Free A Dark Tide (Book of One) by Jordan Baker

choose to help you."
    "That isn't much use," Borrican growled. "I would uphold my duty to Kandara regardless of what the elders said, and as for the other dragons, without the support of the elders, I doubt any of them would come to my aid. Most of them are more than willing to challenge me, to try to prove their strength, but when it comes down to it, they see me as a threat and care little for the world beyond the burning wastes."
    "Do you know why it is that we dragons inhabit these lands, Borrican?"
    "No, I do not," Borrican replied. "It is certainly not for the scenery. This is a desolate place, devoid of life."
    "That is exactly the reason," Vana said, ignoring the scorn in his voice. "We are creatures of fire and we eat and destroy many of the things that live and grow in the world. Here, in this place, among the flows, there is nothing for us to destroy and we do not hunger. The molten earth sustains us, and the rocky ground does not complain at the scrape of our claws. That is why we came to these lands, long ago. It was our choice, but it was also a banishment of sorts."
    "I have visions from the wisdom I learned from Ariana, of dragons soaring over other lands," Borrican told her. "I thought they were merely the memories of Kandara, since my line has long been among the other lands."
    "Dragons once lived in all the world," Vana said. "And, unfortunately, we made many enemies, not intentionally in most cases, but simply because of what we are."
    "Is this why the elders refuse to honor my request for aid? Is it out of fear?" Borrican asked, his words an obvious challenge.
    "Not fear so much as respect, or perhaps disinterest," Vana told him. "We dragons harbor no ill will toward the other creatures of this world, though we may be feared and even hated by some, but there was a time, long ago, when our kind fell into dishonor, and for that we chose to leave the world, and live in this place, where the blood of the world flows freely that we may feast upon it in peace. Were we to return to the other lands, things would be far less peaceful, and there would be much strife in the world, simply from dragons being dragons."
    "I see," Borrican said, considering what she had told him. "I supposed the animals of the forest would not take kindly to being eaten, and I would imagine there might be a few accidental fires started among the trees and the grasslands."
    "Yes," Vana said with a toothy smile. "Those sorts of things were always concerns, especially with our young, and those who cannot be bonded."
    Borrican imagined the kind of destruction he would have caused if he had fallen prey to the madness in a populated place like the crown city of Kandara or anywhere the countryside might be dry with grass and trees. It made sense that the dragons would choose to live in a place where they could do no harm, but he was curious about the other reason they had left the world.
    "Who are the enemies of dragonkind?" he asked.
    "Now?" Vana thought for a moment. "It is difficult to say, for generations have passed since we last soared the skies over every land, but there was a time, long ago, when almost all the creatures of the world were against us, and we were hunted."
    "I have some knowledge of this from the wisdom of my line, but I am unclear on the reasons," Borrican said, focusing his thoughts so he would not be heard by the other dragons. Much of what Vana, Vale, and even Ariana now, called wisdom, the memories passed down through the dragon lines, seemed to be far more clear to them than it was for him, though he understood that such memories are passed to wyverns, who then share that knowledge with drakes when they bond them, though the few drakes he had met seemed fairly knowledgeable, which was something of a point of pride among them. What knowledge he had gained from Ariana, who had carried the gift of that wisdom, was like peering into a murky pond and trying to see through mud, but he did not want to admit such a thing