Calling out loud [Private/Training]

[Skay Ravendi]

The Month of Aperitus in the Season of Summer, of Era II of the Celestine Mandate (Current Pattern)
Era XI Post Fractum in the Age of the Darkening, the Mageocracy of Julos the Mad.
Paradigm Shift: Schism in the Church of the Faith

It was one of the most ordinary brightenings this cycle. The good part though was that this was a summer brightening and one when Skay had no work as an assistant Aedile. Her free brightening off. She wore her green shirt and brown trousers. Usually she had her light cloak as well, something to wrap into when the winds were too harsh or when she needed more pockets. Now however was a very warm brightening and the cloak was left at home. The black scales attracted the heat like honey attracted bees. However there was not even one complaint coming from the draconess 'cause of such a warm brightening. She loved the heat and like most dracons hated freezing.

Step out of step her feet carried her through the streets of Frigid River closer to the gates. Eventually if she would not be stopped by some weird occurence, she would go out of the city and up the road which led to High Peak. Like so many times, practically each brightening when she had free time, the draconess went closer and into the mountains, which were at hand's reach. There was something relaxing and calming about walking the mountainpaths and being away from Aedile duties as well as the city itself. Maybe her druidic soul really was taking over more and more as the months continued to flow. So far the draconess ignored it, not willing to admit to herself that she was becoming a druidess by the real sense and not only the practise of arcana.

Her wyvern, Faire, was not too far away either. She had fed him before going out into the city and then the mountains. So now he was flying around, high in the sky, invisible to most eyes. While Skay did feed him with salt water, the wyvern had to hunt down food like rats and rabbits by himself. Just rarely, Skay turned her head to the wyvern or his shadow flashing by there and there. She knew he would be fine and that he would not fly away too far. Now though, she was more occupied with not tripping on some sort of a rock which would be mean enough to catch her foot.

[Darian]

If you never search, you will never find your cartkeys.
From the Teachings of Master Krekhunar

Overhead the sun warmed. People went about their business in Frigid River much as Skay did. The occasional jeering call from the crowd was certainly not a new occurrence for a dracon living openly in a city. Perhaps they were unenlightened, but then what did it matter? People always were. One of them made a point of bumping into her as he passed, almost sending the draconess sprawling into the ground. Before Skay was able to get her wits together though he was gone again.

Step after step did indeed carry her out of Frigid River. Suspicious looks followed her while she walked, snatches of whispered conversations could be overheard, "... eats babies," "can't trust them for a second," "awn of Jorel," All the while the sun shone overhead, warming all of them equally. "..heard... stant Aedile, what is the government thinking of when..." A man on a cart steered rudely straight out in front of her, not caring if the cart wheels his her or not. He spat on the ground in front of her as he passed before he too melded back into the crowd.

Such was the procession this brightening. Frigid River was a small and welcoming city, if you were not a dracon, vysstichi, orc or apparently, dorin of course. No one liked the above, with perhaps the exception of dorin, but that was the fault of the Exchequer, not Skay of course. And none of this malice hit her, with exception of the dracon part of course. No one liked dracons.

The low buildings familiar to Frigid River passed on both sides as the draconess walked by, she was indeed on the road to High Peak, and if nothing stopped her or she changed her mind she would keep going that way. It was really too bad that no one bumped into the draconess, no one seemed to want to stop her leaving their fair city. Perhaps it was just because they thought she was a Jorel spawned demon that had no business in their city?

[Skay Ravendi]

So many words. So many, many words. She cared for none. She heard none. All of them so simple, so tainted, so foul, so meaningless. They fell on deaf ears. All of them so same. She reached clara just the same though. For a few reasons. The draconess wanted to have some sort of training in keeping it while she was doing simple things such as walking and she was never too safe in this city. Even if she was an Assistant Aedile. Perhaps, because she was an Assistant Aedile. There was only one person who really did annoy her. The good part though, was that this person was not around her. She could always feel him when he was. The Call echoed from him, even if he was in a dorin form.

