Chapter Seven

  If springtime brought rebirth, a rejuvenation of the world, then summer surely was the peak of that lifecycle before the cold caused plants to retreat back into slumber. The dragons of Ophicys felt such joy for the warmth of Io’s sunlight returning to them, and leading into summer meant the return of Solence; a wonderfully vibrant and lively festival the dragons would celebrate vigilantly every year.

  The city was already buzzing with life as dragons of all colors and sizes roamed the festival. Every single dragon was wearing simple white togas, along with very minimal jewelry, quite unlike their usual attire. Dragons were known for being quite flashy with their fashion, but today the simple dressings would be required to join in the festivities. The white togas were all brand new, although they would not be devoid of color for long. Solence was quite a messy festival, and the main event was scheduled to happen later that day. Civil servants from the palace were setting up table stations surrounding the central plaza where the eye of Io hovered.

  With all the festival noise outside the temple, no one but the priests could hear the loud ongoing crack that kept echoing from the gardens. While none outside of the confines of the walls could hear the sound, the noise had become quite a headache, and most of the priests steered clear of the training grounds.

  In the middle of one of the flat open areas they used to train, Aaron was swinging a wooden sword that he had long since outgrown. Standing now taller than most humans at about 6’ 6”, Tairhn was confident Aaron was still growing. Even if he never attained the 8 foot average the modern dragons stood at, his demonic blood would solidify the fact that he would tower head and shoulders above any human.

  Aaron had indeed filled out as his muscles had grown towards a more adult appearance, and any last baby fat was gone by now. His wings were now about the size of Tairhn’s, the membranes coming down to almost meet at the base of his tail. That shoulder length blond hair was now nearly halfway down his back, but he wasn’t training with it in a ponytail today. Aaron wasn’t moving around as much in this training session since he was focusing on accuracy, but the hair was sticking to his cheeks nonetheless from the summer heat building up.

  Tairhn had an enchanted wooden sword that was about the same size as Aaron’s, but as he was far too old to be sparring; instead Tairhn had imbued the sword with an energy that allowed it to float on its own. This allowed him to maneuver the sword how he pleased, letting Aaron whack at it without any physical risk to himself or the child. Tairhn was confident the sword wouldn’t do more than bruise Aaron, but better to not bruise him too much lest he end up bedridden for a few days.

  Aaron had gotten more aggressive with his swings, an occasional grunting noise escaping him as he picked up his speed, hitting the opposing sword faster with each successful hit.

  “Something on your mind, Aaron?” Tairhn called out, glad he wasn’t behind the sword. He could see the frustration on his pupil’s sweat slicked face.

  Aaron huffed and threw his sword on the ground, swiping his drenched hair away from his face. He walked to the edge of their little training field, only to turn around and face Tairhn again; hand resting on his hips.

  “Astrius is hiding something. He isn’t even having secret meetings in his office anymore.”

  Tairhn raised an eyebrow at the informality and began to correct his pupil, “That’s Father-”

  “I know!” Aaron yelled, a small burst of light exploding around him only to die down as fast as it had risen up. Aaron was beginning to lose his temper more frequently as of late. Tairhn had seen it building up inside him throughout his isolation. Aaron had always been alone in the temple, not having friends or anyone his age to vent to or play with. Aaron had taken after the adults he saw in his life, but with how restrictive they were towards him, Tairhn had been waiting for that thread holding Aaron’s anger back to snap. It seemed Aaron was reaching that limit finally.

  Aaron bit his lip, feeling bad for snapping at his master. “I’m sorry, I’m just…” His voice trembled slightly as he swallowed, trying to contain his emotions again. “I don’t know. I hear life happening outside these walls, but then I remember what might be happening elsewhere. I can’t stop thinking about the damage the Titans are causing.”

  Turning back to Tairhn, Aaron could feel something painful deep in his chest, but he pushed it down, knowing he had to keep his emotions in check. “I don’t like not knowing. I’m sitting here, practicing with that, that, that twig,” he pointed at the ground where he’d thrown the toy weapon. “Meanwhile I know people are probably dying, but I don’t know anything about the Titan’s recent movements. Last I heard was over a year ago that there were three across the Raadyshian Desert, but nothing since then.”

