Asyra’s father, the village clockmaker, has told her tales of magnificent dragons that once filled the skies before the last one was killed. Appalled that anyone could hunt such magical creatures, Asyra insists to her father that they should bring the dragons back. How? By building a mechanical one together.
When her father takes ill, Asyra must finish the dragon alone. She visits his sick room, hoping he will be strong enough to come to the workshop to insert the final gear; but he is too weak. When Asyra activates the dragon herself, she senses that something is missing. “It has no soul,” her mother says.
Asyra visits the emporium of the magician, Vaori, who gives her an incantation with which she can raise a dragon’s soul.
sun burned overhead as Asyra crept up a stone path leading to a heavy door. Her heart beat fast inside her chest.
