HOME | DD

Description
Into the Red Dawn

“Scrillosh, scrillosh.” The first two jets of warm milk sang out into the cold spring morning from the udder of the content cow. “Slosh, sloush,” the white jets began to articulate, more quiet now as the bucked began to fill of the frothy white nectar. The white chapped hands of the young milk maid kneaded the animal’s pink utters like soft dove’s wings against the sky.

“Five th’rty en the mornin’…” sighed Kirsten “Every day ‘tis the same. Wake ‘up befer the sun, eat de eggs un toast, put un ‘his ‘ear plain dress, cum out en the cold to do whot? Work! Does thot seem like a good idea tu you?” The cow looked at her with its wet drooping eyes, chewing its cud. “I suppose you don’t know, do ye? You get to graze un play en the fields all day. Isn’t thot the life? To see the country all day… to look across thot Swedish grassland and hazy sky, whot a lovely life…” The sloshing of milk stopped. She found herself gazing meditatively to the dark, grassy, hilly plain unfolding beyond the ancient barn door. The door was open but somehow… she just couldn’t get out of the mildew garnished barn. She slowly commenced milking, watching the day’s light begin to peek around the edges of the earth.

Steam rose from the sides of the tin bucket like sweet smoke from a fire of lavender leaves. The bucket had become full while Kirsten daydreamed of the sky, the morning, the freedom of the clouds in heaven. She tipped the utter in her hand towards her mouth, and then let out a squirt of creamy warm milk.

“Cluck cluck.” The sounds of the chicken startled Kirsten, causing her hand to be unsteady. Splash, milk grazed her face, covering her cheek and eye. She used the trim of her pale dress to lap up the stray liquid.

“Whot ar’ ou doing ‘ut ear?” Kirsten questioned the animal as she wheeled about to face it. The chicken darted in alarm to her hasty anger. Kirsten, learning quickly, bent down slowly for a hand full of feed corn. “Ear chick chick chick” beckoned our girl to the shaken creature. Slowly, she crept towards the chicken, until her hand was but a foot from the animal’s beak. “Yer mine,” she beckoned it as it nodded its little head from the bail it had taken refuge behind.

Swiftly, Kirsten launched her hand out to the chicken, grabbing it’s neck gently. She pulled it up and into her arms. “I will be bringin’ ‘ou back to yer coop now dear chicken.” Kirsten said to the animal kindly yet with a fun ness about her manor. She began her journey across the green, gray yard to the hen house.

“Wait my dear,” said a deep wise voice.

“Eh?” Kirsten stopped, looking about in confusion. “’Hos there?”

“I have something to show you,” the voice mysteriously spoke again.

“’Ou didn’t say that eh did ye?” she asked the chicken with sarcasm.

“Yes” said the voice bluntly. It did come from the frail white body of the hen. Kirsten gasped, and then fell over in the great surprise of the moment. She dropped the little chicken in the ground as the momentary coma of surprise took her.

Confused she sat, overwhelmed and amazed. Suddenly, the chicken began to glow and… grow. A strange and random light began to radiate from the center of the strange animal, growing in intensity like a rapidly blooming white rose. The rose of light grew and stretched, taller and larger until the light force must have been at least ten feet tall. The glowing stopped increasing in intensity.

The light began to fade now from the top of the creature. Long, smooth white feathers, like strands of silk, shone above the rest. As the light faded, enormous wings of doves revealed themselves. Soon, a white back peeked through the intense light. The body of a horse came visible through the intense shine. Silver hooves, shimmering mane and tail; the creature was magnificent and perfect. The light now was being pulled away from the body and into the creature’s head. Slowly, a fine noble head of a majestic steed revealed it’s self, kind and lovely. The light drew into the horn of the animal. The entirety of the creature was white and pure, all excluding a small diamond spot in the middle of his head and the spiral horn that grew from it.

“My name is Eclipse and I need your help, my lovely,” spoke the beast as Kirsten gazed up at it, amazed and confused. The girl knew not what to do. She merely examined him with her eyes, confused and lost in the events that consumed her. “Here” he said, bending his head down so that his horn was next to her hand. “Grab hold. I can show you many things Kirsten” Following orders, she took a firm grasp of the brilliant onyx pillar. He lifted his strong neck, pulling the young one up with it.

“Whot kinds of places? ‘And whot do ‘ou need me fer.” She spoke quietly and with the utmost respect, dusting off her garments.

