The Valley

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. It wasn’t always the Valley either, more of a forest in a gully. Originally, the Gnomes were the sole dwellers there. Of course, these were not the cute, little garden variety people often bring to mind at the mention of Gnomes. These were the darker, uglier relatives. Today’s Gnomes are known to be clean, well dressed, pudgy, little men with long kept beards who are protectors of worthy gardens. Santa Claus versions of the earth elementals. Back then, they were bone skinny, barely clothed in rags, and encrusted with so much dirt from their underground dwellings that they looked to be made of the earth itself. Mischievous in nature, any being to cross into their territory was a potential target for any dangerous shenanigan the wild ones wished to impart to them. Although not many got close to the lands of the Gnomes. Most thought the land cursed with rotten earth and avoided the area due to the mishaps man had experienced and the stench that roamed the land. Those who were aware of the presence of Gnomes knew them to be responsible for the trouble and still knowingly avoided the territory. The Gnomes preferred the solitude, as it made several aspects of their lives easier at the time. It is now known, and seen in the behaviors of the garden Gnome, that these earth elementals are extremely wise, shy, and fierce protectors. Historically, it was believed that Gnomes were solidary creatures who were extremely territorial and unaware of decent hygiene. The land that became the Valley knew Gnomes to act this way, and this behavior protected their secret. No one was aware the Gnomes were there guarding the many treasures buried within the earth. At least, no one had any knowledge of these treasure until the year of the Great Cataclysms.

Tornados, volcanic eruptions, floods, and, most notably for the area, earthquakes. Within the short span of about three months, the series of earthquakes experienced turned the little forest gully into a massive Valley. All beings connected to the earth felt each great shift within the earth and within themselves. The earth buckled and tore; the great shifts grew to become mountains and the sunk to become the Valley. With all the disruption, the earth swallowed and created its own mysteries; it spewed forth once hidden secrets into the open for all to view. And very quickly, the precious treasure once secretly guarded by the Gnomes became visible and known by all.

Leprechauns flocked to the new Valley, viewing the newly displayed treasure as needing to be claimed. Several battles for the land and the treasure took place between the Gnomes and the Leprechauns. Neither side had claimed victory and possession of the treasure when the Dwarves arrived. They claimed the land as belonging to the Dwarven clan and included the treasure as part of their “claimed” possessions. The clan boasted about how much they could do to refine and better the treasure, to work it into something better. The Gnomes scoffed at the idea that the treasure needed to be improved, as they saw it as a blessed gift of the earth in the form in which it already existed. However, the number of Gnomes had declined significantly with the fighting of the Leprechauns and they, nor the Leprechauns, had the numbers to take on the Dwarves. The mischievous nature of both did not seem to impact the Dwarves or deter the clan’s attempt at possession of the land. In a short time, the Dwarves took hold of the visible treasure and started the formation of the Valley into a location they deemed livable.

Having enhanced the tunnels system started by the Gnomes and driven away any competition from the Gnomes or Leprechauns, the Dwarves made the land in the image they wished it to be. Dwellings of the Dwarves were notably more refined and ostentatious than the basic tunnel system of the Gnomes. Unlike the Gnomes, the Dwarves purposefully set out to excavate the treasures from the earth and forge it. They wanted not only to take possession of the treasure, but, as Dwarves do, they wanted to forge new creations, adding in bit of their magic in the process and creating a new sort of treasure from which the materials of the earth brought forth. Dwarven rule gave rise to the taming of the land and the land being designated as the Valley. Most beings without any magic of their own tended to give a wide berth to the area, and, for many years, the Dwarves lived in the Valley as they wanted. Unfortunately for the Dwarves, the use of magic attracts magic.

