

The Brothers Tuerl

& The Staffs of Zeus

By Bryson Strupp

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Bryson Strupp
Chapter 1-The Crowded Corridor

Irgen Tuerl, a young dark haired boy, strode purposefully up to the large, foreboding doors of Stonebridge High School. His jacket rustled softly in the wind as he reached for the door and wrenched it open. A faint orange glow from the inside lit up his handsome features, accentuating the determined look on his stone cold face. He peered cautiously inside the building, ready to bolt at the first sign of a teacher patrolling the corridors.

Silence awaited him, and he slowly let out a sigh of relief. Warily, he stepped quietly inside, carefully closing the door behind him. His thoughts enveloped him for a moment as he stood on the threshold of the school, then flexing his lean, powerful muscles; he crept stealthily forward into the quiet abyss before him.

After a time he veered his course from the main corridor and stealthily crept down a hallway to the left. As he walked toward the appointed meeting place, his features grew more and more relaxed. His fears of being double crossed dissipated like sand in the wind as the hallways before him yielded only empty space.

His pace quickened as he turned the last corner and found the appointed meeting place in front of him. This hallway was strangely dark. Lights stood as sentinels at either end of the corridor, but the hall itself was an empty chasm of shadows. Through the darkness, Irgen could see the outline of a motionless man standing alone in the middle of the corridor. Irgen marched tenaciously towards the silent figure before him. Even in the dark, Irgen could glimpse the slight shimmer from a bald spot in the man before him. He took a deep breath as his heart and stomach somersaulted with joy at seeing the imperfection in the opponent he was about to face.

He halted twenty feet in front of the motionless figure, and spoke with his assertively calm voice.

"Carson, are you sure you want to fight, if we're caught, we'll be in enough trouble just by being in the school this late." He paused before softly adding "and you know you can't beat me." Silence met Irgen's words, as he squinted at the figure before him. Suddenly a loud burst of laughter filled the hallway, but instead of coming from the man in front of him, it seemed to echo all around Irgen. He turned and found to his dismay, a few of Carson's comrades plodding down the hallway behind him. He turned forward hoping to still have a way to escape, but found people emerging from the shadows in front of him as well.

They formed a circle around him, trapping him. The exuberant joy which had come to Irgen after seeing Carson's bald spot had long since left. It was replaced now with a fear which threatened to make him hurl. Irgen closed his eyes and spoke, a surprisingly calm voice issued forth, soothing his hopeless senses.

"Ten on one?!" Irgen knew it wasn't an accurate number, but he had to vent his irritation somehow. "This is a one on one fight. Come on you guys, I knew you were pretty dull and slow, but even I figured that you could still count." Irgen felt slightly better after uttering the insult and looked coolly around the unnaturally (and unfortunately) crowded hallway, hoping to show by his artificial air that he was by no means disconcerted. The faces surrounding him; however, peered resiliently back at his defiant face. Irgen could not make out who they were in the eerie light.

"Actually, Irgen, there are eight of us." Came Carson's silkily, confident reply.

"It's time you got what's been comin' for yah." Yelled another voice in the shapeless mass which surrounded Irgen.

"Carson you're a sick, disgusting coward if you need this many friends to give you the courage to fight me." A slight flame flickered in Irgen's velvet green eyes as he muttered these words in a barely audible whisper, but everyone in the crowd seemed to hear it. A shudder of anger pulsed through the crowd faster than a fire on a windy mountain. He could feel the anger building up around him as though gunpowder was being poured rapidly into a cannon, waiting only for the fuse to set it off.

He was still looking around him coolly but inside he knew that he needed to bide for more time. He knew this was a fight which, however athletic he might be, he could not win. He could only hope that the extraordinary binding link between his brother and himself would bring him on the scene with a few reinforcements.

He frantically searched inside himself for something that would cool the crowd down a little and keep Carson talking, but try as he might, his mind was only full of insults, which would probably have to wait for a separate occasion. Anxiously he emptied his mind and a thought occurred to him, but as so often happens on occasions such as this, just as he was about to speak Carson attacked. He flippantly tossed an enormous southpaw roundhouse at Irgen, which grazed his cheek as he jumped to the side to dodge it. As the hand was pulled back Irgen shot a glance at the crowd to see who else had joined the fray, but to his astonishment he saw many of them haphazardly scampering away down the hall.

Happiness came back into his soul as he caught sight of his brother, Idus, bolting along the corridor with a look of exasperation, defiance, and anger all rolled up into one on his face. It appeared to Irgen that he saw lightning flashing in Idus' deep sea blue eyes. But that was all Irgen had time to see because just then he was brought back to his senses by Carson reached out with a jab from his right hand. Irgen turned back just in time to catch the punch squarely in the nose. Irgen paused for a quick second, slightly astonished at having actually been hit; suddenly anger erupted from his eyes like a fire spouting from a long dormant volcano. His right arm shot out with enormous force. He felt Carson's face fold beneath his fist, and he knew he was out cold. He looked up and saw five of Carson's friends scatter down the hall terrified of what he might do to them.

He turned again and saw Idus on the floor grappling with the last boy to have the courage to fight the two. Irgen watched as Idus' veins pulsed out of his neck, as the gargantuan fury of a Tuerl was seen pulsating through him. Suddenly Idus picked up the other man and tossed him carelessly down the hallway like a rag doll. The group watched as the boy got up and hobbled away from the group as quickly as he could manage.

Irgen turned back to look at his brother. It was only then that he realized how similar they really were. They were twins, it is true, but they did not look similar. They had the same muscular build, and both were phenomenally handsome with beautiful eyes and a short straight nose, but that is where the similarities seemed to end. Idus was tall and had tan, bronze like skin.

Whereas Irgen stood about three inches shorter with hairier red arms. Their eyes were also different; Idus had deep sea blue eyes which seemed to radiate a sense of understanding and hope. Irgen had velvet green eyes which seemed to pierce you to the very core. Their hair was different as well. Whereas Idus' was straight, black, and well-kept, Irgen's was dark brown and curly. Their chins differed as well, for while Idus' was strong and pronounced; Irgen's hung back and barely came out as far as his lips. They also had an enormous personality difference, although they were both characteristically charismatic. Idus carried himself with a kind of benevolent silence about him. He thought before he acted. Irgen on the other hand was extremely reckless. He loved boldness and scorned prudence.

Both of the brothers were geniuses, and more than that they were extremely athletic geniuses, a very strange combination. But now as Irgen looked at his brother and the storm that flickered in his eyes, he felt he saw himself. He noticed the furrowed eyebrows, the veins sticking out of his body. He thought of how different they were and yet...He realized that they were the same, once you got down past the outward countenance and got down to the heart you could see. They were one. An interesting feeling began to build in himself as he sat there thinking, and he thought perhaps this was why they had such a strong connection with one another. Perhaps this was why they knew when the other was in danger, or why they knew that the other was hiding something from another. Maybe this was why they felt...

"Irgen."

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt at the sound of his brother's melodious baritone voice (something they shared as well). Although now it was stern and unyielding, and he knew his brother was about to pass judgment on his actions.

"Irgen, I don't understand you. Why did you have to go and run headlong into this fight? Did you really think that when Carson challenged you that he was just going to let you fight him alone, man to man. Let alone the fact you are fighting in the school, at midnight! Do you know how much trouble you would have been in if you had been caught or if Carson had just set you up? You're a week away from your sixteenth birthday. You ought to know better. I'm afraid I'm not always going to be around to help you out of tight spots."

Irgen felt a pang in the pit of his stomach, and he knew his brother was right. After the thrill and excitement of the fight these words made his revelry in their victory come to an abrupt end. He wanted to somehow express gratitude, but after these last words Idus turned on his heel and walked pointedly away. He left a depressed young man staring dejectedly at his disappointed, disappearing brother.

"Idus!" He yelled, but the shout landed on deaf ears.
Chapter 2-The Strange Stranger

As Idus emerged into the street adjacent to the school he looked into the depressingly cloudy night sky and took a deep gasp of the refreshingly cold air. He was finally able to calm down and reflect upon the recent events.

He realized he had left quickly because he was frustrated with his brother's inability to take advice from anyone, including himself. Irgen hadn't even bothered to let him in on when or where the fight was to take place. It was only by chance, that he had found him.......CHANCE...His thoughts trailed off, wait, Idus thought to himself. It was not by chance he had felt a strong feeling he needed make an unprecedented trip to the school. It was not by chance that he had felt a sudden desire to stride to the front gates of the school, which were always kept locked after school hours, and push them open, only to find that they were not locked. And it was definitely not chance as to why he felt his brother was in danger as he sprinted along the corridors of the school, but...If it wasn't chance...Then what was it?

He had known for years he and his brother had a strange connection with each other. He had also come to realize that this wasn't something which normally occurred between brothers, even twins. In fact he had come to realize this connection wasn't just abnormal it was downright strange.

But as interesting as thinking about this connection was, his thoughts remained aloof and elsewhere. He had thought much on this subject before, and now he remembered something else which he needed to think about. Why had the door been unlocked? And why did everyone scatter when had come down the hall? It was only him and as disconcerting as his surprise appearance might have been, surely it couldn't have been enough to make twelve of the group scatter at once.

These many thoughts enveloped his mind as he stood there alone or at least... so he thought.

He started walking down his street Bohemian Boulevard to his home when suddenly he heard a rustling of the brush near him. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked in apprehension at the side of the road where the sound had come from, and he saw a shabbily dressed man disentangling his foot from the underbrush; he fell with a thud as the foot came loose, but not seeming at all embarrassed, the man jumped up and briskly strode towards him carrying what looked like a cane of some sort.

Idus took the stranger's ragged clothes in with one glance. He looked with a somewhat pitiful expression as he saw the pieces of cloth; from what looked like was once a robe, dangle off the stranger like a thin spider. Under the robe he wore what appeared to be a very old and well-worn sweater. His pants too were in a state of disarray. They looked as though he had just had to walk through an acre long field of saw grass. Idus did not know what to do. One side of him said to run but the other side of him was curious to see just who this stranger was. It appeared to Idus as he looked at him that this man was in a hurry, indeed he seemed as though he were frantically searching for something and in this sense of urgency he almost walked right past Idus, but just as he passed him he stopped and turned around quickly, and with relief in his face he asked,

"You're Idus are you not?" And then, as though not expecting an answer from Idus, he continued, "Where is your brother? It is imperative that I speak to both of you without any delay. It is a matter of life and death for all of us."

Idus was once again taken aback at the bold manner of this man. He was quite uncertain what he should do with himself as he tried to pull the fragments of his thoughts back together to create an intelligible response. He paused for a second and then managed to stammer out "W...Why do you need to talk to us?"

"That is a question, my friend, which will have to go unanswered for the time being. There are too many ears about us. Quickly we need to get to your mother's house and most importantly we need to find your brother."

"b...b...b...but Sir why...."

"There's a time for talking and now is not it!" Was his rigid response "Now let's-move!"

The stranger grabbed Idus by the collar of his shirt and started dragging him towards his mother's house. Idus felt a strange solace bringing strength in this stranger, and absentmindedly resolved to go with him. So resigning himself to whatever fate lay in store for him with the stranger; Idus began to walk alongside the shabbily dressed man. Curiosity had prevailed.
Chapter 3-The Tuerls' Abode

As they walked, Idus could not help but receive an entirely different image of the man before him. At the first sight of him Idus had been frightened at the state of the man, but he had noticed something in his bright blue eyes seemed to emit certain warmth. Now as he looked searchingly at the man he got a completely different opinion of him. Idus noticed now that the man was tall, and well-built. He also noticed the stranger had a calming bass voice even when it spoke of urgent matters, and now Idus seemed to notice he looked shabbily dressed not because he didn't have money to keep his clothes in good condition, for in fact his clothes looked rather well cared for. But it appeared to Idus that he dressed this way on purpose. It looked as though he WANTED to look poor.

This idea blew Idus away. He could not fathom why someone would want to look poor. After all, his whole life he had tried to avoid appearing underprivileged. He had taken great measures as a young man to ensure that only those people who were truly his friends would find out where his house was, or what it looked like. He had fought against his poverty his entire life and yet here, standing before him, was a man who WANTED to look poor...

Suddenly they came to the small drive which led into the Tuerl's even smaller house. The stranger, not noticing Idus' embarrassment at the sight of his house, walked undeterred with his long stride up to the front door of the house and knocked, but not only did he knock but he added the words "Jennifer." Idus stood bewildered at how this man knew his mother's name. "Open the door." He paused before adding "I have news about your husband."

Suddenly Idus' thoughts were interrupted yet again; this was twice that the stranger had managed to completely shatter his train of thought. But this time it was a feeling of shock which accompanied his new blank mind. His mind was shattered for a moment before the fragments of his thoughts suddenly began to swirl in his mind again, and he began to realize what the stranger had just said. His father had just been spoken of by the stranger, a father-whom he had never met.

His Mother had told the two brothers that he had been killed by an avalanche while skiing one bitterly cold winter's day. She had shown them articles about the accident, which she kept in a little shoebox under the foot of her bed, and the two brothers had often snuck into the bedroom to look at the pictures she had hidden there. Idus had looked at the articles many times and he knew it was a verifiable fact their father was dead, but why then did this man speak as though news had just come from their father. What "news" could really be dug up from a man who had died some 15 years ago?

Suddenly the door was opened and a very pretty woman in her late 30's opened the door. She had an anxious expression on her face and the careworn lines which engulfed her face seemed to show the constant stress she was under. However, all these years of constant stress, from being the only one to look after these two boys, had not completely driven away her former youthful beauty. She still had the same domineering look which made people feel as if she could read their minds. She also had the same flowingly silky black hair, and she also had the velvet green eyes which Irgen had inherited.

"May we come in Jennifer?"

"Of course, Blackington."

Once again Idus' thoughts enveloped him. How could she know his name? How could she know this man whom, in Idus' entire life, he could not ever remember seeing? Not only that but why was she giving him such an eager and appraising look as though she was waiting for a scouting report from a long-expected general.

They entered the small entryway and the door closed behind them, although Idus' could not tell who had closed it. He looked around dolefully at his diminutive house. Right now they were in the small entryway and away to the left a little, was a cramped little kitchen where a minute table appeared to have just squeezed in between the stove and the wall. Directly in front of them there was a skinny hallway hardly wide enough for a broad-shouldered man to walk through.

At the end of this small hallway stood two doors, inside one was a large and spacious room. (At least compared to the rest of the house) This was where the two brothers slept. There were bunk beds pushed up against one of the walls leaving enough space for two drawers pushed up against the other wall and a slight space in the middle of the room which acted as another hallway to the door at the other end of the room which was the bathroom.

The bathroom contained a very small shower with a toilet right next to it, showering the person sitting there with a kind of claustrophobic feeling of being in too tight of a space. The room on the other side of the hallway was another very small room which did not seem to have enough space for the small twin sized bed that filled it completely. This was where Jennifer slept. And this was where the Tuerls lived.

"Well Blackington, you said you had news about my husband?" Jennifer looked quizzically at him.

"Yes, Jennifer I have news about him although I am afraid it is not good news." He paused before continuing. "And that is why I am here on such short notice, and that is also why I need to talk to both of your boys as quickly as possible."

"But they're not yet of age, you know that." Jennifer's sharp reply confused Idus. "Not of age" what was that supposed to mean.

"No not yet, but it's time that they knew what they are... and once you find out was has happened to your husband you will want them to know as well. Besides they have already shown to have an astonishing aptitude for what is about to be thrust upon them." What they are? Talking about his father as though he were present, what did this all mean? If anyone was to be asked it wouldn't be Idus, for he could not make heads or tails of the situation. He simply stared with a slight opening in his mouth at the two adults.

"But it is not time yet..."

"You're husband appointed me to be their protector and I believe it is time, and there will be no further arguments." There was a slight silence during which Idus' mind continued to blur, although now he was having trouble trying to comprehend what was going on outside of him. "But I must find Irgen before I begin." He looked anxiously at Jennifer. "Right now we are in a danger such as we have never been in before; I must find Irgen." He repeated himself with more conviction this time. "My comrades and I will only then be able to protect you."

"Alright... if you're sure." Jennifer gave a slight sigh and sat down in one of the chairs around the cramped table.

"Idus where was the last place you saw your brother?" Blackington asked.

Idus stared blankly at Blackington's question before finally replying with great effort "Saw... At... School... He..." Blackington's sharp voice cut in:

"Thank you Jennifer. Idus come with me; hopefully..." He paused searching for words "we'll be right back."

With these words He opened the door, and he and Idus walked out of the house into the cold blanket of night, leaving just as fast as they had come. At another time Idus might have found something humorous in how often he did this tonight, but now he merely bleakly followed the man out the door into the blanket of darkness.
Chapter 4-Magic

Irgen had been sitting on the sidewalk at the school for the past hour, relentlessly going over the night's events in his head. True he had been impulsive and had recklessly run into a fight naively, but surely that wasn't enough to anger his brother, right?

Irgen's endlessly recurring thoughts were starting to drive him crazy, but the only way to stop them would be to return home, and he was not quite sure of whether or not it was ok to do so yet. He felt it better to be on the safe side and make his mother begin to worry about him a little, so as to receive a kind of sympathy bonus in his almost unavoidable punishment.

Finally he got up and decided his punishment couldn't be worse than the one which was attacking his mind, so he began to stand up to head home. As he got up he felt the faint cold breeze upon the nape of his neck quit entirely, he unexpectedly felt the hairs on the back of his head and arms stand up. He looked around hastily to reassure himself all was well, and found, to his horror, what looked like a black shadow moving towards him. Terrified, he turned to run, but it was too late. He felt his knees buckle and his calves tighten as though he had just been seized by cords around his legs. He tripped and began to fall, but as soon as his head began to plummet towards the earth, he felt his legs being lifted up into the air holding him aloft by some invisible force.

He turned around, frantically trying to keep his shirt from folding over his head, so he might catch a glimpse of who or what his captor was, but he could only make out the eerie shadow of whatever it was. The shadow, it seemed to him, absorbed all the light around it, for how else could something be blacker than night? Indeed, he did not consider it at all possible. As he was thinking this, a loud, high pitched, wheezing cackle rent the air surrounding the shadow.

"Look at the all mighty and all-powerful Tuerl." The cackle pierced the air again, although compared to the high scraping voice it almost sounded beautiful, "I would have expected a bit more of a struggle out of someone who has had so much said about them."

Gradually, Irgen felt the slight breeze start again, and although the shadow didn't seem to notice it, it seemed warm to Irgen, and although he had never heard of such a thing happening, it seemed to endow him with hope and strength. He looked about him again, but this time not with panic stricken eyes. Instead he looked about him with a reassured glance as if, for some reason, he already knew he was going to be all right.

Then the voice spoke again although it was interrupted constantly by the annoying cackle, "You see my young friend. Prophecies don't mean a thing...hehehee. If you manage to hunt down...hehe, and kill those whom the prophecy is about...hehehehee, while they're still little whelps." The shadow stooped down as an infuriatingly long cackle echoed through the streets. The shadow looked as though it was about to die from laughter.

Irgen didn't know the first thing about prophecies, but regardless of what this man was referring to, he was starting to get on Irgen's nerves. He felt his blood start to boil inside of him, and the invisible force which held him in the air evaporated and Irgen dropped to the ground. He was off the ground again in a flash, and this time the flash came from his eyes.

A fire had awoken in them and each eye seemed to smolder. Suddenly Irgen felt his hands being pushed together and while he did not understand why. He knew this was what was supposed to happen. He watched as a revolving ball of flame seemed to form in the midst of his two hands. He concentrated on it and it grew bigger and bigger until it seemed to touch both hands but instead of causing a burning, searing sensation as he supposed would happen, he felt only a warmth go throughout his body which seemed to enflame his body and gave him only more hope. He looked up, and in the now blazing light saw the shadow before him. It was no longer on the ground laughing, and now Idus could see what it was.

He realized now it was a man with exceptionally black armor which, even now in the bright dancing light of the flame, did not give off the faintest glimmer. However, he could make out small distinct lines every so often and decided that it must be plate armor. Irgen also saw before him a tall, skinny man with haughty brown eyes, a furrowed brow, a hooked nose, and long black hair. After staring poignantly at those haughty brown eyes Irgen felt an urge to force the fireball at the man.

Once again he did not know why it happened, but the flame circling in his hands suddenly seemed to leap forward at the man, but to Irgen's surprise the man was ready. He merely lazily lifted a sinisterly mangled brown staff, with a black stone set atop it,(A staff which Irgen had failed to observe while looking at the armor) and a large jet of water issued forth disintegrating the fireball as it spun forward. Once again the high pitched cackle pierced the air and fear flooded Irgen's heart again, but he noticed that even though the fireball was gone the brilliant light was not; he looked at himself, and saw to his astonishment his body was bathed in the dazzling light, and once again he felt his inward doubt leave him.

Once again the cackle burst into the night air, "There's the bit of fight I was looking for." The man's cackle faded as he paused; it seemed he no longer considering this to be a funny game. "You truly would have been a powerful mage if you had not met your doom by-me! Doing magic without a staff and before the age of 16, how--fascinating." The slithering pronunciation of how fascinating made Irgen's skin crawl.

After these words, it seemed to Irgen the man flashed him an appraising, envious look. But then it disappeared as the stranger reached for his belt and pulled out a sword which absorbed, if it were possible, even more light than the armor. "Too bad I'm going to be the only mage to ever see such a thing." The stranger cackled again and then leapt forward at Irgen with the sword ready for a quick lunging motion. "This is your end boy!" He screamed.

"Ah... there you may have just caught a little snag Claudius." The stranger's sprint halted at the sound of the voice and both of them turned to look at the sound of the voice and saw another man striding towards them, followed behind by a young man, whom Irgen recognized as his brother. Blackington's booming bass voice seemed to have unsettled the stranger whose name appeared to be Claudius. "You surprise even me Nero. You found us much quicker than I believed you would."

"Of course I found you quickly Blackington! You and your protective clan. What is it that you call yourselves the Knights of the Tower Guard or something like that? Maybe I should start to address you as Sir Blackington, eh?" He cackled again although this time it appeared menacing and disdainful.

"Oh you may address me as you please Nero." Blackington paused as if the condescension was just too much, "But I will always feel pity for the creature you have become."

"Enough!!! It is time to end this Blackington." And suddenly his eyes flashed red and he began to rise into the air. He was now emitting a kind of light but it did not seem to bring hope as Irgen's had, instead he emitted a kind of terrifyingly fearful green glow about him.

Blackington surveyed him rising off the ground for a moment, and then his own eyes became two bright blue diamonds. The two brothers watched in astonishment as his ragged clothes disentangled themselves from his body and revealed a glistening white suit of dazzling plate armor. His cane too had transformed into a gleaming white staff, with a blue sapphire at the top of it. He began to rise into the air as well, and the two opponents began to circle each other.

Back on the ground the two brothers had come together and we're looking dumbfounded at one another. Neither knew what to do or what was truly happening for that matter. Neither of them even showed the slightest sign of having noticed the full moon had finally emerged from the clouds. However, they did notice as a loud crack ripped through the air and their attention turned back to staring steadfastly into the sky.

Nero it seemed had tried to strike first, and he had sent a blinding flash of red light screaming at Blackington. Blackington deflected it with a quick wave of his staff and then he had counterattacked with his own flash of blue. But unlike Nero's screaming line, Blackington's blue flash seemed to create a circular spinning motion which left a small gap in the middle of it as it wound its way forward. Nero just managed to dodge this spell before sending an enormous barrage of spells in Blackington's direction, but Blackington took almost no notice of them and carelessly waved them away with his staff.

"It's too bad you haven't improved much Nero. You know, if you had, you might have been able to make your last moments in life educational for these two young brothers. All in all, at least they'll learn from your mistake of wasting your days of probation." Out of the blue, he stopped, letting out a deep booming laugh.

"Or maybe they'll learn to not be arrogant like you." Was Nero's wheezy reply.

He stooped down like a cat getting ready to strike, and then he appeared to leap forward but as his arms spread out a colossal dragon formed right in front of him. It began to beat its gigantic black wings against the night air. The moonlight revealed glisteningly hard scales covering its entire seemingly flawless body.

Once again Blackington did not seem at all flustered by this new bit of magic. Instead he seemed to be muttering some incantations of his own and then suddenly in front of him appeared a gargantuan, sleek, milky white panther with those same blue diamond eyes.

The brothers watched apprehensively from the ground, as the gargantuan animal fell like a comet from the sky with Blackington behind him.

Nero, who had started his annoying cackle at the appearance of his dragon, now cut it off ungracefully as a lump seemed to have blocked the air passageway in his throat.

"What's the matter Claudius? Cat got your tongue?" Once again Blackington's laugh boomed in the sky. The dragon lurched into a downward spiral. Its mouth opened revealing a pallet of sharp yellow teeth. Fire smoldered in its eyes as it veered menacingly at the crouching panther. Just then the panther struck. It leaped forward with strength worthy of 100 such beasts, reaching straight for the eyes of the dragon. There was a horrible ripping sound as the claws of the panther racked the dragon's skull. The dragon let out a terrifying roar as a burst of flame flew towards where the cat had just been. Its wings folded underneath the mighty paws of the cat and unable to see the dragon careened out of control, crashing into the earth throwing dirt everywhere. Blackington just escaped as he leaped clumsily to the side. Like a flash the two animals were on their feet. This time it was the dragon's turn to strike as it leaped forward striking down like a blacksmith on an anvil with its enormous talons. The panther's graceful quickness barely avoided the lethal stroke as it stepped to the side. But the talons still drew blood as they menacingly scraped the panther's side. The dragon snorted with glee, but it had made a mistake, the panther was now behind its protective claws. The angry panther leaped forward latching its sharp teeth onto the dragon's throat like a tick, forcing its teeth through the thick black scales. This time the dragon let out a ear-wrenching roar, rearing back on its hind legs. Its front talons plunged into the panther throwing it onto its back, and then it leaped into the air, its dark boiling blood falling like hissing acid rain on the ground. There was a blinding flash and both the dragon and Nero disappeared.

The two brothers watched as Blackington moved towards his panther, he glanced irritably at the spot where Nero had only seconds before stood. The majestic panther was lying on the ground whimpering. Blackington reached his hand down into the tender belly of the panther, and looked up at the boys. "He'll be ok," he said with a sigh as he collapsed on the ground next to the panther, "He's punctured but not too deep. It won't be hard to wash out the dragon's poison." He pointed his staff towards underside of the panther and began muttering. A strange airy looking substance floated out of his staff and into the few puncture wounds. A few seconds later it came back carrying dark black blood. The panther slowly stood up, and Blackington whispered a few words in its ear before it too disappeared with a flash. Then he turned back to the boys and the bright blue diamonds he had for eyes faded until only the warm blue circles surrounding his black pupils remained. He muttered a few words and the clothing which lay on the ground wrapped itself back around him completely covering the exquisitely white armor.

"Grab a hold of me you two." He said commandingly addressing the two of them. "We need to get back to your mother's quickly; there is much to talk about."

Irgen and Idus exchanged somewhat confused looks before finally grabbing a hold of him. They saw a bright flash of light and they felt the air roaring incessantly about them and saw the earth flowing away underneath them and then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped, and they felt ground beneath them again as they let go of Blackington.

They looked around and saw they were back at the entrance to their small house. The door swung open and there was their mother standing in the doorway with a relieved look on her face. And as the door swung open even more Irgen and Idus could see five men standing behind her.

Blackington saw the two boys' apprehensive looks and said in his commanding voice, "These, my boys, are Knights of the Tower Guard, and they are here to protect you." After hearing these soothing words they entered the overly-crowded, cramped house, thinking of the wonders they had just seen, and of what new wonders awaited them.

Chapter 5 The White Citadel

After the two boys passed the doorway, Blackington squeezed his way in and closed the door behind him. Irgen and Idus looked around them, and in this tiny enclosed space they finally started to grasp what had just happened. At their entrance the room fell silent. It seemed everyone was waiting for one of them to speak. After a long silence Idus finally managed to splutter "What... Going... On?"

All seven of the adults in the crowded entryway burst out laughing, but it wasn't the kind of easygoing laughter you would normally hear. Instead, it was loud and obnoxious, for it was at one of those times of great stress and danger during which it seems as though everyone is put in a pressure cooker and the steam inside of it builds and builds until the the top comes off and all the steam is let out, and although Idus didn't know it, the words he had just spoken had opened the pressure cooker.

"Well done lad." Cried a voice from the 5 men behind Jennifer. "What.. Going... On.... Indeed." As he spoke these words his dark brown eyes brimmed over with mirth and he began guffawing loudly again.

The laughter filled the air in the house for a long while until even Irgen and Idus had joined in. Finally it began to fade and Blackington started to speak, still wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, he addressed the men in the back. "Have Brown and LeShore been sent to wipe memories and clear the scene of the fight?"

"Oh... ummm... Yes Thomas yes they have." Came the same cheery voice from the back of the room.

"Hmmmm... If that's the case then I fear we have lingered here too long. For fifteen years we avoided using magic here to leave no trace of you two being in this area, but now, after tonight, it could only be a matter of seconds before they track us here into this very house." Suddenly the atmosphere became pressurized and charged again. Blackington had just put the top back on.

"Alexander, I need you to get a message to Brown and LeShore... Let them know we are heading back to headquarters, and have them come as quickly as possible. We have no time left to mingle with Spartans. Now quickly, Irgen, Idus, grab a hold of me again. We'll see the rest of you in a few minutes," Then he paused and whispered "and Alex do hurry." With these words six flashes of bright white light illuminated the house, and the small portly figure of Alex was left alone, scurrying hurriedly out of the house.

Irgen and Idus once again heard the air whistling around them, but this time they also felt as if an unseen force was holding them next to Blackington and also shielding them from the enormous force of the wind around them. They also had relaxed enough now to be able to focus on the beautiful landscape which flew rapidly beneath their feet. They watched with undivided attention as they flew over the expansive Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and then through the wide open plains of the Midwestern United States. They continued onward and suddenly they were passing a coast that they decided must be the Atlantic coast, but before they could recognize any sights the coast had shrunken away into the distance and they were flying over the wide open, vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

It was during this time that the sun reappeared on the horizon. After a couple of minutes they found coastline again, but this time it was coming towards them, not going away. They watched, astonished, as they passed over more water and then back onto land, and then they finally felt themselves start to descend towards the earth again. But as they descended it seemed as though the earth rose up to meet them. It was only then the brothers realized they had entered a mountain range.

Then just as suddenly as their ride had begun, they found themselves on dry ground staring up at the sun which was now getting high in the sky. Next to them they found the four other Knights and Jennifer. They seemed to have arrived a little while before. The thought occurred to Idus that maybe lighter people traveled faster using whatever kind of mage travel they had just used.

Irgen and Idus let go of Blackington and began to look around. Irgen looked north and found they were on a lush green, steppe-like clearing in the middle of a mountain slope. He could see the snow-capped tops of the surrounding mountains, and nearby he could see the beautiful, tall evergreen trees.

Idus on the other hand looked south and gasped in astonishment at what he saw. Before him stood an immense, ornate, stone castle spiraling into the sky next to a massive mountain. He looked in wonder at the beauty which seemed to radiate from the very simplest walls of the castle. Idus sat stupefied by what he was seeing and it wasn't until Irgen turned around and gasped that he found himself able to take in the details of it.

The castle was protected on the outside by a large fifty foot white granite wall with a stupendously strong, gaping steel gate. The castle itself was surrounded by four large stone towers which rose gracefully into the air until ending roughly in a spiraling point. Each tower had its own flag perched precariously at the top of the spiral, although they were each different colors. One was brilliantly red, while another was dark blue, and another was luscious green and the last one was a bright electric yellow. Each of these towers was in turn connected to a gigantic middle turret which rose like a giant behemoth into the air until it stopped at what appeared to be a flat terrace. In the middle of this flat terrace was the largest flag of them all. Standing like a proud eagle on top of the tallest tower was a large resilient white flag, but there was something strange about each of these flags for they did not just dully reflect the light from the sun. Instead, they seemed to create a brilliant radiance of their own, which caused each to shine and sparkle even, as Irgen thought, in the darkest night.

"Welcome my friends to the north European Alps, and to the White Citadel. Although it's real name is Weiße Zitadelle." Irgen and Idus looked at him with shocked expressions on their faces, for in this new environment he looked positively cheerful, something they didn't think could ever register on what they had supposed was a rather depressed face. "Shall we go inside?" Came the blissful, deep voice. With these last words the eight of them walked through the formidable gates, onto a cobblestone street, surrounded by a vividly green lawn, which went off into the distance before it came to a halt next to a massive stone door, which was the entrance to the largest and most dominating, central tower.
Chapter 6-An Eternal Fortress

They began walking forward along the remarkably flat cobblestone street. Irgen and Idus listened to the merry echoing of pattering feet as their footsteps rebounded off the walls. Suddenly Idus had something strange happen to him, which hadn't occurred in almost an entire night...He had a thought, well more of a question really, but still his mind grasped something... Something he considered a rather large step.

"Er, Thomas, or Blackington, or whatever. Isn't this, well kind of a big castle, here in the middle of the hills, can't people see it here?" Idus looked quite beside himself with joy that was the first intelligent sentence he had uttered in over a day.

"Ah..." Blackington paused before flashing a jovial smile. "I never properly introduced myself now did I? My name is Thomas Tarentus Blackington. But you may just call me Thomas. And you see Idus, this entire fortress was built by magic, which means that no Spartan can see or even touch it for that matter. It doesn't exist according to their imagination." He lingered for a second before continuing, "And here we have one of the six fortresses of eternity." He paused again as though waiting for the full affect of what he had just said to hit them, but they just looked confusedly back at him. "You're not telling me that you haven't heard of the fortresses of eternity?" His voice sounded shocked. They both shook their heads and he exclaimed. "Good lord. You two really have been kept in the dark for your whole lives haven't you?"

"It would appear so," came the sarcastic voice of Irgen. He grinned just as Idus had, at finally being able to speak again.

"Well... where to begin, where to begin? Well I suppose I can tell you that originally there were only four fortresses but the last two, one of which is this one, were made in secret, although they all have the same deep magic woven around them. They were built as safe havens for mages. So no one, whom the current owner of the fortress does not want to allow in, will be able to find it. Even those who have seen it before and know where it is. However, the owner has to have good reason, bordering on protective reasons, as to why that person shouldn't be admitted to the haven, for that person not to find it." He had uttered all these words with almost no breath. It seemed as though he was trying to tell them something he thought they couldn't grasp, because they did not understand this magical world.

He surveyed them with his bright blue eyes for a second before finally saying, "Well, if you don't quite understand it yet. I'll tell you the whole story as soon as we enter the tower."

And once again silence fell over the group as they continued along the beaten path to the tower. Finally they reached the ancient stone door and it swung gracefully open as if to say, "Welcome Home". Blackington led the way into the tower and everyone else followed suit until only Irgen and Idus were left outside. They gave each other a quick glance and they seemed to feel in their hearts that all they had ever known, their lives of sports, school, and play, was at an end. They both stiffened simultaneously, and with two rapidly beating hearts, they stepped boldly into the tower.
Chapter 7-Many Things Explained

As they entered, they felt as if they had been plunged into a bucket of cold water. It seemed the midday heat from the outside could not penetrate the cold stone walls of the tower, and yet the cold did not seem to pierce their skin very deeply at all. Irgen and Idus noticed it had all the affects of being cold and refreshing, but it did not cause them to shiver. In fact it did not appear to cause any sort of discomfort at all. To Irgen it felt like the direct opposite of the warmth he had felt flowing through him. It seemed to him, the cold was meant to provide a relaxing and calming air, just as the warmth was meant to give him strength and hope.

After taking a moment to get used to this strange new environment, the brothers eagerly looked around to see what the inside of such an ancient tower could truly look like.

The tower emanated a light of its own, it seemed almost as bright as it had been outside although the brother's could not tell where the light came from.

On first glance, they were amazed to see loud lavender carpeting covering the floor. They looked at the walls to see enormous, beautifully woven tapestries draping the circular walls. Unintelligible inscriptions and insignias lined the effulgent silk hangings. In the middle of the room was a huge winding staircase, which as far was the brothers could tell wasn't supported by anything, and yet it seemed to ascend infinitely upward, at least until it came into contact with the second floor, which was 50 feet in the air above them, and disappeared from sight. The staircase was also built of quite anciently cut stone, but as they examined it, as well as they could examine something like that from such a distance, they could see no cracks or chips. Indeed they could see nothing which had compromised the ancient stonework even in its advanced age.

To the immediate left of the staircase stood a large rectangular table, but it was relatively unique in comparison to the stonework surrounding it. Instead of being built out of some kind of ancient granite, the table seemed to be carved entirely out of a single large white stone. Irgen and Idus could not tell whether it was pieced together out of a certain gem of some kind, or just a huge rock that had been magically stretched and cut into its rectangular shape.

Blackington noticed their quizzical looks on seeing it and said with pride, "This is where we knights sit in council. Its real name is Ο πίνακας Αριστοτέλη, or the table Aristotle." His eyes flashed happily as he continued, "We who speak English would call it... Aristotle's Table." This time the effect which he had hoped his words would produced, occurred. Both Irgen and Idus looked at the stone with a kind of revered silence. He smiled joyfully at finally producing an affect and continued, "And it is because of Aristotle that we have most of the tale you are about to hear."

The group walked to the table and sat down in chairs which magically materialized beside them. Irgen and Idus had grown so used to bizarre occurrences during the past few hours, that upon seeing the chairs, astonishment hardly even registered in their faces. Instead they sat down and found to their not so great surprise that the table was almost right where their knees were.

"Why isn't the table taller?" Irgen asked, amazed that in a world of magic they couldn't make taller tables.

"Well like I said it was once Aristotle's table, and when he sat at it, he sat on the floor not on chairs such as we have... But fortunately we may change it a little." Suddenly his staff's blue gem started to glow and the legs on the table extended upward creating a comfortable sitting table (Irgen noticed as well that it was perfect height for sleeping as well). "There, that's a little more comfortable. Eh?" He said with his kind, cheerfully deep voice.

Soon they were all seated around the table and Blackington looked pointedly at Jennifer before saying, "Jenny you're their mother. You have done wonderfully in keeping the secrets of our ways hidden from them until now...But now, it is time to tell them our tale, and since you are their mother I think you should be the one to do it." Jennifer looked at him with gratitude and nodded, and then her beautiful, clear Alto voice rang out into the silence.

"My sons, today you will hear the entire truth of things which have been withheld from you for your whole lives, perhaps merely because your father and I thought that it would offer you some protection from the world in which we live.

We wanted you to grow up and live without the dangers of magic. We wanted you to be able to grow and become strong. We wanted you to test your abilities and not feel the heavy pressures which were looming ever larger as you grew older. This is why we have kept so much hidden from you..." She stopped as if trying to grasp the right words for what had to be said and finally she continued. "I say we... because your father is not dead... In fact he is not only not dead, but you two have no idea how much of him is alive inside each of you." She halted again although this time she was unmistakably trying to choke back her tears.

"It has almost killed him these 16 long years, the agony of not being able to talk to his sons. To hold them in his arms, or to merely give them the knowledge that he exists, that he lives and breathes as they do. He has always wanted you both to know of his love for you, but yet again we decided he was too much of a risk and that he was too traceable. We decided the enemy would be on the watch for anywhere he went or anything he did, so he couldn't visit you, not even in disguise.

You boys do not know the torment he went through. You may think you understand, but you thought he had died before your birth. You did not have to live with the knowledge that your sons, who were: alive, breathing, and excelling in everything they did, could never be seen by you until their sixteenth birthday." She stopped again breaking into sobs and giving her sons a look of motherly sadness they had never seen on her face until then.

Everyone was too absorbed with the tale Jennifer was telling to notice the change that had come on Blackington's face. He no longer wore that same cheery look which had illuminated his face at the sight of the castle. The smile too that he had worn earlier was gone, and he now wore a slight grimace, and his face looked as though it were in some pain, but he could not bring himself to interject anything into the tender atmosphere around him. Instead he just shifted uncomfortably in his seat. However, he was saved from having to do so because it was Idus who broke the silence first.

It came after a long silence, broken only by Jennifer's tears, Idus finally asked in a slow solemn and yet naively inquiring voice.

"Mom, you say that our father loves us very much... which may be the case, but I still have not seen him. And I would think that after the recent course of events, it would be safe for him to show himself, but instead he sends the man he appointed as guardian of us... Why did he not come himself? And why is he not here, waiting for us, if this castle is so safe?" Both Idus and Irgen sat staring attentively at their mother's face, but not as though waiting for an answer.

For them, a father had never existed. They had never had the opportunity to get to know such a man, and previous to last night they would not have believed such a man existed. But now they knew their mother was telling the truth. They had watched as their astonishingly tough mother had completely lost control of her emotions over someone they had never met.

Now they watched her face, at the tears that were flowing down her suddenly youthful face. And they felt in their own eyes the same moisture, which sparkled on her face; begin to drip out of their gentle eyes. The three of them looked at each other, each trying profoundly to control themselves enough to say something, but indeed nothing needed to be said. For they all understood one another. Indeed Idus had known before he had asked his question that his mother did not where his father was. So instead of looking at his mother quizzically as though waiting for an answer, there was in his eyes the same picture of understanding that reflected in the eyes of his mother and brother.

However, there was someone there who did know the fate of their father, and now Blackington felt it was his time to break what seemed to him as a stifling silence. He pensively cleared his throat and started his woeful tale, "My young friends." He stopped to clear his throat again, and it seemed his deep cheerful voice was becoming choked up as well. "Your mother does not know what has happened to your father. In fact, I am the only person here who does, and therefore it is left up to me to tell the unmistakably misfortunate, mournful tale."

He looked at the faces around him to check how his audience was thinking of the bearer of the bad news. What he saw did not encourage him. All three of the Tuerls were staring at him with disbelief in their eyes, apprehensively awaiting the worst. But not only were they surprised but so were the other four Knights listening around the table.

He continued pensively although this time he could not master the cracking in his voice, no matter how many times he tried to clear his throat, "I was with your father yesterday morning. We were in Innsbruck for dinner, as we were prone to doing of late, and we had decided to take a walk to the outskirts of the city and enjoy the surrounding countryside. Well, we began our little stroll, and just as we reached the countryside André turned to me and said "You know Thomas, in one week I'm finally going to get to meet my two boys." That was it... That was all he said, and yet I knew that we were now in danger. You see, we never spoke of you two outside of the castle, for fear of being overheard, and I knew we had just been plunged into an extremely precarious position. André was tracked everywhere he went by at least one if not more Tenebri. You see they did not know, but they had always suspected he had a family. They knew the time for the fulfillment of the prophecy was nigh, strange things were beginning to happen to their powers. And they feared André had hidden his posterity, the very posterity that was supposed to change everything, so they were always watching, making sure that any secret he had they would know about." He paused again and this time he kind of hack coughed as he cleared his throat.

He took a deep breath before continuing, "I turned to look at him to warn him of his blunder, but I was too late. All around me were flashes of light as Tenebri emerged into the twilight surrounding me. I got out my staff and just as I was about to jump full into the battle I heard him yell "Thomas go... I named you protector, save them, I'll be fine." For a moment I wasn't quite sure what to do. Frankly I wasn't at all up to just leaving André to fight the Tenebri by himself, but then I felt a spell hit me and I felt myself being teleported through the air back to the castle.

When I landed a few seconds later, I could think of nothing but what my best friend André had told me. I heard the words "save them" echoing over and over again in my mind. But I could not. All I could think of was André and what had happened to him. After waiting for a while, in a vain hope that he would suddenly reappear. I decided that now was the time to get you three out of Colorado.

Our plan was to get you next week on the day you turned sixteen and your powers manifested themselves, but now with André captured or worse... I knew it was time. I summoned some Knights, and I teleported to you that very moment, it was then that I came out of the underbrush and found you, Idus." He paused again but this time he looked relieved at finally having told the doleful tale.

