Isla Weyr's most famous bluerider and searchrider is a well known name throughout many worlds. After transporting himself to escape a fate worse than death, Philippe ended up on the beach of Isla Weyr and left only to Impress his dragon and ensure the return of the Weyr he called home. After regaining his memory, Philippe's role in the Weyr grew and he now serves as an ambassador on several fronts between Astrael and Isla, as well as retaining his title of High Prince of Shaor to aid his father in diplomatic relations in the various neighboring countries. Unknown to him, he may have an even larger role to play, if the ancient gods have any say in his fate.
History
Born as Amarion to the King and Queen of Amaras, his name means 'son of Amaras' (literal translation is 'son of the sun', of which Philippe thinks is quite stupid...). When he was sixteen he was granted his title-name of Ashflacon by Itaene, the Goddess of Life and Death. This was seen as a bad omen by many but Turold made sure to dispel this as Amarion grew naturally into his role as a future leader for their people.
Randaril came to the palace when Amarion was sixteen and was revealed to be an illegitimate child of King Turold and the witch, Rilianna who had (according to Randaril) been killed by bandits. Taking Randaril under his wing to teach him how to be a prince, Amarion gave little thought to his brother's origins, thankful only to have another boy around his age in the palace. As such, the two grew close as they grew up. Randaril was always the quiet one who watched his brother's back (and tried, often futilely, to keep him out of trouble) while Amarion was comfortable in the spotlight.
When Randaril became ill and Amarion went to find a cure, tracing the source to necromancy. He would eventually find help from an old man in Aspholanth who was said to be able to cure anything. This was, unbeknownst to Amarion at the time, a trap as the old man was actually the Lich Lord Morpheus and the one who had given Amarion the clue to come here was his trusted minion, Krelnar. While learning a potion that the old man said would cure his brother, he found the sword he would later call Annuren tucked into a corner collecting cobwebs. The sword called to him and he took it without asking, thinking it was a simple sword. He was also given a stone to help him with the healing spell (naturally, this was a trick).
Returning to the palace, Amarion found servants weeping and the healers outside his brother's door. Refusing to believe Randaril was dead, Amarion locked himself in his brother's room. Instead of using the healing potion and stone, he performs a resurrection, bypassing the ingredients typically needed to do so (which was his first act as the Chosen of Phar). Incidentally, this saved Randaril from being cursed by the Lich Lord which forced him to wait for another chance to end the bloodline Amarion was a descendant of. Randaril recovered and Amarion claimed Randaril had not yet died, but was almost dead, and that the healers were wrong to announce his death. Some believed him - others were skeptical.
After this event, Amarion traveled to Aspholanth often to satisfy a nagging curiosity that necromancy could be used for good. He learned that this was in fact true and studied under the Emperor of Aspholanth and others the art of white necromancy, which uses the art for healing rather than simply creating zombie hoards. It was only when Amarion was given the prophecy of his own life's path and destiny that he left Aspholanth and did not return, continuing his learning in private in Astrael. Creating a small pocket dimension with a hidden door in his room, he often escaped here and figured out spells and curses that would be dangerous in the wrong hands. Amarion was unknowingly tapping into his link with Phar for all of this, learning things only a deity of death and life would know.
Amarion met and fell in love with Princess Kistelia Wildheart of Nemeriath while hunting with their brothers. For the next several decades, he courted her (as best he could for she really did live up to her name 'Wildheart'). Elia's free spirit (and perhaps his reputation moreso), made it difficult for him to convince her he was serious in his choice to marry her. When she fled a feast while the two kings discussed political matters about Amarion's proposed union between their Houses, Amarion chased her and ultimately gave her a choice. Following her heart, Elia returned to the palace and accepted his proposal.
