Page 1 of Wynter and the Stone Dragon

Prologue

Arastan Stormhold cradled the newborn in his arms. Dread weighed on his heart as he looked at the alien world through the fiery, gold ring. The balcony doors of the bedroom were open, giving a view of an alien hoard overrunning the defenses of the castle.

An attacker burst into the room and the newborn’s mother surged up from her bed and met the threat with a gesture that crackled with magic. When the mother collapsed back onto the bed, her features pale, Arastan watched with growing horror as the life drained from her stunning green eyes.

“Protect her.”

The haunting plea washed over Arastan before he quickly closed the connection between the two worlds. No one but the baby would be coming through to Zelos.

The gold ring that used to be the portal fell to the ground, smaller than his palm once more. He partially turned when Lyia, his beautiful wife, hesitated in the doorway to his lab. Her astonished eyes were locked on the infant in his arms.

“Arastan? Where? What? Oh, my love, she is beautiful,” Lyia whispered, walking forward to tenderly caress the baby’s soft, platinum blonde hair that was streaked with brilliant blue strands.

Lyia glanced back at where the fiery portal had been only seconds ago, her face conveying her awe and trepidation. “How is this possible?”

The Rings of Power had never been used this way. Arastan hadn’t known it waspossibleto make a traversable portal with the rings. This was not the intended result of his experiment, not at all.

He looked at the newborn in his arms, mesmerized by her brilliant green eyes. She stared up at him with a curious, trusting expression. Arastan smiled when she yawned and closed her eyes.

“I’m not sure how this is possible, Lyia, but it happened,” Arastan finally replied.

“Let me take her,” Lyia said.

Arastan tenderly handed the infant to his beloved wife. She beamed at the baby and stroked her cheek lovingly. Lyia had always loved children. Their unusually large family was mostly her idea. He would give her anything, and she had given him so much in return—a love and a life that he had not known could bring so much happiness.

A realization made him suddenly go cold. If the Mage Council discovered the unexpected consequences of his experiments, they could shut down his life’s work. The rings were designed to allow observation, not act as a method of travel.

“No one must know about this, Lyia,” Arastan warned, cupping his wife’s cheek in his large palm.

Lyia nodded. “What shall we tell the others?”

“That she is our daughter. Luckily, you and the children have only recently returned from Isotope and everyone knows your love of taking in strays. They will not question it.”

The sleeping infant did look Glacian enough that they could pretend she was a native of the ice world. Her skin did not have the iconic bluish tint, but not all Glacians had that coloring.

Lyia nodded before looking at him with concern. “Her family?”

Arastan shook his head. “Gone. Her mother begged me to protect her, and we will,” he vowed.

“Wynter,” Lyia said as she carefully made her way to the exit. “We will call her Wynter.”

Arastan looked ruefully at the thick frost that coated his entire lab and smiled at how well the name fit. Ice crystals covered the surface of his workbench and the vast array of tomes that lined his walls. Icicles hung from the shelves.

He picked up the glowing ring and pulled the magical energy back into his body. The dull yellow gold reflected the stone interior of his workroom again.

He had created these rings so he could unobtrusively observe other worlds without having to travel to them. The research base they resided in was also inconspicuous. It had extremely modern conveniences, but it looked like a medieval castle. All Enyoan bases were built to blend in with the local environment. The Mage-line demanded that they observe and, if necessary, provide only the smallest amount of guidance to the worlds they visit.

The purpose of the Mage-line was to pursue knowledge and evolve, not to gain power or wealth. There were enough species in the universe who desired such things; the Mage-line would not contribute to those travesties. Mages who abused their powers were stripped of their magic and cast into a place where they were sure to die without it.

For the last ten years, he, Lyia, and their four children, Castor, Harmonia, and twins, Ladon and Electra had made a home here. The locals had accepted them, and the Mage Council had left him alone, seemingly forgetting that he and Lyia existed. The family seldom left the research base. Lyia’s trip to Isotope to visit her sister was one of the rare times they were separated.

Arastan walked over to his workbench, sat down, and placed the ring next to the tome he was working on. He picked up a quill pen, dipped it into an enchanted inkwell, and began to work with a feverish intensity. Page after page filled with the scenes he had witnessed, down to the smallest detail. His ink-stained fingers trembled as he completed the final stroke. It took hours to complete, but at last he was done.

Arastan studied the finished illustrations. Confident the ink was dry, he placed the gold Ring of Power on the page. He felt determination and grief as he studied the still features of the mysterious young woman who would never again see her newborn daughter.

This world I have just discovered is too dangerous to access again. This story is best left alone,he sadly thought, closing the book and sealing the ring inside.

ChapterOne

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