The Protagonist Speaks

Dear readers, tonight with us is a woman who never believed that humans can’t bond with dragon, and has thought this was just lies spread by elves. She is here to tell us about the unique opportunity presented to her when she found a dragon’s clutch ready to hatch.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

It was one of those Wood Elf communities in Ilesh on that other continent I have to go back to – I don’t remember or care if they had any names! They kept us humans as slaves for generations and generations, and I would rather not talk about it. It was really unfair, because we have such short lives compared to them already, stealing our lives so they can have even more luxury is just atrocious! They deserve what happened to them when the Northern Horror came, but I also sort of wish it hadn’t, because that makes rescuing Mom and freeing my people something that might not happen. If they are all dead.

But the seasons were a lot milder over in Ilesh. I don’t ever want to be in Ilesh again, but I like the seasons there a lot better, especially since the cold hurts Radiance’s wings.

Is there anything about your childhood you can enjoy talking about? Any special memories?

Not really. Because everything reminds me either of those cursed Wood Elf slave masters, or of my Mom and the fact I might not be able to rescue her, and everything that’s lost! I don’t have a lot of really nice memories, but one thing that really helped me at times was I can do this thing only Wood Elves are supposed to be able to do: I can shadowblend, so you don’t really notice me. I wasn’t nearly as good a mage then as I am now, so I couldn’t do it well compared to them, but enough for a moment of quiet sometimes, and enough to make me laugh inside at all that stuff they said about humans being inferior and incapable ….

But a memory I like? Mom showing me Dad’s favorite constellation, the Dolphin. He died in an accident before my brother was even born, so Lavilor never knew him at all, and I don’t remember him very well. That’s about all I have of him. So it’s sad, but also special.

What are you doing right now?

Right now, Radiance is carrying a clutch of eggs, so we have to wait for her to lay those and for them to hatch before we go off and do anything. We can’t even fly off to find  the potential riders for her eggs! It’s really unnatural, by the way. Dragons shouldn’t  have to hatch until they want to, and the only reason these do is because those cursed Wood Elf life-mages changed them! But we want our hatchlings to be able to choose riders who are suited for them, unlike so many others, so other Dragonriders are helping to gather as many children and young people as we can for when the eggs are ready.

What can you tell us about your latest adventure?

That I wish it had never happened, though maybe it was a good thing and showed me that I’m not really ready, so I can become ready. But I do not know, and I do not want to talk about it.

What did you first think when you saw the Wizard-King?

Oh, so you know about  that somehow? Because that really is the thing I do not want to talk about! But, I guess I’ll give you an answer anyways, though who let that out? Or was that me? Seriously, how many people know about that? Did my scream reach everyone? Oh no!

He looks dead. Not just looks dead, but feels dead, too. Not he. It.