avwedhorn
New Member
Chapter 2
White light exploded as the golden words faded and the dragon’s eye began pulsing. It took him a moment before he realized it wasn’t cold now and felt like a beating heart. The white light writhed about him, after a moment it became a myriad of swirling colors that slowly wrapped about his body like a glowing blanket.
Covered in the glowing nimbus, Micah felt pressure on his skin, sort of like a comforting caress.
Suddenly it changed as the caress became a jerk and it felt like a thousand hands had grabbed him at the same time. Desperately, he tried removing his hand but couldn’t. It felt as if the two were locked together. No matter how hard he pulled, his hand wouldn’t come free. Fear filled him like ice in a river as he saw the dragon’s eye grow larger. Everything became indistinct as the blinding blur of rainbow-like colors enveloped him. The last thing he remembered was everything turning the same color as the stone.
Groaning, Micah ripped his hand free. It felt like he was tearing out his insides, as if he was breaking a connection inside his body. The redstone didn’t look a stone anymore. It looked like an eye, a large one, at least the size of his head.
Unable to move, Micah watched as the eye rotated in a wide circle. Slowly a slitted black pupil came into view and a reddish pebbled lid closed as it blinked.
Throwing himself backwards, he knew he should have crashed over the top of his couch, but it wasn’t there. Landing hard on his back, Micah scampered crab-like across stone until his head hit a rough hewn wall. Swimming stars exploded in front of his eyes. Shaking his head, he tried removing the swirling image in front of him.
The stars faded but the image didn’t.
“What the hell…!” His voice trailed off into nothingness. Eyes widening, he felt his jaw drop incredulously and he stared openmouthed. A gigantic shape filled a large chamber, a chamber a lot bigger than his small apartment. Slowly, he moved his eyes down a serpentine body covered in scales the color of dried blood. Large spikes ran down the ridgeline forming its neck and back until they ended in a long spiked tail. Turning his wide eyed gaze back towards the head, he saw a giant maw filled with teeth the size of glittering daggers. Raising his head, he saw two red eyes staring back at him.
He knew what it was, but it was impossible and rubbed at his eyes with his fingertips. Dragons don’t exist! They aren’t real!
Dragons, like the ones in his father’s stories, only existed in fairy tales. He had given up belief in them when he was a child, after his father had been locked away. Irrationally he focused on a morbid thought. Why isn’t it trying to eat me?
Glancing back to its body, he saw golden chains wrapped around the beast. Large manacles were clamped to its clawed feet holding it in place. Squinting, he saw strange writings engraved on them in a cursive flowing script. Also, the ceiling was too low for the giant beast to be able to unfurl its gigantic wings.
I must be dreaming again. This can’t be real! I fell asleep staring at that silly stone, thinking about my deranged father’s silly stories and now I’m having another dragon dream.
Instead of moving out of range of the massive beast’s head he started walking towards it. It's a dream, it can’t hurt me. If it does I will wake up safe at home still in my bed.
Standing next to the golden chains, Micah heard a rasping scrape. Spinning, he saw the dragon’s scales sliding over stone as it moved. It seemed to be following his progress with its wedge shaped head. Momentarily, his eyes met the dragon’s stare and the intense look made him feel as if the beast was trying to see into his soul. Panic wormed through him, cutting a hole through his insides.
Even if this is another of those damn dreams, that thing is frightening.
Bending low he examined the chains. A tingling sensation crept through his body as his eyes followed the flowing script. Scrubbing his hands across his forearms he realized it felt like an itch crawling across his skin. Slowly, he reached out towards the golden surface and saw the strange writing begin to glow.
A voice rumbled in his ears, filling the room with a throaty snarl, “If you can feel my chains without touching them, then I wouldn’t advise doing that.”
Jerking his hand back, Micah spun, eyes wide with astonishment. “You can talk?” Never in any of his other dragon dreams had one of them spoke to him.
Drawing back its massive head as if it had been slapped, the dragon said in an affronted tone, its voice dripping acid, “Of course I can talk! Stupid human!”
Growling, it rolled its eyes. “I always forget, despite your years, how ignorant you men of the blood are when you first come over. Well, that might change, but I doubt you will live long enough.” The last part came out in a low grumble, almost as if the beast didn’t expect Micah to hear, but its words echoed through his ears like a distant thunder.
“What is it?” asked Micah, looking at the chains and the glowing writing. Magic?”
Scoffing, he glared back at the dragon, his mouth formed in a demeaning smirk. “Magic’s not real. Dragon’s aren’t real. And I don’t believe in fairy tales!” This last came out as a croak as the dragon lifted a clawed foot up as far as the chain would let it.
“If you don’t believe Man of the Blood, go ahead, touch them.” A wry smile with an ominous twist touched the dragon’s lips. The grin of glittering white teeth following turned his blood turned to ice.
“But,” it said, a warning tone creeping into its voice, “they're powerful enough to hold me.”
