Its scales were the red of blood poured over rusted iron. Its teeth were like ivory, as long as a man was tall, and its claws were razor edged. Great wings spread out, ragged and torn through, huge and bat-like, seeming barely enough to hold such a great beast aloft. The creatures body curled on the ground, longer than a dozen horses, large enough that in life it could have lifted Godwin like a toy.

Ive never seen one before, King Godwin admitted, placing a hand against the scaled hide. He half expected it to be warm, but instead, it was only the cold stillness of death.

Few have, Grey said. Where Godwins voice was a deep, sonorous thing, Greys was like the whisper of paper.

The king nodded. Of course the sorcerer wouldnt say all that he knew. It wasnt a thought that comforted him. To see a dragon now, and a dead one…

What do we know about this one? the king asked. He walked down the length of it, to the remains of the tail, which stretched out impossibly long behind it.

A female, the sorcerer said, and redwith all that implies.

Of course, he didnt explain what it implied. The sorcerer walked around it, looking thoughtful. Occasionally, he glanced back inland, as if calculating something.

How did it die? Godwin asked. Hed been in battles in his time, but he couldnt see the wound of axe or sword on the creature, couldnt imagine what weapon could harm such a beast.

Perhaps…just age.

Godwin stared back.

I thought they were supposed to live forever, Godwin said. In that moment, he wasnt a king, but the boy who had first gone to Grey all those years ago, seeking help and knowledge. The sorcerer had seemed old even then.

Not forever. A thousand years, born only on the dragon moon, Grey said, sounding as though he were quoting something.

A thousand years is still too many for us to find one dead here, now, King Godwin said. I dont like it. It feels too much like an omen.

Possibly, Grey admitted, and he was rarely a man to admit anything like that. Death is sometimes a powerful omen. Sometimes it is just death. And sometimes, it is life, too.

He glanced back again toward the kingdom.

King Godwin sighed, despairing of ever truly understanding the man, then kept staring at the beast, trying to determine how something so powerful, so magnificent, could have died. There were no signs of battle upon it, no obvious wounds. He stared into the creatures eyes as if they might provide him with some kind of answers.

Father? Rodry called out.