The Long Way Home

I struck my flint near a torch, and it flared, lighting the dry wood. I left it in it's holder.

If Raven had had a human face, I'm fairly sure that it would be whiter than fresh cotton. As it was, Raven's eyes were filled with a mixture of awe and fear.

"Why is it abandoned?" Raven whispered.

"The volcano erupted," I said, pointing outside. "The dragons and humans alike used this place as a sanctuary from the volcano for two days. When it finished, there was a beach of glass, no vegetation, and nothing to eat. The fish had either been boiled to death or poisoned from the volcanic toxic fumes. The dragons went to the Far Isles. The humans went to the other side of the gorge that divides this continent in half." I pointed to the other side.

"But humans aren't allowed in the Temple," Raven said quietly, her eyes still glued to the pictures.

"Oh, trust me. The other dragons had a fit. King Shardas told them to back off, that even humans deserved a chance to live, which they didn't if they stayed out there."

"He sounds like a just king," she said quietly.

I could see where she was going. "Raven, if he'd known, I have no doubt that he'd search for you personally. He may have been grieving, but that doesn't mean that he would neglect his duties to his people. Or rather, dragons."

We just sat there for awhile, staring at the pictures and letting it sink in that we were a very long way from home.

"He sounds like my brother," Raven finally broke the silence.

I was startled. "You have a brother?"

She nodded faintly. "Before I fell, I had an older brother. He was colored silver, and his eyes were a sharp blue. He was playful, your original jokester, but he knew when he needed to tackle a problem responsibly. He was your mediator, normally, between me and my friend, Sumpt. Just a platonic relationship, that's all," she reassured me. "But we fought often, over the silliest things. My brother was normally the one to break us up, laughing all the way."

"When I was eighteen, two years before I fell, he disappeared off the face of the earth. He may or may not know what happened to me. I know I don't know what happened to him."

We were both silent for a long while.

"What was your brother's name?" I asked softly.

"Krashath," she responded, equally softly, her voice filled with a mixture of sadness and longing. "His name was Krashath."

I was stunned, paralyzed. I didn't have the heart to tell her what he'd done to her other brother. If Krashath was Raven's brother, Shardas was her brother as well. It gave me chills.

I just swallowed and nodded. I recalled my mother's stories, and absently began drawing a map in the sand.

Raven was just lost in memories, her eyes sad.

This was the continent we were sitting on, the upside-down V the mountain we were in. Two days to the west, we'd reach the island that the natives direct Shardas and Mom to this continent. Four hours to the north, the island Mom was marooned on. Another day, and the Far Isles. Then we'd have to go for two days to get to Roulain, and another hour to the King's Seat. I labeled my map from Mom's stories, the rift, the home of the natives, the Glass Beach that probably isn't so glassy anymore.

"What is this?" Raven said, jerking out of her memories and coming over to inspect the map.

"The long way home," I responded. "We could go northwest and get there in three days, approximently, but I don't know that way, what lies there," I said, drawing a straight line from where we were to the King's Seat. "Whether or not there's any small islands that we can crash on. It's completely uncharted territory."

Raven nodded slowly, her wide green eyes taking in all the labels. She growled inquinsively and stabbed a claw on the native's island that directed Shardas to this continent. "What's there?"

"The place where we turn, this is where Mom stopped, trying to follow Azure-Wing's kidnappers," I said nonchalantly, re-drawing the area.

"What— I don't even want to know," Raven said, shaking her head.

I just laughed at her, hauling myself up. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving and tired. Not to mention thirsty from screaming at you. I'm gonna eat, and then sleep."

I left a bemused Raven in the mountain while I caught fish and grabbed fistfuls of ripe berries.

See? I can update in a timely manner! (I think it's the first time I've done so on this story, though. Whoops.)

~Lou