The snowy mountains deep within the heart of the Northlands where a picture of serenity this morning. The freshly fallen snow from the night prior had blanketed the land under a pristine and unbroken layer of glittering white, and the chill in the air had left most of the denizens of the mountain forest content to sleep in until the sun had a chance to warm the landscape. Spring would be upon them soon though, and for a short few months the lands would be a far more hospitable landscape teaming with new life.
For most it would be a time of renewal and a necessary part of the cycle of the seasons to ensure that those creatures who made their homes within these frigid lands had a chance to flourish and prepare before the long nights returned once again.
For one though, it would be a time of good byes.
Yule, a dragon almost as ancient as the mountain itself, rested comfortably as thoughts of the future weighed heavily upon his mind. He had called these mountains home for longer than most of the creatures upon it had been alive, and at his age it was unlikely he would ever depart them again. He was content with this knowledge though. He had lived many life-times over again. He had witnesses the rise and fall of empires, the birth of entire races and species, and he himself had traveled far and wide in his younger years. He had personally seen and experiencing things most could scarcely begin to comprehend. Indeed, he was content.
But for the human child he had taken in, the human child he had raised, the human child that with every passing day reminded him of... another. That child had his whole life ahead of him. A destiny he would never find if he remained here in the mountains. Soon he would need to leave.
Yule let out a heavy sigh.
To wish the continued safety and seclusion of their remote mountain upon the child would have been a selfish wish given all that he had himself seen in his many long years. And it was for this reason he had spent many an hour weaving lessons in the guise of tales and legends of lands far away. Through those stories over the years, he prepared the boy for the day that would soon come. The day when the child was a child no longer.
With a mighty groan the great dragon rose to his feet and jostled his wings to loosen the layer of snow that had settled upon him during the night. It was time to find Kindred. Time to tell him what he had kept from him for so many years so that he might have a childhood to call his own.
It was time to prepare him for the coming spring.
For most it would be a time of renewal and a necessary part of the cycle of the seasons to ensure that those creatures who made their homes within these frigid lands had a chance to flourish and prepare before the long nights returned once again.
For one though, it would be a time of good byes.
Yule, a dragon almost as ancient as the mountain itself, rested comfortably as thoughts of the future weighed heavily upon his mind. He had called these mountains home for longer than most of the creatures upon it had been alive, and at his age it was unlikely he would ever depart them again. He was content with this knowledge though. He had lived many life-times over again. He had witnesses the rise and fall of empires, the birth of entire races and species, and he himself had traveled far and wide in his younger years. He had personally seen and experiencing things most could scarcely begin to comprehend. Indeed, he was content.
But for the human child he had taken in, the human child he had raised, the human child that with every passing day reminded him of... another. That child had his whole life ahead of him. A destiny he would never find if he remained here in the mountains. Soon he would need to leave.
Yule let out a heavy sigh.
To wish the continued safety and seclusion of their remote mountain upon the child would have been a selfish wish given all that he had himself seen in his many long years. And it was for this reason he had spent many an hour weaving lessons in the guise of tales and legends of lands far away. Through those stories over the years, he prepared the boy for the day that would soon come. The day when the child was a child no longer.
With a mighty groan the great dragon rose to his feet and jostled his wings to loosen the layer of snow that had settled upon him during the night. It was time to find Kindred. Time to tell him what he had kept from him for so many years so that he might have a childhood to call his own.
It was time to prepare him for the coming spring.