“You spend a lot of time in the dream now,” Ayawa said as she appeared before Lilly, standing alone in a field. The two women were asleep but had agreed to meet in the dream at the campsite where Lilly first showed affection for Gersius.

“You have gotten better at staying in the dream,” Lilly said.

“You forced me to practice with your crazy attempt to speak with the Doan, and Sarah has given me further instruction,” Ayawa said as she walked to Lilly and looked at the burning campfire. “I remember the confusion of this place and how lost you looked. His releasing you from the bind left you wondering what to do.”

“I lost my connection to his feelings,” Lilly replied as she looked to the log that Gersius once leaned against, staring over the fire as his faith died. Lilly was surprised to find the log and burning fire when she arrived, as the dream was an echo of a time long gone. It only changed when strong emotion anchored to the same location in the real world caused it to.

“It's not the same when it's so bright out. The sun never sets here?” Ayawa asked.

“Not that I am aware of,” Lilly replied as she looked around. “I should know more, but the curse made me so unwilling to learn. My mother tried to tell me about the dream, but I didn't listen. Now Sarah is trying to teach me, but we have been so busy there is never any time.”

“No, I suppose there isn't,” Ayawa agreed. “She wants to train the women who joined the order of Astikar and train her new elite falcons. Not to mention she is also trying to train Tavis in fire weaving.”

“And Gersius needs her to watch the skies, so she's always away from us,” Lilly sighed. “I wish I could spend a full day alone with her. She’s very worried about this battle and about me.”

“Of course, she's worried about you,” Ayawa replied. “You kept telling them you didn't believe you would survive to see your daughter born.”

“You don't understand,” Lilly replied as she turned away, the pain of that memory aching in her heart. “It wasn't just that I didn't see myself; it's that I felt like I wasn't there. It felt sad, and that sadness circled around me. I can't explain why I felt that way, but I did.”

“And you don’t feel that anymore?” the woman pressed.

“No,” Lilly said with a smile. She didn't feel that way, considering what she now knew. The coming battle would be difficult, but she believed they could win.

“This Gorromogoth we are facing. He is a dragon like Sarah?” Ayawa asked.

“Not like Sarah,” Lilly replied. “He is older and tragic, believing that he is right and that what he's doing is for the good of all dragons. But I suppose that's what the curse is for. To make it so, the dragons fight to preserve their own prison. They are blind to the existence of love and cannot see the walls around them. How do you convince an enemy to stop fighting when they can't even see what they are fighting against?”

“Being blind to the truth is not exclusively a dragon trait,” Ayawa countered. “Many a human king has waged a bloody war for what they believed was true. Some even did for the benefit of their people and future generations, but all were proven mad in the end.”

“The Doan believe they are right,” Lilly replied. “They believe that everything they do is justified because they fight for the dragons.”

“I can hear the bitterness in your words,” Ayawa said as she put a hand on Lilly's shoulder. “Do not carry this regret as if you were the one who caused it. You had nothing to do with the divide between Balisha and Solesta, and you had nothing to do with the Doan siding with Solesta. You are the only one who tried to reason with them even when we all told you it was foolishness.”

“It was foolishness,” Lilly replied. “The only man willing to listen was the one man who had an imperial wife. Maybe she worked on him long enough to change his mind.”

“A man does not change the beliefs he was raised in that easily,” Ayawa cautioned. “It takes eyes that are willing to see the truth and heart that is able to accept that what you believe might be wrong. He was already in doubt, and her words only further caused him to consider it. Your arrival was the final proof he needed to know he believed in a lie.”

“And now he is probably dead,” Lilly said. “Slain in one of the dozen battles we have fought in the past week.”

“You don't know that for sure,” Ayawa cautioned. “I heard this tale from Gersius. He told you to pray for him and ask Balisha to find a place for him in her plans. I suspect he already had one and that his story will begin when this terrible task is done.”

“But Gersius plans to pursue them,” Lilly replied, looking into Ayawa's eyes. “He says he will chase them to the far oceans and beyond if necessary. He wants to bleed the Doan so badly they never rise as a threat for ten generations.”

