A Sister And A Lie

Shirley

The next few weeks are calm compared to before my trip to the Lamia village. I get the time to train my archery and work on my still not to great magic abilities. It seems that both Celeste and the Dragon Guard council member noticed I'm not ready yet. It is later in the second week when Celeste interrupts my archery training with my Elven bow from nowhere. 'Shirley, do you have a moment?'

As I look at her I release the arrow. Then I fully turn to her. 'What's wrong?'

She closes her eyes. 'So your actions have had quite an effect you know. A delegation has arrived today from the Swamps. Some are wishing to become riders, however one was send specifically for you. To train you.'

As she steps aside a female Lamia is shown. Her hair flows down to where a human would have hips, but for her the snake tail begins. Her scales are a vibrant pink with golden diamonds on the back and she wears bright red clothing. Her staff is somewhat similar to the one given to me, only hers has pink gems in the eyes and is a bit rougher. Another thing she has differently is her staff also has a hood like a cobra. The Lamia slowly slithers towards me. 'So, it is true. A human is wielding the staff of Kai'chira. You are less pretty than I expected... but you still look dangerous. With training I can give you the elegance and deadlines of a true Lamia.'

She grabs my wrist firmly and lays her fingers on the marking. Her fingers feel soft and smooth against the slightly roughened skin. Then she closes her eyes and softly chants something. After the chant she smiles. 'Yes. Come, follow me. Let me teach you about the Lamia way.'

Together we go outside, through the two gates and to the grasslands that sit between Celaris and the dark green forests surrounding it. She motions me to sit down and close my eyes. 'Concentrate. Feel the nature around you. The grass, the insects, the rodents and what hunts them. Feel the balance...'

As I sit there, cross legged, with my staff on my lap and my hands on the staff, I finally discover what peace feels like. I cannot say I can feel much with my eyes closed, but by using my staff I at least manage to open my mind to my direct environment. As the Lamia circles around me she puts a hand on my head. 'To learn our magic you have to feel how each creature affects the balance of the creatures around it. The humans simply kill what they believe is dangerous or edible. Dwarves hunt the biggest creatures they can. Elves eat only vegetables because they believe all life is sacred. However they are all wrong. To truly live in balance with nature is to see, truly see, where an imbalance lays and to remove that imbalance. As you do that, you both get your food and you help the world around you. That is the power of our magic. Equal trades.'

I focus on the world around me. With my eyes closed and only using my mind I can only see as if looking through a partially closed eye. I can feel and see some insects close by, just like some other small critters in my direct environment but even my new teacher I cannot sense. 'I... don't feel much. It is almost as if my vision is clouded.'

The naga grabs my right wrist again. This time much more tenderly. 'To truly understand the world around you takes years. To learn to see you have to use your minds eye. Try to focus on what you can see and look at every detail. If you can, look into the minds you can see.'

I attempt what she tells me. As I do I feel her wrap her snake body around me. She isn't doing it tightly but it is noticeable. Then she lays her hands on my shoulder. 'Let me guide you...'

I feel my vision get clearer. I can see the world as she sees it. I see the ants in their nest feeding a fungus that they in turn use as food. I see mice gather food and a snake hunting a mouse. And deeper than all that... the balance she talked about. Then I get interested and under her guidance I touch the mind of the snake. I feel its scales slither over the dirt, some of it sticking to its scales. I feel its hunger, I see its narrow sight and taste how it locates the mouse using its taste pupils. When it lunges and sinks its fangs in the mouse I feel the life slip away from it. Then I hear her speak again. 'This is how it goes. One death feeds the life of another. With the death of the mouse the snake can live on for some time. Eventually the snake will die either from old age or because a greater hunter kills it, and then it in turn feeds the next link. And so the great balance remains like that.'

I feel shaken but manage to keep my calm. 'What about us? Aren't we at the top of the food chain?'

She laughs softly. 'No. Far from. There are creatures that are far larger and more dangerous than humans and Lamia. Dragons are one, though we are not their prey. With time you will encounter the others as well. Even the dragons get hunted in their turn. Their hunters in turn have parasitic lifeforms that hunt them and slowly kill them, which returns the circle. Such is life. Without death their is no life and without life there is no death.'

I nod softly and open my eyes. 'So if I had died back in my village it would not have been meaningless. I would have continued the circle of life.'

She grabs my arm and holds it in front of me. 'Though you are right I cannot agree with that statement. You are a part of the Lamia village now. We are sisters. My father gave you his poison so you could be one of us. You can slither with us if you want it. Hunt with us. Be a true Lamia.'

I look at her. 'I don't think I could do that. Even if I do have the ability to take on that form... it would do more harm than good. Especially to my master who used to be Kai'chira her dragon. I would remind her to much of her dead rider if I did that and I think that would be cruel.'

