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To Walk With Mortals	By : Lucreace Category: A through F > Dragonlance Views: 2303 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I dont own Dragonlance, I do not make money from this

Chapter List
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The sixth year Luni appeared in Solace, it was raining. It had never rained here before and as she looked up at the sky, water dropped onto her face. Looking down at her clothes, she noticed that she was dressed for cooler weather. Her usual summer dress had long sleeves now and was a heavier material than before. It was still red however and although the rain was slowly soaking it, she found she wasn’t cold. She had also appeared much nearer the walkways that she had before. Climbing upwards, she knew where she was going. Luni had looked forward to this day so much during the past year, she wondered what he had learned and how he had improved on the spells he knew. The trick with the sand had impressed her and she smiled as she remembered their conversation.
She’d also had a long time to think about their other actions and she flushed when she remembered the other things they’d done too. The flush of heat, the searing kisses and the way they fit together had been magical in itself and she hoped they’d be able to explore the sensations further. When she reached his home, she found the door shut. Not unusual in itself, it was raining after all. She knocked but there was no answer straight away. She could hear some shuffling behind the door however and she waited patiently. When it opened, it was Caramon who answered. “Hullo?” It had been two years since she had seen the warrior and he had grown considerably in that time.
                “Hello Caramon, is Raistlin home?” she asked. The big man frowned and turned his head back into the house. He heard a muffled voice before he turned back to her.
                “Sure,” he said and stood aside, allowing her to enter the room. It was pristine in tidiness and a fire was going in the hearth, unusual for this time of year. The door shut softly behind her and she could sense Caramon shifting his weight form one foot to the other. What was with him anyway? Her eyes fell on her companion, who sat huddled in a set of red robes… red… He’d taken the Test then, he was one of hers! She couldn’t see his face as he had his hood drawn up over his head but she could see how he shivered and shook.
                “Are you going to stand there gawping or do you have work to do?” he snapped. His voice was rasping, as though he had suffered a long cough and his tone was sharp.
                “Uh, you’ll be alright Raist?”
                “Luni has visited me every year for the past six years, I will be fine.”
                “Sure Raist,” Caramon muttered before he left the building. As soon as the door was shut again, she settled down on one of the chairs and waited for him to speak again. When he finally looked up and pushed his hood aside, what she saw shocked her. His hair was no longer the rich auburn she had loved so much but a stark white instead. His skin had transformed into a golden colour that made him look slightly jaundiced but worse of all was his eyes. No longer the vibrant blue; they were a golden shade instead. His pupils had turned into the shape of hourglasses and hers widened.
                Once before, a mage had been given this curse. Raelanna’s eyes now looked back at her from the face of one she had come to love. They saw time as they affected all things. Death and decay would be his constant companion from now on. Sadly, she shook her head. When she looked up, she found that he was starring. Starring intently. At her. “You’re not dying.” His voice was still a bare whisper and she leaned forward in order to hear him properly.
                “No,” she said. The implications of his eyes meant that he would now see her as she truly was, there was no hiding the fact that she was immortal, no hiding that she was Lunitari, goddess of neutral magic. A part of her felt the loss of something then, her secret would be his to keep as well now and she felt as though they had aged somehow. Grown old in that one moment of clarity, “I shall never appear old to you, never die, never decay nor become something terrible to behold,” she said. “Do you know me now?” she asked.
                His eyes narrowed and he regarded her coolly for a while. Eventually, he folded his arms over his chest and nodded, “I believe I do, yes.”
                “Do you understand?”
                “I see the need for secrecy and the evasive answers to my questions were valid,” he said. She rose from where she was sitting as he spoke and moved to sit beside him. From this distance, she could feel the heat coming from his body, something that had never been there before. It had a lot to do with the golden hue of his skin and she wondered why it had changed colour.
                “Ask me anything Raistlin, I shall no longer hide the truth from you,” she said. It was tempting to take his hand and give it a squeeze but she kept her own folded in her lap. Now was not the time for romantic gestures, it was the time for attention and explanations.
                “Why this day?” he asked first. Of course he would ask that. One day in a year didn’t seem much to her, the time in between visits passed in a blink but for him, it would have been a terribly long wait.
                “More than a few years ago, my cousins managed to rope me into a bet,” she said. Her cheeks coloured at the memory before she continued, “We were watching the progress of a young mage as he learned about the magic of Krynn. I said that he would remain the colour he was. He had a kind heart yet he was quick tongued and somewhat bitter for his years. He was a red robe at the time. My cousin took the bet and said he would walk her path before long. A deal was struck and Sol made sure that it was a just bet. It was. Unfortunately, that red-robe fell to the black and then became a renegade. The result being that I was forced to walk Krynn for one day of the year as a mortal,” she explained. He listened to her carefully as she spoke and remained silent long after she had shut her mouth.
