A Dream of Spring

[Kala Leukos]

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"The dragon seems to have made a compass of me," he said. "I know not how. If the Order had an expert on dragons, I imagine they would have sent them along. Then again, I do not know how the Order operates. I would like to follow this... magnetic north while it lasts and see if we can't locate the child in question without returning to Zaichaer first. We can always seek aid later. Perhaps they will be in a large enough settlement that there will be an Order or coven presence and we can seek help more locally.

"And then there is the matter of the child. I will have to defer to you and your knowledge of Zaichaeri law. The dragon didn't indicate what they wanted the child for. I would not personally want to feed a child to a monster, though perhaps that is not its design. Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?"

Kaus asked this of the captain in all earnestness.

Whatever his answer, the child would be their only bargaining chip.

Kaus took wing once more, wanting to feel as though he were moving through the air himself, following that inner urge. The airship could easily follow him. He was agile in the air, and fast enough, but no match for the airship for speed over long distances, and he wasn't trying to escape.

Given his head, Kaus would follow the guidance bequeathed by the dragon until he could triangulate a likely point. Then, he signaled to the airship, and dove. The captain might have preferred to send men down with him, and he certainly could. Kaus just didn't wait. They didn't have unlimited time.

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[Rune]

The Captain listened carefully, brow furrowed in concentration and the choices milling around behind it. After the calculations of duty and orders and the best course for his nation, he said,

"If you can currently lead directly to the one the dire beast seeks, and time is of the essence, I will put the helm under your direction."

He turned to his first officer but the men knew each other well enough that the look was all that was needed. The officer gave a firm nod and then peeled away to inform the helmsmen that they were to take their course instructions from their guest.

Once he was away the furrow on the Captain's brow expanded to a frown below it.

"The fate of the child will depend on their origin. It is not within the laws of the land to relinquish one of our own to outside forces against their will."

For all he knew the child would wish to go with the dragon and, if that were the case, he felt within his orders to allow it to be carried away without reaching higher than himself for legal prescient. If the child did not wish to go but was not of Zaichaeri origin, as he suspected might be the case, he had no jurisdiction to stop either Lord Leukos nor the dragon from doing as they wilt. If it turned out that the child was both Zaichaeri and unwilling...

Stadelmayer's shoulders set themselves to determination. His ship, his life and those of his men were committed to protecting Zaichaer and her citizens. Even one warranted the hazard of what a fight might cost. The world could no longer be allowed to believe that Zaichaer was incapable of defending even the least of its own. When Kaus took to the air the Captain watched him grimly. The man himself seemed both earnest and reasonable but his motivations were as murky as the dragon's to the Zaichaeri and his crew.

Sturmreiter turned to follow her unwitting namesake, dexterous in her own way but not nearly so as the Avialae, it took time to adjust her course but she was able to catch up without trouble. The aetheric compass in Kaus' chest led them toward one of the northern camps that had become a town and was now being built into a border fort in its own right. When it became clear that the fort was where they were headed messages were sent over the communication network that the new government had set up. From a moving ship, the range was limited but enough to give warning of their coming and send the codes that would allow them both entry into the fort's airspace and send a landing party without interference. The message was received and a terse response sent. The leadership on the ground might not like being given so little information but the codes were correct and there would be no interference.

The landing party was formed without fuss, made up of the same men who had taken Kaus down into the previous settlement. The reception was similar as well, though the ratio of soldiers was higher and there was no chance of anyone stepping up to make trouble as there might have been otherwise. The pull behind Kaus' breastbone, behind his eyes, led them through the streets of muddied sludge past makeshift houses and storefronts and bars. The layout was neat and orderly but the materials were all temporary. It might be a great stone fortress town someday, but it was currently a mass of hovels.

