Nick showed up later that afternoon. He took one look at Damon. The only thing that came out of his mouth was 'Whoaaaa'. "You can take him, Nico and Ruby into the study and speak with them privately," Lex offered. After talking to the three of them a bit and listening to them speak of the dragons and their seven-headed dragon god, Nick had one burning question. "I have to ask, knowing what I do about gods and the humans...hominids that worship them: what makes you think this is not all just a story or a figment of someone's imagination to explain what happened over your world?" "You explain, Baba," Damon deferred to Nico. "Merlinus has in his care a statue. It is perhaps seven-eight feet tall. Before we began to slay the lesser dragons and the Old Ones, this statue did not exist. When we began to train the warriors for this, we built a temple called Sanctuary. When the warriors began to slay the dragons, this statue began to form itself in the temple. Each lesser dragon is a belly-plate or scale of the body. This is documented by the Paragon of Paragons, who was sort of like the ultimate dragon warrior of his day - the High Priest. His word was...is beyond doubt. Damon is now this one, but we have no temple, the Book of Kills is destroyed, and he is the only one left. He has slain more dragons than any warrior before him. "Then, my great-grandfather Tamar the First slew an Old One. The statue grows a head. My grandfather Urian slays and Old One. My uncle Miruhn slays another Old One. Two more heads appear on the statue. I saw the three-headed statue when I was a young boy. My brother Arun slew another Old One, and a fourth head appeared. Ruby can vouch for this, because it was in Merlinus' hands by then. Hai, Ruby?" "Hai. Since then, it has grown two more heads - the two Old Ones that Damon killed. Mind you, Nick - this statue is kept in a sealed room on the ship, along with a few other things. There is an observation portal, but no one has been in that room since all of that was put in there. No one. I witnessed that the last one appeared myself - last year. Merlinus taped Damon slaying it, so I went and looked. The statue is supposed to have seven heads. It only has six. Merlinus has scanned the entire desert there, looking for the last Old One. It's not there. Someone has removed it, or it was never there in the first place. Part of the reason we came here is to see if one of you can find it - 'see' it's location. Damon says he can slay all the remaining lesser dragons next season...but in order for all the prophecies to become true and for their god to appear and vanquish the evil that has befallen their world, he must also slay the last Old One. I fear if he does not, something bad will happen to him." "How do you know it's supposed to have seven heads?" Nick asked. "The dragons tell us this, in the visions when we drink them," Damon answered. "Sharban has seven heads. The dragons reveal more and more each time we drink. The Old Ones reveal other secrets and confer strength and honor to those who slay them. These things I cannot speak, but I know them all, except the last." "What if I told you I could get inside your head and learn these secrets? What would you say to that?" Nick sat back in his chair, eyeing Damon through narrowed eyes, watching his reaction. There was no fear. This man was not afraid of anything. This man was something like he'd never seen. Damon shrugged. "If you do not fear it, then neither do I." "I am the one all souls here fear Damon. Let's do this, but I'll warn you - it might not be entirely pleasant." ***** Thanks so much for your comments, faves and views dear friends! Have a wonderful upcoming weekend! Ray