Sis, we can't play together anymore.
What? Why?
My friends say you're too strange.
This was Maru's only explanation on the day he stopped playing with Miri, the elder sister he once looked up to.
Though she felt her heart breaking, Miri showed no emotion.
She gave a simple nod. And they never played together again.
Miri knew why the other children shunned her.
For all her life, she could read the memories of any object she touched.
During games of hide-and-seek with the other children, she would touch nearby objects to read their memories, and easily find everyone.
Eventually, they all saw that Miri knew things that were impossible to know.
Miri mourned the loss of her friends, but most of all she mourned the loss of her brother's love.
And so, she suppressed her power as best she could.
She resolved to not allow it to scare anyone else away, ever. She resolved to be normal.
But those who are gifted can never be normal.
One night, Miri heard someone call her name.
She followed the sound into the forest that grew high above the meadow. As she drew close to the voice, a mysterious glow filtered through the trees' gnarled limbs.
It grew brighter and brighter until finally she beheld a weapon, a weapon shaped like the razor edge of a crescent moon.
W-what is this...?
O, Last Descendant of the Great Dragons...Will you now accept your destiny?
The weapon was speaking to her!
D-dragons? Destiny...?
But the weapon paid no heed to Miri's confusion.
A long chain snaked out of the weapon and wrapped itself around Miri's wrist.
She struggled, but the chain held fast.
Be still, Last Descendant, and learn what once was...
And though she had suppressed her power for years, the weapon's memories came rushing into her mind.
...
They were ancient memories, all gray hues, and nebulous forms.
But as she peered through the mist, Miri saw a temple at the bottom of a dark, grim valley.
In the sky above the temple were massive shapes soaring through the clouds. They were dragons.
Instinctively, Miri knew that the temple was not meant for the worship of gods. It was for the worship of these dragons.
A silver-haired woman stood on the veranda, her head bowed.
Our last descendant... the final scion of dragonkind.
The woman caressed the cheek of the baby she was holding.
Forgive me for leaving you to live life in your mortal human form. But you are too young to survive where the rest of us must go.
With a yellowed dragon fang, the woman traced a small circle of light in the air.
Miri wondered if this was the storied Dimensional Rift.
May you come upon the last Dragonspine when you are of age, and may it reveal to you its memory of this moment...
The woman gently placed the baby inside the circle of light.
Suddenly, a blinding flash engulfed the scene. Miri blinked. She was back on the forest trail. The weapon was speaking again.
Now, Miri, look inside another of my memories...
Miri felt the memory flow into her.
She saw the baby clutched in the arms of a young couple.
Time flew like an arrow, and she watched as the baby grew up to be a girl...
A girl who tried so hard to be normal...
And finally, she understood.
...Me?
The memory dissipated, and Miri stood trembling.
If you accept your destiny, you will receive the power of a dragon knight.
No... This can't be real...!
Miri yanked off the chain, and turned her back on the weapon...
...hoping to turn her back on all of it.
But deep in her heart... She knew she would return. The voice kept echoing in her mind.
O, Last Descendant of the Great Dragons...
Will you now accept your destiny?
How could she just ignore it?
She wanted to know more about dragons.
Most of all, she wanted to know more about herself.
When she finally decided to seek her destiny, her brother was stunned.
You're really leaving?
I'll be back.
Maru looked teary-eyed. He sensed that he had allowed others to poison their relationship, and now it was too late to heal.
But as for Miri, she set out on her journey.
She tightened her grip on Dragonspine, the weapon that had spoken to her.
It seemed that the life of a normal girl was not meant to be.
