The first stars of the night timidly lit up one by one through the purple blush of the sky. The full moon washed the imperial fleet with silvery light. It had been a long day of ceremony and festivities. The Royal Gardens had left Central as soon as the palace dinner was over, heading towards the Tropicaz so they would reach their destination before daylight faded. The ships were called Gardens for the deck was completely covered in flowers and greenery, the plants holding up the massive ships in the air as they harmonized the energies of the sun, water, and earth. Petals in all the colours of the rainbow fluttered into the grand blue as the palace gardens soared through the clouds.

A twang sounded through the evening air, vibrating with the shuddering leaves and twinkling stars above.

Under the blooming Heart Tree Anas’almar sat surrounded by jasmine and vines of ivy, tea brewing at his side and a plucking lute laid across his lap. Here he was hidden from all the nobles enjoying themselves on the party deck in the back or retiring to their rooms for the evening.

“Kisses, sweeter than pomegranate wine.” Anas sang in a breathy, playful falsetto, strumming trickling accompanying notes.

“Touch, comes easy and at least twice a day. You are all I have been thinking of.” The sweet honey voice continued. Anas could hear giggles from the bushes behind him and deliberately raised his voice the next verse.

“Between your thighs, I could live a happy life.”

Snorting laughter immediately followed, a wonderful sound combination of a piglet and hummingbird. Anas’almar continued to play the melody of the sonnet on his plucking lute.

“You can come out now, little songbird.”

The princess stepped out of the shrubbery, tip-tip-tapping on pointed shoes with blue flowing silk flying like streams behind her. Featherlight the young girl jumped and carried by four sets of wings she perched up in the blooming Heart Tree, keeping her head down so as to not hit her lightning strike of a horn on anything. The child was so engulfed in her seraphim aspects that only her cheeks, eyes and the underside of her hands remain as exposed skin. She was a ball of white feathers, and with one hard to miss horn. A pretty little stormcloud.

“Good evening princess Meryneith. Young maidens should be sleeping. No one looks good wearing tiredness.”

“I can’t sleep. I feel like I could run a thousand laps around the fleet and then some! Oh- and brother, what was the song? It’s not from the holy chants, nor any ballad the palace bards have sung.”

“It’s a fairly common song during festivities after some drinks, it has a way to brighten the mood.” Anas plucked some quick scales, the sound tickling Meryneith’s ears.

“You know Anas, I’ve heard people talking about you. Say you spend too much time with commoners. Neglecting duties and training. Acting inappropriately.”

“There’s no helping it. The older generation mistakes pomp with piety. But perhaps there’s other reasons I should nurse my reputation. We both need to garner support and approval in our own right. I apologize if my loftiness has caused you any inconvenience.”

“It’s alright. I’m just happy someone treats me like a sister. It’s exhausting being a princess. Chosen by Tiamat this, it’s your duty that. I keep being told what to do all of the time!” she ruffled her feathers.

“Come little songbird, won’t you have a seat? Maybe we can calm your restless heart.”

Meryneith glided down from the tree and Anas moved his lute. Fluff from on top Meryneith’s forehead tickled Ana’s nose and it took them a little while to get situated as Neith needed to position all her wings. Finally the white chick nestled into the arms of the black crane as the princess sat like an egg in his lap.

“Cozy!”

“Here, won’t you try some passionflower tea? It helps me sleep at night.”

“Is it good?”

“How could something named passionflower not be?”

Anas’almar handed Meyrneith his ceramic bowl with blue petals, the water barely coloured as if it was a white tea, the aroma fruity with a hint of something akin to liquorice. The princess skeptically took a sipp and smacked her lips.

“Hmm. It smells nice, but it needs to be sweeter.”

“I will make sure to have honey in my own tea for the future, in case a princess wants to have a sip.”

Anas smiled and scratched under the feathers around Meryneith’s horn, her wings fluttering in contentment. For a while the two sat in companionable silence. The evening breeze carried with it a gust of blossoms. They watched as the petals slowly descended where a single brilliant red bloom landed in Meryneith’s outstretched hands.

