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Tian Yue, Glyph, Ashoka, and Phaedra: Calling the Council

Tian Yue & Aska: Jumping in the Deep End

Tian Yue & Desiderio: That Stone in the Heart

Chains

He felt haggard and worn, hollowed out - and yet liberated, for the 'worst' had come to pass and he had survived it, as he had survived Gehenna. He had done what he could; whatever remained was in Tien's hands.

That night, the Dragon King took himself to the pinnacle of his own chambers, that dome that overarched the space that changed dimensions at his bidding. He perched atop the roof in scales - not at the fullness of his size, for the Aoide tended to sigh when they had to walk across such a large interior space, but he did not need great coils for what he was doing now. The scales, though... ah, the scales were important.

The stars above shone bright, and if he stretched out his neck and strained his hearing he could pick out the distant joy-songs of his people, plying the stars in their ships, mapping the new skies. And yet there was something lacking in their songs, and in the skies themselves... well, of course there was. In the ages past the Fading, the skies had been silent, so. When their patron awoke again in the flesh of a mortal, they burst again to glorious life, a vibrancy that Tien Lung had loved and his followers grown to need like food and drink. They, too, fell in love with the living sky.

He had mourned already, many times. So many times that his throat ached with it. He had felt chained by guilt - over Lucius, over Tien, over the deaths of Gehenna. He was Worldshield, and every senseless ending impinged his honor, his guardianship. He wondered briefly if Echo's young son had felt the same pain, or if he had been too young.

But now one set of chains had been loosened, and the Dragon King reminded of his own agency. He breathed out into the night, a low sigh, and settled to lay beneath the silent light of the stars. If only, if only...

... Echo's son.

Echo's children.

His head snapped up again, ears quivering as he strained again, but this time for thought, not sound. Universe had been young once, though the Dragon Kings had not been shaped at his birthing. What was born once... could, perhaps, be born again, a regathering of powers and mana by suitable gods. The Empress had not been seen, and yet... and yet.

There was Silence, perhaps, and what Silence was more profound and holy than that of the space between the stars?

And then a thought crashed through his mind, making him recoil for all that its origin was himself: I could have him back.

"No!" he roared at the stars, at himself. No, no, no... to place the weight of years, of history, of yearning upon a child? Never, never. His scales crawled with the wrongness of it. Any child would not be his Universe... the shoulders fit to bear the heavy burden of time along with his own had been eaten by Gehenna. He could not do this thing for his own sake.

Was he capable of doing it at all, then?

Tian Yue curled up again and closed his eyes, seeking the truth in his own heart. If he could not win free of that bitter history, he would recuse himself. Let another find this hope, kindle it, bring it to bear if possible.

But oh, if he could. Having found some measure of freedom in seeking Tien, his soul yearned to be entirely free. To be purged, to be cleansed. To be whole.

He moved, snaking his head down to peek beneath the roof. "Let none disturb me," he commanded. "Consider me in seclusion until I descend again." He listened for their assent, then nodded once, letting soft approval color his features before withdrawing. It would not do to have them worry.

Then he took a deep breath and coiled himself tight, seeking himself. Seeking chains, and the breaking of them.

Tian Yue & Harmodius: The Seed of a Star