Fan Fiction ❯ Fire-Child ❯ Chapter 2

2

 

Two years had passed since that tragic night in the snow and things in Shavasta had returned to a semblance of normality. Dragons went about their daily business, stopping to chat with others of their kind in the cobblestone streets. Fledglings, their tiny wings flapping uselessly on their backs as they ran, played at hide-and-seek and tag with the addition of one fire-child, matching their speed with ease.

 

Marius looked out at his niece playing with three dragon children in the yard and smiled. The red dragon could not bring himself to think of her as his daughter; that would remind him of Astarra and Rolan and those memories were painful ones. But he loved her like a daughter and was glad beyond telling that she was finally out of her depression of the previous year.

 

The year after Astarra's death had been hard on all the community, but especially on Lora, Marius, and Tavia. A coffin had been made for the fire-mage out of mahogany wood from the tallest tree cultivated in the hothouse. The most talented wood-worker in the city spent a full day carving the casket that seemed so small to the massive dragons. After it was completed, Astarra was placed inside and laid at the temple to Draga and Sorana, the patron god and goddess of dragons, for three days. During that time, the whole of Shavasta was in mourning for their dear friend. Red flags, the color of mourning among the fire-mages, flew over the dome-shaped houses and no one, not even the fledglings, raised their voice in anger or joy in respect for the dead who could no longer talk at all.

 

Only family was allowed to actually see the body before the fourth day. So Lora and Marius visited Astarra with Tavia everyday during that time. All three would kneel before the altar and the dead woman in front of it, praying to their own gods and goddesses for comfort. During these visits, Tavia never cried although pain and grief would cloud her eyes. She never had cried in public after that first time sitting in the snow with her dead mother's head in her lap. Marius suspected, however, that Tavia snuck out of the house when her guardians were asleep and went to see her mother by herself. And once he had gone in late at night to check on her and found her lying in bed, tear stains on her cheek.

 

At dawn on the fourth day, all the dragons had gathered at the temple to view the body and bear witness to the ceremony to follow. As they filed in and past the casket, some sobbed uncontrollably, others whispered a quiet prayer to Draga or Sorana, and some walked by stoically with rage in their yellow eyes. Marius, Tavia, and Lora stood behind the coffin, between it and the altar, as was their duty as those closest to the deceased. It fell to Marius to thank the dragons for coming as they filed past him, since Lora was crying; silently soaking the stone floor beneath her, and Tavia was standing silently in between her adopted parents, jaw clenched and eyes unfocused.

 

Eventually, all the dragons had lain comfortably in the stone pews made in the same form as the alcove in the hothouse that Lora had been lying in when Astarra and her seven year old daughter had flown erratically into their midst. It seemed like ages ago to the dragon.

 

Once everyone was settled, a priest of Draga had stepped forward and spoke the ritual words that released the spirit of its past sins. When this was finished, he stepped aside, allowing the two dragons and one solemn, yellow-eyed girl to step forward. Lora and Marius had lowered their noses to touch the body before them and Tavia had reached out her hand without hesitation and laid it on her mother's hand.

 

Marius would never forget the look that passed across her eyes, on of sorrow and anger, as her lips moved in a silent prayer of which the only word he could discern was Simione. She had clutched at the locket through her ceremonial red shirt with her free hand, the material bunching under her white-knuckled fist. Her eyes had soon closed, however, and her hand had relaxed its hold, concealing both her emotions and the gathering tears from the world.

 

All three had built their power simultaneously, calling upon the forces that contained the element of fire. Marius had been surprised earlier that day when Tavia had asked to be apart of the burning ceremony, but, remembering that she had told them that her healing powers and empathy had emerged earlier than normal, he assumed that her control over fire had done the same. Despite this assumption, he had still been shocked when the young girl's powers rose smoothly along with his and Lora's.

 

As flames had spilled from Tavia's fingers and the two dragons' mouths, a great roar of rough song had arisen from the congregation of dragons. The sound drowned out the crackle of the rapidly rising flames, which consumed Astarra's earthly body while releasing her immortal soul to the heavens.

 

Tavia had stared intently at the flames, her yellow eyes turning an eerie orange in the reflected light, emotions flickering through them as she allowed the fact that her mother was truly gone and never coming back to sink in all the way. Tears had welled in her eyes, turning orange to a softer copper, but had been allowed to flow freely down her tanned skin that was so much like her father's.

 

After the ceremony for Astarra, her ashes were gathered and put in a box made of the same mahogany as the casket and secured with a silver hook attached to the lid that fit snugly inside a golden loop of metal secured to the box itself. The priest of Draga repeated the prayer for release from sins for Astarra's husband, Rolan, and a ceremonial fire was lit for him, gathering the ashes from that and putting them in an identical box. Both of these were placed side by side in an alcove of the altar.

 

Tavia had expressed her desire that her parents' ashes be placed in the temple of Simione as was customary for fire-mages, but since none were allowed to travel there save Simione's children, and then only when they had passed their 17th birthday, that seemed impossible until Tavia herself made the trip. The young girl agreed to wait and bring the twin boxes with her when she finally made the journey that would gift her with the Star Song and make her an adult in the eyes of her people. Until then, she must be content with their current placement.

 

The sun had been almost unbearably bright after the relative darkness of the chapel, which was lit by only a few candles, and all those who had been present squinted as they stepped outside. Their chattering had flowed over Marius, Lora and Tavia as the other dragons talked of the ceremony and how beautiful it had been and how wonderfully the young ones had behaved. All three had gone straight to their shared house by silent consent.

 

The days and months afterwards, Lora and Marius had adjusted to their guardian role, taking care not to mention Astarra or Rolan too much around their charge. Despite their precautions, however, Tavia was quite and introspective most of that time, but gradually, she began to come to grips with her reality and move on as best she could. Even now, two years later, sadness would cloud her eyes for a moment, casting shadows behind the entrancing yellow orbs.

