Chapter 3: Arista- Green, Brown, and Grey
Rearing back with a loud trumpet the ground shook as the rock mammoth came back down on all fours. My time was up. It was ready to charge now and it wouldn't hesitate to run me down.
It was probably ten seconds away with its rampaging speed. I had to focus. The mammoth needed to calm down. Grasping at the first calming melody I could remember, my voice trembled through the first couple of notes. The mammoth charged bearing down its massive tusks towards me.
My voice strengthened and finally reached its normal confidence and cadence. It wasn't working, the magic wasn't flowing as it should. I couldn't find the inner calm to bring forth the magic.
Bolting back around the bend and throwing myself against the side, the rock mammoth barely misses me, grazing my back as it passed. Pushing myself off the dirt wall and run towards the dead calf. If anything, I bought myself a few precious seconds.
Think…think-think. I needed to survive for my people. Our way of life ends with me. Seeing a dead tree that hung low into the ravine but not far enough for me to grab and climb a sudden thought struck me. Maybe the rock mammoth could hit it farther down… I didn't have time for anything else.
The rock mammoth was to close as it was but somehow I made it under the half-fallen tree. The rock mammoth ready to vent its anger and anguish on anything and everything, it violently jerked its tusks up to it the tree and I lunged to the left side as hard as I could as I heard the defending crack of wood and rock tusk meet.
The enraged animal had lost me in that movement allowing me to recover from my very ungraceful dive. I was used to doing this and landing in water, not hard unyielding earth and I almost knocked myself out.
This last move would determine it all, this spell would cost a lot of mana. Belting out a lilting confusing double tone, I wanted nothing more than to have someone with me, my own pod. This technique took years to learn and only recently had I managed to consistently cast the song. My magic poured out of me as I headed back once again to the dead calf.
A shade of myself split from me heading the opposite way becoming more real and solid the closer I came to finishing the song. My shade helped me sing now confusing the rock mammoth even more. The maddened beast continued after my shade. I don't think the beast really saw me moving behind her. My shade wouldn't last long and the beast wouldn't do too far from its calf.
Fighting through tears, I was able to jump and grab ahold of the tree. Scrambling up it, I collapsed on the soft leaf litter and let its earthy smell lull me to sleep.
My body felt heavy and dry…so dry. My head pounded with the force of thunder itself. I needed water. Forcing one eye to open…it looked brighter? Dimmer? It was still impossible to tell.
Stretching my body and laying flat on my back, I started to hum a simple searching tune. It required very little magic but it was still taxing the longer I had to use it. Finally I felt it. A body of water with mana essence in it.
It was on the other side of the ravine unfortunately and farther than I think I can walk… My eyes asked wanting to spill the precious fluid I still had in me.
Images of my pod leaving me behind. My grandfather, so old standing so straight and solum as he kept pace with the younger men. I wanted so badly to go with them. To fight and die among them, my family.
My fingers dug into the soft litter catching on twigs and other things pricing my skin. I didn't care. The small pain was a welcome relief to my internal growing hollowness.
This is my battleground. If I lost to these pathetic feelings I would die. Imagining a large clam in my mind, I tried to stuff all the loss and sadness, all the memories of that day into the clam.
"I will open you again when I breathe saltwater."
Forcing a harsh breath into my lungs I slowly sat up. I needed to deal with this ravine…again. At least I wasn't in it. The rock mammoth seemed to have finally given up on her baby. It was nowhere to be seen.
Once again putting one foot in front of the other, thirty minutes passed. Some places seemed favorable but there was no way up the other side. When massive rocks broke the greens and browns with their dark gray, I almost cried.
The rocks created a formidable blockade in the ravine and seemed relatively stable. On the other side of the rock wall... dead and dried out fish littered the ground. The water had been long gone.
This must have been one of the first rivers that the Dragon-men had blocked. Seeing all the dead fish made my heart hurt. It too went into the clam.
It had been almost a year since the Dragon-men began to hunt us. My lake was the biggest and the closest to their mountains and desert areas they seemed to love so much. Many of our people had migrated into the rivers and spread around the land. I still am not sure what had been the spark for their attacks, but they have been devastating.
Forcing my sight away and on the path with a heavy sigh, if only I can get to the ocean. The trees were thinner on this side. I was leaving the heart of the forest and the light was growing brighter. A slight breeze found its way to my dry skin chapping it and making it hurt. I was drying out…
Underbrush became thicker making my progress slower and every twig or branch that caught my skin seemed to cut through it like paper. If only the water was closer. The little lake I had woken up in, yesterday? The day before? Filled my mind's eye. It was so rich in mana and felt so wonderful to be free-floating again, instead of walking. My body felt even heavier now as again my skirt caught on something.
Why had that Dragon-man, K-something…Kner? No that wasn't right. Kyner-oh Kyvren, that sounded right, why had he helped me. The memory of him holding my arm and his husky voice saying his name as if he was…was what? I had been so focused on the one coming closer to me I really hadn't given it or his actions much thought.
There was no telling how long I slept from exhaustion. The lake was not deep enough to deter a Dragon-man from diving down to get me if they wanted. Racking my brain with the question of 'why' was just getting me even more frustrated and it was making me think more of his burning eyes and warm skin.
The breeze was getting more frequent and was turning cooler. I didn't like that. How far had I come north? If I could ever get out of the forest I would be able to tell. The ground was already hard enough to deal with as it constantly rolled now. Was I close to the mountains, the thought made me stop in my tracks. They were in the opposite direction. I had no choice now since this was the direction of the closest water source. Father would be able to- no not going to think about him.
