For centuries, a fierce war has raged between the mighty Draegon Taymerx and the savages of Dijab Olli-Kax, who has an inordinate lust for blood. The history of war is long and complicated, with periods of relative peace and ones of great warfare. The Draegon Taymerx—with their advances in art, music, literature, medicine, and agriculture—fight to protect their flourishing and prosperous lifestyle, which the Dijab Olli-Kax covet.

Father and son team Aeba and Aebbasen are fighters devoted to the Draegon Taymerx effort with the goal of being assigned to the elite fighting corps, the mighty Aeterna Leqion. But there’s a snag in these plans when Aeba is abducted in an ambush by the Dijab Olli-Kax and taken to Impael Spelunku, a dungeon where unspeakable torture takes place. Aebbasen must navigate the war-ridden land to save his father.

In the midst of warfare, the Secret of Aejution has been rediscovered. The precious knowledge, lost for centuries, details how the people tamed the Draegon beasts and how the nation of Draegon Taymer came to be. Will this secret be revealed before all hope is lost?

There were shouts in the darkness. Throughout chilling nights, burning hatred grew with its venomous corruption. Enraged armies clashed head-on and stained the ground with blood. As each night progressed, generals screamed like madmen. The only light that they could see was from the orange glimmer of flaming sticks. Nevertheless, swords clanged with great fury. Sometimes men would accidentally take a slash at one of their friends, since they could barely see. These were scenes of massive slaughter. Yet during the daytime, silence pierced the ears of the warriors. They hid in fear lest they be discovered by the enemy. Snapping of twigs, wind hissing through the leaves—any noise they heard added to their agitation. This was the time for sleep, but sleep was scarce. The men became delirious from the lack of sleep, which intensified their paranoia. In this state of tension, they waited impatiently for another night of bloodshed. Then when the sun faded away, heated violence arose again. At night, the air grew heavy with angry screams, clanging of swords, and all manner of bitter hatred. These were beautiful, starry nights left unseen, since the armies were occupied with the ugliness below. Thus was the state of the land for centuries where the tale to follow took place. Before proceeding with the story, though, it is important to describe both of the opponents in this war. One of them was the mighty nation of the Draegon Taymerx. These Draegon Taymerx had an astounding history. They were a great society founded long ago by a nomad tribe. Around a decade prior to this founding, they had left their homeland due to unpleasant circumstances. They traveled across many seas and wide-reaching lands to establish a new start. Unfortunately, the details of their journey and why they left in the first place were lost to history. Finally, the then-nameless tribe found a choice place. They looked down upon a land verdant with lush, green plants and fresh, clear water flowing from blue cliff sides into a misty lake. The chief of the tribe decided that they would travel no more. They had found a land where they could build a great and flourishing civilization. It would be the new start for which they had been looking. The chief called the land Syonii which meant “World of Hope.” However, their fortune didn’t come easy. Little did they know when they arrived, but this great land was already occupied by terrible creatures of many shapes and sizes. Some of these had wings and acute heads, which enabled them to fly. Others had spikes on their tails or heads that they used to fight against their foes. Some were enormous while others were the size of birds The various species of these beasts were endless. When all the forms of beast were discovered, in all their shapes and sizes, the tribe collectively named them the Draegonx, after beasts of their own mythology. The most fearsome of the Draegonx were giants that were almost as tall as the valley’s cliff sides. They had bone-crushing jaws and the ability to blow intense infernos of flame a distance greater than their height a hundred fold. They had wings, but ones that were small in relation to their size, which only allowed them to glide. All the other creatures avoided them, because these behemoths hunted and terrorized the others for game. The tribesmen named these Titenx. This type, however, became endangered through time. In occupying this new land, the tribe found it was a fight for survival against the Draegonx. According to their history, shortly after settling the valley there was a council where the chief and his associates made a decision to send out their most skilled hunters to attempt to clear the land of all Draegonx. They had decided that this land they had found was too great to give up without a fight. Since Titenx were the most threatening, the hunters drove them to near-extinction. While the hunters were out slaying the Draegonx, guards would be on the lookout on tall towers for invading Draegonx. If they spotted any, they would sound a warning with enormous thundering drums situated on their towers. The women and children of the village would then retreat into hidden underground tunnels, while the men who hadn’t gone on that day’s hunt battled against the Draegonx. The locations of these tunnels has been lost to the modern Draegon Taymerx. One day, an event occurred that changed everything. In one of the hunting parties, the chief’s son named Aejution was assigned to gather wood for his camp. It was a peaceful night, and the humid forest around Aejution seemed to come alive with several little nocturnal critters. Aejution decided to extend his walk and enjoy this atmosphere. He smelled sweet odors and felt the breeze. This relaxed him, and he started dozing off. He began to notice that he was wandering off too far. He realized he was no longer able to recognize his surroundings. Then the sounds of the forest began to fade. Shadows began to creep upon him. He felt a sudden sense of loneliness. Before the chief had allowed Aejution to become a hunter, he had warned him of what this change in the environment meant—he was being hunted by a group of Schrodx. Schrodx were a type of Draegon that could turn invisible and that hunted in packs using strategic tactics. They only became visible again when they first attacked. But by then it was usually too late; their prey was usually eaten alive before it could defend itself. Aejution felt the hairs on his neck raise when a warm breeze blew on it. That’s the breath of a Schrod, he thought. The breathing became heavier, and … That’s where the story ended, because what happened next was unknown to the modern-day Draegon Taymer civilization. Somehow Aejution had become the first to tame a Draegon. How this was accomplished was a mystery because that part of Aejution’s account from historians’ old manuscripts has become worn off and lost. Nonetheless, after Aejution’s great discovery, the tribe used this knowledge of taming Draegonx to make them into a luxury, rather than a threat. They domesticated the Draegonx and used them for tasks that would otherwise be impossible, like carrying heavy stones from the cliff sides for building great palaces, city walls, and other enormous structures. Throughout the following years, the civilization advanced in numerous ways. They became sophisticated in art, music, literature, astronomy, agriculture, medicine, and many other fields of study. They were prosperous. Over the centuries, the Draegonx went through an evolution that made them tame by nature, so the secret for taming them was forgotten. A symbiotic relationship developed between the tribe—now called the Draegon Taymerx—and the Draegonx, so a Draegon would do anything to protect its master. In more recent times, historians have again developed an obsession with finding out the secret of taming. It was a curiosity that drove them mad. They looked for whatever information they could find in various old manuscripts, scrolls, journals, and whatever ancient records they could get their hands on, especially ones that gave any account of Aejution, to see if they could unravel the secret.

A. Steve Zimm developed an interest for creative writing in his childhood. During long trips in the family van between Texas and Utah, he wrote stories fueled by his wild and vibrant imagination.