The Red Splash

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. No one knows why the Fire Splash came, but everyone was glad they did. Our village had spent three years running from the Dark Plumes before the new red dragons appeared. Before then, the Dark Plume attacks would come as the wind took them, and they would last for hours. The purple dragons would only leave when nothing was left to destroy or had their fill of people. I’ll never forget the day they got sis.

I remember the first day we saw the Splash. Ma and I were hand-in-hand as we fled to the nearest cave when we felt a drench of flames above us. A Plume, which we call them, much easier to scream one word when running from death, was reeling from the wave of fire he had endured. Then Grave, the Splash’s leader, with wings pinned against his sides and jaw fully ajar, slammed into the side of the Plume. Grave took a third of the beast’s stomach with one bit. The purple beast was dead a second later, and his body spiraled out of the air until it crashed into the base of a hill.

The battle only lasted a few more minutes as dozens of more red dragons flapped into the Valley’s skyline. The plumes retreated; they had come for conquest, not a fight. Everybody on the ground cheered as Grave landed in the middle of our now scorched town square. From head to tail, he was completely read, even his talons. He fired off a flood of flames into the dusk and then soared of with the rest of the Splash. That was four months ago.

Today, as they do on every eighth day, Grave and his scribe, Little Wing, are at the square. The dragons use telepathy amongst themselves, but not with us humans. They believe human communication breaks like Muttle stalks during harvest. The message becomes more fractured with every passage from human to human. So, they required the entire Valley’s presence. Nothing to be lost in translation.

“Grave, it is good to see you.” Jeepen, the Valley’s leader, cried from the top of an Elderberry tree stump.

Grave raised his left claw and clicked it three times. This meant he wanted to talk strategy and curb the small talk. He always wants to curb the small talk. Jeepen gave a nod of his head and waved him toward the closest hill. Little Wing took the cue and soared off into the sky, then hovered ten feet from the hill. He twisted his head like he was making invisible eights in the air, and a twenty-foot by twenty-foot square dug into the hillside. The awe I feel when they do their magic still hasn’t faded.

Little Wing took three quick breaths of flames. He looked like sis when she blew out the candles for her eighth winter passing. They were fast little spurts, except Little Wing created little sparks and did not extinguish them.

“We are ready, Grave,” Jeepen called out.

We aren’t sure where the Fire Splash learned our language, but we know they understand it. The problem is they can’t speak it because, well, they can’t speak at all.

The tiny dragon started breathing flames again, but unlike the broad, wave-like plumes they use in battle, Little Wing shot a thin line no bigger than my fist against the square. Smoke spiraled up, and as Little Wing Floated left to write, burnt words appeared on the hillside.

‘We still do not know where their camp is. We have sent several scouting parties, but they remain hidden. For now, we will keep the sentry roaming the area for protection.’

“Thank you for letting us know, Grave. That is unfortunate, but we are still forever in your debt.” Jeepen replied as he sighed through his nose.

Little Wing did another series of figure eights with his head, and the words on the side of the hill disappeared. Then he started blowing out tight flames into the hillside, again.

‘There is something else we need to discuss. We must prepare you for when we leave.’

The crowd began murmuring and cawing at one another. Grave belched out an enormous fire that thundered through the Valley for five seconds. The group cowered back to silence.

Jeepen called out again, “Please, Grave! There must be something we can do. Some kind of deal. Please, you don’t know the ruin it was before you came. The madness they wielded…I, I, I don’t believe we would have lasted two more winters.”

Little Wing cleared the hillside again and coughed out more flames.

‘We will leave a few of our young warriors with you while we train you.’

“How can you train us to defeat dragons? Grave, please, don’t do this to us. Or take us with you, please!” Jeepen howled.

Before the Plumes had come, Jeepen had led the defense when the Ardors came to plunge our land. The name Ardor will never show in the scrolls of times again. When the Bastion clan tried their hand at conquest, Jeepen added fourteen notches to his longbow. Now he was a child who spilled his goat milk before supper. Watching half your family burn to a crisp will soften the bones in any man.

Little Wing cleared the previous statement from the wall and breathed out one word.

‘Magic’

A hush of whispers sprawled throughout the crowd. I looked at pa, and I saw that face. The same one he had after we put sis under the weeping willows. He had been so brave right after she passed to the Eternal Shade. I cried my eyes every night, and I still do, but he had found a way to stalk back the tears, to make ma eat. Except for that day under those willows, his eyes told the truth as he breathed through his nose. He didn’t try to speak; the day was too much.

The crowd quieted again, and Jeepen shouted, “Magic? Grave, how can we learn magic in three seasons’ time? Enough magic to thwart off the Plume? There must be another path in defense. We beg thee.”

Everybody looked back to the hill; Little Wing had already removed the old words and started anew.

‘We understand your pain. This is not the first time we have helped humans against the Dark Plumes. Alas, our help is needed elsewhere. We will prepare you as much as we can. We have not been forthcoming with our knowledge, which will change now. After seven suns pass, and we meet again, have all humans that have passed sixteen winters here for training. But they must be willing. Magic is only for the brave and will turn others into madness.’

Jeepen began to shout, but the sound of Grave’s massive wings blocked out his yell. The magnificent dragon turned and sped off east, Little Wing on his side.

