Chapter Two

When it comes to daily life in Dragon culture, things are pretty simplistic. While the main portion of the city was floating isles, there were of course mountains surrounding the city, along with a lake filling the area where the city had originally been on the ground. Many dragons were miners, going after ores and precious gems for their world renowned jewelry, while others spent the days below fishing. There were some small farms nearby, but with the Titans raging across the land, there was always a risk of something being destroyed below the protection of the city.

For those that worked within the city, there were a few of the obvious; jewelcrafters, tailors, even doctors who had small gardens for medicinal plants. The royal palace where the reigning Emperor and extended royal family stayed was always bustling with activity, as the main market was just inside their gates. However, outside of the palace – a central piece of the city – floated one of the two Eyes of Io, the Dragon’s most precious gift. The eye swirled above their city like their own mini star, the glow during the day was less obvious, but at night it let up the city with an ethereal glow that was reassuring to the Dragon people. The next building closest to the palace and the Eye was the grand temple, where the statue of Io and her current known children existed, allowing travelers of all races to offer tribute to their preferred deity. The temple was just as busy as the main market at the palace, many Dragons felt their connection to Io by going for prayer during the morning. People would still come by during the evenings, but as their sun was how Io shared her power, the daytime was when most Dragons felt closest to their goddess.

Even though all was being carried on as normal, there was one individual within the temple that no dragon had set eyes upon, with exception to the various priests and acolytes. He was still very young, barely seeming to be 10 years, based on humanoid standards, however this young boy had been a hatchling just barely a year before. He was growing quickly, his blond hair already down to his shoulders.

He watched the various dragonfolk coming and going into the temple from a hidden area in the shadows. He wasn’t supposed to interact with anyone other than the various temple tenants, but his curiosity was not quite as leashed as the priests had hoped. He was often scolded for trying to sneak out, but they never truly punished him for it as they knew he was simply lonely. But for the safety of the people, and his own, he had to remain hidden away from anyone who could let slip to the Titans that their end was imminent.

The young boy’s blue eyes caught movement that looked more rushed than a normal temple-goer and his attention turned to a few priests in robes wandering around looking through the crowds. Time was up, they had realized he was gone. Disappearing behind the statues, he used the shadows they created to get back to the restricted area of the temple where everyone else lived.

No sooner than he had made his way through the back door, a clawed hand appeared on his shoulder, making him jump out of surprise and twist to see who had caught him.

“Aaron, how many times do we have to catch you sneaking around like this? We’ve told you it is too risky for you to be seen out there.” High Priest Astrius looked down at him with a gentle look on his face, not angry but obviously disappointed.

Aaron scowled, pushing the hand off his shoulder and glaring up at him. “You keep saying that but you won’t tell me why. Everyone out there seems so nice.”

The high priest sighed, knowing this was becoming frustrating to the youngster. “I understand little one, but it’s not those people we are concerned about. It’s who they could end up talking to that

concerns us.”

“But why? Why do I have to hide away? I’m tired of it, I keep seeing kids playing in the streets-”

“You should stop peeking over the garden walls, hatchling.”

“-But there’s no one here my age! It’s not fair, I have to stay stuck in here with no one to talk to or play with but I can’t leave! No one tells me anything, they just tell me not to do things because they say so.” His wings drooped slightly, and Astrius knew he was going to break. The boy had been voicing his loneliness now for a while, and granted, Astrius wanted the young one to have less concerns during his youth, they were already preparing him for the day he would eventually have to do battle. They might as well have the conversation now.

“... Alright little one. But we’ll talk about this tonight, after everyone has left the temple for the evening. I promise, I will explain everything.”

Aaron perked up slightly, his pointed ears lifting just ever so slightly and Astrius could just feel the excitement coming from the child.

“I’m afraid this is a serious matter. I know you’re happy for answers, but I’m afraid that what I tell you tonight will forever change how you look to the future.” Astrius felt conflicted telling the child so early, but it must be done in order to begin preparing for the inevitable war against the Titans. “Go and meditate to find focus. I will come for you after dinner.” He placed his hand on Aaron's head, tousling the hair slightly. Aaron seemed satiated for now and ran off to his own private meditation room. He never understood why he had different quarters than everyone, including the new acolytes that were just joining who were older than he was. But tonight, maybe he’d finally have his answers.

High Priest Astrius watched the youngling run off as a priestess appeared at his side having heard the conversation. “High Priest, do you think it’s wise to tell the boy so young?” It was a concern they all had, hence why it had taken all this time for them to even say anything.