The trees opened up finally and patches of darkening sky peeked at me. It would be night soon. I should keep walking. My belly aches in resentment but there was nothing I could do. None of the plants looked edible to me and mana essence…sighing I plopped down on a rotting tree.
Humming a simple slow melody and placing my hands on the damp tree, the moisture slowly seeped out and into my hands. What was left of my mana I used to absorb as much water as I could, it wasn't very much.
It would have to be enough. The stars confirmed I was farther north than I should ever be and closer to the mountains. I couldn't see them yet but the air was becoming dryer and I could feel the pressure changing as I continued walking.
The moment I broke out of the forest was so disorienting I almost fell to the ground. It felt like when I spun too much and confused going down for going up. The sudden feeling of breaking the water's surface and launching myself into the air, the feeling of nothing around me was terrifying.
The woods had become my water in a way. I was used to the comfort and protection of the trees. Now, it was open and filled with moonlight. The breeze was more of a wind and cold, so cold. The woody scent was replaced with grass and wildflowers. A looming blackness towered in the distance and I could only imagine it being the mountains.
I had no choice I needed to take the plunge. Dangerous beasts roamed here. Stories of animals the color of the grass appearing from nowhere and attacking came to mind. There are also the beasts that were large birds that hunted the mountains and these open places. It was large enough to lift a grown Merman off his feet. Repressing a shiver, I continued to follow the water.
As the sun began to rise, I hardly noticed. I had been walking all night only stopping twice to rest and study the stars. I may even have fallen asleep as I walked. That was probably why I didn't hear it.
A heavy flapping sound filled my ears. The bird! Stumbling and falling to the ground, my eyes searched for the source of the sound, three Dragon-men flew in the sky. In the early raise of the sky, they looked almost majestic with their, green, brown, and gray coloring. Had they spotted me? Thank god I was laying down or my legs would have given out on me anyway.
They began to circle me, like a death eater when they see their food. I was too weak and my mana was to slow in recovering itself to be of any use. Why were Dragon-men here? This was far north of my lake or any Merfolk water.
Landing with a heavy thud, the green set down first looking at me with yellow eyes. The grass at its feet began to shrivel up from the heat the dragon produced from its body. Transforming with a heatwave a Dragon-woman with the same color hair as her scales slowly approached me.
"What's a half-dead little fish doing here?" she moved closer to me and I flinched away. The other two, smaller than the green landed and transformed. They were both men, and naked. Blushing I turned back to the green hair. She was smiling at me.
"Tirvyss, I want you to ride Dodran with it."
"WHAT! Why do I have to be ridden?" the gray-haired Dragon-man crossed his arms and tilted his chin up at the brown-haired Dragon-man.
"Zussirra, are you sure about this? Why don't we just kill it? We are already behind as it is." The woman whirled around and slapped the man. This astounded me. First, the Dragon-woman ordered the other two Dragon-men around and then dared to slap one of them? I would be starved for a day if I did something like that, but the Dragon-man, he just took it.
"Of course, First." He refused to look at the others as he stepped around the Zussirra and approached me. His face was flush with the handprint and I could feel the heat pouring off him.
"Don't…don't touch me." My voice was weak and my throat to dry. He looked at me and his muddy brown eyes held nothing but disgust and contempt.
He had that same feel of Kyvren's face, but he was not handsome like Kyvren. A thick crooked nose, thin lips, small eyes, and a thick jaw comprised his features.
"If you fight, I will kill you. If you struggle, I will drop you." He would do it too. Taking my silence as my understanding he scooped me up. His hands were rough, and his skin felt to warm. Seeing my discomfort, he smirked.
"Dodran, be a good little pack dragon and carry me."
"If you think I'm going- "
"ENOUGH." Zussirra's voice cut him off and she glared at the Dodran. He sighed heavily and turned back into a dragon. Looking at a dragon up close I finally realized just how large they were. The grayscales glimmered in the morning light and his shoulder height was a good six feet.
"So big…" Zussirra laughed and transformed, she was even bigger than the gray.
"Up you go." Unceremoniously tossing me up on the grays shoulder I scrambled to grab anything, getting ahold of a spin spike I hung there. The heat from the scales was unbearable and I ended up letting go and falling back down to the ground, knocking out my breath.
"Useless!" picking me back up he saw the red skin and cursed. Taking clothes from a sack he forced on some bottoms and a shirt, with that done he through another sack at me.
"Put those on, it will help with the heat." Opening the sack, neatly folded dark brown cloths peeked back at me. Pulling out one it was a garment similar to the one he wore on his legs, so I pulled them on over my skirt shoving my fish scale strips in it as well. I didn't want it to be burned. Then the next one was a top with a heavy insignia of an open dragon mouth with an orange tongue. Pulling it on over my head the clothes swallowed me. With no warning, Tirvyss slung me over his shoulder and climbed up on the gray dragon.
He sat cross-legged and slid me off his should down onto his lap. "Zussirra wants you alive, it's better if you sit on me and not Dodran." Placing his back firmly against a large spike he tapped Dodran twice and held me tight against him.
"What are- "Dodran launched into the sky slamming my head against Tirvyss's shoulder and I was suddenly very glad for his strong warm arms. We flew in silence with Zussirra in the lead.
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Rosaline_Valentine
Rosaline_Valentine Hi dear reader, i hope you are enjoying my story. Let me know what you think!
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