

Slayer

Bailey Siegel

Copyright © 2014

Bay Press Publications

Contents

PROLOGUE: IN SEARCH OF AN OGNOK

"FOR MY DEAD FAMILY!"

EVIL TALES

A BROTHERLY TALK

WAITING...AT THE CAFE

PLAYING FOR THE SWORD

GAME TWO

WINNER OF THE INHERITANCE

THE CEREMONY

POLICE

THE START OF THE JOURNEY

LAKE DALFNOK

VALAO AND EJARSHӦH

HEIRG

NAME THE WAND

SATYM

A SWORD'S EYE VIEW

TRAINER AND TRAINEST

SVEWE PALSOA

RIDER AGAINST OGNOK

AREK VS AREK

ULBALLS ARE THE FISHY ONES

ROYAL GUEST

RAGING ARMY

PURSUIT

DESTINY

THE DEFENSE OF THE DEATH OF A DRAGON

SOARING

AN UNDERWATER DUEL

LOGICAL ANSWERS

WISHING FOR MORE DREAMS

YOUTREN AND GHUAR: THE HEROIC COMEBACK

A BATLLE ON LAND, A BATTLE IN WATER

HUNTING THE PRESIDENT

THE DEFENSE OF THE DEATH OF A MAGICAL ALIEN PRESIDENT

AN UNTRAINED WIZARD USING MAGIC

RIDERS CAN SUCCEED

AMNESIA

ANSWERS

A DECLINED DEAL

THE LORD OF THE PRISON

SORE WINGS AFTER LONG DAYS OF FLIGHT

THE FIGHT WITH GALORAT

THE ENEMY'S REINFORCEMENTS

KNOCKING ON DEATH'S DOOR

INSIDE DEATH'S KINGDOM

ARQUE

MTHANL

LONG TIME, NO SEE

BRINGING BACK HISTORY

THE DARK DESTROYERS

LEADING A NEW ARMY

TRAINING THE NEWCOMERS

DRAGONS TO SAVE

SPARRING

SPIES AND MORE TRAINING

DISCOVERY

THE GOLDSTONE

INTRUDER ON DESTVILLE

NEARLY DEAD

TRAGEDY

THE FINAL PREPARATION DAY

THE FIRST HOURS OF COMBAT

GOLEMS

GREETING THE ATTACKERS

DEFEAT

THE LOST SURVIVOR

THE NIGHT HUNT

THE FINAL SEARCH

TRACKING THE FUGITIVE

UNDER THE BANDANA

T _his book is dedicated to my father, who helped me complete the novel in time for its deadline._

#  PROLOGUE: IN SEARCH OF AN OGNOK

Morchad sat in his throne, staring out over the mountains. His comrades were behind him, outside of his quarters training for the upcoming battle with the Dark Destroyers that would destroy their army's entire popularity. But what Morchad really needed was an Ognok, which he did not have.

"Ognok!" he bellowed, searching his entire quarters for a spell that could create an Ognok. "Ognok!" he yelled again, with still no answer.

Then he found a potion inside one of his cupboards on the back wall behind his throne. He grabbed it and grinned. He had found an Ognok.

He threw it in his mixing sphere, letting it settle for the amount of time neededtwo days.

Once the two days were finished, he removed the body from the sphere and placed it on a bed. He then placed a sword in the Ognok's hand yelled, "Ognok, I name thee Heirg!"

The Ognok stood up on hearing his name and looked at his master obediently, waiting for an order.

"Go find the Hero," said Morchad. "Go find him and kill him. Kill his dragon if he already has one."

The Ognok nodded his head and trotted off in pursuit of Thetra Eouhjasson, the Hope and Hero for the Dark Destroyers.

"This will not work," muttered Morchad to himself. "I created the weakest, most untalented Ognok in the history of Kiolerasdarque." Morchad started pacing about his quarters.

He walked over to his cupboard again, and after searching it for an hour, found something.

It was a square cube, about one foot cubed. Morchad stared at it and read the label: GOLEMS.

Morchad gasped and smiled. He had long ago created golems, about two thousand years back, and now he had the opportunity to re-create them once more.

He threw the box in his mixing sphere and remembered that golems took ages to create, about a year.

I must make all of them before the Rider realizes he must save the Dark Destroyers.

Morchad waited, standing there impatiently for a day, and then he decided his only hope was to wait. He then fell asleep and waited until morning to check on the golems' progress.

But the next morning brought with it no new news, and he grew so impatient that he slapped his throne, knocking it over with a crash.

Five minutes later, after his tantrum was over, he picked the throne up and discovered he had dented the corner.

"Arrrrrgggggh!" he yelled, and threw his throne at the wall. "I shall kill every last soldier of the Dark Destroyers. I swear."

#  "FOR MY DEAD FAMILY!"

Thetra sat on his couch, looking out the window. He knew his brother Arek was upstairs, his mother Uvorc was in her room she shared with her husband Eouhja, who was as well in their room.

He heard Arek shout for him to go play a game with him, but he did not respond. His family was about to travel from their home in Toage to Wecvavrrn, which was about seventy leagues away. They would leave in about three hours.

He saw their neighbor hunters going for their daily hunt at noon. He saw them kill a deer. One shot a bird. Both of the animals killed by the hunters were most likely going to be eaten that night.

He heard a knock on the front door, which he wasn't expecting. His mother always told him and Arek never to open the door, it might be a stranger.

And that was exactly who it was: a stranger.

He asked if Arek or Thetra were in the house, and Thetra stayed still behind in the family room. He walked around and got behind the couch, in case the stranger should walk into the family room. Then he carefully crept to his room, still in earshot.

"Who are you?" asked his mother.

The stranger grunted. "I asked you a question first, ma'am."

"Not home. Now who are you?"

He heard silence. Then a scream. His mother's scream. He dared not go out. He heard his father rushing into the room, and then Thetra heard his father's scream of agony and pain.

He saw Arek come down the stairs, but Thetra pulled him aside.

"What happened?" whispered Arek.

"No clue. But let's stay here in hiding."

Then they both saw the stranger leave out the window, and they ran to their murdered parents.

"Mother! Father!" cried Thetra. "What happened?"

"The sword..." murmured Eouhja. "It stabbed...us."

"What sword? The stranger's? We can go hunt them and kill them. We could track your killers."

"Do not mourn us," said Uvorc. "We will live this day."

"Please do. You can't die, Mother and Father! You can't! Let us go after them!"

"No," said Eouhja. "Stay here. Do not go to Wecvavrrn. Stay in the protection of our house, children."

"Yes, Father," said Arek. "We will listen to you, but we will bury you. And you, Mother. You both deserve it."

"So long, Arek and Thetra. You will be missed."

Thetra hugged his mother and father, as did Arek.

_So this is what it's like to lose your mother and father,_ thought Thetra, feeling shame on himself.

He and Arek went to bed for the night, hoping with their whole minds that it had just been a nightmare, but it hadn't. In fact, Thetra _did_ have a nightmare, and it was as unpleasant as the day's events:

He was being hunted by their neighborhood hunters. He was hiding in a big log in the forest by their home.

" _Kervaerrgh," murmured the first hunter, "is that him?" He pointed at the log that Thetra was in._

" _Nay, Miej. That's just a log."_

" _How about in the log? Ever thought of that, hunter?"_

" _You check. Only one of us in case he's not there and he sneaks around and murders us from behind."_

" _With what?A butter knife?" Miej laughed._

" _Who knows? But let's check and try to discover at least something."_

When they looked inside the log, Thetra jumped out and yelled, "For my dead family!" and started running away down the trail.

#  EVIL TALES

Thetra sat on his bed nine days later after he had communicated with his aunt and uncle and asked if they could come after he explained everything that had happened.

Eouhja's sister wailed and cried. His uncle Opsiomnö said that she even ran into the wall her eyes were so full of tears. But they declined for they had their twenty-third anniversary that day.

As Thetra was getting into bed that night, he heard glass break and footsteps on the stairs.

_The boys are back_ , he thought. He saw Arek grab a family sword in time to slay the first killer. The second charged straight at Arek with his sword in his hand, but Arek killed him as well.

Thetra picked up the sword that the second murderer had dropped. Its shiny green blade was a perfect hue. Thetra's favorite color was green.

"I'm going to keep this sword," announced Thetra to Arek. "SWORD, I NAME THEE SLAYER!"

Then Arek shouted with his sword raised, "SWORD, I NAME THEE STABBER!"

And with that, they started sparring for the first time.

They did this in that manner for hours, throughout the whole night. Then the wind blew a parchment into the window.

Thetra picked it up and showed Arek. "I think it is a map of our country: Kiolerasdarque."

"Whoa!" said Arek. "Our capital is Bewaldt! I've always wondered what it is."

"And now you know."

"And now I know."

"Brother," said Thetra, "let us go hunting next week. We have to find meat."

"Yes, Brother. We will leave to go hunting next week on Wednesday. And we will catch a deer! More than one! Thousands!"

And then they went to bed, even though it was almost dawn. They had stayed up all night.

The next morning they woke up, ate, and decided to go to Worgh, the storyteller's early morning tale.

They arrived there on time for Worgh to begin. And that day he talked about the legends of Morchad.

"He was a dark one, a born murderer of souls. It is a mystery how he gets others to follow him. But alas, he has his ways.

"He was born as an Entara, the creatures hated by everyone in Kiolasdarque. But then his father, a man named Tyerronde, made Morchad a man.

"His mother, Sioth, decided to take him in their backyard and train with swords. She gave Morchad the same sword he bares now: Gonca. It has served him well throughout his years, always killing, always destroying.

"Then one night, five members of the good army killed Sioth and Tyerronde. Morchad killed his first five warriors with Gonca.

"Then he fled to the mountains. To Mt. Berr. From there he went to Thaken. It was roughly about a seventy-five mile trip. And he ran it! He was a fast young lad, he was."

Worgh took a sip of water.

"Morchad trained with the evil, and after the king of their army was killed, Morchad was voted the king. He attacked the other army many, many times. The bad part: he succeeded in doing so. He killed many of the warriors of the good army."

He took another swig of water.

"Now, as you know, I am a retired spy for the good army, so I know all of this. I would tell you the good army's name, but I swore an oath to them, and they still hold me to my oath.

"Morchad then created the Ognoks. I know a few: Ersach, Undewad, Heirg, Velrer, Arque, Idabn. They are all feared. Only one has killed an Ognok. His name was Rewlurc. He killed an Ognok named Arque.

"Morchad still lives. He has attacked every race now besides those of his army: Elves, humans, aliens are neutral. But he has killed so many, the good army only has about 5,000 now, and his army is 20,000 strong. The good army is outnumbered by the forces of Morchad's army."

Then Arek and Thetra went back to their house, grabbed their bows and quivers, and decided to go hunting early. But this time, they weren't hunting for deer or other game- they were hunting for Ognoks.

#  A BROTHERLY TALK

Thetra woke up to the sound of metal on metal, and went downstairs to see Arek banging the pots and pans together.

"What are you doing?" exclaimed Thetra.

Arek stopped. "Good. I was trying to wake you up."

"Why?"

Arek smiled. "WAKE UP CALL!" Then he tackled Thetra in a bear hug. "I had a good dream last night."

"Oh?"

"Aye. I was a dragon. A dragon. I flew through the night. Boy, it was a good dream."

"Tell me more. I'll tell you about mine."

"Oh, alright. So I was a dragon."

"I know that. Can you say something else? Anything else?"

"Nope. That's it. What's yours?"

Thetra shook his head and grinned. "That's it! You were just a dragon for a few seconds?"

"Aye."

"Well, mine was different than yours." Then he told him about his dream where the hunters were hunting him. When he finished, he said, "Aye. So... What did you have for breakfast?"

"Uh, stew. Why?"

"Just curious. What kind of stew?"

"I have no idea. Where's Mother andOh. Right."

"Remember, Thetra? The murderers. Oh, I want to get my revenge on them so bad. I want to avenge them! Oh, I will! Yes!"

"Calm down, Arek. You're acting a little"

"I can't calm down! They're my parents. Or at least _were_ my parents until somebody killed them."

"It's alright, Arek. I know it's a loss for us, but it won't stop us. In other words, it may hurt us, but it won't kill us."

"Thanks for cheering me up," he grumbled. "But I'm still mad."

"Don't be, Arek. We'll survive."

"But they sure didn't! Gosh, Thetra. How can you keep your anger down?"

"Arek, because I don't have anger issues."

"Are you saying that _I_ have anger issues?" roared Arek. "Because if anybody does, it's you!"

"Well, the doctor said so himself and plus"

"Thetra, that doctor has issues," said Arek in a low voice. Two seconds ago he had looked like he was about to explode, but now he just looked like he had taken a chill-pill.

Thetra knew it was a lie and Arek was trying as hard as he could to win the conversation, but he had to put up with Arek's foul behavior. He said, "Arek, just meditate. Calm yourself. I know you're still mad, yes, yes. But just try! Take my advice and use it well." Then Thetra put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "You'll grow up to be a great warrior."

"Thank you, Brother." Then Arek took a deep breath and sighed. "Wow. Much better."

"Good. Now just stay here. I'm going to go hunt down the murderers of the crime."

  

# WAITING...AT  
THE CAFE

He returned with nothing. Nothing new.

"That's alright," said Arek, and Thetra knew that his brother was only trying to cheer him up and make him feel better, but he still counted it as an insult.

"Thanks, Arek. That makes me feel...much better."

"Hey! Is that an insult, Brother?!"

Thetra stared at him, and then said, "'Tis. Does it make _you_ feel better?"

"About what?"

"That we didn't find the murderers nor any food! That I didn't."

"If anything, it makes me feel worse."

"I'm sorry. I failed. It is my fault and I shouldn't be blaming you for it." Then he hugged Arek, a nice big brotherly hug.

"'Tis alright, Thetra.Friends?" He held out a hand.

Thetra took it. "Brothers." Then he and his brother walked up to the big room and played the rest of the afternoon, waiting for the killers to return.

They went to Ullman's Café for dinner. It was a place with salads and other vegetarian stuff, and although neither of them were vegetarians, neither minded having salads every now and then.

They ordered, then ate, and then saw the killers walk in, wearing black cloaks. When they walked in, Thetra and Arek walked out. The three murderers introduced themselves and then sat at a table.

The first one, the one that had killed their mother, drew a knife. Then, when the waitress had walked over to their table, he ordered, and then stabbed the woman in the right leg. When he did that, everyone in the restaurant ran outside, running for their lives and their children's.

"Arek and Thetra!" boomed the voice of the murderer that had killed their parents. "I, Maloet Ferabulsson, swear on your parents' grave that I shall kill you, Arek and Thetra Eouhjasson!"

"As do we," muttered Thetra, and then lunged at the killer, poking him with a stick he had found. "And you'll die as well!" Then he shouted a savage war cry, stabbing the murderer.

Arek was battling the other two with a staff he had found in the middle of the forest. Thetra saw him bang a murderer, killing him because of the metal.

Arek tried to choke the killer he was facing, but failed as the murderer moved out of the way. Then the murderer yelled some magic word and made fire erupt in front of Thetra, and he saw the murderer crawl away, looking like he was about to puke.

"They're escaping!" noted Arek, running after them. He cracked the murderer's head, but the murderer just kept on fighting.

Maloet charged at Thetra with his dagger, but Thetra moved to the side and banged him on the back, like a lashing. "Take that, you killer of our family!"

Arek wasn't doing nearly as well. His opponent, a pale female with tattoos, was stabbing at him to and fro with a whip, like a snake attacking.

"Malakulus!" she yelled, and then a jet of liquid fell from the sky, covering Arek. But the liquid never stopped. It buried Arek in ten-feet-deep paint.

"Help me!" yelled Arek, drowning. "Thetra! I'm—" Then his voice was gone, his body was gone, and his murderer was now attacking Thetra.

"What is your name?" demanded Thetra to the woman.

"Kerbaun Ferabulsson, brother of Maloet!" And then she did the same technique that she had done with Arek, to and fro like a snake.

_So they are related,_ realized Thetra. And then he tried something, a thought so wild he thought he would kill himself. He yelled the magic word that Maloet had used: _"Flyr!"_

Even though he didn't have a wand, it still worked, but not that well. The pillar of flame was orange instead of blue, and it sputtered, harmless to the Maloet and Kerbaun. They used spells with their wands to put it out with water, and the last thing Thetra saw before passing out was Arek covered in muck, looking down on him.

  

Arek

Arek knelt next to Thetra, who was just waking up. He pushed his brother back down and said, "Ah. Slowly, slowly. You don't want to hurt yourself anymore."

"Where—"

"I'll explain. You used magic, alright? Magic! You lit the place on fire! You freed me from that enchanted liquid. You made those killers cowards! You may not have lit a strong bonfire, but you scared them away."

"Ah, Morchad probably."

"They serve the evil? They look just like normal teenagers, brother and sister."

"Are they now?"

"Aye.Maloet and Kerbaun Ferabulsson. Hey, I saw you kill the other one."

"Aye. He wasn't in their family, though. He said his name was Daerja Opolaksson.

"They're magicians, Arek. We can't stand to fight them again!"

"So are you now, Thetra Eouhjasson. I'm proud to be the brother of a magician. Soon you'll be a dragon rider at the rate you're going."

Arek saw Thetra raise an eyebrow. "You think so? I don't even have a sword yet."

"Oh, you'll get that as well."

Thetra smiled. "Come on. Let's go home and have a real supper. I'm starved!"

When they reached their house, they ate supper, and then went upstairs and played cards.

"Go Fish," said Arek. Thetra picked up his card, and then picked up another. Then he put it with the other and said, "Boom baby!"

Then Arek took a turn. And again, he won. "Game." Then he went downstairs to get something to drink, and saw their family sword gleaming on the shelf. "It has yet to be named," he muttered, and then went back upstairs and played again.

His dreams that night were clear:

He was leaning on his staff after killing Daerja, the murderer who had tried to face him. Arek grunted, and then felt the paint pouring down on him. He got in a position where he could see his brother fending off Maloet and Kerbaun, and then he fell as the liquid came pouring again. Soon he couldn't breathe, hear, or talk. Then he wrestled his way to Thetra's side when he saw his brother use magic, and then collapse. And then they both felt paint, which was not what really happened.

And then they both died.

"Wake up, Arek!" yelled his brother. "It's time for breakfast."

He got up, ate, and then went to watch Worgh tell a story. It was not a good tale, so he and Thetra went back home and played in the lake.

Time seemed to travel so quickly that day, because before he knew it, he was sleeping again. And luckily, it was a dream-free night for Arek.

He woke up, woke Thetra up with the pots and pans, and together they played a game of bumper pool. Thetra, who was 19-0 against their family, was beating the 6-13 Arek, and once again, Thetra won.

"Hey," said Arek, finding an idea. "How about we take a bet on the family sword? If I win, I get it. If you win, you get it."

"I'm sure we could find a scroll or something that would explain how Mother and Father inherited it to us, but"

"Let's play!" and with that, they hit.

#  PLAYING FOR  
THE SWORD

"It has begun!" yelled Arek, and he and Thetra banged their cues together and yelled cries.

Arek got his in on the first try. "Whew! That was good!" He went again, missing.

Thetra scored, and then scored again to make the score 2-1 in his favor. Then his ball rolled off the table.

Arek put it back where he wanted, right in the center, and then put two of his balls in to lead 3-2. "Take that," he whispered. Then he went again, putting it to the left.

Thetra knocked his ball away from the hole, and on Arek's turn, he accidentally knocked Thetra's ball in to make it 3-3. Then Thetra went and knocked Arek's ball away from the hole, and Thetra's right next to the hole.

Arek missed the next one, and Thetra scored, and now he was winning 4-3. He just needed one more, and he almost got it on the next turn.

Then Arek bumped his ball all the way back to Arek's own goal, and Arek scored.

"Time!" yelled Arek, and then he told Thetra his idea: "Since it's 4-4, anybody's game, how about let's make it best of nine? It's the first to win five games."

Thetra smiled. "Deal." They shook hands, and Arek started. After his turn, he was inches away from the hole. "Oh, come on!" he yelled.

Then Thetra escaped the middle and knocked Arek's own ball in.

"Thanks, Brother," said Arek. "You just won the game for me. You lost your first game! You're now 19-1 and I'm 7-13! Boom, baby!"

"Congratulations, Arek. I'm proud of the progress you've made." Then Thetra grabbed Arek in a big bear hug.

Then they did the family routine: Arek got to hit Thetra in the back with his cue.

"Ow!" he yelled. "I've never felt that before." Then he turned around and smiled. "I really am proud of you. We'll play Game Two tomorrow."

  

#  GAME TWO

They smacked cues...They yelled their cries...The battle was on.

"Let's go," said Thetra, who looked much more prepared than the day before during Game One.

_I wonder if he knows that I practiced all night and didn't sleep? Well, that part is to his advantage._ Arek chuckled. "Alright, but you'd better be ready."

Arek and Thetra started, and Thetra got to go again. He tapped his in. "Boo-ya!" he yelled, and then went again.

Now it was Arek's turn. He knocked his ball off of a bumper and then put it in. "We are both masters," he noted, and then went again, knocking his ball into Thetra's.

The impact was so hard, it smashed Thetra's ball. "Arek! You're strong!"

Arek bowed and then got the replacement ball for the color red, Thetra's color. Then Thetra put the ball in, tying the game.

On his next move, Thetra put it in the middle of two bumpers. "Best _that_ , young lad."

And he did.

Thetra's mouth hung open in a surprised way. Then he smiled and knocked his in. 2-1, and in Thetra's way.

Thetra knocked his just short of the hole, and Arek knocked it all the way back to his own side.

"Really?" said Thetra.

"Really," confirmed Arek.

Arek scored, tying it again at two apiece. Then he scored, giving him the lead by one.

"Ha!" And then he knocked Thetra's off. "Oh."

Thetra took the lead 4-3 and then put Arek's ball in the center. Arek escaped, however, but trapped himself in between a bumper and the hole. He growled.

Then Thetra hit his ball, and Arek hit, then Thetra, then Arek, and so on for a few hours. After a while, they called it a break for five minutes, and then resumed.

"Play!" yelled Arek.

And then they did.

"You're going to win," said Arek.

And then he did.

"Thetra Eouhjasson wins!" he yelled. "Game Three will be hosted here tomorrow night at 6pm! Be there!"

"Who are you talking to?" asked Thetra.

"The imaginary crowd."

  

Thetra

On the night of Game Three, when Thetra was doing his ten-minute-warm-up, he heard and saw Arek walk up the steps.

"Hey," said Thetra.

"Hey, Brother. Can I talk to you please? Because I have something very interesting to talk about. I heard news when I was strolling around town that our country, Kiolerasdarque, might get a new name. It's been around centuries, Thetra! Centuries! I do not know what the new name will be, but I know it is being changed. And..." Arek gulped. "...A war is starting between Morchad's evil army and"

"The good army."

"And...Thetra, this might be the biggest war that Kiolerasdarque has ever seen. So... The good army needs everyone that they can get."

"You want us to join! Arek, that's insane!"

"It's not, Thetra. The good army is losing in numbers, and Morchad's army is increasing in numbers."

"We'll talk about it later then if you are going to argue," growled Thetra.

"I will probably have changed my mind the next time we talk about it!" Arek roared back.

"Later," insisted Thetra, and they waited for later.

#  WINNER OF THE INHERITANCE

Clack!

This was the sound of cues being smacked together, and being smacked together before Game Three of the Family Sword Bumper Pool games.

"Bring your 'A-game,'" demanded Thetra, trying to intimidate his opponent.

"That question's not worth answering. Because I will, and you won't."

"It was a command."

"Know-it-all."

And then they started Game Three, each of them hungry for a win.

They had installed a radio that automatically narrated their game.

" _It has begun!"_ shouted Radio. _"This is Game Three, live here in the Home of Two Stadium, Home of Arek and Thetra, sons of Ehouja of the_  _"_ Radio caught himself. _"Alright! First shots by the Masters... Score by Arek Eouhjasson! 1-0, Arek!_

" _Thetra scores to tie! Then again! He's up 2-1 on Arek!_

" _Tie game! 2-2! This is happening all too fast for me to process! Whoa!"_ He went on and on, yelling and whispering, keeping record of stats and points.

Finally, tied 4-4, he yelled in a huge outburst, _"_ It has already flown past before my eyes in less than...ten minutes!" Then he calmed himself down and said in a whisper, _"It's Thetra's turn, if he scores, he_ Oh, and he's done it! THETRA WINS GAME THREE TO TAKE THE LEAD OVER AREK 2-1 IN THE SERIES! What a game!"

  

Arek

  

"Brother," said Arek to Thetra. "I believe the night is time for Game Four."

"It must be."

Then they banged their cues together once more, and turned on the radio.

" _It has begun! We are back tonight for Game Four of the Family Sword Bumper Pool-Games! Zea Mör!_

" _And Arek is closer on the first shot, so he will go first...Not lucky enough! Let's see what Thetra can do now...There's a shot! Half a centimeter away from the hole! So unlucky as Arek bangs Thetra's ball away from the hole! Now Thetra is hungry for revenge! He shoots from a good two feet and...If it can keep on rolling...SCORE! Thetra puts it in! He got some air under it at one point, but it falls straight in like we're playing golf. Now it's Arek. He shoots it off the table and it's 3-0 Thetra! Thetra puts it in the middle of the table_  _hardest part...And Thetra scores again! He's up 4-0 on his brother Arek! If he scores this shot from the beginning, he will take the series lead 3-1. Thetra chalks up, shoots, and misses! He is trapped within the bumpers! Oh, Arek sees daylight! He may have a chance!"_

"No!" shouted Thetra. "How could I miss? I was so..." He looked like he would break his cue, which meant he would be disqualified. But he didn't.

" _And Arek's up again. So far in this series he has won Game One, lost Games Two and Three, and now is losing Game Four._

" _He shoots and puts it in! My, oh my! I can't yell because my throat is sore from the night of Game Two, but it's worth_ whooping _! 4-1!_

" _Now for Arek's next shot...SCORE! I just cannot hold my tongue! He is on a streak, now! His next shot is a..._ I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! _HE IS NOW ONE BACK FROM THETRA, AND IF HE MAKES THIS ONE..._ TIE!"

And Arek ran around the table, cheering for himself. He had a chance.

" _...But he misses this next shot. Poor Arek, the streak is over. But the good news is that he set a family record with the longest streak_  _four!_

" _And now for the master, Thetra. The 22-1 master of the family, going up against the 7-16! He shoots...RECORD! Scoring from the middle has been a flaw in the family, and he sets the flaw on fire! That's game, and Thetra is up in the series 3-1. We'll see you next time at Game Five. So long, everyone!"_

On the night of Game Five of the series, neither Arek nor Thetra were into the game. In fact, after an hour and a half, it was 0-0.

Finally Arek scored, and then Thetra. It went on for three hours and fifty-six minutes, and finally, Thetra took it 5-2. He lead the series 4-1 then, and then next came Game Six.

" _SCORE! 3-0 AREK!"_ yelled Radio. _"He has been hot all game long, and he is putting on a shut-out!"_

Arek saw Thetra take a deep breath, and then he shot his ball.

" _SCORE!"_ And then... _"SCORE AGAIN! AND AGAIN! IT'S TIED 3-3. Then he misses. AND AREK SCORES! AND AGAIN! GAME OVER!"_

And then Arek won Game Six 5-1.

" _A Game Seven day game! That's nice. They're playing outside as well! I love the breeze, it's 69 degrees. I say perfect for a game of bumper pool. Let's get started!_

" _1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2! They just keep scoring and tying. It's tied at two right now, but probably not much longer. We're thirty-nine minutes into the game right now._

" _And AREK scores! Then THETRA! This is what I'm talking about, imaginary crowd! It's 3-3. Unbelievable!_

" _THETRA! He scores once more, once again, and we are playing golf! 4-3, youngest! And Thetra goes again... Less than half a centimeter. He could easily blow that thing in. And Arek...Scores, and he knocks Thetra's all the way back to the starting place...And Thetra's trapped within the middle of bumpers. Arek can score all the way from the beginning...He's done it before. And..._ AREK WINS! AREK WINS! AREK WINS!"

And music burst from the speakers.

They then played Game Eight and Nine that day as well, and Thetra won the first, sending the imaginary crowd into a loud outburst, for now it was time for Game Nine. This was the tiebreaker, the game that if Thetra won he would be crowned champion and would receive the family sword.

The game started quickly, and after ten minutes it was already 2-2, then Arek scored, and then gain, and the score was 4-2. Thetra then scored, then knocked it off the table, but Arek missed his free shot. Then Thetra scored, tying it 4-4.

"Why is Radio not on?" asked Arek, tuning the electronic on.

" _And it is tied 4-4. Next score wins. Arek...he is only two inches away from the hole! He could do it! This is amazing! Now it's Thetra's turn, here comes the ball, rolling down and knocks Arek's out of the way! Arek is now eight inches away, which he could manage. He hits the ball...it's on target...and..._ "

There was a pause before Radio yelled, " _He has done it! Arek wins!_ AREK EOUHJASSON HAS WON THEIR FAMILY"S SWORD AFTER HE BEATS HIS BROTHER, THETRA EOUHJASSON 5-4 IN GAME NINE OF A BEST OF NINE SERIES! THIS IS INCREDIBLE! SERIES OVER!"

After all had calmed down, Radio said, _"I speak for Eouhja and Uvorc, the parents of Arek and Thetra:_

Arek and Thetra, this is our inheritance to you:

Arek, you deserve the family sword, but do not

take it out until needed most. It is valuable. Take

good care of it, for it will help you like a sibling.

Thetra, you deserve something as well, and you

get something of great need: a golden coin

from the good army that we love and hope

to win fights and battles. Once again, use this

possession only when needed most, and you

will only get it when needed most. Who you

will get it from, we do not know. But you will

get it from someone who is good, someone

who is special and loves the good army lots.

_That is what your parents left for you children,"_ said Radio.

"Thank you," said Thetra.

"Thank you," said Arek.

And then they went to bed for the night, waiting for morning to come.

#  THE CEREMONY

Zzzzzzz...Zzzzz...

"Wake up!" yelled Thetra.

Groaning, Arek pushed himself out of bed, and when he fell, said, "Aggggh!"

"I found a book," said Thetra. "It's called _Other Countries than Kiolerasdarque_."

"Are there any other races there?"

"I was waiting to read it with you, Brother. You want to find out more, yes?"

"Aye."

"Well, first let us have your ceremony of winning the bumper pool tournament. We won't give the sword to you, because"

"We?"

"Radio will be present. He'll just be talking."

"Alright, but then we will eat breakfast and read the book. What's its title? Is it English?"

"Yes. It's title is _The Lands Beyond_."

The ceremony wasn't much. Just a simple "here is your sword" and they were done. They moved on with that day.

"Wake up call!" cried Arek the next day. "It is time to wake up! _THETRA!"_

Thetra woke up, got dressed, had breakfast, and then went for a walk with Arek. They took their swords with them everywhere on their mother and father's belts; Thetra had his mother's, Arek his father's.

They talked about Ognoks, the very creatures that were hated most. They talked about the only one who had killed an Ognok, a man named Rewlurc. He had killed an Ognok and gotten a wand: what you earn if you slay an Ognok. He learned magic from his magic trainer Iklam, who had studied magic his whole life. Arek and Thetra dreamed of being magicians. They had heard all the stories from a storyteller named Worgh.

Then they talked about armies, and how they dreamed of being in good ones as well. Armies never revealed their names unless they could trust someone with their lives, as they all did.

Then they switched to the sorcerer Morchad, the evil enemy. He had killed five kings of their country, earning five wands. The legends say that he only used one wand named Halux, and gave the rest to some of the Ognoks.

Then they decided to continue their tales by going to the storyteller Worgh and going to his storytelling that day at noon once more.

They arrived there on time for Worgh to begin. And that day he talked about the legends of Therr, the leader of the good army:

"Therr is one of the greatest leaders of the good army in all of time. He strikes hard with his hammer, bringing down enemy after enemy. Although I do not have much to say about him, I would like for everyone to listen to this:

"His only battles have been with three hundred aliens in Wecavrrn, and with five thousand Elves in La lakr-sonx, in which his army lost, losing five thousand of their two hundred thousand troops.

"But the reason they have limited numbers of soldiers today are because of the battle with the aliens in Wecavvrn. Even though they won, they lost a hundred and sixty thousand soldiers, and after that battle, many troopers began to leave, for they believed there was no reason to be in the army anymore.

"Today the good army is hoping for a soldier that would change them. A soldier who could help the good army so much that it would give them a chance at killing their enemy: Morchad."

As Worgh's story ended, Thetra knew that he wanted to be that soldier. He wanted to be the miracle. He wanted to be the hero.

Then Arek and Thetra went back to their house, grabbed their bows and quivers, and decided to go hunting early. But this time, they weren't hunting for deer or other game, but they were hunting for Ognoks.

#  POLICE

"I have faith, I have faith." Arek and Thetra kept muttering these words, for they did have faith in finding an Ognok.

They found none.

"Too bad," said Thetra. "I'm interested in magic."

"I am as well. Hey! I saw a book about magic the other day before our parents died. It's just down the street from here!"

"Great! Let's go!"

First they dropped off their stuff, for they could go to jail for carrying a weapon into any store in the town of Toage. Then they were on their way.

"Ullio!" cried Arek when he and Thetra walked into the bookstore. Ullio, the owner of the shop, was good friends with Arek and Thetra.

"Hey, Arek and Thetra!" responded Ullio. "What brings you here today?"

"Well, we're looking for a book about magic."

"Magic, eh? Right over here. But I must ask, what gets you interested in this subject?"

"Worgh's tales of magic. We just came from one. Were you there?"

"Nay, I was here, doing my job. Now, there are two kinds of magic. There's the magic where you have to say the spell, and there's the magic where you can think it. Your choice."

"Speak it."

"Very well, then. Right here." He pointed to a book called _The Book of Spoken Magic_.

"Thank you, Ullio," said Thetra. Then he and Arek walked to the checkout, and then they were on their way back home.

"I'm excited to finally study magic!" cried Arek. "What does it say inside?"

Thetra put it down on the coffee table and opened the book to the first page. It said something Thetra could not read.

"What happened?" asked Arek.

"I have no idea. It's in a foreign language. To me, from Worgh's stories, it looks like Elvish or Alienish."

"I don't know either. Which one is the more ancient of the two races?"

"Elves."

"Then it has to be Elvish! It can't be Alienish because this book is ancient, and Elves are the more ancient of the two."

"Possibly. But I'm still not convinced."

