The Silence in the Hills

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. The legend of Pelchor is a story told through the centuries to all young boys and girls. Throughout the country of Maal, children would learn of the chaos and devastation that Pelchor inflicted on the northern territories. A dragon so large it would partially block the sun as it flew through the sky. Fire from deep within so hot it was said to come from the depths of hell itself. His eyes a mixture of black and red, like they had been stained by all his victims. However, the most terrifying aspect of Pelchor is that he was never found to live anywhere, and that no one had ever found his remains. The attacks just stopped. The community of Tyran came together to rebuild their homes and their land, but without any trace of Pelchor, the threat of his return was ever present.

Maal was a rich land, full of gold and glory. The north, otherwise known as Tyran, is said to be the birthplace of Pelchor himself and that he made his home in the Mountains or Ainwar. Though, the story changes depending on where you talk to someone. The people of Tyran refute the myth that Pelchor was born deep in the mountains, but the citizens in the south believe that he spawned out of hell itself. They believed that the gates to below are what lurks beyond the Mountains of Ainwar. These mountains were impossible to scale and any attempt has ended in death, even to try and take the ocean around is as perilous as attempting to go over. Storms rage on a constant cycle with rock formations scattered across the coast and stretch out as far as the eye can see. With simple wooden fishing boats and small vessels, used to transport goods to and from the rest of the world, there wasn't a chance anything would survive venturing around the mountains.

The community of Accium lay in the southern territory. The people there don't ever travel north, but thousands of years ago the country of Maal was far more united and people moved around freely. Accium was the far more striking of the two territories, with rolling hillsides and valleys lined with the most gorgeous flowers. Trees as old as time forming woodland areas that held the people of Ristor, who were connected to the west of the country. The east held the great city of Vlar, which was the central hub for the country. It boasted grand stone architecture, high walls and a bustling city life. If you wanted success and money, that was the place to go. Even word of Pelchor reaching Vlar didn't disrupt life in the slightest, the people within the walls felt safe and a sense of immunity. Rightly or wrongly. The city had experienced hundreds of sieges throughout its time and has resisted every single attack. A beacon of strength for the entirety of Maal. Vlar sat in the eastern region of Briggor.

Remy Thwaite was born in the community of Ristor, but his family moved to Accium. The Thwaite family clan spent centuries in the woods of Ristor and built up considerable knowledge and expertise in the field of carpentry. Remy lived in a large barn with his father, mother, three brothers and two sisters. They built houses and taverns all over and became one of the most dependable clans in the region. Remy himself demonstrated fine carpentry skills at an early age and continued to learn under the tutelage of his father, Oron Thwaite. Remy was 18 when the entire family moved to Accium, this was due to Oron receiving an urgent appeal from the protector of Accium.

It was concluded long ago that there would be a king to rule all of Maal and each of the four regions would have an elected protector. The communities of Tyran, Ristor, Accium and Briggor would come together to vote for a new protector of the land when the old one passed on. However, the king would have the final decision and if he disagreed it was then up to him to elect someone else. Remy's father owed a personal debt to the protector of Accium as he helped defend his family against a small militia attack from a country just to the south of Maal called Slown. Slown was a small country with a huge ego, they felt they ruled the Sea of Ashion that separated the two countries. On numerous occasions they've attempted to invade the southern coast of Accium, but one time they decided to approach from the west and head through the woodlands of Ristor, hoping to make advances unseen to the defending armies of Accium. However, they didn’t expect to encounter resistance in the woodlands, but their weaponry would be too strong for the clans who lived there. The protector of Accium immediately dispatched a unit to quell the invading men and in doing so, saved the Thwaite family.

Gitir Felantra was the protector of Accium and he called upon Oron and his skills to build him a small settlement for the slowly expanding population. Many flock to Accium for its natural beauty. The land was lush and perfect for growing crops, fruits and vegetables. Raising livestock was a popular trait and the fisherman were always busy around the Port of Ren. Merchant sailors docked at the port with regularity to sample the goods and then sail them to far away lands for a good profit. Vlar had the impressive infrastructure, but Accium was the secret heartbeat of the country.

