chapter one

pain. all I could feel was a pain. every cell in my body burned with an unnatural agony as if I was on fire. I couldn't move. I didn't even have the strength to open my eyes. every time I tried to move I felt as if a white hot liquid lead was boiling diagonally across my back. all I could smell was blood, must, earth, gunpowder, and smoke. my ears were assaulted with gunshots, clangs, breaking bones, and the sound of boots and hooves pounding the ground as if their owners were running. the worst and most torturous sound of all was the screams, hundreds, maybe thousands of screams. screams of pain, fear, and death; rising as a chorus, filling every inch of me, distracting me from my own agony and fear. the cries of the battling griffons were part of the screams. one by one griffon fell from the sky and into the sea of corpses and war, crashing onto the ground in loud thuds and cracks as gravity slammed their large bodies into the earth, crushing bones and armor all around me. finally, the fear that has been slowly building in me for what felt like hours took ahold of me, gave my weak and broken body the strength to open my mouth and join the chorus of screams…. but nothing happened. for some reason, no sound could come out of my mouth. then I became truly terrified. I couldn't move, talk or see. all I could do was hear smell, and feel agony. but even those senses started to dull. my father always told me when he came back from a battle with wounds and pain,"do not worry about my pain, I'm grateful for it. for sometimes it may be the only way I can tell if I'm alive or not. if the pain u ever feel starts to dull and u start having a peaceful feeling, then you know there's a good chance you may be dying." I didn't want to die. I still had to take care of my little sister, cassie. I still had to see my griffons eggs hatch I still had to earn my right as queen of Eldrathia after father passes away. I have so many responsibilities and things to look forward to. I just kept thinking, "I can't die, not now. I don't have the right to that luxury."  I tried as hard as  I could to scream, hoping, praying, that someone would save me from the one thing I feared and still fear even more than torture, absolute death.

All of a sudden I heard my father's voice right beside me as he screamed my name. With every ounce of strength, I had left in me, I opened my eyes and had just enough time to say,''daddy?" before I felt boiling agony shoot across my back again. Then I realized that I could talk again right before I passed out.