Dragons of Westeria

The Awakening

The months flew by in a way that I had never imagined, Jerica became the mother that I had always wished for and had always needed. Since I have lived with Jerica, I have started working at the pub with her, been homeschooled by Jerica and she has even started to train me in self-defense.   I was learning a lot about our world, the history, the way the governments were run for each country in Westeria, the way the Royal family had been attacked and how the world had been before that tragic time. Jerica taught me about all the different supernatural and fae races, as well as the recent struggles that have been arising.

There has been a rising threat to Westeria, a group of rebels has been plundering small villages randomly throughout desterica and Myreland, leaving them in utter ruin. Small battles have erupted from conflicts that are usually centered on the treatment of humans and weaker fae or supernatural creatures. So far, the council that has taken over since the assassination of The King has been able to keep a tenuous hold on the issue and it has not grown into a state of alert. The smaller villages in all of Westeria were ordered to stay vigilant and there have been troops sent out to patrol the outer borders of each country. As of now, it seems as though the threat is being maintained and everyone in Westeria is hoping that it will be enough.

As far as Jerica and I go, we have been researching more about my eyes and have found little information. I have not awakened yet but will in about one week, then we will finally find out exactly what I am. Over the last year, I have gained a few small powers. such as, soothsaying and I have gained a bit more physical strength. The last month has made me restless; I have hot flashes and fevers every so often, Jerica says this is my body preparing me for my awakening. She still has her suspicions and regularly goes to the Imperial City to do research in the grand library there, but she hasn't told me what her suspicions are as of yet, only that she will tell me on my 18th birthday.

It has been a year and nine months since I left the small village that I had been raised in and it feels so much longer than that, like a lifetime has already gone by. The more time I spend with Jerica the further away the pain from my parents gets, however, there is still that niggling feeling inside me that says they will be coming for me. Lately, Jerica has been hearing rumors from the southern border saying that there have been inquiries about a missing girl. The moment we had heard this, we had started taking extra precautions, we dyed my hair a dark brown and Jerica enchants my eyes to make them appear green instead of violet. Making me look even more like her own daughter. This is something that Jerica would do any time strangers would happen by the town, but now, we have taken to using these precautions regularly. The disguise hadn't been necessary with the inhabitants of Remings, they are all fiercely loyal to each other and would fight for each other like family. No one had questioned the need for the disguise, but an underlying current of understanding seemed to take hold within the town. Everyone became more wary of passing strangers and would pay closer attention to anyone who seemed to be asking too many questions.

My birthday was quickly approaching, and I had come down with the most intense fever that I had yet to have. Jerica had taken the week off to stay close to me during my awakening. Our boss at the pub was sending meals daily by way of the other waitresses, all who had grown concerned and wanted to check in on me. The other towns people were also sending gifts to help me through this time in my life, the convenience store owner was sending ice every day to help keep me comfortable, the herbalist was sending teas and medicines that wouldn't harm the awakening but would help soothe my aching muscles and many others were sending well wishes and talismans for luck and healing. Most of the town are also fae or supernatural and have all gone through their own forms of awakening, some are more bearable than others, but everyone helps in any way they can. Even the humans have been sending baked goods and ice cream for when I am finally able to recover my appetite, having heard the stories from the others through the town on what an awakening can feel like. I absolutely love this town.

It is 11 o' clock p.m. the night before my birthday and Jerica is taking me into the forest. We have no idea who or what I am, so to be safe we are going out into the middle of the forest near a lake that has enough cover from prying eyes but enough of a clearing to give me room in case I need it. With the way that my body is reacting and Jerica's suspicions, she believes that I am a shifter. It is possible for witches or other powerful fae to also go through rough awakenings due to their powers trying to surface, but shifters have more physical pain like the aches in my muscles that I have been feeling since my fever had started. Jerica had packed food, medicine, extra clothes, blankets and some pillows to bring out to the lake with us. She will be staying by my side and helping with her healing powers to make sure that I come out of my awakening as safely as possible. I had learned that some shifters don't live through the process, especially if they have to face it alone. Learning this had made me absolutely terrified but I am also excited to find out who I am.

We finally make it to the lake and Jerica sets out to make a comfortable area for me to lay in, as she is setting out the blankets, pillows and food we hear a snort and both freeze, once my awakening starts, I will be at my most vulnerable and Jerica will need to preserve her strength to help me through the process, we can't afford for any beasties either of the human kind or animal kind to cause any issues. We both wait silently hoping that whatever or whoever it is keeps going, when suddenly a midnight black horse with white socks gracefully comes into the clearing. I had seen this horse before, the night of my wedding.

"It's okay, Jerica, he is a friend." I say rather confused.

Jerica c***s an eyebrow at me in a silent question.

"He is the horse that was there on my wedding night that I had told you about, although, I don't know why he is here all of a sudden." I turn my attention back to the horse as he comes up to me and nuzzles my shoulder once again. I hug him like I had that night that had changed my life and pet his neck, his fur is as smooth as silk, and I can't help but marveling at his beauty once again. The pain in my muscles start to intensify as the hour approaches midnight, seeming to sense my discomfort, the horse goes and lays down by the lake on the other side of the blankets that Jerica had laid out for me. It seems as though the horse has decided to also stay by my side tonight, he keeps a watchful eye on me as I lay down and close my eyes, searching for any kind of solace from the pain. Jerica is instantly there placing a cold rag on my head and makes herself comfortable as well. We are unsure about how long the awakening could take, so we had planned for a long night.

