JACKAL AMONG SNAKES

“It always surprised me that you never picked up on what the Gilderwatchers truly were,” Lorena said as she looked out across Blackgard from atop the mountain ranges encircling it. They were waiting for someone’s arrival. “You had been to the Great Chu. You had seen their depictions of dragons—even seen some of the creatures yourselves. I suppose your preconception of the idea of them as ‘feathered serpents’ warped your sensibilities.”

Argrave listened to her words, and as he did, his eyes warped as he went through various stages of consideration—confusion, realization, then utter disbelief. He twisted his head and looked at her with wide eyes, questioning, “You can’t be serious.”

“I can. I knew the Gilderwatchers in their height. In structure, the Gilderwatchers have far more in common with us than they do snakes, or the monkey-dragons you can see today.” She kneaded the palm of her hand with her fingers as she talked idly. “They might be the only species of dragon that was ever fully united—but even in unity, they had no desire to dominate.”

“That’s good, then. If you’re both dragons, it’ll make this whole process easier, right?” Argrave waited for her to continue.

“My kind have mastery over flesh.” She held up her hand, and it shifted in countless ways in only a few second—it had scales in one moment, skin in the next, a carapace in the third, until coming back to as it had been. “It was much easier for us to discover how, exactly, cross-breeding affected the resulting mortal offspring. But the Gilderwatchers… they have domain over the soul. Vasquer was the first to ever succeed in creating viable offspring. I have deep knowledge of the changes. To answer your question… yes, it’ll be easier.”

“How did Vasquer actually have children with Felipe?” Anneliese began in cautious curiosity.

“A lady never tells,” Lorena said coyly, lightly tapping Anneliese’s nose. She bounced back in surprise. “Suffice to say the primary change in the royal family isn’t in the flesh, but the soul.”

“So I’d be invalidated, then.” Argrave crossed his arms, feeling a mite disappointed.

“I said the ‘primary’ change. There is plenty in your flesh. Besides, souls aren’t as honest as the flesh. They tend to be what we believe we are.” Lorena studied Argrave with her piercing bright eyes. “If you were entirely disqualified, you wouldn’t have been able to speak with Vasquer, or meld into the Tree of Being. But you can do both, despite the fact that your soul is foreign to the body it inhabits.”

“Fair point.” Argrave nodded, then saw an organic way to probe for information. “Can the Heralds read thoughts? Are you privy to the contents of those meetings?”

“They cannot. They can only read the thoughts of hosts. Why—is there something I should know?” Lorena studied him.

“Nothing I can think of.” Argrave shrugged, feeling some secret joy—their ploy had worked, and the watching Heralds would be unaware of Argrave and Anneliese’s intent to work to turn Lorena against them. “What’s the plan for us?”

Lorena looked up and into the distance—specifically, toward the sunrise. “It’s showing itself right now.”

Just then, the one that they’d been waiting for finally reared his head—specifically, Raven came out from his lab, manipulating his hands in such a way that the copious amounts of disgusting viscera clinging to it fell to the ground below. He looked at Lorena, then at Argrave.

“What kind of creature did you bring to me?” He asked in considerable alarm—far more than he usually expressed. Argrave debated whether or not Raven was the plan she had mentioned.

One of Lorena’s eyes looked at him, while the other remained fixed where it had been. “Raven? Hmm.” A lone eye looked to Argrave, and she spoke to him as if Raven wasn’t here. “I heard what he said about unlocking your bloodline. He was right, at least, in the necessity of the corpse of that silver knight. It could be considered a catalyst for the creation of the mirror necessary to rebuff Gerechtigkeit’s probing into the mind.” Both of her eyes focused on Raven. “As for what kind of creature Argrave brought… hello, Raven. I am Lorena, a dragon of the moon.”

Raven shifted on his feet. “You’re dangerous.”

“So long as you know that, we’ll get along fine,” she dismissed casually.

Anneliese watched her suspiciously. Lorena had more emotions wrapped up in Raven that she let on.

Lorena turned one eye to Argrave, and as if to distract everyone, asked, “Didn’t you once agree to watch every sunrise with your wife? My daughter was upset you don’t do that anymore.”

Argrave straightened his back. “That’s… no, it was the sunset. But it became impractical, things being as they are.” He looked at Anneliese somewhat guiltily, but it faded when she concurred with what he said with a silent nod.

“And your sigil is the sun,” Lorena continued. “Well… either it was calling out to you, or it was simply some lucky coincidence.” Lorena pointed forward, where the suns rose over distant mountains beyond those of Blackgard. “I’m rather confident that the key to unlocking your power, Argrave, lies in the sun.”

Argrave crossed his arms. “I’m not particularly eager to pay a visit. You’re sure?”

“Indeed. It’s the safest bet,” Lorena confirmed, looking at him with a nod. “The only other option would be that of the planet’s core, but that’s something that Gerechtigkeit will be able to interfere with—as you’ve seen in some abundance.”

“Alright… I’ll be generous and assume you don’t want me to self-immolate. Still—which one?” Argrave looked up, shielding his eyes with his hand. Even so early in the morning, it was still bright and annoying to look at. “The moon I can understand—that’s a solid place that you can land on, walk around. Maybe it’s even far different, far better, than what I’m picturing in your home. But a star? A star, with heat ranging upward of many millions of degrees?”

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“You’ll interface with it in a different way than I never could. I formed a relationship with the moon, changing it—its surface wasn’t always red. The moon, you see, is as alive as you or me,” Lorena said. “Just as both of the suns, and every star.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Raven cut in, gaining back some of his boldness.

