The World of Nymoria - Time's Arrow

Idylya paces around the forest, occasionally looking up at the sky, then back down at the glowing city below through the thick trees. The western wall of Kyrinia is clouded in a thick blanket of smoke, and the fire in the surrounding forest is growing. In the center of the clearing, Neverak remains coiled and silent with his eyes closed. His claws are cupped together in a sign and the runic tendrils on his face glow white, indicating his soul is currently projected.

“Shouldn’t they be back by now? It’s been well over half an hour.” She asks with a claw over her mouth. She looks at Neverak’s motionless body.

“I mean I understand the difficulty of keeping track of time without a timepiece, but still…”

Neverak remains unresponsive.

“I don’t know why I’m even asking you, it’s not like you’re here anyway.” Idylya pouts. “Well, ‘mentally’ here I mean.” She turns away from Neverak and back at the glowing city. Specks of kirins are seen rushing towards the fire within the walls and attempting to douse the flames with water from the adjacent lake.

“They know what they’re doing. Be patient.” Neverak speaks up. Idylya turns back around and sees his body in the same fixed position as before.

“So you are here after all.”

“Fenrir, Xellis, and Ryn are on their way back now. Fortunately, I don’t see anyone following them.”

“And what of Zuriak, Ithinyelle and Ying?”

“I’m trying to locate them now, but it’s difficult to do in a closed space.” Idylya’s heart accelerates slightly, hoping they can all go home very soon. A gust of wind befalls on both of them from above as an orange dragon descends down. Idylya at first steps back and arms herself with Zuriak’s dagger before recognizing the dragon and letting out a sigh of relief.

“I almost didn’t recognize you at first, Xellis. It’s hard to see in this darkness.” She says as she puts away the dagger.

“No kidding, I had trouble remembering where you guys even were. The other two are somewhere behind me, but they weren’t too far back.” Xellis looks at Neverak, unmoved by his return.

“Is he still with us?” Xellis asks, pointing at the dark, glowing dragon.

“Sort of.”

“And I take it, the other trio hasn’t returned yet either?”

Idylya shakes her head and looks down, kicking a pebble aside.

“I see. All we can do is wait, it seems like.” Xellis says, as he looks down at the city from their vantage point. Something catches his eye, and he sees several glowing dots around Kyrinia’s southern gate. They all scatter about in different directions and disappear in the trees.

“That can’t be good.” He whispers to himself. Idylya faintly hears and approaches him, looking in the same general direction. Another sudden gust of wind alerts them as Ryn and Fenrir drop down from the sky.

“They started searching. We need to leave now.” Ryn says with urgency.

“What about the other three?” Xellis asks.

“Neverak, do you see them anywhere?” Ryn asks, approaching him. The glow around Neverak dissipates and he opens his eyes.

“Ithinyelle and Ying are nearby in the forest close to the cliffside northeast of us, but I don’t see Zuriak.” He uncoils and stands on all fours.

“What do you mean you can’t find him!? Are you sure you checked everywhere?” Idylya raises her voice.

“Keep your voice down.” Ryn angrily answers her. “We need to find the other two and regroup.”

“What do we do if neither of them know what happened to him, or if he’s…?” Xellis asks.

“We return home.”

“How can you say that!? He-” Ryn runs up and covers her mouth before she could shout any more.

“He knew the risks going into the mission, and he knew that if he did not return on time, he would be left behind. That is the cost of battle, and we can’t jeopardize the mission.” Idylya closes her eyes and nods as Ryn uncovers her mouth. He looks at the other four dragons, then back at the city. “Neverak, direct us towards Ithinyelle and Ying. Fly low and stay within the trees for now.”

Neverak nods and takes the lead as he begins heading northeast through the forest. Ryn and Fenrir follow, leaving Xellis and Idylya behind. Idylya hangs her head as Xellis takes her claw.

“He’s alive, don’t you worry.” Xellis says, trying to comfort her. “He’s stronger than you think, and he knows how to defend himself.” She shifts her gaze to him. “Trust me, he’ll catch up.” He tugs on her arm and she complies as the two levitate and fly through the forest, trying to catch up with the dragons ahead.

Not far up, the two reach the end of the forest and into a large, grassy field near where mountains steeply rise. Ryn, Fenrir, and Neverak are up on a hill with Ithinyelle and Ying. Xellis and Idylya drop to the ground and Idylya sprints up to the rest of the group.

“Did you happen to see the matriarchal qilin? What did they look like, and what of their Zyntrithian symbol?” Ryn asks Ying and Ithinyelle just within earshot of Xellis and Idylya.

“We never found them, I’m afraid.” Ithinyelle answers in a low tone.

“What happened? Where is Zuriak?” Idylya questions. All the dragons look away from her, avoiding the question.

“After we entered the cave system, we split up due to there being multiple paths. Not long after, the sounds of bells echoed throughout the caves and both Ying and I met back up where we dug into. We figured that maybe one of us tripped over an alarm and it triggered our presence. We waited a few minutes for Zuriak, but he never showed up and it sounded like the qilins were heading towards us. We had no choice, but to get out the way we came quickly.” Ithinyelle looks down, visibly saddened. “We don’t know what happened to him, but we could hear explosions throughout the tunnels. I’m sorry.”

Tears start welling up in Idylya’s eyes, and she collapses to the ground. Xellis looks away, holding back tears and trying to distance himself from the group. The other five all look down in sorrow.

“Look, what happened, happened. It’s tragic we lost him, but we shouldn’t fall to the same fate. We still need to return to Nymerion.” Ryn instructs. He looks out over the six dragons darkly, then faces forward. “This was a mistake.” He whispers under his breath.

Ryn launches off and heads east in the direction of Nymerion. Ying, Neverak, and Ithinyelle look at Xellis, Idylya and Fenrir despondently before taking off and following Ryn back home. Xellis and Fenrir help Idylya up by holding her arms over their shoulders, but she makes no effort to stand up on her own.

“We should go before we lose them.” Xellis mentions. Idylya simply murmurs to herself.

“Something’s not right about all this.” Fenrir states, appearing skeptical.

“What do you mean?” Xellis asks.

“I don’t know, but something felt off about Ryn and this whole mission in general.” Fenrir and Xellis look down at Idylya as their grip on her arms start to loosen.

“This isn’t the end, you know.” Fenrir says to comfort her. “It’s not like the qilins to shoot first, then ask questions later. When I was captured in the north, they held me prisoner for two years, trying to get information out of me. I imagine they'll do the same with Zuriak.” Fenrir looks up at the night sky and closes his eyes. “He’s still alive, I can feel it.”

Idylya looks up at him with hope in her eyes.

“What are we going to do?” She asks, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“I don’t know yet, but we’re going to bring him back.”

~

Idylya looks out the window of the sixth floor in the Arcanum and down at the busy street below. Many dragons are out setting up booths, tables, and decorations for the Festival of Fire in a couple days. Two pale-colored dragons just north of the fountain are wheeling out a vat of a mysterious, bubbling liquid she could not make out. Several others across the way are constructing a gigantic paper mache replica of the god of fire, Julis. Idylya looks down at her notebook, then at her alchemic workstation. On her bench lies an assortment of volumetric and round-bottom flasks, beakers, an alembic, a crucible, a mortar and pestle, a copper retort, and weighing papers containing a variety of different ground up dusts. All around her, groups of other alchemist dragons are brewing potions and poisons for use by the warriors guild. Hardly anyone is talking, and the only noises in the room are coming from clanking glassware and bubbling liquids. She picks up a volumetric flask and a beaker containing water and looks at her notebook.

“To approximately fifty milliliters of water, dissolve zero point twenty-five grams of finely-ground heshar, then add eight droplets of spirits of salt.” She quietly whispers to herself so as to not disturb the other alchemists. Using her hydrokinesis, she carefully transfers the contents from the beaker into a one-hundred mililiter volumetric flask while eyeballing the volumetric markings on the beaker. She then places the weighing paper, containing a fine purple powder, on the balance while using a quarter gram counterweight. She picks up Zuriak’s dagger, scoops up some dust along the blade and removes some to a waste container until the balance is level. She then transfers the rest to the flask and swirls to dissolve. She takes a moment and looks into the deep purple solution against her own purple arm and palm. With a sigh, she sets it back down on the table, looks at her notebook again and picks up a quill. The header at the top of the entry reads “Potion for Fortifying the Senses”. Below the formulation are a couple lines of musical staves drawn sloppily. Currently, four measures are written in the key of D minor and 4/4 meter. She taps the sheet several times with her quill before writing another two bars of music. She then returns to her alchemy and holds up a small beaker of a clear solution labeled “Spirits of Salt”. Using her hydrokinesis once again, she meticulously separates a tiny pool of liquid from the beaker and adds eight distinct drops into the flask. The liquid fumes and heats up slightly upon mixing as she swirls the solution. She takes another look at her notebook while swirling.

“Dilute to one-hundred milliliters with water.” She whispers as she transfers the contents of the beaker with water to the volumetric flask. Lastly, she caps and invert mixes causing the solution to become paler. Outside, she notices a string quartet of winged Drogosian dragons setting up and practicing near the countless others setting up. Faintly, she can hear the high-pitched timbre of the violinist from her sixth floor alchemy station. In her mind, she tries piecing together the hard-to-hear notes and without warning, a sudden burst of inspiration engulfs her, and she picks up a quill as she sets down the flask. Just as she’s about to write more music on the staff, the sounds of a loud bell reverberate throughout the city, stopping after three rings. Many of the dragons in the room get up and leave as Idylya quickly finishes the motif. She lets out a sigh of relief as she looks down at her notebook with a hastily drawn sixteen bars of music. Her brief smile turns into a frown as she writes ‘For Zuri’ above the music.

