by Katie Cherry
“So,” he says, turning away from Nora and looking into the forest. “What is your name? I haven’t met many Familiars. The few that I have were devious and evil. You do not seem to be evil, which makes me curious. My name is Ty, by the way.”
“I’m Nora,” she responds, following his gaze. As she does, her trained eyes see flickers of movement through the trees, but for some reason, she’s unable to see what’s moving clearly. A human-like shape flickers in and out of focus as it runs swiftly toward them, six others behind it. She spots two more blue-green birds flying alongside them. “I assume those are the Sohos?” she asks Ty.
He looks at her, surprised. “You can see them?”
“Well, yes. Kind of. They flicker so sometimes I can’t, but I can tell that they are there, if that’s what you mean,” she responds. He looks even more surprised.
“Really? Interesting… usually only the ‘river birds’- as we are called in this language- can see the Sohos when they camouflage themselves. You are special indeed. Yes, very special…” he contemplates, watching her with renewed interest. Uncomfortable under his gaze, she lifts off the rock and flies over to the leading Soho. He looks up at her, surprise on his handsome face. Then he smiles.
“Ah, a Familiar. I should have guessed as much,” he says. Nora’s surprised that his breathing is normal despite his swift pace. “Please, lead us to your companion,” he says as he continues rushing forward. Grateful, she does so. When Nora lands in front of Crystal and turns back to the man, she sees that the whole group stayed with her. Wow, she thinks, amazed. These humans are extraordinary, that’s for sure.
The leader finally stops flickering, the rest of the group following his lead. Nora’s relieved- they were beginning to hurt her eyes. The leader, who Nora assumes is Zeke, walks up to Crystal. Without saying a word, he bends down and picks her up, lifting her with ease. When he turns and begins walking back the way he came, Nora is confused. “Wait. What about the other one?”
“What about him? He doesn’t have anything to do with us. Only this girl can help us. Nothing is said of the boy in our legend. Why should we waste time on him?”
Deciding to take a chance, she boldly says, “Because if you don’t, I seriously doubt that Crystal will help you later if you don’t help her friend now. She is very caring and concerned about others. She will be distraught if you let this boy die.”
Zeke raises an eyebrow at her. “Oh? You cannot vouch for what she will or will not do.”
“I know her well enough to know that she will not be happy that you let her friend die. If I were you, I wouldn’t risk ruining your prophecy by not including another person to help. If you rescue him as well, she will be much more impressed and more likely to help you,” she bites back. She knows she’s taking a risk pushing him, but she has a feeling these people are in desperate need of help and will do next to anything for it.
She’s proven right as Zeke turns and tells another member of the group to take him with them. Then, without further delay, they take off, practically flying across the ground as they speed back the way they came. Flying up by Ty, Nora asks him a few more questions. “Where are we going? Why can’t they help them now?”
“We are going to the Sohos’ Village. The medical attention those two will need they can get only at our Village or the King and Queen’s Village. And before you ask, we will be there shortly.” Nora can tell from his tone that he doesn’t want to talk, so she doesn’t ask anything else. Winging her way over to Zeke, she flies above them, watching over her companion. Suddenly she hears a sad, confused voice in her head.
“Kysta? Where Kysta? And boy? Birdie?” Concerned, Nora thinks, Oh no! I forgot about Eric! Poor little dragon. I guess I’ll go get him. Crystal wouldn’t be too happy with me if I lost him, she decides, turning away from the Sohos to find Eric. They don’t even notice, continuing to run at their breakneck pace. She hurries so as not to lose track of them and be lost in the forest without her companion.
When she reaches the dragon, he jumps up, relieved. “Yay! Birdie! …Where Kysta?”
“Follow me, little one,” Nora responds, heading back toward the Sohos. “I will explain on the way.” He’s confused, but follows anyway, as fast as he can. Luckily, his fastest is enough to keep them from losing sight of the Sohos. It’s a good thing Eric is intelligent enough to listen and understand, otherwise he would have no idea what she was saying. He grasps the situation quite well. Nora is impressed, but doesn’t express it. They have finally caught up with the group- just as they are stopping. In the middle of nowhere.
