by Toni Cox
Midnight rumbled in agreement.
Running down his leg, Maia set to fastening the various straps around his stomach. Midnight had, indeed, grown and she was happy for the extra holes the Leathersmith had punched into the straps.
Sweating even in the cold of night, Maia finally stood back and inspected her handiwork. The saddle was made to carry her into battle and the seat was shaped in such a way as to keep her securely on Midnight’s back, even during the riskiest manoeuvres. It also had various pouches to stash her smaller weapons and items such as water flasks. Then it had metal rings, to which she could fasten larger things, such as the sheaths for her Twin Blades. It also had leather loops, through which she could stick her bow and quivers.
Maia had brought an entire bag of rope the day before; once they reached the cliff where Midnight had hidden her food and other gear, she would use these ropes to attach all her items to the saddle.
The weight would not bother Midnight. She was, however, worried about balance. If the weight was unbalanced or shifted during flight, Midnight might have problems flying.
“We will have to think about this carefully,” she told him, and he agreed, also showing her images of his wings smacking against anything that was not tied down correctly.
Maia checked Midnight’s saddle one last time, and then went to retrieve her bag and bow. Midnight followed, settling on the ground for Maia to climb on. She was just fastening her bag to the saddle, when Midnight sent her a warning. Someone was coming!
“Let us be gone,” she urged him.
Midnight showed her an image of Colours-Of-The-Rainbow, the name Midnight had given to Jasmin when she overcame the trauma of her childhood. She ran past The Crags at speed and would reach them within moments.
“Go, Midnight. Rise.”
Midnight did not spread his wings, but instead shifted towards Jasmin as she entered the clearing.
“What are you doing, Midnight?” Maia ask, exasperated.
Jasmin would surely try to stop her and, if not, saying goodbye would be hard.
Patience. Colours-Of-The-Rainbow is wise.
With a sigh, she took Midnight’s advice and ran down his leg to meet Jasmin.
“Maia, I am so glad I caught you. I was worried you had already gone.”
Jasmin stepped close and hugged Maia. Maia returned her embrace, leaning her head against Jasmin’s and enjoying the brief contact. She would miss her so much.
“What brings you out here in the middle of the night? I thought you were still out hunting.”
“We returned this evening and father told me you requested for the courtship to be terminated. It got me thinking.” Jasmin took Maia’s hand. “I know you are leaving. I have been expecting it for some time. You are unhappy here and although I want nothing more than to see you and Papa back together, it breaks my heart to see you so miserable.”
“I have to go, Jasmin. Please do not try to stop me.”
“That is not why I am here. You have to go. I see that now. Whatever it is that you have to do; Shadow Hall is not the place for it. I just wanted to say goodbye and give you this.”
Jasmin let go of Maia’s hand and dug in the bag slung over her shoulder. From it, she produced a leather-wrapped parcel.
“What is it?”
“Do you remember when you gave me the sheepvine before we were sent to Tarron Heights? You were right, the sheepvine proved to be a popular trade item. I managed to get a number of items, including this. I thought it might help you on your journey. It is a torchlight.”
“A torchlight? They are rare. Not many people know how to manufacture them. Thank you, Jasmine.”
The girls hugged again, longer this time.
“Be safe, Maia. And, whatever you are planning, please come back to us.”
“I will try. I don’t even know where I am going yet or how I am to accomplish what I have set myself to do. Keep me in your thoughts, daughter. I will miss you.”
Wiping a tear from her cheek, Jasmin stepped back and looked at Midnight. Maia knew they were talking, but Midnight kept her excluded from the conversation. Then, without another word, Jasmin ran back the way she had come.
Maia stared after her until Midnight’s rumble made her turn and run up his leg to settle in the saddle. She hid the leather parcel containing the torchlight in one of the saddle pouches, slid her legs through the straps and fastened a buckle around her waist. She was proud of Jasmin. The girl had accomplished so much since she came to Elveron.
Maia looked one last time toward the twinkling lights of Shadow Hall through the dark trees ahead of her, and let Midnight know she was ready.
Her mighty dragon took two steps further into the small meadow and, with two powerful strokes of his wings, they were airborne.
The icy wind of autumn night stung her bare face and she leant closer to the large neck spike in front of her saddle. Even this thick, calloused part of Midnight’s body was always warm and she now sought its heat as her dragon flew higher and higher until they reached his cruising altitude above the tips of the mountains.
It did not take long to reach the cliff where Midnight hid her supplies over the past few days. The cliff was so high up that, from the bottom, it looked like nothing more than a narrow ledge. Maia was surprised by its size when Midnight landed and he had plenty room to turn and settle well away from the sheer drop.
Elveron’s two moons, almost full at this time of Frost Moon, shone just enough light on the mountain for Maia to see and she soon found there was a small overhang on one side of the broad ledge that would make for a perfect place to sleep. She noticed, too, that Midnight had dropped most of her gear at this overhang to protect them from the elements.
While Midnight turned in circles, looking for the perfect spot, Maia arranged her gear and looked over everything she had. Silently, she thanked Midnight, for without him she would never be able to take this much.
