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Once you walk the path, there is no turning back...

Thank you, Tim, for the name for the series.

My name is Darkstar; I am the third son of King Bloodshadow, king of Akarum. Bloodshadow has always claimed that I am not his son and that my mother had slept with another dragon. I have never known the name of my mother, seeing as she died at my birth and Bloodshadow always refuses to talk about her. I knew that my chances of ascending to the throne were very slim so I did not see any point in learning all the tedious things that came with being a prince of dragons. I hated living with Bloodshadow and my two elder brothers, Lightbane and Shadownight. All I ever wanted to do was to lead a normal life out among proper dragons.

Then, nine nights ago, the day after my eighteenth birthday, I found a way to escape and took it.

Nine nights ago.

I was walking along the halls of my father's palace, when my eldest brother, Lightbane, leapt out from behind a door, scaring me. Lightbane was the current heir to Bloodshadow's throne. He was three feet taller than me and was pure gold colour, just like my father and other brother.

I, on the other hand was dark-blue, not gold. Another fact that proved my bastardry, according to my father.

'Hah ha! I got you good!' He laughed at me.

'Lightbane! What the hell? Why can't you just leave me alone?' I demanded.

'Because you are a runt and you do not deserve to be a prince!' He taunted.

I quickly pushed past him and ran down the hall. I knew that he was right; my father hated me because I was good and he and my two brothers were evil. I could not stand living in this palace with them but it was my mother's dying wish that Bloodshadow looked after all of us. I ran down many halls, losing my way and coming to a halt in front of a door in some long forgotten passageway. I cautiously opened the door and walked in.

There was a giant stone ring on the ground and a pillar in the middle of the ring. I slowly stepped over the edge of the ring and walked over to the pillar.

There were many foreign symbols and buttons on the pillar and I thought that most of them looked familiar. I always was a fan of trial-and-error, so I started pushing random buttons. Suddenly, the ring started humming and there was a flash of white light. I felt a large surge of power run through the room and suddenly the world went black as I fainted.

I awoke to find myself out in the sun. I sat up, looked around and gasped. I was no longer in the palace! I was lying on a beach somewhere. I saw that I was sitting in another stone ring, but this one was slightly different from the one that was in the palace. I wondered how I had managed to get here, and then it hit me. The ring was some kind of teleportation device! I had just been teleported to another location.

I laughed at the thought of never having to put up with my family again. I had the whole world to explore and no one to tell me what to do.

I stood up, brushed the sand off my back with my tail and stretched my wings.

I saw a family of three dragons approaching from the east. They spotted me and ran over.

'Looks like you are finally awake.' Laughed the male as they approached.

'I'm sorry, but who are you?' I asked them.

'My name is Bertain, this is my wife, Cynda, and this is our daughter, Rasani.' Said the male.

'My name is Darkstar. Why did you say finally awake?' I was confused; why were they even talking to me?

I looked at the family closely. They were all staring at me with smiles on their faces. Bertain was dark red in colour and he was almost twice the size of me. Cynda was slightly smaller than her husband and was a pale-blue colour. I then looked at Rasani; she was a ruby red colour and she was the same size as me.

She is beautiful. I thought to myself.

'We have been coming and checking up on you for the last two days. You see, we were here on the beach, talking, when there was a flash of light. We looked over and saw you lying in the middle of that stone ring. We wondered how you got there, so I looked in our library for a book that I had read once and discovered that you had found some way to activate the teleportation device. Where you have come from, I have no idea, but you are welcome to stay with us as long as you can find some way to pay us back for the food and shelter.' Said Bertain.

I'd been unconscious for two days?

'Thank you for your offer. I do not know how I can readily pay you back though, all my money and belongings are back on the other side of that portal and I do not intend to return any time soon.' I murmured.

'That's okay, I am sure that there are many ways in which you could pay us back.' Said Cynda, smiling.

'Come; let us show you the city and our lovely home.' Bertain said, waving me forwards with one hand.

We walked along a path that led away from the beach. I took in all the sights as we headed towards the city. Living under the rule of my father, I had rarely ever been allowed outside of the palace. It was nice to walk along without guards following my every step. For the first time in a while, I was actually happy.

We walked over the top of a hill and I saw the huge city below. The entire city was made out of gleaming white marble.