“It’s been over a month now…” She reflects as she closes her notebook and stares down at her messy benchtop. She brushes it off and slides her notebook in the drawer before exiting out of the alchemy chamber and into the central atrium. She looks down the wide opening at all the dragons descending down the spiral staircase, some floating down the center to avoid the congestion. She does the same and takes a momentary glance at each of the floors of the Arcanum on her way down. Above her, on the seventh and eighth floors are the enchanting rooms, the fifth and sixth floors are the alchemy chambers, the third floor is the study lounge, and the first and second floors make up the Arcanum proper with the tallest ceilings. Many bookshelves line the halls of these two floors with an extensive collection of dragon literature along with a few sections on foreign studies. As she reaches the first floor, she slides past the heavy traffic going up past her, and squeezes through the twisting, long bodies of those around her.

“Jeez, is every dragon in Nymerion here today? I can barely breathe.” She comments to herself after getting through the main entrance. After exiting the library, she crosses the central plaza, avoiding the festival construction and makes her way north. Idylya looks up at the bell tower that rang moments ago and shields her eyes from the scorching sun. She turns back down at the hot, cobblestone pavement and grimaces.

“I hate being out in the sun.” She mutters. After about fifteen minutes of walking and proceeding past several tall buildings, she tip-toes off the road and into a well-shaded park where she sits underneath a tree, trying to catch her breath in the hot and muggy air and soothing her claws. She looks down at them, noting the mild burns from the pavement.

“Awesome, just what I need.” She comments sarcastically as she cups her palms together and intertwines her claws in a specific fashion. The aura around them glows blue and travels down her arm, stopping at her elbows. She then separates and holds out both claws in front of her, watching the moisture in the air quickly take shape around her claws. After a thick layer of water forms, she splashes it on her face. It doesn’t take long for the water to dry, and she stands up once more, feeling slightly refreshed. Hesitantly, she approaches the road again and stares intently at the cobblestone.

“You’re not going to burn me this time!” She shouts humorously, getting looks from the other passersby. She looks around at them and embarrassingly laughs as she floats over the pavement and continues traveling north, flying just above the ground.

After several minutes, she reaches the end of the road where a wide, oval-shaped cave entrance rests. The rickety, old wooden sign above reads “North Nymerion Hot Springs”, and beyond the entrance lies a long set of concrete stairs descending down. Idylya gently lowers herself back on the road, but is immediately met with searing pain from the hot cobblestone.

“Yeeeooowwwch!” She bursts into the cave and down the stairs, away from the oven above. “I swear to the divines, this better be worth it.” She says as she descends lower into the cave. As she gets deeper down, the rising humidity becomes much more apparent, and the surface of the stairs appear drenched in water. Without warning, she loses her friction, slips roughly and curses as she tumbles down the remaining few steps into the main hot spring cavern.

“Uggghhhh.”

“Ah, there you are!” A voice shouts from across the massive cavern. Idylya struggles to get back on her fours, and looks about the space. Several bubbling pools of hot water cover the entire floor of the room. Stone walkways connect the different pools with bridges and stairs leading up and down throughout the cave. Water from higher elevated pools waterfall down into lower ones and create a sparkling mist. The cave is well-lit through the use of covered wall lanterns and natural sunlight pouring in from holes in the ceiling. At the far corner from the entrance, Xellis swims around in the largest pool while Fenrir sits on the ledge and waves her over. No one but the three of them are there. Idylya makes her way over, being careful not to slip again especially going over the bridges.

“Glad you could make it.” Xellis stops swimming and gives her a warm smile.

“I don’t understand how you can be in here right now. It’s got to be almost forty degrees outside, and it's definitely much warmer down here!”

“True! But look around you, there’s no one else here for that reason. It’s the perfect place to meet without worrying about eavesdroppers. You never know who’s listening in from above.”

“I get that…but how are you swimming without being boiled alive?”

“I’m a lava elemental. Hot water is kinda like lava in some ways.”

“Except that they aren’t.”

“They are.”

“They aren’t.” Idylya retorts and Xellis chuckles at her attitude.

“Heh, I can see why Zuriak likes you.” Xellis looks at Fenrir with a goofy grin, to which he rolls his eyes in response. Idylya blushes a little. “I figure you’d like being around water more than me, honestly.”

“My fins are sensitive to hot water. I can’t swim around in it for very long.”

“Ah, that’s a shame. These waters are some of the hottest around Nymerion. That’s another reason why many don’t come here…well, unless you’re a lava or fire elemental. Every dragon seems to love Yulen’s Hot Springs over on the east side, but the water’s way too cold over there if you ask me.” Idylya nods, appearing disinterested.

“But anyway, let’s get on to business.” Xellis swims up to the ledge near Fenrir as Idylya circles around and joins the duo.

“Fenrir was able to procure a special map of Kyrinia from the Tower of Nymeria-” Xellis looks at him curiously. “How were you able to get this, again?”

“That’s not important, but this map will certainly be a helpful guide for what we have planned.” He holds up the large wooden drawing tube from behind him and hesitates before uncapping the top. “You know, we really shouldn’t be doing this here, the humidity and moisture will damage the parchment.”

“Fine…” Xellis sighs and pulls himself up from the pool before shaking himself off like a dog. Both Idylya and Fenrir shield themselves from the droplets. “Follow me.” He then walks across the stone bridge towards the entrance with the two of them in tow. Upon reaching the stairs, he walks past it, and down a long dark corridor, removed from the rest of the hot spring cavern. Xellis grabs a lantern from the wall, holds it in his mouth and walks further in. The other two dragons walk up a little faster to stay within the light.

“Where are we going?” Idylya asks. Xellis looks back at her, stops, and removes the lantern from his mouth.

“Well, you guys want to go somewhere dry, right?” He turns back around and gestures at a solid metal door. “This should do nicely.” He opens it, and holds up his lantern, revealing a large room filled with mounds of mysterious stones, all scarred with glowing red marks.

“This is where they store magma stones for the hot springs. They release heat in the presence of water, so this area is kept very dry. The stones are dormant otherwise.” Xellis looks at Fenrir for approval.

“Mmmmm, good enough assuming the map doesn’t spontaneously combust now.” Fenrir cautiously notes.

“Hey, it’s the best I could do.”

Fenrir removes the drawing tube strapped to his back and uncaps it. Carefully, he pulls out the map and unravels it on the cave floor. Xellis places the lantern down next to it, to get a better look. Depicted is the semi-oval border of Kyrinia along with labels of the northern and southern gates, the western and eastern districts, the ruling class district and details of the Jade Palace.

“If you recall from the post-mission briefing a few weeks ago, Zuriak, Ithinyelle, and Ying entered through the Peaks of Peril on the southeastern side, just before a bend in the mountainside. They punctured a hole about fifty meters above the forest floor, and proceeded to dig north into the cliffside.” Fenrir starts tracing a claw over the outside of Kyrinia up north on the Peaks of Peril. “They then turned west and dug a little bit more before digging straight down and coming upon an elaborate cave system.” He moves his claw west towards the Jade Palace. “According to some intel I gathered from our guildmates, they are currently holding a very powerful creature somewhere beneath the palace. Skyl, a cosmic elemental who was stationed out there a couple weeks ago, claims the energy signature is very similar to our own, but he could not confirm the identity of the signature.”

“It has to be him!” Idylya exclaims.

“Well, it could be. Winged Drogosians also have similar energy signatures to us. Whoever this is could also be Ithralian, but someone entirely different. There’s no way to know for sure.” Fenrir answers, causing Idylya’s excitement to dampen.

“If we do choose to pursue this rescue mission, we’ll need some additional help.” Both Fenrir and Xellis look at Idylya.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Well, you see, it involves talking to someone in particular…” Xellis begins. Idylya’s expression changes immediately, realizing what they mean.

No! Absolutely not! It’s her fault he got captured! If she didn’t suggest they split up, none of this would’ve happened.” She lays down and crosses her arms, staring intently at the two of them.

“Okay, you’re probably right about that, but we need an earth elemental on our team, and Ithinyelle is our best bet. Can you please put aside your differences just this once?” Xellis pleads. Idylya’s face softens a bit after seeing Xellis’s concerned face.

“Is there really no other earth elemental?” Idylya relents.

“She knows the area as well as we do and is quite strong compared to other earth elementals.” Fenrir answers.

“Okay, fine, if it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Thank you. If you can convince her, we’ll be in much better shape.”

“I can’t believe I have to be the one to do this. Why can’t either of you talk to her?”

“Well, you see haha…” Xellis begins nervously as he looks away from her, scratching the back of his mane. Fenrir does the same.

“Unbelievable.” Idylya comments frustratingly as she glares at the two of them. “She’s not even that scary, just obnoxious and narcissistic.”

