The passing light

The passing light

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. There have never been dragons in the Valley. Dragons are a fantasy conjured up by many authors in the multitude of fantasy books circulating today. Yet, Zack could not call the animal he saw in the middle of the valley anything, but a dragon, and it was magnificent. As far as dragons went, from descriptions and pictures he had seen in fantasy books, this one was pretty typical, which defied any logic. How could authors describe a mythical creature with such accuracy. How could he think that this animal was typical for its kind? The thought made him chuckle. Maybe he was having a heat stroke. He had been drinking plenty of water, but the day was quite warm, and his friend Ben and him had been hiking for hours. The original idea had been to drive out to Banff National Park, walk far into the woods and camp for a couple days. Zack didn’t expect anything bad to happen, as they had mapped out their trip and made sure bears had not been sighted for a few weeks. I suppose he should have asked for dragon sightings as well. That made him chuckle again. Wondering why Ben was so quiet, Zack turned around to ask his friend if he could also see this dragon. Ben was fast asleep and could not be roused. Had he passed out from the heat? He quickly brought him to the shade and checked him for signs of stroke, but Ben was fine, just sleeping. That was weird. He looked back to where the dragon had been a few minutes ago and couldn’t see it. Too bad, as he just remembered that he probably should have taken a picture. Nobody will believe him now. Better take care of his friend then. As he turned around to check on Ben, the dragon he had seen was standing in front of him staring down with a look that could only be described as one of puzzlement. Zack tried to run, really tried, but his muscles somehow refused to obey. He put all his thoughts and energy into moving his legs, anything. He was succeeding at moving a finger when the dragon suddenly spoke, in his head. The dragon was speaking to him in his head! Not in a language he could understand, which ruled out the possibility of Zack imagining it. With an annoyed grunt, the dragon closed his blue eyes and Zack suddenly felt lightheaded. He was about to pass out when the feeling went away, and the dragon was once again looking at him. It was more than looking. Zack felt like he was being analyzed by that look. Like the dragon could see inside of him. When the dragon spoke in that same language, Zack was amazed that he could understand. What had that dragon done to him?

What are you? Said the dragon.

A human? Responded Zack, equally amazed by the fact the dragon could not only talk to him but had somehow managed to imprint his language in Zack’s brain and the fact that he wasn’t dead yet. He was also wondering if the dragon knew what humans were.

“I know what humans are, human. What I want to know is why aren’t you asleep like the other human? Are you a sorcerer? What kind of spell are you using? I don’t know if I should kill you or study you. This has never happened before. You should not be able to see me either, which is quite fascinating. So, tell me human, what are you?”

Zack wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Here he was, pinned in place by a dragon, being asked if he was a sorcerer and using some kind of spell that allowed him to see said dragon. He must be dreaming. There is no way this is happening!

“I’m not sure what you want me to say. Up until now, I thought dragons and sorcerers were a figment of the imagination. I was just trying to find a good place to camp with my friend. I might be losing my mind. I’m talking to a dragon in my mind! You shouldn’t be real!”

Panic was starting to swell in Zack. Was he going to die today? Why did he come up with this idea of camping in the woods? He should have organized a video game weekend. That would have been much safer. They would likely pin their deaths on a grizzly bear. It happened every year. Some poor fellow would not do his homework and come to the woods unprepared.

“I’m real human and I will not kill you yet. Not until I figure out why my abilities don’t seem to work on you. It is quite distressing if I’m being honest. This is not supposed to happen. Maybe the power is really fading as the oracles have been saying for centuries.”

Zack had no idea what the dragon was talking about, although he was relieved he was not going to die, yet. Maybe he could convince the dragon to let him live.

“You will have to come with me, human. I will deposit your friend near a populated area and take you with me”

Zack was about to protest, but the dragon touched his forehead with a claw and he immediately fainted.

“So weak minded, yet he resisted the sleeping spell and could see me. How strange and fascinating at the same time. I will bring him to Enron. If anybody knows what happened, he would.”

After depositing Ben as promised, he was not an animal after all, a shining portal appeared in a clearing in the woods and the dragon flew through it, carrying an unconscious human with him. As soon as they disappeared thru the shining green light, the portal vanished.