Dragons of Osmaria
Chapter 1: Tracking the Past
“There weren’t always dragons in the Valley!,” whispered Liri, sounding shocked and dumbfounded as she dove out of sight. Susgu had quickly crouched behind a cluster of boulders as soon as they had crested the ridgeline and caught a glimpse of the great serpents. Even at this distance, they would have been easily spotted by the dragons’ exceptional sight had they been looking this way, like field mice to a hungry hawk. Hoping they had escaped detection, Susgu signaled to Liri. Fearful of the great beasts’ hearing as well, he signaled using the intricate hand movements used by the Llianese trackers, though he had been scouting with Liri for so long, she would have understood a sideways glance of his eyes. They each carefully and in turn, peered out from their cover to observe the Valley beyond.
The ridgeline they found themselves on was the northern border of Osmaria and continued east and west along the southern edge of the Valley. To the west, it intersected with the south-western tip of the Miutra Mountains, a foreboding and dangerous wilderness known mostly by legend. Eastward the ridgeline fell gradually for several days’ ride until finally ending at the Valley Sea, named for obvious reasons. Looking to the North, the Valley’s expanse stretched seemingly beyond comprehension, but eventually would meet the northern portion of the Miutra range. Beyond that was the barrier, or so it was told. And there in the open, still a half day’s walk on foot, but clearly visible nonetheless, were two monstrous dragons.
There’s not a mortal alive today, including Susgu and Liri, who had ever seen a dragon. There had been mention of them during tracker training, but it was cursory and deemed noncritical and more a history lesson than an anatomical one. At this distance, Susgu tried to work out a rough estimate of the size of the creatures, and he was staggered to think his mental calculations could be correct. Their skin, or scales, or whatever it was that covered their immense bodies, looked dark and green, but with some vaguely iridescent quality to it. Under full sunlight, Susgu imagined they’d be brilliantly reflective and probably difficult to look directly at, but under this day’s overcast murkiness, they seemed relatively drab. Both seemed to be looking northward, so Susgu felt comfortable prolonging his observation, albeit from their hidden position, to ensure he could provide an accurate description of what they were seeing. When his curiosity was satisfied and he felt he had lingered long enough, he motioned to Liri, and indicated the treeline at the bottom of the slope. The two of them noiselessly retreated below the protective cusp of the ridgeline and reconvened several hundred yards downhill under cover of the woods.
It took several minutes before either of them spoke, not entirely sure of what they’d seen, and even less sure of the implications.
Liri was first to break the hesitant silence. “Where did they come from?”
“They could only have come from north of the barrier,” breathed Susgu, not sure how that was possible.
He stared blankly into the woods, not looking for anything in particular, just in thought. He tried to remember the last time he had heard about dragons in the lands of Osmaria. He thought back to lessons at tracker school.
“Do you remember what we were told at Llian?” he asked Liri.
“It’s been, what, 300 years at least since they were pushed beyond the Miutra Mountains” replied Liri.
“That sounds right,” Susgu paused in thought. “But they weren’t ever supposed to be able to get through the barrier, I know that for certain,” though he didn't feel certain at all now.
Liri looked at Susgu with concern, and then hesitated, “I wonder how much the council knew when they sent us to scout the northern border.”
Susgu knowingly nodded in agreement. “That’ll be my first question when we report back.”
He thought for a moment, then told Liri his plan. “If we head straight south,move fast, and only bivouac when absolutely necessary, we can make the Aprela River in two days. We’ll follow that to Wesmiydor where we can get horses, and take the Eastern Caravan route to the Osmarian Front Range. We can be back in Llian in six or seven days if the weather cooperates.” It was an optimistic schedule at their best, but Osmaria would need their best now.
Liri nodded while she strapped on her pack, “We’d better get moving.”
About the Creator
Andrew LaBree
As a creator, I typically work with wood, carving and crafting handmade objects and furniture that are practical, seasonal, or fantastical. Professionally I own my own building company. This is my first endeavor in writing creatively.
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