[Primus]
“I’m sorry, Ona, but did you suggest we get married?”
Ona grins. “Yes,” she replies evenly. “In secret, of course, but in a way that would be legally binding. It will make it impossible for Father to force you to marry someone since you’ll already be married.”
“But is that even legal,” I inquired, “I’m Crown Prince. I cannot get married without royal permission.”
“I’m about 99% sure we can get our mother to approve. And if we get Tritius involved, we’ll have at least 3 royals connected to the throne in attendance. Father would have a hard time convincing the council and the rest of the court to disavo
[Carnelia] “I’m sure you know the official story, the one that the Imperium and our Father have been promoting. Ignore it. None of it is true, except for their attempt at complete genocide for no good reason other than their own greed.” She brings over a small globe, a representation of our planet, and sets it down in front of us. “This is our world,” she gently spins the globe. “So large, so gloriously diverse. Like so many of us elemental masters, not just the dragons, but the Fae, the ogres…have you ever wondered why we are so different from all the other creatures on this planet? We share almost nothing with them, not in our true forms. Dragons are no more giant lizards than a dragon prince is a human man. We are completely alien.
[Ona] Primus and Carnelia both look stunned and I haven’t even told them the extent of what I know…and what I think I know. I wish I could tell Primus everything now, but it is too much of a risk. He is after all the next Dragon King of Luxandra. It’s not that I don’t trust my little brother, I don’t trust those who will be around him at court, those who could torture the secrets out of him, or even worse, use Carnelia to do so. The less he knows, the safer they both are. “Do you remember, 40 years ago, when Segundus and I were sent on I was sent on a diplomatic mission to Obaaran to arrange an alliance with the sand dragons of Kana?” “I remember hea
[Carnelia] “I’m getting married….to Primus!” “If we are going to do this,” Primus stands up straight, adjusting his clothing, and looks directly at Ona. “We’re going to do it properly without shortcuts. But we need to start immediately. We have just under 4 days until Segundus comes looking to see what we are up to. That isn’t a lot of time. I’m assuming you have a way to contact Mother,” “Several,” Ona confirms. “She can be here by tonight.” “Perfect,” they continue talking around me. I fe
[Carnelia] What does one say when they are in the presence of someone who is practically a deity? I don’t know what I was expecting when I met Primus’ mother. I knew she was a Star Fire Dragon, a Celestial Star Fire Dragon to be precise, but I didn’t know what that meant. Celestial dragons are as different from terran dragons as light is to mud. They live on a separate plane, not just in the sky, but somewhere above and beyond. They leave their home so rarely that sightings of them flying by are exceptionally rare. And yet here I am, standing in front of one of them, about to marry her son. A bright white refl
[Ona] “So,” Orion raises one eyebrow, his expression so much like his father’s that it pierces me in the heart. “You are our mother?” We are sequestered in my private rooms, the rest of the family giving us space and time to “bond.” I’m not really comfortable around dragons this age, I never have been. I never expected to be a mother. And in many ways, I guess I’m not. What kind of mother abandons her clutch and doesn’t even return to name them? “Yes, biologically. I did lay you,” I admit. “I’m not sure if I deserve the title of ‘mother,’ that is for you to decide.” “Why did you leave us?” Ursa’s golden eyes glow brightly. “Didn’t you want us?” “I’ll be honest,” I look them both in the eyes. “I did not expect you. Once I learned I was carrying a clutch, I went to the celestial kingdom before your grandfather could catch a whiff of you. I knew that if he found out you existed, he would have had you killed as soon as you hatched.” I take a deep breath before continuing. “I am not sa
[Primus] Ona has secluded herself in her rooms with her two children. I think she might also be hiding from the rest of us. Mother is furious, Carnelia is nervous, and I am anxious, fearful that tomorrow cannot come soon enough. I want nothing more than for Carnelia to be safe, truly safe, from my father. She is my entire heart. Looking over at Ona's closed door I can't help but scowl. How did I not notice that my sister had been so broken for so long? Forty years is a long time to mourn alone. She has always seemed so upbeat, the person I go to when my world is falling apart. How did I not notice that she needed support as well? I know that Ona has been neglecting her royal duties for some time
