Dawn's Light

Chapter 0: Prologue

Darkness once ruled the land of Roahla. The vast kingdom had once thoroughly enjoyed the light of the joy could bring, but for several centuries, the fickle moon and the twinkling stars have been the only celestial sources of light.

Although the inhabitants had adapted to eternal nocturnal life, magic was the only reason anyone remained alive, whether it was their own magic or the magic of others. Magic provided warmth, security, and often, community.

Many had attempted to lift the darkness, but the evil spell that was used to banish the sun could not be reversed with a spell, as the sun would not return without the return of what was stolen from it: four beads of sunlight. The spell had not only banished the sun, but it had also captured and scattered the last rays of light from the last sunset to the corners of the land. Without the lost rays, the sun would never return.

Using fear, trickery, and greed, a hidden force has kept the typical inhabitant of the sunless land from attempting to journey to find the last rays of light. Even those who do try quickly succumb to failure.

But with every oppressive force, there is an opposite force who wants to return the joy of sunlight to the land. Sometimes the switch between sides takes cycles, or even centuries to gain some momentum, but once a proper velocity is achieved, change is on the horizon.

Our story begins at the base of the mountain.

~~~

A tall man paused at the entrance of a cave and looked up to the torches that flanked the sides of the entrance, which had been smoothed using stone and dragon fire tempered mortar. The cave entrance rested at the base of a small mountain, and lead downward into more darkness.

Although a warmer breeze drifted out from inside the cave, outside it was so cold every exhalation was a plume of white mist and there was so much snow on everything, even the first several paces of the cave, was covered with permanent snow. At least the melting snow inside the cave offered a source of water where it pooled near the end of the crevasse.

The man's ivory hooded long coat protected him from the harsh cold of the sunless land. A graying red beard protected his chin and part of his neck from the cold, and the hood from his cloak protected the rest of his head from the cold. His brown eyes looked to the torches on the wall, which served as the only light other than the full moon in the sky.

Each of the torches held a bottle of ryume, the flammable liquid produced by dragons. When a wick was placed into the bottle, the vicious substance could be burned as a source of light in a land where the fickle phases of the moon were the only major source of light.

Once he grabbed a torch from the wall, he stepped into the cave and slowly walked down into the warmer underground space, careful to ensure he did not slip on the damp floor. He did not desire to hurt himself.

Growls, chirps, and other noises echoed from deeper underground and accompanied the echoes of his footsteps as he walked down the seemingly endless corridor. The moonlight from outside got dimmer and dimmer until the only light came from his torch.

Once he eventually rounded the final corner, the source of the noises was revealed to him. Three young dragons, called draga, were playing together in their own rough and tumble way. As the three played, their larger parents intently watched and guarded them incase of danger.

The largest young dragon was a beautiful bronze male. Although he had a simple coloring, it reminded the observer of a perfectly sculpted living statue with eyes made from emeralds. His feathers had come in nicely, both covering his wings and the crest on his head. His thick fur had a healthy sheen, and his powerful limbs would serve him well after he chose a rider during the Choosing tomorrow night.