“Get on my back and I will show you” she looked at the creature momentarily, and then decided that, for some reason, she could trust him. She pulled herself upon the horse, as she had done so many times with her own, than gathered her center of gravity once again. “You see my dear; I am what I call a morph. I can change my looks to be whatever I desire, though unicorn with wings is my true form. I have been watching you for quite some time Kirsten. I need you to become wholly pure again.”

“W… what do you mean…” she asked curiously.

“A terrible wizard of dark and evil power took the purity, the whiteness, from me in exchange for his own greed, malicious and darkness. He took all that was good in me but I have slowly been… able… to earn the white and goodness back. I now have only one stage left to gain full purity. My horn is the only thing left to turn to goodness. That is where you come in my dear.” He took a leap off the ground and into the gray morning sky. Kirsten clutched unto his strong neck with her pale arms in fear.

“W… what must I do,” she said unsteadily, with a hint of fear. Eclipse smiled.

“You will learn soon… very soon.” His voice had a strange tone about it. The tone of his voice was the same tone a mother gives a child as he asks what the doctor will do with him as he is being driven to his office. The silky dove wings lifted the two of them up and up into the clouds, now becoming a dull gray with the hint of morning.

“Eclipse, where are we going?”

“To the sky my dear! We are going to see amazing things. We shall see things that were always just out of your grasp, but that… can change.” Kirsten smiled, she would finally be able to see further then just the view her barn door let in.
Up and up they went until the little gray barn below looked like a toy, a child’s play thing. The countryside was so brilliant. Fields of corn sat next to hay and wheat. The patches of color contrasted so perfectly, like the quilt of a wise old lady. The sections of earthy fabric fit together perfectly in color and size. Stone hedges, rivers and cliffs garnished and trimmed the giant quilt like tin buttons and silver fabric.

“Isn’t it lovely Kirsten?”

“Oh yes! I ‘ad always wished to reach to ‘he clouds… Now that I have tasted ‘his grand freedom, I wish to fly ever so often, if not all the time.”
“Oh… would you now” Eclipse followed with that same queer tone of voice. “I have an offer for you, young Kirsten. You could have all of this. You could… well… be just as I am. I need your body in order to be fully pure. You are my escape.”

“How would you use my body?”

“Well… what I need is…” he hesitated far more then what should be natural.

“Wot?”

“A virgin sacrifice.”

“Wot?” she said again, with fear-filled confusion.

“I need to spill your… blood… on the dark spot tarnishing my body. This is the only way I can become pure once again.”

“’Ou would kill me just fer… a white coat?”

“Well… it’s more then just that…” he said, following with a whisper of doubt to himself “I think.” She thought about calling for help… but who would hear her? What could they do if they did hear her apprehensive cries? She was too high up in the air, perhaps hundreds of feet above the green land stretched below. She had no way to escape unless she was able to grow wings, of course.

“Wos this yer plan? To bring me op ‘ear where I couldn’t go back?”

“Well… I do not mean to force you to do anything… but if you do this you will be able to ride along with me whenever you wish. You could sail with the clouds whenever your heart so desired. Is this not your wish? Is this not your heart’s cry?”

“’Ow would that be possible?”

“Say you would love this. You know you do. It is all you ever wanted to do. You can fly along with the stars. You could fly with the dreams and the wishes.”

“Well... this is beautiful… and ‘mazing...” a tear trickled down her cheek as she felt her life, slipping between her fingers and out of her control. “This is so… lovely. This is more amazing then any dream I have experienced. It is more vivid then the experiences of my every day life. But Eclipse, I am just a child. I can not die now.”

“But my dear, you said that you should wish to fly ever so often, if not all the time. Is that not a quote from your mouth? This is your desire. I know it; I have heard you talking to your cow friends. You love this freedom. I can feel it in your soul.”

“Eclipse… Oh… no… no… NO!” The creature began to pick up speed in its flight. His powerful wings began to beat like the paddle against a rug. His started to make crazy swift turns with his body. Kirsten felt her head swirl, yearning to find equilibrium. The swift revolutions tried her strength and riding ability to their max. She tightened her leg muscles as steadily as her muscles would allow. She gripped the animal’s mane, lacing it between her fingers for a firm grip. Was this the end? Was this it? “Eclipse please! What ‘re you doing? Don’t do this to me. I wish to live!”

“But you do want this, my lovely. You wish for the clouds.”

