by Toni Cox
During the first war they tracked some Vampyres into the forest. They had not gone deep in, as they were ambushed soon after entering it. It had been a bloody fight and they lost good warriors that day. Maia would have lost her own life had Blaid not come to her rescue.
Thinking about the incident intensified the odd feeling within Maia and she let Midnight know that she suspected Blaid might be near the dark forest. Her dragon did not like the thought. If Blaid was in the dark forest and Maia wanted to look for him there, Midnight would not be able to accompany her. The forest was too thick, the trees too close together, for Midnight to enter.
“Let us get to Menandril Fields and we will see from there,” she told him. “I may be wrong and Blaid is simply on the other side of the woods. We need to be careful and find a place where we can land and set up camp away from the paths that run past the forest. I do not want to be seen. Word will surely get to my father. The last thing we need is for him to send a search party.”
With Midnight flying at a comfortable cruising speed, it only took a couple of hours to reach the eastern side of the dark forest. Before they reached the plains beyond it, Midnight rose higher into the sky. So high, he appeared as a mere bird if seen from below.
From this height, Midnight surveyed the surrounding lands, looking for movement. From up here, Maia could just see the charred area around the broken stones that used to be their Gate, Greystone. Only when Midnight was absolutely certain the plains and Menandril Fields were deserted, did he begin his descent.
They then spent some hours flying along the edge of the dark forest, searching the treeline. Maia hoped to see Blaid, or some kind of sign of him, but they found nothing. In some places, though, they found evidence of the last war. A helmet here, a spear there. They even saw bones and Midnight confirmed they were Vampyre remains.
Eventually they chose to settle near the small forest between Greystone and the dark forest. It was about ten miles to the forest’s edge and as good a place as any to camp for the night. There they would have shelter and water from the stream that ran through it. The forest was not large, but had open glades even Midnight could fit into if they needed to hide.
“I can feel it again,” Maia said as she untied the bundles from his saddle and stacked them beneath bushes. “I am not sure what the feeling is, but it is definitely stronger now.”
I feel it. See it in your mind.
“Silas said I should trust my instincts. I have been hesitant about them so long, I find it difficult. What do you think this feeling is?”
Calling. Calling you.
Goosebumps formed on Maia’s arms. Whoever was calling her was not Blaid. The thought frightened her, yet she was inexplicably drawn to it.
“All right,” she loosened a few saddle straps to make Midnight more comfortable, “we will investigate it tomorrow. If it turns out to be nothing, so be it. Then we will leave this area and find ourselves a hideout in the mountains from which we can fly every day to search for Blaid.”
Midnight rumbled.
“Do you also feel like we are being watched?” she asked, turning towards the trees.
Midnight scanned the treeline with her, but assured her there was nothing there. Believing him, but feeling unsettled, Maia set up camp. The forest floor close to the river was covered in springy moss and she chose a spot close to the water to light a fire. It was sheltered enough for no one to see it and, not much further into the forest, there was a clearing large enough for Midnight to lie down for the night.
Midnight suggested that she sleep by him again, and she still might, but for now, she wanted to make notes. So much had happened over the last two years. If she thought back, she realised all her dreams, or visions, had either come true or had something to do with the events that unfolded. It was time she took note of her inner warning signs.
Maia heard Midnight’s wings flap loudly as he tried to land in the small clearing. Although big enough for him to lie in, with his wings spread for landing the area was too small. She heard branches break as she dug in her bag for her papers.
By the time she settled beside the fire, her inkwell, notebook and pen on her lap, Midnight was silent. She dipped the metal tip of her pen into her ink and then started writing.
The wind whispered to me. Midnight helped me hear it.
It was difficult to hear at first. I felt afraid, for it spoke to my soul rather than my ears. I struggled to understand it, but the message I got from it was that I must search for what I am looking for.
What does it mean? Am I right to think it has to do with Blaid? Midnight thinks so. Now I am searching.
Today, this strange feeling settled over me. It drew me to the dark forest. We have camped across Menandril Fields for the night and I will investigate this feeling further tomorrow. It may be nothing, but
With a start, Maia dropped her pen. Strange sounds rushed through the trees around her. She tried to see where it was coming from, but could not pinpoint it. It was as if the sounds came from all around her.
Listen.
Knowing Midnight was awake calmed her. She listened, eyes closed. It was difficult to define. It sounded like wind rushing through trees, but also like wild animals running through undergrowth. Goosebumps soon covered her skin.
“What is it saying?”
Calling.
Maia listened until the eerie sounds eventually stopped. Then, she picked up her pen and dipped it in her ink.
The wind whispered to me again. This time it was louder, but more difficult to understand. I think I am to search for something, because it needs to leave. It does not make any sense. Hopefully, when I go into the dark forest tomorrow I will find some answers.
Maia wiped her pen and put it back into its box. She stoppered the ink bottle and then packed everything away.
She doused the fire and made her way through the trees to where Midnight lay. After hearing the sounds, the feeling that she was being watched had intensified and she did not want to sleep alone.
