There is no night in the Everburning City. There can never be. ***** For four hundred years the Everburning City has withstood the advance of the life-strangling fog known as the Gloam. Its walls have held back five invasions, but on the eve of the sixth, the city's inhabitants know things have changed. Golems are coming out of the mist, and the bodies of the dead are rising at the Gloam's bidding. The city's last and most desperate line of defence comes in the form of the Crafters, individuals who can channel the power of fire, though they risk their sanity each time they do. The brightest of these valiant heroes are Tabitha a'Loria and her apprentice Gerald Reath. Risking their lives, they mount their airships, determined to save the last bastion of humanity - the Everburning City. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

Long before the floating kingdoms were built, the skies belonged to the dragons alone. Humans feared the skies and the creatures that ruled them. But everything changed when dark forces called Velkraths emerged from the earth - twisted echoes of dragons, corrupted by ancient magic and hunger. They began to burn the kingdoms from the skies downward. Desperate to save her people, a girl named Aerin climbed the highest peak to plead with the dragon Esharion. Instead of taking her life, the dragon saw her courage and bound his soul to hers. In that moment, the first dragon-rider bond was forged - a sacred link of minds and hearts. From Aerin and Esharion, the order of dragon riders was born. Dragons bond to their riders from birth, and when the rider comes of age, the dragon seeks them out. Over centuries, the riders defended the floating kingdom of Aerithal, their bond holding back the Velkraith threat. Yet the bond is dangerous-if one dies, the other often cannot survive the loss. Two childhood best friends, Riven, a quiet and loyal dragon rider, and Lyra, a bold and fiercely independent warrior-have trained side-by-side since they were twelve. Bound to their dragons, Virex and Sora, they've fought countless battles and saved each other's lives more times than they can count. But while Lyra sees Riven as her anchor and brother-in-arms, Riven has silently loved her for years. Lyra, however, is infatuated with Xanten, a charming and noble prince from the kingdom to the South called Medana. When an ancient, giant, monstrous dragon awakens, threatening to destroy their kingdom, Riven and Lyra are chosen for a perilous mission. As they venture deeper into enemy lands, Riven struggles with his feelings, caught between wanting Lyra to know the truth and fearing it would ruin everything they've built

Desperate to keep her magic hidden, Katerina goes to great lengths to avoid dragons and mages. When she gets cornered by evil mages, her only chance at escape involves freeing a trapped dragon. * * * Katerina's biggest fear is that unscrupulous mages or dragons would discover her magic and use her as a living magical battery. When she stumbles into a group of evil mages trying to magically enslave a dragon, she releases the dragon to act as a distraction, hoping he would attack the mages while she escaped. But magic has rules, and when you free a dragon mage, it creates magedebt that they must repay, lest their magic fade. Forced to travel together, Katerina struggles to hide her magic as she accompanies Rakota and his friends while they hunt down the Shadow Mages. Rakota is one of many dragons who detest humans due to how many have tried to slay him, steal his treasure, or control him with magic. He has no desire for a rider, but when his childhood sweetheart shows up, she won't consider courtship unless he has one. As if evil mages with ancient spells aren't enough, word comes from the coast that the nagas are planning to invade and wipe out the humans. Goals and secrets clash as Katerina strives to keep her magic hidden, yet that very magic might be the key to stopping the war, and becoming Rakota's rider would give him the family he's always dreamed of. But all magic has a price, and to become a rider, she'd have to forfeit her freedom. Copyright November 2022. All Rights Reserved. Readers may not copy or steal this story. Fanfictions are allowed to use my *world* and *magic rules* as long as credit is given.