The Night the Sky Turned Red

One thousand years ago.

The first thing the people of Eldoria noticed was the silence.

No birds sang from the rooftops.

No insects stirred beneath the lanterns.

Even the wind seemed to have abandoned the city.

A young boy stood beside his mother in the eastern market square, staring toward the mountains beyond Eldoria's walls.

“Mom…”

His mother stopped walking.

“What is it?”

He pointed.

“Why is the sky red?”

She followed his gaze.

At first, the glow beyond the mountains resembled sunrise.

But it was the middle of the night.

The crimson light grew brighter.

Then the earth trembled.

BOOM.

The boy stumbled.

Windows shattered around the square.

Horses screamed and tore free from their reins.

People stopped where they stood.

Another tremor came.

Stronger.

Closer.

BOOM.

“What was that?”

“An earthquake?”

“Get away from the buildings!”

The boy's mother grabbed his hand.

“Come with me.”

A shadow rose above the eastern horizon.

It was enormous.

Far too large to belong to any bird.

Two wings spread across the stars.

Someone whispered—

“Dragon…”

The word passed through the crowd.

Then came the roar.

ROOOOOOOAR!

The sound struck Eldoria like thunder.

The boy covered his ears.

His mother pulled him against her.

People screamed.

The guards on the eastern wall raised their bows.

“Positions!”

“Prepare the ballistae!”

“Sound the alarm!”

The city bells began ringing.

Once.

Twice.

Then again and again.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The dragon descended.

For an instant, moonlight reflected across enormous crimson scales.

The guards froze.

One of them lowered his bow.

“No…”

The dragon opened its jaws.

A glow formed deep within its throat.

“MOVE!”

Crimson fire struck the eastern wall.

BOOOOOOM!

Stone exploded.

The gate disappeared beneath flame and smoke.

The shockwave threw soldiers from the battlements.

Burning debris rained into the streets.

The boy's mother dragged him away.

“Run!”

The crowd surged toward the western district.

The boy looked back.

Through the smoke, he saw only fragments of the creature.

Black horns.

Burning golden eyes.

Crimson scales.

And wings large enough to cover entire streets in shadow.

“Mom, what is it?!”

She didn't answer.

Because another voice had already shouted from behind them.

“A red dragon!”

The words spread faster than the fire.

“A red dragon!”

“Run!”

“It's attacking Eldoria!”

The creature swept over the rooftops.

Another torrent of flame descended.

Homes vanished beneath crimson fire.

People fled through narrow streets.

Some carried children.

Others dragged wounded family members.

Some simply ran without knowing where they were going.

The city that had stood for centuries was burning in minutes.

And above it all flew the crimson dragon.

High upon a ridge overlooking Eldoria, seven figures watched the destruction.

Six wore armor.

The seventh carried a staff.

A woman dressed in silver plate stepped toward the cliff's edge.

Her cape snapped behind her.

“So the records were true.”

The wizard beside her tightened his grip on his staff.

“I hoped they weren't.”

Another warrior drew his sword.

“You recognize it?”

The wizard stared at the crimson shadow circling the city.

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then—

“Vharagor.”

The armored woman turned toward him.

“That is its name?”

The wizard nodded.

“The Crimson Dragon.”

Another explosion shook Eldoria.

Fire climbed toward the night sky.

One of the younger warriors stared at the destruction.

“How powerful is he?”

The wizard's expression darkened.

“Powerful enough that if we fail tonight, there may not be an Eldoria by sunrise.”

The armored woman drew her sword.

Blue-white light traveled along its edge.

“Then we don't fail.”

She faced the others.

“Heroes of Eldoria!”

Weapons were drawn.

“Tonight we defend our people.”

The warriors nodded.

The wizard raised his staff.

“Let's go.”

The heroes had barely reached the outer streets when the sky changed.

A second roar echoed across Eldoria.

Then another.

And another.

The armored woman stopped.

“What now?”

The wizard looked upward.

His face went pale.

Shapes descended through the clouds.

One dragon.

Then three.

Then five.

More followed behind them.

Unlike Vharagor, their scales were different colors.

Black.

Blue.

White.

