"Mathilde." Ondrea went to her sitting so forlornly on the bar stool. "Where is your dragon?"

"My dragon?" She repeated dumbly. 

Ondrea noticed that Mathilde pushed her hand into a fold of her robe and then fingered something close to her. "You have it here, don't you?"

"I have my dragon, always, like my mother told me." Mathilde withdrew a tiny velvet box, sliding a finger against the grain of it till her nail slid under the crease where it opened and they both leaned closer to stare inside. Looking up at them expectantly was the little jeweled creature they called dragon, which had been passed on through the generations. Ondrea reached a finger to touch it, and it closed its eyes and then spurted a tiny flame of fire that startled her more than hurt her.

"Feisty little thing, aren't you?" Ondrea said and laid her palm flat against the box as she used to with her own dragon. It had been many years but she still remembered the feel of tiny claws as they mounted her wrinkles and pulled at her pores.

This darling little green dragon blinked its doleful eyes at her and then proceeded to climb out of its box and onto her hand without much hesitation, more as if she/ he/ it was tired of being cooped up. "How often do you let it out, Mathilde?"

"Mostly I forget it's there. It doesn't eat all that often."

"And how do you know when it wants to eat?"

"I- I feel hungry myself and then I start to think about the dragon."

"What have you fed it?"

"I haven't fed it anything. When I opened the box, it flew away for a few hours and when it came back, it went to sleep in its box."

"You know its name, I presume?"

"Name? No. I don't have a name for it. Mother never said."

Ondrea sighed and closed her eyes, projecting into the space between herself and the beautiful dragon. "I am Ondrea Taan." 

"I am Demor." Came the instant feminine reply, as the dragon stretched its scaled little legs and settled in her palm.

"Beautiful." Mathilde breathed. "I've never touched her." She said. "But I hear you talking to her and her answering you."

The shining amber eyes riveted on Ondrea's face, but slid to assess Mathilde as well. "Gretta is your mother." 

Ondrea swallowed. "My dragon was Delfi. Do you know of her?"

The dragon cocked her head, stopped scratching and poised her foot midair. "Of course I know Delfi."

"I miss her, can you tell me where she is?" Ondrea breathed hopefully, her own eyes misting a little at the remembrance of her own tiny friend.

"I can tell you." Without warning the little wings filled out and then with a mighty stretch settled once again gently along her rigid shoulders. "You want to know now? All dragons can speak to each other, and to anyone trained in Zalez well enough to answer us."

Ondrea nodded. "I have been studying Zalez." She said by way of reporting on her progress as if this little creature and it's far off counter parts were somehow wiser, or more versed in Zalez, or what to do in the event of a planetary war erupting.

"Yes, you have acquired Zalez." Demor said, and Ondrea actually thought she felt the gentle probe sent into her mind. "In its infancy." 

"I thought so!" Ondrea exulted. "I have only tapped the surface of its power, haven't I? There is so much more!" This was said out loud and her eyes were excited as she nodded to Mathilde in confirmation. "Demor, did you actually come to the planet with the Zalez, or have you acquired it?"

The dragon actually seemed to chuckle. "You know the answer, young Ondrea Taan. You know, but your cousin, Mathilde does not. So I will educate her. The Council of Ladies, who brought dragons on the expedition, did so because of our longevity, our telepathy and our ability to heal. We were forbidden, but we were hidden, so as to save your people, in return we will be allowed to re-propagate our species. Because we can heal, we can adapt. That is why the Talisman was born, to heal and adapt."

Ondrea's eyes were shining, as she glanced from her cousin to the dragon. "Did you hear that, Mathilde? Your dragon was given to heal and adapt." Eyes filled with tears, she turned back to her own palm. "Demor, will you teach me Zalez?"

The great solemn eyes blinked at her, but the voice was patient in her mind. "I will teach you."

Ondrea glanced at Mathilde. "Will you teach her as well?"

The tiny head swiveled to rest in casual appraisal on Mathilde's bent head and puffy eyes. "If she will receive."

"She will!" Ondrea promised. "Of course she will. Tell me what to do first."

The dragon's chuckle snorted through the mind frequencies. "So impatient! There is always time, Ondrea Taan."

In their minds, they suddenly saw a huge mountain which Ondrea knew to be Sentinel. Inside it, she could see pathways, crevices, inland seas, and a giant dry abyss.

"The first thing you must do is comprehend the end from the beginning." Came the sweetly encouraging voice. "Your ancestors knew it would take several generations to adapt. Therefore they created the terms of timing to keep you from destroying yourselves before the planet had a chance to teach you."

"We have to comprehend the planet?" Ondrea breathed.

"Yes. It isn't sentient the way you or I understand sentience. But it does have a purpose, and its purpose is to sustain life on its surface. It has the power to make that happen."

"Is that power on all planets?" Mathilde asked.

"All planets I am familiar with. But you humans do not want to take the time to find out for yourselves, or to adapt. You burst into planetary life and take what you want, assume what you will and overwhelm and change the laws. You get a little knowledge and then you use it to force your way."

"The kai." Ondrea breathed. "The kai were a forced way."

"Yes." The dragon agreed. "You must revoke your kai."

"We've only seen that done once. And we participated, but we were children compared...." Mathilde was protesting too much and Ondrea's hand had risen to shush her.

"I will teach you." The dragon sighed, shaking her head at Mathilde's protests. "There is something you should understand, Ondrea Taan."

"I am ready."

"The planetary answers to adaptation that you see around you.... Zalez and Harpyiae, are simply ways the planet has found to comprehend you, and have adapted to keep the balance. Every planet must have balance. There must be land species that balance the air species, that balance the water species. You have to trust the planet."

Ondrea nodded. "Trust is something humans lack in great quantities." She agreed. "We are a controlling species, and we lack humility. That is our downfall."

Mathilde was staring at Ondrea in wonder as she said these words. "So, we must revoke the kai to prove our trust?"

Ondrea's head cocked to one side as she thought about this definition. "No, to return the balance, and thereby discover we can be trusted, as we learn to trust. Does that make more sense?"

Mathilde was all business now. Her only objective to save her family from war and destruction. "How do we revoke the kai?"

"You assimilated the kai in water, you must immerse yourselves in water."

Ondrea gazed out the window toward the sea, far, far away. "Will it only be in the water it was assimilated in? Shall we go to the sea?"

"That is where you must go, Ondrea Taan."

"I assume you understand the war we face is imminent?" She turned to gaze earnestly into the jeweled eyes of the dragon. "This will take time."

"It is the only way. You must take the first step, or you will only be able to adapt as far as the planet is able to comprehend you. The telepathy you enjoy is only a fraction of what is possible, the Harpyiae power you have is only a small portion of the abilities available."

"Then we must go." Ondrea said standing. 

*****