The children leapt to their feet, surrounding Deloren, pelting her with questions, not wanting the story to end.
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A petite, red-headed girl, popped her thumb out of her mouth just long enough to ask, “What’d Ellisle do afta’ that?”

The child glanced shyly over at another woman who stood across the room, leaning back against the greystone wall of the small space within Guardian Mountain which now served as learning room for the children of the neighboring village. Hands clasped over her abdomen, her hair was corralled into a long braid which draped over one shoulder, ashy brown interwoven with faint streaks of grey. Errant curls escaped about her forehead and wisped at the nape of her neck.

Deloren looked over to where Ellisle was standing and saw her cross her arms firmly over her chest. She knew that the child’s question would bring Ellisle’s memories flooding in. She also knew that Ellisle wouldn’t willingly swim in that river today.

“You know the answer to that Youngling,” said Ellisle, lips twitching upward. Ellisle looked up and winked at Deloren.
The little girl grinned around her thumb and nodded emphatically.

“What’d Terris do when the Guardian’s was all ‘aflamin’? Was he scarert?” A small boy asked, staring up at Deloren with wide black eyes crowned by dark brows almost hidden beneath the ebony waves framing his face.

“He weren’t scarert, Tomlin,” answered a slightly taller and otherwise identical version of the boy, crowding in close beside him. “Terris were brave enough to jump offa’ the mountain to save Ell weren’t he?”

Grimy fingers grasped at Deloren’s tunic, “When they gonna’ sing again, huh? Can I hears it?“

Deloren gently unclasped the childish fingers and held them between her own age-swollen knuckles.

“Yes, Younger, you can hear it, though you may have to wait till the next Ritual of the One.”

“Oh,” she said, eyes cast down, long eyelashes brushing flushed, pink cheeks.

“Gran Bryl! What happened to Gran Bryl?” Another child asked.

Deloren looked at the earnest young face crowding in close to her. She focused on the bright blue eyes and curving mouth that reminded her so of her beloved friend, Bryllint.

Meeting the child’s seriousness with her own she said, “With the Day of Rising their work was done. Gran Bryl and Bryllint are playing now on the Pathways of the One.” The child looked satisfied with that, and dipped her chin in acknowledgment.
 
Another younger, a boy with sparkling brown, mischievous eyes asked, “How’s about Gareth?”

Deloren heard a chuckle from across the room.

“Well you know my Hatchling, just what happened to Gareth,” said Deloren.

“He’s ma’ Farn!”

“Indeed, he is. And your Marn?”

“Marn? Why she’s Mina!”

“And where might you live with your Marn and your Farn, Hatchling?”

“We lives just back ‘a Guardian Mountain,” he said, casting a boneless arm over his shoulder. “In the village. We all lives there,” and he gestured with both arms out wide including all the children in his proprietary response.

A green blur flashed somewhat erratically over the heads of the children, buzzing to land on Ellisle’s shoulder.

“You’re not as young as you once were, Moss. You might slow it down a bit,” said Ellisle, looking askance at the tiny figure plastered to her shoulder, chest heaving.

Not in the least distracted by this, another child piped up, “What about Faltim and Fal? What happened ta’ them?”

“That, my Hatchling is a tale for another time. Off you go now, back to your chores.” Deloren made pushing movements with her hands, herding the children out.

The children scampered, laughing, through the doorway, and Deloren pushed herself slowly to her feet. One corner of her mouth twisted up into a grimace as she said, “These old bones make sure I slow down, and I’ve chores of my own to see to. Remo’s bunions have flared up.”

Ellisle nodded sagely, kissing her fingertips and holding palm out toward Deloren. Deloren smiled, caught the kiss with an outstretched hand and patted her own softly wrinkled cheek, then ambled out the door.

Ellisle! The Pathways are calling. I’m ready to dance! Ell’s words dropped into Ellisle’s mind. It no longer startled her the way it once had. Yet the intimacy of the connection still filled her heart almost to bursting. Her own chores, the endless work of the Eldress, Contracted of Gran Ell, could wait for a little while longer.

