"Whoa.."

August stared at the sight around him.

He couldn't believe it. His book on dragons said that Weather Dragons had gone extinct years ago, that the last Water chosen one had destroyed them all.

"How.. Did.."

"You may have heard that the last Water chosen one killed them all. He brought him here instead, to protect them from.." The masked warrior stopped speaking.

A few dragons flew to him, playfully pushing him around.

"Hey, you two. This is August. The new Fire chosen one."

The dragons didn't seem to react well to that, running away.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"You'll have to forgive them. They haven't had great experiences with fire." Milo sighed, picking up a baby dragon that was hiding behind him. "I've been protecting them, keeping them a secret until it's safe for them to go back to the world."

"And.. you want me to help?"

"Yes. You have the heart of a true defender, strong, kind, peaceful. As a chosen one, you may have to do terrible things to save the world. But you can also do amazing things. Heal a forest. Teach kindness to all the land. Bring back a supposedly extinct species."

"So.. It's both a curse and a blessing?"

"Exactly."

The dragons were starting to peek out at the two.

"..Lightning, come."

One of the slightly smaller dragons with bright yellow eyes cautiously came forward, sniffing August. They blew a puff of snow into his hair, then ran off.

"Ah, he wants to play tag."

August smiled. "..Thank you. For showing me this."

The warrior nodded. "It's my job to teach Chosen Ones how to appreciate their responsibilities. Otherwise.." He turned away. "They could go corrupt."

"..They don't have great experiences with fire.. did a Fire chosen one.."

"..Yes. But I think the sword chose you to make up for what happened in the past. A peacemaker.. What an interesting choice for a weapon artifact."