Wyrm waited in his cell. After a time, an elf appeared. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I had some critical patients I needed to deal with.” “Lyn?” Wyrm guessed. The elf nodded. “You better not let him hear you call him that. His name is Thailyn. He pushed himself too much recently. Now he’s paying for it.” “It’s my fault,” Wyrm admitted. “In part, but not entirely. My name’s Shunati and in case you didn’t guess, I’m a healer. I’ll be working on healing you over the next few days. The beatings you took left a bit of damage. We’ll be keeping you asleep for a while. The healing can be painful, and you did abduct King Emeton.” “What’s going to happen to me?” “After an evaluation, King Emeton will decide. You’ll be kept asleep for that.” “I have nightmares and cause ground quakes,” Wyrm warned. “We thought that there might be a problem like that. Ann has them too.” “Ann?” “You met her yesterday, the other white dragon.” “Annlonna?” Shunati nodded. “We call her Ann for short. She casts lightning bolts. Anyway, I’ve taken precautions to keep you from having nightmares. You’re in a healing trance. You can manipulate your surroundings so you can have whatever you need, just imagine it being there. I’ll be in to visit periodically so you won’t be alone, and I’ll bring others in sometimes too.” He made a chair appear and sat. “I’ll heal the scars from you being collared too,” the elf told him. He made the collar and wrist bands disappear. “Don’t. I need those. The copper hurts. The scars help.” “No one’s going to collar you,” the elf told him. “Collar?” “Make you wear eta-vie bindings. We call it collaring and we usually use the term eta-vie. We won’t do it to you.” “But I need them. I make ground quakes because of my nightmares.” “We’ll look at other solutions. And if you do need them, we have some lined with silk. They block magic but don’t burn. “I have other patients so I can’t stay and visit now. I’ll be back later.” Wyrm nodded. He didn’t know what to say. The elf wasn’t anything like what he expected. The elf disappeared and Wyrm was alone in his cell. *** “How is he?” Mishtali asked. “He’s scared and confused. He’s lost. He’s been captured by the enemy. He’s created a prison for himself.” “I want to meet him.” Shunati nodded. “I know. Give me some time to make my rounds and check on Vaila.” “Can Mila help me, or Lamdi?” “Not Lamdi, she’s not trained. Any of the other healers can help you, but they need rest too. Be patient. We’ll make sure he’s not left alone for too long. And we’ll make sure you spend time with him. For now, see to the rest of your family and allow me to do the rest of my job.” Mishtali nodded and looked at his son. “Go,” Shunati insisted. “He’s in no danger. And there’s nothing you can do. Check on your other son.” Mishtali nodded again and left.