Yes, Ell, thought Ellisle. Let’s dance.

The End

The shimmering, crystalline brilliance that was Guardian Mountain engulfed Fal, pulling him into a vortex of energy that was irresistible, and with him, his Contracted, Tim.
​
It dragged him deep within the light of Guardian Mountain on the Pathways. Yet, at the same time, he was aware of Guardian Cavern all around. He looked down at himself and saw the sheerest reflection of his body, a transparent wavering ghost of a Guardian, like looking at himself through a smoke-filled haze. It was like nothing he had ever experienced.

He did not want to be in Guardian Cavern. Almost, he thought himself right out of there, when a tingling shivered through him, gradually increasing in intensity. It held him there, bound him with ecstasy.

His Contracted, Tim, stood beside him. Etheric eyes large against his shadowed face, as he stared about himself. Fal felt a mixture of terror and awe assaulting him. It came from his boy, and from his own heart.  

Fal looked up to see that he and Tim stood in the center of a circle of Guardian’s and Contracted. He saw Ell, her neck curved about her Contracted’s shoulders. She was staring at him with golden eyes opened wide, mirrored by the same startled look in the eyes of her Contracted. He was relieved to see that Ell looked strong, completely healed.

He saw his dame, Gran Bryl and her Contracted, Bryllint, standing beside Ell. His heart filled with love the like of which he hadn’t felt since he was a hatchling, but treading upon the tail of that love was terrible shame. He saw the other Guardians and Contracted looking up, looking at him.

The shimmering walls of the cavern behind them resolved into myriad flyer folk, as a loud, rhythmic clattering began. Then a deep humming filled the cavern with the energy of joy. The Guardians were toning, singing in harmony. He heard a sweet voice rising above, and looked to see Ell’s Contracted, eyes closed now, her face lifted, a beautiful descant rising from her throat. Then the voices of the other Contracted joined. The toning intensified, the energy swirling about him, lifting him, forcing him.

Fal wasn’t ready for that beauty, but he could not help but join in. The song of the Ritual of the One flowed into him, and then it ripped and tore out of him. The sound he made was anything but beautiful. It growled through him straight from his gut, shredding the frozen places inside where his grief and shame burrowed. It burned through him with its heat, shattering his heart, scorching his soul. And it continued, on and on. He thought that surely, he would die, he was dying. He was fragmented into so many pieces that he could never be pulled back together. 

Then he heard his Contracted, his boy, Tim. His mellow, soothing voice, cooling Fal. Fal leaned his shattered self into that voice. It flowed around him, easing him, cooling the terrible, scorching heat. The dulcet tones of his Contracted pulled the shattered pieces of Fal’s heart together and bound them with his steady love.

Fal felt himself then within Tim’s mind. No, Faltim’s mind. The words of the Ritual flowed into Fal and he knew that they, he and his Contracted, were One. He was whole at last.

He saw his other self step forward and say, “I am Faltim, Voice and Hands. We are One.”

Faltim’s hazy figure grew suddenly opaque. No longer was his form etheric and ghostly. Faltim stood solidly beside him.
As Fal realized this he was assaulted by the moist, cool air of the cavern and the familiar metallic scent of greystone, the spice and flowers of the Guardians all around him, even his own weight bearing him down into the rough gravel of the cavern floor. It was almost too much for him to take in all at once, but a minute passed and he adjusted.

He looked down and saw himself solidly present there in Guardian Cavern. He looked around at the Guardians and Contracted who surrounded him and felt all parts of himself there with them in Guardian Cavern. He realized then, that he was fully committed in service to the One.

A renewed burning sensation began deep in his gut. Yet this time, it filled him with excitement, joy and terrible longing. It flowed, hot lava up through his throat and out between his jaws. The flames roared up out of him, reaching up, all the way to the ceiling of Guardian Cavern high above them.

He felt rather than saw Ell lift her own jaws to the ceiling and roar out an accompanying flame. Then it cascaded around the circle, one Guardian after another lifting jaws high and flaming. Their Contracteds stood before them, spreading arms wide, faces lifted in ecstasy, singing, roaring out a tumultuous song of triumph and victory.

