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Scales & Shadows Ch26: Moonflowers
🕑 Added 2023-05-22 01:52:01 +0000 UTCI beheld Phaeliisthia’s true form, and despite my overwhelming fear, I felt a calm settle over me.
Magnificent. Pedantic or not, no lesser word would serve to capture Phaeliisthia’s sheer presence. Not to mention her size.
I could see in an instant why she chose an elf-like form. Her massive, sharp-toothed, and lizard-like head alone was the same length as her manor’s dining table—and longer than me. Her wingspans, for she had four massive, feathered wings, could cover the width of the manor, while from snout to tip she rivaled its length.
A mane of intensely bright white feathers parted brilliant sun-gold scales from the crown of her horned head to the tip of her immense tail. Her uncapped horns were similar in shape as before, if now each taller than her own elven form. Tendrils from the sides of her snout trailed almost down to her forelegs, the limbs themselves a little short against her massive sinuous body. As if to compensate, she had two sets of forelegs, matching her wings, and a single pair of rear limbs.
Slowly, Phaeliisthia raised her head, eyeing us with one massive, white eye, completely unchanged in shape from her elven form. With a great intake of breath she huffed, and I felt the courtyard brighten for a brief moment.
“Students,” the great feathered serpent dragon spoke slowly, her voice deep and resonant, “Am I not magnificent?”
I gulped and nodded, not even looking at what my sisters did.
Phaeliisthia chuckled and the ground rumbled. “Selfish it may be, but the reactions are always worth the wait. I’ve half a mind to continue today’s lessons in my true form, but I fear my radiance would be far too great a distraction. Alas…”
Heaving a great sigh, Phaeliisthia’s form shrunk in glowing light until she stood again in the center of her courtyard, impossibly smaller. She brushed off her shoulders and straightened her outfit—the same she had left in.
“Well, that was fun!” our draconic tutor cheered, her voice once again melodic. “Pick your jaws up off the stones and join me. We’re weeksbehind on lessons—no doubt despite Zinniz’s best efforts—and I intend to catch all of you up.”
A shiver ran down my spine, from neck to tail-tip.
“Oh!” Phaeliisthia snapped her fingers. “I know! Since two of you were so close, and the wonderfully unexpected Issa even managed to surprise me, I suppose I can weave your reward in with the lessons.”
“Is… is it more lessons?” Kyrae asked tentatively.
Phaeliisthia tittered. “Only if you make it so. Your reward is thus: I will take each of you to one single place you desire to go. You may go alone, or take your sisters.”
“Any place?” Ssiina asked, incredulous.
Our tutor smirked. “The bottom of the ocean would be rather difficult, and certain specific places may be dangerous enough for me to shift your request, but yes. So long as it is on the material plane, we will go there. You should have some ideas—I know you’ve all paid at least someattention to geography. Think it over—you have one month to decide, and you may pick a place and a time, so we may not necessarily leave immediately.”
“How would we get there?” I blurted.
Phaeliisthia replied with a toothy smile and a chuckle. “I am more than capable of serving as a transport vessel, and my ego is not so fragile as to find the task demeaning.
“Oh and this isn’t part of the reward, but if you manage to catch up within the next two weeks, I will begin all of your practical combat lessons early. Truthfully, it is much easier to judge your attacks firsthand, and people tend to do pesky things like hold back when they worry they might hurt you.”
“Do…” Ssiina let the syllable hang and took a careful breath. “Tutor Phaeliisthia, do you wish for us to attack you during our future training?”
“Of course! Well, eventually,” Phaeliisthia replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She then wagged a taloned finger at Ssiina. “But we are not there yet, dear, and I grow tired of waiting. Come, and receive the blessing of my knowledge.”
Only Phaeliisthia would say something so patently ridiculous with total sincerity.
“Mistress, if I may,” Zinniz interrupted carefully.
“Yes, Zinniz?”
“The clothes for Ssiina, Issa, and Kyrae are ready. I had a servant fetch the outfits two days prior.”
The look Phaeliisthia gave us could burn water. “In that case… we simply must take a moment to dress for class.”
Oh no. With all three of us still in shock from Phaeliisthia’s reveal, we were herded into a lavish room where privacy screens and servants awaited. With mounting dread, I forced myself to look at the folded clothing set aside behind the privacy screen meant for me. One that was only barely large enough for me to coil behind. Although, it wasn’t like lower bodies needed clothing anyway.
Well, lamia didn’t. Legs revealed certain things.
Folded innocently on a low wooden table was a silken robe of gold and white with red accents and black stitching. It… didn’t look toogarish honestly.
