“My mother was a Sage for many years before she advanced,” Mercy pointed out.
“Always with the intention to become a Monarch, so she was not changing direction at all. She intended not to let anything get in the way of her ambition. Much like you all.”
Changes had begun in the center of the blue-swirling portal. Now there were images flickering amidst the sapphire depths. Glimpses of the other side. Yerin leaned forward.
The Oracle Sage noticed. “Before you get too eager, we should discuss what we’ll find on the other side. We will emerge in Blackflame City, which is far from Sacred Valley. It will be difficult to reach the Weeping Dragon in one leap, though it’s possible we could manage it by working together. Unfortunately, the Dragon itself decides whether our transfer will be permitted. Therefore, we shouldn’t transport ourselves too close to him.”
“Can you restore my Moonlight Bridge?” Yerin asked.
“As I was not involved in its creation, I’m afraid I cannot. Not without effort that would render me useless, anyway.”
Ziel tilted his horns to point back to the stairs, where a number of Arelius sacred artists were huddled. “What about the rest? If you’re fighting with us, who takes care of them?”
“I’m going to help you fight,” Cladia clarified. “I won’t be engaging with the Weeping Dragon myself. There are Monarchs on the prowl all over Ashwind, looking for Eithan’s apprentices. Who knows what they would do, if given the opportunity to attack a House Arelius banner without my protection?”
Cladia looked off into the distance. “I have seen glimpses myself. I cannot allow it.”
Yerin felt like she could see why the Oracle Sage had seen such a stiff prediction of their future. Cladia should be as exhausted as the rest of them, but surely four tired fighters were better than three.
The portal was congealing slowly. Yerin could sense it, and while her heart was tightening like a bowstring, she felt that they had a few minutes left.
She guzzled a recovery elixir while Mercy and Ziel did the same. They wouldn’t be able to restore themselves completely, not so fast, but they could at least go into the fight with cores decently refilled. More importantly, they needed whatever help the Sage could give them.
“What do you have that can weight the dice for us?” Yerin asked.
Cladia examined the back of her own hand. “For one thing? Experience. It was the Weeping Dragon that tore apart my body almost ten years ago. If not for my own preparations and a treasure Tiberian gave me, I would have surely died.”
All three of them tightened their focus. A Sage who had crossed swords with the Weeping Dragon was a valuable resource, even if she didn’t fight at their side.
The Oracle Sage held up one finger. “First, don’t underestimate its skill. The Dragon acts like a rampaging monster, but it is clever. Thanks to the demise of the Slumbering Wraith and the Silent King, the Dragon has only grown stronger and more cunning. Think of it as the Wandering Titan on the outside but the Silent King on the inside.”
Yerin resisted the urge to roll her eyes. ‘Don’t underestimate your opponent’ was the most basic advice anyone could give.
Cladia held up a second finger. “It is skillful in navigating the future. It cannot see possible fates as well as the Silent King could, but it can cloud possibilities and dodge the predictions of others. Relying on my predictions almost cost me my life.”
That was helpful information. Yerin couldn’t see the future, but she had to assume the Dreadgod could dodge Dross’ calculations as well as an oracle’s prophecies.
She wondered if even Dross himself knew that.
A third finger joined the first two. “Beware its dragon’s breath. This almost goes without saying, but you would be surprised how many people forget it. The Weeping Dragon has many more obvious abilities, but it uses them subtly to corner its prey. When it finally unleashes its breath, you will find that you have no way out.”
She folded her hands on one another and spoke with a subtle smile. “It is the strongest offensive technique on this planet. It cannot be defended against, only evaded. If you are struck by it, you will surely die.”
“Is that what happened to you?” Ziel asked bluntly.
“No. That’s what happened to Northstrider.” Cladia gave a pained smile at the memory. “It’s why everyone thought he was dead for so long.”
Yerin absorbed that and filed it away. She’d seen memories of others fighting the Weeping Dragon, had heard stories about it, but she’d never spoken to anyone who had engaged it tactically like this.
“Don’t get cornered,” Yerin said. “Give my left arm for that Moonlight Bridge back.”
Without standing from her stool, the Oracle Sage beckoned them all over. “The timing is not ideal, but this is far from the worst possible fate. Be careful, remember what I’ve told you, and keep your eyes open. That’s your best chance. And now, I give you my blessing.”
She spread her hands in front of their faces, gesturing vaguely like a street-side fortune-teller. Yerin would have been skeptical about the performance if she couldn’t feel the gentle blanket of willpower settling over them and feel the intricate working of authority.
“See as I do,” said the Sage of a Thousand Eyes.
Vision spread around Yerin like blinders had been removed from her eyes.
It wasn’t exactly like the Arelius bloodline ability, but it resembled what Eithan had always described: seeing everything at once.
Yerin had always imagined this gift as overwhelming. Even Eithan had mentioned having to train as a child to avoid being drowned in the extra information. And she knew he experienced senses other than sight.
But she found this blessing easy to process. Maybe it was because she was a Herald, but she had no trouble adjusting. Indeed, she stretched out the web of vision and found that she could see House Arelius members patching each other up even the better part of a mile away.
“Amazing,” Mercy breathed. “I can see so much! How can we adjust to it so quickly?”
The Sage sagged against the wall, breathing heavily. “I have…given sight to you…according to your ability to receive it. You won’t be overwhelmed, but it will fade by the end of the day. Go. Your friend’s mind-spirit will know how best to use it.”
Yerin whipped around to face the doorway. The portal was opening.
Cladia had closed her eyes and was still breathing hard, but a grin slashed across her tired face that made her look like Eithan. “And when you see Eithan again…tell him he should have said good-bye.”
When the portal opened, Yerin was the first one through.
18
As the Eight-Man Empire vanished, Lindon clashed against the Weeping Dragon with Orthos and Little Blue behind him.
The air was thick with rain whipped around by hurricane winds, and lightning serpents flashed down from the clouds to streak toward them. Orthos crushed Striker techniques in his hands, while Blue wiped them out by the dozen with an Empty Palm the size of her new human body.
They were keeping the nuisances away from Lindon while he dealt with the real problem.
A claw large enough to scoop out villages flashed at Lindon, who met it with black dragon’s breath. The beam was thicker than Lindon’s leg and pure black, empowered by the Void Icon.
The Dragon’s claw was knocked back, but that was only one of its attacks.
Lindon blasted the second claw away as well, but the Dragon’s jaws snapped down around him. He flew out, dodging the fangs and the crackling lightning around them.
As Lindon flew by the dragon’s lip, he gripped a handful of scales and began to Consume.