Blood & Fire

I

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. But in the time before the celestial powers decided dragons could not exist in the lands of men… they flourished.

They soared overhead in majestic litheness, their bodies (different shades of blue, green, and red) shining in the sun.

This is a story of that time, when magic was real and dragons roamed the skies.

Kernac the bold saw his son’s hypnotized eyes, eager to hear more. Kernac loved this story, and his son (who had just turned eight) was now old enough to appreciate it. And learn the truth.

II

In the beginning times of life, all beings lived in a kind of equilibrium with one another; everything was balanced. Death and killing only occurred when food was needed. Man and creature lived amongst each other peacefully.

Everything is temporary, though.

III

It began with men, of course, and the dissension amongst tribes. Petty disagreements from neighboring chieftains, all because of simple miscommunication (or a lack of communication altogether). Jealousies between them developed; resentments grew and festered. Simple wars broke out; bodies began littering the countryside. There was no foreseeable end to the death and disagreements.

IIII

It was when my grandfather’s men was out chasing a rival tribe that they found the beast.

V

It was massive, and unlike anything they had seen before. It was described to me as a giant winged lizard. It was dying.

It didn’t resist my grandfather and his people; it simply stared at them, its breaths getting weaker and shallower.

“We were scared,” he told me. “We did what we thought was right; we put it out of its misery. It didn’t fight back.”

VI

They found them a few kilometers away from the beast’s body. They didn’t know what they were at first; they didn’t think that a mother would keep her children so far away from her.

There were six of them; large, black, and jagged. They thought they were strange boulders at first. But they were warm. And they felt something moving inside.

VII

They took them back to their camp. My grandfather couldn’t explain why, but he felt they were special, and should be kept.

It was months before they proved their worth.

VIII

They began hatching on the moon’s crest; perhaps that had something to do with it.

“It was the middle of the night when it happened,” my grandfather told me. “We were alerted to a cry we had never heard before.”

IX

It was a weird screeching; a sound of fear and… almost sadness.

X

They looked exactly like their mother, but colored differently. Their mother (they assumed it was a mother, anyway) was colored a deep emerald, and while two shared their mother’s appearance, two were crimson, one was sapphire, and one was gold.

XI

When my grandfather and his men returned to their land, his people thought little of the odd-colored lizards that accompanied them; they were small (compared to when they were full grown), about the size of an eagle. The people were unaware of the potential power they had.

XII

A strange tranquility came over my grandfather’s tribe after their return with the strange lizards. My grandfather said they spoke to him in his mind. He said they were dragons, and they were sent to help create peace among the peoples of the earth. They said they were to remain with my grandfather and his tribe until they reached adulthood, upon which time they would venture out to the other tribes of the earth, teaching them the secrets of magic, and the path to long-lasting peace.

XIII

Rumors of strange, gargantuan lizards whose wings eclipsed the sun traveled to neighboring tribes. The chieftains became fearful of these strange creatures, and decided they could not be trusted; they were seen as dangerous and unnatural things. They banded together, and ambushed my grandfather and his people.

XIV

My grandfather’s tribe was attacked in the middle of the night. A scream of pain and terror echoed through the night as the first dragon was slaughtered.

XV

Try as they might, my grandfather and his people were caught off guard, and outnumbered. They tried to save the dragons and themselves, but there were simply too many of them. My father and a handful of women and children were saved. Everything else perished under an enemy’s blade.

XVI

Kernac took his son’s hand, and began taking him to a cave a couple kilometers away from their hut. He told his son that was the story that is told to others, but the true story is only known to him, and now, to his son.

XVII

The cave was dark. Kernac took a blade and sliced his hand. Green flame shot from his wound, illuminating the cave. A large, black, jagged boulder was at the very rear of the cave. Kernac told his son that his father (15 at the time of the massacre) was among those fighting the intruders, trying to protect the dragons.

He was wounded, and bleeding. He saw an enemy heading towards the gold dragon, an axe in his hand. He tried to get there in time, but he was too late. He was able to stop the axe-wielding murderer, but not before the dragon’s throat was slit. The dragon bled all over my father, its blood mixing with his own from his wound.

XVIII

“Our family has been forever changed since then,” Kernac told his son. “We are special, imbued with the power of those magical creatures. You share this magic with me, my son. I will teach you to use it. And together, we will bring these creatures back, and avenge our family.”

XIX

The jagged boulder was warm. Kernac placed his bloodied hand upon it, his green flaming blood dripping down. A fire began at the base of the boulder. Sounds of movement could be heard from inside.

XX

The boulder began to crack and break.