A valley between mountains is on fire. The crack in the ground is spreading from one end of valley to other end like a canyon. Like a paper sheet or piece of cloth, the land was torn apart so violently that a lava flowed inside it like a river. The forest was losing its battle against inferno as wild flames were marching through it, burning whatever they could reach out. It was so hot that the grass itself was turning yellow, becoming an easy prey for the ruthless fire. Smoke was spreading everywhere, sneaking across ground like a snake. Any animal that could already tried to flee. But there was hardly anywhere to go, because the red glow rising from behind narrows between mountains hinted at a sinister message.
But still, to this simony of fire a distant roar of something too big echoed across the entire valley. It was a dragon. That thing was to big to be called a dragon. Instead it shall be called a catastrophe. So big that the tip of the mountain was nothing more than a perch for it to sit on while resting. That thing, big like a hill, was roaring across the entire mountain range. No,- it was crying! Crying in a pain, a really big pain. It was like a watching the fall of a god and it was not important if it was good or evil one. On another glance, the result seen in the valley was probably a result of a that pain, and not something made out of malice. Or there was a great battle of insane scale, and this is its survivor.
Tremor shake the ground as the tip of that mountain got crushed under the giant mass and fell down as the dragon tried to not fall from that stamp.
To this Armageddon, a single person passed the smoke screen and stood up to face in the dragon direction. It was a witch or a female mage showcasing the potential of a powerful caster. There were sings of wear-out from a cruel battle on her cute dress, big spiky hat, formerly perfect haircut, and shinny skin. Supporting herself with her big legendary-level mage staff, she stared at the giant, holding back her emotions of sadness and sorrow.
No one else was coming out from the smoke to stand up next to the female, to follow the caster's lead. It was clear that she is alone, or the last one.
An another dragon's cry went across the valley as if it begged anybody who was listening to already end its suffering.
No anger or hatred was in that female's expression of determination, as she spread her hands to side, rising the staff and her open palm, to cast a spell. A powerful one...
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That same female caster, suddenly awakened from a dream in her bed in her solitary witch hut. For a moment, she had a confused expression on her face, covered in sweat, but soon she realized that it was a dream, so she sighed in relief.
When she managed to stand up from the bed, she realized that she still had on the clothes from yesterday as she had dropped onto the bed like a log. Because she was covered in sweat, she gave up on changing clothes and aimed for the door. Noticing the bag with a spare dress and towel, she remembered what she needed to do. She took it and left the bedroom.
Descending the stairs to the main room, she walked around a replica of some old ceremonial place filled with chess-like statues of heroes and their dragon-like counterparts. Someone could say that it was a cleverly masked chess set, but she walked all the way to the front door of her hut, positioned on the side of the hill.
Outside, she took a good look at the scenery around... It was that valley from her dream... But,-- there was no sign of the inferno that burned the forest, hills, and the area between the mountains. White clouds were lazily wandering above the mountains in the distance, only occasionally allowing some mountain peaks to sneak a peek at what was inside them or how it looked above them. As the already risen sun shone on the valley, the forest itself was green, spreading peacefully accompanied by a meadows with a carpet of fine grass filled with beautiful flowers.
A stream was flowing around her hut, running down from the hill, down into deep canyon filled halfway to the top with fresh water. At this glance, someone could speculate if it was a lake, river, or bay. Anyway, she followed a path of laid-down stones planted next to the stream bed, because someone decided to upgrade the dirt path, she had carved onto the ground with countless steps. She was not in a hurry. With the bag under her armpit, she was strolling down peacefully.
She stopped near two old trees that had their own small hills, surrounded by their strong roots. It looked as if the trees protected the soil under them by wrapping their roots around it, not willing to let go. On second glance, those two looked like an old couple staring at each other from small hills across a small valley with a stream. As if they were reminiscing about their childhood when they saw each other for the first time, staring at each other from a distance. Suddenly, the caster had a flashback: (It was a certain part of the forest... A powerful blast of something wiped out a whole group of trees, taking a lot of dirt, rock, and ground itself… leaving a deep scar in the ground and only those two tree trunks, that lost their leafy crowns and branches but managed to survive that strike.)
As she continued to walk, she saw that mountain trunk, peaceful and empty. A flashback showed her: (How that crying dragon with a mortal roar/scream fell from it on its back… Tremors followed the shock wave from the fall.)
She continued to walk until she was walking at the edge of the canyon. Another flashback hit her: (Similar to when you take a circle pie, grab it on the sides, and divide it into two halves: an immense strength grabbed the valley and started to tear it in the middle into halves… The energy in use here was so strong that it melted the bottom layers into lava that expanded upwards and fell back as the crack widened, turning into a canyon.)
