Sanguine Dawn, Elizabeth A. Freeman [great book club books txt] 📗

One

“There, done finally.” Arlen exhaled the words as he straightened to admire his handiwork. The telescope had been a daunting task to create, the lenses carefully crafted and fitted into the casing of the device. The villagers cared little for Arlen's interest in things outside of daily survival. Labeled as an eccentric, Arlen had long ago moved far beyond the boundaries of the small village he had grown up in to live in the remote wilderness.

Turning to peer out the window of his cottage, his lips formed a smile. The sun had dipped beneath the trees, giving over its vigil to allow the moon to take up its nightly watch. Gently he collected his telescope and then padded to the front door and out onto the deck he had built around his house.

“Looks like I finished just in time too, the stars are just starting to become visible.” he mumbled to himself, reaching up to brush a few errant strands of his long blond mane of hair from his eyes. He carried a roughly carved wooden chair over to where he had set up the telescope and seated himself in it carefully. Bringing his eye to the telescope he scanned the sky, humming a soft folk melody under his breath as he peered at the stars that were becoming ever increasingly visible. Twinkling lights not previously visible to the naked eye now danced before his vision and the pitted surface of the moon which peeked over the horizon displayed in detail he could have only imagined. As he scanned the sky, a flicker of movement caught his attention and he adjusted the telescope for a better view.

“A shooting star...?” he murmured, his brow furrowing in concentration. His lips formed a hard line as the moving light did not dash away as a shooting star should, instead trekking a slow path across the sky. As he watched it grew larger and larger, its fiery light blazing brightly against the velvety cloak of night.

“What the... It's getting closer!” Arlen gasped, jerking his head up from the telescope to stare at the growing object in the sky. It grew, sinking lower as it did so until it struck the field in the distance with a violent impact. The night flared bright for a moment and Arlen threw up his arm to shield his eyes from the bright light, and then just as quickly it was gone. Lowering his arm he grasped the telescope and using it like a spyglass focused it on the field in the distance where clouds of smoke and dust billowed up from the crater he could barely make out in the dark.

“A shooting star crashed to earth! This is... This is brilliant!” he exclaimed exuberantly, leaping up from his chair and hastily gathering up the telescope, nearly tripping as he rushed back inside his house. His heart pounding in his chest, he snatched up a lamp and a pack he carried with him containing various tools. Lighting the wick of the lamp he rushed outside once more, taking the stairs down from the deck two at a time. The field was a good mile and a half away yet the distance meant little as Arlen ran. A strange silence had fallen over the fields and surrounding woods, as if the various creatures of the night had grown silent in awe of the bizarre phenomenon. Arlen's lungs burned and his sides ached as he finally neared the crater and he slowed his pace to a walk. A deep rut had been cut into the earth by the falling star, leaving a path of upturned dirt and scorched grass in its wake. Carefully he crept ever closer to the edge of the crater, his own heartbeat throbbing in his ears. Through the remaining wisps of smoke he could make out a strange shape, large and stony with edges that glimmered red where it smoldered.

“A stone from the sky?” he pondered aloud. At the sound of his voice a low guttural noise emanated from the stony mass and it shifted violently. Arlen stumbled back in shock, tripping over debris and landing on his backside with a thud. Righting his spectacles he fumbled for the lantern he had dropped and scrambled to his hands and knees. Holding his breath he crawled to the edge of the crater and held the lantern out in an attempt to get a better look. In the charred pit lay a creature the likes of which he'd never laid eyes on before. Easily bigger than a horse the beast bore thick stony skin which rose up in jagged spines along it's back. The tattered remains of what he could gather had been broad leathery wings were held close against the beast's side. Bright gold eyes moved sluggishly in the beast's head and it gingerly nudged at something nestled in the rubble.

“I've heard that the Alivarian kingdom uses dragons as mounts but... could it be..” he narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to the edge, barely able to make out a humanoid figure.

