In the Eyes of a Dragon

    It is said that a dragon's eyesight is endless and from his perch atop The Eye of the Gods, Arcturak believed it. His vision could pick out a redhide seal on the shores of the Island of Portmir. With a turn of his head, he could see two kyries reeling in their catch of fish all the way on the coast of Vargyra.     He settled back, curving his magnificently scaled neck between his wings and hummed to himself, deep in contemplation. It would soon be the time for his kind to take action, he could feel it. Time for his kind to move against the dark tides that were threatening to overwhelm this world. Time for them to join forces with the other races in the hope that they might be able to steer the fates towards a positive outcome.     He glanced around the mountain-top at his children. Many of them rested like himself, basking in the warm rays of the sun. His two eldest lay in the shadows of a crag, discussing the history of Qir. Some of the younger ones were playing, wrestling with each other or playing tag in the air.     His gaze fell upon his son, Jaxim, who slept on a nearby crag, oblivious to those around him. His son's scales shone a deep indigo blue. The long barb-tipped horns that graced his head were of such a deep black they seemed to absorb the light around them. Arcturak felt that Jaxim, of all his children, would play a crucial part in the future ahead of them.     "Is the time now?" asked the older dragon, his mind reaching out to the elders of his kind thousands of miles distant from him. The affirmative came, from those of earth, and water. Only silence was heard from the drakes of fire.     It had been eons since the dragons of fire had been heard from, and even longer since they had been seen. Arcturak and the other elders had began to believe that the race had gone extinct, buried deep in their fiery caverns. But three races of dragons were enough, and the great creature rose to his feet.     He opened the channels of his mind, calling out to his chosen children. "Jaxim, Sedon, Myla, Vertira, and Opashi, you know the parts you must play. Go now," he bid them, "And remember, the fate of this world may very well rest in the actions you take. Be wise, be safe, and go with the love of your father and family."     His five beautiful, strong, graceful children rose, leaping into the air with a thunder of wings. The rest of their family roared their farewells in a cacophony of sound. He watched his children fly, praying for their safety and success. His gaze followed them until they had become nothing more than tiny dots of indigo, pewter, golden-green, vermillion and the palest pink in the distance. Chapter 1 – Farewells and Introductions     Ianfa raised her hand and a fountain of delicate silver sparkles emerged from her palm, flowing into the air. The tall, lavender-haired woman viewed them critically, just as some of the sparkles began to turn blue and waver. The fountain started to fade.     "Steady your focus," said her mentor, Mezofa, watching her.     She cleared her mind of all her doubt and uncertainty. In response, the sparkles resolidified, gaining their silver shine again. She continued for a few more minutes before Mezofa was satisfied, then relaxed and watched as the sparkles slowly faded and disappeared.     If there was anything she had learned as an Ilyanfo was that nothing could be achieved without focus and clarity of mind. She had incorrectly assumed that the natural skills of the Ilyanfo would come to them as easily as breathing. She had not anticipated this grueling level of training she had endured every day since reaching her 5th cycle.     Even now in her 23rd she found herself still erring when it came to the higher level magics. Today a skill as simple as creating a fountain illusion should have been child's play. Unfortunately, focus was evading her, probably because this was the day her best friend left on her Tordufen - the fabled Aging Journeys of her kind.     Kirfara had had her dream last night, and was even now probably preparing to embark wherever her dream was going to send her. Ianfa was dying to finish her training so that she could speak with her one last time. It would be a year before Ianfa ever saw Kirfara again.     Mezofa sighed reluctantly. The thin, imperious man knew that his young ward was beyond distracted today and that he was fighting a losing battle. "Very well, Ianfa," he told her in his low, gravelly voice, "You are released for today. Go say your farewells to Kirfara."     Ianfa threw her arms around him, causing him to groan with the force of her embrace. Every now and then the old man surprised her, and demonstrated that he might actually have a heart. "Thank you so much, Fardentu, she told him with gratitude, using his official title.     Before he could change his mind, she had bundled up her things and hightailed it out the door. She ran to Kirfara's family home, and burst through the door without announcing herself. Kirfara's mother, Alwenfa, very used to her daughter's best friend, didn't even blink at the abrupt arrival.     The two had been best friends since they were in their eighth cycle, and nothing had ever separated them for very long. She privately worried about what effect her daughter's departure would have on Ianfa, who was a shy, quiet young lady.     Ianfa ran up the stairs, taking them in twos. At the top of the stairwell was Kirfara's door, and without knocking Ianfa went inside. She paused in complete surprise for there on the bed was both Kirfara and Kirfara's boyfriend, Farweni, making out.     The two jumped about a foot off the bed, spinning around in surprise. Ianfa burst out laughing at their shocked expressions, "Busted!" she exclaimed, pointing at them amidst her laughter.     Kirfara rolled her eyes. "Have you never seen two people kissing?" she teased.     "No, no, not kissing, making out, with your tongues down each other's throats! And on the day of your Tordufen! Aren't you supposed to be packing?" Ianfa questioned her friend.     Kirfara grinned toothily. "All done," she responded, pointing to her bag in the corner of the room.     "It looks so small," said Ianfa, pondering the single bag soberly. "Hardly big enough for a year-long trip."     "I know," said Kirfara, with a shrug, "But it's all we're allowed."     There was a knock at the door and Alwenfa peeked inside. "It's time, my heart," she told her daughter. "Everyone is waiting downstairs."     The room got very quiet. Karfira took three deep breaths to calm herself. Although the Tordufen were an exciting part of every Ilyanfo's lives, it was still a scary thing to leave everything you had ever known behind and venture forth by yourself. No one knew what to expect from their Tordufen.     Some people had traveled to completely different countries and made a living amongst complete strangers. Others had embarked on long journeys, traveling across  lands through various countries and having to survive on their own.     Everything an Ilyanfo did up to this point was mere training for this moment.  It would last for an entire year before they could return home, if they wished. Many of the Ilyanfo had chosen to stay where they were after their Tordufen was over. The life they had created for themselves was of such joy to them that by the time their year was over they had remained where they were.     The group went downstairs where everyone else was waiting. Kirfara's friends and distant family said their farewells first, followed by the immediate family. Farweni kissed Kirfara passionately, before releasing her to Ianfa's grasp, who hugged her best friend so fiercely that Kirfara wheezed. “I'll see you all in one year,” promised Kirfara, facing her farewell party. “Just one year, that's all. It'll pass in no time.” Alwenfa and her husband were in tears as they embraced and kissed their daughter.     As one, they watched as Kirfara left, striding off into the distance. It was forbidden for any Ilyanfo setting off on their Tordufen to look back, for their vision must only be set on the future ahead of them.     As her figure dwindled into the distance and disappeared, Ianfa sniffled. The violet-eyed woman was proud of her best friend and excited for her, but she knew deep down that they might never see each other again and it broke her heart. Her own Tordufen would begin in less than 2 months and her friend's loss only heightened her nervousness and anticipation for that day. **************************************************************************************************************     Across the seas, on the other side of the world, was a tiny little girl known as Katari. She sat atop a large boulder, looking out over the ocean as the waves crashed onto the cliffs below. Ocean spray floated in the air around her and she was using it to create tiny rainbows, twinkling in the sky. Her iridescent freckles shone in the sunlight and a smile crossed her face as she made the rainbows roll and dance through the cloudless sky.     A tiny little burrow-dragon, the kind that was no longer than the length of your arm, glided up beside her and landed on her shoulder. It twined it's long tail around her neck for stability and cuddled into her curly, shoulder-length white-blonde hair. It's scales were a myriad of butterfly colors and gleamed turquoise, teal, yellow and black under the bright sun.     "Well, Osana, my little friend, what shall we do today?" ask the young girl. Considered small even by her own race of people, Katari was a mischievous little thing. Able to bend and control light just like the rest of her species, she enjoyed using her skills to sneak up on people and scaring them for fun. Most of her village of Sutami had gotten quite used to her ways, but occasionally the rare traveller passed through and then she normally got a very good response from the hapless victim.     She uncrossed her slender legs and slid off the boulder to the ground, causing Osana to leap off her shoulder into flight. As she started walking through the tall grasses on her way back to Sutami, all manner of creatures were disturbed from their habitat. A swarm of insects were followed closely by a flock of tiny burrow-dragons, who chided her in annoyance before getting distracted chasing the insects around them.     She lived in the Kingdom of Mareva, or more specifically, the Plains of Light, and it was well named, for everything that lived here either reflected, or created light of some sort. All of the vegetation that grew in the Light Plains either absorbed sunlight or created it's own light and used it to glow faintly throughout the night. Every type of insect and animal in the Light Plains cast their own light as well.     This ability had originally developed as a defense technique. Hundreds of years before, it wasn't just Katari's people, the Abaranne, who dwelled on this continent. All manner of predator, such as the Xartmira did as well. They Xartmira were a species of Qiran who lived underground and flourished in the darkness. They hunted and fed off her people, who fled to the Light Plains, hoping for salvation. After several generations of eating the glowing food of the Plains, the Abaranne had developed the abilities to control light that they currently possessed. And the Xartmira had long been driven away by the old wars, chased to the Islands of Portmir where they still probably dwelled to this day.     As a result of their history however, her people didn't care much for darkness and most of them were downright afraid of it. Darkness did not exist in their country. At the most, some dark shadows might emerge from time to time underneath the dense tree cover of the cultivated orchards. But even at night, with everything on the Plains glowing and flickering, dark shadows were the scariest thing out here. No more predators existed on the Plains. They had been chased off or hunted, and now the inhabitants were all vegetarians and herbivores     Most of the planes were covered by tall grasses that grew waist-high to most of her kind, but there were some areas in the middle of the continent which was more desert-like. Even the areas of the Plains of Light that were on the shores of the ocean were covered in the long deep grass. Occasionally trees grew on the Plains, but they were solitary and few. Bodies of water were even more rare.     