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Chapter 2: The Visit

Travel to the forest of despair right now? So quick? The idea seemed preposterous, vast amounts of miles lay between here and there. Yet the teal dragoness seemed unconcerned with that excuse. She merely hummed away with a slight swish in her tail, leading him along as if on a string. What if she'd stop them as she flew? How did she expect to get there, did she have a genie? Mirror she could step through? His mind raced with each crazy possibility that he hadn't noticed she'd brought him back to her home. He snapped out of his jumbled brain as their talons touched down upon the frost tinted grass of the courtyard.

"Why are he here?" He spoke without thinking, scanning the dusting of snow for any semblance of an answer.

"So, you do speak." She chuckled, prancing around the leafless tree at the center of the courtyard. "I'd thought a remoraz caught your tongue." She reared up upon the old bark, her claws starting to dig ragged lines. "Or that the thought of seeing your mother drove you into shock. Mental I know, but not out of the realm of possibility knowing that bundle of grump you call a mother."

"Of course I can speak!" He blinked, pinning his wings and trying to regain some semblance of his pride. He snorted, flicking away his snout. "You have my mind doing spirals and flips. It's a wonder I can utter a single world. While you on the other paw have failed to explain how we are to arrive at her forest."

"You know." She tapped at the bark with a nimble claw, snaking her eye inches from the sullied mark. "Says a lot about her parenting if you're that terrified of seeing her. If I had her as a mother, I don't know what I'd even." Planting herself on her hinds the dragoness began tilting her head. "Probably fly to the ends of the earth. _Seems_like a normal response. What do you think?" Her head curled back, eyes traveling all along his scales. "Crazy or devilishly smart?"

He caught only half of that, trying to play it off smoothly. "Yet you've failed to tell me how. If its anything to do with the fairy realm you can count me out." He rubbed his onyx chest as phantom pain flickered through it. "I've had enough of _that_place to last me two lifetimes."

The dragoness threw back her head in a dramatic fashion, laughing what seemed like a solid minute. "Go there? I know we plucked you from the place, but I don't look that mad to go back."

"Well..."

She dismissed him with but a wave of her paw. "I can assure you we won't be using such crude methods to get us there" She hummed and spread her wings, "I can bridge two trees together with a tether, allowing us to slip between them. I just must have been_to the target tree. Lucky for us, I _have been to your mother's forest a multitude of times. Course I don't recall which one we'll be coming out of."

Teleporting through trees? His frills were flared outward,"How long could you do this for?"

"I don't know, years?" She stared up to the clouds. "Ages? Not sure. How do you think we got to your friends the night the lich attacked? We have a whole network of the trees through the city, they're not just for show you know. But to answer your question, yes. Long ago." The teal sighed, describing the disagreement that Emerald Lady and she had had. "And it ended with claws and teeth coming out. Not to mention her little trick where she almost killed me. So, you know, let's not do _that_again anytime soon." She furrowed her brow, staring at the bark as she growled. "Quite the bitch she can be at times."

Then she grew silent. He could see the innerworkings of her thoughts, no doubt weighing her decision to help him. With a half dozen growls she final came to a stop, letting out a harsh snort and shaking her horned head. "I'll still take you. This vision sounds serious, and I can't let a little thing like killing each other get in the way. Plus, on the upside, if I die here it will throw a large paw into your vision wont it." Her coming smile was not the least bit reassuring. "Or it will be _going_along with it. Who knows?"

"Right." He sighed, not quite sure how to react. "So, you'll still help...Despite everything that happened?

Her frills rippled as she rolled her eyes. "What did I just say? Have you a listening problem in those ears?" The dragoness leaned in, tapping at his frills. "We need answers, she's your mom. Doubt she'll cause trouble with you around."

Well that was unexpected. Course she didn't know his mother. "Hope you're not counting on that. Mother always seems to be what's needed most in any moment. Even to my detriment."

"If she wants her son back in a timely fashion she'll behave." She growled.

His brow rose. His frills trembled as she held sharpened claws to his nose. The usual warmth behind her lavender pools was hardened like a blade. For a brief moment he'd have believed she'd killed plenty of dragons in her day. It all crumbled away as her tensed muscles slacked, and again warmth came flooding back.

"Was that rather intimidating?" She laughed, "You look positively terrified."

With a gulp he nodded. "So, in this scenario of yours...I'm the hostage."

"Precisely!" Fremra tapped the bark with a talon and hissing in draconic. "Now don't look directly at it. You might go blind, and that's a whole other problem for me to solve."

With a final pat of her paw, lights sprung in to fill the void. Thousands of minute fractures spread across the wooden field of bark, cracking open chasms of brilliant white. Like a river they spread downward, seduced by gravity's sirens call. As their luminescence consumed the bark it hummed to life, throbbing and pulsating like a heartbeat. Fremra held her gaze, snarling her final command in her arcane tongue. The light came rushing back, forming a solitary oval. Its surface sparkled and trembled like a disturbed pool, ripples spreading to every edge from Fremra's hovering paw.

Steam slowly billowed from it, wafting on the air like little snakes. They begged and pleaded to the green dragon, whispering him to approach. His jaw frozen open, having only caught hints and glimpses of the entire thing. Yet despite his knowledge of the arcane, it simply looked astonishing. If he gazed long enough, he could see tiny flickers of every color imaginable. How long had it taken for her to learn such a spell? It would make travel hardly an effort of all!

"Something special isn't it?" She peered in, searching his unmoving eyes. Her neck pulled back into an S, followed by a heavy sigh, "Did you go blind? I said not to look at it. What does that make, like six? Now I have to go ready a-"

"Not blind." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes with a paw.

"Oh good." Her wing wrapped around him, guiding his paws to the calming surface. "Then the literal portal to adventure calls to us. Begs to be used. Even if we are to see the Emerald Lady, we must make haste. It doesn't stay open for long." Without warning she gathered all her strength, and shoved Cordenth through the portal.

Paws flew out immediately to save him but the tree nor shining surface caught him. He instead slipped through without a hint of resistance. Ripples of warmth tickled his scales, reminding him of warmer months spent lazing about the sun's embrace. With a thump he collapsed into a pile of scales and teeth to a vine consumed floor, the darkened shadows brushed away with the soft glow of the blue algae that lined the walls. He was home.

Or at least his mother's lair_of all things. He picked himself up, amazed that Fremra _hadn't been lying to him. Course how did she get into the fortress? Or had mother built it _around_the tree they came out of? He blinked warily, scanning for any sign of his mother's angry scowl.

The air smelled heavily of her, intertwined with an earth one. Did she have a guest? Mother didn't generally have those, or if they did they were accompanied by numerous guards. This one seemed to be on their own. Who could she be meeting? The silence swirled around him, ever increasing the beating of his heart. He searched the vine pedestals that lined the vast hallway, each one adorned with treasures and art that any mortal would kill for. Even now something deep within his blood called to free his mother of them. After all, they'd look much nicer adorning _his_treasures.