  Aaron took a step back, kicking the dusty ground, “I just feel so useless.”

  Tairhn sat up straight again, letting out a deep sigh. “You’re right, he is keeping things from us. Both of us. I know from my own contacts that the fight between the three in the Centaurian Planes is escalating. Titan’s fight on such a massive scale, even their own infighting can last decades if left unchecked. I know these three have been fighting for the last year and a half, only dying down and retreating during the colder months.”

  Tairhn wiped some stray dirt off his lap, continuing, “I know that Corai and Kalo seem to be working together against Blythe, but there has not been success. At least, not since I last had an update.”

  Aaron rolled his head back with a sigh, looking back to the entrance to the temple from the gardens where a priest was watching from the doorway. Astrius seemed to make it obvious he was being watched now, no more sneaking around. He was getting really tired of the constant supervision.

  Kicking a rock across the yard, Aaron went to sit next to Tairhn on the bench. Letting his arms rest on his knees, he held his head in his hands, tugging at his hair slightly. “I don’t know what to do anymore, I’m losing my mind.”

  “I know. I wish I had answers instead of empty words, but one day.” Tairhn gently placed a hand on Aaron’s back, knowing Aaron just wanted to be heard right now.

  “I just wish I could be doing something. I’m just hiding away, playing with wooden swords. I don’t have to worry about things like shelter and food. I practically live like a king, albeit an imprisoned one.” Aaron sat back up, looking at the wall surrounding the garden. There was a tree that had grown at a strangely bent angle, making it semi easy to get up the trunk. Those sturdy branches were one of his favorite places to sit and watch the world outside go by, but even though Aaron would do it for enjoyment, there was always a painful loneliness that came with it.

  Tairhn could hear the festival starting to ramp up, and knew the main event of the festival was about to happen. Aaron had only seen this festival once, last year, but only for a few moments before one of the priests had yelled at him to get down. He could see the longing on Aaron’s face, and Tairhn turned to glare at the priest standing by the doorway. The priest bolted immediately, as they all did when Tairhn got protective. Tairhn smirked to himself, and looked back down to Aaron. “Why don’t you go get comfortable by the wall there? The festival is really about to kick off now, and I’m sure you could use a break.”

  Aaron glanced back to Tairhn, seeing past him that the hovering priest was gone. A grateful smile flickered across his face as he darted from his place on the bench towards the base of the gnarled tree. With a mild jogging start, Aaron was able to get partially up before he needed to grab a branch. Limb by limb, he pulled himself up towards one of his favorite sitting spots, right on the edge of the wall with a set of branches to rest back against. Aaron’s view was only mildly blocked, still able to see the festivities through the tree limbs, but unless someone was specifically peering through the gaps in the leaves, he was practically invisible to all.

  The crowds were alight with energy, but littered all around the edges of the central plaza under Io’s eye were various decorated stations. Flowers gathered through the spring and preserved to keep their blooms, along with different colored gemstone bowls. Each gem color was to identify the color of powdered dye in each bowl, as once the event started things would get rather hectic.

  Aaron could feel the excitement in the air and he felt the pain in his chest slowly dissipate. Seeing the people living like this gave him a strange sense of hope, even if there was destruction happening elsewhere.

  A booming gong rang out over the city, and with that the cry of the crowd roared to life, and dragons darted to the sidelines to grab fistfulls of the powder. All at once there was a flurry of colored dust flying everywhere as dragons began throwing the powders at each other. The impact would cause some of the dust to collect on the fresh, white togas every dragon was wearing. It did not take long for many of them to start becoming stained a variety of colors. Later, they would be washed and stored in such a way that the toga would keep the colors for years to come.

