Wind and Flame

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. And when there were dragons, they almost never arrived unannounced. Yet the bone-chilling roar that reverberated across the Valley of Light was unmistakable. Tír Obai, his 15 year-old daughter Alys, her 13-year old sister Rai, their 15-year old friend Declan, and a squad of a dozen Rangers turned in unison to the direction of the roar. Against the light of the setting sun they saw the approaching silhouettes of not one, but three massive dragons flying in close formation. One unannounced dragon was enough to raise eyebrows, but three flying so close together could only mean that they were a family of wild dragons, and encounters with wild dragons were never not dangerous.

A Ranger immediately launched three fireballs from her fists straight into the air while the rest of the group, now a flurry of dark green cloaks, hurried to spread out and take up defensive positions. They had maybe minutes before the dragons would be on top of them, and the Valley was nothing but grass, shrubs, and small, flat rocks. Rai quickly grabbed Declan’s arm and Alys sprinted towards them and grabbed their hands. After a quick scan of the Valley they found Tír who, though wearing the same olive green cloak as the rest of his Rangers, stood at least a head taller than everyone else. More fireballs could be see lighting up the orange and violet sky. Suddenly, all three dragons roared at once, sending waves of fear crashing into everyone in the Valley.

“DAD, WE’RE HERE,” Alys shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to raise her voice above the commotion and her own father’s yelling orders. Tír looked wildly around and finally locked eyes on them.

“CHILDREN, TO ME, NOW,” he ordered. The trio, still holding on to each other, weaved through the Rangers and rushed towards Tír. Once they reached him, he joined hands with them and in an instant, they were brought to the gates of their home, the Governor’s Palace in Sagepoint, the capitol of Nupar. The teens wobbled slightly, but all were used to Tír’s teleporting by now. Around them, the city’s alarm bells were already ringing and the denizens of the capitol were yelling for friends and family while fleeing into the open cellars of neighbors, pubs, and merchants. Tír kneeled before the trio on the cobblestone street and spoke in a calm but grave tone. “Listen carefully, I need you three to go into the palace cellar. There’s always a chance that the dragons won’t attack, but I need to join the Rangers and see if we can’t beat back them back in case they do.” His deep, smooth voice calmed Alys, Rai, and Declan’s nerves a bit. “In the meantime: Alys, you have your tattoos so you’re in charge.” He took his eldest’s hands into his and looked at the freshly inked tattoos that wound their way up both of her arms. “Use your magic only if you absolutely need to.”

He let go of Alys’s hands and looked up at Declan and Rai. “And the same goes for you two; take these and only use them as a last resort.” He reached for a row of glass tubes that were attached to the belt that also held his long and short swords. He pulled out four vials, two of a purple liquid and two of an orange liquid and gave the purple ones to Rai and the orange ones to Declan. “Last resort,” he repeated before handing them the vials. They nodded and pocketed the elixirs. Tír rose to his feet and wrapped the trio in his massive arms. “I’ll be right back.” He released them and drew his longsword. Tiny parks jumped from the blade. Another roar, distant yet no less terrifying, pierced the sky. Tír winked at the teens and in an instant, he was gone.

Alys, Declan, and Rai stared at each other silently, the sound of their heavy breathing joining that of shutting cellar doors and alarm bells. They shivered in the cold air, each only wearing a thin, green tunic, knee-length shorts, and light sparring shoes. They studied the normally bustling square where they were standing before finally remembering what was happening and their instructions. They quickly formed a line behind Alys and walked up to the gates of the Governor’s Palace, only to find them locked. Alys grabbed the iron bars and rattled them, affirming that they were indeed stuck in the square.

“I guess we should’ve asked for the key,” Declan joked. Rai giggled and Alys scoffed at both of them.

“Stand back, everyone,” Alys ordered. Her tattoos glowing, she raised her hands and made a pushing motion with her arms. A gust of wind burst from her palms and sent the gates flying off their hinges. Alys looked back and grinned at her companions, black hair sticking to her face. “I think being locked out counts as an emergency. Time to go.”

