I decided to take my time and circle around the valley forest where we lived, just to see the sights. I decided to take a scenic path through all my favorite foraging spots. The first was a nice patch of greenery hiding in a hollow near the beach. Boring creatures who studied maps all day called this place the northeastern corner of Qade Valley.
Why was it even called Qade Valley? This place isn't even a valley.
I arrived at the small hidden hollow and picked through a few herbs growing there, careful to leave the younger shoots so they can grow up nice and healthy. I found some nice wide-leafed things, a round leaf thing, some small white flowers, and some of those stripy leaf things that Aavern liked. I carefully stored them in my fur where I wouldn't lose them and wandered out of the hollow, hearing the rustle of wind through the trees and the gentle washing of waves on the sandy beach a little ways away.
One of the rumors Aavern told me about came to mind. Giant waves as tall as mountains crashing to shore, washing everything away. I shuddered, and carefully peeked out of the underbrush to look warily at the ocean. The sea was calm, no trees fell, no earth moved, and the water lapped gently at the shore, inviting me for a swim.
I breathed a sigh of relief and scuttled on through the forest. Normally I would fly, but today I didn't want to for some reason.
The next foraging spot was a small stretch of plants growing under the shade of a brave cluster of trees that stretched a little far into the plains. I rustled through the bushes and emerged into the bright, scorching sun. I quickly retreated back into the bush and poked my head out, looking around for the cluster. It was over to the right. I carefully picked my way through the trees and entered the cluster, feeling relieved when I finally arrived, only to immediately be disappointed to see that the plants had still not grown back since the last time I'd been there. I sighed and turned to leave, but recalled Aavern's tale about armies of black creatures storming across the open plains, attacking everything in sight at random.
I carefully poked my head out of the bushes at the edge of the cluster and scanned the plains carefully.
The plains looked fine, sunny and stretching on to infinity, as always. They were mostly uninhabited, with a few creatures finding refuge in small clusters of trees around one or two small lakes, but I could never live there. The idea of being surrounded by scorching sun and limited area to forage made me scared. But every now and then, a creature or two would try their luck crossing the plains. Not many were able to endure the heat and lack of food, but the few that survived and made it back brought wondrous tales with them.
Past the plains, the Krie clan, a clan of isolated warlike dragons, lived along the Krie River bordering the Raik Mountains, ruled with absolute supremacy. One of our legends told of a time when many dragon clans like the Krie clan roamed Falnear, but only the Krie clan survived. They took kindly to visitors, or so I had heard, but were very wary and would resort to fighting in an instant.
I turned to leave and was pleasantly surprised by the small brown roots growing next to where I had been sitting. I hadn't seen the plants as they were so well hidden, so it was a stroke of luck that I had found them. I pulled up a few of the larger roots and turned to leave, noticing that the sun was setting. The light was quickly fading by the time I was nearing my home. I wandered past a few bushes, picking off some leaves as I went along.
I arrived at the hollow bush where I lived, and dumped all the berries, roots, and herbs on the ground. Most of it landed on Aavern, who shook off a few leaves and looked groggily up.
"Where were you? The Ysk Mountain song already came and went!"
Every night, when the sun set, a song would flow over the treetops from Ysk Mountain. It was a sad song, filled with wishes, hopes, and dreams. I had tried to listen to the words in the song one time, but they were arranged in such a strange way that I couldn't understand what it meant. All I knew was that it sounded very good and some of the smarter creatures in the forest called it "poetic". Every night for as long as the Council could remember, the same song was sung by some creature at the top of the mountain, but it never ceased to send a chill down my spine. It seemed to know that I wanted to do something more and tell me, "Just you wait." And so I waited.
"I got sidetracked."
He got up and looked at the food I gathered. He poked a few herbs with his wing.
"Ooh! You got some good ones this time!"
"Found a patch at the edge of the forest."
"Nice!" Aavern happily stored the things I had gathered in the corner of the bush where we stored our food. I could see a small bundle wrapped in leaves wafting a distinct smell.
"Is that a quail?" I asked.
"Yep!" Aavern said proudly. "It wandered nearby so I took a shot at it."
My stomach let out an impatient grumble. I hadn't eaten today yet. I reached for the leaf-wrapped quail slowly.
Aavern slapped me with his wing. "No. That's for tomorrow."
"But I'm hungry."
"Should've eaten while you were foraging."
"Can't I just have a little piece?"
"Well, if you don't want a portion during tomorrow's fog festival, then be my guest."
My eyes widened. "Fog festival? That's tomorrow?"
"Yep!" Aavern said, his face breaking out into a grin. "I heard the council saying that it looked like it was gonna be foggy tomorrow."
"That's great!" I said happily. I quickly scarfed down a few roots and curled up in the corner of the bush.
