As if by some unspoken call, all the dragons of the Aerie eventually gathered in the dragon grounds, milling about uncertainly. Their riders followed as if answering another silent summons, equally uncertain. The acting Aerie Master was unable to accompany them as he had to take care of non-rider issues. The civilians were disturbed too, and he had to give some kind of response to the earth shake. They were not unheard of, but everyone could tell this one seemed different, especially given the reaction of the dragons and their riders.

            Taekwoon looked around and felt both thrilled and saddened by their Battalion collection. It was rare to see so many in one place in open sight, but they were fewer than they should have been. And now… this unexpected and wholly unwanted happening…

            Feel strange, Jonghyun admitted as he paced slowly, his footsteps shortened to let Jongup keep pace at his side.

            How so? he asked in response, feeling something too but he didn’t know how to explain it. For him, it was like there was this buzzing sound at the back of his head. There but not. It felt like he should be able to understand it, though it was not but barely perceptible noise.

            Itchy, he finally answered as if he’d been mulling over what to say. Pulling, he added, shaking his head and rustling his wings in response. Nor was he the only one. Several other dragons were acting similarly. Head hurt, he snapped then, snorting his displeasure.

            And mate? Taekwoon wondered, following Jongup with his eyes.

            Feels same. Others too, he conceded as his copper head swung around to observe those gathered.

            “How do your dragons feel?” Wing Leader Insoo asked as he approached, casting sidelong glances at Gunwoo as he did so.

            “Strange,” he replied quickly, brow furrowed and lips thinned.

            “Ours as well. We can’t figure out what’s wrong though,” he sighed, scratching the back of his head in genuine confusion.

            “I feel a little strange too,” he hesitantly admitted, awkward about mentioning the connection.

            “Oh? Can you explain?” his Wing Leader prompted without judgment.

            That was a relief. So he mentioned what he’d thought previously and shrugged. “Let me…” he trailed off, trying to relax enough to bring his dragon half forward. It felt harder than usual. Like it didn’t want to come out. But when it settled into place, he blinked and felt his gut twist. “Oh,” he exhaled, wincing at the sensation.

            “What?” Insoo asked, realizing what he’d done as soon as he saw the other man’s eyes.

            “My head hurts and my skin itches, but there’s a sound like a whisper,” he explained, brushing at his ear as if he could focus the noise somehow.

            “Can you understand it?” Insoo asked, glancing around to see if anyone else was feeling similarly.

            Taekwoon tried. He really did, but whatever the whisper was saying was beyond him. He didn’t know if it was because it was a different language or just because it was too low. Eventually, he shook his head. “No.” Quickly, he shoved the dragon away, with some difficulty, and breathed a sigh of relief when he was back to himself. “That was not pleasant,” he admitted, grimacing in sympathy for the dragons.

            They were both thinking hard about what the cause could be when they heard Chaerin’s voice. “Insoo! Taekwoon!” Both turned to look at the rider in tandem, seeing her gesturing for them to come join her. “The dragons have an idea,” she called, gesturing back towards a growing collection of closely gathered dragons.

            Peering at the mass, Taekwoon was pretty sure he saw Gain in the mix, as well as Hero, and that was probably Jiyong. He was also certain one of the golds was Fei. The smaller colors were gathering too, but it was clear the golds and silvers were leading. Taekwoon looked at Insoo and shrugged before glancing back at his dragons. Both Jonghyun and Jongup were already moving their direction, as was Gunwoo. “Let’s go,” he urged with an accepting sigh.

            “Indeed,” Insoo nodded as he drifted over to place his hand against the bronze’s hide. The rest of the wing’s dragons fell into step behind him almost automatically.

            Looking around, Taekwoon noticed that Chaerin’s group of riders were answering to Gunwoo’s lead. Hard to think alone, Jonghyun admitted as he paced beside his rider. Jongup took the other side of Taekwoon as they flanked him easily.

            As they got closer, it felt like they were talking. Taekwoon didn’t know if it was because there were so many here or if it was for some other reason, but the air felt full of voices. He couldn’t hear them because they were dragon to dragon, but he felt it… “Strange,” he hummed, letting his eyes land on Chaerin. He blinked in surprise when he realized she was watching him closely.

            “You feel it too, don’t you?” she asked, biting her lip uncertainly.

            He thought about being contrary but after two days of coming to the realization and understanding that he knew very little about the truth of their predicament, he knew it wasn’t worth it. “Yes.”