Remy had always dreamed of visiting different parts of the country, having only stepped foot outside the natural borders of Ristor on one occasion. That was only to retrieve a particular wood that grew on the outskirts of the woods. He was the most educated in the family and loved the books that the local library had on offer. Many stories of heroes, myths and legends were consumed by Remy from a young age. He absorbed the knowledge like a dry cloth meeting water for the first time. His father, Oron, didn’t discourage Remy from his readings because his son still put in the hours that the rest of the family put into the business. Remy also had an eye for detail that was far superior to anyone in Ristor and could turn anything into the most extravagant weapon. He built himself a small reputation in the region for his expert craftsmanship on bows. This earned him the nickname The Marksman.

One of the stories that captured the imagination of Remy, was the legend of Pelchor. How a dragon seemingly appeared out of nowhere and rained down hellfire for almost an entire century before ceasing to exist. Or so the people of Tyran were led to believe. The story stuck with Remy for many years and he couldn’t shake the idea of a dragon existing first and foremost, but to then vanish was even more strange. Is he still alive? What if he turned his attention to the south? Is he the first and only one of his kind? These kind of questions swam around the head of Remy and he even asked his father about it, but Oron was sceptical that it ever happened.

Fast forward to the present day, Remy was working on building a house with his father and one of his brothers, Harov. They were near completion, but knew daylight was dissipating fast, so they all packed up for the night and went home. His mother, Loren, had prepared dinner and the three men sat down with the other siblings. The two sisters, Puva and Mava along with the two other brothers, Klendor and Bastium. Remy would often read his books at the table and sometimes even delight the rest of the family with a particularly interesting story. With dinner done, most of the family turned in for the night, however Remy would often stay awake to read more of his books. On this particular night, Remy revisited an old favourite of his. Pelchor - Fire and Ash. He read how Pelchor would be able to destroy a town in a matter of seconds, as his flames were more like small explosions than just fire. However, as Remy read on, he realised that a couple of pages were torn out. He could see some of the old paper still sticking out in small jagged edges. There’s a part missing to this story. Remy was gobsmacked he didn't realise this years ago, and then remembered how he never actually finished the book in the first place. It piqued his curiosity as the pages had clearly been removed for a reason. However, the location of the missing pages may forever be lost to history as the book itself was acquired over 1o years ago. Any recollection the owner of the library would have of the book would be minimal at best, so Remy was left stuck in a curiosity overload.

Remy decided to spend the next day exploring the surrounding areas of his home in Accium, even reaching as far as the edge of the woodlands where he once lived. The day was mild and the sun hid behind clouds at regular intervals. There was a cobbled stone path that he took that lead him through the steep hills that sat between Accium and Ristor. It was a common path to take and he regularly passed by tradesman who were returning home from jobs. Everybody he walked by gave a smile and a wave despite handling tools that would be around their body weight. Ristor and Accium were close communities and were always very friendly with each other, hence the pleasantries as Remy walked through. However, Remy took a turn off the path and scaled the hills to take in the scenery on the other side. The sun was setting in the west and the clouds had all but disappeared, which allowed the star to shine over the land. Beams of light illuminated sections of the woods in the distance, while the valleys that led to the north competed for the attention of the sunlight. However, it would be the woods that stole the attention of Remy as something amongst the trees prevented one beam of light reaching the ground. It became more obvious that it was an object the closer that Remy got, but he still couldn't work out what it was.

The grass was untamed and tickled the inner thighs as Remy marched towards the object. It looked as though it was perched against a tree, almost like it was leaning against it. Too thin to be a human or an animal, but too thick to be a branch. Eventually Remy reached the object and it was clear as a day what it was. Bone. It couldn't be human as all humans, by law, were cremated and no one had been reported missing for decades. It also seemed far too big to be any sort of human bone. Most animal bone was collected for it's purposes for trade, especially one this large. Remy took a closer inspection and reached out to try and pick it up. But, before his fingers could lay upon this discovery, a voice suddenly spoke up.

'Ahh, I see you've found my walking aid...'