The Study of Dragons

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. In the last century it was rare for them to even come down from the Blue Mountains. Today was a special day, and Elias had no intention of wasting it. Rumors had spread to the small village of Silla, located only miles away from the Valley, when the two creatures had appeared. The villagers became worried, whispers of leaving their homes behind and moving closer to the royal city have been ever present. Elias had no fear of the new neighboring creatures. He had spent years researching the great beasts of legend through ancient tomes and fossils, but never had the opportunity to study them live and up close until today. He could be the first person in history to document dragons in the flesh rather than rely on old stories and folklore.

With his satchel of papers and books dragging through the grass beside him, he crawled as quietly as he could to the edge of the plateau that overlooked the Rift. Fingers clutching the edge, Elias peered down to the mountainous cliff side. One wrong movement and he would fall for miles into the unknown darkness below. The Valley was the largest in the world, crossing to the other side took a minimum of one week on horseback with limited stops, and almost a month on foot. With a range this large the dragons could be anywhere, but if his research was correct, the cool darkness of the Rift was the only logical place they could settle. Despite their reptilian features, Elias had theorized that dragons were warm blooded creatures due to the fire that ran through them, and didn't have to depend on the warmth of the sun to warm their bodies. The deep pockets inside the Rift was the closest shelter that mimicked the great caves of the Blue Mountains where these dragons used to call their home.

The Rift was a massive scar that cut through the Valley like a snake. It reached as far as the eye could see, almost as long as the Valley itself. How it came to be here was still a mystery, but legend says that a basilisk crawled out from the depths of hell and claimed the Valley as its territory. The Rift was the hole in which it climbed out. That was a story for another day though.

Eyes scanning the pockets of the rocky wall, Elias searched for anything that was out of the ordinary. Resting on a ledge outside the opening of a deep pocket, lay a dragon. His breath caught in his throat once he spotted the creature. Struggling to remain silent, he quickly dug out his sketchbook, charcoal, and a battered telescope. Peering through the dusted glass, Elias began to sketch the sleeping beast. Dark blue scales, like the night sky, made it blend into the rocks around it. An untrained eye would have likely skipped over the dragon like it was never there, but the wings! The massive wings that lay tucked in on the dragon's back, stretching beyond the length of its body and stopping just to the end of its arrow tipped tail, were lighter in color. Almost like a steel shield that reflected the blue of a cloudless sky. That lightness offset it from the darkness of the rocks. Three massive horns protruded from the top of its head, upon closer inspection, Elias saw a fourth shorter horn that looked like it had been snapped in half. A large scar spread from the base of the broken horn down the dragon's face. Its head laid on crossed paws with talons as large as a man and sharper than any blade.

What a beautiful creature! Elias thought to himself as he sketched and jotted down notes of every detail and twitch of muscle. Not thinking, he adjusted his position to get more comfortable. The rustle of the tall grass around him was enough to catch the dragon's attention. Elias dropped low to the ground as the beast lifted its massive head and shook the long muscles of its neck. Would it be able to hear him from so far away? Could it smell him through the poppy flowers that surrounded him? His heart thundered in his chest like a war drum as the dragon faced where he hid. It sniffed the air and yawned. Even from this distance, Elias could see the massive teeth in its mouth that could shred him to pieces with minimal effort. He chanced moving his sketchbook in front of him and looked back into the telescope. The dragon sniffed the air once more and seemingly shrugged its shoulders before laying its head back down. He silently released the breath he had been holding, and continued his drawing of the dragon.

From the opening of the pocket, a second dragon emerged. Elias’s hands shook at the sight of it. It was much larger than the other, with scales as vibrant as the setting sun. Beautiful blends of red, orange, and yellow covered its body from back to belly. Even the membrane of the wings was gorgeous! Like a bonfire glowing in the dark. Truly an amazing creature. This dragon had more curved and feminine features compared to the sharp, masculine features of the smaller dragon. Elias marked in his notes the differences between the two such as the length of the horns. The female may have been larger in size, but the crown of horns on her head fell short compared to her companion.

“Amazing.” He whispered as he scribbled.

The female, who Elias had quickly named Alis, stretched out her magnificent wings like she had just woken up from a long sleep and wandered over to the male, now named Ruhn. A smile seemed to grace his face as she approached him and nuzzled him in greeting. Alis looked back to the entrance of the pocket, her throat bobbed as she made a noise that didn’t travel to where Elias sat. He looked to the entrance, nearly gasping in shock as not one, but two tiny dragons trampled out to the ledge. Babies! Only the size of a large dog with wings that were only less than half as long as their body, clearly they were still developing. They tripped over their little feet, fell into one another, and clumsily ran to their mother. The lack of grace reminded Elias of a baby deer learning to walk minutes after birth. Could they be newborns, just freshly hatched from their eggs? The way they walked gave him the idea that they were, but the only way he could be sure would be to study the nest which must have been hidden in the back of the pocket. How he could get there, he wasn’t sure. Alis lowered her head to nuzzle her babies once they reached her, then lightly nudged them towards Ruhn, who showed little interest as they climbed onto his back to play.

