Sample of Book 1 – “Benevolence: A Testament of Dragons”

Chapter 1

(Wer Tlushír)

The Beginning

It all started with the Three. One gold, one red, and one white. Three dragons, hovering over the chaos of the waves and waters with hardly a need for wings to stay aloft. With little more than a thought between them, they began to transform the place into something more. With only their breath, they flew across the temperamental seas, forming rock, trees, skies, clouds, wind, rain, lightning, thunder, grass, dirt, sand, and everything in between. In the sky they placed two radiant suns to light the day and three ever-changing moons to shine in the dusk. They called the place Thalaven.

When they had finished with their work, the Three looked over the new world to admire their creation and all its wonders. They explored and surveyed each other’s work to see what the sum total of their creative efforts had produced. From the gentle mist off a crashing waterfall to the subtle swaying of leaves basking in the warm glow of a sunset, each part of Thalaven was beautiful in its own way. It was a good world.

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Abriel soared through the cold air of the mountains that his sister had made, whooping and laughing as he banked through their snow-covered canyons at high speeds. The red dragon had been cutting his turns closer and closer to the sides of the valleys. Jagged stone from the faces of the canyon rushed past, only a handful of feet away from his face. 

He spotted a tunnel that had been carved out halfway up the largest mountain structure. He flew straight towards the narrow passageway, rock rushing past on either side of him as he entered, twisting in a corkscrew. He let out a bellowing roar inside the echoing tunnel as he spun. 

When he came out on the other side, a strong gust of wind caught in his wings, taking him by surprise and throwing him off balance. He tumbled through the air towards one of the ridges of the landscape, bracing for impact, only to find his violent crash cushioned by a thick layer of snow. 

Crawling out from the powdery pit, he shook the snow off his snout and gazed down at the imprint he had made. He could not contain his fit of laughter at the sight of the perfectly dragon-shaped indent that remained in the tundra. From the outline of the wings on his back and all four of his legs, to his four, thick fingers on the paws of each front leg, as well as three pointed toes on the feet of his back legs. The way his neck had landed in the snow made a shape like a curling question mark, perhaps ten feet long. The snow even captured the way his tail tapered to an end off his hindquarters. He cocked his head to the side. Funny, he always thought his tail was longer than his neck. 

The sound of his hilarity echoed out across the icy peaks, the only sound among them save for the whispering of the wind. As his laughter slowly died out, Abriel was left in the silence of the empty world he had helped mold. He lay on his back for a moment watching the snowflakes in the grey sky as they fell cold upon the scales of his face. He wished Mason or Jan were here. They were going to love this place.

He picked himself up and decided he had done enough thrill-seeking. Taking to the sky again, he headed off to a place that he felt was truly special among his creative efforts. Though as to why, he was not entirely sure. He soon landed high atop a rocky plateau to gaze out over one of his favorite valleys, and lay down on its edge. The mist from the falls below him brought the smell of water and dew-kissed leaves to his attention. He let out a proud sigh as he reveled in a job well done. 

Before long, he heard the steady beating of wings in the air as the white dragon approached from the sky ahead of him. She dove towards the small lake in the glade, pulling her wings in tight to her body as she sped towards the water. She opened her wings again and flew over the surface, skimming her back foot over the crystal waters of the lake before diving headfirst into it with a splash. She threw her head back and floated with her belly to the air. When she opened her eyes, she tilted her head to the side as she noticed Abriel sitting above the waterfall.

Roah rolled upright in the lake and took off into the air, heading for the base of the falls below Abriel. She flew upward along the cascade, letting one of her forepaws skim the water as she rose and giving the red dragon a quick splash as she came to the top of the plateau. Abriel stood and shook himself off as his sister landed beside him, sporting a wry smile.

“Where have you come from?” Abriel said.

“I just came through the desert that Braem made. It made me thirsty, so I figured I’d cool off in this lovely pool of yours.” Roah laid down on the edge of the precipice, looking out over the trees as her brother had before.

“Mmh,” Abriel muttered understandingly as he sat beside her. He pointed his head out towards the valley as he asked, “So, what do you think? Is it a good spot?” He awaited her response eagerly, hopeful that she would appreciate the place as much as he did. Why was he nervous? Was this place really that special to him?

“One of the best,” she said. Abriel smiled at her estimation as she continued. “It’s got a little bit of everything. Lots of shade, water, and enough space to make a good home if someone wanted. I can see why you came here to relax.” Roah’s voice slowed, as if weighing her words. “But…” Her eyes narrowed at the scene before her. “It’s far too small to be a home for creatures like us. I know what that means.” 

