Beyond The Veil

There weren't always dragons in the Valley.

It was told that, before the Great War, the ancient beings once lived peacefully alongside humanity as guardians of the waters, the skies, and forests. Deeply connected to Mother Earth, the Dragons were stewards of the green planet that birthed them and were fiercely protective of her.

The Dragons, divided into clans but harmonious in their interactions, worked alongside the faeries to take care of all that was green and growing and vibrant. They held counsel with the fierce and beautiful Elves who served as defenders of Earth and her inhabitants. The dragons even held the Vampires, those who were charged with exterminating the most irredeemably evil among the humans, in high regard.

With nearly immortal lifespans lasting thousands of years, even the youngest dragons held wisdom that few other beings upon the Earth could understand. Only the mysterious Watchers, omnipresent and ethereal beings, knew as much or more than the Dragons. And only the Dragons knew why the Watchers existed at all.

For millennium, the Dragons, the Faeries, the Elves, the Vampires, and other creatures of lore and myth lived openly among the humans.

They did, that is, until The Great War.

It was the humans that drove all but the Watchers away. It was cowardice and betrayal and an unforgiveable lack of loyalty that made the Dragons, Faeries, and Elves retreat beyond what would eventually be known as "The Veil". It was seeing the selfish nature of the very mortal race of man that sent the Vampires into hiding.

For, at that final battle, the humans did not show to fight.

The Earth, lovingly cared for by the Dragons and Faeries, fiercely protected by the Elves and Vampires, was a haven of safety for the weaker race of men. It was so safe, in fact, that first of the Great Evils went unnoticed when it began to seep through the tiny rift that mysteriously formed in the divide between this world and a more hellish one beyond it. The putrid nature of what came through was revealed when a mysterious wasting sickness began to afflict with many humans, resulting in great loss of life over the course of months.

Eventually, the scholars among the Elves were able to determine that the source of illness was not of this world and an envoy of warrior Elves, Dragons, and Vampires was dispatched to track the source. It took many months and carefully spun magick to find the tear in the fabric between worlds. It took longer still for the group to gather that what had come through was a most vile magick born of a malevolent world that was surely inhabited by wicked creatures.

Despite ongoing efforts of the greatest minds among all the races of Earth, the rift would not close. As efforts continued without result, a force of fifty Elvin and fifty Vampire warriors was stationed nearby to stop anything that might attempt to come through from the other world into this one.

It was to the peril of the forces that the second of the Great Evils was released into the world. Seeing the rift as an opportunity to feed upon the light of world world after starving for it in the darkness of theirs, monstrous humanoid beings tore through with axes and blades and scythes. Giant in stature and terrifying in their hideous, hulking presence, hundreds of the creatures crossed into our world and brought their brute strength down upon the warrior forces charged with guarding the rift. The Elves and Vampires did not anticipate such a brutal attack given the stealthy nature of the virus that had come before the creatures. Still, the warriors fought fiercely through a swift yet bloody battle. In the end, only three among the Elvin and two among the Vampires survived. Many of the creatures had been slain and those who were wounded retreated back through the rift. Yet, nearly a hundred intent upon making a home in this world managed to escape the battle and go further into our world.

The five warriors that had survived rushed back to their lands to warn the other beings of Earth that monsters from the other side had escape into our world. Not only that, but the rift had torn wider during their emergence from the other side.

A call was sent out to request that bravest human fighters, the strongest Dragons, the fiercest Elvin warriors, the most clever among the faeries, and the most battle-tested Vampires meet in the Great City of Earth, called Alexandria, to prepare to scour the Earth to find and defeat the creatures that had escaped. Only the Watchers stayed away from this gathering, content on overseeing all that was happening without input or interference. To this day, only the Dragons understand why the Watchers did not take part in destroying this great evil and it is knowledge they will not share.

At the same time, the great scholars of all races converged upon the Golden Temple within the Great City to conr together as one to learn all they could about how the rift formed, what world lay beyond it, and if, together, they could find a way to permanently seal the tear to protect all who lived upon the Earth.

It took many, many months of failed searches across all the lands of the Earth before the creatures that had come through the rift were found to be living on a narrow continent the color of emeralds. They were hidden deep in a previously undiscovered valley that was surrounded by huge, rocky mountains rife with cliffs and caves. The creatures were settled there, hunting the animals that roamed the valley and living within the caves. It was also in this valley that the creatures practiced their warcraft as they wove schemes to bring all the other beings of the hellish land through the rift so they might take over the Earth.

