((I just have to hammer out a few major details with Clat before I can post her again. Hmm…haven't heard from the Great Ones in a while. Perhaps Nem could pay them a visit.))

In a plane just beyond corporeal life, the Great Ones gathered. So far, the plan was working brilliantly. It was the same plan that Balance had communicated to Draco all those centuries ago. Each thought their own thoughts, yet remained a part of the whole. They talked faster than the speed of thought, wondering what other Force had been unleashed into the Universe.

(on it)
"try not to get killed." i told isik and showed him a mental image of him exploring, but not far. i stressed that.
then i took off to go consult the Great Ones. i found their valley and landed in front of them. "i've got some information."

Death was first to speak. He glared down at the younger dragon. "What is your information?"
"Do tell," chimed in Life. She offered a sly grin at her mate and brother. The others all started talking at once.
Earth, the largest of them all, gestured with one claw, silencing the others. "Nemesis, we are all eager to hear this information. We fear this has gone far beyond thes original plan. There is another Force loose in the Universe." He glared down at her. "Are you and the Alliance prepared to lose everything if it means victory?"

"you know my answer. i've done t before. but i can not say for the rest. the others have seen that clat is traitor. she but Thunderbird back in time and had the weapons. she plans something. i fear we must flee before she notices it

Time spoke up. "There is nowhere left to flee. We created this to be a safe place, a place of healing. Instead the Shadows are knocking down the door and one of your own is letting them in!"
Magic hushed her mate before speaking. "Eden was the one true Paradise. We imbibed it with our own power so it would remain a safe place as long as there was unity. Since the time of the Dragonknights, unity between Man and Dragon has fallen."
Draco spoke next, his deep voice grave. "The spells that protect Eden arr failing. There is little hope here. Clat MUST be killed, and it MUST be her closest relation who does the deed."

"i see that. but you are wrong. there is one more place. two, actually. but we must not go to the later. it would be the end of..." i paused in my soft voice and said, "us. the first was meant for dragons and dragons alone. no shadow could enter. only the closest of the relatives of dragons could enter. and no one with the intentions of letting other beings in will get in. if they do it will only be there ashes." i hung my head thinking of that place. mostly fire. mostly dessert. a real dragon would thrive. not me. i would come out only at night and then my scales would be black. not what i wanted the alliance to deal with. no, they would go there, i to the icebound land. i could travel back and forth, they could not. it would be best.

There she is I fly up to join her and communicate. I use thoughts and feelings, not trusting my words or knowing if she spoke a language I understood. She communicates her loneliness, and her name: Ketna (IDK, It just sounds right). We fly together, but keep our distance, communicating more fluently each minute, eventually falling into our own language. Eventually I notice that we are coming closer, but I don't correct my course, and neither does she. We fly higher, our minds nearly one.

((I'll leave the rest to your imagination.))

((*raises eyebrows* got that idea from eragon book 4 eh?)

((Inheritance? No, why would you say that?))

((erm....read the last two chapters. almost exactly lie shaphera and firin mating.))

Draco gently lifted Nemesis' head so that she looked him in the eyes. "Those other places are not places of Healing. Those worlds were born in violence and blood. Eden was born in peace, lovingly created by our own claws. Nemesis, you need not sacrifice yourself alone."
Lifesmiled sweetly. "You may find that the family you aalways longed for has been right in front of you. And, in about a year, you will be rewarded forf your loyalty to the Alliance."
((Curious indeed. Just don't ask where my ideas are coming from))

(i try not to)
i curled my lips. "you know who i am. you know who i can be. you know what always happens. and if you meant what i think you did, that would ill me. you know it. unless you want it, i was breed for this. i clean up a mess, or create it. in any world. keep it in mind." i growl then fly away.

Life watched the pale dragon fly off. One day, Nemesis would see that she had changed. At the moment, she was trapped in her past, unable to move on.

