Valley of Dragons

There weren’t always dragons in the valley…

““Get out of here Gwen!” Dianna roared. “Not without you!” I replied as I continued killing the Daemons attacking us-

“What are Daemons?” I asked, interrupting her story.

“Daemons are bad people who hunt dragons in order to steal their magical essence,” Gwen replied.

“So they were hunting you to steal your magic?” I asked.

“Not quite, magical essence is what gives all living creatures life and the more you have the stronger your magic. They were hunting us to extend their own lives and get stronger,” she said.

“What happened next?” I asked.

“We broke away from the fight and flew as fast as we could to get away from the Daemons but it was no use. We would never outrun them with our injuries. The only way for us to escape was to open a Dimension Gate,” she said. “Before you ask, Dimension Gates are gates that lead to different worlds, such as the one we are in now,” she continued saying. “When we arrived here we landed in the woods near an old cabin and wagon. As we rested I heard crying from the wagon, Dianna was asleep already so I went to investigate. I was shocked to find a human child, swaddled and crying.”

“That was me!” I exclaimed.

“Yes it was you, you had been so small back then but now you have grown into a strong young man!” Dianna said proudly, inserting herself into the conversation.

“No thanks to you,” Gwen said jokingly.

“Hey I helped feed and care for him just as much as you!” Dianna replied.

“I was joking,” Gwen said laughing.

“Oh” Dianna said shyly.

We all ended up laughing together. I had been living with Gwen and Dianna for as long as I can remember. Dianna is really kind and playful, but protective and fierce when needed. She has deep sea blue scales and is small but fast. Dianna told me blue dragons have an affinity for water magic and can swim super fast. Gwen is more responsible and calm. She has beautiful leaf green scales. Green dragons have an affinity for healing magic and can camouflage their scales to their surroundings. Gwen is a bit larger than Dianna, but they’re both still much larger than any human.

“Kael, you should go out and practice your hunting,” Gwen said.

“Sure thing,” I replied.

“We should have a competition to see who could bring back more, the loser has to clean the other scales, I mean do one thing the winner asks!” Dianna corrected.

“That’s not fair, you're a dragon and I am human! We both know you’ll win!” I said.

“That’s the point,” she replied.

A Few Years Later

I had been hunting for a few hours but found nothing. Which I kinda expected since there are two dragons in the valley. I had declined Dianna’s offer to fly me out of the valley because I had wanted to enjoy the walk out of the valley but now I am starting to regret that decision. That’s when I saw a girl walking slowly through the trees. As I walked towards her I wondered who would be this far into the mountains. When I got closer I saw the girl had collapsed. She was unconscious and bleeding on the ground. I called for Gwen's help through our link, and she arrived a few minutes later.

“What happened?” Gwen asks.

“I don’t know, I was out hunting and saw her walking through the woods then she collapsed.” I replied.

“I will have to heal her here, then we can take her to the valley and let her rest.” Gwen said.

I watched as Gwen uses her healing magic, I haven’t seen Gwen use much magic but when she does it’s beautiful. You can see her mana pouring into the person, knitting together the skin and removing bruises or any other wounds. After the girl was healed we flew back to the valley on Gwen’s back. As we laid the girl down to rest Dianna landed next to us.

“What happened?” Dianna asked.

“I found her bleeding in the forest,” I replied.

“What was she doing this deep in the forest?” Dianna asked.

“I don’t know, she passed out before I could ask her anything,” I answered.

“She should be fine now, she just needs to rest,” Gwen said.

“That’s good,” Dianna said through a mouthful of the deer she brought back.

“How will we explain the two of you? Didn’t you say that no one knows about dragons in this world?” I ask.

“Besides you, no one knows about us,” Gwen said.

Later that day we were eating some of the deer that Dianna had gone out and got.

“When do you think she will wake up?” I ask.

“It could be anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days,” Gwen replied.

“I hope she wakes up soon because I want to ask a few questions,” Dianna put in.

“Like what?” I ask.

“What was she doing in the valley? How did she get injured? Where is she from? Things like that,” Dianna said.

“All we can do is wait for now, let's go to sleep now,” Gwen said.

“OK, good night Gwen, Dianna,” I said.

“Good night, sleep tight,” Dianna said as she circled trying to find a comfortable sleeping position.

As I laid down to rest I thought about the girl. I had so many questions, I knew there were other humans in the world but I had never met any before. I knew I was unique, being raised by dragons and all, so I wanted to ask her about the rest of the world. How did people live? Are there a lot of humans? Did they live in groups? Have they ever seen dragons before?

I eventually fell asleep surrounded by these questions. Dreaming of huge cities and tons of other humans. When I woke up the girl was still asleep, as was Gwen. Dianna was already up and hunting for breakfast as usual. As I sat down next to Gwen to wait for Dianna to get back the girl woke up. I stood up and went over to her.

“Hey, you woke up,” I said.

“Where am I? What happened?” the girl asked.

I found you collapsed in the forest and brought you to my valley to rest.” I replied.

“Your valley?” she questioned.

“Well it’s not mine, but I live here.” I answered.

“How far are we into the forest?” she asked.

“A bit farther than where you collapsed.” I replied. “How were you injured? And why were you this deep into the forest?” I continued.

“I was attacked by bandits on my way to a nearby town, I then fled into the woods in hopes of losing them, but then I got lost.” She answered, trying to sit up.

“You shouldn't sit up yet, you still need to rest a bit.” I said.

“Um, IS THAT A DRAGON!?” she exclaimed in shock and fear.

“Oh, that’s Gwen,” I replied, still trying to get her to lay back down. “She won’t hurt you and she’s the only reason you’re alive.

“So she saved me?” she asked.

“Yeah she healed you with her magic.” I said.

“MAGIC!?” she exclaimed.

“Yes magic.” I said.

Dianna landed next to us just then.

“It would seem she woke up,” Dianna stated.

“Way to state the obvious,” I joked.

“Hey, I was talking to myself,” she replied.

“I was joking,” I said laughing.

“Are you talking with the dragon?” the girl said.

“Yeah, can you not hear her?” I asked.

“No, it just sounds like you’re talking to yourself,” she replied.

“I wonder why, anyway this is Dianna. She is a water dragon and Gwen is a forest dragon.” I told the girl.

“Where did they come from? I thought they were just myths.” she said.

“That’s for another time,” said Gwen, finally waking up.

“Gwen said that’s for another time,” I translated. “It’s about time you woke up Gwen, she screamed earlier and you were still sound asleep.”

“Not my fault I’m a deep sleeper,” Gwen replied.

“Anyway, what’s your name,” I asked the girl.

“My name is Kyelin,” she replied.

“Were you traveling alone?” I asked.

“I took a ride on a farmer's wagon.” Kyelin replied.

“Ask if she has any family,” Gwen said.

“Do you have any family?” I ask.

“My parents are both dead, but I believe my brother is still alive.” Kyelin replied.

“So you’re looking for your brother?” I ask.

“Yeah, my village told me my brother has a red birthmark covering his right shoulder.” she said.

Gwen, Dianna, and I all look at each other.

“What do you guys know about my brother? She asked hopefully.

I take off my shirt to reveal a red birthmark covering my right shoulder.