Dragonflight

Dragonflight was born in the spring of 4315 in Oak Valley. She and her mother Jemblaze were ousted from their home just 8 days after Dragonflight's birth by the Suriem Cycle.

Escape from the Suriem Cycle
In the spring of 4315, the Suriem Cycle was passing over the forests northeast of Draginia, and over Oak Valley as well. Its unrelenting rains drove many creatures to seek higher ground. Among them was a fairy-horse called Jemblaze. She had just given birth to a filly when the rains came, and as she was very weak at the time, she was unsure if she could lift her foal into the air, which she knew she'd have to do if the valley began to flood.

She could not climb the mountains that surrounded the valley, because there she would be in danger of lightning and tearing wind. (Fairy-horse's wings are not generally strong.) Jemblaze wondered, having heard of the vicious storm cycle, if she and the foal would have to find a new home even if they did survive. She wondered vaguely where she would go, and perhaps her mind strayed to the tales she had heard, back when she was a foal herself, of the floating island called Draginia. She decided that she would call her child Dragonflight, most likely with the vague hope that, even if she herself did not live, her newborn filly would have the strength to somehow fly to safety.

The place where Jemblaze had given birth was between two hills, and very dry, and so now it was flooding very quickly. With what seemed the last of her strength, she nudged her daughter to the top of one of the hills and then climbed up beside her. She was certain, as the rain continued, that both of them would die there, but suddenly the flooding seemed to cease—the water stopped where it was and left the hilltop dry. (This was due to the fact that the water had just begun to soak into the ground, and also because the rain had eased slightly.)

But the rain continued. For eight days it poured, washing berry-laden branches onto the hilltop so Jemblaze could eat. She regained her strength quickly, and so did Dragonflight—in three days, both could fly. Jemblaze and her daughter left the hilltop soon after, and they alighted on a larger patch of land that had become an island among the waves of Suriem rain. Here they stayed until the rain stopped. Jemblaze knew that the rain had not stopped for good. They were only between two huge bands of the Suriem's swirling arms, two huge bands of rain. The next spell would begin again soon. Jemblaze searched the island for signs of her husband and friends, but she could find only a couple of rabbits and some birds. When she had left the hilltop with Dragonflight and come to this larger dry patch, the rain had been blinding and she had chosen the first substantial piece of land she saw. She had told herself that there were probably other such islands, and that her mate would be on one of them.

She and Dragonflight lifted into the air, and Jemblaze gazed around, wildly searching for more dry patches as they flapped higher and higher. There were none in sight—it was a good thing they'd left the hilltop, for now even it had disappeared beneath the swirling, muddy water. Perhaps Jemblaze's mate had flown away and found even higher ground. Jemblaze told her filly to stay on the island, and she flew out alone to look for him. She had not returned by sundown, and clouds now roiled overhead. Dragonflight called for her mother, but the first drops of rain had fallen when Jemblaze finally returned, having found no sign of Dragonflight's father.

The rain soon quickened. Jemblaze feared that their island would go under in this next spell of rain. They had to leave, and this they did. They flew away from the storm and towards Draginia, but the rain caught up with them. Jemblaze had thought, when starting out, that she would be strong enough to escape, but flying through the swirling drops, she felt that she was still quite weak. She quickly tired and slowed. Dragonflight was flying at an incredibly young age, but soon—even with her low, uneven flight—she overtook her mother. She was in a panicked state. Now that the small horse could move around, she was desperate to escape the pounding torrents. Jemblaze lagged farther and farther behind as time went on, and finally, yelling to her daughter to flee, she was lost amid the beating sheets of water.

Dragonflight continued to fly, not realizing that her mother would never rise from the place where she had fallen. For the next few days, Dragonflight would escape the rain by flying and cantering as best she could. Once out of the storm, she could rest, but always the next day she would wake to the feel of raindrops steadily increasing in number and size all around her. Then she would begin her escape once again. A week after she and Jemblaze had left Oak Valley, Dragonflight finally managed to get out of Suriem's way. She began to take longer rests, stopping in places for days at a time.

Soon she reached Kulyle Meadow, and decided that she was now truly out of danger, and that she would settle down. She stayed for a year, but soon became restless and bored with the endless grasses, flowers, and drowsily buzzing insects. She also knew by now that her mother must have perished in the rain when last they had seen each other. But she felt a strong desire to be sure, to search for her mother in the lands from which she'd come, but she feared that the storm would be waiting for her when she returned. She decided finally that she would not turn back, but that she would continue to move southwest, for no other reason than that her mother had chosen that direction as the direction in which to flee.

Dragonflight left the meadow in the summer of 4316. Her wings were much stronger than they had been when she had flown from the Suriem Cycle, and she could fly for nearly twelve hours without resting now. She traveled far and wide for years, stopping to stay in places, meandering across fields and deltas, turning this way and that, but always heading vaguely southwest, toward Draginia, although she didn't know it. In fact, she was eleven years old, living with an amiable herd of Unicorns, when she first heard of the floating isle.

While grazing one day, the Unicorns began telling tales of the floating island. Dragonflight was intrigued and listened carefully to the stories, thinking that it must be a wonderful place to live, but her hopes fell when the others began debating whether the island was real or not. Still, after staying with the family of Unicorns for two years, she decided that she would try to find the legendary sanctuary to see if it did exist. She left in the summer of 4328. She traveled for three more years before she found it—it was the Autumn of 4331 when she arrived. Excited and triumphant, Dragonflight sped toward the island as soon as she saw it. She was welcomed warmly by the Draginians as well as Queen Aqua herself. She decided to stay, but unlike her previous homes, this one lasted.