Startouched Mage

Chapter 7

The trek up the Storm Spire was long, which wasn't a surprise considering its sheer height. This left Caelum with time to consider the immediate future. "So.. when we get up there, are we gonna tell the Dragon Queen we're... a thing?"
"I don't think it's gonna come up."
"Oh I see. You're saying we should hide it from her. A kind of secret forbidden romance between elf and... divine half-elf-person-thing?"

Rayla smirks. "Yes, yes that's right. The dragon queen can never know! "
Caelum plays along with the dramatics. "I understand. The world just isn't ready for what we have." They share a laugh together over their shared sense of sarcastic humour before moving to catch up to Ezran, who they find having stopped before an arch with writing.

Rayla inspects it. "This is elven writing." Caelum makes a mental note to start learning elven. "It says... prepare to draw your last breath."
"Well... I've never been threatened by an entrance before. Really working through the old bucket list."

Moving on from that point becomes difficult. Along with breathing. The higher they got, the more a cause for concern it became until taking a single step became almost impossible. The only one unaffected was Zym himself. And they collapsed.

When Caelum awoke, Ezran was shaking him. "Guys. Wake up! You gotta wake up!" Carlin rises with Herculean effort. "I know how to fix everything. The gateway wasn't a warning, it was the solution."
"W-what? What are you talking about?"
Ezran takes Caelum's sketchbook. "To make it all the way up, you have to draw your last breath." He shows Caelum what he drew. "It's a rune, Callum. And the trigger words are... ventis spiralis."

Caelum looks at the rune, not correcting his brother about the name. "How do you know all this?"
Ezran replies cryptically. "I met an old friend."

Trusting in his brother and the mysterious friend, Caelum draws the rune in the air. "Ventus spiralis." A sudden gust of wind burst from the rune, and suddenly they were all able to breathe freely. No longer struggling, Caelum races over to the still unconscious Rayla. "Rayla. Ezran got a spell. We're gonna be ok."
The couple shared a tender kiss in the heat of the moment, Ezran watching on with Bait in his arms. "That's gonna take some getting used to. On top of the sparkly face thing."

Making it to the top of the spire is thankfully easier after learning the spell needed to breathe. And Carlin was happy to celebrate. "We're here. I can't believe we made it!"
A blue elf with white hair and a metal staff with a wing motif approaches from the entrance to the Storm Spire, Rayla announcing their success. "We've brought him home! The dragon prince, Azymondias!"
Ezran holds the dragon hatchling up. "He's here to see his mother."
Rather than happy, the elf looks forlorn. "It makes my heart leap to see that he lives. But you are too late."

"The Dragon Queen has not opened her eyes in ten days".
Caelum grows worried at the news. "But she's not..."
"Oh no, she's not dead. She lives and breathes, but she is not with us." He escorts them through the spire. "My name is Ibis, mage of the Skywing elves. When I heard that Queen Zubeia was ill, I thought I could use my magic to help her. Losing her mate and her egg had irreparably broken her heart."

Caelum thinks back to his step father and grief he felt when he knew he was dead. To have that grief multiplied in the way Zubeia's was... it might have killed him. "Finally she closed her eyes. And has not opened them since. Come, I will show you."

Zym, upon hearing Zubeia's snoring, cowered in the doorway to her chamber. Ezran tries to convince him to come. "Don't worry Zym. It's your mother. Don't you want to see her?" The dragon hatchling clings onto Ezran, looking through the hallway before cowering back. "You're not ready yet. I underhand. It's ok, we'll go first. I'll be right back." Before entering the queen's chamber, Caelum looks back at Zym. He could understand not being ready for something like this.

When they enter the room where Zubeia sleeps, Caelum was taken aback by the sheer size of her, even while asleep and curled around an empty nest. Ezran approaches her snout, reaching out a hand in silence. "Wake up. Your babys here." No response. "You have to wake up."

When there is no response behind more snoring, Rayla sighs and runs out of the room. Caelum follows her, leaving Ezran alone with Ibis and the sleeping Dragon Queen.

He finds Rayla outside, sitting next to Zym and Bait. "You ok?"
"This is where it happened, Caelum. Where my parents ran away. I can't stop thinking about that moment. How it led to all this. Being here... it hurts." Caelum merely rests a five fingered midnight hand on Rayla's.

"You know, humans have something called closure. It's basically confronting something or someone that makes you feel bad and it makes you feel better. Remember that moon opal trick Lujanne used?"
"You're not saying..." Rayla rests a hand on the pendant Ethari gave her.
"Oh, definitely not. This place is big, I'm sure they have a moon opal somewhere around here. Who destroys their gir- friends... heirloom?"

Rayla raises a brow. "Were you about to call me your girlfriend?"
The stars on Caelum's cheeks fluctuate with their twinkling. "I-I didn't want to be presumptuous."
Rayla giggles. "Don't worry. You weren't." She kisses his star speckled cheek, making them glow brighter. "Girlfriend sounds nice. As long as I get to call you my boyfriend."
"You can call me whatever you want."
"What?"
"Hm?"