The Princess's Feathers

996 years.

It is said that the Kingdom of Ellyntide predates the Great Freeze and the raising of the continents by hundreds of years. Through all that time, it has resiliently weathered droughts, famines, storms, and wars — four major conflicts with Sarlain and one with Nortane that nearly destroyed the Kingdom forever. But, now… bereft of her Princess for a mere two seasons, and that’s it? The proud, ancient Kingdom of Ellytide has fallen under the occupation of Nortane once more because one Animal disappeared from the equation? Am I losing my mind?! Has everyone and everything I’ve ever known been erased forever?

“Asha? Asha, what’s going on?!”

With horror in my eyes, I watch as the flag of Nortane wafts gently in the night breeze. How could such a catastrophe occur in such a short time span? My Kingdom was strong in the wake of the Fourth War! Our fleet was modernized, and our Knights trained for any possibility. And even against a superior enemy like Nortane, this is the result? Total annihilation of the Lordanou Crown and the Kingdom itself?! I gaze into the flag of the enemy and grit my fangs, a thousand negative emotions rapid-firing through my head. I can’t accept this. There has to be a rational explanation. This isn’t the inevitably. Ellyntide is not some frail, weakened Kingdom!! Oh, Mother, what on Jade happened here?!

“Kuro!!” I bark. “Follow me!!”

“R-right!” she stammers.

With a commanding flap of my wings we return to the clouds, the visions of my family swirling through my head like the mists surrounding me. If there was a coup in the palace, then their lives may have been forfeit. I have to know if they’re still alive! I can’t be the Queen yet!

I return to the thermal we were in before and feel the wind against my face. In between the noxious fumes of airships are the scents of wheat, barley, and soybean — distinct smells redolent of the agricultural centers east of the city. With panic hurtling me forward, I take off upwind and begin racing through the clouds.

Moments later, Kuro flies up beside me.

“Asha!!” She pants. “Where are we going?”

I grimace, feeling sudden guilt for leaving Kuro behind. “Sorry,” I mumble, looking away. “We’re flying to Legacy Island. It’s the final resting place for members of my family.”

“Resting place?” Kuro cocks her head. “Asha, are you—“

“Yes,” I say. “Kuro, I think my family may have been murdered.”

The simple act of admitting it aloud fills me with intense dread, turning my stomach to knots. Kuro notices my distress, and her eyes bulge. “Asha, what’s going on!? How can you tell what—“

THOOM!

Without warning, the sky between us is split by a dazzling light beam, putting a swift end to our conversation. Momentarily blinded, I furrow my eyes and cry out in surprise.

KREEEE!

I bank hard to my left and flap wildly to correct my flight. When I reopen my eyes, I find the beam of light traveling swiftly through the clouds ahead of us.

“Asha!!” Kuro cries out. I gaze left to see my mate, fluffed and startled. “What was THAT?!”

“They’re looking for us!” I yell back. “Kuro, follow my—“

THOOM!

Another pillar of light illuminates the clouds, this time directly beneath Kuro!!

ROARRR!

She snarls, unable to avert her gaze from the blinding light. With the beam remaining stationary, she banks hard to her left and disappears into the inky expanse of clouds.

Horrified, I flare my wings and cry out, “Kuro?!”

There’s no response.

“Kuro, please!! Answer me!!”

As I stare into the void, the searchlight begins to wander forward, growing softer in intensity until it dissolves completely through the mists. The only noise is the dull hum of the city below.

…

RAWRRR!!

A roar splits the silence as Kuro spirals down from the clouds above. She throws open her wings and comes to a halt just above me.

“Kuro!!” I cry.

“Asha!!” she roars back. “Are you alright?! What’s happening?”

“Don’t worry, they’re just searchlights!! They won’t hurt you!!” Gasping for breath, I rise to meet Kuro. “Come on!! They can’t see us through the clouds!”

So, I don’t actually know if you can see a Dragon through the clouds at night with a searchlight. But the air raid sirens haven’t sounded yet, so that means we’re still safe, right? My theory seems to be proven correct as I lead Kuro through the sky, following the earthen scents of agriculture. Searchlights illuminate the clouds around us like oil lamps in a darkened room, but the sirens remain quiet.

