by Adams, A. D.
Terra had become the largest dragon on Tone. He was, in Fienna’s eyes, the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. Then his thoughts rushed into her mind.
In a confused state, he thought to her. “What has happened? I need you!”
Fienna was at his side before a third thought came to her.
“What is happening?” he thought in an excited tone.
“You have changed.”
“Changed! What do you mean?”
“You’re the most magnificent dragon I have ever seen.”
“Dragon, Me!”
Terra looked down and saw his massive white body. He was not so surprised that this had happened. After all, Fienna had become human for a sunset, but the size and color of his new dragon body amazed him.
Neither he nor Fienna understood what power was changing them between dragon and human, but Terra had no fear of it. He had never feared anything. He had no concept of what fear was. He just assumed this was the way things should be. He tried to stand but was completely unbalanced. This was a new sensation that he had never had before.
The weight of the wings on his back seemed to pull him backward.
Fienna was next to him and had a hold of his arm. She thought to him.
“Don’t try to stand straight up like a human. You must bend forward a little.”
He tried this, and it helped considerably. He was able, with Fienna’s help, to get to his feet.
Fienna looked into his eyes, and they were no different than before, simply larger. They were as gentle, caring, and loving as always.
As he stood to his full height, Fienna’s head rested against his upper neck. He was the largest dragon on Tone and a suitable mate for the largest female dragon in the world. Fienna told him to extend his wings as she held both his arms. His wings almost touched the plants on either side of the clearing in front of the cave. Terra had a hard time balancing himself. He felt stronger than at anytime in his life, but the strange shape of his dragon body was completely foreign to him. He tried to move his wings up and down. He could feel the great force of the air under them trying to lift his body off the ground.
“Don’t take off!” Fienna thought to him in almost a scream.
“I’m not trying to, my love,” Terra as always had no fear. His mind immediately accepted his new body without question. Any other creature would have been panicked like Fienna had been when she turned human, but not Terra for he did not understand fear.
“Let’s go down to the water and swim to let you get used to your new body,” she suggested.
“Yes, that would be good,” he agreed.
“I need your help.”
“I will always be here for you,” Fienna said in a thought of pure love.
They slowly moved toward the shore down the sandy path. As they entered the water, Fienna told Terra to extend his wings and float on them. He did. She pulled him across the water. Slowly, Terra’s balance returned. He began moving his wings down through the water as if flying. Soon he had the feel of his new wings and the muscles that controlled them. He was filled with the desire to fly, and he had an uncontrollable urge to mate with Fienna. It was a desire that was far greater than he had ever felt as a human, and in reality, he did not want to control it.
Fienna finally felt he had become accustomed to his new wings and body, and they walked from the lake to stand on the sandy shore. There they stood the two largest dragons on Tone.
“Fienna let’s fly,” Terra thought with confidence.
“I don’t know if you’re ready,” Fienna thought with concern.
“I have been part of your mind since you started to fly. I have felt every muscle in your body and every sweep of your wings. All I need is your help and support, and I will be fine.”
Fienna knew this was true, for when she became human; it was as if her mind had always been that way because she to had been part of Terra’s mind and knew his body so well.
Fienna took off first and hovered over the lake. The two separate minds merged as they had always done as Terra began sweeping his great wings. It only took two great downward sweeps to lift him off the ground. Fienna helped guide his muscles as he rose through the air.
Terra had only known the freedom of flight through Fienna, but now he felt the freedom that Fienna took for granted. He flew to the edge of their crevice home and landed, and Fienna landed next to him. Terra extended his wing and folded it around Fienna. She had never felt so much love during all the time they had been together. She did not want to really move; it felt so good to be in his wings, but Terra wanted to fly and feel the freedom of the skies.
The two took off and flew toward the coast; Fienna beside Terra. It was quite a sight the two largest dragons on Tone gracefully moving through the air as if the world was theirs. They were separate but one.
As they flew, other dragons saw them including Lowlack. He watched in amazement as the pair flew by him. They did not see him; he was perched on a low rock outcropping on the far side of one of the cliffs.
Fienna came into sight first, and he was just about to take off to greet her when the great white cast a huge shadow across him. The white was magnificent. He moved liked a great cloud, seemingly effortlessly through the air, to one side of Fienna. He had never seen a dragon like this white. He had strange eyes and a crystalline ridge and teeth. He was at least twice Lowlack’s size and significantly larger than Fienna, who was the biggest dragon he had ever known. Lowlack had never seen Fienna allow a male so close, and he could not see Terra on her back.
He decided to follow at a discreet distance, so they would not see him.
Lowlack was very good at this; he liked following other dragons as a game to pass the time.
Fienna and Terra flew along the coast until mid-sun-rising when they landed on the edge of one of the great coastal cliffs. Terra again spread his wing and wrapped it about Fienna. Fienna’s sexual desire had been growing all the time they were flying, and Terra now could feel the burning of her desire for him. As he looked down into her eyes, he thought to her.
“Let us mate.”
Even though Fienna was beyond joy at the thought, she worried about his flying skills.
