The next morning was bittersweet as I rose from our bed and dressed myself. Odessa’s face was still a mix of sadness and urging me onward and it was only with Callira’s urging that I did not abandon my mission to go find Mother. I walked with her down to the Kitchen and we had a quiet breakfast, just the two of us. I may have dragged out the meal a bit longer than I would normally have but no one said anything if they noticed and soon I was standing on one of the exterior ledges of Xaranta’s mountain, a pack of supplies hanging off my back and ready to start the hunt. I still turned back to see Odessa fidgeting with her dress.

  “I would accompany you if I could.” She said, running a hand through my hair.

  “I know.” I croaked.

  She gently pulled my head towards her and our lips met. It was a different kind of kiss. It wasn’t a hot passion. It was worry and fear and sadness. When we pulled apart I pressed my forehead to hers.

  “Go. Go before I cannot bear to see you leave.” She said softly, meeting my gaze.

  I swallowed hard before I nodded.

  “I love you. And I will be back as soon as I can.” I whispered before I broke our embrace and ran backwards, flinging myself off the cliffside and shifting to my full Draconic Majesty as my wings filled with the desert heat.

  ‘I am sorry to have pushed you two apart. Perhaps…’ Callira mused in my mind.

  ‘Don’t. Please don’t. Leaving is already hard enough. Just point me in the right direction.’ I growled.

  She did so and I flew on in silence for an hour or so before my frustration started to unravel. Eventually I reached for her.

  “Sorry.” I said aloud to the open sky.

  ‘I may not have known love in my time but I can understand your frustration. I apologize.’ She replied.

  ‘So what do we do when we find Mother?’ I asked.

  ‘Well first we see if she is calm enough for conversation. And if she is receptive I can reach out to her. I believe the two of us speaking will help with some of her anxieties. Hopefully. I cannot speak to her mental state.’

  ‘Right. And if she isn’t receptive?’ I asked.

  ‘The entrance to my home was on the coast. A perfect advantage for a dragon aligned with water. And in the worst case scenario you can simply dive into the waves.’ Calira said with a confidence I wish I felt.

  As we continued on I saw a flock of Wyverns flying below us, either not noticing that we were there or not caring. They landed on a rocky outcropping that broke through the sands and nestled in as we continued on.

  ‘They were smaller and far less populous in my day. Did you have trouble with them?’ Callira asked.

  “The first night in the desert I awoke and found one sniffing around our camp. The rest of its flock joined in attacking me and they managed to to give me some superficial injuries.” My scales itched where I had been attack at the thought.

  ‘Hmm, they were docile creatures when I drew breath. Ereneya used to play with them as if they were hounds.’ Callira mused.

  I kept a wary eye on them until we were well out of sight of their roost. Once we were beyond that I could see the shimmering blue sea in the distance. I was again reminded how dry the desert was as I imagined splashing through the waves.

  ‘We could make a slight detour to allow you time to swim beneath the waves.’

  “But we need to find Mother.”

  ‘She will be fine. It has been so long…’ Callira said, her voice full of longing for the waves.

  It occurred to me that she had been trapped in a desert for nearly a millennia and I would also be desperate for any water after that long in the desert sands.

  When we reached the shoreline I dipped myself to dive into the water and as we dove beneath the waves, she let out a content sigh. It was cold and refreshing, the taste of salt on my tongue irked me slightly but I was happy to simply be able to swim. I dove down to the sea bed and looked up above where the sunlight was a faint glow.

  ‘Be wary child. There are old things beneath the waves. I know not if they have wandered closer to shore in the years I have been gone.’ Callira growled and I looked into the Deeps over an underwater cliff.

  “Old things like Dragons?” I asked, my voice muffled by the water.

  ‘Like Dragons yes. Many of our Blue Scaled kin make their homes beneath the waves to avoid attacks. But there are others. Great beasts that could swallow even I whole. I saw three during my many years.’ She warned and I pushed my way off of the sea bed.

  I had no desire to see a creature that could swallow a dragon whole…

  I slid along the deck as I watched our sister ship be lifted above the waves before it was crushed in a pair of massive jaws. Father was leaning against the doors to the Captain’s Cabin clutching the splintered plank that stuck from his gut as the rain pelted us. He had shielded me from the impact when the Leviathan had attacked our ship and now he was dying slowly and painfully. The Leviathan rose from the waves as the doors to the Captain’s Quarters burst open and the Captain marched out.