 

But for now, Marius was happy to watch his young niece and adopted daughter run after her best friend, Kara, as they played a game of tag with Kara's two younger brothers. The green fledgling female ran ahead of the fire-child, taunting her playfully in between bursts of laughter. Tavia tore after her friend, her long braid, now hanging to her waist, fluttering like a banner out behind her. She laughed happily but somehow maintained a focused look on her face as she gained on the dragon. Once she was close enough, she leaped and landed on top of her quarry, pinning the wings, too tiny to carry their owner in flight yet, to the scaly back and rolling head-over-heels-over-tail into one of the other participants who stopped them by his superior bulk and their loss of momentum. The yard filled with peals of young laughter.

 

“It's nice to see Tavia happy again, isn't it Marius?”

 

The red dragon turned to smile lovingly at his mate, her blue scales shining in the afternoon sun being filtered in through the kitchen window. “Yes, it is. I was wondering if she'd ever bring herself to join the other little ones.” He replied

 

“I did too.” Lora paused thoughtfully, “She's 9 now, isn't she?”

 

“Yes, her birthday was in Rose-Month.”

 

“That's only 8 more years before her journey to the temple of Simione.”

 

“What's that got to do with anything?” Marius turned to her his mate in surprise. Why would she bring that up now?

 

“Well, my darling, it will be a very difficult journey for her, especially with all the searches going on for her kind. She should be prepared, don't you agree?” Lora's tone was placating.

 

“I do. But that's 8 whole years away.”

 

“But this is the time that Astarra would have been preparing her for the journey: teaching her to fight, how to read a map, how to survive in the wilderness alone, and, most importantly, how to fly. But we'll also have to teach her how to hide her essence from mages. Astarra taught her how to cloak her eyes when she was two and we've already seen that she has control of all her other powers, but perhaps we could refine them. She will have need of all of them on her journey.”

 

“But she's just a child. A child who's been through a great deal of tragedy. Can't we let her rest for a while?”

 

Lora looked at the red dragon staring out at the playing children with sadness and forced her look into one of stern determination, “If we keep putting it off, she'll have to go out into the world unprepared and that will get her killed. So, I think we should start as soon as possible.” She stared meaningfully at him as she said the last part.

 

Marius took the hint. Sighing, he moved around the kitchen and to the front door, opening it with a touch of his claw and peering outside at the children who were sitting on the lawn talking now. “Tavia, would you come inside please, your aunt and I would like to discuss a few things with you.”

 

Tavia glanced at her uncle and then back to her friends sitting on the lawn. She looked at each of them apologetically and with more than a hint of regret before the green dragon shook her head dismissively, and then stated, “Yeah, we have to get going anyway, Tavi. We can come see ya tomorrow, though, right?”

 

The fire-child's eyes darted to the red dragon in the doorway who nodded encouragingly. Far be it from him to keep his usually reclusive niece from getting out of the house and out of feeling sorry for herself.

 

Tavia' eyes lit up with glee as she turned back to her companion, a small smile flitting over her face. “Yeah Kara, that'd be great.”

 

“Ok then, I'll be seeing you.” With that, Kara rose off the grass, touched her nose to Tavia's forehead in farewell, and bounded off in the direction of her house, her brother and sister following closely after mimicking their older sister.

 

Tavia looked after them thoughtfully for a while before rising herself and making her way to her uncle. “You needed to talk to me, Uncle Marius?” she asked respectfully.

 

“Yes, darling, we did.” Lora's voice rang out from behind him before Marius could respond, “But perhaps you should come inside, first.”

 

Tavia nodded and walked into the large common room, maneuvering between Marius' legs.

 

The common room was a large, spacious room made entirely of white stone with high ceilings that could accommodate even the tallest dragon standing on his hind legs. Bits of flame hung in glass containers suspended from roof by hooks that were imbedded in the rock. Along the walls, wooden bookshelves of glistening oak and ash broke the monotony of the plain white walls and various colorful paintings in gilded frames broke the monotony of the bookshelves. Cushions, which were basically nothing more than a huge amount of the fluff from the cattails in the hothouse, were collected into three separate piles in the middle of the room, one for Lora, one for Marius, and one for Tavia. Each was covered with a different colored blanket to keep the fluff from sticking to bodies and clothes.

 

The young fire-mage settled in the smallest pile which was covered with a black blanket which matched her hair, allowing herself to sink into the soft material. As soon as she sat down, she fell into her nervous habit of fiddling with the heart-shaped locket around her neck. Lora and Marius followed her lead, Lora taking the deep blue “couch” and Marius taking the red one. Tavia said nothing, but looked expectantly at each of them. It had to be something important for her guardians to call her inside so abruptly, so she waited patiently for one of them to break the silence that had fallen among them.

 

Marius cleared his throat once, then twice and stared at the red cloth covering his seat as though trying to read a speech that had been written in a foreign language. Tavia decided that he looked very uncomfortable. Lora, however, appeared serene and when she realized that her mate was not going to begin this particular conversation, she took it upon herself to do the honors.

 

“Now, Tavia, you know that when you are seventeen, you will be leaving us to travel to the temple of Simione, correct?” the blue dragon started.

 

Tavia nodded mutely. It was the defining moment in any fire-mage's life. It would be the time when she would be gifted with the secret of the Star Song and become an adult in her own right.

 

“Well, this trip will not be easy in any shape or form. It was difficult for you parents to carry out and that was even before the persecution of your kind began.” Lora paused here to collect her thoughts and allowed the shadow of grief that had covered her niece's golden eyes at the mention of her parents to pass. She then continued, “So, your uncle and I, as your guardians now, have decided to take on the responsibility of preparing you with knowledge that you will need to complete your task.”

 

Tavia was pensive for a while before replying, “When do we start?”

 

“Today, if that's alright with you, my dear.”

 

“That's fine. The sooner the better.”

