Chapter 14: Logic of Light

"Get a shot off fast. This upsets him long enough to let you make your second shot perfect".- R. A Heinlein, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long

Disclaimer: Believe it or not, even after a year of being on this fanfiction site, I still don't own Toothless and the dragons in this story. They belong to Dreamworks and Cressida Cowell (except for Lux and the Sandspitter- they allow me to think they belong to me. Stupid Firemaker)

We hit a dusty patch, sending amber-colored clouds wafting up around Gatalas and I as we trotted along the hoofprint trail left behind by my Sandspitter unit colleagues.

The real live example of a Sandspitter loped behind me, snorting in joy, ::Oh, you do give me a good chase, my shy beauty. I admit I have been a bit lazy these days. I relish the chance to run. It does make the blood flow nicely.::

The aging and nearsighted Sandspitter cantered after me, wings held to funnel the air over his back and his tongue lolling out in joy. It seems some dragon People enjoy running on the ground, and I was lucky enough- in theory anyway- to have one fall in love with me.

I heard a louder snort of joy, ::You make me feel like a young drake again, dear one! Oh, the Sky Lady has blessed this old one's life beyond measure! ::

::You're such a tease, Eyeful! Leading on nice old drakes like that poor Sandspitter. You'll break his noble heart when he finds out you're just a lowly Turkmene.:: Lux's thoughts came to my brain from way above me.

I gave a snort of my own (much more elegant than a dragon snort, I must add, ::Any more comments like that, and you can fly on your own, Lux dear. May it be a long and happy flight. At least more than three seconds.::

I especially did not like the idea of combining "lowly" and "Turkmene" in one phrase. That's like mixing oil and water. Or sodium and water. Either way, it's slimy or explosive. Take your pick.

Gatalas laughed and jerked at the rope tied to my saddle, a small dagger appearing in his hand from his belt. He winked at me, indicating he was ready to cut if I gave the thought-send.

::Oh, no, Eyeful! I was just merely being cute and funny! That's all!:: Lux answered, squeaking in a manner that actually was way too cute and funny for my own taste, ::Cute and funny! I like making everyone feel happy. With my well calculated gestures and thoughts::

::Awwww, Lux!:: a bevy of Amazon Terror purrs rippled along the sky above me.

Both Gatalas and I rolled our respective eyes.

The beautifully iridescent dragon kitten was testing his wings again now that the wind had shifted direction to blow against us.

I moved at a faster pace, trying to eat the distance between our little unit and my actual Dragon Unit. This , plus the wind, made it ideal for Lux to try flying again. The conditions forced him to pump his wings more, building up muscles as he fought to balance both the wind gusts and my fast trot.

::Anyway, Eyeful, I was just teasing you!:: Lux called to me,:: Please don't cut me loose! I want to practice flying and you are EVER so helpful and sweet. And beautiful, too. You're the most rare and most beautiful and prettiest and smartest Turkmene ever, and I'm so lucky to be your friend. :: Lux called down to me, his wings thudding against the wind.

::Haw!:: I snorted in sarcasm while Gatalas snickered in delight at the thought of me being called pretty.

I bucked to remind him who was in charge. And also to remind him he wasn't exactly going to get tons of teenage Firemaker women drooling over him and painting fan pictures of him and his many battle scars and tattoos if they caught him bathing naked in a river.

Well, maybe they would drool over Gatalas if they were cannibal teenage Firemaker women, but that's a Firemaker of a whole different color.

::So, Eyeful, be nice to me! :: Lux chirped adorably, :: I promise you I won't say any more nasty things about you and the Sandspitter being in love.::

I bared my teeth in patient suffering, ::What did you say, Lux-spark? I was too busy looking at that flock of flying pigs over yonder. The ones near the cow jumping over the moon, and across from the pot of gold at the base of the rainbow and that farmer yelling about land for sale in Utopia.::

::Huh?:: I saw Lux shift above me, craning his long neck to get a better view. A few Amazons tried to see what he was gazing at,too, :: Flying pigs? Wow! Where? And where's the cow jumping over the moon and the… oh.::

There was a nice moment of silence as I trotted along the lovely soft paths, my elegant lover loping behind me with a poem about my potential to lay gorgeous eggs.

A soft moon was rising up from the mountain pass horizon. It was, unsurprisingly, free of jumping cows.

::You're messing with me, aren't you, Eyeful?:: Lux finally said sadly, ::You don't believe me.::

I translated this to Gatalas who chuckled and pat my neck. He craned his head up, warrior's braid dancing down his back, "It's okay, Lux. Eyeful and I will keep what you said in mind…"

My Rider stuck the knife behind one ear, "...and we'll keep this knife right here. Just in case you decide to change your mind about your promise and that rope connecting you to Eyeful goes bye-bye. Is that a deal, friend?"

::Deal.:: Came the grumpy dragon kitten response.

We moved onwards. Lux continued to practice flying. I heard him squeak sometimes in pain as he positioned his wing the wrong way, but he quickly moved to right the wing. My respect for him rose ever higher. He tried to use the mishap to learn, not to dwell on the pain. He was a warrior at heart.

When Lux would foul his wings, one of the Amazons would quietly reposition his wing. She would then move her own shoulders and wing arms to show him the right muscle movements. He would thank her and then imitate her movements.

She would remain by his side, warmly praising him if he got the moves down or calmly readjusting the wing, pointing out where he needed to change.

In spite of how they cooed over Lux's cuteness, they were firm teachers. I was happy to see that. Flying is a serious business to dragons. It is like the training we Turkmenes receive as war horses, pressed into us both by the Firemakers and the older warhorses. You need to know the right mindset and the right moves to survive on the battlefield, standing by your Rider when your instinct is to run.

And dragons need to know the right wing moves to fight their own battles with the wind and make that wind their ally.

It was nice to notice, as the hours went by, the Amazons needed to help Lux less and less. Finally, he soared without their help, balancing himself quite well on both sets of nacreous wings. His newly shortened tail floated behind him, complementing the wings by adjusting his long body in line with the winds that streamed over his hindquarters.

"You know something, Eyeful," Gatalas said, his head craned up to see Lux's progress though my backwards-gazing eyes, "I wonder if we are the first Sarmatians to ever see how dragons train their young to fly."

::Could be, Rider, could be.:: I thought back. Lux did seem to adjust very well to the Amazons' help.

I also remembered, too, he had taken a bit of a fall into the mud at the end of his last tethered flight. He had been choppy in motions that day. But this entire day his motions had been much smoother overall.

I passed on those observations to Gatalas who mused over them.

"Seems strange, Horsebutt." He rubbed a well- stubbled jaw, the long golden bristles rasping under his hand as the winter beard came in,"But it's almost as if by falling, Lux somehow got better at flying."

I snorted in contentment as some sweet swelling pollen blew under my nose from the pine trees, ::But that's normal, Apeface. Isn't it so that when a Sarmatian Firemaker falls off of one of my Turkmene People, he or she is told to get back on the Turkmene immediately? That you have to fall off a horse to be a better rider?::

I felt my rider's bow- calloused hand caress my neck in friendship , "Of course, and we do get better as a result of falling off, doostam. We do. But not as fast as Lux has improved. His progress is much, much more than I would have expected after one day of test flying."

Gatalas looked up at the pearly dark grey dragon soaring above us with commendable grace and smiled, "But in Lux's case, he advanced so much. What if dragons have to fall to the ground once and it somehow triggers reactions and movements in them that they did not know before?"

As if Lux heard these words, I suddenly heard him call out in surprise.

He must have been allowing his tail segments to unlock and lengthen a little, perhaps to be more comfortable. His tail was neither long or short in length when crisp mountain wind billowed under the little dragon's belly and tail. I saw the long, fluked tail whip automatically in a graceful ripple. The flukes responded with extra ripple of their own.

And then Lux was suddenly drifting in front of me, the rope now at an angle instead of vertical. (Angle? Vertical? Where did those words come from? I suddenly knew them. Was that the "data" the Forge Priests had mentioned my Turkmene kind were developed to have?)

Lux flew in front of me, now, and he pumped his wings in a movement that imitated what the Amazons had showed him. It must have been a basic wing move all dragons learn.

However, his body and tail moved in a different way from the Sisters. The tail movement caused his long, sinuous body to ripple as well, and that is what caused him to soar in front of me.

Lux chirruped at first in surprise and then amazement. And then in pleasure.

::Ohhhh, beautiful!:: Jessamine called softly, her thought voice echoing her roar of wonder.

The Sisters of the Scale must have agreed with her because, for a moment, the air was filled with fourteen cries that oddly harmonized.

::You are the wind, Lux!:: one of the Sisters known as Doris the Destroyer called in joy, ::Your body and tail are like the movements of the wind!::

::The little kitten moves like the sand dunes but in the sky!:: My suitor the Sandspitter purred, ::Ahh, I am moved to sing a poem about it tonight!:: He purred, ::And I shall dedicate it to you and Lux the Tribeless Kitten, my lovely Lady Sandspitter::

I was too dignified to give that a response other than a quiet sigh. Luckily my Rider did not notice.

"Oh, che khoob , Lux-spark," Gatalas breathed from on my back, his voice oddly choked.

Lux rippled and rippled , balancing his wings and tails to ride the wind like a beautiful Sarmatian banner of a dragon kitten. His elegant moves were belied by delighted kittenish laughter.

::This feels great! This is SO MUCH FUN! WHEEEEE!:: A dragon yelp of joy, ::How do your Firemakers say it, Eyeful? SHEEEEEE- RAHHH!::

::Yeehaw.:: I corrected gently, just as Gatalas obliged our dragon kitten.

"Repeat after me, Lux!" Gatalas yelled back, "YEEEEEEHAWWWW!"

Lux answered, tilting back his head, closing his eyes and bellowing a roar.

It was a squeak to start with, but then it turned into a respectable alto roar that rippled along the edges of the forested mountains.

We found the boar, just about the time two of the Sisters spotted a small lake in a sheltered valley where we could overnight. We reeled Lux in from the rope and he again rode behind us, now perched on the Draco head behind my saddle cantle.

The boar was a nice surprise, startled by the Sandspitter as we moved down the trail to the lake. It exploded from a nest of loam under a tree well-decorated with tusk slashes.

"Marha must be looking out for us," Gatalas whispered, "We've got quite the army to feed, now."

The boar saw us and froze in place, small eyes taking in the rather uncommon view of a dragon carrying a rider with a bow. Behind us ranged a cluster of earth-colored little winged dragons and a medium-sized handsome brown dragon with squinty golden-green eyes.

