It never rains in the Rim of Heaven. It snows, and it sure does snow a lot, but it never rains. This is convenient for the silver dragons for a great number of reasons, not the least of which being that it makes dragons lethargic and melancholy. Of course, the daylight already does that, as the silver dragons draw their strength from the light of the moon. It is for this reason that they are nocturnal.

And that's why a certain dragon was not at all pleased to be woken up around midday, when the sun would shine directly into the Eye of the Moon and its reflection lit up the whole valley like a swarm of fireflies couldn't hope to do, not that the dragons ever noticed.

Shimmertail, being such a large creature, not only failed to notice the initial polite tapping on his front right paw, but didn't even awake when Lola the rat started jumping up and down on top of it. "Oh, for Christ's sake, wake up! Now!" she screeched into his ear. The dragon brushed her off like an annoying fly, but the damage had been done; the dragon had been awoken.

He took a great sigh and mumbled (although his voice was still loud), "What do you want, Lola?"

The rat may have been offended by any other dragon under any under circumstances, but now was not the time to call Shimmertail on it. "It's not safe! It's not safe here anymore, we have to go!" she pleaded, "Please, get up!"

Shimmertail lifted his head and puffed out some smoke. "Lola, either slow down and tell me what you mean, or get out of here," he pouted. This time, he did not speak softly, and so his voice reverberated throughout the moonstone cave. Fortunately, the rodent seemed to have gotten to a great many of the other dragons first, so no damage had been done by his loud voice. "Quite frankly, I don't care which."

That actually hurt Lola a little bit, but she had more important things to worry about, and she knew Shimmertail wasn't exactly a "morning dragon" so to speak anyway. "Look, listen, I know we brought the other dragons here because we thought the Rim of Heaven would be safe from humans, but now they're coming here! Come on, get your butt moving!"

Now Lola had Shimmertail's (and a great number of other dragons') full and undivided attention. Shimmertail asked, "Humans? Here? What could they want here? They can't possibly live here, can't use the place for anything!"

"Come on, their humans!" Lola reminded him, "They don't care of they can use something or not! They want it either way! That Ben kid may have been alright, but he was the exception to the rule! It doesn't matter why they're coming here, only that they are."

"So, what you're saying," a new, far deeper and even more powerful voice rumbled, "is that the dragons once again must take flight and search for a new refuge?"

"No way, Firedrake!" a yet fourth voice strongly protested. "You all just got here! And how could they get here, anyway? Remember, you told us that Ben nearly froze to death during your own journey up here."

"If I've learned anything about humans by traveling with one," Firedrake, the third voice to have spoken, stated with a bit of solemnity, "I've learned that if humans want something they'll find a way to get it. That isn't necessarily bad, but it means they're naturally determined creatures. It seems, Grey, that you don't know know as much about humans as much as you would like to think."

Grey wasn't quite a cat, but the pointed ears, fuzzy paws, and gray fur that suits his name covering his whole body might convince a near-sighted person otherwise. The difference, though, lay in the fact that this feline stood upright on two legs and was far larger than any house cat. Yep, he was a typical example of the mountain brownies that weren't at all a rare sight around the Rim of Heaven. "Well, I mean,still, they can't be all bad, right? Maybe we can just try and, you know, let 'em have what they want. So what if they're coming? Ben was alright, so why can't these ones be?"

"In case you're forgetting, Grey," Shimmertail interrupted, "Ben was the dragon rider. You know, the prophecized hero? Of course he was alright. But dragons scare humans, and we all know what humans do to something that scares them! Just think of Slatebeard!"

Firedrake didn't appreciate that one bit. "You go too far!" he shouted at Shimmertail. Slatebeard, the eldest dragon who had charged Firedrake with finding the Rim was the only dragon who didn't live to see it once more himself.

"My point is peace with humans is out of the question. I mean, come on!" he scoffed, "They can't even keep peace with each other!"

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Grey huffed at his dragon friend, "There aren't exactly a lot of other sacred refuges to turn to. With humans here, there, and everywhere else, where can we go? I say we try and cooperate. You know, maybe cut a deal. 'Here, you take this half, we get this half.'"

"And who would you send to negotiate, smart guy? Yourself?" Shimmertail retorted, "Or one of us dragons? It doesn't really matter, since whoever it is will end up dead, as they'll scare a human witless. They're greedy, mindless killing machines who take everything in their reach, even if they don't really want it."

Firedrake let loose a small puff of fire between the two. Granted, it couldn't actually have hurt them since it was dragon fire, but at least it got their attention. "Enough! It seems neither of you has a very accurate perception of humans. Now listen. We found a new refuge once before, here. Who's to say we can't do it again? The world is a big place; somewhere is safe. However, we face a question that I needed not face when I set out for my quest: where? I knew not where the Rim of Heaven lies, but I knew I had to find it. Now, however, we don't just need to find a new safe haven. We must discover it."