                “It was Magius wasn’t it?” She frowned, “The mage you bet on.”
                “Yes, I believe that was his name,” she nodded. “This is the day that I lost the bet initially,” she added in order to answer his original question.
                “Why here?” he asked. She frowned then, unsure what he meant. “Why did you appear in Solace those few years ago?”
                “I don’t choose where I go,” she replied, “Well, not really. I was drawn to this place but for what reason I don’t know. Perhaps you have something to do with it.” He snorted at that and shook his head. The white hair was certainly different; it had lost its curl and was now fine, deadly straight and almost wispy. As though he had grown old overnight, this wasn’t the only evidence of his turmoil.
                “I doubt it,” he added. His bitterness was evident and although he wasn’t mocking her, she felt its sting all the same. She went to place her hand over his but he snatched it away. Opening his mouth to speak, his eyes widened and he started to cough. This wasn’t the simple clearing of a throat she had heard before, this was a deep, consumptive hacking, wet and damaging in nature. She watched, helpless, as he struggled for breath, coughing and spluttering endlessly as he fought for air. As abruptly as the fit started, it stopped, leaving him gasping and weak.
                “What happened to you?” she whispered when his breathing returned to normal. It took him a long while to speak, and when he did, his voice was a soft wheeze, nowhere near as strong as he had been before.
                “This is a result of my Test.” He paused there and appeared to be pondering something over in his mind, “I barely escaped with my life. I was tasked to fight a dark elf and although the innate response of my body was to resist the spell, hence the new colour of my skin, the fight left my body shattered, my health irrevocably broken,” he sounded both saddened and proud at the same time.
                “And your eyes?” her voice took on a hard tone, knowing the power of that curse and not approving of its use once more.
                “An attempt to teach me compassion,” he spat. Her eyes narrowed and she regarded the mage who had been nothing but kind to her over the past few years and shook her head. Looking intently at him, she realised that there was plenty that he wasn’t telling her. She could find out by pushing into his mind and learning about whatever it was there but she thought that he would consider that rude so she refrained.
                “Par-Salian had a lot to answer for,” she muttered. It was a shame he belonged to her cousin, otherwise she would be tempted to have a word with him. Shaking her head, she regarded him. Sure, now he looked rather unusual but she found that the changes in his appearance hadn’t changed how she felt towards him. She was desperate to let him know that as well but wasn’t entirely sure how to do so. Words seemed like such a cheap manner of doing such things but how else could she get her message across. He had practically recoiled when she moved to touch his hand.
                “I have this,” he whispered. Her eyes followed his and she saw he had Magius’ Staff. It leaned against the wall but was just within his reach.
                “I’m not sure if that makes it alright.” She held out her hand and he passed the staff to her. He didn’t let go of it she noticed and she smiled, admiring his possessiveness, it was a dangerous artefact in the right hands and he was right to be protective of it.
                “It helps,” he replied. There was the ghost of a smile on his thin lips and she raised a brow a little. The wood was smooth beneath her hands and she stroked the wood, feeling the connection to the magic within instantly. It had many abilities and secrets but by the looks of it, he was yet to unlock them. That wasn’t she was able to assist him with however so she handed the staff back with a soft smile.
                “This will see you through some dark times Raistlin, may it serve you as loyally as it did its former master,” she whispered. His eyes widened at her words but he remained silent.
                “It’s sentient then?”
                “Partially,” she replied.
                “Can you tell me anything about it?” he asked. She shook her head. “But you know what it does?”
                “Do you want me to answer that Raistlin? Why torment yourself with such knowledge?” she said. This time, when she took his hand, he let her and she gave it a squeeze. His skin was warm to the touch, in fact, it exuded a heat like it never had before and she registered that it came from a magical source. The innate response he had mentioned must also cause this extreme body heat. He let out a sigh and shook his head.
                “I see your point,” he said.
                “How long have you been cooped up in here?” she asked, changing the subject completely. He blinked and pulled a bit of a face.
                “Days, I’ve been unwell,” he said.
                “It would seem that you’re always going to be unwell to some degree or another, we should go for a walk or something,” she said with a grin. He smiled back at her then and she was reminded of the boy he had been. He placed the end of the staff on the floor and hauled himself to his feet carefully.