  Aaron watched on as a few young children shrieked and laughed, flinging colors at each other, only for one of the children’s parents to go scoop their child up and lock them into their grasp; arms and wings wrapped around to spread the colors on their toga onto their child’s. Aaron looked away briefly, feeling a tinge of pain and his eyes began misting up. He wondered if any of his other siblings had never met their mother. He knew Tairhn had explained why Father Astrius didn’t want him trying to visit the Astral Plane, but it didn’t mean he understood it. The High Priest made promises about it once he was fully done fighting the Titans, but with age came a loss of childhood innocence. Aaron watched the parent put their child back down to run off, eager to play with the other children again. He felt a pang of jealousy towards the child, both simply for having their parents there, and being free to live as a child.

  Aaron swallowed the feeling down, knowing it wasn’t right to be envious of a child, instead allowing his gaze to linger over the general crowd once more. It was still chaotic, colored dyes being flung everywhere and beginning to fill the air as the wind gusts picked up the leftovers. It was actually kind of mesmerizing to see the particles dancing on the wind, but Aaron shook himself out of it, not wanting to miss out on the festival itself.

  His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed something within the crowd that wasn’t quite common in Ophicys. Aaron’s eyes had noticed a smaller figure moving through the crowd that any onlooker would have thought was just another dragon child if they hadn’t been paying close attention, but Aaron knew better.

  No, this was a short felinoid known as a muse and they had no interest in the festivities what-so-ever as they approached the temple walls. Standing about half the height of an adult dragon, their tails were nearly a third of their body in length giving them tremendous balance. This muse had brown fur, but most of the fur was covered by a triad of travel clothes, a simple linen shirt and pants combined with a decorated emerald green cloak. Padding along on small paws that had such bounce, the muse was closing distance through the crowd quite quickly. Aaron chuckled slightly, realizing the muse probably had not expected to be pelted with colored dyes when coming to the city.

  Aaron’s laughter quickly died and he leaned forward to get a better look at the muse. They had a bag that was quite large compared to their own body size, and they seemed to be holding it quite protectively. Aaron doubted any dragon would have stolen that bag, but it obviously was something important to the muse.

  Aaron remembered back to a previous conversation that the muse were the ones that had designed an orb to contain a Titan’s power. The orb itself he didn’t know much about, he just knew that it had so far worked on two Titans. Did the muse presence here mean that a Titan was close? Aaron watched as the muse grew closer to the temple, going out of sight towards the entrance.

  He leaped out of the tree, landing on the ground with bent knees before vaulting into a sprint back towards the temple. Tairhn had been meditating on the bench and was brought out of it by the boy rushing past him.

  “W-Wha-Wait, what’s going on-Aaron!?” Tairhn hurried to stand as fast as the old bones would let him, rushing after Aaron. It wasn’t often he ran anymore, and he absolutely was too old for this. “Wait!” Tairhn called after him, but Aaron was far too focused on his destination.

  Aaron jogged down the hallway, only having slowed down as he nearly wiped out two priests making their way back from laundry. He ignored anyone who was calling out to him, making his way to Father Astrius’s office. With how small and agile the muse were, he was fairly confident he knew what was waiting inside.

  Not bothering to knock, Aaron burst through the door, where a very startled muse sat in one of the chairs across from Father Astrius. The dragon looked just as confused at first, only to frown at the intrusion.

  “Aaron this is highly inappropriate-”

  “I don’t care, I’m tired of the secrets! You’re going to tell me what’s going on, right now.” Aaron looked at the muse, vibrant yellow eyes wide with a mixture of fright and intrigue.

  The muse sat forward again, fixing his glasses as he looked up to Astrius, “and who might this be, Father?”

  Annoyance flashed across Astrius’s face, and he let out a soft huff of hesitation. Aaron chuckled, shaking his head.

  “Right, more secrets. I’m not supposed to exist after all, why should I be privy to any information on the Titans?”

  The muse raised an eyebrow, looking back to Aaron. “And what is your purpose with the Titans?”

  Aaron took a breath to calm down, glaring at Astrius; almost daring him to stop Aaron. “My name is Aaron. I am a child of Io. She sent me here to fight the Titans, which I have been training for over the last few years.”

