Chapter One

  The sun beat down on Ophicys, the capital of the Draconian Empire, and the dragons basked in Io’s glory. Many of them were standing in the streets once the sun rose, wings outstretched to take in her warmth. They did not know why she had been shining brighter lately, but the dragons could feel the difference in the summer air. Considering how much the weather had been varying due to the Titan’s recent clash and subsequent wrecking of the outer villages, they were enjoying it while it was peaceful.

  The reasoning behind the current warmth coming from their goddess was hidden away, deep within the temple. Inside the main room, the worshipers came and went to offer their prayers, but none knew of what went on behind the scenes. None knew that in the nest where Ra had hatched lay yet another egg, one that had been there throughout the spring planting. A single dragon priestess sat by the nest, simply meditating beside it while flames roared around the egg. She had just taken over her shift for watching the fire, tending to it to be sure it would not escape the nest. After the initial review, she had deemed the fire was fine for some time and had decided to use the time for inner reflection.

  A strange crackle from the fire brought her out of her introspection, and she opened her eyes, watching the fire intensely for a few minutes. Everything seemed normal, nothing out of the ordinary about the fire that would imply it was growing out of control. Nevertheless, she got up and went to a small pulley system that would allow her to adjust the flames to lessen or grow as necessary. She pulled the one on the right down, causing the fire system coming from within the nest to slowly die down, barely enveloping the egg. She went back to the nest to watch the egg for any signs of possible movement. Her heart was pounding in her chest, excited at the idea that the child could possibly be beginning to hatch under her watch.

  Sure enough, after a few moments the egg wobbled just ever so slightly, and a tiny scratch was heard coming from inside. Her eyes widened and she ran to the pulley again, pulling the same right one twice to get it to extinguish the flames entirely, before running from the room calling out for aid.

  “Someone call for the High Priest, the child is coming!” She barked at one of the priests in the hallway as she ran past him, on her way to gather necessary supplies for cleaning the hatchling off when it came out of its egg. The other priest took a second to process what he had just been told, before turning and darting off down the hall towards where he had just seen High Priest Astrius moments before.

  The High Priest was still talking in the hall with two others when she sprinted up, already a bit out of breath. "Supplies are being gathered, the child-"

  Astrius immediately pushed past, knowing that she could only be so excited from imminent hatching. He began leading the group back down the hallway towards the nesting chamber. It would still take some time, most normal dragon children hatched within a matter of a few hours, not taking longer than half a day on average. But when Ra hatched, it had been a rather explosive event, seemingly having escalated within a matter of a single hour according to the records. With powerful demonic blood running through their veins, it was possible this child also would hatch quickly and the possibility of damage was high enough they had to prepare if there was a surge of energy. The building itself should have been sturdy enough, as the nesting chamber was actually deep within the rocky island the temple district had been built on, so the real risk was more so from the child hurting itself by accident.

  It would not take long but soon almost the entire priesthood was in the chambers, waiting and watching with prepared items for when the hatchling made its appearance. There were consistent scratching sounds coming from inside the egg, the hatchling working on creating a weakness in the eggs shell to finally join the world. Astrius watched ahead of the others, already holding a towel. Even though they were expecting a bit more of an eruptive event of power from the hatching, they still had to have the necessary standby materials as if this were a normal hatching as they could never know what to expect when it came to the offspring of their goddess.

  A rather distinct, much sharper crack was heard as the harder gem-like outer shell split near the top, not a very large one, but one nonetheless. A small hooked claw poked through the weakest middle point, beginning to slowly chip pieces away. A small sigh of relief washed over the priesthood members that were there, but Astrius kept his eyes on the egg.

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  “Do not get complacent. It is still early, we must be prepared if the hatchling begins to show signs of stress or overexertion.”

  It would still take time, but now that there was an opening there was less of a concern as the hatchling continued to chip and crack away at the edges, slowly making its exit out of the egg wider. Finally, after what felt like hours, the hatchling was able to slide out and was breathing gently as it rested right outside of its egg.