The boar gave a warning chuff, gnashing his tusks.

That was just enough for my Rider and I to go into action.

Gatalas had the bow strung just as I burst into a fast trot, heading for the boar. The creature then snarled and leapt forward, towards the lake. I warned Gatalas with the double snort that meant Sharp Turn and spun towards the boar, blocking its exit.

Gatalas kept his balance perfectly, and I heard the welcome song of the bow's string being stretched out.

::Steady, Eyeful:: Gatalas thought to me, ::I want this to be quick and merciful. Can you direct its eye to the range of my arrow? Get it to attack you.::

::It's a boar, doostam. No problem! They attack their own shadows!::

Lux chirruped a warning, sensing what we were doing. Sonja warbled to him reassuringly.

The boar roared and lunged at me. I leapt at it, offering it my shoulder, and it took the gift. Its tusk dug right into my shoulder. Luckily, the tusk met resistance to my dragon-scaled armor, and it halted the boar in place enough so that Gatalas could let his arrow fly.

The arrow went into the boar's eye and quickly ended its life. Soon Gatlalas was kneeling by the boar's body quietly singing the prayer-song all Sarmatians He sang to wish to thank the boar for its gift of life and to help its soul find its way to the Nextlife.

Then he sang a song of thank you to the gods. Now that we had a little flock of Amazon terrors and a large Sandspitter in tow, we needed the meat.

The first shadows of night were starting to compete with the setting sun and rising moon when we heard the thud of dragons' wings. We all glanced up in dreaded anticipation.

::The nightly raids are starting again.:: Jessamine snarled, ::And early, too, I might add!::

::But they always start early around here, m'lady:: The Sandspitter said, flipping his vestigial wings to make a point, ::We're close to her. We're close to Them.:: He shuddered a bit, ::That was what I was going through until the lovely Sandspitter Lady somehow cured me of my need to steal food and bring it to her and to Them.::

A cloud of winged forms glided our way in the distance. I immediately picked up the command from my Rider's mind to get the wards set... and fast!

The Sisters of the Scale picked up from my own mind the shape and location of the wards. Soon a small cluster of Amazon Terrors was unlacing my packs and ward-stakes thudded to the ground.

::Where do we'se set 'em up? Let us know!:: Purple Sonja barked.

"Far apart!" Gatalas called back, as I translated his words, "We need enough space for all of us to be able to get inside the wards' boundaries!"

::And I sure as the Lie Under the Earth hope that the extra distance does not make the wards weaker when we stretch their boundaries!:: Gatalas thought-sent to me.

He used my eyes to locate a ward and picked it up. Honestly, to those who have not seen them in action, they just look like ordinary, wooden tent stakes with some strange ridges along the sides. These ridges actually are pegs that can be pulled out partially.

We didn't have much time before the ensorcelled herd of dragons came upon us. Luckily, Gatalas and I now had a group of intelligent friends willing to help us place the wards.

My Rider would call out a place to set a ward, I would send out the image of its position, and then one of the Amazons would grab a ward and fly it to its point.

Thudding wings, coming closer.

It was just up to Gatalas and I to set them. We moved quickly, both on foot. Gatalas ran by my left side, his right hand reached up to grip the hand hold and wrist straps on my harness' neck band. It had been designed for him to both use while riding me (helping him stay on my back and steer me) and while running by me (helping me to lead him and guide him, like a strange sort of seeing eye warhorse). His bow and arrows rustled in the gorytas that thumped at his left leg as he ran by my side.

Thudding wings, coming closer.

He put his trust in me and jogged by me as I led him.

Ever close to us, little Lux ran just in front of me in his odd gait, that whompfing run that made his body ripple. I now realized that whompf gait was just like the one he had done in the air earlier, but he didn't have the wind to glide on and smooth it out. On the ground it looked much more awkward, but it still was very effective in helping the dragon kitten move fast.

We reached the first ward placed by Blossom the Butcher and Jessamine the Juggernaut.

Thudding wings, coming closer.

::One candlemark past noon!:: I sent the direction points to Gatalas as I maneuvered myself into position at the ward.

He reached his right hand down to the position of the ward I mentioned. He deftly pulled out the pegs along its side in mere seconds, sliding them to their longest length.

I felt the deep thrum as the motion released the invisible energy barricades that protected all inside the boundary of the wards from any invaders.

Those invaders who tried would get a rather nasty souvenir of bruises when they impacted with the force field. It could even be fatal to them if they impacted with it too hard that skull bones were shattered.

Obviously these wards were another of those adorable little inventions from another time and place that we are not supposed to know about. But those little tent stakes have helped keep my Rider alive on our wanderings over the Steppes. They enable both of us to sleep in peace at night, so we awake at full strength each morning for another day of journeying.

Then I snorted to let my Rider know I was moving again. He lurched up, gripped the handlebar and wrist straps on my neck harness and let me move us to the next ward, this one set by Purple Sonja and Sadie the Salacious.

It all happened in mere seconds, thanks to the Amazons. We were soon tripping the last ward just as the leading edge of the dragon cloud reached edge of the valley.

::Get into the center of the wards!:: I relayed to the dragons, and heard the whooshing as Amazons, Lux and the Sandspitter moved behind us into the area protected by the wards.

They weren't quite across the ward boundary when the enemy was upon us.

Gatalas leaned against me and strung up his bow, lacing up for war. I dipped my chamfroned head and bared my teeth. We both faced the dragons now winging into the valley.

A Naptha Breather lunged its head towards one of the slower Sisters, bared teeth promising nothing nice.

Gatalas let an arrow fly. It sang nobly, and it hit against the soaring Naptha Breather. The arrow bounced off and fell back to earth in a useless drop. However, it did its purpose, distracting the Naptha Breather from our Amazon companion. The Naptha Breather shook its head and then soared on, unperturbed.

::Thank you!:: The little Amazon called to us as she slide into the protected zone, landing by her alert Sisters.

The Sandspitter misinterpreted Gatalas' intentions.

::Your arrows won't protect us!:: the Sandspitter sent in irritated fear, tossing his old but handsome head, :: You might get one of us, but the rest of us still fly. Shooting arrows won't take away our need to fly. And yet, earlier today, luscious lady, you did something to make me not want to steal and fly and feed Her. And Them. ::

That sounded wrong on every possible level. I glared at him, trying to show my I Am Not Impressed look.

He roared then, and winked cutely at me, ::Ah, I am just flirting with you, sweet one. I would never defile your pristine honor. My ensorcelled comrades need a stronger power than arrows to break free from her and Them. Firemaker, you need more of what the beautiful Lady Sandspitter does! That breaks us free, knocks us from the sky!::

I was not sure how much of compliment that was. But I heard the hiss as Gatalas blew out through his teeth. Amazing, since I was also blowing out through my sizable front teeth. We were both mulling over the Sandspitters' words.

"Knocked out of the sky?" Gatalas muttered, "We've knocked no dragon out of the sky. We can't knock a dragon out of the sky. Last time I checked, you can't fly, Horsebutt. I can't either, most likely, though I admit I haven't tried. And we sure don't have the arrow range for that. I wish we had more information. Where is the information when you need it?"

Well, well, well. He asked the question, asked for information. Weren't we Turkmenes supposed to be information banks? We just needed our Riders to ask the right question. And my Rider had asked the Right Question! Data matched with memories, and suddenly I had an array of memory-images come to my mind, and I fed them to my Rider.

An idea was now settling in quite strong as images flashed behind my mind of recent events. They spilled into my head mind fast, as if pulled up from ancient memories.

*/ IMAGE- Setareh holding up the Draco head to protect the Walking Drum Caravan, brave Ravenwing rearing under her and Lux perched on his neck. Enemy dragons seemed to bounce against a barrier in front of the Draco and then fly away, puzzled.

*/IMAGE - Two of the Sisters of the Sword waking up with dead birds in their talons. They remembered flying over our camp, and then suddenly were free of a force pull. The Draco had been set up in position there, along with the wards.

*/IMAGE- The Sandspitter, lunging at us to kill and suddenly turning into an ally of ours, if a bit too smitten for my taste.

I mentally fed the info to Gatalas as he he lowered his composite bow to his side. He took a breath and glanced up at the dragons flying overhead in a mass of thundering wings.

"It's the Draco, I know that," Gatalas breathed softly, and I felt the warmth as my knowledge enlightened him.

And then he gasped, " Motavajjeh isham! I didn't see it until your images! Eyeful, the Draco is an enhanced ward system. It's more mobile than the wards! And I bet it uses something from we Sarmatians- humans and horses- something in our minds or bodies to block the dragons!"

::Could be, Apeface! A force field weapon to block dragons from attacking us. That's why the Priests wanted us to take the Draco head to poor Banadaspos! The Draco would block us from dragon attacks so we could concentrate on fighting, not on defending ourselves!::

"Bale," Gatalas whispered, tilting his bow a bit upwards again. He gripped my harness handle harder, "But what if that Draco head not only defended us, but ,if used in the right way, freed dragons from that force enslaving them!"

That was the missing logic point! Of course! The Draco and wards had protected us from dragons, but it had freed the two ensorcelled Sisters and the Sandspitter.

::You do have a brain on occasion, Apeface!:: I pawed the ground in joy, ::So, let's go knock some dragons from the sky!::

"Nah!" Gatalas shook his head, "It's not about knocking them from the sky. It's about freeing them from the ground. We're a human and horse, not a dragon and rider. Everything we do has to be on the ground. And in spite of what our scaled friends think, the ground ain't such a bad place to be. So, shall we do a bit of dancing, Horsebutt? And in the process ask some dragons to dance with us?"

I whinnied in joy, ::Of course! What are you waiting for? Let's go invite some dragons to the party!::

And we did! Gatalas leapt up on me and pulled the Draco and pole free. He tossed his bow to the ground with a wince of regret at treating an old friend so badly.

Then he dug heels gently into my side. Soon we were galloping out of the ward protection and towards the ensorcelled dragons.

Lux and the Sisters called after us to stay, but we ignored them. I just felt my heart swell, felt my Rider and I move in rhythm as we galloped towards the front of the valley where those mind numbed dragons poured in.

::You're crazy!:: the love-stricken Sandspitter now moved by my side, flicking his tongue, ::But you're beautiful when you're crazy!::

::Heh!:: I snorted back, ::Sandspitter, sir, if you want to help, then join us in the dance! We're gonna free some dragons!::

::Of course, dear Sylph of the Sands! I shall help you, if it wins me your heart. And you asked me to dance with you! Oh, the Sky Lady smiles on me. I am honored, my love!::

I gritted my teeth and pretended to be happy about that prospect

::Me, too!:: Lux now wound between my front legs as did his famous, catlike "follow you by running in front of you" maneuver. I knelt for a moment so he could leap on board and balance himself behind my saddle.

