to hide how the mechanism worked anymore. On the other hand, it also made sense for him to use the tunnels to avoid being found travelling to or from his mistress's bedchamber. But the whole court already knew by now they slept together regularly so the point was a little moot in her opinion. Then again, she doubted the king was in a state to really care anymore what she thought about it.

Still smiling, she also got up and sat naked by her dresser. For a long moment, she considered the only thing she still wore: An elegant necklace of silver inlaid with large sections of jet and even a few bits of amber. Beautiful and expensive as it was, something about it troubled her and with a scowl she removed it. Quickly, she retrieved an unadorned wicker basket from the dark shadows beneath the dresser and uttering a softly whispered incantation to release the curse placed on the lid, she opened it to reveal nine more necklaces identical to the one she had removed. After checking her current necklace one last time, she discarded it on top of the others before quickly closing the basket and hiding it away again. From another unadorned basket, she also had to unlock with an incantation, she procured yet another necklace identical to the other ten. She allowed herself a moment to stare longingly at the last necklace remaining in the second basket before closing the lid and hiding that as well. Quickly, she put the necklace on and sighed relieved, stroking the one jet section as if it was a favourite pet.

With her necklace replaced and the others safely hidden away again, she started to brush her hair, humming a tune to herself that had been lost for centuries. Things were finally moving along nicely when the sudden appearance of this Dragonrider to the north of the peninsula threw her carefully laid out plans a little into turmoil. But it was not something she couldn't handle. In fact, with a little prodding herself, she should be able to ...

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she felt an all too familiar presence at the back of her mind. It could easily be mistaken for an emotion of her own: an angry, almost vengeful desire to remove ... no, obliterate everything that dared to stand in the way of her duty. A burning need to destroy all that was not the way she liked it. Hate so strong she could almost smell it as a fowl, sulphurous odour.

Wrath.

"Please don't..." she mumbled to herself with a scowl, not that her plea would have been of any use either way. The consciousness looking for her was above her in the pecking order and she couldn't merely deny him an audience because she felt like it. Then as expected, there was a soft crackle in the silence of the room and Lady Fucia sighed disappointedly.

"Are you done with your toy?" a deep, very masculine voice asked in a whisper that seemed to resonate with echoes, even though there was nothing for the sound to bounce off from.

"What do you want?" Lady Fucia grumbled annoyed. She continued to brush her hair, refusing to look around at her visitor.

"How dare you talk to me like that?" the creature hissed insulted. "I am four, you are six, Senna!"

"The Gate of Hell is closed so I'll talk to you however I want!" she snapped rather uncharacteristically at him. She whirled around to finally face the slightly transparent illusion of something dark red, interlaced with a maze of black veins. It was vaguely human but grotesquely muscled with twisted horns and deformed wings that could not fold close against its back to match. Like her, he was naked and seemingly proud of his slightly too massive scrotum and oversized dick that was already starting to grow a little harder in her presence. But though she was the demoness of lust, that sight actually revolted her. Nearly all the members of the old council did in fact, except for Duas that was. But then again the old demon general had been her lover even before The Shattering and they remained close until his death.

Lady Fucia, or rather Senna snorted in disgust but forced herself to look her better in the eyes as she continued her rant against him.

"For four centuries we have bided our time, preparing this world to accept the truth of the Ladder of Being. Then your hot-headedness may have revealed our presence to the Circle of Five before we are ready!" The red demon scoffed at her, making her even angrier. "You think I'm joking? Several of my sources in the Circle of Five have already confirmed that the talisman you gave your pet dragon was presented to them as proof that something is stirring in Juinkarr. They don't know what yet and I am working on using their own bureaucracy against them to stall themselves, but time is now firmly against us!"

"At least I'm doing something for the return of Barathrum!" Quattor snapped, pointing an accusing finger at her. "Unlike you who is just fucking her time away!"

"I'm using my curse to my advantage unlike you who allows his temper to rule himself!" the blue demoness snarled. Then as if remembering herself, she took a deep breath to calm her emotions as much as Quattor's presence could allow before speaking again. "We may have been only a decade or two away from starting the continent's final spiral into chaos, but now your hard-headedness has put that entire plan into jeopardy. I know it is taking long but I have made more progress..."

"It is taking too long!" Quattor snapped, nearly shattering Fucia's self-control again. "Why not just enthral all the contra-magi authorities and just push forward?"

"Don't be absurd!" Fucia grumbled. "Do you know the time and effort it takes to make a proper enthralling. And with so many people who know each other so well, I cannot enthral one of them without the others becoming sus-suspicious..."

Senna's focus shifted to the door which opened unexpectedly.

"My lady, is everything alright?" the young woman asked, stepping quickly into the room to see if she could assist the king's mistress. "I heard you arguing with someone..." Her voice failed and her eyes grew wide upon seeing Quattor standing in the room. As she started to scream, Fucia simply reached over to touch her neck with a gentle finger. The servant's breath caught in her throat just as the sound began to form. She choked on nothing, staring fearfully at the lady who had betrayed her. Fucia only watched her, dispassionately as she finally collapsed to the ground, still heaving for air that seemed to have become as solid as stone.

"Now look at what you made me do!" Fusia grumbled, a squeak in her voice betraying that she was genuinely upset at the death of the loyal servant. "She was one of the few I could sate my cravings on without having to constantly manipulate her."

"I did nothing to her," Quattor sneered, somehow seeming pleased with the turn of events. "You know my voice cannot travel beyond this room. It was all you." The red demon considered the dying servant for a moment. "Though by her reaction I'm guessing she didn't know who you really were, so don't tell me you didn't manipulate her."

Fucia scowled at him, but couldn't deny his logic. Her defiance seemed to have completely left her.

"What do you want?" she finally admitted defeat.

"The dragon and his human mate," the demon stated emotionlessly as if his request should have been obvious. "I want their hearts!"

"Get another pair of fuck buddies!" Fucia replied, a little of her fighting spirit returning. "I have better plans for them!"

"I will not wait around for another couple of centuries before an opportunity to craft a new set of hallows will present itself!" Quattor sneered. "You will get me those hearts!"

"If I'm not mistaken, you sent Septem to find Helegnal!" the demoness retorted. "He was after all the one who designed the original hallows; if anyone can find it he can. We can use the two in Corrumwhell much better to destabilize the entire continent in preparation for Barathrum's return."

"You know Septem is the Sloth Demon!" Quattor dismissed her with a rude snort. "He needs to laze around most of the time like you need to orgasm once a day! Do you really think that I expected Septem to really find the key to Barathrum? I sent him on that quest to get him out of my face."

"And you are the Wrath Demon." Fucia agreed. "But that doesn't mean you have to throw common sense out the window! If you just ... "

"I am not Duas who you can twist around your finger!" the red demon sneered. "The connection to Barathrum Proper may be shut, but I still outrank you! You will do as I command!"

"My Mana reserves are running dangerously low," Fucia growled as she touched her necklace again, her self composure quickly waning again. "Give me one good reason to do as you say. One better than you simply outrank me!"

"With Seghrien dead, there is only one offspring of Lunintur left!" Quattor snapped. "And the prophecy still holds true! That dragon you want to use is the one! There can be no doubt!"

Lady Fucia remained quiet, chewing over his words.

"Fine!" she finally gave in with a sigh. "I'll do as you command."

The sprite of Quattor left her without another word, the illusion disappearing with another crackle.

"Dick!" Fucia grumbled, looking down at the now-dead servant. There wasn't a mark on her, and the trace of Mana would soon dissipate as well, leaving nothing to indicate that she had died unnaturally. The corpse would not be a problem when it was discovered in the servant's own bed come the morning. But what was an issue that needed immediate attention was Quattor's order. She had already set the ball in motion to turn them and the Arthulle Lowlands against one another, and now thanks to that bonehead she has to backtrack on her plans. Again.

The servant would not be discovered for another few hours, but she had to work quickly before she was too late to stop the Dragonrider from becoming part of the Thendor army. With a quick flash of precious Mana, she cleaned herself of any trace of the king and dressed up in an elegant but light nightgown. Giving the corpse a last glance, she quickly disappeared into the tunnel through which the king left her chamber only ten minutes before. She followed it down, passing the various passageways that lead to various other rooms in the castle, and instead headed all the way out to an indistinct section of the garden. Once outside, she turned into an owl and silently flew off.

She liked to take the form of an owl at night. Not only was it natural for the bird to fly about at night, but it had the uncanny ability to remain silent, even to magically augmented hearing. It suited her purposes perfectly and so she passed unseen and unheard to a sequestered area of the high city. Here, a high wall had been built around a large building with an impressive dome that seemed to rival the palace itself. The building, as well as its wall, had been perfectly whitewashed and seemed to gleam even in the weak light of the thin moon. The owl swooped down to a dark shadow against the wall, where she returned to her human form with the ease of mere thought.

Lady Fucia walked briskly along the wall, keeping to the shadows. Once, she had to press herself tighter against the whitewashed stone when a lone guard on watch duty passed nearby her, but otherwise, the night was silent. Finally, she found one of the guards she was looking for.

"Halt! Who goes there?" the guard challenged a movement in the shadows, holding his spear at the ready.

"Relax, it's me" Lady Fucia whispered, stepping into the weak light of the moon.

"Lady Fucia?" the guard gasped surprised, lowering his weapon. "I was not expecting to see you at this time of night." He squinted at her for a bit in suspicion. But the High Commissioner trusted her absolutely, so who was he to question her motives. Still, the way she could get past the wall around the Temple of Light and avoid the guards stationed thereon always unnerved him.

"I urgently need to speak with High Commissioner Achius," the king's mistress whispered a little conspiratorially.

"I doubt the High Commissioner will be awake at this hour..." the guard hesitated. However, everyone in the Temple was aware that Lady Fucia acted as a spy for the High Commissioner at court. But there were also several rumours that Lady Fucia was more than just a spy for the Alliance of Light.

"Then go wake him up," Lady Fucia urged. "I guarantee that he will not be upset with you once he hears me out."

"I... I will do as you command." the guard replied a little unsurely. He led her in silence to a side door she knew very well by now and bit her to wait with two other guards she knew she could trust for his return. Shortly thereafter, Lady Fucia was lead down an unadorned hall of the Temple to the private quarters of the High Commissioner. One of the two guards by the door opened it for her and allowed her to enter with a curt nod. The guard who had brought her stayed respectfully outside, alongside the other two who remained dutifully at their posts.

"Lady Fucia!" High Commissioner Achius greeted her with a tired smile. It was obvious that he had been woken up on her behest and he tried to be courteous. "To what do I owe the honour of your visit?"

"No need to be formal, my love." Lady Fucia smiled, stepping closer to Achius and pressing her body against his. "It is only the two of us here."

Despite himself, Achius found himself embracing her in a tight hug.

"Still, the hour is exceptionally late" he whispered as he gave her buttocks a firm squeeze "and I was under the impression that you would be spending the night with the king."

"His highness did come to my chambers earlier," she admitted, "but he developed one of his famous headaches so nothing really happened, I'm afraid."

"Oh, you poor thing," Achius smirked deviously. "I am sorry to hear, but surely that is not why you have come here, I hope. Everyone knows you are the king's mistress and it will not do for us to be caught together in bed."

"Of course not!" she gasped in mock offence, breaking from his arms with a soft slap against his strong chest. "Although I wouldn't mind a quick fling, the truth is that I have distressing news. Because of his headache, his highness accidentally mentioned that he wants to ..." she hessitated as if the revelation appalled her so much that she could barely bring herself to even speak it. She gathered her courage with an audible sigh before continuing. "He wants to incorporate the new Dragonriders into his army!"

"He, what?" Achius gasped, so horrified by the revelation that even the carnal thoughts he had been entertaining only moments before fled him.

"It is only a possibility at the moment," Lady Fucia tried to soothe his worry "but I fear for the kingdom if he decides to go through with it."

"This cannot be allowed!" the High Commissioner snapped, emphasizing the statement by punching his one palm with a balled fist. "The peninsula has never allowed shadowspawn to roam unopposed on its territory before this year! And now the king has not only allowed them a free pass, but he also wants to join forces with them? I don't care if they did aid in the defence against the invaders ... This cannot be allowed!"

"Even if the rumours that they are actually friendly is true, I still fear for the king's mental well-being," Lady Fucia continued, seemingly oblivious that she was fueling the High Commissioner's fury. "How will he change with such raw strength at his back? Will he become a tyrant, maybe start to consider invading the rest of Selebore?"

The High Commissioner snorted rudely at that suggestion.

"The king is a weakling!" he declared as he paced around. "Too scared to upset anyone with even a bit of authority to make any real decisions! In fact, if he ever comes to consider invading another territory, it will only be proof that those winged demons can never be trusted." He paced around a bit more, mumbling to himself as he considered what the best course of action would be to avoid this disaster. "I will speak to the king and make him see the folly of..."

"No!" Lady Fucia gasped. There was a soft flash of Mana as she spoke, a shape of persuading she rarely used for fear of her true identity being discovered. But of course, the High Commissioner was unable to detect the use of it and the only humans with evoceathers nearby were asleep in the palace too far away to pick it up. So she knew she was safe this time.