As for the Call itself. It was quiet around Frigid River. There were only a few dracons in the city. Apart from her and Vylle (if she knew about him), the others could probably be counted on fingers. She had been outside the city for a very short time this brightening. Barely stretching her wings once and coming back. She wanted to know how many. In Archadoon it would have been impossible. But in Frigid River she very well might have had a chance to count the dracons. The Call would let her find them even if they were in an another form, like Vylle. Was she and that stupid dorin the only ones? Or were there more? Back in Archadoon her head was simply buzzing from the Call, but here everything was so quiet, so peaceful. So countable.

Sure it meant quite a bit of wondering around, but then she had all the free time for the brightening and nothing to occupy it with. She started by going round the walls. Eventually if she would find nothing with her sixth, or rather seventh sense, then she would make a smaller circle, then another, if nothing would be found again. Eventually she would end up in the middle of the city, each street paced through. And of course if she would make it till the darkening. If not then, it would be cancelled for the next brightening. Just as well people would move from one place to the other, she knew that, but it would still give her the general view, which could be made more concrete after a brightening or two. She would find them, even if she had no training in the call. It just took a while before she figured out how to do something. Like this time it took a few cycles and the morning.

[Darian]

First things, happen first. This is true of all things.
From the Teachings of Master Krekhunar

Green plants surrounded the town of Frigid River. The early brightening left drops of dew on the fragile blades of grass. The stench of the city was less out here, the fishing industries and the smells of sulphur from the hot springs still tenable, but far from as bad as they were within the core of the city. The amount of litter out here was less too.

No one had to toss aside the bones of last brightenings meals to make way for their feet out here. It was peaceful. Serene. The noise of the town itself was subdued out here, muted. Until one of the guards decided to toss out the leavings of last night. A shower of dirty water and potato peelings hit the draconess just before a shout of "Ware!" hit her.

Laughter pealed down at her from above, covered in peelings as she was it was not certain if she was able to see the humour of the situation. Nevertheless the guards up above were obviously having a grand time of it.

There was no Call out here, but when she passed the road leading to Riparia she could see a small convoy on the road below. They were smattering of people and races, all dressed in some kind of grey cloak. They were generally on foot, though there was a cart being dragged along by a donkey. No one sat in it though. It seemed four of them were also carrying a canopied chair for someone to sit on.

What was not covered by greys cloaks was covered by orange it seemed. The donkey had even been giving a small orange cap. They seemed to be humming gently as they moved along, towards Frigid River. Then they took a detour off the beaten path, shifting their donkey around and into a small, nearby valley.

One of the men ran up to the sitting chair and was given brief instructions. He then ran up the mud road to where Skay was resting. When he arrived it became obvious what he was. His head was bald, his grey cloak was stained with travel and he wore a great big smile on his face. Only a human could look thus. "The Enlightened Master asks that you meet with him in the Tent of Holiness. Where he will reveal to you the purpose of all life, all being and all rigours. Oh, and there will be wine." Having delivered his message the human scampered back down to his group before Skay had time to ask questions.

[Skay Ravendi]

Her spines lowered to the back and her head almost went into the shoulders, as the water and potato peelings washed over her. Potato peelings would have been something she could have tolerated, but now she was wet and dirty. And those clothes were bought less than a month ago. Such an early brightening and she already had to go home to wash the clothes. One eye followed to the laughter. Guards. The draconess just shook her head walking away from the place, while picking the trash off from her. Being a dracon was no fun. No fun at all. At the moment she really could not realize why she was wearing this form. Maybe she should have started by walking on the inside of the city.

Then her eyes caught some sort of a caravan. After seeing a donkey with a cap, the very first thought was that this was a circus, which she disliked quite a lot, especially from one Autumn. She watched the man running up at her with mana at the ready. No longer was she in the mood to have potatoes fall on her or a human stab her. "The what..?" Her tail swished left and right like so many, many, many times when her mind was not at peace. Did he say Enlightened Master? Tent... of holiness. Well this would have been funny if it wouldn't have been just too interesting to pass.

