Chapter 21

Without a second’s hesitation, Laoghaire told Michael, “Get us together.”

Not questioning, the demigod teleported them both onto the gantry with their friends. Almost before they materialised, Lao was on his portacom, “Code Red Evac!” he yelled.

“Confirmed,” acknowledged the voice on the other end.

“We need to extract the fragment!” Jessica cried.

“Not yet!” Michael warned her. “You’ll create a power vacuum!”

“Huh?”

“It’ll blow up,” Sara translated.

It wouldn’t be anywhere near as bad once the fragment was removed, but it would still take out much of the surrounding city, with them in the middle.

“Hence the evac,” Lao said, pointedly.

Sara took out the containment box, Michael stood ready to weave a dampening spell around it as an extra precaution, and Jessica’s dagger hovered as close to the fragment housing as she dared, waiting for her sister’s say-so.

An almighty crash from above made them all look to the roof, as through it came a wing of a dozen dragons. PDI agents all abandoned what they were doing and climbed aboard. A magnificent golden dragon hovered next to the gantry where the four companions were standing.

“Wasn’t expecting this,” Jessica admitted, eyeing the dragon, warily.

Lao gave her a quizzical look. “You weren’t expecting Pro Dragon Intelligence to employ actual dragons?”

“Fair point, love,” she conceded. “You’ve got me there.” Turning to the dragon, she asked, “What’s your name, dearie?”

“Meghir,” he rumbled in reply.

“Nice to meet you, Meghir,” she beamed. “I’m—"

“Jess,” Sara interrupted her, “maybe we should save the pleasantries until after we don’t blow up?”

She nodded. “Just say the word, sis.”

“Now!” she cried.

Quick as a flash, her sister cut the fragment free, dumping it unceremoniously into the waiting box. Sara slammed the lid shut and Michael worked his magic. The fragment was now safe, but they were not. There came an otherworldly screech as power surged through the system.

“Let’s go!” roared the dragon and they all clambered aboard. He rose into the air, pulling them aloft with powerful strokes of his wings. Below them, the system was coming apart at the seams, fires broke out, and they could hear the pressure building inside the weapon as it strained to contain the chaotic, unstable power.

“Lay close to my back,” the dragon told them. “I wouldn’t want you to get hit by any debris. Don’t worry about holding on, I won’t let you fall off!”

Despite their initial fears, both Chetsuans found they trusted this dragon and their faith proved to be well-founded as he punched back outside through the roof without them getting a scratch.

No sooner had they cleared the building, than an almighty explosion ripped through it, destroying the horrific weapon inside. Hot flaming chunks were launched into the cold winter sky, setting more structures ablaze where they landed. All over the city, people were running and screaming, fleeing in panic into the winter streets, choosing freezing over burning. Power lines were damaged, cutting off electricity supplies and shutting off the lighting until everything was dark except for the reddish glow of the fires. Smoke filled the air, but out of that hellish scene came salvation. Dragons, those who had refused the Wirathian honey trap, swooped down and carried Lavosians to safety.

It wasn’t always possible to land in the narrow, crowded streets so they simply picked people up in their claws, as gently as they could. At first, the people of Weslend, people who had been taught to hate and fear dragons, misunderstood their intentions and resisted, fearing they were being kidnapped and perhaps taken away to be eaten. Gradually though, most began to understand and see the rescue for what it was.

“You’re heroes,” Jessica told the dragon. “All of you. These people tried to exterminate your kind, and here you are saving them!”

“Their government tried to exterminate us,” Meghir corrected her, “and I would gladly let the lot of them burn for what they tried to do. But not at the cost of all those innocent people below us. Anyway, strange that you should call us heroes when you were the ones who saved my people from being roasted behind that terrible barrier.”

“I supported that terrible barrier,” Sara admitted with shame on her face and tears in her eyes. “At first, before I knew the truth of it, I thought it was a good idea to lock you all up, even though you’d done nothing to deserve it.”

