Two days later, Taekwoon found himself alone in the library in the middle of the night, unable to sleep and chased by maddening thoughts that denied him peace. He and Jinki had made more progress in the books they’d started reading, though neither made them feel particularly good. Taekwoon had officially reached the end of his tome, stopping shortly after a power shift in the ruling class. There was still a King present but the Dragon Priests had elevated themselves to a higher standing due to their binding of the dragon gods and subsequent consecrating of the new Aeries. He was most troubled by the final line in the book:

            May the blood of Bahamut and Tiamat forever maintain the peace and prosperity of the Aeries.

            Jinki had been too, but then he’d shown Taekwoon the entry he had read and since the two seemed connected, it was beginning to look as if the dragon gods both had been bound as opposed to Bahamut ascending and Tiamat remaining. What was worse, Jinki also struggled through another entry near the end of his book that caught his eye and it had sent a trill of foreboding through Taekwoon as a result. It was a couple entries after Landris had moved to the new Aerie. He didn’t make entries every day or even every sevenday, but obviously when he felt inclined or something of note moved him to.

            Dragon Peace 2, 6^th moon, 11^th day

Something is not right. I do not know what but I feel that something is amiss. Peace has been good for all our people, so I cannot complain about that. Though it is still strange being so close to Mauthab. Power infuses the Aerie and I thought it would help the dragons thrive. It has been over a year now and it has not. The protections writ in place are obviously working in some ways, as we do not get sick or suffer major injuries within the Aerie but something is missing. And few others than myself seem to realize it. There is life aplenty but there is little new life. Only a handful of new riders in the Aerie from but two small clutches a few moons ago. Every sevenday, there are more people and children coming to learn and to live but we cannot make riders of them without new dragons. The wild ones that are left won’t suffer a man or woman and it wouldn’t be right to steal their eggs for ourselves. Something is wrong.

Though it should comfort me that Sighe should arrive soon, it does not. My distrust remains, despite what he has done for us. But… in our last exchange of missives, he promised answers on his next visit. I do not like that he would give no details about what his answers might be, but I can only hope they will set us on the right path. May Mauthab continue to light our way.

AM Landris

            On a hunch, Taekwoon had urged Jinki to look to the next few pages, just to see, but there was nothing. Just blank pages. It was as if he’d forgotten to write or had simply stopped writing, which didn’t make much sense. There should have been more. They were in Dragon Peace 573 now so a great deal of time had passed since then, but… Taekwoon wasn’t sure he believed what was in the Aerie anymore. It was a deeply unsettling idea.

            So here he was. Acting like a thief in the night and staring at the cover of the magic book neither he nor Jinki had attempted to decipher. There was nothing else to try and puzzle out and he had little belief that he could read it himself. However, having seen the runes at the previous aerie, he wanted to at least check something first. Then… then maybe he would ask Chaerin and Ryeowook. Bahamut knew they had been troublesome for the past couple days. Determined to get him alone so that they could try and ask him about what was going on. And he was just as determined not to be cornered until he had more to go on.

            Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes and took a breath before cracking open the cover of the magic book. As usual, the writing blurred before him and he quickly developed a headache. Frustrated but focused, he ignored both and allowed his dragon half to rise into his consciousness, using the instinctual side to help guide him. For whatever reason, it worked, and as he felt the shift in his eyes, the words became clearer. It was still difficult reading, but he could at least make them out now.

            “Introduction to magics and all magical runes,” he murmured, scanning the first page. “Sections include general magics, magics relevant to Aeries and dragons, priesthood runes and magics, as well as others that do not fall under such categories. Strange,” he hummed with a frown. While all of it was potentially interesting, his concern right now was the section dealing with magics for the Aerie and dragons.

            For a moment, he was briefly distracted when he felt a questioning touch from Jonghyun. Sleepy, but obviously now awake, the thread of thought came through, What?

            Research, Taekwoon answered honestly, looking up with the hint of a smile on his face. Did not mean to wake you.

            Didn’t, his dragon responded easily, apparently puzzling something else out. Chaerin came to speak to dragon. Unusual.

            Oh? Taekwoon wondered curiously. Where did she go next?

