Chapter two

As I slept, suddenly a voice split through the darkness and jolted me awake. I found myself surrounded by a thick darkness, shadows dancing on the edges of reality. Was I truly awake? Was I caught in some strange dream?

"Ashton, son of Aaron, son of Asher, son of Atticus, thou art unworthy of the blessings the Gods of this work hath bestowed upon you." A deep voice growled those threatening words into the darkness surrounding me.

Surely I must be dreaming, I thought. I tried to find the owner of the voice, but to no avail. All I could see was the darkness.

"Who are you?" I called out, my voice trembling slightly. Damn it, when have I ever been afraid of the unseen? "Come out where I can see you, you coward!" My voice cracked slightly on the word coward. How revolting. Fear is such a pain.

"I am who I am. You knew me once. But thou dost not know me now. Thou hast never cared for the higher things of this world. Thou hast made thyself thine own god, thine own selfish needs coming first in thy life. And a darkness darker than any shadow hath covered thy heart and soul; they may never see the light of day again." The voice was growing steadily louder

The wind howled above the strange voice, and a dull, throbbing, beating sound began to echo in the field. Then a strong gust picking me up and throwing me to the ground. And again. On the third blast I grabbed ahold of something, and held on tight. It felt as if my arms were going to tear out of their sockets. This is no mere wind... I thought, cold fear once again gripping my heart.

"And yet there is always hope," the voice rumbled like thunder and lightning- no, pure, white flame- flashed in the sky, revealing a huge being in the sky.

"A dragon!" I gasped, my grip tightening on my anchor, my eyes open wide in shock and wonder as I stared at the massive creature descending to the earth.

Giant grey wings beat smoothly, a broad scaly chest blocked out the sky, a long spiny neck stretched up and twisted in the air, the massive jaws opening wide to reveal long, razor sharp, white fangs and a bright flame spouting from deep in the dragon's belly. And then its eyes looked down at me, those deep, wise, frightening golden eyes... And then the dragon roared.

"ASHTON," bellowed the voice, the voice of the dragon, the voice that had been condemning me for the past few minutes. "A darkness greater than that which is in you is rising. And no man hath the power to stop it. No man, but you. Thou art the man who must step forward and take on the responsibility. The fate of a small group of people, a little town, a great country, and, ultimately, the world, rests on your shoulders. Do what you can to stop this evil, and your pitiful, selfish, twisted soul may be spared."

"What!?" I couldn't believe this. I never asked for salvation. And I definitely never asked to bring salvation to anyone else. I yelled up at the beast. "I'm no hero. I'm not doing this, that's stupid. The fate of the world- who am I to change that?" Suddenly the dragon landed, shaking the earth, a loud crash echoing and ringing in my ears and the surrounding land.

"The Gods hath spoken. It is thy fate. It is thy destiny. If thou cannot accept that, then truly thou art doomed." The dragon lowered it's ugly head down close to mine, and it's massive golden eye stared right into my eyes.

"I don't care if I'm doomed," I said, angrily. "I've been doomed ever since I was born. This power is no blessing; it's a curse. And whatever darkness in me is my own. I couldn't change that even if I wanted to. And I don't. I don't want to change. I am who I am." I echoed the words of the beast, bitterness, anger, and sarcasm oozing on my voice. The dragon roared again.

"YOU WILL EMBRACE YOUR POWER BEFORE LONG, ASHTON, SON OF AARON, SON OF ASHER, SON OF ATTICUS!" The angry dragon's voice grated on my ears, and filled the air around me, vibrating in my ears and causing a searing pain in my head. "Like your father, and his father before him, and his father before him, you will become one with the earth. You are an Earthmate. You cannot escape it. You cannot even try. Use your power for good, Ashton. The fate of the very earth itself is in your hands."

"I can't... You don't understand... I'm just a bad guy. I've never done anything good in my life. How can you expect me to change? I'm not my father. Or my grandfather. You can't expect me to be heroes like them. That's not me."

"Thou art greater than you know, Ashton. One day thou shalt know. Whether thy heart will change and come back to the light or not, I cannot say. It is not written." I relaxed my grip on my anchor and stood up before the beast, attempting to stand tall in the face of death.

"I can never go back to the light," I said. "I was never there to begin with. I am a child of darkness, dragon. That will never change." The dragon suddenly began to beat its wings again, knocking me against a tree, and making me see stars.

"Thou art a child of the earth first and foremost, Ashton. A child of darkness, as well. Of earth you were born; but of darkness you will die, if you never find the light. You will take on this quest, and save the world. It is fate. You cannot change that. But you will not be able to do it on your own. I will send my children unto you. They will show you the way."

Children of a dragon? No thank you. I have to get out of here, I thought, struggling to get to my feet. Run away. Escape. Anything to escape...

"You cannot escape your destiny, Ashton," the voice of the dragon answered my thoughts. "Just as you cannot escape the power within you. Just as you cannot escape the darkness within you. There is no escape. There is only this living hell that you have made your world. Make the best of it, while you still can. My children will find you, Ashton. Let them help you. Soon you will find that you cannot make it on your own as you once did. You will need the help of many others, and not just my children, if you are to survive the next year. Goodbye, Earthmate. May the light find you one day."

The light...? It is far too late for that... Like he said before... I cannot escape the darkness...

Anywaaaayyyy. I hoped you enjoyed this little bit of story development! I promise you'll see more of this dragon in chapters to come. I need name ideas, gender ideas, and character development for this dragon, however.

And I need two more names for the children of the dragon: one for an older man, one for a younger man. The older man is a serious, quiet character. He says what needs to be said, nothing more. He is an elf, and is tall, dark, and mysterious. The younger is more naive and innocent. He is human, with fair hair and bright eyes. He is friendly and open. I need two names. Tell me in a review. I'll give a shout out to whoever picks the names I like best!

I can't update until I have those names, so send in your ideas! Thanks guys!