The Princess's Feathers

Damp paws tread over withered leaves, echoing across an overgrown and unfamiliar forest. I stop by the side of a colossal redwood tree to taste the scents – the intoxicating odor of prey is as muddled as the late-season underbrush. Still, I’m confident they’re here, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to finally catch a meal. It’s been two days since we ate, and the dragon I was forced to abandon is…

…

Feeling a second wind of determination, I refold my wings and tuck my head to slip quietly through a thicket.

Emerging on the opposite side, I find myself at the top of an escarpment, gazing down into a creek that hasn’t flowed freely in months. I taste the air again, and my tail flicks – finally, a fresh scent! I lower myself into the creek bed, flanked on both sides by carved walls of clay and earth. The scent leads downstream, meandering past heaps of moss-covered boulders and a bend in the creek long ago bypassed and filled with silt. After losing the scent by the side of a decayed redwood, I recapture it and find myself staring down a heavily trampled path into the trees. Unwilling to leave my scent where others could find it, I flank the path from the outside and reenter the forest.

Eventually, I come upon my prey. Sleeping in a sunbeam at the top of a fern-covered incline is a furred creature resemblant of a rabbit. I can’t help but salivate; this is my best chance at a meal since I arrived here. I raise my head to stalk around the side of a bramble bush, careful not to get my feathers caught in it. The forest here is covered in twigs and leaves, so I must be careful not to awaken my prey. Carefully, I put one paw before the other, conscious of where they land. If I can make it to the backside of the incline without awakening–

Somewhere, a twig snaps. My head shoots up in attention, and I turn to face the source of the sound. With a muffled roar, a creature covered in short tan fur darts from the side of a cypress tree and begins sprinting towards me!! I flinch, startled by the sheer size of the beast. It’s at least twice the size of me! Where did it come from, and how long has it been stalking me?! The ground trembles as it charges towards me, claws outstretched!

Golden clock hands appear around the perimeter of their body.

The beast begins to slow, sailing through the air at a quarter speed like a bald eagle caught in a thermal. Seizing the opportunity, I unleash a savage roar and bounce off a nearby boulder to dive for my opponent’s neck.

RAAAARR!!

Golden feathers fly as I clamber the beast and sink my fangs into their neck, tearing open a jagged wound of blood and viscera. But before I can inflict further damage, something changes. The clock hands surrounding the beast shatter and fade from existence. I roar in horror just as the beast returns to normal time. It rears its hindlegs, flinging me from its back and sending me sailing across the forest and into the side of a tree.

RAARGHH!!

Searing pain lances my body as I collapse to the ground with an inglorious thud. What did my spell fail again!? Conscious that my opponent is close, I struggle to rise from the force of the impact. But as I put weight on my paws, an intense wave of lightheadedness comes over me. My legs buckle, and I collapse to the ground once more. My thoughts muddle, and my consciousness begins to slip away from me.

I have to get up. I can’t leave them all behind. I can’t…

With the scent of the beast close, I hear something closing in fast through the trees above me. But try as I might, I’m powerless to stop my soul from slipping into the void.

Darkness roils in the depths of my mind, silent and unending.

Then, the stillness gives way to the sound of distant thunder. It intensifies, quaking my soul until the chaos is directly overhead. Roars and shrieks punctuate the air, adding to the visceral cacophony around me. I strain to cover my ears but find my muscles locked. Or perhaps I never had muscles to begin with.

And then, just as quickly as it came, the thundering ceases. The cries of dragons lower to a murmur before ceasing altogether, once more casting me to the void. But before the darkness can return, a particular pale light shines from beyond the abyss. It grows in intensity, and I allow it to overtake me.

…

Acrid smoke fills my lungs, as if I were a hatchling once more, still learning to breathe fire out rather than back in. Instinctively, I turn my head, unable to escape the smoke. My eyes water and sting, and I rub them with my paws.

Fuzzy memories return to my head. There’d been a fight, and I’d lost. Had I died? Is this what joining the stars was like?

