From the sky

There never used to be dragons in the valley. As a young girl, I desperately wished to see them because of all the bedtime stories my grandfather would tell me. When he was alive, he told tales of how they coexisted with the bloodline of sky royals like pets but during the rule of the twin Kings of Sharlore they disappeared once the old war came to a conclusion. Maximus and Endeer, the twin princes born to the late Queen Margaret, had snuffed out her flame once they took their first breath. Stories tell of their birth as if they were dragons clawing their way out of the queen simultaneously, both eager to come before the other, the midwife unable to determine who was first. She saw both princes' hands at the same time so there was no older or younger brother. Just the ghastly sight of twin boys with opposite features. Maximus had raven black hair, as dark as the starless night sky and Endeer, pure white hair soft and supple like virgin snow that just fell from the heavens above. Maximus had eyes so bright, they were almost shining like polished silver. Endeer’s were so dark, they looked like two black holes you’d get sucked into if you stared too long. Twins weren’t a good omen, especially in a royal bloodline in need of a successor. Grandfather spoke of their reign as boy kings once their father died prematurely of unknown causes and how their feud to take control of the throne led to the destruction of the great kingdom of sky. Their desperation for power had ravaged the land and the people, destroying anything and everything in its wake. The castle once resided on a floating continent suspended in the air, so powerful no other nations dared invade because it was protected by magic belonging to an almighty enchanter. An invincible fortress that guarded the entire land now lost to greed and a futile power struggle leaving nothing but a vulnerable wasteland for other nations to further wreck and ravage. Little is known of the whereabouts of the floating continent but there were many tales of how the war between brothers ended although none really explains how the dragons disappeared and hasn't been seen since, not until about a month ago anyway. A day I will never forget.

One month ago

Mother and I were out in the field tending to crops underneath the blistering sun, a task she’s always loathed but I welcomed lovingly. Normally my father and brother were responsible for field work but they have yet to return from selling the last of our cattle to neighboring villages, so the work fell to us. We needed to harvest all the vegetation before the sun scorched what little we managed to grow for ourselves aside from what we promised to others. Crops weren’t good this time around, then again, it hadn’t been prosperous for some time now. It was as if the soil was tainted with death or something, riddled with rot and swollen with decay. Every family we knew all had the same problems, no one could figure out what the reason was but everyone just kept planting and praying for some sort of miracle to happen. Many villagers started to whisper tales of dark magic, claiming we were the ones cursing the others because most of our crops always come to fruition. People are odious like that, they will take a lemon and turn it into a watermelon just by hearsay and where one villager gossips, another echos into the ears of someone else. Like wildfire barreling through a field of dried corn husks, each adding a new detail to the initial tale turning it into something that much more preposterous. They just don’t understand the secret of plants like I do. Plants have feelings just like humans, all you need to do is talk and sing to them to make them happy; and what do happy plants do? They grow.

“Calliope!” I can hear my mother’s voice from the other side of the vegetable patch. “Hurry dear, the sun is beating down horribly. I'm beginning to lose focus and it is too much for me today. I don’t know how your father and brother do this.” She grumbles, picking as many carrots as she could to fill her satchel to her side.

“Mother, I told you you needn’t come out with me, I think it’s best you head back in first, I will finish up the rest once I am done with this row.” I shouted to her with a half smile. I could see the sweat beads trailing down her face, along her neck one after another like tiny rivers collecting in her hallowed collarbones. She’d become so frail and thin from lack of nutrients. She’d been giving her meals to my brother saying he is a growing young man who needs his strength claiming she’d already eaten but we all knew it was a lie. Mother always sacrificed herself for her children and now she was at her limit. She smiled at me as I bent down to pick up my basket and I smelled a sudden shift in the air, something unusual, something unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time. Almost like being locked in a dilapidated cellar for a day if you were a rotten child and once your punishment was over, the door would open flooding in fresh air intermingling with the stagnant atmosphere you’d been bathing in. How could fresh air feel so stale?

