"Sol, I send you Solara, my child. There is never enough time to know
ones' children. Blink and they have grown into adults. We had but one
day and within that day I loved her. Like with you, my friend, I never
had the chance to say  or do all the things that I wanted to do. Like
grow old together and watch our children grow and develop. Now I send
Solara to you. May she bring you the joy that she would have brought
us if she had lived. Take care of her for me," tears shamelessly fell
down his cheeks as Tahlaya squeezed his hand.

"Solaris, I never knew you, but our paths have been marked to be
crossed in this way. I send you my child, Solara. May she bring you
the joy I know she would have brought us. Let her play under your
wings and let them be her canopy when she tires. She will always be
within us. Her laughter will be in  the spring rains. Her smile will
be the sun upon the ripening corn in the fields. Her tears will be the
thunder in a storm and her love will be the stars.
Look after her well, my friend, and protect her for us."

<You know I will.>

Wyndamenth, Sunburst and Eclipse rose from the edge of the lake and
swooped down upon the cradle, their flames licking around the tiny
basket, sending their rider's hatchling on her way to play under the
watchfulness of Solaris. After a time, Tahlaya buried her face in his
shoulder, but on some obscure impulse Ash could not bear to tear his
gaze away.

*Such a short time, and now she's gone. Never to have had the chance 
to grow, to feel...all taken away.*

<Visit us, and remember. Your memory will bring us back to life. That's
what we need, and you also.>

*I will never forget.*

*****************************

Silence.

It permeated everything, like a great beast which sat in the room with 
them.  Yet, they did not dare recognize it; putting a name to the beast
would only bring the pain to the fore, rub salt in the canker of their
grief. They waited, silent, still, staring at anything but each other.
Finally, the pressure was too much.

"This cannot be borne," he murmured as he walked to the door.

Outside, the wind was much as it was the night before, playful yet with
a hint of chill; snow would appear soon. Ash took a deep breath, savoring 
the bite of the air as Tahlaya moved behind him.

"What else is there to do?" she asked.  "Solara is...gone." She nearly choked
on her grief. Ash put an arm around her, hugged her close.

"Face the pain, feel it, understand it, then move on. Live. That's all you 
can do."

"How can you be so stoic about this?"  she breathed. "How do you do
it?"

"I've been thinking about something...something I should have thought
of long before now."

"What's that?"

"Just *why* Solara is dead."

"I don't understand."

"She may have survived, had you not been teleported. You wouldn't have
been teleported had Patka's men not been looking for leverage against me.
This is my fault."

"You don't know that she would have lived...who's Patka?"

"A Lord whose holdings are far south of here. Falagand territory. 
Politics are a lot looser down there, and there's a lot of infighting 
between Lords. I commanded Patka's private army, once. We 
have a lot of bad history."

"What happened?"

"His son was craven, yet he was put in charge of one of the units. Stupid,
but Patka had a lot of confidence in him. I caught him deserting, and 
made an example of him. I wasn't...forgiven for that. I left."

"Why did they just now catch up with you? How long ago was this?"

"Years, actually. They couldn't find me, or I was under another Lord's
protection. Finally, I settled here long enough for them to find me. If
you really want to find someone, you can; it's that simple."

"It's that simple." Tahlaya's face started to redden. "You had someone 
pursuing you all this time, in danger all this time, and you never told 
anyone. Not even me."

"Are you so ready for my burdens as well as yours?"

"We're mates, you idiot man! What else have you not told me that can get
us both killed?"

"Just about everyone who has been defeated by an group I've commanded
would have a score against me, I'd say."

Laya sucked in her breath. "How many is that?"

"I've lost count. It doesn't matter. Patka does."

"Why? He's in Falagand. We can tell Ophelia, she can tell..."

"No."

"Why not? Of course we can!"

"No, we can't. Think about it. This lord is outside the demenses of Telnor
Warren. The only way to reach him is by appeal to the Dragonlady, which 
in turn is through the king. Add to that the fact that we can't prove anything.
We don't have a chance."

"So what do you intend to do?"

"What can you do to a Lord besides kill him? I'm going to break his power,
leave him at the mercy of the surrounding Lords."

"You're daft! You're going to get killed!"

"No, I'm not. I have it within me to do this."

"Why? Why, Ash? You're going to throw yourself against this Lord alone?"

"Of course not. I know where to get men that will follow me."

"You're going to get killed. Our daughter is dead, and now you have 
a wish to join her."

"To my knowledge, no dragonrider has ever raised an army against a Lord,
although the reverse has been true many times. If they can break the rules 
and threaten us, I don't see why I can't do the same."

"Why? Why do you want to do this?"

"Don't you see? They attacked us, in our own home. Politically, we can't
touch them. We can't rely on the warren for help. Patka has to be taught
a lesson...he has to fear to grasp the sword even if it is in front of him. 
This must be done, or we'll never see the end of it."

"I still don't see why you've taken it upon yourself to do it."

The vehemence, the bitterness of his reply stunned her.  "Because they 
threaten *me*. Patka has attacked me and mine, and now he will damn
well pay for it. The price will be beyond him."

"No, Ash don't do this! There's got to be another way!"

"There is no other way. I'm not committed to a wing yet-I've been
teaching students. I have enough time to do this."

"You're crazy! You're going to get yourself killed, and start a war besides!
I'll tell Ophelia-"

His hand reached out, gripped her arm roughly. "No you won't. No one is
going to know it's a dragonrider throwing an army against a Lord. And I'm 
not going to get killed."

"Damn it, Ash, won't you listen to me? I don't want you dead! Don't
leave me!!"

"Laya." He gripped her arms again, held her gently. "I must do this. 
Wyndamenth will go with me-I intend to keep her hidden- and I'll visit
you, or at least get the message to you. This has to be done."

"No it doesn't." She turned her back on him. 

It was just as well, he thought. He didn't want her to see the shameful tears
on his face as he strapped the saddle on Wyndamenth, or the leap into 
the chill air before they turned to the south.

_____________________________________

Not my best, but there's more to come :) I deliberately left the time of the
conversation open, so anyone who wants to can add stuff.














Allen Veazey
wolf@dbtech.net
	
	"I'm not really bad, I'm just drawn that way."
			--Jessica Rabbit