Revaramek the Resplendent: Chapter One Hundred Twenty Four (Patreon)

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Chapter One Hundred Twenty Four

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Revaramek and Nyramyn spent the night sleeping in the sand, under the stars. None of the way station’s buildings had entryways large enough to fit a dragon. That was fine with Revaramek. It just meant Mirelle could have some privacy for the night, after everyone went to bed. The dragons slept curled around one another, lulled by the sound of waves gently lapping against the shoreline of the little oasis.

Revaramek’s slumber was peaceful, and deep, and his dreams vivid. He dreamt of lonely stars and empty deserts, of sorrow and loss, and of light and love. Though his dreams were filled with a haunted sort of uncertainty, when he woke the next morning the feeling evaporated from him like morning dew beneath the desert sun. By the time he was stretching his limbs, the lingering coldness in his paws soon warmed. And once Nyramyn shared a morning bath in the oasis with him, all the disquieting moments from his slumber were forgotten completely.

The dragon hunted some food, and Nyramyn gathered a few bits of palm fronds and other flammable debris to make a small fire for Mirelle. They had food cooked and ready for her once she was awake. After she had eaten and bathed, Revaramek stood still for her to buckle his cargo pouches and safety harnesses back on. Nyramyn did the same, though she wasn’t carrying half as much cargo as Revaramek. Despite her protests, Revaramek refused to let her carry any more than she had too. He playfully promised that as soon as she was healthy again, he’d be sure to let her carry everything when they traveled, while he took a day off.

The rest of the day passed much the same as the last. They spent most of it flying, guided by the urd’thin’s map. Mirelle pressed the map against the back of the dragon’s neck to make a few notes based on landmarks they spotted, to help them find their way home again later. When they paused for lunch, she filled in as much of the map as she could with notations and symbols, trying to create an accurate representation of the desert. Once they made it home she planned to work with the city’s professional cartographers to add a detailed map of the known desert lands to their city’s archives.

It took them a little longer than before to reach another way station. By the time they landed alongside another oasis, the sun had already set and darkness settled over the land. This way station had a good deal more brush all around its oasis pond, and a fire pit where cold ashes still lingered. After Mirelle removed all his gear, Revaramek wandered the place, sniffing about. The scent of urd’thin remained a little stronger here than the previous place, though he guessed it had still been quite a while since the location last had visitors.

Large rocks were strewn about the location. Boulders dotted the sands just beyond the edge of the simple huts built for travelers. All of them were carved with various symbols. Some of them had runic sigils, others had child-like drawings embedded in the stone. Revaramek half wondered if some urd’thin stone carver had been teaching pups the craft out here. It seemed a suitable place for it, away from any stones of importance back in the village.

Since it was already dark when they landed, they only hunted a little to supplement the perishable rations the urd’thin offered them. Nyramyn hunted some kind of greenish lizard creature from the depths of the pond, and Revaramek let her keep most of it to himself. He ate a bit, and ate some of the rations, but was happy to go to sleep a little hungry if it meant Nyra got a bigger share of their meal.

While they were getting ready for bed, Mirelle dragged out a couple sleeping mats from one of the buildings. She draped them over one of the stones to beat the sand and the dust from them. Revaramek waved a wing, blowing away the clouds that rose from the old mats. As Mirelle worked, he glanced up towards the building she had selected for the night.

“Do you want me to flame it?”

Mirelle paused and stared at him. “Flame it?”

“Yes. The building.”

“You’re asking if I want you to set it on fire.” Mirelle put her hands on her hips, giving him a confused look. “Why the hell would I want you to burn down a building I’m going to sleep in?”

“That isn’t what I meant, and you know it.”

Mirelle only furrowed her brow. “Then what did you mean?”

“I could poke my head in, and blast some fire inside.”

“What?” Mirelle glanced back and forth between the dragon and the hut. “Why the hell would you do that?”

“To chase out all the spiders and scorpions and insects and other unpleasant things that are certainly lingering in there.” Revaramek tossed his head. “Whenever Nyra and I used to explore ruins in the swamp, we’d always blast a little fire in before crawling into dark holes.”

“One.” Mirelle held up a single finger. “That’s not chasing things out, that’s incinerating them. Two?” She held up another finger. “Those aren’t stone ruins. They’re wood, and hide, and reed. You’d set them alight, and burn down the whole damn way station. And third, I’ve already looked around in there, and didn’t see anything like that.”

The dragon snorted, perking his frills. “That’s because they’re in hiding. They’ll be crawling all over you as soon as you’re asleep.”

“I…ugh.” Mirelle ran a hand down her face. “I really don’t think so. And…I could have gone the entire trip without you putting that image in my head. Nothing like that happened last night, though. And I’ll be in my bedroll, anyway.”

Revaramek glanced towards Mirelle’s bedroll, still tied up in a curled cylinder near their modest fire. “You should probably open it up and shake it up before you get in, just in case.”

Mirelle took a slow, deep breath, then let it out through grit teeth. “Fine, fine. Now I’ve got to check my bedroll. Go ahead and flame out that hut, if you can keep from setting the whole thing aflame.”

