Prologue
Up on a hill of fossilized bone and scale, a temple stood proud above the rest of the land. It had been there for as long as the living people of Ryujin could remember it being there. It's pagodas had been carved out of the bone of a dragon. Some people said that the temple was a memorial to the dragons lives that were lost over three hundred years ago, others thought that it's origins were much older and more mysterious than that. Despite the debate on its origins, no one would ever get close enough to investigate it. It remained that mysterious part of the country that travelers passed on their way into the capitol. There was no reason to go and investigate, everyone told themselves as they past the hill. To the outsider, it looked abandoned, wind whistled through the hollow building and no light had been seen there in three hundred years. Until the day where the worst storm in living memory rolled in.
The skies were pitch black, and then the lightning tore the sky in two. It was as if some god had come, ready to kill those that did not worship him. It was then that the each torch in the temples were lit. They were able to see the temple from the palace, miles away. Well into the second night that the storm raged on, a rider was sent to the hill of dragon bone. The ride was treacherous, the servant boy who rode out worrying that his horse was going to get stuck in mud or send him flying as rain pounded everything around him, but he did not turn back around. He had been ordered to get there as fast as he possibly could, and he did what he was told, for fear of angering the King.
The young boy wondered what his fate would be as he approached the temple. His horse refused to take him any further than the bottom of the hill. He couldn't say that he blamed the poor animal either. What terrible monster could be waiting in this old temple? He thought to himself. Would that monster be hungry? Or was this thing that he was waiting for simply some traveler that was waiting out this terrible storm. His limbs shook as he got to the large dark wooden doors that were waiting for him. Before he could even knock, the door swung open, and he almost turned around. Almost. The blast of warm air was enough to get him to want to stay.
His feet crossed the threshold cautiously, once he was in, the door closed behind him. The inside of the temple was different from how he expected it, instead of a vast, barren building that was only furnished by torches that would allow him to see, it was decorated. Like there had been people here long enough to call it a home. A large, red carpet was rolled out, cutting the off white stairs into two. It lead to a large seat, where a figure waited for him. “Hello?” He called. He was not greeted any answers. Just echoes. “Hello?” He called again. His feet carried him closer to the figure, finally being able to distinguish her features.
She was an older woman, her salt and pepper hair braided neatly in two braids that cascaded down each shoulder. The boy thought that she looked like a creature from one of the palace maid's wives tales. Her skin looked like it had been carved from stone.”Hello?” The boy called again.
“I heard you the first time,” It was as if his words had rekindled a fire in her, her eyes opened and her stone like skin looked just a little bit more human.
“I’m sorry. So sorry.” The boy didn’t know what to do, so he bowed. “I was sent here by the King, to see what was up here, and to ask if you were causing the storm.” He stared up at the woman expectantly, not sure what she was going to do. The woman was silent for a moment, and then she laughed. It was more of a cackle than anything else, and the only thing that the boy could liken it to was the sound a hyena was supposed to make."Did I cause the storm?" She laughed as if this was a ridiculous notion, when the whole thought of a woman made out of stone atop a hill that was made out of a fossilized dragon wasn't already a ridiculous notion. "Did I cause the storm? Of course, child. I didn't cause the storm, the storm was caused by a much more powerful entity than I," For the first time since he had entered the temple, the woman cast her eyes upon him.
For the first time since he had entered the temple, the woman cast her eyes upon him. They were completely white and looked almost like marble. "Look at me, boy." She said. He did. He feared what would happen if he didn't. "I have something important to tell you, and you must listen well. Are you prepared to listen?" She said. He did. He feared what would happen if he didn't. "I have something important to tell you, and you must listen well. Are you prepared to listen?"
"Yes," The woman nodded, she believed him. Slowly, she got up from her seat. Her joints popped and crackled, like she was truly made out of stones and twigs and it was painful for her to move. The boy felt his stomach getting sick as he watched her. "There is a prophecy that the gods wished for me to deliver."
"The Gods?" He asked, he didn't protest, but the national religion in Ryujin did not have but more than one god, and that was the King himself.
"Yes, the Gods that put us on this Earth have a prophecy." She paused, perhaps for dramatic effect, then continued her tale. "On the second day during the worst storm in living memory, a baby girl will be born. She will be made of dragon blood and shadow, one that all of the realms of not seen before. She will be the country’s savior, and the country’s doom.” As she spoke, the shadows that flickered across the walls moved and changed, assuming the shapes of the things that she spoke of. The silhouette of a baby girl, dragons, flames. “She will have nothing to her, no army, no lands, not even a name that would give her any claim to the throne, but she will rule in a more just way than any King this nation has ever known.”
“Why are you telling me these things?” It was an innocent question, that any stupid boy would ask.
“So you can prepare yourself for the future, child.”
“But this prophecy has nothing to do with me.”
“Then prepare your King for the fact that he is going to eventually be dethroned by a girl that is younger, and much smarter than he is.” She returned to her chair and the shadows returned to normal. The storm did not subside. “Now leave, go back to your palace. The people will be getting worried.” The boy stayed there for a little, lingering because he did not want to go back to a place where he was put to work every single day without fail. He watched the woman of stone skin settle back into the position she had originally been in when he entered the temple. Her breathing slowed and it was as if she had become a statue. Every single torch in the temple was put out in one fell swoop, and that’s when he decided to leave.
