The first sight of land I was greeted with was a dense forest interrupted only by a beach. This land was cold- colder than my home. Thankfully I packed thick fur clothing.
After landing on the coast, we walk around. The very first thing I notice is that the anima is much denser here. To the point where I can see a few thin strands floating through the air. What is this strange place? It looks like an entirely different world. The grass, the trees- everything looks so…fantastical. Like from a fairy tale. The enchanted forest makes it hard to navigate, especially for Jada. At least there's not many animals.
Soon, we walk into a clearing and we were about to rest- until we saw something far too dangerous.
A lone adult male ceratopsian- a three horn. Three horns were herbivores, yes. But they were deadly all the same. With a bad temper and a charge that could flatten a house, it would be suicidal to go anywhere near it.
We stayed as far away from it as we could, hugging the trees tightly. We circled around the feazard until we came behind it. Then we took off. It didn't chase us.
Whew. We kept walking until we met another clearing. This time, it was occupied by leather tents. People were in them- and they soon came out.
I raise my hands. "No harm intended! I only want to look for your leader!" I coughed. The thick anima was beginning to take a slight toll on me. I don’t think I can stay here for long, unfortunately. I’d better make it quick.
Two men gave each other a look. “Leader is to the south. Be warned- he likes exotic women.” Well, if he’s handsome, I wouldn’t mind.
I bow and take my leave, riding on Jada.
I remember something about the men having horns and hooves for some reason. Ridiculous. It’s just a trick of the mind.
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We eventually have to cross a river. The river is thick, and meandering- but I can’t help notice something off about it. It smells normal. It looks normal. But there is this something about it, a certain je nais se quois that deeply discomforts me. Enough to not try to wade through it.
Instead, I pick up a rock and throw it. The rock splashes, making ripples through the river- but other than that, nothing happens.
Then the river begins to bubble and churn. I could hear a deep groaning that shook my bones to the core. It’s not safe to be here! I have to run!
I gallop off on Jada as fast as I can. He runs and runs until he can no more, where he stops to rest. Then, I turn back.
Whhhaaatttt theeeee FUCCCK!!! The river was lifted- no, it lifted itself from the riverbed like a gigantic snake, coiling up and…hissing? The river serpent was hundreds of kilometers long, far larger than any animal I have seen before. Or any animal in this world.
I’m at a loss for what to do. Cast a spell? How? What spell could I cast that could do anything to this beast? It could lunge at any moment!
“Jada! Jada, get up!” I shake him, but he can’t move. He’s exhausted. Every drop of energy has been driven out of him. Fuck, I did this.
There’s nothing I can do now other than await my death- as the river dives down.
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I’m in the sky. Flying? DId it send me flying? That can’t be. It would have smashed me down- into the ground and crushed my body. I can hear what seems like a thousand waterfalls falling at once.
I look down and discover I’m…on something. Something scaly. And rough. Like some sort of flying animal.
“Oh, I got you and your pet in time!” says an unfamiliar male voice. I turn around to see a man. He has long black hair and a clean shaven face. He’s cute. Very cute. He’s wearing a flower print robe like that general in the Twin Dragon Empire. “Hey. Name’s Yeurai. Nice to meet ya. You’re in a lot of trouble, yeah?”
He points down to the river-snake. It lurges up from the channel it bored into the soil and rock and begins to look- not with eyes- towards us. Thankfully, we’re flying away. “That river’s well known for being evil. Ah, you’re a foreigner, so you didn’t know, that’s fine. You’re here now, at least.”
“...What am I riding on?” That’s the first question that comes to mind.
“You’re riding on my pet dragon.”
“Dra-wha?” Dragons aren't real. They existed only in fairy tales, and even those say the last dragons hide in underground caves, a mere shadow of how they were at their height. But the man seems to be telling the truth, and the scales I feel are definitely not of a feazard’s.
“Dragon. Say hi to him. His name’s Tree-eater. He eats trees.” The dragon turns its head back, revealing a scaly head with a tough beak. From the looks of it, it’s far bigger than any flying lizard I’ve ever seen- the head is bigger than my entire body.
