A Silver Tide

There weren't always dragons in the Valley.

My mother used to say this when I was little. Before it was hard to find food. Before the Board collapsed and our neighbors turned against us. Before the sky would turn black, never to let the sun shine through again. Before...absolutely everything changed. Life was different back then. It was a little difficult, but we were happy; until Liegos came to the village. He ruined everything.

The snapping sound of twigs pulled me from the memory of my past. I quieted my breathing and leaned forward to peak down through the branches of the giant Ash tree I occupied. I could see the outline of a figure in the darkness below, standing at the base but I couldn't tell if the figure had seen me or if this tree was just a spot they had chosen to stop. Quietly, I pulled the bow strapped to my back over my head and slid an arrow from my quiver, preparing for an altercation. I peaked back down through the branches and the figure was still there, standing as still as stone. Suddenly, bright blue lights shaped like two glowing eyes stared up in my direction. I notched the arrow and silently drew back on the string, steadying my breathing, preparing to let the arrow fly. Another blue light glowed and I could see it looked like an orb illuminating the palms of two hands. The blue orb of light was separated into each palm and the figure picked up a basket. They gave it a little nudge into the air and it slowly drifted up, weaving between the branches until it came to hover right in front of me.

When the basket reached me, a familiar voice whispered in the silence of the night "Can you put the bow away? It's making me nervous and I'm going to drop the food."

I sighed with relief and slid the arrow back into the quiver. Holding onto the bow with one hand, I reached for the basket with the other. Once I grabbed the handle, the glow of the blue light faded and the dark figure began climbing the tree. It took a few minutes but before long, my companion Arlo was sitting across from me straddling the branch. He wore his brown hooded cloak which covered his loose white shirt and green pants. He was barefoot and his feet were dirty - he claimed he was more silent this way. His dark brown hair was tousled and a little on the shaggy side. Some locks hung in front of his blue eyes and he looked at me through his dark lashes as I held the basket between us.

"Do you have to aim your arrow at me every time I come back?" he asked, with a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"You know I can't be too careful. You're not the only one with glowing eyes wandering through the forest." I snapped back.

Arlo sat there silently for a moment, obviously sensing my irritability, and I looked away. The memories felt so fresh and they consumed me with anger. I felt the twinge of guilt in my stomach at snapping at him; none of this was his fault. He took the basket gently from my hand and I looked at him with the best apologetic smile I could muster.

He pulled away the cloth that covered the food in the basket and I uttered "I'm sorry, Arlo..."

He paused and looked me in the eyes with a forced smile on his face. "It's ok. I know you're not really angry with me."

I watched as he sifted through the basket which consisted of a couple pieces of bread, a bunch of berries, an apple, and two eggs. The feeling of guilt grew in my stomach even more. He was the one risking his life to find food for us while I sat in a tree day after day waiting for him to come back. I forced another smile and tried to change the subject.

"So if you can fly a basket up here with your magic, why can't you fly yourself up here as well?"

He rolled his eyes and allowed a chuckle, seeming to understand that I was trying to lighten the mood. "Firstly, the basket doesn't fly up here. It's more of a lift from me with the energy that I can... externalize."

"Oh ya, I totally know what that's like" I said, pretending to understand.

"Second, when I use energy, it is exhausting. If I lifted myself up here, I cannot be sure that my energy wouldn't give out as I am an inexperienced 'wiz' with very little to use."

"But isn't climbing a tree just as exhausting as lifting yourself up one?" I asked, truly not understanding the mechanics of his abilities as a wizard.

"No, no. How do I explain this to you." He paused for a moment, and I grabbed the apple from the basket and took a satisfying, crunchy bite out of it. Then he jumped a little and exclaimed "It's like this! The energy I use when I climb a tree is more physical, sort of like running. When I run I get tired. But the energy I am externalizing is coming from a different place. There is a certain mental and emotional effort from it. If I use it too much, I will run out and my mind will shut down."

