The Blood of The Dragon

Chapter 2

Years passed and David grew, living with Abari in her home. It took some time but slowly Abari found herself loving and caring for David as if he was her own child, forgetting about the power sealed with him and treating him like a normal child.

David, as time passed became fully convinced that he was an ordinary air dragon and that whatever power he believed he had only existed in his dreams.

David didn’t remember much about his past or where he came from but Abari made sure he didn’t get too curious, dismissing any questions he may have about his past and then tried to convince him that his past did not matter but no matter how hard Abari tried she could not stop him from wondering and being curious about his past and the life he lived before they met.

He would often try to remember his life before he met Abari but could only manage to recall bits and pieces of his past which were never clear, usually all David could manage to recall was the faint of a woman's voice whispering softly to him, “I’ll come back for you, I promise”.

That voice was all David could remember, the rest of his memories were foggy and unclear, and he was unable to make sense of any of them.

David and Abari would often go out to the forest in other to find and collect some herds and plants as Abari was a healer, she would often use the plants and herds she and David found to make medicines she used to help the sick and injured in the village.

Abari took David along with her to the forest to distract him and his thoughts as he would always be lost in his own mind, trying desperately to remember his past.

During their trips to the forest, Abari would often teach him about the many plants that grew in the forest, how some of them had healing properties and were dangerous enough to kill, David would barely pay attention to her though, as he would be lost in the elegance and wondrous beauty of the forest.

He loved being in the forest, surrounded by trees and the many animals that roam about in it, everything felt blissful and peaceful there, and David upon reaching the forest felt all his worries slowly melting away.

David loved being in the forest so much that he would often find excuses to go there, he would literally do anything if it meant convincing Abari to let him go to the forest.

Abari who noticed how much David loved going to the forest would often time for her and David to go there, even though they weren’t collecting any plants or herds she and David would often stroll through the forest with David enjoying the time they shared together there.

But as David began to spend more time in the forest became more curious about not just his past but the world around him, he found himself wanting to explore the world around him, to go out and see lands he had never seen before.

David’s curiosity would often cause him to ask Abari questions about the outside world and Abari answered all of David’s questions about the world, painting a dull and unimpressive picture of the world with her answers as she did not want to feed his curiosity and it may lead to him wanting to leave which would put his life in grave danger, knowing the many evils that where lurking in the outside world, evils that wanted David and power hidden within him.

But despite her attempts to describe the world in a way that would make David not want to explore it, David’s curiosity was not fazed by the answers she gave him, if anything his curiosity actually grew because of it.

David could sense that there was something out there waiting for him in the world outside, beyond his reach, all he had to do was go out and find it but that would mean leaving Abari and David did not know if he could bring himself to leave her after everything, she had done for him, she was like the mother to him and he did wish to leave her side, at least not yet. One day as David and Abari strolled through the forest, picking herds and plants.

“Abari, can I ask you something,” asked David.

“Of course, you can,” said Abari who was busy picking some plants and herds.

“What do you think lays out there, in the world outside” asked David. Abari just sighed upon hearing what David said, knowing why he asked the question.

“Not this again David,” said Abari.

“But Abari…” David's sentence was cut short by Abari saying, “But nothing, if I’ve told you once I’ve told you a thousand times, there is nothing interesting about the world”.

“Look around you, all this, is world and the world is exactly what you see here,” said Abari pointing at the forest around them.

“You mean the world is a massive forest, filled with nothing but trees and obnoxious mosquitoes that do nothing but annoy and suck the living blood out of you,” said David with disbelief, refusing to believe what Abari said about the world.

“More or less,” said Abari jokingly.

David and Abari then made their way to the top of a great grass-covered cliff where different kinds of plants grew which had medicinal properties Abari could use to make some of her medicine.

Once there Abari began to pick some of the plants for her medicines, David on the other hand sat on the edge of the cliff staring at the edge of the forest wondering what laid out there just beyond his reach.

Abari after picking all the plants she needed to make her medicine noticed David who was still seated at the edge of the cliff.

Abari upon seeing the sad look on his face as he stared at the edge of the forest went to him.“Careful, don’t fall, it’s a long way down” said Abari jokingly as she approached David.David upon hearing her voice turned around and saw Abari standing next to him.

David then looked down to see how high the cliff was before turning back to Abari and saying jokingly, “I don’t know, I think I can make it if I fall”.

Abari upon hearing David’s reply smiled at him before deciding to sit down at the edge of the cliff next to him.

“Are you sure sitting down here is a good idea, like you said; it’s a long way down” said David jokingly.

“Yeah, but I'm pretty sure I can make it if I fall,” said Abari with a playful smile on her face.

Abari then sighed and as she did the playful smile on her face disappeared and was then replaced with a look of seriousness.

“What’s wrong David?” asked Abari.

“Isn’t it obvious,” said David with a deep sigh.

“Yeah, it is,” said Abari, understanding what David was thinking about without him having to say it.

“When I was little my parents told me a story about a boy like you who wanted to fly high, to the sky, like you the boy was curious and wondered what hidden wonders that sky had to offer but the boy found out the hard way that some wonders are better off hidden,” said Abari.

“What happened to the boy?” asked David.

“He was given beautiful elegant wings to use and fly across the sky with, he used those wings to fly high into the sky, passing the clouds above the sky. Wanting nothing more than to reach the edge of the sky, he continued to fly further and further until he reached the sky’s edge but once he reached the edge of the sky, he met the sun and then was instantly burnt to a crisp by the heat of the sun” said Abari.

“Why are you telling me this story?” asked David unable to understand why Abari would tell him a story about a boy who flew too high and got burnt by the sun.

“To make you understand that the world out there is not a pleasant place. Like the boy, you seek to explore a world you know nothing about, and like the boy, you will burn yourself in the heat of the sun if you do” said Abari.

David then sighed as he now understood what Abari was trying to say with the story she told him.

“I understand that you’re just trying to protect me Abari but I can feel something calling out to me. This feeling is something much more than just mere curiosity about the world outside, it feels like there is something out there just waiting for me to find it. It’s hard to explain Abari but know that it’s out there, I can feel it,” said David.

Abari upon hearing what David said remembered the night the air dragon warrior brought him to her and how David was wrapped around the bloody hands of the air dragon warriors, he looked so vulnerable and innocent back then; no one would have ever suspected him of being anything other than a child but yet he was so much more than that.

Abari smiled upon remembering her innocent David looked the very first moment she laid eyes on him, her smile quickly faded away when she remembered that David was not just a child and they are forces out there who wanted him and would stop at nothing to get him.

“It’s just your mind playing tricks on you David, there is nothing out there waiting or calling out you” said Abari before standing up from the edge of the cliff.

“Come on, it’s getting late, we should leave before night comes,” said Abari.

David just sighed before getting up and then leaving with Abari but before he left, he turned and looked out, now standing at the edge of the cliff at the forest, still wondering what laid beyond it and if he would ever see it.