章 36: A Bedtime Story
Blue skies, birds chirping, and a cool breeze... for a moment, I was at peace, but then the shrieks of children reached my ears. Somehow, I had forgotten an episode until I was drawn in, with little chance of escape now that I was here. The Voyager had entered the Drayan star system earlier this morning, and made contact with the inhabitants of the planet. Janeway had offered to have me help make First Contact with the race, I politely refused and even asked to help with the survey teams, which was how I ended up on a shuttlecraft with Tuvok. We were doing scans of one of the moons when the shuttle hit electrodynamic turbulence in the atmosphere, which caused us to crash on the moon.
Once I saw Tressa, I remembered the episode, but that did not make the ship any less damaged. There were two other children, Corin and Elani, and all three looked to be between the ages of six to ten. Tressa wore red and had long brown hair. Elani wore violet and had her long brown hair styled back with a small braid. Corin was in green and had a darker complexion than the girls.
I could not help too much with the repairs, so I told Tuvok that I would watch the kids. It was not too bad since I had some practice as well as my powers to entertain them. Around midday, a Drayan ship landed on the moon, but instead of meeting them, we hid from them with the children as they told us that they were going to kill the kids if they found them.
The truth was even stranger. The 'children' were actually in their nineties as this race aged backwards compared to how we traditionally did. They had been brought to this moon to die, but that was because it was a holy place to the Drayans and they would naturally be drawn to a cave that was not too far away. I could sense the Death mana that radiated from it, though it did not feel threatening, only peaceful and serene.
I did not want to deviate from the episode now that I was stuck in the middle of it, so I did not say anything to Tuvok other than nudging him along the episode plotline. The Voyager still needed polyferranide for its warp coils and our crash had already caused a diplomatic problem with the Drayans. The episode did not address whether or not they traded for what the ship needed, only that things were smoothed over when Tressa asked for Tuvok to stay with her until her time came.
There was simply too much to repair in a single day, even if I had been able to help, so night eventually fell. Tuvok kept working while the children and I stayed by the fire. I found some blankets that were stored in the shuttle for them to lay on and we ate a bland meal of emergency rations, but it was better than nothing.
"Can you tell us a story?" Tressa asked.
"Yeah, tell us the story about the Beast of Sullus," Corin said.
"I don't know that one, but how about one from my homeland?" I suggested.
"Okay," Elani replied.
I gave a light smile and conjured a few wisps of my Chaos Storm Clouds, which made a few of the runes from my seal turn green, but it was by conscious effort, so I was not worried. Because it was the original affinity of my True Soul, it was both my strongest spell, and the one that I had the most control over. With this, I could create different details of my story to give it more life and excitement, while also doing some minor training.
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." I started with a smirk and moved the mass of misty silver clouds over the fire. "A powerful and chaotic plasma storm raged for thousands of years. As it drifted through the galaxy, anything that was unlucky enough to be in its path would be destroyed and consumed, whether it was a ship, a planet, or even a star. Nothing could stop this force of nature, so it kept growing and growing until one day it suddenly shrank.
"No one understood what had happened to cause the change, but most just thanked their luck that the mighty storm had stopped moving for the first time since it came into existence. A few brave, or foolish, men and women attempted to enter the storm to learn its secrets, but none who entered the silver nebula were ever seen again. Another thousand years passed, and most people had forgotten about the storm as it had been dormant for so long.
"What no one knew was that when the plasma storm had retracted and rooted itself, something magical had happened. In the heart of the nebula, a silver egg had formed from the very storm. It floated there inside the storm for those thousand years, until the first crack in the shell appeared, and then all of the energy from the storm rushed into that crack, or more specifically, the life form inside.
"With its newfound power, the young dragon was able to break free of its shell. So much strength was infused into such a young beast, that it became a target for many of the powerhouses of the galaxy. Dragons were known as some of the strongest elemental creatures, so if some lucky person could capture the baby dragon, and force a Soul Bond on it, they would have an incredibly powerful slave, if they could give the dragon enough time to grow.
"The young dragon had just been born with only its instincts to guide it, but now it was being hunted by dangerous people. The first who came, the dragon was able to fight off, but then came a warrior who could use Divine Lightning. It tried to fight back like it had against the others, yet he was too strong. The dragon would have been captured, if not for a Dark Goddess appearing and distracting the warrior, which gave the young dragon the chance to flee.