"So you will fall asleep when you think too much?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"No... well sort of."

His voice had a touch of frustration and he snatched the apple from my hand. As he munched on the apple, I thought about what he said for a moment. Arlo and I hadn't known each other long. Three months ago I came upon a thief who was trying to take Arlo's coin purse. I was travelling under the cover of the forest following the road that ran alongside it when I heard yelling and grappling. Arlo was calling for help and the thief had him pinned to the ground just off the road. I remembered peering between the branches of a bunch of bushes to witness the whole ordeal. Arlo was not much of a fighter, or at least not very good at using his abilities under pressure this way. He often says his abilities take a lot of focus and control and I would never understand a responsibility of this magnitude that he has been gifted with. I had thought about leaving him to his own fate as it was incredibly dangerous to meet new people in this day and age but a glint of steel caught my eye and I quickly changed my mind. The thief was reaching behind his back to pull a blade tucked in the back of his pants under his shirt and without thinking, I notched an arrow and steadied my bow, waiting for the right moment. The thief lifted the blade above his head and just before he attempted to strike, I let my arrow fly and it pierced the center of his hand. He dropped the blade and shrieked in pain, falling to the side off of Arlo who jumped up and frantically turned his head this way and that. The thief had laid on the ground holding his hand, screaming all the while, and Arlo had called out, "Who's there?" I had considered moving on as he seemed like he would be fine after that but in a moment of loneliness and poor judgement, I pushed through the bushes and revealed myself to him. His blue eyes landed on me and they had flickered a brilliant icy blue glow that faded quickly. We were travel companions from that day on.

Arlo, sitting in front of me, finished up the rest of the apple and tossed the core back in the basket. We kept the food remnants to avoid leaving a trail or a clue as to where we were hiding.

"Do you remember the day we met?" I asked him as nonchalantly as I could.

Arlo paused before answering, seeming to remember and then he smirked and said "Yes. It's kind of hard to forget an introduction like that. Most girls would be embarrassed to be doing the saving bit." He paused again and then stated humorously, "Most girls also don't impale people with arrows."

When I didn't say anything, Arlo leaned forward and began playing with a strand of the woven basket between his fingers. "Why do you ask?"

I hesitated and then quietly replied "Well, you said that using your 'energy' requires a mental or emotional component. On the day we met, when you looked at me, your eyes glowed softly." Arlo laughed a sort of high pitched, awkward laugh . "Yes well, I was worried you might shoot me next."

I had to laugh at that and I decided to push the thought out of my mind. Of course he would think that after the encounter he had just had. Why would it be any different. I didn't know what kind of answer I was looking for but for now, it was enough. I grabbed a handful of berries and popped them into my mouth, the sweet and savory taste made my mouth water.

"Where did you find this stuff? Bread is hard to come by and I know you didn't pay for it."

"Oh you know, here and there. There's a farm not too far down the road and they had a whole loaf of bread just sitting on their table. No one was around so..." he trailed off, allowing me to assume the rest of the story.

"I wish we didn't have to steal." I muttered.

I slouched against the tree and settled in to prepare to sleep, with my bow now strapped around my back and a tight grip on my quiver which was always strapped to my hip.

Arlo sighed and said "If we don't, we will starve. We can't live on berries and tree nuts forever. Plus what will we do through the winter?"

"I don't know. I just wish things were different."

"I know," he muttered, "Me too. But we have each other now and we will be ok if we stick together."

His attempt to sound soothing didn't help. My memories still hovered on the edge of my mind and I knew I would have a fitful sleep. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. "Goodnight then" he said and I heard him climb to a different branch to find a spot to sleep. "Goodnight" I whispered as I felt sleep take hold.

...

