Redemption - Fourth Wing

31. The Vale

Ronny's Pov
Navarrian dragons were definitely wilder than Alagaesyan ones: while we were taught that we had no ground to call home apart from the Academy and our partners' heart and mind, the Navarrians lived in a stretch of cliffs which humans were forfeited to visit.
I spread my wings and flicked my tail, and reached the Black Den, as high as the Mountains of Beor. I slid in, and started walking; they were deep in a cave, and Tairn was laying with his muzzle on his crossed foreclaws.
-This is absurd!- screeched Andarna, -This is our mission! Not of some... Human!-
-Then we won't go,- said Tairn, to whom Andarna whirled around with her teeth bared, -We have to go! Every possible path!-
-That's a path,- sighed the black dragon, -And yet you seem discontent.-
-As I must! We are dragons, and we pay no heed to humans! So why must I accept that not all requests of mine are followed? I will not!-
I stepped next to Chex, -I reckon that Sorrengail's meeting was somewhat of a failure.-
He sighed, and lowered his wings, -Yes. Captain Grady will choose the squad for the quest, and the rest of the fliers aren't allowed in Basgiath.-
-I will burn him! I will scorch him to the ground where he stands!- hollered Andarna, and Tairn shifted slightly, -Feel free to do so.-
-Yes. I will. I do not need your approval.- She snorted smoke, then darkened her scales and turned to Chex, -And why are you overly calm?-
-Xaden will be allowed in,- he said, -Sgaeyl and Tairn can't be separated for long.-
Tairn raised his head, -The Dark One can't be trusted, and Sgaeyl is too lost in her own grief to see it.-
I remembered that Riorson had turned, and that he could kill Sgaeyl much like Barlowe had done with his dragon. I shuddered, and took a step back.
-Aifos is with them,- said Chex, -They're keeping an eye on him. And the others, too.-
-None can unite what's broken,- answered Tairn.
-Aifos can.-
-Can they?- Tairn's golden eyes pinned mine, and I shook my head, -There are wounds too deep.-
-Violet trusts him,- interjected Andarna, -And I trust her.-
-She loves him,- I said, -There's a difference.-
-Is there?- Asked Chex with narrowed eyes.
Tairn raised on his feet and walked past me, -Come hunt with me, Ronny.-
Even though I wasn't hungry, there was such a sterness in his voice I followed him out of the cave and into open air.
We circled around the Den, then veered to the heart of the Vale, where we each caught a deer and brought it under the shadows of a couple of trees. The snow crunched under our talons, and I shook it off my wings. We ate in silence, and as I was cleaning off the bones Tairn rustled his wings and turned to look at me.
-Power requests a price to be paid,- he said, -I'm sure you know as much.-
I remembered the blood on my talons, on my muzzle; the faint red of war in my brown irises.
-Yes. I do.-
-And magic requires balance.-
-As Nature does.-
-The kind of power channeled by the Dark One is intrinsically unbalanced. It takes without permission, and it controls those who channel; not the other way round.-
-You're saying that Riorson is bound to flip to the other side.-
-Indeed. No matter how much Silver One loves him, or how much my Blue One grieves, he's already lost.-
I nipped at the last bone, then pushed it away, -Should we kill him?-
-No. We can't. Because Sgaeyl and I are mated, our lives are interdependable, and so are our riders' own. Kill one of us, and the others follow.-
-That's... Annoying.-
-Isn't it the same for your kind?-
-No. Dragons mate occasionally, and we always change our companions. Our partners of heart and mind are our costant path: we owe our lives to them.-
-I see.-
-So? What's your plan? Aifos indeed is checking up on him, and they can control him whenever he slips during this early stage. But we all know it won't last forever, and they're meant for so much more than a bodyguard of some mortal.-
Tairn's sigh was low, and snow drifted away.
