Jeid spoke in a deep, clear voice that filled the hall, soothing as distant thunder in a fading storm. "For many years we hid. In northern caves. In southern cities. In forests and in deserts, in tribes and towns, in the wilderness and in the hives of great civilizations. All our lives, the people of the world hunted us, called us cursed, diseased, weredragons to be hunted and killed. But we united. Together we stood strong. Together we told the world: You cannot hunt us. We are not monsters. We are Vir Requis, and we have a kingdom."
The people raised their lanterns and cried out their approval.
Laira spoke next, her voice higher and softer but no less clear. "We've all suffered great losses in our war. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost something inside us; we will forever carry those scars. I lost a sister, a brother, a mother. I lost even the magic of starlight. But I gained a home. This home is precious. Requiem is a gift to always cherish, protect, and nurture. We will keep building our humble kingdom. For thousands of years, generations will look back upon us. They will remember us as those who kindled the fire, who first stood together, who set our ship upon its course." She raised her child in her arms, holding the girl up for all to see. "We will pass this torch of starlight to a new generation. May our children find peace. May they know only a Requiem of light."
Jeid spoke again, and now he lowered his head, and his voice was softer. "I am humbled that you've chosen me to be your king, that you followed me in war, that you follow me now in peace. I stand here thanks to the sacrifices of others. Of your brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers. Of my own daughter whose name lives on in our kingdom. Of Issari who shines in our sky. Of hundreds who sing in the starlit halls above, a twin to our palace below. I will not forget their sacrifice, and I vow to you, Requiem: I will lead you on a path of starlight, and I will not stray from it to the left or right." He shifted into a dragon. "Requiem! May our wings forever find your sky."
Holding their child, Laira climbed onto his back, and Jeid took flight. Around him, five hundred other dragons soared. They flew above the halls and shadowy forest, and their stars shone above. When Laira looked up, she imagined that she could see them there: her mother, her brother, her sister, smiling and at peace. She knew they were proud of her.
As the wind streamed around them, and as Jeid glided beneath her, Laira held her daughter close to her breast.
May you never know the pain I knew, little Issari, she thought and kissed the babe. May you never feel so alone, so afraid, so hurt. May you always know a home, loving parents, a world of beauty. A tear streamed down Laira's cheek. Because I will never know peace, and I will never know beauty. The pain is too deep, the scars inside me too real, too raw, wounds that will never heal.
When she closed her eyes, she saw them again—the demons of the Abyss, the cruel face of Chieftain Zerra, and her mother burning at the stake. She still heard so many screams, and Laira knew they would forever echo in her nightmares.
It's too late for me to know beauty and joy, she thought. But not for my daughter. Not for our children. May my life be a sacrifice to them, and may my pain be the foundation upon which I can build them a joyous life. She kissed her daughter's head. That will comfort me in the long, cold nights when the memories do not leave. That will bring some peace for a soul too torn to fully heal.
And that, she thought, was not a bad future. Her life so far had been of pain, of terror, of loneliness, but many years still lay ahead—years of of healing, of family, of starlight.
The dragons sang as they flew in the night, and riding her husband, Laira added her voice to theirs. "Requiem! May our wings forever find your sky."
Laira had no more wings, but she knew that the sky would forever be hers, forever be their children's, forever be the true kingdom of Requiem.
LACRIMOSA
She walked among the birches, holding her daughters' hands.
"Mama, I'm bored." Agnus Dei stamped her feet. A girl of three years, she had inherited her father's olive skin, curly black hair, and fiery temper. "I want to go home. I want to go." She struggled to break free from Lacrimosa's grip.
"Hush now!" Lacrimosa said. "It's the Night of Requiem. Three thousand years ago, our first king raised our column in the forest. We must go pray."
"But I hate praying." Agnus Dei pouted. "I hate it I hate it I hate it. I want to go home and play with our new puppy."
Lacrimosa sighed. The girl was a handful, a wild little beast, a ball of endless tears, passion, anger, love, and laughter. Lacrimosa loved the little devil more than the stars above and the ground beneath her feet.
"I like praying," said Gloriae, her voice soft.
Lacrimosa turned toward her other daughter. While Agnus Dei kicked and tugged mightily at Lacrimosa's right hand, little Gloriae walked primly, holding Lacrimosa's left hand with a firm grip. Though twins, the girls looked nothing alike. Gloriae had inherited her mother's pale skin, silvery-blond hair, and light eyes. While Agnus Dei was angry and strong like her father, Gloriae was like Lacrimosa—reserved, proper, always a little sad.
"I know you do," Lacrimosa said, squeezing Gloriae's hand. "You're a little gem of starlight."
"I'm a little bit of fire!" Agnus Dei said, tugging again and struggling to break free.
They kept walking through the forest. Other Vir Requis walked around them, clad all in flowing white. Priests played silver harps, and knights wore burnished armor. All bowed their heads as Lacrimosa Aeternum walked forth with her daughters, the two princesses of Requiem.
Soon Lacrimosa saw it ahead: the palace of Requiem. Many columns soared here, hundreds of feet tall, pale marble that glittered like starlight. A roof rose overhead, engraved with flying dragons of marble and gold. Hundreds of Vir Requis gathered here, all in white, many holding orchids and silver harps. Lacrimosa and her daughters walked among them and entered the hall of Requiem.
The marble tiles stretched between the columns, leading toward the Oak Throne. Upon it sat the old king, his beard long and white, a crown upon his head. At his side stood Lacrimosa's husband: Prince Benedictus Aeternum.
He walked toward her, a tall man, handsome but haggard, many years her senior. His black curls fell across his brow, and warmth filled his dark eyes. He wore garments of green and silver, the colors of Requiem, the Draco constellation embroidered on his doublet.