“I’ll do my best Mirelle, but no promises.”

Nyramyn stared at Revaramek as he walked towards the huts. “What are you doing?”

Revaramek flashed her a grin. “Driving Mirelle crazy.”

“Oh. I should have guessed.”

When he reached the hut, Revaramek pushed aside the old hides hanging across the entryway. He ducked his head to peer within. Open-air windows let in a bit of moonlight, painting the sand floor in silver shades. A few webs and insect nests clung to the walls, and the mostly-intact roof of thatched reeds. He did not see anything that looked hostile or dangerous, though. He took a breath, and carefully constricted his fire glands, spitting just enough flame to burn away the most noticeable insect nests. Thankfully, nothing was left smoldering for long. If Mirelle awoke inside an inferno, he’d never live it down. He gave the floor a cursory inspection. Some of the desert’s creatures built little burrows in the sand, then came out at night to hunt. When he saw none of the warning signs indicated by the book, he pulled his head back.

“Alright, Mirelle. Best I can tell, your temporary home is free of anything that will bite you or sting you in your slumber.” He turned away, smiling as he walked back to the shore to join Nyramyn. “Sleep well!”

“Yeah.” Mirelle glanced at him, her voice flat. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome!” Cheerful as could be, Revaramek flopped down alongside his mate. “Always glad to be of service.”

Nyramyn stared at him. “And you wonder why she kicks you.”

“No, I don’t.” Revaramek laughed and licked Nyramyn’s neck a few times. “I know exactly why she kicks me. That doesn’t make it any less fun to drive her mad.”

Nyramyn only shook her head. “It’s a good thing we already have a child.”

“If you want another, we can always keep trying until it works.”

Nyra made a show of glancing down along his underbelly. “Itbarely works as it is.”

Revaramek only tossed his head. “Sounds like someone’s angling for a demonstration.”

“If it’s anything like usual, you’ll have already demonstrated and fallen asleep by the time I’m ready for you.”

He heaved a great sigh, slowly shaking his head. “Why must you wound me so, Nyra?”

“Because you wouldn’t recognize me if I didn’t.” Nyra flashed him a smile, nuzzled him, and then settled in at his side. “Good night, Rev.”

Revaramek chuckled as he stretched his wing over his mate, cuddling her beneath it. “Good night, Nyra.”

By the time the fire’s embers faded, Revaramek was already asleep.

The next day, Revaramek awoke with an added sense of trepidation. If their guess was correct, then this would be the final day of their journey. He scrunched his muzzle at the thought. No, that wasn’t right. Today was simply the day when he hoped to discover what Star’s Blessing truly was. While Nyra swam and caught fish, and Mirelle cooked her own breakfast, Revaramek paced across the sands. With his luck, whatever they reached by day’s end would only lead to a new set of a questions, a new goal, a new adventure. Revaramek snarled under his breath. If it came to that, he was going to be about ready to strangle some truth out of Asterbury.

He glanced around, half expecting to find the obnoxious urd’thin standing nearby, smiling at him. But the desert was empty, save for a tiny fox with immense ears traipsing across the sand. Revaramek had seen the sand foxes a few times before, during the trip. They were listed in the biology tomes taken from the storyteller archives, but he could not recall the name. Nor could he bothered to look them up. They did remind him a bit of urd’thin, though, if only due to the oversized ears they shared.

As if realizing it was being watched, the fox crested a small dune, and stared towards the group. Revaramek stared back at it. “Yes, I see you. You’d better not be working for Asterbury, somehow.” He bumped Mirelle with his tail, as she readied their things. “Look over there. Do you think Asterbury is watching us, through that fox’s eyes?”

Mirelle gave him a long, hard look. “Is the desert making you feverish, Rev? If that fox is watching us for any particular reason, it’s probably waiting for us to get the hell out of here so it can come get a drink.”

Revaramek snorted. “You’re right, of course. I’m just…” He clicked his teeth, spines wavering around his head. He worked his jaws a few times, but could not find words that fit the way he felt.

“I know, Rev, I know.” Mirelle turned to him to wrap her arms around his head, and give him a hug. “If we don’t find help there, if we don’t find answers, we’ll…we’ll just keep looking until we do.”

Revaramek smiled and nuzzled into her. “You promise?”

“Of course, Rev.” When the hug ended, she patted his nose. “If only because I know you’re not going home until you’ve found an answer, one way or another.” She smirked at him. “And you’re my ride home, so I’m stuck here until you’re done.”

“Yes, I suppose you are.” Revaramek laughed as he pulled away, then lifted up a foreleg for her to start buckling things around him. “I’ll try to save her before you’re all old and sunbeaten and gray, but no promises.”

“I appreciate the thought, anyway.”

When everything was secured in place around him, Revaramek shook himself, to get everything settled in. Though he was used to the feeling of straps and buckles against his scales now, it was still an odd sensation. It often left the dragon feeling a little itchy, especially whether and bronze rubbed against his emerald hide. He eased down onto his belly to make it easier for Mirelle to clamber up onto his back. She climbed up and buckled herself into the harness, then patted the back of his neck.

