Epilogue

Midday, on a large island at the end of an archipelago. There was an old man walking through a densely populated forest. He had a slow pace and pushed through dense vegetation seemingly without care, but the strange thing was that he made no noise whatsoever.

"Seems I've gotten a little lost" He said aloud stroking his grey beard. His face was wrinkled and he had a wizened look about him. "There was supposed to be a mountain here."

The old man took a few more steps before stopping and staring at a certain place on the ground. "I see." He muttered, picking a stick off the ground. He then poked the stick out in front of him and the air made a shattering sound.

Countless specks of light flew around him and the air distorted and a wind ruffled his robe. "Decent."

A road echoed out from the distortion "WHO DARES!!" Before a mountain range appeared from nowhere.

The old man smiled to himself and continued to walk forward at his same pace. A short while later he made it to the foot of the mountain and took another glance at the top. The mountain was a sort of vague term that people called the myth of this place. It was more of a ring of volcanos surrounding a singular giant peak. They were a mixture of black and grey with lava flying down into pools near the base. The mountains towered into the sky, taller than anything around, visible to the edges of the island.

The old man smiled to himself and started climbing, not on the rock, but the air itself. Every step the old man took sent him miles into the sky without so much as a rustle on his clothes.

Once he landed upon the top, he was greeted with a multitude of beasts staring at him, the trespasser. One of the giant, scaly creatures loomed over him. "You've made a foolish choice to intrude on these parts," smoke trailed out of its nostrils, crimson beginning to shine through its densely packed green scales. It had a natural look of arrogance about him, looking down on the old man.

"Ho ho'' the old man smiled at the beast, "I brought a gift." After that he reached into his robe and took out a medallion of sorts. A gold encrusted token with the carving of a dragon in the middle. The green scaled dragon's eyes widened and he got closer. He then let out a bellow, "My Lord!"

Soon after, a massive black dragon appeared and landed in the open. The black dragon's wings extended out towering over the newcomer, a noble aura exuded from him as if he had been a monarch since birth. He ignored the pointed look from the green dragon and stared at the old man for a moment before shrinking and transforming into a humanoid shape. "Uncle, why didn't you announce you were coming. You've been missing for over 10,000 years." The black dragon let out this shocking piece of noise and continued to look at him with astonishment all over his face. The black dragon hadn't seen this familiar being since he was a young boy, during his training to become the current king.

"Ho ho, childe, I made a deal with your grandfather, as a friend of your fathers, many centuries ago. Now that you have sired, I will bring the one to train." The old man smiled slightly at the black dragon. His eyes squinted as if testing the black dragon. The two looked at each other for a few moments, the tension palpable.

"Uncle, we have but 2 children. They both need to inherit the wills of the ancestors. I cannot allow you to take them. I'm sorry in my grandfather's stead." The black dragon replied, not entirely trusting the old man before him. He didn't have much of an impression of this old man before he had left and now he had shown up out of nowhere and demanded to take one of his children. "My daughter has awakened the origin of ice that has only happened once in the clan's history. The Frost Ancestor has left a detailed record on her training. My son is the same as me, a black dragon, the ones that inherit the throne every generation. Truly my apologies." The dragon didn't have a sincere tone, however.

The old man squinted his eyes, "As you wish." Before promptly turning and descending back down the mountain. The group at the top stared at him in silence as he descended. Once he disappeared from their view the green dragon and his fellow guards returned to their posts and the black dragon returned to his original form that was larger than the guard dragons. He extended his wings and took off to where he came from. He landed next to his wife and looked at the two newly born dragons nestled next to her. He had a look of love in his eyes, as well as something else.

Upon reaching the bottom of the mountain the old man turned to look at the underbrush of the forest with a look of understanding on his face. "Interesting." A few seconds later a rustling was heard from the bush along with a weak moan.

The old man smiled to himself, "There he is," and he bent down to look, coming face to face with a small dragon no larger than a housecat. "Little one I mean you know harm though you probably don't understand me." He then put forward his hand, "You'll be coming with me from now on." The old man then shook his head to himself and thought 'As if you could fool me, every king's generation has 3 sires, the girl was a surprise to be sure but there is no way for there to be less than 3.'

The small dragon, as if sensing a kindness from the man, pushed his head forward into the palm. The dragon was cut and bruised with a limping back leg. "You poor thing, must've been cast off the mountain directly. You know how they hate imperfect things." The old man said while gazing into the dragon's non responsive eyes. "I suppose you don't have a name yet. Hmm..."