And then Amazons were flying out, ringing around us. It was a full wagon party!

So we danced! The first wave flew past us, but the second wave met us head on. Gatalas hefted up the beautiful golden Draco, shining on its pole. Under his saddle, I stood my ground, my legs shaking with the eager need to gallop towards my enemy and fight, and my head up.

I really, really wanted to run and face my enemies head on. But sometimes, it seems, there is a time when the best way to fight back is to stand still.

The fact I wore the armor of a Sandspitter threw off a lot of the invading dragons. From a distance I must have looked enough like a real dragon to confuse them. Dragons would oriented on both me and the Draco banner. Gatalas encouraged me to stay still with a gentle thought. Both his hands gripped the pole. I smelled the scent of fear and determination and, yes, the same need as I had to fight rather than stand still.

But I stood in place, though my legs burned for action.

And then there were suddenly more dragons around us on the ground. There was no dramatic thud from the sky, no thundering of wings or angry roar. But but there were suddenly about seven dragons who gracefully slid into a landing by me and then shook their wings and heads. All their eyes clearly broadcast confusion.

Two Naptha Persons. Three Lava Persons. One Self Burner. One Magnesium Person.

Then, suddenly, as their eyes cleared, they saw they had a human "dragon" rider in front of them. Along with a noble Sandspitter and little Lux.

I never saw such puzzled eyes in my life!

::Mindlink if you please. And greetings!:: I sent to them, ::Welcome to the party. We're serving boar tonight. ::

The Self Burner snarled something garbled and launched at me, teeth bared. I picked up from him anger and fear. He now smelled that I was not a dragon, so that meant I was The Enemy.

Gatalas' legs squeezed me with the command to move backwards. I did so, per my training, sliding backwards at a trot, my braided tail slashing the air.

"Obviously they don't teach manners in these here hinterlands," Gatalas muttered to me, "One is supposed to respectfully decline a dinner invitation, not attack the person doing the inviting."

I started moving forward to the right side, Gatalas still keeping the Draco head held high.

The Self Burner snarled again, but all I could pick up from his thoughts was something that reminded me of crackling heat lightning. The other dragon People still were stunned, staring at us insanely.

HYAAARRGH! The Self Burner roared again and launched at me.

::Hear now, is that any way to treat a Lady?:: The Sandspitter hissed.

Suddenly the Self Burner was attacking into a powerful tunnel of blasting sand. My hypothetical lover had crouched down and was directing a horizontal column of sand, using it like a Sarmatian would skillfully flay the skin from a slaughtered sheep or cow.

Sparkles filled the air for a moment, and the realization hit me that these were scales being ripped from the Self Burner's hide.

The crimson and cinnamon dragon let out a curdling hiss of fear and moved back. It truly seemed Sandspitters were rare in this area, and the Self Burner was just now learning that the smaller dragon could be deadly.

The only time I had been in a desert east of the steppes, our little unit of scouts had met a sandstorm. The Firemakers had seen the smudge of it far in the distance and used the remaining time to find shelter. We'd luckily found it amid some well-scoured rock columns. The Turkmenes had dropped onto the ground, rolling onto our sides while our Riders lay down over us and covered themselves and us with blankets.

When the winds stopped we rose up and shook off waves of sand. All of us, horse and rider, were coated so much powdery sand we all turned the same color. We emerged to continue our journey in a different world, one remolded by shifting sands. And much of the new decorations included the corpses of animals who had not escaped.

Only a few had strips of flesh left on them. And at least one skeleton was from a dragon. Sand, water and wind seem weak, but when used the right away, they can bring down the most powerful of beings.

The Self Burner/Monstrous Nightmare got a taste of this. He shuddered blood-laced shoulders and slid back by the other downed dragons, curling his lips to reveal an army of teeth. But he did nothing other than to snarl at us.

"We need to get back to the shelter!" Gatalas called from my back, I don't know how much longer we can hold them like this."

But even as he spoke the last of the dragons overhead flew. I watched them go, noticing that they now turned at angle that took them a bit out of range of our camp wards. Well, those wards were working nicely!

::Mindlink if ye will, and listen up, youse overgrown worms! :: Purple Sonja snarled softly to our new dragons, her Sisters ranging by her side, ::Youse are under our protection now. But da Sisters of da Scale has some standards, see? So, youse People gots a choice. Youse can goes peacefully, like. Youse can join us, and welcome, ta youse, den. Or youse can fights us.::

There were rattling sounds as slings and bolas began to move in the deft little front paws and wing claws of the Terrors.

It was almost hilarious to see a group of larger dragons bunch in together for protection against some tiny dragonesses wielding Firemaker weapons. But, then, again, they had been treated to some very strange things in their life in the last few minutes.

::I rather advise against da fightin''. Just some friendly advice, draco a draco:: Purple Sonja grinned sweetly.

We waited and watched the new group of dragon People. Finally, the Magnesium Person glanced at the others and nodded his head.

::Boar meat sounds very nice. We thank you for your dinner invitation.:: he said solemnly.

There was a slight sigh of relief from my Rider. We did not approach the new dragons, though. It was too much for them at the moment, and it would be better for them to approach us.

They watched us as I trotted back towards where my Rider had roughly tossed his bow. I could not understand their thoughts for the most part: there was still too much jumble and confusion in their minds.

Jessamine the Juggernaut now was crouched down by the bow where Gatalas had dropped it. She shook her head sadly at where it lay on the ground.

::Oh, no. Firemaker, your bow is broken.::

"No!" Gatalas breathed.

I trotted over and he kicked his feet from the stirrups, dropping off my back by where the bow lay on the ground. It had completely warped out so it was curved into a crazy semicircle, horns touching each other.

Staring ahead in blind frustration, Gatalas grabbed at the air until he found the bow, picking it up. He cradled it in his lap.

I stood over him, my nostrils flaring and steaming as the cold air settled in. Dragons lined up behind me in a circle.

Gatalas felt the bow, his wide silvery eyes blank and yet fear-filled.

And then he dropped his hands and started laughing softly.

All the dragons looked at him as if he were mad. I, of course, knew the situation already.

"It's not broken, Jessamine!" Gatalas chuckled softly, "It's just being what it is: a double recursive composite bow!"

He looked up at the dragons, his gaze focused poorly on them, "That's how we design 'em. When they are not in use, they fold into a semi circle. It protects them. That's how we store them in our gorytas cases. That shape keeps them supple and safe until we need them!"

Gatalas winked at me (and actually wound up winking at one of the newly freed Lava Persons by accident. That dragon snorted in offended surprise)

My Rider hummed softly and adjusted the string on the top end of bow. Then he calmly pulled the horns of the composite bow backwards. The horn and sinew and wood thrummed softly as the semi circle bent backwards, and then suddenly, with a happy buzzing sound, the bow clicked back into its normal bow shape.

Gatalas hooked the bow string onto the bottom of the bow and showed it to the dragons.

It was a beautiful bow: well-oiled, lovingly maintained, streamlined in shape for use on horseback. Of course, it also was simple in form. It was humbly leather and horn and a quiet brown in color. There was nothing showy about it except for the traditional orange and yellow paint on the horns to help guide archers to string the bow in the dark. It's a weapon of stealth. We Sarmatians make them to be quiet and deadly. Our enemies only hear them when they hear the thrum of the string being pulled as our Riders nock the arrow.

It's our version of the puff of air you hear just before a dragon lets loose his or her flame.

There were tamgas painted on the bow, small symbols to protect it, but they disappeared into the brown of the leather and grey of the horn,

::Uh... does your bow have a name?:: one of the Lava Persons asked finally, allowing her curiosity to come out as she watched My Rider unstring the bow again, ::I thought all Firemakers give their weapons name. I don't understand their speech, of course, but they seem to talk to their weapons, and I think I hear repeated words like a name.::

The bow fell back into its original half moon shape.

Gatalas grinned at the Lava Person who let out a snort of surprise at such a warm Firemaker reaction towards a dragon.

"Nah," Gatalas said back softly as he wrapped the cord around the bow and stowed it in the gorytas tied around his belt.

I translated that one word.

Gatalas pat my neck, "We never name our weapons. Good thing that we don't. Given our culture, we'd have some pretty ugly names like 'Stink Egg' or 'Maggot Twister' or the like."

He smiled at the dragons around us, his gaze affectionate but unfocused, "Besides, we learn the bow from when we are old enough to sit on a horse. Our bows are like an extension of our own arms. You don't name your arm, so why would you name your bow?"

The Lava Person rumbled quietly, ::I think I like that Firemaker's thinking. I don't name my flame from my mouth, either. It's still a part of me, though.::

My harness let out a thud as Gatalas swept if off my back. No sooner had he done that, then several of the Amazons swooped on it.

They bickered with each and shot out a few fireblasts while debating the best way to roll it up. Gatalas smiled in amused affection as he brushed the sweat from my hide.

The Amazons had started a fire, too. It received some good competition from the full moon spilling its light from the sky. I heard a few Sisters mention that this was the sign the Night Lady had opened her eyes wide to help the dragon People with the best hunting of each month.

Soon we had the smells of wild boar flesh roasting on the fire, complemented by some dug up root vegetables wrapped in clay and stuffed in the fire to roast.

Several rather dazed Lava Persons, Self Burners, Naptha Breathers, a Magnesium Breather and the rest milled around the fire, nostrils flaring in surprise.

They kept getting reassured by the Sisters of the Scale and Lux that all was well. They were free to go or they could stay and dine with us.

They all stayed, though they were still bewildered. The biggest issue seemed to be why the Sisters and Lux and my Sandspitter chose to stay by a fire and eat cooked meat with an odd Dragonrider Firemaker who obviously rode a Dragon but the Dragon-was-Not-a-Dragon.

My Sandspitter entered the Ward boundaries and the campfire. He had been swallowing some sand he found along the lake bank to replace what he had blasted at the Self Burner. He stored it in his crop to use as part of his unique firepower. Once he saw me, he became a very disappointed Sandspitter.

His eyes fell on me as I relaxed under my Rider's wonderful brushing strokes.

::Oh:: was all I heard for a moment.

And then, ::Oh. I knew it was too good to be true. A fairy creature would be the one to steal my heart. 'Tis a full moon after all. I should have known you were a werehorse::

::A where what?:: Lux chirped from where he was helping Sonja drag over some more wood for the fire.

