Crimson Dawn: The Blue Dragon's Flight

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King Jr.

His first memory was that of darkness.

It was all he had known. His tiny hands and feet could feel the earth around him. The bumpy cave walls. The holes in the earth that his feet would get caught in, resulting in him tripping over, scraping his knee or elbows. The soft fabric of the clothes cradling his tiny body. The only lights he could see were those of flickering candle flames.

Such small flames, burning with an intense heat he had not known before. The orange flames danced across the wax sticks they stood upon, as though they were kings yearning for the love and admiration of their subjects. They burned with a light that lit up his dark prison, and yet...with just a breeze, they were extinguished, like they had never existed.

Everyone around him, even Ao, said to him that his existence was a curse, a harbinger of bad luck. There was no one else to tell him otherwise. To him, it was normal. The only thing he knew. There wasn't a day that went by when he would see fearful glances staring his way, or hearing children scream and run away in fright as he tried to approach them in play. Townspeople whispering to each other in maligned gossip, about the cursed boy's powers.

He had long become used to it. It was normal for him...and yet...something inside him was screaming that this...just felt wrong.

"I...want...friends…" That was the choked words he croaked out like a sad puppy one day. Every day, he would look past the red curtains shielding his window, watching in despondent awe as children spun little tops all around, laughing and giggling, running across the meadows in their bare feet, happy to be in each other's presence. Why couldn't he join them?

No. He knew the answer to that. In their eyes, a cursed child had no right to engage in play with other, pure children, who weren't cursed with his powers.

"That child is cursed…"

"Why does a Blue Dragon have to be born in our clan?"

"It's no wonder his mother killed himself!"

"Keep that thing away from my children!"

"We can't kill him. If we do…"

"...Another one will be born."

"I don't want to be scared anymore."

"We'll turn to stone."

"Will this accursed power never disappear?"

Fear. That was all he saw on the faces of the people he had known all his life. Unadulterated fear. Their wide eyes, their open mouths, the desperate moans and yelps that came out of their mouths when he would so much as approach them. All of it was fear. Fear of him. To them, he was a monster, whose golden eyes would turn them to stone.

Wait...turn to stone? Where did that come from? He had lived life seeing them every day. If he was really cursed, like they said, why hadn't they turned to stone? Why would they make up such a rumor? For the first time, he found their fear to be unfounded. But that didn't matter. They were too set in their beliefs to change their mind.

Ao was the one to provide the answer. "That turning to stone bullcrap? That's just a rumor they made up to make the Blue Dragon look worse than it already is," He answered gruffly. Ao always came off as rough and angry. If someone spent their entire life being hated and treated like a monster, who wouldn't be? "You look at me all the time but you don't see me turnin' to stone, now do ya?"

And yet...finally, he questioned the so-called "normalcy" of his life. Ao had told him not to go outside. That was the rule, but...his heart yearned to go out. To smell the fresh scent of the grass, to see the vast blue sky above, to feel the sun's gentle warmth, to frolic with children his own age. But all of that was forbidden. Not just by Ao, but the townspeople as well.

In regards to his wanting friends, Ao had to break it to him, and not very delicately.

"You want to try making friends, huh?!" Ao roared the day the boy said that. "It's impossible! You get that, right?! Stay in the house!"

Ao, his caretaker, wasn't exactly what one would call a kind and gentle soul. Brusque, loud, and rough all around, the boy had become used to his yelling. But something inside the boy told him that Ao didn't hate him. After all, when bandits almost attacked the village, Ao questioned the boy if he watched him use his sword.

"I'm gonna teach you how to use a sword. You better learn it."

"Why can't I...use my eyes?" The boy had asked.

As usual, Ao didn't put it delicately. He explained that if he used his eyes to paralyze others, it would backfire on him and paralyze him too. It was a double edged sword. But the boy saw Ao fall to his knees, letting out a sob, like he was about to cry. His voice was so pained, hoarse from so much yelling. But the boy understood.

"I won't use...my eyes then," A thought came into the boy's mind. "If I protect the village with a sword...will I...make friends?"

Ao didn't like to lie. He didn't believe in sugarcoating anything. "No. You probably won't be able to."

The boy had accepted his caretaker's words without protest. There was no reason for him to protest. The villagers made their feelings about him very clear, and there was no changing their minds. All he could do was accept it.

But just because he accepted it, doesn't mean he had become numb to the pain from it all.

His heart screamed for love. The love of a mother who showered her child with affection. The love of a father who would teach him how to survive. Every day, he would see parents loving their children, talking to them in soft voices, smiling, proud of their achievements, no matter how small. Finally, he asked himself...why couldn't he have that?

Then it happened. He saw bad people gathering outside the village. He and Ao went to deal with them, though it was Ao who knocked the living daylights out of them, scaring them into running away. One day, he just fell to his knees.

"Ao?" He ran to Ao, his voice drenched in worry. "What's wrong?"

