Rising Embers

There weren’t aways dragons in the Valley. My father would always tell stories of his life as a young man before they fled. The land was peaceful and prosperous, the summer fields were always green, and the winter snows whitened mountain tops. These stories are a taboo in our country now, the priests forbid it, believing that the dragons’ wrath are a punishment from the gods for our indulgent past. Our people fled the valley in the wake of fiery destruction settling at the edge of the Karmac a great desert far to the south of our native homes. To appease the gods the priests began sending the best of every generation as a sacrifice, marching us north to the scorched valley. Pray for me, as this year I am the chosen one of my village.

The priests from the capital city arrived yesterday to bestow this “great honor” upon me, as if I would truly believe that. To think the “honored one” would feel that way being locked up in this buggy. The barred windows and wooden bench made my night far less enjoyable, as if the news alone that my life would soon be over wasn’t enough to keep me up. I felt my heart drop as the first rays of morning crept into my solitary box. It wouldn’t be long now before my captors would awake and haul me off as food for some brainless fire breathing beast.

Stiff from the night I moved to the door as it clunked open revealing two large men. As one of them produced a tray of food, a priest spoke up from behind them with a raspy cackle, “Please eat, you must be in good health when we arrive, lest the gods reject our offering”. The priest smiled revealing three crooked and browned teeth placed awkwardly upon his aged face. The bigger men closed the door and latched it shut, leaving me with the plate of breakfast. The thought of eating only twisted my stomach into knots, it’s all just meaningless.

After an eternity, the buggy leapt forward, and my village slowly fell from view. With no hope of escape or rescue all I could do is lay down and cry quietly. I tried to dream of the land from my father’s stories and conjure up what my life may have been had I been raised there. “If only dragons and gods never existed” I cursed quietly. The surfaces of the road jostling me on the floor. “If I could”, I continued to whisper to myself, “I’d kill them all. The gods the dragons, all of them”. The hours had rolled by and I could see the sun’s setting through the barred window.

“Up There!” a shout called out.

“Ah yes! The halfway marker, Looks like we’re the last group too.”

Through a crack in the front of the buggy I could make out fires and horses of other groups. Buggies like the one that made up my own prison also sat, scattered amongst the makeshift camp.

“Ah Jax! Glad you finally made it.”

“That damn town is driest dirt hole on the continent. I thought the horses would keel over from thirst.”

“Ha! Ha! Well, we’ll make sure they’re well-watered, we can’t have you falling behind after we send off the youngins can we?”

I felt my face get hot; I can’t believe these guys! Talking so casually! I’m going to die tomorrow, and they’re worried about riding away on fresh horses.

“Get your camp started Jax, I’ll grab your charge some dinner”

The sound of armored feet clomped away as my escorts unsaddled and began to set up their camp. Quickly their tents appeared and a fire roared. The horses were lead away, and the clomping armored man came back.

“I hope he’s hungry!” The man Roared jovially.

One of the men from this morning hopped into the buggy next to me as a man holding another plate stood at the door.

“He didn’t eat breakfast, so he must be.” The man sitting beside me growled.

“Oh Jax, don’t be too harsh. We can’t blame the poor lad can we?”

“It’s 5 leagues to the altar boy, if you can’t make the trip on foot with the others your whole village will take your place!” Jax snarled.

“I hate to say it but it’s the will of the gods. If you run or don’t make it to the altar it’s the only way to atone” the other man said much softer this time.

“Here, eat it. All of it. An’ if it’s not gone when I come back, I’ll force it down ya throat.” Jax spat as he crouched out of the buggy leaving the other man to close me back in. I still hadn’t felt hungry, but as I took my first spiteful bite the sensation took me. I practically licked the plate clean. It was nothing close to a delicious last meal, but after travelling for hours on an empty stomach I mused that even a king would be satisfied.

It’s not like me to wander off, I don’t even remember leaving camp. I spun around trying to figure out where I was. Suddenly fear gripped me, If I don’t get back and make the trip everyone I knew and Love at home will be killed! Panicked I rushed around shouting for help. Which way had I come from, what direction will get me back to camp! The world was spinning, faster now. I had failed my family, my friends.

“Worry not dear child” came a soft voice of a woman from across the field. I stopped spinning and squinted to see through the fog.

“Whose there!?” I shouted.

“There is no reason to be afraid, my father has heard your prayer” the soft voice came again, as if from beside me. “He has blessed thee and those of your company with a glorious purpose.”

“Who are you!?” I shouted again. “Show yourself!”

The world jerked!

“Wake up” the sky shouted at me.

The world jerked again, and bright light came streaming onto my face as the buggy walls came back into focus. Lifting the weight of fear from my chest.

“Ah good, you’re up” the three toothed priest gaped, as he handed me a biscuit and a sausage. “There won’t be any time to eat once we make it to valley’s edge.” He cackled shutting me in once again. I peaked out the window, the camp was busy readying the horses and other buggies to continue on the journey to my inevitable demise. I crashed back down on the bench pondering the strange dream I had. It felt so real, and that voice? Was I visited by a goddess? I suppose its not unfair to believe that I was, I am set to be sacrificed to them today. How rude, trying to comfort me as if it made this situation any different. If I ever meet them, I’m going to spit right into their faces. The biscuit I had was dry and tasteless and the sausage was cold and tough tempting me to drop them out the window. I don’t even think they’d notice, I wondered to my self as I fell deep into thought.

A loud crack pulled me back to reality as the buggy flipped on its side, smashing me into its roof. Moments passed before my senses returned. With the only other window pointed at the sky I had no way of seeing the chaos outside. I strained to hear anything intelligible from the yelling soldiers over the horses’ frightened screams. Then as a flash of lighting a shadow streaked across the sky and an ear-splitting screech filled my head, announcing the enemy that had arrived, a dragon.

With no where to run I hid in the corner away from the exposed window. While the shouting and screaming was occasionally cutout by blasts of the dragon’s roar and bursts of flames. Suddenly the front wall of the buggy was gone, the front half of a horse laying in front of where the body should’ve been rigged to the buggy. I covered my face to conceal the horrors around me. Hoping that it would all pass. I felt a pair of hands grasp my shoulders and pulled on me. It was the three toothed priest. “Run! You must Run!” He yelled over the cacophony. As he pulled me from the buggy onto the road. He pointed out across a field where a tree line began and pushed me forward again. I didn’t dare look back or look up as I ran. Would I make it? Would I become an easy target for the dragon? My heart was beating out of my chest as the fear of being torn to shreds or scorched to ash plagued my panicked thoughts. “I’m going to make it!” I told myself as I neared the edge of the trees. Before I fell straight onto my face into darkness.

“It’s OK, you’re safe now”, came the voice from my dream.