 

Lora and Marius looked on their young charge with pride as she nodded her head decisively. “Good. That's settled then. Was that so hard, love?” Lora addressed the last to her mate, looking askance at him.

 

Tavia lifted her eyes to pierce her uncle's, “Did you think I would be averse to work, Uncle?” her voice sounded only half-offended. The other half was amusement.

 

“Well, I…I” Marius stuttered, lost for words for a moment before admitting with a lowered head, “I just didn't want to have to think about you leaving just yet. We still have 8 more years and we'll miss you once you're gone.”

 

Tavia smiled and got up to hug her uncle's neck, her small arms barely able to wrap even halfway around. “Thanks. I'll miss you too, Uncle Marius.” Tavia replied.

 

Marius was happy that his young charge was finally coming out of her mourning and smiling and he relished her hug, hoping that she wouldn't stop as she got older. But for now, there were more important matters to deal with. “Alright, Tavita, I love you too, but we really should get started on at least some training.”

 

Tavia unwrapped her arms and turned so that she could see both of her guardians, “What are we going to be doing, anyway?” she asked.

 

Marius looked expectantly at Lora and his mate did not disappoint, “Fighting” she replied promptly and led the way out the back door to the cleared yard that served as a backyard. The two others looked at each other for a moment and then shrugged, following the blue dragon outside.

 

“How are we going to practice fighting if there's no one my own size here?” Tavia asked curiously once they all stood in the backyard, bathed in the unfiltered sunshine that accompanied life on a mountaintop.

 

Lora turned to face her, “Well, I got the idea from Kara's mother, actually. I was wondering how we would be able to teach you fighting skills since we're are both so much bigger than you and the younger dragons wouldn't fight the same as a human which would probably be what you'd be facing in a fight. So, Shasa, Kara's mother, came up with the idea of using an illusion of a human and allowing you to fight that. That way, I could control it's movements to show you various things you would need to know, but you would still get the effective training.” Lora positively glowed with excitement at this clever solution.

 

Even Marius was impressed, “Wow. You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you Lora?”

 

The blue dragon nodded, “I have been thinking about it for a while now. I just wanted it all figured out before we started.”

 

“OK, but there's only one problem, Aunt Lora: how do you know how human or a fire-mage should fight? Your training has been in how a dragon should fight and, forgive me, but I don't have four claws, really sharp teeth, and I'm not nearly as big as you.” Tavia asked

 

“That's a good question, Tavita, and I'll tell you. I've been reading up on all forms and facets of human combat and I've also seen a lot of fights in my day. Especially before the Age of Chaos began. I think I have enough knowledge to not only teach you but reproduce the same tactics and motions in my illusion.” Lora responded with a certain amount of pride in her voice.

 

“Very good, then. Well, now that it's all figured out now, so why don't we get started?” Tavia asked impatiently. She had been following her mother's advice and searching her heart for the answers to all the questions that chased each other around her head, but no great revelations came to mind at all no matter how hard she tried. This had left Tavia frustrated and slightly angry. She had some rudimentary fighting skills in case of an emergency, and while she knew that there was much she needed to learn yet, she had longed to simply beat on something since the funeral. This situation would suit her purposes perfectly since an illusion would feel no pain so she could pound it and not get any readings off of it that would make her feel guilty.

 

Lora smiled indulgently at the young fire-girl, “Alright, Tavia, hold on just one minute.” With that, the blue dragon closed her eyes in concentration and bowed her head. The air in front of her began to shimmer as though over a flame. Slowly, the shimmer seemed to gather in a human sized pillar of shuddering light that swirled and formed the form a person. Arms and legs defined themselves, stretching away from the main form and an oval-shaped lump rose from the top of a long lean torso. The silhouette of a man about a head taller than Tavia's 4'8” stood before the dark blue dragon outlined in light. In the next moment, however, color flooded the image before her, smooth peach for bare arms and head, black for long pants and short-sleeved shirt, and short cropped hair. Once the illusion was completed, a well-built man stood before Tavia. He looked like any other human man, or fire-mage for that matter, except his face bore no features whatsoever. Pale skin stretched over a face devoid of eyes, nose or mouth.

 

“What's…” began Tavia, pointing vaguely at the faceless parody of a person who was to be her sparring partner.

 

“One drawback of creating an illusory person is that there's no way that you can put any features on them. That's much too specific for a simple illusion. Although some have been able to do it, it simply took them many days to complete it. I didn't think you'd want to wait that long.” Lora flashed her niece a half-smile as she opened her huge yellow eyes and finished her explanation.

 

Tavia was torn between being glad that there was no possibility for expressions on this feature-less face and being disappointed that she couldn't break a nose that it didn't have. She decided on the former since there wasn't anything she could do to change the fact of the illusion's make. So, she nodded once and dropped into a defensive fighting stance, indicating without words that the lesson was ready to begin.

 

Lora nodded at her silent statement and the illusion, too, dropped into a fighting stance, but this was offensive.

 

Without warning, it lunged at her, swinging a right hook to her head, rising unprotected over her balled fists. Tavia, however, [Author ID1: at Fri Mar 21 14:09:00 2003 ]was ready and promptly ducked the blow, letting the momentum of the swing carry him to her right side. Her own fist darted out like a striking snake, making contact with his spine around the middle of his back and sending him stumbling to the ground. To Tavia's pleasure, there was no accompanying stab of pain in her own back in sympathy to him. The girl smiled slightly, dropping back to defensive stance.

 

However, instead of falling to hands and knees like the girl had expected, he rolled, tucking his head to his chin, and came back up on his feet.

 

“Neat trick you got there, Aunt Lora. Hope you teach it to me one day.” Tavia commented, one eyebrow raising, never taking her eyes off her opponent even though she addressed her Aunt.