"His highness told me his plans in confidence," she continued to try and persuade the High Commissioner not to confront the king directly. "If you challenge him on it now, he will know that I am spying on him for you. No, we will have to go about this more carefully."

"You are right as always, my dear" the High Commissioner replied, calming down a bit. "What is it that you propose then?"

"Allow the king to summon the dragons to the capital," she suggested. When Achius grumbled in dissatisfaction, she hushed him with a finger to his lips. "They will have to obey the king or risk losing their newfound acceptance in the land. Then, when they come south, the Alliance can ambush them where no one can see."

"If the king has ordered them to present themselves before the court to swear fealty, I cannot dare to move against them," Achius complained, though even as he spoke his mind started to consider where best to set up such an ambush.

"Not openly," she agreed with a devious smirk "but the king cannot act against what he doesn't know." She considered the problem for a bit before continuing. "If it will make you feel better, I will convince his highness not to announce the decision to have the Dragonriders incorporated into the army to the court beforehand. Therefore, if you are caught you can claim that you did not know he had summoned them and only defended the kingdom against what you considered to be another attack. They have after all not sworn fealty to him yet."

She sighed, sounding a little tired with worry. "Either way, we cannot allow shadowspawn to gain a foothold within the courts."

"You can be quite sly when you want to," the High Commissioner smiled as he hugged her again. "I am grateful you are on the side of the Light."

"I am only too happy to serve," she smiled up at him, but then a shiver ran through her whole body. "The thought of shadowspawn in court... Promise me that you will not let that happen!"

"Fear not, my lady" he spoke softly, hugging her tightly as if to protect her from the dark night outside. "I will not fail you."

"But how will I know that you didn't just drive them off?" she whimpered. "They must die or they will try to influence the king again!"

"I will kill them, for you!" Achius declared, his roaming hand slipping beneath her gown. "I shall present you with the heads of the two leaders as proof that you do not have to fear them anymore. Both the dragon and the human traitor."

"Their heads will be too conspicuous, you know!" Lady Fucia whispered, a soft smile gracing her frightened face as the High Commissioner cupped a breast with one hand.

"That is true" he smiled. "What do you propose then?"

"Bring me ... their hearts" she smiled, her grin seeming almost predatory.

"Poetic!" Achius smirked, his own smile reflecting hers in intensity. "I will do as you command, my lady."

The two humans reached for each other to lock lips in a passionate kiss.

***

There was something to be said about the efficiency of the civil species. The waste caused by the battle and the resulting fire had been quickly cleared up by the survivors fit enough to work and where their ability was lacking, the army of gryphons was more than eager to help. The corpses of dead orcs were quickly burned and the ashes of invader and building alike were swept up and carted off along with anything that was unsalvagable to be dumped in a large pit a good distance into the forest. As such, what remained of most of the buildings in the north of town had to be razed to the ground and any materials not of stone or metal that remained joined the trip to the forest, leaving an eerily empty region within the town's wall.

Luckily Perston was quick to send aid as soon as they received the news that the army of orcs had been annihilated. Much needed food and medicine arrived from the south only days after the final battle, followed by building materials and a good portion of the manpower and skills needed to rebuild the town. Still many of the surviving townspeople were left destitute, and with the summer rains fast approaching, all the help was needed to make sure that everyone, as well as the relief resources, remained dry. Most of the people who lost everything stayed in blocky, canvas tents that were pitched in neat rows outside the town wall. These accommodations were efficient for now, but everyone knew it would be inadequate for the long, permeating rain that was coming.

And so, the clatter of dozens of hammers and grunting of saws working in town was near deafening even from the early daylight hours. Luckily there were many hands willing to help, and with a large number of tetrapods assisting with the heavy lifting, the most important buildings were quickly taking shape.

"And up!" Merec called. Gahntuar grunted as he pulled on a thick rope fixed to the harness he got just before the disastrous final attack through the northern gate. The last frame of a large building they were working on was lifted into place and several humans were quick to fix it into position while the iridescent green dragon held it up for them.

"Okay, we're good!" one of the builders called and Gahntuar relaxed, the tension in the rope going slack. Two humans he was sure he had never seen before quickly came up to him and he patiently allowed them to remove the rope from his harness. He grumbled a quick thanks before stepping up to the frame he had just help erect.

Yes, the efficiency of the civil species was impressive and it filled him with a kind of wonder to think that he was an integral part of this team now. Looking back at how far the humans and gryphons had come in rebuilding the town already, he started to understand what Merec had meant all those months ago about being more as a team than an individual. Maybe that was the real secret to their success?

"Excuse me?" one man said, trying to get at the frame to do his part in fixing it in place.

"Oh, sorry!" Gahntuar gasped and quickly stepped aside. The man, another he knew from no side at all, thanked him and quickly got to work. The dragon regarded him for a moment, fighting back the urge to sniff at the back presented to him. It amazed him that the creature was tame enough around the fearsome predator to stand unafraid this close to him. In fact, he was still not exactly sure what to make of the town anymore.

It confounded him to be so thoroughly accepted by most of the town. Initially, he kind of expected dragonslayers to still be lurking around some corners, waiting for him to lower his guard enough for them to strike. But the longer he remained in their presence, the more at ease he began to feel. True, there were still a few boneheads that didn't want anything to do with him, but for the most, he got the impression that he was fully part of the town now. It troubled him especially that so many humans knew his name while he barely had any idea of any of theirs.

A bell tolled thrice from the old market plain, which seemed to send a ripple of emotion through the crowd of builders assembled around him.

"Break, people!" the foreman called and many people there sighed with relief as they set down their tools. A few still finished up their work, not being able to just drop what they were doing, but for the most part, everyone started to drift away to get something for brunch.

Gahntuar noticed Merec standing to one side, admiring the frame he had just help raise up.

"So, the frame is up!" the dragon commented with a smirk as he stepped up next to his human "and you've got enough planks to keep you busy for the rest of the day, I think. So I'll be off then for a bit."

"Sure," Merec replied a little distracted. "Unless the foreman has something else for you to do?"

Gahntuar growled at Merec's remark but turned his gaze around to regard the aforementioned foreman. Said foreman had arrived from Perston to help organize the rebuilding work and had only recently been convinced that the dragon meant him no harm. Still, he was nervous around the big predator and could only chuckle hesitantly at the remark.

"N-no," he quickly stammered. "I think you've done your share. You can go do whatever it is that dragons need to do."

"So, what are you planning on doing?" Merec asked with a chuckle at the foreman's expense.

Gahntuar considered for a moment to tell him that it wasn't any of his business, just to get back at the lack of attention he had received over the past few days. But he decided against it. That was a little too whelp like, even for him.

"Lesley wanted me to try on her latest saddle design!" the dragon admitted.

"Oh, really?" Merec replied, his full attention finally back on the dragon. "I hope it sits better this time. You will let me know how it goes? Or are you going to continue to keep it a secret from me?"

"I'll tell you what you need to know," Gahntuar smirked. "Of course, if it fits properly this time, I will be back to kidnap you for a test flight, what the foreman says be damned."

Gahntuar shot the man another meaningful glare and the poor human gulped nervously.

"S-sure, sure" he quickly agreed to the dragon's demands. "You do what you need to do. I won't interfere with the business of the Lúgroccae ..."

Merec groaned at the comment from the foreman. For a moment he considered arguing with the man, but he had already turned around to deal with something else ... or to flee the dragon. Merec wasn't sure which was more accurate.

"Stop scaring the poor man," he grinned at the dragon. "Unlike the town, he's not used to dragons, you know."

Gahntuar just clicked his jaws at Merec.

"Well, something needs to replace my good morning calls!" he decided with a devious smirk.

"Who said it has to be replaced?" Merec replied, smirking as well.

"It is not fun anymore!" Gahntuar admitted, the little crest wilting a bit. "Yesterday, instead of scattering the people, my roar was met with cheers! I mean who cheers on a dragon while he is declaring his territory? I am not the town's rooster!" A vague memory suddenly clicked in Gahntuars mind as he spoke and his crest fell completely flat.

"Is that what you've been doing this past few years?" Merec replied with a chuckle.

"Oh, shut up!" Gahntuar grumbled with another nip at Merec's face. "I'm off... See you later!"

The dragon walked off, followed closely by a tawny gryphon who tried to be as unnoticeable as possible. Aesu was one of the few gryphons who stayed inside the town and worked as a gate guard. He had been a fierce opposer of Merec when the human had been on the town's bad side, especially since he idolized the town's deputy sheriff, another gryphon by the name of Iago, who had tried to get Merec evicted from town altogether. But since the battle the town was now famous for, the deputy sheriff and black dragon had become good friends and was regularly seen chatting together.

Thanks to Mana reserves he could not access by choice, Gahntuar had mostly healed already. Iago was walking around easier at least, but the healers were still keeping him grounded. This irked the deputy sheriff a great deal, especially seeing that even the mysterious oryx, who had come over the mountains to warn the town of the impending attack, had already disappeared one night to return to the Ghost River where he said his clan lived. Therefore, standing in for his superior the younger gryphon had made it his duty to act as a kind of bodyguard to Gahntuar. Though Aesu helped keep the overly curious humans off his back at times, the dragon mostly ignored him.

Merec smiled as he watched the odd pair walk off. He thought it was good for the dragon to experience the more friendly side of the town. Especially with this Lúgroccae business rearing its dangerous head.

"The way the two of you argue, I would believe that you two were the mated pair and not the two dragons!" a voice suddenly commented, the mirth in the voice clearly audible. Merec whirled about in surprise to glare at the young man standing there. Like Aesu had decided to follow Gahntuar around, Kerron seemed to have come to the same conclusion and the former town guard made sure to stay near Merec as much as possible.

"We're not a mated pair!" Merec grumbled, realising a little late that he probably answered the comment a bit too quickly. So he backtracked with a rather lame "How would that work anyway?"

"I just meant it as a way to express how close you are, sir!" Kerron quickly added, not missing a beat.

"Don't ... call me sir!" Merec complained, losing a bit of vigour from his voice as he spoke. "I'm not your superior. And I'm sorry for snapping at you. I am just tired of this Lúgroccae business. The town has gone dragon-crazy!"

To emphasize his statement, he motioned towards a small group of children playing with clay figurines a little bit away. As expected after the traumatic incident barely a month before, most of the figurines were neatly set up in military rows, arranged against a low wall of pebbles. But it was the figurines the children were busy moving about to fight off the mock invasion that distressed Merec. Though lumpy and completely out of proportion, it took little imagination to recognize the long necks and tails, the sharp heads with little stubby horns and the wide sweep of wings. The little clay dragons flew about the mock battlefield, each carrying a lump of clay on their backs that couldn't be anything other than a rider.

"Actually, sir," Kerron started to say before hesitating a bit. "I've spoken to the Sheriff about joining up with your Lúgroccae, and he is fully supportive of the idea."

"Not you too!" Merec grumbled as he started to walk off, towards the temporarily repurposed market square. "You should know better than any the Lúgroccae doesn't really exist!"

As if to mock his statement, they noticed two pairs of gryphon-knights appear from the southern end of the town. After the recent battle here, the military outpost at Perston port made a point of it to include Corrumwhell in their daily patrols. Today, it was two gryphons he can't remember seeing before. One was nearly black, except for a striking white band across his wings while the other was a rusty, almost reddish-brown. The silver armour they and their human companions wore gleamed in the late morning sunlight and made the dangerous predators seem even more intimidating.

Before Merec could turn away to disappear between the half-built buildings, the black gryphon noticed him and quickly pointed the human out to his companions. Somehow, his description had reached the local captain and it seemed that every knight was able to recognize him. As expected, the two gryphons assumed a prancing stance and their human companions snapped to attention.

"Roccon'hir!" they greeted him with a half-hearted salute that even Merec was able to recognize as being intended to mock the title given to him. 'Lord-Rider' he was told was the direct translation.

Merec groaned softly to himself, a sound only Kerron next to him could hear, but still played along with the knights from Perston and returned the less than friendly greeting with a polite nod before walking past them. He ignored the by now familiar suppressed giggling that followed as he passed and continued on his way. Though it irked him, the best he could do was to ignore their unprofessional behaviour.

Kerron, on the other hand, tensed slightly at the insulting behaviour, but with Merec already a few paces down the street, he had no choice but to let it slide as well. He rushed to catch up with Merec.

"I know they don't exist, sir," he agreed a little overeager "not yet at least! But things will change once we have the logistics in place and can start recruiting properly."

"One dragon and two... " Merec suddenly remembered Kerron's earlier statement about joining up, so with a motion to the slightly younger man he corrected himself. "Three riders don't make an order of knights!"

"Two dragons... " Kerron started to correct him, but Merec interrupted him with a raised hand.

"Lainah is not interested in taking a rider," he patiently informed the eager man "and you cannot force her or any other dragon for that matter to do so. If you do, this whole dream of yours will collapse. Remember you cannot ride them like horses!"

