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Keeri sat, her long tail wrapped around her legs and watched the dawn break over thehorizon. Slowly, the cold of the night faded away, and Dragonburn, the town shecalled home came into view. She watched from her spot, high in the branches of anold retired house tree as the village began to wake slowly around her, and the sunlightfiltered through the leaves, reflecting colours above and below the old wooden floor she was sitting on. She turned slightly, narrowing her eyes as she glanced at her ownhouse tree and saw the faint shadows of movement inside. Her home was nestled inthe boughs of a huge oak tree, GreatOak. It’s floors climbed gracefully around thetrunk of the tree like the branches themselves. It seemed, as so many of the other houses did, to be a part of the tree itself. The stronger, bottommost branches formedthe foundations of the house, while the branches that formed the walls were carefullytrained to grow into position. The higher up the tree the house climbed, the smaller the rooms became, supported by the smaller and weaker branches. However, thehouse grew as the tree did, and the older the tree, the older the family, the older thehouse. Keeri had not been born in the village, but understood the people’s love andrespect for their trees. The house tree she looked at now was adorned in hanging baskets of flowers, there were flowers in every window. Bright curtains adorned thewindows, and in this, the early autumn, the tree was starting to turn. Bright blanketshung over the gaps in the walls left by the falling leaves. Her adoptive family had been in the village for generations, and their house tree was very grand indeed. Shehad spent hours as a lonely child, with her ear pressed against the bark of the tree,hearing it talk to her, learning its secrets. She had been brought to the village as a baby, screaming in the arms of the Knight who had rescued her from the fighting between her people and the trolls over the border. Her mother had been killed, as hadmost of her clan so she was brought to Dragonburn to be cared for. That was nearly 23years ago, and now although she never felt she quite fit in, she was respected, and had been thoroughly spoiled by the village, its inhabitants, and her adoptive parents.She wasn’t like the other villagers. With a sigh, she unwound her long flame red tail,and curled it around her legs. She played with the end of it absently. She was Feline, part human, part wildcat. Her red hair tumbled in tight curls around her face, her green eyes were piercing. Her ears, as red as her tail and ending in long graceful wispsof fur (which she was extremely proud of) were almost hidden in her hair. Her fingernails always immaculately groomed and retracted somewhat into her fingers.These were her best kept secret. It helped her climb trees like this one for a start.When a tree gets to a certain age, it is retired as a tree, and left to reclaim its branches.This house must have been very grand, but the ladders used to gain entry had beentaken down long ago. She was one of only a handful who could master the climb upinto this time capsule of a place. Her senses were also finer than those of the other villagers. She could hear and see far better, so not only could she make this climb, butshe could do it in the dark, too. Climbing trees was the least of her talents, but by far her favourite. She yawned, and stretched herself out. She could hear a rabbit on theforest floor, and was watching it from her lofty perch when a voice drifted to her fromher house tree.“Keeri!” “Breakfast is ready” She snapped her head up. Her mother was leaning outof the window of the house, looking around. Keeri smiled to herself. No body wouldfind her up here. “Keeri! Have you forgotton what day it is??” Her mother sighed, andretreated back through the curtains. She sighed, listening to the rabbit run away.Slowly and deliberately she climbed down the tree. The wild flowers that had curledaround its bark gave off a sweet smell as she brushed past them, and landed with a

soft thud in what would have been the garden. She stretched again, and set off to her parents house at a run. Her soft soled boots made hardly a sound on the forest floor,and soon she was standing at the bottom of her tree. She followed the curved trunk allthe way up, watching the sunlight dapple the walls of the three floors in so manyshades of green and sunlight yellow. The light had not yet reached the forest floor, andmany of the flowers in the garden hadn’t even uncurled themselves yet. The chilly air held an expectation that made her smile as she walked slowly around the trunk of thetree. Towards the smell of fresh bread, and frying eggs. The Kitchens in every housewere always on the ground floor. The villagers knew there was one thing the treesfeared, and that was fire. Small plots in each garden were given up to growing herbsand vegetables, and most meals were cooked and eaten outdoors. She crept up on her mother, tapping her on the shoulder, and ducking below her line of vision.“Once, yes Keeri but that trick gets very old after a while”“moring mother” She said, kissing Jelka’s cheek and taking the plate from her hand.Her mother smiled, and picked up her own plate. They sat at a small table. She didn’trealise until she smelled the food, just how hungry she was. The bread was fresh andsoft, and the eggs were done just how she liked it. She tucked in greedily. “You’re upearly” she said at last, spreading her second slice of bread with the butter on the table.“I knew you didn’t remember what day it is” her mother smiled.