Chapter 75 - Dragon God

The children followed Silias through the camp. Groyven momentarily catching sight of Snowshadow and Winter walking with Antrandis into the forest. At his side, Tiffaniel looked around in bewilderment as every member of the Elite Guard they passed greeted Groyven by name. She looked up, feeling Silias’s hand on her shoulder.

“Do not worry, Miss Tiffaniel. While you slept, your brother spent time getting to know everyone. You will get your chance.”

Tiffaniel nodded, “Who is Lady Silvast?”

Silias smiled, “Mistress Stormarrow? She is the ruler of Scarosant. The same as Lord Antrandis is the ruler of Meliandra. She is resting in that tent ahead, the events after the eclipse have presented her with a rough couple of days.”

Tiffaniel frowned, watching her brother’s back as he walked ahead, stopping at the entrance of the tent.

Silias gestured for the both of them to wait, “One moment.” she said before entering.

Tiffaniel met Groyven’s eyes, “Ven, why do you want me to show it to her, couldn’t you?”

“I trust you, Tiff.”

“I feel like there is something you are not telling me.” she said, eyeing her brother suspiciously.

Groyven looked at her shaking his head slightly, but before he could speak there was movement at the flap of the tent. Silias held it open for them to enter. Ducking through the entrance, they found that it was spacious inside. Everything within was lit with a soft glow of the morning sun hitting the tan roof. Silias led them around a folding screen of intricate needlework that obscured the entry.

Tiffaniel looked about the open space. It was unadorned, with only a large pallet on the floor and a simple bed with a number of cushions and blankets. It was the woman who lounged on the cushions, partially laying on her side that caught her eye and halted her steps. Bright, shining silver eyes watched her intently, she suddenly felt vulnerable as if she were naked and in full view of an apex predator. Those eyes shifted to her brother as he stood at Silias’s side, watching him with interest, assessing his every move. In those brief moments of silence, she watched as Lady Stormarrow’s burnished silver hair tumbled like a sleek waterfall over her shoulder. The woman’s skin of lustrous olive tones in stark contrast to her hair. Tiffaniel was struck silent by her beauty, feeling Silias guide her to stand beside her brother.

Groyven bowed and Tiffaniel continued to stand in shock. Those eyes fell on her again, and she felt the immediate urge to curtsy. As she directed her eyes to the floor in respect she caught a glimpse of a smile come to the woman’s expressive lips.

“Mistress Stormarrow, I present to you Groyven and Tiffaniel Desilantre.” said Silias.

Tiffaniel hesitantly watched those bright silver eyes as they narrowed, looking at Silias,

“Silvast will suffice, Silias. There is no need to make me seem even more unapproachable.” Silvast said, her voice clear and chiming.

She looked between Groyven and Tiffaniel, “Please, ‘Silvast’ will do.”

She looked to Silias, who immediately set two cushions on the floor for the children to sit on. Silvast gestured for them to sit.

“Children of here yet not here, it is a pleasure to meet you. Please, make yourselves comfortable, I hear you have had quite a journey.” Silvast said.

“My Lady Silvast.” said Groyven to Tiffaniel’s surprise.

Silvast smiled gently and met his eyes drawing an immediate, furious blush from him.

“Silvast will do, Groyven.”

He nodded, struggling to contain himself.

“Silvast, I must apologise for…” he said, struggling to get the words out as she held up a hand, silencing him.

Silvast smiled again, “I believe I am the one who must apologise to the both of you, I did use my fear on you. I think it is only fair, though it was quite a surprise when the whole forest exploded in blinding golden light below me and my energy was suddenly drained. Thankfully, I can’t recall crashing into the mountainside. I think I passed out before I hit.”

Groyven nodded, Tiffaniel looked back and forth between them in confusion. Silvast looked at her.

“Groyven, please explain to your sister what you are already well aware of.”

Groyven met Tiffaniel’s eyes.

“Ven?”

“Silvast is the silver Dragon God. She flew over us, we saw her in the valley.”

Tiffaniel stared at him, “She is the Dragon God?”

Silvast let out involuntary chuckle, “I would never refer to myself as a god. This is my elven form, I spend most of my time as I am.”

Tiffaniel looked back to Silvast, “It is not possible, you, a dragon?”

Silvast laughed again, “See Silias, they are definitely not from here. That there is all the proof I need.”

