Chapter one: Cabrakan

“Every generation, there is an all-powerful enchantress born. A child of magic itself. Unstoppable by all. At least, that’s what everyone thought. One day a dragon born of dark magic appeared and killed the enchantress of that generation. After that, a new enchantress wasn’t found. It’s said that her magic died with her. Since it wasn’t a natural death like the past generation, we hope that a new enchantress was born and will save us from this bloodshed.” 

Cabrakan rolled his eyes at the mother's story. There had been an attack on the village that forced everyone into hiding. This was the third time this week. The dragons were ruthless. They abused their power. These kingdoms were ruled with an iron fist. One day humans were going to be killed. Leaving the magical creatured on this cursed continent. 

I looked at the small children huddled against their mothers. Hope shining in their eyes. I knew that the enchantress wouldn’t come back. Her magic was gone. The new enchantress didn’t exist. As a sixteen year old, he failed to believe what the mothers said. 

A loud thump sounded from above. Everyone went dead silent. The thumps continued. It was a dragon walking around. This never meant anything good. They could be found. If they were found they would be killed.

The dragons always killed humans. They were scared the enchantress was alive and didn’t want to take any risks. So no survivors were ever left. The human population was rapidly dwindling. Everyone being killed off. Some villages were kept alive. Theirs had been left alone for a while now. Only a week ago we started being targeted. 

I could hear the low growls as the dragons spoke amongst themselves. Then, in the communal language a dragon said,

“Come out humans or face our wrath.” The village men looked anxiously at eachother. No one was sure of what to do. Then, a quiet voice whispered,

“Don’t do it.” Esmeray emerged from the crowd. Her face determined. I heald back a groan. She was the village weirdo. Sometimes she was wise and sometimes she sputtered utter nonsense. I wasn’t sure what the outcome was going to be this time.

“The dragons are going to kill us if we leave. It’s best to stay hidden and safe.” For once, I agree with her. Dragons couldn’t be trusted. Esmeray couldn’t either but I preferred her over the bloodthirst dragons. 

“How do you know that?” one of the men asked. John was the one that always needed solid evidence before doing something.

“I heard them,” Esmeray whispered, “they won’t let us live if we go to them.” THe thumps continued, moving away from the entrance. I wanted to run over to Esmeray and demand to know how she understood dragons. It wasn’t possible for humans to understand any other languages. It just wasn’t. 

“That’s not enough proof,” John hissed, like always, he only wanted solid evidence. 

“But it is!” Esmeray countered, “Dragons are liars and decievers. The other villages wouldn’t have died unless they believed the dragons wouldn’t hurt them. We all know they had hiding placed. The dragons shouldn’t have found them!” Esmeray was being very lucid today. Good for her. The village would thank her later. I could see the villagers start being swayed too. This was good. 

“She’s right!” I say quietly, eyes turn to stare at me. I might only be sixteen but I was highly respected in the village. People will listen to me.

“Esmeray is right,” I say again. “The dragons will only hurt us if we go up there. We can rebuild the village but we can’t be raised from the dead.” The men nodded and it was silently decided. We were going to stay hidden, our peoples lives were more important. 

The village stayed quiet as the thumps from the dragons continued. They were definitely trying to find us. After what felt like an hour the dragons finally spoke again.

“I see you made your choice humans. Your village won’t exist when we’re done with it.” The thumping stopped, I assume that the giant beats decided to burn out the village from the sky. Lucky for us smoke rises, no one would be killed today. Still, you could hear the collapse of houses from two feet under the ground. 

We spent the night hidden under the ground. All of us were terrified that the dragons were lurking on the surface, waiting for us to emerge. By morning the village children were restless. A few men went to check for danger and returned a few minutes later saying that the coast was clear. Everyone filed out of the hideout and inhaled the fresh air. Well, it wasn’t too fresh, the smoke was still lurking and there was ash floating around. Still, it was better than the air from under the ground. I was smiling despite the destruction, we survived another day. A mighty big accomplishment for me. 

The dragons hadn’t been kidding when they said that our village wouldn’t exist anymore. The only thing left of our village was a few rocks, some crunch dirt, and the town bell. Nothing else, it would take at least a year to rebuild everything. Everyone had a look of hopelessness in their eyes. The young children were hugging their mothers legs. The village men were looking at the destruction with an angry expression. As I took everything in I caught a glimpse of red hair. I turned and saw Esmeray being weird again.