Jessica squeezed her sister’s hand and leapt to her defence.

“You have to understand, Meghir, love, on our world the dragons tried to wipe out our people, and we can never see our home again thanks to what they did.”

“That doesn’t excuse it,” Sara refuted. “Jess, you lived through that the same as I, but you saw this was wrong right from the beginning.” She spoke to the dragon, once more, her golden flush growing, deepening. “Your kind aren’t the dragons from our world, Meghir, and I shouldn’t have treated you as if you were. Can you forgive me?”

“It seems to me that you had more cause for your fear of dragons than any of the people down there,” Meghir considered. “The difference is you didn’t rely on what you were being told about us. You found out for yourself, and when you discovered the truth, you changed your views and acted accordingly. I can see no fault in anyone who does that, so there is nothing to forgive.”

With that, Sara lay comfortably on his back and hugged him tight.

“You’re hugging a dragon,” her sister observed, drily.

“I know.”

“Sara, you’re actually hugging a dragon!”

“I know!” she repeated with a grin.

“You’ll be snogging him next!”

Sara just laughed.

*****

The anti-dragon government in Weslend tried but failed to squirm out of the consequences. They were expelled from office, charges were brought, and a new pro-dragon provisional government was formed in its place until free elections could be held. There were similar scenes all over the continent.

The revelation of the genocidal plot and the heroic actions of the dragons in Weslend combined to sway public opinion, and the new provisional government chose to ride the tidal wave of goodwill to reveal exactly who it was that had saved the world.

The event was held in a large public park in the heart of Kaelia Capitolina, where a capacity crowd stood watching with dragons flying overhead and Lavosian vidcast technology streaming the whole thing across the GlobeNet.

“Amid the terrible events of the last few days,” a spokeswoman began, “something incredible happened. As you all know, for years we have been sending out messages to the stars, dreaming of the day we might make first contact with people from another world. It somehow never occurred to us that people from another world might save us the trouble and pay us a visit instead. Yet that is precisely what happened.

“Why did they come? To invade and conquer us like in our vidcasts?” She laughed. “No, of course not. They came to help. You see, just as our world has come through a crisis, theirs has, too. Daelen StormTiger fought a terrible nemesis alongside the bravest of souls from this other world called Tempestria. Daelen himself was slain in that battle…”

The crowd gasped.

“Still, the battle was won, and their world was saved, but not before their enemy threw a fragment of his terrible power far away from Tempestria to Lavos.

“Some people found that fragment, but rather than seek to contain it and keep it safe, they decided to use it to construct a horrific weapon right here in this city!”

The crowd booed.

“Now, what did our neighbours from Tempestria do?” the spokeswoman asked, rhetorically. “Did they decide it was nothing to do with them? No. No sooner had they helped to save their own world, then they came to save ours, too!”

 

As the crowd cheered, Jessica, watching from behind the stage curtain, remarked, “Laying it on a bit thick, isn’t she, dears?”

“Gotta love public relations,” Sara sighed.

“Be grateful she’s getting them to like us,” Michael pointed out.

“I suppose,” Jessica allowed. “Still, it doesn’t seem right that Laoghaire’s missing out on this hero’s parade.”

“It was his choice,” Sara reminded her.

He had decided that his involvement should be kept secret so as not to jeopardise his future work with PDI.

“I know,” Jessica sighed. “Still don’t like it, though.”

 

“Now, citizens of Lavos,” the spokeswoman continued, when the crowd had quietened down, “from what I have learned, Tempestria is very different to Lavos. As you might expect, their people don’t look like us, but if recent experiences with the dragons have taught us anything, it should be that we need not fear those who are different. Rather, we should judge them by their actions, and the actions of these people have set an example for us all. Now it’s up to us to be worthy of that by welcoming them to our world!”

The crowd cheered louder than ever, and the dragons overhead roared their appreciation. Without waiting for them to quieten down, the spokeswoman continued, “Are you ready to do that?”

