"Will you take your tea now, Grand Master?" Chaekar asked as she held out the flagon of tea for her liege.

He looked up  from the many scrolls he had been going  through and gave her an appreciative smile.

"Yes, thank you." He replied.

He was exhausted. He had been working tirelessly for the past two days in preparation for their departure. Time was running out, he knew. He could sense the darkness that would soon fall on this peaceful kingdom.

Atlantis would not be a safe haven for much longer. As he took the tea from Chaekar, he felt a sudden jolt of energy zap through. He knew what it meant immediately.

He took  the gold tag from within his robes. He had given its exact replica to the young prince of Atlantis. It now glowed a fiery red and that could only mean ...

"Grand Master?" Chaekar inquired, her eyes a mirror of his own thoughts.

"I'm afraid we are needed elsewhere, my young apprentice." He told her with a grim expression.

She didn't need to be told twice. She promptly made arrangements for their equipment and luggage to be transported back to Assar in their absence.

...

He had many dreams in his sleep. Dreams of a past now forgotten. Pieces of memories that had not made sense back then but as his mind pieced them together like the puzzle pieces they were,  it all made sense to him now.

He dreamed of his last summer. Of the stranger who had come to his home and insisted that he and the man he had known to be his father back then go out camping with him. There had been something quite familiar about the man. This confused him because the air this man carried himself with wasn't that of common man, despite his simple garb and travelling items. So why would a somewhat important but common man be familiar to him?

The memory had completely faded from his mind but now his mind begged him to remember.

He could hear the whispers from the living room as he made his way to his home. Hushed voices and from amongst them he easily identified Henry's own. The man who was his father back then sounded desperate. But why would he be desperate?

"Please, you asked me to keep this secret and I did." Henry said, his voice pleading. "But if you come here now it'll draw attention to us and Sarah didn't want that. Please, I'm begging you."

"I know what I'm asking is too much and I'm sorry for that." The stranger had said, sounding quite sincere. "And I promise that after today, you will not see me again. I just need this, only this once."

Arthur had opened the door then, not keen on eavesdropping any further. Henry and his visitor had looked up at him at that moment. Whilst Henry's eyes had held a silent plea, one he hadn't understood at the time, the stranger had had a look of wonder, hope and something that looked like familiarity.

"What say you, Henry? You and your son can join me out camping tonight." The stranger had said enthusiastically.

"Only if my son wishes." Henry had said, putting an emphasis on 'my'.

His eyes, as he regarded Arthur, held a plea. He didn't want to do as the stranger suggested and yet the idea of camping out under the stars had enchanted him. Henry had never taken him anywhere or had him do adventurous stuff like other normal boys. It was as if the man was desperate to keep him sheltered his entire life.

And here was a man who was offering to give him one night of normalcy.

"Camping sounds like fun." He had said enthusiastically.

He could see by Henry's reaction that he hadn't wanted him to agree and for a moment he wondered if he had made the wrong choice.

Of course their companion seemed to believe otherwise. They had gone camping by the waterfalls that night. The strange man, who had only introduced  himself as Henry's friend had gone out of his way to learn everything about him. Which was absurd. Arthur didn't think he was remarkable at all.

The stranger gave little away whilst he made it a personal mission to learn such about young Arthur.

He never did figure out why that man had seemed quite familiar with his golden hair and  and dark eyes.

Now, with everything that had happened to him, his mind slowly began to tear at the façade to reveal the truth hidden within the lies.

That had been the summer King Oberon's illness had taken a turn for the worse. The whole camping trip had been an act to get to know him, to meet him in his youth before he died. He supposed the king had wanted to feel close to him, his only child as fate would have it before Thanatos took him.

He wanted to laugh now at this feeble attempt. Nothing Oberon did or tried to do for him would ever take away the pain he has caused him.

I had a home before all of this, he thought, and a father who had loved and protected me. Now I have nothing. No one. And my life is as good as forfeit.

He felt the unquenchable fire rise once more within him. It demanded to be released and he felt it burn him from within.

Wake up, Arthur

He woke with a start. He tried to assess his surrounding. Tried to get a hold of his bearing but he couldn't. The only thing he could tell was that he was on any immediate danger. He wasn't bound even.

He lay within a moving carriage and he figured a bump in the road was what had woken him. With a glance around he found he was not alone. Grand Master Falone regarded him with interest before he spoke.

"I see you've awoken." He Grand Master said.

"Where am I?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Safe. For now." The Grand Master assured. "We'll be arriving soon at our destination."
"Our destination?" Arthur asked curiously.

"One of druid temples on the outskirts of Assar." The grand master replied.

This was a surprise to Arthur. He didn't think he had been unconscious for the long. No. Not nearly long enough but if his arithmetic was good then he was pretty sure, on a normal pace, Assar was about seven days away from the Atlantis capital.

He had to be sure.

"How long have I been unconscious?" He asked curiously.

"About four days now. We took minimal breaks and made sure to minimise our luggage to allow us to travel faster." The grand master replied.

He handed Arthur a mug and from a pitcher poured him some water to drink.

"You must be thirsty." The grand master said. "And hungry, I presume."

He held out a ginger roll but Arthur merely shook his head.

"No, thank you." Arthur said, although he accepted the water and downed it in one go.

"You need to regain your strength. I imagine the change exerts quite a toll on you." The grand master pointed out with a knowing look.

Arthur let out a sigh of exhaustion. It hurt to breath. It hurt to think. It hurt to live. Everything hurt but it had nothing to do with the physical pain he knew he should be experiencing.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me. Truly." He said sincerely. "I don't know if I can ever be able to repay you."

"Hmm, that's not entirely true. I can think of one way." The grand Master said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What way?" Arthur asked as he furrowed his brow in worry.

For a moment he feared he had made a mistake. Feared that this man was not a friend as he had thought but the grand master quickly put his fears to rest.

"You can be an exceptional student." He told Arthur.

"I'm afraid I don't have what it takes to be a druid." Arthur pointed out.

"I don't mean for you to be one. You have your own special gift." The grand master replied. "Remember when we talked about legends?"

"Yes." Arthur replied thoughtfully. "You said I'd understand when the time cane."

"And now? Do you finally understand my words?" The grand master inquired.

"Only a little." Arthur confessed.

"I see." The grand master said as he handed him a familiar scroll.

"I don't understand, I thought you said you can't read it." Arthur said as he looked up at the grand master in confusion.

"I can't." The grand master confessed. "But you'll find you can."

Arthur narrowed his eyes in skepticism but he took the scroll anyway.

Spreading it open, he gazed over the strange letters that were scribbled there. At first the words were foreign to him but the more he stared at them he more he found he could read them.

His eyes widened in surprise as he found he could understand the meaning of the scroll. He read it aloud for all to hear.

Here are dragons to be slain, here are riches to be gain; And if we perish in the seeking, how small a thing is death?

Born of fire, the world ascend. Unto the ashes to descend.

Heed these words oh dragon heart. For words of wisdom from thy lips shall nigh depart.

"How am I able to read this?" He asked in shock.

"Well it's quite simple." The grand master replied. "That scroll is written in the language of dragons and you , Arthur, are a dragon."