Prelude

With a house located out in a secluded wilderness, a little boy was put in bed by a man. The boy had wild, spiked bright orange hair, and two different colored eyes with his right eye golden yellow and his left silver gray. The man had brown hair, brown eyes, and a pair of blue frame glasses.

"Alright, Ryuji. Time for bed." The man said as he was done tucking the boy in.

"But I'm not tired yet." Ryuji said to him.

"How about a story?" The man offered, causing Ryuji to get comfy in bed in anticipation. "Once upon a time, there was a hyper little boy who went to bed…" The man stopped when Ryuji started to laugh.

"Dad, that's not a story." Ryuji smiled.

"Alright, alright." His father said before he started over with a different story. "Once upon a time, there was a land far from this one, a land which from the flesh and bones of a Titan that fell into the Boiling Sea, a great and vast sea so hot that it would burn anything it touched into nothing."

"That sounds scary." Ryuji gained a look of worry.

"Yes, but not to worry, my son. A method had been made to ensure the water could be safe to use without fear." His father reassured him. "This method was made by the people known as the witch race who lived in peace and out of the reach of humans in this great land. The land was filled with magic, magic which the witches were able to adapt and harness to help one another and make the land their home. As being set in the Boiling Sea, the witches named the land The Boiling Isles. When the witches first began to settle in the Isles, they were led by three families known as the Noble Three. They were those made of the strongest witches and warlocks on the Isles, nobles who had descended from royal of worlds beyond. The names of these families were Vallake, Duskerman, and Froeth. They showed the people of the Isles how to harness and use the magic of the Isles, each family having a different magical art which they shared with their fellow witches and warlocks: Vallake to the brave, Duskerman to the strong, and Froeth to the wise. By working together, the Noble Three brought order and peace amongst the Boiling Isles and made into a wondrous place where everyone prospered, in magic and otherwise."

"That sounds awesome." Ryuji said in awe.

"It was." His father soon lost his smile as he continued. "But, unfortunately, this did not last long. It was during the end of the Golden Age that the Boiling Isles was met with a great shift. One day, a warlock by the name of Belos spoke up to everyone on the Isles. He said he was a messenger from the Titan, someone sent to speak for the Titan. He said that everyone had been using magic all wrong and that this went against the will of the Titan, that the magic of the Isles should not be explored freely. Belos said the Titan wanted the magic to be divided, split into nine types, so balance could be made between the Isles and its people. The Noble Three didn't agree with this as they believed that the Isles' magic, no matter what kind, should be free to all. Resisting as much as they could, Belos' influence grew and took hold on the Isles, leading to just about everyone witch and warlock following him and becoming divided into covens of each type of magic. After losing the loyalty of the people, the Noble Three soon surrendered and abided by the rules of Belos. This was the end of the Golden Age as Belos' teachings became the only teachings in magic on the Isles."

"That's so sad." Ryuji said, feeling despair over what he heard.

"Yeah, some things in life are." His father then gained a smile as he spoke again. "But not all hope is lost. Legend says that the witches would all be reunited in peace and harmony by one certain member of the witch race who rises above all the others to lead the Boiling Isles into a new Golden Age where everyone could be able to use magic like the witches and warlocks in the days of old."

"Cool." Ryuji said as he smiled. "Dad, do you think I'll ever get to see the Boiling Isles?"

"Maybe one day." His father said as he ruffled his son's hair. "But for now, time for bed." He then went to the door and placed one finger over the light switch before looking back at his son with a smile. "Good night, Ryuji."

"Night, Dad." Ryuji said before his father turned off the light and closed the door, Ryuji drifting off to sleep.


After closing the door, Ryuji's father sighed with a smile which he soon lost as he was surprised by a voice.

"Getting Ryu to bed?" the owner of the voice was a teenage boy that resembled much of Ryuji but with combed orange hair, two golden yellow eyes, and pointed ears who gave the father a smug look.

The father smiled as he spoke to him. "I see you're finally back. Slow night, Ben?"

"Yeah, it's pretty much quiet in town." The teenager Ben said. "So did you tell Little Bro the story about the blacksmith and the powerful witch again?"

"No, I decided to give him a little piece of history." The father said. "He seems to like hearing about the Boiling Isles."

"You told him about the Boiling Isles thing already?" Ben seemed surprised by this. "But he's only eight."

"He had to learn that sometime. Especially consider the possibility I might have to send him there."

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I'm just glad my little brother is finally asleep. Kid's gonna need his sleep if he's ever gonna learn what you're teaching him."

"Yes, that's true." The father said as he and his older son walked down the hall. "Though I do expect you to get some sleep too, young man."

"Come on, Dad. You know I'm just as much as a night person as a morning person."

"That's no excuse for not getting some sleep. You still have school tomorrow, not to mention you have another responsibility."

"I know, I know. Duty of the Fire Dragons is super important."

If one were to see them now, they would notice the two each possessing a long, red dragon tail. Ben's tail had four golden spikes close to the tip with two on each side while his father's only had a barbed tip that resembled a golden arrowhead.

"And your education is just as important." The father said to him.

"Yeah, but normal school isn't as fun as the kind of stuff you teach me and Ryu."

"Benjamin, you know that those lessons aren't just meant for fun."

"They're for defense and helping others, I know. You sure he'll be ready for the Boiling Isles?"

"Only time will tell with how far he'll go in his studies. Now off to bed with you."

"Alright, alright." With that, Ben then walked off to his room. "Night, Dad."

"Good night, son." The father said as he walked to his own room.

Upon entering, the father sighed before he then walked over and sat down on the queen-sized bed where a little brown falcon was sitting, the little bird coming up to his shoulder before giving a few chirps.

"Yeah, he's finally asleep." The father said to the bird with a smile, somehow understanding what the bird was saying. "Thank you for telling me, Falcona. At least I know I can count on you in this world." Falcona gave a few chirps to him, causing him to look at a chest placed against one of the walls. "No, not yet. He's still young. Besides, I think it would be bad parenting on my part for giving an eight-year-old something like that, especially since he doesn't know how to use it yet." Falcona then chirped with concern, causing the father to sigh as he lost his smile. "I have to send him there some time, especially if his condition becomes more of a problem. Right now he's been able to deal with it, but the same can't be said if he can still deal with it later on. It grows with him after all. When the time comes for when he'll need more help than I can provide…" the father clutched a fist before he fell over on his side, landing his head on a pillow while Falcona flew off his shoulder and flew over him. Landing on the dresser next to the father's bed, Falcona chirped to him. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I have to be strong for him…much like any other parent."


[Ryuji's aside]

Okay, okay. I bet you're wondering what's going on. Questions like, why do my dad and big brother have dragon tails? Do I have a tail like them? Why is my dad talking to a bird? And what exactly has him so worried about me? Well, you all will get to know all the answers pretty soon.

Anyway, my name is Ryuji. And this is my story.


Author's Note: Hey, guys! I hoped you all liked this little prelude of mine. This new story of mine is one that I will be working on for a while. I just got a good flow for it a few days ago and had been dying to get started. I suppose some of you might already have some guess as to who the brothers are related to. For any questions you might have from all this, you'll be getting your answers soon with each update I put into this story. And you'll see many aside speech scenes from Ryuji in this story. And I'll put in the opening pretty soon. That's all I got for now. Don't forget to leave a comment to tell me what you think of it.