To the Islands of Indonesia Ch. 1

1. Java: Ken

His name is Ken Adhiyasta. He didn’t know what it meant, but his friends said it was a cool name, so he didn’t mind the meaning. He thought himself as a cool person, he accepted any challenge he was given to and, well, he won most of it – in fact, all of the challenge except one: to attend the annual royal competition, with a great magic force as a reward.

Oh, you still don’t know about it? Ah, I see… well, let me explain.

Ken lived far in the heart of Java Island, a land where the sky poured all of its water along the years. Its jungles were covered with moss, bushes were grown to the chest of an adult, and the only path to go outside was through the great Brantas River. There were many myths believed by the Javanese about the river. One of it was that the river hid a monstrous white alligator whose existence had caused hundreds of lives lost. However, several years ago, a man from the outer side of island called Surabaya came with a boat. He was a wanderer. For a week he stayed in the village, talked about the outer island, and of course, The Annual Royal Competition.

The Royal Competition was held in the far island in the East called Papua. The citizens there were of many races and cultures. The diversity was vast, while the safety was guaranteed by the kingdom. Every people from the world dreamt of living there, yet the requirement were so much they can't. The competition itself consists of many adventures; surviving a river full of meat eater fish, taming and riding monstrous creatures, battling with every competitors from various races … it all sounded like a fairy tale indeed.

The villagers didn’t believe in magic, that’s why they didn’t take the man’s information seriously. Ken believed him, though. His own mother always told him that magic existed. She said magic was wonderful. In the last days before she died, she often talked in her sleep. ‘I wanted to see your magic,’ she said. Thus he trusted the man and he challenged himself to go there one day. However, it was when he was only 7. He didn’t know how hard life was until he got to his 13. People in the village didn’t provide him food anymore; he should find it for himself. Moreover, the men in the village were not many, thus all men from the age of 13 and more had responsibility to hunt. As time passed, he started to forget that dream.

The woods were not an easy place to hunt, but the river was not an option either. Every morning he went into the woods with dagger tied to his waist, bow across his torso and a couple of arrows on his back. Sometimes he caught rabbits or deer, some other times he didn’t find anything at all. Today was one of his unfortunate day. The pouring rain developed into a strong storm. Lightning exploded in the high sky, and Ken had no other choice than to take a shelter. He didn’t see any cave on his way to the woods, thus he decided on going deeper.

Some half an hour later he came across a big cave beside a river. He saw a light coming from it. He wondered who could have lighted fire in it, so he hurried to come inside. The light turned out to be farther than he had expected. As he came nearer and didn’t feel any heat, he realised it wasn’t fire. The source of the light was an egg-shaped thing lying on the ground.

“Is this a forest’s monster’s egg?” he wondered to himself. But there is no footprint at all, or… could this thing be… Ken barely touched it when he fell backwards as if he was electrified. “Wow…” he whispered in amazement. His mouth shaped a bright smile. “So, you’re really something ‘magic’, aren’t you? Alright, let’s see how you could be broken—or used, whichever is cool.”

Ken started a fire as near as possible to the thing, thinking the thing might react to heat. It didn’t budge. He also took some water; half is used to make tea, half to splash it to the egg (he had come to decision that it was an egg). It also didn’t make the egg react at all.

“Ahhh… I give up. Even if you really are an egg, I can't make you hatch, and if you are a magic vessel of sort, I couldn’t use you because I’m not a wizard or sorcerer or magician or whatever. But you have light! It’s a news, isn’t it? I mean, how many people out there have a light source like you? I think I still can make use of you. Hmm, I’m pretty smart, aren’t I?” he kept talking those nonsense while the storm raged until he fell asleep and woke up the next morning. As he gained consciousness, he realised that the egg was already gone.

“That’s unfortunate…” he grunted as he walked out of the cave. The rain was light on the soil. Wind didn’t rage anymore. Ken could say that this was the brightest morning this year.

 “You… Wet.”

Ken turned fast on his heel, looking for the source of the voice. He found nothing around him; just trees and trees.

A laughter rang in the air.

