Dragons Rise

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. In fact dragons used to rule the sky, they mingled with humans, they were free. It was a far cry from their current state of hiding away in the Valley of the Lost.

There used to be thousands. Their large forms used to dot the skies, their scales sparkling like gems in the sunlight. It was achingly beautiful and a sight I thoroughly missed now.

It seemed when the dragons ran, they took the sun with them and our nation was thrust into this endless gray void. The sun barely peeked through the seemingly never ending clouds. It wasn’t surprising despite what the King would have us believe. Dragons were of the earth, a species directly connected to the Creator. No wonder she was punishing us by hiding away her beauty and keeping us in the dark.

It all started ten years ago, when Arik, the crazed King, came into rule over Avestria. He was human and prejudiced against all other creatures. Luckily for the elves and mages his prejudice didn’t affect them too much. The elves stuck with their own kind and their kingdom was strong and fortified. Arik wouldn’t have risked causing a war with them. He might win, but the losses would be too great. As for the mages, they went into hiding. After all, they looked just like humans. It was easy for them to blend in. The dragons, however, were a different matter.

Dragons, although they had a human form, needed to shift into their dragons frequently to survive. In essence they couldn’t hide, at least not for long, not if they wanted to live. I’d seen dragons refuse to shift and it wasn’t pretty. They became weak, sickly, until they were nothing but bones and their life source left them. It was horribly sad and made my body hum with rage.

These were people. Dragons, elves, mages, humans, it didn’t matter. But no matter how badly I wanted to scream until my throat was raw that the King was an evil piece of garbage and his laws were as backwards and as vile as him, I couldn’t. Not without being labeled a dissident. Then I would be in the same boat as the dragons and what good could I do then?

It started out small. First, came segregation. Dragons couldn’t use the same bathhouses, they couldn’t shop at certain markets. Then they couldn’t live in certain areas. And it got worse and worse, until the night that truly thrust our world into a darkness I wasn’t sure we would ever recover from.

I had woken to blood curdling screams that pierced the night. My stomach had dropped and then my entire being filled with a sick dread as I pulled on my clothes and armor and raced outside to see a massacre that would haunt me for the rest of my days.

The worst part? The dragons weren’t even shifting to fight back or escape, but fighting with their bare hands instead and running on two feet. Because if they shifted in the tightly packed spaces of the city, they would topple buildings, kill other innocent lives. The sight made me want to weep.

Arik was a fool. He feared the dragons for their power so he sought to eliminate them, but if he knew even an ounce of their culture, their beliefs, he would know they were no threat. Dragons championed knowledge and peace. Yes they were powerful, but they only used their power to protect their loved ones and themselves, but never at the cost of an innocent’s life.

I thrusted myself into the fray, desperately trying to save as many lives as I could. I was young, just seventeen, but even back then my body was built like a tank and what I lacked in experience I made up for in pure strength. My father had trained me outside of the military and I had never been more grateful. My fighting was dirty and raw and not what the soldiers were anticipating. It gave me an edge.

By the end of the night I had killed about as many as I saved, because I knew if any of the soldiers I came across lived, they would undoubtedly report I was fighting on the wrong side.

It wasn’t enough.

Thousands of dragons had lived in our Kingdom. Thousands. When all was said and done only several hundred managed to escape.

That night had changed me. I used to be this boy who believed in the best of people, saw the good in everything. But it was pretty hard to see the good in life when you were covered head to toe in blood and surrounded by mutilated corpses.

Gone were the carless smiles, the easy laughs. In its place was a cold hardness and a determination to fight back against Arik’s unjust tyranny in any way I could. And that’s exactly what I did.

For the last ten years I made it my mission to help out and save as many dragons as possible. Some escaped untouched that night, but hadn’t managed to flee, so I helped them to get away. In doing so, I inadvertently founded an underground society of loyal, good people I trusted to help me. The people of the city nicknamed us Salvagers. Wasn't the best name, but it was apt.

One of the loyal people I counted on happened to be my best friend Kaas. He fought that night too, but somehow it didn’t change him the way it had me. He still had this exuberance and boyish charm that had essentially evaporated from me. But it worked out, because creatures weren’t inclined to trust a human with a permanent scowl that was built like a truck.

My overall appearance was off putting, as Kaas had repeatedly reminded me. I was nearly six foot four with wide shoulders and tattoos adorning my bronzed arms. My raven black hair was shaved on the sides with the top long and normally pulled back in a bun or ponytail. But what was probably most disconcerting were my light blue eyes that were so light they were almost silver. Not sure why, but they tended to freak people out. Kaas said it made my look more intense. Which was fine by me. My intense look kept soldiers from looking too closely at my going ons.

“Are we really doing this?” Kaas asked for what had to be the hundredth time since we left the inner city walls. “I mean if we mess this up, our whole operation kind of falls apart.”

