Hissandra, Queen of Fire

In the dark forest-country of Tinsley, there was none fiercer nor more feared than Hissandra, Queen of Fire. Her scales shone like the sun as she soared through the skies. All who saw her were at once seized with dread, knowing that one wrong move could offend the fearsome Dragon sending her into a violent flight upon them. Villages had fallen to her smoldering breath for no more than a festival guitar played too loudly as she slept nearby.

Long before history began, there were only the Dragons in this land. Then, mankind landed on the rocky shores and made their way across the lush forests, destroying as they went. Mankind was unruly and without honor. They were prideful, hateful, and – above all else - greedy. They sought out the riches that the mountains held – precious ore and gemstones. They stormed the hills where the Dragons had lived peacefully since time began. They wished to enslave the Dragon Kind. They foolishly thought they could rule the fierce Dragons. They soon learned that the natural order should fall to quite the opposite. Dragon Kind took the kingdom of men for their own. They brought order to their pathetic existence.

The great Salandar, King of Talons ruled for many years. Salandar was a just and fair King to both Dragons and humans. He and his court created the laws that governed these lands, allowing the humans to live in peace with Dragon Kind. The rules were quite simple: The humans must never venture into the mountains of Tinsley as this was sacred ground to the Dragon Kind. The Dragons were to be treated as the superior beings that they are. The lowly humans must pay tribute to the King (or Queen) by way of fish and game left at the foot of the mountains – no less than half of their hunt each new moon. This was not because the Dragons needed the food; it was simply to reinforce the Dragon Kind’s dominance over the hunting lands. There would be no lavish or debauched living among the humans. Dragons are, after all, pure and honorable creatures.

The years passed slowly and peacefully for a period. Salandar died and passed into the Land of Everfire, and his heir took the throne. So continued the succession. Now and then, mankind would get the wild idea to rebel. The ruling Dragon would put that idea down quickly. Burning villages tend to quiet any big ideas that humans might contemplate.

Years turned into generations. Hissandra, Queen of Fire took the throne. She was perhaps more fierce and deadly than any of her predecessors. She held tightly to the old laws and demanded strict adherence. Her beauty, strength, and fire were known throughout the world; and she reveled in the fear that struck mankind beneath her. Hissandra was a proud ruler who was determined to keep humans where they belonged. They would follow her or die.

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While many villages had fallen to Hissandra, the small village of Feydon remained quietly on the edge of the rocky shore bordering the Sea of Glass. The story goes that a mystical enchantress from the race of Faerie Folk had created the village from a single piece of sea glass. Hence the name of the village – Feydon (meaning land of the Fae). It is said that Feydon possessed a certain magic that hid it from the Dragon Kind. Perhaps it was magic, or perhaps it was the quiet nature of the villagers alongside the crashing waves of the sea that masked it from the mighty Hissandra’s wrath.

All good things eventually come to an end. It spread across Tinsley that Feydon had avoided the wrath of the Dragon Kind for generations. It was only natural for others to be attracted to the small village. The population of Feydon had exploded over the years. Now, it had become a destination for travelers. With more villagers came more noise – noise that drowned out even the crashing waves of the Sea of Glass. Festivals, fights, and general lawlessness began erupting across the once calm landscape.

Hissandra happened to fly over during one such noisy day. She was surveying her kingdom, looking for any creature that dared offend her. From Feydon, there arose a great cacophony of drums and shouting.

“This is what the humans,” Hissandra shuddered - the very word was disgusting, “pass off as music!”

Her cheeks became inflamed with her anger as she flew lower to focus her keen eyes on the scene below. How could any creature find this vile display pleasurable? Men beat on drums and joyfully plucked at stringed instruments causing a screeching sound. The women flounced about in garish clothing, flopping this way and that. All the time, their toothy grins were plastered across their faces. They chugged mugs of a disgusting smelling fermented liquid. Each mug consumed seemed to make them flounce and shout more loudly.

This display made Hissandra’s stomach queasy. Such debauchery was an affront to her royal dignity. To behave this way in a Dragon Queen’s kingdom was an act punishable by death.

“This must END!” shouted Hissandra as she let out a fireball aimed at the colorful dancers.

