This is only the prologue of my fantasy story. All about revenge, betrayal, love, hate and choices that change the course of the future. Three men competiting for the throne of Asaia and a vengeful and ambitious lady out to avenge a death. Who will win?
Ashmore shifted in her sleep. She dreamt of a time when she soared through the skies, worshipped by the weak two- legged species called humans. Every summer, tributes would be given to her and her kin; for they were the firstborn on the earth; born from the volcanoes created and destroyed by the seven gods themselves. Humans were merely an accident; born from the common beasts that roamed the lands since immemorial time. Alas, as time wore on, some of her dragon kin began to pity man and taught them the powers of the dragons. This led to humans soon believing they were equals to the seven majestic trueborn dragons. For a short time they co-existed in peace, but that soon changed when King Edward Lovell lost his wife Lynette de Caulmont to a deadly disease. He was adamant that magic was the cause of the disease and the cause of why she could not be cured, even with the gift given to the humans by the great dragons.
Ashmore’s vision changed, and now she saw the purge of magic in all its horror. Warlocks and witches turned the sky to ice as they fought off the armies, and the elements were arrayed against the dragons. She saw her kin forced from the sky by the ice-cold air, and watched them freeze to death in the thousands. The dragons made the humans suffer though, of course they did. They fought back as well as they could, razing town after town with their purifying fires. But men bred like rats, while every one of her kin lost was irreplaceable. The volcanoes had stopped long ago. For every man they burned, two seemed to replace them. When after a long, hard year of fighting she at last received a peace offering from the king’s own sorcerer, Lorenzo, she went willingly, believing that even King Edward Lovell was weary of the meaningless carnage.
How wrong she was.
Edward had fooled the sorcerer into calling him on the promise of a treaty, and the moment she arrived, she was bound by all five of Edward’s sorcerers. She had fought back valiantly. The first and only enchantress who had taken her mind a great many years ago had fed her the information unknowingly; information from the great books she’d ploughed over, books about the most powerful spells and enchantments and books about the prophecies. Ashmore had eventually sucked all of the enchantress’s magic out of her, leaving her drained and dead. The five sorcerers used their magic combined to shield them all and drove Ashmore into the caves beneath the castle, sealing her in with the raw magic only those few possessed. And her magic wasn’t strong enough to fight them all off. Without her leadership, the remaining dragons splintered as they fought over who would command them now that their queen was being held captive. One by one, Edward and his pet sorceress Samantha hunted them down and destroyed them. When the last of the dragons were no more, Edward turned on his own sorcerers, burning them alive like so many blades of grass in his irrational fear of the unknown.
But men were prideful, and their memories short. Edward believed his victory was complete, and all forms of magic were all but gone from his kingdom. Ironically, Ashmore, High Queen of the dragons, had the same objective as King Edward; to purge magic from the race of man. Should she be successful, the humans would be doomed, for neither iron nor steel could spill a dragon’s blood and no force on the earth would be able to hinder her.
But how was one to accomplish such a lofty goal? The answer lay within the powerful sorcerer who would soon arrive in Asaia. Men were often manipulated into thinking that they would be doing was best for them, and Edward’s persecution of magic would lead the sorcerer into believing the dragon was an ally, a fellow creature of magic. It would not be hard to fool the sorcerer into doing her bidding. Despite his great power, he was still young and eager to find his own place in the world. She would not rest until mankind had compensated with their lives. She would incinerate the whole world in the hope of birthing more of the mighty dragons. This sorcerer, this Liam, would be the key to her vengeance, and Ashmore would stop at nothing until the blood of her kin had been repaid in full.
Ashmore shifted in her sleep. She dreamt of a time when she soared through the skies, worshipped by the weak two- legged species called humans. Every summer, tributes would be given to her and her kin; for they were the firstborn on the earth; born from the volcanoes created and destroyed by the seven gods themselves. Humans were merely an accident; born from the common beasts that roamed the lands since immemorial time. Alas, as time wore on, some of her dragon kin began to pity man and taught them the powers of the dragons. This led to humans soon believing they were equals to the seven majestic trueborn dragons. For a short time they co-existed in peace, but that soon changed when King Edward Lovell lost his wife Lynette de Caulmont to a deadly disease. He was adamant that magic was the cause of the disease and the cause of why she could not be cured, even with the gift given to the humans by the great dragons.
Ashmore’s vision changed, and now she saw the purge of magic in all its horror. Warlocks and witches turned the sky to ice as they fought off the armies, and the elements were arrayed against the dragons. She saw her kin forced from the sky by the ice-cold air, and watched them freeze to death in the thousands. The dragons made the humans suffer though, of course they did. They fought back as well as they could, razing town after town with their purifying fires. But men bred like rats, while every one of her kin lost was irreplaceable. The volcanoes had stopped long ago. For every man they burned, two seemed to replace them. When after a long, hard year of fighting she at last received a peace offering from the king’s own sorcerer, Lorenzo, she went willingly, believing that even King Edward Lovell was weary of the meaningless carnage.
How wrong she was.
Edward had fooled the sorcerer into calling him on the promise of a treaty, and the moment she arrived, she was bound by all five of Edward’s sorcerers. She had fought back valiantly. The first and only enchantress who had taken her mind a great many years ago had fed her the information unknowingly; information from the great books she’d ploughed over, books about the most powerful spells and enchantments and books about the prophecies. Ashmore had eventually sucked all of the enchantress’s magic out of her, leaving her drained and dead. The five sorcerers used their magic combined to shield them all and drove Ashmore into the caves beneath the castle, sealing her in with the raw magic only those few possessed. And her magic wasn’t strong enough to fight them all off. Without her leadership, the remaining dragons splintered as they fought over who would command them now that their queen was being held captive. One by one, Edward and his pet sorceress Samantha hunted them down and destroyed them. When the last of the dragons were no more, Edward turned on his own sorcerers, burning them alive like so many blades of grass in his irrational fear of the unknown.
But men were prideful, and their memories short. Edward believed his victory was complete, and all forms of magic were all but gone from his kingdom. Ironically, Ashmore, High Queen of the dragons, had the same objective as King Edward; to purge magic from the race of man. Should she be successful, the humans would be doomed, for neither iron nor steel could spill a dragon’s blood and no force on the earth would be able to hinder her.
But how was one to accomplish such a lofty goal? The answer lay within the powerful sorcerer who would soon arrive in Asaia. Men were often manipulated into thinking that they would be doing was best for them, and Edward’s persecution of magic would lead the sorcerer into believing the dragon was an ally, a fellow creature of magic. It would not be hard to fool the sorcerer into doing her bidding. Despite his great power, he was still young and eager to find his own place in the world. She would not rest until mankind had compensated with their lives. She would incinerate the whole world in the hope of birthing more of the mighty dragons. This sorcerer, this Liam, would be the key to her vengeance, and Ashmore would stop at nothing until the blood of her kin had been repaid in full.