A Dragon’s Tale

Taloni made it a hundred yards away from the ravine before she dropped to her knees and broke down sobbing. She had never cried so hard in her life.

Not when her parents died.

Not when she'd been sold into slavery to pay their debts.

Never.

Curiously, she wasn't as upset about him being bonded to another woman as she thought she would be. She didn't like it, and would've preferred to be Ethan's only wife. But it didn't truly bother her, not in the way she thought it would. No, the problem was that he was going to leave and she couldn't go with him.

She'd see how jealous the miner's wives were when their eyes wandered. She'd seen the strife it caused and she couldn't do that to Ethan. She couldn't ruin his marriage like that. Besides, what woman would even think of sharing Ethan with a slave like her?

She had to let him go.

She didn't want to and she hated the idea, but what choice was there? She'd seen just how jealousy could poison a couple -- both husband and wife -- and she couldn't do that to him.

She cried for quite a while.

Eventually she was cried out, and the early morning light of the sun brought her back to her senses. Thaltien would be furious if something happened at the mine and she wasn't there. The day shift had been working for a few hours now and it wasn't likely, but still. She took a few seconds to make herself presentable, then ran back to the mine as fast as her legs would carry her.

* * *

Beth was ready to scream in frustration.

She couldn't think of anything that would remove the dark halo from Ethan's head. Nothing. Not a single thing. Not one scrap of information she'd read in all of the books she'd devoured in her life helped at all. Gabriella wasn't any better. No matter how much she pleaded for help, the luminous woman would simply smile and say that Beth had to figure it out herself.

She would've thrown something if she could pick up anything to throw.

The purple hues of the astral plane were also starting to grate on her. Everything was the same thrice-damned purple color. Well, everything except the dark halo and Gabriella. She was laying down on her back, apparently asleep. She wore white robes, had blond hair, and perfectly flawless, fair skin with a touch of rosy pink in the cheeks. Plus, she refused to help her save Ethan.

*Bitch.* She thought, glad that at least her thoughts were her own.

"It's not polite to call people names Beth." Gabriella said without opening her eyes.

Shame and embarrassment flooded Beth's mind as her cheeks got hot. She imagined they would've gotten red too if she wasn't on the astral plane and its damned purple colors.

"I'm not mad." Gabriella clarified sitting up. "You are still very young, and teenage girls often have issues controlling their emotions. However, please try to remain calm. I promise you'll solve this much faster if you are calm."

"I'm sorry." Beth said after a minute. "I'm trying not to be awful, I'm just so frustrated. I want to help Ethan and I just don't know how to!" She groaned in frustration.

"Actually, you already know everything you need to know, and I've shown you everything you need to see. You just need to put the right pieces together."

"Really?"

Gabriella nodded. "Remember, I said my responses were limited, you just needed to ask the right questions?"

Beth nodded. "And when I asked what the right question was, you said that was the right question."

She nodded. "You can do this Beth, you just need to ask the right questions. You've been asking questions your whole life."

As she thought about it, Beth realized that she hadn't really been asking questions. She'd been trying to remember everything she knew about enchanting, but what if that wasn't the answer? What if the answer was to focus on what she knew, rather than what she might not know?

She looked at the dark halo again.

It had long since become solid. It's 'color' -- if you could call it that -- was the absence of color. It was black as midnight in a moonless sky or the depths of a great pit.

What did she know about it?

She knew it suppressed Ethan's positive thoughts and fed him negative thoughts. She knew it was an enchantment, and that Saidow's minions at least had a hand in creating it. She knew it grew stronger over time.

What else?

As she stared at it, she tried to remember what else she had seen that was similar. Only two things came to mind: the strange creature in the room right after she'd died, and the tendril that had stopped her from floating into the light.

The tendril...

Now that she was thinking about it, the dark halo and the tendril did look remarkably similar. Of course, she hadn't been able to do anything with the tendril either. Her hands couldn't make it budge an inch. The only thing that seemed to affect it was...

"Gabriella, can I borrow your sword?"