"Oh look at that." Fremra casually trotted from the portal behind him, her snout wrinkled as it closed behind her with a gentle pop. What lay beneath was the thick, moss eaten trunk of a tree with yellow flowers the size of a man's head. "Treasures and wonders to fuel that draconic pride. How could Croesus even stand her at times? How has he been? Is he still around? You know, white gryphon with a black beak, tiger tail. It's been far too long since we spoke. Her snout came to prod at his scales. "How old are you again?"

He gently battered away her snout, righting himself to all fours."You...You knew my father?"

Her eyes shone like the sun. "Ooooo." Her frills twitched excitedly, "He's your father is he? And here I thought Emerald Lady was against the lesser races." Fremra's paws kneaded the floor as her tail swooped happily behind her. "How delightfully scandalous." She was on him in a second, scanning over every trace of his scales. She couldn't sit still, poking and prodding with her claws. Every description she muttered was laced with a softened giggle. "You even got his eyes!"

"Can we get back to the searching of the palace bit?" He sniffed, gesturing her along. Anything to get back to task and away from the idea of his mother mating.

"Well alright, but I'll just ask him to spill the details when we meet."

And just like that he was bombarded with the larger nesses laughter as they casually strolled within the forest palace. No matter the circumstance she found herself chuckling under her breath, recounting countless times that she should have known. Like the way his mother always kept him close by, or gave him the eyes of a lover. It made any attempt at stealth completely pointless, thankfully they weren't sneaking around like he had last time with Lyndis.

He navigated to numerous different rooms of his youth, his head peering down the long corridors. Thoughts abounded of all the time he spent scampering down them as his youth, learning to fly and summoning magic. It all seemed to long ago now, and these once welcoming halls now nothing more than an old stranger. Any radiance they once possessed had dulled and tarnished, never again to reach their brilliance. He only hoped that his mother was happy to see them, and wouldn't cast them out for trespassing on her realm. Surely that was only for people not of her family? He peered back to Fremra, hoping his protection extended to his guest.

Soon enough when they approached her "throne" room, two voices rose to reverberate across the hall. One clearly his mother, the other a feminine sounding growl he didn't know. His mother had a happy tone about her, far more than she usually did. There was some mention of the politics across the land, something about the Lumarian king dying and the undead roaming Drenedar.

"And you're certain that your agents can secure the shard before our deluded sister and brother? It ruffles my feathers to be sitting here on our paws, watching as the entire game goes up on a puff of smoke. All because some of us gave into the impatience of youth."

Siblings? Cordenth eyed the coming door of vines with a tilted snout. Mother didn't usually speak of her past in any descriptive fashion. Just tiny bits every now and then, like stories about how she'd met their father.

Neglecting to mention he was a gryphon.

His paws trembled at the thought of_more_ dragons just like her. Plotting and scheming to no end, all playing this game with one another. Where the people like his friends were merely pieces on an invisible chessboard, silently or violently removed by the players.

"Yes. The red dragon and his paladin cohort will be up to the task. They have assembled quite the ensemble of mortal skill. Honestly I'm almost insulted you'd question my clarity on the subject."

The other voice merely snorted. "Tis my job to question and inquire. Those that do not are slain and cast away. The news of this paladin is most interesting. How did you get one of _Bahamut_of all things to work for you?"

"I have my ways." Emerald Lady rumbled, clearly a smile on her snout.

"No doubt." The other voice snapped, "Need I remind you that your future sight did little to predict the death of Lumara's king? Or tell us about our sister and brother's betrayal? Even now they lay waste to the southern kingdom of Drenedar, unopposed. Father would be ashamed."

"Untrue." The lady's tone hardened. "He'd have praised them for the initiative, it was his way for the strongest to survive. Sometimes that was the cleverest of us all." The coming growl drove dread straight into Cordenth's heart. "As for the paladin, his compassion is predictable. The dragon he's with, wants to be a hero. Both tools that can be discarded once their use has been fulfilled."

Arcturus? Up went his wing, stalling Fremra in place. He knew his mother had her own plots, but was she really flaunting about getting rid of both? Suddenly the whole surprise visit wasn't panning out the way they'd hoped. He had to steady his breaths, simmer the rising anger in his blood. All that time with them in the forest had amounted to nothing. Mother was just as mischievous as ever. It simply couldn't be true.

"Here I thought she changed." Fremra hissed his own thoughts, "Yet her cruelty still rots her heart to this day."

"It's a plot. It has to be." He replied, "She wouldn't be so forthcoming with her plans. Even to a so-called sibling."

Fremra sighed, glancing back where they came. Her eyes were a sea of concern and worry, no doubt pondering if they should turn back. "We have come this far to seek her council. Just be warry of her plots. Use her as she would use others, get what we want out of her."

"A tool to be used."

"Precisely." She chuckled grimly, "I can see how you two are related."

He flicked away darkened thoughts, telling himself that would never happen. He hesitated at the door, heart racing in his chest. They could turn back now, not even give his mother a chance to pull one of her tricks. Yet thoughts drifted back to his troubling dream, his eyes a golden glow. He had to know, what to do. To somehow prevent whatever this was.

With a deep breath his gathered his courage and cracked open the door, and instantly getting bombarded by the thick aroma of lavender and incents.

Laid before them was a vast room of natural beauty, lavished with flowers of nearly every color along the vine laden walls. Pillars of thick bark sprouted from the floor to the ceiling far above. Their surfaces were engraved with runes, softly pulsating like a multitude of hearts. Along the walls were lanterns filled with luminescent algae, that painted the room and the scattered treasures in a golden glow. Breaking apart the piles of coins, lavish artwork and priceless artifacts was a crimson river of silk, threaded with a golden shore. Lengthened candles of solid gold rose up, leading the way to the forest's grand ruler.

Atop the massive throne of blackened steel wood, was the Emerald Lady in all her terrible glory. Like armor her viridian scales wove around her, broken only by the golden sea of her segmented chest. She reclined into the wood, letting every bit conform to her flowing form. Even her lime green wings had a place to rest without causing irritation.

Sitting before the towering dragoness was one who was just as large. Golden scales sparkling like treasure in the light. Pristine, feathery white wings lined her back, pinned softly without care. She was chatting away with joy in her voice, twin golden whiskers wiggling away like little serpents. She curled around, cerulean eyes like a calm sea quickly scanning all along his form.

His mother snapped to him, her frills flaring angrily outward. The expression on her snout was as clear as a robin's song. What are you doing here?

"Who is this delightful male?" The golden dragoness cooed, tossing her black horned head. She rose up, easily dwarfing him, a pleased swish about her lengthy tail. She clicked her tongue, scanning every inch of him like a prized hog. "He's positively handsome."

"That so happens to be my son Cordenth." Emerald Lady was quick to answer, narrowed eyes instantly staring daggers to his teal guest. "And an interloper I thought knew better than to return."

The golden dragoness gasped, flaring out her wings in mock alarm. "Here I thought your forest was completely secure! Oh Ossai, it appears as though you're slipping." She smirked devilishly, rumbling in the depths of her throat. "Favored daughter indeed."

