The Eyes of a Shattered Soul (Novel)

(Part One) Chapter One: Stelo (5110 AS)

Five years later...

There was chatter about in Jade Mountain Academy as Stelo, Shard, and their mother, Aurora, stepped from the entrance with guards surrounding Stelo and Shard. Were the other dragons talking about them or minding their own business? Either way, the number of guards surrounding Stelo and Shard was a bit much. Six being the exact. Too many. Stelo did his best to think of the other dragons' thoughts as raindrops, just as his father taught him and Shard. The temptation to listen to their thoughts was there, but he didn't want to risk it.

Aurora told the twins it was for their safety when she assigned these six guards to protect them. Stelo didn't believe it was the case. He felt it was more so the fact he and Shard weren't quite IceWings. Well, they were, but they were only half IceWings. Shard was still going to be the heir, but what was Stelo going to be doing? This thought swirled in his head for ages. Stelo thought dragons in Pyrrhia and Pantala had become more accepting of hybrids since the chaos of The SandWing Succession War and The Pantalan Crisis.

Dragons from both continents were beginning to accept the existence of hybrids. Well, most tribes were. The Ice Kingdom still had issues with hybrids, especially ones from their home. Several of the dragons think hybrids were abominations, a stain on dragon kind. Others accepted them as dragons like them. Things in the kingdom changed when Stelo and Shard were born. There wasn't much change. Only a couple of dragons accepted hybrids as dragons. Better than nothing.

Stelo was glad he and his sister got a chance to leave the palace to receive schooling in this academy after insisting they should go several times to their mother. He was eager to learn more about the other tribes. He was excited to make new friends but was shy at the same time. Shard was elated to make new friends and was confident. At least, that's what Shard thinks. Being locked up in the Ice Palace was suffocating to Stelo.

Don't show any emotion that would be considered weakness. Keep your composure and show you are powerful. By the teeth of the Great Ice Dragon, Stelo was tired of listening to this. He was tired of this teaching his mother had. It didn't help that he and Shard were Animus dragons. Sure, Aurora loved both dearly, but her expectations can be smothering. Powerful protectors of the Ice Kingdom? Yeah, maybe not.

At least their father, Starbright, didn't have expectations as high as their mother's. Starbright had been teaching them how to use their powers wisely when he and Aurora discovered both dragonets had Animus magic. The one crucial memory Stelo had was when Starbright taught the two about Animus magic and the soul of an Animus dragon. Animus magic doesn't corrupt one's soul. It's the actions one makes that corrupt the soul. It can also apply to any dragon, with or without Animus magic.

"Mother, you said Father would be here," Shard complained.

"He is the head librarian here, correct?" Stelo asked.

"Yes, but I believe he's working in the library, organizing stamps or whatever you call them for the other students," Aurora replied.

"Oh, I thought Father would come here to greet us," Stelo sighed as his ears drooped.

It's been a year since the twin dragonets saw Starbright. When Stelo and Shard were two to three years old, their parents would often argue and would not get along. They were arguing about the future of their twin dragonets, for the most part. Finally, a year later, Aurora and Starbright divorced. It just wasn't working out for the couple. It broke not only Shard's heart but Stelo's as well. He always thought all four of them would be a happy mixed family. He didn't use his enhanced foresight to see the relationship between his parents. Before Starbright left the palace, he gifted Stelo a pair of Animus-touched snowflake earrings that could protect Stelo from any Animus magic. Stelo wasn't sure why Starbright would give him something like this, but he treasured them.