Eventually, the clouds begin to part, allowing me a view of the city below. Recalling what I remember from maps, I piece together our location on the eastern side of Varecia.

“Okay,” I announce. “It should be safe to descend here.”

We lower from the sky and find ourselves above a greenbelt bisecting two residential neighborhoods. Far from the lights of downtown Varecia, the eastern reaches of the city are broadly residential and free of airship traffic. Crucially, they’re also free of the searchlights that were emplaced to defend the city in case of a Nortanian invasion. We should be safe flying below the clouds here.

In the distance, I spot central Varecia, illuminated by innumerable beams of lights scanning the sky in a vain attempt to locate us. I see the air transfer ships flying like crazed starlings as they flee to safety, but the sky is conspicuously absent of warships. Shouldn’t they be launched by now? Perhaps we caught those bastards from Nortane off-guard. Whatever the case, this gives us a crucial moment to slip through the sky unnoticed on our way to Legacy Island.

“Is that it?” Kuro asks, flicking her ears to our right.

I follow her gaze and find a small, sparsely populated island with three polished stone buildings erected in the center. The sight of it hits me like a spikehorn kick to the stomach.

“Y-yeah,” I stumble. “This is where my family members are laid to rest.” I pause to clear my nose and shake away tears. “Come on. We need to see if they’re here.”

We come about and approach the island from above to ensure there are no Animals present. I spot a broad and grassy plain surrounded on two sides by a small grove — the airship landing zone for the island. Mercifully, the area is free of any ships. We’ll be beside ourselves as I…

…

I’m the first to land in the field and waste no time sprinting for the mausoleums. As they grow in size, the small island trembles beneath me; Kuro has landed.

“Asha!!” she cries.

“It’s this way!” I answer.

As I approach the mausoleums, the smell of chamomile wafts into my nose. That’s the mourning flower for Lemurs!! My heart just about sinks until I remember the flowers could be for me. Yes, that’s right: I’ve been dead in my family’s eyes since last autumn. It doesn’t mean Mom has passed! Oh, please, Goddess! Please let the flowers be for me!!

A stone terrace surrounds the mausoleums, causing my claws to click against the stone as I approach on harried talonsteps. Chamomile has been stacked in neat bunches at the foot of the center mausoleum, a regular practice when a member of the royal family passes away. It’s been several months since I died in the eyes of the Kingdom — could they still be leaving flowers for me?

I stand before the central mausoleum, heaving panicked breaths. Stone colonnades line the front of the building, framing the entrance behind two double doors at the top of a stone staircase. I feel memories from kithood return to me: the days we grieved for my grandmother, Beatrix, after her assassination by Sarlain. Back then, I found this building impressive from the outside. But here, in my current form, it’s only as tall as my shoulders.

“Oh, Goddess…”

The tears begin to flow freely. I never thought I’d return here to discover if my family was still alive, much less while in the body of a Lithan. I’m dreading with all my heart what I’ll find inside, but I have to press on. I have to know the truth.

I crouch on my haunches and extend a talon outward, checking the state of the large steel doors. It goes without saying that I’d have trouble turning a doorknob, but mercifully, I find that one of the doors has been left open. Was someone here today to lay the flowers? As gingerly as could be expected from a Dragon, I pull the two large doors outward with a claw, lower against my stomach, and proceed to squish my head through the entrance of the mausoleum.

For the first time in months, I find myself (partially) inside a building. The interior room is dark, overwhelmed by the scent of fresh chamomile. Between the flowers, I discern the fresh scent of a Fisher. It seems my theory about laying the chamomile was correct. As I adjust the fit around my neck, I sense Kuro approaching outside.

“Asha…?” she asks softly with a touch of confusion. “Are your parents in that den?”

“I-I don’t know,” I answer. “I can’t switch on the oil lamps, so I’m going to need to use my fire.”

It’s safe to do that indoors, right? This building is made of polished stone — in the worst-case scenario, I might set a tapestry ablaze. In light of the circumstances, I doubt my ancestors would mind. I take a short breath and tickle the special muscle in the back of my throat to produce the smallest flame possible.

