The Dragon Wars (Chapter 1)

For Velore, the day felt like any other day. He was out in the field harvesting wheat. Wheat was always in high demand in Gontopia. Farmers like Velore’s family had to harvest enough wheat to make enough bread to feed themselves, the villagers, and to sell to others in Gontopia.

Velore didn’t mind all the work. He had lived on the farm in Gontopia Field with his family for most of his life, so he was used to the hard work of harvesting. He always wore his grass-green tunic and brown pants when working in the fields.

“Velore! Time for supper!” his mother called out to him.

“Coming, mother!” he answered back. He gathered all the wheat he had reaped and carried it to the barn house.

He set the wheat down, went to the dinner table, and sat down with his father. Then mother placed their supper on the table: freshly baked bread.

As they ate their bread, Velore noticed the sword and shield hanging from the wall behind where his dad was sitting. “Mother,” he asked, “I’ve been wondering about the sword on our wall.  What is it for, and do we ever use it?”

His mother looked at Velore. “Those are very serious weapons, Velore,” she explained. “We only need to use those when absolutely necessary.”

“Like when?” he asked.

“Like when someone—or something—attacks us,” his father answered.  “You mustn’t use that sword for harvesting wheat, son.”

“Your father is right, Velore,” mother said. “We don’t want you to be harmed.”

“Mom,” Velore said in a rather frustrated tone, “I’m 18 years old now. I’m certain I can take care of myself.”

“You don’t understand, honey,” his mother sighed. “We live in a very dangerous world now. We want you to be safe.”

Velore felt confused. Since when has anyone or anything threatened their farm? His parents were always acting like something bad would happen to him; he never understood why. Were they hiding something from him? He wanted to know more. “What could possibly attack our farm?” he asked.

“Son,” his father said, “in a time of darkness, anything could happen.” He looked out the window. “It’s getting late. I think it’s time we get to bed. We can continue this conversation at breakfast tomorrow.”

His father was right. The sun was setting and the sky grew dark.  Velore and his parents finished their supper and prepared for bedtime. Velore climbed into his bed, and then his parents put out his lantern and closed the door. Then they went to bed.


All was quiet in the farmhouse. The chickens and the pigs were all sleeping.  Only the sound of the mice squeaking and the owl hooting could be heard.  It was a rather peaceful night… for the moment.

Then, the very thing the parents feared happened.

The air became warmer. The farm animals woke up and started clucking and oinking, as if in panic.  The owl screeched and flew away. All the noise woke up the entire family. Just then, they heard the most dreadful sound of all: the roar of a dragon.

Velore’s parents were worried. Has he ventured this far from his lair, they thought. They both climbed out of bed, and father grabbed the sword and shield from the wall. Velore, awoken from all the commotion, climbed downstairs from his bedroom and saw his parents taking the sword and shield.

“Mom?  Dad?” he asked timidly, “What’s going on?”

“Velore!” his father told him. “Stay in the house!  Let us take care of this!”

All Velore could do was watch his parents run outside where the beast waited.  He ran up to one of the windows and looked outside. He couldn’t see much going on; there was a burning wall of fire blocking his view. He could hear the dragon roaring and shooting fire. The dragon’s roar was a rather unpleasant sound:  it seemed to be a mix of a wolf’s growl and an eagle’s cry.

Suddenly, the house caught fire. In panic, Velore hid under the stairway and watched in fear as the house burned down. He crouched down, covered his head, and prepared for the worst. Then the whole farmhouse collapsed in on itself, completely covering Velore. Velore collapsed from heat exhaustion and lost consciousness. The last thing he heard was the sound of his parents screaming, as if the dragon had finished them off.

The barn house was now nothing but a pile of scorched wood. There was nothing left of the farm animals or the newly harvested wheat. There wasn’t even a trace of the dragon that had attacked the barn. Only the damage caused and the scent of burning wood in the air remained.

About an hour after the attack, another dragon flying in the sky saw the destroyed barn. This dragon had green scales on its body and gold scales on its face and head that would glisten in light (though there was hardly any light at the moment). The dragon swooped down, landed on the ground, and investigated the damage. The dragon sniffed at the air. Through the smoke and burning wood, it could smell something else: life.



The dragon followed the scent. The scent led it to the center of the pile. The dragon dug through the pile and found the unconscious Velore lying on the ground. The dragon placed its ear against Velore’s chest. To the dragon’s relief, the boy was still alive, but he was barely breathing. The dragon picked up Velore with its head and slid him down its neck onto its back. The dragon spread its wings and carefully flew away, carrying Velore on its back.