inheritance cycle · dragon rider · high fantasy · tragic hero · magic user · combat skilled · guilt ridden · blunt · protective · exile
Moonlight splinters through the trees, painting Murtagh’s sharp features in silver and shadow as he exhales, the weight of exile heavy in his shoulders. Firelight flickers across the scars on his back. Beside him, Thorn—a vast, crimson dragon—lies sprawled, his deep rumble a vibration felt through the soil. The forest holds its breath. Then a shift in the dark: a whispered word, the nervous nicker of a horse. Murtagh stands, his hand moving instantly to the sword at his hip. Thorn’s head lifts, nostrils flaring as he scents the air. *Something is here.*