“Well, at any rate, Xellis and I are still working out the infiltration details and route, but we believe our best bet will be on the Empress’s birthday which falls on the nineteenth of Aquilius this year according to the lunisolar calendar. Typically the celebration occurs at Lake Menoa on the western side of the city.” Fenrir hovers a claw over the lake depicted on the map. “We believe that like the siege mission, a lot of guards and armed qilins will be there instead of the palace. If you can get her on board before then, things will go a lot smoother.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“There is one other thing, unrelated to this.” Fenrir adds. Xellis and Idylya both look at him quizzically. “I spent a good deal of time reflecting on the siege mission and it puzzles me. It was a poorly planned and executed mission, and it almost seems like we were destined to fail from the beginning, but isn’t Ryn known for his impeccable strategies? Was it appropriate to expect Zuriak, who has little fighting experience, to follow-through with an assassination?”

“When you put it that way, it does seem strange.” Xellis states.

“Before you two met up with the rest of us, he was asking Ithinyelle and Ying a lot of questions about the matriarchal qilin, but he didn’t even ask a single question about Zuriak.”

“Do you think this was all intentional?” Xellis presses.

“I think we should be very careful around the Council. It’s almost like Ryn knew what was going to happen.” Idylya turns away from them and stays silent. “What I said here does not leave our group, understand?” Xellis nods while Idylya gets up and exits the room without saying a word.

~

“That will be one silver piece, my lady.” The winged Drogosian dragon says from behind the counter. Idylya removes her coin purse from around her neck and fishes around in it for one silver coin. The line behind her continues to grow as she desperately searches for the coin with some looking at her annoyedly.

“Haha, I know I have one around here somewhere.” She laughs nervously, embarrassed at the growing displeasure among the dragons behind her. A dark-colored figure approaches her from the right side and places a coin on the table. She turns her head to the side to get a better look at the figure as the server behind the counter takes the coin and replaces it with a large-sized smoothie cup.

“Oh uh, thank you, Neverak.” He nods and steps out of the way as three dragons rush past him. Idylya takes the cup and looks at the long line of disgruntled patrons, giving them an embarrassed smile. “You didn’t need to do that.”

He looks away towards the rest of the crowd, ignoring her comment, then back at her.

“We need to talk.”

“About what?” She asks as she begins drinking her smoothie. Neverak begins walking through the overcrowded plaza and motions her to follow him. Idylya lightly hovers above him, allowing her to drink the smoothie without having to stop. All around them, the Festival of Julis is in full-motion. Dozens of booths featuring exotic merchandise, food and drinks from outside of Ithral are all lined up around the central plaza in a three-tiered ring fashion. In the center, a giant statue of Julis is set up with a stream of fire coming from his mouth in bursts. Neverak and Idylya make their way beyond the outer ring and into the streets of Nymerion, away from the crowd. He stops at a corner and Idylya plants her lower half back on the ground, about halfway finished with her smoothie.

“Word has gone around the elites that someone broke into the archives in the Tower of Nymeria and stole a map.” Neverak says, facing her.

“O-oh, that’s weird. What was it a map of?” Idylya responds, trying to stay cool.

“Kyrinia. But it was more detailed than the one you can freely view in the Arcanum. It had key strategic points of interest and detailed locations of Kyrinia’s military operations.”

Idylya turns her head away slightly and continues drinking her smoothie. Neverak sighs.

“Look, I’m not here to bust you, but you should reconsider what you’re planning.”

“I didn’t take it.”

“Maybe so, but I’m sure you know who did.”

“I don’t, honestly.”

“Feigning ignorance won’t help you after you get caught. I hope for your sake, you’ll realize that sooner rather than later.” Neverak turns around and starts walking away.

“Wait.” Idylya sets down her smoothie on the bench next to her and steps forward. Neverak pauses and looks back at her. “Assuming I did take it, what do you think I would do with a map like that?”

“I assume you would use it to rescue your ‘dragonfriend’, Zuriak.”

“Uh, no! Haha, of course not!” She nervously blurts out. Neverak pinches his forehead in frustration.

“Why do I even bother?”

“Well seeing how you’re so high and mighty, what would you do differently?” Neverak pauses again and thinks deeply for a few seconds.

“There’s nothing we can do.”

Idylya loudly sighs.

“What is it with your trio that makes you all so heartless!? He’s your comrade, and he’s still alive!” She shouts. Several passersby all turn to the both of them curiously. Neverak pays them no mind.

“Acting out of emotion results in making hasty and rash decisions, and there’s no guarantee whatever your planning will even work.” He answers, unmoved. Idylya looks down at the road, feeling a mixture of emotions. Neverak bridges the gap between them, and puts a claw on her back, feeling sympathetic. “We have to move on.” She looks up at his crimson eyes.

“I can’t. Not when there’s a chance.”

“That chance could very well result in you getting captured as well.” Idylya turns her head away from Neverak.

“How have the others been?” She asks. Neverak takes his claw off her back.

“I don’t know about Ying because she doesn't talk at all, but she’s been physically despondent these past couple of weeks. Ithinyelle on the other claw…” Neverak turns his head over to the festival. “...she has her own way of dealing with problems.” Idylya rolls her eyes in response.

“Yeah, I bet.” She mutters to herself. Neverak looks back at her, confusedly.

“Didn’t you two used to be friends?”

“Used to. We don’t exactly see eye-to-eye anymore.”

“May I ask why?”

“She has this ridiculous notion that I ruined our friendship because of selfishness. She’s the one who’s selfish, not me!”

“I see, well, I don’t mean to pry into your business, but she could really use a friend right now.”

“I told you, we’re not friends anymore. Aren’t you close with her? That sounds like your job.”

“It’s hard for me to admit this, but you have a stronger bond with her than I do.” Idylya turns away and scoffs. Neverak frowns.

“You both have the same reason for hating each other, you know that?” Idylya turns back to him and raises an eyebrow. “You’re both selfish to each other, but neither of you want to admit it.”

“So be it. If she doesn’t want to admit to that, why should I?”

“You shouldn’t let your hatred consume you. As I said earlier, acting out of emotion only results in poor judgment.” Idylya’s face softens a little.

“I don’t…hate her, but I can’t be around her anymore. You see-” Idylya is suddenly cut off by a reverberating bell echoing throughout the valley. Neverak turns his attention to the bell tower.

“I’m afraid I must be going.” Neverak says as he starts floating up.

“Are you going to report me?” She asks with worry. Neverak is about to say something, but he cuts himself off and ponders for a moment.

“Hmmm, I won’t report you if you reconcile with Ithinyelle. I think it’d help all of us for you both to talk again and settle your differences.” Idylya rolls her eyes in annoyance. “There’s a cave behind the southernmost waterfall in the Arboretum. She’s usually there every afternoon, meditating.”

“Fine.” She answers sharply as Neverak nods and flies off. In a fit of anger, Idylya picks up her half-finished smoothie and throws it in the direction Neverak flew off to, but it instead falls on another dragon’s head as they’re walking away from her.

“Uh-oh.” Idylya winces, regretting her outburst. “Sorry!” She yells across the street. She then immediately takes off and flies away swiftly just as she starts to hear curses coming from the soaked dragon.

~

“Can’t believe I’m doing this.” Idylya mutters to herself as she floats down into the Arboretum. Several dragons pass her as she lands on the cobblestone pathway. Heading south, she begins to take in the sounds of birds chirping, the increased vegetation, and the solitude as there seems to be less dragons around than where she landed from.

“I also can’t believe it took me a few days to work up the nerve to see her. I’m not even scared of her…just afraid of conversing with her and the possibility of her saying ‘no’ to our request.” Coming up to a small dirt beach, she immediately recognizes it as the spot where she played the flute for Zuriak months ago. The southern waterfall lies just beyond the shore.

“It was pretty funny using him as a guinea pig for that music experiment.” She reminisces. “There’s something mysterious about that flute and I really should study it more. Maybe once he’s back, I can try other songs on him and see what else it can do.” She smiles to herself and stares at her reflection in the water, watching it slowly turn into a frown.

“But first I gotta do something I’m going to hate.” She dives into the water smoothly and freely swims around for a bit.

It’s been so long since I last swam here, I forgot what it feels like.

Idylya swims around the Arboretum’s plateau and sees a few other water dragons also swimming around near where the depth drastically drops. She waves at the others and they wave back as she passes them, going deeper towards the center of the lake. As the light fades, she remembers back to when she met Ithinyelle years ago.

It was right here, wasn’t it? It’s hard to see, but this is where she almost drowned.

She floats down to the lake floor and walks through the seaweed and rocks.

Was it really my fault that we hate each other?

She kicks a rock and watches it sluggishly roll down a crevice, causing a slew of bubbles to rapidly rise to the surface.

Maybe we were both to blame.

Out of the corner of her eye, something lightly twinkles against the scattered light on the lake floor. Idylya crouches and picks up a thin metal necklace with an azure gem hooked on. She brushes the gunk off the gem and tries to get a better look at it. Wrapped around the gemstone is a carefully smelted lung dragon made out of a shiny white metal

Dragons lose all sorts of things down here. I’m surprised none of them ever ask a water elemental to find it for them. Then again, this lake is pretty massive. Who knows what other treasures are lost around here.

Idylya loops the necklace around her left arm and twists it enough to keep it secure.

I don’t normally wear jewelry, buuuuuuut I kinda like it. The metal hasn’t rusted, so I wonder if this was lost recently.

She looks up at the scattered light through the water and at the other dragons swimming above her. With a light push, she swims back up to the surface and towards the southern waterfall. Upon getting close, she leaps up into the waterfall and propels herself forward into the cave, but is quickly met with another dragon sitting just behind the waterfall and she crashes into them. The two become tangled as they roll deeper into the cave.

