The first time it happens, you lost something small. The tip of your tail. Three of your fingers. They smile. âOh, thatâs an easy fix,â they say. When they heal you, itâs almost exactly like it was before. Sure, it feels a little stiff and youâre pretty sure itâs more like wood than flesh, but otherwise itâs fine. âSee, life will always prevailâ they say, and you automatically agree, more focused on the healed part than what they are saying.
The next time, itâs something bigger. An entire limb. You panic, but when they come, they smile. âOh, thatâs an easy fix,â they say. When they heal you, itâs almost exactly like it was before. Sure, youâre almost certain itâs more like wood than flesh, but otherwise itâs fine. âSee, life will always prevailâ they say, and you hesitantly agree.
You lose an entire wing. Blood is pouring out the wound and youâre sobbing, thinking youâre gonna bleed to death. When they come, they smile. âOh, thatâs an easy fix,â they say. When they heal you, itâs⌠not exactly the same. It looks like a wing. It feels like a wing. But itâs not a wing. Under the right conditions you can sort of glide, but you know your days of flying are over. It creaks when you move it, like an old worn chair. Itâs more like wood than flesh. âSee, life will always prevailâ they say, and you say nothing. Their smiles get sharper, their eyes get harder. âSee, life will always prevailâ they hiss, and you stammer out yes.
It happens more and more. You lose something. They come. Itâs always easy, itâs always more like wood than flesh, life will always prevail. It continues like that until-
Until the sword goes deep. It cuts straight through your stomach and you can see your organs, threatening to spill. Your life is flashing before your eyes. When they come, they smile. Youâre not even surprised to see them anymore. âOh, thatâs an easy fix,â they say. The wood that covers your stomach and holds everything in makes it hard to bend over. Youâre not quite as flexible as you once were. âSee, life will always prevailâ they say, and you agree numbly.
That spring, you throw up flower petals.
Years go past. The parts of you that are wood outnumber flesh. You donât even care. In spring flowers grows all over your body. You donât even try to stop it when they spill out your mouth anymore. Sap runs through your veins. You spit sweet smelling poison. It coats your teeth and floods your throat. You donât even choke. Besides, itâs a lot easier going down than flowers are coming up.
When your skull is crushed in and not only do they heal you, you can still see, any part of you that once cared has long died.
Youâve lived longer than any dragon is supposed to. You havenât left the Viridian Labyrinth in⌠gods, how many years has it been? You think you lost track about 300 years ago. Or maybe was it 400? You donât care. It doesnât matter anymore. You blend into the landscape because you are the landscape.
Long long ago, you asked them to show you some healing magic. They happily agreed.
You find a young dragon. They lost something small. The tip of their tail. Three of their fingers. You come to them. You smile. âOh, thatâs an easy fix,â you say. When you heal them, itâs almost exactly like it was before. Sure, you know theyâll think itâs a little stiff and you know theyâll be pretty sure itâs more wood than flesh, but you also know that otherwise theyâll think itâs fine.
âSee, life will always prevailâ you say, and they automatically agree, more focused on the healed part than what you are saying.