Arimore
Chapter 18

As darkness fell the moons of autumn rose over the great mountain. This was an event that only happened once every hundred years. Once both moons were fully risen the midnight sky would be as bright as midday. They would remain for a full month getting closer in orbit each night until the final night when they would rise together, one overlapping the other. The month of Luminescence, it was called and the final night was the night of Calisto. During Calisto the larger moon completely engulfed the smaller moon. Many believe that this was a time when beings of magic were at the peak of their powers. Calisto was the night a magical being’s true heart came forth engulfing the things that held them back. This was believed to be the night that Arimore went on his bloodlust flight that all but destroyed Mardock and the surrounding lands.

Elara stood on the highest point of the wall walk facing Mount Crystos. As the second moon rose above the horizon she felt a surge from somewhere deep within herself. She sucked in a deep breath and looked up to see the dragons dancing in the sky over the icy peak. Their forms twisted together and a blaze of fire and ice flashed from their mouths. Elara’s body stiffened, her hair moved as if on the wind although the air was still. Her hands lifted toward the mountain and her body rose from the floor. Light flashed and beams of energy flew from her palms as the powers within her burst forth.

Arimore and Sacha stopped their dance and stared toward Calithorne.

“What is that?” Sacha asked.

“Elara,” Arimore answered. “The month of Luminescence has begun. Sacha, get her and bring her here. She doesn’t understand what is happening to her.”

“Elara,” a voice called out from behind her.

Elara gasped and turned to see Rowan’s shocked face staring at her, “Rowan,” she collapsed as Rowan ran to catch her. He carried her to her chamber and laid her on her bed.

“Elara, Elara can you hear me?”

Elara opened her eyes, “Rowan, what happened?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“Look out the window and tell me what you see,” she said.

“That’s unusual,” Rowan began, “both moons are fully in the sky.”

“Luminescence has begun,” she paused, “Rowan, this is a month of magic. Some of it is good but some is more horrible that you could imagine.”

“I have heard the legends of Luminescence and Calisto. Isn’t Calisto supposed to be when Arimore destroyed the lands around Mardock?”

“Yes,” Elara’s voice was saddened, “many lives were lost that day and if we don’t replace a way to stop it many will be lost again. We now have two dragons to worry about.”

“Sacha’s heart is good,” Rowan reminded her.

“Yes but if Arimore reverts to evil as he did in the past, even if Sacha remains good their battle alone could destroy more than you could imagine.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“You are magical, Elara. What will happen to you?” Rowan walked toward Elara and placed his hand upon her face, “I saw what just happened on the first night. I saw what that surge of power did to you. It nearly emptied you of all your strength.”

“Elara” Sacha’s voice came through the window.

“Sacha?” Elara replied.

“Come to the courtyard.”

Elara and Rowan ran to the courtyard where they found Sacha waiting. “What’s wrong?” Elara asked.

“You must come with me,” she began, “Arimore needs to speak with you right away.”

Elara climbed on Sacha’s back but Rowan objected, “No Elara, I’m coming with you.” He climbed behind her and held on tight.

Sacha lifted with the two clinging to her back. She soared up into the clouds and headed for Mount Crystos. Once there they dismounted and Sacha led them into the den.

“Elara,” Arimore’s voice echoed in the cavern, “Thank you for coming.” His voice took on a hint of annoyance when he saw her companion, “I see you brought a guest. Do you not trust me?”

“Rowan insisted on accompanying me,” she replied, “What is so urgent?”

He curled by the fire and signaled them to join him, “Please sit.” The two dragons took human form and the four sat around the fire. Arimore continued, “As I’m sure you’ve figured out we have entered Luminescence. During this time your magical abilities will be magnified. The strength of the magic deep within your heart will grow stronger each day until the final compilation and explosion on Calisto. It is the two moons pulling on our powers like a tide. One pulls forth the good within and the other will pull at the evil.” He paused and looked at Elara and Sacha, “Don’t be deceived and don’t be too quick to judge. There is evil in each of us, even the ones that appear pure on the outside. That will be yanked out of your deepest hiding place and magnified beyond your control. Trust me, I know. One day I was rescuing a baby the next I was destroying everything in sight.”