“There's somebody down there!” Arlen gasped, steeling his nerves he brought his legs in front of him and slid down the side of the crater. The stony creature groaned weakly, gazing at Arlen yet it made no move to halt his approach. As he neared the bottom it was clear why, blood poured from a deep gash in the creature's abdomen, its life slowly leaking away. Though an animal lover, he knew there was nothing he could do for a creature of this size and instead turned his attention to the body splayed out face down on the ground. Wordlessly he dropped to his knees, gingerly turning the figure over. His eyes widened as he stared at the person that lay before him.

“Hey, can you hear me?” Arlen asked, his vivid blue eyes bright with fascination. The man before him was unlike anything he'd seen before. Red hair the color of blood fanned out from a face that, if it weren't for the bruises and ash covering it, was both delicate and handsome at the same time. Long ears stretched to elegant points, and through the man's slightly parted lips he caught a glimpse of sharp incisors. Arlen looked the man over, taking stock of the burns and lacerations he could only conclude were a result of the beast that fell from the sky.

“Malphas....” the red head groaned, his voice raspy. His crimson lashes flickered and eyes slid open briefly, his eyes like molten gold locking on Arlen before rolling back in the sockets once more. Arlen's brow creased and he cast a glance at the immense beast nearby once more, its eyes had turned milky and its ribcage no longer heaved with the effort of breathing. Re-adjusting his pack, he then wrapped his arms around the male and carefully got to his feet. He couldn't save the beast but Arlen was determined to save the quirky man he had discovered.

Two

The return trek to his cabin was far longer and more arduous than his hectic sprint to the site of the crater. He had shifted the body of the man so it was draped over his back, the red head's chin resting on his shoulder as he carried him piggy-back. A low grunt escaped his lips as he trudged the few remaining steps up onto his deck. Bowing his head further he pushed the door open with some effort and shuffled inside. Making his way to his bed he carefully shifted the man around to lower him onto its surface before busying himself lighting lamps and candles. With the cabin illuminated he returned to close the door which still hung ajar.

“Now, lets get your wounds treated.” Arlen said aloud, despite the fact that the unconscious man certainly could not hear him. He gathered some clean linen he had stored aside for such an emergency, pouring water from an urn into a kettle and hanging it over the fireplace which he lit to warm it. He rolled up the long sleeves of his tunic, turning to the figure in the bed and set about the task of efficiently stripping his clothes. As he worked he absently marveled at how pale the man's skin was, and were it not for the fact his guest had red hair he might have thought him an albino. Finishing with his task he retrieved the kettle of water and poured its steaming contents into a bowl.

“This isn't going to be easy...” he spoke once more to his unconscious guest, dragging a small table from across the room and setting the water and bandages on it. Along side those he placed some sturdy thread, antiseptic ointment, and a sewing needle that he had taken a moment to hold over the fire to sterilize it. With the tools he needed to patch up his new charge he carried the stool from his work bench over to the bed. The man had a variety of wounds, varying in severity though none appeared to be immediately life threatening. Dipping a strip of linen in the water he began to carefully wash away the dirt and clotted blood from the deepest gash that ran across the top of the man's left thigh. The red-head groaned at the sensation, his brows knitting together. Arlen bit his lip, hesitating for a moment before setting back to his task with determination. With the wound cleaned he threaded the needle, paying a glance at his patient's face before beginning to attempt to suture the laceration closed. At the first prick of the needle the red-head's eyes snapped open, his body jerking away from Arlen forcefully enough to pull the needle from his fingertips.

“Easy! Easy.. I'm not trying to hurt you. You're wounded.” Arlen held up his hands in a gesture of peace, though the blood had drained from his face at the shock of having the other man awake so suddenly. The red head studied Arlen for a long moment before collapsing back against the mattress with a pained groan.

“Who... are you?” the crimson haired stranger finally spoke, his tone suspicious.

“My name is Arlen! I found you in that crater after seeing a star, well I guess it wasn't a star, but what I thought was a shooting star crash to the ground. When I went to take a closer look you were there face down in the dirt. You're beaten up pretty badly so I carried you back here to my home in order to mend your wounds.” Arlen explained hastily, resting his hands on his knees.

“Ah...” the point-eared man gave a grunt of understanding before glancing down at his exposed leg where the needle and thread dangled from his skin. Following his gaze Arlen peered at the injury before glancing back at the man.

“This isn't going to feel good, but I really need to close up