They Return

There weren't always dragons in the Valley but now the tales were so many and so frequent that Thela could not discount them or ignore them. The stories that she had heard over the last several weeks however were odd because none of them were the same. Although similar, each person recounted seeing a dragon, but each story was different. Each story seemed to describe a different dragon. That was cause for concern.

Thela had lived in the village of Kelanish for the last 50 years. She was old but actually a lot older than any in Kelarish knew. Few asked about her past here, so many just knew her as a fixture in the Village.

“But why do you believe the stories?” Sencara, First Elder of Kelanish asked in a dismissive tone.

“Because the stories all speak of dragons but it appears not of the same dragon. One dragon is difficult enough but many….” Thela replied.

“They are just making up fancy tales.” Sencara insisted. He felt that Thela was overreacting.

“Have you listened to them? The stories all include a dragon or some similar sighting, but the descriptions are all different, very different. One large, one small, one blue, another green. One had wings, two did not. Two of the people telling the stories are from Kelanish but one was the trader from Ulltik. Granted he is not always trustworthy but why would he make this up. His sighting was also far up the valley more than five days ride and he had not heard the other stories until he arrived here.”

“It has been generations since anyone has even seen a dragon in the province. This is folly. What do you want me to do? Sencara was ready to get on with his morning. He had not counted on being accosted by Thela and engaging in a debate this morning. He had important duties this morning. He was headed to the rusk fields to oversee the first harvest of the season. It was always important that the first harvest go well. It bode well for the whole Village. As First Elder it was part of his duty to be there and offer support and of course his advice. He liked giving advice. It made him feel worthwhile.

“We should, well actually you should, meet with the elders and begin making provisions for protecting the village and the crops.” Thela knew as soon as she said it that Sencara would ignore it. Thela could be one of the elders but she had turned it down so many times that they finally stopped asking her. She did not want to get into the petty local politics. She enjoyed the benign role that she played in the village. She would nudge here and there but usually did not push. She was feeling a little pushy this morning.

“Thela I just do not think it will do any good to get the Elders, or the rest of the Village stirred up over some stories.” Sencara took a step away.

She grabbed him by the arm. She was not letting him get too far before she made her point, “Sencara take me seriously.” She looked him straight into his eyes.

Sencara sighed and nodded, “Okay Thela. I will talk to the Elders.” He pulled his arm away but did it gently.

She nodded and let him go.

Thela had already decided she was going. It had been a long time since she had taken an active role in anything. She had enjoyed her quiet place in the village, but these stories nagged at her. Why had the dragons returned?

Kelanish was at the far southern end of the Valley. The end of the Valley was at the point that the two mountain ranges were the closest. The forest that grew in the valley had been cleared for the village and the fields but there was not much room because to the south of the village were the cliffs. Below the cliffs were the Teeth and the Baranian ocean. The Teeth was an area of jagged rock fingers sticking up out of the water. There was no quiet shore at the edge of the ocean. The Teeth extended a half mile into the ocean from the foot of the cliffs. The cliffs were enough of an impediment for ships but the Teeth made it impossible for Kelanish to have any type of port.

Thela left the following morning. She did not have many belongs of importance but she did secure her house. With her travelling cloak, a pack of provisions, her beloved knife, and her horse Tik she headed north into the valley. When she got out of sight of the village she steered Tik off the road into the woods. She breathed in deeply, it had been a while since she had done this, but she was not out of practice. She breathed in again and felt all things around her. She breathed in deeper and drew energy from each of those things. Plants, soil, animals, rock, all things contained energy. Thela drew on that. She drew just a little, except rom Tik. As she drew it in she then guided that energy to envelope her. And to the world around her she and Tik disappeared. She did not make a sound, she did not give off heat, she could not be touched, unless you knew what you were touching. Thela wanted to find the dragons without allowing them to find her.

She stayed close to the river as she travelled north. She did not stay next to it the whole time but at least within reach. Five days into her trip and she had not seen any dragons or any signs. She reached the point in the Valley that mountains began diverging. The river also branched into several small tributaries. She had no real schedule so she decided to start on the western tributary and follow it. The tributary ran parallel to the range for about 3 days travel and then turned toward the range where it collected its water. Thela followed it up to the Sisters Falls. The Falls were beautiful to see. There were four separate waterfalls. They started about 200 hundred feet up and were divided at the top by tall rock statutes that looked like they might have been carved in an age long forgotten. They were not identical, but at one time they might have been. Thela stood at the clearing of the forest at the edge of the pool where the falls’ water collected before heading down to the river. She stared up at the sisters and watched the water float defy gravity and seemingly hang in the air before it came to the pool. She considered taking a bath in the pool but did not want to be exposed just yet. She could heat the water a little bit and really enjoy it. Although it sounded very nice she talked herself out of it. Instead, she continued to stare into the Falls.

As she stared into the water she tried to focus on one drop at a time. She focused more and could actually see a single drop and could follow its slow fall to the pool below. The longer she stared the slower the drops began to fall. It took her a moment to realize that she was doing it. She wanted to see the drops so she was making it possible. She was about to release the falls when she noticed near the top of the middle fall that something was affecting the stream. It was not just a protruding rock, although it was large like a rock. It was moving. When the fall was running normally this protrusion was barely visible amid the splash and spray but now that the fall was slowed down it became more obvious. She slowly let go of the falls and began walking around the right side of the pool. She hoped she would be able to get a better look at what the protrusion was. It was large, about the size of a man. Its movement was not constant, and it was not moving because of the falling water. She could not make out any distinct features however with the water covering the surface. She needed to get closer and she looked for a good place to climb. The face of the mountain at this point was virtually straight up and although she was still relatively nimble in her advanced years this would be a foolhardy climb. There were no natural pathways near the Falls. She would have to back track at least a day to find a path up to the top of the falls. She did not want to give up that time. Instead she would stay at the pool and wait.

She found a place to settle down to watch. Tik roamed freely. Minutes turned to an hour and Thela got restless. She began pacing and then walked around the other side of the pool. When she was younger she would have given up on this but she had long since learned to trust her intuition. This was something and she had time. The day wound on with no real change. Twilight set in and she her patience paid off. She was settled against a tree on the far side of the pool. The object slowly disappeared into the waterfall. Then just as slowly a new shape appeared. A snout slid slowly out through the water. Then eyes were visible and then the full head. Then part of the neck extended out through the sheet of water. The head moved slowly from side to side as the eyes scanned.

Thela was right. This was only her confirmation however. She was anxious about what would come next. She remarked that this dragon did not match the description of any of the recent tales that she had heard, tales that had brought her here. There weren’t always dragons in the Valley but now there were.