The Harvest Moon Consortium

Seryne floated in lava and sighed as her muscles relaxed and the drow and duergar blood she had been covered in vaporized away. It was unfortunate that the one good pool of lava in the area lay deep in caves beneath the holdings belonging to House Nightsmith. Well, unfortunate for House Nightsmith anyway. Normally, Seryne would sneak down here and leave the drow, duergar, and black dragons alone. Sneak may not be the right word. She would cast improved invisibility and try to walk down quietly while the inhabitants of the caves would pretend they were unaware of her presence. Even now, she expected that the few who had been smart enough to leave her alone were busy raising those who hadn’t and discussing why she had broken their unspoken agreement. The reason was simple. She was still venting her anger.

Darias had asked her if she had felt better once Randyl was returned and she had told him she had. She had lied. The anger was very much there. It wasn’t a near blinding rage just beneath the surface the way it had been, but it was still there. The important question was… why?

Randyl was safe. He looked terrible and she suspected his trauma was deeper than the bruises and weight loss, but he was safe. Seryne had been upset when she saw him. So upset, in fact, that she had slipped into infernal to ask if he was alright, as though they were children again. Infernal was the language of their sensai as children. They had used it as a way of speaking “code,” though Seryne now suspected their parents had understood them perfectly well and just pretended ignorance. Randyl had slipped right back into infernal to reassure her he was fine, but Seryne knew that he was putting on a brave face. It didn’t really matter. He would be back to normal soon. He was much stronger than he looked. Or acted.

No, there was something else. Cele.

“Holy warrior of Bahamut.” Seryne heard more bitterness in her voice than even she expected as she spoke the words out loud. Cele had accomplished something of great importance and had gotten direct aid from Bahamut to do so. Was Seryne jealous of Cele?

No. She was above such petty emotions by now, wasn’t she? No, the problem was that Cele’s connection to Bahamut just accentuated Seryne’s lack. An unfortunate bit of timing. Randyl was taken from her and Seryne sought out that connection for help in dealing with the rage that nearly overwhelmed her. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t feel it. She felt… alone.

She couldn’t help but think that it was because she was not the warrior she was supposed to be; that Bahamut wanted her to be. She was unworthy. Despite all that good that she had done. Despite the countless battles against the enemies of Lapis. Despite all her power. Perhaps because of her power, for the power of the dragon within her bloodline was evil. Seryne had always known that, even when she chose to become a dragon disciple. She considered it the price of that power. But now, the more she tapped into it, the more stained by it she felt herself becoming. It frightened her. But she didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t change what she was, could she?

“Krystine did.” She heard herself speak the words and suddenly felt the dawning of realization within her. This wasn’t about Cele. This was about Krystine. Krystine shared the same bloodline. But she was a brass half-dragon now, not red. She was good. Seryne was not. And everyone else in the family seemed content to leave Krystine where she was to become whatever it was that she was supposed to become. Whatever Bahamut wanted her to become, apparently.

For a brief time now, Seryne had thought that Bahamut had a plan for her. How was that for arrogance? “I have an over-inflated sense of my own importance.” Seryne allowed herself a smile as she came to an important decision. It was time to stop worrying about the will of the gods. Bahamut didn’t need Seryne. Seryne didn’t really need Bahamut.

She still had a problem, though. She had to contain the part of her that was evil better. She had come dangerously close to letting the rage overtake her. She couldn’t come that close again. The trigger was obvious: threatening Randyl. But threatening any of her close friends could also serve.

Perhaps Amysara had the right idea after all. Seryne would have to distance herself. Not in a physical sense. Everyone needs allies and friends. But she would have to distance herself emotionally. Liria wasn’t going to like it. Neither was Randyl. They won’t understand that she doesn’t have any other choice. Best not to discuss it with them. Best to just act as though everything is normal.

Seryne floated in fire and molten rock and forged herself a wall. For the first time in a long time, she finally felt calm.



...elsewhere, a goddess smiled

Randyl stood and watched Seryne as she disappeared through the portal. Their conversation had been… tense. Both of them were trying to act as if all was normal when in fact they both knew that all was anything but. Randyl’s captivity had changed him. Although he tried to resume his usual cheery persona, he knew that it was coming off as slightly forced. He also knew that the small signs of what he had been through were not making it easier. He had recovered most of his lost weight now but he knew that his appearance was different enough that all who looked at him were reminded of what happened. And he knew that he was constantly rubbing his wrists where he could still feel the links of the enchanted chain digging into his skin. Most importantly, he knew he had failed. He knew it. Seryne knew it. He could see it in her eyes every time she made the effort to look him in the eye. He had let himself be captured by the enemy, thankfully, an enemy that was too wrapped up in its own plans to realize the true value of its captive.

The question now was what to do about it. Between the unspoken issue with Krystine and the recent capture, Randyl could feel Seryne a distance growing between them. It was small, but it was there. Would all return to normal if he kept silent? Would time make it seem as if this never happened? Maybe, but not likely. What else could he do? Confront Seryne and speak all the unspoken words between them? No, that would be disaster.

With a sigh of resignation he knew what he had to do. He would bare his shame alone and he would watch Seryne carefully. If it came to it, he knew he could…

“Hi!” a voice interrupted Randyl’s thoughts. He glances up to find Liria standing no more than three feet from him. Was he that distracted or did she sneak up on him on purpose?

“Oh uh… Hey Liria!” Randyl said after taking a split second to come back to himself. He flashed her a grin but he knew it wasn’t fast enough.

Liria was looking at him with a curious expression. “Is something wrong? You looked focused.”

Randyl waved his hand dismissively, “Nah! It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing,” Liria pressed. She glanced toward the portals where Randyl had been staring, “Is it about Seryne?”

Randyl feigned that he had not heard the question. “It has been a while! How’ve you been these days?”
For a long moment she looked at him in silence and Randyl watched Liria’s expression turn from curiosity to confusion, to concern, and finally, with the tiniest hint of a sigh, settle on pleasant indifference. Randyl felt the tension leave him as Liria allowed the conversation to be steered toward calmer waters.

If only they couldn’t all feel the storm brewing in the distance.