Lagos 1878.

Kai roared.

A harsh, scathing roar, the kind that came from the very bottom of his lungs and blew raucously across the fields. Gorgeous, glowing flames caught the points of the grass, and with it grew hot fresh vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans. When he tilted his head and blew a little more softly the ground produced dragonfruit and edible berries. He collected these in worn woven baskets, his knees scratching against the grass. His cheeks and hands muddy.

"Kai! When are you coming inside?"

Kai looked up at his mother. She was dressed in a glittering gold traditional dress, her eyes warm, yet a little concerned.

"I still have to feed the baby dragons milk."

"Can I help?" His younger brother appeared from behind his mother with a jug of warm milk. With a feverish grin, he ran into their farm.

"Korede! Don't topple the baskets! I've been collecting the fruits all morning!"

"I'll be careful, I promise." Korede placed his palm into Kai's hand. "Now let's go!"

His mother shook her head fondly and disappeared into the house. Kai led his brother down to the makeshift stable at the bottom of the farm, the sun was hot and blaring on his back. He could feel the slight red dragon scales on his back and arms gathering sweat.

"Do you want to wake them up?"

"Yes!" Korede grinned, and Kai tentatively took hold of the jug of milk. The stable was small and modest. Three small baby dragons sat curled up in a ball. They were the colour of the sun, a dazzling amber, like Kai's eyes.

Korede crept up to them and cried out. The dragon's ears perked up and their eyes shot open. Korede bundled one into his arms. Kai brought the jug of milk close to the dragon's face and it lapped up the milk hungrily.

"Will the dragons grow big and strong?" Korede asked inquisitively.

"No, they will grow even smaller and turn into ants."

"Kai!" Korede burst into a fit of giggles. "Stop being silly."

Kai sat more comfortably in the hay. He placed another dragon into his arms, stroking its scales and watching as it drank the rest of the milk. He was so incredibly tired. His hands were rough and calloused from working at the farm all day. He'd rise at the crack of dawn, take a dip and wash himself in the lake, feast on dried crackers and dragonfruit, then crawl over to the farm and produce dragonfire, enough to fell an army - and use it instead to grow produce. Then on Wednesdays, he would take all the fruit and vegetables and put them on sale at Balogun market. His voice would be hoarse and crackly.

"OYA COME AND BUY HOT FRESH VEGETABLES! GROWN FROM DRAGONBREATH!"

"REALLY NOW, DRAGONBREATH?" He would catch the attention of a curious shopper. Usually, an auntie dressed in shimmering blue and a gele, an elf child on her hip. "HOW MUCH?"

And Kai would haggle. He'd rip off the tourists, the bright-eyed, shiny skinned tourists brandishing too much money around. He'd bag up the vegetables in brown crunchy bags, flirt with aunties, flex his muscles for the uncles wanting to marry off their pretty daughters.

And Kai would slink back home, his childhood home because he'd never dream of leaving, sleep underneath the bunk, where Korede would sleep on top. And he would wake up and do it all over again.

He was content with his life, for the most part. But he felt this innermost dread start to bloom inside of him in the worst of moments. Would he spend the rest of his life in his modest home on the outskirts of Lagos, breathing dragonfire until all that was left of him was a flickering flame? He was so sure he was going to die in these fields, until he had used every last breath his body could muster, until his fingers burnt underneath the glare of the sun.

"Kai, I think the dragons have had all their milk now." Korede looked in wonder at their glossy blue eyes slowly shuttering away into another slumber. "I'm hungry! Let's go inside, Mama brought back meat pies from the market." Kai placed his hand over Korede's curls. He was a well-behaved child, if not a little rambunctious at times. A stab of guilt hit Kai in the chest. He had done something so wonderfully terrible. Something that would hurt him.

"Korede, do you want a hug?"

"No, I'm okay."

"Get here!" Kai playfully lunged for his brother, who shot up and ran out of the stables.

"YOU CAN'T CATCH ME."

Kai tore after his brother, his long legs picking up speed as they ran back into the house. His mother was in the living room pouring fresh glasses of lemonade, she looked at them both with a hint of a smile.

