by Adams, A. D.
It was a glorious sun-rising for flying. Glon had been in the upper winds gliding through the thin clouds. He was a large young male out on his own. He had just left his mother’s cave forever, and he and another young male were sharing a cave on the coast. He was free to do whatever he wanted. As he flew over the coast and headed inland, he thought he might do a little hunting. He flew across the valleys where those odd little creatures lived. He could see them scurrying around as his shadow crossed over them. He knew Terra, the healer, was like them, but he seemed different somehow. He couldn’t quite figure out how though. Glon slowly spiraled down and landed on the top of a high mountain. He looked around and saw no running beasts. So he launched himself and flew further inland.
As he glided around a high peak, he saw the tail end of a large flier disappear behind a far mountain. He picked up speed to see what it was, and as he crested the far peak, there it was. It was the largest Averon he had ever seen. It was still far smaller than he was, but it must have been twice the size of any other he had ever come across. It was odd looking though it had two black bands separated by a yellow band around its long neck. He had never seen those markings before. His thoughts then turned to how great a prize it would be. If he killed it he could show it off to the other young males that congregated around the small island just off shore of his cave. He would be known as a great hunter even before he started mating.
Glon started to climb and flew into the sun. He then folded his wings and dove out of the sun directly down on the unsuspecting Averon. He extended his powerful back legs. He hit the Averon with so much force that he could hear its bones crack. Glon quickly closed his talons into the flesh of his prey crushing the life out of the Averon. The dragon unfolded his wings and began to gain height. It was a bit difficult as the Averon weighed more then he expected. Finally, he gained enough altitude to slowly fly home just over the tops of the mountains. As he approached the cave, he saw ten or so of his fellows perched on the island. He decided to land on a flat rock near the water. He slowly spiraled down in a way that all the other dragons could see his kill. All the young males watched as he settled onto the rock. They all flew down to see what he had killed. The questions and comments came all at once. “Where did you kill that? Look how big it is! It’s the biggest Averon I’ve ever seen. Are you going to share, there’s enough for us all.
Look at the odd markings on its neck.” Finally, the others calmed down, and Glon proudly walked around his prize.
“I found it flying in the mountains. It was a hard kill. See how big it is.” The others mumbled in agreement over his statements.
“I’ll share, but I get the first cut.” With that, he grabbed the leg and pulled it off the dead body. Glon then walked to the side to eat his fill.
The others moved in and tore pieces off until the entire Averon was split up among them. For that sunset and many sunsets after, Glon was the talk of the group. He told his story of how he dove onto the Averon and how he had to struggle to kill it. He told of the difficulty of flying the heavy beast home. Each telling of the story became more glorious, and the struggle with the great flier more difficult. Even Glon was beginning to believe the exaggerated version.
Chapter 52 - The Soul
(Are You More Than a Body.)
352 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons
It had been four full moon risings since Seana had come to teach Terra. With the damage to the city and all the problems it brought she could not get away. She had stayed to help take care of her child as well as other children whose parents had been killed during the great earth shaking. She thought it was time to teach Terra about philosophy. They met at the cove as usual. Terra sat on the rock near a small tidal pool.
Seana stayed in the water holding her child just below the surface. The young could not breathe air for the first twenty full moon risings.
“Terra, I want to teach you philosophy.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, it’s the study of the mind and the soul.”
“Soul, what’s a soul?”
“It’s you. Not your body, but your essence. It is your conscience. Sea nymphs believe there are a number of different kinds of souls. There are the souls of the sea, land, fire, and sky. We believe all intelligent beings on Tone have one of these souls. When you die, your soul merges into one of the four, and eventually you are reborn. There is a place that you can see which type of soul you have.”
“Where?” Terra asked intrigued.
“It’s an underwater cave not far from here. An old soul watcher takes care of it. Every sea nymph baby is taken there to have its soul seen by the old watcher. I plan to take my baby at sunrise. Would you like to come?”
“Yes, I would,” Terra said as Fienna snorted with a little displeasure.
“Something wrong with Fienna?” Seana said moving back away from her a little.
“No, she just doesn’t like going underwater. She’ll be fine.”
“We’ll meet you here at sunrise,” Terra said.
Seana and Setilan met them as planned and told them that the Cave of Souls was not far, and they could swim it in a very short time. Terra mounted Fienna, and they walked into the water rather than diving.
When the water was deep enough, Fienna spread her wings and began her flight through the water following the two sea nymphs and the child. They soon arrived at the entrance of a large cave. In front of the cave was a small circular-shaped metal plate hanging from a metal tripod. A small rock sat just below the disc. Seana held her baby as Setilan hit the plate with the rock. After waiting a short while, a very old sea nymph slowly floated out of the cave. His hair was pure white, and his body was small, thin, and looked extremely frail. He stopped when he saw the glowing dragon and its rider. He seemed stunned, but then Setilan went up to him and talked to him. Soon he began to advance to Seana again. He held out his hands, and reluctantly Seana placed her small baby into his arms. He floated back toward the entrance of the cave. He positioned himself in the center of the entrance and began an odd chant. The baby began to glow a light bluish color. He then quit chanting and returned to Seana.
