Chapter 1

"Hurry up, Kilgarrah! Don't you want to learn to fly?" Latra, my sister, was ahead of me. By now, she had reached the end of the tunnel and was out on the cliff in the gentle wind. She was nagging me about being slower, as usual. One day, I vowed, I will be faster than Latra, and give her a taste of her own medicine!

"Of course I do, Latra! Its not my fault you're faster! You're bigger, remember?" I reminded my sister. "Besides, I'm faster than Taris!" It was true, Taris was always the last. Either because he was lost or studying some rock or off in his own world. Or just being slow.

Latra nodded. "Good point. Where is he, anyway?" she asked

I shrugged. "Who knows?" We clearly both had the same thought, though. Was he lost again?

"Hi! What did I miss?" asked Taris a minute later, joining Latra and I outside on the rocky cliff.

It was just outside the tunnel that led deep into our home, a cave fifty feet down the tunnel. There were other chambers as well down the tunnel. We mostly styed in the one at the end of the tunnel though. The cliff that had the entrance to the tunnel and cave was ten to twenty feet up. It was very safe and well defended, especially since one of our parents was always there with us.

There were many tree around, too, and hills and mountains. Our home was on a mountain. There wa a lake, too, with a river. I liked our territory, even then, although at the time I hadn't seen too much of it beyond that cliff.

"We're going to learn to fly!" Latra told our brother excitedly. While Taris was shy and not overly intelligent yet, Latra was outgoing, constantly ecstatic, and quite cunning. I myself was in the middle.

"Really?" Taris asked.

"Yes," Kilgarrah confirmed.

"Are you ready?" We turned to see Kadris, their father.

"Yes!" Latra answered. Taris and I simply nodded.

"Excellent." Kadris stood, unfurling his two great wings. "By now, your wings have matured to a point where you can fly short distances. We will be starting with something simple, to be safe." He lifted himself a few feet in the air, and hovered for a few moments before landing. "Just to get used to being in the air, I want you to lift off the ground for a few feet, just for a few moments, then land."

The three of us nodded. "Latra, you try first," Kadris suggested. "Ten Taris, and Kilgarrah last." Of course. Things that involved taking turns always went in the order of how the three of us had hatched. And I was the youngest, althouh not by much. Taris was only seconds ahead.

Latra unfurled her small wings, which spread two feet in total, from tip to tip, and began to flap them. She soon managed to lift herself a foot in the air. She went a little higher, then landed. Taris and I each did the same when it was our turn, and did just as well, despite being smaller. Of course, we weren't smaller by much.

Kadris had us continue practising for a few hours, and soon the three of us could make their way the short two feet from the cliff to a tree. "Well done, all three of you," he told us at the end of the day. "That's all for today. We'll continue tomorrow."

"What? But I want to keep flying!" Latra complained.

"You need rest," Kadris insisted. "You're only ten months old. Go back inside. The three of you can play for a bit, then its time for you to sleep."

"But Dad-" Latra began to protest. She never finished her sentence. A horrifying screech cut her off. She fell silent immediately, eyes wide in terror. Mine and Taris' expressions mirrored hers. Kadris spread his wings and turned to see what was happening. "Get inside now!" he ordered. "Go to your mother and stay with her."

"What's going on?" I asked curiously, my curiosity overcoming the fear I felt inside.

"I don't know," Karis replied before flying away.

Kilgarrah, Latra, and Taris exchanged confused glances before hurrying back inside the cave.


Late that night, our father returned. Latra and Taris were both asleep. I was pretending to be.

"What happened?" our mother asked when Kadris had returned.

"Another dragon was invading our territory, seeking to set up here. They knew we were here though." He fell silent for a moment. Then he continued. "Saren, are they asleep?"

"Yes, why Kadris?"

"The dragon invading was no normal dragon. It was one of the army ones, a soldier of one of the conquerors."

"What? They're here now?"

"Unfortunately. They tried to recruit me, and I told him to leave. There was a short fight, but he's gone now. I'm fine, and our territory is safe for now. But if the conquerors are here, then the Dragon War will soon come to or area. Tomorrow I'll fly to one of the gathering places to find news of what;s happening. You'll have to take over the lessons."

"But Kadris-"

"We'll be fine, Saren. With luck, the conquerors will come no further an won't take any more territories. The free dragons such as us will remain free. Conquerors have come and gone in the past. These ones will go too."

"But Kadris, there have never been wars like these ones. This has been happening for over a year now. What if these conquerors succeed?"

"That won't happen, I promise you."

Meanwhile, I was trembling slightly in the dim light of the cave, hoping my parents couldn't see me. This was the first I'd heard of any conquerors. And weren't all dragons free? And what was that war they had mentioned? What was happening out there that our parents were keeping from us? And why were they not telling us? I supposed that that it couldn't be too important. They'd surely tell us if it was? Either way, I would tell Taris and Latra in secret. They would probably like to know, and I'd tell them not to let our parents know we knew. If Kadris had wanted us asleep before telling Saren, then we likely weren't supposed to know. That's when I had another thought. What if whatever was happening was too terrifying for us to know? If there was war, it likely was. But I knew now, and soon, so would Taris and Latra. I couldn't exactly keepp something like this from them, and from the sounds of things we'd have to know soon. Those were my last thoughts before drifting off to a dreamless sleep.