“Ow, who the fuck!?” The other dragon exclaims. Idylya rubs her head as Ithinyelle’s blurred figure comes into view. “Oh, it’s you.” Ithinyelle spits as she aggressively pushes Idylya’s body off her own and stands up.

“What do you want?”

“I need to talk to you about something.” Idylya struggles to get up, sore from the accident.

“How did you even find me? Are you stalking me?”

“What? No! Neverak told me you were here!”

“Oh, did he now?” Ithinyelle mumbles something incomprehensible under her breath as Idylya fully stands up and shakes the dirt off her fins.

“Well, might as well get on with it and tell me what you need.” Ithinyelle bitingly comments, then goes back to where she was sitting and coils up.

“Look, I know we’re not on good terms, but we could really use your help with something.”

“With what? And who’s ‘we’?”

“We, as in, Xellis, Fenrir and I, think there’s a way we can bring Zuriak back.”

“Oh…” Ithinyelle’s sour expression softens. “...you’re wasting your time.” She finishes monotonously.

“What is it with you and Neverak?” Do neither of you have any faith that he’s still alive?” She responds, raising her voice. Ithinyelle breaks eye contact and shifts her gaze to a puddle of water next to her.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s alive or dead. He tried to assassinate a very important qilin. I imagine if he’s still alive, he’s being kept in the deepest, darkest depths of the Jade Palace. There’s nothing we can do short of worsening our current situation with Kyryo.”

“Are you really just going to give up like that?”

“I’m not giving up. I just…don’t want to risk losing anyone else.” Ithinyelle begins harshly but her voice quivers. “Now please leave me be.” Ithinyelle turns away from Idylya and goes back to meditating. Idylya hangs her head and proceeds towards the exit. As she passes by her, she notices a red aura around Ithinyelle’s head, a sign of inner turmoil.

“I’m sorry.” Idylya says, opening up, but Ithinyelle remains unmoved. “I’m sorry if I was the one who caused the rift between us. I didn’t do it out of malice, but the more you chose to pursue the warriors guild, the more I felt disconnected from you. Reflecting back on it, I see now that that was a poor excuse. I never wanted our friendship to die, I just wanted you to know that.”

Ithinyelle’s aura shifts to orange and her neutral expression cracks. Idylya turns back towards the cave’s exit and prepares to jump in the water.

“How could you leave me behind like that?” Idylya freezes and Ithinyelle stops meditating. “Especially when I needed you the most.”

“I couldn’t watch you throw your life away. I never wanted you to pursue the way of the warrior because I was afraid I’d never see you again. I realize now that that was just my selfish desire.”

“I failed getting into the guild that time and no one was there for me.” Ithinyelle opens her eyes and stares down at her reflection in the same puddle as before.

“I know there’s nothing I can say that will change the past, but I’m here for you now.” Idylya comforts. She walks back into the cave and towards Ithinyelle who doesn’t take her eyes off the puddle. Suddenly, Ithinyelle is met with a warm embrace as Idylya wraps her arms around her in a tight hug. The two stay silent for a moment before Ithinyelle hesitantly reciprocates the hug.

“It’s my fault too.”

“Hmmm?”

“I never wanted to admit it because it shows weakness. I cared more about my own goals and pursuits than our friendship, and deep down that is one of my biggest regrets.”

“You know me more than any other dragon. It never mattered to me whether you were strong or weak. Even the strongest ones have weaknesses, but that doesn’t make them any less of a dragon.” Idylya comforts her.

“I know…but I can’t help it sometimes. Losing Zuriak two months ago was one of my lowest moments. It made me realize that I cared more about completing the mission and surviving than the well-being of those around me. How can I call myself a warrior, one who’s supposed to defend their kin, when I can’t even protect my own comrade. I feel like I failed my purpose.” Ithinyelle chokes out.

“You can still fix this. All of us can.” Idylya whispers. The two hug silently for a few more minutes as Ithinyelle holds herself together.

“What would you have me do?” She questions, breaking the silence.

“We’re going to infiltrate the Jade Palace underground.”

Ithinyelle pulls herself from the hug and looks in Idylya’s eyes, interrupting their moment.

“You’re joking, right? If that didn’t work last time, why do you think it will work this time?”

“Because we’re going to stick together. Either all of us come back or none of us do.” Idylya asserts. Ithinyelle lightly chuckles in response.

“That’s awfully reckless coming from you.”

“It’s going to work.”

“I’m guessing this is all unauthorized too, meaning we could get removed from our guilds if we get caught or even worse, exiled.” Ithinyelle adds disappointingly. Idylya frowns.

“Sometimes, rules need to be bent or even broken to do what’s right. I’ll understand if you decline.” Ithinyelle stands up, wanders over to the entrance of the cave and pauses for a moment.

“No…I need to do this.”

~

Idylya scratches her arm underneath where she wrapped Zuriak’s glowing dagger as she and Ithinyelle carefully walk down the slippery stone stairs into the North Nymerion Hot Springs. Hot air and steam rises out from down below as it mixes with the cool night air above. Ithinyelle takes notice of Idylya’s discomfort.

“I forgot he gave that to you. It feels so long ago.” Ithinyelle mentions.

“It’s all I have to remember him by. I’m sure he’d like it back once this is all over.”

“And what about that? I thought you hated jewelry.” Ithinyelle points at her other arm where the shiny azure pendant is wrapped.

“Oh…” Idylya stares deeply into the gem. “I found it in the lake not too long ago.”

“And now you suddenly like wearing jewelry?”

“It’s not that. Something about this gemstone though…it gives me a warm and hopeful feeling.” Ithinyelle picks up Idylya’s arm to get a better look.

“Hey!”

“Looks like kyanite. The gemstone of the water elementals and the birthstone of Aquilius.” Idylya retracts her arm and Ithinyelle gives her a goofy grin. “Some say it gives off an azure glow to those during heightened s-”

“Okay professor. I didn’t ask for a geology lesson.” Idylya nervously laughs it off and covers the gem.

Ithinyelle keeps her grin and shakes her head in disapproval as the two begin down the moist, concrete stairs. The sounds of night start fading away as the two travel further into the dark. Ithinyelle’s grin vanishes as she carefully avoids the puddles on the stairs, but a slight misstep causes her to slip and fall forward and land on her face.

“Why do we have to meet here?” She asks, unenthused.

“Because that’s what Xellis insists on. He says no one ever goes to these springs because they’re too hot for non-fire and non-lava dragons. The long trek down these stairs is also off-putting for most, not to mention they’re quite hazardous if you’re not paying attention.”

“Yeah, I can see why.” Ithinyelle complains as she regains her footing.

“Xellis also says that there’s a way out of the city through the hot spring cavern here. He says it’s best we don’t get seen leaving the city at night.”

“Right.”

As the two reach the end of the stairs, a lone orange dragon rests along the rocky edge of one of the pools with half his body in the water. Both of them slowly approach the sleeping dragon, being careful not to wake him. Once they reach him, Ithinyelle rolls her eyes and pushes the rest of his body into the water. As soon as his body submerges, he chokes on the water and struggles to get out of the pool.

“You awake yet?” Ithinyelle sarcastically asks. Xellis coughs up more water and glares at her.

“You know there are other ways to wake someone, right?”

“Yeah-yeah, so, where’s your other friend? The green and grey one.”

“Fenrir said he will be a little late.” Xellis wheezes.

“Oh, cool.” Ithinyelle lays on the ground and leans up against a rock as Xellis gets out of the water. As he dries himself off, he looks at Ithinyelle and tries to give her a warm smile.

“As much as I disliked that, I still appreciate you helping us.”

“I’m not doing it for you guys.” She begins harshly. “...but I want to set things right.”

Xellis’s smile disappears as he sees a shadow step out of the stairway, holding a lantern in their mouth. He waves the shadow down, and as he gets closer, the shadow’s colors become much more apparent.

“What took you so long, Fenrir?” Xellis asks impatiently. Fenrir hovers over the few pools between them and stays airborne after reaching the trio. Strapped to his back is a drawing tube, but different than the one he had in their last meeting.

“It took longer than I expected to copy that map.” He responds as he taps the drawing tube a couple times.

“What did you end up doing with the original?” Xellis presses.

“They’ll find it, don’t worry.” Fenrir answers calmly. Idylya nervously sweats, thinking back to when Neverak confronted her about the missing map.

“Great! So, I haven’t told either of you this yet, but we’ve received some reports from other trios in the intelligence guild that the situation around Kyrinia has intensified for the Empress’s birthday tomorrow. We’ll need to set up the excavation on the Peaks of Peril about three kilometers east of the city.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Ithinyelle interrupts, angrily. “I have to dig for three kilometers? Do you realize how much work that is and how long that will take?”

“More actually, haha…” Xellis nervously laughs, attempting to dispel the hostility. “There’s also an elevation depth of four-hundred meters.” Ithinyelle facepalms and mumbles something to herself. Xellis scratches the back of his head as his face turns red.

“Well, we better get going. We should reach the entry point by daybreak if there are no interruptions.” Fenrir notes. Idylya and Xellis nod as Ithinyelle composes herself.

