Artis- Lore
for @
Lightrays
All Artis could remember from his early life was this: towering evergreens stretching seemingly infinite above his head. Dragons, all around him, with purple eyes. The only light pouring out from glowing mushrooms, which sometimes housed a sleeping fae atop their smooth surface. The day his life had changed, the day he had been pushed off the course of weary repetitive days in this dark wood, was the day he saw her.
A purple toned imperial- An imperial like himself, though slightly larger. Her wings glimmered like the rarely-seen night sky, that glorious artwork that stretched above in the heavens each night. She was frozen, it seemed, in the middle of a step, as though she'd been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to- a hatchling caught wandering too far from home by their dam. But when their eyes met, he was faced with something that was decidedly.. Not purple. A tone of pink, stretched wide with something that almost looked like fear. Artis and this stranger stood frozen for a time. Interrupted only by the screech of a bird above. The male twisted his head up to locate the source of such a cry, and upon meeting nothing, lowered his head.
Lowered his head, that is, to find himself once again alone in the wood.
This encounter never left Artis' mind through the weeks that followed. The brief scene replayed constantly in his head, the nearly painful repeating of the events of that shaded day. With every loop his head played for him, He pushed more upon himself. He wished he'd said something- Anything. He wished he'd gotten the stranger's name. He wished he'd not looked away to find the bird's call. He wished, most of all, for a second chance.
As fate would have it, however, it seemed that the unyielding, unmerciful world would not dare to give him what he so truly desired- what he needed to understand what had happened was kept from him, held aloft by a red string connected to that pink-gazed dragon.
Refusing- or perhaps unable- to give up, Artis began wandering. Wandering further and further from his home, the area of crooked evergreens that had been so familiar to him for so long. He began moving on the edge of the Shadowbinder's territory, craning his neck to try and perhaps catch a glimpse of her, that stranger he'd since become so enamoured with. He wanted answers. He wanted to know where she hailed from, wanted to know if the connection he felt drawing him to her was returned. He wanted to know her name. These thoughts, pounding at the edge of his consciousness, kept his mind sharp and his hopes high, no matter how low his spirits dropped.
Through all of his time journeying in search, he never so much as caught a glimpse of her. A week passed, then two of fruitless travel. Exhausted, now, he curled at the base of a tree, allowing himself rest- true rest- for the first time since he'd seen her. His only sleep had been haunted by dreams that called him a coward, that said his chance was wasted. But, as he settled now, against the rough bark and in the softer than anticipated fallen needles of the tree, he found himself whisked into a dreamless slumber.
He woke with a start, to the feel of something nudging against his flank, with gentle but insistent motions, and a soft voice, worriedly asking if he was alright. He felt a shiver run down his spine and opened his eyes twisting to see- Her. That purple imperial, with those pink eyes, with parts of her form that shimmered like gemstones under the soft light of the moon. She backed away a couple steps as he moved, like a startled bird unsure of where to go.
But she remained, this time. Artis stood quickly, and asked her his questions.
Her name was beauty. Her name was perfect. Her name was the tune to the most beautiful song Artis had ever heard, and a song he'd be willing to sing for the rest of his life. Her name was Mailu. And she was from far away, an island where crystal grew out of the ground and sang sweet harmony to the melody of permeable magic that danced through the air. She'd been traveling- She was traveling. Though, now, she was on her way home.
Quietly, she spoke to him. She asked if, perhaps, he'd want to accompany her to the land of her home. She asked if he'd like to join her in living there.
And what was Artis to say other than yes?
There we go!! I hope you enjoy, let me know if there's anything you'd like me to edit!
