. : D R A G O N B O R N : . (a MCSM fanfic)

Chapter 13: Shadows

Petra could feel herself falling, plunging into a vast expanse of darkness so deep that neither light nor sound could penetrate it.  It swallowed up her frantic cry, dimming it away to nothing, until only the shadows remained.

Without warning she struck ground, a yelp escaping her at the force of the impact.  Slowly, the dark receded, and she looked blearily around to find herself lying in the middle of a forest glade.  The soft glow of sunlight filtered through the leaves above, and she grew conscious of the sound of a brook babbling along nearby, somewhere just out of sight.  But aside from the stream, no sound broke the silence-- no birds chattered in the trees, no small creatures scuttled among the leaves... the woods were completely still.

Every muscle in her body ached, and she dragged herself painfully to her feet, limping forward.  Somehow, the movement felt strange and foreign.  Her body felt oddly heavy as she moved into the woods, following the sound of the stream.  The further she walked, the more her mind cleared-- the shock of the impact beginning to fade, until at last she reached the stream and knelt to drink, realizing suddenly how thirsty she actually was.  And there, at the stream side, she rested.

For some time she lay still, weary and aching, but at last she rose again, eying the strange woods around her.  The trees here seemed different-- taller than those she was used to.  And still, the woods were nearly silent-- it seemed she was truly alone.

She moved to cross the stream, looking down to place her footing as she did-- and then reeled back in alarm.  A dragon stared up at her from within the stream, its piercing sapphire eyes seeming to bore into her.  She stumbled back, tripping over herself and tumbling down-- and then cautiously rose, creeping back to the stream's edge.  Warily she peered in again, and again, the dragon stared back-- and with mounting shock she realized that the reflection was her own.  A glance at her hands revealed clawed talons, and she understood suddenly that the heaviness she felt was that of large wings, and the long tail that stretched out behind her.

Uncertainly, she stared down at her reflection, a mixture of emotions flooding her mind.  How was this possible?   What had happened to cause such a change to transpire in the first place?  She had no memory of the transformation, and indeed, even that which had preceded her arrival in this strange wood was dim and fuzzy, shadows of remembrance flickering just out of her reach...

She shook her head.  There was something uncanny about these woods-- a sense of magic, of the unknown.  It left her uneasy, and filled her with wonder.  Somehow, she knew she had to keep moving-- she had to uncover the secret of this place.

Cautiously she padded forward, now uncomfortably conscious that she was walking on all fours, but slowly grew used to the unfamiliar gait.  Was it her coming that had frightened away the forest creatures?  Or had they left long before her arrival?  She wasn't certain.

On and on she went, for what felt like hours, yet her surroundings did not change.  Had she been going in circles?  The trees here all looked the same... or did this forest simply have no end?  The light had not changed-- the sun seemed to be in the same place as before.  Were these woods set apart from time itself?

Wings... she had wings!  The realization struck her suddenly, and with renewed determination she spread them out, vaulting up and into the air with a powerful thrust.  A surge of exhilaration flooded her-- she was flying!  The woods grew smaller and smaller beneath her as she climbed into the sky.

There were mountains ahead of her, and a large valley sprawled out behind her.  Somehow she sensed that the valley was what had once been her home-- but there was no sign of the towns that now populated it.  Instead, a vast, untamed wilderness lay open before her, unsettled, uncivilized.  Had she gone back in time?