“You made us worried.”

The door was closed but Rayne and the others could still hear the muffled voices of the conversation from within the chamber.

“The rest are outside waiting in the foyer. When you told me Maya was loyal, I had no idea what an understatement that was. I half believed she was going to murder Rayne.”

The comment made Rayne squirm with discomfort. Even though some of her peers had offered support she felt like everyone was condemning her. She wanted to run away.

“Why? It wasn’t her fault.” Said the Highlord.

“Some don’t see it that way.” Retorted the Queen. “I’m heading to the Bastion. I will be demanding a full inquiry into what happened. You are to remain here, in bed, confined to this chamber until I return. Am I understood?”

“There’s no need for that Aliyeah. I’m fine.”

“You’re about as far from fine as you can be. You will not be assigned this task, nor will you be returning to that town or any other until I say.”

“Aliyeah…”

“The only words I wish to hear pass your lips are ‘yes, my queen’.”

“If…”

“Ahem.”

“Yes, my queen.” He relented.

“Good.”

The Dragon Queen walked to the door and a guard immediately opened it. She paused for a moment in the threshold before leaving. “Lady Malnyx.” She said over her shoulder. “The Highlord is confined to quarters. Would you be so kind as to sit with him until I return?”

“Of course, my queen.” The black dragon bowed.

“And Maya. I don’t care what he says. Neither you nor he are to leave this chamber.”

“Understood my queen.”

Aliyeah nodded. “Cassandra, do not allow anyone outside of the guard to enter. Do not allow him to leave.”

“Yes, my queen.”

“Cam, you’re coming with me.” 

 Maya pressed her hand to Devon’s forehead. “You’re burning.” 

“I feel like a hot coal in Algidia.”

“Since when do you visit the white dragons?” Maya snickered for a moment before something grabbed her attention. She sniffed at the air, and slowly turned her head away from Devon and shifted her attention to Rayne, whose slight frame was hovering in the doorway.

“What do you want?” She hissed threateningly.

Devon was unable to make out the silhouette in the doorway. His vision was still blurry from the poison.  He closed his eyes and reached out with his other senses. The scent of sea spray and salt water wafted in the air. “Rayne. Come in. Please.”

“Thank you, my lord.” Her voice sounded shaken, laden with anxiety.

Maya glowered at her, snarling at the bronze dragon, exposing her teeth as she drew close. Frosty air escaped her nose as a sulphuric odor exhaled on her breath.

Rayne slowly edged into view standing a few feet away. “How are you feeling Devon?” Her cheeks were red and puffy, her eyes bloodshot. It looked to him as if she had been crying only moments before she entered.

“I’m good.” He croaked. “I’ll be back on my feet in no time.” Coughing. “I must confess though; I’ve never experienced a poison like this.” He paused thoughtfully for a moment trying to remember something that had been said to him. The memory eluded him. He tapped the bed next to him. “Sit. Plenty of room.”

Rayne looked warily at Maya. “I’m not sure…”

“I am. Sit. That’s an order.”

“Yes, my lord.” She made her way around the bed and found space next to him across from Maya. She rested herself uncomfortably beside him.

“I know what you’re thinking. You blame yourself for it. Don’t. There was nothing you could have done that would have changed the outcome.”

Rayne lowered her head.

“I beg to differ, my lord. She could have died protecting you. That’s the job.” The black dragon growled. 

“Darlin, it wouldn’t have mattered who was there. I can’t rightly explain it now… my head is still a bit scrambled because of the poison… but there was much more to this assassination attempt than you realize. The results would have been the same regardless of who stood near.”

“Correction my lord, it was an assassination. The attempt succeeded.” Maya scowled. 

“That’s enough.” He scolded her. “Listen to me Rayne. I do not hold you responsible and my opinion is the only one that matters.”

Rayne knew Devon was trying to ease her guilt, but she also knew that his opinion wasn’t the only one that mattered. That much was clear by the looks of disapproval and comments she received from her peers.

Answer me this. If you knew you could have prevented the attack by sacrificing your life for me, would you have done it?”

She raised her head and looked him directly in the eyes. “Without hesitation my lord.”

“Harumph” Maya snorted.

Devon reached out and clasped the bronze dragon’s hand in his own. “We’ve been together a long time. It was you who volunteered to join me on the Prime during my banishment. You did so with no reservation and with no idea or guarantee that you’d ever return to the planes. You have always answered my call the instant you were summoned, and you have earned my confidence.”

“I feel like I’ve lost my own.” She answered sadly.

Devon trembled as a shock of pain rushed through his body. “To hear you say so hurts me worse than any wound I’ve endured.” He exhaled raggedly. “And I’ve had my share of rough treatment.” He grinned, grimaced, and shifted. “I’m fortunate to have you and grateful for your service. I’m not an easy liege to look after.”

