She was flying through red clouds, as she always was in The Dream. They clung to her body slightly, trying to get a grip on her, only to lose it as she flew faster. They almost seemed alive, and they made her uneasy. it was always the same. As she gained (or lost?) altitude, the expected red lights grew from tiny pinpoints to large, blinding lights. They made her head hurt, as always, but now something was different. She felt her dream body fly closer to the lights against her will, and it became obvious what they really were; a huge pair of reptilian eyes....

Lena woke from The Dream with a start, her tiny heart pounding painfully in her frail chest. A heavy sheen of sweat covered her body, making her shiver in the night air. Uneasily she lay back down, but her eyes never did close again.

In the morning Lena was up helping her brothers Dane and Quinst with the ever-present farm chores. She was tired from lack of sleep, and grumpy and skittish as a result. Her normally mean older brothers seemed downright cruel today, worsening her mood. They knew about "The Dream," as did her parents, but none of them understood her absolute terror. She had tried to explain before, but they had thought her troubled. Lena had overheard her parents talk before of sending her to a wizard to be "cured," but money was scarce. So when she had shown her lack of sleep by snapping at Dane during the morning meal, she had drawn thoughtful glances from her parents which worried her. It was just an all around bad day.

When the opportunity presented itself, Lena wandered away from the family farm during a lull in the work and went further into town. She left the outskirts of town marked by farms and was in the city proper in a matter of minutes. One of the mounted Outriders, the King's royal guard, came galloping down the road and almost ran her down with the big horse. His armor rattled loudly as he rode past her towards the castle, sparing her a disdainful glance from under the raised visor of his helmet. She had been daydreaming again and almost paid painfully for it. Moving towards the side of the road, she continued her walk, taking in the sights of the market district in the city of Oranitin.

As she wondered around wide-eyed, as she always did in the city, Lena became aware of children clapping and cheering in the distance. She followed the sounds until she came upon the source, a wizard in purple robes who was putting on a show with hand puppets and using his magical illusions to supplement his show, to the delight of about thirty children and a few adults. The wizard was quite obviously enjoying himself, delighting in the cheers of the kids when tile knight seemed to slay the dragon with a single sword thrust, and laughing at their screams of terror when the dragon lurched to life and breathed illusionary flame in the knight's face. When the show was over, the crowd dispersed, all except Lena. She hesitantly approached the wizard, who was absently counting the money he had made. Fearfully, Lena walked over and tugged on his shimmering purple robes.

"Eh? Oil, hello there little one. Did you enjoy the show?", he asked with a grin.

"I did sir, and I want to learn how to do what you do."

"A future wizardess, ch? Now listen to me child, the Art is fraught with great peril. It takes years of study and hard work. Do you feel it burn in your soul? If you don't, then you never will. It starts when you are young you know."

Throughout all this, Lena had been staring past the wizard at tile dragon puppet laying on the ground next to his coinage, not hearing what he said completely. Noticing this, the wizard turned around to see what had caught her attention. Picking up the puppet, he held it before her and watched her breath catch in her throat.

"Why does this dragon fascinate you so?" Staring into her eyes, lie mumbled a few words in the sing-song language of magic and plunged the depths of Lena's young mind. Finding what significance the dragonpuppet held for young Lena, he gently withdrew his presence from her mind. Not quite understanding what had happened, Lena drew back from him fearfully,

"All is well child. I see now what haunts you. You must master it and set it free, only then will you be free to study the Art."

The Dream continued for several more years. Each time tile beast in her dreams seemed more real, although in time Lena understood it was not evil. Often upon waking she would reflect oil the hazy childhood memory of the wizard in the purple robes and his strange words spoken to her in the market. She spent a lot of time in the city, hoping to see him and question him, but she never did see him again.

On her eighteenth birthday, The Dream came again. It had been coming more and more frequently of late, which troubled her. She knew there was a purpose to it, but could not grasp it. This time The Dream brought her face to face with the dragon, a magnificent beast whose scales shimmered silver in tile clouds of red. For the first time in The Dream, Lena and the dragon stared at each other from within a arms reach. She could feel its hot breath wash over her, and as she stared in fascination, she saw the Dragon smile. Unspoken words passed between them, and she felt a kinship with the wyrm.

"My name is Ryanathore, and you are Lena, the one who has awoke me from my long sleep," the dragon said.

"What sleep?"

"Ah, a tale easily told if you care to listen."

"I do."

"Then take a seat on the ground and heed my words." There was a pause as Ryanathore waited for Lena to do so, and then he continued. "Eons ago, I was trapped in the Beyond by other dragons who feared my might. With me gone, they were free to commit evil acts, letting their untamed lusts run free. It was a sad time. These dragons caused man to fear us all, and now only a few remain if I am to believe what I see in your mind. I spent years in the Beyond working on my Art, hoping to find a way back, and now I have."

"How?" breathed Lena.

"You child. Your dreams, and the Art within your soul, the Art that burns at night, yearning to be set free, as I do. I have made contact at last, and now you must set me free. I will guide you in the Art through your dreams until you are proficient enough to bring me back from the Beyond. Will you help me?"

"I will, great beast, I will."

In the fullness of time, when Ryanathore flew the skies again, and he helped to rally good dragons to end the reign of the evil ones, the legends spoke of a beautiful wizardess named Lena in purple robes who rode the dragons into battle, using her Art to bring good to the world. The legends still speak of her, even though it has been many centuries since she was last seen. Dreams are all that remain of Lena and Ryanathore, but perhaps that is enough.