Hallow

“The sun is up,” said the spotted Spiral. His face was covered by a mask, only his eyes visible. He winced as he drew his eyes towards the sky.

“It is noon,” confirmed the Pearlcatcher with tufts of shaggy green fur behind her ears.

“Is he even coming?” wheezed the lame Skydancer impatiently, scratching his long, scab-covered neck. “The heat is killing me.”

“I agree,” replied the Pearlcatcher, “and if he isn’t here soon, Plaguebringer knows I’m gonna have to rip someone else to pieces.” She licked her lips.

“Shut up, you two,” snarled the spotted Spiral, “My head’s hurting as is.”

“Take it out on him, not on us,” retaliated the Skydancer.“That’ll teach him not to act out on our turf.”

“Who is that weirdo, even?” asked the Pearlcatcher, “I have never seen him around before. I’ve heard some whispers among the locals, though. Tough fella, if not very talkative. He takes his privacy very seriously.”

“Pff, he’s probably some vagabond off his rocker,” said the Skydancer, “otherwise why would he mess with the three of us?”

“Nah,” said the Spiral, “He’s just out for our heads, like the rest of them.”

“Bounty hunter? Sheesh, we get no rest ever since the reward’s been out-”

“He’s here.”

The three of them went silent as a dark silhouette approached them. His armor clanked loudly, and seemed to be a little oversized for the Mirror. “What a tin can,” giggled the Pearlcatcher. Soon, he was close enough for the gang to be able to examine him. The Mirror wasn’t very large; he seemed to be much younger than them, and in the milky green of his eyes they recognized his Wind birth. Nevertheless, there was an air of confidence about him that unnerved the three.

“Hey, eggshell! Do they even teach Windlings to fight?” shouted the Skydancer from across the field on which they were to battle.

The Mirror grinned. “Heh, better than you’d think. An orphaned hatchling can’t survive on the Windswept Plateau without learning a couple tricks.”

“Oh, go ahead, tell us the whole sob story,” teased the shaggy Pearlcatcher, “about how your mommy and daddy left your egg for Beastclan omelette, and how you-”

“Shut up,” snapped the spotted Spiral.

“Or what, am I gonna hurt his baby feelings?” asked the Pearlcatcher in a mocking tone. “Oh please. He intruded upon our sweet spot, he’s out for our heads. He thinks he’s better than us, but he’s not. We’re here to stay.”

“Come on, guys. Let’s just beat him up, and forget about it,” said the Skydancer.

As the gang began encroaching upon the Mirror, he only grinned once more.

“You’re going to regret this.”


***

The dust settled. Sprawled across the field where the Spiral, the Pearlcatcher and the Skydancer; the Mirror was standing victoriously over the three, enjoying the midday warmth and the fresh breeze.

The Spiral groaned as he tried to lift his bloodied body and crawl away from the battlefield. The Mirror noticed; swiftly, he rolled the Spiral over again, so that he was facing his victor.

“What, are you going to leave your little friends behind? Not even going to say goodbye?” The Mirror was smiling.

“Heh,” said the Spiral, coughing up blood mixed with mucus. “Well, I guess you beat us, kid. What’s your name, now?”

“Hallow,” said the Mirror,“ don’t you recognize me?”

“Eh? I’m seeing you for the first time. What, are you gonna gloat now? Are you gonna hand us over, and get your money? Guess you’re gonna be the hero now, eh, kid?”

The mirror tilted his head in amusement. “No, none of that. I’m afraid I’ll have to deal with you myself.”

“Oh, so you’re the righteous vigilante kind,” said the Spiral, “So you want me to beg? You want me to list all of the crimes I’ve committed, all the sins on my soul? Well, I’ve robbed and I’ve killed, and I-”

“Silence,” said the Mirror, as he reached out to remove the Spiral’s mask. “You can do that when I-”

Suddenly, his smile faded. Instead, an expression of disgust appeared on his face.

“You’re not who I was looking for,” he said, dismissively. “You’re just common scum.” He spat beside the defeated Spiral.

“Common scum?! If it pleases you, I’m-”

“Shut up. I don’t care.” The Mirror turned around to leave.

“Well, do you at least care about the money? There’s a nice fat reward on my name. Go and get it.”

“Go get it yourself.”

The Spiral wheezed. Blood kept coming up, and he wondered how much he had left.

“You’re a funny tin can, you know that?.....”

But the Mirror was already far away, and out of earshot.
*......................................................*
It was night. the dragonet could barely tell. It was dark within that egg shell. But tomorrow he would see the real world. Tomorrow was his day. That was when he heard the crash and the pained roar of another dragon. then footsteps. Rumbling all around him. "You! How could you?" A voice cried. "Mythos? What have you done?" The cry sounded anguished. "Kvasir? Are you okay? Can you hear me? Kvasir!?" What was happening? If only today was hatch day. Then he could see. "Get out of the clan, you murderer! Leave us! We never want to see your face again!" This voice was angry. There were more footsteps now. Coming for the dragonet. Two claws wrapped around the outer shell. Then he was moving faster than he thought possible. He felt the wind against the thin covering of shell all around him. Then there was a voice. "I'm innocent son. Remember that, no matter what they say, I'm innocent." And then he was dropping in altitude and it all went black.

