Four more days of uneventful travel had led Tristan up an impossibly steep mountain onto a plateau. Now, resting, he sits on a log overlooking the expanse of waste below the plateau. All he sees is blinding, white sands.
The sun reflects off the sandy ground and glares up in a million different hues, caused by the refraction of the light. Sighing, Tristan is glad that he chose to travel by the right path; the left had led through the desert, and he would not have survived long down there.
Up, high in the sky, a hawk circles above him. Suddenly, it swoops down, angled towards the desert. Tristan watches as it grips a small creature in its talons and soars back up to the clouds, disappearing, probably returning closer to its nest to feast.
Rising, Tristan knows that he, too, must continue on his journey. Glar had said something awaits him, and Tristan's curious nature has decreed that he must discover what it is. He stretches one final time before continuing to plod down the trail, passed the desert below.
Four or so more leagues passed, and Tristan finds himself no longer on the cliffs above the desert. Instead, he is suddenly in a dense forest. All around him, there are trees; even right behind him, where there had been simply a path above the desert, there is nothing but trees.
"What the blazes is going on here?" Tristan wonders aloud.
Suddenly, something green and lithe swoops down from the trees above him. Tristan falls back, hiding his face from it with his arms as he tries to swat the thing away. Suddenly, a woman's voice calls.
"Emera? Emera, where are you?" she wants to know.
Suddenly, the green thing stops attacking Tristan and flits off to some other place. Tristan blinks and sighs, glad he doesn't have to fight that, whatever it was. He continues to walk.
"Oh! There you are, Emera!" the woman's voice continues, less distraught.
Tristan shakes his head in wonder and continues along the path. It is less-than-clear now, and he thinks that the narrow dirt patches would form the path, a few years ago. Suddenly, he finds himself in a clearing.
The green whatever-it-is is crooning happily to a brown-haired woman in a green dress. She is wearing purple fore-arm guards, finger-gloves, and what appears to be a cape. She holds a smallish rod with an orb atop it as well. The green whatever-it-is buzzes around her, and they walk among the grasses of the clearing.
Tristan thinks it's probably better to just avoid the two, considering his previous encounter with the green thing. He takes another step, but now he is somewhere else entirely, inside a building.
"What is this?" he wants to know, glancing around.
"This is the Darkelf Dragon Adoption Agency," another woman, this one a brunette in blue, supplies. "Hello. I'm Desiree."
"Err... Hi. I'm Tristan Delacoré. It's a pleasure to meet you." He looks around again, taking in the structure and its hearty beiges and greens. "Just, um... what is adopted out here?"
"Darkelf dragons, of course. Hence, the name."
Tristan nods. "And what, pray tell, is a darkelf dragon?"
"Come, I'll show you." Desiree leads the way down a corridor through the recesses of the building. A few minutes later, she comes to rest a door. "Inside here is the dragon that both Deborah, my associate, and I care for. This is also where we keep abandoned dragons. They're the dragons who have been abandoned by their bondmates - the people chosen to protect them - for various reasons. The dragon in here, Laberanth, is a blue-green color, for every clutch by defined parents has a dragon split in colors, one shade for each of his or her parents. Laberanth's parents were a blue and a green, hence his colors."
Tristan nods. "I see. Was Laberanth an abandoned dragon, too?"
"He was, but I'm sure he'd prefer to tell you himself." Desiree flings the door open and ushers Tristan inside.
Inside, the room is large and spacious, the roof of which is nowhere to be seen. A smallish, for a dragon anyway, yellow dragon flits about the air above them, and a large, green and blue dragon rests below. Shrubbery and tall grasses abound, blanketing the ground. Tristan blinks in awe.
"Laberanth, we have a visitor," Desiree says.
*Oh?* the large blue-green dragon asks, lifting his head from where he had it laying on the ground. The yellow dragon swoops down from the skies, too, and approaches Tristan, sniffing him curiously.
"Yes. He's curious about darkelf dragons."
"Hello," Tristan manages, awe-stricken by the sheer mass of Laberanth. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
*The pleasure is all mine. As for your curiosity, consider it sated. I am a darkelf dragon, as is young Kama, here. She's an abandonling, one of two we have.*
The smallish yellow dragon nods vigorously and watches Tristan with her bright green eyes.
*We're hoping to find homes for the two abandonlings good, solid homes. I don't think Kama could take the shock of being shunted around much after losing her bondmate.*
Tristan nods in understanding. "And the other abandonling?"
*It's still an egg. All darkelf dragons hatch from eggs, so it hasn't had quite the shock that young Kama had. Still, it would be good to see him have a good home, too.*
"Him? Do you know for certain it's a male?"
*No, I use that as a gender-uncertain pronoun, of course.*
Tristan nods and can't help but smile. Isn't that how Anaton had described Glar'oth? "What would I have to do to adopt a dragon?"
*You would have to prove yourself worthy to me, Deborah, and Desiree. Then, you may have your choice of the two little ones. After that, there is nothing more, and we send you on your way.*
"Sound's pretty good. Do you think I have what it takes?"
*Well, what do you have to offer?*
Tristan begins the tale of his adventure, explaining it to Laberanth, Kama, and Desiree. He begins with the event three days prior to the fall of Weldox, explaining everything as well as he is able. It takes a long time.
