[Whispers from on high dance within your ears.]
The dragon's nest stirs as the dusk from the aerie clears. A sharp pain stings {Solans] back as he looks out at the desolate sky.
His eyes lift from on high; he hasn't seen a view like this in some time. The ancient dust of a past long lost as it dances on the ledges of rock at the corners of the sky island
{Solan: "These grand wings" He thought with an air of confusion "How long has it been since I laid my eyes upon them?"
His outstretched hands feel the warm feathers of these familiar wings. It's as though something has been lit within him; for whatever reason he doesn't recognize the hands he is using to reach forth
{Solan: "It's been centuries - the air is different than it was" He paused for a moment as he stands up on legs unfamiliar to him
[A light charm echoes in the distance]
[Whispers from on high dance within your ears]
It is as though the very ground itself is welcoming home a long-missed friend. As he walks towards the distant sun he looks upon himself and his form of flesh and bone
{Solan: "Must have been a grand battle" He says with content as he looks around the desolate aerie, he used to call home "A ruin I have failed in protecting"
A glow emanates from the stones around {Solan}, it is a warm glow, one of peace.
But in the wasteland he inhabits is in large contrast.
Reaching down to pick up the stone he remarks on the small frame he has obtained.
{Solan: "This body of mine is not one I am familiar with" He contemplated to himself wondering how he managed to get into this situation. "I wish I could remember…"
A small frown can be seen on [Solans] face, as if all of the emotions he's had suppressed for a millennia are finally starting to show again
Something is missing. As he stands on the edge of the sky island he looks down. He does not see the ground but a reflection of the sky above. Everywhere around him is a blistering and pure blue radiating from every corner of the island.
He looks back towards where he awoke, ash strewn from the ground in which he emerged.
[A large gust of wind blows from beyond the void]
As the gust came and went, so too did the ashes.
{Solan : "There is nothing for me here, at least, not anymore" He remarks as gazing once again at the towering sky islands that float beside him. "My soul is guiding me to something - i can feel it"
The pull he is feeling is coming from below. He is wary of this, for he does not know why he is being called towards the void. He ignores it for now.
He stretches his long wings and ample figure for the first time in centuries, letting out a sigh of relief to go along with the pleasure. He begins walking to the closer of the sky islands. The island he is on currently is grand in stature; walking will not get him to his destination in time.
With one fell swoop he releases his wings and begins to soar, a bit slow at first but he begins to steady out after a little while.
{Solan: "I know not what happened to the aerie" He says to himself now that he has a bird's eye view of the desolate island he awoke on "The last thing I can remember is a pain in my soul, as though something was ripped out"
As he flew over the barren land contemplating the past he swore he would find the truth of what happened. That was a goal only he could accomplish.
The desolate island he awoke from is only one of many, strewn across the void and interwoven by light chains from island to island. The island closest to him was one of pure white clouds. Smaller in size to the previous island, [Solan] made an effort to explore it thoroughly.
Not a speck of life besides his own.
[Whispers from on high dance within your ears]
After exploring other islands and finding nothing but the mystic dust and barren harshland he was becoming accustomed to, he felt discouraged. As though he wanted more for himself than to explore memories he has long forgotten
He feels a presence on the next island up ahead. A pull from something he hasn't felt in a long time.
One of pure unadulterated hate.
It made his skin crawl. He protested against himself, but in the end, curiosity got the better of his judgment and he began the flight towards the feeling.
{Solan: "This presence is not from the aerie… from what I have seen it is surely abandoned" Hesitation is growing the closer he gets to the island.
Every part of his being is screaming to stop this pursuit. But [Solans] naivety persisted. It is as though the millennia of experience he has had vanished when confronted by this presence.
As he lands his feet on the ground of the island he looks up towards the scenery. It is different from the other islands he had encountered. A large plain of grass stretches in all directions. Hills can be seen plastered across the horizon as though they were waves on an endless sea. This is in stark contrast to the presence he felt before.
[A sign emanates from his breath]
Out of the corner of his retina he is blinded by something. His gaze homes in on the bright object in the distance. In the center of this magnificent field is a flower, one lone flower. Its petals branched out in a seemingly endless array of patterns, ever changing. Its pistil emitting such a divine light so bright even the eyes of a supreme dragon could not gaze for too long.
[A familiar voice reaches out from beyond the flower]
[It's beckoning me]
[I know this voice]
{Solan: "A grave of light" he whispers to himself
Solan reaches to pluck this flower, hoping he can reconnect with something he had lost. But…
As though in a mere instance, the grand wings he so cherished from the moment he had awoken, were severed off of his body. So clean and precise [Solan] couldn't have perceived it.
From the depths of his being and the edge of his soul. He lets out a most gut-wrenching scream. The very islands themselves begin to quiver from this display of both power and fear.[1]
As he writhes there, clutching the slender, unfamiliar back of his. Grasping at the wound left by the tear. He feels that presence again.
The call from the void he felt from when he was on the first island. It beacons him now more than ever.
{Solan; "I… I need… to - run"} he mutters, frantic for breath.
He begins to crawl, the agonizing pain torching every part of his being, it was as though a bit of his soul was torn out along with the wings.
He begins to stand on his legs and tries to fly, but the absence of his once beloved wings sends another wave of immeasurable pain coursing through his body.
Something is coming, something dangerous.
It wants more than his wings
It wants [Solans] soul
Solan leaps from the island, the shockwave from the jump leaving a crater where he once stood.
He can feel himself being pursued, his instincts are screaming danger.
{Solan: "Who are you and why are you in my home! Why are you here! Answer me! I know cough… I know your behind me!"}
His cries for answers remained unanswered, as he jumped from island to island.
{Solan; "It was a cold and calculated move" he thought to himself "to go after the wings to prevent escape!" "He has done this before!"
As he reaches the island in which he emerged he begins running towards the void, there is nowhere else he can go. He is cornered.
[Slash]
Before he could react, a slash of a sword too grand to be wielded by a man cleaved clean through the back of his prey. Sending [Solan] barreling off the edge of the island and towards the endless void below.
As he is thrown from the island he tumbles and turns in the air trying to regain stability. But the agonizing pain in his back is making it hard to do so.
Solan looked back to see what he tried so desperately to escape from. But all he saw was the bright blue sky which enveloped all he could see.
It was as though nothing was there to begin with.
He also knew, whoever he was, whatever happened to the aerie [Solan] called home
That thing had something to do with it…
[1] A dragon's wings are very sensitive. Most major veins/arteries travel through them.