            Training hall.

            That made Taekwoon pause. Why was… really? He exhaled slowly and rolled his eyes as he closed the book and carefully made his way to the middle of the library, using the very dim lighting from the covered candle in the back room to do so. It didn’t hurt that his shifted vision also let him see just a little bit better. He was going to have to remember that for the future. Especially since the hair on the back of his neck stood up as if he could sense something he couldn’t quite see yet. Moving closer to the doorway, he strained to hear something. The only response he got was actually noticing the door opening with the tiniest of sounds. Taekwoon froze and waited to see if it was going to be who he thought it was.

            A couple heartbeats later… yep. Chaerin. By the direction of her gaze, she’d apparently noticed the light in the back. With a quick glance to either side, one that passed right over Taekwoon, she crept into the room and eased towards the back room. He didn’t expect her to call out and he wasn’t surprised when she didn’t, but he was suspicious all the same. Not unlike a predator, he rolled his shoulders and started to track her silently.

            Trouble? his dragon asked with distracted interest.

            Unsure, he responded. He honestly didn’t know yet. I’ll let you know.

            Good, was the immediate response, the mental connection quickly subsiding into a sleepy barely there thread.

            Shadowing Chaerin, Taekwoon watched as she found the back room and looked around carefully. She knew someone had been here and that they couldn’t have gone far. No one in their right mind would just leave a candle, no matter how well covered, unattended in a library. Her head twisted from side to side and he could see the muscles in her jaw tightening. “Taekwoon?” she called out softly, hesitant and maybe a little frightened.

            “What are you doing here?” Taekwoon asked as he stealthily stepped into the dim light that would let her see him.

            She turned to follow the sound of his voice and then jerked with a small gasp, hands rising in front of her chest in loose fists. By the wide eyed stare, he could tell that something was different about him. “Your eyes…” she whispered, the sound not frightened as much as thoughtful. It was more like she was suddenly making some connections she’d been missing previously.

            “Like yours, I’d imagine,” he murmured flatly, recalling that moment in the moonlight when they’d last been in the old aerie.

            There was the briefest hints of surprise in her face, a slight flinch of her brows and a minute grimace, before she laughed once and waved it off. “What do you mean?” she asked innocently enough, a hint of confusion on her face.

            Taekwoon didn’t buy it, but it was also not his greatest concern at the moment. “I’ll ask you again. What are you doing here?”

            Her confusion fell away just as quickly as it had appeared. “Looking for you,” she stated simply, pulling her shoulders back as she stopped pretending. “We need to talk,” she told him again, the situation all too familiar.

            “We do,” Taekwoon nodded, not moving yet. “But I am certainly not all that inclined to talk when you decide to track me down in the middle of the night.”

            Chaerin grimaced and nodded once at that fact. “I hadn’t meant to. Fei saw you up and awake. She woke me.”

            “Why?” he asked quickly, studying the flinch he saw in response.

            “You are…” she trailed off, looking down as she searched for the right word. But it never came to her and she gave up on the effort, switching to a different thought as she looked up at him again. “Different.” Taekwoon said nothing in response and she pursed her lips on his silence. “You… see more than the others,” she started to speak, feeling her way carefully. “When I asked about the children, everyone was surprised but it passed quickly. They forgot about it almost as soon as the thought was allowed to leave. But not you,” she mused, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

            “And?” he prompted when she stopped. He still felt no strong bond towards her, despite the fact they had been working together as sister wings most recently.

            “What is going on in the Aerie?” she asked after a long pause. “You know that something is off. I saw it in your eyes. And I am starting to suspect that is why you are here now.”

            Taekwoon held very still for a moment, weighing his options. Whatever else he felt, it was true that most people seemed to be under some sort of spell when it came to certain things in the Aerie. The fact that she wasn’t, as near as he could tell, made him both hopeful and suspicious. He chewed the inside of his bottom lip and then reached out to his dragon. Jong. You listening?

            Huh? Oh. Yes, came the briefly confused reply.

            “Three questions first,” he stated simply, holding up three fingers.

            Chaerin blinked at him in confusion but then nodded her head slowly. “Okay…”

            “Have you ever been to Tiamat’s Aerie?” he asked plainly.

