The Enchanted Valley of Qanox

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. They’d been brought there by Edmond V, who had inherited them from Delilah the Fortunate. And how Delilah had come into possession of them... well, that’s a long story.

You see, she wasn’t originally called Delilah the Fortunate. She’d been known as just 'Dee.' A peasant girl, really, who didn’t know much about anything. Except that she lived at the edge of an enchanting little valley filled with the most succulent cucumbers you’d ever seen. Magical, some people called them. But, that was later on. When Dee lived there, she was the only one who knew about them. Well, she and one other person…. a shylot named Rizbod. But she didn’t meet him until later on….

So, well, let me start back at the time when Dee first discovered this enchanted valley. Did I say 'enchanted?' Oh... well, I meant to say ‘enchanting’ but, I guess it is fair to say that it was enchanted, as well. Well, not the whole valley. Just certain parts and places of it. You needed to know where to look. You see, there was one corner, behind a certain hemlock tree – that stood very tall and looked very majestic – where a certain brook trickled down. Not much more than a trickle, running amongst the moss-covered rocks.

It was here, that Dee happened upon. She had been seeking shade - because this valley, it must be said, was an opening in the forest, unlike any for miles and miles. She’s been seeking shade, because she often came to this valley, to admire its wild flowers, which grew in abundance, in the field there. But, on this particular day, she had just picked all the beets that her mother had asked her to pick, and she’d also picked some peas, because she’d been hungry. (And the blackberries had looked really nice, too, so she’d had some of those, also.) So, she was tired, and very hot. And had come, to be refreshed by the glory of the valley’s flowers, when she realized that she was just too hot to enjoy them, and she sought shade.

The hemlock was the perfect place to go. Behind it, was a hill that rose up quite steeply. There were ferns and spruce, pine, and deciduous trees. She thought she’d seen some wild cherry trees, back there, in the spring, but now, as they were no longer blossoming, she couldn’t quite be sure – although some of the darker leaves looked familiar as such.

Dee walked further past the hemlock, enjoying the cool shade, the freshness of the brook and the smell of wet moss livening her up. She sat on a mossy rock, wetting her underclothes, and dipped her feet into the water. And that’s when she saw it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something shiny. A glimpse and then it was gone.

It was away from the brook, so she thought it curious. What could something shiny be doing this far into the woods – away from Sarron settlements?

Dee slowly stumbled over rocks until she came to where she had seen it. It was the edge of a knife, cradled between rocks, with a glistening jewelled handle. Dee looked around, as if someone might have newly dropped it. It shone, still, not having grown rusty or weathered yet. It must have been quite recent.

Dee wondered who had dropped it. She knew that the Plueejent folk had once roamed as far as this valley, but she had not heard of them coming there recently. Not since the War to End All Wars, the Zingsteigoi.

Dee examined each jewel, wondering at their significance. She knew that the Plueejents liked to use elaborate symbols on all their important tools – and this would certainly be one.

It was not a hunting knife. It was, rather, a sort of celebratory ceremonial thing. It had two blue gems on each end of the hilt, red gems in the middle, and one larger yellow gem in the center. The colours of Plueejia’s flag are red and blue, but why the yellow in the middle? Dee wondered.

It didn’t occur to her, at this time, that dragons might have been involved. That was the furthest thing from Dee’s mind. Dragons hadn’t been seen in these parts, for well over two millennia. But, it wouldn’t have been unheard of to think of them – since jewel-encrusted knives certainly evoked a sense of the magical and majestic, which of course many dragons were. No, Dee’s mind was on other things. She’d been thinking of the fight she’d had, that morning, with her father, and the uncomfortable sleep she’d had, sharing a bed with her younger sister. And the knife sort of reminded her of one that she’d seen at her grandmother’s house, way back, when she was a young child.

Dee couldn’t really seem to wrap her head around what she was seeing, and its significance. All she knew was that the brook had felt cool to her feet, and she returned there, holding the knife, staring at it, some more, in wonderment.

She probably shouldn’t have held it out, for the world to see. But, she hadn’t thought about hiding it. She hadn’t even thought about others being nearby. She’d never seen anyone else in the woods - past the line of the Efferent Store to the south, that is.

But, these were changing times. Wolves had started to move into these parts – yet few talked about them. It was a reminder of the past, that most people had tried to forget. It was a reminder of the Dark Times.

Dee turned the knife over. There was an inscription, on the back. It read: ‘Te Spenkel Spoi Zen Becommin Elchin.’

Dee knew all too well what that meant. And it was not good.

Still, dragons were the last thing, on her mind.