Eyos and White Cold
Flame Whilaerth
HATCHING
Winter
was progressing at an alarming rate, and the eggs on the hatching sands
were slowly hardening. Almost too slowly. Some worried that so many eggs
on and in the soft red sands were just too many and they weren’t kept warm
enough. Logical minds argued that if there were a problem, the experienced
mothers on the sands would have said something.
An unseasonably warm week had wreaked its havoc on the snowbanks of Ryslen,
turning the winter wonderland into a sloppy wet muddy place.
Many of the candidates - novos - were reassigned from
the “traditional” chores to keep the floors clean and dry in the major
entryways. Some, if not all of them were pleased to be out of
barracks cleaning duties.
It seemed that a breath of fresh air was what everyone needed - especially
the eggs. Shortly after the sun passed zenith, a harmonious rumble issued
forth from the hatching grounds. The call had been anticipated for so long
that half of Ryslen was quite startled and the other half... weren’t. At
any rate, the hatching grounds were quickly filled but the hearts of the
tiros were heavy - many of the eggs showed no sign of movement, and a few
even seemed flaccid.
The IceLanders were among the novos that had rushed to
the sands but had not bonded after the last rocking egg had hatched. It
seemed that they would have to wait a little longer while Winter lasted at
Ryslen. There were a grand multitude of eggs left and surely they would
hatch? It was barely daybreak when Ryslen was seranaded with dragonsong
again. But again the IceLanders did not bond. And worse, due to some
unknown magic a lot of the eggs that had rocked first seemed to have been
‘stopped’. Though it was hard to understand just what had happened the
IceLanders were a supersticious people and they knew that praying and
waiting was about the only thing they could do.
The weather at Ryslen for the following days was erratic at best. It
couldn’t decide whether to blow spring gently in, or to blow in another
snowfall. Every day it was cold and gloomy enough to hazard a prediction
of snow was followed by one just warm enough to melt the crystalline
drifts a little further. The hearts of the Ryslenese were similarly
afflicted – everyone seemed to long after the warm caress of spring after
an incredibly cold winter, but knew full well that until the Flurry clutch
was off the sands winter would never truly end.
When the attention-getting call of the Flurry mothers resonated through
Ryslen the third time, the multitude of novos hurried to assemble. There
were more dragons and furry candidates now than Ryslen had ever seen
grouped together for one clutch. The eggs were rocking quite ferociously
(for eggs…) and yet too few eggs showed signs of life. But at least some
were still alive.
The second egg slowly gyrated, and then the shell fell away, revealing a
hatchling of purest white, burning with flame markings of icy blue.
Ironically, he marched straight over to an IceLander who had spent a great
many hours gazing into a burning fire.
Eyos,
my name is Whilaerth. Together, we will have great adventures.
FLEDGELING
Whilaerth lashed his tail and jumped up, he
was a medium-sized dragon with a lean built and a flashy appearance.
Training felt like a shore, all he really wanted was to go out and
explore.
"It never hurts to be prepared." his bond, Eyos told him.
"Prepared for what?"
"A lot can happen. Think battle, think dangers."
"I can just vanish from danger."
Whilaerth said matter-of-factly.
"Ok then, think obstacle courses, think roadblocks and dungeon
crawls."
"Now I get it." Whilaerth
grinned and continued with a belly crawl.
ADULT
Eyos looked around, wondering how a
bright-blue marked, white dragon could hide in a forest with this
proficiency. All around him he saw green, brown and black. Playing hide
and seek was a pastime they'd started when Whilaerth had been old enough
to walk by himself. At first it had been easy to spot the dragon, but
gradually Whilaerth had learned to camouflage himself so well, Eyos was
certain that the dragon could just hide in a pocket dimension. Whilaerth
had assured him he was not cheating and Eyos believed him. Whilaerth was a
dragon that liked to be honest and straightforward, just like Eyos
himself. They were a dependable team and had seen a lot of training.
Lately Eyos had been wondering where to go next. Training at Ryslen had
concluded. In the back of his mind a plan to return home was forming, but
he felt like that was still too soon.
"I don't mind travelling a bit."
Whilaerth's voice sounded from somewhere close by.
"Is this how you hide? Peaking into my mind?"
"I assure you it's not." Whilaerth
chuckled, "You make a lot of noise."
"Well I'm not trying to be quiet." Eyos said.
"Do try. How else are you ever going to
observe your people?"
"I don't want to observe, I want to help them."
"Ah, but how can you help without knowing
the situation? Years have passed. So try harder."
Whilaerth insisted.
"So what where you thinking of doing next?"
"It wouldn't hurt to travel and see the
nexus. We can visit your home occasionally to check on things. At some
point the time will be right."
"You've got a point. Any places you want to visit?"
"Well there is one place I'd like to go....
and something I'd like to do..."
[Story] [back to main]
Eyos impressed at the Ryslen
Flurry 2003