Esmeray was walking through the scorched remains of the village. No one really paid attention to her. She wasn’t someone the village really cared for. I watched as Esmeray looked up into the sky. Her large blue eyes searching the sky for something. Probably dragons since she claimed that she could understand them. Next time they came I was going to find a way to get her to talk to them. Maybe she could negotiate peace. I watched as Esmeray nodded and turned back to the people of the village. I had a feeling that she was about to say some strange nonsense. 

“We have to move,” she said. I felt as confused as everyone else did. She was kidding, right? 

“The dragons are going to come back. They won't let us live. Their ruler will send them back or has already told them what to do. They’ll see signs of us and know we’re still here. Dragons never leave any survivors.” This both made sense but was also very strange. How was she so smart about things like this? How did she know that dragons never left survivors. There hasn’t been news of survivors but that didn’t mean there weren’t survivors. Then again she could be trusted. I still remember the day she started screaming that the tree nymphs were angry at us for cutting down trees. The village would never leave. This village was one of the original human settlements. 

“No!” John screeched. He was always picking fights but for some reason he hated Esmeray. Maybe it was because she was an outsider. Everyone knew that outsiders couldn’t be trusted. It was a general fact.

“I refuse to leave my home! You clearly don’t understand how important this place is to the village! If you want to leave YOU can but I won’t and neither will anyone else. Once an outsider, always an outsider. You guys can’t be trusted!” John and Esmeray stared at each other for a few minutes. Then Esmeray nodded, 

“Stay then.” I heard a few people gasp and whispers broke out. Most of them were about how “they knew she couldn’t be trusted”. Being an outsider was always a strange thing but no one ever willingly left a village. It’s just not done. 

“I refuse to die over a ruined plot of land. I’d rather live another day.” I grit my teeth, Esmeray may be a little weird but she was also very wise sometimes. Everything she said had some truth to it. 

I watched as Esmeray drew up her hood and started heading west. I could see everyone glaring at her. If she ever returned, she wouldn’t be welcomed. Not again. I also knew that the dragons would return. This time there wouldn’t be any survivors. Our village would probably be dead in a week. Esmeray would live longer. I felt a little torn. Stay with my mother and village or go into the wilderness with a slightly insane outsider. Once putting it like that, the decision wasn’t very hard. 

I stood with my village and watched as Esmeray walked into the forest. She’d probably stop at her home before fully leaving. Since she lived apart from the village her home wouldn’t be burned. We just stood there until she was out of sight. Then the men started giving orders. We had a whole day ahead of us. All talk of Esmeray had stopped. She was now nobody to us. 

My task was to go into the woods and collect as much wood as I could. I wasn’t to return until I had a good hull. I did just that. I spent the whole day in the forest gathering branches and sticks. Anything that could burn really. I started heading back during sunset. I was proud of myself. I was honoring the village. Showing that I was becoming a man. 

Unfortunately, when I returned I saw how right Esmeray was. The dragons didn’t take their time. The village didn’t get a week. They didn’t even get a day. They were dead in about twelve hours. 

I was frozen. Staring at the carnage around me. I don’t remember dropping the wood but it was now scattered around my feet. My brain felt numb. Everything felt numb. Everyone was dead. There was blood everywhere. I gagged and threw up a little in my stomach. The sight was horrendous. 

I collapsed on the ground, my back to the horrible sight. Somehow, even with staying, I was the only survivor. I blacked out at some point, my brain unable to comprehend what was happening. 

I woke up to the sound of shoveling. For a moment I thought it was the men working on the homes. Then reality hit when I smelled the blood. I gagged as my body tried to empty my already empty stomach. The shoveling continues however, making me realize that it wasn’t my mind playing tricks on me. I listened as the shoveling continued for a while and then the sound of something benign dragged. Then I listened as a scraping sound was heard and then loud thumps. This continued all day. I was terrified of turning around. I didn’t want to know what was happening. 

