Prologue

Sirs, it's time to awaken the dragon.

At midnight, seven genius people assembled at the gates of Kronoberg Castle, located deep in the country of Sweden. The seven of them had only two things in common. They had all received the letter from the master, and they all believed themselves to be the most powerful.

The mist and the shadows did poorly to improve the dark thoughts of the seven. After all, this castle was an important stronghold for their branch, but was burned down by those inferior Tomas grunts.

A voice rang out from a loudspeaker on the gate, breaking the silence, and several of the Cahills stepped back, startled.

I see that you have all arrived safely, a voice crackled. The voice sounded like a mixture of a snake and a near-dead man. I trust you encountered no trouble? Good. You may proceed. At that, the enormous gates swung open, and the seven Cahills strolled inside.

The castle was huge, but that made sense, for what laid inside needed the space. The seven walked through a huge hallway filled with magnificent art pieces stolen from the Janus, completely aware of the dozens of cameras watching them.

The brass doors at the end of the hall slowly opened, creaking the entire way. The doors opened to an eight-person table with food in front of every seat. Only one man was there, casually eating his food with practiced manners.

The man was wearing a formal golden blazer. He wore a crown lost to the outside world, glittering with dozens of precious jewels. He sat straight and was dressed elegantly. His smile made him seem very welcome, but all of the seven knew that under that smile was a raging anger, ready to kill. This man had no name, but was known to everyone as X.

"Welcome, all." X's raspy voice rang out throughout the council room. "We have much to discuss, and very little time to do so."

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"Would you please take a seat?" X asked. Everyone obeyed without question. X was not to be disobeyed.

"Now, then." X said once each of the seven had taken their designated seat. "Our current predicament is far worse than we imagined. We have spotted Tomas climbing Everest. Obviously, that is one of their bases. The Janus have shut off the gondolas in Venice. The Lucians are planning to take power over the countries. Even those filthy Cahill kids, Amy and Dan, are preparing the Madrigals to be ready for anything. That is why I have decided to awaken the dragon."

"Sir, you can't be serious." one of the knights spoke. "Waking the dragon would destroy everything. Includin-" the knight gasped as a spike breezed through his body. X simply smiled as the former knight slumped, lifeless, on the table.

"Are there any other objections?" X asked. None of the knights moved. "Good."

X paused while he drank some red wine from his polished glass cup. "The only way we will win this war among the branches is to awaken it. It has slumbered far too long and will now be of use again. But we also have other problems."

"If the human race sees a walking nightmare on the streets, everyone will be alerted. Including the other branches. That is why I will give them something else to gossip their mouths off on."

"I plan to assassinate many famous people around the world. People will then be too focused on who killed them, rather than the dragon flying through the sky."

X rose from his spot on the table. "Now, my faithful knights, let us unsheathe our swords and awaken the dragon once again!" The six Ekats stood and drew their swords, following X down a tunnel not one of them had been before. X raised his hand above a massive steel door and slowly turned the handle.

The seven of them walked into the immensely large room. On the ground laid a huge dragon, coiled up in its slumber.

"So it is true." one of the knights dared whisper. X shot him an evil glare. Then X raised his sword. The other knights followed his example. They all struck the ground at the same time, causing a huge clatter that echoed off the mossy, wet walls.

They waited...and waited...and waited.

At last, the dragon shifted slightly and rose up, glaring at the knights with huge, menacing red eyes.

Who dares awake me?!

The knights stumbled back in fear. X stood, staring unmoving into the great dragon's eyes.

"We have come to set things right." X said, the echo bouncing across the room. The dragon nodded slowly, somehow understanding. X held out his arms, parallel to the ground, and shouted,

"Now awake from your well-deserved slumber, O great and most fierce Nidhogg!"