Welcome to my weird world.
- Created By Vellatra
The Snowball Effect
Dheginsea watches as everyone he cares about is taken away from him, one by one.
“Our people need help,” my brother had pleaded all those years ago. “We don't have to fight – I'm not asking you to – but can't we do something? They're suffering so much at Begnion's hands.”
“If we get involved, we get entangled,” I said. “So much the more likely to be pulled into a fight.”
“Look, I know you're trying to take your vow seriously and keep the peace,” he said, “but this is for the peace of the rest of the world, too!” He stepped back a little, frail fists clenched in determination. “I'm going to do something about it, whether you help me or not. I just... hoped we could work together, as we once did.”
“...I'm sorry,” I said. “But Goldoa simply cannot be involved in-”
The door burst open. “Dad, we were wondering if- oh,” Almedha stopped short when she saw Lehran. “I'll just come back later.”
“No, stay,” Lehran said, scowling at me. “We had nothing more to say.” He turned on his heel and stalked out.
It had been a blow, but I'd held firm. I had to. For my people, for his. For the world.
“At least he had the will to change something,” my daughter had snarled a few centuries later. “Not like you. You just let everyone walk all over you, and our people, too. Some mighty dragon king you turned out to be!”
“We hold our peace to protect the world,” I said quietly. “Everyone else is so swift to warfare; if it weren't for our neutrality, the dark god would awaken in short order.”
“I'm not talking about war!” she yelled. “You don't just hold back from fighting. You hold back from everything!”
“Almedha, compose yourself. Someone will hear you losing your temper.”
“And what if they do?” she growled. “Maybe they'll all realize what a pathetic old man you are.” She turned and reached for the door handle. “Don't wait for me at dinner,” she said. “I'm leaving.”
“Leaving?”
“I'm going to find a more sensible country to live in, where people stand up for themselves.”
“Almedha-!”
“Watch, you won't even be able to stop me!” She jerked the door open, and sprang back just in time.
“Father!” Rajaion shouted, rushing in past his sister. Ena was riding on his back, clinging to his shoulders, laughing, and blushing furiously. Rajaion skidded to a halt in front of me, positively beaming. “Father, I have an announcement!”
I glanced up at the door. In the commotion, Almedha had slipped away.
“Have I not instructed you well enough about the risks of meddling in others' affairs?” I'd asked a few years after this.
“Of course you have, Father,” my son said gently, “and I know your way is the right way. I don't want any trouble, either. I'm just worried about Almedha. All I want to do is check on her; if things look bad enough maybe help her get home, but not by fighting. I'd try to bargain or sneak her out, if that's what's needed. But maybe everything's alright. Maybe... I could help bring peace back to the family.” He sank onto one knee. “I'm not asking for your help – I'll be less threatening alone – but I do seek your blessing.”
I took him up by the shoulders, and embraced him. “You have it,” I said. “But be careful, Rajaion.”
“I will.” We broke apart and he headed for the door. He stopped there and smiled over his shoulder. “Until we meet again, Father.”
“Farewell, my son.”
About a year later, the door had been ajar, so Ena didn't knock. “Father,” she said, bowing. She'd called me that since she was young.
“What is it, my child?” I'd called her that since she'd entered the family.
“Before he left, did Rajaion say anything about how long he would be away?”
“No, Ena,” I said. “I doubt he knew how long his business would take him.”
“But... shouldn't he have returned by now? And he's stopped writing. The last letter I got was ten months ago, and it barely says anything.” She showed me a scrap of paper with a familiar scrawl on it:
Arrived in Nevassa. Haven't seen Almedha; will write when I find her.
Love to Dad. Keep Kurth out of my stuff. Say hi to Nasir.
XO
Jay
“Perhaps he cannot write at the moment,” I said. “He said he might resort to stealth to get to his sister.”
“Stealth for ten months?” she said.
“That is not a very long time, in the grand scheme of things,” I said. “...Is something troubling you?”
“Well... well, no,” said Ena. “I just miss him. And I'm pregnant.”
“You are?”
“Yes,” she said, smiling. “Don't know how much longer I can stand not getting to tell him.”