“Ready when you are, Rev.”

Revaramek glanced at Nyramyn to ensure she was ready to go as well. She gave him a single nod, and Revaramek pushed himself up onto all fours. He crouched back, bracing his hind legs, and them leapt towards the sky. The first powerful beat of his vast green and copper wings sent golden clouds billowing all around them. Nyramyn shot through the dust not far away, and more sand rolled out beneath her to sweep across the desert.

Once Revaramek leveled off his ascent, he headed east. While he flew, he glanced back at Mirelle, waiting for more specific guidance. She unrolled the map, and spread it against the back of his neck. For a few minutes, she alternated between studying the map, and staring out across the horizon through her flight goggles. Soon, she pointed towards a spire of red-orange sandstone.

“That way! That’s the next landmark!”

Revaramek dipped a wing, and was soon streaking towards the distant stone monolith. By the time he neared it, he could see the pillar was carved with all kinds of symbols. Though he was too high to get a good look at them, some of them held a strange sort of alien familiarity. He wondered if he’d seen them carved into some of the ruins, back in the swamp. If the storytellers used to abduct urd’thin from the desert, who knows where some of them and their descendants might have ended up. Surely, they’d have taken their own language with them.

Mirelle shifted against him, and soon flattened the map out against the back of his neck to protect it from the wind. Revaramek let her study it in silence, circling the monolith for a moment. Though he knew he needed to continue generally eastward, he’d wait until Mirelle had a better sense of a precise heading. Soon enough she folded the map back up and put it away. She tapped his neck, and when he glanced back, she pointed to a slightly more northern location.

“That way!”

Revaramek banked in that direction, and then straightened out again. He kept his speed slow and even until Nyramyn made the same turn. Once she was flying alongside him, he gradually increased his pace. Despite his anxiousness to get there, he did not want to push Nyramyn any harder than he had too. It would do them little good to find her a cure if the trip wore her down beyond saving. And as close as they were now, it would make little difference in the long term if they had to take an extra night to rest.

“What are we looking for next?”

“A circle of palm trees! At least that’s how Ekki drew it. So anything that reminds you of that, I suppose.”

“And when we see it? Which direction then?”

“You’ll tilt more eastward again. I’ll try and put you in the right way when the time comes.”

“Very well.” Revaramek beat his wings a few times, glancing at Nyra to make sure she was keeping pace. “And after that?”

“After that…” Mirelle trailed off, and shifted her weight. Safety straps pulled against him. The silence that hung in the air told him the answer even before Mirelle spoke again. “Star’s Blessing, whatever that is.”

Revaramek’s chest tightened. A icy lump wedged itself in the pit of his belly, sending trickles of cold in all directions. They were almost there, and yet, they still had no idea what they would find. Would it cure her? Lead them to something that could? It had to. It had to. Revaramek told himself they were here for a reason, that this wasn’t all just some sick game. That if there was one thing Asterbury would tell the truth about, this was it.

There was another, more disquieting thought, lurking in the back of his mind. What if Asterbury was wrong? He had said there things in this world than can help her, but he never made it clear what that was. And even their journey into the desert came not from a specific thing Asterbury told them to find, but from a phrase, woven into his child’s dream, a long, time ago. On the last day he saw the urd’thin, Asterbury might well have believed there was something here to save Nyra. He may well have put that idea in Korakos’ head wanting to save her. But that was years ago. What if he was wrong? Or whatever if whatever Star’s Blessing was wasn’t there anymore?

The dragon tried to force such thoughts out of his head. Worry and fear would not serve them well, now. Nyra needed him to be strong. If the worst happened, he did not want her to spend her last years, seeing him fret and worry and ache for her. If these last grand adventures were all she had left, then he wanted them to be filled with joy and wonderful and love. If all she saw him was fearful sorrow, how could she find the simple joy of adventuring with him?

Revaramek turned his head to gaze at Nyra. She spotted him and offered him a smile, her emerald frills lifted high, spines displayed. Her copper-bronze eyes shone unusually gold, caught between the sun and the sand. He smiled back at her, then made a face by splaying his own frills and letting his tongue loll from his muzzle. The whipping wind left it feeling dry and parched, but it was worth it to make Nyra laugh.

“You’re so odd!”

“You wouldn’t haven’t me any other way,” Revaramek said after pulling his tongue back in.

“Never!”

As Revaramek turned his attention back to the horizon, he could not help but wonder if that was what Asterbury was really trying to offer. Was it possible that the urd’thin knew there was no way to truly save Nyra? Years living in the marsh, drinking clean water and eating untainted food had not saved Revaramek’s mother. It may have extended her life, and it had saved Revaramek’s, but it was not enough to undo the damage of a lifetime spent wallowing in poison. Maybe that was all Asterbury really intended. A chance not to save Nyra, but to live out her last years in joy, going on adventures with her family, content to fade now that she knew her son would grow up strong.

Haze on the northern horizon drew the dragon’s attention. He relished the chance to escape his thoughts for a little while. Though it was hard to say for sure, he guessed the haze to be lingering smoke. Perhaps there was another urd’thin village, further to the north. Revaramek wondered how many such villages now dotted this desert. Would they ever make their way into the marsh? He doubted the shapers would even know what to do with so much water. Maybe someday, they could bring Ekki and some of the others to visit their village, and return her hospitality.