Amarion traveled to Nemeriath with his escort to bring her to Astrael himself, however the caravan was attacked less than a day into the journey; Amarion was wounded and Kistelia was slain by her own bodyguard who was actually a changeling who then took Kistelia's form and poisoned Amarion to keep him quiet until they were in Astrael. There he wed Kistelia though it was against his will now but he was blackmailed and tortured into the situation by the changeling. Hoping to bide time to solve this mess, Amarion went along with it, distancing himself from his family and friends. Dark rumors began to swirl around the High Prince about his dealings with necromancers but Amarion did not refute it - mostly because in a secret pocket dimension he was working to end the source of Amaras' greatest threat for good - the Lich Lord Morpheus.
Meanwhile, Kistelia continued to weave her webs of lies, deceit, and distrust amid the Royal family. Unable to stop it, Amarion could only watch as she openly started an affair with his own brother, slipped lies to his sister, caused discord between his parents and effectively crumbled the entire High Council with her trickery and plots. When Tabenyen was born, the city celebrated their heir but Amarion did not, knowing full well that the prince was nothing more than a clone and while Tabenyen's soul was technically born innocent, he would soon be corrupted by Morpheus and the changeling. Unknown to anyone else except Amarion (for the changeling told him to mock him), Tabenyen was cursed soon after with a form of lichdom that would take effect when he was an adult.
During the siege of Astrael, Amarion escaped the escort for the royal family (he shadow stepped) to return to the palace and confront Kistelia and Krelnar. He encountered Kistelia trying to flee (and join up with Krelnar) with Tabenyen who was only a child and oblivious to his curse. Amarion fought and killed the changeling then took Tabenyen's life, hoping he could spare the child's soul the torment of what his fate would have been otherwise. Randaril, who had come searching for his brother, witnessed both murders and tried to attack Amarion who turned and ordered Randaril to return to the family and protect them, telling his brother nothing is as it seems and he will try to explain someday. Randaril obeyed but the hatred for his brother was already instilled into his heart. Amarion then ordered guards to guard the Moonbridge Gate, knowing what was going to come through it while he went to search for Krelnar. After defeating the Dark Lord, one of Morpheus' most powerful followers, by subverting the Curse, Amarion fled the city and was captured several miles from the devastation, having been able to leave the city unaffected by the curse that turned everyone within the city radius into zombies.
Krelnar would later attack the transport that was taking survivors to Aldraln. Amarion refused to tell him where he had hid the Blood Stone (which Amarion had used to alter the Curse and had the thousands of souls of the zombies trapped within), and the sword, Annuren, which he had hidden just before being captured by Aldralnian soldiers. Krelnar killed the Queen and Princess, then moved to kill Randaril to try to force Amarion to reveal the locations of Morpheus' prized possessions. Amarion, who had been weakened from the battle in Astrael and the poor treatment on the road, had not been ready for a fight but had prepared enough spells in his mind to prevent Randaril from dying, countering the death-spell last second. He then ordered Turold and Randaril to flee. Randaril did not want to listen to him but Turold, sensing a truth and finality to his son's words, did as he was told and the trucks drove off. With the remainder of his family gone, Amarion did not hold back, managing to banish Krelnar before he himself succumbed to his wounds. Stumbling to the edge of a cliff, Amarion began to recite a harmony of two spells that would effectively erase his memory to prevent anyone from speaking to his corpse to gain information, and the second to erase his existence from memory. The spells did not fully complete before he lost consciousness and fell, only surviving because of the protective spells he had had in place to fight Krelnar (or so he assumes).
He was rescued by Jeffery Ramsey and brought to the nearest hospital. The erasing spell had done enough that no one save his immediate family would be able to recognize him on sight thus he was not identified when brought in. After several months in a coma, he woke with no memory of who he was or where he came from. After a legal battle, Jeffery Ramsey won custody of the elf and took him back to his estates, which he used as an orphanage and school of sorts. He gave the elf a new name, Philippe Alan Ramsey, after his son who left for war in Shaor and never came home. During the next ten years Philippe went from groundskeeper and stable hand to butler for he had a natural way with people that Mr. Ramsey admired it.
