Draig

Red

Léonin was sitting in a comfortable chair in the main hall, on a small dais before the fire. Two Majisters flanked him, Theo on his left and Tal on his right. The Hall was vast, stone buttressed with many colorful tapestries. They spoke volumes in woven threads. Dane longed to examine them.

"As you know, the War of the Wyrm took place 500 years ago. At that time, the Wyrm was stopped, but at a terrible cost. Dissonance entered the Song. One of our number, Jamis, had foreseen the possibility. He took pains to hide the refrains of the Lorica, our most sacred book, throughout the world so it would not be lost forever. You saw a vision during your trial and witnessed pieces of the journey. Now, your task is to retrieve the refrains.
"The Draig are Chymaera, a very dangerous form. They've always been volatile. Children of the Flame, they are called. For good reason. They have fewer numbers than other sigils but live longer lives," said Léonin.

His demeanor was solemn, his eyes shone, hooded, deep pools. His voice rose and fell, full of beauty.

Dane and his companions had been seated at a table close to the center of the room, where they could see well. Léonin smiled briefly at Jax, his eyes flickering with something Dane wanted to call amusement. It was gone quickly and Dane wondered if he had only imagined the expression.

"I wish the Wyn could accompany you, however their absence cannot be helped. We will hope Zonah may convey the goodwill of the Wyn to the Draig. For indeed, before the Breaking, relations between the majisterium and the Draig had become strained. I fear now relations may be strained beyond mending. But we shall make the attempt. Dane, you shall be our ambassador. You must consider yourself such."

Dane nodded, humbled. He had not realized the majisters had strained relations with anyone, much less a powerful chymaera sigil.

"We need to be clear. What you are likely to encounter when you meet them, shall be anger," said Tal. "The Draig have always been hot-tempered. They are known to blame all but themselves for anything which goes wrong. We can assume they will blame us for the breaking of the Tree, and for Dissonance in the Song."

"But why?" asked Dane. "Did Jamis not give them the refrain to safeguard? Warn them of possible treachery?"

"He did," said Tal. "But in the time since the Breaking, the Draig have had ample opportunity to rewrite not just our history, but theirs. Beware of lies. The worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves. The imagined slight is one hardest to forgive. You shall need to stand firm. We did nothing wrong. Do not allow them to believe we did."

Dane nodded.

Jax cleared his throat.

"You're sending us into a nest of angry Draig?" said Jax. His speaking voice sounded now like a thousand insects buzzing to Dane's ears. Dane stared at him in horror. Is his voice filled with Dissonance?

Bell, sitting next to Jax, didn't react to Jax's voice as if it were anything but ordinary. She must not hear it, thought Dane. Léonin and Tal exchanged glances with Theo, who nodded to them briefly. The other majisters' faces reflected the discomfort Dane felt for a moment, but soon settled into calm masks.

Theo answered Jax. He said, "I shall be with you. I can speak regarding events in times past. You shall need to recount the events of late, the healing of the Tree and the majister's return. Dane, speak of what you know and have seen. All will be well."

"There shall be a puzzle they will ask you to solve," said Léonin. "I wanted to give you the answer now. It will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt you are the authorized representative of the majisterium." He handed Dane a book. "This is Odranoel's journal. The page you shall need to study is marked.