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FATHOM

The past few days were quite the change of pace.

For starters, Indigo laid her eggs. She was overjoyed to be freed from the burden of carrying them around with her all the time and dealing with the cramps and bloat that came with it. And Fathom was overjoyed at how beautiful the eggs looked. There were two eggs: one had vibrant green spirals on its shell, while the other was a cool blue, dotted with indigo speckles. After being laid, they were placed in a nest of cushions and blankets in their room in the palace, and he felt as though he could spend all day doing nothing but staring at them.

It made Fathom uncomfortable whenever he had to leave their sight. He wanted to stay and keep watch over them — to make sure they never got hurt. And Indigo usually went wherever he went, so whenever he had to leave, the eggs had to be guarded by NightWings. And while Fathom had grown to trust all of the guards employed in the palace, he couldn't help but feel a newfound sense of worry over leaving them to protect his dragonets-to-be.

Then there was Darkstalker. One day he came to Fathom with a startling proposition. He wanted to start employing some secret enchantments to covertly give the NightWings an edge in the war, and he asked Fathom for ideas. The spells needed to be discreet enough that not even the other NightWings would know about them, but powerful enough to still have a noticeable impact.

Fathom was flattered. Usually, Darkstalker was the one with all the brilliant ideas, especially when it came to animus spells. He never would have expected him to come to Fathom of all dragons for help, but he was eager to offer it. Of course, he still had concerns about Darkstalker's soul. But they were fighting a war against dragons who wanted to take him away, and who didn't believe the eggs that Indigo had just laid ought to exist. He was okay with using a bit of magic to make sure his side was winning against them.

Darkstalker had already enchanted a map of the Night Kingdom to mark the current locations of SeaWings that were within the borders. The map activated by his command, so other dragons wouldn't know about it if they looked upon it on their own.

Fathom offered another suggestion: a way to accelerate the healing process for wounded soldiers. Once again, it would be a subtle enchantment: a cloth rag, for instance, that would activate the enchantment on the dragons it touched. It wouldn't cause limbs to grow back or broken bones to mend instantaneously, but it would get soldiers back on their feet faster, and it would probably save a lot of lives. Darkstalker approved of the idea, much to Fathom's delight, and implemented the enchantment the very same day.

It was sort of exciting, being a part of this underground plan to give an edge to the NightWings. He was one of only four dragons who knew about these secret enchantments — the other three being Clearsight, Darkstalker, and Indigo. The rest of the kingdom didn't need to know, and neither did the SeaWings.

A couple weeks later, a SeaWing ambassador was scheduled to meet with Darkstalker in the palace for peace negotiations. Fathom and Indigo, of course, were asked to join in on these negotiations, since they were the reason the war was started in the first place.

"What should we expect, Clearsight?" Darkstalker asked, only a few minutes before the ambassador was expected to arrive. They were all in the throne room, with Darkstalker and Clearsight sitting on matching side-by-side thrones while Fathom and Indigo sat to Darkstalker's right. It was an hour till midnight, which Fathom had nearly forgotten was very late by SeaWing standards. He'd only woken up about three hours ago.

"Well … the war's not going to end from this discussion; I can promise that much," she said. "In fact, despite the fact that it was advertised to us as a peace negotiation, I don't think the ambassador was actually instructed to try and make peace."

"Well then, I take it she won't be accepting my demands for compensation for the damage the Sea Kingdom has caused?" Darkstalker said.

"I don't even think she'll hear them," she said. "I think she believes she has a diplomatic edge over us: should things go awry in this discussion, she expects other tribes to join the war on her side."

"Will they?"

"It's hard to say," Clearsight said, scrunching her nose a little. "But I wouldn't be optimistic if I were you. As far as I can tell, something isn't going to go well for us in the future. It's just not entirely clear what."

Another minute passed, and the throne room doors opened to allow the ambassador in. Fathom recognized the dragon: she was a military captain by the name of Mola. Behind her bronze armor was a tall and wiry figure, colored in kelp green scales.

Mola had a lot of experience as a diplomat, Fathom recalled. She was there during the negotiations between the SkyWings regarding the SeaWing settlements that had been made on the northern shores of the Sky Kingdom. Whenever the queen was away, the royal family entrusted Mola with the duty of representing the Sea Kingdom's best interests to foreign parties. It figured that she'd be the one negotiating peace on Queen Pearl's behalf.

"Captain Mola, is it?" Darkstalker asked once the SeaWing was close enough.

