• Prologue

    It wasn’t always like this. The ground lay covered in grass, the tree’s grew tall. The white halls were safe, but now they are nothing but ruins. All I can do is sit here, clutching the weeds that rise out of the dry dirt, and watch as my home goes up in flame. He plays such a cruel game, I am nothing but his pet now, on the end of a chain. I screamed for hours, trying to break free, pulling at this chain around my neck, crying out as my family, my friends died before my ember eyes. I wonder how long this game will last, until my eyes have run dry.
    “Until you heart falls.” his voice rang in my head. I closed my eyes tightly. Though it did nothing, I still saw his face, and heard the roar of his laughter. Why did it have to be me? Why did the fate of my world rest in my hands? I was just a kid, it’s not my fault…




    Chapter One

    When I was a child, my world was small, and bright. My brother, Azeron, had not gone to war, he was still with us. Neither one of us had a dragon yet, my parents kept us away from them. They wanted to protect us, at the time I didn’t know what from. My brother and I would often wander into the city and try to find an unwanted egg, obviously that never happened. The Great White City of Orin, that is the world I lived in. The great wall that surrounded the city and it’s outskirts kept us safe. The palace, where the elders lived, housed more than the five of them. It is there that the five dragons of old nest. Each dragon was given to an elder as a child, and it is here that the ten of them decided to build our city.
    I remember when my brother turned sixteen he was drafted in the great war. I remember my mother crying when the soldiers came to our door asking for him. After he was drafted I rarely saw him, looking back on it now, I would have cherished those moments, but as the truth sets into my mind, I barely remember his face. I don’t remember his voice, or him calling out my name. The only thing I remember is the hands that handed me my first dragon egg. They were larger than mine, covered in dragon hide riding gloves. That was the last I saw of him, of Azeron.
    When he handed that egg to me, my mother immediately said no, soon followed by my fathers deep voice. The egg was brown, and seemed to shimmer. It was warm, and smooth, and when I held it in my arms, I felt its heart beat. My parents and brother argued over my head as I sat in the soft grass, holding my egg. It was the happiest moment of my life.
    Not long after my egg hatched, producing the smallest dragon my young eyes had ever seen. His eyes were blue, his scales golden brown. By this point my parents had given up on getting rid of it. They saw that he was a substitute for my brother. But he was more than that to me. He was a year old when I first named him, he was about the size of a large dog, his wings still small and undeveloped. His name, was Fell.
    Fell and I would sit beneath the large oak tree just outside of my home, watching the large dragons fly over our heads. By this age, Fell could speak, but was still learning, and I was his teacher. His voice not to it’s full potential, but would grow to be great. From the time he was born, his eye color would begin to fade, as it happens with most dragons, but not all the color was lost. Another year went by and Fell was now to his full size. He couldn’t sleep in the house, next to me in my bed any more. But I felt that he was content with the spot under our tree. I could not teach him to fly, for obvious reasons, so while I attended school to learn about our history, and culture, he learned from the dragon elders, as do all young dragons.
    As to a child, life seemed that it couldn’t be better, I was happy, I had my dragon, I finished my schooling and I was left to spread my wings in our great city. I will never forget my sixteenth birthday, my heart won’t let me. That was the last day I saw Azeron, but not as one might hope.
    In the morning, I woke and ran out to my dragon. Fell wished me a happy birthday, and he told me that I would always remember this day. My birthday was the first day I could ride Fell, and travel over the wall. I climbed onto his back and prepared myself. Fell inhaled and closed his eyes. His wings had grown to full size to match the rest of his body. I watched them unfold and lift, I held onto the saddle and before I knew it we were off the ground, heading for the sky. Fell turned to look at me, seeing my nails dig into the leather.
    “Let go.” he laughed.
    “No, I’m fine.” my voice had trembled out.
    “Sarinei, let go!”
    I did as Fell said. My heart dropped, but it was exhilarating. I opened my eyes and looked at the world as I shrank below me.
    “Fell this is amazing!”
    “I told you, you would remember this day!” he said with a laugh. “Look ahead, there are more dragons.”
    My eyes wandered ahead. The dragons were covered in armor, that displayed our colors. My eyes strained to see closer, my heart seemed to drop even more. It was Azeron’s fleet.
    “Fell land now, take us back to the city!” my voice was filled with panic. I grabbed the saddle once more as he dove for the ground. He opened his wings, and slowed us down until his feet came in contact with the ground. I slid off his back, and looked up as the fleet began to land. As soon as the dragons touched down, they collapsed. The elders came out of the palace, as if they were expecting them. The dragons that lay on the ground began to bellow out in pain. My eyes searched for my brother’s dragon. Fell only looked around as his brothers and sisters lay there.
    I remember my feet suddenly carrying me away from my dragon, into the fleet.
    “Azeron!” I screamed. “Azeron, please answer me!!” I continued running around the dragon bodies, crying out. I ignored their cries of pain, I needed my brother. I ran into a soldier, and he grabbed me by my arms, steadying me.
    “Young lady what are you doing here?” he said almost worried.
    “My brother, I need to find him! Let go, please!” I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, and once I did, my brother was not far. I stopped dead in my tracks, as did my heart. I felt my knees hit the tiled walkway, my hands covered my face. I screamed, but I do not remember what it was. I remembered the soldiers hand coming to my shoulder as if to tell me it would be okay. I kept screaming, as did the dragons around me.
    There lay my brother, his eyes open, but not light in them. His face, his clothes covered in blood. His mouth partially opened as he took in his last breath. I saw his chest rise, and fall, and then I felt a chill in the air. Azeron was dead.