In the Eyes of a Dragon

Visions and Journeys

   There was a terrible storm that night.  The wind howled through the city, tearing shingles off of roofs and limbs off of trees.  Rain fell in horizontal sheets, pelting anyone foolish enough to be outside. The sound of the storm kept many awake, huddled under their blankets in apprehension.  For Ianfa, who was always a heavy sleeper, the storm didn't bother her at all. She slept soundly, her quilt pulled up around her shoulders, dreaming.  It was the night of her 24th birthday, and her dreams would propel her on her Tordufen the next day.

    She was looking at a very thin strip of land, covered in lush trees. On one side of the strip was a large body of water of a strange greyish color.  The long-legged birds that ate crustaceans from it's waters were the same cloudy grey color. On the right side of the strip was a larger body of water.  It's waters were astonishingly clear, but the shores were made from a blinding white crystalline sand.  The crystals grew up and emerged in large cuboidal chunks from the water's surface. No birds floated on the surface and no creatures drank from it's waters.

    Her vision moved on, and she could see a chain of islands stretching north and east towards a continent covered in towering trees.  The island's had every variety of bird flying through the air above them.  Brightly colored parrots making a tremendous ruckus, and long-legged white cranes, who flew silently. There was a flock of tiny hummingbirds, their wings moving so quickly they were a blur.  Amongst these birds, Ianfa's vision drifted, getting closer to the large continent.  

    Her vision drifted down, through the fog that floated above the treetops, down through the trees, and towards the ground.  She found herself looking at a village near the edge of a wide, rushing river.  There was a group of men on the shore hauling in fishing nets filled with teeming silver fish.  One of the men paused from his actions and looked skyward with shockingly blue eyes, directly at her.  He had flaming-red, unruly hair and tan, swarthy skin.

    Ianfa awoke with a start, her heart racing and her breathing rapid. She sat up and pondered her dreams.  She realized during the first part of her dreams that she had been looking at the Grey and White Seas, the two bodies of water which separated the eastern border of her country, Farsili, from its sister-country, Fyrsima.  

    Legend had it that long ago the two countries were one, but when an ancient queen was dying and ready to pass on the crown, she couldn't decide which of her two children should become the new ruler.  Both were capable, wise and fit to wear the crown, so she spoke at length with both and they came to an agreement.  The country was divided in two, and the daughter, who had always loved the Islands of Falm, took the eastern portion.  Her brother took the western portion.   To this day, the Ilyanfo resided in both countries. Exchange and trade rates were equal across the border.  It was almost like the border didn't exist at all.

    The bottom of the Grey Sea was made from grey volcanic silt from an extinct volcano nearby.  It was such a powdery substance that the currents constantly tossed it up, thus creating the grey color of the water.  The White Sea, on the other hand, had the highest salt-to-water ratio amongst any body of water in the world of Qir.  The salt grew straight out of the water and the smaller crystals were broken off by the waves and washed onto the shores.  Many families made their living harvesting and selling the salt or working for the companies which sold the salt across the world.  The White Sea alone produced 40% of the world's salt.

    Ianfa felt it was pretty obvious that she was to travel through Fyrsima, across the Islands of Falm to the country of Iritam.  Iritam was a land covered in thick jungles and large rivers.  But the inhabitants of Iritam were a race of sturdy Qirans, all with tan skin and bright blue eyes, who had learned how to thrive amidst the jungles and the fierce creatures therein.  She was apparently supposed to find the man with the red hair, whomever he was.  That man would inevitably lead her to the next step of her journey.

    She rose from her bed and began to pack her belongings.  Within a couple hours, she had finished, and she went downstairs.  Her mother, Yarfena, was a beautiful woman with delicate pink hair. She must have just risen for she was still in her robe as she put water on the stove to heat for tea.  Ianfa stood there for a moment, watching her mother go about her morning routine.  Her heart swelled with affection for the woman who had raised her with so much affection, and sternness, and instruction.

    Yarfena noticed her daughter leaning against the door jamb, and turned to her with a smile. "My beloved daughter, how went your Dreaming?" she asked her.  She noticed her daughter's expression, and her smile faded slightly.  Ianfa walked swiftly to her mother and buried herself in her arms.  

    "Don't be afraid," whispered her mother into her ear, embracing her tightly.  "This will be the most exciting time of your life."

    "I'm going to miss you," sobbed Ianfa, her body shaking with tears.

