A Dragon's Path to Ascension (excerpt)

A Dragon's Path to Ascension 

by J.C. Harker

Copyright 2012

All rights reserved

 

 

The Fourth Era

The attack on Uutta Toivoa is now legend, passed down for generations.

Happiness Denied

 

“Please forgive me, I’ll try to make this quick,” Tharia whispered, raising the sickle in her right hand. Her other hand was wrapped around a bunch of branches hanging down from the old weeping willow in front of her. For a brief moment she listened for a response—and to anyone else, the faint hum of the leaves and the deep, crackling sounds coming from the tree’s trunk would have just been the usual sounds of the forest. But to Tharia, it was the mental nod from the tree for her to go ahead. The sickle sliced through the plant with ease.

She tied the branch pieces with a small string and strapped it to her back. Ready to move on, Tharia picked up her over-sized and already overflowing shoulder bag from the ground. She only had a few more herbs to forage before she had everything she needed.

She left the giant tree behind and ventured back into a denser part of the forest. Rays of midday sunlight fell through the foliage high above, making it easy for her to look for the right plants to harvest. After an hour, only cloud berries remained on her list.

Tharia stood up, stretched her back, and turned her pale face towards the sun. She closed her emerald-green eyes and enjoyed the soothing warmth for a minute while listening to the gentle rustle of leaves and bird songs. The day was so pleasant—she hadn’t felt this happy and relaxed for a long while. Her thoughts wandered back to the place she was born and to the days she had spent basking in the sun for hours while pretending to work in the orchard.

She snapped back to reality at that memory. It was quite unusual for her to think back to those times. She shrugged and took out an apple from the pocket of her large, hooded cloak. It must have been the sunny day and the smell of spring that got to her. She took a bite and started walking toward her current home.

Tharia reached out mentally to Dru, her dragonling, and giggled as leaves brushed against its scales, causing her to vicariously feel a sensation akin to a tickle. The small lizard was following her, flying high up in the tree tops. She withdrew her presence from the creature, letting its animal side take over. An occasional mental nudge was enough to keep Dru out of sight in case she stumbled across a villager wandering around the forest. Hidden amongst the foliage, the dragonling could easily pass for a large bird.

After half an hour, Tharia reached the spot where the cloud berry bushes grew. She had purposefully made this the last item on her list as they happened to thrive not far from her house. The shrubs were heavy with fruit and easy to pick. The sticky red and orange juice trickled between her fingers and down the skin of her hands. Despite the easy pickings, Tharia somehow managed to snag her sleeve on the thorns while reaching deeper into the bush. The tear quickly grew, exposing her white scaled arm underneath. She swore under her breath.

Tharia couldn’t risk anyone seeing her scaly flesh. For the last two years, the locals knew her as an odd hermit living in the forest—a druid they would reluctantly come to when desperate enough. The few lies she couldn’t avoid had made her tongue bleed. No, she definitely did not want to be recognized as the young Toivoan dragon she actually was. That would bring unwanted attention.