Fonlain's Ascent

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley.

Fonlain looked back on those times fondly as what was left for him now in the Valley was a slow approaching but sure death waiting to meet him. He had harbored no hope to escape this fate yet still he climbed through the damp misty woods that crept up the Valley walls in a gradual incline. The aching of his aged joints was only worsened by the bleak conditions of the morning but the pain was a faint raw throb at the back of his mind, this was not the time for pain he’d have time to hurt when he was dead.

As he ascended the bleak Valley wall his mind began to wonder piercing through the endless impenetrable fog ahead and coasting towards matters he wished only to forget. But could not.

***

It was as normal a day, like the one before, and the one before that when Fonlain had risen from his rest. He stumbled from his comfortable bed and began to wipe the sleep from his eyes as he groggily went through the motions of his morning, getting dressed, cleaning himself, eating breakfast, and tending to the animals

By the time he had finished with the animals, the sun had climbed to the mid-point in the sky so he began to make his way back towards the house to prepare something for his lunch. He was cut short by the sight of a young man rushing up his well-walked dirt path.

“Pa!” The young man hollered as he continued towards Fonlain. By this point the young man had gotten close enough for Fonlain to recognize his features, the ruffled shoulder-length sand-colored hair marked him as his son Daram. “Only a week as newlyweds and you come running back home already Daram? I assume Beatrice is working you like a dog. You'll be sorry to hear I've got too much work ahead of me to go easy on you.” By this time Daram had finally finished crossing the distance between him and his father, he was panting heavily. he must've run all the way from his home, he thought. “While I appreciate the offer father me and Beatrice are doing well, it’s something more important than that though!” There was obvious apprehension in the young man's voice. “ The Empire Wyrmling has been spotted - they'll be arriving soon.” Fonlain’s face hardened to stone as he stared back at his son, and after a long pause he took a deep breath before beginning to stride down the path Daram had come up. “We better go meet our new Lord then Daram, Wyrmlings aren't known for their patience.” At this, Daram stood still but eventually realized Fonlain would not slow for him and rushed to catch up.

The two men walked on in silence for a long while before speaking, “I don't know why we’re allowing this thing to Lord over us Pa it wouldn't even be that hard to get rid of, it's not even full grown its a calf compared to the Wyrms” Daram muttered. At this Fonlain snapped his gaze from the road ahead to his son, “And what do you suggest we do boy? Do we descend on it with our farm tools and hope to break through its scales? And what of when the Wyrms get word of the death of one of their lordlings? Not to mention the fact that the “Calf” you mentioned possesses twice the wit of you or me. No, we will not resist the Wyrms or their Wyrmling it presents fewer issues for us all to just grit our teeth and bare it. We’ve escaped the Empire’s ruling too long for their fear of the Dragonsbane that once grew in the Valley - which may not have ever actually grown at all.” Daram stayed silent for a time cowed by Fonlain’s stern response.

“I know all of that pa but it just feels wrong to let some lizard boss us around it isn't how things have been done around here, ever!.”

“Things change Daram” Fonlain grunted. “Best not to make trouble for ourselves, you're a man now and it's time you realize there are more important things than pride and tradition. Please promise me you'll behave”

“I promise Pa.”

Soon after, silence once again fell over their procession.

***

The sharp crack of a stick trampled underneath his sturdy boots brought Fonlain’s mind back to the present, if only momentarily. He cast his eyes up the Valley wall, the vegetation only grew thicker the further up the wall, it would end up further slowing his already sluggish pace.

As he resumed his climb his mind wandered back towards thoughts of his son. They had all assumed the arrival of the Wyrmling would cause issues, after all they weren't docile folks butting heads was expected but none of them could've expected the cruelty of the Wyrmling.

Without much more fight his thoughts drifted back through the fog to the past day's events once more.

***

The silence of their walk persisted till they arrived in town. The town was situated in the least wooded section of the Valley conveniently placed within the perfect center. Ahead of them, they could see a tall young woman of tan skin and dark brown near black hair weaving through the tightly knit squat wooden cabins making her way directly towards them. “Beatrice” Daram mustered the breathy word as he took his wife into his embrace. “How are things here?” he asked, “Has the Wyrmling arrived yet?”. “Not yet my love but they are sure to be arriving any moment now. You've come at the perfect time,” Beatrice said quietly to Daram, As if only realizing Fonlain’s presence now she gave a quick nod of acknowledgment towards him her cheeks coloring at being caught being so affectionate with Daram in view of others.

Sensing his wife’s discomfort Daram wrapped an arm around her shoulders and looked back towards his father making a quick nod down the road. “Let's go Pa, may as well see our guest arrive, even if our guest is an overgrown lizard.” Both Fonlain and Beatrice shared a shocked look at Daram's brazen comment and both had wasted no time commenting on the stupidity required to talk about a wyrmling like that when they were mere moments from arriving. Their comments had a suitably chastening effect on the young man as he held his tongue the rest of the walk to the opposite side of town where the wyrmling would be arriving.

