On Dragon Wings
Chapter 1
The air was crisp on the mountain that morning.
I had wandered the long night through, climbing and crawling to this height.
I had come in search of Dragons. The beasts of myth and legend.
My father and the other adults in the village said that they were just
stories. They had never seen one and so there were none. I
all of eight years old knew better. For all my short life it seemed
I had dreamed of them. Red ones blue ones gold and bronze.
They haunted my sleep not as demons but as things of beauty. Huge,
graceful powerful and beautiful.
At times the dreams were so real, I would
wake up and go out of our hut, sure that there would be a whole flight
of Dragons circling my home.
I drew pictures with great detail, scale and
wing configurations, claw shape and size. Somehow I knew every thing
about these wonders. The Villagers all thought that I was smitten by the
moon. “too many trips out at night” they would say. “his brain is
full of dragon smoke” others would say. Even my Parents worried about
me and tried to get me to stop talking about and “Eating and Breathing”
Dragons.
Only My old Grann, the oldest person in the
Village listened to me. She would listen and think and say “ In the
old days, before your parents were born, a child like you would be sent
to the mountains. To the old ones. It was said that they flew
dragons like Perin (a village huntsman) flies hawks. To hunt and
to search, but, on their backs. You would have been sent to them
to learn to fly Dragon-back. The dreams were the call of the Dragons
to their human “ Kin.’ The mind of the dragon could connect with
some humans and called them to the warrens. Of course everyone knew
that Grann was old and that her “head was loose.” Her memory was
jumbled and she lived half in the world and half in dreams. Talking
to people who were not there and laughing for no reason.
Winter had just passed and Grann was weak
from the strain. She didn’t look good and some said she would not
see summer again. This hurt me deeply The old woman was my only friend
and she believed in Dragons!
A morning came when my mother called me in
from chores. Mother sent me to Grann’s pallet. “she has been
calling for you” she said. “Don’t tire her she is very weak”
I approached her bed with fear. Her
breathing was slow and choppy. She seemed asleep but, when I drew
close, her eyes opened and her aged hand reached out to me. Her voice
was week and she could only whisper. “You must go!” she said “or
soon the Dragons will stop calling.” A coughing spell took her and
it was a few minutes before she could speak. When she did she said
again “You must go.” -cough- “ To the high mountains. I have been
selfish keeping you here to keep an old woman company, but, I am dying...”
“Follow your heart. -cough- The Dragon call will lead you. She breathed
and shuddered “You must go!”
My mother had not heard and would not care
about such foolishness anyway. I nodded to Grann and a tear ran down
my cheek. She smiled and said no more but closed her eyes and slept.
That night I slept fitfully. Dragons
circled in my dreams their flight was frenzied and seemed to say “hurry,
please hurry.”
When morning came Grann did not awaken but,
lay cold in her furs. She was still smiling. and looked at peace.
We buried her body on the hill behind the village with her husband and
their ancestors. I was old enough to help dig the grave. Tears
rolled down my face as I climbed from the hole and looked at the far away
mountains. It seemed to me that I could almost see the shapes of
wheeling Blue Dragons near the clouds that wreathed the snow capped peeks.
We all said good-bye to Grann that day in
our own way and she was buried with the setting sun as was the custom of
our people. I however was saying good-bye not only to Grann but to
my home. For tonight I would leave in the quiet darkness and may
never return.
During the day I had gathered a bundle of
clothes and food from the stores in our hut and hidden them in some trees
beyond the clearing that surrounded the village.
My family was sleeping and I left quietly.
Only thinking my good-byes. I knew they would not allow me to leave.
As I stepped out and softly closed the door Grann’s words echoed again
in my mind “You must go!”
The moon rode high in the night sky and walking
was almost as easy as mid-day. I looked to the mountains still crowned
with clouds. A mix of elation and fear stabbed at my heart.
I set off quickly knowing if I did not I would never be able to leave at
all.
The night was uneventful. Moonlight
guided me steadily toward my destination. I saw many deer feeding
in the safety of the night. A wolf passed under the trees headed
in the opposite direction. I wondered about the village sheep.
Would they lose one to this large gray fellow tonight? I surprised
a Fox at a stream, and was just as surprised by the warning slap of a beavers
tail near a quiet pond. My heart pounded and I was reminded of how
alone I was. I thought of Grann and was comforted. I felt more
than saw a shadow pass over the moon and if not for the trees I thought
I would have seen the graceful silhouette of a dragon glide through the
night sky. Again I thought of the village sheep. How many had
fallen prey to dragons instead of untraceable wolves?
I took the time to eat now. I
had not felt like eating during the day and was feeling light headed.
A few bites of dried apple and some bread seemed like a feast.
A long drink from a small stream and I was ready to move on.