The aetherial direction eventually brought the group to one such 'building'. Dug half into the ground so any but a child would have to duck to enter, the doorway was protected only by a thin bit of cloth. Suddenly a being pushed their way out, staring back inside with no notion of what waited without, in their arms was clutched a bundle of poorly wrapped foodstuffs. Intent on obvious flight from what was just as obviously a theft the child, about twelve, turned just in time to run directly into Kaus' chest. To the Avialae's eyes, there was a glow about the waif, green and yellow and sickly as the feel of the dragon's aura had felt.

[Kala Leukos]

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As they were in accord, Kaus and the airship located the growing settlement with all due haste. He only made it so far before he was stopped, but thankfully, the captain sent backup and then he was allowed to follow the guidance of the fell dragon.

Approaching a dugout home, he thought he felt a thrill of something like excitement, or perhaps it was his bile rising. There seemed to be a similar sort of aura as emanated from the dragon, although this was like a drop in the water compared to a raging river. Eyes down as he gathered himself, he noticed someone's attempt at stability: a flagstone upon which the wooden door frame attempted to assert order on the nature. It was cracked, however, and looked sharp, likely to tear at a person's feet.

As he took a steadying breath against the nausea and dread, he reached out with his mind and his aether and fused the two pieces of flagstone together, smoothing away the sharp edges. These people had plenty of challenges out here; a little help might go a long way.

It was as he was looking up that the child emerged, barreling straight into him. He staggered back a bit with a "whoa!" But he was strong and tall, at least compared to a human, and so he caught them.

"Pardon," he said and, once certain they wouldn't fall over, he leg to and stepped back. Kaus knew his wings would earn him immediate distrust. Thankfully, he had airmen at his back and while he personally thought their military a bit totalitarian, the people seemed to take comfort in their presence.

"I am Kaus Leukos. Were you aware there is a dragon looking for you?"

[Rune]

If his small use of magic to aid the growing town, putting a good flagstone under the feet of people who had every reason to be his enemies, was noticed by the soldiers they didn't say anything to him about it. To be fair, none of them had said anything to him since he'd arrived on the Sturmreiter, but their eyes seemed keenly aware of both the Lord and everything in his vicinity. A fact that was born out when the adolescent that had run into him tried to bolt without even looking up and was caught by the scruff of the shirt by one of them. The kid was shoved, not hard, back to standing in front of Kaus again as the soldiers closed ranks in a way that informed anyone watching that this was none of their affairs.

When it became apparent that there was no quick way out of the situation the glowing child cast a sullen look up at Kaus and held their ground.

"Ain't." Was all the said, making this single slung together word somehow express both that they were unaware of the fact that a dragon was looking for them and also that such a thing was true in the first place, and then, after a beat, " W'cho want?"

Unexpectedly a bundle of rags that had been leaning against the hovel, just as muddle and threadbare as everything else in the area unfolded itself into the shape of a person. A man, bearded, neither old nor young and thin enough that he might have been mistaken for emaciated but on closer inspection was simply made that way, resolved out of the pile. He came to his feet, not quickly like an attack, but smoothly with intention.

"Hello there." His voice was calm and friendly, not quite fatherly but leaning that way, and his arm came out, still covered in what could now be seen as a patched rag garment, "What seems to be the trouble?"

The newcomer's hand came down to rest on the child's shoulder and the kid flicked a glance up at him, stubborn look not faltering but did not shrug him off.

[Kala Leukos]

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Kaus observed, then took a steadying breath. If he hadn't his wings, but instead an airman's uniform, he might have seemed a paragon of young Zaichaeri masculinity. Alas, he wore layered robes in the Kalzasern style, bound and tied, though, so as not to flap overmuch in flight. And alas, his wings weren't going anywhere.

"I am under a sort of geas to subdue a dragon that has been moving through Zaichaer for some time now. I am collaborating with the fine airmen of the Sturmreiter to do so with the blessing of First Minister Dornkirk. We tracked down the dragon. It said it sought a particular youth, and put it into my mind to find that youth. Its guidance led me here, to you.

