Universal hTraèan Calendar: December 7th, ~9.999B; 3 Rotation, 24 days until new rotation.

The land of ShanGri-La is the western continent in the world of hTraè, and is known as that birth-land of Dragons, an ancient species that existed before time itself. The night is quiet in the

Chronos region of the Western Dragon Empire; snow blankets the land as all the wildlife nestles safely in their homes. Although the night is peaceful, there is a mass of dark clouds that loom over the countryside; it is clear that greater forces are currently at work preparing for a shift in the current status quo.

There is a large manor in this region, belonging to the lord of this land, Chronos, a powerful mage that can view any and everything’s history, his wife, Twyla, a Nightskinned Demoness from the Demon Continent, Jigoku, and their many subordinates.

Twyla sits in her nursery; she begins to tell an ancient tale of the world's creation:

“Long ago, there lived a Dragoness, the First Witch, some called her.Her primordial power could fracture the minds of even the mightiest of gods,” she continues as she caresses her belly.

“She was known as The Reality Queen, warping the fabric of reality to her will... She gave life to the known world, all life, humanity, wildlife, and reality as we know it, draws breath because of her... After time passed, the Dragoness grew lonely. She often observed humans and their need and desire to have offspring. Each day, she contemplated the benefits of having children of her own. Until finally, one day, she had enough of her loneliness and created a new race of people: The Asura; beings created using DNA from both the Dragon race and Demon race. The Dragoness gave life to seven Asura children, each inheriting a bit of her power. Having a mythical origin, The Asura race is naturally adept at manipulating mana and quickly understood their role in this world. Eventually, the Dragoness's seven children grew into their own unique abilities/Signatures: Time, Space, Chaos, Death, Life, Sleep, and Love. These seven Signatures are the building blocks of the Dragoness's abilities and are known as The Aspects of Reality. The Dragoness was finally happy with her life and the family she built. However, one day the Dragoness over-extended herself, and as a result, it caused a fissure in her mental state... Her children, now fully grown Asura, saw their mother struggle and decided to take matters into their own hands... The eldest, Astaroth, gathered his siblings to devise a plan to end the Dragoness's suffering. Although the seven Asura inherited the aspects of their mother's power, it was not enough to quell her rage. When all seemed at a loss, Astaroth's Legendary Time Signature, Oracle, self- activated, and he foresaw a future where seven of their ancestors will have the strength to soothe the Dragoness's rage... But before he could see which of their ancestors will have the power to do so, the Dragoness placed a curse on her children. "For two generations, the seven Asura to inherit the aspects of my power shall perish gruesomely and mercilessly by the Hand of Chaos"... However, due to the split in her mental state, she gave also gave her children a blessing to act as the antithesis to the curse, "After two generations, the seven Asura to inherit the aspects of my power, shall also inherit the previous' power as well," this was all she could do to aid the Asura in their generational battle... Until the day her children's children will be able to stop her, she will continue her rampage across the cosmos...”

A man with pointed ears, reddish-brown skin, and dreadlocks pulled back into a ponytail walks into the room where Twyla sits rubbing her pregnant stomach.

“Y'know, I heard babies can hear just about everything outside of the womb... So, telling our unborn child scary stories will affect him.” The man continues, “Don't tell me you believe that stuff, do you? Twi, we went over this, The Six are the strongest Asura Lords Avalon has ever had; even surpassing the first generation, by leaps and bounds...”

Twyla pouts and folds her arms, “Chronos, my love, it's not that I doubt your strength, but is it truly wrong for me to want more for my child, to strive for greatness?” Twyla exclaims rolling her eyes while she continues to caress her stomach.

“I'm not saying I don't want our child to be strong, but the story is eerie... And implies my demise...” Chronos shakes his head with worry.

Twyla walks to Chronos and places her hand on his cheek.

“I would never wish death upon you, my beloved. I'm sorry for upsetting you, I just wanted to give our son a story to cling to before he's born,” Twyla says approaching Chronos; quickly grabs Chronos' arm.

“Chronos...” Twyla whispers and pulls her husband in closer. “It's time...”

Chronos cradles his wife and carries her to the nearby bed, all while calling out to one of his faithful subordinates, “JADE! Please gather the other midwives! Twi has gone into labor!”

A younger Nightskin demoness, wearing a maid's uniform walks into the room and bows before Chronos and Twyla, “With haste, m‘Lord,” Jade yells.

She quickly runs out of the room only to return with a pile of towels, accompanied by four other demon maids.

Twyla squeezes Chronos' arm, “By the hand of Tiamat, why is everyone being so DIMWITTED!?” She winces in pain.

Chronos was too stunned to speak.

Dimwitted? Like I didn't just call in the Calvary! Geez, marry a Demon Queen they said... Chronos thinks to himself.

Jade and the other maids, Lilac, Tonja, Rubella and Marigold, begin to position Twyla to go into labor.

“Lady Twyla, I'm going to need to you breathe-“ Lilac says.

“SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO, LILAC!” Yells Twyla.

Lilac refrains from speaking further.

“She's not normally like this...-“ Jade whispers to Lilac, reassuring her that she did nothing wrong. 

 “Just the beauty of childbirth... After all, the more pain, the greater the gain!” Chronos exclaims.

The midwives give each other a concerned look.

“No one says that, Lord Chronos...” Tonja interjects. The other maids vigorously nod their heads in agreement.

“I-I would have to agree, s-sorry my Lord...” says Lilac. “I've never heard of that saying, I suppose...”

“You know nothing of childbirth, do you, my Lord...?” Marigold questions.

“Fumbled the ball there didn't you, Lord Chronos?” Jade joins in on the fun while Chronos sinks into a visible depression.

“Each word is like a dagger stabbing all my vital organs!” Chronos yells out dramatically.

Twyla rolls her eyes and chuckles, “Can you please stop being dramatic and hold your son?” She asks giving her husband a curious look.

“You’re finished? Already?” Chronos asks.

“As I stated before, you know nothing of childbirth...” Marigold sternly declares.

The midwives finish folding the towels and blankets while Twyla cradles her newborn in her arms. She looks at her son with her illustrious golden eyes that resembles a giant full moon. “You look just like your father...” she whispers.

The love that Twyla has for her son makes Chronos' heart skip a beat.

“What are you think about naming him? My father had a minor request, he wanted us to name our firstborn after him...” Chronos asks.

Twyla gives her husband a begrudging look.

Twyla sucks her teeth “Of course, Lord Second just has to make everything about himself! It'll have to be his middle name; he already responds to the name I've given him...”

“Which is?” He asks

The newborn opens his eyes and starts looking around the room.

“The only name fitting for a mage, Myrlin...” she continues to smile and caress her son’s hair.

The newborn’s eyes light up and he starts to twiddle with his ear.

End of Chapter One