Upon arriving at their destination they saw that many had thought similarly to get the first look at their new Lord. The crowd of mild-mannered townsfolk milled about anxiously watching the road ahead. Fonlain being taller than the average man even in his growing age was able to see clearly over the heads of most of those within the crowd. Eventually, the sounds of marching on the dirt paths assaulted his ears, there had to be at least fifty men and a large cart by the sound of it. Fonlain supposed that made sense after all why would a Lord come without his retainer.

Those in the crowd caught sight of the men first as they held the front line of the formation, a formation that seemed military in nature. The men all wore white robes banded at the waist with a black dyed tight leather belt, pressed with the pattern of dragon scales, with a long belted dagger at their side, and in the center of their chest lay the symbol of a curved tear drop-like shape. a dragon's claw with a gradient of black at the top flowing into a deep blood red by the curved tip of the claw.

As the men continued to file down the road Fonlain caught sight of a large wheel rolling around the corner. By the time the wheel had fully turned the corner Fonlain could see the entirety of the sturdily built open-air carriage. It was surely an odd construct, unlike any Fonlain had ever seen, with large poles on each of the four corners hoisting a sunshade above the figure laying on the large carriage. The figure appeared to be sleeping, Fonlain’s breath caught as he looked upon the slumbering creature. This was their Lord?! The creature inspired an equal mix of awe, fear, and disgust, it was a large bulbous fat reptilian creature with a massive protruding underbite and muddy green metallic scales that shone like well-polished armor. They may as well have been armor. At gasps of awe and fear from the assembled crowd the fat Wyrmling stirred lifting its large head from the carriage floor and peeled its small wings from its back, and stretched them out nonchalantly but as the Wyrmling blinked wearily it revealed eyes that made it look anything but. Those were the eyes of a monster. The sickly yellow reptilian eyes swept over the crowd scanning all the faces in assembly and at viewing their awed and terrified expressions the creature cracked a smug grin. “You Worms will direct me to the largest building of this town and I will take up residence there temporarily” The voice of the creature warbled from its throat intensely and loudly, the ever-shifting notes of the thing's voice instantly put all the hairs on Fonlain’s body on end. He knew that he would never become used to that sound.

Before long the wyrmlings procession which grew to include the bulk of the onlookers arrived at a large wooden lodge that dwarfed the tightly knit squat wooden cabins surrounding it. Two of the wyrmling’s soldiers walked up to the double-arched doors and pushed them inwards revealing the large gathering hall of the lodge scantly decorated with simple wooden benches facing down towards the end of the room where a podium stood for public addresses. Turning back towards the procession the two soldiers waved the Wyrmling in. Fonlain and his company stood at the back of the procession among others of the common folk who decided to follow their new leader to the hall, assuming that he would address them in some manner more fulfilling than the passing comment he directed towards them earlier. They eventually flowed into the meeting hall at the tail end of the group and watched as the soldiers of the wyrmling began to rip up benches and whatever other furniture the place had to offer and tossed it outside of the hall. Fonlain watched the display with disapproval as the soldiers hustled the podium past him through the door and out into the town while others hoisted their Lord once again and brought him to the end of the room laying him down where the podium once stood. At this, the wyrmling began to rouse from his light slumber blinking his large reptilian eyes groggily. Fonlain watched with barely contained disgust as the secondary filmy translucent eyelid slid over the yellow eyes of the creature before sliding back to its position in the corner of its eye.

***

Recalling the cold analyzing eyes of the wyrmling made Fonlain’s stomach churn unsettlingly. Those eyes instilled fear in him then and they still did now as he climbed over the crest of the Valley wall but another feeling stirred deep in his mind recalling those eyes, anger flooded through his body as he turned to look down into the Valley and saw a large pitch-black column of smoke rising from a large pile in the courtyard in front of the meeting hall.

Fonlain turned his back to the sight and took a deep breath, He could not give in to his emotions yet, he had not yet finished what he had set out to accomplish. He continued hiking further along the crest.

He had heard whispered gossip that what he sought still grew atop the Valley walls once or twice in his long life. He hoped fervently for it to be true. It had to be true.

***

The Wyrmling fully raised his head off of the platform he lay on and regarded the assembled crowd with disgust. He slowly worked the sleep from his body stretching his jaw into awkward unsettling positions before finally beginning to speak. “Worms of the Valley you have escaped governance by the empire for far too long and we have finally taken notice. As a result of this my father, your new ruler Emperor Astagar, has sent me Wyrmling Kotha to bring the Valley fully under empire rule and make it a worthy settlement. Your lack of civilized rule is evident first and foremost in this very hall. As I traveled I passed many proper settlements that lay on my path, and one and all possessed suitable abodes for my brothers and sisters. Nothing as paltry as this hall you've escorted me to. I can barely stretch my wings in this room! Not to mention the fact that it's constructed entirely of wood - I will send for carriages of strong stone and we will construct a fitting abode for your Lord.