-Sgaeyl can snap the bond. And the Dark One either will die or will lose all of his soul in a couple of heartbeats.-
-Sorrengail would never forgive neither of you.-
-No, she would never.-
Wingbeats surged ahead of us, and Tairn's head snapped up to the blue dragon soaring in the sky. A stark longing rippled through his stern features, and I wondered if Sgaeyl was coming up short with him too.
My voice was gentle, -She'll come round.-
-She's fierce, and proud, and is as loyal as Silver One when it comes to love. They can't seem to give up on the Dark One. They refuse to see the truth.-
-They will.-
-Will they?-
-They must.-
His voice was low, almost ashamed, -I too hoped for too long...-
I shifted slightly, and brushed his wing with mine, -As much as of consolation this may be, I'll try do my best to keep the wind favouring under your wings.-
-The storm is already here.-
-We're dragons, Tairn. Our wings can hold off any storm.-
I sought out his eyes, and he dipped his chin in a curt nod.
It was early morning, and I was fast asleep in a cave I'd chosen randomly, when anger and worry rushed through the pathway of my bond with Aifos so suddenly I was jolted awake.
-Are you out of your mind?- Shrieked Aifos, so nervous that they'd switched up in the Ancient Language without probably realising it, -What the fuck!-
-Kid? What's going on?-
But they straight up ignored me, and went on, -Doing this shit! And you wonder why we don't want you two to sleep together? You've turned, Xaden, and you must act consequently! You can't just fuck her like you could've done it before! You have to thank your Gods here that I was meditating and had enough reflexes to push you back in! And you, Violet, you should be the one having some fucking brains! Never again! And you, stop laughing!-
It took me a couple of heartbeats to understand that they'd turned to me, and I muttered that I wasn't laughing.
-You were! Hugh. I'm fed up with you all, and it's too early for screaming like this. Now, you'd better get the fuck out of the room in two seconds or else I'll drag you out myself. We clear?- and they cut off the contact.
Chex immediately reached out to me, his voice worried, -What happened?-
I just laughed, -Riorson and Sorrengail couldn't keep their hands to themselves, and Riorson almost channeled.-
-What? That's so... So stupid of them!-
-Indeed. Aifos scolded them.-
-As they should!-
-Little humans,- I chuffed, and I could picture Chex nodding eagerly, -Little humans indeed!-
I went back to sleep, and a couple of hours later I was stretching and shaking off the dizziness of slumber when I caught copper and purple scales flashing by.
-Chex?-
-Come with us! There's about to be a scuffle!-
-What do you mean?- I bolted after the siblings, and called Aifos, -What's going on?-
-The Navarrian Riders want to challenge the fliers. If a drop of poromish blood is shed, the alliance between the two kingdoms will never see the light.-
-Can you stop this madness?- I asked, but Aifos said I knew better, -It's not my fight to meddle in.-
We saw that other dragons were flying towards Basgiath, and I made sure that I never lost sight of the siblings. Tairn was nowhere to be found. The flight was quick, and we landed along the thick stone walls of the courtyard alongside the gryphons. I recognised Aotrom next to Chex, and the two acknowledged each other with a flick of their Swordtails.
The two factions of Riders took up most of the courtyard, and in the middle there was a blonde Rider with a dagger on a flier's throat.
The Navarrians chanted for bloodshed, and I let out a hiss, -They are killing machines. They aren't worthy to be Shur'tugals.-
-It's because they aren't Shur'tugals,- said Aifos, -They were taught only to kill, and to think within the borders of the war. It's no surprise that they confuse diplomacy with blood.-
Despite Aetos' attempt to fend off a challenge, the blonde Rider kept pushing, until he had to relent and palmed his dagger.
-He isn't the strongest,- said Andarna, -He isn't the strongest!-
-And now what?- said Chex, and Aotrom lolled his head left and right, -My rider said the lightening wielder is ready to blow shit up.-
And indeed, when the blonde Rider tugged off a glove and called up to her her flames, Sorrengail hurtled a dagger in her glove and the flames extinguished.
