Life from Ashes

The screams of man and beast alike could be heard for miles from the battle at Foln’s Hill. Where the region previously held a quaint town surrounded by a luscious forest filled with creatures of all kinds, a fire now blazed that threatened all life found therein.

The war between men and dragons had been raging for decades, and the battle at Foln’s Hill was a small skirmish by comparison to the battles that were fought elsewhere. Foln’s Hill was home to a few hundred humans, mostly farmers and fishermen who worked the nearby river. However, the three dragons who lived in the neighboring mountain decided tonight was the night to strike. While Foln’s Hill did not house many warriors, the dragons could only see the potential tactical advantage that controlling the area would provide. They needed the region, no matter the cost to obtain it. Without warning, they stormed the area and laid their fiery breath down on the citizens below.

Foln’s Hill would not fall so easily, however. The villagers had families and livelihood to defend, and fought with every ounce of strength they could muster. The entire town and the nearby forest was ablaze, with the roar of combat outweighing even the roar of the flames burning down the woodlands around them.

Laine, the youngest of the dragons, flew overhead looking for an opportunity to strike. Most of the humans lay slain and burnt across the battlefield, but Laine could not find her fellow dragons, even with her high vantage point. “Perhaps they are amongst the flames below, or behind one of these huts” Laine thought to herself, as she flew closer to the ground. Certainly she would be able to see them from here.

CRACK!

Laine was struck with a boulder at a force she had not yet experienced in battle. The pain of the strike dulled her senses and she lost control of her flight, crashing into the forest beside her. Upon impact, she fell unconscious.

Within mere seconds, Laine began to wake, taking time to regain her thoughts of what had just happened. “A catapult? I thought this attack would be simpler. Those humans will pay!” As Laine attempted to stand, she collapsed back to the forest floor. Her injuries were more severe than she had first realized. “Should I call out to the others? No, that would give my position away, and I am in no condition to defend myself. I will wait just another moment, then I will return to finish what I started. My green scales should hide me for the time being.”

As Laine finished her thought, she could hear rustling from the branches behind her. Though she could not stand, she lengthened her neck to make herself as large as possible, bared her razor sharp teeth, and faced the threat, ready to breathe fire at the first creature she saw. However, when she turned, she could see nothing. The fires of the battle had not reached this portion of forest, so the bushes and trees could still be disguising a threat of some sort. Laine stayed ready for whatever may come to meet her.

From within a nearby bush, came a small human child. No more than a year old, it was garbed in a brown cloth, clearly a young boy, and had short blonde hair with amber eyes. It could walk, but just slightly, and began to stumble his way towards Laine. He had no visible injuries, but was covered in soot from head to toe. “How did you get all the way out here?” Thought Laine. “It’s no matter, you will help speed up my recovery.” Laine began to reach her head towards the child, mouth agape. The child could easily be eaten in a single bite, but it would be better than no meal at all.

As Laine reached towards the child, he fell back and began to cry. Laine stopped short of the child, pulled her head back and observed him. She had many reasons to hate humans, from loved ones they had murdered to their total disregard for the natural world, and yet she could not bring herself to hate this one. In this one child’s eyes, Laine could only see innocence. An innocence she had not ever witnessed in a human before.

A loud, thunderous shriek rang out from the village. Laine turned her attention away from the child, “the others!” With newfound strength, Laine brought herself to her feet and started towards the town with a limp. She could not fly because of the surrounding trees, but the village was close and she would move as quickly as she could.

Upon reaching the flaming town she was cautious of other humans, but none ever appeared. Only burned or slashed corpses littered the buildings and alleyways. Still, no sign of any of her companions. Laine hurried forward until she reached the town square to find a horrifying sight.

On a tall building across the square, Fryta lay slumped over a burning building. Her glimmering white scales now painted with dark, blackened blood. In the center of the square, Azor laid flat, impaled with several spears in his chest and back. Just as Laine had begun to lose hope, she noticed Azor breathed shallow breaths. She limped towards him, and as she reached him she could see the true manner of his injuries. The spears were large and plunged deep between his ruby scales. He would not survive long. She laid her head against his, purring softly as Azor breathed his last breath.

Laine raised her head back up. All of her life she had known Fryta and Azor, they had played a large part in raising her, and now they were gone. Her heart flooded with sorrow, as she let out a mournful, powerful scream that shook the very earth beneath her. Sorrow began to fade, allowing room for anger. She darted her eyes around the town, but could not see a single living creature. She was the only survivor, or so it appeared.

Suddenly, she saw movement from the direction she had come. Eyes welled with vengeful tears, she prepared to unleash her wrath upon whatever would round the corner. However, it was just the child from the forest, who had followed her all this way.

Laine had just lost her entire livelihood. Every aspect of her life would change from this point on, and it was all due to humans. She looked at the child, who continued to stumble towards her, and saw the enemy. Destroying this last survivor of Foln’s Hill would be her final act in this battle, showing a total victory for her kind.

The child stopped walking and looked Laine directly in the eyes. Laine’s anger began to wash away, as she once again saw innocence in the child. Just as she had lost everything, so too had this child. Even worse yet, this child had no part in the battle. He had not strategized nor taken up arms against the dragons, he was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time. His eyes did not hold vengeance, nor fear. Instead, the child was looking to Laine for help.

“Perhaps we can rebuild our lives together, young one.” She turned towards an exit from the village, and they walked together. As she limped, he continued on with his stumble, now matching each other. Laine was unsure of where to go or what to do, but she felt eternally connected with this young human boy. Whatever came next, they would see it together.