“Is that smoke?” Mirelle patted his neck and pointed.

“I think so! But that’s further north than we’re going. And unless you feel otherwise, I’d rather not have to repeat our entire, ‘we come in peace’ ritual just yet.”

“Me either! You can stay on course.”

“Thank you for your permission, Head Councilwoman.”

“Any time, my Benevolent Overlord!”

Revaramek beat his wings harder, ascending. He wanted to see a little further across the desert. Nyramyn followed him towards the sky, and he pointed out the smoke. “We think there’s another village over there!”

“Are we going to visit it?”

“Probably not. Not yet, anyway. We’re looking for a circle of palm trees, or something akin to one.”

“What about up there?” Nyramyn swung her head towards the horizon, pointing with her muzzle. “There’s something in the distance.”

Revaramek followed her gaze. A clump of trees was scarcely visible, about as far away as he could see. “That could be it, yes! Good eyes!”

He altered course slightly to head towards the distant trees. Though he couldn’t be certain yet it was the landmark they sought, he had not seen anything else that resembled it. As he flew on, it became clearer that Nyra was correct. With each mile that melted beneath their wings, the circle of trees grew upon the horizon, until they sat upon the horizon no more and the dragons were steadily approaching them.

“There’s our trees, Mirelle. You said eastward, yes?”

“Yes! Let me see if I can find a more specific direction.”

As Mirelle retrieved her map again, Revaramek inspected the trees. They did make a fairly even circle, though the spacing between them wasn’t perfect. Thorny brush and cactus rambled between their trunks. In the center of the trees was what looked like a stone bowl, filled with water. Moss covered in in green-gray splotches. Water trickled over the sides, nourishing the circle of plants. Revaramek furrowed his eyes ridges. The urd’thin must have shaped that, perhaps as a monument or a waystation. There weren’t any huts or anything, though. Perhaps the place had spiritual significance, and travelers were expected to sleep beneath the stars.

“Mirelle, look! It has a fountain or something.”

“You’re right!” Mirelle leaned over, staring down at the ground. “Why do you think they built that?”

“Beats me.”

Revaramek circled the place a few times, descending for a better view. Nyramyn followed just off his tail, but his focus remained on the strange fountain and the grounds around it. In the shade of the trees and the upraised bowl, and amidst the muddy trails left by the trickling water, clusters of strange flowers bloomed. They had black blossoms with yellow centers, and white spots strewn across their leaves.

“I think those are the same flowers from the urd’thin statue garden.”

“They do look similar.” Mirelle leaned over the other side of him, peering down. Her straps creaked. “Maybe they harvested some here and transplanted them in their village.”

“That’s what they used to make that tea they made Nyra drink.”

“I know.” Mirelle straightened back up. She pressed the map against Revaramek’s neck, inspecting it. “If that stuff helps to heal, it makes sense they’d want to grow their own, instead of having to travel all the way out here. Alright, lemme put the map away and I’ll point out your heading again.”

Once Mirelle had the parchment safely stowed away, she pointed again. “That way! I still don’t know what we’re looking for, but…It shouldn’t be much further.”

Revaramek grit his teeth, anxiety returning. As ready as he was to finally find out what awaited them, it was also terrifying. He swallowed hard, and after adjusting course, looked back at Nyra. “Almost there.”

“That’s good, right?” Nyramyn offered him a comforting smile as she banked to match his movement.

Revaramek’s laughter betrayed his nervousness. “I sure as hell hope so.”

“Do you think he’s going to be there?”

“Who?”

“You know. The urd’thin god.”

Revaramek’s belly knotted. “I hope not. But he might be. Him, or Asterbury.”

Mirelle patted his neck. “What was that about Asterbury?”

“I was just telling Nyra, I half expect that little bastard to be there, waiting for us.”

“Ugh.” Mirelle folded his arms. “Wouldn’t that figure? Sitting there in some comfy chair, in the shade, sipping a drink.”

“Or playing puppets with a knife!”

Mirelle laughed and lifted her voice a notch to imitate the urd’thin. “About time you made it! Mirelle Two and I are almost out of fruit juice. I hope you’ve brought more!”

Sharing her laughter felt good. It eased the worst of Revaramek’s tension, if only for a little while. “Oh, if he’s really there, I’m going to bury him in the sand.”

Nyramyn flew a little closer to Revaramek. “What are you two laughing about? Why was Mirelle talking that way? What am I missing?”

Revaramek flashed her a smile. “That was her Asterbury impression. You’d…have to know him, I think.”

“Oh…” Nyramyn gave Mirelle an odd look, as if she thought perhaps Mirelle was the real crazy one. “I thought you weren’t supposed to say his name out here?”

“That was just around the urd’thin. Maybe he’s become sort of like, their devil or something. The antithesis of whatever gods they pray too.”

Nyramyn tilted her head, mirroring Revaramek’s wing beats. “That makes more sense than my idea, actually.”