FWOOSH!

A small wisp illuminates the walls, revealing the crypts where my ancestors were laid to rest. For a fleeting moment, I see the back wall, the one where my family was set to be laid, but my flame flashed far too quickly to read the inscriptions. Carefully, I maneuver my head deeper into the building to get a better look on the second flash.

Then, something utterly unexpected happens.

A dazzling white light begins emanating from the back wall of the mausoleum, illuminating the room in a pale glow!

KREE?!

My head jumps back in shock but stays within the building. As it does, the light on the wall dims slightly and begins pulsing in intensity.

“Asha?!” Kuro cries, gazing through a row of windows surrounding the top of the mausoleum “Asha, what’s happening?!”

This light… I know this light!

Last Autumn — the Eastern Weald. My transformation into a Lithan!! For a breathless moment, I watch the light, too scared to lift a feather. Eventually, I exhale a long breath and curl my talons — thankfully, I’m still a Lithan.

“Kuro…” I trail off, searching for adequate words.

Outside the building, she thumps her tail impatiently. “What’s going on? What is that light?”

With the darkness dispelled, I nudge my head closer to the light. It emanates from a marble crypt on the back wall, one with fresh chamomile stacked below it. I gasp when the inscription comes into focus.

PRINCESS ASHA ELOISE LORDANOU XIX

790 - 813

It’s my crypt. This is where Mom, Dad, and Sofl paid their respects and said goodbye to me. As if the melancholy of witnessing my own grave wasn’t enough, the glowing light is emanating from some kind of clear apparatus above my name. I tilt my head closer and gaze into it, trying to determine the light’s source. Squinting, I begin to make out the shape of something encased within. It’s small and jagged-shaped, a shape that reminds me of…

…The Serpentine Diamond?!

“What?!” I gasp. “W—What is the Serpentine Diamond doing here?!”

“The Chimeric Stone?!” Kuro shudders. “It’s here?!”

But how can this be?! I thought the diamond was destroyed when I became a Lithan! They must have found it in the weald while they were investigating the attack and decided to leave it with me as some kind of memorial! Instantly, a slew of questions rapid-fire through my head. Why did the diamond start glowing when I approached it? Is the power that transformed me into a Lithan reactivated? Does that mean I could use the diamond to return to my old form? Also, why was the diamond placed here in the first place? It’s supposed to belong to…

…Oh, that’s right.

By rights, the diamond should’ve gone to the Lordanou second in line to the throne: Sofl. But without a throne to ascend to, it’s just a relic of what Ellyntide used to be. Does that mean someone in my family wanted the diamond here? Did Sofl or somebody else petition the Nortanians to leave it at my crypt? Could they still be alive?

…

I pull my head back, and the diamond dims somewhat, though not enough to prevent me from reading the other inscriptions on the wall. Queens and Kings alike line the walls of the mausoleum on all four sides. I recall the spot where Mom grieved when I was young and locate my Grandmother, Beatrix. Next to her is my Grandfather, Quincy. Directly beneath them are the spots reserved for my parents. And it’s here that I find… nothing. The crypts are free of an inscription. Nothing has been carved into the stone.

My parents are alive. My family yet lives.

…

I stare at the wall, heaving long and heavy breaths. They’re ALIVE!! Oh, thank the Goddess I wasn’t too late! Everything else may have gone to Hell, but at least my family isn’t in the Temple!

…So, if they’re still alive, then where are they now? What did Nortane do to them?

This isn’t the first time Nortane has occupied our Kingdom. Centuries ago, the Avians took control of Ellyntide and decided to spare the lives of the royal family. Most of my ancestors were held in Hollyhead, but Queen Felicia was secured in a Nortanian outpost on Owens Island, completely unreachable by airships of the day. In the shadows of the occupation, a rebellion against Nortane began to take shape. But without a strong leader, it was disorganized and ineffective. Much as it is today, authority in Ellyntide stems from only one name: Lordanou.

