by J.Smith
Every ten years, the Tree of Beginnings chooses one hundred contestants. They enter the arena city seeking glory. They leave crowned… or broken. The victor claims a wish powerful enough to command kingdoms, restore dying lands, or reshape the laws of the world itself. The rest are erased. Once, the Trials forged heroes. Now, they barely hold the world together. The Seven Ancient Dragons who once embodied space, time, flame, storm, sea, stone, and sky are long dead. Their blood became rival Houses. Their power became politics. And ten years ago, the Shadow King committed the gravest sin. He spilled royal blood outside of the arena. For that crime, he was executed. His House was stripped of honor. His people were cursed into Fallen to decay while the world moved on. Now his nephew comes of age. Prince Lucien enters the same city that condemned his bloodline. He carries no allies. No trust. Only a name the other rulers would rather see buried. But the arena remembers. And something within it has begun to stir. The next Trial will not simply choose a ruler. It will decide whether the age of dragons truly ended— Or whether something far darker is waiting to rise.