"I know, sir!" Kerron insisted though he sounded a little defeated by the thought. "I didn't mean it like that. I am sure I will be able to find my own dragon companion..." A new thought occurred to him and he eagerly shared it with Merec. "Maybe, we can make it some kind of quest to be accepted into the order. Go into the wild to find a dragon willing to be your companion, like you have done yourself."

Before Merec could inform him what kind of special stupid that was, Kerron remembered something else he was supposed to do.

"Though speaking of which," he said, sounding serious enough for Merec to swallow his comments "the mayor wanted to talk to you this afternoon."

"The mayor?" Merec asked, completely taken aback. He was not the type of person someone like the mayor would usually bother with. Unless ...

"About what?" Merec added a little suspiciously.

"Possible designs for the new Lúgroccae headquarters the mayor wants to build north of town," Kerron replied as if the answer was completely obvious. He ignored Merec suddenly blinking at him in surprise. "After all, we need to know what requirements the dragons may have that we will have to accommodate for, what any suitable locations will need to be like. You know, stuff like that. I'm supposed to tell sir Harald to come as well since his military background will be invaluable for any training facilities and accommodations, but I cannot find him."

"He has gone south to speak with someone from the town he grew up in," Merec grumbled a reply, suddenly experiencing a new level of incredulity. "He left several days ago, haven't you noticed?"

"No, I didn't!" Kerron grumbled, more than a little upset at the news. "It has been kind of hectic with all the rebuilding!"

"I believe he will only be back by the end of the week," Merec continued, suppressing a slight groan. Truth be told, he had initially been excited to meet this old acquaintance of his tutor, but with the Lúgroccae slowly becoming an accepted reality more and more, he kind of started to dread their arrival. He didn't want to disappoint so many people when their dreams for him didn't come to fruition.

"I'll need to inform the mayor about this so that we can postpone the meeting. The mayor was adamant that sir Harold needs to attend as well." Then, he suddenly seemed to cheer up a bit. "But I don't think the delay will be a problem. As you said it will still be some time before the Lúgroccae will really be settled."

"I didn't say that!" Merec snapped appalled, but Kerron had already left to inform the mayor of the turn of events.

Merec was still grumbling when he reached the Trapper's Rest. As one of the final rallying points during the final battle of the siege, the building had sustained some serious damage. But it remained largely intact, enough so to be back doing business as an inn. Even though there was a gaping hole in the one wall facing the main street. It was crudely boarded up for the moment to keep unwanted attention out, but no real work had been started yet on getting it fixed. Merec had asked Kael, the owner of the Trappers Rest, what he intended to do about it only the day before, and the portly man had proudly revealed that he was intending to have larger doors installed there. To allow easier access to the dragons of course. And with a large number of people from Perston present to help with the rebuilding, the three inns of the town were making a rare fortune so the funds for the ambitious plan would not be a problem. Merec, on the other hand, wasn't so sure if it was a good idea to grant the dragon easy access to the pub. Make no mistake, he trusted that the big lizard would be able to behave himself inside, but what worried him was the idea of the younger generation trying to get the dragon drunk. That can never be a good idea...

There was the loud rustle of feathers as the last remaining phoenix in town landed on the roof of the inn. The rest of his kin who had survived the battle had left for their secret groves some time after sunrise after the orc army had been scattered back north, but this one remained stubbornly behind. Of course, he had quickly earned the title of 'Merec's Phoenix' or even the 'Lúgroccan mascot' as a result, making the young man even more grumpy. He was most definitely not meant for the greatness he had always dreamt of as a child! The phoenix cawed at him for a moment to get his attention but Merec made a point to ignore the bird. He already knew what he was going to say to him.

That, however, didn't dissuade the fiery bird.

"Away Roccan'hir, time to fly!" it called nonetheless. "The approach of destiny is coming nigh!"

Obviously, the same thing that everyone else was telling him. The time for the Lúgroccae to rise is at hand and there was nothing he could do about it anymore. Merec glared up at the phoenix.

"As I've told everyone here: I'm not the Roccan'hir!" Merec started to argue with the irritating creature when he noticed with no small amount of shock that Kael had completely removed the old, swinging sign with the name of the inn. True, it had also been badly damaged in the fighting that night and had to be replaced eventually, but Merec would have considered the hole in the wall to be more urgent. Instead, someone was standing on a ladder, painting the name of the inn above the original entry to the common room. Then, Merec actually felt his heart drop as he read the elegant calligraphy already painted in gold paint on a deep green background:

Lúgro~

"Welcome to the Rest!" Jihni chirped excitedly as Merec entered.

"Please don't tell me you've also started mining this reef of fool's gold!" Merec snapped at Kael without so much as a proper greeting.

"And good morning to you two," Kael replied cheerfully. "What do you mean?"

"What happened to the original name the 'Trapper's Rest'?" Merec asked as he walked up to the counter.

"Oh, that!" the owner of the inn replied, actually having the decency to give him a smile that looked just a bit awkward. "I don't see what the problem is. The first Lúgroccan took flight right outside that door."

"I've told everyone a hundred times, the Lúgroccae doesn't exist!" Merec complained as he sat down. "And renaming your inn won't help them realise that!"

"But you are the only one who seems to think they don't exist" Kael replied with a smirk. "The whole town is still talking about how impressive the two of you were at the Northern Gate that ... night." Kael hesitated for a moment when he mentioned the night the orcs managed to break through the stronger of the two gates. Though the first flight of the Lúgroccae was something exciting to remember, everyone knew someone who was killed that night and talking about it was still difficult. With a quick clearing of his throat, Kael changed the subject.

"Oh yes, Kerron has also been here looking for you," he said, leaning over the counter to chat a bit with Merec "and there is also a new fox in town interested in joining up with your new order."

"One dragon doesn't make an order!" Merec grumbled the phrase he seems to be repeating over and over again.

"Probably not, but there are surely more to follow!" Kael gave the usual, rather illogical reply to Merec's argument. "Heck, even that phoenix of yours insists on calling you Roccan'hir!"

"He isn't my phoenix!" Merec groaned, making the innkeeper chuckle.

"Why else has he not left town? The others didn't stick around for very long once everything was said and done!" Kael argued a point Merec could not counter. "Anyway, it is either me or Declan who takes the name."

"What?" Merec gasped surprised, looking up at Kael as if the portly man was trying to make a very inappropriate joke. Declan, the owner to another inn, had been the fiercest opposer of Gahntuar only a month ago, pledging a large sum of money towards a reward for anyone who could kill the dragon. The sum actually made up the majority of the reward, so much so that when Declan withdrew his support for killing the dragon, the hunt for him wasn't financially feasible anymore.

"He wants to honour that dragon of yours for saving his family's life, so he wanted to take the name 'Lúgroccan's Rise'!" Kael replied as if revealing a great secret. "I claimed the right to that name since Gahntuar had received that harness of his right outside my doors. I'm going to have a bronze plaque installed to commemorate the event!"

"Is that really necessary?" Merec sighed.

"Of course it is!" Kael replied, sounding almost a little offended. "As he will no doubt tell you! He's been waiting for you for a while now!"

Merec glanced over to where the innkeeper had nodded, and suppressed another defeated groan. He had specifically tried to avoid that equine and now he had been ambushed when he tried to get something to eat. The old dragonslayer had decided to stay behind, handing leadership of the group he had so painstakingly built up over the years to another stallion. He had even traded his old gear in for much less fancy attire usually only worn by adventurers only starting out on their questing business.

"Morning, Roccon'hir!" the stallion greeted Merec, the formality in his voice worrying the human. For a moment, he considered the mocking tone of the gryphon-knights to be less worrying.

"Morning, master Eric." Merec sighed, trying not to continue grumbling. "And please, don't call me that!"

"You cannot escape your responsibilities just by denying it!" the stallion remarked a little irritated, folding his arms across his broad chest. "Master Harald has specifically instructed me to make sure that you continue your combat training. You that is, and any recruits that are willing to sign up."

"Segrien is dead!" Merec dared to continue arguing. "Right now, rebuilding the town takes precedence over training, don't you think?"

"Do you really think this is over now that the red dragon is dead?" the old dragonslayer grunted, actually aghast that Merec was trying to slip out of his responsibilities.

"That vixen friend of yours was adamant that there was someone else pulling strings behind the scene!" Kael commented from the side in support of the horse.

"I know ..." Merec sighed annoyed. "But I need to help rebuild the town. It is after all my fault that..."

"Enough of that!" the innkeeper snapped, now also getting annoyed. "No-one is blaming you for anything, and you know it. We all decided not to throw you to the horde when they first made their demands! If ..." He stressed his next statement with an accusing finger pointed at Merec. "IF there is any blame to go around, we all have an equal share in it!"

"This ... entity that has it out for you will not stop coming after you!" Eric added, trying to drive the importance of training home. "Master Harald was adamant that we prepare the Lúgroccae ..."

"What Lúgroccae?" Merec snapped in return. "I know there are already a few interested in taking up rider positions, but Gahntuar is the only dragon around willing to wear a saddle. How do you expect to build a Dragonrider Order with only one dragon?"

"I ... don't know," Eric admitted, a little deflated. Unlike most people in town, he didn't expect dragons to just suddenly start arriving, ready to sign up to this mad adventure life had sent them on. Still, he refused to give up. "But we need to look to the future, seeing that you two seem to be on the hit list of some lunatic who has holed himself up in Juinkarr."

And like Gahntuar being the only dragon in the order was a point no-one could deny, that was the counter that Merec dared not ignore. He sighed in defeat, knowing that he won't be able to argue his way out of this one. But the responsibility of getting the town ready for the permeating rains also weighed heavily on his mind and he couldn't ignore that either.

"Tell you what," Merec finally relented. "I will consider setting up a training schedule as soon as we get a second dragon to wear a saddle. Until then, we focus on the issues at hand, which right now is rebuilding the town before the seasonal rains make life unbearable."

"Yes, sir!" Eric grumbled, not in the least impressed, but willing to concede the point. Still, there were other things they could consider. "In the meantime, young Claude and I have a few proposals for dragon armour I would like to run by you ..."

"Claude?" Merec asked curiously, not recognizing the name immediately.

"Master Xeronne's remaining apprentice," the horse explained. "He took the death of Berton rather hard and has been working designing dragon armour as a means to distract himself. He's got a few good ideas ... and a few unrealistic ones as well. But I think it might be worthwhile to have a look at them, don't you think?"

"We can have a look at it," Merec smiled, actually intrigued at the idea. It was a bit strange, given the fact that dragons were famous for having tough, natural armour. But considering what he had experienced during the siege when the other dragons had hunted Gahntuar down, he had to agree that it might come in handy. Especially if a reformed dragonslayer had a hand in its design.

"But can I have breakfast first?"

***

The gryphon lay on her side, coughing up blood onto the cobblestone street as she wheezed out her final breaths. She looked up at him with large, expressive eyes that were quickly losing the light of life. But there was no anger in those eyes. Fear, yes. Fear of her fast-approaching death. Shock, at being caught so completely by surprise. And sadness, for the decisions he had made that had led to his betrayal. But no anger, no hatred. That was the worst, he decided: The pity of what he had done, not the anger he deserved.

"Are you listening to me, boy?" a gruff voice shocked him from the waking nightmare he had experienced.

"Yes, sir!" Berton quickly answered, looking up at the big, heavy build white wolf with a missing ear and a mean-looking scar on the same side of his face. The lupine did not share the tale behind those deformities, and the young lad was sure he didn't want to know either.

At least the vision of the gryphon he had killed was gone now. Instead, he found himself somewhere deep in the secret, underground passages beneath the Jet Tower of all places. As his mistress had promised, he had entered the world of magic to learn the secrets of enchantments and charms. He was surprised to find that his new lodgings were not a tower at all. Rather, it was a large complex of various buildings very much like a small town in itself. The only oddities were the large, round, hall-like structure at the very centre of the complex and the fact that it seemed to be surrounded by a perfectly circular wall of black obsidian.

"What was I saying, then?" the wolf whose name he was not given, asked.

"Mana needs an organic focus point to hook onto for any enchantment to work properly!" Berton quickly replied. "In other words, it needs a place to draw Mana into itself, as well as a means to store it for later use."

"And after that?" the wolf grunted, unimpressed.

"I ..." Berton hesitated, but then something did manage to bubble up in his mind. "Each organic material one can add to an enchanted object has a predictable way it interacts with Mana. For instance, Amber is best to attract Mana, but Corel or fur can also be used. Jet is best to store Mana for later use, but leather can also be used as well as wood or shell. The most balanced material for both functions is Ivory, though blood or bone can also be used."

"Impressive memory!" his new master growled, a little taken aback. Had the boy actually been listening after all? "But what about after that?"

"I ..." Nothing else came to mind and the young human hung his head in shame.

"Stop having wet dreams of the Mistress!" the wolf growled, irritated again. "I know she has a special interest in you, and not just for your dick as with most of us. And that does give you some much sought-after leverage. But remember that it is also an unwelcome burden to have. Many in the service of Barathrum will resent you for your position. But the worst is that if she ever becomes disappointed in you, her vengeance will be swift and brutal.

