Prologue

This prologue recounts the world's creation by five gods—Caelis, Bulder, Rayne, Clode, and Ignos—and the emergence of three dragon species. When dragons began dying and calcifying into moons that fell catastrophically, the gods discovered Caelis's essence was causing the destruction and imprisoned him in the Aether Stone, entrusting it to a fae warrior bloodline. The narrative concludes with an unexpected moonfall after five million phases of peace.

The world was created by five gods: Caelis (God of Aether), Bulder (God of Ground), Rayne (Goddess of Water), Clode (Goddess of Air), and Ignos (God of Fire). Caelis, invisible and lonely, offered empty space as a canvas. Bulder sculpted it into a sphere half-bathed in sunlight and half in shadow, divided by The Fade. Rayne filled it with water, Clode stirred it with wind, and Ignos consumed Clode's air with fire, shaping the world's climate and terrain. Life flourished, including three dragon species: the Sabersythes in The Burn, the Moltenmaws in Bhoggith, and the ethereal Moonplumes in Netheryn. As kingdoms grew and folk learned to harvest dragon blood, many dragons died and ascended into the sky as calcified moons. These moons began falling in catastrophic collisions. After eight moonfalls, the four visible gods realized Caelis's yearning emptiness was displacing dragons from their celestial resting places. They captured him using empty promises and vows, singing him into submission, then minced his essence into pieces small enough to trap within the Aether Stone—an ebony crystal pip. Threads of his silver cloak became the aurora spanning both poles. The stone was set in a sterling diadem with binding runes and entrusted to a powerful fae warrior, whose family line would guard it for eternity. Millions of phases passed in peace despite lingering myths about the stone's true purpose. Then, for the first time in over five million phases, another moon fell.