            She jerked as if struck, true surprise on her face. “No.”

            One finger folded down and he asked his second question, “Are you here to hurt the Aerie?”

            Again, what felt like true confusion appeared on her face. “No!”

            Another finger folded and he looked at her with the last one remaining. “Are you here to hurt me?”

            This time, there was no confusion, but something else. Her face crumpled slightly as if from guilt or pain, but her answer did not change. “No…” she trailed off quietly, eyes drifting down to a point next to him.

            Taekwoon regarded her for a long moment and reached out to his dragon. Thoughts?

            Truth, Jonghyun responded.

            Are you sure?

            About not wanting to hurt you, yes. Others too, he added almost as an afterthought.

            He mulled that response over for a moment, recalling how Chaerin had mentioned that Fei didn’t know what to think about him. He had thought it strange at the time and he still did, but he was beginning to get some ideas. Maybe she wasn’t here to hurt him, but he was starting to feel as if she was here because of him. At least in part… Frustrated and without any definite answers, Taekwoon exhaled. “I don’t know.”

            “Huh?” Chaerin chirped in confusion, eyes narrowed.

            Taekwoon scratched the side of his face with his finger and said again, “I don’t know. What’s going on in the Aerie. I don’t know.”

            “But you have an idea?” she prompted, glancing over her shoulder at the back room where the light was still burning.

            “Maybe,” he admitted quietly, frowning at giving up the answer.

            “Tell me,” she urged, taking a half step towards him that made him step back to keep the distance between them the same. She stopped with a chagrined look and added, “Please.”

            He knew it was going to sound crazy. It still did to him and he had more reason than most to start thinking it was a real possibility. “Magic,” he shrugged, hands rising on either side of him in a quiet shrug.

            To her credit, Chaerin didn’t laugh or snort. She simply looked thoughtful. “Ryeowook mentioned he’d found some runes etched around the Aerie.”

            “Eh?” Taekwoon chirped, caught off guard by that admission.

            She shook her head and explained, “They’re not in obvious places. Nor are they particularly noticeable. He thought he knew what they were but he wasn’t sure. Some yes. Protection. Health. Luck. But a few others…” she trailed off with a grimace.

            Gain had said something about Ryeowook studying certain areas of the Aerie. Runes might well have been what he was noticing. ‘Bahamut help me,’ he thought before he took a breath and opened his mouth to speak. “Do you remember what they looked like?” he asked, his lips once.

            “I think so,” Chaerin answered with a curiously uncertain look on her face. “Why?”

            “If I’m right, there’s a book in there that will have them recorded in the pages,” he explained, nodding towards the back room. Chaerin’s brows rose and she blinked twice. “It’s the last book I have to puzzle out. I needed to see it,” he added, indirectly giving away why he was here now.

            “Can I see?” she asked hesitantly, looking over her shoulder with an aching curiosity.

            “Yes,” he grumbled begrudgingly, moving to step around her so that he could claim the first spot by the book. He could almost feel her amusement at the shift, but she didn’t say anything about it. “Here,” he mumbled, carefully flipping to the section on runes for the Aerie. He inhaled slightly though when he saw the first rune and… could read it. Or at least could understand what it meant. The word didn’t become a word so much as a feeling or a knowing. It was familiar, yes, but it was also something he just knew.

            “Oh. That one is protection,” Chaerin commented, pointing at the page. “We saw it in the other Aerie. And I’m pretty sure it’s the same symbol Ryeowook saw here too,” she added, completely missing Taekwoon’s personal revelation. He knew what it was. Her statement only confirmed it. “And that one’s health,” she smiled as he flipped through the first couple pages. Again, he knew it without really knowing it. Rest, fertility, increased healing, luck, vigor, sight, mental fortitude… the list went on.

            Though Chaerin stopped speaking of them, Taekwoon knew what they were and it unnerved him. “These are all positive runes,” he mused, missing her surprised look when he stared at the pages. “It’s not… there’s something else…” he mumbled, chewing on his bottom lip as he looked back at the front and then quickly thumbed through the pages on his way to the back. He wasn’t really looking at the priest runes, but some jumped out at him. There were many blessing runes but he paused when he came across binding. “The Great Binding?” he whispered to himself. He took care not to linger too long as Chaerin’s eyes were on him, but he had to pause again when two pages later he came across control. Why would the priests need control? Or command?