The women looked up and screamed only briefly before being reduced to ash. The instruments that the men held burst into flame. They dropped them and tried to run, but Hissandra was quick. No human ever escaped a Dragon’s wrath! Another ball of fire hurtled through the sky. The men fell mid-run into a heap of smoking char. On and on, Hissandra exacted her vengeance upon the disobedient village.

Rooftops were engulfed in flame as fireball after fireball exploded from the angry Dragon’s throat. Cries of anguish became deafening. Even the sea was silent in comparison to the carnage on the shore. The fire of a Dragon – especially that of Hissandra – is hot enough to melt iron in seconds. The village did not stand a sliver of a chance.

Hissandra laughed cruelly as she circled above the remains of Feydon. “Where’s your Faerie Folk to protect you now?”

Silence rose up on curls of smoke and charred ashes. The lack of noise was pleasing to Hissandra. The humans deserved this. She didn’t make the rules; she merely enforced them. They knew that they were violating the sacred Law on which Tinsley was built. She felt no guilt. Rather, it was satisfaction that filled her heart. She breathed deeply the aroma of the burning flesh of humans and livestock. If she were honest, it was making her a little hungry!

Hissandra touched her sharp-clawed feet down upon the remains of Feydon. She would need to make sure that no human survived her assault. She could not allow even one of their noisy animal companions to continue its pathetic life. Spotting a rather delicious cow half alive on the outskirts of the village, Hissandra smiled and impaled it with a talon. She slurped the morsel from her hand and crunched contentedly.

“That’s that,” she concluded.

There was no movement. There was no sound other than the crackling of the flames still burning the already destroyed Feydon, reducing it to no more than a pile of soot.

Tired from her tirade, Hissandra walked away from the shores of what was once Feydon. She took in the beauty as rocky shores gave way to lush, dark forest. That would be the perfect place for a Dragon Queen to take a rest. She stepped beyond the tree line to find a cozy spot to lay her large, scaled head. She closed her golden eyes and drifted off into a dreamless and satisfying sleep.

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Calla made her way through the forest carefully. Harmony shifted slightly as she slept in the makeshift bed tied to her mother’s back. Calla smiled as she heard her toddler’s soft snores and baby sounds. It had been hard when she lost her beloved husband to the unforgiving sea, but she was determined to make a life for herself and their daughter. Feydon was the perfect place to do just that!

Calla had heard of the fabled village from the time she was a child. A village safe from the terrible Dragons – what more could a person wish for? She had lived in fear her entire life, until she met Landon.

Landon wasn’t from Tinsley. He was from far beyond the Sea of Glass. He had sailed many seas and had been to many amazing lands – lands without the Dragon Kind. Calla couldn’t wrap her mind around a life that didn’t see every human being living in dreaded fear of those scaly, ugly beasts! She fell in love immediately with Landon, and the two were soon married. On the day that Harmony was born, Landon promised his young wife that he would take them both across the sea to a safe land with no Dragons. It simply wasn’t to be.

As brave and strong as Landon was, he could not withstand the storm that claimed him. A fisherman by trade, he only wished to take in enough that evening to feed his family and pay tribute. He had lived by the sea… and died by it.

Calla walked for miles to reach the edge of the dense forest. Finally, she could see the rooftops of Feydon. She finally let herself smile a real, genuine smile. It was the first time that she felt any sort of happiness since losing Landon. She needed only to walk down this hill to finally be safe with her daughter. She could start a new life for them here. As the village came fully into view, Calla froze. The smile she had worn at the top of the hillside melted from her face. There was a festival in full swing. She could hear the music and smell the beer. Bright banners were blowing in the breeze. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t how Feydon was supposed to be.

She turned quickly to flee – but not quickly enough. The angry Dragon circled overhead. Her growls drowned out the guitars and drums. The happy singing and dancing turned into screams as a fireball exploded over the village. Calla could smell the burning flesh and hair. Again, fire erupted over the rooftops of Feydon.

Calla stumbled with the resulting force of the blast. She could feel the heat coming from the burning village. Another blast, and Calla felt her own skin begin to burn. She frantically beat at the flames that were creeping up her dress, but she dared not scream for fear of attracting Hissandra. Already, she feared that the Dragon would hear Harmony whimpering as she had been startled from her sleep. Hissandra seemed too preoccupied at the moment with destruction to pay any attention to the cries of one toddler. The burning became more intense, and Calla knew that she would not be able to save herself. Perhaps, though, she could save Harmony. She had to try.