'Welcome to Kiralan. The biggest city on the continent.' Bertain said cheerfully.

I just looked at the gleaming city and smiled. This was what I was going to call home from now on.

We walked down the hill and towards the giant gates that lead into the city.

Bertain led the way through many streets, pausing occasionally to greet people. I realised that Bertain was rather well known in this city and began to wonder who these people really were.

Finally, we stopped in front of a large mansion. The sign out the front said 'Bertain Kermani, Member of the City Council.'

I suddenly shivered as a tingle ran down my spine.

'What is it Darkstar?' Cynda asked me.

'Nothing, I think that it is just the after effects of the teleportation.' I lied. I had no idea what caused the tingle, but it felt oddly familiar.

Bertain ushered me inside and he closed the door behind us.

Cynda and Rasani gave me a grand tour of their large house and showed me the room that I was welcome to stay in.

'So, Darkstar, what sort of powers do you have?' Rasani suddenly asked me as we were finishing the tour.

'Powers?' I asked. I was confused, what did she mean by powers?

'Yeah, your dragon powers. What is your speciality?'

'Err, dragon powers?' I was more confused now.

Both Cynda and Rasani stared at me.

'You have never been taught about your dragon powers?' Gasped Cynda.

I shook my head slowly.

Cynda and Rasani led me back to the library, where Bertain was reading a book, and told him about what I had said.

Bertain put down the book and looked closely at me.

'So, you do not know anything about dragon powers?' He asked and I shook my head.

He walked down an aisle of the library and came back with a large book.

'This book should hold all the basics that you need to know. Once you have finished it, I shall take you over to the city training grounds and we shall see what we can do about uncovering your powers.' He said as he placed the book on the table in front of me.

I spent the next four hours reading the book and I learned that all dragons had some form of powers inside them. The powers ranged from simple fire-breathing, which was possible for all dragons, to complex powers, such as teleportation and shape change. I finished the book, hours later, and felt rather tired. Bertain told me to get some sleep and that he would take me to the training grounds tomorrow afternoon.

Rasani led me back to my room and I thanked her, before leaping on the bed and falling to sleep.

The next morning I woke up and headed down to the dining area of the house, the smell of food drawing me there. I saw Cynda and Rasani sitting at a table with piles of food in front of them. Cynda saw me enter and beckoned me over.

'Here, sit, I will see about getting you some food.' She said before getting up and knocking on a small door on the side of the room. A small grey dragon walked out of the door with a plate full of food. He placed the plate in front of me.

'Thank you.' I said before beginning to wolf down the food.

'Careful, or you will choke.' Teased Rasani.

I grinned at her and ate a little slower. After we had all finished, the grey dragon came back and cleared away the empty plates.

'Bertain is currently at a meeting with the other council members and will not be back for a while. You are free to keep reading in the library until he comes back to take you to the training grounds.' Cynda told me.

I was walking along the aisles of books, when one suddenly caught my eye. It was an ancient book on powers. I flipped through it, looking at the powers and their specialisations. I turned to the middle page and stopped. The power that was on the page was called the Power of Rage. I looked at it and read the method of using it.

You must clear your mind and focus on one thing and one thing only. That thing is Rage. Rage alone is extremely powerful and this should not be attempted by a dragon with low powers. Once you have focused on your rage, you must let go of your body and let the rage take over. You will become a devastatingly powerful being that can not easily be stopped.

This power is dangerous! Do not use unless it is a last resort! Overuse will corrupt your mind and eventually destroy your body!

The power looked very interesting, so I quickly memorised the method of using it and the warnings that went with it. I continued to flip through the pages, noting that most of the powers were used primarily for destruction. I jumped as Bertain sat down in front of me. I had not heard him come in, nor had I sensed him approaching.

He smiled at me.

'The power of stealth is very useful at times.' He said. He looked at the book I was reading and the smile slid from his face.

'That book contains some very powerful magic which should not be attempted by you until you have mastered the basics.' He said warningly.

I nodded and closed the book.

'If you have finished reading, we shall go to the grounds to begin your training.' He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the seat. I quickly placed the book back on the shelf and followed him out of the house and into the city.

