Narrated by Dawn Vogel
They breathe.
They wend their way
through the bowels of the city
and breathe.
It is all they are allowed to do.
Their days of ruling the land
through the fear are long gone.
Their fires have been turned inward
to fuel their flight,
no longer blaze across the skies.
When they pass, they whisper to each other
that it was not always so.
Men tamed them with runes,
bound them to steel
and cages of stone.
Forced them into service.
Their hides have softened
over the years, though vestiges
of their scales remain.
The shells built around them
for men’s own comfort
are nothing.
If they were restored
to their full strength,
they could burst from these shells
with more ease than butterflies
do from their cocoons.
But their strength lies in belief,
and a few still believe.
BIO: Dawn Vogel writes and edits both fiction and non-fiction. Her academic background is in history, so it’s not surprising that much of her fiction is set in earlier times. By day, she edits reports for historians and archaeologists. In her alleged spare time, she runs a craft business, co-edits Mad Scientist Journal, and tries to find time for writing. She is a member of Broad Universe and an associate member of SFWA. Her first novel, Brass and Glass: The Cask of Cranglimmering, is available from Razorgirl Press. She lives in Seattle with her awesome husband (and fellow author), Jeremy Zimmerman, and their herd of cats. Visit her at historythatneverwas.com.