Chapter 1: The woman on the rock
‘‘There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. Three months ago there were no dragons in the Valley at all. Now it is filled with them.’’ The woman sat upright in bed and leaned back against the bedhead. She closed her hazel eyes, wincing from the pain of her exertion, and then opened them again. She turned her head slightly to the right to face her rescuer, Captain Venus Sable. Venus stared at the woman intently, silently imploring her to continue her account. The woman obliged.