The Dragon's Cry

There's no time to decide. Damn, you think, I hate standoffs.

You surrender yourself to instinct, and a shriek escapes your lungs of such volume that the stones of the castle walls begin to shake. You can see Beyno screaming in pain, his hands clasped to his ears, the knife forgotten, and the King's mouth is just as wide, his eyes screwed as tight, but no human mouth could ever hope to match your dragon-scream.

You see a light envelop the King and he relaxes slightly, but Beyno collapses to the floor, trickles of blood escaping from his ears. Shards of crystal fall from the chandeliers above you, and the stained glass windows shatter, their fragments blown outward by the force of your scream.

Exhausted, you collapse yourself as the shriek fades and you find yourself in a purple fog of semiconsciousness.

For long moments you lie there, fighting to keep yourself awake, forcing yourself to breathe, until you feel a hand on your shoulder.

"Arise, young Shree," Silvera's voice comes, suddenly warm and soothing. You twist around and look up to see her - the coldness is still there, in the stance, in the eyes - but there is something else in those eyes, something... softer. More trusting. You reach out to take her hand, surprised that one so small as she could support your massive half-dragon weight.

"Is he..." you start to ask, lungs heaving. "The King...?"

"The King is safe. I made steps to ease his pain. He may not hear us for a time, but he will recover."

Somehow you find a walking stick in your hand, and you lean heavily on it as you take in the scene. The King has been untied and is leaning wearily against the wall, while Beyno lies whimpering on the floor in the midst of crystal shards.

The coldness returns to Silvera's voice, and the purpose - you realize the intensity never left her eyes. But you saw compassion, even if for only a few seconds. She strides toward the King, and you follow. As you pass Beyno, you pause to look in his direction.

"Do not concern yourself with him, dragonling," Silvera says. So it's dragonling again, eh? "He will trouble us no further. He is merely a lackey."

Suddenly Beyno's words come back to you: We're all just pawns to her, playing her twisted game! Was he right? And what about--?

You quickly look for the knife Beyno used to hold the King hostage. What you find is its conspicuous absence. If Silvera had time to untie the King while you recovered...

You rise up to your full height, walking stick clattering to the floor, eyes smoldering with anger, as you bear down on Silvera. "Where IS IT?" you demand.

Silvera raises a hand in warning - or perhaps threat. "Do not press me further, dragonling. There are some truths better left unspoken. You are not ready."

"Damn you, witch! It's true, isn't it? You killed my father, didn't you!"

The King tries to interject: "She speaks from wisdom, Shree. If you were to know before you were ready to understand - it would destroy you."

"Some king you are! Just a pawns in her chess game!"

"Shree."

Silvera does not shout, does not raise her voice - in fact, it is scarcely audible. But that one syllable she utters feels more like a command, holds more authority, than a thousand of the King's decrees. You actually feel yourself shrink as you turn toward her.

"The truth, if you hear it now, will only cause you pain. And the world can not afford to allow you that pain until our plans have been set in motion. The time will come, soon, when you will understand what happened, and why. But until then, you must put it aside. For the good of the kingdom - yea, for the good of the land - you must not tread down that path."

The King speaks again. "You must choose now, Shree. Do you accept entry into our conspiracy of light, and set aside these questions, or do you remain behind. We will continue without you, if we must, but our task will be significantly aided if you join."

Will you...

Contributed by Kelson Vibber

Things to consider while writing in this branch

Did Silvera really kill Shree's father? If so, why? If not, why won't she say? And how is the king connected?
Has Silvera really been manipulating the royal house, or is this enemy propaganda?
What is this "conspiracy of light" the king mentioned?
Is the King actually weak, or is it simply his association with Silvera mistaken for deference?
Now that there's time to think, does Silvera's name mean anything to Shree?
Silvera, a Fairie?


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