Megin's Redemption

The soft hiss of tree branches being forced to rub against one another preceded the rarest sight on the continent, one that surely could only be a myth. A full-grown dragon crept past a rocky precipice on the mountain side, causing the under canopy of the forest to part around the bulk of his lean, scarred body as he slunk through the ancient trees. He moved stealthily yet with purpose, as though drawn directly to a rocky outcropping by some unseen force. There, near the edge of the cliff was a sleeping toddler.

“As punctual as ever,” said a bright, human voice as the dragon approached the child.

The dragon immediately crouched down, as though he expected an attack. He looked around for the source of the voice.

“Up,” the cheerful voice chirped at him.

The dragon hissed at the human child he saw before him. She appeared to be a young adolescent human with bright red hair and giant green eyes.

“Now, is that any way to greet an old friend?” the strange human chided him.

It had been centuries since the dragon had last spoken in the tongue of man, but he still found the words after a moment. “How is it possible for the two of us to be old friends if only one of us is old?”

The young girl threw back her head and laughed in delight, “This body might be new, but our souls know one another well. Just as you know the soul residing within the slumbering baby over there,” she pointed in the direction of the outcropping.

At the mention of the reason for his presence in the lower part of the mountain forest, the dragon looked back at the blanketed form, still sleeping peacefully. Then he looked back at the fire-headed adolescent with suspicion. “If what you say is true, then you understand that I came here to kill that abomination who was Orclev, Dragon Bane in his previous life.”

“Megin, if you think for one instant that you will get out of your destiny of restoring balance between men and nature in this world by killing this child, you are only fooling yourself and making your job – and mine, harder,” the human girl said crisply, ignoring his wince at the use of his name as she leapt from the tree branches and onto the ground and continued. “The last time you killed your soul-bonded human, it almost killed you, to do it again would only render you next to useless for the next century or two and you would still have to wait until his soul is cycled back into this world to fulfill your destiny.”

The dragon stared down the fearless sprite before him. The fire in her eyes belied her delicate build, and he could see the soul of the wise old dragon he had known as a hatchling staring back at him.

“Layder Kala?” the dragon wondered aloud.

“At your service,” the human said with a twirl and a bow. She giggled, “I haven’t heard my name in so long I almost forgot it.”

The dragon shifted uncomfortably, “Well, I can say that I have no doubt that it is your soul in this human form Kala, but I followed your guidance once before and it almost killed me, brought forth the ruination of the continent, and the near extinction of dragons, myself being the only exception. I am quite sure you understand my… disinclination to listen to anything you have to say.”

“Listen, I understand why you might not want to hear me out, but…” the human began.

The dragon snorted, “Might not want to listen,” he mocked, “Now why would I possibly not want to hear what you have to say about leaving this child alive when you know what he did in his previous incarnation? You are AWARE that you are in HUMAN form simply because there are no dragons left to be born into? That sleeping bundle is the cause of that,” the dragon seethed.

“Megin, Megin,” Kala said softly as she shook her head, “what you don’t want to hear is that the beginning and the end are set, but how you reach your destiny, THAT is up to you. Whether you embrace your destiny of restoring balance in this world with the other half of your soul NOW, or you wait until you come back as a human and have no recollection of this lifetime, it is your decision. But if you do it now, it could mean that magic is not lost forever. If you wait, surely magic will exist but none alive will be able to access it. And balance without magic is harder. You will have to convince men that it is in their own best interest to live in harmony with nature, and to use the natural cycles with long term consistency and hard work to see an effect. The rift Orclev tore in the fabric of the world, it is yours to mend. Whether you do it now or force your soul to fix it next lifetime is up to you. I just want you to know that it only gets harder every time you fail this test.”

“I don’t want it. I refuse this destiny. I am not the being that was promised in your prophecies. That dragon died the night Orclev murdered all my kin in the attempt to lash all magic to himself,” Megin spat at the human in front of him, smoke beginning to curl from his nostrils.

“You are the only one who can do this, even I can only guide you.”

“I have no intention of doing what you ask of me. I am broken. I will never be anything but broken, and I will never forgive the other half of my soul, that which is housed in that creature over there. May it take a thousand lifetimes, I will never forgive it.”

“Are you really so selfish as to deny all living beings the reality of magic? Why must the whole world continue to pay for your mistakes?”

“It is hardly selfish of me to kill my other half. Already, I can feel my soul cleaving to the child’s. There is a part of me that wants nothing more than to keep him safe and fly to the stars with him. But I will not let that part of me win. I was betrayed by this bond before, and I will not let it happen again.”

“I didn’t keep my soul from finding rest all these centuries and wear myself so thin that I can barely stay in this world long enough to keep you from killing this child before I disintegrate just for you to throw your suffering in my face. After this lifetime, my soul will not be able to come back. There isn’t even enough of it left to go back to the Source. I have given everything I have ever been or could be so that you might understand how to fix your mess you selfish, spoiled child,” raged Kala. “I realize that I should have been there, that I should have known that there were only one or two actions that could rip reality asunder as I had foreseen. I have hated myself for my oversight for centuries. But I am here now, and I have traded my entire being to fix my mistake. Is that not enough for you to at least TRY?”

“Face it, Layder. You were wrong. It was never meant to me be. I have the wrong soul for this destiny.” He looked closer at the frail body before him, “Do you mean it, can you really not come back after this?”

Kala laughed hollowly, “Yes. I refused the waters of the Lethe each time I have died these past centuries, waiting for this moment. It is not in the nature of souls to be weighted down for so much and for so long. When this body dies, my soul will cease to exist with it. I know I gave you cryptic advice that you couldn’t follow then with what you knew. But please believe me, I have done everything I can to fix my part of this mistake.”

Megin looked sadly at the girl in front of him who had been his most beloved mentor and the oracle and story keeper of their tribe of dragons. He couldn’t imagine an eternity without her soul singing in the winds of their mountain home. He looked down at his own scarred body then at the child sleeping nearby. He looked back into Kala’s all-knowing eyes and drew a deep breath. “Tell me how I can fix what is broken.”