"I can't...see…" The words sent a chill down both their spines. "I can't see anything…" If it had stopped there, the blue dragon might have just been sad. Ao lost his eyesight. It was inevitable. He had seen the signs of it for a while. Ao occasionally bumping into things. Ao sometimes going in the wrong direction when he needed something. Ao taking the wrong items with him when he went out. Ao's gait becoming less steady as time went on. All of it led to this.

He expected Ao to cry. Instead...Ao broke into strange, loud, maniacal laughter. The blue dragon shivered. This was not the reaction he expected.

"FINALLY!" Ao shouted loud enough for his gravely voice to echo throughout the yellow sky, dappled in the light of the sunset. "I'M FREE! I can't see anything anymore! I'm not the Blue Dragon anymore! I'm finally human! My body's numb! I can finally die!" His voice went up so many octaves it didn't sound as though it belonged to him. "I'M FINALLY HUMAN!"

Was this what he really wanted? Ao never wanted to see at all? The blue dragon had no idea. But seeing this scene...he suddenly saw a new Ao. An Ao who never wanted to be a blue dragon. An Ao who yearned so much to be human, and finally got his wish.

Ring

Tiny, gold bells stopped at his feet, tied together by two strings intertwining with one another. Reflecting the sunset's rays, they almost looked orange, like shining jewels unearthed from a mine. He knelt down, picking them up, tying them to the ear of his mask. They bounced up and down with every step he walked, making a soft, soothing euphony of a ring.

"Hmm? Have you always worn bells?" Ao asked, his voice finally back to being low.

"I found them. I like them. They make a pretty sound," He replied softly.

"I see...good for you," Ao said. "Even though I can't see you, I know where you are."

Who'd have thought that something like bells could do so much for Ao. The blue dragon smiled, happy that he could do something for Ao. But just as it had appeared, his smile faded. Sobbing came from behind. He turned around to find a waterfall of tears streaming down Ao's face, melting into the dirt beneath his feet.

"Blue Dragon…" Again, this was not the Ao he recognized. Where had this sad, helpless, fragile Ao come from? "I'm so sorry...for everything...I'm so sorry for leaving you! I'm so sorry!" He bawled like a helpless child.

Leaving him? What did he mean by that? Ao didn't mean...No. He couldn't. "...It's okay. Don't. Let's talk about something else."

But they would have no chance to talk. Ao fell to the ground with a thud. His body grew cold, like ice. The blue dragon had an idea of what this meant...and it made him run cold. Ao was gone.

Now he was all alone.

He huddled into his usual spot in that tiny rock pile of a house, holding his knees to his chest. "Ao...don't leave me…" That was all he could helplessly mutter. No longer could he hold the pain back. Tears instantly formed, flowing stronger with every drop. Finally, all he could do was let out a pained, animalistic howl, like a wolf whose cubs had been killed. The howl echoed throughout town, but no one dared to hear it, nor console the boy whom they ostracized.

And yet...he couldn't hate them. He couldn't find it in his heart to hate them. One day, an army of soldiers came marching onto the premises. He could see it from miles away, as his powers made his eyes see farther than normal humans could see. Soldiers draped in dark, shining armor, with spears and swords ready, intent to kill. What were they going to do? Were they going to destroy the village? Who was going to stop them?

It hit him right then and there. Why couldn't he save them?

"Don't use your powers," Ao had told him many times. The blue dragon knew it all too well. His eyes could paralyze others, sometimes at the risk of paralyzing himself. Not even he liked his powers. Nobody did. But...who else was going to stop the soldiers and save the village?

Perhaps...he could save them.

The last thing he remembered was seeing corpses scattered about the ground, drenched in rain as dark clouds hovered ahead. He stole a glance behind himself, seeing a terrified crowd behind him. With no energy left, he fell unconscious.

Everything after that...it was all darkness. The villagers migrated someplace else, forcibly taking him with them. Then, they threw him into a deep cave, never to let him out. Never to taste the wind, feel the grass on his skin, bask in the sun's warmth. The pain was too much. Too much. He leaned against the wall, sobbing, almost drowning in a puddle of tears. One question crossed his mind.

What had he done to deserve this?

Was darkness to consume his entire life? The darkness continued on for eternity. He had no idea how he managed to survive up to this point. Little food, the light of candles, the masks hiding the terrified faces of the people who shun him...one would say that this kind of life would be absolutely reprehensible. But he would say that this was normal. Normal, just like it had always been.

Then, one day, a light shined.

A vision came through his eyes. A villager took a red haired woman by her arm, forcing her deep into the cave.

"No! Stop! Let me go!" She pleaded, struggling to break free. The villager kept his hand on her wrist in an iron grip. What was he planning to do with her? All he could think was that he needed to help her. As far as he knew, she had done nothing.