“I don’t know if it’s wise, but you know how little ones are. They never accept the answer they’re given, not at this age when curiosity is at its peak. He would just continue acting out in an attempt for companionship. Hopefully, once he has his answers, he’ll be able to settle down and focus on his training more. While I want for him to have a normal childhood, Goddess knows we do not have the time. The Titans continue to grow stronger and are causing more and more havoc as time goes on. I do not know how long we can afford to keep him away from battle, but he is nowhere near ready. Perhaps once we are done giving him the answers he seeks, we’ll have made some progress.”

The priestess bowed gently, backing away to return to her own duties, leaving Astrius to his own thoughts. He sighed gently, deciding it would be a good idea to spend the next few hours trying to find the right words to explain to Aaron as to why things were how they were.

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The red moon was high in the sky that night, as Astrius walked through the torch lit hallways. He had instructed Aaron to wait in his quarters after the evening meal until he knew for a fact a majority of the city had gone to sleep. He had already instructed the guards to keep any latecomers out of the Temple, under the guise of late night cleansing. Not necessarily a lie, as the acolytes and some lesser priests were doing just that.

When he arrived at Aaron’s room, he knocked twice gently, but the door opened before his knuckles had the chance to strike again. Aaron was already in his cloak (lovingly referred to by the priests as his “Sneaking Around” cloak), his wings folded and hidden beneath the fabric. It was still rather large for him, but he at least wouldn’t trip over it. They still had to keep his appearance hidden, as many within the city would recognize his unique features and become suspicious as to why he was living in the temple. Astrius smiled softly at Aaron’s excitement, but his heart was still heavy at the idea that he had to put so much on this little one’s shoulders.

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“I know that you’re excited, but I ask you to wait just a little bit more. Walk with me to the main room.” He stepped back, allowing Aaron to slip out of his room, and began leading him to the primary room of the temple. The child was practically vibrating with excitement, but Astrius hoped the child wouldn’t be disappointed by what they had to discuss.

He led Aaron through the doors that separated the main part of the temple for worship and where the priests lived. A few of the other inhabitants were in the main room, either cleaning floors or statues, but everyone's attention turned to the two when they entered. The whispers had been going around that tonight was the night Aaron found out who he truly was. With the child growing quickly, this was inevitable, but they still had to allow him a bit more time to grow before he would even be close to combat ready. Since the death of Karn, the Titan he had been clashing with, a wind Titan by the name of Blithe, had since begun expanding his own destructive path. This meant while the major capital for the Dragons was safe, unfortunately other smaller towns and villages with varying races were now in the warpath. This might give them time to raise the champion, but they still had a tentative time limit. The longer they waited, the more likely the Titans would gather enough forces to destroy civilization before the child could even grow up.

Astrius led Aaron out to the front altar, where looming over was a massive marble statue of Io, her wings outstretched as if open for an embrace. Opalescent horns curled back up and over her head, along with the same material within her eye sockets, symbolizing what her eyes were now that she had removed them for her people. Aaron looked up at her, understanding what she meant, but he had only caught a glimpse of this particular statue a handful of times due to how busy the temple usually was.

“High Priest, why are we here?” Aaron glanced up at Astrius not sure he understood why they had to have the conversation within the heart of the temple.

Astrius glanced down at him briefly before turning to look out over the various other statues that surrounded the room. Each with an altar for that specific child of Io. Not all of her children were here, as some came from civilizations that did not have space for a hoard, such as her Dragoon daughter, and her Wolf-Walker son. But the rest of the children that had statues had those altars for receiving gifts and offerings from travelers, and at the end of the day, a spell would transport the items into each child's respective hoard. This allowed them to use any of their own funding for various projects that would better their civilization. Even Ra had his hoard in one of the back rooms, for the Dragons to use as needed.

“Look around Aaron. What do you see?”

Aaron did a quick turn glancing around for anything unusual. Confused, he asked, “The statues?”

“Yes, but you know what these statues represent, correct?”

“Yes, Lady Io was one of the Gods that helped shape our world. The rest are her children she blessed the mortal races with. Like Lord Ra!” He said a bit more excitedly, after all he had been studying.

Astrius smiled softly. “Yes, that’s correct. However, there are some children of hers that are not shown here.”

Aaron’s confusion came back as he looked around at the statues once more trying to figure out who was missing. “Why?”

“Well, some of the races that were gifted a child are more nomadic in nature. They have no need for gold or other currencies. There are still some ways to worship and make offerings to them, but it’s not quite the same as the temples within the cities. As an example, her son of the Wolf-Walkers, has small shrines along the mountain ranges where visitors can leave gifts that aid in the survival of other travelers. It is said that he moves items around to wherever a traveler is that has a need for that particular item. It is his gift to ensure safe passage through the mountains.”

He looked back down at Aaron knowing this was the difficult part. “The reason I tell you of the ones that are not here, is there is one child in particular whom no one on the outside knows of… You.”

