by LJ Davies
My eyes immediately fixed on her bow as she released an arrow. The missile cut through the air, passing over me on its deadly trajectory until it sank deep into the creature’s right eye. Inky-black blood streamed from the wound, staining its face with acrid liquid. Screeching in pain, it retreated, crashing through the vegetation and out of sight. I glanced over to see Tarwin looking right at me, a red mark across her face and blood running from a cut above her eye. Eager to make sure she was okay, I moved towards her.
Ensuring her safety is now my number one priority. No doubting myself!
In my haste, I was blind to the further threat, especially the dark shape slowly rising from the leaf litter behind her. The sight injected a new rush of adrenaline, instantly speeding up my run.
I frantically tried to warn her, spreading out my wings and hoping she would at least have the sense to glance behind her. With foul black ichor dripping from the scars and holes in its torn scales, the creature’s long neck rose high above her. The sheer terror of the sight almost knocked me to my knees. Its mouth opened, revealing its serrated teeth dripping with saliva. Refusing to allow fear to cause the death of my friend I leapt forward. This time my action registered, and she turned just before the creature’s open mouth plummeted down. She reacted instinctively, leaping out of its path, barely escaping as it snapped shut before quickly spinning round and readying another arrow.
She was about to fire when the elbow of the beast’s wing smashed into the back of her head, knocking her to the ground. It snarled and shifted its huge bulk to one side, and sure it was moving in to finish her off, I had no idea what to do.
I have to help, but how? It's so much bigger than me!
I didn't give myself time to think, almost as soon as they started, the raging storm of thoughts and emotions disappeared; the conflict had gone, as if reason had died. It felt like something in my mind had taken control and replaced the useless thoughts with something that made sense of the situation. A strange feeling, it felt like a burning ember deep inside, building to a crescendo of roaring fire.
Without hesitation I launched myself towards the creature, landing on its exposed neck. It screeched and writhed as I dug in my claws like meat hooks, slicing through its tough scales and raking deep into its dark flesh. I sank my teeth into its neck, forcing the disgusting taste of rot into my mouth.
I ignored the grim sensation, my rage overcoming the urge to gag. The foul monstrosity thrashed around furiously, trying to dislodge me, while its black blood stained my pure-white scales. Its thrashing gradually slowed as it lowered its body and bucked heavily, the final jolt dislodging several pieces of rotting flesh – and me – from its wounded neck.
I flew uncontrollably through the air, the force of the landing immediately knocking the wind from my lungs. Overcome with pain, I watched hopelessly as the creature’s blurred image moved. I saw its yellow eyes turn menacingly towards me as its tongue quivered in the air. Then with a muffled hiss, it turned away, picked up Tarwin’s limp body in its huge talons and with a powerful flap of its wings, launched itself through a gap in the trees. I desperately tried to focus but the world continued to spin and my limbs turned to jelly.
Trembling more than a shack in a blizzard, I forced myself to my paws, stumbling clumsily on the wet leaves whilst trying to clear my head and catch my breath. I still hadn’t grasped the full extent of what had just happened, all I did know was that I had to go after her. There was no question or doubt in my mind; in fact, there were no other thoughts. I spread my trembling wings and stumbled as I started a clumsy run, flapping furiously as I hurled myself towards the gap in the trees. I flapped for all my life until I caught a gust of wind and found myself steadying in the cold, autumn sky.
With my vision improving I desperately scanned the sky for any sign of movement, eventually spotting a small, dark shape heading towards storm clouds looming menacingly upon the north-western horizon. Without hesitation and as fast as my tattered wings would carry me, I followed, soaring on the winds high above the forest for mile after mile.
My eyes remained fixed on the darkening horizon with no care for the landscape beneath as forest changed into vast grasslands dotted with boulders, then into the shattered spires of sharp rocky hills and eventually open water. All I could think about was finding Tarwin.