“Your baby’s soul is of the sea as it should be. What is its name?”
“Terrafienna.” Seana said with great pride.
Terra was still surprised by the name. He truly did not expect her to name the baby after him and Fienna.
“An unusual name, but it is a good name. From this sun-rising on, this child will be known as Terrafienna to all nymphs sea or land,” He said in as powerful a voice as he could produce. He then floated to Terra and Fienna.
“Human would you like me to read your soul?” This surprised Terra a bit, but with Fienna’s agreement, he floated off her back and down to the old nymph. The nymph took his hand and slowly floated him to the center of the cave’s entrance and began the same chant. Terra’s body began flashing first red then green, blue and finally brown. The light was so intense that all including the nymphs and Fienna had to shade their eyes. The flashing became faster and faster until all the colors merged into a brought white glow with what seemed to be the intensity of the sun. Terra saw nothing but the area around him lighting up, and his friends shielding their eyes. He moved out of the cave’s entrance and swam back to Fienna’s back. The Old nymph swam to him with an amazed look on his face.
“Your soul is made up of all of Tone. You have no one place you belong. You belong to the whole world. When or if you die, you will be Tone,” he swam back to his cave and disappeared inside.
“What did he mean by that?” Terra asked Seana.
“I, I don’t know.”
They all returned to the cove where Terra told Seana it was not necessary to name her child Terrafienna. She said the she wish to because the child would not be alive it had not been for Terra, and he was now her protector since she named her after him. She said that no one on Tone was like him, and no one would make a better protector.
None of them und
erstood what had happened at the cave with Terra or exactly what the old nymph meant by what he said. So, Terra in his normal rather unconcerned way ignored the whole thing and wanted to go back to his lesson. Seana was tired though, and she left to return home. Setilan stayed, and the three of them played in the sea as they normally did after a lesson.
The Old Sinut watched what had transpired at the Cave of Souls in his black pool. Even he was surprised by what he saw. No living thing had ever lighted the waters of the cave with all four colors, and he suspected that no other would ever do it again. Even he had no idea what it meant. When he told his old friend the land nymph, he also had no idea what it could mean except it was becoming more obvious by each full moon rising that this human had come for a great purpose.
Chapter 53 - Retribution
(The Past Creates the Present.)
353 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons
It had been four full moon risings since Glon had killed the giant Averon, and the young male dragons had all but forgotten the incident except for the repeated reminders by Glon. Hagtra, a large green male, was part of the group of dragons that congregated around the small island and had his own cave near Glon’s cave. Hagtra had been on his own now for two set of seasons and was about to leave the group of young males. He shared his cave with a young blue just out of the cave, as it was termed. His name was Kall and had only been on his own for eight full moon risings. It was customary that the young males stayed in certain areas for several years before going out on their own. Hagtra had already found his own cave and felt it was his time to take his place among the breeding males.
Hagtra was gliding across the mountain looking for a meal when he came across a large running beast actually tied with a vine to a rock at the base of a small mountain. He looked around carefully to see if there was anything was within sight. He had never seen a beast left in such a way. It would be an easy kill, and humans were usually more careful.
He saw no one and decided to take advantage of the easy kill. He dove out of the sun and scooped up the helpless beast. He flew back to the coast and went directly to a high cliff with an overhanging rock ledge.
This was his favorite place to eat. It was hard to see him from the sky, and other dragons would not bother him as he ate his prize. After he was done gorging himself, he cast the bones into the water below and flew off. It was getting towards sundown, and he decided to join the other young male dragons on the cliff edge above their caves. They often congregated here to get the last warming rays of the sun as it disappeared beyond the horizon. This sunset was odd though; it looked angry in its red hue as it passed from sight. The dragons stayed and talked for a while, and Hagtra told the story of the beast he had found tied to the rock and how easy a meal it was. The others envied his luck.
That sunset he woke shivering cold. His whole body was a mass of pain. Every movement caused him to wish for death. His painful moans woke Kall. He looked over to see Hagtra withering in pain. He got up and moved to Hagtra.
“What’s wrong?” he said in a gravely concerned voice.
“I don’t know. I need help,” Hagtra said with such pain that he almost passed out.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll try to get that Terra.”
Kall flew to the cave next to theirs and awoke Glon and his cave mate. He quickly told them what was happening and asked them to go and watch Hagtra while he tried to find Terra. They agreed and flew off.
