The call of the void

The cry pierced the void like a flame in the dark. Each one a surge of life and warmth, forcing back the tide of tendrils that are Terra Mater, grasping at my soul. With each burst I felt the energy returned to me, first finding the world coming into view.

A Gray haze blanketed the ground insight, I quickly snapped my eyelids open and shut again in an attempt to clear my eyes, but to no avail. Unfamiliar leaves and a rather strangely textured dirt covered the shape of what seemed to be a very unsightly wing. A wing… my wing? White scales? I am… a dragon… my name… lost… Flames licked my tongue and dagger like teeth… where.. Terra Mater! The all mother… she comes… she is here… the void calls, but something or someone….I must know. With the jolt of another cry, the energy rushed through me, returning the strength to my limbs, at the same time slightly restoring my senses, and with them the putrid smell of smoke. Now with enough energy to move, I lift my head to see that the haze was in fact smoke emanating from a nearby fire. Studying my surroundings proved difficult primarily due to the severe lack of life force left within my body. Only finding the will to continue within the cry of what I now recognize as human.

Here at the end of eons of uncountable experiences, in the grasp of Terra Mater, fully accepting the will of the void. A single human cry is able to reach into the infinite endlessness and breathe life, let alone the will to carry on with that life, back into me? It is this question that now causes me to fight the pull of Terra Mater, and discover the source.

Through the fog of the void yet still in my mind, and the smoke of the fire that blocked my sight, I searched. Pressing the aura of my mind out into the land has been trivial for millennia. Now though, it felt as new as my first flight. Unable to clear the dark haze from my mental view, I could not sense any life short of the few patches of grass beneath my body. Fully reliant upon my sight I found my eyes falling upon a flicker of firelight illuminating a charred tree trunk to my left.

The next cry brought forth a wave of newfound energy, it felt as though dragon fire now flowed against the tendrils of Terra Mater, completely washing them away from my mind and allowing the energy to course. In fear of their return I pushed my now surprisingly heavy body off the earth, folding and unfolding my wings to the extent that the now recognizable shapes of the surrounding trees allowed, in a lame attempt to clear them of the debris and what I now recognized as ash from the nearby fire. As I rose and turned, the muck that coated my body began to fall away.

How long had I lied here? How far have I come?

Questions best left for a time with less pressing matters. Fully intent on utilizing my currently cleared mind, I pressed out again. It did not take reaching out very far until I discovered the source of this special life breather, and without making direct contact I was able to determine that this life was young, infantile. With no other life aside from common insects in the forest surrounding the area, I retreated back into my own mind.

With what felt to be a fearful, final cry, and a smaller wash of energy from the infant, I was able to determine the general direction and cautiously began to approach. Sensing the human to be a short distance opposite the setting sun, I folded my wings and took the first step toward the unknown. Brushing past trees and life still blanketed in the smoke of the fire, now only a full body length away, and what seems to be away from the source of the blaze, due to the clear sight of terror that now lay before my eyes.

The source of the life force strong enough to confront the forces of Terra Mater, lie here in ash and blood, in the arms of an older human female. Nearby lay the bodies of four other humans, clad in bright reflective armor, the color of which could not be determined. Two of these four still held on to their weapons, those of which I know as swords. The other two blades now protruded from the infants savior. Or so I believed her to be, based upon the way she cradled the babe with her back to her killers. Why the four lie dead, I may never know, no evidence of battle, no blood, it could only be magic, from who though, that shall have to wait.

The infant, a beautiful Ruby red headed baby girl, now lie asleep, possibly caused from her life giving fit. Forced to act quickly, for the void will not easily surrender control of what was theirs, I decided that my last task will be to save this babe in light of the unknown.

With the void on the verge of retaking my being, I was cautious to use any magic, however the task of physically picking up the delicate figure of an infant human was nigh impossible for one of my particular stature. Straining with my mind I gently raise the child from atop the older woman’s belly, careful not to let her so much as brush the protruding blades. When the child was a mere scale length above the woman’s abdomen, a flash of untamable darkness surfaced in my soul As Terra Mater began her mental assault once more.