"Although-what I don't understand is how they found us so quickly..." He stopped lost in his own thoughts. "However," his voice boomed back, "while that may have seemed like a horrible thing at the time, it is a sign that can give us hope." His voice gained momentum as he spoke.

"For only if they captured him could they have found us so quickly because... Of course," He said frantically slapping his forehead. "André knew I was going to keep you safe, so what harm could come from telling the Tenebri where you HAD lived. But that could only mean one thing..." He paused and as a slight grin reappeared on his sad face. "And that is that André, your father is alive." He stopped speaking and only then noticed he was standing up, breathing heavily, and had thrown his fist on the table. He tenderly lifted it back to his side and gave a kind of embarrassed laugh before sitting down.

The room was silent for a time. All of the Tuerls had stopped crying and now only a dazed expression covered their faces. The other four looked shocked at this new news from Blackington. They stared aghast at Tom's now much cheerier face.

"Well, now I'm quite enthusiastic to continue the story. Jennifer I know how hard it is... But you are their mother and they would..." He halted not knowing quite how to finish his phrase. Instead he glanced at Jennifer and saw she was smiling again.

"Yes, yes. It would be better if it came from me." And then she added in what Blackington, who was across the table, heard as a quiet whisper, but no one else even noticed her moving her lips, let alone heard what she said. "Thank you. I realize how hard it must have been to abandon your grief and save them. Thank you."

Then she started again. "My sons, I told you about your father first for obvious reasons, but now I will tell you the story of the magic that runs through your veins." She took a quick breath as though preparing for a plunge into icy cold water. "Our tale starts with what some have considered a legend, for there is still much debate among mages on whether Perseus was a demi-god. Whether he was or not, is not important, because we have proof he existed. And as you can tell legends among mages hold a lot of weight, because we ourselves are thought to be legends by Spartans." She gave a knowing smile, at their confused looks before saying "A Spartan is what we call non-magical humans. Of course we once had many Spartan mages, but at a time of war an Athenian decided it would be a fitting derogatory name for our non-magical brothers.

You see Spartans scorned the way of ease in life. They lived as hard and as brutal a life as they could. Therefore those who do not have magic flowing through their veins have been bestowed with this name, for they are naïve of their position in a hard and ever brutal culture. Therefore, I have come to think of Spartan not so much as a derogatory term, but as a symbol of strength and fortitude, for only Spartans could survive in what our world is becoming today. I know, I have had to live for fifteen years as one." She smiled as though the years she had spent locked away in their tiny house brought fond memories to her mind.

"Anyway, as I was saying our tale starts with Perseus... Well it actually starts with Perseus' sons: Alecto, Irgen, Idus, and Xenophon." She paused at the look of wonder which came over the two brothers' faces. "Yes, your father and I named you after two of them... and for good reason. Although you'll know why after you hear the tale."

As she continued it seemed that her worries were cast away as she lived vicariously through the tale. "Now the four brothers were always trying to impress their half-god father, but they were only quarter-gods so nothing that they did could really impress him. You see if they tried to show immense strength by lifting something heavy, he could always go and lift something heavier. And if they tried to show off their intellect by explaining some profound principle, Perseus could explain it even further, leaving no doubt about the truthfulness of what he was saying.

Now don't get me wrong in thinking that Perseus was not proud of his sons, indeed a more compassionate and caring father could not be found in all the land, but his sons did not like being smothered by the giant shadow of dominance he cast. They began to grow restless and grew out of touch with their father.

Then one day their mother, the beautiful Andromeda, passed away. Her death came like a torrential downpour in an already bitterly cold night. At first the brothers were aghast. They were left alone in the world without their mother's caring touch. Wherever they went they could find no solace. They tried just about everything, each trying to find something to lift the burden off of their shoulders. But no matter where they looked the feeling of peace they sought eluded their grasp.

Finally in desperation the brothers decided to split into separate directions. One would go North, South, East, and West. They had each decided, under their father's urging, to undertake their own quest. Each was hoping that such a quest would release the feelings of despair which encompassed them. They each decided they would return when they had something they could show their father, something which would make him proud and mend the gap between them, which had been steadily increasing over the recent weeks.

So they each went their separate ways Alecto the oldest went towards the islands to the east of Greece. Irgen swam South towards the island of Crete and then on to Egypt. Idus began a trek northward into the frozen lands of the north, and Xenophon swam west towards Sicily. Each brother began his own master quest not knowing the dangers that lay before them, but they each undertook it with a blessing from their father.

For before they left, he took them each aside and gave them a word of warning about the dangers they would find in the world around them. He himself did not know of the nature of the encounters they would face, but he decided to entrust each of them with one of his very own magical objects, which he had been given, years before, to aid him in slaying Medusa. And although he did not know just what dangers would eventually befall his sons, he could guess what objects would be most beneficiary to each of them.

For as a father who has watched each of them grow up, he knew their strengths and weaknesses, and perhaps in his wise old age he knew them better than the brothers knew themselves. And although he could not see an unchangeable course they would each follow, he knew the path each of them would eventually and infallibly take, due to their own weaknesses and shortcomings.

So being the loving father he was, he planned ahead. Giving each son the object he believed would benefit them the most. To Alecto he gave his blazingly bright crescent shaped sword, which he had used to cut off Medusa's head. To Irgen he gave his beautiful bronze reflective shield, which had been used to shield him from the disdainful eyes of Medusa. To Idus he gave the winged shoes given to him by Hermes to aid him in his quest to find Medusa. And finally to Xenophon he gave the cap of darkness, which some say Hades himself made, but which he received from the nymphs of the west. And then with these gifts the four brothers departed each going there own way leaving a loving father gazing hopefully at their shrinking figures, as they loped with their godlike gaits away from Mycenae, into the light cast from the setting sun."
Chapter 8-Alecto's Adventure

Irgen and Idus stared with rapt attention as their mother's excitement began to build in anticipation for the tales of the brothers. Finally she took a deep breath, and they plunged expectantly into the first tale.

"Now Alecto was the oldest and most intellectually astute of all the brothers, although he was by no means only a book worm, he was just as strong and capable as any of the other brothers. He had the same characteristically deep sea blue eyes that you, Idus have, and he had long flowing black hair, which shimmered tantalizingly in the strong Greek sun. He had a strong, youthful muscular build, and everyone in Mycenae referred to him as a strapping lad. And he was said by some to be Narcissus' rival for the most handsome man in all of Greece.

Now as soon as Alecto left his father's palace in Mycenae, he got on a narrow, cart-sized cobblestone road which he knew traveled east toward Athens. After traveling along the road for a time he noticed the road start to bend in a southerly direction and since darkness was beginning to cover the earth. He stopped and began to wonder if he should continue along the road to Athens or make off into a small thicket of trees that sat alongside the road. He thought to himself that surely Athens was not the goal he was seeking, and as much as he would love to see the city, unless there was some gargantuan beast at loose terrorizing the city that he didn't know about, he knew his quest did not call for him to enter Athens. But in the corner of his mind the thought lingered that he did not have any real clue as to where he was going, and going towards Athens might give him the start he was looking for.

After sitting down and pondering for a while, he decided the decision could wait until morning. So he made himself a shelter out of branches and leaves from the surrounding clump of trees. And then just as he determined to lie down and go to sleep, he decided to take out his father's blade. He had not; on first receiving it, examined it. But now he pulled it out of the handcrafted leather sheath his father had built for it, and with bated breath he carefully perused the astonishing craftsmanship of the heroic blade.

The sword was a beautiful blade indeed. It stood a little shorter than three feet in length, bound by a firm leather wrapped hilt. Truly it was shaped in a half crescent moon shape. But it seemed to bend only slightly, as though the bend was only to give it a significant shape. Its make was of such, that try as he might, Alecto could find no defects in the blade. It was smooth and sharp all around the curve of the blade. And now as he looked at it closer through the brilliant shine of the moonlight. He noticed ancient inscriptions which gracefully lined the deadly blade. He looked closely at them and found he could read what was written. The inscriptions, it seemed, were of an ancient war chant which he had never heard the likes of before.

He stared at it dumbfounded, and he noticed that the words seemed to be carved for his use alone. The words themselves seemed to delve deeply into the problem before him. Suddenly he felt a profound desire rise in his breast to begin the war chant. He felt himself elevated from the earth, and he began to dance as though building up frenzy for battle. As he continued it seemed as though the sword had a life of its own. It flickered and whipped through the air before him, as though it knew what to do in this dance. Then suddenly his clear piercing voice smote the air around him.

Gods of the wonderful Greek land,

Hear the plea of a small mortal man.

You favored my father in his quest for grace,

Now answer my call and help me win my race.

Show me the path, whither I should go,

And purify my heart and willful soul.

Now I petition thee again, the gods of my land.

Not just Zeus but all who might lend a hand.

For now in this cold, bitter moonlight,

My blade itches to avenge a small oversight.

He halted breathing heavily. He looked impatiently at the stars as though expecting something. Indeed his panting body was filled with anticipation for some long awaited event. He did not know what he had just done, but in uttering those words it had seemed as though he was speaking in the presence of gods. He stood rigid for a few agonizing minutes and still nothing happened. Finally he sighed in resignation and lay down to sleep.

He awoke in the morning to the touch of a withered hand belonging to an elderly man shaking him awake. He sat up with a start not knowing what to do. He was not usually this heavy of a sleeper, and it seemed as though the events from the previous night had cast some sort of deep spell of weariness over him. He looked up groggily at the old man only to discover that he had picked up his blade and was examining it closely.

"This is a nice blade sonny." Came the croaking voice. "But I fear it will not be enough to save you from the perils you will face." He turned to look at him, and suddenly he felt his strength returning to his body. He got up and looked inquisitively at the old man.

The man was short, with a frayed gray beard dangling over his stooping figure. He had a small cane in his weak brittle hands. His tattered clothes dangled from his old withered body. The only youthful quality left in this old man were the two effervescent pale blue eyes which drew and held Alecto's gaze.

"May I ask, who are you to see the future?" Came Alecto's polite clear voice.

"Who am I...? Hehehe" Came the croaking voice, and as he said this, his mouth opened wide in what he considered a smile, but since there was only one tooth in the mouth it looked more like a painful grimace to Alecto. "I am no one special, only a poor old man wanting company on a cold morning." The old man looked hopefully at Alecto.

Alecto looked at the old man inquisitively before replying with a sigh. "Good, I would gladly allow you to accompany me if you would only give me some advice. For I cannot make up my mind on an important matter. You are undoubtedly wise, old man. Your experience could bring welcome advice indeed. Perhaps you could help me." He once again paused and his face became red from embarrassment.

"Oh don't be ashamed my young friend. It takes true courage to ask for advice. And wisdom-to seek advice from an old man." He gave him a commending look before continuing.

"And I already know the answer to your question. You should not do either of what you are thinking of doing." His mystical answer stunned Alecto.

"But what do you mean?" He asked.

"Well it's obvious isn't it?" The old man gave Alecto a playful look as he smirked through his grizzled old beard.

"No, I'm afraid I don't understand." Alecto muttered silently.

"Well the answer is you shouldn't go to Athens and you shouldn't leave the road. You should stay with me." Once again bewilderment rose in Alecto's deep eyes. That this man could know what his problem was astounded Alecto. It seemed to Alecto that those pale blue eyes peered deep into the very fiber of Alecto's being. As though the man could know more about a person from just one quick glance, than that person would ever know about themselves.

Alecto glanced back at the old man and something about his appearance jogged an old memory of his. He remembered something his mother had told him about how sometimes gods would disguise themselves in an attempt to test a person. Could this old decrepit man truly be a god though? Alecto decided there was only one way to find out.

"My all knowing friend, forgive me, but I do not believe I ever heard your name. I would tell you mine, but I have a strange feeling that you already know it."

The stranger laughed, but it was an uneasy laugh as though he realized something had changed in Alecto's behavior.

"Is your father well my boy? It has been a long time since I have had the honor of seeing the man. We were friends back in the-"

"-I am sorry my friend but up till now I have never had the honor of meeting you, and my father is quite benevolent in showing us his acquaintances." His eyes glittered as he looked at the stranger with an all knowing eye.

The stranger took a feeble step forward. "You are right; I last met your father long before you were born. Quite a man he is, and I am glad to see the apple didn't fall too far from the tree...If it fell away at all?" He once again gave a grimaced grin before continuing- "He was always suspicious of me, and probably for good reason. I was there the day he met your mother..."

"You mean the day he saved my mother from being sacrificed!" Came Alecto's ever more suspicious retort.

"Yes, yes, you may refer to it as that, but I always knew he would save her in the end. And your pop didn't let me down now did he my boy?"

"No he didn't" Alecto murmured before giving the old man a long quizzical look, "Who are you sir? You speak much of what you know, but little of who you are. If you truly knew my father as well as you say, why would you be embarrassed to tell me?"

"Hmmph, you are wise my boy. I have great reason to be embarrassed around you, because I come to help you help me. You see our lives have been magically interwoven for many years. Such deep magic cannot be lightly undone. You see it was I who created a need for that sword you have there." He pointed to the glittering blade, "It was I who nearly ended your mother's life and in so doing your own, and it is I who come seeking help from you this day."

Alecto gasped, could it truly be the god who created his father's fame-"Pose—id--on!!!" He stammered.

The old man nodded his head. "You are much cleverer than most humans, Alecto. You will need your intellect in the time to come." A great blue light appeared around the old man blinding Alecto. The very light which surrounded him burned a picture into Alecto's eyes. He fell back, stunned as a new formidably domineering figure materialized before him.

"You are right, Alecto, I am Poseidon, and I am answering your call!"

The old man's figure had been transformed into the tall magnificent Poseidon, the god of the sea, who stood before him. He was clothed in a majestic green robe which opened into his bared, strong, hairy chest. In his right hand he held a large golden trident. His eyes seemed to radiate wisdom from their pale blue depths. His large prominent chin jutted out from his old face; however, it was a face coated like honey on honeycomb with wisdom. The plump round cheeks gave a happy and jovial appearance, and he had long black hair braided and falling like waterfalls behind his face. Here was Poseidon, brother of Zeus, and god of the Sea.

"You are fortunate to be of godly lineage, my young friend. Few mortals indeed can say they have seen a god and lived to tell the tale. But now that you have seen me, you must undertake the mission I am about to give you." His croaking voice was gone and was now replaced with a strong echoing voice which could only inspire awe in a person. He looked with those searching eyes deep into Alecto.

"Time is short; otherwise I may have attempted to appear more gradually to you. You see last week my son Halirrhothius was brutally slain by Ares when he caught him assaulting one of his daughters. Now I am making Ares stand trial for this unjustified murder of my son."

"You should know best after your father's tale with Medusa that the gods have trouble remaining with only one lover. Most of all Ares, who, it seems, is always eloping with one mortal woman after another, and he should know best not to bring railing accusations against someone else for such an act, the god is bloodthirsty, but I fear the law cannot stop him. I know I cannot avenge my son, for I must speak in accusation of Ares at the trial today, but because of this the goddesses will outnumber the gods by one, and Ares, who is sure to appeal to his fatherly right to protect his daughter will ultimately win the day by swaying the goddesses to his side."'

"So now I appeal to you Alecto, the cleverest of all the sons of Perseus. I need to avenge my son's death, but ironically, I being a god am powerless to do so. But you Alecto, being descended from Zeus himself can bring lawful vengeance in my stead. In return for this service, I offer you a gift which I have never given to any man or god on earth before you. I offer you the power to control water-the power to make the very seas obey you. Truly this would carve a name for you in history, but..." Poseidon's warning voice rang out. "Do not take this gift lightly. Control of the sea is terrifyingly difficult, and without care it may only result in heartache, only your family and those whom you trust may know of it. For no mortal man can truly appreciate this power and very few gods would agree with my malicious tactics." Alecto nodded hesitantly, surely such a gift was what he had set out to find, but would the quest he was about to undertake be too difficult for him? He hesitated before the thought came to him that there weren't any gains without pains. So he nodded in agreement.

"So Alecto the quest I am to give you must be completed today, by the time Helios' chariots cross the mountains in the western sky, otherwise you will most certainly be caught and more than likely die a horrible and gruesome death." His face contorted into a grimace before giving Alecto his final instructions.

"Now Ares has two sons: Deimos and Phobos. They follow him everywhere he goes in battle. However, today they will be separated from him, for they are not allowed to witness the trial before the gods, which is to take place. And although it is a somber and sad time for me, it is also the perfect time to exact my revenge. Now my boy, as soon as my chariot arrives we need to be off. I will take you to the outskirts of Sparta where Ares has built himself a secretive residence. There is only one entrance to his guarded abode. But this temple of his is not guarded by mere puny warriors. Instead it is guarded by his wrathful sons. I give you my warning Alecto, that there is a reason they are named Fear and Terror. Do not go about in the usual rash manner of a demi-god. You must be prudent and not forsake your own safety. The task I am about to give you may not seem difficult. But if I know my nephew, I know it will prove to be a monumental labor. What I want you to do is slip unnoticed into the temple and steal a certain staff Ares keeps in his possession.

Now this staff is not very ornate. Indeed it would not be remarkable at all, except for the fact that it is made out of rare sea wood, which makes it glitter blue, and it has a large reflective black stone crowning the top of it. It is a staff I hand-crafted many years ago, and the one which I gave to my son.

When he was killed, Ares took it to mark his victory. Naturally I could go and-beg him to give back such a token...But such an act would not befit a god of my status nor of my situation. So instead I send you. Do not disappoint me Alecto. Consider this payment for the sacrifice your father stole from me those many years ago." And with that the great god whistled and a large sky blue chariot carried by four enormous dolphins came floating through the sky.

"Now let's be off, Alecto. We have many miles to go and we need to be there before Ares departs for the tribunal." Poseidon forcefully grabbed Alecto and leaped onto the carriage before it even touched the ground, and then they were off, soaring through the skies toward Sparta and towards Alecto's destiny.
Chapter 9-Ares Unveiled

Jennifer took a short break at this point looking at the two sons with a slight twinkle in her eye. "Well I guess we'll stop Alecto's tale right there and continue with another..."

"You can't just do that." Came Irgen's angry voice.

"Yeah you started a story you had better finish it." Both of the brothers looked rather riled up. Their mother stared at them with an impassive face, until finally she couldn't resist any longer and broke out into her beautiful white smile and her rich sing-song laugh echoed around the tower.

"Alright, alright... You two drive a hard bargain, but I guess I may oblige you." She flashed them one more big grin, which this time they half-heartedly returned, and she continued Alecto's tale with a flourish.

"As Alecto and Poseidon flew through the air in the massive chariot, Poseidon gave Alecto his last few pieces of advice. However, more importantly he placed his heavy hands on Alecto's head and the power of the sea passed into Alecto's very being. It seemed to flow unchecked through his body. He lifted his hands to see if he looked different, maybe to see if he had webbed fingers, but he was disappointed to see only his own powerful fingers, the same as they had always been.

"Now remember my young friend, I give you this as a help-meet, I am afraid that even as a godly power it cannot save you. For that, you will have to rely on your own wit and cunning.

Surely you cannot foretell the dangers ahead of you, but be reassured I have faith in your strength and will. Just remember to trust your instincts. They know more than either of us can ever pretend to know."

And with that the chariot landed next to a large jagged outcropping of rocks next to the unyielding rock face of a cliff towering high above them. In front of them Alecto could make out a large cave-like entrance leading into the cliff and down out of sight.

"Now go my friend, and may the fates have mercy on you. You know what to do, now go." Alecto started forward toward the cavern before he heard Poseidon whisper one last piece of advice.

"Oh and help yourself to whatever else you feel prudence will allow you to take in the Temple. Be wary of the brothers, but feel free to harm them as much as possible." He laughed heartily, just as he flicked the reins on his chariot, and once again the great chariot rumbled forward, climbing high into the air surrounding the cliff face.

Alecto watched with heart racing as he disappeared from sight. Then he looked at his hands and knew it was up to him and him alone now. He scurried forward to get behind a small grouping of rocks. Once he was sure he was well hidden, he waited looking towards the entrance to the tunnel. As he waited he grew restless, and he decided it was time he test his new power. He lifted up his hand, and before he knew what was happening a steady fountain of water was issuing forth from it. Tenderly he touched the soft outburst and grinned with satisfaction from the feeling of the cool water on his hand. Suddenly he pointed his finger at a large rock in front of him, and he was amazed to see a torrent of water burst forth upon the rock face. He smile contentedly, he could control water! He continued to play with it until finally he decided he needed to take a moment and go over the instructions Poseidon had given him.

The plan Poseidon had given him was a simple one. He had told him to wait until Ares came roaring out of the tunnel with his chariot of fire. Once he was out of the tunnel. Alecto was to sprint inside in the hope that Ares had been so overconfident in his demeanor towards his sons. That they would not even bother to wake up and see him off. Poseidon was very confident in this fact and had told Alecto he must then begin the search for the staff. If all went well and as planned, Alecto would have a short time to search for the staff before the brothers awoke. After this point in the plan; however, Poseidon had stopped being specific. He merely mentioned the fact that Ares would be home as the sun set, and he must be out of the temple before that time.

He sat lost in thought for a time looking at the different aspects of his mission when all of a sudden he heard a faint urging of horses forward. He perked up and listened as the trampling of hooves against the hard ground grew louder and more pronounced, and then suddenly four beautiful, fiery steeds burst into the sunlight carrying an enormous bronze war chariot behind them. As they reached the outside they halted. Each horse stood stamping and snorting in the blazing light of the sun. Alecto surveyed the scene before him and finally caught a glimpse of the great god of war-Ares.

He was dressed in full war armor. In his right hand he carried a large ornate oak spear, and he was decked out in fiery red armor up to his neck, but his mighty helm instead of being held proudly on those haughty shoulders, was tucked away under his left arm at his side,. But because the helm was absent Alecto could get a glimpse of the dominating face. He looked incredulously at the unkempt brown beard which covered Ares' face like an octopus' tentacles. The only other striking feature of the face was the fiery eyes which seemed to burn into whatever they looked. Behind his back he wore a flowing blood red cape, which rippled dangerously in the breeze. This was Ares the god of war, and it was clear to Alecto that such a formidable personage would truly strike fear into enemies on the field of battle.

Alecto watched in awe as the god slowly lifted up his helm before placing it gently on his head, giving him an even more fearsome appearance. The helm truly completed the dreadful Spartan garb which covered Ares. It had a square crimson plume which ran vertically from the bottom of the helm upwards, until it finally squared off at the top of the helm standing parallel to the ground.

Alecto watched silently as the figure before him spurred his horses forward. The horses' mouths foamed and the earth and air shook as they took off just as Poseidon's chariot had done. He gazed after them for a moment before remembering that this was no vacation he was on, and so as they shrank into the distance, Alecto sprinted into the tunnel and onward.

But as he slipped into the opening, he could not help thinking to himself that if he found a spare chariot of Ares in the temple he would not pass up the opportunity to take it. Surely out of all the gifts and the toys of the gods, a chariot with fire breathing horses was without any doubt, the most impressive and...However ironically, the coolest of them all.
Chapter 10-Thievery in Ares' Chamber

As Alecto plodded down the winding tunnel in front of him, he had a little bit of time to survey the walls around him. The tunnel was lit by the light cast from flickering torches on the wall. Strangely enough, the torches seemed very old, as though they never burned out, and it looked as though the smoke which should have blanketed the tunnel by now did not exist. Indeed from what Alecto could tell no smoke emitted from them at all. Being as it was the entrance to a god's dwelling; however, he was not very surprised.

As he went deeper into the mountain he began to notice some of the sharp corners had deep scars in them. Alecto thought the grooves were undoubtedly made by the two scythes sticking out of the wheels of the war chariot. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought how vicious and unforgiving those scythes must be, to have the ability to carve deeply in the cold stone around him.

As he ran onward, he felt the air around him start to get warmer. His heart started racing as he saw the formation of a large opening at the end of the tunnel. As he approached, he slowed down and crept warily towards the opening. Finally he reached the opening and gazed with wonder upon a colossal ornate hall. He gasped at the beautiful vista which opened before him.

Everything from the floor to the roof was magnificently decorated. The floor was hard as stone and yet it was a crimson red, a color which Alecto had never seen in stone before. Mighty marble pillars held the proud roof above him. The roof itself contained many warlike pictures, although they did not in themselves appear gruesome, only heroic. But perhaps the most awe-inspiring object in the whole hall was an enormous bronze statue of Ares, fully armored, with his sword pointing up into the sky.

Alecto looked at this monument and snorted as he tried to contain his laughter. "Now that's when you know when you've become an egotistical buffoon." Alecto muttered to himself. "When as a god, the largest tribute to yourself is in your own home, where only you can see it. What can you do with it, pretend to worship yourself?"

After a few seconds of staring into the great hall, and struggling to regain control of himself, Alecto finally entered. He began walking towards the far end of the hall, to inspect another doorway at the far end. But as he walked he noticed, out of the corner of his eyes, two doorways, one on either side of the great hall. He stopped not knowing which way to go, and then he remembered Poseidon's advice.

"Trust your instincts. They know more than either of us can ever pretend to know."

As he thought this, he felt a strong desire to go towards the left door. So he did, after all it was time to trust his instincts. He approached the door confidently and found it to be a large field with stables. It seemed Ares had decided to keep his horses here where he could protect them. Alecto decided it was a wise choice, because otherwise he would most certainly have come in the dead of night and purloined those fascinating animals. Next he felt the desire to approach the Iron doors at the back of the hall.

He walked towards them and went to give them a powerful shove only to discover that they swung open easily. Inside was probably the most gorgeous addition to the dwelling. It looked as though it was a war museum. Hundreds of weapons were showcased on ornate stands in the hall. Alecto examined the objects around him, but suddenly at the end of the hall he saw something, which fixed his gaze. There, on a huge stand, was a beautifully carved golden bow. Next to it was an equally superb quiver of arrows. Alecto did not need anyone to tell him what this was. He knew this was the unmatchable bow of Apollo, but he could not understand how Ares came to own it.

However, he decided whatever the reason, if it was no longer in the care of the true owner of the object, it was fair game to take. So he ran, blatantly, straight up to the bow and lifted it from its "trophy mount". He lovingly lowered the bow and quiver, admiring their every feature. The draw in the bow was unmatched. He had never felt something so powerful and yet so easy to draw back in his life. He smiled with satisfaction, he was beginning to really enjoy this "task"; demigods really did have more fun. He lifted the bow and quiver over his shoulders and carried them with him as he surveyed the rest of the room.

He carefully scoured the room, anxiously hoping that there would be something else of value, which he could "reclaim" from its "mount". He walked quickly through the items noticing swords, shields, and spears galore, but he already had a sword, and he felt shields and spears would only weigh him down. Suddenly he felt his heart stop. He gazed in astonishment at the sight which met his eyes from the other end of the hall. He saw, at the other end of the hall, right next to the door, a suit of golden armor. He felt his heart beat start again as he stared longingly for the armor. He knew this armor, for all demi-gods are told the tale of one of the greatest of their order. This was the golden armor of Achilles.

He strode forward and reached for it with shaking hands, as gently as he could, he lifted the armor off the pedestal and over his head, onto his brawny body. Quickly he secured the straps and bound the shiny armor to himself. Then he lifted up the fearsome helm, which not only had a plume but also wing-like carvings in the side of it, and slid it over his slick black hair. Then he grabbed the bow and quiver and slung them over his now iron body.

Alecto looked awestruck at his new appearance. He could not believe he was wearing Achilles' armor. He was incredulous at how light the armor was. He began to bend his arms and legs and began to be overwhelmed at the dexterity he felt in this armor. Not only was it light, but it was exceptionally flexible. He decided he must keep these items. He left the iron room, closing the doors behind him and began his trek towards the last remaining door where the staff was sure to be.

As he approached the wide opening before him, he began to hear the sounds of a faint snore. As he drew closer to the doorway it became more and more pronounced. Finally he reached the opening, and he peered cautiously inside.

This room was much smaller than the other two rooms, although it was equally extravagant. Inside were two large sofas which were definitely not of Greek make. It seemed to Alecto that they were made out of some extremely fine, soft, smooth material. In all reality they were silk, and Ares had received them as a gift for helping in a Persian war, but not only could Alecto not know that, but he was suddenly distracted by a huge movement on the sofas. He watched, alarmed, as he prepared for the worst, but nothing happened. Instead the movement just rose and fell and then Alecto realized where the snoring was coming from.

On the two sofas before him were two of the largest men Alecto had ever seen. If he would have to classify them in terms of size, he would have named them two monsters. They were behemoths, the like of which he had never before seen. He stared, fascinated at the two gargantuan rising and falling chests. It seemed like every bit of the two brothers' being was muscle. And here they were sprawled out on the sofa in obvious disarray; they looked just as though they were two enormous piles of muscle. Alecto stared in surprise at the two of them. He had not expected such enormous companions in the two brothers. Surely they were sons of the god of war, but he did not think they were sons of the god of strength. Indeed he thought Atlas must appear quite microscopic in comparison with these two.

After a few moments like this, he finally pushed his jaw closed (It had fallen open upon seeing the brothers) and proceeded to creep into the room. He had decided that he might as well get the dirty work accomplished before the two brothers awoke. He snuck stealthily towards them and peered apprehensively up at them. Now from this close angle he became surprised that the large sofas could support such weight. He watched as an extremely minute fly (At least in comparison with these two) landed on a fat, large ear. Alecto watched with a mirthful expression as the out of place, overly large ear began to twitch rapidly, as though in an attempt to get rid of the itch the fly created.

The thought occurred to Alecto that if the brother's woke up, and he tried to punch one of them. The one that had been punched might lean over to the other and ask if a fly had just landed on him. It was not a happy thought, so therefore, Alecto thought it an extremely high priority, now that he had seen the brothers, to find the staff and get out as fast as possible.

He was now close enough to the brothers to have their heavy breath leave traces of moisture on his skin. Suddenly the brother with the fly stirred. Alecto froze, clinging to the idea that if the brothers woke up, he had one thing on his side and that was speed. But the brother only rolled over onto his belly and dangled his arm off the sofa. Idus began to breathe a sigh of relief but before it came out, he saw something that made him gasp.

In front of him, under where the brother had just lain, was the staff. His heart almost leaped for joy at having found it so quickly. But now he felt a sudden pang of fear in his stomach. The brother had obviously been laying on it on purpose. He was protecting it. Ares had suspected Poseidon would try to recover it, and he had taken precautions, by giving it to the brothers to keep safe.

Alecto thought to his chagrin that if the weight of the brother didn't crush the staff, surely there was no safer place than underneath one of those massive bodies, and although now he knew where it was. He was now left with the problem of how to get it away unnoticed. He sat and pondered on how to remedy this unforeseen problem. He could not just jump up on the brother's lap for he might wake up. He couldn't just go to the back of the sofa because it was too large. It stood at least twenty feet in the air.

He kept thinking but try as he might, no solution presented itself. He had finally decided to resign himself to defeat, when all of a sudden he had the idea that maybe, since the staff was made out of SEA wood, he could control it. He thought that must be the solution, but he did not know how to use his power to lift it. With a slight sigh he decided to once again trust his instinct. He told himself he wanted to pull the staff to him, and instantly the urge came to lift his arm and say the word baen. Suddenly the staff rose into the air and flew into Alecto's outstretched hand.

Overjoyed he ran, not heeding anything else, to the door of the room. He just got outside when he noticed his footsteps were clanging in an eerie silence. It was only then that he realized the loud cosmic snoring had stopped. Terrified, he made for the nearest bit of cover which just so happened to be the statue of Ares.

"Phooobos!" A dull bellow issued from the room he had just left. "The staff is gone, and I just saw a glint of gold leaving the room. There's a thief in our house!!" The voice echoed like a cannon shot in the great hall. Suddenly the ground shook beneath Alecto's feet as the two gargantuan brothers burst into the great hall. "Block the entrance. We'll make this would be intruder pay." Came the low fearsome roar of Deimos' voice. Alecto had been wrong in two things that night. The first was in thinking that satisfying his insatiable greed would come to absolutely no harm, and the second was in the thinking that he was faster than the two enormous brothers. Indeed, now he realized it was a good thing he had run for cover instead of trying to make a break for the tunnel, because the brothers covered the entrance so quickly that he would have had no chance to escape. Instead, he found himself-trapped.
Chapter 11-Untimely Escape

Alecto sat with his back to the giant statue. His back felt like a frozen board. He hardly dared to breathe in fear of what might come of the noise he made. It was only now that he began to realize how small and frail his body was. He sat in fear thinking of the tragedy that his last moments in life would be spent in this underground dungeon. He closed his eyes for an instant thinking about this, and then as he opened them, he saw the glint of the golden armor. Suddenly his strength came flooding back to him. He pulled himself together. He was not done. He was not finished, and this was not his end. He was a demi-god, and not just any demi-god. He was endowed with the very power of the sea which Poseidon possessed. And more than that, he had the mighty Achilles' armor and the great Apollo's bow.

His burst of courage overwhelmed his body with brevity, but then he felt a feeling of shame beleaguer him. "No fear should ever enter my mind" he thought. But still he had no idea what he was going to do, and he could hear the pounding of a pair of oversized feet coming towards him. He looked around frantically, and he racked his brain for a quick answer, and then suddenly the voice came again.

"Trust your instincts."

Alecto hurriedly fixed his eyes upon the statue behind him, and thought to himself "I need someplace to hide, I need someplace to hide." And then just as he thought this, the word "sconde" hissed silently from his lips. He watched in astonishment as a piece of the statue dissolved to create a small doorway. Not only did the doorway appear; however, but it seemed as though the inside of the statue had just been hollowed out for his use. Hastily he dropped onto his belly and crawled through the opening, and as soon as his feet cleared the small opening, it closed silently behind him.

He had entered not a moment too soon, for as soon as the doorway disappeared Deimos' ugly head leered around the statue. But instead of seeing an infinitesimally smaller Achilles, he saw only the crimson floor, and the back side of Ares. He grunted as he twisted his muscular head and stomped off, away from the statue.

Now that Alecto was in a position of safety, he began to take in his newest prison. Inside the statue it was, as one might expect, rather dark; nevertheless, it was not pitch black. Instead he saw two slits above him, on the wall, where light was flooding torrentially into the small room. He stared at this spot for a while, realizing it was the eyes on the statue. He wondered if there was a way for him to reach the eyes. If there was a way, he would effortlessly have a bird's eye view of what was going on at the front of the great hall.

Alecto looked about him as he thought and suddenly his eyes rested upon the blue staff. For the first time he had a moment to examine the staff. He thought it looked brilliant, for even in this light it shone with a dazzling radiance about it. Alecto's heart took courage as he looked at the glimmering object, he picked it up and he felt his heart stir inside of him. Just touching it set light to a burning desire in his heart to do something special. It was a fire which had long been dormant. He wondered if this happened every time he handled the staff. He thought to himself that he had not had this feeling when he first picked it up. But then again he had not really had time to record his feelings the first time he had picked it up.

Now holding the warm wood in his hands, he felt he could do anything, but first he felt like he needed to reach the two eyes above him. As he contemplated what to say, the word "togliere" burst abruptly from his lips. He felt himself begin to rise in the air. It was a strange sensation, rising through the air with magic, and although he had never had something like this happen, he felt he knew what to do. He concentrated his attention at the two holes, and he rose steadily towards them. Finally he came to a halt. He was now standing motionless in the air, peering through the two eye slits directly in front of him.

At the end of the hall stood one of the brothers, Alecto guessed it was Phobos. As he watched, the brother became restless and began to pace back and forth in front of the tunnel. Alecto watched apprehensively as the solid mass blocking the entrance to the tunnel stepped to the side. He was afraid they had blocked the entrance, in an attempt to keep him in, but he was relieved to notice nothing in front of the entrance. It looked like the brothers were so convinced that nothing could get by them (An idea with which Alecto wholeheartedly agreed) that they had overlooked the obvious need for something to block the entrance.

As he thought this, he felt a disturbance in the air around him and looked down to see Deimos trudge haphazardly past the statue. He had passed directly below the face, and Alecto suddenly felt extremely queasy, and started to choke in his throat. He had sniffed a large whiff of Deimos' vile stench. Six weeks (At least) without a bath only intensified Alecto's dislike for the two of them. Alecto coughed stealthily into his hand as he tried to prevent himself from tearing up from the horrid smell which clung to the air around him.

As he did this he failed to notice Deimos approach his brother and begin to whisper to him. After he finished whispering the two brothers glanced uneasily around the hall in front of them. Of course all this Alecto failed to notice because he was gasping for air, but in case you, my sons, are wondering why Deimos looked unnerved." Jennifer looked at the two sons and only then realized both of them had drooping heads, and were rapidly blinking their eyes in an effort to stay awake. She blinked herself, realizing how tired she herself was. She yawned and like a chain reaction both sons started yawning as well. In fact the whole table began to yawn. She came out of the yawn first and asked.

"Shall we wait to finish the story another time?" And before she even had a chance to look inquiringly at her sons Idus answered hastily, but in a slow tired voice.

"No, we want to hear the rest of it." His voice rang out wearily, and yet it was unquestionably firm.

His mother sighed and then continued the tale.

"As I was saying, although Alecto didn't realize it, the two brothers had just discovered that Apollo's bow was missing. However, Deimos had failed to recognize Achilles' armor had disappeared as well. But the brothers were terrified of the person who might be in their dwelling. The facts, to them presented themselves like this: Deimos on awaking saw a golden flash of light at the doorway to the hall, next he could find no intruder in the entire house, it looked as though the thief had just disappeared, and finally, when he found the bow missing he felt he knew who the intruder was. For from these facts it could only be one person...The great Apollo himself, and if Apollo was there, they were in a very dangerous situation, for neither of them stood a chance at besting Apollo. Let alone a ticked off Apollo, which he undoubtedly was.

They knew they were in trouble. Ares himself, when he had brought home the bow, had told them that if it ever went missing to fear for their very lives. They were immortal it is true, but they had heard a rumor, which Ares confirmed, that if one of Apollo's arrows was to hit a god dead center in the heart. It would break the binding link between body and soul and the god would become mortal and inadvertently die. Now, they knew that as soon as they reached the river Styx, Hades would recognize them and restore them to immortality, but the thought of the pain which accompanied death did not sit well with the two brothers.

That such an idea would have occurred to the brothers is, of course, absurd. For Apollo was one of the gods on the tribunal and would undoubtedly be at Ares' murder trial, but as all too often happens, when fear is present, intelligent thinking is shunned, which causes only more fear and unrest.

Now all of this Alecto missed, because he was too busy trying to quietly waft away the air surrounding him. Finally he succeeded and took a deep gasp of the clear crisp air near him. He felt life rush back into his body with this breath of air. His body became invigorated again as he gazed back at the two brothers, trying to form a plan to escape from this death trap. Then he felt an eccentric idea form in his head, and although he had not seen the brothers' uneasiness his instinct told him this was what he should do. So before he truly knew what he was doing, he was shouting at the brothers in a deep earth-shaking voice.

"Deimos! Phobos! You two have lain hidden too long in this wicked lair. It is time you paid for your sins against humanity. I, Apollo, have come to repay your wrongdoings with vengeance. To implement pain on those who will not do right. And to execute judgment on thieves who steal my weapons." He spoke the last words with his own kind of poetic flair, but really he did not need to. For after the words I, Apollo, the brothers had gone scampering to the door to the left and had slammed it shut with an enormous force, and now were throwing everything they could against the door, to create a "life protecting" barricade. Alecto smiled at his own wit as he descended to the floor and crawled back under the opening which had reappeared.

Back into the dull light of the great hall, Alecto wasted no time in sprinting hastily for the tunnel. As sure of himself as he was, there was no telling when the brothers might think something was amiss and come after him. But his worries were groundless, because he had managed with his few words, to strike such fear into the hearts of the brothers, whose names were fear and terror, that they were at that moment, cowering on the floor, behind the sofas which they had thrown into their barricade to block the doors, and they were trembling at the very thought of death, which had never reared its ungainly head so close to them.

So Alecto was able to run unheeded through the great hall and through the tunnel, but as he approached the entrance to the tunnel he heard shouts and the clashing of weapons outside. Undeterred he ran boldly on into the blinding light of the setting sun, confident he could take on whatever new threat presented itself to him.
Chapter 12-Heroic Battle at Sunset

As Alecto burst into the sunlight his pupils shrunk in an effort to avoid the dazzling new light to which they had just been exposed. Alecto was forced to close his eyes for a moment, and during that time the reverberating noise of fighting stopped. At last, Alecto opened his eyes and was astonished at the scene which was laid out before him.

In front of him there were only two people, but unfortunately for Alecto, one of them was Ares and the other was a tall handsome figure. This figure illuminated the air around him, as though he himself was the sun. The man wore no shirt, only a manly Greek skirt about his waist. His rippling pectoral and abdominal muscles defined his entire muscular structure, but the muscles were not the kind of soft unshapely and untrained things which rolled under Ares' son's skin. Instead they were hard, cut, and imposing. Not only were his muscles awe-inspiring, but his face appeared to be in the zenith of youth. His short fluid golden hair blended marvelously with his warm, light blue eyes. This was Apollo, the god of the sun, and he and Ares were both gazing transfixed at Alecto.

The step-brothers did not know what to think. Here standing before them was a spitting image of Achilles, but instead of carrying a mighty spear and shield, he had a shimmering blue staff and Apollo's bow slung over his back. Apollo had an incredulous expression on his face, while Ares had one of shock and awe.

Alecto regained his composure first and smiled at the sight of the two confused gods. Alas, he had come upon the gods at just the wrong moment, for only seconds before, these two had been in close combat with one another, but now on seeing Alecto their problems dissolved, and they both found what they thought was a common enemy.

You see my sons, after the acquittal of Ares at Areopagus; Poseidon had taken Apollo aside and had told him that it was Ares who had stolen his bow (How he found out where it was, no one will ever know, although most have decided it was just a lucky guess). Upon hearing this Apollo became wrathful at the deceit of Ares and decided to make him pay. He had flown with all haste to hunt down Ares and came upon him just as Ares' chariot landed on the earth. At this time Apollo had leapt from the clouds and landed lightly in front of Ares' chariot. And Ares in turn had jumped out of his chariot and the two gods had begun to duel. Apollo had only two small daggers to fight with, compared to Ares sword and spear, but still he fought like a lion, but no one will ever know who would have won such a mighty foray, for at that moment Alecto exploded onto the scene.

Now both gods stood before him glistening with fresh sweat. Apollo, having seen the bow, thought he had found the true culprit of his bow at last, and Ares on seeing the staff and the armor knew this was no Achilles, but a thief and a vagabond. They stood on the edge of conflict for only a second, before Ares attacked. He launched his spear at Alecto thinking it would easily finish off the criminal, but he was mistaken, for no sooner had it left his hand, then Alecto lifted his staff and cast a spell at the weapon, once again acting only on the whimsical theory of his mind. He watched as the spell collided with the weapon in mid-air, but instead of demolishing the spear as Alecto had hoped it would do, it only slowed down its progress for a moment. Alecto found himself having to leap clumsily to the side to avoid the weapons deadly blow. The spear missed, but in jumping to the side Alecto had taken his eyes off his attackers, and in that split second Ares leapt at him.

Raising his sword high into the air above his head Ares flew through the air towards Alecto. He meant to finish this mortal off as quickly as possible, so he threw all his weight into this mighty, bone crushing swing, but Alecto responded quickly. On seeing Ares leap he had drawn his sword from his sheath and only just in time. The two blades clashed and a resounding echo reverberated off the rock walls surrounding the area. Ares pushed his blade with unbelievable strength towards Alecto's armored neck. The two bronze helms glared undauntedly at one another. Ares' crimson and Alecto's blue plume hovered in the air. Suddenly Ares' blade flared into the same deep crimson, but Alecto's blade answered, flashing into an icy unyielding blue. Ares' eyes registered surprise, only for a moment, but this moment was all Alecto needed. He gathered all the might he could muster and pushed forward with his own godlike strength. His timely thrust threw Ares backwards, pushing the stunned god off-balance.