Again Micah swept his eyes down the massive scaled body, rippling with powerful muscles. His smirking grin faded into a wan smile. Slowly his hand dropped back to his side.
Doubt began creeping through him and he glanced again at his surroundings. Stone walls and flagstones. Magical Chains. His gaze fell on the beast. A dragon. Sweeping his eyes about, staring at his surroundings, he mumbled, “Where the hell am I?”
“Humans call this Illanor. Although Man of the Blood, I doubt that you will find any here willing to welcome you!” The dragon’s voice hardened. With a click of teeth, it snapped off its words making them sound like a curse. “Most, humans and dragons too,” it growled, its voice now a low, angry snarl that caused a icy shiver to creep up and down Micah’s spine, “would probably be grateful to see you dead!”
Before he could stop himself Micah blurted, “What? Why? That’s crazy, I didn’t do anything to anyone, at least nothing here!” Could a dream creature know about why I’m not allowed to be a police officer anymore? “According to you, I just got here.”
The dragon’s wedge shaped head snapped down and before Micah could blink they were eye to eye. He stared at the snarling visage, his feet frozen to the stone floor and though he tried, he couldn’t find the will to make them move.
In a voice that filled the room with a sense of creeping menace, the dragon hissed, “That’ss right Man of the Blood, you did nothing!”
Micah jumped as its long teeth came together in a vicious snap in from his face.
“You didn’t wear the medallion like you were instructed to by your father. You didn’t answer the summons when you were called for nine years ago to help stop the wars. You didn’t do your duty to save any of us and now thousands of humans and hundreds of dragons have died, all because of you!” The dragon’s hissing words cut through the air like a whip’s lash and Micah found himself flinching as if each were hitting him.
“After the Griega came, led by Allenar, only a few dragons and dragonlords escaped their purge. Not many and not enough to matter. They couldn’t really do anything without you anyway.”
The dragon’s horned head swept out over the chains holding it and then snapped back in front of him causing him to jump again. In a condemning tone it growled irritably, “And I have been a prisoner here, trapped in these chains for nine years unable to help or save anyone from those deaths, all because you did nothing!”
Micah found himself leaping sideways through the air, narrowly dodging an angry jet of flame shooting out of the dragon’s nostrils. Ripping off his burning shirt, he heard the anger fade. Shaking its horned head, it finished sadly, “We should have been there to save them Man of the Blood. Now almost all have died and the rest have been defeated without us all because you did nothing.”
White light exploded as the golden words faded and the dragon’s eye began pulsing. It took him a moment before he realized it wasn’t cold now and felt like a beating heart. The white light writhed about him, after a moment it became a myriad of swirling colors that slowly wrapped about his body like a glowing blanket.
Covered in the glowing nimbus, Micah felt pressure on his skin, sort of like a comforting caress.
Suddenly it changed as the caress became a jerk and it felt like a thousand hands had grabbed him at the same time. Desperately, he tried removing his hand but couldn’t. It felt as if the two were locked together. No matter how hard he pulled, his hand wouldn’t come free. Fear filled him like ice in a river as he saw the dragon’s eye grow larger. Everything became indistinct as the blinding blur of rainbow-like colors enveloped him. The last thing he remembered was everything turning the same color as the stone.
Groaning, Micah ripped his hand free. It felt like he was tearing out his insides, as if he was breaking a connection inside his body. The redstone didn’t look a stone anymore. It looked like an eye, a large one, at least the size of his head.
Unable to move, Micah watched as the eye rotated in a wide circle. Slowly a slitted black pupil came into view and a reddish pebbled lid closed as it blinked.
Throwing himself backwards, he knew he should have crashed over the top of his couch, but it wasn’t there. Landing hard on his back, Micah scampered crab-like across stone until his head hit a rough hewn wall. Swimming stars exploded in front of his eyes. Shaking his head, he tried removing the swirling image in front of him.
The stars faded but the image didn’t.
“What the hell…!” His voice trailed off into nothingness. Eyes widening, he felt his jaw drop incredulously and he stared openmouthed. A gigantic shape filled a large chamber, a chamber a lot bigger than his small apartment. Slowly, he moved his eyes down a serpentine body covered in scales the color of dried blood. Large spikes ran down the ridgeline forming its neck and back until they ended in a long spiked tail. Turning his wide eyed gaze back towards the head, he saw a giant maw filled with teeth the size of glittering daggers. Raising his head, he saw two red eyes staring back at him.
He knew what it was, but it was impossible and rubbed at his eyes with his fingertips. Dragons don’t exist! They aren’t real!
Dragons, like the ones in his father’s stories, only existed in fairy tales. He had given up belief in them when he was a child, after his father had been locked away. Irrationally he focused on a morbid thought. Why isn’t it trying to eat me?
