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Chapter 1: The Birth of a Hero
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"Hey Spire? You still sleeping?"
Spire woke with a start and looked up to see his friend looming over his nest.
"What are you all excited about Thorn?" Spire grumbled as he began to turn his head back into his mossy nest.
"Come on were going to be late to training!" Thorn exclaimed and Spire sat up instantly with a jolt.
"Me? Late? Never!" Spire yelled and they playfully dashed out of the nesting cave, were younger dragons slept.
They soon came into the small clearing of what they liked to call the Dragon's keep. It wasn't much of a fortress and it didn't provide much protection and cover, but it was enough. Spire was a young dragon who was still undergoing the Ten-Year process dragons called Fire-Picking. The Fire-Picking was much like a training process that all dragons must go through in order to be accepted as full members of their Tribe or Clan in some cases.
"Greetings young dragon, how is that water technique I showed you coming?" asked one of the tribe elders as the two young dragons rushed to the training grounds.
"Not so good Commandant, but don't worry I'll practice it with my mentor when I get the chance!" Spire called to him.
Spire charged horns first into the Training clearing nearly knocking over his own mentor. He skidded to a stop and nearly died of embarrassment when he saw his mentor angrily fluttering around on the ground as if recoiling from an unexpected attack.
"Spire?!?! What was that all about?" his mentor cried out as he pulled himself back onto the ground.
"S-sorry…Mist…I wasn't looking were I was going." Spire muttered and looked down at his paws.
"You have to be more careful if you think you will ever be Fire-Picked." Mist growled angrily.
"Your right I'll be more careful next time." Spire muttered.
"All members of the Lunarnious Tribe please come to the base of the cliff! There is something very important I have to tell you." yelled the oldest and wisest elder; Lunar.
The tribe was confused; they weren't usually addressed to a meeting in such an abrupt manner. Spire was in the middle of his noon resting period, and was slightly annoyed that he would have to attend another boring meeting. Something was wrong, the elders had never looked as worried as they were now as the tribe gathered around the cliff face to see what they had to say.
"All Lunarnious dragons, may you be blessed and may you be praised by the gods of our ancestors." Lunar began, as was the custom to begin all meetings.
"It is finally time, the gods sent me a vision that they are ready to choose one of us to lead our Tribe to victory and to glory, someone to finally end this reign of darkness on our land!" he yelled triumphantly.
Dragons all around the clearing muttered and whispered all wondering who would be picked to lead them and what this could mean for there tribe.
"All dragons who think they are worthy will meet me at the Temple tonight at midnight were we will await the our ancestors decision." He concluded with a determined stare at his audience.
"How will we know if we are worthy?" a dragon from somewhere in the crowd called.
"Find it in your heart" The elder exclaimed before calling the meeting to a close.
"Hey Spire! I just got the greatest idea!" Thorn exclaimed with an excited look on his face.
"Why won't you just go to sleep Thorn? It's already past our bedtime." Spire sleepily retorted as he lay down in his nest.
"We should sneak out and see who gets picked at the Temple!" Thorn whispered nearly jumping up and down.
"Are you joking? They would have our wings if they caught us!" Spire snorted.
"Spire you're just scared you big purple wimp!" Thorn teased and clearly, it seemed to have worked.
"Are you kidding? I'm not scared of anything!" Spire glared almost spitting flames in annoyance.
"Then lets go! Come!" Thorn whispered and they quietly snuck out of the nesting cave.
"May the gods of our ancestors look down upon our bravest fighters and our most skilled magicians who have gathered at the temple tonight to await which one of them will become the chosen one." Lunar cried out into the silent night.
The temple was a quiet peaceful place perched on top of a large cliff face overlooking the tribe. It was where the Lunarnious Dragons felt closest to their ancestors and to the gods of all dragons.
Spire and Thorn hid behind a rock nearby the base of the Temple, hidden but close enough to see and hear much of what was going on. There were about ten dragons circled inside the temple looking up at the sky. The Temple was built especially so it had a large hole in the roof so Lunarnious dragons could see the stars. Often, elders claimed they could see the future by the movement of celestial figures, but not many believed them.
"Wow this sure is boring… I expected more drama, like lightning or something but no all I get is a clear blank night sky…maybe we should head back." Thorn whispered with a sigh of disappointment.
"Come on, we made it this far can't we just stay for the end?" Spire quietly commented.
"Fine…but I'm not going to stay one extra second." Thorn exclaimed.
Spire looked up at the sky, like the other Dragons in the temple were doing. He saw thousands of little stars glittering like jewels in the dark expanse of sky. Suddenly one of the stars seemed to grow bigger, and Spire gasped in astonishment as the earth began to tremble and a bolt of lightning struck against the ground. Spire could have avoided it but he was frozen to the spot and the bolt of lightning collided with him. Sheer waves of cold energy ran through him and he blacked out.
Spire awoke half expecting to be in his nice moss covered nest with the peaceful sound of birds chirping in the breeze, but instead there was nothing. An expanse of blank absence of all things he had known existed. Suddenly the memory of sneaking out to the temple and the events that followed came back to him.
"Am I dead?" Spire called out. His mouth spoke the words but no sound was made.
He started running, or he thought he started running and then he thought he stopped. Nothing seemed real in this world except for his own thoughts. He thought he heard a voice, calling to him but it could just be an illusion. He wasn't sure. Spire thought the voice kept getting louder but he thought he couldn't make out the words.
"Spire, the gods of your ancestors speak" a crisp voice called out into the blank expanse. Spire knew the voice was real because he no longer had to think, he just had to listen.
"We have chosen you young dragon" the voice called out.
"What do you mean? You mean to say that I am the chosen one?" Spire gasped as his words formed sounds this time.
"Yes young dragon, for almost a millennia we have searched for a dragon such as yourself, and now we have finally found you. You are the one who is destined to save the world from the Darkness." The voice said.
"Me? Why me? Why not pick one of the other stronger dragons? I am not worthy and I can't take on this responsibility" Spire yelled and time seemed to stop for ages until the voice responded.
"Your powers will come in time young one, do not deny your destiny." The voice responded and Spire was just about to argue with it but suddenly words burned into him like fire.
"The Dragon Chosen by the god of all Dragons, will rise a new Dawn to the power of light. The Dawn of Destiny."
