53 The Day Of . . . Something.

After finally ignoring everything going on around her, Yun managed to sequester herself in her room and leave everyone else behind. Sitting down, she began to thin through things that she had learned or done throughout the past few years, and at some point she came to the conclusion that something was different. There was a peculiar sensation that the standard path and expectations did not fit her life, and her achievements would always be beyond expectation here.

This was a strange and discomforting feeling.

Trying to brush off such a strange feeling, she decided to get some sleep and lay down on her bed, quickly passing into the realm of unconsciousness.

The firmament was black, with slight twinkles.

The deep cold was held back by some strange feeling or power.

A great long path appeared to be laid out, winding, with azure stones of some sort laid across all sides of it.

In the distance some strange flickering flame began to puff in and out of existence.

The path moved, and in just one movement seemed to travel trillions of miles.

The flickering flames moved with it, seeming to be intertwined or a part of this strange path.

Suddenly the path began to coil on itself, and as it did it moved back, surrounding.

Above!

A massive head began to loom, with great long whiskers.

The path was not a path, but the Dragon's body!

The flames lit up and puffed out behind the dragon's head, seeming to illuminate something, but nothing at the same time.

A flicker, a tip of what might be a tail.

In the distance there is a great roar, some sort of battle!

The dragon's eyes flash!

Yun sat up abruptly in bed, sweating. That dream was too real, too vivid! It reminded her of something she had read in the library once, about the 'secret origins' of the Lynhär species.

'Long ago, when the world was still young and green, there were many creatures roaming the world, but none so glorious as the Vulpis, Canis, and Felis ancestors. These three ancestors were great and strong beasts capable of ruling the world, and nothing stood against their rule. Each ruled their own section of the world, and neither would they interfere with nor encroach upon the other's territory with their spirits or their bodies.'

'After much time had passed, these three ultimate beasts grew complacent, but suddenly something massive impacted the planet in the center of the continent, causing enormous earthquakes and volcanic activity! Each of the three agreed to find out the source of this impact, and to not dispute with each other before knowing it. The first to arrive was the tricky Vulpis, who was said to be the most wise and far-sighted. When he arrived he saw a celestial being in the center of the impact and decided to run away with this being before the others arrived.'

'Soon after the Vulpis escaped, the Felis arrived. The Felis also found a celestial being in the center and took it away to hide it from the others. Finally, the slowest of them all, the Canis arrived, and as he did he found a celestial being crawling out of the center and assisted it back to his region for protection.'

'The Vulpis found that after a few days the celestial being appeared to be waking up, but when this happened another being began to be revealed from within her great robes. This being was young and could not be more than an infant. After years this would be the first and last Prince and Emperor of the Vulpis. Eventually the celestial recovered and bore a set of children to the Vulpis before leaving behind a name, the Goddess Huxian.'

'The Felis likewise found that the celestial woke a few days later, and eventually they together bore children before this celestial also left, leaving the name of White Tiger Bai Hu.'

'The Canis was seemingly the luckiest of all, as the celestial that returned was awake very early. The Canis and that celestial being had many conversations, and as with the others they bore children together before the celestial left behind a warning and a name. The warning was that the void above this world would be sealed from the rest of creation, and the name was Celestial Devourer Tiangou!'

'Each of the three great beasts children grew strong and eventually began to show their differences from their parents, and became the forebears of the three Lynhär races. From this we learn that the Canis descend from the great beast Tiangou, the Felis from the great White Tiger Bai Hu, and the Vulpis from the Fox Goddess Huxian.'

'Among the Vulpis there is another legend of the small child, who grew to be the first and only Emperor of the Vulpis. This small child was told to be the descendant of the Azure Dragon, and was left here to be safe after a great battle in the upper reaches of the heavens. This Emperor eventually married the greatest of the children of Vulpis and Huxian and they bore a small family with great potential. This small family was hunted by many and destroyed many years later before they could grow and, with their great power, conquer the other two races and rule all the land.'

'As time wore on, the three races were pushed together by the changing temperature of the world. Lands stopped being green and were ravaged by volcanic activity. Once great plains were split asunder as massive mountains grew taller by the day from the lava flowing out. And worst of all, the last green place that many of them retreated to was separated by an enormous earthquake from the continent by a large sea, creating what is known as the Cradle of Life, the only true green place left in the world of ice and volcanic waste.'

Remembering this story, Yun began to feel that what she had seen behind the head of the dragon may have been the fox fires of the Goddess Huxian. It was said that those fires were not true fire, but a manifestation of spirit capable of imitating any element. The flash of what appeared to be a tail made her truly wonder if the Fox Goddess had been alongside the great Azure Dragon in her dream, and what the sounds of battle and roars were in the distance that caught their attention.

Pondering this for quite a while, suddenly Zhu Cai appeared at her door, "Are you planning to sit in there all day doing nothing on the last day of your first decade? Come, child, come! I've prepared breakfast for you before we go have some fun!"

Zhu Cai pulled her from the bed, breaking her reverie, and fed her a sumptuous breakfast. Following this, she was pushed into another room that had seemingly appeared overnight and was forced to try on outfits until Zhu Cai was satisfied.

Afterwards, she was then dragged again out the door and down the stairs, entering the large Elder's Cavern, where many other Lynhär youths and some Elders were waiting. A grand party had been set up, and with it many of the most prestigious disciples had been brought. Soon Yun was whipped up into the hustle and bustle of congratulations, minor gifts, and introductions. The day quickly whirled by and she was so busy that she had no time to even collect her thoughts!