Chapter 1


    The First Day of the Red Moon Festival.


    The streets of the Capital were crowded with people from all over the country, as they all gathered near


    the Pce to celebrate. For the Dragon Empire, the Red Moon Festival was one of the biggest


    celebrations of the year, held to unt its power and wealth to the neighboring kingdoms. Every wealthy


    person in the country waited for this day, so they could disy their riches, and those who weren’t as


    prosperous found creative ways to appear to be. Warriors in shiny armor, officials in pretty carriages,


    women dripping invish jewelry, and even children in their best attire. If one had any assets, he was to


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    proudly disy them, or else, hide in shame. For in the Dragon Empire, money and possessions meant


    power and power was everything.


    In the middle of the crowd were those no one noticed, those no one cared for, following their masters


    with their eyes glued to the ground. ves.


    Lines of ves followed the processions of their masters in pitiful silence. Walking like shadows, the


    only sounds that could be heard were the nking of their chains and shackles with each step they


    took. Among them, one young ve woman’s eyes were not downcast like the rest. Hers were fixated


    on the blinding gold of the Pce roof.


    The Pce. Earth’s very own piece of Heaven. And while the people of the Capital may have been rich


    and powerful, there was a higher power above them all; the Emperor. Sovereign to all, the Emperor


    was the almighty, considered a living deity among mortals. With unrivaled power, he governed the


    country with an iron fist. No matter what, his word wasw. The Emperor never wanted for anything, as


    everything in the country was his already. He was loved, and worshiped by his people, but most


    importantly they knew to fear him. And on this Red Moon Festival, the Holy Gates of the Imperial


    Pce would be opened to those deemed worthy.


    A Pce envoy had gone out ten days earlier to deliver the coveted red envelopes; an invitation that


    any man would kill for.


    The ve girl had watched her master hope and pray for this letter to arrive at his door. He was a


    Senior Minister, but even his seat at the court could not be guaranteed. He was so stressed that he had


    been treating his household even worse than usual; his concubines, his servants, and especially his


    ves. The girl had a fresh lesion on her back, attesting to his restlessness. Even now, she could still


    feel the stinging burn of the whip.


    Finally, the letter hade. So on the first day of the Red Moon Festival, the old Minister was headed


    to the Pce in an expensive-looking carriage escorted by his entourage. Seven of his favorite


    concubines followed in their own carriages, apanied by their attendants, while twenty ves


    walked behind them.


    The young female didn’t care for all the festivities around her. They walked past delicious smelling food


    stalls that awoke the painfully empty stomachs of the ves. Hers was empty too, but it hardly


    bothered her. She was used to the dull ache of prolonged hunger. She ignored the shops, the food,


    even themon people admiring their procession, and continued walking.


    As usual, the Minister was weed to the Pce. He casually discussed the uing events of the


    festival with his peers and showed off his young and beautiful concubines. For themoners who


    could not enter the Pce, the festival was celebrated with grand parties held at the houses of the


    wealthy, and street shows and fairs. But for the chosen ones, many spectacr events and shows


    were to be disyed in the Pce’s Grand Arena. Therge za, built like a Colosseum, was big


    enough to seat a few thousand people. A portion of it had been cordoned off from the rest; a special


    box, facing south, was richly andvishly decorated, waiting to wee the Emperor, his family, and


    their attendants.


    The ve girl had only heard rumors about what takes ce in therge arena. Heavenly dances,


    chariot races, warrior fights, disys of mythical and bizarre creatures, elite performers… Anything that


    could not be witnessed bymoners was to be disyed for the Emperor and the most honorable


    guests of the Pce during the seven days of the festival.


    For the first three days, she followed her master, attending to one of his concubines as usual. She


    didn’t witness any of the shows, staying in the chambers to clean and await orders, speaking to no one.


