Returning Home

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. When I was a child there were peaceful times; no worries about livestock getting snatched up, or children charred alive. My village lived in relative harmony as the crossroads between large cities and towns up and downstream and on either side of the mountains. Merchants would travel through Oak Ridge to rest before continuing their journeys. We always traded for finer things like lace, dyes, spices and other exotic goods that most villages our size wouldn’t have access to, much less afford. The merchants were always kind and willing to sell us their unsold stock for a good night's rest and home cooked food.

Even my family, simple farmers and herders that we were, could afford spices for special occasions like holidays and birthdays. I was the youngest of four, and I remember food was plentiful and we always had clothes and shoes to wear. Most people in town were like that too. Life was decent and good for most people, but when I was ten everything changed. That’s when They came.

On a warm summer day, no clouds were visible, and the day began like usual until a deep rumble was heard throughout the valley. No one knew what it was for sure. Some older folk remembered volcanoes erupting and earthquakes trembling the ground, so they decided the land was just repeating past tragedies and disasters. Most of those terrible things happed miles away and only affected the trade routes for a time. Our little village had been situated by the fork in the river for almost four hundred years and never once was damaged by much more than the earth shaking. I remember one old fisherman looked at me and said “Those things happen every so often. Some blame the gods, others the earth. All I know is that we always pay a price.” Little did he know how right he was….

After the rumbling had subsided the smoke appeared. That scared me even more. The smoke cloud grew bigger until it covered half the sky. Being a kid, I was rushed inside and kept away from the windows. All I know of what happened next is from the survivors.

We were told of the fires raging across the mountains- many people rushed to their herds to save as many head as they could. Some succeeded, others never came back. A precious few returned badly burned and yelling about flying monsters, those monsters were the dragons.

Dragons sound so mystical and mesmerizing, but they aren’t. Sure, they’re graceful fliers and yes, they obtain impressive sizes, but they destroy everything in their path. Our herds of sheep, cattle, and horses were severely diminished. The fields were burned to ashes. After the onslaught almost a quarter of the village was in ruin. Most of the villagers survived, so we ran. We evacuated to the capital city of Grand Pine along the south road and away from where the dragons decided to roust.

Everyone I knew were refugees in a distant city that most of us had never been to before. We were housed in tents and feed rations that were barely suitable for a dog. I had never known filth before, I could never get clean and smoke was everywhere, but that was our life for years. We barely had enough of anything to go around. No family escaped the loss of at least one person. No one had been safe.

To this day, ten years exactly, I still feel rage towards those animals. I had a happy childhood with my parents and three siblings, but that terrible day took my father away from me. I hate them! After ten years I’ve decided I’m going to take back my home. I’m going to run those dragons out of Oak Ridge and restore peace to my village once again. I’ve been training to be a swordswoman for six years now, and I just finished my four years as a guard for the royal palace. I am going to take my savings, my horse and my sword and banish the dragons back to where they came from or slay them. They destroyed my home, and I’m not going to let them go without punishment for the atrocities that day.

The road home is going to be difficult, filled with dangers and challenges, but I’m ready for anything. I must travel a road that hasn’t been used in a decade, up through a pass with wild animals who have taken over in the absence of people, then once I find my home, I will have to track down the dragons and figure out how to defeat them as efficiently as possible. I’ve never seen one up close, but the descriptions by the survivors was gruesome.

I finished stuffing my last bag of supplies. I have clothes, money, food, sharping stone, basic leather working tools. Do I have everything? Keeping things light is important since it’s just me and Arty. He’s a big war horse, but he can’t carry more than one hundred pounds of stores and me. I head out of my quarters at the palace for the last time hurrying to the courtyard. Regret never crossed my mind; this is the right path forward. Standing like a giant grey statue was my gelding Arty waiting for my return and the start of our journey home. As a guard, you are given a three-year-old warhorse to train. It is important for any rider to understand how your horse is trained and to establish a strong bond with them for life. A war horse is strong, they need to trust their rider to lead them through any danger. Arty and I have been together since I became a guard at sixteen. I was the youngest recruit, but age doesn’t matter if you have skill.