I unfolded the garment carefully, noting that the primary color was white with thick gold-colored bands around the sleeves, hem, and folds. Unfortunately, folding also revealed the red frills around the bottom, sleeves, and ringing the pointed shoulders.
Still, it could be worse… and it looks comfortable.
I slipped into it without much difficulty, and noticed immediately that my chest felt less tight. A quick glance down confirmed: I really do have breasts now! Taking a deep breath and rolling my shoulders against the wonderfully smooth fabric, I slithered back out into the room. Ssiina was already waiting, a red blush almost overriding the brown of her cheeks. When she glanced up at me and sighed exasperatedly, I noticed the gold matched her eyes.
“It’s not that bad!” I gave my sister a quick side hug.
“I look like I’m a single decade old and trying to wear adult clothing, Issa!” Ssiina hissed.
I plucked at the silky and frilly hem. “I almost like it, actually.”
“Of course you would. At least Kyrae will—”
“How do I look!” Kyrae’s chipper voice from behind made both of us jump.
Turning around, I saw Kyrae wearing a shorter version of our clothing up top and tight gold-colored silk pants below. White shoes with black stitching and red soles completed the look. She twirled, and the robe that went almost to her knees twirled around after her, frills flying.
When she came to a stop, she swiftly slid her now-long black hair away from her eyes and I got a good look at my sister. Her clothing up until now had been loose—even what Sire Tyaniis had gotten for her. Now though, I saw slight rises on her chest and a flare to her hips, although the latter could have been the skirt.
More than I remembered, my elven sister looked happy: a genuine smile reached across her smooth face to her green eyes.
“Do—do you like it?” Ssiina ventured.
“I love it!” Kyrae gushed. “It’s super cute and I can move really well in it! I’ll bet even with all these frills, it’ll get snagged less when we’re exploring around the estate’s gardens!” She pulled both fists just up under her chin and looked like she would jump airborne at any moment.
For once, Ssiina appeared to be speechless. She opened and closed her mouth, blush deepening to an impossible full-face shade.
I need to say something! “Should we go show Phaeliisthia?”
“I don’t want to…” Ssiina admitted. “I’ll never live this down.”
“I think you look cute!” Kyrae piped up, gently patting Ssiina on the back.
I wondered for a moment if all the blood from Ssiina’s lower body had somehow stuffed itself into her face. She squeaked.
I blinked.
Kyrae giggled.
Ssiina squeaked again. “I’ll go! Let’s go!”
Compliments. Her greatest weakness.
The three of us shuffled outside in silence, although Kyrae twirled enough on the walk out to make herself dizzy.
“Most marvelous!” Phaeliisthia cooed upon seeing the three of us in our matching outfits.
The light outside made the gold-colored strips shimmer and I felt like a fancy doll at a market, or a newly-struck kss’kaa with more money than sense.
“And practical, too, as I’m certain you’ll find! Now, let’s get you three seated. We have a lot to cover today!”
***
Despite two weeks of pain, we indeed “caught up” as Phaeliisthia put it. At least this meant combat lessons! Finally!
“You may notice that, unfortunately, your normal, wonderful outfits have been traded for practical, simple clothing,” our tutor said, wearing her own weirdly unremarkable outfit of undyed cotton.
I glanced down. It’s still fancier than I’m used to… actually… I’ve become rather used to nicer clothes. I can feel the shoulders are just too tight and there’s a missed stitch scratching my left breast.
“But!” Phaeliisthia punctuated her statement with a clap and a twirl. “That is all for the purpose of teaching you three how to fight! Now, any other instructor would lament the knowledge as vestigial for hssen—from a time before the empire’s peace. However, I know that you three lovely ladies won’t content yourselves to sit and preen like the birds that grow fat on the fruit from my garden.” She jabbed a hand skyward, and a bright orange parrot flew out of a tree with a startled squawk.
“We’ll start with Ssiina as she seems to be the most eager by far.”
I looked to my left and saw Ssiina, her hands curled into fists, and her posture slightly hunched. She wore a smile that extended the whole width of her jaw, beyond even her teeth. I tried to suppress a giggle and snorted, but my sister didn’t even look my way.
No, instead she practically jumped and slithered forward like a startled skink. Zinniz appeared from one side, carrying a sheathed blade.
“Before we start, we’ll cover some basics regarding blade safety. I may be able to reattach lost fingers, but that doesn’t mean I care to hear your wailing should you sever one of your own.”
Ssiina nodded rapidly. Admittedly, Kyrae and I also leaned in to listen from the sidelines as Zinniz set up a dummy for Ssiina to practice forms against.