“NO! I would rather live” she screamed just as Eclipse made a final turn. The beast took a great flying launch to the left. Gravity had its hold on Kirsten. Her body remained in its initial position. She slipped off the edge of the shimmering white body of the deceiving mythical creature. White, shimmering strands of fallen unicorn hair fell from her hands as she reached up towards the creature. His body was beyond her grasp. She was falling to the ground, wind played in her ear like a penny whistle. The little penny whistle played a song of death to her. She had but one hope and wish left.

“Eclipse! Please! Save me Eclipse!” she cried to the unicorn with all the strength her voice could muster. The beast spun about, catching a view of Kirsten’s fall in the corner of his eye. He turned his direction of flight towards his little victim, then came spiraling at top speed to her rescue. “Thank you Eclipse.”

His aim was perfect, he struck clean and quick. The dark onyx rod glistened in the sun, now garnished with crimson liquid. The limp body of a young virgin hung from that steady horn, now quiet, calm and serene. As the scarlet blood dripped from the blackness, a brilliant white shone through and prevailed. Purity had returned.

Closing his eyes, Eclipse sounded off a piercing, haunting high-pitched whinny of pain and anguish. He did not want to see this young one go so quickly.

“As I have promised, you will be able to fly again my dear” he cooed to the silent limp body. Harnessing all his energy and a spark of his mystical soul, he bowed his head and horn down, then, like a powerful slingshot, he threw the lifeless body up, into the clouds. The body made its flight up as normal as any dead thrown body. On the way back down, however, something changed. Kirsten’s rippling garments consumed her body but as she fell through the clouds, some new thing covered her.

A white light, like a hundred stars, began to form around her along with a spark or red. The red began to consume her like a river. It took hold of her garments, her toes, her fingers, her arms, until her whole body was a red flame.

The fire faded, Kirsten opened her eyes. The sky was her dream and her reality now. She flapped her arms. Brilliant scarlet wing caressed the air, lifting her up into her first taste of flight.

“You have risen from your ashes Kirsten. You are a phoenix my dear. Wouldn’t you… fly with me? Would you keep me company through my adventures?” Kirsten couldn’t help but believe this was a dream. Everything was foggy, nothing seamed real. Was she really this beautiful fiery creature? She didn’t know what to think. Had Eclipse killed her, saved her or done both. She didn’t know. One thing she did know was that she was a part of her dreams, and she didn’t want to dream alone.

Description
Into the Red Dawn

“Scrillosh, scrillosh.” The first two jets of warm milk sang out into the cold spring morning from the udder of the content cow. “Slosh, sloush,” the white jets began to articulate, more quiet now as the bucked began to fill of the frothy white nectar. The white chapped hands of the young milk maid kneaded the animal’s pink utters like soft dove’s wings against the sky.

“Five th’rty en the mornin’…” sighed Kirsten “Every day ‘tis the same. Wake ‘up befer the sun, eat de eggs un toast, put un ‘his ‘ear plain dress, cum out en the cold to do whot? Work! Does thot seem like a good idea tu you?” The cow looked at her with its wet drooping eyes, chewing its cud. “I suppose you don’t know, do ye? You get to graze un play en the fields all day. Isn’t thot the life? To see the country all day… to look across thot Swedish grassland and hazy sky, whot a lovely life…” The sloshing of milk stopped. She found herself gazing meditatively to the dark, grassy, hilly plain unfolding beyond the ancient barn door. The door was open but somehow… she just couldn’t get out of the mildew garnished barn. She slowly commenced milking, watching the day’s light begin to peek around the edges of the earth.

Steam rose from the sides of the tin bucket like sweet smoke from a fire of lavender leaves. The bucket had become full while Kirsten daydreamed of the sky, the morning, the freedom of the clouds in heaven. She tipped the utter in her hand towards her mouth, and then let out a squirt of creamy warm milk.

“Cluck cluck.” The sounds of the chicken startled Kirsten, causing her hand to be unsteady. Splash, milk grazed her face, covering her cheek and eye. She used the trim of her pale dress to lap up the stray liquid.

“Whot ar’ ou doing ‘ut ear?” Kirsten questioned the animal as she wheeled about to face it. The chicken darted in alarm to her hasty anger. Kirsten, learning quickly, bent down slowly for a hand full of feed corn. “Ear chick chick chick” beckoned our girl to the shaken creature. Slowly, she crept towards the chicken, until her hand was but a foot from the animal’s beak. “Yer mine,” she beckoned it as it nodded its little head from the bail it had taken refuge behind.

