The North (Closed)

[heartofcourage]

Fiona reached out and gently touched her husband’s cheek. She heard a few Judges inhale sharply as she leaned in to nuzzle against him, her forehead resting firmly on his. She wouldn’t harm her husband. She didn’t have it in her. Her children were much more of a threat than he.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam closed his eyes, giving her his complete trust and love despite the danger others saw. "Beauty," he whispered. "My darlin' Fox..." There was so much more he wanted to say, knowing they were facing the final battle for her life. But at the same time, he couldn't find words to express the immense love, fear, guilt, support, and trust he felt for her. All he could add was a final nod to both her role as a leader, and as his dearest ally and love: "Long live the Queen, eldere."

Steris stood by, silently awaiting Fiona when she was ready. As the one most familiar with the Blackstones, he would lead the other Caller Judges to the battlefield in her mind.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona closed her eyes as she heard Sam's words. She couldn't help the tears that fell at the reverence in his voice. The small shred of humanity that was still left within her recognized her husband's suffering and his loyalty. As she pulled away, both hands moved to cradle his face. If this was her final moment with him, she wanted to die with his emerald-green eyes seared into her memory.

Ever so slowly she backed away, slowly turning to face Steris. None of the Judges had ever laid eyes on the Rider Queen. As ill as she was and tainted with darkness as she was, she was only a shadow of her former self. However, as she straightened her spine and accepted her fate, they saw a glimpse of the figure that had become legend.

"Let's begin." Fiona murmured to Steris.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam returned quietly to his seat, unwilling to leave until he knew what would become of his wife. Across from Fiona, Steris went to one of his fellow Judges and scooped up clay pot full of strange brown powder. Fiona had seen it opened earlier, but it was never explained to anyone what the powder was. It smelled like an incense, but with something deeper and more herbaceous that stung the nose. Steris took the powder and poured it in a large unbroken circle, then welcomed some of his fellow Judges and Fiona in closer.

"No one else is to interfere with anyone at this circle," Steris announced to the room, giving Sam in particular a serious stare. "Interruptions at the wrong time can cause serious complications." Once the circle was laid and those who would enter the fray were gathered around it and sitting at the edges, Steris placed Fiona in the center. "I don't know exactly what will happen. Every battle against the Hunger is different. Above all else, you must not allow it any mercy. If we don't burn it out completely, it will return with a vengeance. I only hope that some of your predecessors can come to your aid... Blackstones often do, whether alive or somewhere beyond."

With that, Steris lit the incense circle, and a heavy, perfumed smoke began to rise. Those nearest to it almost immediately began to feel their vision swimming and their eyelids growing heavy. For Fiona, a familiar fog began to creep in at the edges of her vision, like the beyond was trying to swallow her whole as it had done in Inverness when she reached out to Ephriam and Margaret. Something vast and dark was waiting past the veil, angry and heavily on its guard. But beyond it, several smaller souls awaited, ready to support their successor.

 

[heartofcourage]

As the smoke lifted around her, Fiona lifted her eyes towards the ceiling. Her vision faded, replaced with the swirling shapes of the shadow land. She could feel and hear those long dead pressing against her as if to give her strength. It took a moment to orientate herself, to see more than just the heavy mist around her. Reaching a hand for her hip, she gripped the pommel of her sword tightly. She had no idea if it were actually there or not, but the weight was real and reassuring against her palm.

Movement to her right caused her to turn her head. There she was, her mother, dressed in the colors of her father's house. Fiona felt for a moment as if she were looking into a mirror, as if she hadn't been born human. Tatiana was dressed for war, the same look of fierce determination on her face reflected onto Fiona. She was a warrior, and she would see her daughter through to the end. To her left, Fiona took in the great shape of Reven, sitting as perfectly as a cat ready to pounce.

"I have to go alone." She murmured softly to the both of them. "But you will know what I need you."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Many more, Blackstone and Ghis, are ready to come to your aid," Reven rumbled lowly. "Just as their living kin stand by you in life."

"My sword is at your command, little kit," Tatianna murmured. "Your story doesn't end here. He will try to break you with the worst he can summon. Don't give him an opening."

Even if they couldn't see it, the sheer aura of something grim and wild loomed in the distance, moving with an unearthly speed and circling Fiona. It was as vast as a mountain, shadowing every corner of her mind with madness and bloodlust.