"I do not know why it seeks you, and I will not force you to meet it, but I am here to ask for you to come with me in the hopes that a diplomatic solution can be found. Zaichaer has seen too much upheaval in recent times."

He had left out details, but that was the long and the short of it. Kaus fell quiet, allowing the strange tale time to percolate through the child's mind. The airmen would corroborate his story in as much as they could, not having been in his dreams nor in the full presence of the hollow one. They could convey the child close enough that Kaus could make the necessary introductions.

"Eventually, it will come here. Its presence is... powerful. I do not know that it would harm anyone, but I cannot know. Will you come? I would give you as much time to consider as possible, but I do not know how much time we have."

He only felt the dragon vaguely now, eclipsed by this weaker but closer imitation of its aura, but he supposed a dragon, even a hollow one, could move quickly when need arose. And if it was having trouble tracking down this child, he didn't doubt it could track him down now.

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[Rune]

Confusion, intense and suffusing creased the youth's face as much as it filled their stance. Nothing of the intention to flee at the first afforded opportunity had gone from the skinny body, but a certain curious wariness had crept in around the edges.

Some of the words, spoken in a foreign accent and with the grace of a lord's training were obviously not understood, but the gist of what was being communicated seemed to make it through. The begger, for that was what the man that had somehow pushed his way into the circle of airmen without offsetting any of them, seemed to be, appeared to understand significantly more shrewdly. The pair looked at each other in a quick glance that seemed to convey unspoken words.

The child looked back to Kaus and said,

"Wha'chu give me, if I do?"

At the same time, the begger, whose beard was surprisingly well kempt and who, now that he was close, smelled of green growing things and the earth after the rain rather than body odor or gutter filth, said,

"What do you think this dragon plans to do with the child?"

The airmen gathered around eyed the two warily but didn't seem inclined to try to force the beggar to leave, or the child to go without some sort of order from the young lord. At least, not unless any of the three they now stood guard around did anything that went against the laws they had sworn to uphold.

[Kala Leukos]

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The young Synnekar lord looked from child to elder, curious but not questioning. Startled by the turn of negotiation, he glanced at the ranking airman before answering.

"I did not come prepared to negotiate payment. If you have requirements, let me know and I will see that they are met." To the elder, "I cannot say. I cannot imagine why a dragon would seek some particular child. While it is... dreadful... I do not think it evil." To the child, "If we negotiate such that you decide to come, and if it becomes clear the dragon means you harm, I will stand between you. I might triumph. I am no mean elementalist nor warrior. My geas bids me subdue it, one way or another. At the very least, I could slow it down while you escape to safety and payment. But even if you decide not to come, you must flee, for it will surely seek you here. I can feel it coming, inexorable as death, but not so comforting. Whether or not it means you harm, should it come here, people will suffer for its presence."

Kaus hadn't been knighted. Rather than seeking his own career, he had chosen to stand by his sister, and did not see it as a true sacrifice for she was half of himself. Knight or no, he had been raised with a certain sort of honor. It was not strict in some ways; he had been encouraged to find his own truth. In other ways, it was deadly strict; whatever he decided was right, he was expected to seek it with all his might.

He sniffed. Not sure why, he turned back to the elder. "What do you think the dragon wants with the child? It has been in Zaichaer for some time now, searching."

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[Rune]

The young captain of the airmen grimaced but replied to the implied need for payment with,

"A true citizen does not require a reward for doing their duty. But if this urchin does not see ensuring the safety of their nation as payment enough, the government is prepared to supply whatever is required."

The urchin's eyes lit up with the shrewd sort of intelligence that can be found in any impoverished child who survives for long on their own. The urge to accept this offer showed in the immediate change in body posture from ready to flee to ready to leap. Only the hand on their shoulder seemed to lend a modicum of hesitation.