"Well, it's not our race. So let's not worry about it."

Then they both saw the hunters of their neighborhood running to their house, their bows with arrows loaded in them.

"Grab your sword!" yelled Thetra. He drew Slayer and ran outside. The first hunter named Miej shot an arrow but missed. Then Thetra charged the hunters. He slayed Kervaerrgh.

As he did that, Arek killed Miej.

"Well done, Brother," they both said at the same time.

They walked inside together, and then took naps at five o'clock.

Kneeling on the Ognok, Thetra drew his sword and stabbed it, killing it. Arek congratulated him, and then together they continued fighting against Morchad's hated army.

" _Great job, Thetra," said Arek. "You killed an Ognok."_

He awarded Thetra with a wand, and immediately Thetra felt all the magic come to him. He knew every word. He was a magician.

" _All hail Thetra!" cried the good army. "All hail Thetra! He has killed an Ognok!"_

And then the battle was over. The good army had won.

Thetra woke up and pounded his pillow. Arek stared at him. Thetra was so angry that his dream wasn't true.

"Are you alright?" asked Arek.

"Aye. Just a good dream." Then he told Arek about him slaying an Ognok in battle.

"That is a good dream," agreed Arek. "Hey, it's Saturday. Five days away from hunting!"

"Let's just do it now."

"No. We agreed we would go Wednesday. We are going on Wednesday whether you like it or not," he growled.

"What's wrong?"

"Keep your promises, Thetra."

"I never promised! I just agreed with you. I never said 'I promise.'"

"Well, you just did."

"What's wrong with you?!"

"Nothing, Thetra. If you really want to know, check the book we got."

Thetra did, and he saw that it was gone. "Where is it?" he asked Arek.

"Don't ask me. I just came downstairs and didn't see it."

"No!" he shouted. "We lost it! Someone stole it. Morchad?"

"No. He's at Stankl Maobn. And besides, why would he care about us?"

"Maybe he has spies that know we have this book."

"This book is meaningless! It's Elvish!"

"Aye, but he could probably read Elven books if he wanted to."

"Maybe. Does he have a dragon?"

"I don't believe so. How is that relevant?"

"Because maybe riders can understand Elvish. Maybe...Maybe that's how they talk when they get a dragon."

"You said 'maybe' three times. I don't think it's true."

"Well, I am your younger brother. I will go along with you. Maybe it was just a regular bandit. But still, the book is gone! Stolen!"

"Maybe. You said it again. That's no evidence if you say that word, Thetra."

"Arek." Thetra eyed his brother. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes. It came from the basement."

They ran down, swords in hand, and found a burglar trying to escape out the window.

"You there!" yelled Arek. "Stop!"

The burglar kept on running.

Thetra chucked his sword at him, trying to hit him.

His accuracy was perfect.

"Thetra!" yelled Arek as Thetra picked up the book. "That was amazing! I never knew you had that talent!"

"I never got a chance to show it."

"Great job, man! Wait. Is that...?" He pointed at the burglar, who lay dead on the grass.

"Mr. Sacvren. He tried to steal from us." Thetra looked at Sacvren's house and saw his wife, Ifergha, looking out the window, tears streaming down her face. "You!" shouted Thetra, and he and Arek charged at Ifergha.

"Please don't kill me! It wasn't my idea!" cried Ifergha, pleading for mercy.

"You knew. He was planning to steal from us this whole time."

"He saw you walking back to your home with the book!"

"And yet you didn't stop him," said Arek.

"I tried, boys, I tried. I couldn't convince him."

"You'll just have to die." Thetra stabbed her through the toe, and she crumpled.

"Good job," said Arek.

"Now let's just hope that we aren't charged for a murder."

"No one knows."

"But they'll find her dead. Oh no! Our other neighbors! They're probably contacting the Guards of Toage."

"I don't want to face those police," said Arek.

"Nor do I."

"Now let's just wait. If we have to, we'll kill the guards."

"But there's always more," protested Thetra. "Oh no!"

"Do not worry, Brother. We will be alright." Then they both saw the guards pull up to the house.

They walked in and saw Thetra and Arek.

"You two!" yelled the officer.

"No! We didn't do it."

"Then why do you both have swords in your hands, younglings? I know you two. I know your parents."

"They're dead."

"Oh. I'm sorry. But why do you have swords in your hands?!"

"We were ready for whoever did this," lied Thetra.

The guard raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. "Is that true?"

They both nodded.

"Well, then! I'm sorry I suspected it was you. But whoever did this will hang for their crimes. How about the husband? Do you know who killed him?"

"No. Probably the same person," said Arek. "But it is sad. We've known these neighbors far a long time."

"I know you have. And I'm sorry that you two have suffered such losses. When did your parents die?"

"Two weeks ago."

"By who?"

"Strangers. But we killed them. Or Arek killed them." Thetra looked at Arek and smiled.

"Well, you should've contacted us."

"He was lunging for our throats!" yelled Arek.

"Oh, well, maybe you shouldn't have then. Well, you two are both dismissed."

"Thank you, Officer Veras."

"My pleasure, boys."

Arek and Thetra didn't talk the whole rest of the day.

When Thetra woke up the next morning, he got dressed and then went to church with his brother.

When they returned from church, they slept the rest of the day.

On Monday they went to Thorgh's. They bought some meat for the next two days before they went hunting for it.

That night at supper, Thetra said, "This meat is great!"

"I know," replied Arek. "I'm glad we went to Thorgh's. That place has the best meat."

"I agree with you, Brother. Have you ever thought about joining the good army?"

"A couple times, yes. Why? Do you think we should?"

"No. Well, yes. Kind of! I've always dreamed of it, have you not?"

"No, I have. Do you want to go now?"

"I do."

"Well, we can't just abandon our house. We're fine here."

"We can bring all our possessions with us. It'll be fun traveling across the country."

"Not really. You know there are soldiers and Morchad out there."

"Oh, they won't come to us. You know that. They don't even know about us."

"We'll raise suspicion if we just cross their eyesight."

"We'll try to stay out of their eyesight then."

Arek thought about it. "I don't know, Thetra. It's quite dangerous."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. Maybe we'll pick up a friend on the way."

"I'm fifteen and you're thirteen, Thetra. We're young."

"You're a year away from manhood, Arek. We are not young."

"Gosh, Thetra! You will not end this conversation."

"Because I'm not backing down. You know we have both dreamed of this, right?"

"Yes."

"So let's let our dreams come true! It is time, Arek. We have to leave for the good army."

"Thetra!"

"Please, Arek! We have our swords to protect us! If we could kill an Ognok, we'd become magicians!"

"As much as I would love that, no."

"Arek!"

"I said my final answer, Thetra."

"Please, Arek. You're my brother. I look up to you!"

"No!"

"I'll give you anything you want."

"Very well. We will leave Sunday."

"Thank you."

#  THE START OF THE JOURNEY

On Wednesday morning, Thetra woke up early. It was a hunting day, as they had agreed. He met Arek outside, and together they head into the forest of Grime.

Thetra spotted a deer about seventeen minutes into it.

Thetra and Arek always had competitions on how many each could bring back.

Thetra released his arrow, and it hit the deer dead center in the middle of the eyeball.

"Bull's-eye!" cried Thetra. "One!"

Then Arek shot a crow. "One!"

They went like this for four hours, and finally, at the end, Thetra had sixteen, and Arek at fourteen.

"Good hunting," said Arek.

"Good hunting," said Thetra.

"Hey, I heard Worgh is going to have a story today around one o'clock. Let's go drop our weapons off and get changed so that we can head over."

Thetra changed into a shirt and shorts, for the temperature was 84 degrees F. Then they walked over together to Worgh's.

They arrived just in time for Worgh to start his story. It was about dragons:

"Kiolerasdarque's dragon eggs are known for hatching five years before their rider is born. Then they fly to their rider when the rider is about sixteen.

"The egg is the same color as the dragon's scales. If the egg is green, the dragon is green. The same with swords. If the rider's sword is green, the dragon is green.

"They are always born, or hatched in the Dalfnok. Then they swim out and they track wherever their rider is. When they find their rider, that is when they officially start talking. Then it and its rider travel together. They cannot get away from each other, nor can one kill the other. As hard as you might try, you will fail.

"It is not known if Morchad has a dragon. If so, it is the only one. There have only been two dragons seen in Kiolerasdarque: yellow and flaming white. Their riders, Konum and Alkarche, are known for winning the most battles. Konum was evil, but Akarche was one of the good army. They always fought alone. Both were magicians, so they were in a lot of magic fights. Finally, Alkarche defeated Konum and his dragon, but Morchad slayed Alkarche and his dragon.

"It is not known how many eggs are left, for you cannot see them under the water. They are invisible. Many from the little town of Beragh have tried and failed.

"Dragons are mighty creatures, the strongest race of all Kiolerasdarque, the second eldest, for the Elves are the oldest race of our country.

"Every rider has a sword. If he does not already have one before his dragon comes, the dragon will give him one. But it must be named greatly.

"Dragons and riders...Dragons and riders...That is the end of my story today!"

Thetra and Arek walked out of Worgh's and went hunting again.

Thetra caught a couple birds, deer, and rabbits off guard. And then he found a huge animal.

The bear was about ten feet tall, too big for any that Thetra knew of.

And then it spoke: "I am Certuol, the only of my race in this city of Toage. Our kind, the Mremax, have been around for a very, very long time. Will you please let me live?"

"Er, aye. Sure! I mean...Great!"

"So you're letting me live...or not?"

"Uh-huh."

"What he means is," Arek said, "yes, he will let you live. I mean, why harm a bear? I mean Mremac. Why harm a Mremac?"

"Thank you, Lords. If I die, my race dies. My wife, who is pregnant, is the only chance we have. I must go back and help her." Then the bear trotted off back in the other direction.

"Wow," said Thetra. "Hey, thanks for saving me. I just...was amazed."

"Thetra! That animal came from the direction of our house!"

"So?"

"Look!" He pointed toward their house, where they could always see the tip of it, where their rooms both were. "It's gone, Thetra! Our house is gone!"

"But how? It's...WHAT! No!" Then they both charged to the spot their house used to be.

They were panting when they arrived. They put down their things and sat down, looking at their destroyed home.

"Good news...We can leave for the good army... early."

"This is unbelievable. New race I hate most: Mremax. Look what he did!"

"There, there, Arek. We still have"

"Nothing!" exploded Arek. "Nothing because that troll just blew up our house! Now we just leave it and head to the good army!"

"I guess."

"Alright, then. Then let's get packing with everything we can find."

"Good idea."

And then they packed up all of their belongings and headed for the good army... early.

"Well, our first top is Wecavvrrn. I believe the good army is in Destville." Then Arek peered at the sun. "Might get there by dusk if we run. We're halfway."

"We've run the whole time. I'm tired. If we're going to travel through tonight, I'm walking."

"Very well. We will walk to Wecavrrn, but when we enter the city, what will we do about our weapons?"

"Toage is the only city that doesn't allow weapons in Kiolerasdarque, Arek. You know that. We'll be fine."

"Toage has the most safety rules, then."

"True. And then it'll probably take us a week to reach Casca Doba."

"Way longer. More like two or three weeks. Then we'll cross Long River, and then on our way straight to the good army. That'll take us about two months total."

"This is going to take a long time." Then they started walking again.

They reached Wecvavrrn the next day at noon. They stopped in the town, and then kept going at one o'clock. They saw the cabin they would've stayed in, had they stopped there that night, and it had a light on. Curious, they walked in.

A man and woman were in there preparing the cabin. When they saw them, they both screamed. "Who are you two?"

"We were going to rent a cabin here."

"Oh. Are you the kids whose parents died and couldn't make it here?"

"Aye." Then Thetra and Arek spun on their heels and continued their journey.

"Well, we are getting it done!" said Arek. "We've already covered about seventy-five leagues!"

"Aye. We are on our way."

They stopped in a cave that night It was called Veuer's Cavern.

"We made a lot of progress," summed up Thetra before they went to bed for the night.

"Yes, we have. Good dreams, Brother! And hope the bats don't mess up your hair! Ha ha!"

"Wake up call!" cried Arek again.

Thetra stood up, stretched, and then walked with Arek on their journey.

They got breakfast at a place called Voloni's. There they talked about nothing important, except for one subject.

Thetra finished and said to Arek, "On our way, I think we should visit Lake Dalfnok."

"Why is it you always say the important stuff once you finish your meal? Of course we can't go to Lake Dalfnok! That's nowhere near here."

"I just...Dragons."

"You heard Worgh, didn't you? You can't see the eggs. Besides, do you even like the color green?"

"Of course!"

"Oh, I forgot. I like red." He drew his sword. "And my blade is red! Yes, we can go to Lake Dalfnok! I want a dragon."

"As do I."

"Then we shall change directions and go east- southeast."

They changed directions and _did_ go southeast.

They reached Casca Doba sooner than they expected. They got there after three more days of traveling.

"Great job," said Arek to Thetra. "We need water." They got some out of a creek, and then continued.

They didn't know where they were for a while. Not until they reached Lake Olz. Until there, it had been just all dirt like a desert.

They played in Lake Olz for about three hours, and then went to bed, feeling good that they could rest.

#  LAKE DALFNOK

I have a dragon.

Thetra was on his dragon, flying away in a war against Morchad and his army. He was facing Morchad in the air, and his consciousness was fading. His green dragon, Valao, hadn't failed him yet. In fact, he had all the memories that they had been in together.

" _Valao, we need to get closer. I can't kill him from this distance. I'd lose my sword."_

His dragon sped up fast and Thetra slashed. His sword, like every other time he tried, just went through Morchad's body harmlessly.

It's got to be hurting him somehow _, thought Thetra. He kept slashing but yet failed every time._

One time when he tried to slash he lost his sword in Morchad's grip.

Then they zoomed up into the sky where Morchad couldn't get them, for he didn't have a dragon. But he had two swords: Gonca and Slayer.

He threw Slayer up at Thetra. He caught it by the handle, lucky. Then he and Valao tumbled to the ground from a spell by Morchad.

" _Morchad, who is your father?" asked Valao._

" _I will not tell you."_

" _I know." Then Thetra yelled, "YOUR FATHER IS TYERRONDE!"_

When he said that, Morchad crumpled to the ground, and Thetra stabbed him, driving Slayer through Morchad's forearm, killing the sorcerer.

Thetra woke up to a beautiful view of the lake. Its glittering surface shined against the sun.

"Great view, isn't it?" asked Arek, who was already up.

Thetra sat up. "Aye. It's great."

Then a green dragon dove out of the water, followed by a red one, both the same color of their swords, the green one the same as in Thetra's dream.

Arek

  

#  VALAO AND EJARSHӦH

Arek stared in amazement at the dragons.

All his life, he had dreamed of dragons, as he knew Thetra had. But this time, they were real.

"Thetra! This is awesome. The red one is mine because of the blade."

"Arek, I had a dream and it was exactly like this. My dragon was in it. Mine is green, and his name is Valao."

"And mine is red. I will name him Ejarshöh."

"We are your dragons," both of the dragons said at the same time. "Thank you for our names, riders."

"No problem," responded Arek.

"We cannot talk much. It takes a lot of energy out of us dragons. We save it for battles, when we need to talk to our riders."

"Then don't talk now."

"Thetra, we can make it to the good army much, much faster now."

"You're right! Let's go!"

And then they went, flying so fast in the sky.

In the morning, when they flew lowest, they saw an evil army going in the same direction as they. So they traveled even faster.

"I think that's Morchad's army," Thetra said to Arek.

"Aye. It looks evil!"

The dragons just nodded.

And then they reached their destination in a big field where they part-crashed, part-landed.

They had reached the good army. Way sooner than Arek and Thetra expected, though.

#  HEIRG

They had reached the army. The good army of about 3,000. How were they going to defeat Morchad's army, which was at 17,000 soldiers strong?

They flew on their dragons. They landed, startling a watchman.

"We're here to join the good army," explained Arek.

The watchman said, "I am Fathr, son of Weaxcont."

"I am Thetra, son of Eouhja."

"I am Arek, son of Eouhja."

"I am Valao, son of Valeo."

"I am Ejarshöh, son of Korjahb."

"Come this way if you wish to join the good army." He led them to a big field where the whole good army was.

"Who is this, Fathr?" asked a man.

"They claim to be Thetra, Arek, Valao, and Ejarshöh. They have come to join us."

"Dragons," muttered the man. "Welcome! I am the king of the good army. My name is Therr, son of Oregma. Will you fight with us strongly?"

"We will," they all said.

"Then we must prepare for battle...With you." Then he led them to rooms where they could get ready. He gave them each armor. "We heard Morchad's army is a day away."

"Yes, King Therr. We saw them on our way here."

"Where are you from in this mighty country?"

"My brother Arek and I are from Toage, and the dragons came out of their eggs in Toage and have traveled with us ever since."

"I see. Well, welcome to Destville. We are the good army."

"I can tell you don't trust us yet."

"Well, we won't just tell you our name! You have to earn it. And there's a good chance of that considering we're about to go into battle."

"Yes, My King."

"My King!" he chuckled. "You're a dragon rider! I should be calling you Rider Thetra and Rider Arek! And Dragon Valao and Dragon Ejarshöh!"

"And I will call you King Therr. Now may we have privacy to prepare?"

"You may." Then he exited the room, leaving the four of them alone.

"We will win this battle," said Valao. "And if an Ognok comes, then Thetra and I shall confront him alone."

"Yes," agreed Arek. "Alone. We will fight like the rest of the army. We will win. I am confident."

"I am nervous," said Ejarshöh.

"It's just a battle," Arek told his dragon. "We'll survive."

"I hope you're right, rider."

Once Arek and Thetra had put on their armor, they put their dragon's armor on.

When they were done, the other army was only hours away.

"We're glad to have you by our side," said Therr. "If an Ognok arrives, Valao and Thetra shall fight him separate from the battle."

Valao and Thetra exchanged glances. "We've already discussed it."

Just then the three bells rang, which Thetra guessed meant that the army had arrived.

"We're doomed," said Arek when he saw the army.

"It's no more than what we saw before," assured Thetra.

"I think it's more," said Valao, and Thetra looked.

It was way more. This time they had brought about 20,000 soliders.

Then Thetra saw the Ognok, and he pointed it out to Valao. "Come on, Valao! Let's go kill the Ognok."

The Ognok took flight and bared his fangs and sent a jet of flame in Valao and Thetra's direction.

Thetra veered to the left to avoid it.

"Whoa!" cried Thetra. "That thing is weird!"

"But talented. Do not underestimate him, Thetra. He's stronger than you think."

Then Valao breathed a column of gas fire, which was not real fire, for about a minute, covering the Ognok in flames, but the Ognok drew his wand and deflected it.

"Who are you?" cried Thetra.

"I am Heirg, son of Perpankan."

"And you know me! Because if Morchad knows me, you know me!"

And then they fought for their lives, neither one being able to gain control over the other.

"Just die!" shouted Thetra as he clashed swords with Heirg again. "Give up! Cry for mercy! You need to be killed, Ognok!"

"But I won't be." Heirg smiled, and then cut Thetra on the back of his left leg.

Thetra squealed with pain. "No! You..." He was losing consciousness. "You can't kill me."

"Oh, but I can. You'd be surprised."

"Hang in there, Thetra," said Valao. "We'll make it through."

"The wound on my leg! It burns!" Then Thetra threw back his head and howled, so loud that he would've bet a million dollars that the whole army could hear it even though they were about seven hundred feet in the air. "I'll survive." Then his vision became black, and then it returned. "I'm losing my vision, Valao."

"Too bad you won't conquer me, rider!" yelled Heirg. "I can sense your death! Both of your deaths!"

"No, you can't. Because we aren't dying." Then Thetra attempted to kill the Ognok, but missed. He was slow. He was dying.

Heirg sent another column of fire towards Thetra and Valao, but they were ready. They had a plan.

Valao whipped around behind Heirg so fast, he was still looking at where they were when Thetra jumped onto Heirg and tackled him, sending them both tumbling down towards the ground.

Heirg bit at Thetra, but Thetra knocked his tooth out with his shield.

Then Valao came from below and bumped them both up into the air, but Thetra fell into his saddle. Heirg was sent flying into the air.

On his way down, Thetra reached up and gripped Heirg's arm, and then fed him to Valao. Valao caught the Ognok in his teeth, but then accidentally let go and left Heirg falling through the air.

"Go! FAST! Redeem your mistake, Valao!" demanded Thetra. "We can't let him touch the ground, else he'll kill our whole army like a tornado destroying houses.

"You're right. But less talking, more flying!" Then he zoomed downward, catching the smiling Ognok both by surprise and in his mouth.

"Don't kill me, dragon!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't, and I won't. I'm the judge if it's a good reason or not."

Thetra smiled.

The panicked Ognok started to say, "Because"

"Not good enough!" Then Thetra saw Valao toss him upward into the air like a chew toy, and then, when he was falling back, Thetra stabbed the Ognok. But Heirg was falling so fast that he pulled Thetra off of Valao. Heirg died, and Thetra let the Ognok go of his grip. Then Valao came down and Thetra hopped on his dragon.

Together they rode down and helped the good army. And the good army won.

#  NAME THE WAND

"Congratulations, Thetra Wandearner! I, King Therr of the good army, and I give Thetra Wandearner his wand!"

Thetra shook Therr's hand, and then accepted his wand.

"Thetra, what will you name your wand?" asked Therr.

"I will name it...Death. Death, because that is what Morchad will get when he is killed with this wand."

A loud cheer erupted from the good army.

"All hail Thetra! All hail Thetra!" they cried.

It was just like the dream he had had.

"And Arek, brother of Thetra Wandearner! Please come up!" Arek did so. "You killed the most servants in Morchad's Army. Because of that, you have earned guards with you wherever you go, and you will be at the top of the ranks when we march into battle."

"I thank you, King Therr, for your kindness and gifts to me. How may I repay you?"

"You will use your gifts wisely."

Arek bowed, and then walked back to the crowd. Thetra did so as well.

"We will have a feast!" announced Therr. "Tonight at seven o'clock!"

"Yes, King!" cried the whole crowd.

"You are dismissed," he said, waving a hand. "Congratulations to all!"

"You too, Lord Therr!"

"Thetra," said Therr, beckoning for Thetra to come over. "I will assign a trainer for your magic. You will listen to him and follow his orders."

"Yes, My King."

"Thank you. You will begin your training most likely next week, or as soon as possible."

"I thank you, My King."

"Oh, yes, yes. We need you. Without you, we would've lost. Now tell me. Tell me about everything that happened in your life. Everything you can remember."

"Yes, My King. I'm sure we will love the hours to come."

#  SATYM

As Therr and Thetra exchanged moments of their life, Valao and Arek joined them and Thetra learned some things he had never known about Valao.

Ejarshöh later joined them as well, he too talked about moments in his life that neither Arek nor Thetra knew before.

"My king!" yelled a soldier of the good army. "We have some important matters to discuss!"

And so the soldier joined their conversation.

"I am his at-hand warrior, Melford Zhoesson. My king! There is someone who would like to join our army."

"Bring the newcomer in!" commanded Therr in a deep voice. "Let us see if the newcomer is worthy of a warrior!"

And, after he gave the order, a girl of about fifteen walked in. She sat down, joining their group conversation, and explained her life: "I am Satym Loradawssdaughter, and I have come to join the good army. I am from Mthanl, and I am fifteen years old.

"My father, Vertay, and my mother, Loradaw, have raised me. I am an only-child, and now my mother and father live in a mountain called Mt. Berr, east of the Morchad Mountains.

"I have come to join the good army."

"Explain your whole life."

"I will not." She stayed still as a rock. "My family is not to be told about, nor is my life. My secrets are to stay secrets."

"If you wish to join us, you will have to tell us more!" shouted Therr, drawing his sword.

And then the mysterious Satym drew her sword as well. "I do not wish to duel you, sir."

"Nor do I. But if you do attack, I will have to fight back and kill you."

Just then, while they were still staring at each other, Arek sprang up from his seat and drew Stabber. He got on Therr's side, and said, "If you don't obey the king, you will be stabbed by Stabber."

Therr looked at Thetra's brother with a newborn satisfaction.

"You named your sword Stabber, eh? Well, I guess it's about time you met Vengeance the golden sword!" Her sword glittered like magic when she said the word Vengeance, and Thetra wondered if the sword was magic. "Boy!" Satym looked at Thetra. "Stand up and show your sword if you have one."

"Slayer." Thetra drew his sword and slowly raised it up to right below the girl's chin. Then he brought it down and walked next to Therr and Arek.

Then the newcomer did something so unexpected, she nearly killed Therr. She threw Vengeance, aiming for Therr's nose, but it stopped right in front of his nose and dropped to the floor.

"No magic!" protested Satym. Then she picked up her sword, looking embarrassed, and did a backflip, landing on her feet. "That doesn't make it fun! Because I'm no witch!"

Then Thetra drew his wand and pointed it at Satym. He didn't know any spells, but he was just trying to threaten her.

"Ha! Like you actually 'slayed' an Ognok!"

"I killed Heirg, Satym Loradawssdaughter. And I have a dragon here that helped me."

"As do I," said Arek. "I may not have defeated an Ognok, but I have a dragon, and his name is Ejarshöh!" Then, when Arek said his name, Ejarshöh's scales shined like Satym's sword did.

"Will you be our friend or foe?" asked Therr, now pointing his sword at Satym."

"Both."

Then Therr frowned, lowered his sword, and as he did that, Satym attacked. She banged the hilt of her sword into his nose, and he collapsed.

"No!" yelled Arek. "You enemy of this army, you cursed witch! May you leave this army and never return!"

"Cursed?" She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and laughed. "I'll be your foe; I'll be your friend." Then she ran out the door to northeast, the same direction of Mt. Berr.

And Thetra and Arek followed.

"You deserve nothing, you blasted fool!" yelled a woman's voice.

"You, my foe, are terrible at swordsmanship, Varb Morassdaughter! Moras would be no more proud than as foolish as you!"

Thetra heard the sound of metal on metal, screams, and more smack-talk. Finally, when he couldn't stand it anymore, he jumped into the middle of their fight and yelled, "Varb, I know you, and you are a fool!"

Then Arek said, "I may not know much about you, Satym, but I do"

"Enough!" yelled Therr's voice. He stepped into Thetra's view and said, "Satym, you may join the good army. But we do not trust you enough to tell you our true name of this army."

_When well he tell me?!,_ wondered Thetra, frustration growing inside of him. _I killed an Ognok!_

"As for you, Varb," said Therr, looking as if in a daze. "You don't have the right... Have the right to boss the newcomer...around."

Satym smiled.

"Therr, you can't" complained Arek, but Therr slapped him on the cheek. Arek looked so stunned, his face turned pale.

And then red.

"Therr!" protested Thetra. "I shouldn't be punishing you, but"

And Therr slapped Thetra.

As he did, Thetra felt the same astonishment that Arek had probably felt. He felt his face grow red hot. And then he exploded: _"Therr! Who are you?! You're no leader of this army! Do you even want to kill Morchad?!"_

When his "explosion" was over, Therr said, "I...I am sorry. Thetra! I really am. But I can explain." He took a deep breath. "I do have these kinds of seizures, as if somebody is taking over my body. I believe I might be possessed, but..." He shook his head. "Anyway, maybe you could help me get rid of whoever is trying to possess me, and...it'll stop."

"Therr, I hardly even know you! Much less do I even know magic! Just one word! Fl" Then he realized his mistake, and said, "Fire."

"Ah. Well, I will give you a trainer some time to help you train in magic and then you could help me destroy whatever _thing_ possesses me."

"I would love to help, but there are more important things that need to be taken care of, like battles."

"Yes, but _in a battle_ I might accidentally betray you because of this presence that builds up inside of me and kill all of the good army. I am very powerful, yet dangerous to you. And these seizures are a secret between all of us. You two may tell your dragons, but if you do perchance tell anybody other than those creatures without my permission, then you will be either imprisoned inside of our jail cells, or, if you told one of the army of Morchad, you may be allowed to be killed by any of the good army, by anyone of your choice."

The four of them all nodded, and then Satym said, "I will give you something in return." She took a deep breath, and then said, "I promise to serve you, King Therr, and the rest of the people of this army. I will never betray you to the army of..." She shook her head. "I can't do it."

Therr drew his sword and pointed it at her. "Let's make it easy and not go through this process again."

"I told you, I can't say the bloody oath!"

"Guards! Seize this girl and take her to a cell! Unless she does do something that is worth letting her out, do not let her out. And only let her out under my permission."

Satym threw her hands up like she couldn't believe her punishment. "No, King Therr! I..." She shook her head like the idea she was about to explain was reckless, but then said, "I will tell you, and the three of them about my life."

The guards who had just walked in the room backed out of earshot, and then Satym started her story of her life.

"I was born in Masthan Castle, of course by Vertay and Loradaw. I was their daughter and lived in the castle with only my parents for four years, while the Great War of the Aliens and Humans went on.

"When it ended, I traveled to Mthanl, where I stayed while my parents went on and fought for this army, helping them fend off the last of the Ma, another name for Morchad's Army, for one month before they came back for me. The current king of the good army, Jawsead, is known to be the greatest king, of any army, of all time."

Therr nodded.

"Then we stayed in Mthanl for ten more years, and my parents traveled to Mt. Berr like cowards after three strangers came to our home and asked for money."

_Strangers!_ thought Thetra, alarmed that they had gone to Mthanl before Toage.

"I traveled here to join you, like my parents once did, and here I am! My fifteenth birthday was twenty-eight days ago."

"Well, I hope that is the truth, but I don't believe it is."

If she was lying, Satym didn't show it. She had a great poker face.

"Really?"

Satym's skin showed a hint of paleness. "I told you, the rest of my secrets are still stored in my brain."

"Do you want to go down to that cellar? Guards, come closer!" Therr kept his gaze on Satym.

"I cannot tell you about my" She stopped herself before she could say more.

"About your what?"

Satym then stood up and walked out the door, heading upstairs to the hallway that was dedicated to the great warrior of the army, Kolga.

The next thing Thetra heard was glass breaking, as he, Therr, and Ardk followed Satym to the hallway, running as fast as their legs could handle.

Then, when Satym was in sight, he pointed his wand directly at her andseeing her turn around with shock on her faceyelled the only magical word he knew: "FLYR!"

Flames spread from an inch away from his feet up to her body until they covered her from head to toe. Thetra released the fire on the floor, but kept the fire on her there, until he realized it was to her advantage.

She drew her sword and screamed a wild war cry, then threw it at Thetra.

Thetra was too smart for her. He deflected her blade with his, but he also realized that her sword had some magic on it from her. She was a magic user. Thetra marked that he now knew one of her secrets, and then he used the magic stored with her weapon to send it flying back at her.

She obviously had a power with fire, for she sent a column of it to slow the sword, and then she grabbed it out of the air. But she still stared at Thetra with an open mouth.

Arek and Therr had been watching them duel this whole time, and yet they still didn't help Thetra.

Maybe, just maybe, she stores everything in her sword. If I touch it, maybe I can find out some of her knowledge and find out what her most important secret is.

"You cannot best me!" shouted Thetra.

Then she dipped the blade into flame, and with fire in her eyes, chucked it at Thetra once more.

This time he grabbed the handle out of the air and since that particular part of the blade wasn't lit up, he was able to see inside of the sword.

_He pulled out many things. Many useful things indeed. He found one bit of knowledge, and it was obvious that it_ was _her most prized secret. He could not read it though. But he at least knew it was in Vengeance._

As he pulled himself out, he just barely had time to see Satym creating a giant fireball that she was about to throw in his direction and it would not be pretty.

After she had put it all together, she did the final stitch with a few words from the "magical language" and then threw it up in the air. Then, after going up about 150 feet, the fireball spun around and kept spinning, then threw itself at Thetra.

He knew no other magic words besides "flyr" and if he said that, the fire would increase its amount and engulf him in flames harder.

Then Arek ran in front of Thetra, grabbed Thetra's wand, and yelled, "Vourgé!"

" _AREK!_ " screamed Thetra. "What are you doing?!" Thetra stared at his brother in awe, and wondered how he had learned any magic.

"I'm teaching you a magical lesson, Thetra." Then he said the word again, this time louder, and sent the fireball back at Satym.

She accepted it and stored all of the fire in her wand, then said, "Drema albak kördas!" At her words, blue light erupted at Arek's feet.

Thetra blinked for a second, but regretted it.

When he opened his eyes, he saw nothing where Arek had been. Satym had made him disappear, perhaps.

"He is in my wand! If you want him out, you'll have to get past me."

"Then I will get past you!" shouted Thetra, and Therr stepped forward also. Together, they touched swords and charged the evil sorceress.

  

Therr

What am I?! I'm no leader of this army, what I am is a frightened jackrabbit! I can't believe I just stood there while Arek was sucked into that cursed witch's wand. I can't believe I just stood here while Thetra almost lost his life fighting for me and the rest of this army! I should give the responsibility to him, or at least tell him our name.

"DD!" yelled Therr, and pointed his sword at Satym.

"That's right, Therr!" yelled Satym in a mocking tone. "Show me who you are."

"You don't know our true name, but Thetra, you have the right to!" Then he let loose a savage cry and flung his blade at Satym's throat. "Take that!"

As the sword hit her chest, it made an awkward _bang_ sound. When it did this, Satym disappeared.

Thetra looked at Therr in awe and asked him, "What did you do? Is the sword enchanted?"

"'Twas. Didn't know it still is." Therr looked at where the girl named Satym had been before she disappeared, then went over and retrieved his weapon. "I put a spell on it years ago when I first became leader." He shook his head. "Never knew it was still there. But she's not dead."

"Is she inside the sword?" asked Thetra, alarmed at the possibility.

"I doubt it. It probably sent her off to some place like Hetal or Masthan. At least some place close by. She'll be back in maybe a week or two."

"She said that her parents are at Masthan Castle, yes?"

"She'll probably visit them."

Thetra nodded. It made sense. Then he said, "Shall we search for her?"

"Not until you learn magic, my apprentice."

"Wait. _You're_ going to teach me? I thought you said you would give me a real trainer who had a dragon and was a witch or wizard."

"Oh, I will. I just will tell you a few spells that might save your life." Then he thought for some and finally decided upon Mwegh, Agham, and Lognaë. He told every last syllable to Thetra so that he would say it right, then taught him the definitions.

When they were done, Thetra repeated, "Mweghma: deflect kill shot; Agham: a summoning word; Lognaë: a kill shot."