It was because of the bravery of one Knight, a selfless Avian whose light would shine Eternal across the ages, that Prince Anton was rescued from Hollyhead and delivered to the rebellion. With a Lordanou to unite them and the sword of the Eternal Knight to guide them, Nortane would come to be driven from our islands and the Kingdom restored to power.

Surely, the Nortane of today would have learned from their historic mistakes. If my family still lives, then there’s no chance they’re still in Ellyntide. They’ll have been moved far away from here, somewhere across the vast expanse of sky and deep within the ancestral territory of the Avians. With all the Lordanous extradited from Ellyntide, President Weatherlight must be so fweghing smug. She probably believes she’s quashed any chance of a second rebellion.

…

I gaze into the light emanating from the Serpentine Diamond — the ancient trigger of my draconic transformation — and wonder. As I angle my head closer to the crypt, the light intensifies until it’s just as bright as the moment I transformed. A shrill noise begins to sound through the mausoleum.

If I were to touch it…

…

‘Whoever they worked for, whoever sent them here, that is who I will use this body against.’

…

“Asha?” Kuro calls from outside the mausoleum. “Why are you growling?”

…

I pull my head away and exhale sharply. Feeling there’s nothing else to learn here, I carefully extract my head from the building and stand on all fours. Inside the mausoleum, the light from the serpentine diamond extinguishes.

Kuro approaches me from the side of the building, looking unnerved. “Asha,” she murmurs. “What happened in there? Is your family…?”

“No,” I say, wrapping my tail around my foretalons. “My parents are alive. Sofl is alive. But they’re not here, and I don’t know where they’ve gone. I think that Nortane captured them.”

An uncomfortable silence stretches between us. Off in the distance, the searchlights over Varecia begin powering down.

“Sandoz,” my voice rattles. “Sandoz was my mentor. She taught me that unexpected events are inevitable; We can choose to dwell on them, letting the negatives grow to define us. Or we can choose to overcome them, embracing the positive aspects we have control over. She taught me that no matter what happens, I always had a choice.”

Kuro stares at me with longing in her eyes. She opens her muzzle to speak, but my heart can’t take it any longer.

“How could I choose to accept THIS?!”

I can’t hold it back any longer — all at once, sorrow and pain and fear are channeled into fury. I raise my head and unleash a baleful roar into the night sky!

SKREEEEEEAK!!!!

The little island trembles as my call echoes across Varecia. If the Kingdom couldn’t hear me before, then it certainly can now! I may have been too late to defend it in autumn, but now I’m back! I want them all to know that the Lithan is back! And she’s royally pissed!

“ASHA!!”

As my roar trails off, a force impacts me from the side and slams me into the ground. Instinctively, I begin fighting back against my surprise attacker, attempting to flail my claws at the blurry mass of dark feathers. But my opponent is far larger and far more level-headed than I am.

“Asha, STOP!!”

Kuro muscles me into the ground, applying weight against my shoulders. Why is she attacking me? Doesn’t she understand how upset I am!? When she fails to stop me from flailing about, she reaches down and sinks her fangs into my shoulder.

KREE!!

I shriek in pain and feel my resolve to fight back dissolve. She may have stopped me, but the rage in my heart is still burning bright. Kuro lifts her head and gazes down at me with a look of reproach, purple blood dripping from her muzzle. For a tense moment, we stare at each other with fangs bared and savage growls emanating from our chests.

“Is your head full of bees?!” Kuro chides. “Do you want every airship-prey in the Farlands to find us?!”

“Let them!” I snarl. “I’ll shoot down Nortane’s entire fleet and turn their cities to ashes!”

Kuro stares at me in muted shock. "Asha, you can’t oppose,” she pauses to gesture her wing outward towards Varecia, “all of this by yourself! That’s more than—“

Agitated, I cut her off with a bare-fanged snarl of opposition.

GRRRR…

“No!!” she objects.

Using her talons, Kuro grabs me by the shoulders and lifts me slightly off the ground, only to slam me back into it with all her might. As she does, she sinks her claws deep into my shoulders, causing me to squeal in pain.

