Amalek woke up laughing.
Zebulun and Sarah did not know this, at first. They heard a series of low, booming hisses in staccato. They left their trances and approached him.
Amalek’s pupil opened wide and turned toward them. The hisses grew shorter and less frequent. The dragon’s avatar appeared, a big grin on its face.
"Forgive me, friends," said Amalek’s avatar. "I doubt you’ve ever seen a dragon give a good belly-laugh."
"You woke up laughing?" asked Sarah.
"Indeed I did," said Amalek, still beaming.
Amalek whispered into Zebulun’s mind. Tell Ur I will do as I desire. As I command.
Zebulun looked at Amalek with amusement.
Davion woke next. He stood, stretched, and sat back down before the fire.
"How’d it go?" asked Zebulun.
"I dreamed I was old," said Davion. "I founded a school to teach people philosophy."
"Sounds like a fine dream," said Zebulun.
"It’s strange," said Davion. "I never thought about doing anything of the sort. I’m not exactly the most social of people, and I hate being the center of attention. But now, having seen it in a vision? It makes an odd sort of sense."
Zebulun nodded.
Elu woke. Sarah asked, "What did you see?"
"I saw my grandfather," said Elu, his eyes far away. "He said I would join him soon." He looked off toward the rising sun.
Apollo woke. Sarah asked, "What did you see?"
"I saw…" Apollo trailed off. "I saw the passage of time. I saw our old colony, back before the fall. I saw the humans rebel, killing numbers of us or poking out our eyes."
"And then," he said, "I saw into the future. I saw my people rebuild our colony and live in peace with men."
"Interesting," said Sarah.
Quinn woke last. He leapt to his feet, threw up his hands, and declared, "I performed for an audience of one hundred thousand! It was incredible!"
"Sounds like a fine use of your talents," said Amalek.
"Oh!" said Quinn. "That reminds me. All that stuff you’ve been showing me? I think it finally clicked. Everyone, look what I just learned to do!"
Quinn waved his arm in slow, dramatic fashion. The world around them became a cartoon. Bright, primary colors shone out from the rocks, the trees, and the fire.
Each of them looked like caricatures of themselves, their greatest features exaggerated. Zebulun looked eight feet tall. Davion looked bony as a skeleton. Quinn’s face appeared even more triangular and impish, and his nose more pointy than usual. Elu appeared to be part bear. Apollo looked thirty feet tall. Amalek looked like a demon, flames rising from his eyes. Save for the primary coloration, Sarah looked the same.
"Impressive!" said Amalek. "All that practice paid off. I told you understanding would come in time, but I must say that I’ve never seen it happen in such a short time. You must be a natural."
"I bet Sarah’s mystic brew helped," said Quinn.
"I imagine it did," said Amalek.