Scourge of the Dragon Lord

Chapter 2

Even the dirt is stained black. The ash and soot have leached into the ground, the ground which for so long I have tilled and planted. It's brown color mottled and darkened with the clogging soot. The blackness is everywhere spread like plague, poisoning everything it touches. I can feel its fingers like a physical thing spreading into my heart, I can feel it extinguishing my light, Renee's quiet smile, Elaine's laugh so filled with life; replaced by her scream as she fell, the look of affixed shock and pain replaced Renee's smile. This darkness twisting my very being. Through the pain I can see a light, a light that pierces so surely through the veil that fogs my mind.

***

Laying on my back, the sun on my face a light layer of sweat clings to my skin, not yet beading. Beside me lays Elaine her eyes sparkling with tears "Daddy don't leave me again, please, I'm so scared." Looking at her cheeks glistening with tears I said " I will never leave you and if I can't find you I will look until I do."

***

I had almost forgotten that promise, I can't give up I need to find it. I need to find him. That thing I lost everything to. The one with the shimmering copper scales stained with the blood of my beloved. I must find him I need to feel his blood run from his body and watch the life fade from his eyes. He went West into the sunset so shall I.

I have nothing but the clothes on my back and my crutch as I go over the hill. Following a celestial guide to find my quarry. As I get farther and farther away from the life that I once lived, the family I once loved, the air gets cleaner and the land gets greener. No longer the hard scorched ground but a soft bed of moss.

I fell down into the soft green bed and was quickly asleep, my hot face against the cool damp moss.

I don't know how long I was asleep, but the moss beneath me was no longer damp but dry and brittle. A shadow falls over my eyes and my ears are filled with a deep voice. "Well, look at that; are you alright buddy?" The man is outlined against the sun, his broad shoulders blocking the light, a satchel was visible on his side.

My voice comes as a harsh croak, "Wh-Who are you?"

" What? No hello nice to meetcha? Oh boy" The man let out a low whistle "Looks like you did a number on that leg of yours. "

The man took off his satchel and lowered himself onto one knee. He took his time to dig in the bag, making conversation as he did so. "You look like you've been through hell and back." Looking down at my attire, I noticed for the first time that I was filthy, grime covering me from head to toe. The black of the soot mixed with the brownish rusty red of dried blood. That horrible red color causes bile to rise in my throat as the memories forced themselves through my head, an endless loop. I shifted my body, a jolt of pain shoots up my body from my leg, a sharp gasp escapes my lips.

The man lifts his attention from the satchel, holding what looked to be a small pouch. The man shifted his body so that he now faced me. "This will ease the pain a little, its a mix of herbs that I keep on me for just such occasions. Open your mouth." Reason flies away with the next dagger of pain and I open my mouth to allow the stranger access. The man leanes towards me, placing the herb mixture on my tongue. I recoil at the medicinal bitterness spreading on my tongue. "Here." The man reaches around and pulls free a water bladder from the satchel. Placing the opening on my lips, in a soothing voice, said "Drink." The cool water running down my parched throat reminded me that it had been three days since my last drop of drink. "Wait, what is your name?" I said slightly startled by my sluggish speech. The man looked puzzled, he responded "Airen". Before I was able to take another gulp of water my vision went hazy, the world looked like it was covered in a mist. The herbs took hold as I drift off into a land of sleeping minds.