"Come out, little legend," the shadow crooned in a resonating, poor mimicry of Hesperus. "Come and bring your little spirits and wisps with you..." The mass swooped low, and the most pulled back enough to reveal a rocky hilltop with a familiar, ancient tree perched at its top. A titanic dragon- like a warped, stretched version of Hesperus but with ashen scales- clung to the clifftop to survey a horrific sight below: a battlefield stretching infinitely into the fog full of dead soldiers, civilians, werefolk, dragons, and children that all once Fiona recognized as the lives and blood on her hands as Rider Queen. At the forefront, the crumpled, barely-breathing bodies of her lieutenants, their partners, and some of her own family with Schaller buried underneath it all.

The ashen dragon- the Hunger personified- stared toward Fiona as she approached, nodding down at the field of death. "Quite the body count, Majesty... And yet more will die before your home is retaken and the isles are made safe for a decade or two. But more war will come. And knowing you- if you survive til then- you'll ride back into battle making a liability of yourself and straining the patience and love of your family once again. But it's all worth it for the self-righteousness, isn't it?"

The Hunger rumbled with as much disgust as laughter. But at the same time, Fiona could feel more than see the presence of other figures in the mist. Some were her kin, but the Judges stood out silently, radiating dangerous, focused energy. They were ready to engage at any moment, whatever form the fight took.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona stepped forward, her fingers brushing against the weathered bark of her tree. In the valley below she saw death and darkness, tattered banners of her house and others snapping in the vicious winds.

“But you don’t know me.” Fiona murmured, glancing up at the great dragon who seemed to shift and morph before her. “If you did, you would know that none of this is new. Greater enemies than you have tried to torment me with the deaths at the hands of my dragons. There are stories told of my horrors across the continent. Do you believe it bothers me any longer?”

“Unlike others you’ve inhabited, I came from nothing. I do not hold others to me. I know it could all be gone in an instant.” She moved from beside the tree and turned to face her foe fully.

“You will burn just like the others. Soon you’ll join the rest of them but unlike them, I’ll forget you. You will never draw breath again.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Confident words from the Fox who always seems to believe everyone would be better off without her." The phantom took a flying leap off the clifftop and shot across the sky, tearing a rift through Fiona's mind to banish the image of the bloody battlefield and replace it with the peaceful, green meadow she'd faced the real Hesperus in.

There, she found the Judges already gathered in phantasmal armor with the looming, ghostly shapes of dragon partners around them. They spoke quietly among themselves, their hands joined while the mist coalesced between them into something yet formless.

"Come, Rider Queen," she heard the echoing voice of Steris from the group. "Your shield." At his words, the mist gathering between the Judges began to take shape. A round shield like the ones carried by Ghis Axemen and their Norse and Icelandic kin formed, complete with a central silvery boss and the design of a white Blackstone crest around it on a field of black.

"Your only goal is to keep him busy," Steris muttered to her. "We will drain his energy, and when he grows weak enough, we can trap and destroy him."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona carefully slipped the shield onto her arm, the weight of it familiar and soothing. She heard Steris's words but said nothing in return. Stepping forward, she pulled her Axemen's axe free from her belt and glanced up to see the shimmering cut that the Hunger had made through the mists. Glancing back briefly to the Judges, she knew that she was going on the hunt. That was her duty.

She started to run, her boots pounding heavily against the green grass around her. When she blinked, she was in a burning forest, ash slapping against the skin of her cheeks. The smoke was thick and acrid, the threat of Barbarossa there beyond the trees. Her home was burning, the memories she had of Inverness forever tainted by those last moments in which she had seen the forests burn. She didn't stop running.

The ground ran out from beneath her feet, sending her tumbling into an abyss. She was free falling nothing to hold on to except the wind as it whipped past her. Suddenly she hit the surface of a freezing cold sea. The water swallowed her cry of surprise as she kicked at the churning waves. Her lungs were burning when she surfaced, the water threatening to swallow her again as waves crashed over her. Through the haze, she heard the sounds of a boat, the wood hollow as the sea beat against it. Fiona kicked with all of her might, fighting to find it with blind eyes.

The dark figure of the boat finally solidified in front of her, and she used her axe to cling to the side of it. The sharp blade bit into the wood, giving her a moment of rest. Pushing wet hair from her face, she gave a cry of surprise as someone wrapped their hands around her wrist.

