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Deus Ex Machina

• Chapter 19 of the Legends of the DragonRider

Anitra held on tight to the small, squirming body of the Siren, Kleomene, as Blake flew towards the two closely-spaced mountain-peaks. Blacks like him still generally used that particular 'entrance' of the Utopia - no need to bother whoever was on duty in the pedestal-room when you had your own personal way in, right? And every time they flew through it, she was struck by the sight, which had only grown more wondrous since the first time she'd seen it. For Kleo, though, this would_be the first time she saw it - so, best to make sure that the excitable little creature didn't fall off in response to the vista she was about to be _very suddenly presented with.

As they passed between the peaks, the barren surroundings - craggy and inhospitable mountains bordering a desert valley bisected by a dried-up riverbed - faded away, and were instead replaced with the glory of the Dragon Utopia. The grand and imposing Citadel that rose in the distance - standing on its great, stony stilts over the sapphire-blue crater-lake - was the same as ever, as were the dozens of colorful dragons that wheeled in the air above it, or sunned themselves on the artificial beaches that lined the inside of the crater... and really, that had been enough to take Anitra's breath away when she first saw it. But of course, the Utopia had only grown since then.

From this fine, aerial vantage, you could easily see the neat and orderly rows of houses that made up the Equus Enclave, and the expansive fields and paddocks that surrounded it. You could even make out the canals that connected it all to the river in the south, providing water for irrigation and animals alike with hardly any magic being needed. Of course, the Grand Bazaar to the south of it was rather more spectacular - a great, sprawling structure made up of multi-tiered buildings supported by fluted marble columns, tied together by winding staircases, elevated walkways, shaded rest-spots and broad, ground-level avenues where people could be seen filtering in and out, unhurried and at leisure. Then there was the Caravansary south of that - half-filled, with several of its available plots sporting clusters of tents and lines of carts. Beyond that, then, the glistening river, running swift and blue from the deep, cold pool where it originated - filled by an immense, arching waterfall that descended from a sharp dip in the crater's edge above. And finally, on the other side of that river, the fantastic village of the Rakshasa, with their wooden homes sprouting from the sides and branches of great, old jungle-trees like mushrooms.

Of course, as they approached, it weren't just the structures that caught the eye - at least not if you had eyes as sharp as those of a dragon. It was the people. Yes, not only were there far more dragons to be seen than when she had first arrived - flying, walking, swimming in the lake, or lazing outside of dens that had been dug into the surrounding mountains - but the once-isolated place had become full of little, two-legged figures, moving hither and dither on errands or at leisure. A steady flow could be seen crossing the Great Bridge that connected the Citadel to the crater-edge, then following the path along said edge to the magical lift that would carry them down to the Grand Bazaar. Merchants and their employees were laboring in the Caravansary, packing or unpacking goods. Equus were out in the fields, weeding, harvesting, sowing. Rakshasa were leaping among the treetops of their home, or chatting with less-agile visitors on the footpaths below. A bustling, yet unhurried place. A place worth protecting.

Smiling, Anitra glanced down at the Siren she was holding close to her chest. The normally vibrant creature had grown quite still, and was just looking out over this vast place, with its infinitely varied populace, her eyes wide as saucers. Other than the generally tropical environment, one could hardly imagine something more distant from the small, primitive village she'd spent the rest of her short life in. Her earlier attempts to - with rather mixed success - keep up a conversation despite the rushing wind had died down entirely, and she remained just as still as they circled down towards the private balcony on the side of the Citadel that, to her, represented home. Then, just before they reached it, everything went very quiet very suddenly.

For a moment, Anitra's pulse shot up, and she could feel Mel's hands tightening on her hips as the young mare also responded to the sudden shift with surprise. When they hit the balcony, however - touching down in perfect silence - Anitra began to relax, reaching down to pat Mel's hands calmingly, finally catching on to what had happened even as Blake's voice popped up in her mind to confirm it. Hope I didn't startle you too much - while you were distracted, I heard something curious from inside the room, and decided that a bit of stealth might be in order. The tone and feel of his thoughts made it clear that he wasn't exactly worried, mind - if anything, he sounded a bit mischievous - but it certainly did make it clear that the assumption she'd made a moment earlier was spot-on. This was a Sphere of Silence, a spell she was well aware Blake had in his inherent arsenal - handy for both preventing magic-users from casting spells, and for purposes of stealth. Within its radius, no sound existed - shouts, screams, arcane chants, holy prayers and footsteps alike were entirely nullified, and the sound of a Black Dragon landing on a balcony was no exception.

Of course, that also meant that she couldn't currently hear whatever it was that had tipped Blake off.? ? The curtains that separated the balcony from the chambers within had been drawn, and were fluttering lightly in the slow breeze rising from the lake below, preventing her from easily seeing inside. Encouraged by a wordless thought from Blake, she handed the still-awestruck Siren in her arms over to Mel, and quickly jumped down from his back to approach the curtains - thick, velvety and purple with gold stitching, designed for good sound-absorption, though of course not as good as an area of absolute, magical silence. Thanks to her mental bond with the caster, she knew roughly where the perimeter of the invisible sphere was, however - and it only barely extended beyond the edges of Blake's admittedly large body. Pausing near its limits, just shy of the curtains, she cautiously leaned forwards until her head was clear of the area, and the world suddenly became noisy again.

Tropical birds were singing, people were laughing and splashing in the lake beneath, and through the thick curtains, a distinctive sort of noise was filtering - making Anitra's eyes open wide as she puzzled through the hows and whys. It was a familiar noise - muffled moans and whimpers, sharp cracks, even a vague sizzling. She knew all_about_ that kind of noise. Unable to resist any longer, she took another stealthy step forwards and quietly pulled the curtain aside, just a bit, to take a peek inside. The sound grew more distinct, and her eyes could now confirm what her ears had suggested, while Blake chuckled in her mind and declared _ Knew it! _

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