Page 1 of Mantle

1

~Vorzyr~

Agony infused every part of me.

I was crucified to the Throne Room floor by ten of House Titanus’ mightiest and seasoned dragon warriors, their magical hooks driving through flesh and bone alike, at the behest of my parents.

My roars thundered through the space.

They weren’t just rooted in physical pain.

Fury bled through.

Anguish and grief screamed from deep within me, needing to be heard.

My talons burst forth and I growled, panting and sweating all over as I dug them into the floor, fighting against the brutal and vicious assault keeping me down.

“He’s fighting it too much! Commence Ashbinding immediately!” my father’s command sounded, cutting into my roars, grunts, and panting.

A chill rolled down my spine, which was really saying something with the burning, raging pain assaulting every part of me.

Ashbinding?

It was an ancient practice that had been employed centuries ago as a war tactic to vanquish enemies quickly and efficiently during battles of old. Since then, it had only been used in extreme circumstances, such as when a dragon went mad or grew completely out of control and was considered unsalvageable.

It was a reprehensibly cruel and utterly sadistic practice.

To be Ashbound was to be turned into a breathing corpse.

A hollow thing, stripped of fire, stripped of soul.

Because… the ancient punishment meant to extinguish a dragon’s fire forever.

That chill borne from adrenaline and terror at the sound of that awful punishment being invoked became much more in the next moment as it began.

I heard them chanting, their magic altering to fulfill the spell, the awful practice.

Their magic ripping through my flesh turned to ice flooding through me.

They were no longer only tearing through me to keep me down.

They were reaching for my fire.

Reaching to kill it.

Reaching to make sure I would never breathe flame again.

“Stop!” I spluttered, my talons clawing wildly at the floor. “Don’t… don’t do… this.”

“You have brought it forth,” my father called over. “If you had submitted and not attempted to fight your fate, there would be no need for it. You would have been granted a quick, merciful death. As it is, we cannot trust that you will go quietly. With your dragon fire extinguished, it will weaken you to the point that your dragon hide will become vulnerable and a death blow can be administered.”

“Argh!” I cried, ripping my talons from the floor and fighting to pull myself up, bracing my hands beneath me.

But the hooks and the Ashbinding were absolutely devastating me.

I tried to call my dragon fire, sucking in a harsh breath and summoning it forth.

But it wouldn’t come.

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