Enoch and the Throne of Lies

The sweet whispers of spring still drift through the woods, glinting as the sun hits them just right. As the earth sighs,the air of summer will flow over your scales and embrace you in its heat. The transition from one season to the other is my favorite experience. I watch from the top of my perch as the sun longs for the moon. Soon massive lights of oranges and pinks dance across the lake, reflecting endless colors over the world. I hold my breath, for fear I might extinguish the rainbow flames of the sunset.

Once the pale moon shows itself, it’s already missed the light show. Frustrated, it’s cold air of night settles over the canopy. I retreat back into Kaimana. Kaimana is my home, as it is home to hundreds of other dragons.

Each dragon belongs to a clan. There are eight clans in total. Each one has a purpose, and without one, our system would burn along with our sanity. My father is the “ leader “ of our civilization. If you do your job, you shall be rewarded. No one fights. Unless one provokes,but that is not in our nature. Or so we’re told. My father and the council supervises us as we live our lives.

Kaimana is a tree,an extraordinary one in fact. Each part of its canopy and branches support a clan,the leaves are different,which support each clan differently. The trunk of the tree is my home. I guess we’re considered” royals “. Even in my mind, that’s hard for me to say. They would cut out my tongue if I said that out loud. ( not really ) We’re supposed to be selfless and “evolved” opposed to the dragons during the war. As I descend into the trunk, I hear footsteps. They slowly rise,and their coming from the canopy and coming down the spiral staircase. I wasn’t supposed to be out this late. We have a curfew because of the monsters that roam at night.

Panic shivers through my body. I race down the stairs, slowly getting dizzier and dizzier. Finally I fall into a hallway and rush through one of the many doors shaped like ovals. As I shut the latch, my heart throbbed in my skull. The steps don’t even hesitate as they rush down to the main platforms. I wait until the echos of claws sliding against wood ceased. I don’t understand why I can’t follow simple rules. I check the hallway,and when I don’t see anyone I go down the hall and find my room. It’s a simple room.

Neat hickory leaf curtains, feather filled pillow, a blanket of buffalo skin, my dresser with all of my treasures, and always plenty of windows and natural light. We Coelums love sun. Coelums are sky dragons, it’s the name of my clan. You have Unda as water dragons,their main job is water filtration and rain.Ignis as fire, their main job is to build ,their fire allows them to melt metal, and some help with cooking.Gelum as ice, giving us glass and nighttime. Plantis as nature, the farmers and main food producers. They can also do many things like cooking and healing.Caligo as dark, they guard us from the monsters.Lux as light, making light for our rooms and corridors. Lastly Petra as rock, the miners of our world.

I lay on my one giant pillow and find the buzz. The buzz is what I call the background sound. When you walk or talk, you can’t hear it, but when your quiet you can. It’s the caws of crows in the distance. It’s the breathing of hundreds of dragons, all in deep sleep. It’s the chirp of the frog, the flow of the wind, the rush of the water. When your quiet, you can here the loud activity of life all around you. It’s actually quite peaceful. My friends tease me about my enhanced hearing. I don’t know why I have super hearing, but I’ve had it as long as I can remember.

As I sleep, my ears are still listening, incorporating the sounds into my dreams. Suddenly, flashing images crush my mind. Dragons I’ve never seen before, places I’ve only heard of, war and battle, death and life, love and pain. My head is spinning like a top. Then time slows. All I can hear is my heartbeat. Then a piercing cry echoes through the nearby woods. A cry from an animal I’ve never heard. From the screams, it sounds like it’s in distress. I try to go back sleep and sooth my headache, but the guilt hangs heavily on my shoulders. Then I can’t take it. I grab a bag, get a few items, and jump out the window. Luckily we don’t have glass in my room.

I fly over the treetops as the wind fills me with joy. I touchdown in a unfamiliar clearing. I listen for the cry. … nothing. I grab my water canteen. It’s empty, great! Now I have to find water. I listen and softly I hear the rush of a spring not to far away. I run in it’s direction and it turns out it was a small brook,so I fill my pouch and drink as much as I need. Suddenly and shockingly, a twig snaps. I jerked my head up and listened. It was coming from right in front of me.

