The voting chaos was getting on her nerves. She couldn't even bring herself to vote yet. It seeme so trivial and mundane. Lyndra needed a change of scenery. She stepped through the jumpgate to Exodii City. The weather was extremely cold this time of year so she was bundled up warmly. She wasn't going far anyway, just to the nearby Inn a half a block away. That was long enough.

It's no wonder everything came to a standstill on Exodii during this time; fiftybelow zero with windchill of negative 75 could have a person lose their fingers in mere minutes if not properly covered. She'd come prepared.

Even the jumpgate was protected, sittitng inside a large building with the walls in place for the winter. There were heaters set in places and magical thermal controllers in others where the threat of uncontrolled fire existed. The building was like a large barn with a few shops set inside it. Outside were other shops, but one had to brave the cold first.

"I hear they're working on underground tunnels just to use in winter." she over heard one of the guards remark.
"Oh yeah?" a mercenary type replied. "that'll come in handy..er.. I mean that should be interesting."

Lyndra's gaze narrowed momentarily before she turned away. It was a very quick dash to the Inn. She was shivering by the time she got inside.

An ederly elven woman was behind the desk.
"Oh Lass... come in out of that cold! Quickly! Shut the door hun... now, what can I do for you?"

Lyndra smiled, "A room, please. And a hot bath. Dinner, too if it's not too late."

The elf nodded with a smile. "Surely we can accomodate. Right this way then.." The woman took a key down from the row of keys and walked slowly to room number three. Lyndra tipped the woman, including the pay for the room, and stepped inside.....

It was an hour later before she was done soaking in the tub. She was far more relaxed and starving by then. Drying off, she placed a robe on and rang the bell for service. A petitte girl came to the room and knocked. Lyndra opened the door and let her in.

"You rang the bell, M'Lady?"

"Aye... that I did. I'd like to have my supper brought up this way now. Doesn't matter, just whatever ye have on special is fine. And a bottle of red wine. Thank ye."

"Yes, M'Lady. Our Bus boy will bring it up as soon as possible. My shift will be over by then. You may want to be dressed by then, M'Lady.. not meaning any disprespect."

Lyndra hadn't given it a thought and glanced down over her robed self.

"Oi.. ye got a point. Thanks Lass. Okay, well, give me twenty minutes from now and then have him bring it up."

They both glanced at the clock and the girl nodded.

"Yes, M'Lady. As you wish. Would you like any desert with that? The cook made a special peanut butter nirvana cake today. Don't tell on me, but I snuck a piece and it melted in my mouth it was so good."

Lyndra grinned widely, keeping herself from laughing.
"I'd love some, thank ye."

She watched the girl leave and then went about getting dressed and then sat down in front of the fire to comb and dry her hair ... the old fashioned way.

"..eighty seven.... eighty eight.... eighty nine...."

Lyndra had heard brushing your hair a hundred times each night helped condition the hair and stimulate the scalp, which were good for the hair.. it also released endorphins which helped relax you. So she was doing just that, brushing her hair to dry it, condition it and get the old endorphins rolling to a more relaxed her. It was working. Until she heard the knock on the door. She stopped brushing and flipped her head back, sending long locks into the air over her head to bounce gently behind her.

"Food!"

She tossed the brush on the chair and darted for the door. The door was opened swiftly and her eyes lingered on only one thing.... that silver dome set over her food keeping it warm. She didn't even notice the smiling Alex at first. She simply motioned the person to bring the food in.

"Over there by the fireplace please. That's a good place to put it."

She stepped aside to let the man bring the food in. It was the first time she really took a look at him. The first thing she noticed was the height. And then she noticed herself staring at him rather dumbfounded since the brain didn't seem to want to recognize what the eyes were telling her. The smile, however disbelieving, leaked in as she stared.

"Alex?"

Yes, she was surprised! She watched him wheel the cart over and set it up for her, then make the toast in reference to family. She shut the door and walked over to him, picking up her glass and clinking it with his, grinning finally. She wasn't opposed to his company, but the family reference left her, confused as always. She was, she knew she was, and yet not.

"To family..."

