Shieldbearer

Allison -> Shieldbearer

"What was Mom like?"

It was a question the shield bearer had asked many times of her father. Each time, she got a different answer. Her mother had fallen from the stars, a living constellation whose shape reflected in her daughter's wings. Her mother was a goddess of time, immune to its ravages and pulled others into her world of protection and immortality. Her mother was a fierce warrior, able to slay entire armies and had done so to protect her love.

There were so many sides, and all of them she struggled to reconcile. It'd help if she could just find her mother and meet her herself.

"Where'd Mom go?"

That was a question that her father had no answer for.

Now, though, she could no longer ask. She finished shoveling the last bit of dirt onto his grave and stacked rocks to mark the site. Now, she had to find answers on her own. Wiping her hands on her tunic, she went to their home - her home now - and collected the hand-copied tomes and journals she had filled over the years. Her father's family was long gone. Her mother's had never been present. There was no time like the present to find out where her mother had gone.

--

Tracing back seemed like a logical start - her mother surely had not simply come into being spontaneously. It was surprising when a door appeared to her - not a door like in her home, but... a door. The distinction was hard to articulate, except that this door was in no way physical. It was there, yes, but not physically. Despite its lack of physical existence, she went through it. Immediately, her form stretched and squashed in ways she hadn't considered possible, and the door finally spat her back out on its other side, forced into a new form. She took a moment to trace the seams in her plated skin and to tug at the orange whiskers that sprouted from below her snout, and then picked up the absolutely massive pearl that her gut told her was important and began to explore the world her mother had heralded from.

The terminology proved confusing to her, but consistent usage at least let her guess definitions. She was a 'Pearlcatcher' now, and many other beings here were Pearlcatchers as well. Pearlcatchers were a type of dragon - the dominant species of the realm. Had her mother been a dragon too? Dragons had been dangerous back home - but then again, considering the numerous powers her mother apparently held, maybe that made sense. There were also 'flights', organized by 'elements' - something about natural attunement to certain aspects of the world, reflected in usable magic and eye color. Judging by her eye color, at least, she might've been from the 'Earth' or 'Light' flight. Until she tried elemental magic, she wouldn't know for sure.

What really caught her attention, though, were tales of the 'Arcane' flight. Their lands and minds were distorted by magic, not unlike the sort she favored, but they often turned their gaze to one direction: the sky. The sky and the cosmos above, where stars flickered in time with the patterns on her extended wings. They had an observatory and everything.

She decided it might be worth looking there for information first.

--

The tales were true, she decided, as she made her way into the Observatory. By now, she had begun to learn how to walk on three of her limbs - one reserved for holding the pearl, wings slightly folded and tail stiff to help her maintain balance. Other Pearlcatchers still had a far more natural gait, but it might not matter if she couldn't find her mother here. If she wasn't here, she'd go back and consider ways to trace the path forward. One way or another, she intended to get answers.

Now that she was here, though, she realized she didn't really have a plan. Was she going to ask their deity about a dragon with power over time and like the stars themselves? Was she going to borrow their telescope and see what was out there? Hm. She'd made her way into a small observation room - very small, she could hardly fit - and looked around. It was dark but she could make out a twinkling, not unlike her wings. Wait.

"Mom?" The word was choked, not helped by the cramped quarters. The shimmering stars twisted before her and grew larger as they approached - though not by much. The faint light from the hallway glinted off this dragon's goggles, then lifted up by said dragon. This dragon was small, half her size, and covered in twinkling stars, against a field of red and green.

"No." That was the terse response she received. The small dragon turned, and she reached out.

"Wait- " She easily snagged the smaller dragon's wing. The dragon's glare made her cringe back, but she held on. "Are - are you my mom? You've - you've got the stars-" She tapped on the leathery wing, earning a hiss in response. She let go, and the small dragon smoothed the wing out.

"The constellation and starmap genes were isolated in the past few years. Many dragons have this pattern."

Wait.

Many dragons?

The stars were a natural pattern among these dragons?

She felt the limbs holding her wings in place droop, letting the material brush against the floor.

"It's....a lot of dragon have stars?"

"Yes." The small dragon had perched and was studying her. She flinched back again under the scrutiny. She swallowed and tried to compose herself. This was probably what she got for not having a plan.

