Breaking the fall
As you make another attempt to reconnect with your wings in a more controlled manner, the air around you clears as you emerge from the cloud. Your heart makes a jump as the ground seems to have come into view at last.
It is pretty dark under the thick cloud layer, and for a moment all you can see is what appears to be the myriad lights of a vast city stretching from horizon to horizon. Small chance of making a soft landing on that!
Then you realize the lights are moving around and not growing bigger as you get closer, and you can see another layer of clouds below them. It's not a city, not the ground, just a layer of of strange sparks floating in midair.
You only have a few seconds for observation before you hit the sparks and to your surprise feel a moment of resistance before you keep falling a bit slower.
You feel a strange tug at your skin all over your body, and turning your head carefully to examine yourself you realize that you are covered with sparks. A sneeze dislodges a few from your nose, and they drift upwards to rejoin the big cloud.
Magic sparks that make you float? Heck, why not - you've already been transformed into a young dragon, so you're certainly not going to question something as relatively simple as a levitation spell, particularly not if it's going to save your bacon.
A bit more calmly than before, you try the wings again. Stretch out... slowly... that's it! You feel the wind against your wingtips, and your descent slows even further.
After a few progressively less nerve wracking minutes your wings are fully extended, and you are floating motionless about a hundred meters above the lower cloud layer. Carefully pulling your wings back in, you find that you are entirely suspended by the magic sparks. Great work, Einstein. Now how are you going to get down on the ground?
Looks like you still have to learn to fly, only now you have more time. You start experimenting with your wings, and as soon as you are pretty sure you can make them do anything you want them to (within physical limits) you reach out and start flapping - only to dislodge a cloud of sparks that immediately float away upwards. You start sinking slowly again.
At least you are in a controlled descent now, even if the controls only go one way. A baby dragon may not be able to fly properly, but as long as you don't shake off too many sparks you should at least be able to float or volp... whatever that word is. You just hope you'll be able to see the ground in time to pick a suitable landing place.
Written by Won-Tolla on 27 June 2007
