Starz

The island loomed in the distance, its shadow growing in size as my boat began to approach. I’d heard rumors of the floating, turtle-shaped island- but never expected to see it with my own eyes. Since I was a hatchling, my wings have always been damaged. Bent in places they are not supposed to be. Bones that simply didn’t develop, leaving me with two heavy decorations instead of the strong, arching wings of a skydancer. Still. Once I heard rumors of a rope tethered to the west, leading to the island’s surface, nothing could stop me from exploring.

Sure enough, a braided rope dangled in the distance, swaying in the breeze. As I approached I could feel the weight of the island hanging above me. It had been floating for hundreds of years just fine, but there was still the irrational thought that at any moment it could come crashing down.
The rope held strong, and I tried not to shake as my boat grew smaller and smaller below me. Upon reaching the top, the view was formidable. A swamp stretched out before me with no clear path through. Gnarled trees grew in clusters, hiding shadows in their branches, while dragonflies rose and dipped above the murky water. How would I ever find my way through...
“Hello,” spoke a voice.
I turned to the side, ready to defend myself, only to find a hatchling peering up at me.
“Oh... hello,” I said. I was sure that just a moment before, I was alone. How did he approach so quickly... and so quietly? It was almost as though he appeared out of thin air. I must be seeing things.
“What’s your name?” I asked the little nocturne.
“Starz,” came the response. He blinked up at me, smiling. His eyes were pools of darkness, save for tiny yellow slits and dark pupils. He studied me, taking in my bag of equipment and the bandages that wrapped my arms.
“You seem hurt.” Starz crept closer and I leaned in, stretching out my paws for him to examine. His hide was a swirling, blue-black galaxy, patterned with an orange skeleton that ran over his body and horns.
“Oh, I’m okay, I just bandaged them for the climb up.”
“Interesting,” he says. His eyes linger on my wings, however, and I know he can tell they’re unusable. His words are friendly, and with such short stature it would be hard to feel threatened- but I’ve been in tense situations before, enough to recognize them. He’s... sizing me up. Making sure I’m not a threat.
But a threat to what? From what I’d heard, the island was largely uninhabited. So what was a hatchling doing here in the wilderness, all by himself?
“How did you find me here so quickly?” I ask. “Are you lost?”
“Are you?” He grins, looking at me with those strange eyes.
Before I can answer, something nearby growls. I freeze in my tracks, gaze locked on the tree nearest to me. The trunk quivers, the water around it rippling. A ridge of scales peek through the surface as two tufted ears rise up.
Starz straightens up, his eyes bright, and yells out, “Keep close to me!”
Before I can react, the creature leaps from the mire, snarling fangs and curling claws, reaching for us- I stumble backwards, and suddenly I’m falling, falling through a chasm of space. It was only an instant of the world spinning around me- earth, void, earth.
We crash back down into the swamp. The creature turns, still chasing us, churning up mud and water as it races forward.
“Starz!” I yell, searching for the little dragon.
My eyes find him sitting on a tree root behind me, tail high in the air like a cat. But he’s not hurt. He’s not scared. I see his eyes and they are shining, he’s- smiling, he’s laughing, and suddenly I realize this is not a helpless hatchling.
As I watch in shock, the nocturne swishes his tail, poises his paws, waits. The animal charges forward-
Starz moves his arms and a swirling black pit opens beneath us. We’re falling again. My breath is stolen from my lungs and my stomach twists and we land further back in the swamp.
He’s done this before. He’s experienced in magic.
Twice more we dodge death- Starz waiting until the last minute to warp us away from danger. My head is spinning. By the time the beast is safely behind us, I’m exhausted, and we settle into a calmer pace, trekking forward.
I catch my breath between footfalls. The nocturne’s once spirited demeanor has quieted. A strange silence has descended between us. We’ve been walking for a while now, and I’m beginning to suspect that Starz has more on his mind than he’s letting on.
“What happened back there?” I finally ask.
“You climbed up that rope right into a scaleback’s territory,” he says. “The swamps are rife with them, but they usually don’t bother us. It makes me wonder.”
“Makes you wonder... about what?”
“Oh, you know. If you’re dangerous, evil, planning some grand malicious attack.” He smirks.
“Attack on what? I thought this island was empty.”
“I’d prefer not to tell you, honestly. I hadn’t planned on rescuing you, hadn’t planned on showcasing my void-casting. But I knew you couldn’t fly, and seeing that scaleback race towards you, knowing you’d be torn up pretty bad...” he sighs.
I wait for him to continue.
His tiny shoulders shrug. “I made a snap decision.” A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “It was hilarious, though, watching you flail and freak out from portal to portal.”
“I wasn’t freaking out,” I mumble.
“Sure you were! Haha! It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We don’t get a lot of visitors. It was fun showing someone new.”
“We...?” I ask.
“Clan Gale Rain. You and I are heading to the castle. I don’t know why you arrived when you did- if something’s wrong with the barrier, or if you really are harmless, and it was a fluke- they’ll decide what to do with you. Having guests is great, but we have to put our safety above all that.”
Ahead of us, I can see the swamp ending. We must have teleported miles. The trees branch out, giving way to a sky with arching clouds and a rolling landscape so beautiful it takes my breath away. This is what the island is hiding? I think. Why keep such paradise a secret?
Starz ruffles his wings and continues.
“Walking is such a drag. I had to let you recover a little before we head on. The Kings, Nico and Zayto, will decide your fate.”
“Wait. Decide my fate?”
He stops, and in front of us a portal opens up; swirling liquid black, eating at the grass and dirt around our feet.
“Are you ready?”
I start to shake my head- but he laughs, and again, we are falling through space.