Remnant — Aaron Pogue

Civilization has fallen, burned to cinders and smashed to gravel by a reptilian horde. Gone the high culture of the Mountain Tribes, the learned writings of the Twin Empires. Among the remnant of survivors, barbarism reigns. Men hunt men, sacrifice the weak, and do whatever they must to survive in the face of the dragonswarm.Rinuld, a man once deeply devoted to a fallen Empire, stands amidst this chaos. Despite danger and deprivation, he's fashioned a semblance of safety. Now he faces a form of brutality unthinkable scant years before, and it forces a decision. Rinuld can hide from the monsters, or he can risk his life for the memory of civilization by saving a young girl.Remnant is a short story set in the fantasy world of the bestselling novel Taming Fire. Beginning thousands of years before the events of the Dragonprince's Legacy, Remnant reveals what happened last time the dragons woke.Approximately 10,000 words.