  Astrius let out an annoyed growl from deep in his throat. Aaron was sure he was holding back from spitting flames out of anger.

  The muse smiled, scratching their chin. “How interesting. I will be honored to work alongside a child of Io.”

  Tairhn finally caught up, panting a bit as he stood leaning on the door frame. Glancing around the room briefly as he regained composure, he noticed the muse guest and cleared his throat.

  “Ah, shall I assume this is news of the Titans of the Centaurian Plains?” Tairhn asked, trying to clear the air.

  “That would be correct,” Astrius started, crossing his arms. “However, Aaron, this is not the time-”

  “Then when is the time?!” Aaron’s voice was getting loud again, that pit deep in his chest building up from his anger again. “I have a right to know if I’m supposed to fight them! You owe me this.”

  “Enough, Aaron!” Astrius shouted back, trying to maintain some composure. “This is a private meeting and you will not intrude-”

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  “Why is it private when I am the one responsible for the Titans? I am nearly an adult, at this point I should be sitting in on every meeting.” Aaron’s fail flicked with frustration, and even though he was shorter than the two dragons in the room, he met Astrius’s gaze as an equal, refusing to back down.

  Astrius met his gaze for a moment, thinking as he stared deep into Aaron’s piercing blue eyes. He could see the frustration, the anger, but behind even that, he saw the pain in Aaron’s heart. The priest sighed with exasperation, sitting back down as he rubbed at his temple.

  “Very well. Tairhn, close the door.” Astrius motioned behind Aaron and the muse, and Tairhn obliged. Aaron stepped back to let Tairhn take the second seat at the desk, standing in between him and the muse. It was strange, a small victory on his part, but Aaron kept the excitement hidden from his face.

  “A few days ago, I received word from the Muse Empire, Kalo and Corai have caused Blythe to flee. As expected, he is escaping through the Raadyshian Desert. This-” Astrius motioned to the muse sitting before them, “is La’i. The Titans seemed to be overwhelming Blythe, so they were sent here ahead of time as a precaution.”

  “A precaution for what? If Blythe is on this way, should I not be going out there?” Aaron was confused as to why they hadn’t said something sooner. “Why am I just finding out about this now? I could have been halfway there to cut him off-”

  Astrius cut Aaron off, “You are not going to fight Blythe.”

  “... Excuse me?” Was he really hearing this? “Isn’t that my whole purpose, my reason for existing?”

  Even Tairhn looked confused. La’i was listening to the interaction, focusing on information gathering rather than input, but he definitely had some comments for Astrius in private.

  “You are still far too young. La’i is here to help us set up protective measures for the city.” Astrius leaned forward, hands clasped together so tightly a knuckle quivered.

  Aaron stood there for a moment, dumbfounded before he snorted and burst out laughing. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

  “Language!” Astrius hissed, only making Aaron laugh harder.

  “No! No, I won't be silent anymore! You’re holding me here when I should be out there, preventing more death and destruction. So what if we set up protections for Ophicys, then what?”

  “Aaron has a point, Astrius.” Tairhn tried to not sound confrontational, but this was what he had been teaching his pupil for over the last few years.

  “This is not up for discussion.” Astrius tried to shut the conversation down, but La’i reached into his travel satchel.

  “If it helps us come to a decision, I did bring this with me.” They pulled out a shiny white orb, barely able to fit in their tiny pawed hands. The sheen wasn’t quite as bright as Aaron’s sword hidden away in the closet, but instead seemed almost a fog white color. It looked almost glassy, smooth and polished, but Aaron knew it was made of a far stronger substance. He didn’t have to know the details behind the orb to know it was a powerful object to be able to contain a Titan.

  The group studied the orb with a hushed sense of awe, before finally Aaron spoke. “So, this is what will house Blythe once he is defeated?” The object was eerily devoid of any spark of life, but once it held the essence of Blythe, it would come alive as the power inside clashed to escape its prison.

  La’i nodded gently, getting up and placing the orb on Astrius’s desk, rolling it onto their satchel so it would stay still.