"Look, this is crazy, Firedrake," Grey disagreed heartily, "I think I know where you're going, and it's crazy. Maybe the dragon rider could pull it off, but he's not here right now. We don't even have to go anywhere if we just find a way to resolve this with the humans."

Shimmertail scoffed once more. "Are you joking? That's like trying to negotiate with cobra! The only difference is you can kill a cobra and not get a million other cobras to hunt you down later."

Firedrake really hated where this was going. Fighting the humans? It would not do, both because the bloodshed would be needless and that such a concept was hopeless. "Nobody is making you go," he declared, "But I will. And I'm going to search for a new home. Listen to me: you shall not stay the humans' hands, and you shall not win a battle with them. We must flee, and we must flee while we have the time to do so. I understand why you both view the situation as you do, as the outside world is something you aren't very familiar with. That's why I suggest you go as well; you'll make yourselves useful and simultaneously learn a thing or two about the world we live in. That is..." Firedrake had known these two for too long to not know how to get under their scales. It was low, but it had to be done. "...unless you fear what lies out there."

"Fear what?" declared Shimmertail proudly, "We're dragons! There isn't a being superior to us in size or strength!"

"Oh? Then surely," Firedrake taunted, "a big, strong dragon should find a little travel to be no problem at all! Yet, you're reluctant to leave."

"Who says I won't go? I'll go! Me and Grey, we'll both go even!"

Grey didn't like being dragged into this. "Whoa, hang on-"

But Shimmertail was on a roll. "And not only will we be the ones to find your secret hidey hole, but we'll be sure to rub it in your cocky snout afterwards! How about that?"

Firedrake just tilted his head and grinned at Shimmertail in response. "What are you smiling at? Didn't you- oh..." He didn't know how, but it seemed Shimmertail found that he had been roped into doing exactly that which he preached against mere moments ago. He really didn't want to do it, but he said he would, and there isn't a much worse action that a dragon can do than speak an untruth.

"Hey, hey, hold up!" Grey subsequently objected, "Speak for yourself, Shimmer. I didn't sign up for any expedition, and I don't appreciate you doing so for me."

"What is a dragon without his brownie companion?" Firedrake retorted, "And what is a brownie with no dragon? Neither Sorrel nor I, for instance, would be here in this cave if one of us had decided those years ago to remain in the valley, and nor would a great many of the dragons still sleeping here even be alive. It is almost an abomination of nature for a dragon and brownie to be apart. So go, Grey, as he needs you the same way we both know you need him."

"Silver your scales may be," observed Grey, "but it seems they are pale and dull in comparison to your silver tongue. Fine, I'll go." As well, the brownie would have liked to remain in the valley, but he respected Firedrake too much as well as being too close to Shimmertail to deny them. After all, there wasn't a dragon alive who could say they didn't look up to Firedrake at least a little bit.

Firedrake huffed once more, satisfied. "Then delay not. You set off tonight, and no later. As for me, I shall remain behind for a matter of time, see if I can't convince more to join us in our search. Grey? I'd suggest you start packing now.

"I think we should go west," Grey pitched to Shimmertail while the two stood by the very rim of the Eye of the Moon.

"What for?" Shimmertail inquired skeptically, as Grey knew he would.

"Because," the brownie enthusiastically defended, "don't you remember? When Firedrake was searching for the Rim of Heaven, he met his biggest stroke of luck out west. In a human city, no less. He found that map and the legendary dragon rider!"

"So, what, you want to fly into a city and introduce ourselves? 'Hello. we're just a couple of beings whom you fear and would like to kill. There are a lot more of us in the Rim of Heaven, where you're trying to go. Do you know where we can find a place to hide from you, those who seek to destroy us? We would really appreciate the help.' Yeah, I don't feel confident about that."

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Grey corrected, "Destructive you may think they are, but humans do have one thing going for them that none can deny: since they're all over, no race knows more about the world's geography than humans." The dragon was silent; he could not refute this. "So, we'll do something like Firedrake did! We'll swipe a map of the world or something and see if that can be any help. If I can get my paws on some of their garments, I could pass for one at a distance. Come on, it's our only lead!"

Though Shimmertail resented the fact, it really was their only place to start that they knew of. If they wanted to start anywhere, it would have to be in the belly of the beast. "Fine. But if we don't survive, I'll kill you."

"Haha! Very funny, big guy. Now be a good fire-breathing, flying lizard and bend down so I can get on."