When the moon reached its highest point in the midnight sky, my fever began to increase, the heat in my body was unbearable, my muscles began to ache even more than they had already making me moan out in pain. Jerica opened her eyes and sat up, keeping an eye on me for any signs of danger while keeping herself away for the time being. She would only help when signs of danger would appear, but she didn't want to interfere with the process in case it would prolong the entire awakening. My insides began to heat up like an inferno, my skin was radiating heat and my head began to pound in pain with the rising temperatures.

"Ella" a voice whispered in my head.

I moan again in agony at the pain and heat.

"Hello, Ella. I am sorry for causing you so much pain, please bear with it, it will be over before you know it."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Lisia; I am your counterpart or your other half. Take a deep breath Ella, and let the heat grow."

"I feel like I swallowed a volcano."

Lisia smirks at me, she SMIRKS at me, while I am roiling in pain! "It is more than a volcano, my friend, it is your fire."

"My fire?"

Suddenly, the heat grows and the pain along with it, I moan and writhe to the side, I feel like I can't breathe, and I just want to curl into the ball and fall into oblivion.

"Ella, accept me as a part of you, accept the shift."

"I don't even know what you are!!"

"What WE are."

"Please, tell me what I am!!"

"We are Dragon. You must accept the flames with your heart, accept the shift with your soul, we will endure all struggles together and live all happiness as one."

The pain begins to build even more, the heat is raging within my body to the point where it is now hard to think, I reach into my well of determination and really see my other half, and sense that she is pure and echoes my own heart and desires.

I yell out into the clearing loudly and without hesitation. "I accept you!!"

I hear a gasp from Jerica at the same moment that I feel a surge of power throughout my being, Lisia merges with my consciousness and takes over my body.

"We are going to shift for the first time, Ella, to do this, you are going to have to trust me with absolute control. Know that I will never do anything that we are morally against and trust me with your safety and life."

"I trust you." and then I hand the reigns over to Lisia.

As if watching a movie from the back of my mind, I see my body stand up and walk to the biggest part of the clearing. Once Lisia has gained enough room, the heat rages through my veins, I lift my head back and let out a loud roar that grows in ferocity as my body grows in size. My skin turns into scales, my feet and hands turn into claws and when the transformation is complete, I have a large, long tail. Lisia lets out a smoke-filled snort as she releases the heat that had been rising over the last week. She looks down so that I can see my claws and I notice that my scales are white then gradually fade to red towards my sharp claws. She stretches out our wings that I am just now noticing jutting from our back and gives them a flap, shaking them out and releasing some of the tension from my muscles that had been storing. Looking back at our wings, I notice that the tips of the wings fade into a gorgeous ruby red, similar to that of my hair color in human form, and then take a look at our tail and notice the same at the tip of my tail.

"Can we look into the lake?" I ask excitedly. " I want to see what we look like!"

Lisia giggles "of course!"

She turns and steps towards the side of the lake that Jerica and the horse aren't on, then looks down into the water at our reflection, the same white to auburn gradient goes along the back of my neck and I notice that my horns are also a gorgeous ruby red. Most of my body is a glistening white, almost silver hue accented with the few spots of auburn or ruby red. The most shocking thing is my glowing purple eyes, apparently, I will keep those even in dragon form. Although it is dark, I notice that I can see every detail clearly, and I can hear every sound in the forest, from owls hooting, to rodents and nocturnal animals running around and even bugs scurrying along the ground.

"You will be able to see and hear like this in human form now too, your strength will have increased as well, you will need to work with Jerica to practice control.

At the mention of Jerica, I look up to where she had been sitting. She is now standing, looking up at me with pride filled tears in her eyes and her hands gently clasped in front of her face, like a proud mother watching her baby take its first steps. My heart fills with love and I can't help the feeling of gratitude that sweeps through me. I will have to thank her once I am back in human form.

"Can we fly?" I ask Lisia as I think back on how our body looks now in dragon form.

"We can, but that will be saved for another day, the first transformation is always the hardest and takes the most out of you physically and spiritually. We heal faster than any other shifter, but it still takes time to get used to the shift. We will have to train on our stamina a little bit before we take our first flight. I believe this is as much as we can do today, I am going to go ahead and give back the reigns so we can shift back to human form."

Panic suddenly strikes as I realize I don't know how to change back.

I hear giggles in my head before Lisia replies. "Simply concentrate on being human again."

I do as Lisia instructed and, in a few moments, I am back to being a small human and the exhaustion nearly has my knees buckling. Jerica is there in an instant, holding me up against her while she infuses me with her healing powers. The heat is gown, the aches are still there but much more bearable now.

"The ache in your muscles is from the first shift, we don't shift like werewolves or other animal shifters where your bones break, but the amount of magical power it takes for us to shift leaves aches in your muscles the first few times, after that you won't feel any differently."

Jerica helps me over to the blankets and pillows where she lays me down, I notice that the horse has also moved closer so that I am snuggled up in his warmth.

"He is a dragon horse." Lisia whispers on a yawn.

"He's a what?" I ask

"A dragon horse." Lisia says again. "I can sense his spiritual power. I also know that he is the one who torched the church back on your wedding day."

I start in surprise. "How did you know?"

"When I awakened, I received all your memories," She quietly responds. "I am sorry, that I was not here sooner, I wish I could have saved you from your parents." Lisia hangs her head in shame inside my mind.

"Please don't feel ashamed, Lisia. It is not your fault; they were terrible people, and nothing could have changed that. I am just happy that you are here with me now."

"Thank you, Ella and Happy Birthday."

"Thank you, Lisia."

After my conversation with Lisia, I fell into a deep dreamless sleep, surrounded by the ones I love and who love me in return.