The Last and the First

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. What was there before was a mystery even beyond the power of myth. Lennel was the three hundred and fifty second heir to the Dragon Valley Blade lineage. She followed her mother, grandmother and great grandfather. Before that, all of the tales of the Dragon Valley Blades were shrouded in mist; further back from that were the great myths and legends. Stretching back to the days of old battles; when the sky was filled with dragons, massive magic flying ships and battles of such grandeur that one was left with a haunting sense of what the universe could be.

Things had changed now; beginning with the "integration" that happened 80 years prior. That was the beginning of the "decline" as Lennel called it. Her great grandfather, Jandarg wielded the blade over the valley at that time. That's when the Istaran had suddenly contacted them from worlds further than the imagination. A humble planet of dragons and magic had become connected with the greater universe. There was a time of amazement at finding out they were not alone in the universe. After that, a certain complacency fell over their world. Jandarg's stories about the great change (that happened then) were still told with clarity and fascination in Lennel's family.

The arrival of the Istaran would change the face of their planet; which they called "Moldinvang."

Moldinvang was an ancient word from their world; meaning "the cosmic giants right thumb." The Istaran would explain to the people of Moldinvang that the ancient seers of Moldinvang named it thus; because they were actually part of a collection of five planets. The other four planets, although terribly close in gravitational orbit, were completely invisible to the million peoples that lived on Moldinvang. The knowledge of the Istaran amazed and changed them.

The Istaran (as they did to all worlds peacefully connected to theirs) introduced great and powerful technologies; rapidly and dramatically changing the face of Moldinvang. Moldinvang technology had been similar to medieval Earth; although with many powerful magics and traditions being the center of their prosperity. Jandarg saw the once boundless and pristine valley become a hub to star ships and all the wonders of the universe that came with them. He already knew that this could be the end of the sacred valley and the countless species of dragons that lived there. There were over seven thousand kinds of dragons on Moldinvang.

The Istaran; although peaceful and scientifically amazing, bought a galactic commerce with them. Any world that had been linked to theirs would soon become part of a massive interstellar trade route, and the planets resources became devoted to that. This put strain and decay into the old traditions of these worlds. Jandarg foresaw this during his time as the Dragon Valley Blade.

Now, 80 years later Lennel was in charge. The role of three hundred and fifty second Dragon Valley Blade mostly consisted of paper work, territorial disputes and filling out dragon attack incident reports. Most of this was evaluating damage claims to the star craft that landed in the valley. The remaining dragons would often lead territorial assaults on the space craft that landed there. The valley had become a far cry from the days of the legendary Dragon Valley Blades. The once countless species of all sizes of dragons had become a rarity; only seen as roving gangs of angered creatures.

Although the diverse spacecraft and interstellar commerce were fascinating; Lennel felt a constant sense of disappointment with her duty. She often felt like she had become little more than a glorified small claims officer. Little did she know the very next craft to land in the Dragon Valley would change her destiny forever.