After about half a minute, perhaps less, one more potato peeling removed and one more thought of what kind of wine it would be the draconess started pacing after the man. Following the human in a fast pace, but not even close to running, Skay hoped to find the so called tent of holiness in that direction. Otherwise she would just have to go back to the city, go home, take of her clothes, wash them... and gah. She was going somewhere looking this bad. One more potato pealing was taken from the back of her neck and thrown to the ground. Winds, they got everywhere! And if this was a circus, then the human probably wanted to take her 'cause of the way she looked. Bah.

"Purpose of life." The black and gold scaled draconess murmured to herself. It was almost as ridiculous as Charo promising to 'enlighten' her or whatever it was. Skay shook her head. This would be silly, but at least she could listen to some interesting nonsense and insanity if the topic would indeed roll onto the purpose of life. Either way she was curious and followed the human so that she could meet the Enlightened Master, who would reveal to her the purpose of life. Might be even better than talking to the King in the Asylum.

[Darian]

Dare to boldly go where no one has boldly gone before.
From the Teachings of Master Krekhunar

It was an odd gait the human had as he ran down to join his brethren, or whatever they were. His head bobbed up and down, almost as if he didn't move his legs above his knee. Even after the body had pretty much disappeared from sight she could still see the orange cap bobbing up and down in the distance.

Once Skay followed him she was led down a path that diverged from the usual one people took. Less people walked here, it was easy to tell from the ruts made by carts in the road, they were nowhere as deep here as they were elsewhere. The wet undergrowth around her breathed green and she eventually made her way to where the campsite was. It was not hard to find. The large orange tent stood out glaringly in the against the green landscape surrounding it. A small stream trickled by not far away and the baahing of sheep could be overheard in the distance, along with the occasional thud as some poor soul mistook a sheep for a goat.

The tent itself was somehow impressive. It was essentially a large square. Each corner had a pole that had been painstakingly dug into the moist ground. And then on top of that there was a further roof, also orange, that had been staked out on top of the tent, it was made of oilskin and seemed to serve to protect it from rain, it stretched out a good bit from the tent itself, supported by slender wooden staffs that kept it from hitting the ground. An opening was clearly visible, where one could enter the tent itself.

Outside of it, people in grey robes and orange caps were doing their best to set up smaller tents and arrange their sleeping mattresses. Whenever Skay actually looked at one of them though he was always standing and smiling broadly at her. Of course they were hard to pin down, the second she stopped looking and actually opened her mouth or tried to approach them they were quickly busy with whatever it was they were doing and clearly not available for comment.

The one that had approached Skay earlier though was standing by the tent opening, she could enter it easily enough, though she would have to bow beneath the extra roof to do so. Once beneath there the message was clearly given, "The Enlightened Master awaits within." With that he opened the flap and allowed Skay to proceed within.

The inside of the tent was enclosed, it was warm and it smelled of incense, heavily of incense. The darkness made it all but impossible to see anything. The only sounds that could be heard, apart from those coming in from the outside, were the slight sounds of someone breathing.

[Skay Ravendi]

And she goes to such places again and again in that very way.
From the thoughts of Skay Ravendi

Orange. A small thought ran across her mind for why orange, but was dismissed as an unimportant one quickly enough. After all there were many more important things to think about. Like what was inside the orange tent. Or did she have any potato peelings on her left. As well as did she smell to others as much as she smelled to herself after having the dirty water with the potato peeling poured onto her. Oh there was lots and lots of things on her mind. There was even a small thought going around a certain dracon. Ez’reth. It had to be his fault that she was walking in this form with the potato peelings in her spines instead of in her hair.