Fal, closed his jaws, the flames receding back into his body though the power was in him still. He felt it burst out through his skin, white hot light outlining every ridge and scale. It was searingly hot without any sensation of burning. As he looked about the circle, he saw Guardian jaws still lifted to the ceiling, but no longer enflamed. Brilliant light shone from each Guardian’s body, their Contracteds surrounded in a nimbus of their own bright light. The shining intensity cascaded upward, filling the cavern with incandescent brilliance.

He watched, entranced as the golden-white light formed into strands which gradually became a great web overlaying the cavern. Fal realized that these were the Pathways of the One, formed from their own inner light. He felt each of the other Guardians and their Contracted, and knew that they too felt him. Then he felt so much more, all of the humans, the creatures, the trees and the very stones of the planet. The awareness expanded ever outward, encompassing All.

So astounded was he that he was almost unaware of the deep answering thrum of the Mother Planet, vibrating through the great web. He felt her then, Gaea. He felt her pleasure at his awareness and her acceptance of his service, as if she stood before him, arms open wide. He felt her shake off the dark shroud, like a Guardian sheds its first skin. Then Fal, still reeling from his shattered and mended heart, allowed himself to accept her immense gratitude and love as it surrounded and enfolded him.

Deep within the primordial fires at the heart of Gaea, the Mother Planet knew the expansive relaxation that signaled the Balance, and Gaea finally rested.

Lisle moved to stand in front of where Ell settled her backside to the cavern floor, curling her twitching tail about her. Feeling anxious, Lisle stood as she saw the other Contracted doing, standing straight, shoulders back and arms at her sides. She felt Ell’s head just above her own, and had the incongruous thought of wearing her Guardian like some glorious hat and cape. A nervous giggle escaped her and she took a tiny step back to feel Ell’s warm solidity behind her. Lisle felt Ell’s chest rise and fall, and with each breath her comforting floral spice scent surrounded her tightly strung Contracted.

Lisle looked around the circle. Deloren and her Guardian, Loren were on one side of them with Bryllint and Gran Bryl on the other side. Ranged about the circle were all the others.

Lisle knew each of the Guardians from her time here in Guardian Mountain, but not all the Contracted. They must have been out in the world and returned for this special day. The thought caused Lisle’s roiling stomach to flip-flop like a landed swimmer.

She heard Ell gulping in what sounded like an uncomfortable swallow and realized that Ell was nervous too. Somehow, she felt better knowing that Ell shared her anxiety, and she leaned back a bit more, allowing one hand to reach behind to pat Ell’s leg. 

The circle was silent but for the almost rhythmic clatter made by the multitude of flyer folk wings as they clung to the walls of the cavern. The circle of Guardians and Contracted, standing and sitting, straight and still,  gazed at Lisle and Ell. Lisle had the panicky thought that they were waiting for her to do something. But what was she supposed to do? She had no idea. She cleared her throat, tense, and heard a similar rumble from behind her and felt Ell shift her weight  from one foreleg to another.

Lisle prepared herself to say something, anything, just to end the agony, when Bryllint stepped forward, and in a loud, firm voice said, “I am Bryllint, Voice and Hands.”

Lisle relaxed, exhaling breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Then the Contracted on the other side of Bryllint took a step forward and stated, “I am Holan, Voice and Hands.”

It continued around the circle as each of the Contracted stepped forward in turn, till finally Deloren, standing on the other side of Lisle, stepped forward and stated, “I am Deloren, Voice and Hands.”

Then all were silent once again, waiting.

Lisle’s stomach clenched hard and she heard Ell drag in a huge breath and hold it. Now what? It seemed obvious that Lisle was to step forward and make that same statement. She knew she couldn’t do it without grinding her way through in fits and starts. It would be horrendous. They’d probably laugh at her or worse, pity her. She’d have to sing it. She could only hope that would be correct.

She lifted her foot to take that fateful step when she was halted by a deep rumbling coming from all around the circle. The clattering of flyer folk wings picked up in intensity then, the rhythm speeding up. Lisle listened closely and realized the Guardians were humming. Some were toning so deeply as to be almost inaudible, some higher, all flowing in harmony, each with the other.