“What was your idea?”

“I thought maybe he was listening, and they didn’t want him to hear his name being called.”

A shudder wracked Revaramek. All his scales rustled and clicked together. “Oh, don’t even say that.”

“But I just did.”

“That’s not…” Revaramek snorted. “Let’s just hope that he’s notlistening. I don’t even want to think about what that might mean.”

Yet, now that the idea was in his head, Revaramek couldn’t stopthinking about it. Asterbury’s voice echoed through his mind, from a moment long, long passed. When he finally admitted that Vakaal was still part of him, that he was still listening.

You called his name again. You meant it to spite me, but when you spoke it, there he was.

And then another memory rolled through him, the voice of a pup, the same and somehow different.

Thank you for being kind to me. Thank you, for calling my name, and being the star that guided me home when I was lost...

Revaramek shivered again. “They’re…always listening. The urd’thin think they’re stars, the monster and the pup. So they dare not call their names, because the stars are always there. Even when the sun shines, the stars hide behind it.” He tilted his head at the sky, staring up at the infinite blue expanse. “Even when you can’t them, even when you don’t know they’re there, the stars are always listening.”

The dragon swallowed, turning his head back towards Mirelle. “He…he never told me. Never told me what he was going to do, to cage the monster.”

“Rev, what are you talking about?”

“Vakaal. He…he knew me, because I’d called his name, so many times before. Like I…woke some part of him the monster couldn’t hold back, anymore. But he said, if it worked, he…he wouldn’t have to.”

“Wouldn’t have to what?”

“Cage the monster. Maybe he just…” Revaramek stared across the sands. “Took his place. Maybe Asterbury’s gone, and it’s just Vakaal now. Maybe the monster’s the one sleeping in hishead. So, he…came here, brought his people. Gave them a new home.” Revaramek swallowed, anxious. “And told them never to speak the monster’s name, lest they wake it.”

“That’s…” Mirelle sat up straighter, her straps shifting around the dragon. “Unsettling. Maybe…maybe we’d better just stop saying his name, just in case.”

Revaramek swallowed, pumping his wings again. “Yeah, maybe. Unless…no, nevermind.”

“What?”

“I just…I dunno. What if Star’s Blessing is the monster’s cage?”

“Why the hell would he lead us there?”

“Who knows.” Revaramek glanced back at his rider again, fire glands tingling. “Maybe he’s hoping we open the door.”

Mirelle scrunched her face, rubbing her arms. “That’s unsettling.”

“Yeah. But it also…it also doesn’t make a lot of sense. There’s just too many pieces. Too many unknowns even he couldn’t have planned for. At least, I don’t think.”

“So you don’t…you don’t really think he’s listening?”

“I’m not so sure about that part. We know someone is. Maybe hearing that name makes the father angry.” He took a breath, held it, and then let it back out in a slow sigh. “Only one way to find out, I suppose.”

“You say that as if you expect to find easy, concrete answers to any of these questions, just sitting out there in the desert.” Mirelle leaned forward to rub his neck. “You know as well as I do that all we’re going to find out there is another puzzle.”

Revaramek couldn’t help but laugh, arching his neck into her touch. “Yeah. I’m afraid you’re right. Hopefully it’s just a puzzle, and not a furious god.”

“The village he let us visit told us how to get here, so, hopefully that means something.” Mirelle patted him, then settled back. “Assuming he gives us a chance to speak and doesn’t just send a furious sandstorm to shred the flesh from our bones.”

“Speak for yourself.” Revaramek tossed his head. “The sand would have to shear our scales first, that should give Nyra and me plenty of time to explore while you’re dissolving.”

“That’s comforting.” Mirelle laughed, but her laughter trailed off as soon as it began. “Rev, look. There’s something out there.”

Revaramek gazed where Mirelle pointed. In the distance, several hand-fruit trees towered over a small oasis pond. A rounded, stone structure jutted from the sand nearby. Beyond it, was a circular monolith, wreathed in flowering vines. In front of the stone dome, two urd’thin stood, a mother and child from the looks of it.

Mirelle leaned forward. “Do…do you think…”

“Yes.” Revaramek took a deep breath. Something about the air suddenly different. Thicker, crackling with unseen energies. He knew it in an instant. “We’re here, Mirelle.”

Revaramek descended at a distance from the oasis. He did not know who the two urd’thin were, and did not wish to alarm them. It could be a priestess, like Ekki, training her pup to take her place someday. Or they could just be travelers, wondering what they’d stumbled upon. As soon as he touched down, he settled onto his belly in the hot sand to let Mirelle dismount. She undid her straps and slipped off of him before Nyramyn landed alongside them.

“Who are they?” Nyramyn shook herself after trotting to a stop.

“No idea.”

Mirelle put her hand on her maul, strapped at Revaramek’s side. “I’m gonna leave this here, for now. No sense looking hostile.”

“I agree.”

Revaramek took a few steps towards the distant oasis, looking over the strange shapes of everything around it. The circular stone had a disquietingly familiar appearance, but it was difficult to say for certain with all the flowers and vines shrouding it. The other stone structure was rounded, almost like a small hut. The two urd’thin stood just before it, as if they were just as perplexed about it as he was.