The luminous woman stood up and clapped her hands together slowly with a massive grin on her face. "It's not my sword, but yes little one; yes, you may use this sword." She drew it from its scabbard and held it out hilt-first toward Beth.

It was a few inches shy of three feet long and lighter than she had expected. It seemed perfectly weighted for use in one hand and the round pommel balanced very nicely for that purpose. It looked very similar to the typical one-handed arming sword that her father's men carried, only the tip was slightly more pointed. Like Gabriella, it retained its normal color even in the Astral Plane.

It also glowed.

Well, not glowed exactly, but it seemed to shine with an inner light that she didn't think anyone or anything in the universe could extinguish. Something about it felt righteous; holy.

There was a moment when the hilt first touched her hands that she felt a slight burning sensation. When she looked at her hand, she saw the dirt had been 'burned' away everywhere the hilt touched it, yet there was no pain. Those parts of her hand were cleaner than she'd ever seen them before. It seemed that nothing could sully the purity of this blade.

"Its name is 'Aharown', which means 'light-bringer' in one of my Lord's favorite languages." Gabriella explained.

"Ah-har-own." Beth repeated, making sure to get the pronunciation right. "Whose sword is it?"

"I can't tell you."

"Of course not." She rolled her eyes. "Whoever they are, would you thank them for me?"

"No, but you can thank them yourself. In fact, my Lord wishes for you to hold onto that blade until you find its rightful owner."

"Why me?"

"I'm sorry, my responses are limited, you must--"

"--I must ask the right questions; I know." Beth sighed, rolled her eyes, and then turned toward Ethan with the sword in her hands.

Not having much experience with it, she swung it a few times experimentally to get a feel for it. It was light and easy to wield, even for her relatively weak arms. However, she didn't feel like she had enough experience to actually swing it around her husband's head.

He was either sleeping or unconscious and therefore unlikely to move, but she didn't want to chance it. Not with this blade. Instead, she walked up to Ethan's head and gently prodded the dark halo with the sword's point.

The effect was instantaneous.

The dark halo started "bleeding" darkness. It oozed out like a liquid, but then seemingly turned to vapor and began to "boil" away like water in a pan.

At the same time, a horrible eerie wail came from the dark halo, emanating from the point the blade's tip touched it. The sound seemed to pierce her very soul and filled her with a despairing dread. Beth backed up and tried to cover her ears -- which was hard enough while holding the sword -- but that did nothing to silence that horrible wail.

"The only way out is through." Gabriella said over the dreadful sound.

Beth screwed up her courage, adjusted her footing so she wouldn't hit Ethan if a thrust over-penetrated, and thrust with all her might.

She missed.

Only by a hair, but she missed. The sword went flying out of her hand due to her over-powered thrust, which was also probably what made her miss. Feeling a little silly, she retrieved the sword -- noticing it still didn't have a speck of dirt or dust on it despite its fall -- and got back in position to try again.

This time, her aim was true.

The blade sliced through the dark halo like a hot knife through butter. The eerie wail intensified, so she skewered it again, and again, and again. Finally, on her seventh thrust, she made enough wounds to cut it in two.

The dark halo seemed to melt and slowly burn away, like water boiling out of a pan. It writhed and convulsed as it did so, but it began to fade nevertheless. The sound slowly subsided as it finished boiling away. However, the vein-like tendrils that were attached to Ethan's head were still there.

"Well done Beth." Gabriella said wrapping her in a hug while carefully avoiding the blade. "My Lord is very pleased with you."

When their hug broke, Beth asked "But what about those?" indicating the vein-like tendrils that had crept over Ethan's face, neck, and upper shoulders.

"It's not wise to perform surgery with a sword; you might do more harm than good. Besides, with the source gone, they will dry up and shrivel over the next few days, gradually taking their influence with them. Congratulations Beth; you just saved your husband's life."

"He'll be okay?"

She nodded. "He will. The weakened effects will linger for a day or two and gradually fade. Soon, he'll be right as rain."

