Skylanders belongs to Activision, but I hope you already knew that. Any characters you don't recognize from this chapter are probably ones I added for the sake of the plot.

Chapter One: Lion Heart

Sunbeam polished his father's shield in the afternoon sun. He did this ritual every day because it made him feel closer to his deceased father. His father was the mightiest lion that Sunbeam had ever known. He had kept the bullies and tormentors away. Now that he was gone, they came in hordes to attack Sunbeam.

Speak of the devil, two orange-furred adolescent lions came up to Sunbeam. They were brothers- the eldest was Setter, and the youngest was Comet. If anyone hated Sunbeam the most, it was these two hecklers. They gave Sunbeam the most grief. Today probably wouldn't be any different.

True to history, it wasn't.

"Well if it isn't Goldy-butt," Setter taunted. "We've been waiting for you."

"Sunbeam, Sunbeam!" Comet taunted. "Sunbeam doesn't...um...doesn't...I made up a whole chant this morning..."

Comet wasn't overly clever when he wanted to be. Setter was clever all the time, which made up for it. Sunbeam didn't let these mediocre taunts bother him. He only wished they didn't have to be so relentless so soon after his father's passing. It was bad enough that Sunbeam had to deal with the grief, but to deal with bullies at the same time? It was too much.

Sunbeam was a golden lion. No, he wasn't golden-furred. He was made of gold! Nobody knew why, but even the king of the Fire Claws Clan agreed that a golden lion was a bad omen. Sunbeam was an outcast at best.

"Why are you two here?" Sunbeam asked. "Don't you two have anything better to do than make fun of me?"

"As a matter of fact, we do," Setter began. "We just wanted to say that we're going to go through the Rite of Infernos tonight. We're going to traverse the fiery plains and become true warriors of the Clan!"

"Which is more than you'll ever do!" Comet sneered. "What do you plan to do with the rest of your life, if you can't figure out who you are in this world?"

"Does the Shaman know you're going to do this?" Sunbeam asked.

"Of course he does! We wouldn't be dumb enough to do this if the Shaman hadn't given his permission first."

The Rite of Infernos was an important tradition for the lions of the Fire Claws Clan. Beyond their safe little savannah lies a strip of land connecting the savannah to the Ember Cave on the other side of their island. That strip of land was known as the Fire Plains, and it always burned with a special fire that never went out. When a lion of their Clan reaches a certain age, they had to inform the Shaman that they were going to cross the fiery plains. Once a month, during a full moon, the fires of those plains became wild and ferocious, and more dangerous than they were the rest of the month. The lions would don special armor that protected them from the heat, and would carry weapons down the path in case dangerous fire creatures fought them. The goal was to brave these fires and get to the Ember Cave, where you would be told in a dream what your true name and destiny was. You would then be given a special place in the Clan, depending on what the dream told you.

It wasn't fair. Because of what Sunbeam was, he wasn't allowed to participate in the Rite of Infernos! He would never find his true name. He would never find his true place in the world. He would never find his destiny. Sunbeam would never be the man his father had hoped he'd become. All of those things would never happen, all because Sunbeam was made of gold.

But did it have to be this way?

"I'm happy for you," Sunbeam simply replied. He looked at his reflection in the shield. A smile reflected back to him. After all, his father once said, "If you must choose between the sword and shield, take the shield."

That night, Sunbeam followed Setter and Comet onto the Fire Plains. The path that was usually safe from fire was now lit ablaze under the light of the full moon. He jumped on the rocks to avoid the flames. He followed Setter and Comet toward the Ash Trees, which offered some protection from the burning blaze. The entire time, he carried his father's shield in his right hand. Sunbeam was going through the Rite of Infernos. Doing this without the Shaman's knowledge would probably land him in exile- but he was surprised that it hadn't already happened.

Sunbeam heard Setter and Comet scream in flight. He jumped down from the trees and ran after the two lions. Sunbeam saw what scared them so much. A giant fire scorpion crossed their paths. The flame scorpion was a giant, terrifying insect that had flaming venom that could kill in seconds.

Two untrained lions were no match for such a beast.

Neither was Sunbeam, but he knew he should protect them.

"Get behind me!" Sunbeam roared.

