DaveKuzminski

"One, two, three-a-lie, when I get old I want to die. Four, five, six-a-lie, ain't never, never gonna die." Petra gasped out the words as he ran up the rise. Occasionally, his spear bumped against his rawhide covered thigh. Constructing the spear and demonstrating his ability to use it had earned him the right to participate in the clan's activities as an adult. Even so, he still had to complete certain tasks before he could do some of the adult activities with the clan's approval.

He felt like he would never reach the top of the rise that never ended, yet somehow he did. He halted abruptly as he came face to face with the dragon tops. Their stems waved in the slight breeze without affecting the attention they gave to Petra's arrival. The head on every stem was facing him, watching for fear, waiting to feed upon his flesh should he show the slightest sign of cowardice.

Petra raised his spear with its wickedly curved, gleaming point skyward. "I am Petra. I fear nothing. I shall walk among the dragons unarmed, unprotected, and unafraid." He swept the point down in an arc and stood the spear in the ground. Staring at the dragon tops without showing any emotion, he removed his rawhide clothing before draping it over his spear. If he failed, others would know by his marker that he had risked all and perished.

Stepping forward, Petra said solemnly, "Take me if you dare," as he entered among the dragon tops to walk a straight line through their midst. Their mouths opened. Sharp, spiny teeth flashed and clicked to intimidate Petra. Some grazed his inner thighs with the points without drawing blood. If he showed fear, the dragon tops could and would consume him. If not, those he passed over directly would follow him loyally. Though he couldn't see the magic taking place behind him, small dragons flew from the stems that released them and formed a flock that followed Petra. When he reached the other side, only then did Petra turn to face the flock he had freed with his courage.

"You will find love," one dragon said. "When you find love, we will be free."

"Then I shall find love."

"To find love, look for one who gathers rainbows," another dragon said.

Petra nodded as he headed back to retrieve his belongings. Though the fist-sized dragons would protect him for releasing them from their enslavement, there was only so much that they could do for their size. Much as he would have liked freeing all the dragons on the rise, Petra knew that any attempt to circumvent the spell cast upon their forebears for choosing the wrong side would only cause them greater harm. Walking back along the bare path through the dragon tops where the stems had withered, Petra soon reached the point where he began and clothed himself.

Upon drawing his spear from the soil, new dragon tops emerged from the ground to fill in the path he had taken minutes earlier as if nothing had changed. His spear point glistened with light and sound.

"You hear the sound of freedom," a dragon said.

Petra nodded. "It is a good sound. It is one I hope to give you all."

Almost immediately, two small dragons flew off from the flock. "We're free! Thank you, Petra! Travel to the north to find rainbows!"

Petra glanced around for a moment to spot his two shadows. Upon finding them and positioning himself so that he faced directly between them, he set down his spear so that it pointed directly behind him. Then he turned and took his sighting on what he knew to be north. Petra picked up his spear and sighted once more along its shaft. Almost immediately, the humming sound the point made became set at its loudest. Petra knew then that any significant wavering from his true course would be audible as a lessening in volume.


"One, two, three-a-lie, when I get old I want to die. Four, five, six-a-lie, ain't never, never gonna die." Though he was tired, Petra continued to jog. To complete his quest, no less was permitted. To show less was to demonstrate that he wasn't entitled to any of the privileges of adulthood.

"The river waits with surprises," a dragon said.

"We can handle those for you," another dragon said.

"No, it is my duty," Petra replied.

"We're free!" two more dragons shouted as the magical bonds holding them among the flock and to Petra were shattered. "Veer to the west and use the rocks to cross."

Petra nodded as he resumed his chant and changed his course. Within a few more minutes, he reached the river and spotted the rocks. Wet, mossy, and just barely above the water, the rocks appeared to offer a way across the river. Petra slowed to a walk. Though his body cried out for water, he knew instinctively that he had to cross the river first before he could drink.

Reaching the first rock, Petra stepped out onto it. Even as his foot reached out, sleels skimmed the top of the water with their razor fins fully spread. Undaunted, Petra slowly and steadily stepped out from one rock to the next. Near the middle, Petra found that he had to leap from one rock to another, the distance too far to just step across. Judging his leaps carefully, Petra ignored the razor fins that circled the rocks and waited to slice his flesh into bite-size morsels that the sleels could swallow.