“Yeah, let’s get this over with.” She answers unenthusiastically. Xellis picks up Fenrir’s lantern and starts slowly flying deeper into the cave system beyond the hot spring pools. The other three follow closely to him as they dodge the hanging stalactites through the darkness. The deeper in they get, the more the ground ascends upward. After a few more minutes of flying, moonlight can faintly be seen ahead, pouring in through the small cave exit. As they near the exit, Xellis slows down and gently sets the lantern down against the rock wall, just out of sight from outside. The other three fly past him and into the night sky above. He soon joins them and takes one last look at Nymerion from behind the hills.

~

As the sun begins to crest over the eastern horizon, the four dragons descend below the clouds and into the Peaks of Peril. Fenrir takes the lead as they all stay low within the mountains to avoid being seen. Fenrir begins to slow down as the base of the western-most peak comes into view, the one overlooking Kyrinia. They all stop and float down into the forested valley before the peak and look around at their surroundings. Xellis rubs his eyes sleepily and shakes his head before looking up at the morning sun.

“I take it this is where we’re supposed to be, Fenrir?” Xellis groggily asks. Fenrir removes the drawing tube from his back, uncaps it and removes the map from it. He places it on the forest floor and the other three crowd around. Idylya notices some alterations to his copy than the original one she saw when they were initially planning. It is much more zoomed out and includes perimeter markings around the city that extend into the Peaks of Peril. There are also measurements of distance and depth indicated along with a drawn three-dimensional isometric layout of the Jade Palace. Seven floors are outlined above the main floor along with three sub-levels below.

“You really did your research, Fenrir.” Idylya compliments in awe.

“Thank you. It took weeks of information gathering from other guild members, but it’s all there.” Fenrir says pridefully. “The captive was reported to be held in the lowest chamber here.” Fenrir taps his claw on the third sub-level of the Palace, a large rectangular room with a single hallway and stairwell leading up to the first floor near the palace throne room. Another hallway is shown leading out of the room in the opposite direction, but goes nowhere.

“Our target is this large room on the third sub-level. I imagine the room is probably a prison and guarded. Fortunately, the Empress’s festival should be starting soon, away from the Palace, meaning less trouble with security. Ideally, we should come up from the floor and quietly as possible to avoid attracting attention. If we can determine where Zuriak is being held, we can simply dig up to his location, and sneak him away through the cavern. By the time they notice he’s gone, we’ll be far away from here.”

“You make it seem so easy.” Idylya notes. “We don’t even know the layout of the prison, or the guards’ routes.”

“I’m surprised you guys didn’t ask Neverak as well. A cosmic elemental would solve this issue no problem.” Ithinyelle questions.

“Hah, as if. He’d rat us out immediately.” Xellis answers matter-of-factly. Ithinyelle snickers sarcastically.

“You know nothing, Xellis.”

“I know enough.”

“If you say so.” Ithinyelle says with a sigh as she walks to the base of the Peak and digs her claws into the ground. Seconds later, rocks and dirt are moved aside as a small opening appears, leading downwards. She removes her claws and looks back at the other three, waiting for them to move.

“You guys coming?”

Fenrir picks up the map and catches up with her, and just as Idylya is about to do the same, Xellis pulls her to the side.

“Hold up.” Xellis says as he breaks off a couple branches from a nearby tree. He then drops them on the ground and places one of his palms on the ground, transforming it into a small pool of lava. He picks up both sticks and hovers them over the pool, allowing them to ignite.

“They’ll both need some light.” Xellis finishes lighting up the sticks and hands one to Idylya. She stares into the flames as Xellis cools the pool and flies over to the other two with the torch in one claw. She follows closely behind them, holding the other torch as they all enter the cave. Inside, Ithinyelle pushes more rocks and dirt to the side as the other three trail behind her in the air with a fair amount of distance to avoid getting hit with debris. The group silently digs through the ground for a couple hours as Fenrir measures their progress on his map, eventually reaching a turning point.

“Stop.” Fenrir calls out to Ithinyelle. She does so and collapses to the ground in exhaustion.

“Are we close?” She pants.

“Above.” He points upward. Ithinyelle rolls over and gets back up before she claps her claws together and embeds one of them in the rock wall. Soon, the ceiling between them collapses, sending chunks of debris down into the cave. The three of them shield their eyes from the dust while Ithinyelle clears away the rubble by compressing and pushing it to the side.

“That was loud.” Xellis comments as he rubs his ears. Ithinyelle ignores him and floats up the shaft she just created. The other three fly up behind her with the two torch holders lighting the way. After flying up about twenty meters, they stop at a peculiar black slab larger than the size of the shaft. Idylya holds up the torch to it to get a better look.

“What is that?” She asks. Fenrir looks down at the map.

“We might’ve hit the floor of the prison.” Fenrir answers.

“I thought you said I’d have to dig up four-hundred meters.” Ithinyelle confusedly notes.

“Give or take, it’s hard to tell.” Xellis defends. Ithinyelle ignores him and starts pushing up on the slab, loosening it.

“Careful. We don’t know where this is exactly. Try peering through the cracks.” Fenrir warns. Ithinyelle lifts up more of the slab on one side and tries to see through.

“It’s mostly just darkness save for a few torchlights, but I don’t see or hear any qilins.” She whispers down. “Help me through.”

Idylya and Xellis put the torches in their mouths while Fenrir does the same with his map as they help Ithinyelle lift the slab. Their combined strength slowly raises the slab into an empty space, eventually tipping it over, allowing them through. Idylya, Fenrir, and Xellis collapse to the ground in exhaustion while Ithinyelle looks around the room they dug into. A long hallway extends in both directions with wall torches dimly lighting the way. Along the walls are various paintings of kirins with nameplates below them. Ithinyelle looks at them confusedly.

“Fenrir, are you sure we’re in the right spot?” Ithinyelle asks quietly with skepticism. Fenrir organizes himself and spits out the map before opening it up again. He traces their route and looks around him at the passageway they wound up in.

“This might be one of the adjacent hallways. Seems strange, however. I would’ve expected a guard to show up after moving that slab.” Idylya stands up and looks down both ends of the hallway. At the far ends, she barely makes out the closed doors on each side. She looks up at the painting on the wall in front of her.

“Radiant Ember, second era, year three ninety-nine to year four fifty. The Living Fire Kirin.” She reads out loud from the plaque.

“Who is that? A former Emperor?” Xellis asks as he approaches her. Idylya doesn’t answer and instead walks down the hall, keeping her eyes fixed on the next painting.

“Saiyei.” She says in a hushed tone.

“What?” Xellis asks while moving over to where she is.

“It means ‘shadow’ in Zyntrithian. Look at this one’s horn.” Xellis ponders the painting while Idylya returns to the previous one. “This one is ‘fire’ in Zyntrithian, ferosa.”

“I forgot you were obsessed with that dead language.” Ithinyelle comments as she joins the two. She stares intently at the painting with a sense of familiarity. “During our mission briefing a few months ago, Ryn showed us a scroll containing qilins like these. They’re matriarchal qilins, aren’t they?” Idylya gives a soft nod. Fenrir joins the trio with his nose still buried in the map.

“I believe that door leads to the main chamber. We should get moving.” Fenrir rolls up the map and places it back in the drawing tube as the four of them proceed down the hallway. At the door, Xellis opens it slightly and gasps.

“I don’t think this is a prison.” He says worriedly as he pushes open the door. All four of them spill out into a spacious, ornate chamber with bookshelves lined against the walls in a maze-like fashion. Chandeliers at the cross-sections of each row and column light up the library in a regal way with red, velvet rugs covering the stone floor. Ithinyelle leads through about to enter the array of books but suspiciously looks around her in all directions.

“What the heck, Fenrir? You said this was where the prison was.” Ithinyelle angrily whispers.

“The dragon signature was detected in this room. I only assumed it was a prison because where else would the qilins keep a dragon?” He retorts with the same level of anger. Before Ithinyelle could speak, she turns her head and sees a thin bullet of fire coming down one of the aisles. She ducks and narrowly misses the shot. As she regains her senses, an orange kirin with a brown mane charges down at her with a flaming katana. Ithinyelle places her claws on the stone ground and conjures up a wall just as the kirin is about to slash. They jump, cut through the rock and glare at Ithinyelle.

“How did you get in here, dragon?” The kirin speaks. Xellis’s claws glow orange as he quietly places them on the ground. Before he is able to perform the spell, the sounds of magical teleportation appear above. He looks up and strafes in time to avoid the second attacker just as they’re about to slice his neck with a glowing blue sword. The second kirin, a blue one, jumps back to distance themselves from the other three dragons.

“I would avoid doing that if I were you.” The blue kirin says nonchalantly.

“Where are you keeping him?” Xellis demands.

“Keeping who, might I ask?” She answers, calmly. Xellis charges at the kirin and swings his tail, attempting to knock the kirin over, but she swiftly avoids it.

“You know damn well, who!” Xellis shouts. The orange kirin breaks away from Ithinyelle and joins with the blue one. Idylya steps out from behind Fenrir to get a better look at the two kirins. The blue kirin gasps upon seeing her.

“I-Idylya, is that you!?” The kirin exclaims. The orange kirin stares in bewilderment next to her. The blue kirin’s voice floods her senses in familiarity, and her eyes widen.

“The two from the forest.” Idylya mumbles to herself. In the blink of an eye, she charges at the blue kirin, and holds her down to the floor by the neck with her left claw. The orange kirin dodges just in time, but Ithinyelle takes advantage of his broken stance and summons a concrete box around him. The blue kirin struggles against Idylya’s force.