"Papa!" cried Agnus Dei. She tore free from Lacrimosa, ran across the hall, and leaped on Benedictus. He smiled and scooped her up, and the little girl rained kisses upon his tanned, stubbly face. Gloriae approached her father more slowly but with no less love; he lifted her in his other arm.
"Papa, I want to go home and play with the puppy," Agnus Dei said. "Please. Please! It's so boring here in the palace."
Benedictus smiled and mussed Agnus Dei's curly black hair. "It's the Night of Requiem, Agnus Dei. A special time. Over three thousand years ago, this column was first raised."
Benedictus walked toward one of the hall's columns. It looked much like every other column here, but legend said this one was special. They said that Aeternum himself, the founder of Requiem, had raised this pillar, creating a home for a lost people, a palace for a new nation.
Lacrimosa walked over to stand by her husband and daughters. She placed her hand against the marble. "According to legend, so long as Vir Requis live, this column will stand. Swords have tried to cut it down. The claws of sphinxes tried to scratch it." She imitated a sphinx's swipe, making Agnus Dei and Gloriae squeal. "But the stars protect it. Look." She pointed between the columns. "Those stars are appearing."
As the sun set and the sky deepened to indigo, the stars shone and Lacrimosa smiled, for they soothed her, warmed her, gave her hope. Many people were gathering in the palace now, standing between the columns.
"It's time, my husband," she whispered. "Our dance."
Prince Benedictus nodded. He walked toward a knight and his family who stood in the hall.
"Would you watch my daughters for a few moments, Lord Eleison?"
The knight ruled a noble family descended from Dorvin Eleison himself, the Great Hunter said to have slain the Queen of the Abyss thousands of years ago. The knight bowed his head. "Of course, my prince."
Lord Eleison's wife held her own child, a babe with golden hair. Benedictus smiled down at the boy.
"How is little Kyrie doing?" Benedictus asked.
"No more trouble than a turnip," said Lady Eleison and kissed her sleeping son.
Seeing the baby, Agnus Dei's eyes widened. "A little pup!"
Benedictus laughed, leaving his twins with the Eleisons, and walked back toward Lacrimosa. He took her hand in his, then led her to the center of the hall. There they danced, a prince and his wife, as the columns rose around them and the priests played their harps. Lacrimosa knew that Benedictus hated dancing, knew that he hated so many eyes upon him, but thus were the ways of the court, and Benedictus always did his duty. Still, she heard his sigh of relief as the first dance ended, as others joined the hall in dance and song.
Lacrimosa glanced over toward her children. Gloriae was standing quietly with the Eleisons, and Agnus Dei was hopping about, patting little Kyrie and planting kisses on his cheek, talking about how she'd marry him someday.
"I think they'll be all right for another moment or two," Lacrimosa said to her husband. "Will you fly with me? Under the stars of Requiem's Night?"
He nodded. She knew he preferred the sky to the busyness of the court. They walked together, her hand upon his arm, and stepped out into the forest. Here they summoned their magic. Lacrimosa rose into the sky as a silver dragon, slim and small, while Benedictus rose as a burly black beast, among the greatest dragons in Requiem, his scales darker than the space between stars but his eyes warm as hearths.
They rose together, she only half his size, silver and black, until they soared high above Requiem. Looking down in the night, Lacrimosa could see the palace, many homes of pale bricks, a domed temple to the stars, courtyards, statues, and everywhere the birches. Far beyond rose the indigo shadows of the mountains. Lacrimosa tried to imagine this land three thousand years ago—only a few wild Vir Requis living in the forest and caves, alone in the dark, a scattered people without a home. Lacrimosa had married into royalty, and Requiem was now her charge. She vowed to keep this torch of starlight forever burning.
"Now we can truly dance," she said.
Smiling, Lacrimosa stretched out her wings and glided through the night sky. Benetictus flew with her, rising and falling, and they spun languidly together, their scales bright in the moonlight. She sang with a high, pure voice like a harp, and he added his deep rumble, a sound like rolling thunder. They danced above Requiem, coiling in lazy swirls of silver and black, and their voices rose together in a song of dragons.
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AFTERWORD
Thank you for reading Requiem's Prayer. I hope you enjoyed this novel.
Requiem's Prayer concludes the Dawn of Dragons trilogy, but there are other trilogies set in Requiem, and I'm writing new ones all the time.
You can find a list of existing Requiem novels at: DanielArenson.com/Requiem
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Thank you again, dear reader, and I hope we meet again between the pages of another book.
Daniel
NOVELS BY DANIEL ARENSON
THE MOTH SAGA
Moth
Empires of Moth
Secrets of Moth
Daughter of Moth
Shadows of Moth
Legacy of Moth
REQUIEM
Dawn of Dragons Requiem's Song
Requiem's Hope
Requiem's Prayer
The Complete Trilogy
Song of Dragons Blood of Requiem
Tears of Requiem
Light of Requiem
The Complete Trilogy
Dragonlore A Dawn of Dragonfire
A Day of Dragon Blood
A Night of Dragon Wings
The Complete Trilogy
The Dragon War A Legacy of Light
A Birthright of Blood
A Memory of Fire
The Complete Trilogy
Requiem for Dragons Dragons Lost
Dragons Reborn
Dragons Rising
The Complete Trilogy
OTHER WORLDS
Eye of the Wizard
Wand of the Witch
Firefly Island
The Gods of Dream
Flaming Dove
KEEP IN TOUCH
www.DanielArenson.com
[email protected]
Facebook.com/DanielArenson
Twitter.com/DanielArenson
Requiem's Prayer (Book 3) Page 23