While Philippe's life was relatively easy under the care of Jeffery Ramsey, his people were not so lucky and as the lies and twisted tales started by Morpheus which had initiated the siege on Astrael to begin with continued to grow so did the distrust and fear of elves. Many were retained in camps awaiting their fate. Some escaped, many of those that did were killed. After ten years, the government instituted the Elven Slavery Laws, which allowed elves to be purchased as slaves and stripped them of all human rights. Jeffery Ramsey was forced to pay a hefty fee if he wanted to keep Philippe on his property - if he did not, Philippe would be removed and sold on auction. In addition, Philippe's role at the Estate would be limited and the comfortable life he was living would end. Unable to pay the fee and unwilling to subjugate a man he considered as close to him as a son, Jeffery was at a standstill.
Philippe decided to take matters into his own hands and started to study any book he could on magic to find an answer. His investigations led him to find old star chart records from the Orion (the ship that had crashed in present day Aldraln) and spells that indicated the possibility to travel to a different world - he would have to leave his home but at least he could spare Jeffery the torture of chosing between two evils. To further spare Jeffery the interrogation, Philippe packed his things at night and left without a word to anyone, hiding the evidence of his research or destroying it (some things refused to burn). He then found a clearing in the forest and cast the spell, leaving Sentra with a hope and a prayer that he would not end up on a planet with unbreathable air or something - after all, he had no idea what the acronym for P.E.R.N. stood for but given it was marked 'livable' on the records, it was a chance he was willing to take.
The spell dropped him on an island and for the first several days Philippe survived. He was free and had escaped and Jeffery Ramsey was safe, too, as any interrogation spells would prove the man knew nothing of Philippe's plans. They would probably search but never find him. His plan had been brilliant - well except when he ran out of food and still had no idea where he was. When the local wildlife (mini dragon-like creatures of various colors), started to attack him after days of helping him find shelter and food, he was confused. Having a much larger version of the creature land next to him with a man wildly waving to him did not help and Philippe initially ran thinking he was going to be eaten. M'len had Jesioth grab the elf from the beach when Philippe came to a stop, fixated with horror as Thread neared the coastline. Teleporting didn't help M'len's case that they were friends.
Philippe was quick to recover from the rescue, however, more than happy to find people and after a slight shift in dialect, found he could understand them. M'len returned later to explain everything and Philippe decided he was just going to stay here, keeping his origins to himself for the most part. He helped in the lower caverns, developing a keen taste for bubbly pies and the bite-sized versions in particular. Philippe's charm quickly won over several women and he was rarely bored with companionship; learning that the Weyr was pretty lenient with relationships only doubled down on Philppe's decision to live at the Weyr. Several months later, M'len asked Philippe if he wanted to stand for a dragon of his own and with a 'what the hell, why not' response, Philippe was presented at one of Rhiath and Jerith's clutches where he Impressed a blue who's color shifted to black near the tail; his name was Farroth.
Philippe and Farroth completed their training at Isla before graduating to the Wings. He became friends with P'mir and accompanied him a few times when the Searchrider was looking for candidates. It was something that came natural to him and P'mir offered to let him join Blyzska and Serzona but Philippe initially refused, as he was to 'busy' to have an official duty.
At Turn's End of 2808 AL, Philippe helped evacuate hundreds of people when Isla Weyr was cursed by a magical, deadly mist. The effect of overlapping himself and seeing himself seemed to have little effect on him unlike the other riders, some having died performing the same act he did. He would relocate with the survivors to Dark Moon Weyr (known at the time as Dark Moon WeyrHold). As riders left in groups to the future, Philippe and his then-weyrmate, Juniamaa, waited until all who would go had left. They then jumped forward to 3003 AL, taking up residence at Fort Weyr before transferring to Monaco Bay Weyr in 3005 AL. In that same year, Philippe convinced a down-on-his-luck Journeyman Harper named Jealsren to attend a hatching at Monaco Bay. Jealsren Impressed night Ainnth, whose egg was snuck in by Tayalia and her green Avsiruth; Ainnth was the son of sunset Zenith and gold Niayith and his egg had originally been recorded as a dud. J'ren would later join Philippe in finding riders to reestablish Isla Weyr.