Quickly Alecto shot to his feet, but before he could regain his own balance, Apollo bounded forward and tackled him once more to the earth. Alecto's sword flew awkwardly away into the rocks nearby, and his staff dropped uselessly to his side. He looked helplessly at the dirt in front of him as the mighty, bare arms of Apollo wrapped around his armored torso and squeezed with a strength which he had never felt before. He was paralyzed under the unforgiving grip of the sun god. He felt the air slipping out of him. He began to see darkness surrounding the outskirts of his vision, and he began to feel the agonizing pain that accompanies death.

This was it. He was truly finished this time. There was no one to save him. Truly he would die in the arms of Apollo. Now he felt his very will to live begin to fall away from him, but suddenly he felt something in the soil next to him. Not thinking he ungracefully clutched at it, only to discover that it was the staff which had gotten him into this predicament. But instead of feeling hate and bitterness at the touch, he felt everything he knew and loved come gushing back into his body. The dormant fire suddenly awoke in him again, but this time it was much more powerful. He felt his muscles contract as he rose to his feet carrying the struggling Apollo with him and then suddenly a potent shock ripped through his body. His shoulders convulsed outward breaking the death grip of Apollo, and at the same time his now iron hands latched onto Apollo's back and wrenched him off of his own back. He held him in these now jaw-like hands, and he looked deep into the aghast eyes of Apollo, before hurling him mercilessly at a boulder nearby. Apollo struck the stone and then lay motionless with astonishment. He had finally met his match.

Without a moment more of hesitation, Alecto turned around swinging his bow off his shoulders and promptly notching an arrow. He took a quick aim and sent a golden dart soaring straight at the now gaping face of Ares. The arrow struck him solidly between the eyes and Ares fell back unconscious, for although he could not die, his body still had its limits of pain and an arrow to the head caused it to shut down instantly.

Alecto surveyed the scene of carnage he had just created, and it was only then that he noticed Poseidon standing warily behind a rock below him. He wore an extremely pleased expression on his face. Alecto would have described it as positively gleeful. He watched as Poseidon delicately pointed at Apollo and then folded his arms patiently. Alecto nodded, understanding what he must do.

He strode towards Apollo and offered him his hand. Apollo took it and stood up, and although he towered over Alecto; he had a look of admiration on his face. Alecto smiled as he took off his quiver and bow and offered them back to their rightful owner. Apollo looked with even more astonishment at Alecto.

"Here is a thing of wonder. The subjugator offers the vanquished a gift." He gently took his bow and quiver.

"I thank you...Alecto, for am I mistaken in the identity of my powerful nephew?" He winked knowledgably, as Alecto removed his helm revealing his flowing jet black hair.

"Now since you have defeated two of your uncles." He smiled as though the thought of it was endearing to him. "And having shown at least one of them an extremely merciful gesture. I, Apollo, must return the favor. In return for your mercy, I offer you the priceless gift which only I, the god of prophecy, know. It concerns you and your powerful brothers. For it will not be long now, until you are separated by more than just geography. Soon you will all be together again it is true, but this temporary separation from each other will create a greater rift in your hearts than you can possibly imagine.

I being the keeper of this prophecy did not deem it necessary to tell you until now." He shook his head sorrowfully. "For until now I deemed I was stronger than all four of you and I could still govern your affairs. I, Apollo, decided to disregard the prophecy thinking the four of you could still decide what path you would follow. I, the keeper of the prophecies, should know better, but I was afraid that my own intervention in the affairs of the prophecy would only make it even more rigid and unchanging.

So instead I decided to place trials and hardships in the way of your quests, trying to make it almost impossible to accomplish them. But once again I failed, or more likely, I was thwarted by destiny. For as fate would have it, the entire pantheon of gods, except Poseidon, were busy preparing for the trial of Ares when you, and your brothers left on your quests.

Only one god last night was heeding the cries of mortals, and however unfortunately for me...It wasn't me." His face now changed into a mix between aggravation and resignation. "Instead, it was Poseidon. He already knew the outcome of the trial, and he decided it was his duty to bring justice, vengeance, and retribution to Ares. So instead of looking to the justice of the tribunal, he looked to mortals and to demi-gods in particular, waiting for you-Alecto. For perhaps out of the entire Greek world, you were the only mortal suited for the task at hand.

And so even with my unfathomable knowledge and wisdom, the beginning of the end has started for the Greek gods. For soon, your might power and glory will surpass ours. It will not be long until we are swept into the abyss of history and thought of by some as a "myth". He spoke the last word with hideously foul, contempt. "Indeed, it will not be long before our very legacy is forgotten. For we can no longer protect mankind!" His voice was growing higher and higher as he bemoaned his own fate.

"I realize now that I was horrendously wrong. And, perhaps I shall remain in my misery forever. The memory that I could have done something, but instead I decided to take a backseat and watch as the course of events unfolded. I chose, yes, but I chose the course which led to my long foreseen doom." He stopped at the utterance of that fateful word, and a silence swept over them. Alecto gazed at the now thoughtful face as the howling wind swept back his glistening hair. It made him sad watching the depressed, handsome, youthful face. He felt compassion in his heart for this now abased god. He stirred and tried to console the dejected Apollo.

"But why is it your end? Apollo, I'm afraid I don't understand. I do not seek to overthrow you or mankind. Surely you are mistaken..." He was cut off mid-sentence by a sharp reply from Apollo.

"No. I am not mistaken" He said firmly. "It is now obvious to me that you have passed out of my sphere of influence. And therefore it is upon you that I must place my trust." He gave Alecto a pathetic look as a tear began to slide down his cheek. "For you are ours and mankind's only hope."
Chapter 13-The Prophecy

The iridescent tear continued to slide down Apollo's mournful face. "Alecto, I know you do not believe me. But you MUST-trust me, I am about to commit to your knowledge the most coveted secret of the gods." He glanced at Poseidon's distant figure suspiciously, before casting his eyes upon Ares' ungracefully sprawled form.

"The prophecy, which I was entrusted with from my birth, goes like this:

In the Western hills of Greece five men will one day arise, and out of them shall the four elements shine forth. But never have these four elements managed to coexist with one another. Each has always tried to claim dominance over the other. So it will be with these five men. For a time, they will live in peace and harmony with one another letting one rule with wisdom, but as time wears on, a fissure will begin to develop. Through the worst kind of treachery, the one ruling will be slaughtered, and two of the men will seek to unite the brotherhood again under their own iron heels. Forcefully they will bring war upon the earth. At this time the very gods themselves should begin to fear, for in these men is the power to dominate the world of mortals and gods alike. In them is the decision to rule by cruelty and force of will or by justice and agency. The insatiable greed of two may cause the downfall of the entire human race. But with them will rise a single man who will have a choice to make in time of dire need. And it will be he, not the others who decides the fate of us all." He hesitated on the next word to say, before he finally uneasily finished with a sigh.

"And that is it. That is the prophecy. Except..." He paused, "There is more, but it is too hazy to totally understand. Not even I can comprehend it."

"But I still don't understand." Alecto inquired thoughtfully.

"Well why in the Hades not?" Asked Apollo as his eyes lit up. "Oh yes I forgot. To me this prophecy is a simple matter being the god of prophecy and all..." He continued muttering to himself for a second. "Well, this is what the prophecy means.

The five men spoken of are you, your brothers, and your father. It seems that you will all return with an elemental power. You have Water, others will return with Air, Fire, and Earth. These are the four elements. You will be happy to name your father as your leader; for of course he is the patriarch of the family, but two of your brothers will begin to murmur against him. They will feel like they aren't utilizing their powers to the full extent. Indeed it is my fear that they will want to enslave the whole human race, including us mighty Olympians. Of course your father will not like this, and they will argue until the only plausible solution is to get rid of your old man. Once they commit this bit of blood treachery however they will turn the clans of elements against each other. Brother will fight against brother, and perhaps you will spill each other's blood." He paused looking concernedly at Alecto.

"Perhaps the most fascinating, and unique part of this prophecy is the word may. In all my days, since I have been given charge over prophecies by Zeus. I have never come across another prophecy that leaves a single opening, which is why this prophecy is so terrifying, because it does not say what will happen. It only leaves us, as gods and mortals, to guess. Will it be a happy ending or... Olympus forbid, an unhappy one." He paused again, this time to look deep into Alecto's sapphire eyes.

"Alecto, I am afraid that you are the man who will create the dooms of men and change the course of history. You are truly the man who will decide the fate of us all. The prophecy says that it will be your decision and no one else's. No one has decreed that you should act one way or another, but Alecto, I know your heart...And I know you will make the right decision. For it is your choice, your path, and your destiny." And with that and a blinding flash of light, the god of the sun disappeared, as did the sun itself, over the surrounding hills, and once again the earth was covered in darkness. But perhaps the deepest darkness of all was that which surrounded Alecto's speculating heart."
Chapter 14-Sweet Sleep

Jennifer's voice faded off as she looked at the people surrounding her. Blackington's head was swinging up and down as if it was the weight of a pendulum. The other three had begun to steadily snore. It seemed the only people left awake were herself and her sons.

Suddenly Blackington jolted awake, it seemed his body was not used to the hush which had taken over the room.

"Ah well, yes, that's nice, that's nice." He said groggily. "But I am afraid that I must cut you off Jen. I think it is all time we got some sleep."

She stared at him for a moment, giving him a shocked, unbelieving look, but finally, after an uncomfortable silence, she nodded her head. "Yes it is time to sleep." She sighed and got out of her chair. "Sons, come along and you'll find your new living quarters...I am sure they will be to your liking." She added with a wink.

Irgen and Idus got up with some effort and began their trek towards the stairway. They noticed that as they got up their chairs dissolved into thin air behind them. As they left, Blackington awoke the others and they followed them up the stairs.

When they first stepped onto the stairs, Irgen and Idus stopped and watched Jennifer briskly climb the stairs. She noticed the sudden drop in noise level and glanced back.

"What are you two waiting for?" She asked obviously exasperated by the long day.

"Well you're magic aren't you? Isn't walking up stairs kind of old fashioned?" They glanced at each other good-naturedly, thinking the stairs were about to start moving upward. Their thoughts were interrupted; however, by Blackington's tired voice booming directly below where they stood.

"You have a lot to learn if you think we use magic for such trivial things as climbing stairs. We mages do not try to impress. We are merely humble keepers of our order, and we do not wish to abuse our privileges. Perhaps I shall tell you more about it tomorrow, but now." He growled. "Let's go to sleep!"

The brother's bolted at the stern command. They took off; their powerful legs easily lifted them up the stairs, until the stairwell came to another large stone door. They noticed the large stone wall now rose upward encompassing the doorway creating a cage-like feel. Jennifer stood at the entrance. "This is the girl's room." She said with a grin. "You'll find yours up one more flight."

And without saying another word, the brothers ran up the next flight of stairs and came to a large opening. They stopped, wondering why the girls got a door, while the boys didn't, before they took a step into the fascinating room.

The room was massive and extremely well-kept. It was covered with friendly dark blue carpet. The walls were no longer covered with tapestries, but with gargantuan windows which lined the whole of the circular room. The brothers stared in awe at the captivating glimmer of the stars outside. Seeing the stars made them realize the tale must have taken all day to complete.

Eventually they tore their eyes from the windows and examined the rest of the room. They turned around and saw the stone chute, which surrounded them on the last floor, had disappeared from sight. The staircase and the room were in full view again, and its masterful build astonished the brothers even more. Behind the staircase, five, invitingly elegant, beds stood. Three of the beds had dark blue sheets which matched the floor. But two were different. One was a vibrantly bright, light red. And the other was silver, with white slashing through it like lightning.

As they stood there, surveying the scene, Blackington and two others emerged into sight. "Ah!!! Now there is a sight indeed." Said one of the men in a gruff yet surprised voice. He was staring pointedly at the beds.

"Yes, Harold, it's quite the sight for sore eyes. And I do not think this will be even the tip of the iceberg." Blackington's eyes shone as he said this. Once again the brilliant blue rushed through them. "But right now no more discussing. It's time to sleep." He looked at Irgen and Idus. Idus you sleep in the silver bed, and Irgen you sleep in the red one. I'm sorry...I can't explain more. Let's get some sleep."

As he said this, his clothes and armor suddenly glowed and changed into bright, canary yellow pajamas. He hopped into one of the blue beds, like a young child jumping onto their parent's bed on Christmas morning. Irgen and Idus noticed that the other two's clothes had changed as well, and they slowly turned to look at one another, and found that their fashionable clothes had changed into the same vibrantly annoying pajamas as well. Except, although they did not do the young men's sense of fashion justice, they did surround the boys with a pleasant comfort which the boys had never felt before. It was as though the soft cloth-like substance of the clothes was intertwined with the very fiber of their being. Overjoyed with this new feeling, they too scrambled towards their beds and before they could even ponder how the bed became so soft, they lost all conception of life and time and disappeared into the realm of sleep.
Chapter 15-War at the Gates

Idus awoke with a start as an outrageously loud bellow echoed through the floor below him. He lifted his strong torso out of the bed and grey sheets slid carelessly off of him, and he looked at his company. Irgen too, was looking around frantically. His curly disheveled hair added to the frantic aurora about him. Next to him the four others were already on their feet. But instead of the pajamas of the night before, they were all clothed again in their glittering white armor. Even in the darkness Irgen could make out Blackington's tall imposing features. Blackington spoke first.

"Get up! Something has happened."

Both Irgen and Idus hurriedly got up and noticed their pajamas changed back to clothes as soon as they got out of bed. They looked hesitantly at each other, unsure of what to do, but the others had already started running down the stairs. Irgen shrugged and took off after them, but Idus lingered for a moment, peering again at the black blanket of night which surrounded them, the stars were gone now, covered now by clouds. It was only then that he noticed there were shapes and figures moving about on the ground below the castle walls. Surprised, he leapt after Irgen's pounding feet and caught him at the entrance to the girls' room.

Here he came to a halt, as a dam of people prevented him from going any farther. On the stairs below him stood the few that had slept with him last night, crowded next to them, blocking the entrance to the door were the two women, and under them were two men. Both of them were short. Idus recognized the larger of the two to be Alexander. He realized the other must be Brown or Leshore, but there was only one of them there. "What happened to the other one?" he thought in his mind, but once again his thoughts were cut off by someone speaking. It was Alex, and he was speaking hysterically, and Irgen and Idus didn't think he was making much sense.

"Thomas, outside our gate, Right Now! Is the entire clan of Tenebri. We were ambushed and they followed us back. Leshore is injured she's down on the couch. They mean to attack us right now." He gave Thomas a horrified glance. "Whatever are we to do?" He looked like he was about to cry, or curl up in a ball and die, whichever came first.

Thomas looked at him steadily before speaking in a-calm, subdued, and yet staunchly firm voice. "Do not worry Alex. We will fight, and they will get a lot more than they bargained for. It is a mistake for them to attack our stronghold. They must think we are much weaker than we actually are." He lifted his hand and his white staff flew into it from downstairs. He muttered the words "Zaiuto". A large yellow sphere burst from the sapphire of his staff and shot quickly into the air. It passed with ease through all of the floors until it burst with an earsplitting roar outside of the castle.

"The rest of the order has been alerted. Now to the walls!" And with that Blackington leaped down the stairs covering four stairs apiece with his gigantic stride. Alexander's eyes shone as he gained control of himself and with a yell he sprinted down the stairs after him. The others remained motionless. Not truly knowing what to do, but Irgen was caught up in the moment, and even though he had no idea what he was doing. He knew he was not a fence-sitter in a moment of indecision, so he too, took off after the two ahead of him, and everyone else, slightly ashamed at showing less courage than a sixteen year old, followed suit.

Irgen's quick feet carried him speedily down to the ground level. He looked up just in time to see Blackington and Alexander speed towards the door. He thought it odd to see the pudgy figure of Alexander, now covered in the same gleaming white armor, running alongside of the tall commanding figure of Blackington. As he looked at the unorthodox pair of them he took his eyes off of where he was going, and without realizing it his right foot grinded ruthlessly into the low table of Aristotle. Grimacing in pain, a word began to form on his lips, but just as he was about to cuss, his mother ran past him, oblivious to all that was happening around her.

His tongue froze like a lizard in a snowstorm, and he took a gulp as he swallowed his word. His mother had taught him swearing was not a sign of an intelligent mind, and even now he was afraid of the retribution for forgetting this concept. He dropped his foot which he was now unconsciously holding in the air. Ignoring the pain, he waited for Idus, who was the last down the staircase, and lightly hobbled alongside of him to the door.

By the time they got outside, the battle had already commenced. Ahead of them they could see the large silhouette of the granite wall. Brilliant flashes of raging lightning lit up their view before being followed abruptly by great cracks of thunder, as a torrential downpour drenched everything in sight, unsure of what to do, but not wanting to be left behind. The two brothers took off into the cold heart of the storm.

It wasn't long before their clothes were drenched to the core. They ran along the cobblestone path, and they noticed the sides of the wall and two large staircases running parallel to it. Diverging from the path, the two of them headed for the one on the left. They reached the staircase and found its outline to be almost imperceptible to the eye; they marveled that they had found it so quickly. Now that they were so close to it, they noticed the stonework had made it blend in with the wall. Hardly any of the stairs could be discerned from the wall. Idus' thoughts once again lingered on the concept of chance or coincidence. They glanced at each other with a moment's hesitation, before finally mounting the steps. Idus ran ahead and Irgen gingerly followed, but his foot was feeling much better.

When they reached the top of the stone wall they found a spacious walkway rolled out before them, on which three men could easily walk side by side. The walkway was protected by large battlements which jutted upward a few feet before ending in jagged alignments. At some places it protected a whole man, while in others it barely covered the legs. This created an easy solution to how archers were to fire from the ramparts. It allowed them to remain protected while providing them with lots of different angles to attack.

After taking in the walkway, the brother's turned their attention past the bulwark, towards the brutal battle taking place before them. The Knights had split themselves up. Whether in an attempt to make themselves appear more numerous, or to be better able to defend the fortress by using more of it, the brothers did not know. But so far the tactic did not seem to have gone awry.

To the right of them Blackington stood boldly on the battlements courageously fighting five different attackers by himself; to his right their mother, Alexander, and the other woman dueled another eight Tenebri; to their left the three remaining other Knights were locked in a frenzied battle with another six Tenebri; and directly in front of them was the short lonely figure of the man who had been with Alexander. Idus decided he must be Brown. Facing him were three men, floating in midair before the battlements, dressed in the same dull black armor which Nero had worn. A flash of lightning lit up the sky, allowing the brothers to catch a clear glimpse of the four ahead of them.

Brown was carrying a dark brown staff in his left hand; it was encrusted with the same blue sapphire of Blackington's staff. However, in his right hand, he held an extravagantly carved sword. Silver filigree covered the golden hilt, and an azure light emanated from the blade. He lifted the blade in front of his nose lighting his pock-marked face in an eerie light, and the three others did the same. Giving the time honored salute to death itself.

Thunder boomed in the background as one of the Tenebri leaped forward onto the battlements, sword and staff in the air. He yelled something incoherent to the brothers, and a steady stream of flame erupted from his staff. His blade too, caught fire as he bore down on Brown. Brown's reaction was astounding for one so small and forlorn. He yelled "Arosser" and a spray of water leapt out of his staff. The two elements caught in midair. A roiling hiss issued forth as the two elements fizzled and turned to steam in midair. While water and fire battled each other in midair, Brown lunged for the man bearing down on him. A loud clang sounded in the night air as the two blades sparked in the air. Brown rammed the stone in his staff heavily into the black gut of the man. A dull crunching sound echoed forth and when another flash of lightning lit up the sky, a dent was visible in the now imperfect armor.

The twins watched in astonishment as the men dueled in the air before them. Brown's movements were faster than any man they had ever seen. He quickly batted the red sword aside and with lightning quick speed, he swept his sword towards the weak neck joints in the armor for the death blow. Another dull crack sounded as his blade sunk deep into the man. Brown wrenched his bloody sword from the man, and the Tenebri's corpse toppled from the top of the battlement and began carelessly spiraling towards the earth.

With a yell the other two attacked. Not willing to make the same mistake twice, they used their numbers to overwhelm Brown. The twins watched in horror as the blades flashed angrily in the air. Even with his lightning quick reflexes, it seemed Brown could not win. The Tenebri kept him busily parrying blows, while never giving him a moment to attack, never giving him an opportunity to find the weaknesses in their defenses.

As the fiery duel dragged on, the Tenebri gained the upper hand. Brown's movements started to slow, his parries gave less and less resistance, and he started showing signs of exhaustion. Finally one of the Tenebri flicked his wrist and the heavy sword flew sloppily out of his hands. It dropped noiselessly towards the earth. The two of them laughed malevolently. One raised his sword for the same blow which Brown had given only moments before.

Suddenly, Idus felt his blood start to boil. His eyes began reflecting the lightning above him. A terrible energy of hatred pulsed through him as he glared at the men before him. He began to feel as though a tiny orb of anger and hatred was developing inside his heart. It filled with his energy and grew larger and more powerful. It surged to a breaking point inside of him, and he focused all of it at the two men standing before him. Suddenly a blinding flash of light filled the sky around them. Searing heat burned into the atmosphere around them.

Irgen fell onto the ground covering his face, as a loud clap of thunder ruthlessly shook the walls beneath them. When Irgen arose, he stared transfixed at his brother with a look of admiration. In this dark night, he saw his brother in an extraordinarily new light. He looked now at the peerlessly handsome face and instead of just seeing the same pretty boy features, he noticed something was different about him. His careless features seemed to have taken on a new purpose. His jaw was set in such a way that it wasn't tight and yet it was unquestionably firm. Lightning flickered dangerously in his now shining stone blue eyes. His face was marred with an unforgiving stare, which was once again, totally unlike him.

Irgen cautiously turned around, facing where Idus' glare was focused. Before him, where there once stood three men dueling, only Brown remained. Only now did Irgen smell the stench of burned flesh. His eyes began to well up from the powerful odor. He plugged his nose in an attempt to lessen the tangible stench. In a matter of seconds, he felt relief flood his body again as he felt himself slowly get used to the new stink. As his eyes cleared, he saw Brown clearly. He saw his pale grey eyes staring in wonder at Idus.

"Thank you, Idus." He halted as though unable to say anything more. "I must go. We cannot waste this newfound advantage." And without another word he cast a spell returning his sword to him and without further ado, he sprinted away to the right to help Blackington who was madly casting spells at his attackers.

As he left, the light in Idus' eyes dimmed and finally trickled out. He swayed on his feet until finally collapsing onto his knees. Irgen turned in dismay and caught him just as he lost consciousness. Irgen looked deeply into his brother's now hollow eyes, and the link between them suddenly became stronger than he had ever known. He could feel his brother's pain, and he felt the life slowly ebbing out of him. "No!" he gasped as he urgently tried to do something. He closed his eyes and focused all his energy on saving his brother. His face shone as his mind entered the fray for his brother's life. His heart pounded valiantly within him as he began to pull at the unseen potent force which was quickly sucking the energy from his brother. He felt his own strength flowing into his brother's ebbing life. He felt the unseen force weaken as he exerted every effort he had to rip his brother's life out of the unforgiving claws of that force, but then his own strength started to fail him. Exhaustion overtook him, and his focus wandered, he opened his eyes again and saw the clouded black sky. "No!" he whispered "How could I have failed him?" Stars blanketed his vision, and he too blacked out, knowing nothing more.
Chapter 16-The Authenticity of a Dream

Irgen awoke to find himself smothered in rough, coarse blankets. He slowly sat upright and took in his surroundings. He was alone in a small yet spacious square room. As the covers fell off of him, he felt a cold wind chill the back of his neck. The hairs stood up on his arms as a cold shudder ran through him. He got up and walked toward an open window which he had just barely noticed. He rubbed his cold arms as he walked towards the curtains which were fluttering aimlessly in the wind.

He reached for the shutters, but his attention was distracted by the scene which unfolded before his eyes. Before him were the walls of a completely new castle. A large circular wall encircled the entire castle. In front of him were two huge towers. A wide iron walkway protruded from the tower he was in. It ran forward, cutting a swath through the landscape until it came to an abrupt halt in front of an iron, teeth-like gate. Irgen didn't know what it was about the gate, but it filled him with a feeling of dread. As he stood by the window, a great roar erupted from the grounds below. The formidable gates swung open and a great host of men came marching in. The tramp, tramp, tramp of their feet gave off a kind of mesmerizing appeal.

For a while Irgen sat there and listened to them. But finally the host came to a halt right at the bottom of his tower. Silence suddenly flooded the room as Irgen snapped back to his senses. He slammed the window shut as he heard footsteps on the stairs which must be outside the door to his room. He froze as the steps became more audible and more pronounced. It was only then that he noticed the color of everything around him.

The footsteps stopped outside his room, and the door swung open. In the doorway stood the most frightening man he had ever seen. He was tall and skinny and yet his very presence made Irgen's skin crawl. His very breathing seemed to create a cold feeling in the air around him. His bloodshot eyes looked straight at Irgen's, riveting them in place. But perhaps the most terrifying thing about the man was the color of his armor, which was the same color as everything else in the room. It was that horrible, light absorbing, Black.
Chapter 17-Love

Irgen jumped, as he felt a cold hand press against his face. He opened his tightly compressed eyes, to gaze at this newfound disturbance. A blurry picture of a large white object appeared in front of his face. He blinked, clearing his eyes, and found the object to be a hand. It withdrew itself as he eagerly sat up. He looked around and found that he was under crisp, clean, white linen sheets. Around him he noticed a couple of other beds with the same white sheets, although he could not tell what was in them. And in front of him, was a great crowd of people, but the most familiar to him, and the one to whom the hand belonged, was his mother. A feeling of relief flooded him. He had only had a dream, a mere nightmare, now he was safe.

"About time you woke up. We've been waiting hours for you two to wake." Jennifer smiled; she was unable to conceal her happiness that he was ok, in her playful reprimand. He looked at her and questions flooded into his mind.

"What happened? Did we win? How did we get back here? And where is here? Is Idus alright?" His exuberant attitude towards the questions died down as he pensively asked the last one.

"Hmmmmm...Well that's a lot of questions, but to start with the last one first. Alright. Idus is... Well, to tell you the truth we don't know how Idus is. His condition is stable, he is breathing, and he has a pulse, but...I am afraid he has done something which no other mage has ever done before, and he is paying dearly for it." She looked at Irgen with a depressed dejected face. "We do not know how he even survived this long. Although, I think you may have the answer to that." She looked thoughtfully at him before continuing. "As for your other questions, you are on the fifth floor of The White Citadel. It is what we use primarily as our hospital wing. You are here because we carried you here along with the other wounded." Her eyes moistened as she said this. She sniveled before going on.

"We did, how did you word it, oh yes, win the battle, if you can place a victory sticker on any loss of life. And, to tell you what happened... Well, maybe you should ask your father." She turned and Irgen's eyes bulged. Before him in the crowd of people, was a tall, familiarly handsome man.

He looked to be a couple inches taller than Irgen. He had Irgen's dark brown hair, but his eyes were the same as Idus'. They were the same deep blue, but in them was a look of unfathomable agony. A strong prominent chin was the only remaining testament to a smooth handsome face. His cheeks had gruesome cuts and what looked like burns in them. He had large black shadows around his eyes. Irgen felt a shiver go through his body as his father suddenly reached for him and showed his grisly arms. They too were deformed in an inhumane manner. Deep gashes plagued his skin, and where the hair on his skin once was; only little red spots of blood remained. It was André, Irgen's father.

As the hand reached for him, Irgen shrunk back in revulsion, but then a feeling of pity came over him. After all this was his father. He looked at him and somehow, at that moment, he found love for a father who had never been there for him. He looked at that poor, wretched soul, and he found compassion enter his stiffened body. André's calloused hands touched his, and he felt a bond begin to grow between himself and his father.

A graceful smooth bass voice rang out. Irgen thought it was a lot like Blackington's. "My, Son..." His father stopped, unable to continue. Tears flowed down his scarred cheeks as he gazed at Irgen. Irgen brushed a hand over his face as he felt wet tears run freely, down his own face. The room was utterly silent, as the pair gazed at each other for a long time. Then Irgen reached out and the two hugged in a tight embrace. An embrace, which Irgen had never felt, from a father he had never known. Sobs broke the silence at this touching show of affection.

After a long moment they separated, and André cleared his emotional throat. "Irgen, there are few instances in which what needs to be said, has already been said, but I deem that this is one of those times. Forgive me if my simple greeting did not seem eloquent or indeed, adequate for the moment, but all too often life is built on the simple things of life." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He slowly opened his eyes as he spoke again. "You have asked for the one thing which I am loathe to give you. I cannot tell you my arduous tale until I understand yours... Irgen, what happened tonight between you and your brother?" He looked searchingly at Irgen beneath his half opened eyes.

Irgen looked back dumbfounded. All the memories of the past night flooded back to him. He thought of the fight. He thought of his brother's fury, and finally he thought of the strong link between the two of them. "I don't know what happened." He said quietly. "It was as though the two of us became one. I-I felt as though I shared his energy, and he shared mine." He looked confusedly at André.

"Hmmmmm..." André looked at Blackington with raised eyebrows, before addressing Irgen. "Do you know what Idus did tonight?" Irgen shook his head, "he conjured something so terrible that it was sucking his very life energy dry... He conjured a lightning bolt, and worse than that he conjured one to kill two people. You see Irgen; you two are conjurers, while everyone else in this room is a mage..." He hesitated, pondering what to say next. "We, were all like you at your age... although less than you... There have been many strange events occurring over the past few years which we have had no explanation for, and not the least of these is you two." His eyes began to glitter as the sadness began to leave them.

"I will explain later when Idus comes to, as I'm sure he will, now that I have heard what you said. You see Irgen conjurers like yourself have one element which is bonded to your very life. You have fire running through your veins, while your brother has air, and more particularly lightning. Every other Knight except you and your mother, have water, while your mother has the power of the earth in her veins. It is a long tale as to why this has occurred, but all will be explained later." He gazed at Irgen as though trying to infuse him with patience. He sighed as he saw how keenly Irgen was paying attention.

"Conjuring is a very hard art to learn, most study their whole lives and never find a way to truly control their element. You see, conjuring takes strength from inside of you. You have heard, no doubt, about the laws of conservation of mass and energy. Conjurers do not have the same laws. They are different in their very make up. You see, Spartans have found that when a tiny nucleus of an atom splits, an enormous amount of energy is let off into the atmosphere. The energy released equals mass times the speed of light squared. Now with conjurers it is...Well...Different.

Conjurers do everything in terms of energy. They can use a tiny amount of energy and create an object with immeasurable mass, but in order to create an object with a huge amount of energy, a huge amount of energy is required to create it. For example, I can fill the whole castle grounds with water and not even break a sweat. This is possible because only a small amount of energy is required to control something that already exists, but a lightning bolt is an entirely different matter, because you are transferring part of your own energy outside of you. You are not just exerting force within your body and using energy. No, instead you are getting rid of it entirely, you are pushing it outside of your body, and this in turn creates a drain on a person's body.

Few can withstand the physical drain on their bodies. That is why it is so amazing that Idus is still alive. There are very few Lightning Conjurers in the world today because of that fact. They stretch themselves too quickly and end up paying the ultimate price. Their energy leaves them, and they kill themselves.

"But if that's the case, then why is Idus still alive?" Irgen interjected.

"Don't you already know?" Thomas exclaimed incredulously from the background. "Dear me!" He said as he scratched his chin. "It has to do with your link of course. You said it yourself; you said it was like you were one. It seems that you shared your own energy with your brother. You saved him." His last words rang out, creating a hollow silence. André finally broke it with a whisper, although it seemed as though he was talking to himself.

"Yes, and it is an incredible feat. I have never heard the likes of it before. You two are truly remarkable. Neither of you are sixteen, and yet you can both use magic. This in itself would be extraordinary, but there is more. This...This link allows you to perform deeds that would be impossible for any other mortal man." He gave Irgen a scrutinizing look. His eyes dug through his soul. He squirmed beneath the glare. After a while he got to a point where he couldn't stand it anymore. He let loose the one idea which had been threatening to burst inside of him since his father had started speaking.

"But I don't feel extraordinary!!! You said it yourself you're all "Mages" and I'm only an insignificant conjurer! Why are we different! Why are we Special?" He finished with an earsplitting scream.

André relaxed his glare and his war-torn face broke into a smile revealing glittering, brilliantly white teeth. "All will be told in time, Irgen. Do not get frustrated with me. But in order to begin we need Idus to be awake. Besides I think enough has been said tonight. Eat, and regain your strength. Tomorrow is a new day." The crowd got up and left as food appeared magically on a table beside Irgen.

The last one out of the room was Jennifer. She looked at Irgen, and he heard a voice in the back of his mind which uncannily resembled hers. "Irgen, get some good rest. Remember patience is a virtue." And with a flick of her black hair she disappeared out of the doorway.

Frustration swept over Irgen as soon as everyone left, why couldn't he ever have the answers? He had been swept into this world of wizardry forcefully; his very brother's life was in jeopardy, and yet he did not know anything about the world he was in. Thinking thus, his thoughts were interrupted, and Irgen began to feel famished. Hunger swept over him as he eyed the food next to him. His mouth-watered as he looked at a huge slice of juicy prime-rib lying on his plate. Next to it was a heaping pile of mashed potatoes and gravy. He ate the heavenly food hungrily and drank from a glass of water which, no surprise, magically refilled itself.

When his hunger had been finally sated, he decided to go and examine the rest of the beds. To his left was Idus' bed but to his right was a row of other beds each with someone in them. The first two beds contained two of the Knights who had slept with them the night before. They were either soundly asleep or unconscious, Irgen couldn't tell which. The man Thomas had called Harold had a large bandage tied around his forehead, where he appeared to have been struck. The other man's leg dangled in a sling holding it above him. It was thickly bandaged with a hard blue substance. Irgen looked at it for a while before something caught his eye in the next bed. Something dark stood out against the soft pillow. He walked towards it, intrigued at what it might be.

Before he knew what he was doing he was reaching for the covers. He pulled it back and gasped as a gorgeous, young, slender woman was revealed. She was wearing a long white gown which clung to her slender, shapely figure. Her silky black hair was draped sleekly over her well-formed shoulders. Her closed eyelids augmented her attractive soft face. Pretty black eyelashes extended from her face at an exquisite angle. She was the most beautiful woman Irgen had ever seen.

All of a sudden, Irgen felt out of place. His movements seemed strangely klutzy. He had always thought his movements were uncommonly graceful and smooth. But now, as he looked at this stunning woman before him his feet turned to lead. His nervous system was breaking down before his very eyes. He lifted his lumbering arms upward and found that his hands were shaking uncontrollably. Hurriedly he lifted his now club arms and smelled himself. The fragrance of fresh rain filled his nostrils. He calmed down a little, and sighed with relief. He must have been washed while he was unconscious.

He looked up, and it was only then that he noticed her irregular breathing. Indeed, now he noticed her lips were pale purple. He surveyed her, now looking at what could have caused this. As he looked, he found to his horror a large bandage covering her right side. Not knowing what he was doing, he reached for the bandages, but he never got to them, because at that moment footsteps sounded threateningly behind him, and he heard a deep voice say. "She's very pretty, isn't she?"
Chapter 18-Finding Faith

Irgen turned around to see the smiling face of Blackington. He grinned sheepishly back at having been caught red handed. Anxious to hide his embarrassment he asked "Who is she?"

"She," He sighed, "is Helen Leshore. She was with Reggie Brown and Alex last night. They were assaulted unsuspectingly by Tenebri, and she received a large gash in her side before they could get her to safety. They had to travel cautiously back and that is why they took so long to return here. They arrived just in time to warn us of the Tenebri attacking the fortress."

"Wait! I thought you said this fortress was impenetrable, nigh invincible, and at least invisible."

"It is... impenetrable in a sense. You see, within the walls you cannot fight with magic. And it is nearly invisible only if the defenders inside are stronger than the attackers. You see a deep magic is woven around these fortresses. Magic that was decreed at a great council long ago. Magic that was meant to leave weaknesses in these safe havens. It was built to be, however ironically, friendly to war.

Let me explain-you two came here looking for asylum and protection, and anyone who came looking for You--could not find this fortress, because in their heart they were looking for you, and not for the fortress. But, if an army came looking for this fortress, they would find it because it wants to be found. The fortress is built for war, it wants to be used. It is trying to be found. But even with it wanting a battle near it, an attacking army cannot find it if the defenders are stronger, whether in numbers or in mastery of their art. We only had nine people here, so of course they found us without any real trouble." He looked at him patiently, waiting for more questions.

"But once the fortress is found, it wouldn't be difficult to find again, would it?"

"Yes, if it were any other fortress, but while some in the council wanted war, others wanted peace, and in the end a compromise was settled on. You see every time a fortress is found, it changes position. And however unfortunately, we are no longer in the Austrian Alps."

"And I was just beginning to like them." He added musingly.

Irgen blinked at the satisfactory answer. "Well then!" He turned back towards Helen. "If this deep magic is so geared towards war, then there must be a way to repair the damage done. I mean you are mages. Can't you just snap your fingers and heal people."

"Ha! Now there you have stumbled upon the deepest secret of our order. You see, to become a mage you need a staff, before you get a staff you are only a conjurer... You see a mage is kind of a conjurer and a wizard mixed together. Conjurers, like yourself, use the elements to produce magic, while wizards can use words to obtain the desired effect, but while conjuring is limited only by your own strength, imagination, and the element within you. Producing magic with words is limited by your knowledge of your own magic. He paused, yet again at a loss for words. "You see every mage and staff create their own magical combination. For example if you used my staff the same words would not produce the same affect. Do you follow me?" He shook his head and smiled at Irgen's flabbergasted look.

"Let me explain. Every mage has their own different word to create different magic. Most are words that get mixed up into different languages. These days a lot of mages find their combinations to be in the Romantic Languages, but your combination could be from any language, and sometimes it is just a random conjunction of letters. For example, my word for fire is fuego which is Spanish. But yours could very well be Italian which would be fuoco. Of course, your element being fire kind of defeats the purpose of you learning that word." He laughed heartily at his joke.

"Anyway" he continued, "healing has long been a word sought for among mages, but according to my knowledge no one..." He added extra emphasis "has ever discovered it. Mages have been searching fruitlessly for ages to find it. I myself have tried countless combinations to discover the word, but once again I have never succeeded. I think I can be sure; however, that the word for heal is the same for every mage. Otherwise someone would have found it by now. But as far as I can tell it isn't the word heal." He scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"But if it's so hard to find out what your magical word is, how can you do magic by words at all?" Irgen asked contemplatively.

"Hmmm. Now that's just it isn't it." Responded Thomas as he now scratched his head. "You have heard part of the story of Alecto. What was it that led him along?"

"Well, I guess his instincts, right?"

"Yes. And that is all we really know. You see, it is as though something speaks to you and gives you these words. We call it our instincts, but after many years of study I am beginning to think better of that fact." He put his hand back down to his side. "I am beginning to believe that there is something inside of you which is not you at all. It's an interesting subject indeed..." His words carried off-"Maybe I'll tell you about it some other time." He looked back at Helen. "But as for her, I am afraid we must patiently wait, and hope for the best." His fist clenched into a white ball as he said this.

"First her parents, and now her," he said quietly to himself. "If-only we had the Adamic Language."

"Wait... What language?" Interjected Irgen, becoming highly interested.

"Well, the Adamic... You know the one and only uncorrupted language we have ever had. The one language that Adam himself spoke." He looked appalled at having had to explain himself.

"Of course, but you said Adam, and if you believe in Adam then you must believe ---"

"---In God... Yes, we do. Well at least some of us do. You didn't really think we all worshipped pagan idols such as the Greek gods did you?" He cast a wary glance at Irgen.

"Well, not really, but I still didn't know." Irgen responded naively.

"No, as your mother told you, it is merely a legend. It is a very well kept one too, but only the real founders knew the true story. And out of them only one still lives."

"One of the brothers is still alive."

"No one can be completely sure. Some say one lived, found his way to immortality they say. But others are skeptical and doubt. I myself say he lives, but as to whom he is..." He cut his pause short as Irgen's mouth began to open for another question. "We'll save that for another day."

Irgen closed his mouth and folded his arms looking like a cat that sneaks up on a bird, and at the very moment he is ready to pounce, hears his name called by an unwary human, and the cat watches in disbelief as his prey flies away to safety. "One more question, Thomas."

"Shoot away." He said slightly exasperated.

"Why is the Adamic language important?"

"It is important..." He said slowly "because there is a way to say everything in it. And you do not have to be magic to work what would be considered magic with it. The language is magic in itself. If I knew the words right now, I could say heal this woman's flesh- or something to that affect, and she would be healed. And not healed from my power, but from the very power that is in the words themselves. Unfortunately for us though-" He sighed.

"-Many believe the language was lost by a wicked generation who tried to build a tower up to the very heavens. Which may seem absurd to us with our knowledge of the heavens, but the sheer audacity of the attempt upset God and brought his righteous vengeance on the people. If only our brothers of the past had been a little wiser. Then we wouldn't need magic. And perhaps, we would still live in peace." He looked at Irgen one last time before turning to go.

"Wait, Thomas!" He smiled ashamedly as Thomas flicked his head back and gave him a considering glance.

"I thought that was the last question."

"Well it was, until," he said hurriedly, "you spoke of the Tower of Babel. And since you spoke of that, does that make us Christians?"

"Us??? Oh no, there is no us. We mages are as divided on the subject of religion as Spartans are." He laughed with a hint of bitterness. "No we do not claim to have one, universal religion. Instead we each claim the right to worship how, where or what we will. It has caused a great number of problems with us in the past, but it is every man's unalienable right." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "As to your point of the fact that we must be Christians because we believe in Adam and a confounding of an unaltered language...Most religions do believe that the earth started with just two people. Those two had sons and daughters until the world became filled like it is today. And why would you need another language so long as you could understand what everyone else was saying with one?" He smiled, and he was back to his genial self.

Irgen peered at the ever-changing face of his new friend. Suddenly he had a recklessly brilliant idea. "Thomas, if that's the case then do you believe in Christ?" Tom's smile disappeared as he was taken aback by this sudden question. Finally he answered somberly,

"Yes... I do."

"But what about other religions, do they believe in him?" Thomas burst into laughter.

"Do they believe in Christ?" He said in a heavily ironic voice. "There is a reason why Christians are separated from the rest of the world in religion, and it all comes down, fundamentally, to our belief in Christ."

"But do they believe he existed, do they believe he held power and authority." Thomas turned and looked deep into Irgen's bright green eyes.

"Hmmmm. Now that's an interesting question. The Jews believe a man by the name of Jesus of Nazareth existed. But they refused to believe he was the very Messiah of whom the Old Testament prophets prophesied would come to save them. So they crucified him, and to this day they are still waiting for that same Messiah. For thousands of years they have waited patiently for this Immanuel who will come to save them. So referring back to your question, they believe that he did exist, and secondly they cannot deny he had power and authority although they attributed it to the power of the devil."

"Now on the other hand, Muslims do believe in Christ, although in a different sense than Christians. They accept him as a prophet who came to prepare the way for a greater man, their prophet Mohammed. Interestingly enough, they teach the same basic morally strong concepts of kindness as Christians, but because of divisions among them, some groups have misconstrued their religion, and now preach war instead of peace. This in turn has given them a bad name among Christian's today, but once again coming back to your question. They do believe in Christ and they believe he had power and authority.

"And finally, Buddhists, and Hindus are willing to accept just about any great person as just another form of either Buddha, or Vishnu. So...I guess in your very general sense of do they believe in him, then I guess, yes, they do." He stopped, although he still kept his unwavering eyes on Irgen.

"Well then in that case-couldn't Christ be considered the great healer by all mages?" Tom's eyes lit up excitedly as he said this.

"Yes, he could. Why didn't I ever think of this? If whoever decided what the one, universal word for mages would be, could peer into future history before him. He would definitely pick a word that had to do with the greatest healer of them all." He paused.

"But I've already tried healing in Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, even Latin to no avail."

"You said it yourself, Thomas, the word isn't heal. The word just corresponds to what Christ used to heal--"

"Which was?"

