I watch the city burn, these dreams like ashes float away...
His appearance was unusual, but she was no stranger to the odd and unlikely. Beqanna was full of strange colors, strange features, and there was something oddly lovely about the scales spread across his skin in place of hair, his sharp predatory teeth, his odd eyes. And she could appreciate his directness. She called a soft, wordless greeting back and met him partway, closing the last of the distance between them.
And she met those odd eyes with a directness of her own. “My name is Lilitha,” she answered. “My father aided in the formation of this land when the Reckoning came, and he did so to make a safe place in the chaos of a world in upheaval.” The only father she’d ever known, though she didn’t get a chance to know him well.
“When he disappeared from the land, he left my friend Ruan in charge along with his mate at the time, Reagan. They had the same goal for the land, to make it a haven, a safe place for families to raise their children, for people to coexist in peace. A land that belonged to the people, and not to a king or queen. Independent and proud and safe, until outside influences made it otherwise, trying to take power over a land that was never meant to be dominated.”
She looked around, golden eyes lingering on old scars on the towering trees, a land strong and proud even through disaster, recovering from the nightmare of gods unleashing their wrath on their people. “This land has survived devastation from the fairies and the Dark God himself, stood free and independent for long years since. I would see it remain as it was meant to be.”
She met his gaze again, standing proud and tall like Taiga deserved. “This is my home. I want to honor its spirit, its nature, its purpose. I won’t let it be subjugated by strangers, I won’t let it be taken over by someone who just wants a land to rule. Taiga is free, and I will keep it that way.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly and she asked, “And you? Who are you, and what do you want here?”
...your voice I never heard, only silence.