Silvast met Tiffaniel’s eyes, “I will show you a secret if you show me yours, child of the Aletere. I can feel it, that which drained the life out of me.”

“Aletere?” asked Tiffaniel.

“That is what our kind is called here.” said Groyven, “The device, Tiff.”

Tiffaniel brought the device out of her clothing and stepped forward, presenting it to Silvast. She carefully took it from Tiffaniel’s hand, her silver nails glinting in the low light. Immediately, she held it close, inspecting it carefully, scrutinising it. Silvast smiled slightly as she slid a finger over the golden surface of the sun.

“So, Groyven and Tiffaniel, why do you refer to me as a Dragon God? I find it curious.” she asked as she continued to inspect it carefully.

Groyven coughed quietly, clearing his throat, “Where we come from, the dragon gods abandoned the world. All that remains are myths and folk tales. After they abandoned us, a war that lasted more then two hundred years broke out among the mortal races and it destroyed the world. Now, there are no gods to guide us. Some humans are even trying to resurrect the sci and tech of the old world.”

Silvast met his eyes, “A dangerous pursuit to be sure.” she said before glancing quickly at Tiffaniel, “I have a question for you; if the Dragon gods of your world left, how did this get made?”

Tiffaniel looked at her, the voice catching in her throat, “It was made by a Dragon?”

Silvast nodded, her eyes still on it, “I am sure my elder sister has already told your brother. She said that she recognised the make.”

She tilted the device, turning it over in her hand, “There are still traces of the storms that lashed your world after the humans laid waste to it. I can feel it.”

“Lady Sian told me of your parents.” said Groyven ignoring Tiffaniel’s whispered echo of “Elder sister?”

Silvast smiled while continuing to run her eyes over the device, “She did?”

Groyven nodded, “She told me they had walked the storm, dying over and over, that they guided the new gods here.”

Silvast glanced at him for a second, noticing Tiffaniel’s shocked look, “It was desperation that drove them to invent things like this device.”

Groyven stared at her, unsure that he heard correctly, “Your parents made this?”

Silvast shrugged lightly, “My Father did, his work is unmistakable. Maybe the version of him from your world. Maybe, many different versions of him attempted the same. Maybe there are no more Dragon-gods in your world because Mother and Father used one of these to leave, or maybe it killed them.”

“Killed them?” echoed Tiffaniel, her eyes wide.

Silvast nodded, “It is quite possible. This one here dragged me within a finger’s breadth of death for one complete charge. And I am far more powerful than they were when this would have been made.”

She carefully inspected the black dragon on the device, “Maybe their sacrifice was what gave this the power to send you here.” she said, frowning, “The black was Father. Mother was the white.”

Silvast glanced at Tiffaniel, the girl was kneeling in front of her, “Their lives?” she whispered.

Silvast nodded, “Desperation can make you do things that you would never consider.”

“Silvast, on the back is the eclipse and we.” Groyven said, stopped by Silvast’s eyes.

“Yes, the theory of parallels or alternates is infinity. Maybe he was aiming for a particular place, or whichever one coincided with the eclipse at the moment of activation.” she suggested.

“But there is a ruby, like the large star in the night.” said Groyven.

“The Forge of Souls, is its name.” she said, quickly finding it, “We have two red stars, there is another, smaller that would have been behind the eclipse itself the night you arrived.”

Groyven sat back on his cushion, Silvast watching him with alert eyes.

“You would like to know if it can return you? I am sorry, but from what I can feel from the enchantments residing within it, this was clearly made as a one-way trip. If you were to activate it, there is a good chance it would transport you to another parallel that is experiencing an eclipse at that moment. If you knew the exact timing of when your original world’s next eclipse was, there could be a chance, though the risk of turning up in an entirely different place is high.”

Silvast watched them, “I am sorry I can not be more definite, but if you wish to try I will not stop you. You would only have one chance, I can not guarantee that there would be another of me nearby to drain for energy, even in this world it was sheer luck that I came into being.”

Tiffaniel looked at Groyven in fear, she shook her head sharply, “Ven?”

He nodded, his eyes on hers, “We stay here.” he said, recognising the relief in her eyes.

Silvast watched the exchange and nodded, “If there were another, it may follow. If your elder sister had access to another matching this one, it could be possible. Or if she had taken note of the exact time you jumped, and she made the same conclusions about the meanings hidden on the device then she could track your path with divination. For this reason alone, I would recommend staying put. Unnecessarily complicating an already difficult search when you have aid at hand, would be folly.”

