Mega Dragon: Harbinger of Death

DAWN

It was a quiet morning. The sun was yet to rise and the birds were still asleep. The gentle warm feeling of dawn filled the forest and it was addictive. Addictive enough to make Aroha come there every morning. She sat on a green patch of grass with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. Every morning, before sunrise, she would meditate on that spot. It had become a ritual for her. Being born into a family of healers, maintaining her energy flow was very important. Her little sister Zhiyi, who was just two years younger had no problem with that, so she sparsely joined her. Aroha was glad about that though. It was difficult for her to keep calm around Zhiyi.

The birds had started to wake and their chatter was starting to irritate Aroha. Amidst the faces she made, she managed to remain calm. Until she heard that voice. The same annoying voice that haunted her everywhere she went. “Good morning, Aroha,” her little sister Zhiyi said joyfully.

Why was she so happy this morning? What was there to be happy about? But Zhiyi was always like that. A cheerful young lady. In contrast to Aroha who never found it difficult to get mad at something, or someone. “Why are you so early?” Aroha said, muffling the rage that was already screaming in her head.

Zhiyi walked towards her to face her squarely. Aroha’s eyebrows twitched. Zhiyi was closer than she liked. “Are you sure this meditation works? You look angrier every day,” Zhiyi teased. She loved getting under Aroha’s skin. To everyone else, she was the gentle, charming young lady that could never hurt a fly. To Aroha, she was an annoying little witch that was sent to t*****e her for crimes she committed in her past life.

“That does it!” Aroha yelled as she chased Zhiyi around the field. The startled birds took flight only to watch the rest of the show from atop the trees. They enjoyed the early morning squabbles between the sisters. Zhiyi’s cheerful laugh resounded in their tiny ears while Aroha’s vengeful grit shook their little bones. And every time, Aroha would fail to catch Zhiyi. She was surprisingly fast and quick-witted. And their parents would enjoy the sounds from their home that wasn’t so far away.

Aroha had long purple hair and sharp blue eyes like her sister Zhiyi. It was a Renoff trait after all. They inherited it from the first druid-human born. It was a big discriminating factor amongst the Renoffs who prided in their noble heritage. Those who were born with purple hair and blue eyes were considered purebloods compared to those who had only one or none of those traits; namely half-bloods and white-bloods respectively. Because of this, Renoffs mostly married within their clans to preserve the purity of their bloodline. It was a thing of pride for them. But some others couldn’t less about such ‘outdated’ traditions.

The Renoffs were a clan of renowned healers. Their heritage could be traced way back to the first humans that mixed with the druids. They were non-combatants but their input in the war over the years was immense. So much so that they were regarded as royalty, second only to the Croft family; the ruling royal family of the Croft kingdom. After the armistice was formed and the war ended, the Renoffs were not as needed as they used to be. They left the capital a year after and moved to the outskirts of the Croft kingdom, some twenty kilometers away from the Ranga village in the Aae kingdom, which was the closest settlement to them at the time. They set up a house in the middle of the forest, hoping to finally enjoy the peaceful moments. But they were not the only ones who wanted such. Little by little, people started to settle around. News had traveled fast of their new location, and in less than two years, that little settlement was now a village called Juza village.

Naturally, the Renoffs were the heads of the village. Gero and Miya Renoff; Aroha and Zhiyi’s parents, who were also the heads of the Renoff clan were the village heads. While Zhiyi had a lot of friends, mostly due to her cheerful nature and her parents’ statuses within the clan and the village as a whole, Aroha had none. Not that it bothered her. She wasn’t too fond of being around people. Some believed she inherited the druid’s grudge against the humans. She was one of the most talented healers the druids had ever produced only outperformed by her gifted little sister. She enjoyed being alone but Zhiyi would never grant her that reprieve. An eternal thorn in Aroha’s foot Zhiyi was. But deep down, Aroha loved her little sister. Maybe. In a way? It was hard to tell, but it was only fair to assume such. They were sisters after all. And sisters had to look out for each other. Zhiyi had said that so many times that it sounded like a prayer whenever Aroha heard it. Such was the relationship between the sisters, and that morning wasn’t any different.

