Verene visited Speraka’s quarters. Months had passed since Verene arrived at the temple. The week deadline Verene had given Yayscha was almost up and the building had been scoured. Verene wanted to inform Speraka that she would be leaving soon. And that Speraka could join her. If Speraka wished to.

Verene could not find Speraka in her room, nor in any of the neighboring chambers. Speraka enjoyed taking walks, Verene figured she would be back soon. But she decided to check the grand chamber with the fountain before waiting.

As Verene drew near to the temple’s center, she spotted the two dragons, Sevna and Fioni, descend into the large chamber through the opening at the hall’s end. Between the two was a large red and tan bundle, nearly the size of another dragon. The dragons were aware that Verene was in the temple, but Verene had no intent to have a direct encounter with the dragons. So, she chose to remain out of sight.

“Why did you wait to bring them here? This injury is quite bad.” Speraka’s voice resounded after the dragons landed.

“We brought them here as quickly as we could.” Sevna stated. “This young one got reckless. And got themselves injured to such an extent.”

Verene poked her head out some to get a view of what was happening below. Verene knew Speraka was a light mage but did those dragons carry another of their kind all the way here just for treatment. Surely there were at least some light mages among the dragons. Verene was taken aback when she saw the gash on the third dragon's side. The dragon was unconscious and twitching in pain. There was no sign of any attempts of first aid by the dragons, and fresh blood still seeped slowly from the wound.

Verene watched the scene below. What did these dragons expect of Speraka? Even the combined efforts of the top light mages of the Realm of Avanin could only barely begin to close the wound. Healing magic was costly in terms of magic use, even if Speraka was a thousand-year mage as Verene suspected, Speraka might disinfect the wound and speed up the dragon’s natural recovery on her own. The injured dragon would be left to pull through its injury and survive with its own will.

Verene worried that Speraka would push herself too far, pushing her magic limit to help these dragons. Speraka had aided Verene without question. But before Verene could even consider descending and interfering, a white glow emitted from Speraka’s hand, forming intricate, white-colored magic circles.

Even in the rays of sunlight, the spell cast by Speraka was brilliant. Near blinding as Verene watched her. With the release of magic, even someone poor at spellcasting like Verene could sense the unfathomable amount of magic Speraka used in her spell. The dragon’s wound began to close, and Speraka showed no sign of exhaustion. The wound fully closed, and the spell finished. The dragon still slept. The only sign that showed it was ever injured was the blood dried upon its feathers.

Verene struggled to grasp what she saw. A spell that seemed to draw from bottomless magic. Abyssal magic. Speraka was seemingly trapped here and the dragons that trusted no one to enter this realm. The healing artifact was said to have appeared in the temple over three hundred years ago, just before the abandonment of the city far below.

Was Speraka trapped here? Although Verene doubted it, the dragon's physical strength may be great, but their magic was similar to the average Avanian. Average beings had no hope of stopping an Abyssal Mage. Perhaps Speraka stayed to help the dragons and ended up trapped when the pathways closed. But Speraka thought Verene had used the paths carved within the wood to ascend to the temple. Did Speraka stay here, all alone, of her own volition?

Verene leaned against the wall and slowly made her way back down the hallway. Verene wanted to ask Speraka to go back to Avanin before. But now Verene knew that the artifact she sought was a person and wondered if she should try to force Speraka to leave somehow. For now, Verene just wanted to straighten her thoughts. Did she want to bring Speraka along because of her power? No, Verene wanted to take her back even before. Or because knowing Speraka was bound for thousands upon thousands of years of solitude if she did not leave this place, her life fueled endlessly by her abyssal magic. Maybe, but Verene felt the desire to keep Speraka nearby. Her thoughts mixed together, unable to separate her true intentions after witnessing a legendary sight.

Before Verene's thoughts got much further, the sound of two dragons' roars resounded behind her. The reverberations passed through the stones and made Verene realize the thoughts she felt. She sat on the cold floor. And tried to calm her beating heart.