In 3008 AL, Philippe and the small group of Monaco Bay riders who had signed up for the seemingly impossible task of bringing back Isla Weyr, arrived to find the cursed mist lifted and old friends waiting for them (well, at least for Philippe and Juniamaa). As the two elves drifted apart after this, Philippe rejoined M'len in Searching offworld and resurrected his reputation among the women of the Lower Caverns.
During 3009 AL, Philippe and M'len (mostly Philippe) proposed a specially themed clutch where only people from Earth were searched - nicknamed the All-Earth Clutch or AEC. While Searching Earth, the two encountered a girl who knew far more about them than normal; they Searched her anyway. Cynte would later Impress a pale gold sport named Phalinth. As the years passed, Philippe found that his friendship with her was getting stronger and eventually he confessed he loved her, which she initially disbelieved knowing his reputation among the women-folk of Isla. It wasn't until after Phalinth's first mating flight in 3011 AL that Philippe explained how he had not been with other women much after Searching her and asked that he be allowed to prove it. Cynte made him promise to be her friend before her lover, to which he agreed.
Not long after the mating flight, Philippe's mind started to regress into blackouts. He would wake up learning he had hurt or nearly killed others, sometimes his dearest friends including M'len and Cynte. Seeking answers, Philippe was exiled to Sentra until he could find out what was going on. Aenon Kahnler and Jarel Redwood proposed he find the elven king of Shaor who was said to wander near [place]. Philippe left, determined to get back home as soon as he could.
Philippe would run out of food and hope months after starting his search for the elven king. He was found by Randaril Silvermark, now a renowned ranger and tracker, and brought to Turold; Philippe was oblivious to who they were but the two recognized him and were wary, thinking he was lying about his memory loss. Turold tried to get to the bottom of it, finding spells that were fading and allowing what he suspected were Philippe's suppressed memories trying to surface. Philippe simply wanted them covered up again so he could go home but it was easier said than done. Philippe contacted M'len and K'man to tell them he would be coming home soon.
During an attack by dark mages and necromancers, servants of Krelnar, Philippe's spells broke and he blacked out. He was dragged out of the frey by Randaril and thus saved. When he woke, they were near the Vale and Philippe heard his father talking to M'len and K'man. He went to the cliff and looked out over the Vale, seeing the green-blue glow of Astrael in the distance. Randaril comes up and talks to him, explaining that his (not 'their' which was initially implied), people will never find their place in the world until Astrael is saved. Philippe answers but Randaril notices a change in the words. Philippe then asks if Astrael is merely a symbol of elven power, or if it lies within the people itself.
Randaril leaves, angry and Philippe contemplates his returned memories and decides to lift the Curse. He and Farroth fly to Astrael and land in the decree courtyard before making their way to where Amarion had hid the soul-stone. He released the Curse only to turn and find Krelnar waiting for him. Philippe utters a single word ("Shit...") before he is forced to fight the necromancer lord. Being vastly unprepared, Philippe struggles but finally manages to combine his and Farroth's souls and destroys Krelnar rather than banishes him, ending one threat. Philippe is found by his father and manages to ask a single request to 'go home' before passing out, clinging to life. Understanding his son's request, Turold tells K'man and M'len to take Philippe back to Pern where he dies hours later.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Randaril's last ditch attempt to save his brother's life using the Soul-catcher pendant, Philippe's soul was not destroyed as Turold thought but hidden in the gem. Only Amarion knew how to remove a soul from the Soul-catcher but it wasn't until the end of 3012 AL that Philippe is resurrected and later travels back in time to resurrect himself. Three days after his resurrection, Tabenyen, now a lich and powerful necromancer bound to Morpheus, attacked the Weyr after living among the people for nearly a Turn. Philippe defeats him, turning most of Tabenyen's summoned horde against each other. He then undoes the life-draining curses on J'ren and K'man before passing out.