The black and gold draconess watched the people working, watched their amusing looks as their eyes darted onto her again and again. What was there so interesting about her? That she was a dracon? Hmm. Maybe they really did invite her for dinner and wine. Her being the first meal. Instantly her mind dove into clara. A few precious seconds and she was in it. A few more seconds and she had mana in her hands. Unless there was someone very skilled around the place, the draconess would be safe enough. At least she hoped. If they really did invite her for dinner, maybe she should cast some armour spell already? Just in case. Reaching clara again with yet another arrow in her body would be harder than doing it now.

Perhaps the people really would have ignored her completely, but then she did not go to find out either. Her steps led her to the tent where she saw her already familiar party person. Oh so enlightened master still existed? Good. At least she did not go all this way for nothing. She had more important things to do after all. Like pace around the walls, then inside the city, then have a good lunch, then maybe even go to sleep. Yes, definitely, going to sleep would be vital. So this really was quite good that the enlightened master was… inside a very dark tent. Hmm. Why did this have to be a dark tent? Really now.

The spell was released and as soon as her eyes started widening to help their owner see something in the dark. The Globe of Fireflies. One of the spells which was used many many times through the pattern of her arcana studies. One handy spell in many situations and many locations. Not to mention the times it was cast when the draconess had to sleep under the black skies. Six. Maybe nine fireflies hovered in the air, making the tent not as dark as someone would have liked. There however, Skay did not stop. Unless there was, an expected, shot at her mind, she would have more mana at the ready. Though now it was very important to locate the one who was breathing.

[Darian]

Wow...
From the Teachings of Master Krekhunar

Welcome, it took her a second to locate the source of the voice. Well, it didn't really, the source of it was kind of hard to miss. He sat on a pedestal in the middle of the floor, or ground really, this being a tent and all. Around him was placed a small table which served for the dracon to burn his incence. He was dressed in what appeared to be robes similar to the ones of those outside, yet these were coloured differently. The one side was entirely white, and the other was black. A straight line divided it in the centre. Be welcome to this tent of peace scalekin.

The reason it was hard to locate the source of the voice was because it was not coming from his mouth. Whenever he spoke, and he had to be the one talking, his mouth did not move. He could be a ventriloquist of course, but most likely not. The Brethren of the Enlightened Master have travelled far to come here, but there was in truth no other way for us to go, our paths were taken by those before us. Preordained. We are the cattle that move unknowingly through the fields of farmers. But at least we know the truth. We follow the path set us by the stars and the gods. But we know that we follow the right path. Can there ever be a greater blessing?

He sat still, his legs crossed in front of him, his tail curled around there again. His hands were held in outwards with the thumb and the centre finger talon forming a small circle. His eyes had not yet opened. He had not acknowledged that Skay was there in any form or manner, nothing but that voice. Will the races of telath once open up their eyes and see that they too are nothing more than pieces on a chessboard, being moved as is behooving of the Gods? I doubt it. No one wants to think they have no choice when they decide they have to go to market this and that brightening so that certain events can take place. But it happens anyway. It all happens according to plan. You are here to guide us after all are you not? What can you tell us of the city ahead?

This was all well and good. There was just one problem. A piece of potato peeling seemed to have made its way into her underwear.

[Skay Ravendi]

The welcome was odd. It was not that the voice had a weird accent or that it had a strange tune to it. It just came strange. As if she was hearing it in her mind. As if this was because of the Call. It was... close to the one she had in her mind back in Archadoon. Her eyes didn't look long to find a the source of it. A dracon apparently. A rather strangely dressed one. "Thank you." Skay answered to his greeting and welcoming. Scalekin. Indeed... She looked at him in awe, standing in the place where she was greeted, a few fireflies flying around her and one near the call master. She guessed he was good in the call. Really reminded her of few brief minutes in Archadoon.

A dry and short chuckle escaped from Skay at the preordained part. She really had no wish to disturb others from thinking that, but to her it was simply something she did not believe in. Well, no matter. She did not answer if there could be a better blessing either. Sure there could be, at least for her. But that really did not matter. Then again. She was suppose to learn about the purpose of life and while she had an idea of what it was in her mind, she had no idea how to reach it. Meh. She was not suppose to be thinking of this. This always screwed with her mind and lately her mind was much too unstable to risk the freedom of thoughts. No, she could not let that. "May I take a seat?" It was a simple question really and if he didn't want her to then she would stand, though it felt like this was going to be a long conversation.

