Laesha

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. Laesha's grandmother had told her stories as a young cub of The Time Before. Before awe and wonder. Before magic. Those stories had often confused Laesha. After all, the whole reason they came to the Valley was the dragons. "Yes, my cub," her grandmother would say, "but life was different then. Back then, we came to the Valley for the same reason the dragons are there now. It was a lush and fertile hunting ground. We were careful not to over-hunt it. That's why we kept leaving, but we always go back."

Laesha was on her way back now. Her first stripes had started to show through, so it was her time. Her grandmother earned her stripes hunting, but life was, indeed, different then. Since the dragons had come, they had essentially become the kings of the land. Their reign stretched far beyond the Valley, but they seldom left their home. Eight tribes called Lesandr home: dragons, kitsune, mau, harpies, selkies, fey, goblins, and minotaurs, but they all answered to the dragons now, previous customs and wars forgotten. Now, when any member of any tribe came of age, they reported to the Valley, to the king of the dragons, and received a quest. To return home before the completion of your quest would have you shunned by your tribe, for fear of being wiped out by the dragons. That was one of only two rules. Complete the quest, and you may return home and continue life as usual. Talk about your quest, and it would become undone.

Laesha could barely walk, she was so nervous about what she'd be instructed to do. Yet, at the same time, she felt like she could run the whole way to the king's palace in the heart of the Valley. She'd tried to pry her parents for information; they'd been in the first couple of years of questing. They wouldn't talk. All her life she'd watched people leave, and counted the days until they returned home. It was a five-day journey each way, so taking off the time for that trek, she'd seen people come back after a day, or be gone for over a month. Occasionally she'd reach one hundred days in her count, and then she'd consider them gone. Nobody had ever come back after day 100.

Today was the third day of her trek. So far, bless the dragons, the weather had been lovely, her pack had felt light, and there had been no surprises. Tomorrow, though, she'd reach the edge of the Valley, and then it was anyone's guess.

Life had always flourished in the Valley. In the days of her grandmother, the seven tribes had had to be careful not to over-hunt it, but the dragons had brought magic, for better or worse. Life flourished even moreso, and there was always plenty to eat for everyone, although hunting in the Valley was strictly forbidden to all but the dragons. But that life wasn't always friendly, and didn't always know of the Universal Peace. And the magic that brought it into being was strongest in the Valley. In truth, the first part of the quest was to merely reach the king's palace alone and without help. On this, Laesha had received an abundance of advice, some of it conflicting (as most advice does). "Stick to the shadows" "Stay out of the shadows" "Only eat what you brought with you" "Don't bother bringing food with you" (foraging was allowed, just not hunting). Before the Universal Peace, the mau would turn up their noses at plantlife, but now it was a dietary staple. Laesha couldn't imagine not eating plants. Like, sure, they got stuck in her fangs sometimes, but so did a gamey goat or deer. They added so much more variety and required so much less work. Most plants didn't run away when they caught her scent.