            “What?” Chaerin asked, obviously noticing his troubled look. “Do you know them?”

            “No,” he shook his head, but then blinked and frowned. “I mean, I don’t know them but I know what they are,” he explained, very much confused.

            “How?” she blurted, just as taken aback as him.

            “I don’t know,” he admitted, feeling like that was becoming a running theme with him.

            He was not prepared for Jonghyun to give him an answer. It’s dragon.

            “Dragon?” he blurted out both vocally and mentally.

            “Dragon?” Chaerin echoed the same time Jonghyun responded.

            Not words but symbols? Written form of dragon talking, he explained, almost as if he was just realizing it himself.

            You have a written form? Taekwoon marveled, wondering how that had been missed. Granted, the dragons hadn’t really been focusing in the old aerie where the most obvious runes were, but it was still strange that Jonghyun hadn’t known. Granted, it was strange that he did know as well…

            I… guess? he answered back, still very much confused himself.

            When Taekwoon looked up, he saw that Chaerin was looking at him strangely again. “What?” he wondered, thinking maybe his eyes had changed again.

            “Your dragon can see what you see?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

            His head jerked slightly in surprise and he frowned. “Yes…” Have you always been able to see what I see? he quickly asked his dragon, unnerved by his easy acceptance of what Chaerin had just pointed out.

            No. Not always. Now, yes. Bond strong and familiar, he explained, making Taekwoon inhale sharply.

            “Can you see what he sees?” Chaerin wondered, still perplexed.

            Taekwoon shook his head. “No. I can’t even hear what he hears. I just get a feeling when he’s speaking.”

            “Strange,” she murmured, thumbing at her bottom lip as she continued to stare at him.

            “Agreed,” he exhaled breathily. Can you always hear others?

            Usually, Jonghyun replied quickly, picking up on his rider’s uneasiness. You are more dragon than others.

            The simple statement of fact, as if it was the answer to everything, made Taekwoon snort once. At least his dragon was mostly confident about their status. But it was just one more thing that set him apart and made him feel… different. Again. He was almost distracted enough not to hear what Chaerin was whispering to herself. Really, by her tone, she probably meant for him not to, but his skin tingled and his ears strained for the sound, almost like they were physically stretching to catch the whisper.

            “…said you were different,” she trailed off, thumbnail pressed against her bottom lip as she stared at a point on the table.

            “Who did?” Taekwoon asked, missing the first part but guessing well enough given the context.

            Chaerin looked up at him in wide-eyed surprise, caught off guard by his question. It was proof enough she hadn’t meant for him to hear. But just as quickly, she forced her features to change and laughed once. “No one,” she assured him, crossing her arms over her chest and one hand holding too tight to her other arm.

            “Chaerin,” he warned softly, not in a particularly charitable mood considering what they were here for.

            She released the one hand and waved vaguely in the air, forcing another laugh that didn’t feel genuine. “You know. Everyone says you’re a little different,” she explained, not able to meet his eyes directly. “And I mean, this really does help prove it, don’t you think?” she added, gesturing at the small room they were in currently.

            Almost belatedly, Taekwoon became very aware of the fact that they were much closer than he’d ever wanted her to be, but this time, it was her that was uncomfortable. Despite the fact that she had been trying to get close to him initially, even though she’d eased up in recent days, it was strange that now she was almost afraid. No… she was afraid. But it didn’t feel like the fear was directed at him. There was something else going on still. For a long moment, he glared at her with narrowed eyes. She fidgeted and looked in every direction but his, trying to make herself small.

            Rider, Jonghyun murmured into his thoughts after a time.

            Taekwoon took a small breath as the suspicious thrall broke just enough. You’re right, he murmured in response. She was still a puzzle to solve, but right now, his focus should be on the magic he came to figure out. Giving her one final look, he tore his eyes away and resumed his scan of the book. In his periphery, he could feel Chaerin starting to relax when he was no longer focused on her, but she did not speak and she did not move. She simply watched and waited.

