Through the Valley of Glass

“There weren’t always dragons in the Valley.”

The opening to Lyanne’s script never sat right with her. She was tired of hearing it after reciting the line over and over, but it never failed to grab the attention of each new audience—not that they had much to look at, given their pitch-black surroundings.

“The landscape you’re about to lay eyes on,” Lyanne continued, “was once a near lifeless desert. The biggest lizard in the valley was no larger than a mouse. There were no roars in the air, no tunnels underground, and no glints of light reflecting off lakes of glass.”

Lyanne paused for a moment to allow whispers of excitement to settle. The chattering soon died down, leaving nothing but the rattling of the tram echoing through the tunnel.

“You may wonder where they came from. Are they travellers from another time? Creatures from an underground ecosystem? Perhaps they come from another dimension. All we know—” Lyanne’s well-rehearsed performance was interrupted by a grinding and screeching of metal before she was abruptly thrown off her feet.

In a huff, she righted herself and began to approach the front of the tram.

“Not to be alarmed. Just a mechanical issue. We’ll be back on schedule in no time.”

Lyanne turned to the driver who was teetering between panic and mentally shutting down altogether.

“Why have we stopped?” she asked.

“How should I know?” he looked to her with genuine hope she had a good answer.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re the tram driver. It’s sort of your job to make sure the tram can drive…”

“It’s not like there’s a detailed induction for this job!” his raised voice caught the attention of a few tourists who passed Lyanne a polite smile when meeting eyes.

She hushed the driver and turned completely away from the tour group before whispering her next words with palpable venom. “Well, Richard, get down there. Kick some gears, jiggle some bolts, or I’ll see if removing some dead weight from the tram will get it started.”

Before he could be intimidated out of his driving seat, Richard sighed a breath of relief at the sound of the tram spluttering into action on its own. After less than a few feet, the tram jolted and spat out a few pieces of metal that jangled into the void of the tunnel below. It then carried on as if nothing had happened.

The pair looked wide-eyed at each other before shrugging the same thought: I’m sure that’s fine.

Lyanne shook her frustration off and returned to her script with a smile on her face. “All we know for certain, is that dragons live among us!”

A satisfied applause pitter-pattered through the half-empty tram. At the same time, a drawling speakerphone in the back squeezed out an off-key theme tune that half the audience tried to hum along to. Richard happily chirped along, overpowering Lyanne’s defeated sighs.

She slumped into a prepared pose. A few beats of clattering track later and the dark tram was flooded with blinding sunlight.

With her arms in the air and her tattered shirt fluttering in the wind, Lyanne declared: “Welcome to the Valley of Glass”

The previous pattering quickly evolved into thunderous cheers as the tour was met with a 30-foot dragon swooping over their heads. It cut through the air with such speed that it appeared even the air itself was trying to catch up when a gust hit the broadside of the tram. Giggles and smiles spread through the crowd as one gentleman—wearing a t-shirt as tight as it was sweaty—lost his hat to the dragon’s tailwinds.

“Excuse me, Miss?” called the man.

“Yes?”

“Who do I speak to about getting my hat back?”

Through gritted teeth, Lyanne gave the most diplomatic response she could muster. “Hats are available for purchase at the gift shop.”

The track dipped down from the tunnel exit into a consistent slope which settled into an oasis of life. Strips and pools of glass littered the view, but areas that remained unscarred were buzzing with herds of flightless dragons that could be mistaken for bovine from afar. Vegetation sprung forth from springs that didn’t exist until recently, and watering holes fed a variety of life that far surpassed the many species of dragon that drank from them.

The tram peacefully weaved through grass and groves until reaching an area reminiscent of a miniature jungle.

From the densely packed trees, a set of jaws reached out and snapped at the tram’s path. Although it was a distant miss, the tour was filled with screams and screeches that would rival those of the jungle’s residents. Yet, in their same screaming breaths, most attendees pulled out a camera or two and started to snap right back at the dragon.

“May I remind you, please keep all limbs and valuables inside the tram at all times,” announced Lyanne. She waited for a few stragglers to comply before pulling a lever that hung above her head. All sightlines to the snakelike dragon that now chased the tour were cut off by thick metal shutters falling across the tram’s windows. Only a small slit of light made its way to Richard’s eyes to keep things on track.

A roar followed. Shortly after, the back of the tram began to glow red hot.

“Miss! The walls! They’re getting hot!” yelled the gentleman without a hat.

“Yes, that would be the dragon’s flames. This tram is built with the most fire-resistant metals known to man, but it can still get a little toasty, so please keep well away from the walls at this time.”

Before too long, the roaring stopped and the walls began to cool. Lyanne lifted the shutters to reveal a settlement in their path. Its walls were 20-feet tall and a ripple of gold light leapt from one side to another, creating a shimmering dome.

Ooos and aaas probed Lyanne with questions about the city, none of which were left unanswered by the guidebooks she’d sold each attendee before getting on the tram. Instead of feeding their lazy curiosity, Lyanne simply stuck to the script.

“Three-thousand citizens, two-hundred domestic dragons, and one massive anti-dragon field. You have reached your destination, the capital of the Valley of Glass: Emberfort.”

With cameras whipped out again, the tour group pull through the heavily fortified gates of the tramline and into the small station. They were quickly ushered off the tram as others were squeezed in from the other side. Even with a relatively small population, the view was filled with people bustling through the hodgepodge streets and overhanging buildings.

Standing with a gold flag above her head, Lyanne herded all members of her tour around her.

“Have we got everyone? Okay! Rule one of Emberfort, always stick by my side. It’s not a big place, but you’re bound to get lost without me. Second rule—”

Interrupting herself this time, Lyanne spotted an individual in the crowd that forced her to quickly launch her flag as far as she could. Unfortunately, she’d already locked eyes with said intimidating individual who had entered a fast paced walk in her direction with one finger pointed straight at her. She turned about and abandoned her tour without a second thought, tensing at the words the individual bellowed behind her.

“Lyanne Esperanza! You don't have any idea the world of trouble you're in.”