[Segundus] The room is dark, cold, and smelling faintly of blood. The early morning chill has yet to burn away as the sun begins to crest over the horizon, turning dew into frost. The cold gray stone of the high dragon court speaks to an older time when drakes didn’t feel such a human need for finery and light. This is a cavern of a room, more like a cave than a palace, dripping and moist, the only truly elegant thing is the throne of solid platinum and the bold dragon who sits upon it. Maximus, the Dragon King, Master of the 7 kingdoms of Luxandra, and Champion of the Sun Wars. My father. I have been waitin
[Carnelia] With all of our preparations ready for tomorrow, Primus and I retired to our rooms, leaving the Sea Kingdom to their own devices as they continued to drink and gamble. Both Primus and I are so exhausted that we barely have enough energy to peel out of our clothing and climb into bed. Tomorrow is going to be another long day. So tonight hold on to one another, enjoying this moment of calm before the chaos of the morning. Lying on top of Primus' chest, he tells me about the wedding day There are so many steps involved in marrying royalty it is a wonder that anyone would choose this route, especially since it isn't required for the legitimacy of one's offspring. But as I see his eyes sparkle and glow as he goes over the details, I can see that this is somet
[Carnelia] When I sat there, tied to that wagon almost a year ago, I had no idea how my life led me to that place. I couldn't even remember who I was or where I came from. It is amazing how much can change in such a short amount of time. When I was a hurt, angry girl, I had no idea that one day I'd wake up and be seen as the mother of a kingdom, or that my children would not only be heirs to all of Luxandra, but to the Solar Throne of the Southern Continent, a rebirth for a royal line thought long dead. Nor did I understand that my old life, and everyone who existed within it, would be nothing but ash and sour memories before the next summer blossomed. All I knew as I fought against my bindings was that in the next few minutes, my life would either end drastically or it would be changed forever. Because even if my body were not destined to die as a dragon’s meal that evening, something in me realized that the girl I had been up until that moment would die that day. There was n
[Eleanora] “Your Majesty, you shouldn’t be down here,” the small man sniveled as I entered the new lab. "This is no place for a lady." “Where else would I be?” I demand, cracking my knuckles as I stare down my nose at the human technician in charge of keeping my husband’s body from dying. “My husband is here, so I am here. I wanted an update on his condition.” “We could have written a report and sent it…” he begins to sniffle but I raise my hand and he bows low before me, his back deeply bowed as is proper. “I wanted to SEE him, you dolt,” I correct the fool shaking before me. Humans are so weak-willed and this one is weaker than most. I brought him from my family home because I can trust he will be loyal. He'd sooner tattle on himself for a perceived mistake than risk being accused by someone else. Similarly, he's the first to report when anything seems amiss. The perfect little worm to place in any apple. Because while he is telling on everyone else, he is also spying for
[Segundus] “Greetings citizens of Imperial City,” My queen and I shine brightly as the sun begins to set, our white clothes studded with diamonds so that when the spotlights shine on us, we gleam like fallen stars, fitting since our intention tonight is to make celestials fall from the heavens. “The Celestials have lorded over us for several millennia. Living in their sky throne, they control our resources, taking what they want and leaving nothing behind. Their children, the Sun Dragons, were especially notorious. They controlled the power that fueled our cities, and if we didn’t make proper payment, they would burn our cities, raid our farms, and send their blight to wipe all life from our land.” I pause to let my words settle into the hearts and minds of those gathered. A gentle hissing roar throughout the crowd assembled. My wife, Queen Eleanora, squeezes my hand in encouragement, smiling sweetly, projecting her confidence and trust. “My brother, Segundus, sought to alig
