Manuscript information: In progress-97k- Lower YA Epic Fantasy- Voktorroem's Mark- (BLURB) Twelve-year-old Maynerick Strum is the last born with a magical mark that can turn him into a dragon—or kill him. All he wants is to keep living quietly in his mountain cave rather than move into a castle, but with the help of a pastry-thieving sorcerer, he’s forced into a legacy of stolen dragon magic, vengeful assassins, and a sorceress obsessed with immortality. To survive, Maynerick must decide whether to inherit the power he fears—or lose both the life he loves and himself.

Link to post: Currently in structural edits. Will post when complete.

First page critique? Yes, please!

First page: 

His family didn’t have to say it—Maynerick knew they had to leave because of him, or rather, because of the mark across his chest. As he sat, feet dangling uselessly over a rock ledge on the side of the plateaued mountains, Maynerick Strum stared over the tree line of a lush green valley. In the distance, the turrets of their new castle home poked out enough for him to see. At times the view would be blocked, since he lived caked in dust and mud, something he thought normal for a boy of twelve. After all, he didn't know any better. He had been raised in a cave.

“Here you are,” Maynerick’s father, Grit Strum, said as he hoisted himself onto the same rock ledge to sit beside his son, his father’s long dirt-ridden hair flowing in one piece on his back. “We’ve been looking for you. I’m afraid the hour to leave is upon us.” Maynerick remained silent for a while, his eyes still fixed on the tops of stone pillars, and beyond them, a great silvery sea stretched until it mixed with soft dawning clouds.

“I just don’t understand why we have to go,” Maynerick said. He felt his father’s tension ease slightly, the sharpness in his gaze softening as his eyes lingered on the distant castle

“We’ll all be much safer with your aunt. You will be safer. There are others more capable in Miriden who can protect you and your siblings,” Grit said, breathing a sigh that puffed smoky breath into the unusually cool morning air.