Lou

  Lou didn't know what to feel. The world around him looked like pure gold. Sunlight warmed his cheeks, a warm wind tried to steal the light cloth from his head. Everything was quiet. Peaceful.

  In the morning, Connie had informed him that his father would be buried the next day. Louise had told her this.

  Lou himself hadn't dared to leave the mountains yet, even though he could go to the river. Just not in the city. And so he had remained clueless.

  His father had died two days ago. Whereof? Lou didn't know that. He hoped to see him again, the day before he had talked to Harper's parents about it. About the fact that Lou wanted to meet his family. By the river. Unsuspecting. That's why Connie had sought them out. In Lou's old home. Disguised as a bird. But instead of a happy family, she found grief.

  Lou was not allowed to attend the funeral itself. The wise men had forbidden it. He was only allowed to watch from afar. Louise had begged. It was of no use. The word of the Gods was never broken by the Wise. Louise did not believe them, and she compined about it. Connie had listened to her. It was unfair. But the Gods had decided so, they said. A young priest heard their decision. He saw the will in a picture, it was said. Lou was not allowed into the city. He didn't know if he could believe this. That one of the priests had really heard this... Seen it. Was it true?

  Or was it another lie?

  What else could Lou believe?

  And why didn't the Gods answer him?

  All that remained for him was this strange dream, which he remembered exactly. To every detail.

  The day before, he had visited Ernst and Kra together with Harper. It was said that Kra was one of the few dragons with a close connection to the gods of the sand. Two other, older and wiser dragons could say this about themselves. But Lou didn't want to visit them. Meeting new people made him uncomfortable. Even if he had certainly already 'seen' them.

  But he didn't know them.

  Unlike humans, dragons did not live their lives according to the Gods. They had no visions. They only believed that the gods existed. That they were the origin of magic. Magic itself, not talking beings. Otherwise, they were irrelevant to the long life of the huge reptiles. The gods didn't intervene, they were just there and brought life. And the dragons were grateful for that.

  Some dragons said they felt the raw magic particurly clearly. Dragons, like Kra. While Trixi, Weiko, Bibi, and Philip pyed with Harper (they pulled on him growling so that he chased them through the cave), Kra expined to Lou everything she knew about magic.

  "It's not power", she said with a smile and stroked Lou's light hair.

  Lou flinched at the touch. "Not? The visions, the images, are not a nguage?"

  "No. I don't think so. Well, I don't have visions, but they're nothing more than pictures, right? Things that have happened or will happen. I'm not a human being. Dragon magic is different." She smiled softly. "I feel the flow of magic. It is a form of energy that some of you humans can use. And yes, it feels sublime, divine, sparkling like desert sand in the sunlight."

  "Gods of the sand...", Lou murmured.

  "Right."

  "The name comes from you?"

  "Possibly..." Kra wanted to stroke Lou's hair again, but when he avoided her hand, she quickly pulled it back. In human form she looked soft and gentle, but for Lou that counted for little. Not everyone was allowed to touch him. A dragon in dragon form? That was less bad for him. Their teeth frightened him. Their big heads, the glowing eyes... But their feathers. They were soft and beautiful. But in human form? No.

  "Oh, dear boy..." The woman with the long blond hair smiled. Kra decided not to question his reaction. Instead, she answered his question. "That was all a long time ago. The dragons of that time, even if a few are still among us, can hardly remember who first invented this name. Whether you humans have brought the name with you, or whether they have it from us. Memories fade, my boy. Especially if you can live forever. With a bit of luck. No one is immortal. Not even the magical ones."

  "Louise won't live forever?" Lou frowned. He had never really thought about it. He is mortal, his sister immortal. He had never thought about what it meant for both of them. They were twins. Connected. "My life is short. At some point, I leave her behind. Louise will die too?"

  "Only fate knows." Kra shook her head. "Who can guarantee that she will never get sick? That an accident never happens? Or something else? No one is invulnerable. That doesn't exist in this world. But the magic is always there. Some are touched by it, others live without being able to feel or use it. Is it a coincidence? Destiny? Providence? Only magic knows."

  Lou thought about it for a moment as he watched the four dragon children sit on Harper. He saw only four brisk, white spots between Harper's familiar colors. Philip pulled his hair growling. But Harper didn't seem to mind. "You said magic is not a being. The Gods aren’t beings? How are they able to speak to the priests? This can't be. They must be... persons. Or not?"

  "Good question!" growled Ernst. Unlike Kra, he was in dragon form and had been asleep until just now. Lou had heard him snoring. Loud and blissful. As if there were no guests in his cave. Lou thought that dragons were a bit strange. Strange and surprisingly affectionate and cuddly.

  "Lou? If you find out, please tell us", the dragon growled now.

  Now, a day ter, Lou sat at the fence again, his legs dangling over the cliff, watching the colors in the sunlight. He was sitting exactly where he had recently called out to the Gods. Trixi slept curled up on his p. Her siblings pyed in the cave. Ross took care of the quadruplets while their parents hunted. Except for him, all the dragons of the family were on the move. Harper too.

  Next to Lou sat Nour, again in the guise of a soft, sweet dog. She snuggled up to him comfortingly. Lou had wanted to be alone. But the two girls would not let him. They sat quietly by him. Well, Trixi was too young to talk to him. And too small to use her wings. Lou therefore held her safely on his p. One hand on her back. The other he buried in Nour’s fur.

  "The st time I saw Dad was when I had to leave home," he finally said. "Dad had tears in his eyes. He looked away as one of the temple servants took me to the hut that Papa had renovated for me. He wasn’t allowed to accompany me. Nobody was allowed. They said it was the will of the Gods. After that day, only Mom came to me to bring me something to eat once a day. She never stayed more than a moment. None of this had to happen, right?"

  Nour pressed herself all the closer to him.

  sasi