If you open the old book, the first page depicts giant wings spanning across the sky.

People called the owner of those wings a god. A being that flies above the clouds and lives through ages beyond human reckoning. Dragons have been in this world since long ago.

On days when a dragon crossed the mountain range, long shadows were cast over the fields. Farmers tilling the soil and travelers on long journeys alike stopped their work for a moment to look up at the sky. Even after the wind stirred by the wings had passed, children watched the gaps between the clouds for a long time.

When night fell, the story of the dragon seen that day began again by candlelight. While children became adults and those adults' children heard the same stories, the dragons still flew in the sky.

But just because it was a world where gods lived didn't mean miracles were common.

Magic was rare, and most people never produced even a small spark in their entire lives. They gathered firewood before winter came and stayed up all night by the side of sick family members. When they had a desperate wish, they joined their hands toward the sky, but they never knew how far those prayers reached.

The story leads to a forest far away from the villages of such people.

The trees had grown for so long that their branches touched one another. The narrow paths were covered in grass, and only the light filtering through the leaves settled sparsely upon the ground.

In a shadow where that light did not reach, a girl lay collapsed.

Wet soil clung to the hem of her clothes, and a small leaf had fallen near her fingertips. The girl remained motionless with her eyes closed. For a while, only the sound of the wind flowed, until a thin breath leaked from between her lips.

No one knew where she came from or how she ended up so deep in the forest. The sun gradually tilted, and the tree shadows stretched long beside the girl.

Beyond the forest were wide fields, beyond those were mountain ranges, and above the mountains was the sky where the dragons lived.

Evening was beginning in all those places. Lights were lit in every village, and people walking long distances sought a place to sleep.

No one had discovered the girl yet.

Now, you only need to turn the page. For the story of the dragons called gods and the little girl begins right here in this forest.