The Terror of the Skies
Dear Friends:
For as long as I can remember, I have been captivated by dragons.
The kings of fantasy beasts—the ultimate foe of a hero’s journey, symbols of fire, wisdom, greed, and might. They appear independently in nearly every culture, any that has seen the bones of a great winged creature.
In Son of the Borderlands, they are not gods.
They are not guardians of treasure or symbols of destruction.
They are something more frightening,
They are apex predators—lightning-wreathed leviathans of the skies. The great white sharks of the air.
They are night-blue to hunt against the twilight (hence often called “nighthunters.”) They take what they will, their scales harder than any armor.
Beautiful. Terrifying. Indifferent. Invincible.
To mortals, dragons represent power incarnate. They symbolize dominance and leadership. Noble houses paint them on banners. Many ancient surnames begin with “Kazi—“—Kazirian, dragon of the moonless night. “Kazimana,” dragon of magic. Some begin with an attribute of dragons—“Senotare,” power of the mountain storm.
Through it, they claim the dragon’s power.
But a name does not grant dominion.
The Kazian tongue, created in ancient days for human and draconic tongues, will not save a speaker. No word will stay a dragon.
They are wild. Chaotic. Beyond understanding.
Agni saw fit to harness this with a “dragon whistle,” a giant flute that calls a nearby dragon. But the summoner too must hide from its wrath.
Among mortals, only Agni knows the truth.
That before the Scourge, dragons and men lived as brothers. That they shared the skies and the land. That the wrath of Varenox broke that bond, and dragonkind has never forgiven humanity for the fall of Kazia.
But this knowledge changes nothing. Agni’s name will not save him.
They are not evil. They are not allies.
They are portents—that no matter how mighty a man becomes, something greater always watches.
Much like the world itself.