“The Balance is shifting. Our world is slipping into chaos. I can see how it will end; in darkness and despair. For nearly ten millennia, we have been at peace, as much as any can. Empires and lands have risen and fallen, as is the manner of these things. But now the world changes. Slowly, like rot, war is spreading. Chaos is beginning to overwhelm our world. Strange creatures stir, and many are consumed by the promise of power as the Gods watch and do nothing.

A great and ancient Evil awakes in the far west, tainting the hearts of those drawn to misdeeds. I fear for the fate of all races, weakened by war and distrust. The Evil gathers its strength, and I fear too: all shall fall into darkness. All shall fall to despair.

The eclipse of light has begun. The Darkness spreads…”

– Personal excerpt, Unknown

“All that follows is a collection of data from several sources: information in the most trusted older texts, research recorded during the (very regrettable) Drake Years, when scholars had a tragic but singular opportunity to study a dragon’s anatomy firsthand; various current and past scientific experiment results; and from my own discussions with the great Nāgìnī Györnàeldàr.

All these have led me to some quantifiable and interesting conclusions about how a creature like a Dragon can exist in nature…”

– Aldwyn Varelin

When some see a Vampire, they see glamour and power. When others see one, they see only a monster. For either, there is usually only death. An exquisite craving for the blood of mortals and the mesmeric presence of a top predator makes them both feared and desired.

Once there were no Vampires. Now they exist, to prey upon the living with powers and immortality undreamed of. But who knows the tragedy in their pasts – or their existence?

This short companion book to the Chaoswar Trilogy, set in the world of The Serpent Calls and Notes on Dragons, is the story of their genesis. Their macabre fate. Their tragedy.

The story of the First.

In the East, Confucius is noted as having said, “Tell me, and I will forget; Show me, and I may remember; Involve me, and I will understand” in ancient China. In the West, Mentor was a trusted and wise advisor in ancient Greece.

Both represent a simple and effective teaching technique, yet it is not used enough in the modern world. In business, in school, all too often policy, tools, or presentation limit learning for both teachers and students, or trainers do not invest the time and passion they should with their students.

Effective Training and Teaching techniques for engaging students in any subject.