Just past the middle, Petra felt himself fall backward when the slickness of the rock failed his landing foot. Then before he could react, he felt himself pushed in the back to an upright position by hundreds of small bodies. The push lasted just long enough for his other foot to find the rock and gain a standing position once more. Pausing for a moment, Petra turned to face his benefactors. "Thank you."

Just as quickly, a dozen more dragons flew off shouting with the joy of freedom. Petra nodded with understanding before turning back to face the remainder of his crossing. Though there were still some leaps to make, he sensed that he would make those without further assistance.


Petra turned to face the river he had crossed. As if showing respect, the nearest sleels swam away from the shore so that Petra could kneel down to drink. "Thank you, mighty river. May your guardians preserve you for all time."

Two more of the dragons flew off to freedom. As they did, one shouted, "Seek out the valley of the mists."

Petra paused, nodded, and then resumed drinking his fill.


Petra shook his head briefly as he woke. His body slowly settled to the ground upon his feet to his amazement. Around him, the dragons circled protectively. The last thing Petra remembered was that it was nearly night, he was tired, and he was wondering where to make camp after doing some hunting. Now he was no longer tired or hungry. Though he didn't know how he came to be floating in the air when he awoke, he knew magic was responsible. In all likelihood, he had done something else right. "Good morning, my friends. Should I hunt something for you to eat?"

Two more dragons flitted away from the flock almost immediately. They circled wide for a moment, then dived at the spear point and breathed fire upon it. Upon doing so, they both flew away. Petra's spear appeared to shine more brilliantly than either of his world's suns.

Another dragon replied, "We have eaten already. We are ready when you are."


Petra halted at the edge of the precipice. His spear had sounded the loudest in leading him to where he could stare out over the valley of the mists, an aptly named land that shrouded itself equally in mystery and beauty. Glancing around he saw that climbing down would not be easy. The way down was clearly treacherous and dangerous. One slip would be one too many.

"Would you like a hint?" a dragon asked.

"Thank you, but I must prove my worthiness. I will fashion out a solution," Petra replied.

Fully another dozen dragons peeled away from the flock with joyous shouts. They flew into the valley and descended slowly. As Petra watched, he saw tiny flickers of flame reach out at the rocky wall beneath him as if marking a path. Soon they were out of sight, veiled by the very mists that he would have to enter himself.

Petra grabbed a thin short vine from a nearby tree and used it to fashion a sling around his spear. Had there been enough, he would have gathered more for use as a rope even though he had no way of knowing how much length would be needed. For all he knew, the valley of mists could reach down miles into the bowels of his world.

With his spear strapped over his back, Petra turned and took hold of the ground as he slowly dangled his feet, his legs, and then his body over the edge. Carefully, he felt around with his feet for a foothold. He tested the purchase he gained cautiously, then slowly lowered himself some more so that he could find another hold for his other foot. Following those, he found places for his hands.


Time seemed to be endless for Petra. He knew not how far he had gone before the mists enclosed him. Consequently, he had no way of knowing how far he had traveled or how far down the bottom remained. He could only climb down. Were it not for the light given off by his spear, he wouldn't have been able to see down to his feet.

He was seeking yet another handhold when a screeching sound came to his ears. The sound came closer causing Petra to glance upward in wonderment as to what could be coming his way. There was barely a moment to spare when he saw the small object enter his limited area of light speeding down helplessly at him. Reacting instinctively, he grabbed at the small object and caught it before it could fall past him.

"Well, well, poor fellow. Did you fall out of your nest or off a ledge? No matter. This is your lucky day. Hold on to my shoulder. I'll at least get you down to the ground safely."

Petra placed the small bird on his shoulder where its claws quickly gained a grip in the rawhide. Its beak struck at Petra's ear for a moment before it realized that the ear wasn't something to eat and wouldn't hold still, either. Finally, it just sat on Petra's shoulder so that Petra didn't have to dodge his head away to protect his ear.