“Your husband is very angry,” Ayawa cautioned as she pulled Lilly into a hug. “This war has taken its toll on him and made him long for such a thing to never happen again. Since he doesn't believe he can negotiate with the Doan to prevent it, he feels his only course of action is to bleed them white. That is why you are at his side. Your love will change his heart, and he will turn from this path.”

“I hope so,” Lilly said as the hug parted. “All I want to do is go back to the valley and live our lives free from war and conflict.”

“You will,” Ayawa assured her. “You will have to return to the empire for a while, but the day will come when the valley will be your home for good.”

Lilly smiled and looked deep into the dark eyes of the woman who was her wed mother. She considered Ayawa to be family every bit as much as the others. Ayawa had been the one who rescued her from Dellain when she couldn't run any further. Ayawa had been the first to say that Lilly and Gersius were getting married. Despite all her reservations about what would happen should a human and dragon mix, she gave her blessing by giving Lilly her crown. That moment forever made Ayawa a part of Lilly's heart, and she was eager to let the woman know it.

“Where will you build your home?” Lilly asked. “I know both you and Gedris are with child. So where will you settle to raise your children?”

“We are thinking someplace in the east of the empire,” Ayawa replied. “A quiet little farm in the trees where we can raise our children in peace. Gersius told us he would grant us the land and a title so we would not be bothered by local lords.” Ayawa sighed and looked away, her gaze sweeping across the landscape. “But in my heart, I feel a need to return to my people. I feel they are calling me home, begging me to show them the way.”

“You can feel that?” Lilly asked, now curious how someone could feel such a thing. Was it like the warning sense of Astikar or just something humans felt?

“It isn't like how it sounds,” Ayawa explained. “I feel restless thinking about settling in the north as if this isn't my path. When I consider going home, the choice doesn't just feel right; it feels urgent. That is why I say I feel as if my people are calling to me. I wish I could explain it so you could understand. My people once had a strong connection to the Earth Mother. She guided our steps, telling us where to build our cities and how best to farm the land. We believe that connection remains, but we have long since lost how the shaman used it.”

“So you don’t know anything about how you did it?” Lilly asked.

“We know they meditated,” Ayawa said. “The ancient stories say they opened their eyes to the word of the Earth Mother, and she guided them. But my people have been trying to recreate that process for thousands of years, meditating, fasting, using special herbs. None of us has achieved the connection, of felt a sense of guidance.”

“Have you tried doing it here?” Lilly asked innocently.

Ayawa went to reply, then paused, and Lilly could see her aura flashing between emotions. The mood shifts were so strong the woman nearly left the dream, but she willed herself back into focus and then took a few steps.

“I wonder if that could be it?” Ayawa said, her mouth falling open at the shock of it

. “We always assumed we needed to make the connection to the Earth Mother, and she would teach us how to walk in the wind again. But maybe, it's the other way around. Maybe we need to return here first, then call out to her?”

Lilly could see trepidation in the woman's eyes as hope and fear that it might work gripped her soul. So much of Ayawa's culture was lost in the last dragon war, along with their connection to the earth's mother. It was a pain her people carried for generations over thousands of years as they became a wild and nomadic people who never settled. Now Ayawa trembled as she considered the possibility that Lilly was right. Perhaps the shaman of her people didn't just meditate. Maybe they were in the dream, calling the Earth Mother and seeking her guidance.

“Are you going to try?” Lilly asked, hoping to encourage Ayawa to take the bold step.

“I have to,” Ayawa said as she sat down, folding her legs and sitting with her back straight. She laid her hands on her knees and tipped her head back slightly. It was a position Gersius had taught Lilly as an ideal posture to use while meditating. She sat there for over five minutes as her breathing slowed until she was almost dreaming inside the dream itself.

“Alhoy, ole Amee, Tarnia,” Ayawa said in a soft voice. “Mother of the world, your people call to you. Please hear our words.”

