"Wait.. did.. did he just say Uryté?.." Mallyra stuttered, her eyes wide. Mallyra went to run to the elf's side, but Merry held out his hand to stop her. She watched in horror as Lothiri stepped deeper and deeper into the glistening pool. It was only when the elf was up to her neck, when Mallyra was finally overwhelmed, pushed past Merry and ran to the pool side. The elf turned, her sliver hair floating on the water's surface.
"Why did he just call you Uryté?" Mallyra asked, her tone unrecognisable. Lothiri avoided looking into the hobbit's eyes,
"You must carry on through the tunnels with Merry, Mallyra. It's the only way you will reach the pass in time." She said quietly. Mallyra's brows knitted together in frustration.
"That's not what I asked, now answer me!" She growled, shocking the elf and Merry alike. Lothiri took a sharp breath, before a look of sorrow crept over her face.
"Because.. Uryté is who I am, Mallyra. Now go. Into the tunnels, both of you." She said solumnly, stepping backwards quickly, and disappearing completely under the dark liquid. Mallyra sat on her knees in silence, Lothiri's works echoing in her mind. The spirit of Jura had vaporised the minute the elf had vanished under the surface of the water, and the only thing that could be heard was the crackling of the torches. Merry crouched down beside her, pulling her into a hug, but Mallyra pushed him away immediately.
"Why did it not shock you? How could you have understood why she needed to leave? How did you know?" She asked sternly. Merry sighed, before sitting down next to her, both of them looking into the water's depth.
"I figured out that something wasn't quite right when we first awoke in the tunnels. I knew where we were, as did Lothiri evidently. However, her reaction to us being there was unusual. Her nervousness, her throwing up at the thought of the drawing in dragon's blood. It was her story of the dragon war which finally made me realise she wasn't an elf at all. She was a dragon. The sliver dragon, Uryté. Gildare has never had a daughter, let alone one called Lothiri. I recognised the name Lothiri the moment she first introduced herself, as it's the ancients word for soul. And what does everyone else call her by instead of Lothiri?" He asked, watching as Mallyra began to put the pieces together.
"Silver soul..." she breathed. Merry nodded, then standing up and helping Mallyra to her feet. "But how can she be a dragon, is she's an elf?.." she finally asked. Merry pointed towards her bag,
"Your book has the answer to that." He answered, watching as Mallyra delved into it as quickly as possible. She fumbled around for the book, until eventually she felt the leather of it's cover hit her fingertips. Mallyra flicked through the pages until she saw the chapter entitled: Silver Dragons. She then proceeded to read the chapter aloud.
"Silver dragons are the second most powerful of the metallic dragons, and are true friends to all. The silver dragon enjoys the company of humans and elves so much that it will often take the form of a human or elf and live among them for the majority of its life. It should be noted that silvers, like all dragons, believe themselves the most superior creatures in the world. However, apart from the ability to fly, which they enjoy greatly, they tend to prefer the physical forms of humanoids for everyday life."
Mallyra closed the book gently, before placing it back into her bag.