Wreathed in Flame

There weren't always dragons in the valley. But that all changed many years ago on one faithful night. we were forced to leave everything behind as we were pushed out from our ancestral home.

The stories shared amongst our kin would talk of where we once lived as a place of lush greenery, forests that spanned from one ocean to the other, and where we were free to roam and hunt. It was just us and them. For millennia we coexisted together, we didn’t bother them and in return they didn’t bother us; it was peaceful.

But something within them changed, they became aggressive and bold. whether through jealousy at the wealth of our land, or the necessity of resources, they drove us out. I was only a child when it happened and I couldn’t fully comprehend everything that was going on around me, but I do remember the squeeze of my mother’s arms as she clutched me tight to try and shield me from their onslaught. Giant beasts with Iron-hard skin and the strength to level trees effortlessly stormed in, crushing anything in Its way. We thought we could defend against them, but we were no match against their sheer firepower. Even those that took to the sky’s could not escape as they were waiting high above us with their huge wings. The fire they spat roared across the sky like thunder, the night sky a wash with orange streaks as they chased us like dogs.

We put up a fight and stood our ground for as long as we could, but in the end we were forced to flee if we had any chance of survival. Those that didn’t die were captured and taken away. Rumours of torture and experimentation ripple through our society; but no one has ever come back to confirm whether this is true or not.

I lost my father in the attack. From what I had been told, as well as what I could piece together myself, he was one of the few to fight back. With all his might that he could muster he stood his ground as they circled him. wreathed in flame he took out as many of them as he could before they eventually closed in on him. It was thanks to my father that we were able to slip away and escape with our lives.

It has been decades since the attack. We have been forced to make home in an environment that is no longer suitable for us to live in – but we survive – making use of what little we have available. While Around us, acres of trees are torn out from the ground. Leaving nothing but barren earth and the imprints of the beasts that have ruined the land. With each year we lose more and more of our ancient home.

The valley may not be perfect, but it’s kept us alive, and it is the one thing that is stopping them from getting to us and wiping us out for good. But we cannot continue to live here forever. A storm is brewing, and it brings war with it; I can feel it. My kin needs a leader in this fight, someone who is strong enough to rise up against our oppressors. Just like my father stood up against them all those years ago to protect those he loved. Everyone looks to me for answers and I ask myself: Do I have what it takes to make my father proud? To lead a revolution and claim back what is rightfully ours?

I do not know the answer to these questions, but I do know that the same fire burns deep within me. My name is Xiadrianth, And like my father, I will not stand idle by as I watch my Dragonkin lose everything. We will take this fight to the Humans and show them what the true destructive power of the Dragon can really do. They started this war; I will end it!