Swiftly, Kirsten launched her hand out to the chicken, grabbing it’s neck gently. She pulled it up and into her arms. “I will be bringin’ ‘ou back to yer coop now dear chicken.” Kirsten said to the animal kindly yet with a fun ness about her manor. She began her journey across the green, gray yard to the hen house.

“Wait my dear,” said a deep wise voice.

“Eh?” Kirsten stopped, looking about in confusion. “’Hos there?”

“I have something to show you,” the voice mysteriously spoke again.

“’Ou didn’t say that eh did ye?” she asked the chicken with sarcasm.

“Yes” said the voice bluntly. It did come from the frail white body of the hen. Kirsten gasped, and then fell over in the great surprise of the moment. She dropped the little chicken in the ground as the momentary coma of surprise took her.

Confused she sat, overwhelmed and amazed. Suddenly, the chicken began to glow and… grow. A strange and random light began to radiate from the center of the strange animal, growing in intensity like a rapidly blooming white rose. The rose of light grew and stretched, taller and larger until the light force must have been at least ten feet tall. The glowing stopped increasing in intensity.

The light began to fade now from the top of the creature. Long, smooth white feathers, like strands of silk, shone above the rest. As the light faded, enormous wings of doves revealed themselves. Soon, a white back peeked through the intense light. The body of a horse came visible through the intense shine. Silver hooves, shimmering mane and tail; the creature was magnificent and perfect. The light now was being pulled away from the body and into the creature’s head. Slowly, a fine noble head of a majestic steed revealed it’s self, kind and lovely. The light drew into the horn of the animal. The entirety of the creature was white and pure, all excluding a small diamond spot in the middle of his head and the spiral horn that grew from it.

“My name is Eclipse and I need your help, my lovely,” spoke the beast as Kirsten gazed up at it, amazed and confused. The girl knew not what to do. She merely examined him with her eyes, confused and lost in the events that consumed her. “Here” he said, bending his head down so that his horn was next to her hand. “Grab hold. I can show you many things Kirsten” Following orders, she took a firm grasp of the brilliant onyx pillar. He lifted his strong neck, pulling the young one up with it.

“Whot kinds of places? ‘And whot do ‘ou need me fer.” She spoke quietly and with the utmost respect, dusting off her garments.

“Get on my back and I will show you” she looked at the creature momentarily, and then decided that, for some reason, she could trust him. She pulled herself upon the horse, as she had done so many times with her own, than gathered her center of gravity once again. “You see my dear; I am what I call a morph. I can change my looks to be whatever I desire, though unicorn with wings is my true form. I have been watching you for quite some time Kirsten. I need you to become wholly pure again.”

“W… what do you mean…” she asked curiously.

“A terrible wizard of dark and evil power took the purity, the whiteness, from me in exchange for his own greed, malicious and darkness. He took all that was good in me but I have slowly been… able… to earn the white and goodness back. I now have only one stage left to gain full purity. My horn is the only thing left to turn to goodness. That is where you come in my dear.” He took a leap off the ground and into the gray morning sky. Kirsten clutched unto his strong neck with her pale arms in fear.

“W… what must I do,” she said unsteadily, with a hint of fear. Eclipse smiled.

“You will learn soon… very soon.” His voice had a strange tone about it. The tone of his voice was the same tone a mother gives a child as he asks what the doctor will do with him as he is being driven to his office. The silky dove wings lifted the two of them up and up into the clouds, now becoming a dull gray with the hint of morning.

“Eclipse, where are we going?”

“To the sky my dear! We are going to see amazing things. We shall see things that were always just out of your grasp, but that… can change.” Kirsten smiled, she would finally be able to see further then just the view her barn door let in.
Up and up they went until the little gray barn below looked like a toy, a child’s play thing. The countryside was so brilliant. Fields of corn sat next to hay and wheat. The patches of color contrasted so perfectly, like the quilt of a wise old lady. The sections of earthy fabric fit together perfectly in color and size. Stone hedges, rivers and cliffs garnished and trimmed the giant quilt like tin buttons and silver fabric.

“Isn’t it lovely Kirsten?”

“Oh yes! I ‘ad always wished to reach to ‘he clouds… Now that I have tasted ‘his grand freedom, I wish to fly ever so often, if not all the time.”
“Oh… would you now” Eclipse followed with that same queer tone of voice. “I have an offer for you, young Kirsten. You could have all of this. You could… well… be just as I am. I need your body in order to be fully pure. You are my escape.”

“How would you use my body?”

“Well… what I need is…” he hesitated far more then what should be natural.

“Wot?”