  He was one of the Inferni, a group of Pirates who had used ancient artifacts to empower themselves with the magic of the ancient demons. His skin was midnight black, his eyes glowed with a red inner light and a massive pair of horns curled off of his forehead. His tail held his sword and he glanced back at me as he approached the bow of the ship where the Leviathan was shredding the remains of our sister ship.

  “So are you sure about this girl? I know I said I couldn’t do it alone but…” He trailed off.

  “I told you that I had made up my mind. I’m going to fry that thing.” I hissed through the rain, glaring at the Leviathan.

  He gave me a long hard look and I watched as he unbuckled the decorative bracer and gauntlet around his left arm. He held them out to me and I slid my hand in without hesitation. The leather and metal shrank and crushed itself against my skin, glowing with the infernal runes as it branded them into my arm.

  I felt fire pour into my veins, watched as the magic surged up my arm. The skin blackened under the heat and I let out a scream of fury as the Leviathan broke the waves just before us. I pointed one hand at it and the Captain yelled something as he ducked aside. Fire sprayed from my hand, dark flames tinged with deep maroon at first before they grew brighter and nearly blinding.

  I glared at the creature that had destroyed my ship and doomed my Father to death in the daylight of my flames. It was a foul creature. Bits of ruined ships filled its jaw between its jagged teeth. It could almost have been mistaken for a dragon if you saw its silhouette. But I saw it for what it was, a purple scaled abomination that smelled like rotting fish.

  I poured everything I had into the flames rushing forth from my palm and they connected with the creature’s chest before I watched the waves behind it illuminated with light in the middle of the storm.

  My Light.

  I kept the stream of fire going until my knees buckled. The Leviathan fell backwards, charred and steaming. I fell backwards onto the deck breathing heavily as I felt sweat running off of me. I held up my hand to my face and saw blackened skin ending in claws. I felt my tail flop onto the deck as my horns bumped against the wood of the deck. The Captain walked up and gave me a smile.

  “Quite the firebrand ain’t ya? Lit up the whole storm like it was fucking noon. Good to have you as my apprentice kid. Welcome to the ranks of the Inferni.”

  I sailed over the green and brown vegetation as we approached the coast. Callira was using my eyes to try and identify any landmarks but after nearly a thousand years the terrain has changed. Eventually she drew my attention to a large white stone that stuck up about twenty feet in the air and a sparse grove of trees.

  “There it is! That marks the central area of my den, which means that if we head over the seaside cliff there…” She said as I followed her direction and dipped over the cliff to find a stone door not unlike Mother’s home in Calanai.

  The stone had a smeared bloody handprint across it that was mostly dry. At this point I was well familiar with the scent of my own blood and I let loose a soft sigh of relief that she had been here. Maybe she still was.

  I approached and picked my thumb on one of my teeth and pressed it against the stone. It shuddered to life and slowly opened.

  “Is it supposed to be that slow?” I asked.

  “No, I suppose some of the enchantments would have weakened over time… we can fix that easily once we have found her.” Callira muttered, mumbling something to herself about the enchantment as I approached the inner door and opened it the same.

  As soon as the door slid open I was hit with the smell of spices and the remnants of a meal. And a bouncing excited young woman.

  “Mother your back! I wa- You aren’t Mother. W-who are you? How did you get through the doors?” She asked, taking a step back as she eyed me warily.

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  “I…” I had to pause as I took in her appearance.

  She looked almost exactly like me. Noticeably younger, in her mid teens probably, but she had the same look to her hair, her skin was the same shade. She was short, maybe a head shorter than me. She was scrawny, almost on the point of looking as if she were starved. I could see her bones as she moved, straining against her skin. Her eyes were the same Gold I had grown used to seeing in the mirror and I saw her sharpened teeth in her bared snarl. Before I could properly respond I felt Callira’s mind grip me as she moved my mouth for me.

  “My name is Naravie, I was sent here to look after a young Dragoness named Ereneya. Would that happen to be you?” My body asked, as I watched from inside my mind.

  “Who sent you?” The girl asked.

  “Callira Brightscale. Inifth trun callika alsterka Ereneya?” My body responded.

  The girl relaxed as Callira said that. I watched as my body took a step forward and the girl smiled up at me.

  “Well if she sent you then I suppose its okay. But how did you get the door open?” She asked, looking past us towards the door.

  “I am Callira’s eldest. We had a falling out a centuries back and I had a bit of an accident. I’ve been staying with Uncle Xaranta for some time and he helped me recover. She reached out to me recently and sent me to look for you, any idea where she is?” Callira asked.

  The Girl shook her head.

  “No. I remember waking up here and my head hurt. I was sooo hungry. And everything hurt everywhere. I was waiting for Mother to return.” The girl said sadly.

