Dawn's Light

Chapter 57

'Did you see me?' Verbena pranced a bit as Celia dismounted from Irin's back. 'I was all like woosh and snatch and the stone pillar If was in crumbled under my might!' The jade dragoness limped slightly as if one of her forearms gained a bruise during the mission. 'I was unstoppable!'

Celia laughed a bit, then trudged through the snow towards her excited companion. "You are amazing," she assured the ice-armored dragonet. When the human finally reached the excited juvenile dragon, she wrapped her arms around Verbena's neck. "Definitely amazing."

'Of course, I am awesome!' Verbena grinned with a celebratory trumpet as she continued her energetic prance and bouncing joyous leaps.

Celia laughed a bit as her nervousness settled and she finally could properly and deeply breathe instead of stressed and worried shallow breaths.

'We have all four rays of light now,' Irin observed as he carried Xan over the snow and towards the other dragon and rider pair. "I believe something good is supposed to happen if the rays of light are gathered."

"Oh, let's bring them all together!" Celia exclaimed and released Verbena, then ran over to the white-coated dragonet's sides. After she gently lifted Verbena's wing, Celia opened the bag where she left the rays of light and retrieved them from the depths of the pocketed cloth.

"Here!" Celia exhaled in excitement as she retrieved the drawstring pouch that held the other three spheres. She tore open the bag, then carefully lifted the three perfect spheres out of the cloth.

For a moment, everything seemed frozen as the exact weight of what she was about to do fell onto Celia's shoulders. She was about to place the last rays of light together and hopefully return sunlight to the world for what was probably the first time in a century.

Celia took a deep breath, then gently placed the three spheres in her possession into the snow with the newest addition to the collection. All for spheres gently tinkled against one another like a bell chime before they finally settled into the snow.

Nothing happened.

Eventually, Celia released her withheld breath with a gasp and raggedly inhaled. After she recovered her normal breathing, she looked down to the rays of light. "Why... why didn't anything happen? All four rays of light are here, touching." Her voice wavered as it continued.

"Maybe one of them is fake," Xan slowly suggested. "and we really haven't found all four." He looked down and studied the seemingly-identical spheres.

"No!" Celia paced, though the deep snow inhibited her from moving more than a quarter step in any direction. "we have seen all four of them glow, so they have to be real. They—they have to be." She hiccuped.

"Maybe Orthos swi—"  Xan started.

"NO!!!!" Celia spun on her heel and stared at Xan. Her sudden outburst startled the other three beings in the area. "He—he wouldn't! Guild Master Orthos would not do anything like that!" She trembled slightly.

Verbena worriedly nuzzled Celia, which calmed the human slightly. 'I am sure we are missing something important. This can't be the end when we are so close to restoring day to Roahla.' The young dragoness whimpered slightly.

"Ahsa could have given us a fake ray of light. She has the magic to do it, probably," Xan slowly frowned.

Celia inhaled and calmed herself. After a pause, she remembered the words whispered to her in the darkness of the dungeon. "We need to take them to the highest peak, just like the priest said."

"What!? You really want to trust that crazy person!?" Xan raised his voice slightly. "But what he said made no sense! If it exists, the white spirit dragon is evil! The black dragon is the patron of the city!"