[Primus] The dust on the southern plains swirls in the noonday sun. This is the third dust storm this week, and the people of Solace are desperately needing relief. Dragons are not well-liked in this part of the western shore. They are too close to the original territory of the Sun Dragon Kingdom and remember the wars too well. Many of their families were sacrificed in that war, casualties in a battle that wasn't theirs, convinced that they were fighting against a common enemy because they were fed the propaganda that "sun dragons are too dangerous to live."The more I learn about the world outside of court, the more I realize how much we dragons lie to ourselves and others to justify our greed and selfishness.

[Segundus] When Primus didn’t return at the end of the season as expected, Father sent me out in search of him. He is needed at court immediately to fulfill his duties and represent our fine nation. We have guests coming. And Father was expecting him last week. But of course, Primus was far too busy breaking tradition to be bothered with following the request of his father and king. Based on recent reports, he and his pet have gotten married, and then he made it worse by declaring her a princess. Livestock cannot rule by your side. You wouldn't crown a pig. Why on earth would you crown a human? And Father kn

[Ona] I cannot feel him. It is almost like he isn't there at all. I've been searching the coast for two days now and no sign of him has been there. On the day that I arrived at the coast, there was a blip of fear from Carnelia, but it quickly faded. Whatever happened, she must have calmed down or found her way into the shelter. So few people know about the shelter that I am sure it will be safe. Only those of us who had some part in the making of the shelter knew: Primus, who formed the cave itself and put in the first door; Tritus, who found a way to keep the sea wall back and also made the mechanical doors at the end; and me. That tunnel has been used to free so many, to keep so many safe, that I am certain Carnelia is safe. If things were to go badly before I got home, my little brother Tritus would make sure she got to safety. He's been an extremely loyal companion ever since his daughter disappeared five years ago. I've been helping him track down where she may have been taken

[Primus] The first indication that I am no longer on the Emerald Coast is the lack of ocean. The ocean is a palatable thing, it adds a texture to the air, a sound, a taste. No matter where I am on the coast, I can always hear the sea. The sound of waves hitting the sandy beach and jutting rocks is a soothing balm in the background of my life. I feel lost without the sound. There is nothing like being along the coast, which is one of the reasons I have spent so much of my adult life living there. The second indication I have is the temperature. Wherever I am, the heat is so intense, that my body is both boiling and dry, like a chicken roasted inside a brick oven. It is a dry heat, the kind that you find high in the mountains or desert plains. This means I am inland, nowhere near a

[Ona] I have not forgiven Tritus. I’m not sure if I ever will, even if I can understand his motives. But his sneaky inventiveness does come in handy sometimes. “So explain to me again how this works?” I am sitting inside a long, slender glass carriage of sorts, riding on top of a set of metal “rails” that line the bottom of an old Sun Dragon trade tunnel. These old tunnels are circular, made of stone, and lead to almost every kingdom in the northern continent. Tritus hadn’t told me about this before because he had been trying to convince first our father, and now Primus, to go along with his plan for a high-sp