The Valley of Fire

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. I would know. I grew up there.

Before they came, the valley was filled with fairies dancing on the petals of morning glories that held the shades of sunset. A creek twisted through the valley, vibrant blue water filled with colorful stones and fish that would fly through the air. Stags would graze in the tall emerald grasses. Rabbits would chase the colorful butterflies that would hatch in spring. The entire valley was lined with tall pine trees that kissed the clouds. Their roots broke from the ground giving way to intricate patterns on the forest floor. And in the morning mist would emerge from the forest and fill the valley. I still remember it twirling around my fingers. It would dance with me and then leave when the sun broke beyond the mountains. The valley was full of wondrous life and unfathomable magic.

I remember running through the valley barefoot, feeling the soft soil soak into my feet. I remember chasing the butterflies in the spring. And in the winter, I remember how the valley looked with a blanket of white snow. Untouched and pristine. Then the summer would come and melt away the ice and snow giving freedom to flowers frozen underneath.

But as I look at the charred valley below, I see none of that magic I once remembered. The grasses still burning from the battle that once raged upon them. Many say that it was the dragons and their rider's fault for the state of the valley and the villages that surrounded it. But I know otherwise. It was not the dragons or those that rode them that made the valley burn.

It was the humans.

It was fear. Far more powerful than any dragon or rider.

I still remember the day that they arrived. The sky split open and the winged beast landed within the valley. Their scales were the color of rare stones. My favorite one was the color of pearls. Her scales were iridescent and reflected an array of pastel colors. Some of the dragons were bigger than the trees that surrounded the valley. While others were smaller with long razor-sharp wings. Mounted on each dragon were their delicate riders. They were dressed in shining armor of silver and green fabrics. They wove a flag that held the crest of a large tree and a dragon. The dragon’s tail circled the tree protecting its long limbs.

When the riders dismounted from their grand beast it was then I realized that they were not human. Their limbs were longer and pack with muscle, their hair appeared to be made from silk, and their skin the color of bronze. Their bare arms were decorated with black and silver swirls that appeared to move under the sunlight. But that was not what made them stand out. What made them truly different was their pointed ears and the magic that flowed through their veins.

When the strangers with the pointed ears and magic in their veins first arrived they were loved. I remember running to the valley to watch their powers of healing. I remember a man being carried into the valley unable to walk. His back was crushed in places that I didn’t know could break. Then a man dressed in white robes touched his spine. The man wore a crown of jasmine petals and his hair the color of sunlight. When he touched the man's spine his hands appeared to glow. When he removed them the man was able to stand and run through the field once again. Their dragons would play with the children allowing them to climb up their large bodies and then slide down their tails.

But the joy of the strangers only lasted a month. When the so-called savior of humanity, the great king of dragons, King Anguis. He claimed that the dragons were sucking power out of the valley and their riders were brainwashing children that the practice of magic was good. And the people believed him. They started to fear the dragons and the riders. And those that were healed by their magic were hunted down and killed because they believed that they were touched by evil magic and therefore they were evil. Sisters would kill brothers and sons would kill fathers. So much blood.

Too much unnecessary death.

Then in the dead of night, the humans attacked. While riders and dragons slept the humans started to burn the valley. They killed the riders and the dragons fought. The dragons released the fire that laid within their bellies and they burned the humans.

But it was not enough. The humans came with chains and collars made of iron. A metal that can handle any heat given. The dragons were chained and brought to the place where they are put on display. King Anguis used these dragons to burn cities and towns to the ground if they did not bow to him. With his captured dragons he became an Emperor.

After the attack, the humans continued to hunt down the riders that escaped and those that were healed by the magical strangers. They believed that they found them all. But they missed the little girl that was healed by the small boy behind the pearl-colored dragon.

I still remember that day. I went to slide off the dragon, like the other kids but when I pushed off to slide down I fell. When I hit the ground I remember hearing a snap and blinding pain in my foot. I didn’t scream out because I didn’t want to cause any trouble. But a young boy with blond hair and a green tunic saw. He came running over and told me that everything was going to be alright. He said more to me but I couldn’t hear him because I was entranced by his eyes. His eyes were the color of storm clouds. And deep within them, a thunderstorm was occurring. He healed my broken ankle and before I could thank him or ask him his name he walked back into the forest. The next day the valley was on fire. And I never saw him again.

A week later as I was walking through the burning corpses, charred dragons, and the river of fire. I came across a recently hatched egg. The dragon was small and struggling to stand. He was the color of trees when the thick mist settled over them. And when it looked at me it spoke into my mind. I picked up the small dragon and walked to my treehouse hidden in the darkest part of the forest.

Ten years later I am 25 and known to the world as Liberum Pugnator, the last dragon rider and the Empire’s most wanted.