Behemoth

Do you hear the winds howling, shrieking? Do you feel the mist breathing upon your face from the rain?
Good, then I shall tell you a story.


Alone in the empty night, a great beast slept in the darkness. A hulking shape, fearless, tired.
Solemn tree trunks kept guard. Leaves trembled against their branches, droplets of cool moisture escaping their curled edges and fell to the forest floor. The creature remained still.
Its sides slowly heaved as a sigh, and then a low rumble parted its gnarled lips. The sound was something like a growl and yet very nearly words. The creature's scaly brow creased. Immense, leathery wings slowly rose from the beast’s sides.
Carefully, a gold-flecked eye opened.
A second eyelid cracked. Ears quivered.
And then it began to raise its massive head.
Crowned with branched ebony horns, gleaming orbs for sight, and tendrilous whiskers, this solitary being was made for nights just like this one.
Nostrils flared and deeply drew in the chilled air.
The beast hoisted its great frame up onto muscular legs, readying itself to move. Despite its massive size, it never cracked a branch nor tore any leaf. With a keen gentleness, a carefulness, it slid its enormity between the trees. Slumbering mammalian babes remained silent and unshaken. Blissfully rotund birds roosting above continued to dream of banquets of seeds and beetles, none the wiser to the creature noiselessly moving below them.
However, there was a noise.
A singular, unmistakable din.
The creature strained all four of its ears to clarify the sound coming from somewhere beyond the wood. Both of its shining eyes closed in concentration, its breathing became shallow and slow.
It searched its seemingly eternal memories for what this echo could possibly be. So familiar, yet so alien and strange.
Flashes of light, remnants of songs and tattered bits of dreams danced through the beast’s mind. What a chore it was to drudge through centuries of time caught in the spiderweb of remembrance. The images and emotions lulled, and then - a spark!
As the melodious sound continued to flow through the creature's ears, the warm glow of memory burned brighter and brighter. This was the echo of hope.
The creature's muscles quaked and quivered with anticipation as he made his way past ancient trees and thorny brambles. It had been ages since he set foot outside of the forest.
Carefully continuing on past leafy burrows, making sure not to disturb any denizens asleep inside, his eyes caught sight of the wood's edge. This made him nervous. So much time had passed in the outside world he was wary of what awaited him. Before long, he was mere feet from an open space. Flared nostrils told him there was no imminent danger. He squinted his eyes, took a deep breath in, and stepped boldly into the sunlight.

There he stood. In a small meadow, a cool breeze softly waving the grasses while honey bees hummed around clusters of flowers. He was completely bathed in light. Being as deeply colored as his scales were, their definition and hue only became richer. It was evident now that his black scales were also shades of red, purple, green, and flecked with gold.
At first it made him uneasy, basking in light, but then he remembered.
He remembered how blissful it could be. The warm light, the brisk air twirling through his horns. He closed his eyes and drank in the scent of the wild flora.
Far in the distance the sound continued to call. He refocused his attention. He slowly moved on from the meadow.
“I'll be back,” he whispered to himself. Turning toward the sound, determination renewed and mind refreshed, his journey took him another two days before the sound was noticeably closer. This part of the trek had placed him within a small canyon. Towering rock faces and ominous boulders lined his way. The setting sun revealed a myriad of rich tones that painted the stone.
Gold and silver flecks of mica patterned pebbles and pieces of slate. Broad bands of red, yellow, white and brown filled the steep canyon faces.
With each step he heard the tone clearer and clearer.
This familiar yet alien sound was so rich, so complex, that every so often a new dimension to the notes would reveal itself.