Rise

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. However, he had bigger things to worry about. It wasn’t his fault, not really. He had merely been following the directions of the figure in the tower and never expected this situation to unfold quite like it had, reminding him of an intricate origami craft ripped apart by a toddler’s hand. He found himself on a dark path he swore he knew well, somehow twisted by the veil of night. Stumbling through the murk in a half-crazed, repentant state he recalled the encounter a few hours prior that had, more or less, led him directly to his current predicament.

“Do you know?” It came as a shock to the young man, caught up as he was in his meager plans for the day. He stopped abruptly and turned to face the direction of the sound, finding it strange he had not noticed anyone on the path before this. Seeing no one around him he chalked it up to his stress over the poetry competition that day, which he was on his way to enter. “You must know. I can always tell.” Swiveling his head upward as it had become apparent that was the correct direction to swivel, the young man noticed the tower for the first time. It was strange how he had missed it all these years. After all, he had been born, raised, and destined to die in this small village he called home. The tower boasted a decent height for observing, a perfect diameter for an indoor spiral staircase, and an ideal design for camouflage. It was painted, woven, or sculpted to look exactly like the base of a tree. With one discerning difference. It was the first time the young man had seen a tree with an eye.

The effect was unnerving. About twenty-five feet up from the ground there was an alcove in the structure, a dark, circular opening into the mystery. Directly above the hole was an eye. It was quite large, perhaps three feet across, with no iris to speak of, favoring a wholly unholy jet black pupil instead. Figuring the eye must have the power of speech and seeing no one else who could have asked him the ominous question, he replied, “Uh, yes, of course I know. Is this a dream?” “No, unfortunately not,” said the old man, slowly making his way from behind the base of the tree to stand face-to-chest with the young man. “Though that would make this easier, wouldn’t it? Then I could just give you the instructions and you wouldn’t hesitate. Be easier for everyone when it’s all said and done.” “What instructions? Why are you hiding out here? Were you waiting for me to come along?” The old man shook his deeply hooded head in a slow, accepting manner, as if he had expected this barrage of questions. He had. “The instructions I’m about to give you. I’m not hiding, I’m retired. And no, I knew when you would arrive so waiting was not necessary. Now come inside for a moment. There’s not much real daylight left and you have some walking to do.”

The young man was getting close to the tower. The tree. Whatever it really was, he was close now. He could hear the carnage behind him in the distance swell and fade as the beasts tore through the countryside and woodlands then returned to the skies. He could only imagine the destruction that had occurred since his quick escape from the falls, dashing into the woods towards the monk-like figure and his homestead. This time around, he had questions he would not leave without an answer to.

“That’s all?” The young man was astonished. “That’s all there is to it? Seems a bit too simple to me, I always imagined magic being more complicated and secretive, all newt legs and strange roots brewing together. Are you sure that’s all I have to do? I’m not even sure why you’re asking me, I’ve never dabbled in this kind of stuff before. Why me?” The old man nodded solemnly to the first questions, then turned his head to the side in response to the last. “Why not you? Had grander plans for your day, I take it? Too busy to help one of your elders retrieve something he lost?” The youthful face in front of him seemed about to retort rashly, then stop, consider his options, and arrive at a conclusion. After all, he had always believed Why Not to be a stronger option than Why. Besides, it sounded like a fun break from his normal daily tasks, and poetry competition be damned he knew he wasn’t going to win anyway. “I’ll do it. Just one more question. What do I get out of this?” The hooded figure made a sound close enough to a chuckle and replied, “Everything. If you so desire. Now go.” Struck by the oddity of the answer but still obliged to help the man by his annoying conscience the young man set off towards the river, about an hour’s walk. If you kept to the path.

He was off the path. He had lost it a while back but still believed the direction he was heading in to be correct. Not that it mattered much as long as he was getting away, away from the death and distress behind him. He would find that old man in his tower and shake the truth out of him, the truth about what his instructions had unleashed on this world. He found himself shaking as he fought through the brush, with anger or fear he was unsure. Finally, he came to a familiar clearing. He had come across the path again, and he knew exactly where the tower was from here. He set off at his cautious lope down the Eastern trail, ears pricked to any dangers that could be waiting for him. He saw a light ahead, a glowing orb shining so brightly onto the forest floor it hurt to look at. Assuming the concerningly large eye of the tower was now aglow with the powers of evil he slowed his gait and assessed his options. He believed he could confront the older man physically with little trouble; however, he was unsure what magic the elder could still wield and would rather not risk finding out. Before he could assess option number two, which involved throwing rocks at the eye from afar until it went out, he heard a voice from behind him. “Well done, Vlam. Well done indeed.”

Arriving at the river this time of day always felt different. The sun was approaching its dusk and he was approaching his moment of…of what? What would he find in the small, wrapped package the old man had given him? It had little weight to it but had some obvious form. He sat on the rock near the top of the falls and carefully peeled open the deer-hide wrapping. He caught his breath. It was a bird. Or some relative to the bird family. It was about six inches long, with an intricate tail that unfolded as he held it in his hand. Other than that, exact details were hard to pick out. It had been burnt quite badly which must have been the cause of this poor animal’s passing. He felt a twinge of compassion, saying a prayer to the High Father to provide for this creature a safer reincarnation than it’s last. Finishing the prayer, he remembered the instructions he had been given in the tower. Stepping into the knee-deep, frigid waters of the river, he walked as close as he could to the drop of the falls. He kept the image he had been told to keep in his mind as he let the bird slide gently into the water and drop over the edge.

“Why did you lie to me? I was just trying to help you.” The young man could feel his temper rising with every word and waited expectantly for the answer. None came. The hooded man instead turned toward the circle of light on the forest floor and strode into the middle of it, like he was about to give his solo and needed an audience. The young man followed, sticking to the edge of the light at first before breaking through and meeting the old man in the middle. He replied at last, with another question. “Have you prayed?” It was not what he expected to hear from the wizard, and he had to think hard before he came up with the truth. “I have.” “That’s good. It’s always helpful with the journeys you have ahead of you. Now, please look at the light.” Even as he said it the old man’s voice was getting farther away, sounding like it came from below him now rather than beside him. Vlam’s eyes burned as he stared deep into the orb,

he couldn’t help himself. He could see now. He could see everything.