From: "Vasaris, the Fuzzy Dragon" <vasaris@az.com>

Trey finally got Talitha sat down and with the pills taken.  "Now,
tell me what happened."

'Lith's eyes closed, and the story poured out in a raging torrent,
cathartic in the release of that moment of sheer terror when she felt
her bond to Prisma weaken.  In a deadly little monotone she told Trey
of the bloodbrambles and what they were -- how they hunted, how
dangerous they became... with every shift of magic they'd grow
stronger, their poison more deadly, their hunger more fierce.  She
could hear her voice, calmly reciting the little things she should
have noticed to begin with, the signs that all riders of the Xylian
plateau were trained in looking for -- the signs, she was told, all
the LandBorn knew to look out for there...  It was like listening to
old H'lie giving his lessons to the newly-Joined as she described the
effects of magical instability, and the care that needed to be taken.

"And you think that's what's happening here?" he asked when her voice
finally trailed off.

She nodded, feeling suddenly old.  "I do."

He stood and paced, scratching absently at the scars on his wrists,
drawing 'Lith's gaze to them once more, distracting her from the
horror of the day.  She'd never quite had the courage to ask about
them, though she knew that Prisma had availed herself of the
information.  Suddenly, Trey stopped in his tracks, odd-eyed gaze
going soft and distant.

<< What is it, Pris? >>

< Ribbon's rider has had her hatchling... >

<< ...baby... >>

< Whatever. > 'Lith suppressed a small giggle at her dragon's
huffiness as Trey turned to her and smiled, the brilliance of it
drawing an answering one to her lips.

"It appears I'm a father again."

"Congratulations," she answered.  "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Is what a boy or a girl?"

They both whirled to see Gransol standing in the door to his office,
and 'Lith blinked at him, confused.  "Trey and Lakoda's child, of
course.  You hadn't heard she was in labor?"

Gransol's eyes went to his brother's wide with shock and 'Lith winced
slightly, wishing she'd kept her mouth shut.

"You're the father of Lakoda's child?"

Trey swallowed.  "Yes.  It was a mating flight.  Solly--"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I... I was afraid you'd take it wrong and I never found the right way
to tell you."

Gransol stepped back, looking hurt.  "I'm not that bad, am I?"

A stinging retort rose to 'Lith's lips, but she forced it back as Trey
dealt with his brother.  She and Gransol had met a few times as she
came and went from Trey's apartment -- and he always had that vaguely
disparaging *LandBorn* look, like he couldn't quite believe that she
and Trey were just friends; that she wasn't out to somehow seduce the
searcher into some kind of impropriety that Gransol wouldn't approve
of.  Still, it was obvious that Trey loved his brother, and it
saddened her to see the strain her inadvertent slip had caused.

" -- Come with me.  Come with me to see my new daughter... and...
we'll talk."

The knight stood with his head dropped.

"Please," Trey pleaded.

"Okay," Gransol said.

"Good.  Come on."  Trey turned to Talitha.  "Will you be okay now?"

She nodded, waving the brothers on, hoping that they would come to
some kind of happy resolution.  "Thanks, Trey."

They left, and 'Lith concentrated on what to do next.  She didn't want
to run again.  Mael's ghost was not here, but she had so desired a
life without the precariousness of the Wastes...

*Grow up!* she told herself.  *You're an adult.  You were in line for
the command of a Wing.  You can't let this kind of sentimentality get
to you.  there is too much at stake.*

Ah... but that was hard to do, though.  So far it was just
bloodbrambles, and small animals... how soon before something else
came out of those unstable pockets?

< You cannot let fear paralyze you, my rider. > Prisma's voice was
soft in her mind and 'Lith closed her eyes.  < It is not like you, to
be so concerned about this.  It is a natural thing. >

<< Not here, Prisma. >>

< Perhaps, then, that is why we came here.  They will need us, our
expertise... >

'Lith nodded.  That was true.  And with that in mind, she went to seek
out Waylene.  As she approached the office, she could see the door was
slightly ajar and she moved to knock on it and get Waylene's
attention.

"...So what do we do if one of these pockets opens up here .. in the
warren?" Carie asked, voice dark with worry.

"I don't know .." Waylene said, a frown on her face as 'Lith pushed
open the door.


"There's nothing you can do."  She said, despair sucking all life out
her voice.  She looked around the room, noting Tina's presence as
three shocked stares converged on her.  "I'm sorry for just pushing
in... but I heard your question."

"No, it's okay," Waylene assured her, "I've been waiting for you. I
need to know more about what Prisma told Aura."

"WarrenLady," Talitha said formally, "If a pocket of non-magic opens
in the warren, then any dragon within it will die, just as Rainy did.
But that's not even the whole story. It's more then just the pockets
we have to worry about. It's what the pockets create. The plants ..
the creatures .."

Waylene frowned, "Go on .. tell us everything .."

