Dacen's parents were concerned. He was always a bit of an odd lad, but the fact that no dragon hatchling picked him made them worry about him. Joran and Emily, his brother and sister, had no issues. Joran had been picked by a sea dragon, which was fitting for his love of water sports. Emily, on the other hand, was chosen by a silver true dragon. Her parents thought it hilarious that the most troublesome child was chosen by one of the more lawful hatchlings.

Dacen, though? None chose him. No malicious shadow dragon, wise eastern dragon, or even a friendly feathered serpent approached. None came to the youngest of the Aethel family of dragon riders. Thus did the young man locked himself away and went on his own journey, away from his family and friends.

On his twenty first birthday, he sent a letter to his parents. He told them that he was accepted into a magical college, though he neglected to tell them its name. Dacen chose to study the arts of alchemy, the esoteric works of magic, and, most intriguingly, the rites of summoning. His parents wished him luck in their own letter and they received no response during his studies.

Within the magical college, Dacen excelled at his classes. He showed great understanding of not only the crafts of alchemy, but also the hidden symbols and darker truths it spoke of. This invigorated his mind and he took to study what most magicians would shy away from in magic. He impressed his professors and they allowed Dacen to study the restricted tomes within the library.

The scholar, now twenty-four years of age, began the work that he came to the college for. The only hurdle were his struggles with summoning and gathering what was needed for his creation. Alchemy provided him with the knowledge and symbols required to make a soulless homunculus body and his study of the dark arts of necromancy had taught him the secrets of life and death. He could create a soulless facsimile of the dragons that had rejected him... but he needed to go further.

Three years later, Dacen had found the rites he sought. Celestial spirits would reject any products of necromancy and elementals despised forms of flesh. Spirits of the dead had an insatiable hunger, so they would not do. Despite the limitations he was running into, however, he found the answer in scripture. It was a multiheaded creature of scales and it spoke thunderous voices. The skies darken and lightning cracks through the skies with the flap of its wings. He had found the rites to summon what the dragons considered a demons.

A year later, Dacen began the ritual before the eyes of his college. An alchemical homunculus was created for the body, the arts of necromancy would animate the flesh, and the soul of mighty zmey would inhabit it. As the ritual drew to a close, the skies darkened and it began to stir. Clerics and paladins of the gods entered the area as the horrific beast raised its three heads.

Dacen Aethel, graduate of the College of Scholomance, climbed upon his mighty fell dragon. The storms flashed fulminous bolts of lightning and thunder roared with the zmey. He had lived up to the expectations of his father and mother with the most blasphemous of beasts. When they had heard of Dacen's accomplishments, they were unsure of whether they should be proud or horrified.