| had meant being condemned
forever to walk in the twilight, always remembering
his duty while seldom becoming involved directly with
humans who would age and die before he returned.
Surviving had required going to ground in the soil for
decades, sometimes centuries, to recover from the wounds
he'd suffered in battling Drakus. "Your are deeply loved here," Rana said. "By us and the others of Fayre. You are our dragon. The guardian of the forest while the Nightstar sleeps. The seal against the darkness who keeps the flame burning..." Moonlight reflected off the corn-silk sheen of his shoulder-length hair as he paced back and forth, studying the surrounding terrain, weighing the consequences. He turned toward the bayou and narrowed his thoughts. Lifetimes whisked by in his mind's race backward to a world lost in antiquity. Seconds stretched into minutes while the night stilled silent around him. The gentle lapping of the water against the shore ceased, as Nature held her breath. |
 |