Welcome to the world of Ethereal Seals, a Christian epic fantasy series where faith, fire, and legend collide. Below you can read the first scene of Dawn of Dragons, my free prequel novelette that sets the stage for Blade of Dragons.
Excerpt from Dawn of Dragons
Driven by greed and a need to control, the Draconyte Empire is the largest faction on Atläs. Their Empress controls her vassal kingdoms with a tight rein. Only a few kingdoms remain free.
—Tormid III, Seasoned Adventurer
“I ain’t done anything wrong,” Pepper cried, backing away from the merchant.
“You stole from my store, tal’vahk—you half-draconyte trash!”
Her tail coiled tight, ears flattening in alarm at the slur for her people.
The acrid tang of burned ether from chimneys washed over her. Shouts ripped down the alley, blending with the distant hiss of an airship’s engine.
What was this flaming idiot blathering about? She’d handed the clerk two melkä coins, standard Atläsian currency, for a gemstone—then watched him pocket one before claiming she’d shortchanged him. When she’d protested, the clerk had summoned the merchant, who stormed in like a raging beast.
And now, somehow, she was to blame.
She glowered, muscles coiling like a spring ready to snap. Her stomach knotted. Of course they were blaming her. These imperialists never trusted her kind—especially not a half-draconyte girl of eighteen. They always saw what they wanted—a thief, a murderer, and a freak. Never the truth.
“I paid for it,” she said.
The merchant’s face reddened, and his monocle flashed, as if highlighting his fury. “Lies, that’s all you filthy tal’vahks ever spew.”
The word stung: a slur for mixed blood. Those born unclean. Lesser.
He withdrew a fire crystal from his pocket, glowing as crimson as his cheeks. “Don’t test me, girl, or I’ll lob this in your face.”
Pepper snarled and backed away—then gasped as a broad darkorc—skin like coal, tusks gleaming—blocked her retreat, his jacket and bloodied gloves marking him as trouble.
“Shall I rough ‘er up for ya, Alba?” the ebony-skinned orc said, smirking through his tusks as he pounded his gloves.
Alba nodded at the darkorc. “I want her beaten within an inch of her life, Dirk. That’ll teach Saul Slyhart to let his abomination of a daughter roam about.”
Dirk smirked and lunged for Pepper. She tried to dodge, but he moved too fast—clutching her red ponytail and slamming her into the ground.
Pain rocked Pepper’s skull. She tasted dirt and blood, and her pulse hammered in her ears. But the pain sharpened her senses. Heat bloomed in her chest, wild and ancient, like a beast rousing from slumber. The Dragonsoul within her stirred, an ancient, burning power inherited from her ancestors.
She wiped her lips, vision blurring red, and a hunger to spill blood gnawed at her gut. But even as rage surged, her father’s training anchored her. Instinct met discipline.
She rose before the brute could attack again and dodged his punch. Her claws raked his exposed arm. He howled as blood poured from the gash. Dirk withdrew, holding his injury, his eyes now filled with caution.
A crowd had gathered at the alley’s mouth, drawn by the violence—eyes piercing, furry tails rigid, and pointed ears flat. For a heartbeat, Pepper thought she saw shapes shifting among them, like shadows slipping free of the lamplight. Their faces looked jagged, wrong. She blinked, and they were gone.
“Monster,” one bystander cried.
“Murderer,” spat another.
Pepper’s breath hitched. Her muscles coiled.
Another half-draconyte—furless tail, pointed ears, a bastard in their eyes—persecuted in the streets. To them, she was always the villain. A wretched mix of draconic blood.
The merchant approached, slipping his fire crystal back into his coat. “You’ll return what you owe—no, double.”
“I told you, I ain’t done anything wrong,” Pepper said, her body shivering as she struggled to keep the Dragonsoul in check. The urge to tear them apart with fang and claw twisted inside her. Aspects on high, but it would feel so good.
Alba spat sideways. “Garbage like you are better off in the fields. Just like your tal’vahk of a mother—”
Pepper’s jaw clenched. Her patience snapped, and she lunged for the merchant—
“Is there a problem here, tal’lord?”