I was laying down in a field of long grass with my auburn hair, long and wild, splayed around me. I opened my eyes and saw the bright blue sky above with white fluffy clouds lazily floating by. A sweet smell of flowers wafted through the air and I knew this wasn't just any field. I was in the Valley. I felt warmth from the sun shining down on me and a happiness swelling inside me. This was home. I wanted to lay here forever and soak up the sun, but something hovering just on the edge of my mind told me that I could not stay forever. So I resolved to lay here as long as I possibly could. I closed my eyes, soaking up the rays as the sun shown bright through my eyelids. Suddenly a shadow passed over me and I opened my eyes to catch sight of it. There was nothing in the sky except the clouds wafting by on the light breeze. I took a deep breath, thinking it was nothing, and watched the clouds. Then the shadow passed over, blocking the sun for a split second and then it was gone again. I quickly sat up and looked around, trying to find whatever it was that was putting a damper on my wonderful afternoon. I whipped my head around and saw the stone cottage I lived in with my Mother; it was small but it was home. It had two windows and a door on the front with a little smoking chimney poking out the top. The roof was made of wooden slats and straw, and we often had leaks inside but the walls were made of cobblestone so we were protected from the wind. I could see my mother working in the garden just to the side of the cottage and the line of clothes she had just hung before that. The shadow passed over me and I stood up quickly. My mother had seen it as well. She looked to the sky with fear as she called to me.

"Raine, come inside quickly!"

I looked up at the creature soaring through the sky, trying to get a good look at it to see what it was. It had vast wings, bigger than anything I had ever seen. I could also see large feet with claws that might have been the size of my forearm and horns on its head that had a slight curl to them. I knew then that it was a dragon. I stared in awe and fear as it soared through the sky above us. The creature then changed its trajectory and suddenly it was diving towards me. I couldn't move, I was frozen in terror. It was opening its claws wide to grab at me and I just stared into its eyes unable to move. The last thing I saw was its eyes glowing red with gold flecks and its jaws open revealing large teeth and then I was thrown onto the ground. The dragon swerved to avoid colliding with the ground and flew back up into the sky. My mother had tackled me to the ground and was already up on her feet, pulling at my arm to get me to stand up. Shaken from my trance, I let her pull me up and we ran towards the cottage. Just as we made it to the door, the sky began to darken and everything around us seemed shrouded in shadow. I stopped just at the doorway and looked up at the sky to see that it had turned a blood red and the clouds which were once white and fluffy were now black and swirling in the sky. The Valley no longer looked warm and inviting and the smell of flowers had been replaced by a smell of something burning, like a fire somewhere. My Mother, realizing I hadn't stepped through the door, pulled me in and slammed the door shut. She bolted the door, closed the shutters on the windows and then we huddled in a corner far from them.

"What was that?" I shrieked. Mother didn't answer. Her eyes were wide and she was staring at the floor. "Mom! Why did the dragon attack me?"

She raised her finger to her lips and I sat there hugging my knees, waiting. She seemed to be listening for something. I assumed she was listening for the dragon to come back.

"Raine, there weren't always dragons in the Valley." She whispered this as if I should know what she meant and I replied in utter confusion, "What are you saying?"

"There weren't always dragons in the Valley. But their return means something malevolent. Something is changing - drawing them here."

"What do you mean? There have been dragons here ever since I was a little girl and they have never done anything like this before! What is happening?"

The sound of many footsteps came from outside along with voices. We looked at each other and Mother whispered "Stay here."

I stayed where I was and watched as she crept over to the window to peer between the shutters. A loud knock came at the door and a deep voice that I recognized as Hal's, our neighbor a mile down the road, shouted "Minnie, are you in there? Is Raine alright?"

Minerva, my Mother, walked over to the door, unbolted it, and stepped outside. I could just barely make out their voices. "She hasn't returned home. Have you seen her? What is happening?"