  Astrius rushed over once the hatchling cleared the shelling, scooping it up in the towel while another priest gently washed excess amniotic fluids off. Once they had done a quick look over the hatchling to be sure all was well and clean, they wrapped it in a final clean towel and were able to finally coo over the new child.

  The hatchling resembled his mothers body in the sense that he was an ancient dragon, one that still walked on all fours. A bright, vibrant red scale-set, if Astrius did not know any better, he would have thought this was just a child of old. However, with the hatchlings father being who he was, he suspected this was only how the child was joining the world. Something told him the child would not stay this way for long, but that was for a later time.

  For now the child rested in his arms, eyes closed as it slumbered from the exhaustion of arriving into the world. Astrius smiled sadly, knowing that unfortunately the child would not remain innocent for long, and would have to face the harshness of the world as his mothers champion. He pushed those thoughts from his mind, knowing that for now they should focus on the child's growth and development so that he could handle the evils of the world.

  “High Priest, shall I move the egg shell fragments?” One of the priests came to stand beside him. They had preserved what little shell had been left behind from Ra’s birth, however this one's egg seemed much more intact from a less explosive hatching. It would eventually be a holy relic once the child was publicly known, but for now they could preserve the pieces using magic and keep them safely hidden away.

  “His room has been prepared, so for the time being I will watch over him while he rests. Any duties that are not immediately required of me are to be put off, since I wish to let the child bond with me as if I were his own father. Although he cannot meet either of his true parents yet, it is important for him to have an adequate parental figure. And as the High Priest of this temple, it would be appropriate for me to do so.”

  The others bowed their heads respectfully in agreement, knowing that they would all have a hand in his care, but High Priest Astrius had the final say on what happened in the temple. For now, it was time to let the child rest.

  One priest followed Astrius as he carried the hatchling down the hall to the room that had been prepared long before. “He seems to resemble his mother, an Ancient Dragon. But in regards to his father... Do you think the child will stay like this?”

  "No. I expect that he will find a form more suitable, lest he grow to be too big. He should be able to transform within a matter of months, so no more than a year in his current form at most. However... that particular piece of information was noted from the birth of an old Ancient Dragon hatchling, and thus may not be accurate to him. Considering his parentage, it would not be unusual for him to quickly gain a secondary form. All dragons eventually age and die, but this child will be an eternal guardian."

  Once the two arrived to the room, the other priest opened the door for Astrius to carry the child into its new room. There was a smaller, more compact nest made of stones and gems alike. A typical nest for dragon culture, but he knew they would need a bed once the child transformed. But that was for the future, it was time to let the little one rest. Astrius placed the small hatchling into the nest and he immediately curled up tighter into a ball, enjoying the warmth coming from under it. A simple method of warming stones, it would mimic the comfort and warmth of the egg until the hatchling was used to being outside.

  Astrius pulled back and went to sit in a chair beside the nest. “Gal, if you could please bring me a few of the things from my office, I might as well do some reading while the little one sleeps.”

  “Of course, High Priest.” The priest called Gal bowed and left, shutting the door quietly behind him. Astrius looked at the little one sleeping with his wings wrapped tightly around him.

  “Sleep peacefully now… you are safe and protected here. Aaron, know that I will be here when you wake. Your mother loves you, and you will be beloved by many others. But it pains me to think of the trials you will face. Such is the truth of the world…but I will be here to help you as much as I can. I promise.”

  He knew the hatchling most likely hadn’t heard him. But saying it aloud was reassuring to himself as well. Astrius knew the calamity that the Titans could inflict upon the world. Entire civilizations wiped from existence, others enslaved. He had to have faith in Io, and in Aaron as well. But he also knew that Aaron would have to gain the strength needed in order to survive, most of all surviving in the fight against a Titan. The journey had begun, but it would not be an easy one.