            For his part, Taekwoon let himself drift back into the runes, viewing each one as they came and went. When he reached the last section in the book, his gut started to twist at the feeling of the runes. The first were fine: weather, forecasting, far sight… But then he came across the one he knew he’d been searching for. His gut twisted and he frowned darkly. Turning the book towards Chaerin, he asked, “Is this one of the runes Ryeowook has seen?”

            She flinched when he spoke to her, his voice unnecessarily harsh. “Maybe,” she answered after a brief pause. “I’m not sure,” she added with a small shake of her head. “What does it mean?” she asked, glancing at him uncertainly.

            “Infertility,” he grumbled, setting the book back down as he heard her slight inhale.

            “Do you think…?” she started to ask, not wishing to voice the rest of the question.

            Yes, was his first reaction. No, was what he wanted to say. “It’s possible,” is what he settled on, letting the dread wash over and past him as he turned to the next page. Geas. Obedience. Weakness. Life… A strange chill washed over him though, even as he read the word. It felt wrong. Or at least not like a good feeling. Not like the healing rune had felt in the Aerie section. With a growl, Taekwoon pushed the book away and waved his dragon half off. It was too much right now. He needed some kind of separation from the feeling as much as the knowing. Almost immediately, he felt a little better, being just his human self, but it did not change what he’d read.

            “Are you alright?” Chaerin asked softly, a gentle hand tentatively pressing against his shoulder.

            He brushed her off quickly, and then forced himself to take a breath. It was too much and her presence set him ill at ease. Especially with her secrets. He believed Jonghyun in that she was not here to hurt him or the Aerie, but it was what he didn’t know that made him particularly irritable. “I’m fine,” he lied, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye before he took another breath and reached for the calm he’d found under Seunghyun’s training. “But I think we need to speak with Ryeowook.” And Jinki.

            Chaerin her lips once but nodded in agreement. “Agreed.”

            “On the morrow,” he added, staring at the book like it was something dangerous.

            “Yes,” she whispered, obviously following his gaze.

            He was glad she was able to tell they were done for the night. He was even more relieved when she left, giving him peace with his thoughts and his own misgivings. Why are the runes dragon speech? he wondered to his dragon, not really expecting an answer.

            Don’t know, came the quiet reply.

            Taekwoon sighed and let his shoulders slump. It was just one thing after another. More questions and things he couldn’t solve or immediately understand. He didn’t know who might have answers and he didn’t know specifically who to ask. Perhaps Jolin but she had a hard enough time focusing on the books when they were in her presence, much less the contents. Frowning, Taekwoon closed the book and pulled it closer to him, investigating the cover. Without Chaerin here to distract him, there was something else… Something about the book itself. His senses tingled and he felt his eyes drifting away, almost of their own accord.

            Closing his eyes, he let his fingertips roam the cover slowly. They stopped when something else told him to, a feeling he couldn’t exactly place, though he suspected it had something to do with his dragon half. Opening his eyes, he stared down at where his fingers were and blinked once when he observed a rune becoming noticeable under his direct attention. Confused, he summoned his dragon half just so he could actually understand it. “Hidden,” he whispered, glaring at the marking. No wonder people had such a hard time focusing on the book. Or even remembering it. Someone had not wanted it to be easily found or read. He would wager the other books probably had something similar on them too.

            All things considered though, he at least had found more than he thought he would. Certainly more than he wanted to. And yet, it was just a piece of an ever growing puzzle. One that he wasn’t so sure he could solve on his own. Or that he really wanted to, given what he’d discovered so far. Getting up slowly, he carefully put the books back and then wandered out of the room, taking the covered candle with him. As he was passing the threshold of the library, something made him look down. Since he hadn’t waved the dragon sight away yet, he honed in on a rune chiseled into the stone near the bottom of the doorway. Mental fortitude. That was good. Useful for studying, but in the other corner… Belief. Not a terrible rune on its own, but it made him question what he knew versus what he had read in the most recent tomes. Why would anyone need to be pushed to believe something?

