The Child

Earlu froze, talons gripped around a deer, still as a stone as the tiny human wandered into sight between the great oaks. As their eyes locked on his, they flinched slightly at the mountain of animal in front of them. Mere seconds went by during that look, and Earlu watched as their fear of the forest (and whatever had driven them in here) was replaced by fear of him and then switched back again. Maybe it was his size that encouraged the child to run over and grasp his front leg, thinking that this beast would be able to handle anything the forest threw at them. Earlu breathed in and gazed down at the child, discreetly moving the deer away from the child's eye lines. Gazing down, the child was barely tall enough to reach over his talons, it's tears streamed down its face as it clung desperately to his ankle. Then the smell of acrid smoke started to reach his nose, looking up at the sky behind him was the thick plume signaling that the small collection of huts near the edge of the forest was vanishing in flames.

Now he understood, The child had belonged to one of the craftsmen who had followed Bannon to the peace and tranquility of the forest under Earlu's Mountain home. His eyes thinned to angry slits as he gathered the child up and flew home.

…......................

Earlu sat on the ledge at the opening of his mountain cave surveying all that lay before him, deep in thought, of the memory of all that had occurred.

The young man had moved to Earlu's side of the mountain range many, many moons ago, seeking a place where he could live and craft in peace, away from the bustling city. Bannon had been shocked to see Earlu descend from the sky in anger as he widened a glen in which to build his home, completely unaware of the existence of the dragon. To his relief the dragon was of the 'ask first, fight later' persuasion when it came to dealing with humans.

The young man's love of nature and peaceful heart shone through his words as Earlu questioned him and so the pair started a friendship that would grow over the years, entertaining them both until they felt like family.

And so Earlu had welcomed the few humans who would follow Bannon here, living peacefully together while they worked on the goods that they sold back in the city. After Bannon himself passed to the underworld though, Earlu didn't visit very often, his grief was heavy and he would sometimes go years between making contact with those that remained.

Having dropped the child at the cave Earlu flew over the remains of the village. Having destroyed the village, troops from the city had been collecting anything they could find of value to keep as a reward for their deeds. Earlu dropped from the sky, talons extended and roaring fire at the men who had destroyed those he loved. He left just a couple to run in terror back to their overlords to recite the message that would haunt them for years. “I, Earlu, am Lord of this domain and none shall travel here! I will fry any who try!”

The child walked sleepily and slowly out onto the ledge beside Earlu, as it ran a hand along his wing up towards his chest he sighed. “You are safe little one” his deep voice almost a whisper “those who hurt our family are gone and I promise you that I will keep you safe.”

As his eyes met the child's, they smiled at him. “Daddy used to tell me you watched over us. He said that if anything bad ever happened I should run into the deep forest and you would find me.” A large tear welled in Earlu's eye. “I was so scared of the darkness in the forest but Daddy kept yelling 'run, run'. Thank you Earlu.”

“What's your name child?” “Phoenix”.

….............................

As the years passed and the child grew, Earlu taught them all he knew about the forest and their family. It seemed he had barely blinked and they were full-grown continuing the crafts that had been created before. But this time the city on the other side of the mountain knew nothing of them. This time they took their goods through the woods to a new city of humans, a city of light and wisdom, who welcomed both Phoenix and Earlu in peace.