She had a supply of food to last her two Moons, even if she never hunted or used fresh food from the forests. She had a sleeping mat, blankets, her bag of clothes, a small kettle, pot and a small all-in-one eating utensil set. She’d brought an axe, flint, her skinning knife, twine and two water flasks, plus the bag of rope to tie everything to Midnight. Her medicine bag was stocked with her essentials, as well as a flask of Silva.
The last item she checked was a bag with trade goods. She hadn’t taken much, but she had to think about every eventuality.
Determinedly, she set everything out in the order she wanted to pack it in the morning and then went over to Midnight. She could not make a fire, for it would be seen for miles. The wind was strong this high up the mountain and stung like icy needles on her exposed skin.
“I am sorry I cannot remove the saddle from your back. You might have to carry it for a while,” she told him, but Midnight compared the saddle to a fly on his hide, making her feel better. “It is freezing up here on the cliff. May I sleep with you tonight?”
Always. Safe and warm.
Gratefully, Maia settled beneath Midnight’s left wing. She lay on his outstretched hind leg, nestled close to his warm skin.
In the dark, she thought of everything she had just left behind. Her family, her friends, her people. But she had also left behind the young, insecure Elf she used to be. There was no time for that now. Now, she needed to be strong and put the needs of others first.
Again, the thought of Blaid crossed her mind and how much she wanted to be with him. No, she scolded herself, it is not Blaid I am doing this for.
Feeling Maia’s guilt, Midnight put some thoughts in her head on how he felt about the situation. He agreed that Blaid was a driving force in Maia’s decision to leave, but it was not the main reason. Her foremost thought was to save her people. Maia put the people of Shadow Hall at risk with her mere presence in the city. To keep them safe, she had to leave. To keep the rest of her race safe, she had to become the best she could possibly be. She could only accomplish it if she teamed up with the
one person that made her almost invincible. That person happened to be Blaid and she should not feel guilty about it.
“You’re right, Midnight, but we need to find him first.”
Hiding. Maia will find him. Forest knows.
In the dark, Maia tilted her head, wondering why Midnight had ‘spoken’ to her recently instead of relaying his thoughts as he normally did. When she probed him, she noticed he had put up his mental walls and she could not read his thoughts.
Sleep now, little one. Travel far we will tomorrow.
But Maia could find no sleep. Safe and warm beneath Midnight’s wing, Maia lay awake, thinking about the enormity of the task ahead of her.
“This is not working, Midnight.” Maia sighed. “We might have to leave something behind. I don’t know how to attach all this to you.”
Midnight craned his neck and looked at the packages lined up next to him. Images of him incinerating the lot flooded Maia’s mind. She frowned, but it was soon replaced by a laugh.
“Yes, Midnight, I know. It would be easier to travel without it. If we were only going for a short while, I’d agree, but we don’t know where we are going or how long we will be. I will need the extra clothes for winter, especially if we are spending it in the mountains.”
More images flooded her mind, this time of certain packages attached to the saddle and others carried in Midnight’s front claws.
“And how will you land?”
Hind legs.
Maia thought about it for a moment and conceded that it might work. If Midnight thought he could land on only two legs, he could carry things with his front legs. Carefully, she hid the thought of him as a pack horse from him.
An hour later, Midnight did, indeed, look like a pack horse. Her dragon was large; the largest and fiercest living creature on their planet; yet the various packages tied to the saddle and some neck spikes, as well as the two packages resting between his front legs, made him look as if he were some ordinary, domesticated animal.
It was impossible to hide the thought from him as Maia tried hard to suppress her laughter. Resisting the urge to shake himself, thick smoke curled out of Midnight’s nostrils.
Maia coughed and waved a hand in front of her face, while she ran up his leg and settled on the saddle. “Today it begins, my trusty steed. Come on, gallop into the clouds.”
With a roar so loud it hurt Maia’s ears, Midnight took a few steps forward and then dived off the cliff. Screaming, Maia held on to the saddle, thankful she had strapped herself in.
The wind stung her eyes and the mountainside rushed past them so fast, she could not see detail. Frantically, she reached out to ropes that held her belongings, hoping they would hold under the strain of Midnight’s vertical dive.
“I am sorry,” she yelled. “Oh mightiest of dragons. Ruler of the sky. Killer of Lava Bats. Master over the Mad One. My Lord. Forgive me.”
Midnight spread his wings and the abrupt force of their deceleration slammed Maia’s face into the neck spike in front of her, breaking her nose.
As Midnight levelled out and slowed to travelling flight, Maia gingerly touched her nose, tears streaming down her face, suitably chastised.
Midnight was silent, ignoring her. Channelling her energy, she concentrated on healing her nose as they flew. For a while, she was so distracted, she was not aware of the direction Midnight had chosen. Once her nose was healed and she had wiped the blood from her face, she looked down at the scenery below them.
They were heading south, flying high over the Grildor-Bron Mountains. Soon they would fly over Tarron Heights if they maintained this general direction. Maia questioned him about destination, but Midnight remained silent until he went to land in a high meadow.
Insolent, indolent, arrogant. Over half a century and the partner of my soul is still the same.
