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The lava-colored Snapper continued to stare at the creature Athena had brought him, drinking in the sight of his worst nightmares made manifest.
In all his explorations into the most obscure volumes in the Library at home, and in the Tourmaline Archives as well, he had never found a reason to believe that the dangerous entity that his favorite set of scrolls mentioned so often had actually existed! But now…Tolkien swallowed, trembling from the sheer power and malice radiating from that Eye. He HAD to take control of this thing, to protect everyone else from what it could do, but how? Slowly, he took another step forward, and then another, his gaze still locked with the pulsing, seductive, Eye…
…He was so transfixed that he never saw the dark tendrils of power reaching out, beginning to wrap around him, as he headed closer and closer to the thing he had, without realizing, begun to bond with….
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Among the many dragons traversing the Cloudsong, there were more than a few familiar faces, as well as those who had never been there before. Some were heading for specific spots, while others simply wandered. And some were currently focused more on specific dragons than on the fun and fascinating things around them…
Evenfall
Fighter, Empath
(Wind Born,
Arcane Adopted)
The sight of the familiar blue Guardian hurrying through the corridors caused a number of dragons to smile, and wave. She was well known to past revelers at the Cloudsong, as she had been coming for a number of years and always had a good thing to say about whatever show she chose to view. But today, the dragon in question was clearly not focused on the fun around her, as she headed not for the various stages and smaller areas where performances took place, but rather towards one of the many entrances and exits of the Cloudsong itself. And those who truly knew her well could see that something was very, very wrong….
...
Evenfall was shaking by the time she got to the platform she was aiming for, her wings opening and snapping shut in agitation and fear. She stared out at the wide sky, scanning the arriving dragons with an almost feverish quality, her heart still pounding. She had to be here, she had to be! If she wasn’t…if she didn’t arrive in time….
Closing her eyes, Evenfall, took several deep breaths, seeing again those terrible threads of darkness reaching out to her Clanmate.
She had been watching this year’s Archery performance by Zephyr, enjoying the show immensely, when she had felt a sudden surge in the emotions around her. Usually, she could not detect such things that easily, but this
satisfaction was so strong that it caught her attention immediately. Turning in surprise, she had seen Athena cradling a floating eye, of all things, holding it gently in a pocket of wind as she headed away from the show. Evenfall still wasn’t sure what had caused her to follow her Clanmate, abandoning Zephyr’s performance before it finished, but she was certainly glad that she had. Now if only her frantic call had reached its target before it was too late--
THERE!
A familiar form appeared in the distance, growing rapidly larger. Within minutes the beautiful Pearlcatcher with the shimmering red wings had become fully visible, gliding in for a graceful landing on the platform. Evenfall almost sobbed in relief as she hurried forward to seize her Clanmate’s paw. “Thank the Arcanist, I was afraid you wouldn’t be in time…”
Soulfire
Artist and Dual Mage:
Water/Soul Magic, Fire/Spirit Magic
(Plague Born,
Arcane Adopted)
Reaching out quickly,
Soulfire steadied her Clanmate and friend, her gentle red eyes widening in shock at the state the usually calm Guardian was in.
“Evenfall, love, calm down,” she said softly. “Take a breath, center yourself, and tell me what’s happened. Your message was not very forthcoming.”
That, in fact, was an understatement. The “message” had been a jolt of emotional shock and fear coupled with a pulling centered on Soulfire herself. A desperate, wild
need for the dual Soul and Spirit Mage to come
right now. Not something a dragon expected to feel coming from a Clanmate who was
supposed to be enjoying herself at her favorite Event of the year.
Evenfall closed her eyes, clearly trying to quiet her fears and do as Soulfire asked. But equally clearly, it wasn’t working. “It’s Tolkien,” she blurted, “and Athena, too, I think…something’s wrong--a twisted familiar bonding, or maybe a control spell--
something…Athena wouldn’t DO that to him, and Tolkien, he didn’t see what was happening, he’s too fixated on that awful Eye…” She shook, her whole body beginning to vibrate, her eyes wide and pleading. "I’m sorry, I know you weren’t planning to come, wanted to work on other projects while the caves were so empty, but I didn’t know what else to do—”
“Evenfall!” Soulfire’s sharp shout cut through the torrent of words--and caught the attention of several dragons nearby. Shooting an apologetic smile first at her shaking Clanmate and then at the attendant Skydancer looking after the platform, Soulfire gently guided the Guardian back inside the Cloudsong, reaching out with her own empathic magic as she did, trying to soothe the obvious fear and agitation.
Instantly, she understood. Evenfall was suffering from the peripheral residue of an empathic attack. It was fortunate that the Guardian had not been the actual target, or she would be even more of a mess than she was, but what she had picked up was bad enough for a dragon whose Empathy was almost entirely instinctual. She could subconsciously soothe the fear and agitation of others – and send out emotional “messages” to those she was close to -- but not much else. And she had no natural shields to speak of. Poor Evenfall had been completely overwhelmed by the sheer
malice in this strike.
Fortunately, there was a way to fix that. Soulfire gently “stroked” Evenfall’s emotions, bringing them back to equilibrium. At the same time, she wove a simple spell around her old friend, a shield to temporarily block off all outside emotions. Within minutes, the Guardian had stopped shaking, her wings settling back in place, and her eyes losing that wild, desperate look.
Soulfire smiled. “Better?” She asked, observing as the emotions in her friend settled back to their usual, calm pool.
Evenfall nodded, breathing much more slowly now, her paws no longer trembling. “Can you help Tolkien?” She asked. “That thing isn’t bonding with him, Soulfire. It’s trying to take him over!” She swallowed hard. “It can’t have been intended to be here. It must have gotten in somehow…I think it’s from that new area of the Coli the Clan Mother warned us away from -- the one with the strange portal. It’s a spirit, or maybe a disembodied soul, and it wants him. Badly.”
The dual Soul and Spirit Mage smiled grimly. “Well, it’s a good thing you asked for my help, then, isn’t?” She straightened, calling her power around her in an almost visible aura. “Show me.”
Oh dear…it seems that Tolkien’s new “friend” might have been a bit more than Athena thought…and now one of the Clan’s more…interesting…mages has made an appearance. Hopefully she can fix this in time…