Bertain led me through the city, pausing often to check something or talk with someone. It took us well over an hour to get to the training ground. The training ground was actually a large building that was divided up into many sections. One section for unarmed combat, one for armed combat, one for power basics, one for power theory, advanced powers, recreation, air-to-air combat, and the list went on. I was led to the Power basics room.

The room was rather large and there were thirteen young dragons and an older male instructor already inside. Bertain went up and had a quick word with the instructor, who stared closely at me. I shifted uneasily under that stare.

'Come, Darkstar, join us. My name is Lasgoni by the way.' Said the instructor as he waved me over.

I slowly walked over and sat with the group of young dragons.

'Everyone, this is Darkstar. He is going to be joining us for a while.' Lasgoni told the young dragons.

The dragons all stared at me.

'You are pretty big, aren't you?' Asked one of the smaller dragons.

I groaned quietly. I was in the basic of classes that was normally for very young dragons.

I am eighteen! I don't want to be surrounded by midgets! I thought to myself.

Bertain patted me on the shoulder. 'I'll be back in a couple of hours, ok?'

Lasgoni spent his time carefully explaining the various forms of powers and their abilities. I had already read all of this in that book that Bertain had given me so I just sat there quietly, thinking of all the things that I still had to learn. I hated Bloodshadow for never teaching me these things. I no longer thought of him, Lightbane or Shadownight as being my family. To me, they were just part of a difficult past.

Two hours later, Lasgoni bade us all good-bye and let the young dragons out.

'A word, if you please, Darkstar.' He said to me.

He closed the door as the last dragon left the room and walked over towards me.

'I realise that you must know most of what I am explaining to the others. Bertain probably gave you a book or something. There is a faster way for you to unlock your buried powers, if you are interested.' He told me.

I suddenly payed more attention and nodded enthusiastically.

Lasgoni placed his hands on the sides of my head and closed his eyes. After a minute he opened his eyes and removed his hands.

'I can sense great power within you. But it is beyond my ability to remove the chains that bind them. Whoever did this to you obviously knew what they were doing. I am going to request that you get transferred straight to the practical of Advanced Power training. Hopefully, someone there will be able to break the chains.' Lasgoni seemed slightly awed be me and that just left me confused.

How could I have great powers and not even feel them? Who stopped my powers from forming? How powerful am I? Thousands of questions flowed through my head.

I slowly walked out the door and headed to the building's entrance. I saw Bertain waiting for me with a smile on his face.

'So? How'd it go?' He asked me cheerfully.

I told him everything that Lasgoni had said to me and he frowned.

'Advanced practical? Is he sure that you are even ready? I do not like the sound of it but I trust that he knows what he is doing.' Bertain said as he led me from the building and out into the streets.

'There are a few things that I need to do before we get back to the house. Stick close and try not to get lost. If you do get lost, however, just ask someone directions to Bertain's house.' He laughed as we walked along a market street.

Bertain stopped at a number of shops, usually for price comparisons, and gave me a whole stack of items and bags to carry.

Well, they did say that I had to help them if I wanted to stay with them. I thought dryly.

We eventually made it back to the house, and by that time, my arms were full of random trinkets and objects.

Bertain told me to leave it all on a table and follow him. He led me back into the library but did not stop. We walked through the library and out a side door. We came to a stop in the courtyard.

'I am going to see how well you are in combat. We shall start with armed combat.' Bertain said.

I nodded. I had been taught the basics of both armed and unarmed combat back at Bloodshadow's palace, so I knew how to defend myself.

Bertain walked over to a weapon rack and took down two short, wooden swords. He handed one to me and took eight steps back. I raised the sword and crouched into a 'ready' position. We both stared at each other for a while, each one daring the other to make the first move.

I suddenly leapt forwards, ducked, sidestepped, and swung my sword. Bertain was ready for me though and deflected the blow expertly. I quickly had to ready myself again as Bertain swung his sword, feinted to the right, and hit my left knee.

A sudden pain shot up my leg and I quickly shut it out like I had been taught and responded by launching a flurry of attacks.

I feinted left, thrust forwards, rolled to the right, slashed at his shins, launched a powerful overhand attack and made a quick stab at his side.

Bertain laughed as he felt the wooden sword on his side and knew that I had landed a mortal blow.

'Very nice. I did not think that you could handle a blade like that.' He said.

I just looked at him. I knew that I was good, but not that good! Where had my sudden mastery come from?

