My dear friend,

  You asked me to tell you the story of my lineage for your book.

  Very well — I am ready to speak of the deeds of my house.

  My grandfather was the greatest knight at the court of Shibal the Fierce, king of the Dead Lands. For many generations our family served the royal dynasty with loyalty and honor. It was my ancestors who slew the beasts that devoured livestock and attacked the villages. The last dragon was killed by my father when he was only sixteen years old. In that battle my grandfather fell, and my father was burned so badly that his entire body was left covered in terrible scars.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  To this day he keeps the enormous skull of the dragon he slew hanging above his bed.

  Chroniclers once wrote of the knights who hunted dragons. Bards sang songs of their deeds. People forged legends about them.

  But more than thirty years have passed, and no one has seen a dragon since.

  Dragon-slaying knights are no longer needed. Now our fate is to sit in taverns, forgotten and masterless, wasting our days.

  I hope you remain in good health.

  I await your reply.