I smiled too. “No despair, Ena. I'm sure he'll be home soon.”
But Ena had growing misgivings, and it wasn't long before Kurthnaga found a note on the mantlepiece:
Gone to find Rajaion. Be back as soon as I can. Ena
“Who's next, I wonder,” Kurth had groaned when he gave me the note. I wondered the same thing.
“My lord,” the night watch said, saluting as he came in. He looked grim.
“What news, Galahad?” I said.
“...Lady Ena has returned,” he said.
“She has?” I said, standing up from my desk.
“She wasn't long,” said Galahad. “Already she has left again, with her grandfather.”
“What did you hear from her? Did anyone return with her? Why did Nasir go? Answer me!” for Galahad had looked at the floor.
“She was alone, sir,” he said quietly. “She said she'd found both Almedha and Rajaion....” I heard an unspoken 'but'.
“Why did they not return with her?”
“They were unable, sir.”
“Why? Speak, man!”
“Princess Almedha is, practically, a prisoner in Daein. She is heavily guarded, both by soldiers and in her mind. She has a son, and apparently her husband, King Ashnard, is using him against her as surety for her cooperative behavior.”
Poor, wretched Almedha... at last, she'd found someone who could control her.
“Is my son also held captive there?” I asked softly, trying to keep the strain out of my voice.
“Yes, in a sense,” Galahad said hesitantly. “He's...” he mumbled something.
“Speak up!” I barked. Galahad flinched.
“He's a madman!” he blurted. I opened my mouth and closed it again. He continued very quickly, “Ena says that Daein has been experimenting with a drug that traps laguz in their shifted states, and reduces them to bloodthirsty animals. The king had Rajaion poisoned, and he's been his mindless slave ever since.”
I sank back into my chair.
“Lady Ena has not given up, sir,” Galahad said after a pause. “She's going to try to retrieve the prince, and Nasir went to help her.”
“...Good,” I said thickly. “He is cunning. But the two of them may not be enough.”
“Sir?”
“We have a delicate situation before us, Galahad,” I said, standing up again. I began to pace, forcing my mind to focus on a plan. “Daein cannot be allowed to meddle any further with our people. Still, we mustn't risk a fight with them.”
“With all due respect, my lord, would this not be a fight in self-defense? Daein is hurting us.”
“The covenant was to have no war, just or otherwise,” I said. “We cannot do battle. But we can take my children back.”
So it was that Nasir left Goldoa, and soon, Galahad went after him, a troop of red dragons in his train.
Two decades later, Ena, Nasir, and Rajaion came back. They'd tried to get to Almedha and gave it up as a bad job. Rajaion was dead. Ena was broken and battle-scarred. So it fell to Nasir to tell me everything – how they'd been working for Ashnard to try to get closer, how they'd been thwarted at every turn, how they'd only gotten to my son when it was too late, and how the herons had saved his soul at the last moment. He told me Galahad and his men had been taken by the drug, and that Almedha's son had vanished into the aether without a trace.
I found Ena that evening out in the garden, burying my son. As she patted down the last of the earth, I heard her sniffle. She wiped her face with a grubby hand, hesitated, and suddenly fell to the ground with a moan. Her shoulders shook with every sob.
I would have said something... tried to restore her composure... at least told her to stop lying in the dirt... but I felt a lump in my throat. So instead, I knelt beside her and pulled her up into my arms. She clung to me gratefully, burying her dirty face in the folds of my robes. I sighed – a long, low sigh – and let my head sink down onto hers.
“...Peace, my daughter,” I whispered. A single tear leaked out of my eye.
Never again, we all agreed. Never again should a dragon leave Goldoa. The results were disastrous.
How Path of Radiance Should Have Ended
Some days my willing suspension of disbelief hits a wall. Sorry. But not really. 
This story starts out with actual dialogue from the end of Path of Radiance... but then logic invades.
“You do remember me!” Ena gasped, cradling her mate in her arms.
“Ena...” Rajaion whispered. “You were made... to suffer... because of me. I'm sorry.”