::Werehorse, young dragon,:: the Sandspitter sighed sadly, ::My dragon love must have been bitten by a werehorse. So when the full moon comes out, my poor beloved is cursed to take on the form of an evil grass eating horse, tormented to savagely torture and eat innocent grass instead of eating fish as the Sky Lady intended for dragons.::

It is very possible that every non-Sandspitter dragon jaw dropped at that statement.

::Ahh, horses don't bite like that,:: Lux offered helpfully, ::They kick and such other gross stuff, but I don't think they bite dragons.::

::Of course not, beautiful sky-rippling kitten,:: the elderly Sandspitter returned, nodding in assurance, ::But werehorses are rabid beasties. Very illogical and very dangerous. Mark my thoughts, young 'un.::

The Sandspitter approached me and came up to me. I had to tense, my very muscles screaming not to run in panic. Even if the Sandspitter is my unit's totem-dragon, I still am not fond of having the skin flayed from my bones by a dragon-created sandstorm.

I stared up into a strangely handsome, grandfatherly draconic face with its unfocused eyes, a kind old drake. The thought sense emanating from him were nothing but good will.

::You have been cursed, desert heart. And your soul and heart have been broken:: The dragon thought to me in a gentle tone, ::You don't need to face this evil alone, my beauty. For you are beautiful, even if you wear a horse's hideous form right now.::

I growled inside and heard Gatalas chuckle.

I stomped on Gatalas' foot. Just a friendly reminder between friends, you know. Good for the Firemaker to know from time to time who is the superior species.

::I will save you, dragoness. Together we will defeat your curse so you can be a Sandspitter in true.:: the Sandspitter purred, ::And I shall let no superstitious Firemaker shoot you with an arrow covered in eel skin either, my sweet.::

::But you saved me once already, today,:: I thought back to him, ::If it weren't for you, I am not sure my Rider and I would have escaped from the Self Burner's attack. I thank you for that, and that is all the repayment I need.::

Another purr of joy as he touched his muzzle to mine. I sighed and touched mine back.

::Thank you, sweet Sandspitter lady. But ending your curse will be merely for pleasure. I wish you to be whole and lovely and uncursed by evil powers. I swear on my name, Sand Heatscent, that I will cure your curse, sylph of the sands::

::You are too kind,:: I thought back, but I am sure he did not take it the sarcastic way I meant it.

I don't even think he heard my thoughts that well since he leaned back, flaring his nostrils in happy absentmindedness.

His name did stick in my head. As in most draconic names, it is a mix of many sensations. In this case, I picked up the acrid, somewhat salty scent the dry desert sands give off at the hottest point of the day. It is that time when the sun starts to lower and when the heat from the ground reflects back into sky. It is not a scent I have smelled often, but I did well remember it from that desert trek- the one involving the sandstorm.

Gatalas and I broke contact and Sand Heatscent had to be content just lying near me, protecting me from whatever demons haunted his imagination.

The rich scent of cooking meat filled the little lake shore, and dinner was soon ready.

I munched on my grain feed. Dragons and Firemaker ate the roast boar and the roast roots, all in gratitude, including the new dragons who we had freed from the ensorcellment. They had never tried roast meat before and seemed from their rippling purrs to be pleased by it. Sand Heatscent waxed poetic on it, growling out a great ode to the sweet warrior boar who gave his life to nourish us all.

The Amazons loved it, roaring and chirruping in joy. Lux joined in, throwing in his still odd mixture of squeaking-chirping-growling. Eventually the new dragons began to chuff as well, each complementing Sand Heatscent for his thrummed artistic skills. The Magnesium Breather praised him, which is high praise indeed. Apparently they are the poets and tale tellers of all the dragon People.

It was not easy for me to understand a lot of their thoughts since those thoughts were flying through the air so fast. Plus, I had never been exposed to so many dragon mind-sends at once. It took a lot of my concentration to pick thought from thought. But I got enough of a gist of it to muddle my way through.

I translated for Gatalas and the two of us sat together, him leaning against my side as I sat on the ground, my legs tucked under me.

There were no words for this. It was a strange moment of camaraderie. Here we were, two mammals from a barbarian people, and we were watching a group of mysterious dragons entertaining themselves, singing and laughing in their own style.

::It's an honor to witness this, Horsebutt:: Gatalas thought to me.

::Agreed, brother Ape Face.::

::But also a lonely honor,:: he sighed, pulling his shaggy, waist-length braid from where it lay on his collarbone. He flipped it over his shoulder to rest down his spine again.

I sighed softly. It was true. We had already seen more of dragon culture than most Sarmatians. There was still that sense, though, we sat on the edge of a circle around a fire. And our circle was one that was outside the circle where the dragons celebrated. We were welcome to look in, but we could never fully participate.

In the end, though, where did we really belong? Gatalas had chosen the wandering warrior's life long ago, to give up the constant ties with our people so we could travel the steppes. However, it was not as though he had abandoned our caravan. He was still an Iazyges tribesman and, until recently, had served well with the Sand Spitters Unit. He just preferred to serve the caravan by being a steppe guide and protector.

Neither was our wandering purposeless; we followed migration trails, moving west to east and back again in the manner of nomadic people. The steppes were too dangerous to cross without knowing the right paths to water and shelter. And we guided and protected those along the way with the combination of a human's hide and horn bow and a telepathic horse's swift hooves and eyes.

I would say our vagabond lifestyle was a hoot, overall. We met dragons, we met Firemakers. We learned new languages from the caravans, tried new foods, traded for goods, exchanged battle tactics.

But at the end of each day, it always boiled down that at each night's campfire, my Firemaker and I stared from an outer circle into an inner circle of other humans. Sometimes they were a Firemaker caravan. Sometimes they were pilgrims.

And Sometimes they were dragons and then they perched on the rocks above us.

But, almost always, we were always at the outside looking in.

One always felt those moments of sadness and loneliness. There was sometimes the thought that maybe my Rider could have stayed with the caravan or served full-time in the cavalry and lived in a wagon instead of sleeping in a tent under the stars.

I know my Rider did sometimes have those doubts for a moment.

Just a moment.

Then there would be that realization that we needed to keep moving. It was a part of us. Horses by our nature are nomads. And Sarmatians are, too. Hell for a Sarmatian is a prison or a house. Just as hell for a horse is to be locked in a stable with no windows.

Gatalas and I just happen to be hyper-nomadic. (Ooh, I think I made up a new word!)

However, this was the first time we'd ever really experienced the shut out feeling from what was obviously a dragon culture. We truly were the minority here.

Gatalas sighed softly, his silvery eyes showing a shadow of isolation for a moment.

I nudged his head, pulling off his peaked Sarmatian hat. He reached up a hand and slapped my neck gently.

We grinned at each other in our own way.

Nah, we really weren't that lonely after all. We had each other and our bond and this strange wide world before us.

The boar was a gift to us. I knew that, and I kept finding myself thanking him. I seem to be picking up bad Firemaker habits, obviously

Still, it made a nice sense. I've come close to dying so many times, even though I'm a kitten. I know how hard it is to face death. The meat of the boar gave me life. His strength became my strength.

I had never seen any of the Sisters thank the meat they ate. And the River Rat monsters certainly ever had. This seemed something unique to my Monster-Firemakers, a strange and welcome form of respect they had for the creatures they shared our world with.

My stomach was so happy these days to be full. My legs felt stronger. My hide gleamed. And when my dull scales had fallen off to show my new colors, I truly felt as though I had been born again.

These thoughts were on my mind as I gnawed the last bit of pork from the bone and then crunched the bone, sucking out the life-giving marrow. I watched as the Sisters of the Scale debated with the new People who had been freed by the Draco pole.

::Are you insane?:: The Magnesium Person was asking Sonja, ::It is a Firemaker and a fake Person over there! Firemakers are evil. Everyone knows that. Why do you allow yourself to be in manipulated by them?::

The others by him growled in affirmation. The Self Burner shot Sand Heatscent a particularly poisonous look, one that plainly marked the elderly Sandspitter as a traitor.

Sonja trilled a cautious note and started sharpening the bladed extensions on her claw in a casual way, ::Dat Firemaker and his fake Person was da ones ta kill da boar youse just ate.::

I glanced at the edge of the fire where Gatalas and Eyeful rested, both of them staring into space with strangely wistful expressions on their faces. They seemed rather lonely to me.

I had felt that way when I had been the only Person among Firemakers. Now the winds had shifted, and my friends were the mysterious, evil creatures among a community of dragon People.

::Do I care?:: said the Magnesium Person, ::I never turn down free food when I can find it. I will leave tonight. You should, too. Instead, you seem to want to stay and be ensorcelled by this evil Firemaker! I've always thought Sticky Fire People were lacking common sense. This just proves it::

::'Scuze me?:: Sonja asked while Blossom the Butcher deliberately started fussing with her bola, ::Correct me if I'm wrong, here, but wasn't it ya what was just ensorcelled, ya overstuffed bluebird, and it was we'se and da Firemaker who freed ya?::

::That's different!:: the Magnesium Person snorted, a bit of sparkle dancing around his muzzle.

::A course it's different!:: Purple Sonja said, ::In our case, we follow the Firemaker because we choose to. He and his bony nag have done nothing but help us. In yer case, ya was completely enslaved and out of control.::

The little dragoness slid her daggered foot along the ground, striking up some sparks on the rocks, :: Dat blind spot under yer nose horn must be awfully big if ya can't see dat. Unless, ya choose not to see ya was overtaken by something bigger than your ego. If dat is possible::

There were some thought-murmurs. Some of the new People did seem a bit sheepish, now. One of the Lava People had the grace to look away, nostrils flaring. From the bones scattered around the new People, there was no denying the largest share of Gatalas' boar had gone to feed them.

::An' what 'free food'? Seems ta me, when I've seen youse ensorcelled People, youse are carryin' food youse stole from Firemakers. Da's against da Commandments.:: Purple Sonja added.

I pricked up my good ear. I had not heard of these commandments before.

::It's the People's Code of Conduct, Lux:: Jessamine thought softly to me, ::First Commandment is to never steal food from a Firemaker. It seems like easy pickings, but it's too dangerous in the long run. The only ones who attempt stealing from Firemakers are usually poor starving souls, daredevils or lazy younglings.::

I nodded in thanks and sucked down the last of the marrow with my long tongue. I started washing my face with a front paw, my eyes trained on the new People.

I had only seen one Magnesium Person before, back at the Walking Drum caravan when I'd been swooped up by a Naptha Person. I was starting to get the idea from this blue Person's actions that Magnesium People were kind of edgy and high strung.