I should have done something to make her stay in the village, it's my duty to keep her safe!
I cursed myself over and over for wanting the human myths to be real. Nevertheless, my relentless flight continued even though I'd long since lost any sight of the creature. The air grew colder, the light began to fade, and the dark skies grew heavy with rain. I pressed on, not even noticing when the freezing torrent started hitting me like a thousand tiny rocks.
Desperation alone couldn’t sustain me, and the inevitable effects of the endless flight began to take their toll. Whether I resisted it or not, the pain in my wings was becoming unbearable. The many cuts and bruises began to sting and ache, their painful grip worsened by the freezing rain. No matter how much I fought, my weary eyes grew heavier, my body began to fail, and my altitude decreased.
No! I can't stop, I have to push myself forward!
I forced myself on relentlessly, until even the rain gave way, leaving behind a dense mist to block my fading vision. Driven to a state of half-consciousness, I didn’t notice the treetops appear out of the gloom. I tried to dodge the obstacles and narrowly missed the first few as they glided out of the fog to greet me…
'Slam!'
The hard sensation of bark in my face abruptly ended my eternal flight. In an effort to stall my fall I desperately flapped my wings, unfortunately it was useless, and I inevitably crashed to the floor. I landed heavily on my chest, while the leaves I'd disturbed gently settled around me, mocking me with their peaceful glide.
The ground was cold and draped in a fine coat of snow. Using the last of my strength I rolled over onto my back, where I was granted a final, brief view of the misty sky through the branches. My injuries and the heaviness of my tired eyes finally overcame me. My sight fluttered allowing swarms of black tendrils to push in from the growing darkness beyond my peripheral vision. Too weak to resist, the inky blackness slowly flooded my view.
I’d no idea if I lost consciousness or not. I could have been there for minutes, hours or even days. I briefly opened my eyes and noted that the pale mist still loomed over me, although now it was broken by a shadowy silhouette. I had no energy left to react; it probably wasn't real anyway. My weary eyes closed one final time and the world around me grew dark, before... Silence.
*
My eyes flickered open to the view of a dark chamber. Looking around I felt a sense of familiarity, it was as if I'd somehow been here before. A strange glow emanated from a fire shrouded by a faint mist at the centre of the room. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before, it almost felt like the fire was somehow cold.
The ghostly glimmer wasn't alone, because almost as soon as I locked my eyes on the flames, mysterious beams of light shot out and bounced onto what had been an invisible surface only moments ago, forming into a dome of shimmering mirrors above me. The reflective ceiling projected the mysterious beam in several directions, ricocheting it from surface to surface like a spider’s web of light, before finally coming to settle on the ground at my paws.
Am I dead? I must be; this can’t be real, it's just like the stories from the village – ancient spirits and a paradise that awaits those who move on.
This hardly looks like a paradise though, it's so cold. I thought, looking around.
Even so, I stood up and walked cautiously towards the light projected upon the floor before me. I tried catching it beneath my paw, only to find it rushed away like a scurrying insect fleeing from a boot. Moving to catch it again, the light continually eluded me, as if it was able to think against me before I knew what I was going to do myself.
Catching it almost became a game, no matter how hard I tried I never scored a h
it. Until finally it darted towards the ghostly blue fire that had spawned its existence. The closer I moved toward the flame, the more the air cooled. Even more mysteriously, I began to hear a faint humming sound, an endless drone like the buzzing of a billion insect wings. It was a distant noise that grew louder the closer I got to the centre, combining with the movement of the elusive light like a possessive radiance. I felt surprisingly happy and silly, playfully continuing my game of cat and mouse until I realised, I'd unknowingly reached the centre of the cavern and shook myself out of the strange fantasy.
As I did so the mischievous beam reunited with its source. The chamber fell silent, the faint humming abruptly stopped and visual signs that the world around me even existed faded away. There was a drawn out pause before without warning a deafening screech and a bright beam of blue light shot up from what remained of the ghostly glow. A swirling storm of luminescent-blue dust surrounded the beam, engulfing the central stream of burning energy like a raging whirlwind.