She sipped her wine and then motioned to him to pull up a chair and sit with her while she sat down in her own chair. She was hungry and so she began to eat.

"That's kind of weird, Alex. T' was here because I wanted some time alone, too. I don't mind ye here, though. Stay as long as ye like. Maybe I just needed to get away from RhyDin for a bit. Especially with these elections. I find them to be a true farce..."

It was true. She really didn't mind him there and RyDin was getting on her nerves with the election propaganda. She decided then she wasn't going to vote.

"Blik! Let's talk about something else!"

She grinned.

"So what were you getting away from?"

A slow nod as she put down her glass.

"I know how ye feel. I'm still trying to figure me out, too."

She was quiet for a few moments while she ate some. The food was simple but exceptionally wonderful, even to her expert opinion. Still, that subject of family..

"I get strange looks all the time from everyone it seems. WEll, not everyone but it sure is those who knew yer grandmother. There's only one that makes me exceptionally uncomfortable, and I've yet to meet him. Yer Grandpa ... Pyria er... Pyre... erhm.. Sorry. Pyriathin. That day yer grandmother was at the school, when you were there too... he showed. It was... strange. He feels.... I dunno. Just... strange.."

There was a lure about his impish stare. Alex wasn't the most handsome male that she'd ever seen, but the spirit within held much in the way of ... quiet attraction. For a moment, she forgot about who she was and what she was and how that related to him. The impish spark was contagious. It sparked in her own hazel green hues.

"Now, what do ye think'll happen if *I* show up? I know I look like yer grandmother and to be honest, Alex.. I sometimes am."

Yet the impishness faded at the last of her sentence, lending to a seriousness. She gave that a moment to soak into his brain. All that baggage that Sharilis carried was upon her shoulders in more ways then one.

There was a change in Alex she'd never seen before, a shift she couldn't explain. She wasn't imagining it. It was there. She just didn't understand it. Not completely. It felt .... cold in a way she couldn't fully explain, detached and seperated. She could feel something of him ease away and yet he physically didn't move.

"I never thought how full your plate was, Lady Lyndra. I should apologize. Not only do you face learning about this dragon kind that we are, but .. you have a weight to carry with that connection ... a weight far more complex then a simple relative link like mine. Forgive me for even suggesting the Brotherhood."

She thought she understood and leaned closer to him.

"So that's it... Alex, I'm not yer grandmother. We have similar DNA, but it's not the same. She holds a connection to me, but I am not her. And this Dragon kind... why can't we learn together?"

Many Months Later.....

"How long will you continue this way?"

His baritone voice prodded her to open blood shot eyes. Their foul gaze was as sharp as daggers thrown in her son's direction. She made no reply.

"Fine. Wallow in your anger then. Lyndra and I have decided to leave the Citadel if you don't snap out of this. Maybe time alone is what you need."

Sha'uri continued to stare daggers at him, wallowing in her silence. She hadn't slept for months, brooding over.... too many things. The reasons kept getting lost as thought after chaotic thought spun round in her head. Her emotions raced off the scale from one end to the other, becoming dangerous to most anyone who tried to sense them too closely.

She had given the order to shut down all portals to RhyDin not long after the rescue of the Ravensheart students. One would think that would've given her relief to know the children were safe, but something was bothering her and it was obvious she was cutting herself off from there. Something wasn't right.

She became unsettled, even quick to anger, more so then usual. She must've know something wasn't right with herself, for she had given the order to unlink herself months ago from the rest of the Citadel, but never gave any of them a reason why. Still, it was clear to all that Sha'uri was loosing her mind and nobody could figure out why.

The degradation was slow but steady at first, until the last couple of weeks. Then she digressed profoundly. Poor Dunherst wouldn't be the same, not after attempting to help the Citadel Commander who had lost herself in a fit of rage three weeks ago. It was his last sane thought as he tried to help her control hers. It didn't work. Alex was then put in charge.

Now, Sha'uri confined herself in a darkened room, thick dark velvet curtains blocked out the sun. At night, she would open the windows and let the frigid cold keep her awake. She stayed away from everyone else, even away from the Sanctuary.