  “Well, maybe I can help. Hold still for me and I’ll look you over. You look half starved.” Callira said as she placed my hands on either side of the girl’s head, just below her ears.

  I felt a small rush of magic pass through my body and into hers and she glowed for a moment before Callira removed my hands and tilted her head.

  “You seem to be hovering just above Slumber with your magic…. Did you do anything to expend all of your magic?” Callira asked, her voice tinged with confusion.

  “Not that I remember. The last thing I remember before I woke up here was… I think I was in a fight with another dragon. I woke up with blood on my claws. And I felt really warm like I had a fever.” The girl said, looking up at us with confusion.

  “Well Mother did mention that there was some kind of Calamity in the area and that it had been a long time that you were asleep. Does she still have her meditation chamber? I would love to try and reach out to her or Uncle.” Callira asked calmly as I felt her mind bubble with nervous energy.

  “She does! It has a few cracks in it but the enchantments were still glowing when I looked!” The girl said excitedly.

  Callira followed her and I finally found my chance to speak to the Elder Dragoness.

  “So you can just control me like a puppet?” I asked.

  “Sorry. I saw a chance.”

  “So who is that? Because Mother is much older than her.”

  “That is her. I’m not entirely sure how or why but that is Ereneya. She looks about as young as when we first met. I’m rather concerned that she seems to not remember anything.”

  I watched the girl walking in front of us and wracked my mind.

  “But she looks like me. When I first changed I could pass for her daughter but she looks like she could be…” I trailed off.

  “You did look quite familiar when I first saw you. And you two do look much more alike than a typical Parent-Child duo. I wonder if her magic altered you more than is traditional. Or if her reversion was based upon you. She did say she had blood on her claws, perhaps your blood being in contact with her caused her to change her appearance. Dragon’s blood is highly condensed magic, it can have strange effects when it mixes with others.” Callira offered, rambling out thoughts.

  “So are we just going to feed into her delusion? Shouldn’t we be trying to help her remember?” I asked.

  “I plan too. But she needs to recover her magic before we do anything of that nature. I plan on asking Xaranta if he has any insights. I imagine you haven’t used a meditation chamber before?” She asked.

  “No, what is it?”

  “A way of focusing one's telepathy via enchantment. With it we can converse with my Brother from this distance without straining your mind.” She said as we arrived at a large stone archway.

  Through it was a domed room with glowing runes engraved into the ceiling. Around the outside edge of the room there was a shallow and wide stream of water that filled the room with a soft calming sound.

  Callira walked to the center and sat us down crosslegged. We faced towards the entrance where Ereneya was watching us curiously. Callira pulled me back to the forefront of my mind and directed my focus. She willed me to push my mind into the runes surrounding us and I found a network of magic that swept up my mind in it like rushing rapids. Callira helped me control where I moved and we guided my mind far to the south east where we found the Black Mountain.

  I enveloped the Mountain with my mind and found Xaranta, Irand, Alvina and others who all winced at the intrusion.

  ‘Hello! Happy to report we arrived at Grandmother’s home safely. However we have a slight issue.’ I called through the telepathic link.

  I received a torrent of responses in quick succession.

  ‘Naravie?’ Odessa called.

  ‘You went off on your own?’ Irand demanded.

  ‘I worry about you being left to your own devices.’ Alvina said dryly.

  ‘An issue?’ Xarana asked.

  ‘Ah you must be Ereneya’s daughter.’ An unfamiliar voice said.

  ‘Another Dragon? And one who excels at telepathy at that? Wonderful!’ An excited woman’s voice called.

  I heard them all speak at once but I could discern each of their responses individually. It was quite nice to not have them drown each other out. Callira giggled in the back of my mind. I responded to each in turn.

  ‘Yes Love, I’m here.’

  ‘Yes. I have someone watching my back though don’t worry.’

  ‘I’ll be fine with Grandmother’s supervision, just keep Irand safe.’

  ‘We found Mother, she has reverted to a child like form. Do you have any idea why that might happen?’

  ‘I am, who are you?’ I

  ‘I’m guessing you have already met Alvina?’

  I braced myself and another wave of responses arrived.

  ‘I’m glad to hear it. Xaranta seems worried about whatever you just said.’

  ‘Just don’t make trouble for yourself please. I have enough to worry about.’ Irand said as he blocked the connection.

  ‘I will. Look after yourself.’ Alvina said as she closed herself off as well.

  ‘Hmm, give me a few moments.’ Xaranta replied, his voice tinged with worry.

