BEYOND GODS AND MEN

Uncertainty. Caution. Expectation. Lynne felt myriad of emotions as he stared uphill, to the mountaintop from which fireballs were being spat out constantly, causing the sky to appear as though it was raining. Two weeks long journey had come to an end and, while the rest were camping far behind him, he had come to a place of promise. He felt it, a resonance deep within his bones, with fire which burned at the heart of that mountain. With it, he felt unworthy; the presence those flames gave caved on him, as if this mountain was not something he could shoulder.

Sighing lightly and taking in a deep breath, he began climbing the side of the mountain. It was barren of life, cracked with crevices through which rivers of lava lingered on downward. It reeked of age, yet also of novelty. He could teleport past it, cut through the space and arrive at his destination instantly, but he didn’t want to. Spending time in the Tower and reading books, he had come to learn many things, but one which stuck with him the most was the Tales of Draconic Grace.

At heart, it was just a book full of local folklore about Dragons, but it rang of truth in many cases. Flames which he uses to kill and protect were divined upon humans by a Dragon; perhaps not the one he’s meeting today, but a Dragon nonetheless. This gave him a sense of pressure, as if he was meeting his Master for the first time, and, before the chanced meeting, he wished to prove his worth. Thus, he wished to ascend the mountain, rather than ignore it.

Air was hot and dry, and it was almost impossible to breathe. If any normal person were to even set foot onto the mountain, they’d burn into ash within first few steps. Accepting it all, he let hot air, blistering earth beneath and sparks of falling fireballs hit him squarely, washing him from top to bottom. He didn’t fight it, but continued climbing, step by step.

Some places were steep, some flat, some rugged, caved in and broken, but he didn’t care. Step by step, never disrupting his rhythm, he ignored the rest of the world and focused onto the feeling on his skin. His back-long hair untied, fluttering backwards like devilish hands, followed by his white coat. Breaking free, a medallion wrapped eternally around his neck flung out, joining in the casual sway.

The mountain was quite tall, its highest point breaking the 3000m margin, and even a quarter way through, Lynne was unable to see the top with his normal eyesight. However, he knew that the endpoint was up there somewhere, so he continued the climb. The further up the climbed, the warmer it got… however, to him it was pleasant. These flames… weren’t like his, or any other for that matter. Rather, it felt as though the flames that were touching him didn’t belong to this world. Pure, unadulterated, untouched by the world, they gave off a feeling of eternity, as though they would never burn out, no matter what.

It took him almost an entire day to reach a halfway point. The mountain got narrower, but also, if possible, even more desolate. Here and there he’d spot pitfalls digging directly into mountain’s mouth, but he ignored them, pressing forward. Fireballs the size of a small boulder constantly passed by him on their way down, causing winds to push alongside them.

Another day had passed by in silence, and before him stood the mountain top. It was opened like a mouth, a few dozen meters in diameter, constantly spewing out fireballs left and right. He stood at the edge, warmth overwhelming him and causing droplets of sweat to fall down. He appeared like a speck of dust, standing there on the edge, almost invisible. Looking down, he couldn’t see the bottom. He had solemn expression on his face, glancing up to the sky once and smiling briefly before looking back down.

Taking a deep breath, he tensed his muscles slightly and jumped. No hesitation in his step, he quickly found himself in a free fall, wind brushing past his slightly reddened skin. Although there were hundreds of fireballs passing him, as if by design, not one hit him. He fell and fell, deeper and deeper, as glistening flames besieged his eyesight. He didn’t control his fall, nor did he even try. He just let himself be guided, falling ever so deeper.

His hair, coat and medallion fluttered backwards, his eyes becoming watery, lungs short of breath. He had forgotten for how long he had been falling. An hour? Perhaps two? Or maybe even ten? He didn’t care. He immersed himself in the feeling of flames, their intangible shape, constantly wavering edges, untraceable warmth and feeling… these flames weren’t his, or even this world’s. These were the flames of a Dragon, flames so pure that a mere touch could burn him to a crisp, regardless of how strong he was. However, no matter what inferno he encountered on his way down, the flames would always open up a path for him, letting him sink ever so deeper.

He had lost the sense of passage of time, and even sensation of his body. Bathed in the purity of flames, that’s all he came to know and feel. He let himself go and accepted it, causing both time and space to lose meaning.

