Chronicles of Airtìr

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. In the last age a great city sprawled across the hills. Its skeleton now lay crumbling and scattered amongst the trees, rusty bones engulfed in moss and bracken. Its roadways had become the riverbed of The Sweep, which nourished the life surrounding its banks. Where people once walked, now deer pranced, foxes leapt, and wolves sang their soulful songs. Above it all, amongst the great canopies and clouds, flew dragons.

Wild dragons roamed the Vruidence Valley, most residing in the caves of the Iolaire Eyrie. The eyrie was carved into Iolaire Peak, a dormant volcano that had fallen asleep long before the last age had ended. Iolaire watched over the whole of the Valley, the surrounding mountains and hills dwarfed by her immense height. Even when the mountain hid herself within a veil of storms, dragons could be seen dancing with the lightning.

Far below Iolaire, a small cabin lay nestled within a grove of ancient pines. Hazel stood leaning against the porch railing, staring out through the trees as the morning light glittered through the branches. The previous night's chill had begun to melt away with the dew, the soft sunlight warming the woodland slope Hazel called home. She sipped her tea, taking in the delicate aroma of the leaves as the mug warmed her hands. She closed her eyes, focusing on each breath she inhaled and released.

A sudden shove against her legs forced her backward, and she nearly dropped the mug from her hands. She stumbled to the side as two wyrmlings tumbled into her and skidded across the mossy boards. One stood no higher than her knees, the other's shoulders came up to her waist. The smaller of the two, Sprigg, was a deep emerald-green, ivory spikes accenting his round head before trailing down his spine and gathering in a small cluster at the tip of his tail. The taller dragon, Zephyr, held every shade of the blue sky above, with iridescent feathers in place of polished scales.

Zephyr pinned the other on his back, which began furiously nipping at his pale neck and chest. Zephyr leapt up into the air and disappeared, dissolving into a blurry mirage of color, before reappearing a few feet away, chirping playfully.

"Zephyr, play fair,” Hazel chided. “Sprigg's wings can't hold him just yet."

Zephyr's bright eyes locked briefly with hers, before he gave a small huff and flopped on his side. Sprigg immediately leapt onto him and started gnawing at his ears.

Hazel shook her head, then turned and stepped into her cabin.

The cabin was small, consisting of only two rooms. The main room held a small kitchen to her left, drying herbs obscuring the window that looked out towards the porch and over the Valley beyond. To her right was a hearth that encompassed the entire northern wall, stone shelves framing the dying fire at its center. Glowing embers warmed a kettle that hung above them. An oversized, dilapidated chair sat facing the hearth, the only furniture in the room aside from a rickety table in the kitchen.

Hazel sank into the chair and let out a long breath before pulling a piece of parchment from her pocket. The scrawl on it was rough but legible, and the familiar hand comforted her.

Dearest Hazel,

I hope this letter reaches you well and in good time. I'm not sure how to say this, but here it goes. Lady Silva passed away last night in her sleep. I know you and Audris aren't really speaking, but she is distraught at the loss of her mother and it might be good for her to hear from you. She was her mother and all, and it might be good for her to hear from you. I Wish I was Gifted just so I could have spoken with you over the mirror, but that sort of thing isn't for the likes of me.

Anyway, I think there will be a ceremony at the Academy; I'm not sure of the details yet. I hope you can make it. It's been a while, and it would be good to see you. Oh, Jerg misses you too. And your belly scratches.

Hope to see you soon,

Zacarus

Hazel leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. How long has it been now? Hazel thought. Visiting Hazel read the letter a second time, before returning it to her pocket.

Lady Silva, gone. It didn't come as too much of a surprise. She had been sick for a long while, even while Hazel was still a student of hers at the Academy, all those years ago. Still, the news hurt. Could she return home, after everything?

She let out a long sigh, begrudgingly pushed herself out of the chair, and walked into her bedroom.

It was dark, shades covering the only window in the room. A plain bed took up a corner of the room to her left, a small wooden dresser beside it. An assortment of rough hewn bookshelves lined the walls to her right; there were fewer books on them than she would have liked. Across from the bed stood a full length mirror that leaned against the wall, a ragged blanket covering its face.

With her mug of tea in one hand, she pulled the blanket free with the other, tossing it onto the floor.

The mirror was beautiful, the dark polished wood adorned with carvings of various plants and animals. It was crowned with the head of a dragon, bright emeralds for eyes.

