Dragons of D'agan

“There weren’t always dragons in the valley, at least not the type that you or I know today. What if I told you the men you know as the Dragons today are named after a fiercer beast?”

The gentle croak of the familiar voice of Grandmother Caillech floated out of the local inn. Causing young Rowan to squeal in excitement while tugging on her father’s hand. “Can I go’an listen Da’? Pleaaasssee!” Rowan’s father in the middle of bartering waved the young girl off. Taking that as permission Rowan took hold of her skirts and took off down the muddy road.

Rowan slid into the inn with a couple of other children who had come running in late. The smell of bread wafted from the kitchen and a welcoming fire crackled in the hearth. A crowd of children had already gathered in front of an elderly woman who sat by the fire. Rowan scanned for a spot, her eyes catching the amused glint of the elderly woman’s. Rowan ducked her head shyly and slid herself into a spot a couple of rows back. Rowan liked Grandmother Caillech but there was no denying the woman’s wild appearance was intimidating. The wooly white-maned woman had a large hump, which caused her to lean heavily on a knobby wooden cane. Her lower jaw jutted out slightly over her top teeth, allowing a rotting tooth to poke out of her bottom lip; one which was fully displaying now that she was smiling. Her one good eye twinkled with joy softening her otherwise intimidating features. Her other eye was hidden under a black patch.

‘CRACK’ The loud sound of the cane hitting stone caused Rowan’s head to snap up from her lap and silence to fall over the crowd of children. Their eyes were now wide and their attention fully on the cackling woman.

“Now mind you’re tongues young ones and listen up to the story of The Dragons of D’agan Valley.”

The fire seemed to dim as Grandmother Caillech lent forward on her cane and began a tale

“Long ago before the creation of the first clans, the D’agan Valley was but a small part of the infamous Ravenwood. Back then the Island of Irne was wild and untamed. Irne was filled with lush forests, tall mountains, great rivers, and fertile plains. Great beasts double the size of what you and I would see today roamed the forests. Elk the size of draft horses, bears as big as a hut, rabbits the size of dogs; all this and more made this land an unmatched hunting ground. Which is exactly why the first people of Irne sailed to this land to make it home.”

“It was not long after arriving that the first people noticed something about this island was amiss. Small instances of items disappearing began to occur more often than not; a bag of grain here, a tool there. In jest it was said to be the work of a group of little people, sneaking into the settlement at night to cause mischief. Little did they know that jest was not far off from the truth. As the population grew, so did the settlers’ misfortunes. Carefully harvested crops would be spoiled overnight; livestock either disappeared or would be found dead, and family fortunes would run off into the night. The joke turned into a belief, and belief turned to horror as the first encounters with the deadlier Fea occurred. It became common that folk would leave offerings in hopes that their home would be passed by.”

“This was the way of life on Irne for many a year; the daily lives of the people were dictated by the whim of what we now know as the Fae. For the most part, we learned there was relative safety so long as we did not wander too far into the Ravenwood. So long as the offerings continued most of the Fae let us get by or ignored our presence. But woe for the town if a single person forgot to pay; for the entire village would suffer the consequences.”

“As generations went on a new threat arose from the forest. Odd beasts of scale and feather and fleet of foot began to be spotted along the forest's edge. Coastal settlements began to report similar beasts of scales and web being spotted beneath the tide. The creatures were said to vary in size and color and at first, they seemed to be a peaceful sort. One could always tell when one was about due to the strong breeze that foretold its arrival. The peace between these creatures and the first settlers did not last long.”

“The first village attacked was the first settlement of what we now call Ashland. Six generations of families had worked the land, and in an instant, all their crops and farmland were burnt to a cinder. The culprit was a great dragon by the name of Scorcha The Firestarter. She rose to the sky from the peak of Hagsback Mountain and rained fire down on the village from her great maw. Scorching the earth until nothing but ash was left. Villagers tried to fight but their spears and bows were useless against the thick hide of the beast. Worse this beast was the largest they had ever seen; she towered over buildings and made even the largest of creatures seem small. There was nothing the villagers could do but watch their home burn.”

“From then on when the dragons would appear disaster was sure to follow. Reports of villages swallowed by massive waves, rockslides, and destructive winds followed wherever a great dragon was sited. Smaller dragons would raid villages frequently, tearing apart homes and families and stealing what they could. The only blessing we had was that the great dragons did not take flight as often as their children.”