 

The female dragon gave no response, but Tavia expected none. Instead, she did a much more predictable move. With a touch of magic that was palpable to Tavia's senses, Lora made the illusion leap once more, this time aiming a kick that would have hit her abdomen if Tavia hadn't danced backwards out of his reach. The illusion, controlled by Lora, would not give up that easily, though. It followed her, punching upward in a move that clipped her chin slightly despite Tavia's best efforts to dodge. The impact, slight though it was, forced the fire-girl back a step before she regained her footing and delivered a firm roundhouse kick to her opponent's legs, sweeping them out from underneath him as he got closer for another punch. The illusion fell to his back, but like before, only tucked his head and rolled back to his feet.

 

“You just won't stay down, will you?” Tavia asked mockingly, forgetting that this was only an illusion and becoming completely engrossed in the fight. She hadn't realized how much she had missed the strategy and mental involvement that fighting required until this moment, fighting with this face-less illusion. Her mind was completely focused on her opponent and his moves, leaving no room for worries, thoughts, or, most importantly, memories.

 

The illusory man didn't attack her this time, and for a moment they circled each other like two predators sizing each other up before a fight. Tavia began to grow impatient, bouncing on the balls of her feet and waiting for her opponent to do something. More than that, her mind was beginning to clear enough to remember her parents and their death. Rage at remembered pain consumed Tavia's vision and she felt the sudden urge to do something. Finally, Tavia made her move, taking the offensive for the first time since this fight began. She dove straight for the illusion's waist, catching him off-guard and throwing him down to the ground despite his superior weight and height compared her small young form. They landed in a tangle of arms and legs, a look of fierce determination on the fire-child's face and no look at all on the illusion's. They scrabbled around on the ground for a while, illusory hands trying desperately to wrap around Tavia's very real neck even as the girl pounded her small fist into the blank face. Finally, the illusion's superior weight prevailed and it pinned her to the ground, its hands finally finding a purchase around her windpipe and neck muscles. The fire-child gagged for a moment before the man rose off of her, releasing her neck and stepping away to stand next to Lora. Tavia propped herself up on an elbow and coughed violently.

 

“Lesson one, child: never try to overpower an enemy who's bigger than you. Instead, outsmart and outmaneuver them.” Lora recited, walking over to her niece and offering one claw to help her up.

 

Tavia grasped the smooth black nail firmly and hauled herself to her feet, pounding her hands on her front and backside to get any clinging grass or soil off her. “I'm sorry Aunt Lora, I guess I got carried away for a minute there.” Tavia replied, lowering her eyes to contemplate her bare feet, grass and black soil staining her toes from where she dug them into the ground. She had wanted to impress her aunt and uncle with her fighting skills, not do something so stupid as get herself pinned.

 

“Don't worry, Tavi, you did very well. There are a few new things I can teach and others that I will only have to improve upon, but all in all, you have a good, strong basis. Who taught you?” Lora asked the last without thinking, but once it was out of her mouth, she didn't take it back even though she had a good idea what the answer was.

 

Tavia paused, her yellow eyes locking with her aunt's much larger ones as she contemplated her answer. Eventually she spoke quietly, barely audible to any but dragon-ears, “My father.”

 

Just as Lora had predicted. “Well,” she began, sighing hard enough to lift a few strands out of Tavia's tight braid, “that does make sense. Rolan was an excellent fighter. He had such passion and focus. You remind me of him.” Lora stared intently at Tavia's face as she said this, measuring the girl's reaction and looking for one in particular.

 

A muted crimson, almost burgundy behind her tan, rose to the fire-child's cheeks as she flushed with pleasure at the compliment. Maybe she hadn't made as much a fool of herself as she had thought. Standing up straighter and looking resolute she asked, “Can I try again?”

 

* * *

 

The days then stretched into months and the months to years. By the time Tavia's 17th birthday final arrived, she had had the same training routine for what seemed like a lifetime or more. Everyday, she rose with the sun and met her Aunt in the backyard for a quick spar and lesson before breakfast. By the time she was done, Tavia had enough of an appetite to gobble up a stack of pancakes, three strips of bacon, and one poached egg. The dragons had a huge group of corrals on one side of the city which contained all manner of food-producing animals like chickens, cows, sheep, and pigs. They were allowed to run free through their pastures (which were over 20 dragon-lengths worth of space), breeding and eating until a dragon would come and hunt them down to replenish their stock of meat, ensuring that the inhabitants of Shavasta never went hungry. The novel practice of cooking meat, however, was only instituted in the home of Lora and Marius after the arrival of their young niece and while they would cut it up for her, she would have to build a small fire and cook it herself. Tavia didn't mind much though, since not only was it good practice for when she was on her own, but it was also far preferable to eating it raw.

 

As far as wool or leather went, however, the raw material required to make either would be decimated by a dragon's huge claws and rendered completely useless. So, Tavia was forced to create her own clothes by magic, weaving the material out of air to suit her desires. Eventually, she had acquired a full wardrobe, even though she had been frustrated many times when she was forced to make new clothes whenever she outgrew the old ones. Shoes were a different matter all together. For some reason, the tanned and stretched skin of a cow was deemed to be an organic material by whatever deity controlled the laws of magic and thus was out of her control as far as creating it went. Therefore, she simply went without shoes at all.

 

After breakfast had been completed and Tavia had changed out of her sweaty morning workout clothes into cleaner clothes, she would have some free time to herself, the amount of which was determined by what lesson would be preformed later in the day. If it was learning how to survive in the wilderness for an extended period of time, she would stay at home and help out with whatever needed to be done during that time. Then, the fire-child would go to the hothouse with Aunt Lora after lunch and then would spend two or more hours wandering its paths. If she would be learning to sense the power signatures of other mages and magic-wielders and cloak her own power from others, Tavia would go to Kara's house and spend time with her best friend.