"The dragon had been injured by the warrior, so it found a place to hide while it waited for its body to heal. The dragon was forced to emerge from its nest when its hunger grew too much, so it hunted for an easy meal. It succeeded and then retreated back to its nest, and the cycle repeated for several months, but that did not mean that people had forgotten about the young dragon. More people came to the region to hunt down the dragon; some it could fight off, but there were others like the warrior with Divine Lightning, who were simply too strong or too smart for the dragon, yet it held onto its freedom thanks to the Dark Goddess every time.
"Over a hundred years passed in the same fashion and the young dragon grew both stronger and wiser. At the age of five hundred, few people could force the Dark Goddess to appear anymore, but that was also the age when a dragon can transform its beastly form to look more human and speak in the language of man. The first time that the dragon changed its form, the Dark Goddess appeared before it.
"Her skin was as black as the night, and her hair was crystal blue, flowing like water. Two horns that looked like green vines grew from her temples, and curved over her head as if they were a crown. She wore an ocean blue dress that framed her body against the space behind her, and seemed to glow.
"'You!' the dragon exclaimed. 'Come to claim me at last?'
"You see, the dragon had become jaded and bitter over the years. Having fought for centuries against people who wanted to enslave it, the dragon assumed that the Dark Goddess was no different, and dragons were creatures born with great pride, so it needing her help numerous times had caused the dragon great shame. The Dark Goddess said nothing and only smiled at the dragon, yet it took the act as another insult.
"Without warning, the dragon lashed out with its full strength and attacked her. The dragon always told itself that it had weakened the opponent that she would save it from, but the Dark Goddess proved that it was wrong. She was easily able to deflect all of the dragon's attacks in a way that the dragon would hurt itself, yet the dragon kept fighting until it could no longer move.
"'Stubborn Fool,' she chuckled. 'If I had wanted to take you as a slave, I could have done it the day you were born. No, what I want to do is give you a home. You are special, far more than you know, but trying to control you would only dampen that spark. Become my student and I promise to never restrict your freedom.'
"'If I refuse?' the dragon asked.
"'Then this will be our final meeting.'
"The dragon had no reason to refuse, as the Dark Goddess had fully broken its pride with the display of strength. Lucky for the dragon, her offer was true, and it had a home and family for the first time. For thousands of years, the dragon lived in peace under the protection of the Dark Goddess and her husband, the Sun God, but the dragon needed to leave the safety of its new nest..."
The light sound of snoring silenced me as all three children were fast asleep. I smiled to myself and looked up at the starry sky. Although I rarely slept since joining the Voyager, the few times that I did were usually filled with dreams of my past life, and the story I told was none other than my own beginning.
The Dark Goddess had been the leader of my original Pantheon in my past life. She had also been the reason why I had met Katye and Istar. We had followed her for millions of years until her husband betrayed her and founded the Tienovy Pantheon which eventually led to her death, but I had yet to get to those memories.
With the kids asleep and Tuvok busy, I summoned out the helmet of my exo-suit and put it on. The helmet's communication system had a direct line to the Fae Dragon, so now that I had the ability, I knew that I needed to check in with my group. I should have known that they were waiting for me to do just that since I had been missing for hours, so I got an earful as soon as I opened the channel.
"Rebecca! Are you okay? What took you so long?" Raven asked with concern in her voice.
"I'm fine; I'm sorry. If it was just Tuvok and me, I would have contacted you sooner, but there are three Drayans with us. This is an episode, but I did not remember it until we had already crashed on the planet and found the kids," I explained.
"Kids?" Katye asked.
"Technically, they are senior citizens, but they age backwards, or something, and look like children along with having the maturity of kids."
"Strange... what do their children look like then?" Raven asked.
"I asked that same question whenever I would watch the episode," I chuckled.
"Well, now that we know you are safe, do you need any help? We are in orbit around the moon, but Janeway doesn't want to send out any other shuttles, and is trying to negotiate with the Drayans. The fact that they can't find any trace of you two has not been making matters any easier, so it won't be easy, but I'm sure we can convince her, if need be," Katye asked.
"No, Tuvok should finish the repairs tomorrow, and if things follow the episode, we should be able to smooth things over with the Drayans shortly after that. Just follow Janeway's orders for now, and offer to help her come down if she asks," I replied.
"Alright, take care of yourself. We'll see you tomorrow," Katye said.
"Of course," I promised.
"Love you, Becca," Raven added.
"I love you too, Raven."