Perhaps the half-hysterical torrent in Trey's office had bled anything
resembling emotion from her, maybe it was simply shock, but somehow
'Lith could only summon up the coldest dispassion for her words.

"WarrenLady, Lady Carie, Tina -- perhaps I should begin with what we
in the pockets know of the magic that forms our world..."  'Lith
collected her thoughts.  "It has been postulated by various scholars
in my own home pocket of Xylian that there is some kind of... well,
energy, or 'magic' -- a term that is hotly debated in some circles of
study -- that is directly tied to the survival of our dragons, in
their ability to fly and to breath flame... or other substances, on
the odd occasion.  That this magic is required for draconic survival
seems evident as we know that there are places where dragons cannot
go, and that they will die if exposed to them for any length of time.

"We know, from those few merchant trains that brave the Wastes between
pockets, that there are areas of abundant life *beyond* the Wastes.  I
do not know if you are aware of that here, content as I assume your
people would be with the lands you have settled within the domain
where dragons may live.  Why there are stretches of Waste between the
life that lives within the pockets and those dragonless areas outside
of them is a matter that some scholars argue about, but there is one
thing that they are certain of:  The energy, or magic if you prefer,
that sustains us here, may fluctuate unpredictably within the Wastes
and on the boarders of pockets.  There are some who suggest that these
magical fluctuations and disruptions lead not only to the lack of most
life within the Wastes, but the metamorphosis of what life does, in
fact, remain there."

"What do you mean?" Carie asked.

"It is highly inaccurate to say that nothing lives in the Wastes.  A
lot of *things* live in the Wastes.  Some are benign, no few are
more-or-less stationary, but some... some are mobile.  These seem
invariably to lack anything like sentience, and generally the only
thing that they are after is food.  Unfortunately, they tend to look
on just about all living things as food."

Waylene winced.

"I do not know how badly your borders fluctuate here, but there does
seem to be some correlation between the severity and frequency of it
and the... number and kinds of horrors that come ravening in from the
wastes."

"You seem to know a lot about it," Tina.  'Lith's face drained of the
little color it had left and her breath hitched.

"I had reason to do some research into the matter," she replied
shortly.  Tina leaned back, startled by the sharpness in 'Lith's tone.

"Talitha, please..?"

"I apologize."  She took a deep breath.  "Now, I know what we
experienced this afternoon.  In the pockets of the DragonLands that I
came from, riders are trained to recognize incipient flux -- you can
feel it in your connection to your dragon.  Usually, you'll have
enough time to get the hell out."

"Usually?  Not always?" asked Carie.

"No.  Not always.  However, dragons generally react badly to places
where there have been strong fluctuations recently, or over long
periods.  They will generally complain that there is something not
right.  They can be trained to recognize the signs and to evaluate the
probable present danger."

"You live in a weird place." said Tina light-heartedly, and 'Lith
stared at her.  Tina hurried on, recognizing the dead pool of silence
she'd created. "Well it seems that there are two things to do."

"And they are?" prompted Waylene.

"Well firstly we have to check whether it's happened before, and if it
has; where when and how often it happens." said Tina.

"And how do you propose to do that?" asked Carie.

"Well unless you have any other way, we'll have to fly over the land
inch by inch looking for any signs. We could also look in the warren
records - if you have any that is. Also I take it there are priests
and stuff in this land, maybe there are myths and legends about this
kind of thing. You never know it could be something that happens once
every hundred years and there is no real threat."

"That'll be a drain on our resources." said Carie. "We're only a small
warren."

"Tina's right.  We do need to do *something.*" said 'Lith "We could be
about to have a whole new enemy to fight as well as the wraiths. We
don't want to be taken unawares."

"Ok, then I agree with 'Lith and Tina, we need to know where we stand.
You had a second point Tina?"

"Yeah it's kinda two but never mind. We need to learn how to fight
these new creatures. That's something 'Lith can help with and even
me - I have experience at fighting creatures other than wraiths too.
The second point is that we need to look into this pocket, make a
study of it and see if there is any pre-warning. We can then try and
put a stop to these pockets."

Talitha shook her head.  "If you can but we never discovered a way of
stopping them at Xylian and the rest of the pockets -- Jasra, Iseme,
and Epion and Geode.  Otherwise, we'd all be in one large pocket.  And
there is one big problem."

"What's that?" asked Tina.

"We can't send out riders, Tina."

The other woman looked confused, but Waylene caught on immediately.
"You can't tell a pocket of non-magic from one that contains it, can
you?"

"No.  It's entirely possible to fly straight into one if you don't
recognize the signs -- most of which are subtle and close-up.  It is
also possible for one to open up when you're not expecting it.  This
is why, at least in Xylian, we have the PF --"

"The what?"