The front door opened and his father stepped into the house. He was clothed in a green agbada and his face was furrowed by his mustache. Before Kai forgot he stretched onto the floor and prostrated to his father. His father placed a gentle hand on Kai's curls, and then Kai stood up, shaking. His brother (being only seven) merely wrapped his arms around his father's waist. "Baba! Baba!" He cried. Kai's father swung Korede up onto his hip and stroked his hair.

"My son."

Kai's father was a historian, he studied the expansive lore of what it meant to be a dragonborn and regularly took trips around the country touring universities and talking a lot. His mother helped out mainly on the farm, but her true passion was sewing clothes. Astonishing clothes, in blues and reds and greens, that shimmered and glistened in the hush of the night. Kai took up the brunt of the farm work as a result.

"I know you ate whilst you were at the university so I just bought with me some meat pies we can eat together." Kai's mother spread the meat pies onto the table, there was also chin chin, agege bread with freshly churned butter, dragonfruit slices, dried plantain and scotch eggs. Kai's father placed a sweet kiss on his mother's cheek. "It's perfect. Let's sit and eat."

Kai sat on the the opposite end of his father. Everyone dug into the food with gusto, apart from Kai, who was nibbling absentmindely on the crust of some meat pie. "Kai." His Father spoke authoritavely from the other end of the table.

"Yes, Baba."

"How is the farm?"

"It's good, I was able to grow a lot of vegetables today. I am struggling a bit with some of the fruits, they've been souring a lot as of late."

"Have you been drinking enough water?"

"I have."

"Okay, I'll try to procure some medicine whilst I'm in the city."

"How was your talk?"

"Riveting. It was about The Role of Dragonborn Lineage in Shaping Aerial Dominance and Mythical Warfare. In fact-" his father paused to chew on the agege bread. Kai spotted bits of butter on his mustache. "I'd like for you to come with me one of these days, maybe next week."

His mother cut in with a worried look. "Ayinde, we really cannot afford for Kai to miss any days at the farm, we don't have enough vegetables to sell at the market this week."

"I understand that but he cannot just stay at the farm all day. There is life outside of this farm. Kai is a dragonborn, and as my son it is important he is talking to and mixing with other dragonborn and creatures. He will soon need to marry. In fact one of the professors I was talking to has a dragonborn daughter who-"

"He is needed here Ayinde." His mother cut in a little more ferociously. Kai noted that she hadn't eaten much of the food.

"Are you not able to take over the farm for just one day Monifa? You cannot grant Kai that one small mercy?"

"It's not that, I am feeling enfeebled. I have already told you this, and I have many commissions I am working on."

"Enfeebled?" His father admonished, aghast. Kai was no stranger to his mother's increasingly frail state. He liked to lie to himself that his Ma preferred staying indoors and sewing, but the years of farm life had taken a toll on her person. In fact, she struggled to take dragon shape, and that wasn't an issue that happened until well into one's adult years.

He remembered the day she had fainted. The sun like a warning glare burning through the fields and smiting his mother's lithe frame. Kai had held his mother in his arms that day, placing a gentle hand on her smooth forehead, watching her kind and unassuming eyes.

His father was not a cruel man. Quite the opposite. For women like Kai's mother who had come from dragonborn farming families, to marry a well-educated man was a blessing, something to celebrate even. However, his father did not have much of an income. Spending one's life dedicated to dragonborn research did not glean high rewards. He was away a lot of the time, travelling around Nigeria with nothing more than his briefcase and his thirst for knowledge. Kai and his mother held up the brunt force of the daily duties, and when Kai had come of age the farm was passed onto him as his responsibility.

Kai knew his father had seen more of the world. Settlers from Britain, China, and India had been arriving in Nigeria in waves. In mingling with the elite on his travels, Kai's father had become... Kai struggled to find the right word. He didn't want to say ashamed, as he knew his father would never feel that way about the family he loved so fiercely. But he did sense a hint of embarrassment about their humble upbringing. They were farmers through and through, and no amount of published papers or university lectures could ever quite change that.

"Do not worry," Kai spoke carefully. He didn't want to lie but he also didn't want their conversation to grow any more volatile. "I will endeavour to get all the farming work done by Friday so I can travel with you to the university on Monday, Baba."