With our short conversation over, I pulled off my helmet and sent it back into my ring. I played with the ring unconsciously while I watched over the children, but to my surprise, Corin and Elani never wandered off like they had in the show. That ended up being the only change from the episode, aside for the kids wanting me to stay behind instead of Tuvok.
"You knew this whole time, didn't you?" Elani asked.
"That you had come here to die? Yes. I could sense the energy in your bodies dissipating at a steady rate, and the energy within that cavern; they resonate with each other," I replied which was true, though I knew for other reasons.
"You promised that you would protect us," Tressa said.
"I did, but dying is not the end, only the start of a new life. Life and Death are an endless cycle, like so many other things in the universe. You get to take this next step in peace, which is more than a lot of people can hope for, so I have protected you," I said with a soft smile.
"I hope my great granddaughter can grow up to be kind and confident like you," Corin remarked.
"And I hope she has an easier time in growing than I did," I chuckled lightly. "We can stay here as long as you three want to."
The trio shared a look then shook their heads.
"It's time. I've heard the call since last night," Elani sighed.
"Me too... I just didn't want to scare you all," Corin agreed.
"Then let's go," I said, offering my hands.
Tressa and Elani each took a hand of mine and Corin held Elani's other hand. The four of us walked to the cave as the last bit of sun dipped below the horizon. At true sunset, there was always a shift in the planet's, or moon's, balance of Yin and Yang and, when it happened with us inside the cavern, the three children's natural energy was being replaced with Yin energy at a rapid pace as they harmonized with the cave. Their bodies began to glow with blackish blue light before their forms completely lost cohesion.
It was actually a beautiful scene since I could feel their peaceful release, but then the Death mana swirled. Instantly, I knew something was happening, so I backed away as I readied myself for a possible fight, though it never came. Instead, the ghostly dark blue form of a cat-man, with a long fu manchu beard, formed.
"Asad," I sighed.
"I see that you have grown quite well since our last meeting. You've quelled your self-hatred, but that inner rage is still there, fueling you. All you need is that spark, and the inferno will blaze," he said with a smile as he stroked his beard.
Asad was another member of Tori's Pantheon which I had met back in the other world. He called himself the Lord of the Shadow Realm and King of the Dead. He was also the judge over the Naru Darc trials, and picked the Greater Spirits that we had to face. His trials had nearly killed Katye and I at different points, but it was a quick way to advance our Yin abilities and gain powerful summonable spirits, so we had tempted Fate more than once.
"What do I owe the pleasure of your appearance?" I asked with a hint of annoyance.
He purred with amusement and said, "An ultimatum. You and Katye are coddling your lovers. If they do not undergo the Naru Darc trial within two weeks, I guarantee that they will not survive the opponents I will pick for them."
"Is that a threat?" I growled.
"Merely a promise. They have had over a year to build up their strength, and it is traditionally a Junior Disciple ranked trial, which they are approaching the threshold of. If they cross that line, opponents like Ishu, Seluna, and Jabo will become available, and unless they can utilize Soul Power, they will have no chance of success," he purred and then the energy forming his body dissipated.
I let out a long, drawn-out growl of frustration. The only reason that I was not lashing out at my surroundings was knowing that this was a holy place for the Drayans. I could not deny that Katye and I had been hesitating on allowing Raven and Echo to undergo the trials, but we just excused it by saying that things had not been too dangerous so far, while the truth was that we were scared that they could not pass, because ours had been so tough. This was not something that we could help them with, other than making Yang-infused weapons and armor for them.
As much as I hated to admit it, I knew that they needed to face their own battles. That was what Echo and I fought about most, but I could not help my protective nature. I had seen the people closest to me, in both lives, die around me, so the thought of losing them as well had made me overprotective. The problem was, that if they were going to stand by my side and not behind me, I needed to let them fight their own battles and grow. I knew it, I had seen it, and yet I still wanted to shelter them. This was a warning, just like Sancu's about Seska, and I needed to listen.
Tuvok and Janeway had returned to the Voyager in the shuttle that Tuvok had repaired while the Fae Dragon waited behind for me. I walked back to our ship while mulling over his warning. Echo had been asking for the chance to complete the Naru Darc trial, and the basic abilities that came with succeeding were very useful and versatile. Keep them safe and cripple their future, or have them fight for their lives in the Land of the Dead and they will blossom if they survive. While I wanted to believe that I had a say in the matter, I knew that I would be out voted if I argued against them attempting the trial, and I knew better than to hide the matter with how Tori's Pantheon could appear whenever they wanted. I just needed to accept that they would have to stand on their own, which was easier said than done.
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