A Parting Gift

The old white dragon sighed as she saw all her closest family coming to her now. She knew this would not be easy. "Please, let me say what i have to without interrupting. I will answer any questions you might have, after I have finished, for this is not easy for me to speak of."

She paused, looking at each of them, first, Auraka, then, Rasjar, until finally her eyes fell on her own rider. It was Gem who would be hurt the most, and she knew it.

"It is my belief that when Hybur and Xanotter return, I will fall. I am older than any of you would imagine, over five centuries of time have passed since I hatched. Like Gem, I have my own version of her gift, only mine only allows glimpses of things to come, not the things that cause them.

"Because of this, and hopefully to make that time easier on all of you, I have done a lot of thought on this, and have come to a decision. I must warn you, that what I wish to do, can have severe consequences. To explain this best, I must talk of the past. You all remember how powerful Rhothilion and Lindan Marcos were. This is because you were not seeing only one human's strength, nor simply one Dusk Dragons. Had you been, overthrowing them would have been easier and done more quickly than the almost two decades it took."

She snorted. "Many of the dragons that he killed in order to destroy the Uruohtar's of old still live on, back in Nuduien itself. I do not know that Keya knew of this, or she would have tried to help us. Many of the dragons whose bodies were slain in that bloody time, are still alive today. Unlike with most creatures who dwell these days, our souls are not only within our heads. A hard gem like object, made of that which our scales are, resides in our chests. Usually these are not spoken of, and with us they die. However should we choose to, or are forced to as my slaughtered brethren were, we can give this gem up, and this is where the danger is."

She paused. "You see whoever holds this stone holds, not just a stone. But our very souls in their hands. With it, we can be forced to do their bidding, regardless of whether we want to or not."

She snorted. "Any questions this far?"

Glenawing

He bandaged him self resentfully, he had only barely lost the war as after Hycis troops fled and joined Gem's troops he was overwhelmed, he was allowed to keep his island and govern it though he was under the 'keen eye' of Gem and Gaelira. He strapped on his chest plate, his grieves, his shin gaurds and belted his blade which still was blood stained from the battles. He moved slower then usual to Veer who growled as Glen climbed on him.

Their pride and ego had been some of the casualties of the war. Veer took off into the air and flew the Gem's castle. Veer circled twice and landed in the court yard next to Gaelira. Glen jumped off wincing as he felt a sharp pain go through his chest and back. He looked to Gem and Gaelira resentfully, "Why did you call me."

Glenawing

He started at Gem, he clenched his fist his anger raising, "My tardiness is justified." he began to grind his teeth as he walked closer to her, "Im sorry that I didn't have the strength to heal my self right after battle Gem." he looked up to Gaelira, "I find it a bit hard to believe that you are going to die." Veer growled slightly at Gaelira and Gem, "Stay with in your lines." Glenawing looked at the two of them and said agitated, "continue."

“I like the idea even less than you believe it, Veer,” Gaelira replied. “There is a way for me to make it so that I do not completely die, but it is one that I do not look upon favorably, unlike the many riders dragons who did look upon it favorably before Lindan Marcos rose to power. I was alive back then, and well, I never did what they did.”

Gaelira sighed. “Every dragon has a second heart within them. It's like a gem. We can remove this from ourselves while we live, therefore safe gaurding ourselves from death. Mine has not been removed, and some time soon, during this meeting, I will have. I already know where it will be hidden away safely.”

Glenawing

He raised an eyebrow, "Wouldn't this leave you vulnerable to our enemies? Wouldn't that strategically if we lost or misplaced your stone heart lead to our demise?" he paused and rubbed his chin, "If there are more of these where are they exactly?" if they captured all or most of them it would make the elves undefeatable. He smiled at the thought, though if the humans discovered this it would lead to the fall of his people.

"I do not know where they are. Lindan Marcos enslaved the others, and I doubt even Keya knows as to where he's hidden them. There were thousands of dragons before he rose to power." She sighed. "I would be as vunerable as a hatchling, only you do not want to fight my mind, Glenawing. Therefore I know who will be protecting my stone and it will be safe, for they are to always keep it with them."

She sighed. "I will not allow those other stones to be used against anyone. I have sent Meira and Narimya to find them, wherever they are and smash them, so that the dragons inside will be freed from being slaves to anyone else, as should have happened when you elves fell against Lindan Marcos."

Glenawing

"Why destroy something that can aid us beyond measure? Those dragons choose to continue and endure and they should be asked if they wish to endure." he didnt want these stones not to be destroyed, they could be used to their benifit. He looked at Gaelira and Gem, "As long as the humans don't find them it will not harm anyone to have them endure."

"Did Lindan Marcos not prove to everyone that humans are smarter than the elves give them credit for being? He found them and he enslaved them. That means they will only answer to someone loyal to him. They are beyond our help," Gaelira replied. She sighed, then snarled at Glenawing. "It is for that very reason that I have never spoken of this before. I know the dangers that come for those like me who choose to reveal these Gems."

There was no arguing with her at the moment. “We only told a few of the elves, and a few of the humans. All of whom are dead! They were the ones who knew the location of the stones, how Lindan Marcos found out would be news to me, for at the time I was a wild dragon.”