The mountains were almost bare, only a few lonely bushes staining the sand-colored slopes. In the distance, I could hear the deep song of a river, which guaranteed that there would be enough game to hunt at least for me alone.

"Why here?" I turned to Ralethiel, his sapphire scales providing some life to the surroundings. He almost looked like a part of the sky, that we were so close to up here, fell down to brighten my life.

"Humans searched those caves recently and believe them to be completely empty now," my partner was scanning the vicinity of what was supposed to be our new home, as if making sure really none of them was nearby. "They won't bother again, it's too far from their settlements and way too troublesome to come up here if we don't give them reason to."

"Are you sure they think only three of us are left?"

"Almost sure. Which is why I don't want to take risks," Ralethiel's emerald eyes rested on me shortly before he stepped closer and leaned his chin on my neck, just at the back of my head. "You, my sunray, and our children are the most important to me in this world..."

I moved closer as well, gently rubbing my neck on his, our scales creating a crystalline melody that echoed among the sharp rocks. I then glanced to the vast opening of the grotto. Down there, under the hay glimmering golden in the afternoon sun, rested two eggs, our pride and the hope of our race. Yrvanyss and Sariarin kept trying over the years, but didn't have as much luck as we did. Which made our children even more of a treasure...

"Ered has become powerful..." I muttered, enjoying Ralethiel's warmth. Sometimes, it put the sun to shame... "Are you sure you will be able to stand against him, with all the humans he has gathered...?"

"We should be. Until now, they took advantage of our kin seeking solitary refuges, they never dared open battle with more than one of us at once. We will handle them."

"I really hope so..."

But my hopes and wishes missed any gods that might or might not have existed...

The next sunset, its light an ominous crimson, heralded not only the death of numerous humans...

I felt him die... sensed the terror that came with a spell-strengthened spear piercing his strong yet gentle heart... His sacrifice made it possible for Yrvanyss to contact me one last time and reveal the plan they came up with right before the battle... Surrounded by Ered's mindless puppets, she begged me to protect the future of our race and to wait for the three chosen beings that would receive the remnants of magic that was ripped out of hers, Ralethiel's and Sariarin's bodies...

And so I waited... In grief, I waited... In darkness, I waited... In bitterness, I waited...

Our children were the only ones keeping me sane, maintaining their warmth despite their father's death and giving it to me every time I licked their shells clean of my own tears or shielded them with my wing at night just like Ralethiel used to do with all of us...

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My despair led me to searching for every ounce of my beloved left in this land using the greatest magical talent I had at my disposal - the ability to observe beings and places from afar. At first, I used it only to watch the Nitrael family, the outcast royal lineage that stayed hidden among the summits of the Elkjar Mountains, now unknowingly bearing a piece of his soul... But after a while... I discovered the other traces... Traces leading to the Silivren Forest, to the new capital...

It was a joy to watch the chosen children be born into this world... First came the child of autumn, his eyes just as beautiful as Ralethiel's, his fate just as cursed... The child of spring, her soul as fiery as Yrvanyss' wings and temperament, proved that coexistence between two races is not something unreachable... The child of summer born in silence and austerity, almost unnoticed just like Sariarin would always be, his mind though pure and full of joy, so unlike his predecessor's...

Watching them grow strong made me as proud and happy as if they were my own children. Which made seeing them suffer later even more difficult...

Because despite the sacrifices my kin made to stop all the hatred, it didn't prevent one of Sariarin's prophecies to come true.

I didn't dare to devote much of my attention to the Caydranth lineage after Ered's death, mainly because even as decades passed, I wasn't able to stifle the bitterness, but also because I was worried that mages, unlike humans, could sense my rage through the magic. But... the first rumor of young Sharish Caydranth going against the human race made me ignore caution and the memories for a short period of time.

It felt like something shook the mind of the Caydranth lineage's successor before madness clouded his mind, but it got hidden underneath his fury way too swiftly. In that regard, I regretted not deciding to watch him earlier...

The first to suffer from that madness was the child of autumn, even if he was unaware who was responsible... Siaril watched his father pass away before being able to reconcile...

The child of summer was miraculously saved by a whim of a mad mage, his reasons a mystery to me. He was kept safe, though but a thin screen of lies protected him from Sharish's hand. It lasted two long years... Sigrian wasn't fully aware of his own suffering, but it didn't make watching any easier...

Sharish's madness reached its peak when he realized he had only the child of spring left... It was a miracle that Yasenka escaped the tortures he put her through sane and was able to recover after a few weeks.

And once all three of them learned who stood behind it all, they directed their steps onto paths destined to meet and intertwine...

On the day they finally did, I came out into the pleasant, early spring sun and looked over the still snow-covered slopes towards west.

I made my decision. I would protect the children Ralethiel, Yrvanyss and Sariarin chose at all costs and guide them to a brighter future, even if it meant revealing my existence to the rest of the world.

After all, 'armailith' meant 'sunray' in our language...

And I was going to be one for them...

They seemed like mere mortals,

trapped by mortal emotion and weakness...

In each of those feeble hands a power to rule was placed,

yet none of them followed it down the path of darkness...

But despite the curtains of wings concealing secrets until the end,

the blood of dragons would never forget.

Till history becomes legend...