A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

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I think one more does it for the setup...

-Arianrhod.
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Annie
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"Surprised to see me?" Aryllia asked archly.

"Not really," I replied offhandedly...though truth be told, I didn't know what to make of this shift in events.

"Well, I was," she laughed. "I never thought that it would be possible for me to have a corporeal form again after I was shackled so very long ago," she continued with a note of sadness in her voice.

"I'd say that our odds just got that much better," Llew said cheerfully. "How does this affect Annie's power, since you aren't a part of her any more?"

"It shouldn't at all, if my suspicion is correct," Aryllia answered. "I had the experience and the knowledge to make the most of her abilities, but the raw power was hers alone."

"You mean, I had enough power to actually go up against monsters like Pyrandon and Maoten and survive?" I asked, surprised.

"Quite so. You didn't know how to use it, and without my spell to revive my fallen children, even if only for a few minutes, you would have certainly perished at Maoten's claws. But the fact remains that you have a tremendous amount of power for a youngling."

"So if what we were witnessing was not amplified by being the host of an ur-dragon, as we thought..." Llew trailed off, staring at Aryllia in awe, who nodded in response, and stated:

"My power is like nothing you've ever seen before."

"The fact remains that we have two primary goals that we must accomplish. We still have to get the authorities to stop sniffing around, and we still need to commence our preparations for the Time of Renewal."

"Now is not the time for your revenge, Daughter," Aryllia said formally.

I bristled a little bit, but replied calmly, "If the detectives keep looking for Roger Nebel, sooner or later they're going to learn what really happened. Even if magic is destined to once again awaken, and soon, I'd think that we would prefer not to let the authorities know that it is coming. At least not until we're already established."

Aryllia stared at me with a gaze that I felt go right through me. Literally. "By the time that anyone figures out what's really going on, our plans will be past the point where they can stop us, regardless. If you really want to be avenged for your near-branding, then stop trying to be tricky with it. Just do it. Show up appearing as Roger, and then reveal yourself and deal with it."

I ducked my head a bit, annoyed that I'd apparently been so transparent. Luckily, headlights appeared in the driveway just then and saved me from any further embarrassment. Or so I thought.

----
Llew
----

I knew that I shouldn't laugh, but I couldn't help it when Annie's parents and sister came trundled in the front door burdened by bag after bag after bag...filled to the brim with female clothes, towels, sheets, you name it, it was there. I was glad that she had a family that was accepting her and would help her move along with her life, but at the same time, her reaction was just so damned funny.

Aryllia (Oh nice to meet you and how do you do, according to Annie's parents) and I were both roped into helping with the impromptu redecoration, and I had to stifle a giggle as Annie recoiled as if she was touching poison.

I couldn't help but think about how this reinforced Aryllia's point of "cops be damned." If they did choose to continue the investigation, as they undoubtedly would, they would find it very peculiar that Roger's room was now very obviously belonging to a late teenaged girl...and equally obviously lived in. Oh well...no secret stays buried forever.

The whole process reminded me a little of my own origins, and I silently hoped that my own family was safe and sound. They'd distanced themselves from me -- at my command -- for their own safety. I couldn't help but hope that with Aryllia's unexpected corporeal manifestation, it would be safe enough to bring them back to me again. I guessed that they were as worried about me as I was them, and felt a brief twinge of guilt, which I stifled quickly.

After the redo of Annie's room was complete, the family plus Aryllia and myself sat down for a late bite to eat. Annie, at her mother's order, was rocking some of her new duds...and looking hilarious uncomfortable. I honestly doubted that she even knew she was doing it. I smiled in remembrance, briefly. She will, I thought to myself.

"So you're the reason that our son transformed?" Annie's father was asking Aryllia.

"I'm not sure anymore. As Annie may or may not have told you, your line is descended directly from myself. You can think of me as a sort of ultimate grandmother, if you want. That means that your family has always carried a strain of draconic blood in your veins, quietly and very far beneath the surface.

"I won't pretend to say that I didn't hope and dream that my species would one day be reborn, as I slumbered through the generations. At the same time, though, I would not have forced such a transformation. At first I thought that I might have somehow caused Roger's Manifestation because of both my own desires and and his own unnaturally strong draconic influence...but now I'm not so sure."

"Why so? It sounds perfectly reasonable to me," Lars noted in a "none of this is reasonable, though" tone.

"Her power is too great," she said simply. "I don't mean this as an affront, mind, but for the first new generation of black dragon in hundreds of years, Annie possesses an enormous amount of raw power -- very nearly equal to my own, in fact. No, I suspect that the close proximity of the Time of Renewal has much to do with her Manifestation. The form is easy to understand, due to her draconic blood. The change in gender makes less sense to me, but I'm confidant that in time I will be able to answer that question, as well."

Conversation turned to small talk, but Aryllia had one more bomb to drop before the humans drifted off to sleep.

"I'd like to take this opportunity while everyone is so gathered to cause the Naming," she began.