With the dragons out of sight, the crowd erupted. Families yammered at one another about fleeing, while others trailed off to their hiding places, but most yelled to Jeepen. Their old leader waved his staff from left to right and shouted for silence.

Once the crowd quieted to a low hum of murmurs, Jeepen started, “Tomorrow morning, all the elders will meet at the great cave, and we will discuss what we have heard. Tonight, fellow elders, sit with all the members of your clan who have seen the last snow sixteen times and hear their decision. See If they can march to the unknown for their tribe, their people.”

The crowd flew into hysterics once more, and challenges came from every angle of the mob of people.

“We can’t beat them!”

“It's certain death, Jeepen!"

"Let's run!"

Jeepen raised his staff again to quelch the screams and continued, "We must try. The Fire Splash have shown us their magic in battle. We've seen them confuse the Plumes with their confounding spells, we've seen them block fire with shield magic, and we've seen them disappear and reappear in different places. That's just what we've witnessed with our own eyes. Only the seven sages of the sky know what other magic they've used that we can't see."

More cries from the crowd.

"They are dragons, Jeepen. They were born magical."

"We mustn't let our warriors perish for naught."

Again, with a wave of the staff, he silenced the crowd, "We must go down this path. We have no choice in the matter. We all know the tales of families that tried to flee. The Valley is too grand, and we will not be able to outrun the Plumes soaring above us."

More shouts came from the crowd, but Jeepen waved his bow again, "We must not forget that we have survived three years of unbearable hardships…but we survived. We found a way to hide and still farm in the night. We ran and still raised our children. We must fight. We must defend ourselves."

As more cries came, I felt pa's hand on my left shoulder. He nudged his head towards our camp. I looked at mother, picked up the family satchel, and then we trotted off. Our modest base was six hill-shadows away from the square, and it took us twenty minutes before we made our way to the open of our camp's cave.

"Mabbel, I need to speak with Clousten, then talk to the others," Pa said to ma as he stood next to me. His meaty left mitt was once again on my right shoulder.

Ma ducked her head into the cave, and pa and I started to walk around the closest hill.

"Clousten, I don't want you to participate." Pa began.

"Pa, you are the one that preaches bravery at all costs. Even when we are terrified of the forces ahead of us, terrified of the unknown."

"There is bravery, then there is madness. I will represent our family, and you must protect ma. You must keep the family for all the winters to come." Pa said as he stopped our walk and grabbed me by the shoulders to level his gaze at mine.

"Pa, fighting back is the only option. I can't hide forever. If we must fight, then I shall be by your side." It was more beg than demand. I was terrified, and rightfully so. Still, they had taken sis. They had killed so many.

"Clousten, do as I say. The matter is closed." Pa said and turned to walk back to our dwelling.

"I'll tell Jeepen myself! I'm ready; I'm brave. Yes, you can tell I'm fearful in my tone, but you always preached that bravery isn't easy, but in times like these, bravery counts the most." I yelled to his back.

Pa paused for a few moments, but he didn't turn around. He gave a quick nod and kept walking, he had many a meeting to have that night, and he got straight to it. I walked back to our cave, ate a quiet dinner with ma, and then went to sleep.

As I wrestled against my paca-fur mattress, images of the Plume's terror from the last harvest season, what little season there was, forged into my mind. The first time they appeared, the largest of the bunch raged through the center of our town. The armory, butcher shop, and others went up in flames as the white-eyed demon doused our village. Then I saw sis. I turned around to run and grab her, but I was too late. She was scooped up like a field mouse and swooped away.

Yes, I am scared. But I'm also enraged. I'm scarred, and I will use those fleshy memories to fuel me to learn. Fuel me to fight. After many more hours of slithering in my bed, the lanterns in my mind turned off, and sleep fell upon me.

The next day at sun center, pa left the cave for the town square. He didn't say a word to me as he left. He merely gave two quick nods as he walked through the cave's opening. He was gone for six hours, and again when he returned, he said nothing. Pa is stubborn, and I know when to seek his counsel and when to bade him peace. It was time for the latter. I grabbed my staff and ran to Fractious house. He was by far the youngest of the elders and was the closest thing to a friend I had with any of them.

"What happened? Who will join the dragons?" I asked eagerly as we sat to converse.

"The Nicken brothers, Goustle, Harbing, and Fastious from the Nicken household. Plastery, Gangen, Suffle, and.." Fractious started, but I raised a hand.

"Fractious, what of my household? Who will go?"

"Your father did not advise you before he attended?"

"No." I offered sheepishly.

"But you are aware that your father did not enter your name?"

I shook my head, "Thank you, Fractious; I'll return to our dwelling. I shall return soon to banter more about the days to come."

"Clousten, none of the young ones were called on. You've not had the chance to fight. To prove yourself." Fractious offered as I stood to leave.

"I’m ready, Fractious,” I called back, to which Fractious merely shook his head.

I jogged back to our cave and sat down for dinner with my parents. None of us spoke, and I could see from the scowl on pa’s face that a conversation regarding the impending training with the Red Splash wouldn’t happen. Pa clearly had his mind up about me fighting.

But so did I.