    "Oh my daughter, you will, but it will soon be overshadowed by all the wonderful experiences you are going to have.  You are going to meet so many amazing people and see wondrous things, and everything that happens in this next year is going to help shape you into the beautiful woman you are becoming," Yarfena said, lifting her daughters head gently with a hand under her chin.  She made Ianfa look her in the eyes, Ianfa's dark violet eyes staring into her copper eyes. "Aye?" she asked, with a grin.

    Ianfa snorted at her their inside joke, and broke into laughter.  "Aye," she confirmed. Long ago, when Ianfa had gotten into her first argument with Kirfara, she had ran home to her mother, who had had trouble with a sound spell and couldn't hear anything.  Ianfa had poured out her story to her mother in tears, who stared at her in bemusement, unable to hear a thing.  When her daughter had finally paused and looked at her mother, confused by her lack of response, her mother just asked "Aye?".   Ianfa had spent the next 10 minutes writing everything down so her mother knew what was upsetting her. Now, whenever Ianfa was upset, her mother would always comfort her, advise her, and then inevitably end with "Aye?" as a way of making her daughter smile. 

      By midday, all the preparations were in place, and Ianfa's family and friends were gathered.  Even Mezofa, and Kirfara's parents were present. With many tears and embraces, Ianfa said goodbye to everyone she loved, and the life she had lived.  She shouldered her pack, took a last long look behind her and then turned northward and strode off into the distance, not looking back.  Her head was in a turmoil from all the emotions chasing around inside her.  She knew she couldn't have cast a spell if she wanted to.  But the reigning emotion inside her was excitement, an eagerness to experience something outside the world of Ilyanfo.  She felt that she was destined for great things.

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    Jaxim glided quietly out of the cold air, descending through the cloud layer. He could see the active volcano Buvir below him, the smoke from it's crater drifting slowly into the air.  The red fiery glow of the lava in the crater was subdued, which meant that an eruption must not be imminent.  The lava flowed out of a cleft in the lip of the crater and down the mountain side.  The river passed through the jungle at it's base and eventually spewed into the ocean in a hissing, steaming fall of liquid fire.   

    One half of the continent of Choisine was covered in jungle, very much like it's neighboring content of Iritam. The other half was covered in volcanic plains created by the multitude of eruptions over the eons. The biggest difference between Choisine and Iritam was that the volcano kept the storm clouds away from the inland areas. Buvir created it's own weather patterns, with eruptions that went off a couple times a month. Thankfully, although it was still very much alive, it was definitely old, and it's eruptions were fairly mild.

    The plains surrounding the volcano had long been wiped clean of vegetation and were now covered in a crust of dried lava. From the air it glistened with a matte black appearance, but every now and then, a new eruption would create a new layer on top of the old crust which was noticeably shinier than the rest.

    The rest of the continent was teeming with wildlife, interspersed with rushing rivers, and dotted here and there with small villages. The grand capital of the continent was about as far from the volcano is it could get and still be considered inland. But the residents themselves still lived on the volcanic plains, in cities dug from the volcanic rock itself.

    The majority of the people who resided on the continent were Althuanan, a race of living gemstone-people. They had Qiran-like bodies, but their skin was hard and composed of some sort of rock. Depending on the area of the continent on which they lived was what decided their geological makeup. Some appeared to be made from lucid, translucent jade, and other from fierce, glittery opal. He had seen malachite, jasper, amethyst and every other manner of gemstone in their skin.

    Jaxim dropped through the trees and landed in a clearing next to one of the rivers. Now that he had reached his destination, he needed a place to wait until she arrived. He sat back on his haunches and reached out with his mind, trying to find any dragon kin that might be nearby. He sensed the present of some earth dragons nearby and plunged into the trees in that direction.

    Quickly, he realized that it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. Earth dragons were notoriously smaller than their air cousins and his size quickly hindered his progress through the trees. His long horns kept tangling in every vine, and his wings, despite being folded tightly against his body, kept snagging on branches. He hissed in annoyance and kept pushing on.

    A half hour later he already felt tired from battling the infernal forest. He shook his head again, freeing his horns from yet another mess of vines. As he did so, he tripped over an exposed root, which caused him to spread out his wings to steady himself. His right wing got caught in the crook of a branch and he struggled to pull it out, causing him to careen into the tree near him.

    He huffed, smoke curling from his nostrils and sat down right where he was with a disgruntled plod and a splash. He looked down and noticed he had sat right in a small stream, coursing it's way through the jungle. Naturally, he thought. But it gave him an idea, and since the stream was going in the correct direction, he stuck to the stream bed and followed it towards the presence of the dragons.