She unwraps herself from me. 'Sister, unlike with the dragons magic, becoming a Lamia is a trade. You trade forms for a time. How long? That depends on when you want to turn back. Now... allow me to give you the full experience... rise and let me reshape you, sister.'

Since the first time I often find myself slithering around with Sha'nok. My sister... well not truly sister but we see each other as such a lot of the time. Like Kai'chira my snake tail is green but my pattern is different every time. It is almost as if the pattern changes with my feelings. Every time I'm done with learning from the Dragon Guard council member and Celeste... I go to the fields where Sha'nok waits for me. Sometimes she helps me change, other times she just guides me through the change. But always in the afternoon I spend my time with her, as her sister. She teaches me the mysteries of nature and its innate magic. My senses become sharper with every day and so does my respect deepen.

Rashter notices I change as well. Sometimes he joins me with Sha'nok, who at first is a bit uncomfortable around him but learns to accept him with time as well. Eventually I decide to change things up myself. Over a year after our first getting together she slithers over to me. I stop her before she wraps around me. 'No. Today I would like to show you something, Sha'nok. I have made a little deal with someone you know as well...'

Rashter then arrives, flying low over the woods as to not get detected by Sha'nok before the reveal. When he lands Sha'nok notices what my plan was all along. Rashter is wearing the saddle I had ordered so long ago. As he lays down I climb on him, which even after several flights is still a challenge with how massive he is. Even during our occasional practice runs with flying archery I find myself struggling to climb his massive form. When I'm in and strapped my legs in I hold an arm outstretched towards her. She backs up a little bit. 'I'm not sure I could do that, sis... I don't think we Lamia are made to ride dragons.'

I shake my head. 'Kai'chira was a rider to. Yes her saddle was made specifically with her in mind, but as long as we don't start doing air combat we should be fine with just the four normal straps. Come.'

Sha'nok hesitantly slithers towards me and with even more difficulty climbs up high enough to grab my hand. With a bit of help from Rashter I pull her up and then help her buckle her tail in, having her tail first go to the left and then double back to the right so she can't really slip loose. With that done Rashter gets up and with a couple of powerful flaps from his wings takes to the sky. All the way up to the altitude where Rashter can glide Sha'nok clings to me like a panicky child but far in the air she start to let go enough for me to breathe again. As she looks down I feel her gasp. 'This is... so beautiful. You can see so far away in all directions...'

I let my hand go from the spike in front of me and sit back relaxed. 'This is partially what it means to be a dragon rider. To see the world through different eyes. To see the best and the worst of the world...'

Sha'nok looks around full wonder. 'This... is amazing. If only I could see this more often...'

I do want to give her that chance now that I think of it. But the Dragon Guard is already struggling so much. I heard from Celeste that the reason I'm being trained by the council member is because there are barely any fully trained Dragon Guards available as it is. However, now that I think about it... I could put a bit of pressure on him to give Sha'nok a chance. Yes, that is how to do it. I turn my head to her. 'If you want I'm going to talk with the council member of the Dragon Guard. To give you a faster lead into the training program of the Dragon Guard...'

She turns to me. 'Are you willing to do that for me? For real?'

I just nod. She tightly hugs me again and I'm so glad her tail is fastened into place now as I'm sure she would be squeezing me with it to if she had the chance. 'Thank you so much, sister. You are the best.'

As she hugs me I feel a small prick in my shoulder followed by a feeling of lightheadedness. Then I hear Sha'nok scream to Rashter to get me to the med bay as I slowly lose consciousness. The last things I notice before the world becomes black as the night is the view of the White Castle and Rashter roar in panic as he notices what is going on...

When I wake up I'm back in the room I was brought to after the attack. It was so long ago but still so fresh on the memory. Sha'nok is there, her head low, just like the elder of the village. He has a hand on my shoulder where I felt the prick first. He looks straight at me. 'Good. You are awake. You don't want to know what a stir you caused. I heard what happened...'

I slowly raise my hand towards where I felt the prick. 'What happened? Why am I back in this room?'

The elder closes his eyes. 'When you offered Sha'nok I don't know what, she got to excited and accidentally bit you in the shoulder. Despite my poison being in you already you aren't immune to it. Because our poison paralyses its victims and causes their hearts to stop... you could have been dead. However your dragon flew to our village in record time allowing our best healers to draw Sha'noks poison out and then he flew all three of us here in record time again. You have only been out a week now and it is a miracle you were strong enough to survive this long. You will be weak for some time however.'

I slowly push myself up and look at Sha'nok. 'Don't be sad, sis. It was an accident. I don't blame you.'

The elder softly pushes my head up. 'Sha'nok isn't a sister. Not of you anyway. Neither did I send her to train you. No, she went on her own accord without permission. She is only a young and ambitious caretaker and not one we would send to train you. Though she did train you the right way, she will be brought back to the village and reprimanded.'