"Naiya?!" She cried out, her sister-in-law staring back at her as she struggled to pull her aboard.

 

[KieranSoares]

Intense amber warrior's eyes found Fiona in the foggy, rainy dark. The lithe Wolf hauled Fiona up til she could grip the deck railing. Grabbing Fiona by the belt, Naiya finally lifted Fiona over the rail and onto her feet before drawing her own saber with a determined stare and a tiny smirk. Decked out in the scarred leathers and broken chainmail she'd fought and died in, Naiya firmly hooked a hand around the back of Fiona's neck and pulled her in til their foreheads touched.

"Twenty years of helping my cub become not just a good man, but a healer. Twenty years of helping my mate learn to live without me, and helping him be a good father. And now you've returned to bring them home. Fiona Blackstone, I will see you through this, I stake my soul on it."

A horrid screech echoed over the thrashing ocean. A couple of dim lanterns lit up the fog as something massive whipped past the ship so fast that the wind alone threatened to capsize the vessel. Naiya barely kept her feet, holding onto Fiona's shield arm to keep her standing as well. A crash and a sudden dip at the bow threatened to throw them off. As soon as she had her balance, Naiya half-snarled, half-howled a warcry and charged into the fog with blade brandished.

 

[heartofcourage]

Naiya was there and gone in the blink of an eye. She didn’t have the time to respond before the ship was tilting and the warrior was running into the darkness. The Hunger wouldn’t show itself. Not right then. It was strong, having grown within her blood, but she was stronger and it knew the odds.

A howl broke the darkness, shaking the air around her. She could see other ships in the mist, but the raging storm kept her nearly deaf to any voices. She stood no chance on the sea. She needed to take to the sky.

Looking up into the driving rain as another terrible cry issued around her, she could one figure circling. Lightning flashed off red scales as it dipped lower. She knew it was Gia, the dragon that had given her life so that Andre could bring her safety home. A tattered rope from her rigging swung in front of Fiona long enough for her to grab it and be brought into the sky.

The flew up above the clouds and raging storm to a calm night sky. Fiona slowly pulled her way to Gia’s saddle, looping the loose rope as she went so not to have it caught in battle.

There was an energy there above the clouds. It echoed through her bones in a way that she had never felt before. It was only when she saw all of the riderless dragons that she understood. They were free here. They were at her call.

“Don’t give it ground, Gia!” Fiona called as she gripped the reigns and gave Gia her leave to fly.

 

[KieranSoares]

Gia streaked through the icy cold atmosphere with snarls of effort the faster she went. Others fell in alongside: Danica's lost partners, Imperial dragons who'd turned coat to join the North thanks to Fiona across the decades, and then the mighty Reven herself with her long lost brother beside her. She carried Margaret Blackstone in full, battle-shattered armor, and her brother carried Margaret's loyal husband, the man who was her armorer in life, and her mason after her fall.

Other loyal Riders from across Eurasia and Africa who'd once fought alongside Fiona appeared- ghostly and transparent- on the backs of the dragons. Many were reunited with friends and partners. Some dragons and Riders were more corporeal than others. Many had moved on long ago, and had returned for their Queen. Others were still near, unable to go on til loved ones joined them.

 

[heartofcourage]

Shades and spirits filled the world around her above the raging storm, coming to her call and aid. Gripping the leather of Gia's saddle tightly, she filled her lungs with the chilled air, letting out a battle cry from her very soul as she drove the dragon back into the stormy fray. The clouds blinded her as wind whipped viciously at her face. The cold was biting into her skin, but she urged Gia on as quickly as the dragon could go. Finally dipping below the clouds, she was greeted with another world. One that she had never seen before. Rain continued to pelt her, but beyond was blue ocean with islands dotting the sea beyond. It was her grandfather's homeland and where the Hunger had originated. It flew just beyond the rest of them, leaving smoke in its wake. The smoke would taint everything around it if left alone.