Several days after this event that left over a dozen dead, including hours-old hatchlings, Randaril appeared in the Weyrbowl begging for help as Morpheus had dominated Turold and was driving Astrael into ruin. Philippe explains that Morephus wanted more than the death of the elven people, he wanted to tarnish their name so that the world saw them as evil and corrupted. The brothers then get the help of Aenon and Jarel who volunteer to jump through Sentra's past to find clues about Morpheus origins and how to stop him for good. When Aenon and Jarel return days later after a year-long search for them, and with one of the first nalhini, they formulate a (half-assed) plan. Infiltrating the palace and confronting Morephus who still thought Amarion was dead, Philippe fights the Lich Lord and soon realizes that Annuren, the sword he had stolen all those years ago, was Morephus' phylactery. Unknowingly tapping into his Chosen ability, Philippe destroys the sword and the brothers, M'len and K'man destroy Morephus permanently, saving Turold in the process.
After Philippe recovers, the council calls him to discuss his birthright as Turold had revealed after his death that Amarion had been born with the aid of a witch's potion which made him, by elven laws, unfit to rule because he was considered 'unnatural'. Philippe shrugged it off while his brother and father argued against it and he willingly abdicated the title of crowned prince to his brother (fulfilling Turold's prophecy in doing so). The title of High Prince of Shaor, however, remained Philippe's since Shaor was considered disbanded by many governments anyway.
After this, Philippe returned to Pern and his family.
Despite his duties, which later included Wingsecond after his recovery, Philippe spent as much time as he could helping his people recover and setting things straight with Aldraln. In 3013 the Orion Convention met to discuss matters, inviting Turold and his son as well as leaders from connected worlds such as Isla Weyr, Caer Darkstone, and Treval Dragonry (all of whom helped aid Astrael after the Curse was lifted). Aspholanth is also invited - Mehelnora declines. During the meeting, Kyla of Aspholanth asks them to consider the potential use of dragons to fight a prophesied Darkness. Philippe, speaking as a Searchrider of Isla and unknown to some as the High Prince, offers to find people to begin Impressing or bonding dragons, primarily from Alskyr and Pern as the Convention seems to like their abilities over the highly magical species found on Anarendor. The Convention agrees to let Philippe and his team find candidates. Later, Philippe tells Kyla and Randaril that Farroth has chosen them to be the first candidates.
Randaril is taken to Caer TolEras for Arakoth and Tanajath (two IGPC hatched dragons), and bonds with bronze Meneleth. About a month later, Philippe picks Kyla up in Aspholanth, facing her brother and the political mess he left behind there. Alex, Kyla's eldest brother and the heir to the Aspholanian Empire, is apparently against his sister's idea but before the two can get into the argument further, Philippe whisks Kyla away. She is presented with Isilith and Elivornith's clutch. Philippe notices a particular purple hatchling and after talking to the Caerleader's, he leaves to try to find the one person Farroth thinks will suite the purple the best. His target is a former personal guard though finding her proves difficult.
When Philippe does locate Calariel Steelfire, he heads off to find her only to run into Irhaaliel, Calariel's only daughter. Unbeknownst to him, she is being chased by Snatchers and they hit Philippe over the head during the ambush and take both of them, and Irhaaliel's friend Rissa, as captives.
Philippe does not take well to being captured, and they were soon to learn this.
Unable to contact Farroth due to potions and spells, Philippe is on his own for the trip south. They are placed on a boat for several days before being unloaded at a port where all three are sold at auction. Rissa is separated from them, bought by the very man that had betrayed her into thinking he was a good boyfriend when in truth he had only been a spy for the Snatchers. Philippe and Irhaaliel are loaded into a wagon and brought to a dark, depressing building, then separated. Philippe is brought to a cellar and thrown into a cage. Here he meets a young man who is pale and so thin Philippe can see nearly every bone - his zombies have looked better. Not one to simply be treated like this after years of abuse at the hands of his wife's doppelganger, Philippe fights the guards at every turn. Over the course of several days, he is able to purge the potions and spells preventing him from contacting his dragon - given his situation and the fact that he has already tricked the guards into telling him where he would end up if he died, he informs Farroth to wait. This is relayed to Randaril and Kyla.