Spies among those who had searched for the creatures learned of these plots and it was immediately decided that the monsters must be destroyed before they could contact their brethren. All the warriors that had answered the call to come to the Great City- humans, Dragons, Elves, Fae, and Vampires- prepared for immediate action. They formulated a strategy to invade the valley and engage the dark monsters in one single and final battle designed to decimate every, single creature before they could carry out their plots to invade Earth.

During these months of the search, the scholars at the Golden Temple were working tirelessly to find a way to permanently repair the rift. Finally, after much study and many failures, that a spell was created from Fae and Dragon magick combined. The scholars set out without delay, flanked by warrior guardians, to perform this spell at the site of the rift.

As the scholars traveled, the warriors prepared for battle. It was on the eve of this battle that the scholars reached the rift and began weaving their magick. The rift began to close, but not until the third and final of the Great Evils came through as secretly and silently as the first evil had come. It was sent through by unknown entities to strike at the human warriors. It was designed to cleave the humans who were poised to enter into battle from their comrades among the races that had been both ally and protector to humanity since the Earth was formed.

This evil came through and struck great fear into the hearts of the human warriors. They were overcome with cowardice and certainty that they would all die in the battle. And so, as their battle companions slept the night before they were to all take on the creatures of the dark, the humans slowly crept away one at a time and, aided by the spell the Evil had planned upon them, totally unnoticed by even the supernatural senses of the other races. They slipped into the darkness of night until not a single human remained among the warriors.

Just as the humans were escaping, the scholars succeeded in fully sealing the rift . The final task to once again bring safety to the Earth was the destruction of the creatures who taken up residence in the valley. When the warriors woke on the morning that they were prepared to attack, they discovered that the humans had abandoned them. The Vampires, Dragons, Elves, and Faeries who had lived alongside humanity, had protected them, and had trusted them were stunned and enraged at such a terrible betrayal. Still, they did not walk away from the fight or abandon the humans to a world in which the creatures were left to live and procreate.

Still, while the battle did take place and the creatures were eventually destroyed, the absence and cowardice of the human warriors was not forgotten. Feeling as though they could no longer trust the humans, the Dragons, Elves, and Faeries slipped beyond a veil magickally created to hide their presence from humanity. The Vampires, made of different magick, were not able to cross beyond the veil. Instead, they separated into small clans and began to live in secret from the humans. Only the Watchers remained where they were, as unchanged, hidden, and enigmatic as they had always been.

At first, the humans mourned for the loss of the others. They called out to them in apology and with pleas forc renewed friendship, but no answer came.

Year after year passed until the humans first gave up their pleas and eventually forgot about the other races. They relegated them to legends and myths that were passed down through generations. While the Dragons, Elves, Faeries, and Vampires remained hidden and distrustful, they could not entirely forget the bond the once had with humanity. In extreme circumstances, they offered unseen aid and protection to humans in danger or peril.

The valley that had once hosted the monsters from the other world still remained millennia after that final and fateful battle had resulted in the separation of the other races from the humans. While it did not look exactly the same, the caves and cliffs and deep valley were still there.

And it was millennia after the battle until a new breed of humans, humans who believed that magick existed and knew that they were not alone on the Earth, came into being and once more started to call out to those that humanity had betrayed so long ago. They sought out the wisdom of the Dragons, the protection of the Elves, the magick of the Fae, and the dark, steady presence of the Vampires.

It was one such human that, having come upon the valley and surrounding mountains during a solitary hike, was walking upon the ground of the ancient battle when she felt overcome with a certainty that she was being watched. She felt a strong magick and a deep connection that could not be explained in any words. She knew only that there was someone or something just out of reach with whom she needed to commune.

Falling upon her knees, she began to cry as words of apology and lost kinship and pleas for forgiveness poured from her as though many others were speaking through her. She did not understand what she said what she did, only knowing that it was right and true.

And, beyond the veil, the heads of the dragons lifted. They heard what she said and looked into her heart. They saw nothing of the long-ago human betrayal. They felt no reason to distrust this human who was beseeching them, not knowing who or what they were, to meet with her and forgive her.

It was to this human that the Dragons decided to extend a tendril of friendship once again and it was in the valley that the first of them stepped beyond the veil with tentative trust for a race who had so long ago betrayed them.

No, there weren’t always Dragons in the valley. They had been gone since an ancient battle there had sent them away from humanity and into myth and legend. But a shift was beginning to occur and, with it, there would be Dragons in the valley once again.

Epilogue:

The Watchers stirred and spoke as one, "The time has come that The Veil can lift. Humanity has learned how to stand on their own without their long-forgotten protectors. The others would never have left the humans had they not betrayed them. The hole in the rift served its purpose."