She seemed very peaceful, and when she opened her eyes, she saw her mother; she reached for and held her breast and then her eyes seemed to focus on her father. She giggled and smiled at the site of him. Reicka and Faray took the cloth from the Nymphs and were amazed at its softness. They helped Fienna clean the baby and put it in its new clothes, and both mother and daughter fell asleep near a fire in the great cave being carefully watched over by Terra.
After the two had been asleep for a long while, Terra got up and stretched and walked out of the cave to the edge of the flat rock and broke off a dead twig from a branch of an over hanging plant. There he stood thinking and fumbling the twig with his great fingers. Reicka came out and quietly walked up to him.
“Son?” she asked in a questioning tone.
“Yes,” he said without looking down at her.
“You looked troubled?”
“No, not really. I just would like to be left alone with my family. I bother no one, but things seem to happen anyway. Even Tone wants to be healed,” he said in a tired voice.
“Tone, the world?” she asked in surprise.
“Yes, it talked to me.”
“There were legends that the world was a living thing, but I don’t think anyone had ever thought them true.”
“Well, it is alive and in pain.”
“Many are in pain. Our people are warring and killing each other over nothing, and no one can seem to stop it,” Reicka said with great sadness in her voice.
Terra said nothing; instead he now seemed to be far away. Fienna carrying their newborn came out of the cave just then and walked over to Terra. He came out of his thoughts and placed his arm around his mate and child. He handed the twig to the little one as she reached for her father, and when she touched it, her small hand began to glow green, which spread across the twig. It suddenly snapped straight and small leaves began to sprout from its once dead core.
Dawra and Hectise sat on the far ridge of the crevice watching the three. The orange sun was behind them.
“Did you ever notice that Terra’s healing glow is the same color as the setting or rising sun?” Hectise said.
“No, I guess I never paid much attention to it, but you are right, it is the same color.”
Tarsack, the old dragon that lived in the cave of the ancients landed next to them. He made himself comfortable for a moment as the two dragons stared at him. He looked at the three.
“It is hard to believe that those two down there will change the world,” the old dragon said.
“Why have you come?” Dawra said.
“I want to tell them all I know, but it is not the time. I can see that now. I’ll come back when they are ready to hear.”
As the sun sunk behind the crevice wall creating a half sphere of bright orange light above the three, their shadows stretched down the sandy path to the water. The odd shapes on the ground distorted the shadows such that they resembled dragons. Terra’s shadow ended at a small group of rocks that seemed to make a crown around the shadowy head.
The old one spoke one final statement as he leaped into the air to leave.
“The Dragon Savior has finally come.”
Epilogue - Part of the Whole
(16th set of seasons in the age of the Draman) I have tried to give the most complete and readable account of our past, but Master Scribe Soto wished to see the manuscript now. The others have completed their histories, and although mine is only half done, he wishes to review my progress. Whether or not my work is accepted, I plan to complete this history. It will take another set of pages equal to or greater than the ones I have already written, but I intend to do it. I have stopped at a convenient point that seems to me to be a natural break in the history. I wish to thank all those who helped me with the facts, especially Dawra and Reicka. They were two of the most gracious creatures I have ever had the pleasure to meet.
A Thank You to the Reader
The worlds of our minds are mysterious places.
Dreams are often part of realities beyond our knowledge.
Your mind is the fountain of all you are or will be.
For what seems real this sun-rising may be dreams tomorrow.
Thank you for visiting one of my dream worlds. I hope you enjoyed it.
Author Profile
A. D. ADAMS has had a number of technical articles dealing with the engineering of rubber products published in journals. He published one previous mystery novel entitled Death on Lake Ice and also had several fantasy short stories published in The Yarrow Brook Literary Review. He acted as a contributor and the editor of the anthology of stories called Wordspinners of the Akron Manuscript Club, which was recently honored by the Poets’ and Writers’ League of Greater Cleveland as one of the top twenty-five books of 2004.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - The Dragon World
Chapter 2 - The Birth of a Child
Chapter 3 - The First Year of Life
Chapter 4 - The Birth of a Dragon
Chapter 5 - The Tragic Accident
Chapter 6 - The Long Growing Season
Chapter 7 - The Journey
Chapter 8 - The Visit
Chapter 9 - The Lost One
Chapter 10 - The Rescue of a Meal
Chapter 11 - The Healer
Chapter 12 - The Wounded
Chapter 13 - Care and Feeding of a Human
Chapter 14 - A Useful Tool
Chapter 15 - Burning Meat
Chapter 16 - Clothes and Other Needs
Chapter 17 - The Time of Growing
Chapter 18 - The Dragon Council
Chapter 19 - First Flight
Chapter 20 - First Hunt
Chapter 21 - Terra’s First Flight
Chapter 22 - Freedom
Chapter 23 - Learning to Swim
Chapter 24 - Meeting a New Friend
Chapter 25 - Growing Up and Its Problems
Chapter 26 - Exploring the World
Chapter 28 - Seeing His Kind for the First Time
Chapter 29 - Reproduction
Chapter 30 - Exploring a Secret Place
Chapter 31 - Knowledge
Chapter 32 - History
Chapter 33 - The Last Lesson of Flight
Chapter 34 - A Visit to a Friends Home
Chapter 35 - Old Friends Visit
Chapter 36 - New Flame
Chapter 37 - Terra Rides the Winds
Chapter 38 - Rest and Learning
Chapter 39 - The Training of a Sounder
Chapter 40 - Fienna is Presented to Dragon Society
Chapter 41 - After
Chapter 42 - Finding a New Home
Chapter 43 - Preparing to Leave
Chapter 44 - A Teacher Needs Help
Chapter 45 - Someone’s Watching
Chapter 46 - Moving
Chapter 47 - Terra Is Presented to Dragon Society
Chapter 48 - The Word Heard by All
Chapter 49 - The Dragon Healer
Chapter 50 - The Healer of All
Chapter 51 - The Prize
Chapter 52 - The Soul
Chapter 53 - Retribution
Chapter 54 - The Light
Chapter 55 - The Visit
Chapter 56 - The Wogan
Chapter 58 - The Attack
Chapter 59 - The Return of Evil
Chapter 60 - A Time to Heal
Chapter 61 - Privacy
Chapter 62 - Old Friends Talk
Chapter 63 - A Surprise for All
Chapter 64 - A Search for Knowledge
Chapter 65 - Learning to Cope with Change
Chapter 66 - All Learn of the Change
Chapter 67 - The Visit
Chapter 68 - Help
Chapter 69 - Time For the New and a Change
Chapter 70 - A Time to Find Help
Chapter 71 - A Journey to Remember
Chapter 72 - Experience and Surprise
Chapter 73 - The Past Rises
Chapter 74 - New Clothes
Chapter 75 - The World Changes
Chapter 76 - A Quiet Time
Chapter 77 - A Fool’s Attack
Chapter 78 - The Release
Chapter 79 - The Birth
Epilogue - Part of the Whole