Merlin had almost forgotten what it was like to ride a dragon. Never had he felt more free, more himself. Old, childish joy was rekindled as Aithusa surged off of the ground, and soared so high, the flowers seemed to return to their natural size. The wind roared through his hair, turning his spirit wild. He howled along to the ancient song that pounded through his blood, his heart keeping a bright tempo, the breath escaping his lungs. He cast a spell about himself that provided him with sufficient oxygen as Aithusa climbed higher.
Then, Aithusa broke through the clouds, and leveled off. All was calm. A sea of opaque clouds swirled around them, curling and winding about each other as though they were lovers locked in an embrace. The sun was beginning to set, and its radiant beams washed the ethereal landscape in color. Some clouds shone bright as rubies, others glowed like fire. The wind whispered secrets to him as he attempted to grab at the riches surrounding him, but they just wisped away as though they never were. The sunlight glanced off of Aithusa's scales, turning her into a burning ember racing through the sky. The sight was a wonder to behold: he doubted anyone else would ever get the chance to watch as a dragon soared above the clouds, to see the otherworldly beauty that existed in this realm. Never had Merlin dreamed that he would see something so awe-inspiring.
"It's beautiful." He sent his thoughts to Aithusa.
"Aye, it is," she agreed. But she volunteered no thoughts of her own. Merlin sensed a sadness in her, and wondered how anyone could be melancholy while beholding something as majestic as the sight before them.
"What's wrong?" he asked her.
"It is nothing, little one," she answered, "I just do not see as you do. I am a predatory creature, and my eyesight is indeed superior to a humans'. But sadly, much beauty was sacrificed to give my kind the ability to spy prey at a distance."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You will need to see through my eyes." Tendrils of her consciousness began to invade his thoughts, until his mind started to fuse with Aithusa's, and he felt her mighty wing beats as they buffeted the clouds, felt the fire in her belly, felt her breath as it blew in and out of her lungs. "Close your eyes," Aithusa commanded. Merlin obeyed. Instead of seeing what he marveled at before, he saw what Aithusa saw. Her sight appeared to be infrared, with the sun burning forth like the heart of a forge, and the landscape fading into blue as the sun's hold lessened. Through the clouds, he could see tiny red pinpricks representing the host of animals below. He could see for miles in every direction, but it was nowhere as beautiful as Merlin's view.
"It is a great sacrifice indeed," he conceded, withdrawing himself from Aithusa.
"It has kept me alive," she reassured, sadness still gripping her. "But I have heard the most beautiful stories about the sunset, about meadows in the springtime, how the leaves on the trees turn to fire in the autumn." Wistfulness overtook her. "Sometimes I wish I were not a dragon. I am the last of my kind, and I am unable to appreciate the beauty of the world around me."
Merlin considered her wishes for a moment, then an idea came to him. He reached out with his mind, enveloping Aithusa's consciousness with his own instead of the other way around. Aithusa resisted a bit at first, but eventually gave herself up to him. They fused as they were before.
"Close your eyes," Merlin repeated, and he felt Aithusa's heart warm at his gesture. She did as he said, and the wonder she felt at the sight before her was more powerful than anything Merlin had ever felt. His eyes burned with tears as Aithusa tried to commit every single detail to memory: the shades of the clouds, the burning of the sun.
Soon, Merlin separated his mind from Aithusa's, yet her emotions were still plain to him. She was overjoyed at the gift Merlin had given her, and gratitude flooded her thoughts.
"Thank you, little one," she gasped in his mind. "I will hold this memory close for as long as I have the capacity." They flew in reverent silence for a few moments. Then, Merlin remembered the purpose of their quest.
"You say that we are heading toward the home of the natives?" he asked Aithusa.
"Yes," she answered.
"Is there anything specific that I should know about them? I fear that I will offend them somehow."
"You needn't worry, little one. They treat guests with the highest esteem, seeing that visitors are a rarity that is much enjoyed. If you do fumble in their traditions, they will think nothing of it, for how could you know their customs?"
"Are they the only intelligent life on this planet?"
"It would seem so. Though, they are not of this planet. Their species began somewhere else, though I know not where."
"If they're the only intelligent life on this planet, then what has it in peril?"
"I suppose that I will let them tell you that. We draw near to their home."
It was at this moment that Merlin realized that Aithusa had angled toward the ground, and the air around him began to grow warmer. They broke through the line of clouds to behold what seemed like a normal forest. All the trees were the right size, and their canopy concealed whatever may have been hiding among the leaves.
"Aithusa, every other place on this planet seems to have been earth flipped backwards. Why is this section different?" Merlin asked.
"They made it that way. Their reasons are unknown to me," Aithusa answered. Merlin pondered this strange occurrence as he and Aithusa descended toward the treetops. Before too long, Merlin spied a clearing wide enough for Aithusa to land in, and she did so, tearing grass with her great talons, gouging deep trenches in the soft earth.
All at once, shrieks of protest split the air. Merlin clapped hands over his ears as the shrieks rose in volume as one. Aithusa roared, swinging her head from side to side in an effort to be rid of the horrendous noise. Merlin opened forced open his watering eyes in time to see indistinct shapes weaving effortlessly through the trees, never touching the ground. He frantically drew his sword, painfully drawing his hands away from his ears. He was just about to leap off of Aithusa and confront whatever fiend lay beyond the shadows of the forest, when all sound ceased. The silence was almost more painful that the relentless screaming, ringing pounding in his skull. He waited with bated breath. He looked toward Aithusa in confusion and fear. But, Aithusa didn't seem afraid or nervous. On the contrary, she simply looked miffed and annoyed, rubbing at the ear holes on either side of her head with her huge paws.
Merlin heard a rustling in the underbrush that bordered the forest, and looked up to see who, indeed, had caused such a ruckus. To his surprise, it was not horrible creatures that unfolded themselves from the leaves: quite the contrary, in fact. 6 women emerged gracefully from the belly of the forest, their movements fluid and smooth, as if their limbs were flowing in the current of a mountain brook in high summer. All were blond, all were tall, and all were wearing blindingly white dresses, seemingly of Grecian make. Some had eyes as dark as black velvet, some had eyes akin to the depths of the sea, others, eyes that mirrored light filtering down through a forest canopy. But their striking beauty was not what held Merlin in awe. Huge, white wings burst forth from their backs like frothing waterfalls, sweeping the ground.
"Angels," he whispered aloud.