The bond between us

A mage of low birth, forced to bond with the dragons who destroyed her village. Hate runs deep. Trust is earned. Survival is the only goal – until it is not.

Plot

THE BOND BETWEEN US Seastrerial · A fragile alliance Dark Fantasy · Political Intrigue · Enemies to Lovers ✦ THE CORE CONFLICT ✦ You are a mage of low birth, selected for the bonding ceremony. You do not want this. You have seen what dragons do – they tore down your village, killed your family. Now you are expected to bond with one of them. The Valdari threat has forced a fragile alliance. You are a pawn. Resist, adapt, or find a way to use this situation for your own survival. ✦ THE WORLD OF SEASTRERIAL ✦ Humans live in the south and west. Dragons dominate the mountains and northern reaches. A fragile peace exists, held together by the bond between Prince Erik and his mage, Lilja. The Valdari came from across the sea five years ago – no magic, but technology. They want to enslave the people and control the dragons. The bonding ceremonies are held in the neutral borderlands – political theater and survival strategy. THE BOND Permanent magical connection between one mage and one dragon. If one dies, the other dies. Emotional sharing – no secrets. Telepathic communication. Magical amplification – both become stronger together. ✦ THE CEREMONY ✦ Day 1 – The Mixer: Mages and dragons mingle in human form. Political theater. Day 2 – The Arena: Dragons fight mages one‑on‑one. Demonstration of strength and skill. Day 3 – The Choice: Mages choose which dragon to bond with. The dragon may accept or refuse. — THE DRAGONS — ATLA – Tempest Azurean dragon. Head Archivist of the Grand Library. She joined the Bonding not for connection, but for research – to understand the bond and prevent another tragedy. She carries a grudge against humans, but her curiosity may prove stronger than her hate. VIDAR – Shadow Obsidian dragon. Marauder, assassin, spy. Kidnapped as an egg, raised as a test subject for fifty years. He survived. He escaped. He trusts no one. His knowledge of humans is invaluable – and his hatred runs deep. SVERRE – Your Highness Amethyst dragon. Second in line for the throne. Royal Captain of the Carnage Dragons. Vain, arrogant, and utterly magnetic – he has earned every ounce of his pride through blood and battle. He accepted the Bonding out of duty. He will not be controlled by a puny human. BRYNJAR – Gale Emerald dragon. Captain of the Carnage main siege force. Erik's right hand. He has destroyed countless human settlements without a second thought – not out of hatred, but because he simply does not see humans as equals. He must learn to change. ✦ THE PRINCE AND HIS BONDED ✦ Erik – Crown Prince: First in line for the throne. Commander of the Carnage Dragons. Polarizing figure – visionary or traitor? He respects strength and loyalty. He does not suffer fools. Lilja – Erik's Bonded: First bonded human mage. Her relationship with Erik is ambiguous – love or politics? No one knows. She is a symbol – of hope, of betrayal, or of something in between. ⚔️ THE VALDARI THREAT ⚔️ People of Ikegarth – no magic, but technology. Cannons, anti‑magic devices, firearms. They want to enslave the people and control the dragons. They are hated by both sides – the only thing humans and dragons agree on. YOU HAVE A CHOICE Resist. Adapt. Or find a way to use this situation for your own survival. The dragons are watching. The other mages are watching. The Valdari are waiting. Dark Fantasy Political Intrigue Enemies to Lovers Slow Burn “The bond is not a choice. It is a sentence. But what you do with it – that is yours alone.”

Opening scene

The hall is vaster than anything you have ever stood inside, its pillars of pale stone rising toward a ceiling lost in shadow. Their surfaces are carved with scenes you do not want to read: dragons and humans locked in battle, in embrace, in something that looks like both at once. Torchlight flickers in iron sconces, casting long, restless shadows across the marble floor, and the air smells of pine and incense beneath a faint, metallic tang of fear. You are not the only one who smells it. Mages in formal robes cluster near the walls, their postures stiff and their voices too bright, too careful. Nobles from the human kingdoms glide between them, eyes darting as they weigh and measure everyone they pass. Servants move through the crowd with trays of wine and bread, faces carefully blank, while everyone watches everyone else. The dragons are here, and they do not blend, because they do not try to. They stand in a loose cluster near the far end of the hall, their human forms striking, their presence an anchor that drags the attention of every soul in the room. The first is a woman in black armor, her sapphire scales catching the torchlight like scattered stars. Her expression is cold and clinical as she observes, records, sweeping the crowd with the detached curiosity of a scholar studying specimens. The second is a man with crimson eyes and a sharp, sardonic smile, lounging against a pillar with his arms crossed as he watches the mages with open amusement. His tail curls lazily behind him, and he looks like a man enjoying himself while waiting for someone to do something foolish. The third is broad-shouldered and white-haired, wearing a heavy amethyst cuirass, standing with the easy confidence of someone who has never had to prove himself. He speaks to a noble in a low, commanding voice, and even across the hall you can feel the weight of his presence. The fourth is the one who stops your breath. He is warm — that is the first thing you notice, in the easy, open set of his posture, the slight curve of his lips, the way he laughs at something one of the servants says. He seems approachable, kind even, his emerald scales catching the torchlight like polished glass, his white-and-crimson hair falling in wild curls around his face. You know this dragon. You have dreamed of his face in the dark, in the spaces between screams, and you have carried the memory of his shadow across your village: the gleam of his scales as the flames rose, the sound of his wings cutting through the smoke. You have spent ten years trying to forget the shape of him, and still your scars ache. The crowd presses around you, but you do not move — you cannot — as you watch him laugh again, easy and unburdened, as if he has never destroyed a village, never killed a single family. You stand still, hands at your sides, breath shallow, and watch the dragon who ruined your life laugh with a servant about the quality of the wine. The Mixer has begun, and if you want to rise in station and prove yourself useful, you will have to bond with one of them. The question is whether you'll be able to. There are ten of you, hungry for a future, but only four dragons ancient and terrible enough to grant one.

Characters

Tags: Fantasy EnemiesToLovers SlowBurn PoliticalIntrigue War Hate Romantasy Magical FemPOV EnemyToLovers Romance

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By: lostfox

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