“Don’t worry; I can do it. I have been flying as long as you have through the linking of our minds.”
As Lowlack watched, the two flew up in the mating flight. Fienna and Terra reached a height greater than any other dragons had ever during mating. They coupled in mid air and began to fall. The love and bonding they shared during the descent was beyond anything any other two beings had ever felt. As the ground neared, Fienna’s natural fear took over, and she wanted to separate. She felt no fear in Terra, but he reluctantly split just before they would have hit the ground. The two made perfect arcs in opposite directions. Both virtually skimmed the ground during their arcs. Lowlack had never seen a more beautiful scene, but the white did not fly away, as normal. He landed on the high cliff the two had started from, and Fienna landed next to him. He again put his wing around her. Lowlack had never seen a male ever show affection after mating; they simply flew away. Lowlack realized that this was more of what a human would do. He decided to follow the two the remainder of the sun-rising.
Fienna finally felt she was an adult dragon; she had mated with Terra, her true love. It was a dream beyond imagination, and the most intimate thing she had ever done. Even when she was human and the two mated, it was not the same. This in her mind was the way they should always be, but she knew that Terra would probably return to his human state that sunset. She did not know how she knew; she simply did. She could feel the pure love emanating from Terra. She now understood one thing all too clear. She had to watch Terra. He had no fear of any type. She had to stop him if he did something foolish because he feared nothing. Terra felt this concern in Fienna.
“I promised you once I would be careful, and I will never break that promise,” Terra said in love.
This made Fienna feel better, and she snuggled closer
to Terra. The two stayed on the ledge for only a short time. They were both hungry, and Terra had yet to hunt as a dragon. They flew off to look for some food. They flew over Fienna’s favorite hunting range. As they flew, a large hideous flier watched the two great dragons from a hidden perch in a dark crevice of one of the mountains. Fear drove it to take off from its hidden perch. Fienna immediately spotted it. She arced to the left, and Terra arced to the right. The flier had two dragons coming at it from two different directions. It panicked and flew straight at Terra.
Terra backed up and grabbed it with his great crystalline talons. It was dead instantly. Fienna could hardly believe the move he made. Few dragons could have done it. Terra flew toward Fienna, and the two headed back to the crevice with Terra’s first kill.
As they crested the cliffs of the crevice, Lowlack followed behind.
He landed on top of one of the cliffs and hid behind several large boulders. He saw the two tear the Averon in half. Fienna began eating, but the great white only picked at the meat. Then Fienna came to him and hit the meat with her flame. Lowlack had never seen a dragon eat burnt meat. Fienna only did that for Terra, and he wondered why the white did not flame the meat himself.
As Terra and Fienna landed, Terra asked her to tear off what she wanted of the flier. She grabbed one of the legs, and the two pulled the beast in half. Fienna was ravenous and began eating the meat immediately. Terra took some in his mouth but could hardly swallow the raw meat. Fienna felt this through his mind.
“Flame it,” she thought to him.
He hesitated remembering what had happened the first time Fienna used her flame.
“You’re right love. You could do a lot of damage to our home,”
Fienna thought to him.
“Let me do it.”
Fienna came over to Terra and flamed the meat burning it thoroughly as Terra liked. After they eat, they again swam to wash off the blood of the flier. The sun was setting, and the heat had built up in the crevice, so the two went into the cave to rest. Terra barely fit through the entrance. As the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the crevice cliff sides Terra began to feel odd again. Slowly his great body began to shrink in size. His wings slowly melded back into his body.
His head became smaller, and finally he was again a human. That sunset Terra slept folded in Fienna’s wings. She could not be separated from him this sunset.
Lowlack stayed the sunset and saw only Fienna and Terra leave the cave at sunrise. In his mind, he had only one question, was Terra the great white dragon?
Chapter 58 - The Attack
(The Incident That Changes All of Time.)
354 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons
The next sun-rising brought sun and warmth. Terra, again a human, wanted to go to the lake and swim. Fienna wished to go hunting. So, Terra told Fienna to hunt while he was swimming. She happily flew off to find a meal. Terra went to the lake and stripped. After a long cool swim, he decided to sleep on the sand near the lake. Terra fell asleep with the image of Fienna flying off to hunt; her graceful body clearing the edge of the crevice. Lying in the warm sand, he quickly fell asleep.
He must have been more tired than he thought for his sleep was as deep as it ever had been.
As Terra slept, the sky began to cloud, and the earth seemed too tense. The small animals felt this and scattered to their dens. Then twenty to thirty Averons crested the walls of the crevice. Suddenly, the sky erupted with lightning, striking the Averons down. The great creatures literally were exploding with each strike of lightning. Several managed to dive at Terra through the deadly skies. Suddenly, Terra awoke from the noise, and as his mind cleared of sleep, an excruciating pain shot through his back. The pain was so great he had to fight to stay conscious. He opened his eyes and saw a great hideous flier lifting him off the ground. His mind screamed “Fienna,” and his mouth said the word of death “SILLA.” The flier above him stopped for an instant in time and then disintegrated into a cloud of dust. Terra felt himself falling; he hit the water of the lake hard. He could see the water was red as he went under. He struggled to get back to the surface, but the pain was beyond description as he moved his arms. Slowly, he rose through the water and finally broke the surface. Terra simply floated; he could do nothing else. He could feel his magic trying to repair his body, but the pain was so great. He could hear noise above him, but he could only concentrate on staying afloat and conscious.