            She fell back a bit to be close enough to speak easier. “The Aerie riders don’t seem to, but… we do,” she admitted, giving a nod towards her group nearby. “I don’t know what it means,” she whispered with a downcast look, her posture speaking of uncertainty and fear.

            Taekwoon couldn’t blame her. The not knowing was a powerful thing… “Let’s see what the dragons have to say first. Then we can decide if we need to be afraid or not,” he explained, fighting the nagging sensation himself.

            “Fair enough,” she agreed with a forced nod, swallowing hard.

            As they joined the layered circle of dragons and riders collected around their primary golds and silvers, Taekwoon got a hint of what they were about.

            Group Trance.

            Really? They’d only learned about it in class. He could remember Master Minjun talking about it excitedly. There hadn’t been a group Trance in decades. He certainly hadn’t seen one. Nor had the Master. Historically, they were most often used to cast judgement on a dragon that had dangerously transgressed – namely rogues. That hadn’t happened in recent memory, since rogues were relatively rare, but also because in recent times, they had been killed prior to having the chance for a Group Trance judgement session. On the other hand… as in this situation, it could be used to commune with a group at large – dragons and riders.

            How does this work? he asked his dragon as they finally stopped moving and settled into place, surrounded by other dragons and riders. Chaerin had left his side to move closer to Fei near the center and that left him with Insoo nearby and he could see Jungkook and Jinyoung close at hand as well.

            First time for me too, Jonghyun admitted with his head tilted as if he was listening to someone else. He probably was. Trance with me first, he explained, relaying instructions. Then Trance with group. I will take you, he promised, the idea obviously strange but he didn’t seem to have any doubts about it at all.

            If you say so, he exhaled, reaching one hand to Jongup and one to Jonghyun equally. Feeling their skin under his fingers helped to center him. As he prepared to surrender himself to his dragon’s world, he could only hope that Jinki was doing alright on his end.

            Despite Jinki being the acting Aerie Master, he was more than grateful to see Satoru joining them in the Dining Hall. He was being assisted by Healer Mimi and Dragon Healer Hyesung, but he was present. It gave him strength he knew he needed, especially since Taekwoon had wandered off with the other dragons and riders.

            It was the strangest thing. They’d been talking about how to handle the Bahamut situation and then they’d felt it. The earth shake. And not long after, Taekwoon had gotten this odd look in his eyes and simply started to drift away, if not physically then certainly mentally. It hadn’t taken long after that before Jinki knew he was going to be needed for whatever was going to happen next.

            They’d parted ways and here he was now. The quintessential figurehead for all non-riders present in the dining hall. They were all familiar faces, but under the circumstances, they looked changed. Scared and uncertain. Every face turned to his, looking for answers he knew he didn’t have. He wasn’t sure what the dragons were talking about, but here… there was an awareness that something wasn’t right with no idea why. He felt it through his bond with Jongup but that only made Jinki feel even more unsettled. Especially when there was a strange surge in that connection. One that he’d never experienced and couldn’t explain.

            He let the room’s energy die down a bit before he tried to take control. It gave him a moment to puzzle his own dilemma out. Eventually though, he could put it off no longer and he raised his hands, stepping forward. “Please! Let me speak!” he called out, feeling mild panic rise into his chest when the noise did not abate quickly. An uncertain glance at Satoru showed the other man nod at him reassuringly. Okay… Taking a breath, he tried again. “Members of the Aerie!” he called out, voice stronger this time, more resolved.

            It worked. Slowly. The general clamor started to die down as the non-riders subsided into a listening mob. Nervous energy was still present, but now it was gated, contained. All the Masters and all the runners and all the general citizens… every eye turned to him and waited.

            Jinki swallowed once and lowered his hands as he regarded the room, fighting hard to keep his own fear from his face. “I know you’re scared or unsure of what the earth shake means. I don’t have the answers either,” he admitted with a hesitant shrug, wondering if he was saying the right things. Murmurs started to rise up at his words and he took a quick breath, continuing on before they could overwhelm him. “But I do know!” he called out firmly, taking a small step forward. “Whatever it does mean changes nothing right now!”

            “How can we know that?!” a voice called out from the throng. It was hard to tell who it was from as they all looked the same in their collective fright.

            “Because our situation has not changed,” he explained simply. “No one was hurt in the earth shake. Nothing happened outright. We only know that something somewhere has shifted. For good or ill, there is nothing we can know for sure about it right now. At least not yet.”

