The Legend of Voden: The Rise of the Hollow

Chapter #11: Maelstro

But one thing was certainly real for him: he was still alive.

Maelstro's mind grappled at the thought as he hoisted himself upon the shore. His wings unfurled, allowing the heat of the desert to dry off his soaking wet body. Despite living in the desert for nearly a month now, he hated the desert sand and he still hadn't got used to it. It would always scrunch under his feet and stick to his scales, which made him cringe in annoyance as it had made his skin crawl and his scales itch whenever it got caught between his scales.

He would take a bath from time to time in the oasis he conveniently found by accident to keep the dirt off his body. He liked to keep his scales clean, although there was nobody around him now to comment about his hygiene, except for the fact that this time, there was indeed somebody around him now.

His large pointy ears perked up once more when he heard the flapping of wings coming from behind him. A shadow flew overhead of him. A dragon. He looked up. The dragon was slim, silver with delicate wings. A female, Maelstro deducted. The dragon wore a mask, much like the other members in his tribe did. The mask obscured all facial features of the user wearing it, and replaced those features with the ones from the angry face of a troll, which was painted all over with streaks of vibrant and dizzying colors. A distinctive culture of his tribe.

He remained silent until he saw the unmistakable piece of jewelry like the one Maelstro had used to wear once: a pendant hanging from the dragon's neck, another useful machination of the ingenious tribe he left behind. It reflected light off its surface and when used correctly, its reflection could be seen yards away on the barren sand or high up into the sky. It's often used by stranded travelers to signal distress, but not only that, no two pendants ever shone the same hue of light, so tribe members could easily identify one from another across long distances and thus it's ingenuity.

Every member of his tribe had worn a similar pendant around their neck. It essentially bounded their identity to the essence of their tribe and was as seen as a sign of loyalty. But Maelstro saw nothing of the sort; he viewed his pendant nothing more like a leash, a prison, a restriction that bounded himself to his cursed family.

He wanted to escape that prison. He needed freedom. Salvation. He was getting sick of his ungrateful siblings and that unrelenting grandfather of his. He deserved better and he knew it. He wanted to leave his family behind and move on.

One day, Maelstro decided he had enough. He snapped the string around his neck just as he snapped all ties with his tribe and family when he ran away.

But somehow, he still couldn't bring himself towards destroying his pendant that he swore to destroy.

Perhaps it was because of his natural survival instincts again. If he ever got in trouble, he knew he could always use the emergency signal and ask for help. But keeping that pendant wasn't a solution either. Wearing it would mean literally mean lighting a giant flare for his family to track him down, and he certainly wanted to avoid a family reunion if possible.

He wasn't exactly intent on forgiving his family, but he figured it would be not long for he would be returned to the cradle of civilization, so instead he intended to spend his precious holiday as best as he could, down to very last minute. He felt like he needed a few more days of peace and quiet before he was content with the little freedom he had and return, but even with that accomplished, he wasn't so sure that he was ready to go back to his family yet.

So instead, Maelstro found a rather clever solution to his problem.

He gave away his pendant to a certain dragoness that he met during his solitude.

The dragoness that was flying over him just now.

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Author's notes:

Alt. title: Don't Starve

I am terribly sorry for the late updates. I literally will have my trials tomorrow, but here I am updating this book of mine. So if you are early and wondering why I have posted this chapter first, consider this an early-bird sneak peek of what's to come.

But now, onto a few questions for you viewers:

What do you think of the plot so far? And what do you think of Maelstro? Would you think Maelstro's name is too strange for a name, and what do you think of his relevance to the story at hand? And who is this dragoness that is flying above Maelstro right now? (There are already clues in a previous chapter if you have been paying attention)

Kindly assert your opinions or even predictions in the comments below. I'm yet to see how close your predictions are to the actual story I had in mind.

Don't forget to vote and follow me too! It really helps me to continue the story.

And that's all folks! See you in the next chapter!