The Voyage In The Blizzard - Chapter 29
Approaching the burnt forest in which only tall trees with short branches were visible, where even the snow did not fall, as if not wanting to hide this place under a snow blanket. Approaching the place where birds were chirping at some time, Longwei and Lei clenched their hands into fists and looked into each other’s eyes and slightly nodded.
The closer they went to the forest, the more they felt how the ground under their feet was becoming warmer and even hot. And all due to the fact that the breath of dragons once burned everything to ashes and since then the earth continues to keep the warmth.
Feeling unpleasant heat and drops of sweat on his forehead, Longwei said, “Have you been here before?”
To which Lei replied, “A long time ago. At your age.”
“And what are we doing here?”
“We have come for fire.” Lei answered, gripping his sword tightly.
“All we need in exchange for Ju Long’s silence is to catch the dragon and take its breath..” Longwei said ironically. “Tell me, have you ever fought a dragon?”
Lei just shook his head without saying anything and tensed his whole body. Muscular arms bent at the elbows and holding the sword to his face, he was the first to enter the lands of the burned forest.
Smelling ash, smelling burnt trees, sensing death itself, they took a deep breath. The feeling of fear and excitement from the forthcoming warning completely consumed them.
Burnt rows of tall trees, small stones of unknown origin, the stones that still kept fire in themselves lay on the paths, thereby making it unbearable to walk on them. Even the sky here was darker than usual.
The forest stretched in an incomprehensible direction. But it was truly a very large forest. And once having entered there, the person was lost and all he felt was the presence of the dragon behind.
To ward off fear, Longwei began to speak. “Tell me, have you ever seen dragons?”
“Yes.”
“And what do they look like? Are they the same as they are described in the books?”
“Almost. But only they are much bigger than they are described in books.”
“And you must have found some beauty in them.”
“They have beautiful eyes.” Lei replied now walking straight ahead. His head was raised, and a silvery sword glittered proudly in the darkness.
Longwei laughed nervously and was about to say something, but then they heard a dull sound like a scream.
“We need to go faster.” Lei said.
Walking quickly on the hot stones, they walked forward without looking back. Longwei, not knowing where they were going in such a hurry, wanted to ask, but noticing the tension in Lei’s expression, he restrained himself and silently continued on his way.
And when they reached a large stone that stood right in the middle of the forest, a strong wind passed through them and a strong heat seized their breath. Lei froze in place and with a hand sign made it clear that now they must stop walking.
Holding his breath, Longwei fixed his gaze on the stone opposite. Strange screams and shouts came from far away. And one of these sounds suddenly got closer and closer.
He started to turn around but Lei whispered, “Don’t turn around. Don’t move.”
The heat was getting stronger and stronger. Drops of sweat fell down from their foreheads. Feeling something in his throat, the feeling of fear, Longwei closed his eyes. Suddenly His father appeared before his eyes. Mentally addressing him in such situations, Longwei seemed to be looking for strength in these memories of his father.
Forgetting the possibility that a dragon could be behind them, he, gaining strength and wisdom from his father, took a step forward and then with closed eyes began to turn back. Not hearing the words uttered in Lei’s whisper, he turned and opened his eyes sharply and, as expected, his eyes met two red, two greedy and incomprehensible dragon eyes.
As he imagined, the dragon that stood in front of him on its clawed legs had a large head that was covered with a thick layer of skin, a long neck with a greenish tint, an elongated torso and two huge wings that froze over his head. The scaled wings were of a deep red color, among which the black tones of real night flashed. But as Lei said, the creature’s eyes were beautiful. Not black, but dark, not light, but bright, not evil, but fierce, not kind, but wise, those were the big eyes of a dragon who fixed his gaze on Longwei.
At that very moment, feeling the warmth emanating from the breath of the dragon, Longwei smiled for some reason. His heart fluttered. Having the heart of a sage and a true connoisseur of nature, he saw in this creature a great masterpiece of nature. Having completely forgotten about the danger that this dragon lurked in itself, Longwei slowly extended his hand forward. His strong but thin hand, dressed in a fur sleeve, reached out to the dragon’s face, which now, taking a tense posture, opened its wings and seemed to be ready to show its strength at any second.