Half running, half crawling, Calla made her way to the edge of the forest. She clawed her way through the dense foliage. With the last of her strength, Calla flung the pack containing the most precious person in her world across the forest floor as far from her as she could. It didn’t make sense. How could a toddler survive in the woods alone? Calla couldn’t reason anymore. All she knew was that her daughter wouldn’t be killed by a loathsome Dragon.

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Harmony watched as her mother became still on the forest floor. In her three-year-old mind, Calla was simply sleeping. She looked around the darkening forest. She didn’t hear the scary noises any longer. The smell was awful, though. It smelled worse than the time Mama had burned the fish dinner on their campfire.

Harmony untangled herself from her swaddle. Her leg hurt. She didn’t know why Mama had thrown her. She looked up, trying to see the sky beyond the treetops. The Dragon might be up there. She had gotten a glimpse of it during all the chaos. No sign of it.

Carefully, Harmony made her way over to where her mother’s body lay.

“Mama…” Harmony touched her mother’s arm and immediately pulled her hand back. It was hot!

Harmony teared up. Somehow, she knew her mother was dead. The tears became a wail. She was alone, and she was scared.

“Maaamaaa!” Harmony’s cries became louder.

She stopped suddenly as she heard a crashing sound moving through the forest. The Dragon! It was coming for her! Harmony shuffled quickly behind a clump of thick vines and pressed her hand over her mouth.

Hissandra came into view. Her massive golden eyes looked quickly around for the sound that suddenly ceased. She saw the smoldering body, the unraveled swaddle.

“No!” Hissandra hissed. A human had escaped her? That was unacceptable!

Harmony watched in horror as Hissandra scooped Mama’s body into her jaws. Wide eyed, she watched her mother’s body disappear into the huge Dragon’s ugly mouth.

“Mama!” Harmony jumped up from her hiding spot.

Hissandra whipped her head around and spotted the child. She at once despised the dark curls that covered the thing’s head. Her hideous round face and terror-filled blue eyes filled Hissandra with disgust. And the smell – Hissandra thought she might vomit! That thing had to go!

She stepped up to the vile little creature, an evil smile spreading across her scaly face.

“No human escapes the great Hissandra, Queen of Fire!”

Before she could bend her head to snap up the child, a bright light flashed. Hissandra stumbled back, blinded. Her nostrils were filled with the stench of a wizard’s magic. She knew that smell. The only creature willing to help a lowly human was a wizard.

Harmony felt herself snatched up into someone’s arms. She couldn’t see. The bright flash had blinded her as well. She started to cry again. She was terrified!

“Hush now, child!” she heard a man’s voice command her. “That sun spell won’t keep Hissandra down forever. We’ve got to hurry!”

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There had not always been wizards in Tinsley. They had come during a rather recent human uprising. While they could not defeat the Dragon Kind, they could slow them down and cause them a great deal of annoyance. Why they chose to side with mankind while even the Faerie Folk had abandoned the lost human cause baffled Hissandra.

Tomlin had witnessed that uprising. He was a young wizard in training back then. His main duties were studying and serving his master, Casseon. He remembered wanting to be involved in the excitement. He wanted to battle the Dragon Kind and be a hero. Instead, he was washing pans and reading scrolls. The day he watched Casseon die was the day he knew he did not have the makings of a hero.

Tomlin had stayed hidden away for these last several years in a cave that he had found in the forest. It was less a cave than an abandoned animal den really, but he made it work. He had reinforced the walls and built tables and a bed from the resources around him and a bit of magic. He toiled away and continued to study until his bright youth gave way to a weathered face adorned with a long red beard streaked with gray.

Now, he found himself embracing this tiny human girl running with all his might from the most fearsome Dragon that Tinsley had ever seen. As Hissandra tossed her massive, scaled head back and forth trying to clear her vision, Tomlin all but threw himself and Harmony into his cave home.

“Mama…” Harmony whimpered into the wizard’s shoulder.

“Shhh… Mama had to go, sweet girl. Old Tomlin has you now.” The kind wizard stroked the girls dark curls as he carried her over to the small bed.

Setting her down, he smiled to reassure her that she was safe.

“And now, what would your name be, child?”

Harmony’s big, blue eyes streamed tears down her dirtied cheeks. She remained silent as she stared up at the strange old wizard. Her lips trembled, and she tugged at her tattered dress.