She bent low in the saddle, letting Gia pick up speed. She might have killed the poor dragon if she'd still lived, pushing her to the very limits of what she could handle. Drawing up next to the wraith, Fiona calculated her next moves carefully. Without a moment of hesitation, she leapt from Gia onto the smoldering dragon, grasping at his mane tightly. She let out a cry of intense pain as the skin of her hands burned, but she held tightly, intent on riding it out to the bitter end.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dragons and Riders alike smashed against the phantom Hunger as it writhed and twisted, barely maintaining anything comparable to Hesperus's form. Some spirits passed straight through, tearing at the inky blackness while it ripped away at them in return. Other Riders loosed javelins and bolts that streaked across the sky like golden lightning. They couldn't do much, but every single one of them was determined to be a distraction or a gnawing annoyance if it helped Fiona in the slightest. Those who had died in the battle against Hesperus were the most bloodthirsty and the most corporeal, able to bite, slice, tear, and stab at the Hunger more effectively than the others.

The shade began to dive, and all of Fiona's allies pulled up save Gia, who followed faithfully mere tens of feet behind, and Reven and Margaret who were further back. The Hunger rocketed toward a great rocky island with a dead volcano at its heart, the small caldera long filled with rainwater. And there, gathered around the pool, were the Judges, and one figure Fiona hadn't seen since before she'd fallen ill. Separate from the Judges, the Medusa-inspired tattoos along his head and his eyes glowing faintly green, was Markos. He watched the Hunger dive and crash into the pool in an effort to get Fiona off.

Below the thrashing surface, the phantom clawed toward Fiona and writhed. But something in the deep lit up: a glowing blue eye. A great brass claw swiped upward, tearing at the Hunger before clutching into its shadowy body beside Fiona. Great Hesperus- the true Hesperus- was awake, and he wanted revenge on the sickness that had driven him to ruin.

"I am Hesperus," the great dragon's voice rumbled through the dream despite them being underwater. "Guardian of Kythira, founder of the Karides Callers, and eternal kin of Reven and the Blackstones. I am your vessel no longer, shadow. And my soul will shatter before you take the Rider Queen!" That final bellow shook everything- the water, the air, the earth- and Hesperus snapped his jaws down on the phantom's neck. He threw the Hunger up out of the water and onto the shore, a bite-sized piece of its form now missing.

"Long live the Queen!" Markos roared, leaping forward to throw his entire being into attacking the Hunger along with the Judges as several of them charged in.

 

[heartofcourage]

The world twisted and turned around her, all sense of direction lost as she and the shade plunged into the waters of the long dormant volcano. She held her breath and grabbed onto the Hunger's burning flesh, fighting through her own pain until a great clawed hand grabbed them both. Hesperus roared, his words echoing around them before he attacked and tossed them both from the boiling depths. Fiona let out a cry as she slammed down on the grassy banks, dark sky above her as the Judges and Markos moved in.

"No!" She cried. "No!"

She had no voice as she struggled to her knees, water pouring from her armor. It was still strong enough to survive and kill them all, to rip her very being in two. There was nothing but ruin if they continued on the fight this way. 'You need to burn it out,' she heard in her head as she saw the shade turn its attention back towards her, an ominous noise of flame building within its ruined body.

"Move." She muttered, panting to regain her wits and breath. "RUN!" She screamed as the shade's chest burned bright orange.

She was staring directly into his gaping maw as the gout of flame was let loose. She threw her arms up over her face for protection, knowing that there was little to protect her from dragon flame. The sound of flames engulphed her, but there was no heat. Opening her eyes, Fiona found herself protected by her mother, the fox's features determined as she held the scale shield in front of them both, the bottom dug deeply into the ground. The strain was enormous as Tatiana pushed back against the fire and Fiona was quick to lend her strength as well, pressing her shoulder against the shield to keep them both upright.

Fiona's blue eyes stared up into her mother's. There was a wealth of sadness that made her want to weep, but she swallowed back her tears. It wasn't the time. She couldn't save her mother from the demons that haunted her, but together they were going to banish the one that terrorized Fiona. The onslaught paused as the Hunger repositioned and both women stood, standing side by side as they stared at their common foe.

"Go." It was all Fiona said as she removed her axe from her belt, hefting the weight in her hand.

Mother and daughter kept pace with one another, walking slowly but with purpose as they waited for another gout of flame. "Is that really all you have? Centuries of torture and evil and this is it?! This is it? You will allow me to snuff out your very existence with a simple gout of flame? Hesperus couldn't even kill me with flame. And now, there's two of us!" Fiona called. "A shieldmaiden and her child."

When the second flame came, they were prepared. Tatiana held the shield before them and Fiona crouched to anchor it yet again.