    On the fourth day, the Minister’s concubine suddenly sent her to be locked in a cold cage filled with


    other ves. They were simply told that they had been taken from their masters to be given as


    offerings to the Emperor. The young woman stayed there for three more days, with no idea what was


    day of the festival was the only day where, along with the Emperor, all six Dragon Princes had to be


    present. For anyone attending the event, this was the sole opportunity each year to witness the whole


    Imperial Family together, as not all of the Princes lived in the Pce the rest of the year.


    No one knew which one of these young men would seed the Emperor. He was rumored to have his


    favorites, but had yet to name an official heir. From the firstborn to the youngest, any one of the Princes


    could one day rule the Empire. Choosing which Prince to support and please was the most difficult


    decision for the aristocracy to make. Fear of backing the wrong Prince and losing their position was


    always present.


    The seventh day held great importance, for it was also the only day of the festival where the guests


    could see all of the Imperial dragons. The sacred beasts were feared by all, the very epitome of the


    power held by the Dragon Empire. Though the Emperor’s Golden Dragon could be seen asionally


    in the Pce, every guest was waiting for the astonishing sight of all the Imperial Dragons gathered in


    one ce.


    They started arriving, one by one, in the Grand Arena, each Prince was apanied by his dragon.


    Three of them came from the sky, flying their magnificent beasts. The remaining Princes entered the


    arena by foot, their dragons following close behind them. The sight of the enormous, scaled creatures


    frightened most of the crowd, yet they could not bear to take their eyes off of them. Each dragon was at


    least eight times the size of a man, up to twelve or thirteen times for thergest of them. Two of the


    dragons were brought in cages, while the others were chained or muzzled. For each of these dragons,


    three to ten servants came to guard them, but thest dragon was ledpletely free and unattended.


    He wore only a chain cor around his neck and he followed his master closely like an obedient dog.


    Leaving them in the center of the arena, the Princes, one after another, took their seats, all aligned on a


    broad tform beneath the Emperor’s throne.


    As the crowd chatted about the six beautiful creatures disyed in the arena, some of the Emperor’s


    sons joined the conversations as well. The Fifth Prince was bragging about how he had fallen for a


    minister’s concubine the previous day, and had eventually beheaded the old man so he could have


    them all.


    “How many did you get in the end, brother?” asked the Second Prince with a sneer.


    “Seven. But I don’t need that many… I will only take the most beautiful of them!”


    “How generous of you…” muttered the Fourth Prince, looking bored.


    “How about you leave some beauties for our third brother?” the Second Prince jested. “He has yet to


    take any women in.”


    “Not all of us need that muchpany, brother,” grumbled the youngest Prince in defence of his


    brother.


    They all waited to hear their third brother’s response, but were greeted with silence. He was the one


    who had arrived upon the unrestrained dragon. The enormous beast obediently stood still and the


    Prince’s obsidian eyes were set on the arena, ignoring his siblingspletely. His brothers stopped


    chatting and followed his gaze.


    A hundred feet beneath them, a young man was introducing the uing show, the first of the day: an


    offering to the Imperial Dragons. Behind him, arge group of people were waiting to be sacrificed,


    surrounded by armed men. Any time one of them dared to cry out, the guards wouldsh out and whip


    them, cutting deep into their flesh. So the group remained silent. They were all condemned to death.


    Criminals, war prisoners, and ves – each of them were condemned to die that day. Some of the


    ves present formerly belonged to an old Minister. As their master had died, the people of the Pce


    had just decided to get rid of them, along with the other ves that had been offered as tributes.


    Among them was the young ve girl with emerald-green eyes. She had just turned seventeen this


    past winter, but had the manner and charms of a woman. She was a diamond amongst charcoal,


    beautiful despite the dust and grime covering her. Under theyer of dirt, she had very pale skin and


    was so thin that her bones were clearly defined and protruding beneath her dress. Her long, disheveled


    hair fell from her shoulders to her hips, like a waterfall. Her face was beautiful, diamond-shaped with a


    small nose and thin cheeks. Her lips had taken on a light pink shade due to the cold, which had also


    left her shivering. Her temple was sporting a cut crusted with dried blood and surrounded by fresh


    bruising. A remnant from a guard who had struck her earlier while pushing them into the arena.


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