I mounted and turned to leave when Jaz appeared out of the barracks running towards me. “What on Earth!” I exclaimed.

“You can’t go by yourself!”

I was confused. “Um, excuse me? I don’t need anyone to protect me. I’m quite capable of-”

“No, not that. I know you can take care of yourself,” she interrupted. “You need someone who knows your enemy. Someone who has studied dragons and knows their behaviors better than you do. Someone who knows their weakness.”

“I’ll be fine, I can figure it out on my own,” I told her.

Shaking her head, Jaz handed me a book. “No, dragons aren’t like just any animal. This was written by a dragonologist here in the city. His name is Ezra, and he would come with you just to see the dragons up close. Please, let him accompany you so I don’t have to worry about you getting killed by these things. Please,” she studied my face, still seeing resistance she added, “not like your father.”

What! Did she just go there? “How dare you! My father-”

“Is a cherished memory. What would he say? Would he encourage you to bring along an expert? Or would he risk your life? With all your training you know better than to take unnecessary chances on your life or the life of your horse.”

“Now wait just one second-”

“Nope. I’m not taking no for an answer. I’ve been your partner for two years and I know how stubborn you can be. Take Ezra with you or so help me I’ll find your mother and tell her what you are planning to do.”

The horror of my mother’s wrath is legendary. “You wouldn’t!”

“Without hesitation.”

Left with no choice, I would have to ride by my mother’s house on my way out of town and she would have made a ridiculous scene in the middle of the street, I reluctantly agreed. “Fine, where is he?”

The smirk of satisfaction crossed Jaz’s face. Her eyes sparkled in the morning sun, “He’s on his way here now. When I found out you were leaving this morning, I ran to tell him about your quest, and he was excited about studying this group up close. He’s a scientist, not a fighter like you. He promised to stay out of your way and just provide advice on how to get rid of them. He’ll be an asset not a hinderance.”

Just then a thin man scampered through the archway leading to the portcullis. He was dressed in overly large cloths and was a bit scruffy, clinging tightly to a large satchel as if his life depended on keeping its contents close by. He looked towards Jaz, “Hello again, Miss, is this your ambitious friend?”

“Ezra, meet Gwen. Gwen this is Ezra and he, despite appearances, will be an asset to you.” Turning back towards Ezra Jaz continued, “Do you have a horse or donkey to ride?”

Ezra looked confused, “I, um, have never ridden before.” He looked like he was second guessing this entire prospect. “I will buy one. Um, where can I get one on short notice?”

I sighed deeply. “Jaz, are you kidding me? He can’t come, he’ll probably fall off and get trampled before we even leave the city. How is he supposed to be helpful?”

“Um, excuse me but can you tell the difference between a male northern thornbrush and a female southern rough tail? What about when the breeding season is for each of the seven species of known dragon? Or what about-”

“Enough. You can take a cart and horse from the market. There are always people willing to sell them for the right price. I’ll even pay half to ensure the two of you remain safe.” Jaz emphasized the last words by staring into my eyes hard. She was my best friend and knew how important this journey was to me. This was her contribution to my quest and her way of supporting me when she couldn’t accompany me herself. She liked being a guard and last year chose to continue her service with the crown for another four years aware that doing so would prevent her from coming with me back to the valley.

“Ok,” I looked at her and understood that she had planned for this. She had been searching for an expert for me behind my back. Jaz had waited until she knew my exact departure time to spring him on me with a foolproof argument. “Thank you for being my best friend.”

Jaz smiled and the three of us marched to the market, made the arrangements for the cart and finally, I left the city for my hometown. Ezra was uncomfortable in the cart, but he seemed much happier with the idea of driving rather than riding the one thousand miles to Oak Ridge. Hopefully the road will be passable by cart, if not then he’d get a real quick riding lesson that no one would forget.