Keman blinked. "Spirit thread? What's that? And what's it look like?" He felt strange for asking all these questions...but...
Well, he supposed he'd just have to answer their questions too.
The dragon smiled. "I suppose," he said, with a little laugh. "But...in our world, dragons aren't supposed to exist. We live in hiding, away from the two-leggers, and we only go out among them when we're shifted. It's too dangerous, otherwise. As for how Valyn and I know each other..." Keman trailed off and frowned. "It's a long story."
He took a deep breath and began.
"I don't know how much you know about my world, but...in it, all the humans are slaves, and the elves rule over them. However, humans and elves are cross-fertile. And halfbloods are more powerful than both races. So the elves, fearing that the halfblood would try to wrest power from them (as they nearly did in the Wizard War, before they were defeated), forbade that any be conceived. But...they still were. A pleasure slave could be accidentally fertile, or a field hand raped...you get the idea." Best to leave the unplesantries out, even if this was sounding rather like what he had told Max at breakfast. "Most of these halfblood children (and their mothers) are killed at birth or soon after. But...some escape. My sister was one of them.
"Her mother was a concubine who fled to the desert rather than face death for bearing a halfblood. My mother, a Shaman for our Lair, was out doing meditations and found this woman. She died in childbirth, but Shana survived, and Mother brought her back to raise her.
"Most of the other dragons in the Lair didn't like having a two-legger around, and as Shana grew, she got more powerful. One day, a little over a year ago now, I was being beaten by a bully, and Shana...lost control, and hurt him. Not nearly as badly as he had hurt me, of course, but it was enough. Shana was banished.
"I ran away to go after her, but it took months and months to find her. By the time I did, she had joined the other surviving halfbloods living in the forest. We met Valyn soon after.
"Valyn..." Keman frowned. "Valyn is unlike any other elven lord I've ever met. He is against slavery, and actually recognizes humans as people and not livestock. This was probably due, in part, to Shadow. Shadow is Valyn's cousin, and a halfblood. Valyn managed to use his influence to hide Shadow for as long as he could, but right as they were about to be discovered, they fled, and then they found us in the forest. One...one thing lead to another, and the four of us (Valyn, Shadow, Shana, and myself) sort of...inadvertently started a war...?"
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Well, he supposed he'd just have to answer their questions too.
The dragon smiled. "I suppose," he said, with a little laugh. "But...in our world, dragons aren't supposed to exist. We live in hiding, away from the two-leggers, and we only go out among them when we're shifted. It's too dangerous, otherwise. As for how Valyn and I know each other..." Keman trailed off and frowned. "It's a long story."
He took a deep breath and began.
"I don't know how much you know about my world, but...in it, all the humans are slaves, and the elves rule over them. However, humans and elves are cross-fertile. And halfbloods are more powerful than both races. So the elves, fearing that the halfblood would try to wrest power from them (as they nearly did in the Wizard War, before they were defeated), forbade that any be conceived. But...they still were. A pleasure slave could be accidentally fertile, or a field hand raped...you get the idea." Best to leave the unplesantries out, even if this was sounding rather like what he had told Max at breakfast. "Most of these halfblood children (and their mothers) are killed at birth or soon after. But...some escape. My sister was one of them.
"Her mother was a concubine who fled to the desert rather than face death for bearing a halfblood. My mother, a Shaman for our Lair, was out doing meditations and found this woman. She died in childbirth, but Shana survived, and Mother brought her back to raise her.
"Most of the other dragons in the Lair didn't like having a two-legger around, and as Shana grew, she got more powerful. One day, a little over a year ago now, I was being beaten by a bully, and Shana...lost control, and hurt him. Not nearly as badly as he had hurt me, of course, but it was enough. Shana was banished.
"I ran away to go after her, but it took months and months to find her. By the time I did, she had joined the other surviving halfbloods living in the forest. We met Valyn soon after.
"Valyn..." Keman frowned. "Valyn is unlike any other elven lord I've ever met. He is against slavery, and actually recognizes humans as people and not livestock. This was probably due, in part, to Shadow. Shadow is Valyn's cousin, and a halfblood. Valyn managed to use his influence to hide Shadow for as long as he could, but right as they were about to be discovered, they fled, and then they found us in the forest. One...one thing lead to another, and the four of us (Valyn, Shadow, Shana, and myself) sort of...inadvertently started a war...?"