"There's No Sound"
Starshadow Castle
Sonja worked in her office until she was alerted to the arrival of the Truthcaller. She left her office and walked to the central courtyard where a glittering blue Dragon landed. Truthcalling was an ability unique to Sapphire Dragons. They had the ability to use their voices imbued with power to command other people to tell the truth. Depending on the strength of the Truthcaller or subject, there can be resistance.
The Sapphire Dragon transformed into a tall man draped in warm clothes and a fur lined cloak. He had pointed ears, warm blue eyes and short blonde hair. He bowed slightly to Sonja and Zane who came to greet him. "You Grace, Lord High Guard. My name Kelios Truthseer. My Lady Isolde assigned me to help you interrogate a prisoner," he said.
Sonja waved a hand. "Swear to Ersiore anything you see from now on will never be told to another living or dead soul," she said.
Kelios knelt on one knee and put a hand over his heart. It wasn't unusual for Truthcallers to make an Echoed Oath. "I, Kelios Truthseer, swear my oath in Ersiore's name to never reveal anything I learn during the interrogation will never be told to another soul, living or dead," he said solemnly. When he made the vow, his voice echoed in the courtyard.
Sonja nodded. She took out an Onyx scale token and handed it to him.
Kelios took the token.
Sonja and Zane led the way to the dungeon. Dahlia was still lounging in the warden's office, but she'd changed since earlier, now presenting as a man. She eyeballed the Truthcaller and gave him a flirty wink when he looked at her. "Do you need me to come with you?" she asked. She was actually a bit bored.
Zane shook his head. "There's no need. You can go if you have another job, or you can go to my residence and have lunch. Troi should be back in time for dinner if nothing goes wrong," he answered.
Dahlia made an affirmative gesture. She had her room in the Darkwynde residence, which was part of the Castle. Before he left, Dante also had his own room. Even though they weren't part of the Darkwynde Clan, they were Zane's siblings, so he gladly welcomed them.
Zane, Sonja, and Kelios continued to the cells. As they approached the cell where Ludvig was being held, nothing seemed amiss, but Kelios paused. Zane and Sonja noticed his lack of action and paused as well, looking at him questioningly.
Sapphire Dragons were very sensitive to sound. It was less about hearing and more about feeling the vibrations. "There's no sound," he told them. His heart sped up. "I shouldn't go further. I can't make another oath so soon," he told them. What he did not know, he could not say. He did not wish to know.
Zane took his arm and pulled him through the shadows and reappeared next to Dahlia, who was already back to presenting as a woman again. She was surprised. "Take him to my office, compensate him for his time," he said. Before Dahlia could respond, Zane stepped into the shadows again.
Kelios cleared his throat. "No need for compensation. My lady Isolde has already seen to that," he said.
Dahlia shrugged. "I'll escort you to the square then. Whether or not you want it, they'll eventually send you a thank you," she said as they walked out of the dungeon.
When Zane returned to Sonja, she was pacing along the corridor. If the Sapphire Dragon heard nothing, it meant nothing. Even if Ludvig was sitting completely still, there would still be the sound of breathing and heart beating.
Her tense body relaxed slightly when Zane returned. Did he commit suicide? The dungeon had been emptied and neither Zane nor Dahlia was in the warden's office the entire time. There was no way a soldier snuck by, even in the shadows. There were ancient wards in place that no living Dragon could break. Only Sonja and Zane could shadowwalk in the dungeon.
Zane looked at her. "Are you ready for this?" he asked.
Sonja took a deep breath. "No," she said. She strode toward Ludvig's cell. Zane followed her. She opened the door and entered. There he was, lying supine, eyes wide, looking at the ceiling, a peaceful look on his face. There was no breathing, no heartbeat. Nothing.
Zane opened the door of the inner cell and walked in. He knelt down and double checked. "He's gone," he said.
Sonja closed her eyes briefly as she let her emotions pour over her for a moment. Only for a moment. "Call for a Healer. Have the body transported to the Healing Corps for an autopsy," she said.
Zane nodded. "I'll handle the follow up. You need to handle the personal side," he said.
Sonja nodded numbly. The personal side. Telling her children that not only was her father treasonous, but now dead. She flicked a hand at him and stepped into the shadows and came out in her office. The first thing she did was pen a letter to her oldest son. She'd go to her girls herself after the school day was over and take them home to tell them everything.
She hated that she had to tell Roark in a letter, but she preferred him to stay where he was for now. Once she was done, she sealed the letter and shadowwalked to the drakery. The drakery was a large room where drakes lived in small cubicles along the wall, with communal and private areas. It was cozy and they always had good food. It was like a hotel catered exclusively to Drakes. The only stipulations were that in a family, one parent works, and in a couple, one partner works.