The palace was only palatial in name: it was a two-level, relatively plain white stone building with only windows and a handful shrubs and trees for a facade. The trio walked up the few stairs to the main entrance which was thankfully unlocked. They pushed it open and stepped inside the main hall, a massive open space where normally Nupari citizens and government employees mingled. The gas lamps were extinguished so the space was dark save for the light that peered in through the windows. The walls were a pale blue and were lined with oil paintings and a few potted plants. The herringbone wooden floors creaked under their steps, but other than that, the palace was silent, the staff likely having fled to the cellar as well. Alys whistled and the three of them started towards the staircase at the end of the hall.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not sticking around to see what kind of dragons those are,” she said. They reached the staircase and while Alys and Declan began to go downstairs, Rai broke off and started going up.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Declan asked, grabbing Rai’s arm.

“I need to get mom’s notebook. What if the dragons come here and destroy the palace?”

Alys stepped forward, hands on her hips. “It doesn’t matter, dad wants us to stay in the cellar.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fast, Alys,” Declan offered, gesturing upstairs with his free hand. Alys glowered up at Declan who was nearly as tall as her father and looked back at her sister.

“The notebook’ll be fine, Rai, but you won’t be if dad finds out you went off on your own while the island was under attack. Now come on, we’re going downstairs. Elza and the rest of them are probably down there, too.” Alys pointed at the stairs leading to the basement until Rai groaned and began marching down. Declan followed suit, raising his hands in surrender, while Alys brought up the rear.

“Do you think dad’s going to be alright?” Rai asked as they descended the granite steps.

“It’s your dad were talking about, I’d be more worried about the dragons,” Declan quipped, nudging Rai on the shoulder. “The Menshoo won’t be happy after they see what your dad and his Rangers do to them.”

“I want to know how three of their dragons even ended up here without riders,” Alys growled.

“You don’t think they got lost?” Rai asked. They were now at the basement and walking down a bright corridor illuminated by dozens of gas lamps towards the cellar enrance at the end of it.

Declan shook his head. “It takes a proper dragon rider at least two years to learn how to even navigate here. It’s nearly three thousand miles of open ocean between Nupar and the Menshoo Empire. It’s hard enough to get here on purpose let alone wind up on accident.”

“Still, it wouldn’t be the first time a stray dragon’s been spotted near here,” Rai mused.

“One dragon maybe, but I don’t know about a pack of three,” Alys cut in. They arrived at the cellar door and Alys motioned for Declan and Rai to stand back. Alys stomped on the door two times, paused, and stopped twice more before stepping back. They heard the shuffle of footsteps, the creak of wood, and the scraping of metal before the door swung opened from the inside. A white-haired man appeared, waving at the teens to enter.

“Thank the Mother,” he sighed. “Get in.” Alys again let the other two descend first before going down herself. She closed the door, threw the latch behind her, and climbed down the short ladder to the cellar floor. The room was much more dimly lit than the corridor, but in the darkness, she could see the palace staff, a few of whom were hugging Rai and Declan tightly. A tall Ranger with dark hair tied in a tight bun and a scar across her upper lip strode up to Alys and wrapped her in a bear hug.

“I was so worried, girl,” the Ranger cried softly.

“I’m alright, Elza. We all are,” Alys said, squeezing her friend back. Elza was the captain of the palace guard, the rest of whom could be seen sitting in chairs and along the walls throughout the cellar.

The cellar was a large open room filled mostly with palace supplies and furnished with chairs, benches, and bed rolls. It was designed to serve as an emergency shelter, with air vents leading up to various points on the streets above. Alys, Rai, and Declan sat on a bench together and breathed a collective sigh of relief. A quiet hour went by and the trio began to doze off when the whole room shook. Rai shot up and looked worriedly at her sister who was scanning the ceiling. Another quake shook the cellar and gasps rippled across the room. At the second quake, Declan stood up too and put a hand on Rai’s shoulder.

“The dragons must be in the city,” Elza said grimly from her chair about a dozen feet away.. “We’re safe down here, though. Even if they level the whole palace.”

“Come on, sit back down,” Declan whined, trying to push Rai back onto the bench. But she his hand off and turned to her sister.

“Alys,” Rai whispered. “The dragons are here, I need to get the notebook now.”

“What? Before wasn’t a good time, and now definitely isn’t any better!” Alys hissed.

