In the Eye of the Beholder

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. Except there was, and I wasn't always able to see them.

You see, when a person turns 21 years old their eyes turn a certain color. This color then determines the path their life takes and where they move to for their continued learning and training for life.

I suppose it was destiny, of sorts, that granted me the ability to see the dragons. Some may call it a curse and some may call it a blessing. I call it opportunity for adventure.

The island I live on is massive- so massive that I hesitate to call it an island but rather a whole gigantic continent. Though because no one has yet seen any land anywhere NEAR our ginormous continent that could be why we all just refer to where we live as an island.

So it's rather easy to miss whole hoards of dragons living there- though to be fair, only certain people are able to see them. You'd think someone would have accidentally bumped into them by now, except my theory is that physics somehow doesn't work the same when it comes to vision and the eyes. Similar to how quantum physics works.

People on this island are born with eyes that are void of any specific color, kind of like looking at a rainbow of colors, which are iridescent and pulse with the whole spectrum visible to the regular human eye. Those that keep their original iridescent eyes are extremely rare to come across. They are said to be keepers of the ancient knowledge and can see all dimensions of being when meditating. Keepers of magical knowledge that they freely give to those who ask but must also pass their trial, lest this knowledge fall into the hands of someone with ill will and intent. No one knows what it is because the only ones who know have taken it and been sworn to secrecy. If one does decide to breach this secrecy their memories are automatically wiped for all time. Unless they want to try the trial again, in which case the Keepers will again freely give them the knowledge in an infinite loop of chances. However, the more times this happens the more the mind of the person who keeps doing it will fracture and break.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, which is DRAGONS. And lots of them. Everywhere. Who knew a place so magnificent was filled with such incredible winged beings as these? Not me; not until today.

Most people would guess it's because of today being my birthday but actually no, today isn't my birthday- that was three days ago. No, for me my eyes did the thing and changed colors three days ago but nothing happened immediately, just as they said. They told all of my fellow 21 year old's to be patient when our eyes changed colors for them to kick in and take effect. Each person is different for the amount of time it takes and each person has to discover for themselves what the color means- all the 21+ are banned from saying so to preserve the Tradition of Discovery.

So that's how I found myself in a Valley full of dragons: The Tradition of Discovery.

I was hiking in the mountains on a solo adventure when I noticed a path leading away from the main one. Curious to find out where it led and if it would lead me to my own secret “Garden of Eden” type spot I ducked under the foliage hanging above and made my way along the dirt path.

Leaves occasionally crinkled underfoot as the path wound through the trees seemingly going forever. After what seemed like 20 minutes of walking I noticed it was gradually getting lighter and edge of the trees was approaching. The branches now were absolutely covered in moss and the air seemed fresher, cleaner, and greener. After about 5 more minutes I reached the edge of foliage and my mouth dropped open as I caught my first glimpse of the valley that had suddenly opened up in front of me.

My mouth wasn’t only hanging open because of the view though- I had to rub my eyes several times just to make sure I wasn’t tripping. When had DRAGONS gotten here? Had they always been here? How was it that the same sort of looking being from some of my favorite books were living, breathing, and soaring right here?

I had to take a seat as I took it all in.

Then it hit me what was happening- this is why my eyes turned a deep verdant green. Seeing dragons is the gift given to people with my color of eyes! Woah.

Feeling able to stand again I continued on the trail down into the valley. As I walked along a dragon caught my attention that was doing loop-the-loops in the air. It was a breathtaking iridescent green and purple with a sort of golden sheen to it. And it was coming closer the longer I stared at it.

Frozen, I just stood there staring as it landed right in front of me. Its beauty took my breath away and I almost forgot how to speak. Until I remembered I needed to breathe.

Since I was unsure of what one does when a dragon suddenly lands in front of them for the first time and first dragon ever, I did the only sensible thing that came to mind- "Hi."

The dragon blinked at me and looked me in the eye for a long moment before seeming satisfied with what it saw. Had to have been at least 5 minutes of eye gazing but who knows what time is when you're in a valley filled with DRAGONS. And then it spoke. In a voice in my head.