"Never wander into the forest after dark," my mother used to say. If I knew then what I know now, I would have listened to her. I should have listened. After all, she was dead when she said it. Our family has never been what you would call normal. Father was always away on some sort of errand and mother would sit all day staring out the window waiting for him to return. If and when he did return, he always carried with him a strange smell. It was like the air after a storm, when there is no scent, yet you can smell everything? And more often then not, hed have strange leaves and vines tangled in his long golden hair. I can remember peeking thru a crack in my door as father came home, and mother would meet him at the door, tears in her eyes. He would brush her aside and sit at the table, demanding his dinner. After he had eaten he would push his chair back, climb the ladder into the loft where their bed was, and go to sleep. Mother would sit sobbing quietly in her rocker by the window. I knew one day I would learn why he did this, and I vowed to never let him hurt mother again. Every night, I fell asleep to the sound of mother crying. Its 5 years later now, and Im still a young man, barely 16 now. Its been 2 years since my father left one night to go hunting in the forest, to never return. I think mother died of a broken heart, because the next morning, she did not wake up. I buried her out back of the cabin, on a small rise overlooking the valley below. I think she would have liked it there, because you can see for miles across the dark regions of the forest. Since that day, when I buried mother, my life has never been the same. Two nights after I buried mother, she came back to me. I remember it as clear as if it had just happened moments ago. I had just lain down to go to sleep, when I saw this cold blue light under my door. Clad only in my terror, I crept from my bed and slipped over peer thru a crack in the door. In the living room, a shaft of brilliant moonlight seemed to coalesce into the shape of my mother. Her eyes were embers of burning fire, and her voice tickled the inside of my head. It crawled around in my mind until I thought I would go insane, and when it seemed at its worst, it calmed. Soon my child, I will speak with you never give up hope. The spirit of my mother vanished as a cloud passed over the moon, and did not reappear. Now, five years after her death, mother has appeared to me again. This time she her form was different, her eyes were as of gleaming sapphire, and she had immense glowing wings that filled the room. A brilliant golden light that danced and pulsed as if alive surrounded mothers body. She pointed to me with one pale finger, its nail as black as midnight, and spoke. A thousand voices rang out in my head, whispering and churning. My son, my only love, I have brought you a warning. Soon, things that live in shadows will hunt you and your life will be turned inside out. But you are strong, and you will survive. You have within you a power that some would kill for! When you need it, you will find it. Before I go, remember these words. Never wander into the forest after dark, do not climb old trees with withering bark, stay away from old oaks and Fairy rings, beware of slithering beasts and rotting things, remember my warning and someday youll be, a hero and master with kingdoms of three. As before, she vanished. As she disappeared, a tendril of light reached out and caressed the side of my face and consciousness rapidly fled from me. As I fell to the floor, a tear ran down my cheek. Dawn came like any other day. A warm ray of sun danced and laughed its way across the room to fall on my face, and I awoke. I rose wearily from the hard, unforgiving floor and made my way over to the small table near the bed, and washed my face in a bowl of cold water. As I dried my face and hair, I gazed into a small looking glass that mother had given to me on my 10th birthday. Emerald eyes set amidst a ruggedly handsome young face stared back at me. I brushed a golden lock of hair back away from my eyes and stared at myself. I almost didnt recognize the face in the glass. Where the night before I fell asleep a young man, this morning I find myself looking haunted, and somehow, years older. For a moment, a green fire flickers in my eyes, and I blink. I look again, but it must have been a trick of the light, for nothing is there. As I dressed I thought of the previous nights events. Had I had some sort of waking dream? Or had mother really come to me again, warning me of dangers that lay ahead. I laced up my boots, slipped a small dagger into my belt and slung a bag over my shoulder. As I stepped out the door I took up the walking staff that mother had always kept close. I would need it this day for I was off to search a corner of the unexplored forest. I stepped out the door and began my trek down into the valley below. Shortly before noon, I had reached the valley floor and stood at the edge of the great forest. The mighty trees reached to the heavens, so tall that the tops were lost in the clouds. Twenty men holding hands would barely reach around the base of even the smallest tree. The sun filtered lightly down thru the branches and lit up the ground beneath the trees. Without a backwards glance towards home, I stepped forward and entered the forest. It was like stepping into another world here. One moment you are in sunlight and fresh air, and the next moment you are surrounded by every kind of plant you could think of. Birds and other wild things whistled, fluttered, and leaped around in the trees above me. I picked my way thru the foliage and walked straight ahead. I had no idea where I was going, but I had no fear while there was sunlight above. About twenty minutes or so into the forest, I began to notice movement out of the corners of my eyes. It was as if something was darting from tree to tree, following me wherever I went. Whenever I turned to look, there was nothing there. I finally gave up trying to see whatever it was, and just kept moving deeper into the forest. As I stepped around a giant root, something behind the tree growled menacingly, and I froze with fear. I peered very slowly around a corner of the tree and found myself looking at one of the most horrifying creature I have ever seen. As tall as a man it stood, but on six spider like legs. Whatever the creature was, it was facing away from me, growling at some small squirming thing that it had cornered between several large roots. My first instinct was to turn and sneak away, but something inside of me trembled oddly. I had a sudden feeling that someone needed help, and I could not leave. I looked a little closer at what the giant monster had pinned down, attempting to see what it was, but I was to far away. For a moment, I wasnt sure what I was going to do. That is, not until the spider creature raised on giant claw in the air, as if to cleave its victim in two, and a plaintive warbling cry was heard from the trembling victim. Rage exploded in me for some unknown reason, and I bolted out from behind the tree and leapt up onto the back of the monster. With a cry of fury I swung my staff over my head and slammed it into the back of the mighty head in front of me. A moment before it hit, green fire ran down my arms and thru the staff. As it connected with the beast, the green fire exploded into a brilliant flame that blasted me backwards off of the beasts back. I landed in a dazed heap on the ground, and struggled back to my feet. As I stood up, I feared an attack from the beast I had swung at moments before. I stared at the carnage that covered the forest clearing before me. Where once had stood the beast, now lay a blasted, smoking carcass. I picked my way thru the gore until I reached where I had last seen the small trembling figure. At first I didnt see anything, but when I looked closer I spotted tiny green reptilian eyes gazing back at me from under a root. Completely ignoring my doubt and fears, I dropped to my knees and held out a hand and whispered to it quietly, Its ok little one, you can come out now. It cant hurt you any more. I will forever remember the next few minutes with clarity. Out from under the root crawled a tiny lizard. At least I thought it was a lizard. It looked more like a snake, with legs, and wings? I stared incredulously. Before me stood a small dragon! It couldnt have been more then a foot long, and even though I knew dragons couldnt exist, yet there it was! I continued to hold out my hand, until the small creature stepped forward and sat down in the palm of my hand. I raised my hand up to get a closer look, and was shocked when the little critter stretched out its neck and rubbed noses with me. I sat back on the ground in shock. A dragon, a friendly one from the looks of it, sitting in MY hand! TO BE CONTINUED .... Wheeee, a writers Forum... this rules.