Shards of Felwyn

Dance of Lightning

Cosmo, Lysander, and Elias stayed inside for the remainder of the day. Partly for fear of the treatment they might face outside, but also because the sky threatened to rain all evening. Before leaving for no apparent reason, Dreyniv served the three boys dinner, despite Cosmo's argument. He felt guilty for taking food away from them in such a time of need, but Dreyniv had insisted. After dinner, the three boys had been given a small room cluttered with closets, nightstands and four small beds. They fell asleep without a second's delay.

Now, as he awakened the next morning, a strange feeling rested in Cosmo's stomach. He clambered over the scattered furniture to a window on the far side of the room, trying his best to be quiet. It seemed as though Lysander and Elias remained sleeping. After pulling back the beige curtains, opening the window, and sticking his head out of it, he could see outside of the cave's entrance.

Dark clouds swirled in the sky above, casting the world into darkness. In the distance, thunder rumbled, but did not make the loud crashing noise Cosmo was familiar with. A slight drizzle trickled from the sky, as if the clouds were afraid to unleash the water stored within. The air was wet, but the heat of the Boiling Pot was still ever-present. The cool rain on his face relaxed him, he had been burning alive in his room all night.

Ever since the Dilonwyr attacked, my life has all seemed like a dream. Even now that I find myself halfway across the world, it is all so hard to believe. He thought to himself. By my count, around twenty-one days have passed since I wielded Dragon's Focus for the first time. It seems like a lifetime ago...

Pulling himself back into the room and back into reality, he stretched and rubbed his eyes. Dreyniv had told him the previous day that he would begin training with Molniya when awoke in the morning, but Cosmo had never been given a location as to where he would meet her. He decided to begin scouring the house for any sign of her, still nervous due to the behaviour she had displayed the previous day. Donning his black pants, rolling up the ankles, and pulling his tunic over his head, he exited the room to find a lizardfolk guard standing watch outside.

"Dreyniv wishes me to escort you to the training grounds." the guard spoke, nodding his head at Cosmo in greeting. "We can leave whenever you wish, but I would not suggest making the princess wait any longer."

"Aye, we should be leaving now." Cosmo responded. The two walked through the cluttered house, passing numerous eccentric paintings of burning water, drooping willows, and people with melting faces. As they exited the lord's house and walked among the streets bustling with lizardfolk, Cosmo was once again given scathing looks. However, no one dared to take action due to the tall soldier that walked alongside him. Cosmo was both thankful for the escort and curious. Why would Dreyniv go through so much effort just to ensure my safety? Perhaps he truly cares this much about ending the war? I would hate to think of another explanation...

The soldier led Cosmo outside of the cave's entrance into the cooling drizzle, which soothed Cosmo's dry skin. He closed his eyes as he walked, feeling the cold water run down his face and over his eyes. Opening them once again, Cosmo found the guard marching up a set of poorly chiseled steps that led up the side of the mountain. Careful not to slip and fall, Cosmo followed behind the lizardman for what seemed like forever. The monotony of steps was exhausting and Cosmo began to sweat, his breathing inhibited by the wet air produced by the rain. The condensation on his forehead ran down into his eyes until he eventually reached the top, where the mountain plateaued.

There, hundreds of feet off of the ground, Cosmo could see most of the Boiling Pot. The jagged spines of mountains were visible for miles, despite the rain. The endless rock stretched out before him. enormous and grandiose. After telling the guard to notify Lysander and Elias of where he was, the soldier descended down the arduous staircase, leaving Cosmo and Molniya alone.