Daucus

The young green skydancer stood up slowly from beneath the tree that had sheltered him from the rain the night before. He yawned as he looked around. A few trees had fallen due to the storm and he was happy the tree he had slept under still stood behind him. The clouds that had darkened the sky just a few hours prior had vanished and Daucus could see the blue sky through the roof of leaves above. He carefully picked out some berries from his satchel and munched happily on the sweet fruits. Once he had finished his breakfast, the young dragon stretched and made his way through the lush forest.

He passed a small river with purple flowers growing alongside it that reminded him of something, but he couldn’t place his claw on what it had been. He shook off the feeling and admired the colourful flowers and birds around him. Daucus stopped when he heard the birds around him stop singing and listened for any sign of danger. The eerie silence that enveloped the usually busy forest sent chills down his spine. A loud shriek echoed around him and caused Daucus to sprint to a tree and climb to a branch, hiding himself among the leaves.

A large Gaoler limped through the forest below him. It seemed ill and weak, but Daucus couldn’t help but feel uneasy and creeped out by the ancient dragon’s appearance. The way it moved made it seem almost helpless, but it looked like it knew what it was doing. Once the creature was right below him he could smell and see the decaying flesh on its body, the missing pieces of fur showed old wounds and scars and the Gaolers eyes seemed dull and blind. It moved almost mechanically and stopped once it was next to the tree Daucus was hiding in. It moved slowly, but the young skydancers heart stopped when he realised the Gaoler was turning its head to look right at him and he could see the milky white eyes of the beast. He swallowed thickly, unsure of what to do now with the Gaoler staring up at him with its blind eyes and him stuck in a tree.

Daucus got up and climbed higher into the tree. He couldn’t fly with the dense forest around him, he just had to get to the top of the tree and he’s be off. But before he could make it up two branches the tree shook and Daucus had to hold on tight to keep himself from falling into the claws of the furry beast below. Light green claws buried themselves in the soft bark as he slipped down a bit. The young skydancer prayed to the Flamecaller that he could make it out of this alive. Right before his claws could slip he heard a young sounding voice from within his head.

That is enough. He knows.

The shaking stopped abruptly and as he looked down he could see the Gaoler limping away from the tree, sending him a last, unseeing look before vanishing into the underbrush. Daucus continued to cling to the tree, breathing heavily. The voice had said that he knew, and for some reason the young dragon didn’t understand, he did know. It had been the same voice as the one he had heard in his dreams countless times. The same voice that had told him to find a stream covered in purple leaves. It hadn’t made much sense, but now the dragon remembered the river he had seen earlier and jumped down from the tree. He looked around for the Gaoler, but it was long gone and the birds had started singing their songs once more. The atmosphere was the same as before the Gaoler had appeared and the forest seemed as happy as ever, but Daucus could feel something was horribly wrong. And he was going to find out what.