Never tell a necromancer where you stash the dead bodies.
After finding out just what kind of place he is in - a breeding facility for anyone not human it seemed - he promises the man across from him that it will soon be over and he is going to get them all out of here. Philippe then uses a false death spell and fakes his death - as expected the guards throw him into the pit of undead, which Philippe realizes are more than just adults and upon seeing the corpses of newborns becomes enraged. His plan to resurrect just enough zombies to storm the complex turns into a full fledged zombie army that decimates nearly every Republican guard and worker. The women being used to have babies he spares. During his rampage, he contacts Farroth and says to send transport for at least fifty people. Riders from Isla, Lantir-setia, and Treval arrive to assist in the swift evaluation of the Complex.
Returning to Astrael, Philippe meets Calariel and is concerned when he is told Irhaaliel was not among the women brought to the city as he was quite sure she had been sold with him. Despite M'len (and pretty much everyone else) telling him to rest, Philippe and Calariel go to search the Complex one more time to try to find Irhaaliel. She is found in a lower dungeon (a breeding room) holding the body of the young man Philippe had promised to rescue. Philippe is quick to sense a ghost and, alarmed, uses a softly uttered spell to see the boy's spirit hovering protectively next to the distraught girl. The boy asks if she's going to be safe now and Philippe only nods, realizing the spirit would have remained with the girl until she was safe.
Irhaaliel blames herself but Philippe is quick to tell her to never take responsibility for someone else's choices or actions. She, and the young man, fought the battle as best they could in an unfair situation. Irhaaliel then begs Philippe to resurrect him, because she knows he can. It takes Calariel, M'len, Jesioth, and Farroth for Philippe to relent but he swears them all to secrecy on the matter - that is if the boy accepts resurrection because he will not force a soul to live if he is now at peace. Stepping into the spirit plane, he finds the boy and speaks to him, realizing that his spirit cannot see the path of light that leads to the afterlife. Knowing that the boy is doomed to be devoured by Soul Eaters, he convinces the boy to live one more time, promising him he will never have to be a slave again. The boy is resurrected but struggles to breathe, in which Calariel assists in CPR to get his heart beating and lungs breathing again. Philippe then orders M'len to take Calariel and Irhaaliel home - he has to bring the boy, Ash (as Irhaaliel says is the only name be remembers), to an Aldralnian hospital since Amaras has no clerics that can heal and Philippe states whatever prevented the completion of the resurrection spell is preventing him from healing Ash. Instead of taking them to Astrael, M'len gives in to Irhaaliel's demands to stay by Ash's side and he takes them to the ER of Silverne's best hospital.
While fussing over everyone else, Philippe's limit is reached and he passes out in the hospital. Calariel and M'len simply watch, having actually bet how long it would take for it to happen as Philippe is admitted into the hospital as well. As Calariel goes with her daughter, who is to be checked over after her ordeal, M'len goes to Pern to get Cynte and Tynena to be with Philippe when he wakes up.
After several days in the hospital, Philippe returns to Isla Weyr. Not long after this, he and Cynte suggest the Memorial Clutch. When the flight is flown, Philippe senses the spirit of his son and while Cynte doesn't believe she is pregnant, he knows she is and is both overjoyed and terrified. Several weeks later, Cynte's pregnancy is confirmed. Philippe soon starts Searching Aldraln (notably Silverne for now), for candidates and working with the military to devise the best location and training needed for Aldraln to have their own dragons. While he thinks the name is a bit cheesy, the Government's new military division is known as the Dragon Force (a play on Air Force), and nicknamed the USDF or the USADF (United States of Aldraln Dragon Force).
