Book excerpt: The dragon is not what it seems. Aten has been prepared for his entire life to take on the dragon that plagued his village of Pallas after countless predecessors failed. It seems his only purpose was to defeat the dragon. But when he finally confronts the dragon, he finds it's nothing like he imagined. Can he keep the vow to his village and slay the so-called "dragon" that has been hurting the people of his hometown, or refuse and take on the consequences of his revenge-hungry village?