  “So if we have the orb, doesn’t that make even more sense for me to go fight Blythe? He’s going to be tired from battle and traveling through the desert, this is the time to strike him, isn’t it?” Aaron looked between the three, feeling like he was going mad that this wasn’t their first decision.

  Astrius shook his head, standing back up and placing a hand on the orb, “Just because we have this in our possession does not mean now is the time to use it-”

  “When then??” Aaron shouted, slamming his hands onto the High Priest's desk. “When thousands more are dead? He’s going to be at his weakest now, I should go and handle this before he has a chance to get close to the city!” Aaron looked over to Tairhn for some support, and the elder cleared his throat, having been idle in the conversation for some time letting Aaron have his moment.

  “Astrius, you have to agree, this does make the most sense,” Tairhn spoke up, “Aaron has been training very hard, and with Blythe being in such a weakened state, it is a good idea to prepare him for a fight rather than set up protections. After all, what if they don’t stop him? It’s no guarantee that it would keep the city safe.”

  Aaron threw up his hands, “Thank you.”

  La’i took his little circular shaped glasses off, cleaning them from any excess colored powder that had gotten caught on them. “I know my opinion does not hold much in this conversation, High Priest, but it does seem a prudent course of action.”

  Astrius sucked in a breath, the frustration building. “I said no. End of discussion.”

  “But-”

  Astrius cut Aaron off again, “End of discussion.”

  Aaron stood there tensely for a moment, a muscle in his arm quivering as the anger flared inside him. Without a word, he turned, storming out of the office and slamming the door behind him.

  Tairhn sighed, rolling his head back as he looked over to Astrius. “Are you satisfied?”

  “You are trying to undermine my orders-”

  “You are undermining Io’s orders.” Tairhn interrupted gently, somehow maintaining a level tone. Astrius froze, partially looking offended, but there was a layer of embarrassment. Tairhn was right of course, Lady Io would have no doubt believed Aaron ready at this point, but Astrius was once again erring on the side of too much caution.

  “You are out of line in my temple.”

  Tairhn laughed, “Your temple? Perhaps until your retirement, my friend. This temple belongs to our Lady herself, and I think you forget yourself sometimes.” Tairhn stood, bowing gently to La’i, who returned the gesture. “I bid you all farewell, I have a young man to calm down.” Tairhn twisted to the door, closing it much more gently than his pupil had.

  Astrius untensed, sighing softly as he leaned back in his chair. “Of course he’s right… I can’t hold Aaron back like this forever.”

  La’i cleared their throat, sitting down again. “Forgive me, if I may speak freely?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Perhaps you are both right. The boy might not be ready, but when is that to be decided? Every soldier goes out onto the battlefield for the first time. Perhaps, this is meant to be his first time.”

  Astrius scratched his chin for a moment, looking towards the wardrobe housing the sword while he thought. “... I shall give it a few days to see what information we can gather about Blythe’s condition. Then I will see if we need to change plans at that point, but not yet. I need to give Aaron time to cool down. He won’t think rashly if I let him go now.”

  Astrius stood, taking the orb from his desk into his hands, getting a closer look at it. La’i motioned to the bag on the desk “If it helps to house the orb for the time being, you may keep it in the satchel. There’s nothing else in that one, all my coin and personal belongings are in my other bag.”

  “I cannot imagine you traveling such a distance with this weighing you down the entire time. Thank you for your efforts, I trust you have a place to stay while you are here? Or shall I prepare a guest room?” Astrius started to put the orb back inside its original carrying case again, while Lai’ waved their paw nonchalantly.

  “I’m already checked in with an inn nearby, I had sent contact ahead to make sure I was going to have a space. I know how busy Ophicys gets with Solence.” They stood, bowing gently, Astrius returning the gesture. “For now, I think I shall return to my room, I have some correspondence I need to catch up on. I will let you know if we have any updates on Blythe’s position.”