Elias’s hand cramped as he wrote down every detail of the family interacting with one another. They reacted like a wolf pack and a pride of lions. A family unit that shared love and affection with one another. When the midday sun shone over the Rift, the family laid on the ledge together to sleep in the warmth of the sun. Elias decided then that he had to get closer. Packing up his mess of notes and drawings, he silently retreated from his ledge and crawled through the tall grass to find a closer spot. Every crunch and rustle made his heart leap. Ancient tomes described dragons as being territorial and dangerous if disturbed, and these dragons had babies. One whiff of him nearby and they could attack him to protect their young. Eventually he found a suitable ledge to sit and observe the dragons. He was now directly across from the sleeping family. Alis and Ruhn lay snout to snout, their bodies circling around their children like a nest. The twins slept peacefully near the safety of their parents. Being able to see them closer than before, Elias pulled his notes out again to sketch the family. He couldn’t help but feel at peace as he drew them. This moment was the side of dragons that the legends never told of, and the long dead fossils could never show the love this family had for one another. It was surreal and almost… human. His hand stopped and he found himself just looking at the family. No studying their moves and noises or thinking like the researcher he was. In that moment, he was purely an observer just appreciating the beauty that was the dragons.

In a split second, Alis’s eyes opened wide and alert, she took in a loud breath and lifted her head in alarm. Elias tried to morph into the dirt, thinking that she had sensed him spying from afar. Her reaction was nothing like Ruhn’s reaction earlier though, this was the reaction of a mother bear who will stop at nothing to protect her cubs. A low, terrifying growl came from her throat, there was nothing to compare the sound to, it was entirely other worldly and almost demonic. A shiver went up Elias’s spine. The growl had alerted Ruhn to the nearby danger. He stood up, the spines along his back stood straight like the hackles of a wolf, and he bared his teeth. Sweat rolled down Elias’s face as his fight or flight senses screamed at him to run, but he was too terrified to move. Too terrified to even consider what might happen to him if he tried to escape the horror that is a dragon about to protect its young and territory. Would he even be able to out run them, or would death come for him before he could even stand up?

A dark shadow passed overhead, swallowing the light above it. The earth shook as a massive black dragon roared as it hovered over the Rift, the sound so loud it forced Elias to cover his ears. Alis and Ruhn answered the strangers roar with their own, their spines and wings held high to intimidate it. The young dragons mimicked their parents’ reaction, their tiny roars a poor imitation of the angry dragons that stood over them. The black dragon’s wings flattened the tall grass on the other side of the Rift as it flapped to stay in place, each beat boomed like thunder. Elias could’ve reached out and touched its tail if he wanted to, but he was still frozen in place.

I have to move. I have to move. I have to move. Echoed in his mind over and over again, but his body would not cooperate. Half of him was too afraid to move and alert the dragons of his presence, the other half knew this was a once in a lifetime phenomenon to witness and he would never get a chance like this again. He would have to live through the experience first.

The black dragon took in a breath, its throat glowing like a roaring fireplace, and unleashed a wave of white hot fire onto the family below him. Alis and Ruhn jumped to action and covered their children with their bodies, their wings acting as a shield to protect them from the flames that now surrounded them. The attack only lasted seconds, but watching it felt like hours. The two didn’t have a single burn mark once the fire stopped, and in the blink of an eye they soared into the air after the black dragon. Adrenaline possessed Elias, and he took off running to the forest.

Roars rumbled through the Valley as the three dragons battled just feet above his head. He could feel the beat of their wings, the heat of their fire, and the sharpness of their talons. Daring to look up, his jaw dropped at the absolute carnage that was happening above him. Teeth and claws tore into scales and the soft underbelly of the dragons. Alis and Ruhn worked as a team against the black dragon, the two of them acting as one as they took turns charging the trespasser. Ruhn bit into its neck, breaking scales and skin, Alis rammed her horns into its back, trying to break its wings. The black dragon had a counter for every attack they threw at it. His claws dug deep into Ruhn’s belly, and his tail wrapped around Alis’s back legs and pulled her down to unbalance her flight. It had a kind of composure as it countered each attack the two threw at him, like it knew their strategy.

The Valley burned bright with dragon fire. Devastating scars spread across the once green meadow as the battle pursued. Elias fell to the ground as Ruhn collapsed in front of him. The impact of his body rattled the ground like an earthquake. Blood ran like streams from his wounds. The black dragon wasted little time coming after him to finish the job, its throat glowing once more as it prepared to blast him with flames. Before the fire could come, Alis rammed into its belly, pushing it away from her mate, and blasted it with her own fire. The black dragon retreated, Alis quick on its heels to keep it away from Ruhn.

Ruhn rose from the ground, shaking the blood, dirt, and burned grass from his wounds and wings. For a brief second, his one eye met Elias’s. In that short moment, Elias could have sworn the dragon’s eye widened in shock, like he never knew a human was there in the first place. With a mighty roar, he took off into the air after Alis and the black dragon. Alis stole a glance back, leaving just enough of an opening for the black dragon to lock his jaws around her neck and throw her to the burning ground. She disappeared in the smoke and flames. Elias didn’t stay to see if she had survived or not. If he stayed any longer he would perish to the spreading fire, or the continuing battle overhead.

A devastating roar echoed over the ruined Valley as Elias retreated into the safety of the trees. The last he saw of the great dragons was Ruhn flying away from the Rift, the black dragon hot on his heels. He turned to go back to his village, when he stopped short. An image of the baby dragons hiding in the Rift flashed across his mind. Would they survive without their parents if they had perished? What if the black dragon came back to finish them off? He shook his head. What could he do for them? How could he protect them? He went to retreat again from the Valley, stopping himself once more. He looked back to the burning meadow, there was a clear path through the flames, leading right to the Rift.

“Bloody hell.” He swore and ran back into the Valley.