The Map is Wrong

There weren't always dragons in the Valley.

They have to be invited in, you see. And who in their right mind would ever want to invite Dragonkind into a prosperous, Human-Populated Land Since Time Immemorial? At least that's how Da always put it, I don't use words that big. But Da always talked about this being a human place, with human-sized stuff, and now we have to build all these things like twice as big for dragon size. Unless we like standing outside in the rain, and then what's the point?

Fine. The dragons remember when the valley was just for deer and wolves. That's beside the point. And yes, my Da can be a blowhard. He always wanted to be mayor, but there were always others more pompous than he could be on his best day.

I don't know who did it. All I know is that suddenly dragons were EVERYWHERE, and they were making homes in the mountain slopes surrounding our valley. Then there was a representative calling for dragons to be schooled with us kids, and they wanted half the civil council seats, and they wanted to trade years being the mayor, and the whole carefully-planned agreement we had with the dwarves went up in literal smoke when the dragons found the first vein of ruby-

Drawyn! Get out of my head! This is MY journal, and if you want to write your own, then go get your own! And I don't care if you always snort when you write so you usually set your books on fire, that's not my problem!

Dratted dragons. Always in your thoughts. It was worse for the older kids, when they started thinking icky things about their sweethearts. And dragons are awful gossips, especially about their human classmates. Dragon children are about fifty years old, and don't think about icky stuff till they're about three hundred or so. It caused more than a bit of Social Disparity, as Da would say, and was a big part of why things got out of control.

Don't even get me started about what they think about kissing! They do breathe fire, so kissing would really ruin a first date-

Drawyn! GET. YOUR. OWN. JOURNAL.

Anyway. When the town got set on fire - Drawyn says the dragons didn't do it, but what can make a fire that big so fast? - Da sent me running for the southern pass while my older brother was sent for the northern one, and Ma and her sisters and my sisters stayed to help Da try to save others. But there was an awful lot of flame, and -

Drawyn says I shouldn't think about it. And the dragons got hit too, and the dwarves that stayed to collect their stuff when the contract got broken. Everything burned, everywhere.

I hope some ran for the northern pass. We can't get there, not through all the ash. The fire didn't stop in the valley, and some pockets are still too hot to get near. Even Drawyn doesn't want to get close. He's got some fire scars on his hide from running, which is impressive for a dragon. They can't fly too well either till they get to about two hundred.

At least he's got scars. I don't, except on my heart, which you really can't see all that well.

Drawyn says he can't hear anyone anymore, dragon or human. I hope that only means the northern pass is too far away to hear them. He is small, even for a dragon, and that ability grows bigger over time.

Drawyn is scratching a note in the cliff. Anyone who comes looking for us will know we've gone down the road for help. When we----------

Well. Now we have a dwarf too. All that scratching a message into the cliff rock? The rock started scratching right back, and Drawyn hissed and poked at a rock sticking out, and something went POP and then there was a door in the rock and this dwarf fell out! She says her name is Steyla and her tribe shoved her into the tunnels when the smoke came pouring in. She said something about the gates not working, that keep out smoke and water in case of flooding, but how can I believe her? Drawyn says Steyla thinks she's telling the truth, which is something, for a dragon.

How can smoke do flooding? I mean, water floods, doesn't it? Things that float in air can't flood!

Drawyn says he'll explain later, and that he needs to finish scratching the message.

Steyla's crying. She says I am too, but I didn't believe her till the ink in this sentence started running.

We don't have much food.

It's five days to the next town, through mountains that still have werewolves and other bad stuff. I don't know what they eat, except that Drawyn eats meat, and Steyla and I are made of it.

Drawyn says he wouldn't eat me, and Steyla's not big enough.

Steyla says she always has an emergency kit on her, you need one in the mines. So she's got some stuff she can eat, but I probably can't.

I have my school kit, with books and papers and ink and pens. I ate my snack hours ago. I always have a fishing kit on me, so there's that.

I know a bit about roots, but I really haven't foraged much outside Old Man Halder's back garden. I know more about the river that was in the valley, and all the stuff that lives in it. Not so much the stuff around it. I know what wild carrot looks like, and there are a few tubers blooming, so I think I can find something to eat. Maybe we can stop for me to catch a fish or two, I know how to cook them over a fire. Or on Drawyn, if he doesn't eat them first.

We can't even hide behind Steyla's secret door, something about gas buildup. I still don't believe her, but Drawyn says it can happen, and he'll teach me about air and how it really works later. Steyla mostly knows rock stuff.

Drawyn finished his message. We read it - ME AND IAN COOPER GOING TO LEYDENTOWN FOR HELP. AND STEYLA DWARF. -DRAWYN

Steyla's carefully making a nest in the ashes where we can get some safe sleep before tomorrow.

I miss them. I miss Ma, and even my sisters. Drawyn says a dragon wing is better than a cloak for keeping off the rain that started to fall. He even has Steyla under the other wing, but he wants to sleep so he needs to turn off the fire he's been carefully breathing so I can see to write.

He misses them too. All of them.

I heard Steyla sniffling, so I'll talk to her a bit in the dark before falling asleep against Drawyn.

Better than a cloak.