. I looked around in horror to find Tiamat right behind me.

The first thing I noticed was her presence. She had this palpable aura of power radiating off her. It chilled my blood and made my heart stop beating for a second. Only then did I remember to breathe and take in her appearance. A great blue Leviathan, with horns that look to be made of coral fading from a deep purple to orange and finally to a light yellow, and sharp fins of seafoam green between her horns. Great webbed claws on her front legs, and an enormous tail that seemed to stretch out infinitely, covered in spines and sails.

“You are a fool for touching the bones of the deceased. What good will it do you?” her voice was smooth, dulcet and enticingly silky, making you want to listen rapturously to her every word, even when you know you should not. I looked down to the thing I was digging up from the sand to see I was holding part of a human rib cage. I immediately let go and shot to my feet, I had to buy time to make the seal.

“Lady Tiamat, oldest of the dragons, it is an honor to be in your presence.” Flattery was the only thing I could think to do to stall for time, but Tiamat was not impressed.

“Do not bother with your flattery. The only reason you survived my trap is because you have the protection of my brothers. Did you really think I would not notice their presence?” she said in a bored tone. I had to buy time so asked the only thing I could think of.

“Why do you want to destroy the world, why get rid of humanity?” I hoped this would get me my answers and get to know Tiamat better.

“Why?” she started to laugh. “You have the audacity to ask why?” Her voice seemed to be full of pain and sadness, as she spoke, I started to feel sad as well. I realized this was the power her presence contained. You could feel all the emotions she was experiencing.

“One of my abilities is to see the future as visions and the visions have always come true. I saw a future where our world burned. Humanity destroyed our world!” She sounded broken as she said this. This dragon that was the enemy of humanity, was broken, she had lost her faith in humanity.

“Humans can change, we can save the world.” I spoke. I wanted her to believe we can change; we could stop the future she was seeing.

“Do you think I have not tried to see a different future? I took every possible route, but it always ends the same. Deep wounds carved into the earth for the riches beneath. The sky is dark and filled with smoke, it is impossible to see the stars and even in the day the magnificence of the sun is blocked out. Acid rain falls that destroys the vegetation and forests. The sea is polluted beyond repair. Animals are strangled in human nets and rubble; great reefs start to disappear. The water is filled with oil killing all that swim through it. Humans will destroy this world. Even now it is happening with constant bloodshed between humans. Killing the earth and each other for a small piece of land.” She sounded shattered, her voice was filled with sorrow and hate.

“I wanted to get rid of humans, so that my brothers and I could live in peace. Then they tried to kill me, even though they know they are no match for my strength! This time I will get rid of humanity with them in tow, so I can have eternal peace. My first step is getting rid of you.” Her sapphire blue eyes seemed to contain hurricanes that would never end.

The walls of her domain started to rumble, they seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. Tiamat rushed forward lifting one of her giant claws. I jumped out of the way and saw a giant crater where I was standing. The only reason I was able to doge was because of the powers Seb and Aether had given me. The seal was almost ready, I just had to keep Tiamat busy a little longer. I drew the sword given to me by Seb and charged. Despite her size Tiamat was quick. She sent a wave of water towards me; I blasted it away with the powers I had gained from Aether. I could see she was getting annoyed.

“Their powers will only prolong your impending death.” She shouted.

I struck the sword into the ground. One of Seb’s powers was the ability to create earthquakes. I manage to make a small one. The ground started to shake but this did not even phase Tiamat, she lifted one of her claws and drove it into the ground. The earthquake immediately stopped. She started walking towards me her eyes burned with pure rage. I took a deep breath and casted the seal. The seal was a collection of intangible energy from both dragons.

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The seal was in the form of a magic circle. It was fiery orange in color and consists of an outer layer of spiraling lines, then three concentric circles, with the outer most two having intricate sealing script written within them. The inner circle was larger, and had a triangle surrounded with more sealing script both outside and inside of it.

The seal appeared beneath Tiamat, starting small and expanding rapidly. Once it encompassed her entirely, it released a pulse of energy, and she started sinking into the seal. Tiamat struggled and tried to break free from the seal but could not escape. She was not at full power; this was the only reason she could be sealed away.

“You may think you have won, but I will return and when I do the world will end.” Just as she finished her sentence, she disappeared into the dimension Aether and Seb had created. I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. I hoped Tiamat would be able to find peace during her period of isolation. The walls and floor suddenly started to rumble. The walls were bubbling violently. I started to panic; I had no way of leaving the domain. The ground beneath my feet started to move. An air pocket formed around me, and I shot to the surface. The pressure was so intense it felt like every bone in my body was being grinded to dust. I broke the surface and shot into the air. I was greeted by the brilliant silver moon, just as I started to fall down Aether caught me, and we started flying back.

“How did you save me, I thought you could not enter Tiamat’s domain?” I asked.

“Even though our physical body is locked out our power is not. All the ground surface of the earth is mine to control even though it is underwater. I created a pillar that lifted you to the surface.” Seb answered.

“I created the air pocket using the oxygen in the water, to protect you while Seb raised you to the surface. So, what happened in Tiamat’s domain?”

I told them everything that happened and what Tiamat had told me. They were silent for some time, and it was Seb who broke the silence.

“It seems Tiamat has not forgiven us. We wanted to protect humans from her wrath, that is why we tried to stop her. We know her visions always come true and one day the world will be as she saw, but till then we want to live in peace with humans and watch humanity grow. One of humanity’s finest qualities is the ability to change. There will always be those who fights against the current, those are the ones who will try to save the world.” His tone started sombre but became hopeful as he spoke of humans. I thought about what he said and realised that they were the opposite of Tiamat. They believed in the beauty of humanity and the ability to change while Tiamat only saw the negativity. She only saw what humans will do and did not see them as individuals where each has their own thoughts and personality.

“The question is what will you do now, Adam?” Aether asked.

“I will build a shrine to teach people from each generation to cast the seal. Tiamat will return and it will be up to them to stop her.” Both dragons nodded as we flew to my hometown. I climbed of Aether’s back when they stopped me.

“As a token of our gratitude.” Seb gave me bags full of gold and gems.

“I will now bestow a blessing on you and your future descendants: May health and prosperity follow the Silverwood bloodline till the end of time.” I thanked the dragons and returned home.

I was happy to see everything was still there and that the people were happy. Scouts informed me that the streams have returned to normal, and the crops were all growing at exceptional rates. I wrote the report my father had requested. I explained everything that happened. It was hard to convince people to believe me. I contacted Seb and asked for his advice. He and Aether made an appearance and told everyone I was telling the truth. They left shortly afterwards, and I only saw them a few years later when the shrine I had built was complete.

The shrine was two stories tall made of dark oak wood. The walls had gold trimmings and small sigils with the seals markings hung on around the shrine and trees in the garden. Shortly after the completion of the shrine I became the earl. Aether and Seb visited and placed a protection spell on the shrine to protect it from prying eyes. They left a small orb in my possession which contained small amounts of their powers. This orb was to be used during training and help the new generations practise and master the seal.

Now I stand in the garden of the shrine looking up and moon and stars taking in their brilliance, I am at peace. Tiamat is sealed away, and her counter measures were being trained. War still raged in other countries and poverty was still hard at work. I knew Tiamat’s vision would come true, but it would not happen in my lifetime. Humanity is beautiful but it is also dangerous. We take and destroy and have no regard for the consequences. Tiamat will return and it will be the job of the later generations to stop her. If they should fail, then humanity will fall and the world will be destroyed. This thought haunts me every day but there is nothing I can do to change it. I take a deep breath and listen to soft breeze playing between the trees. Right now, everything is perfect.