Session 28 | Chapter 5
The sound of footsteps echo into the room waking me. Groggily, I sit up in bed and scan the dim space for the source of the noise. Moonlight shines in through cracks in the castle wall, casting the room in a light glow. I reach out to wake Goose at the foot of the bed before my stomach twists as reality comes back to haunt me. My hand hovers there where he should be for a moment before I flex my fingers and pull it away. Instead, I nudge Perona to wake her before slipping out of bed and going to the wooden door.
Through a slim crack, I see the forms of Alba sneaking along the edge of the colonnade followed by a sleepy Raesh. Glancing over my shoulder, Perona has joined me by the door and I jerk my head to indicate for her to follow. Skeptical of what these two are doing up in the middle of the night, we stick to the shadows and keep our footfalls delicate.
We come upon the main courtyard as the sound of voices reach my ears. There’s a melodic quality to the speech and my curiosity is piqued as I realize it’s the Celestial language. No one else in our group speaks the language of the gods and angels to my knowledge, so I check that a dagger is strapped to my waist before proceeding forward.
Rounding a corner, Alba and Raesh have come to a halt at the edge of the courtyard. Looking beyond, I see what brought them to a stop. Standing in front of the navigation tower are three individuals–a younger looking woman with silver hair wearing white robes and a golden circlet, a man that appears to be a middle aged human wearing gray robes and silver bracelets, and a younger man with striking blond hair wearing a simple linen shirt and pants.
My stomach drops seeing the two men side by side because both of them have appeared to me as Bahamut in visions. A chill slides down my spine as I take in the scene before me. We’ve gotten close enough that I am able to pick up their conversation, so I slow my breathing and focus on the angelic language I haven’t spoken in years.
“Lendys, you’re not supposed to be here,” the younger man scolds, “I’ve done what I can, but you must come back. You’ve moved pieces beyond what you can see, but you must come back.”
My jaw clenches as I feel a crack deep in my chest. Raesh was right… Seeing the older man, Lendys, side by side with Bahamut tightens my chest as an ache sets in to my bones. This truth was not something I was prepared for. My conclave has always preached that our warriors, those granted draconic spirits above all, are the elite of the Platinum Dragon’s followers. We are not ones to be deceived. I ball my hands into fists at my sides as I observe the scene before us unfold, my eyes locked on the man Lendys. That voice and face that just yesterday gave me every possibility for hope and happiness sends fire through my veins.
Beside me, Alba quietly whispers, “Selune.” A cacophony of screams begins to build in the back of my head as we watch this conversation between three gods unfold.
“I have given everything up, and I’ve set myself on a path,” Lendys responds to Bahamut, “I have followed you for as long as I can, but no more.” His tone is confident despite the clear frustration from Bahamut. “I am bound here, and I have given up most of my power. You have no control over me, and you will not keep me in your brood any longer.”
Selune, the moon goddess, steps forward between the two men and interjects, “You both need to calm down. There is no reason for this…fight. And thankfully, I can mediate this. Lendys, who are you bound to?” She holds Lendys’ gaze firmly waiting for an explanation.
He turns towards the entrance of the courtyard where we stand, apparently not as stealthily as I might’ve hoped. His eyes fix on me and something in me shifts, seeing this face once again in such a different context. His gaze is like a vice around my body, freezing me in place as I hold my breath. The other two gods turn and follow his line of sight, their eyes landing on me as well.
Out of my periphery, I see Alba shift to look at me confused. On her other side, Raesh sleepily rubs his eyes as he seems to just now be aware of the situation we’ve stumbled upon.
Don’t continue to be a coward, Huntress. Face the divine. Do not cower in the shadows like a common rat, the Priest hisses from over my shoulder.
His words are true, as much as I hate to admit it. I can’t hide at this moment. Whatever deception might have occurred yesterday with my meditation and the vision with Lendys, hiding in the shadows isn’t an option for me. Pulling myself together as much as I can, I stand up straight and walk out of the shadows. In the clear, moonlit view of the gods, I lift my hand and give a slow wave, unable to think of another way to announce my presence.
The others follow behind me and it seems Raesh has finally woken up enough to recognize our god standing before him. He points towards the cliff and comments, “Hey that’s Bahamut!”
I roll my eyes at his naivety and whisper through gritted teeth to the gnome, “I don’t want to hear ‘I told you so.’”
A half smile comes to each of the gods’ faces but at the sight of Alba standing with only her fur as coverage, Selune shakes her head at the minotaur. She is the first to walk towards our group, meeting us half way across the space before the two men follow behind her.