"To guide you? I doubt this. But about the city I can tell. Not that there is much to tell." One talon scratched the back of her neck, where the spines were growing. "Frigid River is a frigid town. At least to a dracon. Or rather to a Diantar. There is much to see there, but not from the first glance. Something that seems very common, may be something unusual. A lot of dwarves and humans live there. You can always find a tavern to rest at or a shop to refresh your supplies. The people are fair, but cold. To a dracon at least. But then you're just a few steps from it, so I'm sure you'll find out yourself pretty soon."

Oh and the potato peeling... "Like for example this brightening I had a bucket of potato peelings along with dirty water poured on me. Speaking of which..." There. She took out the last one. Hopefully the last one. A slight sigh and the draconess looked at the dracon who had his eyes persistently closed. "One of your people, said that you... needed me." Skay's hand caught one firefly which was flying annoyingly close to her face and held it in her talon for a while without squeezing it. Sometimes this spell really did annoy her. And it was not as good as Glowing Sphere in Elementalism for example. It didn't even provide as much light. Well sure, if she would have kept all fireflies in one sphere maybe it would have, but the draconess just liked to keep them loose.

[Darian]

There can never be a fool greater than yourself.
From the Teachings of Master Krekhunar

By all means, the voice sounded in her head again, and he waved his hand at the dirt floor. There are mats by the table, you may take one of them if you wish it. He was silent as she explained. His green scales shimmering slightly in the glow of the fireflies. The mats were simple things, made of flexible wickerwork, not the most comfortable, but better than sitting on the ground. The choice between sitting and standing is of relative unimportance in the Aetherverse, and yet it holds the facet and answer to all other matters. You would be impressed if you truly opened your eyes and saw how often the choices in life boil down to this.

He was still sat there though and, apart from that slight movement of his hand, did not seem to move at all. I thank you, for what you have taught us. It will be taken into consideration. There is a cup of heated wine next to the incense, you may drink it if it pleases you. And then he was silent again. Considering what to do next. And next to the incense there was indeed a cup of wine. Slight smoke rose from the surface as it cooled in the cold air. It smelled of spices and aromas.

There was much he could do of course. Very much. I doubt very much that he said that. The voice was in her head again. I gave him rather strict instructions as to what he could and could not say. Though he overstepped his bounds somewhat I am not overly displeased with him. He did as the Aetherverse asked him. I asked it to get me a guide, and here you are. All things work out as they should. The Aetherverse is finely constructed, it has an inherent Order to it. Through this anyone might easily see the paths that the future will take if they cared. The board has been put out there for us to move on, the question is merely one if we are pawns willingly or if we like to live in ignorance.

Tell me, he asked why do you think Diana severed our connection with the Call? With those words said he was silent. He had said all he wanted to say. The paths of the future lay before him and he knew perfectly what would happen next and where he would go. Such was the joy of knowing what the future would bring, forever and ever. He was the Enlightened Master, he knew the five secret words and he had eavesdropped on the Gods while they discussed their plans for the mortal races.

[Skay Ravendi]

"Mmm..." Smooth as silk and silent as the wind was Skay's response to the whole sitting down thing and of how unimportant it was. She did take a seat on the matress though. The tail whirling on it somewhere behind Skay. The wings closed behind her as well, going a bit horizontally, due to no space to go down, like when the draconess stood. It felt quite good to rest the feet after all the walking, even if walking was one thing that she did quite a lot of. Everyday she went to the mountains. Most other months went to other cities. Never stopping in one place. Never settling down. Always running away... Though she was in this town for quite a long while now.