"Good." Kai's father slammed his fist onto the table. "That's that."

But it wasn't. Kai knew this, he knew it in the way he fought to get the meat pie down his throat. In the way his mother shrunk into herself, in the meagre resources they were gleaning from the farm. He felt as if he was holding up the world with the sharp point of his knuckles and he couldn't keep it up anymore.

Knock. Knock.

"The door is knocking!" Korede piped up with an innocent grin. Kai didn't know if he pretended not to notice his parents arguing or if he was just wilfully obtuse.

"Are you expecting anyone Monifa?" Kai's father asked mildly, his belly bulging underneath his sage attire.

"No." Her voice wobbled.

"Kai?"

Kai could not look at his Father, because if he looked at his Father he would be lying. "I'll get the door."

Tentatively Kai swung open the door to his house. Dressed in gold finery and armour; two stern-faced guards stared down at Kai. Their faces were pale and speckled. Kai noted the guard on the left had a serious case of sunburn. "Kai Ajewole?" His voice was clear and toneless.

"Yes."

"May we come in?"

Wordlessly Kai stepped aside to let the guards in. They looked wrong standing there, over his cramped dining table covered in food, the last of the sunshine streaming through the windows and revealing the cracking paint. Kai wanted to hide underneath the table, pull Korede into his chest, and disappear.

The guard with the sunburned face procured a scroll from his deft fingers, he swept his hazel eyes over the bewildered looks of Kai's family. Kai stood close to the window, holding his breath.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kai's father exclaimed. He stood up suddenly, the air in the room rushed towards him with a stunning fury. "Who are you both?"

"We are the travelling guards belonging to the Aetherwing Brigade. And we have a message to deliver to Kai Ajewole." The sunburnt guard cleared his throat, he lifted the scroll so it caught the last of the sunshine and spoke -

To Kai Ajewole of the Dragonborn Line,

By the order of the Elders of Aetherwing Brigade, you are hereby summoned to join us in the land of the Northern Lights, within the distant region of Alaska. Your remarkable talents in harnessing dragonfire and your lineage have earned you a place among the chosen few to train within our sacred halls.

The Aetherwing Brigade stands in the heart of the northern wilderness, a sanctuary where the knowledge of ancient magic and the mastery of aerial combat are passed down. Here, you will learn to control not only the fire within you but also the forces of the skies. Your journey will lead you to unlock the true potential of your birthright.

A ship will be waiting for your arrival at the port of Lagos in exactly three moon cycles. From there, you will be taken north to Alaska, where you will begin your training. This opportunity is a rare and great honor, offered only to the luminary. Prepare yourself for challenges ahead, for the path to mastery is not an easy one.

We await your presence at Aetherwing, where your destiny awaits.

Signed,

General Elara Windrider,

Commander of the Aetherwing Brigade and Guardian of the Sky, Keeper of Peace

Kai exhaled.

This lie; this great, gigantic all consuming lie, that had been eroding his thoughts and contorting his daily activities was now laid bare. His mother came to stand next to him and drew his hands into hers. She laid her head on his shoulder and Kai felt the wetness of her tears seep into his clothes.

The sunburnt guard rolled up the scroll, and both the guards bowed to his family, their faces impassive. "Kai Ajewole," The guard spoke once more, his voice a little hurried. "Please ensure you are ready to leave in three moon cycles, once that ship leaves it will not return." They turned and strode out of the house.

Kai's father turned to him. He stared at Kai as if he did not know him, at his tattered farm clothes, the deep brown of his skin, at Kai's searing amber eyes, and the crimson dragon scales scattered over his legs and arms. "What did you do?"

"Yes, my son." Kai's mother spoke. She lifted her head from his shoulder and stared openly at him. "What on dragon's earth did you do?"

Korede, who was still sitting on the table but was no longer eating, peered up at Kai with a worried frown on his face. "Are you leaving?"

"Korede-"

"Are you leaving me here?"

Kai did not know how to explain himself. How to explain to the people who he loved most in the world, his farfetched plan to leave. The Aetherwing Brigade is a pipe dream—an elite military organisation built for the sons of kings and the daughters of prime ministers. It was not the sort of place where the son of a farmer and historian could frequent.