The taller one, a female he thought, had her arms stretched up towards the sun. She wore a brightly hued turquoise vest, with black breeches to her knees, edged in blue and silver. The smaller one, likely a pup, stood in a different sort of pose. One arm was forward, and one leg back. The pup wore clothes of animal hides, padded and lined with golden stitching. Both of them stood stock still, as if they’d frozen the moment they’d been spotted.

“They’re not…moving.” Mirelle put her hand on the maul again.

“I noticed that.” Revaramek glanced at the hand-fruit trees around the oasis. They swayed and rustled in the breeze. A single bird circled the pond in lazy loops. But the urd’thin did not move. Though they were still a way off, even their clothes and fur seemed still, as if the gentle wind somehow bent around them. The female’s tail stuck out behind her, looking as if it was rippling in the wind, and yet the wind blew the wrong direction for that. Revaramek licked his nose, flattening his frills. He stretched a wing to keep Nyramyn from bounding ahead without them. “Call out to them, Mirelle.”

Mirelle called out a greeting in the urd’thin language. The urd’thin did not react at all. There was no reply. They did not turn their heads. They didn’t even swivel their ears towards the sound. Mirelle called out again, louder, and received the exact same lack of response.

“That’s weird…”

“Yes, it is.” Revaramek took a few forward. “Wait here.”

“No.” Mirelle snatched her maul free, and walked along at Rev’s side, hefting it. “If there’s anything dangerous, you’ll need our help.”

“Yes!” Revaramek tried to bar her way with a foreleg. “If some…urd’thin shaping trap springs and catches me, you’ll know not to approach. And you can free me!”

“You’re the only one here with powers like theirs, Rev.” Mirelle skirted around his foreleg and trotted a few steps ahead. “If anyone goes first, it’s me! If I get caught by some kind of trap, you might actually be able to free me from it. So you wait here.”

“Oh no you don’t!” Revaramek broke into a trot of his own. “I’m going first!”

“The hell you are!” Mirelle started running.

“I’m faster than you, Mirelle!” Revaramek bounded across the sand, passing her. “I’ll be the one to sacrifice myself for whatever trap may be set!”

Before Mirelle could reply, Nyramyn shot past them both, flying just above the sands. She hurtled away from them, heading straight towards the two unmoving urd’thin.

“Damn it, Nyra!” Revaramek snatched up Mirelle in his forelegs, and leapt into the air. He beat his wings, following just behind his mate. “This is your fault, Mirelle!”

“It is not!” Mirelle clutched her maul to herself as she hung from the dragon’s limbs, her boots dangling just above the sand. “I told you to wait! You should have told her to do the same!”

“You turned it into a competition! And now know how Nyra feels about competitions!”

“I know she likes to put you in your place! I sure as hell can’t blame her there!”

Revaramek grit his teeth, focusing on his mate. She landed again ahead of him, trotting over the sand. Then she went straight up to the urd’thin, who still hadn’t moved, not even to watch the dragon approach. She stretched her neck, sniffing at them. Then she reached out with a forepaw, and unsheathed a single claw, flexing it in the sun.

“Nyra!” Revaramek yelled across the sands as he swept in behind her, dropping his hind legs down to land. “What the hell are you-”

Nyramyn jabbed her claw tip several times against the female urd’thin’s head. She glanced back to Revaramek just as he set Mirelle upon the sand. “They’re made of stone!”

“They’re what?” Mirelle hurried to join Nyramyn.

“They’re stone?” Revaramek splayed his frills out as he walked up alongside his mate. “I suppose that would explain a few things.”

Mirelle thumped her maul down against the sand, and went up to the smaller urd’thin. She ran her hands over his ears, his head, and little horns. Then she felt his vest, and glanced back at the dragon. “She’s right. They’re just statues. They’re…far more lifelike than any statue I’ve ever seen, but they’re still just statues.”

Revaramek approached the statues a little more carefully. Somehow, knowing they were made of stone didn’t put him at ease the way he might have expected. Something about this place still felt oddly electric. He stared at the statues from behind, lowering his head to inspect them up close. Neither statue showed any sign of weathering. They looked like real urd’thin, right down to the texture of each and every individual fur. It must have taken countless hours to so painstakingly cut stone with so many tiny, fine details. Or…had it been cut at all?

“How did they get the colors?” Mirelle ran her hands over the female’s turquoise vest. “It’s not painted, but I don’t think it’s actual turquoise, either. I’m…not really sure what kind of stone it is. And their poses are so fluid.” She walked to the statue of the pup, and brushed her fingers across his half-curled arm. “This one almost looks like he’s dancing.”

Revaramek’s heart dropped into a pool of ice, deep in his belly. He knew in an instant who that statue was. “He is dancing. Because that’s Vakaal.”

Mirelle stumbled back as if the statue bit her. “That’s…that’s Vakaal?”

Revaramek nodded once. He lifted a forepaw and gently cradled the pup’s muzzle. The statue looked as if it was frozen not only in mid dance step, but mid giggle, as well. “Yeah. Up close, looks just like the god I met, in…wherever he took me.”

