"Philippe welcome," greeted the king as Philippe entered the office of Maximus. "Please have a seat," said the king. "What can I do for you sir?" asked Philippe. "We have a situation with Atticus," said the King. "A situation," asked Philippe. "Yes, a situation that really needs your help,"'replied then king. "How can I help," asked Philippe. "As you aware Philippe, that Helen is not really fond of Atticus. She sees him as a stranger, an outsider," said the king. "And we very well know that she would rather see you as the heir," said Maximus. "Me as a heir?" Joked Philippe. "She really does Philippe," said the king. "And if the rules were any lighter. It would be my preference too," the king spoke his heart. Clearly indicating that he did not care for the bastard nor his mother thst much. No wonder the dark aura increases in him. A man born out of wedlock will see the world as a dark place. "Atticus is a good man, an able heir, Sir, he has the deep understanding of strategy and war as well, said Philippe. "Yes, I too have heard that. He has taken keen interest in the armies and history as well," said the king. "I'm sure your father must be a big inspiration to him,"'replied Maximus. "He was an inspiration to all the youth growing up sir," said Philippe in a proud tone. Philippe was very proud of his father and he cherished the memories of his father. "So Philippe," said Maximus getting right into the thick of things. "Without Helen accepting Atticus there is no point In All of this. He needs her approval," emphasized the king once again. "Yes sir, we need to get her approval," replied Philippe. "And what is it you need me to do sir?" asked Philippe like any good servant of the kingdom would. "I need you to convince Helen of the qualities of Atticus and that he would make a good king in the future against her doubts, replied Maximus. Philippe sat there silently. Finally he responds after a bout of deep thinking, "I will try my best my king,"'said Philippe. "Very well son," replied Maximus in a relieved tone. Philippe then took leave. THAT NIGHT It was late at night , Atticus was deep into his reading. Ana was fast asleep. As Atticus turned page after page, the night kept getting darker. The moon shone as bright as the sun one could tell. And suddenly there was a strange feeling in the room. Atticus first ignored it. But the strange sensation would persist. It would not leave. This made Atticus close his books and check the halls first. What am I doing, this is stupid, Atticus thought to himself. There was nothing in the halls. Let me check the balcony and get it over with, thought Atticus. Atticus went to the balcony to check if there was someone. There was no one. As he was about to enter the room again a creature made its presence on the balcony. Atticus looked back, he gasped . It was the same creature that killed Chris and from what he remembered took his brother away. The creature just stood there, so did Atticus. There were no words that were uttered . And what surprised Atticus was that he was not scared by the creature. He was not threatened by the shapeshifter. As the two of them Stood there in the balcony. "Good," said the shapeshifter. "You are not scared of me. And there is no reason for you to be. You are not like the others,"'continued thenshapeshifter. Atticus though not scared, was stumped. He had a million things running on his mind. Yet, he could not utter a word. "I know you have many questions to ask," the shapeshifter said. "You will understand it all in due time," Atticus still stood there unable to speak. "You see Atticus, we have been here for thousands of years. In the shadows manipulating the outcome of things that determined the fate of this planet,"'said the shapeshifter. "Our ways are not always justifiable, you should know that," "You are evil," said Atticus finally uttering a few words. "Maybe so, our ways have been evil sometimes,"'said the shapeshifter. "But I'm not scared of you," said Atticus. "And you don't need to be," replied the shapeshifter. "We were not always like this," said the shapeshifter. "Certainly not. We were like the rest of them. In flesh and blood, the shapeshifter continued. Atticus just stood there, listening carefully. "Wilmir was not always like this. Mysterious, It was the heart of the forests. There was happiness all around," said the shapeshifter. "Then what happened," asked Atticus curiously. "Then the times changed, evil prevailed," said the shapeshifter. "The forests, the trees all started to speak of evil, there was strangeness all around," "Why did you not leave?" asked Atticus as he felt that was the right question to ask. "Some people left," replied the shapeshifter. "But most of us remained. It was our home. We did not know anything else, nor we knew of any place to go." Atticus somewhat seemed to agree to the point. And in the few people who left Wilmir was the clan of your mother," The Ulkir. "The Ulkir?" asked Atticus. "The Ulkir are given the most important of tasks," said the shapeshifter. "What is that?" asked Atticus. "To guard the sacred egg, that lay in the middle of Wilmir," replied the ahapeshifter. "But they abandoned their duty and they fled at the first sight of evil," "What's in the egg?" asked Atticus. "Something that flies up in the air and leaves fire from its mouth," replied the shapeshifter. "Dragons?" asked Atticus in a excited tone much like a child would. "Yes, dragons," replied the shapeshifter. "Indeed, the Ulkir have failed," said Atticus. "Yes," replied the shapeshifter. "Now who guards the eggs," asked Atticus. "The ghosts of Wilmir," replied the shapeshifter. There was a pause ,a bit of an apprehension began to show in the face of Atticus. All this was a bit too much for Atticus to take in. "The Ulkir have failed you," said Atticus. "My mother has failed you!" "In a way, yes," replied the shapeshifter. "I'm the son of my mother, that means I'm not your ally, You are indeed here to hunt me down?" asked Atticus. The shapeshifter laughed, his pale yellow teeth shone brightly under the moonlight. Atticus, the dragon was destined for the Ulkir. The son of a Ulkir was destined to ride the dragon,'said the Shapeshifter "And the dragon is our destiny,the destiny of Wilmir,"The dragons and its riders destiny is to remove the darkness away. "There are no other sons of Ulkir? what about my brother?" asked Atticus. "Yes, it is only you, your mother was the only Ulkir who bore a child. The rest passed away childless," replied the shapeshifter. "And yes, you and your brother are the only Ulkir that are left on this planet," the shapeshifter finished his sentence. "Where is my brother?" asked Atticus. "His time will come, his destiny will be revealed to him," replied the shapeshifter. As Atticus was about to ask further questions. "In due time yours will be too," replied the shapeshifter as he jumped on top of the balcony and vanished soon after. Atticus gazed at the moon, its beaming light shone on his face. His face turned more wily than that of the shapeshifters under the moon. Dragons! He uttered.