“Oh…hi.” I say nervously. I don’t know how to react to such a thing. So, it’s best not to think about it. Think about something else. “Where are you going to take us?” I say, referring to not only I, but Jada.
“To my castle. Where else?”
“Cast…le?”
“Ahh, you’ll see.” He chuckles.
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We land at a strange…castle that looks more like…a massive dirt mound than anything I’ve ever seen before. It was surrounded by a palisade, which itself was surrounded by a pit filled with wooden spikes. It was manned by many armed soldiers- who wore naught but cloth tunic with a few iron plates here and there. The atmosphere here was…primitive. Very primitive.
I was dropped in front of the central mound’s entrance. The dragon stepped to the side.
“Let’s stay a night here.” Yeurai said. “Eat some dinner, have some fun- if you catch my drift.”
“Oh, hahaha. If we get married after.” I respond. I’m still shaken up by what just happened, so I’d rather let some time develop before I have sexual intercourse.
“Of course, of course!”
Then, he led me to the interior of the building, leaving Jada outside- safely, he reassured me. The interior of the building was dark and damp, just as primitive as everything else had been. But that does not make it bad.
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For dinner, we had a bowl of brown rice and dry aged bill-zard roast. It was delicious. The servants were- small…floating…people? With wings?
I eventually took a nap on the bed- where he slept with me. He didn’t try anything funny on me, so I didn’t care, not really.
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Months passed.
We came to know each other deeply. Jada found a runner like him and the two had produced offspring. Jada became friends with Tree-Eater.
And like him, I found my partner in Yeurai. I learned many things. The Myerani island is split into countless kingdoms constantly warring with each other. He was ‘lucky’ enough to settle near the evil river nobody wanted, that produced a floodplain full of wild monsters. I was too scared to visit it myself, but he wasn’t.
He met his dragon at the age of 12, and was friends with him ever since.
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Years passed.
We produced children. Jada was growing old, and could die at any time. I spent time with him to the very last day.
When he died, I couldn’t do much but cry. But I eventually strengthened up and managed to move past it. I built a grave for him that I and my and his children visit every year.
I grew fat. Saggy. But my mind never dulled.
One day, I learned of the caste system. A primitive caste system, like everything else in this country. I saw it not through explanation, but in action. A man was sweeping the streets when he crossed the shadow of a well dressed man. The well dressed man shot a nasty glare at him- before leaving him be.
It was later explained to me by my husband that the man was of a ‘untouchable’ caste, while the higher man was of a higher caste. Untouchables are forbidden from touching the shadow of higher caste. How strange.
One day, my husband and I talked about magic. I told him how my magic works, and he was intrigued. In turn, he told me about how his magic works.
To him, the entire world is controlled by one god named simply God- who has countless masks that manifest as the traditional deities. God entrusted humans to control every single aspect of nature- which was taken to be alive. Now, the spirits in other parts of the world are inactive when not attacking us humans, but the spirits here are friendly. I also believe that the entire world is God, in a sense. But I’m not here for theological debates.
I asked him to explain why this land is so…fantastical, for lack of a better term. He explained it in a way that I can’t really forget.
“You see, the world works in cycles. That’s something you already know. There’s the Age of Myth, the Age of Heroes, and the upcoming Age of Science.”
“Sci-what?” I don’t know what this ‘science’ is.
“It’s an age where all heroes and magic disappear. Of course, no age lasts forever. Not even this one.” he explained. “My father explained this to me. The Age of Myth is where gods walk amongst man. When the Age of Myth fades out, the spirits go to Fantasia and leave this world. The Age of Heroes is still supernatural, with heroes and artifacts- but gods never manifest and supernatural beings are extremely rare.”
“I understand.”
One day, at the age of forty, I decided to adventure. To go out once more into the wild and come out with nothing but information- I don’t care for treasure.
I told Yeurai this. “Sure. I’ll accompany you for safety.” I’d prefer to go alone- but the world is dangerous for an old woman like me.
And so I set sail to the final island, the Dragon Island.
To Be Continued