"Now, she has instructed me to make sure you are properly trained in creating enchantments as quickly and efficiently as possible. I don't know what she plans or what the need for urgency is, but there are rumours abound that a new set of Hallows are going to be created soon, so one can only guess. But it is important enough that she has given me the authority to do whatever I feel necessary to accomplish this task. So if you cannot keep your mind out of your breeches, I will climb into them myself!" He emphasised his threat with a very expressive groping of his groin through the apron he had on. The threat was even more effective as it was the only thing he wore at the moment. "Understand?"

"I ... I'm not ... I don't swing that way!" Berton stuttered, his eyes bulging at the wolf in shock.

"Not my problem!" the wolf replied without remorse. "That was how I was taught!"

"I ... I wasn't thinking of Mistress Senna!" Berton admitted, trying everything to dissuade the wolf from making good on his threat. As a result, the image of the gryphon returned in full force and he shuddered visibly. "I ... I keep thinking of that ... gryphon I ... "

"Thinking of escaping?" the wolf asked softly. To Berton's surprise, the lupine seemed genuinely worried about him all of a sudden and even a little sad maybe. "What was Life Lesson Two?"

"There is no escaping the power of Barathrum!" Berton rambled off quickly and a little dejectedly. "A light may shine, but eventually it will fade and the dark will return to claim its rightful rule over all things. All must eventually bow before the Great Night. That is the truth of the Ladder of Being."

"Look," the wolf sighed, conspicuously becoming less aggressive towards his new apprentice. Berton suddenly had the impression that, had they met under different circumstances, the white wolf might actually have been a great guy to know. "I know how hard it is to ignore the memory of mistress Senna and especially the things she had you do for her. You are talented, very much so. If you were my apprentice in the normal world, I believe you would already have earned your guild membership, or at the very least been busy creating your final piece for the guild masters to examine. And you are smart. But," and the threatening master of enchanting returned to the fore "Mistress Senna is expecting progress and if I think you are slacking even a bit, I will take my own frustrations out on that arse of yours!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Berton squeaked terrified. "Mistress Senna ..."

"...has given me complete ownership of you for the time being, so I will do with you as I see fit!" the wolf threatened, stepping a little closer to the human. To Berton's horror, he thought he had noticed that apron shift a little upward in the groin area. "Life-lesson Three kid: Our Masters doesn't care how things get done, just as long as they are done efficiently and on time!"

"Why not just magic the knowledge into my head?" Berton whimpered, stepping a little away from the wolf's looming presence. At this, the wolf actually laughed, and not in a mocking or scornful manner.

"That can actually be done," he admitted with a grin. "But only the great Masters still remember the shape needed to do it and they won't share it. Anyway, it is not as effective as learning it yourself interestingly enough ... something to do with muscle memory which cannot be carried over, or the like. And it always leaves you with a headache, so I doubt you will enjoy it as much as you think."

"Why won't they share it?" Berton asked curious, feeling a little more at ease now that the threatening wolf seems to have relaxed a bit again.

"Apparently, it was used regularly during the Golden Age," the lupine started to explain, eager to share his knowledge once again. "That was until they discovered that the memories one implants don't have to be true. Anyway, the shape is lost now to everyone but the Masters and will remain so if the cowards in the Circle of Five can have their way."

Berton stared horrified at the wolf, who only smirked at his apprentice. Satisfied that he had the human's full attention again, the wolf continued.

"I was saying that like petrified resources, fresh ingredients may also have predictable properties as you have mentioned. But the species it originates from is also important. Blood itself is a very balanced ingredient, but human blood will lean heavily towards storing Mana while elven blood will lean heavily towards attracting mana. So much so that one may think it was two completely different ingredients that were used. It is only when the blood has been sitting on a shelf for months on end that the species-specific properties start to fade. So the basic rule of thumb is to use these ingredients as fresh as possible. There are rumours of some shapes that can preserve fresh ingredients, to the point that the enchantment will react to it as if the creatures were still alive. But like the memory sharing shapes, they have also been lost to the ages and the Masters is not very keen on sharing."

"How can blood be used in enchantments?" Berton suddenly asked. "It cannot be inlayed into something, and dribbling it over the implement won't work as it can be easily washed off. And I don't even want to think how much blood you'll need to use it for quenching."

"Actually, it is often used for quenching by us who serve Barathrum," the wolf admitted, smirking again at the horrified shudder the human gave. "But most enchanters prefer to melt it directly into the iron. It requires much less resources to achieve the same result."

"Melt?"

"How does one turn iron into steel?" the wolf asked, annoyed at the question.

"By adding carbon to the initial heating ..." Berton suddenly stopped, feeling a little sick at the thought. "You don't mean ..."

"That is exactly what I mean," the wolf replied. "Blood is most often used to increase the effect of the enchantment, along with whatever you prefer to use as inlay or ornament. And it is not just us shadow-friends who do it. It is a regular practice for all of us who study here at the Jet Tower, although those light-lovers up above usually only use blood that was specifically donated for the purpose.

"As for us who aren't held back by interfering morals," the wolf continued "blood is just one ingredient to use as a carbon source. You can use fur and scales and bone as well. Even flesh, although it is not as good as blood. Except for some organs ... hearts, for instance, are the most powerful ingredient we know of you can harvest from a corpse."

Berton hesitantly felt at the simple steel collar around his neck. Apart from the apron that protected his front from hot sparks and wandering eyes alike, it was the only thing he wore.

"Yes," the wolf smirked, "that collar I gave you had fresh elvish blood melted into it when it was made."

"But it doesn't have any other organic materials," Berton questioned, trying to ignore the heavy weight of the collar against his neck. "So, how can it attract or store Mana?"

"Simple, it can't!" the wolf replied. "The fact is that most magi here in the Jet Tower will consider that talisman to be of exceptionally poor quality, but in truth, its so-called shortcomings fit our needs perfectly."

"How so?"

"Control, young lad!" the lupine grinned, his canines gleaming dangerously in the gloom of the tunnel they were in. "You see, I need to specifically charge that talisman with Mana myself before it will be available to you, and then there will only be enough for you to practice with. Can never be too careful, you know."

"You don't trust me?" Berton grumbled, feeling a little betrayed.

"Life Lesson Four kid:" the wolf replied, still grinning like it was about to devour the young man. "It's everyone for himself, there is no space for the weak in Barathrum. So never trust anyone beyond the moment!"

"Except Mistress Senna?" Berton stated a little hopefully.

"Especially, Mistress Senna!" the wolf corrected him. "But you remember Lesson One, don't you?"

"Always obey the Masters without complaint or hesitation, for Divus Procellerus has ordained it be so!" Berton ranted off the bit of advice as if it was a divine commandment itself.

"Good," the wolf grinned, impressed that the human could actually remember those rules he ranted off. He reached forward to touch the collar Berton was wearing and the human gasped as he felt it grow cold instantly. It was ... almost as if he had dunked his head in cold water, yet he could still breathe without a problem.

"Now," the wolf continued as if nothing had happened, "we will be starting with this, simple, shape."

He lifted one finger and with a flash of Mana, a little flame appeared on the outstretched claw.

***

"Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"No," he answered, still looking at the western horizon.

"Then ... why are we doing this?" she asked.

"Do we have another choice?" he replied with a question of his own.

"We can continue to hide in the deep mountains," she replied, a little hopefully. "Yes, we barely have enough to survive on as it is, but it has worked well enough for us until now."

"Until it doesn't work for us anymore!" he replied with a growl. The dark green dragon turned to regard the bright green draine next to him with a determined gaze. "One day, the meagre prey we can find will be gone! Or they will catch up to us. Then we'll be trapped like all the others ... like everyone we have already lost!"

"That is still better than what happened to Silchire!" the draine whimpered. At the name of their previous hope, she could see the male hesitate and she pressed her concerns firmer at him. "He may have been successful in standing up against the Umbrins in the beginning, but then Terrum caught up to him and he, along with nearly all the dragons who had followed him into the ambush were killed without mercy."

"I don't know what to do," the drake admitted, hanging his head a little defeated. "All I know is that we cannot continue like this, Tembarah! Hiding in caves barely fit to live in, unable to go on proper hunts for fear of leading the Umbrins back to our home, fearing every scent of a dragon we come across." He looked up at the draine and she shuddered at the despair in his eyes. "We are wasting away like this and when we are gone, everything Lunintur ... heck everything Gullivarth himself wanted for us will be lost!"

"But Amaren, you're talking about flying over the ocean to the ..." the draine hesitated, clearly uneasy with the whole idea of their ultimate destination "... the land of the ... humans!" She hissed the last word almost as if it was a curse.

"Yes, I know," Amaren replied, his flat crest betraying that he did not like the idea himself. But still, he steeled himself against backing out now. "The Umbrins have the support of the entire Shadowlands behind them, while we have always been on our own. Maybe these dragons we have heard about realized that we need help as well, and weren't too thickhorned to ask for it."

He stared back out over the ocean. This was the last obstacle between them and this insane future, and though the wide expanse did not offer them that much of a challenge, he knew that once they reached the peninsula there would be no turning back. Was this really the best choice, or was it better to remain hidden as they had managed to do for over a century?

"’ On each wind we will gain, on each we will lose! Yet we must choose, which wind must we choose?’" he muttered below his breath.

"But ... humans?" Tembarah whined, sounding almost desperate to make the drake reconsider.

"Yeah, I know!" the drake replied with a sigh. "It doesn't make sense. But I'm certain the travellers said that the dragon-" his crest rose slightly as he concentrated to remember the exact term they had overheard "-riders were there."

A sudden thought occurred to him and he turned back to the draine with a hopeful smile.

"Anyway, our ancestors fought with them against Juinkarr at the end of the Dark Age" he suggested, but the draine wasn't impressed.

"It was the vulpines we fought with," she replied dryly. "Not the humans, not the elves, not even the equines or bovines. Vulpines! And then, once they had their way and Juinkarr fell, they betrayed us!"

"They didn't betray us and you know it!" Amaren sighed. "They were scared off when Lunintur tried to summon Gullivarth back from Barathrum and to avoid any serious conflict, we decided to go our separate ways. It could have gone very differently, you know!"

"I guess," Tembarah replied with her crest held flat insubordination. "But many of our 'former allies' are still hunting us without even really caring who we are. So, how can we trust them if they don't care enough to learn the truth about us?"

"Maybe ... maybe the riders aren't human at all?" the drake tried to cheer his companion up. "Maybe they are vulpines who just went to help the humans!"

"You really think that?" Tembarah replied dryly, not in the least convinced of this latest theory. And with good reason. "You remember the story specifically said this Lúg'hir has his own human!"

"I ..." Amaren started to argue, but then his crest wilted in defeat.

"Let's go home!" Tembarah decided, turning around to head back to the east. "If we leave now, we'll be able to reach the high mountains just when the sun starts to rise again."

"I can't!" Amaren admitted. It wasn't the prospect of another night flight that he couldn't face, but cowering somewhere in a too small and dank cavern again. He turned his face firmly towards the west again. "If there is any truth behind this, I must follow it. I'm not asking you to come along..."

"You are!" Tembarah snapped, whirling around to face him. "How long have we stayed together? More than a century. Almost no dragons I have ever heard of stay together that long! You know, where you go, I go!"

Amaren turned around again one last time to nuzzle the draine.

"You know I love you, but I have to do this," he said in a soft whisper. "Ever since I overheard the elves talking about these Dragonriders, I couldn't stop thinking of them. If anyone can fight back against the Unbrins, they can. I cannot just hide anymore, I just can't."

Tembarah purred as she nuzzled him in return. This restlessness of his had been coming for a while now and was bound to drive him crazy. Still, she loved him as well and she would be damned if he ventured into this mad expedition on his own.

"Then you should go," she decided with a soft whimper that betrayed her worry. "You've always been more courageous than me and wanted to travel abroad to see the world instead of hiding in the safety of the shadows."

"What about you?" he asked worriedly.

"As I said, where you go, I go!" Determinedly, she spread her wings before her courage could fail her again. "Now, let's get going! The sooner we get there, the sooner we can find out if this was a good idea or not!"

Tembarah took off with a strong gust of wind blowing in Amaren's face. The drake could only chuckle as he watched her fly off towards the west before he quickly joined her on the wind.

They had chosen their wind to ride, now they had to see where it lead.

***

Lorthen hadn't changed much, sir Harald decided. Then again small towns rarely do, even ones as large as Lorthen. The little bustling town was about three times the size of Corrumwhell, better kept and more developed. Even now, the main street was still almost uncomfortably congested with merchants and clients as is befitting the regional economic centre. Okay, the town was maybe a little bigger, but the atmosphere was still exactly how he remembered it from his childhood all those long years ago. Small town never really change...

Unless they were surrounded by an army of orcs and burnt to a crisp, he had to concede. But that is the exception.