“So are you saying that what happens during Calisto is completely out of our control?” Elara asked.

“Elara, I’m no saint. I admit that. I will also admit that I enjoyed devouring the evil scum of Mardock. I believe that is the reason I lost control.” There was a hint of sadness in his voice as he continued, “I never meant to hurt the Druids. They are a peaceful people by nature. It truly saddens my heart that I caused them such pain.”

“So the Calisto, it caused you to lose control?” Sacha asked.

“I believe so,” Arimore replied, “Sacha, you need to understand that a dragon can do great things. Sometimes these are good things like when I rescued Elara’s father but sometimes if we are not careful they can be very bad things. I cannot completely blame Calisto for my actions. There is a part of me that is evil. There is a part of each of us that leans that way. Calisto just made it very difficult to maintain control of my actions.”

Rowan chimed in, “So what can we do to make sure that nothing bad happens? Or can we even do anything? And what about Elara? She isn’t a dragon but the power that coursed through her tonight drained her completely.”

“I wish I had an answer, Rowan. The fact is there has never been a being like Elara or Sacha for that matter. For Sacha, the part of her that is human may make it easier for her to control her emotions. For Elara, the part of her that is dragon may make it harder. I wish there was a simple answer.”

“Arimore, what must we do?” Elara asked. “There must be some way to protect the people.”

“What if we went away until Calisto passed?” Sacha asked.

“As our magic grows stronger our self-control grows weaker. I do not know that there is anyplace far enough away that we would be safe or that there would be no one that would be put in harm’s way.”

“There has to be something we can do,” Rowan added.

“All we can do is use each night as our magic grows stronger to practice controlling it and not letting it control us.” Arimore said, “I think that if we use our magic in the form of exercises in skillfulness, like if we were practicing an act of magic trying to perfect it, we may be able to use the restraint we learn to keep control during Calisto.”

“Do you think it will work?” Elara asked.

“I can’t be sure but I think it is our best chance.”

“I’m not sure how or what to practice,” Sacha was concerned.

“Sacha, where I spew fire, you spew ice. Let’s go outside for a moment.” The company stepped to the mouth of the cave and the two dragons returned to their natural form. “Sacha, instead of just shooting ice forth, try to see if you can create something with the ice. Try something simple like a sphere.”

“You want me to shape the ice into a sphere as I shoot it from my mouth? That could be more dangerous than a stream of ice.” Her concern was shared by the others.

“You’re right but humor me. This is the beginning of an exercise. Once you learn how to manipulate the flow you can learn to use your power to create rather than to destroy.”

They sat on the cliff and watched Sacha circle the mountain. With each pass she would shoot ice forth from her mouth. At first it was just streams but after time it became chunks, some large, some small. Finally after several hours she achieved her first orb of ice. It struck the side of the mountain like a bullet causing the ground to shake. It picked up speed and debris as it rolled and finally settled in the meadow below.

“I did it!” she exclaimed with excitement as she landed next to Arimore.

“Yes, you did.” Arimore smiled. “Elara, tell me about your power.”

“I don’t know how to describe it other than energy. I feel it build within me and burst forth destroying whatever it hits,” she turned to Rowan, “like when it blasted the cell door for Mason.”

“I remember,” Rowan replied, “How do you create with something that can only destroy?”

“That is my dilemma as well. Fire and energy can be such destructive forces and yet we must somehow learn to use them in a way that is good.” Arimore’s frustration was obvious, “For right now Elara I think all we can do is practice focusing our power so we have a sense of control. Try to destroy Sacha’s ice with your energy.”

“It’s too far away.”

“Try.”

She held her hands out toward the ice ball, closed her eyes and let a burst of energy surge forth. The blast didn’t even come close to Sacha’s ice, “It’s too far.”

“Try keeping your eyes open,” Arimore instructed, “and don’t focus on the ice but past it.”

This time she came a lot closer, within a few feet of the ice. “Wow that was close.”

“Again.”

It took three tries but she finally hit it and shattered it into a million pieces.

“Good. That is enough for now. Sacha, take them back to Calithorne. Rowan, make sure she gets some rest. I want you to practice each night and we will learn to control and focus our powers then we will be as ready as we can be for Calisto.”