Fonlain felt the crowd around him tense at Kotha’s words. They had hoped his words wouldn't have been so scathing, to begin with. Fonlain felt Daram begin to shuffle uneasily beside him and heard him grumbling in anger and reached a hand to grab Daram’s wrist firmly. At this Daram looked towards his father easily reading the look on his father's face as “don't do anything brash boy” which was more than likely the intended meaning.

After giving the crowd adequate time to squirm uneasily under his harsh words Kotha continued. “Now of course when those calls bare fruit and wagons full of building materials and workers come into the Valley we will need to have cleared adequate space for my new abode while still having enough space for the workers to live. To accomplish this I think we shall demolish the homes around this hall and relocate those displaced by this to the farms with plenty of space on the outskirts of the village, and while we're at it, we will relocate several families there as well as their homes will be needed for the laborers and artisans as they construct my home.” Kotha fell silent once again letting the crowd chew on his words.

The crowd's discomfort earlier was nothing compared to the unease spreading through the crowd. The farmers among them, including Fonlain, had racing thoughts of how they were supposed to accommodate multiple families in their homes as they could not just leave them to the elements on their lands. Those whose homes would be torn down began to mutter angrily - Daram was among those who would be displaced in such a manner. Lost in his swirling thoughts, Fonlain was brought back to reality by the firm yank of Daram freeing his wrist from his grasp and beginning to push past others in assembly towards the front of the crowd. Fonlain’s heart surged at the sight, “Fool boy is going to get himself killed” he thought as he tried to follow his son but the crowd had started to jostle uneasily as they sought the faces of their neighbors and friends. Each looking for some clue as to how to react to this proclamation. Their answer came as Daram made his way to the front of the crowd breaking through to be face to face with Kotha.

“And why would we do that Wyrmling?” called out Daram. “Why would we tear down our homes and displace our people just to satisfy your greed? Don't worry my Lord you can stretch your wings perfectly fine, considering they have not yet grown to match your weight!” By this point, Fonlain had broken through the milling crowd and came up behind his son and laid a mighty strike into the back of Daram’s head. Daram lurched forward disoriented as Fonlain grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and began to apologize to Kotha “I'm sorry my Lord my son is a fool who refuses to think before he speaks. Please forgive this transgression Lord Kotha.” The words tumbled from his mouth in a flurry quickly trying to undo the damage Daram had wrought. “And if you do not see fit to forgive my Lord, please punish me in his stead as it is the fault of my parenting that he does not know how to hold his tongue.” Fonlain took a deep breath at the end of his statement watching Kotha regard him with those cold calculating yellow eyes. He hoped it would be enough to steer his wrath from Daram.

He felt the crowd stir further behind him as a handful of other young folk emerged from the crowd to face Kotha. “Daram’s right” one of the young women called “why should we give up our homes so you can live in excess comfort, why should we even let you rule here at all!” The other young men and women called out in agreement. Fonlain’s eyes fell back on Kotha and saw him look to his guards and then to the group of young antagonizers. The guards descended swiftly on the young men and women three to one and forced them to the ground without allowing much resistance. Three men stepped up to Fonlain and as one pushed him back with one hand disengaging his grip on his son's collar while the other two took the still dazed Daram to the ground and proceeded to drag him, along with the others, closer to Kotha. As he tried to follow them the weight of the guard on his chest held Fonlain at bay.

Kotha looked to the young men and women restrained before him and then looked to the crowd. “ I understand that you all have not been as privileged to have experienced our rule before and that can lead to some confusion. As I am a kind ruler I will give you this one warning. Empire rule is absolute and not to be questioned - the penalty for such actions would be death.” Hope started to build in Fonlain’s mind that Kotha would let them off with a warning, thank the Gods, they would not harm his boy. “Thank you, my Lord you are too kind,” Fonlain called out.

Kotha continued to speak to the crowd paying Fonlain’s words no mind “ As no warning alone will be enough to stop this from happening again, I will be kind enough to give an example of my ruling.” Kotha cast a quick look at his guards and Fonlain understanding his meaning strained against the strong hold of the guard.

The guards unsheathed the long daggers belted at their sides. The last thing Fonlain heard was the scream of Beatrice.

***

The wail of his daughter-in-law still echoed in his head. It had been nearly a day since Kotha had taken his boy alongside five others. Hollow pain thumped in his heart wracking his entire body with each thump. Ahead he saw a faint red glow radiating from within the thick mist that coated the Valley walls.

Fonlain broke into a run at the sight of the red glow, his knees were aflame with the accumulated pain of his ascent and as he came to the foot of the glow his knees finally gave up and he fell face-first to the ground. The pain radiated across his entire body, he felt the rough earth below him digging into his legs, ribs, and the side of his face. Eventually, he looked up towards the glow and at last saw the source of the glow. The very thing he set out to find finally lay just before him. Fonlain reached his quivering hand towards the luminescent multi-leaved glowing red herb. Holding the Dragonsbane in his hand, he plucked it from the earth and brought it close to his chest, and at long last allowed himself to rest.

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. And soon it would be that way again.