Once he’d carefully navigated his way up the incline and towards the peak, passing through the boundaries of the clouds, he looked down into the biggest crater he’d ever seen, the clearing in the rock spanning for miles. It looked empty and desolate, and he began to wonder whether he’d imagined it all, the flames, the spark in the sky, all of it. But then he saw a moving figure just a steadily declining slope away from where he was crouching.

He ducked further down behind the rock, peering over the edge of the crater and watching as the silhouette moved. His eyes went wide when it raised its head and sent another ball of fire spiralling into the sky, the exploding light exposing the creature.

He was huge, a giant of a beast with white scales, four strong legs covered in muscle, and silver tipped wings that he stretched out as he opened his mouth again and spat another ball of flame.

Xander could see his sharp teeth reflecting the light as he created more orbs of fire, the creature roaring loudly and breathing out a stream of flame across the clearing.

All of a sudden the beast stopped, the land around them going dark again, and he turned his head towards the slope, almost looking directly at the spot where Xander was hiding. He sniffed at the air and detected each scent, turning his head this way and that until he was certain.

“I know you’re there,” he growled, stalking the ground beneath the raised rock, his clawed feet making pocks in the dark grit.

For a moment Xander considered running, of making a desperate attempt to flee, but he knew that with just one swoop of the creature’s wings he’d be caught. He wasn’t quick enough to escape, and so the only option left to him was to face the dragon.

Swallowing down as much of his fear as he could, he stood up and abandoned his hiding place, standing on the edge of the precipice and gazing down at the magnificent creature.

“I’m… I…. I uh…” Xander took in a deep breath, his whole body shaking and tears stinging his eyes. He was going to die here, his body never to be found. He’d simply disappear from the world as if he’d never existed in the first place. The dragon would eat him, or squash him, or burn him alive, and that would be that. Gone forever, concealing the truth about the mountain of flame.

“Don’t worry,” the dragon chuckled. “I do not wish to harm you. Unless you wish to harm me, in which case I should advise you not to. I am a dragon after all, and you but a small man.” The dragon tilted his head and took a few steps up the incline, holding out his huge clawed hand to Xander. “Now, why don’t you come down here and we can talk in a much more civil manner.”

Xander didn’t know what to do, but knowing that the dragon didn’t intend to kill him, at least for the time being, eased his mind a little. He reached out, his fingers skimming the dragon’s rough, calloused skin, and settled himself on his palm.

He was lifted down the slope with ease and gently placed at the base of it, the dirt beneath his feet crunching as they met the ground.

“Now, why don’t you tell me who you are?” the dragon suggested, taking a few steps back from the intruder.

“I’m… I’m Xander,” the terrified man squeaked, stumbling over his words and staring up at the massive creature with unblinking eyes.

“Well, young Xander, I am Cadrenith, Lord of the Glass,” the dragon told him proudly, his low voice echoing around the empty expanse of grit and rock. “You must have come from the village.”

Xander nodded. “I have.”

“And why would a man such as yourself come all the way up here? The people below think this mountain a volcano, do they not?”

“They do,” Xander replied, “but ever since I was a child I’ve known it wasn’t. I believed there to be dragons up here.”

“Not dragons, I’m afraid,” Cadrenith admitted, heaving a sigh that disturbed the thin spread of gravel beneath him. “Only me.”

Xander narrowed his eyebrows, his pounding heart settling now that he was still alive and actually speaking to the dragon instead of being mauled or eaten. “Only you? Are there no other dragons left?”

“Oh there are plenty of dragons, but most of them reside in the south where it’s much warmer.”

“So why are you here?”

“To protect you of course,” Cadrenith chuckled, “and your village.”

“But why would the village need protecting?” Xander questioned, sitting himself down in the dirt to take the pressure off his aching legs. “It’s boring, and it’s dull, and there are no threats to us.”

“Not that you are aware of.”

Xander opened his mouth to speak, but his words fell short and died on his lips, and instead he let his confused look convey his bewilderment at the dragon’s statement.

Cadrenith let out a short laugh and moved to sit beside the young man, his tail coiling behind him and his large feet pressing indents into the ground as he moved. “You see, Xander, beneath your village is the biggest known accumulation of obsidian glass known to this world. The villagers may not know it, people for miles around may not know it, but your little town holds a lot of power, power that could be used by bad people to do bad things.”

