Lord Asterion.
First Supreme Master. Mutilated Genius. Rootless.

Lord Asterion's ascension was unusual for the Academy. Since its founding, the position of
Supreme Master had been reserved for the Blue Dragon Kin, which elected the most worthy
from its ranks. It had been so for seventeen generations, two and a half thousand years of
glorious history. But it all came to an end one fateful night.....
Lord Maliek, the last seventeenth Dragon Supreme Master, died. The entire Academy shook
from the surge of terrible energies and monstrous magic released that day. Dozens of dead
sorcerers and commoners, a destroyed central wing and absolute incomprehension of what
happened. Some blame an artefact of unbridled power sealed by Maliek for preventing a far
worse disaster. Others whisper that the Supreme Master was murdered and all traces were erased
in the ensuing destruction. The rumours multiplied and took on an increasingly unbelievable
form. They were fuelled by the fact that the Dragons refused to appoint a new Supreme Master.
There were rumours that this disaster was not the only one and that something terrible had
happened in the far North, in the Cradle of Claws, the home of the Dragons. Whatever it was, the
Academy needed a leader, it needed a new Supreme Master, and Asterion became him.
Asterion's origins are a mystery to everyone, including himself. It is known for certain that he
was born outside of the Academy grounds, but was raised and educated in the Undercity.
His parents are similarly unknown, though he was labelled by his father to attend the Academy.
Apparently, his father was a native of the Academy and like everyone else was entitled to its
knowledge. But he chose a different fate, and passed his right on to his son as a kind of ticket to
the future. At the Academy, Asterion discovered a great talent for magic, and his ability to
analyse and memorise was unparalleled. Very soon, the young mage was given the greatest
honour of all - he became the student and apprentice of the Supreme Master Maliek himself.
Dragons are arrogant and proud, and care little for their younger Kin, the Draconids. And the
more surprising seems the decision of Maliek, who was not particularly sociable and attentive to
the inhabitants of the Academy. Perhaps he was moved by Asterion's exceptional talent, or
maybe he had simply become too sentimental over the many years of his appointment. But it
was Asterion who became the undisputed candidate for the position of Supreme Master, after
that terrible night.
He had been at the very epicentre of the disaster and had survived despite the horrific injuries.
The entire right side of his face was burnt to the bone and his hand and eye were replaced with
magical prosthetics. Asterion and a few other surviving members of the Academy are sworn to
keep the secret of that day, and only the Lord-Regent, the Council of the Undercity, and the
Order of the Black Guardians know the truth.
After assuming the mantle of Supreme Master, Asterion was able to raise the Academy's prestige
to a new level. Under him, new departments were opened, expeditions to search for the lost
knowledge of the Old Empire were funded, and the scope of magical research and
experimentation increased many times over! All of this was frowned upon by the Council of
Undercity, whose irritation grew in proportion to the Academy's expenditures. This could have
been avoided if Asterion had been a little more involved in politics, but he was only interested in
the good and prosperity of the Academy, not the expectations of the Influential Claws of
Undercity. It was only a matter of time before a new Supreme Master was elected under the
pressure of external circumstances.

"I remember the two previous Dragon Masters, and this guy is on par with them! He rose from
the lowest of the low with nothing but talent and a thirst for knowledge that I myself would have
envied in my younger days. You cannot understand what he has done for us and what he has
sacrificed.
Because he is the Supreme Master the Academy deserves, but not the one the Undercity needs
right now."
(Lord Solaris at a meeting of the Influential Claws)

mythology https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47285478/

prologue https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47317984/

chapt. 1.1 https://www.furaffinity.net/view/53903216


help in correcting the text will be gratefully received