"Yes, now you will practice each. Fathr will send a kill shot at you, but he will put a spell on it so that it won't kill you. If it should hit you, it will only put one mark on your arm, and I will erase it."

Fathr walked out and said, "Greetings, Wandearner. Are you ready for your lesson?"

"I am."

"Get in your positions, wizards!" yelled Therr. "Remember, we will not kill, just maybe hurt. Fathr, you will attempt a kill shot at Thetra here, but you must put spells on it so that if it does hit him, it will not kill."

Thetra saw Fathr put spells on, and then he got back in his fighting position.

"Alright, Thetra. Because he put on the spells, it should be a red light coming at you. In a real fight, the death color is gold, the color of evil.

"Fight!" yelled Therr.

As soon as he said it, Fathr said one word: "Lognaë," and as he said it, Thetra saw a fast bolt of golden energy flying towards him.

_That's not right_ , he quickly thought, and then shouted at the right time, "Mweghma!" and the golden light was collected into his wand.

"FATHR!" exclaimed Therr. "You almost killed the Wandearner!"

"I am sorry, Master."

"I have to kill," said Therr, in a tone like he couldn't believe it. "I have to punish you by death, my youngling, my _watchman!_ "

"Master, I have failed you, but if you give me a second chance"

"I'm not giving you anything!" Therr roared. "Lognaë!"

And Fathr the watchman crumpled, lifeless, for he was no more.

Arek

  

# A SWORD'S  
EYE VIEW

"How do you like being in a sword?" asked Satym to Arek. "I'm not releasing you until you talk!" Then she smiled and shook her head.

Arek tried, for he heard her. He could see her and hear her, but couldn't talk to her, which meant he couldn't get out of the sword.

He was so frustrated, he had an idea: if he got so mad, he could use his anger to break out of the sword.

_No wonder Thetra told me I had "anger issues," whatever that means_.

He felt his tiny-puppy-dog face burn red-hot. Then he yelled a spell he had heard somebody of the good army say: "Hrregön!" _Destroy_.

The sword shattered, and Arek immediately had the thought that the sword was the most important sword in the whole of Kiolerasdarque.

" _What have you done?!"_ exclaimed "Satym the Wise."

"Well, I talked, and I released myself," said Arek, and then grabbed a wooden staff that was leaning against the wall in her "room-of-peace-and-quiet" and threw it at her.

It hit her nose with a loud _thump_ as blood splattered everywhere. She growled, and tried to grab Arek but he was already out the window. He heard her following him in the direction of southwest, for they had to travel from La lakr-sonx all the way to Destville. They were about to cross all of Kiolerasdarque.

Transport Spell One: "Gragra, Destville!"

This Arek yelled, which he had also heard among the many spells he had learned throughout the "army-of-good-and-powerful."

And he appeared in Destville, Kiolerasdarque.

Satym didn't.

Arek let loose a laugh, for he had finally gotten rid of her. Just to be sure, he yelled, "Gagra, La lakr-sonx!"

He felt himself run into a big wall in the air as he tried to travel. He tried again, failing once more.

"Arek," said Therr, who walked up and stood next to him. "You have used too many spells without a wand. You pushed past your limit. Unless you kill an Ognok and earn a wand, then you will never be able to use magic again."

When he said that, Arek was so mad; he went to bed even though it was only lunchtime.

  

Thetra

  

#  TRAINER AND TRAINEST

"Thetra," said Therr, "meet your magic-trainer, Savar."

_Oh no_ , thought Thetra.

The man looked like a thief. He was dressed in all black, and his voice was sharp _clicks_.

"I am...Savar, your magic trainer." He held out his hand to shake it, but Thetra just put a hand up and declined. Savar lowered his hand, a frown on his face. "Don't worry, rider. You'll trust me soon enough." Then he let loose a loud cry, and then said, "Alright, back to work."

"I'll leave you two to train," said Therr, walking away with a smile on his face.

"So, Savar. What spells are we going to learn first?" Thetra forced a smile.

Then Savar laid a book down in front of Thetra. Thetra gasped. It was the same book that they had bought from Ullio's Bookstore. Then Thetra yelled, "You thief! You were the one! It wasn't Mr. Sacvren after all! It was you! But I killed you."

Savar didn't give in. He stayed there, looking at Thetra with a frown on his face. "Excuse me?"

"You know what you did! The Guards of Destville should arrest you for your crimes!" On cue, the guards ran out and grabbed Savar, throwing him to the ground.

"I did nothing!" protested Savar, and Thetra felt a twinge of abuse.

"Let him go," growled Thetra, finally making up his mind. "But if he does do anything I or you don't like, seize him."

The guards nodded, then hurried back to their positions.

"Sorry," said Thetra, looking down. "I just got...carried away."

"No problem," said Savar, and once again he surprised Thetra with his clicking voice. "Now for the training...

"Open up the book and read every spell, but not aloud."

"It's blasted Elvish! I'm no"

"Just do it."

Thetra obeyed his master, and to his surprise, the language was easy to read. It felt a bit unlike English, but he understood it like he had been speaking and writing the language all his life.

"It's Ridish. The riders made it long ago during the old Dragon Days in the wars so that they could give speaking signals to each other without the other army knowing."

"You were a rider?"

Savar took a deep breath. "Don't tell this secret: I still am a dragon rider."

Thetra almost threw up right then and there. "You _what!"_ he whispered. "What's your dragon's name? Where's your sword? What color is"

"Ah. Those questions are to be kept secrets. You will learn about my sword as we go along though, my traineest."

And so Thetra did his first order: he read the book from cover to cover. It took him three days, but he did it.

On the night of the first day of their training, Thetra felt an unusual pain on his nose. He walked over to the mirror but didn't see anything unusual.

And then he saw it: his nose was being flattened. He nearly yelped, but held his tongue. Then he closed his eyes and waited for the process to be over.

When he felt the pain no more, he lowered his hand from his mouth and took a look at himself.

And this time, he yelped.

His nose was completely gone, and all the skin around it had turned to baby skin. He was a Dragon Rider.

Therr came rushing into the room, and when he saw Thetra's new look, he nearly screamed. Then he asked, "What is wrong with you?"

"I'm a real Dragon Rider." He threw his hands to his side, feeling helpless.

"A dragon rider without a nose, that is. Now, I've never seen a real 'Dragon Rider,' but I do not think they lose noses. Morchad is hard to imagine without a nose."

" _Morchad isn't a Dragon Rider!"_ yelled Thetra. He had made his decision, and he did not believe that his worst enemy was a Dragon Rider. His worst enemy was just getting to know him.

"How do you know?"

"I don't know. I believe. He's no more powerful than Arek and I used to be before our parents died and we found our swords."

"I'm too tired to argue, but you _do_ have some questions to ask Savar tomorrow."

After studying for over an hour, Thetra went to get breakfast, and Savar joined him.

"Whoa! You've merged!"

"What do youOh. The nose thing."

"Not only that! But your ears!"

"My what?" Thetra ran to the closest mirror and looked at his ears.

No ears.

Gone!

"How can I hear?" asked Thetra when he sat back down at the good army's breakfast table. "And I haven't even been breathing through my mouth."

"It's like your nose and ears are invisible. You can't feel or see them, but they still work."

"What will I lose next, my mouth?"

"Nay, you will get scars on the sides of your head where your ears used to be leading all the way to your chin. When you grow older, it looks better with a beard."

Thetra stared at him with an open mouth.

Savar smiled. "Should happen sometime today."

Arek

  

#  SVEWE PALSOA

"Who are you?!" exclaimed Arek when he saw Thetra.

"Who are _you?"_ Thetra felt like he was looking at himself. "So it happened to you too?"

"It did? I haven't seen myself since I was captured." Arek frowned, then smiled.

"We are the Dragons Riders of Kiolerasdarque," said Thetra, and Arek nodded, agreeing. "I guess you were asleep when it happened, because I felt pain. Hey, listen, I got to go train with Savar, but I'll meet you back here at dusk."

"Aye, Brother Dragon Rider."

Arek walked back upstairs to his room and was surprised to find Therr there, waiting for him.

"My King. What brings you here?"

"So you're a real Dragon Rider as well, eh?" When Arek nodded, he continued, "I know you want to be a magician. They're all stored in Capital Castle, so go there."

"Are you ditching me?"

"It's your choice." After a while, Therr said, "I'll let you think about it."

And that night, Arek snuck out to travel quite a distance to the capital of Kiolerasdarque, Bewaldt.

  

Thetra

Savar allowed Valao to come to training that day. He ate about all of the firewood that Savar and Thetra were using to start a bonfire with magic.

Over the next two days, Thetra studied and studied and finally finished the book. Once he did, they started casting spells.

"I will give you a list of spells. This is your first Lesson List. There are twelve spells recorded of the total 3,671." He gave Thetra a parchment. "Do it," he said in a harsh tone.

Thetra looked at him, then the paper:

Uolpïshoot sparks into the air.

Moraas flyr-erupt blue flames.

Sadjaadisarm opponent

Lirësuffocate opponent.

Téshoot water

Kïlagh-a short blessing

Reökmake ceiling fall.

Nehbwasmove an object through the air.

Ghama curse to the worst enemy.

Löwenkampthe name of a might creature.

Munjawdthe spell for killing an alien.

Dertwühcounterattack spell.

"Wow. Some of these aren't spells."

"Ah, ah, ah," scolded Savar for Thetra's bad memory. "Every word and syllable in the wizard and alien language have the term spells."

"Aliens use this language?"

"They share with us, yes. Now can you cast these" he gestured at the parchment"spells, please?"

"Yes, Teacher."

He started at the top and worked his way down. He only stumbled on one: Ghama curse to the worst enemy. He tried it on Savar, but Savar wasn't his worst enemy.

"Now try this: Svewe palsoa," instructed Savar. "It will see if your worst enemy is present."

Thetra did, and his thoughts told him, no, the enemy wasn't present. But it did not tell him who his worst enemy was.

"No?" asked Savar.

"No," confirmed Thetra.

"That's alright. But tell me, for this is rare, who is your worst enemy?"

When he heard that it was rare, Thetra lied. He always had wanted to be different, which was why he had dreamed of being a Dragon Rider.

"Morchad," he lied.

Savar frowned. "Are you sure, for if so, you are _very rare,_ my friend." Thetra hid his smile. "Everybody has a worst enemy, and each has one pair. One cannot have more than one worst foe, but I have not ever heard whose Morchad's is. Much less do any of my trainers figure out their worst enemy using the _Svewe palsoa_ spell. Congratulations. I must inform Therr."

Then they ended their lesson, and Thetra went to his sword class.

He fought against Arek, who also took the lesson, and beat him 10-2.

Then he went to bed, for it was late, and he was tired.

Arek

  

#  RIDER AGAINST OGNOK

In the morning, Arek ate breakfast, and while he ate breakfast, had a great idea.

First he had dreamed of becoming a Dragon Rider, and he was, except for the scars on his cheeks that were supposed to form that day.

Now he had a new dreama whole new mission. He may have been a little jealous of Thetra, but he needed a wand.

He was going to kill an Ognok.

Without telling anybody, he would kill an Ognok.

But where to look? He knew not, for Ognoks usually came to the one they destined to kill.

Let's make our way up to Mthanl, for I have a feeling, and then Ejarshöh and I will march to Bewaldt.

And so he left with his blood-red dragon.

  

After covering fifty leagues, which had taken about a week, he lay down. They had about another half week to Mthanl.

And then he thought about Satym in La lakr-sonx, probably kidnapped by now, for their guards hated trespassers. She would be locked up for life and most likely forced to tell about transport magic.

That was a minor problem.

Here Arek was stuck, and Thetra was missing him. Arek wondered who Thetra's new sword partner was to replace Arek, and he grit his teeth and growled.

"Arek," said Ejarshöh's calm and soothing voice. "You must destroy your anger. You cannot go on like this. Meditate."

Arek did as his dragon told him, and it worked. "Let's go."

And they continued on their journey.

That night, they roasted after Ejarshöh hunted, for it was the red dragon's turn. They ate good salmon, meat, and other sorts of foods that Arek enjoyed.

They rested that night, making camp. It took Arek a while to fall asleep, but he finally did.

" _We must destroy him!" yelled Savar. "The Ognok is too powerful! He is attacking our army!"_

Arek stood in the middle of a hot field, looking up at the Ognok soaring high above the plains. The Ognok laughed and shot fireballs, killing scores of the good army.

Then Thetra came into view, and he flew up on Valao to meet the fiery figure. Thetra drew his wand in his left hand, and sword in right, bow slung on his back. The Ognok growled, then roared, flames shooting into the air, and then falling and killing.

Thetra tried to get closer to him, but the Ognok was staying away from Thetra.

" _I promise!" yelled Thetra. "I swear before every throne and on every stone I will kill you, O Terrible Creature!"_

Then the Ognok sped toward Thetra, threw out his big and mighty chest, and laughed a terrible laugh.

Satym came running from the Ma's ranks and yelled, "Jutravin!" looking up at the Ognok. "I betray you!"

And the Ognok gasped. Then he gained control of himself, and got back into his pace of shooting fireballs with his wand. "You cannot kill me, Rider!"

" _I can!" yelled Thetra, and chucked Slayer at Jutravin._

" _Thetra, no!" warned Valao, but it was too late. The sword fell short, falling to the ground. It hit the ground with an amazing_ plunk _, and then buried itself in the ground, covering every last part of it._

Jutravin smiled. "I guess you'll have to fight with your wand."

" _I'm a real Dragon Rider now!" exclaimed Thetra. "I'm no coward like I was in Toage when my parents died!"_

Then Arek yelled something in the alien language, and soon he was soaring like an Ognok. Then he was turning into an Ognok as he felt himself grow fangs.

But he wasn't evil.

He went to Thetra's side and said, "I got this, Brother."

" _Arek, what_  _!"_

" _Just fly down and take my position on the ground!" yelled Arek, and soon Thetra followed his order._

The Ognok was still stunned, but he soon shook himself and yelled a curse in the magical language. "You!"

" _Me." Then Arek drew Stabber, and lunged toward Jutravin._

They clashed swords, and together, they created what was probably the biggest fight in the history of Kiolerasdarque, or what was to be named of the country.

Then Jutravin was losing, and Arek had his sword tip pointed low under Jutravin's chin.

Then Jutravin yelled a phrase, and he sped away so quickly, that he was gone in less than a nanosecond.

Then Arek was falling, becoming human once more. And no one was there to catch him.

He would die with pain.

Then everything turned black.

# AREK VS AREK

Yet he didn't wake up.

Then he switched dreams, and he had the usual: fighting Morchad with only Stabber and wand.

Morchad was alone, but it seemed he had soldiers lurking behind every shadow, waiting to taste the blood of Arek himself and Ejarshöh. Morchad drew his sword, and it had no color. It was Vertayish white, a dark color.

While Arek was focused on the blade, a red dragon flew in, one just like Ejarshöh.

The two dragons faced each other, then got air and flew up to the million-foot-high ceiling.

And Arek faced Morchad.

Morchad growled as his blade turned the same color as Arek's.

And then Morchad formed into the body of Arek, and he was fighting himself.

Morchad smiled, and Arek frowned. Then they clashed swords, neither one of them getting an advantage, as were the dragons.

Then Morchad's blade fell, and he collapsed.

His dragon sailed downward and fell on Morchad, both dragon and Rider dead.

_But Ejarshöh_  _the real one_  _was wounded. He flew down from the air and knelt._

Arek examined the injury—one on the leg, one that made the dragon limp.

Ejarshöh squealed with pain, and Arek soon gave up trying to calm his dragon. It was useless.

And then Arek felt a terrible, terrible pain in his ankle. He wrapped himself in a ball and waited for the pain to go away.

It didn't.

For some moments it left, and just when Arek was about to stand up again, it returned. His left ankle throbbed while Ejarshöh's leg was throbbing as well. Neither one could touch the other. They were too far away. Arek tried crawling towards Ejarshöh, but it was no use. He never made it more than a quarter of a centimeter before the pain came back.

And he heard Morchad's laugh, and Ejarshöh said one thing: "I hear his dragon's laugh too" before Arek heard it.

" _Don't talk," he begged, not wanting his dragon to hurt itself any more than he already was wounded._

" _If I must...I must." Then his dragon closed his eyes._

He's only sleeping _, thought Arek, but he knew that his dragon was passing, and soon he would as well._

" _If I die," muttered Arek with his remaining strength, "I'm going to die knowing that I also killed Morchad and his hateful dragon, whatever that copy-cat beast was." And then he closed his eyes as well, and he was no more._

Arek woke up sweating, and saw that Ejarshöh was as well awake, and he knew his dream was not real.

"Did you have the same dream I did?" asked Ejarshöh.

Arek nodded. "Did you die? Did Morchad turn into me? Did his dragon turn into you?"

"Now we know he has a dragon, but it is still not known what color he or his blade is, unless it is colorless."

Arek smiled. "That is true, my dragon." Then he cuddled up with his dragon, and together they fell back asleep, no dreams befalling them this time.

And then he had a thought, a crazy one, but a thought.

Then he ran back to Destville, for he missed his brother.

But I will return.

Satym

  

#  ULBALLS ARE THE FISHY ONES

Satymwas in Casca Doba.

She had walked the whole way, sometimes getting into a trot, for she had used the last magic she could, without a wand, years ago. She had pushed past the limit, in fact, and paid by going to Bewaldt Jail. It was a terrible place down in those dungeons.

She was planning to visit her old home in Mthanl before heading north to the Stankl Mountains.

Stankl.

It was a strong word, and in the Alien Language, meant Evil.

Maobn.

It meant Home. So Evil Home was the name of the mountain Stankl Maobn, one of the many mountains ruled by Morchad. A fitting name, perhaps.

Of course she could just use her wand to transport herself to Mthanl, and then to the Evil Home of Morchad. But the cities before those destinations, as of Casca Doba and Toage, were amazing. Toage was known for sunsets, so she would sleep there, and Casca Doba was a great little town.

And she would see her parents at Stankl Maobn. They would be disappointed in her for coming to the army, but they would be glad to see her.

Is the name of Morchad's army really Morchad's Army? she asked herself. Then she translated it into the Magical Language, and she got one word: Ulball.

"Well," she said, pretending to be the Battle-announcer of an army, always announcing it like a game of poker or pool. "Ulball vs. Unknown good army. I personally hope that the blank is going to win."

My secrets shall never be told. To other people, their goal was to figure out one question: ____. And since the question was ____, then their answer was also ____.

Then she quit trying to Battle-announce and trudged on.

_I can do this!_ She told herself, trying with all her willpower to keep going.

"'If you believe you can do it, do it.'" She knew this quote was by the seventh king, Vanot. "And I believe I can do it."

She continued, then decided she should try to decide all the ways to defeat the Ulball. Morchad would be impossible to defeat, but if she visited a library close to Stankl Maobn, perhaps Toage—which she had already visited—then maybe she could decipher a plan.

She already had a plan for herself: she would be a fake ally for the Ulball, then go back to the good army and report news, for she was a spy.

She grunted.

_Mthanl has a library. I used to visit there all the time._ Then a thought hit her. _He probably knows the way, and he alone. I need to get him to trust me..._

_I'll tell him I'm the daughter of his colleagues. That should do it._ Though she doubted it would, she still had to try.

Then she decided to just transport herself to the Evil Home, hoping to find the way that could help everybody in the great army of Therr. The way that could defeat evilness once and for all. She might as well be a hero when she returned to Destville.

A hero equals pure awesomeness. That's just who I am...I guess.

She smiled. They had a chance.

#  ROYAL GUEST

When she arrived in Stankl Maobn, she collapsed, exhausted. Then she passed out.

Satym was sitting in a hospital bed when she regained consciousness.

"Where...?"

Then she heard her mother's voice say, "Shhhh, Satym. You're safe in the mountains."

Then her father, in a deep voice, "You just fainted. Why are you here, Satym?"

When Satym's vision cleared, she first saw her father: a man with a goatee, Vertay hair, brown eyes, and a kindly smile. His mother had circle glasses, big blue eyes, and long, brown hair.

"Mother, Father," said Satym. "I just wanted to see you. I—"

"Well, go back," growled Father. "You'll be killed here."

"Let me see what Morchad really looks like once and for all."

"Let her," said her mother. "I'll take her."

After a moment, her father said, "Very well."

Then her motherLoradaw led Satym through a number of passages and hallways to the king of the Ulball's throne room.

"Welcome, daughter of Vertay and Loradaw," boomed Morchad's voice. It was pure evil. "I have long awaited you."

"Really?" asked Loradaw.

"No," answered the king. "My name is Morchad, as you well know. If you wish to join the Ulball, please do so. My given name is Evil, but it sounds better in the magical language of the aliens. So, are you to join me or fight?"

"If I join, could you tell me a secret?"

"Of course. Anything."

"Then I will join your army."

"Then repeat after me: I pledge and swear an oath to follow orders that King Evil gives me, and I will attack the hated army when necessary."

After hesitating, Satym did so, and Loradaw yelled, "Satym! You only came to visit!"

Ignoring her, the king said, "Now do the Yaeno Oath. You shall say, "I swear the Yaeno Oath to King Evil. You shall die if you break it, but if I die first, since I am the one making you do it, then you are released from your oath."

"I swear the Yaeno Oath to King Evil."

With that, Morchad sat back, satisfied.

Then, after a long pause, he said, "Your secret?"

"Oh, yes. Do you know how to die?"

"Me? I can only die by the most powerful stone in Kiolerasdarque. I hid it ages ago in a beach here in this country."

"What is the source?"

"A rock of the name Goldstone. If one finds it, makes a sword out of it, and stabs me, I shall die."

It was more information than Satym needed, but she accepted it all.

"Thanks. Now I shall return to Mthanl and wait for an order from my new home." And she yelled a transporting spell. Then she disappeared, and reappeared in Destville.

Thetra

  

#  RAGING ARMY

Satym appeared back in Destville the day before the good army received a letter from Morchad saying that their army had a secret ally.

Also included in the letter, Morchad had challenged once more a battle against Therr, and this time, Morchad would come.

He's tricking us. He wouldn't tell us that he's coming. We shouldn't expect it.

That night, the night before the expected battle, Thetra sat on his bedside, reading a book about Dragon Riders. When he reached a chapter about how to kill one, he paused, then continued, for he expected good information.

It read:

One of the early Riders, Kouché, was a

Morchad-fighter. This is one who fights

Morchad separately from the battle. Kouché,

however, fought the closest to the battle as

anyone in Kiolerasdarque had ever dared

. He fought fifty-four feet from the nearest

warrior, and still had no interference with the

battle, nor did the warrior have any interference

with the fight between Kouché and Morchad.

Kouché's dragon, Lortum, was off fighting

_against the Ulballs_  _Morchad's army_  _in_

the battle, away from Morchad and his Rider.

And this may come as surprising news to the

reader of this book, but Morchad is a Dragon

Rider. His dragon, the golden Dragonslayer

by name, is battling Lortum a thousand feet

above the battles. Finally, Morchad kills Kouché,

but not easily. Each Rider has a certain material

found somewhere in Kiolerasdarque that can

kill the Rider, but there is only one piece of it

throughout the country, and becomes more rare the

more powerful the Rider becomes. And Morchad

found Kouché's within his pocket, and throws it at him,

making Kouché fall to the ground, dead. And

Lortum and Dragonslayer are still fighting, and

dragons do not have certain materials, as they

just die like any other creature than the Riders.

Finally, Dragonslayer kills Lortum, and that is

how to kill a Dragon Rider right there in the book.

Exactly when he finished reading it, Thetra heard a loud _BOOM!_ and rushed outside to see lightning, hear thunder, and feel the rushing wind of a dragon zooming by his face.

"Thetra!" yelled Arek. "They're here! Evil is outside!"

Thetra pushed himself out of bed and looked outside to see swords clashing, backs breaking, and many of both armies falling in pain.

"I'll kill them! I'll kill Morchad for his crimes and his men!"

"Thetra, we need you." Arek put his hand on his brother's shoulder and they looked at each other in the eyes. "Let's take our dragons. And let's kill some Ulball meat!"

"Aye!"

"Valao!"

"Ejarsöh!"

They heard their dragons land on the roof, and they ran upstairs.

They hopped on their dragons and told them to go deep into the army.

"We can't breathe fire," protested Ejarshöh, reminding the Riders something that they already knew.

"We know, dragons. But you can kill."

Valao grunted.

Thetra drew Slayer. "Let's go," he said even as Arek drew Stabber. They touched blades as they would with cues before their pool games, then the two warriors took off in flight, attempting to find and kill the leader.

There's always a leader in every battle and war. Arek and I are of the good army, but who knows who theirs is.

A warrior from below shouted something to the Riders that was lost in the wind, and Thetra didn't know who he served.

"Faster, faster," Thetra heard Arek say.

"I'm going full speed!" complained Ejarshöh.

"No, you're not. I know my dragon well, and you can fly way faster than this."

Then Ejarshöh growled, "I'm only a hatchling."

"That's no excuse," said Valao.

"It doesn't matter!" yelled Thetra, sick of arguments. "Let's just find and kill the leader, then we'll help those down below.

Arek grunted.

After a long flight, they passed the whole battle, Thetra saw a spark ahead.

"Look," he pointed out. "Did you see that?"

"I did," said Valao.

But Arek and Ejarshöh didn't answer. The dragons flew in the way of the direction.

"It's a..."started Arek, but didn't finish.

Finally, when they knew what it was, they all shouted, "DRAGON!"

"Let's kill the Rider!" shouted Thetra.

"Good idea!" yelled Arek back.

"Wait," said Ejarshöh. "It's a trap. I just saw another to the left. Arek and I will go after it. You follow that one."

"Alright, Arek. Good luck to you two."

"And to you as well."

Then they split, and fear gripped Thetra. "Come on, Valao."

Then they charged, heading into the dragon's territory.

Then Thetra caught a glimpse of movement on the dragon's back, and he saw a Rider.

"It's a Rider!" he exclaimed to Valao.

Valao growled in response.

They zoomed by trees, dead and alive lost soldiers from both armies, and finally reached the glittering blue diamond dragon.

The dragon was huge. It was three times the size of Valao, and from Thetra's opinion, Valao was not small, although he had just hatched.

Then they collided with a loud _BOOM!_ and Thetra got his chance to stab at the Rider, missing by a few yards.

The Rider yelled a battle cry, and announced his name, something like Youtren.

"I am the Betrayer of the Good Army, and I serve Morchad wisely, as will you when our forces capture you and your brother."

"Never," growled Thetra through gritted teeth. "I don't know you, but apparently everyone else of our army does, because you betrayed them."

"Satym! Morchad has given me orders for you to fight!" he said into a microphone. "Satym, is this your house? Satym!"

Then Valao ripped a scale off of the enemy dragon, and it let out a loud screech.

"Stop, O Eater of Flesh!" yelled Youtren. "I will kill you if you take another bite of Ghuar."

Valao growled, but stopped, for even he knew how powerful the Rider must be.

"Youtren, we will fight you until we kill you."

"Thetra, you know me." He smiled. "You know me."

When he said the words, memories poured into Thetra's brain, and he understood who the Rider was. It was his cousin. He was fighting against family.

"You are...my cousin."

"As are our dragonscousins. For you see here, I am not from Kiolerasdarque. I am from"

"Herode. I know. The place filled with laks, Boffs, and so many kings."

"Yes, Cousin."

"Why do you serve Morchad! He is mad!"

"Thetra, listen to me. Your uncle is not who you think it is. It is not Wartard the Great. Thetra, that is not my father. That was my stepbrother. Your uncle and my father is"

Then a loud horn sounded, and the name of Thetra's uncle was drowned out.

"Thetra, look at me!" yelled Youtren. "Your uncle is"

Then the horn sounded again.

And again.

And then a glittering gold dragon flew into the sky, and there, on its backfor Thetra made no mistake who it was the evil ruler of Ulball, Morchad Tyerrondesson.

"Thetra Eouhjasson!" boomed his voice. "I challenge you!"

Then, while Thetra was still looking at Morchad, he felt pain in his back.

_Ah!_ he exclaimed in his mind. _That was the plan. That's not Morchad. It's a fake. Not even a real Rider nor dragon. It was used...Ah! It was used to distract me. Youtren stabbed me. Ah!_

"Feel the pain!" yelled Youtren, twisting the sword which was now about two inches deep into Thetra's flesh.

"Who is...our uncle?" asked Thetra.

"That's all you care about. Not even the pain in your back. you do feel that, right?"

Then Thetra swung Slayer around and felt it hit an eyeball.

"Ah! My eye!" yelled Youtren.

Thetra looked down to see his eyeball laying on Valao's back. Thetra picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket. Then he pulled Youtren's sword out of his back, and saw two words engraved in the blade: _Rider Killer_.

Then he pointed Slayer at Youtren's neck. "Who is your father?"

Youtren smiled. "His name...is"

Then the fake Morchad yelled a spell that Thetra recognized, and Morchad disappeared.

Then Youtren took off in flight, away from the point of Thetra's sword.

Then Thetra threw Slayer at Youtren, but it fell short and hit the ground, shattering the blade stolen from the murderers of his parents.

"No!" Thetra yelled.

#  PURSUIT

Thetra had no choice but to fly after his cousin and enemy.

First, Youtren knocked into a tree, for he was leaning.

He can't see right. His eyes aren't balanced.

Valao flew faster than ever in a chase that was epic enough for Thetra. He didn't have a weapon, which was a major problem for him.

_How did Slayer shatter into three pieces?_ wondered Thetra. _It's made of iron and steel._

"Thetra, watch out," screamed Valao as he missed a branch by five inches.

"I need a weapon!" he exclaimed.

"Then I'll get Slayer for you, Dragon Rider." He dipped down and snatched the sword with his talons. He looked back to give it to Thetra, and he grabbed it. The only part left that was found: the handle.

"How will this help?"

"Better than nothing."

Then he zoomed forward and bit the end of Ghuar.

Youtren looked back with one eye and yelled, "I swear to kill you, dragon and Rider!"

"So be it," muttered Thetra.

Then the two dragons started chasing each other, neither one able to gain advantage.

While they flew, Youtren swung off-balance blows, missing every time. Thetra had stuffed Slayer's handle in his bag, hoping to find the other pieces later, for they had pinpointed the spot.

"Thetra..." Youtren stopped swinging. "Your uncle is Morchad."

Thetra felt like he had been shot with an arrow. Valao stumbled as well.

"My father...My father is Morchad."

Then he fell off of his dragon.

#  DESTINY

"I come to kill you," growled Valao. "I come to destroy anyone who dares hurt my Rider. Curse you, and have the neutrals come after you."

"Those busy aliens don't have the time!" yelled Youtren. "Ghuar, kill him. Him and his Rider. Kill them all! Ghuar, kill our cousins."

Thetra was watching from the ground fifty yards below the dragons.

"Thou power cannot overwhelm us," said Thetra from below.

"Oh, so you're still present," said Youtren with a sneer. "I thought you were dead, Cousin. Ghuar, kill Valao and then Thetra."

"No!" yelled Thetra and chucked the remaining pieces of his sword at Youtren.

Then the most amazing thing that Thetra had ever seen happened.

All at once, the pieces of the sword from all directions came together to form the weapon once again.

And then it drilled Youtren in the chest.

And he died.

_Now we just have to kill Ghuar,_ thought Thetra, running over to catch his sword, feeling excitement.

He caught it and threw it at Ghuar the dragon. But Ghuar just moved out of the way and let it still fly into the sky.

Then Valao went underneath Ghuar and bit him in the belly.

But Ghuar was well protected by wards. The wards did double though. It made Valao fly backwards toward the ground.

That was the moment Thetra caught his sword, Slayer.

And then Valao crashed to the ground. Ghuar took off from where the battle had come from: obviously, Santkl Maobn.

But Valao was too weak to chase after him this time. He lay there still, as if he might be dead.

"Valao?" said Thetra.

"I am awake. I cannot fly after her."

"We already killed Youtren."

"You think you killed me?!" said a voice. Youtren walked out of a bush he had fallen into. "Ha! I'm alive. And you won't be in a few seconds."

"I think you got it mixed up," said Thetra. "It is you who will be dead in a few seconds."

"O Lord Kohasta of the short Elves, you cannot defeat me. It's just impossible."

"Nothing is impossible," said Thetra, and chucked Slayer through the air at him, but of course he had wards. And of course the sword bounced back at Thetra, who barely had the time to catch it.

"No one likes you, Youtren," said Valao.

"Oh, I'm Morchad's favorite. I'm his personal assistant."

"Just because you're his son," responded Thetra.

"Oh, be quiet, Eouhjasson!" roared Ghuar, who had come back now that he found out that Youtren was alive.

Then Thetra threw a brick wall at the Rider and his dragon, saying just one word: "No."

"Yes!" roared Youtren, and poked him with his sword.

Thetra poked him back. This was a good fight, he'd admit, but someone will have to win sooner or later. And that someone _had_ to be him.

For his dead family.

For his living family.

For Destville.

For him.

And with those final thoughts, he shoved Slayer into Youtren's gut, and heard a scream of pain before he blacked out.

"Thetra! Thetra!" he heard Valao screaming. "Wake up!"

Thetra opened his eyelids, only to reveal a Vertay misty place everywhere around him.

"Where...am I?" Then a horrible thought hit him. "Am I dead?"

"We are in the Place of the Deep Seas," said Valao.

And sure enough, when he looked farther, he saw blue ocean.

"Where's Arek?"

"Somewhere else. You killed Youtren."

"But how did we get here?"

"When he died the remaining power left in his soul came out and spread us out all over the world. We may be a million leagues away from Kiolerasdarque.

"A million leagues!"

"Shhh! We need to hunt for food now that you're awake. We don't want to scare the game off the island."

As a demonstration, Valao went and stabbed a rabbit with his claw. It was as if he was saying, _See? It's easy_.

Thetra drew Slayer, which had appeared back in its sheath. When he saw a bird flying, he threw the sword.

Right on target. He had drilled the pigeon right in the eye.

"Good throw! I was wondering if you should make a bow and arrow for yourself!" yelled Valao.

"If I can find wood and string!" he responded. _But how would I make the arrows?_

After a few days of living on the island, hunting, fishing, eating, and sleeping, they heard a loud cannon go off to their left.

"Valao! shouted Thetra, running to find his dragon.

When he found him, he lay on the ground, his left wing gone.

"There goes any chance of us flying away, mutters Valao.

"Valao! What happened?" yelled Thetra.

"Ghuar came...bit wing off..."

"Valao!"

"Thetra. Go. Ghuar is searching for you within a mile or so."

"I won't leave without you!"

