Blood and Fire

New readers may find it easier to read by chapters rather than a page at a time. You can just start at chapter one and read on from there.

Chapter 1, part 1.

Chapter 1:
Into the Darkness

The raven-haired, winged girl sits at a desk, pen in hand, and ponders. She occasionally puts the tip of the pen to the blank sheet in front if her, but time after time she withdraws it again as if uncertain what to write. At last she sets the pen firmly against the parchment and begins.
"How can I begin this story? How can I tell this wonderful, horrible, sad, romantic, joyful, terrifying, glorious story of my parents' lives? I sit here now, pen in hand, parchment before me, my notes spread around me, and I scribble down my thoughts, trying to see how to best tell the tale.
"I never meant to write this. I never knew half of this story, but only this week, as I was sorting through Father's things, I found the box. I had seen Father scribbling away often enough when I was a child, but it had never occurred to me to wonder what he wrote, or think of what came of it. But suddenly there it was, a box filled with page after page of my father's haphazard but literate scrawl, even a few pages of my mother's tentative, childish letters. And now it seems somehow necessary that I tell the tale, that I let their descendants, my own kin, know the real stories behind the two people who became a minor myth while they yet lived.
"But where to begin? At the very beginning perhaps? I can find the pages, the first few of them in my mother's hand, she who knew nothing of writing until she met my father but who was, nevertheless, a consummate story-teller, those pages followed by more numerous ones in my father's hand, dictated to him so that he could record my mother's earliest days. I could begin thus: In a land very far away, but very like this land of Mysteria where we live, there was born a firecat whose mother named her Sparkbright, but who later came to be known as Flame Song Firedancer. And yet that beginning doesn't quite seem right.
"Perhaps then I should begin with my father's more lengthy account? Perhaps I should say: In a land very far away, and very different from this land of Mysteria where we live there was born a human boy whose mother named him Aidan Rhiannon. But no, that is no better a beginning than the other. My parents' tale could never begin with either of them alone, for in all things, always, they were together. I can never picture Father without Mother by his side, or Mother without Father there near her. Perhaps then I should begin with their wedding, so many years ago. But I have little wish to chronicle the day-to-day mundanities of their ordinary lives, and though their wedding was sweet, it was no different from any wedding where bride and groom truly loved each other. No, I will begin this amazing story at the point where it becomes truly amazing. I will begin on a day that all the people of Mysteria would remember for the rest of their lives. I will begin on the day the sky cracked and the world changed forever.
"It was early in the morning when a sound echoed across the entire world. Over the open sea, from the east continent to the west, and from the deep south to the far north it echoed, this hideous, shattering noise. It reverberated down to the bones of the earth, but it originated far above, and when the wondering population of Mysteria looked up, they were all filled with horror, for the sky itself had shattered..."
Aidan Rhiannon was doing nothing in particular, for a change, when he heard the sound. He and his wife, Flame Song Firedancer, had been refurbishing their house for the last several months. Aidan, frankly, was tired of the endless work. True the underground dwelling had stood vacant for more than five years and it had definitely needed some serious cleaning, but enough was enough.
He looked up from where he was sprawled on a pile of furs on the floor. What little furniture they owned had survived the years of neglect, but the upholstery hadn't been so fortunate. Aidan didn't really mind. The furs were comfortable enough.
"Flame? Did you hear that?"
Flame Song poked her head out of the bedroom. "Yes."
"What was it?"
"I have no idea. Want to go take a look?"
Aidan nodded and headed for the door. They went together out of the entry tunnel and into a bright summer morning. At first neither of them saw anything wrong, but then they turned to the south and both of them let out a shocked gasp. There was a crack in the sky. There was simply no other way to describe the gaping rift that stretched down to the horizon. Clear blue sky was suddenly interrupted by a slash of blank gray nothing that seemed to twist and writhe out of the corner of the eye, though when Aidan looked straight at it there was no motion at all.
Aerian and shape-shifter stood in stunned silence for a long time before Aidan finally broke the stillness by saying, "I think we should go to Tara's tower, Flame."
Flame Song nodded. "Yes..." She shook her head in amazement. "What is that?"
"I don't know. But I doubt it's anything good."
"Probably not. But what on earth are we going to do about it? We of the Clan have done a lot of things, but to repair the sky?"
Aidan shrugged. "Tara's done miracles before this. She'll think of a way."
