Dragon’s Mark

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. There was a time we’re there were smokeless skies. Everyday faithfully, when the bells at the watch towers surrounding the town rings, I can see them into the distance. They dance effortlessly in the air; making their daily rounds to patrol the area like clock work. Their eyes light up like the golden sun, as their impenetrable skin shimmers and sparkles in the twilight. To watch is breathtaking, but frightening at the same time.

It’s autumn, but that’s not why the land slumbers. Fire comes from out their mouths as they huff and puff and burn the trees down for sport. Day and night becomes undistinguishable from each other, as the the beasts of the sky exercise their powers far greater than what man possess.

No one knows we’re the dragons came from. All we know is that they are very advanced beings sent to earth on a mission to establish order on our planet. Fallen angels I call them. They communicate telepathically, and can infiltrate our minds, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg on what they are truly capable of.

I have never came across a dragon face to face before. I value my life too much. Mother warns we must always be submissive to their will, because we are powerless against them. To live in fear is far better than to die for freedom. And yet, there is still hope amoungst the old who have tasted clearer skies.

Father once told me that one day the dragons will leave this world once they crown a ruler. The chosen one will have access to all the ancient knowledge passed on by the celestial dragons to guide humanity into a golden age of love and peace; but first fear must be planted into the hearts of man to weed out any disloyalty to the cause. It’s been twenty years since they arrived, and so much has changed he says. The dragons keep track of us by giving those who are of age a mark on their right hand. When the mark glows red that means curfew begins. Crime dropped since they arrived. Guns and weapons were forbidden, and drugs too, well the bad kind anyway.

The mayor, who has direct contact with the dragons, proudly declared that we should be grateful that they came and saved us from destroying ourselves from meangless wars back then, and that the polluted sky is just a small price to pay for peace.

Mother stood up and clapped mindlessly along with the others around us, as we all watched his speech live on the big television screens this morning in the town center.

“ Mayor Thomas is right. The dragons are only here to help us. No one needs to get hurt if we just follow the rules,” she whispered to me as she dusted the ash off my shoulders.

But I curse them under my breath, “ I wish all the dragons would just disappear for good. They have done more harm then good.”

I can still see it from miles away, the town next over, engulfed in flames.” Their crime was simple; they thought they had a fighting chance. There acts of rebellion caused more dragons on patrol than normal. Turns out they managed to created a weapon to combat the dragons tough armor. They somehow managed to take one down yesterday. I secretly was rooting for them, but in the end, I couldn't help but hear my mothers voice saying,

“I tould you so…it is pointless to resist.”

The town was burned to the ground and no one was spared. This world belongs to the dragons now. In fear that we are next, My mother recites the laws everyday so we don’t forget.

Though am not a little girl anymore, am fifteen, I still take delight in fathers stories of the distant past. Some times I close my eyes and image what the world was like before I was born to escape reality, but I have to be vigilant if am going to survive. It’s a cruel world out there. Each day a canopy of dark clouds sweeps over the Valley. It’s pointless to cry for the fallen. Tears become untraceable as the landscape becomes covered in fire and ash.

I sigh for the sky. I pray that we have blue skies once again. If only dragons never existed then humanity could have more of a chance at peace. Peace on our own terms; by our own free will.