Dragon Key (Chapter One)

1
The Tidal

Deep in the thick underbrush of the Forgotten Woods a girl walked along a faded dirt path. This girl was fourteen year-old Kani. Kani had long white hair—as all the people of the Dhunn Islands did—and vivid blue eyes. Around her neck, Kani wore a necklace. The necklace was made of small seashell beads. At the end a larger seashell was tied to it. The seashell had blue stripes running diagonally down its outer edges. Fine crevices were cut deep into the smooth rounded surface and the outer edges were worn and showed traces of age. Her mother had given it to her before she had died (four years earlier) and Kani always wore it.
She lived on the largest of the Dhunn Islands in the small island port of Istcar. Kani made her way down the path pushing thick brush out of her way as she went. A salty breeze blew back her curly white locks and she knew she was getting closer. Her pace quickened (from walk to run), as she was overwhelmed in excitement. She was excited about meeting a friend at the beach.
The girl knew all the paths of the Forgotten Woods. She could identify every twist, turn and bump in the trails; she had been traveling through it ever since she was a small girl. Her footsteps were light and quick and she did not stagger over the rocks protruding from the ground. She knew of every tree and rock in the woods. To navigate through the paths she did not need light, for the sun made its way through the tiny breaks in between the trees. Flecks of gold dotted the forest floor where the sun slipped through the leaves of the giant palmir trees. The palmirs were giants that guarded the forest on every side, leaning down on weary travelers. They had a gray bark with large diamond-shaped leaves. Vines grew up the mammoth trunks and made their way up to the boughs towering above.
Down the Erestien path Kani made her way. The path would go straight for about one hundred yards and then make an abrupt turn to the left. After it would lead her over different path, which consisted of mostly rocky and uneven terrain, for about another two hundred. And finally she would reach the coastline.
After the path came to a halt at the edge of the woods Kani came to a large blanket of sand. After about fifteen feet of smooth rippling sand the sea was added into her picture. Kani slipped off her sandals and took a step onto the sand. A warm feeling slowly filled her up. This sand was not like other sands; it was not rough, but smooth instead. The Dhunn Islands were peaceful and had stunning beauty and elegance. They had the sense of freedom because they were not ruled by a king or governor. Also they had no large cities; the cities of the mainland were crowded and noisy or so she was told.
Slowly across the warm sands Kani set out toward the sea. When she reached the salty water she put her hands at the edge. The water was cool and chilled her hands and since the wind was light the added to the cool effect. She looked around the beach. It was swept with a growing silence. No one was out. The only noises were the soft thunder of the rolling waves and the whispers of the wind.
“She’s not here yet”, stated Kani, “ but it isn’t time yet anyways." Across the sand Kani walked until she reached a small boulder. She sat down on it and sighed. The beach was still and seemed to be frozen in time like a painting. The soothing clear waters brushed up against the shoreline. The wind gently puffed against Kani’s tanned skin.
Her blue eyes focused on the horizon and she drifted into a memory she was most fond of; in times when Kani was depressed or bored she would look back upon this moment. The time when her mother and father had first brought her here to their secret spot and set her upon the pale soft sand. Kani’s mother once had captivating beauty. Her eyes were like pale sapphires that glimmered when touched by the golden rays of the sun. Her hair had been like Kani’s though it was shorter and she kept it pinned back into a tight bun.
The sun set upon the back of the sea. It was red, surrounded by a mix of pink, yellow and white. The sky was so beautiful here in the Dhunn Islands. Suddenly a faint whistling broke the still setting. Something dropped down from the heavens and soared towards the ocean. The object was at least ten miles out. It was a small spec compared to the ocean. As it fell it let out a blinding light that stretched for miles and made Kani cover her eyes.
What is that, she thought. The object descended and finally plunged into the depths of the ocean. The light dimmed and Kani could see a massive tidal wave heading for the Islands.