            “So how can we find out?” another voice questioned, older and perhaps one of the members who had been here a while.

            Jinki nodded in acknowledgement. That at least was something he could give an answer to, though it wouldn’t produce anything definite immediately. “As soon as possible, we’ll send patrols out to see if there have been any changes. Messages will also be dispatched to reach out to the other cities and especially Kokoshir. If they know something or learn something, then we will know soon too,” he promised earnestly, hoping with all his might that was actually the truth. He wasn’t sure where their standing was with all the cities at the moment…

            Master Minjun raised his hand, making himself recognizable as he called out his question. “The dragons were acting strange after the earth shake. Do we know what it means yet?”

            “Not yet,” Jinki answered quickly, focusing briefly on his bond. Nothing felt wrong exactly… but it did feel strange. “We should know something soon. Like us, they are speaking amongst themselves to see if they can find out more information.”

            “How?” someone else called out.

            For a moment, Jinki froze. He knew they were. He felt it, only he didn’t know how himself… But then Hyosung stepped in and answered for him. “Group Trance.”

            “Really?!” Master Minjun exclaimed, his expression showing he felt as if he was missing something monumental. As if to draw attention to that fact, he immediately extricated himself from the crowd and exited the room. He was shadowed quite quickly by Master Historian Kibum and that also meant that Amber was not far from his side. Jinki also noticed Master Scribe Jolin slinking out as well, all looking quite excited and focused.

            “The golds and silvers are leading but Paramour Heechul asked me to come inform you of what is happening. He had to remain with Andy lest the gold try to join too,” she explained with a nod towards the emotionally wounded dragon’s plight.

            “Thank you, Paramour Hyosung,” Jinki nodded with a small bow in her direction. She blinked in mild surprise at the display of respect, but then offered a bow in turn, her smile genuine. Her duty finished, she stepped back to let the focus return to Aerie Master Jinki. “Well then. Insofar as the dragons go, it is only a matter of time before they are able to offer some kind of response. As for us, until we get new information, it is best that we continue to act as we have been. Many of you have already started to suspect that we might be preparing for something and you are likely not wrong.” He received a varied array of responses, ranging from genuine surprise to grunts of approval and acknowledgement. His stomach knotted and he felt his mind go blank for a moment before he reached for what he wanted to say next.

            “As members of Bahamut’s Aerie, we have always been protectors. As such, it has also made us a target for those who seek to take what we might defend,” he explained simply, glancing at Satoru, but the other man offered no insight as to how he was doing. He simply watched with avid interest, but no indication of displeasure or otherwise. In all honesty, Jinki didn’t know how he was doing and he didn’t know exactly what he should say, but they deserved some degree of the truth. “That may be truer than usual this time. Tiamat’s Aerie has always been our rival. Our foe of sorts. And perhaps that is all this is. An escalation of our continued fight on the horizon. But just in case, we owe it to you. All of you,” he added for emphasis as he looked around the room with a somber expression. “To help give you the best chance possible.”

            This time, his gaze drifted to Combat Master Seunghyun and he at least was nodding with some degree of approval. Jinki tipped his head slightly and looked back at the crowd. “It is no secret that our numbers have been depleted. We are not at a strength we should be. What it means for us in the long term, I cannot say,” he admitted with a slow shake of his head. “All I know is that now, it means we must all work together to help each other. The Stardust Battalion will do their duty as best they can. But… they may need our assistance. They may need us to be able to get out of harm’s way. To delay. To hinder. And maybe even to fight.”

            He paused for a moment, feeling the weight of their gazes and their expectations on him. It was a sensation that was a hair’s breadth from suffocating. Almost reflexively, he reached for Jongup, for something to hold onto, and he inhaled slightly when the gentle bond they had sang with reassurance. It was more powerful than he’d felt before, but it did what he needed it to do and he couldn’t wonder what it might mean in that moment. “In the worst case scenario, we may all have to fight and maybe die for our home. I do not tell you this lightly or to frighten you. We simply cannot ask you to go blindly into whatever this might be.” Jinki stopped again, his heart beating madly in his chest. Was this how it was to always be the Aerie Master? “As your… Aerie Master,” he started, hesitating on the title since Satoru was still here. “And as your friend,” he added, much more comfortable with the moniker, “I can only ask that you stay. If you feel that you might be safer elsewhere or that you cannot stay, we will not stop you from leaving. But before you go, consider the people… the dragons… the memories here.”