“Rajaion, Rajaion!” she sobbed. She clung to him, pulling him ever closer, as if she could hold on forever, if she only had the strength. “Oh, Rajaion....”
“Let's go... back to Goldoa. Just the two of us... together.”
That was all Ena had wanted in the first place. No fighting, no scheming, no following wicked orders. Just Rajaion. Nothing else mattered as she gazed into those gentle eyes. “I will go anywhere, my love, as long as it is with you,” she said softly.
“Ena...” he said again. “From this moment on... forever...” he coughed. And then he understood.
He was dying.
He tried to speak again, but no sound came out. Ena read the words as they were formed: “Come here.”
“Ah...” she whispered, trembling. “Rajaion...” She leaned down and pressed her lips desperately against his. Her fingers dug into his tattered shirt, her tears fell and trickled down his cheeks. He gently put his arms around her and tried, weakly, to pull her even closer, not knowing, not caring, that so many were watching their farewell kiss.
“For goodness' sake, I've got melodrama coming out of my ears,” someone grunted. Ena heard footsteps coming toward them.
“Don't be so insensitive, Soren! He's dying,” said Mist.
“Not for long.”
At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then... Rajaion took a deep breath, and tightened his grip. Slowly, he sat up, and, still leaning against his beloved, looked at the boy with the Mend staff.
“Thank you... Soren,” he said, smiling. Never before had they met, but he knew his nephew right away.
He had his grandfather written all over him.
Heart of Poison - An Edgy Jaina Story
Rajaion has been gone from Goldoa for awhile... too long for Ena's tastes. So she goes to find him....
“It's easy, really,” Lehran had told me all those years ago.
I was young then, and curious. I wanted to know everything there was to know, just for the joy of it. I never thought I'd need this. Thank goodness I'd asked him. “How do you do it?”
“You just reach out with your feelings,” he'd said. “Think about the person you want to connect with. Imagine their face, their voice, their impressions on you. Close your eyes if it helps you focus. If they're receptive, they might even notice your attention. If not... you'll still be able to feel how they're doing, or at least where they are. That was useful during the war.”
“I'll try it on you,” I'd said.
“No, don't,” Lehran had said quickly. “I've been numbed to telepathy; our connection wouldn't be very interesting. Try... Kurthnaga.”
So I had. He'd been pretty close when I reached out to him, and he noticed me right away. He'd come toddling into the room toward me, opening his arms for a hug....
Now, I was glad I'd pestered Lehran for that skill. I closed my eyes and thought hard. I imagined a face wreathed in dark hair. I tried to remember the things that went with that face – the big hands winding gently around me, the deep, soft voice murmuring my name, the warm, playful fire dancing in his eyes....
I gasped and jumped to my feet. Rajaion was in trouble. He was so afraid, he hadn't even noticed me. I had to get to him, and quick.
It was late in the night before I found the place. Based on the old maps from the castle library, I was probably someplace in Daein. This particular place was a rundown, abandoned-looking castle in the middle of nowhere. There wasn't even a sentinel posted.
I made my way inside, through twisting passages, deeper and deeper down into the earth. Finally, in an open, dank, badly lit lower level of the dungeon, I found him. His clothes were torn, his face was bruised, and his arms were chained to the wall.
“Rajaion!” I gasped.
His head, which had been drooping onto his chest, snapped up. “...Ena?!” I hugged him and felt him shiver. “H-how did you get here?”
“I'll tell you later; we have to get you out!” I said. “Can you shift?”
“No,” said Rajaion. “The chains hurt my wrists.”
I shifted and broke him free from the wall. “Come on,” I said when I reverted. “The castle's deserted; I can fly you out.” He took my hand and followed me back toward the entrance. “Who did this to you?”
“Ashnard,” he whispered. “That guy's worse than crazy. He's hurting Almedha... threatening her son... it's wretched. He caught me before I could get to them. I don't know what he wanted to do with me.”
“Maybe it's better we don't find out,” I said. I glanced back as he let go of my hand. “What is it?”
He backed up and leaned against a wall. “Ow... head rush.”
“Are you okay? ...How long were you down there?”