Startled, she heard Ell join in from behind her, a beautiful sound that she hadn’t known that Ell could make. It was almost flute-like and yet far deeper than any flute she had known. It flowed into the harmonies of the other Guardians with a beauty that brought tears to her eyes. She forgot her fears and gave herself up to it, allowing herself to be carried on the wings of that wondrous sound.

The toning grew in intensity, filling Lisle with energy, tingling up her legs and arms, filling her chest full and moving up into her throat. She couldn’t stop herself and opened her mouth to join in the harmony. The song flowed out of her, high and light. An etheric descant that poured from her mouth, lifting to the very top of the cavern and cascading down again. Weaving in and out through the bass tones coming now only from directly behind her. Coming from Ell.

It was just she and Ell singing now. Lisle was so caught up in the song that it didn’t matter. Their harmony was perfect, low and high, weaving up and down and around each other. She didn’t have to think about it, she simply knew which note to sing to blend perfectly with Ell’s tones. It poured from her heart and out through her mouth and she felt as though her spirit filled all of the cavern around them. She flowed on this great river of sound until gradually, so gradually, the song wound down and drained away like water into the stone.

Lisle felt utterly emptied and deeply satisfied. She rested into the gentle swells of energy that moved through her and all around her, as Ell breathed quietly behind her. Then all was silent. Even the flyer folk held still.

Once again, the Guardians and their Contracted looked steadily at Lisle and Ell, waiting, expectant.

Lisle could not react. Ell was there in her mind and Lisle was captivated. She felt Ell’s warmth and her fathomless love. It filled her to overflowing, spilling out and around her, then filling her again and again. She gazed about the circle and realized that it no longer mattered what the others thought. They could laugh or pity her and it made no difference. She and Ell were One.  

The words were there then in Lisle’s mind, pushing onto her tongue. She felt she might burst from the pressure of them. Almost without conscious volition, Lisle took a firm step forward and said, “I am Ellisle.” There was no hesitation, no stumbling. Then, clear and strong, “I am Ellisle, Voice and Hands. We are One.”

As she did so, she felt Ell’s head close to her own, graceful neck curving lovingly about her shoulders. Ellisle reached her hands up, one arm cradling Ell’s head, the other holding the long, sinuous neck that embraced her.

They held each other, lost in Oneness.

Each of the other Guardians and their Contracted remembered their own ritual, eyes closed now, their hearts meltingly one, unaware of the time which passed.

Deep within Ell’s embrace, Ellisle’s eyes drifted into the circle. There in the center of all the Guardians and Contracted, she saw something so startling as to shock her out of her dream-like state. Ellisle struggled up, pushing Ell’s head so that she too would look into the circle and see what Ellisle saw.

Standing in the center of the cavern were the translucent, ghostly figures of Fal and his Contracted, Tim, who looked about himself, eyes wide in surprise.  
 

Lisle trod behind Ell who led the way to Guardian Cavern. Lisle’s stomach felt jumpy. The little of the morning meal she had been able to force down sat uneasily within. Her earlier excitement had drained away and now she had the desperate thought that maybe they could wait a few more days. She wasn’t ready. How could she be all that Ell would need her to be, Voice and Hands? She was just a younger. The other Contracted were older, at least the ones she had met. They knew more. She didn’t know enough. She didn’t know anything. She was just here because she stumbled on Ell’s egg in the woods. She didn’t belong here. Lisle almost turned around and ran back down the hallway. But Ell moved steadily ahead and Lisle, taking a deep, shuddering breath continued to follow her.

Lisle was nervous, maybe more nervous than she had ever been. But still she felt amusement as she looked ahead and saw the misty steam rising from Ell’s back in the cool air of the tunnel, remnants of her recent preparatory bath. The scent of the delicate floral oil Lisle had used to shine and polish Ell’s scales wafted back to her, calming her.