Afraid.
“I am, Midnight,” she said as she snuggled close to his chest. “This is all so strange. Of one thing I am certain, though. If I find Blaid, together we will be strong enough to vanquish the Vampyres from our planet forever.”
That night, she had a peculiar dream. Her skin crawled as if beset by millions of bugs. She scratched and clawed at her skin until she bled. Then she scratched and clawed some more, the feeling of crawling and burrowing insects intensifying.
Pieces of her skin started to come off and she yanked on them, pulling tattered strips of her skin away. The more skin she pulled off, the faster she wanted to get out of her skin. Panic soon took over and she ripped and tore at herself until she stood naked. Naked in nothing but her flesh, clean and bloody.
With disgust she looked down at the heap of her old skin on the ground, squirming, roiling and rotting as she watched. Gagging, she turned away, revolted that it had belonged to her. She now looked at her new self. She could see all her muscle, her sinew and tendons. But, even as she looked on, new skin formed. Skin soft and smooth. Skin pale and perfect. A new skin. A new Maia.
When she woke in the morning, the first thing she did was look at herself. The dream was vivid in her mind; she could almost feel the new skin on her.
Midnight uncurled and Maia had to get out of the way. Hurriedly, she stepped from him so he could rise.
You understand now.
Maia tilted her head and looked at her dragon. His black, leathery skin gleamed in the morning sunlight streaming through the trees. He was beautiful just the way he was. He did not need a new skin.
“I think so, Midnight. I have been immature and foolish long enough. I am a Prime. It is true that no Prime as young as me ever had to deal with such tragedy as I have over the past two years, but that is no excuse for my failures. We have lost so much.” She swallowed hard. “I lost Riker. He need not have died had I recognised the threat earlier. I have been selfish, stupid even. I was scared
and insecure, but neither of those are reasons for not being the Prime my people needed. It is time I shed this old self. You showed me clearly yesterday what my failures are. I cannot promise that I will become everything you think of me in one day, but I do promise you I will try. The people need their Prime and the only way to save them is to put on my new skin. I must put my insecurities behind me and finally live up to everyone’s expectations.”
Midnight shook himself, his wings rustling against his body, and yawned.
Long speech.
“Not any longer than the speech you gave me yesterday,” she countered.
What else?
“I realise now that sometimes I will need to bend, or even break, our laws at times. I cannot accomplish what I have set myself to do by staying within the parameters of our laws. As a Prime, I need to do what must be done, and not necessarily what the law dictates is correct. You are right, Midnight; when it is to the benefit of our people, I should not feel guilty about what I must do.”
Maia hesitated and Midnight lowered his head to look at her.
“It will be hard. I can still feel the insecurities, and the guilt, within me. But, I am determined. The time to feel sorry for myself has passed. I must be strong. Not just for my people, but for myself, too. Will you help me, Midnight?”
Always, partner of my soul.
Midnight lowered his head some more and Maia pressed herself against his snout, fitting in perfectly between his large nostrils. The thought that he could eat her with just one bite crossed her mind.
“Midnight,” she shouted in outrage, realising the thought came from him and she smacked him playfully on his leathery hide.
Trust. Love. Respect now found.
“I don’t know what I would do without you. Thank you, My Lord. He-Who-Has-Skin-So-Dark-As-To-Rival-The-Blackest-Night-Of-All-Nights.”
Midnight acknowledged the compliment of Maia using his full name with a deep rumble in his chest. Behind them, a flock of birds rose noisily from a tree, frightened.
“Today will be the first day of my new life. In my new skin. Today, I go into the dark forest.”
Midnight rumbled again, this time in disagreement.
“I am drawn to the forest. Every instinct tells me to search there. It calls to me. The whispers through the trees, they are stronger here. We heard them at Shadow Hall, but they were much louder last night. I think they originate from the dark forest. I must go.”
With angry smoke curling out of Midnight’s nostrils, he turned, telling her he was going hunting. The trees around the clearing bent and their branches whipped around as Midnight flapped his wings in the confined space. Maia shielded her face behind her arm and retreated.
Feeling somewhat confused, she made her way to the river Midnight agreed that she needed to be stronger, take charge, become the Prime she was meant to be. What had she now said to upset him so?
Maia managed to take a quick bath in the cold river, make tea, cook herself a warm breakfast, check that none of her bags broke during the flight yesterday and pack herself one to carry into the dark forest before Midnight finally returned.
He did not share with her what he had found for breakfast and he was silent while she tied her bags onto his saddle. He shielded his thoughts well and she climbed into the saddle wondering what was going on.
Midnight rose into the clear sky and flew over Menandril Fields, first flying west toward Grildor-Bron Forest, then angling south to fly along the edge of the tree line. With Midnight, she could cover great distances in a short time. She was grateful, as this journey would have been difficult on horseback.
This time Midnight agreed, acknowledging how well they travelled together. Midnight put special emphasis on his speed, as well as the protection he provided. By the time Midnight landed on the barren earth that led up to the dark forest, Maia understood.
