A Tale of Dragons and Faeries

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. A slew of faeries used to reside there. As children, we often imagined faeries to be small, joyous creatures meant to grant us a wish if we played with them some. Our imagination couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Our village has always been in the outskirts of the valley, which in turn made us easy targets for the evils of the world. It was known to adventurers, mercenaries, merchants and other lost souls that they could only hope to shorten their journey by walking through the valley. It was a shortcut of sorts. Bandits once attempted to claim the valley so they could threaten all passerby under the guise of offering safe passage in exchange for goods. Their plan however, had been short lived. Soon, it was known everywhere.

There were faeries in the valley.

Unlike our younger selves, both the adults of our village and the folks outside our village, knew better than to wish for an encounter with a Fae.

Faeries weren’t small as we had imagined, nor did they emerge from nature as we had envisioned. They were born out of thin air, from the collision of nature and magic that permeated the mortal world. They were a reflection of mankind in its vilest form. Joyous, they appeared to be, though that was nothing more than common misconception. Their kind was full of mischief. They hungered for one thing and one thing only——their own entertainment. Always to the detriment of others.

Faeries wore glamours that made them indivisible to the human eye. They could only be seen if they wished it so. For those of us gifted with The Sight, an ability which allowed us to see through the unseen, we were taught to pretend not to know. Not to see what they were or what they could do. For those of use who could scry into the future, we were told to turn a blind eye, to ignore their atrocities as they would soon grow bored with us and consequently leave us alone.

I had believed that to be true.. Until I saw it in a dream. A curse that the Yellow Giggling Fae would find merriment in casting. I saw it with my own eyes, though I pretended not to. By the time I chose to revise that decision, she had already walked about our village and performed what she would swear was nothing but a tiny little trick.

Shivers had ran up and down my spine as I’d watched her helplessly. Unbothered and amused, she’d broken into a song whilst giggling her way through spells, just to see what would become of our village. Her words turned into magic that touched the weak of the soul, giving rise to a number of humans with mystical powers.

Witches and Warlocks.

Many of those who weren’t touched by her curse were envious of their powers. After all, their abilities weren’t as uncertain as The Sight or as intangible as scrying into the future. As Sorcerers, they could move objects with their mind. Bend the world as they saw fit. They were as powerful as their so called gifts would allow… Yet nothing but pain and misfortune soon ensued.

Every Witch and Warlock was afflicted with a curse. To lose one of their five senses overtime, to see their loved ones die until only they remained, to experience constant failure in all other aspects of their lives… and the list went on. The Fae’s tiny trick had turned into the decimation of our people.

A fact I could not allow.

Thus, despite the protest of our elders, those of us who could no longer stand and pretend not to see them, as if they were a infallible as the rising tide, left on our own journey. To see about a dragon who was said to possess the ability to reverse curses. It didn’t take long for us to understand why the faeries had let us go without a fuss.

They had believed this journey to be impossible.

Some of us died as we braved the world beyond the comforts of our village. Others chose to abandon our quest as our journey of a few weeks had shifted into years on end. ‘Would our people even be alive by the time we returned?’ They would ask.

Though those of us who stayed true to the path we’d embarked on feared the same thing, we did not despair. It took grief, a few broken bones and bruises until we met him.

The Blue Eyed Dragon. He was posted atop a hill as he observed our ascension. As my companions began to fear him, I’d grown bolder. Not because I had scried into the future, but because I remembered what my teacher had told me long ago. Nature always balanced the scales. Nothing was given without a countermeasure. Like a Fae to a Dragon.

The dragon laughed as I shared with him this belief. His amused gaze assessing me with interest. Then he told me of his own dilemma.

“I have brothers, you see. They’ve enjoyed morphing themselves like humans to mingle with the rest of you lot… However, some of them wish to return, only they have no true place to return to. No dwelling to call their own except for the sky where even the most powerful of arrows can reach… what can you do for us?”

“Why not do it for yourself, O mighty dragon?” The answer was so obvious, I did not need to think about it. “Once you’ve ridden the valley of the faeries… why not take it for yourselves?”

Thus, the valley became the domain of dragons.