Looking at her Guardian as they moved along, she was surprised to realize that Ell had grown since their arrival here at the mountain. She now moved with an ease that hadn’t been there before. The awkwardness of the young dragon was gone, replaced with the grace of an adult Guardian. Even from the back, Lisle could see her head and neck held high, bobbing gently with each step. Her wings arching up, and powerful hindquarters swaying from side to side. The young Guardian’s legs had lengthened and now held her considerable bulk well up off the tunnel floor, moving with an easy, measured pace. She held her tail just off the floor, the end curving up and around, forming almost a circle at the tip.

Her scales and ridges shone in the light as they passed each of the many torch sconces placed along the walls. The olive green was deeper than it had been, with touches of buttery yellow showing close in to her body as she moved, an echo of the warm yellow on her belly. The crimson edges of each scale on her sides and back, and the ridges on spine and neck, glittered, gem-like. Lisle spared a glance down at her own finery, proud to remember that she too wore Ell’s beautiful colors. At least this she could enjoy today.

Lisle felt a sharp expansion within her chest and inhaled deeply, the better to take in the overwhelming love that suddenly filled her. It tingled up through her legs and arms and cascaded up her spine as her breath carried it though her body. The sensation was so intense that she had to stop walking and just feel.

She saw Ell stop just ahead of her, and curve that long neck back and around so that she could look at her Contracted. Ell’s jaw dropped open slightly in a Guardian approximation of a grin. An expression that might look alarming to any but the Guardian’s Contracted, but Lisle understood. Her own mouth split in an echoing grin.

Ell moved onward then, slowing as she approached the entrance to Guardian Cavern. She stepped through the greystone archway with Lisle following closely behind. Ell stopped and her tail dropped unexpectedly to the floor. Lisle had to make a fast adjustment in her forward pace and do a little hop to avoid stepping squarely on that vulnerable tip. As it was, she had to catch herself with hands outstretched on Ell’s hindquarters. Ell didn’t seem to notice. She stood perfectly still.

Lisle moved to the side so she could peer out and around Ell to see what had halted their forward progress.

Her jaw dropped in awe. Ten enormous Guardians lined the circumference of the cavern in a large circle. Each sat in the same upright pose with deepest green-blue and olive-green heads erect on curved necks. Forearms on the ground before them, claws neatly curled under. Long tails gracefully wrapped about their bodies reaching across in front of them and then around the other side, huge wings lay in folds upon their backs. Each one turned golden eyes to stare at Ell and Lisle.

Ten Contracted stood in formal pose in front of the Guardians. Heads up, shoulders back, arms to the side. Each wearing the colors of their Guardian they stared at Ell and Lisle, eyes calm and faces relaxed.

On the ledge at the far side of the Cavern, Lisle saw Terris, a huge smile spread over his face. He lifted one hand, palm out, wiggling his fingers at her in greeting. His greying hair was plastered to his scalp, and it looked as though he’d attempted to shave most of the scraggly beard that usually resided on his face. Just a short tuft was left dangling from his chin, and a bit on his upper lip. Beside him sat Gareth, straight, serious and handsome. He nodded to her and she saw the corners of his lips curve upward.

Lisle’s eyes trailed above her companions and she was astounded to see what must have been a thousand flyer folk clinging to a wall of the cavern, slowly fanning their wings in the sunlight pouring through the crater far above. The light shone off their iridescent wings reflecting tiny rainbows into the cavern. Together with the sparkling of the light off the crystal embedded in the greystone of the walls, the effect was mesmerizing.

Lisle looked for Moss, hoping to catch a glimpse of her friend, and somehow discovered her amidst the myriad folk. Green hair formed a nimbus about her tiny face and her wings beat a more rapid pulse than any of the others.

Tearing her eyes away, Lisle saw the largest of the Guardians, Gran Bryl, elegantly dip her chin toward a space in the circle of Guardians just next to her. Ell, hesitated a moment more, then picked up her tail and paced across the circle to Gran Bryl. Lisle closed the mouth that she realized had hung open throughout her awestruck survey of the scene before her, and nervously picked her way across the cavern behind her Guardian. Whatever was about to happen, there was no turning back now.