Chapter 4
The First Flight
As they started to rise in the sky Ralem noticed movement behind him. Craning his neck, he saw something he had at first overlooked. There was a massive fan-like sails coming up from the dragon’s lower back. Both sides had sharp claws, and while he watched, they unfolded like a peacock’s tail. The claws hooked onto the large spikes extending from his sides. The wind seemed to push on it, causing Jaydon to speed faster.
The clouds appeared to come down to them as they rose ever higher in the alluring sky. As Jaydon leveled out, Ralem raised his hand to touch the fluffy-looking cloud. But when he withdrew it when he felt what seemed like cold water. Indeed there was little sprinkles of dew on his hand. Floating Fog, he thought and shook his head. He’d had enough of fog. .
At that moment Jaydon decided to take a take a nosedive. Ralem had never felt so exhilarated as the forest rushed toward them, his stomach seeming to fall faster than his body. At the very last second Jaydon unfurled his wings and coasted over the treetops. The leaves, disturbed by the sudden gust, swirled around like a flurry of green.
The dragon pulled up and did a spin in the air. Ralem was suddenly very glad he hadn’t much to eat as all he saw was a blur of sky and earth and the ever-present wings. Sensing his discomfort Jaydon stopped and just glided over the forest.
It was truly a magic moment. He got the bird’s eye view of the mountains and forests. He only saw a sliver, between Jaydon’s neck and wings but it was still breathtaking. Jaydon dipped again, lowering their altitude until they were level with the trees.
A mountain with a halo of silver clouds towered above them, its immense shadow hiding them from the afternoon sun. They heard the waterfall before they saw it. The dull crashing of the water on the rocks resounded from far away, but it took almost no time at all for Jaydon to find it. He flew low over the crashing water and plunged along with the waterfall. Ralem almost yelled as his stomach plummeted, the sprinkles of water dotting his face like little jewels. In a second it was over and they looked back to find the towering waterfall, the water creating a wall of foamy blue.
“Beautiful,” Ralem breathed.
Jaydon circled it once more before soaring higher, gaining altitude in order that he could go faster without having to worry about trees getting in the way.
How do you keep aloft without moving your wings? Ralem asked tentatively, not really used to this whole talking-in-your-mind sort of thing.
I don’t really know, Jaydon replied, but I just know that I can bend the air to my will. Otherwise, even with my big, powerful wings I don’t think I could fly.
Thought so, thought Ralem, you do look like you had one too many deer. Jaydon did a playful shrug, nearly unseating his rider.
Hey! I could’ve fallen off! Ralem said, grabbing a spike for reassurance.
I doubt you could’ve if you tried to jump off. Large magical creatures like me create a sort of pull. You aren’t going off my back! Ralem felt vibrations as the dragon snorted, a small tongue of flame leaping from his open mouth.
Ralem saw they were heading to what he used to call Pebble Lake. When he was a child he named it that due to the pebbles that lined the crystalline waters from the river that bled into it. He used to love to play in it while he was a child. How do you know about these places? He asked.
How can I talk? And how do I know your name? I knew this is strange but the minute you touched my egg you gave me all your memories.
Ralem squirmed as he thought of the things he didn’t want other people to know about. Jaydon replied gently, I don’t judge you. You are after all, only a man. Every man has his faults. They are forgotten to me. And dragons, for one, know how to forget. Now just relax and enjoy this.
He swooped low over the lake, his wingtips barely touching the smooth waters. The water sprayed and the light fractured, creating an instant rainbow. A few brown geese, honking in annoyance, flew out of the reeds on the sandy shores. It was a beautiful day. The sun shone gently on the languid water. A few deer regarded them from the forest before they turned tail and bounded gracefully to the heart of the woods. Birds, in a brilliant array of colors, flew in the trees, singing sweetly the song of spring.
Ralem breathed deeply and noticed he now could smell much better than ever before. The scent of a myriad of flowers swept him away. He also could see better, for the grass seemed greener and he could spot every blade.
Jaydon circled the place a few times to enjoy its splendor, and then flew back over the forest. They flew in silence, enjoying the moment. Ralem noticed that he could also hear Jaydon’s thoughts if he tuned in enough. Right now it was mostly just feelings of happiness.
Ask, said Jaydon, disturbing the peace.
Ask what? Ralem replied.
I know something’s on your mind. What is it?
Ralem shifted nervously, What were those creatures?
I don’t know, Jaydon said apologetically I was just hatched a couple of hours ago. But one thing is for sure. Wherever they are, they won’t bother us again. They were probably trying to prevent you from getting me. After all I am a force to be reckoned with.