"To be fair to the old cow." Fremra lashed her tail with an amused smirk. "When it came to predict me, she was rather atrocious."

He winced as sparks seemed to fly from the two dragonesses, the golden one merely chuckling in amusement. When his mother's eyes found him again he seemed to shrink, his voice almost lost within his throat. "What surprise seeing you again mother.Would you believe I didn't know I'd be seeing you today?"

"But welcome all the same!" The golden dragoness strolled over, a happy swish in her crimson frilled tail. Clicking her tongue she rumbled and purred, her lustful eyes searching him from paw to paw. "Quite the handsome beast you've come to be. Reminds me of father dearest." She gave him a frown, squeezing at his cheeks with a paw. "Ever the shame you didn't get his golden scales though. Would have driven home that divine right to rule. Suppose you could always change it with a spell."

He pulled back, batting away her larger paw. He could tell she was merely letting him do so. "Whom by chance, are you?"

Her chuckle was like a rolling stone, she flashed him her pristine fangs. "How utterly rude of me. Forget you havn't seen tail of me since you were ever so small." She puffed up her chest, rolling her paw till it was pressed to her under blood red underscales. "I am Leninth, one of the emperor's children. Effective leader of Lumara." She curled around him, clearly loving the sound of her own voice. Cruelty glossed over her blue slits. "They used to have a king you know." The dragoness eyes bounced with laughter. "How we could pull his strings, the best puppet we could have asked for." She turned with a mournful sigh, long fully staring at the walls. "Shame it came so late. Then we could have saved brother dearest." She returned with hungry eyes, "Though don't think about that darling."

His blood froze as he caught the lust in those eyes clear as day. He could practically smell her on the air, how it sent a delightful shiver down his spine. He kept himself in check with a heavy snort and pulling away. This was one of mother's friends, little good could come of it. Thankfully when she tried to return, Fremra had slid between the pair with a protective growl.

"And this one here?" Leninth smirked and searched Fremra up and down. "This your mate? Cause honestly I get the appeal, very pretty of a thing."

"No." He hissed back, years of hatred for Lumara bubbling to the surface. The place he'd stared at since he was small, told stories of their cruelty to his kind. Dragon hunters large and small lurked in vast amounts within their land, rubbing vicious blades and talons. "So, you're the one I should have words with." He almost pushed Fremra aside as his blood burned. "How I loath that city and everything it stands for."

"No doubt young one. The look of it can be quite dreadfully woeful. But you know how mortals can be, change one little thing and they lose their minds."

"Not remotely what I meant." He fired back, "If you control them, why have you not changed their policy on dragons? My friends' mother was killed on your watch! Turned into a wretched abomination of metal and teeth! What of that?"

"Terrible tragedy that was." The golden ness sighed, drooping her head. "Was done before we even got a paw in the castle. If we had, you have my word we'd have stopped that dreadful_night." Her coming grin was the least bit encouraging. If anything, it looked like a cat playing with it's meal. "Lucky you the man who gave the order was slain. Hopefully his daughter was as well. I _worry when she returns, they'll slip back into their troublesome ways."

"Perhaps she could change?" Fremra shrugged, instantly earning the golden dragoness' full attention.

"Oooo." The golden dragoness started to slink around them, "Do you possibly know of this woman's whereabouts? Information out of Drenedar now adays is quite sparse. Last we heard she was heading to Struport. Does the princess live?" Her eyes seemed to gleam with malicious intent, no doubt death awaiting the Lumarian princess' return.

He didn't dare mention her whereabouts. Though anger dwelled within him for her disregard for Veledar's life, she didn't deserve that. Not when men like Arcturus could be changed for the better, led into the light. In time she would deserve the same.

"Not at all." Fremra chuckled with her singsong voice, "Though I seem to have a greater amount of optimism than you."

She froze like a statue, the only movement a tentative swish of her tail. The silence gripped the room as those penetrating eyes met his own, almost peering deep into his soul. Muscles tensed as her claws dug lines through the floor, her head tilting with a deep rumble.

"When you've lived as long as I have young one." Leninth gave Fremra a condescending smile. "You come to know they never really change." She brushed passed her, fixing Cordenth with her lustful glance.

"When this whole affair with our siblings is done Cordenth, you should really come visit me in the castle. I'm sure we can find a tight place to squeeze you in, hammer out an agreement between the forest and my city. You know, "She rumbled, "Create that peace and harmony your mother is always talking about."

His cheeks burned as color rushed to his frills. It was all he could do to snort and glance away as she strolled away with a seductive sway in her hips, making the lewder parts of her implication ever more obvious.

Emerald Lady glared lavender daggers. "Could you not try and seduce my son in my presence? He need not waste his divine seed on one such as you."

Leninth sighed, tossing a withering glance in his mother's direction. The air itself seemed to chill in it's passing. "You wound me deep Ossai. Every time you ruin my fun. For what gain_?_ First you won't let me play with your gryphon pet, and now this one? I thought we were keen on spreading father's blood?"

If looks could kill, Emerald Lady's would slay armies. "You have your place. See to it that you remain there." Emerald Lady's talons dragged lines through the floor, a snarl building across her snout. "You find yourself in my domain. Do as you wish in your home, but while here you will follow my rules."

Golden paws brought the dragoness around the room, grumbling and lashing her tail. "There you go being all rude once more. One wag of your jaw and the day is soured." Up went her neck, wings pinned to her back. She strut to the door with a heavy huff. "I do hope your agents can succeed, otherwise it will be me left to pick up _your_mess."

"Were you not the one to lose the hidden project? The one the humans constructed under your very snout?"

"That was none of your concern."

"How the scales shift little Leninth. Remember who father treasured over others."

"Yet there you were, bound like the_rest_ of us." Leninth snarled, "Best remember that."

Hidden project? Did she mean the uniter? Lyndis had spoke in length about it in the last month. Always that it was the suspected culprit to make her people surrender. He pushed past the golden dragoness, not glancing back as she suspiciously lifted her tail and making her invitation again to the castle.

"Just be sure to be wearing a human disguise. They're skittish around dragons just showing up."

He didn't answer and sat before his mother's expectant eye. They each looked to the other up and down, an air of uneasiness being exchanged between them. Somehow, he felt larger than last they spoke in person. Yet his mother still towered over him.

"What brings this visit?" His mother's head pulled back, an inquisitive growl about her. "Last I recalled you wanted to leave. Were ready to fight me on the subject. Now you return within the year?"

He didn't have time for games. She knew what scales to push, and he wasn't going to let her. He fixed her with a stare equally knowledgeable as her own. "Lets not play coy mother. We both know you spy and pry on our lives. I doubt this meeting eluded you to such a degree."

"You'd think that." She growled, the green dragoness' snout snapping to Fremra. The teal ness having taken a spot beside Cordenth with a happy, mocking humm. "This one always eluded me. One vexing fact to be sure."

"Nice to see you too Ossai. Been far too long since we last met." Fremra warbled. "Where is that wonderful Croesus of yours?"

"Around."

