I am Kleos, the man said. I am the keeper of this place. I saw your arrival; it is rare for one to be brought directly by a dragon.

Rare, but apparently not so rare as to bring out shock in the man there.

Youre talking as if youve seen dragons before, Nerra said. Where is this?

Come, he said. It is better if you see for yourself.

He led the way out of the dormitory, into a large open space that seemed to be almost like a village. People worked there, tilling small plots of vegetables or carrying water. Each and every one seemed to have the scale mark somewhere on their body.

The land around the village was rocky, rising on slopes that led up to the lip of what looked like a volcano. Other rock formations lay scattered around in basalt, dark and angular, as if grown from the volcanos fire. There were trees on some sections of the slope, growing out of the dark soil, while in the distance, the ground fell away toward the surrounding sea, making the whole place into an island. A jetty down below suggested how most people reached there.

It was what lay beyond that caught Nerras eye most, though. So far off that it was barely visible on the horizon, she saw a shoreline far larger than that of the island, volcanoes rising up from the landscape to give it a jagged, toothed appearance. Above the volcanoes, here and there, she saw circling dots. It took a moment to realize just how huge they would be, and it was only then that she realized what they had to be: dragons.

Thats Sarras, Nerra said in shock. She had never seen the third continent, but there was only one place that it could be. If true though, it meant that her dragon had carried her halfway across an ocean. Im on Sarras.

Not quite, Kleos said, gesturing to the small community around them. This is Haven. Our island sits quite apart from the horrors of… that place.

What horrors? Nerra asked.

Kleos shook his head. This is not a place for that. This is a place of peace, where those with the sickness can live out their days, and find a graceful death.

A… Nerra shook her head at that thought. She was supposed to just sit here and wait for death? What is this place? A prison? Am I supposed to be a captive here?

This is a place of refuge, Kleos said. Where those with the dragon sickness can be safe from the world around them, and the world can be safe from them.

Thats the second time that youve called it that, Nerra pointed out. Is it just because of the scales?