  With that, La’i was out the door. Astrius sighed, exhausted from the events, but deep down he knew Aaron was lashing out for a reason. It was a bed of his own making, but now he had to curb the young man’s temper before he went off into the battlefield.

  Astrius picked up the satchel, now that the orb was safely stashed inside, and went to unlock the closet where Aaron’s sword was resting. The luminescent glow flared up when the door opened, flickering violently. It was definitely displeased at being locked up away from its master, but Astrius disregarded it for now. It may have come from Io’s body but it was not Io anymore. He placed the satchel housing Blythe’s orb in front of the blade, before closing and locking the door again.

  He returned to his desk and pulled out the central drawer, lifting some things from the back of the drawer to reveal a hidden compartment at the back. Astrius placed the key inside, where it sat alongside a few personal items from his life before priesthood. Replacing all the items blocking the little hiding spot from view, he closed his desk drawer and sat down rather heavily in his seat again.

  Astrius knew he couldn’t hold Aaron back forever. He just did not wish to see Aaron fail from doing something too early that he wasn’t prepared for. Still, he knew he should trust Tairhn’s judgement. With another heavy sigh, he pushed himself back up from his chair deciding he needed some tea to calm himself. He hoped Aaron would be in a better mood when they spoke tomorrow.

  Tairhn wandered out into the gardens, knowing that Aaron would not have gone to his room as he had no real privacy there. Aaron had a few spots that he considered his, mostly because a lot of the priesthood refused to degrade themselves by chasing after him into places they couldn’t easily get to. Aaron had long since learned how to squeeze through tiny gaps, even with his wings, and the dragons were already larger than him.

  Tairhn couldn’t quite follow through to some of these, but he knew how to still reach Aaron even if he couldn’t physically. Tairhn decided to start checking some of the more easily accessible places, even though he had a feeling Aaron would have hidden himself away much harder due to how riled up he had gotten from that little meeting. Tairhn quickly scanned the trees that littered the gardens, not seeing any flash of red or his signature blond hair through the leaves.

  With the trees all checked and empty, Tairhn moved on to the back of the temple gardens, where a few old stones from the days of building had been abandoned. Some were already cut, but others were giant boulders that had ended up being broken up as part of the clearing efforts, only for them to be left behind. This was one of Aaron’s favorite spots as it was hidden away by some planted bushes that towered well over the rocks at this point, meaning most of the priests had no knowledge of the area.

  Tairhn squeezed his way past the bushes, the smallest path between the rocks visible to his trained eyes, but a wandering priest would have no idea that someone would have been going back there. Making his way across the random pebbles and debris that had fallen off of the bigger boulders, he took a few minutes making his way to a slightly bigger area where the boulders had long since been stacked up. Glancing up, Tairhn could see Aaron sitting on top of the pile, hugging one of his knees as he stared off at nothing. Tairhn easily recognized that look, knowing Aaron was lost in his own mind.

  Without a word, Tairhn moved closer, going to sit on one of the lower rocks near the base of the pile. He groaned as he sat, before looking back up at Aaron. “Are we planning on staying here all day?”

  Aaron scoffed, rolling his eyes and looking away. “Not like I’m doing anything else important. Also not any different than what I’m doing every day, just hiding away from any and everyone.”

  “I know this has been difficult over the last few years Aaron. Father Astrius is trying to do what is best for you, but he seems to be missing his mark.”

  “Why is he trying to do what’s best for me? Shouldn’t he be doing what’s best for the people? What is one life compared to everyone that’s dying while I sit here twiddling my thumbs.” Aaron pushed off from his spot up top and landed with bent knees in front of Tairhn. Once he was standing straight again, he held his arms out, clearly still worked up from their meeting with the High Priest. “I’m not expecting the fight to be perfect, I’m sure I’ll make mistakes, but I can’t just keep sitting here while others might be out there suffering every day! It’s too much-I can’t take it anymore!”

  Tairhn listened quietly, letting the boy rant. He also was frustrated with Astrius’s behavior, but he couldn’t force Astrius to listen to him. “I’m afraid I don’t have any power to say one way or another. I can agree with you all I want, but unfortunately I cannot force Father Astrius to see things the way you and I do. Believe me, I have tried.”

