NEVEN

Golden streamers flowed between the lamps of the bowels of the Euros citadel, where the volcano wrapped its hot power throughout the entire island. In the lower levels of the multi-storied infirmary, he sat in front of Kayal, who himself sat in a pool of essence, puffing upwards into small clouds, though his clothes remained dry. He sipped at his newest cup of tea, where Kayal's piled up with each day that passed by without a response. Letters sent, Neven waited for a reply to arrive in the mail dome, but he readied himself for any consequence. You are still eating and drinking when prompted... I can only hope that is a good sign. Neven took another sip and stared into Kayal's blank, dim eyes, his pupils too large. "I hope I am not disturbing you," he said, for what little good it did for Kayal. "I am waiting for a message from your family."

Kayal stayed silent.

"I know Kemal wants you to get better, but you're home and we're going to try," Neven assured. "He was a questioner too, you know, during his Trainee days. It got him into trouble. A lot. Knowledge is one of our greatest weapons." He let the empty cup slip out of his fingers. And yet, there is nothing we know that can explain what was done to you... if only I hadn't sent you out on that patrol. If only I realized my mistakes sooner in reading the Obscura Text with the wrong set of eyes. He rested his brow against his fist and drove his fangs into his lip, but not enough pressure drew blood. He set his hands in his lap and opened his new book during his vigil with Kayal. "I didn't tell you everything about Naveera, so I got a copy of that book you were nosing around at the athenaeum in Asairai." He examined the title. "An Examination of Avaerili customs, cultures, and the Inheritors of Wyvern Fire." He opened the first couple pages. "I know you asked me if Derelicts were common in Naveera, and I told you no — because they freeze, become slow, maybe Naveera's one saving grace... then you started asking about the Obscura Gate." He closed the book and frowned. And then Kemal started prodding me about those ruins. And then this cult, and then the Obscura Text. He chewed on his cheek. I wonder... did you... ask a question again, and this was the result? Guilt drove into his feathers and shuddered them against his ears. "What did you see on that patrol, Kayal?"

He didn't expect an answer, nor did he get one from the Trainee, so close to taking their oath.

There's nothing wrong with caring. Neven slumped forward. "It's strange how many times I've been told that over my life." He released a sigh of shame and gathered up the wayward cups for retrieval., but stopped when Kayal's pupils slid by the slightest inch to his hand. He finished up his cleaning, and once all cups rested on the platter. Frozen hesitation slid over his skin, but he melted it all away with the fire he inherited deep within his soul — the song. He drew a soft tune over his lips, then held out his hand.

Yet... there must still be something in there. Sometimes. Are you still fighting? Neven frowned when Kayal reached out his fingers but never took his gaze off where he left them. His fingers hooked into his own, and Neven knelt down in front of him. "I will not leave you for long — I owe you that much. I owe you as a fellow Storm Warden... and on my song as an Avaerilian. If you want, I can bring an instrument down and play you some classic Navei tunes. It might help." But I don't think even I can spread the song so far as to pull you out of whatever empty knell has overtaken you... He opened his hand further for Kayal's fingers to slip off of his, and he continued in his silent bubble, unresponsive to the beautiful world around him. Sunlight glimmered out of the smaller windows to give the worst of patients the light of warmth they needed from the outside. "I shall be back. I am going to check for letters for you." He bowed low to the Trainee, then headed for the door embedded with tough molten carved rock. His hand drifted on the obsidian glass of the frame, then twisted back. "Maybe I can also bring you a thinking game full of questions? Kemal likes those. He showed me quite a few when we were in training — and I also never got sleep when he wanted to play."

A silent melody.

"He'd be here if he wasn't trying to fix my mess," Neven said. But, it should've been me that stayed, and Kemal should've come with you. I was the main Captain of that posting, and what have I done? He tapped his brow against the frame, then nodded. "Take your ease, Trainee Kayal. We will figure this out."

I'd swear on my song... but for the magick to take hold between our souls... Neven exhaled a groan of dismay and closed the double doors to give Kayal some peace with any chirurgeons who came to check on him. He followed the citadel's deepest tunnels to find the staircase of swirling might back into the ground floors. Pillars of names rose up around some of the towers into the flight pads of the Riders. Storm Wardens walked to and from rooms, with some moving supplies, though their recruitment efforts stalled to a halt. He passed the huge kitchens with their ovens experiencing the hottest of flames, but full of control by those whose core aspected with fire the most. Above it, the long mess hall, where tables laid empty save for a few Wardens who enjoyed their meals in quiet. On either side, domed fireplaces, put out with the rise of day. He came to a stop when a bell rang, and measured the tune. A rising high into a long low, a song of a message for all Storm Wardens in the vicinity. He continued to count the chimes, then frowned when it tapered off. Derelicts sighted off the coast? Neven slammed into action and rushed for the lift at the center of the citadel, passing the annex which in of itself took up an entire winding tower. Magick in the rune, he shifted as it rose higher, past the comfort of the caldera as windows revealed how far up he went, with his heart beating to crack his ribcage when it came to a stop in the observatory.

"Captain Neven!" one of the Storm Wardens at one of the scopes said. "We have a problem!"

"What is it?" Neven mused and raced for them as the other Storm Wardens came forward.