Here, life continued as it had all those years ago when he had left for the army as a young, eager cadet. The scene that greeted him when he entered over the small stone bridge was so familiar that Harald actually feared that he would be recognized and harassed for stories about his time in the Royal Guard, or worse still, why he had retired so early. Or maybe he would be requested to share more intimate details about the seemingly famous Seige of Corrumwhell and the mysterious Lúgroccae at the centre of it. Even now, having only entered the town, he had already passed four groups of people discussing some version or another of the events to the north and offering their own varying opinions on the matter. However, to his relief no-one seemed to recognize him or even connect him with the stories that seemed more like they belonged in the Age of Legends.

Therefore, he walked down the cobbled road without much notice thankfully. He didn't need to travel deep into town before he turned down another neatly cobbled little alley. This he followed nearly all the way to the neatly kept city wall, arriving at a set of indistinct apartments near the edge of town. He had to admit, the place wasn't as hard to find as he had always told himself it would be, so now that he had finally arrived, he found himself suddenly hesitating. Irrespective of what the rumours said, he and Glenn were not nearly that close. True, he had taken an interest in her career when she nearly dropped out of the academy as a cadet, and it was because of a reprimand from him that she finally started to take her training seriously, eventually graduating at the top of her class. But other than that the only thing they had in common was that they grew up here in the same town.

Then after her dishonourable discharge, when he had learned she had settled down here he had always intended to come for a visit. Why, he was never sure himself. Maybe he felt responsible in some way? But he had always talked himself out of it, fearing he would only end up fighting with her. The way she had thrown away a promising career has always left him feeling ... betrayed? Was that the right word? He wasn't sure it was, though it seemed to fit his emotions for a while at least. Afterwards, it had cooled to the point where he stopped thinking about her entirely.

That is until three years had passed and he now had a favour to ask of her. Now, instead of feeling annoyed at her for wasting the opportunity he had given her, he felt awkward for only coming to her when he needed her help.

Steeling his resolve, he knocked. No answer. For a moment he wondered if she was home, considering that the windows were all shut and the apartment seemed completely silent. He knocked again but again got no reply. Swearing softly to himself, he turned to leave and ask around for her whereabouts. But just as he was about to step off the little porch, he heard something metallic clatter to the ground from inside the apartment.

"Glenn!" he called, smirking to himself and turning back to the door to knock more firmly on it. "I know you are in there!"

"Who is it?" a woman's voice finally called back to him.

"Captain Harald!"

"What?" Glenn gasped, sounding utterly shocked at the news. "Be ... be right there!"

There was a hurried rustle that quieted down suspiciously quickly. After another quiet moment, Glenn finally opened the door.

"Sir?" she greeted him from around the barely opened door. "I'm surprised to see you. I didn't expect to see you here ... or anyone really."

"Sleeping late?" sir Harald asked, raising a questioning eyebrow at the crumpled blouse and trousers she had obviously worn the day before and only threw on quickly to be presentable enough to answer the door.

"I ... um ... work as security at a local bar, so ... late hours you know," Glenn replied with a guilty chuckle as she wiped a strand of dishevelled hair from her eyes.

"Right," sir Harold said with a slight frown. He was a captain long enough to not really buy the story, but he also did not have any reason to doubt her.

"So, what are you doing here, if I may be so blunt?" she asked, hoping to avoid any in-depth interrogation. "I thought you were avoiding me after the ... incident with Lekreh."

"Yeah, I'm sorry but I haven't been able to make the time," the old captain looked awkwardly down the street to avoid her gaze, making Glenn snort in irritation.

"I heard you were rather distressed when you received news of my court-martial," she admitted, sounding a little bit worried. "So I was really expecting you to show up here and chew me out over ... my choices."

"I wanted to," he admitted, "but I decided that wouldn't change anything and the scene that would have caused wouldn't have been worth the effort."

"Good thing you didn't though" she agreed. "There were rumours making the rounds that you were courting me, even before the court-martial. And your retirement only weeks after I was kicked out was rather suspect."

"You're ten years my junior and I was a superior officer at the time!" sir Harald grumbled at the remark, but he was also only too well aware of those rumours.

"Just saying what I heard," she replied with a shrug as if the rumours did not bother her in the least. But a slight scowl revealed her true thoughts on the matter. "I heard that you retired as a form of protest against my punishment."

"That is kind of what I wanted to talk to you about today..." When he revealed this, Glenn blinked at him in disbelief.

"You don't agree with my discharge?" she asked incredulously.

"It is about something else," Harald admitted. "Something to do with why I retired in the first place." Glenn frowned at him suspiciously, but he could see the spark of curiosity that suddenly shone in her eyes. "Just, hear me out. If you are not interested, I'll leave and you won't have to hear from me again. May I come in?"

"I ..." Glenn hesitated for a moment, looking back over her shoulder at the state of her apartment. For that moment, Harald feared that she was going to turn him down anyway, but her curiosity finally won out as he suspected it would and she relented.

"Fine, I'll bite!" she sighed, opening the door wider to allow the old captain entry. He stepped through the doorway with a soft thanks, looking around at the simply furnished sitting room as he did so. It was obvious she had not expected any visitors, but the room was still in a very neat condition. Glenn motioned to a soft looking chair for him and he accepted gratefully.

"Actually, I'd like Lekreh to be a part of this discussion if you don't mind!" sir Harald added almost as an afterthought as he sat down.

"You know very well that he isn't here!" Glenn replied dryly, sitting down on a couch opposite him. "Part of the sentence was that we were to have n... no ... contact ..." Her words died on her tongue as sir Harald picked up a large, golden downy feather from beneath the low coffee table. "Um ... that ... that is a momento ... you know ... from ... "

"Then why did you decide to keep one of his down-feathers then?" the old captain asked with a victorious smirk. "Why not one of the primary feathers, as is the tradition? And why let something of such sentimental value lie on the floor like that?"

There were suddenly the clicking of sharp talons on the wooden floor and a large gryph appeared from the adjacent sleeping room where he had tried to remain unnoticed. He glared at the former captain with golden eyes that seemed to be a reflection of his main body colour, though the ivory head and primary feather tips gave him a striking, regal appearance most males of his species would envy. His mighty aura was a little muddled however as he also looked a bit dishevelled, though he seemed to handle it better than his rider.

"Fine, I'm here, sir!" Lekreh conceded though he glared threateningly at the former captain. "Are you going to report us?"

"No, that would defeat the purpose!" Harald replied, motioning the gryph to join them instead of looming in the doorway as he was. "I don't care what the two of you get up to in your own time."

"But we disobeyed a direct order from the admiralty ..." Lekreh started to argue, but Harald interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

"Which I was planning to have you do anyway if I can have my way," he revealed with a shrug of his shoulders.

Lekreh let slip a chirp of interest and stepped into the room to sit comfortably next to the couch where Glenn was frowning at the former captain.

"Aaaand the admiralty is okay with this?" Glenn asked incredulously as the gryphon approached them.

"No," Harald admitted a little ashamed himself of his strangely rebellious behaviour. But he knew what he had to do would not work if he had to go through official channels, so disregarding a direct order like this seemed to be the best option on offer to him at the moment. "Let's just say that, well, they won't have to know."

Glenn snorted in surprise at the captain's audacity as the large gryphon settled himself down. Harald's suspicions on what he had interrupted were confirmed when he caught an unfortunate glimpse of the gryph's plump sheath and a sharp red tip that was still wet before the creature made himself decent with his forelegs again.

"Right then, we are both here!" the gryph declared, having not noticed his slip-up. "What is it that you wanted to talk to us about? And what do we have to do with why you retired so early?"

Sir Harald cleared his throat to get his thoughts in order again before he spoke.

"What have you heard about the events up north?"

"Corrumwhell?" Glenn asked in a very flat tone, looking at the old captain as if he was telling a very lame joke she had heard too many times already. "Are you serious?"

Harald just nodded.

"Don't believe EVERYTHING you hear, sir!" Lekreh agreed with his rider, though he sounded a bit more annoyed. When Harald raised an eyebrow at the statement, he conceded some verbal territory. "Okay, so Glenn and I mated while we were on a scouting patrol ... and we are still mating even though the court-martial specifically ordered us to never see each other again ... but some things are too far-fetched to be true. I mean: Five riders, each with a tamed dragon by the way, came to the defence of a town with barely any strategic significance when said town was attacked by an army of orcs around seventy-thousand strong. An army that had to travel some fifteen-hundred miles over two mountain ranges and through the sands of the Great Thirstlands to get to them, I should add. Then they somehow manage to beat off this major attack with minimal casualties, before the gryphons of the Spine could muster to help drive them off? Is that what you are referring to?"

"Well, when you put it like that, it does sound preposterous!" Harald admitted with a shrug. Lekreh clacked his beak self-assured, but the man continued. "To be honest, the orcs were only about five thousand strong. And there were only two dragons. And only one had a rider. And the dragons are not tame."

The two opposite him blinked at him in surprise, wondering if he was serious.

"You really believe the stories of the ... Lúgroccae?" Lekreh asked incredulously, struggling a little with the unfamiliar name.

"I was there in the middle of it!" Harald corrected him. Lekreh's ear-tufts rose sharply in surprise and he sat up a little straighter.

"You honestly expect us to believe..." Glenn started to argue, but Harald interrupted her as well.

"Have you ever known me to jump on wild stories without careful consideration?" he asked incredulously, but then hesitated when he realized that was exactly what he did when the phoenix advised him to travel to the north of the peninsula. Though it took quite a bit of persistence by the bird, he did eventually shift his whole life only on the word of a stranger.

"I remember you usually made sure something could be collaborated before you decided to act!" Glenn conceded, remembering when he reprimanded her on her lax approach to her training during her days as a cadet. "So I'm guessing that you have some proof of these Lúgroccae with you?"

"Fair enough," Harald conceded with a smile. He quickly removed something wrapped up in a small square of soft leather from his coat's inner pocket and dropped it without much care onto the low coffee table with a slight clunk. Intrigued, Glenn opened it and was surprised to see that the packet contained a large, black scale. It was about the size of her closed fist and shaped a little like a ceremonial shield, the flatter edge covered still with a little dried blood suggesting it had been ripped from the creature violently.

"Is that...?" Lekreh gasped as Glenn took it and held it up for closer inspection.

"A dragon scale!" Glenn confirmed, inspecting the rather expensive trinket Harald had so casually dropped on the table. Her eyes grew even wider in surprise when she noticed that it was actually not black at all, but a dark iridescent green. This was an extremely rare colouration, making this treasure even more valuable. In fact, even without being carved or enchanted as it was now, this scale alone was worth more than a month's salary for both of them combined when they were still in the army.

Or that would have been the case had it been preserved properly, she realized with a scowl. The scale she was holding hadn't been cared for properly after it had been removed from the dragon. Its edges were already fading to grey and starting to crumble. Most telling was that nearly all of the characteristic shine was also gone, which is why she had missed the iridescence initially.

Now, this scale was barely a tenth of its initial value. If she remembered correctly, it could still be ground up to be used in potions and enchantments, but it was nearly worthless to most who usually worked with dragon scales. It kind of irritated her that someone could allow something of this value to go to waste simply to prove a point

"I hope you didn't pay too much for this," she commented, snapping a significant part off the sharp end, the scale failing the last test of quality. "The preservation should have been done as soon as the scale had been removed. I'm afraid it won't last much longer as it is, even if you were to try and preserve it now. Best to grind it up now and sell it as a reagent."

"How do you know that?" the gryphon asked surprised.

"You know, as an orphan, life was hard for me before I signed up with the gryphon-knights," Glenn smiled, glad to still be able to catch her friend and lover by surprise. "If I hadn't impressed the gryphon-knight who convinced me to join up, I would have joined my old friends in smuggling magical artefacts." She held up the two sections of scale for the gryphon. "Dragonscales degrade rather quickly which is why they are so expensive. Despite already crumbling like this, I'd say this scale is almost a month old already by the looks of it..."

With a rude snort, she suddenly realised that would fit the timeframe of this so-called Lúgroccae perfectly. She shot Harald an angry glare as if he had tricked her with an exceptional intricate con that she was supposed to have seen through.

"Okay, you have my attention!" she conceded, dropping the scale back onto the leather where the larger section snapped again. Lekreh clicked his beak annoyed at her turn of attitude, but decided to follow her lead and allow Harald to spin them his version of the Lúgroccae tale.

"I have never told anyone about this since it sounds so strange and is completely out of character for me," Harald began. "It started three years ago, while we were still stationed near Serephal City. One day, a phoenix approached me out of the blue." The two raised their eyebrows in surprise at the revelation but remained silent allowing him to tell his story.

"In the way of phoenixes, it told me in a roundabout way that a 'student' of mine was about to fall from grace because of 'illegal love'. The very next day, the two of you were caught ... " Harald waved a hand at them and the two squirmed a little awkwardly in their seats at the implication. "Anyway, it bothered me why the phoenix warned me about what was going to happen to the two of you without giving me a real chance to intervene. So much so that for a time it was all I could think about. Then a week later it appeared again. Only, this time it told me that 'A Son of Ferrenal' needed my assistance or 'All may be lost'. A sense of duty to the king held me back for a time, but just before the verdict of your court-martial reached me, the phoenix appeared to me a third time. Again urging me to go to Ferrenal. It turned out that the news of your dishonourable discharge was what I needed to take the phoenix seriously.

