Elænbrook: Book One, The Shadow of Møthgaan

Chapter Three: Prynidreth, The Bright One

Chapter Three:

Prynidreth, The Bright One

In the dark, early hours of morning, Prynidreth laid on the forest floor, curled up in a warm, and comfortable position. His sky-blue eye shot open as the loud hooting of a Horned Owl broke the eerie silence of the Gottard Woodland. Raising his head, and shaking his body, Prynidreth jolted to full consciousness, abruptly ripped from his semi-sleeping state.
The night air had dropped in temperature yet again, in the small frame of time since Prynidreth's Bonder and friend, Hardyn Vastrow, left down the dark, and quieted trail.
'Where did he go? Why would he leave me in the woods?' Prynidreth thought, his inner monologue's voice reflecting the tones and pitch of Hardyn, with a reptilian grit and report.
Standing up slowly, stretching and yawning, Prynidreth unfurled his scaley wings and looked around the trail where he slumbered only moments ago. The blue moonlight that filtered through the cracks in the treetops' canopy, illuminated his scales in a silver sheen, as his bright eyes watched the forest with pristine quality.
'He went further down the trail, but...' Prynidreth pondered, keeping his mind focused and alert. '...The Brand should be calling to me.' Closing his eyes and seeing the black that ensued with lack of vision, Prynidreth stood still in the night, surrounded by a world of darkness in his mind.
Waiting, patiently and serenely calm in the abyssal black, a small orb of fire pierced through the darkness, like a star in the night sky. Distant, and miniscule in sight, Prynidreth huffed, opening his eyes, and heading off in the direction that the orb of firelight emitted from.
For a Dragon Hatchling, covering the ground and distance between them would be an achievable feat, but, with no knowledge of the surrounding area, Prynidreth felt uneasy with venturing away from the trail. Trotting along down the path, at a brisk pace, he felt like a pearlescent blur. Hopping over fallen logs, large stones, and leaping from tree trunk to trail, Prynidreth covered a large amount of ground in the short burst of speed he achieved.
Seeing an opening in the forested tree line, glimpsing a strange, dark blue, almost black expanse, littered with lights, He rushes off even harder and faster than before.
Prynidreth broke past the tree line, into an expanse of amber and dull yellow waves of grain and wheat. Curiously gazing in awe at the solemn majesty and quiet beauty of Gottard's countryside. Looking up, Prynidreth was struck with even more profound sights and view. Millions and millions of tiny, distant lights, like pinpricks of light in a veil of thick, and infinite black.
His maw was open in shock, taking in everything he seen with vivid detail. Turning in circles, over and over, seeing no end to the endless expanse of sky that held aloft above him. His heart pounded, and his soul cried out as he stared at the Sky. A feeling of an unknown instinct and drive beckoned him to take flight. His wings quivered, and his claws twitched in anticipation, as the Sky called to him.
'What is this feeling?' Prynidreth questioned, his spine tingling, his instincts pulling him to unfurl his wings. 'I don't understand this sense of longing, like I have lost touch with something that was once apart of my very being.' He thought deeply, as the breeze flowed in, rustling the treetops, sending autumn leaves of all colors in the wake of the zephyr, and intensifying the waves of dull yellow grain and wheat that surrounded him. For the first time, out of many that was to come, Prynidreth felt...alone. Insignificant, small, and lonely. He uncontrollably let out a melodic cry, one that sounded like a cross between a roar and a howl of melancholy, carrying the lonely tune through the wind that swayed the trees.
Closing his eyes once more, searching for the orb of fire, it had become closer, more so than even he had thought he had traveled, for a Hatchling, it was an incredible feat, and it surprised him. Starting to trot along again, Prynidreth could smell strange and foreign aromas, some familiar, some unknown and mysterious. The closer Prynidreth came to the orb of flame, the stronger and more potent the aromas became, eventually breaking from the fields of wheat, slinking under a fence, and seeing the outskirts of a small, quaint little village.
'This must be where the boy nests, his Hearth.' Prynidreth assumed, stepping closer towards the village. As he did, his front claw touching the ground, a flock of quail took flight, feathers exploding and erupting into squawks and cries that made Prynidreth recoil in alarm, his scales reacting to the fear by glowing bright, having strange pearl and prismatic lights refracting off his body, like a mysterious and visual sign of his emotions, a type of instinct-fueled bioluminescence. His horns seemed to heat up, as sparks of a multitude and array of colors floated from his horns, now emitting heat waves, powerful enough to ripple the air around them, even visible at night.
His once sky-blue eyes had shifted to a dangerous, and off-putting but vibrant Yellow-Orange, as he was still in shock. Unsure now of advancing in the same direction, Prynidreth slowly and with sure footing, Made his way, more towards the left of the original step.
Nothing. No birds aflutter, no loud cries or startling sounds, just his front claw stepping into soft, muddy countryside road. He snorted in confidence, as silver smoke and colorful sparks billowed from his nostrils, as his eyes slowly returned to sky-blue. Darting off towards the village in a tight, slinking-like manner, Prynidreth crept into the folds of human refuge, hiding in the shadows the small huts and large wooden houses cast from the moonlight.
