Chapter 1
The Beginning
FIRE.
WATER.
EARTH.
AIR.
EACH OF THESE ELEMENTS CAN BE MANIPULATED BY HUMANS WITH A STRONG PHYSIQUE CALLED CONJURER.
The sigh of the pines was the only sound as Kai sat cross legged on the cold forest floor. Midnight's ink bled through the canopy, pricked only by the indifferent silver of distant stars.
Beside him, the campfire crackled, a defiant orange eye winking in the vast darkness, painting his sharp, young face in flickering relief. His eyes, pools of liquid obsidian, reflected the star-strewn sky above, holding a depth that seemed older than his years.
A worn, gray coat, the color of forgotten ashes, hung loosely on his frame. He was stillness incarnate, a shadow sculpted by firelight.
Then, the forest held its breath.
A guttural growl, low and resonant as grinding stones deep within the earth, shattered the silence. It wasn't the warning snarl of a wolf or the curious rumble of a bear. This was primal, ancient, vibrating through the soil and up Silas's spine like a jolt of lightning.
He moved.
One moment, stillness. The next, fluid grace. He was on his feet in a heartbeat, silent as smoke. No wasted motion, no startled cry. His right hand snapped up, palm open towards the dying campfire. The air above his palm rippled, heat haze distorting the starry backdrop. Then, with a sharp hiss and a shower of crimson sparks, fire conjured itself. It wasn't drawn from the campfire; it manifested from the air itself, coalescing, swirling, solidifying. In less than a second, the swirling flames condensed, cooled, and hardened into existence: a long, wicked dagger of pure, solidified fire. Its blade glowed with a fierce inner heat, casting dancing, hungry shadows on the surrounding trees, its hilt seemingly formed of cooled, obsidian-like flame in Kai's grip. Heat radiated from it in palpable waves, making the air shimmer.
His black eyes, no longer reflecting stars but now holding a fierce, focused light, scanned the oppressive darkness beyond the fire's meager reach. He didn't need to search long.
High above, blotting out a swathe of the starry canvas, it descended.
Massive, leathery wings, darker than the midnight sky and spanning the width of a small house, beat the air with slow, powerful whoomphs that shook the treetops. The starlight glinted dully off scales the color of volcanic rock – deep, seared blacks and charred reds, layered like ancient, armored plates. Its neck was a sinuous column of corded muscle, leading to a head that was all brutal angles and lethal purpose. A long, serpentine muzzle lined with teeth like shattered stalactites parted slightly, revealing a furnace glow deep within its throat. Its eyes, however, were the most terrifying, two smoldering orbs of molten gold, intelligent, predatory, and fixed unerringly on the small figure standing beside the tiny campfire.
A Dragon.
The legends spoke of them. Ancient beasts of fire and fury, creatures of immense power thought lost to the ravages of time or driven deep into the world's forgotten corners. Yet, here one was, descending into this mundane forest clearing with the inevitability of falling night.
Kai didn't flinch. He adjusted his grip on the fire-dagger, the weapon humming faintly with contained energy. His posture remained balanced, ready. He understood the raw, elemental power radiating from the beast. It dwarfed his own conjured flame like the sun dwarfed a candle.
The dragon landed with a ground-shaking thud that sent tremors through Silas's boots and caused the campfire to leap and spit embers. Pine needles rained down. It folded its vast wings with a sound like heavy sails collapsing, its massive head lowering slightly, those molten eyes narrowing as they assessed the human who dared hold fire against it. Hot, sulfurous breath, smelling of brimstone and deep earth, washed over Kai, making his eyes water. The sheer presence of the creature was a physical weight, pressing down on the clearing.
A deep, rumbling growl emanated from its chest, vibrating the very air. Dominance. Mountain moving power.
Kai met its gaze. Unflinching. The fire-dagger hummed faintly in his steady grip, its light a defiant challenge to the dragon's growing internal inferno. The air crackled, thick with heat and the promise of incineration.
The dragon took one earth-trembling step forward. The furnace glow in its throat intensified, painting the lower pine branches hellish red. Its head lowered further, jaws opening slightly, revealing the inferno within, ready to unleash annihilation upon the insignificant spark before it.
Silence stretched, taut as a bowstring. Only the faint hum of Kai's dagger and the deep, rhythmic rush of the dragon's volcanic breath filled the world. The stars watched, cold and distant.