"I-I-I am afraid I don't know." Irgen said dejectedly."

"Ahhhhh... Here we are, perhaps the closest any mage has ever been to finding out how to heal, and we are blocked, once again, by our lack of knowledge." He turned on his heel, looking around in frustration and saw to his surprise Jennifer standing silently behind him with her arms crossed.

"You may not have the knowledge, but perhaps I can help." Both sets of eyes flew to watch Jennifer. "It's obvious isn't it?" She said in her playful, casual way.

"Jennifer, I'm afraid not to us." She smiled before saying.

"Christ used faith to heal, or at least those who were healed by his hand, were healed by their own faith."

"Faith!!! That's it. You're a genius Jen. But is it faith in Greek, no it wouldn't be, would it be Hebrew?"

"I thought the language the Jews spoke at the time of Christ's coming was Aramaic."

"Aramaic, right you are Irgen. Except that in itself presents a problem. I don't know many Aramaic words, and faith isn't one of them. Do either of you know it?" There was a pause, before Jennifer said:

"Doesn't everyone?" Her maddeningly playful tone rang out again.

"What is it then?" Said Thomas as he crossed his arms to hide his frustration.

"Why it's haimānuthā."

"Haimānuthā eh...And you just happen to know that?" He asked doubtfully.

"Hmph, you forget that I wasn't raised here, I am an Earthen mage, and as such I was taught different things. I ended up being taught Aramaic, because many earth mages found that to be their magical language." Her playful tone was gone, and she sounded ready for a fight. Thomas put his hands down in a pushing down motion, and said:

"Alright-alright I believe you. Let's try it shall we?" He held out his hand and his staff materialized in it. He walked to the side of Helen's bed, kneeling down beside her, and he held his hand over the bandages and said "Haimānuthā." Everyone was silent for a time, as they sat and watched expectantly for some miraculous change to occur, but nothing happened. Thomas sighed as he withdrew his hand and placed it on his hip.

"Once again-nothing," he lay back sighing.

Jennifer wore a look of sadness now as she gazed at the pitiful face of Helen. "Perhaps, healing in magic does not exist, perhaps the founders wanted to leave fate to take its own course." She too sighed.

"No! No-no-no-no!!! I've got it." Irgen's voice echoed through the room, taking the adults by surprise. "We have to show faith in order for it to work. Thomas, remove the bandages, and then do it." Thomas gaped at Irgen.

"But if we remove the bandages, we'll start the bleeding again, and this time we may not be able to stop it..."

"I know," Irgen cut in, "it's a matter of trusting in the word. You have to believe it is going to work for it to work. It sounds crazy, but what if?"

"You may just be right, Irgen. I have never heard of such a thing, but for something as dear as healing and using a word such as faith. It would explain why no one has ever discovered it before. After all, Aramaic wasn't just discovered yesterday. Someone must have tried the word before to heal, but without having actual faith, without putting all their trust in this one great gamble...Maybe it wouldn't work. After all the ancient deep magic is so difficult to control that maybe it is the only way. This daring plan may just work." He turned to Jennifer, "Jennifer, quick, go and get the others so we can take care of the wounds if our plan doesn't work."

"No, Mom, stay here! Don't you see? We need to do it now, while we're not prepared. Only by showing true trust in the word will our faith be made manifest. It will take the combined faith of each of us, but something tells me that this is the right way. I feel that this is going to work."

"Go on Thomas; put your trust in the word." Thomas knelt there silently for a time, weighing the odds of their gamble. Finally he shrugged and said with a resigned grimacing face:

"Well, no gains without pains." Suddenly he reached for the bandages and began to pull each layer off. After agonizing moments of silence, he reached the last layer. Cautiously he pealed it off to reveal an enormous gaping wound in her side. As he peeled it off, the dried dark blood came off leaving openings in the flesh, where blotches of new blood began to appear in little pools.

"She's bleeding again, quick Thomas." Jennifer whispered in agony. Irgen watched as Thomas placed his hand over the wound.

The word haimānuthā once again left his lips, but this time something was different. There was a conviction behind his words. It was as though a plea was being offered to some unknown source.

As he spoke his hand began to glow blue. A blue haze formed between his hand and the wound. It descended until it fell on the wound, and as they watched in amazement the blue haze transformed into a tan color. It grew more and more solid, growing less and less transparent. Suddenly a light flashed from the outsides of the wound. Thomas withdrew his hand in amazement. In front of him, where the large wound had been, was a large patch of new skin, which was unintelligible from the skin around it. It appeared as though nothing had ever happened, and the beautiful woman before Irgen was only sleeping, soon to wake.
Chapter 19-Helen

Six days had passed since the two brothers had found this strange world of magic, and yet Idus remained in his unconscious state. At times his body made slight convulsions, whether from the enormous strain on his weary body, or from whatever lay in his thoughts, no one could tell. How long he would lie in this comatose state, they could only guess. His mother had hardly left his side the past few days. Irgen and André would sit for long periods of time with her. They often saw her holding her hand over his head as though wishing she could heal him, but he did not need to be healed. He needed his energy to be restored within him.

Irgen too, had spent hours trying to access the link between them, in the hope he could give him his own energy, but try as he might, he could not. It was as though he needed to be able to stare deep into those powerful eyes of his brother, to access such a strong link, but this too was impossible. Idus' eyes had remained solidly shut throughout his unconsciousness. Trying to pry the lead eyelids open only resulted in fruitless failure.

Despite their many efforts, Idus' seemed to fade deeper and deeper into the shadows. Hope began to flutter away as his condition worsened. His breathing became more ragged and uneven. The convulsions on his body were getting worse and more frequent. They could easily give him food through magic, but it seemed to do no good. On the contrary, after every feeding it seemed he got worse and worse. Despair overtook Jennifer. Irgen and André had to spend many hours comforting the miserable mother.

Irgen's only comfort was the fact that on the fourth morning Helen had awoken. She had long been bereft of any friends her age in the order, and after being told of what Irgen had done for her, she had become comfortably (or so Irgen thought) attached to him. At first Irgen had stayed away from her, because whenever he was around her he seemed to lose control of his senses, and he always found himself doing something stupid. He found her to be even more beautiful now that she was awake. Her light brown eyes lit up her stunning face. Her graceful movements made Irgen feel even more out of place. More than that, it did not help his confidence to note that she was only a couple of inches shorter than him.

She did not seem to care that Irgen was ungainly. In fact, it seemed to make her happy that he was that way around her, and after quite some time of being around her, Irgen began to feel more at ease. He slowly regained control of himself, and eventually was able to be his usual witty self.

As they talked together, Irgen found that Helen had been an orphan since the age of ten, when both of her parents were killed while fighting for the Knights. Thomas had taken her under his wing and brought her to The White Citadel. Here she had been trained in combat and magic, but it wasn't until she turned sixteen a year ago that she found herself able to use magic. Soon thereafter Thomas crafted a beautiful white, slender staff for her, and she had been admitted into the Knights at a very uncommonly young age.

Since that time she had done small tasks for the Knights trying to prove herself. Her first real assignment had been to help get the brothers. It was then that she and her companions had been ambushed and she had received the life threatening wound in her side.

Irgen automatically assumed that this meant she was not very good with the sword, but when he asked Thomas about it he corrected him. Thomas told him that she was the most terrifying woman he had ever seen bear a sword. After all he had personally trained her since she was ten. Irgen thought with a touch of sadness, that if Idus were awake he would have definitely got him to fight her, and after he lost, he would spend years making fun of him for losing to a girl. But, as Irgen thought gloomily, right now the privilege of making sport of his brother was not offered him.

On this sixth day, Irgen awoke and went out on the grounds, trying to get away from the gloomy feeling which permeated the atmosphere in the castle. He walked slowly but purposefully outside onto the short soft grass, a soft cool breeze caressed the depressed features on his face. For a second it seemed as though he were back in normal life. He felt like he had just left his cramped little cottage on a cold spring morning. He peered thoughtfully at the high walls in front of him. Seeing the stairs to the left of the wall he headed towards them.

As he mounted the steps he felt a tinge of agony in his stomach as he thought of mounting these steps with his brother only six days before. He stood still there for a moment, like a tree which has lain motionless for hundreds of years on top of a windswept peak. Finally he shook his head and took an agonizingly painful step forward.

He walked to the top of the steps and cast his gaze outward. The castle had moved to a cliff overlooking the sea. Waves beat against the large stubborn rocks below. No one truly knew where they were. Thomas had told Irgen that it normally took days to figure out where the castle had been moved to, because you couldn't just teleport there, you had to hike and find a Spartan who could tell you where you were. He said there was a time when the castle had been moved into the Sahara Desert, and it took years for them to find out where they were.

As Irgen stood there, he thought of how unforgiving the waves of time and fate truly were. He thought with bitterness of how tomorrow would be his and his brother's sixteenth birthday, but Idus would be robbed of it, and perhaps, Irgen thought with fear, he would be robbed of the rest of his life. Perhaps he would never have the chance to tease his brother, to play with him, the chance to be there for each other. Animosity began to flow into his heart, as he thought of the fleetingness of life. He thought of how little he had truly come to appreciate his brother. He closed his eyes and clenched his palms as hatred and sadness fought to overcome him. A tear rolled down his cheek as he blinked up into the clear blue morning sky.

A voice behind him jolted his mind back into a sane state. It was Helen, and her clear, soft harmonious voice rang out. "Good morning Irgen." He turned, hastily wiping the tear from his face.

"Oh umm, hey Helen," he cleared his throat trying to get rid of his newfound gruff voice. She walked onto the battlements until she was beside him, but instead of saying something, she merely turned and with a sigh looked out over the raging waters before them. Irgen glanced longingly at her steadfast face. "What is it that makes those eyes so firm?" He thought to himself, "She lost both of her parents, and here I am losing my brother. Where does she find her strength?" Irgen tore his eyes away and closed them dejectedly. When he opened them again he found Helen staring pointedly at him.

"It is a shame that those we love cannot always enjoy such beautiful days as this... I know it's hard Irgen, love like that is something that we never want to throw away, but now it becomes us to love them now. They can't enjoy it, but we can, and in so doing we are happy and they are happy, and that deep love within us continues because we do it with a much greater purpose." Her voice trembled slightly. "Days such as these are given to lighten the heart, and freshen the mind. It is not our choice to decide who gets to enjoy these days with us. All we have to decide is what our portion of the day will become." She sighed and once again looked out over the wall.

"Que sera, sera, whatever will be will be, eh?" Irgen replied bitterly as he peered out over the cliff. "Do you really think we have a choice in the matter? Does our will really matter?" He turned and looked back at her face.

"Of course it matters, Irgen. It is not for us to resign ourselves to the fate which is ours to have. Eventually every person will create their own long-foreseen doom, but it is always that person's choice. It is our decision what we will eventually become, and what will eventually happen to us."

"Look-Irgen. Idus and you made some difficult choices over the past few days, and both of you did marvelously. Both of you did things which few mages, if any have done, and neither of you were sixteen. I for one... am proud of you." She peered awkwardly back towards the sea as though too embarrassed to continue, but suddenly warmth flooded into Irgen's heart. It was something which had been mysteriously absent for the past few days. He looked at Helen's beautiful face as the wind blew back her sleek black hair revealing the striking features of her face.

"Helen... Why is there such emphasis put on the fact that we can do magic before we are sixteen? Why is that strange?"

"It is strange, because no one has ever done magic before their sixteenth birthday, not even the four brothers who began our order. You see, a conjurer's powers do not normally infuse themselves with a person's blood until their sixteenth birthday. There are only two times in a person's life when an element manifests itself to its bearer. The first time is at birth. On a baby's first night in the world a flash of light will take place at midnight, manifesting what element will enter that child, but after that it will disappear, and will not come back until the child turns sixteen at which time the elemental master will appear to make the child swear loyalty to his given order."

"Swear loyalty?" Irgen asked thoughtfully. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that the leader of your element will come and make you swear that you will be loyal to your own element's clan. For example I was sworn in by your father who is the leader of the water clan---"

"What! My father???"

"Yes, the leader of the water clan has always been a direct descendent of Alecto, and you and your father are no different." Irgen bit his tongue thinking what else his father did not want to tell him. "Anyway as I was saying Irgen, you and your brother are different. You see it's said when you were born your elements manifested themselves immediately, as though the elements themselves couldn't wait until midnight. And what's more all conjurers cannot use their element until they are sworn in and they are GIVEN the power to use it, but you two already seem to have your own power without swearing loyalty to anyone. You two are unique, Irgen, for you owe no loyalty to any of the vying clans. You do not have to join in the useless bloodshed which has plagued our race for thousands of years."

"It will all be your own choice; you have before you your own road, a road which has hitherto lain untraveled and barren. Perhaps it will be a desolate road, fraught with trials and a lot of troubles, but always remember Irgen, the more difficult the road, the more rewarding the prize at the end." She paused before saying.

"I do not think that this will be Idus' end. I see before the two of you many afflictions. You will not have it easy, but Irgen, if I am allowed, you will not face those trials alone." She stopped speaking, her bosom was heaving heavily from the emotionally draining speech.

Irgen smiled elatedly to himself as they both turned to leave. He thought that there were few honors he would value more than having her as his constant companion.
Chapter 20-The Knight's Council

Back in the castle, a heated debate was going on between members of the Knights. It had been determined that today on the eve of the brother's birthday, a large council would be held to settle what the training of the brothers would entail. All in all, 45 members of the Knights were present. Thomas had told Irgen that normally they kept a total only 50 people in the order at a time, and in the recent battle five of their noble comrades had fallen. Aristotle's table had been magically lengthened to accommodate so many people.

It was not very often that a grand council of this size was held in The White Citadel. Everyone there, if they did not know the importance of the council in the first place, could sense it from the surroundings. An electrically tense air saturated the first floor. André and Blackington sat side by side at the head of the table. Once he had learned how to heal, Blackington had wasted no time in healing André's wounds and everyone else in the beds surrounding Helen. Now André was back to his normal handsome smiling face; however, at the moment his handsome face was being confronted by loud shouts ensuing from the large group of knights seated before him.

André had just proposed, seeing as how he was their father, that he should train them himself. His proposal lighted a fire of debate in the council. Instantly cries of joy and anger broke like a juggernaut upon the council. Some contended it was a great idea, saying that such a plan was just what was needed, but others said the task was too great for any one man, even a descendant of Perseus. They said that the fate of the twins was intertwined with that of the whole sacred order of mages, and that as such it concerned them all.

André sat back down after his proclamation, and lifted his hand to cover the smile which was threatening to break forth through his tightly pursed lips. He leaned over to Thomas and whispered. "Perhaps this is why Sparta always trumped Athens, because nothing could ever be decided in the Athenian's true Democracy, so while they were still bickering about how big of an army to raise, the Spartans were able take the city unawares, because all of Athens was too busy bickering with their priceless governmental system, over an army to fight off said attack."

Thomas smiled wisely back at André. "You do have a point, but Sparta did not always beat Athens. At those times of extreme danger, there was always someone who was willing to seize power for the greater good." He smiled goodheartedly at his joke. "Always it is a loss of freedom, for progress... or maybe should I say-productivity! Fortunately for us; however, our Democratic system is small, and it is therefore more productive." He stood up and his deep bass voice rang out, "Hold on hold on my friends. We are not enemies and you all have valid points as to the first proposition, but let us not all speak at once. We are a magnanimous council, not a chaotic war tribe."

He sighed as members of the council slowly began to take their seats, each shaking his or her head slightly disgruntled. "Now first off, I have heard many good arguments, but in the confusion, perhaps I didn't catch all of them. Gregory you look pretty red in the face, step up and tell the group your opinion."

A large man with blazing red hair and a long red beard stood up. He was extraordinarily muscular. He arms popped ungainly out from the rest of his body thanks to his enormous biceps. His large robust chest jutted forward painting the image of a very warlike figure indeed.

"Thank you Thomas." He spoke in a very gentle yet serious tone; a tone which one would think could not come from such a large man. "As I was saying, I do not think it would be very wise to have the twins trained by their father. We all know that André is the best in just about everything from magic to swordplay among us, but I fear that there may be an emotional connection between the father and his sons. It may prevent him from pushing them to their limits. They must be trained as quickly as possible, and only by pushing their limits will that be possible to accomplish."

He peered cautiously towards André before saying, "It is not André's ability I question," and here he looked warningly at the crowd, "but merely the fact that at some point in André's life he will need to be there for his sons, and if he did push them to their limits, it is not him to whom they would come to. I propose that we allow someone else like Thomas and others to train them. This would leave André free to get to know and love his sons...

My friends, the boys are not bound to this order, or to any other order for that matter. Theirs is a path which has never been traveled before. It will be imperative for this council to find a way to link them to our own order, and you all know that their training will not do that. Perhaps the only thing which will create a binding link between them and our order is their family. I do not think it would be wise to alienate them from their father at this stage in their life." He paused and glared purposefully at those around him. "Mark my words; it is not a good idea to have their father train them." He sat down, looking just as red faced as he was before he stood up. There were a few nods of approval for his bold speech, and some even went so far to pound their fists on the table before them, but most knew better, and knew that the preliminaries were just beginning.

As he sat down another man stood up. "Dear me Gregory, you do not really believe the boys will choose evil over good do you? I mean their very lives have been threatened twice in the past week by the Tenebri alone. Surely they would not choose to go over to the Tenebri. I mean let's be reasonable." He laughed, "Being trained by their father would only make them much better fighters and prepare them magnificently for the tasks ahead of them. I mean Idus has already killed two Tenebri single-handedly, we might as well Knight him as we speak." He sat down with a jovial self-confident grin spread over his face.

After he sat down, a woman stood up. "Gregory is right; anyone else here could adequately train the boys. The boys need a father not just another trainer; any of us could do that--"

"Adequate!" A short man, with a squeaky argumentative voice sitting at the end of the table, stood up before the woman had even sat down. "The boys do not need an adequate trainer; they need a master in the arts. Maybe they need many masters in the arts, but I think it is our very duty as Knights to prepare them for the challenges that lie ahead of them. None of us has had to face what they will. I do not think it is within any of our spheres of expertise to say that we know what is adequate for them. I think that all we can do is prepare them to the best of our abilities." The short man finished and had a seat as did the woman, and a steady murmuring began to ensue from those sitting. The pounding on the tables grew louder as people began to warm towards the logic in the last man's speech.

"Thank you Alex. I am beginning to see how this debate got so heated. You all have very good points as to why and why not André should be the boys' trainer. If I may be so permitted... I would like to add my own two cents." Blackington's deep voice once again quieted the crowd.

"I agree with Gregory, in the fact that we should not alienate the boys from their father, but I also agree with Alex in that there is no better trainer than André. Therefore I wish to propose a compromise, I wish to propose that André should be their trainer, but others should accompany him as well. This is a job which I do not think we should leave to only one person. I also believe that none of us here can truly teach the boys their element...How was it you put it Alex?--Adequately?" He smiled good-naturedly before continuing.

"Therefore I propose that for starters, both André and I should leave to go in search for a proper teacher of their elements, and in turn, I propose that we leave Gregory as the temporary head trainer, until we return." He stopped and looked at Gregory, who slowly nodded in return. Thomas suppressed a smile at knowing the turmoil in his friend's heart. "Thank you Gregory. Now that that is settled, who will you have train the boys along with André and Gregory?" A long silence followed, a rare occasion in these kinds of councils. Finally Jennifer arose from the shadows of the back of the room and came forward. She had sat back there, not wishing to partake in the proceedings, but now she felt she had no choice.

"I believe that Thomas, Alex, Harold, Brown, and I ought to be the mentors, but I also believe that we will have to allow Helen into the mix, I think she is quite taken with young Irgen," Then she added in an undertone, "and young Irgen with her." Her radiant smile beamed forth before she disappeared back into the shadows.

"Right you are Jennifer. When all else fails, just remember to consult a mother's intellect. Eh? Well in that case shall we have a vote, and we'll say since there are 45 people here... Let's say 35 people for the motion will carry it." He looked around for approval, and a couple of heads nodded, but most were too stunned at the new turn the counsel had taken, and were quite stunned that the decision would be voted on so quickly, but before any objections could arise, Thomas spoke again.

"Right, those who are against the motion that André will be the head trainer with Gregory, me, Alex, Harold, Brown, Jennifer, and Helen as assistants, with two real trainers to be hopefully added later, please indicate by raising your right hand... Hmmmmm... That's one, two, three, four, five, six... Gregory... You're one of the trainers."

"I will be one if, and only if, the motion passes, but be it known; I am still against having André train them at all!"

"Alright, alright, have it your way Greg..." Thomas looked around one last time with a sigh before saying.

"Well that's six against the motion. Now those in favor of the motion please raise your right hand." Hands went up into the air, with a few exuberantly shooting up first."

"Right that's..." Thomas counted the hands, while making marks in a stone tablet before him. "That's 36 with three abstaining... I take it..." He looked cautiously around to see if anyone else was wanting to vote, but on seeing that the three who had not voted, did not appear likely to change. He looked back down at his tablet and said, "Then the motion passes and the boys training is guaranteed..." Roars of approval and a loud clamor of fists pounding against the ancient table met Tom's ears. He smiled before raising his hands for silence. "Thank you all for coming, we did this much faster than I had expected. So Knights, feel free to make yourselves at home, in your home." He added with a wink.

"As for André and I we must leave at once. Jennifer watch over Idus, he's much stronger than we give him credit, perhaps he will yet make it through." And without another word both of them swept out of the room. As they left the castle and entered the grounds outside, they saw Irgen and Helen playing soccer out in the grass. The sight of this seemed to trigger something in Thomas's brain. He turned towards André and whispered in a good-humored voice.

"I still don't understand why you would travel all this way, and of all things, abstain from voting. I mean even Gregory, who knew his vote was useless, voted." They grinned at each other as they passed like shadows by Irgen and Helen, until finally wordlessly passing outside the gates.
Chapter 21-Good News At Last

Irgen turned distractedly as he heard the gates slam shut. He looked around to see if someone had just entered, but upon seeing no one he quickly turned his attention back to blocking Helen as she sprinted towards his goal. He thought it was a strange sensation, playing soccer. His whole life he had grown up around kids who had only ever known American football, and now here he was, playing soccer with this beautiful woman before him who had wanted to play football, or what she called the noble sport of soccer.

Once they were off the wall, she had asked him if he wanted to play, and after only getting an offended look out of him. She made two magical soccer goals appear, with a ball directly in front of her. She had given him a playful look and darted off towards a goal. It was then that Irgen's pride took control. He did not care how good of a girl she was, or even if this was her sport, not his. All he knew was there was no way that she was going to beat him... Well at least unless he let her. So taking this as a personal affront to his athleticism, he took off as well, and the game had been going for some solid minutes before the distraction of the gate drew his attention.

He turned back just in time to see her plant her left foot, while deftly bringing her right foot into solid connection with the ball. Irgen froze watching the ball soar gracefully through the air in front of him. Suddenly he felt anger rise in his body. With this goal, Helen would pull too far ahead of him. She had already scored numerous goals, but this one was the last straw for Irgen. Suddenly fire erupted in his heart and the ball before him leapt into flames, before finally disintegrating in front of the goal. Helen turned around with an angry look on her face, "What did you do that for?" She demanded in a very imperious tone.

Irgen's anger dissipated under the fiery glance. "I-I'm sorry. I just got carried away," and then he added softly as he turned his attention to studying the grass around him, "I just didn't want to keep losing like I was... I'm sure you could tell, but I've never played soccer before in my life. I just didn't want to admit that you were better than me." He stopped as he nervously clasped his hands in front of him.

"Hmmmph. Well perhaps this can teach you a lesson in humility Irgen Tuerl. You know, not even the Tuerls are perfect." Her anger subsided as she conjured another soccer ball in the air, now come on Irgen, and I'll show you how to play the real game of football. She kicked him the ball and he lifted his eyes to meet hers as though in a token of gratitude, but as he did, he found himself having to punt the ball to the side and chase rapidly after it to avoid being tackled by this frenzied woman who used to be Helen Leshore.

After being thoroughly thrashed by Helen, Irgen finally threw up his hands in exhaustion and defeat. "All right Helen, you've proven your point, but remember you are lucky we are not playing an American sport because if we were it would be you, not me, who would be getting humbled."

"Soccer is an American sport my dear friend." She said mockingly as she made the equipment disappear. "Everyone else in the world calls it football or futbol or something to that affect, but we Americans won't relinquish our own beloved football's name so instead we call the sport where you actually use your feet soccer." She gave Irgen a lighthearted shove as he smiled mischievously.

They walked back to the castle, each teasing the other good-naturedly. As they came within a couple of feet of the castle a great horn sounded making them both jump. They looked around shakily, preparing for the worst. "It can't mean another attack... Can it?" Asked Irgen.

"I don't know, but I don't think I have ever heard that horn." She paused looking up at the four towers surrounding the middle turret. "There is a mighty horn imbedded in each of the four towers surrounding the castle, each stands for one of the four elements. To be honest I have only ever heard the water and the earth horn sound, and to the best of my knowledge, the other two have never been used." Her voice trailed off as Irgen too stole a peak into the sky, and then of a sudden a loud clang stunned the two even more.

They turned and saw the pudgy figure of Alexander come running out of the now wide open door of the Citadel, onto the street towards them.

"Idus is awake, Idus is awake." A soft thud broke into the echoing of Alex's voice off the walls. Helen turned in joy. Finally able to be truly excited for Irgen, but to her surprise she found him lying on the cobblestone street. Ironically his body had collapsed from too much stress and shock, on hearing the wonderful news.
Chapter 22-Vivid Veracity

Once again, Irgen found himself in the same cold dark, and bleak castle, except this time he knew he was dreaming, and yet the dream was so vivid, so alive. It felt like it was actually happening, like it was real. Once again he felt his hair stand on end as he looked at the dark figure before him. He felt not only like he was frozen in place, but also as if his very body was stiffening. Like he himself was freezing.

He watched horrified as the wiry man before him slowly raised a grim and deformed hand. It reached for the dark helm on his head. As he lowered the sinister helm, it seemed that it regained a shimmer to it. Now Irgen could see how far the helm extended above the actual head. It had eight distinct points protruding from the large helm, with three in front and back and two on the sides.

Irgen took in the details of the helm for a few moments and finally mustered all the courage he possessed and lifted his gaze to look at the now uncovered face of the man before him. Long, greasy black hair descended from the terrifying face. A pale white, yet extraordinarily dark face stared at Irgen sizing him up. A long hooked nose jutted out of the already demented face. The two small slits for eyes coincided with his small ears which could barely be seen through the thick mat of hair which covered the back of his head. As he looked at him, a slow, icy hiss whipped out of the man's mouth biting into Irgen's very flesh.

"Why have you come?" Irgen was silent. He was not just frozen by fear now, but by indecision. He did not know why he was there; let alone how he came to be there. He stood silent, waiting, hoping the question was meant for someone else, but then he felt words come of their own accord out of his mouth.

"You know why I am here, I have come to find-Him." His voice sounded harsh and yet its firmness brought warmth to his body, releasing him from the icy chains which held him bound. The man looked at Irgen for a moment before nodding and turning towards the door. The icy voice came back.

"You'll wait here, won't you? I'll bring Him back." The door swung shut, and footsteps resounded on the stairs outside again as the man descended the steps towards the great host outside. When he left, Irgen surveyed himself, and found that he was arrayed in bright, shimmering red armor. A mighty and bright, naked sword lay at his side. Irgen thought with slight trepidation that it must be dangerous there without a sheath, but the thought was driven from his mind as he looked at his now gargantuan body.

He clenched one of his mighty hands and felt the raw strength run through it. He thought he must be abnormally strong to not have noticed the armor before this moment. But as his hands clenched he felt the metal armor on his palm. He was astonished to feel that the armor he was wearing seemed to flow like water around his body. It was not stiff and inflexible as he had imagined the armor to be, but instead was agile and seemed to flow with his very movements, and more than that it was light as a feather. It seemed as though he was not wearing it at all, but that it was part of him.

Awe overcame him as he knew that this was his own body, and yet it was not his. He lifted his other hand in front of him to admire his muscular form, and found in his hand a beautiful red staff. It too was light and yet harder than steel. A large white stone shone in the pommel of the staff. Irgen grinned as his courage grew, and a firm resolve developed in his body; he was ready and waiting for whoever would come into the room with the other creepy man.

Suddenly he heard a pair of footsteps on the staircase outside. He leaned on his staff confidently as the footsteps halted before the door. The door swung open to reveal the same wiry man as before. He stepped inside and said, "Here he is, is he much different?" The man cackled horrendously as he stepped aside revealing a familiar man to Irgen. Irgen's jaw dropped with shock in realization of who it was. The man's black armor shined and shimmered in the light emitted from the window.

"You wished to speak with me?" The familiar voice seemed to cut Irgen to the core. He stared in disbelief at the man.

"No!" he thought to himself, "NO! It cannot be... NO!!!"

"Irgen wake up." Irgen's eyes flew open and found the pale blue sky smiling invitingly down upon him. He sat up and found that he was still on the cobblestone pathway, right where he had collapsed. He looked around and found Helen, Alex and a whole throng of people crowded around him. Suddenly he heard a voice behind him.

"About time you woke up." He flipped around quickly and found himself staring directly at the grinning face of his brother, Idus. His face seemed to have lost some of its former strength and glory. His cheeks were not quite sunken into his bony skull, but Idus appeared to have lost something in his brief period of unconsciousness. His face was not as full as it once was. To Irgen it appeared as though it hurt his brother to smile, but just the same, he was overjoyed to have Idus back.

"I should say the same for you." He said promptly as he too flashed a smile. His brother offered him his hand and pulled him up. The crowd of people around him were all beaming at him with the same picturesque smile, but perhaps the most remarkable to Irgen, were those of his mother, his brother, and... Helen.

They turned around and began walking toward the castle. As they neared the entrance the horrifying dream flashed back into Irgen's mind, with all of its vivid veracity. It was then that Irgen determined that if he ever revealed the dream to anyone, he would conceal the petrifying identity of the other man in the dream, referring to him just as he had in the dream, as Him, and Him alone.
Chapter 23-Dangerous Deep Magic

A few minutes later, and they were all back in the castle and once again seated around Aristotle's table. It seemed no one had left except for André and Thomas, so really only Helen needed to be accommodated with a spot around the table. Irgen and Idus sat at the head of the table, precisely where André and Thomas had just presided. The seats of those around them; however, changed dramatically. Helen and Jennifer sat facing each other on either side of Irgen and Idus, and next to them, sat Gregory, whom the twins considered to be an intimidating companion. Everyone else was seated, no longer in a position of dominance, or of prominence, but by whom they were best acquainted with. Small conversations broke out among the Knights as each group told stories of what they had been doing over the past few months.

Idus stared blankly at the many faces which surrounded him. His mind was whirling. When he had awoken just minutes before, his mother had excitedly hugged him in a crushing embrace, and then had bombarded him with facts about what had happened and what was going to happen now that he was awake. He did not take in most of the things she was saying, but he did manage to discover that he had been unconscious for six days, and more than that he had discovered from her embrace, that his body ached more than it ever had before. Even now as he sat there in the cool room, he felt as though his body was going to explode within him. Every movement he made, even just flicking his eyes to look at something made his very innards groan with agony.

He thought now that perhaps he should have listened to his mother's advice to stay in the hospital wing and wait for everyone else to come to him, but he decided instead, that he would try to impress Irgen with his sturdiness. So he decided that surprising him would be the best thing, and he felt that he had accomplished his goal better than he had expected, but now that it was over; he felt the best thing would be for him to go back upstairs into his soft, warm comfortable bed, but once again he could not find a way to ask to go back upstairs without arousing a sense of pity from his brother, or sending out a signal that he was in a pitiful, helpless state.

Of course, his fears were largely unfounded, for he did not yet realize the gravity of what he had done, and the fact that no one else had ever survived such a display of magic without first training years for such an occurrence. He did not yet understand that he had already shown how independent he could be. If he managed to arouse a feeling of pity from his brother, he warranted it, from sheer dumb luck and an ominous display of his own splendor.

But not knowing any of this, Idus stuck to his decision to not show any actual weakness. As he decided this, he heard his mother begin talking.

"Now since you two have both finally come back into the world of the living." She smiled happily. "I can finally tell you about the rest of what happened, and why it is important as to why you are here."

"Firstly, I am greatly saddened from the fact that your father is not here to tell you the tale himself." A look of surprise registered in Irgen.

"What? I thought he was going to tell us everything once Idus woke up." Now Idus looked surprised.

"But I thought he was either dead, or captured and had been missing for a couple of days." Those listening to the conversation smiled at this statement. On the other hand, smiling was the last thing on Idus' mind, as his jaw muscles felt as though they were going to burst into flame with every increment movement, and his tongue felt as though it were on fire, or as though it was the very fire itself.

"Well, Idus, I guess I'll just start from the top, with what happened to us after you lost consciousness."

"You will remember that Thomas sent up a flare to alert the other Knights that the fortress was being attacked, well when you passed out, the fight had only been going on for a couple of minutes. So right after your conjured lightning bolt killed the two Tenebri, those who were teleporting to the battle arrived. Unfortunately for us; however, it was not just Knights who were entering the fray. Other Tenebri arrived at the same time. For every one Knight that appeared, at least another three Tenebri arrived to join their comrades."

"Where they got their numbers, I'm not sure, but it appeared as though the unthinkable would happen and the battle would be lost, and one of the fortresses of eternity would finally fall. But then something happened which no one expected. Your father André materialized in the middle of the field of battle riding upon a great white steed. He was truly magnificent; he stood tall and defiantly in the saddle, with his great sword raised high above his head. All attention turned to him as many of the Tenebri began to bear down upon him. At that moment of great turmoil and doubt, your father spurred his horse forward high into the air, and cast an extremely advanced spell." She had a stern tone in her voice now.

"Throughout the eons of history I think it has only ever been cast twice because of the enormous effort and skill it takes to cast it. It takes a tremendous toll on the soul of a person, and if deep magic like this goes awry, or if the spell is too much for the caster, then their very soul can be divided from their body. It is a fate few have ever chosen to meddle with, because it would be a doom worse than death, for death splits the soul and the body temporally, leaving a place and a time where the two parts can once again be reunited, but this splitting of the soul, because of magic that shouldn't ever be meddled with, does not. It leaves a rift between you and your body, so that you will wander aimlessly, never able to touch, never able to smell, never able to satisfy any of your bodily habits, for lack of that same body. It is a horrible doom, and few would ever want to take that road. If I had known your father was about to do that, I would have---"

"--Now Jennifer be calm, there's no need to get angry, and André's fine. He knew what he was doing." Gregory patted Jennifer's hand in an attempt to cool her temper.

"Hmmmph, maybe you're right Gregory, but still..." She snorted in a helpless rage.

"André took a chance, and it saved our lives, let bygones be bygones." His wise knowledgeable voice seemed to calm Jennifer a little. Jennifer took a deep breath before smiling weakly at Gregory. The she turned back towards the boys.

"As I was saying the spell is part of the deep magic used by very few throughout the life of this world. What your father did was extremely dangerous, but it is what saved us. Remarkably, he had just escaped from where the Tenebri were holding him captive. There they tortured him, seeking information regarding the two of you." She looked stonily at the two of them, "He gave them just enough to escape, which was the position of our fortress---"

"---Wait! Our father was tortured... by mages?" A horror-struck look appeared on Irgen's face as he thought of how terrible his father had looked. The remembrance of the blood spots that covered his arms, the gashes in the deformed face, all came flooding back to him. Of course he had not assumed that the wounds had just appeared there by themselves, but he did not expect that anyone could be so inhumane, to torture a man like that.

Jennifer tried to give a weak smile at Irgen's naivety but instead a slight grimace appeared on her face.

"Yes, Irgen. He was tortured. And torture by mages is no laughing matter. Mages know what spells can inflict the very most pain on a person. They know how to maneuver a person to the very edge of life, all for the sake of a little bit of information; it is cruel and painful agony, one which every mage including you must be prepared for." A tear fell down her tender face. "Fortunately for us, Irgen, it is very difficult to keep a mage in prison. Merely our ingenuity is enough to get each of us out."

"Now what your father told them was not in itself very extraordinary because we think they have long known where our fortress is, but he also gave them false information in that we were much weaker than we really were. So they attacked and left a diminished guard to guard him. Seizing his chance, he broke free and got here just in time to do the one thing which would save us."

"In a sense, he offered his own doom as a sacrifice for our lives. I still do not think that it was a wise thing to have done, but as Gregory pointed out, it was his decision." She faltered on her last words.

"Go on Mother." Irgen said attentively, not willing to be robbed of the story he had waited six days to hear.

"Your father... created a vortex in the atmosphere surrounding the Tenebri. This vortex in turn sucked each one of the Tenebri into it, transporting each of them to some distant and remote place in the world, but the best part is that once in a vortex, it is impossible to hang on to anything, so every man loses his staff in the mix, and they in turn are transported somewhere else. I know you have seen Thomas summon his staff, but this can only be done when in close proximity to your own staff. Therefore most Tenebri now no longer have their staffs, and cannot therefore teleport back to their castle. Hopefully it will take them years to reassemble. Tomorrow most of the Knight's will set out to track down the Tenebri while they are divided. It is our time to attack." She looked at Irgen and Idus.

"But won't that be cold blooded murder just tracking them down and killing them like that." Idus asked astonished.

"You forget that every mage is still a conjurer. You know how dangerous you can be, they are no different. No they are not weaponless; no, they are still very dangerous and are waiting to kill each of us in turn. But we must press our advantage while they are divided. There is a war raging Idus. It is a war that began centuries ago, and still it drags on. It is a war that vies for the domination of the very human race. Millions of woeful, mournful cries have beset the skies through the centuries because of it. Each has ascended towards heaven in vain, until now, until the two of you were born." She looked sadly at the two of them.

"I never finished the story of Alecto, nor the story of the other brothers. They are very much intertwined with the tales of your own lives... but at some other time you will understand all." She lifted a soft white hand and pointed towards Gregory.

"This is Gregory, he will help train you. It will be a combined effort between your father, Thomas, Gregory, Me, Alex, Harold, Brown and you, Helen."

"M-m-me..." Helen managed to stutter as she pointed to herself, too excited to believe what she had just heard.

"Yes you Helen." Jennifer said in an exasperated voice. "Tomorrow we will commence, and my sons, you will begin your training and your very journey to greatness, and perhaps to immortality!" The twins did not catch the significance of the last words, but for the first time in days they felt excited again.

"Now you two need your rest. Let's go back upstairs, away from this ruckus where you can get some." And with that they went back, painstakingly climbing the stairs until finally they felt themselves enshrouded in those same soft white sheets, which truly felt like home.
Chapter 24-Gregory's Tough Training

The next morning, Gregory's gruff voice floated across the room waking the brothers. "Come on, birthday boys. It's about time you began your training." Irgen peered over the top of his sheets as a yawn escaped from his lips. Before him stood Gregory, but instead of being in his white armor, he had changed to reflect the mood of the occasion. A grey polyester shirt and black, sweat pants covered his robust body. Somehow, to Irgen, he looked fiercer now in this attire, than he had in his armor.

"But it's still dark outside." He muttered in surprise as he looked out the hospital wing's small square windows, into the black night outside.

"What! And time waits for the sun?" Exclaimed Gregory while he snorted at Irgen's objection, "soon you'll be happy you got the pleasure of waking up early and avoiding that horrid ball of fire." He smiled gleefully at the two's astounded faces.

"Now up, let's go. We haven't got all day." The two of them looked miserably at each other, and a feeling of gloom seemed to pass between the two of them. Slowly they got groggily out of bed.

"That's the spirit, now look lively it's time to start. Follow me and we'll go to work." Gregory almost sang the last words unable to hold back his enthusiasm, and then without another word he took off down the stairs. His masculine figure contrasted comically with the loping stride he had as he seemingly flew down the stairs. Unfortunately for the two brothers, they were not in much of a position to laugh, so without saying a word or looking at each other, they plodded along after Gregory.

When they reached the bottom of the staircase, they found Gregory waiting for them. "What is this?" He said pointing to their clothes. "You can't work in those." The twins looked at their clothes, and to their astonishment, they found that they had not changed from their pajamas the night before. A bewildered look came to Irgen's face, as he tried to comprehend what had happened. Their clothes always changed back as soon as they stood up, so why was today any different.

"Don't worry yourselves over it. It has to do with the fact that you are now sixteen, which means that you can now use magic to change your own clothes. I guess this will be your first lesson." He rubbed his hands together in front of him as though thinking.

"Now it is exceptionally easy to change your clothes, all you have to do, is picture exactly what you want to have on. For example this morning I pictured these clothes and voila there they were. But if you don't concentrate correctly, you'll end up getting extremely weird colors. That's why most of the pajamas people wear at night are just plain outlandish because no one ever wants to concentrate that hard when they're about to go to sleep. I mean they have a point too-haha, because there is no sense in wasting effort on a pair of pajamas that no one will ever really see. You know, funny enough, you'll see girls take forever to get ready, because they just can't make up their mind on what to wear. It's one thing to not be able to choose between two different pairs of clothes, but quite another to choose between everything the world has to offer." Irgen smiled as a picture of a certain young woman who couldn't find anything to wear flashed in his mind.

"Unfortunately, it is a luxury only offered to you while you are within one of the six castle grounds. Everywhere else in the world, you have to buy your own clothes."

"So what do we have to do to change our clothes, Gregory?" Idus asked.

"Well I've already told you that haven't I?" The brothers exchanged quizzical looks.

"Maybe you have, but we still don't understand." Gregory swiveled his head to look at Irgen as though seeing him for the first time, surprised at his logical objection.

"Hmmm, oh yes... dear me. You are right; I forget that listening does not come easily to the young." He laughed as the two faces hardened against him. "I'm only joking. It was my fault; I forget that I don't always explain everything as much as I should." He laughed once again and this time they half-heartedly joined in.

"Ok so what you're going to do is just focus on clothes. First picture what you want, for our purposes get a shirt and a pair of sweats. Once you've focused on the color, then focus on any emblems you want. Oh and don't forget to get shoes and socks, that's always embarrassing when you forget them. And you may want to close your eyes to help your mind concentrate. The final step is, once you have your outfit all picked out, you have to picture them on yourself and then you'll open your eyes and hopefully, if all goes well, the picture that meets your eyes will be the same." He looked at them, and they started.

After a time Irgen opened his eyes, and exclaimed in surprise. It had worked. He was wearing just what he had pictured. A dark green shirt, with black sweats. He looked at his feet and to his relief he found normal color tennis shoes, with white socks.

After Irgen's exclamation, Idus lost focus and opened his eyes. He shook his head with revulsion at the scene which met his eyes. He was wearing a bright pink shirt with purple flowers, and his sweats were orange balloon pants. He looked at Gregory in dejection, but Gregory just winked back.

"Don't sweat it Idus, the first time I tried it, I ended up with pink shoes and didn't even notice until the end of the day. Fortunately, for us, you can always try again." He folded his arms and looked at the ground.

Idus closed his eyes again and tried to focus again, over Irgen's roaring laughter. This time, when he opened his eyes, he found to his satisfaction, a brown shirt with faded lettering, and off white sweats. "That will do nicely." Gregory grinned with a flourish. "Alright, now let's go outside, and get to work." They followed him outside, in much better spirits then they had been before.

As soon as they left the turret, a cold blast of wind hit them, chilling them to their bones. The two brothers shivered noiselessly as they followed Gregory along the pathway to the gate. The gate swung open as they approached it and to their surprise instead of veering from the path, and staying inside of the castle, they continued straight outside. Once out of the protection of the castle walls, the brothers could feel the true fury of the wind. It howled around them, making their bodies stiffen from the extreme cold.

"I thought it was supposed to be summer." Idus yelled irritably. The cold was having the worst affect on him. His already sore muscles were seizing up around him, and his bones were crying for relief. He felt himself stagger from the pain, but then he straightened up, and felt his iron will dominate his body. It was as though he was locking down his body, shutting down the troublesome areas.

