Dragons in the Valley

​ Chapter 1

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. After hundreds of years, the Others had departed. They had discovered no sentient species. Now there was nothing, no one anymore to keep the dragons out.

It was a beautiful land. The valley was long and wide. It was hemmed in on the west by a steep escarpment and on the east by steep cliffs down to the eastern plain. To the north the valley narrowed to a canyon filled with boulders. To the south, a huge waterfall fell, carrying the water of the valley’s rivers and streams. The weather was fine. The fields were bountiful. The homes were warm when it was cold outside and cool in the heat of that season. There had been peace. But all of that, from the peace to the weather, had been made so because of the efforts of the Others. When they’d arrived, the land had been desolate, the weather impossible, and they had been fleeing war and destruction.

With all that they brought in their ships, the Others setup a protective boundary around their new domain. It extended from deep in the ground to the entire span of the skies overhead. The native beasts’ fears had not yet subsided so those who had fled at the Others’ arrival were never seen even in later years. With the planet’s original climate and topography so hostile, the Others did not venture outside their boundary. They were content inside, happy for the peace, the quiet and the pleasant days.

However, the beasts still lived. It was a planet, after all, and they had many other places to hide, to hunt, to kill and devour. Not only the dragons, but many other lesser beasts. From the smallest, most timid, all the way to the pinnacle predator, life continued. However, life was difficult. This was not a planet like some others, with rich seas and fertile soil. It was old, worn out. Its star was changing which escalated the treacherous weather. Many types of beasts had already died out when the Others came. Many others starved for lack of fodder or lack of prey. But the dragons survived.

Sleep was the power of the dragons. Sleep kept them alive. Each would eat a tremendous meal then settle in for a nap of years, tens of years, until their bellies growled again. For those who were asleep when the Others arrived, it was a rude awakening. Thankfully their companions woke them in time, and all were able to distance themselves and find new safety. As the keystone species, fleeing was not a familiar feeling. But wisdom succeeded in pushing aside habit and for that reason they survived.

The Others were a curious lot but also cautious. They dug deeply into the history of their valley yet did not venture out across the wider spaces. The desert wastes, the terrifying oceans, the frozen seas – all of those were far in the distance from their small space. They had dug into the valley’s rocky covering and found fossils of bones. There were bones of immense creatures, including some which they named pterosaurs for their immense wings. The idea of real dragons was outside the mindset of the Others and so they avoided considering the ancient flying creatures anything but sophisticated reptiles.

Yet the dragons knew. They knew about their primitive forebears with the large beaks and long claws. Yes, there had been many millions of years before real dragons emerged, only to be pushed aside by these invaders. But now the time had come for the dragons of all colors and sizes to retake the land. There was no one there anymore to defend it.

Almost no one.