The room was up high, only a floor away from the top of the Citadel. She had thrown most of her furniture out the window except for a chair, which she now sat in, arms dropped to her sides and head hanging down. Dark locks were matted to her head and face. It hadn't rained in over a week, so she hadn't bathed in that time. It was the only time she had gone outside was when it rained, and then she would dance...

Her fiery gaze peered up at Alex and a sneer marred her once beautiful features. She could've been a demon in that moment. Even her voice held a witching note.

"Thoughts of dragon eggs dancing in your head, Alex?... Do it..." she baited seductively.

Emerald hues narrowed their gaze at her. His voice stern. "What?"

A sudden cackle wailed from her throat, reminiscent of a banshee.

"Silence!" his dark voice boomed.

It had an immediate effect on her. The banshee like wail disappeared abruptly, replaced with a moment of clarity, and of remorse. She was pleading with him in a whisper, as if a warning.

"Please... don't take her with you Alex. Just go.. be with them. Far far away......"

Her voice trailed and she was silent for a moment.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand." Alex was frustrated, confused and worried for her.

Then she suddenly let out a curdling scream, as if directing all her anger at him until her scream hung in a silent display.
"LEAVE!!"

Alex gave a feral draconic growl and spun away from her leaving her alone in the room.

Sha'uri slumped in the chair but watched him go. Then she turned in her chair, curling up in a fetal position and began to rock gently, holding herself in her arms and humming. The tune was a comforting tune, if not for the off key way she hummed it. Tears fell like tiny streams down her cheeks.

It was dark when she awoke. The drug had kept her in a coma like slumber for almost seventy two hours. If anyone knew how to deal with her, it was those of the Citadel. Now, though, it was strangely quiet except for the soft beeping of the monitor signalling all of Sha'uri's vitals.

It was the most sleep she'd had in far too long. The insanity had eased but was no where near cured. No, she had only gotten a slight reprieve and a second wind before the rest to come.

She sat up in the bed, sapphire hues blazed sharply gazing round the room. She pulled the I.V. from her arm; blood oozed from the small wound but she did nothing to stop it. In fact, she licked it several times and realized just how hungry she was. Pulling her bloodstained lips away, she looked around the room. It didn't appear that anyone was here.

"Hello?"

Sliding out of bed, her bare feet touched the cold stone floor. It felt good to her as she moved across the room. The windows were barred and the shielding covered over that. There was no way for her to break out of it, not even in her dragon form. It would do no good to change here. It would only kill her when the place wouldn't give to her needs. The structure was reinforced both physically and magically. They weren't going to budge, not even by the size of a flea.

"Computer, contact the physician in charge and tell him to release me."

"Unable to comply. There is no physician in charge."

"Then contact whoever is here!" she snapped.

"Unable to comply."

"Why?" She looked at the speaker like it were some insolent child.

"There is no one here."

"Where did they go?" She had a sing song voice of annoyance.

"That is classified."

"Am I all alone?" She seemed shocked by that.

"Yes."

There was a long silent pause that exploded in the room for several moments. Sha'uri could barely speak.

"No.. no..."

She moved to the doors, trying to open each one. It was a desperate attempt and all in vain. The codes had been changed and encrypted. It would take her several days, maybe even weeks, to crack them herself. However, she had no patience. The windows were next, but they too were locked and shielded. She tried to teleport, but that too was blocked. She was stuck and all alone. It was the most horrible thing to her mind. The horror of it boiled inside of her fanned by the flames of insanity. The pressure continued to build until she couldn't take it any more.

"No!!!! Alex!! Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! No, no, nonononono! Why?!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Her voice reverberated the walls first as humanoid changing into a draconic roar. It was so loud it managed to pass through the barriers, cracking the stone floor and continued down through every hall. The deadly sound carried out of the Citadel and across the frozen lake cracking the ice with their aftershock waves ... then further still as it became fainter, fainter still as it moved across the frozen tundra. No one could hear it, but something stirred beneath the frozen wasteland. Something had just been awakened.....


((continued here: Arctic Bedlam ))