I stare, and I feel what ever’s out there is staring back. I arch low. I’ve been practicing hunting. We don’t kill for sport, we kill only whats necessary and as a result we never have leftover meat. It all part of the “selfless” act. When the creature tenses I wait in the silence. A silent hush seemed to fall over the world. I jerk up and spring forward into a pounce. I’ve got the creature between my two front legs. It’s an odd creature. It’s no buffalo or deer,and It’s the size of a bear cub.It honestly looked like a monkey. Sun-tanned skin, huge piercing blue eyes that bore into you,and red fur only on its head. From the way it looks at you, you can tell it’s a female. She squints her eyes and, wrinkles her nose. She starts crying,which was the same cry I heard in my room.

I then understand shes completely harmless. I do a quick check of her health to find she’s not in good shape. She’s dehydrated, starving,weak, and hurt. Her knees and hands are bloody from blisters. She must have crawled a long way from where ever she came.She has all her baby teeth left still,so I would say she’s one or two. I feel like I should leave it, but that voice in the back of my mind wouldn’t leave me alone. While I was debating, the baby placed a single hand on my snout,and my mind went swirling.

Two things clicked in my head. I felt I had a link with the infant. At that moment, I imprinted on her. She was alone,scared, and tiny. Second, for the first time in awhile, I forgot my history lessons. It was a human. I was pleased at my discovery. Then terrified. It was a human baby. Humans haven’t been on this planet for two-hundred-ninety years. Somehow they survived. I knew I had to take this baby back home,but I had to smuggle her in. She had stopped crying awhile ago and was playing with a frog.

She wasn’t wearing anything. I decided to make her clothes. I started wondering about Kaimana.The Caligo guard! The Caligos are the only nocturnal dragons and protect Kaimana from the monsters. Monsters! I’ve just been so excited that I’ve overlooked the important things. I pick up the infant with my tail and put her on the small of my back. I took my enormous wings and made a little tent. I must have looked ridiculous. I started looking for a suitable place to sleep.

I considered up in the trees but we might be seen or, she might fall. Then I find a nice place by the brook. It’s a rock with a weather-worn, flat top. It has small oak and sycamore trees covering it from aerial view. The leaves also close in just enough so my wing can cover the opening. I crawl inside and cover the entrance. The baby had fallen asleep while I was searching. She lays curled up right between my two front legs. I lie down and nestle my head next to her.

I should think of a name for her. I think back through my history lessons. Then I think of her eyes. Their so bright and exotic. Like a comet on a deep red backdrop. Comet! I like it. Her name is Comet. She turned slightly in her sleep as if to agree to the name. I finally fall into a deep sleep, the buzz working itself into my dreams. Our even breaths become one.

+++

I woke with a start. First I checked for Comet. She was tucked under my neck. She probably got cold in the night. I couldn’t blame her. No fur or,scales or,feathers to keep you warm. Her blisters turned into knobby scabs overnight. I look around and come face-to-face with a hog. It grunts and snorts. We must have been in its spot. It charges towards me. I slowly slid Comet behind me with my tail. Once it’s in range I sink my teeth into its neck. It shudders. With a satisfying snap, I made breakfast. Comet continued sleeping as if nothing happened. She must have never felt this safe to sleep before. That made me both happy and sad. I roast the pig with my fire and cut of a few pieces for Comet. A few pieces of ham and a few thin strips of bacon. I guzzle down the rest. I felt relieved since I skipped dinner to watch the sunset.

I noticed I had shed a few scales while sleeping, and an idea popped into my head. I needed as many scales as I could find. My scales, a little hog skin, and a few leaves, and I made Comet some clothes. While I was putting on the final touches, something poked my tail. I almost jumped five feet in the air. I swing my head around and see that Comet was awake.

I held up the clothes to her. She just stared at me. I put them on her and buttoned the back. With my scales, I made a tank-top, kind of outer layer. I cushioned the inside with hog skin,then added sycamore leaf, short sleeves. The pants were mostly hog skin, with a few scales here and there. She looked adorable with her long red curly hair glowing in the sunrise. She seemed to like her new wardrobe. Then I gave her the meat and my canteen. She ate the meat with no hesitation, but for the canteen she just looked at me.

I poured out a little bit to show her the contents. Her eyes widened with happiness. She drank the entire thing.She was running around and jumping in the air, and every two steps or so she would fall and cry. She must still be getting used to walking on two legs. It’s about noon and I decided to go back to Kaimana. My dad would be furious. I grabbed her and put her on my back. As I took off, I tried to fly steadily. It wasn’t very hard to find Kaimana. The leaves glowed billions of colors in dawns wake.

The Gelums bright blue and white icicle shaped leaves glow the brightest and help me find my way there. Comet was scared stiff being up so high,though she didn’t seem like she had a fear of heights. I fly in through the leaves on the canopy. These leaves are bright green and very big which are especially good Landing leaves for Coelums. Nobody really seem to notice that I was gone or really cared why I was there.I looked for the spiral staircase.