Fienna had a successful hunt. She had found a nice big runner and was taking it home to share with her mate. Suddenly in her mind, her name exploded as well as pain so great it almost crippled her. She was out of control for a moment, and she dropped the runner from the sudden and extraordinary pain. Fienna recovered her flight as her mind cleared the pain, but it was not her pain, it was Terra’s. In an instant, without a thought, she flew straight to their home. As she approached her home, she took little notice of the dense black clouds above her. She crested the cliff face of the crevice. There she saw a seen of horror.
Three Averons were flying about. Terra had just surfaced in the water below them. Half the lake was blood red, and the color was spreading.
Anger erupted in her. As she flew straight at the fliers, she let out a burst of flame that hit one of them. The creature exploded from the intensity of the heat. Fienna hit the second one from behind grabbing it from the air and literally tearing it in half with her powerful arms. The third one was trying to escape and was behind her. She flared her tail and whipped it. The last of the attackers was sliced in half. For an instant, it hung in the air, and then the two pieces fell onto the lake’s shore.
Fienna dropped into the water and carefully moved her great fingers under Terra. She slowly lifted him. All she felt from his mind was pain.
Pure pain. His blood was pouring out of two great holes in his back where the talons of the flier had pierced his body. Fienna could feel how weak he was. His healing powers could not keep up with the blood loss much longer. Fienna started to give him her life force as fast as she could. Slowly, an orange glow formed over the holes, and the blood flow stopped. Fienna carefully began to move to shore trying not to jar her mate.
The Old Sinut was in his cave when again the power of the world’s magic was drawn upon by Terra. He again was stunned by the use of the power. When he recovered, he went to his black pool and tried to focus the image on the point were the magic erupted from. There he saw Terra floating on the surface of the water with blood radiating from his body. He immediately appeared in the council chamber of the king where he and his daughter were talking.
“We have to go to the human and his dragon. How do we get there girl?” the Old Sinut said in a harsh antagonistic voice.
Setilan and her father turned in surprise. She said in a stammering voice.
“I, I don’t know how.”
The old Sinut interrupted her in mid sentence.
“Don’t lie girl; he is dying. Take me there now.”
She turned to her father. He nodded she should take him.
“I need guards also. Now!” yelled the old nymph.
Within moments a contingent of twenty guards, the King, Setilan, and the Sinut were moving rapidly toward the underwater entrance of the crevice. As they entered the cave, the passage was easy enough for Setilan whose small size was an advantage, but the guards and her father were being badly cut up. The old Sinut seemed to glide through the winding tunnels with ease. As they came into the bottom of the small lake, Setilan saw the blood, which had now filled the entire body of the lake. As they swam up to the surface of the lake, the blood healed the cuts and scratches on the guards and her father. As they surfaced, they saw Fienna walking into the cave entrance. Setilan called to her, but she simply looked for a moment in her direction and continued into the cave. When Fienna had turned slightly to look at her, she saw the body of Terra.
At that moment, Dawra and Lowlack cleared the top of the crevice and headed to the rock in front of the cave entranc
e. They landed, and Dawra went into the cave. Lowlack stood in front of the entrance and watched as the sea nymphs advanced to the shore.
Dawra and Lowlack had heard the word of death used again. They both knew that if Terra had used it something was terribly wrong. By chance, the two had arrived at the crevice virtually at the same time and flew over its edge to see the sea nymphs swimming toward shore. The lake below them was blood red and seemed to warn of death. As the two flew toward the cave, Dawra saw Fienna’s tail disappearing into its entrance. She flew directly toward the entrance, and Lowlack followed, eyeing the nymphs with suspicion. Dawra landed and went directly into the cave. There she saw Fienna sitting near the small stream with Terra cradled in her arms. A slight orange glow emanated from the two where Fienna’s hand touched Terra’s body. Dawra approached slowly.
“What happened? Did those nymphs attack Terra?” she asked with concern.
“No, they are friends. It was those bastard fliers. I found three of them attacking Terra,” she said with a sadness that seemed to tear at Dawra’s soul.
“Can’t he heal himself?”
“He is trying. He lost so much blood. I am giving him my energy, but I don’t have much left.”
Dawra thought of the blood red lake and how much it would take to do that. She then realized what Fienna had said. She was giving her life energy to Terra. It would drain her.
“Can I give mine to him?” Dawra asked.
“No, only I can.”
“Those nymphs, what are they here for?” Dawra asked with contempt in her voice.
“They probably came to help. They consider us friends.”
“Nymphs?” said Dawra in a questioning voice.
“Yes, tell them to come in.”
“All right!” Dawra said suspiciously. After all, nymphs were nothing more than scavengers and dragonette killers.
Dawra went back out to Lowlack. The nymphs had congregated on the shore.