A Dream of Spring

[Kala Leukos]

.

If the man and the child seemed odd, it only stood to reason. Any person desired by a greatwyrm was going to be different somehow, and it made sense that strange, unusual people would be drawn to them. He didn't have his sister's insight nor her sembling, but he was alert.

"I can," he affirmed gravely, but it cracked into a genuine smile. He loved to fly more than almost anything.

"You could too," he opined. "It wouldn't be quite the same, but there are magi who learn to shift their shapes. You would have to learn from the birds or from the bats or from the dragons, give yourself not only wings, but the musculature and bone structure to support flight. People do it, the ones who really want it." He considered for a moment. "If the dragon wants something from you, perhaps you can bargain for the means to fly. Your friend seems almost as helpful in that regard as a solicitor."

Kaus didn't mind staying with the civilians; he was just planning to stay out of the airmen's way in any case. He winced as they turned toward where he knew the dragon was. Now he felt the child and the dragon, and a part of him thought he felt the man, as well. Surely that was just a trick of the thing, though.

"How shall I call you?" he asked, eyes flicking up to the man to take him in as well.

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[Rune]

The wind was chill but the child seemed hardly to notice as they boarded the larger craft and turned back toward the ill-omen that lay, barely slumbering, beneath the ice covered ground. Now that they were moving there was an eagerness, or at least a restlessness to them. They moved to the bow of the ship, facing into the wind, their clothing, which had appeared as tatted as any urchin's showed its sturdy construction and material.

The tramp came to stand wherever Kaus was, both of them watching the youth, and it became obvious to anyone who cared to noticed that his clothing concealed the same sturdy nature. Viewing them together, one might imagine they were crafted by the same hand.

When Kaus broke the tense quiet that hovered over the ship the man answered him, his voice not comfortable but lacking the terror that gripped the airmen.

"I am called Gruntraum." He left this in the air for long enough that it seemed like the end of what he would say concerning himself, but, eventually, he added, "Of the Kindred."

His voice was low enough that it would not carry further than the pair of them without having to lean in or whisper.

The wind seemed to fight their flight, but for all that, the captain and sailors seemed determined to get to their destination, and away again, in as little time as possible. So it was that they returned, in all haste, even as the faces on deck grew ever grimmer. The captain had marked where the border into the sickening field grew unbearable for normal men and stopped them before they crossed. Approaching Kaus, Stadelmayer did not speak, his mouth a thin line of duty and displeasure. The latter was not directed at the Lord currently, for there were worse things than a cooperative pidge to recon with that day. The captain waited to see what was to be done now, his eyes flickering to the child, to Kaus and, once, to the Kindred.

[Kala Leukos]

.

"Ah."

Kaus tapped the side of his nose. If Gruntraum was Kindred like Torin's friend Sivan, he may or may not be licensed. The Avialae lordling was cooperating with the ZADC in order to fulfill this quest born of dreams, but that didn't mean he had to turn in witches for interrogation or worse.

When the airship halted and Stadelmayer approached, Kaus knew it was time. And in the interest of time, he hurried things along. He took the child's hand, as well as the Kindred's, and then he pushed them aloft with his mastery of Kinetics and they flew without the use of his wings to meet the dragon. Let the doughty soldiers remain beyond the effects of the dragon's aura.

Things had gone well, he thought, later back aboard the ship. He was leaning over the taffrail, eying the spot where he had landed and where they had left the child to commune with the Hollow One. So far, there had been no violence. All the same, Kaus remained perturbed. He awaited a sign from the dragon that all was well or that he could return.

Or Guntraum might saunter over and tell him with his mysterious ways that the child had been devoured or otherwise co-opted, making Kaus complicit in the abuse of a child. He didn't suppose the powers that be in Zaichaer would mind if the rest of the citizenry was left alone, though Stefan Dornkirk didn't seem like a bad man. Back when Kala had first met him, Kaus had wondered if she would attempt the difficult courting of a Zaichaeri. Few intrigued her and he was one of them. And fewer still were those whose presence caused a spark of something akin to alchemy...