Finally, she croaked out in a small voice, “Ha…ha…Harmony.”

“Hello, Harmony. My name is Tomlin. You must be thirsty and hungry.”

The small child barely nodded. Tomlin crossed to his rain barrel and dipped out a cup of water for Harmony. He then set to work preparing a small meal of dried meat and bread for the girl. Handing her the plate, he noticed how intelligent the girl’s eyes were. This was a teachable child. He decided right then that he would make her his apprentice.

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Weeks passed into months, months into years. Tomlin soon discovered that he was correct about Harmony’s intelligence. Though Harmony possessed no natural magical abilities, she was rather adept with mixing potions. By the time she was just ten years old, Harmony had mastered alchemy and had begun creating her own concoctions.

Harmony enjoyed spending time with Tomlin. He was the father that she had been robbed of as a baby. She liked the art of creating potions. Once, she changed a frog’s color from dull brown to a glowing pink. That made Tomlin laugh for hours, and that made Harmony feel good. She wanted him to be happy with her work and be proud of her.

What she didn’t like was the constant hiding. Hissandra searched each day since that awful day seven years hence when Harmony lost her mother. The Dragon had the girl’s scent and would fly over the forest sniffing the air and scanning the ground with her sharp, golden eyes.

Tomlin had to mask the human scent to throw Hissandra off the trail. Each day, he cast a masking spell to cover the scent with that of an animal. One day, Harmony might smell like a woodchuck. Another day might have her smelling like a fox.

Tomlin came to Harmony a few days after she turned ten to tell her that she could finally accompany him into a nearby village for some supplies.

“Do you really mean it, Tomlin?” Harmony’s excitement was tangible.

Tomlin just smiled and nodded. He had never taken Harmony with him into the villages. He was getting old, and Harmony would need to know how to travel for supplies that she couldn’t gather in the forest. She also needed to be introduced to the human world. She would need to live in it someday. As Tomlin’s back ached, he suspected that time may come quite soon.

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The colors were bright, and there was food cooking everywhere! Harmony looked around the village of Pembar with the excitement only a child’s eyes could hold. She breathed deeply the smell of roasted meat, corn, and livestock. She tried to ignore the smell she wore today. Muskrat. Tomlin had cast muskrat on Harmony before leaving their home.

“Do you have to, Tomlin?” Harmony had whined.

“Yes, Harmony. Unless, of course, you feel like being devoured by a Dragon today…” Tomlin smirked at the girl’s obvious distaste of his chosen scent mask.

Therefore, Harmony found herself walking around Pembar smelling of muskrat. She caught a glimpse or two of the faces villagers made as they passed her. She knew she smelled pretty bad, but it was better than the alternative.

Tomlin traded fur pelts that he had gathered in the forest and some magical items – mostly potions – for supplies. They acquired spices, cloth, and even a lovely new leather satchel for Harmony to carry her various concoctions. Finally, they headed home.

As the two made their way across the fields that gave way to the dense forest, Harmony heard the familiar beating of wings.

“Hissandra!” Harmony gasped.

The Dragon circled over Pembar and then circled in a larger range, covering the fields in which they stood, daring not to run. Tomlin threw his hat over Harmony’s long, dark curls. While she still smelled of muskrat, she did not look like a muskrat. Harmony thought Hissandra would circle forever over their heads. At last, the Dragon seemed satisfied that nothing was amiss. She flew northward toward the mountains.

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The next two years passed much the same. Tomlin took Harmony to surrounding villages – Pembar, Elyssion, Summer’s Vale. Harmony loved them all! She wished often that she could live in one of those beautiful towns. As long as Hissandra lived, it was only a dream. Hissandra would never stop pursuing Harmony. She was the human that got away.

Some days after Harmony turned twelve, Tomlin returned from a hunt without a kill. That wasn’t like him. He always brought something if even just a squirrel or two. Instead, Tomlin brought a cough and a fever. Harmony put him into his bed and brought him a cup of cold rainwater.

“Tomlin, are you ok?” Worry creased Harmony’s brow.

Tomlin reached up and tenderly smoothed the curly tendrils from her face. His hand lingered on her cheek.

“Child,” his voice was low and dry as autumn leaves. “Old Tomlin is not long for this world, I’m afraid.”

“Tomlin! Don’t say that! It’s not true!” Harmony’s eyes began to fill with tears.

