Chronicles of Silver years
Dawn, the first rays of light began to stream over the edge of the horizon, chasing away the shadow that had taken over the earth oh so briefly, but long enough to seem an eternity. I loved this time of day, the quiet, the soft chill in the air, and the sight of the sun putting on its once a day show.
As the light touched the trees, then the pillars made of stone that existed amongst the ancient forest, it began to travel up to grace the tree tops, and then the rock faces them-selves. As it did, it began to touch my own body. First, just a touch, a soft caress of light. Slowly it would grow bolder, glinting off my scales, light reflecting into soft silver shadows. My scales now reveled, it would move onward to my claws, sharp in contrast to my scale color, a deep obsidian black.
As I watched, I playfully tapped a fore-claw into the stone, felling the ancient rock give just slightly against its sharp tip. I had long learned how sharp my claws were, but sometimes such simple actions brought a soft grin to my face. As I turned my attention back to the sunlight, even in the small time my attention had been diverted, it had progressed along my back, lighting my wings that were relaxed against my spine. In contrast to my scales, my wings were not quite silver, though the limbs themselves were clad in its color. My wings were a sort of off white, that in its own way was a silver, but the difference was enough to show them clearly against my scales when I had them folded in a relaxed position.
The sunrays traveled onward and upward, its task unrelenting in chasing away the night's shadows. It slowly caressed my long and lithe neck, glinting on my white horns and white mane, before striking my face. I did not have to squint against the sun's glare, they were made for such intense light, but I always had spots in my vision after the light left them. My face, now reveled in full, sun glinting off the delicate silver scales of my muzzle. The sun's act now finished until its next cycle.
I raised my neck, stretching out the heavy muscles that lied beneath my scales, tilting back my maw, and opened my mouth in a heavy yawn. While the act in itself was not a threatening gesture, the noise I made always woke the birds that still slept, causing a racket of chirps and squawks. With a sharp grin, my pearly white teeth glinting in the early morning sun, I stood, stretching my legs. My rear left leg especially had fallen asleep again, and I had to stomp it several times to get feeling back into it, feeling the hard stone grate and give slightly against my claws and the force I applied. With a shake of my wide shoulders, I rattled my wings, getting them ready to take flight.
With a creak of sinew and tendon , I un-folded my wings, spreading them as far out as I could, stretching the wiry yet strong muscles that wrapped about there twin lengths. I groaned slightly as I stretched them to there limit, not painfully so, but far enough to produce a powerful stretching sensation. With a shake of my head, I retracted my wings to a half length, and peered over the side of the pillar I was currently occupying. I could guess that I was maybe, seven to nine lengths of my body away from the ground. Which would make it, around 250 feet upwards, give or take about 20 feet.
"Perfect" I growled, and with a grin, and another head shake which sent my wild mane flying, I gathered my legs beneath myself, and with all the strength I had in those limbs, leapt over the edge. I angled downwards, my long nimble tail swishing behind in the self generated wind. I shifted my wings forward, gathering the air that was rushing past me.
With a sharp snap, I extended my wings to the fullest. My body suddenly shifted from a downward direction, to one that could only be seen as a vertical one. The rapid shift sent my body shooting upward. Extending my neck, I looked downward to see the forest laid out like a carpet before me, slowly getting smaller as I ascended into the sky. I caught a weak but growing thermal rising from the quickly heating rock, as spiraled higher and higher upwards, watching the earth drop away, my legs tucked neatly against my belly.
I supposed to an observer on the ground, at this point in my early morning flight, I would look like the common bird, albeit a very shiny one, but probably a bird given the distance. I couldn't help feel the exhilaration, as I always have, with the care-free feeling of flight. I could feel it, building up in the depth of my chest, and before long as I soared, I could hold it no longer.
Rearing my head back, gray-green kaleidoscope eyes meeting the vast expanse of the blue sky, I let loose a roar of pure exhilaration. The sound traveled the vast expanse of the ancient forest, rolling over the air, as I proclaimed my joy and excitement. I snapped my jaw shit with the sharp 'click' and my upper and lower teeth met, and still grinning in shear excitement, I spiraled quickly down to a smudge of blue that contrasted within the green landscape.
