"And that's what we do," Min finished explaining. Scala had asked so much of her. The Weyr, the dragons, the Impression, the flits and Prima Jeyann. What the Flurry was in greater detail, how it had all started so long ago. "You'd make a good scholar for us," Min laughed some, looking up at her great Dark Green dragon Auspexeth. Auspex grinned as only a dragon could, curling up on the stone couch in her Weyr. The three had moved intside, away from the ledge and out of the cold. They now sat in Minaeya's weyr just beside Auspexeth's much larger one so that they could speak freely together. Elusive, isn't she? the dragon asked her rider. She is. The color keeps shifting. It's so strange. Like there's something about her...some magic that isn't letting me see her true color. And the rider looked to the furry form of Scala, who sat looking from dragon to rider with a curious gaze. "You're talking about me...I know you are. As much as I owe you for saving me, I don't really appreciate what you're doing." A blunt little girl, wasn't she? "Well, it's just that we're not sure exactly what you are, Scala. We've never seen a Melcey before. We're not sure if anyone in our world ever has," Min confessed. "And...well, you must realize by now that we brought you back here, of all places, because we want you to stand for one of the Flurry dragons." After all, you're not stupid, Auspexeth trummed softly. Scala's dark black eyes smirked, and nodded. "Such I figured. But why am I such a curiosity? There are plenty of other creatures out there who are much more different than I am." "But you have something about you that won't let me read your aura. It's like...magic. But it's not," the rider sighed some, looking the Melcey girl over. "It's Faidian magic, is what it is." Scala sat up onto her haunches, raking her claws through the dirt. "So you read auras? My sister could do that. Not very well...at least, not last I saw her." Minaeya frowned some. "Tell us about Faidia, Scala." Scala'seyes seemed to cloud over in thought as she looked at the ground...and she sighed, and began. "Faidia...wasn't the most peaceful place in the universe. You see, our gods were what we call Elementals and their Secondaries. And they're exactly as they sound. The elements, given bodies and faces, emotions and powers over whatever they were set to control. And they as well as being our gods are our government. Tower was the city of power, ruled by the Elemental of Life, Lemanerial. And it was a lot like this Weyr. Hundreds of thousands of people...Faidian people...living and working and growing together. The problem was, Lemanerial is not the greatest of rulers. And he's in constant clash with his older brother Callanerial...the oldest and strongest of our Elementals, the one of Death. And the other Elemntals...and their personal problems," she almost spit the words. "They're constantly spilling into the Faidan way of life," Scala shook her head grimly. "They're like us, but they don't understand. They have very little consequences for what they do to each other, but we Faidians are the ones who suffer for it." Scala paused,considering where to go next...and shrugged. "But Faidia is not a world of war and anger. Most of us live very peaceful lives, either at the Tower or in a city somewhere beyond it...or just in the world, where we pleased. That is what my siblings and I were doing. The Purple Savannah was, as it sounds, an ocean of lush purple grass that supported hundreds of species. Neccos are like your flits. Carmors would be our closest cousin to a dragon. Lorriams are goat like, Chevei are horses. Melceys..." she stopped, smirking. "Melceys could be considered dogs...or cats...or anything else. We are perhaps the most diverse animal on Faidia. We are most like the Elementals, a different type of Melcey for every element. I'm called a Frost Melcey...I had a brother who was a Darkness, like Callanerial, and a sister who was Fire, under the secondary Moranerial. My other siblings were of the Overdrive and Virus. Our mother was a Riptide, the Melcey of insanity under Raenerial...and our father was a Chaos, the most rare and dangerous of all Melcey types. My sister said that's why we're all a little insane." That would explain the changing colors, Auspexeth added mentally to Minaeya. The girl could only nod, looking to Scala. "So how did you end up in that...factory?" Scala only shrugged. "I don't know. I don't remember. Five years is not long for a Faidia, especially a Melcey. While we're not immortal, I'm sure we could live almost as long as forever as long as we remain healthy. I always assumed if I tried to remember everything, I would go mad after a while. And I'd like to keep what little sanity I have left. So things that seem unimportant to me, I forget before I can remember them. To me, it was important how I came to be in that...wicked place." She looked up at the girl and rider. "What mattered was that I was there...I was stuck. And I needed to get out." Minaeya looked at Scala for a good, long time. She may have been a little insane...and a little unorthodox, but then again what wasn't these days at Ryslen? But she was a good creature. She had just been through...so much. More than anything should ever have to go through in her life. "Well, Scala...you know as well as I do that you are safe here. And very welcomed." We would love to have you Stand at the Flurry. Scala looked up at the dragon. It would be so interesting to have a creature like that as her friend. Sure, there was still so much that she needed to learn...but this place would become like home to her. And maybe...maybe some day they could go back to Faidia. And they could find those...things. And destroy the factory and show Fiffy that there was nothing to fear of the outside world. And she could find her siblings again...and tell them of her life since she saw them last... "I would be honored." |
| Text (c) Jennifer, yr. 2003 & beyond Characters of Faidia (c) M. Janda. Characters of Ryslen (c) Ryslen Weyr. |