            Jinki stopped suddenly, the words he might have said simply lost in that heartbeat. Too much? He flushed and mildly ducked his head before he blurted out a quick, “Thank you!” and then bowed to the crowd. What had he said? Oh, he knew what he’d said but it wasn’t like he’d prepared ahead of time. How was he supposed to know there would be something like this? He never could have predicted he’d give a speech so… soon? A slow clap in the hushed silence made his thoughts falter and he looked up curiously.

            It was Satoru, a small but proud smile tugging at his mouth. “Well spoken, Aerie Master,” he complimented, trying to clap harder though Healer Mimi reached a hand to stifle his would be enthusiasm. Fortunately, it didn’t matter. Combat Master Seunghyun had already picked up the clap and then he heard it start in the crowd. A quick glimpse showed Joy and Sanghyuk clapping energetically, the smiles on their faces a bit forced but their enthusiasm genuine. Oh, not everyone was so enthused but the general consensus was one of approval and it made Jinki’s head feel light. His flush turned scarlet and all he wanted to do was run away.

            “Th-thank you,” he stammered, suddenly tongue tied. He turned to leave but saw Satoru raise a brow and knew he’d missed something. Facing the crowd again, he swallowed hard and added, “For now, continue to go about your day. You know what may be at stake and if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to see me. I will help you as best I can,” he promised, bowing deeply, a gesture that let him tear his eyes away from the mass of people before him.

            When he stood up again, he could see the crowds starting to thin. He imagined they’d probably take a look at the Group Trance or perhaps they’d just go about their day. It was impossible to guess but he was more than ready to escape from everyone’s attention. He was strangely grateful when Seunghyun himself came over to guide him from the dais, leading him over to Satoru in the meantime.

            “You surprised me, Jinki,” the Aerie Master smiled with a small nod.

            “Quite the speech for one so young,” Master Mimi chuckled, one hand holding to Satoru’s elbow lightly.

            “Quite,” Dragon Healer Hyesung agreed with a thoughtful look at Jinki. “Did you get what you needed from Jongup?” he asked curiously, one brow rising expectantly.

            Jinki blinked in surprise and stared at the Dragon Healer for a moment. “How did you-”

            “Unlike Jonghyun, Jongup is far more talkative. And he was inordinately excited when you agreed to a voluntary bond with him,” he snorted once, shaking his head.

            “Oh…” Jinki trailed off, both a little annoyed that Hyesung knew but also strangely pleased by Jongup’s reaction. “I think… maybe I did,” he admitted after a thoughtful pause. “I did reach for him and he answered, but… I’m not sure he gave me anything to say.”

            Hyesung glanced at Satoru who seemed thoughtful at his question and then shrugged. “Dragons are interesting creatures. They do not have a collective memory, as far as I can tell, but it is not unheard of for riders in particular to find sudden inspiration in moments where they might not have known what to do or say. Or perhaps it was simply you, Jinki, rising to the occasion,” he laughed once with a dismissive wave of his hand as if to say he didn’t know. “Bahamut only knows,” he added, grimacing slightly at the use of the phrase.

            “Either way, well done today,” Satoru murmured again, making sure to meet Jinki’s gaze. “But now, I do think we should see what the Group Trance session has found, if anything.”

            “Not you, Master Satoru,” Mimi chided, already holding firm and ready to drag the man away. “This was important so I gave you leave to come but now you need rest again.” Satoru exhaled in frustration and glared at the other man. “It’s not my fault you almost died and that you’re an aging man who recovers slowly,” he stated simply, looking up and down his thin and slightly hunched figure.

            Satoru made a face but didn’t argue with the reasoning. “I’m not that old,” he grumbled instead as he waved Jinki off and started to let himself be led away by the Healer.

            “So sayeth the man in his middle fifties,” the Healer snorted again, earning another glare but no vocal response.

            The brief bit of levity helped the knot in Jinki’s stomach continue to unwind, but it tightened again as he recalled the strange strength of Jongup’s connection. It was more worrying as to what that might mean for Taekwoon as opposed to himself. “I think I’m going to step outside as well,” he stated, bowing to Hyesung and Seunghyun quickly before he turned to leave. He saw Hyosung again before he got out, her arms crossed loosely over her chest and her gaze perceptive. She nodded once and then moved to head further into the hall, focusing on the non-riders remaining within. Those that noticed him gave Jinki a nod or wave but most were concerned with their own situation just then. That was fine by him. It made it easier for him to escape quickly.