“Oh! That’s enough!”

A dragoness’s voice. In Southern? Could it be…? Had I succeeded in finding them? I force my eyes open, staring through the smoke and trying to make out the figures above me.

“Give her some room,” the voice continued.

“Are you sure about this?” a new dragoness asks, this one more haughty and confident than the first.

“Yes, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

A second wind of strength blows through over me. I was right! There are Southerns in this realm! But who could they be? I strain to gaze through the haze and learn more about my saviors, but the figures above me are a muddled mess of colors and shapes. Ugh! What is this smoke from, anyway? As I furrow my eyes and work to clean them, a breeze blows through the forest, clearing the smoke around me and replacing it with the scent of the dragons. Their feathers smell of springtime flowers and spiced nutmeg; pleasant scents lacking any trace of aggressiveness.

With the smoke cleared, my hacking cough begins to subside, and I decide to test my eyes again. Slowly, I peel them open to discover two Southerns, each the size of a small building, staring down at me like mountains.

I yelp in panic, falling backward into a defensive posture.

“Stay back!!” I shriek.

A caterwaul splits the air, the two larger dragons falling into their own towering stances with fangs bared and feathers ruffled. They issue growls like thunder, causing the ground beneath me to tremble. As anger flows between us, I quickly try and assess the situation. Two Southerns, soot gray and sky blue, have seemingly saved me from certain death. But why are they so big?! Have I somehow returned to hatchhood?! I stifle my racing thoughts – now isn’t the time for conjecture, I need to defend myself! My wing spurs twist, readying a spell should it become necessary. Will slowing the carotid artery of a dragon this size be enough? The soot-gray Southern tenses her haunches to attack, but the sky blue one fluffs in surprise.

“Wait!!”

Everyone present freezes, a deadly tension left hanging in the air. The growls subside to a low rumble, and the gray one gives a sidelong glance. But the blue is unflinching, staring at me with curious eyes.

“You speak in the voice of Kin,” she rasps inquisitively. “Who are you?”

The voice of Kin…?

Questions fly through my head. What’s ‘Kin’? Who’s Kin? Is that what they call ‘Southern’ in this realm? These dragons look vaguely like me, but beyond the discrepancy in size, there are critical differences in how our plumages are arranged. Are they truly fellow Southerns?

“And you possess the Gift of Communication,” the blue one continues as my mind toils. “Could you–”

“How are you speaking Southern?” I demand. “There are no dragons in the realms your size!”

“Our size?” The gray one questions. “Speak for yourself, prey-animal. A Dragon such as you should have–”

“Kuro, wait.”

The gray one – Kuro, it would seem – tenses as she abruptly cuts off her sentence. She flexes her talons, but allows the blue one to continue speaking.

“What is ‘Southern’?” she asks.

As I contemplate a response, I realize that The blue one is attempting to diffuse the situation! Is she making an attempt to be diplomatic? I’ve only been the leader of something for a little over two years, but I can recognize when someone is trying to negotiate with me. If my hunch is correct, then she’ll be receptive to any counter-offers and try to reach a deal. This could be a way to end the standoff without a fight!

Staring down the larger dragons, I draw a deep breath and force my crest to flatten. “I will not speak under the threat of violence. However, If we could lower our claws and be civil, I would be willing to share a dialogue.”

The blue dragon’s eyes go wide as discs. It seems she wasn’t expecting to encounter such an eloquently spoken dragon. But Kuro seems less impressed. “How can we trust you? What are those lights around your wings?”

“Self-defense,” I answer simply, convinced these dragons aren’t Southerns. “I do not seek conflict but will defend myself if necessary.”

At that, the blue dragon’s gaze rises to scan the forest around us. Is there something behind me? I don’t smell anything out of the ordinary. What could she be looking for?

The ironically named Kuro studies me, her tail flicking in the grass behind her. “Asha, I don’t think we can trust her.”