Her people had long ago settled near the only river that cut through the plains, and they cultivated and grew a variety of fruit-bearing trees which were local to that region. The fruits from these trees shimmered in deep tones of purple, blue, and red. As she neared the orchards she could see many of the villagers working amongst them, picking the plump ripe fruits.     Kitari began to hear an odd sound in the air. It wasn't just her, either, for Osana began to hover mid-air, looking around in alarm. It started out as a bit of a hum and quickly it progressed to the sound of something rushing, hurtling, through the air. She paused and began to look into the sky above her. Suddenly there was a horrendous crash behind her, making her scream in alarm and duck to the ground, covering her head in fear for her safety.     She spun around in time to see a massive creature plowing through the plains, tossing huge chunks of earth in it's wake. It left a trench over two furloughs long in the ground and all she could see of the enormous form was that it was covered in dirt and scales.     Gasping in concern for the poor creature, she ran to it's side. It was beautiful, whatever it was, and covered in glistening bright orange scales with black and white markings and long lengths of black fur. She wondered at first if it was dead, for as she neared it, it didn't seem to move at all. But the closer she got, the more she realized that it was breathing deeply, it's great sides rising and falling. Even on its side as it was, it towered above her small figure.     She could hear others of her village running towards her, their cries of concern carrying easily across the grasslands. She placed her small hand on the creature's shoulder and a great shudder passed through it's skin. It began to move, gathering its limbs underneath it, and uncurling it's long neck from behind its wings. In one quick movement that startled her, it unfurled its wings in a great rush of air. The wings were vast and spread higher than the nearby trees to either side of it. Finally it lifted its head and looked at her and she realized she was staring at the largest cousin of her little burrow-dragon friend.     It was one of the great dragons of the air. She had never seen one up close, and wasn't even sure how it had fallen out of the sky. She glanced upwards, wondering if another dragon had perhaps attacked it, or maybe one of the great airships of the Haelmicho tribe had shot it down on accident.     No Qirin species ever tangled with a dragon on purpose. It was well-known that their scales were like diamonds and their breath hot enough to incinerate anything they touched. Its great eyes were focused upon her, the orbs as large as her head.     “Are you all right?” she asked as she reached up on tiptoe and stroked it's large muzzle. It blinked slowly, the colors of it's eyes shifting and turning, and then a voice spoke inside her mind.     “I am,” the voice said.     “I didn't know your kind were telepathic,” Katari said out-loud.     The giant reptile nodded, shifting slightly on it's haunches. It rose completely to it's feet, extending it's wings and neck, straightening it's limbs, and then it shook itself fiercely. She ducked as clods of dirt and grass flew through the air around her. The great creature began to preen, pulling broken scales off itself and adjusting others that may have gotten knocked askew.     The rest of the villagers had neared them now, and it raised it's head to look around at them. Like Katari, none of them had ever seen a great dragon up close, and fearful and wary, they were hanging back a bit.     “What happened?” asked Katari. “How did you fall from the sky?”     The dragon snorted, shaking it's head. It looked at her and she sensed that it was embarassed. “I fell asleep. I had been flying for so long that I must have dozed off. Next thing I know, I'm crashing into the ground here.”     Katari smiled. “You fell asleep?” she repeated. It fixated one of its giant eyes on her, and she sensed annoyance, but she couldn't help it, and started giggling. “I'm so glad that you're alright, but you fell asleep?” she repeated again, and then fell into more gales of laughter.     Suddenly, it moved its head towards her, its great eyes trained on hers. It inhaled, and she sobered instantly, wondering if she was about to be toasted for her insolence. But it merely exhaled in a great woosh of hot air, which dried the air around her and made her eyes water from the heat.     Without a sound, the village chieftain suddenly appeared at her elbow. A wizened figure with a no-nonsense attitude, Jenoti tweaked Katari's elbow in a silent reprimand. “My lord,” said the chieftain, bowing respectfully, “I am Jenoti, the chieftain of the nearby village of Sutami. Please forgive Katari her rudeness. She is young and impetuous.”     Katari scowled and pulled away from Jenoti. She was about to argue with the chieftain but she was cut off by the large orange reptile. “There is nothing to forgive, Chieftain,” said the great dragon. “I am aware of her age and maturity. She has a mischievous character,” said the voice into their minds, “But she is intelligent and capable.”     Katari felt chastised and humbled by his words, and shut her mouth, bowing as the chieftain had. As she bowed towards the ground, her eyes noticed an abnormality in the shadow of one of his wings. She glanced up and saw a long tear in the tissues of his wings. “Oh!” she exclaimed, pointing. “Your beautiful wing, it's injured!”     The dragon looked upwards itself, and used his slender muzzle to investigate the wound. “It would appear so,” he said, sounding unbothered. “It would appear that I am grounded until my wing heals,” he said.     “Please, my lord,” said Jenoti, “allow my healers to attend to your wing. We have many salves that could speed the healing process.”     The large creature looked at him, considering his words, before nodding his head. “It is not necessary to call me “my lord”,” he told them. “Opashi is my name, and I will allow your healers to try. I do not know if Qiran medicines will be able to aid my kind, however.”     “Opashi?” asked Katari, hoping she had pronounced it correctly. The great dragon nodded solemnly.     “Opashi,” he verified.