            Taekwoon had experienced Trance many times over. Sometimes with more than one person. But this experience made it seem all new again. The neutral gray space was filled with dragons and riders in human form, bereft of any coverings. For once, no one seemed to notice or care. They were all focused on something else, be it the tumultuous landscape that roiled, stormy clouds rolling and writhing like living things; or the oppressive energy humming in the space around them, pressing down with all the weight of an impending lightning strike; or the whispering tug of something far off that felt like it grabbed at the center of Taekwoon and pulled – hard. Individually, any one of them would have been bad enough. Together, they were nearly debilitating.

            Whatever the dragons had sought to do, in this space, that idea promptly failed as they were faced with a different challenge entirely. Taekwoon tried to focus and manage some kind of effort to do… something, but he was not alone in his failure. Glancing around through narrowed eyes, he saw other riders kneeling as if resting or trying to gather their strength. That was bad enough, but then another sensation started to overtake him – a familiar and unwelcome hot, itching sensation. It made him want to roll his shoulders as if he had wings to shake out. “Jong…” he started to force between gritted teeth before he noticed his dragon beginning to change.

            His human form started to come apart, giving way to the copper dragon once more. In his periphery, Taekwoon saw other dragons succumbing to what appeared to be an involuntary shift. Human skin waxed into different colors and dragon bodies rose up, but they were not exactly the forms they’d been before. Staring at Jonghyun, Taekwoon knew it was his dragon but the copper was… more than he’d been previously. A stripe of deep red wound through his larger horns; he’d sprouted some kind of a furry growth around the crown of his head and, when he opened his wings, he seemed to have extra hooks on the end.

            A quick look at Jongup showed a similar change with darker markings around his eyes and small horns, but his had become more like antlers instead. His coloring was still blue but there were striations now, creating multihued patterns along the length of his body. All around the Trance space, dragons were changing, their forms slightly altered from what they had been before. And as his eyes settled on Chaerin in particular, he inhaled sharply. It wasn’t that she had changed exactly, but he could see around her… the ghost of an outline like the beginnings a dragon’s form. Looking down at his own hands, he flinched to see a similar ghostly outline as well.

            “What in Bahamu-”

            His utterance was cut short by the sudden throaty outcry of every dragon at once. Taekwoon ducked his head and clapped his hands over his ears, the terrible sound humming violently through his body. He didn’t know what they were saying, if anything, but it felt like a question or a call of some kind. There was something out there they were reacting to, or so he thought it felt like. He felt it too. Something clawing at his chest, like it was trying to break free and become more.

            One by one, the dragon sounds fell silent until only one remained. In the last echoes of the fading cry, he understood the word. The call.

            Mother.

            For a moment, he couldn’t even fathom what it might truly mean. And then he didn’t even have that. Everything suddenly stopped – the tumult, the pressure, the pulling – but it did not set him at ease. He understood why a heartbeat later. Faster than he could react to, the Trance space around them simply… collapsed. It engulfed all of them and Taekwoon felt like he was caught in a terrible wave. A wave that picked him up and hauled him along in a torrent of power and anger and confusion and pain… But what rose above all of them, sharper than anything else, was the loneliness, the sadness.

            With a soundless cry, he reached for it, desperate to do something, anything to assuage that hurt. Only, it reached back, almost uncertainly, ready to accept his help, before it suddenly kicked him away. But in the briefest moment of contact, he at least understood. “No!” he cried out, coming to a strange awareness when his head hit the ground.

            “Taekwoon!” He heard the cry as if from far away.

            Ghostly hands brushed at his skin and he wanted to push them away but then his vision started to settle as his mind made sense of the fact he was no longer in Trance. Like many times before, he’d been forcibly pushed out. It was just taking him longer to realize it. He groaned, wincing against the sudden splitting headache pounding against his skull.

            “I’ve got you,” the same voice spoke again and a figure started to materialize in his murky vision.

            “Jinki,” he gasped, blinking hard to try and focus, but it was a losing battle. He could see the other man looking down at him and then looking around, the panic on his face almost comical in his pain filled fugue.

            Focusing once more, Jinki leaned close to his face, one hand on Taekwoon’s cheek and the other cradling the back of his head. “What happened? What’s wrong?” he asked, lip caught between his bottom teeth in his worry.

            It seemed impossible but Taekwoon knew what he’d felt, almost seen, in that brief moment of contact before he’d been kicked out of Trance. “Tiamat… is free,” he gasped in the barest of whispers.