"So that is why I resigned: on nothing more than the word of a fire-bird. You see, I couldn't be stationed in southern Selebore and be ready to assist whoever it was in the north of the peninsula that supposedly needed aid. After my resignation, I travelled to Ferrenal, eventually deciding to settle in Corrumwhell since it was small enough that I wouldn't be bothered, yet central enough for me to keep an eye on the entire province."

Harald sighed, folding his hands together seemingly considering his own actions as well. The two listening to him remained silent, waiting almost with held breaths for how this strange tail was going to unfold.

"It is rather ironic actually that it was exactly there, about a year ago, I met a young man by the name of Merec ... and his friend Gahntuar." He hesitated for a moment, motioning to the bits of scale on the table. "That is Gahntuar's scale by the way. He lost it when he was badly wounded towards the end of the siege."

"Gahntuar?" Glenn questioned, before suddenly realizing what the man had said and staring wide-eyed at the worthless scale again.

"The dragon has a name?" Lekreh agreed, squinting at Harald as if the man had lost his mind.

"Yes," Harald replied with a thoughtful nod as if it should have been common knowledge. "And he can talk and follow orders perfectly well." Then he added with a bit of a grumble beneath his breath: "... if he puts his mind to it."

"That sounds too good to be true," Glenn commented. "We've fought a few dragons once or twice in the Ealyndore Forest and they seem more like blunt weapons one just throws into combat and hope for the best. I don't recall anything that can prove they can think for themselves beyond the moment."

"I agree!" Lekreh added. "I'd need to see these two for myself before I'm willing to believe any of it!"

"I was kind of hoping you'd say that!" Harald replied with a dangerous grin that had both Glenn and Lekreh suddenly worried.

"What do you mean?" Glenn dared to ask.

"Well," Harald continued, leaning back as if he had won an argument. "The business end of the story is that, while I was busy teaching them some fighting skills to help them survive the lethal attention of a rival dragon, the horde of orcs attacked Corrumwhell. And it turns out that the horde was there specifically to kill these two, and not because of any of the hairbrained theories you might have heard." Lekreh squawked in surprise at that, and Harald only nodded at him. "It appears that Juinkarr is stirring again and whatever is hiding there is scared of these two. This is big enough that even the Circle of Five seems to have taken an interest in them!"

"That ... I don't know what to say!" Glenn gasped, slumping a bit in her seat.

"How sure can you be that ...Juinkarr sent the horde of orcs to kill these two?" Lekreh shuddered at the thought, even as he asked the question.

"I can't prove that," Harald admitted with a shrug. "But I saw that phoenix again at Corrumwhell one last time during the fighting last month. This time it directly told me to 'Prepare the Lúgroccae for war'. That, while we were fighting off the first attack and well before the name was even spoken for the first time." Harald sighed, obviously worried as he considered that event on the wall when the phoenix had died again. "I fear something is coming and it has me worried."

"But why tell us all of this?" Lekreh asked with a worried clack of his beak. "What does it have to do with us?"

"Well," Harald grinned again at the gryph. "I'm sure you are aware that dragons have wings ..."

"No!" Glenn interrupted him, making her steed jump in surprise.

"What?" Lekreh squawked upset.

"We are NOT going to be training them in areal combat!" Glenn continued, ignoring the ruffled gryphon beside her.

"I know I can't order you, but please tell why not?" Harald asked with a frown.

"For starters, we haven't been active in the field for years!" Glenn continued to argue as the gryphon turned to stare at Harald as if he had lost his mind, again. "They will most likely be flying circles around us. What can we even teach them?"

"I did say there was only one pair, and they have absolutely no training!" Harald reminded them cooly. "Remember most of the stories you have heard are complete fabrications. I mean, Gahntuar finally accepted to wear a saddle only during the last night of the siege for crying out loud!"

"Then how could they have helped with the fighting if the dragon wasn't wearing a saddle beforehand?" Lekreh asked incredulously.

"They fought individually for most of the siege," Harald admitted without missing a beat. When the gryphon clacked his beak in disbelief, he added: "Yes, the dragon was acting by himself most of the time, but now that they have experienced fighting as a team, they are eager to learn."

"Even so, we were only soldiers... we don't have any training experience!" Glenn countered again, determined to change Harald's mind on this.

"The two of you placed at the top of your class," Harald insisted, not in the least convinced by her arguments. "That, despite your irresponsible, lax approach to the training when you started. In fact, you were the youngest ever to attain the rank of squad leaders if I recall correctly."

"I ..." Glenn started but then blushed when she recalled their private victory celebrations. Then another thought occurred to her and she quickly pounced on the idea. "Dragons won't be able to fight as gryphons do. They fly differently, they have different strengths and weaknesses ... our experience will not be of much worth to them."

"I ... didn't think of that!" Harald finally admitted, deflating a bit. But still, he refused to concede their point. "But that just proves my point that I need someone with areal experience to help prepare them for whatever is coming."

"I ..." Glenn tried to think of something else to show just how stupid this whole idea was, but for the moment she couldn't think of anything. Exasperated, she threw her hands in the air and looked over to Lekreh for assistance.

"Why not go through the official channels?" the gryphon came to her aid. "If this is as important as you make it sound, they should get proper training with the Royal Contingent of Gryphon Knights!"

"I thought of it," Harald agreed, but shook his head dismissively. "But even though that would have been the best option, it still worries me. As you well know, the gryphon-knights is very proud of their role of controlling the skies for the Thendor army. I'm worried how they will take to a new branch in the armed forces that will rival them directly. And then there is this new Alliance of Light to consider. Unless they have moved since I was last in Lendor, I believe their Temple of Light is just a stone's throw away from the gryphon-knights' very headquarters!"

"But if what you say is true, then we will most definitely need the help from the Alliance!" Lekreh appealed with a startled squawk. "If I remember correctly, High Commissioner Achius has been predicting that Juinkarr will arise within our life for over a decade now. He will be thrilled to hear ..."

"No!" Harald snapped a little more harshly than he intended. With a determined shake of his head, he repeated. "No, that will never work. I've never paid the Alliance much heed before, but what I've seen from them and their supporters at Corrumwhell, I won't trust them at all." He looked directly at the startled gryphon to drive the point across. "They were willing to let the whole town die rather than fight alongside the two dragons. Heck, they were even willing to do Juinkarr's dirty work and kill them if they had the chance. No, I fear if Merec and Gahntuar ever go to the capital, they will not survive very long." He stated the last bit with a heavy, defeated sigh.

"You aren't going to take 'no' for an answer?" Glenn grumbled upset, folding her arms to regard the old captain.

"Not as long as I don't have a good reason to do so," Harald replied with a smirk, sensing that he was winning them over.

"If we agree to this, does that mean that I get to order dragons around?" Lekreh suddenly asked, sounding a little too overeager at the prospect for Glenn's liking.

"Not you two now!" Glenn gasped, shooting her steed a betrayed look.

"As long as it is for instructional purposes!" Harald warned him. "They are very proud creatures and may be likely to bite your head off if they feel you are not respecting them. And that wasn't meant as a manner of speaking!"

"Oh come on, Glenn! This sounds like a really interesting adventure!" Lekreh chirped a little excitedly. Then he turned to Harald, somehow managing an expression the old soldier had learned meant the dragon was up to something the old man was going to regret. "And since you need us, you cannot forbid us from copulating freely when we want to!"

"Lekreh!" Glenn gasped, turning beet red at the gryphon's conditions.

"I ... haven't considered that either!" Harald sighed, glaring at Lekreh as if he was asked to bend over for the gryph. Said creature continued to smirk, not blinking as if challenging Harald to concede Glenn's point that they were not the pair for the job. But of course, he couldn't. "You drive a hard bargain, gryphon! Fine, I may not agree with it, but I won't get in the way of you either. Just don't get caught again! I definitely don't want the dragons to get ideas!"

"Will you give us a moment to discuss this between the two of us?" Glenn growled dangerously. Though she was looking at Harald, he knew her ire was against the gryphon who for his part beamed like he had overcome the greatest obstacle life could throw at him. Harald doubted Glenn was going to win this one either.

"Of course," Harald agreed as he got up to leave. "I didn't expect an answer right away. Although I want to be heading back north tomorrow and would like an answer by then."

Glenn also stood up and lead him to the door again. As she opened the door for him, Harald gave her one last plea.

"You may not realize it, but we desperately need your help."

"I said I'll let you know!" she insisted, acutely aware that they won't be saying no. Especially now that Lekreh has also taken an interest in these strange events. Even her own curiosity in seeing a human ride on a dragon would not allow her to pass this opportunity up.

"Thank you for considering it at the very least!" Harald smiled as he stepped outside again. "Well, as you ..." He suddenly blushed profusely when he realized the implications of what he was saying "Um ... as you were then, I guess."

Glenn could only smirk shyly as she closed the door again.

***

The silvery draine blinked at the strange question. It kind of made sense, seeing how instinctual the dragons' native language was. But of course, the thought was completely absurd. Only, how did she tell the cluster of human whelps arranged around her?

"No," she replied after considering the question a bit. "Hatchlings are very weak when they hatch. Okay, not as weak as human babies ... I mean they are strong enough to walk and eat on their own. But even for our language they only start to speak logical words when they are five weeks old."

"Why?" the young boy asked.

"Why?" Lainah smiled at the question. Intellectually, it was another absurd question but it seemed to be the favourite to ask for all species at that stage of growing up. The best way to avoid that question to get out of hand was to echo it back at them but in such a way as to not dampen their curiosity. It was the strength of all sentient life after all. "Why aren't you born with the ability to speak? I don't really know. We aren't large lizards that live off instinct alone, you know."

The group of human whelps laughed heartily at the expense of the youngster who spoke and he hung his head in shame. Still, she gently nosed at him and he giggled excitedly as he patted her snout.

"How fast do dragons grow up then?" an older girl asked.

"That is difficult to answer," Lainah replied, raising her head up to look at the young female. She hummed to herself in thought again before answering. "At first we grow up rather quickly, reaching half of our final size in only two years. By then we can fly short distances, hunt a little small prey on our own and even spit a little bit of fire." The whelps gasped delightedly as she spoke. "But then our growth seems to slow down. We are only considered ..." she hesitated a bit, trying to find the right word the whelps can understand "... big when we are about ten years old. Only then we able to fly really long distances and start a family"

"Only ten?" the whole group of whelps gasped, shocked.

"Yes," Lainah admitted with a smirk. She had been surprised to learn that humans were only sexually maturing at twelve and was seen as an adult already at eighteen. So she could understand the shock of the hatchlings. "But we usually stay with our parents until we are about twenty-five though. And then we go exploring until we are ninety before we really think of settling down again to start our own family!"

She had to fight back a delighted croon as the whelps gasp in complete shock.

"How old are you then?" the original boy asked suddenly.

"Come now, Tom!" the older human female who was watching over them and teaching them gasped. "You don't ask someone how old they are!"

"It's okay," Lainah smiled, though a little deviously. She turned to the boy again and answered his question with a toothy grin the whelps actually no longer found intimidating. "I'm still very young for a dragon. Only ..." she hesitated momentarily to make a quick calculation "... about a hundred-and-twenty or so."

The whelps gave another loud gasp and this time Lainah couldn't help but giggle.

"That is enough for now, children!" the teacher called to them. "Time to head inside again."

"Awww!" the whelps complained like all children seem to do, but still obediently allowed themselves to be lead away. Lainah smiled to herself as she watched them go, a few turning around to wave back at her. She raised her own paw in return, mimicking the awkward movement for their behalf. Only when the last of them disappeared back into the recently completed building, did she allow her paw to drop. But, as she was lowering it she thought she saw something between the long fingers. The draine raised her paw again to have a better look and cringed when she noticed that it was little droplets of dark red blood that was still stuck to the scales between her fingers.

As unnoticed as possible, she tried to lick it clean but it didn't do much good. Next, she rubbed at the little red dots but also without much success. The little red stains remained stubbornly where they were. Eventually, she was forced to give up on cleaning it here and she had to sneak to the river. Luckily the humans were hard at work repairing their destroyed homes and it seemed no-one really had time to spend observing her. She managed to reach the river without anyone giving her much notice, and sighed as she dipped her paws into the cool water. The flow of the river calmed her again and she sighed contentedly. Slowly, she rubbed at the blood stuck to her paws again, but the infuriating stuff still didn't want to budge.

"Do you often bathe this much?" a human male suddenly asked her.

Lainah squeaked in surprise and whirl around to snap her teeth at the human who scared her like that. Luckily she recognized Merec before she did so. Merec stepped back and held his hands up placatingly, but still failed to stop a smirk from spreading over his features.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that!" Merec apologized. Despite the smile, she knew him well enough by now to know that he was sincerely sorry.

"You didn't ... I mean I wasn't ..." she started to argue, but gave in with an annoyed huff. She glanced at her wet paws, absentmindedly noticing that they were clean. Of course, there had never been any blood.