“What message does the petal whisper to you, princess?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think the message is quite clear, the spirit of the garden has given you a token of admiration.”

Again Meryneith laughed in the piglet kind of way, but held the petal every so delicately in her open palm.

“How should we respond?”

“Maybe... Maybe... Maybe a water prayer?”

“That sounds excellent. Shall we do it together? It will be the first time we do it as a summoner and princess with our blessings of Tiamat.”

The young child nodded and made to stand up, stretching out her various wings, the tips cressing the aromatic jasmine bushes. When the ceramic tea bowl began sliding Anas’almar immediately reacted to the scraping sound and caught the bowl before it tippied over the small stone side table.

Meryneith turned around, crossing her arms in annoyance as Anas displayed the ceramic with a playful little shake. Memories of the morning bubbled up, widening his grin.

“I tell you these wings get caught on everything! It’s so annoying. Not at all as convenient as your head crown. And grooming takes forever.”

“No harm done, little songbird. And do not speak ill of your wounderus aspects. How many of us do not wish that they could fly? Besides, my own wings have a big glaring weakness to them.”

“They do?”

“You see, I have three wings, one of which is where my left eye should be. It has taken me years to figure out tricks to my limited field of view and lack of perspective. Just a few years ago I would have had about the chance of a blind man to catch the falling bowl.”

“I never thought about that. What it means to have one less eye that is.”

“As summoners we must try to put ourselves in the shoes of others; plants, animals, people, the Aeons, so that we can sing and dance and move them. This is why I see every meeting as a chance to learn. Be fascinated by the world, find the joy and pain in everything, and embrace it with love.”

Anas eyes glistened as he looked down at the bowl in his hands and then up at the stars. He soon caught himself dreaming, shaking his head and putting down the bowl in its place.

“Excuse me, I got carried away.”

“I want to try it.”

The black crane's mind was turning, trying to catch up to the imagination of the child.

“Try what exactly?”

“Perform a blessing with fascination and love, like you said!”

“Very well. Since we have decided to go off the ceremonious path, how do we start?”

“We could start the way we know a water blessing to be done, and then improvise from there.”

“Always a quick thinker, little songbird. Let’s have a fun play in the honour of the garden holding up the palace.”

Anas walked and picked up his summoner staff he had laid to rest in the shrubbery behind him. It was a stream suspended in motion and a sign of his first blessing from an Aeon, marking him as an up and coming summoner. It shimmered in the dark, filled with lines of motion and frozen bubbles. It felt light and slightly warm to the touch, it was everything Anas’almar had been working towards so far. He could only dream about how it would change as the other Heavenly Beasts offered him their power.

The pair faced each other. The sky drew it’s dark curtain. A distant lighthouse lit up their stage, the stars awaiting their performance. Anas’almar raised his staff and Meryneith reached up for the moon. They both took a deep breath, held their breath for eight seconds, and breathed out.

“Life is a river.” Anas began, moving his staff in slow arches, making steps towards the sturdy Heart Tree.

“We dip our hands in the stream.” Meryneith followed. She knew the chant well. She clasped her hands in prayer, careful not to damage the delicate vermillion petal.

“We are made by the water, our spirits depend on it.”

“Sun.”

“Earth.”

“Water!”

Meryneith bursted out into motion. Swaying her hands so the blue cloth flowed, jumping into a spontaneous dance to join Anas as the two waltzed around the vital supporting tree. The staff in Anas’ hand dimly glowed that only could have been seen in the dark. Bit by bit they derailed the regular water blessing ceremony as they knew it, moving more recklessly, changing up the verses.

“Let our spirits flow, and the stream be plentiful, so you may forget the thirst.”

“We lift our hearts to you.” Meryneith opened her palms and let the petal fly into the wind.

“Kisses, sweeter than pomegranate wine, with which you shall never thirst.” and Anas leaned in to place his lips upon the tree bark, a gesture Meryneith followed by placing a quick peck on a bundle of jasmine flowers.

“From the deepest place in our hearts, if the Aeons wills it- “

“Sprout with life! And love!”