[Carnelia] There is a bright glow as I close my eyes and I know that it is the last time I will ever see Cressida, that she sacrificed her spark to save me. My screams turn into howls of pain and sorrow. Cressida, the kind mother who nursed me through the birth of my babies, and accepted me into her family even when she thought I was a human. I didn’t even really get a chance to know her, and now I am mourning her, along with the loss of my mate, trapped on the other side of a gate I cannot cross. “CLOSE THE GATE!” one of my captors bellows through the entry gate as we arrive at the Northern Sky Portal, “By order of Queen Cressida. This is her final command!” The drakes at the gate go immediately to work, tapping buttons on clear surfaces lit from within with swirling and changing images of blue, red, and green. The surface beneath our feet shifts and shakes and I scream in fury as I watch the large metal iris of the portal snap shut. “How could you,” I pound the chest of m
[Segundus] “Sir,” one of my aerial knights bows before me as I ready myself for the next phase of the war. I had just sent my generals from the room and was looking over a map of Luxandra. I already have an idea of what this knight is going to say before he opens his mouth. Looking at the map, I have marked several cities that have recently been destroyed, each one a hub for an energy hub. I had them each commit to continuing the story of Skyfell, telling the untruths of how the treacherous Celestials came down to Terra, burned our cities, and stole our light. In many ways, these new attacks on major city hubs are feeding into our story, except for the unpredictable element of them being completely untrue. “Report,” I am getting irritated by all the bad news I have been receiving. My generals didn't have anything good to report from their respective lands, and the lack of resources coming into the capital was starting to make me anxious. It has become harder and harder to hide the
[Primus] Ever since I first saw her tied to that cart, there was something about her, something that captured my heart. Seeing her taken from me, held roughly by the hands of those trying to save her as she is taken away, screaming my name--that broke my heart. So much has happened since that fateful evening when she was left as a sacrifice at the foot of my mountain. She had fire in her then too, but it was buried deep within her, almost smothered by a lifetime of hate and abuse. Once I started to brush away the ash and soot of her previous life, she began to glow, her fire mostly directed at me, but fire nonetheless. Even when she tried to extinguish it, when the weight of the world and her sadness threatened to crush her spirit, she came back to me, her fire bright and true. Loving her has been hot and pure and never boring, never predictable, almost like flame itself. Right now, burning with rage, with righteous indignation, she is the brightest I’ve ever seen her.
[Carnelia] The still of the morning is shattered as everyone moves into position to protect Primus, Cressida, and myself. We all drop to the ground as another beam of light shoots over our heads. “How many do we have below,” the queen bellows, commanding her men, her body rigid with fear and power. If she is afraid, it is impossible to see, her movements sure and precise. “At least a full platoon of air drakes with another half platoon of fire, My Queen.” One of the guards answers back as another shot zooms overhead. “Possibly more hidden beyond the ridge.” “Un
[Segundus] My back aches as I land near Hatchery L11. It is early morning, just after dawn. Eleanora was still sleeping when I left. I have a feeling the doctor will give us auspicious news today about her health. Based on the color of her cheeks and her increased appetite, I am certain she is carrying our first clutch. I leave my small group of guards behind in a nearby town. I cannot have anyone who enters these facilities other than myself cannot leave once they enter. We cannot risk trade secrets leaking out to our competitors. I know that Elfholm is considering creating its own factories using a different breed, but as it is now with energy being one of our main exports, I do not want to give away anything that will lessen their dependency on our sources.
[Ona] The fighting has stopped. We are vastly outnumbered. Thankfully, the Imperium soldiers on board were given orders to stun and contain us, not shoot to kill. Even so, we lost more than a handful of sun dragons to the battle that ensued. Including Daax and myself, the number of resistance fighters on the boat is down to 36. Four days ago, at the start of this adventure, we had more than 60. By the time we reached the end of the tunnel, we numbered 42. I try not to think of all the bodies we lost during the evacuation of Segundus’ lab. So many had never awakened when released from the pods--and there had been hundreds of them. Drakes, drakaina, and some little more than hatchlings. Watching them die as they took their first free breaths in decades is a memory I will torment me for all the remaining moments of my life. There were more bodies on the ground than walked out of that room. I have been fighting this battle against the Imperium for the last four decades but on