With the world blocked from my perception, the link I had with magic was also severed. I felt as the grasp I had on the babe vanished. The baby must have been jolted awake for a cry of power once again rose to calm the storm raging in my soul. regaining control over myself, I prepare to start the process anew, finding the babe in the same position as before. This time with no intervention from Terra Mater, I managed to mentally lift and carry her several body lengths to the east, away from the fire and destruction. Gently lowering her into the hollow of a large white ash tree. With this special little human now safe, and with the void receding for the moment, I took a chance to observe the chaos that took place.

Leaving the girl in the protection of the tree, I walked back to where the bodies lie. The woman, with hair a slight shade deeper than the red blood that coated the rags she wore as clothes, sat on her knees leaning back onto the support of the blades that took her very life. With a prayer for swift death and gentle crossing into the next life, I shifted my attention to the makeshift pile of four very bald Knights. Hairless in fact, I noticed as i studied each of their faces, finding no hair nor Even a blemish.

To my surprise each knight looked exactly like the last. All four as hairless as the life of the sea, and as pale as the great Luna mater. The armor they wore covered all but their faces and reflected the world around them seamlessly, with no distortion of color, something I had not yet seen in this world.

With no evidence of a fatal blow I reached out towards the bodies with my mind, only to be immediately slammed by 4 distraught and wild streams of thought.

“Damn her! How can an infant…”

“No, no, no!! We’re trapped, we’re dea…”

“I can’t move! I can’t see or hear! That baby did this to us?!”

“It was supposed to be easy, a woman and baby, easy…”

They're alive! Retreating back into my mind and regaining myself I sat for a moment, trying to understand… These four… assassins? Seem to believe that the infant girl alone is responsible for their current state. Who is this girl who can pull a dragon from the void, And immobilized four grown humans? With no energy or time to spare, I decided to leave them to their fate and resume my observation. Through the trees a fire roared, seeming to be a random common wildfire. Still no life aside from the 4 doomed Knights, and common insects.

With no immediate danger, and the roar of the looming end rising, I knew I had to spend my final moments exploring this child’s mind and try to determine what this infant might be capable of. Should she prove to have malice of any kind in her spirit, I will not allow it to remain on this plane.

Turning and leaving the stagger of corpses, I traveled The few steps back to the hollow where the baby lied, sleeping soundly. In preparation I coiled my body, tucked my wings, and pulled my tail in close as I lowered myself to the ground a few feet away, now in a comfortable enough position I gently reached out toward the infant with my mind.

Again minding my mental distance I began to observe.

This… light. This warm energy as comforting as Stillwater caressing your body. So inviting, so mysterious and almighty. The purity and innocence of it left my lungs empty and my heart lighter than air, I felt my wings flex and claws dig into the earth. A small tingle of flames licked the back of my teeth. I know this light… This is the presence of an entity beyond measure, A life worthy of a blessing from the gods.

I have lived a life far past the scale of time. Only once have I felt a presence such as this. An elderly man whose skin had been kissed by the sun.

Traveling the land for no other reason than to feel the wind beneath my wings, I came across this man in a tower, alone in a desolate land over the seas far to the east. As I soared above his lone tower and projected my mind down upon it, only for an instance did I feel it, a light as bright as the rising sun. Just before his mind was entirely blocked to me, extreme peace and warmth just as intense as this girl I now connected with, washed over my soul and a single image of a sun kissed man with a long Gray beard were the only sensations I felt. He stood surrounded by an endless sea of books and scrolls. Light emanated from his chest as if a Brazier roared in his heart. Then it was gone, I found myself in my own mind still in the skies above a now lifeless tower. Feeling more alone and self aware than ever before.

