The Last of the Dragons-Set 1

Book 2. The Return

      It had been four years since the great battle that cost the lives of so many brave men, as well as the lives of several of the dragons who fought so bravely for the freedom our people had come to live with. Since the fall of the king and his followers, those who remained of our people had learned to lead much simpler lives that were leagues above the old lives of fear and suffering they once lived. The separate villages had secluded themselves and learned to live on their own, hunting for their own food from the vast herds, as well as the abundance of fish that could be found on the coasts and within the lakes and rivers. Growing food in the warm times of the year added plenty of extra food for those who resided in the untold numbers of villages that made up what was now a peaceful land. We would, on occasion, travel across the land to observe the unrivaled beauty that we had won back from the powers who stole it from us so long ago. While we mostly kept to ourselves, we would, every now and then,  we would pass over head of one of the villages, though we were never spotted. In my travels across the land, I had heard my name tossed around religiously while passing through the local village on foot, while hiding my face of course. The whereabouts of myself, my family, and our dragons had been left unknown, and the story of the woman who brought the dragons back to life, and used them to save her people from endless pain and abuse was told to the new generation from the moment of birth, and would be remembered until the moment of death. 

"Jess! Jess! There they are!" 

I sat up from the lush green grass that still covered the valley floor to see Amy standing off to my right pointing up at the sky. I squinted my eye to look towards the sun, and was greeted with the sight of Magar diving down towards us, returning from a hunt. Magar flew over head and dropped an elk she had killed in front of her newest hatch-lings as the scattered out from the securely built nest and swarmed the carcass. As Magar's hatch-lings tore into the elk, Tegon and Alio followed closely behind and delivered their own kills to their new young. The first group of hatch-lings from four years ago had grown fast and thus no longer needed to rely on the protection of their parents, though many of them stayed close by in the shadow of Doron, who was rather strict with the barriers he enforced to the other dragons. Veracon and Ragon hadn't changed much in the four years that followed the fall of the king, but Doron had a rather noticeable change in personality. He was the alpha, there fore he rarely spent much time in the valley. He had flown vast distances across the plains, over the forests and through the mountains, keeping his loyal subjects within his borders and keeping any unwelcome presences into them. This meant that no humans could travel near the nesting grounds in the valley, or they would risk being roasted by his flaming breath. He would come around every so often however, as he still looked up to me as his alpha.

"Zoning out again?" Tahli asked as she walked up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.

I shook my head violently in an attempt to wake myself up.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." I replied.

"Something bothering you?" Tahli asked.

"No... Just, you know. Memories." 

Tahli sighed and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"That's all in the past now. Don't let it beat you down." She said with a faint smile on her face.

Before I had a chance to respond, I was struck by the sound of Bailey's cheery voice filling my ears as Magar tackled her to the ground playfully and tossed her around on the ground with her snout. 

"Oh I know! I missed you too!" She shouted as she rubbed Magar's lower jaw.

As I grinned at the sight of the bonded pair embracing in each others company, I noticed a slight brushing feeling on my left leg. I looked down to see a newly hatched dragon from Tegon's nest brushing her head up against my let and purring. I knelt down beside the tiny dragon, who was a dazzling combination of blue with yellow and white strips running down her back and across her wings.

"Welcome to the world little one." I said as I patted her on the head, before she turned and waddled over to Tegon as she played with the other hatch-lings.

"Sure is amazing, how many there are now, compared to the zero there were when we were younger." Tahli said.

The six dragons who had matured enough to breed had produced several hundred offspring over the past four years, many of which survived to grow large enough to fend for themselves and fly off on their own. At that point in time, none of the young dragons were mature enough to breed, though a few young males who had matured faster than others had challenged Doron for dominance, though to no avail. Had more females been ready to breed, the fights that killed many young dragons may not have taken place. 

"You miss your dragon, do you not?" Amy asked as she approached Tahli and I.

"Yeah, it would be nice to have him around more, but he can't afford to sit around and be lazy all the time. He's got a species to protect, and as far as he's concerned, that's the most important thing." I said with a sigh.

"Don't worry. You've traveled across this land with him several times. I'm sure he hasn't forgotten about you." Amy said as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

Just as she lowered her hand, dozens of young dragons from different ages flew in from the clouds above and landed in the valley, cawing and hissing as the moved off to the side near the walls. Veracon and Ragon roared across the valley before moving behind the four of us and folding up their wings. Then, as if summoned by the thoughts flooding my mind, a familiar sounding screech, louder than any other breached the clouds and bellowed through the valley. I looked up to the clouds and was greeted with the heart warming sight of the one dragon I wish I could see more of diving down on the valley, Doron.