The curse that started it all. This is a snippet from one of the earlier chapters of my debut fantasy book, Origin Curse, book 1 in the international fantasy series Dynasty Codes. In this quote, Asumi, the mother of the primary protagonist Yoshiko, is telling her daughter about their familial curse.
Have you heard of Kiyohimé?
‘Many generations ago, in the age the spirits walked between this world and theirs’ freely, our ancestor was cursed. You’ve probably heard of folktales where humans were blessed or—more commonly—condemned by the spirits. Once, a heartbroken and vengeful woman was turned into a dragon, fated to hunt down the man who broke her heart, only for both to suffer. You know the story of Kiyohimé.
‘Well, a woman in our line was cursed as such, to transform into a dragon and her descendants with her. I don’t know why. That much is lost. It gave her strength and power, abilities only the dragons could have, including transformation, if strong enough. But each time she transformed, she became more and more like a dragon. Each time, her human body paid the price until, eventually, it consumed her, and when she turned into a dragon, she could no longer be human again.
‘They say that’s when they go crazy. Humans trapped inside the body of a dragon, they hunt down whatever is closest to what made them that way, then live until they die of some unnaturally old age or are killed.’
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