So while the person shoveled I dozed on and off. Once I woke up to see berries and nuts on the ground next to me. My stomach still felt unsettled and I honestly didn’t feel like eating. So I ignored the food and let myself doze off again. When I woke up the next morning I decided to try and eat. My stomach accepted the food and I eagerly ate it. I still couldn’t turn around but I could sense the person standing by me.

“Are you going to continue to sulk or are you going to help me? Either one is fine, I just want to know.” The voice seemed muffled, making it hard to tell if the person was male or female. Still, the words seemed to give me energy.

“Help you with what exactly?” I asked, there was a shuffling noise and then a shovel thumped on the ground in front of me. 

“I’m burying them. No one should be left on a field to rot. Now, are you going to help me or not?” The words brought unexpected tears to my eyes. The person was right, I should give my village the respect they deserve. I grabbed the shovel and stood up. My legs were stiff with disuse. I stretched them before turning around. Standing behind me was a figure. They were cloaked with a big, black cloak. I couldn’t see their face or build to determine whether they were male or female. The figure nodded and walked back out into the blood soaked ground. They were working at a fast pace, half the village was already buried. Big rocks marked the graves. 

Together we silently shoveled. Once a hole was wide, long, and deep enough we carried a body over and laid them to rest. We only took necessary breaks. The cloaked person said they wanted everyone buried before the animals got attracted. I could already see birds approaching. They kept me going. By the end of the day all the bodies were buried. I was tired and covered in dirt and blood. Still, I felt better knowing that the village wouldn’t be disturbed.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more. The graves are unmarked and I fear they will be forgotten over time.” I turned to look at the person. They were facing the graves. On a map in front of them there was a marking where my village was. The map was covered in markings where other villages stood. It must be the villages that had been slaughtered. 

“You did more than I did. I would've left them there if it weren’t for you.” THe figure faced me, I still couldn’t tell what they looked like. 

“You were grieving, no one would have blamed you. Now, I need you to understand something. You are the first human to ever survive a dragon attack. If the dragons discover that you will be a wanted person. Never stay too long in a village. Keep moving until this war is over. Do you understand?” I wondered how long this person was burying the dead? I wondered if the person was even human?

“I understand… and thank you. You helped me more than you know.” The person nodded. 

“Stay safe. Stay alive. This will end soon.” Then they turned and walked away. Disappearing into the forest. I watched them until I couldn’t see them anymore. It reminded me of how the village watched Esmeray walk away. Only now I had a new mission. I had to find Esmeray. 

I started heading west. Hoping that I could catch up to her. I hoped that she was still alive. My current mission was to find her and together we could be on the run together. We’d keep each other alive until the wat was over. Even if she was a little weird, that didn’t matter anymore. 

I walked until I couldn’t anymore. I curled up and slept somewhere out of sight. Only I was exhausted I ended up sleeping the whole day. I was fine with it though, traveling at night would be safer. I kept off the paths and kept an eye open for any signs of camps. I hoped Esmeray didn’t get too far. It’s only been four days since she left the village. I was hoping she stayed near in case the village changed their minds. Then again, she was pretty smart ad fast. She’s been n her own before. That meant there was a chance she was in a different kingdom by now. The next day I walked endlessly. I barely stopped except to eat some berries I found. 

By the time the sun came up I was exhausted. I groaned and slumped against the tree closest to me.The birds had started chirping and I could hear the squirrels rustling in the trees above. If I had a weapon I would go hunting but that hadn’t been on my mind when I left the village. I stood up and stretched my sore body. The last few nights I had slept in a tree. I didn’t have any rope but it seemed safer then the ground. This tree had branches low enough that I could easily climb up. I looked up into the branches and gasped. Sitting five feet above me was Esmeray. Her blue eyes peering down at me. A giant smile was on her face as she said,

“I hoped you’d come!”

Author's Note

There are going to be mistakes of some kind in the chapters, I don’t care if you point them out or ignore them. Be as honest as you want. You can suggest changes you would make.

Reviews

[HopeJG]

Aside from several spelling and grammar errors the story is quite good. You have placed a lot of thought into this world and it's lore and it shows. Personally your writing is very heavily 'tell' instead of 'show'. However you do a wonderful job of writing in 3rd person, which can be difficult, especially with the limited perspective.
overall, good job and can't wait for more!