A dark shadow crossed the land as mighty Sarah flew over the empire she helped create. For Sarah, this was something of a matter of pride. After all, she was an ancient dragon and couldn't help but desire power and recognition. If the order of scale still existed, she would be a prominent member leading the younger dragons and guiding their formation.

She would have to settle for leading an empire and solving its myriad of complex problems. Humans were far more difficult to govern than dragons were. They lived such short lives that everything needed to be done in a rush. Where a dragon might take ten years to consider an idea, a human would take an hour. Still, she was grateful for her station as the title of empress felt appropriate to her age. It was another mark of pride, but a funny thing had happened on her journey. She learned of another title and began to crave it more than all the others. Now she bore the title of wife with a reverence that stirred her heart just to think of it. She was part of what the humans called a family, and with it came all the bliss and pain of love.

Numidel had tried a hundred times to explain this to her, but she was a dragon. How could she possibly have understood? Now that she considered it, she realized that Solesta's curse hadn't so much as changed the dragons as it locked them to be what they always were. Love was simply not an emotion that their race understood. The way they organized and reproduced didn't require the bonds of a family or the love needed to hold one together. She supposed the closest they got to it was the bond a mother felt for her brood. She wondered if this was an instinctual need to protect the young or a genuine sense of family? She had a brood and could remember her desire to protect them from the curse. When they left, she felt something akin to sorrow, but not compared to how she felt it now. Just hearing about Numidels death left her a sobbing mess. For two days, she was unable to function and couldn't come to terms with the pain she felt. Had she felt even a shred of that sort of sorry for her lost broodlings? Even when one of them returned, brandishing a wicked spear and vowing to slay her, had she felt sorrow? Surely she was grieved by it now, but that was with the benefit of hindsight. Now that she was grasping the truth of love and family, her perspective had changed. What had she felt back then as she taught one of her own children the last lesson it would ever learn?

The truth was she didn't. She approached that as any other dragon would have approached it. A rival came to claim her hoard, and she defeated them plain and simple. It wasn't until years later, as she looked on the bones, she acknowledged that this had once been her daughter. That planted the seed of grief that bloomed when Lilly showed her what a heart full of love looked like.

Now she was a part of a binding that unified her heart with three others. She couldn't help but feel the full breadth and depth of emotion that was the human experience. It suffused her being, driving her to think in ways she would never have considered before. One of the most profound changes came in her understanding of mercy. Sarah was a priestess of Astikar and, as such, was supposed to show mercy. But all of her past dealings were done out of the cold reptilian logic of her kind. It wasn't until emotion clouded her judgment that she could understand true mercy. Now she understood why a mother might steal bread to feed her starving child. How fear could drive a man to recklessness, and how the pain of loss caused terrible grief.

A new concept began to form out of this experience. Numidels loss and the subsequent pain forced her to consider the nature of dragons in comparison to those of men. Why was it that humans could manipulate the world's magic more easily than dragons could? Why could they power weaves directly from the flow instead of needing gold to do it? Why could their priests produce blessings more powerful than even a might dragon-like herself? It must be their capacity to embrace things from the heart and fill them with emotion. This had to be the secret to their power. Something about strong emotions united them to the divine in ways dragons never could. But now, she had those emotions as well as being a dragon. Could she tap into the power of both the weave and divine even more? The thought was new, and as yet, she hadn't had a chance to test it, but there was a battle looming. Perhaps the time would come where she needed it.

“That is a very interesting thought,” Gersius echoed in her mind, reminding her that her family was on her back.

“I forget you are all listening to me,” she thought back.

“We don't mean to eavesdrop, but your pain is hard to keep out,” Thayle answered as a voice in her head.

Sarah sighed and spread her wings wide, letting the air carry her across the land. She didn’t care that they were listening as they were a part of her heart. Maybe they could help her understand what it was she felt inside.

“I still don’t understand most of it,” Lilly admitted as she clung to Thayle. “But I have learned to stop fighting it.”

“Which must be why love appears to come so naturally to you,” Sarah replied.

“I still find it hard to believe you dragons have no concept of love,” Thayle said. “Surely you loved something?”

“You were listening to my thoughts a moment ago. I wasn't sure I genuinely loved my children,” Sarah said. “I don't know that I understood how until I met this family.”

“I think my mother knew how to love,” Lilly said as she considered something. “And let's not forget that Shadros's mother told him she loved him.”

“That is something to consider,” Thayle agreed.

