Dragon Stones (Book One in the Dragon Stone Saga) by Kristian Alva

grandmother
was highly regarded by our people. During the Dragon Wars, the
emperor accused the dwarves of harboring fugitive dragon riders. It
wasn’t true, but it was an excuse to attack us. My people fought
back, withdrawing into Mount Velik. Vosper tried repeatedly to
overtake the mountain, but he never succeeded. Eventually we
prevailed, but we lost many good men. During the war, your
grandmother saved the life of Dracan Lindisfarne, who was the only
son of Hergung Lindisfarne, a clan king. Hergung honored her, and
she was given this dagger as a gift. Hergung went on to become the
leader of all the dwarf clans.”
    Thorin flipped the blade in the palm, “This
knife never needs sharpening, and it can never be forcibly taken
from you, except by someone who shares your bloodline.”
    “But Thorin, I handed the blade to you, and
nothing happened.”
    “Yes, but I’m not going to steal it!” said
Thorin, wagging his finger at the boy. “The blade knows.”
    “But how?” asked Elias.
    “Magic, my boy. How else? Treasure it. It
may save your life someday.” Thorin handed the blade back to
Elias.
    “I wish I understood what was going on. I
haven’t had time to think—when I ran from the village, it was like
a dream. I’ve never seen my grandmother do anything but healing
spells. But today, she killed all those soldiers! I heard her
yelling—but not in fear. She mocked them, even! Then I heard
explosions and smelled smoke.”
    “Your grandmother was gifted with healing
spells, but she picked up other spells here and there. One of our
dwarf mages, Arik, was infatuated with her, and taught her many
incantations.” Thorin’s voice dropped and he cupped his hand to
Elias’ ear in a embarrassed whisper. “It’s unseemly for dwarves and
humans to carry on like that, but everyone knew that Arik was madly
in love with your grandmother. Nothing ever came of it, though—she
wouldn’t have him, either because he was a dwarf, or because she
was already in love with your grandfather.”
    “You knew my grandfather? I never met him.
He died before I was born.”
    “Yes, I met him, but only briefly. He was
one of the other healers; a human mage like your grandmother. He
died during the war. By then, your grandmother was already pregnant
with your mother.” At that, Thorin grew quiet.
    “My mother… I don’t remember anything about
her. Did you know her, too?” asked Elias.
    “No… not really. After your grandfather’s
death, Carina left Mount Velik. She was pregnant with your mother,
Ionela. I only met your mother once—and only briefly. I don’t
remember much about her, I’m afraid.” Thorin paused. “Your
grandmother suffered a great deal. First, she lost her husband,
then her daughter. I’m sure she sacrificed herself for you because
she couldn’t bear the possibility of losing you, too.”
    Elias choked back tears. He decided to
change the subject. “So… how did you know about the dragon
stone?”
    “During the Dragon Wars, most of the riders
went missing. The majority were executed, but some defected to the
other side, to fight alongside the emperor. These traitors were
promised many things, including wealth and prestige. But in the
end, they were all betrayed—after the war, the emperor killed all
the dragons and their riders, even those who fought for him.”
    “Why does the emperor hate dragons so much?”
asked Elias.
    “It’s not hate, lad.
It’s fear . Fear
of the prophesy .”
    “How come I’ve never heard of the
prophesy?”
    “Each race on Durn has its
own books of prophesy,” explained Thorin. “Vosper burned most of
them, but he can’t access our libraries. In our book, the Kynn Oracle, it states
that the emperor will eventually be slain by a dragon and his
rider. So the emperor has done everything to try and eliminate the
threat. When he burned Aonach Tower years ago, the vast libraries
of the mage guilds were lost. But we dwarves have our own
libraries. Our history remains