Prologue

   The dragon’s roar was a horrible, ear-splitting sound of feral fury. Its massive claws plunged towards the ground, crushing a barn under its weight. The sound echoed through the air and the chaos began. The creature towered over everything, so large that even the great walls of Noctis would have stood no chance against it. People ran in terror, grabbing children and precious belongings as they fled their homes.
   Queen Esmeray clenched her jaw and reached for her sword. All of whom she had sent to face this vicious beast had perished. Now it was up to her, as the queen and most powerful elemental in the kingdom, to defeat it. She wouldn’t let it take more innocent lives.
   With a ring of steel, she drew her sword and stepped forward.
   “Cease this madness at once!” she called fiercely.
   The dragon turned its mighty head. Its obsidian scales gleamed in the light of the setting sun as it fixed its emerald eyes on the human before it. It did not respond but rather spewed a ghostly black fire from its huge, gaping jaws. The queen dodged away, narrowly avoiding being scorched by the cruel flames. She hadn’t truly expected the dragon to speak with her calmly after all it had blindly destroyed, but she had hoped. Now it left her no choice. Esmeray charged.
   The dragon’s talons crashed down and she slashed at them as she leapt aside. The queen sprinted around to the side of the beast, adrenaline pumping through her body. She skidded to a stop and sheathed her blade. She stretched out her hands and black strands of magic shot forward, wrapping around the dragon. She tightened the ropes, and the dragon thrashed and blew fire. Esmeray ground her teeth and tried to steady her shaking arms. Flames suddenly licked at the queen’s armor. She lost control of the dragon’s bindings and they snapped with a deafening CRACK. The mighty dragon roared and swiped at Esmeray, sending the queen flying into the prickly undergrowth.
   She dragged herself free from the thorns. The dragon had already turned away and was mindlessly wreaking havoc on the peaceful village, leaving chaos and carnage in its wake. No, Queen Esmeray thought desperately. No no no no NO! She shakily got to her feet. This was not over. But what could she do to stop a beast of such magnitude? She inhaled deeply. The physical cost of paralyzing such a great and ancient beast with fear would probably be… her life.
   The dragon set a small wooden home on fire. Then another. And another. Screaming filled Emeray’s ears. What kind of queen am I if I stand idly by while my people are dying? She clenched her fists. But what of my daughter? I suppose she will need to grow up without me. Esmeray squeezed her eyes shut and smiled sadly. It hurt her to know that she’d miss so much of her daughter’s life, but perhaps there was something she could leave her little girl with. She wanted her daughter to know that she’d slain a dragon for her future. Her mother had slain a dragon for her. When Esmeray opened her eyes, she was ready.
   The queen sprinted forward and shot a beam of black magic at the back of the dragon’s head. It turned to face her, wickedly sharp teeth gleaming. She planted her feet and held out her hands. She brought forth all of her greatest failures and insecurities to the front of her mind and harnessed them as she had done countless times before. Esmeray grasped her crippling fear and cast her spell. The dragon froze. The pain was instantaneous but she held strong as the dragon toppled forward. Agony from holding such a great beast ripped through the queen as she staggered forward and plunged her sword deep into the dragon’s heart. The majestic beast shuddered and breathed its last. Body and magic completely spent, the queen collapsed onto her knees.
   Esmeray closed her eyes, holding tightly to a memory of her beautiful baby girl. Her heart stopped and darkness engulfed her.