"But what about the gold cube?" Beth asked. "It was enchanted, so couldn't he simply get cursed again?"

"Can a trap be sprung twice without someone to reset it?" Gabriella countered. "No, the cube is harmless now as its curse is already spent. Otherwise, anyone else who touched it would be affected. Now here, you'll want this."

Gabriella unbuckled the sword belt with the attached scabbard from her waist and offered them to Beth. She took them, sheathed Aharown, then buckled the belt on herself. For some reason, she felt the weight comforting.

"So, what do I do now?"

"I'm glad you asked." The luminous woman smiled. "I'll tell you when we get there, but first we have a lot of walking to do." She glanced in the direction of Arcanum.

Beth felt her shoulders slump.

"If it helps, we're on the way to save your husband's life again." Gabriella said with an apologetic look

Beth sighed, then nodded. "Okay; lead on."

As they started walking, Beth couldn't help looking back at Ethan. She missed him so much, and couldn't believe how much considering the short time they'd known each other. As she looked around the vast, monotonous violet landscape, another thought popped into her head.

She never wanted to see the color purple again as long as she lived.

* * *

Taloni had an awful day.

It was long, slow, uneventful, and dragged on forever. She had nothing to distract her from how she was feeling. The only thing that gave a moment's respite was dodging Prayla. She didn't want to talk to her and especially didn't want to hear the "I told you so" Speech.

The only thing she really wanted to do was see Ethan. It made no sense and she knew it. There was no good reason she should want to see him, not after the pain their relationship -- or more accurately the lack thereof -- was causing her. But she did want to see him again. She spent most of the day sorting through her feelings and trying not to cry.

It was a truly miserable day.

He was such a good man; she'd seen it when they bonded. She missed him already, though she wasn't entirely sure why. Because of him, her heart had shattered into a million pieces... and yet all she could think about was spending a little more time with him. It was stupid and she hated how she felt, but she couldn't hate him.

The worst part of the day came right after lunch, when Taloni remembered that Ethan was only okay because she'd been around to help him collect mana. She wasn't sure how it worked, but she knew she needed to be near Ethan for it to happen.

On the positive side, she had a good reason to go see him again.

On the negative side, she had a good reason to go see him again.

She fought with herself all afternoon, but eventually decided that he needed her. He might die without her, so she would be there. After dinner, she snuck out of the camp. She paused a moment to roll her eyes at how comically bad the camp's security was. If she intended harm, she'd have no trouble sneaking in and wreaking havoc.

Twenty minutes later, she peeked her head over the boulder looking into the ravine. Ethan was a laying asleep near the stream. The moment she saw him, she felt better. She didn't know if it was because of their bond, or just because she liked him. She did know that despite the pain he'd caused, it just felt better to be near him.

She snuck down the ravine's shallow sides and gently touched his side to check his health. His deep mana was a little low, but certainly not dangerously low. Taloni laid down on the soft earth a few feet away from him. She could hear him breathing as she lay on her back looking up at the beautiful reds, oranges and purples of the clouds at sunset.

Even with all the emotional turmoil and pain, Taloni definitely felt better being near Ethan.

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and looked just in time to see a pale face with large eyes and black hair disappear into the stream without a trace or ripple.

Hmm.

What was that?

She dismissed it as a trick of her mind, or maybe the light, and went back to stargazing. As she lay there, she thought about Ethan and the fact that he was in love with -- and bonded to -- another woman. She knew Illuminar's Book of Light allowed men to take multiple wives, but that practice had long since died out among the Fey. A few Fey men still did, but they were rare and somewhat shunned by most of Fey society.

It was sad to admit, but she would rather be around Ethan while he was married and bonded to another woman than be away from him.

She hated that.

But it's what she wanted.

She just wanted to be around Ethan. That was her last thought before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Hailey paced the weather deck of the Argo, having just enjoyed a beautiful sunset. The sky was currently the indigo and navy colors of twilight as she marveled at her luck. A few days ago, her life had been a bleak, barren desert devoid of hope. Now, she was on an airship with some good people and they might even be able to get her home.