"Thetra!"

"Valao, I don't" But then he was interrupted when he heard a roara dragon roarand he looked up to see Ghuar, the shining blue dragon emerging from the clouds.

"I'll protect you, Valao. Don't worry."

"It'll tear you to pieces! You can't fight him! Dragons are too strong."

"Valao, I _must_. I can't let you die."

Then Ghuar came in and attempted to bite Thetra, but when the blue dragon opened its mouth to bite, Thetra stuck the sword in Ghuar's mouth, keeping it open, and hopped into the slobbery mess.

He could hear the faint voice of Valao even inside the mouth and on the way down the throat.

He was going to stab the dragon in the stomach, partly because he wanted to see what dragons ate since Valao kept it a secret from him.

After what seemed like an hour, and probably was an hour, he reached the food. Mostly grass, twigs, people, a few body parts of other dragons. Since dragons didn't go to the bathroom, they always had whatever they ate in the past with them. That's how dragons grew to be so heavy.

"Does Ghuar drink anything?" he muttered, seeing no water. "Or..." He flinched. The thought was so disturbing.

He drew Slayer. "Let's finish this dragon off once and for all."

He pulled the sword up, then thrust it down.

#  THE DEFENSE OF THE DEATH OF A DRAGON

Thetra screamed in pain. The dragon had burst apart, throwing everything at him. Just like Youtren, the death of the dragon made Thetra regret it, for all the power was thrust at him.

At one part of the explosion, he thought he saw his sword, and then he thought he saw it getting washed away in the ocean.

"The power...It's too much!" he yelled. He was getting creamed with various objects, bones, tree branches, scales. He caught a few things in his eyes, swallowed some grass, and smelled foul smells.

"Save me!" he cried to Valao, but he figured he was getting drilled as well. And he was already hurt.

After about fifteen minutes the explosion ended.

"Oh..." he said, feeling pain in every part of his body.

"Thetra!" he heard Valao scream.

"Valao," he responded, letting him know where he was.

He heard Valao stepping on twigs as he approached him. "Are you alright?"

"I'll live," he grumbled.

"I can"

"No, Valao. You're wounded already. How did you even get up and walk to find me?"

"Open your eyes, you miserable thing."

He realized his eyes were closed. With a twinge of pain, he opened them.

He was healed. The dragon Valao was healed. He looked stronger and healthier than ever.

"How...?"

"A miracle, I guess. I just passed out and woke up feeling brand new."

"But me..." He was still confused. What could have happened to heal his dragon, but not the Rider. They were supposed to be one.

"You. I can fix you up." Valao started licking him, tickling him, and rolling him around.

"Stop, Valao," he said, laughing. But he did feel better. Maybe he still had wounds, but his spirits were high.

Then he wondered something. "Can you fly?" he asked.

For a moment it looked like Valao would say no. But instead, he said, "Sure. Why?"

"Well, let's fly out of here. Make it from island to island until we get to Kiolerasdarque."

"Alright. I never thought of that. But yes, sure."

"Alright." He hopped on him, and said, "Let us start this journey!"

#  SOARING

They took flight. It was epic as Valao flapped his wings, making wind.

"The next island is Yatchu. There are a few Elves there, I think, but none that'll bother us."

"That's fine."

And they went on.

After a few days, Thetra's stomach grumbled.

"Valao, I'm starving."

"We're almost there. Just a few more hours." He sped up a bit.

It was hard for him not to complain again. But Valao was right, and they arrived shortly after he asked.

The island was deserted. No Elves. No race of any kind.

"Um, Valao," said Thetra when they landed. "Where is everybody?"

Just then, his eye caught movement.

With his great instincts, Valao soared ahead grabbed the human with his claws. He set him down once he was dead.

"It _is_ a human." Thetra looked up at Valao. "This island must have more than one. Let's keep searching."

They found no more. Either there _weren't_ any left or they were hiding.

Then Thetra heard a voice whisper, "We must continue our journey to Herode."

"That is on Earth. We can't leave our island unguarded," said another voice.

"Ailog! We must! No one knows about this bump in the sea. In fact, no one goes near a thousand leagues of here."

Ailog sighed. "Andwi. You _are_ the island's president, but I fear you won't be for long."

"What do you mean, Brother?"

"I mean I will overtake you...one way or another. "

"Ailog! Such beliefs don't exist. Even if I die and you live longer, you will only be president for a few years before you pass away. Then your son will take the throne."

"I won't have children," said Ailog through gritted teeth. "I won't marry."

"Then who'll become president?"

"I guess you'll have to live longer so that your son can."

"Or daughter."

"There's never been a girl president!"

"Yet."

Thetra didn't know what any of this meant, but he forced himself to memorize the conversation in case he could figure out later.

He glanced over and saw Valao mouth to him, _They're aliens_.

He nodded his head in agreement. It had to be true. The voices were too alien like.

Just then Thetra would've been dead if it weren't for his dragon. Valao body-slammed him into the plants they were hiding behind when he heard the two shots.

"Get 'em!" yelled Andwi's voice. "It's a dragon and a Rider!"

Valao was in no condition to fly away. His wing got torn on thorns in a bush and he had grass in his eyes. He shook his head, but he still looked bad.

"Valao!" yelled Thetra. He had to come up with a brilliant plan that would let both of them live. "Go run underwater and stay there! I'll be right there!"

He had discovered that he didn't need a nose to breathe, and his mouth worked for breathing underwater, and Valao had gills.

He drew Slayer and climbed into the water.

#  AN UNDERWATER DUEL

He couldn't hear the aliens underwater, but he had a feeling they knew where they were.

The sun was setting, although it was hard to tell underwater, for water bent light. But he knew they had small time till sunset.

He looked over and saw Valao, his dragon fearless as ever, prepared for a fight.

Valao should've been able to kill the aliens easily, but both of them had a gun. He knew if it was a magical gun, it could blast them to pieces fast.

The water was clean. He should've expected it to be dirty, being the seawater, but it was clear. He could see thirty yards in front of him.

Then he looked down at his sword. It glowed a faint purple, as if it were generating magic.

_The water gives it power,_ said a voice in his head. _The water and the sword have a bond._

He wondered if it was true. If the voice was telling the truth. Who was the voice? Why was it telling him this? He didn't recognize the voice. He didn't understand.

_You will never understand_.

The voice tempted him into believing its words, as if its voice was magical, making him believe it.

The blade...It was designed to be made of water, but still be able to kill. Myna the King tried to make it that way, but it was crudely made by his son, Ijistken. Now it will never be made of water.

However, there is a blade of fire. It is lost within the depths of the Crater Pit on the Earth's moon. Now it is up to you to find it and return to its master.

Thetra wondered if he could ask a question to this voice.

He tried, asking, _Who is its master?_

To his surprise, the voice answered. _You must find that out for yourself, warrior._

Then the voice faded away, as Thetra could feel its presence absent.

"Valao," he said. "It's Goldstone. That's the key to winning."

The aliens attacked about an hour later. According to Valao, they snuck up on Thetra when he was looking the wrong direction (towards the island) and nearly killed him. If it weren't for Valao, he would've been dead.

Thetra didn't believe the words coming from his dragon's mouth.

"Thetra!" he heard Valao yell. He turned and saw the twin aliens each with a wing in their hands, about to tear them off.

He had to stop them. His sword wouldn't go at a fast speed underwater if he threw it. He wouldn't be able to swim over in time.

He was wasting valuable time thinking of a plan when there was an obvious answer.

He had to call upon the warriors scattered around the planet.

He had to call upon the people of his army.

"RISE!"

#  LOGICAL ANSWERS

He was probably out for a few weeks. Maybe a month. How would he know? No one told him. The fight? That was probably a few days long. He had missed a great battle. But there wouldn't have been a battle if he hadn't passed out.

He summoned the soldiers of the Good Army. All of them.

Except for Satym and Arek.

Apparently Satym was in a bad mood, because he had a dream about it.

_She was punching a wall in what looked like a prison cell. "Somebody let me out!_ Now! _"_

A guard that looked vaguely familiar came by and slipped a loaf of bread under the door and a glass of water through one of the slots in the door.

Satym reached forward when the guard turned to walk away and grabbed the collar of his shirt.

" _Let me out."_

" _But my master said_  _"_

" _I don't want to know what your master said! You listen to me! I am your master."_

_The man nodded, looking so worried his eyes were literally_ bulging _._

" _Let me out."_

" _I don't have the key, ma'am."_

" _Then get it! You're on the team that's trying to rot me in here!"_

" _I am forbidden to steal," squeaked the guard._

Satym growled deep in her throat. The guard tried to escape, but Satym's grip was as hard as metal. She was not letting go.

Just then alarm bells sounded. There must have been someone watching them. The sound must have surprised Satym, and for a second she loosened her grip and the guard escaped as quickly as he could.

Then the dream turned black and Thetra awoke, not opening his eyelids because of the pain in his shoulder.

And then he fell asleep once more.

He saw Arek in a castle. He was in a room lit by torches, kneeling before a throne. Sitting in the throne was a golden sword. After about a minute, it seemed as if Arek had finished a prayer or something and he looked up to the throne. "O Mighty Vengeance the Powerful. I take thee." Then he picked it up and put it in an extra sheath he had. "Now I can go see Honoglata," Thetra heard him mutter.

He exited the room and started down a hallway that lead into a stairwell. He went up it and then reached a room with a king sitting upon a throne.

" _Arek," said King Honoglata. "I've been expecting you."_

Logical answers. That's what they were. Thetra knew that his brother was about to be killed. That was the logical answer. The king had almost no sense of humor and he was not about to be told what to do by Arek.

" _My king," said Arek, looking nervous. "I—"_

" _You. You pathetic thing."Honoglata pointed at Vengeance's sheath. "I feel its presence. Morchad feels it even more. He will be here. It works like a magnet."_

" _Why is it here?" asked Arek._

" _I stole it." It was a terse answer._

" _How come Evil was not summoned to it before?"_

" _It was not in one's possession. Well, it was in mine, but I wasn't holding it." He looked at the sword, then back at Arek. "You might want to put it back."_

Arek turned to do so but stopped when he realized he was blocked. The tunnel and the staircase had collapsed, leaving him stuck.

" _I didn't hear anything," he muttered. "But...how?"_

" _Oh, the joy I feel when I see my victim's faces once they realize they are captured."_

" _HONOGLATA!" yelled Arek at the top of his lungs._

Honoglata tipped over and his chair fell backward as Arek heard his neck snap.

Arek drew Stabber and pointed it at the helpless king who was lying like a Humackan* Eagle.

________________________________________________

*Humackan is a special type of eagle born to hunt fish better than any other bird. When they fall on their backs, they can't get up.

" _I threaten you," said Arek, meaning it._

" _And I grant you a wish. Choose wisely."_

Thetra could tell from Arek's expression he was thinking desperately. It took about five minutes, but he finally had an answer.

" _I choose to kill an Ognok. I need MAGIC!"_

" _I could just grant you a wand and it'd be just like killing an Ognok and earning a wand except for the killing the Ognok part."_

" _No. I need fame."_

#  WISHING FOR MORE DREAMS

"Noooooooooo!" yelled Thetra, outraged that the dream had to end there. He shut his eyes, trying frantically to fall back asleep. But there was pain, and he had to take notice of it.

He looked down at his shoulder, seeing the bloody wound, and his heart nearly leapt out of his throat.

"Dear me!" he exclaimed. "This laceration...never been anything like it! I...I'll die!"

He looked around him. Nothing. No dragons, aliens, troops. Nothing.

"Where are they?" he muttered to himself.

Then he heard a distant scream and his eye caught movement. The movement of battle.

_Go_ , he told himself. _Run as fast as you can in these waters. Go._

It was a good thing the water was clear because it allowed him to keep an eye on the battle.

And then pain hit him.

Next came dread. He needed something that he couldn't have: more dreams.

Then anger.

"Anger is the strongest feeling out of all of them," he agreed with his mind.

And with that, he charged into battle with absolutely no protection except the blade of his sword.

#  YOUTREN AND GHUAR: THE HEROIC COMEBACK

Thetra let out a savage war cry.

He saw everyone he summoned, Valao, and the aliens, still alive, but yet struggling against the massive army.

I will kill Ailog and Andwi in the blink of an eye.

"Valao!" he yelled, getting his dragon's attention. "Arek is in danger!"

Valao nodded as if he understood, but he obviously didn't. The roar of battle cries was too loud to hear anything else underwater.

Thetra pointed up and mouthed, "Surface."

Luckily, he did. Then Thetra gave him the message.

"And Satym is a prisoner."

"How did she get caught? Better question, _why_ did she get caught? What did she do?"

"I do not know, Valao. But we have to save my brother and if we can, her."

"Why Satym, though?"

"I feel that we need her in the army. I think she's a powerful tool."

"She nearly killed Therr!" exclaimed his dragon in response. Valao was looking for a reason _not_ to rescue the girl.

"Well, let's start with Arek and see how it goes. Are you in a good condition to fly?"

To his surprise, Valao shoved him onto the ground, pinning him with his talons.

"There is a battle going on!" said Valao through gritted teeth. "We can't just abandon them! Our fighters need us!"

"But, Valao—"

"I am a dragon. I do not give up! We will defeat these aliens and take over this island. You can be the president!" Valao puffed his chest out.

"We will have triumph," Valao continued. "We will defeat them."

"I do not want to be president," said Thetra solemnly.

"Thetra," said Valao in a soothing voice. "Let's win this together."

"I JUST WANT TO SEE MY BROTHER!" Thetra complained, storming off onto the grass in the island, and then sat down.

"Thetra, think about what your parents would want you to do."

"Don't talk about my parents!" he yelled. "And they would want me to go after Arek instead."

"Very well. Go after him. But you don't have a way to get there."

"Valao, please," he whined.

"I can't abandon the people of the Good Army that _you_ are a part of."

"Valao..." Thetra was speechless. He _was_ a part of this army, and he did _have_ to serve them. He just knew it was the right thing to do if he rescued Arek.

"I will swim to Bewaldt," said Thetra. "The capitol is not far enough for me not to go to it without putting in effort."

"Thetra Eouhjasson! I forbid you to go to the Capitol of Kiolerasdarque!"

"Valao!" he screamed, punching his dragon in the chest.

Surprisingly, Valao stumbled backward and fell into the sea. Then he turned around and swam back down to the underwater battle.

Thetra still lay there, thinking about his hard decision. If he wasted all of his time thinking, there wouldn't be enough time to do either one of his choices.

He couldn't wait for the battle to be over to go to Bewaldt. That was too long.

He had to figure out a way to go to the shining castle without being stopped or forbidden to go.

Then he heard a rustling in the trees behind him. He turned around.

And there, standing looking royal, were Youtren and Ghuar.

# A BATLLE ON LAND,  
A BATTLE IN WATER

The Wandearner was scared. Youtren and Ghuar were supposed to be dead. Instead, they were alive.

"Hello, Youtren. Hello, Ghuar. What brings you here on this fine day?"

"Good day for a killing," murmured Youtren. Ghuar nudged him.

"We _do_ come to kill you," said Ghuar. "But we come to do it very slowly."

"A more painful death. It interests us," said Youtren.

"Youtren, you have no self-control," started Thetra. "You are not worthy of killing a Wandearner."

"I may not be, but I am worthy of killing my cousin!" He lunged his sword, pointed at Thetra.

In a half a second, Thetra drew Slayer, put it out in front of him, and deflected the blow.

"I am a better swordsman," boasted Youtren. "I was always better than you."

"Never were you even near my abilities," responded Thetra.

"I shall go kill my cousin," said Ghuar. "I believe he is down in the water fighting a very bloody battle indeed."

"Very well, dragon," said Youtren. "I will deal with the Rider."

"And so we battle to the end?" said Thetra.

"Aye. We shall battle to the end."

And with those final words, their swords clanked.

Valao

  

Valao was distressed. Thirty of the Good Army had passed, and not many were left to fight.

"War," he mumbled. "The aliens...How could they do so much alone?"

Valao wasn't asking anybody, just talking to himself, but Therr replied, "They are magical aliens."

"What's the difference," asked the dragon.

"Magical aliens can last a lot longer than any ordinary alien. And since Ailog is a president, he can call upon other aliens to appear, which he hasn't yet, and I wouldn't be surprised if he lasted longer than Andwi, since the magical alien _presidents_ are stronger and can put up a better fight.

"Well, we can still defeat them."

Then Valao saw the ranks of regular aliens coming down into the ocean.

"He has called upon others. He needs reinforcements, and he got them. Let's show him we can fight too." And then Therr swam towards the new army of aliens, slashing them down one by one. He looked back at Valao and said, "Are you going to help me or not?"

Valao surged forward, feeling a new reason to kill the aliens.

And that reason was to protect Thetra.

Then he saw the arrow.

Valao called out, "Watch your head!" to Therr, but the sound didn't travel well underwater. The arrow dug itself in the back of Therr's head, and he dropped dead.

"No," muttered Valao. " _No!_ " He threw himself at the killer, Andwi, crushing him like a bug, but the damage was done. Therr was dead.

#  HUNTING THE PRESIDENT

"Now I have to kill his brother."

Ailog was hiding behind a giant boulder in the sea, fearing Valao.

"No one hides from Valao," said the dragon who was about to kill the magical alien. "And _no one_ kills his leader." He picked up the boulder and through it. Valao narrowed his eyes on the puny little alien. "Ready to die? I sharpened my claws yesterday."

Ailog responded with a twinge of confidence in his voice. "No, I will live. And I also know who will die." He pointed his first finger at Valao. "You."

"Me?"

"You killed my brother. I watched you from behind this rock." Ailog drew his gun. "Now I must get my vengeance." He shot a bullet.

Valao ate it. "Good flavor." Valao then knocked the pistol out of the president's hand. "Your brother killed my master. _My_ turn for vengeance."

"I had no control over him! He did what he wanted to do with free will!"

"Then we are even. We both die."

"Or we both live."

Valao bit him, then swallowed him whole.

But the alien was still hurting Valao, giving him a stomach ache by kicking the sides of Valao inside of his stomach.

Each kick made Valao wriggle and kick himself (in some cases that was good, because it wiped out the army of aliens, but in some it was bad, because it also wiped out those of the Good Army).

Valao bellowed a roar that was so loud it traveled a thousand feet in each direction, even sending ripples through the ocean.

"GO!" Valao heard a Good Army Commander yell. The Army Commanders were Therr's highest troops, and Thetra was one of them.

But this wasn't Thetra. This was someone that Valao didn't recognize. It wasn't Arek either.

It was the traitor: Satym.

# THE DEFENSE OF THE DEATH OF A MAGICAL ALIEN PRESIDENT

"But"

BAM!

Everyone in the Underwater Battle froze. Valao felt an aching in his stomach.

BAM!

"What's going on?" asked an alien to his mate. To the alien's surprise, his mate just ate him.

Valao looked over his shoulder and saw Satym. She grinned.

She looks so friendly...Stop that! Satym betrayed us. We can't trust her.

" _Retreat,"_ hissed an inhuman voice. _" You of the Good Army ssshall retreat. Or ssshould I sssay...the Dark_  _"_

"No!" yelled one of Therr's comrades. "You shall not say it, O Unhooked Leg, The Unluckiest of Souls, The Pirate of Kiolerasdarque."

The comrade's name was Hortyun. Thetra recognized him from a funeral back in Destville after Hortyun's aunt had passed away.

"Hortyun," said Satym, a grim and faraway look in her eyes. "I remember you."

Shock appeared on Hortyun's face. "Satym, I"

"Am sorry? Is that what you mean to say? Apology declined."

" _All attention on me, pleassse,"_ hushed the voice. _"You, human and Rider and alien, may call me Opotomues. I am the sssoul of Ailog."_

" _And I am the sssoul of Andwi,"_ hissed another alien voice. _"together, we are powerful. And we shall REIGN!"_

Just then Satym drew her sword and threw it through the water with no particular target.

But it stopped as it hit something solid, although Valao saw nothing there except the darkness of the deep depths of the ocean.

"What did it hit?" asked Hortyun.

Satym replied, "It hit the soul of Andwi. Don't you feel its presence absent?"

Then she threw an extra dagger she had at another space in the water and it stuck there.

"I killed Ailog," muttered Satym.

Then, as green as alien blood blending into an emerald forest, Valao saw the sword of Thetra Eouhjasson floating in the water. It was glowing.

Valao and Satym exchanged looks. Then Satym hopped on Valao and he shot upward to see the battle just taking place on the island.

It was Thetra against the dead.

It was obvious to Valao who would win the fight, but it would've been a bloody one.

Then Valao felt teeth sink into his neck, and he turned around and saw the glittering scales of Ghuar. The battle was about to get a lot more intense.

Thetra

  

#  AN UNTRAINED WIZARD USING MAGIC

_Was it Flyr?_ How could he have forgotten? He was so clumsy.

"Valao!" yelled Thetra. "Help me!"

"You honestly think you can win this war?" asked Youtren.

Thetra had been struggling all this time to get out of Youtren's grip, who at the moment had him in a headlock. But now he froze. "War? It's not a war. Just a battle. Right?"

"Why do you think we paid the fee to come back and not be dead?" He paused. "It's because we are dedicated to this _war_." He drew his sword and pointed it at Thetra's throat.

He was trapped. There was no escape now.

"Kill me," said Thetra. He sighed. "Just get it over with."

"Why do that when I could have all the delight torturing you and seeing you rotting away in a prison cell? It lasts much longer. No, I think I'm going to take you captive."

Thetra caught a glimpse of Valao, and their eyes met. Thetra pointed behind him at Youtren and imitated a dragon biting a human.

Thetra thought Valao understood the message. He reared back and inhaled real deeply. Then Valao blew a fireball sizzling towards Youtren's head.

It hit him and he fell backward, still hanging on to Thetra, choking him.

"Let...GO OF ME!" screamed Thetra, coughing and choking. He attempted to unwrap Youtren's arm from its tight grip on Thetra's throat. He spat out blood. "Valao, help me with your dragon strength!"

Valao struggled, but slammed into the body of Ghuar, who was blocking his way to saving Thetra. He tried pushing him, but he was a heavier and bulkier dragon than Valao was.

"Move, you fat dragon!" yelled Valao in frustration.

"I will not," said Ghuar so calmly, it surprised Valao so much that he stopped pushing him.

"How can you stay calm during this... _war_?" asked Valao in shock.

"I am a peaceful dragon."

"Then why did you and your Rider attack us?!" demanded Valao.

"Youtren made me do it." He growled at the unconscious body of Youtren. "He is feeble."

Youtren coughed. "I am not feeble!"

"Ghuar," said Valao, ignoring Youtren's awakening. "Why are you stopping me from killing the mean one?"

"He pays me if I help him. I am sorry, dragon. I must do what he says."

"No, you mustn't!" complained Valao, but Ghuar had already raked his claws against his scales. Valao screamed in agony. Ghuar bit the end of his tail. Valao roared a bellowing roar and fought back, pinching Ghuar in the ear, then biting it.

It ripped off.

Thetra saw through black spots in his eyes, a blue ear in his dragon's mouth. He would've whooped and cheered if it weren't for him being unable to breathe.

_Had it been a minute? Two?_ He knew that he would only last three minutes without dying, and he had already lost a lot. He was almost about to go unconscious anytime.

_Yes! It was Flyr!_ Now he remembered the magical word that could kill a human soul or a Rider.

But he couldn't talk. He couldn't command the word to do anything.

He was trapped inside the grip of Youtren.

"You aren't escaping me," said Youtren. And those were the last words Thetra heard until he couldn't see any more.

FLYR!

The world around him erupted in flames, reaching Youtren and, as he fell, his grip did as well, and Thetra was free.

Ghuar was still fighting Valao without his left ear, but was falling over continuously. Valao bit him in the chin, ripping three more scales off. Ghuar yelped with pain.

Thetra was staring at Youtren, though. He was surely dead, lying in flames. Thetra could barely see him through the orange fire.

"I am sorry...cousin," said Thetra. "I would've accepted you on my team, but you chose Morchad over me. Of course I know why. He has more power over Kiolerasdarque."

Valao shouted something to Thetra, but the sound was blocked out as Thetra meditated.

Then a voice as loud as thunder boomed out from the sky: _"Kiolerasdarque shall be renamed! It's new name is..."_

Then all of a sudden Valao and Ghuar flew up into the air towards the sound of the voice. They flew so far up that they were specks to Thetra.

The voice continued, _"Ar_  _"_

BAM!

Valao and Ghuar came falling out of the sky—Ghuar trailing Valao.

They hit the ground with a loud thump, but Valao got up quickly.

"What happened?" asked Thetra.

"We stopped them," replied Valao, panting. "We bumped into the voice with so much power it tumbled over."

As if on cue, a gigantic splash interrupted their conversation. It splashed over the whole island.

"That was it," added Ghuar.

"Ghuar," said Thetra. "Now that Youtren's dead, will you help us in this war?"

"Aye."

"Good. Now let us go down underwater and continue battling."

They crept deeper into the sea, not hearing anything.

Then, at random, Thetra heard a battle cry.

_Hortyun_ , he remembered. He had a flashback to the memory at his aunt's funeral. Hortyun had slipped on the deck where the dead body lay and he got a concussion, but it healed quickly with the army's good nurses.

"Hortyun!" shrieked a voice. It was female, and sounded very Elflike.

Then Hortyun's yell echoed around the water, and Thetra, Valao, and Ghuar began to trot a little faster.

The sun was setting, and it was already extremely dark under the ocean.

"Thetra," muttered Ghuar. "Take the left route. I'll go straight ahead. Valao, go right."

They broke up, heading in the direction Ghuar assigned them to.

"Thetra," called Valao. "Good luck."

"You too, fellow dragon."

Thetra started forward, hearing screams ahead of him. He was not prepared for the task ahead.

# He would fail. And this time, that meant death.

#  RIDERS CAN SUCCEED

Someone was watching him. He could feel it inside of his bones. The chilling, shivering sensation that went all around his body. He tensed. He saw a creature ahead. It had four legs, a forked tongue that was sticking out, skin instead of scales that was the color of blood, and all white eyes.

Thetra started sweating. The creature was staring right at him, stalking him.

"Hello, Creature of Evil. What are you called?"

"I am Varick the Ogre. Who else?"

"No one, o Varick. You are diverse, unique, and strong. Am I correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Who do you serve?"

"Morchad, sir."

Thetra drew Slayer as fast as lightning appears in the sky.

"But," added the ogre, "I betrayed him."

Thetra kept his sword out of its sheath but lowered it so that it pointed at the ground, not a threat.

"Serve me."

"I am forbidden. I am a member of the Thraese Clan."

"Clan?"

"All ogres have different clans. If you are not in a clan, you are considered an Axmar. It was the name of one of our queens who didn't fit in any of the clans, not even the Royal Clan, which was for all leaders. Therefore, we use that name for ogres who are not in any clan."

"I understand. Have you seen any battles raging?"

Varick pointed to Thetra's right, where Ghuar and Valao were searching.

"Thank you," said Thetra.

"You are welcome, sir. Now ride into battle with pride!" He gave Thetra a friendly push, and when he touched Thetra on the back, he froze Thetra's skin. His touch was freezing. It could kill.

Thetra ran away from the ogre but he heard him running after him, chasing him, as Thetra bulleted toward the battle. He heard the screams getting closer.

And finally he reached the battle.

He tried to fit in with the soldiers so Varick couldn't find him, but soon enough, the ogre tackled him, and then touched him all over, gluing Thetra to the ground and putting him inside an ice cube. He would die freezing.

Valao appeared, looking confused. He looked around, then rammed his head into Varick. Then he whined in pain and fell back.

_How can Varick be beaten?_ wondered Thetra.

Then he saw Valao stand back up, and the dragon shattered Thetra's ice bubble.

"Thanks," said Thetra. He drew Slayer. "I hope this works." Then he thrust the sword out and into Varick's body.

Icicles spread over Slayer. The ogre's face broke out in shock as he looked down at his chest and saw the hole in his body. It went straight through, and Thetra could see through it. He saw half of the ogres heart, but it was black. It was made of solid stone. It wasn't even pumping.

"You," gasped Varick. "You...You make me look bad."

"Yes, I do," answered Thetra. Then he started chopping the ogre into pieces.

Varick yelled out in pain. "No!" he yelled. Then his body dissolved into mist, and the ogre named Varick was no more.

Then Thetra turned to look at the battle going on. Valao was smashing aliens to tiny pulps.

_Why did he look so confused when he came to save me?_ Thetra wondered.

Then Valao's question explained everything in just in a few words. Thetra's dragon turned to look at its Rider and asked, "Who are you?"

#  AMNESIA

Thetra stared at him. Finally he said, "II'm your Rider."

"I have a Rider?" said Valao in confusion, looking down.

"Valao, act seriously. There is a war going on!"

"I don't...I don't know who you are. I'm sorry, human."

"I'm not a human! I'm your _Rider_!" exclaimed Thetra in anger. Then he looked up. "What is happening to my dragon?"

To his surprise and relief, a voice replied, saying, _He has gotten amnesia._

It was the same voice who had told him about his sword being connected to water.

"Why? Who are you?" asked Thetra, although he had many more questions pounding in his head. _One at a time. Maybe two._

I am Ingharr. I was Savar's magical trainer, and now I shall fight him so I may coach you, Thetra Eouhjasson.

As for your dragon, I cannot fix that. He was hit with a rock by an alien master while you were battling Varick. The alien's name was Renthueth, and his stone is buried in my palace now, as I took it so he could do no more damage.

_But the damage is already done_ , thought Thetra, and he didn't realize he was talking to Ingharr with his thoughts.

I understand how you feel, Rider. I was once a Rider also. My dragon got amnesia as well after he slipped on the stone floor that led him onto the Battlefield.

_He went on the Battlefield?_ asked Thetra. The Battlefield was the spread out plain where the biggest battles were fought.

_I rode on him. When his tragedy occurred, I fell. And not only did the bone break, but so did my leg. It snapped off of my body and now I have a stump._ Ingharr sighed.

_Will Valao's memory return?_ asked Thetra.

That I do not know, strong soldier. You must figure that out for yourself...soon enough.

Then he continued onto a different subject, _Thetra, you know there will be a final battle against Morchad and his army. If you prove yourself worthy, I will help you in that battle. I promise._

Then he left Thetra standing there in the water, helpless.

Another question hit him: _If Valao didn't know who he was, why did he help him by freeing him from the ice?_

He was in charge of this war. He was the leader of it. The outcome of it would be because of him. He was battling in Thetra's War. And his army had to win.

That left him with yet _another_ question: Who would be the new leader of the army? Him? Or someone else?

# ANSWERS

I know what I have to do. I have to train Valao. I have to teach him what he's forgotten.

Thetra sat on the banks of the ocean, looking out over the waters. _If only I could see Ingharr in person, I might be able to find out some of his secrets. I'll have to wait until the final battle against Morchad to see him, if he shows himself and battles, or if he just talks to me in my head and gives me advice._

He was looking at Valao, who was curled up under a tree, sleeping.

_He doesn't normally snore this quietly. Is he sick?_ wondered Thetra.

"Valao!" he shouted. Valao snorted. Then he continued snoring peacefully.

"He doesn't respond to his name. That's not my dragon." Thetra sighed. "How am I ever going to train my dragon? I didn't train him before. He just came out of a lake and magically knew me."

Arek

  

Arek sat on the cool metal bench, waiting for his Ognok to be released. He stared at the vertical iron gates where his Ognok would come out.

He was in a gigantic circular room that was about fifty square feet around.

Finally someone emerged from the iron gate, but it wasn't an Ognok. It was Honoglata.

"He will be ready in two minutes. His name is Galorat." Then the king turned and walked back through the gate. Then the gate closed behind him.

Arek shivered in excitement. He needed to kill the Ognok on first sight. Then he would be famous.

The two minutes seemed like two hours. But finally, Honoglata came through the gate.

"Are you ready, Arek Eouhjasson?"

"I am, King Honoglata."

The king of Kiolerasdarque smiled. "Honoglata Tethurasson." Then he moved out of the way of the doorway as a giant Ognok emerged from the doorway.

"Release the beast!" yelled Honoglata. "Fight!"

Arek drew Stabber, and he pointed it at Galorat. The Ognok was chubby in the face, with bloodshot eyes and chapped lips.

Galorat snorted. He flew up and over Arek's head, landing behind him. Arek spun around just as Galorat's fangs sank into his shoulder.

Arek screamed. Then he pushed the Ognok off of him, and while his teeth were still out of its mouth, Arek slashed off its right fang.

Galorat screamed in agony. Then Arek stuck his blade into Galorat's belly. He yelled again and stumbled back, then fell over.

Arek made one last attempt to finish him off, but Galorat got to his feet and started running towards the metal gate, which was closed.

Galorat flicked his wrist in an upward gesture and the gate lifted, and the Ognok ran out of it. Since there were no guards around, he wasn't caught.

Arek stood up and ran after him. He saw him twist down a staircase, and Arek dove for his heels.

He hit a stair with a loud _thump_. Then he bumped down the stairs, Galorat escaping.

Galorat ran and finally exited the castle. Arek stumbled after him, tripping over the stairs.

When he exited the castle, the sun blinded him. It'd been a long time since he'd seen daylight, and he wasn't prepared for it.

He looked east and west, not seeing any sign of Galorat.

Then he saw footprints which stopped. Arek looked up. The Ognok was flying away, heading southwest toward Toromok. Arek wished he had a wand to transport himself to Galorat's destination, but he didn't have one yet. He wished he hadn't used up all his magic without a wand so early. But he could still use magic...

He ran into the castle, up the staircase, past the room where he fought Galorat, through a tunnel, and into Honoglata's chambers.

"Can I use some of your magic?" asked Arek. "I just need to borrow—"

"No," said the king. "I gave you one wish. Why aren't you fighting Galorat? Did you kill him? Do you need your wand?"

"No," said Arek, out of breath from running through the gigantic Capital Castle. "He escaped. He's flying southwest."

"Impossible. How did he get out of the room you were supposed to battle him in? That was an iron gate!"

"He used magic," responded Arek. "He flicked his wrist upward, and it just opened. He's escaping right now! He's probably out of sight! I need magic!"

"I'm afraid I'm low of magic right now," said Honoglata. He stood and went behind his throne to a desk filled with boxes, jars, glass containers, and other objects that could be filled up.

The king picked up a small container with about a centimeter of green liquid in it.

"This is the amount of magic I have left," said Honoglata.

Arek gaped at him. "But...you're the king. How do you only have that much magic?"

