Daggeuro held his hands tight to his chest, cupping the frail, still form of Ovin, King of Amermidst. He had wept and wailed unashamedly for ten minutes, surrounded by the allied forces, none of whom moved or spoke to halt his cries. Even Gatech, Dragon God, kept still and merely bore witness to his grief.
When Daggeuro had himself under control, Gatech swung his heads about and scattered a plume of golden dust over all gathered. The magic was a healing spell, recovering and repleneshing everyone save the fallen fairy and those who had been killed by Quoth's singular claw swipe. Then, without a word, he pressed his silver head down against Daggeuro's forehead for several seconds. When he pulled up, Gatech took flight, taking all but eight dragons with him. These would take the surviving faeriefolk back to the Boneyard.
Kathy wanted to weep, but found she could not. She was healed, yes, but far too drained, too deep in shock, for such displays in that place. When she looked Byron in the eyes, she could see there too the ashen, scraped spirit of her lover lingering with head hung low. Together, they joined the Ironclaw pack upon the back of a stalwart blue dragon, riding wordlessly back to the Boneyard.
Their silence would endure until the following day.
In the three days after their return to the Boneyard, Kathy and Byron shared with one another all that they had felt and thought throughout their ordeal, as well as what they thought might happen now that the Destroyer, Quoth, was gone.
They saw little of Daggeuro in that time, though each time they did see him, he seemed a little better, a sliver more recovered from his terrible loss. He had pledged himself in service to his King, and had watched as that King sacrificed himself for the greater good.
Already the tale had been spread, and word was traveling at breakneck speed throughout the realm. By their second day in the Boneyard, Kathy overheard someone in the market saying that the loyalists had disbanded. The gotrin clans were trying already to make amends, while lizardmen didn't seem to care. They were forming back into their ancient clan arrangements. For them, reintegration would probably be decades in coming.
Dragons were bringing representatives from every far-flung hidden enclave across all of Ether, gathering them to convene with the Faded Army's high command. Political lines were already being drawn in on old maps, though most of the conversations were of a jubilant, celebratory nature.
Kathy and Byron were coming out of their collective fog of numbness by the fourth morning, though both still grieved their losses. Kathy had been devastated, but her inner strength was her salvation. She would endure.
That evening, when Daggeuro returned to their house in the underground city, he informed them that there would be a ceremonial event the following day, and that Kathy and Byron were requested to be in attendance. They agreed readily, and Daggeuro produced two clothing bags for them, sent from the high command.
The following morning, they gathered topside in the Boneyard, joining almost two-hundred men and women of all faerie races, and hundreds of wee folk. The area filled with power, and in a flash, they stood in the ruins of Celia, only a stone's throw from the Royal Manor.
Kathy had been given a flowing seafoam green kimono-style dress and golden sheaths for her daggers, tied to her waist sash, a robin's egg blue. Byron had been provided with what looked like the attire of a kung fu practitioner in black with red knot buttons and cuffs.
The delegates all arranged themselves into two facing rows along the front walkway of what little remained of the Manor, with Daggeuro standing at the end opposite the ruins. Kathy, hearing wing beats, looked skyward, and saw Gatech descending from above. The Dragon God landed nimbly beside Daggeuro, causing the representatives to give them a wider berth.
Kathy spotted the Loa trio up near a makeshift dais near the front of the Manor ruins. Flitting about were a score of fairies, channeling their energy. Kathy and Byron had been informed that the entire ceremony here would be captured by their magic and projected to all of the main remaining strongholds of faeriekind throughout all of Ether, almost like a television broadcast, but using magic.
In Daggeuro's hands, covered with his finest ceremonial armor, lay a small white gold box, inscribed in draconic writing. King Ovin lay at peace within. The kennin warrior nodded to the fairies at the dais, and he began walking slowly with Gatech toward the dais, box held out before him. A dozen or so representatives began humming a low, sussurating chant, accompanied by Baron Dimanche banging quietly upon a pair of calfskin drums.
When Daggeuro reached the dais, he mounted it and held the box high over his head, Gatech moving around behind him and using one of his massive claws to carve out a hole in the ruins. Daggeuro proclaimed, "Here, on this day, we commit the body of King Ovin, ruler of Amermidst Kingdom that was, to the soil of Mother Gaia! Here, on this day, we mourn the loss of the last great leader we have known in our time! He laid down his life to defend the realm from the Destroyer, a demon whose true name is Quoth! This land was his home, these peoples, his heart. And he defended it to the last."
Daggeuro turned around and descended into the pit Gatech had carved, gently setting the box down. When he climbed out, the Dragon God pushed soil and rubble back over the grave, patting it flat. Daggeuro stepped down from the dais and off to one side, allowing Gatech's six heads to swerve back and forth. "I, am Gatech, Creator of Dragonkind, God of Dragons. I am come to you from my spiritual fastness today to honor this noble soul, whom we have laid to rest.
"With me here today is a collective of representatives, who will in all likliness become the new kings, queens, emperors and prime ministers of the new era we now enter henceforth. Much discussion has been held, debates over who will live where, what nations will rebuild, and suchlike. Matters of day-to-day life, attempts to begin a return to how our world was before the time of Quoth. That is well, and needs be done.
"You all are familiar, no doubt, with the seemingly eternal conflict between dragonkind and the fae folken. Yet I tell you this; I have never been more honored to know a fae as I was to know King Ovin." Gatech paused, casting his many eyes about the gathered present.
He continued. "His name comes from no tongue, is based in no language we know. 'Ovin' has no distinct definition, or, rather, it didn't. But myself and many others here today have agreed that it now shall. Here is what it shall mean- 'Guardian'. It is from now on to be a title, given to he or she who holds the highest seat of protector in these realms. And the first recipient of this title," he said golden head turning toward Daggeuro, "shall be you, Daggeuro Ironclaw."
Applause filled the air as Daggeuro bowed at the waist to the gathered. "I am most honored," he said.
"Additionally," Gatech went on, "until such time as a final form of national structure can be agreed upon, the Faded Army's high command shall govern the country territory once known as Amermidt Kingdom, led by its Ovin. My children will defend its borders until such time as it can defend itself. This I decree as not only favor, but as a means to begin rebuilding our world, which should not have been broken in the first place. This is my word, given freely."
There followed soon after a return to the Boneyard, where a grand celebration was held. Kathy and Byron joined in the festivities for the afternoon and evening before Daggeuro, Selena and their children led the humans back to their house in the underground city. The couple changed their clothes and gathered their gear in the living room, where the kennin warrior and his wife stood with their arms around one another's waist.
"Kathy Potts," Daggeuro began, smiling warmly at her. "You have been amazing, as always. I can't tell you how glad I am you have persevered on our behalf once more."
"Likewise," she replied happily. "It looks like you couldn't refuse leadership this time."
"Not when a god and every other leader conspires to make it so, no," he groused. "Still, for centuries I had the best of tutors in governance in his majesty. And I won't have to do it all alone. I'll appoint a prime minister quickly, delegate as much as I can."
There was a moment of silence between the four of them before Kathy stepped up and put her arms around the kennin warrior. They remained embraced for a minute, sharing without words their elation and loss in that single simple expression of friendship.
Minutes later, she and Byron passed through the rift she created with her dragonbone dagger, each promising and asking for promises in return that they would visit again soon.
These were some of those promises that were kept.