The Hall of Sacrul rumbled with the low growl of dragons. Fourteen great beasts sat in their true forms around a dais made of deepstar stone, a mineral said to have fallen from the bones of dying stars. Each dragon revealed its true form in silent contest, the weight of their might pressing against the air. Heat shimmered between them, an invisible storm of pride and restrained carnage.

At the head sat Segrenry, her crimson scales alive with molten light. Her dragonian ruby eyes mirrored ...