The War of the Isles

20. Charlie

Mika roared as she swam across the clouds. I often had to nudge her to fly lower at times due to the difficulties I faced in breathing. Every dragon rider knew that the scarcity of air in higher altitudes was the primary cause of death for most riders. There was even a famous song about it.

Brave Dheesh flew so high,

Atop the White Dragon.

In the skies did he die,

O'er the dessert barren.

King Dheesh was once the King of Heemtala - the Snow Valley Kingdom located in the North East of Medini. Many hundred years ago, he took a Snowdrake to the skies and famously died of altitude-related issues. 

As I flew, I began to wonder if I should nudge Mika towards the East and unleash my dreams of going to Medini. Perhaps I could find work at the prestigious Dragon Force of Piraha and serve my favourite King. To be at the epicentre of a literary and cultural revolution that Medini had been blessed with in the last twenty-odd years.

My thoughts immediately fell upon Dhara and how she would have perhaps loved to live in Medini. An artist like her would revel in the musical culture that flourished there. My heart sank at the thought of what she might be going through with my betrayal. Would she hate me for it? No, that was not Dhara. She always had my back. She knew that I was hurting. We both had our ways of coping ever since we joined the war. Dhara took to substances and music to distract herself from her woes. When it came to enduring sorrow, she was an old and experienced player.  

I on the other hand missed my parents greatly. And my way of coping had been to bury my troubles inside until I finally broke. Dhara had always urged me to find another distraction, even offering Lute lessons at one point, but I refused. 

My parents were my everything. They were millers on the outskirts of Macabara. They owned five-grain mills and toiled regularly to provide a decent supply of wheat to traders and merchants who would sell them to bakers in Macabara. We had a decent living and made good money. My childhood was spent between the mills and the Gurukul. I had fond memories of my cottage where we broke bread as a family sitting by the fire

lace. Otto, our hound, would often waddle across the table hoping for us to drop a few crumbs every now and then.

It had been so only two years ago, and yet it seemed like a distant memory long lost to the past.

My parents and I had maintained a steady correspondence throughout the course of my time at the Forty Second. All that changed after we suffered the defeat at Kalheim. Our supplies were cut short and so was our ability to send letters. I could only hope that in these past few months, Otto and my parents had been well.  

So westwards it was. Medini had to wait. I had made the decision to land south of Macabara, over the woods, for Mika to find food and remain unseen. The next plan would be to find my parents, get a letter of recommendation from Guru Ashtadhi, and then settle in Medini for good.

And so the first part of the plan began to bloom. As Mika began her descent I spotted the woods. During my time at the Gurukul, Mika and I would fly to our spot. It was a place big enough for Mika to land, surrounded by tricks and trees that would make her unseen. I could see her head move left and right during our descent as she searched for our usual place. 

Mika gave a soft growl to indicate that she had found it and steepened her descent. I felt myself feeling lighter as my stomach moved upwards into my abdomen. I loved that momentary feeling of weightlessness. Only a few were fortunate enough to ever experience that feeling in their lives after all.

It was a fortunate turn of circumstances that Mika had just landed in time for the Sun to rise. As the first rays began to touch the leaves of the woods, Mika's red scales began to glisten. I dismounted, and water towards her face.