The Dragon Bond

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. In fact, there weren't any magical creatures in the valley. Until 18 years ago the only magical or fantastic beast in existence was the colorful dragonfly that hovered over flowerbeds and the little hummingbirds that flitted around with magical speed. Dragons? No, there weren't always dragons in the valley.

Something changed 18 years ago. It was as if a veil had been lifted; as if a barrier had been removed. No one knows how it happened, nor the exact moment it happened but some felt a change. Some felt a tingle at their fingertips, others a breeze softly ruffling their hair, and some felt a surge of energy course through their body.

It was subtle, though, most people forgot about it. Shortly after, things started changing. Things started to appear out of place. A kitchen pot would suddenly appear in the outhouse, while the lady of the house, who was currently sitting on the toilet, wondered what to make for dinner. A flower pot would pop into the kitchen sink for no reason when someone was holding a bunch of flowers. Cats that escaped were no longer missing for too long. Once a cat that had happily stuck itself up in a tree found itself safely in its bed with its owner, much to the cat’s dismay. Little things like that.

Then the dragons started to appear in the sky. Huge, monstrous-winged demons screeched and soared high above the town. You can imagine how the people reacted to this sighting. Pure terror spread through the town. People locked themselves in their little houses only venturing out bravely for supplies. They found clever ways to cover themselves when running out of the house. They made blankets out of leaves and twigs, covered themselves in soot and one even picked all the loose feathers from the hen house and made a hat and coat out of feathers! The first few years the dragons appeared in the valley was a difficult time.

The people had heard the stories, of course. Stories of the huge winged beasts overlooking the valley like lords sitting on their throne. Some stories said that dragons were vicious savage creatures who would devour you in an instant. Their roar would rattle your bones and their fire breath would melt you to ashes before it even reached you. They were terrible creatures. Fantastic beasts of legend. It was no wonder that the people were terrified of them.

These dragons, however, never landed anywhere near the town; they did not approach anyone. No one disappeared, neither did any livestock. After a while, people began to relax. They started to go about their day and ignore the dragons. They realized that as long as they kept their distance they were in no danger from the dragons.

The dragons found a spot in the huge valley to settle. It was a rocky and dry area with dry bushes and dead soil; an area where no one lived. Caves spotted the cliffside here and there but they were very high surrounding the valley in a sort of semicircle, impossible to climb. They were, however, certainly big enough to fit a dragon.

Roars could be heard far in the distance and those who lived near that area of the valley, just at the edge of the forest, suddenly found themselves overtaken by a desire to flee—all but one.

Hope heard the roar in the distance and turned her head towards the sound, listening. She was hanging the clean laundry she had just finished washing. She heard it again and once again felt the need to run towards it. “You’re not supposed to run towards danger, Hope. You’re supposed to avoid it,” her aunt Helga would say. Hope would roll her eyes, making sure she couldn’t be seen of course, but she would obey.

Her aunt had always been right. There was no doubt about it. Especially when it came to magic. Aunt Helga had trained Hope to master her power. It all started many years ago when she was a child and all she could do was make bend light, or do what she called as a child "make pretty colors dance" over flowers.

She was only five then, but she left her home to follow Aunt Helga into the forest and across the valley to her new home and never looked back. She never had the desire to go back. Every time she tried to remember her Mama and Papa her memories got blurry and the faces had faded. She had no memories of that part of her life, except for the day she left.

It felt natural to go with her aunt. She remembered a sense of familiarity when she met her aunt out side her home, while she was playing over the flower beds. She was enticed by the promise of "making more colors dance" at Aunt Helga's home. The farther away she walked from her home the better she felt about the idea. Once she arrived at her aunt's cottage it felt natural to stay.

Now it had been so long, that she only knew this home with her aunt Helga. Helga was a witch who had learned to master her craft thanks to the books she had found many years ago. Through those books, Helga knew how to identify the strong power that lived in Hope and how to control it. It had taken many years but Hope was quick to learn. Absorbing all the information she could. She was eager to practice and show her aunt how well she had done her assignments.

One thing that Helga couldn't control was Hope’s desire to run toward danger. She yearned for unrest and whenever she sensed there was chaos, she was drawn to it like a moth to the flame. Right now, as she heard the roar of the dragons that weren’t too far away, she tried so hard not to run towards it.

She had heard them roar thousands of times before. She grew up hearing the dragons roar every day and her aunt knew that Hope would want to run toward it. She did what every adult who has been at their wit's end when raising a child has done since the beginning of time, she told her stories that would make her afraid of the dragons. Stories that terrified Helga but didn’t seem to do much for Hope. However, Hope respected her aunt enough that she obeyed her request to stay away from danger.

That is until today. Today, the roar was different. The roar was a calling and she felt the call deep in her soul. It was as if the sound made her heart vibrate. She could feel the pull of danger so strong that she could not resist. She paused, her arms in mid-air about to hang a dress on the line, and listened with her heart and closed her eyes.

For a moment time stopped. She slowed down her breathing and a peace came over her. She could no longer hear the roar, nor the sound of the birds that softly chirped and sang all day. Not the rustle of the leaves nor the bubbling of the tiny creak. She could hear nothing but the sound of her beating heart. Then something else. She heard another heart beating stronger, faster, louder. She focused on the sound so intensely that she projected herself towards it and suddenly found herself face to face with a beautiful, terrifying yellow dragon.

“Welcome, little one.” it said into her mind and blew a breath of warm air into her astral projected face. She immediately pulled back in fear and excitement, breathed deeply and as quickly as she appeared in front of the dragon she was right back in her backyard. She giggled with glee and quickly finished hanging the last bit of clothes.