Ssiina took the blade almost reverently, and Phaeliisthia made no attempt to correct the rogueish smile our sister had. Surely she just enjoys the mystique of martial combat, right? An enjoyment for theater? Kyrae and I knew all too well the uses for small blades, and Ssiina’s excitement unsettled me a little.
I felt my elf sister’s hand clutch mine and I realized I’d been shaking. Leaning over, I gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m okay, Kyrae.”
She smiled back. “I know.”
“So,” I continued, trying to change the subject before my mind went to places that would quickly make me not-okay, “What do you think a pseudo-noble serpent dragon would consider proper technique?”
After a few basic forms and a discussion of how to hold the blade and use your lower body to strike with your elfoid torso quickly, Kyrae and I had our answer. Phaeliisthia had moved on to more… practical advice.
“Tutor Phaeliisthia, I do not mean to call into question your knowledge, but this hardly seems a sporting technique,” Ssiina asked, confused.
“Pfft!” My hand couldn’t cover the whole noise and our hssen-raised sister shot me a glare.
When Kyrae followed by bursting out laughing, Ssiina pouted.
Phaeliisthia placed a hand on her shoulder. “That, my dear student, is the point! You are not fighting a ‘duel,’ you are trying to incapacitate or kill your opponent. Now we will try this again! A sweep with your lower body and a flick of your tail to kick up dirt. When they are blinded, a simple, straight stab at the lower abdomen is desired, then twist and pull. Your goal should be to rupture as many organs as possible. If you carry the momentum of your lower body into the cut you’ve made, you may be able to eviscerate them quickly. Go ahead and try it on the dummy. I’ve had Zinniz fill it with unusable viscera from last night’s dinner.”
Ssiina blanched, gulping. “I…”
“Did you not want to learn this, Ssiina?” Phaeliisthia taunted. “You must understand what it is to kill, dear. You are not learning to fight elf or lamia opponents to shake hands with them after ward and say ‘well done.’”
Her student froze. “I… Should we be doing something simpler today? Or maybe we can learn something else? Like sneaking or pickpocketing or…”
“Of course!” Phaeliisthia plucked the bronze dagger from a startled Ssiina. She handed her one made from wood. “Issa, Kyrae! Come join us and we’ll run through forms. Footwork for Kyrae as well.”
Ssiina blinked slowly. “….what?”
Phaeliisthia clicked your tongue and rapped a single golden talon against the kelaniel’s forehead. “It is important to have enthusiasm for the art, but you mustn’t glorify the subject. Hopefully, you will not have to kill someone, but I aim to teach you how to if need be. Honestly, it’s astounding Tyaniis failed to teach her daughter this much.”
Our hssen-raised sister stiffened. “Can… can we not talk about that? Sire is… she will be better in the future.” When she looked up, tears had streaked the sweat and dust on her cheeks. “Those few weeks before we left Ess’Sylantziis were already such a change—I think she said more words to me then than the whole past year.”
I felt my jaw drop, then set. She what? I thought back to our sire. Terrifying—well, not like Phaeliisthia—and cold-seeming, I still felt as though Tyaniis had a warmth deep down inside, like a large stone the cool morning after a hot day.
“I’m sorry, Ssiina,” Kyrae apologized next to me, walking over to give Ssiina a hug. “I’m sure things will be better from now on.”
Ssiina mumbled and nodded, now crying in earnest.
Phaeliisthia glanced at me, her expression unreadable.
I went to my sister as well, wordlessly enveloping her in a hug. We didn’t have any more lessons that day, and Ssiina declined to speak any further on the matter.
However, we did start our combat lessons after that in earnest. Phaeliisthia no longer used such visceral imagery to scare us, and by the end of the week, Ssiina seemed to have found her current again, sliding along through the forms with fluid grace.
The extra experience Kyrae and I had helped in the spars at first, but lessened over time as we struggled with ingrained habits. I often failed to parry or stuck to big, simple motions that my size simply wasn’t enough to back up. When I’d been fighting other kids my age for food, it had worked. Now though. Well, I was almost as large as Ssiina, but against any skilled opponent, I’d end up the loser.
Kyrae fared better than I did, especially when it came to dirty tricks. Unfortunately, our hssen-raised sister seemed to have an unnatural talent for bladework that only revealed more as we moved through the weeks into mixed lessons, learning longer blades. Worse still, Ssiina was unbearably smug about it.
Unfortunately for her, Kyrae progressed equally quickly in her magic and soon outstripped Ssiina as a sigilist. Though she focused the most on the Temple’s sigils, particularly restorative and venom or acid spells, she learned other disciplines quickly.
As for me, well… that visit to the library seemingly unlocked something. I found myself there more and more often for longer and longer evenings. I’d spent so long in darkness, I wanted nothing more than to bathe in the light of knowledge.
