Jason lifted his head to the wind and looked at the sun. The light faded into the distance and streaked the sky with blues, purples, and reds. His sword reflected the light onto the ground in front of him.

He raised the twisted blade, Shakora, up to his face and turned it, letting the light reflect onto his closed eyelids. Slowly, he raised the sword above his head. It started to absorb, rather than reflect, the sun's light. Shakora glowed with an inner light rivaling that of the sun's. A beam of the sacred light burst towards the cloud overhead, parting them.

"Demon Master, Shakora! Hear your sword's carrier and show me your physical self. Enter my presence! Hiror...ani...amoro...ASHIDA!" Jason called to the sky and the lonely mountains, surrounding his home. An identical beam of light shot back at the sword, bouncing off the very tip and landing in front of Jason. He lowered the sword to be level with the being.

Slowly, the light dulled and reformed into a small dragon. The dragon slithered to the sword and hissed, rolling his tongue on the edge. Satisfied, the little dragon turned back away and looked out over the plains below them. Jason sat beside the dragon and the beast crawled up his back and layed its head on his shoulder.

"What do you think, Shakora? Will they arrive soon? Have they come to the other world yet?" Shakora hissed his answer in Jason's ear.

"Yessss....They will be here ssssoon....They have yet to crosssss over though.....The othersssss, they await their arrival....And like the legend ssssaid.....They are already besssstowed their powersssss....Yessss...They will reach thissss point within three to four monthssss....." The dragon slid down Jason's back and into his arms. It sat there, still as a statue, staring at the sunset.

Jason nodded his approval. "Good. I don't have long to wait for them then. Tell me, Shakora. What are their names and blessings?"

Shakora rose from his spot and placed his head close to Jason's.

"They are twelve....Three to Tiger.....Three to Phoenix.....Three to Dragon.....And three to Tortoissssse....Powerssss held by children.....Ssssstrength, Power, Might.....Divinity, Purity, Virtuessss.....Nobility, Faith, Leadership.....Dessssire, Assspiration, Accceptanccce....Three of each will come.....Sssso will those who await....Their powerssss will be phenomenal compared to the Elder Legend....Each one will sssssoon realize that the mastery of thesssse are inssside of them...." The dragon lowered his head and placed it alongside the sword.

Again, Jason nodded. "Good. The sooner they realize their potential, the sooner they'll be able to build it and absorb others of the same. Now answer the rest of my question, young dragon. What are their names?"

Shakora hissed violently at a lizard passing by. He turned his head back to Jason.

"Thissss....I cannot reveal all of.....I know few......Fallon, Powerssss, Kiroko......Friend, Driscoll, Hall.....MacMillan, George, Takemini.....Doyle, Izumi, Reynolds.....That issss all I have been made aware of......Their Cressstsss overshadow their full identitiessss sssso that enemiessss cannot find them....."

Jason turned to the sunset. His hand slid down along one side of the sword and to the point. Slowly, on the edge, he slid it up the other side. Raising his hand to Shakora's face, the dragon lapped greedily at the small amount of blood on Jason's palm. When he had finished, Jason took his bandana off and tied it around his hand.

"Shakora, your job is done. Send yourself to the skies and your home." The little dragon nodded and spread his wings. He jumped into the warm air currents on the cliff's edge and floated towards the sun. The shimmer from his feathered wings and scales made it almost impossible to see him, so Jason stood and walked back to his house.

The twelve with the Crests in them will be here soon. The time has finally come. After more than a thousand years, the ancient evils have become restless and will now strike out against the peace and tranquility. I just hope that the newer children can control their aspects at least as well as I can without having to work at it for a millennia.