"Morchad is stealing it from me. Every night he sends one of his highly trained troops in here and they steal a few jars of magic. It's been going on ever since the war started."

"War?"

"Oh. You haven't heard. There's been a war raging for a while. Ever since your parents were killed."

"Why?"

"The Council of Kiolerasdarque believes that the strangers that attacked you at the café were Morchad's brothers and sister. Maloet, Kerbaun, and Daerja. The one who killed your parents, Maloet, is still alive. Daerja and Kerbaun are dead though."

"How did Kerbaun die?" asked Arek, remembering he had killed Daerja.

"She went with Maloet, through a few deserts, and died from thirst. Maloet kept all the water for himself."

"So technically Maloet killed Kerbaun. Where is he now?"

"Maltonka. Just northeast of here. You have a choice, Arek Eouhjasson. You can either go after Maloet in Maltonka, or you can go after Galorat who is probably near Mt. Palrr."

Arek sat down on the cool floor of the king's palace. His mind told him, _Go after the killers of your parents._ But he also needed fame. Would he have fame if he killed Maloet? He wouldn't have a wand. Would there be enough time to go after one and then find the other?

"I will let you go to one of them, and I will transport you."

Arek hardly heard what Honoglata said. He was thinking about his decision.

"Make up your mind, Rider." Honoglata was growing impatient. "You have one minute to decide."

Arek heard this. He had to make a choice.

Finally he said, "I'll—"

_Arek!_ yelled a voice inside his head. _Why go after him? Think about both of your choices! Are you sure you would want to kill Galorat and gain fame, or would you rather kill the murderers who killed your parents?! You know who your mother and father would want you to go after. They'd want you to go after the person who killed them! The more servants of Morchad you kill, the better the chance of winning the war._

_Who are you?_ asked Arek.

_I am Ingharr_ , replied the voice. _I helped your brother, and now I'm trying to help you! Accept my help, Arek! Please._

The voice was too convincing for Arek. He had made his decision.

"Send me to Maltonka," he said.

He arrived shortly after dawn. It was dark out, and he was scared.

_Where is Maloet?_ wondered Arek. There were many trees around. He may have seen Arek appear and hid behind one.

Honoglata was supposed to have sent him exactly to Maloet's location. Arek started to think the king had lied to him.

"Arek." Arek whipped around and stood face to face with the man who had killed his parents. "This is a surprise."

"No, it isn't," replied Arek. He drew Stabber and pointed it at Maloet.

Maloet sneered. "Your brother took my sword. I miss its presence in my sheath.

"But I have a dagger." Maloet took out a knife from his pocket. The silver, beautiful dagger shined in the moonlight.

Then Maloet unexpectedly reached to cut Arek's right arm. It left a bloody gash but nothing serious.

Then Maloet struck again, going for the head. Arek hit the knife with such force it fell out of Maloet's hand.

"A-ha!" exclaimed Arek in triumph. He then slashed at Maloet, cutting his left pinky off.

He yelled in pain. His finger lay in the grass, motionless. Blood poured out of where Maloet's pinky finger used to be.

Then Maloet screamed, "Herthawyeb-bakorelmatuash!"

Lightning struck Arek, sending a jolt all through him. He fell to the ground and lay there, unmoving.

Then he saw a blood-red dragon fly out of nowhere and push Maloet to the ground.

"No one touches my Rider," said Ejarshöh.

Arek still lay on the ground, but he muttered, "Thanks, dragon."

Then his field of vision turned black, and he passed out.

  

Satym

# A DECLINED DEAL

She lay sprawled on the bench, unable to move. Her guard she had tried to convince to let her out, Ullio, was now having surgery. He was new to the jail, after his bookstore in Toage exploded from a bomb set by some of Morchad's troops. Ullio was having surgery because apparently her grip had dislocated his index finger, but Satym knew he was just a wimp.

She was tied to the bench in her cell so she couldn't grab anyone, but she thought she was being treated like a dog.

The whole reason she was in jail was because of her crimes in her "early years." She had stolen many things, even made some people steal things she wanted. Her most recent crime was making Mr. Sacvren steal a book she wanted from Arek and Thetra. Finally, the Mthanl Police had tracked her down and thrown her in jail. She had to wait three more years until she was freed.

She sighed. There was nothing to do except eat (when she had food), sleep, and think.

The mayor of Mthanl, Ortogo, was coming to visit the prison tomorrow. She would be put in a gym with the other prisoners in her jail, and they had to hold up signs that said "I will never make my mistakes again." Of course, Satym _would_ make her "mistakes" again, once she was freed.

It was almost time for her second meal, always bread and water. Her new jailer was a man of the name of Lokapoka, and he had a Hetalic accent.

When he appeared, he unlocked her door with a key that hung around his neck, and he unchained Satym, letting her stretch her muscles.

She grabbed her glass of water and took three large gulps. Then she grabbed the loaf of bread and stuffed a quarter of it into her mouth.

_A little unladylike_ , she thought, wondering if her parents would approve.

Then Lokapoka said, "I'll help you, if you help me."

"How will you help me? Why?"

"I can't free you, but I can give you better food."

"And what do I have to do for you?"

"Take me to Destville."

Satym gestured around her cell. "Well, I'm kind of stuck here."

"I mean when you're free. Then you can pay off your debt."

"I'm fine with bread and water."

"Very well, then." There was a twinge of sadness in Lokapoka's voice, but he hid it well. Then he turned around and left, without even chaining Satym back up, but he did close the door and lock it.

Then a voice boomed on the intercom, louder than thunder, "Satym Loradawdaughter, come to the head office immediately."

# THE LORD OF THE PRISON

Lokapoka stopped. Then he turned on his heels and started back towards Satym's cell. He unlocked her door and barked for her to get out. Satym obeyed.

He led her to the head office, turning down many long hallways.

Finally, Lokapoka led her into a room with so much gold Satym's eyes could have been shining with the reflection of the shiny metal.

There were trophies, trinkets, coins, golden nuggets, all buried in one enormous pile.

"Lord Ruetas," said Lokapoka. "I give you Satym." Satym stepped forward.

Lord Ruetas examined her. "This is the pathetic girl everyone has been complaining about?"

"Yes, Lord," said Satym. "Yes, it is."

"Your voice just hurts my ears!" He grimaced in pain, touching his ears lightly with his index finger. "This meeting was scheduled because of your injury to Ullio, dislocating his finger. That would hurt."

"I just grabbed it!" complained Satym. "I didn't pull hard or anything!"

Ruetas chuckled. Then he mimicked Satym in a whining voice, saying, " _I didn't pull hard or anything!_ "

"You're too fat to understand," muttered Satym under her breath, but apparently the guards heard her because they grabbed her arm and one clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Ah, Satym. Mocking others. What a childlike thing."

"I am seventeen!" protested Satym.

"Well, then you should act more like it!"

"What do you want from me?!" yelled Satym, wanting to end the meeting. _I'd rather be tied to the bench than be standing here in front of this "Lord Ruetas."_

"You deserve a more...severe punishment. You should be freed in three years, correct?"

"Aye."

"We're changing that to five years."

"What! All I did was dislocate his finger! You can't be serious!"

"Oh, but I can be."

"I'm lodging a complaint to the Council of Prisons when I'm freed.

"When you're freed. You know, that's a good idea. I could just keep you here forever." He looked to his side, where Lokapoka stood. Lokapoka nodded in approval.

"You're going to court!" yelled Satym as she was dragged away by Lokapoka back to her prison cell.

"Lokapoka, stop," said Satym. "I need to talk to you."

Lokapoka froze.

"I'll help you, if you help me. I'll take you to Destville when I'm freed, if you'll talk to the Council of Prisons about this."

Lokapoka thought about it, and after a long time, he said, "Very well. I'll send a message to them tonight in my quarters."

"Thank you."

Then he locked her up on her bench, and she waited until supper.

Finally she got food, but it was served by someone else.

"I am Lokapoka's cousin, Jordan," said the woman. "Lokapoka is in his quarters with the door locked, and we are unable to communicate with him, for he is communicating with someone else."

_The council_ , thought Satym.

"Thank you," she said, taking the tray. Jordan backed up quickly when she took it, as if she were afraid Satym would grab her.

Then Jordan chained her back up and she waited through the night.

Lokapoka

  

"Her name is Satym. And Lord Ruetas is keeping her in for her whole life because she dislocated a jailer's finger. She is only supposed to stay for three years."

"And now she's staying for her life?"

"Aye."

"Well," said the leader of the council, Korta. "We'll see what we can do, but Lord Ruetas is rich."

"Yes, but if you battle him, he's not a very good fighter."

"True," said Korta. "Thank you for reporting the issue." Then she stopped the conversation and Lokapoka flung the communicative control onto his bed. It immediately lit up with a new conversation from Jordan.

"Are you all right?" his cousin asked.

"Yes, I am in my quarters. Does Ruetas need me?"

"No, I was just worried about you because your door is locked."

"Oh. I was just—"

"Talking with somebody?" asked Jordan.

"No, I"

"Lokapoka, who were you communicating with?"

Lokapoka sighed. "Aunt Gorth," he lied.

"Is there something wrong with my mother?"

"No, she called me just to see if I liked my new job."

"Oh." Jordan sighed with relief. "Well, can you come out of your quarters? It's time for supper."

Thetra

  

# SORE WINGS AFTER LONG DAYS OF FLIGHT

Valao's memory was healing. He knew who _Thetra_ was, who _he_ was, almost everything except for one thing: who _Morchad_ was.

"Who is he? He's a villain, right? What did he do? Does he have a dragon? A sword?"

Valao was constantly asking questions about the sorcerer, and it was starting to annoy Thetra.

Finally he yelled, "I don't know, you dumb dragon!"

Valao growled and took a step back, looking hurt. "I don't remember you ever talking to me like that before."

"Aye, well think about the present time, because I just did." Then, Thetra turned around and walked up the beach, toward the troops of the Good Army that had survived the battle.

When he walked into sight of the soldiers, they all stood up and saluted, "All hail Thetra, the mighty Wandearner."

"People of the army," said Thetra. "I have an announcement to make!"

"And we do too," said Hortyun. "But you, the leader, shall make yours first."

"Thank you, Hortyun." Then Thetra began, "Valao does not know who Morchad is, and if he still doesn't know by the time we battle his army, then he may not want to kill him. Now I ask if you soldiers could help me teach my dragon who the sorcerer is!"

"We will!" they all responded in unison with pride.

"Now may I make my announcement?" asked Hortyun.

"Aye, Hortyun," answered Thetra.

"We believe that we shall return to Destville and train on our own grounds."

"I thought our training camp was destroyed," replied Thetra.

"That was only three portions of the whole base. The majority is undamaged, as our defenses stopped Morchad's troops."

"Very well. We will return once my dragon's memory is completely fixed."

Then the army whooped and cheered and they went to help out Valao.

  

Valao

Meanwhile, Valao was wondering what all the racket was about.

He was mad at Thetra. Dragons were actually very smart creatures, developing battle strategies in their head in less than a second, which was normally the time you would have to develop one in a real battle.

But he knew they would forgive each other eventually. After all, they had to if they were to win this "final battle" Thetra was going on about.

Finally Thetra came over the hill, the army carrying him on their shields.

_Oh, what has he gotten himself into now?_ thought Valao. He surged forward toward the army carrying his Rider.

He roared, scaring the soldiers so much that they dropped Thetra to the ground.

"What do you want from us, O Mighty Beast?" asked Hortyun, the soldier that Valao knew was fearless. He was the only one not covering his face with his shield.

"To give me back my Rider."

"And we wish to do something to you," he responded.

Valao growled again, backing away. "What do you need, Hortyun?"

"To teach you who Evil is."

_Morchad is Evil_ , said a voice in his mind. _He sent those murderers to kill Thetra's parents. We will fight him in the end, and I swear I will help you win that battle._

_Ingharr_ , thought Valao. _I know you! You cracked my egg open early!_

You did not know that before. Your memory has returned too much, dragon!

You cracked it open five days early! You're the evil one.

_I promise to help you in the_ 

Yes, I know. The final battle against Morchad. Now get away from my mind!

"Valao?" said Hortyun.

"Sorry, Hortyun. What did you ask me?"

"Do you remember anything about Morchad?"

Thetra blinked. He looked at Valao and mouthed, _He's evil_.

_I don't need your help_ , thought Valao. "Yes, I do. I remember everything. To prove it, Morchad is Evil, he sent murderers to Thetra's house to kill his parents" Thetra looked grim when he said that"and he is at Stankl Maobn. It is unknown if he is a Rider or not..." Valao went on for about an hour more about all the details about Evil.

Finally, when he was done, Valao looked up. All the troopers were shocked, their mouths hanging open in astonishment.

"Valao," said Hortyun after recovering from his shock. "How do you know that?"

"The sorcerer Ingharr told me."

"Ingharr," said Hortyun in a distant voice, as if remembering a grim memory about him. "Very well. Since your memory has returned, we shall leave this island and return to Destville." said Hortyun.

"I'm not sure I can hold all your weight."

"We will take trips. How many can you hold at a time?"

"A maximum of twelve."

"Very well," said Hortyun. "Thetra, Mordon and I stay until the last round, so we can help the others get on Valao. There are about 1,000 of us after that last battle with the aliens. There will be 84 trips then. Alright. These are the people riding on the first trip: Ranko, Barnacks, Lorba, Lubbag, Thitsa, Uka, Ikal, Ayvis, Sorpa, Cabloopus, Cheldium, and Tarama."

Valao recognized them as the weakest soldiers, so they needed the most training and would start immediately.

He bent down to let the troops get on him, each between a spike on his back.

"Don't impale yourself on a barb," said Valao.

Once they were all secured, Valao roared and took off in the direction he knew Kiolerasdarque was. They were heading home.

_Home?_ thought Valao. _I don't have a home. I'm a dragon. Thetra has a home. Well, he used to at least. His closest place to home is Destville. Mine is the battlefield._

It got boring after two trips. Valao kept thinking it was home. He was glad on his first flight, for he was free to fly, but then he got used to it.

Finally, on the last trip, it was the next day. Valao took Mordon, Thetra, Hortyun, and two others of the names Undcund and Yalobregh.

When they reached Destville, it was late afternoon, and once Valao let the passengers off of him, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He fell asleep and had a dream.

Arek stood in a wide open patch of field, swiveling his head around as if searching for something.

Then Valao heard him mutter, "Where is he? He's an Ognok so he couldn't have gotten too far."

An Ognok! _thought Valao._ Is Heirg still alive? Did he come back like Youtren and Ghuar?

Then Arek called, "GALORAT! I WILL FIND YOU! I PROMISE!"

Then the dream melted, and Valao woke up to an enormous battle.

Ghuar was ripping green-armored soldiers to shreds, then eating them.

_I'm a dragon too_ , thought Valao. _I'll do what he's doing._

The green-armored soldiers were a little lighter green than Valao's scales. They obviously weren't soldiers of Morchad, or else they would be blue. Were they of the Ognok Arek was talking about in Valao's dream?

Of course they were. They came here looking for Arek and didn't realize he wasn't here. Well, let's kill them anyway!

Valao spotted Thetra in the west wing, killing soldiers with his green-colored sword with Mordon and Hortyun by his side.

Mordon was one of Therr's old comrades before he died, but he was one of Thetra's good friends.

There was one thing that was bothering Valao and Thetra had said it. He had said "Goldstone. That's the key to winning." Valao was confused, because he didn't get to tell him any more of it because they had to prepare for the alien attack.

Now he had to ask his Rider what Goldstone was and how they could use it to win whatever he was talking about.

Valao took flight toward Thetra at the west wing of Destville, and when he landed, it frightened Thetra so much that he tumbled over and stabbed three green soldiers.

"Who do they work for?" shouted Thetra.

"I do not know! But I must tell you something! Arek is tracking an Ognok of the name Galorat! I had a...vision."

Thetra froze mid swing, which was dangerous because it gave enough time for the green soldier to raise his sword behind Thetra.

"Watch out!" screamed Valao, and he jumped over Thetra's head and landed on the soldier, stomping on him until he was no more.

"Wait," said Thetra. "We need to help Arek!" Thetra started climbing onto Valao's back, and for once, Valao understood they needed to leave this battle and save his brother. Valao knew how much Arek meant to him.

"Wait," said Thetra. "Where is he? Do you know?"

Valao hadn't thought about that. He was dumb. "He's probably near the Capitol Castle if he's chasing an Ognok, but we don't know how long he's been tracking him."

"Let's go to Capitol Castle and follow the footsteps that we see. I know his footsteps."

Then Valao took off for Bewaldt, leaving the battle behind.

They arrived shortly after sunset the next day. The silhouette of the castle was easy to find, and Valao landed at the back gate.

They searched for footsteps but it was too dark to see any kind of tracks on the dirt.

"We could find a stick and make a torch," suggested Valao. "You could use your magic to start a fire."

"I'd rather not call attention to us," he replied. "There must be guards here."

"But he may be even farther away if we start tomorrow," argued Valao.

Thetra stood there, thinking for at least a minute. Valao couldn't tell what he was thinking because it was impossible to see his expression in the dark.

"Very well," he finally said. Then he yelled, "Flyr!" A giant ball of fire appeared in his hand. "Hot! Valao, get some wood now! This is burning my hand!"

Valao gathered sticks and twigs and put them in a pile. Finally Thetra touched the pile of sticks and he put out the fire on his hand by pressing it against the ground and rubbing it.

He sighed. "That feels better." Then he picked up a stick and held it up. Then he yelled at the top of his lungs, "AREK, WE ARE COMING FOR YOU!"

  

Thetra

They put out the big fire after they roasted a chicken Valao had caught. Thetra's stomach was growling loudly, for the last thing he had eaten were some berries at the island where they battled the aliens.

"I really wish I was back in Toage in my nice bed," muttered Thetra after they had started their search.

"I don't know where I want to be," said Valao. "Maybe in Destville."

They searched long into the night, but the tracks of Arek's shoes never ended. They decided to sleep under a large tree they found, and Thetra dozed off right into a dream.

" _I am in Toromok, Thetra,_ " _said Arek, who was standing in the middle of Thetra's view. "Come find me and we shall win this war!"_

Thetra responded, saying, "I'm searching for you, Brother. I shall find you."

" _Galorat the Ognok has escaped to Gorge Valley, and I had a vision of him making an alliance with the evil aliens. He will come here and attack the Elves that are around. It is Elves against aliens, Thetra. And you fight for the Elves."_

" _Brother..." Thetra trailed off. He hardly knew any of the Elves' styles and yet he was supposed to support them against a fight with the aliens?_ Well, at least I'm not fighting for the aliens, _he thought._

" _Thetra, please. You can't fight for the aliens, I forbid it!"_

" _I do not want to. I just fought them and destroyed their army, but I feel...I can't believe I killed all of them. I feel so ashamed of myself. I just don't think I can bring myself to kill anyone else ever again."_

" _Thetra, our parents were murdered!" protested Arek._

" _I am not one of the killers who killed my mother and father! I will never be like them!"_

" _THETRA! We must kill the aliens! I had a vision that they killed Therr. Is this true?"_

A lot of people have been having visions, _thought Thetra. "Yes. He died and now I must lead the army. I feel I should give it up to Hortyun."_

" _Brother, congratulations! If I were you, I'd keep it!" His brother grinned._

No, that's not what I'll do. I am not worthy of being the leader, _he thought. "Arek, I thought we were more...alike. Instead we're like we hardly know each other." Then Thetra started to get angry. "Why should I help you when you're the one who let the Ognok loose? I'm supposed to be back at Destville, and it's your fault Therr's dead! Had you been at the battle, we would've been able to save him and defeat the aliens easily! Instead you left the army and just wanted to become famous and earn a wand, not caring about any other member of the Good Army...not even me."_

" _I set out to get a wand because I knew it would help the army! I'm just a regular trooper in the army! But if I get a wand, I'll be able to cast spells against our opponents and we would have a better chance of defeating Morchad. I'm doing this for the army's own good." He sneered, then turned away and the dream vanished._

Thetra stood looking over the valley ahead of him, which was filled with lions, cheetahs, and tigers.

And of course he had to kill them all to get to Arek.

Once again, he felt rage at his brother and thought, _Why should I sacrifice this for you?_ But he ended up crossing it anyway.

The first creature that spotted him was a cheetah. Thetra knew cheetahs were fast so he tried to get as far away as possible from them. The cheetah started walking towards them, then suddenly stopped, then bolted at them.

Valao yelled, "Hop on me!" He dipped low so Thetra could get on him and he took off in flight, flying high over the valley.

"Why didn't we think of this before?"

"This place is enchanted so no dragon can fly over the valley from above the valley, but can in the middle of it. But we can't escape by flying, we must walk to get out of here."

"How'd you know it was enchanted?" wondered Thetra.

"The lions and tigers are acting tired. The ones in Kiolerasdarque are _never_ tired."

"Could we just land at the edge of the valley and walk from there?"

"The cheetahs are too fast. We'll have to fight them."

Thetra groaned. "Could we please let them live?" he asked.

"If you don't want to live, then let them be."

"And why couldn't we go around the valley?"

"The animals would come out and attack us by sensing us."

"Fine. I'll kill one or two."

"Why don't you want to murder these bloodthirsty animals?"

"That's how my parents died. I can't do that to them, their children feeling the same way I did for thirteen days." He shook his head. "I must let them live. Maybe not all of them, but at least the majority of them."

"Well, the majority of them are going to try to attack us."

"Will we be safe once we're out of the valley?" Thetra asked as they drew near to the end of the gorge.

"I don't know _every_ answer," complained Valao.

Finally they landed. The one cheetah that had spotted them had gone back to being natural, but once they landed, all the animals turned to look at them.

Then they all ran for them.

"Go, go, go!" screamed Thetra. "I'll fend them off!"

He saw Valao climb up out of the vale and then he ran after his dragon, cheetahs, lions, and tigers on his heels.

He dove for Valao's tail and hung on as Valao scrambled up towards the top.

"Hurry," croaked Thetra, his leg getting scratched by a tiger's claw.

Finally, they reached the top and all the animals fell back into the valley.

"That took a bit of luck," said Valao. "I thought there was a tiger hanging onto my tail, but then I felt your skin and I realized it was you." He paused, smiling. "Good thing I didn't shake you off."

Thetra smiled. "Aye. And this place really is...enchanted. The animals are back to normal now."

Valao looked and saw that it was true. "Well, there's one problem checked off the list. Now where do we go?"

"Keep on marching south. It might be faster and safer if we fly."

Valao considered it, and then said, "Aye. But let's stop and walk for breaks when my wings tire."

"Aye," he responded, and then climbed onto Valao's back.

They arrived a few hours later, which surprised Thetra, for he expected it to be at least a day's trip.

Arek stood waiting for them.

"Brother, I" started Thetra.

"Ghanghar!" shouted Arek, and immediately snowflakes fell from the sky, sticking to the ground. After five minutes, there was already an inch of snow covering the grass where they stood.

"Why did you do that?" wondered Valao.

"I feel jolly and ready for winter," said Arek grumpily. "Or maybe because your Rider betrayed me!"

"I did?" asked Thetra.

"Yes! I thought you were a killer! Instead you're a regular human being who can't murder! I don't think you're a Dragon Rider."

_Then I'll prove it to_ you. Thetra drew his wand and yelled, "Valao, yarrhokmorlo I dii a Dragon Rider?" His exact words were _"Valao, do you believe I am a Dragon Rider?"_

"Aye. You are a true Rider," responded Valao.

"What did you just ask your dragon?" asked Arek.

"You just called him my dragon. And where is yours?"

As if on cue, Ejarshöh flew out from behind a tree and caught a rabbit in his talons. Then the red dragon lifted it to his snout, smelled it, and popped it in his mouth.

"The Elves are here," said Arek. He gestured all around him, and for the first time, Thetra noticed all the Elvish forts scattered around the land.

There were two-story forts, even some three-story forts, but the part of them that most interested Thetra was their architecture. They were dome shaped, with windows going all around the perimeter. The artwork surprised Thetra as well, with beautiful pictures on the outside, and it made Thetra wonder what the insides were like.

"Galorat is on his way back here to attack, the army of aliens now on his side. But this Ognok in particular is powerful. Very powerful. More powerful than Heirg."

"Oh," said Thetra, shocked. "That's powerful."

"Yes. He is about three leagues away from here and"

Then all of a sudden Valao and Ejarshöh lifted off the ground and flew upward, just as Valao and Ghuar had when they stopped the announcement of the new name of Kiolerasdarque.

Then the voice boomed from the sky, "The magical word of _flyr_ now has a new meaning. It is used to kill an Ognok, but has the power to paralyze any other type of race. The word for fire is _flyr_ as well" Thetra noticed that Valao and Ejarshöh were climbing high, almost high enough to reach the voice" but the difference between the two is that to use the fire term, you have to think of fire in your head. To use the killing Ognok term, you have to think of an Ognok in your head. Now, on to the new naming of Kiolerasdarque...let's hurry so no dragons bump into us capitol and stop us. The new name is"

_BAM!_ The voice stopped, and Valao and Ejarshöh started falling from the sky. About five hundred meters from the ground, the two dragons started flying again and they landed peacefully.

"Well," said Arek. "Now we know how to kill Galorat, but he still has the aliens with him."

"Yes, Brother," said Thetra. "But still, even with a spell that can kill Ognoks, you might not be able to kill him."

"What do you mean?" wondered Arek.

"You don't have a wand. How will you cast the spell?"

"I was thinking that I could maybe borrow yours...?" said Arek.

"Oh. Well, yes of course." Thetra drew his wand from his wand-sheath that was next to his sword-sheath.

He then handed it to Arek, and Arek said, "Can I use it?"

"Of course! I just gave it to you!"

"No, I mean some wands are enchanted to only respond to their master. Is"

"No, you can use that one. I hardly know any spells anyway since my training with Savar didn't last too long."

"When we go back to Destville, will you start your training with him again?" wondered Valao.

"I don't know," Thetra responded. "It is his choice, and it depends if he likes me or not."

"Who else could teach you if he doesn't?" asked Arek.

"I don't know."

All of a sudden Ejarshöh's head popped up from sniffing the ground, and he said, "I think we've found our enemy."

And as Thetra looked up, he saw in fact, that he was right.

Because Galorat was standing at the top of the hill, and there were countless numbers of aliens on the other side of the hill.

  

Arek

# THE FIGHT WITH GALORAT

Arek didn't approve of Galorat's name, for he was the brother of the rat. He stood above Arek, towering down on him with his army of aliens behind him.

Arek did not know how to defeat all of them.

He started in a dumb way, shouting, "FLYR!" and pointing the stick in Galorat's direction. In his mind, he pictured Galorat standing upon the hill, his fangs bared, and ready to take a bite of Arek, who was defenseless lying before him...

Arek shook the thought away. He looked up, and saw no dead Ognok. _Well, thanks, Bewaldt! Of course you don't carry out your rules._

_Need some advice?_ asked Ingharr in Arek's mind.

Yes, but not from you!

Good, good. So just yell the magical word at the top of your lungs, point Thetra's wand at Galorat, and think of Galorat.

I tried that, Ingharr!

What did you think of in your mind?

Him about to kill me.

_There's your mistake. You have to think of him being defenseless against you!_ You _have power over him!_ You _are the one doing the killing!_ You _win!_

Arek tried this strategy, but by the time he was halfway through, he was three feet away from the face of Galorat.

"Hello," taunted Galorat. "Long time, no see." Then he smacked Arek in the cheek and bit him in his left forearm.

Arek howled. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You brother of the RAT! I shall be victorious! _Flyr!_ "

And he accidentally thought of the wrong meaning, for flames erupted on him. He rubbed violently all over his body, but there was nothing he could do about the heat. He was engulfed in flames. He had to give up. How could he win when he was this clumsy?

He could use his clumsiness to his advantage.

He fell to the ground and whispered, "Flyr." He then thought of fire and rolled onto Galorat's feet, touching his legs.

Instantly a big wave of fire came over Galorat's lower body and he fell to the ground, coughing.

But being on the ground didn't help him in this situation. In fact, the flames spread, for he was not rolling. They went over to the aliens, who were now attacking Thetra and the dragons.

Then Arek raised Stabber above his head and shouted, "I have killed an Ognok!" and thrust his sword down to the body of Galorat.

"Not yet you haven't," said Galorat, using his last bit of strength to roll over and stand up. Then he yelled, "Té!" Water shot from his hands and overtook the fire, and they mixed together...

CRACK!

Sounds like firecrackers crackled all the way to Toage, it was so loud. Then the real explosion happened.

The water must not have been water, for the explosion was so great that it sent Arek toppling backward, like he would when he was three years old at the beach, and a wave hit him hard.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!" exclaimed Galorat, and he pushed himself off the ground, only to be tackled once more by the power of the magical explosion.

Arek decided to wait on the ground, for it was no use getting up–he would fall once more.

The explosion lasted ten more minutes.

And he waited throughout that time, thinking about battle strategies to defeat Galorat.

Then the time came when he had to face him once more.

The Ognok looked beaten up. His shirt was tattered and smoking from the fire. His face was sunken and empty, as if there was no life in that body of his.

Arek made the smart choice, asking him, "Can I kill you?"

Arek knew he would say no, but at least Galorat would know he was about to be killed. And at least the Ognok would go down fighting.

"I give you...I give you my permission..." The Ognok sighed. "Kill me."

Arek was astonished. Why was his enemy letting him kill him?

But he followed the Ognok's orders. He yelled, "FOR MY DEAD FAMILY!" and stabbed Galorat with Stabber.

Blood poured from the defenseless brother of a rat's stomach. His entrails started coming out, and Arek looked away just in time to avoid having to have nightmares about that moment for the rest of his life.

"I...I'll get my revenge someday," promised Galorat. "But for now, good luck on defeating Morchad. I hope you win." With a final smile, he lay in peace, unmoving.

  

Thetra

Since all of the aliens had been wiped out due to the explosion, Thetra, Arek, and their dragons could return to Destville.

Thetra transported them to Destville with his wand, and they immediately appeared in front of the battle Thetra had left behind in the emergency to save his brother.

# THE ENEMY'S REINFORCEMENTS

The green-armored soldiers were winning the raging battle, and there weren't many troops of the Good Army left to stop them.

Thetra and Arek drew their swords, and Thetra drew his wand and put it in his left hand, for his right hand was holding Slayer.

"Thetra!" yelled Hortyun, who was running over to them with Savar and Mordon following him. "You brought Arek back! Good, because these soldiers are overpowering us!"

"Do you know who they work for?" asked Thetra.

"No, but I have a plan. Is there a spell for making someone tell the truth?" Hortyun asked Savar.

"Aye."

"Could you or Thetra cast it on one of the soldiers and make them tell you who they serve?"

"Aye."

"I killed an Ognok," Arek said.

"Then you need to cast it on the nearest soldier!" yelled Hortyun at Savar, not hearing Arek.

"I killed an Ognok," said Arek, a little louder. He noticed that Thetra heard him and was trying to get Hortyun, Mordon, and Savar's attention.

Then Valao roared.

Hortyun looked at Thetra's dragon in shock.

"I'm trying to tell you guys something that's really important to me!" bellowed Arek.

"I'm sorry," said Mordon. "What is it?"

"I killed...an Ognok."

"You did!" yelled Hortyun. "Thetra told me he was looking for you and he said that you were chasing an Ognok, but I didn't think you'd actually..."

"Actually what?" wondered Arek.

"I didn't think you'd actually succeed."

"You didn't have faith in me!" yelled Arek. "You think I'm just a puny little weakling, don't you? All of you! Well, maybe not the dragons and Thetra. But the whole army doesn't think I'm anything more than the rest of them. Not only am I Thetra Wandearner's brother, but I'm also a Wandearner myself."

"Arek!" exclaimed Thetra. "Stop getting in arguments with other people! Just accept what they say and move on!"

"Easy for you to say," replied Arek.

"What do you mean?" wondered Hortyun.

Arek sighed. "I guess it's just that I want to be the hero. I need to accept that I won't always be."

"Watch out!" yelled Thetra, spotting the mortar shell flying towards them at a high speed.

They all ducked, but the projectile did more damage than Thetra expected, exploding on contact and sending sharp little pieces of metal shooting at Thetra, Arek, Hortyun, Valao, and Ejarshöh.

Thetra felt five pieces of debris cut him, one in the stomach, one in each of his legs, one in the bicep, and one more above his right eyebrow.

But Hortyun was hurt the most.

He had taken in ten pieces of metal, all in different spots on his face. Two of them were in his left eye, and one he swallowed while yelling.

He was on the verge of death.

He wasn't moving just lying still, the sunlight shining brightly on him.

Hortyun!" bellowed Arek, who had two scratches on his face as far as Thetra could see.

Then another loud boom was heard, and Thetra looked behind him to see a cannon being fired, the missile heading straight towards Valao.

" _Valao!_ " shrieked Thetra, running toward his dragon.

The missile was only a few meters away from Valao now.

Thetra dove, his arm stretched out with Slayer as far as it would go.

The missile was a meter away now.

Then Thetra felt an extraordinary amount of pain, and he doubled over in so much pain, it was ten times the amount of pain he had ever felt in his life.

He had saved his dragon, but had sacrificed his own life in order to do so.

Then the red-armored soldiers approached, even though no one else saw them but Thetra.

# KNOCKING ON DEATH'S DOOR

"Owwwwwwww!" cried Thetra. He lay in the grass, seeing Arek and Valao looking over him.

"What happened?" asked Arek. "What hit you? Were you stabbed? Sorry, I was over fighting soldiers when you yelled."

But Thetra was in too much pain to answer Arek. He felt blood trickling down his arm, for when he landed his left arm had been impaled on Slayer.

"Are you alright?" asked Valao. "Can you answer me?"

Thetra shook his head ever so slightly.

Valao had not seen what had happened, for he had been eating soldiers with his back turned when Thetra saved him.

And Thetra lay there, not talking, and Arek and Valao silent as well, hearing the battle raging behind them but ignoring it, for their leader was dying.

And then all of a sudden Thetra saw an arrow flying towards Arek.

He tried to warn him, but his voice still wouldn't work.

Then he remembered a spell from the book Arek and he had bought that was full of magical spells.

Thetra thought of the spell name with all of his might, thinking in his mind, _GORLO!_

The spell was supposed to give him a sudden boost of energy, and at the last moment, it did.

Immediately he pointed upward with Slayer, and Arek turned just in time to dodge it, running out of the way.

But the arrow streaked on, downward, towards Thetra's chest.

Then the hero of the day saved Thetra's puny little life, reaching out and _catching_ the arrow in the palm of his hand.

