The Stardrop

Nervously, the young man looked about the crowd of diners, out under the night sky. Fortunatly, they all seemed to be fixated on their food or their conversations. He breathed a sigh of relief and slid the object out from under the table.

It was a staff, or more accuratly, a wand. He had been solomnly eating a small dinner alone, content with his solitude...when this wand had literally fallen out of the sky into his lap. Once again, he looked it over. The rod was made of an almost shining silver metal, smooth to the touch, but held firm when grasped. The tip of the wand had thousands of tiny dots, each lit by a light from within. It seemed to be of exquisite detail and craftmanship. Truly, the man had seen nothing even remotely like it.

Still reeling from the initial bewilderment of a wand falling from the sky, he nearly fell out of his seat when it spoke to him...

"Salutue formen I. Men en Crieth, d'Emote Extrimes". The voice spoke to him inside his mind, and it was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Filled with beauty and power and mystery, it made his heart race and his blood pump with fervence that seemed to come out of nowhere. The voice spoke again, this time in his own language, "The wand you hold is an instrument of my power. The Emote Wand, of Crieth, Dragon of Water. It can take you to my home, Ardor. As the Dragon of passion, I would like to aid your future. Will you accept my offer? Nod if yay, and release the Wand if nay".

After a few seconds, the man managed to recover and close his awestruck mouth, and ponder on the Dragon's words. Apparently, the wand was like a catalyst of the Dragon's power, and could transport him to her home, wherever that may be. He gave his decision little thought, considering what he had to look forward to after his dinner, and the day forthcoming... He nodded his head.

There was a tremendous surge of energy and a horrific clap of thunder as the wand shot to life. All the people in the area turned their heads at the sudden sound, and stared at the young man holding the Emote Wand, with wide eyes. All stared, except for a single girl, who sat alone at a small table, her face buried beneath her arms.

The man began to rise into the stars, and as he did so, the girl was illuminated by a soft light as everything else was pitched into darkness. The sound of her weeping crept into his ears. A song of deep sorrow and longing, sadness, hopelessness, and lonliness. After the song, there was only darkness as he plunged into the stars toward Ardor. The only thoughts remaining in his mind were of the girl.

He seemed to arrive out of nowhere, suddenly blinking into existance inside of a massive cavern, with a thundering waterfall cascading into a river, which flowed out of the cave into an opening outside. At his arrival, the voice whispered to him, "Hold there. I am on my way". Moments later, Crieth appeared, walking into the cave from behind the waterfall.

the site of her took his breath away. All the dragons he had seen and heard of in fantasy were nothing in comparison to her splendor. Everything about her: her appearance, her voice, the expressions on her face...everything about her was an epitome of immortal beauty. She was without a doubt the most incredible creature he had ever seen.

With a grin of what seemed to be amusement, she lowered a wing for him to walk up to her back. It seemed it was about to take a ride atop a Dragon...who would have known? He was suprised that he wasn't scared or excited. He hardly even seemed to have been affected. Maybe he felt he was dreaming.

After he mounted Crieth's back, she went back under the waterfall, and walked through a small underground tunnel until they came to an opening, where there was a vast expanse of land, completely untouched by any human life. A beautiful green meadow encircled a dense forest in the middle of the area, and small streams ran towards the forest from all directions. The air was humid and cool, and the sky was shrouded by thick clouds, sheltering the land from the harsh glare of the sun. The young man gasped repeatedly at the sheer beauty of what he saw. Surely this had to have been a dream...

For hours it seemed, Crieth flew over thousands of leagues of bountiful untouched land, all of it in equal to the other, equal to heaven. Finally, she came to a huge stone gate, with an emblem carved into the front of a circle cut off in a certain point, with an arrow coming into the circle.

"That is the symbol of Chaos, Lord of all Dragons," she explained, "He does not speak with anyone who is not a Dragon or Dragonmaster, so you must wait here". The man did as he was told, and Crieth returned soon after and spoke to him, this time in a much more serious tone.

"My friend, bearer of the Emote Wand, I will now fulfil my promise to aid your future. I have seen inside your mind during our journey through my home. Your soul is pure as the land you witnessed, and I am now convinced that you are deserving of my aid. The girl you saw as we departed Earth...she needs you, a man of purity and honor. Her innocent soul have been torn apart by the scourge of humanity. I foresee, as Crieth, Dragon of passion, that if you care for her, she will be saved, and your souls will intertwine, and Ardor will be naught compared to the love you will share, for she is the Stardrop. Will you accept my offer?"

The man's eyes glittered with sympathy as he nodded, with all the passion and honor that existed in his body. "Good," Crieth said as she smiled, "I trust you, a rare man in these days on Earth, who bears honor like a man of Luvana. I bless you with the Emote Extrimes". And with that, the man was suddenly blinked away from Luvana, thrown through the stars, and was dropped back into his chair at the resturaunt. No one seemed to have noticed anything that transpired.

Then, he heard the faint sound of whimpering, and turned to see the girl, in the same position she had been when he left. Apparently, no time had elapsed while he was in Ardor. Taking hold of courage that seemed to come from nowhere, he rose and approached her. A few diners looked up from their business to curiously peer at the man, stepped outside the norm.

As softly as he could muster, he touched her on the shoulder. She jumped slightly, and then stiffened at his touch. Obviously, she had not known he was there. Quietly and soothingly, he said, "I'm sorry. Are you ok?". Foolish thing to say, he thought to himself...

She stopped crying and lifted her head. Brushing away tears, she turned and looked up at him.......

His jaw nearly dropped right there...he had to take hold of all his composure to keep from displaying his suprise. She was beautiful, like an angel, like a Stardrop. An immortal painting, like Crieth, envisioned only in dreams. Then she spoke, a voice soft and nourishing, even though it was cracked with tears, "W..why.. Why do you care?". She began to put her head back down, obviously expecting him to leave after her remark.

But he didn't. Courage coming out of nowhere it seemed, he took hold of both her shoulders and bent his head down to ear, "I can't bear to see you so sad like this. What can I do to comfort you?" he paused for a second, "Please". She looked up again, once again crying; only, she didn't stop this time. Tears running down her face, she gazed into his eyes, and saw only sympathy. In what seemed like slow motion, she fell into his arms sobbing.

He held her tight in his grasp, his arms wrapped around her back, her head buried in his shoulder, shaking from sobs. The smell of her was intoxicating, and her touch on his bare skin sent shivers through his entire body. Eventually, she calmed down and they released each other. She looked into his eyes again, and smiled, a heart-wrenching smile that took his breath away once again. He smiled back as she took his hand, and the two walked away from the nosy onlookers.

Behind the resturaunt was quiet, and it was just them. They stood on the side of the railing, silently gazing into the moonlit ocean that went on forever into the blackness. "Is this a dream?" he said to her, staring out into the vast sea. She laughed a little, understanding his thoughts completely. "If it is," she said turning to him, "then I never want to wake". Both of them smiled, both eyes burrowed in the other, and once again their arms embraced. And under the moon, their lips found each other, their souls intwined in perfect harmony. For them, the world was through.

-Chris Scroggins