A blue moon drifted through the night sky. Gentle winds graced lands deep in slumber. Beneath a sky of stars, moonlight rippled across fields of grass to illuminate the walls and towers of the Adamantine Fortress.
This vast stronghold stood as grand as it was ancient. Its stone shimmered like pearls while gold statues and silver architecture gleamed in the starlight. Within this walled fortress lay countless shelters for the acolytes of an order even more grand and ancient. This fortress was home to the Paladin Brotherhood. Their archers lined its gates, swordsmen patrolled its grounds, and everyone else enjoyed the hour in the comfort of their beds.
That is, until a massive explosion rocked the Adamantine. A shockwave swept through its ancient buildings, knocking over several guards and causing others to snap toward the very center of the fortress. A pillar of steam towered high above the buildings as a rush of scorching wind blew over the streets. Those within a few miles of the epicenter turned to run screaming from a wall of rushing cloud, but fell dead when it enveloped them.
Amidst the violently boiling winds, only a handful of Paladin mages happened to cast protective spells in time. Their wards appeared like glowing gold orbs in a hurricane, putting every drop of effort into withstanding the wind. Full seconds stormed past before the sweltering air calmed, and the survivors stood within an atmosphere of mist.
Minutes passed. Skittish voices tested the air. A handful of mages wandered across each other, following the golden light of their wards, as they tried to determine what by the gods just happened.
"Do you see anything?" one masked elf tried not to breathe.
Another appeared in the mist with a slow sigh, "Just more bodies."
"We should regroup," suggested a shorter mage, "Whatever did this might still be here."
A deep growl rolled through the mist behind them.
Slowly at first, the three turned around to the shape of a massive razor smile hiding in the fog.
Screams echoed throughout the grey, followed by blasts of magic and the quake of a draconic roar.
Just outside the cloud, around two miles from the explosion, soldiers and mages wailed attack after spell against the fog's shockingly solid border. Even battle axes and hammers bounced off the mist as if it were solid granite, causing one Knight to stumble back.
He was just about to begin another futile volley when everyone stopped to the piercing scream of a lone mage deep within the cloud. A spell like a fallen star erupted within. Something like a reptilian shriek echoed after, then a massive impact again shook the ground.
Paladins all around the fog needed a second to recover, and by then it was already beginning to thin on its own. The Knight hesitantly reached into the mist and found no solid wall. For now at least, he could enter.
That Knight looked back at his compatriots, then braved the heat within the fog.
...
As long as it took the reinforcements to reach the explosion's epicenter, healers had started carrying out bodies within the first few minutes. The deeper these Paladins went, the worse things appeared. Soldiers, workers, Delegates, and many others lay boiled in their uniforms. A few had tried to hide in cover, it seemed, but most simply dropped dead.
"Oh my gods," shuddered one healer over an officer's split corpse.
A few Knights funneled through the growing crowds, questioning every survivor for information. "How could an entire dragon just vanish?" echoed one, followed by a stouter other, "Are there any tracks? Can we track it?"
YOU ARE READING
Days of Dawn
FantasyGet ready for the first book in a series about defying destiny and forging your own path, for better or worse. Orion Genis has been living comfortably his entire life. Slaying goblins and annoying family is daily life for this young elf noble, until...