“Hush, now, child. We both knew this day was coming. You’ve been like a daughter to me, and you have been a wonderful apprentice. Remember everything I taught you, my dear. You will be just fine. You are brave, and you are smart.”

Harmony grasped Tomlin’s hand as he took a ragged breath. She could see him beginning to fade.

“I’ll see you again, Harmony, beyond the clouds.”

With that, Tomlin faded completely. Harmony sat staring down at the empty hand that had held Tomlin’s. His bed now only held the robes he had worn. Wizard’s who pass from this world into the next leave nothing but knowledge behind. That knowledge was now Harmony’s.

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Harmony carefully left the cave while surveying her surroundings. It had been two months since Tomlin had left her. She had hunted and gathered in the early hours a few times a week so that she had plenty of food. She never ventured far from the cave for that. Now, she decided she was ready to make the trek into Pembar.

In all her years with Tomlin, Harmony had learned much. Still, she was not magical like he was. She could mix potions and perform alchemy well, but she could not cast spells. That meant no sun spell to blind a Dragon. It also meant no smell mask to hide her. She had to depend on her physical abilities. She wore a forest green cloak and stayed to the shadows.

It took her hours to reach Pembar. When she arrived, the sun was high in the sky. She lowered the hood of her cloak to mop the sweat from her brow. While taking a drink of water from the community rain barrel, she thought she heard the flapping of massive wings.

A shadow passed over the sun. Harmony had to move quickly! She pulled the cloak over her head and fled from Pembar. She crossed the fields faster than she even knew she could. The Dragon circled lower as she reached the edge of the forest.

“I smell the vile human!” Hissandra roared.

Gasps and screams rose up from the village as Hissandra landed with a loud thud in the middle of the marketplace. Harmony could hear the sickening crunch of everything beneath the Dragon’s feet.

“I smell you… But where….” Hissandra moved her golden eyes over the village. When she did not see the dark-haired creature she hunted, she flew back into the sky.

Harmony watched on in horror as Hissandra released a blast of fire from deep within her throat. Pembar fell beneath Hissandra’s attack within minutes. Harmony ran – fast. She didn’t look back as the screams rose and then faded. She tried not to hear them. Those were humans. They were her own kind, and she had brought them destruction.

It was weeks before Harmony tried again to visit a village. This time, she headed to Elyssion. It was a beautiful village nestled between two hills. The people there were hearty and friendly. Even when Tomlin had taken her there smelling of some wild creature, they still smiled at her and made her feel welcome. She liked Elyssion.

Harmony had barely had time to browse in the market before she heard it. From high overhead, the flapping of wings and the roar of a Dragon rang through the sky. Harmony ran. She hid in the shadows of the forest as Elyssion fell – just as Pembar had before it.

Harmony soon realized that she would bring death upon any village that she entered. Hissandra would destroy everything that Harmony loved before destroying Harmony herself.

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Harmony sat upon the rocky outcropping near the foot of the mountain. Hissandra was sure to find her, but that’s exactly what Harmony wanted. This had to end. Hissandra would never stop her tirade until Harmony was finished.

Soon, Harmony heard the wings. The leathery wings flapped slower as the mighty beast neared. The sound of scales scraping was followed by the click of clawed feet landing on the rocks. Harmony turned the bottle of pale purple liquid in her hands before uncorking and consuming it.

Harmony turned, “Hissandra, Queen of Fire! I can no longer run. You have taken everything from me, including my desire to go on.”

Hissandra bent her head, opened her mouth, and devoured Harmony. She swallowed the pitiful thing without even chewing. Laughing, she rose into the sky in triumph. As she circled out across what used to be Feydon, she felt a curious tingle in her throat. It was as though she had swallowed all the snow from the North Lands.

Hissandra fell slightly lower in her flight. Her wings began to feel stiff. She could no longer keep her eyes open. The lids were heavy. Hissandra, Queen of Fire fell. A great splash arose from the Sea of Glass as the Dragon disappeared beneath its surface.

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As Harmony drank the pale purple liquid, she smiled. The concoction did burn a bit as she swallowed, but it would be worth it. The people of Tinsley would no longer suffer at the will of Hissandra. Harmony thought of her beloved master. Years of study under Tomlin had taught her much – alchemy, potions, and various concoctions. As wonderful a teacher as he was, there was one thing she had discovered on her own - poisons.