* * *
A younger Aiden stood once more upon the field of battle, the soldiers of the Kingdom clashing against their black-clad enemies that seemed to know no fear. He watched as giant, metal warriors came forth and began to slaughter the Aielunders, before a shadow grew over the battlefield as something obscured the sun. Aiden squinted against the light to see what was happening, and was stunned by what he saw.
An immense golden dragon was descending onto the battlefield, its wingspan easily over a hundred feet across. Talons the size of a man dug into the ground as it crashed to the surface far behind the black warrior making his final stand.
The dragon turned to look directly at Aiden with piercing eyes that glowed with power. Paralysed with fear, he struggled to pull his gaze away, and focused on watching the cataclysmic fight before him. The black warrior was slowly being beaten by the behemoth, and it was only a matter of time until he fell.
A dull roaring sound slowly grew with intensity, similar to the sound of cattle stampeding in the distance. When he turned to see what the dragon was doing, he was taken aback when he saw that it was much closer to him without seeming to have actually moved, its head held low as it peered at him with burning eyes.
Aiden felt a pain in his right leg, and looked down to see blood flowing from a terrible wound that made him gasp in pain. The noise grew louder, like the pounding of blood in his ears, and he clutched at his leg as a sharp pain shot through it.
When he looked up again, his heart stopped as he looked straight into the eye of the immense dragon that was right in front of him. Aiden screamed and dropped the glowing orb, shattering it upon the ground of the cave.