Prelude

A long time ago, in a land much different from ours, dragons were real. Now, Dear Reader, these dragons were not the friendly dragons you might see on a morning cartoon show on the television. Nor the fire-breathing beast that Saint George slain in Medieval Europe all those years ago. These Dragons were gods to the land of Amoria. Gargantuan beings with powers so incredible that Amoria trembled at even the concept of disobeying their rule.

Before the Dragons existed, Amoria worshipped the true God, Adonai, who created the world from nothing but dust. He appointed five guardians to protect His kingdom: Lirael, Caelan, Brynmor, Eirlys, and Zephyr. Before the Dragons, Amoria was at peace.

The start of The First War began with a betrayal. The fifth guardian, Zephyr believed that he could use the Magic that The Lord gave him for his own purposes. He saw the wild and free world and decided that order was needed. He divided the continent into six countries then created the Dragons to rule each one. The other four guardians were furious at their brother’s foolishness and banded together with some of the countries to undo Zephyr’s wrongs.

After years and years of bloodshed, clashing metal, and dragonfire, the final blow was struck, and The First Great War was over. Zephyr and his Dragons were the victors. The first action that Zephyr enacted was the ban of the True Religion and shortly after, he began the tradition of The Taking, a day where the Dragons demand a list of sacrifices from the people of Amoria.

Zephyr retired in the most northern country of Amoria. As the high king of Zephyrus, he blessed the people for their loyalty to him. Their hair turned fair and small golden wings grew from their once human ears. They were called aetherins.

But, before the last God-fearing city was destroyed, Adonai bound the souls of the four guardians to their swords and made a promise to Amoria. Four would rise again to bring judgement upon Zephyrus and the Dragons with the aid of these mythical swords.

A knight, a diplomat, a lover, a king

Amoria's freedom, these four will bring.

The people waited. Zephyr’s cruel reign passed. The lively grew weary. The young became old. Centuries passed and the faithful became faithless. This covenant was soon lost to legend and drinking songs.

One day, at a time no one would expect, four young adventurers were the first to slay one of the fearsome Dragons. Soon after, The Last War began, bringing on a new era of religious freedom and creative expression. Alas, after millennia of word of mouth, this story has warped into almost a fairy tale of sorts. But here, Dear Reader, I will share with you how the story truly unfolds.

This story is both a comedy and a tragedy.

An adventure and a record of history.

But most of all, this is a love story.