Dragon Guide

Chapter 15: The Change

I stand trembling and panting in the water, locking my muscles to keep from showing the pain. My children begin to stir and growl along the bank. They can sense the change in me, I need to control it but the pain is just so intense!

"Rivia, if you leave now and join Ryuu I think that you may not feel the pain so much. You have to join him there now anyways so go now. I can't stand seeing you like this and the children can sense that something is wrong too. Go now!", begs Aoyun. I nod and close my eyes, I push my consciousness past the pain, and now that I have cleared my mind of these discomforts, I can be more rational.

I feel Aoyun's hands resting protectively on my shoulders and I feel the comforting weight of Ryuu resting in my hands. I feel the presence of all my children surrounding me and I feel the moment that the change in my mood mirrors in their own. We are all now at peace and I can move forward.

"I am leaving now, if anything happens and the children are in danger, please, save them first'" I beg Aoyun.

" Yes, Bǎobèi. I will protect you all and everything will be fine. Do not worry, just come back safely", he replies quietly, comfortingly.

I tilt my head back and hum a quiet moan into the night air, the sound is crisp and breaks the quiet of the night. I feel the weight of my body peel off me and I rise into the air. Looking down I see the scene below as if I was looking at it through a glass wall. My body stands stiff as a statue in the water, my mouth opened into an "O" and my eyes are wide opened and appear to have rolled back in my head. I appear to be in the state of lucid dreaming. I am always fearful in this state, there are endless opportunities for other souls to take my vacant host body, I feel relieved knowing that Aoyun is watching over me, he has his own means of keeping my body secured. With that in mind, I set myself to the task at hand, Ryuu. I need to find him now; I don't know which ancestor of his has come to greet him but I can't let them get too far without me.

I look about and then I see little red claw prints floating above the ground, they appear to be fading ever so slightly. If I wait too long then they will disappear before I reach him. I am not concerned about the owner of the prints, I feel Ryuu's essence clinging strongly to the trail so I know it's his. I flit along the path, wanting urgently to meet Ryuu. To my surprise, the trail goes a long way, and before I know it, I am very far away from where we started. It has led me to the Tai‘an Underground Dragon Palace in the Guizhou Province of China. I am fairly familiar with the history of this place. The cave is a spectacular underground cave system with lakes and waterfalls. Everything is underground. A true dragon's palace. I feel the pill working, I am full of energy and the trip here was as fast as lightning. There is no hint of fatigue at all!

I look across the lake and I can see the entrance of the cave; it looks like a small doorway from where I am. I walk across the water, making no ripples as I step. It is as clean as the mountain air and as green as imperial jade. The closer to the entrance of the cave I get the grander it all appears and the smaller and more insignificant I feel. I hear the sound of a grand waterfall before I see it and right there around the bend at the entrance of the cave a waterfall surges down from vertical cliffs with great momentum, looking like a hanging silver curtain. The sunlight and water forms many beautiful double rainbows in the air and on the waterfall.

Walking through the entrance I feel the temperature drop significantly, in this form there should be no way that I would be affected by the cold but clearly, the intensity is more than any I have experienced before. The colours from the rainbows bleed onto the walls of the cave inside.In this beautiful light show, it is extremely easy to lose sight of Ryuu's trail. Looking around carefully, I find my mark and continue further into the depths of the palace. I venture onwards and climb up the damp stone case, and there a vista suddenly becomes open and clear. The Heavenly Pool lying among a stone forest silently bursts into view as it appears to be surrounded by high cliffs and cirrus. I am mesmerized by its beauty and the surface is mirror-like. I admire the view and continue onwards; time seems to stand still here and I can't be distracted.

I finally arrive at the Dragon Palace and at its gate, stalactites of different sizes and shapes droop down to kiss the water below. At the bottom of the cave, countless springs come out from rocks and merge into a river. I look up at the ceiling and the stalagmites and stalactites on the ceiling are lit by the scant sunlight that sneaks its way through micro-cracks in the cave walls. The reflection it causes creates the illusion of being in a crystal cave, so this is where the name came from.

Suddenly I hear a rattling sound as pebbles thud to the ground and scatter across the floor, one hitting the size of my bare feet. I look in the direction and I see the little red tail sticking out from behind a far rock, it's so bright I want to laugh so loudly but I dare not, there are stalactites on the roof of this area and I don't want any to fall. Initially, I didn't think I'd need to be this cautious but the temperature change at the entrance of the cave set me on edge.

"Ryuu, is that you?", I call out softly. I listen for his response and I hear him whimper. My heart immediately takes off in a sprint, beating erratically in my chest. That is him alright but something is wrong. I move forward to approach him and the action seems to alarm him and he moves back. It was then! Ryuu! He was already changing but it was incomplete! I gasp in fright and then quickly calm myself. I got to my knees and opened up my arms. Welcoming him into them. He sees this and comes out even more in the opening. I now have a clear view of him.

His eyes are now human eyes, his talons no longer bear claws but instead the toes of a human child. His harms are now like my own but small still, like a toddler. There are patches across his chest that no longer have scales but instead soft pale skin. He looks to be stuck in between human and dragon, by why?! This should not have even started until I reached here! "Who did this to you?" I ask Ryuu and I close him into my arms. The smell in the air immediately changes and I smell the reeking stench of burning flesh. I look up and to my surprise I see an enormous black dragon approaching me on all fours, the eyes! The eyes red and they seem to be filled with the promise of danger. I shiver and pull Ryuu in closer as I stand to run.