It's on a fresh, crisp early morning when one really gets to see the true beauty and valour of Avalentis. With the sun sauntering just above the horizon, disipitating what remains of the nightly cloud cover and creating a gentle gradient from sweet pink to fiery yellow, Avalentis seems to glow with a shimmer not even Kris could fathom in his dream-like visions. The rays caress themselves over the towering golden spires, reflecting and refracting through the glass walls and ceiling high windows, throwing up a flux of rainbows from the colour spectrum. That's all Avalentis was; a city of glass, sparkling like water gems underneath the spring sun. The spire structures were curved and smoothed gracefully, carved from solid gold stone which fed into thin bridges and linked one tower to the other.

Kris watched in awe as his occupied tower was bathed in golden light, squinting his sensitive eyes and resting his palm flat against the glass surface before him, the warmth welcome on his cheeks. He had been observing the mornings preceding sunrise with mild interest, taking the time to watch Avalentis come to life underneath his feet, the citizens looking similar to small working ants at this height. From here, he could see the market square, with barters already setting up their stalls and tents with mild enthusiasm, oh and the barracks too. Kris watched as he was able to make out a group of young men, maybe 15 years old, swing wooden sticks around at a dummy made out of hay, their trainer watching with distasteful eyes. It reminded Kris of when he trained by himself with-

You're finally awake.

Blinking against the sun, Kris felt a smile tug at his lips as he heard the familiar deep and wizened voice sound in his head, almost as clear as hearing it right beside him. He removed his hand from the glass panel to peer up into the sky, wrinkling his brow.

How long have you been awake? He murmured in his head, his eyes searching the opening and closing gaps between the clouds.

Many hours, your visions are getting worse.

Kris stiffened visibly and dropped his gaze to the earth below, clenching his fist against his side.

You saw that?

I always do Kris.

Kris held back a sigh and tried to keep his memories of the previous night from washing over him in an inescapable wave of emotion, however he was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door.

"M'Lord? Are you awake?"

Kris inhaled deeply at the sound of his assistant and stepped away from the glass, taking one last fleeting glace at the metropolis lay before him, before turning and murmuring an assent. The door creaked open a little and a rounded face poked itself into the room, his buggy eyes darting left and right before landing on Kris, who was stood tall and still in the centre of the room, his hands grasped behind his back.

"Good morning Youngchul." Kris announced with an eyebrow quirked, his voice deep as it resonated through the room. Youngchul froze for a moment before stepping whole-heartedly into the room and bowing at a sharp ninety degree angle. Youngchul, wasn't a boy of much stature, his back arched slightly giving him a rather slouched appearance, and his face was riddled with acne, but Kris didn't mind. The boy had done nothing but help him since he arrived here in Avalentis.

"M'Lord, King Jinho requests an audience with you and Verexis at noon. He wishes to discuss your current affairs." Youngchul blabbered, not raising him from his bow.

Meaning he wants to pry into our business.

Kris pressed his lips together to supress a chuckle, before waving his hand dismissively. "Thank you Youngchul, please let his Majesty know we'll be attending."

Against my will.

Stop complaining, I said I'd help didn't I?

Youngchul raised from his bow and smiled dorkily towards the older man. "Breakfast is soon to be served m'lord, feel free to take a look around the courts in the meantime, or ask a servant to call for me if you need assistance."

Kris nodded once firmly. "Thank you Youngchul, that'll be all."

Youngchul bowed once again before sidling out of the room, the door closing with a muted click behind him. Releasing a sigh, Kris sauntered arcoss his circular room, his boots clicking against the intricate golden brown mosaic on the floor before plopping himself onto the bed, his behind sinking temptingly into the mattress. Before Kris could relax though, an image of ripped up deer meat came to mind and Kris almost gagged.

Sweet Aramenthia, I haven't even had my breakfast yet and I want to heave. Keep your meals to yourself!

Psht. You omnivores eat plants. I can't think of a worse meal than that.

Okay whatever, just please, I don't need to see raw blood everywhere.

Honestly kid, you don't know what you're missing.

Kris dismissed that last comment and quickly rose from the bed, picking up his small knife sheath and belting it to his waist before making his way out and down the tower. The halls and corridors were warm and bright, and burgandy banners decorated the walls, a large golden dragon embroidered in the centre of the cloth. Small rounded windows were situated every 2 meters or so, casting an orangey hue against the walls and Kris' skin as he trotted past oak doors before reaching a stone spiral staircase and jogging down it. Although the view was nice, Kris didn't appreciate being in one of the tallest towers in Avalentis, regardless of whether Verexis was near him or not. The climb up the staircase must've been equal to running 2 miles, Kris had calculated late last night in the aftermath of one of his visions and soon he was wishing to touch solid ground again, which was unlike his character.

