What Lurks Behind The Trees

I am him, he is me

Zaveo's wings glided steadily over the kingdom, sweeping away the clouds as they passed. The sun's light reflected on the dragon's glass scales, making them gleam brightly. Celia watched as the dragon's muscles rippled and contracted under the thick scales, like waves they moved strongly and heavily. With every flap of the wing, Zaveo's breath came out in powerful puffs of air.

"Zaveo is really strong, what does he eat?" Celia yelled over the strong wind.

"Whatever I eat fuels him, after all, I am him and he is me," Venkalth replied.

"What do you mean?" Dyron asked.

"Zaveo is created using my magic, whatever happens to me affects him, if I am harmed he's harmed, if I die he dies... If he dies... I die." Venkalth said, sounding troubled. "Unfortunately..."

"That must be difficult," Celia said.

"It is, I have to care for him as I care for myself, or else we both falter, he is not my shield, he is a part of me, we both protect each other. Our feelings are one, if I sense danger, he attacks, that is why I don't need to tell him what to do and who to fight, he just knows..." Venkalth smiled and lay his palm over the scales on the back of Zaveo's neck. "That is why not many magicians can summon dragons, it requires strength, physical and mental strength."

"He's amazing," Celia smiled and tightened her arms around her father.

They flew over the western mountains and now they were over the dark green Stygian forest. They had to fly low so no one would spot them. Celia shivered when she looked at the forest below them, it seemed to be waiting for them, waiting for them to fall into its darkness. They could no longer see the kingdom behind them, the forest covered all their land.

"Something is strange," Dyron said. "I haven't seen a bird in the sky since we started flying over the forest,"

"Maybe that's why," Venkalth said, pointing at something in the distance.

Celia squinted her grey eyes and gasped when she saw what he was pointing at. It reached beyond the trees, a creature that was round, it had really long legs. When they came closer, the number of these tall creatures seemed to increase. They had eyes all over their round body, a mouth wide open like a black hole and long sharp teeth that would surely tear a human body with ease. Their legs were a bundle of tree roots, branches and trunks, their backs were covered with a layer of vegetation. They were Dethiens.

"What is that?" Dyron asked slowly. Celia's face scrunched in fear, now the doubt that her brother was not alive was confirmed and tears immediately pricked her eyes.

"These are the creation of dark magic, most likely my brothers doing." Venkalth said through gritted teeth.

"So you mean to tell me that all these creatures in the forest are your brother's creations?!"

"Most likely, they are quite an advanced level of magic, I wouldn't think it was someone ordinary,"

"So... so that means my son was bitten because of your brother?!" Dyron yelled. "All these years, my other son was trapped in Aigronyth because of these creatures!"

"I suppose that was Edmund's aim, to stop your son and the true king from returning, and if they tried to return they would probably get killed," Venkalth felt his anger rising, his brother had planned this so well.

"Does that mean Gregor didn't make it?" Dyron's voice was low in sorrow, all hope that his other son was alive gone.

"I wouldn't know... but he probably did not make it... this form of magic is forbidden because of the destruction it causes-" and before Venkalth could finish, Zaveo growled and backed away when a Dethien reached its tentacle-like branches at them.

They rocked in the air for a while before Zaveo could steady himself, as he fought against the strong wind and the Dethien. It looked like the Dethien could reach further than expected.

"We need to fly higher!" Venkalth tried to calm his dragon.

Celia screamed in fear as the dragon swayed, she looked down at the forest which seemed to be getting closer and closer, her eyes were twisting, she was dizzy, she couldn't look straight. She snapped her vision away from the forest and hugged her father tightly.

"Hold on! We're going up!" Venkalth said and Zaveo thrust his wings down to push his body up.

Celia felt her arms slipping from around her father, she dug her fingers into his clothes and twisted them. The wind was too strong, it was pushing them down as they tried to fly up and the Dethiens were extending their limbs at them, trying to pull them down.

Zaveo growled and screeched loudly, pushing the limbs away with his wings. When they wouldn't stop growing towards them, Zaveo turned his head and blew out a strong blast of ice at the wooden limbs of the Dethiens. The Dethiens wailed in agony and retreated their burned limbs.

"They don't stop growing!" Celia said.

"We just need to leave this place before they target us again," Venkalth said.

"This is exactly why the pigeon did not make it to Aigronyth,"

After almost a full day of flying over the forest, they started to see the land of Aigronyth, a large lake surrounded by countless mountains. The crystal castle came into view, so large and mighty between the regular mountains.

"Is that castle made of ice?!" Celia gasped.

"More importantly, why are these large birds flying towards us?" Dyron said, worried.

"The Queen's guards, they might attack us," Venkalth said.

"What?!" Celia and her father said at once.

The large white birds got closer, their eyes fierce and sharp.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" one of the men on the birds said.

Venkalth, Celia and Dyron lifted their hands up, trying to show them that they're not here to cause trouble.

"FLY DOWN!" the guard said.

Zaveo flew down to the ground.

"Get off the dragon!" the birds followed them down and the guards climbed down.

They climbed down Zaveo and kept their hands up in the air.

"What brings you to Aigronyth?!" The guard was still yelling at them, they all had their spears pointed at them.

"We're here to see the Queen," Venkalth said.

"Why do you have this weapon?" the guard pointed at Zaveo.

"He is not a weapon, I am a magician and he is my creation,"

"Magician? We have no business with magicians," the guard said.

"I can send him away if you want, but we really have to see the queen," Venkalth said.

"Very well, but you can't release him in Aigronyth, be quick!"

Venkalth stroked Zaveo's neck and muttered a few words to him under his breath. Zaveo's body started to twist like a blue flame, he warped into Venkalth's palm, and slowly he disappeared.

"Follow me." 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Vote, comment and share!