((actually, unable to get on is good. for her, change is a two way road. and she never knows which is the right way, or which is the way that will lead to good/bad. she has to guess.))

i landed outside my cave. i looked around for isik.

((Seems some of those guesses might tear the Alliance apart for good))
Death stood next to Life.
"Change happens. You and I both know that. Eggs are laid and dragons die every day. We deal with that every day." Death spoke softly, a reassuring tone in his soft voice. "Perhaps our Father, the Being, intendd this world to be the new Earth."
"But that does not explain the rash actions of the hatchling," Life retorted.
"Life, no one can ever explain the antics of aa hatchling. You of all Dragons should Know that."

it seems so.

((And now, may I present, for the first time in Eden…nah, not telling yet. You'll just have to wait and see. Trust me, this bit here could change a lot))
Death left Life where she was. Since none of the others would take the little hatchling in their claws, he would have to do so himself.
He left for the Deathrealms, already calling to the departed Soul he needed. The dead Dragon sure was prompt. No sooner had Death landed did the Dragon approach.
"I am ready for whatever you need me for," he said, snapping to attention.
"No need for that with me. You've been hanging around those old soldiers, haven't you?" Death was a fatherly figure to his charges. Many of them had loved ones still alive. These were the ones who tried the hardest to ggo back.
"Not really. Will I really get to see her? I died before she could tell me, you know. I hope she's like me."
"Just remember, Nlaa. You're to persuade her. Nothing more. She's even more powerful than we had thought. Fly carefully tonight."

I awake from a deep sleep. I can't believe I let myself do that. I turn to my sleeping mate and sigh. Well, at least the mystery of Isik's parentage is solved. But I'm worried, His egg was found abandoned, what could have happened? I shake my head, Whatever happens, we have each other, for now. I call out to the others, <What news of the present? everything's fine back here...> I wonder if I should tell the others? Isik is... my son.

<Nothing seems any different here. I'm still working on a way to bring you forward, but it isn't easy. The timestream here is so much different from Earth's. I wish I had the chance to study it in-depth…> I laughed mentally. Seemed I was starting to sound like Father. I just hope my experiments don't lead to my death just yet. Not with the Shadows so near.

<Yeah, time is a little... Odd. However, Quantum entanglement may be a solution, after all, that theory would make spatial displacement plausible, so why would temporal displacement be much different? I'll work on it a little back here, and seal anything I find away for you.> I look at Ketna, wondering if I could find a way to bring her with me. <By the way, how's Isik?>

name:Mizuko
age:same age as Twera though he seems like he's 800 acting so mature
gender:Male
species:Dragon
looks:blue dragon with emerald green eyes.
bio(if wanted):I grew up in the water always living practicing my powers.I could freeze,steam,and bend water all time.At my age they call me'the strongest water dragon'.

((cool))
i saw him and walked over to him. i happened to catch his sent. it startled me and i took a whiff of it again. i growled. ketna.... my thoughts went over the facts i knew about my old friend. that was why this place was so familiar. i had traveled here before. but of his father....then t hit me. his sent was much like...thunderhawk! that sonovabitch! he got himself a lady friend. well, about time. i thought about how i had traveled here before. the gold scale. i focused on t and sent a roar back in time, to where thunder was. it shook the ground and traveled far and wide. then i sent one thought, "well done Thunderbird."

I charge out the water and start flying.I charge zooming over rocks and landing.I look for Nemesis the only elder dragon.I cock my head and listen.I hear her and start to smell her I almost charge into her."Hey Nemesis"I say

i jump back and swing my tail. "for the love of flying, i am a trained killer! don't jump me!"

"I'm a trained killer as well and"I start and look at my gash"Those shadows don't play I just got back from Earth"I give you a'don't ask how i got there'look

and while you`re talking Isik slips out of the cave.
(porcupine !)
Why did I have to touch it ?Why ?
Now I know how much it hurts to touch a porcupine ,a lot.I hope Nemesis can get this out cuz it hurts.