After descending the dizzying staircase, Kris nodded at two nobles dressed in brown silk robes who regarded him with upturned noses, before sliding past them and following the huge, ceiling high glass wall. Citizens and priests paced past the glass on the outer side, keen to start the beginning of their days work and seemingly going by unnoticed by Kris as he then crossed the vast hall and slipped through a large arched opening in the glass. It wasn't uncommon for Kris to get inquisitive stares or offensive glares from some people, and today was no different, so he took it all in his stride as the company around him took in all 187cm of his monstrous height and long slender legs, and his stone cold polished face that didn't betray much emotion at all. Some people were fascinated, others, intimidated.

Following the sand coloured cobbled pathway, Kris found himself  in a courtyard surrounded by shrubbery; apple and pear trees, rose bushes, and many other plants he couldn't name, growing in bold splashes of green, red, and blue. In the centre was a large golden fountain, the plump cherub in the middle squirting up sparkling water from its pursed lips. The colours seemed to shimmer and glisten to Kris, everything so much more vibrant than they were when he was younger. He could see the details, the small veins in the leaves atop the highest tree, the small specks of dust on his shoulder. It had taken him a while to get used to it. Gripping the handle of his sheathed dagger, Kris jogged through the courtyard and followed to a similar path to the one he was following only a moment ago.

Hmm, cross the courtyard, follow the path, and you can get to the designated landing spot.... Is it down here then? Kris glanced around as the number of people on the paths began to lessen and soon he was walking alone, keeping his neck craned in search. As he rounded a prickly bush and huge willow tree, Kris hummed happily. Before him lay a large courtyard, made up like the rest of the city, and lined by a tall bricked wall. Everything was a warm sandy colour and ridges topped the wall, making the court inaccesible from outside. Kris strode into the centre of the court with long strides, raising a hand to shield from the sun as he gazed upwards.

Found it! he exclaimed loudly in his mind, like someone would hear him. And his call didn't go unanswered.

An earth-shattering, bone-crushing roar trembled through the city, shaking people's limbs as they exclaimed in surprise and looked to the sky. A shot of blurred fire streaked through the sky, shimmering like a gleaming gem on fire, scorching and casting a deep orange and red hue against the glass and ground. It spun and twirled in the air in a terrifyingly graceful dance, extending two large limbs out and smacking down into the air with an earbursting thump, diving down towards the ground with the flick of a ridged tail. It approached Kris at a frightening speed before popping its wings out again and landing on four sturdy legs in said courtyard. Before Kris stood a magnificent beast of a Dragon, it's body huge and twice the size of a regular sized building. Atop of well-built, strong muscles lay an impenetrable skin of fiery orange scales, the surface rippling with magical qualities as it reflected a thousand flecks of light against the walls of the courtyard. It's polished ivory claws clicked against the cobbles, and it flicked it tail expectantly as it lowered his mammoth sized head and inspected Kris with a glowing orb of an eye. The very same eye that he saw years ago. A rough pink tongue slithered out and tasted the air as the dragon ruffled its scales, shaking its body heavily.

Such a fine day for flight. The dragon purred, a deep guttural noise reverberating from its smooth chest and a somewhat arrogant look appeared in the dragon's eyes. Kris chuckled and placed his hand flat against the dragon's neck, feeling the muscles tense and relax repeatedly underneath.

Good morning Verexis. The dragon hummed once again before looking to the sky.

Come, we have a few hours until our meeting. You can get a better view of the city from where I am.

Kris glared at the dragon. I've still not forgiven you for dropping me last time.

Verexis managed hs own version of a chuckle, which sounded odd coming from a dragon, and nudged Kris in the stomach with his snout.

I apologise young one, but I honestly didn't see that mountain coming. I think it snuck up on me.

Kris snorted and laughed loudly, shoving Verexis' head away, and clambering over to his back. He observed the raw scales with distaste, imagining the amount of pain he may be in afterwards. I need to make you a saddle.

Just get on my back weakling.

A/N: Hello and welcome to my first author's note of the story! XD I didn't get time to make one for the prologue, but I'm starting here at chapter one! And once again I've forgotten everything I was going to say u_u.......

Anyway! I was going to add more, but I thought it might get a little long for you guys to read in one go so you'll have to wait until the next chapter to meet King Jinho and maybe someone else :B Thanks for reading! As always, I'd appreciate it if I got some feedback on my chapters :D What do you guys think of Verexis? :3