The Valley of Angels

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. But that didn’t matter anymore. They were here now, and they were here to stay.

Long ago, the Valley was a place between heaven and earth, where angels slept on beds made of stardust and rode chariots of clouds—a land of no war, famine, or death.

The Valley of Angels: A land of peace.

That’s what the people used to call it.

I found it hard to believe a place like this was once the land told to me in fairytales.

The Valley was a dark and dreary hellscape. The ground was burnt black and covered in ash. The silence was eerily reminiscent of the calm before the storm.

It was nothing like the fantastical world of angels and unicorns from my childhood.

But then again, bloodshed would do that to a place.

Sighing, I tossed my bag over my shoulders and glanced to my side, eyeing my companions as the horses pulled the wagon over a large rock in the middle of the road. “So-“ I started, covering my head as the wagon bumped forward. “Where’s everyone from?”

Out of my four companions, only one spoke up.

“Springvale, west of here. It’s a small community; I doubt you’ve heard of it,” Chipper, the gnome girl stated, her feet dangling off the sides of the carriage seats and her large, pointed ears poking out from her curly orange hair. She was short, though reasonably average for a gnome, being only a couple feet tall, with large, round eyes, a button nose, and a rather stout figure.

Springvale.

She was correct; I hadn’t heard of it.

Chipper shrugged, clearly not fazed by the blank, unknowing expression on my face. “It’s mostly a melting pot for faeries, gnomes, pixies, and such,” she explained, adjusting the oversized goggles that sat atop her wild mane of hair. “What about you?”

I paused, considering the question. “…I guess I’m not really from anywhere,” I admitted almost bashfully, moving my hand to rub against the back of my head. “Growing up, my mom and I traveled too much to consider anywhere home,” I made a face, glancing around. “The plan was always to settle down once we got….” I paused and extended my arms out. “Here.”

Mom always wanted to live in the Valley of Angels; she used to claim we’d find a home here, a haven where we could live comfortably for the rest of our lives.

I scoffed.

If only she could see it now.

“That’s depressing,” Chipper stated bluntly, pulling me from my thoughts. “I can’t think of anyone who would wanna come to this dump,” she commented, resting an elbow on the wagon's edge as she stared out into the dark, sullen land before us.

I couldn’t help but agree with her.

“None of you knew this place before the Dragon War started; you have no idea what you’re talking about,” Asmodei, another of my companions, spoke up, and I jumped, startled. I had almost forgotten he was here.

I looked at him, squinting as I tilted my head to the side.

There had been very little on him before joining the army, and even now, as I looked at his ashen black hair that fell right between his powder-blue eyes, an ever-present glare resting on his face, I couldn’t figure him out.

“Have you ever been here before?” I questioned, raising my brow.

Asmodei shifted and glanced away. “…That was a long time ago,” he muttered just under his breath.

I furrowed my brow, leaning closer as I rested my arms across my knees, ready to question him further when Zestari spoke up.

“Quiet now; we’ll be passing The Heart soon,” the elf warned us, raising a porcelain white hand to signal for us to stop. Her ears perked as she leaned over the wagon's side, her long, silver touched hair falling to her knees.

I immediately closed my mouth and stood up, peering past the horses as the surrounding scenery darkened and an icy chill ran up the back of my spine.

I had heard stories about this place.

Other soldiers had warned me about the Valley’s Heart; how the cold was bitter, the sky swarmed with dark hues of black and grey, and demons and dragons prowled the area, looking for their prey. Yet none of the old soldiers’ stories could’ve prepared me for this.

The air-dropped suddenly, as if we had crossed an invisible line. Up ahead, directly in the center of the sky, raged a swirling vortex of black and ash. Purple streaks of lightning flashed from the center, creating additional cracks across the sky as if something was trying to claw its way out.

Everything went quiet.

Even the wind seemed to come to a halt here.

The only noise came from the occasional booming thunder inside the heart's center.

I shivered and sat back down, looking adamantly at my knees.

The sooner we passed this point, the better.

Beside me, Zestari had gone as still as a statue, her ears perked for any sounds of danger, while her striking emerald green eyes darted back and forth across the open plains. I wasn’t an expert at reading body language, but I could tell she was on high alert.

Across from us, Asmodei looked up to the sky, his eyes locked on the vortex, an unreadable expression flickering across his face. Chipper jumped and whimpered, cowering into her clothes like a tortoise, every time the thunder boomed.

Lastly, there was Kiva, our captain.

He remained in the front, whispering gentle words to calm the horses.

I had spoken little to him. If I was being honest, he intimidated me.

He was tall, with electric blue hair and a scarlet red stare that could pierce your soul, and if I looked closely, I swore I could see a pair of black horns poking out of his hair. However, the part that stood out the most about him was the large, rigid scar smeared across his face like claw marks. I had heard rumors about him before, tales that he was connected to them somehow.

Kiva must have felt my stare as he turned back to look at me.

Our eyes briefly met, and I quickly looked away.

“How long until we’re on the other side?” I asked in a hushed whisper, fidgeting as another burst of thunder rung in my ears.

“Not for a while,” Asmodei responded calmly, no one daring to speak louder than a whisper. “Do you see that small sliver of light, way out there?” He asked, stretching his hand out.

I peered past him, squinting.

Far off, well beyond our reach, a tiny sliver of lighter grey hues shined out amongst the darkening shades of black.

“That-” Asmodei started. “Is our way out.”

“Oh.”

We were going to be here awhile.

“At least we’ve got each other for company,” Chipper brought up, bringing her knees up to her chest, hugging them close to her body. “I don’t think I could do this alone.”

“Hush!” Zestari demanded as she slowly stood up, looking behind us. Her ears perked as far up as possible, her body instinctively moving into a defensive position. “Kiva…” she warned.

Kiva paused, looking past his shoulder. “What is it?” He asked, his sharp red eyes flickering from Zestari to the rest of us.

Zestari didn’t look back. “We’re being followed.”

Her words made my blood run cold.

Immediately I scrambled to my feet and looked behind us. I couldn’t see anything beyond the darkness, but I knew better than to doubt an elf’s enhanced senses.

Then, I heard it.

A roar echoed throughout the valley, and I instinctively covered my ears. I clumsily reached for my sword, my heart beating loudly against my chest.

I knew that sound.

Everyone around me immediately got into position as they reached for their weapons.

I barely grabbed hold of my sword when a rush of wind flew past us, nearly blowing Chipper off her feet.

Kiva signaled for the horses to go faster, but it was too late.

We couldn’t outrun this.

Trying to remain balanced, I gulped as I stared into the abyss, and this time, the abyss stared back at me.

I steadied myself just in time to see a large burst of flame erupt from behind us, lighting our way, and behind it, a massive black beast with wings as long as fields emerged from the shadows, teeth as large as trees, and eyes a burning, scarlet red.

A pit dropped in my stomach. I knew this beast, and anyone who knew this beast knew once it locked its eyes on you, there was no escape.

For this was a dragon, and we were the prey.