Ember Rising

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. Before Nox came, the valley was quiet. Too quiet. My skin crawled, itching to let the other half of me go free. I knew I would be exiled if I did, but Nox changed everything. I’m one of the few people that were blessed by the Ancient Dragons. Nox isn’t like me. He’s a dragon rider, and among the hybrids it was thought for years that his dragon Belzac was the last of the breed, the last of the Ancients. Years ago, though, a hidden nest of eggs was discovered in the ruins of Algernon. Fearing that the eggs would be destroyed, Nox fled to the valley seeking refuge. The valley sits on the verge between the Shadowlands and the human world, touched by magic from long ago that only a few remember. The council was hesitant to allow Nox to stay, but ultimately a pact was made, and Nox was granted refuge. The eggs hatched one by one as their riders came, and the academy was born soon after. The dragons have flourished here in the valley, and yet other hybrids like me have stayed hidden. All of that is going to change soon though. Deep within the Shadowlands an ancient magic is stirring, more ancient than the dragons themselves. I can feel it in the depths of my soul, and I can feel the fear of thousands of years springing to life again. When I was born my parents knew that I was a hybrid, and they moved to the valley to hide me. I grew up learning about magic and the Ancients. By the age of twelve I had mastered basic magic and manipulating the elements. When I turned sixteen, I was blessed with the Dragon’s Kiss and it felt like everything just fell into place. A piece of me that I had always known was missing finally became a part of me and for the first time I felt whole. It wasn’t easy, growing up in a town of humans. Magic wasn’t abundant, much like the dragons it was barely more than myth. Only the senior members of the council knew that magic was real. They were the direct descendants of the Mages that lived with the Ancients and helped the dragons banish the evil that plagued the land. The valley was established as a buffer between the magical and the human realm, and the council was made to protect the valley and the humans that were oblivious to it all. Some humans knew, of course, but not many. Those who did fled Algernon and the Shadowlands, escaping to safety far beyond the valley. In honor of the dragons who died the living mages cast a spell and created the Dragon’s Kiss. Only those worthy of magic with a pure soul would be blessed, and thus hybrids were born. Marked at birth by a flame, hybrids carry within them all the knowledge of a world almost forgotten. The scrolls kept in the archives at Algernon foretold of the Dragon’s Kiss and said that one day two hybrids would cause the destruction of the world. One would be a girl, pure of heart and soul through and through. The other would be a boy, corrupted by grief and owned by the very darkness that destroyed him. He would take the girl with him and burn her very soul until nothing but hatred was left. Together they were destined to end the era of dragons. The scrolls were destroyed in the Great War, but one member of the council was given the prophecy with each new generation. In an attempt to prevent fate, hybrids were scattered the world over and raised from birth to hide their status. I’ve never even seen another hybrid myself, and I’ve been alive for almost a century. That’s another thing about hybrids, we don’t age like humans. I’m actually quite young by hybrid standards, most of us live to be almost five hundred. I long to be free of the valley, to roam the world and learn more magic. Teaching at the academy has been rewarding, and I’ve made friends with riders and dragons alike. The dragons know I’m a hybrid, and they keep my secret. Nox knows, too, that I’m Soul-Bonded to Zephyr, oldest of the Ancients. But Nox also knew something that I didn’t, something I should have been told long before my parents died. My name is Ember, and I’m destined to destroy all of dragon kind.