He tossed his head indignantly, ::Silence, Sticky Fire scum! You will NOT bring that up or I will bring THIS up!::

We started to hear the hissing of powdered magnesium being lit on fire, and a rumble in the Magnesium one's throat. I flinched and heard Eyeful stomp her hooves in warning.

::FIRE-PEACE! NOW!:: an angry thought voice cut through the noise.

Sand Heatscent arched his back and growled, a deep and powerful noise that made my bones shake, ::We have shared food and you have been invited as guests. This is the vow of Fire-Peace. Insult it and you insult the Blessed Three. You will stand down, sir, and keep your accusations - and your fire- to yourself.::

Some small sparkle as magnesium exploded out of the pale blue, birdlike Person, but it was more of a release of flame than an attack. The Person clamped his enormous jaws shut and glared at the Sandspitter. He then looked back at the other People. The smallish Naptha Person shook her head at the Magnesium Person, echoed by the other new People.

I grinned, Eyeful's new boyfriend really was turning out to be kind of cool.

The Magnesium Person lowered his beautiful, magnificent head, ::Fire Peace:: he thought-sent in grouchy agreement.

::Good lad:: Sand Heatscent purred and returned back to Eyeful's side. The Turkmene did not roll her eyes as I would expected but nodded in what seemed to be gratitude.

Some tension seemed to waft away, drifting with the campfire smoke up to the sky and its many twinkling lights. The Eye of the Night Lady shined down on us, as if She were encouraging us. The strange and lovely swishing and booming sounds that I now knew were night insects and frogs echoed in the reeds around the lake. A rich, irony scent filled the air, released up from the lake and bog.

::Where do you take the food?:: Jessamine finally asked the new People, arranging herself in a comfortable dragon loaf near me. She kept her thought voice calm and analytical, and that suited her well. I had started to realize she was probably the most intelligent of the Sisters.

There was some rustling as the new People relaxed a bit, all except for the Self Burner and the surly Magnesium Person.

::Errrrm. We don't... I... uh...:: the Lava Person who had glanced away in shame earlier now answered. She shook her head so hard that I heard her scales rustle, ::I don't remember anything, myself. I just have this feeling like night spread into my mind and clogged things up. One day I was flying back to my mate with some river cress for my his sour stomach. And then I felt a darkness behind my eyes. A quick pain. And nothing after that.::

She gazed at Jessamine the Juggernaut with her large amber eyes, ::And I felt nothing else in my memory stone until now::

::Aye, same here.:: The female Naptha Person said, stretching her long crimson neck out, ::I felt a sense of daynightdaynightdaynight and some moments here and there where I was eating fish I scavenged. But otherwise just a darkness. And then I felt light burn across my eyes, I saw that strange golden Person's head on the pole and then I was myself again.::

::Agreed:: several of the new People said.

::Sounds like my experience,:: Sand Heatscent rumbled softly, ::I, too, felt that darkness until I saw the Person on the pole held by the Firemaker sitting on my True Love's back.::

::Uh, yeh, right. Forgot that Eyeful is your one true love.:: Purple Sonja said in that over-polite way you say something to someone you are not sure came out of the egg the right way.

Sand Heatscent ignored her and continued, ::But, my new brothers and sisters, didn't you feel a kind of need or presence in your mind? A feeling of an entity pushing you?::

::What's an entity?:: One of the Lava People asked curiously, ::Does it taste good? And where can I get one if it does?::

::Lava Persons!:: muttered Jessamine softly to me, ::Loyal but stupid::

Sand Heatscent chuckled softly, ::Lava Person, an entity is an unknown living thing. I swear upon the Sky Lady's golden claws that I could feel there was a 'She' and a 'They' urging me on. I needed to serve Her. And Them.::

::Ya separate them?:: Purple Sonja asked curiously, ::Why not just 'Them?::

Sand Heatscent hardened his eyes as a memory chased across his mind, ::Because She and They are not the same entity.::

::I felt this too, :: the two Lava People rumbled at the same time.

::Aye,:: the Self Burner said in surprisingly gentle, soft thought voice in a strange lilting accent, ::She and T'ey. T'ey and She. I rrrrrremember this, indeed. T'ey scarrrre me. An' so does She.::

He trained his eyes on Sand Heatscent's, ::I don't like t'at you blew your fish-saliva stenched sand on me, Sandspitterrrrr, but I do agrrree wit' your feelings. I am glad to have my mind back again.::

Sand Heatscent split his long muzzle in a dragon grin, ::Glad to hear of it. I, for one, intend to keep it that way. And, from what I have seen of the Firemaker and my true love, they are trying to find out just how to stop Her and Them. That is why I will follow them.::

He looked down at his claws, a strange pink glow running up his warm brown face scales::And, of course, for my True Love, which is always a noble ambition.::

::And we are following them because the Sisters of the Scales are Amazon warriors seeking adventure and glory, and if needs be to be willing to die makin' our enemies wail in defeat:: Blossom the Butcher said proudly, ::We long to let our bolas drink the blood of our enemies who dare enslave our People's minds!::

::Uh, Blossom?:: Jessamine pointed out gently, ::Bolas don't drink blood. I think you're confusing them with Firemaker swords.::

::Pah! I am an Amazon Terror- all heed my iron will, including my bolas! If I say my bolas drink blood, then they bloody well WILL drink blood! And beg for more.::

Jessamine shrugged in an ironic way and sighed.

::Blossom da Butcher's tellin' da truth,:: Purple Sonja elaborated, ::We fight for whad is right. Well, to be honest, mainly for treasure and- well, uh- err. Forget I said dat. We MAINLY fight for right. And DIS is da right thing ta do! Besides,:: she lowered her head, ::Dese Firemakers have been nuttin' but good ta us. Dey don't act like most Firemakers. One of deir warrior horses even gave his life for me, even if I was less dan polite to dem.::

The other Sisters crooned a note that hung in the air, similar to their mourning song for Ravenwing.

::We's follow glory, and dis Firemaker will show us glory- and help us free our People.:: Sonja said solemnly.

::And make us rich,:: Sadie said, but Jessamine quickly covered the little Terror's face with her tail with an annoyed expression in her eyes.

The new People seemed now genuinely intrigued, all sense of awkwardness gone. I felt a shiver run up my spine as I found every Person now looking at me.

::And you, quiet kitten. :: The Magnesium Person gave a strange chuckling sound that seemed oddly birdlike, ::Why do you travel with this Firemaker?::

I swallowed hard glaring into those orange eyes. They seemed to come from an ancient, ancient source, one that seemed very un-dragonlike. I got the sense of ancient creatures, giant beasts who roamed a steaming hot forest. They had powerful heads and jaws and walked upright on large hind legs, but their front legs were ridiculously tiny.

The answer jumped into my mind before I could even think about it, ::Because they are my tribe.::

::Have you looked in the water lately, kitten? You're a Person, not a Firemaker!:: the Magnesium Person snarled, but it was not cruel, just ironic.

I raised my winged shoulders and snarled right back, ::I know I am a Person, but I only recently found that out. Before that I had no idea what I was. I was stolen as a hatchling by Firemaker River Rat-Monsters and they kept me in a dark painful place for years. They- they ... treated me terribly.::

The others picked up the image from my mind and I heard a chorus of dragons rumbling fiercely, ::Vikings! Demons! Is there no end to their scorching evil?::

The Naptha Person moved to me and narrowed her eyes, curling her lips at the many scars that still marked my newly molted hide. ::Those are dire wounds, kitten. You'll bear those scars the rest of your life, I think. And it looks like you've lost one of your ears as well. And that front leg of yours looks weak. There's no reason for you to love Firemakers.::

I gazed back at the dragoness, still with a quiet snarl in my throat. Not rude... just a quiet warning, ::My ear is shredded, but my hearing is still good. Any my leg is healing. And there is no reason for me to love River Rat Monsters, true.::

I glanced at where Eyeful and Gatalas watched us. The Firemaker had his hand on her shoulder, and she gripped his stupid looking peaked felt and fur hat in her large teeth.

::But I don't hate all Firemakers, Naptha Person. I know some of them can be kind. If it were not for that Firemaker and Ey- I mean his warhorse, I would have died of sickness and hunger. They didn't have to, but they fed me and gave me my life back. While I was a captive, I screamed for help, but no one came. No one who looked like me came to help me. But the Firemaker and his warhorse did come to help.::

For a moment there was silence, and I let it hang in the air. My wounds spoke for me. I was also glad I had remembered not to violate Sarmatian custom and give away Eyeful's name without her permission.

::They gave me a place to heal. They didn't attack me when I was attacked them from fear. Instead they understood it and accepted my fear, :: I nodded my head solemnly. :: And now they are helping me to find out who my People are. There are good Firemakers out there. I may be nothing more than a a squashed fly to this "Her" and this "Them" but I will go with my Firemakers to help how I can.::

To my surprise, I felt a warmth spread through. I had felt it growing in my feelings over the last few days. It felt good, like the warmth of shelter from bitter cold, or the warmth of Sarmatian journey broth in my hungry stomach. I had not been sure, but now I knew it, and I was filled with joy by it.

Whether or not I ever found my birth People, I knew that Gatalas, Eyeful, Setareh, Kourosh and Farna were my tribe. And I felt deep love for Ravenwing who had helped me understand more about myself before he died. I belonged to all of them, just as they belonged to me.

And so I let myself shine.

Apparently more than I realized.

Soft purring growls rumbled around the encampment.

::Amazing. Dragon child! You are a wonder!:: The Magnesium Person's growl turned into a purr of amazement

:Wha-ha-ha?:: I roared, which, of course, turned into its usual annoying sqeak-purr.

::You're sparkling, Lux,:: Jessamine crooned, rich laughter in her thought voice.

And Gatalas drew in a surprised breath, letting it out with a wordless hum of joy.

::Dragons don't sparkle,:: I reminded them, ::Uh- hey! Hey!::

The ground rose up from me and hot teeth clamped my shoulders. I found myself being carried over to the clear mountain lake.

And then my reflection rose before me in the lake water.

Eyeful carried me in her teeth. I dangled below her mouth, gently, and now I saw that something was happening I could never have guessed.

Those horizontal stripes that run down my body from head to tail were now flashing with light, rippling lights! The lights pulsed in a pattern starting at the base of my neck and running along the stripes to the end of my tail. It seemed the lights were coming from the segmented knobs set periodically along my stripes.