"Let's go then," said Flame. "There's no reason to stay here."
Aidan nodded. In moments they were winging south, the changeable Flame Song in aerian form, her white wings just inches from her husband's matching pair as they flew.
For four days they pressed on through the sky, taking as little time as possible for food and sleep. Night and day the eerie gap in the sky stretched above them. As they reached more southern latitudes the rift reached from horizon to horizon. They avoided looking at it as much as possible. It was just too disturbing, especially to Aidan, who had been raised in a rational world of science where they sky wasn't a literal bowl overhead, but only a view of the galaxy beyond and where they stars weren't jewels set in place but distant suns. He had known intellectually that Mysteria was different, but seeing it like this brought the strangeness of his new world home to him as never before.
At last, tired and worn, they reached Queen Tara's tower. Most of the Clan was already gathered since Flame and Aidan lived farther away than all but a few of their fellow Clan members. A day later everyone had arrived and the group met in the library of the queen's tower. Nearly thirty people were gathered there, humans and non-humans, native Mysterians and out-world immigrants, powerful warriors and great scholars, and simple ordinary folk. Some had known each other for years, some were near strangers, but all were united in one thing, their loyalty to their monarch and to their world, whether native or adopted.
They were the members of the Clan of the Lost Dragon. They were a family of sorts. People who, for the most part, had no real family but had adopted each other as children of Queen Tara, the Lost Dragon of Mysteria.
Tara herself stood and addressed the Clan when they were all gathered. She appeared to be a tall, auburn-haired human woman, her face unlined and youthful. That, however, was only an appearance. In reality she was a great dragon, the oldest and wisest of all the dragons of Mysteria. "I know you have all come here because you've seen the crack in the sky and want to know what can be done about it." She paused for a moment, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh, and Aidan suddenly realized how tired she looked. She often was wearied by the burden of rule, but today she looked terribly worn. When she continued her voice was tinged with regret. "There is something to be done, but first I must tell you a story. You all have heard of the strange sickness that almost destroyed our world some two centuries ago. I must tell you now that you have been told a falsehood." She turned and looked to where Lavasida, the former Dark Lord who had once been the enemy of Mysteria stood next to the elderly sage Yurik "Lavasida knows the full tale, as does Yurik, for both of them were there, and both took part in the story."
Lavasida smiled faintly and nodded. "Indeed, though on opposite sides."
Tara smiled and nodded. "Yes. But I don't doubt your loyalty to the Clan now, Lavasida." The Dark Lord gave her an ironic little bow, but didn't say anything further, and so the queen continued her story. "You were all told how the Dark Lord's plague nearly destroyed the world. Well, I tell you now that 'nearly' isn't the right word. The plague did destroy Mysteria."
There were mutters of surprise as the Queen paused to let her followers absorb this information. "That's impossible," Aidan whispered to Flame. "If Lavasida destroyed the world, then how come the world is still here?"
The murmurs stilled as the queen continued her story. "We could all see that the plague was killing everything it touched. Plants and animals, elves and men, from the birds of the air to the fish of the sea, everything was dying. We tried all we could to stop it. In the end even the Dark Lord realized his folly, for how could he rule the world if the world was destroyed?" Aidan glanced again at Lavasida, but the Dark Lord's face revealed nothing. His expression was still and enigmatic. "In the end," continued Queen Tara, "we could do nothing to stop it. Then Yurik thought of a way. He knew of a spell to create a world. It was a spell none had ever successfully cast, but there was no other choice. Every surviving mage was gathered. They worked in concert to cast the spell, and though many of those who contributed died of it, the spell worked. They made a new world, a close copy of the old. We moved the few survivors to the new world as they slept. When they awoke they didn't know what had happened. We told them the plague had been stopped. The rest of the story you know, how Yurik and I began to rebuild, how the portals were made to bring in those from other worlds who could help us to repopulate Mysteria, how the Clan was formed to guard the world and prevent any other such disaster from occurring, and how now things are almost restored to the way they were. This new world is so like the old in most ways that none ever guessed the deception. And that deception was needed. There are those who would want to go back to the old Mysteria of they knew. I have seen what remains of that world." Her eyes were dark with sadness as she said, "There is nothing there but death, dust, and ashes. But there are still those foolish enough to attempt to return, especially now, with this new threat."