“There is nothing I can do about it. I need to go in there. What’s the worst that could be in there?”
Riven!
“Those are folktales. I’m more worried about stray Vampyres. Or even Werewolves. But you know I will be able to handle them on my own now.”
Chills crawled across Maia’s skin as Midnight released the sounds he made when he uttered a challenge, usually to a rival male, or to an enemy. It was a sound Maia had never been able to define before. Only Soul Dragons could make it. She had never heard anything scarier.
“I cannot help it that the forest is so dense. Or that you are so large. For today, I will make a foray, but I will be back by evening and camp out here with you. I will see if I can find trails, or signs. I might do this for a few days, until I have gathered enough information about the forest to go in knowing what I am up against. This will also give me time to pack the right supplies. And, if it makes you happy, I will only stay in the forest if I am certain that it will yield results.”
Reluctantly, Midnight agreed. He was not happy he could not accompany her and made his irritation known. It took Maia twice as long as yesterday to take the bags off Midnight, as he could not stand still. He was too upset.
Once she had all her bags off, Midnight even refused to help her move them to the edge of the forest to hide them. Annoyed, Maia at first carried each the hundred or so paces to the trees. The bags were heavy and, after the third one, she’d had enough.
“It would be easier with your help,” she huffed at him.
Don’t need help. Power.
Maia was looking for an appropriate retort, when it dawned on her. Narrowing her eyes in annoyance, she scolded herself for not thinking about it herself. She did have the power. She would use it.
Maia looked at the pile left on the ground. There was her materium chest with her food, a kist with her trade goods, and then bags with the rest of her gear. Only her clothes bag and her weapons bag were already at the trees.
The materium crystal used in the chest was not big enough to float all of it across. It was just large enough to float a chest that size. But, if she piled the rest of her things on top of the chest, she might assist the materium with Air power to raise it all off the ground and float it over.
Earth and Water magic were the most common powers, followed by Fire magic. People used their skills to not only make their lives easier, but also to accomplish most of their work tasks during the day. Air, however, was such a rare power; it was not normally used to lift things.
Shadow Hall had used Somas’ ability with Air to employ him as a spy, as he could make himself invisible. During one of those spy missions to Naylera he had been injured and, subsequently, died. Maia employed the same Air magic to go to Naylera herself. Later, they had learned that Kanarel, the Elf that betrayed them all, had kidnapped almost every single Air user within Grildor in order to bring the Vampyres through the Gate.
Air was a powerful magic, but because it was so rare, she thought it was not fully understood. Even Silas had not been able to teach her much about it.
Midnight lay on the ground and watched Maia as she lumped the other items on top of the food chest. By the time she added the last bag, the chest no longer floated. Maia nudged it with her foot and the pile wobbled. The chest was not sunk into the ground, but only lightly touched it. She took a rope out of one of the bags and secured the items, then stood behind the pile and concentrated.
Silas had made her practice with Air and she had almost mastered her invisibility. It was all about deflecting light and hiding within a bubble of trapped air.
Lifting the chest off the ground could theoretically work on the same principal. If she could create a bubble of air and slip it beneath the chest, she would be able to float the pile along as if it had a much bigger crystal underneath it.
“Your laughter does not assist me in my quest,” Maia complained to Midnight at his silent chuckles.
She concentrated harder, focusing her energy on the area below the chest. In her mind, she saw the bubble forming, taking shape, lifting the chest. She closed her eyes, sweat appearing on her forehea
d as the energy drained out of her.
At a mental nudge from Midnight, she opened her eyes again. The chest, and everything that was piled atop it, now floated a hand’s span above the ground. The pile rocked dangerously as she whooped with joy, but she quickly regained her concentration and started pushing.
A few moments later, she released the magic and unpacked her things along the treeline of the dark forest, feeling accomplished.
“There,” Maia said, dusting off her hands on her trousers, “that should do it.”
She looked at the scraggly bush that now covered her goods, hiding them well. She had used magic again, making the branches of the small bush grow larger to encompass her things, effectively concealing them.
Feeling Midnight’s worry in her mind, she hoisted her bag onto her shoulders. It could not be helped. They finally agreed that he would fly over the forest, while she explored. He also made her promise to be out before nightfall.
Midnight stood tall before her and he had to drop his head all the way down for him to see her. The dragon had been with her for seventy years now and she thought she knew everything there was to know about him. He had shown her, over the past two days, this was not the case. There were depths to his understanding of her people she had not known about. She always assumed the affairs of the shining people, as he liked to call the Elves, were of no interest to him.
As Midnight brought his lager muzzle close to her, she thought again how much he had grown, especially over the past few Moons. He looked more fearsome than ever.
“I promise not to take unnecessary risks and I will be back before you know it,” she said, leaning against his snout. “Fly high, partner of my soul.”
His rumble accompanied her as she turned and breached the treeline of the dark forest. Immediately, the sounds around her changed. The gentle wind rustling through the dry grass on the plains was replaced by the eerie sounds of the wind whistling through the dark trees.