Chapter 1

We read so often of a time when dragons fought and ruled with their mates by their side, how the dragon found his mate… but nobody seems to wonder; where it all began, what if I told you; that there was a time when the great Archdragons had no mates. The world was young and feral, dragons flew wild and free, high above the fluffy white clouds, gliding gracefully. The world was magnificent, with green mountains and creatures of all kinds, magical and normal all living in harmony. The most powerful dragons known to exist were the Archdragons. Each Archdragon was blessed with the gift to control the element they were born with.

There was the Archdragon of Earth a magestic golden brown color, much like the, color of sand kissed by the sun; his name was Alluvium, he ruled over the element of earth itself… the lush green fields and fertile soil were all under his command, the humans believed that if they had a good year of crop growth and fertile lands;that the Earth dragon was in a good mood or happy with them. If they could not find any wild animals to hunt or their crops failed to flourish, it meant that Alluvium was upset or angered depending on the gravity of the situation.

The Archdragon of the water a beautiful azure blue, Goko ruled over not just the magnificent ocean, but also all forms of water down to the tiniest dew drop you would find in the morning. He would prevent drought, thus preventing famine from breaking out. If he was angry he could cause catastrophic events; like waves the were over two hundred feet high or he would pull away the salt water and fresh water life causing the humans to starve. For the most part Goko was a gentle giant, but not to be mistaken for weak. Most often he favored the humans and helped where he could so that they could have a healthy harvest before winter.

The air Archdragon,Winstrain; was a beautiful white dragon, was a lot like his element, he was in a literal sense “which ever way the wind blows” he did not despise nor favor the humans, he controlled how harshly the wind blew. On a hot summers day you could expect a cool gentle breeze blowing through the trees, allowing for the humans to continue their days work a little more comfortably, during the winters he would control the wind and its bitter cold wind, and not make them endure blizzards. Occasionally when the archdragons had a disagreement, the temperament of the wind changed causing warm mountain winds to blow or the most dangerous blizzards to occurs, causing some loss of human lives.

Last, but not least… was the alluring fire dragon, the queen of all dragons and the archdragons she was a magnificent merlot red with golden scales and golden edging on her large majestic wings, by those trademarks you knew she was of a royal bloodline. Although she was a female dragon, she ruled with an iron claw. Her word was final and the law, the humans feared but also revered her. Her name was Nuri, Queen Nuri. She controlled the volcanoes surrounding the lands, making sure they did not erupt and wreak havoc; this took enormous amounts of strength. She highly favored the humans and one in very particular, but it could never be… she was a dangerous beast and he was a mortal human. When meeting with the other archdragons, she had to remain as level headed as possible. When angered it caused the earth to rumble and shake, the other archdragons feared her temper, she was a dragoness not to be toyed with.

The archdragons were enormous, they stood at least two hundred feet tall while the normal sized dragons stood between an average of eighty to a hundred feet full grown. Each archdragons had to rule over the dragons that were part of their element. The archdragons were descendants of the Greek dragon goddess “Drakina” …. The archdragons did possess one very special ability and this ability was a secret that they protected with their life. Each of the archdragons worked together harmoniously for most parts. The Goddess had also gifted them with the ability to speak with humans. The normal dragons all had mates, Nuri had often wondered why the goddess did not bless the archdragons with mates of their own, instead… towards the end of every millennium, the archdragons was given an egg by the goddess herself to protect and nurture, that was how the next rulers of each element was born.

Living in a cave deep within Mount Inferno Vertex, she laid alone, looking at the space next to her; empty and cold. Despite living in the depths of a volcano, Queen Nuri, tried to shake of the feeling of her loneliness. She ruled over mighty dragons, but they were all male; they could never understand the longing of a woman’s heart, their only concern was power, dominance and occasionally toying with the humans and their fragile state, that kind of behavior angered her. There was no doubt that she cared for the humans and one in particular that she had grown fond of, her mind often drifted to the human sorcerer that lived in a village nearby. He was young and dashing; he would always invite the archdragons to the harvest festivals of the first crops. Their chemistry was undeniable but she thought this was all in her head.

The next day, in the forest clearing that stood central between all four elements and the homes of the archdragons. Although they could shapeshift into humans, when their meetings were in the open, they would meet in their dragon forms. The meeting called today was to address the violent situation about the feral dragons that terrorized the nearby human villages, they destroyed and killed for sport was called, the cries and pleas of the humans could not go unheard any longer.

The dragon of air Winstrain spoke first “Your majesty, we need to hold a meeting with the head sorcerers and sorceresses from each village to come up with a solution to rid our world of these feral dragons”

Alluvium, then spoke up arguing his case “Winstrain, we cannot simply rid the world of these feral dragons, they are still our kind and we protect our kind”

Goko looked at Alluvium with an arched brow, “and do the humans not need our protection?”

Alluvium scoffed “hardly, after all they have their precious sorcerers and sorceresses to protect them” he mocked out putting a claw to his heart and batting his eyes.

Winstrain spoke up“Your hatred for the humans are clouding your judgement Alluvium”

The argument between the male archdragons argued amongst themselves while all the while, Nuri stayed aloof in her thoughts of the emptiness that clutched her heart. Winstrain noticed the queens absent mind,

“Your thoughts Queen Nuri”

She shook her head and brought herself to the meeting mentally, clearing her throat,

“I agree with Winstrain and Goko, Alluvium your thoughts are clouded by the hatred you have towards the humans that practice magic”

Alluvium raised his voice at Nuri “your judgement is clouded by your fondness towards them, and especially an uncanny fondness to that one that lives in the nearest village, what’s his name?”

Queen Nuri stood up and roared at Alluvium, causing the volcanoes to shake and emit smoke and spew little streams of lava “you dare raise your voice at your queen?”

Alluvium bowed his head in submission, “my apologies your highness”

“This meeting is dismissed and Alluvium, you are banned from any further meetings until you can see past your hatred for the humans that wield magic”

Alluvium  walked back, his head bowed in submission, in his mind he vowed he would make Queen Nuri pay for this humiliation. Winstrain and Goko stayed back,

Goko speaking first “Nuri, what seems to bother you my dear” he spoke with kindness, he had always cared for Nuri as a sister; though they were complete opposites, Nuri sighed

“Goko, do you not feel like all our lives something has been amiss?”

“Like what?”

“Love… a mate.. a family of your own”

Winstrain and Goko looked at Nuri in disbelief,

“I’m sorry your majesty… I think we may have misheard you” Winstrain spoke

“No you both heard me correctly”

Goko took a step forward “Nuri, you are a Queen and one of the most fierce archdragons to roam this world… a fickle thing such as love should not be weighing you down”

She looked at both Winstrain and Goko, sighed and nodded, she turned her back, spreading her majestic wings she took to the skies in direction of Mount Inferno Vertex, feeling the wind beneath her wings, she realized that nobody would understand her heart… yes she was a queen of dragons, the most fierce of them all, yet she longed to be in the heavenly glow of true love, she yearned for a family of her own. Surrounded by so many, never had Nuri felt more alone.