  Tairhn paused, thinking for a moment with a raised eyebrow. “On the other hand, whether or not we obey his command is a choice.”

  Aaron had been pacing while Tairhn spoke, and he froze, thinking about what Tairhn had just said. “... Wouldn’t there be consequences for not listening to him?” He looked back at Tairhn, hands on his hips.

  “Perhaps,” Tairhn smiled, a mischievous glint sparking to life in his eyes. “-but then you must decide, would the action be worth the consequences?”

  “... Are you-”

  “I’m simply speaking hypothetically of course.” Tairhn interrupted, but the implication was there all the same.

  Aaron bit his cheek, gathering his thoughts as he started working through what Tairhn was suggesting. “Well, hypothetically then; it’s not exactly breaking any laws. There’s no physical force binding me to Father Astrius’s word.”

  “That is true. You are your own man now, even if you aren’t quite a full grown adult. You are more than capable of making your own decisions.” Tairhn mused out loud, working Aaron through it. “But, do you truly understand the risks? I do not know.”

  Aaron looked up at the sky for a moment, realizing how truly free he could be. The sky was right there after all. Had he truly been so blind to his own lack of a cage? He had felt so restricted this whole time and he had promised Tairhn not to go flying without him. Aaron had not made such a promise to Astrius, however.

  After another moment of thought, his heart beating in his chest like a war drum, Aaron turned back to Tairhn. “I think I’m going to turn in early tonight.”

  “A wise choice. After that debacle, I’m sure we all could use some rest.” Tairhn smiled, standing slightly motioning for Aaron to lead the way back to the temple. The festival may have still been quite active this late in the afternoon, but if Aaron was going to follow through with whatever plan he had, he would need as much sleep as possible.

  Tonight was going to be truly a telling moment for Aaron’s future success.

  It was well past sundown, the night sky already filled with various stars, and the red moon rising higher than its stormy gray counterpart. Not quite full, but enough so that there was a mild red hue to the shadows.

  Aaron was still in his room, pacing back and forth anxiously. This was the first time he was truly going to go against the High Priests word, more than just childish mischief. He was already dressed in his travel clothes; even if he had outgrown them rather quickly Tairhn was fast about getting updated versions for him.

  He fidgeted with one of the strings on his leather bracers, a shaky breath exhaled before he finally opened the door to his room, starting to make his way down the hallway. It would be empty, but there would be guards posted at the entrance to the temple, along with the entrance to the back of the temple. The walls however, remained unwatched. When it came to any defenses against thieves, this was such a massive temple that there were magical protections everywhere to confuse those with ill intent. There wasn’t much to steal, Ra had long since moved his hoard, and that probably helped keep out any who would try to find riches. After all, the priests didn’t have valuables themselves, and the statues would teleport the offerings received to the child’s respective hoard site, which meant nothing was currently there in the temple. Even donations made in Io’s name went straight to the palace to fuel infrastructure.

  This also meant that Astrius didn’t lock his office up, which was his first mistake. Aaron shut the door quickly but quietly behind him, his back against the door briefly as he tried to calm his pounding heartbeat. His attention turned to the wardrobe, and he dashed over, trying to see if Astrius had also left that unlocked by some mere coincidence.

  No such luck, Aaron swore mildly under his breath as he started looking around frantically. He took a moment to breathe deeply a few times, needing to clear his mind to think properly. Aaron went to the desk, sitting in Astrius’s chair to start looking through drawers. He wasn’t exactly careful about moving things, after all it’s not like it wasn’t going to be blatantly obvious he wasn’t there in the morning.

  While checking the center drawer, Aaron’s hand bumped the back of the drawer where the compartment was. Having felt the grooved edge on his knuckle, he pulled any objects blocking it out and left them on the desk to focus on carefully opening the back. Inside, the key which he assumed was too the wardrobe, he hadn’t exactly had good glimpses of it before.