“Speaks the man who’s never been to space, despite his countless forays to correct that.” Lorena looked at him. “Bottom line, it’s all alive. The moon, the suns, even the earth.”

Raven looked disgruntled. “They’ve never demonstrated any signs of life.”

“Have they not? The only reason we are both able to live, Raven, is because of light from the suns. That says something. Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t so. It may not be as we understand it, but the masses adrift in space are alive. They cannot be compared to plants, or to all of us different sorts of animals waddling about, but they are alive. Somehow.”

“How do you know?” Anneliese asked.

“Because I spoke to the moon. I made a pact with it. And I’ve spoken to the planet—a friendly sort. Despite all that we’ve done to it—mining and such—it isn’t too bothered.” She looked at Argrave. “You have to do the same with the suns, now. Have a lovely conversation, charm him and her, and then ask for a deal.” Lorena crossed her arms and said in distant remembrance, “Our deal with the moon wasn’t so bad. They don’t have the typical wants and desires we associate with living things. But then, I’ve never spoken to a star before. Very hot—could burn even me. I’ve tried to speak with it, some, and it’s… never worked. But I’m not you.”

Argrave walked around, staring at the sunrise. “I seem to be less capable of space travel than you.”

She looked at Raven. “You won’t be going in person. I came to this one for that very reason.”

Argrave looked at Raven. He had assumed that they had come here seeking this man to retrieve the corpse of the silver knight who bore Lindon’s essence. At the notion that he might be involved, Argrave got uneasy.

“Your body won’t go,” Lorena continued. “But your soul will. Has to be you, I’m pretty sure. All of your siblings’ souls wouldn’t live that long separated from their body. So, you’ll part ways with your flesh, head to the stars, and strike a deal with one of the suns. There are more details, but I’ll spare them for now. You’ll need the silver knight’s corpse.”

Argrave took a deep breath, overwhelmed by the gravity of the task. “If separating from the body would killmy siblings outright, I can’t imagine it’d feel great for me.”

Lorena smiled, her sharp teeth poking past her lips. “You’re suffering from greatness. I’m sorry that you’re so special, but unfortunately you are.” She looked at Raven. “But he knows a thing or two about a thing or two, and I’m not so uneducated myself. I don’t have much doubt that Gerechtigkeit is going try to interfere, and he has liches on his side—liches which similarly have undying souls. So, you should practice before you go.”

Argrave had just settled into the feeling of being quite powerful. With Anneliese being at his side, he felt as though there was no opponent that he couldn’t confront. But separating from his body, and heading to space to speak to a sun?

“I want to see Lindon’s remnants,” Lorena continued. “Meanwhile, you should start practicing leaving your body with Raven. Just make sure there aren’t any hostile necromancers lingering about—it could end very poorly.”

“I’d like to go over your theories, first,” Raven interjected forcefully. “Especially before we ever stake Argrave’s life on anything.”

Lorena walked up to him, step-by-step. She was the same size as Argrave, but she felt far larger than even Raven did as she stood before him. She scrutinized him carefully.

“Why do you insist on keeping this form?” Lorena asked him.

Raven said nothing for a time, perhaps surprised by the question. Then, he said simply, “What business is it of yours?”

“None, I suppose. I just think it’s a shame… quite a shame. Speaking as a fellow shapeshifter, of course.” She shook her head. “We can review my theory. I suspect you’ll have fewer doubts once Argrave better explains who, and what, I am. For now… shall we go inside?”

Raven stepped aside, parting the obsidian door to his laboratory. She walked inside, her long hair and tail trailing just behind her. Once she was out of sight, Argrave walked up.

“You can think of another way, right?” He asked hopefully. “The soul leaving the body—that’s death, right? There’s surely another way.”

#####

Argrave laid on the operating table, prepared to die.

As it turned out, Argrave’s vouching for Lorena was more than enough for Raven to take her seriously. After a cursory review of her theories and studies, they’d decided to immediately move forward to the first instance—a test run, so to speak. Practice.

“Don’t you think we should have someone else try this beforehand?” He asked, looking up at Raven. “Maybe we could get the New Traugott that Anneliese caught.”

“I have done this several times.” Raven read through a book.

“You?” Argrave asked in surprise. “That’s… reassuring, actually. What’s it like, separating the soul from the body?”

“Have you not read Erlebnis’ collection?” Raven answered idly.

“I have, but I want some firsthand experience. Give me… an analogy, maybe. A metaphor,” Argrave prompted hopefully.

“When I was human…” Raven looked away from his book. “I once voyaged to sea, with several others.”

Argrave’s expression brightened. “It’s like a voyage at sea?”

“When night fell, I became slightly too drunk and fell overboard. The ocean was freezing, I could no longer tell which way was up and down, and the thrashing ocean and haunting sounds rattled my skull.” He looked back to his book. “It was a little like that.”

Argrave sighed, and Anneliese held his hand. “You’ll be fine. You always are. Lorena was right—you’re special,” she teased.

“Yeah, and you’re funny. Funny-looking,” he countered weakly.

“Are you ready?” Raven questioned.

“Yes. Kill me,” Argrave commanded.

“As you wish…” Raven produced an implement.

“You said it wasn’t like death,” Argrave sat up quickly.

“Relax. That was a joke,” Raven said.

Argrave laid back down, relieved.

Raven brought down the implement, and when it was moments away from meeting flesh, said, “It’s almost exactly like death.”