Dragon's Legacy

Chapter 1

Once upon a time, the Dragons wandered the cosmos searching for a new home. These masters of flesh and magic flew from star to star in search of ideas, of life, of hope. For millennia they flew and found nothing but dead worlds and silent stars...until they found us. They found humanity playing in the mud, unable to speak, to think, to even be aware of ourselves. They lifted us up and gave our collective thoughts forms; the fae. The dragons taught humanity and fae the nature of our world. How to hunt, to farm, to make meaning where there was none.

This peace would not last.

Yannis the Demon, Mother of Monsters, Rage of the World, awakened once more to destroy all life upon the surface of the planet that trapped her. From the cracks in the earth surged her children, monsters of flesh and fang, magic and soul, feasting upon the twin races. The Dragons destroyed most of them and rushed to combat Yannis, sealing the cracks in the world with walls of Rainbow Fire, which now separate the world. But before they left, they gave us gifts. For the fae, it was the Essence of Magic. For us, it was the Word of Magic: The Tomes.

1. The Hope of Slaves

From Rael's meager experience, they were quite sure nobody would ever want to be a slave. But Rael had been wrong before.

Rael's first steps on the slave ship were steady despite the set of manacles dragging their arms down. The glowing etchings along the manacles climbed across the thick chains that bound Rael's hands together, enchanted to prevent people from summoning their Tomes to cast magic. Or so the first mate said. It did feel like they were weakened when the manacles closed around their wrists. Rael was concentrating on not turning around to look back down the gangplank. Even if it meant a last look back at Tulip's Hold. Rael just stood tall on the deck, their warm brown eyes now cold and empty.

"Kneel." The first mate said in a gruff voice that left no room for argument.

It was best to be obedient. For now. Earlier, Rael smiled as the merchant made his (very thorough) examination and they noticed a spike of irritation in his eyes. He was rougher after that, pulling and twisting at Rael's skin and musculature. If the merchant was that spiteful for a smile, then there was nothing to gain from risking the ire of the first mate.

True enough, the first mate was satisfied. He nodded gruffly and took a pair of shears to Rael's shoulder-length black hair. Obsidian locks fell to the deck in thick bundles, the snipping cutting too close to Rael's ears for comfort.

"Stand." He led Rael by the large ring connecting their chains together.

They passed under the shadow of the airship's blimp, to a set of stairs leading below deck. Rael suppressed a shiver as the first mate led them down the stairs, the realization that they were going deeper into this moving prison igniting a primal desire to escape in Rael. The youth wrested control of their emotions, keeping the impassive mask as a shield of dignity. Below deck, crewmen drank from bowls of rich broth and masticated hard bread.

It wasn't completely dark below deck. The morning light peeked through the portholes, illuminating the crew at the table more clearly than the balls of soft light floating a few inches from the ceiling. Towards the bow and behind the stairs were barrels stinking of vinegar and alcohol surrounding boxes of goods. Past the table was an open door leading into a room filled with hammocks and personal chests.

The crewmen watched Rael with a mixture of apathy and curiosity, Rael's taller frame drawing attention from them. A few gazes flicked to Rael's face and their broad shoulders, while most drank in the sight of Rael's legs and other erogenous zones. Eyes widened when they saw the jagged scar between Rael's abs. The injury must have been more fatal than Rael thought. They were bedridden for weeks, so maybe Rael narrowly avoided death.