Bertain took the wooden sword from my hand and replaced them on the rack.

'Next, we are going to try some unarmed combat, if you are ready.' He said.

'Yes, I am ready.' I replied.

Bertain suddenly struck out with his fist, catching me on the chest. I felt the air leave my body and stood there gasping for a second. I quickly jumped backwards as he threw another punch in my direction. This time, I was ready for him. I leapt forwards and rolled past him. I sprung to my feet and tried to kick him. His tail suddenly lashed out at me and I quickly grabbed it.

Bertain gasped as he felt my hands on his tail. I spun around, and pulled him down.

Bertain hit the ground with a thud. I quickly held him down and realised that I had just beaten a dragon that was twice the size of me. I was never good at unarmed combat! I had always preferred armed combat to unarmed. Yet, here I was, taking down a large dragon with nothing but my hands.

I offered my hand to Bertain and helped him up. He looked closely at me.

'Were you ever this good at unarmed combat before now?' He asked me sceptically.

'I was good at armed combat, I always have. But no, not unarmed. That was the one form that I could not do well at.' I said truthfully.

Bertain looked at me for a while longer, obviously thinking hard about something. He shook his head and we walked back inside. We were greeted by a worried Cynda.

'Are you okay, Bertain? I saw what happened.' She turned to me and looked me in the eyes. 'With skills like that, you could easily be a great gladiator.' She told me.

I liked the sound of that. Darkstar, the gladiator! It had a nice ring to it in my mind.

'Hey, the money that I could win from battles could easily pay you back.' I said cheerfully. Gladiators were paid a lot of money back in Akarum and I assumed that it was the same here.

'Well, if you are keen on the idea, I will also get you to spend some time in the armed, and unarmed, combat sections of the training ground. There, you will be able to take on warriors and the like, and you will have the chance to enhance your skills.' Bertain said. I could tell that he did not totally agree with the idea of me being a gladiator.

I decided to train myself for the rest of the day, seeing as I had nothing else to do.

I walked outside and over to the weapon rack. There was a large assortment of familiar and exotic weapons to choose from. I brushed my hand over them and quickly picked up a long sword that had a slightly curved edge to it. I spun the weapon around in my hand, getting a feel for it, and then made a quick thrust at the air in front of me.

The sword was perfectly balanced and it seemed to fit into my hand nicely. I made a few practice swings, getting used to the blade, when I felt my sword held down by another as I raised it over my shoulder. I spun around and came face to face with Rasani. She was holding a slightly similar blade and was grinning.

I lowered my sword, took a step back, and looked at her.

'You want to duel? It has been a while since I have had a true challenge.' She smiled at me with a challenge in her eyes.

'Sure, why not?' I said. This was going to be interesting.

We faced each other and did the customary bow. I decided to wait for her to make the first move.

Rasani suddenly jumped to the left, rolled behind me and made a thrust at my back. I quickly dropped to the ground, held myself up with one hand, and sliced at her legs with my sword. She jumped out of the reach of my sword and made a slash at my stomach as I flipped myself back onto my feet. I somersaulted back, landing away from her and made a quick feint to the right. She anticipated my move and deflected the blow easily. I suddenly realised that I was facing a worthy opponent who was probably more than a match for me.

She started picking up the pace. Her hands seemed to blur as she launched attack after attack at me. I had difficulty keeping up but managed to deflect the blows.

Rasani then threw a slice at my stomach, and, as I brought my sword around to deflect it, she quickly changed it into a thrust. I was completely unprepared for that and I knew that I was beaten the moment I felt the cold touch of steel on my chest.

I took a couple of steps back and lowered my sword. I then spread my wings and bowed low. It was a true sign of respect, and it showed that I held no grudge against her.

She returned my bow, something that really surprised me, and placed her sword back on the rack.

'You fought really well. That was one of the best duels that I have had in a while.' She smiled at me again.

'Thank you, you were not too bad yourself, considering that you were the first person to beat me in armed combat.' I replied, with a grin on my face. I quickly placed the sword back in its rightful spot and followed Rasani inside.

Bertain was inside, waiting for me, with an odd look on his face.

'I am going back to the training ground, you interested going now to do some combat training?' Bertain asked me.

'Sure.' I said, nodding my head.