The Dragon's Wrath: Ashes of the Fallen

Chapter 63: A Glorious Day

(Sunday, September 19th Game Day / Monday, March 29th Real Day)

Lying on the river bank, I was enjoying the dream, a bright sunny day, one that seemed brighter than all the rest. With a few parted clouds in the sky to throw the right amount of shade down on us, followed by a pleasant ocean breeze that blew steadily across the river, there were no complaints from me.

Nor were there any complaints from any of the others, currently enjoying the festivities. Roasted meats of all types, plenty of seafood to tide one over, and even a few vegetables from the farm that were recently harvested.

Live music in the form of singing and chanting as the warriors got drunk by the fireside only added to the ambiance, as Selene and Katherine enjoyed themselves with the other women. Even Milly was somewhere in there, too.

Everyone was having a good time.

The birds were busy chirping in a tree a little ways from me as I continued to stare at the sky, thinking about how far things had come. When I started this game, alone and cold, nearly freezing to death on many occasions, I had a goal but didn't know if or when it would come together.

Now, hah, now all I had to do was turn my head to the side and look at my creation. All of the hard work, the countless hours spent digging, chopping, carrying, to prepare the buildings, all the days out in the forest hunting and exploring, and even the time devoted to scaling the mountain… all of it, led to this moment.

I had accomplished what I set out to do.

Premature celebration, perhaps, but I was on my way.

When you've failed, and find yourself in a hole, it's not about the big successes and the end goal. It's about the small steps and realizing that every little accomplishment adds up. I still had an end goal, but I was going to realize the success that had already happened.

Yeah, it was a good day.

A few hours had gone by as I had fallen asleep in the sun, only to wake to a sleeping Selene on my arm. The sun was setting now and the party was long over as the reddish-purple sky began to shift into its lightshow mode. The aurora was coming next, intermixed with countless stars that seemed too bright to be real, but without the light pollution of a large city, it was nature at its finest.

Beautiful, was one word to describe it.

The cool, late summer breeze hit my bare skin as I stretched out and wrapped Selene up in my arms. She didn't wake up, but that was fine. Moments like these were nice in their own way.

Watching the aurora as it floated about, pulsating and waving, a kaleidoscope of colors enthralling and entertaining. Blues, greens, purples, pinks, yellows, and reds, all the vibrant colors one could think of, all visible and ever-changing.

The reflection of the moon on the river's surface held still and stood out amongst the smaller stars and colorful sky, but it was a calming presence. That singular white circle, large enough to hold in your hands, illuminated the entirety of the village on this cloudless, cool summer night.

Closing my eyes, I went back to sleep.

Life was good.