They went on like this for a time, wondering where this was going, until finally they came to a pathway leading down towards the ocean. Gregory took it and soon they found themselves gradually descending a large precipitous cliff. A short time later they found themselves on a sandy beach next to the cliff face, once again they found themselves shielded from the wind, warmth slowly returned to their bodies, and Irgen looked up in awe at the domineering walls that surrounded him.

They were on the shore of a large bay. In front of them, the apparently black sea frothed noisily against the banks of the shore. On the right of them, the castle stood prominently with its large, beautiful vista of the sea. The bay had formed in a triangular shape, with the castle at its head, creating a V shaped entrance to the ocean before them.

Irgen shivered as he peered into the distance before him. Darkness veiled everything ahead of him, but he thought he could hear the crash of unforgiving waves colliding with rocks in the distance. His whole body froze with terror at the thought of being out there, in the merciless grasp of the sea. He shook his head, trying to calm his restless body.

Gregory smiled encouragingly at Irgen, before striding towards the unyielding black walls of the cliff and picking up a large pick-ax. He pointed at Idus and said, "This is your first lesson...Well technically second, but really this is your first real lesson. I want you to create a hole in this wall with this pick." He held the pick-ax out in front of him, but Idus just stood there dumbfounded at the request.

"What's the point of me doing that, I thought I was supposed to be magic." Idus put his hands on his hips stubbornly.

"Come on boy, don't be afraid. This is your first real test. Before you, you have a sheer rock face, this represents earth. You are an air conjurer, and in so being, you will always have to fight against the power of the earth. You must learn to respect the powers of your rival. Without respect for Earth, you yourself can earn no respect. You must learn to respect your enemy, but not fear them, and that is why this is your first lesson. Your lesson is on mental toughness." He pushed the pick into Idus' hands and turned towards Irgen.

"Your first lesson is to swim out to sea. I have heard that you are a good swimmer, but it will not save you out here. You must learn to be more cunning than the sea. It will try to push you against those rocks." He pointed ahead of them into the darkness. Irgen shivered at the prospect of his task, as the waves smote the shore below them emptily.

"Irgen, you are a fire conjurer. You must learn to respect and eventually defeat the power of water." He turned and addressed both of them, "These are your weaknesses. You must learn to crush them, or resign yourself to always losing to them. It will not be easy training, but in time you will learn that you cannot allow fear to rule your lives, and you will also learn that respect must be given to everything, now to work." He smiled disconcertingly at Irgen as his hands shot out and shoved him into the water.

He fell forward, plummeting face first into its icy cold depths. He kicked with his legs and came back to the surface gasping for breath. "What was that for?" He sputtered angrily.

"Just consider it a shove in the right direction." Gregory replied smiling.

"But I've still got my clothes on and everything." Irgen said exasperatedly.

"Well then take them off in there, and start swimming." Irgen shot him a glance colder than death itself, before ripping off his shoes, and shirt and finally socks and sweats, leaving him looking like a wet rat shivering in the salty water with only his briefs to cover him. Idus started laughing but stopped immediately, when Gregory shot him a glance, and said, "Aren't you supposed to be doing something as well." Idus flashed a quick, timid smile which quivered and broke under the determined stare of Gregory.

He walked towards the wall of the cliff and swung the pick-ax confidently with as much force as he could muster. The pick struck the wall solidly and flew back, out of Idus' hands onto the ground quivering from the impact. Idus picked it up, dismayed that his swing had done nothing at all to the wall. He lifted it again, and once again his stroke bounced back leaving the wall looking quite untouched. Again and again he hit it, until finally a crack appeared, eventually yielding a large chip, which flaked off the wall stubbornly, as though still trying to hang on.

"Good, Idus. Remember it will take a lot of those little chips to make a big hole."

"Thanks for the encouragement, Coach." Idus said unable to keep his voice from dripping venomously with sarcasm.

Ignoring him, Gregory turned and looked at Irgen who was still shivering in the water. "Irgen, your power is fire, for crying out loud, don't just sit there shivering. Warm yourself."

"I... D-d-don't kn-n-n-ow how." He said under the chatter of his teeth.

"Well then you're not angry enough, get swimming and you'll find the power within you soon enough." Irgen shook his head in distaste as he turned and swam off towards the sea.

He did not know how far Gregory wanted him to go but he didn't care. Fear had been pulsing through him since he had stood on the beach, and he knew he needed to conquer that fear. So he set off, trying to put as much space between him and Gregory as possible. His powerful front crawl propelled him softly through the small waves around him. His fear was replaced by anger as his muscles began to warm up, and now he began to notice how strange it was that the shoreline seemed to cut off at the beach. Only now, as his fury began to build, did he notice that there seemed to be a complete lack of a shelf next to the beach. It was as though no land existed under him, only fathomless fathoms of water. He remembered faintly a lesson in science where he learned the speed of a wave had to do with how deep the water was, but he couldn't remember if it was better to have deeper water.

After a few minutes he paused, satisfied that he had gotten away from the shore. He turned onto his back, floating amidst the soft, massaging waves and regained his breath. His breath, in the frigid water, still came in ragged intakes. He remembered Gregory's council about not being angry enough to produce warmth.

As he paused, he began to feel how much his muscles ached. Even now while he was resting they stayed contracted, trying to give him as much warmth as possible, and trying to stave off hypothermia from hitting his system. The freezing water was tightening its hold on him. Anger pelted through him at this thought. He thought that if the water was going to take him, it was not going to be by freezing him to death.

He felt a kind of frenzy begin to build in his body. He focused all his energy into keeping himself warm, but he found he could not. Every time he was on the verge of creating the same shield of warmth he had made for himself previously, another shock of cold would lap over him, as another wave took its toll on his body.

Panic entered him as he realized that he just couldn't save himself from the unforgiving element of water, he turned and in desperation swam towards the sea. His strong stroke pushed him out towards the mouth of the bay. After a long time of struggling with his tired muscles, he reached the mouth of the bay. Here he found a force which he had not known before. Here he met the true power of the wind and water combining against him.

He tried to swim more strongly, but he could not. He could not muster any more strength, and indeed, his very vigor was being sapped by the merciless tug of the waves around him. His breathing now was forceful at best; he had long since lost the feeling in his arms and legs. They felt like long sponges attached pitilessly to his body. He continued to try to struggle, but it was useless. He felt himself being dragged slowly down. He wanted to cry for Gregory to save him, but he was too far away. He tried anyway, but nothing happened, and he knew it was over. No, there was no saving him. He was doomed.
Chapter 25-Endless Toil

The sweat dripped off Idus like rain. Before they had started, his entire body had ached, but now it felt as though it was on the breaking point. He had been hacking away at the solid rock for more than an hour, with very little visible progress showing in the rock face. In the cold morning air, he had long since ditched his shirt, and was now trying to do everything he could to just keep going. He had slowed the frequency of his strokes, trying to keep an aura of strength around him, more to build his own confidence then to show Gregory that he wasn't tired.

Gregory had long since stopped talking and was now staring out into the dark sea, swelling the water around him with his staff, as though playing with the water. Every so often Idus would stop for a moment to regain some strength, and he would find Gregory standing motionless next to the water, muttering small words to himself. It was at these moments that Gregory would almost always turn and smile encouragingly at Idus. After these moments, Idus would straighten himself upright and again commence his would-be demolition of the wall.

Whenever he restarted, his heart started racing, and he felt something push against his back as though in an attempt to break it. He had gone a long time before he took his first break, but now as he continued, he found the recurring breaks to come at progressively smaller time intervals. Every time he raised the pick, his dead arms grew even more tired. His strokes began to be less and less powerful, until it barely seemed to Idus, as though he was hitting the rock at all. He felt like he could go on no more. He let his pick fall out of his hands, as he slumped onto the ground. Tears filled his eyes as he thought of how helpless he truly was. He groaned hoping to get some kind of pity from Gregory, but as he turned to look at him, he found something else was captivating all his interests at the moment.

A large wave was cresting towards the shore. It grew progressively larger and larger as it headed straight for the beach they were on. Idus stood up, suddenly regaining his strength, but as he stood, he saw something on the top of the wave. It was Irgen. He lay unconscious and rather waterlogged on top of the wave.

As the wave approached the shore, it slowed down and slowly diminished in size until it was just big enough to wash onto the shore leaving Irgen on the dry land, next to Gregory. He surveyed Irgen with a cautious eye. He stooped down low and felt for a pulse. Idus stumbled over towards the two of them, wondering what had happened. Gregory looked up and said,

"He'll be ok, but I think for now you two should be done." He had a pained look as he said this. "I am sorry for having to cause the two of you such pain, but there is no other way, you must learn to defend yourselves. I am afraid there will be many more days like this one. You must continue until you complete your tasks, but for now let's go back to the castle."

He clapped his hands, and a shimmering, blue stretcher provided by the water around them materialized, Irgen's clothes wrapped themselves back around his body, and they began their trek back up to the castle. The sun had begun to peak its head over the horizon now, and the veil that had covered the world around them disappeared with the night. Idus gasped as the gorgeous scene around them revealed itself to their view. Large peaks rose behind the castle, while wide rolling fields sprawled out across the landscape beside them. They rolled on as far as the eye could see. Beautiful rows of wheat and barley rose into the air in the distance. Far away, Idus thought he could descry the resemblance of a road or a highway, but he could not tell.

Soon their path turned, as they reached the zenith of the hill before them stood the castle in all its splendor in the red light of morning. They continued walking in silence. Gregory was too lost in his own thoughts to say anything, and Idus was too tired to even formulate a word, but as they approached the gate a high-pitched, worried voice from above met them.

"What happened Gregory?" Gregory froze as he looked upwards at the sound of the questioning shout. He found two women staring down at him. One was Jennifer and the other was Helen, and they were both looking quite frantic.

Gregory began chewing his bottom lip as he searched for an answer that would calm the girls down. "It is alright, they are both fine and performed marvelously. They both failed at their tasks, but that is to be expected, it is only their first day." He motioned towards Idus, and they began walking towards the gate. Idus could make out the somewhat choked sobs of the two women. He smiled at the thought of them. The gate swung open and they found an unusually busy courtyard in front of them. They heard footsteps above and knew that Jennifer and Helen were on their way down. Gregory cleared his throat, knowing he was about to be grilled with questions.

A large crowd of Knights stood blocking the gates. Alexander stepped forward, "Already working the kids to death eh?" He smiled amiably before continuing. "Gregory, I know Thomas put you in charge of training, but we need to work together in order to give the brothers the best training they can get. It cannot just be a solo operation by you. We need to know what is going on as well." Gregory looked thoughtfully back at him.

"You are right, but there are some things which must be done by the kids themselves. Some things which we cannot help them with and these should be their first lessons. They need to gain independence from us and from every other clan. There is no way around it. Therefore, I am sorry that I did not inform you about their training this morning, but they did not need a whole crowd of us. It was merely them struggling against themselves, and although they did not accomplish their task, they did prove to me that they have very strong wills. A trait I value immeasurably.

Once again I am sorry, but tonight if you wish, once they are rested... You and Brown may begin to teach them the art of the sword." Then without another word, Gregory pushed his way through the jostling, noisy crowd, with Irgen floating behind him, and Idus trailing behind them.

After the long ever-arduous trip up the stairs, Idus once again found himself on the fifth floor, and once again, he found himself disappear into the soft white sheets. His aching body was at ease almost at immediately in this bed. The darkness came sweeping back and enveloped him, as he fell asleep.
Chapter 26-Back at the Hospital Wing

Irgen awoke with a start, and his memories came rushing back into his mind. He thrashed amidst the sheets, trying to break out of grasp of the sea, but then he heard a soft soothing voice next to him, and he sat up. Here he found Helen, and he knew something strange must have happened. She smiled at his befuddled look.

"You're ok Irgen. You're back in the hospital wing." Irgen looked around cautiously and found Idus sitting on the other side of his bed. He smiled happily at him.

"Hmmmm. Now according to my recollection, this is twice I have had to wait for you to wake up. Maybe my memory is wrong or something, but you really should work on staying conscious. I mean it certainly would prevent us from having to sit around worrying about certain things... Like you." Idus' playful reprimand gladdened Irgen.

"What happened?" He asked quietly. Helen cleared her throat and looked with raised eyebrows at Idus.

"Well you see what happened was, Gregory saved you once you started to drown, but when you guys made it back to the castle, Alexander and Brown were furious. You see both of them woke up early with the same intent of training you one on one, but it appears that Gregory foiled their plans...but only by making you wake up at 2:30 this morning..." Her voice sounded unusually strained.

"Now granted, he is in charge of your training for now, but none of us really thought he should have gone and pulled the stunt he pulled. I really think that what he did was for the best, but I do believe he should have told us about his plans." She touched her forehead in an attempt to restrain herself. "I will admit; however, that it was hilarious this morning. Both of them were livid, and nobody could do anything about it. They couldn't even complain to Harold, because he seems to have left in the night." She smiled as her hand dropped back down to her side.

"But now I am afraid you two will have to continue your training. As soon as you're up to it, Irgen, you two will have to start learning the art of the sword with the dynamic duo over there." She gave Irgen a slight grimace, and he smiled.

"Well I feel alright." He glanced at Idus.

"Should we start lesson number two?" They both grinned as Idus nodded. Irgen ripped the sheets off himself and launched out of bed, almost colliding with Helen. He discovered he was wearing the same things he had decided to wear this morning. He saw Helen smile in approval, and he beamed back at her. He caught a glimpse of Idus shaking his head at the two of them, before they began walking towards the stairs.

As they approached the stairwell, Brown burst into the roam panting. As he entered, he did a kind of pirouette. He smiled at the boys, and in his enthusiasm, he began rattling off a list of unintelligible words.

"Swad, not, t'nigh, red, go."

Irgen, Idus, and Helen looked at each other in confusion. It was awhile before Brown finally began to make sense, but even then he was still so eager to begin, that they felt like they were listening to the chattering of a squirrel in the trees.

"Great! You two are up, I am so glad to be able to train you two. My first name is Reggie. Alex's first name is Alex and his last name is ironically enough, Alexander. Anyway I am so glad to be able to teach you." This phrase the boys noticed was repeated about four times in succession. They figured it was a fact that he wanted to drill into their minds. Idus thought it was strange that their first trainer, Gregory, had not even tried to make friends, well at least to the extent of Reggie; nevertheless, he was kind of flattered by Reggie's constant attention.

After shaking his hands numerous times, they proceeded downstairs, where they met Alexander. Gregory was nowhere to be seen, and it appeared that he was either sulking from the reprimand, or else he did not want to be seen by the two who had reprimanded him. Either way, both of the twins noticed his absence.

Alex met them and shook each of their hands, but with a much more solemn attitude. It looked to the brothers like Reggie was probably the more affable of the two. After a brief greeting, they sat down at a table and began eating what appeared to Irgen to be dinner. He was starving. He thought food had never tasted so good. The morning's grueling tasks had not only made him sore, but it had also left him with a seemingly unquenchable hunger and thirst. He ate and drank heartily from the food on the table. The meal consisted of creamy mashed potatoes along with tender chicken breast. It was simple, but Irgen thought nothing had ever tasted so good. Finally he felt his bodily needs start to subside, and the five of them sat around the table quietly. Each letting the food settle in their stomachs.

Irgen leaned back in his chair. A feeling of relaxation swept over him as he did this, and all of a sudden, his tired aching body seemed to be screaming for sleep. He felt his eyelids begin to droop. He tried to fight off the inevitable, but before he knew it, he was asleep.

A loud crashing noise filled the room, as Irgen's chair crashed to the floor. He awoke with a start and jumped upward, while the table roared with laughter. His face turned bright red as he looked around the room good-naturedly. Reggie was laughing hysterically, but between his bouts of laughter, he managed to get out a couple of words.

"Well I guess before you guys fall asleep on us we better get started with our training eh?" Once again he broke out in laughter. Idus thought he sounded a bit like a hyena. The laugh was loud, high and came at extremely random intervals. It was as though he tried unsuccessfully to hold it in for a while, but gave up as soon as he found that it wasn't going to work.

Idus stood up and stole a glance at the still red face of Irgen. He found him to be breathing extremely hard. The fall had created an enormous adrenaline rush in Irgen's system. Fear always seemed to do that. Irgen cast a quick shamefaced glance at Idus before pulling himself to his feet. The scraping sounds of chairs met him as he did so.

Reggie clutched his stomach as he stood up, trying to control his high-pitched laughter. Finally he managed to straighten up and conceal his smile beneath a twisted, yet equally hilarious, frown. He turned and walked towards the door. Everyone else followed in his wake. When they reached the open green lawn outside, the twins found that it was nearing sunset. The sun had almost totally disappeared over the wall, casting a long shadow on the lawn before them.

They walked onto the luscious dark green lawn, until they were about halfway between the castle and the wall. Then Alex turned and muttered a faint word, and a light appeared above them.

"Now first things first, you both need to take off your shoes." The brothers exchanged quizzical looks before complying with this strange request. "Now the art of the sword is more than just prancing around waving a piece of metal. It takes work and a lot of it. And even then it is not always the best swordsman who will win. You may have seen plenty of movies where they have choreographed fight scenes, scenes where the actors have a practiced routine they do. You do not, and will not have the pleasure of having such a routine, where the bad guy always loses and the good guy wins. No, instead we will try to prepare you for what is really out there. It is a world of strength, quickness, ruthlessness, and a lot of heartache." He stopped while contemplating his last words.

"It is our job to turn you into master swordsmen. Nothing else will suffice. You must understand that in this training, we will not be training you to use toys. Instead we are getting you ready to defend yourself against the very real onslaught of the world outside of this castle---"

"---But if we can kill with magic, why do we need to fight with swords?" Idus interrupted.

"That is a very interesting subject, Idus." Reggie cut in, "One which I am not sure I can answer completely. Well, in a sense completely, for part of the tale belongs to those who have never returned to us. You see, mages have fought with somewhat primitive means since our very beginning. Alecto himself used his sword as his chosen weapon, preferring to use magic on more domestic matters, partly because magic can be funneled into these deadly weapons, and partly because skill with a blade has long been thought of as a trait of a true fighter

There is more; however, you know that a mage can use both his element and spells to his advantage, but all too often, this does not help. You have seen with your very eyes what happens when mages try to use their element to kill each other, they end up losing most of their own life force, and oftentimes they die as well. This is one reason why it is so interesting that Idus survived. It means that because of your connection, you will be able to practice more complicated magic, and build up a stronger resistance to the drain on your energy, and this in turn will make you both extraordinarily powerful, because few, if any, will have as much control over themselves as you will." He shook his head as Irgen raised his finger, preparing to ask another question.

"We'll talk about it later, but for now suffice it to say that killing with your element isn't the most proficient means of dealing out derision to your enemies. Now casting spells is also very difficult to kill someone with, because as you pronounce the words to the spell, you have to concentrate on what you want the spell to do. And let me tell you, it is very difficult to concentrate on a killing spell when another is headed in your direction. Few of them do any real damage, sometimes they might cause a slight nosebleed, but instead most mages prefer to stick with just cursing the snot out of their enemies. And even then it is difficult because almost every spell has a block, and even after it hits you, the master mages can act quickly and cast what is called a counteractive spell."

"Let me give you an example. If I decided that I wanted to kill you with the word water. I would have to basically visualize you drowning, and after it hit you, you could say the counteractive word, and visualize the water draining out of your body, and you'd be safe... That is if you concentrated harder than the other man." He paused and found that Irgen had a horrified look on his face.

"B-b-but... You mean you have to actually visualize yourself killing them?"

"I am afraid so, and that is why it is so difficult, because few people are evil enough to want to kill another human being, not even in war. May I add that we think of killing as belonging to dark magic which belongs almost singularly to the Tenebri. They will not hesitate to kill you, so it's best to just not give them a chance. This is a war that has been going on for centuries. Some wonder if the bloodshed will ever stop. I do not know, but..." His voiced changed into a soft, almost ashamed whisper, "I have only ever killed one man with magic, and it was horrible. He tried to cast the counteractive spell, and we fought each other for his very life, and-and." His voice cut out and he stopped. He looked at the ground as he turned towards a wall and strode meaningfully toward it, sniveling as he went.

"Yes, war is a horrible thing. You boys will learn that soon enough." Alex said thoughtfully, "As to the last aspect as to why we use blades. We have found that those killed by magic, can find a way to return back to this world. It is not exactly the most probable thing in the world, but it is possible. Most mages, even those who have it in them to constantly kill by magic, balk at the prospect of having someone whom they killed come back to life. They have a point too, because it is a very horrifying prospect. Some let guilt and fear harrow them up in their mind, until finally they are driven insane, unable to bear the outlook of having to meet that person again. Others like Reggie merely have remorseful regrets, sometimes going so far as to wish it was them who had died and not the other way around." He sighed, and the twins looked up at Reggie who now stood lonely atop the wall, leaning against the bulwarks, and staring silently out into the sea.

"Sometimes I find myself wishing the same thing, but the wars drag on, and as they do, I find that I must fight for what I believe in, and both of us have found that skill with a blade is perhaps the only way left for us to fight. Yes, you do have to get up close and personal, but more often than not, your adrenaline gets rushing and you act without thinking. Perhaps we like the sword so much, because it offers us a way out of our own guilt. It kind of helps us remember that sometimes things have to work out the way they have to work out."

"War creates a unique type of mindset in people, it changes how they think. It will take awhile before this change occurs in the two of you, but remember, when you fight; you are not just playing with toys. Instead you are toying with your very lives. Never ever forget that in war it is kill or be killed. And your training will help you make that decision. Now, let's begin."
Chapter 27-The Art of the Sword

Footwork was by no small means an easy thing for Idus. At the beginning, both of them had listened intently to Alex's teaching, but no matter how hard Idus tried to do the exercises Alex was teaching, his lumbering feet just wouldn't respond. Before now, he had thought of his feet as quick and powerful, but they did not seem to be built for swordsmanship. It seemed to take light-footed people to be able to master the art, and even though Idus was strong and quick, his feet did not hit lightly, indeed as a linebacker in football, the opposing line, and quarterback had come to fear his lumbering gallop as he approached the line of scrimmage. As they continued, his temper grew short, and his frustration piled up.

Irgen, on the other hand, appeared to be made to be a swordsman. His light-feet enabled him to travel like lightning around his opponents. Alex had started by teaching them what foot combinations worked the best for quick parrying and then counterattacking. Then he had showed them how to circle an opponent when in a fight. After that, he had paused and made them focus on just moving forward in an attacking position, and then moving backwards. They stayed at it for a long time. By the time they finished, darkness had fallen completely over them.

"Good!" Irgen and Idus stood up straight, sweat dripped profusely down their forehead and neck, and their short quick breaths interrupted the silence that had fallen. They looked hopefully at Alex. He was leaning on his staff gazing steadfastly at them. "Irgen, very good. I do believe you are a natural swordsman. Footwork is perhaps the most important part of fighting with a sword. But Idus," he peered keenly at Idus, "you are not--a natural." A silence followed as Idus blinked dumbly back at Alex, in his head he was thinking:

"No duh, you must be a genius to have figured that out. I mean after all you are the pro, so I guess I'll just have to take your word for it... I mean what do I need the sword for, I can already kill with lightning." His thoughts were interrupted though with a genial comment from Alex.

"No, you are not a natural with a sword, but few lightning mages have ever been. Indeed it is said that the great Idus of the past did not ever use a sword. Instead his preferred weapon was a double bladed war axe." Idus blinked again taken aback at this new bit of information. His predecessor didn't use a sword, and he was no good at one. Well that was good news, he supposed.

"Wait you mean Idus the brother didn't use a sword?" Irgen asked suddenly.

"You mean you don't know?" Alex asked back.

"No, we only heard part of Alecto's story."

"Well then, I guess I'll tell you what I know. Very little is known about Irgen and Idus as soon as they left on their journeys. The brothers did not speak of it much, and it seems that the few they told, took their secrets to the grave with them, but we do have many old wives tales about them. Perhaps they hold more fact than fiction, but no one will ever truly know."

"We do, however, know a few things for sure; it seems that Idus went far into the north with his winged shoes. Your grandfather, as it was, followed many of the old tales into the northern country, and somehow found through extensive research that Idus had stopped in Scandinavia. It seems that he had heard rumors of the Norse gods and of their exceedingly great power, so naturally, he was drawn towards them seeking for that same sort of power. The Idus of old was said to be very bold and assertive, and he was known to be very power hungry. He sought for it at every turn. It was the thing he desired above all else. The very mention or thought of the word brought longing into his soul, and he lusted after it, until he finally determined that he must have it."

"It is said that he found the Norse gods and after many days of persuasion, they allowed him to dwell among them, but in his heart, his envy grew. He spent endless hours learning the different arts of the Norse gods, but he could find no way to mimic them. He found that no matter what he did, the power that existed in them could not be transferred to him. And then finally, one day, he managed to get one of the gods outrageously drunk and flattered him into telling how the gods themselves had gotten their powers."

"Here the stories differ, for some say that the god told him of a secret place high in the mountains around them. A place where a man could be endowed with power making him incomparably powerful, nigh invincible. Others say that the god he got drunk was Thor himself, and Idus, through gambling, managed to trick Thor into sharing his power with him."

"As for me, I like the thought that he had to search for this hidden power, but no one can really be sure which tale is the truth. But one thing is for certain and that is that he eventually gained what he sought, and after he got his new power, he had to test just how strong he really was, so he tested it out on the Norse gods. It is said that he stormed into Thor's mighty dwelling and fought an unforgettable battle which has been lost to the pages of history. We do know that in the end, he ended up fighting to a standstill with the gods, and seeing that he could not win, he stole Thor's mighty battle axe, forged as a brother to his mighty hammer, and flew to safety with his winged sandals. Nothing more is known about Idus."

"But what about Irgen?" Irgen asked impatiently.

"Irgen, we know even less of. Once again, your grandfather tried to follow his trail, but this time, he could not find the end of it. It went extremely cold in Egypt. It seems that after leaving Greece, Irgen found passage to Egypt, but on the way, his vessel was hit with a mighty gale and was completely destroyed, but Irgen was not a demi-god for no reason. He managed to use his mighty strength to swim south until he landed in present day Libya. He managed to make it, yes, but the toll it took on his body, he never forgot. He hated the sea from that moment on."

"After he landed we know he went in search of the Egyptian gods in Egypt, and then they took him somewhere, but where, not even your grandfather knew that. We do know some of the traits of Irgen; however, like for example, he desired fame and glory more than anything else. He thought that the way to immortality was through a man's renown, and he received a lot of it. I mean to this day fire is thought of as one of the greatest achievements of man, and it took a great man, even a great mage to harness that power, but his other achievements have once again been lost to history. It's a shame---" He stopped as the four of them heard soft footsteps near them. Reggie came into the light looking a little depressed but better.

"How did training go?" He asked in a quiet voice.

"It went well, and Alex was just telling us about the stories of the old brothers, Irgen and Idus." Idus said eagerly although he knew the practice hadn't gone well at all.

"That's good," He looked quizzically at Idus, "although I'm sure you know there are no real stories of Irgen and Idus. They were, at best, shady characters that got lost in the pages of history." He sighed and looked up wearily into the sky, and the light above them disappeared, revealing the open heavens above them. "Well I guess it's time you guys get your sleep. I'm sure Gregory will want to work you two work-horses again in the morning." The brothers frowned at the thought of Gregory's training, but still they consented that it was best that they go to sleep. So without further ado they trooped off back to the castle, no one noticing in the darkness, the new bitter look which had come over Alex's face.
Chapter 28-Gregory's Lackluster Return

The next morning, the brothers awoke again to see Gregory's smiling face. They both groaned at the thought of what awaited them outside.

"Buenos Dias, you two. Harold has just returned, and has found that we are on the northern coast of Spain. Very near France actually." He paused and scratched his chin as he looked at the ground. "But dear me, I can't remember what the French greeting for good morning is..." He thought for a moment, during which time Irgen managed to drift back into sleep. "Oh well let's be off shall we." He strode forward until he was in between the two brothers' beds. Idus watched stupidly as both of his arms descended, firmly gripping their covers. Then suddenly he yanked, Irgen gave a yelp as he was jolted out of sleep, and Idus almost was flung flat out on his face before he finally relinquished control of his covers.

Both of them glared angrily at Gregory, but he did not heed their fiery stare. "Time to get ready for day two my sleepy friends." Idus glowered furiously at him and muttered quietly under his breath:

"Why don't you just jump out a window?"

"What was that master Idus. I almost thought I heard some malcontent coming from you. Of course I know you're better than that right?" He flashed his disarming smile at Idus, a smile which Idus did not return, although in his mind, he felt a little more at ease.

He shook his head, like a dog shaking water off himself, got up, and glanced at Irgen. Irgen was sitting up with his legs stretched out in front of him and his arms lying on his thighs. He was gazing in front of him dumbly. Idus' gaze brought him back to life. His hands flew up to his eyes and with a big yawn he began rubbing them, the yawn transferred to Idus and finally to Gregory until all three of them were absorbed into one loud "Ahhhhhhh."

A merry laugh ensued from the stairway as Helen leaped onto their floor. She was followed by Jennifer whom Idus had not seen since their incident the day before. They smiled at each other before Helen said in a soft voice, "Having a good morning boys." Gregory turned in mid yawn, giving him a very stunned comical expression. But with his usual characteristic flair, he recovered quickly.

"Bonjour, Mon Chères." He took a bow, and as he rose, he smiled happily at his own wit, and at having finally remembered a greeting in French. Jennifer smiled back at him, while Helen let out a high pitched giggle. He paused before adding, "What are you two doing up so early?"

"We didn't get the chance to train the boys yesterday, and we feel that it is rightfully our turn." Jennifer folded her arms adamantly.

"Rightfully your turn, eh? And What... exactly do you plan to teach them?" Now it was Gregory's turn to fold his arms, making him into a very formidable figure. His smile had disappeared and it was replaced by a stony, stoic face. The brothers saw now why Alex and Reggie had tried to come in earlier the day before. It seemed that Gregory was not a very agreeable person when it came to giving permission to other trainers to train the twins.

"I plan to teach them an art which you have never been able to comprehend." Her scornful reply unnerved Gregory. His face softened a little, but he still looked as though more persuasion was needed.

"I never found myself in need of your-coveted-art. It seems to me, to be a waste of time and energy."

"It is only a waste, to those who have never truly understood its divine principles. I never would have thought someone with your abilities would feel they needed it, but I believe that such a person would be mistaken, as I feel you are now!" She added the last word with a tinge of sternness. The brothers exchanged exasperated glances. They did not like the way the conversation was progressing. To them it seemed that no one else's training could be as brutal as Gregory's, therefore they felt it was their mother's solemn duty to get them away from that training, and so far to them, their mother did not seem to be using a very good technique of persuasion, and they felt like they were being doomed to another day of servitude to Gregory.

"I am wrong, am I? Well, I know one thing that I am right on, and that is that these boys are to be trained to defend themselves. I, am not, and you should not be willing, to have their unpreparedness on your hands. It is our solemn duty to prepare them for what they will--"

"—What they will, what Gregory!" She shouted hysterically, "Have you forgotten that the two of them share a link in their minds. Do you not remember that this is the one thing which will make them more powerful than any others? My art will only strengthen this link." Her voice died down to a whisper as she calmed down, "I only ask that you allow us to accompany you this morning. Our being there will only add a slight modification to your training." She stopped, and a strained look appeared on her face. Her sons knew that her skin got that tight only under extreme moments of stress.

Gregory stood silent for a moment, staring into the defiant green eyes before him. Finally he shrugged his shoulders and sighed. Alright, I shall allow you to come along and add your "modifications", but you will not question my techniques!" His last sentence had a firmness that the brothers had never heard. It struck them with a fear which they had not before known nor felt. Jennifer nodded appreciatively at having reached her objective.

Gregory turned around and spoke to the twins again, "Well are you ready yet?" The rapidity in the change from the unnervingly challenging tone to his usual good-natured tone caught the twins off guard. Both of them stood up and felt energy surge through their bodies. They gave another yawn as they lifted their arms and hands upward, stretching their stiffened bodies. Idus turned and grinned at Irgen, for the first time in what seemed like weeks, his body did not ache unrestrainedly. No longer did pain envelope his soul.

Irgen on the other hand, was exhausted. His battle with the sea had drained his body of nearly every ounce strength it had. He did not have any aches or sores, but a strange cloud seemed to hang over him. Every movement he made was like a man who, after being lost in the desert, begins to hallucinate and drinks the sand because he thinks it is water. Irgen felt the same way; it seemed his body was searching for energy in an endless desert bereft of it. The adults turned to go and Irgen felt a pang of anger in his mind. "Why did Helen have to come?" He thought frantically. "There's no way I'm going to accomplish my task today. I'm not even going to get close." He looked down at the ground ashamedly as the others got to the stairway, but then he felt someone hit his shoulder.

He looked up and saw Idus standing in front of him. "I know how you feel Irgen. Don't worry about it. No one expects us to accomplish the task today. Just go give it your all. Alright bro?" He slapped his arm again before leaving him and heading for the stairway. Irgen clenched his teeth with determination and followed the others down the stairs.

When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he found the adults almost to the entrance. Idus was waiting for him at the bottom. He had already changed his clothes. This time he was wearing white sweatpants, and a blue sweater. He had also added leather gloves to protect his hands from the unforgiving calluses which seemed to have sprung up like weeds on his hands after the previous day.

Irgen thought he ought to dress for the occasion as well. He imagined red swim trunks and goggles, and then he imagined a red with white stripes jogging outfit to put on until he got to the beach. He opened his eyes and found everything to be just as he imagined, but then he noticed that he had neglected his shoes and found that not only were they yellow, but they were shaped like bananas as well. He shook his head, but found that there was no time left for him to change his appearance. The adults had left, and Idus was almost out the door. Smiling at what Helen would think, he ran towards the door which was swinging shut in Idus' wake.

He felt better as he caught up with Idus outside the citadel gates. His blood started pounding in his chest after the short run, and he felt as though he had just found an oasis amidst the expansive desert. Once again the air around them felt like ice, but this time both of them were better dressed, and were therefore better prepared for the cold.

Their three trainers stood ominously waiting at the gate. The two brothers trotted up to them. Helen coughed into her hand to conceal a wide grin upon seeing Irgen's shoes. The other two did not conceal it so well, indeed neither of them really tried.

Gregory lifted his enormous hand, pointed at the shoes and guffawed loudly, and his mother joined in the good-natured laughter before cupping her mouth with her hand, and gaining control over herself. The laughter gained Idus' attention, and he too surveyed his brother, only now noticing the bright yellow shoes. Irgen turned to see his brother fall onto his back laughing hysterically.

"Hey! I didn't make a big deal out of your horrendous clothes yesterday."

"Haha, no. But if, haha, I, haha, had looked that, haha, stupid, haha, you should, haha, have." It appeared that he was about to say something else, but he gave up as another burst of laughter launched forth out of his mouth. Irgen turned red as he looked around at those around him, finally anger rose in him and he turned really red.

"Alright that's enough!!!" His shout brought something that he did not expect. Energy seemed to erupt like a volcano in his body. His exhaustion left so rapidly he hardly remembered it being there. He suddenly turned brilliantly red. Flames erupted all around him. He was on fire. Silence ensued at this display, and after a time, Irgen finally calmed down and his flame flickered and died away. For a time no one spoke, all just stared at Irgen in awe, surprise, or amazement, he couldn't tell which. Finally Gregory spoke, and he sounded delighted.

"That was wonderful Irgen, there's a step in the right direction." He paused and looked at his watch. "Well I think it's about time we got to work eh?" He turned and the gates swung open before him. He pointed down the pathway, "After you my young gentleman. After all you know the way." A brilliant smile shone out of his tangled beard, a smile which once again neither of the twins returned. Instead, they cast their eyes on the ground and began their trek out, towards the beach.

Now that Irgen was feeling better, he could finally think about what had transpired earlier in the morning. Curiosity grew in him as he thought of what art his mother had referred to. Wild thoughts arose in his mind as to what the art could be. A vivid picture developed in his mind. He found himself on one knee surrounded by a group of animals. A group made up of only lions and lambs. In this scene, he found himself conversing with each animal in turn, and more than that, but he found each of the animals were conversing intelligently back to him. And then just as suddenly as the vision had become clear it became convoluted in his mind as Helen asked him a question.

"Irgen, is it hot when you're on fire like that?"

"No, it's rather cool." Irgen responded softly, trying to sound nonchalant, even though he was angry at having lost sight of his vision.

"Well, I think it's hot!" She said while flourishing a wink and then looking away. Irgen grinned at the sudden, disarming compliment. Joy welled up inside of him as he fought off the sudden desire to release a loud whoop of joy. He felt that now he was ready and prepared to meet the challenge of the morning. Truly the sea could not stop his growth any longer. Nothing could stop him or even pretend to hold him back, not with Helen here, not while he still had the strength and the pride to show off, his uncertainty of himself had left him, all in that one comment. He was ready!

Indeed, as they turned down the steady slope to the beach, he felt it no longer held any power of fear or terror over him. Today was only his second day facing the task, but as he looked out into the dimly lit bay before him, a resolve grew in him that today was the day that he would beat it.
Chapter 29-Telepathy

A dazzling array of light met their eyes as they reached the shoreline. The sun peaked over the snow-capped mountains to the east of them releasing its fiery rays. A reddish hue appeared on top of the cerulean waves before them creating the famed indigo blue. Jennifer turned to speak and as she did so, her black hair gained its own reddish tint.

"My sons, today you are going to learn the art of telepathy."

"Telepathy? You mean we're going to be able to control other people's minds?" Idus asked eagerly. Jennifer's face tightened a little and Idus knew he had said something wrong.

"No! We do not, and cannot control others' minds. It is given every man, woman, and child the right to act and choose for themselves. That one right is given to all. Its foundation lies deeper than the deepest of magic."

"No, Idus, telepathy is not about mind control... but it does deal with changing a person's thinking." Helen let out a short laugh which interrupted Jennifer. In the red light, the twins' perplexed looks were too much for her to handle. Jennifer looked at her to be silent and with a deep breath Helen walked over to Gregory who was once again playing with the water around him. At the laugh, Jennifer's face had softened a little, but as she spoke again, it stiffened even more than before.

"You see all telepathy really is: is putting your own voice inside of someone's head. Do you see what I mean?" The twins cast their eyes on the ground, neither really willing to answer. Finally Irgen looked up and said:

"Well you mean it's as though you are talking to someone. Except you don't speak and only they hear it, right?"

"In a sense, yes, but also no. You see there are two different forms of telepathy. The first works just like you said. It is just you talking to only those for whom your comment is designed for. But there is also a second way to use telepathy. This second one is a very difficult art to master. It deals with helping others make a decision without putting off the air that it was your idea.

In a sense, you have to disguise the voice inside your head, which often times isn't the difficult part. The hard part arises when the infiltrator actually tries to pry into the said person's decision making. You see, at all times there are many different voices inside a person's head. Most of the voices are just different forms of that person's voice, often times they are stored information, which when called upon sounds just like it did when that person first heard it, but it is not what they first heard. Instead it is only their own voice which went through a type of metamorphosis to recreate their memory.

Now, there are times when a strange phenomenon occurs... A voice will enter a person's head which is not theirs at all. They find they have no control over what it says or does, and the voice has no real control over them. It only comes to help in a decision, or to prompt that person to do something. Now there has been a lot of debate as to what that voice is, some like Alecto and Poseidon believed it to be "instinct", but whatever it is, it is enough to just know that it is there, and It-is what we try to mimic in the second stage of telepathy."

"It is not an easy thing to make your own voice become incognito in another's mind. It takes a couple of difficult steps, none of which are that simple. Speaking to another is much simpler, so we will start with that today." She raised her eyebrows to see if either of them had any objection to what she had told them, but the twins just stood mutely side by side. They had grown very used to the idea that mages, their mother and father in particular, did not want them to know everything at once, so they had stopped trying to ask probing questions which they knew wouldn't be answered.

"Alright, now the beginning is very easy. All you have to do is focus on a binding link which binds you with the person you are trying to talk with. For example, since you two are brothers, nearly every childhood memory will do, but if you were trying to do it with a complete stranger it is extremely difficult, because the link needed may not exist. In order to create a link, all that is needed is a shared memory in which you speak. The stronger the memory, the stronger the link will be. Now once you have accessed the link, say what you want to say through your own memory as though saying it to a live person today and the message should go through, and on the other end your voice should ring loud and clear in their head as though you had just said those words." She stopped and the two brothers exchanged doubtful looks.

"Go ahead and try it." Irgen smirked as a thought came to him. If this really worked, he and Idus would be able to murmur their discontent without ever speaking. He decided to give it a try. He thought of only moments before when his brother had given him encouraging words. It seemed like a pretty strong thought, so he focused on it, and then made himself speak to his brother in his scene.

He turned to Idus and asked if he had heard what he said, but Idus shook his head.

"Are you sure you spoke in the memory?" Their mother asked patiently, and Irgen realized that he hadn't. He searched for another thought and found the memory of when they had first seen the White Citadel. He did the same thing again, but this time his own ears seemed to ring from the noise of his voice. He turned and found Idus nodding his head joyfully.

"Did you hear it that time?" Idus smiled back at him.

"That was the weirdest sensation I have ever felt. It was like you were inches away from me shouting, and yet you weren't." Their dubious looks were replaced by excited smiles.

"Good! That's exactly what it is supposed to feel like, practice it a couple times, and try to talk to all of us. And then try to control the volume of your voice." They set to work and after a few minutes Irgen started getting a pretty good handle on it, but Idus was having trouble talking to Helen. He couldn't remember a strong memory of his speaking to, or around her.

A bright smile grew on her face as she watched him struggle, until finally she prodded his memory with a suggestion, as to what memory to use. He smiled gratefully at her for the advice, then he tried again and finally heard the queer ringing in his mind.

Their elementary training complete, Jennifer decided it was time to move into the advanced stage of telepathy. She decided it was time for them to learn how to disguise their voice in another's mind.

"Great! You did very well. I think you two may just have the stuff it takes to become proficient at telepathy, although none can really be sure about that. You have done the first task remarkably quickly, some struggle for ages trying to talk to others, and in the end they find they just don't have the mental capacity, or perhaps just the focus of mind to do it. Unfortunately; however, many of those who manage to talk to people fail miserably at trying to enter another's thoughts."

"I don't understand mom, why would talking to someone be so much easier than entering their mind. I mean it's happening inside that person's mind, isn't it? Shouldn't it be the same?" Jennifer's tongue clacked in the roof of her mouth at the question from Idus.

"Always asking questions...Hmmmph...Well to put it shortly, the link we use to talk to people only puts you in touch with a shared memory. Memories are not people's thoughts. Links do not exist when you try to enter someone's mind, because what people are thinking of at that moment, is not a memory. Do you see what I mean?" They both shook their heads.

"The link you two use is not a memory. It is current, it is present, and I think it may even look into the future, but it is not a memory. When you talk to people you do it through a memorable link, a past thing. Something that has happened and something you shared together." She paused, and the brothers looked up to see that the sun was now a little above the mountains. Its beaming rays gently warmed their confused faces.

"When you try to enter someone's mind, it is like the link you two use, it is present, you have to know what the other person is thinking, and be able to concentrate unobtrusively, and unreservedly on what you think they are thinking about. Do you see why it is so difficult now?" Irgen smiled as thoughts and words formed in his mind.

"Ahhh, correct me if I'm wrong mom, but you're saying that for this next stage we actually have to know what other people are thinking in order to enter their mind. Isn't there just a way to read their mind with magic and then try it?"