"What's wrong?" Merec asked, suddenly worried when he noticed her mood shift.

"Nothing," the draine grumbled. "Just ... cleaning off a smudge ..."

Distracted, she started to rub her paws together again. Merec watched her, a little worried but not sure what to make of it. He knew Gahntuar well enough to read in her body language that there was something on her mind, but he didn't know her well enough to hazard a guess as to what it could be. And if she was not going to be telling him, there was nothing he could do to help other than letting her know he would be there for her.

"If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask!" he said, thinking of stepping up to the draine to lay a comforting hand on her wing. But instead, he decided it was better not to approach the draine right now.

At his words, Lainah's mood shifted abruptly, enough for the human to suddenly become worried about what he had gotten himself into. She smirked that conspiratory smile all dragons seem to share from time to time as she turned around and started to stalk towards him. Most humans would have fled at the sight, but he stood his ground until she was right in front of him. Once again the human knew his dragon friend well enough to see that the draine was playful and not threatening.

"Well, if you put it like that ..." she purred, playfully nipping at his hip "... there is something I have been meaning to ask you." Merec started to worry even more about her intentions when she quickly glanced around to make sure they wouldn't be overheard. Satisfied they were private enough, she leaned in to whisper in dragonic "Will it be alright with you if I ... were to, well, mate with Gahntuar?"

Merec blinked at her in surprise. It seemed very undragonlike of her to ask for permission, especially when it came to sex. Then the sudden shyness that came over her was also uncharacteristic, making him wonder if her recent obsession with water had something to do with it. Lainah, on the other hand, understood his silence wrong and she turned away, her crest held flat with disappointment.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to come between ..." she started to whimper, but Merec stopped her with a gentle hand on her snout.

"No-no, I was just surprised by the question!" he admitted. "Yes, Gahntuar and I do ..." He hesitated for a moment, also casting a quick look around before admitting in a lowered voice "We do sometimes mate, but it is only a ... a friendship thing. I don't really know how to put it. The point I'm trying to make is that I'm not a draine, I ... cannot give him eggs you know." A slight frown creased his forehead at that statement, but he seemed to cast whatever it was he had thought about aside before answering the draine. "So you really don't have to ask me permission to mate with him."

"For a quick fling, of course not!" she smiled, crooning slightly at his admission. "But I want something more ... permanent. I want his clutch!" For a moment, she glanced away shyly to avoid direct eye contact with the human again. "You may be both males, but you are still primary mates and I'm the one who is joining your circle. So I will need permission from both of you if I want to breed with him."

"I really don't mind!" Merec replied with a smile, rubbing her jaw affectionately. Lainah crooned happily as she leaned into the caress with a purr. "In fact, I was thinking it will be good for him if you take over as ... his mate. It had been a long time since he had proper contact with other dragons and your company is doing him good, I think. I'd like to play with him from time to time though if you don't mind."

"Thank you," Lainah purred, pressing her snout against his chest in affection. Then, with a sudden mischievous smirk, she nipped at his groin. This time Merec did jump back from the clicking jaws with a shocked yelp, making a few people look up in their direction momentarily.

"I can't wait to see what he finds so appealing about you!" she grinned in dragonic.

"Wait, what?" Merec gasped, looking up at her worriedly.

"I'm joining your mating circle," she crooned, quickly steal a lick across his cheek before he could pull away. "Which means I'll be mated to both of you!"

"You didn't mention anything about..." Merec started to argue when he was very untimely interrupted by an extremely excited black drake who came cantering up to them.

"Am I interrupting something?" Gahntuar asked unapologetically as he glanced between the two of them. Merec scrambled away from the draine as if he was caught being naughty. Lainah, on the other hand, only smirked at the human before affectionately stepping closer to Gahntuar. Merec caught sight of the drake's suddenly red ears, and the human realised that the dragon might have overheard enough of the conversation to have an inkling what it was about. However, except for the dragonic blush, he gave no other indication of what he thought about it.

"Ah, n-no, you didn't interrupt anything..." Merec stammered, vaguely aware that his face was also heating up slightly.

"What were you talking about then?" Gahntuar asked, failing to hide a slight grin. Before anyone could answer him, Lesley came running up behind the dragon.

"Hey, wait up! You'll need this!" she called after him, holding aloft the harness Merec had worn that last night of the siege. It was only then that Merec noticed that Gahntuar was wearing his saddle.

"Tell you later," Lainah whispered to Gahntuar with a purr as she rubbed her flank seductively against the drake's chest. She held the contact only for a moment, allowing Merec to eagerly step closer and inspect the leather smith's handiwork.

Merec wasn't sure what he had expected the saddle to be like. The dragon and leather smith had seemingly conspired to hide the design from him until it was finished enough for the final test flight, so he was rather eager to get a look at it. As Merec stepped up next to Gahntuar, the dragon crouched down to proudly show it off.

"Aaaand ... what do you think?" the drake grinned.

"Better than anything I could have imagined, I expect!" Merec admitted, stroking the firm leather with an appreciative hum. He was truly impressed with how it looked. It was sleek and elegant, obviously meant to make flight easier for the dragon whilst giving Merec the basic support needed from a saddle. In fact, Merec noticed that it was designed so that he could both sit up straight as he usually did when gently gliding, as well as lean into dragon's back for faster flight.

"It is still only a proof of concept," Lesley huffed, having finally caught up with Gahntuar. "But the two of us are happy enough with it to let the two of you take it for a test flight."

With that, Lesley handed Merec his rider's harness. For a moment as he took it from her, their hands touched. That small moment seemed to stop for a second as their eyes met briefly. But it was only briefly and Lesley quickly pulled away as she started to blush slightly. Merec gave an awkward cough and thanked her with a soft mutter he wasn't sure she had heard.

"Yeah-yeah, I'm putting it on already!" Merec snapped at Gahntuar when the dragon gave him an interested croon. Quickly, he started to put the harness on, suddenly very aware that all work had ceased in the immediate vicinity and everyone was watching him with interest. He tried to ignore the stares of everyone, instead focusing on putting the harness on correctly.

Satisfied that everything was properly fastened, he quickly climbed into the saddle. He spent another moment just shifting around a bit, admiring how comfortable the saddle actually was. He was impressed with the saddle already and couldn't think what more it could need. Lesley had done a remarkable job of it. Finally, he started to hook himself in as Gahntuar rumbled in excited anticipation.

"What is this for?" he suddenly asked, wiggling a strange clasp on the side of the saddle around. It didn't seem to fit onto his harness and for the life of him, he couldn't see what it could be for.

"That is to hook a lance or bow into!" Gahntuar explained impatiently before the leather smith could reply. "I'm not picking your weapons up if you throw them away again!"

"Right," Merec smirk, doing up the last of the clips of his harness. Lesley stepped up next to him to give the setup one last glance over, before nodding her approval.

"Away Roccan'hir, time to fly! The approach of destiny is coming nigh!" the phoenix no-one had even noticed up to now suddenly called out, much to the good cheer of the people gathered there to watch.

"Yeah-yeah! We're going." Merec grumbled, patting Gahntuar against his neck to indicate to the dragon that he was ready for takeoff.

"No, you are not!" the phoenix complained in return, but his comment seems to have been drowned out by the commotion of the crowd there. Only Merec seemed to have heard. He frowned at the bird, intending to ask it what it had meant, but Lesley interrupted him before he could.

"Have fun, you two!" she grinned. A crouch was the only warning Merec had before Gahntuar jumped into the air with a mighty flap of his wings. Merec's yelp of surprise was completely drowned out by the cheering crowd, who seemed to spur the dragon on as he climbed high into the sky as quickly as he could. The ascending was much more quickly than anything Merec had ever experienced before, and with the phoenix forgotten, the human leaned into the scaly neck, whooping in delight to urge his dragon on even more. In no time they were high enough for Gahntuar to level off again.

They spend the next few miles just gliding along, admiring the dark green of the forest below them as they headed towards the cliffs of the Shipwreck Coast. Yet, even this seemed to be faster than their normal speed when the human had to cling precariously to the dragon's shoulders.

"And, what do you think?" Merec called out against the wind. Communication seemed to be a little more difficult at this speed, but the dragon's hearing was good enough for him to hear his rider's question.

"I'll admit that I was wrong about saddles!" Gahntuar called back, looking a little over his shoulder to grin back at Merec. "Actually, I'm impressed with how well it works already! I think I can go all day with this on."

Suddenly, Gahntuar gave Merec that grin which the human had learned to be wary of.

"Although, I suggest you hold on!" he added. "I have to put it through its paces now, you know. That is after all why we are up here!"

"Hold onto what?" Merec asked, suddenly looking a little paler.

"That loop of leather right in front of you!" Gahntuar called back, this time not really looking back at his rider. Instead, his focus was trained at the world below him, already planning his next few moves out.

"Right," Merec replied, feeling a little stupid. He grabbed the sturdy handle with both hands and held it firmly.

"Ready?" Gahntuar asked, shooting him a quick glance to confirm that the human was indeed ready.

"I gue-eeeeeh!"

Merec's reply was lost in a startled yelp as Gahntuar suddenly twisted completely over and dove steeply down. They dropped at breakneck speed before the dragon pulled out of the dive with a sharp twist. For the next minute or two, he continued his twists and turns at this speed which made communication completely impossible, throwing even a few loops and defensive kicks into his routine for good measure.

The dragon's fun was suddenly interrupted by a quick series of urgent tappings against his neck. Gahntuar glanced around quickly, but when he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary he backed into yet another steep dive to continue his enjoyable flight. It was wonderful to be flying this freely again and to have his good friend along for the ride was making this somehow even more spec ...

His string of thoughts was suddenly interrupted by a stream of thick, yellow liquid that came flying past his face, missing his neck by inches. Confused, he watched it fall to the ground when he suddenly realised that whatever it was might have hit Merec. He levelled off immediately and slowed down to a calmer speed, looking over his shoulder to ask Merec if he had seen where that stuff had come from. But his question died on his tongue and he stared horrified at the state Merec was in.

"Merec!" he yelped. "What's wrong?" It seemed as if that stuff had hit him on the chin, maybe ...

"I ... I'm just ..." the human whimpered, pressing a messy face against the scales of the dragon's shoulder. "I just need to get ... my insides back where they belong."

"You sure?" the dragon asked worriedly, not really believing what his human had said. Then he felt his chest grow cold as he remembered the urgent tapping against his neck. "Oh! I ... I am sorry! I should have realised something was wrong when you tried to warn me!"

"It's okay, I'm better. See?" Merec smiled at the guilty dragon, wiping at his face with a corner of his shirt. Gahntuar narrowed his eyes at his rider, not sure if he could believe him. It was obvious that Merec was still a bit weak, but that strange sickness seems to have passed for the moment.

"I think we should go back," the dragon decided, still not comfortable with the state of his human.

"I'm okay," Merec started to argue, but Gahntuar silenced him with sharp nip.

"I'm not asking permission!" he stated seriously. "Anyway, I need to report to Lesley either way. These straps ... " he pointed to the thick leather band across his shoulder "... here are a bit ... "

Gahntuar suddenly stopped his explanation to look off at the distant ocean.

"Did you hear that?" he asked surprised.

"No, what ...?" Merec started to ask, but then he two was interrupted by a far-off roar of another dragon. It was a long, drawn-out howl and even though the human was not sensitive enough to distinguish the differences in dragon voices, he was acutely aware that it was not Lainah.

It was a third dragon.

Merec had never heard this particular distance communication himself before, but he could easily recognized it from when Gahntuar had described it to him. The other dragon was announcing itself and requesting an audience with the dominant dragon of the region.

The dragon and rider looked at each other in surprise.

"I have to reply," Gahntuar commented, sounding actually a little worried at the thought. Still, he was not asking permission and not waiting for Merec to reply, the black dragon uttered a long, deep whoop in reply.

*I am here! Come to me!*

Having granted the stranger access to the region, Gahntuar dove back down to the ground. He was in some hurry to land, though he was still mindful of Merec's fragile state after that sudden strange illness. So the descend was not a steep as usual and he landed carefully to avoid bumping the human around too much. The dragon gave his human a swift, critical inspection and after a quick lick or two across the flat face, he turned his attention back towards the east.

It wasn't long before the other dragon called its request again and Gahntuar replied in kind. The new arrival was much closer now. Indeed, Gahntuar had barely completed his reply when a red dragon appeared over a distant rise. It immediately banked into a sharp turn and headed straight for them. Satisfied that they were spotted, Gahntuar sat down comfortably to await the stranger's arrival.

Merec started to disentangle his harness, but Gahntuar immediately noticed the human's intentions and nipped sharply at him.

"Stay!" he ordered Merec "and sit up straight! This is our territory and this dragon is showing us respect. It is only proper to return that respect in kind."