“These points are valid, but I can assure you that I did not feel the same thing for my brood,” Sarah insisted. “And what makes you think your mother knew how to love?”

Lilly felt conflicted as she tried to remember her past and the way her mother behaved. She explained that her mother liked to snuggle with her brood and spent time telling them stories about hunting giants and other beasts. She insisted they all learn to read and write in a human language as well as dragon and the blended human and dragon tongue.

“It does seem odd your mother wanted you to know human languages,” Sarah agreed. “But then your mother played a role in all this. She was part of what set these events in motion. I wonder if she was preparing you to finish what she started.”

“I don’t see why,” Lilly replied as Gersius squeezed her waist. “Why pick me to do it? She is so powerful I don’t understand how she could have been defeated.”

“That was a thousand years ago,” Gersius reminded.

“Which is like five years to a dragon,” Lilly replied.

“You terrible man,” Thayle laughed. “Marrying a dragon so young.”

“Do not bring that up again,” Gersius sighed.

“I wouldn't let that bother you,” Sarah said as she turned her long neck to look back at them and use her voice to speak. “Dragons age at twice the rate a human does for the first ten years of their lives. It is only after this point that the aging begins to slow. If we had to compare her age, Lilly is about twenty to twenty-two by human standards.”

“See,” Lilly said proudly. “I am old enough to be your wife.”

“Getting back to the point,” Gersius said to end this conversation. “I agree with Sarah. It seems as if Lilly’s mother was preparing her for this. Even go so far as to feed Balisha enough power to ensure she could bless Lilly.”

“So now we think she had a plan?” Thayle asked.

“I don’t know if it is so much of a plan as a dream. Something she hoped for,” Gersius replied. “All we know about her was that she was the first dragon that founded the dragon empire. She started the construction of Balisha’s temple, created the statue that bears her name, and then fled when the dragon knight was slain.”

“I have to disagree with you,” Lilly said and hugged Thayle tightly. “I would believe that if not for one thing. She hid Balisha's sword and then told me where to find it. It was in the yard where I would need it most as if she knew beforehand.”

“That does seem rather suspicious,” Sarah agreed. “I hate to say it, but Lilly's mother has clearly manipulated events to ensure this outcome.”

“But why?” Gersius asked.

“I don't know, but Lilly is right. Her mother prepared her to work with humans and ensured she knew where to find the sword. In fact, she seems to have known that fight would take place. Almost as if she had divine-like foresight.”

“This is a little far-fetched,” Thayle suggested.

“Is it, though?” Sarah asked as she started to put two thoughts together. “Think about what we just said compared to what I was thinking. Lilly believes her mother knew how to love. That means she had access to levels of emotion unknown to other dragons.”

“And you suspect that emotions are the key to achieving true power,” Gersius finished.

“Can you explain it any other way?” Sarah asked.

“But then you are suggesting she had the power to rival the divines,” Thayle said with a hint of disbelief.

“I am simply having a discussion,” Sarah corrected. “I have no idea what to believe. But I do know if I sat down and trained Tavis with my knowledge of fire weaving, he would surpass my hundreds of years of training on one of his. Humans can tap the flow of magic and divine power like dragons never could. If emotion is the key, then the power of a dragon can be blended with the capability of a human. Who knows where that might lead.”

“I see your point,” Thayle agreed.

“Now that I think about it,” Lilly interrupted as she worked on a thought. “My mother's hoard was full of human things that she said were given as gifts. She must have gotten them from her time in Calathen and taken them when she fled.”

“When the wars are over, we are flying out to meet your mother,” Sarah stated.

“I agree,” Thayle said. “She has a lot of explaining to do.”

“I have been thinking about that,” Lilly admitted. “Can you teach me how to dream walk so I can look for her?”

“Child,” Sarah groaned. “We have been over this before. I can teach you how but unless your mother is actively looking for you or in one of the places where dreams cross, the effort is pointless.”

“And you said these places are no longer safe,” Gersius added.

“They most certainly are not,” Sarah replied and narrowed her gaze on Lilly, who was starting to feel sad over the bind. “I will teach you. I will even help you look, but I regret your time will be wasted.”

“I know, but I want to try,” Lilly insisted. “Please.”

“I already said yes,” Sarah rumbled.

“I want to spend time dreaming of the valley,” Thayle said to lighten the mood. “I like knowing that one day that will be our home.”

“And we can be alone to live in peace,” Gersius agreed. “We should spend more time there.”

