Two Moons

There weren’t always dragons in the valley.

They were extinct long ago.

But as lightning struck in the sky, I could make out one’s colossal form among the storm clouds.

They had returned.

I watch him dance around the vibrant bolts and twirl amidst the condensed air. I catch a new glimpse of him every time a lightning bolt lights up the night and watch as he pushes his wings forcefully to his sides, sending him upwards in an expedited motion.

He disappears for the next moment, but I know not for long. I pretend to follow the rest of the dragon’s path through the sunless sky, imagining the twists and turns it would take.

The light of the two immense moons can barely be seen through the thick branches of the tall trees that tower over miles of this land. The forest is dense and cold and lifeless as it has always been. If one traveled far east, they would find a small town feeding off of the graces of the forest. To the west, a sudden cliff plummeting the unknown down into a harsh black sea. The waters rage against a shore made of rocks and dark crystalline sand.

Neither option intrigue me more than the very center of this forest where I stay put. In fact, I’ve lost all notion of time since I’ve entered this wood. Most of the world is too afraid to even step foot in this forest for fear of the dragons that now circle its skies. I have yet to see another soul since entering the vast land.

I focus on the damp leaves of the trees, dripping small dots of condensation onto the ground. The rain that usually pours down on the Sphere for months has finally ended and the temperature has dropped only slightly from its normal climate.

I enjoy the slight breeze that always seems to lurk around, especially in the darkness. The day seems so bleak and yet so promising as few clouds block the view of the shining moons.

A raven suddenly disrupts the peace of the forest and brings an unusually cold gust of wind. My black hair sways with the rhythm of the air as I follow the flight of the bird. I catch a glimpse of his small body flying between the trees before he turns sharply, diving down to me as if I were his target.

His claws scratch my face before I can react, and I fight the urge to wince. I bring a hand to my face but feel no blood, not even pain.

I slowly look to my left and see the raven land on a nearby branch. Upon a closer look I see his beak is cracked and he has a whole in his left side, leaving his internal structure vulnerable. He turns to me making a screeching noise as I notice one eye has been dug out of its socket.

He makes the vile noise again. And again, as I grit my teeth at the sound invading my ears.

And suddenly he stops, tilting his head to me in fascination and my eyes only filled with horror.

I take a deep breath as the wind picks up, bringing whispers with it. My head fills with hushed voices, subtle roars of pained creatures and monsters.

The wind builds and becomes endlessly cold, cutting against my skin like a frozen blade. I turn back to the darkness of the trees and wince as groans and screeches grow louder. They’re sharp tune and desperation cut my mind to pieces and I take a new step.

My foot hovers over the ground to take a step but a hand suddenly pulls me back.

I fall onto my back, my head smashing into the cold ground and silencing the noise. I stare up at the cracks of moonlight through the trees, my hand reaching out to the night sky.

“Ru.” I sigh at the sound of my sworn guard’s voice, dropping my hand to my side. I flip over onto my stomach, eyeing the muscular man who cannot be much more then my own 20 years of life.

He circles the small space I lie in between the trees, almost pacing himself. “What the hell are you doing?” He mumbles to himself as he comes to stand above me, completely blocking the light of the moons.

“I was admiring the view.” I answer in a dry tone as I stand on my feet once more. He still looks at me as if I’ve gone mad no matter how many times, he finds me here.

A scowl graces his face at my words, and I can’t help but roll my eyes. “Must you always be so serious?” I move to rake one of my long, sharp black nails down his chest though he steps away too quickly, missing my touch.

He steps away from me, back to where I once lay on the cold ground. He bends down to pick up something and as he stands, I catch its reflective metal band.

“I must have dropped it.” I speak of the ring he now holds, playing with the empty spot on my finger it once rested on.

My sworn guard looks up solemnly towards the sky and I frown at the sudden shift in the air. The wind feels colder, sharper, and the moons suddenly don’t shine as bright as moments ago. I cover my bare arms with my hands feeling the effects of the damp trees and thinking of how long I must have been out here.

But as I think too hard on the matter, I find no memory of how I even came to be in this forest. The castle is far too many miles from this forest I would have needed a horse to come here. I always take a horse.

My guards horse stands quietly underneath a nearby tree and yet mine is nowhere to be found. Did I wander too far from where I left him?