She turned her gaze to her reflection. Piercing eyes stared back at her, her expression apprehensive. She tucked the silver bangs that framed her face behind her ears, thankful that the remainder of her hair was still the same deep brown. She smoothed down the loose wisps that frayed away from the neat braid that hung over one shoulder.

Might as well get this over with.

She traced an intricate rune across the mirror. With a low thrum, the mirror’s face began to ripple, Hazel’s reflection dissolving into a whirlpool of different colors. They spun and swirled, until they formed into a solid image once more.

In place of her reflection was now an entirely different room. It was lavish compared to her humble abode. Velvet draperies hung on either side of a grand window, which looked out across golden fields. Stone walls were lined with shelves that spanned beyond her purview, each filled to capacity with books. Lying in front of the shelves, atop a colorful woven rug, lay a large sleeping dragon. Its pale gray head rested on giant claws. Two silvery spikes protruded from the back of its head, clusters of smaller spikes smattered across the rest of its dull hide. Its wings lay folded above it, thumb spikes curved back like meat hooks.

One of the dragon’s eyes flicked open, revealing an orb of milky blue and white. It had no pupil, but Hazel could feel its gaze at her core. Her jaw tightened, her hands at her sides clenching into fists. With a breath she willed her body to relax, and clasped her hands in front of her.

The dragon let out a low hiss, its lip curling up to display its pale fangs. It turned its head towards her, and snapped towards the mirror.

Hazel jumped back in surprise, nearly falling onto her bed behind her.

A harsh chuckle emanated from the dragon’s throat, before at last it rose to its feet and left the room, talons clicking against the stone floor as it went.

Several minutes passed, and Hazel considered leaving the mirror before a woman stepped into view.

She was shorter than Hazel, wearing an elegant black dress that pooled at her feet. Her cropped hair was white as winter snow. She had been crying, the skin around her cold eyes red and puffy.

They stared at one another for a long moment, before Hazel finally spoke.

“You look well… It’s been a long time.”

“That was your choice, not mine.”

“Audris,” Hazel said slowly. “I’m sorry. I only just heard about your mother. I-”

“I don’t need your apologies.” Audris snapped. “I don’t want them. I needed you, and you left. Ten years ago. You want to hide away on that mountain with your whelps, fine, but life has moved on. I’ve moved on.”

“How could I stay? With everything that happened, there was no way I could-”

“You were a coward. Instead of healing together as a family, you chose to run away. Neither of us had control over what happened. You let our relationship hinge on the outcome of Kelev’s actions. Kelev is now dead, as is my daughter.”

“Kelev is dead because of your dragon,” Hazel growled.

Audris's face lit with fury, mouth open to retort, then suddenly went blank. She blinked twice before her eyes focused on Hazel again. Surprise lit her face, before a small smile spread across her lips. She reached a hand out and touched the mirror.

“Is that really you Hazel? It’s been so long.”

Hazel sighed and raised her own hand to Audris’s. “It is me. I’m sorry it’s been so long.”

“It’s okay, I forgive you. Hey, when did you put the streaks in your hair? I like them.”

Hazel’s eyebrows raised, her hand reaching up to feel the silver streaks before she could catch herself. She bit her lip before saying, “I like them too.”

Audris gave her a bright smile. "If the girls see it, they’ll probably want to do the same thing. Oh! I should probably get going. I promised them and the boy that I’d fly them to mom’s today. It’s been a while since Mal’s gone on that long of a flight.” She leaned towards the mirror and whispered, “I think he’s getting a little fat.” She chuckled to herself, then reached both arms around the mirror to hug it. “Pretend this is me hugging you, okay? I love you. Don’t let it be a couple months before I see you again!”

She then traced on the mirror the same rune Hazel had done before, and Audris’s image rippled and swirled, before the mirror once again showed only Hazel’s reflection.

With a cry she tossed the mug in her hand at the wall. It immediately shattered, flinging tea and pottery shards across the wall and floor.

"Dragon's spit, that one was my favorite," she muttered as she bent to pick up the broken pieces of mug, before tossing the pieces into a bin by her dresser. She gave herself a bitter look in the mirror, before covering it with the blanket once more.

She strode from the room and stepped outside, where Sprigg was still tormenting Zephyr on the porch. Hazel picked up the baby dragon and hugged him tightly, before setting him back down.

"Let's go for a walk, shall we?"

She started down the path that wound through the trees towards the river, two wyrmlings trailing behind her, chirping as they went.