Master of the Mind

Chapter 16: Where Dragons Can Fly

'I'm sorry Eldawin...'

Glistening tears ran down Matadi's dark cheeks. The gun pointed toward the blue dragon, the barrel shaking unsteadily, slowly lowering to the ground. The pain of the dart and the broken scale, and a tiredness that devoured Eldawin until he could not stand any longer. The last thing he saw was his most trusted friend, sobbing after having betrayed him.

And then the dragon woke up. But he was back in the cage. Emptiness pulled at him, laughing and snickering. The chains trapping his ankles scratched against the ground as Eldawin curled around himself with a cry of agony, his claws digging into his head as he tried to rid himself of the all-consuming emptiness.

"Go away!" he screamed out, slashing his claws through the air, but hitting nothing.

Eldawin woke up with a gasp. His entire body was shivering at the memories that ran through his head, each one so clear it was as though he was physically reliving them. He could see them in his mind's eye. He could feel the burning pain of losing his wings. He could feel the splatter of dragon blood against his scales as Furthar's head was shattered by a human's gun. He could feel the all-consuming emptiness slowly breaking him apart until he was nothing more than a mindless animal.

His body was shuddering as he forced down the memories, using his own powers to push them as far down into the depths of his consciousness as he could. Slowly he began to calm down, his breathing no longer ragged and uneven. The dragon took one last breath before pulling himself to his feet. His body was loath to leave the comforting green nest that he was resting in, but he couldn't sleep, not after that nightmare.

Instead, he walked to the exit of his small cave, looking down over the mountain oasis. It was still startlingly warm, the heat that of a humid summer day. It was also dark, nearly blindingly so, the only light source the stars above. Eldawin knew that any human wouldn't be able to see anything within the mountain.

The dragon, took a step forward, poking out his head to look down further into the mountain only to find soft patters of rain hit his scales. The drops of water were just as warm as the rest of the oasis, and as they dripped from his snout he realised just how thirsty he was. Maybe a good dunk in the water of the oasis would be just what he needed. With his mind made up, he leapt from his ledge, gliding down through the rain as he made his way to the ground.

As he flew, however, a flash of silver caught his eye, causing him to pull into a hover. His eyes quickly found the source of the flash, and he found himself frowning as Diara padded through the small clearing at the centre of the oasis, heading toward the waterfall. It seemed she was walking with a purpose, a goal in mind.

Curiosity got the better of the mind dragon and he reached into her mind, trying to figure out what the metal dragoness was after. She was heading into a hidden cave behind the waterfall, one that lead deep underground. She hadn't been able to sleep either it seemed, nightmares of her own past having kept her up, much the same as every night they had lived within the oasis.

She reached the edge of the pond, and with a big wing assisted jump, leapt over the pond and through the waterfall on the other side. Eldawin waited a couple of moments, thinking through his options. He could feel her descending into the mountain, further into her hidden cave. It seemed it was her place of peace. A place she went when she wanted to think through the hardships of life. But as she descended an overwhelming dread hit Eldawin, one that made the decision for him.

It seemed her mind had suddenly disappeared, shrouded by the empty mind that plagued his dreams. A small whine escaped him as he quickly shot down toward the waterfall, splashing through in his hurry to warn her of the danger. It took him several moments to realise that this emptiness, while the same, didn't pull and stretch him as whatever the humans used. He had opened his mouth to roar after her to be careful but quickly thought better of it.