Eternal bond

Dragon and the Egg

The sudden loss in control caused the dragon and the rider to separate in mid air. In the brief second that Athan could see the rider before he fell past the trees, he thought he saw the sun illuminate a gold speck. Although, it was far to faint for him to be certain. The egels immediately scattered slithering through the air heading east past the border, no longer interested in the fate of either the dragon or its rider. 

Athan still couldn't comprehend how a dragon and its rider had been taken down by a pack of egels. Egels were certainly cunning and nimble, but he had always believed them vastly outmatched by a dragon. For dragons and especially their riders were stuff of legends whilst egels were meant to be like harmless pests; impossible to swat but merely a nuisance to one such as a dragon. He put his shock to one side, as he knew that the fate of the rider was his first priority. It was clear where the rider had fallen, as to the trained eye it was possible to see the bent and damaged tree tops indicating the beginning of their descent into the forest. 

Athan ran towards where he believed the rider lay, all the while his heart pounded in his chest. Luckily in this part of the forest the trees were moderately spaced apart allowing him to see where the bent tree tops where, whilst having ample space to easily run between the trees. The body of the elf could be seen up ahead, making it clear that the fall had not been kind. For multiple bones appeared broken with some even protruding from the flesh, it was hard not to be sick at the grisly sight. Blood poured from the protruding wounds punctured by the bone staining the soft grass in a harsh crimson. Her face seemed slightly jarred but mostly it appeared oddly tranquil considering the fall that she had just suffered. He quickly reached down to check for a pulse but found none, affirming his initial presumption of her condition. 

Whilst he stared at the elven rider wondering what to do with her body, another presence could faintly be felt nearby. Athan scanned his surroundings intently seeking to find the presence. Yet however, hard he regarded the wood he could not find the presence. Then he felt it, not touching his body, but rather his mind. 

"Do not be afraid." said the unknown entity.

He couldn't help but doubt  the entity, as anything that had such mystical powers could no doubt seize control of his mind. So he quickly tried to put up mental shields to protect himself from the unknown entity.  

"If you wish I will retreat from your consciousness, but I do not know how effective other communication will be." articulated the entity softly.

For the first time he realized how faint the entity was for it was barely louder than a whisper. A morbid thought came to his mind and he quickly turned to the elf and grimaced. Was she actually talking to him from beyond the grave. He slowly gulped and said in his own mind, "Uhm Rider-lou are you trying to communicate to me." he was careful to use the specific honorific lou. As elf were notorious for their adherence to politeness and he feared that such a slight even in death may offend and he had no intention of angering a spirit. 

The entity softly chuckled and responded, "You look in the wrong place little-one, I do not stand before you on the forest floor, but in the sky."

He turned his gaze to the sky and there high on the other-side of the boundary hovered the dragon. Being closer to the dragon allowed him to acutely grasp all the minute details that had escaped him before, like the bluey-green colour that covered the entirety of its scales. It was truly a magnificent site to behold. 

"I didn't know that dragons could talk to people inside their heads!" he had not meant this to be the first question he asked. But he found that he had little control over the things he thought in his own head. Things just came and went, as he thought them and it struck him how dissimilar this was from using one's mouth. 

The dragon looked at him and responded "Perhaps not on your side of the border." the tone was noticeably harsher than before. The dragon preceded by saying "As for the next question you will ask I do have a name, I am called Elasdir. Although that is of no importance right now, for I must go soon and before I do I have a favor to ask."

"I'm only a human what can I do that a dragon can't do?" It was as much a question to Elasdir as to himself. 

"You think too little of yourself little-one, you forget the power of  ingenuity and imagination."

Before Elasdir could continue her sentence Athan cut in asking "Do dragons not have the power of imagination?"

Again the dragon lightly chuckled and responded "We dragons can imagine just like you humans, but that does not mean that two humans nor two dragons will create the same thing in their minds." Before he could cut in again the wise dragon continued "I dare not cross the border, so I ask that you take out the egg that my rider carried from her sathcel."

Scanning the ground revealed a golden egg protruding from a travelling satchel. He approached the old beech tree, and found part of it was smeared with mud from the heavy collision with the ground. He wiped the mud of with the sleeve of his shirt and the egg gleamed from contact with the sunlight, the egg possessed an intricate pattern that captivated Athan and caused him follow the way the pattern evolved over the surface of the egg. Before he became fully mesmerized with the egg the Dragon spoke once again into his mind "Hold the egg out high above your head."

The dragon proceeded to let one tear fall and proceeded to project it over the boundary towards where he stood with the egg.  The tear that came towards him did not look like any he had seen before, for inside the liquid bauble colours danced and flitted from one side to the other changing form as they went. He couldn't help but be amazed by the beauty and horror of the situation at the same time, as he was still conscious of the dead elf that lay near him. The bauble reached him and started to envelope both the egg and the tips of his hands. The tear's form stayed rigid hovering in the air massaging the egg, he could feel tingling in the tips of his fingers which he guessed was due to the magical properties of the liquid. Slowly the liquid seemed to be absorbed by the egg, although he couldn't tell how, as the object did not appear to be porous. The last dregs of the liquid were absorbed and the mighty dragon once again turned to Athan, "look after the egg little-one and make sure no harm befalls it." this time the dragon's request felt like a plea, as he could sense the desperation of the words in his mind. 

With one strong stroke of his wings Elasdir rose into the sky and proceeded to fly east further into the shadow lands. Athan watched, as the dragon flew away and faded into the distance. He then averted his gaze to the egg  and that was when the gravity of the situation befell him. He wondered what the elves would think of his actions, as they too feared the shadow lands and would be mistrustful of any enchantment that crossed it. Against his better judgment he knew that for the sake of the dragon and the egg, he had to converse with the elfs, he only hoped that they would be understanding.