It was busy as usual. I started making my way down to my room when a hand grabbed my shoulder.“ Enoch! Where are you off to in such a hurry my son?” My father. “Oh umm.. me? I was just uhhh..” I didn’t know what to say.”What’s that on your back? “My father was stern this time. I was caught. I knew it,but before I could even tell him what it was or any sort of excuse,the alarm went off. My fathers eyes widened and he rushed back up the stairs. The alarm is only for emergencies in this case it was most likely a storm.

We get giant radioactive storms. In the Waste fields not too far from our own home. The humans use the bomb called a nuke during the great war and that land is a place that will never heal. It’s like a scar on the earth surface. A reminder of the war. We had a few of these especially when the seasons change. Nobody really panicked. I had no choice,the crowd was pushing me. I had to take the baby down into the root system where the Petra live, but we didn’t go down into the root system. Everyone spilled out onto the main platforms. I was surprised by this. I decided to lay low. The infant still clung tightly to my back. I slid her under the fold in my wing.

My father and the high Council addressed all of Kaimana. Britta, a tall strict ignis,stood to my fathers left. Her crimson red and orange scales looked like embers of a bright fire.She ran the council when my father didn’t. My mother Agatha, short but proud, was to his right. The sparkly blues looked as if she was made of diamonds. My father was taller then them both and looked like a true “king”. His deep blue scales seemed to serge like waves. I always admire scales. The different colors and the little things they remind me of. I broke out of my daze when a certain baby accidentally kicked me.

” We have reports of humans in Kaimana.” My fathers voice boomed. Murmurs broke out in the crowd. Panic Spread through my body.I saw my dad search the crowd for me. I tried to duck down but his eyes were to quick.” Enoch, my heir, please proceed this way.” Everyone looked and me and my lumpy wing. I walked slowly towards the platforms. My head was down but my heart was in my brain. As I reached the platform, I was tackled by two Caligo guards I didn’t notice before. I closed my wing as tight as I could but they still pried it open. One of them grabbed Comet and took her to my father.

He held her up. The entire colony gasped. Even though my father looked brave I knew he was deeply disappointed and embarrassed by me.” For 290 years, we thought the world was finally rid of these disgusting mammals. But they have survived like a little cockroaches. My own son is turned against me and fallen into the foolish embracement of humankind. He shall be punished.” My father shook his head. With the wave of his claw, the two caligo guards took me down the spiral staircase.

The farther away I was from comet,the more I worried. Past the Petra clan, was the cells. The Caligos locked me in the one farthest from the exit. The one that locked the door looked at me. He smiled made a rude comment and left.I sat there on the cold stone floor. Tears came to my eyes. I didn’t mean to embarrass my father. I didn’t mean for Comet to most likely die. I didn’t mean to do anything that I did. My sobs echoed in the cells. I could taste their saltiness as they slowly dripped off my snout into my mouth. I curled up in the corner wishing I had the warmth Comet produced under my wing or under my neck.

I listened and I couldn’t hear anything. I was so deep in the earth that the buzz couldn’t find its way through. For the first time in my life everything was quiet. I found this both peaceful and lonely. I had found comet so quickly just to have her taken away from me. Everything was moving too quickly. I wish the world would just slow down for a moment.

I heard claws. Someone was coming. I wipe my tears away but still sat in the corner. It was Hebrew. Makes sense, he’s a Petra and an old friend. I could hear his deep ragged claws as they came down the stairs.”Nice to see you Hebrew.” He stopped. “You and your hearing”he said. “Never gets old”I said. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.”I’m sorry about the human.” ”Oh don’t worry it’s fine I’ll just go get another one” I said sarcastically.He stood there in silence for a while.”Did you name her?” ”How do you know it’s a her?” I said.”Your father announced it to us.” he said quietly.I snorted,figures.“You know I live just right upstairs so if you ever want to talk to anybody I’ll be there.”he said awkwardly. “Thanks” I said. Silence… this was getting awkward. He decided to leave. “Wait!” I said. He turned” Is my father gonna come talk to me?”I ask.” Yes”he said”Tomorrow.”

”And the baby?” ”They’re going to keep her alive for now.”Then he left upstairs.

