Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Geas

A cacophany erupted in front of her, as she still hadn't joined their circle. When it died down, and it did so slowly, she resumed her pacing around them.
   "I come with Word from Above, and I find a gaggle of posturing politicians who have so little regard for their kin, they send them plummeting from the sky at far too low an altitude to do any real good, knowing they won't survive. The most devout of His children, and you waste their lives! Twelve wagging tongues who do nothing but mismanage their Holds' resources so badly, they would throw away hundreds of years of growth for a Hold that will barely house a single dragon, with no kin to watch over."
   "Hundreds of years?"
   "Will we live that long?"
   "We would never!"
   "You did!"
   "I did not!"
   Onnu roared into the discord now, anxious to discharge her geas and be done with it. Her eyes glowed bright, to garner attention. Lightning licked along her scales. She was not angry, but sick of the political arena she'd barely touched.
   "Hear me and obey!" She didn't know where the words came from. Or she did, and was too tired of it all to fight Him on it. She Felt her Brothers join her, their "doors" opening in her mind. They must've known that she was about to say something important. Either that (and this was more likely), or it was programmed somewhere that if one of them was going to deliver the Word, the other two were automatically tuned in.
   The effect was that every sentient creature in the Verse heard what she said. It would be the same, whether Trey or Dwayne had passed on His Word.
   "I hath provided rain for thy crops, from the tears of My servant. We doth weep at thy callous regard for My most loyal children. Take, water thy crops, and waste not the lives of thy brethren. Be the stewards of the land, as ye did on Erdewaz."
   True to His word, a rainbow appeared over the City, and every Hold on Tupino. The other two planets hadn't had rain yet, but as soon as she finished speaking, they did. She wouldn't find that out until later, though.
   What was immediately apparent was, the Council dropped to their keels in supplication and promise. Just as He said they would. The word "amen" slipped from every mouth in earshot. If He was to be believed (and she did), all dragons on the Fortnight Worlds had done the same.
   She sighed and walked at a more sedate pace around them. "Behold, the will of your Lord. It was not I who made the rainbow, and you will find that it is everywhere on Tupino. Do. Not. Worship. Elder Dragons. Here is evidence that 'tis not us who rule. Here will be evidence, forevermore, that He has promised rain on Tupino. Every rainbow is to be a reminder of that promise. His and yours.
   "We are merely tools for Him to wield. No honorifics, no titles. Elder Dragon will suffice, or our names. We are tasked with maintaining entire worlds. You are tasked with being stewards of the lands around your Holds--and beyond, if it would affect them.
   "And ye struggle to do that. Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not make me come back up here. As I told brother Alistair, I will conduct surveys via centaurs, and place Holds at their discretion. I will be unable to return until these hatchlings are old enough to fly. Today was an exception. Do not make Him grant another.
   "And if ye still doubt, know this: the day we are witnessing will continue, without Charon's Pass, until I have returned home. He has stayed their passage until we are safely within our Hold--no, brother Ramirez, you cannot detain me here." She paused and aimed a steely Look at the shrewd brown dragon.
   "No Hold can contain me; no logic can separate me from my mate. And as much as you'd like to think that the Charon are inherently evil, they are what replenish the Fortnight Worlds. Unless you prefer bugs, of course?"
   None of the Council would ask for bugs on Tupino.
   "Put plainly: either spread out beyond the Holds, take better care of your food animals and crops, travel to another planet, or wait for this generation to take flight." She would not open her talons, and risk her children flailing out to explore, so she gestured with her cupped hands. She didn't miss the eyes that focused a little too keenly on them, nor did she call them out.
   "As for me, I will remain in the suburbs, learning how to safely do as you ask."
   "So your Holds get to expand, but ours don't?"
   She stared impassively at the copper dragon who stood to challenge her. Some of the others gawked up at him from their prone positions.
   "By my count, you have added eight new Holds since Crossing. Granted, most are too shallow to have formed niches, but they're bound to be useful for something."
   "How did she know they didn't have..."
   "How do we make them deeper..."
   "How did she know they were shallow?"
   "How did she know my name?"
   She allowed them to chatter. She had discharged her duty. One clean leap straight up, which seemed to impress the Council (did they not fly the same way? she wondered), and she was airborne. The hatchlings squirmed and pouted, but she did not relent. She would need to feed them soon, but that could wait until they were on their side of the mountains.
   Or over the mountains, she thought, as she neatly snatched up a winged creature they hadn't spotted enough times to name.
   She landed in the foothills with it, and chewed up some bits for the hatchlings to eat. They were ecstatic to be on the ground, outside the Hold, so it was challenging to get them to settle down for food, but they could only ignore their grumbling stomachs for so long.
   Is it almost time? How did it go?
   Onnu smiled. Of course it was Gabriel's turn.
   Almost, she assured him. We are near home, but paused for food.
   But how did it go?
   She sighed, picked up the hatchlings, and downed the rest of the carcass as she answered. I'm not sure. I just hope His light show worked. That's one stubborn, pious lot of fools.
   He made a sound of disgust. Are they the reason we're having dragon so often?
   Bingo. They're trying to make new Holds, knowing full well normal dragons won't survive.
   Worse than fools. You set them straight?
   Tried to.
   I hope it worked. Dragons taste okay, but then I have to spit out the crunchy bits.
   I noticed. Don't worry, the... uh... spit becomes an extremely useful crafting material.
   Really? Well, I guess I don't feel so bad about that. Still not right that they're just throwing away perfectly good dragons. They tasted prime.
   I suppose they'd have to be. Council probably figured they'd stand the best chance of survival.
   Gabriel wasn't convinced, but neither was Onnu. They were in agreement, and she would later learn that Michael was, too. Even David expressed displeasure, in his own way.