“Just a couple of days... I think....” He shook his head, straightened up, and kept following me. “Hard to tell when they don't feed you.”
“That fiend,” I said. “When your father finds out – oh! What's wrong? Another head rush?”
“Aghhh,” said Rajaion, who had dropped on one knee, clutching his head. “Stupid headache... came on so fast....”
“Come on, we have to go before someone notices us,” I said. I helped him back to his feet, propped him up on my shoulder, and moved on. “This is good enough,” I said when we came out into a courtyard. “I'll shift and you can climb on my back, alright? What's going on? I thought you said it was just a headache!” I said as he sank to the ground again, groaning.
“It... kills....” A telltale green haze began to form around him.
“You said your chains won't let you-”
Rajaion shifted, roaring in pain as the shackles dug into his scales.
“What are you doing? Stop it! You're hurting yourself!”
He reverted, but he stayed on all fours, panting and shaking. His wrists were bleeding. The green haze stuck around, which it wasn't supposed to do.
I dropped to the ground next to him and grabbed his shoulders. “What's the matter with you?”
He leaned his clammy head against me. “I don't... know,” he gasped. “D...didn't want to do that.”
“You didn't want to shift? That doesn't make sense.”
“Hrrgh!” Rajaion lifted his head and shifted again. The chains split open this time, but not before they left another set of cuts. He reverted and crashed to the ground. I pulled his head into my lap. He looked up at me, but his eyes seemed a little glazed.
“...Ena,” he whimpered, “...am I dying?”
That wasn't what I'd wanted to hear. “I don't know,” I whispered. “We've got to get you out of here. Come on...” I shifted, picked him up – he groaned – and spread my wings. Suddenly I was forced to drop him as he transformed again. He thrashed about, knocking dents in several walls as he struggled against we knew not what. I sprang out of the way of one of his flailing limbs, but another caught my leg and raked across it. We both reverted. My leg gave out and I dropped at his side. He looked up.
“Are you... okay?”
“Never mind me, are you feeling better?”
He curled in on himself. “No. St-stay clear. Don't... get hurt....”
“Hush, dear. I'll figure this out.” I took his face in my hands, looked into his eyes, and tried to connect with his mind. What was wrong with him?
I blinked and broke it off. Something was attacking him. Attacking his mind, with ferocity that made him writhe. He was losing control – of his powers, of his memories, even of language – as whatever-it-was forced its way into him.
“No!” I cried. “Stay with me. Look at me. You can fight this. Come on....”
Rajaion dropped his head against me and screamed as he shifted again. I was holding his head still, but the rest of him coiled and tossed every which way.
“Shh,” I whispered, leaning my forehead against his. Think, think! “...Do you remember that night,” I said softly as he reverted, “that night when you tried to kiss me, but you got Kurth's hand instead?” He was still twisting miserably, but he gave a slight nod. “I'd had a crush on you for a long time already, but... well, I couldn't tell you. I was all nervous and hesitant, but you treated our love like the most natural thing in the world. You were so c-confident,” I stuttered as he transformed. That old confidence was gone now, gone in the wretched forgetfulness that was consuming him, faster and faster. I couldn't hold it back. “Rajaion,” I whimpered, “d-don't leave me... please....”
He jerked his head out of my hands, and reared up with a deafening roar. He brought his claws down on several old barrels, then raked them across the flagstones as he blew a burst of flames at one of the towers. It came crashing down immediately, and would have crushed me if I hadn't scurried out of the way.
“Rajaion!” I shrieked, and found I was crying too. “Stop, stop, just stop....”
When he reverted, he was standing up, and he backed away from me, shrinking into a corner. I came after him.
“Sounds like he's in the courtyard,” a voice called from near the front gate.
“Excellent. Take him, but be careful when you get close.”
“We have to go before someone finds us.” I slowly, cautiously reached a hand out to him. “Please... come back to me....” He recoiled, staring at me with wild, teary eyes. I made to take hold of him, but he shifted, sprang over me, and rushed out of the courtyard. I hugged the shadows as the Daein soldiers went after him.
End
