Prologue: Dreams to Nightmares

Rain water ran down the glossy scales of the dragons walking through the forest of Grenvale on the third night of the rainy season. There were dragons of all ages: hatchlings and nestlings that clung to their mothers' backs; fledglings that huddled together and desperately tried to keep pace; adults that kept the pace of the clan; and the ancients the lingered in the back strong in mind but weak in strength. The clawed feet dragged in the earth and their ram horned heads were just high enough to keep their noses from inhaling dirt. The rain pounded on their scales. The spikes that ran down their neck were flat from exhaustion.

The dragon heading the group held a more upright, alert position. His oak brown eyes scoured every inch of the path for danger. Deer-like ears were perked and twitched at every sound. His head was higher, though he too was just as exhausted (if not more exhausted) as the rest. His scales were like expertly carve emeralds. His wings, though furled, were webbed and large. His four legs were bulked with muscles that threw five thousand pounds of power into every swipe against his enemy. Of all the dragons, this one seemed the least approachable with claws ready to swipe and jaw tensed, ready to clamp on any spine.

On the head dragon's head was a smaller, younger dragon, a nestling at the best. The older dragon had no trouble carrying the younger child on his broad head. The nestling was as light as an adult cat, no problem for a human to carry and practically weightless for a dragon. In fact, the nestling was so light that the older dragon only knew the nestling was there by the sound of the nestling's heartbeat and breathing.

The nestling was a smaller, more innocent version of the dragon that carried him. His head was smaller and more rounded with youth. He hadn't grown into his barely taloned claws and his wings certainly hadn't grown to fit his body. His bright yellow eyes drooped with exhaustion, but he fought it off. Unlike the adult dragons that had to walk, he fought the urge to sleep because of the growing child-like excitement that burned and warred with his tendency and need for sleep.

“Are we there yet?” the nestling asked.

“No,” the older dragon said. “But we are close.”

“You said that half a day ago.”

“It was not that long ago,” the older one chuckled.

“Yes it was. The sun was up then.”

“The sun is up now. The rainclouds are just blocking it.”

“I don't believe it. It's darker than it would be.”

“If it's so dark, then you should get some rest.”

“Then I'll miss it when we finally get there.”

“I'll wake you up when we're close.”

“But you already said we're close. That's why I'm awake.”

The older dragon laughed. It came out in soft, gruff, low-pitched breathes that came from deep in the dragon's belly. “It might be a while.”

“But you said we were close.”

“Yes. But the rain isn't helping our travels.”

“Will we get there tonight?”

“Most probably.”

“Then I'll stay awake.”

The older dragon laughed again.

The younger dragon yawned, despite his promise to stay awake. “Dad?” the nestling called to the older dragon.

“Yes?”

“Have you ever seen a human?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“What did the human look like?”

“Hmmm... well which one? I've seen many.”

“The first one you saw.”

“Hmmm... well, I was a fledgling the first time I ever saw a human. He was tall. Had white fur growing out of his head. He was also very old. Maybe as old as Miren.”

The nestling laughed. “How'd you meet him?”

The father hesitated. “Why are you so curious to hear these things?”

“I want to know. Did you meet him in a dream?”

“No. Of course not,” the older dragon laughed. “You can't meet someone in a dream.”

“Not even a human?” the nestling asked, confused.

“Not even a human.”

“Oh.”

“What brings these strange questions?”

“Oh,” the nestling said, sounding embarrassed, “Nothing.”

“It's nothing to be embarrassed about.”

The younger dragon fell silent. The father heard a yawn, then after a few minutes, he could hear the nestling's soft rhythmic breathing indicating that the nestling had finally fallen asleep. “Good night, dear Thirwyn.”

*                                                                           *                                                              *

Thirwyn found himself in the green meadow in his dream. The grass was always as bright green as it was after a nice rain. However the vanilla sky above showed no sign of rainclouds and the sun shown just as bright as always. It was a simple scene, but it was mesmerizing to Thirwyn. This was where he always started in his dreams. Here he would wait for his friend to join him. He rested on the grass and pawed at a particularly tall blade. She would meet him here, and they would create adventures, worlds, and stories in their dream. One night they would battle against giant man-eating flowers, the next they would be exploring the great fish kingdom in the sea.

Soon he began to feel another presence entering his mind. He jumped up in anticipation. His friend would be here soon. He saw her stand at the other end of the meadow, wearing an orange linen dress. He smiled and ran to her.

The girl ran to him and tackled him to the ground. Thirwyn laughed and tried to wrestle out of her hold, but like always, she beat him with her size. “I win,” she said triumphantly as she sat on him.

Thirwyn laughed. “You know, Amy, I'm gonna be a big dragon, and then we'll see who wins.”

Amy let him up. “You know, for some reason my parents don't really like dragons. I was telling my parents about the adventure last night, and they were horrified when I was telling them about you.”

“Hmmm... that's strange. My dad is a bit weird about humans as well. Whenever I ask him about them he always changes the subject somehow.”

“Parents are weird.”

“Tell me about it.”

Amy shrugged. “Oh well. What do you want to do now?”

Thirwyn thought for a second. “I always wondered what would find if you dug to the center of the earth.”

Amy smiled. “And I know a tribe of mountain trolls around here that can help us dig. Come on.”

The two ran out of the meadow into a mountain range covered with snow. There was no end to what their young six-year-old imaginations could conjure. Amy would built up forts as big as palaces for them both to wander. They imagined going to war over the precious Treasure of Holmust against the trolls that inhabited a neighboring fortress. Thirwyn laughed as he dumped snow from high places on the grotesque invaders. Amy giggled as she launched rapid snowballs that stopped the oncoming forces. They were winning of course. Their palace would be safe, and they would valiantly retrieve the Treasure of...

Then Thirwyn heard a large crash and scream that shook the whole dream. He looked around and saw that Amy had disappeared, and he was back in the meadow. The crash must have come from Amy's outside world and woke her up, he concluded. It had happened before. One of them had been woken up before the other. However, usually it was the sound of some kind voice that beckoned them back to the conscious world. Worry pressed in on him. Was everything all right? The crash wasn't bad, was it? Was someone trying to hurt her?

He anxiously paced around in the grass. Should he wake up? Or should he just wait for her? In the end, Thirwyn decided to remain in the meadow and wait. His anxiety would not cease until he knew Amy was all right.