“Listen to me!!’ Kuro hisses. “I know how upset you are, but attacking Nortane won’t bring back your family! What if they decide to retaliate against us by sending airship-prey to Felra? Do you want the flock to suffer, too?!”

I stare at her with fangs bared but offer no rebuttal to her argument.

“This can’t be what the deities had in mind for you, Asha. Please…!” Kuro folds her wings, and pain overwhelms her face. “I don’t want to keep hurting you. We need to return to Felra. Keuvra will know why your Kingdom is gone.”

“Keuvra?!” I hiss. “He’s been gone since harvestwing! What makes you think he’ll appear now?!”

“I don’t know!!” Kuro cries, throwing her wings in frustration. “I don’t know why any of this is happening! But he has to appear now. I’m certain he will!”

“How can you be so confident?” I riposte. “What if he’s wasting our time, just like he has the past two seasons?”

“Then I’ll help you,” Kuro rumbles, narrowing her eyes to slits. “We’ll attack Nortane’s cities. Together. And we won’t stop until we find your family.”

We stare at each other, panting heavily. Does Kuro really mean that? Doesn’t she understand how difficult it will be to locate them?

“Please,” Kuro growls. “I believe there has to be a reason why you were brought to the flock.”

A reason…? What does my admittance into the flock have to do with Ellyntide’s fall? That’s what she’s saying, right?

Wait a second…

Kuro said ‘brought.’ As in, I was led to Felra by someone else. What could she possibly mean by that? I flew to Felra of my own accord after I had no other choice!

…Right?

…

“…Okay,” I growl, trying to calm my seething anger. “We’ll do that. We’ll return to White Mountain and try summoning Keuvra one last time.”

As the words pass through my muzzle, Kuro’s face fills with pained relief. She whines softly and uses her tongue to clean the wounds she left against my shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpers as she steps off me.

With muscles aching, I roll onto my stomach and rise to my talons. As I ruffle to clear my feathers of dirt, I gaze past Kuro and look to the horizon. The searchlights over Varecia shine anew, framing the city in a portentous glow. For the first time, I spot Nortanian warships — the warships of our enemy, flying freely over my Kingdom. How could it all go wrong in such a short amount of time? How could the disappearance of one Lemur cause such a catastrophe?

Staring down this scene, a realization draws across my mind: At every turn, I found myself grounded to Felra. When an opportunity arose that harbored the possibility of returning home, I found myself pulled back every time. And who was there every step of the way? The one working behind the scenes to ensure I became a productive, happy member of the flock?

"GUST!!” I bellow, flaring my wings and raising my head to the sky. “I know you’re watching me!!”

Kuro’s eyes bulge. “A-Asha?!”

“You led me to Felra so I wouldn’t intervene in the war with Nortane!! You and the deities have blood on your hands!! The blood of my KINGDOM!!”

Oh, yes. Everything makes perfect sense now! Gust, the liaison of the deities, was trying to pacify me. That’s why he led me to Kuro — the perfect mate. That’s why he helped me discover a cure for the illness — to earn the flock’s respect. And that’s why he led me to the strange monolith in the middle of nowhere — to offer me closure about my transformation. Every interaction was carefully orchestrated to make me comfortable about my new life in Felra. The deities thought I would accept the fate of my Kingdom just because I have a Lithan mate! They were manipulating me, just like the nobles and everyone else has my entire life!

Kuro lopes to my side and pleads, “Asha, don’t—”

“I don’t care!!” I snarl in her face. “Kuro, this goes deeper than Nortane! This—“

“I KNOW!!”

The vehemence of her yell forces my head to recoil backward. “…You do?”

“Asha,” Kuro whines, tearing at the stones beneath her talons. “We aren’t supposed to talk about him!”

My head tilts closer. “…Him?”

“Yes,” Kuro nods. “He warned you not to say anything, right? The red prey-bird?”

I open my muzzle to speak, but no sound is produced.

“Right,” she says. “So, please. Just stop talking. If something happens to you because you said too much, then…” A sharp breath passes her fangs, and she shakes her head in dismay. “Asha, I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”

All I can do is stare at my mate in morbid shock.

Kuro knows about Gust?!!