I glanced up and noticed monstrous clouds woven with electricity gathering into giant mountains in the sky. This wasn’t an ordinary storm, it was too sudden. Storm clouds almost never come on this quickly and look this severe, something was amidst. Before we knew it, the entire upper atmosphere was enveloped by this massive veil hindering the sun’s light; a beautifully bright day now dampened with such an ominous force. I turned to my mother who was now gesturing towards the house with her chin as if she was saying to run. The winds picked up and the sky started to rumble and quake as the clouds began releasing all it had accumulated.

Our cottage is nestled at the edge of the valley meeting the base of sky mountain; tallest mountain in the region, rumored to be the origin base of the sky kingdom, heavily protected by tall trees. The vegetable patch wasn't far but it was a little ways away so if we were to make it out of this storm, we needed to run quickly. Basket in hand, I took off in the direction of our home covering my head from the raindrops that had gone from a few drips to a heavy downpour.

“Calliope, make haste dear! Get to the cottage!” My mother shouted staggering in the same direction. Her slinky legs exposed as she raised her dress from the mud for easier maneuverability which made no difference. She was exhausted from the sun’s rays earlier on top of already being so malnourished, I could feel her struggling to run. I turned my head to scream for her but the now rain-filled thundering sky had muffled out any sounds emitted from my mouth. I felt like a fish under water trying to put words together, unable to get them across. I struggled to get my footing through the mud, a field I’d normally danced in happily, now became the very feat I needed to overcome to get to safety. Each time I'd pick a foot up, the other sank deeper, like the ground had somehow become quicksand. I quickly gave up once I realized I was exhausting my energy and threw the basket aside dropping to my knees, I began crawling, carving handfuls of dirt as I made my way. The rain was pounding and I could barely make out what was around me as I wiped my face, further distorting my view with muck. I began to panic as the thought of my mother raced through my mind, how she must be in distress going through this harrowing ordeal. I had more energy, she barely had the resolve to do much when I looked at her earlier. I knew I needed to go help her, she wouldn’t be able to trek through this storm as is at this very moment, this was no ordinary storm.

As I picked my head up and scanned my surroundings trying to catch any sign of her, I could faintly make out two colored streaks of lightning in the distance, on the other side of the valley closer to the death gorge. Lighting that didn’t hail from the sky but from what looked like the ground, maybe two figures even. Almost as if it was a controlled beam, going back and forth one trying to overtake the other. For some reason, I felt in the very depth of my soul, the ones responsible for those two strings of lighting were behind this storm, nay, this dark force of black magic. What was going on? I couldn’t visually find my mother, nor could I call out to her because of the dense rain so I knew I had to get back home. She was closer than I was to the cottage so she must have made it back while I was struggling in the mud. I continued crawling along what I could make out as the row I had earlier came through while picking radishes until I reached a more stable ground riddled with rocks. I climbed to my feet and ran for the cottage, making out a dim flickering light from the fireplace through the window. Relief pooled over my mind as I knew it must have been my mother making a way for me through this storm. I flung open the door, drenched to the bone shivering from the cold and ran for the hearth snagging the quilt hanging from father’s bench.

“Thank you mother for igniting the fireplace, without it, I’d still be lost in this god awful storm.” I spoke out. “This isn’t normal, I’ve never seen something so ravenous, I’m so relieved we are out of it and in the safety of our home.”

Silence returned and I let it seep in for a moment waiting eagerly for a reply. Nothing. Not even her usual ‘Mm’.

“Mother?” I called out. “Mother?” I spun my head around our tiny cottage and could see no one. I quickly ran to our rooms, and it was as empty as we had left it earlier. Where was my mother? How could the fireplace be lit if she isn’t here? I thought back for a moment and realized it was I who lit it before going out because she wanted the fireplace to be ready for cooking by the time we were done in the field. Dread fell over me as I ran towards the door and back out the way I came.