Lily watched as Ayawa went silent, her posture perfect and her breathing shallow. She looked almost frozen in time when all of a sudden, her eyes came open. There was a sound like a waterfall and a rushing wind that caused Lilly's dress to flutter violently. Struggling to keep her feet, she heard muttering on that wind as Ayawa gasped, her body shaking as if in the grasp of a dragon.

“Ayawa?” Lilly called as the world around her went dark, and for the first time, she looked up to see stars in the dream. “What is happening?” A coldness settled on the land, chilling even Lilly's skin as goosebumps raised on the surface. Then everything was silent except for a voice. It sounded like a woman's voice singing a soft lullaby. It implored those listening to look to the sky and see the path forward as hope shone on the world.

“When the star of hope takes its place in the night, then you must go home to your heartland. When the dream of love fades, and the hope evades, the path forward will be darkened. All this must come to pass to set the process in motion. Fear not, oh child of the womb of the earth, for I have not forgotten you.”

Lilly looked up to see the star from Gersius's dream blazing bright on the far horizon. It shone with a radiance, making it stand out among the others, like a great jewel among mundane treasures. The lullaby went on, proclaiming the birth of a new age but that it would come with great sadness. A sacrifice would have to be made for duty, love, and compassion. But the singer promised the one originally chosen would save the day because of the dragon's daughter. Then the voice changed to more of a whisper being carried on the wind as it repeated over and over. “Go home and teach them.”

Suddenly the wind was back as if something were moving away. Lilly had to struggle against it again, but it lasted only a moment and was gone, leaving the world in stillness.

Then the silence was back, and the stars faded, the bright blue of a perfect sky restored to the land that otherwise didn't know the night. Lilly was stunned by what she had witnessed, a sense of raw power and sheer presence having frozen her in place. If Lilly was touched, Ayawa was a changed person. Her eyes came open full of tears as she looked up and said her first words.

“It worked. She spoke to me,” Ayawa cried. “After all this time, we know how. Lilly, you have taught us how to speak to the Earth Mother again!”

Lilly was struck by the sheer joy in the otherwise dour woman’s voice. Ayawa was unable to stand properly as her body still trembled from the awesome experience. Lilly helped her stand as tears fell from her eyes. Ayawa was overcome with a happiness that couldn't be put into words, and it radiated in her aura like a blinding golden light.

“I am glad it worked,” Lilly said as she tried to hold Ayawa still.

“Lilly, you have no idea what you have done,” Ayawa said. “You have opened the way for my people to return to the way things were. After all this time, when the stories of our past have faded into legend, we can finally begin to rebuild. What was lost when men and dragons mixed before has been restored by the same thing.”

“Oh, Ayawa, I only made a suggestion,” Lilly insisted, feeling insecure about taking the credit for such an achievement. Lilly only pointed the way and began the training, but Sarah had been able to teach Ayawa much more. Thanks to Sarah, the woman could stay in the dream at will and keep her bearings, meeting Lilly where they wished.

“Lilly,” Ayawa said as she put her hands on Lilly's shoulder. “You have restored my people. We will never forget what you have done for us, and statues will be erected in your honor.”

Lilly was happy for the woman, but her enthusiasm was almost too much, considering how reserved she knew Ayawa to be. She thanked her and then asked what she planned to do now. Ayawa was at a loss to answer but said they needed to finish what they had started. The Gorromogoth needed to be stopped and the heart destroyed so the next age could begin.

“An age where men and dragons walk together without the threat of conflict,” Ayawa said. “All this time, my people have fought against the idea of the two kinds mixing. We hated dragons and blamed them for what happened to our civilization. But we blinded ourselves to the truth. It was dragons who held the key to restoring what was lost.”

“Ayawa, Dragons have been cursed this whole time,” Lilly insisted. “If your people had tried to talk to one of us, we would probably have eaten you. It was only because of Gersius that I am free from the curse to share with you.”