“Over time it became obvious that any attempts to settle near the Ravenwood were futile. Attacks on the first settlers would worsen until they were forced to leave or else disappear without a trace. For them it was not much of an existence, to live in fear of what may go bump in the night. Many went mad, and others began to contemplate on setting out and trying their luck elsewhere. The first people of Irne might very well have left if it wasn’t for the arrival of four brothers, Stoarn, Cormmac, Callister, and Galloche. The four brothers came with twenty men each; with the intention of claiming a piece of the island for each one of themselves.”

“They were at first unhappy to find that their new island had already been inhabited. Worse for them it seemed the first settlers were unwelcoming because when they arrived no one would let the men into their home. Many more even refused to speak to them out of fear it was a new trick of the Fae. Two days after the brothers arrived the great winds began to blow. Heralding a disaster to come. The first settlers began to panic as a great dragon by the name of Dirru the great eater, rose from the peak of the Hagsback Mountain. While Dirru was not the worst of the beasts, he was known to be an eater of man, and any dragon no matter what the size usually spelled disaster.”

“So it was no small shock to the villagers, when Dirru, The Great Eater, descended upon them and Stoarn, the oldest of the four brothers, stood in its path. You see the brothers had come from a land that was much like Irne, and they and their ancestors had been fighting the Fea back for centuries, dragons included. The brothers had come from this land with weapons made from the very bones of the beasts they were forged to fight. To this day dragon bone is the only weapon known to be sharp and strong enough to pierce a dragon’s flesh. But the villagers had no knowledge of this, so they were horrified to see Stoarn, stoic as he was, facing down one of the great dragons”

“Stoarn stood his ground as Dirru The Great Eater descended on him with jaws opened wide. When the villagers were sure Stoarn’s fate was sealed, he gave a mighty toss of his spear. The weapon flew straight and true, flying into the great beast's maw and right through its throat. In that instant Dirru, The Great Eater was no more, and hope for our people was born.”

“The brothers after that were welcomed by the settlers with open arms. They learned of the people's plight with not only the dragons but the Fea as well. Over the years the land which use to be filled with open plains all the way to the foot of the twin peaks had been swallowed by the Ravenwood. Pushing the settlers back until most of the population resided on the low-lying islands of the archipelago”

“After telling their tale of woe, the first settlers begged the brothers to share the weapons they had brought with them so they too could stand up to the mighty dragons and surely the Fae as well. The brothers at first said neither yes nor no but asked the villagers to wait until the next morning for an answer. The brothers had sailed to a new land hoping to claim it as their own. The fact that the land they found was just as infested with Fea as their homeland, had them wondering if they should try their luck elsewhere.”

“The brothers that night went back to their ships to discuss, but it wasn’t much of a discussion or one of them had already made up his mind. Stoarn the oldest announced that he quite liked the group of low-lying islands where they had landed. The land was bare, the sun was strong, and the seas were filled with bounty. Out of his three other brothers, he was the most at home near the sea. Cormmac, Callister, and Galloche agreed that if that is what the eldest wished then they would try their luck on the mainland. The next morning, they came back to the first settlers with a proposition. Stoarn announced that he would settle on the archipelago and protect the smaller group of islands and the seas around it. Those of the first settlers who wished to offer their oath of fealty to him were welcome to stay and benefit from his protection. Those that wished to leave could try their luck with his brothers.”

“This at first caused outrage among the first settlers; this land was theirs after all. Shouts erupted from the settlers. They had been on the island for generations; none of these brothers had any right to come and claim it. Cormmac being the more diplomatic of the brothers could already see the seeds of discontent being sewn. Worried for his brother he spoke to the villagers ‘Excuse my brother's boorish words, he is a man of action not of words. The moment he set eyes on these islands his heart filled with love. It was as if the land itself was welcoming him home. Stoarn is a mighty warrior who has lived most of his life on the seas. He has the knowledge and the drive to make these lands and surrounding seas safe for his people and yours, but he cannot do it alone. He is asking you to let him make this land a safer place for all who want to call this place home.’ Cormmac’s words washed over the settlers like a balm; their effect strengthened by a small nod of Stoarn’s head.”