"And what is this new threat?" asked Brianna, the Clan's leader. "We've all seen that crack in the sky. What does it mean?"

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Contact the author at sparkling_image@hotmail.com

Chapter 1, part 1.
Chapter 1: Into the Darkness The raven-haired, winged girl sits at a desk, pen in hand, and ponders. She occasionally puts the tip of the pen to the blank sheet in front if her, but time after time she withdraws it again as if uncertain what to write. At last she sets the pen firmly against the parchment and begins. "How can I begin this story? How can I tell this wonderful, horrible, sad, romantic, joyful, terrifying, glorious story of my parents' lives? I sit here now, pen in hand, parchment before me, my notes spread around me, and I scribble down my thoughts, trying to see how to best tell the tale. "I never meant to write this. I never knew half of this story, but only this week, as I was sorting through Father's things, I found the box. I had seen Father scribbling away often enough when I was a child, but it had never occurred to me to wonder what he wrote, or think of what came of it. But suddenly there it was, a box filled with page after page of my father's haphazard but literate scrawl, even a few pages of my mother's tentative, childish letters. And now it seems somehow necessary that I tell the tale, that I let their descendants, my own kin, know the real stories behind the two people who became a minor myth while they yet lived. "But where to begin? At the very beginning perhaps? I can find the pages, the first few of them in my mother's hand, she who knew nothing of writing until she met my father but who was, nevertheless, a consummate story-teller, those pages followed by more numerous ones in my father's hand, dictated to him so that he could record my mother's earliest days. I could begin thus: In a land very far away, but very like this land of Mysteria where we live, there was born a firecat whose mother named her Sparkbright, but who later came to be known as Flame Song Firedancer. And yet that beginning doesn't quite seem right. "Perhaps then I should begin with my father's more lengthy account? Perhaps I should say: In a land very far away, and very different from this land of Mysteria where we live there was born a human boy whose mother named him Aidan Rhiannon. But no, that is no better a beginning than the other. My parents' tale could never begin with either of them alone, for in all things, always, they were together. I can never picture Father without Mother by his side, or Mother without Father there near her. Perhaps then I should begin with their wedding, so many years ago. But I have little wish to chronicle the day-to-day mundanities of their ordinary lives, and though their wedding was sweet, it was no different from any wedding where bride and groom truly loved each other. No, I will begin this amazing story at the point where it becomes truly amazing. I will begin on a day that all the people of Mysteria would remember for the rest of their lives. I will begin on the day the sky cracked and the world changed forever. "It was early in the morning when a sound echoed across the entire world. Over the open sea, from the east continent to the west, and from the deep south to the far north it echoed, this hideous, shattering noise. It reverberated down to the bones of the earth, but it originated far above, and when the wondering population of Mysteria looked up, they were all filled with horror, for the sky itself had shattered..." Aidan Rhiannon was doing nothing in particular, for a change, when he heard the sound. He and his wife, Flame Song Firedancer, had been refurbishing their house for the last several months. Aidan, frankly, was tired of the endless work. True the underground dwelling had stood vacant for more than five years and it had definitely needed some serious cleaning, but enough was enough. He looked up from where he was sprawled on a pile of furs on the floor. What little furniture they owned had survived the years of neglect, but the upholstery hadn't been so fortunate. Aidan didn't really mind. The furs were comfortable enough. "Flame? Did you hear that?" Flame Song poked her head out of the bedroom. "Yes." "What was it?" "I have no idea. Want to go take a look?" Aidan nodded and headed for the door. They went together out of the entry tunnel and into a bright summer morning. At first neither of them saw anything wrong, but then they turned to the south and both of them let out a shocked gasp. There was a crack in the sky. There was simply no other way to describe the gaping rift that stretched down to the horizon. Clear blue sky was suddenly interrupted by a slash of blank gray nothing that seemed to twist and writhe out of the corner of the eye, though when Aidan looked straight at it there was no motion at all. Aerian and shape-shifter stood in stunned silence for a long time before Aidan finally broke the stillness by saying, "I think we should go to Tara's tower, Flame." Flame Song nodded. "Yes..." She shook her head in amazement. "What is that?" "I don't know. But I doubt it's anything good." "Probably not. But what on earth are we going to do about it? We of the Clan have done a lot of things, but to repair the sky?" Aidan shrugged. "Tara's done miracles before this. She'll think of a way." "Let's go then," said Flame. "There's no reason to stay here." Aidan nodded. In