He sighed, his Air joining the winds even sedate as they were under the dampening field of the airship.

It had seemed like a hero's quest. Now he wondered if he was hero or villain.

.

[Rune]

The tramp and the child had accepted Kaus' aetheric assistance, even as the airmen had looked on. Most of the service men's eyes held only contempt for the blatant use of magic, but there were a few that held something more akin to jealousy. Perhaps the did not want the strings of a Rune seared into their soul, but to be able to fly themselves, that was something a man who spent his career in the air might envy.

Upon landing, a small opening appeared in the earth. The child felt a tugging desire to enter, and did, the Avialae felt the rumble of an acknowledgement that remained wary, if the Kindred felt anything, it was between himself and the hollow-one.

There was a wait, not long, but tense enough to feel long, particularly when surrounded by the aura of the dragon. Perhaps five minutes, or a few more after the child had scrambled, oddly eager, into the crevasse, the voice of the ancient wyrm came again into Kaus' mind.

You have brought the one I sought. Our compact is fulfilled. We will depart.

Nothing more was heard, from either dragon or foundling. After a moment the hollow aura began to recede, not quickly, but the weight of it could be felt to lessen.

The human man made a sound in his throat, a humming that accepted but was not fully pleased by events, saddened. Turning to Kaus, Gruntraum sighed but then put out his hand to grasp.

"You have done a good thing for Zaichaer, but I do not know if it was a kind thing, from either of us. Nature is not always kind, nor is kindness always good."

The second sentence sounded a little formulaic, as if the man used it sometimes to remind himself of the truth. Looking up into Kaus' face, for Gruntraum was significantly the shorter of the two, he took a deep breath and then let it out as though clearing himself of other thoughts and returning fully to the moment at hand.

"We did not know that it would be you that came for the child, but I am glad that it was. I, we, the Kindred, have a message, for your twin. Long ago we followed what she now is and we would meet with her, if she is willing, to see if those bonds still hold. We invite her to our Grove, at any time, she may come. You may come too if you wish, but it is an experience that many find... uncomfortable."

A smile was offered that was encouraging generally but there was a worried warning in it as well.

"Will you take our message to Unity?"

[Kala Leukos]

.

It felt anticlimactic somehow.

The dragon had its child, and the Kindred who had advocated for them seemed as content as possible, all things considered. Whether he was a hero or not, he still didn't know. The dragon wasn't evil, nor was it truly chaotic. The terms applied to celestial and infernal, Dragon God and Mistlord, seemed reductive somehow, and he supposed he was growing into true adulthood if he was starting to see how gray the world actually was.

His lips compressed into a line, but he nodded to Gruntraum and shook his hand.

"Aedrin, red of tooth and claw," he murmured. Nature seemed to encompass order and chaos, but was amoral by most standards.

Kaus wanted to ask whether they followed Nazam the Star Lord, whose mantle had come upon Kala later. Unity was new, a gift and a burden from Mother Naori. Sivan hadn't said much about the Kindred, and Kala hadn't asked. He kept her divinity a secret and she didn't have the wherewithal to do more than assist Zaichaer with humanitarian aid and its leader with an open mind and a willing ear.

His mouth relaxed from its tension, and he nodded.

"I will bear your message to Her," he said solemnly. To Unity.

But first, he persuaded Stadelmayer to ferry Gruntraum whither he would go, and only then did they seek the capital. Kaus spent the remainder of his trip quietly on his best behavior, standing at the prow, keeping his magic and his self to himself. The airmen had supported him, and he had no wish to make them more uncomfortable.

Did I do well, Stormlord? he asked, but Mythori was dead.

But then who had come to him in his dreams and set his feet upon this path?

fin.

.

[Rune]

R E V I E W

Points:
Kala: 30
Stefan: 15

Injuries/Ailments: None

Loot:
- 1 questionable child
-1 Hollow Dragon
+ 1 dream quest accomplished
+ 1 trade agreement between the government of Zaichaer and Starfall

Notes: Thank you for helping me tie off this loose plot end. I hope the ones it opened are fun for you later!

Mod XP: Rune: 26