I didn’t even attempt to hide my irritable sigh before I answered, “For the last time Kaas. If we don’t do this there won’t be an operation.” The operation being our current system in place to get creatures, dragons and mages alike, out of the city.

I shot him a piercing glare. “You heard the soldiers for yourself. They are planning on marching on the Valley of the Lost. Without the Valley there is no safe place for dragons or any other creatures looking for refuge. We have to warn them. We have to convince them to ask for help.”

It was a long shot and I knew it, but we had to try. We had to convince the dragons to try. Dragons were proud beings, but they didn’t have the numbers to repel an attack from Arik by themselves. Avestria had grown in the last ten years and I wouldn’t be surprised if the force the King sent was at least five thousand strong.

That was the reason for this whole expedition. Kaas and I were going to try and save the last safe place for all creatures. The Valley of the Lost was said to be breathtaking, but it was like a natural fortress. Large, staggering cliffs lined either side of it, leaving only one narrow entrance. To get to the entrance was a task in it of itself. The terrain on the journey to it was said to be treacherous. It made it as hard to invade as it did to make a quick getaway. But I had to imagine at least a few thousand would find their way through.

My best friend was already shaking his head, his shaggy brown hair falling in his eyes. “Maybe we can convince them to prepare, to fight back, but to go to the elves? … I mean this madness Eder. The elves have never helped anyone but themselves, why would they do so this time?”

I gritted my teeth hard in an effort not to snap at him. For a guy that radiated a personality made of rainbows and sunshine he was awfully pessimistic. “Because they are in danger too. You think Arik is just going to stop after he eradicates the dragons? No. He’s going to go after the elves next. I’m sure of it.”

I halted and grabbed Kaas’ shoulder bringing him to an abrupt stop with me. “He needs to be stopped, Kaas. If this continues there will be nothing left. The Creator has abandoned us and will continue to do so until we do what is right and fix what has been wronged.”

He rolled his eyes at me. Rolled his freakin eyes.

“Okay, okay. I don’t need your justice for all speech. I’m with you alright. To the fires with that guy. He is the worst and needed to have his head chopped off ten years ago.” He let out a breath. “I’m just tired. You know I get negative when I haven’t had a good bath…” I smirked as he lifted his arm to take a whiff and grimaced hard enough to permanently leave lines on his face. “… Speaking of which, when is the next inn coming up?”

“Can’t handle a little dirt, pretty boy?” I teased even though it was entirely true.

Kaas was a pretty boy if I ever did see one. He was just about six feet, well muscled, short brown shaggy brown hair that women seemed to love, hazel eyes that left everyone dazzled, men and women both, and a smile that was sickeningly charming. He was a good guy, despite his upbringing as a son of one of the nobles. I was fairly positive his parents were the only decent people in King Arik’s court. They didn’t seem to care that their son’s best friend was a blacksmith from the lower rings of the inner city.

Despite making the armor for almost all of the military my father and I got hardly any recognition. Surprise, surprise. But Kaas’ parents weren’t elitist like that. They enjoyed my father and I’s company and overpaid us whenever they needed our services despite us arguing against it. In the end we gave up, because if we didn’t, we would find money in absurd places. In our kitchen hidden in our pots and pans, in our bathhouse, in our pillow cases. Creator only knew how they managed to do it. My father and I’s running bet was they were paying their servants to sneak into our home while we slept or while we were in the forge.

Kaas snorted, “I know, I know, I’m being a brat, but I really underestimated the advantage of a good shower. We smell like a donkey’s ass.” He grimaced again and I huffed out something that could have been considered a laugh. It was as close as I got to one anyway.

“Maybe you should turn back.” I said jokingly. “The further we get away from the inner city the less baths we will see, and I’m fairly positive we will have a long stretch of no baths before we get to the Valley and who knows if the dragons have made bathhouses?” I was sure they did, but I could never pass up the opportunity to tease my pretty boy best friend. It was endlessly amusing him watching him struggle on beside me, complaining how heavy his pack on his back was, and how he missed civilization, despite the fact we could still see the wall of the inner city in the distance and there were buildings along the road just more spread out. Still approaching the open wild seemed to unnerve him.

He shot a scathing look my way which only partly covered up his horror at that possibility. “The dragons aren’t heathens like you, who enjoy being covered in sweat and grime. They will have bathhouses, I am sure of it.” Then he threw a halfhearted punch into my shoulder, “And like I would leave you to wander in the wild by yourself. What kind of best friend do you take me for?”

“An annoying one?” I supplied which earned me another punch.

We were making this trek on foot, because only soldiers had access to horses. Yet another way for Arik to exert his control. I wasn't exaggerating before. He needed to go. He was throwing our world out of balance. He was like a plague sweeping across the land and tarnishing everything he touched. I was done with getting small wins. We needed to do something more, something bigger, and this was our chance. For the first time in ten years, it felt like we were finally going to make a difference. We just had to convince some prideful dragons to ask for help and then convince xenophobic elves to actually help. What could go wrong?