“You’re lively as always I see,” Miya, Aroha’s mother said, patting Zhiyi on her head. She had the same color of hair and eyes as her daughters. She was slender and a bit pale. The peaceful life had made her a lot weaker than she used to be. She looked old for a woman who was still approaching her mid-forties. The stress from the war took most of her youth away. But she was beautiful. It was easy to see where her daughters got their looks from. Aroha was still yet to catch up to her. “I hope you’re not teasing your sister again?” she added, even though she knew quite well what the answer to that question was.

“I just wanted to keep her company. That’s all,” Zhiyi grinned. She was even more adorable whenever she smiled. Their house was secluded from the rest of the village. Their father; Gero wanted it that way. And it worked well because Aroha was difficult to deal with when she was in a crowd. Their house was big for a serf home. It was made of stones with a solid thatched roof. It was a serf house on the outside, but it was quite spacious on the inside. They had a kitchen and the siblings each had a room for themselves.

They had a barn too where they raised cattle and a flock of chickens. The Renoffs didn’t eat pork so they never reared pigs. And there was the stable at the back as well. They had six horses! The girls were exceptional riders. It was one of the few house chores they enjoyed; tending to the horses. Aroha and Zhiyi would run off with a horse each almost every time. It was the one time that they were in agreement, so Gero and Miya let them be. Hopefully, the sisters could bond in that way. And Aroha never complained after because she won most of the time. It was strange to see a Renoff that good at horse riding. A wild one she was.

Aroha finally arrived as she breathed heavily. How did that annoying witch get there so quickly? And she seemed just fine too. She felt disdain as she saw Zhiyi’s delightful face. Zhiyi looked like an angel, but only she could see her little sister for the devil she was.

“Are you okay, darling?” Miya asked. She had a relaxing, compassionate look on her face. She always did. It was an important part of their job as healers. Their faces should bring comfort to their patients. And she worried a lot for her daughter Aroha. She was a talented healer alright, but her temper was frightening. No one would accept her as a healer outside the village if she kept that up. Unlike her sister Zhiyi. Everyone seemed to love her. Miya loved both her daughters as equally as a parent could, but Aroha always caused her so much worry. Their father Gero always told her not to worry about it. that she would grow out of it. But Aroha was 20 now! She was no longer a child. She was of marriageable age. While their family’s status would do her a world of good and the pretty face that stood atop her neck, one word from her mouth was enough to send any suitor running. Zhiyi, who was just two years younger than Aroha already had a host of suitors, but she had decided she wasn’t ready yet. Whether it was as she said or she didn’t want to get married before her big sister was quite a puzzle.

Miya would truly hate for Aroha not to get married before Zhiyi. In those times, it was never a good sign. She did have the Renoff name to her advantage but seeing suitors had stopped coming for quite some time now because of her violent reactions, Miya feared the Aroha would end up being unmarried for the rest of her life. And the scary fact that Aroha didn’t even care made it even worse. Maybe she was truly incapable of communicating with others.

“How have your nightmares been lately?” Miya asked. That was another thing that plagued Aroha. It was a family secret, however. No way she was letting the clan know about another one of her daughter’s problems. But it had only started about two years ago. They had tried many ways to soothe her pain, but it did just that. Most times they wouldn’t show, but other times, it was frightening to see her wriggle in her sleep.

“She’s still breathing alright,” Aroha frowned in Zhiyi’s direction.

It took Miya a few seconds to understand that Aroha was referring to Zhiyi. “No! Why would you call your little sister a nightmare?” Miya exclaimed.