moments they were winging south, the changeable Flame Song in aerian form, her white wings just inches from her husband's matching pair as they flew. For four days they pressed on through the sky, taking as little time as possible for food and sleep. Night and day the eerie gap in the sky stretched above them. As they reached more southern latitudes the rift reached from horizon to horizon. They avoided looking at it as much as possible. It was just too disturbing, especially to Aidan, who had been raised in a rational world of science where they sky wasn't a literal bowl overhead, but only a view of the galaxy beyond and where they stars weren't jewels set in place but distant suns. He had known intellectually that Mysteria was different, but seeing it like this brought the strangeness of his new world home to him as never before. At last, tired and worn, they reached Queen Tara's tower. Most of the Clan was already gathered since Flame and Aidan lived farther away than all but a few of their fellow Clan members. A day later everyone had arrived and the group met in the library of the queen's tower. Nearly thirty people were gathered there, humans and non-humans, native Mysterians and out-world immigrants, powerful warriors and great scholars, and simple ordinary folk. Some had known each other for years, some were near strangers, but all were united in one thing, their loyalty to their monarch and to their world, whether native or adopted. They were the members of the Clan of the Lost Dragon. They were a family of sorts. People who, for the most part, had no real family but had adopted each other as children of Queen Tara, the Lost Dragon of Mysteria. Tara herself stood and addressed the Clan when they were all gathered. She appeared to be a tall, auburn-haired human woman, her face unlined and youthful. That, however, was only an appearance. In reality she was a great dragon, the oldest and wisest of all the dragons of Mysteria. "I know you have all come here because you've seen the crack in the sky and want to know what can be done about it." She paused for a moment, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh, and Aidan suddenly realized how tired she looked. She often was wearied by the burden of rule, but today she looked terribly worn. When she continued her voice was tinged with regret. "There is something to be done, but first I must tell you a story. You all have heard of the strange sickness that almost destroyed our world some two centuries ago. I must tell you now that you have been told a falsehood." She turned and looked to where Lavasida, the former Dark Lord who had once been the enemy of Mysteria stood next to the elderly sage Yurik "Lavasida knows the full tale, as does Yurik, for both of them were there, and both took part in the story." Lavasida smiled faintly and nodded. "Indeed, though on opposite sides." Tara smiled and nodded. "Yes. But I don't doubt your loyalty to the Clan now, Lavasida." The Dark Lord gave her an ironic little bow, but didn't say anything further, and so the queen continued her story. "You were all told how the Dark Lord's plague nearly destroyed the world. Well, I tell you now that 'nearly' isn't the right word. The plague did destroy Mysteria." There were mutters of surprise as the Queen paused to let her followers absorb this information. "That's impossible," Aidan whispered to Flame. "If Lavasida destroyed the world, then how come the world is still here?" The murmurs stilled as the queen continued her story. "We could all see that the plague was killing everything it touched. Plants and animals, elves and men, from the birds of the air to the fish of the sea, everything was dying. We tried all we could to stop it. In the end even the Dark Lord realized his folly, for how could he rule the world if the world was destroyed?" Aidan glanced again at Lavasida, but the Dark Lord's face revealed nothing. His expression was still and enigmatic. "In the end," continued Queen Tara, "we could do nothing to stop it. Then Yurik thought of a way. He knew of a spell to create a world. It was a spell none had ever successfully cast, but there was no other choice. Every surviving mage was gathered. They worked in concert to cast the spell, and though many of those who contributed died of it, the spell worked. They made a new world, a close copy of the old. We moved the few survivors to the new world as they slept. When they awoke they didn't know what had happened. We told them the plague had been stopped. The rest of the story you know, how Yurik and I began to rebuild, how the portals were made to bring in those from other worlds who could help us to repopulate Mysteria, how the Clan was formed to guard the world and prevent any other such disaster from occurring, and how now things are almost restored to the way they were. This new world is so like the old in most ways that none ever guessed the deception. And that deception was needed. There are those who would want to go back to the old Mysteria of they knew. I have seen what remains of that world." Her eyes were dark with sadness as she said, "There is nothing there but death, dust, and ashes. But there are still those foolish enough to attempt to return, especially now, with this new threat." "And what is this new threat?" asked Brianna, the Clan's leader. "We've all seen that crack in the sky. What does it mean?"
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