The cheers grew louder.

“Are you ready to meet these visitors to our world and welcome them in the name of Lavosians everywhere?”

The noise was deafening.

“Then I ask them, please come and join me on this stage: Sara, Jessica and Michael!”

“Not telling them your real name, then?” Sara asked the demigod.

“Oh, I gave up on anybody pronouncing that right centuries ago. Michael will do fine.”

*****

This was a major turning point in Lavosian history, gentle reader. At the next elections, pro-dragon governments were sworn in all across the Vranian Alliance, and a mandate was quickly drawn up by many Lavosian governments to seek formal relations with Tempestria. The companions couldn’t see how that would be possible anytime soon but promised to pass on the message, regardless. Eventually, formal relations would indeed be established, leading to the formation of the Commonwealth that exists in my time.

Formal apologies were sent to the Wirathian people and the dragons. The Grand Relocation Plan was abandoned, and dragons once again spread throughout the world. Nevertheless, a large proportion of dragons chose to make Wirathia their home anyway, the inner desert being an ideal habitat for them.

The companions stayed long enough to see the changes unfold, taking advantage of the time difference with Tempestria, where only a couple of weeks would have passed. At last, though, they bade farewell to Laoghaire, and Michael opened a portal home, materialising outside the ruins of the ancient temple on the edge of the Rhynas Desert in Northern Alloria. From there, they made their way to Elvaria, to check on the situation there.

*****

The Council building in Walminster stood tall and proud. Wizards came and went in robes of Red, Black and White. There were druids, too, and even a few clerics. The companions met with the Triumvirate leaders, Laethyn, Maia and Justaria, and all seemed to be as it was before the Timeline shifted. Indeed, the Council were unaware that any such event had occurred.

Michael explained that the Guardians had gone back in Time to correct the problem and were surprised to find they weren’t around.

“Has anybody tried the Black Tower?” Sara wondered.

Nobody had, so they asked Michael to portal them to Gaggleswick. Walking to the edge of the town, where the Tower stood, it seemed as warm and inviting as they remembered, suggesting Dreya was once more in control, the Time aberration of Ulvarius gone for good.

Still, Jessica advised Michael to wait outside the gate. “No offence, love, but I’m not sure you’re on Dreya’s guest list, and we don’t want any trouble.”

When they reached the door to the Tower itself, her elite guards were waiting inside. A quartet of death knights and a trio of ghouls. The sisters held hands to help quell their fears at being this close to such deadly creatures without Dreya’s direct control.

Swallowing nervously, Sara asked if they had seen their Mistress lately.

“Not for many days,” the chief knight answered.

“You’ve no idea where she is, I suppose?” asked Jessica.

“We have tried, but we cannot sense her,” one of the ghouls replied.

“But she…” Sara hesitated. “She’s definitely still alive somewhere?”

“Or somewhen?” Jessica suggested.

“Most certainly,” the knight insisted. “We are sworn to serve her until she dies.”

“If she were dead, we would be released,” whispered the ghoul.

There seemed to be nothing more they could accomplish there, and they wouldn’t be comfortable staying in Dreya’s Tower by themselves, surrounded by the undead. So, instead, they volunteered to help Michael build his home, in exchange for moving in with him when it was completed. He assured them he would be glad of the company.

*****

Weeks ticked by, turning into months. After a year, the Council of Mages declared the Guardian Project officially dead and although they tactfully categorised the Guardians themselves as ‘missing’, it was clear what they meant.

The two Chetsuans argued long and hard over that, but in the end, Justaria cut through it all, saying, “I understand your feelings in this. Really, I do. I was fond of Catriona myself—” Then before the sisters could object again, she held up a hand. “My apologies. I mean to say, I am fond of her and miss her greatly. The absence of Dreya in these lofty halls is keenly felt, and as for Mandalee, we have barely begun to know her. Nevertheless, the fact remains that they are not here.”