“It is taxing to pull you all into my dream and then take you to a specific place,” Sarah reminded. “The binding has made it easier to do, but I feel it the next morning.”

“I understand,” Thayle sighed and leaned into Lilly's embrace. “One day, we will be there for real. I can't wait to start building our house.”

“One day,” Gersius said wishfully as Sarah looked back with a knowing nod.

They flew through the day, talking about what they expected to face and how to keep Lilly out of it. Since the enemy was determined to take Lilly's head, Gersius wasn't sure putting her upfront was wise. Lilly objected, but he suggested she could join the fight in her human form. She objected, but Sarah urged her to give it some thought and promised her a surprise when they landed.

Gersius tried not to think about it as Lilly pestered to know what the surprise was. Sarah wouldn't tell her or allow the thought to come into mind, or Lilly would see it. Instead, the little blue dragon would have to wait until they landed and set up. Thankfully the stars were bright that night, and Sarah flew above the clouds so they could enjoy the splendor.

“Now that we have had a wonderful day. Do you two want to talk about what happened to you two?” Thayle said.

“Which two?” Lilly asked, and Thayle explained that Sarah and Gersius were hiding something.

Sarah was the one who explained the prayers and the vision she had. She also admitted that she had been avoiding thinking about it because she didn’t want to worry them.

“Somebody hammering a long spear and then Gersius standing alone as the stars went out?” Thayle repeated and looked up as if the night sky might suddenly be empty of lights.

“I hate these visions, “Lilly said as she felt uncomfortable. “They are too hard to interpret. The one I had about the fire behind Calathen’s walls was a warning I would face the red dragon, but I never figured that out.”

“It was meant to warn you a danger lurked in Calathen,” Gersius replied as he pondered Sarah’s vision. “But I am not sure what this vision is warning Sarah of.”

“You were standing alone,” Thayle said as she pondered it. “I don't like the symbolism of their being only three stars when you have three wives. Is it suggesting we will fall right before you do?”

“This is why I didn’t want to think about this,” Sarah grumbled. “I don’t see how the coming fight with Whiteford could end with such a result.”

“How do we know the danger is with Whiteford?” Thayle asked. “I have had visions happen weeks ahead of the actual event.”

“As have I,” Gersius agreed. “But usually, when one has a vision, it is about them. Sarah's was about me.” He paused to consider what else had happened that day and decided to tell them about the connection to Astikar opening.

“He responded to you?” Sarah asked in shock. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were so upset by what you saw that I did not think to mention it,” Gersius said.

“So, Sarah was in your lap as you both prayed to Astikar,” Thayle said as she tried to put it together. “Not only did the connection open for you, but Sarah had a vision specifically dealing with you. I wonder if the two are connected in the same way that you prayed to Ulustrah through me.”

“I had not thought of that,” Gersius said with a nod. “Maybe being so close to Sarah allowed me to speak through her link.”

“But why would she have the vision and not you?” Lilly asked.

“I was praying for guidance,” Sarah admitted. “I suspect that because I was specifically asking for a response, I was the one who got it.”

“And what were you praying for?” Lilly asked as she turned to look at him.

“I was simply offering him thanks for my wives and the role he played in bringing you to me,” Gersius replied.

“Well, that explains why Sarah had the vision and not you,” Thayle agreed. “But it still doesn’t do anything to diminish the worry about you standing alone as the three stars that represent your wives go out.”

“We don’t know they represent us,” Sarah argued.

“What else could they represent?” Thayle argued. “Not to mention Gersius had an earlier vision of us being added to him as lights. Now that I think about it, you were predicted in that vision.”

“Me?” Sarah asked and turned her head back to look at Gersius. “You saw me in a vision?”

“I saw a red star added to our light,” Gersius replied. “I never made the connection until now, but I can not deny that I think Thayle is right.”

“Well, that is disturbing,” Sarah agreed as she looked to the side. “The divines like to represent us as stars, and now we are going out. I am sorry, but I still wish we hadn’t spoken of this. I have enough on my mind as it is.”

“We are here with you,” Gersius urged. “I doubt anything can happen while you live to protect us.”

“Thank you,” Sarah sighed and looked into the night sky. “I still want Lilly hidden from the enemy. We can be assured they have a plan to target her specifically.”

“I already told you I would use this human form,” Lilly grumbled. “But I can’t kill as many people this way.”