"Admiral Mola, actually," Mola corrected. "But for our purposes, you may call me Ambassador Mola, King Darkstalker." She gave a polite bow of her head.

"I think we shall call you 'Mola,' if it's all the same. Now, we understand that Queen Pearl wishes to make peace with us. Has she issued her terms?"

Mola nodded her head. "Yes, King Darkstalker. But before discussing these terms, we need to discuss the matters surrounding Fathom."

"Prince Fathom, actually," Darkstalker corrected. "And for our purposes, you may call him that and only that, Mola." He gave a polite bow of his head in turn at Fathom, which caused some heat to rise to his ears. Even though he was recognized as a prince here in the Night Kingdom, he was very rarely ever bowed to, except by the guards when they accepted his orders.

Mola appeared to be struck off-guard by Darkstalker's command, and froze for a moment. And though it was a small thing, Fathom took a bit of joy in seeing her fumble over the irony of being told by a NightWing to use formal titles on a fellow SeaWing. "Of course, King Darkstalker," she eventually said. With another bow, this one facing towards Fathom, she addressed him directly. "Prince Fathom, may I ask if you ever intend to return to the Sea Kingdom?"

"You may," he answered. "And I don't."

"We would like to know why," she said. "We believe that as a SeaWing, your home is there, and not here. You were never supposed to make the Night Kingdom your permanent home."

"I like the Night Kingdom more," Fathom said, feeling annoyed that he even had to answer this question. "I've told Queen Pearl as much: I was treated like a monster in the Sea Kingdom and was forced to live in isolation for over a year. Here, I have friends. Dragons who actually like having me around. Dragons who will let me do what I want."

"Queen Pearl recognizes that she was rash and treated you unfairly. She was marred by the massacre as we all were, and imposed an unfair burden on your autonomy. Should you return, you will be granted the same rights and privileges that you had prior to Queen Pearl's coronation. You will be absolved of your treason, and your union with Indigo will be recognized and celebrated. You will even be relieved of your oath to not have dragonets."

Fathom let out a scoff-chuckle, and shared a knowing glance with Indigo. Yeah, we'd better be relieved of that oath, they wordlessly said to each other.

"Your offers are charming," Fathom told her, though his tone of voice betrayed his annoyance. "But I already have all of the freedoms you are offering here in the Night Kingdom. Here, I also have my friends." He extended a wing in the direction of Darkstalker and Clearsight, and gave a smile to the two of them that he made sure Mola could see. "I would never wish to say goodbye to them."

"A return to the Sea Kingdom need not entail a permanent departure from the Night Kingdom," Mola said. "You would be free to visit the king and queen at your leisure, provided we maintain peace between our kingdoms. Do you truly miss nothing about the Sea Kingdom, Fathom—"

Darkstalker cleared his throat.

"—Prince Fathom?" Mola corrected in the same breath.

Fathom shrugged, but decided to give the question a bit of thought. "I can't say I do," he started. "If there's anything I miss, it's the warm water and the coral reefs. And the driftwood. And the coconuts. And the hot sandy beaches…." He continued the list in his head. And the museum that Indigo's father curated. And all the carefree days that Indigo and I spent together. And pretty much everything about my life before Albatross murdered everyone.

"I can see your smile, Prince Fathom," Mola said, and Fathom promptly erased it from his face. "You do miss the Sea Kingdom; don't deny it. We will not force you to return if, in your heart, you know that you want to stay here. But the whole Sea Kingdom wants things to return to normalcy, and if you do too, then you should come back."

Fathom frowned pensively. Maybe she has a point. I probably should return to the Sea Kingdom at some point, he admitted to himself. But….

He looked at Darkstalker and Clearsight, both of whom he'd now known for more than half of his life. He couldn't make the decision to leave them without fully thinking it through. And he would never leave them simply to appease the Sea Kingdom regardless.

He turned back to Mola and said, "I will come back to the Sea Kingdom on my own terms and on my own time, if I decide to return at all." There was a ring of finality in his voice. "Once we are at peace, I will consider it. But right now, I am happy here. I don't want to leave."

"Wait, back up a second," Darkstalker said, frowning. "Mola, this reckless war that your queen started was over Prince Fathom in the first place. Queen Pearl wanted to force him to return to the Sea Kingdom against his will, and now she has been sending SeaWing blood to get spilled for the past year because we won't let her kidnap him." He tilted his head. "And now you are saying that you will not be forcing him to return?"

