The Village of Flying Drakons

"... The Isle of Malaya?" I repeated. Almost as though I was drawn in by an unnatural force, my gaze went towards the carriage windows. It wasn't exactly hard to look for, because if you simply look up, you would immediately find the floating island. "That Isle of Malaya?"

I heard the gently laughter from my mentor. "Is there any other floating island in this world?"

It was too good to be true that my excitement immediately died down. I turned my gaze away from the window and stared at him with fierce eyes. "You must be joking? Forgive me for doubting you, but I recall only the wealthiest and most prominent persons can step foot on the island. Even for a well-known wine peddler, processing the documents for a two-way trip would at least take a few months. You may think me an ignorant girl, but I have been with you for a long time now and I have never heard any mention of you trying to come up to the Isle."

The old man and the ghost exchanged secretive looks, and contrary to my expectations, they both erupted into loud laughter. It simply bewildered me, especially after I had conveyed my opinions with fuming frustration. After all, the Isle had a special place in my heart in the past few months. After all, it was the symbol of the start of a new life, and frankly, when I had once thought I was dreaming everything, I would simply look up at the sky. When I saw the looming island above us, I would be reminded that 'Yes, I have indeed gained freedom'.

So, when I heard the wondrous words from my mentor, I was initially filled with great elation. But, seeing how impossible it all was, I grew angry at the prospect that it was all a little joke.

'They must have noticed me staring longingly at the Isle, and now they're teasing me,' I thought grudgingly, glaring at them laughing.

"Well?" I growled, my patience all but gone.

"Kid." I flinched when Janmira spoke. "Have I not told you that the old man doesn't lie?"

"But..." I mumbled, staring at the duo's faces one after the other. "How?"

I was staring at Farseer with my mouth opened, when warm hands landed on my shoulders. I yelped.

"You doubt us too much," Janmira said. "Don't ask us how we can do it, but just trust us that we can."

I've never really heard the ghost speak too many words to me, so I was simply flabbergasted. The other girl seemed to have taken my silence as agreement, and nodded silently before sitting back with a serene smile on her ghostly face.

Once again, I wondered if indeed, this was actually a real human...

For the rest of the ride, I tried to ask them more questions, but they only replied with silence or empty answers. The morning soon turned into the afternoon, and confirming that we were indeed going to Malaya, our carriage brought us steadily towards the island afloat.

By late evening, we had arrived near a small village on top of a mountain. Farseer had explained to me on the way that this village was originally built as an access point to the floating island, but after the Continental Wars started, the Isle no longer roamed freely from continent to continent. Frankly, the village suffered greatly due to them losing their livelihood, but now, years after the war, they can finally start up their business again.

Looking at the tiny, wooden houses sparsely outlining the village, I could only imagine how devastated they must have been when the war erupted. "Must've been hard."

"Oh, they're strong people." My mentor glanced smilingly at the village. "Besides, it's not like they could do business all the time on a normal era. There were times when the Isle wouldn't even visit the Aerim Continent for decades."

"Wow, then that seems like a pretty bad business to have..." I muttered, realizing how dilapidated the buildings were the closer they got.

"Well, it's not merely a business for them," my mentor explained as we entered a rickety gate. "It's more of a tradition, really."

I didn't really understand that, but I looked forward to seeing such a weird group of people. The carriage stopped by on of the larger houses, and once we had jumped down unto the dusty ground, our boyman immediately burst into a pile of straw. This was the first time I had seen such a phenomenon so I had my eyes glued on the straw and didn't even hear the man approach us.

"Welcome!" the man bellowed, his muscle-laden body imposing with his arms spread wide open. Well, it was more accurate to say that he had opened up an arm and a half, seeing as his right arm ended at the elbow. "Guests, please be at home at the House of the Drakons!"

I was about to ask about the name, when a screeching sound roared so loudly I could almost feel the air vibrate. "Wha-!"

Almost as a spectacle to welcome our arrival, a pack of... creatures started galloping towards us. They were humongous, almost as large as our carriage, and stood on two scaly feet. They almost resembled chickens, but the similarities ended there. Their hide looked awfully thick and scaly and black. Their heads were lizard-like, and their two eyes glinted kaleidoscope colors underneath the moonlight.

"Wyverns!" I screamed, hastily backing away. I have read about them in books and novels, but those vivid descriptions could not prepare me for the actual beings. They were loud and wild and filled with an innate energy that one could imagine would burst out, enough to take flight in a few winged flaps.

"Indeed, young lad! Although, we like to call them our own little dragons." The man beamed at me with pride. I realized that the creatures were being herded by magic. If I looked past the terrifying monsters, I could see at least ten people surrounding the pack with their hands held up. "Don't you worry about them hurting you. Our Drakon Clan has been trained to tame and fly these beauties. These ones are the wilder flock. I assure you your own ride will be completely tamed."

With that, the man ordered the herders to usher the creatures back into their pen. Before long, our group was invited inside the larger house to sit on a wide table. A woman appeared to bring us cups of mild peppermint tea.

"I suppose introductions are in order," the man announced at the other side of the table. "I am Darion, the head chief of the Drakon Clan. This is Melinda, my wife. We supervise the wyvern tamers and the access point for the Isle of Malaya."

Following the old man's lead, Janmira and I bowed on our seats.

"Greetings to you and your wife, Chief Darion," Farseer said humbly. "We are merchants on our way to the Isle of Malaya. I am named Farseer, and these children are Janmira and Eleftherion."

Chief Darion nodded amiably. "So, you have come to ride our wyverns to the Isle. I assume you have a letter of approval with you?"

"I have actually sent a transmission to one of your people yesterday," Farseer said with a smile.

"Oh! So, you must be Sir Elmar," the chief uttered. "We have indeed received your message. I'll make sure to give you the best brood by dawn!"

After that, they exchanged a few small talks before a late dinner was placed on the table. Soon after, I was ordered to get a box of wine to offer the chief's family. In a few moments, the old man and the chief was already busily drowning themselves in alcohol that I had to escape from the house with a sigh. Anyway, Janmira had already retired to a room assigned to us by the chief's wife. But, being uncomfortable with being alone with the silent girl, I deemed to excuse myself.

Once I was out of the house, I was greeted by a full moon. It was probably already long past midnight, but all the excitement I had gone through earlier had charged me with energy. The night air was cool and I started shivering in the mountain's low temperatures.

So, in order to keep myself warm, I started walking around the village. The houses had long turned off their magically powered white lights. The wee hours enveloped me with a deep silence that made the tiny noises sound louder from the surrounding woods. Dim firelight flickered through a few windows, making the whole village look eerie and mysterious. The mountain winds seemed to be whispering messages to me in their secret language.

*Crack!*

I whimpered as I sensed a movement from beside me. I looked around me, and realized belatedly that I had somehow gone a great distance from the last houses. I stood in an empty grass field, and the dense woods were just a few steps away.

A shadow moved again with a slithering speed from behind the trees. Branches shook and twigs snapped.

I gasped.

I felt it coming near me.