Almost at the same time, Petra realized that his spear wasn't sounding off as loudly as before. The light it gave off seemed dimmer. Nor could he find another purchase for his feet. Petra gazed down in hope of seeing the ground not too far below to risk dropping. He hoped that meant the ground was near. However, only mists could be seen below his feet. The ground could still be miles away for all he knew. With no other choice left, Petra continued to grope for a purchase, reaching down as far as he dared without losing his grip on the cliff. It was only when he realized that he needed to ease the load on his other limbs briefly that he brought his unsupported foot back up and set it back into the foothold he had before. It was only then that his spear returned to sounding louder and giving off more light.

For a moment, Petra paused in thought. Then he decided to test an idea by reaching up for his previous handhold. As soon as he reached up higher, his spear became louder and brighter. Encouraged and assured by his spear's signals, he continued climbing.

As he climbed higher, his spear gave off even more light so that he could soon see quite high above himself to where he was climbing. Soon, a nest loomed above him. "Well, well, it's your lucky day, little bird. At least your nest turned out to be directly overhead. You didn't bounce out at an angle. Give me a few more moments and I'll have you back home."

Petra's head came up to the level of the nest. He reached to take the small bird from his shoulder and place it back in its home. Before he could, he suddenly felt himself lifted away from the cliff by two large claws that came from nowhere to replace the tiny feet that had clutched his shoulder. For a moment, he considered fighting to free himself. Then he quickly realized that to do so would mean falling to his death for he felt certain that there were not enough dragons to catch and keep him from falling if he called upon them. If nothing else, it would be better to wait until his captor dropped him into the nest. Then he could escape and resume his journey, defending himself only if it became necessary.

However, Petra soon realized that he was descending slowly through the mists. The rock wall his gleaming spear revealed was his only indicator of his direction as layer after layer slowly went past to disappear above his head in the mists. When he turned his head to look at his shoulder in search of the tiny bird he'd saved, he discovered that it was no longer there. "I didn't mean to lose your hatchling. Really, I was returning it."

"I know you were returning me to my nest. By doing so, you have proven your worthiness to enter the valley of the mists," said the large eagle above Petra.

Several more dragons shouted gleefully about being free. They circled in front of Petra and briefly lit up more of the mists surrounding him with their fiery breaths so that he could see a bit more of the mystery that was enshrouded. Almost immediately, Petra spotted rainbows. Beautiful rainbows that covered the landscape as far as the eye could see and protected from sight above by the mists.

"This is where I shall find love," Petra said as the ground became closer to his feet. "I have all of you to thank for getting me here."

"This is where love might find you," the eagle said.

"I don't understand," Petra replied.

"People don't find love. It finds them," the eagle said.

Petra felt his feet touch the ground. A moment later, the grip on his shoulder was released as the eagle hovered a moment before circling around to face him. "Thank you for bringing me down safely. I hope you're not entirely right as I do want to see my friends gain their freedom. I have to find love to do that for them."

"What if you never find love?" the eagle asked.

"I shall have failed them and myself. I took it upon myself to seek out love. Now I have an obligation to them to fulfill."

"Then gather rainbows and let love find you," the eagle said before flying off into the mists.

"I don't know how or understand," Petra said. "If I did, though, I'd gladly give them to whoever loves me."

Beside Petra, the remaining dragons suddenly flew about in tighter and tighter circles proclaiming in almost a single voice that they were free. Nearby rainbows were drawn toward them as if attracted by a magnet. The colors from the rainbows strained and spread about as if mixing with the dragons whose shapes could no longer be individually distinguished. Then faster and faster, the swirling motion continued until a new form began to emerge even as Petra shielded his eyes against the sight and the overwhelming glare his spear gave off at the same time. Sound vibrated down the shaft of his spear and filled his whole body so that he could barely give anymore attention to the magic taking place beside him.

Only a voice from the eagle above reassured him. "You do understand love, after all."

Then the light faded back to normal. Petra moved his hand away from his eyes and gazed around. The deep valley he believed he was in was gone along with the mists. Only a single rainbow graced the sky. Then he turned and suddenly halted in amazement. Before him stood a woman whose smile said all he wanted to hear.