Dedicated to the person that made this incredible cover! Hoot, hoot!

Author's note: I have been trying to express this story through a separate prologue as well as preview in the first chapter, (one of the first drafts of the first chapter), however it didn't fit well. I remembered the Ballad of Mulan and chose to interpret the tale as a poem that the characters would read. (That's why this is a preface, not a prologue. It is not part of the main story, but impacts the Dragonwalker lore.)

Author's note: This poem, and the tales surrounding the Dragonwalker lore are fictional. Although Dragonwalker is set in the GEAR Universe with superheroes, the origin is more mystical in nature, and she has her own mythos surrounding Dragonwalkers.

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The Legend of Dragonwalker

A woman sighs.

Tragedy has just struck.

A baby is born,

and a village out of luck.

Two dragons lurk beneath a cave.

One, old and wise.

The other, young and brave.

The baby becomes an entrancing maiden.

All who behold her sight are smitten.

The young immortal now laden,

Love has now bitten.

Out to the world he goes

Dressed as common as can be,

In human clothes.

The young dancing girl is carefree,

while he stays with a family that brews tea.

Young dragon wanders into the woods one day,

catches a glimpse of a marquis.

To his apparent dismay,

his love in the arms of a man with a noble family tree.

Bursting from the shadows,

his wrath in true form fills the night air.

She begs clemency as the China Rose,

her and the noble being an engaged pair.

The beast sees no reason even from this Rose.

Informed, the old dragon dies of despair.

The young dragon has been enthralled,

she must choose him or a bloodbath.

A young sorceress is called,

and must appease his fiery wrath.

He mocks the sorceress' pose,

tears through the village set on a warpath.

The noble lad laden with love

learns the true meaning of sacrifice.

Leaving behind a lady as fragile as a dove,

and a monster with a heart of ice.

On her last legs,

the sorceress casts a powerful curse.

Village inhabitants stuck between dragon and man,

Sweet release of Death is all that they beg.

Dragon makes an evil clan,

the good sorceress forms hers.

China Rose marks a watery grave,

the heavens look down with pity.

Prediction carried out,

a tragedy indeed struck that village.

Dragonwalkers must tread about,

upholding a cursed image.

Light and Dark eternally at war,

who of these are we to abhor?

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Vocab notes: China Rose is a flower, also a courtesy title given to the beautiful noble girl.

Dove was an analogy for her bringing peace, and opposing conflict.

Author's note: The music video did not influence my story at all, but if you think of the general as the marquis and the Juliet as the beauty, then well the song fits then. (I just found it and thought it would accompany this meager poem well.) The young dragon is a villain as he forces a woman to love him...

  I'm updating this poem now because I plan to update what I've written of Dragonwalker, even though Imposter, featuring the deuteragonist of this story, comes first. (I'll be updating that finally as well since I've already written that. I stopped because of not finishing WGM, but I've written that ending as well. Its just poor health has impeded me completing all these works.)