The air in the long hall was burning hot. Larice could feel the growing heat as they approached towards the end—their wet bodies and garments from the rain slowly drying out. Then she turned to Estevan. He was using his shield in front of him to hide from the heat waves as his sweat broke on his blushed skin.
“We’re close,” he said.
Larice nodded. She could feel the intense power radiating ahead of them. The wall at the end of the hall glowed in orange light as if there was fire awaiting them. Now that she had thought of fire, she tried to give herself more courage. She shouldn’t be afraid now. She shouldn’t let her fear take over her this time.
“Come hide in my shield. Aren’t you affected by the heat?” Estevan asked.
What the hell just happened? Raeherys stood in shock as the fountain of orange liquid, falling from the hole at the ceiling, was all covered by frost. The circular pool at the center turned into icy blue. He recognized the same energy … was it Larice? He wondered. This frost must have belonged to her since she was the only one here in Drava who had such powers.Although the freezing of the fountain had surprised them all, it didn’t stop the fighting in the Alchedra. The shelves, books, wooden tables, and chairs—all burned from the fire blasted out by Myrdin and Raeherys. The Sun Guardes kept on using their purple capes to protect themselves. But this time, when one of them charged to attack Raeherys, Myrdin breathed in and blew another swirling fire—the guard covered himself with his cape, but the fabric burned out instantly into black … and then into ashes. He screamed out
“COME NOW, MY DEAR WHITEWIND,” her father said, reaching out both hands. “We will tell you everything you wanted to know … every memory we’ve made during your childhood. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? It’ll be fun.”Larice found herself standing in the middle of a vast meadow, watching her parents ahead of her, surrounded by checkerblooms and red lilies. Behind her parents was a cliff—but connected to a bed of clouds, extending beyond far into the blue horizon. Cool breeze brushed against her face. She blinked twice. Seeing the clouds made her recall of something very familiar … like she’d been over those white beds of cottons before … with someone.Her eyes traveled around, almost turning her head, but then her mother spoke, “Don’t look, Larice … Don’t look.” A smile lingered on her lips. “What do you mean&md
***ANY BEING ACROSS THIS WORLD WOULD FEAR, would believe, would sing the songs of the prophets … but The Oracle had been glorified on a far different scope since the beginning.As the only living being who had witnessed the Age of the Empyreal Gods, The Oracle could speak for the future … He could speak for the deities … He could speak for the inevitable truth …Everyone feared him … and only a fool would not.Emperor Sargan the Sunborne had claimed himself as no fool.At last, the future of his empire would unfold after all the years of searching for the ancient speaker, the guardian, the divine messenger.He had ordered his men to escort The Oracle into his palace … and there, he saw the revelation …“Behold, Great Emperor …” The Oracle raised his dark staff, a ruby gem gleaming brightly at its end. The darkness of the throne room flashed, painting the walls, floor
A DRAGON HUNTER SHE WAS, but dragons were the very last thing she would want to face in this world. The irony spoke itself. Larice Whitewind had long wondered until now if joining the dragon hunters in Shavath was but a mistake—the same thought that bothered her, again and again, every single day when she had her early morning hunt. She thought she had an answer … but the answer was nothing more than another question.Larice sheathed back her rapier, grabbed the leg of the deer, and dragged it through the ancient woods of Shajara Forest. Dark and old elm trees rose high with their thick branches widely spread out, and their rustling oval-shaped leaves blocking the light from the morning skies. She trailed over the soft, mossy soil while avoiding the root lumps—ferns and wildflowers brushing on her legs. The air smelled of a fresh, pungent, stark scent. If only she could spend in this pea
RAEHERYS ALAGOR TOOK A PAUSE FROM HIS ASCENT, standing at the stone-carved steps upon the flank of Volcron. The stairs led straight up towards the peak of the volcano where the vast crater grew all the greenery of shrubs and Lilium flowers and Persea trees, gleaming under the sunlight of noon. A moment after and Raeherys turned his head to gaze worriedly at the islands in his view, spread out amidst the crystal ocean blue.The comet, he thought—was approaching day after day to bring destruction upon their realm … the Draconian Realm. All those tropical green forests where they harvest their food, those young dragons flying and playing around the isles, those of his brethren who survived the Red Century War, and most importantly, those dragon eggs, thousands of them, waiting to hatch in the volcano of Aggronar—everything, every dragon in his realm would fall if they would not act now.Raeherys needed it … th
“ONE HOUR, ONE HUNT!” The voice of Grand Hunter Arien thundered across the iron gates of Shavath Fortress. “Starting today, those who’ll come back empty-handed will take a sprint around the entire walls a hundred set!”At the sound of the Fort Bell, the dragon hunters hasted like a wild stream of current, rushing and spreading out of the fortress gates while heading towards the vast forest of Shajara.All of them dispersed—all but Larice Whitewind. She would never go where people would go. Instead, she sneaked her way inside the gatehouse after she spied Grand Hunter Arien, leaving the path empty for her. The cool morning wind brushed cold on her skin and garments, all soaked up in her sweat. Larice had to avoid the sandstone road as the patrolling guards might take notice of her skipping the dawn hunting routine. So she took the column of Foxglove Trees to hide and move and get past through
THE RICH AND RADIATING HEAT INSIDE AGGRONAR VOLCANO had kept thousands of dragon eggs alive despite the absence of their mothers’ warmth. Raeherys Alagor stood at the wide vent of the volcano, gazing down at the small pool of boiling lava far below. Around it settled all the hard-scaled eggs over the rocks and stones and tiny caves, with the sustainable heat supplying them with enough energy and strength.Some eggs had hatched, some glowed like active embers in coal, and some remained stone-hard. Tiny screeches of newly born dragons made up the noise inside the volcano. With pink skin and bones of sticks, they crawled on the rock surface, careful of not touching the lava as they had yet grown any scales.These hatchlings were the future of the Draconian Realm—and Raeherys Alagor would no chance let the human empire destroy it.Seconds after, a mondra appeared from the thick smoke above, flying down for Raeherys.When the
HAVING TO ATTEND THE ENTIRE MORNING SESSION AGAIN, her most hated time of the day, Larice Whitewind had to sit along with these people—people who either secretly or obviously despised her. She might’ve not seen it or heard it too often, but she could feel it all the same. Their disgusted stares every time she passed by them had said it all. She wanted to walk out already, return to Librad, and sneak inside the red door. She could’ve even skipped today’s session, but she chose not to as the old hag would get into her nerves again. So she had to wait until sunset, when Erlind’s shift would end.Larice had taken the seat at the back row of over fifty hunter trainees. Each student had to sit on a square-shaped cotton mat down on the waxed red floor, while they listened to Grand Hunter Arien Homeli in front of them.All of them paid attention—except Larice Whitewind. She kept her eyes on the sunlit windows, madly wa