 

[KieranSoares]

Their allies- scattered in all directions to avoid the hellfire the Hunger had stolen from Hesperus, regathered into two groups at either side. Hesperus and his rightful Rider met. Markos briefly touched his maw in fond greeting, before taking his ragged horn to be lifted onto his back. Even if they couldn't kill the Hunger themselves, they could hound and harry it til Fiona had her opening. The Judges weren't quick to charge back in, instead holding their ground and shielding their most powerful Callers who put weapons away to focus their minds on the Hunger and on supporting Fiona. Soon, Fiona felt those trained, strong minds at her back, and a bluish hue began to overtake the shield Tatiana now bore.

The second rain of fire was worse, but the shield exploded in bright blue and white light, casting an even wider barrier as it dug into the stony soil. All around them, sand and pebbles melted in the inferno, as if the phantom was hurling lava from the core of the earth itself. When Tatiana lifted the shield to surge forward again, someone else's arms looped around her to help her lift the massive piece. Fading in from nowhere, Fiona found Ephriam Blackstone in his prime, in his Rider armor, blazing with beautiful oranges, whites, and dark browns, supporting the daughter-in-law he loved and the granddaughter who had once been his world.

"Steris!" Ephriam's voice boomed, hearty and strong as in his youth. "You came!" He flashed a smile back toward the stunned old man before the shield planted once more, and Ephriam held Fiona and Tatiana in close, shielding them with his own body as well.

"Brother?!" Steris called back in disbelief, but there was no time to reunite and catch up. Ephriam stuck close to his kin, drawing a glaive from his back. It was remarkably similar to the one Margaret had wielded.

"Keep going, little kit," Ephriam encouraged. "Your family is with you."

"All of us, here, or in the waking world," Tatiana insisted with a nod.

 

[heartofcourage]

As Hesperus and Markos provided a distraction, Fiona took a moment to regard her mother and her grandfather. They stood with a strength that she had never seen them have in life and it brought a lump to her throat. She should have had them both for many years, but she had to settle for the few moments that she could steal right then and there.

"You keep your glaive." Fiona murmured, pulling the conjured shield from her arm and offering it to her grandfather. "And this. I don't need either."

Armed with her axe and her sword like a true Invernessian queen, she turned to watch the Hunger snap and snarl at Hesperus. "The old Scots have taught me all I need."

Fiona glanced at each a moment longer before she focused all her energy on the beast before her. She had lost her family, but the Ghis had given her life. She was one of them and she would go down fighting as one of them. She started to run towards the figure, her mother and grandfather keeping pace behind her. As the Hunger whipped around to strike, she protected herself with the sharp blade of that axe, hacking into his scale before delivering as many blows with her sword as she could. As he repositioned, she did the same, not giving him an inch.

"There's something you forget in all of this." She quietly spoke into his brain as she fought. "You need me a hell of a lot more than I need you."

With that, she crushed him. She shut down her mind so suddenly that it was if bone had broken. The pain was enormous in her own head, enough to stagger her to her knees for a moment. She gritted her teeth as she parryied again with her axe, struggling upright before she did it yet again after baiting him.

 

[KieranSoares]

The first time Fiona's steel trap mind snapped down, the Hunger's dragon form shuddered and grew hazy at the edges. It staggered and screeched with palpable pain. The second time, the dragon shape fell apart, giving way to a mass of black and glowing bloody red fog. Occasionally, a semi-corporeal claw or jaws would snap and swipe at her, attempting to reform and failing.

"I will swallow us both into the unending void," the Hunger threatened with a flare of white eyes in the half-corporeal fog. Just then, a thin ray of pale bluish light shot out from the surrounding darkness and stabbed through the fog. It caused the entire form to shudder and snarl. The opposite end led back to where the Judges were gathered, as they began enacting their final ritual to pin the Hunger down to allow it to be burned out of Fiona's mind for good. A second ray shot out, and the phantom began to slow while still swiping at Fiona and trying to devour her.

 

[heartofcourage]

She was utterly exhausted, sitting on her knees as she watched the pale blue light pierce the darkness. It wouldn’t be enough, she thought to herself. It had lived in her body for too long.

“Grandpa.” She murmured, gripping his hand tightly as it slipped into her own.

She glanced down at his soft orange fur, her dark stained fingers lacing with his own. “We were made for this moment. You just never had the chance to show me.”

Their eyes locked as she looked up. “We will rip him limb from limb.”

