DragonSky | ONC 2020 SHORTLIST

1. Spawn of Heliodor

"In the time of Old, there was a mystical kingdom in the sky made of islands floating in the air."

"Like our island?" Ansgarde gasped. She'd always thought there was no other world like her home.

Her grandfather grumbled, his wings stirring behind him. She knew that he hated interruptions, but he always answered her questions. "Yes, but these sky islands were not upside down like Upper Heliodor."

Ansgarde frowned at his words. "We're not upside down. The rest of the Nether is."

"You'll understand when you go down to Lower Heliodor."

She moved a curtain aside to look out the window. All their neighbors were asleep already. Not a peep of light escaped between curtains drawn tight over windows and entryways. Above the houses, beyond the clouds, hung the dark expanse of Lower Heliodor, a city very different from her home. Colorful, as Grandpa called it, or disordered, according to her parents. The city lights twinkled much brighter than the distant stars on the horizon. Apparently, Lower Heliodor didn't have an early bedtime.

"How can Lower Heliodor be down when it's above us?" she mused.

Her grandfather pinched the bridge of his nose. "Lower Heliodor is on the ground. We are upside down in the sky. Get back in your bed, Ansgarde."

Wouldn't everything fall off if they were upside down? She had many questions, but they would have to wait. Storytime with her grandfather was more important.

He tucked a lock of wispy white hair behind his ear and looked back at the scroll. "The Cloud Empire collected treasures beyond your wildest dreams, but no thief dared to enter, for the kingdom was inhabited by the noble, ancient race of dragons. Their might was unheard of in all the realms. Their wings were so strong, they could shape the clouds like a storm."

"My wings are strong too!" Ansgarde jumped in her bed and hovered in the air, imagining that she was a little dragon. "Look!"

She flapped her wings so forcefully, the sheer curtains framing the window raised in the air and a parchment flew off her desk.

"Settle down, naughty spawn," her grandfather scolded, but a corner of his mouth lifted. "Do you want to hear the story or not?"

Ansgarde giggled and landed on her bed belly-down with her head supported on her fists. She kicked legs in the air and glanced at her half-stretched wings.

"Are my wings like dragon wings?"

"Very similar, but their wings had claws."

"Are we their kin?"

"I don't know. Will you let me continue?"

Ansgarde took that as a yes. She was almost a dragon. Minus the scales. And the tail. Fine. She didn't look like a dragon, but she had wings and lived on a floating island as they did. That was close enough to kin.

Grandfather cleared his throat and unrolled the scroll again. "Where was I? Ah. Their claws were so sharp, they could pierce any armor. Their breath was so hot, a mere sneeze could set a city ablaze."

Ansgarde giggled, imagining everyone running away from a sneezing dragon, but she wouldn't be scared. She would dodge the fire and wish her good health.

He unrolled the scroll further and continued, "For eons, the Cloud Empire went unchallenged. No creature could threaten them, but they didn't abuse their power. While they were the mightiest race in all the realms, dragons were peaceful and wise. But there was one force which they had to obey—their mother, Tiamat, The Creator, the nurturing force of nature, the untamed chaos."

Ansgarde held her breath and awaited a continuation. Tales of Tiamat never had happy endings, but she hoped that this was the exception.

"No one knows how the dragons angered Tiamat, for none remain to tell this tale, but the legends say that Tiamat trapped the entire race in a powerful curse. To this day, treasures of the Cloud Empire stand unguarded while dragons await the arrival of Spawn of Heliodor who will save them from their fate."

Ansgarde stared out the gap between the curtains with her mouth slightly open, the possibilities stretched out in front of her. Wasn't every demon that spawned in Heliodor a Spawn of Heliodor?

"Knowing that dragons no longer guarded it, many demons attempted to find the floating kingdom and reap its riches, but the gates to the Cloud Empire have been lost to the Nether. Only Tiamat, the everwatchful mother, the everpresent chaos, the evernurturing life, holds the map to the kingdom in the sky."

Ansgarde dropped her head and closed her eyes, already picturing what the floating kingdom could have looked like. Was it rich in gold and silver or in colorful crystals and gems? How large could the dragons have been? She imagined flying between floating islands, discovering their secrets, marveling at their ancient beauty. A kingdom in the sky sounded like a perfect place for a demon like her.

"Do you know what the moral of this story is, Ansgarde?"

She sighed and kept her eyes tightly shut. The moral? Why did all stories have to have lessons attached?

Her grandfather covered her with a blanket and tucked her in. "The moral is that no matter how smart or powerful you think you are, you should always listen to your mother."

"No, it isn't," she protested and yawned widely, releasing a little squeak. "Nothing in that story talks about obedience."

"Even a race as mighty as the dragons is not free of consequences. Tiamat punished them, and now dragons are no more. Remember this before you disobey your mother again, Ansgarde."

She groaned. He was spoiling her fun. She wanted to be left alone with the thoughts of dragons and dreams of epic quests to the Cloud Empire. Dragons needed the help of a Spawn of Heliodor. A spawn like her.

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A/N: Trivia time. Tiamat is a Mesopotamian creation deity thought to take on the form of a dragon.