- Prologue -
The boy realized he was falling, but strangely he didn't seem worried about it. He could feel the buzz of the wind, soaring by his ears, as he plunged downwards into the sky below –but oddly he could not feel it on his skin. He was surrounded by an infinite bright blue that stretched across the sky, but there was no sun to be seen. The boy blinked, wondering, why weren't his eyes getting dry? He opened his eyes, and suddenly, he was surrounded by clouds. The clouds were small, bright and fluffy. They stretched as far as the boy could see. Wherever he looked, he saw small patched of white. There was no sky or ground to be seen, just infinite white. Yet he fell.
Suddenly, the infinity of clouds broke, and the boy saw the far away ground. It was also blue, but of a darker shade. The boy concluded that that was the sea below him. Scattered around the dark blue sea, the boy could see small spots of brown and grey poking timidly out of the ocean. The brown and grey spots grew in size, and then the boy saw imposing islands in their place.
The islands were proud and strong –mountains really, with the top bravely reaching out of the deep ocean. The shores were coated with tall dangerous cliffs of bright grey stone. The perilous peaks were painted in ever-lasting snow, hiding the mountain top in pale white. The rest of the island was covered in a blanket of deep green forest. The cliff shore gave in to a gravel beach, followed by smooth hills that climbed up the mountainside. A little river flowed from the snow into the sea, following sharp turns and high falls. It went through the smooth hills and died by the gravel beach. Yet he fell.
By the lazy hills and next to the stream, the boy saw a village poking through. The village was buzzing with life. Small smoke columns emerged from little stone chimneys attached to wooden structures. The boy could see ant-sized people moving around, going from one place to another, doing their daily business. He saw farmers tending to their cattle by the green hills, smiths forging swords in their workshops, fisherman selling their daily catch by the market, tanners transforming skin into leather, inns serving a late breakfast, lumberjacks chopping down wood by the deep forest, and soldiers patrolling the lively village. By the gravel shores he saw a dozen wooden ships, with the many colored sails. Some were sailing some were not, some were merchants and some were not.
At the center of the town a sound stone structure stood firm, looming over the village. Inside the castle, the boy saw a worried Lord with his family by the large stone fireplace. They boy for a moment thought he saw his home beneath him. But the boy was confused. And yet he fell.
He crossed a cloud. His vision fogged up, and he could no longer see the lively town with the proud castle. It was odd the boy thought for a moment, he could not feel the moisture against his skin. He crossed the cloud, and saw again the deep see and the tall rocks. However, this was not the same place as before.
There was little to no green left in the surface, it was all ash. The grass had burned away, leaving behind a barren grey land. The boy searched for the lively village, but he found none. In its place, he only saw the agglomeration of burned down wood. There was no life left, no people going around. There were no farmers tending to their cattle, no smiths forging swords, no fisherman selling their daily catch by the market, no tanners making leather, no inns serving a late breakfast, no lumberjacks chopping down wood, and no soldiers patrolling the now desolate village. The fleet of ships was no longer there, with the flapping colorful sails. The only remain was a shipwrecked half-burned wooden structure, smoke rising from within it.
The castle was no more. The rocks had fallen violently to the ground, and the ones that remained were black and burned. He saw no worried Lord inside with his family by the stone fireplace. Then the boy knew that this was not his home. This was a place that no longer is. The life it once had had been wiped out, leaving behind only ash and dust.
The boy then saw a violent red mass hanging from the remaining stones. It was as big as the castle. The boy saw a pair of gigantic wings attached to the red-scaled body, followed by a long sinusoidal tail that poked out from behind. It did not move, is stood perfectly still, hanging from the dark stones. Yet he fell.
From the red body, emerged a demonic head, with a pair of bright yellow eyes that looked straight at him. The beast stood still, locking gazes with the boy.
The creature then took flight.
And it headed right towards the boy.
The boy looked up, and saw another mass approaching. This one was black. A black so pure, that one might have mistaken it with the night itself. Its wings were spread far and wide, flapping vigorously. The second body was further away; the boy could see that it was smaller than the red beast. At the forefront of the black wings stood a round face with a pair of vibrant emerald eyes, looking straight at the boy.
The two bodies, one black and one red, one small and one large, approached fast. They raced to the falling boy, competing to arrive first. They boy was awed by the masses. He could tell they were dangerous, with those large teeth poking out of the muzzles and those sharp claws hanging from the bodies, but strangely, he was not afraid. He could only revere at the elegance of both, as they fluidly moved their bodies against the winds. Yet he fell.
Both were fast, and in a blink of an eye they were almost on top of him. The beast did not slow down, at the contrary, they were speeding up. The boy was aware he was going to get crushed, and fear started to rise from his stomach. But all the fear fell away as he looked upon the emerald eyes. They soothed him. He was no longer afraid. He was calm.
Then, the boy's world turned into darkness.