Chapter 20

Lui and I walk along the field and over a bridge when I heard a rumbling, I turn my head to see two very large groups running towards each other,

"Sweetheart, lets.." I started when I looked down. Lui was gone almost like she was never there at all. I looked back up just in time to notice that the green stone was turning a darker color. I could hear crumbling noises and suddenly the entire pillar shattered.. Then a black mist and a creature of black and white crawled out of the destruction. Its skin was black with white marbling and it had a giant gash on its back that spilled out white smoke. It also had large sets of spines that jut outwards. I couldn't see the creature fully because it was facing away from me.

I felt a hand on my shoulder that gave me a light shake.

"Come on kid wake up," A voice said as they gave me another light shake, I groaned softly as I opened my eyes.

"W-what?" I grumbled as I lifted my head up from the tigers back and was met with an Ari tongue to the face.

"You're smothering the poor thing," Manlan chuckled. I slowly started to get up when I felt something laying on my legs and on my lap. I looked down to see a small group of cranes asleep on my lap and legs.

"Easy, we are just going to slide them off," Manaln said as he gently woke up a couple of the cranes.

"I guess that they wanted to be part of the cuddle puddle too," Copperfire said as he helped Manlan shuffle the birds off of me. I slowly stood up as the cranes chirped in protest as we shuffled them off me. I stood up and stretched.

"So how was your nap?" Manlan questioned as he chuckled.

"It was okay, I had a really weird dream," I recalled.

"Oh, what happened? Were there pink unicorns or handsome knights slaying dragons?" Copperfire jokes.

"Ew no," I cringed.

"Dreaming of a field?" Manlan questioned.

"Yeah, actually I was," I told Manlan, remembering the lush grass and the orange trees.

"Really, what else?" Manlan questioned further.

"There were Orange trees, and a sculpture of a green dragon," I recalled as I remembered how the sculpture shined in the light.

"Interesting," Manlan said as he turned to look at the tiger that was still asleep. He knelt down and lightly petted the tiger's head gently trying to wake it up. With a large groan the tiger picked up its head and when it saw Manlan it slowly got to its feet. It purred, probably still half asleep, the large feline stretched and then walked up to the house.

"Where are you going big boy?" Manlan questioned as he followed the tiger. Manlan motioned us to follow him and he made his way up the path. The tiger walked up to the house and sat down next to a water bowl and took a drink. There was an alchemy table next to the door of the house. The beakers were filled with liquid and a couple of them were bubbling. The alchemy set was sitting on a short stout dark wood table. There was a jar filled with a white liquid that seemed to smock. I saw a rolled out scroll that was hung on a pillar of the house. The scroll was written in a language I could understand, the strokes of the characters were gentle. Like whoever was holding the brush was careful on how the words were written. I stepped closer to the house to see what was inside. I was surprised to find the place was covered head to toe in books, scrolls, and letters. I cautiously shuffled my way through the house and found nothing but scrolls. I passed what looked like an overflowing desk but what caught my eye was a scroll that was last with gold. I stepped closer to the desk to get a closer look. The scroll seemed several years old but it was in good condition, unlike some others. It did not have characters, there were more drawings or depictions of the island that we were on. As I looked through the depictions of the island, it looked faded as if it was covered with smoke. The smoke around the island gets lighter and lighter and lighter, until it is gone.

The scroll was only rolled out until this point, but just tucked under the rest of the rolled out paper peaked out what looked like a ship but instead of it painted black like the rest of the depictions it was painted with what looked like faded blue. I unrolled it some more to see the boat. The whole boat was a faded blue. There was more than one ship, there seemed to be a fleet of them. Some were red as well. The ships seemed to be swarming the island as well as attacking each other. Some seemed to be on fire,

"Manlan … WAIT!" Copperfire screeches

".. It's kinda sweet… like … mmmm… like Cherry Blossom tea," Manlan hummed. I shrugged my shoulders and went back to looking at the scroll when I hear a very loud crash outside,

"MALAN!" Copperfire shrieked, I rushed outside to see Manlan lay on the ground with Copperfire standing over him shaking him desperately trying to wake him up. But Manlan body just laid limp softly shaking as Copperfire shook him trying to wake him,

"Manlan! No, No!" I cried as I rushed to his side. I somehow get Copperfire to stop shaking Manlan. I gently lay my head on his chest praying that he was still alive. I sighed in relief as I heard his heart beating and air coming in and out of his lungs. Manlans owl quickly shuffled over making sure his friend was okay, his owl softly coos as he lightly ran his beak through his hair,

"Manlan come on wake up . . . Manlan please," I pleaded as I gently brushed his hair out of his face. He was peaceful, not a care in the world, his deep black hair draped on the ground like you would a blanket,

"Ahhh, I see your friend found my dream brew," A deep voice chimed