"We would certainly like Prince Fathom to return to the Sea Kingdom, King Darkstalker," Mola said. "But we would not demand that he return against his will. Queen Pearl has been fighting your tribe because she does not believe that he is here by his own will."

"Well, I could not imagine a more perfidious and idiotic mistake for your queen to make. I'm glad we've straightened this out, though; be sure to let Queen Pearl know of her error when we're done here. Now, let's talk about what your kingdom owes to the NightWings if we are to accept a peace deal."

"We are not done discussing Prince Fathom, King Darkstalker," Mola interrupted. "I am not convinced that he is speaking with his own tongue."

Fathom's eyes folded into a seething scowl.

Darkstalker, meanwhile, tilted his head. "Do you … doubt somehow that this is him sitting in front of you?"

"No, King Darkstalker," Fathom answered for her. "She believes that I'm under some form of possession by your animus magic. Queen Pearl thought the same thing before she tried to kidnap me."

"What! That's completely absurd. On what grounds would she have to believe such a thing?"

"Good question," Fathom said, facing Mola. "I assume I'm right, Mola?"

"Yes, Prince Fathom," Mola said calmly. "You are not acting like you used to when you were in the Sea Kingdom. Your task upon coming here was to convince Darkstalker to give up his magic. But instead, he has convinced you to start using yours."

"I have done no such thing," Darkstalker asserted. "Prince Fathom has not used his magic once during his time here, and I'm insulted that you think you could get away with saying otherwise."

"Queen Pearl witnessed Prince Fathom using his magic," Mola retorted. "During their meeting before the war. He used it against her guards."

Darkstalker's ears perked up. "Did he, now?" He turned to face Fathom. "This would be the first time I'm hearing about that."

Fathom didn't flinch. "I used my magic to protect myself and Indigo. I would do it again."

And there it was - the fear in Mola's eyes that gave her all the justification she needed. She took a step away from Fathom and composed herself. "I rest my case," she said.

"Wait, you're concluding that I brainwashed Prince Fathom because he used his magic once in order to protect himself and Indigo?" Darkstalker said.

"I can't think of any other explanation," Mola said. "The Fathom I knew was far too afraid of his magic to even consider such an act. Now he's endorsing it."

"By all the shining stars!" Darkstalker roared. "Your arrogance would be laughable if it weren't so terribly insulting. Have you considered the possibility that maybe Prince Fathom simply grew out of his fear of animus magic on his own?"

There was a flicker of hurt in Mola's eyes before she responded. "I have," she said coldly. "But it wouldn't be possible. King Darkstalker, I was there at the party when Albatross murdered the royal family. If you knew the things that Fathom saw, then you wouldn't expect him to ever live another day without being terrified of the powers he's been cursed with."

And just like that, Fathom started to think that maybe he was being brainwashed after all. The memories of that fateful night came thundering back to him in a furious blitzkrieg. The screams, the blood, the panic, the way the knife flew from dragon to dragon, impaling anyone who tried to flee. The overwhelming fear of knowing he was being stalked by Albatross when he tried hiding in the boat with Indigo. The glassy look on the dead dragons' faces, and the look Indigo gave him before he used his magic to save her….

He looked down at the palm of his talon, where he'd drawn an X with a sword to seal his oath. And he tried to remember how he overcame that fear. How did he become willing, once again, to use his magic? It would have been one thing if it were just the spells that he'd used to save himself and Indigo, but it wasn't. He'd cast other spells too. Frivolous ones, even. Just the other week, he was encouraging Darkstalker with his own ideas for spells! What had gotten into him?

Indigo extended a wing, draping it over Fathom's back. They shared a glance of mutual support — reminding each other that they each went through the same thing, and that they helped each other move past it.

He realized that the throne room had been silent for more than a few heartbeats at this point. Darkstalker's eyes were much softer than they were just a moment ago, and his ears were flattened the way they usually were when he was listening in on someone's thoughts.

Ack, now Fathom felt guilty for suspecting Darkstalker of tampering with his mind. Darkstalker had been nothing but kind to him, and he knew that Clearsight kept a check on the spells he made. Of course he was innocent. Please don't be mad, Darkstalker.

"I see your point," Darkstalker said to Mola. "But Prince Fathom has proven himself to have great strength of character. It doesn't surprise me that he found the willpower to use his magic when he needed to."

