Prologue
I was only a young elf of Candara when I last saw him.
That night, I didn’t fear for my life, though the screams were terrifying, the stench of burning flesh, mingled with the smell of blood, nauseated me, and the smoke stung my eyes.
I felt untouchable.
Too small then to grasp the weight of what was unfolding, I watched from atop the hillside as the battle spread across the entire shoreline. The sea drank the blood of the fallen, churning waves lapping at the bodies of the dead, and soon, the darkened sky would shed its tears for the lives it had claimed.
But all I could see was the magnificence of the winged beasts my brother commanded, fighting to hold the line for our people.
Dragons of the North.
Someone screamed my name; my brother’s mentor had spotted me. The shout echoed as if carried by the wind, reaching my brother. Amid the parries and strikes of his sword, his eyes searched until they locked onto mine.
I recoiled, torn between running for the village and staying frozen where I stood. When I finally turned to flee, I found myself face-to-face with a Dragon of the South. My eyes widened in terror, and I took a step back, realizing that behind me lay only the edge of the cliff. Another cry pierced through the roar of explosions—I thought that would be the last time I heard my brother call my name.
Had he ignored the danger I was in, I could not have blamed him for turning his back on me. I was in the wrong place, defying his orders. I screamed for him anyway; I begged him not to let me die.
The dragon above me bared its teeth, ready to tear me to pieces. Just as I took the step that would lead to a fatal plunge, talons clamped around my shoulders and hoisted my small frame into the air. High above the ground, fire, screaming, and ruin began to shrink below, folding into something small and far away.
The beast that took flight with me was one of the sacred beings I had admired for so long. The demigod of the North himself.
Tezrian.
He was no mere monster—he was the son of the god Okian, one of the very pillars holding up a world tearing itself apart beneath us.
A blow struck the demigod from behind, knocking him off balance. The Dragon of the South, still giving chase, lunged repeatedly at his back. The talons holding me slackened, my body slipped, and I did the only thing a terrified child could do.
I screamed.
A tighter grip, clamping down to keep me from slipping, tore into my shoulders, and I wept.
Tezrian brought me to the ground once we reached a vast field. Stumbling, I tried to keep my balance but collapsed to my knees. My tunic was in tatters, drenched in blood welling from the deep gashes in my flesh.
I pushed myself up on trembling hands and raised my head at the heavy thud of his landing right before me. My dust-caked face, stained with tears, broke into a smile. He was there. Right in front of me, tearing the other dragon’s throat to shreds.
When his wrath finally subsided, Tezrian’s heavy, rattling breath was the only sound left in the air. Fighting through the agony, I forced myself to my feet and bowed. Tezrian drew close, his massive head lowering until we were face to face. I will never forget the moment I looked into those fierce eyes, which silently reproached me.
I was told I lost consciousness after that.
Shortly after I opened my eyes, my brother departed on his quest to defeat the great threat to our world. I was left behind, entrusted to my people’s care, both for my safety and so that my brother would no longer have to worry about me.
I came to believe that by distracting him and forcing him to surrender his strongest ally to save me, I had altered the course of that battle and the price my brother would pay to win it. Sometime later, his mentor returned and explained that nothing my brother had done that day could have changed the course of his destiny.
My brother had fulfilled his purpose, and he would never return.
That was how I learned the meaning of true sorrow. I watched the world I knew be stained crimson by the hands of those who owed their very lives to my people.
Today, the weight of Tezrian’s gaze echoes like a calling. While the Dragons of the North rest like cold stones beneath the sun, and the blood of Drahein cries out for justice, I follow the only trail left behind.
Finding Tezrian is no quest for forgiveness; it is the only way to avenge the world the humans helped silence.