“Let Alayse and I handle the killing,” Sarah said as she turned her head far enough back to dominate their view. “I was against sending you with Tavis and Ayawa to negotiate with the southern tribes. I am still struggling to accept the risk you took to gain that peace. If not for Gedris and her quick thinking, I have to wonder how that fight would have ended. The possibilities haunt me and weigh heavily on my heart. Now Numidel has passed, and our enemies want your head specifically. Considering all that, I will not be able to face this threat unless I know you are safe.”

“I will be,” Lilly insisted and reached up to touch her. “I promise they will never know I am there.”

“Good,” Sarah replied as her head withdrew. “Now, do something to soothe my worries. Sing for us.”

“You want me to sing?” Lilly asked as she started to blush.

“You have a beautiful voice, and I love hearing it,” Sarah admitted. “Sing us through the night and let our worries wait for tomorrow.”

Lilly nestled into Gersius's chest and took a deep breath before beginning a soft song, lifting her voice as the stars passed by. It was a moment of beauty and peace that helped alleviate the worries of their heart, for with the dawn would come the duties of war.

By late morning Sarah was below the clouds, searching the ground as she followed the river that separated the empire from the common lands. They passed Brackenwall and headed south, looking for the elusive Alayse and her marching army. To their great surprise, they found a small contingent of it guarding a bridge and settled in to question the trembling soldiers.

“Please stop being so afraid of me,” Sarah said as she looked down on the visibly shaken men. “I am your empress and here to defend you. I would not eat you or harm you in any way.”

Gersius counted maybe fifty men and a dozen women of Ulustrah left to guard a bridge into the common lands. He already started to question Alayse as her instructions were to defend the empire, not invade its neighbors. The river would be an excellent place to dig in and create a natural barrier to the enemy. As expected, the guards said Alayse marched the army over it a day ago and was now inside the neighboring kingdom.

“She is an aggressive fighter,” Gersius said as Sarah asked them about any current reports.

“She has done this sort of thing before,” Thayle groaned. “She charges out to meet enemies instead of waiting to be attacked. Now she may have sparked a war with our neighbor in addition to Whiteford.”

“We don’t know why she crossed the border,” Gersius said as Sarah questioned the guards. They explained that Alayse caught some advanced scouts of the enemy. What she learned from them resulted in Alayse calling a hard march and driving the army forward. When they reached the bridge, it was heavily defended by the neighboring kingdom of Errowshire, who were openly belligerent.

“Which side were they defending?” Sarah asked to discover they were inside the empire.

“So we were invaded first,” Thayle said in alarm.

“The enemy wanted to use the bridge to cross the river,” Gersius surmised. “Errowshire must be fully aligned with them to have risked trying to hold it for them.”

“And the war grows again,” Thayle added with a sad note.

“Did she say where she was marching to?” Sarah asked. The guards explained that the region's capital was barely ten miles inland on a branch of the river used for trading. Alayse was going to approach the city and make a display of force. Provided the king backed down, she would cause no further harm and turn back. If he didn't, she wanted to make an example and show the rest of the common lands that the empire was not to be trifled with.

“I find I strangely approve of her attitude,” Sarah said as she turned to her family.

“She was always so eager to prove herself in battle,” Thayle said as she began to worry.

“She has the heart of a warrior, and there is no shame in that,” Gersius replied as he wondered if Alayse would have made a much better priest of Astikar.

“She definitely would have been a good one,” Sarah agreed as she read his mind but cautioned that Alayse might be overly aggressive in this case. Destroying the advancing army should have been enough to send the message. If this led to a larger campaign, the army they needed for Gersius's plan in the west would not be available.

“An excellent observation,” Gersius said as he worried about being entangled in an escalating conflict. “Still, if they were over the river and holding the bridge, Alayse would have been forced to take it.”

“But was it wise to cross over and go on the offensive?” Sarah asked as she spread her wings and took to the sky. “She has lost the advantage of the river as a defense.

“I am more worried she might attack a fortified city and be engaged in a prolonged battle when the enemy arrives,” Gersius replied as they flew over the river. Two hours of searching later, they found what they were looking for and discovered Alayse encamped in an open plain. To the north was the beginnings of a farming region that almost certainly led to the city. He was rather impressed to see she had used her women of Ulustrah to grow walls around the camp and created a series of boxes to protect wagons and supplies.

“She has been busy,” Thayle said as she looked down from above.

“That is a very good use of her blessings,” Gersius replied as Sarah banked to come in for a landing. “She can control the flow of armies and force them to face her on her terms.”

