A/N: Hey, y'all! I'm back with chapter 18. This one will be a little different, because it is at the Draconiana Eclipse Ceremony, and Huntsman is telling the story behind the ceremony, so it mostly deals with the past and stuff. I hope it doesn't get boring, but I felt a need to put this in here because it is crucial to the story line. At any rate, please attempt to read it, and please review. Oh, speaking of reviews, thanks for the ones you've again, I don't have time to reply to all of them, but I will in chapter 19. Sorry. Now, here's chapter 18, called "The Draconian Eclipse Ceremony".

Choices

Chapter Eighteen

"Two thousand years ago," began Huntsman, "all beings on the earth lived in peace—magical and non-magical alike. But that would soon change. A group of mortals (at least they were at the time), the Protectors, now present-day Huntsclan, felt as if magical creatures were gaining too much power—especially the dragons." He glanced at me, then continued.

"The Protectors went to the Sinister Sorcerer, a powerful wizard, for help. It was said that he contained mighty powers—and also feared that the dragons were becoming too powerful as well. What no one knew at the time was that he was also a dragon himself."

I stood there, transfixed by the story. Could any of this be true?

"The Sinister Sorcerer's dragon name was the Dragon of Darkness. When in Dragon form, he was utterly unstoppable, and the entire magical community was on the lookout for him. But, as I mentioned previously, no one knew he and the Sinister Sorcerer were the same person.

"When the Protectors asked him for assistance—he was only too happy to help. He wanted to overrule all other creatures—including his own kind, the dragons. Of course, no one knew that either.

"When he agreed to help the Protectors, he told them that they would have to serve him in return for his help, and they agreed, ready to rid the world of dragons. Soon after, however, it was discovered by a very unlucky young knight, the secret of the sorcerer. The Protectors declared that they would never serve such a monster. This angered the sorcerer. He vowed revenge.

"Before he had a chance to act, however, he was captured (in human form, in his sleep) by an army of magical creatures, and was sentenced to eternal imprisonment in a secret chamber the island of Draco. He somehow escaped and came back, almost two thousand years later, as the Dark Dragon. That is another story entirely, though."

I was amazed. There was so much more to the Huntsclan than I ever thought possible. And the Dark Dragon? He's two thousand years old? This was just getting too weird. Go figure.

"Before he had been discovered, however, he had given the Protectors certain powers and weapons, ones that they would eventually pass on to us. Right before he was imprisoned, he laid upon us a terrible curse. We were bound under his service, doing his biddings. It was fine at first, as we wanted the same things. No dragons. But soon, things began to get out of hand.

"We were forced to live, work, talk, and even think like him. If any man dared disobey, he would drop dead instantly as punishment. He was cruel and relentless, even while imprisoned.

"Things did get better after time wore on, although we do still live in fear of him. We are now stronger than ever before, and have basically escaped from his unrelenting claws of power, but we will not forget how he cruelly treated our ancestors. We vowed to break the curse that imprisoned us and all of our people.

"We took on the name Huntsclan, and went searching for the counter-curse. We found nothing. But then one day, we received news that the Dark Dragon (as he was now being called) had returned. He summoned us to his lair, and told us that he would free us from the curse—if we would do one thing for him.

"A wise old fortune teller, long, long ago, had predicted that in many, many years to come, a new power would rise and defeat the dark dragon—unless he was caught by an outside force and slain in a ceremony dedicated to the Dragon himself, at exactly 11:15, the Draconiana Eclipse Ceremony.

"This new power would be young and cocky. He would not seem powerful at first, but he would be recognized as the new force when he escaped from the Dark Dragon's clutches twice.

"We had been on the American Dragon's trail for some time, but mainly because we thought he would make a lovely pair of boots—" he laughed softly "—and still will for that matter. The point is, we were utterly surprised when the Dark Dragon summoned us and told us that the American Dragon was without a doubt the 'new power', and that we must capture and perform the ceremony—at any cost. They boy had escaped his clutches twice."

The Huntsman then turned to look at me. "So we thought up a marvelous plan. We hired a leprechaun to gain your trust, then he double crossed you and we captured you. Now, finally, after two thousand years, our name as the Huntsclan will be honored once more, we shall be freed, and you shall be…gone. Huntsgirl!"

My heart leaped as I saw Rose walk out, Huntstick in hand. "The time is nigh. 11:15. Slay the dragon and we shall be freed."

"Yes, master." My heart dropped. No hope, none at all for me. I watched as the girl raised her Huntstick, pointed it at my helpless self, and got ready to fire. I closed my eyes and waited for the terrible pain that was coming…

A/N: Dramatic ending to a chapter, no? Anyway, I hope u liked it. Please wait and watch for chapter 19, and please don't forget to review. Thanks.

~Emachinescat ^..^