Flying on Stalworth’s back was always a thrill, always different, and always scary. Stalworth was the first dragon to come through the rift and was so named for his place in history. It had been twenty years since he crawled through the cracks that seperated Earth from Ithuania, but his human companion, Tekan, was still twenty-one.

They soared and tumbled and free-wheeled through the endless diamond sky, oblivious to the chaotic world beneath them. Tekan ran his hands over the dragon’s black-scaled neck and wondered why humans had ever refused the existence of these beautiful creatures.

Below them, a dragon attempted to take off but was held down by the thick chains around his neck.
As soon as the dragons came through they were enslaved and captured and sold to millionaires and zoos. As with all creatures, they became the toys of humans, and Stalworth of the Rock was the last of the free to still fly boldly where no dragon will go again.