“I will set down in the east to not startle the horses,” Sarah said as she came down near a farm. She settled to the ground and flattened herself as best she could, allowing her family to climb down. Then, with the saddle set aside, she changed forms and joined them, walking to meet a group of soldiers sent to meet them.

Gersius greeted them and asked to be taken to Alayse. The groups commanded nodded and led the way, taking them back to camp and through the dense walls of thorns and brambles. Gersius once again commented on the clever use of the plants, but Thayle was worried it meant the woman of Ulustrah were probably spent and tired. If Alayse was attacked now, they would be of little help but admitted that it was unlikely.

The mood inside the camp was one of military efficiency and some excitement to see they had arrived. The soldiers were undoubtedly grateful to know the dragons would be taking part in the battles to lessen any losses. Eventually, they were brought to a tent near the center and went inside as the guards saluted.

Alayse was in the center of a group of commanders as she pointed to a map and explained her plan. Gersius silently asked his wives to give her a moment so he could hear her strategy. Something about that particular region concerned her, and she was determined to wipe it out. Her plan was simple, a feint at the capital to convince their enemies that was the objective, while a mounted formation attacked the actual target hours later.

“And what is this target?” Gersius asked when he had heard enough.

Alayse looked up in surprise, then quickly took a firm stance and bowed her head.

“Siege engines,” Alayse replied. “My scouts say there is a massive camp building them for our enemies. If we can destroy the camp before they get there, we can deprive them of their use.”

“And why not march the whole army?” Sarah asked.

“Because the local ruler has massed his forces in the capital to the north. If I march further east, they will attack from the rear. So I need to keep them hemmed in while I destroy the camp. My intelligence tells us that it is lightly defended as of now. I doubt they even suspect we know it's there.”

“I could fly over it and burn them,” Sarah suggested. “Unless they have a small army of weavers, it shouldn't be much of a threat.”

“You will forgive me, Empress Sarah,” Alayse said as people around the room began to grumble. “But I think you should stay as far away from the camp as possible.”

“Why?” Sarah asked as she glanced at Gersius, who was equally as concerned. Alayse explained that these were weapons unlike any they had seen before. They resembled ballista but were mounted on tall frames so they could easily point skyward.

“They are meant to kill dragons,” Thayle said as she began to understand.

“It gets worse,” Alayse remarked as others around the room nodded. “The priests of Gorrin have a massive forge works in the surrounding hills. They are producing spears of metal as long as a pike with barbs at the tip. They are blessing these items with an enchantment unknown and pilling them up in mass. There is a team of shapers from the college of Whiteford assisting them, doing something to help increase the weapon's effectiveness. I am afraid they plan to use the strange engines to fire these long spears into the air and kill the dragons.”

“So the priests of Gorrin have gone to war with us,” Sarah said in a dour note.

“That was to be expected,” Gersius sighed and turned back to Alayse. “How did you find out about all this?”

“I began to run into scouts miles from the river,” Alayse replied. “I captured some and held them until a few of Jessivel's seekers could be called in. They managed to piece together the picture that the kingdom was in full support of our enemies, and camps had been created for support. I drove hard for the bridges to find them occupied and heavily defended. I had to fight to capture them and then sent scouts of my own to inspect these camps. When they told me what they found, I knew I had to act now and destroy the camps before they could be used against us.”

Now it made sense why she had rushed to the river then crossed with great haste. Alayse explained that she was going to great lengths to make it appear the target was the capital. She planned to march out the very next morning, making a great show of force while a smaller unit broke away and headed for the camp.

“Does it worry anyone that this seems highly organized?” Thayle asked.

“How do you mean? Lilly questioned, but Gersius explained it as he felt the same way.

Somehow Whiteford was thinking well in advance, securing river crossings and building heavy weapons close to the fight. The city's shapers were assisting the priests of Gorrin in crafting deadly weapons to be used on the dragons and already had a stockpile of them. This must have taken great coordination and careful effort if Jessivel's spies hadn't even known.

The danger was too great, and to wait for their enemy to be ready was a mistake. Alayse was right; the sooner they destroyed the camp, the better. However, what bothered him the most was the weapons the priests of Gorrin were making. How similar was this to the vision in Sarah's dream? Could it have been a warning to avoid these weapons? As his wives read his thoughts, they also wondered if this was the vision's warning. Could it be the stars of the empire were about to go out?