Valley of the Vegas

There weren’t always dragons in this valley. The winds have changed. The embers burn and rise, passions stir, and I am guided on. I am tending to the heat. I let it be. My feet are warm with sudden ease. This vivid tangelo glow is the same shade of burnt orange I saw in the moon setting tonight. For a moment, it filled the day, burning bright with an afterglow that was foggy, such as smoke rising from the ghost of a flame. Much like what I will see once I have put out this mesmerization for the night. Beauty awaits tomorrow and until then, I will take my rest. I am blessed beyond measure soaking each day in the ashes from the last as I cultivate this mind and heart for the next morning's light. Basking at this moment, taking it all in, I am at peace. Away from the chaos, I am free. All that is left in me is gratitude and anticipation.

Legend has it that the Vegas were serpents who danced to keep the harvest coming full of life and nourishment. Fairies would drum to make music, moving the snakes to dance. When the snakes would dance, their movement stirred the life of this world. So the fairies were drumming in all that they did as the serpents danced their way through life, creating breath for all through every sway and slither. Every Vega is said to have had a sleeping dragon in its heart. This valley is now barren where streams are said to have flowed, home to the source of magic and life on this fireball.

My name is Siofra. I’ve been on a journey since I left home 9 moon cycles ago. I have no need to fear or worry, for peace is with me and this is my strength. I will go home and share these ancient secrets that have been revealing themselves to me to heal this dead land and make it inhabitable again. The Valley of the Vegas is vast and wide. Stories have been passed down for 300 cycles that these lands were ruled by creatures coming together as one. Crows, wolves, foxes, birds of many colors, and white snakes were the most in number with an abundance of paths, waterways, grass, and lowlands. This valley was said to be named for the tale of the Vegas who came from the deep waters. Also known as the great white snakes we speak of now. Land of the fairies and land of well-being until the Great Wandering began.

My home is in the mountains as your kind would know them as. We call them risersas. I come down to the valley to dream of what the ancients knew, to search for answers, and to bless this land. I have believed the day would come when I would uncover secrets or lost gems. I believe I have found a secret through the whispers in the air, the little water I have found, and through this dance, I cannot help but become one with as I move through the ashes. All beings who have been left in the white snakes’ wake, look to my kind for answers, hope, and for guidance. The knowledge I hold comes from within, I feel a burning in my heart when I allow the wisdom to emerge from my blood.

I am of the winged tribe that inhabits the risersa called Sora. We have resided there since our beginning. Our beginning was the white snake’s end. Or as I like to think of it, the Vega’s transmutation. As my grandmother tells the story, the Vegas were inner wizards with the power to change into another form if the time ever came where they would have to transmute themselves to protect this valley and the legacy of this world called Altsor. I have heard it said that the moving waters held the memories, the dancing, and the rhythm within for the beings of this world to look into when they have forgotten the way of life. I have often wondered if history would be held there too. I have a secret that I will keep written down on this bark until I arrive home.

If they only knew the hope I hold for us all. I would be given a heavy load to carry to distract me from my sparks, so I have kept these dreams to myself. If only the others could believe what I’ve seen. I can feel the magic awaiting the next bend is getting stronger. These wings of mine stay outstretched, waiting for the wind to lift me up. Trusting further than ever, back in my element, feeling myself more than ever, coming back a little more each day. I am practicing this dance I have been learning from our ancestors. I am stepping into my higher heart space. The world is waiting to be inspired and I have so much to share. It is time to come out of hiding or rather, show myself to those who will receive me.

I first came across a blade of grass in my wandering, one after another, growing sparsely, yet in line enough for me to follow a direction that would lead me to a deadened underbrush where it appears an everlasting river flows. I have yet to have found its source. This river runs hidden beneath the ground in most parts I have explored along. In the moonlight, the places above ground where it flows reflect back moving pictures of what once was. As I returned each day following its guidance, unfolded a story so unbelievable, that I had to see it twice, no, thrice times. A message was left to be one day found. This day to be found. This message resounds in the valley for those close enough to feel the reverberations. It is so clear to me as I hear the rhythm drumming, ssssinging, I begin to sway, in my own native tongue I hear, “See how the winds have changed. Anger stirs and fires swirl. We must shed our skin and fare thee well to this serpent form. Dragons are coming to this valley. Sleeping dragons in our hearts awaken! Spread your wings and break free so that all may live! Follow the river to the great risersa until the day comes to restore this sacred valley. Healing will come through our winged children to heal our hurts, melt the bitterness and let the waters flow again.”

“Did you hear it that time, Eyela?” My fellow traveler, eyes wide, pulled away from the fire we were containing. Fluttering from my tail to my snout, back to the water in circles several times before making a sound. Watching Eyela choking on a lack of breath, I thought my trusted fairy was going to fall out of consciousness. Quiet for a moment, she composed herself and then asked, “How could I not hear and see before? This changes everything! Your soul has pulled you back here time after time for this! You knew it all along! 300 cycles we have inhabited the risersas, with little growth and with no hope of resurrecting this world until now. You have found the answer!” She had been in a trance up until this point, meditating on the water, the fire, clearing the air in her ears when the voice snapped her out of it. We both stood by the trickle of water in silence and it felt like a dream. Would they believe us? Were we going to be laughed at? Ignored? All I knew is that it was time for us all alike to lead the others to the water's edge to learn all we can of my ancestors and their ways of keeping this world alive. I can now call them according to what I have believed and felt inside my scales for a long time. No wonder I’ve had this desire to sway and dance all of my existence and why Eyela has felt the need to drum, drum, drum.

“We must tell Egle Fei first and call for her immediately!”, Eyela sang. Egle Fei is the oldest of our storytellers, my grandmother. She says threats of hatred and dissonance destroyed the Vegas, yet in the river I found, I could clearly see the white serpents shedding their skins and becoming one with the air that blows and the water that flows. All that was left behind were the unhatched eggs of their hearts that would carry the wisdom to guide all beings back home to the heart of compassion for all, no matter their differences or giftings. Fires rose from the earth fueled by jealousy, anger, and hatred, consuming their enemies for them and providing the heat needed to hatch the sleeping dragons that were believed to be the hope to lead this world to the river with no end for answers. According to the stories, their enemies were called Vermits, these were beings of this world who envied the Vegas gift of dance and gracious life. Jealousy grows like a mold on Vermit hearts, covering them in a grimy film making it harder to breathe, lighten, and cool themselves. Jealousy grew into anger which took over like a choking vine, a hatred so bitter they would be cursed to destroy themselves and any being in close proximity to their bursting into flames. It is believed the Vermits planned to come here to burn up the source of life, air, and harmony that hummed within this ancient valley knowing full well they would be no more. Egle Fei would be the one to decide what is to be done with this discovery. I am of the winged tribe that resides in the highest risersa. I am white and golden with scales that shine like the light of the moon. We have been known to all beings as the Aeolusa. I know now we are what the Vegas called Dragons. The others have no idea, but we are coming to this valley.