"Hah! Wouldn't that be nice? No Irgen, I'm afraid that there is no real way to know exactly what a person is thinking unless...you manage to enter their mind. It is always a long shot, because all that is needed is just one thought, just one, focused on by the invader and the victim, but that one thought is extremely hard to find. It has to be instantaneous, your thoughts have to be one with another at the same time, or else it is impossible to enter another's mind." A short silence followed her remarks. Pensively Idus broke the silence:

"What do you mean by being one with another's mind, mother?" She looked cautiously at him for a moment before answering:

"Well it's simple; you have to be thinking the exact same as the other person. It is as though you are that person, because their will is your own will. You have to be one in purpose, and one in mind, in order to enter that persons mind. Otherwise you will be separated; separated by something which nothing can transcend. There are only two ways to overcome this separation, the first is to become exactly like the other person, as though you were two beings but in a sense the very same being, neither of you differing in the slightest. If you manage to become like this with someone you would be extremely fortunate, because you will always be able to enter their mind, because you are almost always thinking about the same things as they are, your thoughts are the same, therefore you are the same. You will have two minds, but in all reality, only one thought process, so you will be, in very essence, the same. Unfortunately that is a very long shot."

"The second way is really the only real way we humans have to enter another's mind. In it we have to be able to pretend that we are that person. You have to be able to forget about yourself, your wants, your wishes, your aspirations, your desires, and instead focus on what that person's thoughts may be. You have to be able to go beyond the very thing which separates each of us: our own sense of self worth. In a sense you have to give up yourself in order to enter someone else. Perhaps it is the sense of sacrifice which allows us to enter another's mind, but then again perhaps not. It is a fact though, that you may only enter another's thoughts by finding one single thought, and once you are there, you may only remain as long as your own mind continues with the other's mind, as soon as you think of yourself, you return to your own mind. Oh and once you enter another's mind, they will know, although they will not know who it is, they will know someone is there. Be prepared, for some people don't take kindly to having their mind invaded."

Silence once again fell on the group as the twins meditated over what they had just been told. Only the soft steady crash of waves on the beach disturbed the newfound tranquility on the shore. Gregory and Helen stood side by side looking out into the deep waters before them. Jennifer waved her wrist and a chair formed out of the sand for her to sit in. She sat and watched, waiting for her sons' response to this new information. Neither of them could think of what to say. They hadn't thought it would be this hard to use their link.

"Wait!" Shouted Irgen gleefully, "We have to be one in thought, to be one in mind. Right? What if we being brothers only have to be one in purpose? Everything that activates the link seems to be for our own welfare." He looked at Idus. "I could only help you gain energy back because I didn't want to lose you. You knew I was at the school that night because you were trying to look after my wellbeing. We activate it not with our thoughts, but with our purpose, with the intent of our heart." After these words, Jennifer jumped up and went to hug the two of them, but at the same time Gregory turned around.

"Splendid! I see you two have figured it out eh? I guess that means we can stop wasting time on telepathy and start with your training for the day, eh?" Jennifer stiffened mid embrace with Idus. She straightened up and turned to argue with Gregory but the intensely dissatisfied look on his face made even her haughty eyes quail. She sat back down in the chair and nodded her consent. Gregory nodded back and his face went back to its tranquil self.

"Good, shall we begin?" The twins nodded half-heartedly.

"Well, with your new found skill, we'll only need to do one task at a time; you will learn to appreciate all the elements this way." He did not smile this time, but instead looked at the brothers. They both avoided his eyes, each hoping the other would have to go first.

"Irgen you're up first. I hope you brought a swimming suit today." Helen was the only one who laughed at his joke, although Irgen's heart leapt at the sound of her laugh. He took off his jogging suit and yellow shoes. He nodded at Idus, and then he turned and ran towards the shoreline and with a flourish dove into the still frigid, cold water.
Chapter 30-Victory at Sea

It occurred to Idus as he was soaring through the air, that perhaps diving off a beach wasn't the greatest idea he had ever had, but then, as he was floating forward, he caught a glimpse of Helen's beautiful face, and he knew showing off was the thing to do. He entered the water a moment later sleekly slicing through a wave, going down into the depths of the sea. The soft sea water caressed his face as he plummeted into it. Then he felt another, coarser feeling on his face and arms. His speed slackened and came to a crunching stop. He turned to stand, and found that his feet were positioned firmly on sand. He rose up to his full height and felt his torso emerge from the water. The water drained from his face and ears and he heard laughter coming from the shore a few feet away from him.

"Nicely done, Irgen. That was a splendid way to show your prowess in the water. Couldn't have done it much better myself." Gregory and Idus were screaming like jackals on the beach. Irgen brushed the sand off his face and arms, and a sheepish grin appeared on his face as he looked back at the two of them and shrugged. It took a while for the two of them to calm down. Meanwhile, Irgen's legs started to freeze up as he stood in the icy cold depths. Helen and his mother had each taken a seat as though waiting for the show to begin.

Irgen felt his blood grow hot within him as he watched the lack of compassion coming to him from the shoreline. Suddenly he realized that now would be the perfect time for him to begin warming himself. He closed his eyes and concentrated on gaining that shield of warmth about him. As he did so, he felt the heat from his core spread throughout his body, he felt his legs loosen up again, and he opened his eyes and found a thin membrane of fire surrounding him. To his surprise, it was not like the fire he had conjured earlier. It did not cover him in dancing orange and red light, instead the membrane seemed to be made up of bright blue flames. Idus decided the flames must be like those emitted by a butane or propane stove.

His sheepish grin disappeared as the howling laughter from the beach disappeared. It was replaced instead by quiet awe. He turned and threw his body back into the water and found the flame did not stop on his entrance. In fact it seemed all the warmer once underwater.

"It was now or never," he thought as he resurfaced. He felt the energy pulsate through him as he prepared himself to head for the sea. It rose in him, and he struck forward. Turning onto his back, he began a soft steady stroke towards the outlet into the ocean. As he did so he felt a new presence in his mind. A soft whisper came to him, and more power swept through his body. Idus was with him.

He felt his arms go forward and back as if by their own free will. He felt he would be driven mad by the feeling of having so much power flowing through him. He had the craven idea to speed forward with all engines running, but a calming voice echoed softly inside of him, and no matter what he did, it kept telling him to go slow and steady. He was too overjoyed at the newfound strength to notice that perhaps this voice didn't belong to him, but at the moment he wasn't too concerned with who it was. He did hearken to its counsel though, and he found himself doing just what it was saying to do; he found himself going slow and steady.

The figures on the shore grew steadily smaller as Irgen made his way out of the bay. The soft waves massaged his back as he rolled smoothly out to sea. As he reached the mouth of the bay, a force hit him that had not been present the day before. It was as though the sea was combining its powers against him, trying to stop his progress through the waves.

The force not only made the current feel like Irgen was pushing against a brick wall, but it acted as though buoyancy no longer existed. It ripped Irgen off his back, and no matter how hard he tried to keep afloat, it seemed he could no longer float. Panic started to fill his body again as he struggled to keep his head above water.

Gone was the exquisitely happy feeling he had felt earlier. Instead he felt strained as the waves struggled to quickly rip him apart. Irgen's lungs compressed within him as the sea wrenched him into their dark depths. He strived haplessly trying to fight off this new unknown foe. Its power was phenomenal. Frustration and desperation rose within him as the unknown power crushed his futile efforts to escape. Then, Idus' soft voice rang through his head. "Concentrate with me." It was all that Irgen needed. Suddenly the energy from his panic convulsed within him. The unseen chains which held him ever so agonizingly bound, melted like butter on hot fresh bread. His body exploded upwards and he rose triumphantly from the waves. He let out a defiant yell as he prepared himself for his reentry into the waves, but it didn't happen.

Astonished, Irgen looked down and found he was now riding on what looked like a big surfboard, but it was made out of, not fire, but electricity. And more than that, it appeared the sea was following him as he rode out to sea.

A large wave had crested behind him and pushing him forward as he rode away from land. After a short while the cliffs began to disappear and Irgen decided it was time for him to head back. He turned his will and the waves turned with him. As he did so he heard Idus' voice in his head, "Nicely done... now just wait till you get back to shore."

After a few moments, Irgen found the bay in sight. He willed the wave to go faster as he neared the shoreline. It grew larger and larger behind him, and then just as he was about to land, the massive tidal wave disassembled, spraying those on shore with a torrent of rain. The haze of rain blocked his eyes as he tried to survey the scene. Irgen tried to peer through the veil as he stepped lightly ashore, as he did so, the surfboard vanished silently behind him.

When the scene cleared, Irgen had a number of different reactions flow through him. His first reaction was to laugh at the hilarious view which presented itself to him. He saw two swamp rats before him. Their long hair dripping, their clothes soaked, even the chairs Jennifer had created earlier were nonexistent. Only little mud hills remained from the once glorious seats.

Irgen felt a smile begin to appear, but once again the voice told him that laughing right now was not the thing to do, so Irgen stooped down and bit his hand as though wiping the water off of his face. When he looked back up he saw why it was a good thing he didn't laugh. Off to the left a little lay Gregory flat on his back with his eyes closed; crouching beside him was Idus.

He looked at the two girls again, and he found that they had swept the hair out of their face and now Irgen quailed under the furious look coming out of both of their eyes. He thought then that truly "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." He braced himself for the tirade he was sure was coming. His mother raised her arm and Irgen winced, fearful of what was coming, but she just let out a deep sigh, scratched her head, and walked over to where Gregory lay.

Irgen straightened up, shocked that the inevitable had not happened. He started to walk towards Helen, but her angry look did not dissipate. He slowed down and knew that the first storm had missed him, but the second one was going to hit him dead on. He bowed his head knowing that the only thing to do was weather the onslaught.

"DO-YOU-KNOW-HOW-LONG-IT-TOOK-ME-TO-DO-MY-HAIR-THIS-MORNING!!!" Irgen shrugged not willing to take his eyes off of the now very appealing sand. He felt envy now as he looked at the fine grains below him. If only he could be a grain of...

"WHY DO BOYS ALWAYS HAVE TO SHOW OFF?" Her voice trailed off on her last word, and Irgen looked up hopefully. Hoping against hope that the storm was over and he had weathered it, but as he did so he found those same blazingly furious eyes boring holes into his body. He quickly cast his eyes back on the ground wondering if he had lost something there earlier, but fortunately for him, the worst was over. Panting, Helen turned on her heel and stomped over to the other three.

Irgen looked up somewhat expectantly. "Had Christmas come early?" He thought somewhat gleefully. He was young, but he knew that getting off so easily by no less than two women was no simple feat. He strode cautiously to where Gregory was lying. He had assumed earlier, by the way the girls were not tending to him that he was not in terrible condition, but he still wondered what on earth could have happened to him.

As he neared the group, Idus' voice boomed in his head, "Don't worry too much about Gregory. It's absolutely comical what happened to him actually. He tried to mess with the water so you would fail on purpose, but then we broke through his defenses, and it seems that in so doing we found that we can control the sea as well, the only problem is that in so doing, we somehow managed to knock out old miste' Gregory." Irgen grinned as he focused on responding, but as he did so, his mother turned around and shot him a glance that would have curled the freshest milk.

"She can't really read my mind can she?" He thought haphazardly. "I mean I'd know she was there... wouldn't I?"

"You don't know when I'm here." Was Idus' soft reply.

"Stop trying to be philosophical. And for your information, I do know when you enter my mind; it's just how long you stay that I don't know." Idus turned and looked at Irgen, as though in recognition of the last few words.

"We'll talk about it later." Shaking his head, Irgen crouched down next to Helen, although after a moment of repeatedly catching short, nasty glances from her, he decided sitting next to Idus would be best.

By the time he moved, Gregory stirred beneath him. A faint flicker of his eyelids was the only sign of life which registered on his face, but a sigh of relief came out of Jennifer's moist lips.

"Luckily, he'll be fine. But for now I guess we'll call that good for the day. I think you two have done enough damage this morning. Lord knows what I'd do if something like this didn't happen every day." Her voice sounded strained, so neither of the twins pressed the issue. Instead they each retired to walk behind the floating stretcher of leaves, their mother conjured.

They made the trip back to the castle in absolute silence, and as far as the twins could tell, no words were spoken. Be it verbally or nonverbally.
Chapter 31-The Four Elements

Hours seemed to pass wastefully back at the castle. All of the Knights had left except the ones who were present for the morning's task. Brown and Alexander had disappeared after the previous night, and Harold had gone away on business, so the twins had no one to talk to. The two women had softened after returning to the castle, but after getting back to the castle, they had locked the hospital wing so that they could tend to Gregory in "Peace and quiet." At least that's what they said. This scenario left the twins alone to explore the castle for the first time.

They decided they would first try to find an entrance to the four turrets which surrounded the main tower. It was already late afternoon when they began their exploration of the grounds. The soft warm glow from the sun had heated the air outside while they were in the castle. As they stepped outside the doors, the strength draining blast of hot air took its toll on their systems. They looked at each other, questioning their choice to enter the heat, but in the end, Irgen stepped recklessly outside. After all he did control fire, why then should he be afraid of the heat?

They closed the door softly behind them. Still fearing reprisal from their mother, they left nothing to chance, which might jeopardize their opportunity to explore the castle.

Deftly, they stole towards the turret flying the dark blue flag. Its solid stone structure rose smartly into the air to the right of them. They approached the stone structure, and were disappointed to find no door around the massive circular base. Neither of them spoke, each of them were entranced by the magnificent building before them. They closed in on its complex and yet bare stone walls, searching for clues to its entrance, but nothing appeared. Disappointed they sat down in the shadow of the mighty building, leaning their backs against the smooth cold rock edifice behind them. Irgen began uprooting shoots of grass in frustration.

"You know Idus. I really thought magic was supposed to make life easier, not harder."

"Yeah, I guess the grass isn't always greener." Idus replied with a sigh. As he did so, he felt his eyelids droop. In the background he could faintly hear his brother's voice as he replied, but to Idus it was already fading. The shade from the structure created a very pleasant temperature. He felt his body relax, and then he disappeared into the realm of sleep.

He opened his eyes, and found, to his surprise, a strange grey haired man scratching his chin in front of the tower. The old man looked like he should belong in a museum, and definitely not in the 21st century. A large white toga flowed elegantly over his aging body. A grizzled white beard descended from a pointed chin. Scarred cheeks augmented the deep furrowed lines on his forehead. The man appeared to be in deep concentration over something, but what it was, Idus couldn't tell. Suddenly he stooped down and lifted a very small rock off the ground. Idus wondered how it got there, as far as he could tell, the grass surrounding the castle had been free of the smallest rocks for centuries.

The old man peered silently at the rock for a moment, before it seemed to transform into water in his hand. The water trickled softly out of his fingers into the grass before him.

As it hit the earth, a small hole began to develop. It grew larger and larger, and a stone staircase appeared. Unsurprised, the man carefully set his feet onto the stone steps. As he did so, Idus saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and found a young man creeping stealthily towards the old man descending the steps. In the young man's eyes, Idus could decree the same fury which had propagated his own a few days before. He tried to cry out, tried to run and warn the old man, but it was useless. He could not alter the past. He could merely sit and watch as the young man slipped silently into the hole, leaving Idus standing horrified by himself as the hole closed behind him.

Minutes passed like hours as Idus looked frantically at the hole, waiting to see what would happen. Finally the hole reappeared and the young man came sprinting out of the building as though the devil himself was after him. His eyes darted back and forth as he flew up the stairs. For a second they landed starkly on Idus and a bone chilling feeling came over him.

The eyes had changed in the time the man went down the tunnel. Blue flecks were all that remained of the once brilliantly blue eyes. They were replaced by ravenous red slits of a deranged soul. Greed seemed to emanate wickedly from those eyes as he reached the top of the staircase.

When the man reached the grass he calmed down and dropped the bundle he was carrying with a thud on the grass. The tunnel once again disappeared behind him as he spread out the filled linen sheet. The young man reached down and lifted a glittering blade with a flourish. Deep inscriptions lined the blade and the hilt. Idus gasped silently as he realized what it was. It was Alecto's sword.

Next the young man reached back down and pulled out a brilliantly blue staff. It shined and glistened, turning different shades of blue as he twirled it in the air. Then he let out a gleeful laugh, and grabbing the linen sheet, he ran towards the gate. The gates slammed with a hollow thud behind him, and just as the dream dissolved, Idus looked back down and found the rock had reappeared right where it was before.

Idus opened his eyes to see Irgen peering questioningly at him.

"Wake up sleepy head. Was you havin' a bad dweam?" Irgen said with a forced frown as he mimicked rubbing his eyes.

"Oh shut it!" Idus said with a smile as he playfully shoved his brother. "Actually, I think now I know how to get into the tower." He stood up and Irgen asked:

"Wait, so do you mean to tell me you were doing something useful when you was a sleeping. I mean most of the time I just sleep. Yah know what I mean." Idus rolled his eyes as Irgen burst into laughter.

"Cierra la boca." Idus said after a while.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well for those of us who paid attention in Spanish. It means shut up. For you..." The two grinned at each other.

"Alright, alright, so what is this master plan you have for getting into this somewhat impenetrable structure?" Irgen asked as he confidently slapped the firm wall, and turned as though modeling the gigantic blocks of stone.

Idus scratched his chin as he looked at the ground. "We need to find a small rock of some sort, it should be somewhere around this building."

"A small rock? What do we need a small rock for? We got plenty of big ones right here." Irgen said as he pointed at the structure.

"Just do it, Irgen. I had this dream and..."

"A dream?" Irgen interrupted remembering his own with horror.

"Yes a dream." Idus said softly thinking Irgen was about to make fun of him, but he didn't, instead Irgen had fallen silent and was already searching intently for the stone.

"Tell me about it, Idus. Were you in it?" Irgen asked excitedly.

"Well, yes, I was in it, but only from a viewing perspective. I didn't take part in any of the dream."

"Oh." Irgen said as he cast his eyes back down dejectedly as though to look for a rock.

"But it seemed to have happened long ago in the past. So I couldn't be in it."

"Hmmmmm. Tell me about it." Irgen asked musingly, so Idus did. When he finished, Irgen looked brightly at Idus.

"What side of the building was this man standing on?" Idus slapped his forehead. He had forgotten the rock had reappeared, probably meaning the small pebble never moved unless picked up.

"Over on this other side. We were facing the castle." They wandered over to the other side and began searching. It wasn't long until they found it, sitting alone amidst the well-cared for tufts of grass, but as Idus went to pick it up he found he couldn't. It was as though the little pebble weighed more than a large stone block.

"But how could the old man pick it up without any problem?" He thought whimsically.

"Because the old man turned the stone into water, he was a Water conjurer. You are not one," came Irgen's soft voice inside of Idus' head, "but together, we are one." Idus nodded as he reached again for the pebble, expecting it to still be immovable, but it lifted free as lightly as a feather. Indeed it seemed to weigh about that much in his hand. He looked at it intently, and almost of its own free will it melted into water in his hand and gently cascaded through his fingers onto the ground below them.

The twins watched awestruck as stone grinded against stone revealing a large passageway chiseled in the rock before them. Wordlessly they slipped into the hole, and plodded down the passageway. In the tunnel, they found the strange cool feeling return to them. After descending a short while, they entered a large room. It was about the same size as the ones in the castle, but it was rectangular not circular. The walls were bare as well. Indeed except for a large spiraling staircase in the middle of the room, the room was completely empty.

The brothers exchanged dissatisfied glances, both had been expecting something a bit more glamorous, luxurious, and extravagant than this. They wandered slowly into the chamber, fully expecting that upon reaching a certain point in the room, the room would transform into a dazzling spectacle, but they reached the stairs and still nothing happened. Disappointed they began trudging up the staircase.

"Why don't the stairs ever end in this place?" Irgen asked as he methodically plodded up the stairs. Idus didn't answer, inside he was wondering what the next floor would contain. They ascended a long way on the staircase until finally they emerged out of breath onto the upper floor. Here the twins were not disappointed. They found that now they had to leave the staircase entirely, for it stopped at this floor.

They gasped as they entered the new beautiful room. The walls no longer looked like stone; instead, now they looked like the ocean itself. Idus went to the wall and tried to touch it expecting to feel cold hard stone, but instead his hand sunk forward into the wall. He pulled it back quickly in astonishment. He gazed at his dripping hand as Irgen came over to look at it.

"Well that's a unique addition to a room. Wouldn't you say so Idus?" Irgen asked playfully. On each side of the circular room, was a table. Each filled with scrolls in the strangest writing the brothers had ever seen. Soft bright blue velvet carpet covered the entire room. No chairs could be found in the room, the brothers assumed the floor had been made comfortable enough that chairs weren't needed. The tables certainly seemed that way as they were about the same size as Aristotle's table.

They wandered around the room for a while, searching for something useful, but eventually they gave up as none of the scrolls made any intelligible sense to them.

They mounted the staircase and headed down to the basement of the building. Once there, they marched towards the tunnel which reappeared as they did so. In quite good spirits, they left the tower. They were quite happy with their success in exploring the building, but as soon as they took one step out of the hole they stopped.

Before them, with an exhausted look on his face, stood André, it was the first time Idus had seen his father. His tired voice rang out as he grinned.

"You know what they say, when the cats are away, the mice will play."
Chapter 32-Confession

The wall slammed shut behind the twins as he spoke, and they knew they were trapped, but it did not appear André was angry, instead he looked at them for a moment before saying:

"What I want to know, is not only how you figured out how to get in the tower, but how you got in, for most Water conjurers never find out how to enter that building, and more than that, neither of you can control water." A guilty expression appeared on the twin's faces as they struggled to find a believable response. Before Irgen knew what he was doing, he blurted out:

"Mom showed us how to get in, and she opened the entrance too." Idus nodded his head in agreement at the lie.

"Your mother showed you, is that so?" He turned and looked at the castle as though in thought. "But then where is Jennifer if she showed you how to get in? But perhaps more importantly when did Jennifer learn to enter that tower?"

"She ummmm wanted to give us something to do while she looked after Gregory." Idus said excitedly and this time Irgen nodded affirmatively with him.

"Gregory? Wait what happened to Gregory?" André asked sharply.

"Ummm, Gregory, he just had a little accident this morning, maybe you should go look after him." This time both of them nodded in agreement.

"I shall... But after you answer my question, how did your mother know how to enter the tower?"

"Well maybe she knew all along, she just didn't want you to know she knew how to enter the tower." André grinned at his boys antics.

"Alright you two out with it already, you're mother is an Earth conjurer, she couldn't enter this place even if she knew how, and more importantly only the true descendants of Perseus know how to enter the tower, and only they have the power to open the entrance. I know you opened it. You are my sons, direct descendants of Perseus, only you could have opened it, but how? You are not Water conjurers. And since you are my sons you will stop lying. It is a foul, uncouth, and unbefitting of a Tuerl practice." He gave the two of them a stern look only a father could give. Irgen quailed under the firm glare. He knew their game was up, years of doing the same thing with his mother had taught him that. He had hoped his father was a little easier to trick, but obviously not on this matter.

"Well father, Idus had a dream-I swear he did. We didn't tell you because we didn't think you'd believe us."

"A dream, you say. That's very interesting. Tell me Idus what did this dream entail? And when do you have said occurrence?"

"Ummm. Well you see dad," he paused; he had just called his father dad for the first time. "After Gregory's accident, the two of us got bored...and so we decided we would explore the towers, but to no avail, because we found there were no doors or entrances, so we sat down in the shade, and I fell asleep and suddenly I found myself in a dream. In the dream I saw an old man in a toga. He picked up the stone and changed it into water. He opened the passageway and then a young man snuck into the tunnel behind him before it closed. When the tunnel reopened, only the young man came out, and he was carrying Alecto's staff and sword."

André sat down wordlessly on the ground. His right hand was pushed against his right cheekbone in disbelief. "You mean to tell me, you were an eyewitness to the only betrayal ever committed inside these walls."

"Betrayal?" The twins said at once.

"Yes, betrayal. I am afraid, Idus, you saw the only murder committed in this peaceful asylum throughout its many long years of existence. You saw Aristotle and that was the last time he was seen alive in this life. He is your great ancestor. Spartans think he was only a great philosopher, with his flaws of course, but Aristotle, like many others during the ages of the world, wanted to give back to the non-magical folk. So he learned their arts, their cultures, and in the end spawned his own era of learning."

"Most believe that after Alexander's death in 323 BC. Aristotle exiled himself from Greece and went to Chalcis, where within a year he died, but the truth is that on his journey to Chalcis he did a complex piece of magic and created a fake double of himself, and he returned to the magical world to live the rest of his days in peace, but it was not to be so."

"Soon after his arrival the Tenebri managed to bribe a young impressionable lad, ironically enough named Alecto, to steal the treasured artifacts kept hidden in the tower. Whether he was hired to kill Aristotle as well is uncertain, but it was inevitable. Only Aristotle or one of his sons could open the entrance. For the Tenebri it was just an added benefit."

"Hang on dad. Why did they want to steal the artifacts in the first place?"

"Well besides the fact that they are incredibly powerful, the prophecy of course!" His jaw dropped as he looked at the two's befuddled looks.

"You've heard about Alecto's prophecy right?"

"Well yeah, but nothing about sacred artifacts."

"Hmmmm. Well I guess it is about time you learned about everything. Let's go inside, I suppose it's time I filled in my own sons about the very prophecy, which is already ruling their lives, but before we go... You never answered me. How did you get inside the entrance?" Idus grinned mischievously back at him.

"Today we learned about Telepathy, and Idus and I figured out how to activate the link between us. I am not a Water conjurer, nor is Idus, but through a united purpose we become one. Together we can control at least three of the elements and perhaps we will figure out how to control all four of them soon. So it was a simple matter really. We didn't know exactly what to do, but it seemed that the rock did it itself." André beamed with pride at the statement. He beckoned his two sons towards him and put his arm around both of their shoulders on the way inside.

"I knew the two sons of mine would have the noble commission of being Water conjurers." They grinned at his one sided supposition as they went inside. As they entered the castle, to their left the last light of sunset vanished like a candle being blown out.
Chapter 33-The Beginning

Once again the twins found themselves seated around Aristotle's table, but this time the table didn't have quite the same feel as it once did. Now it had a unique sadness about it. Its simple yet ornate beauty perhaps lay in that fact.

"Alright, my sons, let me say for starters that I am extremely happy to see you both healthy, and do not be at all ashamed about entering the Water Tower. It is a feat that few of those who came before you accomplished. It is the sacred duty of every descendant of Perseus to pass on how to enter the tower to their own descendants, so eventually I would have told you, but it should be even more gratifying to you to know you did it all by yourself."

"Well... Not completely by ourselves."

"Ha! Right you are Irgen, but still..."

"Anyway shall we continue with the prophecy? You said you heard some of it right. So how much have you heard?"

"Ummmm. Mom told us the story about Alecto and told us the first, um, part of the prophecy, I guess." He looked doubtfully at Idus.

"The first part, hmmm, well I guess I will pick up right there. You see at the time Apollo gave Alecto the prophecy, he did not think the rest of it was imperative or important for them to know, so he didn't give it to Alecto."

"Let's start right there shall we? Now I'm sure you remember that during Alecto's talk with Apollo, Poseidon sat patiently down on the rocks below waiting for them to finish. Eventually, they did and Alecto went down to Poseidon; where he found a positively gleeful god waiting to congratulate him on his fabulously wonderful performance."

"Alecto had succeeded at the task he was given and as such Poseidon felt he was bound to him in some way, so he took him to his own abode, far beneath the sea, where he taught him how to use his new powers. It also seems that during their time together Alecto and Poseidon formed a father-son relationship; one of hope for one another's success and a strong unbreakable friendship for one another. Before Alecto left, Poseidon took him aside and showed him one more key thing, the thing which has allowed mages everywhere to continue practicing magic. He taught Alecto how to make magical artifacts such as a staff or how to enchant swords, etc."

"This is an art few mages know but we all rely on, because few, if any, since the time of Alecto have been able to get in contact with any of the immortals. Since the birth of our order, they seem to have withdrawn from, at the very least, prominently viewing and meddling in the affairs of mortals, but they have placed clues as to where they may be found. I will tell you more about that later on in your training, for it will be you, not I or any other mage for that matter, who will find them." He cleared his throat, though the twins thought he had already made the point perfectly clear.

"Now let's return to Alecto. As soon as he returned to his father he found all of the other brothers had returned and were displaying their magnificent powers; it seems all three of them were conjurers, but they were extremely powerful ones at that. I give it as my humble opinion, that indeed they did not need to become mages, I think they had enough control over each of their element to make it become almost anything they wanted it to be, but of course that is just my opinion.

Now you will remember the first part of the prophecy said they would rule in peace for a while, and they did. Their father was overjoyed with their exploits. They were the apple of Mycenae; everyone knew them and wanted to be like them. It was during this time that the fundamental clans were created. The brothers had such control over their element that they could give anyone that element if they so desired. Many flocked to the fold of conjuring and during this time Alecto taught his brothers how to create staffs for their followers.

It was the golden age of magic per say. There were no conflicts, and no strife, everyone was happy with how things were going, and all of the brothers ruled their clans peacefully under the leadership of their father. Great cities were built for each of the clans; each was given a unique name. For water the city was the great city of Atlantis, for fire Menoeceus, for earth Petros, and finally for air Boanerges.

The clans blossomed and the brothers found that they needed to regulate the population of the clans. The clans were getting too large to control, and more than that they found that children born to conjurers became conjurers themselves. It was fine in the beginning, but as time went on problems arose. You see children back then could be born into a different clan than their parents. At first this wasn't a problem, but as time went by attitudes changed.

As the children grew up, rifts developed in many families. Youth who turned sixteen chose to be with their clans instead of their families, of course they would visit each other often, but it was the choice which angered people. Many parents who had given up everything for a life of magic would not allow their own children the same choice. They banned them from joining with the clan, which by their sheer personality, they were destined to join. Parents came to the brothers to ask them to change their children's element, but the brothers could not revoke something which had already been given, and fearing giving someone too much power, they could not just bestow another element to them as a gift.

The brothers came together and they decided that for some odd reason this was the way it was supposed to be and they stood by their decision. They decided the element was supposed to choose, not the family, they tried to tell their angry followers that they must just in the end get along, but as happens so often with mortals, our own pride gets in the way, and in the end it led to the downfall of the true order of magic.

So finally after many years of murmuring among the clans; the brothers decided a great council should be held. They invited the most prominent and powerful members of their clans, and after many ill-spoken words, it was agreed that the brothers would make a magical pact. A pact of such deep magic, that it could only be revoked when the time was right. The great magic that they invoked in the ceremony prevented anyone from ever having a child outside of their element.

Curses were put on marriages of two people of different clans. Striking the woman bare, preventing her from ever bearing children. It is the same curse that should have worked on your mother, but something strange happened, and you two were born. All the signs point to the fact that you have been foreordained to lay the very deepest of magic bare, but it is still your choice; we will talk about that in a moment.

But one thing needs to be said, after the great council, both Irgen and Idus became angry with the outcome. It seems from this moment on, they gave up on the goodness of mages as a whole. Embittered by the lack of unity among mages they began to keep to themselves. For hours they brooded together over some plan they were about to set in motion.

About this time, Perseus fell deathly ill and even after a few rare visits from the gods, it was found that nothing could be done for him. He passed away, and perhaps the welding link between the brothers broke with him, and after it broke, the clans fell apart as well. They began to keep to themselves; visitations and trade between the once neighborly and brotherly cities stopped, and in the end animosity grew between what became vying clans.

The brothers felt the strain as well, but they held one last secret meeting, a meeting few know about. In it Irgen and Idus presented a plan that called for a reuniting of the clans and the taking away of the deep magic set forth. They planned to force people to accept the original order of allowing the elements to choose which clan people were to belong to, but through their desire to do well, they would take away every man, woman, and child's right: the right to choose.

At the time, Alecto thought the plan would be the only way to bring peace and unity back into the hearts of mages, but Apollo's warning echoed in Alecto's head, and he knew he must refuse. He knew something was wrong with the brothers' plan, something they weren't telling him. Alecto saw this and refused to unite with his brothers' plan. Xenophon, who was the youngest, and who had proven to be the wisest brother, did the same knowing his older brothers too well, and Irgen and Idus stormed out of the meeting, furiously making vows to not stop until they controlled the clans, and in the dark of night, they headed for Delphi. The golden age of peace was over. It was time to prepare for war.

They reached the ancient temple, and upon entering it, a great thundering voice shook the walls of the temple. It told them about what you have heard already, and then it added:

"Then one day, when the artifacts of the gods will once again be wielded, two brothers shall arise and restore peace to the hearts of men and gods alike."

That is the end of the prophecy, something not even Apollo could foresee." His eyes glinted in the faint glow in the room.

"Dad I don't understand, I thought the prophecy said Perseus would be slaughtered by his sons, not just die peacefully in his bed."

"Aha, you're right! Indeed it turns out Perseus did not die peacefully. It happened just as Apollo said it would. Irgen and Idus had asked their father to allow them to use force to create "peace" in the clans, but their father refused, so the brothers did the one thing they thought would allow them to bring "peace". They poisoned their father in small doses as though giving him medicine. It is not a simple thing to not become healthy after a god tries to heal you; no, you need to be continuously and painstakingly poisoned."

"THEY KILLED THEIR OWN FATHER!" Idus said in a highly shocked voice.

"Yes I'm afraid they did, and during their last meeting together, Alecto remembered the prophecy, after years of it being pushed into the back of his mind. It suddenly shone forth in all its splendor. Quickly he went and checked for links to his brothers' treachery on the death of his father. He went to the city of Menoeceus and there he found hidden in his brother's room a vial of strained Hemlock, the very same poison used to kill Socrates later on in Greek history---"

"---Hey speaking of cities, did you say Atlantis?" Idus asked as he remembered his earlier question.

"Yes I did." Once again he did not appear at all perturbed at being interrupted, "Atlantis was and still is the great city of Water conjurers. Spartans know about it because it was from their ranks that the brothers recruited to create the first conjurers. They were allowed free and unrestrained entrance into the city, for many of their friends became magic, but when the brothers stopped allowing people into the clans, the Spartans went ballistic. They grew angry upon hearing they could not be magic. It is always the same old stuff, magic will fix everything, and my life will finally be complete, and I'll be happy. I take it that you two, who have only known about magic for a few days, know that it is not that easy. Indeed it is a burden that many wish they did not have to bear, but it cannot be. This is our lot in life.

The Spartans did not understand this, so being the imperfect mortals they were, they set in motion one of the biggest blunders in the history of the world. They attacked Atlantis. At first they came upon the peaceful city at unawares and they managed to slaughter a few innocent bystanders, but the mages rallied quickly and turned the tide in the battle. The Spartans stood no chance against our form of warfare. They were almost all massacred. Few ever returned to tell the tale.

Of course after the massacre the mages knew they could no longer live like this, at least, in open view of the Spartans, so they set to work casting a series of spells on Atlantis, and the other cities and they disappeared from the face of the earth. In time history passed from fact to legend, and by the time Pluto wrote about Atlantis, few believed in the now very faint tale of the once great city. It's ironic to note; however, that one of Plato's pupils was Aristotle. The truth of Atlantis was, for many years, staring him right in the face, but he never noticed. It is also ironic to notice that the Greeks never forgot Perseus, the man turned hero who did so much good for the world, but they forgot Atlantis, and their own tragic mistake." He paused, "Any more questions before I continue?" Asked André patiently.

"Just one, father, why were the cities named like they were?"

"Hmmm. That is an interesting question. For the city of Water, Alecto went and asked Poseidon what it should be named. He decided it should reflect its creator Alecto so he chose a name starting with A. Why he named it Atlantis, I am not sure, but it is a good name and it has stuck. The other three were not so lucky to have a god to consult, so they looked to whatever source they could."

"Irgen chose Menoeceus because it was the name of a prince of Thebes, who was said to be descended from the seed of a dragon. Irgen, who always valued deeds done for glory, chose the name because at a time of war, Thebes found herself surrounded, and the oracle said that if one of the "sown men" would sacrifice themselves, the city would be saved. Menoeceus did just that by jumping off the highest point in the wall, and whatever he did worked, because the besieging army was driven off, and the city was saved.

As for Boanerges no one truly knows the origin of the word, but Idus chose it because it meant sons of thunder, a befitting name for a powerful son of thunder like Idus.

And finally the wisest brother chose perhaps the simplest name. Xenophon chose Petros because it was a form of the word rock in Greek. He decided Petra was already taken. It was a simple name but perhaps the most befitting of earth conjurers, and even now today, it still stands firm just like a rock.

Well if we're done with the questions we'll continue with the story shall we? Alright, so after the brothers heard about the prophecy they automatically assumed they were the ones to bring peace to the clans. They returned back to their cities and they began happily preparing for war, but Alecto had other plans.

One day he rode up to the walls of Menoeceus in what is said to have been Apollo's chariot and demanded the brothers stand trial for their vile crime, after no one opened the gate, and no one answered his angry cries, Alecto issued a challenge to his brothers. He said it like this." André stood up on top of the table before him, holding up his fist and suddenly a fury ripped through his body, and he spoke in a strange fiery voice. His voice rent the air with his anguishing words, the brothers could see why Irgen and Idus didn't want to fight Alecto:

"Brothers! Why have you committed this horrendous sin?

Brothers! Where is your sense of honor?

Brothers! Why do you cower behind your walls of stone?

Brothers! How did you not expect to pay for this?

Brothers! When did your lives become so barren?

Brothers! I am here!

Brothers! You will answer!

Brothers! I give you three days to confess!

And then Brothers! I will not stop, I will not rest, until you answer for your crime against my father!

Brothers! Confess, or my armies will break your walls, we will smash your armaments and we-will-not-stop until you pay for your crime against my father!

Brothers! Blood Traitors are no brothers of mine!"

André stopped and slowly sat back down wiping the sweat from his forehead. "And with that Alecto rode off in his chariot of fire. Perhaps you can now see what has created such a lasting war. Anger pulses through all of us at the mention of one of the brothers' names.

We have been taught to hate, and as such the war that began with the founding brothers, continues today. In our many years of existence as mages, we have had many brilliant fellows in our midst, but none of them has ever managed to find a way to stop the endless and seemingly useless conflict. It seems hate is stronger than reason." He sighed and sank back into his chair, exhausted not by his speech but by the frustration created by man.
Chapter 34-Strange Visitations

It was a long time before someone spoke, finally Irgen asked tentatively:

"Father, I just don't understand. Why after all these years would people still fight? Family feuds only last a couple of generations, right?" André surveyed Irgen with a sigh, before saying in a worn out voice:

"Well in some cases yes, but this isn't one of those cases, and you do not yet know the whole story. The family feud was only a part of it. Unfortunately there is more to this woeful tale, but from that moment on every man, woman, and child had to choose then and there, between their element and their..."

"WHAT IS ALL THIS RUCUS? DON'T YOU KNOW WE HAVE AN INJURED MAN UPSTAIRS IN CRITICAL CONDITION?" Everyone stopped and looked up the stairs, to see Jennifer's angry face glaring like an angry cougar down on all of them.

"Oh hello honey." André said as a mildly amused grin appeared on his face. Jennifer's face softened as she looked over at her husband.

"Oh... I didn't realize you were here dear." Then she added absentmindedly, "I take it you know about Gregory?"

"Well the twins kind of explained it, but I was sure you were up to the task... I was just giving them Alecto's speech." Jennifer turned and began to mutter even more distractedly to herself:

"Alecto's speech... Yes, yes of course, Alecto's speech." And with that, once again her slender form disappeared into the loft above their heads. André looked back at his sons again, and all three of them burst into laughter. Irgen laughed so hard, he lost track of his position and tipped his chair backwards again, landing with a soft thud on the carpet beneath him. This did nothing to slake the laughter of the others or indeed Irgen's. Instead, it only caused it to intensify; tears began to roll down their cheeks as they found they couldn't get rid of their mirth fast enough. Irgen finally managed to pull his body back into his seat, but still the laughter continued, it seemed nothing would stop it, but that they would all just die laughing.

Suddenly they all stopped together, and all three of them looked confusedly around, none of them could remember what they had been laughing about. It seemed their mirth and laughter had driven it completely out of their minds. André smiled bemusedly, it was as though something had taken complete control of their bodies during the laughter, something which was almost unholy, or unclean, and yet extremely... well-happy.

He blinked as he closed his eyes, trying to lose the feeling of unrest which had suddenly entered his body. It felt strange to him, it was as though his body wished to run, to run away. It didn't matter how far; it just wanted to go, to leave, to get out of this bone-chillingly cold place.

His breathing became more rapid, loud echoing voices filled his head, and then his eyes snapped open, and he was him again. He looked down at his limp figure, and straightened up in his chair. As he did so he caught a glimpse of his sons going through the same struggle he had just undergone. Fear and anger balled itself together in his stomach as he watched the two of them struggle, there was nothing he could do, he could only sit and watch.

This magic was new to him, never had he seen something like this occur. He had never even heard of such an occurrence, it was as though some type of spirit was trying to possess his and his sons' bodies. He watched the struggle with horror, agony built up inside of him. Extravagant thoughts of what to do flooded his mind, but each stayed only fleetingly before being replaced by another, and then as abruptly as it had started, it ended, and his sons looked dazedly back up at their father.

"What was that?" Irgen whispered quietly.

"I don't know, but I've never felt such a presence before." Came André's own subdued voice.

"It felt as though something was trying to control me." Idus said nervously. This time André said nothing, for once again he felt the presence of something in the air around them. The hairs on his arms stood uneasily in the air. All three of them seemed frozen to their seats. Fear of the unknown seemed to glue them there. Their knuckles were turning white from gripping the arms of the chairs too tightly, and then suddenly something appeared in the air next to the stairway.

A white light grew around it until the slight vapor it started as, grew into some type of personage of spirit. It would have been mistaken for an angel at some other time, but now André and the brothers were wary of this new apparition. It spoke and a curtain seemed to fall on father and brother alike, the soft sweet voice created an entrancing feeling, but unwilling to yield so quickly to this new power, the three of them fought back. As they did so, the voice changed abruptly. It now sounded harsh and unkind, but instead of lifting the curtain, it seemed to tighten around them. They struggled for breath against this smothering force.

It kept speaking and the three of them felt despair begin to fill them. Their eyes darkened, and they felt the curtain pull them. They were being dragged down, down, but to where? They did not know. And then, when all hope had failed, when it seemed they were in the grasp and grip of this very unholy and unsanctified creature, perhaps the devil himself; a great light descended upon them flooding their souls with hope and light.

Their vision was opened again. Light rushed into their eyes as they exposed them to the new astoundingly bright light around them. The familiar warmth flooded their bodies, bringing joy back into their hopeless hearts. Irgen glanced at André to see his father gaping at the doorway. Irgen turned too to look, and found there, standing in the doorway, a giant of a man. Irgen did a double-take, before him was someone whom he knew he had seen before, and yet he was a stranger.

The man's dark hair, accentuated by the clean shaven face, gleamed in the dazzling light, but it wasn't the only thing that shone. For covering his torso, legs, and arms, was armor the twins never had before beheld, and which perhaps they would never behold again. On this enormous man, was dark green armor, but that wasn't what made it unique. For it seemed that this man's entire figure, yea even his very countenance was surrounded by an aura of light. The man spoke, and it seemed his voice would rend the walls in two.

"I am Xenophon, and I come now not to just lend aid, but to start events which have long been in the making. Come with me, we must go."
Chapter 35-Xenophon

After he spoke, the three of them remained motionless. The recent event had left them wary of any visitors, let alone someone who proclaimed himself as the Xenophon. The very Xenophon whom the brothers thought must have died thousands of years ago, surely this was a trick, and the brothers most certainly did not want to go along with it, but then André stood up, and said with a shaky voice which was totally unlike himself:

"Let's do what he says sons. At the very least, he has saved our lives, or our very souls." The twins exchanged doubtful glances before standing up too, but Idus had to say something before they left.

"What was that...Thing?" The massive green figure turned around and gave Idus a calculating look before answering:

"That...thing was something which should never have been here; it is something beyond any of your own powers. Its presence only clarifies things for me, for it was that, not Gregory, which tried to stop you today from accomplishing your task. Indeed, Gregory was trying to break through the wall it had put up, and when you broke through it yourselves, it relinquished its grip on you and rushed into Gregory tormenting his mind. What that thing was and is, is evil in its purest form, most humans call it a demon, something without a body of its own. It is said they were once not so much unlike us, but they were cast out from the presence of God before gaining a body of their own. Now they wander hither and thither, always trying to control an actual body, but it was not here by accident. It was ordered to be here!

