Elysian Valley

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley, or so the story goes. Once upon a time, Elysian Valley was animated by swathes of purple flowers that danced in the sun, and sunshine that sang to the trees as they stretched towards open skies on their journey of perpetual growth. Creatures of all kind – including humans and elves – had gathered at the foot of the springs together, to drink the cool clear water which bubbled down from the mountains bringing life to everything it touched.

Those days were rarely talked about anymore, though, except insofar the more right-leaning Elysians heralded them as a promise of what the Great Reclaiming would bring. Elysian Valley was instead characterised by dark and dense forests, and the constant threat of death by fire or feasting dragons. Those who remembered better times had long passed and their descendants had become accustomed to the dark damp dankness of the mountain caverns, tunnels and halls that generations before them had dug out to flee The Fires.

Like the rest of her cohort, D’Vinia had learned about The Fires when she first started at the Seminary at the age of five. Five centuries before her generation was spawned, only one generation after the Elysians had expanded their settlement into the Elysian Valley, the blue sky turned red and fire bore down upon their settlement. Fire had rained from the sky for three days, they were told, destroying homes and burning people alive, before their Ancestors had fled into the hills. That’s when the dragons settled in, and started nesting, and the Ancestors dug their caverns deeper into the mountains. With nowhere else to go, they had watched helplessly as the dragons proliferated and pilllaged neighbouring villages. In time, the Elysians determination to reclaim their Valley became a net they threw over every aspect of their lives; a net which would bind all future generations until the Valley was theirs once again.

No one could really say for sure where the dragons had come from, or The Fires either for that matter. Some say the sky itself had opened up and spewed forth fire, which burned everything in its path before solidifying permanently into the form of dragons. Others say the dragons were flown in by the Elves, and their fiery breath set upon the Elysians in the night. Whatever the truth, the reality was that there were dragons in the valley - and humans in the mountains – and each generation of Elysians was cursed to continue the eternal battle until they somehow vanquished the dragons and the Elysians were able to return to Elysian Valley.

D’Vinia was part of the Sixth Generation. A girl of ten, with long dark hair and skin as pale as the moon that illuminated their night-time hunts, she was barely distinguishable from the other children her age, at least in terms of appearance. The daughter of an Exploration Chief and a Sustainability Scientist, she was imbued with a boldness that marked her as a leader in her cohort, but a curiosity that landed her in more trouble than favour at the Seminary.

Soon D’Vinia would be put through the Sorting Rite which would designate her the role that she would play in the Twelth Generation’s Venture; their attempt at reclaiming the Valley, which they were to design themselves based on their skill and knowledge base. Part of the Venture would also necessarily include a number of roles designed to gaurantee the survival of the Elysians in their current circumstances. In case the vanquishing failed; as it often did.

The Seminary Guardians had marked D'Vinia as an Explorer, to follow in her mother’s footsteps, but their amateur prediction science was not precise. D’Vinia’s fate could not be known until it was read and proclaimed by the High Priestess herself.

With the Sorting Rite was still some months away, D’Vinia was determined to make the most of her time to play; a time when she was in charge of her own destiny, even if for only a few hours a night.

The full moon was high in the sky on this particular night, when D’Vinia spilled forth from the mountain with her cohort and their Guardians.

“Okay young ones, you know the rules. Don’t go further than the marsh plain and don’t stray off without your buddy. See you all back here, on our call,” instructed Marta, Head Guardian.

D’Vinia was already skipping down the mountainside, pebbles sliding and crunching beneath her feet, a trail of dust rising gently into the cool air behind her. Jacub – her Guardian-assigned ‘buddy’ – let out a disgruntled huff as he scrambled to follow her.

“Dee! Wait up!” he called impatiently.

“No time! Keep up!” She called back, leading Jacub quickly away from the huddle of children spreading out slowly from the secret doorway in the mountainside, like ants on a carcass. He had been assigned to her since Day One. He really should have been better at this by now.

The doorway was located only metres from the bottom of the mountain, to allow for the mountain-dwelling Elysians to come and go from the mountain, undetected. It lead from the Main Mountain into the neighbouring valley, where dragons were reported to visit but never to nest. No one would risk venturing into this valley in the precariousness of daylight when dragons were known to hunt, but the cover of darkness provided a much-needed reprieve; a moment for the Mountain People to breathe in fresh air, hunt capi-deer and gather plant materials for food and study.

D’Vinia halted when she reached the bottom of the mountain, where the trees grew thicker and closer together and the darkness intensified. The canopy was so thick that not even a hint of the fragile moonlight could penetrate it. She needed to give her eyesight time to adjust, and Jacub a moment to catch up with her. Not that it mattered. She would lose him once they entered the forest, anyway, but it was best to let the Guardians think she was buddied up.

“DON’T lose me, this time! We’ll both get in trouble if they find out!” he gasped, lumbering up beside her.

“Well, learn to keep up then, slowpoke!” D’Vinia teased, throwing Jacub a quick sideways glance and springing energetically forward onto the dark forest path.

Picking up speed and leaving Jacub in her wake, D’Vinia darted through trees and leapt nimbly over roots, imagining herself to be some kind of forest cat. The sounds of the other children fell away, as she went deeper into the forest, and a sense of peacefulness settled over her.

D’Vinia breathed in deeply and smiled, savouring the feeling of the mould-free air in her lungs and the gentle breeze on her cheeks, before her mind turned to what she might find when she reached her secret stash spot beneath the old elm tree.