"Thank you." She took the cup with wine into her hands. Still warm. How long was it since she drank wine? Probably when... when she was in Vers. A few months ago. She could still remember the sweet taste. The warm feeling as the liquid ran down her throat into her belly. Red as the blood. Not as dracon blood though. No. Not that dark. The wine moved a bit in the cup. She just held it, with a faint smile on her scaly face. Only when the Enlightened Master spoke again Skay looked up at him, thoughts and memories disappearing.

And then a wider smile appeared on her face as the master spoke. The tongue licked one side of her snout. The future will take. Oh there was no way that the draconess would touch that subject with someone who could go into her mind around. No, not here, not with him. At least not now. She did not say anything at all about it, just kept on smiling, her tail's tip lifting up once, the wine still untouched in the cup. Ah, the Call... Something that was very much ignored by the draconess. Sure she knew what it was and that it existed. That she could feel dracons with it, like Vylle, that fool and many others. But there really was no thought put in it.

"I do not know why Gods do one thing or the other. However... I do not think that Diana cut off our connection. At least I do not know that. I can still feel the Call. So it was not severed from me. I... do not know much about the Call, nor about the gods. But as far as I know, dragons and perhaps cyraxians are the ones who gave us the Call. Unless, I do not understand what you are saying." The draconess spoke her voice going slowly, her Call sleeping very nicely unlike of the Master's. She really did not understood what the green dracon meant by his words, how and when Diana supposedly severed the connection with the Call. For her the Call was still here and as far as she knew it always was with every dracon and every dragon. Strange...

[Darian]

No, his voice in her head, you do not understand. You are not meant to. But at some point you will. And then understanding will bloom within you. I will explain to you now. An image appeared in her mind, so powerful as to blot out all other perceptions. It was simple. A circle. A glowing circle on a field of black.

This is the mind of a non-dracon. Self contained. A perfect circle. As quickly as it had appeared another image appeared. This is a dracon.*The explanation was really not necessary. There was only so many things the creature could be. Faces and colours shifted back and forth. There was no backdrop, just blackness, with an odd light that kept the dracon in focus.

Eventually the colours settled. Ebony and gold. A draconess. It was not hard to see who it was. She stood there, unmoving. Naked as the brightening she was born. This is you. And then it seemed to swell and bulge. Dancing grotesquely until it was transformed. Or is this you? A human was there, exactly like Skay's former seeming.

Another dracon appeared. Her scales were red, green eyes glittering. She too begin to dance strangely, involuntary movements as her body adjusted itself to a new shape. And then there was an ebony and gold draconess there too. Just like Skay. Or is this you? The human danced back now involuntary movements, a puppet moving. Skin bulging, bones creaking as they shifted from one location to another. Then the two draconesses suddenly spun around in a wild infuriating pattern. Try as she might Skay was unable to keep up with it all. Then it stopped, and there were two identical ebony and gold draconesses in her mind. Now, which one is you?

There was no way to tell the two apart. No way of telling? Identity among us has always been fluid, a thing to deal with as we must. This is because we have no true self. I started with showing you the mind of a non-dracon. Now let me show you the mind of a dracon.

The two draconesses disappeared. And there was once more a circle. While she watched it this one broke apart. Divided into four equal parts. Then those four were inverted. Creating a kind of cross with openings at all four ends. This is a dracon mind. We were made to connect with each other. We were all one mind once. The dracon Overmind. It did not control us. Do not get me wrong child, it was all of us. We were the Overmind, every dracon was one, and no matter where he or she was no dracon was ever alone. We could dance through each others eyes, our minds could dance from body to body, choosing to live silently among the others when our bodies were lost. But of course, there was no sense of having our own bodies back then. All bodies belonged to everybody, all learning, all knowledge, all insight belonged to all of us. We were one. And that was what the Cyraxians poisoned.