I jumped back, terrified as the beam collided with the reflective ceiling. This time, instead of bouncing back, the light blossomed and set specks of blue dust to work, each grain furiously scratching at the surface like a million, bright-blue knives slicing the ceiling. The process bloomed, growing out towards the edges of the room as their toil revealed an amazing sight.
It couldn’t be real, but it was all I could see. It was an ocean of stars shrouded by beautifully coloured cosmic clouds, the majesty of which I'd never thought possible. All of it replaced what, only moments ago, was a dark, cold surface. The mesmerising sight of the night sky lay before me, stealing every one of my fears and replacing them with an energy that left me utterly awestruck.
Those feelings suddenly changed when I glanced back to the source of the projection, however. Fear reclaimed its place in my mind as the source now revealed a large, glowing crystal. Its vibrant resonation created a faint hum whilst projecting the light beam from one of its towering tips. Though it wasn't the ghostly light or sound that struck fear into my heart – it was what I could see in the clear element.
My reflection stared back at me: a white dragon, a perfect mirror image so clear it illustrated one terrifying difference between it and I. The eyes of the reflection weren’t my own, they were glowing white hot. I rubbed my own eyes with my wings, and unexpectedly my reflection didn’t follow; instead, the image intensified, white fire spreading from its eyes as the humming rose to deafening proportions.
With no other option but to hide, I covered my face with my wings. The intense light and sound grew brighter and louder as my futile defences failed to provide any protection. I had no way out and the world around me shook amidst the growing chaos. In a final, desperate defence I closed my eyes, curled up as tightly as I could, covered myself with my wing and prayed that the whole thing would just end.
Chapter 3
Risha
As I gradually opened one wary eye, I could see a blurred, unfamiliar ceiling above me. I lay on my back, on what felt like stone. Weak and confused, I realised the terror I'd just experienced was no more than a terrible dream lost to my sleep. Regardless, as one problem ended another seemed to take its place and this one felt much more real.
Maybe I'm back in the village, maybe the whole thing was just a dream?
I hoped with all my heart that was true, only to realise that reality was too cruel to allow me that crumb of comfort. The smells and sounds of this place confirmed I was far from where I longed to be.
This was somewhere new, unknown and, for all I knew, dangerous. I tried to move but the slightest twitch sent a wave of aches and pains through every muscle. Shifting my head, I could see I was in a cave, lying on what felt like stone draped in fur mats. What looked like clay pots, set neatly upon large flat stones of their own, surrounded me. Each rocky shelf merged with the wall, seamlessly carved from the natural stone.
Funny, almost like furniture?
The chasms I knew were always formed from rough, wet rock. They were dark and usually occupied by some form of wild beast. The villagers often suggested that dragons lived in caves. It had been one of the comments about my species I was more than happy to discard. However, this cave looked habitable, consisting of smooth orangey-brown rock and in one corner I could make out an opening. Like the shelves it was seamlessly smooth, creating a doorway and three small steps to what looked like a passageway. The other walls consisted of the same smooth rock, all except the one opposite, which had a hole carved into its surface, allowing light to stream in from outside.
What I thought was a window at first turned out to be a curtain of rushing water. The back of a waterfall, I assumed. The liquid rushed past the opening, refracting what light passed through and casting a rippling projection on the opposite wall. The more I glanced around, the more my battered body ached.
The strain of my endeavour to save Tarwin had seemingly caught up with me and now I was paying for it. My head pounded, while my vision distorted and my limbs felt like they were wrapped in barbed vines. I had to close my eyes again, devoting my full attention to thought.
This place can’t be safe, those monsters probably brought me here!
I tried to move again, this time to stand, lifting and shaking my head to free myself from my daze.
If I'm here, then Tarwin must be here too. I have to find her and get her home!