What? I thought they were going to their Village, not to some random, uninhabited spot of the forest! Why stop here…? Nora’s wondering is put to rest by Zeke.
With Crystal now over his shoulder, he steps forward and away from the rest of the group. The one holding Lloyd steps up and stands next to him. With a nod to the other one, Zeke then shouts something strange- possibly a magic spell- and jumps straight up into the air, the one with Lloyd following closely. Before Nora can even squawk, he lands on the back of a gigantic, silvery-white dragon as it pulls up from its dive. Nora is caught so off-guard that her wings still and she barely catches herself before hitting the ground. This thing is not only big enough to carry an elephant in each paw, but is apparently also very old and powerful. So that’s what a full-grown dragon is like, she thinks, glancing down at the oblivious Eric. To think that something so small as this little dragon could turn into something as deadly beautiful as that creature… I don’t think Crystal realizes what she’s gotten herself into.
The dragon pulls out of his dive and flies straight up, zooming into the treetops high above. After waiting for a few minutes, Nora begins getting nervous. Just when she’s about to try and follow the dragon herself, it returns, landing in front of the rest of the Sohos. The group begins climbing onto the beast, so Nora follows them, Eric following her lead. The little dragon’s eyes grow huge as he finally notices the dragon ahead. His eyes then get unfocused, and she can tell he’s talking with the big silver dragon. She leads the way, perching on one of the dragon’s horns beside the river birds as one of the Sohos grabs Eric- per Nora’s request- to keep him from falling off once they get started. A couple of river birds stay behind, seemingly to guard the spot from any intruders. Nora realizes the necessity of this as she looks around and realizes that the clearing had been disguised by magic to appear to be full of trees.
The dragon’s muscles ripple as he crouches, preparing to take off. Realizing that it may be a rocky ride, Nora tightens her talons around the horn- just in time. The initial leap off the ground is so fast that she is almost ripped off the dragon. After he extends his wings and begins to flap, however, it isn’t so bad. The dragon doesn’t shoot straight up as it had with Zeke. This time, it spirals upward, ensuring that no one falls off. Finally, they pierce the canopy and zoom into the open air.
Looking around, her eyes wide with wonder, Nora is amazed. This green… it seems to go on forever in every direction. But… how can that be? No forest on Zilferia is this large. Which poses the question… Where are we now? What kind of magic could hide a forest within a forest? Something seems different about it, but she can’t place what it is. There’s just something… different in the air. The dragon begins flying East, covering vast amounts of land with each wingbeat.
Looking over at Eric, she notices his growing enthusiasm at being in the air. He was afraid at first, but now he has a taste of true freedom- and he’s loving it. He starts flapping his wings, then, without warning, he leaps off the back of the dragon. Bewildered and caught off-guard, the Soho who had been keeping a hold on Eric is too slow to do so again before the little dragon begins plummeting toward the ground far below. Frantic, Nora flies off the dragon after him, looking for some way to save Eric. But it seems the silver dragon already had that covered.
Following a happy squealing sound, Nora is lead to the great claws of the dragon. A small green dragon is cupped comfor
tably inside one of them. Nora can feel the tension leave her wings. She flies down and perches on another one of the claws. “Eric, don’t do that!” she scolds the excited youngling. “You can’t fly yet! You’re just lucky this dragon was ready to catch you!” Looking up at her, the baby dragon coos and smiles. Her heart softens, but only a little. “I mean it! Warn me next time, okay? I’m just worried about you.” Eric nods, indicating his acceptance of this rule.
Noticing the dragon beginning to descend, Nora looks around. It still looks like there are just a bunch of trees. But as they get closer and closer to the treetops, Nora realizes that they have arrived at the strange Village. Heading toward a clearing that is still only just big enough for the dragon, the silver beast lands, the wind he creates sending ripples through the grass and causing the trees nearby to bend away from it. The Sohos climb off as the huge dragon gently sets Eric on the ground.
