why me?

[small_magics]

Isibel spends her last day on the island flying, and then she rejoins her expedition, and packs, and sleeps, and in the dawnlight she gets back on the boat to sail back to the Elven Lands.

She is kept quite occupied with small magics to keep the ship operating smoothly, and also with notebooking - writing quite small, as she brought more than enough notebooks for three weeks but then unexpectedly used many of them to draw and write with the demon and has only half of one left for several days at sea.

They land on the shore of the Elven Lands on schedule, and disembark.

Comments

[pythbox]

"...You found a dragon over the sea - that makes sense," says Liselen. "I don't have a deadline or anything, but I get the definite impression that ten years would be too late. A season or two would be fine."

[small_magics]

Isibel nods slowly. "It would be good to know what else I must do besides bond with the dragon I found," she murmurs.

[pythbox]

"That's not part of what I know," says Liselen, shaking his head. "But I guess you'll find out when you need to."

[small_magics]

Isibel swallows. "Perhaps if you know more," she says, "you could tell me, and I could write it down." She produces her notebook, which has about three pages left.

[pythbox]

"I know you have to bond with a dragon to save the world," he says, "and I guess it has to be the one you found, and it had better be sometime this year, and I'm supposed to stay with you until you decide you're definitely going to do it but I don't have to follow you all the way across the ocean or anything, which is good because I get really seasick, it's awful."

[small_magics]

Isibel writes.

This makes it all seem more final, somehow.

"I should talk to Magania. She's going to speak to the other dragons about the one on the island."

[pythbox]

"That name sounds familiar," says Liselen, and visibly bites back further utterances.

[small_magics]

"She used to be a Unicorn Knight," Isibel says, not sure what else would do it.

[pythbox]

"Oh!" he says. "Yeah, now I remember. She was Mom's cousin's partner for a while."

[small_magics]

"I can meet you here again after I've spoken with her," Isibel says.

[pythbox]

"Okay!" says Liselen.

[small_magics]

Isibel goes looking for Magania, quiet and withdrawn.

[pythbox]

"I See you, Isibel," says Magania. "Anything you may wish to tell of what passed between you and Kareta's son would make good hearing."

[small_magics]

"I am supposed to Bond with a dragon," Isibel says softly, in no condition to weave layers of indirection, "and save the world. It's possible I'll survive this physically, but I hold little hope for the state of my soul. I do not even know if I will hold together well enough under such scrutiny to save the world in the first place."

[pythbox]

"...I have no wisdom to offer you," says Magania.

[small_magics]

Isibel nods. "I thought perhaps I could accompany you to speak to the dragons. And their Bondmates. They may have wisdom to offer me from their own experiences."

[pythbox]

"Of course," says Magania.

[small_magics]

"Thank you."

And Isibel goes back to where Liselen is waiting, taking careful, even steps.

[pythbox]

"Hi again!" he says. "I mean, um, I See you!"

[small_magics]

"I See you," murmurs Isibel. "Magania is willing that I accompany her to speak to the other dragons."

[pythbox]

"I guess that's good," says Liselen. "I guess I'll just... follow you. At a distance."

[small_magics]

Isibel nods. "I do not know when she plans to leave. I will wait with her."

[pythbox]

"Yep," says Liselen. "Um... good luck."

[small_magics]

"Thank you."

Isibel returns to within eyeshot of Magania, and she waits, and she tries to think of thoughts she needs to have before there's no privacy to be had, but she can't think of anything.

[pythbox]

And then they travel to Karahelanderialigor, home of the dragons.