He knew that no one but a few knew where Terra and the great Fienna lived, and he wasn’t one of them. He flew to his mother’s cave. She told him were Dawra lived, and he flew directly to her cave. Dawra was not pleased to be awakened in the middle of the sunset, but when she heard what had happened, she agreed to get Terra. Dawra told him to return to his cave and wait for them. She flew off and soon had landed at the entrance of Fienna and Terra’s cave. She walked in, and there they were sleeping as always with Fienna’s wings curled around Terra. Her entering the cave woke Terra, and then he woke Fienna. She quickly told them the story Kall had given to her. Terra mounted Fienna, and they flew off. As they approached the cave, Terra already knew it was too late. He felt the life of Hagtra slip away as they came to a landing on a ledge in front of the cave’s entrance. Fienna hopped into the cave, and Terra dismounted. He walked to the lifeless body of the great dragon. Terra looked at the others in the cave.
“It’s too late; he’s gone. I can’t heal death.” As he walked back to Fienna, Kall dropped to the floor of the cave. He was thrashing about in pain. Terra rushed to him but was unable to get near him because of his violent movements. Glon and the other dragons moved in and were slowly able to pin the dragon to the ground. Terra touched Kall and could feel a great battle in his body. Something had invaded him and was killing him. Terra’s entire body was turned bright orange as he killed the invader off. It was not hard, but it took a great deal of his strength. Finally, he rid Kall of the thing and backed off. Kall now laid in a quite sleep. He could feel the invader in the other two dragons that were in the cave when he arrived. Terra went to the others and told them they would soon be as ill as their friend if he did not heal them now.
They agreed immediately. The invader was still weak in the two, and Terra easily killed it off. Terra was moving toward Fienna to leave when two more dragons appeared in the cave entrance. Both were sick from the same thing.
“How many dragons were near this sick one?” he asked Glon.
“Twenty or thirty at dusk.”
“I need to see them all. Have them all meet me on that small island,”
Terra pointed to the island he could see from the cave.
“Also, we must get rid of the body. It carries something that is spread to other dragons. Take it to the volcano and drop it in the hot core. None of the dragons wanted to touch Hagtra’s body, but the two, Terra had already healed, volunteered if Terra would touch them when they returned. He agreed. In a few minutes, Terra and Fienna were on the island. One after the other of the young male dragons came to Terra, and he could feel the invader in all of them. He destroyed it in each one.
Then he healed Dawra as well. Fienna did not seem to have any of the invaders in her.
He then gathered them together and ask, “Have any of you been with any other dragons?”
Only one had. Junic had visited his mother.
“Go get your mother and any dragon she has been around since your visit.” Junic flew off immediately. It was then that the two had come back from dropping Hagtra’s body into the volcano. They told of the smoke and heat and how the dragons’ body sunk beneath the boiling red rock. Terra touched them both but felt none of the invader. Soon Junic had returned with his mother and a friend of hers. Terra touched them both, found the invader, and killed it.
As they flew home, Fienna could feel how tired Terra was. He had exhausted himself healing all those dragons. He could hardly stay awake. They got home, and Terra fell asleep in her wings. The next morning Terra awoke to Fienna’s moans of pain. She was full of the invader. She was not conscious. He was folded into her wings against her breast. He turned until his breast was against hers. He could feel that the invader was throughout her body. She would die if he did not do something. His body started to glow, and the glow spread over Fienna’s entire body. The invader was strong, perhaps stronger than he was, but he summoned all of his strength. He felt his body merge with Fienna’s. It was as if they were one body. He could feel the invader as if it were within him. With all his life force, he attacked the sickness in one burst of power. He had decided to give his life to Fienna. The sickness could not withstand the assault, and it was destroyed. Fienna slowly gained consciousness but was unable to move. She could feel Terra’s limp body against her breast, and she knew what he had done.
As she opened her eyes, she could see Setilan standing in front of them with an amazed look on her face.
“We need food. Help!” Fienna said in a weak hardly audible voice.
Fienna’s tail began to glow just as Terra did when he healed. Terra’s eyes opened slowly as his strength returned. He was finally able to sit up. Fienna moved toward him and enfolded his small body into her wings. Setilan stared at them in an odd way.
“What’s wrong?” Terra asked in a weak voice.
“Your amulet is part of your chest and Fienna’s.”
Terra looked down; the amulet was gone but in the skin of his chest was a vision of it. Where the stones once were, the pure colors of the stones were bright and strong. Six of them seemed to sparkle. He then looked up to Fienna’s chest. The exact opposite image was on her chest, but only one of the colored areas shined. They were both surprised. Setilan left promising to bring more food. Soon she was back with Seana, and the two carried a basket. The baskets had swimmers and some small round green looking rocks. Setilan gave the swimmers to Fienna and the rocks to Terra. He hesitantly bit into one. It tasted like the swimmers but better. He quickly ate a handful of them. He could finally stand with the help of Seana. Fienna also was gaining back her strength fast. By high sun, they were both strong enough to leave the cave and lay in the warmth of the sun.