Dragons Aflight- a Collection of Shorts and One Shots

The Valley- A Kristofer Starr One Shot

Kristofer had found the Valley when he was fifteen. Things hadn't been at their worst, but not their best either. Preparing to rule over the Mind element was a difficult thing for him. He had found his dispassion towards power when he first had his taste of it after witnessing his parents before him. They were cruel. They didn't deserve a title as rulers. The bitterness he witnessed that day wouldn't easily be forgotten. He had three years to let this disdain fester within him, and by the time he found the Valley, he was desperate for an escape. His sister Raina, only six years of age at the time, had dreamed of being a ruler. Kristofer knew she would be no different than their parents. She didn't want power to help people (though the child insisted people would be better off if she ruled), but because she liked control. If it were her being the heir, Kristofer would have left the Sect a long time ago.

The Valley was a by chance encounter. Raina and Kristofer often went past Mind Borders, but didn't plan to go as far as they did. It was Raina's idea at first.

"We should go far." The little girl says challengingly.

"Really?" Her brother asks, clearly not addressing the child's seriousness. He had dreamed of running from Mind since that dreadful day, but never actually considered it. Not like Raina was, at least.

"Yeah. We should race there!"

"Wait...what do you mean 'far'?" Kristofer asks with a raised eyebrow, addressing what his sister was really talking about. "Go to another Sect?"

"You're not afraid are you?" Raina asks challengingly. "Kristofer's a baby!" She starts singing atop her lungs. Though he knew that no one could hear the girl, he still was the slightest bit embarrassed.

"Fine!" Kris groans. He only agreed to take her for one reason. He believed at the time that the opposing Sects were to be feared. This wasn't something he harped on for long; it was a thought programmed into his mind since he was a child. Now, he'd pass it on to Raina. Little did he know the lasting effects. "You want to see what's behind the barrier? Fine! But don't say I didn't warn you."

"Yay!" The little girl cheers, skipping along the woods. "We're going to see the Sects, we're going to see the Sects!" She sang over and over until the obnoxious tune was drilled into his mind. All of Kristofer was fueled with adrenaline. He was secretly horrified for what he would find. The boy had seen the sects before, but he knew trespassing like Raina was suggesting was illegal. He could only fear the future, now that his choice was set in stone.

The walk to the Sects took hours. With each step he took and every moment that passed, his worry intensified. What happens when they get there? What if they're stopped? How mad would his parents be if he or Raina were to be hurt? These fears raged on until they reached their destination. It wasn't at all what either of them were expecting. They hadn't reached a Sect at all. They reached a valley.

Kristofer and Raina stood over the cliff, out looking the lush and green scenery ahead. Tall and menacing mountains stood face to face with one another, keeping this secret land hidden between them like a secret between friends. A river cut through the middle of it all, a deep blue that concealed the life under it. The grass that panned out around it was long and lush, reaching its tendrils up the sky. There was some wild life living amongst the hidden nature, drinking from the fresh river or prowling the land. Little pops of yellow and pink flowers bloomed in the grass with a thousand petals to decorate them. The sun overlooked it all, caressing the world with its rays of sunlight. The trees that stood tall and strong basked in this light, absorbing it in the same green that decorated the floor.

Kristofer went to speak, but was at a loss for words. He had always found significant beauty in art, and tried to make the solid grey of Mind burst with live inside a canvas. It was never the same. No matter what he imagined of Mind would be grey walls and grey concrete and grey, washed away faces. Nothing but the grey plagued the Sect. But this Valley...it was the most color he had ever witnessed in his life. Never had he seen something so beautiful. He looked over at Raina, knowing she would hold the same joy he had for the valley they found. Instead, she was hard faced and angry. Her reaction surprised Kristofer. It was as if the valley had been like the tortures he threatened would be at another sect. He saw beauty, while she looked at it with disgust. This was the day Kristofer really saw the rift that broke the two apart. He and Raina were the mountains side by side, separated by the beauty before them. He only questioned if she could see it as well as he could.

"Raina..." Kristofer begins, but stops short.

"Take me home." She says angrily, turning her back on the Valley and walking ahead. Kristofer doesn't stop her, despite his urge to. Instead, he takes one long look at the valley before walking beside her.

The two were quiet on their way back to Mind. The image of the valley refused to leave Kristofer's mind. It was the most beautiful thing he had seen. Now having that taste of color and light, did he really want to go back to the grey of Mind?

"We don't tell Mom and Dad about this." Raina mutters. Kristofer wondered how she was able to abandon the place so quickly from her mind. How didn't she see what he had?

"I wasn't planning on it." He murmured.

"And we're never going back there." She scolds. "Ever."

The order made a sigh escape from Kristofer's lips. He couldn't forget something so amazing. He wouldn't abandon the beauty like she had. Instead, he'd harness it. So, instead of taking his little sister's advice, he didn't avoid the valley.

He went back every day.