Now here, at the end of my life, this same familiar presence has blessed me with knowing that there is still light in this dark and confused world. In my travels I have borne witness to many holy leaders and followers dedicated to the light, fall to the infinite expanse of gloom and pessimism that plagues our lands. Lost in a sea of light that was this child I made a decision, a decision that this light will not go unprotected. I dove into the recesses of my mind calling on all past experiences, all emotions of every aspect of my life. She needs to be protected, I will bless this light so that none may ever darken it and all who encounter it shall know that it is good…

Just then, as I felt the blessing connect our two minds, the void made its return. Lashing out with a desperate aura, here to claim what is rightfully theirs. It felt as though claws ripped out my mind, taking pieces of myself with each strike. With my final task mere moments from completion, an air of defiance ate at my being. I… must ensure… this light… As if she knew that I meant to aid her, the child cooed.

Letting loose of a laugh of such innocence and with it rings of both physical and mental light, that surrounded both our bodies and minds, the babe began to combat the darkness surrounding my being. Though the strength of the light was immeasurable, so too were the forces of Terra Mater. The tendrils struck at the mental beacon at a furious rate. It felt as if my mind experienced eternal night and everlasting day at the same time. Amidst the struggle, the ability to control any part of my being was lost to me. I remained there, still providing this blessing with magic, unable to ebb the flow. The strength poured into the infant, growing and strengthening her far past the extent that her body would allow. Maintaining its onslaught, the void now felt more observant and curious than the malicious aura it previously portrayed.

Both ancient dragon that I am and insatiable void that was Terra Mater, watched both mentally and physically as the still rushing torrent of energy began to change the child. Rising out of the rings of light surrounding us, and away from the hollow into the open air of the now night covered forest, the infant shone of a light of pure tranquility. Beams of energy shot forth from her like flames from a Dragon’s maw. Where they touched the forest, life seemed to flourish. Bare ground transformed to lush patches of grass and vegetation of all kinds. Dead tree limbs bursting to life, looking rather odd against the backdrop of their long dead counterparts.

Straining my eyes against the blinding light, still betraying the call of the void. I watched in patches of clarity, as her hair began to lengthen far past her toes, and her face began to age at an impossible rate. Her arms and legs began to swell and shrink repeatedly, teeth sprouting and falling out, nails growing and rotting, torso stretching, lights flashing, the forest coming to life… Silence…

The next sense available to me was scent… A smell awoke me from what felt like a life’s worth of sleep. A smell of nostalgic and familiar origins… mushrooms? Cooked mushrooms? And… Spices? What was this? My eyes snapped open, lush trees and all plants imaginable cover two body lengths of earth in all directions. The now full trees providing precise amounts of sunlight and shade to the life below. Fruits, vegetables, and fungi alike, all grew in an abundance.

No longer feeling the void clawing at my mind I could think and see clearly. Rising to my feet I looked around and spotted a small clearing, one body length to my left. In that clearing sat a woman on a stump.

The woman sat on the edge of a large stump, surrounded by all sorts of different looking fungi. She wore a simple white shirt, white pants and a white… apron? Her Ruby red hair fell past her mid back and swayed as she sat and stirred something in a large black cauldron. What has happened?

As I began to stretch my mind toward her, without turning or faltering the motion of her stirring, she said with quite an accent. “Good morning, dragon.”

Alarmed I retreated to my mind and sat motionless, watching. Dropping her ladle into the cauldron she rose off of the stump, and turned her smiling face toward me. “Sleep long enough did ya?” She asked as she began to approach.

She wore a very giddy air, a kind of careless calm you would expect from one with no worries left in the world. Her smile stretched from ear to ear as she neared. “A dragon with a beard? Why I never… my you are covered in filth. What a mighty dragon, come to save the Babe but can’t clean his own scales?” She said more arrogantly than I would prefer.