“I do remember, it’s just early, for you, that’s all. The flowers haven’t even openedyet!”“Were you hoping you could sneak back to bed before I noticed you were missing?”Keeri looked up, and smiled.“maybe” her eyes sparkled. Jelka just sighed.“Where do you go all night?!” she asked“Not all night” she answered, indignant. “Just early morning. I went to see the sunrise,that’s all. Couldn’t sleep, all the excitement”“If you think I’m going to believe that” her mother said, raising her eyebrows “youhave another think coming”“Almost caught a rabbit” Keeri retorted. “But your calling me made it run away”“We will be well fed today, and the next believe me. All I hear all day is who hasmade what for the festival, and who has done what.. honestly I grow so tired of people’s boasting!” Keeri laughed a little.“You do know Malik is putting on food in the inn at midday?”“Yes, me and your father are giving him a hand this year” Keeri nodded, and keptquiet, hoping that she would not ask Keeri to help too. She knew her job on Dragon’sBane and that was the Honey Wine. The exact recipe had been in Jelka.s family for generations on generations. It was a long held family secret. They made some to sellin the inn and had only recently began to export it around the Kingdom, but everyyear for Dragons Bane it was a little bit special. For the past few years, Keeri hadhelped her mother make it, and it was nowhere near as good as how her parents did it, but this year, she had it down to an art. The wine was richer, and more potent thanever. This was why, after sampling plenty of it the night before, Keeri noticed her mother stirring WitchLeaf into her tea. They were surrounded by kegs of it, and thesmell mingled with the smell of breakfast. The cork was still out of the keg closest toher. She looked at it temptingly.“Not a drop” Jelka said. “No more until tonight!” she laughed a little. “anyway, youknow its better when it’s warm”“Didn’t stop us last night” Keeri said, grinning as she turned back to her plate.“Have you finished your dress?” Keeri shook her head.

“I thought I would do it today once my chores are done” Jelka tutted softly“Just like you” she said. “leaving it until the last minute! My dress has been ready for weeks now!” Keeri pulled a face and stuck her tongue out.“Well I have to avoid tiring myself out somehow!” With that, she took the last bitefrom her bread and stood up to go into the house. “Where’s Father?” she asked“He is in the clearing, building the bonfire. They seem short of strong hands this year so he offered to help” Keeri nodded. Where were the Knights? She wondered.Dragonburn was the central village in the forest realm, and a garrison for a band of Knights from the Rose Order. They policed the border around three days ride from thevillage. “He has been down there since very early this morning, so I was hoping youcould bring him breakfast?” She produced a brown paper bag from underneath thetable.“well, I was going that way anyway…” she said with a knowing smile, and took another slice of bread as she slipped away from a soft clip around the ear. She took the package and made her way into the garden.“I will see you at Midday at the Inn” her mother called after her. “I have a lot to dothis morning”The main street of Dragonburn was bustling with people. A wide clearing in the trees,it sretched the length and bredth of the village, and carried on in both directions,towards Black Rock, the border outpost to the North, and Stonekeep, the city of theKnights to the south. Keeri headed north, and soon was at the edge of the streach of buildings that were built on the ground in Dragonburn. The blacksmiths, where thefew horses dozed in the stable, was empty. The door stood open as most did but thefires were out, and the soot covered windows were dark. The inn stood on the other side of the street, and Keeri smiled at Mailk, who was stood at the door. The brick buildings seemed to blend in with the surrounding landscape. They had been there solong that their rooves had become part of the forest floor, and the brick walls weredecked in ivy and other climbing wild flowers. The few shops and traders on theground were not even open today, dragonburn’s holiday, but Keeri peered into thewindows all the same. Soon, she felt the air warm around her, and she entered theclearing. This was the centre of their village. A wizened old tree stood in its centre, atree that was the oldest in the forest realm, if rumour and legend were to be belived.Keeri, and the other villagers called it The Fairy Tree, and it was adorned in gifts andribbons for the tree spirits that, legend had it, lived in it’s branches. Far to the left, acrowd of people stood. Not much work was going on by the look of it. Keeri smiled,and hurried over. A huge bonfire towered above her, made from dead wood that wascollected all year round, and stored in the root caverns underneath the inn. Each year it was brought up here, as a focal point for the celebrations. Keeri’s Father, Alpay, sawher, and beckoned her over. He was sat amidst a ring of children, they looked up athim and the old Knight that stood with him, immersed in the story they were telling.“Mind if I cut in?” she asked with a smile, and handed her Father the package.“Shhhhhhh!” she children whispered at her, as they moved aside a little and let her sit beside them. She smiled, remembering listening to her father tell this tale… and it hadnever changed.“When he saw what the bad old dragon had done to the fine trees in the forest..”warwick said with a flourish, picking up the story where Alpay left off as he bit intohis sandwich “the knight was very very angry! He ate the trees! The dragon ate each