Aaron blinked, going through a whiplash of thoughts all at once. “... Me? I… I don’t understand.”

“You are the most recent child of Io to walk the Mortal Realms. You hatched last year after she gave me your egg.”

“... But… the teachings of Io say that she shows no favoritism. If she already gave the Dragons a child, why am I here?”

“You are correct. No race has received more than one child. However your father was not a dragon, like Ra’s father was. Your father is… Your father is a demon. One that was able to destroy a very powerful enemy.”

“... A titan?”

“It sounds like someone has been eavesdropping again.” Astrius chided, but he couldn’t be mad. The child was bored after all and had been getting into mischief. He sighed, continuing, “Yes, you are correct. He killed a titan by the name of Karn, and as a result he became so volatile he temporarily ascended into the Astral Realm where the gods dwell. There, he found our Lady Io, grieving for the Mortal Realms.”

Aaron looked back at the statue of Io for a moment, thinking, before he turned back to Astrius. “Because she wasn’t able to protect the people anymore?”

“In a sense. She was tricked by another titan, Mortas. He convinced her to lock her power away as it would be damaging to the Mortal Realm. She truly believed the power of the gods was detrimental, as most of the other gods of this world had also taken a less proactive approach in monitoring our world.”

“So, Lady Io is my mother?” He asked, just trying to confirm his understanding, even as preposterous as it sounded to him. Astrius simply nodded, watching as Aaron got lost in his own thoughts again. He knew when Aaron knew what question he had, he would ask it.

It didn’t take long for it to come to him. “But why am I hidden away? If I’m a child of Io, why can’t I go out to interact like the others do?”

Astrius placed his hand on Aaron’s shoulder gently, guiding him over to one of the benches for visitors, sitting down beside him “That is the difficult part of this conversation… You are aware of the titans, are you aware of how serious the circumstances are currently?” Aaron shook his head, and Astrius continued, “There are many elemental titans that are currently rampaging across the lands. They used to live in relative peace, but it would seem something has… corrupted them, to put it simply. Many of the titans have turned on those that worshiped them, converting them into monstrous elemental beings that are now enslaved to that particular titan. They have been using their own personal armies to enslave smaller villages alongside their converted soldiers. We have been lucky that they have not assaulted larger towns and cities yet, but it is only a matter of time…”

“... I tell you all this, because you, Aaron, are growing up to be the Champion of Io. It will soon be your duty to take arms against them, and smite them down to preserve life as we know it. The amount of people that are going to depend on you is beyond comprehension.”

“I have to fight them?” The innocence in Aaron’s voice tugged at Astrius heartstrings, but he had to keep his own emotions under control, to keep Aaron calm.

“Eventually. You are still far too young. But we do have limited time, so it is for the best that we begin your training. As the child of a goddess, you will need to learn to control your power before you learn to harness it, and the sooner we begin that, the better.”

Aaron fell silent, looking down at his hands, scratching the top of one as he felt a wave of nervousness wash over him. He looked back up at the statue of Io before them, taking time to glance around at the other statues of his siblings.

They all had their part in this world. He had heard of many of their deeds and duties. Ra, his dragon brother, guided those who passed on in the world to their afterlife. Gilda, his Vishani sister, was seen as a sign of fertility, and also a guide for lost children who pass on with no one else. Herneas, the centaur brother, traveled the world’s forest to protect and heal the land from natural disasters. Just like they had their duties, this was his. It didn’t change how anxious it made him, but he had to come to terms with his place in the world.

Aaron swallowed, a bit shaken up, but he nodded. “I understand… What do I have to do first?”

Astrius smiled gently, proud of how mature the youngling was handling this. “It will be a few days before anything changes. Continue doing your duties in the Temple, but please, you must remain out of sight. Now that you know how serious this is, I hope I don’t find you sneaking out to try and linger amongst the crowds.”

Aaron nodded, standing up and bowing gently. Astrius bowed his head back and bade Aaron good night, knowing the little one needed his sleep after their talk. “I hope you dream sweetly tonight, young champion. There are horrors in this world to face, but there is also good in life. Fret not, tomorrow I shall send a message out to an old acquaintance of mine who will train you properly. For now, get some rest.” He watched Aaron walk back to the innards of the temple to return to his room, but as soon as Aaron was out of sight he looked up to the statue of Io looming over him.

“My Lady, I hope we do not burden him too harshly, but we both know what is at stake. I truly hope he is able to grow safely and learn his power in enough time to handle the Titans before things are too late…”

With that, he stood from the bench and himself headed off to bed. The temple was soon still and quiet, but it was not a comforting silence.

The storm was coming.