Tristan finishes his tale and strokes Kama's head. She had laid her head down against Tristan when he began to sit, half-way through his tale. Now, he finishes with a mildly anticlimatic, "And that brings me to here."
Laberanth nods to Desiree and lets a low, contemplating growl escape him. Desiree smiles and rises. "Well, Tristan, if you're interested, we both think that you would make a wonderful bondmate to one of the little abandonlings. I'm sure Deborah will agree."
"Agree to what?" asks a kindly voice.
Tristan turns over his shoulder to see the woman in green from the clearing. *This young man would like to adopt one of the abandonlings,* Laberanth supplies.
"Oh?" she asks. "What do you think, Des?"
"I think he'll provide a wonderful and loving home, even if he does seem to move around a lot."
Tristan resumes stroking Kama's head as Laberanth and Desiree convince Deborah that he should be allowed to adopt. Soon, the young yellow female is asleep, crooning softly. He feels sorry for her, but something tells him that she was not meant for him. She was meant for another.
*Tristan!* Laberanth shouts, jerking the Weldoxian from his reverie. *Deborah has a question for you.*
"Oh? For me? What, dear lady, would you like to know?"
Deborah smiles. "I was wondering which dragon you were considering adopting."
Tristan nods. "I was considering the same question. I'm sorry for ignoring you all," he says. "As darling as Kama is, I don't think she is the one for me," he explains. "She's meant for someone else. I know it, deep down in my soul."
*So you're interested in the egg?*
"That's the short of it, yes. Do you think it possible for me to adopt it - err... him, her, whatever?"
Desiree chuckles and Deborah nods. "Of course!" they reply in near enough unison. Laberanth, also, nods his head.
"Really?" Tristan asks, ecstatic and incredulous simultaneously.
*Absolutely. Just follow Des and Deb, and they'll have you fill out the necessary paperwork.*
Grinning, for he can not believe his luck, Tristan gently removes Kama's head from his leg. He then rises and dusts himself off. "I do hope Kama finds a new home soon, though," he remarks before leaving the Sanctuary, following Deborah and Desiree down the hall again.
"And that's the last place you have to sign," Desiree says, pointing to one final line.
"My arm hurts from writing my name so many times," Tristan remarks, feeling kind of bad that the quill he's using will have to be sharpened soon.
"Don't worry about the quill. You should be more concerned with the dragon's egg you're adopting."
Tristan blinks up from the quill, and grins. "Err... yes."
"What will you name it?"
"I haven't decided that yet. I'll be certain to think of something when he, or she, hatches."
Desiree nods. "Common practice, that. Well, when you do decide, be sure to let us know."
"But... how? I don't know how far I'll be from here by then."
"Magic, of course! You don't think that we manage this agency by common practices, do you? No, a simple thought will suffice in telling us the name of your dragon, and its gender. But you have to be certain to tell us, or else we may not be able to find you, and your dragon will be abandoned again."
Tristan nods. "I understand. I'll do my best."
"It's all we can ask of you."
Tristan signs his name on the previously indicated line and hands Desiree the quill.
"Well, Tristan, everything seems to be in proper order. It's been a pleasure meeting you, and I wish the best for both you and your little one." She stands and presents her hand.
Tristan smiles and rises before shaking her hand in response. "One question before I leave: How is it that you speak my native tongue?"
"Couldn't you figure that one out, either?" Desiree sighs. "Magic, of course!"
Tristan waves good-bye one more time to Deborah and Desiree, thankful that the green thing, Deborah's Eki, Emera, and Desiree's blue Eki, Hito, are safe with their mistresses. He has absolutely no clue where he is going, but he's certain it will prove to be some sort of adventerous undertaking, considering all else he has undergone.
Deep in his mind, he wonders, as he plods along, whether or not the crew of the Ocean Mist will be able to find Reni and the twins in Nabarna. He had sent them, with letters of reccomendation and safekeeping to the mayor of the town, and he hopes sincerely that no evil has befallen them.
Twol and Valo will surely find the simple life of the city envigorating, and they will more than likely settle down there, content. Reni, however, will surely seek him out, returning to Weldox to find news of his fate and the fate of their mother. Tristan wonders if they have reached the city, for surely there has been ample time for them to arrive.
Has Reni returned to Weldox in search of his bones? If so, what could she have found that he has ignored? What of their mother? What ever became of her? Tristan had sent her to hide in the woods - or had she requested it? Nonetheless, he had thought it a safe enough place to hide while the army of the Godly Emperor raped the beautful docks and canals.
His head swimming with questions, Tristan hardly realizes that he has once again found himself on the cliffs, high above the desert. Knowing what Desiree's answer would have been had he asked her about his sudden relocations, he smiles and shakes his head. Now is not a time for confusion, but a time for rejoicing.
Tristan stares down at the large, black egg in his arms. He grins and shakes his head. "I've to think of you," he whispers, stroking the egg's tough shell. No more silly wonderings about my problems for now. I must protect you, no matter what the cost. He nods slowly before returning his attention to where he walks. He realizes, now, that he is not headed back towards where Glar had rescued him, but towards the other side of the cliffs. He is off towards a new begining, and he has someone with him to share the experiance. These thoughts, echoing through his head, send him, happy but not quite giddy, along the path to his next destination - wherever that may be.
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