The night had moved toward morning and the
moon was falling from the sky. True dark was coming and it was time
for me to rest. The emotions of the previous day were beginning to
tell on me. I was young and excited but, could not go on forever.
I found a thicket that offered some cover
and though I had not thought of its shade for sleeping in the day.
It would be best to travel at night. To avoid answering questions
from doubting adults and to hide from the eyes of those who would take
advantage of a lone youth. Sleep came easily and long.
When I woke the sun was coming in from the
west side of my shelter. It was afternoon and soon would be evening.
I took advantage of the light and filled my stomach and a small bag with
wild strawberries that were thick along the stream. The sun was setting
as I took a piece of dried meat from my bundle and headed off chewing the
leathery stuff at a good pace.
I was now into the foot hills of the mountains.
The trees had changed from thick broad leafed hard wood to tall aspen and
some giant pine. with every rise in the ground the aspen became less
and the pine more. The sun had set, night birds were out and their
soft singing gave me comfort. However being a child my mind soon
began to play tricks. Last night was an adventure. But I was
beginning to feel more and more small and alone. The whisper of the
breeze in the needles of the pines was not at all like the rustle of leaves
I was used to.
A low voice spoke to me from the trees and
the word froze me. it was only one word. “Who.” I looked up
and could see no one. My feet would not move I was frozen with fear.
Shakily I asked “Who’s there?” There was no answer. I tried
again louder this time. Nothing. I was just beginning to think
I had imagined the whole thing when. A large gray shape fell softly
from the tree just above my head. As it came lower it expanded, I
could now see the wings and flattened head. The round eyes of a large
gray owl looked at me as he glided by and then off into the trees behind
me.
I felt stupid, I had been terrified by an
old owl, just like the one in the trees near our hut. Dragon fire I cursed.
I fell to the ground an began to laugh. The relief was so strong
I could not stand. The laugh was from relief and from the silliness
of the situation.
When I had recovered I began again.
The shadow of the still nearly full moon lighted my way through the trees.
The dark of the pines contrasted with the light gathering white of the
aspens. I thought how magical the forest was at night and wondered
why people feared to go out at night. It was truly beautiful.
As I walked I began to wonder if I was going
in the right direction. I really had no idea where I was going or
how to get there. Again just as it had happened the night before,
a shadow passed over the moon. Through the trees I caught a glimpse
of a gigantic creature gliding gracefully through the moon lit sky.
My heart began to pound. I rubbed my
eyes, shook my head to clear it. The shape glided quietly over head
and disappeared into the canopy of the forest. It was a dragon, no
mistake! I had now seen a Dragon with my own eyes.
I began to run. I had to try to follow,
to see more of the grandest creature I had ever imagined! The Dragon
was moving slowly with spread wings using the air currents to glide north
and up the side of the mountain. I ran with all my might but could not
keep pace with the gliding beast. At one point I could see it and
then it was gone into the trees. I ran until my lungs burned and
my legs ached but, could not catch sight of it again.
At last I collapsed at the foot of a ledge.
I could go no further in this direction. My disappointment was awful.
I was so sad that it hurt. I had seen a Dragon and lost it.
I was so tired and felt so hopeless. Had I come this far only
to have a brief glimpse of the wonder that had haunted me for all my young
life? My heart was broken and I cried, the great long sobs of a broken
hearted child.
I don’t remember falling asleep but, when
I awoke I was still setting at the base of the ledge and the sun was coming
up lighting the wall ahead of me. That was when I saw the wall for
the first time, for wall it was. And on it were engraved the figures
of Dragons! Many dragons! The paint was fading but I could see the
remaining colors of the painted wall before me. It was a celebration
of Dragons. An announcement to the world that there were Dragons
and that they were glorious.
I stood in awe for some time looking at the
beautiful creatures before me on the wall and wondering at how well I had
drawn them. Still in a state of wonder I seated myself before the
great mural to eat my dried meat breakfast and consider what to do next.
There was no way over the wall for it was very high, probably 30 feet or
more and it was straight up. My decision lay in either turning right
or left to find either a way up or a way through.
I started walking to my right and found
that the paintings went on and on in that direction. As I walked
something bothered me I could not say what for sure but something told
me that I was heading in the wrong direction. I continued to stumble
along looking more at the dragons on the wall than at where I was walking.
Then it hit me. All the Dragons on the wall were flying in the opposite
direction. I knew then that I was going away form the entrance, it
was as plain to me as if some one had touched my shoulder and said “turn
around, it’s that way.” I knew with out doubt that my path lay to
the west. There was an entry somewhere in the direction that the
sun would set. I looked again at the wall and it seemed as if the
great blue Dragon suspended there was smiling at me. I turned and
all but ran west along the wall
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