She let her eyes be drawn back to the device in her hand, “If your sister were to seek help at your world’s,” she quickly glanced up as Groyven interrupted.

“The Academy of Spires, both Selera and Sialin studied there. Selera wanted to prepare me to,” he looked to Tiffaniel, seeing the hurt in her eyes.

“For induction? Here it is known as the Spires of Arcana, the Academy of Knocht. The steward of the city personally directs it. If she went there, then there is a chance, a slim chance that they could find you, if they had another of the devices.” suggested Silvast.

“What if there is only one of those?” asked Tiffaniel.

“Then it turns from a slim chance to a slim, almost impossible chance. I do think that we should ask, Father. He would know.”

Silvast watched as the children exchanged glances.

“How would he know, if he is different to,” Groyven looked at Silvast with a strange expression, “our world’s?”

She smiled, her eyes glinting, “They were not called Dragon-Gods for nothing, Master Groyven. Do you not think he would know best of his own thought, despite the minor differences? He spent so long in the demiplanes that he might have even talked to others of himself.”

Tiffaniel stared at her, “Just how old is your father?”

“We do not measure in time, or eons, or even the passing of the stars. The White and Black are existence itself, to a degree. They are the oldest, yet are ageless.”

“How old are you?” asked Tiffaniel her eyes wide.

Silvast chuckled, “I am younger than this iteration of the world. My father had already guided the new gods here.” she tilted her head slightly as she thought, winking to Silias, “I am somewhere between thirty six and maybe forty.”

Groyven stared at her in silence, while Tiffaniel looked confused.

“Thirty six hundred is not that old.” she said quickly.

Groyven glanced at Tiffaniel, “Thousands, Tiff. Not hundreds.”

Tiffaniel stared at Silvast and her bright eyes, trying to come to terms with the age.

“Next you will ask how old my parents are, and I will tell you that I am but the hair of a fraction of theirs.” she said softly, her eyes shifting back to the device.

“Have you accepted their hospitality? If you haven’t yet, I suggest you do. If you need permanent sanctuary he will arrange it. He has a habit of taking in special cases. He also has a fascination with finding what shouldn’t be found.” she tapped the device with a fingernail, “If there is another in this world.”

“I accepted Lady Sian’s proposal last night.” said Groyven.

Silvast nodded, “And what of you Tiffaniel? Have you no say?”

“I agree with my brother.”

Silvast glanced at her momentarily, than to Silias who nodded.

“It has already been arranged.” confirmed Silias quickly.

“That is good, I would offer, but Scarosant is not well suited to young ones, we have already had the first snows and it is not even winter yet.”

Groyven spoke, “Silvast, since we are going to stay, is there a way for you to recover your stolen energy from it?”

She looked at Groyven in mild surprise, then nodded, “Are you suggesting I recover my strength from this device?”

Groyven nodded and Silvast smiled slowly.

“Yes, to some degree. This device is powered by a fragment of a crystal, similar to the core of the sanctum in Scarosant.”

Silvast looked to Silias, “Make sure no one enters.”

Silias nodded and left the tent.

“Now to show you my secret. I will have to activate this. We will not go anywhere. You will be safe. I will siphon off its energy as it starts to function.”

Before the both of them, she depressed the safety catches and twisted the sun in its retainer until it sharply clicked. Drawing a gasp from Tiffaniel as the familiar golden glow lit the tent brightly. Tiffaniel watched in fascination as Silvast could shift the device from one hand to another, unaffected as the whining sound started to build.

“I always marvel at Father’s past ingenuity. He has a truly unique way of looking at things. This may be his from another place, but it is still him in essence.”

Silvast looked at the sphere as it started to form a glowing shell, she laughed, “Father, where did you go? You even tried to explore different worlds in your desperation?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, “Or did you not find the Three?”

The children gasped as Silvast’s skin transformed to fine, gleaming scales that reflected the golden light, covering her body in her natural armour. Tendril-like arcs of golden lightning were drawn to her, forming from the air around them and licking off her bare skin as her eyes shone with blinding light.

Groyven shielded his eyes, noting that the whine had stopped increasing and sat at a manageable level and the sphere was remaining transparent. He glanced back to Silvast, light radiating off her in waves. He met Tiffaniel’s eyes and shared a look of terrified amazement.

Shadow of the Eclipse: Chapter Timeline

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