Green.

Silver.

The survivors below screamed.

“More dragons!”

“We're surrounded!”

But the new dragons did not attack the people.

They flew directly toward Vharagor.

The first—a massive black dragon—struck him from above.

Its claws tore across his wing.

Vharagor roared and twisted through the air.

A blue dragon opened its jaws.

Lightning erupted.

KRAAAACK!

The blast struck Vharagor's chest and sent him crashing through a stone tower.

The tower collapsed.

The heroes stared.

One of the warriors whispered—

“They're attacking him.”

The armored woman looked at the wizard.

“Why?”

“I don't know.”

Vharagor burst from the ruins.

Crimson fire exploded from his jaws.

Two dragons scattered.

A third was struck directly and fell burning beyond the city walls.

The remaining dragons surrounded him.

They attacked from every direction.

Claws.

Lightning.

Ice.

Wind.

Vharagor fought back with brutal force.

Every collision shook the city below.

The armored woman tightened her grip on her sword.

“They aren't protecting Eldoria.”

“No,” the wizard replied.

A white dragon froze part of Vharagor's wing.

The black dragon struck again.

Vharagor fell.

At the last moment, he twisted away from a crowd fleeing through the western streets and crashed instead into the ruined eastern district.

The armored woman raised her sword.

“Move! This is our chance!”

The heroes charged.

Vharagor rose from the rubble.

Blood ran between his scales.

One wing sagged.

His breathing came in heavy bursts.

Still, when the heroes approached, his golden eyes focused upon them immediately.

The armored woman lifted her sword.

“Vharagor!”

The dragon growled.

The sound vibrated through the stones beneath their feet.

“You have taken enough lives tonight!”

She charged.

Her glowing blade struck the scales along his foreleg.

Sparks erupted.

Other warriors followed.

A spear struck Vharagor's shoulder.

A hammer crashed against his side.

Magic exploded against his chest.

The dragon roared.

His tail swept across the street.

Three warriors were thrown through the remains of a house.

“Spread out!” the woman shouted.

Vharagor inhaled.

Fire glowed within his throat.

“DOWN!”

Crimson flame consumed the street.

The armored woman rolled behind a fallen stone wall.

The heat scorched her armor.

Above them, the other dragons circled.

Waiting.

Watching.

Then they attacked again.

Lightning struck Vharagor.

Ice covered one of his legs.

A black dragon crashed into his back.

The crimson dragon roared in fury.

The wizard watched from farther up the ruined street.

He began chanting.

Symbols appeared around his staff.

One circle.

Then another.

Then dozens.

White light gathered above Eldoria.

The armored woman looked toward him.

“How long?!”

“Three minutes!”

“We don't have three minutes!”

“Then give me three minutes!”

She cursed under her breath.

“Everyone! Keep him here!”

The heroes attacked again.

The battle became chaos.

Humans fought from below.

Dragons attacked from above.

Vharagor stood between them.

Every movement destroyed more of the city.

The crimson dragon fought with terrifying strength, but the combined assault slowly drove him toward the eastern ruins.

The other dragons struck from every direction.

Vharagor answered with fire.

The heroes pressed forward whenever he faltered.

The wizard's spell grew brighter above the city.

Ancient symbols rotated around the forming weapon.

The armored woman looked up.

“How long?!”

“Almost!”

Vharagor slammed one of the dragons into the ground.

A blue dragon's lightning struck him across the chest.

The crimson dragon staggered.

The magical weapon locked onto him.

The wizard's expression changed.

“No…”

“What?”

“The spell has locked onto him!”

The armored woman stared.

“Good!”

“No. I haven't finished stabilizing it!”

The weapon began glowing brighter.

“If it fires now—”

A shockwave shook the street.

The woman shouted—

“Do it!”

“The eastern district will be destroyed!”

She looked around at the burning ruins.

“It already is!”

The wizard hesitated.

Below the weapon, Vharagor struggled to stand.

The other dragons descended.

The heroes prepared their weapons.

The crimson dragon looked toward the sky.

Then toward the fleeing survivors.

The wizard clenched his teeth.

“Forgive me.”

He lowered his staff.