Setter and Comet, obviously confused, ran behind Sunbeam. Sunbeam held the giant shield up, guarding himself and the two lions with him. The fire scorpion struck its tail at the shield, and nothing happened. The shield's metal was too strong for the scorpion's stinger to penetrate it.

"What are you doing out here?" Setter asked.

"What does it look like?" Sunbeam replied. "I'm traversing the Fire Plains on my Rite of Infernos."

"Now I'm sure that the Shaman doesn't know you're doing this! You're going to get in so much trouble for this!"

"Really?" Sunbeam couldn't help the sarcastic tone in his voice as he gestured with his eyes toward the beast. Becoming serious again, Sunbeam continued, "It's way too dangerous to cross the path with that scorpion here. You two have to go back and get the guards. Their force can stop the monster."

"No way!" Comet yelled. "We need to complete our test!"

"Do you want to die?"

"Good point, Goldy-butt."

"I'll buy you some time in order for you to make your escape. Now go!"

Setter and Comet ran back to camp, hiding from the distracted scorpion's view. Sunbeam threw the shield at the scorpion's head and jumped onto its back. He held onto the tail in hopes of buying more time for Setter and Comet to escape- and the writhing tail scratched Sunbeam on the chest. He fell off of the scorpion's back, his head already feeling dizzy from the scorpion venom. The scorpion faced him, hoping to grab a snack from the dying lion. Sunbeam weakly grabbed his father's shield and hid under it, not wishing to be mutilated as the venom took its effects on him.

For a moment, Sunbeam could swear that he saw his father, standing over him as he hid under the shield. Perhaps that was just his imagination, or he was already slipping away. If this was the destiny meant for Sunbeam, then so be it. Death was the only option now. And his father didn't deserve a golden lion for a legacy.

Father, protect me, even in my final moment, Sunbeam thought as his vision faded. As everything went dark, he could swear that he heard the sounds of the Clan's guards racing after the scorpion- but perhaps that was also his imagination.

Sunbeam found himself in a dense forest, a few beams of light streaming down. Besides the sparse light, it was rather dark and hard to see. He merely shrugged, and walked around for a few moments. It wasn't long before he spotted several trolls running away from a golden lion. The lion carried a large red shield, which had a lion's face carved into it. That couldn't be Sunbeam- he was dead. This was confirmed when the trolls and the golden lion passed by Sunbeam as if he weren't there.

"Heads up, Wildfire!" a gruff voice shouted.

The golden lion ducked as a blue arrow shot at the trolls. A blue crocagator jumped down from the trees. The golden lion and the blue crocagator attacked the trolls as one. Here was a strange act. Lions and crocagators normally couldn't stand one another. Why would two of them work together?

"I admire your future acts," a familiar voice smiled. Sunbeam turned around to see a lion he never thought he'd see again.

"Father, it's you!" Sunbeam cried, tears streaming down his face. "I'm so glad it's you!"

Who exactly are you referring to?"

That was a strange question. His father knew what Sunbeam meant. One of the pleasures of being dead was questioning Sunbeam's motives. As he thought about it, Sunbeam looked back at the lion and the crocagator. Now the lion pinned the troll leader to the ground. The crocagator had his bow pulled back in case the other trolls made a move to help their friend.

"I don't know," Sunbeam admitted. "Who are they?"

"The crocagator is Snap Shot, leader of the Trap Masters," his father explained. "The lion is you, sometime in the near future."

"No it isn't! That's Wildfire! I'm dead! The scorpion got me!"

"You're not dead. I protected you, even when it seemed like it was impossible. No matter how we enter the Rite of Infernos, we always learn something from it...Wildfire."

"So is this...is this some kind of vision? I've heard stories about how lions have special dreams after completing the Rite of Infernos. Is this like that?"

"What do you think?"

"But I never got to the Ember Cave."

"Nobody said you had to get to the Ember Cave in order to receive the dream. Wildfire, this is the destiny that lies before you."

"Wildfire" looked back to the lion and the crocagator. Now the trolls all wore handcuffs. The crocagator gave the lion a friendly nudge on the shoulder. These two, despite their differences, looked to be pretty good friends. They were Trap Masters, and the Trap Masters were of the Skylanders. His destiny was to become a Skylander?

