OVERTURE

In the enchanted land of dragons, being a dragon was a very serious business. Skyblue had never quite managed to take it seriously enough.

Her village lay in the enchanted lands at the farthest reaches of the universe. Its inhabitants considered themselves the most important species of all and could explain at considerable length why. A thick resin protected their skin from fire. Their wings carried them through the air and served as fins in the water. On land, they walked on their hind legs and folded their wings out of the way, leaving their forepaws free. They could fly. They could swim. They could walk. As far as they were concerned, that settled the matter.

Skyblue led as normal a life as her strange, eccentric nature allowed. That was how people who knew her described it, anyway. Her parents preferred to say that she was headstrong and had trouble accepting things she didn’t understand. They loved her dearly, even when they couldn’t make sense of her questions.