The air filled with low growls, muscles tensing ready to pounce. Frills fluttered hesitantly, each dragoness waiting for the other to make the first deadly move.

"Then tell me the reason for this journey so that you may leave. Unless you came to simply growl and bring up why I should kill the teal ness before me."

"I'm having strange visions." He blurted out, slightly unfolding his wings. He described how they started as mere dreams and he thought them so, but now he suspected they were something more. "Visions of the future."

His mother's fiery aura had all but subsided, instead replaced with an uneasy calm. If he wasn't certain, it was surprised he saw reflected in her eyes as her head dipped and a troubled sigh escaped her. "Then whet I've feared has started to grow. You have more of my blood in you than I'd have liked..." She waved Fremra off with a paw, calling out to one of her many servants. "Fremra, there are things I must discuss with my son in private. Find a way to entertain yourself in my home. The village will meet your every need."

With a gaze that could kill, Fremra stared daggers at the emerald lady. "Do I look like a thing to order around?"

Emerald Lady grinned, "And if I do?"

"Then it would be my cue to do some of that diplomacy bit." A snow white and black feathered gryphon emerged from one of the pillars. His onyx beak curled into a smile, ruffling his feathery wings. "You know, before you start the draconic tradition of ripping out your throats. Never quite understood it, but that's why you have me here right?" He bid Cordenth welcome, nuzzling up against the green dragon as he passed, insisting it was good to see him.

Cordenth couldn't help but agree. Unlike his mother, Croesus always seemed the more socially approachable.

Fremra agreed, giving Emerald Lady a dismissive snort. "That's acceptable. We have loads to talk about anyway." She padded over to the gryphon, snaking her snout down with a grin. "I've heard tale that you're a father now. May I offer my congratulations, even if they are quite late."

"Yup." The gryphon squawked, "Always have been!" His crown feathers rose with pride. "Good to be open about it now."

"Do you still make those delightful tarts that I liked? The ones with the apple filling mixed with cranberries?"

"Though you gave the chef quite the scare, we've had them ever since!" The gryphon's brows bounced as he led the larger ness down the hall. They shared a few more laughs as they bragged about the antics of their little ones.

Silence lingered for a few moments after their passing, even Emerald Lady not letting her gaze waver. "Oh, how I think I know things." She grumbled, flicking her tail. "He and I will be having a chat later. Now follow me, we have much to discuss." With a gesture of her neck, Ossai led Cordenth from the throne room to that of her more personal quarters. One that contained the all too familiar blackened cauldron that drove icy spikes through the dragon's blood.

The steel thing looked so innocent just sitting there on its stone pedestal, but what struck him with was not. Encompassing cold, whispers of power. For a brief moment he'd felt more powerful than any dragon had ever been. Like the cosmos above had torn asunder to lift him up into their bosom. Truthful he didn't recall exactly what he saw looking into it for his father, yet he could feel the siren like call to return. He shook free of the stupor that gripped him, following his mother to a bookcase that rotated out of the wall with but a push of a hidden lever on the floor.

Multitude of thick tomes covered every shelf of darkened mahogany. Pages upon pages of hidden knowledge his mother kept hidden away, reserved only for her dutiful eyes. Some were as thick as a human's skull, crafted for dragon eyes only. He remembered hearing of some that would burn the eyes of the reader, ensuring this fact be so.

"How long have you been getting these visions? Was it since you gleamed into the cauldron?" She plucked tomes off the shelves, flicking through the aged vellum.

He nodded and carefully explained what he could, making sure to not leave out any of the details. The dreams, how long, and adding they started since his trip to the deep fae. He shivered as he recalled the golden wraith like creatures, whose touch drained and withered his spirit to an almost shriveled husk. "Speaking of which." He rose up more confidently, "Where is my brother? You said he was okay but..."

She didn't even turn to face him, her tone as hard as ever. "He's fine. In good claws with Infinity. They find themselves in Rothdell, chasing after a new quest of their own. They know you're alive."

"And you didn't tell me?" Already his distain for her was growing further. She could have shared, spared him endless amounts of tormenting worry.

"I was...Busy with other matters. I already informed you they were alive." She plucked a book covered in thick, crimson leather. Runes were painstakingly carved into its surface in draconic words. He quickly spied arcane might, and sight. The last he was certain said emperor.

"Now." She sat upon her hinds, summoning a pillar of molded stone with but a formation of the draconic rune for earth in the air. She flopped the book down, flipping it open to a page as if guided by a ghostly hand. "If we're going to get anywhere, were going to need to focus your mind. You must get a paw on these visions of yours. Right now, you're but a novice peering to the horizon. Let this be the spyglass to illuminate your curiosity."

Together his brow stitched as he sat opposite her when she gestured with a wing talon. "You want to peer into-."

"Yes." She sighed, "You're going to show me what you saw."

The thought troubled him. His friends had been absent. Were they dead? Or was that a future where they did nothing? He asked as much.

The green dragoness summoned various glass vials with a multitude of herbs and reagents, causing them to orbit around them. "Lets get focused on the fate of your friends. Since that seems to be the origin of your concern." She practically hissed the words, "We'll figure out the when, and _why_this calamity happens."

He nodded, observing as the glasses all shattered, raining shards of glass upon the floor. They began to melt and shift, pressing into one another to form a collected mass. They slithered around, bubbling and shifting, weaving a circle around the pair. With a flick of her tail and growl, the mass creepered towards them ever so slightly, forming tiny runes in a language he didn't understand.

"This will let us safely peer into your mind." She met him with a stern gaze that left no room for softness. "So that the eyes of the emperor can't find you."

"The one from our childhood?" His frills fluttered softly, long had it been since she'd shared those nest time stories. Of the powerful descendant of Bahamut who turned away from his mother's radiance. Used what powers he was gifted to instead enslave and torment the mortal races across the globe. "What has he to do with this? Can't he leave well enough alone?"

Emerald Lady's eyes dimmed, confidence draining with her coming sigh. "If it where anyone else perhaps. Though our powers of foresight come from his very essence. For if you cannot guess my child. Within our hearts pumps his very blood. That of the fallen son of Bahamut."

As if caught by a medusae's gaze Cordenth froze. Clearly he hadn't heard that right? His heart had already begun to race, frills starting to flutter on their own accord. He was of divine blood? He tried to wrap his brain around it, staring at his scaled paws. It made the golden eyes so clear, the attitude of the wraiths, they recognized one of their own. He shivered, realizing the gravity of the situation. He rose, meeting his mother's softer stare. It was a curse wrapped around his lineage, how could he bridge the gap between mortals and dragons now? When the blood of their kind practically drooled from his past.

"That can't be true. That's impossible." He shook his head to free himself of the golden thoughts. "You said he was dead, nothing more than a legend passed down through the ages! How is it that he can still influence things? Influence me?"

Again she sighed, looking passed him as if to a distant memory. " His death may have been beyond all of us back then. Bahamut herself could not find the strength to end him. We managed to peel him back layer by layer, using the souls of his children to bind him to the ether. I watched as he screamed his final breath, sealed away into a golden crystal. To this day I think his eye ever searched out from it, seeking his way to return."