Still holding Lendys’ gaze, I feel a light touch as Perona takes my hand and whispers, “Maire? What’s going on? I can’t see anything.”
Fine choice in partners, Huntress. She can’t even recognize when she’s in the presence of your god, the Priest chides.
Coming to stand before our group, Bahamut tilts his head at me and switches to speak the common language, “This one, Lendys?”
Being in his presence like this, every nerve ending in my body is screaming to run. Fear pulses through my body and my eyes are wide as Bahamut studies me. I have never felt so exposed as I do in this moment under his scrutiny.
Bahamut tilts his head again and comes up close to my face before sarcastically saying, “Boo!”
This jolts me from the panicked state I was caught in and I grit my teeth, “What? What do you want with me?” With every ounce of effort, I fight to keep the emotion out of my voice, but a slight waiver mars the end of my question. Shame floods over me at my weakness and I clench my left fist repeatedly–the memory of the blood running down my forearm over and over throughout the years anchoring me.
Bahamut’s expression shifts from scrutiny to dismissive as he replies, “Nothing. Really nothing.”
His brazenness hits me in the chest and I fight the urge to recoil like a wounded animal. “Really?” I whisper timidly, “Oh okay.”
“Not in that sense you fragile, fragile, child,” he snaps. Looking over his shoulder at Lendys, he continues, “On my orders, Lendys and his sisters were supposed to send draconic spirits out to a few…factions. Some within the church in Elturel, one in the mountains, and a few others scattered around. But, he decided to forego his duty.” He punctuates the statement by backing up and putting his hand on Lendys’ shoulder forcefully. “He decided to contract with you,” Bahamut states, an angered and wicked smile on his face.
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Just above a whisper, I ask, “Contract?”
Bahamut’s smile flicks to me as he continues, “You are bound by soul, an unending covenant.” He taps Lendys’ shoulder before gripping it tight. Lendys winces in pain and the sound of metal cracking fills the courtyard. A slight tingle builds in my shoulder mirroring the image before me and I bite the inside of my cheek.
This can’t be true…this can’t be real.
Bahamut smiles at Lendys and adds, “And now I can’t do anything because of that.”
“I’m afraid to ask what you want to do,” I mutter.
He turns his head towards me, a predator, his draconic nature clear in his movements. “If he dies, you die,” Bahamut declares, “I wanted him to come back. He needs to be punished for overstepping his bounds, but he…” He pauses, taking a deep frustrated breath, before finishing, “Ultimately did something he wasn’t supposed to.”
The weight of this information presses on me, stealing the air from my lungs and burying me in their finality. The Priest tuts in my mind, Huntress, to think your life is worth enough to stop a god…
It’s not though. If the last twenty four hours have taught me anything, it’s that the world outside of the four walls of my temple is complicated. Complex beyond measure with pieces being shifted and removed in the background, altering lives and sealing fates. Tears burn at the corners of my eyes as my brain repeats, I’m not worth this. I’m not worth this. I’m not worth this.
I swallow the knot in my throat and mutter, “Is my life really all that important that you would not just do whatever you wanted to him? If you want nothing from me, then why not just do it anyway?” Finding some shred of strength in the middle of the overwhelming emptiness flooding my senses, my last statement is a little biting as I challenge the god.
Bahamut’s expression shifts into one of pity as he takes in my words. “I can’t though, because as much as you think your life is insignificant–” He starts before shifting his statement, “If you didn’t get chosen and you didn’t get set on this path, then yes, you would be included in the masses of people out there. Just one of the many.” He straightens, looking between me and Lendys, “But no, Lendys saw conviction. He saw some form of resilience that I can’t explain, but then again, I have to look everywhere and he can focus on a few. Such was our pact. But he decided to over step his bounds. He performed something that only the betrayers are doing now, and he has merged himself with you in a pact that I cannot ever take away. Which is not good for you either. You understand what I mean, child?”
“I’m stuck with him?” I ask softly.
His voice is forceful as he corrects, “No–you’re stuck with me.”
Before I can catch myself, I sarcastically state, “I mean that’s kind of what I wanted this whole time…”
He smirks and replies, “Yes, but not in the way you think. When you die, you do not get to pass on. Everyone you love will get to go on to where they’re rightfully destined to. But you will go to me, and you will be in my servitude for the rest of eternity. Do you understand that? How selfish he was for that?”