“I think we can,” The blue dragon sighs, relaxing her wings.

Kuro’s feathers perk in surprise. “Asha?”

“This is really weird,” she says, raising her head from the ground. “But weird stuff has a tendency to follow me. My name’s Asha, Daughter-Of-Kelani. And this is my mate Kuro, Daughter-Of-Mecali.” She tips her wings to Kuro, their weary gaze still attached to me. “What’s yours?”

Wait, so they’re–

…Oh.

Well, um. At least they shouldn’t be offended if I tell them I have a girlfriend. But ‘Kuro’ and ‘Asha’ certainly aren’t the names a Southern hatchling would receive. While they seem capable of being friendly, I can’t help but feel their piercing stares. Will they really believe the truth of how I arrived here?

“I am Grith,” I say, dipping my head. “I came to this realm searching for my parents, assuming I would find others like me. But, it seems I was mistaken.”

Until I learn more about these dragons, I shouldn’t tell them too many personal details about my life on Terra. What if they learn something about me and find it offensive? Still, I know that in order to gain their trust, I’ll need to divulge certain information about me. Hopefully, the story of why I came here and how I got trapped will be enough for them to take pity on me.

“This realm?” Asha’s head tilts. “You couldn’t be from the Farlands, could you?”

“Terra,” I correct. “I arrived here via the greater gate in the mountains to the east.”

The dragons exchange befuddled glances. Could they… not know what a greater gate is? Are they clueless about the existence of the other realms? How could a dragon not know about such things?

“This is very strange,” Kuro remarks. “Asha, do you think…?”

Something unspoken passes between Kuro and Asha. She flicks her gaze to me, suddenly overcome with trepidation. “You… came here of your accord, right?”

I don’t understand it entirely, but these dragons are trying to conceal something from me. I open my muzzle to deflect Asha’s question before the rumbling of my stomach interrupts my thoughts. Um, right. It’s been two days since I last ate, and the scent of fresh prey is on my nose. Somewhere behind me is the corpse of the beast that nearly took my life, just waiting to be devoured. If I could gain the trust of these dragons, then perhaps they would share their kill with me.

I’m going to have to take a leap of faith, aren’t I? I don’t entirely trust these dragons, but this is a dangerous realm full of creatures far larger than me. If I can’t form alliances here, I may not survive long enough to find a way to return home.

I draw a breath and click my tongue in acknowledgment. “My cousin and I discovered the gate to this realm on our ancestral homeworld, Fikol. The entrance was hidden in a sacred place to our kind, buried beneath a dune on the side of a desolate mountain. At first, we were confused… the inscriptions on the gate were utterly alien to us. After studying them in great detail, my cousin concluded it could lead to an entirely new realm, one that our Legends spoke nothing of. I volunteered to explore it, believing it could lead me to the location of my parents, who have been missing since I was young.

“But things did not go well. We could open the gate without incident, but as soon as I stepped into your realm, the link collapsed and stranded me here. It makes no sense… there should have been enough shimmer to sustain the connection for weeks. I tried to reopen the gate myself, but it was to no avail.

“Faced with little other choice, I was forced to explore this new realm in search of game. The magic here is… different. I can not explain why. Sometimes my spells form without incident, but others collapse at the most inopportune times. I was about to prey on the animal that knocked me unconscious before my spell ingloriously fizzled. Had you not intervened in the fight, I surely would have perished. For that, I am grateful.”

I look up from the ground to see Kuro and Asha staring intently, their expressions guarded. Do they believe the things I’m saying? Or is it only a matter of time before they consider me prey?

“I must return to Fikol as soon as possible. There is no food on our homeworld, and the realm is poisoned by death magic. Without me, my cousin can not return to our home, Terra. But without my cousin, I cannot reopen the gate which stranded me here. I am beside myself about what to do next. Please, if you know of any chronomancers in your realm, or even those familiar with shimmer, then you must take me to them at once!!”

Silence stretches across the forest.