Altering my voice to that of human range, I said, “You were… a baby… I only meant to…”

“What? To bless meh?! Grant me your everlasting love and protection? Bahhhh! How dare you dragon.” Her snappy retort shocked me. “Your light must be protected young one. You are few and far between in such a tough land.” I stated confident in my words. “It does not matter. Look at meh, I’m a woman of well past 50, I have crows feet. Crows feet dragon! You took my youth, you and your blessing. Speaking of magic, what in the world is… blooming Sparrow eats the moon? Since our little escapade the blasted phrase won't leave my mind.” The question surprised me “I don’t understand young…” I began before she stopped me and said. “Apologies dragon, in your tongue it is…”

The series of sounds and syllables that she then combined radiated through my bones. A chorus of dragon shouts rang forth in my mind, I felt my chest burn and project light upon the face of this young human. Memories of warmth, love, and happiness flooded me. All seemed perfect without a single piece out of place.

Impossible, how could she know that name?

“Oh my, dragon, what was…”

“Come little one… our story is just beginning.”

Without question, as if she understood the intensity behind my words and her actions. she began to follow at a slight run in order to keep pace. Walking past the cauldron of what I could now see was purple with a slight hue of green, with bits of fungi floating throughout. I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly it was I was in the presence of. When the light and darkness had come to a head in my mind, I was blessing this child. I must have lost control and… did this to her. But what was this? Knowledge she should not have, power meant for no one but a dragon, and the body accelerated to house that knowledge and power. Very curious…

Casting my mind forward I found it. “A short walk ahead lie the eastern seas. That is our destination.” we walked in silence through a forest of tall bare ash trees that have long existed since before the time of man. Walked until the sound of the sea was heard.

“Dragon, I must ask, this… dark aura surrounding you, what is it? And do you not fear it?”

“Hmmmm…” something about the light contained in this girl encouraged my response. “It is as I have come to know it, unfathomable nothingness….. For eons the notion of returning the gift that Terra Mater Bestowed upon my kin and I, has torn at my very being. The gift of unimaginable power, a body, mind, and soul molded by one far more ancient than even myself. The gift of a life of a dragon. With this life, I have lived through an unspeakable discord of experiences, growing, learning, loving… And it is through the myriad of these experiences that I have learned to fear the thrum of the void.”

“Unaware to Terra Mater, Those of us that she created learned to love life, and because of that, fear the void. I have long sensed that the time of abdication was nigh. The void called to my mind first, stealing from me the recognition of lands I have spent my life nurturing. Darkness plagued my very mind. Once this poison struck, I flew. I flew until my wings bled and the world began to darken, until all was lost to me but one thought, live. Then… I fell… Through atmosphere and insanity. Now I find myself here with you.” The shocked look on her face almost brought humor to my heart.

“Well that was a bit more than I bargained for.” She said as she released a small chuckle. “You know that I can’t hold it at Bay for all my life eh?”

“Hold it at Bay?!” the question left me before I could stop it.

“Well of course, if I stop now you’ll slip right into this mighty all mothers arms.”

“Hmm… curious…” the sea came into view as we left the forest behind. “I want you to stop…” “Want me to stop?! But…”

Interrupting her objections I said “I have a gift for you human… Two gifts in fact.”

“Oh I think I’ve had more than my share of gifts from you, oh great bearded dragon, no thank you.”

Without hesitation, I cast a silent spell of release. Slumping back onto my hind quarters, and raising my front legs, I angled my head down and watched a ghostly shape shimmer to existence on my chest, and fall to the earth sounding not unlike crystal as it clattered.

The shape was that of the weapon that slayed not only the girls protector, but so many others that did not deserve to be tasted by its touch. The shape was that of a human sword and scabbard. A haze covered the cavity in my chest. I felt the bones regain there previous state and the scales crawl across, sealing what once housed something so precious.

“Pick it up young one. There is no time left to us.” In a hurry she scuffled to the sword, picking it up and admiring the beauty of it.

“It’s beautiful, who knew a bringer of death could look so… SO… beautiful!!” she looked me in the eye as she placed her hand upon the hilt. “May I? Dragon?”

“You may.”