“You should’ve just let me grab it when we had the chance. We can’t lose it, Alys. We can’t,” Rai pleaded. “Declan, tell her we need to get it.” She glared at Declan who only grunted unintelligibly in reply.

“It’s just a book, Rai,” Alys urged, drawing her sister’s attention back to her. She willed as much sadness and emotion she could muster into her voice. “I wish we could save it, but mom and dad would rather you be alive than save that book.”

Rai grabbed her sister’s shoulders and started shaking her as she begged. “I’ll be quick, I promise, I know exactly where it is. You and Declan can come with me, it’ll be faster and safer.”

Alys stood and locked eyes with her sister. “No, we’re staying here. Dad said I’m in charge and I’m saying we’re staying here.” Rai stared silently in her sisters eyes when suddenly, she punched Alys in the stomach and made a dash for the cellar door. She was up the ladder and unlatching the door before Declan or Alys could say or do anything.

“Hey, what are you doing!” Elza yelled. But Rai was already through the hatch and running down the hallway. Elza jogged to the bench where Declan was kneeling before a hunched-over Alys. “Where is she going?”

“Stupid idiot is going to get our mom’s notebook,” Alys wheezed, holding her stomach.

“I’m going after her. Where’s the notebook?”

“Declan and I’ll go find her. You know you’re not faster than us.”

Elza opened her mouth to protest further, but Declan cut her off. “Please, Elza, the longer we argue the longer this is going to take. We’ll be right back and you can yell at us then.”

Alys took two quick, deep breaths before straightening up and looking Elza in the eye. “I promise, we’ll be right back. Come on, Declan, let’s go.” With that, they clambered up the ladder and out of the cellar.

A small benefit of the palace being empty was that Alys and Declan could run freely without someone scolding them. They tore down the corridor and up the stairs to the ground level. As they approached it, they could hear the roars of dragons grow louder and they felt their legs shake and hearts quicken with each one. An idea coming to mind, Declan stopped Alys on the stairs.

“Alys, maybe you should windsprint us to your dad’s study,” he suggested.

She shook her head. “I can’t do it up stairs and plus, even if I could, there’s a thousand windows in this place and if I break one and there’s a dragon outside, we’re dead.” Declan nodded in agreement and the pair continued their ascent. They reached the main level a few steps later and the chaos unfolding outside of the palace stopped them in their tracks. Through the many windows looking onto the square where they first arrived, the night sky glowed orange and was polluted with columns of thick, black smoke. They could hear Rangers yelling orders and the screeches of griffins, Nupar’s air defenses, as they presumably battled the dragons. A few Rangers could be seen in the square, launching cobblestones and spears of ice and fire into the air. Declan felt a tug on his shirt sleeve.

“Drink one of your elixirs and let’s go upstairs,” Alys ordere. “We need to get to her, now.” Declan retrieved one of the vials Tír had given him from his pocket, removed the stopper, and drank its bitter contents in a single swig before re-pocketing the bottle. Declan felt heat and power coursing through his veins almost immediately. Taking the lead from Alys, they continued on.

Thankfully they knew Rai would be heading for the northeastern corner of the second level. They rounded the top of the stairs and turned right down a long corridor lined with even more windows overlooking the battle in the streets. At the end of the corridor was the study, but before Alys and Declan made it more than a few steps, they were struck by a blast of hot, orange light erupting through a window. Alys screamed and Delcan grabbed her and turned her away, shielding his friend from the intense heat.

The corridor went dark and cool again a moment later. Declan turned to see a dragon perched on a rooftop across the square. It breathed fire again, except this time in the air. “Time to go,” he whispered, releasing Alys and resuming his jog towards the study before she could say anything.

At the end of the corridor they could see the door to Tír’s study wide open. Declan took a deep breath and yelled for his friend. “RAI, WE NEED TO GO. RIGHT NOW,” he screamed. Rai appeared in the door frame of the study, triumphantly holding up a leather-bound notebook. Declan stopped for a moment and smiled weakly before gesturing for her to come. She was about the step out of the study when a roar, much closer than any other so far that night, brought Declan to his knees. A second later, a section of wall exploded in front of him. The last thing Declan saw before he was thrown on his back was a long, reptilian tail ripping through the palace.