"And the spells are to prevent his what? Possession of me?" His head ached as the room seem to spin.

"Not exactly. But you might feel his influence start to grow." She nuzzled along his jaw, wing draping protectively over him. "You'd be far different than you are now. Giving into the worst practices of dragon kind, fueled by his unending hatred."

"So, we get what we need from these visions and you cast an enchantment to hide it again. I can't be seduced by his presence if it's hidden." Hope flickered around his scales as looked up. She'd done it before, why not again?

"Alas, we already tried that." Ossai circled around him, waving him to move as she worked. "But the spell finally failed when you peered into the cauldron. In a single instant he was made aware of your presence. Without the proper conditioning and mental fortitude, you will fall prey to him."

"He'd enslave the mind of one of his own blood?" Nervousness curled around his gut, bringing life to a laugh. "He can't be that much of a monster, could he?"

"His hatred for me would run deeper than the oceans. While his mother failed to kill him, I managed to be his undoing. With but a clever ploy he saw his generals used against him, and his arrogance proving to be his undoing."

"The orbs the mortals used?" He recalled the pictured within his mother's temple. "Did you devise of that weapon? The one that almost killed me."

She nodded, putting the finishing touches to the circle and cleaning her paws with a summoned bucket of water. "Not killed, you'd have had your soul ripped out and implanted in the gem."

"Wonderful." He replied flatly, trying to hide the nervousness about his scales. Already he felt as though a titanic weight had been rested on his wings. Only but a moment would pass before he'd be squished beneath it. "So, you're saying the corruption of your children would just be delightful to dear old grandfather."

"Undoubtedly so. Fortunately for your brother, he doesn't have the connection you did."

Another lucky gem for his dear twin. How could this get any worse? Without even thinking he asked about what he'd heard, confirm it was a ruse, "Moving on from that, what of this shard you were talking to the gold about. What concern of it is to you?"

"Heard that did you?" She tapped him on the snout, laughing deep in her throat, "Commit this to memory son. Never reveal such things if you can, be more deceptive, coy, intelligent. What if I was truly against you? I might have to sway you to my side or dispose of you." Without dropping the amusement in her tone her eyes traveled to a far wall, seemingly staring into the horizon, "We need to stop it from falling into the Queen of Eternal Flame's paws. She somehow has gotten the misguided thought that she should replace the Emperor of all things."

"And what does that have to do with the shard?"

"On a need to know basis." She condescendingly pat his head, "Though I can assure you the world will change as we know it if she's allowed her way."

She was to dismiss him like a child? Like all the other times? If he'd learned anything from his time with Lyndis, it was to power through this attitude. With a growl and narrowing of his eyes, his paw slammed down. "Not good enough, I need to know."

She glanced to him, a softness in her eyes he didn't usually see. Not when she was all being serious. "Alas that's something I cannot depart with." Her head pulled back, frills twitching softly, "We can go back and forth on the subject for hours, but I was practicing my patience_far_ before you were a glimmer in your father's eye."

"So, I'm supposed to trust that you have my best interests at heart?" How many times had she betrayed that trust? Promised things only to sweep them away with her tail? "Or that of my friends? _This_coming from the vicious ruler of this forest aptly named despair."

She glanced passed him, striding around with the practiced grace of a queen, "Ears can be found in strange places son. Seldom is it wise to assume you're not being listened to somewhere.

And yet I heard you down the hall. Not so wise are you? "And you're afraid that sh-"

"Yes." She silenced him with a harsh hiss, "Schemes don't just have to be my own. The one in question indeed has their own. Father wished to have the strongest and most clever dragons be his children. They'd be almost dutybound to take advantage of any advantage they gleamed."

Skepticism filled his breaths as she tapped the runes and instructed him to sit opposite her but touching the runes. When he hesitated to budge, she waved a paw.

"I tire of this game son. Your friends fall under my agents, I honestly wish them ill will. Why would a player want their pawns to fail? Would ruin the very game."

She sounded genuine, enough to quell the unease trickling about his paws. His guard dropped and he did what she asked. He wasn't going to end up as anyone's puppet, especially one to some dark, egotistical dragon. Like it not, if he wanted a sliver of a chance of righting this broken future, he needed her. "Let's get this over with. I tire of these terrible dreams, even more so with the knowledge of dearest grandfather. You're certain there isn't a way to stop him from reaching out? Block him from my mind like before?"

"Not without killing you in the most painful of ways." She snapped back, inspecting the finishing touches of her runes.

Well shit.

"Now listen close." With a flick of her paws, darkness swallowed the room. The only light came in tiny slivers, hardly more than a firefly. "Drift inward to your mind. Try and will yourself away to the future unknown." She grew still, leaving only the soft sound of dripping of water permeating the air. It was steady and never-ending, practically dragging the green dragon's eyelids closed.

"Imagine the center of your being. The soul that dwells deep within your flesh and scale. Feel the very magic coursing through your veins, guide it like a river to that place."

So, he did, twitching as the sensation spread through him. With every breath he could feel the rushing of his blood, taste mint upon the air, almost see the building blocks that made up everything around them. Paws trembled as warmth massaged underneath of them, slowly swirling and turning before starting to crawl up his spine.

"Quite the natural, yet not a surprise. Think to your visions, will them to happen. Show me what you saw which brings your heart to such a quiver. Guide us to this future."

With a deep breath that tickled his lungs, he exhaled and brought his terrible future to life. The corpse laden field bubbled up like molten tar, crawling with thousands of little hands into gruesome shapes. The clouds swarmed angrily overhead, casting their crackling light upon the countryside. The city sprung forth, looming over them like a rotted corpse, a perfect city for what dwelled within the city.

"Here it is." His heart shivered as a cold breeze washed over him, assaulting him with the sweet aroma of rot and death. "The future." Even speaking the words his snout wrinkled, the fact it existed like poison. He scanned the wretched debris covered streets, searching for anything he might have missed.

"Take me to your friends. That is where your concern dwells. Show me what happens to them, and when this is supposed to occur."

"How do I do that?" He glared daggers at the sky. It made a convenient substitute for his mother's vagueness.

"Focus on them." Her voice seemed to come from every direction, a being larger than a god. "Picture them clearly in your mind, let no other distractions come to you."

"Of course." He pictured them as dread slithered down his throat and clutched firm his belly. Arcturus the paladin of Bahamut, loyal and true, Lyndis the dashing rouge his heart longed for, Merlia the salacious filled mouth, and Veledar the red dragon. Each of them pressed together, smiling in his mind as if nothing was wrong. How he wished this was how it would be.

Arcturus came first, bruised and beaten. His silver armor all but thrown in random sections across the floor of a cramped mausoleum. His sword arm lay slashed open, drenched blood, barely grasping the golden hilt of his sword. The face filled with such determination and unyielding strength was blank and hallow. Whatever life it once had was drained, a crimson river smeared upon his chin.