She drew the blade and a crystalline ring buffeted our ears. “Ooooh tinkley.”She said as she rapped the blade with a knuckle. She swung it once before I warned “Careful child. That is a blade like no other. Millennia ago, I lost someone… a female of my kind. Born lifetimes after me, to two common Dragons, but I loved her all the same… she was slain whilst we slept. A group of humans augmented through dark blood magic, used their blades to take her life. I care not to dwell on this thought, you need but to know that I returned to her nest after the slaughter and I shaped a blade meant for vengeance from the remains of her egg, Into what you now hold. For lack of time all I can say is that it is the most unique blade in all of existence. I care not how you choose to use it, just that it continues existing.”

“I am honored dragon, fear not, Tinkledeath and I should get along just smashingly.”

“Tinkledeath?”I asked.

“Well I can’t be going around calling it, blooming sparrow eats the moon now can I? Nor can I use its true name… We’ve seen the mayhem that that calls upon.” A sense of awe from my mind told her all she needed. “Yes yes dragon, I know. It seems you passed more to me than either of us understand now didn’t you? We’ll have to talk more of these true names, but to answer your question...” She smiled as she rapped the blade again, releasing a pleasant ring. “Yes, Tinkledeath.” With an amused air she returned the sword to its scabbard with a muted *click*.

“Young one, you should know why I have led you to the edge of the sea.”

“Please, do tell.”

“There is much unknown even to me of your current state, and I have run my Wick to its end. However there is one other not unlike you. In a tower, across this sea and in the center of a desolate land. I know not of him but that his light shines as yours shines now. Go to him, learn from him, help him, and if you should so allow it, my heart of hearts shall accompany you.”

“Again, honored I would be dragon. I will seek this man and his knowledge, but you know the moment I release my hold on your Terra Mater, she will take you.”

“Yes, she will take my body…”

Without another thought, for the wrong one may change my course. I began to siphon all that I am, mind, soul and energy Into my very core. All knowledge and experience draining into one position preparing. Feeling all go dark, and pressures begin to press from all directions, I had but to wait. Allowing my now vacant body to finish the process.

I watched, as a dragon of such ancient knowledge and power, collapsed lifeless and dormant. His long white beard now draped across the mud. It is wrong that a dragon of such majesty shall fall because this Terra Mater says so. Approaching the dragon, I thought of his last words. “My heart of hearts shall accompany you.” What did he mean? While this dragon may be the size of a large Knoll, was I really to believe he has two hearts? Looking down at Tinkledeath, did he intend for me to cut it out?! I will not. “You hear me dragon?!” I shouted. “I won’t cut you!” Tears formed as I lowered myself to the ground placing both hands on the Dragon’s chest.

Just then, the earth began to move as the great white scaled dragon began to convulse. Not knowing what to expect I retreated, just as the Dragons maw gaped open far past What I thought was possible. Drips of saliva fell from razor sharp teeth as jets of flame seemed to propel a large seamless crystal like globe, The size of two of me, from between his jaws. As I stared in awe at the center, a white storm as bright as the sun raged in a haze of smoke of all colors. A voice boomed in my Mind. “This is my heart of hearts young one, it contains all that I am, and all that my body was not.” Just then I felt a phrase form on my lips faster than I could mind. The globe vanished, and I felt a burst of energy and wind over my left shoulder.

“Did you just use me to cast a spell?” I asked half annoyed and half amazed.

“You didn’t expect to carry my heart of hearts did you? And being that I am unable to cast spells directly… yes I may have used your voice.”

“Asking permission.” I said blatantly. The confusion I felt from the dragon amused me somewhat.

“Speak your mind human.” Boomed the dragon.

“Oh nothing.” I retorted. “Just making mental notes on talking points for our venture.”

An overwhelming sense of satisfaction and determination flooded my mind. “Dearest child, together our power is more than sufficient to calm the tide of Terra Mater. But she will return for me.” Claimed the dragon. “She wi ll be satiated with my body for the time being, but we must always be aware.”

“Let her come.” I said. “We will find this other light bearer, and seek his aid in our dilemma. Fear not dragon.”

“What is your name, child?”

The question took me aback, I had to search myself for I had never known my name “My name dragon.” I announced both physically and mentally. “My name, is Angela.”