"Amatesa, there's something you need to know." Crescent said softly.
"Are you ok? If you were hurt, this could wait. But we have to move forward. Everyone else had to stay behind besides Chel so we could move quickly." Amatesa responded.
"You should know the reason on why this is all happening. I don't know the exact details, but I know how our family thinks. This is all a plan to get you." Crescent said.
Amatesa looked puzzled. "Chel, let's land. It has already been a day of flying anyway, I'm sure you're tired." Amatesa said as she crawled over to Chel's ear.
"I did eat before we took off, so I'm completely fine to fly even farther. But, this seems important. Luckily, we are still in the Meridian. We haven't fully crossed into the human territory. We shouldn't be ambushed or attacked by anyone." Chel explained as Lansing. "But Ryuu is far ahead and with other dragons. I doubt they'll make any stops."
"This shouldn't take long. Plus, I do need to eat. I'm just a human unlike you two. And I can't eat human remains either." Crescent said with her hand on her stomach.
"I brought beef too. Having a variety of choice on a trip is very important. Don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere without some good options!" Chel said while pulling out an entire baked ham.
"That's pork... that's fine, thank you. Ok. Whew. Amatesa. I'm going to be blunt about this. We all thought you were dead." Amatesa froze hearing that. Crescent paused waiting for a response.
"Dead?" Amatesa asked.
"Yes, dead. Our family is obsessed with power. They crave and hunger for the strongest magical bloodlines. My magic is centered around piercing and absorbing. There's no amount of defenses to prevent me from draining your essence. Not even your dragon's nature resistance would work."
"How do you know that?" Amatesa asked.
"Dragons are rare, but not extinct. That's the most I'll say about that. You were born from the current queen. The daughters have massive mana pools to pull from while the sons create and utilize techniques to boaster the families strength. My father had passed down techniques that his great grandfather used to assassinate a village. Women tend to get the bigger pool of pure power while men are constantly creating new theories on how to maximize their lesser pool of power. The queen herself has the biggest pool and the king has created new techniques that rival Ryuu's natural magic spells. Your birth parents, my leaders, were very strong." Crescent explained.
"Then why should I be dead? Seems like with parents that strong, nothing should have gotten to me." Amatesa questioned.
"There's a ritual. I was young and didn't understand it. I'm only a little older than you. But I remember you and your sister were both born and there was a lot of chaos surrounding it." Crescent when Amatesa interrupted her.
"Sister? There's a lot going on here. What do you mean sister? And why would a birth create chaos? Everyone here is always happy when someone is born. Gifts are given. Parties are thrown. Memories are made. How could a birth there be any different?" Amatesa started to get visibly upset.
"I know it's a lot. I'm sorry that I hid this but I wasn't sure you were you. But after being around you, I noticed. You never use magic. Not even a pocket dimension which is essentially a beginner spell. When you two were born, your sister was carrying the mama pool for two people. You didn't have any. The chaos was because twins are a sign of doom and one always causes suffering. It's been a ritual to kill one of the twins and you were chosen for your lack of magic. You were killed and left behind in the freezing cold when you were around two. They waited to see if you were capable of drawing any magic instinctively, but you didn't. They decided to get rid of you and to raise your sister as an only child. Well, until your little brother came along. The reason I knew who you were, was because you look identical to your sister still. With some dragon upgrades. I thought I was seeing a ghost. But that's why I had to get close to you, to know for sure." Crescent said while taking a breath.
Amatesa went from angry, to sad, to hurt, to confused in a short time. With so many questions, she didn't know where to start or how to respond. Chel was frozen as well. Eyes big and mouth open. She hadn't spoke the entire time. She was also processing the information. And then she clicked back.
"Wait, then what does this have to do with Lea? Why kidnap her when they could have just killed Amatesa directly?" Chel questioned.
"Mages always fight best in their home territory. The strongest mages create sections to distant themselves so invaders can't bother them as easily. Kidnapping and killing you, is a very tall ask when Ryuu is there. Facing him alone is a tall ask, but they needed someone who is easier to take and use as bait. They are strategic in that way. A bit underhanded. Likely she's fine. Because they will look to trade her for you and officially kill you and it would be much easier in our home land where they would be at their strongest. They probably already calculated for Ryuu to attack and I'm sure he's going to have a hard fight in front of him." Crescent explained.
"So, this was a trap? The entire time?" Amatesa asked.
"I've been thinking about this ever since you got injured. I thought everything through even backwards from understanding that they want you, and everything else just fell in line. This whole thing is to get to you. They are likely afraid of you coming back to bring back ruin. Which at this point would be well deserved." Crescent pointed out.
"Thank you for finally telling me. I am not much of a strategic thinker, so I'm still going through to save her. I can't hide just because someone wants me dead. Someone always want me dead. Chel and Rae tried killing me years ago." Amatesa said while Chel nodded in agreement.
"Why did they try and kill you?" Crescent asked confused.
"That's irrelevant. The point is, for those close to me, I'm going to do what I can to be there for them. I'm strong when they can't be. And my biggest strength is loyalty. I'm not turning my back on anyone who is family. We're going to save Lea and if I had to kill my past family to do so, then I will." Amatesa said proudly.
"Wouldn't that contradict....? Nevermind. Well I'll give you as much information as I can to help out, but you will have to drop me off early. I don't want to be in the middle of an all out family war." Crescent said
"Makes sense. Could be messy. Is my sister strong?" Amatesa asked seemingly over her confusion of the situation.
"Magically yes, physically no. She's in a wheelchair. Her body lacks the strength to walk but she still has all the power from her childhood, so she can create massive spells and blessings for others to use. She isn't a fighter directly but she could create attacks if need be. But she's very calm and peaceful despite how aggressive our family is." Crescent explained.
"We're opposite then?" Amatesa asked.
"Yes, your strengths probably got divided between you two shaped you from there." Crescent responded.
"So for this trap, what magic should we expect?" Chel asked.
"Luna, the queen, specializes in terrority magic. Magic affluence is highly genetic. The rulers are the strongest at creating boundaries and spaces to deny enemies or enhance allies. Similar to the forest Ryuu made. She's not a combat mage, her spells are long and require chants and often totems or spell circles. Her power comes from the moon. Well, most of our strength comes from the stars in some way. That's why they are so far north. It is to have less sun and more connection with the stars and moon to enhance their strength. That's also why this attack took place at night. During a full moon, I didn't think much of it at the time though. I'm sorry, I know this is a lot." Crescent said with a sad look on her face.
"I need a break from this break. My head is spinning. Basically, they're stronger at night and we should attack at dawn. Gotcha. Let's get the show back on the road. Ryuu is probably going to start a war if we don't hurry and I don't want another war to take place." Chel said as she transformed back into a full sized dragon to fly and carry them. "You know, this might explain why you can't become a full sized dragon. Your magic is too weak. That's pretty funny."
"Come on, let's go. Don't have to rub it in my face." Amatesa said with a sigh.