Flower Trove stands at the entrance to Long Fur's humble dwelling, a cabin far from the flashy homes other visitors have rented out. Not long had passed since he had left the cave of the dragon, and now, having gathered his memories, he would speak to the holy priest of what he knew.

He feels nothing so childish as anxiety, or nervousness. Yet he hesitates for a moment. Wary for what may come from this, and what the future may hold. The feeling of importance sits with him poorly.

But he has a duty to fulfill.

Flower Trove knocks on the door, announcing his presence.

Longfur opens the door to usher Flower Trove in. "I have been awaiting you, but not idly."

One of Longfur's assistant's, a Mirage tailed, pieces through scrolls and books, as Longfur herself could not read as per her godly alignment.

"We have been seeking anything about what you have told me, but there is little. Scraps here and there, from fairy tales and fool's prophets." Longfur paces the inside of the cabin. "But you, I can tell that you're an honest tailed. The way you told me you might know what the cause of this all is, there was only honesty in your tone."

"Your words honour me, holy Long Fur." In such company, Flower Trove speaks not with the crude tongue of aliens, but the eloquent hums of the Tailed. "My village held its secrets close, but I believe what I learned from them is enough to be of use to you."

"But before I speak of that, I must confess my sin to you."

"Sins? What sins could you have at such an age that you have yet to confess?"

"At the cave, when the dragon emerged and showed its strength, I was... overcome with cowardice, and fear for my life. I did not think of you, nor the dragonkin, only myself, and acted only for survival's sake. Perhaps if I had stayed, I might have spoken to the dragon, and convinced it I was no threat."

"I... acted as an animal would have. Not a follower of the Helper." He finishes.

"I see, truly. While fleeing did not seem strange to me, it is true. As one of the flock it is your duty to always stand forth as the voice of reason, even when the rest stampede."

"Perhaps your kin would judge you more harshly. Bring up that the elderly tailed should always be first to stay behind, for their aging bodies can only provide reason, not flight, but I am one of the scaled Mother's children."

"So I see no sin in you. You are no mother of mine, nor sibling. Family must protect family to us Radical tailed, but neighbors are more than welcome to check for their own kin before others. I absolve you of your sins. The Helper will have no hate for you for that."

"Your ONLY sin in my eyes was even the mere mention of changing gods. Joyous is it, to get a new member of the dragon's flight, but in your age you should never think such things as changing domains. When you die, prepare to apologize to your flock a hundred times for such thoughts. Be thankful your flock would forgive; an old Radical would be sent back to the domain of the living as a doe perhaps for such words."

"I am most grateful for your judgement and absolution. I shall keep your words in my heart."

He stands a little taller, a weight having been lifted from his back. "To the present matter, then. What have you discovered so far regarding the place of Blue, so that I may know where to start?"

"I would love to tell you what I have learned but it is very little. It seems no tailed of the Poetnix, Creator, nor the Mirage have written down such facts."

"It must be that not every group of tailed uses such things. I worried that, perhaps, there was some sort of corruption in the other clans, that maybe they all used this, but thankfully I do not believe this to be the case. Instead I am sure that these incidents are isolated, perhaps a skill passed down from generation to generation in hushed voices behind closed doors."

"But whatever it is, the Radicals do not have access to their dragons, their holy beasts! Every clan has a holy beast, and yet ours struggles to exist alongside of us."

"I see. Then may my account be of aid." He pauses for a moment, and sees the Mirage tailed poised to scribe his words. Hopefully this record would not be lost like others.
"When I was young, there was a ritual my village practiced, carried out jointly by those of the Creator and the Divided. No one else was permitted to view it, and even within their faiths, only the priests would be present for enacting it, and they would not speak of what it involved. Yet its purpose was clear enough, for the tailed of other settlements would bring their holy creatures to us, or even plead to our priests to travel to their home, and have the ritual performed."

"Those beasts, when I saw them again, would be... calmed. Lessened in intensity. As if, the godly emotion that had created them was soothed in some way. It was not needed often, but we ate well from the offerings of those who came for our service."

"And how could you tell they were affected? Was there a certain look, a feel to their eyes or soul?"

"There was, all that and more. Once, a clan came with a terrible beast of the Neo, one that had already killed a dozen of their number. After a time, when they returned to reclaim it, it was still fierce, yet... reserved, I would say. When once it had never slept, now it rested between bouts of brutality, or so I was told."

"How dire. This act must break apart the mind of beasts. While I know of no one who has used it on creatures above such titles, imagine if it was used on me or you. This must be halted, this practice ended. It is clear to me enough that even if this is not the cause of the disappearance of dragons, what damage it could cause could be mighty."

"One last question, and do answer with only the truth. In one book written there were particular pages. The whole book made no sense, full of stories that were clearly lies as I was told." The Mirage tailed knows what struck Longfur with such anxiety, and opens the book to pages and pages of BLUE. Figures of skeletons danced across the pages as if alive.

"...I take it you do not mean those who were born again for the acts of their past life. I have not seen a... corpse rise, no."

"I shudder to think that my village may have been involved in such a thing."

"Good. At least those terrifying images are nothing but lies."

"But, I should tell you. While I was still young, something changed. The ritual... became unsafe, I think. I remember the elder tailed did not speak of their concern, but I could tell their emotions. They began to turn away those who came to us, even if they had traveled at great cost. That was when I overheard them speak of it as... a door. A connection that was formed with another place of deep blue, and something that lived there."

"Soon, they stopped speaking of it altogether. But not long after, the priest of the Divided had me assist in destroying their writings. I could not read the parchment, but there had been pictures on them. A door. A deep sea with no bottom. And... a blue rabbit, much like the one we saw."

Flower Trove pauses in recollection as a thought occurs to him. "Holy Long Fur... Have you ever known of a dragon, that was also a rabbit before? Such a thing seems so strange to me."

"The only thing I have seen that even remotely matches the description of that, is the creature we saw in that cave. No other time have I known rabbits to mingle in such a way."

"Why such a holy and innocent creature chooses to do this is unknown, but I must find the root of this."

"Thank you for your assistance. You are old, Flower Trove, and well honored I am sure. Do not fret yourself with these horrors you have seen. Consider your burdenful memories passed on to me. Live in peace and meet your god knowing that you held no secrets."

"Do not let your last years be troubled by such oddities." Longfur motions an end to the writing, and the Mirage tailed halts.

"Thank you, Long Fur. I will pray for your success." He turns to go.

Yet... There's one more thing that remains on his conscience. For when trouble brews beneath the surface, it is the duty of the Helper to prevent it from festering. "The dragon. It was freed from its cave. It was told of things that led it to such anger. The one who did that... was Abyss Horse, wasn't it? And he met us on the path, and prophecised the wrath he had already provoked, and did not tell you, his priest, of this."

"It angers me to say, but I believe you to be right! I have seen how Abyss Horse predicts events and then appears where they have happened at least once before. He is making his own predictions come true. Being his own god."

"I do not know why he would do this yet cry horrors about the gods, but know that such punishments must be swift and final for such lies! If I capture him with my own two hands I will give him the punishment of the Mother herself. Turn him into a creature that will suffer for the rest of its days as punishment, don't you worry."