“Oh no”, exclaimed Kani. And with a look of horror on her face she watched. She was too terrified to budge. She struggled with herself as the monstrous wave made its way for the Islands. Everything in its path would be destroyed; this she knew in her heart, but her mind could not accept it. Finally Kani’s heart took over her mind and she jumped up. As quickly as she could Kani sprinted towards the Forgotten Woods, her heart throbbing in her throat. Kani ran and ran out of pure terror to get out of the waves path. Even when her breath began coming in long gasps she kept on. As Kani desperately tried to escape into the mountains the wave wailed behind her.
The tidal surged toward her beloved home and finally made a ground-splitting crash on the shore. The excess water had nowhere to go so it surged into the woods. Kani could hear with her own ears the billowing water plowing through the trees and rocks. While Kani was running she tripped over a pile of small rocks. She struggled to get up and out. She got up and felt around her neck, her necklace was gone! She had to find it before the wave found her. She looked around where she had tripped. On the ground lay the necklace. Kani hurriedly snatched it up.
In her hand she held the necklace. Something was different about it now. The blue stripes let off a brilliant glow. In awe Kani examined it. Then the glow turned into a luminous light, which flashed one time after another. She was so distracted by this phenomenon that she totally let the wave out of her mind.
The great flood was heading for her and at an incredibly fast rate. Finally after just minutes of destruction the water reached Kani. It drove into the ground beneath her feet. Kani was knocked off her feet and was buried under a hundred feet of water. She gasped for breath but all she inhaled was the salt water and debris from the disaster. In her hand the necklace was still flashing blue.
* * * * *
Deep beneath the disaster area a creature slept. A massive animal that was as big as a large islet. The creature stirred as the commotion above made it hard to rest. With a start the creature awoke from its slumber. He looked up above to the surface something, he sensed, was wrong. And then he saw something he had not seen for many years. A lustrous blue light flashed once and then again and kept on. It was calling him to it. He must answer the call.
Pushing off of the rock on which he slept he made his way for the light. As he got closer he saw what had been happening above. A mighty wave had crashed upon the humans’ islands. He passed through the ruins of a once alive place. Now it was all but a pile of debris. Logs floated above his head, he assumed this had once been a forest or large woods. He swam from side and side dodging the logs and large rocks that threatened to pulverize him.
Finally as the light grew he knew he was getting closer to his destination. When he reached the light he saw that a land creature gripped it tightly in a small hand. The creature was a human, a girl. In her hand was a seashell necklace that gave off the brilliant light. He pondered as to why the necklace was in her possession. This did not matter now though, right now he must act.
He pushed towards her and picked her up in his giant webbed hand. With her he propelled himself up to the surface. As fast as he could—against the current—he swam with the human to the surface hoping that it was not too late to save her. The surface became closer and closer until finally…they reached the surface. With an enormous scaled head the creature frantically searched for a small plot of land. In the distance the top a mountain poked out above the water. Slowly he paddled to the mountain. When he reached it he gently laid the small human down on it.
He examined the human over. She was clearly one of the locals, he was sure of this. Her hair was long and white and she had tanned skin. On her arms and hands she had the marks of and Islander. She was bruised from the force of the water when it hit her. Her hair locks curled up to the water-worn surface of the rock. She was shivering violently from the icy grip of the wind. So she was alive. Though she did not attempt to get up. Slightly she tried to open her eyes, they were probably sore the creature thought. Her eyes (like pale glossy sapphires) he recognized instantly.
“Sleep child”, the creature said to her, “you need rest”. And with that the girl closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Her breathing was shallow, but at least she was breathing. The creature felt sorry for her; she had lost her home, family, and everything she had known. It was all gone.
Finally the creature lay down and curled up around her so she would be warm. It seemed to work because a few minutes later her shivering ceased. In her hand the necklace had stopped flashing. And the creature felt they were secure. Then as the stars started to dot the horizon he drifted into a peaceful slumber. His dreams filled with visions of things happening elsewhere. For now they were safe…
* * * * *
The morning sun made its perch upon the horizon. Some of the water from the storm had lowered. One of the moons was still visible in the distance. Kani tried to open her eyes, but they were sore and red. She had, had the worst dream; in her dream there had been a tidal wave that had wiped out her home. She sat up slowly and looked around.