Before he can start searching for candidates, however, Rissa arrives at Astrael with the king and steward (the prince in exile) of Nemeriath. Facing his (legally) father-in-law again after all this time does not sit well with Philippe and after Karian tries to kill him, he snaps and tells them he will take them to where Kistelia Wildheart is - not the imposter he executed when Astrael fell. Still not believing them, the King and Karian are taken via dragonback to the location by the river where Amarion's entourage was ambushed. Philippe is able to use his necromancy to locate the bodies of those thrown into the river, now covered by silt and dirt after two-hundred years. After Farroth digs up the bones of one victim as proof, the King asks if it's Kistelia and Philippe says he will not know; all of his guards and Kistelia's handmaids were killed that day, too. There are a lot of bodies here. While the King, Turold, and J'ren discuss options to retrieve the dead, Philippe is drawn to an oak tree nearby and sensing a familiar presence, rests his hand on it - then passes out.
When Philippe wakes up, he is in a hunting lodge. Kistelia was resurrected and they blame him for it but Philippe doesn't remember doing anything. When he explains the last thing he remembers is touching the oak tree they say there was no tree when they found him and Kistelia. Only the shared thoughts of the dragons confirm Philippe's story. Philippe then returns to Isla and Kistelia is to remain at the hunting lodge until they can figure out what to tell people - other than the truth, which no one is sure of just yet.
Unable to shake it, Philippe eventually talks to J'ren and tells him that Kistelia should be brought here, off Sentra. J'ren is hesitant but Philippe convinces him to set Kistelia up at the Hold first. This gets her off Sentra and the secret of her resurrection being discovered. J'ren agrees to this, reluctantly, and sends riders to bring Kistelia to Isla Hold after the preparations are made. To distract himself, Philippe throws himself into Searching Aldraln, starting in Silverne and setting up booths at college fairs - but because that is a good way to Search but the interaction with people and the attention he was bound to receive being Prince Amarion was enough to keep his mind off Elia. For a while, it worked.
As the Memorial Clutch neared hatching, Philippe became restless and at Cynte's urging she convinced him to at least check up on Elia. They talk but Philippe confesses he could not remember their time together before the changeling killed her. He suspects that the spell he used to erase his memory might have actually erased the memories he suppressed while being abused by the imposter and he would never remember 'his' Elia. He tries to apologize as Elia walks away, clearly upset,by offering to escort her to watch the Memorial Clutch hatch. She agrees and while it made the event a bit awkward for Philippe he admitted (only to his dragon) that having her there might be the right thing - as long as he took it all very slowly.
During the Memorial Clutch Gather, Philippe went to his beach for a respite from the festivities. He reflected on the events that had transpired since his resurrection, thankful that Ash was now back in Astrael after months of recovery at a therapy center for both his body and mind. He felt as if things were finally getting back on track - at least until a chilling wind blew through him, causing his soul to be paralyzed for just a second as the warning touched him and he felt a terrifying dread. When Farroth told him Yakima had fainted around the same time, he rushed back to the Weyr. The celebration continued throughout the night, but Philippe, and several others, had sensed that something dark and terrible had woken up, a sensation felt on multiple worlds. Unable to know the origin of the warning, Philippe soon found himself helping Yakima to solve it.
In between this, he came across a depressed Elia and the two talked. Philippe admitted that while he didn't remember their past, that didn't mean they didn't have a future, but warned her to be careful as the changeling had had a goal and for the most part, that goal was successful in demoralizing his spirit. Elia gets defensive but Farroth settles her, stating things will take time, and Philippe admits that maybe, someday, he can find a way to remember their original relationship. As a constellation of sorts, he offers to Search her to stand at Syobeth and Mixuith's latest clutch. Doubtful, but having had Impressing on her mind since the Memorial Clutch, Elia agrees. During the hatching, Elia Impressed a green named Cyrenth and despite the fact that Elia now would be in the Weyr, Philippe found that he was okay with this.
To be continued...
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