Dreams

The sun was rising; its golden rays of warmth and light were starting to trickle in through my bedroom window. I was still soundly asleep, dreaming of prancing through fragrant fields of wild flowers with pretty little fairies flying around me. Suddenly, something was nudging my arm, attempting to rouse me from my slumber. It felt cold, smooth and scaly. I groaned, not wanting to leave the wonderful fields of wild flowers and the small lovely fairies. There was more nudging, this time more urgently. I opened one eye blearily and turned my head to find my dragon, Ignis, staring intently at me with his deep golden eyes. “Good morning little one… It is a beautiful day today! See how the sun shines and hear how the birds sing!” He said in thought speech, his throat rumbling in what seemed to be laughter. I groaned again and groggily replied, “Oh, Ignis, must you wake me so early? I was having such a pleasant dream!” He chuckled some more and then inquired what the dream was about. I hesitated then, for I feared that it would sound stupid. He still stared at me intensely, as if he were trying to read my mind, waiting patiently for me to answer. Finally, I relented and told him how I had dreamt that I was prancing in fields of wild flowers with little fairies flying gracefully about me. This time his laughter was so great, it shook the room and jolted me quite awake. “It’s not funny Ignis…”, I replied, giving him a hurt look. He did the equivalent of a shrug and said, “Come on, little one, it is time you got up.” Ignis then left me to go hunt for his breakfast; he had only gotten up just a bit before he woke me. Reluctantly, I got out of bed and sluggishly clambered out of my sleep robes and into my dress. Then, grabbing a brush, I started the task of untangling my long silken black hair and tied it back with a ribbon to keep it out of my face. I then went to the chicken coop and pen, which I had imbued with protective spells to keep the chickens safe from predators such as wolves. After feeding the chickens, I took out some of the fresh eggs that the hens had laid.

Ignis scanned the ground below, searching for signs of movement. He spotted a deer at the edge of a forest. Swooping in swiftly and silently like a falcon, he dropped down from above and clamped his deadly, razor sharp teeth into the neck of the deer, killing it instantly. He returned, carrying the limp deer between his forelegs. Ignis then started a small fire on which I could cook my breakfast. “Here little one, have some of this raw venison. It is wonderful!” He said, tearing off a bit of the deer for me. I gladly accepted it, thanked him and roasted the deer meat on the small fire. Ignis made short work of the deer, greedily devouring large mouthfuls. I figured he must have been rather hungry. Soon we both finished our breakfast. Now it was time for a ride over forests, rivers, grasslands and fields of wild flowers. I ran back to my home and grabbed the dragon saddle. Then I strapped it onto Ignis’s back, just behind his neck and in between his great leathery wings. It was a good thing that he was a relatively small species of dragon or I could not have easily managed the task. Carefully, I climbed onto his back and into the saddle, which I then buckled myself to. “Are you ready little one?” he asked. “Yes, let’s fly, Ignis!”, I replied. Ignis started flapping his great majestic wings, scattering dust and dirt about, then he launched himself into the air with his powerful hind legs. Higher and higher we went, the wind singing through my hair and ruffling my dress. The landscape below seemed to shrink until it appeared to be no more than a large model that someone had put together. The many rivers were like long glistening snakes, and forests were large, lumpy patches of green. Ignis did complex loops, twists, dives and turns that left me quite breathless and elated. It was just like the town amusement park rides, but it was far better, much faster, on a larger scale, and so much more exciting! Here in the air, there were no boundaries, while the amusement park rides are confined to their tracks. I was quite enjoying myself. Suddenly, we heard a noise, a loud, painful, high-pitched screech directly behind us. I turned my head and saw a black dragon-like creature. It was more slender, with a larger wingspan, but appeared less muscular than Ignis. The creature’s black scales glistened menacingly in the sunlight as it pursued us, screeching and snapping its jaws at us. “This can’t be good… What is that creature!?!?!” I said to Ignis in thought speech. “Do not be afraid… it is a Dragosaer… they are a species related to dragons, rather weak if you ask me… set up a barrier spell around yourself and watch me show this coward who is the boss! The pitiful creature is simply challenging me to a duel.” Ignis instructed, his eyes blazing with anger. “Are you sure we can fight it off?” I asked, trying hard to keep the trembling tone from my voice. “Yes little one… I know we can! ” He replied. “Very well… Shaeldar Myhenin!”, I chanted, my barrier spell forming a protective magic shield around me. I hastily covered my ears as Ignis let rip a huge defiant roar in response to the challenge of the Dragosaer. It screeched equally in defiance and the battle commenced. The Dragosaer spat dark venom at Ignis and me. My magical shield glowed blue as the poison was deflected, but some