“One by one a handful of settlers knelt symbolizing their allegiance to the first clan chief of Irne. The third youngest of the brothers, Callister, now spoke to the remaining villagers. ‘Stoarn has found his home; my other brothers and I hope to find ours on the mainland. We’ve heard your plight and how you were chased from your homes by the Unruly Fae. For generations, you tilled that land, parents, grandparents, and possibly even children were laid to rest in those very hills. We do not begrudge any of you who chose not to pledge your loyalty to our eldest brother, for I feel if it were I, I might take any chance I had to go back to the land that my forefathers paid for with their blood. Cormmac and I were raised battling the creatures you call Fae from the old forests of our homeland. Together we will cut back the Ravenwood and reclaim your blood right’”

“Those that had not pledged their loyalty to Stoarn saw the wisdom in those words and agreed to follow the other three brothers back to the mainland. With them, the first settlers were able to make the first real progress in cutting back the Ravenwood. Oh, how the Fae raged against this. The settlers faced threats they had never seen before. Each monster, and each attack worse than the ones before. The Great Dragon attacks which once only happened every couple of generations now became a daily threat. Cormmac and Callister, were as good as twenty men when they fought. More importantly, they were both able to bring down more than one great dragon. Even the men they had brought with them were well seasoned in the ways of war and they imparted their knowledge to the first people of Irne. The youngest brother Galloche was much frailer than his other brothers. They describe him as a younger sickly-looking boy, but he knew the way of the Fae almost as well as he knew the ways of humans. He imparted this knowledge to anyone who wished to learn of the Fae and how to arm themselves against the worst of them. He was a teacher and an inventor; ever the resourceful one he found ways of using the Fae's own tools against them. While his brothers fought for more land, Galloche would stay back at each of the villages that formed in the wake of his brother’s path to make sure that every woman, man, and child had the tools to keep themselves safe in the aftermath”

“It took the brothers twenty long years to clear the Ravenwood back to the base of the mountains. During this time, Stoarn had taken back the seas around the archipelago and eradicated all Fae from the smaller islands. With the islands safe he rejoined his brothers for the last of the fights against the dragons. When the last dragon fell, the great Fae wars ended. The Fae’s population had been decimated and what was left of them retreated to what was left of the Ravenwood. With the fighting over more or less, the brothers went to settle down to build families of their own. For his trouble, Cormmac claimed the southwestern lands of Irne, while his brother Callister took the southeast. Between them, they divided up portions of their land so that their men and those that pledged themselves to them could call home.”

“The brothers got what they had come for, each of them gaining territories of their own and their names surely would be passed down through history. But what should have been a joyous occasion was stained with tragedy. For not all the brothers received their happy endings; the youngest Galloche had been claimed by the Fae during the last battle, the battle of D’agan Valley. Cormmac and Callister led a great army into battle against the Fae who had united under the last great dragon. The last of the great dragons was known as Elana of The Ravenwood. Wherever she went the woods would spring to life; full-grown trees would blast from the ground from wherever her green breath touched. Roots would come alive at her command, and the very grass beneath the soldiers’ feet would swallow them whole. The battle was fierce, and it would seem the Fae would finally win. Stoarn, Cormmac, Callister, and Galloche were separated early in the heat of battle. Galloche the youngest, was the first brother to reach the feet of the great dragon; moments ahead of his brother Callister. When the other brothers arrived, they came upon a weeping Callister and their youngest brother’s lifeless body within the claws of Elena The Ravenwood. Knowing her time had come Elena took flight while the brothers wept. The brothers raged when they saw the great Dragon had escaped. Callister not willing to let his brother's remains be taken by the beast picked up his bow and took a shot. The fates were with his arrow that day for it flew and embedded itself deep into the great beast’s heart. With that Irne's last dragon was slain.”

“Galloche’s death was a great blow to many; for out of the four brothers, Galloche was loved by the people the most. Galloche the clever might not have been as strong as his brothers but the tools he had given them were the reason they were thriving. To honor him the first settlers who had not pledged their loyalty to a living brother chose to travel northeast of Callister’s land and name it after the youngest of the brothers. The brothers also honored their fallen brother’s wish to protect what they had built by creating the Order of the D’agan. Or as you may know them, the dragons. The very same people who protect you and I from the threat of the Fae that still lives in these lands.”

The end of the story was signaled by another crack of Grandmother Caillech’s stick. The children erupted with chatter as they rose. Many already running off to play dragons and arguing about who would be the brothers to defeat them. Parents came to collect the younger ones, not old enough to run off with the more rambunctious kids. Among all of that young Rowan sat in her spot with a thoughtful expression on her face. As the din wore down Rowan asked the question that was plaguing her young mind.

“Grandmother Calleich, if Galloche was always teaching and never fighting with his brothers; why was he at the last battle?”

The old woman made a show of looking right, then left, before leaning forward motioning to Rowan to come closer with a thin crooked finger. Rowan complied edging close enough until the older woman was able to whisper into her ear.

“More importantly my dear, why was he the first to the dragon?”

It would be many years before Grandmother Calliech returned to the village, and more questions and the cackling of the woman were the only answers to Rowans question that she ever got. Because before she could ask a single one more, a commotion erupted outside that would change little Rowan's life as she knew it.