“Ahhh”, Kani exclaimed dully. Setting straight in front of her was a giant creature. The creature she recognized from an ancient painting she had seen before.
“You're up child”, exclaimed the animal, “I imagine you had a troubled sleep”. His eyes met hers for a strange moment. He was large and had blue-green scales. His forearms and back legs were strong and powerful (they were meant to propel himself through the water, against the current). His eyes were green and had a slit pupil.
Wow, Kani thought to herself. She had remembered what her mother had told her about that painting. The creature that had been in the painting, the creature in front of her it was a sea serpent, a dragon.
The painting had consisted of more than just this dragon. It portrayed the realms of earth, air, fire, and water (and lesser realms). Different emotions were emphasized in the color spectrum. The colors yellow and orange represented happiness and the range of blues—from sky blue to navy—emitted a sense of sadness or desire depending on who observed it. Aside from those the red of the dragonfire took on rage.
The pale blue sky of the picture represented air and was choked with a blur of flying dragons. From their mouths they blew streams of scorching flames and their wingspans reaching stunning lengths. Earth and water rested on the ground. These dragons were land dragons or dragons with no wings. The earth dragons sat upon a small plot of land that was dotted with trees and surrounded by water. They were elegant and graceful; bearing emerald eyes and jagged forest-green scales. Through the water that wrapped around the land water and ice dragons glided, like a wondrous dolphin. And at the very depths of the underworld the fire creatures dwelled. Some black and some red, they were wreathed in a flame that engulfed the whole of their population. They were terrifying in sight, with deep-set black and red eyes that were defined by underlining shadows.
“You, yourrr a drragonnn”, she shuddered. In her eyes the dragon thought he saw a look of awe as well as some fear.

“Yes child”, he replied, “I am a dragon as your kind says”. And with this a slight smile spread across his face.
“So none of it was a dream”, Kani asked, “You were there and you saved me, I saw you”.
“No it was not child”, the dragon replied. Kani thought for a moment. Everything was so unbelievable and she was amazed and sad at the same time. She was amazed because she was actually in the presence of a dragon. But her sadness came from the fact that she had lost her home, friends, and all she knew. It was all gone. What was she supposed to do now?
“How did you get that artifact my child”, the dragon asked Kani, “and what is your name?”
“My seashell necklace”, Kani questioned him. The dragon nodded his massive head.
“My mother gave it to me right before she died, but that was almost five years ago”, Kani said.
The dragon seemed to set and consider something a moment before he spoke again. He looked deep in thought almost as if he were trying to remember something important.
“Where am I to go now, my home is gone”, Kani asked the dragon. She looked at him with sadness. The dragon turned around and looked at her. She looked like she was on the brink of crying. In his heart he felt sympathy for her.
“You will come with me”, the dragon said, “I will take you to the mainland and have someone give you a home for now”. “I will decide what we will do next after I take care of some things”, he stated.
“Ok”, Kani said unenthusiastically, “you are the one my mother told me great legends of”. The dragon smiled at this remark. After all, Mother believed that the dragons were noble and honest creatures. She had adored her painting of the dragons.
“Very well then we will depart at the crack of dawn tomorrow.” Kani felt safe now and for some strange reason she believed that she knew this serpent. And she wondered about their journey tomorrow, would she like the mainland? She knew in her heart that whatever she would like about the mainland she would love her home so much more.
And the dragon and girl sat on the mountaintop and questioned each other about many things until the night came. When the moons and first stars began to rise up into the sky they cast a ghastly fog upon the seas glassy surface. Trying not to keep their minds on the deafening silence they drifted off into unnerving slumbers. Not knowledgeable what would await them the next day on their long restless journey.