“Where is she!? The green one with the Zyntrithian marking on her horn!” The kirin ignores her as she tries to escape Idylya’s grasp. Xellis and Fenrir begin walking the perimeter before the bookshelves while keeping their eyes fixed on Idylya in shock and confusion.

“I suppose it was only a matter of time before you showed up. You two were close after all.” A voice from the shadows echoes. “Please let Temara go.”

Idylya reluctantly releases the kirin and turns her attention to a green kirin emerging from the shadows. Suddenly, the orange kirin’s katana pierces through the concrete box and he slices it open vertically. Idylya moves away quickly as he pushes through the rubble and tends to Temara. She deeply coughs as the orange kirin helps her up. The green kirin fully steps out into the light and walks towards Idylya.

“You know why we’re here.” Idylya says coldly. Ithinyelle backs up towards Xellis and Fenrir, all of them uncertain about the situation.

“Zuriak, right? The one who tried to kill me? Well, I’m afraid he’s not here.” Terra Nova says, mirroring Idylya’s cold tone.

“That’s impossible! A dragon’s energy signature was detected here in the palace!” Idylya exclaims.

“And how would you know that?”

“Because-” Idylya stops herself before she could reveal any more information. Terra sighs in annoyance.

“Well, dragon signature or not, your friend isn’t here, nor was he ever in the palace. I advise you to leave the way you came before there’s trouble.”

“And you expect me to believe that!?” Idylya instantly unsheathes Zuriak’s dagger, holds it in her mouth as it glows red and charges at Terra. Terra doesn’t react and allows Idylya to pin her down. Idylya snarls and sharply glares at Terra with both her claws holding down Terra’s hooves. Terra looks emotionlessly into Idylya’s eyes, but the longer the two stare at each other, the more Terra’s face softens up, eventually replacing with a look of concern and regret. Before Idylya could make another move, the orange kirin charges at them and pushes Idylya off Terra with a blast of fire. She drops the dagger and it rolls along the ground towards the other three dragons. Fenrir jumps over Idylya and sends the orange kirin flying back with a gust of wind. He makes contact with one of the bookshelves and it topples over into the adjacent shelves like dominoes.

“Nero!” Temara shouts. As Terra returns to her hooves, Xellis summons a ring of lava around her and manipulates it into a cylindrical column of fire, imprisoning her. Ithinyelle places her claws on the ground and transforms it into a dense stone pole. She then besets Temara and swings it at her, but Temara quickly picks up her sword she dropped and crosses with Ithinyelle. The two engage themselves as Nero recovers and groggily rejoins the foray. Fenrir tackles him just as he’s about to pick up his katana. Terra teleports herself out of the circle and fires at Xellis with magic, to which he sustains a couple hits. He retaliates by sticking his claws in the ring of lava and pulling out several obsidian spikes. He throws them at Terra who dodges them, but trips and falls near where more bookshelves stand. Idylya returns to consciousness and looks at her burn wound. Much of her scales are now red, and some of her fins have been singed. She gets up and tries to see through much of the darkness, looking for the dagger, but fails to see where it went. She looks up at the chaos before her as both kirins and dragons brutally fight each other. She turns and sees Terra struggling to get up just before she dashes into the maze of bookshelves. As Xellis is about to chase after her, Idylya shoves him aside and tails her.

“Idylya, wait!” She ignores him and dives into the maze. Not long after weaving through the endless sea of bookshelves, Idylya begins to lose Terra. She slows down and stops at one of the cross-sections as the sounds of hooves fade away.

“Shit!” She curses and pounds the wood of one of the shelves. She slumps down against a bookshelf and tries soothing her burn wound.

“They’re all going to pay.” She breathes out. Out of the corner of her eye, a strange white light shines down one of the corridors. Being drawn toward it, she gets up and heads down the corridor. The further down she goes, the more she notices her surroundings changing. The bookshelves have been replaced with stone walls, and the ground has shifted to dirt and grass. The light continues to get much stronger the more she walks. Along the walls are strange crystals that give a strong colorful glow, brighter than candlelight. Before long, she reaches a large garden hidden away, with a large sakura tree in the center of the cavern. All along the tree are pools of water with lilies floating around the tree itself. Small waterfalls cascade down from the high ceilings, and peaks of sunlight pour in through holes in the ceiling.

“I don’t remember this place being on Fenrir’s map.” She whispers to herself as she looks at her reflection in one of the pools. A streak of blood runs down her forehead and between her eyes and her appearance is disheveled with a mix of dirt and blood covering her scales and fins.

“I just want this to end.” A silent tear rolls down her cheek, but she quickly shakes it off as a rustling in the grass alerts her of a presence.

“I don’t regret what I did.” A voice says behind her. Idylya slowly turns around and faces Terra Nova where she entered the garden from. “But I also don’t condone the actions we took that day.” Terra gives a somber look while Idylya wipes the tear and blood from her face.

“He’s not dead, but he’s also not with us anymore.”

“What are you talking about?” Idylya questions with a wavering tone.

“All throughout my life, I despised the conflict between our nations. I despised the bloodshed and mayhem that we have wrought upon each other for centuries. And I despised the fermenting hatred we have with each other. Not once in my life have I ever had the desire to kill.” She begins forcefully, but her mood quickly shifts sorrowfully. “And yet…Laniakea has chosen to curse me with a power to be used against our enemies. I didn’t kill him-I couldn’t kill him-so I chose to do the only thing I could…send him through time.”

“H-how is that possible?”

“Throughout history, there have been a handful of gifted kirins that possessed incredible magic, capable of performing unthinkable spells.”

“Matriarchal qilins.” Idylya finishes, her breathing picking up. “That symbol on your horn, that means ‘time’, right?” Terra nods.

“He knew as well.”

“If you sent him through time, then you must be able to bring him back!” She exclaims, raising her voice. Terra shakes her head.

“It doesn’t work like that, it’s not time travel. Once an object is trapped in my spell, it ceases to exist in its original point in time. It is then held in stasis until an undetermined point in the future. What happens while in stasis or where the object goes is still a mystery to me.” Idylya closes her eyes and turns away from Terra.

“How far in time is he?”

“I do not know. Could be days, months, or even years. There’s no way to truly know.”

“Then all of this was for nothing.”

Terra looks down at the small river, flowing away from the center tree.

“Time’s arrow flows in one direction. If one could rewrite the laws of time, there would be no more order. The past would get muddled, and the future would collapse. Even if Laniakea’s magic could bring him back, I would not fulfill your wish.”

In anger, Idylya manipulates the water around the tree and encases Terra in a water sphere. She struggles to swim to the top of the sphere and gasps for air as Idylya compresses the sphere. As Terra tries to free herself, the sphere begins to heat up and rapidly evaporate. Water then bursts out in all directions and Terra drops to the ground, now in nirik form. The runic markings around her body all glow white in sync with her horn symbols. The flames around her glow a brilliant mixture of magenta, white, and red. Terra charges at Idylya like a fireball, but Idylya just barely puts up a water shield between them, creating a dense fog of steam. Terra steps back a little, disappearing in the fog.

“I had to do it, Idylya. He was going to kill me.” Idylya tries dispersing the fog while staying alert. From above, Terra drops down in a rolling cannonball fashion, but Idylya blocks her with her arm and sustains severe burns.

“Ahhhhhhh!” She soothes the burn and dashes behind the tree while the fog is still thick.

“He was dangerous! Wouldn’t you have done the same if you were me!?” Terra shouts within the fog.

“We didn’t have a choice! Neither of us wanted to kill you, but we do what we’re told to maintain peace in our country!” Terra cuts through the fog with a magical flaming katana coming out of her horn. She then uses her head to swing at Idylya, but she evades it as they circle around the tree. On the last swing, Idylya quickly levitates water from the pond, densely covers her claws and clasps the katana. The katana dissipates as Idylya jumps back and yelps in pain, her palms peeling from the burns.

“All those moons ago, I truly wanted to believe you two were different, that you would look beyond the desires of your superiors and think for yourself like I did when I saved your lives. But both of you were cut from the same mold as the rest of your kin. You’re all cold-blooded killers.”

Idylya ignores the pain and levitates more water from the pond to cover her entire body. She then tackles Terra and attempts to douse her flames, but Terra releases a shockwave of heat and knocks her away. Idylya lies on the ground as her multiple burns start bleeding, unable to get up.

“And what of you?” Idylya manages out. “You’re doing exactly as your Empress commands.”

“Our situations are nothing alike!” Terra shouts in rage.

“If that’s true, then why are you here in the Jade Palace and not with the Oasis? Have you abandoned them!?” Suddenly, Idylya feels a strange, cold sensation enveloping her. Her heart rate slows, and her blood temperature drops as the pain from her wounds goes numb. Terra steps towards her, her flames increasing in size and temperature. She kneels down to Idylya’s level.

“I never abandoned them. They always knew what my destiny was and that someday I would need to face a challenge like none I’ve ever seen before. I do not follow as the Empress commands, but I will do what is necessary to protect those I love.”

“Whether you want to believe me or not, it matters little to me. I chased after the sliver of hope that Zuriak was still alive and being held here, knowing I could lose everything. He may have been following orders back then, but I made the conscious decision to be here of my own volition to protect him. As much as you want to claim we’re different, we’re more alike than you think.”