Instead of walking onto the rope bridge hanging across the canyon and passing to the other side, she took an alternative route and descended a simple staircase, hardly noticeable from the bridge, as if the upper road was a decoy.
She arrived at the bottom of the staircase, entering the lake perimeter. It was a nearly perfect circle carved into the canyon by mysterious power, when the walls give out a hints of melted out stone. Suspiciously, nearly in the exact middle was this perfect round green hill-like island with an unexpectedly tall, massive, and vital tree. It was like a heaven for ducks and other types of birds.
She took a moment to look at the giant carving on the walls that resembled the small replica of the ceremonial site in her hut. Someone took the effort to engrave into the tall canyon wall surrounding the lake, an oversized relief of a very beautiful woman, probably of noble status, as she sat on a window parapet/wall, staring down at the lake or the island, with a mocking or laughing expression. One could think that this stone stature of goddess leaning out of painting frame would on a whim become alive and descend to her bath, just to mock any mortal who strayed to this place.
Then a flashback came to the female who came to visit this lake: (That heavily wounded dragon falling from the sky, from quite high attitude… Its massive body slammed directly onto the crack in the ground, which was in reality that canyon with the lava bed… The comparison is out of mind when the stone and rock ground were crushed as if it was a layer of leaves and that thing just fell through it. Like a heavy ball that fell into mud, it instantly sank down. A lot of dust and stone flowed into the air, followed by a circular splash of lava… In this hole, that dragon with a dying expression raised its head, looking toward the sky… A bright flash lit up the sky with a blinding light… Then a (star?) fell down onto the dragon… A nuclear-like explosion widened that hole, carving it into a circular crater… All that used energy, heat, pressure, and wind punch resulted in a lot of dust rising directly into the sky, creating a mushroom cloud, which is often a sign that the explosion was too strong.)
Our female caster took a boat to reach the island and stepped on it. She went to (her?) spot where there was this gazebo made of stone under the tree's foot, which was like it was made for an outdoor hot spring bath. It had more of a bench on outside ring than chairs around the table inside. She dropped her bag and all of her clothing on this furniture, revealing a dragon tattoo across her entire back. On a second glance, that dragon was so realistic that one could imagine, that when no one looking, it move itself as if it need to repositioning itself on her back when she revealed her back to the sun. One could think that this tattoo is a real dragon and that every year that passes it will grow a little on this woman's back. Someone took the effort to make this spot and a stone path, with stairs leading down into the depths of the water.
As she stepped into the lake, the water touching her legs hissed as if someone poured water on a hot surface, like on a baking stone in the kitchen to cool it down. As she descended to the middle of some submerged platform, her body partially or mostly submerged in the water, she closed her eyes and stopped holding something back. The tattoo on her back lit with a red glow, and like dropping a red-hot stone into a bathtub, the water around her boiled. Soon a mist rose up around her, enveloping her, as a heat exchange was in process. Then, as the mist spread to the side, it revealed a relieved expression on that woman's face. The glow on the tattoo was gone, her body temperature dropped, but for now, she was standing in a hot spring lake, as rising steam from the lake's surface could tell.
There was so much steam that you would hardly see the lake's surface if you were standing at the edge of the canyon. No, you would see a baby cloud being born and taking its first steps onto the great journey in the vast sky. Yet, a foot in a shoe stamped the stone stairs behind the female caster. As the person with the tattoo turned around, she saw a girl in bloom standing there. With a cute dress that suited her, she held the legendary staff from the dream that was still a little big for her. This girl was that woman's apprentice. With a question on her face, she was staring at her master, her smart mind busy figuring out what was going on. She definitely sensed something hidden behind the scene, but yet she didn't understand. She was convinced that she could solve this mystery, but the answers were hidden in the mist. In a moment she realized she was staring at a person in a bath and that person was staring back, so she panicked a little, averting her blushed face to the side.
At first, the master had a somewhat sad or tired expression, then she smiled softly, spreading her hands wide, inviting the young apprentice to join her in the bath. In a moment, the apprentice did as asked, showing her blank naked back without any tattoo. As our caster hugged the other girl warmly as a mother would her daughter, another flashback arrived: (It's snowing... The place is an outside hot spring on some snowy mountain in a winter coat. Or it was somewhere in that valley, but in deep winter... The situation is the same as a moment ago. Our caster, yet in age and position of an apprentice with a naked blank back, is embraced by its master. The one who is hugging her warmly is the same very beautiful woman who was displayed in that lake relief/stone-wall-stature-painting. We can notice a large dragon tattoo on that noble-like woman's back.)
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And so… the loop of (the dragon tears), continues with a new generation.
End