But why would they put something so powerful and rare as you in a small caravan with only a few men to guard it? And why would they send you to Baroke? Put something so valuable in the hands of another? It just doesn’t make sense!
Jaydon chuckled So many questions! I should guess that they thought that I was just a pretty rock. And I don’t know why they only had a few guards. Maybe so that robbers would think it’s not worth robbing? He shook his head, I may be a dragon, but I’m not omniscient. I’m as much in the dark as you are.
Jaydon, Ralem said Those creatures had collars on. I got one of them. Could you get a look at it?
Sure, Jaydon replied, angling his wings for the descent, just let me land.
They settled on a cliff overlooking the vast ocean. The waves crashed angrily far below, creating a dull roar in his ears. He turned and dug his hand into his pack, grabbing the collar and sliding of the dragon’s side. Jaydon turned his head and laughed as Ralem made a rather ungraceful landing. Ralem glared at him, and then wiped the dirt off the back of his armor.
You don’t need to wear that tiresome armor anymore. Throw it out.
Ralem looked down on his armor. He had left most of his chest armor in the forest The rest of it was dirty, had splotches of blood on it, and several dents that decorated his armor. Even though he had been the chief among the soldiers, he hadn’t had the nicest armor. People had to pay for their own armor. And especially good armor was expensive. Ralem wasn’t exactly a rich soldier, after all he couldn’t even afford a destrier. But he still hated it, the heaviness and heat that came from wearing it. He had been aching to take it off if there was no danger. But now he was pretty sure he was in safe hands. So slowly he started taking it off and leaving it, sighing in relief as the cool wind caressed his sweaty back. He felt like he’d lost half his weight he’d been carrying all this time. It gave sweet liberation to his back, shoulders, and legs.
After he was done, he searched through his pack of provisions. After a moment of probing his hands touched something hard and he grabbed it, holding it up for Jaydon to see. The dragon looked at it curiously and sniffed it tentatively. His huge green eyes widened and he wrenched it out of Ralem’s hand with his claw. Ralem watched as it grew smaller and smaller until it was swallowed up by the hungry waves.
“What was it?” Ralem asked out loud.
Jaydon was working himself into a frenzy. His nostrils were flaring as he pranced in place like a frightened pony. His wings were unfurled like he was going to fly away any moment. Ralem sensed some emotion from him. Fear. He shivered. What would be so scary that a dragon would be frightened by it? He walked over to the dragon, being careful to skirt around the prancing claws and touched his scaly flank, trying to calm him. After another moment Jaydon calmed down enough to explain.
“Sorry about that”, he said, his voice seeming to shake, “but that was the most evil…” his voice trailed off.
“What is it?” Ralem repeated, concerned.
“The foulest gem on earth. Many that know of it call it the dragonsbane.It’s a gem that causes the wearer to do what its master asks. Sooner or later they become mindless servants and have no need to wear the gem. It works best on dragons.” He shivered again.
But let’s not let this worry us for now. After all this is the first flight.” He knelt to let him on. This time Ralem didn’t hesitate. Once he was firmly seated the dragon bunched up his back legs before springing up. But as quickly as they ascended, they dropped. Jaydon opened up his wings with a snap and they sailed over the waves. As they flew over the ocean, Jayden flew low over the water, letting his claws trail in the whitecaps. The spray from the water slapping the rocky beach misted his face and intoxicated him with the salty smell of the sea. Ralem watched the undulating crests with fascination. It was almost hypnotizing. He had only been to the ocean once before, on a trip to a fishing village. But he had never been on a boat before, nor had he witnessed the true vastness of the sea. As the shore shrunk behind them, the enormity of the ocean amazed him. Even on a huge dragon he felt so small and insignificant as the sea stretched as far as he could see, the blue in the horizon appearing to melt into the blue of the sky, creating a seemingly limitless ocean.
A bird squawked nearby, startling him from his thoughts. It was a little seagull. They watched it flap lazily away, as if not startled by the flying giant. It flew off into the sea, fading into the sunset, which was a startling streak of red, as if the sky was bleeding. It was outlined by a more gentle orange, then receding into the remaining blue. The water reflected the vibrant colors, making the sunset look twice as grand as the world slowly drifted into night.
Jaydon soared back to the coast. It was not long before the stars began to peek out, their twinkling lights seemed merry. They flickered like candles against the dark canvas of the sky. There was so many of them, decorating the otherwise lifeless sky. Soon though, the moon wandered up to join them, its laughing face smiling down on them.
Ralem felt Jaydon’s deep yearning to be the first dragon to fly among the stars and be in the presence of the jolly moon; to feel the gentle radiance of the stars and to soar with them as they made their nightly journey. Ralem patted his neck, and whispered, “Someday my friend, someday.”
And they flew into the night.