"The Naming?" Annie asked, although I already knew where this was going.

"Indeed. It is a tradition of many of the mythic species that when a youngling reaches a certain age, that they are to assume an adult name worthy of their status as such. It used to be true for humans, as well, but somewhere along the way your species apparently outgrew such childish notions," she said mildly. I was beginning to get the feeling that Aryllia's sense of humor, if it could even be called that, would be considered dry in a desert.

Annie looked a little bewildered. How many name changes could one go through in a less than a week and still preserve a sense of identity?

"Alright," she sighed finally. "How does this work?"

"It's quite simple, really. As death is one of our Domains, all you need to do is commune with the dead. Someone from the past will eventually come to you in a vision and talk to you. Over the course of the conversation, you will find out many things about yourself. One of these will be your truename, another will be the name that you will use, as a black dragon, with others. Are you prepared?"

Annie nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

----
Annie
----

Once Aryllia completed the spell, I blacked out for what seemed like only a moment. In that moment, however, I somehow had an entire conversation.

I found myself in a plane of pure shadow, except for two spotlights of white light: one surrounding myself, and the other enclosing the woman that I had seen in Aryllia's flashback. Somewhere along the way I had apparently shifted to full dragon form.

"It is because you have come to view yourself as a dragon, now," the woman said. "Yes, I can read your thoughts, as you can read mine. While communing, information travels both ways."

I looked into her mind, and saw the past. Meryline was her draconic name, and she want by Sarah as a human. She had been the final black dragon to die in exile, and I was of her line. At the same time, I could feel her rummaging around in my memories, as well. It was a very odd experience.

"What a strange time you come from, Annie," she said, using my human name. "It is amazing to see the world so very far in the future."

"How is this working?" I asked. "I thought that when Aryllia borrowed the collective strength of the species, it was the last time that such a visitation could be enacted."

"And it is true. I am not physically nor spiritually in your world now, nor can I ever be again. Think of this as a meeting zone where two separate timelines cross. We are in between moments in time. I will awake when we are done here to continue my life in exile, and return to nursing my son...your some-number-of-greats grandfather. You will likewise return to your own time, where you are sitting with your family, the Origin, and the Sidhe."

"I see. So you select my names for me, then?"

"Nay. Only you can do that...I am merely here to give you inspiration, of sorts. Indeed, now that I have seen into your mind and experienced your memories, I am now relegated to only being able to answer questions. Bear these rules in mind, for one day it shall be your turn to participate in the Naming of one of your line."

This brought things to mind that I didn't really care to think about, and I turned away, blushing. I managed to bring my thoughts back into focus, and asked, "How is this supposed to help me?"

"Look into my memories," came the answer. I did, and lived through her own Naming process, with another black dragon known only as Ku. He apparently had lived in the time before the Exile, and had no need of a human name.

How long I spent in that world, lost in my own thoughts and the memories of the dragons that had come before me (with Meryline as a doorway), I doubted I would ever know. Eventually, though, the inspiration came, as Aryllia and Meryline had said it would.

"Excellent names, both of them," Meryline announced. "The Naming is complete. May your mission bring you much happiness," she intoned formally, and disappeared.

I came to staring blankly at everyone gathered around the table, exactly as I had left. As Meryline said, no time had passed in my world while I was dreaming.

"Cynthiera," I said slowly, trying out the sound against actual ears. I liked it, I decided, and said it a few times more to get the hang of it.

"Greetings, Cynthiera," Aryllia said gravely. "The tribe welcomes you as a full, adult member. May you bring honor to yourself and others."

I bowed my head, feeling not a little sheepish and embarrassed. Regardless of the emotions that were going through my head, though, I still managed to finish the ritual. "And may I likewise honor my tribe: the memory of those who came before, the respect of those who exist now, and the hope of those who will one day remember me."

"So, what do I call you now," Llew said, obviously confused.

I shrugged. "Call me Cyntheria unless we're in public and I'm human. It resonates with me more than my human name...it's kind of hard to explain."

I'm not sure how my parents took that news, and my sister was all but asleep in her chair, but I didn't really care anymore. I had a new family now, and while I would never stop caring for my old one, the affairs of humans were behind me as though remains of another life.

Llew was staring at me for some reason, but I opted to ignore it. She sometimes would do that, I'd been noticing...almost as if she was trying to figure me out by relating me to someone else.

My parents continued talking about meaningless things, and my sister drifted up to her bed. I seriously doubted if her head was going to even hit the pillow before she would be asleep. A few minutes later, my parents joined her.

"Now, we must lay our plans carefully and wisely. Llew, would you mind taking us to your people? I would have them be a part of this, although I am aware that as their queen you speak for them," Aryllia said.

She nodded. "Of course. For something as serious as this, we need as many opinions as possible," she agreed. A scarce few moments later, we were standing outside of a cave somewhere in the wilderness, with several of the Sidhe coming to greet us.