“Do you remember when we first met?”

“Barely. I almost died that day.”

“And were it not for that storm, you would have.”

“As you are one to remind me every now and then…”

“Had I not taken shelter… had I not found you in that cave…”

“I’ll admit, I never expected to survive my wounds.”

“And there was so much blood…”

“Were you scared?”

“A little.”

“And yet you stayed by my side. Healed me.”

“How could I not? Such wonderful… muscles...”

“Remind me again why we’re married?”

“Because I love you?”

“Yes.”

– Ayla & Varg

A summer storm was rolling across the realm when Ayla was forced to seek shelter while she was out searching for medicinal herbs in the woods. The path home was long and while she sought it at first with the speed of a jungle cat, she paused in her tracks at the smell of death in the air, sensing something truly ominous had taken place nearby. So, she hid.

In truth, she had been to this cave many times before. Not only was it fun to explore, it was the perfect spot for finding a rare kind of moss her mother needed for dressing wounds, and its closeness to the trails she favoured convinced her it was a safer place than any to wait out the storm. No beast had claimed it their home in years though it helped that local patrols out of the nearby town of Westwood drove more dangerous wildlife away.

It also helped that she would bathe there, usually, after a long day of foraging.

Thus it came as a surprise when Ayla ventured into the cave… only to learn she was not alone.

She stumbled across a man, barely alive, lying in a pool of his own blood. Whatever beast was responsible for this was nowhere to be seen yet it mattered not to Ayla. She was quick to act and addressed his wounds, taking it upon herself to save him. Yet why? She knew him not and he probably did not deserve her care. It certainly took some clever convincing on her part to avoid trouble when she returned home to her parents after being gone for days. She urged them not to worry as she ventured back out into nature with fresh provisions for her healing patient.

True, it helped that said patient reminded her of orokian hunter warriors from the north. Even in such a grim condition he was easy on the eyes and his pointed ears, much like her own, made her wonder about his origins when she wasn’t studying every other inch of him for clues. She had many questions by the time he woke to her humming a peaceful tune by his side. Questions that only raised further ones as he had many of his own.



Of course, she didn’t know at the time she saved her future husband, but that’s a story for another time.

Well, Bliss is starting to take shape, no? More to come… soon. =D

Art / DRAGONBOUND – BLISS - © Kris Paul Love