“A virgin sacrifice.”

“Wot?” she said again, with fear-filled confusion.

“I need to spill your… blood… on the dark spot tarnishing my body. This is the only way I can become pure once again.”

“’Ou would kill me just fer… a white coat?”

“Well… it’s more then just that…” he said, following with a whisper of doubt to himself “I think.” She thought about calling for help… but who would hear her? What could they do if they did hear her apprehensive cries? She was too high up in the air, perhaps hundreds of feet above the green land stretched below. She had no way to escape unless she was able to grow wings, of course.

“Wos this yer plan? To bring me op ‘ear where I couldn’t go back?”

“Well… I do not mean to force you to do anything… but if you do this you will be able to ride along with me whenever you wish. You could sail with the clouds whenever your heart so desired. Is this not your wish? Is this not your heart’s cry?”

“’Ow would that be possible?”

“Say you would love this. You know you do. It is all you ever wanted to do. You can fly along with the stars. You could fly with the dreams and the wishes.”

“Well... this is beautiful… and ‘mazing...” a tear trickled down her cheek as she felt her life, slipping between her fingers and out of her control. “This is so… lovely. This is more amazing then any dream I have experienced. It is more vivid then the experiences of my every day life. But Eclipse, I am just a child. I can not die now.”

“But my dear, you said that you should wish to fly ever so often, if not all the time. Is that not a quote from your mouth? This is your desire. I know it; I have heard you talking to your cow friends. You love this freedom. I can feel it in your soul.”

“Eclipse… Oh… no… no… NO!” The creature began to pick up speed in its flight. His powerful wings began to beat like the paddle against a rug. His started to make crazy swift turns with his body. Kirsten felt her head swirl, yearning to find equilibrium. The swift revolutions tried her strength and riding ability to their max. She tightened her leg muscles as steadily as her muscles would allow. She gripped the animal’s mane, lacing it between her fingers for a firm grip. Was this the end? Was this it? “Eclipse please! What ‘re you doing? Don’t do this to me. I wish to live!”

“But you do want this, my lovely. You wish for the clouds.”

“NO! I would rather live” she screamed just as Eclipse made a final turn. The beast took a great flying launch to the left. Gravity had its hold on Kirsten. Her body remained in its initial position. She slipped off the edge of the shimmering white body of the deceiving mythical creature. White, shimmering strands of fallen unicorn hair fell from her hands as she reached up towards the creature. His body was beyond her grasp. She was falling to the ground, wind played in her ear like a penny whistle. The little penny whistle played a song of death to her. She had but one hope and wish left.

“Eclipse! Please! Save me Eclipse!” she cried to the unicorn with all the strength her voice could muster. The beast spun about, catching a view of Kirsten’s fall in the corner of his eye. He turned his direction of flight towards his little victim, then came spiraling at top speed to her rescue. “Thank you Eclipse.”

His aim was perfect, he struck clean and quick. The dark onyx rod glistened in the sun, now garnished with crimson liquid. The limp body of a young virgin hung from that steady horn, now quiet, calm and serene. As the scarlet blood dripped from the blackness, a brilliant white shone through and prevailed. Purity had returned.

Closing his eyes, Eclipse sounded off a piercing, haunting high-pitched whinny of pain and anguish. He did not want to see this young one go so quickly.

“As I have promised, you will be able to fly again my dear” he cooed to the silent limp body. Harnessing all his energy and a spark of his mystical soul, he bowed his head and horn down, then, like a powerful slingshot, he threw the lifeless body up, into the clouds. The body made its flight up as normal as any dead thrown body. On the way back down, however, something changed. Kirsten’s rippling garments consumed her body but as she fell through the clouds, some new thing covered her.

A white light, like a hundred stars, began to form around her along with a spark or red. The red began to consume her like a river. It took hold of her garments, her toes, her fingers, her arms, until her whole body was a red flame.

The fire faded, Kirsten opened her eyes. The sky was her dream and her reality now. She flapped her arms. Brilliant scarlet wing caressed the air, lifting her up into her first taste of flight.

“You have risen from your ashes Kirsten. You are a phoenix my dear. Wouldn’t you… fly with me? Would you keep me company through my adventures?” Kirsten couldn’t help but believe this was a dream. Everything was foggy, nothing seamed real. Was she really this beautiful fiery creature? She didn’t know what to think. Had Eclipse killed her, saved her or done both. She didn’t know. One thing she did know was that she was a part of her dreams, and she didn’t want to dream alone.