His blood boiled, like he had been pushed into the solar flares of the sun. A deep, mysterious voice echoed in his mind as he stared at the frightened man. "Four Dragons. You are our avatars now. You will serve the Crimson Dragon. You will follow his orders, love him, and never betray him!" Who was that? He had never heard such a voice before. It didn't belong to any villager he knew.

The villager ran with his tail between his legs. With his hand wrapped around hers, he escorted her out of the cave. Her hand was small, delicate, warm, and gentle. Something about this woman made him feel warm inside, like she was a light in a deep, dark tunnel. The warmth increased when he saw her reunite with three men, one of them having silver hair and a large dragon claw for a hand. What was that?

No matter. It was likely he wouldn't see the red haired woman again anyway.

But...she came back. Surprised beyond his wildest dreams, he couldn't comprehend the idea of this strange woman coming for him. She certainly loved his squirrel friend, questioned the normalcy of his life, called out the villagers for their cruelty, and said… "If that hand of yours is really that of a cursed man, then I don't care what kind of curse you have."

His heart pounded in his chest. For the first time, a light had pierced the darkness, breaking through the walls that everyone set up. It seemed as though God himself was telling him, "Go with her. You deserve to live in the light."

But was it okay? Was it okay for him to be with this woman and her odd comrades? Was it okay for him to be loved, accepted, and treated as human? Not a monster? He didn't know. But he knew one thing for sure: the woman's kindness...felt absolutely wonderful. Something inside him screamed for him to go with them. No longer would he be lost in the darkness.

Walk into the light. Bracing himself, he took his very first steps outside the cave. It was enough to make him clamp his eyes shut. Right as he left the cave entrance with the red haired woman, Yona, and her comrades in front, it seemed as though the sunlight was welcoming him with open arms. Although not accustomed to such blinding light, the warmth of it all was enough to make him cry.

No, it wasn't the sun that made him cry. It was Yona's kindness, and the happiness of her comrades-his new comrades-that stirred his heart so.

The world in general is something far too many people simply take for granted. The gentle breezes that stir the leaves on the trees, making them whisper. The soft earth that felt pleasant under one's feet, and the radiant glow of the sun that bathed everything in orange illumination. They are all things that all humans see, feel, and experience every day, and aren't as appreciated as they ought to be.

But this man? He was simply too shocked. Too amazed. Too plain awestruck to say anything. The blue sky, a soft wind, the ginormous orb of light shining in the sky, the smiles of these strangers who welcomed him into the world with open arms without so much as a second thought. After what seemed to be a lifetime of perpetual darkness, he had to wonder how he had missed such wonderful things.

All he had known was an enclosed world. But now, in this world, the enormous red curtain, dotted by fluffy things-he barely had enough time to remember that they were called clouds-spread unopposed across the entire plane of existence. There were no borders or limits-the sky expanded to infinity!

Would his newfound happiness expand to infinity, too?

Yona's words certainly seemed to promise that. "Let me take you to a place where you can be comfortable with yourself, where you will be loved, and where no one will shun you!" They were so earnest, so genuine, so...kind.

Another thought struck his mind: why should he go back to that prison after seeing all of this? Why couldn't he find that promised place that Yona talked about? Why couldn't he stay outside and discover what this world had to offer?

Soon, the day turned to night. The dark blue curtain was dotted with shining stars, crowned by the most beautiful full moon he had ever seen in...how many years was it? Even so, it was beautiful. He had no other word to describe it.

"What's your name?" Yona had asked him once, after their second meeting. "Blue Dragon isn't your real name, is it?"

"I...don't have one," He had replied shyly. All he was called was Blue Dragon. Nothing else. "Just Blue Dragon.

Yona. Hak. Yun. Kija. Everyone around him had names. Even Ao, both the man who raised him and the cute squirrel who followed him around, had names. Why didn't he have one?

A name...Yona was quick to give him one. "Shin-Ah. It means moonlight. You are my moonlight."

Shin-Ah.

Something about the name sounded so right. So enchanting. So...full of life. Shin-Ah. Yes. That would be his name forever more. He would treasure it. No longer would he just be Blue Dragon. Yes, he was Shin-Ah. Shin-Ah, the blue dragon, and Yona's friend.

Where had she been all his life?

Before, he had wanted to die. Now, he didn't want to trade places with an angel. Scratch that, a crimson angel swooped down before him, taking him into a brand new world. He didn't want to go back to that sad cave. A new future opened itself up, waiting for him.

His first memory was that of darkness. But maybe, just maybe, until he reaches the end of his days, his last memory would be that of light. The red light of the loving angel that brought him into the world, name and all.

The blue dragon spread his wings, soaring through the blush of a beautiful crimson dawn. He hoped that his last memory would be full of love, hope, and light.

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud." - Maya Angelou

Changed some scenes a bit due to some inconsistencies at the behest of a friend who pointed them out. Thanks, yoiyami!