"We spotted the arrival of a supply galleon — waving one of the flags for the injured," they stammered when Neven peeked through the scope, twisting its magitek for further focus. A dot in the distance, it flew two standards. One of the wyvern sigil. Another golden one fluttered beneath it. "And then I noticed—"

He noticed it too.

Dark waters encroached on the boat, too close for comfort when beams of golden light struck out of the sides of the galleon. Tendrils shifted the waves all wrong. "What do we do?" the Watcher asked with a rasp. "Do we send attack boats?"

"They'll never make it in time." Neven drew his gaze back when the Derelicts launched their attack through the foam, then took another peek. Wait... that was the boat Maria took... does that mean... He let it go and the scope returned to its default state. With the decision on him as the first arriving Captain, he chewed on inability then growled, "Get the hippogryph that should still be in the armored stables. Bring him up to the eastern flight pad and meet me up there. Bribe him with a slab of meat if you must... he was not in a good mood when I left him, but it must be him."

Neven nodded at them out of their frozen shock, and they slammed their hands to their hearts. He followed them into the lift, but stopped at the armory on one of the upper floors. Inside, he went through the multitudes of sections, swiping a glaive of golden tipped metal before sliding into the armor rooms. He grabbed the first layer of a readjusted Navei style armor. Scales went over his body when he lowered the light gambeson over his head before going to the heavier parts. He clenched his fist and allowed the bracers to adjust to his fit with a click, where small spikes lifted themselves out of the top, a straight line down his forearm. Metal claws protected a chunk of his fingers, and in a tight spot would crack a Derelict jaw. He smoothed out the scaled plate around his hips, resting as if sheathed wings around his legs. He slipped on the clawed boots, and brushed them against the floor and listened to the scratch of metal against stone. Last, a helmet, and magitek circuitry lined the inside. His last comfort against the endless abyss of air. Wyvern horns curved backwards. Another defensive measure from behind. Another warning toll rang through the citadel, and time once more escaped out of his reach.

I do what I must, no matter the cost, and against my fear. Helmet tucked between his arm, he left the armory to head down the corridor to the eastern flight pad, ascending the staircase through the Rider entrance, with his claws tapping against the marble. Air blasted into his face when he opened the smaller door beside a pair of large double ones for a hippogryph to walk through. Electricity went through his legs when he made the mistake of peeking over the edge, and he slid back.

Boats won't make it, but I know that hippogryph will. Especially if... his Rider is in danger. Neven kept his distance from the flight pad's edge, then turned when the large doors rumbled and slid upwards.

Claws cracked against the stone with its heavy steps and its indignant silence. Feathers of purest white weaved through the wind, with its wings at rest at its sides, the saddle nothing more than a forgettable accessory for its size, slightly larger than a horse. Its hind hooves clopped closer when its chest feathers fluffed out, its sharp, blue eyes piercing him from beyond the sky. Air puffed out of its beak nostrils, and he tipped his head up to the hippogryph Yuven called his own.

Tix'snuv, one of the most unruly hippogryphs, who knelt to no other save Yuven.

"Are you sure about this, Captain? Alone?" the Storm Warden he sent to retrieve the gryph asked.

"You can send backup in preparation, but it's important we get that boat here," Neven said and donned the helmet. Tix'snuv kept one sharp eye on him when he went around his side, then waved for the Storm Warden to pass the slab of meat to him. He threw it straight into Tix'snuv's beak when he held it open like he was a food dispenser. Anything to gain his approval for what he was about to do. As Tix'snuv chomped hard and broke the meat's bones with ease, he grabbed both ends of the saddle and hauled himself up.

Cushioned on his back, he swallowed vomit when Tix'snuv shifted. Magick wrapped around his waist as he slipped his clawed boots into the stirrups. "Okay," he mumbled to himself and patted the saddle. "Okay... now we just need to... take flight... over the very far away ground." He sucked in his lips and trembled. "Ancients...

Tix'snuv twisted his head around in slow motion, eyes narrowed.

No, I must do this. Neven shook out the terror, but it clung onto his mind at the idea of what rested below him. Feathers ruffled on either side of him, and he muttered his Navei mantra, "I will fly. I will fly and be free. Apathy is death. Apathy is finality and despair." Shadows bloomed over him. "It is the most ancient of fears—" He frowned when Tix'snuv stepped back, forcing the Storm Wardens beside him out of his way when his stringy tail flicked from side to side in anticipation. "Oh, you unruly feathered creature—"

Neven held the reins tight when Tix'snuv's muscles tensed beneath him, and in an ear-splitting moment, Tix'snuv ran for the edge without fear, wings outstretched to catch the sky. Fear kept him from screeching at the sudden burst of power as the edge came closer. Closer. He held his breath, glad for the protection his helmet gave him when the flight pad disappeared.

In a haunted, fearful moment, the world went still when the clop of hooves disappeared with Tix'snuv's intentful jump.

Wings stretched, Tix'snuv let out another audible puff, and Neven could do nothing more than hold on tight when Yuven's equally stubborn hippogryph took on a burst of speed through the clouds, straight over the water and the grace which carried them met the power of his flight.

For his Rider.

Yuven is on that boat.