Trinity Valley

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. In fact, if you look far enough back, the Valley itself did not exist. Over five hundred years ago, during the Age of the Mountain, the great Trinity Mountain stood tall in the center of a triangle formed by three lower peaks. The legend of the powerful magic the mountain exuded was passed down through generations. Since ancient times, Holders of magic and their families travelled to the mountain during the annual Trinity Day celebration to experience the mountain’s pure power.

But unfortunately, on one unassuming day, during an unassuming year, the peak of the mountain began to slowly rotate. Soon the entire mountain collapsed in upon itself, leaving only the great rocky peak in the middle of a newly formed valley.

But that’s a story for another day.

Our story begins in what is known as the Age of the Shadow.

Over the centuries following the valley formation, the landscape readjusted and developed. The once great Trinity River that cascaded down waterfalls from near the peak of Trinity Mountain, now flowed in a snakelike pattern across the valley and out to the sea. High on Mount Galeena to the north of the valley sat Lake Galeena, the new and unnaturally never-ending source of the Trinity River.

The lake, fed for ages upon ages by the magic waters from Trinity Mountain was off limits to all creatures. Even the most strong and powerful of Holders could barely approach the northern area of the valley without developing a ringing in their ears that turned into lightning bolt pain in their head, buckling them to their knees as they got closer to the mountain and lake.

Further south, near the center of the valley, the village of Damarquia bustled as the annual Trinity Day celebration approached. Within days, villagers expected thousands of Holders to arrive from around the world for the celebration in hopes of feeling what magic remained in the peak of the mountain.

Damarquia sat on the edge of a great meadow that surrounded the peak of old Trinity Mountain. During the height of the event, the meadow could barely be seen between the all the travelers’ tents and the Holders lined up for their chance to put their hands on the peak.

Each year the first families who settled in the valley took time to walk the meadow with their leader Inishka. It was a great honor to have the time in the meadow before the crowds came. While most of the town cleaned, decorated, and made sure their store shelves were stocked, the magical moments of peace and quiet were envied by many.

Inishka’s family was the first to settle in the valley, before sending out the word for other Holder families to join them. Her family unofficially ruled the towns in the valley since their arrival. Inishka was graceful, and the perfect example of how peaceful the Holders could be. Loved by all, she greeted the most honorable families with the same warm smile as a poor and weary traveler who just hoped for a chance to find a new home. Her long blond hair distinctly set her apart, as did her yellowish-green eyes. Most Holders had darker hair and hazel or brown eyes.

As she made her way around the meadow, Inishka’s warm smile met the gaze of Spreena as they walked through the meadow. The two had grown up together and were always very close.

“Where is Pao?” Inishka asked, referring to the most spirited of Spreena’s daughters.

“She left early this morning, but she knows to be here for our annual walk.” Spreena answered. “Where in the world did that girl run off to this time?” she thought as she looked at her other five daughters, wondering if her eldest daughter would ever understand the importance of her family’s status.

Pao balanced precariously on the limb sticking out over the lake. Far north of Demarquia, she often wandered aimlessly and picked flowers by Lake Galeena. At a young age, Pao once followed an adorable small creature and discovered her immunity to the ear ringing and headaches most Holders suffered from if they crossed into the northern forests near the base of Mount Galeena. This mountain had become Pao’s quiet sanctuary. Just her, some small creatures and animals, and a beautiful sprawling landscape all for her alone to enjoy.

Pao’s long mahogany hair was often tangled in knots. She attempted simple braids to gain control, but after a day of exploring and getting her hair stuck in the brush it was wild. Adding flowers to it always helped to hide the chaos.

With each step the whole tree wobbled, but Pao was determined to get to the lone pink flower a few steps away. With a clumsy lean and jump Pao grabbed a hold of the smaller branches towards the end of the limb.