The newly hatched dragonet woke up. There had been a commotion last night after landing, but the dragonet had only woken up for a second. Now he was fully awake. Today was the day he would feel the wind on his scales. Today was the day he would see light for the first time. Today was the day he would show the world what a great dragon he could be! Today was hatching day. The dragonet clawed, bit ,and slammed at the shell of his prison, eventually breaking into the real world. But now he wished to return inside. He wished he had never gotten out of the egg shell. There in front of him was a large dragon, sprawled out with his stomach sliced open. Blood pooled across the long flowing grasses and internal organs littered the field. One word flew into the newly hatched dragonet's mind. Dad? How he knew this dragon in front of him was his father, he wasn't sure. But something told him who it was. And everything told him he was dead. What had left his father so... Hollow?

He had been there for the last day. Unsure of where he was to go the dragonet mourned the loss of the father he never truly knew. Then came the laughter. It surrounded him. The dragonet was scared. It got worse as the large Spiral emerged from the woods. His talons were stained with blood and his deep blue eyes were wild. His scales were the darkest of black while his wings were the darkest of reds. But his belly shone a brilliant green. A green the dragonet wouldn't soon forget. The Spiral laughed, but it seemed to surround the hatchling. Not just coming from the dragon's mouth. "Are you scared young'un? Scared of what became of your daddy? Scared of what I can do?" The Spiral's voice was raspy and his whole body quivered with every word he said. "No. You don't scare me." The dragonet snarled with as much force as he could. The Spiral looked surprised, but turned away. "You'll always be nothing but a Hollow soul." Hollow... Hollow... Something within reminded him of a story. A story of the darkest evening. The Hallow's eve. The dragonet liked that word. Hallow. He looked up at the spiral. "I am Hallow. And I will keep my soul strong." There was only another long raspy laugh as the spiral walked away.

Hallow searched. Day and night he walked across the plateaus and plains of wind. He didn't find the spiral. And if he found a clan of dragons he immediately fled for fear of what they might think of a lone mirror. He had a calling deep within him to join a group, but he ignored the pull. He needed to have his revenge on the spiral. He needed to avenge his father. Then one rainy morning a dark spiral loomed on the horizon. Hallow went into a blind rage, charging at the dragon without checking who it was. They wrapped around him in a heartbeat, claws tearing into his sides and slicing his wings. When the spiral was finished with him Hallow was a bleeding broken mess. He looked up as the spiral walked away. Her stomach was silver, not green. And her eyes were deep red. This was when Hallow realized two things. One; he needed to be more careful, and Two; He needed more protection. Rising to his feet he decided he needed armor. The young mirror knew what he needed to find. He needed to find a blacksmith.

After days of walking and flying Hallow finally made it. He stood in a Blacksmith market in the Emberglow Hearth, dragons called out all around. "Get your weapons here!" "You there! You look like you need a war helmet!" And so on. Tents with small forges were set up everywhere, and dragons of all species scuttled from one place to another. Hallow flinched as a Spiral went racing by. He wondered if he'd ever get used to them. He inspected every tent carefully examining the craftsmanship abilities held within. None quite caught his eye until he noticed a small ragged looking black tent. A Snapper was inside, working closely with a Sprangyroo to move things around the small space. Gold disks hung from the Snappers horns and her scales were gray. Hallow couldn't tell if it was her natural color or if the ash had caused her to be that color. She looked a little younger than him and her eyes told him she was originally from lightning, which was odd judging on the fact that she was working in one of the least technological places around. The Emberglow Hearth didn't need technology. Hallow realised. They had all the old fashioned power they needed. Hallow shook his head, then he approached the small tent.

After much conversation, Hallow realised that he had found the right place. The Snapper, Shard and her Sprangyroo companion Bracken made armor all the time and had the perfect idea in mind for Hallow. Though he hadn't known her for long Hallow felt complete trust for this beautiful dragon, and he watched in awe as Shard and Bracken seemingly danced across the tent, getting everything prepared. He smiled as she glanced at him. “It's getting late. Maybe you'd like to stay the night?” Shard asked and Hallow shrugged. “Do you have enough room?” he asked, not wanting to be rude. But his instincts all told him stay. Shard laughed. It made Hallow feel good. “Of course I have room! It's bigger than it looks in here!” Shard grinned and beckoned him inside. “Alright.” Hallow nodded and followed her into the tent.

The armor was finished. After a week of Shard and Bracken slaving over the forge, a set of Samurai-esque armor was at Hallow’s talons. When he put it on, it wasn't as snug as he'd like, and a little heavy, but it was armor and it would do. Plus he didn't want to hurt Shard’s feelings. After thanking her profusely Hallow was on his way. He wanted to ask her to come with him, but fighting the spiral was too dangerous. He didn't want to risk her being hurt. And so he vowed to himself that he would come back one day. He didn't vow this out loud of course, but Hallow was pretty sure Shard felt the same way as he did. He hadn't looked back for ages, afraid he might see the market fading away and go back. But what the young Mirror didn't know was that he was about to meet someone else very important.

Hallow was tired. He had made it back to the Windswept plateau but there was still no sign of the spiral. On this particular night, he spotted a tiny figure. It wasn't a spiral, but a fae. The tiny elegant fae, her black and white scales shining turned towards Hallow. He felt drawn to her she moved with such ease and he found himself approaching her despite his doubts.