 

However, Tavia's favorite and most important lesson of all was that of flying. When Marius had first announced that he was going to teach the fire-mage to fly, Tavia had been very skeptical. Mostly her worries had stemmed from the fact that many of her memories of her parents were connected with flying in their arms and the last memory she had of her mother was of that final flight from their little town to Shavasta when her life was changed forever. But Marius took her slowly through the process, first making her master the transformation into her dragon form, extracting and retracting her wings and horns until it could be done without thought. The first time she had done it, both her Aunt and Uncle had been shocked at the color of the added appendages since her father's had been silver and her mother's had been pitch black. Tavia's wings, however, were a bright gold that matched her eyes and brought out matching tones in her skin. But despite their unprecedented color, they were strong and were made stronger by countless exercises before Marius would even take her up into the sky with her on his back. By the time she was deemed to be ready, Tavia could hardly wait to soar through the sky on her own wing-power. Needless to say, she had taken to it very quickly.

 

But today was different. Today was unlike any other day she had ever experienced and unlike any she would ever experience and this was not simply because it was her birthday. It was because this was her seventeenth birthday. She was finally, after all those years of work, becoming that magical age when all possibilities were opened to her. All of the months and weeks of memorizing what to do to build shelter in a rainstorm, and how to block a kick to the legs without having to jump had led up to this day.

 

But even as she thrilled with anticipation and excitement, the more rational portion of her mind whispered that it was also the day she would have to leave friends and family to face unknown and potentially deadly perils.

 

Nevertheless, she could hardly keep herself in bed, waiting for her uncle to come and “wake” her up.

 

Finally, the door squeaked open slightly, “Tavita? Darling? Are you awake yet?” His voice sounded half hopeful half fearful, as though her still being asleep could put off the inevitable.

 

Tavia normally would have at least given the pretense of having just woken up, but today was not a normal day. She leapt out of bed already fully dressed in a black shirt and breeches, “Yep, I'm up Uncle Marius. What's for breakfast?”

 

Her cheerful tone was the complete opposite of her normal, “I'm not a morning person so leave me alone” grumble. Marius was taken aback by her excitement for a moment. Was she really that happy to leave? But his fears were banished when the fire-mage threw her arms around her Uncle's nose (the only thing on him she could reach despite her 5'7” height) and squeezed tightly. “I love you, Uncle Marius and I will miss you. You and Aunt Lora.” She whispered against his cheek before skipping off in the direction of the kitchen.

 

A smile graced the red dragon's features for a moment, wondering what had prompted that until he remembered that she was an empath and probably had felt his apprehension at her cheerful reply. Oh well, that was just the reassurance he had needed, no matter what the reason was for her to give it. He knew she meant it.

 

Tavia bounded into the kitchen, the tip of her braid swinging like a pendulum at her waist, “Hi Aunt Lora! What am I cooking today?”

 

The blue dragon had her back to the teenaged girl, but from the sadness that wafted off of her and into Tavia's senses like smoke on a light breeze, she knew that her Aunt had been crying. “I took some of the pork out of the ice chest. If you want, you could make some bacon or sausage…I have some eggs, too. Those were hard to get since the chickens never put them in the same place…I could get something different if you want…it is your birthday after all.” Lora replied between abbreviated breaths that caught in her chest.

 

Tavia, smiled sadly. She had hoped to make this as happy a day as possible, but from all the sadness in just this little house, her own enthusiasm was considerably dampened. It wasn't that she didn't love her Aunt and Uncle or that she wouldn't miss them, because she would, but this was the most important day in a fire-child's life and that fact had been drilled into her head since birth. She longed to prove herself, to meet her blessed goddess, learn the Star Song, and become a woman.

 

Also, she desired with all her heart to finally be able to put her parents' ashes in their final resting place in Simione's temple, where they should be. The small inconspicuous boxes looked painfully out of place among the gaudy gold suns and platinum moons that represented Draga and Sorana. Sunlight and moonlight were both intrusive and stretched to everything that they could. The fire-mages worshiped the more modest stars and their ruler, Simione, and Astarra and Rolan had been no exception. They would want to be put in the temple of their goddess, Tavia knew. So, the sooner she could complete that goal, the better.

 

But for now, it was her birthday and she was entitled to enjoy it as much as she could.

 

She slowed her pace to an elated walk as she entered the kitchen and went to hug her aunt. The blue dragon was projecting grief and pride at the same time, but the former was starting to overcome the latter. She spent an extra minute embracing her, “That will be fine, Aunt Lora. And I will miss you when I have to leave you and Uncle Marius. I appreciate what you've done for me.”

 

“It was our pleasure, child.” The female dragon choked out once Tavia had pulled away and moved to gather her breakfast. The fire-girl sighed and hurried out of the room before the projected emotions made her cry.

 

After a quick breakfast, Tavia rushed back into her room and threw open the doors to her closet. She pushed aside several shirts, breeches, and the occasional dress until one object hung alone in the front of the closet, the other clothes pushed back to make it seem like the piece of clothing was in a spotlight. It was a hooded cloak made of black silk that hung to Tavia's anklebones in an unbroken flow except for a few silver, four-pointed stars that dotted the black. It had taken Tavia three days to make the cloak since it had to be sturdy enough to last the duration of her journey, but also was the biggest thing she had ever made before. Just the stars alone had taken her a whole morning, afternoon, and part of the night to weave into the fabric in a way that they would not be immediately visible, thus making her stand out too much among “normal” humans. She meant to turn the cloak inside out when she went through any heavily populated area but it still wouldn't do for someone to see the silver threads underneath the conventional black fabric. However, when that part had finally been finished, she had been proud of herself and also profoundly relieved.

 

Slipping the cloak on around her back and tying it at her throat, she twirled, trying to restore her happy mood. The hem of the fabric rose briefly and then fell to rest against her calves. The weight of the cloth made her pause in her happiness for a moment and allow the gravity of the day sink in. The responsibility of an adult was on her metaphorical shoulders today even as the cloak rested on her real ones and she was more than a little afraid of what would come once she left the safety of Shavasta. But Tavia's smile didn't fade, she had been prepared for this for a long time and she was ready.