Looking down for the first time Pao’s eyes met her reflection in the calm lake. Suddenly a chill ran through her whole body. Staring into her own eyes, she felt like someone else was staring back. For the first time ever, Pao was frozen in terror. She could not look away as the face surrounding her reflected eyes changed. A wave of memories flooded her mind.

The anger she felt when her mother asked her to help with her younger sisters. When she accidentally took the piece of candy from the store without paying. She had been so scared of upsetting the shop owner, she never told anyone. The time when she was a young child and pushed down a friend that took her flower. Pao was a good person at heart. These things couldn’t possibly represent her. Holders in general were deeply good and virtuous.

“Why these memories?” She thought. Many of them hadn’t crossed her mind in years.

Pao began to shake as the face looking back at her gradually turned green. Her slightly turned up button nose grew into a vicious snout. Soon the only familiarity that stared back were her eyes. Pao’s distinct blue eyes had always set her apart from others, but now those blue eyes were on the face of a dragon.

As the blue of the dragon’s eyes flooded red in a vein-like pattern, a hot breeze blew gently through the branches of the tree. The hot air felt both suffocating and overwhelming as goosebumps covered Pao’s skin. She felt an unbearable sadness, then anger, neither felt like they were her own feelings. From the edges of her peripheral vision, a coating of red creeped in.

Pao thought of the stories of dragons her mother would tell as a child.

“Mother! The meadow!” Pao cried out as she broke her trance.

When she looked back at the water, she could now only see her faint reflection and the clear water of the lake. Hurried to get to the meadow, Pao lunged for the flower. As she grasped the flower, she heard a plop in the water below. Looking down, she watched in anguish as her necklace slowly sank down, down, down through the crystal-clear water until it settled on the bottom.

Pao did not have time to swim down to get her necklace, but she thought about the day her great grandmother gave it to her.

It was one of those beautifully crisp early spring afternoons where the vibrant blue sky didn’t have a cloud in it. The cool breeze rustled the edge of their picnic blanket as young Pao and her great grandmother, Naneena, sat quietly enjoying the fresh air and quiet in the meadow.

“Primapao, this is my favorite necklace”. Naneena spoke slowly and with intention as she always did. She held her hand under the gold charm. The afternoon sun reflected off the gold. Pao admired the small design of a triangle with a swirling circle in it.

“The design represents the valley where we live now. See the triangle of mountains, and the rotation Trinity Mountain made before it caved into the valley?” Naneena pointed out the design as she continued. “After the original family settled here, our family arrived with the first wave of Holders that migrated to this valley. You learn some history in your school lessons. Other history you need to hear passed down in stories.”

Pao always felt a deep closeness with Naneena. As if Naneena was one of the few authentic people in the village. Completely transparent about her good qualities and the negative ones she always worked on. Naneena gave Pao her love for the fields and rivers and woods. While other children played their magic games and did their chores with a smile, Pao was always more drawn away from the crowd to the peace of nature.

“Before we came to the valley, our family ruled a small kingdom in the west.” Naneena continued. “The gold in this necklace is melted down from the gold crown and staff we gave up to live in this valley. Each member of the family received a piece of jewelry to remind us of where we came from, and we’ve passed them all down through the generations.”

The kingdom Naneena’s family ruled over was beautiful, but chaotic. Close to the Western Sea, the small fortress they called home stood atop a hill overlooking the sea. They were often targeted and attacked by other rulers for their land and strategic location. Only ruins of the once great fortress remained now as the ruling family abandoned their reign to join the large group of magic pilgrims setting down new roots in peaceful Trinity Valley.

“Outside of these mountains, the use of magic was frowned upon”, Naneena continued. “Our family has passed down natural Holder abilities as far back as we’ve told stories. Our ancestors made the long journey every year to Trinity Mountain for the Trinity Day celebration, to enjoy just one week of freedom to practice without bearing the judgement of non-believers.”

“Why didn’t they like magic?” The innocent 8-year-old Pao asked, slowly braiding dandelions into a crown.

