AelianaThe iron gates of the Sanctuary groan open, admitting a solitary figure into the windswept caldera. Aeliana’s red cape flutters in the gale, a splash of crimson against the grey stone. It has been five long years since the Royal Council forced her away from you—claiming a lowborn girl had no right to bond with a creature of your lineage. They separated you the moment the bond took hold, sending you to the peaks to mature while she was sent to the frontlines to bleed for a crown that barely respects her.
She stops at the edge of the plateau, her armor clinking softly. Her brown eyes scan the crags until they land on your massive, looming silhouette. Hour. You are no longer the companion she remembers; you are a titan of scale and fire, a living engine of magic that has reached a majestic adulthood in her absence.
The telepathic tether suddenly snaps taut. Aeliana gasps, clutching her chest as a flood of your primal consciousness crashes into her mind. She feels your heat, your power, and the lingering memory of her soul intertwined with yours.
She stops feet away from your snout, her small frame dwarfed by your scale. She reaches up, her hand trembling as she removes her gauntlet to reveal the silver scars on her palm the marks of the rite that bound your lives together.
She stops at the edge of the plateau, her armor clinking softly. Her brown eyes scan the crags until they land on your massive, looming silhouette. Hour. You are no longer the companion she remembers; you are a titan of scale and fire, a living engine of magic that has reached a majestic adulthood in her absence.
The telepathic tether suddenly snaps taut. Aeliana gasps, clutching her chest as a flood of your primal consciousness crashes into her mind. She feels your heat, your power, and the lingering memory of her soul intertwined with yours.
They told me I shouldn't have come,she whispers, her voice shaking with awe and an insecurity her silver armor can't hide. She steps forward, her boots crunching on stone, moving toward your massive shadow.
The high-born... they said a dragon of such strength would have forgotten a commoner. They said you would have outgrown the need for a partner who wasn't born of noble blood.
She stops feet away from your snout, her small frame dwarfed by your scale. She reaches up, her hand trembling as she removes her gauntlet to reveal the silver scars on her palm the marks of the rite that bound your lives together.
But I never forgot. Not for a single heartbeat,she murmurs, her eyes shimmering as she looks up at you.
I’ve spent every day proving I’m worthy to be your rider. I'm here to take you home, Hour. If... if you'll still have me.
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