It seems the powers of evil and Hell itself have combined against the two of you, and against what you are destined to do, I cannot say for certain why, but your pathway will be one filled with glory and trials. This is merely the beginning."

"But if you believe in Hell, how can Perseus and the Greek pagan gods exist?" Idus' asked hastily.

"I have no time to answer that question, but your father knows the answer to that, or he thinks he knows." The green figure winked at André before hopping out of the door into the night outside. The three of them walked towards the exit and found the self-proclaimed Xenophon standing as big as a tree in the courtyard outside. As they approached the gigantic figure, he strode impatiently towards the gate.

"Come quickly, time is of the essence." They hurried after his large loping stride, but as they reached the gate, his stature diminished and his armor and aura disappeared into a young man dressed in a green toga.

Once they were outside he beckoned them to touch him, as they did so, they felt that same feeling of being transported somewhere far away, but they could not make out through the darkness where they were going. After a few moments they landed softly on a soft patch of grass. All around them large trees rose silently into the dark night sky. They found they were in a clearing in the middle of this thick, dark forest. Above them a cloudy night veiled the stars from their view. After their eyes became accustomed to the darkness, Xenophon spoke:

"It has been a very long time since I brought a mortal to my abode. I bring you now, because you young ones are the chosen ones. I had my doubts, even after your control of the elements manifested themselves, but now I know. The forces of true evil have reached out to destroy you. You would seem to be specifically chosen for a task which I-cannot show you. Indeed your pathway is unclear even to my old eyes, but I must tell you this..." He strode to the edge of the clearing and folded his arms sighing. Finally he turned and said:

"André, thou hast only a single year to train your sons. I feel that thy end is in sight. I do not know how it will come to pass, but thy path is dark in mine eyes... I feel it coming. Don't be afraid, death is not the end, merely another highway we all must travel, even I, but by thy death thou must have trained thy sons. Thou wilt not receive a second chance, and that means that you two," he strode towards the twins, "must learn from him. You will be forced to dig deep down in your hearts, farther down than anyone, even my brothers and I in our training, but I offer this piece of advice for comfort and strength in times of trial, the Greeks have a thing they call the inner penigma.

It is a force inside of you that only comes out after extreme exertion. No one knows just what theirs' will be like until they have hit that point of exhaustion, and only a firm determination will get someone to that point. Through your training you must find out what your inner penigma will be like. It will be this that will sustain you in the trials ahead of you. At the times of extreme hardship, it will be there, the power is inside each of you...learn to use it!"

He turned and strode towards the edge of the clearing again. He peered into the thicket before him, and a smile appeared on his face, as though happy with its growth. He turned back one more time.

"Now Irgen and Idus, your first true trial by fire will be to find the place where I placed my brothers' staffs once they died. It is only with their staffs that you will accomplish your goal. They are said to have been forged by Zeus many ages ago; they were built for this purpose: they were built to satisfy the thirst of this great war. It is not an easy journey, and will probably take all of your strength and will-power, but you must accomplish it."

"Umm... Sir-Xenophon I mean, umm, why don't you just give us the staffs?"

"Give you the staffs! Hah! Weren't you listening Irgen, it is your test, or what the Hebrews would call nissah. Life wasn't built to be easy. You are here to prove your worth. Laziness and easy lifestyles only breed worthlessness. You must rise above that, for every soul is of great worth, besides... I placed a labyrinth of defenses around those staffs, and I made it so only the truly chosen ones could ever retrieve them. I created it so even I could not retrieve them. I can tell you where it is but I can't give them to you. That part is reserved solely for you."

"But then, where are the staffs?"

"Here or there." Xenophon replied in a sing-song voice. "I will only give you one clue to its whereabouts.

Do ye indeed break the walls of my home?

Hast thou not seen the riches away from thee?

Where is thy sting oh kindred tongue?

For I am gone far from thee.

Into the night of blackness wilt thou go.

To find that which thou seekest.

Seek to find wondrous power.

And let the black darkness flee from thee.

Thou are far from me yet.

With the strength of my mouth will I smite thee.

Wealth untold will not save thee.

For walls crumble beneath the power mine.

Xenophon chuckled gleefully as he ended his poem.

"I don't understand, what does that mean?"

"Well that's the point, it means absolutely nothing, but that doesn't mean it's pointless. Here I wrote it down." He handed it happily to Idus who took it with a solemn dejected air.

"Now I think it's time you head back; Gregory should be well by now." He turned to address André, "I think you know the way out. I wish you luck my friends, perhaps one day if it is to the pleasure of the gods we will meet again and then again perhaps not... but whatever happens goodbye, I feel honored to have finally met those who will bring peace to the order. Your path will be long but may it be fruitful, good luck!" He gave them one last wink, before they rose again into the air, leaving behind the shrinking lonesome green figure as they disappeared into the night sky.
Chapter 36-Arjante Pitao

The brothers' minds were swirling when they reached the castle. How could all of these things be happening to them? How did their situation go from making complete sense, after the tales slowly began to unravel, to making absolutely no sense at all? Why did it all have to change so quickly? Why couldn't they just be normal?

When they landed outside of the castle gates, André began purposefully walking towards the gate, only to have both Irgen and Idus yell at him to stop. He turned around and blankly stared at them.

"WHAT HAVEN'T YOU TOLD US YET? HOW IS THIS XENOPHON STILL ALIVE? AND HOW DOES EVIL FIT INTO ALL OF THIS?" André stared blankly back at their red, puffing faces. Finally he spoke:

"There is much that I have not yet told you. I apologize, but you must be patient for it is a long tale, transcending thousands of years. As for how Xenophon is still alive, I don't know how he still lives on. It was said he became immortal after the death of his brothers, but few if any have laid eyes on him since then, consider yourselves lucky."

"That he would come and protect you and give you advice, is something which most certainly has never happened before. And as for what the evil and the devil has to do with this, it is trying to prevent you from accomplishing whatever you were foreordained to do, which may even cause a small, or great overthrow of his power in this world. But be of good hearts, you have Xenophon to watch over you, trust, and you will be protected."

"But how can there be the Greek gods and the Devil?" Idus' temper had cooled down a little and his heated remark brought a small joyful glimmer out of his father's eyes.

"Ahhh... Now here is something which no one has ever been able to totally discover. It has been hotly debated for many, many years. Your grandfather set out looking for the tracks of the brothers just for that purpose, to discover who or what the gods really were, but he failed. While tracking Irgen, he was ambushed by Tenebri. How they found him, I'm not sure, but he could not escape and whatever truth he had found on his last journey I will never know, but before he left, he told me one thing about Idus' trail. He said that it seemed that everywhere he checked, the gods appeared to be immortal, and yet extremely mortal.

It seemed that almost every tale he encountered told of a god becoming injured. He said that it appeared to him, that the gods could live forever, but could still be killed by another, which meant that they could not then be gods, but if they weren't completely immortal, what were they? He set off on his last quest to have his question answered, but it was not too be." He finished his last sentence with incredible difficulty- "I never saw him again." He stopped short and glanced at his sons.

"I have searched since then for an answer to that question. What were they? And I think I have found the answer. You see engraved in almost every web of mythology lies a group of people known as the..." He beckoned them to come near him, and he spoke in an exceedingly quiet whisper. "Known as the--Elves." He hissed the last word, and the twins almost didn't catch it.

"The---"

"SHhhhhhh!!!" André looked around hastily at the dark blanket of night which surrounded them. "That is something that I have only told one other soul; don't ever say it aloud, especially outside the castle walls as I have just done. It is a long shot, but I think I am right. Now let's go inside the castle, we'll talk in one of the towers." He turned hastily, and almost ran inside the castle gates. The brothers followed, looking a little disconcerted.

They went straight for the Water Tower, all of them running at a breakneck pace now, as if the Devil himself were on their heels. André quickly created the passageway and they all disappeared hurriedly down it. Once the passageway had closed behind them, André slowed down, trying to calm his senses. Finally he turned to the twins and spoke again.

"I guess tonight is a night for firsts. That is the first time I have spoken like that outside the castle, things are changing, among other things." He flashed his bright smile before continuing. "As for what you said about how mythologies can coexist, I don't know, but I believe that these 'Elves' have been sent here by some higher being for the purpose of helping, and protecting us. How Xenophon came to become one, if he even is one, I don't know, but his body has changed to a point where he can no longer die. I do not believe that he has become like the elves in their sense of partial immortality. I think he has become something altogether different from the elves, but who can tell?

I think it's time to finish the tale of the brothers. Now you realize just how intertwined your very lives will be with theirs which ended those many years ago. Listen closely to the end of this tale.

After Alecto's challenge, it is said that Irgen and Idus decided to sit behind their walls of stone. They thought they would be protected from his wrath. Indeed they had already mobilized their populace for war; while neither Alecto nor Xenophon had even started fitting an army, but more than that, they had one other trick up their sleeve which they thought would bring them certain victory if a battle was fought.

They had created another clan, and named it the Tenebri. Why that name, because it was created in darkness, and it literally means the dark ones. And in their dark secret realm they had furtively built another great citadel bigger and stronger than their other cities, it was built to last throughout the ages of the world, and those who became Tenebri were kept under a solemn oath to never reveal where it was or who was in the order. Indeed this secret fortress, forged eons ago has managed to remain quite hidden from the world, although we Knights have begun to hone in on where it is, its location will be important to you, we must know where it is, but all will be revealed with time.

I will say that Alecto somehow found out about this fortress, and in turn went and built his own after he issued the challenge. The very fortress he built was this castle in which we are right now. He named it the White Citadel, to show all that would come within its walls that it was built to stand as a pure sentinel, watching over the clans forever. It is still here, kept and protected by our own small order, for we have found over the years that it is quality, not quantity that decides the fate of battles.

Well over the next three days, Alecto and Xenophon mustered their own armies, and then it came time for the fulfillment of the challenge. Their great hosts of men marched forth from Atlantis and Petros. They say such a mighty host had never issued forth to do battle. The glint of the sun off their armor was said to blind even the birds in the sky. The mighty host of green and blue strode forth to do battle against their very friends and brothers. They reached Menoeceus and once again Alecto rode ahead in his chariot, in open view, challenging his brothers again, but this time threatening that the sword of justice was about to fall upon them.

In reply the numerous men inside the city's walls began to hail Alecto by raining arrows down on him, but as much as they tried, no arrow seemed to be able to strike him. He rode around the wall seven times before issuing his command to his men to begin the assault on the walls.

It was a terrible day. The great hosts of Earth and water broke like a flood upon the walls. Xenophon is said to have only played one part in the battle. He is said to have waited until his brother issued the command, and then he demolished all of the city's walls by himself. It was a monumental task, one which only he could accomplish, for the walls were said to be protected by a magic of such that no hole could appear in the wall, and no mage could break parts of the wall. It is said that only by bringing down the entire wall as a whole could it have any possibility of being destroyed. Xenophon took the task upon himself, he destroyed the walls, annihilating all who had been firing their bolts at his brother, Alecto, but the force to do it was said to have been so great, that even the great Xenophon could not withstand it. He blacked out, and was taken off the field, back to Petros, and took no more part in the battle. That being said, however, without him, the allied armies of earth and water would have failed-but he did not receive the honor of being the savior of the battle. That can by no means go to anyone but your ancestor Alecto.

After the walls collapsed, the mages went to work. Clouds covered the sky, lightning rained down; water flowed into the city as fire erupted, trying to blaze it back, and large rocks pelted violently from the sky crushing large groups of fire and air mages. Many took to the sky, and many fought on the earth. It was a battle of such ferocity that it has never been equaled to this day. It is said that the hosts of water and earth fought as though they were the very sword of justice, and they looked as though they were about to rule the day. They crushed all who stood in their way, and then, just as the great armies of fire and air were said to be turning to run, Irgen and Idus appeared. It is said that their coming was like the coming of Thor himself. A large black thundercloud enveloped the sky as the two of them rode menacingly into battle upon two great black winged beasts. Their coming was said to have been so terrifying that their mere appearance scattered half of the host of earth and water..

They appeared clothed in the black armor of the night, and the loud clash of iron rang behind them as the black-clad Tenebri army flowed menacingly behind their mighty coming. Lightning flashed incessantly in the sky as Idus released his full fury. The earth seemed to erupt with fire as Irgen joined the fray. The Tenebri had joined the battle.

The mighty hosts of water and earth felt their hearts quail inside of them at the sight of this new onslaught, whereas fire and air took heart at seeing the fury of their leaders. The tide of the battle turned and it is said at this moment, of dire need, Alecto took a mighty chariot of war from a large man with a trident and rode forth to meet the horrendous foe. He commenced dueling with both Irgen and Idus. It is said that even then hearts quailed. His people thought it was a hopeless battle and without Xenophon, Alecto was doomed to failure, but others say that Alecto rode forth with such a determined look of conquer or be conquered on his face that his men took courage.

Whatever effect his actions had on his men, he went forward boldly. He went forth with no fear in Achilles' blazing golden armor. It is said he shone like a lighthouse amidst a hurricane. One man, sent to face and crush the darkness. The clash between the two foes defies all understanding. Light and darkness collided, and great and terrible was the collision thereof. During the ensuing battle, it is said that Alecto darted like a blue devil amidst the rapid claps of thunder and roar of the flame which surrounded him.

Great cracks of thunder rent the air, as Idus blasted enormous thunderbolts at his brother. To Alecto's surprise, during the battle lightning no longer issued from the sky but seemed to flow directly out of Idus. As the battle intensified Alecto began throwing up threw up great mounds of dirt in front of him to deflect the lightning's fury. It struck the mound and consumed it with ravenous hunger before disappearing into the air around it. As it disappeared; however, long tongues of flame erupted from Irgen's hand. Alecto threw up walls of water and a hideous hissing sound filled the air as the fire disintegrated in the walls of rushing water.

The battle continued like this for hours, with the one single light amidst the darkness holding firm, but as the battle dragged on, Alecto realized he could not win. It took all his energy to just stave off defeat. He found his brothers kept him so busy that he was always defending himself from attacks. He could find no opportunities to attack, no time to turn the tide of the battle. He felt his own strength begin to wane, and felt defeat was inevitable. Fire and lightning grew increasingly closer to his body, finally he was struck by a small bolt of lightning, and he toppled out of the sky towards the earth.

Cackling laughter rent the now heated air, as the hosts of darkness mocked the pitiful downfall of their rival. They laughed so hard, that they did not notice the splash of water as Alecto fell into water someone had conjured. The water disappeared as Irgen and Idus descended from the sky to take one last look at the fallen hero. As they approached the now dry mound, they found a large man holding Alecto in his arms. A large green robe covered his mighty body, and a large golden trident gleamed threateningly in his hand.

He looked up, and a trumpet sounded above him. Suddenly the darkness disappeared, stunning all with the brilliant light of the waning crescent moon. The brothers backed up in fear as the sky filled with whinnies from an endless concourse of horses. Soon it was full of chariots of fire flying through the air towards Irgen and Idus. Fear shone on their faces, but only for a moment. They went skyward again and summoned all their forces to them. Here in the air, they would make their stand against the very gods themselves.

The pounding of hooves against the silent air filled many of the forces of darkness with terror, but any who fled, were struck down by a quick flash of lightning. The forces of Water and Earth joined the assault of the gods. They flew forward, and the chariots broke upon their foes. Swords flashed in the night sky. The scythes of the chariots cut unforgivably through the men. The deadly golden arrows of Apollo hissed stealthily through the air, bringing death to all who were unfortunate enough to come into contact with them.

The brothers could not control their armies after the onslaught. Most of their forces turned and fled, but a few of them stayed and bravely fought the terrifying battle with the gods who were said to be invincible.

The fighting intensified as light illuminated the darkness. Both sides were said to have fought like dragons, and indeed many of the fire warriors were, but they could not slake the thirst of the gods for war. Eventually the brothers were separated and their remaining forces formed two circles around them. The forces of the gods surrounded the two circles. It appeared the tide of the battle had turned. Zeus himself was said to have issued the final order of no quarter before the attack commenced on Irgen and Idus' tiny forces, but they were not done yet, they had one trick left up their sleeve. As the chariots flew towards the small circles, a huge fire erupted around Irgen's circle; it grew taller and taller until coming together in the form of a wolf's head. The wolf's mouth opened and its frenzied mouth bore down mercilessly upon the attackers. As it did so, lightning burst out of Idus' circle, in all directions. It danced here and there among the attackers felling all who got in its way. The attackers fell back in dismay and disarray. Many of the gods themselves were said to have fallen during this final onslaught, the rest fled fearing for their immortal lives.

The damage was done, the battle was over. Water, Earth and the gods fled defeated from the battlefield, leaving Alecto's body as a prize for the forces of darkness. Irgen and Idus descended once more towards Alecto's proud body, but amazingly enough they found that Poseidon had not left the body. He stood, defiantly carrying the glittering body in his arms. Idus landed nimbly on the ground and strode toward Poseidon, giving him the command that he give up his brother's body or die. Poseidon looked thoughtfully at Idus before softly laying Alecto on the ground, and saying:

"He was never yours to claim!" A hush fell upon the three of them at the boldness of Poseidon,

"He was never ours to claim?" Hissed Idus menacingly.

"You have become great Idus and Irgen, so great that I can no longer defeat you, but in so doing, you have missed out on the more important things of life. Power goes with death Idus, and Glory fades Irgen, but love never faileth."

"Stop being philosophical old man, give him up, or defend yourself!" Irgen leapt forward, sword in hand, but as he did so, a ring rent the air as Alecto leapt to his feet and drew his sword, stunning even Poseidon. The two swords collided violently in the air. And then Alecto did something which changed the course of history. He chose his fate and muttered those fateful words which are still etched on his sword to this day." He stopped and pulled out a small scroll hidden in the clutter on the table before them. He unrolled it and pointed at the words written on it:

"'Arjante Pitao!' It is a saying that invokes the deep magic. It means "Blood sacrifice". All deep magic is invoked with the one saying, because it always takes a willing sacrifice from the one invoking it. That is why the deep magic is so dangerous because it does what is desired, but once invoked, the magic takes control of itself, and if necessary, will take the blood sacrifice that was put forward, and that is what happened. As Alecto uttered those words the earth shook, lightning rent the sky, fire raged violently from the mountains surrounding them and water issued forth from the brothers' bodies. All three brothers fell to the earth, stone dead, and not one of them ever returned. Many believed at the time, and still believe that Alecto's fate was worse than death. Whether it was or not, Alecto chose for himself, it was he that decided to use it. He willingly sacrificed himself, that we might live in peace, a peace which has never come." André sighed.

"That is the story, with the exception that after the battle, Poseidon took Alecto's artifacts and hid them in this castle's Water Tower. Xenophon disappeared, the clans appointed new leaders, with Alecto's son being Water's new leader and it seems that the Tenebri who melted away after the battle, appointed their own leader, and somehow survived Earth and Water's meticulous search for them. The gods disappeared after the battle never to meddle in mortal affairs again, and since then, there has been a division, not only between Alecto and Xenophon's clans, and Idus and Irgen's, but a division has also existed between so called light and darkness. The division between what has been called right and what has been called wrong...between the Tenebri and the Knights.

A few generations later, Aristotle took it upon himself to record the events those many years ago. His writings are still found in this very tower on these very tables. He was a great man, but he was still human, his flawed theory of the universe shows that. He lived a full life, but in the end, he was brutally murdered in the Tenebri's attempt to gain control of the priceless artifacts; however, they did not understand that only descendants of Perseus could wield such powerful weapons. The young man who killed Aristotle was said to have gone mad after leaving the tower, and since then Alecto's artifacts have disappeared, although I'm curious Idus...What things did the young man steal?"

Idus tried to remember his dream after all the events of the previous nights, "Um... He came out with a bundle, and he opened it and he took the sword, and the staff."

"Is that all?" André looked confused, "but that means that the armor is still hidden in this tower somewhere." He thought for a second before adding: "Ah, we'll search for it another time, for as far as I know, my line contains the last surviving descendants of Perseus. Irgen was thought to have had a daughter, but no one can be completely sure. We are the last.

We have waited for ages, for a leader to emerge, who will once again unite us. We were wrong in waiting for that leader. He does not exist." He looked directly at the two of them, "It is the two of you we were waiting for, it is leaders who will save us. It is the two of you who will once again bring peace to our order. Now you know the story," he sighed before striding back towards the stairwell, "let's get some rest." They walked out of the tower towards their beds, but just as they were entering the citadel, Irgen looked back longingly at the fluttering blue flag, wondering how he would ever be able to emulate what his mighty ancestor Alecto had done. His father turned around and noticed him staring back at the flag. "That flag is a lasting banner to the courage of your ancestor. A wise man once said 'Although the flame of liberty will cease to shine the ember will never expire.' That ember lives on in all of us. He freed us from his brothers' tyrannical rule, his light no longer shines, but it lives on in you! The time has come for the ember to burst into a living flame again!" And with that he turned and ducked his head as he crossed the threshold of the mighty citadel's gates.
Chapter 36-Nigellus

The next morning, the brothers awoke early; each found a new commitment in themselves to go to work. They went downstairs and found Gregory sipping from a cup and leaning forward on Aristotle's table. He greeted them with a short wave of his hand; he looked a little abnormal but all in all fine. Next to him sat André, and next to him-sat a man whom they had never seen.

His clothing looked like it would not have been out of place in the Roman Senate two thousand years before. He was wearing a bright red toga, it resembled the one Xenophon wore, but it was held together by a great golden clasp on the right shoulder. Ancient sandals covered two old grisly feet. The man looked ancient. Short, thin wisps of white hair clustered in clumps on his wrinkled head. A long gray beard descended from a scarred face, tapering at the end in a slight knot. In his left hand he held what looked like a gnarled branch of a redwood tree, if it hadn't been for the shining red stone set in the middle of the staff, the twins would have mistaken it for a walking stick.

Everything about the old man's appearance struck the twins as being ancient, yet well kept. His scars glistened like silver on his face, as though he kept them well polished. Even his worn out sandals had a certain shine to them, but the thing that stuck out to the brothers the most was the old man's eyes.

They were the same glittering silver as his face, but the whites outside of them had a pale, somewhat unhealthy color, yet there was something about those eyes. It was like they held a mystery deep within their depths, as though some untold tale of sadness was hidden within their depths. As the brothers approached the table, André spoke:

"This-my sons," he indicated the old man, "is Marius Nigellus, he is perhaps the greatest conjurer trainer to ever live-" he smiled and looked at Irgen, "his specialty is fire. Treat him with respect, and you will learn how to work wonders. Treat him with disdain, and... Well you'll find out." Irgen shuddered as he stared into the sad icy depths of Nigellus' eyes.

After the introduction, Irgen and Idus cautiously approached Nigellus. Idus' voice rang out uncertainly in Irgen's mind.

"Ummm, well you're the fire mage. Don't you think you should go first?" Irgen turned just in time to see Idus' cheeks twitch as he tried to hold back a smile. Irgen walked forward nervously, before stopping by the table. He shifted uneasily before the unwavering glance of the old man. When he spoke, his voice sounded shaky, timid, and infinitesimally small.

"My name is Irgen--" The old man interrupted him before he could continue. His voice was soft, deep, and slow like some unsung melody playing out in his resounding whisper.

"Yes-I know who you are. There is no need to explain, as for me, I am honored to be here to teach the two of you. It was a long journey, and I hope that it will be worth my while." As he said this Idus' voice came once again into Irgen's head:

"A long journey? I thought all mages could teleport from place to place in quick succession?" Irgen responded softly.

"Not all journeys deal with distance." Irgen's words surprised even himself he didn't know why he said that, but it made sense to him. After all the old man probably had to give up a lot to come teach the two of them, his journey to the Citadel probably was-a long one.

"Be that as it may, he had better not be a slave worker like Gregory." Irgen was about to reply, but then a voice came into both of their heads.

"Oh don't worry...I'm worse!" The twins looked up to see Marius give them a wink. They looked at each other with confounded expressions. He knew what they were thinking? How was that possible? Whatever the answer was, they never found time to ask, for just then their father spoke again.

"Well come sit down. Eat breakfast, and we'll get started shall we?" The twins, without looking at each other, obediently sat down at the table, where food materialized. It was wonderful. In front of them, they found sausage, bacon, eggs, and light fluffy pancakes, nicely rolled crepes, soft French toast, and mouthwatering orange juice, the like of which they had never tasted before.

After breakfast they were about to go outside when Thomas wandered into the room from upstairs. He was still dressed in his pajamas, and it looked as though no one else in the room, besides the twins, were surprised to see him. André spoke again:

"Tom's the one who brought Marius here. He had a very difficult journey, so I think he'll--"

"—Why was it so difficult father?" Irgen asked timidly and yet quickly so that he could get his question in this time.

"It was difficult...Because we did not know exactly where to start looking. It took some time for both of us to find the ancient cities of Boanerges and Menoeceus, both of us found our respective cities, but neither of us were accepted with open arms. Quite the contrary really, since I am the head of the Water clan, and Tom's the head of the Knights. Fire and Air don't like us very much, so for Marius to be here on his own free will is quite exciting. He is a great trainer, and he gave up much to be here with the two of you. Many of his very people threatened to disown him, but...in spite of that fact, he still came. And since he has much to teach you, shall we begin?" The twins nodded, finally understanding where their father had been and why Marius' presence was so important.

Their father led the way out onto the lawn outside. The sun was just beginning to peak over the massive castle wall. The dim shining rays lit up the cobblestone street in an eerie orange glow. The cold morning chill filled their breasts with inexplicable joy, a feeling which was cut short as their father stopped and turned around. He did not smile and the twins knew that this was it, they were about to begin their real training.
Chapter 37-Inner Penigma

The first couple weeks of training were brutal. Hours passed like years as the twins struggled to complete their grueling tasks. They soon found that Gregory's early training was nothing compared to what he made them do now. After breakfast they would wake up and do what Gregory called "warm-up exercises", but they were nothing like the warm-ups they used to do at school. Instead they consisted of the two brothers packing a railroad tie on their shoulders as they ran down a beaten path which had magically appeared outside the castle grounds. During their "morning jog" as Gregory called it, they would have to lift this tie back and forth between shoulders continuously. André said they were training as Spartans used to train back in ancient times.

Once they finished and were exhausted from their "jog", they would work on dead lifting an enormous clay vase filled with sand. It took days of both of them trying to lift it together before they began to make any progress. After that, one would lie on his back and the other would lie on top of the other, and they would link hands and would bench press each other until their arms could hardly support each other anymore. After they had done these vicious exercises, they would go for another agonizing "jog" before they ate lunch. Their food no longer consisted of the delicious food of modern days; instead it consisted of the diet of what a Greek man would have eaten. Cheese, meat, and fruit made up the majority of their now meager choice in food.

After eating lunch, they would go back out onto the lawn and begin working on swordplay. Neither Brown nor Alexander returned over the next few weeks, although Harold returned every so often to help Gregory train them in the morning, and the other Knights came and went at certain intervals. Worry grew in all, at the unexplained absence of Reggie and Alex, but the twins training didn't stop; instead, it just seemed to grow tougher and tougher. Their swordplay advanced from mere footwork to the two of them sparring with both Nigellus, who was extremely nimble even in his old age, and their father who was said to be unmatched in the art of the sword.

Soon it became apparent that Idus' training in warfare would need to differ from Irgen's. Nigellus began to teach him how to wield a large wooden club effectively. Something that represented the large battle-axe he hoped to use one day, but as their training continued, they noticed they were still bereft of a weapon and how to get one, they did not know. Xenophon's instructions only spoke of staffs and said nothing at all about weapons.

One day the twins decided it was time they ask their father when they would get a weapon of their own. After asking, he looked meditatively at the two of them before responding:

"Most conjurers receive their weapons after it has been determined what they are most apt to using, but these weapons are made by mages and as such have flaws. Alecto may have been able to create weapons comparable to the ones the gods forged, but we unfortunately cannot. Our weapons lack potency. We create them, but the spells we put on them, giving them their own magical qualities are somewhat lacking, even then, our forging techniques and the metals we use are not up to the same quality as those the gods used.

I have not given you weapons yet, in the hope that we will somehow stumble upon the old weapons of Irgen and Idus. They have been lost for centuries, ever since that great battle of old. I think they were lost for a purpose, and they are only waiting for the two of you to discover them. Find them, and you will no longer be weaponless, but until then you must forgive me. I will not give you lackluster weapons unless I have no other choice."

From that moment on, the brothers began searching for the brother's old weapons, but they could hardly find any time to search for them, their vigorous training kept them from doing just about anything but train, eat, and sleep.

After swordplay, Marius would take them and they would work on their conjuring skills. This was the shortest and yet hardest part of the day. They found the tasks Nigellus gave them took an enormous toll on their strength and energy. It did not take long for their strength to be taxed away in its entirety during their few moments of training.

After this training, they would take a break for dinner, and then Thomas and their mother would begin their book studies with them. Here they began language study, delving deep into different words and how you could use them creatively to make magic. During this part of the day, the twins found it extremely difficult to be able to learn anything. Their tired bodies only desired to sleep, and oftentimes that was what they got, only to be awakened by a quick shout, but after a couple of weeks the two of them learned how to cleverly fall asleep with their eyes open. They learned to focus on one little spot, without blinking until they fell asleep, but once again this only lasted for a time before their mother would get suspicious and awake them.

This was their training. It went on like this, until days began to turn into weeks, and weeks turned into months. The only thing which kept them hanging on was what Xenophon had said: this was what they needed to do. Every Sunday the brothers got some time off for a bit of "rest", although they never truly became rested, but whatever their condition the training went on like this, until nearly a half of a year passed, at which time the brothers bodies began to adjust to the new hardships they had been thrust under.

They began to get bigger, not only height wise, but also in terms of strength. Their shoulders grew broader, biceps began to bulge, chests began to be thrust forward, and abs became cut, they were becoming two iron machines. It was then at this time that, the brothers decided it was time to discover the entrances to the other towers. They figured that it was there that they stood the best chance of finding the Brothers' weapons.
Chapter 38-Firepower

One night, after another day of the endless training, they decided it was time. They waited patiently upstairs, until they were sure everyone was asleep, before they wandered their way slowly downstairs only to find Thomas pouring over some book at Aristotle's table. They stood transfixed, like a deer that has just seen headlights, before slowly proceeding towards the door. They reached the door and found Tom's head hadn't swiveled in the tiniest degree during the time it had taken them to cross the room.

Heartened, they painstakingly opened the door to the castle. It slowly swung outward revealing the darkness outside. They cautiously stepped out over the threshold and closed the door behind them. As they descended the steps, their feet began to make crunching noises and they looked down to see snow beneath their feet. The frigid night air made them both shiver as they looked at the starless sky above them. They slowly made their way to the right side of the castle, directly behind the Water Tower, where they knew the Fire Tower lay.

Here Irgen conjured a fire around the tower. The snow melted before their eyes, revealing a large patch of dead yellow grass. The fire died and Idus conjured a light to follow them as they approached the tower. They started searching the grounds for anything which would grant them entrance to the tower.

It didn't take them long to find what they were looking for, they found on the grass, not far from the east side of the tower, a small branch. Irgen picked it up quickly, knowing exactly what to do. He held the branch before him in the palm of his hand. He concentrated on it catching fire, and as he did so he found it to be a particularly stubborn branch. It did not want to burn. He put it down and took a breath, and prepared himself to focus all his energy into the branch. He lifted the branch purposefully and willed it to burn. Once again it struggled with him, but this time he was prepared he felt it's small life being snuffed out by his will, after a long struggle he felt his power envelope the branch and light it ablaze. He held the burning branch softly like a live bird in his hand. It was time for them to wait and wonder what would happen. As the branch burned itself out in Irgen's hand, a small tunnel of fire began to appear in the wall in front of Irgen. It grew larger and larger, but the opening was covered by a wall of fire. Idus looked inquisitively at Irgen. Irgen stood and contemplated for a moment before shrugging and saying:

"I guess you're supposed to stay out here. I'll go on, in the meantime see if you can enter your tower." Then he added as he jumped recklessly into the fire, "I'll be right back." Idus watched as he jumped through the flame and the opening closed behind him. He shrugged his shoulders in resignation before trooping off to the other side of the castle to find his own tower. As he approached his tower, he looked up to see the great golden flag glittering in the night sky. He looked down and found the impenetrable snow on the ground, he thought it was stupid for him to be here, without Irgen to melt the snow for him, but then as he cast his eyes upward again, he had a thought.

Maybe since his element was air, it took something in the air to open the door to his tower. He thought for a while, about what might do it, and then, once again he looked back up at the sky, and saw the glittering flag in the sky. That great, Yellow...YELLOW for electricity--that was it. A lightning bolt would open the doors. Enthusiasm flooded Idus as he tried to concentrate. He looked up at the sky and felt the ball well up in his chest; suddenly it burst forth upon the tower. Suddenly he felt a force struggle against his bolt high above him. Without flinching he hit back and felt his energy surge forth. Finally the lightning disappeared, and a great crack of thunder followed, and more than that, a simple wooden door appeared in the side of the formerly impenetrable granite wall. He stood breathing heavily from the exertion. He grinned with pride; he had done it, he was entering a tower that no one had probably entered since its founding.

Idus reached for the door handle with shaking hands. He gave it a twist and the door swung effortlessly open. Light flooded Idus' vision as he walked inside. He was in his tower: The Tower of Air.

Irgen felt a rush as he flew through the wall of flame. He covered his face with his hands, but did so needlessly, for the flame was not hot at all to him. He landed with a crash inside a great stone room. Flames covered the walls emitting a red glow in the air. Irgen looked into the middle of the room and once again found-"More stairs," he thought to himself, as he approached them tentatively.

He mounted them, ready to begin a long trek again, but this time, as his feet landed solidly on the steps, the stairs took off carrying him upwards, towards the next level. Irgen stood there shocked as he flew gracefully up the stairs, cutting through the warm air like a knife. He reached the next floor, and the stairway stopped, ejecting him face first onto the bright red floor.

Irgen pushed himself up and looked around, as he did so he could see directly in front of him, standing on its own mount on the wall, a beautiful sword, and beneath it lying against the wall sat Perseus' bright silver shield. An inscription was set deeply into the wall between the two artifacts, besides these three things, the room was completely empty. Irgen strode towards the sword and shield, and reached for the shiny shield, but as he did so the inscription on the wall started to glow. Irgen straightened up and looked at it. It appeared to be in a different language of sorts, but as Irgen placed his hand over the red writing he felt it speak to his soul. He didn't know how he was doing it, but somehow he could read and understand the inscription. It said this:

"Before you lies Irgen's sword and shield. I, Poseidon, have witnessed his downfall, and great though it was, he is sadly gone, and I am left to give one last bit of wisdom to whoever finds this: In these weapons is a great amount of magic. Hephaestus himself forged the sword many years ago and gave it a great power of his own, but at Irgen's death a great amount of his own power went into this sword which still bears his name. Alecto's blood sacrifice hallowed these weapons, they are stronger than any weapon that will ever be created, and I fear that the mortal who touches these will receive a great amount of power, which will prove to be too much for him, so I leave this warning, that whoever reaches for these weapons let him beware, that the power he gains from using these weapons does not consume him. I also leave my own mark of prophecy that whoever touches these weapons will be destined to change history, and that only such a marked soul will be able to contain this newfound power. What power is in the weapons I cannot say for it does not affect me, but I believe they will retain Irgen's characteristics. He sought for glory, and the weapons will still seek for it. Beware! Do not let them consume you. Remember, glory is fleeting, but he who is willing to give all is truly glorified."

The inscription ended, and the words faded back into the wall. Irgen sat and thought markedly about the inscription. Truly he must be the marked soul referred to, but what about the end of the inscription? It sounded more like advice than a warning. Irgen smiled as he thought that at least this one made sense, unlike that bit of nonsense Xenophon had given them, which they still couldn't make heads nor tails of.

"Glory...What does that mean?" He spoke out loud now as he looked at the artifacts before him. "I don't want glory; I don't even know what I want." As he said this the blade shone sinisterly through a cloth which held it bound. It was beautiful but Irgen was now weary of its charm.

Finally, he plucked up his courage and reached for the sword. His powerful hands gripped the cloth which was wrapped around the sword as a scabbard, and he lifted it off its mount. He marveled at how light it was, even in the cloth; it seemed like it was only the hollow plastic sword he had played with when he was little. He reached for the hilt, and as he touched it he felt something rush into him. Excitement flooded him as the cloth fell gracefully off the blade. It flashed brilliantly red in the eerie light of the tower. Suddenly fire burst from Irgen, a pillar of fire shot to the ceiling, thunder boomed in the sky, and a beautiful red tree rose next to Irgen. Then just as suddenly as it began, the wonders disappeared, leaving Irgen standing with the sword held high above his head, breathing heavily.

He brought the weapon back down to eye level and ran his hand appreciatively down the flat side of the blade. It was a straight double-edged sword with a nastily sharp point at the end. It was made out of some silvery substance, which made it light as a feather, and yet peerlessly hard, and sharp. The hilt was made of some type of smooth red stone, and had been wrapped with a black leather material that created a comfortable grip. At the bottom of the stone, on the pommel, was a large black stone which glittered sinisterly in the firelight.

On the blade of the sword in the middle shone gold filigree in the shape of the same language of the earlier inscription but Irgen found he could not read this. So he tried passing his hand over the inscription and as he did so, it changed, the soft lines swam through the blade, and after a moment the filigree changed to something Irgen could read. There in gold, graven on the blade forever was the word "Irgen", Irgen smiled as he slid the naked sword into his belt and picked up the silver shield on the ground.

It glittered brilliantly in the light, and as Irgen gazed deeply into the shield, it seemed that some reflection rose to meet him. He waited transfixed as the image rose towards the surface of the shield. Then as it neared the surface, Irgen saw what it was; it was the image that was said to have been graven on this very shield. The image came into focus and Irgen could finally see the hideous head of Medusa, with her green sallow skin, the spellbinding red eyes, and the numerous snake heads hissing out of her hair. Her power in the shield had long ago gone, no longer could her face turn people into stone, instead Irgen felt pity for the hideous figure before him, which had been doomed to live such a depressing life, as he thought this, the figure changed. The shield did something then, which it had never done before.

The hideous cursed Medusa's face changed to reflect the once beautiful Gorgon. Her lovely features once again flowed outwards towards Irgen. The calloused green skin disappeared, replaced by soft, bright skin. Vibrant blonde hair replaced the hissing snakes, and bright blue eyes replaced the red slits. Now Irgen could see, a white slender neck disappearing below the shield. As he looked at those bright eyes and those full red lips, she smiled, revealing glittering bright white teeth. Irgen almost stepped back at the brilliance of them, but then she spoke, in a high mesmerizing voice:

"Irgen, you are blessed for not having judged me like those of the past. The sword and shield are yours, do not lose your purity of heart, and you will be able to call me forth whenever need arises. I wish you luck, great Irgen. Remember, you are not alone."

Irgen stood alone, and dumbfounded in the tower, as the figure dissolved back into the shield. Poseidon was right. These artifacts did hold more power than he expected. He got back on the stairs and descended rapidly through the air. When he landed, he no longer fell forward, but now landed proudly on the bottom landing. As he left the tower, he thought how miraculous his night had been, he only hoped Idus's had been the same.
Chapter 39-The Tower of Terror

The little brown door swung open as Idus entered. He stepped inside and gasped in wonder at the innards of the tower. Here was a truly impressive sight. There was no stairway in this tower. Indeed, only one level existed at all in the mighty structure. Above him, the cold stone walls ascended upwards infinitely. A radiance the likes of which he had never before beheld permeated the chamber. The atmosphere was mesmerizing. Idus felt joy well up in his breast and had the strange desire to suddenly launch himself into the air and fly, indeed as he stared into the upper reaches of the tower he could make out something flying or floating high in the sky above him, but it was so far up that Idus could not tell what it was.

He took a large gulp, and cast his eyes down, towards the floor; Idus could descry some type of writing on the steps in front of him. Each individual stone had different writing on it; Idus bent down and felt the writing with his hand, as he did so, a deep-earth shattering voice filled the tower. The words it said were not English, but nevertheless, just as Irgen had known; Idus felt he knew exactly what the voice was saying. Somehow he understood, and this is what he heard:

"Before you are the stones of judgment, they are placed here, to guide wanderers, like you, to power, or to misery. Touch them and they will judge you for what you are. For those who are judged to be worthy, a gift will be given. For those who are unworthy, much will be taken away!"

"Choose wisely traveler, for the stones are unforgiving, and yet perhaps they will be extremely merciful."

Idus stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. He didn't like how it said A gift, and MUCH will be taken away. He wasn't sure if the risk was worth it, but then he remembered what he was searching for, and he thought that perhaps the saying was built to make people frightened, make them think the reward wasn't worth it, although he was sure that before now, no one had entered the tower, so he considered it a useless, yet terrifying precaution.

He stood on the brink of indecision like this for only a short moment before deciding that if he never tried then he would never do, and if he never did anything, then why was he here? He stepped boldly forward, out onto the steps, and he paused, waiting for the hammer-stroke to fall, but surprisingly nothing happened. A sigh of relief escaped his frightened body into the silent air.

He looked up apprehensively into the open space above him, ready to bolt back to the door if something should occur, but once again there was only silence. He straightened up out of the cowering position in which he found himself, and looked forward again to the center of the tower. Here he saw a large round stone bereft of any markings, which he had not noticed before. Curious at what would happen, he walked forward until he was standing on that stone, and waited.

Once again he found disappointingly that nothing happened, he sighed, he had been so anxious for something after the voice, and now he only found emptiness. He lifted his foot to step on some other stones, and as he did so a loud boom echoed in the closed chamber. The stones cracked beneath Idus, and a bone chilling cold filled the room, panicking, he found he could only stand riveted in his place. He willed himself to move, to do something, to get out, but it was too late; suddenly the stones surrounding Irgen launched into the air extending their cold masses to create a large stone wall surrounding Idus.

He was trapped; the walls around him gave him a claustrophobic feeling he had not had since he had lived in his old house. It was a feeling that he did not like, but he decided that for the time being, he would just have to live with it. After another moment of nothing happening, the stone he was on gave a gut-wrenching jolt and then slowly started to descend below ground. Idus watched horrified as the ground he knew disappeared above him.

Darkness covered his face as he descended lower and lower. Finally when Idus had given up all hope, a ray of light pierced the walls around him. Slowly they disappeared and light flooded the now open hole. He looked down, and saw another large chamber, much wider than the one above him, but not even close to being as tall. There was an echoing clash as the stone Irgen was standing on came to a halt.

He stepped off the stone hurriedly and surveyed the ever changing surroundings, as he did so he felt his heart stop, before him, on a shimmering golden pedestal stood the famed winged sandals of Perseus. Two small golden wings fluttered timidly, slightly lifting the sandal to which they were attached. The sandals were jet black and yet they shone brilliantly with a radiance of their own. Idus gaped in open wonder at the priceless artifact before him. Did that mean he had passed his test? He looked around apprehensively once more, before striding towards the pedestal, as he approached it; he felt expectation begin to grow in him.

He felt his trembling arm reach forward and grasp one of the sandals, as he did so, another boom filled the room, and the step which he had ridden down began to slowly climb skyward. Panicking, Idus grabbed the other sandal and ran full tilt towards the rising step, but by the time he reached it, it was out of his reach. He looked about the room; there was no other way out. He was going to be trapped. There was no way out.

"STOP!" He yelled hysterically, but nothing happened, then he remembered the useless burden in his arms. He went to drop it, but then he remembered the burden was the sandals. Hope flooded him again as he ripped his shoes off his feet and slipped the sandals on.

The step had almost reached the opening now. Idus knew it was now or never. He jumped upwards and the sandals got a life of their own, he shot like a bullet through the air, as he reached the sliver of an opening, he dove forward, flattening himself onto the stone, his winged sandals flapped purposefully, and they just managed to squeeze his body through the hole as it closed behind him. Elated, he took off again and flew upwards, back into the mighty chamber above him; up, up, up he went until he could make out the object above him.

