Chapter 1

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. They had only made it their home when the toxins in the air became deadly, driving any surviving humans into the Three Cities. Standing at the top of the Valley, I can only hope that my father helped me make the right choice. Otherwise, this mask, these goggles, this sword, and the fate of humanity had been placed in the wrong hands. Please let this work, I think to myself as I turn the knob on my goggles to the setting that allows me to see the toxins swirling around. As I look at where I’m standing, I see the usual green strands that writhe through the air, marking the poison, yet as I look into the Valley, they seem to dissipate, as though the air down there is clean, which I was not anticipating.

“Well, time to go talk to a dragon,” I say aloud, adjusting my goggles and pulling my sword from its sheath.

I am the first reported human to have willingly been exiled to the Outside, I picked a law and broke it, even faced one of the Rulers. Talking to a dragon should be no big deal. Besides, my father risked exile himself sneaking me this equipment, if I don’t at least try, what good would that risk be? Though the people inside of the Cities don’t know it, when the rulers exile people, they expect them to die, they know what the air will do to us. But the rulers got the benefits of population control without seeming too unforgiving when they chose to kick people out, rather than put them under. Even with the equipment to survive Outside, I know my chances of making it back with a good enough reason for the guards to let me return are slim. Death can’t be the worst thing, and I’d rather be offed attempting to speak to a dragon than go out the way everyone else Outside has.

As I step forward, beginning my descent into the Valley, I try to prepare myself for what might wait at the bottom. I grew up with stories of dragons after all. Though the ones that my mother had told before she got sick had contrasted greatly with the ones we learned about in school. In both places they were great beasts with shimmering scales and large claws, but my mother had portrayed them as gentle creatures who had once cared for humanity, while our teachers told us that they were demons who had corrupted the Outside – filling it with monsters from the depths of Hell.

My mother used to tell me tales of the era of the Fireborne, humans with dragon blood coursing through their veins – a result of a pact made long ago. They had more strength than ten of the strongest guards, and their friendship with the dragons had meant that enemies from the darker parts of the world would never dare to threaten us. She had told me of the kindness seen in a dragon’s eyes, and the wisdom they imparted to weary travelers who ventured toward their homes. I hope that those are the dragons I meet at the bottom, the alternative is something I would rather not consider.

My trek was becoming more difficult as I made my way down. It was starting to get dark now, and it was harder to see where the rocks were. Don’t fall now Jace, I think to myself, rolling into a pile of sleeping dragons is not going to be the best way to start this conversation. The fading light was making it more difficult to push away thoughts of the demons that might be waiting below. Even knowing that dragons had not called forth monsters from Hell, and that it had really been the fear of a powerful scientist that had caused the toxicity in the air, recalling the images from my text books made it hard not to imagine that there could be some truth to what my teachers had said. Perhaps I was walking up towards pitch black creatures of evil nature, ready to consume my soul and give my body to their young. I shuddered as images of inky claws reached out of the Valley towards me.

“Perhaps this would be a good time to rest for a moment,” I mumble quietly to my sword.

As I slowly lower myself to the ground, unsure of what I might sit on, I look around me. Though I was seeing through a mask, I could still tell that the stars were beginning to come out. My whole life I had only seen them through the dome that covered City One. My goggles were allowing for more clarity than the dome had, and I couldn’t help but be amazed by how brightly they seemed to shine. It made me want to take my goggles off, to be able to see those stars with nothing to filter out a single ounce of their brilliance. I wish I had been born before the world became so small, I found myself thinking. Allowing myself to imagine a world where humans were free of the domes and the rules… even free of the lies our rulers told, was not something I did very often. Trying to picture something you cannot fully fathom often leads to an over exaggeration of how good it is, making the reality of today feel worse than it really is. I know that things can get better, but I also know that today’s humans are not prepared for a world that isn’t dictated by strict policies and limited supplies – and they certainly aren’t ready to be faced with the truth of our past. Sighing, I stand back up and stretch, the break was good but no matter how long I sit here I still have to keep going at the end of it.

As I continue down, doing my best to avoid rocks and any large bushes, I notice that it feels easier to breathe than it did at the top. My face is hot and sweaty in the mask, but I don’t have to try as hard to pull in clean air. I can feel my stomach starting to twist in excitement, and my heart is beating faster. I know it would be foolish, but the mask is irritating, and I’m tempted to take it off. We don’t wear these inside the Cities and it’s hard to look past the discomfort of the rubbery material that’s been pulled tight around my mouth since dawn this morning. I fall a few times as the slope down increases. Luckily, my clothes haven’t been torn. No one really knows what will happen if your blood is exposed to the toxic air around me, I do know though, that I don’t want to be the one to find out.

I’m almost there now, one more break to calm my nerves and then I’ll be talking to a dragon. Well, as long as it doesn’t kill me on sight anyways. I suck some water through the hose in my mask and lean back to look at the sky again. I hope my friends are doing alright. I couldn’t tell them why I broke the law or let them know that I would be okay Outside. The three of them had come to my trial, and it was hard to look at them when the Ruler had announced the inevitable. They didn’t know that I was essentially being sent to my death, but they did know that the exiled are never seen again. I think that most people have an idea of what exile really means, even if they believe it’s caused by demons rather than breathing unfiltered air, but they choose to ignore it, to imagine that the rule breakers have a society in the Mountain where they are able to defend themselves from monsters. I suppose that’s easier than accepting that your governing body uses it as an excuse to control the population size.

My friends were allowed to say goodbye to me before I was sent out of the gates. I didn’t have to act when they each took turns telling me they loved me. I cried a little bit. I mean, I knew I would be okay but that still didn’t mean I’d be able to see them again. Serena had hugged me, sneaking a small bottle of her homemade perfume into my pocket. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with that, but she said it would be good to have in case there weren’t any showers. I guess I’m grateful I have something to remind me of home. Maybe the dragons will like it enough to let me live if I give them some?

Trey had grasped my hand and given me a sort of chest bump. He told me I was an idiot, but that he’d take care of Lara and Serena. I was glad they would have him there. Trey is a good guy, wouldn’t let them get caught up in any trouble. That was easy to do with all the rules the Cities had.

Lara was the last to say goodbye. I could tell she hadn’t really wanted to. She’d spent most of the time we were allowed standing behind the other two with her hand on her arm, looking at the ground. She’s my best friend. I love all of them, but if the feelings have time to set in, I’m going to miss her the most. We had trained in sword fighting together, and our fathers were both scientists and best friends. I had spent a lot of time at her house after my mom died. When our dad’s had late nights, her mom would take care of the two of us. She hadn’t said anything though until the guard had called out “three more minutes,” then she had come running over to me. I thought she was going to give me a hug, but she punched me in the face instead. I guess I deserved that. She hugged me after though and made me promise not to let the monsters eat me. Yeah, if I never see her again that will be my only regret. I just want to be able to explain what I did someday.

Standing up again, I brush the dirt and grass off myself, and finish my trek down. I don’t know if I’ll ever see my friends or my father again, but I’m going to do my best to make the world a little better for all of them. Sword readied for the last time, I reach the bottom and as I am about to start walking forward, a great shadow appears in front of me.

“Hello little adventurer, we have been waiting for one of your kind,” the dragon says, and he smiles as he wraps a claw around me lifts me up into the air.

I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I’m not dead, and as long as I am not dead, I have a chance to change things. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and ask a dragon to help the humans right the wrong that we alone had caused.