Chapter 14 (coda)

Those who had been watching saw Ralahur seem to explode into pieces of flesh as a noise of indescribable tone went rushing past them and then into the sky, leaving them in wonder.

With the priest destroyed, his followers turned and ran. The men that remained were so disheartened they laid down their weapons and asked for quarter. The very few that remained willing to fight, mostly the wild men, were quickly dispatched. The prisoners were rounded up until the council decided their fate. The wounded were taken to the healers, and the dead were lined up for burial with honor.

After Aldren had destroyed the evil priest, he had fallen to his knees. Ameni came over to him but didn't get any reaction from him. She reached out to Balroth and the great dragon told her that when Aldren had released the inner dragon that was his essence. It had taken over and was now in control. He was no longer a man, but was not a dragon either. The conflict would soon consume him and he would die.

Ameni was frantic now. In saving the rest of the world, her lover had sacrificed his own spirit and would soon pass into the Hero Halls. She couldn't let this happen. She needed him even more than the rest of the kingdom did. She could feel her heart longing for him, for all that they had shared, and all they still had to share.

She had not wept since that day in her family's hut. But now, the tears were flowing freely as she felt the loneliness that came upon her. She was trying to think of anything she could that could bring him back when she suddenly remembered the words that old Belwin had told her. "To you, I pass this book that contains those magics. Learn them well for they may save you or those close to you some day." She had studied and learned every spell that was in the book. She was now proficient in almost every one. But which one would serve the purpose that she now so desperately had.

Rubbing his brow, she felt him slipping further away from her. She had to get him back somehow. That was it! She would enter his mind and call the essence of the man to return and take control. Placing her fingertips on his temples and bringing her thumbs together at the bridge of his nose, she began to let her mind enter into his.

She immediately felt the chaos as the essence of his human/elf side fought the dragon side for control. His spirit was so scattered and confused, she could not separate the two. In frustration, she called out once again to Balroth for assistance.

The great dragon glided to where the two figures were. His shadow covered them as he brought his head down to hover above them. "I can help you to find his essence as a man once again, but it will be up to you to call it back and place it in control. Just follow my mind and grasp on to his core when we find it. Your feelings for him and his for you will be the only thing that will accomplish what you wish."

Ameni agreed and soon felt the dragon's mind lock onto hers. It was then that she felt even briefly, what is was to be a dragon, and understood why Aldren had never been able to explain what he had felt. She pulled her thoughts back to the task at hand and went with the dragon back into the swirling chaos that was Aldren's mind... It took some time for Balroth to locate what he was looking for. Ameni felt it as a dimly glowing spark, but she felt his humanity there and she clung onto it with all her might.

She started calling out to him, to his human essence, telling it to listen and remember. There was a query from that spark as if it was trying to recognize who was calling to it. She continued to call to him, bringing him slowly back to the surface. The dragon side fought for control, but she kept repeating that he had to come back to her. That he needed to feel the love she had for him.

The shadows of the evening crept onto them as Ameni kept working. Balroth kept watch on both of them and kept away all the curious with the exception of Kiran. Mirgan had been wounded and she had stayed with him until she was sure he was alright. Word had come through the healer's area as to what was happening and when it was getting dark, Kiran decided that the couple, still on the field, would need food and drink. Balroth growled as she approached but recognized her and allowed her to proceed. She set the food and ale near Ameni and backed up until she bumped into the dragon. He bade her to sit and wait on the chance that the elf would need her support. As she sat there watching the motionless figures, she found herself musing how strange and wonderful that she would be leaning against the creature that most people knew of as only a myth.

It was the waning hours of the night when Ameni finally stirred. She sat back feeling her stiff muscles complain about being moved after being stationary for so many hours. But she had done it! She had coaxed that spark that was Aldren's human/elf essence out of the chaos and back into control of him. Once he began to come back to himself, he took over and coaxed the dragon spirit back under control. It had been a near thing, and what had finally done it was getting him to remember their bonding and their love and devotion to each other. He would awaken soon, weak but back to his own self again.

Ameni finally glanced around and saw Kiran watching them with huge eyes. Ameni's smile was the reassurance that he would be whole again. Kiran wrapped her arms around the elf and they cried tears of relief. Then Kiran thought of the food and pressed Ameni to eat. Balroth took one more sniff of the still prone figure and then moved back. Both women thanked him for his assistance. He told them that the dragons would leave before dawn to return to their territory in the mountains. Then he launched himself and disappeared into the night.

When Ameni had eaten, she asked the young woman to send a litter so they could get Aldren into the fortress where he could rest. With the dragon gone, Reavers were starting to gather to feast on the fallen. Help soon arrived and the leader of the Dragon Clan was carried back to the fortress. Not to lie among the dead, but to the quarters where he would recover.

It took a few days for Aldren to regain his strength for it was not only his mental capacity that had been overloaded. While he was recovering, Vabryn took charge of the troops and started to organize things. There was not much more to do other than start the repairs of what had been destroyed, and to bury the fallen.

There had been so many deaths between the two opposing forces that it was impossible to bury them all in separate graves. Instead, the bodies of the dead were cremated with all the honor they deserved. Songs were sung and speeches were made recalling the actions of these men. Their names were placed in a book that would forever be kept in the fortress. Later as the walls were being rebuilt, those names were carved into the stones being used. Visitors could come and read the names of ancestors and recall their part in the war.

The other big problem was the wounded. Most were able to get around within a few days. However, there were enough serious wounds that small group of healers headed by Isowan could not keep up. Isowan sent out a call for healers and supplies and within a few days, elven and dwarfish healers came to assist. After that, there were very few who did not come away fully healed.

Once Aldren was able, he once again took charge. He reduced the troops to manageable levels, sending the volunteers home with all the thanks and blessings that he could bestow. Patrols were sent to clean up any pockets of resistance. There were very few of these and once word had spread of the defeat of the High Priest, they surrendered and were sent back across the river.

Special honor was bestowed upon the troop of women that some had laughed at. During the battle, a troop of enemy soldiers had tried to come around a breach in the wall to attack the fortress and kill the wounded there. These women had met the soldiers and held their ground preventing a possible rout. Afterward Horrand, who had ridiculed the women, walked up to the group.