 

[KieranSoares]

Ephriam's form seemed to burn the darkness around them, the fog retreating from his fiery spirit like he was the sun burning through morning mist.

"You are the greatest warrior this family has ever known, Fiona," Ephriam murmured softly. More blue streaks shot out and pierced the Hunger, but it still held firm, screeching and thrashing in the dark. "I would give my very soul to see you survive this. For Riley. For Soma. For your Samuel. Owen... everyone. They need you a little longer, my love."

With that, Ephriam's form began to blaze even brighter. Once a Judge, a Caller, a Rider, and much more, it was as though Fiona was seeing her grandfather return to his prime before her eyes. He was vibrant as could be, giving his all to hold her up and offer the energy she needed to make it through her greatest ordeal. And with a squeeze of her hand, a shockwave of mental energy exploded off of Ephriam not unlike the detonation of the walls of London. The wave hit the Hunger, shunting its entire smoky form backwards and threatening to flatten it. It held its ground, roaring back with Hesperus's voice and a shadowy dragon maw in the gloom.

Smaller, but similarly vicious shockwaves came from the mist behind Fiona and Ephriam. Markos, Reven, Hesperus, Margaret, and more were all offering what they could to keep the Hunger at bay til Ephriam and Fiona could ready themselves for a killing blow. Fire erupted from the phantom in all directions, spewing wildly like it was trying to fight off the swarm of mental attacks.

 

[heartofcourage]

The blinding light that came from every direction startled her, but it wasn’t until she felt the sharp stab of pain in her chest that Fiona reacted. She let out a cry and clutched at her heart, staring down at the ray that pierced her body. The pain burned but instead of death, she felt strength. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to her feet. With all of her effort, she brought herself to her full height, the blue light slowly fading back into Ephriam.

“An honorable end is all we can ask for as callers.” She said softly as she touched his cheek. “If this is mine, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Enough!” She called into the darkness, the great gaping maw coming towards her quickly. “ENOUGH!”

She grabbed that maw with a strength she had never possessed, leaning her strength into keeping the Hunger at bay. Her boots slid against the ground, digging ruts in her wake as she slowly stopped its progression. Staring at her grandfather, she gave him a nod, allowing him to take up her position as she climbed up the maw and onto his snout. Moving quickly, she unsheathed her sword and drove it deeply into that bright, silver eye. There was a deafening roar as fire enveloped her. Her skin was burning, flashes of blue and black blinding her as she twisted her sword brutally.

As everything faded to black, the last words on her lips were simple.

“Eldere.”

****

Kate had know of what was happening within her castle walls. There was little to do to help, which meant business as usual for her. A brutal storm was thundering outside as she sat slumped in her chair, listening to the complaints of her lairds. Land disputes paled in comparison to the tension that she felt in her chest.

Her elbow rested on the arm of her chair, fingers trailing through her hair as she barely heard Laird Campbell droning on and on. She paused, however, when she noticed the wine in her gobble trembling. She narrowed her eyes as the liquid started to shudder violently, the metal goblet beginning to visibly vibrate.

“My lord…” Kate murmured to stop his speaking when all of the glass in the battered castle suddenly shattered, blowing out into the driving rain.

Qira was on her in an instant, his dagger drawn and ready for possible danger. Her ears rang from the pressure that had caused the explosion.

“I’m alright.” She murmured, pushing him away quickly. “What…?”

There was a noise coming from outside that sounded like thunder, but a rolling rumbled from the storm covered the sound briefly.

She moved to the ruined windows, glancing outside to see the dragons all howling into the darkened sky. She had never heard such a noise in her life.

 

[KieranSoares]

All at once, Edinburgh was engulfed in the snarls, roars, and lamentation of every nearby Northern dragon who'd ever connected with Fiona or experienced her presence. Those in the most agony were those that loved her best: her lieutenants' partners, the Elders that were partnered with her allies and family, and those whose lives she'd saved.

Most of all, Schaller was in an absolute state. The vast white dragon was back in his usual place of vigil, collapsed and shuddering and thrashing as if in the middle of a seizure, not making a sound. As he tore up the grass and mud, he finally let out a low, pathetic groan and fell still, panting raggedly.

