A Tale of a Dragon

A TALE OF A DRAGON

Seth awoke with a start. It was dawn and the dew on the glass panes had frozen in the night and left little crystals that looked similar to veins of a wing. This gave the window a beautiful life like appearance. He breathed heavily as is he came to reality from what he assured himself was a dream. He got up shakily and walked over to his window, and peered out. As he looked through the frosty window of the log and timber farm hut, he found himself wiping his breath from the window which traveled from his mouth as a cloud of vapor and came to rest on the window as a circle of fog. The world outside his uncle's home seemed alien and foreign to him. The entire world had been engulfed and covered with glimmering sheets of white.

Although he was no stranger to snow and winter after seventeen years of life; the effect it had still astonished him. It was as if all the force and life of Mother Nature herself had been blunted and put on hold for the empty silence of snow and ice. The birds no longer perched in the green tree tops of the blooming forest just beyond the barn, the green grass no longer waived in the pasture on windy days, and the vibrant colors of all living things seemed to fade into pure white.

He surveyed the landscape for a short time more and then went about his morning tasks. His mind wandered as he got dressed and did the necessary mindless tasks that had to be done before breakfast. It was not long before his mind came back to the dream. "What was I dreaming about?" The question pounded in his head over and over again as he finished up his tasks. He felt nervous about it, as if it were a message whose soul purpose was to relay the most important of information that he could not understand. His stomach clenched and a knot rose in his throat. It was the same feeling he got when he was deeply worried about an event to come. The only problem was that he was not sure he knew what to be worried about.

When He sat down at the breakfast table he grimaced at the porridge in front of him. He sat and barely looked at the food as his cousin devoured his. "What's the matter with you," he said half heartedly, "You haven't even touched your porridge." Seth looked at his cousin pondering for a second. The two of them could not have been closer had they been of the same womb, for they had grown up together, and had always been as brothers. Seth had been given to his Uncle when Brom had just been born. He only knew that his parents were dead, and nothing more of it than that. "Nothing, just tired." said Seth trying to stifle conversation, "I didn't sleep well, I was cold." Luckily for Seth the lie had been enough to end the conversation. This was at least until his uncle entered the room.

"Good morning boys," boomed the man with a broad smile on his face, "How are you two this morning?" Seth's uncle was a short tiered looking man. His skin was tuff and freckled from many years of hard labor in the hot sun, and his hands calloused from blisters that came from rigorous farm work. His hair, beard, and other facial hair were a dull grey. The only features on the man that portrayed his youthful spirit were his eyes. They were a bright blue and glimmered with the passion of a young man. He walked across the room to the fireplace, swung the kettle of Porridge away from the open flame and served himself a bowl. Brom and Seth's uncle conversed about chores and the whether. Seth just watched and eyed his cousin and uncle. Something struck him about his uncle that reminded him of his dream. He just didn't know what exactly it was that had stuck out at him. He pondered this until breakfast was over.

As Seth walked out to the barn he stared off into forest. He wished he could go hike through it. He always seemed to find his answers when he walked through the forest. As he worked, Seth let his mind wander. It was not long before his mind wandered to the issue of what his dream had been. "What had about hiss uncle had reminded him of his dream." He turned the question over in his head again and again, but he could only get the answer to the tip of his tongue before it was lost again. He worked fast and finished his chores early so that he could go for a hike. Seth informed his uncle that he had finished his chores early and asked if he could go hiking though the forest. It was only after that his uncle was totally convinced of his finished duties that he consented. He thanked his uncle, gathered his quiver and bow and then set off.

Seth entered the forest at about midday and looked up. Even at this time of day the sun barely made its way through the trees. He took in the sights of the forest as he walked. He loved this place because even under the snow it could not totally be concurred. Greens, browns, and many other colors shoved there way into view. He appreciated the power that this place held. Many did not like this forest for they had clamed tales of misfortune after and during their trips into the forest. Seth believed his lack of mishaps had a lot to do with the respect he held for the forest. He felt he shared a special bond with all the things in the forest, from the mighty river to the wise trees.

Reveling smugly in his fair fortune in the forest he came to a clearing by the bank of the river that he had made for when he was hunting and needed a cleared area to sleep. The river was mighty and acted as a barrier between the forest and the mountains which wrapped the entire empire. He set his quiver and bow down next to him at the bank of the river and knelt down to take a drink. He took in several large gulps of the refreshing cold water and got back up. He stared at the water and had a moment of realization. In a single instant the entire dream came crashing back to him. Images flashed in his head and he made the connection in an instant.

"It was the eyes, his uncle's blue eyes were the same color as the river, and the river was the same as," his thought process was cut off and the dream came crashing back violently. He began to shiver uncontrollably and he felt as though he were going to faint. A seen began to play over in his head. He dropped to his knees and closed his eyes as everything hazed over.

Seth was walking

...