Hortyun rested his hand back down on the ground, and then he lay in peace, dead.

"No!" bellowed Arek, running over to the corpse. "Don't die!"

"Arek," said Thetra calmly. "Let him be."

Arek backed away from the dead body of Hortyun, tears gushing out of his eyes. Then he faced Thetra and Thetra saw that not only sadness was in his face, but also anger.

"Why did you let him? Why did you let him sacrifice his life for yours?!"

Still on his boost of energy, Thetra replied, "I didn't tell him to."

"He just died for your sake!" exclaimed Arek.

"It's not Thetra's fault!" rushed Valao, but Arek ignored him.

"He was dying anyway," offered Thetra, helpless.

_Why is he blaming me?_ thought Thetra.

"Arek!" screamed Ejarshöh. "Thetra didn't choose for Hortyun to die. In fact, he probably is more sad about it than you. But blaming him makes him even sadder because his brother is accusing him of murder."

Arek looked struck. "Ejarshöh...Why are you blaming me?"

"You blamed Thetra. It seems only right."

And then Arek drew Stabber. Everyone backed away, but he threw it straight towards the body of his own dragon.

Ejarshöh caught it in his mouth sideways, spit it out, picked it up again, the point sticking towards Arek and spit it out.

Like a dart, the sword shot through the air, flipped itself around as the pommel nailed Arek in the chest, knocking the breath out of him.

Arek fell to the ground in a heap as Valao and Thetra ran over to him, but Ejarshöh just walked over in no hurry.

"Need...air," gasped Arek, who was choking on the gem that was on the end of the sword, for it had popped loose and landed right in his mouth.

Valao picked Arek up, flipped him so his shoes faced the sky, and shook him.

The gem fell to the muddy grass, slimy with saliva.

"Thank you," said Arek to Valao. "You saved me."

"Anytime. Just ask," said Valao in a kind and friendly voice.

"Well, well, well," said Ejarshöh as he saw that Arek was alive. "I didn't mean to choke you but...Wasn't it humorous?"

Arek bent down and picked up the red gem. "You caused this, and you will pay by somehow putting this piece back on the sword. _Do I make myself clear, dragon?_ "

Ejarshöh nodded, frightened, for the voice that Arek said those last words in was a deep, full-grown man's voice.

Then at that moment, Thetra's boost of providing energy ended, and he collapsed to the grass.

"My head..." groaned Thetra.

He looked up and saw Arek kneeling over him, his eyes closed, muttering, "Please let him be alive. Please let him be alive."

But when he heard Thetra's voice he jumped on his brother, hurting Thetra's chest.

"Ahhhh," said Thetra in pain. "Arek...please get off of me.

"Right," said Arek, getting off of Thetra gently. "Sorry. You all right?"

"It feels like it's broken."

"Oh no. I don't have a wand yet, nor do I know any spells, although they'd be useless."

"Take mine." Thetra drew his wand and handed it to Arek. "Just say 'Healius Thetra Eouhjasson.'"

"Healius Thetra Eouhjasson!" yelled Arek at the top of his lungs, but it didn't work.

"You can't do it. It's not your wand. If only you had one..."

"You're the leader of the army! Award me with one!"

Thetra whispered, "Aye, but I don't have any."

Arek sighed. "Then what do we do? I heard the green-armored soldiers are getting deeper into our army's base."

Then the second red-armored soldier appeared.

The first one had been blasted away by a cannon, but there were more.

They were obviously the green-armored soldiers' reinforcements.

The soldier was wielding a whip in his left hand, and armed with a sword in his right.

He cracked his whip, walked over to Thetra and Arek, and struck them both in the chest with the whip.

Immediately, Thetra felt a jolt and was shocked. The whip was obviously magical, sending lightning bolts through its enemies.

"Ow!" complained Arek. "Who are you?"

"The Hidden Creature," responded the man, surprising Thetra, for his enemies didn't usually respond saying their name.

"Who do you work for?" demanded Thetra.

"The Army in the Clouds." Then the red-armored soldier raised his head, looking upward, and shouted, "Attack!" at the top of his voice.

Immediately a thousand orange birds swooped down and started pecking Thetra, Arek and the dragons with their sharp beaks.

The dragons ate most of them, but still they each got a few scales ripped off by the time the birds flew back up, retreating to the clouds.

Then the Hidden Creature pointed its sword at Thetra, then thrust it to the grass.

A crack appeared in the ground, going right between Thetra's legs, making him jump to one side.

The crack kept on going in a jagged line, until it reached a tree and the trunk split in half, but it stopped the crack.

"Who is the Army in the Clouds?" asked Arek.

"Would you like to meet them again?" said the Hidden Creature, and yelled once more, "Attack!"

The orange birds flew down again, this time all of them going towards Arek.

Arek drew his sword without the gem, and started driving Stabber right through the birds, slicing them in half.

"Yah!" Arek exclaimed when he hit one.

Thetra started to help him, drawing Slayer and running over to Arek. Then he started to do what Arek was doingcutting the birds.

"Let's cut their wings off!" yelled Arek. "That way they won't be able to fly and attack us!"

Thetra aimed for the birds' wings, but was mainly just trying to slash at them, no matter where in their body it cut.

Suddenly Arek yelled, "Thetra! I need you!"

Thetra looked over as he started running in his brother's direction.

Arek was lying on the ground, thousands of feathers all over his face.

But there were also bruises.

Tons of millions of bruises were on his face, and what caught Thetra's eye was that they weren't _just_ on his face, for they were all over his arms and legs.

"Arek..." Thetra said. "What happened?"

Then Arek looked over Thetra's shoulder, his eyes wide.

"What is it?" asked Thetra, seeing the fear on his face.

Lips trembling, he pointed. "They're striking for vengeance."

And as Thetra turned around slowly, the birds attacked.

# INSIDE DEATH'S KINGDOM

Thetra was shoved to the ground by the angry cloud of birds. They bit him all over his body, and when he slashed at them with his sword it just made them angrier.

Finally he gave up, and he lost the epic battle.

He was defeated, and that meant that he had to leave the world forever.

"Thetra!" yelled Arek, forcing himself off the ground to run over to the aid of his brother.

"Arek...tell everyone in the army about my tragedy. Tell them how I couldn't win, how the flock destroyed me. Tell them about how hard it was to fend them off for even a _minute_. Just please"

"I will," said Arek, interrupting Thetra. "I will tell them everything you wish to tell me."

And then Arek started to cry.

But they weren't regular tears. It was _water_ gushing out of his eyes.

It was only the second time Thetra had seen his brother cry.

"Thetra, don't die!" begged Arek. "Please! Live with me. I don't want to go through the rest of my life alone. I don't want my children to have no uncle on my side of the family. I want you to live."

"I didn't choose to die," responded Thetra, his voice quiet. "I wanted to live on, but...I can't."

"But you can, Brother! You can!"

But Thetra was ignoring Arek, for his eyes were set on something else in the sky.

Arek turned around as well, for he could hear the creature bolting for them at a very fast speed.

And as Thetra squinted at the magnificent shape, he gasped as he realized what it was.

It was a dragon.

Arek let out a yelp of surprise, for it was not a dragon, but was in the shape of a dragon.

All of the orange birds that had been attacking them had joined together and formed a dragon, then went down to the ground without Thetra nor Arek noticing. They had let The Hidden Creature climb on top of them, then they swooped back in the air, then dove back down to attack the boys.

The Hidden Creature was riding the Army in the Clouds, and he shouted, "You shall kneel before me, you humble little dirty blobs of mud!"

Thetra and Arek promptly kneeled and looked at the ground.

Then one of the birds asked the Hidden Creature, "Shall we take them captive?"

"That's a good idea," said another.

"No, I think we should kill them now," said a third.

Then the first argued, "But wouldn't it be more fun to watch them suffer before we actually kill them? It's adding an extra step."

"SILENCE!" bellowed the Hidden Creature. "It is my decision on what we do, and it shall not be influenced by you pathetic things." He gave a disgusted look at the birds. "Now, I believe that I will battle them now without your help, birds. Fly away!"

The birds followed their master's command and rose back up into the sky.

The Hidden Creature sneered. "And let the fight begin."

Thetra stood up, drew Slayer, and barely had enough time to parry the Hidden Creature's blow.

Then he struck, lashing his sword down with all his might, but it didn't stick anywhere near the Hidden Creature. In fact, it stuck in the ground with such force that he was slashed across the stomach before he could pull Slayer out of the dirt.

Meanwhile, Arek had climbed a tree and was preparing to jump onto the Hidden Creature and distract him, so that Thetra could get rid of him.

But when Arek drew his sword from its sheath, it made a scratchy metal-on-metal sound that made the Hidden Creature look up and discover his other enemy's location.

But this gave Thetra an advantage. While he was looking towards Arek, the Hidden Creature did not see Slayer whipping toward him until Arek saw what Thetra was doing, and the Hidden Creature followed his eyes to see the sword coming straight at him.

The Hidden Creature dodged it by ducking; Thetra had just enough time to stop his sword from slicing Arek's leg.

Then the Hidden Creature let out a very high-pitched scream, which startled Thetra so much he dropped his sword on his toe, but luckily it was the flat part of the blade that hit him.

When Thetra looked to see what happened to the Hidden Creature, it was so disgusting it made him want to scream.

The Hidden Creature had stuck his sword into his gut, spraying out blood that splattered on Thetra's face.

But the real gross part that caught Thetra's attention was that there was foamy liquid coming out of the Hidden Creature's body.

Then Arek puked.

"Arrrrrrrrggghhhhh!" yelled the Hidden Creature. "I shall get my vengeance on you two sons of Eouhja!"

Then the Hidden Creature collapsed; the blood stopped spraying, and his stomach juices stopped gushing out.

After Arek was done vomiting, he looked up at Thetra and shook his head in fear. "That was way grosser than anything I've ever seen."

"Aye."

Then they both returned to the battle with the green-armored and red-armored soldiers.

"Grab your bows!" shouted Mordon.

Rows and rows of troops of the Good Army ran to grab a bow and quiver, and as Thetra grabbed his and notched and arrow, he saw a green-armored soldier flying towards him with a dagger in his hand.

Thetra let go of the string and the arrow shot through the air and hit the soldier in the cheek, killing him.

Then a red-armored soldier snuck up behind him a little too loudly, and as Thetra turned the troop struck with his sword but Thetra reached his bow out as a shield.

The sword cut right through the wooden bow, showering Thetra in splinters, causing him pain.

He drew Slayer and drove the sword into the soldier's chest.

Then a green-armored soldier appeared with a silver sword, and he threw it straight towards Thitsa, a trooper in the Good Army.

Thetra dove and deflected the sword with his own, nearly knocking Slayer out of his hands.

"Thanks," said Thitsa.

"Anytime," replied Thetra. "Now where are the dragons?"

He ran off in search for Valao and Ejarshöh.

Instead he found Arek caught in a net that pinned him to the ground.

"What happened to you?" asked Thetra, staring down at his brother.

"I don't know. I was just running and this trap fell from that tree up there." Arek pointed upward.

"Are you alright?" wondered Thetra.

"It'd be nice if I could be free."

So Thetra cut the net with his blade and Arek stood up.

"Thank you, Thetra," said Arek, hugging Thetra.

"Anytime," Thetra said again. "Do you have any idea where the dragons might be?"

"I saw mine fly that way." He pointed in the direction of the battle.

"And Valao?"

"I don't know where he went. Most likely with Ejarshöh."

"I agree," responded Thetra. "Let's go find them."

They started off towards the battle and as they reached the fight, Arek grabbed a bow and quiver.

Then the two boys let out a fierce war cry and charged in to defeat the enemy.

Thetra probably broke his arm, got a minor concussion, and tore something in his toe, but the real injury was when he twisted his ankle.

"Ahhhhh!" he yelled in surprise, falling to the ground.

He saw Arek running towards him, but in a blurry shape. Yellow dots danced all around in his vision. He tried to sit up but ended up falling back down, for the pain was too much.

He heard his brother's voice once or twice, but it was faint and far away, echoing.

His ears rung and his ankle burned like fire, but yet he fought to not give himself up to Death.

He was missing important parts of the battle, and as he swam in and out of consciousness, he saw a big green-armored soldier running at him.

There was nothing he could do except wait to die.

But Morchad came in from the side of his view and body-slammed the soldier to the ground, taking his sword and thrusting it through his gut.

Thetra wasn't sure if this had actually happened or he was hallucinating, but it was terrifying either way.

He saw many troops get bullied to the ground, clashing swords even when was in so much pain like Thetra they were just so desperate not to die.

As for Thetra, he couldn't stand. Not even move anymore. He just lay there paralyzed, defenseless to any attackers that came his way.

Finally, the battle was over.

Although he couldn't walk, he managed to sit up, waking up in a hospital bed.

Arek sat at the foot of the bed, playing with a little ball that the army had made a game out of.

When Thetra had woken up, Arek saw him and said, "Hello."

"Where am I?" wondered Thetra.

"We're in the army hospital. Quite a nice place, eh?"

"Aye. What happened to my ankle?"

"A very severe break that kills some people. You're lucky to be living."

"And the battle?"

Arek hung his head. "We lost. It apparently was the sixth battle of the war, since there have been fights all around the country. As for us, we lost too many. We've been recruiting and training warriors of all ages in the past few weeks."

"Weeks?" asked Thetra. "How long have I been out?"

"About a month. We all thought you were dead until a few days ago when you coughed in your sleep. Must've been a deep coma."

"Must've been. What's the latest news about the renaming the country thing?"

"They attempted one more announcement, but they dropped the microphone in the Capital Castle and you have to wait three weeks before you can reuse it. The three weeks ends in two days."

"So it wasn't the dragons who stooped them this time?"

"No," said Arek. "It was not the dragons."

"Good to know. But I guess Valao, Ejarshöh, and Ghuar are already known throughout Kiolerasdarque."

"Aye. And, speaking of Ghuar, he's actually doing very well in the army. He took out a few thousand soldiers in that last battle."

"That's a lot," said Thetra.

"'Tis."

"So when will I be able to...fight?" asked Thetra with a little hesitation at the end.

"Two months," replied Arek.

Now Thetra was awake. " _Two months?!_ " he shrieked. "That's way too long!"

"Yes, but you are lucky."

Thetra lay back down in his bed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean we know when Morchad's Army is attacking."

Thetra leaned forward. "How?"

"We sent spies up to Stankl Maobn to discover the army's plans. After five days, the spies returned and reported Morchad's army will attack in four months, although he is not coming. This all happened last month, so we have three months left to prepare. Once you're all better, you'll have four weeks to train for the fight. Am I clear?"

Thetra nodded. "Aye."

"They will march south in about eight weeks, and they will reach Destville seven weeks later."

"I understand now, Arek."

"Very well. For now you must rest, for the morning has become noon, and it is time to eat."

"I haven't even had breakfast yet," protested Thetra. " Much less lunch."

"Well then you shall have two meals in an hour."

Thetra smiled. "Yes, Brother." Then Arek left and returned five minutes later with a tray full of breakfast items: two pastries, a banana, grapes, cinnamon bread, toast, and water.

"Thank you," said Thetra, looking down at his meal. He immediately craved the cinnamon bread, and the icy cold water quenched his thirst.

Then he realized he hadn't eaten in weeks. He began to stuff food in his mouth, and when he was done, he licked the crumbs, cleaning the tray.

Meanwhile, Arek stared at him in amazement. "Was it good?" he asked.

"Delicious," replied Thetra. "I'm ready for lunch already."

# ARQUE

Thetra gulped down the water, ate all the food, asked for seconds and stuffed those down his throat as well all in two minutes.

And it was a _big_ meal.

"Well," said Arek, "That looked good."

"'Twas. I really enjoyed the fried rice and the stew, it was warm in my mouth; it made me feel good."

"That's a nice feeling. Whenever you feel good. I love it too."

For the next few days Thetra was bored out of his mind. The only special things throughout the day were seeing Arek and eating. Any other time, he just lay in his bed, his ankle throbbing.

But two days after he woke up, something happened. A voice rang down from the clouds, shouting, "We shall not be interrupted today!"

Thetra immediately knew that Bewaldt was striking back at the dragons, proving that they did have power over the country, and now no one could stop them.

Kiolerasdarque had to be renamed.

"It is time to make a few announcements!" continued Bewaldt. "First, we would like for Valao, Ghuar, and Ejarshöh to know that we, Bewaldt, are against you! You are our rival enemies and we look forward to seeing Morchad's Army win the war!"

_Bewaldt wants Morchad to win. They've never wanted Morchad to win,_ thought Thetra. _Is it really just because of the dragons?_

"And I know Morchad can hear me now, as can the whole country! Morchad, you shall be victorious! Defeat Destville!

"And now I would like to announce the new name of this country—Arque!"

"What?" exclaimed Thetra in his hospital bed. Now he was mad. "Get me out of this place, I must conquer Morchad and Bewaldt! I'm fine, I can walk! My ankle is fine, just let me go!"

"Thetra," said Arek, who was standing in the doorway through the whole announcement, waited for Thetra to stop thrashing. "It's alright. We're fine. The new name doesn't affect anyone; I don't know why you're angry. It's just a name."

"I know but I grew up with the name being Kiolerasdarque my whole life. I don't know what else to call it."

"Arque," said Arek, but just the name set Thetra off.

"No! I refuse to call it that! I have always said Kiolerasdarque and I always will!"

But now Bewaldt was unhappy with Thetra. The voice in Capital Castle boomed out, "Thetra Eouhjasson! You must be arrested, for every citizen in this country must call it Arque! Guards!"

Guards came over to Thetra and one picked him up, threw him over his shoulders, and marched to the Destville Prison, Arek yelling behind them, "Don't take him! He's hurt! He's my brother! If you take him you take me!"

Another guard turned around. "Very well." Then he walked over and picked Arek up and threw him over his shoulders as well.

They took them to the jail on horseback, Thetra and Arek slumped on the guards' shoulders.

It was late in the night and by the time they arrived at the prison, Thetra and Arek were asleep. The guards had to shake them awake in order to put them into hand and ankle cuffs, which hurt Thetra in the ankle because it was so tight.

They escorted them to their cells and threw each of them in a different one which were next to each other, so that they couldn't look at each other.

"How long?" yawned Arek, wondering when they could get out of the jail.

"Five months," replied a guard.

Arek looked up at the guard, startled. "But Morchad's Army is attacking in three months!"

"Well, it seems as if your army is going to lose," said the guard.

"You're on Bewaldt's side?" yelled Thetra. "You work in Destville and yet you want us to lose!"

"That's right," responded the guard.

Arek shook his head. "I can't believe you."

"That's too bad, because it's true." With that, the guard threw the cell doors shut and locked them tight.

After a minute or so, Arek whined. "Thetra."

"Yes, Brother?"

"You may think I'm a coward right now, but I'm scared."

Thetra shivered at the thought of his older brother being frightened.

"Arek, it's alright. We can escape before the battle with the Good Army and Morchad's Army."

"That's not what I'm worried about, Brother." He paused. "I'm scared because I don't want to die like mother and father."

"Oh, Arek, they aren't allowed to murder us right on the spot. They must release us in five months, else they lose their job."

"Right, but what if they would rather kill us and lose their job than keep it and set us free?"

Thetra thought about this and finally said, "Then we will fight them. It's weird how they didn't take our weapons but I'm not complaining."

Finally, Arek seemed satisfied, if only for the moment. "Alright, Brother. I'll be thinking about some escape plans."

When they woke up the next morning, it was Thetra with the plan.

"Alright, so I'll draw my sword at breakfast, when the jailer comes, and stab him. Then whoever's closer will grab the key and unlock both of our doors. Understand?"

"It's that simple? How will you draw our swords without them noticing?"

"Oh, they have to notice. We cannot let them notice. I just stab them when they slide the bread and water through the doors."

"It's worth a try, but it might keep us in this place longer if we fail."

So when the jailer came, Thetra quickly drew Slayer and drove it through his stomach.

He dropped the key right by his ear.

"Grab it, Arek," said Thetra in delight that their plan had worked.

Arek reached forward and just missed the key, but he had touched it and knocked it farther away.

"Oh, Arek!" scolded Thetra. "Are you serious? You had to knock it away?"

"It was an accident!" Arek snapped back. "And now you've set off an alarm!"

Thetra listened and realized that he _had_ in fact set off an alarm.

A guard rushed to Thetra and Arek's cells, and did something that Thetra had not been expecting. He unlocked their doors, grabbed them, and took them with him.

Along the way to the exit door, another guard grabbed Arek and threw him over his shoulders, and the first one did the same with Thetra.

"Where are we going?" asked Thetra.

"You're being transported," said Arek's guard.

"To where?' wondered Arek.

"Mthanl," responded Thetra's guard as the two guards threw the boys onto horses like before.

With that, they started for the Mthanl Jail.

# MTHANL

Mthanl's jail smelled horrible—of rotten eggs and sweaty bodies.

As they entered the prison, a man welcomed them, saying, "Hello, Thetra and Arek Eouhjasson. Right this way please."

Thetra wrinkled his nose and Arek said, "It's you who smells bad."

The man turned around. "Nice to meet you too." He held out his hand for the boys to shake. "I am Lord Ruetas."

"Stinky Ruetas," muttered Thetra under his breath.

"Quiet!" barked Ruetas, his face red with embarrassment. "I don't need any fools to say I smell bad."

Thetra and Arek stopped making fun of him.

"Now," said Ruetas, glad to talk without being embarrassed. "We have an important matter to discuss, don't we?"

"I do not know, Lord Ruetas," said Arek, confused. "I'm still confused about what Thetra did wrong."

"He said a false name."

"And you get arrested for that?" pressed Thetra.

"You do. Also, you committed another crime. I'm sure you're well aware of this one, eh?"

"No," said Thetra.

"Well, Thetra, you stabbed a jailer in Destville, did you know that? And yes, this is a crime."

"Is it? I never would have guessed," said Thetra in a sarcastic tone.

"Aye. Doesn't it amaze you?" replied Ruetas in a sarcastic voice as well.

Then Lord Ruetas led them where he was going before he was interrupted by Arek and stopped at a very wide cell.

"You two are lucky, for you are in the same cell. All the single cells are occupied."

"Mthanl must be a bad city," murmured Arek.

"'Tis. Now get in!" demanded Ruetas.

Thetra and Arek got in the cell and Ruetas locked the doors behind them and smiled. "Have fun rotting, because you're going to be here awhile."

"How long?" asked Thetra.

"Forever!" yelled Ruetas and he turned on his heel and left.

Arek sighed. "I hate my life."

"Don't say that!" scolded Thetra. "We're fine. We just...are having a little bump in the road, that's all."

"No, it isn't," responded Arek. "We're never getting out of here and it's all" Arek stopped. "It's all my fault."

"No!" yelled Thetra. "I was the one who said the false name. I stabbed the jailer! None of this is your fault, I promise."

"But what if...What if we actually never _do_ get out of here. What if we _do_ rot and live the rest of our horrible lives"

"Don't say that!"

"But it's true, Thetra. Brother, I'm sorry but we can't escape this one. It's not possible."

Thetra sighed. "I'll find a way. But for now, let us rest, for the afternoon has rolled on to evening."

Then they fell asleep in the new country, only to awake and find themselves in the same place.

# LONG TIME, NO SEE

Two loafs of bread and two glasses of water were on the floor when Thetra woke up. Smart. They do it while Thetra and Arek are asleep so that they couldn't attack each other.

"Pssst!" whispered a hushed voice diagonal from Thetra and Arek's jail cell.

They both looked over where the voice was and saw Satym.

"Ah!" said Arek in surprise, jumping back even though Satym was in a separate cell.

"I can free you, but then you must free me," said Satym.

Thetra and Arek looked at each other.

"Should we?" asked Thetra.

"I suppose it's all right. But if she is lying, we kill her," replied Arek.

"Aye," whispered Thetra back. Then in a louder voice, he said to Satym, "We accept your deal, but if you are not speaking the truth, we shall kill you."

"Very well." Then Satym pulled something shiny out of her pocket.

"What is that?" asked Thetra.

"I believe it is yours," she said tossing the round object to Thetra.

It clanked off a bar on his jail cell, then started spinning on the ground.

It was a coin.

Thetra reached down and picked the coin up, the realized it was gold. He knew he was holding something very rare and valuable in his hands.

"Wait," said Arek. "Is that the coin that mother and father promised to you, and it would appear to you when needed most?"

Thetra looked his brother in the eye. "I believe so."

"There's a slot in the door," said Satym. "Push it in and turn it."

Thetra looked at his cell door and discovered that there very well _was_ a slot in the door and he did what Satym told him.

The door opened, and Thetra and Arek stepped out.

"Is there not a slot on your door?" asked Arek.

"No," responded Satym. "It is only on the big cells like yours."

"So how do we get you out?" wondered Thetra.

"Oh, you can open it from the outside without a key. Just look right next to my cell and you'll see a button on the wall. Press it."

Thetra found the button and pressed it. Satym's cell door opened and she walked out.

"That feels nice. Thank you, Thetra and Arek Eouhjasson." She held out her hand to them.

Thetra shook it, as did Arek, and the three of them formed a new alliance.

"Now let's get out of here," said Satym, looking around for any guards that may have heard them.

"Aye. I know where the exit is," said Arek. They followed him towards the door which Thetra and Arek had entered in handcuffs just the day before. Now they were exiting free.

Thetra had to steal a horse, for he could not walk with his ankle injury, as he had to hop on one foot out of the jail.

They strode as far away from the jail south as they could go, then stopped to rest at dawn.

"So," started Arek. "How'd you get arrested?"

"Oh, for all the crimes I did. Stealing, killing, severely injuring...that sort of thing."

"Oh? I did not know you do that," said Thetra, but then he remembered what she did to Therr.

"You didn't? Well, now you do."

"Now I do," agreed Thetra.

"And I know how you went to jail. You said a false name. But why did they to take you to the Mthanl Jail?"

"Well, we—"

"We?" said Satym.

"I did say the false name," explained Thetra. "But as the guards carried me away Arek said that they couldn't take me without him coming, so they took him as well."

"That makes sense," said Satym. "A little brotherly love."

"Aye," said Arek.

"So we were at the Destville Jail, but then when we tried to escape I stabbed the jailer and he dropped the key, but Arek failed to reach it. So we were transported to Mthanl."

"The Mthanl Jail is the most powerful prison in Arque. Ruetas is called the Lord of the Prison."

"I noted that he smells horrible," said Arek.

"But isn't it weird how they don't take your weapons?" said Satym to Thetra, completely ignoring Arek.

"'Tis."

"Well, we better keep on marching, because they obviously know we're missing, because they would've discovered it when they came to feed us and saw our cells empty."

"Aye," said Thetra. "Let us keep on moving south." Then he hesitated and turned to Satym. "Promise you won't do anything bad at the army's camp."

"Who's going to stop me?" she pressed.

"Me, for I am the new leader of the army."

"I thought Mordon would be next in line," said Satym.

"Apparently not. Even he wanted me to be leader. But he is the co-leader."

"So I just listen to you two."

"That'd be nice," said Thetra. "And Arek. Listen to him. He isn't exactly co-leader but he's third in charge."

"I understand. Let us go now."

With that they kept on walking south, sometimes jogging.

Along the way, Thetra and Arek updated Satym on what was going on in Destville, including the upcoming battle with Morchad's Army, Thetra breaking his ankle, the battle with the green and red-armored soldiers, and the Hidden Creature with his Army in the Clouds.

They arrived a few days later, welcomed with a big cheer of the crowd of the army.

But when Mordon saw Satym, he grew hot with anger. "Why did you bring her?" he yelled at Thetra, gesturing to Satym.

"She rescued us," replied Thetra. "Do not accuse her for anything, for if there is anyone to blamewhich there isn'tit would be me."

Mordon calmed down and there was silence for a moment. Then he said, "Very well. Let her stay."

"She will help us win the war," added Arek even when the discussion had passed.

Mordon turned to Arek. "Oh?"

"Aye, sir. We told her about the upcoming battle. She is well trained, and if she is fighting with us, we can defeat Morchad's Army."

"Has she agreed to this yet?" wondered Mordon.

"Well..." Arek hesitated. Satym hadn't exactly _agreed_ to help them, but he had a rather good feeling that she would. He turned to Satym. "Will you?"

"Of course," responded Satym, to Arek relief. "Only if you let me talk to my parents."

"You're parents work for Morchad?" said Thetra.

"Aye. If you let me talk to them during the battle, I will wipe out every other soldier that serves Evil."

"But wouldn't that include your parents?" asked Mordon.

"Besides them," stated Satym.

"Who would kill them if you don't?" asked Thetra.

"Well, I was thinking when I talk to them I would hope to convince them to join this army. They are adequately good fighters."

"But can we trust them?" asked Mordon, concerned about who joins and leaves the Good Army.

"Aye. If they are on the same side as mine, they will obey you," replied Satym.

"Swear it," threatened Arek. "Make an oath. Make an oath that we can trust you and your parents in our army."

Satym hesitated. "Do I have to?"

"Aye. If you break this oath we have the right to kill your mother, father, and you."

"Alright. I swear that my parents, Loradaw and Vertay, and I, Satym Loradawdaughter, will cooperate and obey the laws of this army."

There was a silence throughout the Good Army.

"Alright, then," said Thetra, breaking the silence. "It looks as if we have a new troop. Let's get her a personal trainer, shall we? Any volunteers?"

Surprisingly, everyone except for about five people raised their hand.

"Oh," said Thetra in surprise. "I wasn't...expecting a number so large. Er, how about you? Ayvis?"

A man that looked about twenty years old stood up and walked over to where Thetra, Arek, Mordon, and Satym were standing.

"I would be honored," he said.

The crowd cheered and chanted his name as if he were a hero.

" _Ayvis! Ayvis! Ayvis! Ayvis!_ " chanted the army.

Ayvis smiled and stifled a laugh. "I'm here," he said shyly.

Then two fireballs came crashing into the army camp and Valao, Ejarshöh, and Ghuar flew down and fell to the ground, squashing a few troopers.

# BRINGING BACK HISTORY

"Where were you?" asked Thetra.

"Hunting," replied Valao.

"Were you really?" questioned Thetra, not believing that the three dragons had been gone since he had woken up in the hospital only to be hunting.

"Yes!" exclaimed Valao, yet Thetra still knew his dragon couldn't be telling the truth.

But he let the matter go.

"I heard you got arrested," said Ghuar. "For speaking...a false name."

"Aye. And I strongly loathe Bewaldt for that. I did not deserve to be put in jail for that."

"And her?" said Valao, gesturing to Satym. "Why is she here?"

"She agreed to help us win the battle." Thetra assumed Valao already knew about the upcoming battle with Morchad's army, and he was correct.

"Good, because we need all the help we can get," said Ejarshöh. "This—he gestured to the crowd of the army—is most definitely not enough to battle Morchad's army."

"I agree," said Valao. "We will need recruits. Strong ones."

Then a soldier of the name Juleau came rushing through the crowd. He was one of the army's spies, obviously returning from Stankl Maobn.

"Leader! Leader!" he shouted. "I have important news from Morchad's Army."

"Share it," ordered Thetra in a direct tone. "What have you discovered?"

"Morchad is...making a new creature."

"What kind? Is it big? Is it tough to defeat? Give me details!"

"It's a golem."

There were gasps from the crowd, and people whispered and muttered to each other, "Golems? They haven't been around since a thousand years ago!"

"Alright, alright!" shouted Thetra, calming the crowd. "It's alright. We can defeat the golems if we can get more soldiers. Jeleau, do have an idea of how many golems Evil is creating?"

"A whole army of them."

"What?! A whole army..." Thetra was speechless. Golems were the toughest, mightiest creatures in the country, and the army had to fight a whole _army_ of them? This was impossible. No man can defeat a golem. It takes about a hundred men to defeat only _one_ golem.

"How are we going to do this?" wondered Mordon, looking at Thetra.

"We have no choice but to fight them, for this is our land! Not Morchad's!"

"Our land!" repeated the army. "Ours!"

"And now we not only have to fight Morchad's Army," said Satym, "but golems as well! This is not possible."

"We shall not flee!" shouted Ghuar. "We shall stay here and fight like real men and dragons!"

"Aye!" roared the crowd.

"We shall start training immediately if we are to win this battle!" ordered Thetra. "Every man and woman is required to have one sword, axe, and any other weapon that would help us defeat Morchad's Army!"

"Yes, sir!" yelled all of the blacksmiths, prepared to start making swords.

"We must do this," said Thetra to Valao. "If we don't then this whole population dies, including us. We can fend off Morchad's Army, but it's the golems I'm worried about. How will we do this, Valao?"

"I do not know, human. I can defeat golems, though."

Thetra snapped his fingers as if remembering something, which he had. "Of course! The dragons! How could I not have thought of that before! Valao, Ejarshöh, Ghuar, do you know of any dragons that could help us?"

Valao and Ejarshöh both shook their heads, as Thetra expected, but Ghuar said, "Yes, King Thetra. I know of many that you may call upon as you wish and they shall come to your aid immediately."

"How may I call them?" asked Thetra.

"We must communicate somehow...I need something that is all black," responded Ghuar.

Thetra looked around the camp. "I will go inside and fetch one," he said.

He entered his quarters and grabbed a piece of iron that he had found on his way to the Good Army after Eouhja and Uvorc had been killed. It had seemed like it might have been of some use before, and it was now.

The journey to Destville seemed like years ago to Thetra.

He sat there, thinking about the trip to Destville. He remembered how it had surprised him and Arek at how short a time it had taken.

Then he remembered his task, and exited his quarters and gave the scrap of iron to Ghuar.

"Thank you, King Thetra. Now I will ask my ten friends to help us in the attack."

"Ten?" said Thetra in surprise. He was only expecting three, yet there were ten. He was more happy than when he had learned that the dragons could help them win the battle.

"Yes, King Thetra. The first I will call is Olorgan." Ghuar touched the center of the iron plate and said, "Communicate to Olorgan Hunjansson."

The iron plate transformed into an image that showed a young pale blue dragon, who Thetra assumed was Olorgan.

"Hello, Olorgan," said Ghuar.

The face looked up and broke out in delight. "Ghuar! My friend! I thought you had forgotten about me!"

"I've known you since you were three months old," replied Ghuar. "How could I forget about you. Look, you've grown! How old are you now? Twenty?"

"I am twenty-three," responded Olorgan. "Where are you, Ghuar?"

"Destville. I need your help. Can you come here in two months and three weeks? We need your help, for Morchad's Army is attacking the Good Army with a whole army of golems, and dragons are on top of golems in the food chain, as you know, so we can destroy both the army of golems and Morchad's men."