Aavern chuckled and curled up next to me. I squirmed in excitement. While competitions like today's happened all the time, they weren't all that exciting. A fog festival, on the other hand, meant that the clouds would descend to the ground and cover the forest in a cool blanket. All the creatures in the forest would spend the entire day flying and running through the fog, racing each other and eating good food they had been saving up, enjoying the cool sensation of the fog on their fur and scales as they moved and ate.
I couldn't wait for tomorrow.
-
When I woke up, I could immediately feel the cold touch of fog on my fur. I snapped up and looked out of the bush. The morning light was heavily obscured and seemed to come from everywhere at once. In the dim light, I could see a dense mist surrounding the trees outside the bush. I grinned happily, scarfing down a few leaves and herbs I gathered the previous day before darting out of the bush to enjoy the fog festival.
I didn't see Aavern in the bush - the council always had the informants help set up a few races and eating competitions during fog festivals. I decided to wander the foggy forest, hearing the muted rustle of leaves mix with the happy shouts and calls of creatures in the forest as everyone enjoyed themselves.
I spent the rest of the day in a trance. I flew through forest, bringing the quail Aavern had caught to the competition clearing, where I found Aavern as one of the judges for a race. I shared the quail with him, and, feeling full, sat down to enjoy the cool sensation and watch fast-flying creatures dart through trees marked with bright chains of flowers, appearing in and out of the fog. When I recovered, I participated in a few races (which I didn't win), and then moved around the clearing to the best activity of the fog festival - the cloud touch. It was when flying creatures would try to fly as high as they could, until the forest disappeared in the fog under them, and then even higher, emerging through the tops of the clouds to see the most magnificent sight ever. I hadn't succeeded in the cloud touch ever before, but from what I heard, the sight of the setting sun casting magnificent colors on a ground of clouds was the most beautiful thing anyone could see.
I always wanted to succeed, but the last fog festival happened when I had hurt my wings while foraging the day before, so I wasn't able to make it high enough. But this time, my wings were fine. I was going to participate.
I gathered with a group of other creatures, mostly dragons and Oacinhragn, in the clearing. They were milling around in a group, talking excitedly in anticipation for the cloud touch. I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face as I stretched my wings and looked up into the deep gray nothingness that was the fog.
"Don't push yourself too hard," one creature told another. "It's pretty high up."
"Don't worry," the other creature said. "I've got this."
The creatures waited in partial silence, with some mumbles and murmurs of anticipation occurring until the announcer who ran the event shouted.
With that one noise, every creature in the clearing leapt into the air, and a storm of beating wings resounded through the forest as a flock of flying creatures lifted into the air. I trailed far behind the group. I heard that the later you went, as long as the sun was even a little bit up, the more wondrous the sight you would see. I decided to save energy and climb up in a slow upwards spiral, watching the other creatures disappear above me.
The forest disappeared below me as I climbed higher and higher. Soon, I was left alone with nothing but the beating of my wings and the dim noise I heard above me that made me sure that I was still going up. The fog obscured my view. I was suspended in a dim gray void, wrapped in a cool sensation that kept me awake. I looked up and kept climbing higher, feeling the air rush through my fur, shaking loose a few leaves that got stuck. A few creatures passed me on the way up, panting heavily and descending quickly. Clearly, they were unable to make it, but the majority would be able to reach the top. Soon, I could hear the creatures who made it descending above me, chattering loudly and happily about the view they got, followed by a few other creatures who wanted to enjoy the view for a moment longer but were unable to since they were too tired. I smiled. My wings were starting to get heavy, but I felt that I could keep going on for a while longer. If the creatures were descending already, I must be near the top.
I kept flying in absolute silence. There were no more creatures above or below me. I was alone in the fog, with no ground, sky, or sun to guide me. I kept flapping my wings, climbing higher and higher, feeling my wings grow more and more tired, when I felt that the fog around me was starting to thin. It was getting hard to breathe. The clouds were starting to brighten. I widened my eyes in anticipation, waiting for the moment when I would break the top of the clouds.
The moment came suddenly. One moment, I was staring at gradually brightening clouds, and the next moment, I felt a sudden rush of wind, and light engulfed my vision. I struggled to stop flying higher and blinked rapidly, watching the brilliant yellow light that blinded me as my eyes gradually adapted.
I took in a sharp breath.
The sight was beautiful.
In every direction around me, as if I were in the middle of the sea with no land in sight, lay a bed of gray clouds that stretched as far as the eye could see. The setting sun lay on the clouds as if resting halfway in them, peeking out cautiously and casting its yellow light, gradually fading to orange, over the world. The sky around the sun was tinged with yellow and orange, fading into greens and blues behind me, with the first twinkles of stars appearing in the sky above. The clouds around me cast long shadows around, illuminated orange and seeming to glow with a yellow aura as their bumpy gray backs let through a few tinges of color.