"The Protectionary Force.  It's an apolitical military organization
that has a similar function to the Warren.  They deal with the
monsters while we primarily deal with Wraiths."  She looked at
Waylene.  "You have to contact the Lords in your domain, Waylene.
They have to be warned.  Bloodbrambles will strike anyone who comes
near -- or anything.  How long until a caravan, or rider, or even
bandit stops at that watering hole and is killed?"

The WarrenLady paled, suddenly appearing to see beyond the simple
affects on the Warren.

"Right now, Waylene, I suggest you contact the Lords farthest out and
work your way in.  Use horsemen -- I can warn them of the particularly
deadly flora and fauna -- but a non-rider will not be particularly
affected by the changes in magic.  Find out what merchant trains,
messengers, and travelers have gone missing.  Find out if any small
holdings have been attacked or overrun.  We need a militia, one that
is not loyal to local politics, that can be trained and set to
guarding the people here."

"The Lords won't like that."

"They'll like dying even less."  In calm tones, 'Lith described the
life of the current WarrenLady of Xylian, Rhiannon Landress, who had
survived an attack of Wastes creatures only because her husband,
father, and loyal retainers had gone to their deaths.  If an observant
rider had not been looking for them because the Landress Estates had
been destroyed in a massive Wraith attack, the blind Lady of Xylian
might have died alone on the road before Joining with Queri.  "These
things know nothing but hunger, and they will strike where the food
sources are richest.  We can't protect everyone."


<...>
[Evening]

Alone at last, 'Lith sat on a boulder on the side of the Green, out of
the way of sight.  The afternoon had been filled with so many
questions, demands for information, that her mind had finally shut
down and she had begged off.  Waylene, finally seeing her extreme
distress, had waved her off.

So now she sat, alone -- Prisma was off somewhere cuddling happily...
with Koroth, 'Lith suspected, as Prisma was fond of the blue, though
it might have been any of a hundred others -- staring up at the stars
that blanketed the velvet sky, unaware of the tears that fell in an
unending rain down her cheeks.  In her mind's eye she saw another
glittering carpet, the light washed out by the half-full moon and the
blaze of more than one hundred pyres.  Condolences and warm arms doing
nothing to warm the chill void that had suddenly entered her soul.

"Hello, 'Lith."

Her eyes closed, and she bowed her head, willing the images to fade
away.  "Hello, *Solly.*"

Talitha was not in the mood for Trey's brother.

"Waiting for someone?"

"No."  She curled her legs underneath her, and stood, towering over
the young knight by virtue of the stone beneath her feet.  "The only
man I *ever* spent time waiting for, as you put it, is dead.  Okay?
Believe it or not, we Warrenborn don't spend all of our time falling
into one another's beds."

"Whoa, there --"

"What?" 'Lith's lips compressed into a thin line as she jumped down,
ignoring the gentlemanly proffered hand.

"Look, I don't know why --" Gransol's voice stopped as she stepped
into the light and he got a look at her tearstained face and wounded
eyes, but 'Lith noticed neither his shock nor his bewilderment.

"You don't know why what?" asked Trey, walking up behind his brother,
and 'Lith just looked away.  The Searcher stepped forward, placing a
gentle hand beneath her chin and forcing her to meet his eyes.  "Are
you okay?"

'Lith shrugged.  "Yes.  No.  I -- I spent this afternoon with Waylene.
Talking... talking about..."

She couldn't continue.  She didn't want to think about the
helplessness she had introduced the WarrenLady to.  She certainly
didn't want to talk about it.  Her cheeks were dry and stiff, but it
seemed that she couldn't cry any more.

"Would you like to have dinner with us?  Me and Solly and the kids?"

'Lith heard a choking sound behind him, but chose to ignore it.  The
twins -- she loved the little girls, because they could always make
her laugh.  She thought they might like her too, though children of
that age were always fickle in their affections.  She forced her lips
into a smile.

"Yes.  That would be... good."

"Good.  Roth tells me Prisma doesn't think you should be alone
tonight."

She snorted.  "Interfering dragons."

"True.  But you've got to love them."

'Lith blinked up at him, and then laughed.

----
NRPG --
Lyn... hope Solly wasn't too out of character.



Respectfully Submitted,
Jill E. Flansburg
Talitha and Prisma
Marrid Warren
DragonLands
             X-FILES                         DRAGONLANDS
Director, X-Files Division           Rhiannon, WarrenLady  *Xylian*
Sterling Kincaid, TL, ECHO           Elswyth and Aedra   *Keldarra*
Damien Cunningham, Forensics         Katla and Satinka *Whiteriver*
Xan X. Xavier, Trainer               Zera and Mazel       *Norwall*

                        Visit the XFRPG Web Site:
                http://www.steele.ml.org/~wiggly/xfiles/

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                         Vasaris, the Fuzzy Dragon
   Jill E. Flansburg                |              vasaris@az.com
   CS HMC 1994                      |  jflansbu@muddcs.cs.hmc.edu
   History, WWU 199?                |  vasaris@divcom.umop-ap.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=





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