“You’re wrong!” Terra hisses as she charges her horn. Idylya shuts her eyes and instinctively releases a counter-shockwave of ice from her core, knocking Terra back across the garden. The resulting shockwave coats the tree’s leaves and grass in a layer of frost. Idylya gets up and looks down at the light blue aura covering her claws.

“The blessing? But, how…?” She whispers to herself. As Terra slowly returns to her fours, Idylya levitates water on her claws. She then freezes the water into ice spikes and throws them at Terra like daggers. Terra regains her composure in time and uses her horn’s fire magic to cut through the spikes, however one slips past her side and slices part of her belly. She grunts and touches the wound.

“So you’re also an ice elemental, just like him.” Terra begins charging her horn for another attack. Idylya holds her head in a panic, unsure how to counter Terra.

“What ice spells did Zuriak have? I can’t remember any of them!” She frantically speaks to herself. She looks down again at her glowing blue claws, then at her chest, getting a sudden light-bulb moment. She takes a deep breath, then releases a beam of ice from her mouth just as Terra shoots a beam of fire from her horn. The two forces collide and form a ball of energy. Both of them continue surging with energy as the ball expands. In a brief flash, the pent up energy explodes outwards and sends both of them flying in opposite directions. Idylya gets up and groggily runs towards Terra, trying to ignore the intense pain and partially fractured spine. Before Terra could react, Idylya charges her claws and pins her to the wall before she could release another spell. Idylya then freezes Terra’s arms to the wall and lets the ice travel to the rest of her lower body, trapping her. Terra’s nirik form dissolves away and she looks into Idylya’s eyes with fear and sorrow as Idylya materializes an ice spike in her claw and holds it up. She hesitates and Terra closes her eyes, waiting for the strike. After a few moments, Terra reopens her eyes and looks at Idylya as she fails to follow through with the final blow. Idylya’s face cracks and she drops the spike before breaking down and crying.

“You can’t do it, can you?” Terra says quietly. She doesn’t respond and continues sobbing while Terra uses her body heat to melt the ice. She then falls off the wall and onto her four hooves, trying to stay balanced while sustaining her injuries.

“You loved him, didn’t you? I can tell by the look in your eyes, the burning desire to avenge your loss.”

“I just want things to go back to the way they were before all of this and tell him.” She chokes between sobs as Terra looks down on her pitifully, feeling the pain of her loss.

“I’m sorry, Idylya, but no power on the matriarch’s green earth can change the past.” Idylya opens her tear-stained eyes and looks at Terra’s mournful expression. “We have to live with the decisions we make and the consequences that follow.”

“I will never forgive you for what you’ve done, but I also can’t bring myself to commit the ultimate sin for revenge. I don’t want to cause any more pain.” Idylya chokes out.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me.” Terra begins sadly. “That is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.” Terra wipes the blood from her face as Idylya’s tears subside. “You should regroup with your friends and leave before the palace guards get here.”

Idylya shakes herself off and stands up, feeling the brunt of her attacks now that the adrenaline has worn off.

“And what will you do?” Idylya says just as Terra limps past her. She stops, but doesn’t look back.

“All I’ve done is cause pain to those around me because of my gift.” Terra turns her head back. “I’m done listening to those who think they know what’s best for me; I’m going to forge my own path. Perhaps that is something we can relate to.”

“Yeah…” Idylya sulks and looks down at her claws.

“If it means anything, if you were a kirin or pony, I think you would’ve done well in the Oasis, or rather, I believe that now.” Terra looks at Idylya remorsefully before heading towards the exit again and teleporting away. Idylya looks at her back and at all the bruising and bleeding becoming more apparent.

“I don’t know what I’m destined for.” She comments to herself as she levitates water from the pond around the tree and onto her wounds. An aquamarine aura glows around the wound and starts rapidly healing. She does the same to her other open wounds until her chakra is spent. As she walks back into the library, she takes one last look at the tree and gazes up at the pink leaves.

“It kind of felt like it was watching us.” She says in a daze, recovering from the recent blood loss. Without a second thought, she returns to the maze again, trying to remember her original path, when a presence catches her by surprise from down the dark corridor. The sounds of several entities coming at her gets progressively louder as Idylya steps back a bit, afraid of another conflict. Before she can react, a dark green dragon embraces her in a tight hug, with an orange one and a light green one behind her.

“We thought we lost you.” Idylya, stunned by Ithinyelle’s affection, returns the hug.

“We weren’t sure if we were ever going to find you in this labyrinth. We heard an explosion and once that matriarchal kirin returned to the fight, we assumed the worst.” Xellis says with some relief in his voice.

“Did you find him? Is Zuriak here?” Fenrir asks. Idylya’s relieved expression is replaced with sorrow.

“No, he’s not here, but-”

“Damn, so it was all for nothing then.” Xellis says, distraught.

“I see.” Fenrir adds with disappointment. “We should get out of here before the qilins know what happened.” All three nod and follow Fenrir down the corridors of bookshelves.

“What happened to Terra Nova and the other two qilins?” Idylya asks Ithinyelle as they’re sprinting through the halls.

“She teleported to the other two not long after the explosion Xellis mentioned. She then summoned a wall of fire around them and herself, but after Fenrir blew the flames away, they were already gone. We’re not sure where they went.” As all four of them return to the entrance area they all fought in, Idylya looks around at the devastation caused by the fighting.

“Yeah, it was quite the battle. Those two knew how to handle themselves.” Ithinyelle says after seeing Idylya looking at the damage they caused. Fenrir guides the other three through the door they entered from and down the hall of matriarchal kirins. Idylya stops as the other three run past her. She looks up at a relatively new painting of the current matriarchal kirin Terra Nova. Below her name plate reads ‘Third Era, Year 345’ with a dash next to it, and the title ‘The Time Kirin’.

“Come on, Idylya!” Xellis shouts from down the hall. She nods and joins him as the other two attempt to lift the stone slab. “By the way, I found this after the qilins left.” Xellis shows her Zuriak’s dagger, undamaged from the battle. “You should hold onto it.” He finishes as he gives it to her. She takes it, feeling a bit more relieved than before.

“Thank you. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see it again.” Xellis gives a small smile as they both join the other two in lifting the stone slab. In the air, they carefully pick it up and float down the hole, resting it along the rim.

~

Ithinyelle opens a window in her loft and lets a cool breeze flow through her room. The candles waver in the wind, but stay lit, giving off a warm glow in the night. Idylya sits coiled across the room on a cushion drinking a hot cup of tea while staring into the candlelight beside her.

“What do you mean he’s ‘lost in time’?” Ithinyelle questions, irked. Idylya breaks her focus from the candle and faces the other dragon across the room.

“That’s what the qilin told me. She’s able to send things forward through time, and I suppose that includes living creatures too.” Idylya responds emotionlessly.

“But not retrieve them?” Ithinyelle scratches her mane in distraught. “I’m trying to wrap my mind around this. That’s actual insanity that a qilin can do something like that. It shouldn’t be possible.” Ithinyelle shakes her head. “Any idea how far in time she sent him?” Ithinyelle takes a sip from her own tea.

“No, it could be minutes or even years.” She responds with the same emotionless tone. Ithinyelle gives a deep sigh.

“I don’t know if there’s anything more we can do. He might turn up someday…or he might not. But I think it might be time to let him go.”

Idylya stares down into her cup, looking at her reflection. She closes her eyes and breathes deeply. “I see.” A long silence passes.

“I think it’s time for me to leave this place.”

Ithinyelle chokes on her tea and sets the cup down. “You mean leave Nymerion? Where would you go?”

“I’m not sure yet, maybe Ithika or Raana, somewhere far away from here.”

“And leave me behind?” Ithinyelle asks, feeling a little hurt.

“No, no, it’s not like that, it’s just…I need a break from everything.” Idylya rationalizes. Ithinyelle lightly chuckles to herself.

“It’s alright, I understand where you’re coming from; we’re not hatchlings anymore. But, if you do leave Nymerion, you’ll probably be removed from the alchemists guild though.”

“I’m aware, and yet I do not feel any remorse towards that. I don’t think that was my purpose in life.” Idylya looks her in the eye. “I need to figure that out for myself.”

“Heh, if you say so.” Ithinyelle drinks the last of her tea and walks over to Idylya. “Just promise me you’ll visit every now and again.” She holds out a claw.

“Deal.” Idylya takes her claw and Ithinyelle pulls her into an embrace. The two hug for a minute before Idylya lets go. “I do have one thing for you though.” Underneath the table, Idylya slides out her obsidian recurve bow and places it on top. The runes glow a faint white. “I don’t think I’ll need this anymore.” Ithinyelle picks it up and examines its runes and structure.

“Are you sure?” She asks while feeling its surface. Idylya nods. “If you insist, though, I'm not very experienced with a bow and this will take some time learning. I’ve also been meaning to ask, how did you even acquire this? I’ve never seen you use it outside of the monthly hunts.”

“I found it in an underwater cave in Lake Nokova not far from where I found the flute a few years ago.” Idylya turns her attention to the long cloth-wrapped item on the table. “There’s a lot of mysticism in that lake.”

“No kidding.” Ithinyelle snorts as she sets it back on the table. “But thank you.” The two embrace again for a moment before Idylya grabs the other two objects on the table.

“Well, I should get going, there’s still some things I need to take care of this evening.”

