Finnryl

The valley was quiet, peaceful and still that morning. The gentle croak of a frog or the light buzz of an insect were the only things that broke the silence of the dawn. The sunrise was nearly impossible to see from the floor of Aethilias Nen, between the canopy of leaves overhead and the walls that surrounded the valley, but the soft light that filtered through the trees betrayed the first signs of the sun. Morning was dawning on the horizon; it was a gentle and delicate light which would soon turn arid and scathing in the afternoon.

Finnryl rose to the smell of fresh dew on the leaves of the bushes outside and the sun filtering through his open window to land upon his face. He blinked slowly, opening his duo-colored eyes to gaze out the same window, noting the time of day it must be and the colorful birds outside. He smiled gently at the birds and they flipped and swooped past, singing their morning songs to whoever would listen. Aethilias Nen was a strange place, an oasis from the harsh desert outside that acted like its own miniature jungle, and Finnryl adored it for this very reason. He loved his new home with all his heart, and even the thought of it filled him with an overwhelming sense of affection and tenderness. He cherished this land.

With a small stretch, the dragon-deer rose from his pillow-covered bed, a simple bamboo-planked mattress covered in three layers of silk blankets tangled up between soft pillows thrown hastily on top. He shook one of these blankets off a back hoof, for it seemed to have wound itself around his appendage, and entered into the only other room in his house, walking through an open screen door.

Finnryl had intentionally designed his house to be simple, yet accessible. He didn’t need a lot, nor want a lot, and what he needed he had within easy reach. Stepping into this larger, more open room, he quickly grabbed a piece of ripe fruit from a table in the center and made his way over to a smaller set of pillows lying on the floor in front of a short desk. On the desk lay his leather journal, which he had brought with him from his old homeland, and a small charcoal quill which allowed him to write without dipping into ink every few seconds. As he held the piece of fruit in front of him, chewing on it slowly, he lifted the quill in his telekinetic grasp and began to write in his journal, reflecting on what had happened in the previous few days.

I found these uncharted lands by accident. In fact, the way of my arrival here is still a mystery to me, as I am unable to recall how I stumbled across the lands I now know as the Prosfora Meadows. I had had my nose shoved into this journal, studying all the unique plants I came across, that I seemed to have travelled an awfully long way. I am still confused by this, but perhaps shall unravel this mystery soon… After, however, I journeyed past these meadows to an intriguing landmark in the distance. Half of these lands have been covered in a dense fog, a mist, that does not part but only in certain, dire times. Somehow, it parted for me. I was awestruck at the sight that lay beyond this veil; indeed, a vast desert was hidden by this unnatural fog! At first I was fearful of what lay in this land, but something pushed me forward to explore, and I followed the calling. I still have not explored it all, and I will surely have to draw a map of the area, but I found a safe haven from the heat of the desert in a small sinkhole covered in lush foliage and cracked through with a beautiful lake. It was teeming with all kinds of life, and I found it to be absolutely amazing.

Finnryl stopped writing, holding the pencil on the paper where he had placed a period. His eyes glanced over to the other side of the page where he had drawn a unique flower he had found in the Prosfora Meadows. All that stood on the page was the flower itself, its height and the shape of its petals in a more detailed drawing, but it failed to explain the color or anything else about the flower. He sighed at the page. If he had the time, he would need to travel back to the meadows and find this flower again to finish his documentation of it and find if it had any herbal uses, perhaps. Or, if it was poisonous. That would be very useful to know. He set his pencil down and closed his book, yes it would be very useful to know all of that information for every plant in this entire land. And maybe he could do that, but it certainly seemed like a very daunting task. He inhaled, taking a deep breath in order to help clear his thoughts and relax.

The dragon then turned to exit his home, grabbed his traveling cloak, and walked across his wood plank porch and stepped onto a floating bridge that connected to another porch of a house which he knew was empty. He crossed this bridge, crossed the porch and stepped onto another bridge, continually doing this until he had reached the foot of the stone carved stairs that ran all the way around the sinkhole he stood in, up to the desert above. He started his ascent, passing each of the massive statues that stood on the outskirts of the lush forest below him. He wondered momentarily how this all came to be, and where the technology for such structures could have come from, but then he remembered already the other creatures he had seen in this land, such as the pegasi and unicorns, and the fact they all had telekinetic abilities, like he did.

He stepped into the soft, pink sand of the land, feeling as it shifted underneath his weight. The wind blew gently today, causing the sand to fly up and fall back down in gentle waves, like the sea. Finnryl watched this happen for a short moment, enjoying the way nature moved, before he began his journey across the sands of Xe’Shevii, heading out to bring a message back to the other inhabitants of the Uncharted lands. This morning, while journaling, he had thought of an idea, one that made him a little giddy inside. When he had discovered this land, he had all the intentions of sharing its wondrous beauty with others, and this intention had not changed. No, it had only grown stronger since he had discovered Aethilias Nen and set up a small abode for himself. He wanted others to share in the beauty of this land he found and find joy in it just as much as he did. They didn’t have to live in Aethilias Nen, as he did, but he was still overjoyed at the prospect of telling others about this fascinating desert.

He did not travel long on foot when he suddenly transformed, wings sprouting from his back and legs growing stronger and thicker. His tail also grew longer and thicker, and his whole body sprouted scales like a budding flower. It was a strange transformation, as the deer did not do it often and did not practice to make it smoother or better, but it worked as fine as he wished it to. In the place of the deer stood a large, green dragon, gold markings glinting in the sun.