“You're right,” Ayawa nodded as she wiped her eyes. “He is the catalyst of a new age. The one chosen to set everything into motion. Somehow that stubborn, wool-headed priest has changed the world.” She paused to put a hand to her head as if the cascade of thoughts was becoming too much to bear. “I have to tell Tavis what happened. We have to prepare to return to my people and begin teaching them how to call on the earth mother again.”

“So, you are leaving?” Lilly gasped.

“What? No, child,” Ayawa said before pulling Lilly into a hug. “We are here to see this through to the end. We will stand on our daughter's side until the enemy is defeated and the curse is broken. When that is done, though, we will depart. The Earth Mother told me to go home.”

“I heard her,” Lilly said. “Her voice was like a clear whisper in a silent room, and the sky above changed. It darkened and filled with stars showing the one I see in Gersius's dream.”

“It did?” Ayawa asked in surprise. “You saw the star from the dream that you think indicates your death. Does that mean you are wrong about the dream?”

“Yes,” Lilly said with a nod. “I think it means the dream I hope for will come true. I think she was telling us the curse will be broken, and the dragons will be free.”

“Your people free, mine restored, the Dragon Empire in power, and the balance set anew,” Ayawa said. “Lilly, the world is about to change, finally healing from the wound inflicted over five thousand years ago.”

“And I will finally be free to raise my daughter,” Lilly said. “I am looking forward to watching her grow up.”

“We are all ready to have our families,” Ayawa said. “But you must come and see your siblings from time to time.”

“My siblings?” Lilly gasped, not sure what Ayawa meant.

“Yes,” Ayawa laughed, her joy burning through her heart. “You are my daughter. Any child Gedris or I bear is your sibling.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Lilly said as the concept began to dawn on her. “I will have more brothers or sisters.”

“Many more,” Ayawa said as she glowed with happiness.

Lilly was swept away in the moment, but she sobered a bit as she considered the words spoken by the Earth Mother. She asked Ayawa what the sacrifice to be made was. Ayawa also lost some of her exuberance and paused to consider the statement.

“It must mean we are going to pay a terrible price in the final battle,” Ayawa replied. “That is why Alayse was chosen for this task. She has what it takes to pay the price in blood to accomplish the terrible goal ahead.”

“Many are going to die,” Lilly said, her mood falling. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

“Every person in your army wishes it didn't have to be this way,” Ayawa assured her. “But we have to do what needs to be done, or the cycle of pain will never end. We have the short time of one eclipse to right the terrible wrong made thousands of years ago.”

“And if we fail, the terrible curse goes on,” Lilly said.

“We won't fail,” Ayawa assured her. “We didn't come this far for it all to end in flames. Besides, the Earth Mother told us we would win because of the dragon's daughter. That has to be you, Lilly. You are an instrument of our enemy's downfall.”

Lilly nodded in agreement, but there was a sense of dread in her heart. The enemy was a dragon of great power to rival Sarah, leading vast armies. He knew secrets of old magic that nobody else seemed to understand and had over a thousand years to prepare for this moment. Surely it wouldn't be as easy as marching forward and fighting the battle. There would be a cost to pay, and the price would be high, but still, she held hope because she knew something the others didn't. She wished she could tell them, but she had been sworn to keep it secret until the final moment.

With a sigh, she looked into Ayawa's eyes and saw hope for the future that hadn't been there before. The world was indeed changing, and the moment of final choice was upon them. The army would be at the walls of the hills by late morning the next day, and the battle to end all battles would begin. They had to break those lines in less than a day to reach the heart before the eclipse finished. Only then would they have a chance to destroy it, and only then would the conflict end.

“We need to go,” Ayawa said as she wiped her eyes again. “The sun will rise soon, and the final march begin. We must reach that heart in time so we can destroy it.”

Lilly nodded, but in her heart, she knew the truth. They couldn't destroy the heart. All they could do was open the way for another to do so. She only hoped they could do so in time, or the dragons would suffer for another thousand years, and her children might be affected by the curse. One way or another, the final outcome would be decided before the sunset on the next day. And the future of her family and the world would be set for the next thousand years.