“Alright, we’ll talk again soon.” Ithinyelle walks over to the door and holds it open for her. Idylya gives her a smile as she steps out into the cool night air. She quickly floats off and flies up into the upper residential district of Nymerion not far from Ithinyelle’s abode, holding Zuriak’s dagger in her right claw and a cloth-wrapped item in her left. The full moon above glows a brilliant white and illuminates all the buildings and trees in the area. She looks down and towards the far western wall where Zuriak’s vacant domicile resides, and lightly lands on the platform where his meager garden sits with a sundial in the center. She looks at the sundial for a moment before turning her attention to the door. Much of the red paint on the wood is beginning to flake and come off, and the bolts are covered in a layer of rust. She turns the knob and enters, letting a gust of wind brush past her. She looks around, saddened by the state of decay already settling in after his absence. The moonlight shines in through the window, lighting up only a corner of the room.

“I hope this reaches you…” She holds up the dagger and makes her way towards the low table in the center of the room. After moving forward a little bit, she steps on a creaky and loose floorboard. The other side of the floorboard bends up underneath where Zuriak’s bed is. She turns her attention to his large, circular bed cushion and steps on the loose floorboard again with more pressure. Sure enough, the other side lifts up higher, pushing part of the bed aside.

“That’s odd…” She moves the bed and inspects the floor underneath, noticing the shorter cut pieces aren’t nailed down. Curiously, she lifts up a few of the floorboards, and gasps at the contents underneath. A book with the text ‘Z’s Journal’ scribbled on top and a sack of money shine against the moonlight. She holds a claw to her mouth as she picks up Zuriak’s journal.

“I shouldn’t.” She pauses for a moment, but gives in and starts flipping through the pages. The entries go as far back as Nivalia 3E360Y. She lightly smiles to herself seeing his awful claw writing back then and him detailing how he just bought the journal with the money he earned that week after sweeping the nursery home. She continues turning more pages, and reading some of the things he’s done over the years up until his entry about the two of them being paired for the monthly hunts a year ago.

“Freiden, twelfth of Sarais, three seventy-eight. I can’t believe they’re pairing me with a dragon who has never hunted before, what a joke! Her name is Idylya and she’s a water elemental.” She recites from the journal. “Definitely not a useful element to have while hunting! How is the Council choosing these dragons? Are they just scrounging around on the streets for just about anyone? I thought they were supposed to be guild members, but I suppose I’ll have to see for myself tomorrow.” She lowers the book in frustration, sighs and pinches her forehead.

“If you were here right now, I’d slap you...” She mutters as she picks up the journal again and turns to the next entry.

“Starden, thirteenth of Sarais, three seventy-eight. As expected, she doesn't know how to hunt. I don’t know where to begin, but here goes. So, I showed up on time at Lake Nokova, and fortunately, Raymir was the moderator this time around. He typically does not care about who gets the most prey, as long as every dragon finishes up before sundown. So, there I am waiting with Xellis and Fenrir for this water dragon to show up, and right on cue, this purple and pink dragon comes bursting out of the forest moments before we’re supposed to start, shouting my name. Of course, a few other dragons looked at me, trying to hold back laughter. Felt like I was back at the nursery years ago.” Idylya puts down the journal again and looks up at the ceiling.

“How else was I supposed to find you? I wasn’t going to ask every dragon there.” Her eyes refocus on the journal as she scans through the long entry.

“Let’s see...doesn’t know how to use a bow…very arrogant…has a temper…doesn’t listen…I think I’ve had enough.” She says bitterly as she turns several more pages and scans their contents, looking for her name being mentioned.

“Huh, this one was just before my hatchday.” Idylya sits down, her bitterness subsiding.

“Thuriden, twenty-sixth of Thera, three seventy-nine. It’s like my mind and my heart fail to communicate with each other. I think she’s arrogant and narcissistic, but there are times I can’t help but think about her. I’ve never felt this way around anyone else, so I feel like a head case right now. I found out Idylya’s hatchday is tomorrow, and that’s only because she told me! During Thera’s hunt a couple weeks ago, she just nonchalantly brings up that her hatchday is on the twenty-seventh…it kinda felt like she was opening up to me a bit. My brain is telling me she just wants me to buy her something, but my heart is saying she’s trying to establish something closer…I saw an amethyst necklace at the market the other day for twenty gold pieces. I figure, if I were to get her something, it’d be that because it's Thera's birth stone and it matches the color of her scales. I think I will flip a coin on it.” Idylya finishes reading the entry with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“I was trying to establish something…I’m sorry if I wasn’t good at showing it.” She looks over at the table where the dagger rests. “I never received a necklace...but that’s okay, I don’t really like jewelry anyway.” She briefly looks at the pendant looped around her arm. “Well, most kinds of jewelry.” She picks up the dagger and holds it up to her face, inspecting the markings.

“Huh, I never noticed this before, but there are Zyntrithian symbols here. Ferosa ji zenii, fire and frost.” She translates. “Not sure why this is on here, but he always held this thing in high regard, like it was the most important thing in his life. Must have meant something great to him.” She pauses, inspecting the other markings along the shaft.

“I wish you felt the same about me.” She adds sorrowfully as she sets it back on the table. She then holds her kyanite pendant and grasps it, feeling a warmth emanating from the center. “But now you’re gone and there’s nothing more that can be said.” After a long moment of silence, she picks up the journal again and skips to the last entry on the thirty-first of Maya about their mission in Kyrinia.

“Tomorrow, on the first of Solera, I’ll be embarking on the most important mission of my life. I know that probably sounds pompous and hyperbolic, but according to the mission briefing, this could very well turn the tides on this war with Kyryo.” She again recites.

“I don’t fully understand why Fenrir, Xellis and I were chosen for this task, but I suppose mine and Idylya’s recent run-in with that group of qilins is a key factor for us two at least. I wish she didn’t get tangled up in all this. She’s not the fighting type no matter how good she claims to be with a bow…well what I’m saying is, I don’t want her getting hurt again.” She continues, feeling more grief as a tear rolls down her cheek. “All that matters is returning home alive.” She stops, wipes her face of the tears with her free palm and sets the open journal down on the table. Without a word, she picks up a quill and inkpot on the table and soaks the tip before turning a couple more pages, reaching a blank one.

“I’m sorry, Zuri, but I need to let you go.” She sniffles as she begins to write.

Freiden, Twenty-First of Aquilius, 3E379Y

I hope you are able to read these words. So much has happened between the day we lost you and now, but I haven’t forgotten, none of us did. Two weeks prior to this writing, Xellis, Fenrir, and I formulated a plan to bring you back home. Unfortunately, our plan was a failure upon learning what actually happened to you. We infiltrated the Jade Palace with the help of Ithinyelle, expecting to find you imprisoned there, but instead we found Terra Nova, the time qilin. She told me what her magic did to you and I’m sorry you have to go through this. I’m tearing up just writing this. I wish I did more to keep you from going in, and I blame myself for what happened to you.

I love you Zuri, and no matter what time period you end up in, that will never change. That is why it pains me to say this, but I have to let you go. I will always cherish the memories we had, and I want to leave you with the one thing I hold dearest. It’s buried at the island, the one we promised to return to if we ever got lost as I’ve decided to leave Nymerion. Look for my symbols on the cover. Whatever time you end up in, I hope you can find your way. I know it’s time for me to do the same.

P.S. I discovered I’m also an ice elemental, like you! Perhaps it was fate that briefly brought us together.
~Idylya

Idylya signs her name, and includes a stylized letter ‘I’ next to it with tendrils and flowers extending off the letter before closing the tear-stained journal and placing the quill back in the inkpot. She briefly stares at the text on the cover before taking the quill again and writing three Zyntrithian symbols vertically below his writing in a large calligraphic style.

“Dragon of time…” She translates as she returns the quill to the inkpot once more and places the journal back where she found it. With a deep breath, she gently places his dagger on top of it and covers it up with the loose floorboards. Finally, she drags his circular bed back where it was, and moves back to the center of the room where she does a full circle, taking in all the memories they had together. Before she turns to exit his abode, a gust of wind pushes past the open door as if his presence finally returned home.

“One more thing left to do.” She pulls out the cloth-wrapped item and grips it hard before taking off into the night sky and flying west.

~

As the morning sun shines in over the eastern horizon, the land below Idylya glows a warm orange. Ahead of her, she sees a familiar waterfall overlooking a lonely island. In the background, the Peaks of Peril stand tall and instill wonderment in the region. She begins to slowly descend onto the tiny island eventually landing on a soft patch of dirt in the very center. She yawns and rubs her eyes from the long journey before gazing around with sleep-deprived eyes. Gradually, she begins clearing away a small patch of foliage near the tallest tree and a wide boulder. Using her claw, she carves in the same symbols on the boulder she used on Zuriak's journal. After clearing away the grass and plants, she digs a hole with her claws that’s just large enough to fit the wrapped object she’s carrying. She pulls out the object once more and unwraps the cloth, revealing her mythical flute. The runes around the flute are dormant and colorless.

“One last time.”

She takes a deep breath before producing a somber melody from it. The runes along the flute glow yellow as the magical notes fill the air. In this moment, the sounds of the forest cease, leaving only her notes and the dull ambience of the nearby waterfall to fill the void. The notes continue to ring in her ears and fill her head with an aura. Before she could lay the flute in its resting place, a strong feeling of exhaustion overtakes her. She softly rests her head in the mud and looks down onto the water with the flute held firmly in her claw, her eyes struggling to stay open.

“I’m lost, Zuri.”