Elon Mistweaver's Arc

Chapter 2 of 6

The dragon broke through the trees and dropped toward a small clearing. Elon saw her at once. A moon elf woman knelt by a wounded fox, her hands glowing with pale light. Her blonde and blue hair fell over her shoulders. The soul-bell in his chest rang so loud he nearly fell. This was her. The one he had waited thirty years to find. The dragon landed hard. The woman stood and faced them. Her purple eyes narrowed. She did not look afraid. She looked ready to fight. Elon understood why. He was a stranger on a black-and-green dragon, crashing into her quiet work. His hands were empty. He had nothing to show he came in peace. "Easy," Elon said. He raised both hands and slid off the dragon's back. "I mean no harm." "Men who mean no harm don't drop out of the sky," she said. Her light did not fade. The healed fox darted into the brush. "State your name." Elon's clever jokes died in his throat. He needed to give her something. A gift. Proof he was not a threat. His hand found the pouch at his belt, and he remembered what he carried. For days he had dived the cold river to find it. He drew out the river pearl and held it flat on his palm. The pearl glowed between them. Inside its surface, two pale dragons seemed to swim and turn. The woman's eyes went wide. Her glowing hands lowered at last. "I made no good entrance," Elon said. "But I didn't come empty. I came to give you this." She stepped closer, drawn by the light. "That's a destiny pearl. I've only heard of them in stories." She looked up at him. "Why would you give it to me? You don't know me." "Because my soul knows yours." The truth left him before his fear could stop it. "I felt you enter the forest at dawn. I had to find you." She studied his face a long moment. The fight drained from her shoulders. She did not take the pearl, but she did not back away. "I'm Lunaria," she said. "Lunaria Mistweaver." Elon went still. They shared a name. He opened his mouth, then closed it. The coincidence hung heavy between them. "Keep your pearl for now, stranger," Lunaria said. She almost smiled. "A gift that large frightens me more than your dragon did. But you may walk with me while I work. Earn the right to hand it over." Elon closed his fist around the pearl. He had wanted to give it and win her in one bright moment. Instead she had set him a longer road. He grinned, and this time it was real. "Lead the way," he said. "I'm good company. Ask my dragon." "He lies constantly," the dragon said. Lunaria laughed, and turned into the trees. Elon followed, the pearl still warm in his hand.