“He doesn’t…” Mirelle stepped towards him again, running her fingers across the edge of the statue’s ear. “He doesn’t look that much like Asterbury. He just looks…happy.”

“That’s how Vakaal was, before the storytellers came and…” Revaramek swallowed, easing his leg back. “Broke him. And Asterbury’s full grown, after all. A human man rarely resembles the young child he once was.”

“True enough.” Mirelle patted the urd’thin between the horns. “Poor little guy.”

“Indeed.” Revaramek settled onto his haunches. “Doesn’t look much like a god, does he?”

“Not at all.”

“And yet, there’s a fathomless amount of knowledge and wisdom inside that little head, and a…deep desire to do what’s right. To help. To fix things…” Revaramek swallowed again, his gaze drifting to his mate. “To…to heal those in need.”

Mirelle turned and stared at Nyra, sucking in a breath. “You don’t think…”

“If anyone could heal her completely, it’s him.”

“But…but he’s…”

“Asterbury.” When Revaramek spoke the name, the wind shifted. Sand blew across him for a moment. He hissed, shielding Mirelle with his wing. “I know. But at the same time, he isn’t.”

“So who’s that?” Mirelle slipped out from under Revaramek’s wing when the winds died down again. She walked to the other statue, inspecting it. “It’s not the same female from the statue at Ekki’s tribe.”

“I think this one’s the mother.” Nyra circled around the statue, and Mirelle. “And that one’s the pup.”

“It’s the pup, alright.” Revaramek explained who it was to Nyra, in her tongue, then spoke to Mirelle again. “We think that’s his mother. Vakaal’s mother.”

“But…didn’t she die?” Mirelle reached out and touched one of the female’s horns. “Giving birth to him, I think.”

“And now…” Revaramek swept his paw at the two statues. “Now they get to be together, for the rest of time.”

Mirelle tilted her head back to stare up at the sky. “What do you think she’s supposed to be looking at?”

“I don’t think she’s looking.” Revaramek followed Mirelle’s gaze upward. When night fell, and darkness replaced the cerulean expanse, uncountable points of light would glitter from horizon to horizon. “I think she’s talking to the stars.”

“So his mother was…what did Ekki call it? A star talker?”

Revaramek nodded once. “Because his father was a star, lonely and wandering the empty earth.” Revaramek sniffed, glancing at the domed structure just beyond the statues. Words in an old urd’thin tongue were scrawled across it. Flowers grew around it. “Like Ekki’s story. All he wanted was to know love, to know family. And it…it never worked out.”

Mirelle turned and walked up alongside Revaramek. “His mate died giving birth to his son…”

“And his son became a monster, to save his father.”

Mirelle shivered, rubbing her arms. “So…who made these statues?”

“The father, probably. He seems to be protecting this desert, after all. Or…some version of him, anyway.”

“That’s…a little creepy.” Mirelle glanced between the statues and the dome. “It looks like they’re watching over that thing.”

“They probably are.”

Revaramek rose to his paws, and padded to the dome. Unlike the statues, it showed signs of weathering, as if sandstorms and sun were slowly eroding the baked clay bricks that composed it. All sorts of flowering plants encircled it. Many of them he hadn’t seen anywhere else in the desert. There were red blooms, and orange starburst flowers, blossoms of the deepest blue, and bright yellow flowers like dragons’ heads. All of them looked healthy and vibrant, despite the harsh conditions. Some of them had mounds of dirt around them, as if they’d been planted there recently. He walked around the dome, and found other items of interest. Gold and silver loops lay half buried in the sand. Bits of turquoise jewelry protruded from the ground. An ebony broach leaned against the back of the dome. Here and there, outlines of urd’thin footprints graced the sand. Words and symbols were cut into the stone in a few places.

“They’ve turned it into a shrine. They’re…bringing offerings, and…they must be using their shaping to keep these flowers alive. Either that, or…” He pressed his hand against the clay brick wall. “Or whatever’s in here is keeping them alive.”

“Dare I ask what you think is in there?”

“Something important enough for them to make pilgrimages to visit it, to put waystations along the way. For them to leave offerings, and…and for their god to tell us it isn’t meant for us.” Revaramek came to stand between the dome and the statues, and traced his pads across the urd’thin runes scrawled across the stone. “Does this say what I think it does?”

“It’s hard for me to be sure, but…but yes. I think it says Star’s Blessing.”

“All this way…all this journey, and he’s brought us to this.” Revaramek patted the stone with his paw, sighing. “And I still don’t truly know why.”

“Do you…do you think…” Mirelle tapped a clay brick. “It’s…in here?”

“Suppose that depends what you mean by ‘it’, Mirelle.” Revaramek took a step back, gazing around the area. “They’ve made this place a shrine. They’ve given it a name. There’s…statues of a god’s family here, watching over a stone dome…what does that look like to you?”

Mirelle scowled and folded her arms. “A tomb.”

“Exactly. I think Asterbury’s led us to his Father’s tomb.”

“Why the hell would he lead us to a place like that?”