of the toxin got on Ignis’s scales. “Conteir Vaernon!” I chanted, using the spell that counteracts poisons. The venom vanished, vaporizing without a trace. The Dragosaer screeched angrily when it realized that its potent venom had taken no effect on either of us. It attacked Ignis fiercely, scratching and biting with all the fury of a cornered beast. Ignis released a colossal burst of white-hot fire, scorching the Dragosaer’s side. It shrieked in pain, but then dove in to ram Ignis’s side. The impacted jarred us and we plunged downwards until Ignis regained his balance. “Ignis! Are you alright?” I asked, full of concern for my dragon, though I was trembling slightly. “I’m alright, but rather shaken, little one…”  “Maybe we should give up this insane fight and land so that I may tend to your wounds.”, I suggested. “Why, little one… I sense your fear and I understand, but if we fail to fight the Dragosaer off, all shall scorn us for being cravenly… Trust me, little one; we shall be the winners in this battle… I will make sure of it! I shall not give up… and neither shall you.”, said Ignis determinedly. The Dragosaer came in for another attack, but this time Ignis was prepared. He made an aerial maneuver to get behind the Dragosaer. It had little time to react as Ignis dealt it a fierce blow with lethal blade-like claws. It screeched in agony, black blood dripping from the gaping wounds on its black hide as it retreated. “You were brave Ignis… I just hope we won’t have to fight more of those Dragosaer… are you much hurt?” “I am fine, only a few small cuts and bruises… not much damage done…” “I think we should land now, so that I may heal your wounds, Ignis.” He consented this time and slowly we descended. Once we landed, I unbuckled myself from the saddle and slid down one of Ignis’s wings to get off from his back. Then I checked his wounds. There were indeed a few cuts and bruises; he winced as I ran my hands over some of the slightly larger wounds. However, none were really serious, so I used a simple healing spell. “Haelis ael!”, I chanted; my hands hovered over the wounds and I closed my eyes in concentration. A faint blue-white glow came from beneath my palms as first the bleeding stopped, then the cuts slowly closed up, and the bruises gradually faded away. “Thank you little one… that is indeed much better.” After some rest, we decided to return home for the afternoon meal, for we were rather famished by now. Again, I climbed onto Ignis’s back and buckled myself into the dragon saddle. Dust and dirt were scattered about once more as Ignis moved his great wings. Then we were off. Once we arrived home, I slid down his wing and then I loosened the straps that bound the saddle to his back so that he could slip out of it. Afterwards, I went to store the dragon saddle in our house. Ignis went hunting for deer and other creatures while I went to gather wild edible plants and firewood. Soon, Ignis had caught a large, robust deer, as well as a few rabbits. I had managed to gather a relatively large bundle of wild edible plants and firewood. I then went back inside our house to grab some spices, flavoring herbs, a spoon, a bowl and a large cooking kettle which I filled with water. It was my turn to light the fire so I laid the bundle of firewood in a pile and said, “Blaezahn!” The pile of wood sparked and burst into flame. Again, Ignis kindly offered me some of the deer and a few of the rabbits, which I gladly accepted. I put the meat into the kettle along with the spices, flavoring herbs, and wild edible plants. Ignis had already started to enjoy his meal while I sat and waited hungrily for the stew to be done cooking. Finally, it seemed done, so I took a sip with my spoon. It was wonderful, the best stew I had ever made. Filling my bowl with the stew, I sat down in the grass to enjoy my meal. There was plently of stew left over in the kettle and I was too stuffed to take any more. Ignis had finished his meal, but he thought the stew smelled most enticing and asked to have the remainder. I consented, knowing that the stew would spoil if it was left for too long. Grabbing the kettle, Ignis happily slurped up the remaining stew and told me he was impressed that I had made good stew for once. I blushed, and said “Oh, Ignis, it was nothing really…” and we both laughed. We reclined on a grassy hill near our house to stare up at the sky, watching as the clouds drifted lazily across and birds of many colors fluttered about. We watched the sun set as the moon and the twinkling stars began to appear. It was getting cold now; a light, chilly nighttime breeze was blowing. Ignis had fallen asleep, his sides heaving gently. “Ignis… Come on, Ignis, it is cold outside. Let’s go inside where there is more warmth,” I said, gently shaking him. He stirred and opened one eye groggily. “Why little one, I was just having a good dream… the exhilaration of the hunt… but you are correct, it is rather chilly outside.” He replied, shivering slightly from the cold. Together we returned to our house. I got washed up and dressed in my sleep robes while Ignis curled up on his sleep-rug. Clambering into bed, I pulled my warm blankets over me. Nothing could be heard aside from the gentle breathing of Ignis, who had already fallen asleep again. Soon enough, his rhythmic breathing lulled me to sleep. We both slept soundly, returning to the fantastic world of our dreams…