The Colorless Land

Chapter 17: Once There Were Dragons

"Now," Lisha went on, "to answer your question. Yes, it is indeed possible to separate Edmian and the pendant. However, you must consider that the pendant is currently the only thing maintaining his freedom. Take it away, and he will revert to a Colorless puppet."

Edmian shrank back in fear. Jolette could read the thoughts on his face. Not that. Not that. Please, anything but that.

"I dare anybody to try," she growled, sending a challenging glare into the round. "Only a monster would do that!"

"And yet," Elthomion replied, "it seems like a small price to rescue the Elodian Queen and her family and free the people of Rivertown."

Jolette's breath hitched. The villagers...Liara...her parents. If someone other than Edmian used them, she could have them all back. Safe, sound, alive. All she needed to do, all anyone needed to do, was to take the pendant from Edmian and command the Colorless holding them captured.

An almost frighteningly small price, indeed.

Or it would be if it wasn't for the look of terror on Edmian's face, the way he shrank away from her as if guessing her thoughts. If she took the pendant, he would be gone. He would be Colorless and will-less once more.

But he was just one out of many friends she had had in the village. She had only known him for a few weeks. It was nothing compared to everyone else, the girls, Liara...her parents.

She clenched her fists. No way. No way. She couldn't do it. She wouldn't do it. She had not gone through all this fear and peril with Edmian, struggled so hard to break him out of his shell, to give up on all of that now. He was important to her too. As long as there was a way to save everyone without betraying him, she refused to touch the pendant.

"It seems like a small price," Saryana piped in, "until you think a little further. Edmian is our ally because he has free will. He has free will because of the pendant. So what happens if we take it?" She made a wide gesture. "He goes back to being our enemy. An enemy who knows all about our plans and hideout and will run straight back to the Colorless to tell them everything." Crossing her arms, she leant back in her chair. "We take it from him, we're selling ourselves out."

"We could hold him captive," Raimoriel suggested.

"That," Saryana replied, "is a war crime."

"It's also cruel!" Evariel burst out, voicing Jolette's thoughts. "How long do you want to imprison him for? All his life? He can't just develop a free will on his own!"

Elthomion clicked his tongue. "That is secondary!" he replied. "For now we must stop the captures and intrusions! Can you not see all the signs that the Colorless are preparing for war?"

"That makes it all the more shortsighted," said the elf next to him. "After we stop them, what do we do? The normal Colorless will listen to us as long as we have the pendants. But what of their leaders? They still have their free will, and they'll try everything to get them back!"

Elthomion's head lashed around to glare at him. "For once in your life, use that head on your shoulders," he scoffed. "What will the leaders alone do against us? What can they possibly do?"

"We don't know what they can do! Did we know that they could make these pendants? Who knows what they'll come up with!"

"So you would rather risk a war than use the pendants, is that what you are saying?"

"I'm saying I would rather think twice than incur the leaders' wrath and command an army of half-phantom soldiers! Soldiers who, by the way, have never done anything wrong aside from being cursed! They should be freed and not–"