How his blood froze at such a sight. Terror crawled through his throat, pinning his frills. Though he wasn't a dragon, and not close as Lyndis, he didn't deserve to be seen in such a way. He deserved to pass from the earth as an old man, hopefully on his bed and surrounded by all of his friends. He couldn't look away, the harrowing corpse of his dear friend being burned into memory.

Veledar came rolling next to him, blood spraying with each rotation. His crimson scales were rent and broken, sections having been carved away by numerous blade's kisses. His wings were still gone, his horn chipped, it appeared as though he'd never healed. Groaning the dragon gave his last breath, the thick pool of crimson growing from his underside uniting he and his lover one final time.

"They don't deserve this. Not this." He took a step, voice cracking as his friend's lifeblood sullying his claws.

"You must calm yourself. This is _only_a possible future. Nothing you see here is set in stone." His mother's voice cleaved through the darkness like a sword. "So relax, calm yourself, and try to find how exactly this came into being."

How was he supposed to do that? Even his paws were trembling in the pool of his friend's blood. He tried to take a breath, close his eyes, but all he received was the smell of iron and a paw wrapped around his throat. Could he find the others like this? Could he find Lyndis like this? His heart throbbed in agony at the thought. Even he would find his strength lost.

"Search the bodies. What ended their lives."

"How...can you be this calm." He rose his snout with a snarl, forcing himself to stare at the sickly wounds ripped through his friend's flesh.

"Experience breeds such things. Now do as I say and it can be over."

"What am I looking for?" He traced ragged bits of flesh dripping gore, exposed bone or muscle, "Do I look like a cleric or healer?"

"Mind the tongue, reel in the emotions. Pierce the veil. Don' let your mind begin to fragment and weaken. If you can't find the cause, focus on the who."

She was speaking in circles. Who_was what he was trying to figure out! "Hmmpf." He flicked his tail. How easy it was for _her to stay calm. She didn't even like the pair. Shaky breaths came in the wake of his moving head, trying to search the sky for any sign of their murderer. The unmistakable scent of dragon came curling around his nose, mixed with the trace of a gryphon and a summer's fire. Not just any gryphon, but a female one. Each sniff brought more thoughts, molten like claws, forge like eyes, wings like a hurricane. Cordenth's eyes widened as he got a glimpse, it was the dragon in the sky. The one Arcturus hated, the one who slew his family. The one who evidently claimed him and his mate.

"Did you figure it out?"

"Dreadflame." He spat, lashing his tail against a rock till it ached.

"Excellent, now move onto the others. I wonder if he got them as well."

Would he find the others in equally a gruesome state? Tentatively he did as she asked, letting his mind drift to each of his friends in turn. Merlia was slumped to the floor of a lavished room, her neck slathered blood still gleaming in the candlelight. Krotos was beside her, eyes closed shut and the exact condition of his neck the same. Standing above them was an albino colored siigonis, swiping crimson gore from her lips with her snake like tongue. Delight danced within those fire like eyes, malevolently grinning over her fine work.

Overcome with hate he lashed out with a paw. Dreadflame had been beyond reach, but not her. The sharpened points of his claws passed right through her, the wavering of her form caressing his scales like smoke. There was nothing he could do. With the growing dread within his soul, he searched for Lyndis, praying she was alright.

She was alive, unlike all the rest, clutching something glowing and crystal like within her arm. Blood and dirt were smeared over her armor, sullying the blue tabard of Drenedar she bore. Fear swirled unchecked within her eyes, her boots carrying her a few dozen steps ahead of her undead pursers. One whole gaggle of undeath and mismatched bones, some as large as a dragon wanting to plunge their putrid teeth into her supple flesh.

"Cordenth!" She called out, crossing blades with a skeleton who got too close. She swiped the boney bastard's legs right from under him, bringing him down with a crack. "Where bloody are you?" She redoubled her pace, setting her sights for the watchtower. Over debris and bodies she leapt, the skills she'd honed on full display as she outsmarted and evaded every groping hand or snapping jaw that even _glanced_in her direction.

Why was she not using the cloak? His heart thumped like a stampede in his chest. He noted it was gone. Why was it gone?

"Ah, so the girl is carrying the shard of Bahamut. How resourceful, your friend's sacrifices were not for naught."

_Is that what Lyndis is carrying?_His mother described it could be a pool of shimmering energy, a little crystal, even hiding inside a person.

Up the tower his watched uselessly as his love raced up the steps of the tower. Every step filled with effort, sweat dripping down her face despite the cold in the air. Clangs resounded across the stone, mixing with the hoard of moans and clacks of her foes. They were but a hair's breath away now, clasping at air mere moments where she'd been.

He couldn't watch, yet was unable to look away. The terrified look painted on her face. The one who told of desperation and hope within dying. He tried to reach to her, pluck her up with his paws, anything to rid her of this horror. Yet again and again he could do nothing, his paws easily passing as if they were not there. His soul cried, tears started to form as the panting half-elf approached the final door above. Skeletal arms grabbed at her boots, tugging her to the ground in one final act of desperation. She kicked and screamed, beating it's boney face in with her boots. The others behind it were nearly upon her, already lowering to bring an end to this play. He was going to watch her die.

"You bloody well be there." The rogue barked, kicking one final time before slipping away. With a slam she shut the door to the outside world behind her, and leaped from the tower's highest point.

What was she thinking? She couldn't fly, she was to end up as a smear on the cobblestone below! Cordenth's soul screamed as he watched on in horror. Only for it to come shattering down as _his_scaled body swooped in to save her. With a roar his future self-whisked them away, leaving this death and destruction behind them.

He was left hallow. Like every emotion was carved right out of him. Moments of dread dragged across his scales, only ending with a bittersweet victory. The shard had been saved, but costing the lives of his friends and the city below. He even bet that Fremra and Storm lay within the piles of corpses stacked within the ruins. Why else would they be absent as the twin dragon enemies started fighting overhead? Roaring their frustration that not a soul would hear.

Except for Lyndis and I.

"Now tell me the date." Emerald Lady's coldness broke through the bitterness. "Focus on your surroundings."

He did so, desperately taking to the sky. Everything looked as it should be, no print or writing to tell him what it should have been. He broke upwards through the clouds, leaping like a dolphin from the sea. Above him dwelled the realm of the stars, and the dominating full moon overhead. It sparkled with numerous lights, shimmering every color of the rainbow.

"Ah...So the moon of remembrance and longing. The blessed day of Startren and Fuereen. How fitting if I must say so. It appears as everything is as it should. Our victory is achieved through your deeds. The princess is saved to become the future queen, and in turn you their king." She chuckled in the back of her throat, a wretched thing that drew bile to Cordenth's maw. "Here I thought your friends would fail at the crucial moment, the arrogance of Veledar his undoing. Yet the future remains intact."

Victory? With a snarl he was back within the room across from his mother, the visions having been whisked away. His blood was practically boiling as he glared at her, thrashing his tail against the floor. "If it is, it's a pyrrhic one. That leaves nothing but the aftertaste of regret and death. I'll have none of this potential future. Whisk this one away, shove it up the Emperor's ass, I won't have any of it."

