Dragon Kin - Chapter 1 Forgotten

The warmth spread throughout his entire body, starting at his middle and working its way down to his finger tips, down his legs, his feet and right to the very ends of his toes. Then up like a giant wave of warm refreshing water over skin that had not felt heat and comfort for a thousand years. It caught in his breath and then suddenly he was submerged by it. He wanted to stay here forever, the warmth gently rippling through his body, the waves embracing and comforting. It was peaceful here; he had not known peace for such a long time, how long he had forgotten.
Forgotten! The word jammed in his mind and the warmth crashed away to be replaced by confusion and an icy wind. It bit at him as thoughts and jumbled memories scrambled for position inside his head. Who was he? Where was he? What had he been doing? Why was he cold? The questions were endless. There was only one thing left to do.
Slowly he opened his eyes. It was as though he had not truly seen with them for a long time. Everything was blurry and the light burned through his eyelids. He winced up at a dark ceiling. Surely he had died, no mortal could live here. He stumbled forward a little, he felt weak but something stopped him from falling all the way to the floor, something was keeping him standing.
The room gradually fell into focus and he became aware of a weight around his chest. He gently raised a hand to feel the area and was shocked to find that it was met by the clothes, hair, skin but none of it his! It was a person, holding him fiercely around the chest, supporting his full weight which suddenly dawned on him must be a considerable amount for whoever it was, was shaking under the strain.
He jerked himself back to consciousness and lifted himself up on to his feet, his strength returning a little as he did so. The grip around his chest loosened and the person tumbled onto the floor in front of him. He was slightly taken aback to see that it was a woman, the grip had been so tight and with his senses slowly returning one by one he became fully aware of his size in comparison. He had felt sure only a man, and a strong one at that could endure his weight upon them. However, there she was, sitting in front of him looking exhausted and weather beaten.
She gently lifted her hand to push back long, mousey brown hair behind her ears. Her eyes were a brilliant green enhanced by the dirt that covered her face and the rawness of her skin. Her clothes were just as dirty and armour hung loosely around her as the straps holding it together had been severed. It held none of its original shine. Scratches, cuts and what appeared to be claw marks tarnished its surface and broke the delicate patterns that had once adorned it surface. She held a small sword limply in her right hand, the tip covered in blood. A fur skin coat lay a few feet behind her near an archway that led to a set of stairs. She struggled to her feet, sheaved the sword in the scabbard around her waist and stood shivering and weak.
Wind howled in suddenly from the large open archways on either side. It was obviously freezing as she wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to fight off the invading cold. She wore a stern expression and said nothing though he could tell she was close to tears, close to giving in and curling up on the hard stone floor to await the inevitable.
He tore his gaze away from her for a second to survey his surroundings. Through the open archways he could see a vast expanse of snow capped mountains on either side. The sun was just setting behind two of the peaks to his left. The glare caught his eyes for a second before it disappeared completely and the room was thrown into a murky twilight. Torches along the walls suddenly burst into flame and although he was now nowhere near as cold as the small figure standing motionless in the centre of the room, their extra warmth was welcoming and he was reminded of moments before.
Forgotten! The word rang in his head once more as he watched the woman turn and stumble across the room to her fur skin coat, pull it around her frozen body and move to stand near one of the torches close to the open archways. Questions spinning in his mind he could bear it no longer and went to speak. His breath caught in his throat and all that he managed to produce was a deep grunting noise. Had he forgotten how to speak as well?! Panic waved over him briefly before he heard a faint voice inside his head.
“You don’t remember do you? He said you wouldn’t.”
At first he wondered if it was his own voice but realised it couldn’t be, this voice was female, if it was one thing he was certain of, it was that he was a male.
“You’ve forgotten a lot haven’t you, I knew you had…but I’d hoped it wasn’t so”
He was sure of it, she was inside his mind. Even though she was still staring intently out across the now darkening sky at the disappearing mountains, somehow, he just knew it was her. Her voice was incredibly soft, almost mesmerising. Without realising it he found himself reaching out to her with his mind.
Then he found it, although he wished he hadn’t. There was a sudden rush of intense emotion welling up inside of him. He was over come by it, sadness, confusion, grief, uncertainty all rushing in! Panicking he shouted into the fray of emotions.
“Yes! Help me! Please! Please!”
He felt himself being suddenly pushed away, forced out and in a split second he was back with his own thoughts, back with all his questions, more flooding in every second. With great difficulty he shoved them to the back of his mind as he saw the woman’s legs buckle underneath her and fall awkwardly to the floor. Her fur coat fell around her completely engulfing her entire figure within it. She could have easily been mistaken for a dead animal. Nervously he reached out for her mind again; he didn’t know how he could do this but now was not the time for more questions. This time there was no rush of emotions however. There was nothing. A new wave of panic spreading over him fast, he rushed over to where she was laying and gathered her in his arms. The fur coat will keep her warm he thought, but I can’t let her slip away.
There were so many questions he needed answering and he was sure she could help him, why else would she be here. New questions began boiling to the surface of his mind but they were all but driven away as he turned to carry her back to where he had just been standing. He hadn’t looked behind him in all the time that had passed since he first regained consciousness. There, working its way up the wall and covering a good amount of it was a huge sheet of ice and there, staring back at him, was his reflection.
In all the confusion he hadn’t even taken the time to look at himself. He stood there completely stunned, all this time he had assumed he was just the same as her. After all they could communicate the same way….well almost, when he didn’t panic and shout at her that was. However, the reflection staring back at him wasn’t human, it wasn’t even animal. There, distorted in the ice was the hulking figure of a Dragon.
Large, sapphire eyes worked their way over the crooked image. Claws were where he had psychologically placed fingers, talons where he had believed toes, all as ebony black as the two large horns protruding from the top of his head. His skin was a pale, icy blue and the scales shimmered in the flickering torch light as if a million tiny crystals covered its surface. Thick white chest scales ran the length of his body and tail which itself ended in a crop of long, deep blue hairs that also, he noted, ran up his spine between his two large wings that were tucked neatly away behind him. He flared his giant nostrils and noticed a row of sharp, pointed teeth.
He had no idea why he was standing on two legs quite comfortably and wondered if his memory was correct in regaling to him that the majority of Dragons stood on all fours. Despite this odd detail he guessed he was still no taller than ten feet. None of that mattered now though for in his out stretched arms, was the woman still wrapped tightly in the fur coat.
Tearing his eyes away from the image he looked down at her face. She was turning blue and fading from the world fast. Cursing himself he held her close to his body, unfurled his wings, stepped up to the edge of the nearest open archway and prayed he had not forgotten how to fly. Or for that matter that his wings were not merely for show. Taking a deep breath he plunged over the edge out into the now pitch black night. He spread his wings wide and instantly caught an updraft that sent him soaring into the air.
Wind whistled past his face but he didn’t feel the cold anymore. It was as though he had a furnace in his belly that kept his whole body alive and warm. He levelled out and nervously beat his wings up and down to keep aloft. It soon became apparent to him after doing a few circles that he wasn’t about to just fall out of the sky and if he was honest, was enjoying the sensation more and more with every flap of his wings.
He clutched the woman, bundled in the fur coat closer to the fire in his belly as he took a glance over his should back at the open archways. The torches that had burst into life so magically spluttered for a moment and extinguished themselves, casting the area into complete darkness. Before they had given up their light completely he noticed the walls of the tower from which he awoke disappearing far into the black depths below. The only light now came from the stars far above him as he sped away towards the silhouette of the nearest mountain and beyond, away into the night.