 

Tavia strode to the mirror, a simple object of polished silver that hung on the far wall, and peered into it, pulling her hair up into a bun out of her face. She paused a moment to finger the pitch black strands regretfully. Lora and Marius had insisted a week ago that she cut her hair, then reaching past her waist, to around the middle of her back and still Tavia felt strange without her long hair. Her aunt and uncle had wanted it even shorter, but the fire-child had flatly refused, saying that if she had to cut her hair any shorter she would go crazy. The two dragons had finally relented and agreed to Tavia's demands.

 

The fire-mage left the room for the second time after scooping up a couple heavy jackets and warmer cloaks that she had left by the door for her trek down the snow mountainside. She slipped them all on even though the weather charms in Shavasta had made it a warm and balmy day. She hated the cold and wouldn't subject herself to even a minute of it if she could help it.

 

Tavia also slipped two sharpened daggers into her belt. These would mostly be used for show and hunting rather than any active self defense, but she knew how to use them should the need arise.

 

This time she headed for the common room, following the emotions of the only other creatures in the house. As she approached the room, Lora and Marius lifted their heads and turned to face her, smiling with false brightness at her attire.

 

“So, are you ready for your sending off?” Lora asked, her voice deliberately happy despite the sadness radiating off her.

 

Tavia decided to ignore her gift for once and allow herself to be “fooled” by her aunt's tone of voice. Forcing them to acknowledge that would only make it worse on all parties involved. “Yep. My bags are already packed and by the door, all I have to get now are mother and father's ashes and I'll be all ready to go.” Tavia allowed some of her own underlying grief to filter through into her voice, but kept her tone light.

 

“Good. Then we should be going. Everyone's waiting for you by the gates and the longer we wait the more daylight we're wasting.” The blue dragon sighed almost imperceptibly. Almost.

 

The girl knew that her aunt and uncle weren't trying to make her feel guilty for leaving, they were just sad to see her go, but despite this knowledge, a bit of guilt imposed itself between her and her happiness. A smaller and more inconspicuous sigh escaped Tavia's lips as she followed her aunt and uncle toward the door that led outside to the front lawn. Before stepping over the threshold, she scooped up her cloth backpack and slipped the straps over either arm so that the bulk of the weight rested between her shoulder blades.

 

Outside, the remnants of Tavia's birthday celebration from the night before littered the grass. Brightly colored flower petals contrasted with the emerald grass as they lay scattered randomly. Tavia and her friends had sat and talked and played among them when they were whole flowers and strung up along the side of the house. During the night, however, a wind had come and blown them down, scattering them across the lawn. It made a gaudy scene as the two dragons and one dragon-mage stepped out into the unfiltered sunlight of the high mountain city.

 

The celebration had been held the night before her actual birthday so that Tavia could get as early a start as possible in the morning since once darkness fell on the slopes of Mt. Cornelius, the rocks became more treacherous to navigate, even if one was gliding most of the way. Outcroppings of rock and shale often sprang out of what seemed like thin air if one wasn't careful to watch what was ahead.

 

The party itself had started off as a joyous occasion as all gatherings of friends were but got more and more somber as the night had worn on. When it was time for them to leave, no one was smiling, not even Tavia.

 

But today was a new day and the fire-child, at least, was determined to be happy.

 

Before they could all make it completely out of the doorway, Lora started as though she'd been stung by a bee and whirled around, forcing Tavia to leap backwards out of the way of her tail. Shouting something about having forgotten to get something, she rushed back into the house. Her husband and niece stood perplexed in the doorway until Lora came back out, panting slightly and with something clutched in her claw, making it hard for her to walk. When Tavia questioned her about it, though, Lora brushed her off and said it was nothing important. The fire-child couldn't help but notice the secret glint in her eyes as she said this.

 

The small procession walked down the dirt street, Lora and Marius leading with Tavia toward the gold and silver gates glinting in the bright sunlight. A group of multi-colored dragons congregated in front of them, milling aimlessly until they caught sight of the trio making their way towards them. When they noticed them, they all turned and began to move to form a line in front of the sparkling gates to Shavasta. Tavia saw Kara standing in front of her mother's leg, a green splotch against a yellow background. She had grown only slightly from when Tavia had first come to the dragon city since dragon children grew much slower than fire-children and so her wings still could not carry her weight and her head only came halfway up Tavia's torso. She was looking very small as she cowered close to her mother's foreleg, her head hanging low to the ground in sorrow. The rest of the dragons ranged along behind them.

 

The two dragons reached the gathering first, arching their necks and touching noses to each dragon in both a greeting and thanks. The others gathered around the trio and whispered their good-byes and good wishes to Tavia in lowered voices laced with sadness and even a tinge of fear for the young girl who had made herself a part of their community. One by one they each left quietly back to Shavasta and their homes to sit with that aching feeling that settled in the base of your throat and stayed like a lead weight, choking your breath and bringing unlooked for tears to your eyes.

 

The emotions swirled around Tavia as the dragons' auras melded like some insane painter's idea of art. The fire-girl built up her shields as much as she could, but the bond that she had with these creatures around her made it so that she was still able to sense their feelings no matter what she tried. The weight of them bowed her head and blurred her vision, making her dizzy.

 

Lora and Marius both noticed this at the same time and moved to either side of her to give her an unobtrusive way to support herself without making the others feel that they should leave. But soon it became unnecessary as the number of dragons present turned to four, Lora, Marius, Kara's mother, and Kara herself. This last was the one who approached her, head hanging but eyes pushed up to their limit in the golden eyes to look at her through green-tinted eyelashes.

 

“Hey Tavi.” The fledgling said quietly and almost shyly. Tavia spared a second to wonder at the latter feeling, Kara had never been shy in her life, which was probably due to the fact that she lived with four other brothers and sisters of which she was the eldest.