  Aaron ignored the other objects, too focused on his own mission, darting back over to the closet. Fumbling with the key, he managed to get it inside the lock after a few seconds. Throwing open the closet doors, he took in the sight of his sword, waiting patiently for him. Resting at the end of its blade, the muses satchel sat, looking full again. Aaron gently opened it up just to confirm his suspicions. Sure enough, inside was that familiar foggy looking sphere. He still didn’t quite understand how the orbs were made, but he didn’t need to right this moment. The important part was that it was in his hands. Aaron pulled the satchel out and threw it over his head to rest across his chest; the orb weighing the bag down hung over his right hip as the strap slid down his wing membrane to rest below it, closer to the base of his tail.

  Looking back up once he had the orb figured out, Aaron studied the sword again closely. He hadn’t touched it since that first day when he had received it. Aaron reached out, grabbing the blade fully in his hands.

  As soon as it made contact with his skin, that presence he had felt before seemed to infiltrate his mind again. The imagery was much less overwhelming this time, whether by intent or simply because Aaron had grown and was able to handle things better. The sword had no scabbard currently; Astrius no doubt had planned on getting one, but with his trust issues had not settled on someone to make it.

  “Try to keep the whole glowing thing down, would you? I’d like to get away from the city before they realize I’m gone.” Why am I talking to-

  The sword dimmed immediately, reacting to his voice. Aaron stood there a bit dumbfounded, but the sword simply fed him an energy that could only be described as reassuring. Taking another deep breath, he closed the closet door, making his way out of the office.

  Aaron made his way down the hallways back to the garden entrance. As the guards were all stationed outside the privacy of those living within the temple, he expected he’d be able to fly off without any notice, especially if he made his way up over the mountain rather than trying to fly over the proper pathways. That didn’t stop his heart from racing; this was after all his first time leaving the temple on his own.

  He made his way through the gardens quickly, beelining for the rocky hide away he had been in earlier. Aaron knew that was probably his best chance of escape, having the most obstructed view from every possible angle. Pushing his way through the bushes again, he had to remind himself to slow down so he didn’t trip and injure himself on a rock before he even got out of the city.

  Aaron used his wings to fly up to the top of the rock pile since he only had one hand, but he looked back over his shoulder, hesitating. He didn’t know what he had expected, Tairhn to see him off? Perhaps he had thought someone would have been watching his every move and already notified the High Priest?

  But no, all was quiet. Taking another breath to even his nerves, he flared his wings to their full span, and with a powerful flap towards the ground, Aaron shot up into the night sky.

  The night air was cold, which was a bit of a shock to Aaron’s system, but he recovered easily enough, working with what currents he could feel. He had to get height in order to make his way up the rest of the mountain peak that hugged the city's northern edge. Aaron timed the flapping of his wings with the currents, knowing once he got well into the sky the wind would be more powerful. He would be most likely struggling against headwinds, especially because of Blythe possibly influencing the wind flow coming in from the north.

  Aaron pushed off his doubts, knowing no matter how long it took, even meeting Blythe halfway would prevent him from getting to Ophicys. Gripping his sword tightly in his right hand, he gave a few final powerful wing beats to get up above the mountain ridge, feeling the full force of the wind at the higher altitudes.

  Even with how cold it was, there was something incredibly freeing as the wind struck his face, his mass of blond hair waving about behind him. Aaron paused, rhythmically beating his wings to hover slightly, looking back down at the city below, the lanterns lining pathways glowing lightly through the darkness of night.

  He did it. Aaron had finally left the city on his own. Tears welling in his eyes, he let out a relieved laugh and felt that pit deep within his chest disappear. Aaron might have still been nervous, but he had finally made his own way into the world. There was nothing holding him back now.

  Turning back to the north, he looked out over the mountain ridges that diminished into the horizon. One deep breath, one more beat of the wings to propel forward, and Aaron was finally on his way.

  Goddess willing, Aaron would succeed. This was the very moment he had been raised and trained for.

  Now, nothing stood in between him and the power that was a Titan.