Chapter 1 Prologue

Suto's emerald scales glimmered under the bluish-white light of the portal, casting a purplish hue over her massive reptilian form. She slumped with weariness, her shoulders drooping from the weight of the situation at hand. "Is this truly necessary, Tolith?"

Standing beside her was Tolith, an elvish man with striking features and a stern expression. He spoke with conviction, his voice echoing through the chamber. "You heard the Council, Suto. The N'kara are abominations and have no place amongst us."

Suto shifted uneasily, her large clawed feet digging into the stone floor. "But they have done nothing wrong," she argued. "How can we condemn them for simply existing? It was our two races that brought them into this world."

Tolith's face hardened even further. "Their existence is a mistake that must be corrected," he retorted.

"The N'kara are no better treated by humanity than any of us." Suto towered over Tolith, her thoughts briefly flashing to crushing him with one swipe of her powerful tail. But she quickly pushed away the violent impulse. This was not how she wanted to handle the situation forced upon them by the Draco-Elvish Council.

Turning to face Suto directly, Tolith spoke with disdain. "The circumstances of their birth do not matter. Those who played a part in creating them have been punished accordingly. And now it is time for the N'kara to face the consequences of their existence."

"The consequences of their existence?" Suto gasped.

"Do not have sympathy for them, Suto. They do not deserve it," Tolith spat back, turning away from the massive Emerald dragon. His pale blue eyes scanned the unchanged landscape of the mortal plane, a deep longing in his heart for its destruction. "If I had my way, we would have eradicated them long ago."

Suto's scaled lips curled back, revealing glistening fangs that were as long as Tolith's arm and just as thick as an elvish thigh. "But your wishes are not always granted, elf."

Tolith smirked knowingly. "I see now, Suto. It surprises me that you were not punished for your role in creating them, but your luck will soon run out. The Council will surely strip you of your wings when they hear about this."

"Is that a threat?" Suto growled.

"Perhaps," Tolith replied coolly before sauntering towards the rippling blue-white portal. With a sinister glint in his eyes, he disappeared into it. "Come along now, Suto. We must close the portal and face the Council."

As Tolith's words faded into the air, a heavy sense of finality hung over the space.

He was right, though.

Suto was directly involved in the creation of the N'kara, the offspring of dragons and elves. She didn't do it to rebel against the Council or for some misguided belief in creating life. It was simply out of love; love for an elf who had been the first victim of humanity's fear and hatred towards all things magical. He was displayed as a warning for what was to come.

Many more suffered the same fate after Orym: Elves, Fae, Dragons, and anything that humans deemed too different or dangerous to coexist with their new religions.

Not even fellow humans were safe from the purge. If they showed any support or aid towards magical creatures, possessed magical abilities, or even spoke positively of those deemed enemies by humanity, they were ruthlessly killed as a warning to others.

Suto's emerald eyes glistened with a single tear as she struggled to push back the memories of the massacre. The tear, far larger than any human's, fell from her cheek and landed on the ground with a heavy thud. Instead of sinking into the soft earth, it solidified into a hardened amber drop, mirroring Suto's heartache and anger.

Suto prepared to leave, intent on removing any remaining traces of magic from the world. Yet, something stopped her in her tracks as she noticed the tear that seemed to pulse faintly.

"I leave this to you, my dear children," Suto whispered. She took a deep breath and exhaled onto the stone, infusing it with a powerful magic that would reside deep within its core. "Prove the doubters wrong. Show your ancestors that you belong with us despite their hasty judgment."

With one more breath, the stone sank into the ground before the portal, its pulsing light now hidden beneath layers of earth. "When a worthy individual appears," she added, weaving a subtle spell with her words, "let them follow the instructions we have left behind."

Suto smiled sadly as she lifted her head and gazed at the world she had called home for a thousand years. "Farewell, for now," she whispered as she stepped through the portal. "Don't keep me waiting too long."