Secrets in the Snow

Prologue

Our tale begins many years ago in the Northern realm of Vreozarenth, the Kingdom of the White Dragon. Here, among the icy glaciers, hundreds of snow-colored dragons lived in peace and harmony. While guarded by the diligent Frost Elves, the dragons had two leaders of their own. One man and one woman with white-blonde hair and eccentric blue eyes. They were called the White Dragonkin. They had the bodies of humans with the white wings of the dragons. They were the rulers over the White Dragons and all of the land Vreozarenth occupied.

It was one terrifyingly frigid night that this all changed. To the far South of the land lay the Kingdom of Etruborg. It was a kingdom for humankind and was ruled by the Aumberden royal family. King Aumberden was greedy and power hungry. He despised magical creatures, but had heard of a magical object in the Northern lands of Vreozarenth that held immense power. It was called the Retribution Scale. Legend had it that if one were to find the Retribution Scale, he or she would have the power to control all of Vreozarenth along with the dragons themselves. Completing such a task would make the beholder of the scale untouchable. Naturally, the king was determined to get his hands on this oh so powerful scale. However, he knew he could not complete the task by himself. He had a powerful army, but he would be a fool if he thought they could bring down hundreds of dragons by themselves. So, to solve his problem, the king traveled to the Scorching Badlands in search of a great warlock called Rorgathan.

Now, the Scorching Badlands were known throughout all lands as a vile, nasty, and downright hellish place. It was thought to some that the Devil got the idea of what Hell should look like from the Badlands. As for Rorgathan, Satan looked at him and said, "Ooh, competition!" The warlock was vindictive and cruel in his own magical way, but he was great. His magical abilities far surpassed any challengers who dared to interfere with his work. When King Aumberden sought out Rorgathan, the warlock agreed to help the king capture the Retribution Scale if he gave over a portion of its power. Reluctantly, the king accepted the warlock's terms and their escapade for power began.

The king's army attacked Vreozarenth during a frost-bitten night along with the warlock's demonic calvary. The White Dragonkin rallied their forces and fought back with a tremendous power. The battle was long and bloody. Many lives on both sides were lost. Towards the end, it seemed as though the dragons were going to prevail, but the warlock was clever. He knew that if they could kill the Dragonkin, the White Dragons would shift into a distressed frenzy at the sight of their leaders' deaths. And so, with a force in which the battle had not seen that night, Rorgathan cast a wicked spell on the White Dragonkin and both fell to their deaths.

What the warlock hadn't expected was the awakening of the Retribution Scale. Buried in an underground cavern, miles beneath the snow, the Retribution Scale was beginning to come to life. After the death of a Dragonkin, a new one must arise immediately. So while the scale was shining brightly underneath the surface, on the surface in two separate dragon's nests, two eggs suddenly hatched. But, what hatched out of those eggs were not dragons, but White Dragonkin. One male and one female, as always. As the king and warlock watched this event unfold, they were fooled at first in thinking that the hatchlings were in fact human. As they went to pick them up, however, they quickly noticed the small white wings protruding out of the babies' backs.

Repulsed by their unnatural growths, the king demanded that the pair be killed on the spot. The warlock, however, had another idea. He told the king that instead of killing them, he should just cut off their wings. Rorgathan explained that as long as the new Dragonkin were alive, no more would hatch. King Aumberden reluctantly agreed not to kill them and did as the warlock said. A swift, clean slice was all it took to cut off their wings. With the dragons having retreated into their lair, Rorgathan suggested that the king take the children back to Etruborg. Since they still hadn't found the Retribution Scale, the warlock said that he would hold control over Vreozarenth and continue the search for the enchanted object if the king would keep the new Dragonkin away. King Aumberden complied and took the children and his army back to Etruborg.

The king had sealed the young Dragonkins' wings in a metal box for safekeeping and set the babies in the back of a war wagon. They had almost made it into the kingdom when the king could no longer keep his eyes open and fell asleep in the front seat of the wagon. While the king was asleep, a crafty Half-Elf slithered his way to the back of the wagon and stole the babies from the king. The Half-Elf ran and ran through the shadows to the outskirts of Etruborg. The Half-Elf had been assigned to watch over the young Dragonkin as they grew, but he knew he could not take them back to Vreozarenth because of the warlock's presence, nor could he care for them by himself. So, instead, he decided to leave them with human families and let them be hidden from the king in plain sight.

The first to be dropped off was the young girl. The Half-Elf had found a house of a nobleman and noblewoman who had been struggling to have a child. There, he silently placed the girl on the noble family's doorstep, knocked on their door, and swiftly darted away. Once he made sure the girl had been taken in by the family, he made his way to the next house with the boy. Before he could make it to the next house, loud voices began to come from down the dimly lit street. The Half-Elf panicked, knowing he could not be seen with the boy. He quickly darted down the nearest alleyway, searching for an escape. At the end of the alleyway, however, there was an old beggar woman sitting alone. The voices of what were surely royal soldiers were getting closer by the minute. Without giving it a second thought, the Half-Elf handed the baby boy off to the beggar woman and took off into the night.

The Half-Elf never knew what happened to the male Dragonkin, just as the king never knew what happened to either one of them. To this day the Kingdom of Vreozarenth is still ruled by Rorgathan, and the stories of dragons and magical creatures have long been forgotten in Etruborg. But perhaps the biggest question that remains is how long can the snow hold its secrets?