 

“Hey Kara.” Tavia replied with a smile that relayed her regret at having to leave but also some reassurance that she would be alright.

 

“I…I have something for you.” The words came in a rush, and the green head turned to avoid Tavia's gaze.

 

“Really? You know you didn't have to.”

 

Kara's head turned back to face Tavia, lifting slightly on Kara's reptilian neck to look at Tavia's face easier, “I know. But I wanted to give it to you so you would remember me. And remember that you have family here if you need it.”

 

Tavia smiled again, “I'd never forget that.”

 

“Well, I'm giving it to you anyway whether you like it or not and you better smile and agree or I'll have to knock you over. I still can, too, you know.”

 

There was the Kara she knew and the scrappy tone of her friend's voice made her smile obediently and nod.

 

“Good then.” Kara grew uncomfortable again and swiftly thrust one scaled foot toward the fire-child. Circling one dark black claw and contrasting the claw's shine with its own dullness was a thin wooden ring, carved with shaky lines that twisted around the band in a mimicking of vines complete with pointed ovals spaced at intervals along the line to represent leaves.

 

Tavia lifted the rough ring off Kara's claw carefully, trying not to touch the sharp edges. However, the fire-child noticed that those edges were much duller than they previously were and an idea struck her.

 

“Did you make this yourself?” she asked quietly rolling the ring between her fingers.

 

Kara bowed her head again and Tavia was sure that if dragons could blush, Kara would be flaming red right now, “Yes,” the sound was so soft and meek sounding that the fire-child almost couldn't understand what her friend had replied, “I know it's not very good and I'm not really sure if it fits or not but…”

 

“It's absolutely perfect,” Tavia interrupted, pushing the ring firmly onto her finger. It fit perfectly.

 

“Good,” the atmosphere turned tense and strained again, “I'll miss you Tavi.” The words spilled out like water from the mouth of a fountain.

 

Tavia smiled softly, “I'll miss you too, Kara.” The fire-child wrapped her tanned arms around her friend's emerald neck and they stayed that way for a moment before separating with tears glinting in their eyes like molten gold. The small dragon turned almost reluctantly and trotted back to her mother standing off a ways from the duo as they said their good-byes.

 

As the green and the yellow dragons left, going back along the dirt path toward their homes, Kara looked back the fire-child standing before the glinting gateway into (or out of Tavia thought wistfully) Shavasta. The rising sun sparkled behind her, bouncing off the gold and silver of the gates and causing spots to float into her vision until the only place she could look was the black form standing amidst the rays of sunlight that was Tavia. Kara couldn't tell what her expression was, but she thought she saw a diamond-like spot of light mar the perfect blackness of her friend's profile like the first star that peaks out when darkness falls.

 

Tavia, meanwhile, watched her friend go with regret and sorrow but as soon as she disappeared around a bend in the road, she turned wearily to her Aunt and Uncle, to whom she had to say the most painful farewell of them all. Now was the time she would swallow her tears and put on a façade of happiness despite the sadness within. Any hint of emotion on her part would cause her guardians to lose the little control they had and then they had a good chance of convincing her not to go at all. As much as she wanted to go on this journey, she was also afraid of the dangers that surely lay ahead of her on her path.

 

“Well,” the fire-mage began awkwardly, moving to stand in front of her aunt and uncle, “I guess this is it.”

 

“Not quite, darling.” Lora replied and held out her own claw much as Kara had done except the claw that was presented was much larger.

 

“What, more presents?” Tavia mumbled, surprised by her aunt's generosity. She and Marius had already given her so much.

 

“It is your birthday, child. And besides, this gift is particularly useful and I don't think you will grudge me giving it to you at all.”

 

Tavia remained silent and instead moved forward to inspect whatever it was the Lora was giving to her. Hanging from her guardian's claw was a thin golden chain, so thin that it made the amber droplet at its end appear to be hanging unsupported in mid-air.

 

“What is it? Besides a necklace, I mean.” Tavia asked, fascinated as she lifted the chain and its charm off her aunt's claw.

 

“It will hide you from any human mages as long as it is around your neck”

 

“You mean I will be invisible?” the amazement in Tavia's voice was plain.

 

“Not physically invisible, anyone can see you with their normal eyes. But this necklace will hide you from a mage's magical `eyes' so that unless they see through the illusions on your eyes they won't have any other evidence to say that you are a fire-mage and not just an ordinary person on the street.”

 

“Wow, Aunt Lora. This is…amazing. This is going to be very useful. Thank you.” Tavia clasped the chain around her neck and lifted the amber droplet at its end, rolling it between her fingers and watching as it caught the light and held it in its depths. She lifted it off her aunt's claw and slipped it over her head so that the necklace rested between her breasts. A question suddenly sprang to her mind and out her mouth, “Where did you get this?”

 

“Well, a while ago, a fire-mage named Storvan, who also helped with these gates here by the way, made this necklace. I'm not particularly sure exactly how he made it, but there were rumors that he somehow used the Star Song to imbue the amber charm with those special powers. I've never heard of the Song being used in this way, but I suppose I don't know everything about that subject. Anyways, a short while after he completed it, a human mage in his town discovered his identity and Storvan was killed. A friend of mine who collects magical artifacts flew over his house after it was destroyed and plucked that necklace from the rubble.” Lora smiled at her niece and adopted daughter, “He agreed to give it to me to give to you as a parting gift from both of us.”

 

“I know I sound redundant, but wow. Please tell him thank you from me.” Tavia didn't take her eyes off of the gift and Lora smiled at her bent head.

 

“Alright, alright Lora don't hog all the glory. I have a gift for our niece too.” Marius interrupted Tavia's reverie and she lifted her head in surprise, golden eyes meeting golden eyes across the short distance between them.

 

The red dragon turned to the gates and began to walk toward them. Once he reached the wall, Marius began to root through the sparse bushed that clung to life against the harsh climate of the high mountain. Bare branches reached up to scratch and catch at the red-scaled nose as it moved among them, apparently searching for something in them.