Why would she lie like that? She sounded afraid almost. I crept over to the window and peaked through the crack in the shutters as Mother had. I could see Hal standing in front of her with a hand behind his back. "Minnie why are you lying to me? I know Raine is in there." My eyes swept across the rest of the front yard and I saw villagers with torches and pitch forks. One of them had stepped inside the yard with a torch and was walking towards my window slowly, keeping an eye on Hal and Mother.

I looked back to Hal and saw that he had revealed from behind him a knife in his hand.

"What are you doing?" Mother asked him and she took a step back.

My heart began to beat faster and I watched in fear as Hal lunged at my mother, grabbed her by the hair and forced her to her knees.

"By the order of the new King, Liegos, you are sentenced to death for treason and this act will be carried out in his name" Hal shouted. The villagers cheered and shouted obscenities but I couldn't hear any of it as I watched frozen in fear. Hal held the blade to my mother's throat and cut it without hesitation. I screamed in utter agony and disbelief. My mother's body fell to the ground, lifeless, at the door. Her blood flowed across the dirt pathway. My agony and fear turned to blinding rage and I ran towards the door. Before I could get there, Hal had grabbed the door and pulled it shut. The villagers were hammering nails through the door frame and into the door as I was pulling on the rope handle to try to open it. It wouldn't budge. I screamed and pounded my fists on the door.

"How could you do this! Let me out!"

Hal's voice from outside sounded disgusted as he said "Set the place on fire. We will burn her inside." Pitch forks cracked through one of the shutters, and straw and torches were hurled through the window. In horror, I watched the straw catch fire quickly and begin to burn the floor and the ceiling above. I tried running to the other window but the shutters were being held shut. I banged my fists on them but they wouldn't open. Looking around frantically, I saw the fireplace and crawled inside. I tried to climb up the stone but slid back down, unable to grab hold of the edges. I crouched down and held my face in my hands as I screamed and cried in agony.

Suddenly I was jolted awake by a hand on my shoulder and another clasped over my mouth. I opened my eyes and Arlo was in front of me with one hand smothering my mouth and the other holding a finger over his lips to shush me. I swatted his hand away and breathed deeply trying to calm my pounding heart. It was daylight now, or as light as it could be anymore. The world still had a grey hue as if there was smoke from a fire filling the sky everywhere anyone went. Arlo pointed down to the ground and I could hear it then. Quiet voices of two men chatting and the sound of hooves trotting by. Leaning forward to get a look, I could see men in armour on horses. They wore the black and red colors of King Liegos. I quickly realized they were scouts and silently readied my bow and arrow in case they saw us. Arlo held a hand out and gently lowered the tip of my arrow. His eyes glowed softly and he faced the palm of his hand out away from us and waved it slowly in small circles. A haze of blue formed around us like being protected inside the thin membrane of an egg. We could see and hear the men below us but they wouldn't be able to detect us.

"That should protect us for a couple minutes" Arlo whispered as we watched them.

The men trotted by on the horses, never glancing in our direction, continuing on their path. When they were gone, Arlo and I grabbed our things and climbed down the tree.

"He's growing his borders. We've got to keep moving." I said and started off in the opposite direction from the scouts.

"Do you have any idea of where we are heading?" Arlo asked trying to keep up with me as I half jogged away.

"I remember a place my mother had mentioned once before. It's a small village called Hawke's Plain. She said she met my father there." I didn't want to say anything more about it. I hadn't told Arlo too much of my past though I was sure he had picked up on some things here and there.

"Raine wait up!" Arlo called from behind me.

"What?" I said as I turned around, exasperated by Arlo holding us up while we were in such a vulnerable and wide open space.

"Do you know how to get there?"

"No I don't but I figure we can ask someone at the next village we come across so let's go." I turned to walk away again. We had to keep moving.

"But Raine, wait!"

I stopped moving, took a calming breath and turned to face Arlo again. "Arlo we have to keep moving, they will come back this way again soon."

"I know but just listen to me. I think I know how to get there!"

Intrigued, I folded my arms and said, "And how do you know that?"

"Because that's where I was born."