At that, Merec remembered Lainah's comment about him being Gahntuar's primary mate again. Suddenly, it worried him a little, but as he was about to argue the point with Gahntuar, the new dragon landed with a graceful backwing. The new arrival, a draine Merec noticed, blinked in surprise at the human on the dragon's back. However, she recovered her composure quickly and approach Gahntuar, holding herself low to the ground so as not to appear intimidating to the territory owner. Remembering Gahntuar's command, Merec complied to the dragon's wishes and stopped slumping in his seat.

"I come to thee in peace and hope to find thee strong and healthy!" the draine growled respectfully, careful not to make eye contact with either human or dragon before her, but unable to take her eyes of the strange sight either.

"I receive thee in peace, and hope that the winds hath been favourable!" Gahntuar continued the ritualistic greeting. Merec stared in awe at this official greeting between dragons. He had only heard it described by the drake and seeing it play out was a real privilege. Then he yelped in surprise when Gahntuar nipped at him. It wasn't his usual, playful bites but an angry one obviously meant as a reprimand.

"You two!" the drake growled, still keeping to dragonic. When Merec blinked at him in confusion, Gahntuar snarled dangerously below his breath. "Greet our guest!"

With a sudden panic, the human realized he was expected to partake in the ritualistic greeting. Obviously, he had to repeat Gahntuar's phrase as well seeing that he was apparently territory owner alongside the drake.

"I... " he started to say, but at a warning growl from Gahntuar, he switched to his version of dragonic with a nervous cough. "I receive thee ... in peace, and hope that ... the winds hath been ... favourable!" He spoke hesitantly and because his vocal cords and mouth were not shaped correctly, the pronunciation was awkward. But the meaning at least was accurate and Guantuar rumbled in appreciation, and even a bit of pride.

The red draine on the other hand, blink at him in utter surprise.

"You speak dragonic, human?" she asked, too surprised to use the formal nuances or to respectfully avoid eye contact.

"Just a little and I shit on it!" Merec admitted with a shy smile. Then Gahntuar nipped angrily at him again. This time, Merec had no idea what was wrong and he snapped back at his dragon friend "What?"

"The growl comes from the back of the throat!" Gahntuar hissed in common to his human, before showing him the proper pronunciation. " *bad at.* What you said was that you take a dump on our language!"

"I mean I am bad at it!" the human hastily corrected himself, his face turning red even as he spoke.

"I say," the red draine smirked, absolutely intrigued with the interaction between the two odd friends. "But it is better than my humanic, I can assure you. I do speak a little ----- ..." she smiled as she spoke a name Merec did not recognize. Then suddenly, she realised the ritualistic greeting wasn't yet over and that she still needed to show respect to the two. "I mean, no offence was taken, melords! I hath flown far to find thee. May I hath the chance to speak to thee?"

"Thee art welcome to enter our territory!" Gahntuar concluded the formal part of the meeting. As the draine relaxed visibly, Gahntuar continued in a more relaxed tone "Now, tell me young one, what is your story?"

The young draine sighed as if gathering her courage before she spoke in a soft voice.

"My name is Jerielle," she started, sitting down a little more comfortably, but still careful to keep her head lower than Gahntuar's. "Ever since leaving my parent's lair 35 years ago, I've been travelling from hiding spot to hiding spot, never staying in one place for longer than a week and always avoiding the notice of other dragons as best I could.

"But then fourteen nights ago, I overheard a group of bovines near my latest hiding spot speak of dragons with human companions, standing up against Juinkarr. At first, I did not believe it, for it seemed too impossible to be true. But the tales only continued to be passed along as more and more travellers discussed it. Then one day, I heard one bovine describe his own experiences of the fighting. He specifically mentioned seeing these dragons defeated a horde sent to kill them, and that this horde was accompanied by dragons of Juinkarr. My interest was ignited then and I knew I had to come to see for myself. Maybe even ... join with you? If you'll have me."

Gahntuar listened silently to her story, his heart feeling a little heavier when he remembered his own attempts to survive in the shadow of the Umbrin clan. He knew the hard life the Lumor dragons lived, that was one of the many reasons he had abandoned the Curndor Mountains himself all those years ago.

"You are almost of age to find your first mate and win a territory of your own," Gahntuar commented. "Are you sure you are willing to give up your first territory for this?"

"Yes!" Jerielle snapped, very self-assured. "I cannot hope ... I will not even attempt to raise a clutch when I don't know if I will still be able to remain in a territory in a year's time. The Lumors has been scattered and we are being pushed onto the plains where we fall victim to the slayers from Kerrathien. And every attempt I have heard of to fight back only ends in disaster. Except you ... I hear you have won a great victory against the odds and I am desperate to join you against the Umbrins."

"I'm not ..." Gahntuar started to argue that he is not planning on fighting the Umbrin clan, but then he hesitated. As long as whoever is hiding in Juinkarr remains alive, the Umbrins will continue to be sent after him. He had no choice but to fight back, and the longer he survived, the more the surviving Lumors will come to him with the idea that they may be safe with him. But could he expect others to follow him like that?

However, right now that was something to worry about on another day. Firstly, he had to consider the problem of the nearby town. He knew he couldn't hide her as he himself had done only a few months ago, but how will they react to the appearance of a new dragon? Strangely, he suddenly remembered Merec's proposals from long ago when he had tried to keep the peace between the townsfolk and the dragon and with an inwards groan he had to concede that the human may have had a point back then.

"If you are going to join us, you will have to live with us amongst the humans," Gahntuar decided, feeling as if he was betraying himself even as he spoke.

"A-amongst?" the young draine gasped surprised.

"Yes," the drake confirmed. "Don't worry, we will look after you and teach you how to behave around them. For instance, right now we are helping the humans rebuild the town." Gahntuar suddenly hesitated as he remembered another important thing to consider. Strange how comfortable he was already with it that he could actually have forgotten to mention it to start with. "Oh, yes. You may also be asked to wear a saddle like this one."

"I understand," she replied with a respectful bow of her head. "When I first saw the two of you I expected you to say something like that." She hesitated once more, taking a deep breath before committing. "But now I can see for myself that there is no shame in wearing a saddle, so I accept!"

Not being completely fluent in dragonic, Merec had a little difficulty following exactly what she said, though he did manage to follow the basic trend of her story. She had heard of their battle from travellers it seems and like the hopeful recruits he had been dodging the past week or so, she came hoping to fight alongside them against the clan of dragons still loyal to Barathrum. So as was expected, when she indicated she was willing to wear a saddle his heart dropped a little. Wasn't it only yesterday when he had made that agreement with the old dragonslayer to take up the training again once a second dragon was willing to wear a saddle. Well, here she was now and he just knew there was no escaping that Lúgroccan business now. He should be glad that another dragon had sought them out, he guessed. But the looming responsibilities terrified him and he had to suppress a groan he could only hope the dragons didn't hear.

"Very well then, follow me please," Gahntuar said, sounding much more sure of himself than his human was feeling. Again, the only warning Merec received of the impending take-off was a tensing of the haunches. At least he did not yelp in surprise this time as the two dragons jumped into the air.

The flight back to town was much quicker than Merec had suspected and before he knew it they were flying over the defensive walls of the town again. There were the expected cheers of the crowd who had been waiting for their return with no doubt a great deal of anticipation. But the cheers died quickly to surprised gasps and excited pointing when they noticed the red draine following their favourite drake. In the end, the crowd settled on excited murmuring amongst themselves as the two dragons landed in the clearing where Gahntuar had initially taken off from.

"Ah, Lainah, this is Jerielle!" Gahntuar took the liberty of introducing the draine when the two females stared at each other with crests erect in shocked surprise. "She has come to join us fight Juinkarr."

Gahntuar spoke in the common tongue for the sake of the gathered townspeople. But at the revelation of her intentions, he wished he hadn't. Cheers suddenly erupted all over the place and Gahntuar had to snap his teeth at two over-eager humans who, in a moment of excited insanity, wanted to pet the frightened draine. Finally, a short bark from the drake quieted the crowd down, somewhat.

"Can you please show her around?" Gahntaur asked Lainah when he was sure he could be heard again "and make sure the humans don't frighten her off!" That comment seems to have had the desired effect, as the gathered crowd immediately became more subdued and he even heard a few murmurs of apology.

"Alright people!" Merec called from Gahntuar's back. "Show is over, back to work!"

To his utter astonishment, most of the people there rushed to quickly obey, as if he had the authority of the mayor behind him. Most that is, except the few he knew still had business with them. Even as he climbed down, Gahntuar was already talking to Lesley, indicating to the offending straps that came from a tightly woven knot on his chest and reached the saddle across his shoulders.

Even Iago had appeared to hear what the dragon had thought of the flight with the saddle. The gryphon was mostly healed and could walk comfortably, but he had three long scars across his chest now where the feathers seemed to refuse to grow. Those will always remind him of how close he came to dying that night, Still, he seemed not very phased by the experience, except for the fact that the healers were keeping him grounded still. Unlike Gahntuar, who seemed to heal exceptionally fast, the gryphon was not yet strong enough to even attempt flying again.

" ... the added weight makes these uncomfortably tight!" Gahntuar was complaining, but before he could join in with the conversation about the saddle's performance, he noticed the stallion he had expected to see come walking up to him.

Adulf was a little bit behind him. Merec was a little surprised to see the green magus with the stallion. The wolf mostly preferred to stay with the healers even though he had no Mana reserves left. Apparently, he enjoyed learning about the non-magical tinctures and poultices they regularly worked with instead of keeping an eye on them as Felicity had practically ordered him to do.

"So, you found that second dragon then, I see?" the stallion stated rhetorically, looking down the street to where Lainah disappeared around a corner, seemingly taking the new draine to get something to eat.

"It appears so," Merec agreed, turning to the horse. Eric turned back to regard the human with a stern gaze.

"You remember ..." he started to say, but Merec cut him off immediately.

"Yes, I do," he sighed defeated. "We still need to help with the rebuilding, but I'll speak to the foreman to have the recruits be given off after lunch. Then you can have us for the rest of the day. How does that sound?"

"As you say, Roccan'hir!" the old dragonslayer replied crisply, giving the human a quick salute. Yet, though he tried to be formal, he couldn't help but let slip a pleased whinny. Merec grumbled at the title but did not argue against it as the stallion turned to walk away.

"...completely normal!" he suddenly heard Iago say. "All land-walkers are not used to the quick movements of strenuous flying at first and they tend to do that. The only advice I can give you would be to break him in."

Merec turned to quickly interfere with the discussion between the two tetrapods, but Adulf clasped him on the shoulder.

"Afternoon, Merec!" the wolf greeted him with a cheerful voice, seemingly unaware of what the dragon and gryphon were conspiring to do to the poor human. "I see you actually found a second dragon for your order."

"It is not my order!" Merec grumbled, glaring at the green magus as if a mere gaze could turn someone to stone.

"I beg to differ!" Adulf disagreed, completely unphased by the human's evil-eye. "You started something and now it is best to see it through."

"I never meant for things to develop like this!" the human complained, not wanting to concede the point just yet. Still, he had to cringe to himself as that lame excuse left his mouth.

"If that was a valid excuse, the world would be a very different place!" Adulf replied with a delighted laugh. But then he became serious again. "But true as that may be, events are usually thrust upon us and it is our job to make the most of it. Even if this order fails, a thousand years from now you will still be remembered as the first of the Lúgroccae. The question is how will that future generation look back at you. As someone who gave it his all, or someone who attempted to run away from it."

"I guess you are right!" Merec grumbled with a defeated sigh. The green magus was right: There was no avoiding it anymore. So he might as well start acting like it. Unconsciously, he even stood up a bit straighter as he decided to commit to a direction

For a moment he looked back at the two tetrapods. Their discussion had shifted back to the saddle and how Merec's added weight influenced how it sits on the dragon's back.

"Have you heard anything from Felicity yet?" Merec suddenly asked.

"No," Adulf admitted a little uncomfortably. "With all the Mana spent and no Aetherecista on the peninsula, our communication mirrors are worthless. So we have to rely on mundane means of communication, which is arduously slow. Last I heard she had delivered Segrien's Charm to the archmagus of her tower and was on her way back here. But then she was summoned by the Circle of Five to appear before them ... at the Aether Temple nonetheless." He suddenly grumbled annoyed as he rubbed his forearms as if to sooth away a sudden cramp. "How can you live without Mana like this?"

"What does it mean that she has to appear before the Circle of Five?" Merec asked, ignoring the comment of living without Mana. They had discussed it before and the wolf just found it difficult to have to rely on mundane things like any regular person. Mana, it turned out, was luckily not addictive as the wolf seemed to make some humans believe.

"I thought you knew!" Adulf replied a little caught off guard. "Yes, the term 'Circle of Five' usually refers to the actual five Towers of the Magi, but it is also used to refer to the eight representatives of each tower who sits on the united council of elders ... aaaand that is not what you asked, is it?"

"I meant what does it mean for us?" Merec clarified with a smirk.

"I don't really know," the wolf admitted, awkwardly pulling his ears flat at the misunderstanding. "This is very quick of them to react to anything, even considering it was Segrien's Charm she had gone to present in the first place. I'm afraid the only thing we can do is wait and see ... and hope for the best, I guess."

... to be continued