The Cries Of Their Souls

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. Not real ones anyway and certainly not above ground. Their granny seemed to know everything and she knew that her husband hadn’t been slain in the usual way. She was the only one still alive that remembered their life before.

The valley was vast. Spread out for miles, eagle could be seen over distant lands, swooping down into the rivers, that were once clean and refreshing. The grasses and hills now overgrown with the golden flowers that grew. The waters that flowed into the river, projecting that peaceful glow among the nature. That was until the fair.

The valley had taken thousands of years to develop into what it was. Ice ages and evolutions developing with time. The fair however, seemed to pop out of nowhere in the dead of night. The sun rose above the morning clouds, its rays of light overtaken by metal monsters. Buildings appearing from the mists like bad smells. The water, that had been so clear that it reflected like a mirror, now tainted by the sludge of the mud, churned together as large buildings rose, squashing all beauty in its path. The once cool and mindful colours of nature were suddenly replaced by the vibrant colours of the fun fair. The smells of morning dew, with rain pattering on grass, now haunted by industry and the sweet-smelling fragrance of candy floss.

There were tents full of extravagant colours, leaping out from nowhere. Fruit with fur and tiny fish packed in tightly together. Wooden and metal structures started emerging from the ground, and there it was, the only dragon the local people where to see in a long time.

The skin of her husband squished into a machine. His shiny scales, that had once danced in the sunshine, now pulled over a man-made body. She watched in horror from afar, passed the valley end of the town fair, where people gathered watching. Children and adults alike, riding the dead beast, not knowing that once upon a time, dragons and humans had lived side by side in harmony. It seemed dragons were a distant memory, apart from the entertainment it gave to humans to ride the souls of the dead. As she wept, she knew she had to disappear, and quickly, before any other damage could happen to her own clan.

Buried under the ground for many a moon rising, the creatures they grew old and died, creating new life, plotting their time to strike, until only she was left, to know what had happened that frightful day. No dragons ventured above ground, for if they did it would certainly be suicide. Those in the past who had been stupid enough to do so, never returned. Dragons had forgotten now that they were not cave dwelling creatures. The stories granny would tell, kept the hope alive. This inevitably lead to one of her great, great, great grandsons, Kai, to want to venture out for himself.

Down in the depths of the caves, underneath the valley, hidden under the footsteps of humans, lay the dragons. Since the time the dragons had disappeared, a new civilisation was born. It seemed they didn’t need to breathe in the fresh open air, after living for aeons underground. Every dragon it seemed, had settled into their own life, and the humans into theirs but Kai just wanted more.

He had listened to his granny’s tales from when he was just a hatchling. The words spoken to him even at such a young age. He always felt out of touch with everyone his own age and he hated how the others would laugh and jeer at their grandmother’s tales and memories because she was elderly and somewhat crazy. He knew dragons were destined for more than living in the dark, their wings constantly stuck to their sides, no use nor ornament. Flying was pointless, everyone lived in such a close community, living on top of each other, there was no need to stretch them out. The one use for their fire these days, was for the bakers among them, to spit their flames for baking bread and cakes for everyday use, because of this, the race of flying reptiles was evolving to be lazy, fat, and useless.

They were large, with wings that could be stretched out to fill a tennis court. It was obvious to see, that the caves they lived in weren’t big enough to hold an entire species, so they had had to shrink to fit. Slightly smaller than the oldest dragons alive, but still powerful and wide reaching. He had dark black and red scales, that shone in the reflections of the water, although still beautiful, the colours were dimmer than in previous eras. They were dazzling blues and greens, that pierced the eyes when they touched the sun. This was why Kai needed more, imaging the sights, seeing the thousands of giants lifting from the skies, the humans below in the grassy valley, sparkling in the air, high above the clouds. For Kai it seemed as though this wouldn’t be a possibility; he would grow darker with every year, encased in the darkness of the cavern, his wings shrinking with every breath.

Even the humans who lived on the top of the grassy valley, seemed to be sliding down the same pit, and just like Kai, Neom, who had lived there her entire live, knew there was so much more to the world than entertainment and gambling. Surely humans couldn’t have evolved to just be lay about, tiresome creatures. There must be more out there she thought.

Neoma had lived a sheltered life, high on the hill. The human population used to be so traditional, the mills turned over fresh water, the smell of fresh bread every morning, flew up into everyone’s noses. The houses were simple and thatched, where dragons roamed side by side. From decades of unreliable information, the tales of winged beasts became myths, stories in children’s books. The only dragon Neoma had ever seen, was the metal ones at the fair sitting lifeless. Their skin was so beautiful, however there was something about the way it was placed upon the body of the machines, that seemed slightly unnerving and she didn’t really know why. She lived in one of the new town houses, that had popped up around the valley, creating new places to live called cities. There was no running water, or freshly baked goods in the air, just the smell of smog and fumes as factories grew around everyone like man made trees.

For Kai and Neoma, living different lives below and above the ground, there seemed no way out. It would appear to be impossible that they would ever meet. That was until the volcano brought them