Like a fortress his mother didn't budge. Her eyes found him, sympathy welling deep within those lavender pools. Yet when she spoke, her coldness chilled the dragon to the bone. "The shard remained safe from my sibling's paws. It was the only thing that mattered."

His blood boiled over, he shot up to all fours, his teeth barred. "Everyone dying is just peachy to you is it? Satisfied that the red dragon you helped lay cut open like a Setherian roast?" He couldn't help but flare his frills, give in to the fury raging within him. "What was even the point of letting us meet them? To set them on the path to retrieve Veledar's precious book when it all ends like this? You speak of a bright future and glory for dragon kind, this is nothing but a blackened pool of sludge that has no place in such talks."

She held her gaze, unflinching even as he spat his frustrations. With a soft clink of her scales she inched closer, making ever more apparent how easily she towered over him. He was but a hill before a mountain, his wings a lake to her ocean. "Simply to move the _pieces_where they needed to go." She replied coldly, "Across the globe mortals die for a multitude of reasons, plots and plans that reach fruition or not. In this brilliant outcome the shard is kept save, the destruction of this world averted. Your friends die as heroes, become legends to be sung around campfires. Arcturus the paladin who never yielded, and Veledar the dragon who kept the flame of hope alive. The shard Lyndis kept stays safe within her city's capital. This moment is a rallying point, all the nations clambering together to put an end to the undeath's relentless rampage. You become the king you've always wanted to be, and help usher in a new age of understanding and brilliance for all our kind. One that helps bind dragons and mortals to a untold degree, accepted by the masses in vast quantities unseen in many a year."

Emerald Lady sighed, a satisfied smile spreading across her snout. "This my child is what I've worked so hard for. The future that Bahamut showed me so long ago."

He was speechless. Truly without words as he paced, repeating the filth she was sputtering. She was mad, this whole thing was insane. To be a king? He wanted that, but not like this. Never at the expense of so much life. Bahamut showed her all this death? Approved of every sacrifice and life his mother snuffed to get this far? She was lying, it had to be so. He stopped abruptly, hope kindling in him. She had said it was a possible outcome. "We can change it mother. Rewrite the future to something less bleak." He nearly spun around so fast he fell, "We've seen each terrible death. Surely with our thoughts we can find a better one, one that leave the lives of my friends intact. That's what you do right? Get the future you wanted."

She scoffed like the mother she was, "And leave the fate of everything to chance? I've searched and searched through countless possibilities. This was where everything worked, the most sure way that the future could unfold. Everything has a place in the annals of time, unfortunately not all of us get a happy ending." The grand dragoness rose, sliding over to him with a heavy sigh. She licked his neck in a motherly way. "I know what ails you. I've been through this before. With such power you'd like to help loved ones, friends...Do anything that can be done...But in the end it only brings misery. Not just for you but for everything else. In this case the very world would suffer."

"But mother." He whimpered, nuzzling when she did the same. "This cannot be the end. Surely you could help. With all of your power and age, I fail to see how you could not."

"No." she pulled back, a mournful look in her eye. "How it pains me to be so cruel when such misery is painted across your snout. Alas, such is the heart you have. Too much of your father in you for your own good." She backed away, fixing the exit with a stare, a calm swish about her tail. "Return to your friends you could do, try to warn them. Possibly even fight to prevent such things. I've watched each one end in failure or despair. Either they die anyway, or the entire world suffers because of your selfishness."

How could he leave his friends to their death? He pulled back as if bitten, setting his sight for the door. If she wasn't going to help him, then he was going to do it himself. He would_find a way to make sure they survived. She _clearly wasn't telling him the entire truth, she just had to be lying!

"You can sit there and peer into the future, diving what needs to be done. But I'm returning to my friends, one of us still has a soul." With a flick of his tail he set his sights for the door, strolling with a satisfied snort. Let her future seeing haunches gnaw on that.

The doors slammed shut before him, the way was sealed. Behind him the air filled with a threatening growl. "No soul? Says the child not using the brain between his horns." Emerald Lady flared her wings, lavender eyes aflame. "How you disappoint me, here I thought you'd know the right thing to do. Yet here you stand, just as selfish as ever. Sacrificing the entire world for a handful of souls you barely even know."

He was hearing none of it. They'd gone through this before with Lyndis and the others. "Unbar this door and let me go. If you do not, you'll know my fury till the end of time. I'll spit poison at your name, spin stories of your cruelty. You'll go down in the coming years as the wicked dragoness children are fearful of." He cast her a hardened glare, letting her see the hatred she'd brought. "Unless you plan to play that part anyway, keep me again against my will."

"I will do as I always have, for your best interest. Even if you fail to see the benefit. Until you regain your senses, you'll remain within the forest once more. In time you'll know this was the right decision, your threatening words means nothing. I've been hated by far more souls than you. What you must do is let go of these thoughts. Mortals die in droves every day, let something historical happen for once because of it. Fulfill your destiny."

Only the one you laid out for me.

"You said it was one of many, the most_likely outcome. That means it can still be changed." Dragged his claws across the floor, tensing his muscles. "If I _must fight you for my freedom, I shall."

She rumbled in amusement. "You couldn't best me before. What makes you think you could now? Do you have hidden that half-elven rogue of yours? Perhaps the paladin under your wing?" Like a tidal wave she sauntered towards him, eyes already counting her victory. "Perhaps in a more heroic tale your savior would come bursting through those-"

The doors crashed to the floor with a titanic clatter as Fremra came bursting through with a cloud of crimson gas. She skidded to a stop, smile springing to her snout. "Good, you're in here. Thought I'd have to break down a fifth door."

He could kiss her. "Shes trying to keep me here!" He blurted, scampering towards the exit. He'd not let this chance slip them by.

"I knew it! Here Croesus was being kind with the words. Never trust old Ossai." Fremra snarled, lowering her stance and drawing a runic symbol in the air. With words like thunder it bounced through the hall, seemingly doing nothing at all.

Except when they went to turn tail and run, Emerald Lady ran head first into an invisible wall of magical energy. Down she collapsed with a paint grunt, lashing her tail when she rose with untold fury in her eyes.

"See? This is why I hate reunions." Fremra bid him to follow, and Cordenth knew not to argue. Not when he could hear his mother's scream, feel the hatred surging through every inch of the place. The very walls seemed to shake and quake as the sound of shattering glass echoed far behind them. "And she just couldn't let me contain her. She just had to go ruining that too."

"How are you not terrified?" He blurted as shey nearly skidded through the halls. Each one he excepted his mother's maw to be at their throats, roaring her threats mere inches from their ears.

"That's what she wants me to do." Fremra smiled back, passing numerous doors that bore her handiwork. Each one nothing more than broken doors shattered along the floor. "Ok. I may have lied about the five doors things. I just got carried away and couldn't stop. Your mother is just so frustrating to deal with."

She reared up when they found themselves back at the tree they'd entered from. Fremra drew another one of the symbols in their air, no doubt closing off the way they came with another wall of force. "So, what did you do to piss her off so much?"