Olorgan was speechless. "Ghuar...How can you be saying this? I thought you had to serve Youtren, who despised the Good Army."

"Thetra, here" Ghuar twisted the iron plate so that Olorgan could view Thetra"has murdered Youtren, setting me free," said Ghuar. "And so I decided to help him and join the Good Army. He is also the leader of our army."

"He is? What happened to Therr? As far as my knowledge knows, Therr would _never_ step down."

"Therr was killed by a magical alien that served Ailog, the magical alien president," explained Ghuar.

"And did you say Morchad is training _golems_?" asked Olorgan, confused.

"Aye. A whole army of them," said Ghuar.

"Then I will help you, for I love tearing the meat out of golems, even though I have never been alive to see one."

"Thank you, Olorgan," said Ghuar, and Olorgan's image dissolved.

Ghuar did this again nine times with the same stylehim talking to his friend after they hadn't talked in years, and then he finally asked them and they agreed. The army now had thirteen dragons and 150 men.

"Now we need to recruit more troops," said Thetra, walking with Ghuar back to Mordon's quarters to tell him of the news.

"Aye. We only have 150 soldiers now, and now that the golem problem is taken care of" began Ghuar.

"The golem problem is not taken care of!" argued Thetra. "We only have thirteen dragons! I agree, that is improvement, but not enough. Morchad is training most likely about a _hundred_ golems and yet we have thirteen dragons. Each dragon will most likely be able to defeat four golems before they...before they are killed themsElves. And that would mean that the dragons would only kill fifty-two golems.

Thetra could tell from the expression on the dragon's face that he was thinking hard. Finally, he said, "Well then I guess we do need both more dragons and men."

"Thank you, Ghuar," said Thetra, glad that it felt like he was leader and not Ghuar.

"But we must do it quickly, for we have no time to waste. How long till the Evil Army arrives?"

"I believe the exact time is about two months, three weeks, and six days according to our latest spy reports," responded Thetra.

"Alright, then," said Ghuar. "Where shall we go to recruit?"

"We shall send troops to all of the cities in Arque and hope they return alive, and not taken prisoner. We must take all ages except for toddlers," replied Thetra, being specific. "But we mustn't send any dragons recruiting men, for that will frighten them and they will refuse."

"Shall the soldiers in each city demand for them to come or give them a choice?"

"They must demand, for we need everyone we can get. If we give them a choice they will most likely reject."

"What about the toddlers? They parents will be going into the war, and there's no one to watch them or keep them alive."

Thetra thought about it, then said, "We will start a nursery for the toddlers. Their parents or guardians may visit them once a day in a break they have from their training."

"Alright. And how will us dragons recruit other dragons?"

"I can't think of any other dragons in Arque. Therefore, all the dragons must go to Lake Dalfnok and hatch all the eggs."

"Will we crack them open with our claws?" wondered Ghuar.

"Aye. There is no other way in this situation. You must open but not destroy the eggs."

"I understand our mission," responded Ghuar.

# THE DARK DESTROYERS

The dragons left the following day on their quest, and Ghuar told his friends to meet them at the lake.

Thetra was one of sixty-nine that stayed back while the other soldiers went to recruit from the cities. He decided that Morchad's Army may come early, and although they would only have sixty-nine soldiers and no dragons to fight, they would at least go down fighting.

Meanwhile, the army started practicing. Every day for five hours Thetra and Mordon battled in order to practice their sword fighting for the battle. Thetra discovered that the co-leader of the Good Army was a very good swordsman indeed. Since Thetra had only seen Mordon in action once beforeat the battle with the green and red-armored soldiershe didn't know what exactly to expect.

Because of this, Thetra started not at his best, and would have died if it weren't for them putting a soft material around the blade of their swords. In fact, it hardly made a dent in Thetra's arm.

After two days, Thetra could tell he was losing some of his baby fat and was developing strong muscles in not only his arms but also his legs, for he had been running as well. He told Mordon this, but he only laughed and said, "Welcome to the real world, leader."

Thetra thought about this as he trained, trying to continue and work his muscles hard so he could become a healthy burly man.

After five days from leaving, the first pack of soldiers returned. It was the group of six that had been sent to Hetal. It was not unusual that they had been the first to return, for Hetal was the closest city to Destville.

They had recruited seventeen members, which almost tripled the number of soldiers that had been sent out, but Thetra was disappointed with this number, for he had expected more. He had a feeling that this group hadn't obeyed orders by making everyone join. He knew Hetal was small, but not this small. He gave the group another chance by sending them out again.

The second group to return was not them again, in fact, but the pack sent to Toromok. They had returned with a few Elves who survived the Battle of Toromok. The two-foot-tall Elves were in fact a big help to the army, for they were very good with bows and arrows. They agreed to fight for the Good Army in the battle with Morchad's Army.

The third group was group on the second journey to Hetal, who returned with twenty-two soldiers this attempt. In total that was thirty-nine, which Thetra let pass.

The fourth was Casca Doba; Lentor; Land of Dragons*; Mthanl; Toage, Wecvavrrn; Thaken; Maltonka; ThuorNulagh; and La lakr-sonx. As a total, the army recruited a thousand and three hundred ninety-five soldiers, which surprised Thetra at its amazing amount.

"Well," said Thetra at a meeting after everyone except the dragons had returned. "That idea worked. I am proud to announce that we recruited one thousand three hundred ninety-five soldiers, and there are twenty-seven toddlers in the nursery. Twenty of our soldiers are guarding the nursery at all times, so no need to worry, parents of these toddlers, for they are well safe within our camp grounds."

A woman raised her hand, and Thetra acknowledged her. She began speaking, saying, "What kind of fool does this army serve, for I need my baby to eat the right amount of food and the correct type of food." After a long pause, in which Thetra was thinking, she added, "Doctor's orders."

"What kind of food does your baby need to eat?" Thetra questioned her.

"He must have some medicine that I brought myself each morning"

"That is your responsibility, ma'am," said Thetra, waiting for the woman to tell her what kind of

________________________________________________*Land of Dragons did not have any dragons, hence the name, else Valao, Ejarshöh, and Ghuar would have gone there as well as Lake Dalfnok.

food needed to be cooked so he could tell the army's cooks, who were cooking at the very moment.

"Aye," she responded. "But I need the army's cooks to cook breakfast for him every day."

"What does your child need to eat?" demanded Thetra, growing furious in rage.

The woman looked up at him silent, and then said, "Never mind. I will deal with the matter myself." She sneered.

"Congratulations, recruiters," praised Thetra, his attention directed at the crowd now and not the woman. "I am so pleased to honor you with Army Elders."

There were whispers among the crowd. "We just got promoted?" Thetra heard someone say. "We're elders!" someone exclaimed a little too loudly. "This is unbelievable," others said.

And it was. Thetra truly was glad with what work the elders had done. Now the Good Army actually stood a chance against Morchad's, who were fierce and ferocious with their weapons.

"I have an announcement to make as well," said Mordon, walking over to Thetra. "Although it is only to Thetra, others may listen in as well."

There was silence as Mordon told Thetra the shocking secret of the army. Thetra was surprised Mordon let the recruits know about it, for they could tell anyone in Arque.

There gasps from the crowd, and Thetra as well.

For the army was not called the Good Army.

Mordon said, "Thetra, you are the leader of an army in which you do not know the name of."

"Excuse me?" said Thetra, a little astonished.

"Aye. For the name of this army is the Dark Destroyers."

# LEADING A NEW ARMY

"What?" exclaimed Thetra. "Are you saying that you've been hiding me from the true name of this army?"

"Thetra..." growled Mordon. "No, that's not what I meant. We...didn't trust you until about a month agoat the underwater fight. And since then we, we haven't had enough time to tell you. Understand?"

Thetra had seen that Mordon had started to sob, and Thetra felt a pang of guilt. He had yelled at him, but he knew that Mordon was tougher than this. So what was wrong with him?

"Aye," said Thetra, answering Mordon. "But why are you weeping, O Mighty Co-leader Mordon?"

"I...I should have told you earlier. I just...couldn't. I had a conference with Therr but he said to wait. And I had to carry out his orders. I thought that now would be a good time."

"I apologize for hollering at you, Mordon." Thetra noticed that all of the Dark Destroyers were watching this act. "And I think you deserve something." And so Thetra drew his sword and laid the flat side of the blade upon Mordon's head, who was kneeling on the soft turf. "I promote thee Mordon Teruisson to leader of the Dark Destroyers."

Mordon's face lit up in glee. Then it darkened, realizing that Thetra had just given up something important for Mordon. "I decline," he said.

Those words ruined the moment. "What?" asked Thetra, confused by Mordon's choice of words. "Why must you?"

"It is an important role that I would mess up if I were leader. And it's yours. I wouldn't want my leadership role to be stolen."

"You aren't stealing it, Mordon. I'm giving it to you!"

"Aye, but I declined. Shouldn't you be glad that you can keep the spot in the army? I thought you enjoyed it."

"Aye, but in apology for yelling at you" started Thetra, but Mordon interrupted him.

"This is too much for a simple shout," said Mordon, his voice growing louder away from his usual calm, gentle tone.

"Nothing is too simple for anything," replied Thetra, and removed Slayer from atop Mordon's head, sheathing it. "Then you may stay as co-leader, as you wish."

"Thank you, King Thetra."

"Mordon, I truly do apologize for yelling at you, and I hope you at least accept _this_ form of apology."

"I do, Thetra," responded Mordon and the crowd applauded, thankful that their co-leader finally accepted an apology.

"Now, without further ado," continued Thetra in a louder tone, speaking to the crowd, "let us celebrate!"

And so all the Dark Destroyers went to the eating area, which had been expanded to fit all the new soldiers.

They had a huge feast that carried on into the night, until it finally ended in the morning and they all slept until evening.

Arek decided to send out one more party to each city, for they needed all the soldiers they could get to face the powerful and trained army of Morchad.

They all came back within the next two weeks, gathering two hundred and six soldiers that had been hiding on the army's first attempt.

The dragons returned during this time as well, recruiting five dragons from Lake Dalfnok, which meant as a total they had eighteen dragons, which most certainly wasn't enough, but Thetra decided it was the best they would get, for he did not want to send out the dragons again in fear they would not be back in time for the battle. "Eighteen is better than null," decided Thetra. Valao agreed.

The next few days were like beforeThetra and Mordon sword fighting, developing muscles, and altogether training for the fight.

"We are making good progress," said Mordon one day. "I believe we could actually do it."

"What's that?" said Thetra, who had been listening to the birds' early morning songs.

"Win the battle against Morchad's Army. Even though we lack dragons, we still have a good chance in defeating Morchad's human army. And we will at least knock out a few golems."

"We'll get more than a few," assured Thetra, and he really believed this. He thought that they would most likely get at least twenty killed.

There was a long pause, and then Thetra spoke again. "It's a good thing we sent spies out and we discovered the battle ahead of time."

"Aye," responded Mordon. "Or else we would not have recruited, and we would have been dominated. Every one of us. Our camps would be set ablaze, and this whole entire place would burn down. Now we stand a chance against the attack."

"Aye. I think that we recruited almost every citizen in Arque, which means that Mordon will not be able to recruit anyone else."

Mordon's eyes widened. "You're correct! This gives us an even bigger advantage over winning the attack!"

"Advantage?" said Thetra, slightly confused, for he didn't believe that the Destroyers had an advantage at all.

"Aye. We have a chance of winning. _Advantage_ means"

"No, I know what _advantage_ means. I'm just trying to see what you see. We don't have an advantage, Mordon."

"We don't?" he asked. He obviously believed they did have an advantage, which Thetra thought to be completely incorrect.

"No, Mordon. If it's anyone with an advantage it's the enemy! Morchad's army outnumbers us entirely! We stand a little to none chance of victory."

Mordon hung his head. "Oh. I see." Then he stalked out of the room, dragging his feet in despair.

"I hope you do," said Thetra to himself once Mordon was out of earshot. "I hope you do."

The next day Thetra was awoken by a man with glasses who obviously had news to share, for he was yelling, "News! We have news!"

"Oh?" said Thetra, sitting up in his bed.

"Aye. Follow me." The man led Thetra through a series of passages, until finally they reached daylight.

And flying high in the clouds, sitting on a black dragon, was a man.

It was a man that was heading straight towards the Dark Destroyer campgrounds.

"Who is he?" asked Thetra to the man who had beckoned him.

"Ah, that we do not know. Nor do we know if he is friend or foe."

As if to answer, the man on the dragon raised his sword high and the dragon swooped straight towards Thetra and the man with glasses.

"Watch out!" yelled Thetra, diving behind a big rock, but the man just stood in the dragon's path, petrified. Thetra had to run out, grab him and pull him to safety.

But the dragon kept darting as it flew past the rock that Thetra and the man were hiding behind.

And the dragon continued until Thetra saw his claws grasp an animal that was gasping for breath. It was an elf that had been recruited from Toromok.

The man hopped off of the dragon, praised him, and then looked at the dead elf. He grunted. "This kind of species of elf is highly dangerous."

_What is he talking about?_ thought Thetra. _Elves are on our side. Unless...maybe they're serving Morchad. It's only been a month. What are they doing here?_

"We must find the leader and tell them we want to join," said the black dragon.

Finally, Thetra stepped out from behind the rock. "I lead this army."

The man turned around, as did his dragon. "You?"

"Me," responded Thetra. This man looked strong and would contribute much to the army. "Well? Do you want to join?"

"Aye. So does my dragon. He is a good fighter as well am I."

Thetra thought, then said, "Follow me." He led them to the Army Hall, where the biggest conferences took place. Mordon was already there.

"We have a new soldier," said Thetra, gesturing to the man and his dragons.

"What are your names?" asked Mordon, recording all of their information on a piece of parchment.

"I am Algonge," said the man.

"I am Casmig," said the dragon. "And we are willing to fight."

Mordon looked up from his desk. "You say you will fight for us? How do we know that you do not serve Morchad and are just a spy? Where do you come from?"

"Beragh," grunted Algonge.

"They killed one of our Elves," added Thetra.

"They what?!" exclaimed Mordon. "Why would you do such a thing?" he pressed the newcomers.

"They were dangerous and could kill us! And the people of the army! Are there any more?" said Casmig.

"Aye," replied Thetra. "Thirty-eight of them left now, to be precise."

"Thirty-eight! They could be wiping out the army when they aren't under your watch!" complained Algonge.

"We trust them," said Thetra. "We trust them with the army's lives."

"That is a risk, fellows," said Algonge. "I can't believe you're actually making this decision."

"We know more about Elves than you do!" yelled Arek, who was in the Army Hall as well. "We've read a book about them, haven't we, Thetra?"

"Aye," confirmed Thetra.

"You may have, but have you had personal experience with them?" questioned Algonge.

"No," replied Arek. "Unless you count the meeting after we recruited them. They just stood like everyone else, listening. What is so wrong about these creatures?"

"I have had to live with them for 50 days and 49 nights. The nights were the worst, for I could get no sleep at all."

"Tell us your story, then," demanded Thetra.

"Very well. It starts off like this:

"I lived in Casca Doba. The rest of my people were just like mehermits. We introverts stayed in our homes until we starved and had to go to the market and purchase food. We made a living by working from our homes. We wrote and published books. In fact, I have my latest novel with me" Algonge pulled it out" _Sleeping Silently_. It is about the danger of making too much noise when you sleep, as a disease was discovered a year ago called pohottomy. It means that you may die because you're voice box is already working too hard when you sleep by resting, and if you talk in your sleep it hurts it.

"Anyway, one day the rest of the hermits in Casca Doba betrayed their kind, for they captured me and took me to Tormok. Then they confessed that they were Elves disguised as humans. I never forgave them, and I never will.

"The Elves then tortured me, ate parts of me, burned me, did whatever is closest to killing me. For 50 days and 49 nights, I had to live through this! The nights killed me, for I could not breathe for two minutes straight every hour. They choked me with their razor-sharp claws. Their pale skin reflected in the firelight. They gave me one of their tattered togas, and did whatever they could to turn me into an elf. I will never trust an elf again."

"But maybe they've changed!" protested Thetra. "They wouldn't have joined our army if they hated us!"

"Aye, but they do not serve Morchad, nor do they serve you. They are neutral like the aliens, and do not interfere with wars. They just watch them, have nothing to do with them. They never help us men."

"Elves aren't evil! If they serve anyone, it's us!" yelled Mordon at the top of his lungs.

"I agree," said Thetra.

"As do I. The race of the Elves is the oldest race in the history of Arque."

"I thought it was dragons," said Casmig. "We have been alive just as long as the Elves."

"Both of these two races have been alive since the beginning of this country," said Arek, settling the argument.

"Aye," agreed Thetra. "We shan't conquer the Elves, for that would cut off their kind, and the dragons would win."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Casmig.

"Many people believe the Elves were alive first, but that is not true," explained Arek. "If their race were to be cut off, then all races in Arque would be angry."

"I see," said Algonge. "Well, I'll give the Elves one chance, and one chance only. But if I see anything strange, do I have your permission to bring the hammer down?" He took out his mallet from in his belt, which was obviously his weapon.

"Aye," said Thetra.

"Aye," said Mordon.

"Aye," said Arek.

"Very well," said Algonge, spinning his mallet around in the air. "I shall be off to training, eh? And is there anywhere for Casmig to stay?"

"There is," responded Thetra. "When you exit, look to your right and you'll see the dragons training. He can practice there. And do you know what Morchad is doing?"

"What?" wondered Algonge.

"He is attacking in two months, or so our spies reported. He is trying to recreate golems, so that's why we need as many dragons as possible. Thanks to Casmig, we have nineteen dragons to defend Destville now."

"Ah, it's nothing," said Casmig modestly. "I fight every day."

"Train?" wondered Arek.

"Aye," replied Algonge. "I wake up every morning to hear him scratching his claws against the fake human targets. But he has not been preparing to face golems." He looked at Casmig, who nodded in approval.

"Very well then. Go train," commanded Mordon.

"We will," replied Algonge, exiting the hall. "With pleasure, we will battle for your army in the upcoming battle."

"Thank you," responded Thetra. Then he said, "You are dismissed."

Algonge bowed and left.

# TRAINING THE NEWCOMERS

Thetra studied the way Algonge fought, and the way he battled with Arek. He was covered in sweat, yet he kept on fighting his hardest. This was the type of soldier that Thetra had been looking for all along.

"Keep working," encouraged Thetra, clapping his hands in excitement of Algonge's skill. "Thanks to you, we stand an even bigger chance at winning, but the chances are still smaller than Morchad's Army's."

"Aye," said Arek, who was panting so hard, for he was getting dominated by Algonge.

"Maybe you need a new sword, fighting partner," said Thetra to Algonge, walking over to stop the fight. "How about Arek and I trade partners? Arek, you go fight Mordon."

"But he's just as good as you," Arek whined.

"I'll see to arranging a new partner for you later," snapped Thetra. "Right now I have a fight to take place in." Then their swords clanked and clashed, and they began.

"You're good," said Algonge, dodging one of Thetra's strike. "I've never fought someone so skilled except my father."

"Tell me about your father," said Thetra. "Who is he?"

"The better question is 'Who was he.' He's dead now, killed by one of Morchad's troops."

"What happened?" wondered Thetra, interested in Alfonse's family history.

"He tried to trespass into Stankl Maobn to see if Morchad really existed, for he was a non-believer."

"I see."

"He traveled far from Beragh to Stankl Maobn. He was caught right at the front of the mountain by the guards. His name was Dercam."

"That's a nice name," complimented Thetra. "I like it. Dercam," he repeated.

"Aye. I once loved it. But I shall get vengeance on my father for leaving me. For going on that suicide mission. He knew it was impossible, yet he still attempted it. I do not know why, and I suppose I never will."

"You should not be angry with him. You shall be mourning his death. But not so much that it puts you in a trance, where you always feel sick and just sit in a hospital bed acting unusual, when you could be outside training."

"I won't. But you just made me a little less mad."

"Thank you, Algonge." Then they continued fighting, neither getting an advantage over the other.

Later that night at supper, Thetra sat by Algonge, getting to know him more and befriending with him. He ate with him, and they both enjoyed and disliked the same foods that the cooks had made that night.

The next morning, Thetra woke up to hear a strange sound. It was coming from straight outside his window, yet he was afraid to look outside, in fear that the animal making the sound would see him.

But he conquered his fear and went outside anyway. He was surprised when he saw who was making the sound.

The suspect was a dragon. His very own dragon. Valao was screeching, for he was pinned to the ground by Casmig, unable to move.

"What happened?" wondered Thetra.

"This vicious animal!" complained Valao, trying to push Casmig off of him. "We were just fighting and then he plopped himself down on me. He weighs a ton!"

Casmig bared his teeth and hissed.

"You weigh a ton as well, Valao," said Thetra, trying to calm his dragon from his rage. "There's no need to be angry with each other. Casmig, why don't you just get off of Valao and continue training."

"Not until he apologizes," said Casmig promptly.

"All I did was rake my claws along your chest, you wimp!" complained Valao. "How can you fight if you sit on your opponent every time you get injured?"

"You can't," said Thetra. "Valao, please apologize though."

"Why?" he complained. "I want to fight a tougher opponent, so that the fight is evenly matched! I want a fair fight!"

"Well, first you have to apologize because I'm not moving until you do," said Casmig.

"Oh, yes you are!" yelled a voice that was moving toward the dragons at a rapid speed. "Get off of him!" yelled Ghuar.

"Ghuar!" shouted Valao, his face lighting up in delight.

Ghuar's blue scales shined in the sunlight. "Valao," he said. "Who is this dragon?"

"His name is Casmig," said Valao. "But I've nicknamed him the Choker, for I cannot breathe in this situation."

Ghuar then rammed himself into Casmig, who fell off of Valao. Ghuar barely missed stepping on Valao.

Casmig bared his teeth at Ghuar, preparing for a fight. Then he lunged at Ghuar, fangs ready to attack.

He attempted to bite down on the top Ghuar's head, but at the last second Ghuar dodged it by sidestepping Casmig's jump.

As Casmig fell to the ground, he started flying up so that he would not have a hard landing. Ghuar flew after him, and the two dragons had a battle in the air.

"After him, Ghuar!" screamed Valao, who would go up and fight with Ghuar after he fully recovered.

Then Thetra gave Valao the cue. "Attack!" he yelled, and Valao flew up in pursuit of tasting Casmig's blood.

Then Thetra heard Ghuar howl in pain, and he fell from the sky, hurtling toward the ground at a fast speed.

"Save him!" Thetra shouted to Valao, who was already diving after Ghuar. But what Valao didn't see was Casmig chasing after him, trying to bite his tail off.

"Watch out behind you!" yelled Thetra to Valao, but Valao was zoning in on saving Ghuar, that he didn't hear Thetra's shout.

Casmig bumped himself into Valao's body, and all three dragons were now falling from the sky.

Thetra desperately tried to think of a spell that could save them, but his brain was already having trouble processing what he saw. He randomly yelled, "Lopora!"

Instantly, the dragons flew back into the air as if they had bounced off of a net, and they started flying again, except Ghuar was unbalanced due to his injury.

"Fly down here safely, Ghuar!" shouted Thetra. "Do not get hurt on your way down, though!"

"I will try, human," said Ghuar, and he hovered in the air for a second, then flew down and landed softly on the grass.

"Are you alright?" asked Thetra.

"Aye. Just a little bruised in the side." Ghuar winced in pain as he showed Thetra his injury.

"What happened? I was not watching, as I was directing Valao to attack."

"He bit me."

"I see. Why don't you rest for a bit, and then you can fight again?"

"I don't know if I can battle again today. The pain is really getting inside my body. Plus, I'm losing a lot of blood, which is making me quite dizzy."

"Alright. Why don't you head back up to the cabin and sleep outside there? You can rest."

"I will," said Ghuar, slowly trotting up the hill. Then he turned around and shouted, "Best of luck, Valao!" Then he continued on his journey to sleep.

Thetra looked up and saw that Valao had indeed redeemed himself, as he was winning the fight. Then Thetra thought of how Casmig had betrayed them, and that maybe Algonge would as well.

_Well, Ghuar_ was _the one who started the fight_ , he thought. _So Casmig was just fighting back. Typical among dragons._

Then he called to Valao, "Fly down here and pick me up! I shall ride you and help you!"

Valao flew down quickly, while Casmig stayed in the air, waiting for his enemy to return.

_Enemy_ , thought Thetra. _He is the enemy_.

Thetra drew Slayer and started stabbing Casmig in the head. He must have really injured him, for he kept on whining as if he wanted to give up, yet he never did.

"Let us defeat him once and for all!" bellowed Valao, and they attacked fiercer than ever before. Then Thetra yelled a savage war cry, and they struck.

Immediately after the fast attack, Casmig fell to the ground, this time with nothing to save him, yet he still mouthed, _Help me_.

"Come on," said Valao, and he dove after the falling dragon.

Valao swooped under Casmig, then yelled to Thetra, "Jump off!" Thetra did this and saved himself from getting squished in between the two dragons, for Casmig fell onto Valao with a loud _THUMP!_

"Ahhhhh!" yelled Valao in agony. "Thetra, help!" Valao was being crushed to the ground as Casmig sank his fangs into Valao's neck. "Vampire!" exclaimed Valao.

"I will kill you," said Casmig. "I will kill you as soon as you apologize."

Valao must have wanted a quick death, for he said, "I am sorry, young dragon, for scratching you in the chest. Are you alright?" he said to make it sound sincere.

"Aye. Now I'll give you one warning. You will die in five seconds. Five...four..."

"Thetra, save me!" screamed Valao. "Help! Thetra! Kill him for me!"

"Three," said Casmig.

Thetra drew Slayer as Casmig got to two, and threw it when Valao had one second to live.

"Time to die!" yelled Casmig, and he sank his fangs into Valao.

Just as he did this, the sword hit Casmig in his left eye, and both dragons fell to the ground.

# DRAGONS TO SAVE

Thetra knelt before his dead dragon and closed Valao's eyes. _Why?_ he thought. _Why did he have to die?! What brought Algonge and Casmig here? Why would Casmig kill Valao? Where's Algonge? I'll punish him for this! He'll die as well. He doesn't deserve a grave; he'll just lie out in the cold each night and day._

"Valao," said Ghuar softly. He walked over and touched him slightly on the forehead. "I am not saying I'm mourning you, but you must be dead. Do you hear me, or are you dead? If you are alive, rise and live on."

After nothing happened, Thetra and Ghuar started to walk away. Once they reached the hill, they heard a sound behind them.

Valao was rising from his heap on the ground, and then stood up. "I shall live this day," he said.

"Valao!" Thetra cried out, leaping over to his dragon in joy that he was alive. "You lived! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," said Valao. "But I feel like I got crushed."

"You did," explained Thetra. "You were trying to save Casmig by having him land on you but he was so heavy he ended up"

"Oh, yes, I remember now," said Valao. "I tried to save him because he asked me to but now he's...dead?" Valao was looking at Casmig's corpse lying on the ground.

"Aye," said Ghuar. "He is dead."

Valao was still looking down at Casmig when Thetra thought he saw a tear falling out of his dragon's eye. "He was...a great young fellow." Then Valao started choking and sobbing and finally just lay down on the ground and fell asleep.

"Live, Casmig. Live," whispered Ghuar into Casmig's ear. "For Valao cannot stand being without you. You are best friends in some way. You have a bond that shall not be broken. You may have fought each other, but you have forgiven each other."

Right then and there Casmig coughed, and came out of his sleep coma. "Hello?" he said.

"Hello," replied Ghuar.

"I..." Casmig trailed off. "Is Valao alive?" He was looking at Valao.

"Yes," responded Thetra." He just fainted, that's all. But he is asleep now, for he could not help but sob about your tragedy."

"But I'm alive," said Casmig.

"Aye, but we did not know that when he was crying," explained Ghuar.

"I see," said Casmig. "Any idea when he will wake up, for I shall apologize to him."

"We do not know," replied Thetra. "Is your eye alright, or is it a serious injury?"

"It'll be fine." The sword had fallen out of Casmig's eye, so Thetra had gotten it back.

"Good," said Thetra, "For I need you in the upcoming battle. And I have a question for you."

"Oh?" said Casmig.

"Why did you attack Valao? Why did you nearly kill him? Are you jealous? Are you angry or mad for some reason? Why? Tell me why."

Casmig's dark black dragon face looked far away. "I do not remember a thing about what happened," he said.

"Tell me," threatened Thetra, drawing his sword. "Or you get stabbed, for I am ready to have my vengeance on you."

"I...honestly, I don't know what happened. I have no clue as to why or how I would have done it. I am clueless."

Then a thought struck Thetra. Maybe the possessors from Herode had come over and gotten into Casmig. But that couldn't be, for they could not take the shape of a dragon. Maybe Morchad did something to twist them...

"Do you believe in possessors?" asked Thetra.

"Aye. But they are in Herode. They have never crossed the sea that separates Arque from Herode. It isn't possible, Thetra. That couldn't be." Casmig obviously knew what Thetra was thinking.

"But there's no other way unless you're lying to me," said Thetra. "The possessors can't cross the sea because whenever they try a huge wave made of solid water blocks them."

"I am Rednops," whispered a voice in the shadows. "I will kill all Dark Destroyers. I serve evil." A red ghost hovered in front of Thetra, blocking him from looking at Casmig. "I possessed Casmig. I shall kill Casmig. I shall kill all Dark Destroyers. I _will_ kill all Dark Destroyers."

"No, you won't!" shouted Thetra, pressing his sword at the ghost's chest, but it went right through his body made of gas.

"Yes," replied Rednops, grabbing the point of the sword, "I will!" He shoved it in Thetra's face, cutting a slash right below Thetra's right eye. He tasted the blood as it trickled down his face.

"We'll stop you," promised Thetra. "And we will defeat your army."

"Ah, do not lie to me, Thetra Eouhjasson. For we have an advantage. We can possess your troops and make them fight against you." Then the ghost started to fade away, and Thetra could see Casmig now. "Think about that," said Rednops.

"I will," responded Thetra, and he already was. Now the soldiers of the Dark Destroyers had to fight men, golems, and possessors. They couldn't do it. They had an impossible task which they could not complete.

Thetra was overwhelmed with the day's events, and he skipped supper that night and went straight to sleep, for he decided a nice rest would help him sort things out in the morning.

But when he woke up, he felt even worse.

He puked first thing, then, after deciding to skip his first meal of the day, vomited again all over Arek's cloak.

"Sorry, Brother," Thetra apologized, but Arek waved it away.

"Do not worry. I understand you do not feel well. You are sick. You shall rest today and train tomorrow."

"Thank you, Arek," said Thetra. "You just saved me a lot, for I most definitely _do not_ feel in the mood to run and fight and be active. All I am going to do is sit in bed with a cup of tea."

And that was what he did for the rest of the day.

The following morning was hard for Thetra, as he was too tired to stand. He looked at his cup of tea and craved more. He called to no one in particular, "More tea!"

He sat in bed, feeling sick and sipping his tea. Arek visited him and wished him good luck, hoping he would get better so they could practice in combat later that day.

But they didn't.

"Arek," moaned Thetra. "All I want to do is just sleep. Would you please leave?"

Arek took no offense in this statement and left out the door, not returning that day. Thetra began to worry if he was a bit harsh on his brother, but then he remembered how Arek had been to him sometimes.

When Thetra woke up the next day he felt much better as he arose. Then he walked downstairs to breakfast, not feeling queasy at all. He ate some toast and had some more tea, which made him feel loads better. Altogether, he was ready to fight.

And that was what he did, which was a mistake.

As he walked outside to meet Arek, the sunlight hit his eyes and he immediately puked. He took it as a warning not to be too active, but continued training. He drew Slayer, and as he watched Arek advance slowly toward him, he felt sick. Yellow spots danced around his eyes, and the heat overwhelmed him. He collapsed to the ground, needing water. His thirst was so powerful that he couldn't stand up, and Arek went inside to get a glass of water.

When he returned, Thetra still lay sprawled on the grass, choking. "I...need water," he said, his voice scratchy. "Get me water."

Arek handed him the cup and Thetra gulped it down.

_I should've known that he would've needed more. I need a bucket. Or a tub. Something that will keep him energized, for there is no one else for me to train with than him,_ thought Arek, scolding himself.

He quickly ran inside and filled up three buckets with water from his faucet. Thetra was surprised with how strong Arek was as he carried the buckets outside to Thetra. Then he ran back inside and filled three more, trying desperately to save his brother. Thetra had already finished the first bucket when he came back with the third set, which he refilled along with two others.

There were nine buckets total, and Arek could just keep on refilling them anyway, so Thetra decided not to worry. His brother was trying to keep him alive, which was all that mattered to him at the moment.

Once he felt that he could stand, Thetra carefully put his hand on his knee and stood up. He wobbled a bit, yet he stayed on his feet, glad he was able to do an important task in his life: stand.

"Can you walk?" asked Arek.

Thetra nodded as he walked over to his brother. Strangely, he felt much better than that morning when he had collapsed into a bundled heap as the sunlight hit his eyes.

"Ho, Thetra!" yelled a voice that was coming from the door leading inside the building. Thetra turned his head to see Algonge walking toward him.

"Ho, Algonge!" replied Thetra, delighted to see someone besides Arek who we trusted. _No. I can't trust him yet,_ scolded Thetra, arguing with himself.

"How do you do today?" asked Algonge, who knew nothing about Thetra's health.

"I'm quite sick. I just puked and drank five buckets of water." Thetra grinned. "But I do feel loads better now."

"Well, that's good. We're going to need our leader to lead us into the battle."

"Aye," agreed Thetra. "I'm going to slowly start training again, that way I won't get sick again nor will I not be training."

"Good." Algonge was walking towards them, shielding the sun from his eyes, and as Thetra drew closer, he saw that Algonge was drawing his sword. "Would you like to fight?" he asked Thetra.

"Well, you are a good swordsman, and I need to practice with the rookies first, then I shall make my way up to fighting soldiers like you."

"Ah, I see." Then Algonge pointed his sword at Arek. "Would _you_ like to have a go?" he asked him.

"Aye," responded Arek. "I would like to train with you."

# SPARRING

As Arek drew Stabber, Algonge told them that his sword's name was Exterminator. He flashed it and the blade shined brightly, reflecting the sunlight.

Both fighters looked ready to battle in their sparring positions. Thetra thought Algonge's to be rather awkward, but he kept silent, knowing that everyone's position was unique. He also remembered that a strange position may be a better position than their opponent's.

