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.
 
 

“Day of the One Lisle!”
​
Lisle startled awake and blinked sleep-filled eyes open to see Bryllint standing at the doorway of her room. Bryllint was grinning broadly. She held something draped over her arm. Grey on black hair framed her face, falling in straight lines to her shoulders and over her forehead. She held a candle lantern in her hand and the flickering light reflected on Deloren who stood next to her. Deloren rested a hand on Bryllint’s shoulder and a bright-eyed look of delight danced on her smiling face.

“Up you get, this is no time for lying about. Today is your Ritual! You’ve got to get yourself ready and then you’ve got to get Ell ready. Up now!"

Bryllint pushed the curtain aside and stepped through the doorway, followed closely by Deloren. She carefully placed what she held onto Lisle’s lap. Lisle pushed herself upright on her cot, rumpled bed cover wrapped about her waist, and peered down at what Bryllint had brought. It was an olive-green tunic. As she looked more closely, she saw that it was covered in embroidery. Beautiful scallops of red, carmine shading to ruby, sparkled across the fabric in the flickering candlelight. Lisle recognized the colors, the tunic matched Ell, right down to the red tinged edges of her scales. She ran her hand across it, feeling the slight texture of the stitching giving way to the smoothness of fabric.  As she did so, Deloren laid out a deep red ribbon across the tunic.  

“These are our gift to you, Lisle,” said Deloren. “It is the tradition for the Contracted to wear the colors of the Guardian on the day of their Ritual.”

Lisle was overcome and tears welled up in her eyes. “They’re s…so b…beautiful.” Lisle had never owned anything so fine.

“You’ve worked hard to earn your place among us, Lisle. We are all proud of you.” Deloren’s warm brown eyes looked at her with such kindness and love that Lisle could do nothing else but throw her arms around Deloren’s hips as she stood at Lisle’s bedside, and hug her hard.

“Hey, me too!” said Bryllint laughing and joining in the embrace.

After a moment, Deloren released them both. “Lisle, the Ritual is upon you, and you need to get ready. Come on Bryllint, let’s go put on our own finery.”

Deloren and Bryllint left the room arm in arm, and Lisle stared after them, hardly believing what had just happened. Then she leapt from the bed and held the tunic up in front of her, draping the ribbon over her shoulder. She spun about, twirling the tunic with her, and laughing out loud.

“Our Ritual of the One!” Lisle sang out the piping notes. She felt a fluttering in her stomach, part excitement, part nerves. She stopped spinning as she realized that as much as she had anticipated this day, no one had told her what to expect. She had no idea what would happen, except that she would be with Ell. That had to be enough. She and Ell would do this together.
 
Lisle slipped the new tunic on over her shift. It fit her perfectly, draping softly over slender waist and hips.
My Ritual tunic! She giggled at the thought. Now, where did I put my leggings?

Lisle took extra care braiding her wayward, nut brown curls into a semblance of order. Despite her best efforts, wispy tendrils escaped, waving in front of her ears and at the nape of her neck. Huffing out an irritated breath she threaded her fingers through the unfinished braid and pulled it all out. I’ll try it with the ribbon, she thought and reached over to her cot for the soft ribbon that lay there reflecting the candlelight with flickering splashes of carnelian.

Her second try went a little better, and Lisle looked down at herself stroking her hand down the stitching over her torso. Wearing the embroidered tunic and the red ribbon in her hair, she and Ell would match beautifully. She was mesmerized by the candlelight reflecting off the ruby-toned threads. Lisle’s heart felt like it might explode with happiness as tears prickled in her eyes.

Guardian’s scales! I’ll not have red-rimmed eyes at our Ritual. Lisle rubbed the wet out of her eyes. Then with a delighted flourish and a sweep of her arm, she flipped back the curtain at her door and skipped down the hallway. She had to get Ell ready!

She found Ell in the Cavern, reclining upon her usual ledge, eyes closed. Her breath wuffled in and out through delicate nostrils. The sun had not yet risen and only a grey light filtered down into the huge space. Lisle could hear a few of the other Guardian’s moving quietly about, claws rasping on stone surfaces. Most were still asleep.

She tip-toed to Ell’s side.

“Ell!” Her urgent whisper sounded unnaturally loud in the early morning quiet. More quietly then she tried again, “Ell.”
Lisle pushed at Ell’s forearm and her Guardian came awake with a loud snort.

Lisle clapped her hands around Ell’s muzzle in an effort to silence any further outbursts. Just then she heard the loud buzz that heralded Moss’s arrival at Lisle’s shoulder. Still holding Ell’s muzzle between her hands, Lisle looked back and forth between them. Then she hummed softly and sang in her sweet voice, “Today is our Ritual of the One,” ending on a quiet, high note.

Ell reared up, eyes wide. She looked at Lisle distractedly for a moment and then hurriedly got down off the ledge heading straight toward the healing pool.

Lisle stared after Ell, then looked down at her shoulder where Moss sat. Moss raised tiny green hands and made scrubbing motions in the air.

“Oh!” said Lisle, and she left the cavern at a trot, Moss buzzing along beside her. They had work to do.