The only thing that bothered her was her former owner. More specifically, the fact that he was still breathing. He was still walking around this world and almost certainly inflicting the same misery he'd rained down on her to the rest of his slaves. Well, the women got the worst of it.

What she wouldn't give for five minutes alone in a room with him tied to a chair and her holding a knife. Hailey put the thought out of her mind. They were too far from Arcanum for her to walk and they had no reason to go back. She felt a pang of regret that the bastard wouldn't get his comeuppance.

If only...

Despite the impossibility, she found herself dwelling on that scenario. She was still dwelling on it a few minutes later when Alana and Rachel returned from their mysterious errand that kept them occupied for the whole day.

"Well?" Hailey asked as Alana's chocolate-brown hair appeared at the top of the Argo's rope ladder.

"We found him." Alana beamed.

Her smile couldn't have been wider if she had been appointed the queen of the universe. Just behind her, Rachel's flame-colored hair appeared as she too climbed onto the weather deck.

"We have directions and he's not far. But with the wind is so weak right now that it'll take until dawn to get there." Rachel said.

"So, are you going to read Ethan the riot act when you find him?" Hailey asked Alana.

They stared at her blankly.

"I meant are you mad and going to yell at him?" Hailey said, wishing for the billionth time that people here understood Earth's idioms.

"I don't know what I'll do." Alana replied, though Hailey could see she was very frustrated. "I can't decide if I want to kiss him or kill him."

"Been there, done that." Hailey replied, then added with a wink. "You could always do both."

Alana laughed. "Yeah, I'd rather not take up necromancy."

"Is that really a thing?" Hailey asked. "I've heard of it, but it seems like a bogyman story."

"Who's the bogyman?" Alana asked.

"He's a mythical bad guy from my home." Hailey replied with a sigh.

"Oh." Alana said. "To answer your question, yes necromancers exist."

"Their magic does nasty stuff to the user though." Rachel added.

"Like what?" Hailey asked.

"Well, necromancers don't collect magic the same way everyone else does." Rachel answered. "We all collect what's left behind by living creatures. Necromancers collect mana that's left behind when something dies."

"I'm not sure I follow." Hailey replied.

"When a living creature dies, all the mana it held starts to be released." Rachel said. "However, the charge is reversed when the creature dies. As a result, it leaves behind negatively charged mana. By contrast, the mana left behind by living creatures is positively charged."

"Negatively charged mana isn't good for you at all." Alana said. "It has a bunch of nasty side effects and just kills your health."

"If it's so bad for you, why use it?" Hailey asked.

"Its easy access to a lot of power." Rachel replied. "I've heard you can completely fill your mana in seconds just by killing a small animal. Plus, only negatively charged magic can reanimate a dead body. Positively charged magic just can't do it."

Hailey put on her best Emperor Palpatine impression. "The dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities, some considered to be unnatural."

Alana and Rachel stared.

"It's from a movie on my world." Hailey explained.

"What's a-- never mind." Alana said. "Your world sounds like a really strange place."

"To me, it's normal and this place is strange; but point taken." Hailey replied, then sighed. She really did miss her home, and especially the people -- well, person -- that made it home.

"Don't worry, we'll get you back there." Alana said.

"Thank you." Hailey replied, and she meant it. "At least you found Ethan, right? You'll get to see him again, so that's good."

"I'll do a lot more than that when I find him." Alana said, then stalked off towards the quarterdeck.

Raklan saw her coming and got out of her way quickly. Hailey suppressed a laugh; it was funny to see a 100-pound wood elf scare the 250+ pound muscle-bound Raklan out of the way.

Hailey was glad she wasn't Ethan.

She looked out towards Arcanum one last time before going below deck to sleep. Somewhere out there, her former owner was probably torturing some poor girl after his loss in The Arena. Hailey shuddered and wished she could find a hot shower. After several seconds of hate-filled longing, she went below decks to sleep.

Her dreams were filled with images of revenge.