"I... I'm looking for my mom. My dad said she came from the stars, and she was immortal and a goddess of time..." She trailed off, a blush staining her face. It sounded ridiculous, relaying it like that to a stranger. "Um, well, I never met her, it's just what he told me." The smaller dragon looked thoughtful.

"A dragon mimic."

"A dragon mimic?" she echoed. She only received a nod in return. Ugh. "Can you explain?"

"Creatures that look like dragons but differ in some critical aspect." She waited, but apparently that was all the explanation she was going to get.

"Uh.... how hard are they to find?"

"Varies." Why was this dragon so difficult to talk to?

"By what?"

"Their critical aspect."

"Like what?!"

"Shapeshifting. Magma organs. Eyes." She tried to process all of that. The lack of information left broad stripes for her mind to paint over.

"So... I might not be able to find her if her critical aspect isn't visible?"

"Mhm."

She threw her hands up, dropping her pearl as she did. It cracked, and she winced at the sensation, as if she'd broken a bone. The small dragon kept it from rolling away but made no move to offer it back.

"Aw, crap, what'd that do?" She grabbed for the pearl and looked it over. The crack was somehow sore to the touch but did not bleed or even ooze. That was probably good. "I... guess I should go then. sorry for bothering you." The small dragon simply gave her a nod and then retreated back into the dark room. Crushed, the shield bearer left.

The island the Observatory rested on was spacious enough to give her room to try the ritual to return home. She could feel the space around her splitting. When she looked, though, there was no door. Her eyes widened. She searched again. No door. She left the rift seal and then tried again.

Why wasn't a door forming?

After one more failed attempt, she flopped over onto her aching pearl and sobbed. Why was she so upset? She had no one left at home. No family, no friends.

Nothing, except maybe a thread forward. And that was what left her hurting.

"Um, are you ok?"

With a snorting sob, she lifted her head. It was another one of the smaller dragons, like the one with the starry body and wings. This one, though, was dark except for odd white linear patterns tracing over her body. Big blue eyes gazed at her from behind a pair of half-moon spectacles.

"I guess not - most people don't cry without reason. Even the ones who say they do, they really aren't, it's just something else they haven't thought about yet. I was on my way to the Observatory to check on Mom. Do you wanna come with me? It'll probably be more comfortable inside, and if you still wanna cry, you can find somewhere more private to do it so no one bothers you. How's that sound?" She cocked her head expectantly.

She sniffled. "I...no thanks."

"Oh, okay." The small dragon shrugged off the pink silky cape she wore and offered it to her - in her hands, it was little more than a rag. "If you wanna clean up, though. I know how to wash that later." The tears started anew, and the small dragon panicked before taking a corner of the cape and wiping her tears from her face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you!"

"You didn't - I'm just-" She sniffled, struggling to articulate herself. The small dragon nodded.

"I really should check on my mom, she's got a bad habit of skipping meals when she's working. I won't be long, though - ten minutes, tops - and I'll come back and we can talk if you want? Or just hang out. Today's a day off for me so there's nowhere I have to be." She held out a small hand. "I'm Stellamarin. Nice to meet you!"

She took Stellamarin's hand in her own carefully. "Um... I'm a shield-bearer." Stellamarin blinked.

"Don't wanna share your name? That's cool, I am a stranger-"

"It's not.. customary to receive names before our first job."

"Oh." That earned her another blink. "Well, you know what? Shieldbearer's a real name around here. So that can be your name! Unless you want something else, of course." Shieldbearer nodded. Maybe one day. But for now, that was her last link to a world she considered home, even if there was no one waiting for her there and no obvious way back. "So you just sit tight, Shieldbearer, I'll be right back and then, well, we'll do whatever you wanna do! It'll be great, I bet!" With that, Stellamarin flew up into the Observatory. Shieldbearer watched her go and then stared down at the cracked pearl she held, wiping her face with Stellamarin's cloak. Now, more than ever, she wanted to meet her mother. Was she afflicted with something similar? Never able to go back? So why did she have a child? How had she come to travel? Was she actually a dragon, or a mimic like the astronomer suggested? Who was she, really?

But, for now, it might be nice to start over.

#155