Nora leads Eric after the Sohos as they begin climbing some steps built into a nearby tree. Looking up, she can see buildings, built right into the trees themselves. Bridges stretch between each of the houses, connecting them. The houses are in every tree as far as she can see. The Village is nearly as large as the King and Queen’s Village. Shaking off her feeling of awe, Nora flies up to one of the Sohos. He’s a big fellow with long legs as well as long hair.
“Where are we going now?” she questions, flapping around in front of his face. He looks at her, bewildered.
“We… we’re going to our hospital- that’s where Zeke went with your companion.” He points at a building with a tint of blue built a little higher than the rest. “It’s right up there.”
“Thank you,” she replies, flapping up to the building with Eric racing up the steps behind her. He keeps up surprisingly well on his little legs, and they are soon at the entrance to the building, the Sohos far behind. Nora can’t open the door, but luckily Zeke then happens to open it. He looks a little surprised to see here there already, but he quickly ushers her in, letting out a startled sound when Eric dashes between his legs, nearly knocking him over. He quickly recovers and leads them to Crystal. Eric climbs onto her stomach and whines with concern. Nora lands on the pillow next to her head. A doctor is working on Lloyd and another working to help Crystal.
Looking at the nearest doctor, Nora can see her mixing a variety of things while also murmuring a magic spell. The finished product is a blue powder, which the doctor holds under Crystal’s nose until she inhales. She immediately starts coughing. When Eric turns on her, growling, she quickly assures them that Crystal will be fine. Just after this, Lloyd begins coughing as well. After the coughing fit subsides, Crystal sighs and falls asleep again, as does Lloyd. Nora is concerned that that means the powder didn’t work, but the female doctor at Crystal’s side assures her that it’s just a necessary part of what will heal her. The initial reaction of coughing only started the healing process. She needs a bit more than that because of how long she was under the Hausdorff tree, and, surprisingly, the thing she needed was more sleep. So Nora flies up to the bedside table and perches there, standing guard for her sleeping companion, waiting anxiously for Crystal to wake up.
<<
I wake slowly, drawn out of the comforting blanket of sleep by soft voices near me. I try willing them to go away so I can go back to sleep, but they don’t leave. Resigned to facing the day, I slowly open my eyes and wait for them to adjust to the bright light. Blinking, I look around without moving my head. I’m in a spacious room with wood walls and bright lantern lights hung on the walls and ceiling. On the other side of the room, I see Lloyd’s slumbering body. I’m confused and disoriented and try to force my brain to tell me what happened. It all comes rushing back at once, causing me to groan out loud and hold my head.
“Crystal!” an excited and relieved voice suddenly shouts inside my head. I cry out as the pain suddenly spikes. My hands over my ears, I can barely hear someone else talking.
“I’m sorry, Nora, but Crystal is not ready to speak with her mind yet. It’s a side effect of the tree, I’m afraid. She may not even be able to speak with her voice for a few days either since she was under that tree for so long. I just hope the Sohos got to her quickly enough to avoid brain damage,” a soft, feminine voice says, worry edging her words.
I remain curled up in a ball with my hands over my ears and my face buried in my legs, trying to escape the pain, escape the strange voice, escape everything! Soon, I feel gentle hands on my arms. They are kind but insistent, and I grudgingly let them pull my arms off of my head. A hand then touches under my chin, gently lifting my face toward the person. I can’t help my curiosity, so I slowly open my eyes and look at the person in front of me.
From what I can tell, the brunette haired woman before me is a doctor. Her clothes gave that away. But what startles me is the kind and caring look in her bright hazel eyes. As if she… knew me. I shake off the feeling that I should recognize this woman and I open my mouth to speak, but she stops me.
Smiling sympathetically, she tells me, “I’m sorry, Crystal, but you… may not be able to speak for a while. Now, I know you want to question me, but please, don’t try to talk. If you try too soon, your voice box may never work the same again.” I feel my eyes get big at this information and I clamp my mouth shut. I guess she’ll have to be able to guess what I want to ask. I look at her, raise my eyebrow, then look around the room with a lost look. Luckily, she catches on.