And the colors- oh my! They were like the pearly color of my coat's undersheen, but changing shades of rose, blue-green and gold.

As I watched, they flickered and faded away. I returned to my pearly dark grey color again as I dangled in Eyeful's mouth.

The rumbling and hissing from the dragons did not fade away.

::Try it again, kitten.:: Sand Heatscent purred softly, ::I want to see if you can do it again::

Bemused, I glanced at him and then at Gatalas who was kneeling now by Eyeful and me at the lake shore, touching her leg to borrow her eyes.

The scary looking Firemaker smiled at me, so I imitated his grin and then focused.

And I saw the colors along my coat flash again in the water at my feet.

Eyeful gently set me down on the ground and I continued to watch my flashing reflection.

::How's about dat? Never seen a Person do dat before!:: Purple Sonja crooned, her eyes wide in wonder.

They couldn't be any wider than mine.

::That must be your firepower, Lux,:: Jessamine purred, her wings trembling in excitement at this new vision, ::You somehow produce colored, blinking lights instead of fire.::

At those words, I felt my heart drop somewhere to my feet. It probably fell to that place under the earth where the Sarmatians say the Great Lie lives.

::Tha- that's... pathetic!:: I roared in disgust. ::It's a sissy power! It's for useless People who just want to be pretty! It's for GIRL kittens!::

Whop! Jessamine cooly belted me across the shoulder with a wing blow. Since bolas were attached, I wound up being flipped over and landing on my back, ::Watch it, Amazon!::

::What did you say about girl dragons and stupid powers?:: Jessamine snarled.

I glared at her as I shook the bolas from my legs. Jessamine had not been aiming to knock me off my feet, just to frighten me. I had contributed to my own clumsiness.

Eyeful snickered and I hissed at her as I clambered to my feet, ::Poofcrud! C'mon! Can't anyone feel a little sympathy for me? I am a mysterious Person and I had hoped I would have an awesome firepower! But I turned out to be a mysterious Person with a pretty- but USELESS- power.::

Several of the sisters began to hum a crooning tune that sounded cute and annoying. And I hate cute. (It must be the growing Sarmatian in me).

::That's the famous Sticky Fire People's chant about how their hearts bleed for your suffering.:: Jessamine said helpfully.

The new People were now at the lake's edge, too, keeping their distance from Gatalas and Eyeful.

I now remembered that there had been two Naptha People who were saved by the Draco. So far only the female had made mental contact. The other one now watched us, twitching his longish ears.

::It's something to be proud of, kitten,:: his thought-speech full of gravel and hard-earned wisdom, ::There are many ways to use our breath weapons, not just fire. You've seen how the Sandspitter can use his. And, of course, the Concussion People rely on using concussive blasts under the water as their breath weapon:: He snorted softly, ::And I've heard memory songs about a whole class of People who use light as weapons, though I think they come from a faraway land. Your unknown tribe probably is one of them.::

::But light is useless! All it does is just... well, it just lights and looks pretty. That's all.:: I snorted disdainfully.

::Those memory songs have told that some of these light class People were used as communicators, kind of like the Lightning People, but for close range,:: The dry-toned Naptha Person croaked, ::They could flash patterns to advise and warn other People of danger or important news. Sometimes their ability to communicate a message fast and far saved the battles. ::

::But couldn't they just use mind speech?:: Jessamine asked.

The Naptha Person revealed beautiful ivory teeth in a gentle smile, ::In theory, yes, little Amazon. But tales of battles also show these are times of such speed and strong emotions and cluttered thoughts that your Mindspeech would come out very jumbled. Plus, if you can send out a thought command, your enemies might pick up on it too. But they might not know the code used for flickering lights.::

I considered that, somewhat doubtfully while the frogs and insects chirped around us. I was, to be honest, terrified that I might wind up eventually shooting rainbows from my mouth. I don't think I could live that one down.

::I just I wish I knew how those Light Class People look in form. All we have are hero songs of their deeds, not their shapes.:: The Naptha Person concluded, ::But I would suggest you consider developing that light flashing skill. If you are going to stick with your foolish Firemaker and his foolish dragon-not-dragon - and you can stop glaring at me, orange horse- then perhaps you should work out a code with them you can use for night scouting or transmitting messages.::

Eyeful stopped glaring at the Naptha Person and snorted just as I nodded my head. It seemed a reasonable idea. If I was going to be stuck with a girly dragon power, then I might as well try to make it useful.

::What is your name, little one?:: The Naptha Person said softly, ::Mine is Darkfire::

::I am Lux,:: I said just as softly, ::I don't have a Person name because I never knew my name. I just use what a Firemaker name. But I did choose it for myself. It is Broomhead talk. And it means...::

Here my thought voice caught on itself.

::...it means...uh,... 'Light?'::

Yes. Light.

I tried to sleep, but I was so excited I could not at first. Here we were discovering new People, and they seemed to be considering that following Gatalas, Eyeful and we People on our quest to find out about their enemy could be worthwhile. Eventually I did fall into a restless sleep.

The next morning we all woke to discover all the new People were here except for one, the Magnesium Person.

::That's no surprise,:: Blossom the Butcher snarled, ::He was the most skeptical of the lot, ungrateful son of a scabies-ridden gecko.::

::Yeh, but he sure stayed aroun' ta eat da food da Firemakers caught.:: Purple Sonja remarked, looking at the now vanished boar, nothing more than bristly skin left to dissolve into the Earth.

::Well, we set him free,:: Eyeful reminded Sonja while her Rider put on her strange leather harness, assisted by some of the Sisters, ::It was up to him to choose whether or not to come along with us.::

::I'm surprised yer so casual about dis, Horsebutt,:: Purple Sonja retorted, ::I'da found the ungrateful wretch and given him some what-for wid my Flames of Amazon Doom.

::Being a warrior is often about picking your battles, and this one is not worth it,:: Eyeful responded as she nipped at a persistent morning deerfly.

The other People, the new ones, watched us get ready to part. They had been lounging on their sides, but they now lumbered to their feet.

::We're coming along,:: the Naptha Person, Darkfire, thought-sent, ::We decided it last night after dear old Parrotface left.::

::Aye, a piece of our lives was lost when She... and T'ey took over our minds,:: snarled the Self Burner, ::We will neverrrrr get back t'ose lives. And I... I don't even rrrrememberrr my name. :: he looked down at the ground, ::I canna' remember anyt'in I was beforrrre She and T'ey took my mind. Perrrrhaps I was taken verrrry young.::

::Anyway, it infuriates me to the bottoms of all seven of my legs!:: One of the Lava People roared.

The other Lava Person looked at him, sending a private thought message. The first Lava Person looked down at his legs, lifting each one and muttering little growls to himself. Then he shot an irritated look back at the other Lava Person.

::Scorch it, Deeploam. I'm a Lava Person. Arithmetic was never my strong point!::

Gatalas laughed, "Then I greet all of you and say welcome to travel with us."

He held up a hand, mostly in joking, palm facing the Lava Person and fingers pointing upwards, "This is how we Sarmatians invite each other to become closer friends and allies. We show our hand and that we don't hold a weapon. The one I greet then places his or her open hand hand against mine. If we wish, we exchange names, but that is not required. But now it means me will share friendship. And it is a grave thing to break it."

Eyeful placed her muzzle against his hand and then stepped away, ::It is how Turkmene and Rider greet each other, too. We adopted it from the Firemakers.::

::That seems easy enough:: the Lava Breather snorted, ::Too easy. I don't accept friends that easily.::

"It's not a gesture we Sarmatians make very often," Gatalas said quietly once he got the translation, "I would never offer this to a total stranger. I would, of course, offer him road hospitality and wish him kind greetings involving maggots and skulls. But I only offer the hand of friendship when I need further trust and an ally."

He shrugged, "And it's not a good idea to betray a Sarmatia whom you have accepted as a friend. Then we get slightly mad and kill you and take your scalp. But you can rest assured if you are a respectable enemy, then we use your skull as a drinking cup- we're polite that way, we Sarmatians."

A ring of curious People now watched him, eyes widened thoughtfully, pupils mostly slitted in the bright sunlight.

::Your sense of honor and trust seems so innocent,:: Darkfire thought-sent while Eyeful translated, ::Surely your Firemaker brethren must think your Sarmatian Tribe are easy suckers.::

"So many Firemakers do say that about us, too," Gatalas nodded and then flicked the greenish-hide streamers and little wooden, horned skulls adorning Eyeful's chest and neck harness, "But you really don't want to see me - or my Turkmene- when we're mad. Sarmatian horse harnesses were originally designed to be decorated with the scalps of Firemakers my people killed in battle. We decorated our Turkmenes. And we also used to adorn our riding coats with scalps, too in very nice patterns.::

He looked up and whistled mournfully, like throwing something away, ::The Broomheads made us put a halt to that, so we found other ways to mark and count the Firemakers we have killed in battle.::

He patted Eyeful's neck again, and she shook it so the little skulls clanked. I suddenly realized what the skulls were supposed to symbolize, and it made me feel grim inside. I saw now, with a shiver, when I counted the number of wooden skulls, that my good-hearted friends meant their business as warriors- and they took pride in it.

::Impressed?:: Eyeful winked at me, ::My mother wore so many scalps on her harness that the Broomheads thought she had a lion's mane.::

Ugh. That grossed me out.

It may have grossed me out, but such tales of violence and taking grisly trophies did impress the dragon People, and they reacted happily to it. Seems Gatalas' strange strategy worked on them to gain their respect.

Still- wow! My kind Firemaker and the kind Turkmene- judging by Eyeful's now-grisly harness decorations, they had actually killed quite a few Firemakers - and some sort of green-leather skinned creature- in their lives. And they were supposedly young in age! It seemed hard for me to combine my good natured friends with cold blooded killers. There was obviously a story here that I hoped they would tell me one day. How did such ruthless beings become so kind to help hurt dragon kittens and River Rat-abused young women?

When Gatalas put up his hand again, all of them walked up and laid a muzzle against it, one by one. Even the Sisters did, too, fluttering up in the air to brush their muzzles against Gatalas' palm.

"So now you are friends with me, and I hope the Draco sees that, as well." Gatalas smiled, "We're certainly turning into the most interesting Dragon Unit ever.

So our now-larger little group moved on. It was a bit of a trick to coordinate for blind Gatalas, I think. Because of our wings, we People can cover distance better than a horse and rider. It meant that there was a constant wave of People moving ahead and waiting, but also doing this as discretely as possible. Gatalas fixed relays of People to go out and wait for us, but use the opportunity to check every bit of terrain while they waited.

