The Old Civilization. The pinnacle of human culture, technology and society. The Old Ones' perfection was wrought through countless millennia of pain, war and turmoil. Things were good.
Everything changed when Polemos, the chief deity of violence and warfare, directly meddled in the events of the mortal world, sowing turmoil and hate among the humans. Sophiah, deity of wisdom and crafts had discovered Polemos's treachery. She had him cast down from the heavens, demoted from title of god. Humanity was forever changed, fallen from glory, a fraction of what they were before.
Seeking revenge, he wishes to upset the natural balance of the world; replacing it with his idea of order., his idea of complacency. When he tames the mortal world, he will ascend once more, this time with an army at his back and the world at his feet.
Eight bearers of godly power - Feroxies - will rise up and quell this threat, as they have done in the past numerous times before, Invictus in their duty. The fate of humankind rests on the shoulders of eight young heroes, only they can stop him and restore natural order.
Will they remain Invictus?
Please note: this is a third-draft story but is not revised.
More than a century ago, dragons and the blue-eyed Shaderi flew together. Then they were brought down by jealous men who feared their power. Now blue eyes are a curse and dragons are a laughingstock, neither seen outside of slavery.
Born a slave, her fair features mark her as a witch who is worth less than even the right to a name. He is a dragon who was raised in the arena, a life that left him unable either to fly or to breathe fire.
Thrown together by an ambitious showman, they are united by a bond as old as the legends. Together, they have a hope for something more than the lives to which they were born, if only they can learn to trust each other.
The words of a mysterious minstrel point them west, where rumors say their people live in freedom. The road there is hard, and at the end of it they find themselves a world embroiled in a secret war. This new world is ruled by a king who values tradition above all else. At every turn their new friendship is tested, and they are forced to decide how much they are willing to pay for a place to call home.
He wants to help her learn the truth of where she came from, and she wants to give him what every dragon deserves: a chance to soar.