The Last Shifter

There were over 70 deaths caused by the dragons in the past three days in the small country of Gaia. Most were by the fire ones. Some of them were shifters.

The year was 3032. Being the only dragon hunter in the town of Taicedonia was starting to become more overwhelming for me.

As I was flying over the mountains of Gaia, I felt the warm sun beating my emerald, scaly body and wings and my cyan, spiky spine regardless of how fast I was flying. I looked over at my hometown to check the safety of the people. I flew towards the Hoggle Cavern where the elves lived.

Auron, my 12-year-old apprentice, stood by the entrance of the grand cave. He was originally from the town of Spastrali which was a few miles east of Taicedonia. He eagerly waved at me to approach him.

I swooped down in his direction. Before I landed on my feet, my whole body morphed into feminine human form, and my cross and bow were well-equipped. I was battle ready. "What do you want to tell me?"

Auron boldly spoke, "Jarreth found a baby."

"A baby?" I questioned as I arched an eyebrow.

"Yes! You must come to see this baby."

Auron rushed into the cave as I followed him. As we hurried deeper into the cave, I could hear the chattering coming from dozens of elves.

Behind the crowd of elves was Jarreth, one of the Earth dragons. Jarreth was guarding a two-year-old boy who was wrapped in a blanket and sleeping in his arms.

Auron and I cautiously walked past the elves and approached Jarreth and the baby.

"You should see this baby, Kat," Auron advised with a soft nod.

I directed my attention to Auron and folded my arms. "What about this baby?"

"Look at the neck on the left side."

I gently put the sleeping child in my arms. I took a peek at his neck and was disturbed by what I saw. It was the mark of the dragon's eye. The sight made me gasp.

Only shifters were born with the mark. I had that same mark on my neck.

I reminisced the times when I never knew what the mark meant. I remember when I was 19 years old....

TEN YEARS EARLIER

I walked for hours searching for these horrific fire dragons outside the town of Taicedonia. I felt the penetrating heat from the bright, blazing sun. The excessive amount of sweat on my face was marginally burning my creamy jade eyes. I took a few sips of water from my metal canister to thwart dehydration. I looked down to watch out for snakes. I could see the bloodstain on my obsidian pocket combat boots. The bloodstain came from the dead bodies I found during my hunts. These were also victims of the fire dragons.

In spite of the tremendous heat, vengeance motivated me to persist. All I could think about was the day that fire dragon slayed my mother when I was a child. I was never the same again. I became Kat the Dragon Hunter.

Unexpectedly, I heard a strident screech in the sky. I looked up and saw one of the dragons. I wasted no time as I removed my crossbow from my back and aimed at the dragon. I stared carefully and noticed the distinctive appearance. This dragon was not red at all. It was green with a blue spine. This was an earth dragon. After that realization, I lowered my crossbow.

“Why didn’t you shoot it?” Right away, I recognized that familiar male voice. I knew who was behind me.

I reluctantly turned around, and there was one of my older bothers, Marco - the annoying one, walking toward me with a shameful look. Marco was always the pushy brother. He was a bully when we were younger. He became even more exasperating ever since I decided to hunt dragons.

“It’s an earth dragon, Marco,” I responded.

Marco unleashed an imperious laugh and arrogantly folded his arms. “A dragon is a dragon, little sister.”

“I don’t think we have the earth dragons to worry about. Also, the water dragons have saved lives. The fire dragons and the storm dragons are the ones we have to look out for.”

“Have you met an earth dragon or a water dragon?”

I was stumped when he asked me that. I wanted him to believe what I said was true. “Well, no.”

“So how do you know that the earth dragons and water dragons won’t hurt us?”

I innocently shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve heard stories.”

Marco pressed his hand on my shoulder and spoke to me as if I was a foolish child. “Yes. They were stories. Are you a dragon hunter or not?”

I was appalled that he asked me a ridiculous question. “Of course, I’m a dragon hunter. Do you see what I am doing?”

“Then, you should know what side you’re on, Kat.” He removed his hand from my shoulder and slowly walked away from me. “Maybe some of the folks are right. Maybe you are a shifter.”

I angrily sneered at Marco and clenched tighter on my crossbow. I wanted so badly to point it at him and fire. “I am not a shifter, Marco. I don’t care what they said about me.”

Marco chuckled as he was heading back to the town.

PRESENT DAY

I never thought I was a shifter until I started transforming a few years ago. I learned to adapt. Then, I later learned that I was supposed to be the last shifter according to an old seer.

Auron spoke up in a state of confusion. "I thought you are the last shifter."

"Yeah, I thought so too," I responded.

"I guess the seer was wrong."

"Maybe this little guy is the last shifter. Where did Jarreth find him?"

"Jarreth found the baby crawling in the forest. The baby was alone. No parents. No family. No one."

"Then, we don't know who he belongs to."

"Not even where he is from." Auron shrugged.

Lockley, an elder of the elves, moved closer with concern. "Do you know what kind of dragon he will change to?"

I took a closer look at the mark on the baby's neck. "It's hard to make out the mark of the tear under the dragon’s eye."

"Is it a tree like yours?"

"No, it does not look like a tree. That means, the baby will not change into an Earth dragon."

The sound of disappointment erupted in the crowd.

Another elder, Navarra, approached Kat with hope. "How about a water dragon? Could the baby be a water dragon?"

My eyes were still examining the mark. "The tear does not look like a water drop. The tear looks more like a flame."

The reactions from the elves were a mix of fear and anger.

"If that baby is a fire dragon, then he must be destroyed at once!" Lockley demanded.

The rest of the elves agreed.

I placed my attention on the baby and saw that he woken up. I gazed at his innocent face and knew that he had no knowledge of his future and the creature within him. "Maybe it does not have to be this way."

"What are you talking about?" Lockley asked.

"Maybe we don't have to destroy all fire dragons."

"We must! They are the ones who destroy the lives in Gaia."

"What if we raise one to not destroy any of us? What if we raise him to be a good fire dragon?"

"There is no such thing as a good fire dragon."

I noticed the baby gave me a joyful smile. He embraced me and would not let go.

"There can be. All we have to do is give him a chance."

Lockley growled, "A chance?"

"Yes, a chance. Just let me take him home and raise him. Let me be his guardian. I can prove to you that he will be a good fire dragon. Maybe him being the last shifter is a sign that there will be a good fire dragon."

“Your brother, Marco, will find out about that baby. Now that Marco is the mayor of Taicedonia, he has so much power over everyone in – “

“But he has no power over me,” I interrupted. “If Marco tries anything to put harm on this child, I’ll see to it that he pays.”

Auron and I walked toward the exit of the cave.

"What will you name this boy, Kat?" Lockley asked.

I stopped and faced the elves including Lockley. "Chance."