The winds shifted and swirled once more at the mention of his name. Revaramek grimaced, glancing at the sky. “I’ve no idea. Maybe he didn’t even realize it was here.”

“Then why would he-”

“Mirelle!” Revaramek held up a paw, as if to halt her questions. “I don’t know. I don’t know any more than you do. You know as much about this journey as I do.”

“I know, I know.” Mirelle rubbed her face, then patted the dragon’s shoulder. “I’m just…thinking out loud. How the hell would his father even get here?”

Revaramek sighed, then shook his head. “I don’t know that, either. I half thought he died back in that drowned world. Maybe if…Vakaal took over, he found the remains and brought them here. Not sure why he’d bury them here, but…I suppose if he felt like a desert was the right place for his father to rest, there weren’t many choices.”

“Guess that’s true.” Mirelle shaded her eyes with her hands, looking towards the oasis. “So if Vakaal’s…in charge, let’s say…how would he have gotten here? You think he can use gates and things now?”

“Maybe.” Revaramek swung his head around towards the circular stone shape in the distance, draped in vines. “I think there’s one there, but it looks…different. I’m not sure he’d need one, anyway. When I met Vakaal, at first I thought I was basically…going to talk to someone else, in Asterbury’s head. But when it happened, it was more like…” He waved a paw towards the sky. “I was skipping across the universe. All these…doorways of light, opening in the darkness. And he told me there were things the monster couldn’t be allowed to know he could do, or no one could stop him. So…maybe he doesn’t even need gates anymore.”

“That’s an unsettling thought.”

“Very.”

“Revaramek!” Nyra called back across the sands as she walked towards the circular monolith. “Look at this thing!” She snatched away fistfuls of vines, pulling them free. “It looks like what brought me into the marsh.”

“That’s kind of what I was afraid of.” Revaramek chuckled to himself. “Please don’t touch it, Nyra.”

“It’s not as if I can activate it anyway.” Nyramyn set her paws down, glancing back at him. “Right?”

“Theoretically. But let’s not take any risks we don’t have to, hmm?”

“So…” Mirelle put a hand upon the tomb’s wall. “If we think this where his father is buried…then he’s dead, right? The father? So who the hell did you meet atop that dune?”

The question left the dragon’s guts twisted up. He licked his muzzle, mouth suddenly dry. “That’s a good question.” He turned towards the oasis, took a few steps, and paused again. “He didn’t exactly…have a body. Not like the son does, anyway.”

Mirelle followed at his side. “What the hell does that mean?”

Revaramek flattened his ears, trying to decide how best to describe it. “He had a body, at first. But when he touched me, it was…” The memory made him shiver, his scales clicking. Fear constricted cold coils around his heart. “It was as if he had my heart in his grasp. And when he left he…he just…” He scooped up a pawful of sand, and held it in the air. Sand poured between his fingers, blowing away on the breeze. “Dissolved.” He set his paw down, and glanced back at the tomb. “I don’t think he needs a body, anymore.”

“So his body might well be entombed in there, while his…what, his soul?” Mirelle scrunched her face, shivering. “Is out here haunting the desert?”

Revaramek cracked a smile. “He’s not a ghost, Mirelle. He’s a god. He’s…whatever he wants to be, whenever he wants to be it, I suppose.” He padded to the water’s edge, staring down at his wavering reflection. “And he’s not haunting it, he’s…protecting it.”

“But we don’t mean it any harm. We don’t mean his people any harm.”

“No.” Revaramek shook his head. “We don’t. But I don’t know how much that means to him, at this point, if he even believes it. I have the spark, so…I think, to him…I’m just another storyteller. He called it their stolen shaping. It’s like he can’t help but worry I’ll ruin his desert somehow just by being here, even if I don’t intend it.” He lowered his head and took a few drinks from the water. Water dripped from his muzzle when he spoke again. “He said he couldn’t help us, because this place…wasn’t our story. That it was only for urd’thin…”

Revaramek blinked a few times, then lifted his head. He turned away from the water, and scanned the desert. “He didn’t want me to disrupt his story. They…they started over, Mirelle.” Revaramek stretched a wing, sweeping it across the horizon. “They started over.”

Mirelle put her hand on his shoulder, rubbing his scales. “Rev, you’re a step or two ahead of me. Who started over?”

“Him!” The dragon turned his head towards the tomb and the statues. “Them. He made them anew, or he brought them from a crumbling story, or…or something. Enora used to call this place, this world, a refuge. Well, it’s a refuge for them, too. A place he can finally see his people grow, without the storytellers to ruin them.” Revaramek padded back towards the tomb, his eyes fixed upon the statue of Vakaal. “A place he can finally see his son grow up.”

Star’s Blessing isn’t meant for you.

“It’s the desert. It’s…It’s Vakaal.”

Mirelle furrowed her brow. “What is?”

“Star’s blessing. It’s…” Revaramek flattened his frills. Things were starting to click into place in his head, but the pieces were vague, the edges didn’t always fit together right. He wasn’t sure he could properly explain it. “It’s all of it. It’s their second chance. I…I think I need to see who’s in that tomb.”