            “Ugh,” he growled under his breath as he waved the dragonsight away again. Apparently, the runes were more noticeable once you were aware of them. Or had a significant piece of a dragon’s spirit in you. Or were among Chaerin and her companions. Which begged the question of why they were unaffected. “Enough!” he grumbled, pressing forward and determined to return to his room without any further mishaps. Maybe once he’d spoken with Jinki, things would become clearer, but his thoughts were too full and jumbled right now.

            Despite having found what he was looking for, sleep did not come easy for Taekwoon when he did return. Even Jinki’s sleeping presence wasn’t a strong enough balm to quiet his unrest, but he did manage a couple marks of shut eye before morning came all too soon. And then he was grumpy and still confused and busy with thoughts about the day. They were still set to practice and since the weather was supposed to be good, they were going to do some flying drills as well, which would put him in close proximity to Chaerin again.

            “You okay?” Jinki asked, noticing his general grumpiness that morning with a pitying smile.

            Taekwoon just sighed and leaned close, wrapping his arms around Jinki loosely. “I had an interesting night,” he admitted against the nearest shoulder.

            “Oh?” his other half questioned, pulling the blanket around them a little tighter as they weren’t ready to move yet. “Dreams?”

            “Couldn’t sleep,” he admitted with a shake of his head. “Went to the library and read the magic book,” he stated, turning over the revelations slowly in his mind.

            “Read read or looked at?” Jinki asked for clarification, one brow raised.

            “Read read,” he replied with a sigh.

            Jinki’s thoughtful hum was answer enough. But he did add, “I guess you did have an interesting evening. Wanna talk about it?” he offered, reaching up to clasp the arm around his chest in both hands.

            “Later. Chaerin was there too and she said Ryeowook has been seeing some runes around the Aerie,” he explained, hugging tighter.

            “Well that is interesting,” he mused, biting on his bottom lip.

            “Nothing happened, my heart,” he promised, brushing his nose against Jinki’s hair. “There are just a great many more questions.”

            “I can imagine. So, are we going to do some legwork this afternoon?” he asked, turning to get a better look at Taekwoon’s face.

            “Of course. We should be done a bit early today so we’ll have more time for Ryeowook to show us around. There are runes in the library though,” he added, recalling the markings he’d seen in the bottom of the doorway.

            “You saw some already?” Clearly Jinki was surprised.

            “When I use my dragon half, I can… see more,” he explained hesitantly, still not sure how it really worked or why. It just did.

            “You get more interesting everyday, love,” he laughed lightly, turning just a bit more so they could rest their foreheads together. “Thank you for telling me though,” he whispered, fingers tightening on Taekwoon’s arm.

            Taekwoon just smiled and raised his lips to press a gentle kiss against Jinki’s forehead. “Alright, my heart. We should probably get moving.” Jinki’s groan was everything Taekwoon felt about that too. “I know,” he laughed, grimacing as he pulled one leg out from under the blankets. It was chilly, even with the covered brazier, but that was also because it was probably dying, as per usual.

            “Yeah, yeah,” Jinki laughed once, following Taekwoon’s example. “I’ll try to make sure I’m not too busy this afternoon. Satoru mentioned that Yongguk was supposed to be coming back soon, but I don’t know.”

            “Trouble?” the rider asked as he reluctantly let go of Jinki and stood up.

            “Hard to say. I know he’s alright but things have been… tense with the sister cities lately,” he admitted, chewing on the inside of his bottom lip this time.

            Taekwoon grunted in acknowledgment but had no real comment to make. Like he’d thought the night before, it was just one thing after another. As he watched Jinki get ready while he himself dressed, he could only hope that they might get some answers this day. Bahamut help him, he was ready for them.

(a/n: My apologies for the latest updates being so... slow in coming. I'm having a bit of trouble with forward progress between the action and future events I know I want to write and the setup and backstory events I need to lay out now for the rest of everything else to make sense. All the behind the scenes details setup is not my strong point in writing. I'm trying to get better but thank you for bearing with me in the mean time. ^_^ I hope you enjoyed this update and I'll try to do better about getting the next one out sooner. Thank you!)