Glancing back to its body, he saw golden chains wrapped around the beast. Large manacles were clamped to its clawed feet holding it in place. Squinting, he saw strange writings engraved on them in a cursive flowing script. Also, the ceiling was too low for the giant beast to be able to unfurl its gigantic wings.
I must be dreaming again. This can’t be real! I fell asleep staring at that silly stone, thinking about my deranged father’s silly stories and now I’m having another dragon dream.
Instead of moving out of range of the massive beast’s head he started walking towards it. It's a dream, it can’t hurt me. If it does I will wake up safe at home still in my bed.
Standing next to the golden chains, Micah heard a rasping scrape. Spinning, he saw the dragon’s scales sliding over stone as it moved. It seemed to be following his progress with its wedge shaped head. Momentarily, his eyes met the dragon’s stare and the intense look made him feel as if the beast was trying to see into his soul. Panic wormed through him, cutting a hole through his insides.
Even if this is another of those damn dreams, that thing is frightening.
Bending low he examined the chains. A tingling sensation crept through his body as his eyes followed the flowing script. Scrubbing his hands across his forearms he realized it felt like an itch crawling across his skin. Slowly, he reached out towards the golden surface and saw the strange writing begin to glow.
A voice rumbled in his ears, filling the room with a throaty snarl, “If you can feel my chains without touching them, then I wouldn’t advise doing that.”
Jerking his hand back, Micah spun, eyes wide with astonishment. “You can talk?” Never in any of his other dragon dreams had one of them spoke to him.
Drawing back its massive head as if it had been slapped, the dragon said in an affronted tone, its voice dripping acid, “Of course I can talk! Stupid human!”
Growling, it rolled its eyes. “I always forget, despite your years, how ignorant you men of the blood are when you first come over. Well, that might change, but I doubt you will live long enough.” The last part came out in a low grumble, almost as if the beast didn’t expect Micah to hear, but its words echoed through his ears like a distant thunder.
“What is it?” asked Micah, looking at the chains and the glowing writing. Magic?”
Scoffing, he glared back at the dragon, his mouth formed in a demeaning smirk. “Magic’s not real. Dragon’s aren’t real. And I don’t believe in fairy tales!” This last came out as a croak as the dragon lifted a clawed foot up as far as the chain would let it.
“If you don’t believe Man of the Blood, go ahead, touch them.” A wry smile with an ominous twist touched the dragon’s lips. The grin of glittering white teeth following turned his blood turned to ice.
“But,” it said, a warning tone creeping into its voice, “they're powerful enough to hold me.”
Again Micah swept his eyes down the massive scaled body, rippling with powerful muscles. His smirking grin faded into a wan smile. Slowly his hand dropped back to his side.
Doubt began creeping through him and he glanced again at his surroundings. Stone walls and flagstones. Magical Chains. His gaze fell on the beast. A dragon. Sweeping his eyes about, staring at his surroundings, he mumbled, “Where the hell am I?”
“Humans call this Illanor. Although Man of the Blood, I doubt that you will find any here willing to welcome you!” The dragon’s voice hardened. With a click of teeth, it snapped off its words making them sound like a curse. “Most, humans and dragons too,” it growled, its voice now a low, angry snarl that caused a icy shiver to creep up and down Micah’s spine, “would probably be grateful to see you dead!”
Before he could stop himself Micah blurted, “What? Why? That’s crazy, I didn’t do anything to anyone, at least nothing here!” Could a dream creature know about why I’m not allowed to be a police officer anymore? “According to you, I just got here.”
The dragon’s wedge shaped head snapped down and before Micah could blink they were eye to eye. He stared at the snarling visage, his feet frozen to the stone floor and though he tried, he couldn’t find the will to make them move.
In a voice that filled the room with a sense of creeping menace, the dragon hissed, “That’ss right Man of the Blood, you did nothing!”
Micah jumped as its long teeth came together in a vicious snap in from his face.
“You didn’t wear the medallion like you were instructed to by your father. You didn’t answer the summons when you were called for nine years ago to help stop the wars. You didn’t do your duty to save any of us and now thousands of humans and hundreds of dragons have died, all because of you!” The dragon’s hissing words cut through the air like a whip’s lash and Micah found himself flinching as if each were hitting him.
“After the Griega came, led by Allenar, only a few dragons and dragonlords escaped their purge. Not many and not enough to matter. They couldn’t really do anything without you anyway.”
The dragon’s horned head swept out over the chains holding it and then snapped back in front of him causing him to jump again. In a condemning tone it growled irritably, “And I have been a prisoner here, trapped in these chains for nine years unable to help or save anyone from those deaths, all because you did nothing!”
Micah found himself leaping sideways through the air, narrowly dodging an angry jet of flame shooting out of the dragon’s nostrils. Ripping off his burning shirt, he heard the anger fade. Shaking its horned head, it finished sadly, “We should have been there to save them Man of the Blood. Now almost all have died and the rest have been defeated without us all because you did nothing.”