However, all falls come to an end, no matter how long. So did his. On the third day of the free fall, he saw a round opening before him and plunged through it. What used to be a relatively narrow tunnel turned into a massive world of fire before his eyes. He couldn’t even discern the edges of the room he had found himself in, and he was certain there was at least 5000m from top to the bottom of it, if not more. Fixing his posture, he dove down feet first toward the bottom and braced himself for the impact.

As he landed, he caused rocks beneath him to crumble and flowing lava to erupt sideways into a tsunami-like burst. He fixed his posture and stood upright, glancing around. The world before him was lit beyond light; there wasn’t a corner that wasn’t blazing, not an inch that wasn’t coated in some form of flames. Rivers of lava flew everywhere, and there were even some waterfalls reaching from the very top to bottom. It was truly a sight to behold – but nothing compared to her.

He finally moved his eyes upfront and saw her, a mere few dozen meters ahead of him. She was lying down on the ground, her head resting on her front legs. First thing that came to his mind was ‘huge’ and second was ‘beautiful’. A Dragon that he read and heard so much about was now standing before him in full glory. Everything else in the room lost all meaning as he stared in shock.

When he met Ryuuk, it was too dark to see anything. Even thinking back, he only remembers two sun-like light sources hovering in the air and a deep, almost ancient voice speaking to him. Here and now, it was all on full display. From the length that bordered sheer insanity, to the eyes that stared at him so intensely he felt he’d burst into flames, to the gigantic maw that appeared large enough to swallow a small city, to glistening scales burning away in celestial gradient… he found it hard to describe her in exact detail.

Her wings were resting at the sides of her large belly, two, spiraling horns coated in oily substance sticking out from the top of her somewhat rectangular head. She then raised his slowly, exposing long and thick neck which blended into frontal chest, expanding sideways into front legs which ended in massive, sharp, black claws. She stared down on him, so high into the air without even getting onto her feet, that he found it hard to even see where her eyes were.

However, he knew they were sharp, crimson red in color, iris oval-shaped. From the top of her maws two nostrils burst out in smoke, causing wind so strong he was nearly blown backwards even though it wasn’t directed at him. As she moved her body slightly, the earth beneath quaked; however, she didn’t rise onto her feet, just moving her backside slightly to the side. She was long… very, very long. Lynne was certain that she could eclipse the entirety of Skyfire Paradise as it was today by just standing on it and spreading her wings. Her hind legs appeared exceptionally muscular, but were slightly shorter than the front ones. At the very end of her body, tail extended outward, at least three hundred meters long. Scaled at the top, flesh at the bottom, ending in an arrowhead-like tip.

She was massive, grand, both in her sheer size and the presence she exuded by simply being, sitting there, doing nothing. Standing before her, Lynne felt insignificant. A boy stood before the Dragon – looking from the side, it appeared comical. It was almost impossible to even spot him, let alone acknowledge him. She was massive, terrifying, yet Lynne didn’t feel fear. Rather, he felt awe. Awe akin to nothing he ever felt before. He felt ashamed for ever even thinking his flames were extraordinary. It was a point in life where it was fruitless to fight; he just accepted it as it was. Before him sat True Dragon of Flames, wrapped in eternal glory of her lineage. She was everything he’d dreamt she’d be and more. Much, much more.

She suddenly leaned forward, bending her neck down as her massive head slowly inched closer toward Lynne. When she was just a few feet away from him, he realized that he was smaller than her nostrils. Smaller than a single tooth of hers. So small, that even her iris was larger than him. Her eyes locked onto his, and he couldn’t look away, staring up in silence.

Warmth exuding off her skin by nature caused his skin to dry as more and more sweat broke through, coating him wet. Yet, that wetness was immediately purged by the same warmth that caused it, creating a vicious cycle. However, he didn’t care. With solemn expression, his eyes slanted down slightly, he looked up at her, accepting it all without fighting back. Her maw didn’t part, but voice came out booming. It was gentle, warm, yet destructive at the same time, as though nothing could match it both in volume and presence. That voice washed over his skin, heart and soul, making its way into every orifice of his body without stopping at any barrier, unobstructed.

“Welcome, Child of Flames,” she said. “I’ve been expecting you.”