Scourge of the Dragons by Cody J. Sherer

For those of you who do not know, such
a union is forbidden among the elves. The offspring produced from
such a pairing are reported to never die of old age. Whether true
or not, we do know that they outlive elves. This tends to cause
problems when they outlive their elven brethren. Many of their
number have gone mad. As such, they are banned from our society. I
will not comment on whether this is right or wrong. That is not why
we are here.”
    “What does that have to do with either of
us?” Hadrin asked.
    “I am getting there, my son. This particular
pairing resulted in two children before the parents were jailed and
later executed. The two children managed to stay hidden from the
elven authorities. I fell in love with the daughter over three
hundred years ago. At first, we agree that having children would be
a bad idea. Your mother’s health began to deteriorate. We never
knew why, but it was obvious that she would not live longer than
the elves she lived among. This was when she revealed to me that
she wanted a child. I could not refuse her. Hadrin was born some
years after that. She was so delighted to have son. I miss her
greatly. That is not the point, though. You see, my son, you are
part human and, more importantly, you have a propensity for magic,”
Tears rolled down Obrin’s cheeks as he spoke.
    “Where does that leave us and what does that
have to do with Wrotan?” Alandra asked.
    “Isaack was her brother. That is why he
spoke so favorably of you. I always thought he was growing weak due
to age,” Wrotan said.
    “There was much that Isaack did not tell any
of you. He sought out the spirit monks and their paladin brethren.
I have spoken with my kin and we believe that you should follow in
his footsteps. As to why he grew weak, we can only assume that he
and his sister had a powerful enemy,” Ungaroth said.
    “What does this mean for me?” Hadrin
asked.
    “You are born of magic, dragons are born of
magic. When you take your father’s place as King of the evening
realms and steward of the dragons, you will become one of the most
powerful individuals in the world. It is your birthright. We will
teach you the ways of magic.”
    “Is it wise for one man to possess such
power?”
    “That is where Wrotan comes in. His adoptive
father held another position. Your father is the steward of the
night dragons, but Isaack was our champion. That position is open
for Wrotan, should he desire to accept it. His role will be to keep
you in check, but only if you go against our wishes. As long as
your actions align with our wishes, he will be your protector. The
two of you will need to think on these things for you will need to
make these choices in the future.”
    “It would be an honor to be the champion of
the night dragons,” Wrotan said.
    “Before you accept the title, there are two
things you must know. Your life will be connected to ours. As long
as the dragons live, you will never succumb to old age or natural
causes. There is, however, a downside. The scourge will spread to
you as well, until we find a way to destroy it once and for
all.”
    *
    Kade struggled to take in his surroundings.
His left eye was swollen shut and his right eye throbbed. He knew
he wasn’t alone, but the other figure was far too blurry to make
out. There was a part of him that wanted to reach out to this other
person, but another part of him felt that it could be a trick. He
decided to let his fellow captive decide whether or not to engage
in conversation. His fear was too great to allow him to talk to his
fellow prisoner. Ansom had shown a rather ruthless streak and Kade
didn’t want this to be another of his tricks. A feeling of despair
flooded over him as he heard voices in the distance.
    “Did you set a watch?” Goraine asked.
    “Yes, just as I did the first time. That
didn’t stop them then and it won’t stop them now. We don’t have
time for easing into things this time. He will break tonight,”
Ansom