The Fall of Dragon Haven - A Dragonkeeper Fanfiction

Making Rain

The sun, a relentless conqueror, casted its fiery gaze mercilessly on the dried riverbed.

Lu Yu and Yara cried upon the sight. Anh, Lao and Danzi stood on the bank, staring at the abyss. Where the waters of the Yellow River once flowed, now rested a mosaic of cracked earth and sun withered stones. Littered about were the carcasses of rotted fish and birds.

Anh looked on dismally. When he and Hei Lei flew over a year ago, the river still had plenty of water. If you had stood on one side, you'd have not been able to see the bank on the other! Now the river had reduced to a stream.

I wasn't expecting it to be this bad. Anh said woefully.

It's not all bad, Yu Anh. Danzi said pointing his paw downstream. Anh and Lao squinted. It looked like cracked mud and parched ground. There are signs of resilience. Sparse tufts of hardy grass grow downstream. Though the river is empty now, it carries within the earth the seeds of rebirth. It is patiently waiting for rain.

Anh turned to Lao and the two dragons. Let's start then.

Dragons Keepers of old were once heavily relied on to bring rain to the Empire. They would be rewarded with money, shelter, food and all kinds of riches for their efforts. Rain was not a single day job. It could take weeks for rivers and lakes to fill, depending on how many dragons helped. Altering the climate was no easy task, and it was often a deciding factor for whether they would take on the dreaded task. The Kingdoms had spent the last few decades in prosperity. Now, the Han Empire was thirsty. And so was Anh for the wealth it would bring to him and Yara if they delivered rain.

They had spent the last three days flying towards Jining – now renamed under the Han Empire as the city of Mang - and were an hour south of the city. It sat on a plateau away from mountains, meaning the river would be harder to fill. But news travels faster in flat lands, and Anh suspected the city of Mang would be more than happy to grant them shelter as long as they fill the river.

"Do not return to Jining again unless you have chosen your real battle." Lady Sua had said to him a year before. "It's not sorcerers – it's hunger, thirst and murder."

Today they would fight for that.

Anh and Lao mounted their dragons and took off skyward. Yara, meanwhile, hid their belongings under a parched shrub. They had veered slightly off road coming to Mang but had strategically chosen to start near a checkpoint. Travelers, merchants and locals would bear witness to their flight. As the dragons lifted, Yara began to cry out excitedly in the few Qi words she had learned recently.

"Look!" She exclaimed in a thick accent to the travelers. "Look! Dragons! Rain!"

Anh could make out a murmur building around the checkpoint. He turned to see many heads looking and pointing up at them. It's working! He said.

I hope you know what you're doing. Lao Longzi grumbled.

They ascended higher into the sky, aiming for a single, tiny cloud. Dragons could not bring rain without cloud. It was wispy and light, and threatened to dissipate as they flew closer to it. Lu Yu and Anh reached the cloud first. The purple dragon wasted no time in rousing white mist from her nostrils. The mist surrounded her but evaporated as it rose. She made a soft, sad sound.

Anh wrapped his arms around her neck. Keep trying. You can do this.

She fluttered to the other side of the cloud, taking care not to disrupt the delicacy of it with her wings, and tried again. It's not working... She sniffed.