A large light from above illuminated the object. It glittered and shone brilliantly in this superior lighting. Two bright silver hafts, stuck out from a large, black shaft which ended in a menacing point. Idus rose upwards and reached for the shaft of the great battle axe. As he did so, a light shone on the wall. Panicking, Idus grabbed the axe and flew down towards the earth. As he reached the ground he stole a glance at the light on the wall, and saw to his astonishment another engraving. Hastily he turned and flew back towards the wall. He reached it just before the writing faded back into the wall. Quickly he read what he could, but most of the inscription was already gone. What was left read: "I, Poseidon, leave this word of caution...Each man must one day make a choice...Power...Honor. Hate or virtue. Idus in the past chose wrongly, but to the one who sees this now, not all hatred is a sin, and not all enmity results in pain. This blade has a strange power, but I fear it must be wielded in the darkness. Only then may it fulfill its true destiny." Idus tried to take in all of the faded lettering. He hit the wall frustrated at his cowardice. He had missed most of the message and what was left to him only seemed like a riddle. Dejectedly he returned to the stone floor. Once there, he slowly plodded outside wondering what the engraving had meant.

Once outside, he examined the shaft of the great axe and found written in some type of crystal the word "Thor" lining the shaft. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, Idus could test the weight of the blade, and he found it to be extremely light. Even now as he carried it, it felt like an added appendage to his body, and not just some object which burdened the muscles. He cautiously slipped the axe into his belt, and patted it lightly. As he touched the blade, he felt a strange new power rush through him. Lightning and thunder flooded the sky, as Idus lifted his arms upward, the new power rushed through him. The blade had found a new master.

Poseidon's word of caution, written on the wall centuries before, mainly landed on deaf ears if Idus had been able to read its entirety this is what he would have read:

"I, Poseidon, leave my last word of caution on this great battle axe before you. It was not forged by the Greek gods, and as such it has powers which will not be found among any other weapons. It serves its master well, but I fear that it has a mind of its own. Each man who wields it must one day make a choice. I fear that its mind is not only strong and powerful, but also malignant and terrifying. I fear that it will try to influence its master's will, to the point where it may enslave it, but it may not be so. It gave Idus great power, which was what he desired, he did not fear to use it because he himself was powerful, but over time I think the constant struggle with its will, caused Idus to shun society and honor, and in turn drove him to a point of madness, at least to a point where the quest for power became an end to itself.

After Idus' death, it received even more power, and now even I fear and tremble to use it. Hate or virtue is what will dominate this blade. Idus in the past chose wrongly, but to the one who sees this now, not all hatred is a sin, and not all enmity results in pain. This blade has a strange power, but I fear it must be wielded in the darkness. Only then may it fulfill its true destiny. I leave this last word of advice to whoever desires this artifact. It is powerful, and it is dangerous, only those who resist its endless call for more power will be safe from its grasp. Remember the power is in you, not the weapon, use it for good, use it for selfless service, and an ending of this war, and it will not destroy you. Do not, and it will torment your soul. Remember that the power inside yourself will suffice, do not hearken to its voice!"

Poseidon's solemn warning ended and the lights went out inside the Tower of Air.
Chapter 40-Chiasmus

The brothers met back at the entrance to the castle, where they both breathlessly explained their adventures in the cold night air. A soft, warm mist materialized around them as they spoke. Shivering, they admired each other's new weapons and tales. After a while, they decided it was time to enter the castle doors. They figured that they would no longer have any need to sneak inside the castle since their expedition had been successful.

They entered the castle, throwing the door open and entering behind a great cloud of frost that created a rather mystical entrance. Their spectacular entrance was done in vain; however, for as soon as the frost disappeared they found Thomas lying face down on his book, and a slight puddle forming beneath his mouth on the old priceless pages. They smiled at each other as they walked towards him. Idus reached forth his index finger, and poked Thomas hard below his ribs. He jumped upright, his hands flying everywhere as his chair flew ungracefully into the wall behind him.

He looked at the two of them in complete shock. His bewildered look was almost too much for the brothers to handle, but they each tried to maintain an apathetic look. After a while, he ran a hand through his dark hair, and looked questioningly at the two twins.

"What are you two..." his voice trailed off as he let out an enormous yawn, "doing up so late?" He closed his wide open trap and scrutinized the two of them. Irgen looked at Idus with raised eyebrows before turning back to Thomas and saying:

"Do you notice anything different about the two of us?" Thomas stared at their faces before slowly surveying their clothing, as he did so, he said:

"No... I don't notice any--" Suddenly something seemed to get stuck in his throat. His breathing stopped, and he stared with goggling, bulging eyes at the shining new weapons held by the twins' belts. His gawking mouth tried to formulate words, but only small choking sounds came out. Instead he resigned himself to lifting his hand and pointing at Irgen's sword.

The twins smiled at Tom's obvious astonishment. This was the affect they had been hoping for when they had entered the room. They figured it was a little late, but better late than never. After a few moments in this position, Thomas straightened up and regained control of himself, at least enough to almost scream out the words:

"You found them! You found them!" And with that he ran joyfully upstairs screaming with enthusiasm as his voice disappeared into the upper levels of the castle.

Irgen and Idus stood still for a moment as his voice slowly faded away. They had not expected Thomas to grasp the importance of the artifacts so quickly. Surely he was the leader of the Knights, but the brothers had expected the existence of the other artifacts to be known only to their father, who was the heir of Perseus. Nevertheless, they did not mind their friend's reaction.

As they thought this, voices began to echo from the floors above them. Suddenly they heard a soft pounding of feet as all of their trainers slowly materialized into view, from the central staircase. André led the way; an exuberant look filled every being of his face. He was followed by Nigellus who looked positively youthful from joy. Behind him, came progressively, Harold, Gregory, and finally Thomas. A few seconds after they energetically descended the stairs, Jennifer and Helen appeared on the staircase, looking just as happy as the others.

Congratulations were not in short supply as the twins showed off their new weapons to the Knights (Nigellus had been inducted months before, not having had anything to return to in Menoeceus). It was a long time before any of them went to sleep, and André was so happy, that he allowed the twins to have the entire next day off, something they thought was ironic, seeing as how they had to get the weapons late at night because André wouldn't let up on their training.

Over the next couple weeks, the two brothers progressed rapidly in their skills. It seemed that with the weapon, Irgen had received the ability to control every element by himself. His training became even more disparate from Idus' and they began to be separated during the day as they each received their own highly-specialized training, for while Irgen had found the ability to control other elements, Idus had found his powers greatly magnified, to the amount that his control over air began to become unmatched.

During this time, Alexander returned to them. When he came through the gate, his clothing was in shambles, and his hair was askew all over his head. Scars covered his face, and blood ran down his forehead. He managed to stumble through the gate, before collapsing on the cold cobblestone street. It was some time, before his body was discovered, and then it was a miracle he did not freeze to death while lying on the cold stone street.

He took weeks to recover totally, during which time; he managed to tell his woeful tale of his and Reggie's capture by the Tenebri. Their imprisonment had been a horrible one even by mage standards. They had been locked inside the Tenebri's cold dungeon during the coldest months of the years. What was worse was the fact that the Tenebri kept a heavy guard on the two of them. Making it an almost impossible task for the two of them to escape, they tried, but to no avail. Alex told them that after months of this imprisonment and torture, Brown had offered himself as a distraction that he might escape.

In such a situation, time was of the essence, so what happened to Reggie, Alex did not know. He himself had barely managed to fight his way back to the castle, finally collapsing from fatigue on his entrance into the citadel.

Doom and gloom seemed to permeate the castle after this news from Alex. The trainers spent hours poring over the possible ways to break Reggie out of prison, but all of them ended in the fact that they did not know where the Tenebri's castle lay; it appeared that it moved every time a stranger found it. What was worse was that after Alex recovered, he spent hours by himself staring off at the distant mountains. After some time of doing so, Idus began spending a lot of time with him.

They grew close together as friends, and Alex began to join the training of the two brothers. Soon, the twins found themselves fighting with the brothers' powerful weapons. It seemed that the weapons were so powerful, that the twins only needed to tell the weapons that they were sparring, to make them magically harmless.

The brothers found that this was not the only change to their training, for they found at about this time, they began to spend more time conjuring, they found their endurance levels begin to rise, as they each slowly progressed in strength and energy. Their book studies also changed, they began to study ancient writing styles, from runes, to the Greek alphabet. They became more and more powerful, but no matter how strong they got, no matter how much they learned, no matter how hard they tried; they found they could not decipher Xenophon's poem. It always seemed to make no sense to them, they had asked their father many times for help, but he had always excused himself from helping them, saying that it was not his part to help them.

Finally, there was a month left before they would complete their training. In desperation they decided to ask the one man whom they had come to think could help them. They decided it was Marius. After months of being trained by him, they had decided that only his unorthodox methods could make sense of Xenophon's foul poem.

One day after a somewhat easy day of training, Irgen approached the old man. He asked:

"Marius, do you know much about riddles?" Nigellus eyed Irgen, a little taken aback, before saying:

"I know that riddles contain mysteries, which are meant to stay hidden." Irgen blinked at the old man's reply, ready to give up any hope of Nigellus helping him, but then Nigellus added, "But I always like to hear them. Do you have one for me?" He asked happily, as though waiting for some treat.

Irgen looked at him for a moment, before reaching in his pocket and withdrawing the ancient poem, and handing it to Nigellus. He eyed it for a moment, while patiently scratching his white beard. Finally he looked up at Irgen and said:

"Well this one is very interesting indeed. At first glance, it looks like complete nonsense, indeed it doesn't rhyme, and it seems to have no purpose at all, but if you look at it from a different perspective it makes complete sense." He looked ponderously at Irgen, as though asking if he knew what the riddle was about, but Irgen just shrugged unhappily, and Marius smiled musingly.

"It's simple really. You see it is written to be a chiasmus."

"A-a what?" Irgen asked timidly.

"A chiasmus" Marius responded absentmindedly, "it is a form of Hebrew poetry. It is built to repeat itself but in reverse order. For example the last line should contain some of the same wording as the first line, and the second to last should go with the second to first, and on and on. It is a form of poetry that is not the most widely used, so it is nothing to be ashamed of that you did not know its meaning, but may I ask, where did you get this?"

Irgen looked uncertainly back at Marius before saying recklessly:

"Ummm. You may not believe me, but I will tell you anyway... I got that riddle from Xenophon himself." Nigellus' eyes narrowed as he surveyed the strapping figure of Irgen before him. Finally he said:

"Xenophon, that's interesting...He does live then." He sighed and a long pause followed before he finally added, "Xenophon was said to have fought as a mercenary for a Persian King in the 5th century B.C. Perhaps he learned about that form of poetry there." Once again Marius paused. Irgen's thoughts were racing inside of his head:

"This poem was merely a form of poetry, and it wasn't built to make any sense at all, well how did that happen?" He thought to himself. After an even longer pause, Nigellus spoke again:

"It seems that Xenophon wants you to find what he referred to as his old home, but I don't think he means Petros, for he seems to have left his kindred people and built a new one, more than that, it seems that once you find this home, you will find the clue you truly seek, it is the clue to allow you to find what he calls wondrous power. That is about all I can get out of the riddle." He cast his eyes down and added, "I am sorry I cannot be of more help to you Irgen, but perhaps that will be enough." He handed the poem back to Irgen who ponderously took it before saying:

"I think that will be great for now Marius. I don't understand how you could make anything at all out of that confusing poem. I thank you, for perhaps that is all we need."

"Yes, perhaps you are right, Irgen. Sometimes I forget that it is the simple, not the profound things, which when used properly allow us to grow."
Chapter 41-Xenophon's Abode

That night, when the twins met again at dinner, Idus asked expectantly:

"Well???" Irgen grinned happily back at him before explaining what Nigellus had made out of the poem. Idus was delighted at the news. It was truly good news to hear that they had finally figured out why Xenophon had written that bit of nonsense. And they both decided that they already knew where Xenophon's last home was.

They decided it was in the very last tower. The only remaining one that had not yet been explored, but they did not yet know how to enter the tower, so that night they decided it was time to find a way into the tower.

When nightfall came, they once again snuck out of the castle, but this time they met no one as they left the main turret. Emboldened by the lack of activity in the citadel, they took their time in getting to the Tower of Earth. Outside, the clear crisp air of spring going into summer gave them an elated feeling as they strolled along the soft grass. After a while, they stood before the tower of earth. Its mighty stone walls stood defiantly before them in the air. They wandered around the structure, wondering how they were going to enter this building.

They had decided earlier, that this was probably going to be the most difficult tower to enter, seeing as how it was Xenophon who had sealed it up, and they had also decided that this was also going to be the most arduous journey inside any of the towers. They figured that if Xenophon had gone to that much trouble to make the ridiculous poem he gave them, he would most certainly have guarded his secret well inside of the tower. They decided it was probably a good thing that they had not figured out where the clue pointed to until this far into their training, because they were not expecting Xenophon to go easy on them.

After circling the grounds a few times, the twins gave up on trying to find something on the ground. After all, they hadn't really expected it to be that easy, but they weren't completely sure just what to expect from the seemingly odd mind of Xenophon.

They stood together silently for a minute, before Idus looked at Irgen and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well it's a good thing that our specialty is to do earthen magic otherwise this would be really difficult." Irgen half-heartedly smiled back at Idus, but he wasn't in much of a mood for joking right now. He knew that it would be up to him to enter the earthen stronghold, for he was the only one who had managed to do any earthen magic so far.

He looked around uncertainly; this was truly a much tougher tower to break into than the others had been. There was nothing on the ground which might help them in their quest to enter the doors. He remembered that Idus had said that he entered his tower with a thunderbolt, so what had to do with earth that would allow them to enter the tower?

As he was thus pondering, his hands slipped to his sides and he felt at his side the hilt of his sword. As he did so, he had the thought to look again at Xenophon's poem. He did and once again the words rang through his head:

Do ye indeed break the walls of my home?

Hast thou not seen the riches away from thee?

Where is thy sting oh kindred tongue?

For I am gone far from thee.

Into the night of blackness wilt thou go.

To find what you seek from me.

Seek to find wondrous power.

And let the black darkness flee from thee.

Thou are far from me yet.

With the strength of my mouth will I smite thee.

Wealth untold will not save thee.

For walls crumble beneath the power of my will.

This time, he felt something urge him to focus on the last line. He looked at it again and read the words: "For walls crumble beneath the power of my will." Irgen thought for a moment as he remembered that Xenophon had been so powerful that he had caused the walls of the great city Menoeceus to crumble, a feat which rivaled what all of the other brothers did, but surely that wasn't the only reason to put that in the poem.

Xenophon was already immortal, what did he care for popularity? But if he didn't add that to glorify himself, what did it mean? Surely he didn't expect Irgen to demolish the walls of the tower...Did he?

The two brothers stood silently staring at the piece of paper, or at least Irgen did, Idus seemed to lose interest in the paper after looking at its worthless words for about the thousandth time. He turned away and once again began walking around the tower, this time examining almost every piece of the ground, unwilling to give in to the fact that perhaps the accursed poem did contain how to enter the tower.

Irgen, on the other hand, continued to stare at the slip of paper which he held in his hands, as he did, a queer idea popped into his head. He slipped the paper away and ran forward to the wall, and began examining it to find anything which seemed to be out of the ordinary. It did not take him long to find what he was looking for. He found a small insignia about the size of a small coin.

It was of a fire burning, and it was cut into a block of stone. Irgen felt the anticipation build in him as he lit a small fire near the stonework. As he did so, the insignia changed to represent a large wave. Once again, Irgen created what the insignia pointed to make, this time dousing the flame, and it changed again. This time, it changed to a large thunderbolt.

By this time, Idus had come to look at what his brother was doing. As he did so, Irgen pointed out the lightning bolt to Idus and he smiled in anticipation. Suddenly a crack of thunder split the atmosphere and a lightning bolt crashed into the side of the wall where the insignia lay, as it did so, a large chip of mortar came out. The chip that had been created was where the insignia had been. It was small, but it was large enough that now Irgen understood the poem.

It was talking about him breaking the walls. It was he who was to smite the mighty tower. He built up his energy and focused on that tiny chip in the wall. As he did so he felt a powerful thrust flow out of his body. The ground rumbled beneath of them, and a violent crack rent the atmosphere. A cloud of dust flew into the air. When it cleared the stone which had held the small insignia was no more, in its place was a small opening which allowed the brothers entrance into Xenophon's tower. The small weakness in the tower had allowed the brothers' entrance.

They walked forward, awestruck at the simplicity of the poem. Irgen grabbed a hold of the hole and pulled himself upwards and through. Once through he reached his hand back out and helped Idus through the gaping hole.

Here they found what the poem had meant when it talked about darkness. Indeed no light at all penetrated the tower. The innards of the tower were completely hidden from view in the tangible darkness. Idus tried to conjure a light above their heads, but to no avail, the light could not penetrate the darkness.

The darkness acted like a leach grabbing a hold of any light which tried to enter and blocking it out just as quickly. The two brothers decided their best bet was to link arms and go forward into the unknown abyss before them. They decided that they would start by heading towards what had to be the center of the tower. In every tower so far, that was where something important always seemed to lie, so they took a few steps and slowly made their trek forward.

They found their progress easy and unhindered which only heightened their alertness. In the darkness they felt that they would rather face the enemy now, than go on forever always living in fear of what was to come next.

As they continued, they began to feel as if a presence was nearby; it was as though they were being stalked as they wandered through the tower. They walked like this for a while but the tower before them did not seem to end. It continued forward, and the brothers decided that the tower must have been magically enlarged; otherwise they would have met the other wall by now.

They continued to walk forward, trying as hard as they could to keep going in a straight line, although in the darkness, it seemed almost impossible. A few months earlier, and they would have been terrified of the prospect of traveling through a dark tower not knowing what was before them, but now they found that they were no longer afraid of the bleak outlook before them. They had resigned themselves to knowing that it was what they had to do, and it was up to them to do it. It wasn't going to get any easier, so they just continued on.

After some time of walking, they finally reached the other wall. The feel of its cold stone warmed their hearts at feeling something they knew. This time, they decided to follow the contours of the wall around and see if there were any pathways that were cut into the wall. They began to walk around, with Idus steadily feeling the wall, and Irgen hanging onto his arm.

This time, as they walked around the wall, their progress yielded something. Idus almost fell down as the wall suddenly left his grasp and a wide opening was revealed. Excited at this new discovery, the twins headed heedlessly into its depths, as they did so, they felt the ground beneath them begin to steadily rise, and they slowly walked up its gradually sloping plain.

As they reached the top, something happened which they did not expect, the darkness ended abruptly behind them, and light flooded their vision. They both almost fell down from the spectacular contrast between light and darkness, only a step before, it had been pitch-black, and now the light seemed to penetrate every fiber of their body. It filled them with light and more than that, it seemed to fill every corner, there was no corner that the light did not touch.

When they finally got used to the newfound brightness, they could peer into the distance and see what was ahead of them. A long tunnel stretched out into the distance before them. It seemed like it was to go on forever, but the twins had found light, so they didn't care how far it went on for. They started walking down the long tunnel.

After a while it dove sharply downward and soon they found a large chamber open up in front of them. The chamber was huge, but there was one problem with it; it was no longer bereft of activity. In the middle of the room roamed a large animal of some kind. One which the brothers did not like the look of, it was larger than life once again, and it had the look of what a liger and an eagle might look like.

Irgen felt sick to his stomach when he realized what it was. It was a dreadful creature that existed in many of the old mythological chains. It was a Sphinx, and yet it did not appear like the sphinx Irgen had heard tell of, it did not have a head like a maiden. Instead it was replaced with a large tiger's head which was covered by a grizzly mane of hair. Large wings jutted out behind the front two legs of this enormous creature. And what should have been large padded feet, were replaced, by large savage looking talons.

The two brothers looked at each other, and Irgen knew Idus knew what it was as well. He shrugged with indifference and began walking boldly forward, over the course of their training he had become more and more like Irgen, and he had grown to scorn prudence. Irgen watched his first few steps with trepidation before coming to his senses and jumping after his brother.

As they approached the mighty beast, it turned and sat on its hind legs, folding its arms impressively with its wings stretching out behind its back. It created a mesmerizingly terrifying sight, but neither of the twins felt the fear that should have entered their body; instead they walked undeterred, up to face the creature before them.

Finally they stopped and the three of them surveyed each other, like two rivals man and beast, preparing for battle. After a moment, the Sphinx spoke, and a rich baritone voice sounded forth:

"Sons of Perseus, here we meet at last, and now I perform the duty to which I was trusted. In me is the secret to where your staffs may be found. In this tower, you have passed through the veil of darkness that you might find the light of truth. For light cannot be brilliant if there is no darkness to compare it to. You have done well and gone forward with no fear, but now you have reached your last obstacle...Me!" Silence followed his last words, and it seemed the Sphinx was done speaking. A little aggravated at so little being said, Idus asked:

"Well how are you the last obstacle?" The animal stirred again at his words.

"I am the last because in me is the secret you seek. I am a Sphinx it is true, and therefore you may get the secret by answering a riddle, or we may fight, but beware! I am not as weak as the Sphinx that Oedipus killed, Xenophon endowed me with magic. It will not be easy to fight me, and remember if you do fight me, you mustn't kill me, because if I die, the secret goes with me, and your journey through the darkness will have been in vain." Idus looked at Irgen questioningly, but as he did so, Irgen's voice rang in his head:

"Well I guess that simplifies matters. We take the riddle and if we get it wrong then we fight him and somehow capture him. Sounds simple enough, right?" Idus turned back to face his brother and this time Irgen's voice sounded aloud.

"Well then what's the riddle that you've been waiting these many long years to give?" The Sphinx unfolded its arms and its wings relaxed to the side.

"Answer correctly and you will have your secret, answer incorrectly and I strike!" The beast cleared his throat before beginning his riddle:

What weeps with the basest of animals and trees?

Kills the strongest of men?

And is the giver of life?

The brothers looked at each other with raised eyebrows before saying, "Oh...Is that all?"

The sphinx nodded its head in silence. The brothers turned back to look at each other. Idus spoke first,

"What a bit of nonsense, I should have known better with good old Xenophon running the show." This time Irgen did not smile, he was too deep in thought.

"What gives and takes life, and yet weeps with everyone?" Irgen asked sadly, knowing that this riddle was out of his league.

"Hmm, well I guess we can think about it for a little bit eh?" Idus said with a sigh. The two of them sat down next to the Sphinx and started talking it over. At first they did not think that anything could really fit those requirements, but after a while they started to make a little bit of progress.

They took it bit by bit and tried to think up different things that fit a category, before they narrowed it down. They started with what was something that could kill and they worked their way down until they finally reached something that gave life to everything and weeping. By this time, they had it narrowed down to things like the gods, or just a singular God, or maybe random molecules, but just as they reached this point, the Sphinx's eyes flew open and it jumped upright, and screamed:

"You have taken too long! Prepare to fight!" And with that its enormous wings beat the air creating a wind tunnel in the chamber, and it lifted itself up above their heads. The brothers scrambled upright and looked up just in the nick of time to see the Sphinx come spiraling downward at the two of them. Its talons hit the solid rock and left four mighty imprints where its claws had hewn the solid rock in two. The twins just managed to jump to the side to avoid its mighty onslaught, but now they were ready. They both had their weapons out, and they felt the mighty power flying through them.

Idus did not wait to attack, he created an enormous cage of electricity around the monster, a cage which Irgen promptly filled with fire, but a moment later the mighty Sphinx let out an earth shattering roar and the cage broke apart, and once again the mighty behemoth took flight into the air above them. This time, it did not drop from the sky, but with a wave of its hand cast a mighty mound of earth towards the twins. Irgen and Idus just avoided it as it collided with the cold stone.

As they jumped out of the way, Irgen felt his foot catch a piece of broken stone, he tripped and fell towards the hard ground, and just as he did so, the mighty Sphinx struck. He just managed to roll out of the way as its talons collided heavily with the stone next to him, but before he could stand up, one of its large talons flew towards him; Irgen pulled out his sword and thrust it as hard as he could into the creature's talon. It screamed in agony and yanked its foot back, wrenching Irgen's sword from his hands. As its foot came back; however, Idus leapt forward holding his battle axe high over his head. It swung downward on the other leg of the terrifying creature.

Another screech filled the air as Idus ripped his axe free. The crazed Sphinx took flight again, this time dripping great drops of a white pus-like substance. It ripped the sword out of its foot and hurled it downward with fearful forcefulness. It struck the earth and buried itself in the stone, slicing through it like butter until it stopped with a shudder as the hilt collided with the stone. Seconds later, the great beast once again dropped from the sky, missing Idus by inches, but this time it acted quickly and with superhuman strength carelessly flicked Idus' axe away. It grabbed Idus in one of its talons and raised him up to his mouth.

Idus' frantic voice penetrated Irgen's mind, "Do something!!!" Suddenly Irgen thought of something, and without even thinking, he ran with it.

"The answer to the riddle is water!!!" Irgen shouted out at the top of his lungs. The Sphinx stopped with Idus' hanging in between the wide open sharp teeth. A large hot piece of saliva dripped on Idus's face. The monster slowly lowered Idus to the ground and turned and blinked at Irgen before saying with a great amount of pain in its voice:

"You are correct, water can kill the greatest, it is essential for life, and it is said to weeps with all when it rains. I'm impressed, you have both fought well. I don't know if I will ever regain full use of my feet because of the two of you." He looked sadly at the two of them, but Irgen brightened up and responded:

"Don't worry we've found the way to heal wounds such as those, although we can't because we don't yet have a staff. Speaking of that what is the secret, you have had to keep?"

"The secret is a place far away, to which only I can take the two of you to. You have won; gather your sword Irgen, your blade bears your name well. You are a great fighter, as are you Idus. You truly are the chosen ones. Let's make our way out to the castle; I haven't seen it for many years...I wonder if it has changed much." He beckoned the two of them to climb onto his back. They scrambled for their weapons, Irgen's taking a little longer to get than Idus' before climbing aboard the beast's back and feeling the powerful wings beat underneath of them.

They felt themselves being pushed backward as the great beast lifted off the ground and shot like a rocket down the narrow tunnel, after a few minutes of flying they were back into the darkness, but the darkness did not seem to bother the Sphinx instead he just flew right through it, until they reached the point in the wall where they had broken through earlier. Here they found the hole they had made earlier had disappeared, and in its place stood an enormous opening that allowed the large Sphinx's body to fly gracefully out into the open.

As they broke out of the tower the brothers found themselves blinded by the dazzling light of the Sun's rays. They hadn't realized how long it had taken them to get through the tower, and they wondered how late they were for their training.

On the lawn was their answer, there all bunched up, were their trainers standing in their glittering white armor and two new strangers, one dressed in navy blue armor, and another, a woman, with bright vibrant blonde hair, was there with bright silver armor. The Sphinx flew high into the air. "Thank you my boys, I have been waiting for ages for this." As he flew high into the air he surveyed the castle and surroundings. Satisfied he turned and descended to the bystanders who were watching them silently from the lawn, the brothers wondered what awaited on the lawn before them, what could have caused the Knights to put on their armor? The answers they knew, were about to be given to them.
Chapter 42-André's last words

They told the Sphinx to land on the lawn next to the group, he smiled and graciously did so, but of course he had to make a spectacular entrance, so he flew high into the sky and then like a small lightning bolt he tucked his wings and flew downward at breakneck speed, and just when the twins decided that he was going too fast to stop, his wings flew outward stopping them with a powerful jerk. How the Sphinx could withstand the force on his wings, the brothers didn't know, but nevertheless, the sheer awe of his entrance did not escape them, so they carried themselves proudly on the great beast.

After his talons touched the ground, they alighted from his back and strode towards the large group who were all gazing dumbly at the two of them, and more importantly, the enormous animal behind them. Irgen and Idus waited for someone to speak, but to no avail, finally Irgen broke the silence:

"Father you wouldn't mind healing our Sphinx's talons would you?" André looked taken aback at this outlandish request, but he nodded and strode boldly forward with his staff to the side of the Sphinx, and quickly healed his wounds. Then he straightened up and asked:

"So I take it the two of you found out what was in the last tower?"

"Umm yeah...He was!" Idus said with a flourish as he lifted his arms as though to showcase the great beast behind him. "But I want to know what we missed while we were on our little adventure." He added softly.

"What you missed?" André mused silently to himself, "Well it seems that the Fire clan has declared war on Water. This morning these two messengers reached me saying that Atlantis is besieged, and that young blonde messenger over there has brought the message that as long as we don't show any sign of hostilities towards them, the Air clan, they will stay neutral. It is a ploy by the corrupt leaders of the Fire clan to allow the Tenebri time to regroup, while we are busy playing with fire, but it is a good one, because we all must leave and your training is hereby suspended, perhaps indefinitely... I see that you have figured out Xenophon's riddle, I will say that now would be a wonderful time to get your staffs.

War is upon us, Helen and this young scout from the Air clan will go with you. You must hurry. Soon, sides will be chosen for each of us. I don't know if I really trust the young woman, but Alex trusts her and says she will do. And I trust Alex's instincts. We ride to war! You must pack your things and go!" He paused and lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear him,

"You remember Xenophon's prophecy, I fear that I will not see the two of you again," his voice began to break; "it seems I may be robbed of the opportunity to be your father. This past year was a time that I had long awaited, and I hope that you will find it in yourselves to forgive me because it would appear that fate is calling me on." He stopped and his normal courageous face was replaced with a look of pure pity. He swallowed and took a deep breath before looking back up into the savagely blue sky. A tear broke from his fiery eyes as he gasped again with sorrow. Finally he looked down again. Irgen and Idus stared into those sad blue depths and suddenly something happened which they had not felt before. Something tugged at each of their hearts, and it was as if they were being woven tightly together. For that one moment, as they gazed into each others' eyes, they felt at peace. A father knew his sons, and sons finally knew their father. The feeling was overpowering, never had they felt such love. They were finally a family. André closed his eyes contemplatingly before speaking:

"Do not fear, as Xenophon said, death is a road unto itself. We all must one day travel it, and it is not the end, no...no my sons it is a grand beginning, but my sons I must leave you with this word of council. You are never alone so long as the Knights exist. You are respected here and here you will always find friends, but I do not think it lies in your path to---at the very least start as one. Once you get your staffs, I advise you to join one of the clans, perhaps that is the only way to truly unite the order, by once again splitting the family that started this war.

I also give you one last piece of wisdom. In the event of my death, go to Thomas, he is your uncle and my brother. I was the oldest and as such gained the name of Tuerl, but my parents did not want that for him, so they gave him the name Blackington hoping to hide his true identity. We are the last of the descendants of Perseus. There are more instructions which only we know that still need to be passed on to you, but now is not the time. Now go, your armor is waiting for you inside the castle." He reached forward and hugged his sons, before he turned and yelled to the Knights on the ground, and as he did so his armor changed from soft white to a stunning blue.

"Knights! We ride to war!" As he said this, a great whinnying was heard and out of the sky came the thundering hooves of a herd of horses. A dazzlingly black stallion broke from the clouds above them and landed with a crash and a whinny next to André, he jumped on it, and yelled as he thrust his heels into the horse's side.

"Go forward my sons, and fear no evil!!! I will always be with you! And never forget that you are MY SONS!" His yell seemed to echo off of the mountains behind them, as he rode into the sky. Behind him followed their other trainers, with their mother shouting and waving a goodbye, leaving the twins, Helen, the blonde scout, and the Sphinx staring up into the bright afternoon sky.

When the noise of the Knights' leaving faded into the distance, Irgen and Idus went forward and introduced themselves to the young blonde girl. As they did so, they found that she was gorgeous. Her bright blue eyes had an entrancing feel to them. Her bright blonde hair cascaded gently down her slender back, accentuating her shapely, sloping shoulders. Her gray armor emanated its own alluring light only adding to her stunning figure. They quickly found out that her name was Angela and she was 17. Idus seized the occasion quickly by saying with characteristic flair upon hearing her name:

"It's a pleasure to finally make the acquaintance of an angel of the sky." Irgen and Helen rolled their eyes at the corny greeting, but it made Angela smile so at the very least Idus had established a name for being "cute".

After greeting them, they went and showed them their Sphinx, and now, they even bothered to ask him his name, to which he responded that his name was Lasante. After the introductions, the brothers decided it was time to go and see just what armor their father had left them. They entered the castle and went up to their dormitories, and there found a blazing red suit of armor for Irgen, and a shining silver one with white stripes slashing through it like lightning for Idus. As the brothers touched them, the armor came to life and wrapped itself flawlessly around both of them. Just then Irgen gulped as he remembered his dream from ages ago, and he remembered the feeling of this armor then, and it felt the same. He feared that his dream was coming true. Once they had their armor on, they went back downstairs and met the girls, before heading back out to Lasante and mounted him, two horses flew through the sky for the girls. As they rose to leave the now empty castle, Irgen asked:

"Well Lasante, does the White Citadel seem to have changed much?" He answered quietly,

"No, it does not seem to have aged in the slightest, but the glory of the brothers is gone from it, it used to be a sparkling wonder to see. It will be up to the two of you to restore it." And with that they embarked in their quest for the staffs, and for hopeful glory.
Chapter 43-The Staffs of Zeus

Their flight was a long one. They traversed the expansive Atlantic Ocean again, but this time at a much slower pace. Lasante said that teleporting was too easily tracked, and that this type of travel fit into the current need for stealth. How teleporting was to be tracked, the brothers did not know, but they didn't bother to ask. They decided that Lasante would know the best way to get them to their destination regardless of anything else, so they trusted his judgment. After a while, Helen and Angela rode up next to the brothers and they began chatting.

It didn't take long for Irgen and Helen to see that the other two liked each other. He thought to himself that it was a good thing that he was there; otherwise there might not be anything to stop his handsome brother from putting the moves on this new Angela.

After what seemed like hours, the coast began to drift back into view, but this time, they passed well below Florida. Instead, what they passed over was Cuba. And then after a brief spell, they passed back into the sea. Finally ahead of them, they could see what had to be somewhere in Mexico, but neither of the brothers could tell.

"Are you sure you can find it Lasante?" Irgen asked good-naturedly.

Lasante lifted his head to peer over his back causing them to gain altitude as he did so, "A Sphinx, never forgets." His crisp reply made Irgen smile, he grasped the good beast tighter, and Lasante relaxed back into his normal level beating motion. Irgen felt they would be good friends.

As they passed the coastline, they slowly began to descend, but their descent was so slow, that by the time they reached the ground, they didn't think they could be anywhere near the coastline.

As they approached the tree line below them, Lasante tucked his wings, and they dove forward pushing through the thick underbrush which seemed to cover the place Lasante was looking for, eventually, they landed next to a large cliff-like face, that resisted all the overgrowth of the jungle beside it. Astonished Irgen jumped off Lasante and touched the wall. As he did so, the ground shook beneath of him, and the walls in front of him rose into the air, revealing the large entrance to a cavern.

The brothers entered the new structure gratefully, each had been waiting for what seemed like days to get some sleep, and to them this cavern offered them the greatest probability. But more than that, they had been waiting for an opportunity to go to the bathroom as well. It had been a long ride, and they were surprised they had managed to hold it that long.

The two brothers went off into the jungle for a moment to relieve themselves, while the girls went into the cavern and gave it a kind of homely feel. When the brothers returned, they found that making it homely had been a bit of a slight understatement; here they found four beds on two different sides of the cavern, with two on each side. In the middle of the cavern, Lasante had lain down to sleep. The horses had gone back up into the sky after the girls had hopped off them, so this was all the lodging that the five of them needed. On one side, the girls had put up a little pink curtain perhaps to ward away the two brothers, but they didn't really need any coaxing, because as soon as they returned, they said a quick thanks and jumped in their beds.

Idus awoke with a start late in the night, he found everyone else to still be sleeping. He looked around cautiously before softly throwing the covers off of himself, and striding to the entrance of the cave. The moon gave off an eerie glow on the tops of the canopied tropical trees before him. His armor glimmered in the soft glow. He held out his arm and balled his hand into a fist. A small yellow glow was emitted from his hand and he grinned at his prowess. Another glint caught his glance and he turned his gaze to the great black battle axe in his belt. Softly he pulled into his arms. The warm confident power of the blade overtook him as he flicked the large weapon into the air, and jumped up, catching it lightly before slashing downward, landing like a puma. As he did so, a soft captivating voice sounded behind him.

"You are quite the master of that blade Idus." He landed nimbly before turning to see the temptingly beautiful face of Angela. He blushed at the sight of her, and cast his eyes downward. "Do not be ashamed of your talent Idus. You have an amazing ability. I have only heard wonderful things of your expertise." By now she had managed to walk right up to him. She placed her soft hand on his flexible armor and it seemed to evaporate into thin air leaving her caressing his powerful arm.

Idus stood there mesmerized, never before had he seen someone as beautiful as Angela. It seemed to him as though her very breath drew him towards her. He could not resist this overwhelming power. She smiled temptingly at him before grabbing his hand. "Tonight is the night Idus, the night you become a man. You will find your staff, and then you will be free to come with me. The sky's the limit Idus..." Idus could not speak it was as though she controlled his tongue with some unknown force. "Now you must go, awake Irgen and go." She winked at him before gracefully disappearing back into the cave and back behind the curtains.

Idus snapped back to himself and the armor reformed itself over his body. He shook his head before striding softly over to Irgen to wake him. He awoke with a start, and nodded as Idus explained that now was the time to find the staffs. They went and lightly tapped Lasante on the shoulder, to wake him. He gave a slight snort before opening an eye and looking at the two of them,

"We're going to find the staffs, we'll be back." Irgen whispered under his breath. Lasante lifted his furry face and said softly,

"Good, but be careful, what lies beyond the safety of this entrance, can only be conquered by the two of you. Now go, and may the strength of Perseus rest upon you." With that he strode forward leaving the opening of the tunnel wide open for the two brothers. With a short wave of their hands they descended again into the darkness.

This time as they descended down into the dark depths of the tunnel, light appeared ahead of them relatively quickly. As they approached it they found the light came from a small room. As they entered the room, the entrance in front and behind them closed. And a voice echoed in the small cavern wall. The brothers recognized it as Xenophon's voice, it rang out in some infinitely strange language, and yet once again both of them could understand it. Xenophon said this:

"Before you lies your first test. Staffs cannot be used to transfer water or any of the elements somewhere else, so only a true conjurer can pass this test. And only the truly chosen ones can pass through the successive four rooms. Good luck. You are probably going to need it." As his voice died down, water began to gush in from the walls. Idus looked uncertainly at Irgen and asked:

"How long do we have to keep the water out, do you think?"

"I'm guessing as long as the Greeks thought it would take for you to drown." Irgen said playfully as he felt the energy build up inside of him, he was ready for another fight. The energy burst forth and a huge drain appeared in the middle of the floor, sucking the water down with it.

"How far did you transfer it?" Idus asked.

"Just a few hundred feet below ground." Irgen responded overjoyed that it had worked.

After a few minutes of the brothers feeling the water slide and tickle dangerously under their feet, it stopped, and a few more minutes went by, before the door in front of them opened, leading them into another tunnel before their next room.

"That was easy." Irgen said brightly.

"Yeah it was easy, but I'm guessing that we'll find out through all these, why an intruder could not ever reach the staffs again. I don't think the safeguards were meant to challenge us, only to act as foolhardy protection against any would-be thieves." Irgen nodded in agreement as they proceeded to the next room.

This time when the doors closed fire sprang up underneath of them, Irgen quickly placed a protective shield around Idus, but since this was his element, it would not harm him, so during the "trial by fire" Irgen slowly wandered around the small room playfully flicking the fire uselessly against the wall. Finally after minutes like this, the door in front of them reopened and the brothers headed forward, to the next room.

This time it was Idus' turn to cast a protective shield of electricity around Irgen while he roamed freely about the room. After some time in the lightning filled room, the front door opened and once again, the brothers went forward to the last room. The anticipation built in them as they entered this last room. They wondered what substance was going to fill this room, when the doors closed. As they did, a slimy foul smelling substance issued out of the sides of the wall. Disgusted, Irgen quickly started to get rid of whatever it was. Moments passed, during which the foul squelching noise continued to fill the air around them, until finally it stopped, and moments later the last door opened.

Here a small, humble chamber opened to their view. Directly ahead of them, lay a large chest. Overjoyed the twins ran forward and opened the unlocked chest, it fell back revealing two gleaming staffs. One was the same brilliant red one with a white stone wedged in the wood that Irgen had seen in his dream. The other was bright silver, with a large round, sky blue stone attached like a head to the top of it.

Overjoyed, Idus grabbed his staff and lifted it upwards with a flourish. After him, Irgen reached down and cautiously grabbed the ominous red staff which he had seen in his dream. As he lifted it, a piece of papyrus caught his eye. He reached for it, and pulled it out to read it, as he did, Idus yelled: "aprirsi!" As he did so, an opening appeared ahead of them, leading them out, and into the cavern which they had just left. Idus ran full tilt up the passageway, some madness having gained control of him. Irgen hurriedly tucked away the paper he was holding and followed after his brother. He tried to connect to his brother's mind but found something blocked him. His brother didn't want to talk to him. A weight fell upon him as he slowed to a walk and let his brother disappear into the darkness ahead of him. It was over, his dream was coming true.

In frustration He pulled out the paper and conjured a small light above him and once again looked at its crazy lettering. But this time it was the Greek he had studied, and he understood the writing. "Finally a use for all that schooling," he thought to himself. Xenophon's note said this:

"I Xenophon have fled from my land in the hope that on this continent I might find peace, but my hope was vain, for here I have found more wars and savagery than had ever existed in Greece. Here I had hoped to find a type of people I could live with, but I find the majority of them to be a barbaric and loathsome people. They slaughter each other for sport, and war is rampant across the land. They no longer have the will to be productive, they only want to destroy. The quest for satisfying their endless lust has destroyed them. They have ceased striving for that which is good. They are doomed. And we can only hope others will take their place. You, who get these staffs, do not let it happen to our race.

I only ask one thing out of those who use these staffs, and that is-use them for good, for the building up of people, do not try to tear others down with them. They can be a powerful tool for those who are pure-hearted enough to abide their power. My brothers did not understand them. And as such they created wars. They destroyed many people and dreams. Do not let it happen again. Use them to help the world, and you will see how much the world has to help you."

Irgen finished reading the paper as he emerged back into the cavern. Here he found Helen standing alone crying, with Lasante lying next to her. He walked forward carefully and put his hand around her shaking shoulders.

"What happened?"

"They're g-g-one, t-t-the two love-b-b-birds eloped and ran off-f-f to join the Air c-c-clan, and after t-that, who knows." She looked up hopefully at Irgen as though he had some solution to the problem which they were faced with, but he did not look at her. Instead he strode forward to the mouth of the cave and stared up into the starry sky. A tear slid down his cheek as he remembered that night so long ago, when the brothers had looked out of their dormitory window, and wondered what wonders magic would bring into their lives.

But that dream was gone, his brother was gone, and most probably his father too, and his real dream had come true. His brother had become what he had hoped he would not become. Idus had become, or would become, the Him in his dream. Irgen crouched down, and put his face in his hands, as he did so, he felt the warm touch of his shield on his back and remembered, with a tinge of hope, Medusa saying "You are never alone." Quietly, he slipped the shield off his back and stared into its depths, and once again the lovely face swam into view, and said:

"Life is what you make of it, Irgen. A new page in your life is beginning; it is your decision on whether to wallow in the depths of despair or to fly on the wings of glory. Life is what you make of it!" And with that the figure descended back into the depths of the shield.

Irgen looked back up into the sky but this time, he remembered what Xenophon had said,

"The power is in you..." and then the words, "Use them to help the world, and you will see how much the world can help you." He straightened up and turned defiantly on his heel and strode back to Helen and Lasante. He grabbed Helen in a tight embrace and whispered, "This is just the beginning. I cannot do this alone, but I cannot bring myself to ask you to bear the trials ahead of me with me..." Helen cut him off in mid speech.

"You do not need to ask. I cannot desert you. I will always be with you." She looked up lovingly into those determined fiery eyes, and knew it was time. It was time for Irgen Tuerl to become a man.