And then, when his long fingers just touched the face of the dragon, Longwei felt Lei’s strong grip, and at that very moment he already began to move away from the dragon. Dragging him, Lei quickly ran forward. Squeezing his hand, he did not look back. All he wanted was to run away.
And only Longwei continued to look at the dragon, which remained there by the stone.
Throwing him to the ground, Lei fiercely slammed his fist into the tree, making it sway.
“What are you doing? What do you want? To die?” He screamed so loudly that the whole forest seemed to tremble.
Feeling a sharp pain in his back from the stones that were pressing into his back, he fixed his eyes on Lei.
Lei, covered with sweat, raised his sword and, swinging, was about to hit Longwei, but stopping, he said, “If you so want to die …”
Longwei looking at him said, “This dragon, I was curious.”
Kicking him with his foot, Lei threw his sword aside and again struck the tree with his fist. Several branches fell to the ground.
Standing up, Longwei walked over to him and quietly said, “I’m sorry.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have come here. You shouldn’t have joined the army.” Lei said with a heavy sigh.
“Do you want to discuss this right here?” Longwei asked sharply and jumped up and looked furiously into his eyes. “I agreed with the head of the clan that I will be in your army for a year, and then when I get what I want, I will leave. So don’t worry. Still, we are here because of me. I am making you lose your head. Soon, I will leave and you will be back to your normal state.”
Not daring to endure this tone and indifference to life, Lei cried out and his cry was full of fear. It was the first time in his life that he felt such intense anger. “What if something happened to you?”
Approaching him, Longwei replied insolently, “Don’t be so commonplace Lei. Don’t stoop so low. My life is my business.”
“In that case, shouldn’t we just give up and face each other on the battlefield to decide which of us is stronger.” Lei said without changing his expression.
From the side, there was a feeling as if Longwei deliberately angered him, deliberately pressed with words to make him even softer, even weaker.
Smiling, Longwei put his hand on his shoulder and then said, “If we get this dragonfire, we will return to the old relationship when we will be back. You will be my teacher, my coach and I will just be a soldier. Cause what we are doing with each other will not lead to anything good. And the very idea of belonging to someone does not suit me at all. I do not want to spoil your reputation. Here we leave what was between us and henceforth you will not have to lose your head because of me. It’s not reasonable.”
Looking into each other’s eyes, throwing words that they could not say, their gazes just screamed, but the souls tried their best to hold on and keep their hearts calm. In a short time, not knowing much about each other, they still managed to see kindred spirits in each other. Yet the cold that lived in this world penetrated into the mind of everyone, making it just as cold. And for the feelings, alas, there was no suitable place. And even if it was, it could instantly burn out in the breath of a dragon or freeze in ice.
Through the curtain of thoughts and looks, heavy breathing that foreshadowed a storm between them, a series of screams suddenly sounded and at the same moment the black-red wings covered the pale sky and the heat melted the thin icicles that hung on the branches.
Directing its gaze somewhere in the distance, the dragon in whose clawed paws was some kind of animal, gaping its mouth, made a strange, dull sound and slightly touching the trees slowly flew away. The long tail almost touched the ground, but flying higher, the dragon quickly disappeared behind the newly appeared fog.
Frozen in one place, Longwei and Lei continued to gaze into each other’s eyes. After making sure that the dragon was no longer there, they both approached each other. Eagerly, viciously, tenderly absorbed in each other’s glances, breathing heavily, they completely forgot about where they were.
Breaking the silence, Lei suddenly said, “Yue Liang invited you to stay in his clan?”
Surprised by such a harsh, off-topic question, Longwei said, “Yes.” He lifted his head higher, his face was so close to Lei’s that the tension grew even bigger.
Frowning and then relaxing his eyebrows, Lei continued, “I think you should go there. I saw that it is beautiful there.”
“Why did you suddenly start talking about this? Or do you have a split personality? Do you even remember where we are?” Longwei asked as he stepped closer. The red blush on his cheeks has become more expressive making him look even more beautiful and unearthly than he was.
Breathing out through his mouth as if on purpose, thereby adding a sense of closeness to the environment, Lei said, “So what was your answer?”
