I returned here with a heavy heart. Many Drakdarekam died here, their Vahgen and their bodies lost to us forever. It pains me to think of these friends, some of them I knew as children.

“Battle is a terrible thing, Granye. Some horse hearth minders remember me because I survived.”

Granye waits. I don’t know how much to tell her. My years on the road and in battle are all distant memories. My scarred body and joints ache in the mornings. I’m reluctant to get out of bed. I see Granye’s path, but my own is less clear.

Read More

I began to see the thoughts of the horse hearth minders when we stopped at a rocky stream midday. I know this place but only a little, only as you might meet someone in a dream. I've seen many men at the horse hearth. Unlike our hearth, they seem to live together permanently in low long buildings.

Read More

I wake suddenly. I thought I heard my son say, ‘Mama!’

“Mama!” I hear it again. I sit up and look out into the darkness. Are my ears playing tricks on me? All I hear now is the river rushing past and the wind stirring the upper limbs of the trees.

I peer into the darkness and the grey mist hovering by the river.

There’s a dark shape moving through the mist towards us. I shake Granye awake.

Read More

And on and on. Since the dragon’s attack, my mind has been like a wasps’ nest with my neighbors’ relentless buzzing thoughts. I’ve barely slept a wink. My head is throbbing and there’s a sharp pain behind my eyes.

Read More

I’m running toward the clearing before I’m even aware that I’m moving. The black dragon vanishes into the night. Every second seems slow and crystal clear. A child runs past me, her face smudged with black soot. Flames lick the surrounding grass, but fizzle quickly.

Read More

Today is the Return. I stand watching the moon, or more properly, both moons, which overlap for only these few days every 10 moons. Like lovers, they are already moving imperceptibly apart. Occasionally, I allow myself a few moments of relief, although the sense of foreboding never entirely leaves me.

Read More

I stand, wrap myself in my morning coat and slide my feet into fur-lined shoes. Cool weather begins to settle this time of year. Something stirs in me before the snows arrive. We could be away before the snow if Granye listened to reason. Hanasorsha takes my hand, satisfied she has rousted me from bed. She will probably be my shadow all day until her father and brothers arrive tonight, and I become as uninteresting as a muddy ewe in her eyes.

Read More

Everyone has an explanation for the arrival of the dragons. Some say they are punishment from the Gods. Others say that dragons are inevitable now that the cloud cover and cool rain have vanished. Some blame humankind for settling in the valley, knowing that dragons lived here in ancient days. What no one disputes is that the dragons are here now.

Read More