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Song of the Dragons

The First Chapter.

By Taylor D. LevesquePublished 2 years ago 8 min read
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Song of the Dragons
Photo by Hans Luiggi on Unsplash

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. The land wasn't always blackened, barren and dead. It wasn't always shrouded in its permanent haze of smoke and ash. There weren't always guttural growls threatening death to those who wandered too close. Once a lush place that was so full of life, the Valley would never be the same again.

For months that was the way of things, and the townsfolk of Halfwood had been living in fear of the next attack; one that would finish off what was left of them. Some tried to kill the dragons and perished, vastly outnumbered by them. Some left the town of Halfwood, and those that stayed behind prepared for the worst, living in paranoia while they awaited their own deaths.

All, except for one.

Every day Adrian watched over the Valley in hopes of seeing the return of the one that brought the dragons there in the first place. Something he volunteered to do under the guise of ensuring nothing went into, or came out of that Valley. Many others took part in the shifts for it, but Adrian insisted that he took at least one shift every single day. The very air about the Valley had changed; strange occurrences and sights, and it wasn’t just because the dragons were there.

With a patient gaze he saw the flashes of the scales as the dragons moved about, and the way they would look to the skies with what looked to be a yearning, or a desperation. In the beginning, he saw them trying to escape. The dragons didn't want to be there just as much as the people of Halfwood did not want them there. He viewed all of this since the day she called to the dragons, but Adrian hadn't seen her since.

He understood, yet still he was pained. The day still played out in his mind on a loop: how Thaleia had been running away in terror, how he himself had unsheathed his sword to fight whatever had been chasing her, but he froze. It had been an entire mob, and they wanted her blood. There were far too many to fight so he ran after her in his determination to help her, but she was lost to his sight. His first instinct was to find higher ground and get an idea of where she was going so he took to the rooftops. He remembered catching fleeting glimpses of her ragged clothes and her dark chestnut hair, and he remembered losing sight of her as she neared the edge of town, but he knew. He had seen enough.

Adrian headed toward the Valley.

At first there was no sight of Thaleia, but it was her song that had caught his attention; her voice echoed off the mountains as it grew in power, and in rage. He saw her then, dancing amidst smoke and fire, her loose ragged fabrics whirling with her every movement. Hoping it wasn't too late, he ran for her with all he had left.

Then he saw the dragons. Adrian tried to skid to a stop and wound up tripping and falling face-first into the soft dirt, but promptly looked up at the unbelievable sight. He slowly stood, staring in awe at what unfolded before him.

Dragons flew in from nowhere, circling about Thaleia and focusing in on her every movement. They gathered, swarmed, and reacted to her every sound and movement. The heavy beat of their wings was like the beat of a massive drum, only adding to the song. With a flourish Thaleia turned to face Halfwood with her arms stretched forth, slowly rising in a crescendo. As though hypnotized, dragons of all sizes, shapes and colours tore forth into the town. The mob that had chased Thaleia out were the first to meet their fiery end, their scorched statues crumbling to ash as the gust of the dragons hit them. The screams of destruction and horror were nightmarish for Adrian, but he still couldn’t take his eyes off of Thaleia and what he saw there. The anger was something he had expected. But he also saw a lot of pain, and a lot of sadness. Even from his distance, he could see the streaks of tears on her face.

Despite the total annihilation the dragons could have caused with ease, only the wealthier district and the heart of Halfwood were destroyed. Flames were everywhere, but death and destruction were not. Soon enough, the dragons rushed back to circle above the Valley, then gently landed on the newly scorched ground. One small white dragon remained aloft, however, and a spare moment passed before Adrian realized Thaleia was upon it. The pair flew away without a trace. The rest of the dragons tried to follow after, but were bounced back, almost as though they were hitting some kind of barrier.

Something suddenly fell to Adrian’s feet, drawing his attention. He knelt down to pick up a smooth blue stone, just barely smaller than the size of his palm. It was very warm to the touch, but oddly growing cooler despite being in his hand.

The memory alone had Adrian’s heart pounding in his ears while he stared at the high stone Thaleia had been on. There was a pain in his chest, one of regret, sadness and longing. He could have done more, he knew. If he would have chosen what he wanted over allowing others to control his life, maybe none of it would have ever happened. Maybe things would have been different.

His fingers brushed over the smooth stone in his pocket, but it was frost-bitingly cold and he drew away quickly. The temperature would change all the time since the day he picked it up, but it had been growing steadily colder over the recent days. Surely, it couldn't have been a good sign. He didn't know what it meant, but he got the feeling that it wasn't a good thing.

With a sharp sigh, Adrian stormed off back toward Halfwood. His shift on the Watch wasn't over yet, but he didn't care. It was pointless, and he was done with it. With his mind made up, he needed to get home and ready himself for a long journey. He needed to find her, and he was going to. It wasn't in him to just sit and wait anymore.

Walking through Halfwood's main gates, he got some less than welcoming looks. They all knew where he was supposed to be, but he didn't care. He ignored them, brushing passed and avoiding eye contact. Nothing ever happened, and Adrian was sure nothing ever would.

"Adrian," a man said through a clenched jaw.

It was a familiar voice, and it brought Adrian to attention. He stood up straight and faced Captain Lars. "Yes, Captain?"

"Would you mind telling me why you're not on your Watch?"

The street Adrian was on fell silent. Evidently, this spur of the moment plan was not something he thought through, and couldn't come up with an answer.

"Well?" Captain Lars pressed

He couldn't say he got bored. He couldn't say it was for food. He couldn't say what he truly thought… Could he?

"It felt a little pointless," Adrian said quietly before he even realized what was coming out of his mouth.

"It what?"

Adrian paused, then cleared his throat. "Nothing ever happens. There just isn't any point in–"

The Captain's fist connected with Adrian's face before he could finish his sentence. The hit sent him staggering backward, and the Captain shook out his fist like he was flicking off excess water.

"There just isn't any point?" Captain Lars repeated. "People lost their families. I lost my parents and my daughter, you lost your mother, but there just isn't any point in being prepared for the next attack. Right?"

Adrian's world was spinning, and he held his hand to his face as though it would provide some sort of comfort. "That's not what I meant. The dragons don't want to be here either–"

The Captain tried to kick him to the ground, then, but this time Adrian managed to clumsily dodge it. "The dragons can get out at any time," he spat, closing in on Adrian again so he was in a close face to face with him. They were both about the same tall height, so it likely wasn't as intimidating as the Captain had hoped. "If anyone is going to live, we need to know that the attack is about to happen."

"If the dragons wanted all of us dead," Adrian said, giving the Captain a small shove that he'd probably regret later on, "they'd have killed us all the first time around."

"You know this is about more than just the dragons, Adrian. Get back to your post."

Adrian rolled his eyes. It was only another couple of hours and really wasn't worth the argument. Even if he had half a mind to scrap with the Captain, he'd rather start his journey with the least amount of injury possible. His head was already throbbing as it was.

Just as Adrian was turning on his heel to head back the way he came, there was a thunderous rumble and the ground began to shake uncontrollably. Everyone in sight fell.to the ground in their inability to keep their balance and, somewhere in the direction of the Valley, there was the sound of a massive, resounding crack. Adrian and Captain Lars stared at each other in terror.

Fantasy
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About the Creator

Taylor D. Levesque

Hi! I'm Taylor, and I write things. I love horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and all things dark. Outside of stories, I enjoy gaming and learning about things I'll regret later.

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