Chapter One

On the northeastern edge of the Emberglow Hearth, between the imposing rock columns that rose out of the ground, an ember mouse peered out of its hole. The lights on its whiskers quivered as it sniffed the air for signs of trouble. Other than the ever-present reek of brimstone that settled over the relatively calm lava pools, she smelled nothing. Heard nothing. A few cautious steps out of the hole were enough to convince the little mouse that perhaps today was the day. Quickly, she skittered toward the great imposing cliffs that separated the Windswept Plateau from its temperamental neighbor, the Ashfall Waste.

But not quickly enough. Swift as a shadow, something pursued the little mouse, snapping at her tail with razor-sharp teeth. For a brief moment, the ember mouse knew the joy of flight as she was flung unceremoniously into the air—and then caught between a pair of relentlessly hungry jaws.

Crunch.

The young dragon licked his chops and lowered his snout to the ground, seeking out more prey. It was important to have plenty of snacks before going on a grand adventure, after all. His perceptive red eyes and finely-tuned nose found nothing, however, and he continued his quest toward the cliffs. The freckled red wings held close to his back were not yet mature enough for flight—if they ever would be. He didn't know for sure, since he'd never met another dragon of his kind. No, he'd have to find another way to scale these imposing heights. As he approached the rock wall, he saw the scars left behind by previous attempts and tossed his head in eager anticipation.

As he passed into the cliffs' cool shadow, Arco stopped and stretched. Today was the day. He was sure of it this time. Sucking in a lungful of sulfur-tinged air, he posed and took a running start at the unforgiving cliff face. When he was near, he flexed his long rear legs and jumped. The two curved talons on his feet sank deep into the chalky surface, and his front claws scrabbled for purchase. He slid down the wall a brief distance, but managed to keep his hold. Already his muscles were screaming with the effort it took to stay on, but stubbornly, Arco began to climb.

He didn't know how much time had passed before his head cleared the high edge and he felt the fresh breeze of the Plateau on his face. Laughing gleefully, he turned to see how far he'd come—and immediately regretted it. Now feeling that little mouse threaten to make an encore appearance, Arco heaved himself up and over and sighed with relief when he was once again on solid ground.

The Plateau was like an entirely different world. As far as he could see was tall, green grass and bright blue sky. In the distance he thought he could even see the colorful kites that the much-friendlier denizens of this region were famous for. Taking his first steps forward in this strange new place, Arco at last felt at peace.

The sensation did not last long. Striding through the grass, he kept his eyes turned up at those distant dark specks, wondering who might be flying them and if, like he hoped, they might look anything like him. But the longer he looked, the more Arco suspected they were not kites at all. Their flight patterns were too fast and disjointed. Finally, the irregular shapes solidified and the delight he felt became fear as riding toward him, carried by the wind, was a flock of a dozen ferocious Talonok.

Arco unleashed a short, wordless screech and began to run. His path was parallel to the edge of the Plateau, and the Talonok changed direction rapidly to chase after him. He could hear their war cries growing louder as the distance between them shrank. Then their malicious calls became shrieks as another dragon appeared, diving out of the sky where the sun had blinded the Talonok to her presence.

Setta used her larger size to her advantage, crashing into one flying spearman as she seized another in her jaws. She shook the hapless bird like a ragdoll before tossing him carelessly out of sight. Arco stopped running and turned to watch as Setta artfully avoided the slash of one Raptorik veteran's blade, snatching the weapon out of his talons and snapping it neatly in half. She landed and swept three more out of the air with her long tail, roaring in triumph as they tumbled head over tailfeathers into the grass. Realizing that their numbers didn't mean much in the face of an enraged Skydancer, the Talonok retreated, promising vengeance in their bizarre bird tongue as they flew back the way they had come.

Arco jumped, gnashing his teeth victoriously, though he really hadn't done much to defend himself. Setta whirled to glare at him, growling her displeasure, and his celebration immediately ceased. He hung his head and kept his tail low as he walked toward her, knowing what she was going to say before she even said it.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm grounded."

They returned to their most recent lair with little fanfare. A wide-mouthed cave in the hollow of a rocky hill, it was led by an enormous, heavily scarred Ridgeback called Koba that had made it his home after his first clan had driven him out in favor of his younger, stronger son. From his spot on a rise just inside the cave's entrance, he raised his great head as they entered, revealing the broken-off snub of his snout that was a testament to his lifetime of battling. He was the oldest dragon Arco had ever seen during their wandering from lair to lair, and probably the most mild-mannered. He was also the only one who had never complained (at least to his face) about the smell.

The other firedrakes in Koba's lair weren't always so polite. A middle aged coatl with dusty-dark scales hummed unpleasantly and turned her back when they walked past her deeper into the cave. A pair of twin fae, exceedingly young and annoying, made a show of coughing breathlessly as they zipped over Arco and Setta's heads and out into the afternoon sunlight. The only dragon who didn't appear disturbed by their presence was Resheph, another wanderer from the faraway Sunbeam Ruins. Though blind, the Skydancer followed them (somewhat) with his eyes as Arco walked toward a small alcove off the cave's main chamber that he had designated as his own.

"How far did you make it this time?" He asked softly, with the slightest hint of amusement.

Arco did not reply, only gnashed his teeth and sat down to pout.

"Arco," Setta chastised him, then laid down beside Resheph to clean herself up. The younger dragon answered her with a glare.

Setta dislodged a small brown feather from her own thistle-colored ones. It drifted to the cave's dirt floor, where Resheph sniffed it studiously.

"Talonok?" He sounded concerned now. "Were either of you hurt?"

"Despite Arco's best efforts, no," Setta assured him.

The younger dragon looked up from the mindless scratches he was making on the cave wall. "What is that supposed to mean?" He raised his hackles. "I could have taken them."

Setta snorted in disbelief. "Taken them for a few laps around the Plateau, perhaps."

"Arcanist's Eyeballs, I'm eighteen months old!" Arco began to growl. "If you would just let me go out on my own, maybe I could prove—"

The female Skydancer whipped her head around and said sharply, "Watch your language."

With the air of one who had mediated an argument like this too many times to count, Resheph interjected patiently, "Arco, your mother is only looking out for you."

Riled up from a busy morning of climbing up cliffs, being chased by vicious birdmen, and being dragged home again, Arco retorted angrily, "She's not my mother! She just found my egg!"

The tricky thing about caves without much in them was that they carried sound remarkably well. Arco's shout bounced out of the alcove and echoed around them, startling even the mostly-deaf Coatl. Koba opened one bright orange eye and rumbled his displeasure at being disturbed.

Setta, however, said nothing. She simply stood and found another spot to resume her grooming, her back to the sulking Arco. With a heavy sigh, Resheph made as if to join her—but she snarled and made it clear she was not to be bothered. So he stretched out a safe distance away to wait it out.

Arco curled up with his head tucked beneath his wings, blocking out the play of shadows on the wall, thrown up by the light from the fire in the middle of the cave. He didn't want to feel bad about what he said, but he did. He didn't want to apologize, either. But maybe he would, after they'd both had a chance to cool off.