A library like Phaeliisthia’s was something precious few had access to. So, in spite of the odds, in spite of every single thing I thought I knew about myself, I found my impulsiveness turning into bouts of reading, my recklessness into embarrassing attempts at calligraphy and writing.
My shadow magic progressed steadily as well, but I felt as though I had almost hit my limit, even as the buds in Phaeliisthia’s glowing cavern grew and grew until they were larger than my head. Still, none of them peeked open, not a single bud showed me a hint of what that cavern would look like in bloom.
Until today.
Today was, of course, another day off wasted. Another long night shifting into an unbearably short morning. Another battle with Phaeliisthia’s contagious grandiloquence. Off in our “secret” glade, my sisters were no doubt talking about where they wanted Phaeliisthia to take us. Personally, I hadn’t made up my mind yet—every day it seemed I found out about someplace new that I immediately wanted to visit.
I have to pick just one.
Something was different today. Something about Phaeliisthia’s smile and the way it easily reached her eyes told me that today would be special. Adding to that, she had brought the small leatherbound tome that she had gotten in Amaranth with her today.
I had asked after the small tome weeks ago, but the serpent dragon had said “the time was not right” and left it cryptically at that.
“Is the time right now?” I asked, matching her long stride.
Matching Phaeliisthia’s quick stride was easier than ever. These days, I was a lot bigger than I had been when I first came here. I stood no chance of fitting into my old clothes, especially with my chest taken into consideration. Kyrae constantly ribbed me about it, with perhaps a little more venom than an elf should have been capable of producing. Even Ssiina was starting to complain.
My turn to be smug.
“It is indeed,” Phaeliisthia answered with a smile. “Proud of your chest?”
I blushed and realized I’d been staring… at myself. “Uh, yeah, I guess.”
The serpent dragon nodded sagely. “Pride is important. See that you do not lose it.”
“But what about too much pride?”
Phaeliisthia laughed. “I am the wrong person to ask about that, dear.”
I smiled despite my flushed cheeks. “So, am I going to be able to read that tome, Tutor Phaeliisthia?”
She looked down at me with twinkling eyes. “Let us away to the cavern first. I believe I’ve failed to hide my excitement, so you doubtless know what is in store.”
I nodded eagerly.
My excitement built as we moved through the twisting tunnel. Up ahead, I could see a white tinge to the normal pale blue glow of the cavern. When we rounded the final corner and entered the room, Phaeliisthia stopped and stared. I heard a sharp intake of breath from her, and her hand went to her face, wiping quickly.
I slithered around her and stopped just as she did. The head-sized buds had all opened, every last one. Massive, six-petaled white flowers glowed pearlescent in the blue light of the cavern. A heady, sweet scent infused the air, and motes of shimmering golden pollen surrounded glowing golden stamens longer than my hands and thick as fingers. Pale blue-white moths darted between the flowers and blue leaves, trailing sparkling gold through the air as they disappeared into holes in the rock.
“Moonflowers,” Phaeliisthia said sadly. “Exceedingly rare, terrifyingly fragile, and the most beautiful flowers in the world.”
I only then noticed she was crying. “Phaeliisthia…” I trailed off unsure what to say.
The serpent dragon breathed deeply and sighed out, a wide, sad smile slowly crossing her face as her tears stopped. “Forgive me, my student. This sight is… sentimental to me. That is all.”
“I…”
She shook her head and strode into the glade, wiping her eyes slowly. “I do not need your words. But I do enjoy your presence. Come. In lieu of a lesson today, I believe we will discuss this book and what I learned in Amaranth.”
I slithered after her and coiled in my usual spot by the pond. All the axolotl had come near the surface and were swimming as if in a dance. Mesmerized, I didn’t speak for some time. Eventually, I realized Phaeliisthia was waiting for me. “Why did you get a tome in Amaranth? Didn’t you say the merfolk carried oral traditions?”
“Most do.” Phaeliisthia grinned cattily, her somber aura gone as quickly as it had come. “But like any people, some defy tradition. I was informed we may yet find answers within this tome."
“You haven’t read it?”
“I have read it.”
“Then can’t you tell me?”
Phaeliisthia laughed a gilded laugh. “Where’s the fun in that? No, Issa, I think will be important for you to learn the language this text is written in.”
“Merfolk?”
Phaeliisthia shook her head.
“Elven?”
Again, I got a “No.”
“Whatever the language you have in your library is?”
“Draconic.” Oh that makes sense. “And no.”
I blinked. “What language could this tome possibly be in?”
“Human Imperial.”
What.