The Master Draker was in charge of assigning work and overseeing the running of the drakery. He greeted Sonja with a slight bow. "How may I help your Grace?" he asked.
"I have a letter," she said.
The Master Draker checked his assignment list and blew a whistle at a specific tone. A small, agile young, pearly white Drake flew down from somewhere high above. She landed on a perch and bowed slightly. "Greetings, your Grace," she chirped.
"Meggie here will get your letter to the destination," the Draker said.
Sonja nodded. She put the letter in the messenger pouch Meggie wore. She also gave her a coin as payment. "Find Roark Starshadow," she instructed.
"You can count on me!" Meggie declared and jumped off the perch and began flying in circles, picking up speed until she disappeared with a crack.
Sonja sighed and walked out of the drakery. She transformed and jumped into the sky and flapped her wings, heading east.
--
Silvermoon Keep
Delaney and Sariya were taken aback when they stepped through the Void into the stately yet cozy and strangely humongous sitting room. The three men in the sitting area stood. Two of them went on guard, but the third jumped up in excitement and strode toward them. Delaney and Sariya got out of the way.
Sariya waved awkwardly at the other two men who'd put their hands on their weapons. Delaney just glanced at them. She was a little overwhelmed by the environment. So much magic! She couldn't wait to tell her family and start bringing them over! Then they'd be able to bring all the witchborn of Terranthea. After that, they'd train them and return to Terranthea and defeat the demons once and for all!
Britiana and Darius stepped through the tear a few moments after them. When they saw Elias, they were pleasantly surprised. "Dad!" they said in unison.
Chrystianna was a beat behind them. Shock and joy suffused her into her entire body. "Elias!"
Darius and Britiana stepped out of the way as Elias strode toward Chrystianna and swept her into his arms. It was great seeing his kids, of course, but he hadn't seen Chrystianna in over two decades. Chrystianna wrapped her arms around him and finally let out the happy, sad, exhausted, exalted tears she'd been holding in for hours. Elias just smiled and soothed her, stroking his hair comfortingly.
Britiana sniffled and then threw her arms around her parents, well. Darius chuckled a little and joined the group hug. Elias laughed and also pulled his daughter and son close. Chrystianna laughed as well and began to get control of her emotions.
As bystanders, Delaney and Sariya and Roark and Troi didn't feel awkward watching. It was a touching scene and made them smile and feel nostalgic all at the same time.
Chrystianna finally collected herself and looked up at Elias. "How did you get here? Did you jump? How did you know?" She had so many questions.
Darius pulled Britiana to step back to give their parents some space. They were curious as well. They didn't expect to see their father again so soon.
Elias wiped away her tears and shook his head. "The Voidstalker brought me. I can stay for a week, but I have to go back. I can't abandon everyone," he said. In fact, when he Voidjumped to Chrystianna before, he learned that it was safe for adult Dragons on Emphyralis again, but the remnants of the Eventide Enclave decided to undertake a mission to learn more about the Dragon Hunters and their origins. Even after a century of investigation, they still didn't know much about their origins, they just knew they were everywhere there were dragons that could be hunted.
Chrystianna nodded. He was able to send her reports, occasionally Voidwhisper to her, she knew about their mission and sanctioned it. She couldn't be selfish. The more information they had, the better.
She finally stepped back. "Then I owe Lord Raziel even more," she said. She intended to thank the Voidstalker, but he didn't follow them through the Void.
Elias smiled. "I'm glad everyone made it home," he said. "We have guests," he said, both a statement and a question.
Chrystianna nodded. "Roark," she greeted. "Your mother sent you, she must be busy," she said. "Hello, Troi," she greeted.
Roark and Troi bowed slightly in greeting. "Your Grace," they greeted.
"This is Roark Starshadow, he's the oldest son of Sonja Starshadow, the Duchess of Starshadow. The younger one is Troi Darkwynde, the son of Zane Darkwynde, High Guard of Starshadow," she introduced to her children.
Britiana smiled and waved. "Hi! I'm Britiana," she greeted. "My big brother Darius," she gestured to her brother.
Roark and Troi murmured greetings. They and Elias turned their attentions on Delaney and Sariya curiously.
"This is Golgfelaket Sariya. She helped us a lot. She's been a friend to Britiana and Darius. She's originally an Eoduun from Undirheim," Chrystianna said. "And this is Delaney Crowley. She's looking for a new home for her family," she introduced.
Before Chrystianna could begin making arrangements for everyone, a crack split the air and a Drake popped into the room. The small white Drake circled the room and landed on Roark's shoulder. "Letter from the Duchess," she announced and presented her messenger pouch to him.
Roark took the letter from the bag and slipped her a tip. "Thank you," he said.