“Mother!” I called out over and over. The winds were so fierce, I could see uprooted trees through some opening patches in the rain. I ran a little further and froze in place as panic began to set in. Where was my mother? For a few short moments, I surveyed the area, fear taking charge of my emotions now. Just as I started to panic, I heard a faint cry. I jerked my head towards the direction and saw my mother on the ground just a few feet ahead of me. She had collapsed to her knees. I could tell from how heavy she was breathing, she needed help. I began to make my way towards her when I noticed the two streaks of lighting clashing far in the distance, taking to the heavens, setting off a chain reaction of lighting strikes. Billowing from the sky came a barrage of lighting striking down anywhere the dark clouds hovered. Instinctively, my arms covered my eyes from the flashes and as I pulled them away a colored strike came down and touched her shattering my whole world. I screamed and in that very instant, an explosion came from above, the sky cracked open and out poured winged lizards; the very beings I wished so desperately as a little girl to set eyes upon, the all powerful dragons. They flew down into the edge of the valley where the two figures were and I lost sight of them. There were so many I couldn’t count them all. But was this the price to pay for such a feeble wish, the safety of my mother?

Disregarding my safety, I bolted towards her, water pushing its way out of my eyes, unable to tell the difference between rain or tears. I felt like the clouds were now weeping with me, and my cries were being echoed in the distance by the dragons like they also sensed my pain. Lighting was still shooting down from the sky but it mattered not, all I cared about was making it to my mother. I ran as quickly as my feet could take me and slid down beside her limp body. I knew a strike from a lightning bolt was a possible death sentence, you rarely hear of survivors, but I prayed with every ounce in me this was one of those lucky cases. I took her into my arms and couldn’t realize how fragile she had become, I hadn’t noticed how tiny she was underneath all of the clothes. Smoke emitted from her bruised and debilitated body but I held her head close and wept. “Mother I’m so sorry, please come back to me, please don’t go. Please come back, please say something, please… I don’t know what to do… I need you to open your eyes and tell me.”

I could hear sloshes of footprints in the mud coming my way, two people by the sound.

“Calliope, what's going on?! Why is your mother on the ground in the rain?!” My fathers heavy voice came from behind me, almost sounding like a crack of thunder. “Tell me child!” He shoved me aside, ripping her from my arms. I looked up to him and tears welled up into pools, the rain not letting up, same goes for the thunder but the lightning had ceased its onslaught attack. My brother stood by my father, his face was stone, I think he was in shock he couldn’t quite process anything yet.

“The lightning struck her as she was running to the cottage, there was nothing I could do.” I cried. “I saw her get hit.”

“Where were you?! How could you let this happen?!” Father shouted through gritted teeth.

“I ran to the cottage thinking she was there… I saw the light of the fireplace and thought she lit it for me… but when I got into the house, she wasn’t anywhere to be found…” I paused after tearful words. “That's when I realized she was still in the storm so I ran back out… but it was too late, by the time I was out the door, the bolt came down.”

“Why didn’t you wait for her? Why weren’t you there with her? How could you save yourself and not think of your mother? How could you be so selfish?” He spat out words as sharp as knives that cut me to the core. I felt like I was literally bleeding. “It’s your fault she’s hurt, this is all because of you! You are unlucky, your very existence is a curse!”

My eyes widened and my chest heavy now from guilt and pain. His words burrowed into the depth of my being and planted seeds, seeds of hate for my own existence. How badly I wish it were me in her place, that the lighting touched me and not her. He wept into her still existence and shook like I’ve never seen before, he was bereaved. My father was not a weak man, he was always strong and brave with a temper as loud as a lion’s roar. I've never seen him sad, disappointed maybe, but never this. He lifted her body and hurried off after looking down at me with hateful eyes. My brother had no words, he couldn’t go against father nor did he want to console me in front of him, he was but a mere child at ten and he knew what doing that meant. I nodded softly following behind and watched father place mother on the cot in their room. Her chest was rising and falling, but barely. Father rushed around the house looking for herbs and bandages, anything he could use to help mother. I saw a look in his eyes, something along the lines of coming to an epiphany.

“Father… I…” My mouth opened but no other words could follow. He shot me a death glare and I silenced any other thoughts formulating to come out, they would have only been useless excuses.