    He came to a glen, shadowed by tree cover, with a variety of mushrooms growing all around and plump, ripe fruits hanging from some of the trees. As he entered the glen he heard a tiny whisper in his mind, and he knew the language.

    "Our cousin comes to greet us," said the small dragon's voice. "It is our air brethren, descended from the high mountain."

    Out from the vegetation emerged a horde of small earth dragons, each resembling a different kind of tree. A third of his size, they were covered in scales that looked like tree bark. Long manes covered their heads and necks, resembling vines or leaves or flowers. And their horns looked like branches or sticks.

    They were wingless, but they didn't need them. With their long, thin, snakelike bodies, they could climb up through the trees with the greatest of ease. Most lived in burrows in the earth or in holes in the trees, but some created nests for themselves amidst the branches.

    The smaller dragons approached him, looking seriously up at his towering frame. He laid down to be polite, so that they didn't have to crane their necks looking up at him. “Pardon the intrusion,” he said. “I am on my way to meet someone, and my visions have told me that I would meet her somewhere in this forest.”

    “That is a curious thing,” the largest of the earth dragons told him, “for not many people live in this area. Wouldn't it be better to meet her in one of the cities?”

    “It makes sense,” Jaxim replied, “but my vision led me to a spot about a half a mile from here and they told me that it would be a couple of days before she arrived.”

    “Well, if that is the case,” said the older earth dragon, “then you are welcome to stay among us until the time is right to meet the lady. I am Gnutisa, the Elder in these parts. This is my family and you are welcome in our home.”

    Jaxim gave them thanks for their hospitality, and they offered him fruits to eat, but after his long journey he needed more sustenance than mere fruit, so he decided to go hunting. He climbed up the biggest tree he could find and once he had neared the top and the trunk began to bet bend underneath his weight, he unfurled his long wings. The elder's family had accompanied him into the treetops and they stared in awe at the size of his massive wings. With an enormous flap and a grunt of energy, he pushed himself into the air and flapped furiously to take off.

    It didn't take long until he was high in the sky above the continent. His eyes roved through the trees, his heat-sensing bill abilities to the max. He detected a herd of large herbivores off to the east, and tilted his wings to dive in that direction. The poor animals were completely unaware of the danger from above when he drove into their midst. His front two clawed feet sank into the flanks of two of the animals and with a great commotion of his wings, he rose right out of their panic and into the air again.

    Within seconds, the noises they were making out of fear and pain began to annoy him. He reached down with his long neck and snapped both of their necks with a twist of his jaws. In front of him was a tree whose trunk was thicker around than the length of his body. He seized hold of one of it's large branches and perched, careful not to disrupt his food.

    He dined at his leisure, then begin to clean his claws fastidiously. After he was done, he flew back across the treetops until he was above earth dragons glen before he climbed down through the tree trunks to join them. With his belly full and nothing else to do,and exhausted after his long flight from the Eye of the Gods, Jaxim nestled down into the thick damp moss that covered everything and slept.

    As he slept, visions flashed behind his eyelids.  Visions of the woman he was going to meet.  He saw her long, wavy, lavender hair blowing in the breeze as she stood watching the horizon in the distance. He didn't know what part she was going to play in the visions that his father, the great air dragon elder, had seen.  But somehow she was important.  He saw that she would be traveling here soon.  She was already on her way.

    She was on board a ship, crossing the strait in between Iritam and Choisine, accompanied by a red-haired man who was always smiling.  But there was somebody else on board the vessel.  Someone who was a danger to this woman.  He could see a black-haired woman hiding below deck, watching the woman from the shadows.

    Unbeknownst to him, in his sleep he was growling, shifting his weight back and forth and flexing his claws in the earth.  The smaller earth dragons watched him, fearful and hesitant to wake him.  The immense indigo-colored dragon was so large it would take just a moment of unconscious thought to harm any one of them.  His claws dug furrows in the damp earth as he slept, uneasily trying to warn the woman in his head of the dangers behind her.

    She was standing next to the swarthy-skinned redhead, chatting with him.  The man was flirting with her, touching her arm easily.  Something about the man's actions annoyed him, as if the sailor shouldn't be flirting with her, but he wasn't sure why that should bother him. He continued watching as the sailor pointed over the bulkhead towards the spoutings of a pod of whales.  

    As she turned to look, there was movement behind her. The dark-haired woman appeared out of the shadows, with a long, gleaming, jagged knife in her hands.  She silently crept towards the two, a look of anger and hatred on her face as she slowly raised the knife in her hands. With a crazy battle cry, she lunged towards the lavender-haired woman,  swinging the knife right towards her face!