The girls couldn’t argue with her on that.

“In their absence, the world moves on, and I am intrigued by the notion of contact with another world. To that end, I have already authorised projects to conduct research into that possibility. At the same time, these fragments you speak of are still out there doing perhaps untold damage. Although Time magic is lost to us for now, surely any fragments that were thrown into Tempestria’s past must exist in the present. Since you have already proved your effectiveness at finding one such fragment, perhaps you can help us recover the rest.”

The twin sisters looked at each other, communicating without words. Catriona had always spoken highly of this Justaria, and they could see why. While they might disagree over the status of their friends, they couldn’t fault the practicalities of what she was saying, and there was a certain thrill at being charged with such a responsibility. So, they agreed they would do as Justaria asked to the best of their abilities.

*****

To that end, they had returned briefly to Lavos and paid Laoghaire a visit, asking him for the components to build another tracker. Sara constructed it in Daelen’s base and tested it on the only safe source of higher planar energy available: Michael’s ring. It worked perfectly, so they travelled back to Tempestria, keen to begin their search.

Their enthusiasm faded, however, as everything started to go wrong. Sara’s device refused to function, leading to frustration and disappointment that grew into a despondent sense of embarrassment and failure. Jessica tried to keep her spirits up, but over the weeks and months, even her declarations of unwavering belief began to sound hollow. Plus, she had problems of her own, as her magic, so reliable on Lavos, began to fail her until she couldn’t do the simplest things. Plants would wilt when she wanted them to grow, and weeds would grow when she wanted them to wilt. Spilt water refused to become ice and evaporated at the same rate whether she used her magic or not.

As the second year passed, gentle reader, all three felt they could no longer claim to be working for the Council when they’d achieved nothing, and while they didn’t give up, exactly, they did find themselves stuck in something of a rut.

At the same time as restoring the ancient temple to its former glory, they busied themselves by helping the alien community, a stone’s throw away to the North. After the Fall of Kullos, they had been granted amnesty. Kullos had used them, bringing them here to fight, through a combination of lies and force. Now they were stranded on Tempestria, almost certainly never to see their homes and loved ones again. Wasn’t that punishment enough?

Sara and Jessica could relate to their situation, and Michael, also something of an outsider, was keen to help, too.

Kullos’ former fortress and the surrounding area was already a self-sustaining city, so it made sense for the aliens to stay and build their new lives there. As for the name of this new community, Michael knew that there was once another city close to that site, called Qiapolis. It was lost during a terrible catastrophe in Alloria known as the Demon Apocalypse. However, with the fifty-year commemorations so fresh in people’s minds, resurrecting the name was deemed insensitive and vetoed. Still, it was suggested that a subtle echo of the name might be acceptable. So, since the city was in the Rhynas Desert, the alien city became known as Rhynapolis.

In the beginning, there had been plenty to do, which helped to distract the three of them from dwelling on their missing friends. More than two years on, Rhynapolis was a thriving community. That meant they were no longer needed and so that distraction had faded considerably. By now, Sara had lost all hope that the three friends they had come to this world to be with, could possibly still be alive. Michael mostly kept his own counsel on the matter, but he, too, was convinced they must be dead. Jessica refused to accept it, at least on the surface, but in the darkness of the small hours of the morning when sleep eluded her, she knew that was more of a coping mechanism than a real belief.

But then, one ordinary day, a blue portal shimmered into existence in Michael’s garden and their friends stepped out like nothing had happened.

Sara’s device smashed, Jessica’s magic flared, Sara flew, Jessica fell over, Michael went for a swim, and the Guardians seemed to think they’d only left yesterday.

“That day when you came to me needing help,” Michael began, “when Dreya’s grounds attacked you, and you sent us to Lavos…” he paused and shared a look with the two Chetsuans before finishing, “That was over two years ago!”

Somehow, the Guardians had got lost in Time and missed two years, four months and sixteen days.