The Far Side of the Mountain

“There weren’t always dragons in the valley. The rocs lived in the surrounding mountains, and they tolerated no intruders, except to eat them,” The old dragon said. He raised his long wrinkled neck and looked down at the hatchlings with milky eyes. Grant gazed avidly back at the red dragon. He was practically wiggling with excitement next to his friends, Violet and Azure.

“But surely dragons can eat rocs, Flame” Violet said.

“What are rocks? I mean, rocks don’t eat anything,” Azure asked. Flame laughed, the rumble deep in his throat.

“Rocs are great birds, and they have power over lightning. They are as big as a dragon, and so it would have been a fierce fight to take over the valley.”

“Well, what happened to them?” Grant asked.

“Well, King Verdan had two sons he wanted to leave a kingdom to. Normally the sons would have fought to decide who would rule and who would have to go find his own way in the world. Verdan couldn’t bear the thought of losing one of his sons, so he thought to increase his holdings. If he controlled enough land, his sons could both rule, but they could both stay near. I was a young drake in those days. I saw an opportunity to see action and have adventure, but war is an awful thing,” the old red dragon’s tone became sad, and the hatchlings’ wings drooped. “The fighting was fierce. Many died. In the end, many more sons and daughters were lost forever so that Verdan could have his wish. I often wonder what became of the rocs who survived.” Flame stared off into the sky. The hatchlings hesitated to break his silence, but the whole story had started because they had wanted to know something.

“So, now that we are in the valley, why can’t we leave?” Grant prompted. Flame looked back at his grandson and sighed.

“Because Verdans sons were not content with their father’s gift. Oak sought to take this land from his brother Elm. They fought viciously with each other. Verdan tried to stop it and was killed himself. The sons made a truce that day, and since then Elm has not allowed anyone to leave.”

“Is he afraid King Oak will kill us?” Violet asked.

“That, or that we will turn on him and join his brother,” Flame said. “I do not know what drove them to fight before. As hatchlings, both of them had been amicable.” The hatchlings didn’t tell the old dragon that they did not know what “amicable” meant. He was sad, so they decided to cheer him up. The three young dragons had been friends all their lives, and when Grant glanced at Violet, she knew what he wanted. She blinked her iris-colored eyes and jumped up, running around to Flame’s left foreleg. Azure jumped on the old dragon’s right shoulder. Grant stood on his hind legs and placed his paws on the old one’s snout.

“Will you take us flying, Grandpa?”

“Oh, I suppose,” he grunted as he pushed himself up. “I won’t be able to do this much longer.” Grant jumped onto the broad head and settled over Flame’s neck. His friends held onto the dragon’s wing shoulders. Flame grunted again and crouched. He launched himself into the sky and thrust down his wings, flapping rapidly to pull himself up. Once they gained enough altitude, flying became easier. He grinned as the hatchlings laughed from the thrill. It would be some time before they were able to take wing themselves. He made a large sweep of the valley.

As they made it close to the eastern border, Flame slowed, his eyes narrowed.

“Grant, tell me what you see.”

“Huh?”

“My eyes are not as clear as they once were, but it is dark here, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Like, the mountains are kind of dark gray. There’s no trees or snow,” Grant suddenly realized. “What happened? A fire?”

“Let’s get a little closer,” Flame said. He glided closer and gasped. Grant stood on his grandfather’s head and gaped. The foliage was not burned. It was gone. The earth was now packed and hard stone, not dirt.

“What could have done this?” Violet asked.

“Ice,” Azure answered, surprising his friends. He looked subdued and unnerved.

“He’s right. Azure, you saw the glacier damage on the northern slopes when you visited your grandfather last winter, yes?”

“Yes.”

“But these mountains, I mean, there’s no avalanche, no snowmelt in the valley,” Violet said.

“And this is different too,” Azure added. “The packing…It’s almost like it is one rock. Ice can’t do that.”

“No,” Flame’s voice sounded grave. A shiver of fear ran through Grant’s small copper body. He didn’t understand the significance of this discovery, but his grandfather’s demeanor told him it was bad. The old dragon floated closer. He struggled to get his wings to let him hover and started to fly up along the rock wall, examining the surface. Grant wondered what they were supposed to be looking for. Flame’s head stayed bent towards the mountain below. Grant looked up as a shadow passed overhead. His claws gripped Flame as he gasped silently. Flame noticed the shadow just after the sharp pain of Grant's claws dug into the hide under his old scales. He looked up to see a large green dragon. He couldn’t see the dragon’s face clearly, but he was sure he knew him. He started to speak. He was cut off when the green dragon dove at him. Before Flame could cry out, his throat was locked in the jaws of the other dragon. He barely had time to hope the young ones escaped before he crashed into the mountain on his back. Flame tried to kick off his opponent, but the green dragon swiftly bashed the red dragon’s skull against the stone below. He crunched on the brittle scales, pierced through the wrinkled hide, and sliced through the muscle. Flame flailed and felt his stomach sliced open by the other dragon’s hind leg. Then, with a shake, he felt nothing.