I'm staggered. 'Sha'nok... why did you do that?'

She keeps her head lowered. 'When you arrived I was intrigued. You were fearless and after the elder gave you his poison... I wanted to show you what you could do. I couldn't wait for the elder to find some old hag to send your way...'

The elder hits the bed with his fist. 'Sha'nok, I would send the older enchantress with a reason! You are young and ambitious. Foolish almost. You only think about the short term gain, not the long time. Miss Poison Blood will live beyond your years as a Rider and needs to have a broader sight on the world than yours. She is trained by some of the best because with the right guidance she can become such. That means not you!'

The elder is so harsh. Somewhere I do agree with him. Sha'nok has deceived me so much in the past year. But to go this hard on her... 'Esteemed elder... she did help me a lot with understanding the way of the Lamia. I understand so much about the balance of nature now...'

He grabs my hand. 'To truly use our magic, to truly understand the world, you have to look past the balance and see the imbalance of the world. You will only truly see the world as it is if you can see everything. Both the good and the bad. Sha'nok only showed you the good because that is all she has ever known. She hasn't seen war, death and decay rule the minds and souls of people, nor has she seen how evil can fester in the flames of battle. How noble men and women turn into mindless killers when faced with a life or death situation. To be fully trained in our magic is to have seen the worst of the world. Only several have seen it and remained sane, so I will not continue your training yet. In time, when you are really ready for it, I will send the right trainer.'

I hold his hand. 'I did make a promise to her. I promised to talk with the council member of the Dragon Guard to have her accepted as an Aspiring Dragon Guard. Even if she deceived me, I'm owing her that much still. She taught me life is worth living. Even if all the evil you spoke off is in this world, there is also good to fight off that evil. She showed me and made me feel it.'

He looks up. 'Though the teachings of us are not such in words, the essence of our teachings is in your words. Very well. She will remain here but not teach you any more. I'll talk with the elder here to make sure someone sees to that. I don't want to have to come over here again because of her stupidity or the next time I'll pull her fangs out. She has caused enough trouble as it is and I'm sick of running after her to clean it all up.'

He pulls his hand free and slithers out the door. Then Sha'nok comes closer to me but keeps her distance. 'Thank you for defending me. I should not have done what I did but still you stood up for me. I'm sorry for deceiving you...'

I give her an angry look. 'Don't ever try such again or you will find out why my dragon has so many gashes in his scales.'

After strengthening up again I resume my training. When the Dragon Guard council member gives me a break I decide to fulfill my promise. 'Sir?'

He looks up at me. 'Yes, Shirley?'

I get into a better position. 'So as you may know I got trained recently by a young Lamia.'

He chuckles. 'Yeah I know. The little deceiver. She isn't the most popular in the council, that much I can tell.'

I nod. 'I know sir. I'm still pissed at her to. But she did to a lot for me so I had made her a promise before the entire poison fiasco... can she be trained into a Dragon Guard?'

He looks at me astounded. 'The fact you still think she is worthy after your near death experience... you have a way to give people heart attacks you know...'

I nod. 'I know, sir. But that was an accident. She never meant to poison me and feels bad about the incident. It also is a fair trade as she has taught me a lot, including that life is worth living...'

He sits down next to me. 'I'm glad you finally came to that conclusion. The world is massive and there are many places to discover, many sights to be seen and many species to meet. To confine yourself to one incident can ruin you... but now I think you are ready.'

I look at the big, armored and bearded man besides me. 'What do you mean, sir? Ready for what?'

He gets up slowly again. 'You are ready to soul bind with your dragon. To finish your training. To become a Rider and see the world.'

I let my mouth drop open. 'Thank you sir. I've been waiting for this for almost two years now...'

He starts walking out the door. At the last moment he turns around. 'One more thing. Sha'nok may be trained, but I'll assign her to you.'

I nod once. Then he walks away. I let it sink in for a moment before looking up Sha'nok. As I see her I sigh. 'Sha'nok. I'm not happy about what you did to me. I feel used and pained for ever calling you sister knowing now it was a lie. However, I did make a promise and I owe you something for showing me life is worth living. To return the favor I have talked with the council member of the Dragon Guard. Once I've become a full fledged Rider I'm the one who will be training you.'

She looks at me in shock. 'You will be my master? Even after my deception?'

I nod. 'I will not go to easy on you. Becoming a Rider is not easy. But you will see in time what I mean with that.'

She nods and then gives me a hug. 'I'm so sorry I disappointed you. I just wanted a sister...'

I hug her for a moment. Then I let go. 'I cannot call you sister for now. That I just cannot do because of what you have done. However, I can call you apprentice soon.'

She nods. 'I understand, master. I will not disappoint you again.'

With that she slithers away.