<That would be nice. I wish we had thought to bring Father's records with us.>

i give, "i don't care" look and turn and look for isik. i see him and i chuckle at his expression. i gently help him pull the needles out after numbing him. i frown at him and tell him the porcupine was defending it's self.

I dive down and straight back up behind Nemesis

I looked anxxiously at the crystal. This felt so much lke the first time he left. And we had just been starting to get close again.

i answer the question i knew was coming. "he's not mine."

As I thought about how much I've lost, the crystal grew warm. I nearly dropped it in shock.

i sent a thought to twera, < what happened?>

<Thunder…the crystal…> My mind struggled to form a coherent thought.

I need to meet the other dragons,I think and fly into another dragon

Glid left to hunt, leaving me to fix up the cave. I piled the rubble at the back, where it wouldn't be tripped on. The evil instruments I heaped unceremoniously in a daark corner. The crystal went on a broad shelf. Out of the bedding that had been scattered, I was able to make up three dragon beds and a human one.

I fly into a dragon that was in a cave on accident.

"Watch where you're going!" My mood certainly wasn't the best today.

"Sorry"I say and concentrate"Ever since I got this gash on my body I can't fly right"

"I'm quite well versed in healing magics. As long as you do not serve the Shadows, I can heal you." I started wondering where the newcomer had come from. He could be working with Clat.

((Sorry, had a busy day today, lets just say Thunder's delayed response is a result of an unstable time-stream.))

<Well done? Er, what exactly do you mean? As for the crystal, what's wrong? What happened?> And why does it sound like there should have been a huge delay between the two statements?

I nearly jumped when Thunder's thoughts pushed into my mind. Today was turning out to be an off day. I huffed and worked on fixing the bed. It was of a tangled, heather-like plant. Problem was, if one wasn't layijng on it at just the right angle, it tied itself in knots. <It warmed up when I thought about how much and how little has changed. That's it. Nothing to worry about.> My mental voice was harsh. I knew he didn't deserve such a chewing out--human expressions are so odd--but he was my brother and in a different time. That, and the entire universe was conspiring against me in the form of a knotty pile of heather.

I cringe at Twera's harsh tone, but I don't say anything about it. Probably having a bad day, the universe seems to like screwing with her. <The crystal warmed up? I don't know much about magic, but could a spell in the crystal be reacting to your thoughts? Maybe waiting for some keyword to activate it?> Ketna stirs in her sleep, and I realize that she'll be hungry when she wakes. Better go find something before she eats ME! I fly off, searching for a nice, juicy buck.

((And Twera actually joked! Did you catch it?))
<I don't know! You're the one that left it for me!> I started furiously picking at the heather. As it turned out, I wasn't having just a bad day, I was having a bad life. Would I ever gget the chance to live like a normal dragon my age?

((Not unless it was the last sentence, that made me laugh a little.))

Tch, why did I give her that crystal? Honestly, I don't have a clue; it seemed odd, and I needed something to test my theory with. I spot a herd of deer and drop down on them. I take a runt for myself (culling the herd), But I strike down a nice plump one for Ketna. The beginning of an idea stirs in my head, but it slips away before I can focus on it.

((That was it. Yeah, she's not really a household dragon. It's no wonder Thunder didn't like her))
I was just about ready to flame the *bleep*ing heather when Glid got back. Normally, I would have been overjoyed to see him. But, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be trying to untangle a pile of heather that looked as if it hadn't been laid on in many years. ((By many years, it's really since the time Thunder was sent back to))

((Damn, I would just get a new bed. Poor Twera.))

((Two things. #1, it's been many years since a dragon used it. #2, the universe just doesn't like her at all))

I shake my head and my wound heals"Thank goodness and I got that gash from the Shadows"I say

"Then you might as well make yourself comfortable. My name is Twera. I am a member of the Alliance. We had been brought together to put a stop to the Shadows." I settled onto one of the other beds and told the story of that windy, snowy night on Earth.