Micah

Micah was a rather adventurous dragon and always loved explored so he took it upon himself to leave his home clan and explore the vast expanses of the world that he could. After all, what adventures could he come upon visiting new clans! So he set out, with his familiar and a journal to jot down his travels of the world!

"Hi! I'm Micah. First time out."

"Hello, my name is Micah. It's nice to meet you."

"Hey there! I'm Micah. It's my first time travelling."

"You shouldn't be telling that to strangers," says the nocturne, her cyan eyes both tired and piercing. Micah blinks. He's gone around introducing himself to all the dragons in the barracks, and she's the first one who's reacted like this. "Someone might get the wrong idea."

"Why?" he says, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Most dragons travel," she says, "only once. Most dragons never go home again."

He shrinks into himself a little, at this. Despite how much larger he is, she makes him feel small. "Oh."

"Look around you, Micah," she says. "The next time the gods do battle, most of these dragons will be gone."

He perks up a little at that. "Oh, well that's not so bad," he says. "I mean, not for me, maybe, but there's honor in serving the gods."

"There is honor in serving them, yes," she agrees. "There is no honor in dying for them." And she turns away, leaping up into the rafters with a strong flutter of her wings.

"Hey, wait!" he calls after her. "What's your name?"

"Call me Ixchel."

He spends a lot of the next few weeks following her around. She goes out into the Sunbeam Ruins to gather herbs; she spins flax into thread, and then into bandages. "It's good for you to learn these things," she tells him, answering his questions freely. "The worst thing for a traveler to be is useless."

And battle comes, as she says it would. And the building lies empty, save for Micah, Ixchel, and a few others who call it home. Only one dragon who left comes back.

"Ixchel!" Micah calls out, rushing in ahead of two warriors. "Ixchel, there's someone here to see you!"

"That's never a good sign," she murmurs, rushing down and out of the doors. Micah follows, and it's only then that he sees what the warriors are carrying: the lanky, mangled body of a skydancer, with glittering feathers and iridescent scales. "Oh, little songbird," Ixchel sighs, reaching forward to cradle the head, lolling on a limp neck. "Oh, my dove. I'm so sorry."

Micah stays with her as she prepares the body for burial. He hands her oils and bandages at her murmured instructions; he listens to her quiet lullabies with numb ears. All he can think about is how gracefully the skydancer moved, when Micah saw them in the barracks-- how beautiful their laughter was, and how silent they are now.

"It's inevitable," Ixchel tells him, later, once it's done. "Some will die. They always do. All I can do is try to make it easier for their souls to find rest."

Micah is silent for a very long time. "I don't know how I'm supposed to live with this," he says. "Am I-- supposed to be grateful? That it wasn't me?"

"I can't tell you how to feel," Ixchel says, "or what to do. You can go home, settle down, and put this all behind you. You can seek the road again. There will always be need for those who practice this craft-- our craft, if you choose it. But it is your one precious life. Whatever you do, make the most of it."

After a long journey back to his home clan. Micah was shocked to see the clan had grown vastly. More dragons flitted about than ever before. Some new and some old. When he returned a vibrant green nocturne by the name of Louisa welcomed him. Inviting him stay at the travelers inn close to the edge of the clan. Another traveler was staying at the time. Sacred greeted him excitedly.

“Hi I’m Sacred I’m a first time traveler! This is my first clan.”

Micah sighed and greeted her. “You know you shouldn’t say that.” He grumbled. Ixchels voice still at the forefront of his mind. The things he’d experienced still fresh on his mind. He couldn’t sleep some nights because of them. Sacred grumbled in response.

“Well why not? Traveling is fun and a new experience every day. You just got back from that. Why say it?” She said in a haughty expression. Her claws scraping the dirt roughly. Micah stared off into the distance for a moment not saying a word. How could he explain it the way ixchel had to him.

Finally he decided on a response. “Yes it may be fun and a new experiences. It can also be very dark and scary. Some dragons travel only once, and never return home.” With that the banescale silenced. The air around them became icy. For she wondered what the imperial had seen that made him come home.

Micah knew he would one day travel again, but for sure not any time soon. He needed a rest and a place he felt safe from everything for awhile.

Journal entry