                “Caramon says I should stay in and keep warm,” he mused, “So I’ll come along for some fresh air.” She gave him a wink and headed towards the door. The air may not do much for him in the long run but she wanted to be out of the confines of the house for a while. Perhaps it would cheer him too. She also had an idea in her head she wanted to try out but they’d be unable to do so indoors.
                Knowing that he was following behind her, she waited for him to leave the house and shut the door behind him. He didn’t lock it and so she took his arm, more so that he could lean on her if he needed rather than for any desire for contact. Slowly, they made their way down the boardwalk to the warm ground and began walking towards their secluded spot by the lake.
                “How did I know you’d bring me here?” he whispered.
                “Because this place is special!” she replied simply. “I think about this place when I am not here even,” she admitted. She flushed at the sentimentality of the admission and refused to look into his face. What would he think of her for such silliness? He made no comment however and merely nodded instead. When they arrived, she noticed that a rather large tree had come down over the past year and not been removed, it provided them with a place to sit and for that, she was grateful. She made sure that he was sat beside her before she took his hand again. “I came here because I want to try something and I know we won’t be disturbed here,” she said.
                “Are you sure we couldn’t have done that back at home?”
                “What are you talking about?” she frowned. A little smirk played on his lips and she caught his meaning. Shaking her head, she flushed a little.
                “No Raistlin, I didn’t have that in mind…” Still, she leaned over and kissed his cheek while the opportunity presented itself and whispered, “Perhaps a little later.” He twisted his head when she pulled away but she was unable to read the expression on his face.
                “What do you want then?” he asked as he ran a gentle thumb over her knuckles.
                “I want you to cast something while touching me,” she said. He frowned a little at that, “I want to see what happens if you cast a spell. I have long wondered whether it would affect the potency of the spell or not. You are one of my followers after all and I wonder…” she trailed off the thought and let it sink in for a moment.
                “I follow you,” he said after a moment’s consideration. “I don’t have all that much memorised though,” he added.
                “What do you have?”
                He fell silent for a moment, “I have something,” he nodded. “But I need my right hand to cast.” He added. When he stood, she moved to his left and took his hand. When he began concentrating, she shut her eyes. She could feel the magic within him, pulsing through his body almost as though it was blood. He almost glowed with it. She knew what he was going to cast before he even did it and as he released the spell, she felt a strange pull ripple through her. Opening her eyes, she watched a giant stream of magic pour forth from his fingertips and explode into a nearby tree. Blinking, she turned to him with a questioning look. He sank back onto the log and rested his hands in his lap.
                “Was that better?” she asked. He nodded mutely and she grinned. “I thought so… how do you feel?”
                “Not as exhausted as I should be, but weary none the less.” She sank down beside him but kept her hand in his.
                “We’ll rest here for a bit then, you can me what it felt like,” she said.
                “Like my blood was on fire,” he replied. “Not in a bad way, usually when I cast it’s a hot tingle as I discharge a spell. This was like that but a much stronger sensation. I could feel you pulsing through my body as I spoke.” His explanation made perfect sense to her and she nodded smugly.
                “I thought that would happen, but thank you for letting me try,” she said. He nodded and went to say something further but his voice was cut off by another coughing attack. He spluttered and hacked until his face was as red as his robes. She wrapped a hand around his back and moved it in a circular motion, hoping it would ease his struggling breaths. His spasm eased and he looked up into her troubled face.
                “We need to head back,” he whispered, “I could use some tea.”
                She nodded and wrapped her arms around his body. Picturing his home, she focused and released her own magic, teleporting them back into the warm confines of his home. As soon as he had his bearings, he fixed up a strange herbal concoction that smelled vile. “It soothes my cough,” he replied. She nodded and they sat silently for a long moment. She watched as his eyes began to roll and she took the cup from his shaking hands.
                “Lie down Raistlin,” she said softly.
                “But you’re here, I should stay awake,” he whispered, even as he yawned. She placed a slim hand on his chest and just pushed him back onto the bed. There was nothing intimate about the gesture but she leaned over him anyway and placed her soft lips on his thin ones. “Don’t…” he whispered.
                She leaned back and settled beside him, “Sorry,” she said.
                “I haven’t the energy to respond,” he said. She shook her head softly and wrapped her arm loosely over his waist.
                “Don’t worry about that,” she whispered, “Sleep now and dream. I won’t be here when you wake but know that from now on, you walk within my light.” She kissed his cheek again and he snorted a little in response. He nodded even after his eyes shut and slowly, he’s breathing became long and even. She let her own eyes drift closed and she leaned her head on his shoulder and she too slipped into a doze. When her time came, she left without a sound, leaving his sleeping peacefully
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To Walk With Mortals