Tate breathed deeply as the magic surrounded him, the magic of the veil filled him up once more. For the first time since he'd left this place his mind felt clear and he felt at ease.
Lately, he'd been stuck in such a dark frame of mind he'd seen no way out of it. When he had left here previously he had intended to return straight away after convincing his godfather that there was merit to the idea, but it had all gone sideways. He'd quickly lost hope and in turn, forgotten why he had intended to return here.
Nothing had ever felt like this, not even flying on Aquana could compare to the feeling of bliss he felt surrounded by the magic of the veil. He could feel his cheeks hurting just from smiling. He was happy here.
He had the thought that it would be so nice to stay here forever. Of course, that was when something unexpected happened. Unlike last time when he had walked into the veil and just remained inside it until it pushed him out, this time he was walking backward and a force he didn't remember was pushing on him. His eyes were closed so it was too late to open them and see what had pushed him when he fell backwards.
His back hit the solid ground with a thud that knocked the wind out of him. He only had a split second to gasp before a large weight landed on top of him. His eyes shot open and his lungs panicked.
Lou, Lou Veylin was on top of him. The younger man was staring down into his face with shocked eyes. They were nose to nose for a split second before Tate weakly shoved at him.
Lou gasped and scrambled off him, kneeing him in some very unfortunate places in the process.
Curled up and gasping for breath Tate missed being in the veil instantly. This didn't feel like being surrounded by magic, this felt like more reality.
He was finally able to sit up and he looked at Lou. Lou was staring around them with his mouth open. He looked like he was about to scream.
"Lou!" He snapped.
"Big brother, where are we?"
"What are you…" He started to say as he sat up and turned away from the veil but he didn't have to finish that sentence. Where are we? That was the right question. Tate's own jaw went slightly slack as he stared over the completely unfamiliar landscape.
Where they sat currently was the same terrain as where they had been, a wide open plane, the continuation of the landmass the veil split. In the distance though, was another matter entirely. A huge mountain range was in the far distance off to the left of where they sat and to the right about a mile or so in the distance was a forest. Even from where they sat the trees were not like they were used to seeing. They were massive. Even from where they sat so far away you could see far into the distance under the canopy.
Everything in their immediate sight looked like bigger versions of what they were used to seeing. Trees, hills, and mountains towered over the plains as far as the eye could see and made the two men feel like insects in their shadows. The light here was different too. On the other side of the veil, the planes were known for being overcast and shadowy most of the time. Here the world was bright and dazzling, there was not a cloud in the sky.
The sky itself was such a bright clear blue that it instantly lifted one's spirits. To Tate, even the air smelled wonderful, once he was able to breathe that is.
Just looking at the land before him, excited him. His heart started to race and he had the impulse to get up and run. It wasn't the same feeling as being in the mist of the veil, but this was nice too.
"Oh, no! I can't get through!" Lou wailed breaking Tate out of his pleasant thoughts.
Tate turned to look at him and Lou had his hand on the mist, but it was a solid wall. This was what Tate had been expecting the first time, this was what was described in history and science books. The veil was supposed to be an impenetrable wall.
Which begged the question, how had he gotten through it, not once, but twice? How had Lou gotten through it this time?
Tate reached out to feel the mist but unlike the other times he'd touched it, he too felt like he was putting his hand against solid rock. It was a strange feeling to him, it felt like a cold wet bolder. He could even feel what he'd define as grains like you would feel in a real rock, but it was just the hardened particles of mist.
"Huh."
"That's all you can say! Huh? What's the matter with you? We are trapped on the wrong side of the veil!"
Tate was impressed by his old student's ability to catch on quickly. "Well, what do you want me to say?"
"Let's start with why you stepped back into the veil in the first place. I mean who would have ever seen this happening but it looked like you were trying to get away from me, from us!"
Tate looked him dead in the eyes. "You're kidding me right?"
Lou, who had never raised his voice too much at his old mentor just nodded, not trusting any words that would come out of his mouth.
"You're the Shadows, what are the Shadow's main purpose?"
Lou opened his mouth snapped it shut, then opened it again. "Still, how could you think that? We do other things too you know, you should know better than anyone."
"Well, what was I supposed to think, for all the Emperor knows I'm out here trying to run away. He's not a merciful man."
"Our orders were just to bring you back, but now that we're on the subject. What were you doing out here?"
Tate showed him his wrists and ankles. "Do you think it was voluntary?"
Lou gaped. "What…"
Tate sighed and looked away then mumbled the painful truth. "I was kidnapped."
"You were what! You? How? How could anyone kidnap you?" Lou looked like his understanding of life was rocked to the core. He blinked at Tate, eyes wide like an owl.
"I was careless and I made a stupid choice, of course, how could I have known that those bastards were going to drug me?"
Lou seemed at a complete loss. He stared ahead for long moments seeming to take it all in. "Oh!" Tate looked back at him quickly, his tone had been strange. His face was oddly crumpled and he was clutching the sides of his head. "I-I can't feel him. Lancec, I mean, he's not here."
Tate felt a pang of understanding. He knew what it felt like to be cut off. When you went from sharing your mind with another sentient, intelligent being for so long, their absence left your mind feeling hollow. You felt incomplete.
Apparently, the veil cut off this kind of bond between a dragon and its rider. Lou looked lost and confused. "I don't like this..." he whispered.
"I know, it feels strange doesn't it?"
Lou looked at him and seemed to get himself together just a little looking at the only other person he knew who also had experienced being cut off from a bond. Although, Lou's dragon was still alive and well so there was hope of fixing the situation where in Tate's case this was what he lived with every day.
"Hey," he sniffled, giving a visual effort to change the subject and keep it together, "what's up with your markings?"
Puzzled Tate asked. "Why, what's wrong with them?"
"They're black."
"Oh, really," his hand reached up but remembering last time he hovered and did not touch, "again?"
"Again? It's happened before?" Lou reached for the markings but Tate grabbed his wrist.
"Don't, last time I touched them I got burned."
This news finally seemed to bring Lou into the present situation. "You got what?!"
"Burned."
Frantically Lou looked down at his arm and inspected every inch of his marks. His only went just past his elbow so there was much less to look at. He looked back at Tate, who was looking at his own arm. The black didn't start at his hands but instead went from his head, down his neck and disappeared into his shirt. Once it came out of his shirt sleeve it was back to a normal color.
"Why is that happening?"
Tate sighed, it had been something he hadn't had time to dwell on too much before. Well, actually he thought he'd hallucinated that whole incident but now according to Lou, the same phenomenon was happening again.
"I don't..."
Just then a familiar sound they both knew well caused them to freeze. Slowly they looked up and the blood drained from their faces. Above them circled two blue dragons.
Two wild dragons.