“Well, that I agree with.” Maya interjected.

“I…” Rayne’s eyes were swollen, red and wet with tears. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I failed you and while you do not hold me responsible, I do. Maya’s right.” She turned away. “You trusted me to protect you and I failed you.”

“No. You didn’t. You’re not listening, Rayne. There was something else.” He began to get upset, shake and cough. He took a few deep breaths. “Don’t give up on yourself, my friend. I’ll not give up on you ever.”

Rayne smiled weakly. “Thank you, Devon. You should rest. Should you have need of me…” She squeezed his hand. “…just call.”

He winked. “I shall.”

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“The Dragon Highlord was assassinated! I hold her responsible!” said the Bronze Queen.

“The Dragon Highlord doesn’t believe it was her fault.” said Aliyeah. 

“The Dragon Highlord didn’t think the sundering of Sanguinar was her fault either! Tell me – if the Highlord must keep making excuses for his escorts’ failures, what good are they?!”

The Bronze Queen’s words were burnt into her mind and made her sick to her stomach. She felt something vile rise in the back of her throat. Her tears stung her eyes. Her breath was short and labored.

“What did I do?” She moaned in horror as the scenes in question played back in her memory. “Oh gods! Oh, gods please! Please don’t let this be real. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean any of it. I’ll take it back. I’ll do something better. Fix it. Please fix it!” She closed her eyes tightly and prayed to no particular deity. “Please. Please. Please.”

The double doors of the chapel were blown open by a fierce wind. Surreal shafts of light crisscrossed the interior of the chapel from the stained-glass windows, illuminating Rayne in a myriad of hues and colors. She began to sway uneasily as the central stained-glass window above the altar began to warp and undulate, like heat waves creating a mirage.  The image of a beautiful angel slowly came to life as it stepped out from the window frame and moved toward Rayne. The light in the chapel began to brighten. Space and time began to dilate. Vertigo set in as she became overwhelmed by the vision. The light faded. Billions of stars evolved from the darkness and began to slowly rotate inversely toward a central point as though returning to the origin of space and time. The stars began to rotate faster and faster until they exploded in a brilliant flash of pure white light.

Rayne’s eyes snapped open with a start. An old man clothed in wizard robes stood only a few inches away and laughed at her.

“Who… who are you?”

“I am that I am. You don’t like my face? Evidently not. Maybe you prefer this one…”

His body morphed into that of a little boy dressed in a commoner’s clothes. Rayne gazed at him in bewilderment.

“Too young maybe? How about this one?”

The boy became a young man dressed in Sanguinary clothing.

Rayne was breathless. 

“Better? No. Incomplete.”

The young man grew into Devon, dressed in the armor of the Highlord. Suddenly his face began to grow pale, and his skin began to wither to the point of decomposition. Rayne screamed, and covered her face. The man smiled, unaffected by her outburst.

“What do you want from me?!” Rayne screamed through a flood of tears.

“Nothing. I’m here to set you free.”

Suddenly the door slammed shut, and Rayne was left alone. She ran to the door, but it was locked. Utterly distraught she looked round the chapel and moved over to a small window, it was just wide enough for her to squeeze through. Rayne clambered out onto a narrow ledge, high above the moat below. 

“Need some help?” The old man was on the ledge waiting for her.

“What are you doing out here?”

“I might ask you the same question.”

“I… I’m leaving… I can’t take anymore—”

“And what exactly is it that you can’t take anymore of?”

“Everything!  Being abandoned and betrayed by everyone! The humiliation! I feel like I’m in prison! I can’t stand it anymore! I’d rather die!”

“You’ll be dead soon enough anyway, so why be in such a hurry?  Why not face up to your lies?  It’s your lies you can’t stand anymore.”

“I… I never lied!”

“If you were true to yourself… if your faith was firm, you wouldn’t need to run away from yourself like this.”

“I am true! To Bahamut! To my Queen! The Dragon Highlord! They know how much I love them! That’s all that matters to me.”

“How can you pretend that you love Bahamut when you’re about to throw away the most precious thing he gave you? Life is a gift; you should know that by now, Rayne. A gift from the gods. You know what he’d say to you if he was here? ‘What are you doing to me, Rayne?’”

Rayne felt lost, exhausted, and numb. “You’re right… I shouldn’t do that.”

Suddenly The old man pushed her, causing Rayne to nearly fall. Rayne frantically grabbed for the window pane to steady herself. “One minute you want to die, the next you want to live. Do you think that life is a toy that can be played with and then thrown away when you don’t want it anymore?”

