DragonSky | ONC 2020 SHORTLIST

5. Cloud Empire

Wings come in handy when you're thrust from a portal into thin air.

Ansgarde righted herself in flight and spotted the black shape of Lamassu soaring ahead. The sky above her was bluer than she imagined it could be. Below her, a haze of moisture hung over the dark blue expanse.

"Wait," she called out after her guide. The portal had disappeared, and she had no idea where she was or how to get home.

She beat her wings forcefully to catch up. Gravity here was as bad as in Lower Heliodor, but worse was the invisible power pushing back at her, throwing her off course. She had to keep readjusting the direction as she was swept sideways by invisible air-hands.

When she caught up with Lamassu, who seemed unaffected by the same force, she complained, "Why is it so hard to fly here?"

"You've never flown in wind, have you?"

This was the wind? Ansgarde had heard of it but didn't realize it would be this strong.

"Oh eeh," Spinel squeaked and Ansgarde secured her small form. If it was hard for her to fly, Spinel would have gotten blown away.

The vast expanse stretched out in all directions. She had never seen so much open space. The farthest she'd ever been away from home was to the edge of Heliodor. Aside from the tales of the Cloud Empire, she had never heard of another floating world. It always gave her a sense of kinship with the dragons. Grandfather had told her that some of the Nether considered Upper Heliodor a myth. She always laughed at that.

"Then dragons are as mythical as we are!" she replied to him.

As the first of the islands came into view, the earlier jitters of fear turned into excitement, which, oddly, felt similar. Her vision was obscured by tears. She was on a real quest. The adventure was no longer a string of words on parchment. She had to thank Spinel for that. If not for her spontaneous friend, she never would have had the courage to call Lamassu.

The scattered islands varied in size and altitude. They were dark gray and jagged underneath and covered by a green mountainous landscape on top. A few islands were partially submerged in white fluffy clouds, others floated above. The higher the island, the ratio of green to gray was lower.

She counted nine islands exactly. She had imagined more. How could an empire have only nine islands? Unless this wasn't the entirety of it. Her head reeled at the possibility of a world where all land was floating above the one and only ocean. The reality was more surreal than the most vivid fantasy she could have ever dreamt up.

"Why doesn't everyone try to come here?" she thought out loud.

"Many try," Lamassu answered.

Ansgarde wiped her eyes and regarded her silent companion. Lamassu's sleek black coat took on a purple and gold undertone when reflecting the yellow sun. They were currently gliding toward the largest island, which was at the center of the cluster.

As they descended, stone structures took shape, and Ansgarde grinned broadly. She was in the sky kingdom filled with treasures, in the place where dragons had once lived, a place made only for those who had wings. And she believed. That had to be the reason Lamassu chose her. Maybe others only wanted to reap the kingdom's riches. Her only goal was to free the dragons and taste adventure.

They landed on a large stone platform that could fit a dozen Empyreals landing simultaneously—proof that dragons were as immense as she had imagined.

Lamassu watched her with silent interest as Ansgarde took in her surroundings. The ground was arid and cracked. The distant mountains towered over the unfertile valley while the wind pushed brown leaves around her feet.

"Are dragons on this island?"

"Yes," Lamassu answered calmly, looking away. Her feline ears pointed forward as if she heard something beyond the grassy hill.

"What's the first step? How will I break their curse?"

Lamassu tilted her head and blinked slowly.

"The curse..." She turned to the hill and purred. "Farewell, Empyreal. May you succeed where others have failed."

She unfurled her wings and flew toward the hill she had been staring at.

"Wait!" Ansgarde called after her with no effect. What did that mean? She needed more information.

Distant yip-yapping broke her train of thought. She imagined a herd of Cloud Empire animals reacting to Lamassu flying by.

"Ah-eeh oy," Spinel said and tried to fly on her own, but the wind was difficult for her to handle. She settled on Ansgarde's shoulder, and they searched for the source of the sound.

"What type of creatures do you think live here?"

There was no place to hide, and the voices grew near, sounding more like speech than wild animals. These were intelligent creatures. Were they dangerous? Lamassu wouldn't have dropped her in hostile territory, would she?

She shivered when a gust of wind flattened the thin fabric of her tunic to her body. The unfamiliar smells it brought stung her nostrils. She rubbed her forearms to warm up.

The earlier fantastical feeling of being on an enchanted land was replaced by the feeling of otherness. Everything she looked at was foreign. She had never seen plants that grew in narrow tubular spikes. She had never stepped on dirt that was gray and not dark brown. And she knew nothing about the island's inhabitants she was about to meet.

She fought the urge to fly away. Sadie would have loved to greet the residents of the Cloud Empire. The restless wind was taking apart her bun and blowing loose strands of hair into her face. She took a long breath and spat out the hair. Maybe she wasn't a warrior princess, but she was a proud Empyreal. Lamassu deemed her worthy of this quest. She was the prophesied Spawn of Heliodor on a mission. Dragons needed her. These locals better not stand in her way or she'd... she wasn't sure what she could do, but she'd think of something.

A bob of a few heads came into view from behind the hill, and she braced herself. The locals could be useful. She had to think positively.

As they approached, she stared with an open mouth, disbelief making it difficult to accept what she saw.

The creatures were dressed in crude brown cloth, revealing too much skin. Their brown hair was in messy, long braids. Their boring matte skin was of different shades of dirt. They had no wings, horns, or tails, no additional limbs, eyes, or any other useful appendages. They shouted primitive calls upon seeing her and ran on their soiled bare feet.

This was preposterous.

"Ooh-ah?" Spinel laughed uncontrollably, threw her head back, and kicked her little legs.

Ansgarde was not amused. No one could have prepared her for the shock that the majestic Cloud Empire was infested with humans.

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