But Kai remembered that heady day, where the sky was covered in fog and rain, and he was out at the markets, stuffing the apples and pears and cauliflowers into bags so they wouldn't spoil and decay. He remembered the mud on his face and his hands, and then, the curious eyes of a British soldier standing at his market stall and staring at him.

"Remarkable." The soldier picked up a pink fleshy dragonfruit. "I've never seen a fruit like this." Kai turned at the sound of his voice. "Would you like to buy one?"

"Well yes, do you grow a lot of these?"

"Yes, from dragonfire."

"Dragonfire?" The soldier looked upon Kai with a giddy sort of reverence. He leaned closer to the stall, the rain rushing down harder, he however was unperturbed. "Can you show me?"

Kai nodded wordlessly, he took the soldier down to a patch of fresh green grass on the hill opposite, away from stalls and other people. "It's advisable you stand back."

Then Kai roared, he felt the flush of flame reverberate in his lungs and gush out into the grass, the buds of four dragonfruit started to grow until they lay in a perfect row. The soldier picked up a dragonfruit and bit into it, pink juice bubbled from his lips. "Utterly remarkable." He said it again, biting and tearing away at the fruit. "Your fire can withstand the rain." He then looked at Kai sharply. "What species are you?"

"Dragonborn."

"Have you ever heard of the Aetherwing Brigade?"

"Vaguely."

The soldier nodded to himself. "Okay, can you come with me, just for an hour to get away from the rain." He pointed over at a small restaurant. "We can eat over there. I have much to discuss."

A waiter placed two steaming hot bowls of jollof rice in front of them. Kai watched in amusement as the soldier spluttered out bits of rice in a frenzy.

"It's a bit spicy, isn't it?"

"You've never had this kind of rice before?" Kai fought the urge to laugh.

"No, never. I've been surviving on beans in a tin." The soldier slapped his hands onto his thigh. "Never mind that. My name is Rupert Lowe."

"You're a British soldier?"

"Yes, but I also work as a recruiter for the Aetherwing Brigade. You said you've vaguely heard of it?"

Kai nodded. It was quite hard not to know of the Aetherwing Brigade. Their soldiers were highly esteemed around the world. It was the only organization he had heard of that got to ride in great steam-powered airships and fly with artificial wings.

"I'd like to put in a recommendation for you. What is your name?"

"Kai Ajewole...but I can't." Joining Aetherwing would mean leaving his family, leaving the farm. "My responsibilities lie here."

Rupert suddenly stood up, his green eyes glittering fiercely. "Kai, I'm sorry if I'm being presumptuous, so please stop me if I go on too long. But in my work as a recruiter, I've traveled across the plains in India, spoken to sultans' sons in Arabia, and braved waterfalls in Nepal. I've watched and observed many, many creatures. I've been bribed and drugged, had a sword cut through my flesh one too many times—" Rupert lifted his dark, scratchy uniform to reveal deep, swelling cuts in his pale skin. Kai tried not to throw up into his rice.

"But I have never met a dragonborn. And not just any dragonborn, because I've done my research, but a dragonborn who can grow fruit and vegetables from his very breath, who can create life-changing nourishment from the bottom of his lungs. Kai—" The soldier leaned in closer. Kai could smell the grit on him, the rain, fog, and desperation. "I'm telling you now because I endeavor never to lie. You are worth more than gold, more than the king's sons and daughters, more than the little stall you work at every day. I want to recommend you to the Aetherwing Brigade. I want you to join. I want you to change your life because, in changing your life, you have the power to change the fabric of this world."

"I—" Kai was speechless. He didn't know this man. He had met him only twenty minutes ago. This man did not know him. Kai wasn't all that smart, not like his father, who thrived on knowledge. He didn't have deft fingers like his mother, who sewed clothes so beautiful people wept at the fabric. He wasn't witty or carefree like his brother, who viewed the world as if it were his playground. His farm was his duty. It was his livelihood. And sure, he sometimes dreamt of wanting more from his life; didn't everybody? But that didn't mean he would take it. It would be irresponsible.