“She’s just that, that’s why. And no, I didn’t have any so far. I think the treatment is working just fine,” Aroha replied. it was the calmest she had been since she stepped into the house. It bothered her a lot as well; the nightmares. But it was getting better with the treatment her parents devised. They weren’t the best healers in the kingdom for nothing.

“I hope you’ve both not forgotten that you leave for the capital today. Your letters came in a week ago, you know. And you both haven’t shut up about it since then that I thought you would be ready by now,” Miya said.

Aroha and Zhiyi had both applied to be healers in the capital. It was certain that they would get in. their parents were Gero and Miya Renoff after all. In fact, the king had asked them to send the girls to the capital to be healers before they came to settle in Juza but they had refused at the time. They wanted the girls to have a normal childhood and when they were of age, they could choose whether they wanted to follow in their parents’ footsteps or not. War had taken the choice away from them when they were growing up. They at least wanted their children to have that much.

But the girls turned out to be fantastic healers. Not only did they learn from the best, but they also had the potential to be even better than their parents. Zhiyi’s mastery and understanding of things and Aroha’s inordinate amount of druid energy put them in a class above prodigies. But if they wanted to improve, they needed more experience and they could only get that in the capital. Besides, as they were, they were not recognized as healers. The girls had decided on their own that they wanted to make a living the same way their parents did. While they could understand why Zhiyi would make that choice, it was a shocker when Aroha concurred. She didn’t like people. Why would she want to save them as a profession? Miya suspected that either she didn’t want to be left alone at home after Zhiyi left or she didn’t want to be apart from her as unbelievable as that sounded. Zhiyi was the first to voice her intentions after all.

“We’ve packed already. We’ll be ready in a moment,” Aroha said blandly. She didn’t seem half as excited as Zhiyi did.

“Where’s dad?” Zhiyi asked. She already fed the animals before she left to tease Aroha and swept the compound as well, so there wasn’t much left to do. It was the last time she would have to do chores for them so she made sure to start early. Aroha didn’t even bother. Good riddance to the chores. She would never have to do chores ever again.

“He’s preparing two horses for you two. He’s just as excited as he is sad, so I think he is avoiding seeing you two until you’re ready to leave. How about you two sneak up on him?” Miya teased. It was clear where Zhiyi inherited her mischievousness from. Zhiyi’s grin matched her mother’s.

“I’ll be in my room,” Aroha said. She never did participate in the games Miya and Zhiyi came up with. But they never held it against her either. It’s how she always had been.

Zhiyi snuck up on her father, who was tending on the horses, just as Miya had said. He had a slim build but with well-toned muscles that his sleeveless shirt revealed. Renoffs never had grey hair, otherwise, his hair would have been ridden with them due to his age and all the stress he went through during the war. “I know you’re there Zhiyi,” he said as she tried to startle him. Zhiyi let out a loud cry. She sparsely caught him off-guard and she missed the last one she would have in a long while.

“Couldn’t you let me have this one? I know you do that sometimes,” Zhiyi moaned.

Gero let out a hearty laugh. “I’m sorry, my love. Old habits, I guess. Shouldn’t you be getting ready? Your mother will be getting breakfast ready now,” Gero said.

“I will. I just wanted to scare you a little,” she said downcast. Gero smiled as he watched his daughter run back into the house. His smile slowly turned blue. His precious daughters were leaving him.

In less than an hour, they had gotten dressed and had breakfast. Pottage it was. Miya made the best pottage and the girls loved it. It was a farewell present in a way. They knew they wouldn’t taste any pottage as good as their mother’s any time soon.

“I’ve said all I need to since the past week. I just want you girls to be good, alright?” Gero said. He was trying hard to hold back his tears. For a man that experienced so much death and war, he was surprisingly soft. He cared about his daughters that much. The girls nodded and hugged their parents who had lost the battle to the tears in their hearts. The girls filled their empty hearts when they had nothing to live for anymore. But now, with a heavy heart, they had to watch them leave. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be farewell for the last time.