Between the Willow Trees [NaNoWriMo 2013] (Editing)

Chapter 3: Dragon Scales and Human Tales

Chapter 3: Dragon Scales and Human Tales

We reappear in an empty field which I don’t recognise at all. It’s late at night and a cold wind whips across the field, making me shiver. For a moment I wish that Thorne had taken us somewhere else, somewhere warmer. Perhaps a coffee shop because I could really do with something to help me stay awake right now. It’s been a very long day and our journey has only just begun. It’s odd to think that just a few hours ago I had been playing Skyrim at my friend’s house and now I’m on a mission to save my parents.

I then notice that Thorne’s eyes are still blue, they haven’t yet returned to their usual shade of green. I find this very strange because his eyes usually only flicker between colours. They’ve never stayed the same colour for this long. I suppose he has no control of them, otherwise he would be trying to supress the colour?

I sense that he’s not okay. I want to comfort him but I’m not sure why. What does the blue of his eyes mean? Why do I get the impression that he’s upset or maybe even scared? Should I speak to him about it? Get him to open up? I don’t do that though. Instead I ignore the emotion he seems to be showing. Rather than comforting I try to keep the topic on the mission ahead of us.

“Where to next then?” I ask.

“Perhaps it is best if we stop for the night somewhere,” suggests Thorne. “You have suffered a shock and time travelled multiple times in the last few hours. I am sure you must want to rest.”

I nod my head. It’s almost as though he read my mind. I definitely need to sleep right now. I suppose the shock of seeing my house on fire with my parents dying inside has exhausted me.

“But where will we go?”

“I know of a place, it is a hotel specifically for Elethorians who have business here but nowhere to stay. There is something I need to explain to you first though. I have not been entirely truthful.”

With a confused expression I ask Thorne to continue and he does. He tells the story of how Travellers became outcasts in the land that created them.

Many years ago the Elethorians began to fear the Travellers, this fear was triggered by the elf Queen Eletha herself, founder of Elethoria. They started to believe that it’s wrong to mess with time the way that Travellers supposedly do. They turned on their own creation, for Travellers didn’t evolve the way the other creatures of Elethoria did. They were forged in the dark mountains with magic, fire, metal and blood thousands of years ago by the great forge masters. It is true that both on earth and in Elethoria anything considered unnatural is thought to be wrong and so the Elethorians turned against the Travellers. A killing spree began; all Travellers were sentenced to death, even those who had never used their power.

Travellers are indeed hard to kill. They are not flesh, bones and blood the way most creatures are. Instead their bones are made of metal. Silver blood runs through their veins. They appear human but they are not and because of this it is almost impossible to destroy them.

“So how do you kill a Traveller?” I ask curiously. It’s not that I ever plan to kill Thorne, but I can’t help but wonder how you can destroy a being so strong, especially if they’re made from metal. It certainly can’t be easy.

“Planning on killing me then?” he asks with a laugh, his eyes flickering purple then back to green. He knows that I’m not planning on it. Why would I ever have a reason to kill him? He’s my best friend. “Travellers like me may only be destroyed in the fire from which they were born.”

He then continues his story from where I interrupted him. Hundreds of Travellers were murdered, thrown into the fiery pits in which they were created. All of them died except for one: Thorne, the last of his kind. He escaped through the portal in my garden and has been running ever since.