Qira looked out beside Kate and furrowed his brows. "Fiona..." He whispered. Slowly, he turned back and a single glance at the laird sent him on his way. "Lock everything down," Qira called to nearby guards. "No visitors, no public court. Inform the staff to board the windows immediately." Beyond being a security risk with the windows blown out, Qira knew if Fiona was dead, their enemies might some to strike while they were down if anyone told them about all of this.

===

In Fiona's room, everything was a mess. The Judges had all collapsed to their knees or completely passed out. Several were hazily learning that their ears or noses were bleeding. Sam had been knocked out in his seat briefly, as if all the blood had rushed to his head suddenly. When he came to, he slowly sat forward and cradled his ringing head, full of the wails of the dragons and his own abilities going haywire.

"Fiona..." Sam muttered, slurring his speech slightly. He staggered to his feet with his crutch, and stumbled between the Judges toward his wife laying between them all in her armor. "Fiona...? Love?" Sam asked as his head started to clear. Tears filled his eyes, pure and inescapable fear filling every inch of his body and mind as he knelt painfully. He reached out to touch her cheek with one hand, checking her pulse with the other.

 

[heartofcourage]

It was peaceful there. Quiet. Fiona slowly ran her fingers over the items on the mantel, smiling slightly at the memories that each object held. The warm sun rays filtered through the forest outside, illuminating the cabin where she had always felt at peace. The fight was over and she felt free.

“I know he’s waiting.” She murmured as her grandfather’s presence made itself known. “He’d wait forever for me.”

She turned to take in Ephriam. He hadn’t lived long enough to see her like this: full grown and confident. She would never shake the sad air that followed her, but it was all a part of her now.

“We had some good times here. Some of the best of my life.” She moved towards him, stopping just feet in front of him as she let out a long sigh. “But there’s one thing I’ve always wanted to know. If you knew what I’d become, why didn’t you tell me?”

 

[KieranSoares]

Ephriam was no longer in armor, no longer so young and fiery. Instead, he had grown grey, though still with plenty of orange peppered through his fur. He was dressed in a familiar knit cardigan, dark trousers, and a simple button-down. It was what Fiona knew best: her lovely, gentle poet of a grandfather, aged and content with her presence despite all the hardships he'd faced in his long life.

The old Fox sighed gently as Fiona faced him, and offered a guilty bow of his head as his dark ears laid back. "I hoped... I prayed that I was wrong. And I didn't want you to live in fear. After losing your mother and Owen leaving so suddenly... I just wanted you to be happy for a while. I'd planned to tell you when you were a bit older. A bit more healed. And then... I was gone. And I have carried the sin of leaving you to face that fate alone to this day. And now... I realize that if I had told you back then, you would've dealt with both the horrible life you faced after me, and the knowledge of this curse looming over you. I don't know if it's better this way. All I can say is that I failed you, Fiona. I didn't prepare you. I left you too soon. And now... I fear I've failed you again. The fact that you had to face the Hunger... I never should've left my brothers and sisters among the Judges. I should've eradicated the Hunger to make a safer world for my family. It's been haunting us since Margaret's time. I'm so sorry, my dearest little kit..."

 

[heartofcourage]

“How could you have known?” Fiona asked, placing her hands gently on his arms. “No one knew that Hesperus would wake and that he had been wasting away to that illness.”

She thought for a moment about his regret in leaving the Judges behind and she leaned in to press her forehead against his own. “You did what you needed to do. Never regret that. And now I need you to rest. It’s my time to shoulder this burden.”

She pauses as a soft voice rang through her consciousness. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

She gently touched his cheek, her eyes filling with tears. “I have missed you so. Every day since you left. I can’t help but think that there’s a piece of you with all of my kits.”

The voice called again and Fiona pulled away slightly. “Help Da forgive himself. He still needs you, in spite of everything.”

She hugged her grandfather as tight as she could, taking in those last moments before they were gone. She woke to a world of pain. Her stomach rolled violently and someone helped her to one side as she retched thick black liquid.

“There she is.” Luna murmured softly, stroking Fiona’s hair as she held her in position until the nausea passed. “Take it slow. We are in no hurry.”

Fiona sucked in cool, damp air. The bitter taste of poison filled her mouth as Luna carefully rolled her onto her back. A damp cloth wiped dried blood and bile from her face. Her nose had bled tremendously coating her lips and neck in a dark crimson. She felt someone loosening the ties of her armor and she saw Alex carefully peeling away pieces before checking her pulse.

“Sam…” She choked out. “….Sam…”