Aravell – Winter, Year 3081 After Doom
Calen knelt by Ella's bed, his fingers wrapped in hers. She had stopped convulsing, but her eyes were still clouded from edge to edge. She lay there, still. Aneera had said it was Ella who had stirred the Rakina dragons, she who had saved Calen's life, and Valerys's, and likely all those in Aravell. And this is her reward.
He rested his hand on top of hers, brushing his thumb across her knuckles. A low whimper sounded from the end of the bed. Calen leaned over, scratching the crown of Faenir's head. "She'll be all right, boy."
The wolfpine barely fit in the bed but had managed to curl himself in such a way that only his tail fell off the end. He whimpered again, lifting his head and tilting it into Calen's palm. He touched his wet nose against the side of Calen's hand, then licked Calen's knuckles and rested his chin on Ella's feet.
The door creaked open behind Calen, footsteps clicking against stone. Calen turned his head to see the woman, Yana. "How is she?"
"The same."
Yana drew in a short breath then knelt beside Ella's bed. The woman ran her hand through Ella's hair so tenderly that had Calen not known any better he would have thought Ella her child. "She is made of stronger things than the rest of us." There was no hint of a question in Yana's words. It was a statement of fact, nothing more. She looked up at Calen, sympathy in her eyes. "You can go. I will watch over her a while."
Calen shook his head. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes. "I've been gone too long already."
Yana gave Calen a weak smile, then looked back to Ella, resting her palm on Ella's forehead. "She loves you more than anything in the world. Do you know that? Finding you is all she ever spoke about. She would have carved a path through the Burnt Lands itself just to get to you. And no matter what happens to her now, I know she would make the same decision again without even a moment's doubt." Yana turned back to Calen. "Go, eat, sleep. I will watch her."
Calen had tried to argue with Yana, but he'd soon realised it was an exercise in futility. Even still, after thanking her for watching over Ella, he didn't feel like sleeping. Every time he had tried to close his eyes since the battle, all he had seen was death, and blood, and fire. And so that is how he found himself in the Eyrie, resting against Valerys's scales, gazing up towards the dark sky that was still tinged with a crimson hue.
Less than a day had passed since the battle. King Silmiryn had been slain during the fighting, but King Galdra and Queen Uthrían had sent every Healer under their banners to aid in the mending of Valerys's wounds – along with those of the injured Varthear. But the wounds the Dragonguard had inflicted were deep and would take longer to mend even with the help of Healers.
Calen let his mind drift with Valerys's, pushing his warmth into the dragon. A rumble resonated through Valerys's chest in response. They sat in silence until a voice called out, "Calen."
Calen waited a moment, then heaved himself to his feet, using Valerys as leverage. He looked behind the dragon to see Aeson along with all the Rakina in Aravell, those who had agreed to train him along with those who had refused. "What's wrong?"
Chora wheeled herself forwards, a half-smile on her face. "Nothing is wrong. How is your sister?"
"No change." Calen looked across the other Rakina, trying to gauge their expressions.
"Your brother?"
"He had to leave with the other knights." Calen didn't mean to be so short, but he couldn't help the anger that rose within him. "They took heavy losses. He'll be back in a few days, I think. What is this, Chora? You didn't come to ask about my family. Why is everyone here?"
"No." Atara stepped forwards, her gaze fixed on Calen, her long hair tucked behind her tapered ears. She had aided in the fighting and now bore a new scar across her chin. "I came…" She looked back at the other Rakina, glancing towards Aeson, Thacia, and Chora before settling on the others. "We came to say that we were wrong."
"Wrong about what?" Calen took a step forward.
"We were wrong for turning our backs on you." Atara extended her arm, holding it in front of Calen.
Calen hesitated for a moment, then grasped Atara's forearm, looking into her eyes.
"For hundreds of years we have hidden here. We have hidden from the world and hidden from our duty. Fane Mortem and the empire ripped us apart. They tore our soulkin from us, and they burned everything we loved. What you said in the forest, 'We're meant to be guardians', you were right. Whether we are Draleid or Rakina, we're meant to be guardians. Not survivors, guardians. That is our purpose. That is the reason for our existence. And in our loss, we forgot that. Even in the times long gone, you would have been a Draleid I would have been proud to fly beside. Skill in the sword and the Spark can be earned, but what you have, that fire in your heart, that unwillingness to stop. That is one of the rarest qualities a soul can possess. And so I ask, Calen Bryer, will you let us stand by your side in the war to come? Will you let us be guardians again? Because it is time for The Bound and The Broken to stand together once more."