I landed heavily, not really bothering to cancel out most of my momentum, I was far to excited from the taste of the early morning air. My front legs took most of the impact, the ground muddy from late night rain. My claws sank deeply, the soggy earth absorbing most of the impact, I righted myself with a squelching sound as I pulled my claws free. I grimaced slightly, seeing the soil that had stuck to my previously unblemished claws and lower fore-arms. I would have to clean them later.
But that was one advantage of scales and claws, very little would stick to them. First though, I dipped my head downwards, taking a long drought from the clear and cool water. When I finished, I arched my head back slightly, small bits of water dripping from my exposed fangs. I cocked my head slightly, taking in my face and long neck, silver scales glinting from the morning sun. I turned my head, looking over the rest of my body.
From nose to tail, though it had been some time since I had last measured myself, I was roughly 28 feet in length. My neck took up about eight feet of that, the length of my shoulders to my hips about twelve, and my tail taking up the remaining eight. From my paws to the tops of my shoulders was about seven feet, give to take a few inches. My wings, fully extended, were about double my length. My shoulders were slightly wider then they would be on a creature without wings, to accommodate the extra tendons and muscles needed for flight. Were there another person there to look at me from the front, they would see a broad chest leading to a heavily muscled neck up to my own head. I supposed had I been smaller then I was, I would look silly. But given my size, and as I examined myself in the reflection of the water, I choose the term 'dignified.' My body was not heavily muscled, but if I flexed my legs or barreled out my chest, I could see the muscles push against my scales. This was a constant reminder that I was more then able to handle myself should a threat arise. Such an event was a rarity, but it had happened, and at those time I was glad to have my strength behind me.
I relaxed my muscles, and returned my attention to the water before me. I could remember a time; which was to me, quite some time ago, when this pond had just been a puddle fed by a much larger stream. Back when I was still earth-bound, and I had just entered the world...........
Something cold and wet was falling on me within my hard shell that I had just escaped from. I cried in confusion, but something far louder then I could ever make seemed to overrule my protests with its fury. I grasped blindly, and my small paws found the rim of the hole that my small muzzle had created moments earlier. My eye lids were still shut tight, not yet ready to open from there time spent in the hard shell.
Suddenly, something tapped the top of my head, smooth and warm in contrast to the hard wet things that would fall on me every now and then. A gentle nudge, and a sharp cracking sound cased the hard shell that was still around me to fall away, as I clumsily landed on something cold and hard, a wetness seeping through my paws.
Another nudge, gently pushing my body in an unknown direction, until I came in contact with a large, warm and dry, the wetness under my paws seemed to disappear, just leaving a cold surface. My legs were weary, and I felt them collapse and fold underneath my body, as I leaned instinctively into the warm wall.
I again felt that large presence nudge my head, something wet yet again, but warm and comforting. The touch of that something created a sudden urge to banish the darkness covering my eyes. With a force of will I had not yet known I had, I forced my eyes open.
It really didn't help all that much, the world beyond my eyes was blurry and unfocused, taking quite some time for me to see much of anything. What I finally did see was a great head looking straight back at me, eyes gentle and inviting. Rather then fear, I felt an odd and unexplained kinship with this thing in front of me. It was clad in some kind of shiny material, with odd protrusions coming from behind its head.
It moved forward, and instinctively I tried to move away, though as it touched my head, I felt a radiating warmth that calmed and settled me. I leaned into the caresses and felt things other then warmth enter me. I had no words for what they were, but soon I heard something that was all together different and new enter me.
*My little one, I had feared that I would never see you.* These things, words, seemed to enter me, unfamiliar and strange. Despite this, they seemed to convey a new feeling that made me feel safe and secure. I tried to respond, but all I could seem to muster was a low 'peep.'
The creature before me chuckled deeply, lovingly. *You cannot speak yet my dear, but soon you will, in tongue and in mind. Fear not my dear, I will safe you as best I can for now.*
I was confused, this thing was important, but I could not find out why. *Confused my dear one? I am your mother, though I fear my time with you may grow short* she, I realized, said. Worried, and confused, I chirped with confusion.
*For now you need rest my dear one, sleep, I will keep you safe and warm for as long as I can, but I will name you, my son, my dear. You will be known far and wide as Zen'thur.* The word sleep seemed to do something to me, the things over my eyes dropping yet again, covering me with darkness, yet I could still hear my name echoing deep within my head, Zen'thur.