Rise of the Ranger (The Echoes Saga, #1)

by Philip C. Quaintrell

It shocked him to find that he didn’t fear death, but instead feared the unremarkable life he left behind him. With no children to take pride in and no great love to mourn him, the ranger would leave nothing but a trail of bodies to speak for his life.

“Fear can be a powerful tool, son,” Tobin Galfrey had said. “Respect it. Listen to it. Fear will keep your wits about you while others run headlong into peril. But I tell you this…” His father had leaned down and gripped his son by the arm. “When you’re surrounded by enemies and the only option left to you is fight or die, fear becomes irrelevant - it has no use. You give it all you have and you live or give it all and you die. If that day should ever come, just make certain that you have more to give than they do.” “How do I do that, Pa?” “It always helps to have something to fight for, son.”

“Dragons are magical beings. They exude magic with their every heartbeat. When they gather in such numbers, their natural magic begins to affect the world physically.”