The Valley of Titans

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. But after their arrival over two hundred and fifty years ago it seemed that, for now at least, they were here to stay. After The Burning in the year 354 when the great, winged titans of the sky descended upon the Valley, the inhabitants were forced out of their homes, lest they be choked to death by smoke or cooked alive by searing flames.

Surviving scholars speculated for decades what could have caused the sudden arrival of the dragons and their lesser kin; but none could agree on one singular cause. I intend to change that. To find out what happened all those years ago.

But first, I need to get out of these blasted restraints.

The carriage in which I was currently being held captive lurched forward, almost causing me to fall out of my seat. Just outside, muffled, panicked voices could be heard and the horses had begun to whinny in distress.

Wolves, perhaps?

We were, after all, deep within the Ash Forest.

A mighty wind shook the carriage, and chaos erupted outside. A shiver of dread ran down my spine, as some of the soldiers shouted the only word needed to confirm my fears.

Dragon.

Another gust of wind, presumably from the creature’s wings, followed by the screams of one of the soldiers being carried off into the night. I gritted my teeth, as I tried to pull my already raw wrists through the loops of rope that bound them together. I refused to be cooked alive in this tinder box on wheels.

Much to my surprise, the carriage door swung open and in hopped a young soldier with a knife in his hand. My grey eyes locked with his wide, terrified blue ones. He couldn’t have seen more than eighteen summers by the looks of him.

“Th-thief or not, I-I’m not letting a woman die to one of those things.” He stammered in a futile attempt to sound brave.

“Get to cutting then!” I thrust my wrists toward him, “And I’m not a thief.” I added sharply.

He didn’t respond, but set to work on cutting through my restraints. A moment later, I was freed and the two of us stumbled out of the carriage; we immediately ducked down as the beast flew over once more. We didn’t see it, though, for it was as black as the pitch around us. The soldiers, all clad in the famed blue and gold of King Saer’s coastal kingdom to the east, were all brandishing their swords and crossbows and staring into the inky, moonless sky above. Torches did little to hold back the night.

No fire? I wondered to myself.

The beast had already had enough time to burn the entire caravan to a crisp, and yet there wasn’t a single scorch mark to be found. To my knowledge all dragons in the Valley, and the Ash Forest that marked its perimeter, were capable of breathing fire. So if it wasn’t breathing fire by now, which species were we dealing with?

A loud whistling caught my attention, and I only had a second to warn the others.

“It’s diving!”

In one swift pass I glimpsed a black, leathery, well-muscled leg whose toes were tipped in obsidian talons. It seized another one of the soldiers before he could even scream, and carried him away.

“Before you captured me, where did you travel from?” I asked Blue-Eyes, who stared at me as if he were dumbfounded that I was even attempting conversation.

“I need to know!” I demanded, “Where did you travel from? More importantly, did you take anything while you were there?”

He opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the words, until at last I got the answer I needed.

“We were returning from the Kingdom of Cearia to the south. We’ve just signed a peace treaty with King Gallien, and we’re returning with the gifts he’d offered King Saer in return.”

“Gifts? Where? I need to see them immediately.”

“I can’t just…”

I grabbed him by his tunic.

“You will show me, or none of us will get off of this road alive.”

That was all he needed to hear. Blue-Eyes grabbed a torch and guided me past carts full of goods, to another carriage near the back that was no longer guarded. There, my companion tested the door, only to find that it was locked. Much to my surprise, he actually busted the glass and reached in to unlock it.

“Have at it.” He gestured for me to get inside.

I fumbled my way around in the darkness of the carriage, searching with my fingertips for the object that would confirm my theory.

And then I found it.

Blue-Eyes was surprised to see me emerge with a large, glassy black oval around the size of a melon. It was swathed in rich, blue velvet with gold trim, and felt very warm to the touch.

“What did you find?” He asked.

“Our salvation. Hopefully.” I replied.

Without another word, I turned and walked further away toward the end of the caravan, putting as much distance between us as I could.

“Tell your men,” I called over my shoulder, “no matter what happens, do not attack.”

“What’re you going to do?”

“Just tell them! If any of them panic and try to attack, none of us walk away from this.”

I sucked in a shuddering breath, and stepped beyond the penumbra of light. There, I fell to my knees on the dirt road as I faced out at the darkness. My heart felt as though it would burst through my chest at any given moment. This was a gamble, even for me; but I had to be right.

There, in the middle of the road I removed the velvet from the object and pushed it out until it was over an arms-length in front of me. I swallowed hard, and listened as the sound of wings grew closer and closer. It actually passed over me, and the ground shook as something large landed somewhere on the road ahead of me. The steady thump... thump... thump of its steps signaled its approach.

Stay calm. No sudden movements. Show respect.

As the beast drew closer, I slowly lowered my head into a bow. A great rumbling sound resonated within its chest as it inspected the object that I’d pushed out in front of me, and I realized that it was something akin to a cat purring.

It was happy.

I dared to glance up just a bit, and watched a scale-less, serpentine head take the object into its mouth. At first, it appeared that it swallowed it, but I knew that it was storing it in a protective pouch just inside its mouth. Much like crocodiles do with their own young.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of staring for too long, and one of the creature’s reptilian, yellow eyes snapped its focus to me. I dropped my gaze immediately, as the massive head came closer to inspect me. A huff of hot breath blew back my short, dark hair as it sniffed several times to inspect me. I could smell blood, sulfur, and rotting meat with every breath it took and I had to force back the bile rising in my throat. Every growl reverberated through my entire body, shaking me to my very core.

Gods above, these things are much bigger up close.

At last, when it was finished inspecting me, it gave a low grunt and turned to venture back from where it had come. I watched as its two back legs, and thick, muscular tail disappeared into the darkness. But still, I did not move. I waited until I heard the flap of its wings as it took flight once more, and the sound receded until at last there was only the gentle whisper of the wind in the branches.

Only then did I exhale.

Blue-Eyes put his hand on my back, startling me as I had not realized he had approached me.

“Sorry, sorry!” He apologized when I uttered a string of frightened curses in various languages.

“It’s gone.” I stated at last, closing my eyes and breathing deep to calm my racing heart.

“How… how did you?”

“I returned it’s offspring to it.” I looked up at his bewildered face.

“You, and your men, were carrying the egg of a Night Wraith. They’re not the largest species of dragon, but they are fast, and above all else they are fiercely protective parents.”

“But… that was a gift from King Gallien.”

I shook my head gravely.

“It was an attempt on your king’s life.”

With a grunt, I pushed myself to stand back up on my shaking legs, and dusted the dirt away from my travelling pants. Blue-Eyes watched me the entire time, as though he wanted to ask me a million questions. Once I had collected myself, I extended my hand to him.

"My name is Elsie Briar. I am a draconologist, and I would like an audience with King Saer."