So that was why he cared about the place so much. His sister was right. He had neglected to make it large enough for dragons like them to inhabit. It would make a perfect home, but not for the Three. He looked on at the place with a gleam in his eye as he pictured a proud people caring for the glade, just as it would care for them.

Roah gave him a knowing look, letting out a disappointed sigh as she shook her head. Abriel looked at her quizzically. She let him ponder her reaction for a moment before answering his stare. “We made this world for a reason. Nothing Braem does is for nothing. I think you made this glade for a reason too. A very familiar reason, I should think.” Roah was silent for a moment before she turned to face Abriel again. “Are you sure you want to do this again? We’ve both seen how this will end.” 

Phantom pains crept through his bones as old memories resurfaced. The side of his face twitched as the cold sting of metal throbbed in his ribs, chains grinding into his scales. As a chill ran down his spine he centered himself with a deep breath through his nostrils, which he held in his lungs to center himself. 

“Couldn’t we just fill the place with animals?” his sister continued. “I’m quite fond of horses and dogs and cows. We could just let them run the place. Avoid all the—” She drummed her fingers on the stone. “unpleasantness of the last time.”

Abriel stared at the ground and flexed his forepaws instinctively. He could still smell the scent of his own blood as it stained the grating beneath his paws, and he felt every incision as his claws were removed from his forepaws. He exhaled, and tried to breathe out the agony with it. “I haven’t forgotten,” he said. “But even with everything that happened, with all of those who chose to do good, how can you say that it wasn’t worth it?” He thought of his mother and his boldness faded. Without Prymaron, would she have turned on them? If Roah had never created elves, or Abriel his dwarves, would she have stayed? He dipped his chin. “I know what it cost us.” 

But then he thought of the many friends that never would have existed without Prymaron. He thought of the many faces of those whose lives had been spared, all because of his suffering. Without Abriel’s scars, Jan would not be alive today. And without Prymaron, all of his closest friends would never have come to be at all. “But what about all those who stand by us even now? Would you trade them in? How can you say they weren’t worth the trouble of creating?”

Her gaze snapped to meet his, her eyes alight with intensity. “I never said that.” Her face saddened as her eyes roamed his scales. “I just—” Her stare lingered on one of the purplish marks on his wing. He stretched out the appendage just to get her eyes off it, then folded it against his side once more. “I just don’t want to see you hurt again, Abriel.”

He lifted his head to meet her eyeline again. “Hey, look at me. You don’t have to worry about me. I appreciate it, really. But you don’t have anything to worry about anymore.” He nodded towards the glade. “And they won’t either.”

A steady rain began to fall as the two looked back out over the glade, the setting of the suns bathing the swaying treetops in warm light and reflecting colors in the falling droplets. She leaned her head against Abriel’s shoulder, her tension relaxing. “When they had you… I can’t stomach seeing you go through that again.”

Abriel pressed his cheek to the head on his shoulder. He often tried to avoid thinking of such things. Such reminiscences were never of any aid to him. And, he decided, this view was too marvelous a sight for a subject so depressing. He watched a drop of water fall all the way into the pool hundreds of feet below, then he brought up a better subject. “What was Braem’s desert like?” he said. “Besides hot, I mean.”

Roah chuckled. “It was large,” she sighed. “Very large. Not much but cactuses and sharp orange rocks. Barely any water around at all.” She shrugged. “I don’t know how anything could survive out there for long.” She shook her head. “Why are Braem’s creations always so difficult?”

Abriel puffed up his chest and deepened his voice like Braem’s. “‘Difficulty fosters perseverance.’ His lands might be harsh, but they are always as such for a reason. Like you said, nothing Braem does is for nothing.”

Thunder rumbled in the sky as a storm began forming behind them. The siblings turned towards the sound. The gold dragon flew through the brewing maelstrom. Yellow streaks of lightning flashed in the clouds beside him. They stood and faced him as he approached. Dropping from a high altitude and slowing his descent with one powerful flap of his wings, he touched down gracefully for a dragon of his size. 

Standing roughly thirty feet tall, he was almost twice their height. His booming voice resounded over the distant thunder. “Well done, both of you! Thalaven is beautiful. It is exactly what we need.” He greeted his children by touching his snout to each of theirs in turn, then faced his daughter. “Roah, your rainforests are brilliant!”

She smiled half-heartedly.

“And Abriel.” Braem placed his forepaw on his son’s shoulder as he looked out towards the glade. “This is the perfect spot.” He draped one wing over each of his children, pulling them close to his side as he smiled. “For here, we shall make a garden.”