Like a four-legged snake, Prynidreth stealthily slid and slinked towards the center of town, where-in a fountain was carved from the very rocky ground in which it loomed over. The Fountain had a statue carved into it, depicting, and with excellent, life-like craftsmanship, A Valiant Knight, holding his sword to the Sky in triumph, sitting atop his regal, and mighty Dragon companion. The quality and design of the stone, sediment, and crystal that the statue-fountain was carved from was impressive, and almost mythical in its appearance of alabaster whites, and crystal shine, with its peppered blacks and greys. Prynidreth leaped onto the Statue, and climbed on to its body, making his way to the head, sitting regally atop it. Beginning to search for the orb once more.
It burned close and bright amidst the darkness of his mental landscape. Now, only a few yards away from his Bonder, Prynidreth quivered in excitement. Being so close again made him feel stronger, more powerful, and above all, no longer alone in such a frightening and big world. Opening his eyes, Prynidreth nodded, and huffed, slinking down from the statue-fountain with great ease.
His claws clicking quietly as he leaped to the ground from the rim of the fountains base, Prynidreth made his way deeper into the town of Gottard, seeking Hardyn out with fervent determination, every blink of his eyes showing he was gaining ground, faster and faster.
Eventually, as the sky began to slowly brighten in the dawn, Prynidreth had found his query. He stood before a small, and humble cabin made of an assortment of logs, from all kinds and varieties that grew naturally around the village and its forest. Seeing a window of opportunity, which was quite literally an open window of the cabin, Prynidreth scurried up the wooden exterior wall, and sat on the window frame.
His vision was superior to any animal, or creature in Elaendbrook, and in the darkness of the home, his sight was no different. Looking in, He seen all manner of confusing things. To a Dragon, tables, chairs, furniture and shelves, and containers, all these things were foreign, and unfamiliar items. Frivolous and unnecessary objects that held no logical value. Spying a sleeping Hardyn in a cot, made of furs, logs, and leathers, Prynidreth squawked loudly, making Hardyn's eyes shoot open in alarm and terror.
Letting out a quick shriek of surprise and genuine fear, Hardyn both shot up in bed, and falling out of the left side of the bed in his nightwear, into the hard, wooden floor. Backing up to the wall, making the ornaments and décor on the shelves of his room clatter and fall over softly. He hyperventilated for a moment, before grasping the situation at hand, his breath slowing back to a normal consistency.
"The Dragon? What are you doing in my house?!" Hardyn hissed quietly, expecting the dragon to make some form of loud noise, or unpleasant chitter. What Hardyn got however, was a response he was not expecting, even in his wildest of fantasies.
'My name is not Dragon. I am called Prynidreth, The Bright One.' Prynidreth said, inside of Hardyn's mind, it's voice mysteriously like his own, but grittier, with a touch of regality, formal even, for a baby dragon.
"You can talk?!" Hardyn gasped, astonished now, slowly standing up, and approaching the dragon hatchling slowly.
'Yes, but, only to myself or you. No one else can hear our thoughts.' Prynidreth clarified. 'You may call me Prynn for short, Hardyn.' Watching Hardyn close as the boy advanced slowly.
"Prynn? That is a lot easier to say than your full name." Hardyn noted aloud. "Can you hear my thoughts?" He questioned, as he stood about a foot away from Pryn now, reaching his hand out to pet Prynidreth's head.
'Of course, foolish child. It is a boon from the Brand you now bear.' Prynn began, answering questions that were never asked. 'There are an array of other abilities and magics we may have as well, however, I do not know the extent of our Bond quite yet.' Prynidreth finished, allowing Hardyn to pet him.
When Hardyn's branded hand touched Prynidreth's cool, scale covered head, the Brand begun to glow with smoldering, low heat. At first, Hardyn winced in pain, and recoiled, but after a moment or two, the burning, deep stinging sensation subsided.
"None of this makes sense." Hardyn said, confused. "How did I find you? Why did you bond to me, and not someone else?" Hardyn asked, finished with his questions.
'There is no way of understanding our circumstances. Fate, coincidence, chance, or happenstance, whatever term you choose to use, each one would explain the events.' Prynidreth stated, crawling further into the house after dropping to the hardwood floor in a quiet thud and clicking of claws.
Hardyn watched as Prynidreth skulked into his home, making himself comfortable with the surroundings. Leaping onto the bedside table, and sitting regal once more, Prynidreth spoke again.
'There is more to you, than meets the eye, isn't there, Hardyn Vastrow.' Prynidreth said, staring intensely at Hardyn with his mystical sky-blue eyes.
Hardyn pressed his back to the far wall, adjacent to Prynidreth, and slid into a sitting position, staring out the open window, to the early morning sky.
"I wish I knew what everyone sees in me. You, Mother, and Hayle. You all see something more than who I am." Hardyn sighed longingly, his grey eyes softening, as if slowly becoming saddened from thoughts and sways of emotional uncertainty. "Who am I?" Hardyn questioned the world, knowing no answer would come.
After a long pause, with silence that deafened the pair, Prynidreth spoke up, after seeing the clouds shift from deep black to lighter blue, yawning in tired apathy.
'Come Hardyn. It's time to get some rest. It is best not to dwell on these things.' Prynidreth thought, hopping back up to the bedside table, and curling into a sleeping, and resting position. His eyes slowly drifted into slumber, heavy with fatigue and stress from the journey to Hardyn.
Hardyn stood, and slowly made his way to the straw and fur bed. Sitting on the edge, he thought about the day ahead, and how he would explain all of this to his mother in the morning.
Sliding under the thick, sprawling furs, that he slept under, Hardyn laid flat on the bed, eyes locked to the ceiling. The planks, wooden slats and cobwebs of his home were softly illuminated by the incoming dawn sun, rising over the trees surrounding Gottard.
'This day did get worse...' Hardyn thought, as his eyes also slowly closed in fast, and quiet slumber in the dawning of a new day.