Tír na nÓg,The Land of Youth, The Otherworld, a realm where powerful spirits and deities lived, and life with all its greatest pleasures were everlasting. Stories were told of how many great heroes of legend were brought there after a long journey or one of the beings who lived there had fallen in love with them.

For a while that's all it was to Iain, a myth. But after he began his journey as a xiaolin dragon he opened his mind to the possibility that maybe it wasn't just a myth. It wasn't too long ago he decided that he wanted to go there. But it wasn't for eternal life, he didn't want to live there, all he wanted was knowledge. If the stories he was told when he was a little kid were through then there would be thousands of years of history there. That meant there was the possibility that he could find information on the gems there. But finding it would be almost impossible. Iain doubted he would be given an invitation by one of the gods or spirits that lived there and the only clues he had as to where it would be were that it could be reached by entering ancient burial mounds or by going across the sea.

In the days since he joined the temple Iain did not tell anyone else about his idea. The reason being that all this was still just a possibility. Another being that he only spoke to the others when it was necessary . Besides that he kept to himself when they weren't training. He was certain that he wasn't going to be staying at the temple for long; something he looked forward to. He didn't get along with the others, they didn't trust him; the only reason he agreed to stay and train with them was because he knew it was something Master Blythe would have wanted him to do.

Still all he truly cared about were the gems. Besides the obvious reason of not wanting the world to be destroyed by them, everything that had happened, the death of Master Blythe, the destruction of his temple and the village that lay near the bottom of the mountain it was on were all because of those gems.

That didn't stop him from doing his own thing. During his free time he took part in his own private training, working on a technique that he had read about in one of the few scrolls that wasn't destroyed when his old temple was attacked; however he didn't expect practicing it to be painful. Today's one was the worst, leaving a large visible red mark on his hand. He was beginning to think that this wouldn't be happening if his master was the one teaching him it. Fortunately for him he was able to bandage it up before anyone noticed it.

"What happened to your hand ?" a concerned voice asked him. Iain knew who it was immediately, someone he had been trying to avoid talking to. Ellie.

"It's nothing." he replied quickly and began to walk away from her.

"Nobody bandages their hand up for nothing."

"It doesn't matter."

"Is something wrong ?"

Iain got annoyed quickly, even more whenever he found himself having to speak to someone he didn't want to. The question she asked in particular was one he had a strong dislike for. He thought of the many times back home when one of his parents would ask him the same thing, the same conversation would usually follow with the typical 'nothing's wrong' or 'I'm fine'. It irritated him to the point where he would always tried to end the conversation quickly.

"Just drop it ok ?" he almost shouted.

"Not when you're hurt."

"It's just a bandage around my hand. I can still punch with it and hold onto things with it so mind your own damn business !"

Iain didn't wait around for Ellie to say anything else. He walked away from her so quickly after his outburst that he didn't even see her faces reaction to his words. He tried to find a spot where he could be alone but much to his disdain Kimiko had followed him, having heard what he said to Ellie. Kimiko was the last person Iain wanted to deal with. There was a good deal of animosity between the two, whether the others could see it or not. Iain was expecting mistrust from everyone when he agreed to join but it was Kimiko who had the most, at least from his point of view.

"What exactly is your problem ?" she asked him angrily.

"Oh for crying out loud." Iain muttered to himself before turning to face her. "Don't you have better things to be doing ?"

"You've been nothing but a grump ever since you joined the temple. Why did you even bother joining if that's all you're gonna be doing ?"

"I'm here for the same reason you're here. To become a xiaolin dragon. But trust me I'll be gone the first chance I get."

"I get it; you don't like being here but doesn't excuse what you said to Ellie. All she was trying to do was be friends with you. You could at least try to do that."

"Friends ? Let me set things straight. We're not friends. We are allies. People who share the same goal and put up with one another to accomplish it. I'm not here to make friends with you, Ellie or the others."

"Is that really how you see things ? I didn't think it was possible but I'm starting to feel sorry for you." she said condescendingly.

"You did see what one gem was capable of right ? There are three more just like that out there. If there is the smallest chance that we have to fight whatever comes out of the next one then we need to be as powerful as we can get. Not only that but other people will probably be after them as well."

"I know we've faced people going after Shen Gong Wu before."

"And if you lost what would happen ? The bad guys get a new toy to use against you."

"We've saved the world more than once. I don't think you can say that."

"You're right I can't. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure the gems don't fall into the wrong hands. Are you ?"

"Of course I am."

"Really ?"

"Yes !"

"Are you willing to take another persons life ?"

Suddenly Kimiko felt her dislike for Iain grow even bigger than it was before. Someone who came off as moody and antisocial now seemed to be someone much more crueler.

"What's wrong with you ? We don't kill people."

"I don't either. But you need to realize that when the whole world is at stake you must be willing to do whatever you must to protect it."

That was last thing Iain said before flying off, leaving Kimiko to dwell on what he just said.

Next chapter: The second gem