"This is my path?" Wildfire asked.

"Yes, but you won't walk it alone," his father confirmed. "In addition to your new friends, I will also be there. When I died, I never really left you. I simply found another way to watch over you."

Wildfire hugged his father. "I will never let you down!" he promised.

Wildfire opened groggy eyes. His vision returned slowly, and he saw that he was in the Shaman's tent. He looked in the corner to see Setter and Comet carefully watching over him. They both looked exhausted. What had they done all night?

"Setter! He's awake! He's alive!" Comet gasped, grabbing his brother by the arm.

Setter's eyes widened as large as grape fruits, and Wildfire could see relief in them. "Sunbeam! Er, whoever you are now, I'm so sorry!" Sunbeam cried. "I take back every mean thing I've ever said to you! I'm glad you're okay! I never wanted you to die!"

"Slow down! What's going on?" Wildfire grumbled.

"We came back with guards like you wanted. They defeated the scorpion, but then we found you hiding under your shield. The scorpion had scratched your chest, but you were still breathing. The venom should've killed you within the minute. The Shaman healed your wounds, and told everyone to pray for the injured soldier."

"Was he talking about me?"

"Of course. He said that if you managed to survive, that your lion heart would make you a great warrior."

"Well, how long have you been here?"

"All night," Comet explained. "We never left your side. You scared us. There were points in the night when you'd stop breathing, and your whole body would burn with an intense heat. Then you'd start breathing again. The whole thing was weird. You were supposed to be dead, but it was as if your body fought the urge to actually die. "

That had to have been his father, keeping him warm and safe. Wildfire knew the image he'd seen last night had been his father's spirit, protecting him from the scorpion. There was no doubt now. His father had always been there, and that wasn't about to change.

"Did you two even get any sleep last night?" Wildfire asked.

"No. We were too worried," Setter explained. "Everyone had been afraid that you would die."

Another lion entered the tent at the moment. This was the Shaman, advisor to the King of the Clan, and pretty much the most important person there. He looked at Wildfire with awe in his eyes.

"Setter, Comet, you can leave now," the Shaman said as calmly as possible. "I suggest that you get some sleep. We still need to figure out what your true names are."

"But we never-" Comet stammered.

"You're fine. Now go."

Setter and Comet left the tent. The Shaman walked over to Wildfire, the awe still in his eyes. "You're alive?" the Shaman gasped.

"Yeah, I'm alive," Wildfire confirmed. "A bit sore and groggy, but I'm alive."

"I can't believe it. I healed your wounds just in case, but I never expected you to survive a few minutes after getting hit by the scorpion, let alone surviving the night. How is this possible?"

"It's simple, really. My father protected me."

The Shaman nodded his head in agreement. "Even after death, your father always watches over you," he smiled. "Did you have a dream during this time?"

"Yeah," Wildfire confirmed. "My true name is Wildfire."

"A strong name for a strong warrior. Normally an act like yours would've resulted in exile- but we wouldn't let you participate, and if you hadn't gone out there, Setter and Comet would've died. The King and I have decided to let it slip. Did you learn what your destiny is?"

"I'm supposed to-" Wildfire paused. He was supposed to tell the Shaman what his true destiny was. He knew what it was. He also knew that being a Trap Master Skylander was the highest honor anybody from anywhere in Skylands could receive. But...he felt uncomfortable talking about it.

"I'm sorry," Wildfire decided. "With all due respect, I'd rather keep my destiny a secret for now."

"Nobody has ever requested that," the Shaman thought. "I can respect that, however. Until you are ready to reveal your destiny, you will be trained as one of the finest warriors of the Fire Claws Clan. Oh, and one more thing, Wildfire."

The Shaman set a shield on Wildfire's lap. It was his father's shield! No...no, it was Wildfire's shield now. Wildfire carried his father's legacy.

"We were talking...if you didn't make it," the Shaman began, "We were talking about burying that shield with you. We would've done so at your father's funeral, had you not requested to keep it."

"Thank you," Wildfire gasped. He picked up the shield, and looked at his smiling reflection in it. He vowed to keep the shield with him forever, knowing that you would always be protected.