"Me piss her off? You're the one who broke me out...Not to mention broke half a dozen doors."

"More like a straight dozen." She cackled like a mad woman, starting to draw the runes for her teleport.

He panted, keeping a watchful eye down the corridor. He half expected her to come wheeling through, the wall doing nothing against her anger. "Think that spell will hold her?"

"For a bit. She might be nuttier than an acorn, but she's a powerful nutter. That's before you even factor in how wet she gets from hating me, can really fuel your spells." She bowed her head, rumbling as the tree below her paws sprung to life with the same shimmering portal as before. "Sadly for her, it looks like it's not going to matter."

Emerald Lady came speeding down the hall towards them, the air around her practically aflame. The gold of her scales was nearly shining as bright as the sun, the lavender of her eyes gone and of the same shade. "Stay right there, both of you! You'll ruin everything! Doom all of dragon kind to squalor and death! THIS is our only chance!" She covered the distance in nearly the blink of an eye, slamming once more into the wall of force.

"Apologies for the hasty departure! As always your hospitality has been delightful." Fremra placed a paw on his shoulder and shoved him from the portal.

The warm caress of the spell did little to quell the chill welling in his soul. The look his mother had given them, that look that could practically kill. For but a fraction he saw_the Emperor used to speak of. Now that essence lurked within his very blood, sought to wrap him around a golden forepaw. How would he share _that to the others? He didn't get a chance to think as he slammed into the icy ground of Fremra's home.

His frills drooped as he shoveled off the snow now clinging to his scales. Why did he think that was going to be any different? He'd gone with questions and only left with more questions than he'd began! Nothing had changed at all, merely that he had to avoid the Emperor when he dreamed, and seek a way to undo whatever convoluted scheme his mother had hatched. How that was even possible was beyond his grasp. Yet the green sat in silence, contemplating how he'd made an enemy of his own flesh and blood.

"Did you see the look on her snout?" Fremra pounced through the portal, playfully smacking the bark with the broad side of her tail. "I'm going to be remembering that one for years to come. Do you think Arcturus would do commissions?"

He didn't look, coiling in on himself. The days of the loving family seemed so far away, nothing more than ghosts he could fondly remember.

She approached him with a smile, nudging him with her snout. "Cheer up and count your blessings small one. Your mother's claws don't have you. You're free!"

But even her smile and playful eyes did little. With a flick of his tail his voice shook as he remembered the terrible images he saw. "I can't believe her. My mother." He snorted as his voice hardened. "Typical that she was only out for what was best for her."

Fremra curled around him like a wall, resting her scales against his own. Down came her snout, a tender nuzzle along his neck, a gesture that everything was going to be alright. The membranes of her wings were swiftly draped over him, a pleasing hum radiating through her throat.

"It will be alright little one. Though the scales of yours tremble and shiver like one so small, your spirit will ever be stronger. If it not be your flesh and blood that will guide you, then let me offer my assurances. Long as you call us friend, you may take shelter within these walls. Though I may not be as well versed in the divine as your dearest mum, I'll endeavor to do my best. I'll inquire own mages and clerics within the walls, you will not go without aid."

Like a calming wind her words swept over him, stoking the fire of his spirit. Though even with that, they were still back to being on their own. No closer to solving the problem in the first place. The city was still to fall, his friends to perish, and his love and he the only ones to escape. Destined to rule over the kingdom that cost all his friends. He nodded without a word, yet she seemed to understand the gravity of his confusion, for she returned to offer assuring nuzzles and tender licks upon the back of his neck. Just as if he were one of her own. Though it burned his frills to be treated in such a way, he didn't shy away.

He did keep his purring in check, and the want to lean into her. He did have some semblance of pride left. So it was that silence wrapped around them as he was led back to the depths of her home. There he was plopped down before a massive fire, summoned by the dragoness' magical ways. There he lay, watching the constant flickering of the flames, enjoying the slow and comforting swipes of her tongue. Yet still his mother's words haunted his thoughts. Was he being selfish? To sacrifice the future for the sake of his own wants and needs?

"Why can't I abandon my friends to their fate?" He grumbled, pulling the teal's neck back in interest. "She says it will bring peace and unity for our kin and mortals. Yet here I lay, unable to let them go. I'd let the city fall, thousands die if it meant they survived the coming future." He slumped to his paws, the sliver of regret forming in his heart. "Does that make me a monster?"

"Because you have a soul?" Fremra scoffed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It takes an exceptionally detached person to let the ones they love die. It's such a _human_thing. Perhaps that's why some of us fall for them. " Her eye wandered to a bookcase crafted from a tree-trunk, finding an empty place. She sighed and dipped her head. "What exactly did you see?"

He shared every second of the imagery. The detestable sights he witnessed. The brutal carnage, endless death, the dragons dueling in the sky. With every word he could feel the weight of the day pressing further upon his shoulders, his voice almost cracking as his scales trembled. What would happen now? Would the city be consumed? This shard of Bahamut be whisked away to their enemy?

"The whole city huh?" Fremra rose a paw to lick, repeating the same thing after a curious swipe of her tongue. "The only victory being that you kept the shard from the undead's paws."

He nodded, letting the larger ness work her ways to her various limbs.

"Not to mention your mother knows of the shard." She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Course she knows of the shard. Is there something she doesn't?"

"Clearly not your activities."

Fremra smiled from frill to frill. "Well of course not. Though that's surprising given her spies are everywhere. That's why we get rid of those pesky pins she adorns her treasures with. Anyone even a sniff of her scent is sent packing."

"And what of me?" His paw found his chest, "I can't help but notice you let her son into your walls."

"I think you mean saved from the deep fae." She fixed him with a heartfelt stare. "And in pain. How could we_not_ go and help you? You speak as if these are not common traits."

He chuckled, warmth spreading through him. She was a treasured gem to be sure. Part of him wished it would have been she that raised him, hatched him. Perhaps he'd not be so isolated from his mother?

"So...Warm fire and all is nice, but what do you want to do about these peeks into the future? You said they were dangerous."

"That they are. Something dark and terrible stalks whenever I use it. The Emperor of dragons my mother said. If he catches me..." His tail trembled on its own, knowing the blood in his veins. He wisely left that part out of the story. "I just can't let it happen. My plan is to do a little of meddling in her plans. Something I'm sure Lyndis would be proud of."

"Sounds like the making of an adventure if I say so myself." The dragoness rose, her eyes sparkling with the firelight. "How long since we've all had some of those. My thoughts? Take the night to enjoy those you love. Relax within them in your forepaws, wrapped tight with your wings. Time is a fickle thing, though we be immortal, you never know how long they have left. When the sun rises, you do as will. Push your snout to the grindstone and never stop."

What adventure she had she never spoke up, slipping away to tend to her troublesome pupil. He was left to ponder and plot within the fire's radiant glow, thoughts of grandeur plots bouncing between his horns. How would one stop this Queen of Eternal flame _and_save the lives of his friends? With a tap of his paw the coming snort practically ceased the flame's caress. He may not have known the next step of his plan, but he friends who might share some ideas.