Prologue
From The Fall of the Dragons
An account of the last Dragon Guardian, Valdric Skardin
In the Year 390 of the Third Age
Howling wind and rain tore over the desolate battlefield, the chaos focused on a particular figure. The Dragon Guardian unleashed his fury upon the advancing horde of shadow-wreathed creatures, his frayed cloak billowing like a defiant banner against the onslaught. Other Seekers fought bravely behind him, but their numbers had dwindled. The taste of blood filled his mouth as he gasped for air, inhaling the stench of scorched earth. Bolts of searing energy bounced across his palms and cast his features in an eerie violet glow. At his side, his magnificent storm dragon mirrored his ferocity with her lightning-streaked breath.
“Stand firm!” he roared. His voice cut through the tortured cries of his fellow Seekers. “We cannot fail!”
The Guardian climbed to a defensive stance on his dragon’s back, rain streaming down his brow. The droplets sizzled on her hot scales as he gripped the spike between her shoulders and straightened his spine.
His gaze flickered to the huddled forms behind him—the last remnants of his army, battered and bloodied, desperately clinging to their lives. He grasped for more words of encouragement, but none came.
A low growl reverberated beneath the Guardian, and an ancient bond stirred within his soul. The storm dragon’s emotions flowed through him—both rage and the unwavering resolve to protect those who remained. Her massive wings, each easily the size of a warship, unfurled with a snap echoing like thunder. They stretched wide over the field, casting a protective shadow over the fallen Seekers. Giant purple scales glistened with each flash of lightning, and her roars shook the ground of Shendair.
Dragon and Guardian stood like a citadel against the relentless tide of evil. He was the last of the Guardians: Valdric Skardin, the Stormsight in the Night. And she, Thyrrna the Skybreaker, was the last dragon.
They were the only hope left for Elongtra.
Valdric gathered his strength again, and with his dragon, he summoned a torrent of electricity that raced across the sky, striking down a swarm of shadow fairies below. The beasts’ agonized shrieks pierced the air, only to be swallowed by the clamor.
But even their combined might could not stem the advance of the Shadow Dragon’s forces. For every slain creature, more nightmarish forms emerged, their ranks swelling with each passing moment.
A bone-chilling rumble echoed through the grasslands, and a towering silhouette surged from the waters of the Coryza River. Shadows pooled and coalesced around the enormous shape, its form shifting and swirling in a mesmerizing dance of darkness.
The Shadow Dragon had come.
Its scales absorbed all surrounding light, dwarfing even the mighty Thyrrna’s impressive wingspan. Blackness stretched across the wide, rushing river, creating a void which defied comprehension. Glowing eyes burned with an insatiable hunger, fixed upon the Guardian. A strange cold emanated from the creature, cooling the air and causing the bravest of hearts to tremble in fear.
Dread snaked its way through Valdric, but he banished it with a snarl. He would not falter—not when his entire world hung in the balance.
A bellow erupted within him. Lightning shot across the land, snapping with the fury of a thousand storms. The shadowy creature recoiled with an earsplitting wail, shrouding itself with its black wings while a barrage of electricity hammered against its defenses.
For a breathless instant, Valdric dared to hope. His dragon roared victoriously, joining her voice with the wail of the storm.
Then the Shadow Dragon unfurled its wings once more, and any hope of victory withered. The beast was unharmed—not a single scale was displaced on its ghostly hide.
Realization crashed over Valdric like a wave. Even wielding the full power of the Stormsight and united with his dragon … It was not enough. The other dragons and their Guardians were gone, decimated weeks ago by the Shadow Dragon’s attacks. He could not defeat this ancient evil. Not alone. Not by his own strength.
But the Shadow Dragon’s strength waned as well with the other Guardians gone. Maybe they had one last, desperate chance.
Raising his arms, he summoned every ounce of his energy, calling on the gifts of the Great Dragon himself. The Light filled him with warmth, and the gale responded to his call, whipping around him in a vortex of unbridled frenzy.
The storm dragon released a thunderous roar. At the same time, Valdric’s cataclysmic blast scoured the battlefield. Lightning lashed out in all directions, reducing the creatures to smoldering husks and searing the ground with flames.
Even the Shadow Dragon could not withstand such devastation. Its shouts of anguish pierced the ravaged landscape. Bolts of electricity surrounded it in a cage, cracking and splitting before converging on the beast in a blinding flash. When the light subsided, all that remained were weak tendrils of smoke dissipating into the wind.
As the storm eased, Valdric swayed on his feet, his body wracked with tremors. His vision swam, and the world around him blurred in a haze of muted colors and distorted shapes.
His dragon let out a mournful groan and collapsed beside her Guardian, her once-vibrant scales now dull and cracked. Valdric managed a smile, reaching out with a trembling hand to rest it on the creature’s side. She was icy to the touch, chilling him with her anguish.
“Do not grieve, old friend,” he rasped. “This was always our destiny—to be a vessel of the Light, a final defense against the Shadows.”
The age of the Dragon Guardians had reached an end, but if their disappearance kept the Shadow Dragon at bay, it was worth the cost.
The dragon’s eyes shone with a profound sorrow, and a pang of regret pierced Valdric’s heart. He wished more than anything for his beloved companion to continue her existence without him.
Perhaps this did not have to be the end for her.
Gathering what little remained of his strength, Valdric pressed his forehead against the dragon’s scales, allowing the bond between them to flare once more. With a quick prayer, he urged her—compelled her—to search for a new, worthy vessel to bear the title he could no longer carry.
As their connection slipped away, Valdric’s entire body relaxed. “May the Stormsight find his way to you,” he whispered, then breathed his last.
The dragon stretched her neck and let out a soul-rending cry. She opened her wings, revealing a long gash along her side—a wound she had hidden from her beloved Guardian. She cast a mournful glance over his still form before facing the stone fortress of Shendair which separated the Storm Kingdom from the rest of Elongtra. The dragon bellowed, sending one final flood of lightning upon the wall. Her lifeless body collapsed, the impact rattling the ground. A plume of dust and debris billowed into the air.
The blast of electricity slammed into the stones, its fire burning deep fissures into the masonry. A colossal barrier of thunderclouds and lightning slowly stretched across the length of the wall as far as the eye could see. It was now a monument to the storm dragon’s last earth-shattering act, a defense against any encroaching Shadows.
The Storm Wall had been born.
* * *
The storm fairy gently folded the tattered page she had torn from the ancient book, her hands illuminated by the constant flashes of lightning along the towering expanse of the Storm Wall.
She shivered, her purple wings fluttering nervously behind her. She imagined the Shadow Dragon’s hideous gaze coming from the depths of the Coryza River, which churned in front of her. The inky waters flowed from the Storm Wall’s gated opening into the kingdom of Shendair; it was a bottomless abyss where the dragon’s evil presence must linger … waiting for a chance to seep back into the realm.
The fairy’s grip tightened on the fragile page, parchment crinkling in her cold fingers. Gritting her teeth, she tucked the paper into her pocket and cast a furtive glance over her shoulder.
The other fairies would raise the alarm come morning when they discovered her disappearance … but it would be some time yet before they noticed missing pages from the ancient book. By then, she would be far beyond the wall.
Her wings buzzed, and she took flight. As she darted through the night sky with desperate urgency, a small shadow slithered from the river’s depths and floated toward her.
But the fairy never looked back.
