Kah'lii: A Tale of a Girl and her Dragon

Epilogue

After resting just long enough to regain their strength, Baa'kot and Kah'lii flew eastward, fleeing the afternoon sun. Their flight lasted several hours, and they were finally rewarded with land... but not an island; something much larger. As they flew, they were joined by several dragons of nearly every conceivable color, including a blue dragon whose overall size was similar to Baa'kot's. Kah'lii hugged her brother's neck as he sensed his happiness, and she smiled over at the dragon who could only be Haan Rejaator; the female blue dragon who once shared something special with her adopted brother.

Now following the other dragons, their flight took them past the coast, over a heavy forested region and into the mountains beyond. There, they were instructed to land in a large clearing, where Kah'lii dismounted and watched as a few other dragons touched down around them. She was fascinated, yet intimidated, as most of the surrounding dragons were fully grown; making her feel tiny indeed. But, her first contact with another dragon was quite pleasant.

"You are Kah'lii?" Haan Rejaator asked. "You are the one who has traveled with my betrothed?"

Kah'lii produced a toothy grin, but instead of answering the blue dragon, she instead turned to Baa'kot. "Betrothed? You said it was complicated."

"We don't meet, court, and fall in love the way your kind does," Haan replied with her feminine, yet raspy reptilian voice. "Baa'kot and I were betrothed as yearlings, and as such we share a certain... familiarity... a bond, if you will. He is now, and always will be a part of me... a part that I have sorely missed over this past century."

Baa'kot approached and the two intertwined their long necks. "I am sorry that my foolish desire to remain behind has kept us apart for so long. I would say that I regret it, but had I left with you, I never would have met my new sister."

Haan removed herself from Baa'kot's embrace and placed her head directly in front of Kah'lii's. "It has been said that I have a very limited tolerance for other females around my betrothed. But you, you have returned him to me, and I would be proud if you would call me sister."

"I see Baa'kot as nothing more than a brother, and as siblings we have squabbled, fought, argued and cried together, and neither of us could have made it without the other. I would be honored to call you my sister!" Kah'lii gushed.

Haan exhaled upon the small elf, and Kah'lii's hair began to float around her head, just as if she were standing too close to a lightning strike.

"Oooh... that tingles!" She giggled.

As the two young dragons returned to their embrace, a larger dragon with golden scales approached. "Baa'kot Breel, Haan Rejaator, while I understand how important this reunion is, there is another reunion that needs to take place." The shimmering dragon, which appeared to be female, lowered her massive head to lock eyes with the bewildered elf. "Kah'lii, I am Gothrokaan; the prime minister of Marhesi. Would you please come with me?"

Slightly intimidated, the young elf knew that she would have to run just to keep up with the walking speed of the golden dragon. Relief came as an offer from an unexpected source, however. "No, sister... you may come with me," Haan stated as she lowered her neck. Kah'lii smiled sheepishly and accepted the offer... and was surprised to find that the scales of a female blue dragon were much smoother than Baa'kot's, and Haan had no spine spikes for her to maneuver around.

"Comfortable, sister?" Baa'kot chuckled.

"Indeed!" She laughed. "I appreciate all of our time together, but your scales were rough on my bare butt!"

"That would explain the saddle," Haan snickered.

The three shared a laugh, when the ever-curious elf leaned forward to speak with her newest sister. "Haan, Baa'kot has told me of black, blue, red, white, and green dragons, but gold dragons? Even the elders of the Red Forest never spoke of their legends. What breath do they breathe?"

"All of them!" Gothrokaan answered with a pleasant, yet booming voice. "When a dragon reaches a thousand years of age, she finds that she has learned a few things!"

"Their scales turn gold as they reach the millennium mark," Haan explained. "Then, they are granted the powers of all dragons."

Kah'lii frowned. "When I get old, I'll just get gray hair and wrinkles."

The group kept moving, Gothrokaan, Baa'kot, and Kah'lii straddling Haan's neck, with a few other dragons tagging along. They moved through several trees, and it became more and more obvious to the excited young elf that they were moving into a village. She began seeing treetop dwellings, with bridges of wood and rope crisscrossing the paths below. Upon entering a clearing, Hann lowered her neck to Kah'lii could dismount.

"For'nai!" Gothrokaan called out. "Come forth, you have a visitor."

Kah'lii stepped forward and stood near the golden dragon's lowered head. There, she could only gasp at what she witnessed next. Dozens, if not hundreds of elves began descending from the trees, each wearing simple leather clothing over their bronze-colored bodies, while their silver-white hair hung about their shoulders. Most wore jewelry or talismans that had been fashioned from things in the forest, and all had excessively tall ears... just like hers. Overcome by emotion, the young elf fell to her knees and began to cry. After catching her breath, she looked up and saw an older male elf, a mountain elf like her, offering his hand.

"I am For'nai, the elder of this village."

She stood, accepted his hand, and stood. "I am Kah'lii, of the Red Forest."

"No," he smiled, "you are not. You are the only descendent of the last mountain elves from beyond the barrier. Your mother was surprised to find herself with child at such an advanced age, so you were left anonymously in the care of the elders of the Red Forest. They knew you to be one of us, but they knew not from whence you came nor who left you. Therefore, you were raised to be one of them... even though they knew you were not. And as you grew, you began to question your own heritage, but because we had fled with the dragons, you had no way of knowing how to seek us. Due to our exodus, our kind was assumed to be extinct, so I assume that is why you were never told... the truth might have been too hard for a child to hear... or understand."

"How do you know this... are my parents here?" She asked with subdued anticipation.

"No, child; I am sorry," Gothrokaan replied. "Your mother didn't survive your birth, and your father was simply too old to care for you; he has long since passed. As for knowing, elder dragons such as myself have the gift of sight."

Kah'lii nodded. "I suppose I cannot mourn parents I've never met. But knowing their fate, and that they apparently lived long lives gives me a small amount of comfort. Thank you, Gothrokaan."

For'nai placed his hands on the young elf's shoulders. "I know that his must be a lot to absorb. We will leave you to make your own way, and when you are tired, a treetop home awaits you. Welcome home, sister."

Kah'lii smiled at the elder, and also at the elves gathered behind him. As they began to disperse, she turned to view Baa'kot. "We are no longer unique, brother."

"We will always be unique, sister, but we are no longer outcasts. We are home."

As she stroked the scales along his jaw, Gothrokaan lowered her head to meet the tiny elf's eyes. "I will leave you to explore your new home and its people, but first; I believe some congratulations are in order?"

Kah'lii went wide eyed. "By the spirits! My twentieth birthday... I had completely forgotten!"

"Happy birthday, sister," Baa'kot chuckled.

Feeling like a carefree child, Kah'lii jumped up, hugged his neck and then turned to run after some of the mountain elves that appeared to be around her age.

-fin-