"I wouldn't call it 'willpower;' I would call it 'foolishness'," Mola said. "And I know that Fathom isn't foolish enough to use his powers when he's already on the verge of becoming a monster."

Immediately, the fire returned to Darkstalker's eyes. He rose to his feet. "You are done showing abject disrespect to my friend! He is no closer to a monster now than he was the day he showed up in my kingdom, and you will not offend him by suggesting otherwise. Do you understand?"

Startled, Mola backed away from Darkstalker's throne. She bowed her head. "I understand, King Darkstalker," she said. "I meant no offense to our great prince."

"Yes you did," Darkstalker said sourly. "You think he's hypnotized when he's actually free. You see him speaking his mind before you, and to your ears his words sound coerced and brainwashed. I can think of nothing more insulting to his current character. And just to prove to you that I'm not bluffing with this:" He turned to face Fathom and cleared his throat. "Prince Fathom, I enchant you to be cleared of any enchantments I might have put on your mind in the past, so that all of your thoughts and beliefs are solely of your own will. Now … do you feel any different?"

Fathom, obviously, didn't feel any different, and he knew that he wouldn't have even if Darkstalker had brainwashed him somehow. "Not in the slightest," he said calmly. "I feel completely normal."

Mola blinked. It was hard to tell through her helmet if she was genuinely surprised or still suspicious.

"Don't tell me that's not enough to convince you," Darkstalker said, seating himself down on his throne again. "I don't know how else you can possibly be satisfied."

Mola looked between Fathom and Darkstalker. "I just … don't see how—"

"—Mola, I wasn't there at the massacre; you're right," Darkstalker interrupted. "But you weren't here in the Night Kingdom. If you knew how supportive we've been towards Prince Fathom this whole time, you would understand why he'd be willing to use his magic to keep Queen Pearl from forcing him to leave. Have some humility for your kingdom and accept your mistake. You treated him so badly that he was willing to risk his soul to stay away from you. If you find that too hard to believe then get out of my palace. There's no point in negotiating with a dragon who isn't self-aware of her own kingdom."

Several heartbeats passed before another dragon spoke. Fathom wished that he had Darkstalker's mind reading powers during those heartbeats. What was Mola thinking? Was she feeling guilty? Defeated? Did she want to talk back? Did she change her mind?

Unless Fathom consulted Darkstalker about it later, he'd never know. "I will have to discuss this with Queen Pearl when I return," Mola said. "For now, let us move on."

"Yes, let's," Darkstalker said, grinning. "As I stated before, we need to discuss reparations for your kingdom's affront to the NightWings."

"Not yet," Mola said, raising her voice. "There is a more important matter still that I need to address."

Darkstalker sighed. "Very well, so be it."

"Queen Pearl has spoken with the other queens of Pyrrhia," Mola said. "They all agree that the spread of animus magic beyond the frozen Ice Kingdom over this past century is an existential threat to our species. All of the world's animuses and leaders have agreed to meet in the Sky Palace on the night of the next double moon to discuss how we should address this threat. You are expected to participate as well."

Darkstalker frowned. "We're here to talk about the war. This sounds completely unrelated."

"I assure you that it's not," Mola said. "The war will be a subject of discussion during the conference, and peace negotiations will continue there, should you choose to attend. Will you be attending, King Darkstalker?"

"I can't be so sure," he said. "It doesn't sound very safe to be brought into a room filled with animus dragons — especially when one of whom has a history of wanting me and my family dead. Plus, the last time I was invited into the same room as your queen, there was an assassin waiting for me and Queen Clearsight on the inside."

"If you do not attend, we will have no choice but to treat you as a critical threat to all of our kingdoms," Mola said.

"You could choose not to treat me that way, actually—" Darkstalker started.

"—We will attend," Clearsight interrupted. "On the condition that we both agree to an armistice until this meeting happens." She spoke with a loud, formal tone, but there was still a ring of hesitation in it. It was the same ring that he'd heard in his sister's voice when the throne was first forced upon her.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fathom saw Darkstalker frown at Clearsight. He didn't say anything, though. In the presence of Darkstalker, it was easy to forget that it was the queen who technically ruled over the NightWings, and not the king. When Clearsight made a decision on behalf of the kingdom, not even Darkstalker had the power to undo it.

"Granted," Mola said, appearing delighted by the offer. "It would be nice to have the soldiers home during this time of year. We expect that you will retreat the NightWings from the eastern coast while the armistice is in effect."