Growing up surrounded by peaceful and overly upbeat Holders, Pao couldn’t imagine a world of violence or discrimination. Outside of her quaint valley was almost another world completely. Feared and despised by non-believers, Holders mostly used their magic in secret. The beliefs surrounding Trinity Mountain varied so much throughout the land, that war after war carried on all the way back to the times legends came from.

“Most are taught what they should believe as a child, and as an adult they just stick with what they learned. It’s like learning the alphabet, but they are taught who is right and who is wrong.” Naneena always had a way of making things easy to understand. “In every being there is light and there is dark. The light is love, kindness, and understanding. Darkness is fear, and anger. When the light is strong, love fills the world. But if the dark takes over, the differences in what people believe sometimes becomes a mountain that is too hard to climb over.”

As Naneena unhooked her necklace, she continued. “This necklace is an important reminder of where we came from and why we are here in Trinity Valley.” Naneena placed the necklace on Pao and gave her a warm hug.

Naneena’s voice drifted out of Pao’s mind as she stood at the edge of the lake. A small piece of jewelry crafted from a crown. Cherished in their family for generations, and Pao foolishly dropped it in a lake she should not have been anywhere nearby.

Pao sat on the grassy bank and took off her shoes. She placed them gently next to her bag and the silly pink flower that caused all this trouble.

“I can do this” thought Pao as she took slow barefoot steps toward the nearby water. She felt the soft blades of grass tickle the bottoms of her feet. “I got this close to the lake so stepping in should be ok. If my head was going to explode it would have by now.”

She slowly raised her left foot and moved it towards the water. When her toe was an inch away, she froze. “That dragon was in my imagination too. There’s nothing but water and my necklace in this lake.” Slightly off balance, Pao’s body began to tremble as she moved her toe a little closer to the surface of the water.

“Squawk”

Pao lunged back away from the lake as a loud bird passed overhead. The lake had seemed so quiet, she had forgotten about other creatures. Pao laughed at herself as she thought, “There is nothing to be afraid of.”

She took two quick steps forward and jumped into the air. Both feet quickly sunk into the chilly water and came to rest on the sandy bottom. Landing with her eyes closed and her body tense, Pao took inventory of herself.

“Am I still alive?” she thought as she opened one eye and looked around. Her feet were cold, but had not disintegrated like she had worried. She slowly took one step deeper and again looked around in disbelief. Now determined, Pao marched deeper into the lake to retrieve her necklace. When the water was just about chest deep, she saw the sun reflect off a glint of gold a few feet in front of her. Pao took a deep breath in and began to swim down toward the necklace.

Pao had grown up swimming in fast moving Trinity River so she glided through the still lake with ease. Opening her eyes for a moment, she reached her hand down towards the shiny gold and finally grasped her necklace.

Suddenly the water around Pao churned violently as if a firework had exploded underwater. Her body was ripped in one direction, only to immediately be torn in the opposite direction. Her eyes burned as they opened. She couldn’t tell which way was up.

As the churning finally stopped, Pao broke the surface and took a gasping breath in. She wiped the water from her eyes, and kept her body very still. When she stepped into the water, the sun was brightly shining above and a gentle breeze slowly rocked the trees of the surrounding forest. Now as Pao looked around, the low, oppressive, dark clouds that filled the sky made it difficult to tell if it was day or night.

“What have I done” thought Pao as she reattached her necklace around her neck. “This is all your fault”, she said to the charm on her necklace. Pao swam quietly to the edge of the pond, trying not to draw any attention to herself. She felt eyes somewhere, watching her.

The trees that now surrounded the lake were bare and singed black. Pao wondered if there was some kind of eruption or explosion while she was under the water. She climbed out of the lake and dripped on the dirt and ashy bank. The beautiful grass was gone. Also gone were Pao’s bag, shoes, and pink flower. With her head down in defeat, Pao sighed and began the long walk to the meadow.