"You will make enough money to send to your family, certainly more than you're making now at the stall." Rupert swiftly cut through his train of thought. "I will send guards to your house announcing your acceptance into Aetherwing in exactly two months. If they don't come, it means Aetherwing has rejected my proposal, although I think that's highly improbable." Rupert shifted around in his pockets and brought out a glass pocket watch. He stared at it dearly, then looked back up at Kai with a grin on his face. "It was wonderful meeting you, Kai." Then, like a rocket, two giant black wings shot out from his shoulder blades. They crowded the tiny restaurant. Kai stared in awe at the thick, inky feathers.

"What are you?" Kai could barely get his words out.

Rupert responded with a wink, then flew out the window. Kai watched as his frame soared through the sky, the rain still thundering on the sand, and still, he flew upwards, higher and higher until he was nothing but a tiny dot in the sky.

"Kai?" Kai's mother grabbed onto his arm tightly, and he shook himself out of his faded memory.

"I met a man a few months ago, and he recommended me to the Aetherwing Brigade."

"You never said anything."

"I thought nothing of it. I didn't think they would accept me."

Kai's father crossed his arms over his chest and nodded to himself. "This is remarkable, Kai. You will go."

"Wait a minute, Ayinde—" his mother protested. "Alaska is terribly far away; who will take care of the farm?"

"We'll close the farm. Sell the dragons."

"This farm has been in my family for generations. It is an affront to my ancestors—"

"And will the ancestors put food on the table?" At his father's raised voice, Korede ran to Kai and put his arms around his waist, burying his curls into Kai's stomach. Kai stroked his hair lightly.

"I was told I'd be paid more than enough to support the family," Kai mentioned meekly.

"You see, Monifa! It will not be a problem."

"That's not the problem." Kai spotted pinpricks of tears seep out of his mother's eyes. "Ayinde, you are too blinded by success. The problem is that my child will be leaving for a long time." His mother turned out of the door into the farm. Her sobs lingered in her wake.

Kai's father shook his head. "Kai, your mother is too emotional. Too anchored by tradition and propriety. The world is changing, and she is unable to see that this farm is not working." His father placed his arms around him and engulfed him in a hug. It did not feel warm but perfunctory. Still, Kai held on like it was a lifeline. "You cannot pass an opportunity like this up. It will not come again. So you will go. I'll speak to your mother."

Kai watched as his father ran into the farm. He watched as his parents engaged in a heated debate underneath the fading sun, the last of the crops spoiling around them.

Korede breathed into Kai's scratchy fabric; his fingers felt like knives.

"I'm going to miss you so much."

"Korede—"

"I know you're going to leave me." He looked up at Kai, his crimson eyes burning fiercely. "Please write to me; I want to know everything."

"I won't go." Kai sank to his knees so he could look his brother in the eyes. "Not if you don't want me to."

"You heard Baba. The farm is failing. We need the money."

"You don't need to worry about such things."

"And it will be amazing. I've heard about the Aetherwing before. You're going to have so much fun."

"Korede, I mean it. I. won't. go."

Korede shook his head fiercely. He pulled at Kai's hand and pointed to the farm. Kai followed silently, walking with Korede through the fields until they reached their parents, who had finished bickering. Kai's mother's face was awash with tears, and his father held her in his arms. At the end of the farm, there was an old tree. It bore no fruit. No matter how many times Kai roared, it remained empty. Kai's father had suggested cutting it to make more space for crops, but his mother had balked at that idea.

"Sometimes it's okay for something to be beautiful and serve no other purpose." And beautiful it was. Kai's breath almost caught at his parents huddled together underneath the gnarled oak. Korede crawled over to them, fitting between them perfectly.

Kai watched them for a moment, a vision of the picture-perfect family.

"Kai?" His father spoke quietly. "Do you want to go? Do you want to join the Aetherwing Brigade?"

A harsh roar pierced through the sky. It was the call of the baby dragons settling in to sleep.

"Yes, I do."

"Come here." Kai wandered over into his father's arms. His mother stroked his cheek, and his brother wrapped his tiny fingers over Kai's hands.

Kai fought the urge to cry. Instead, he breathed in and out deeply until he felt his brother fall asleep in his lap, until the sunshine finally faded away into a dark, inky night, and the tears had dried from his mother's cheek.