Our Hands Weren't Always Bloodied

There weren't always dragons in the Valley.

The first dragon that came to the Valley of Red Flowers brought with it curiosity, for the people heard of such creatures only in legends and believed them to be a myth.

Vaiduryam was the first to arrive. Nobody dared to speak when her clawed feet settled on the grass and she stretched her wings wide. They were too entranced by the way her scales glittered in the sunlight, deep shades of the midnight sky.

She spoke without opening her mouth. The dulcet tones of her voice echoed within the skulls of everybody gathered around her, and none of them struggled to understand her words.

"Lady Adrina, please, help!"

One of the villagers---Cordell was his name, she remembered---ran up to her with a young girl cradled in his arms, pulling her from her thoughts. The girl's chest was covered in blood that oozed from a deep slash. Each breath she took was wet and ragged.

"That wound is from a dragon's claw," Adrina said, pressing one hand over the slash as she began to weave her magic. "How did this happen? Why?"

Cordell shook his head. "I found her at the edge of the Valley. I thought she was already dead, but then I heard a whimper and rushed her to you."

"I don't know if I can save her." Adrina's hand was coated in the hot, slick blood of the girl. She felt her magic pouring into the wound, trying to stop the bleeding so she could move onto mending the muscle and skin back together.

"That you tried is what matters," Cordell said. "I suppose we were overdue for the kids to make it a game of trying to get into the Valley. Happens every decade or so."

Adrina's mouth set into a thin line. "That it does."

There was harmony between man and dragon for centuries. As long-lived as the dragons were, they passed down knowledge and stories from one generation of humans to the next. The Valley of Red Flowers was a peaceful place. Beautiful and tended to with the utmost care.

"Do you know her name?" Adrina asked.

She pulled her hands away as the girl's heart stopped beating.

"Fausta," Cordell said.

Adrina took in the state of Fausta's dress, torn and stained. It used to be soft blue in color, but never would be again. "She can't be buried in that. She'll need a new dress."

After Vaiduryam, more dragons came to the Valley. Each one had scales of brilliant shades that looked like gemstones when sunlight or firelight hit them at the right angle. They never spoke of why they chose to settle there, or why they left their former homeland. Their alliance was stable.

But when man was involved, peace could never last.

"If her family can't afford one, I would be glad to buy it for them," Adrina said.

"Why don't we go speak with them before you worry over her clothing," Cordell said. "Are you planning on washing your hands before we break the news to her family?"

Adrina shook her head. "Let them see that I was not enough. My punishment, which will never be satisfactory."

Adrina was the first one to drink the blood of a dragon in pursuit of their magical prowess to enhance her feeble abilities. The peace between man and dragon ended that day, but she was not alone in breaking it. Her accomplices, too, gorged themselves on the blood of Vaiduryam.

With her hands dripping, staining the lush grass of the Valley of Red Flowers, Adrina was the first to sink her teeth into Vaiduryam's heart in pursuit of the longevity that dragons enjoyed.

For her crimes, man was driven from the Valley of Red Flowers, and the dragons claimed the land for themselves. Recompense, they called it. But it didn't end there. Man never took kind to being slighted, even if they deserved it.

To be freed from the shackles of aging, Adrina paid with the lives of countless men and women.

Her debt would never be cleared.