I lifted to my paws, weakened limbs trembling like frail twigs before falling out from under me. The jolt increased the throbbing in my head, while the pain through my aching body fared no better.
"Whoa there, you don't want to push yourself too hard!" came a voice from the opening.
A dark silhouette stood at the smooth archway, while the shimmering pattern of light dancing across the cave walls hindered my ability to determine who might be addressing me. I focused all my attention on the shape, my senses scanning every detail in an attempt to fill in the gaps that my eyes couldn't quite work out. The results weren't what I expected.
The indistinct figure vaguely resembled one of the monsters, and fearing I might be eaten, or worse, I dared not move a muscle. I didn’t even know what could be worse than being eaten alive, but I feared I would soon find out. Then a more sensible thought struck me.
The only thing I can understand like that is a human. Those things in the forest didn’t speak.
All the while the stranger was still looming in the entrance way. The more I pondered what they'd just said, the more my terror subsided.
Why would they say something like that if they wanted to eat me?
The mysterious silhouette hopped down the steps, and amidst the ringing in my ears I could hear their approaching footsteps. I never really saw those monsters walk. Forced to stumble on their wings instead of their non-existent front legs, I would have expected their steps to sound clumsy, but the stranger pranced with an elegant grace. Then it spoke again, noting the inflection, I was convinced the voice was female.
"At least you’re awake. When they brought you in here, they didn't think you'd wake up at all."
Whatever she was spoke like she knew me, or at least knew more about my current state than I did.
"You hit your head pretty hard and you sprained your wing in the fall."
I nodded, giving her the first sign that I was listening, before she continued.
"Well, now that you're awake let's have a better look at that wing."
She spoke in a way I almost recognised. Not the voice itself, which was completely alien to me, but the way in which she spoke – the calm, collected words reminded me of a healer back in the village.
Maybe I'm somewhere like that? Other villages surely have healers?
Either way, I was too weak to do anything about it. The stranger moved closer, gradually coming into focus and to my surprise, she began to look even more familiar.
How is that possible?
Information streamed in through my eyes, feeding my mind just as it had when I was staring at that monster.
This time I wasn't going to be so trusting. I held onto that thought until I finally accepted that what I was looking at, was another dragon.
This was certainly not how I'd imagined it. Any other time I'd be curious and amazed at the sight of another creature like me. Ironically, the circumstances that led me here prevented me from feeling any real joy. I'd thought meeting another dragon for the first time would be all I could wish for, yet all I wanted was to jump up and fly away.
Meanwhile, the dragoness put her forepaws on the table and raised the front of her body, giving her a clear view of my injured wing. I thought of pulling away, quickly reconsidering when I realised, she was genuinely trying to help me.
As she tended my wing, I looked at her more closely. She looked to be a little larger than I was, with dark-blue scales, changing to an even darker shade of blue on her underside. Her head was pretty much the same as mine, she had a long snout and four horns in a similar position to my own. She had an odd cluster of scales on her forehead, in the same darker colour as her underside. With my vision improving, I could see her eyes were sky-blue and around her neck she wore a gold bracelet with a dark-blue gem at its centre. Though similar to those I often saw humans wear, it was far more beautiful.
While she continued to tend to my wing, I peered over the edge of the table in an attempt to see more. She wore four bracelets around her front and rear ankles, plus one at the tip of her tail, just before it fanned out into a dark-blue fin. It wasn’t like the solid bone that made up the point on the end of mine; hers was formed from a cluster of scales which appeared to make for a much softer feature.
Wait, why am I gawking at her tail? I have more important things to worry about!
My mind abruptly interrupted my observations. I'd no idea how long I'd been here, or where 'here' even was. It had all happened so quickly. That first glimpse of a creature similar to me was probably the most terrifying moment of my life, and now here I was in a strange place with another, who thankfully seemed friendlier than those I'd encountered in the forest.