"It—" Darkstalker started.

Clearsight spoke above him. "Our soldiers will still occupy some of the eastern coast. We won't be returning the territory we conquered until the war ends. Obviously, it would be foolish of us to completely retreat from the Sea Kingdom until a treaty is signed."

A smile crept into the corners of Darkstalker's mouth as he looked at Clearsight.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Mola said with a long nod. "If we are done, may I have your leave?"

Clearsight looked over to Darkstalker. Darkstalker gave Clearsight only a cursory glance before saying to Mola, "I will probably have more inquiries about this upcoming parley between the queens and the animus dragons, but I will leave those to the messengers. You have our leave."

Mola bowed low one last time, then turned away and started for the door. A pair of NightWing guards escorted her out, and when the doors to the throne room closed, Darkstalker rose to his feet and stretched his wings. "Well, that wasn't so terrible. I do feel like I've been tricked into participating in this meeting against my will, though."

"We had no choice," Clearsight said, rising to her feet as well. "We may be beating Queen Pearl on the battlefield, but she is beating us at diplomacy."

"We did have a choice. You could have said no, or at least negotiated the terms of the meeting rather than blindly accepting."

"Darkstalker, I don't think you realize how serious this is," Clearsight said. "Queen Pearl has all the rest of the tribes convinced that you're extremely dangerous. If we're not at that meeting to defend ourselves, they're going to team up against us. That means we'd be at war with the rest of the world."

Darkstalker let out a troubled growl. "I see…."

"I think I see what the point of this so-called peace negotiation was now," Clearsight continued. "Queen Pearl was ready to change the purpose of this war if Fathom proved to be a lost cause. And she did. It's not about rescuing him anymore. It's about stopping you."

"So what should I expect from this conference?"

"I can't say for sure," Clearsight said, her eyes glassy and holding a shallow gaze. "They'll try to neuter your powers, and you'll try to preserve them. I'll need to search for a path to compromise, but it's not going to be easy to find."

Darkstalker folded his wings tight into his body. "The next double moon isn't for another two months. We'll have time to figure this out. We'll be ready."

"I hope you're right," Clearsight said, closing her eyes. "But we can't let our guard down. I think they can work around my powers if we're not careful. I think they know something we don't."


A/N: Howdy, all!

So, if you've been following this story this past year, then odds are you had to wait a good while for this chapter's release. I didn't mean for the break that I alluded to in the author's note of the last chapter to end up lasting this long. The short story I wrote ended up being over 20,000 words, and it took a lot of creative energy on my end. I also found it really hard to get back into the swing of this story, after having been away from it for so long.

Quite a few of you sent me private messages asking if the story was dead. I didn't respond to these messages for two reasons. Firstly, FFN doesn't like to send me email notifications when I get PMs, so I need to manually check my inbox on FFN to see new messages. This means I oftentimes don't see your messages until long after they've been sent, unlike reviews which I see the moment I check my email. Secondly, by choosing not to respond to your messages, I am filled with overwhelming guilt, which I've found to be a very strong motivator when other sources of motivation run dry.

If you're savvy with this site, I'm sure you're all too familiar with the tired cliché of the author's note equipped with an apology for not updating their story and promising that another chapter is on the way ... only for said chapter to never come. There's a reason for why this phenomenon is so prominent. By offering that promise that another chapter is coming, the author has given themselves permission to hold off on giving that chapter. They gave their audience a sign of life, meaning that hopefully their patience will be extended just a little bit further. A more patient audience will be more okay with a later chapter release, so finishing that chapter can get knocked down a few rungs on the priority ladder.

In retrospect, I think I may have cursed myself with the same phenomenon, just in a different form. In my last author's note, I warned you that this chapter might take a bit longer than normal to get out. That was probably a mistake. Whenever I felt bad about going over six months without another update, I found myself saying, "Well, I did warn them that this might happen ..." which was all the justification I needed to take my time. I definitely could have gotten this chapter out a lot sooner, and I'm sorry for that.

So I'll probably refrain from giving similar warnings in the future. If I'm anticipating delays in the update schedule for this story, I'm afraid you'll just have to be kept in the dark. Trust me, it'll be for the better.

That being said, I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to promise you that another update will be coming soon. Let's see if I can't get chapter 23 out within the next two weeks.

Merry Christmas, everyone! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, or if it's no longer Christmas time when you're reading this, happy whatever-holiday-is-next-for-you!