Dawnfang Quest

Finn Calder set out to find a legendary sword. Instead, he rescued a tiny dragon the Crown would rather see caged, sold, or dead. In the border kingdom of Aldmere, magical beasts are being hunted under the name of protection. A spreading black fog twists fear into violence, and the Crown's answer is simple: seize every beast, cull every risk, and call it mercy. Finn is only a Copper-ranked beast keeper with a half-broken shelter, a talent for bad jokes, and a dangerous gift called Beast Sense.
He can feel what animals feel. Their panic. Their pain. The commands forced into them by something ancient and cruel. When he defies a royal culling order to save the beasts under his care, he becomes a criminal before breakfast. Then he finds Kip. Small, injured, stubborn, and far too fond of sitting on Finn's shoulder, the young dragon should be another creature to hide from hunters and registry chains.
But Kip is connected to a legend everyone in Aldmere fears and wants: Dawnfang, the sword said to end the Hollow Crown's return. The problem is that legends lie. Heroes disappoint. Commands break what trust can barely hold together. Hunted by knights, beast traders, and the shadow behind the black fog, Finn must cross forests, mines, ruins, and the capital's cages with a dragon who refuses to be anyone's weapon.
If he wants to save Aldmere, he may have to challenge the one belief the kingdom was built on-that beasts must be controlled to be protected. A fast-paced dragon bond fantasy adventure about trust, found family, magical beasts, reluctant heroes, and a legendary sword that is nothing like the stories promised. When every command becomes a chain, can one boy and one dragon choose a different kind of legend?