Had it hatched yet?

Could it really be what she thought it was – a real life dragon’s egg?! It was pretty small, but... everything start’s out small, right? Surely, she couldn’t be in any danger while it was only a baby.

What if it had hatched during the day? Would it wait for her? Would it think she was it’s mother, and learn to trust her?

That was the plan, and she couldn’t see why it wouldn’t work.

She wasn't sure what the next part of the plan was, but she wasn't one for worrying about minor details. Maybe she would train the dragon to become her pet and together they would lead an army to slay the wild dragons. Maybe it would act as mediator, and broker a peace treaty between dragons and humans. Maybe she would study it and learn its weakness, which would form the basis of the Twelth Generation's Venture and lead them to victory for their people!

Having lived in the darkness beneath the mountains for generations, D’Vinia’s people had developed a keen sense of smell, to compensate for the fact that their eyes could only show them so much. Leaving the well-worn path, D’Vinia clambered over roots and fallen branches, heading in the general direction of the elm. As she sniffed at the air for the scent of reedcake that she had left with the egg the previous night – in case the egg hatched and the baby was hungry – she caught a hint of something else; something unfamiliar.

D’Vinia’s body tensed and slowed, as she inhaled as quietly as she could and racked her brain for a clue as to what she was smelling. It smelled vaguely like cinnamon, which soothed her nerves. Cinammon was not a dangerous smell.

Approaching the roots of the elm she peered into the shadows to try and make out the light blue shade of the egg, but nothing materialised.

Reaching the tree, it became apparent that the egg and the cake were indeed gone. D’Vinia let out an angry shriek and kicked the elm tree in frustration, before sinking to the forest floor to wallow in her despair.

Her plan was ruined!

But suddenly, the unfamiliar smell filled her nostrils and bought her back to the forest. Opening her eyes, D’Vinia was alarmed to see a pair of bare feet not two steps from her face!

Dirty human feet?!

D’Vinia sat immediately upright and appraised her visitor, wide-eyed and alert.

Not human! Elven!

The elf girl looked abut the same age as D’Vinia, and not much different from a human except that her skin was dark from a life in the sun and her hair was so sun-bleached and bright it almost looked as if she wore the moon on her head. She was wrapped in some sort of fur, draped around her delicate bird-boned body, that obscured anything she held in her hands.

D’Vinia could tell the girl was elven because of her eyes, which glowed soft and golden, as though filled with liquid sunlight. She wore a gold band on her head, which matched the gold of her eyes and further added to the aura of majesty that somehow emanated from her.

D’Vinia’s mouth fell open as she took in the strange beauty of the elf girl. She had never met an elf before. She had been taught they were to be feared, for their evil tricks and malevolent magic they commanded, but D’Vinia felt only tranquillity at that moment.

Holding D’Vinia’s gaze, the elf girl slowly unwrapped one hand from underneath her fur coat and dropped something onto the ground in front of D’Vinia. Looking down, D’Vinia immediately recognised her reedcake.

"Hey!" D'Vinia snapped her head back up to glare accusingly at the elf-girl. "That means you have the egg too!"

The elf-girl smiled without showing her teeth, and then shook her head forcefully.

"Well where is it then?!" D'Vinia demanded.

The elf-girl opened her mouth as if she were about to speak but then closed it again, pursing her lips, and shrugged.

Before D'Vinia could protest, she spoke. At least D'Vinia thought she spoke. She didn't actually seem to speak out loud but rather her voice floated directly into D'Vinia's mind; a whisper carried on a soft melodic tune that felt familiar somehow, but she couldn't quite place.

It's where it belongs. As you should be too. But since you're not, maybe you could be useful to me.

D'Vinia blinked, unsure if she should answer with her voice or her thoughts. Could this elf-girl read her mind?

Meet me here again tomorrow. If you dare. And I promise I will show you what you want to see.

Before D'Vinia could answer, or ask her what the elf-girl thought it was she wanted to see, there came the loud crackling of hurried, heavy footsteps in the mid-distance and Jacub came hurtling through the darkness to the left of the elf-girl. He stumbled harder and fell faster with each clumsy step he took, until he came crashing down beside D'Vinia on the damp forest floor with a loud thud.

By the time he had landed, the elf-girl had disappeared.

"JACUB! What's wrong with you?! You great bloody clutz!" howled D'Vinia. "You scared her off!"

Jacub looked up sheepishly, and frowned. "Scared who off?"

"You didn't see her? The elf-girl!" D'Vinia proclaimed, standing and dusting herself off before offering her hand to Jacub to help him to his feet.

"I could barely see anything, I was trying to focus on not tripping over the tree roots!" he moaned, grabbing hold of D'Vinia's hand and nearly toppling her as used it to pull himself to standing.

Fat lot of good that did. D'Vinia thought miserably to herself.

"I thought I heard your voice so I was running towards it before you stopped talking and I couldn't find you again! I was trying to find you. You're the one who is being the idiot here. You know we're not meant to go off the path, or go off by ourselves!" Jacub exclaimed. "And anyway, you're being ridiculous. Everyone knows that elves are extinct."

They made their way back to the door in the mountain in silence.

Only three more moons to go before they would be free from 'buddying' with each other.

Only three more moons to go before D'Vinia lost her freedom - and with it, her newfound elven friend - forever.

She would have to lose Jacub properly tomorrow night. Her future depended on it.