She took the basket back indoors and ran into her house to change her house dress for a pair of brown pants, a white long-sleeved cotton buttoned shirt with a thick leather vest, and her sturdiest pair of boots. Not quite battle-ready but dressed for running and moving quickly. ‘I’m coming’ she said in her mind, projecting it toward the dragon.

“Aunt Helga,” she called out. “I’m going out to practice the levitating technique you taught me. I think it’ll help if I’m away from distractions. Don’t wait up!” Hope grabbed her satchel and filled it with apples, cheese, and bread. Then walked towards the door.

“Wait!” Helga said and Hope paused at the door nervously waiting. Had Helga figured out where she was going?

“What is it?” Hope asked impatiently.

“Did you finish the laundry?”

“Yes, Aunt Helga…” she said exasperatedly, visibly impatient.

“Take a bottle to fill with water, you know how thirsty you get after practicing levitating.” she paused looking at her niece’s face. She seemed uneasy. “You’ll get it, Hope. It takes time and patience. Trust me, it will be worth it.” She smiled and patted her niece's cheek lovingly. “Don’t stay out too late.”

“Ok! Love you, bye!” and she ran out the door towards the end of the valley where the dragons lived. Her excitement propelled her forward and she almost skipped. She wondered if she could use her powers to move faster. She cleared her mind and focused on the image of the dragon she had seen when she astral projected herself earlier.

At first, she could only see the dragon's face. Then she concentrated and mentally pulled out the view and began to see the surrounding area. Slowly she began to see in her mind’s eye the dry, rocky dirt ground and boulders. Then she saw huge stalactites that protruded from the ground and surrounded the dragon. She then saw the cliff and the caves that dotted the wall. Once she was able to picture herself there she stopped running for a second and closed her eyes. She heard the roar again and focused on the sound.

She started to slow down her breathing again but was too excited to concentrate and slow down. She really wanted to reach the dragon as soon as possible. She couldn't stand still. She started to feel warmth come up through her fingertips and then suddenly a surge of energy came out of her like a bolt of lightning. She gasped, and when she opened her eyes she stood face to face with the huge yellow dragon.

She gasped and fell back on her butt. That is not what she was expecting. She was expecting to run faster, not appear where she wanted to be. She had never been able to do that. She didn’t even know it was possible. But here she was. Face to face to a thing of nightmares. And it was beautiful.

The dragon didn’t seem surprised to see her. It just stared at her with its emerald green eyes. It seemed to be waiting. Hope got up and took a deep breath. It didn’t seem like it was going to attack. She was frightened but also very excited. It was huge. Its skin looked like yellow liquid metal and it seemed like its scales undulated with every breath like a gently rolling sea. It was a subtle movement, but she was so close that she could see it clearly.

She observed the dragon slowly, taking in every detail. She could see every detail of its skin. Every scale had a unique pattern, there were lines and swirls on each one. The dragon had small horns in the middle of its face that continued in a line towards the top of its head where the line split into two rows ending in two giant horns bigger than her arms. These horns curved slightly and looked very sharp.

The dragon shifted a little as if it knew that she was observing him. She could see little horns continuing towards his neck and back, all the way to the edge of its tail. Tucked wings flanked its side that looked about half its size and were probably 4 times the size of the dragon.

She was surprised mostly by its color. She had never seen a yellow dragon before. The ones she had seen fly above her home were black, brown, and an occasional deep green one. But never a yellow one. It was a wonderous shade of yellow. Similar to the yellow on a sunflower, deep and pure yet the skin glistened and glow, refracting the light of the sun as it moved.

The texture of its skin was marvelous. She had never seen anything like it. It was as if those lines and swirls also moved and she wondered if it was a trick of the light. She just wanted to touch it. She needed to feel the texture against her skin. She walked slowly toward it and lifted her hand to place it on top of its nose. She hesitated, wondering if the dragon would allow it. The dragon looked at her deep, fluttering its eyelashes slightly and she took it as permission to touch it. She lowered her hand slowly, and gently placed her hand on the top of its nose avoiding its horns.

She gasped, immediately feeling a surge of power go through her and back out of her hand. She quickly pulled away her hand. Then lowered it again to touch it. The skin felt hard as steel, but it wasn’t cold. She felt warmth coming out of the skin and into her hand. She felt a comfort like a warm hug from someone she loved. “Hello, Hope,” said the dragon into her mind. “I’ve been waiting for you”.

Hope gasped. “How did you get in my mind? Who are you?” Hope said, feeling nervous and afraid.

“We are now linked, Hope. It is our destiny,” it said standing up slowly and stretching its wings out. Hope gasped in amazement. The sheer size of it made the biggest trees she had seen, pale at comparison. With its wings fully spread the dragon seemed to be the size of 10 cottages and at least 5 times her height. Its clawed feet were huge and its tail wrapped around its body almost completely. Its powerful muscles bulged as it leaned back on its hind legs and stretched its front.

“I am Tempus. We are bonded.” It said again into her mind, without making a sound. “Come with me, let’s soar into the sky and I’ll tell you all about our kind, little one.”

Hope just stared at the dragon knowing how dangerous this was. Not only was she face to face with a fantastic, magical creature that can eat her in a second with a snap of its powerful jaws, but it wanted her to get on it and fly! Surely death would come at that moment! Oh, how she trembled excitedly at the thought.

She knew what her aunt Helga would say “You’re supposed to avoid danger, Hope!” but she knew that there was no way that she could walk away from danger this time. She knew in her bones that all her life she had been training and honing her craft for a reason and although she didn’t know what that reason was, she knew that it all started with this moment.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked towards Tempus, ready to mount the dragon and soar the skies.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might enjoy Part 1, The Rebirth of Balance and Part 2, Dear Hope.