Anas swung his staff, a small splash of water hitting the side of the tree and the nearby shrubbery, hitting with a satisfying pitter-patter. The two continued to dance. Placing kisses upon flowers, proclaiming their love and well wishes. Before they knew it the ship had docked in Rhumm and drizzling rain surrounded them.

“Do you think we did well?” Meryneith yawned, rubbing her eyes on her big blue sleeves. She had become cold and slightly wet.

“We did have fun. It is difficult to say the effects of the blessing, but our intention was there.”

“I want to keep going. Can’t you tell a story, Anas?”

“I think we should get you to bed, princess. It’s very late, and I would like to get some rest. We have a whole week of the festival left to go through.”

“If you need sleep, then I guess I’ll go too.”

The princess yawned, her wings resting close to her body. She was still small enough that Anas could carry her, and so he bent down and held out his arms, and Meryneith was quick to take him up on his invitation and climbed up on his back, her horn only slightly bumping into the side of his head.

The princess was slightly heavier than Anas had imagined, how foolish to have so soon forgotten about her extra appendages when they had just talked about them. But still he walked with an easy smile. For the first time in a long time he had felt like a child. And had he just fallen in love with a tree for a few moments? Maybe so.

As he neared the royal suits of the ship he was side-eyed by maids and guards, but they all knew who he was and even though the princess was supposed to be above family bonds and treated with the highest respect second only to the empress, no one did disturb the two siblings, whose image was just too serene.

“Lady Mina?”

Anas called out as he caught the glimpse of one of the royal maids whisk by in their characteristic pink dress. The maid, a full aspect draconian wearing a crown of horns holding up her headscarf as to make a broad rectangular frame around her face. The maid looked at him with surprise, hiding a gasp behind her sleeve. She did not think herself important enough for the Summoner to have caugher her name. Anas always enjoyed surprising people by remembering their names.

“Yes, oh Summoner?”

“I found a princess under the heart tree. I cannot take her to her bed as I’m not permitted through the red doors. Would you see her highness get changed and under the covers?”

Meryneith stirried on Anans back, burrowing her face in protest to the idea of having to walk or do anything except slip into oblivion.

“Certainly. You have our gratitude, summoner Anas’almar. Come now, your highness.”

The little stormcloud slid off Anas’ back and went with the maid. Before turning the corner the child turned to wave at Anas and the two silently exchanged good night wish partings.

Anas went back to the heart tree to gather his things. The drizzle had picked up and threatened to pour down, but still Anas took his time to survey the spot one last time.

“Love comes easy, and at least twice a day.” He whispered, placing a chaste kiss upon the heart tree. Why he did not know. Maybe he was just tired and drunk from the excitement of the day. Maybe he was a hopeless romantic and finally found the words to express it. And he had gotten so close to believing he had gotten too old for such antics.

The summoner chuckled, he really needed to get to bed. But there were a few things to account for first.

Once in his room he tapped his staff to a pot of budding branches that slowly opened up to glowing yellow lanterns. His cabin was nothing extraordinary. A bed, a seating cushion, a low table for writing, and a little pothole window. Along the walls boxes with clothes and personal belongings stood orderly and ready to be carried out. Tomorrow Anas’almar would have to leave the fleet and stay in the temple of Ramuh as a pilgrim for however long it would take him to receive his next blessing. But before all that became relevant he had another thing to plan for. Carefully he slid open one of the boxes and fished out an unassuming brown cloak and a green shawl, placing them on the table. He would have to be quick and stealthy when leaving in the morning so he could reach the tea pavilion without incident. In case anyone came checking in on him for breakfast he placed a spare shoe in the middle of the table facing the window, a sign the staff would know to mean he had gone out, they did not need to know where.

Lastly he slipped out of his clothes, folding them and placing them in their correct box. He opened the window and held up the lantern flowers, and just as quickly as they had bloomed they retreated back into their dark buds. All that was left now was to slide under the covers and dream wonderful dreams. His black wings flapped happily before setting into place and Anas were out like the lantern flowers.