“Edmund, I need you to go into mothers chest and bring me her old blue book. I remember she spoke of a potion her family used to help people who've been burned by the sky. I always wondered what she meant by that but now I realized it has to be referring to lightning strikes. It's supposed to reverse some damages.”

“Alright father, I’ll be right back.” He scurried away like a mouse and returned with a tattered old book, held together by worn out strings and what might have been old tree vines. Father licked his fingers and flipped fiercely through the pages. After a few short moments he stopped, and disappointment painted his face.

“No no no…” he sighed dishearteningly.

“Father, what’s wrong? Did you not find the potion?” Edmund asked in a panic.

“That’s not it, it is in here, but we do not have all of the ingredients. We need a sky bloom petal.” he tightened his jaw.

“I can go find it, I'll go get it right now! Just tell me where it grows, father!” Edmund shouted.

“Son, those flowers haven't bloomed since the sky kingdom fell. They only bloomed in the queen's garden many many years ago. They were magical flowers said to hold the nectar of life. It healed and brought life back from the edge. No wonder your mother never looked through this useless book when anything happened, every potion in here requires ingredients from the old world.”

Father tossed the book out of frustration and it landed by my feet. How could he disregard mother’s belongings like this? I gathered the pages and lifted my head to meet his gaze. “Father, I will go find the flower… I will search for it and bring it back. I will save mother.”

“I don’t want to hear anything from you. You are no daughter of mine, she’s only in this predicament because of you!” He spat and walked to mothers side and nestled into her arms.

He blamed me for her current state. Why wouldn’t he? I blame myself for my mother’s situation. If I had just gone out earlier on my own instead of allowing her to help me, she’d still be safe in the cottage finishing up dinner. She'd be welcoming me into the house with a blanket yelling at me for having rain drenched hair and telling me to quickly change or I will catch a cold. My heart cracked at the thought of the possibility of never hearing those words ever again. I stood there crying a bit, my mother was on the edge of death and my father now hated me. My world was falling apart all around me. I must find a way to fix this. Those magic wielders, the ones in the distance, they are responsible for this, they are the ones who hurt my mother. I will find them and make them pay. The dragons were a bad omen, a stupid wish which may cost me my mother. I will hunt down every last one and slaughter them. The rage inside of me burned into a pyre so bright, I could feel it consuming me. I didn’t care, whatever the cost I will have my vengeance. But first I must find the bloom, for without it, my life will be useless.

I ran to my room, packed a satchel, grabbed my dagger and readied myself. I laid the loose pages on my bed trying to reconstruct the book and noticed something familiar. The lettering in this book, the handwriting, It's not mothers. I’ve seen this before, but where? I picked and prodded my brain for something, anything. And just like a bell, I heard a ring. Mother took me to visit an old woman who owned a flower shop when I was a little girl. The old woman’s sister who painted the sign, her handwriting was exactly like this, the letter O had this very same leaf drawn into it. This can’t be some coincidence, maybe she knows something, maybe she knows a substitute ingredient. I’ve got to go find her. But what village was she from? I can’t recall the name, all I remember was a clock tower at the center of the village chiming, but every village has a clock tower. It was a unique chime though because why else would I remember it? I wasted no time, the longer I dwell the less time mother had. Father was making her as comfortable as possible and I headed for the door pausing at my brother.

“Edmund, please take care of father, he needs you now… he may seem angry but that is only because he is in pain. I will be back, no matter the cost, I will come back. Please keep mother safe for me.”

“Just leave… Don’t come back… I don’t ever want to see your cursed face again…” father spat from the room behind me.

I pursed my lips and held back a cry. Edmund grabbed my hand and reassured me without a single word, just a tight squeeze and a gentle nod. I wiped my tears and planted a kiss on his head, hugging it as tightly as I could before exiting the door into the storm.

Thunder cracked and lightning lit up the sky but I can’t be scared anymore, not now, not this time. You will see father, I will take this curse and turn it onto everyone who has hurt us. I will do whatever it takes to save my mother, no matter the cost.