Humans, storm chasers, sailors, dragon riders, and airbenders—in that order. That was the hierarchy. From the onset, humans had always led that hierarchy. We were the ones ruling the universe.
Until…
The dragon riders struck. It happened like a nightmare. One moment we were celebrating the coronation of King Hero; the next, we were scrambling for safety as fireballs rained down on every corner of the land and tremendous roars tore through the air.
I vividly recall that day. I had run into my room and watched through the window as Madam Ferak was engulfed by fire spat from a dragon's mouth. And they were massive—huge beasts with heavy, flapping wings and thunderous voices. I crouched in the corner, my breathing ragged, listening to screams of pain and the sound of houses burning in the distance. One villager almost threw himself through my bedroom window for cover, but he was too late; a nasty blast of dragon fire caught him first.
I peeked up, my nose flaring as I saw the beast glaring down. It was high in the sky, yet it seemed terrifyingly close, larger than my father's king-sized bed. How had they trained their dragons to become powerful enough to ruin thousands of homes? How had they created enough power to massacre a huge city?
By the following day, there were 3,000 lost lives and 6,000 destroyed homes. King Hero had lost most of his servants, too—including the very woman who had raised me since I was three: Madam Ferak."