“Oh, I see. You’re wondering where you are and why you are here.” I nod, relieved. “Well, after you fell asleep under the Hausdorff tree, your Familiar here called for help. Lucky for you, a river bird decided to help. So, he contacted Zeke, the leader of the Sohos, and he carried you here. I did the best I could to help you, but… well, you may still encounter… problems. Such as your voice.”
Looking past her, I see a tall, handsome man. I instantly blush. The doctor glances back, then turns to me with a smile. “Ah, that’s Zeke. He’s the one who saved you. And I’m Kate.”
Zeke walks over to the other side of the bed. “I was happy to do it. I always try to help those in need, if I can. And… let’s just say I have a feeling you will help us in the near future. Now, I know you have your questions, but you will have to wait until tomorrow. We don’t want to risk you losing your voice entirely. So come see me sometime tomorrow, and I will explain everything I can to you.” With that, he walks out the door, meeting a long-haired man in the doorway.
As he leaves, I hear a groan from Lloyd. Kate hurries over to him, leaving me alone. Until, of course, two things jump into my lap. I smile at the sad little dragon and rub his head, which cheers him up. To Nora, though, there is nothing I can do to tell her that I’m alright, and no way to thank her for all that she had done for me.
Before long, Kate returns with a wonderful chowder for me to eat. Once I finish it, I lie down to sleep, looking out the window beside the bed. The sun has gone down. I close my eyes, unaware of what my unexpected absence that night will do to Nathan.
Chapter Eleven
The Second Challenge
It turns out to be longer than one day before Kate permits me to try talking again. So, almost three days after Zeke rescued Lloyd and me, I am finally free to go and ask him all the questions that have been burning within me for the past few days. Kate tells me where I can find him. I head over to the house in the highest tree and find him leaning out on the balcony, gazing over the other treehouses and the surrounding forest.
He doesn’t say anything when I walk up next to him, so I stand and look out as well. With the sun nearing the horizon, the low light makes the forest look… enchanting. Clearing his throat, Zeke turns and looks at me.
“So, have you finally been cleared to talk?”
“Yep,” I say, my voice hoarse from lack of use. “It feels good to finally talk again. So, you said you would tell me everything. Also, I need to get back to Nathan as soon as possible, so you might want to start now.”
He smiles. �
�Alright, then.” He grabs some chairs, and I sit down next to him. He gazes back out at the forest. “Oh, where to start?”
“How about explaining why you saved me?” I suggest. “Or about this ‘river birds’ of yours.” I look at the sky as an enormous silver dragon flies by. “Or why you guys have a dragon hanging out with you?”
He laughs. “Well then I guess I’ll start… at the beginning. The Sohos weren’t called by this name at first. In fact, we started out as part of a group called the Dragon Hunters. I’m ashamed to say I was even their leader at one time. The Dragon Hunters’ only goal was to rid this world of Dragons- forever; and this was specifically my life’s goal. That is, until something happened that changed my life- and my entire outlook on it.”
I listen raptly, enthralled by his rich, emotion-filled voice as it paints a picture of his former life before my eyes.
“I was a young man at the time, about seventeen, and I had taken nearly half of the Dragon Hunters with me on a dragon hunt. We were following a massive black dragon whom we called Giusto. When we found the dragon’s cave, we waited near it for the beast to return from its hunt. Some wanderer stupidly went right into the dragon’s cave to sleep that night.
“When he came out in the morning, Giusto arrived as well. He chased the man toward us. My people wanted to flee, but I ordered them to stay put. The dragon had no idea we were there, so when it froze the guy in place with DragonFear, it made itself more vulnerable. So, we took advantage of this and attacked it then. It didn’t take long to kill it, but one of its claws injured the stranger. He was unconscious.
“I made the decision to take the man into our group. We brought him to our best healer, and he managed to save the man’s life. When he came to, he told us that his name was Patrick, and he hates dragons and wants to help us kill them… so we let him join.