The larger dragons relax on their haunches and audibly exhale. I didn’t overwhelm them with information, did I? The shimmer in this realm – inconsistent as it may be – has a pleasant aroma and is consistent everywhere I’ve been. Surely they must know of other chronomancers, some perhaps even more adept than I am.

“This is an awfully familiar story,” Asha says, loosening her wings.

“Too familiar,” Kuro quips.

“...It is?” I blink.

“I met Asha under similar circumstances,” Kuro nods. “She was not from this, um, ‘Terra’ you speak of. But she arrived in Felra from a place far different from it.”

“Felra…” I echo. “Is Felra the name of this realm?”

“It’s the name of this continent,” Asha says. “But, you’re not from this continent, are you? Or even from this moon?”

Kuro ruffles slightly, switching her gaze between us. “Asha!?”

“If I’m understanding things correctly,” Asha tilts her head forward. “Then my ‘realm’ is called Jade – that is the name of this moon. Your realm is somewhere far away from here, isn’t it?”

Oh, gosh. The veil is really dropping between us now. Aren’t these dragons familiar with the realms? Are they even familiar with magic? It feels like I’ve stepped back in time to the days when Grandfather was young – these dragons know so little about themselves or their place in the universe. At least they seem to believe my story… for now.

“It would seem so,” I sigh. There are no gas giants hanging in the skies of Terra. Our constellations are nothing alike. And all the dragons I know are intimately familiar with magic, if not practitioners themselves.”

At that, Asha’s face droops. “You’re lost in an unfamiliar place you know nothing about, desperately trying to return home to your family.”

I ruffle slightly, taken aback by Asha’s sudden empathy. Even Kuro seems somewhat surprised by the change in tone. I want to tell her she’s correct, but the words are difficult to loosen.

Asha rumbles a soothing noise, one not unlike the sounds Mother used to make when I was a hatchling. She splays her talons in front of her, resting on the ground before me. Her face is gentle, full of patient understanding. Has something similar happened to Asha before? After a confused moment, understanding grows on Kuro’s face. She joins her on the ground beside Asha and drapes a wing across her mate.

“So, you’re a…” Asha quickly trails off and flashes her gaze to Kuro. “Shimmer user. Like, magic.”

“That is correct,” I exhale, confused but thankful for the change in subject. Searching for an opportunity, I gaze up to see dried leaves drifting through the air from the trees above us. I tilt my wing spurs and summon just enough shimmer to slow a leaf’s descent to half speed. The dragons gasp, watching in muted shock as golden clock hands appear around the leaf before quickly disappearing. “My Grandfather taught me chronomancy magic, which is how I opened the gate to your realm. Among other things, I can use it to alter the flow of time.”

The leaf returns to normal speed and quickly descends to the ground. The two dragons exhale and relax their feathers, reeling from the rudimentary demonstration.

“Asha,” Kuro asks, turning to her mate. “Do you think–”

“Yeah,” she says. “It seems really similar to me, doesn’t it?”

“Do you practice magic as well?” I ask, excitement fringing my voice.

Asha’s face twists in apprehension. “Erm, sort of. Our deities grant us ‘gifts’ that enable us to do things we couldn’t normally do, like communicate with each other in a spoken language.”

“Or ascend to a more ‘civilized’ form,” Kuro grumbles, rolling her eyes so hard they risk departing their sockets.

“Oh,” my wings droop. “That does not sound similar to what I can do.”

“There’s more to it than that,” Asha smiles. “I can’t cast spells like you can, but we’re more alike than you think.”

“Really…?” My head tilts. What could she possibly mean by that?

Kuro smirks and pushes her wing against her mate. “Not yet, Asha.”

“Don’t worry!” she laughs. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Okay, they’re definitely hiding something from me. But strangely, I don’t get the impression that it’s anything malicious. More like something I’m not yet ready to see. Still, I can’t help but be morbidly curious. Who are these dragons? What are their lives like? How are they connected to Fikol? And why are they so big?

