As all stories go, once upon a time in a place the Earth does not know exists, there was a kingdom. This kingdom had a king, and his only daughter. This was a time when the Marked, people of special powers, were burned at stake for merely being what they were.

This was also a time when the kingdom was being terrorized by a dragon known as Demon, who had powers to control light. He got everything he demanded, for no one dared say no. Crops were never bountiful, herds were dwindling, and even gold was rare. Those living in the castle fared no better, counting themselves lucky if they got to enjoy a luxury, such as chocolate or meat that was not stringy.

The king called throughout the kingdom for a man brave enough to destroy Demon, but very few stepped forward. They were sent to Demon’s lair and were never seen again. And Demon became more bold and arrogant whenever he came down to the kingdom to demand for something else.

The king then asked surrounding kingdoms to help him rid his kingdom of the terrible dragon, but they refused. They were not willing to lose any of their able men, nor risk becoming another kingdom Demon terrorized.

The princess, despite her father’s warnings to stay in the castle, often went out disguised around the streets. She knew the danger of the dragon, but she was a little careless, telling herself that the dragon would want nothing to do with her.

One day, while out playing in the streets, she met a young man. They became good friends over time and she would sneak out every day to meet with him, even if it was for only a few minutes. But she kept from him that she was the princess, and though she did not know, he too kept from her a secret. They soon fell in love, and she could no longer not tell him. He was not dissuaded by this fact, and told her that he would find a way to convince the king to let them marry.

But a prince from a kingdom far away came to this kingdom, and saw the beautiful princess. He heard of the kingdom’s terrible predicament and promised the king to protect the kingdom from Demon, if only he could have the princess’s hand in marriage. The king was relieved, for he believed that this prince could actually rid the kingdom of Demon, and so he agreed.

Before the king could tell his daughter about the arrangement, it was brought to him by one of his spies that she was constantly meeting with a young man they had found to be Marked.

Enraged, the king called his daughter before him and questioned her about this man. She did not know that he was Marked, and felt betrayed when she found out.

The Marked was brought before the king, but before the king could order his execution, the Marked pleaded for the king to merciful and let him prove that he was loyal to kingdom in some way. The Marked said that he would single-handedly take on Demon; if he failed, Demon would be his executor, but if he succeeded, he would come back a hero and it would be known that there would be no need to fear him.

The princess did not like this, and begged her father to let him go.

The prince wished the man’s execution to be immediate.

But the king agreed with the man’s proposal and sent him to slay Demon.

Demon believed that it would be another easy picking, like the last ones who had been sent to his cave. But the young man proved to be able to match Demon’s powers and so they battled for a long time. Several days passed and both were tiring and very much injured. The young man finally weakened Demon so that he could deliver the final blow.

Demon roared fury as he was dying and attacked one more time, this time with a spell. He killed the young man’s human body, and he became revived in Demon’s. But Demon was no more, so the once golden scales thought spoke of Demon’s power with light turned black, showing the young man’s hidden power with darkness. The black dragon came back to the kingdom, but not to harm.

The princess married the prince and the black dragon guarded her kingdom until her death. When she died, the black dragon flew south for a new home and was never seen by that kingdom again.

Years after he had left, the people told each other about his good deeds and how well he protected their kingdom, he became known by a new name, a name different from the one he had when he was a human. And so wherever he went he was known as Angel.