  ‘I am Cyan. I helped her establish her home in Calanai. I will allow you to continue your business but when you return to the Black Mountain, I should like to speak with you and your Mother.’ They said calmly.

  ‘Indeed. She and Irand have been researching with my help. My name is Geena and I would love to meet you when you are available.’ The excitable voice said as I felt it close itself off.

  The more of them that broke off the connection the easier it was to focus in on the remainder. I focused in on Odessa as Xaranta seemed distracted.

  ‘We found Mother, she seems to have changed her body and she does not seem to remember anything since she was a child. We are seeing if Xaranta has any ideas on how to help her.’ I said softly, feeling like I was simply standing next to her with how easy this connection felt to maintain.

  ‘Well I hope she is alright. I spoke with Xaranta after you left and he has agreed to help me begin studying magic. Though he may be a bit distracted with your questions.’ She replied.

  ‘Sorry…’ I winced.

  ‘No need. At the moment he has tasked me with studying a primer and familiarizing myself with its ideas before we begin any practical study. I believe he is trying to reach you now. Good Luck, My Love.’ She whispered over the connection, a phantom hand tracing the edge of my cheek.

  I moved my attention to Xaranta and found him already mid discussion with Callira. He had managed to form within my mindscape and was holding a tome.

  “I knew it. I recalled reading a similar tale from one of the Dragons of the eastern seas. Lakath the Icecaller once reverted to a youthful state when his child was slain. In his diminutive state he had little ability to recall his memories and his power was greatly diminished. His mate did eventually succeed in helping him return to his true form by helping him find closure with his child’s death.’ Xaranta said, tracing the words in the journal with his clawed finger.

  “So we tell her about what happened and she goes back to normal?” I asked.

  “No, and she will need time to recover her magic regardless. Her reserves have been utterly drained I imagine?”

  Callira nodded.

  “And they will take a great amount of time to recover as well. Lakath was an Elder and it took nearly a decade for him to recover his full magic reserves. His body was slowed in its recovery while he was changed. Wounds, magic, all of it.”

  “So how do we help her, Brother?” Callira asked.

  “Guide her as she chooses to search. Let her come to terms with things on her own. Let her realize them as she can accept them. It will be a slow process but one where hopefully upon returning to her true form her body will be healthier than it was prior to this.” He explained.

  “So we need to look after her until she is recovered enough to travel and then simply escort her around until she realizes what happened on her own?” I asked.

  “Yes. I do not imagine immediatley taking her to Callira’s corpse would help matters. If anything the shock might kill her. You will need to help her slowly fill in the gaps in her memory. Take her to the last place she remembers being and see where that leads.”

  Callira and I nodded and Xaranta pulled himself back. I watched his form vanish from the mindscape and Callira turned to me.

  “Alright, now to get your story straight to keep Eren from realizing the deception.” She said, rubbing her hands together.

  It took us roughly an hour to hash out a story properly. I was a child from Callira’s youth and after suffering from Magic Blight I had been rendered smaller and more magically inclined but my physical form had remained younger than is normal for Dragonkin. We had had a falling out and for the past few hundred years I had remained isolated in the islands off of the Eastern shore.

  Recently I had received a telepathic message from Callira to come check on Eren after a Calamity had ravaged the land and ruined the kingdom Eren had once called home. To keep her from immediatley heading to her old home we would tell her that the calamity still raged there and Callira had forbid her from heading there. It was a withering calamity of dust and if she ventured there, Callira worried she would succumb.

  Callira had headed north to try and find a solution to the Calamity, to end or contain it and she did not know how long it would take her to find it. Eren had fought with the Wyverns during the Calamity and let out a burst of magic that had drained her but destroyed them. Callira had attended her until she was certain the girl would spend some time in Slumber before she had departed.

  Once we had that figured out I opened my eyes to find Eren kneeling in front of me, a worried look on her face. When I blinked my eyes open she backed up and hopped to her feet.

  “Sorry. I was worried. You were sitting there for a while and you weren’t responding so I thought something might have gone wrong.”

  “I’m alright.” I said as I got up and realized how stiff my body was.

  I looked up at Eren and she gave me another worried look.

  “So how long was I sitting there? To me it felt like two hours.” I said as my knees popped as I stood up.

  “Two days. I made food. Do you want some?” She asked.

  My stomach growled at the mention of food and I nodded as she practically ran from the room. When she was gone Callira guided my eyes to the runes in the stone surrounding it.

  “I suppose the Runes had a bit of a malfunction. We will have to address that. For now though, Food. I can feel your hunger through you.”

  I nodded as I stumbled after Ereneya. This was going to be an interesting adventure.