“Well, you are strange.” Longwei grinned and took a step back and looked around him. Not seeing anything except trees that looked alike, he still decided without saying anything to continue this strange path. Heading to the right and noticing that the narrow path led somewhere further into the forest, he said, “Let’s get it over with. I feel this place is having a bad effect on us. Come on.”
“Do you even know where to go?” Lei asked him.
“I know.” Longwei answered with a wave of his hand.
To create one of the stones with dragon fire, one required the ability to feel dragon’s each motif. Movement, thoughts, emotions. And only then will the hunter be able to capture the necessary part of the fire that is needed to create sun stones.
For centuries, it was a whole art that was not subject to everyone. For centuries, the greatest hunters have gone to peril to bring comfort to every home in this world. More than once, they fell prey to angry dragons. More than once they fell into their clutches and then into the embrace of their fire. Still, some were able to deftly capture the breath in stone. And only those rare ones left behind a complete benefit of this art.
Taking out a small and thin book, Lei put his backpack on the ground, taking off his fur coat, he was standing in only one leather vest and pants of the same material. His muscular body exuded strength and unwavering spirit, but at the same time he emanated tenderness and vulnerability that only Longwei could see.
Carefully reading the contents of the little book, Lei was nodding his head and whispered something to himself.
Longwei, on the other hand, followed him without a word. But not restraining himself from curiosity, he nevertheless asked, “So you decided to read right now?”
Without taking his eyes off the book, Lei replied gravely, “This is a manual for dragons.”
“Manual!” Longwei grinned.
When Lei finished reading, he handed the book to him.
“It’s quite an old book.” noticed Longwei stroking a frayed cover with a yellowish tinge.
“This book was written by my grandfather.” said Lei, bringing his hands to his chest. With one foot he pushed off the tree, and with the other he stood on the still warm large stone.
“Your grandfather … So he was a hunter ?!”
“Yes. The very best.”
“I have no doubt. It must be in your blood to be the best.” Longwei added, glancing at him.
Lei said nothing.
Studying the contents of the book, Longwei sat down on a warm stone, wiping sweat from his forehead and unbuttoning his shirt, he said, “So all you need to do is just wait for the night and then when the dragons stop flying, stop seeing, we can go to them. Sneak up and collect their breath. It’s easy. ”
“It sounds easy.”
“And that means it’s true that dragons can’t see at night.”
“This is how their eyesight works. And it is just useful for us.”
Longwei looking around, and not seeing any shelter, only the same trees that continued to rise upward. “Well, where do we hide before nightfall?”
Lei, looking somewhere in the ground, quietly replied, “There are stones here. Which means there are caves nearby.”
Imagining that the two of them have to spend the whole day or maybe the night together, in a cave, so far from everyone, Longwei felt a tremor in his body and as if all his strength had left him, leaving a weak shell filled with panic.
But quickly wiping such thoughts out of his head, he jumped up and threw his coat over his back and said, “In that case, we shouldn’t stop.”
Staying in the burnt forest, it was difficult to understand what time of day it was. Because of the gray sky and reddish shades around, because of the feeling of fire and heat, the feeling which created the atmosphere as if it was always day here. And the reddish tint in the sky left by the dragons breathing made it feel like the sun was here.
Longwei, who always dreamed of the warmth of the sun’s rays, with his head raised to the sky, followed Lei. He knew that it was not the sun, that it was just the footprints of dragons, but in his imagination he imagined that these were the bright colors of the evening sunset when the sun and night entered into a dance.
“Watch your step.” said Lei walking in front.
“Lei.”
“Yes?”
“Forgive me for the incident with the dragon. I know that for some reason you care about me. And to go on about emotions somehow doesn’t suit us. I understand that this dragon could have destroyed me long ago with just one breath, but my heart is always looking for new sensations and adventures. Especially those that have a close connection with nature. But from now on I will be more careful. ” Longwei said.
“But still, we should keep the boundaries of reason.” Lei answered.
“And anyway, when will this forest end? And where are all the dragons? Why did we only see two?”
“Dragons do not dwell in forests. They dwell among rocks. A little more and I think we will go straight to them.”
“I never thought it would be so hot here. But I like it.” added Longwei, and that was the last thing he said before an hour later they found a rocky area with multiple caves.