The calm, storm-colored eyes of the bearded adult met the sickly green child's set for a long moment before he gave a nod that was half shrug, as if to say 'its your choice'. The man turned the same gaze back on Kaus when he was questioned, accompanied by a mild amusement that did not mock.

"The doings of dragons are, I suspect, beyond my ken." The accent was Zaichaeri, but sounded more like that used by the Dornkirks' and those of similar rank than anything Kaus had heard in the villages. There was a soothing quality to it, a resonance that, while not magical in nature, effected even the soldiers. The stances of the airmen in the tight circle grew more relaxed without seeming to lose their intent.

" 'Dream of a dragon, sometimes." The child chimed in, as though attempting to explain their process in making a choice. "Is it, like, all white, but also green like?" The tone implied that the 'green' wasn't a physical description.

When affirmation of this description was given it seemed to make up the urchin's mind, for they gave a distinct nod, spat on their hand and held it out, to the airman captain first, and then to Kaus. The airman gave a disgusted look and sighed but grasped the multiply-filthy hand briefly before ordering his men to escort the group back to the ship.

[Kala Leukos]

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Kaus didn't say anything else regarding payment. From what he understood, the foodstuffs and medicines Kala had sent via Blue Star had been continually given out to the people and, as Zaichaer recovered, good were spread out to the wider territories it claimed. But here, he could see that while the government was helping them survive, they weren't all yet thriving. He could not blame the child for bargaining; Kaus had rarely gone a day without a full belly himself. It was not for him to cast judgment.

But as the captain, a Zaichaeri, backed him up, it seemed the deal was struck. He himself was paying more attention to the strangely out of place man trying to advise caution to the kid. Kaus nodded with due respect to him, and when the kid offered his hand, Kaus spit in his own and clasped his hand without any show of disgust.

Kaus had been to the Atraxian Expanse, met desert nomads for whom the sharing of their body's water was considered holy. If he got sick, well, his sister was a healer. In any case, should he be forced to do battle with the hollow dragon, a minor infection might be the least of his worries. White, but vaguely green. Yes, there was an unhealthy feel to the dragon's aura that might be described as a nauseating green; Kala often spoke of auras and aetheric patterns in metaphors, so he was used to it.

Acting on sudden intuition, he looked at the man once more.

"Would you like to join us, sir, to advocate for the child?"

Whatever the decisions made, Kaus would accompany the child to the ship, not flying ahead but rather getting to know the child he was putting in danger, even with their consent.

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[Rune]

When Kaus spit and shook without hesitation the child flashed a grin, revealing surprisingly straight, white teeth. In the circumstances, surrounded by mud and privation, the expression was unnerving, dipping into the uncanny places that any sentient mind knew on an instinctive level to be wary of. There was something too, as the youngling raised their eyes to meet Kaus', however briefly, that flashed a warning. Were the pupils not quite round, or was it a trick of the gloom?

When Kaus offered to take the self-appointed advocate along the man also met the Avialae's eyes, more steadily than the one under his protection. After this searching exchange he gave a humming sort of grunt that implied acceptance as well as gratitude and nodded.

The choices having been made, the group of soldiers, still surrounding the group of three, turned as one and began to make their way back towards the ship. As they walked the kid's head swiveled this way and that, seeming to be garnering information on the soldiers, on Kaus, and, when they grew closer, on the Sturmreiter. The vagabond drew a hunk of bread from under his rag wrappings and handed it to the child who took is as though by route. Another piece was withdrawn for himself and the two munched as they walked. This generosity might have been intended to ensure the child was fed and capable for whatever was coming, or it might have been a way to keep them quiet during the walk.

Whatever the case, there was not much conversation between the hovel and the small craft that would take the group back up to the larger ship. As they were ascending, however, while the soldiers seemed to be distracted, the kid leaned closer to Kaus and asked,

"Can you really fly?" Giving a slight poke to his feathered wings. Then, wistfully, "Used to think I could fly..."