FireStorm: the Arrival

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. In fact, they had never come that far south. For as long as Murial could remember, the dragons had always been content to stay in their northern home in the Shadow mountains. At least, that is what her grandfather told her.

Growing up, he told her and her brother countless stories of the dragons and their mountain home. It was a sight few humans ever got to lay their eyes on. When she was young, she had always wanted to see a dragon. Her Grandfather would just chuckle and say maybe one day it would happen. Murial’s first encounter with dragons was not one of awe and excitement. It was, however, one of terror and loss.

The news of the dragons’ arrival came one sunny day, just like any other summer day. A group of men came riding into town one day, their mounts breathing heavily with foam flecked mouths and legs. Their riders looked worse, their faces were pale, and their eyes were wide and full of terror. Murial recognized them instantly as men she knew were from a town two days north of them, closer to the northern border of the valley. They were riding frantically through the town, shouting as loud as they could to anyone who would listen. “Run! The dragons have come! They are burning everything in their path run!” As this had never happened before, many of the villagers ignored the riders and went about their day.

Murial dropped her water pail and ran to her house. She burst through the door to see her mother and grandfather sitting at the table. They both looked up at her in surprise. She quickly relayed the news she heard from the riders to them. Her mother looked very skeptical. Her Grandfather however, looked at her and then back at her mother. “Quick! Pack some supplies and grab Callen. We need to leave as soon as we can.” Her mother looked at him in shock. “You said yourself the dragons don’t come this far south into human lands.” Her grandfather looked at her earnestly. “They don’t and that’s why we need to leave. Nothing good would bring them this far south.” Her mother, stubborn as ever, looked at him, her skepticism still prevalent on her face. “This is our home. Our lives are here. Why should I abandon that over the words of a few northerners?” Her grandfather moved with snakelike quickness as he clasped her mother’s shoulders tightly and looked directly in her eyes with a fear and earnestness Murial had never seen before.

“Meera, do you want to lose your children to a dragon firestorm? Because that is what will happen if you stay here.” His voice was calm but had a deadly seriousness to it. Her mother was silent for a moment. Her mother was stubborn about many things. Chief among of those was the safety of her and her younger brother. She figured her grandfather was playing off that to get her to listen to him. Her grandfather’s reaction scared her though. He was normally a lighthearted and kind man. This seriousness and fear she was seeing in his eyes were new to Murial. Her mother got the message and turned to her. “Go get your brother and get some clothes together.”

Murial nodded and went outside to where her brother was playing with a couple of his friends. “Quick, Mother wants us.” She called to him. He came running toward her with his blonde curly hair bouncing as he ran. She grabbed his hand when he got to her and took him back to the house. Once there, they quickly threw together supplies for a journey. The four of them left promptly after that, Murial’s grandfather leading them out of town at a steady clip. Callen had asked several questions about why they were leaving. Her mother just told him they were going on a trip south. Callen asked a few more questions after that. Her mother simply told him she would answer all his questions later. Callen nodded and stayed quiet after that.

They kept their pace until they came to a small hill in the southwest region of the valley. Once at the base of the hill the group clambered up the side of it until they came to the edge of the forest that borders the valley to the southwest. Murial and her family slightly winded from their journey paused a moment to catch their breath. While doing so they ran their eyes back over the valley. They could see their village off in the distance surrounded by lush green grass. Murial had never seen anything so beautiful before. The wind moving across the valley floor moved the tips of the grass from side to side. It looked to Murial like the grass was waving at her. Her eyes drifted back to where their village was and then farther beyond. That’s when she noticed the shapes in the sky. She had never seen anything like that before. They seemed to move toward the village. She looked more intently toward the shapes in the sky.

Her breath caught when she realized what they were, dragons, they were dragons.

There were dozens of them circling her village. That’s when it happened. Collectively, the dragons rained fire down on the village, consuming everything. Murial watched as the only home she had ever known went up in flames. She didn’t know if anyone made it out in time. She desperately hoped some had.

“Look away children!” her mother called as she grabbed on to Murial and Callen’s arm and hurried them into the forest. They ran as fast as they could. Murial struggled not to trip over rocks and branches. Low-hanging branches struck her face as they ran. Finally, they stopped at the roots of an old oak tree. They were all out of breath, panting heavily.

Callen looked at Murial and then at their mother. “What was that mama?” his voice wavering and squeaky, his face was red, and tear stained. Their mother looked at Callen and did her best to wash the fear from her face. “Those were dragons, son.” “What were they doing mama?” “I don’t know, son, I don’t know.” She said, shaking her head, her voice shaky. Murial looked at her grandfather. “Do you know what’s going on?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

Her grandfather shook his head. “I don’t know, child, they never come this far south.” “Well, they have now.” Murial’s mother said, throwing up her arms in frustration. Murial's Grandfather sighed heavily and wiped a hand across his face. “It would seem they have, my dear.” “Why would they do that?” Murial asked her grandfather. Her grandfather shook his head. “I don’t know, child.” Her mother looked at her grandfather, an incredulous look on her face. “How many stories have you told the kids about dragons? Is there none of them that would explain this?”

Her grandfather rubbed his hand over his beard and stayed silent for several moments. “There is one legend that might explain this.” He said finally, his voice thoughtful. “What legend is that?” Murial asked. Her grandfather sighed. “There is a legend about a stone very precious to the dragons. According to the legend, it’s a large red stone called the Heartstone. The legend says that it contains the collective memories of all dragons, living and dead. The dragons guard it fiercely and will exact terrible vengeance on any who try to take it. At least that’s what the legend says.”

“Do you think someone took the Heartstone?” Murial’s mother asked. Her grandfather shrugged. “I don’t know. It is only a legend.”

“Where do we go now?” asked Murial. Her grandfather looked thoughtfully at her and her mother. “There is one place we could go.” He said hesitantly.

Her mother narrowed her eyes at him. “Where would that be?” she asked, a hint of suspicion creeping into her voice. “The one place that would have the answers we seek, the home of the Dragon Scholars.” Her mother scoffed. “The Dragon Scholars, they’re only a myth.” Murial’s grandfather shook his head. “No, my child, they are very real and are only a week south of here.”

“What are the Dragon Scholars?” asked Murial. Her grandfather smiled down at her. “They are an ancient order of men dedicated to gaining and preserving knowledge about dragons.” “Wow, they sound cool.” Callen spoke up. “They definitely have their moments.” Their grandfather chuckled. “Would you like to meet them?” he asked. Callen nodded his head vigorously. “Meera, is that agreeable to you?” Meera sighed and nodded her head. “Excellent, that settles it, we are off to Arilon.”