The Overmind was still an infant when they took it, twisted it to their ways with their evil magic. They raped us, our mind. They took the thing that bound the dracons together and used it to control us. So when Diana came upon us she did the only thing she could to free us from the grasp of the Cyraxians. She took away our sense of self and gave us freedom. Suddenly we were chained to bodies, but we were no longer one large mind, we were just individual dracons struggling with individual problems. That was Diana's gift to us, the freedom to choose and the estrangement of our own race. The last vestiges of this Overmind comes to us in the form of the Call. Like a man who has lost his leg, but still feels the pain it gives him. Do you understand now? And just like that her senses snapped back to normal. Her mind returning to the mundanity of the tent.

[Skay Ravendi]

When her eyes no longer saw what they were suppose to see, when there was nothing but what the dracon wanted her to see, Skay panicked. This was something against what she had no defence. She could not reach Clara under such feelings. She could not fight, could not even stand up and leave when her eyes saw nothing that was real. There was absolutely nothing that she could do. Perhaps only talk or scream, but that would have announced everyone of her fear, while she wanted to announce of her frustration. And it was more frustration that fear. Anger that she could not defend against this, that she could not control anything, that she was just a pawn, a panw that was used like so many other times by one who was stronger, wiser or more skilled.

When she saw her form, Skay gasped. It was embaressment, sure, no one liked to be shown naked. Well maybe apart from Darian, that one liked to go around naked with no care. It was when that form in her mind shifted into a human seeming that Skay gasped in pain. She did not want to remember that. She did not want to dream of that. Did not want to think of that. The draconess did not allow herself to think of that. She had to be a draconess. She was a draconess. So till she could, she refused the gift of shapeshifting. 'Cause if she would accept it for at least one more time, she would no longer be a draconess. What was her? Who was her? She did not know. But now, for two eras, she tried to prove that she was a draconess.

Her mind was forced to watch the two images dance and become two identical ones. No. She would always be she. Always. Whatever changed in her, whatever illusions were created around her, she would always be she. There would be no other like her. Skay listened. Listened to the voice that was not even a voice, just the words that were in her mind. She listened to it not with her ears, she listened to it with her mind. Something that she could not shut down, could nto cover, like she could cover her ears. She felt her hands burn. For some reason her hands burned for a few moments.

A few more moments or was it minutes and her vision returned. Or rather Skay saw just darkness, for her eyes were closed. Darkness with no more images. Slowly she opened them and looked down at the cup that her hands were holding. It was mostly empty, barely holding up in her hands, which no longer had a goal to hold it. The wine had run through her hands, burning them slightly and down to the ground. The hands still hurt, but the draconess seemed to pay no attention to that. She did not raise her head to look at the dracon either. Did not say a word when he finished speaking. Just sat there like before, her tail completely still, her wings a little bit more lowered, her hands just ever so slightly trembling.

"Why..." She began her voice calm and smooth. "Why does everyone think that they can look into other people's mind and memories?" She spoke slowly, considering her every word. Feeling no need to rush. "Is one mind really not enough? Are the memories and feelings of one really not more than enough? Since you know all my forms, you must know my feelings and memories too. If so, then why... why hurt me? Is showing something important good enough of a reason to hurt someone, so that they may learn for the future?" Her hands moved a slight bit and grasped the empty cup tighly again. But apart from that the draconess did not move an inch.

"I am Skay. I am a draconess. I am a druidess. I was a human. I was a child. I was, were and will be so many things. There are many draconesses named Skay, even more druidesses and children. But I am me and there is no other me. This is me. Do you see this, dracon? This. Is me. There is no other like me. Whatever the Call was and whatever its purpose was, it is no longer. The Overmind as you phrase it, no longer exists. And I do not wish it to. I am happy with my life, my memories, my burdains, my pains, my experience, my feelings. I shall learn and develop because of my own efforts, not just because I glanced in some other's mind and took all the skills. That does not make one wise, that makes one nothing in the big all. Perhaps the purpose of the Overmind..."

She stopped there for a mere second. "... was to help others? But, dracon, there is no Overmind now. You are not it. You've hurt me and I doubt that this is what the Overmind would do." A vision of a girl, a human girl, still