+++

The holding room was interesting enough. One table, two chairs, two Caligo guards, one worried me, and one upset father.” How could you do this to me?” My father yelled “Your my son, how could you betray me?” “Dad I’m sorry, she was helpless.” I tried to calm him but he was too worked up.” I don’t care, do you know what they did?” I decided to play dumb.” No what?” He took a deep breath and sat.” Long ago, humans and Mother Nature collapsed out of balance. They went to war. Mother Nature v.s mankind, but the chaos bred dragons. We were created in the aftermath of the war. Then humans enslaved use and whipped us to fight nature when we were “freaks of nature”.” I nodded pretending I understood but what he told me didn’t make sense.

” We fought back and connected with Mother Nature. We finally won against man kind and wiped them off the earth but somehow they survived.” He said referring to Comet. My father was a liar. If he were selfless he would have helped Comet. I had to pretend to stay on his good side.” I’m so sorry, I had no idea.” My father smiled” It’s ok my son.” He placed a his tail over mine in an affectionate way.

“ Now let’s go sort things out, starting with that baby.” One of the guards put a hand on my father’s shoulder.” Leader Caspian, shall I escort the boy with us?” “ Yes.” My father said with a nod. The guard grabbed ahold of my arm and we left the holding room. We went up the spiral staircase and into a hall I didn’t recognize. I remembered every turn and corner just in case I needed to come back up here. We went into a side room that had one-way glass. On the other side was Comet. She sat in a white room with no exits. Then a Ignis came in the examination room.

He was tall and loud. His scales matched leaves changing into autumn. He bowed slightly, then walked over to Comet. An odd needle came from in his hand. Some Ignis could do this but I’ve never actually meet one.

” What’s he doing?” I ask.” A memory syrup made from gong berries. It will reveal the memories the infant has, and where we can find the rest of the humans to wipe them out.” My fathers eyes were bright with revenge.” A second copy of every memory will download into Treks mind, then he will tell us what we need to know.”I decided to keep my mouth shut. He bent over and stuck the needle into Comets forearm. She shuddered violently.

Then the strangest thing happened. An expression of pity and sympathy fell over Trek. Then his eyes turned black. He collapsed,foam pouring from his mouth. Comet had tears in her eyes. My father was shaking with rage and shock. Even though this was terrifying, I tried to hide a smile. In my opinion, he had gotten exactly what he deserved for sticking hand needles into a toddler and, for messing with someone else’s memories.

Two more Caligo guards came in and dragged Trek out. Me and my father were escorted to the infirmary. Trek was screaming odd and bizarre things such as,

”A CHILD WILL MEET THEIR FATE IN THE CONCRETE JUNGLE!”

And

“LIES ARE ONLY THE BEGINNING TO A DARK PATH OF EVIL!”

A Plantis nurse was extremely worried. Her scales looked like wood and her wings were giant leaves. She was dabbing a honey scented herb on Treks forehead to keep his fever from killing him but it wasn’t fast enough. We watched as he yelled.

”PEACE WILL NEVER COME TO THOSE WHO GREED CONTROLS! A DRAGON OF THE SKY WILL BECOM…”

His eyes were full on black, his foam had turned red. The fever turned his brain to ash. I didn’t think he deserved it now. No one in the entire world deserved that. Though it’s a bit ironic, he’s an Ignis but he was killed by a fever. That’s a type of humor I will never understand. My father slammed his fist down on Treks bedside. In his rage he struck one of the guards and demanded an explanation from the Plantis. Her eyes were wide with fear. She put her hands out innocently. My fathers temper grew hotter.

I stood in front of her while he struck me to the ground. Once he realized what he had done, he had turned with the guard and walked out. Once he was out of sight she ran to my aid.” I’m sorry!” She winced at the sight of my face.”I’ll help.” She sprung up and began collecting her herbs. As she boiled a rag I asked” What’s your name?” “Willow..” she was focused on

her work.” Well Willow how bad is it?” “It will for sure bruise, but for now we have to worry about that cracked cheekbone.” I shuddered. Cracked! My father! My “selfless” father!

Willow dabbed the wound on my check with the rag. It was hot but not burning. Then she used tiger lily oils to calm the inflammation. She took a breath and glanced at me. I was enchanted to see how she worked with everything. Then I was done. I looked brand new. She looked at me with a crooked smile.

“ Thank you..” I say “ No no thank you, my father would have been proud.” She looks down.” Would..?” “He died long ago. His name was Kilio.” She sighed then smiled.” I’m sorry,” I told her “ I truly am.” “It’s alright,” she said “I wouldn’t stay here.” I stood to leave.” Nor would I.” I thanked her again and shut myself up in my room waiting till nightfall.

