Excerpt: Rukbat - Tentative Title

Prologue

Rukbat was settled by those escaping from earth thousands of years ago; an intimate meeting with the Kh'raal however almost killed all those settlers were it not for the majestic dragons. Native of Rukbat they had fought the Kh'raal for longer than any could remember; in the people they found a new strength, when imprinted to one another at birth, both rider and dragon were greatly strengthened and though they shared a bond in which ones life was shared in unity nothing but death could separate them. Whilst not all of them were “good” and some were tainted by the greed and lust for power the ghostly black dragons called the Kh'raal had; many fleeting to the otherside as they were brain washed, Rukbat still maintained a somewhat peaceful life. Thousands of years passed by and the peace seemed to continue, whilst the Kh'raal grew stronger on the borderlands of the four outer Eyries.. the name given to the tall spire like mountains that the dragon riders homes were carved from. In all there were 9 Eyries, four outer, four inner and one center; they were named as such.

Zephyr – the outer west
Bercik – the outer north
Sutton – the outer south
Tolya – the outer east

Ausra – the inner east
Hinaea – the inner west
Tamasi – the inner south
Duha – the inner north

Aanal – the center

All were named after the first nine settlers to have ever imprinted on a dragon, the first loyal nine who each founded these Eyries and built them up to the glorious strong holds they were, protecting those land owners below in the valleys. A great prosperity grew between all the Eyries and even the presence of the Kh'raal seemed to dwindle. During one such prosperous year a clutch laid at Tolya by the Gold Osiria caused quite a stir; it was not anything to do with the clutch but the choice Osiria made in choosing a partner for her golden daughter. A man, it was not a woman she chose like every other golden mother before her would have chosen, like she had chosen before for previous golden daughters. For this one she chose a man, a man by the name of Izryel; he tended to the golden egg until when at dawn one month later she made her entrance into the world. He did not have to wait long to know her name as it was Loiria; she told him shortly after her hatching. They worked diligently and were perfectionists in every way, truly an asset to their Eyrie. This prosperity was not meant to last though; first Rukbat was hit by a plague, this plague did not discriminate and many lives were lost; both Dragon, Human and Kh'raal. Eyrie after Eyrie fell, first it was Ausra and it wasn't long before Tamasi fell either. Sutton, Hinaea and Zephyr fell next; soon it was Duha's turn to fall, the very last was Aanal. Tolya began taking on more and more of those who were without their Eyrie and as such managed to survive. However Tolya had lost her leaders and as such new ones were not decided until Loiria rose. Izryel was Eyrie Leader now and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him; at first everyone was happy with the choice, many having become used to his 5 year presence at the Eyrie since his imprinting to Loiria those 5 years earlier.

It was not to be as such, this soft hearted supposedly kind exterior that Izryel showed was nothing but a facade for those residents of Tolya. In reality he was an ambitious man, a very charismatic ambitious man who would do anything to gain what he desired, and what he desired was power and recognition. Being the only male goldrider was not enough recognition for him, no he wanted more, he wanted to control everything. Thus Rukbat was plunged into turmoil, plunged into a dark age of treachery; slave trade and debauchery. Women were sold as slaves and the more beautiful the girl and the younger the girl the higher price she had. Some women were lucky in who they ended up serving, other were not so lucky and the status between girls varied so wildly that certain circles were not even allowed to associate. In most cases those girls with a higher status could order around those beneath them depending on the rank of their captor. Many young girls were now locked in by their fathers or dressed as boys to try and keep them from the life that awaited many at Tolya Eyrie which was now the living Eyrie out of the original nine.

It's almost been a decade that has past since Izryel became dictator of Rukbat or Master of Rukbat as he prefers. Rukbat's age of darkness continues; Loiria has become the only living gold left, and a white has not been seen in over a century. Izryel's strict rule meant that women were all but banned from being near the sands when Loiria had laid a new clutch and men were all she had to choose from. Perhaps it was because of this she never laid another gold, for the only glimmers of metallic sheen to the shells of any of her eggs came from the metallic males. Whether or not Rukbat will be rescued from this nightmarish hell is to be seen; but this time some swear there is a change in the air, some swear that finally the time has come for Rukbat to return to her former glory.