The Keep in the Valley

There weren't always Dragons in the Valley. As the sun rises a new day is upon us. A new day trapped in the Valley. A new day, as Dragons. A cycle that never seems to stop. Each morning I watch the sun rise on one end of the world, and at night, I watch it set on the other. I watch as a new soul enters, and another leaves in a body bag. All without anyone batting an eye. Everyone knows the dangers of The Keep yet, they still pursue it. Some in search of fame, some fortune, some because they have no other choice. And some because they would rather perish to The Keep than spend another day in this godforsaken world. All the while the world keeps spinning.

We make up what is known as the Valley, a land cut off from the world by a mysterious force. No one knows how to breach the barrier but every now and then someone would enter. Someone from the other side. As if the Valley was calling them. Calling “Slayers” to challenge The Keep. Every day, Slayers flood to The Keep in search of fame and fortune. What’s so great about The Keep anyways? Sure, it welcomes all those who wish to enter, but it only rewards the ones that can escape. And of those who conquered The Keep? They are called “Dragons.” Only those who have fought, killed, and clawed their way to the top are worthy of holding that title.

Some spend their whole lives trying to advance further up The Keep, while others have given up on the idea. It’s been 386 years since the Valley first appeared and called the first group of Slayers to the tower. In the meantime, those who gave up on The Keep tried to get back to their normal lives, what was left of them. Soon, Aurelis was born. A growing city that embraces those who seek its protection. With the entrance to The Keep at its center, Aurelis became the epicenter of all that happened within the Valley. Though Aurelis lived peacefully for quite some time, those who had traversed The Keep became envious of their prosperity and sought to claim it for themselves. Thus, a hierarchy was formed. The citizens who, some, never dared to step foot in The Keep, and those who had reaped the rewards and newfound strength of their accomplishments from The Keeps trials.

After asserting themselves as the higher power, the Slayers sought to control the flow of The Keep. Thus, came the creation of guilds. Soon, those who could no longer make a living by typical means had no choice but to join these guilds to survive. Forced to enter The Keep to obtain cores. Cores were the new foundation of Aurelis; they could be exchanged for currency. However not all cores were the same. Cores were divided by their grade level. The stronger the core, the higher its grade level. The grade levels ranged from F-grade to S-grade. The higher the grade, the higher the exchange rate. This quickly established the new way of life in Aurelis.

It’s been eight years since the Valley called me, Faeren Raul, to challenge The Keep. I was only ten years old when I entered the Valley and ever since then, I’ve been fighting to stay alive. We all were. It didn’t matter who you were or where you came from, if you couldn’t fend for yourself, you were as good as dead. No one was going to care for you when they were too busy taking care of themselves. I learned that soon after I entered the Valley. People would do anything to further themselves. Hell, they’d even kill someone if it meant a bigger payout for themselves at the end of the day. You enter expecting to achieve greatness, everyone does. A dream I wish I still had, one that faded quickly. There was only one path left for me, to conquer, The Keep in the Valley. If I could go back to then, would things be different?