“Fire!”

The heavens turned white.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A pillar of light descended.

It struck Vharagor directly.

His roar tore across Eldoria.

The blast swallowed the eastern district.

Stone melted.

Fire vanished beneath white light.

The heroes were thrown from their feet.

The other dragons scattered into the clouds.

Vharagor fell.

His body struck the earth.

CRAAAAASH!

The impact opened a massive crater.

Then—

Silence.

By sunrise, Eldoria was gone.

Not entirely.

But enough.

Whole districts had become fields of ash.

The eastern wall no longer existed.

Smoke covered the streets.

Survivors wandered through the ruins calling for loved ones who would never answer.

The heroes gathered beside the crater.

The armored woman removed her helmet.

“Is he dead?”

The wizard stared downward.

There was no body.

Only blood.

Broken scales.

And scorched stone.

One warrior frowned.

“Where is the corpse?”

“No idea.”

“You said the weapon killed him.”

“I said the weapon struck him.”

The warrior stepped closer.

“That's not the same thing.”

“No.”

The wizard looked into the smoke below.

“It isn't.”

A young soldier approached.

“Master.”

The wizard turned.

“The survivors are asking what happened.”

He looked toward the ruined city.

People stood among the ashes.

Some cried.

Some stared silently.

Others looked toward the crater with hatred.

The soldier swallowed.

“What do we tell them?”

Before the wizard could respond, an elderly man stepped from the crowd.

His clothes were burned.

Blood stained one side of his face.

“My wife is dead.”

No one spoke.

“My sons are dead.”

His eyes moved toward the crimson scale lying near the crater.

“That thing destroyed our city.”

The wizard frowned.

“The battle was more complicated than—”

“Complicated?”

The old man pointed at the ruins.

“Look around you!”

Others gathered behind him.

“We saw the red dragon.”

“We saw its fire!”

“It killed them!”

The wizard looked at the armored woman.

She said nothing.

The old man's hands trembled.

“No red dragon should ever be allowed to do this again.”

Someone behind him murmured—

“Never again.”

Another voice followed.

“Kill them all.”

The wizard's expression changed.

The old man raised his voice.

“All red dragons must be exterminated!”

The words echoed through the ruined streets.

Silence followed.

Then—

“All red dragons must be exterminated!”

Another voice joined.

Then another.

Soon dozens were shouting.

“Exterminate them!”

“Kill every one!”

“Never again!”

The wizard stared at the crowd.

He remembered the other dragons attacking Vharagor.

He remembered the way the crimson dragon had fought desperately against them.

He remembered how the spell had struck him before the battle could truly end.

None of it explained why he had attacked Eldoria.

None of it changed the dead.

The armored woman stepped beside him.

“What do we tell history?”

The wizard looked toward the crater.

Then toward the people.

Finally, he closed his eyes.

“The truth we know.”

“And what truth is that?”

His eyes opened.

“Vharagor attacked Eldoria.”

The woman waited.

“And the other dragons?”

The wizard looked toward the empty sky.

“We don't know why they came.”

“So we include them?”

He didn't answer immediately.

Behind them, the survivors continued chanting.

“All red dragons must be exterminated!”

The wizard lowered his staff.

“No.”

The armored woman studied him.

“Why?”

“Because people need an enemy they can understand.”

She looked troubled.

“And if the story is incomplete?”

“It will still be the story they remember.”

By nightfall, the first version of history had already been written.

Vharagor, the Crimson Dragon, attacked Eldoria.

Heroes rose against him.

Vharagor was defeated.

Nothing was written about the dragon clans that descended from the clouds.

Nothing explained why they had attacked Vharagor.

Nothing explained why he had come.

Years passed.

Then decades.

Then centuries.

The story became legend.

The legend became law.

And the law became hatred.

Red dragons were hunted.

Their nests were burned.

Their names disappeared from records.

Eventually, the people of Aetheria believed they were gone forever.

But beneath the ashes of Eldoria, one question survived.

A question history could never answer.

Why had Vharagor attacked the city that night?

For one thousand years…

no one knew.

And somewhere far beyond the ruins of Eldoria—

the truth waited.