A sudden screeching halts my thoughts. I look back up towards the sky, catching a glimpse of the magnificent beast prowling the night sky once more. His cry is enraged with an emotion I cannot place, and it sends shivers down my already cold spine. He carves through the wind with ease and comes to an upright halt in front of one of the very moons. The light creates only a shadow of his frame and I can only imagine the fear my sworn guard must feel at the sight.

And suddenly, the dragon changes directions, folding his grand wings by his side and plunging down, headed towards us.

“Kem.” I warn my guard at the charging beast. I turn at a rapid pace to move with him but instead, find him staring up at the night sky with nothing but peace.

The dragon picks up speed and becomes impossibly close. My heart now pounding in my ears forces me to move whether Kem will or not. I jump out of the way in the final moments as the sound of wings cutting through the wind can be heard so easily.

I tumble to the ground as the landing of the beast creates an earthquake around us. I close my eyes, once more on my back with wide eyes staring up at the sky.

As the thunderous shake from the dragons landing comes to a halt everything else follows. The wind slows to a stop, no longer cutting across my skin with vicious cold and the ground suddenly feels warmer.

“Kem.” I gasp, sitting upright and scrambling to my feet. The sight before me has me nearly tumbling back.

A beast stares back at me, taller than the tallest trees in the forest and wide enough to break a small perimeter around himself upon his landing. Wet, shining scales of black create a tough exterior along the dragon’s torso while slightly paler scales cover his four limbs and tail. His eyes, the most frightening part, are two black voids of absolutely nothing.

Perhaps they are not frightening. As I stare into them deeper, I find an odd comfort, a familiarity in what they lack.

Kem suddenly walks from underneath the belly of the beast and I react quickly. I move to go to him, but the Dragon turns his large head, blocking my path and shocking me with what I come to face; a deep gash upon his scaled chin, opening up wider as it continues down towards his chest. I can see rotten flesh from inside hanging loosely from his pierced tough skin and I hold my breath as the wound only becomes more gruesome. One of the beasts clawed feet is butchered, barely capable of holding any weight and I suddenly realize why he has nothing but darkness where his eyes should be.

Kem.

“Kem.” I scream at my guard though it has no effect on his steady march away from the beast and I.

The dragons head pushes closer to me, as if wanting me to be able to reach out and touch him.

“Kem.” I scream again, desperately hoping for his attention. When he continues to walk, I move to run after him, knocked back by the dragon’s sudden movement. I land once more on my back staring up at the shining moons staring at me through the broken trees.

Moons.

The shining moons.

I sit upright with a startling thought. I push myself to my feet, my eyes locked with the dragon’s own missing pair.

Has there always been two moons?

The wind suddenly rushes the forest once more, a strong current coming from above and pushing down upon the beast and I. That’s also wrong.

Why can I not remember how I arrived here?

A chilling thought climbs my spine. An eerie silence falls upon my ears and I move closer to the dragon as Kem completely vanishes within the dense mess of trees.

A sudden snap of a twig surprises me and I turn quickly, noticing the dragon turn with me almost instinctively. A silhouette of a man appears at the base of a nearby tree. I can see he is tall, muscular but slim and yet that’s all. Until he steps out into the light, I will know nothing more.

“We usually let people figure it out for themselves. Goes over better.” The man’s voice is young, perhaps only a few years older than myself.

Figure it out for themselves.

“I haven’t seen Ryu get so attached with a newcomer before either. He’s usually quite more brutish with new arrivals.” The mystery man speaks so calmly, as if having known Ru for years.

New arrivals.

It made sense finally.

It all made horrible sense.

I am in fact in the forest I grew up exploring, just not the same one I’ve become so fond of. The trees are a slightly different shade of green, the wind blowing in the wrong direction and the moon duplicating itself it all felt backwards.

But it did make sense.

“You’ll have to follow me.” The man speaks a final time, never showing his face but instead disappearing more into the trees. With a heavy sigh I finally turn back to the dragon.

I place a light hand on his rough scales, surprised at how well my hand could gloss over them. The dragons never did return to the valley. They never would.

Instead, I have returned to them. I push myself closer to Ryu, my body incredibly close to his large skull. I take a deep breath, placing my cheek against his damp scales and forming a fateful bond in that moment I would only come to understand much later.