As I ruminate, Kuro notices the dissonance in my face. “Asha, We have to protect her. If another Dragon finds Grith…”

“Right,” Asha nods. “It wouldn’t end well. We need to take her to White Mountain as soon as possible. Her cousin is in danger.”

“White Mountain?” I ask. “Is that where you live?”

“Not us,” Kuro says, stretching her paws. “But our leader, Keuvra.”

Asha nods. “Kevura is the leader of our flock, and our deity. He’ll know why your spells keep fizzling.”

“Your deity…?” I gasp. “You mean, like a God? You can talk to your gods here?”

“I mean,” Asha rubs her neck with her wing spurs. “A deity isn’t the same thing as a god, but we talk to Keuvra once a darkmoon.”

“Oh…” I trail off in faint wonder. “We do not talk to our gods on Terra. Well, my cousin claims to have spoken to one, but I find it more likely that he ate the wrong herb. Perhaps that is what has happened here.”

“I think he’ll be pleased to meet you,” Asha says, rising to her talons. “Just stay close to us when we get to White Mountain, okay? A lot of Dragons live there, and everyone will be really curious about you.”

“Um, yes, of course,” I say, loosening my wings. ‘Curious’ can only mean one thing – they’ll see me as prey! I hope Kuro and Asha know how to fight because I don’t want to use my magic to defend myself. These dragons seem primitive, and using the breadth of my magic may frighten them. Asha claims we’re alike, yet she was just as shocked as Kuro was to see my chronomancy. How would a dragon who views me as lunch respond?

“Grandmother is going to have a fit,” Kuro jokes, standing on all fours to join Asha. She stretches her wings and exclaims, “What have you dragged back to White Mountain this time?!”

Asha laughs and is about to turn away with Kuro before her crest perks. She looks back and asks, “Are you hungry, Grith? Me and Kuro already ate, so you can have the rest of the Litsha, if you want.”

The two dragons smile, instantly raising my spirits.

“Um, thank you!”

Without wasting another moment, I cast about and find the ‘Litsha’ lying behind me. A warm breeze blows through my feathers as I feast on the animal, bringing strange scents from beyond the forest. Somehow, it seems I’ve managed to court the favor of these dragons. I don’t know what the future holds at White Mountain or if their deity will even be able to help me reopen the greater gate. But if nothing else, it seems I’ve made two new friends.

With the delectable taste of prey still fresh on my tongue, Asha and Kuro led me through the forest and into a broad clearing where trees are absent. Following their tail feathers, I step through the side of a bush and emerge into the mid-day sun. The skies have cleared since I last saw them, allowing me to feel the warmth of this realm for the very first time.

As I gaze beyond Asha and into an endless sky, she unfurls her wings and smirks. “You know how to fly, right?”

“Of course,” I nod. “Please, lead the way. I won’t be far behind you.”

The two dragons nod, raise their heads and issue savage calls into the clear autumn sky.

SKREEEAK!

ROOOAR!!

As they leap into the air, I feel compelled to join them with my own call.

RARRRRH!

Kuro and Asha rise quickly, entering a thermal that sends them soaring past the tree line. As I join them in the updraft, I get my first unobstructed view of the skies of Felra.

“By the stars…” I trail off in wonderment.

I find myself in a great valley, flanked on both sides by towering mountain ridges. Forests of green and gold stretch out in all directions, untouched by the cruel hands of humankind. Above me are islands perched in the sky, floating in place among the endless expanse of clear blue. And it’s there at the top of the valley that I find a towering stratovolcano, blanketed by sheets of alpine glaciers, making its prominence known above all else. Surely, this is White Mountain – a fitting place for a deity to reside.

If nothing else, this is certainly an exciting realm.

I catch up to Kuro and Asha, winging forward to fly beside them.

“Um,” I call out.

Gazing past their wings, my new friends smile and give me their undivided attention.

“To answer your prior question; ‘Southern’ is the name of my kind; those dragons descended from ancient Fikol….”