“Obsidian glass?” Xander said, shaking his head. He’d heard the phrase before from an old shopkeeper, but he’d long since gone missing and nobody else knew anything about it. “What’s obsidian glass?”

“My dear boy, it’s what our world is made of,” the dragon laughed, his amused roar disturbing the calm air. “Have you never wondered why it is always so dark?”

Xander nodded and looked up at Cadrenith, his eyebrows narrowed in thought. “I just assumed it was the way our world was built,” he admitted, shrugging his shoulders, “but I did wonder whether there was any natural light.”

“Oh there is, lots and lots of it, but we can’t see it because of…” Cadrenith let out a short breath and pointed upwards. “Well because of the obsidian glass. It’s everywhere you see, darker than the eternal night and full of unnatural power.”

Xander listened in fascination, his mind racing. Things were slowly beginning to make sense, pieces of a very large puzzle clicking into place and revealing more of the world around him. All his life he’d known that there was more to the world, secrets that hid in the shadows and wondrous things just waiting to be discovered, and he felt like some of his questions were finally being answered.

“Your village hasn’t been attacked because of me,” Cadrenith explained. “I have been here since its birth over eight-hundred years ago, and I will be here for the next eight-hundred years, protecting it until a time comes that the truth has been revealed and the villagers can protect themselves.”

“If I go back now, I can tell them,” Xander said excitedly, all but jumping to his feet and grinning from ear to ear as he brushed the dirt from his trousers. “They can defend themselves and then you can join your kin in the south.”

“If only it was so simple,” Cadrenith breathed, hanging his head in sorrow. “Unfortunately your people are not ready, and will not be for a very long time.” He could see the disappointment in the young man’s face, that spark of hope fading from his eyes as he looked back down at the ground. “But I feel that you have a different destiny, a separate path to follow, young Xander. There is dragon blood in you.”

Xander tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t climb up here to discover dragons, did you?” Cadrenith questioned. “Not really. You were following your heart, treading the path written deep within you. You were following more than a dream.”

“I suppose I was,” Xander replied, thinking about it a little before coming to the conclusion that the dragon was probably right. He couldn’t explain the feeling, there were no words for it, but to him it was a need, no, a duty, to himself and to greater things to come.

Cadrenith smiled, his razor sharp teeth showing through his thin lips. “What would you say if I asked you to stay here as my apprentice? I have been looking for someone to help me with my work, and you seem like just the man.”

Xander stared at the dragon, his mouth agape and his racing thoughts suddenly skidding to a halt as he tried to comprehend what the dragon was asking of him.

“You would be well fed, clothed, and given a place to sleep and rest,” Cadrenith assured him, standing up and stretching his strong legs. “I would also teach you how to fight, and unlock a power within yourself that you never realised you had.”

“I’d be protecting the village too?” Xander asked.

Cadrenith nodded. “Yes, Xander, you would.”

The young man from the small town, with no family left and a friend who thought him mad, took a step back and looked down at the silhouetted village below. There was nothing left for him there, he didn’t have anything or anyone, but up here he could do wonderful things; he could protect the villagers and safeguard a large reserve of power, keeping it from the grasp of evil.

It all sounded very heroic when he thought about it in such a way, but was it him? Was it who he was supposed to be? Was this where his destiny truly lay? Yes, his mind screamed, so loudly that he thought someone had actually spoken. This is where you belong. “I could stay here?”

The dragon gave him a firm nod and a kind smile.

“I wouldn’t be harmed?”

“Not so long as I was looking after you.”

“And I’d learn how to fight too?”

“And much, much more,” Cadrenith promised. “The dragon blood you bear will teach you many things that I cannot.”

Xander took in a deep breath and nodded as confidently as he could manage, his mind set and his decision made. “Then I accept,” he said, smiling and watching as Cadrenith bowed his head.

“Would you like to return to your village to sort out your affairs?”

He thought for a moment; there was nothing of value he wanted to bring with him, but there was the matter of Erred. Should he tell him what he’d discovered? Should he tell him about his new life, about his new venture? Or was it best for Erred to think that he’d gone missing, to let him get on with his life without burdening him with what he’d learnt?

“No,” he decided, shaking his head. “I think it would be best if everyone thought I’d just gone missing.”

Cadrenith nodded in understanding and gestured to a small castle cut from the rock on the other side of the crater. “Then rest, young Xander. Your lessons will start in the morning.”