Pepper’s tension drained at her father’s voice, cutting through the crowd like a blade. The red mist in her vision cleared as he moved between her and Dirk.
She stepped closer to him. His blue jacket shimmered like a mantle of protection, shielding her from the crowd’s hatred. The setting twin suns cast gold across his muscular frame, catching in his furry tail, scarlet braid, and goatee.
Dirk clenched his teeth and stepped back at the sight of the twin blades on Saul’s belt. Alba followed, then shook his head and said, “Saul Slyhart. You used to be a hero. A legend, even.”
Many in the Fer’tal Crescent still whispered tales of Saul Slyhart—hero of the Hëllborne War.
He’d driven back the demons, saved towns, and freed prisoners from hëllborne hives with unmatched skill. To Pepper, Saul was just her father.
But to others, he was the last flame of a war-torn age.
The merchant’s voice soured. “Then you had her.”
“And is it a crime,” Saul said, “to be given life by the Aspects? What is she guilty of but walking the streets of Traveler’s Rest to sell goods from our family farm?”
“Guilty of being born,” a woman said.
Shame drove a knife into Pepper’s gut. She hunched, her lip quivering.
What did I do?
Saul’s hand drifted toward the sword hilts at his waist, but he remained stoic.
“I disagree, tal’lady,” he said with polite firmness. “Pepper is as innocent as any other girl in town. She’s a citizen of the Fer’tal Crescent, and this is a free country. Imperial law doesn’t apply here. Queen Zelinda hasn’t agreed to such imperial nonsense.”
Some in the crowd—those who hadn’t cursed Pepper—raised their fists in support. The royalist banner of Midvale, a rose encircled by blades, gleamed from tassels on their belts. Those with imperial banners turned on the royalists. Tension spiked in the air—palpable, electric.
In the distance, town officers moved in to break up the brawl.
“Bah,” the merchant said, gesturing toward a maroon banner on his satchel—stars circling the Imperial Crescent. “The Draconyte Empire will own this kingdom one day, Saul Slyhart. You can’t shelter her forever.”
He turned toward the alley’s exit. “Come, Dirk. We have business elsewhere in Lumashire. I’d rather not be delayed, especially with hëllborne and druyds loose once more.”
“Yes, tal’lord,” the darkorc said, bowing. He cast Pepper a withering look before following.
Pepper’s chest tightened and she squeezed her gemblade’s hilt. Hëllborne: she thought them nightmares, driven back after the latest war. Druyds too—Pa used to tell her they’d scattered long ago.
Just rumors…weren’t they?
The crowd dispersed, but the tension lingered. Pepper hugged herself, blinking back tears.
Stupid people—always bullying and threatening her. Ever since she was little. Even today on her eighteenth birthcycle.
Saul sighed, and his eyes dimmed with regret. He knelt and pulled her into a hug.
“I’m sorry you had to experience that.” He drew back. “Now, what happened?”
She sniffed. “I ain’t guilty of anything, Pa. That merchant scammed me and stole a melkä coin. I argued, and he got mad and accused me of theft.”
His lips tightened. He glanced once more at the banner.
“I’ll deal with him later.” Saul muttered.
“Pa…what about those hëllborne he mentioned?” She swallowed. “I thought you helped defeat them.”
Saul’s face tensed and he hugged her close. “I don’t know. I’ll need to ask your cousin, Ashia, about it. She mentioned she had important news to share with us when she visits later today for your party.” He glanced at Bessa, the family’s stormgriffin, mounted with a saddle and riding crop. “Come on, let’s ride Bessa home—it’s getting late.”
Want More?
You can read the rest of this free fantasy ebook [here] — available exclusively to members of the Cosmic Dominion Guild. You can also read more about it on the ebook’s page.
Join today and unlock:
The full Dawn of Dragons ebook
Exclusive maps and lore from my Ethereal Seals flagship series
Early previews from across the Cosmic Dominion universe
