When a dragon bit her, Aralaiah Sentin changed. She ?became a Dragonesque, part-human, part-dragon. It was ?a long, hard struggle to come to terms with what had ?happened to her and accept that she was different now. ?But eventually, she agreed to move to Dracos, the ?dragon rider settlement in the mountains, where the ?people were like her and she could learn to use the ?magical, dragon-given abilities that were part of her new ?self. ?
However, even in Dracos she encountered prejudice, ?partly because of her origins, partly because, unlike every ?other Dragonesque, she possessed all eight dragon ?colours. There were even some who thought she ?shouldn't have been allowed to live and that they ought ?to correct that. ?
All Dragonesque are part of the army of Dracos and ?must undergo assessment at the age of fifteen to ?determine where they fit in the military hierarchy. Driven ?out of assessment when her own training sergeant tried ?to kill her, Aralaiah believed there was no future for her ?in Dracos. She prepared to go home to the Lowlands.?
However, in her struggles to make a place for herself in ?Dracos she discovered a new, easier and more efficient ?way to do magic; one that promises to benefit every ?Dragonesque and raise the standard of magic throughout ?the society. One that could win them the coming war. ?One that no one in Dracos, bound by tradition and ?knowing from childhood the 'right' way of doing magic, ?had managed to discover in over three hundred years. ?
With war with the Dragonesque's ancient enemy, the ?Sorcerers, looming, that is a momentous discovery; a ?discovery that may well win them the war. It appears ?that, far from trying to kill her, every Dragonesque ought ?to be grateful that Aralaiah wasn't born and raised in the ?society. Aralaiah is persuaded to stay in Dracos at least ?for a time and teach her new method.?
As Dracos and the kingdom of Noranda as a whole ?descend inexorably into war, she and a small band of ?helpers set out on an ambitious race against time to ?educate every Dragonesque in this new way of doing ?magic before they are deployed to fight. But, it will only ?be a matter of time before the Sorcerers learn of this ?revolution, too...?
