Outlook Point was a flat topped mountain of the northern range, said to have been sliced by the blade of the river god, Alpheus, in an attempt to court the moon, Selene. Their son, Nico, stood at the southern edge, overlooking the vast camp of men in the valley below. Their fires flickered, like twinkling stars against the black of the forest where they believed they were well hidden. 

“We should let them sleep through the night,” said a voice from behind Nico. Behind him stood his youngest brothers, Krypte and Spyte, twins born from Selene and the great dragon, Ryuun. Spyte reached up to pat his brother on the shoulder. “The lives of men are short and pitiful, there’s no harm in allowing them one more night before they die.” 

“You really believe they’re harmless?” Nico asked. 

“We’ve shepherded them for centuries,” Krypte chimed in. “They’re arrogant and unruly, but nothing more than children.”

Nico sighed. “In the centuries we’ve watched over them, we’ve seen them grow and evolve like no other creature. I worry that they may soon pose a real threat, especially if they were to acquire any forbidden knowledge. We are immortal, not invulnerable.” 

The brothers walked back to the quaint cottage the twins had built atop the mountain. The windows glowed warmly from the light within and Nico could smell the delicious meal his brother’s wife, Jeanne, was cooking for them. The front door began to open and all three brothers stopped in their tracks as the looming form that emerged from the cabin held up a whimpering Jeanne and, without a word, pulled his blade across her throat. The sound that erupted behind Nico was deafening as Spyte watched his wife’s lifeless body fall to the ground. 

Time slowed as the man charged forward, sword outstretched before him as the ground shuddered beneath his feet. Nico began to step back and draw his own sword as the distance closed between them when suddenly Spyte jumped in front of his brother. The man managed to drive his sword deep into the mage’s chest but simultaneously found himself impaled on a needle of stone that rose up from the ground. Spyte roared as he held the man by the collar and the stone continued to rise, passing through him and growing from a needle into a pillar, tearing his body in two. 

Tossing the lump of flesh aside, Spyte stumbled around the pillar as his brothers came to help him. As they reached the body, he crumpled to the ground, weeping and gathering Jeanne up into his arms. His sobs were muted as he whispered her name over and over until he was suddenly silent. 

Without realizing it, Nico returned to the edge of the outlook, seeing the forest below had been replaced by more stone needles, skewering men, horses, and any other unfortunate in the vicinity. Standing there taking in the destruction, Krypte approached and handed Nico the sword that had been in Spyte’s chest. “Someone gave them dragon’s steel.”