“No, no… I’m just so tired, and lost, and… I didn’t realize what I was doing! I just want to be at peace!”

“Death will not give your soul peace. If you want to be at peace, you must first forgive yourself before others can forgive you. I cannot grant your soul peace, but I can grant you the chance to find peace. What you do with that chance is up to you. I believe in you Rayne. I need to know you believe in me.”

“Who… who are you?”

“Do you accept the chance I am willing to give you, Rayne?”

“Yes…yes… but…”

The old man pushed her again.  This time Rayne lost her balance, and with a startled cry fell from the ledge.  Unable to save herself she plunged down into the moat below.

As she sank beneath the water the clouds and the wind became one in an apocalyptic ballet. Nature started to consume her; the water, sea grass, and roots integrated her into the earth as a part of the whole. Her world went dark.

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It was near Varithne, a village too tiny to appear on most maps. It lies in the north of Darkon, where the terrain is rugged and the populace sparse. During the daylight hours the land was beautiful. Few places could rival the allure of its rolling hills, deep primeval forests, grassy glades, and meadows ablaze with a profusion of wildflowers. The breezes were gentle, carrying with them the whispers of the trees, and the perfumes of myriad flora. 

An old man atop of a mule drawn cart traveled the dirt road into town. The loose earth crunched under the weight of the cart’s wooden wheels. The day at the market was long and slow for Aynruth. The only thing he was looking forward to now was the safety of his home and a nice hot meal. He looked down and smiled at his hound, Maggie, who trotted next to the cart keeping pace.

 “Almost home,” he said aloud to the dog.

A moment later Maggie sniffed the wind and bolted into a clearing off to the side of the road barking wildly.

“Maggie no!” the old man shouted. 

Maggie ignored the command and continued to run. Aynruth stopped the cart and stood up using the cart’s height to his advantage. He could see a figure lying in the middle of the clearing. Whoever it was seemed to be wearing a sort of cloak with commoners clothes underneath. If anything, it looked almost too plain, like someone had made every effort to take any semblance of recognizability away. Quickly drawing his musket Aynruth began to move into the clearing, keeping it shouldered as he aimed down towards the figure. “Whoever you are, if this is a trick, I swear to the gods that I will kill you!” he shouted to the figure.

Aynruth continued to move cautiously until he was a mere few feet away from the body. Maggie fell silent, sat down, and gazed at her master with a look that could only be described as pride.

Even prone, the creature looked tall. It was strongly built with feet that ended with three strong talon-like claws with a fourth claw in the back, while the hands were similar with three claws with a thumb replacing the rear claw. Its head featured a blunt snout, a strong brow, and reptilian frills on the cheeks and ears. On the back of the head, a crest of hornlike scales formed what resembled a mess of ropy hair. Though he had never seen one, he thought the creature looked very much like a dragon with its bronze scales glittering in the sunlight.

 Aynruth poked the creature with the barrel of his musket causing it to exhale slightly.

“Well, it’s not dead,” he said to Maggie. “You think we should help it, don’t you?”

Maggie continued to gaze at Aynruth with a prideful look.

“Ok, girl. If you say so.”

With great effort Aynruth constructed a litter, attached it to the cart, and dragged the body back to his home. The well-constructed cottage was built of native timber and was a home of substance rather than wealth.  

The scent of stew simmering over the cook fire caused Aynruth’s guest to stir.

“Ah! You’re awake. And just in time for supper,” Aynruth said to his guest.

“Whe… where am I?” The creature said in a gravelly voice.

“I am Aynruth and you are in my home.”

“How did I get here?”

“Maggie found you in a clearing. Had we left you in the wilds you would have surely died. What do they call you?”

His mind still foggy, he thought for a moment and stumbled over his words. “Ray…Rayne…err…”

Aynruth turned from the cook pot and handed his guest a bowl of stew. “Well, Reiner, eat up. You need to get your strength back.”

“Thank you,” Reiner said, accepting the bowl. “You must possess a kind soul to help a stranger such as myself.”

“Normally I wouldn’t with the way you look and all, but Maggie seems to have reason to like you and I trust her. What are you anyways? I’ve never seen your kind before.”

Reiner struggled with the question. His mind was still foggy. “I… I was born a dragon.”

“Dragonborn, you say? That’s a first for me. What brings you out to Varithne?”

Again, Reiner struggled with the question. “I just remember being told I need to prove my faith.”

“Ah! A holy man! You don’t come across many of those in these parts! If folks can get past the horns and all, I imagine you’ll become quite popular around here if you decide to stay.”

Maggie walked over to Reiner and laid down on his feet.

Rainer smiled at the dog. “I guess I can stay for a bit.”