“You are right, My Lord. I should not have joked as I did. We are so close, I sometimes forget the mighty beast that you are.” Maia sat quietly on his back, ashamed.
Close we are, partner of my soul. Many things I learned from the Shining People. Now learn respect from a dragon.
Midnight settled on the ground for her to climb off. The two parcels he had carried in his claws stood unscathed on the grass in front of him.
“I am sorry, Midnight,” she said as she stretched her legs and surveyed the meadow. It was secluded, with mountains all around and a waterfall tumbling over a low cliff. “I did not mean to insult you.”
Then, without warning, Midnight let her back into his mind. She much preferred it when he communicated via thought, instead of his strange words, but the onslaught of thoughts that hit her now took her breath away.
Silently, she sat on the grass and listened to what Midnight had to say. For the first time in her life, someone showed her exactly what she looked like to others. Midnight knew her better than anyone, as they shared their thoughts, and this time he held nothing back from her.
When he came out of his dive so abruptly and broke her nose, she thought it was because she had insulted him. Now, as his thoughts streamed through her, she realised that the incident had been a trigger.
He showed her clearly how most people saw her. Beautiful, strong, intelligent and powerful. Some looked at her with respect, some with love and some with fear. Then he showed her how her family and friends saw her. They saw past the glamour of her status and saw her flaws beneath. Saw her insecurities, her uncertainties and indecisions. Yet they still loved her.
Finally, Midnight showed her how he saw her. He saw this bright, shining light coming from her soul. A source of power so strong, nothing could contain it. Except for Maia. He showed her how she crippled her powers with her doubts, how second-guessing every one of her decisions dampened her spirit, how her suppressing her real feelings drove her to depression. He showed her how pathetic she looked when she felt sorry for herself. A dragon would never allow himself to wallow in self-pity and neither should a warrior such as her.
Then, her dragon showed her images of herself during those moments when she had let go of her insecurities and how she had shone brighter. He showed her how she saved her people when they were attacked by the bogferns. When she healed everyone after the syphon attack. When she slew fifty Vampyres alone when they attacked Shadow Hall. How she healed Midnight after his fight with the Mad One.
Many more moments he showed her when she had been who she truly was. Through his mind, she clearly saw how much brighter she shone during those moments and how her light dulled when she was full of doubts and indecision. Maia felt his disappointment that she could not see how beautiful and powerful she was, felt his disappointment that she had not taken charge of the situation until now. Midnight felt that she could do so much more if she believed in herself and told her to stand tall, to be her true self, to make use of her power the way it was meant to be used.
The sun had set behind the mountain tops to the east when Midnight finally released her from the mind bond he held her in, and she slumped to the side, too depleted to remain upright.
Midnight moved, carefully lay down next to her, curled his tail around her slumped figure and then draped his wing over her. My Bright-Shining-Silver-Star. Always.
Maia woke in the morning with the aftermath of Midnight’s mind-share still stirring strong feelings within her. She lay curled up next to her dragon and thought about everything he shared with her.
Reluctantly, she decided that her dragon was right. She could not even blame her youth and inexperience for her failures. She had all the power in the world, just not the strength to use it. Maia felt shame that her dragon, mightiest of beasts, thought her so weak. After what he had shown her, she now knew certain others also saw the weakness within her.
It was time to stop feeling sorry for herself; to stop doubting herself. As of today, Maia decided, she would approach everything with more confidence. She knew, if she put her mind to something, she usually succeeded.
Crawling out from beneath Midnight’s wing, she
blinked in the bright morning light. Thinking back, she realised they had landed in this meadow early afternoon of the previous day. She had slept far too long.
Well rested. Ready for journey.
“You’re right. I haven’t had a good night in a long time. I feel well this morning and ready for what lies ahead of us. Do you need to hunt while I make myself something to eat? I will remove the bags from the saddle for you.”
No need. Not hungry.
Images of the herd of deer he had decimated the morning before flooded her mind. Midnight would not need to eat for at least another Quarter.
“Alright,” she said, walking towards the stream. “I shall clean up and then have some travel bread while we fly. I do not want to linger here longer than necessary.”
Midnight rumbled his agreement.
After she had relieved herself and then quickly washed in the stream, she climbed into the saddle. Pushing off with his hind legs, parcels clasped in his front claws, Midnight took off almost vertically.
Soon, he levelled out, flying low over the forest below them. From Midnight’s mind, she learned that Tarron Heights was to the west and the dark forest to the east of them. They were close to the area where they had waited for the Vampyres to emerge from the dark forest during the first war.
Thinking about the dark forest gave Maia a peculiar feeling. At first, she dismissed it, but then remembered what Silas said about trusting her instincts. She asked Midnight to bank left to fly over the dark forest towards Menandril Fields.
The dark forest was one of the few unchartered territories within the Grildor-Bron Mountains. It spanned the entire area between two mountain ridges and could only be accessed from the east or the west. Within, the forest was dense, with more undergrowth than in any other forest in these mountains.
Strange stories were told about the dark forest and, although everyone referred to it as the dark forest, it did not have a name. The Elders told stories about what would come alive if it was given a name and everyone feared going into these woods.