Griffins have a much finer sense of smell when it comes to sniffing out magic, and these great beasts were the next to find the Valley of interest. About a decade after the Dwarves began stocking their magically enhanced treasures within the land of the Valley, a Griffin caught scent of these wares. Being wise themselves and avoidant of unnecessary battle, the Griffin perched itself up within the mountains around the Valley to watch the makings of the Dwarves. The one was soon joined by several more, and then several more. Griffins drawn to the smell of magical treasure nested in the stony mountains and watched the happenings of the Dwarves. At times, a Griffin would be overtaken by the obsession of a specific treasure and would fly down into the land and attempt to acquire the item as their own. Several of these Griffins were successful in capture and removal of the treasure from the Dwarven dwellings, but a few were not as lucky to leave with treasure, or their lives. Those who succeed flew on past the nest they had previously settled and off into other parts of the world, a new mission within their very being to protect this prize. Removing these Dwarven creations from the Valley and spreading them into the world was not the original intention of the Griffins, and it had an unexpected result that none had previously considered. Transporting the items to other parts continued to spread the smell of the Dwarven magic. This smell spread until it came to a nose much more vicious and possessive than those of the Griffin. It came upon that of a dragon.

Dragons have always been known to be highly interested in treasure, especially that has an added magical nature. It took little time before the dragon set forth for treasure after having scented the item carried by the Griffin. Also being wise creatures, the original dragon to seek this treasure understood the drive behind the Griffin’s possessed item and avoided seeking to try to remove this prize from its extremely defendant owner. Griffins possessed by a magical item and given purpose will fight to the death with anyone foolish enough to challenge it, and those beings did not tend to survive the battle with the Griffin. The dragon instead followed the trail away from the Griffin and back to the origin of the smell in the Valley. The approach of the dragon scared away the Griffins perched in the mountains, but the Dwarves did not notice the mass exit from the mountains, still focused and concerned with their own bounty. Arrival of the dragon was surprising to the clan, and their defenses were significantly inadequate and no challenge to the dragon’s might. Seeming to be instantaneous, the dragon ran out the Dwarves and took claim to the land of the Valley. Once there, other dragons coming across the area sought refuge on the land of magic and treasure. And it was magical, as the first dragon slowly welcomed others into the Valley and a very unusual Thunder formed. This Thunder consisted of dragons of a large variety, previously not known to cohabitate. The original dragon to claim the land was designated as the High Ruler and a Council was created to assist in regulating the dragon society living in the Valley. And so lived the dragon community for hundreds of years, in peace. Then came man.

Non-magical beings were not well viewed by those who possessed magical abilities. Often, they were avoided for fear of what their jealously would lead to, as they had proven to be deadly with desire and greed. The first human to come across the Valley had been in search of a great quest to prove himself to his people and claim fortune. Nothing was better regarded in the human world at the time than a dragon slayer. Though few of these dragon slayers had successfully slayed a dragon or survived and encounter with one, those who has souls filled with greed bragged about completing deeds well beyond their ability. This adventure would not slay a dragon, but he would end up surviving a fight with one of the juveniles. Information about the presence and location of the dragons was something he took back to his kingdom and shared with those in power.

Knowing that dragons like gold and treasures, this king sought to take all that he could from the dragons. He gathered his army and set out for the Valley to take over the land of the dragons. The dragons met with the greedy King and attempted to dissuade the King’s plans for battle. In the end, greed controlled the man and war broke out between the humans and the dragons. The humans used shameful and immoral techniques to bring down numbers of dragons. Conflict was long and lasted many years, first becoming a generational fight for the humans and then even for the dragons. Time seemed to freeze and race forward simultaneously. After hundreds of years, war with the humans had destroyed so much of the Valley and killed so many, on both sides. The Council, now having drastically declined in numbers, sat to discuss how to move the battle forward. While this meeting was occurring, the humans attacked again; this time setting forth a deadly poison onto the hatchlings. The devastation demolished the dragon community. Many were unable to handle the death of the children and were absorbed by their grief, unable to complete the basic needs to function. The next attack by the humans caused even more death and destruction. Ready to give up and surrender, the community began to crumble under the devastations of war. Seeing no way forward, the few surviving Council members sat for a vote on complete surrender to the humans. The High Ruler, shattered with the current state of the Valley and the Thunder, could not watch as the humans and their greed engulfed everything that was meaningful. Pulling on old magic from within the earth and tethering it to old magic within the High Ruler, a final attempt was made to save the community and the land by pushing back the humans and ending the war. Magic calling for self-sacrifice was unleashed by the High Ruler. The Valley engulfed itself and the dragons within the land and the humans were left with nothing left to fight over. Sitting high on his stead, the King of these humans watched as everything he desired was swallowed by the earth and gone with a bright flash of green light. He sighed in defeat. No more dragons. No more treasure. No more magic.

Or so the humans believed.