"Rebel is so outdated," said Sorrengail, as her power crackled in the air, "We prefer the term revolutionary. And if you're going to wield, then it's me you'll be dealing with."
"You dare-" but the fire-wielder got cut off by a sudden streak of lightening which flashed bright above our heads and got followed by the boom of a thunder.
The Riders grew quiet.
"You see, Dain's too honourable to wield in a challenge, but you'll find that my sense of morality has learned to... Waver." She retrieved another dagger, "You lift your hand against him again, and the next one goes through you. He's the reason you're alive. The reason you're all alive!"
I turned my head, and saw Aifos lingering in the shadows. If only they wanted, they would take control of the minds of all of them and put a stop to this parlor trick.
-They are hatchlings pretending to be dragons,- I chuffed, -Self-intitled, and loud.-
Aifos chuckled amused, -They are. But at least Chex seems to be enjoying himself.-
He was currently chatting with Aotrom about the scuffle; Andarna was tense, and she kept flexing her claws against the stone.
-I've grown tired of it,- I said to Aifos, -Tell me if there's anything worthy of knowing.-
-Got doubts, but sure.-
Then I couched low and took to the sky; I circled twice above the courtyard, then flew towards the Vale.
I was seeking out a shadowed place where to lay on, when I stumbled upon Tairn and Sgaeyl. She had her teeth bared, and her neck proudly arched, and the tree behind her had various slashes from her daggered tail.
They were quarreling within the borders of their bond, so I made sure to remain unseen and unheard while she let out a sharp snarl, smoke drifting off her widened nostrils. Tairn snapped quickly and briefly, and rustled his wings.
Sgaeyl growled, low in her throat, before allowing flames to engulf her mate.
Instinctively I hissed in surprise, and she twisted her head towards me and let out a shuddering roar. Fire licked the depth of her throat again, but Tairn shook off the smoke around his eyes and splayed a wing, -Don't, my Blue One. He isn't fireproof like the rest of us are.-
-I'm surprised you're still alive,- she snarled to me, and I drew back my wings, -My partner of heart and mind provides to save me from the fire.-
-You've just proved my point.-
And then, she took off with powerful wingbeats, and Tairn watched her fly away from us.
-You've got for yourself a proud one,- I said, and he huffed at me, -My mate is unparalleled.-
-Never said she wasn't.-
-You better not.-
He frowned at me, and I stepped back, -Well, I leave you to brood on your own then.-
-I am a Black Morningstartail, descendant of Murtcuidaem and Fianclafui, from the powerful line of Dubhmaddin. I do not brood.-
-You don't?-
I snorted smoke at his snap of teeth, and left him be.
Chex came back after a while, and told me everything that there was to know, which essentially was all about Sorrengail's signet and the professors making themselves known at the cadets when they'd grown fed up with their scuffle.
-And Riorson became the duke of Tyrrendor,- added Chex in the end.
I remembered that Riorson was Aifos' half-brother, and I looked past the entrance of the cave which faced the cliff.
-A Shur'tugal needs no titles,- I muttered slowly.
-No. Aifos does not.- Then, quietly, -How's Sgaeyl?-
-Why do you ask me such, out of all dragons?-
He lowered his eyes to his black claws, -I haven't heard anything from her yet. I'm afraid that she's coiling within her pain ... One should never suffer alone. Tairn would burn the world for her, and she's the closest motherly figure Darna and I ever had.-
-I know. But she's proud, and the betrayal from the one closest to you always stabs deep.-
-She has us. We will never betray her.-
-I'm sure she knows it; but we all cope with pain how we think best.-
He leaned slightly on me, and I let him.
-Yet, Xaden couldn't have done otherwise if he wanted to live,- he whispered, so lowly it was almost for himself, -But Tairn says he's bound to lose his soul.-
-Perhaps so. But we shouldn't focus either on the past, and on the future so far away from us it's only shaped by dreams and fears.-
-If only it were so easy.-
-We are dragons. We shape the world.-
-Do we?-
-We must.-