 

After several minutes and an untold amount of curses later, Marius let out a cry of delight and lifted something in his mouth gently, walking back towards his wife and niece. Arching his neck regally, he placed his burden on the ground at Tavia's feet like some great benevolent God bestowing his heavenly gift on a worthy recipient.

 

The fire-child knelt to get a better look at the object that had become recognizable as a sword. Pulling at the leather bound (leather? Tavia asked herself, where did they get leather?) hilt, she released the two feet of bright, glistening steel from its dull, unassuming scabbard. Rosy light from the new sun stained the silver of the metal a bright red that glinted off the tip and pooled where the blade met the hilt. Tavia hefted its weight in her palm, feeling the balance and perfect weight, and then gave it an experimental swing. Steel sailed through the air, rosy light glinting along the blade and running down the sharp edge of the blade.

 

“It's perfect Uncle Marius, just perfect.” Tavia whispered in awe as she slipped the sword back into its sheath, “Where did you get this?”

 

“I took one of the fledglings down the mountain and they stole it from a human workshop while the forge-master was away.” Marius replied proudly, “Go on, put it on. It goes across your back and then clasps in front.”

 

The fire-child obeyed and took off the pack slung across her back to replace it with the sword, which rested diagonally across her back. Two leather straps went over her shoulder and around her side to buckle in front of her. Her pack went back on her shoulders to rest on top of the sheath and it took her a minute to adjust to their combined weight.

 

“Thank you both so much.” Tavia finally said, tears shining in her eyes and lighting them like two flames in the morning sunlight, “You've done so much for me and I don't know how to repay you.”

 

“Just don't forget to come back for a visit sometime so we know that you're alright.” Lora insisted lowering her head to nuzzle her niece and adopted daughter's cheek.

 

“I won't. I promise.” As she murmured the last words into her aunt's scaly neck, another promise floated to the front of her mind but she pushed it back for the time being, she wouldn't forget either of her vows.

 

She turned and hugged her uncle for one last time before all three moved towards Shavasta's gates. Lora and Marius set their shoulders against one of them and pushed hard until the door released with a sharp jolt and opened just enough to allow the slim fire-mage to slip through, waving as she did so. Lora and Marius shouted their goodbyes and then closed their teeth over the metal handle of the gate, pulling it closed. It moved easier closing than opening since there wasn't as much snow piled on the inside as on the out.

 

Tavia stared at the closed gates, on the outside of them for the first time in 10 years, and watched as they shimmered with a strange light and shifted their form into one of a snow-dusted wall of stone. The girl sighed heavily and turned away, looking towards the east where the sun was rising over the tiny trees that made up the Shining Forest, as the elves who lived there called it. The light of dawn streaked over the oaks and elms, making a haze of crimson light that hovered over the forest like a fog. Tavia was glad that she would be walking under the trees' cooling shade during the hottest part of the day since one had to pass through the Shining Forest to reach any other part of Tarin from Mt. Cornelius. Perhaps she would even see some of the elves who her mother had told her so many stories of.

 

Thoughts of her mother no longer bothered her as much anymore although she frequently summoned her face and her father's face to the forefront of her mind to make sure that she could remember exactly what they had looked like. Forgetting them would be worse than watching them die all over again.

 

But for now, all thoughts and ruminations were pushed away as she focused on the task at hand, something she had been looking forward to for a long time since no one other than fire-mages who had reached their 17th birthday were allowed too witness this. Reaching behind her head awkwardly since she was hampered with the pack and sword across her back, she unclipped the locket's chain from around her neck. The necklace slid down her chest, heading toward the snow-covered slope but Tavia's tanned and calloused hand stopped its decent. The golden chain pooled into her hand like a puddle of sunlight, the charm itself buried underneath the small mound of gold. Tavia's other hand uncovered the locket, lifting it in the index fingers and thumbs of both hands and pried the locket open, digging her nails into where the heart sloped towards the pointed end. It sprung open with a snap.

 

In the open halves of the heart, an illusion blossomed like a multi-colored rose, so that before her lay a miniature representation of Tarin resting in the palm of her hand. Mountains in the west were represented by tiny gray triangles capped by sparkling white tops. One was labeled with a black, three-dimensional letters spelling out the words “Mt. Cornelius” and the one next to it said “Mt. Silvian”. A gold glowing dot was marked as “Tavia” and it stood almost on top of a silver dot that was “Shavasta-Home of the Dragons”. Trees stretched from the base of the mountain range eastward until they stopped and a stretch of tan land broken into furrows and farmland began until the illusion ended. Across the long swath of green, ran the words “Forest of Memories” and in the center was another silver dot labeled “Sinistira- Home of the Elves”.

 

But Tavia was confused, why did it stop before it reached the dot that would mark the Temple of Simione? Where did she go after she left the edge of the map? She stared at the picture, trying to get it to move to the left or right by willing it to do so with her mind, but nothing worked. Eventually, she snapped the two halves of the locket together in frustration and squinted down the mountainside.

 

I guess I'll just have to go east and see where it takes me. Perhaps I can even visit the Elves at Sinistira. She thought, trying to cheer herself up. It worked a little, and she was able to focus on the task at hand, which was getting down the mountain. Looking over the snow covered edge of rock face she stood on, Tavia tried to make out the best way to fly her way down without running into anything. She soon picked the route she thought best and as she shifted into her dragon wings, the snow slowly began to fall.

 

 

AN: Hmm, well, once again, review if you want me to put up more chapters, but I figured I'd post at least the first two for anyone who's interested. I admit it's a little slow in the beginning, but be patient, it gets a lot better later on. Also, I don't like the king's name. For now it's a placeholder, but any suggestions are welcome because I'm not entirely sure what to change it to. Any other suggestions are also welcome.

 

All characters and concepts are property of KABlock. Thieves will be hung.