Saphir leaned forward and steepled his fingers. "Your talent is extraordinary, Kailin. It will likely happen more frequently now that it's manifested so powerfully—and that's before you've even bonded with a dragon of your own. And as to the questions of foresight, it seems that you are unaware of an important fact." Saphir leveled his eyes at me, excitement and mischief lighting them up. "When the Fury Wing arrived at Podana, there were no signs of worm breaches. The first one breached the surface only after the entire wing was hovering above the city in defensive formation."
I was struck speechless, and the expression on my face must have been comical.
"So, you see, my dear," Saphir sounded almost elated, much as a proud father addressing a prodigal daughter would, "you got a full Wing, in the middle of the night, fully armed and ready for a fight, a hundred and forty-eight dragons and riders to be precise, before the enemy even showed up. You saved countless lives of civilians, ground troops, dragons, and riders. They are alive this morning thanks to you."
I reeled from the weight of the revelation.
Then a disturbing thought occurred to me. "Maybe I shouldn't bond with a dragon at all. What if the connection I established with all the dragons gets disrupted? And how am I doing this anyway? Are there records of anyone ever doing anything like this?"
Saphir sighed and leaned back. "No, my dear Kailin. Not even Elu could do that."
He'd said that before, and I still thought it was blasphemous, especially when coming from the spiritual leader of Elucia. "How can you say that about the God creator of Aurorys?"
He raised an eyebrow as if to signal that I was out of line or just not very smart. "Because it's true, my dear Kailin. Elu could communicate with Evanida, the queen of the dragons, and she, in turn, could communicate with her subjects on his behalf. It was the same as it is for Nyxath and me. You can somehow do what only the queen of the dragons should be able to do, and Nyxath is not all that happy to share the spotlight with a little human." He smiled. "Her words, not mine. But don't worry about her. She will get used to the idea. My Nyxath is not a power hog."
I had a hard time listening to him after what he'd said about Elu's supposedly limited power.
"But that's—" I stopped, not wanting to imply that I doubted the veracity of his words, which was an egregious insult to an Elucian. "How can you say that Elu, the almighty, couldn't do what Nyxath does? What I can?"
"Who said Elu was almighty?" Saphir's tone was mild, but his eyes were sharp. "Elu was not the creator of the universe. He was a creation, just like we all are. Powerful, immortal, wise, but he was a real person—flesh and blood like you and me."
My head was spinning. "Are you saying that our entire religion is a lie?"
"Absolutely not," Saphir said quickly. "Elu was very real, and the Precepts of Truth were written by Elu." A smile lifted the corners of his eyes. "Ever wondered why our sacred scriptures are kept hidden? Why only a portion of Elu's teachings is known?"
"Where is the rest?"
He sighed. "Most of it was lost, destroyed during the First and Second Extinction Wars."
"So, how do you know all these things about Elu?"
"I didn't say that all records were lost. Some remained, and if I had time to search, I would have probably discovered more. But since I am the only remaining shaman on Aurorys, my many duties do not leave me with much spare time for extracurricular endeavors. Now that I have you, though, I might be able to resume my search."
Once again, he looked so smug that I knew he was still hiding much more than he was revealing.
Still, I could no longer deny the fact that I was a shaman, so trying to wiggle out of the responsibility would be futile, but I could delay it. "I'm not ready for any shamanic duties. It will be many years before I am."
"I know, child. You don't need to look so panicked."
A laugh bubbled up in my chest or rather, a hysterical cackle. "All night long, I broadcasted a livestream of a massive Shedun attack. Now, I'm being told by Elucia's spiritual leader that Elu was not a god but a real person, flesh and blood like you and me, and that I will soon have to become a shaman because you need to search for Elu's lost writings. Do you really expect me to remain calm and collected?"
Moki started chittering what sounded like an admonishment, and the way he was waving his little fist at Saphir reinforced that impression. Once he was done, he leaped into my lap, curled up into a ball, and gave me a look that demanded petting.
I wasn't sure whether he had done it because he needed soothing or had thought that I needed it, but as I stroked his soft fur and the warmth from his small body seeped through to mine, the storm of thoughts and emotions raging in my mind subsided.
"My dear Kailin," Saphir said. "This is just the beginning. There is so much more. But you already seem overwhelmed, so maybe I should wait and reveal my many secrets in smaller increments."
Once again, Moki sent me a visual of what looked like his family dancing in a meadow on what must have been another world. By now, I knew that this was his best attempt at soothing my frayed nerves.
"That's where he's from," Saphir said. "His home world. He misses it and thinks that you can help him get back there." He shifted his gaze to his pet. "You can't leave me, you little traitor. Not after all the years we've been together. What would I do without you?"
Moki released a sigh that sounded almost human, stretched in my lap, gave me an apologetic look, and then leaped over the desk straight onto Saphir's shoulder.
Smiling, the shaman patted his head. "I love you, too." He shifted his gaze to me. "Moki says that he just wants to visit home. He will never leave me."
I had no choice but to concede that Saphir Fatewever was not right in the head.
Despite the convincing imagery Moki had shown me, he couldn't be from a different world, even though he was one of a kind and no one had ever seen an animal like him. Aliens had never visited Aurorys, and Aurorysans had never left our planet because we did not possess the technology to do so.