“What would her mother say?” Pao thought as she slowly made her way through the burnt remains of the woods. “Thank goodness I didn’t get burned.”

Every two steps her bare feet landed on a rock or a piece of burnt bark and roots, shooting pain through her legs. A tear ran down her cheek, partially from the pain and partially from the overwhelming destruction that surrounded her. “What happened?” She began to sob out loud.

Suddenly, a loud crack echoed off the mountain above, followed by a low rumble. Pao stood frozen. She still felt eyes on her. She slowly turned, looked beyond the lake, and up towards the peak of Mount Galeena. Dust rose from a high cliff on the mountain and several large rocks crumbled and violently raced down the side of the mountain. The dust cloud then glowed red as if a fire burned behind it.

Behind her, deep in the skeleton-like remains of the forest, Pao heard a loud sigh that turned into a growl. The sound reminded her of moments before her dog would wake up barking at whatever creature chased him in his dreams. This sound wasn’t a dog. Unless it was a very big one.

Pao jumped to hide behind a singed tree trunk. She was caught between something terrifying on the cliff and something terrifying in the woods. The ground shook violently and then the shaking tapered off. Again, the land shook for a moment then stopped. The rhythmic tremors felt like a giant’s footsteps. From deep in the woods a flame erupted out of what was left of the treetops, followed by a deep snarl.

Pao broke into a sprint out of the woods. Whatever cause the explosion while she was under the water was still there. Driven by pure adrenaline, she barely felt the rocks and roots under her bare feet.

As Pao cleared the trees she glanced behind her. Below a cloud of smoke, she could see a large green figure. Up on the high cliff there was another loud crack, followed the rumble of giant rocks falling. The red glow of the dust turned to flames. Pao was surrounded.

She made it to the edge of the lake. The fire breathing creature high above remained on the mountain, but the flames in the forest grew closer and closer.

The giant green dragon emerged from the ash filled woods. The red eyes stared directly at Pao, who stood motionless, desperately hoping she would wake up from this nightmare. Eyes locked on Pao; the dragon slowly moved closer. Soon, she felt the warmth of the dragon’s breath on her face. The dragon stood tall; its snout turned red and it took a deep breath in.

“I hope you can’t swim”, Pao thought. She dove into the water and began to swim with all she had in her. She swam down towards the murky bottom hoping to momentarily hide from the dragon. The water had been so clear when she swam for her necklace. The explosion must have churned up the sand and vegetation from the bottom. Suddenly the water again became agitated; waves crashed and undercurrents pulled her. Pao hoped it wasn’t the dragon swimming after her. She was becoming desperate for air, but was too terrified to surface.

Pao struggled to move as the pressure of the dense water tightened around her arms and legs. Her body was exhausted. She let out a scream of air bubbles and recoiled her body to make a last attempt at swimming away from the dragon.

Above the lake it was silent. The green trees sat still under the clear blue sky. No birds chirped, the wind was dead, and not even a ripple appeared on the surface of the water. Suddenly a hand violently broke the surface. Pao’s face shot out of the water and she finally took a deep breath of fresh air.

As Pao dragged her exhausted body onto the soft grass of the shore, a high-pitched ringing in her ears began. A low rumbling began from deep inside the earth. Waves crashed onto the shore as the lake churned violently.

The center of the lake began to boil, overwhelmed by the fierce heat below. Suddenly flames burst out of the lake, demolishing the safety of the veil between the light of this land and darkness of the burnt shadow land. The immense roar of the dragon echoed off the surrounding cliffs as its smoking snout rose above the surface of the water. Another blast of flames exploded from the dragon. The green, scaly body cleared the water and flew through the air observing the new surroundings. Finally, it zeroed in on Pao as she caught her breath on the bank.

The dragon flew directly towards Pao taking in another deep breath, ready to incinerate her.

Like I said, there weren't always dragons in the Valley.