Meggie chirped, hopped off his shoulder, flying in circles until she disappeared again with a crack. Roark opened the letter and read it. His face didn't change much, but he went pale. "We have to go. Welcome back your Grace, Lady Britiana, Lord Darius, Lord Morningstar" he said. Before they could bid farewell, he dragged a confused Troi into the shadows.
"I hope everything is well," Chrystianna murmured. "Everyone must be tired. I'll show you to your rooms. Rest for a while before supper. You all probably have to adjust to the time change. It's much earlier here," she said. She held Elias's hand and led everyone out of the sitting room. She showed Delaney and Sariya to a guest room each. "I'll send someone for you both later. Take the time to rest. It was already night in Tarrytown. If you need anything, use the summoning stone on the nightstand and someone will come to see to you," she said.
Neither Sariya nor Delaney argued. They just thanked her for her hospitality and went into their rooms.
She then excitedly led Britiana and Darius to their rooms. "This is where you'll live from now on. I don't know what your tastes are, so the decorations are basic, but there are clothes in the wardrobes that should fit," she said excitedly.
"Thank you, Mom. Anything is fine," Darius assured her.
"Yes, Mom. Go, spend time with Dad. Don't worry about us. We'll rest. It's been a long day," Britiana assured her.
Chrystianna was torn, but they were right. They were tired. Darius had been battling mountain trolls, then consecutively pushed his abilities to the limit by Voidwalking several times when it hadn't been manifested very long. Britiana had been awake for more than a day and used high level magic several times. They even looked tired. "Okay. Go rest," she ushered softly. She gave them quick hugs then pushed them into their rooms.
"Rest well. We'll catch up later," Elias told them and pulled Chrystianna toward her room. When they stepped in, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Chrystianna didn't resist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed her back.
The last time they met, they stayed in Chrystianna's room, as awkward and fervent as two newly matures despite being over a century old at that point. They only came out to eat and discuss things that have happened to both of them since they separated. They made the decision to have Britiana and Darius at that time.
They'd only been separated for only two decades this time, but it seemed that missing a taste one has experienced is worse than never having tasted it all. On that note, Elias picked her up in a princess's carry and headed toward the bed.
--
While Sariya was able to contain her curiosity and decided to get comfortable and take a nap, Delaney wasn't able to. She looked around her room in fascination. She took her cloak off and set it on a chair. She pulled a phone out of her pouch. Even when she traveled, she brought her phone so she could take pictures of interesting things to show her family. She even took several power banks with her to prevent the phone from dying completely.
She turned on the phone and turned on the video function and started recording. "Look at this room! There's a small area that looks like a large stately hotel room," she narrated, showing off the nice sized fireplace, ornate comfortable four poster bed, oversized wing back, matching two-seater sofa, intricately carved sofa table, side tables and wardrobe. There was also a large, but not overly so, window draped elegantly.
"But look at this?" she suddenly panned the camera up showing off the well-crafted ceiling beams. "The ceiling has to be at least fifty feet high!" She also showed off the rest of the room which ended at floor to ceiling balcony doors. "This room is made for Dragons," she explained.
She went to the normal window and pulled the curtains and found a window seat. She knelt on it while she looked out. Her room overlooked a large courtyard. There were all sorts of people walking around below. She could see other parts of the Keep and buildings in the distance. The people were diverse. Not only in skin color, but in shape, clothing, style, races. She saw tall, elegant Elves; normal looking middle-aged men with pot bellies; and even short, squat neatly dressed dwarves with intricately braided beards.
"Our new home is going to be amazing," she said. She gasped. "Watch this," she instructed the video. She turned the camera to capture the Dragon flying toward the courtyard. She'd already seen Chrystianna, Darius, and Britiana turn into Dragons. This Dragon was different. The three of them were all metallic silver with slightly different hues. Chrystianna was paler than her children, Britiana sometimes glimmered with lavender undertones, and Darius sometimes glimmered with baby blue undertones.
This Dragon was like pale, cloudy gray glass. It was also bigger than Chrystianna. As it got closer, she noticed something was on its back. When the Dragon landed in the clearing in the middle of the courtyard that seemed to be just for that purpose, the small thing jumped easily from its back and spread pale gray and brown wings like an owl and fluttered to the ground. It was a small child with a cute face and brown pigtails. She waited patiently as the adult Dragon transformed into a man with similar wings and brown hair. He held a hand out and the little girl took it, and they began walking out of the courtyard. "Wow," she murmured.
"Anyway, hope to see y'all soon," she said and stopped recording.
She decided to rest. There would be time later to sort everything out she needed to. For now, she'd enjoy this cushy lifestyle she hadn't been able to enjoy for some time because they were always on edge her uncle was killed.
She fell asleep surprisingly quickly.