+++

The bag clanked noisily as I walked along the hallway. I had taken some supplies from the kitchen. I slowly crept down the corridor as I followed my mental map. After a few corners, I found the door. I slipped in. There were no guards surprisingly. I walk over, in the dark room,and look for Comet. I can hear breathing and go straight towards it. I try to grab her but something’s off. She feels like a dragon. A deep growling came from what I thought was Comet. The lights flashed on.

It was the same room but with a guard instead of Comet. Behind the one way glass my father spoke.” Enoch… What.Are.You.Doing?” His voice trembling with anger. I touch the side of my face then look straight we’re I think his eyes are.” I’m taking Comet and getting out of here you liar” “Comet..?” Then he understood.”YOU NAMED IT!” The wall shook as his voice boomed. I swiped the guard in the face. The guard winced as he was momentarily blinded.

I ran out of the room and towards the only place I thought left to look.”GET HIM!” My father screamed. I ran towards his bedroom,and luckily I knew a short cut. I turned the corner and slid into a side room. The Caligo guards ran past. I checked the hallway before I left. As I opened the door a hand grabbed my arm.

” Shhh!” She said as I gasped in alarm.” Enoch you have to be careful!” It was Agatha my mom. “ Mom?!” She winced “ I’m not your mom…” “Wait what!?” She sighed.” Caspian banished your mother to the hollows.” “ The hollows?” I asked.” Yes,” she said” Past the man jungle and left at the swamp.” “Mom..I mean Agatha, why are you helping me?” “Because I can’t live next to a king who’s throne is made of lies.” She’s rushing now.”You’ll have to go, he’s growing suspicious.” “ one more thing..” “yes?” “ How will I know it’s my mother?” She sighs “She doesn’t like me at all, but she’s blue like orchids.” “Ok,thanks…mom” she plants a kiss on my forehead. I check the coast and leaving her behind, I run towards my fathers bedroom.

+++

Running up the spiral staircase, my head spun. I come out at the top hallway. Coelums walk around,silently chatting with each other. I was on the top floor. I ran silently between the crowd. Some of them looked as if they just woke up. Mostly likely from all of the commotion. It was at least past midnight. I finally came to a stop at my fathers bedroom. I press against the door with my back. I watch the Coelums as they slowly file back to their rooms, remembering curfew. As soon as the last door shuts,I slip in. In the darkness I listen. Quiet weeping was coming from the back.

I ran towards it. I strained my eyes, which were still adjusting to the sudden darkness. Thats the bad part about my night vision. It takes a long while to adjust. I wrapped my claws around a cage.” Comet?!” I whispered. A silent whimper came from in the cage. I felt her tiny fingers wrap around one of my claws.” I’ll get you out don’t worry.” I just had no idea how to do that. Finally my eyes adjusted.

The room itself was fancy. Lots of carvings in the wood. The windows were much bigger than mine.Her cage was in a cube shape. I look for the lock. It was on the back. Once I turned the cage,I was relieved when I saw you don’t need a key. I flipped up the mechanism and it opened. I embraced her. She was so warm. I was so happy that I might have fallen over. She made me forget about everything. Even the buzz was ignored.My tears made little droplets on her leaf-sleeves.

Suddenly a big CRASH! brought me back to my senses. I turned just in time to see my dad enter the room.” NO!!” He yelled.” I’m sorry dad,” I said backing up

“ but you don’t control me like you do everyone else.” He tried to come at me with his sharp claws. Too late. I hurled myself out the window. The glass shattered,cutting the soft flesh under my scales. I fell and fell, and the farther I fell the less I could hear my dads screaming. I slammed back first, while holding comet to my chest, into the water. Undas looked at me as if I had lobsters crawling out of my ears. I swam back up and took off from the water.

The things my dad told me that didn’t make sense,I’ll try to explain. He said Mother Nature and Mankind went to war, but Mother Nature didn’t fight to destroy Mankind. You see she just sent storm after storm,natural disaster after natural disaster to keep everything in balance. Mankind thought some force tried to destroy them so they destroyed what they though was necessary. Then we were born to save the peace. Mankind and Nature connected with us and Kaimana was created. But some dragons and evil forces of Nature still battled with the humans. Until evolved dragons took them out but humans just disappeared or died. My dad is one of those dragons who hate the human race. I should have noticed from the first time I learned that lesson in Mr. Frosts class.

I glided across the lake and toward the Man jungle,the sunrise greeting me after a long and painful night.