Fantasy

A Sea of Dragons
[START] There weren't always dragons in the Valley. I understand what you’re thinking, but it’s a common misconception. You see, dragons used to be aquatic creatures, they lurked deep into the seas, speckling the imagination of our fishermen (who, as we both know, don’t need the encouragement).
By Bri Craig4 years ago in Fiction
The Ashen Forest
There weren’t always dragons in the valley. At least that’s what Nyro, the old storyteller, says when reciting his tales of wonder and adventure. He often sat in the village square and the children would gather to listen to his stories. I stood in front of The Wounded Boar, waiting for Darren the barkeep to be available; it was early afternoon and he would soon be preparing for the evening patrons. Although many of his stories were preposterous, I enjoyed the tales he wove; so I listened into his latest story while waiting for Darren.
By Katie Samek4 years ago in Fiction
Correspondence to the GCC
There weren’t always dragons in the valley. I remember a time we lived with respect for our noise ordinance and I could go out into my backyard without finding a waist-high pile of ale cans and a pack of teenage dragons loitering in my big oak tree spitting out fire. I have had it. Enough is enough.
By Jayme Coveliers4 years ago in Fiction
The Blue Dragon's Purpose
There weren’t always dragons in the valley of Locanth, located just beyond the western border of the Kilaren Empire. For millennia it has been a sanctuary for beings with nowhere else safe to go. It is now home to members of dozens of different races, many of whom are the last that remains of their kind. Some of the inhabitants – dark (Drow) elves, lycanthropes, fae, and others – came to escape or avoid persecution. There are many in the world outside the valley who believe the often-nightmarish tales told about them; tales that have little to no basis in truth, but are believed by the ignorant and spread by the ignorant, hateful, and corrupt.
By Chris Walker4 years ago in Fiction
Trinity Inn
Trinity Inn: Arben and the Dragoons There weren't always dragons in the Valley. That was until Du'themere arrived in the far East. The rise of the Arcane Sage in the Kingdom of Drucca marked the end of a saga and the beginning of a new age. His majesty seemingly arrived from nowhere with an architect's itch for the creation of both the material and metaphysical. From where he accumulated his knowledge or from where he originated remains to be known, but his arrival was marked by that of the dragons. Some received the sage as saviour and prophet while others who met their untimely demise screamed tyrant. The kingdoms of old have all been erased in just over a decade. Thirteen years was all it took for empires forged over millennia to be burnt to ash, flash-frozen or converted into miles of thick shrubbery. The landscape was restructured by the might of dragons under the Grand Architect's plans. His vision is to reconstrue the world once again in the primordial image. Nothing left of civilization other than empty ruins home to beasts of all sorts and kinds. The new landscape is vast, dangerous, and, most importantly, open once again to rediscovery.
By Bobo theHobo4 years ago in Fiction
The Hunt of the Dragon
"There weren't always dragons in the valley," the man at the bar said dejectedly. He perched on his barstool, fingers tracing the lip of his glass of mulled wine. “And at this rate, they won’t last long.” It was a surprisingly sentimental tone from a man whose arm clearly bore the mark of a dragonslayer: a serpentine dragon enveloping a sword branded into his skin.
By Isla Kaye Thistle4 years ago in Fiction
The Dragon with the Time-Traveler Tattoo
There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. Mayor Axepen was dead set on giving the unfamiliar herd of dragons a friendly welcome as part of his civic duty. In his 42 years of living on the Black Planet, Brutüs occasionally saw dragons fly throughout the skies, wait in line at the drive-through of a coffee shop, or deliver kegs of beer from a local brewery. Seeing over two dozen together was a rare sight.
By Dennis Spielman4 years ago in Fiction
When the ocean finally spoke, it said "I love you".
There weren't always dragons in the Valley. Just as there weren't always humans on the plains. Funny to watch how things change though, as they never used to fight either. In the simple beginnings it was only natural for them give way to each other. Each species recognizing the clear dangers of the other. With the same respect a sailor shows the ocean, humans would carefully forecast dragon patterns before stepping foot in the valley. While dragons, as to match the heedful eye any human would keep for a deadly insect, gave wide berth to humans and their cities. It was inevitable though what happened next, when the growth of human countries collided with the expansion of dragon territory. Despite the best interests of the two species, the once stable relationship, would gracelessly, implode. Today humans adorn trophies of dragon tooth and bone, while dragons build hoards of human coin and crown. A simple push for land rapidly evolved into what we have today. A viscous symbiotic relationship which endlessly feeds each other’s pride.
By Atkinson4 years ago in Fiction
No Ordinary Miracle
There weren't always dragons in the valley. Which, when all is said and done, is why we never expected them to return. Even now, there is no way to convey to you the shock and delight their arrival in Petris elicited from deep within us.
By Lori Lamothe4 years ago in Fiction
The Fall of House Elias Draconis
There weren't always dragons in the valley. But then, Nora wasn't always in the Valley either. In fact, Nora was never supposed to be anywhere at all. She was supposed to have died at the tender age of sixteen--if strange books were anything to go by, and, in her experience, at least one was.
By Rowan Prett4 years ago in Fiction
Terr Aeternum
Introduction Dire wolves were not a rare sighting in the forests around our village. Wolves in general were a common sight around these parts, which adds to them being overlooked. Sometimes, farmers would kidnap wolf pups from their dens so they could raise and train them to guard their cattle, not knowing until it was too late whether the Pup they stole was a gray or a dire wolf. Dire wolves cannot be trained. The Wild runs deep in their blood, calling them home. Few understood that. Most believed it was the work of the devil, how the Dire Pup could love them and be loyal just to turn around and kill everything they were trained to protect. The villagers have forbidden the animals, in fear of angering any of the Gods with their presence. It seems that they forgot that the Goddess of the Moon favors the creatures. Now her patience has run out and she is ready to make the villagers remember her.
By Sabyl Curtis 4 years ago in Fiction
Dragonfly
There weren't always dragons in the Valley. The Dragon clan moved in after the catastrophic fire in their valley. The people of Floral Valley called them the first climate refugees. Their clan varied in size, as many ventured outside Floral Valley looking for work, their numbers ebbing and flowing with the seasons. The most that people ever saw was around five hundred, when they came for a summer wedding and camped in the luscious gardens that surrounded Edana Dragon’s estate, but in general there were only fifty at any one time.
By A J Rutgers4 years ago in Fiction