Finnryl sprang off the desert floor, a wake of sand left swirling behind his powerful wings. He soared on the wind as it quickly warmed up from the sun, coasting on air currents and allowing it to push him forward at an astonishing speed. It did not take him long to reach the outskirts of the lands which he had left in order to find Xe’Shevii. Once he had landed here, he rounded up a few birds from the area and carefully attached notes to their feet. The notes read:

Please join Finnryl of Xe’Shevii at Aethilias Nen this evening. Doors are open and festivities will follow.

Once he was happy with his note, he let the birds go to fly where others could be found, then he turned to fly back to his own home in Aethilias Nen.

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It had taken Finnryl all day to prepare for his sudden welcoming party. It had been a sudden idea and he hoped the people of the lands would have enough time to make it to his party on time. He had given them nearly fifteen hours, from the time the sun rose in the desert to the time when the sun set. Finnryl could see the last rays of the sun peeking over the walls of Aethilias Nen and the stars that had begun to appear in the sky. The constellations were so bright in the desert, they nearly lit up the land all by themselves. But, of course, Xe’Shevii provided her own light.

As the sun went down, all around Finnryl the land began to light up. He had no need of candles or torches to light the way, for the sands above him glowed a rose gold and the forest around him blazed all colors of the rainbow. Finn assumed this is why the land name began with “Xe”, for the way it glowed at night.

However, the downfall of the night was the chill that swept over the land without the sun. Particularly in winter, the desert could get to sub-freezing temperatures, and he hoped that the people would arrive before the desert got too chilly. The temperature in Aethilias Nen wasn’t half as cold, as the plants never wilted with frost and the lake rarely froze. Finnryl could compare the temperature in the air similar to an afternoon fall breeze. Chilly, but only when the wind blew, and that rarely happened in the valley of Aethilias Nen.

Finnryl hadn’t spent as much of his time on decorations as he had on food, since the glowing of the forest was enough decoration by itself. He had, however, hung up some festive tapestries and weavings around the village for an extra flare, and set up pillows and games at the center fountain. However, in his own house he had prepared an overabundant amount of food for everyone to enjoy, particularly leaning on the diet of Xe’Shevii. He hoped that the odd-looking food would look appetizing enough to try, and then to continually eat since it was so good. At least, Finnryl thought it was good. Unlike his bed, he had spent a precariously long time on making these dishes look as luxurious and tasty as possible, using lots of herbs and greenery to spice up the meal. He had scorpions and beetles laid on a bed of jungle leaves, small slices of raw and cooked fish garnished with basil from his own slim stores. Hollow eggplant with vegetarian stew inside, which was his own favorite for the ease of eating it. Plus, it had been awfully hard to find in the jungle, but he had. Some other vegetables he had brought from entirely different lands, because they didn’t grow in the jungle at all. These veggies, however, he had in much smaller numbers. One thing that was particularly small in number, however, was the choice of meat. It nearly didn’t exist at all, but in one small corner of the table lay a roasted rabbit and a single bat. Finnryl avoided looking in its general direction. The drinks were rather sparing, as well, as there was no presence of alcohol, but only water and aloe vera drinks. There was also a drink present that Finnryl had made from a unique flower he had found in the lake in the valley, which he had carefully extracted a substance from. There were not many of these drinks on the table, as he did not make many of them due to the rareness of the flower, but he thought the people would enjoy the sweet taste of the flower and the healing properties it held.

Once Finnryl set all of his up, he stood at the fountain in the center of the village with a warm smile upon, waiting for visitors to come. He was excited to share the warmth and kindness of the desert with others, and hoped they would enjoy their stay.

Finnryl

The party, thus far, had gone extraordinarily well in Finnryl’s option. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, or how he assumed it would go, but as he looked around at all the gathered faces around him, his smile couldn’t help but widen.

The party had come to his mind so soon, and he hadn’t had much time for preparation, but sometimes the best ideas were the ideas that came quickly. He just knew he had to host this, to bring people across the land to see what his small herd had to offer. And now that the night had begun, there was a settling feeling that lay upon his heart like a warm hug. New and old faces, he saw, and each one of them he felt drawn to. What stories lie behind their eyes? He wanted to meet them all.

So he was especially thankful when someone approached him. She had come up so quietly, so respectfully, and given him a smile and a small inclination of her head. The words she spoke were gentle, and he gave her a kind smile in return. ”I thank you,” he responded, looking up to the canopy above them before he scanned the crowd. ”It really is much more than I could ever ask for.” He then turned back to meet her gaze. ”I’m Finnryl, by the way. What is your name?”

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As the night wore on and more people began to show up, eat of the food and mingle, Finnryl thought it was time to make a small announcement. He took a step up to the fountain in the middle, clearing his throat and calling to the crowd as he raised a glass of water.

”Hello everyone! Sorry to interrupt your conversations!” He began, giving them all a warm smile. ”I want to thank you all so much for coming to this, and for braving the heat of the desert to come here. I am extremely thankful for all of you.

I just want to formally welcome you to the land of Xe’Shevii! Hopefully you found it to be a wonder in its own way, and that you will possibly call it home someday. To those who already have found refuge here, I welcome you, as well. I know I have not yet met many of you, but I hope to meet all of you soon. I hope my presence never becomes a burden to you.

Anyways, you all aren’t here to hear me talk. So! I have come up with a few traditional games that anyone who wants to is able to play. I am also able to give those who are new a tour of Aethilias Nen if they wish. And then after, as always, there are some very yummy desserts that I happened to whip up for you all if you wish to try them. I believe there are pastries, sweet dates, and some other things that you won’t want to miss.

Once again I thank you all! Please enjoy yourself.”

He finished his speech and stepped back from the fountain to the side, where he once again waited for others in case they wished to participate in what he had just mentioned to them all. All the while, he kept the warm smile upon his face, his duo-colored eyes glinting happily off his golden markings as the purple dots along his coat glowed faintly, reflecting the atmosphere around him.