PART 27

She had been a friend, and a strong, intellectual ally in his uprising against Sariahfina. All the Dragon’s understood their fate when they were cast into exile but Deirdre had taken it particularly badly. She isolated herself from the group almost immediately. Dresden sought her out after his first fifty years but she would not entertain his presence for long. This left Dresden feeling lonelier than ever in the early days, as he had hoped that some of them would remain close. He had been abandoned the worst of all by the other exiles and hadn’t understood why. His time with Ardent was helping him regain a consciousness he had abandoned and therefore an understanding that had left him, along with reason. In short, he had been driven mad and he knew that now as he worked with Ardent to correct the damage his own mind had suffered.
“Do it again!” Ardent howled.
Dresden was growing weary of trying out his wings. They hurt down the bone every time he attempted to fly. Ardent had explained that when Galvinor had gouged him, he’d severed a vital nerve that was difficult to heal with magic.
“I have already proven that I cannot fly. A maimed Dragon is a dead one Ardent!” He stormed off back to the yurt, transforming with ease as he walked. He picked up his pile of clothing from the doorway and hurriedly dressed. Then he balled his fists and boxed the trophy head on the wall while he screamed into Baylin’s dead face.
“That will accomplish nothing my friend.” Ardent had followed him, pulling a long, loose tunic over his head and nothing else, he made them both more tea. Dresden was certain he had never drank more tea in all his life than in this time he’d spent with Ardent.
“What is your fascination with tea? Why do you insist I drink it with you every day? Do you get pleasure from sipping the hot liquid of plants or do you just intentionally torture me with it?” Dresden punched Baylin’s head again one last time before retiring to the fur bed roll on the ground. He rubbed his shoulders where the fresh scars were. He knew that if Ardent couldn’t heal his wings completely, he would be helpless as a Dragon, regardless of his other strengths. Ardent regarded him sympathetically.
“It is just taking longer than I originally anticipated. I did not say I couldn’t do it. You have to let go of some of that anger. I am not your enemy.”
“I am not angry with you. I am angry at everything else. You tell me we must see Deirdre, and there is a delay. You insist that I transform into a Dragon and the first thing I do is cough up an ingot, that both of us do not fully understand. You shove cup after cup of tea in my face and insist I drink it with you, even though I despise tea! Worst of all Ardent, you will not tell me what is going on, even though I know I could read your past and find out for myself.” Dresden finally stopped talking.
Ardent did not reply immediately. He let the words sit in the air, like a heavy mist that choked out any progress they’d already made. He gave Dresden time and space to be angry, even though he was doing his best to aid his brethren Dragon. Dresden picked up the cup of tea that Ardent had placed on the night table and drank it obediently. He grimaced as he sipped at it, staring at Baylin’s head on the wall with passionate anger.
“You will have time for vengeance, I promise you that. Information will come over time and with experiences that will give that information context. You have already met the Alchemist. I can tell you it is a relief to me that he showed himself to you. He is quite mysterious, but a good fellow. Deirdre will surely have some knowledge she wants to impart on you. I know you two were never as close as you would have liked, but she doesn’t hate you. You know that right?”
Dresden wanted to chastise Ardent for daring to bring up the lack of closeness he and Deirdre could have had, but he chose not to. He thought of the Alchemist instead. What did an Elf stand to gain by the uplifting of humanity? The Elves were chased from the land brutally after the portals were destroyed. Humans had no love for magical beings, even those akin to their own realm. They wanted the land for themselves. Dresden considered how similar that was to Sariahfina and her followers' mindset.
That evening the two slept soundly, and woke to a sunny day with no snow. Ardent worked hard on Dresdens wings again, but with the same results at the end of the day left them both feeling discouraged.
“Your wings should be working properly now. I have taken every step I can think of to repair that stubborn nerve. I do not understand what I am missing.” Ardent was thoughtful, never quick to anger so he simply appeared contemplative when something wasn’t going well. Dresden however, was furious. He knew that they could stay on the mountain top as seasons passed by them, and no further progress would be made. He was damaged, permanently and he had to figure out how to live with that now. He did not speak to Ardent for the rest of the evening.
When they both woke the next day, Dresden assumed his Dragon form early in the morning and sat quietly by the precipice overlooking the mountains and forests below. He considered his plight with less anger, looking instead within his Draconian consciousness for a solution. He couldn’t quite find one. Ardent gave him space and did not insist that they resume the exercises he had been coaching Dresden with to give the freshly healed wings strength and mobility. Dresden flexed his wings and let the wind move through them, blowing against the webbing and tugging against his shoulder blades uncomfortably. He could feel the exact spot where Ardent’s healing hadn’t touched. He flexed it, he stretched, he rotated it until he could no longer stand the pain. Nothing had worked. How could he not heal from this? He wondered. He remembered his wounded body, the dark blotches on his skin, the internal bruising that had left him bedridden. As a man, he had grown used to not having such weaknesses. In Dragon form he was vulnerable to Dragon attacks and he had forgotten just how much until recently.
He laid his head in the snow and fell back to sleep, allowing the snowflakes to cover his scaly body while he rested. He didn’t want to think right now, it wasn’t leading to anything helpful so he cat napped. At sunhigh he woke with a great yawn. The snow had stopped, he shook his wings to clear the dusting that had covered him as Ardent approached in Dragon form. He turned his head with a smile, glad to see Ardent for the first time in days. Dresden stood, shook once more and turned to face his friend. Ardent came close to him, eyes determined, a look that flashed concern in Dresden. Ardent came in fast, ducked low, sweeping Dresden off his feet. He picked him up off the ground and raised him high over the Antlers on his head.
“Ardent, what are you doing? Have you gone mad!” Dresden churned in his grip, twisted to free himself, but Ardent held on tightly and walked over to the edge of the cliff.
In a monotone voice Ardent gave Dresden an ultimatum that sent chills down his spine. “You will either fly or fail. There is no other way.” and with that, he tossed Dresden far over the edge of the precipice and watched him fall to the depths below.