Now Ken was highly alarmed. “Who is there? Show yourself, coward!” he traces every tree, hoping to find some movement behind.

“Coward…?” the voice came again, now with a curious tone.

“Where are you, loser?!” Ken shouted. Fear began to creep along his marrow. What is it? The jungle’s ghost? I can't be frightened now, can I? There’s no one around here, no one can help me. I walked at least 20 km from the village, no one ever got this far, and if I run now, he would catch up before the villagers could hear my voice. At this rate…

“Up,” the voice said.

Ken gazed upwards. A giant black bird –if it is a bird—flying around without sound. Its size was as big as a sheep and its wings as wide as his hut’s roof. Something in its head was glowing blue like a sapphire stone; yes, he knew how sapphire looked like, he got one at home.

The big bird landed its feet on the ground. He looked at Ken with keen interest. “You… Wet. You… Know… Magic.” And it talked.

It talked! “You talk!” Ken couldn’t help himself to remark.

“I talk. You talk too.”

“Wow… am I dreaming? Are you some kind of the soul of the jungle? Or, are you the seiren… ahh... I don’t know anything…”

“You okay?”

“Will you attack me?” Ken asked.

“Attake?”

And that was when Ken realised the bird couldn’t really talk yet. “Have you never talked before?”

The bird shook its head. “You first.”

“Wow…” Ken observed the bird more closely. “Can I touch you?”

The bird nodded enthusiastically.

Ken carefully touched its head, rubbed its feathers, and he came to the stone. “Can I?”

“No sure… people say magic…”

“People? Where are you from?”

“Far… no rain… it wet here…”

“You really need to learn more about how to talk. When will you go back to your land?”

The bird stared upwards. He looked kind of cute like that. “No sure…”

“Well, in that case, what about learning to talk with me? I can go back here every day and teach you.”

The bird, again, nodded enthusiastically. “Promise?” the bird asked.

“Hn! Of course,” Ken ensured him.

The bird bowed down and told Ken to touch the sapphire on his forehead.

“But you said you’re not sure! What if I die after I touch it?”

“It okay.”

“How do you know it?!”

“Just know. Then,” the bird kept giving his forehead.

As Ken touched the sapphire, he could feel some strange electricity running through his fingertips. And it was in a good way. He didn’t feel like being electrify at all just like yesterday…

“Haaahhhh?” Ken was surprised by his own train of thought. Is he really…

“What?” The bird tilted its head.

Ken looked at the bird as detailed as possible. “Are you the egg in the cave yesterday?!”

The bird nodded. “You slow.”

“I can't just guess you hatched from a mysterious egg, can I?”

“You can.”

“Moreover, why can't I take my hand off of your head?”

“Wait for a moment.”

That ‘a moment’ was more than 10 minutes. Ken’s hand was already stiff when he could remove it. He inspected his hand and found a gash across his palm.

“Whaa… wow… What is this?!” Ken showed his scarred palm to the bird. “It doesn’t hurt nor bleed, but it looks deep.”

The bird turned his head. “I remembered. Contract. No know to take it off.”

“What are you talk—whatever.” His stomach went noisy all of sudden. “Now, are you hungry? What do you eat? I can find some rabbit or deer, for sure…”

“I eat just now.” The bird nodded its head towards remain of a cow of sort.

Ken was flabbergasted and then gulped. He can actually eat me. Savagely. I’d better not make him angry.

“It wet. I go to cave.” With that, the bird went inside the cave.

Strange creature.

Since that day over, Ken always went to to the cave whenever possible. He taught him many things, including the magic his mother told him, the adventure of the wanderer, also the myths of the village. He also told the bird about the villagers, the people of the shores, the Royal Competition. The bird seemed so fascinated.

In his own gain, he noticed the rapid change of the bird. Its feathers began to disappear, he thought that the bird was a bit ill or something and it would came out again; but it didn’t. His skin became thicker. His wings became a lot like a bat’s wings. There came his curiosity.

“You haven’t told me what you actually are,” Ken said.

“I haven’t?”

Ken shook his head.

“I’m a dragon.”

…

"WHAT?!”

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