The Eternal War: The Dragon's Valkyrie

The Edge of Time

The barrier shimmered a translucent yellow. Saidy gawked at its crystalline form as she stood inches from the wall that encased the Cobblestone Mountains. Somehow, she needed to navigate her way through them to the Garden.

No soul had entered this realm frozen away for millennia and returned. She remembered her master speculated as to why, but could something really lurk between time itself?

Her heart quickened. No sound or wind came from beyond it. In fact, it seemed to swallow the sound around her as the land was unnervingly silent.

Even Ash was uneased standing near the barrier. His fur stood taller than normal, and he let a soft growl rumble from his belly. Saidy placed a hand on his head and let her fingers run through his fur.

"Easy, Ash, it's alright."

The softness of her words and comfort of her hand eased the wolf a bit; however, his eyes remained on the shimmering wall before them. A gust of summer wind swept passed them. It was the first summer breeze of the season. Tall strands of grass brushed against Saidy's waist, yet on the other side, the grass remained perfectly still.

A dirt road also snaked its way up into the mountains despite any sign of one on Saidy's side of the barrier having seemed to ever exist. The mountains truly were frozen in a much older time.

What must it have been like—to visit the realm of the dwarves and think nothing of it?

Saidy reached her hand out toward the barrier. This was the home of her father—this was her home. She imagined her pa as a young dwarf. He must've walked this road or rode on it many times during his travels.

She wished he'd been alive to tell her of all his adventures. She remembered so little of him now. Even the memory of his scent had begun to fade.

"Come on, Ash. Staring at it won't get us back to master..."

Saidy pushed her hand to the barrier. She was surprised when she felt nothing as it moved through with ease. It was like stepping through a doorway.

She closed her eyes and pushed through, beads of sweat began to coat her forehead. The air was dry and stale and no longer held the memory of spring. It smelled of dust and mildew, much like an abandoned building does when someone steps in it for the first time.

As the rest of her body crossed the threshold, she felt the Heart lurch in her chest. She grabbed at her breast as it lurched again. It was like it was drawn to something—something further in the mountains.

Saidy stumbled forward. She feared the heart would burst through her chest.

It must sense the other piece! Her eyes widened, but before she mounted Ash, she noticed her surroundings had changed.

What was a faded image of the mountains, now bore something else. Tiny shimmering things floated in the air. They looked like diamonds glittering in the sunlight but held no form. Was it water? Perhaps beads of dew frozen in time but still refracting the sun's rays?

Saidy reached out to touch one, but the light passed through her hand. Again, she felt nothing but the stagnant air passing over her bare skin.

The Heart lurched again, pulling her southwest. Saidy heeded its pull and mounted Ash. She trusted the physical pressure that resided against her breastbone to guide her through a place that had long been forgotten. She had nothing else to go on after all.

The grass grew shorter and the boulders larger the higher they climbed into the mountains. Saidy thought it odd that the shadows were the only thing unaffected by time as the sun began its descent into the west.