"This could be another example of how dragons and we Sarmatians could work together," Gatalas told Eyeful while we moved along. (I was perched in my usual spot on Eyeful's saddle cantle), "They could go ahead of our units and cache depots of food and grain for long expeditions."

Eyeful twitched her ears, seeming to agree. Her head almost always nodded when she walked or trotted due to her normal gliding gait, making it hard to tell if she was just moving or actually agreeing with Gatalas.

I think she was actually impressing the new dragons because her normal journey pace was quite fast. The final travel group, mainly the slower Lava People, Sand Heatscent and one of the Naptha People, accompanied the Sarmatians. The dragons actually had to hustle to keep up with the orange and brown striped Turkmene.

Of course, Sand Heatscent was pleased about that. Eyeful was wearing her armor again, so he was content that his One True Love was back in her natural form.

I had to try hard not to laugh too much at his expressions of love and relief. Honestly, I was getting to be quite fond of the old Sandspitter, but he was so sadly stubborn about keeping this illusion alive about Eyeful being a bewitched Sandspitter in love with him.

I sure hope I never fall in love. Eeeew. What a waste of time!

Gatalas held the Draco pole while he rode as a precaution. He and Eyeful seemed to have worked out some way to hook it through one of the stirrup holders so it could balance against the Sarmatian Firemaker's leg while he braced it with one hand. The other gripped the handle around Eyeful's neck collar.

During our noon meal break, I practiced flashing my hide lights in codes. Jessamine and Sonja had been working out a code with me about how to use my flashes, so when the smoke of the attacks billowed up and the confusion of battle jumbled dragon thoughts, I could send messages like ::Come here!:: and ::Fire to the left:: and ::Bolas up and to the right!::

Gatalas had helped with developing my flash code as well, mentioning that his people sometimes used light flashing off of glass "mirrors" or even signals from fire smoke to alert allies in the distance. This was, of course, for those Sarmatians and allies who did not have Turkmenes to send mindspeech messages.

He remembered these flashing codes from his childhood days before he lost his eyesight, and he taught some codes to me. As I flashed them back to him, he leaned against Eyeful so he could "see" my responses. He would describe them as "bright dark-dark bright" or some other such rhythm to help me understand how the image pattern should work. He'd use accompanying hand gestures to help on that. Bright was when he raised his flat hand, palm up, moving it towards the sky. Dark was when he hid his fingers into a fist and moved his hand towards the ground. When he combined the hand signals, that let me know the pattern I needed to make with my hide lights.

The Sisters then made adjustments to Gatalas' suggested patterns, ones that fit how they would see my light signals from the air.

Soon the other People were getting into the act, making suggestions and then discussing what sort of battle move they would make when they saw my light symbols. There were so many crazy ideas involving swooping-biting-flaming-roaring that it began to sound like a River Rat drunken festival to me, and Gatalas seemed to think so, too.

"I thought you dragon people had military formations and you fought together as many different tribes, so you must have some sort of organized maneuvers," the young Sarmatian archer said as he broke off some dried journey cake to feed to Eyeful. (She lapped it off his gloved hand with a look of delighted joy in her pale green-brown eyes)

Eyeful translated Gatalas' words to the Sisters and the others.

::Well, of course,:: agreed Darkfire, the male Naptha Person, ::But I have to admit I've never fought in a battle formation. I'm quite young, and I always thought wandering the world was more important than learning to fight, so I never bothered to learn battle techniques.:: He gave a draconic snort of irony, ::In the end, when I ran into Her and Them, I was too easy to overcome.::

::And I have been mind-taken for so long I canno' rrrememberr if I ever learnnned battle moves.:: The Self Burner said in his strange accent.

::Besides, we's are fightin' against somet'in dat no Person can resist,:: Purple Sonja agreed, sharpening her sharp iron claw cover on a rock, ::Anydin we try will result in us jes' gettin' overtaken.::

::Unless we are in the benevolent shadow of my sweet love and that strange, magical pole with the dragon Person's head on it:: Sand Heatscent purred.

"That's even more of a reason why you dragons should work something out," Gatalas said and gave Eyeful an I can't believe I just said that smile, "I'm not that high rank in my Sarmatian unit- just a skirmisher and a horse archer, but I'm sure there are ways you could use the Draco as your shield and attack from within its protection, especially if Eyeful and I placed ourselves at the front."

And then I heard him add to Eyeful , in a softer voice, "And hope to Tabiti and Marha that we don't get skewered like a shish-kabob."

::You won't get hurt if some of us are stationed by you to protect you, :: Sand Heatscent rumbled, ::I can run quite fast for my kind and for long time periods. I will keep up with my love when she runs, and I would be under the pole's protection while protecting her with my sand blasts.::

Eyeful nickered at him in genuine gratitude (though she did sort of roll her eyes a bit, too) . He really was a good sort of fellow, even if disillusioned.

::But what would the rest of us do? I don't think there are enough of us to make a difference,:: One of the Lava People asked

Gatalas sighed and ran a hand through his blond forelock, cropped shorter, apparently, to make it easier to wear under a helmet, "Well, we can't do too much now, doostamnir. We don't know who the enemy is other than a set of interesting pronouns. We have to figure out the enemy more."

He reached up from his cross-legged position and pat Eyeful's chest, "Horsebutt and I are headed to find our unit- you know this already. The Draco will protect them and will protect you, too, it seems. I know my Dragon Unit is going to attack this creature- oops, sorry- I mean Her and Them. For the moment the most important thing is to get the Draco to my Dragon Unit."

::Aye,:: Jessamine agreed, ::But we People agreed to come with you, so you'd better not keep us out of whatever strategy you're planning!::

::Or else...:: Blossom gave an evil dragon grin and twisted her bolas overhead. Behind her the two Naptha People snorted in respect since her bolas were also laced with bits of sharp fine metal twisted around the cords, things she'd probably scavenged from Firemaker camps.

Gatalas laughed and raised his hands in surrender, "All right, all right. Bebakshid, my misunderstanding. You need to come back to your tribe with great deeds of victory in battle, but I don't know if you'll feel that willing to help my unit when you see a bunch of Firemakers like me all in one place. But I'll be grateful for your company until then."

::And we could use the chance to have the Draco maybe free more People?:: I asked quietly, gazing at the beautiful Draco head where it leaned against a rock.

Gatalas smiled and nodded at me, "That sounds like a good idea, Lux. It would not hurt to get a few more of your people on our side, but it means we won't get a lot of sleep tonight. Again."

::Heh. Bring it on.:: I barked, ::Now, tell us how we can help with this if we try to save more dragon People tonight::

"I don't know. It seems the Draco and the wards do most of it. If only there were a way we could somehow urge your mind-trapped people to fly more into the path of the Draco and the wards, kind of like..." Then he laughed and smacked his hands, sending up a cloud of honey cake crumbs, "Of course! We'll just do what my people when we herd the cattle and sheep and goats. I know you won't find it very flattering in sound, but in action it looks very cool. Let's have you dragons be cutting ponies!"

He was right. They were offended at first until he explained what a cutting pony did when it sorted a sheep or a cow from the main herd. Then they were intrigued.

It was a good thing we ate a good noon meal and rested afterwards.

The dragon attacks tonight were exciting, but the atmosphere was not pleasant at all. Much of it was a sensation of smoke and teeth and fire, the only clear indication the Draco pole shining its gold into a sky of smoke and ash.

But I will tell you of what I remember.

The hoof-prints in front of us grew deeper, indicating we were getting closer and closer to Gatalas' and Eyeful's Firemakers. But the sun moved faster, and we realized we would not meet Gatalas' Dragon Unit today.

Instead, we used the dimming light had to gather together and find a place to spend the night. The best the Amazon Sisters serving as scouts could find was a shallow area that was not as well hidden as the ones we had used the previous nights.

::At least we're getting very close to the Sarmatian dragon.:: Eyeful told me as some of the dragons followed Gatalas' instructions on setting a fire to roast the night dinner as of hunted fowl and fish, :: Sky Lady. Hrani and Marha-willing, we'll be united with the other horse troops tomorrow!::

But they came upon us before the cooking fires could get lit.

I wanted to hide, but I instead helped the Sisters and the others. As agreed upon, Darkwind gently grasped me in his front paws. He plunged up into the sky, carrying me. I leaned against his warm chest and felt his heart beat reassuringly against my head.

I watched the ground rush away from me with a thrill of excitement. Down below, I saw tiny doll figures of a Sandspitter and a dragon-armored Turkmene with a blond Firemaker on its back.

::Can you all see me?:: I sent to the figures below, and I added a rather nice roar to my transmission.

From below, Gatalas did that Firemaker gesture where they touch a hand against their head. It is a way of saying "Yes."

The Sisters trilled around me as they swooped up and down, scoping out the terrain, slings and bolas at the ready.

And the games began! From my vantage point I saw the dragons approaching and consulted quickly with Darkwind. The sharp-eyed Naptha Breather had a good sense of which People in the approaching flock could be separated.

He would relay to me the best Person for "cutting" out of the herd.

::Head to your left at an angle!:: I would thought-send and flash the agreed- upon code with my new ability. And this would be directed to a particular unit of Sisters.

And then that group of Sisters would fly toward the straggler, accompanied by a larger Person. (We had divided teams to have two or three Amazons work alongside one of larger People)

The Sisters would distract the ensorcelled dragon, blasting out small teasing burst of sticky fire and tossing bolos or ropes to thud against his or her side.

At the same time the larger Person in the team would usually "cut" the target from the herd, usually by slamming into him (Lava Person) or dropping down on him (Naptha Person or Self Burner), sending said victim down towards the Draco and our Sarmatian friends.

If the ensorcelled dragon Person struggled, then he'd find himself being attacked from the behind or above by Sisters, who would quickly zip out of range before he could retaliate. Then the larger Person in the team would strike again.

On Gatalas' orders, none of our allies used their fire weapons other than as distractions. We didn't want to cause a fight, rather to skirmish (I think that is the word Gatalas used).

The whole maneuver usually happened quite fast, and soon the power of the Draco took over once the skirmishing Amazon/larger Person unit would lure the ensorcelled dragon toward the Draco. The ensorcelled dragon would be "thrown" back into self control and usually wind up falling towards the ground. Instincts would come into play, and the dragon would spread itself into a (usually) graceful landing onto the ground. There it would shake its head, puzzled, until ready to listen to us explain our mission.

Meanwhile, Darkwind and I would soar onto the next "victim," signaling with light flashes to get another team of Amazing and a larger Person ready to "cut out" the next dragon from the herd.