“Yeah I’m beginning to.” I avert my eyes, looking down at the ground. My body is shaking, radiating all of the built up energy of anger and shame that I fight to contain.
Bahamut relaxes a little seeing the defeat written all over me. “I’m not angry at you,” he informs, “I’m angry at him for what he’s done to you.”
Chancing a look up at the two men, I ask, my tone aching, “Who is he?”
Beside me, rather than Bahamut answering, Raesh quips, “Didn’t you hear? His name is Lendys.”
“Shut up, Raesh!” I bite before looking back at Bahamut.
He’s holding Lendys’ neck and forces him into a kneeling position. The older man winces as his knees hit the stone floor. “He is one of my brood,” Bahamut muses, “One of my first borns. A platinum dragon, one born of the virtue of justice.”
Justice…Justice, Huntress. This is justice for straying from your path. Such foolish foolish actions, the Priest echoes in the recesses of my mind, his tone haunting and sending a chill down my spine. He’s right though–if I had remained focused…if I wasn’t distracted…maybe I could have seen this deception hidden in the shadows.
“Sounds good right?” Bahamut asks me.
Instinctually, I reply, “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because everything can be twisted,” I mumble.
Bahamut’s words are laced with venom, “Correct.”
A wave of relief washes over me at the approval from my god, and I reply wryly, “Well maybe there’s something in me after all.”
“There was always something in you,” Bahamut counters, “You were supposed to be given a draconic spirit–that is what I asked. What was twisted was he decided to be the dragon.”
My eyes shoot to the older man, horror and disgust exploding in my mind as I scream, “You like belly rubs?!” Still kneeling, Lendys’ face drops in shame. I cover my mouth and scream once again, finally unleashing the emotions from the last day. Those eyes. That face. He was Goose? I want to deny it, but even in the visions where he impersonated Bahamut, something felt familiar about him. The way he looks at me out of the corner of his eye. My stomach knots and I fear I might be sick.
“So,” Bahamut continues, jolting me from the screams in my head. He pulls Lendys once again by his neck, lifting him, and his form shifts into that of a pure platinum dragon. Similar to Goose, but distinctly different and that difference has me fighting to keep my nausea at bay once more. Bahamut drops the dragon back to the ground with a thump and continues, “Selune and I in debating this have decided to leave him with you.”
My jaw drops and I exasperatedly shriek, “I don’t want him…”
Bahamut’s head cocks and he retorts, “No, that’s not an option. You’re bound for the rest of eternity.”
My body starts to shake as the sobs overtake. “I didn’t want this,” I cry.
“I didn’t want this for you either,” he declares, “But, do with him what you will.” He holds Lendys out towards me and Perona stiffens next to me, a small gasp coming from her. She holds my arm and looks back and forth from me and the platinum version of Goose. Bahamut drops him at my feet and commands, “You are to take care of him. You are to make him obey. Or you can keep him as a partner. I don’t frankly care. But when you die, you are bound to my realm and my service until the end.” He pauses and smirks, “You got what you wanted, but not how you wanted it. I can see that.”
All I can muster in response is a nod.
He sighs and adds, “I will provide you with one boon when I feel it’s time. I am looking, child. Now, I have to look longer than I should. For a god has descended on this earth and Ao will be watching.” Bahamut pulls his focus from me and shifts to address Raesh. “I’m sorry to put this on you,” he tells him, “But Selune wanted action before the upcoming solstice, so my plans were thrown awry. I apologize to you, Raesh.”
Raesh skeptically asks, “Apologize for what?”
“For the decisions you’ll make later.” With that final statement, Bahamut stands. In a flash of light, he disappears before our eyes.
Following the light fading, Raesh mutters, “I don’t know about y’all but I totally know what that meant.”
I rub my forehead and groan, “I never should’ve gotten out of bed.”
Perona bends down to pick the Goose-like dragon up, but I cut her off, “No. Leave him.”
She startles at this, but pulls back from Lendys, putting a hand on my arm. “I think we’re going back to bed. You look like you need rest,” she muses.
“That’s probably a good idea,” Alba confirms.
Perona holds my arm and starts to walk away from the courtyard. I have nothing left in me to act or think for myself in this moment. The ache in my chest at the sight of Lendys, the man, shifting forms into Goose has broken me. Grief floods my senses and my body goes numb to everything else. This loss–this deception–it’s bone deep and soul aching. We were partners–friends. He has been my comfort, my sounding board, my constant source of strength and validation on this journey. He has been there to lift my head, laugh with me and comfort me.
This isn’t worth it.