And it worked! The Sisters would get the message I flashed and then react, and the larger Person in each unit also responded beautifully.

As the skies were beginning to get darker, my flashing came more and more in handy, cutting brightly pulses of rose and blue and gold through the darkness. Since some ensorcelled People snorted smoke and belched fire, that began to choke the air. That meant my bright flashes became more and more important to cut through the smoke as Darkwind and I wheeled trough the sky, sighting dragons and flashing orders.

It was hot, dangerous work. Cinders and smoke crept up my nostrils and made my eyes water. My head ached more and more as the attacks went on and my lungs filled with nasty smoke. The wind of flight that blew over Darkfire and me became hotter and hotter, made so by the breaths and angry fire of the resisting dragon horde.

One time a large, long-necked Person with bone-sharp wings launched at Darkfire, shearing at him.

::Hang on, little brother!:: Darkfire suddenly dropped towards the ground as a huge wing sliced through the air above us. I felt pressure from the drop close along my sides and knock my crop out of whack. I then looked up and saw an actual sharply glinting wing plunging towards us.

Then things blurred and the world turned upside down. The sharp-bladed wing now hovered out of reach, but the sky was below me and the ground above my head!

I couldn't held screaming in fear and sickness as my stomach reminded me it did not like to be located over my head. But we had gotten away from that attacking Person because of Darkfire's actions, even if they had involved turning upside down.

So I remembered I was a Sarmatian dragon kitten, and I laughed instead, even though I was scared.

It was kind of fun, then, when Darkfire righted himself and there was a nice cool wind. The view around us in the dusky sky was beautiful with red tinted clouds, a rising moon and deep mountains now becoming blue and purple in the fading light.

::Sorry, Lux, ::Deepfire boomed to me, :: 'Twas the only way I could getaway from that Person!::

::I understand. Maybe we can do it again when things are more calm. It was kind of fun.:: I chirped back.

In the swirls of smoke and gas below me, I could now see the gleam of the Draco banner head and Eyeful's bright hide. The Sarmatian, Turkmene and Draco moved along with the flying horde, pacing them evenly with Eyeful's smooth gallop. Sand Heatscent rushed at Eyeful's side, growling at any threat of a Person who might attack this easy target.

Eventually the sounds of heavy wings and thuds of fireballs died down, and then there was nothing but greasy smoke and the swirls of our allies moving throughout the sky.

The outcome was good. When the dragon hoard thundered past us and onto its mysterious mission, , we had 8 new dragons milling around our campsite. It was a bigger crew this time: mostly Self Burners, two Double Heads and a snakelike, large headed, spiral toothed creature called a Death-Voice Breather. Eyeful told me that most Firemakers know of it as a Whispering Death.

I noticed that Gatalas did not take off Eyeful's saddle and armor tonight, and she did not remind him of it, but she did seem relieved that he removed her chamfron at least. She shook her head, giving a very unladylike grunt of relief.

The two of them somehow seemed to have become the ones the dragons looked to for advice. Both were worried about going to sleep without making sure a proper watch was set up and the new dragons had a chance to listen to our story to decide whether or not to follow us.

I wanted to stay up to help out, too, but after the welcome dinner of wild partridge and fish and the stress of fighting, when the time to rest came, I found myself curled up against Jessamine, and I felt myself fall into sleep against my best wishes.

I watched Lux curled up asleep against Jessamine and felt happy for him. He had really worked hard today, and he earned that deep sleep.

Gatalas and I did not want to sleep, but when Sand Heatscent and several of the Sisters volunteered for the watch after ours, I was grateful of the chance to sleep.

We still insisted on setting out watches, even though we had the wards. We were not sure how far the wards could stretch out and still be able to protect an area, and there were enemies besides the She and They. We remembered the smeu who had led to Ravenwing's demise. And there were wolves and bears and Firemaker bandits. And, perhaps, even that mysterious many-eyed balaur creature the goatherd had mentioned a few days ago.

I was worried for how tired Gatalas looked. He was filthy after days without a proper bath, face smudged with smoke from the dragon encounter this evening. His forelock and loose strands of hair were working into nasty tangles and knots, now getting dark with ash. The burn from the original attack by the Sisters still was bright red on his hand, plus he had picked up an additional burn mark on the same hand from one of the attacking dragons.

I probably looked no better, but thanks to the dragon armor, I had no new scars on me, and I had not been burned in the attacks.

I felt, however, a sleepiness come over me, a calm in spite of my stress. I found myself drifting off. The sleep felt so good and deep, as if I slept in a summer pasture while bees buzzed around.

Then I became aware of actually lying horse style, legs tucked under me, bees flying around my head. The warm smell of summer grass- lush, lovely summer grass- wafted around me.

Gatalas lay on his back by my side, burnt arm thrown over his eyes and forehead and the smile of a sleeping baby on his lean face. I pretended to ignore the contented sleep drool on his lips.

Firemakers.

::Gatalas. Guess what? We're on the Dreampaths,:: I told my Rider, turning my head to where he lay.

"Mmphhh? What did you say? I can't hear you. I'm too busy thinking about how we're on the Dreampaths."

I snorted in irony and just used the opportunity to relax. Sometimes that's all the Dreampaths mean. A tired soul can rest and regain strength. And we had certainly been through a lot in the last few days. Well, why not rest? It had been a while. Maybe it would give us some more reassurance we were doing the right thing by teaching battle maneuvers to these new friends who had literally fallen into our lives.

It did not feel so reassuring when I felt a heavy blow strike down from the sky.

It thudded against my saddle on my shoulders. I was knocked off of balance and onto my back, realizing in real life, if I had not been wearing a saddle, the attacking being causing that blow would have broken my back.

"Wha-hahha- Eyeful!" Gatalas was now coming up to his feet, blind eyes wide in surprise. He grabbed out for his bow, but that, somehow, had decided to not walk the Dreampaths with us.

Stupid Firemaker weapons.

Is struggled up to my feet and looked up into the steppe sky. A large, magnificent Lightning Breather hovered over me, wings outstretched and teeth glinting with nasty promises.

It was Toothless, and he was as raging like a prairie fire.

Gatalas and I had both been discussing we would need to confront Toothless for our role in his exile, whether we intended it or not. We had brought dishonor on him, and thus on ourselves. We needed to restore our honor to him. The Forge and Star Priests had approved this, and they had told us we should make good on our promise to defend our honor by letting Toothless fight us.

The confrontation really was coming at a bad time, just when Gatalas' leadership was most needed. But what could we do?

It looked like that moment of honor battle with Toothless had come up just now, whether we liked it or not.

Oh, noes, it's a Cliffhanger. Oh, dear! Why u do that, Fjord Mustang...?

I type this into my laptop as I sit on the beach outside my village, watching the waves come to lap against the rockh shore. In the distance the sunset is so beautiful.

When the jolt goes through me, it hurts, but I can hardly say I am surprised.

"Sorry, miss, but I had to do it. You're being a hypocrite." says a kind voice.

Blinking in pain from the cattle prod-like shock, I look up from my beach blanket and see a dark brown, winged horse and, perched on his back, a rather hunky looking middle aged man wearing a blue and white New England Fedex uniform. There is some sort of Red Sox logo on the horses's left flank. The harness on the horse has the words "Powered by TV Tropes" engraved on it in beautiful letters.

The rider is pointing a beautiful, glowing object at me. It resembles the scanning unit Fedex couriers use when they code in our labels picking up deliveries from work. But this one is labeled Scanherja.

"Hi." I respond, "Actually, I 'm a Cancer, not a Hypocrite. And sorry for the cliffhanger."

"It's just in poor taste, if you don't mind me saying, Miss," The Fedex man says with a smile on his fashionably stubbled face, "I mean, you've been hiring me to fix the cliffhangers in that "Hitchups" fan fiction. I'm not complaining- mind you- it's been a gas and I can always use the extra cash to pay for the new kayak. However, you tease authors like Antic Repartee with their cliffhangers and then you proceed to end this chapter with one. And with your poor update history, that is just flat out cruel."

I look down at the sand, accepting the criticism., "You are right, sir. But, it's only a Cliffhanger Lite. If the readers just go to Chapter 10 of "To Soar Beyond the Sunset: A Night Fury's Odd Memoir," they'll find this very scene. So they can read that scene and see how this will be resolved in the next chapter. Remember, this is a parallel to events happening in that fanfiction."

The Fedex man with Scanherja nods thoughtfully. He raises the trusty scanning device to his eyes (covered by cool sunglasses) and reads it for a few minutes.

"How about that? Wicked, good! You're right! It is a cliffie, but there is a resolution to it in your other fan fiction. So people can read that. "

He stashes Scanherja in a belt holster and nods, "Okay, yer off the hook this time, Mustang. But if you ever do the Cliffhanger thing again, Scanherja is going to give that long hair of yours a permanent poodle perm with the shock she'll deliver. You'll be begging for a buzz cut in no time when that happens!"

I salute in agreement, "Okay, sir. Point taken. I'm rather attached to my hair."

"No problem," He laughs and turns his horse to the horizon, "Now I have to fly off to Niflheim and plant a probability generator device for an upcoming fan fiction chapter. Oh, and a few exploding dragon eggs."

He flies off into the sunset. I shake my head.

What a waste of time.

Anyway, it has been a long time and I apologize. I think the missing incentive for my writing has been I have not been traveling. Somehow that gives me the fire burst to write new chapters. The minute I was back in the Faroes and Iceland I felt the need to write new chapters. Sigh. I need to get out more often.

The next chapter is already underway! May it take longer than a century for me to publish!

By the way, Lux's flashing lights are based on a real creature: the comb jellyfish. These non stinging creatures have bioluminescent-like lights along their sides that appear to blink and flash in sequence. Comb jellies have transparent, jelly-like bodies with bright, iridescent bands of color. The bands are made up of tiny hairs called combs, which divide the body into eight symmetrical areas. You can catch some beautiful You tube images taken of these creatures when they are flashing their lights. In North America there is a "warty" variant of sea comb known as the sea walnut that washes up on the beaches. They don't sting, so people like to handle them. Not sure if I like the idea of playing beach volleyball with them, though.

Thank you to Whitefang333 for introducing me to these strange, wonderful creatures (I actually find jellyfish beautiful, though I would not want to get stung by one)

And thanks to Michael Flanigan for letting me know more about sea walnuts.

Translations:

Oh, che khoob - Oh, that's very good!

Bale- Yes

Doostam/Doostamnir- Friend/Friends

Motavajjeh isham! - I understand!

Bebakshid- Sorry, my mistake