Arek's face looked determined that he would win the fight, but Algonge's did as well. Thetra knew that he wanted to see Arek defeat the newcomer, but he didn't believe in his brother nearly as much as he _wanted_ him to win.

As the first blow took place, being Arek's, Thetra felt something jump inside him. The start of a new battle. He watched as Exterminator dominated Stabber, leaving Arek to fall to the ground after three exchanged hits.

Algonge looked at Arek in disbelief. "I didn't expect it to be this easy," he muttered, just in Thetra's earshot. "I thought...since he is the brother of the Dominator, that maybe he might stand a chance. A big chance."

"Algonge, he doesn't surrender very easily," Thetra told him. "He will most likely get back up and fight, knowing him."

"Well, stand up," Algonge said, looking at Arek. "If what your brother tells me is true, you haven't lost yet."

Arek gritted his teeth and pushed himself off the dirt, his whole back covered in soil. He raised Stabber high and brought down the blow, slicing Algonge's side.

Algonge howled and bit his lip. "You know I don't have armor on."

Arek smirked. "I do." Then he twisted his sword and threw it at Algonge's stomach, which was already bleeding heavily. As Thetra watched Arek's sword drill itself into Algonge's flesh, he felt sorry for the newcomer in the army. He had wanted Arek to win so badly, but he didn't know his brother had armor on. He was prepared, but Algonge had just come outside, wanting to train.

"Stop fighting!" yelled Thetra at what he thought a little late. "You're killing him, Arek. How can you do this?"

"He..." said Arek, searching for an excuse as to why he went all out to beat Algonge. But he couldn't. He just stood there thinking as Algonge bled to death.

"I'll go get bandages," offered Thetra, walking inside and into the army's hospital. He grabbed bandages out of a cabinet he knew well and placed them on Algonge's wound. "You'll be alright," Thetra assured him, but even he did not sound confident as he said it.

"Will I?" murmured Algonge, out of breath. "I don't seem alright now."

"You will be." Then, hesitantly, Thetra said, "I promise."

A week later Bewaldt rang down from the clouds, but it was not the same voice that had declared the country's new name. It was a hissing voice, saying, "Good Army, we would like to...send a message. We already know that you know what we plan to do, but we would like to send you a message asking for war. Do you accept, or do you decline? This is Morchad Tyerrondesson." Then the raspy voice faded away, and Thetra was left silent, thinking.

"I accept," he muttered. "But how? How do I accept? How do they know? They have spies. So could I just yell out loud, 'I accept your war request!' or do I have to travel to..." He trailed off, knowing he would never make it back alive if he went on that suicide mission, for that was probably exactly what Morchad wanted him to do.

" _I accept!_ " he bellowed into the sky, hoping that one of Morchad's spies may pick up the message. He looked around, but then knew that there was no chance of him seeing any of the enemy's spies, for that Evil was smarter than that.

He waited through that day for any sign that Morchad could possibly know that their army had accepted. He started thinking of how he didn't ask for the army's approval, but just yelled that they had accepted. He represented the Dark Destroyers, but he didn't believe he represented them well.

That night he had a dream. _It was about the army of Stankl Maobn advancing. The setting of the dream was the day of the battle around midnight. Thetra was fighting a possessor, trying to prevent it from taking over him. Finally, the ghost disappeared in a wisp of smoke and Thetra was left winded, as a golem approached him. The golem roared and Thetra looked up at him, helpless and defenseless, for his sword had skittered three feet away from him. He tried to reach for it, but the huge golem's foot knocked it away. Thetra was terrified as the golem raised his giant fist to smash the poor leader of the Dark Destroyers, but suddenly Thetra yelled out, "Flyr!" and the golem froze, paralyzed, for that was what Thetra had pictured in his mind when he cast the spell. He whooped in triumph, but then realized the battle was not yet over. He also realized that he had an idea which could help them kill the golems. They could win the battle, and Thetra had just discovered it._

Thetra awoke with a start, sweating. He thought about his dream–how it was so obvious that he could just say one magic word and they could win the battle. But Morchad could do magic too. Thetra hadn't thought about this. He realized that magic had just made the fight an even match. He was so happy with joy that he shoved his breakfast into his mouth and ran over to where Arek slept.

"Arek! Arek!" he yelled, frightening Arek who was still eating. Arek started choking on his toast, but soon swallowed it and was alright. "Sorry," said Thetra with a smile. "I didn't mean to make you choke. But I have an idea that may help us defeat Morchad's Army."

"Oh?" said Arek, bewildered, for he had just woken up a few minutes earlier, around the same time as Thetra.

"Magic."

Arek's face lit up. "Magic! You are correct! That could win the battle for us! You're a genius, Brother! This is the greatest idea ever!"

"Thank you, Arek." Thetra felt proud and like a real leader. Even he had to admit that his idea was a good one, and was confident that it would work.

"But can't Morchad do it too?" asked Arek, starting to think about all the possibilities that the plan wouldn't work.

"Aye, but it at least makes it a fair battle. I'll bet anything that he wasn't expecting us to discover this."

"I agree. Now we must win this war."

# SPIES AND MORE TRAINING

"I can't wait to fight," said Algonge one morning at breakfast when Thetra had brought up the subject of the upcoming battle. They had been thinking about it more, now that the time to fight was fast approaching them. It was only a month and a half away now, and Thetra began to worry if he did not have enough troops.

"We do not have enough troops," claimed Arek when Thetra told him about it, "but it's at least enough to give us a shot at winning."

"Do you think Morchad will use the strategy of magic? Do you think he even knows about it?"

"Aye, he probably does. If not, then he will figure it out, but he will know about it before the battle."

Algonge spoke up. "Maybe you should train some of our troops in this army to learn magic so that more of us will be able to use it on them."

Thetra looked up at the newcomer. "That's actually a really good idea."

"I'm not dumb," replied Algonge.

"I know, it's just...newcomers don't normally think of ideas that the army will use. After all, you've only been in this army for about a week."

"Thank you?" said Algonge, unsure of what to say.

"You are welcome, Algonge Dercamsson," responded Thetra.

"Look," said Arek, pointing over the hill that led north. There was a man dressed in gold armor darting past the Dark Destroyer's tents.

Thetra stood up and unsheathed his sword. The man immediately stopped running and looked at Thetra, who was trying to look as menacing as possible with Slayer by his side. "State your business," he barked at the man.

"I am..." The man gulped. "I work for Morch"

"A spy!" exclaimed Thetra on hearing the spy start to speak the enemy master's name. "Did you hear that I accepted your war request?"

"Aye," said the spy, knowing that his identity was already revealed. "I reported it back to Lord Morchad two days ago."

Thetra looked at his men on top of the roofs of the Destville buildings, who were armed with bows and arrows. "Shoot!" Thetra shouted.

Immediately a row of arrows were shot and caught onto the spy's uniform. His gold armor was strong though, and it held. The spy did not feel any of the arrows.

Thetra walked over to the intruder and got right in his face. Then he stabbed him in the stomach.

The spy screamed in pain on being stabbed and held on to Thetra's shoulder for support, but Thetra stepped back and watched the spy fall.

His bloody body stained the gravel, and the spy lay motionless, dead. Thetra almost felt sorry for him because he had been killed so quickly but then remembered he served the enemy.

Just then Valao bolted into Thetra's view. "Who was that?" he asked.

"Valao, do not talk," replied Thetra. "If you talk you will lose too much of the energy that you need to be saving for battle."

Valao obeyed his Rider's orders and did not respond.

"That was a spy for Morchad," explained Thetra. "An intruder. I stabbed him on the spot. He was the one who carried the information of our army accepting the war request to Evil."

"Thetra, why did you not ask for our permission?" asked Mordon. "What if we wanted to decline? Personally, I didn't, but others may have."

Thetra gulped. "I apologize, Co-Leader Mordon. I should have done what you just said, yet I did not. I am truly sorry." He hung his head.

"I suppose it is alright, King Thetra," said Mordon. "After all, _you_ are the leader, not me."

"Aye, but co-leaders are just as important as leaders when it comes to armies."

"But leaders are more powerful," said Thetra with a joking smile. Then he bellowed, "Every one of the Dark Destroyers! Gather around, gather around! We must all train and fight, for we need practice before the major battle."

With that short speech, the Dark Destroyers shuffled over to their training spots and got in their positions.

"Fight!" yelled Thetra, and all the pairs of soldiers in the army fought.

"Would you like to train with me?" Algonge asked Thetra as Thetra was overseeing the other soldiers' fights.

"Aye, Algonge. I would be pleased to battle you."

And so they fought, clashing their swords like madmen, neither gaining an advantage over the other.

"You are difficult to beat," claimed Thetra after they had been fighting for a while and he was weary.

"As are you," responded Algonge, panting.

"If only the others were as skilled and talented as us," said Thetra. "Then we could dominate Morchad's evil army."

"Aye," agreed Algonge. "We must train them to be as good as us, and then we could destroy Morchad and win the battle."

"Destroy Morchad's _Army_ ," corrected Thetra. "If what our spies reported is correct, then Morchad is not coming to Destville to confront us, but his army is."

"I see," said Algonge. "That is what I had meant but I clearly stated it wrong."

"Aye, you did." Then Thetra stood up straight and tall and said, "Let us continue training, for there is always room for improvement in the Dark Destroyer army."

With that, their swords continued clanging and their shields continued dodging the opponents' blows.

# DISCOVERY

All they did for the next week was spar and train, and soon Thetra began to realize he was developing strong muscles, and so were the other troops. It seemed as if they had all improved on their fighting skills, and much more.

Thetra started practicing with Arek more often so as to help him become better, so that the army needed more highly trained soldiers, which would help give them a better chance against Morchad's Army.

During one of Thetra and Arek's training sessions, Thetra started the conversation by saying, "One more month and three days until battle day."

"Aye," said Arek.

"We do not have much longer. We must continue training, and we must continue training the way we have beenhard."

"Aye," said Arek, nearly having an advantage in the sparring match.

"Some of our troops are not good enough. Do you believe we shall tell them to leave?"

"No," replied Arek. "They do no harm to the army, unless they mistake us for the enemy in the battle and start fighting us. Otherwise, they would be a help, even if they are not that good. They're better than nothing."

"Aye," agreed Thetra. He won the sparring contest over Arek, who he had just cut badly on the shin. "Are you alright? I am sorry, Brother."

"I forgive you. Thank you for apologizing though." Arek winced and smiled weakly. He walked around, limping but loosening up his left leg.

Arek sat down after a while, for walking had not improved the condition of his leg. He sheathed Stabber and looked up at Thetra. "One month isn't a lot of time, Thetra."

Thetra looked up at the sky. "I know. I am afraid we will not have enough strength to fight when the time comes to fight."

"We only have three good soldiers," stated Arek.

"Oh?" said Thetra.

"Aye. You, Mordon, and Algonge."

"And you?" asked Thetra, for he thought that his brother was a good troop as well.

"No. I may be at the time of battle, but I am not yet."

"Well then I shall make you a highly trained soldier without any more doubts."

"Thank you." Arek smiled.

They then continued to fight into the night.

Two hours after dusk, both Thetra and Arek were so exhausted, they barely made it inside the building in which their beds were, and they collapsed just when they reached them.

"Oh, how tired I am," moaned Thetra, and he fell asleep.

  

Arek

When Arek awoke, he was suddenly starved. He tried to remember the last time he had sat down for a meal, and couldn't think of it, except for supper five days ago.

_How am I living?_ he wondered.

He went down to the Dining Hall for breakfast, and ate eggs and toast as usual.

When he finished, he went outside for his daily walk and discovered it was still early morning. There was a light breeze out which made it feel cool on the training camps.

The temperature was well above the low fifties in Fahrenheit, and Arek could tell by the way the clouds looked that the day was going to only get warmer, so he decided that when he returned from his walk he would dress ready for a hot day in the mid-seventies Fahrenheit.

As he walked, he saw a rabbit sitting on the grass to his right. Fortunately, Arek had brought his bow and four arrows. He took his bow off his shoulder and nocked an arrow.

"Wait..." Arek aimed his bow directly at the rabbit. "Release!" he cried, letting the arrow fly.

The arrow shot through the air and struck the rabbit in its stomach. Arek heard the rabbit squeal, and then he saw the animal lay down dead.

Arek continued his walk up the street, over the hills where announcements were made, past the outdoor eating area, and finally stopped by a pile of hay.

_What is this doing here?_ he thought, looking at the pile. _It must have come from Thaken, though why would it be transported_ here _?_

Anxious to tell the others what he had found, he started his walk back to the Dark Destroyer buildings, through the corridors and passages, and finally reached Thetra's bedroom.

He knocked and waited for Thetra to open the door.

No one came.

"Arek!" he heard a voice yell from behind him. Arek turned around to see Thetra approaching him. "Arek, what are you doing? This is my room."

"I—I was knocking. I thought you were in here."

"I was eating," replied Thetra in a softer tone.

"I was just on a walk." Arek gulped. It would be hard for him to tell Thetra what he had discovered. Why should Thetra believe him? Why should he?

"So? Why should I care? You are allowed to go on walks without my permission."

"No, I know that. I mean I made a discovery."

"Oh?" said Thetra.

"Aye. I found...I found a bale of hay." Arek looked up at his brother, his leader. He knew from the expression on Thetra's face that he believed that Arek was lying. "I promise—I did!"

Thetra held up a hand. "I believe you, Brother."

"You do?" Arek was confused. He was unsure if he had heard Thetra right.

"Aye," responded Thetra. "There is no reason why I should not. There is no reason why you would lie to me like this. What's the point? What do I care if there's a bale of hay outside?"

"But what is a bale of hay doing here? In Destville!"

"That I do not know. I shall investigate. Lead me to the location in which this pile of hay lays."

Arek did. He led Thetra out of the building, along the path he walked on, over the hills, and they finally reached the bale.

"What is this?" asked Thetra, drawing his sword.

"There is no need to draw Slayer," said Arek. "It is not a living creature, but a sign."

"A sign of what?" asked Thetra.

"I do not know. All I know is that it _is_ a sign."

They decided to take the hay back with them to the Destville buildings to show to Mordon, who would know what to do, since he was an investigator.

But when they showed the pile to Mordon, all he said was, "Why is it here?"

"We were hoping you would know why," said Thetra.

"I know not where it has come from, although I do assume it is most likely from one of the valleys in Thaken."

"That is what I assumed as well," said Arek. "Is it possible someone transported it?"

"Using magic?" asked Mordon. "I think not. No one except Evil is _that_ powerful, and why would he send a bale of hay to us anyway?"

The thought was so absurd that Arek couldn't help but laughing. _The great and powerful Evil Morchad would send his enemy a bale of hay?_ he thought. _And dragons drink milk._

Then something caught Arek's eye. Deep within the bale of hay something was shining. _A crown?_ thought Arek.

All of a sudden, Mordon picked up the pile and the shiny object fell out of the pile of straw, making a loud clamor.

"What is that?" said Thetra, looking at the golden stone, still shining brightly. "Is it an egg? Oh, please don't be an egg."

Mordon bent down and knocked on the egg with his fist. He then stood up and said, "It's hollow."

Thetra breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well then what is it?" wondered Arek, still not removing his gaze from the stone.

"Some kind of rock..." Thetra looked hard at it. "I honestly have no clue as to what it could possibly be."

"Neither do I," said both Arek and Mordon. Then Mordon said, "We shall all investigate this object together, for it may be too powerful for one human being. We do not want it to overwhelm one of our best hopes of beating Morchad's Army in the upcoming battle."

Suddenly Valao was at the window, and Thetra heard him screech.

"Get that cursed stone out of this army camp at once!" yelled Valao, who was staring at the golden stone.

"Why?" asked Arek, confused. _What did Valao know about it? Could he give any clues as to what it might be?_

"ThatThat stone..." Valao was panting now, apparently frightened.

"What is it, Valao?" asked Thetra.

"That stone is the stone that gave me amnesia, the stone that Renthueth had thrown at me underwater in the battle with the aliens."

Thetra, Arek, and Mordon all stared breathlessly at Valao.

"And..." Arek saw Valao gulp hard. "That stone is called the Amnesia stone. But it also has another name...one I heard my Rider speak of once in the past."

"Oh?" said Thetra, looking slightly bewildered.

"Aye," replied Valao. He took a deep breath and said, "It is also called the Goldstone."

  

Thetra

# THE GOLDSTONE

Thetra stared at Valao. "Are you being serious, Valao, because this is not a time for jokes and pranks."

"I swear I am speaking the truth," responded Valao.

Thetra couldn't believe it. He remembered how Ingharr had showed him flashes of what the Goldstone looked like and had told him its history. Thetra had vaguely remembered Ingharr's details, but now he remembered them crystal clear.

And now Ingharr spoke to him. _Thetra, this is the only way to kill Morchad. You know very well that he was born as an Entara, but was changed to a human by his father Tyerronde. When someone's race is changed, they receive what is called a Racestone. When they receive this, they must protect it, for if it gets destroyed, they are finished._

However, as this person gets older, the stone becomes harder to destroy, which is why if they are your enemy you may want to destroy the stone earlier in their lifetime.

This means that the person who has the Racestone is almost immortal if they hide their Racestone somewhere safe.

_So you're saying that it is almost impossible to kill Morchad?_ said Thetra.

_Not anymore,_ said Ingharr. _Not that you have found his Racestone. Now you can just break it and he is dead._

_Aye, but he must be at least ten thousand years old,_ responded Thetra, starting to think more clearly now that he wasn't as frightened at the power of the stone.

_Possibly,_ said Ingharr, and then his presence was absent, and his voice faded away.

"Well, I understand what we have to do now," said Mordon.

Thetra was bewildered. "You heard that conversation?" he asked Mordon.

Mordon nodded, and Arek said, "So did I."

Thetra was surprised. He did not expect his brother and co-leader of the Dark Destroyers to hear his thoughts. "Well then, that saves a lot of time that I could have been reciting to you the whole entire conversation."

"Well, that works out just fine, doesn't it?" said Arek with a smile.

"Aye, and now we know what we have to do," said Mordon. "Well, more so what Thetra has to do."

"What?!" exclaimed Thetra in astonishment. "I don't deserve to be the one to finally kill Evil. And anyway, even if I tried I would fail, for Morchad is much too powerful for me."

"No, he is not," protested Arek. "I know your strengths, Brother. You are stronger than that evil man. Much stronger."

"How are you so sure?" wondered Thetra.

"I know you better than anyone else. We grew up together, did everything together and still do. Thetra, we are brothers until we die. And I shall keep on learning your secrets for the rest of our entire lives."

Thetra smiled. "Alright, Brother. I shall try. And I shall succeed."

Arek grinned and patted Thetra on the back. "I know you can, Thetra. I have faith in you."

Thetra nodded his thanks and said, "Why don't the three of us go train? We shall spar for a few hours, eat, and then spar again."

"I agree," said Mordon and Arek.

"Very well." Thetra drew Slayer and Arek and Mordon drew their swords as well. Then they all set out to the training camp and practiced.

  

Satym

Satym sat on her bed, just like she had been doing for the past two hours, and took a sip of her tea.

She had been quite depressed to discover that the Dark Destroyers no longer needed her.

Mordon had come into her quarters and specifically stated, "You are too weak to be in this army. We only accept strong soldiers who are not the kind that weep every time sad news occurs. We only accept those who are talented, trustworthy, and self-aware. You are none of these."

Satym was shocked when she had heard this, for she remembered the Dark Destroyers needing all the reinforcements they could get, and she was better than some of the soldiers they hired, who weren't even soldiers, but dreamy wise old men who trailed off every time they spoke.

Now Satym made no attempt to remove herself from her bed, for she decided she would stay where she was until the army invited her back in.

But they didn't.

Still she waited, for four days, starving, tired, yet still not even making one move.

But after four days, she stood. She drew her sword and chopped down the curtains covering the window, and was blasted with a bright light coming from outside.

The sun was up, and so was she. Satym broke the window and sprinted out of the buildings, down the pathway that many Dark Destroyers took walks on. She exited the city of Destville and collapsed in front of a man.

The man was the Lord of the Prison.

  

Thetra

Thetra immediately felt a stab of pain in his stomach.

"Ah!" he yelled abruptly, jumping. Arek gave him a quizzical look. "I'm fine," claimed Thetra. "Just a little hyper today. I had some sugar in my tea this morning."

But Thetra was hurt. He clutched the side of his stomach and looked over to Mordon. Mordon walked over to him and told him to lift up his shirt so he could inspect the injury.

Thetra did so, and he and Mordon gasped. Arek leaned it to see what the commotion was about, and he too gasped when he saw what had happened. There was a large red circle on Thetra's side, and all around it was swelling blue and black. But what really took them all by surprise was that there was a stinger inside of the red circle.

"How did it get in there?" asked Mordon, shaking his head in disbelief. "How is it even possible? Where did it come from? Why would"

"Mordon, calm down." Arek put a hand on Mordon's shoulder. "It'll be alright."

Mordon shook his head, but it was still apparent to Thetra that he still wanted to know more.

"So what do we do?" wondered Thetra.

"I do not know. The injury seems to have come from a creaturea creature that is able to sting its enemies."

"But what creatures in Arque have stingers?" asked Thetra, bewildered.

"The wasp," said Mordon.

Thetra looked at Mordon with a puzzled glance. "What is the wasp?" he asked.

"It is a small insect that is found in the mid-east part of Arque. I do not know why it would be all the way down here in Destville, but this creature is what most likely stung you."

There was a long silence until Arek said, "Well, do you believe it will stop him from fighting in the battle?"

"I am still fighting, Arek. I will always"

Mordon put his hand up for silence. "Thetra, this is a huge injury. Whichever wasp stung you is more powerful than any other, for I know the power of wasps, as I was once stung myself, and it should not be this important. But it is, and we shall see if you will be able to fight."

Thetra sighed in exasperation. All he wanted to do was fight in the battle, for he knew if the army had him then they stood a chance at winning.

Arek looked at his brother with wild eyes. "Thetra, if you can't battle then we"

"Will still win," finished Thetra, keeping the positive spirits up. "I am not the best fighter in this army. All the Dark Destroyers know that."

Mordon nodded. "Not one of us is the best," he said. "We are all one army, and we shall fight that way as well."

"Aye," said Thetra and Arek. "And we shall win."

  

Satym

Satym was back in jail, holding onto the bars and letting her sweaty palms slide down them.

"Now you are in jail for life!" barked Ruetas, "assuming you don't attempt another failure escape."

"I escaped!" screamed Satym. "Under your little nose, I escaped. I traveled all the way to Destville and"

"Was captured again and taken here. Yes, yes, I know all that," said Ruetas.

All of a sudden a voice yelled from behind the Lord of the Prison, "Ruetas!"

Ruetas shivered at the voice as if it were someone scraping their nails along a blackboard. "Yes, Lord Korta?" said Ruetas, slowly turning around to face his master.

"Let the girl go. And I shall release two of the jailors with her."

Ruetas stared at Korta. "Are you serious? My lord, this girl could put the whole country at danger! Have you seen what she has done?"

"I have," said Korta. "But I have also forgiven her. Now release her, and that is an order!"

As Ruetas did this, Lokapoka and Jordan came out from a doorway and looked at Satym with delight. "You're alive!" they said in unison.

"Aye," said Satym, smiling as she exited her cell. "And free."

"Let us go with proud smiles on our faces, for we are all free at last," said Jordan, and they left the horrible foul-smelling cages of the Mthanl Jail.

They arrived in Destville five days later, since they had not ridden in on horseback.

Thetra welcomed all three of them and gave the two newcomers swords, and told them they could practice sparring with each other in the army camps.

They both stared at him absentmindedly, but they soon understood and walked over to the camps and fought.

"Thetra, why did you send Mordon to kick me out of the army?" asked Satym.

Thetra sighed and looked up. "I did it because your parents are evil. You went to jail. You nearly killed Therr. I don't know why I did it!"

"I didn't choose my parents; you went to jail as well; I do not know why I almost killed Therr, but do you see my point? I apologize."

"Apology accepted. You are welcomed back into the Dark Destroyer army once more."

Satym smiled. "I am going to go fight someone. I will see you later." With that, Satym ran off and left Thetra alone.

Thetra had just started walking inside the building for dinner when he saw Arek.

"Hello, Brother," said Thetra, and Arek looked up from reading a book and greeted Thetra.

"Such a nice day," said Thetra. "Would you like to come spar with me?" Thetra motioned outside.

"Thetra! You know you are not allowed to do that! You were stung, and it is preventing you from any further activity, especially sparring."

"Arek, all I want to do is practice. I am in better condition than yesterday, and I am ready to fight." Thetra drew Slayer as if to prove his point.

Just then, a spy for the Dark Destroyers ran into Thetra's view and reported, "Morchad's golems are completed! He has eighty-five golems prepared for battle, and now he is just waiting three more weeks and one day for his soldiers to practice."

Thetra sighed, disappointed. "Well, now it is official. Morchad will be attacking us with golems, men, and possessors. What is the status on the possessors, spy?"

"Good news there. Since they will take three weeks, and he started them a week and four days ago, they will not have enough time to be trained, so he is not bringing any possessors with him in the fight."

"Oh my goodness, thank you so much. Now we stand an even better chance."

"Aye." With that, the spy ran off to rest, and Thetra and Arek resumed their conversation.

"I am sorry, Thetra. I will not practice with you. But what I will do is look at the Goldstone more closely, since the battle is nearing quickly."

Thetra agreed, and they walked into his quarters to look more closely at their secret weapon, also Evil's weakness.

They found nothing new on the stone Arek had found one morning on his walk, and so they both went to sleep.

Valao awoke them the next morning with a magnificent ear-deafening roar, signaling exactly three more weeks until the day of battle, if the army's spies' reports were accurate.

Thetra went downstairs for breakfast immediately after Valao roared, and he decided he would eat outside with Valao, for it was a beautiful dayone for outdoor activity.

Valao went out to hunt for his breakfast while Thetra started eating. Valao later returned in the middle of Thetra's meal with game that even Thetra did not know about. He decided to pay more attention to what could attack the soldiers at any moment.

As he and Valao ate their food, the sun slowly rose into the sky, beginning a whole new day.

Once they finished breakfast, they decided to go meet Algonge and Casmig at the army camps, for both Valao and Thetra had forgiven Casmig for what he had done to Ghuar and Valao.

They were both there, rider on dragon. It was the first time that Thetra realized Algonge was not an official Rider.

"How long until you become a Rider?" asked Thetra, knowing it had not taken him long, so Algonge must be a new rider.

"I am unsure," responded Algonge. "I started about one to two months ago, so I suppose soon."

"It took me about a month and a half."

"Then I shall be there soon."

While they were talking, the dragons were as well, apologizing and forgiving. Soon they all worked it out and were chums again.

They then started battling, Thetra on Valao and Algonge on Casmig. It was a fair fight, and by the time it was over, neither team had won the match.

"Reasonably fair fight, eh?" said Algonge, panting.

"Aye," agreed Thetra. He nodded at Casmig. "Your dragon is strong."

"Thank you," said Casmig.

After a silence, Thetra said, "I believe our army has done enough training. We shall now let them relax and we shall prepare the buildings for battle and put guards all around the dungeon so no one fighting for Morchad down there can escape and try to battle us."

"Agreed," said Valao, as did Casmig and Algonge.

"Alright. Let Arek, Algonge, Mordon and I go prepare the buildings." Thetra set off with Algonge to find Morchad and Arek.

Once Algonge and Thetra had collected Arek and Mordon, they all went to the building in which the Dark Destroyers ate. They each went to one corner and put a metal V-shaped object around the corner. The objects were about five feet by two feet, but strong enough to hold the building together.

"Maybe we should just put an entire metal coating around the outside walls," suggested Arek.

Thetra agreed, and looked at Mordon and Algonge to see if they approved as well. Mordon nodded, but Algonge disagreed, shaking his head.

"What do you believe we should do?" Mordon asked Algonge.

"I know not what we shall do, but I do know that it would take much of our time putting a second coating on this brick. Mortars may break it, but what is in here that is so valuable?"

"The work of the early Destroyers," said Mordon.

But Algonge did not give up. "The work means nothing. The building is not ancient at all! It's only been built for about a thousand years."

"Aye, but..." Valao trailed off, knowing how long Arque had been a countrythis was its 23,964th year.

After a silence, Thetra finally said, "Alright. Let us continue on to the housing building."

"To the housing building we go," said Mordon, leading them to the building in which the Dark Destroyers all slept.

  

Valao

# INTRUDER ON DESTVILLE

Valao lay curled up on the grass, Ejarshöh and Casmig doing the same behind him. The three dragons had been busy preparing the housing building for battle, and they were tired of complaining about all the reasons why the housing building was unimportant, but the puny little humans insisted they prepare the building and persuaded the dragons by whining on and on in their little wimpy voices how they just needed the dragons to finish the job.

_Next time I'll teach those little humans just what a child of the sky can do,_ thought Valao with a huff.

Thetra was continuing on to the next building when something approaching from the west caught Valao's eye. He immediately was alert, head raised high for any danger.

"Thetra!" yelled Valao in Thetra's direction, and Thetra turned around to face Valao, a questioning expression on his face. Valao gestured to the shape coming in from the west, and saw Thetra look and see the creature.

"It's a horse!" announced Thetra, but Valao was not sure. It did not look like a horse, but a giant animal with their fist in the air.

"Are you sure?" yelled Valao to Thetra, who was running toward him like a bullet.

"Aye," said Thetra once he reached Valao. "What does it look like to you?"

Valao squinted his eyes to try and see, examining the shape very closely. "It looks like...a human on a horse with their sword in the air."

Thetra breathed in a big breath of air. "That could only mean one thing. Get the others!"

Thetra, Valao, Ejarshöh, Casmig, and Algonge all bolted in different directions, gathering the best Dark Destroyers and telling them what was happening, for they were quite confused when they were awoken from their mid-day sleep.

Once all the soldiers were together, they all set out to meet the rider on horseback.

Thetra led them out far west, all the way to the horse, for the rider was not moving now that it was so close. Valao figured that the rider may be frightened, a youngling that wanted to join the Good Army but did not know what to expect. Yet Valao still felt no sympathy, no matter who it was. He only felt sympathy for Thetra, and Thetra alone.

Once they were within a mile of the rider, they stopped, for the horse was now moving towards them. It was moving very slowly as if it were cautious, which it probably was.

Valao started to wander off, looking at nature and different things in the world of Destville. He saw an unusual plant and decided to stay away from it, thinking it might be the poisonous léverujosk, for it met all of the exceptions to be one.

When Valao returned to the place where the group had stopped, they were waiting for him. Once he arrived, they continued on with what was now a half mile.

Once the puny humans were within shooting range of the horse and human, they noticed the full details of the rider's expression. Since the humans were hiding behind a sharp row of thorn rose bushes, the rider did not notice them. But the four dragons were up above the clouds, out of sight.

"Do you think the human caught them yet?" asked Casmig.

"No," responded Ghuar. "But I believe that since the odds are fourteen to one, we stand a good chance."

"I agree with Ghuar," said Ejarshöh.

"I do as well," said Valao, flying higher above all the other dragons.

"Valao, do come down and join us," said Ghaur. "We need all the dragons down here to discuss who we think the rider on the horse might be."

"My tooth is loose," lied Valao.

"Valao, you are a wimp if you're making an excuse like that," said Casmig.

"Be quiet!" barked Valao, but laughter had already broken out among the dragons, and Valao could feel his face getting hot with humiliation.

"But seriously Valao, please come down here," said Ejarshöh. "Ghuar is right. We need all of the dragons that will participate in the fight to prepare for the fight."

"Well said, Ejarshöh," said Ghuar.

"Alright," said Valao, climbing down through the air.

Once Valao was with the others, Ghuar began the conversation by saying, "So how do we help the humans?"

"I have an idea," said Ejarshöh. "We go down a little further in the clouds and stay hidden in them..."

"How would that help us?" wondered Valao.

"Well, we would still be able to see."

"Oh?" said Ghuar.

"Aye. We would be high enough in the clouds so that we would be out of sight, yet we would be low enough to be able to spy on the fight and watch to see if our help is needed."

"That's not bad," said Ghuar, his expression showing that he was thinking hard. "So you suggest we fly down a bit further?"

"Aye," replied Ejarshöh.

"I like the idea," said Casmig. "Let us do it."

"Let Ejarshöh lead the way," said Valao abruptly. "He was the one who formed the idea."

"I agree," said Ghuar, hovering out of the way so that Ejarshöh could lead them down.

As they climbed down further through the hazy mist Valao thought he saw Thetra kneeling.

Once they reached the place in the clouds that Ejarshöh led them to, Valao realized he was correct. He could see Thetra kneeling, _bleeding_.

"Ghuar," said Valao.

"Keep your voice down!" said Ghuar in a hushed whisper. "Since we are farther down in the clouds the woman can hear us better. Now what do you need?"

"Thetra is bleeding."

Ghuar looked shocked. He looked down to see for himself, and Valao saw him discover that it was true when his expression turned to shock. "Oh my," he said.

"Shall we go help him?" asked Casmig.

"No. Stay here. The humans down there will heal him somehow," said Ghuar.

Valao wanted to roar as loud as he possibly could, for he could bear it no longer that his Rider was injured and bleeding and he could do nothing about it other than just watch.

"Ghuar, let me go down there. There's nothing the woman can do to me. I am invincible to all other than myself."

Valao could tell that Ghuar was regarding Valao with a newborn respect. "Alright," he said. "You may go. But under only one condition."

"Oh?" said Valao, eager to go save Thetra.

"You return the moment Thetra is healed."

Valao sighed. "Aye." Then he took off down toward Thetra.

But as Valao flew down, something caught his eye. He looked at the dot he saw and realized that Mordon was wandering away from the pack. He was going to a source of water east from the group.

Suspicious, Valao flew after him.

He saw Mordon wading through the ways until he reached the center of a small lake. Valao saw Mordon bend down and put his hand in the water, as if to feel the climate of the liquid.

Valao still stayed high in the air, unseen. He squinted his eyes to see what exactly Mordon was doing. After about a minute of searching around the water, Valao saw Mordon pick something out of the water.

Although he could not see exactly what Mordon had discovered, Valao could easily assume it was a glass jar by the looks of the object.

But what was in the jar Valao did not know. It looked to him like a liquid mixture between a vapor and a venomous poison.

Valao started gliding closer to the ground to get a better look at what Mordon had found.

But as he flew, Mordon looked up and saw who was spying on him.

Valao immediately shot up towards the sky and tried to find where the other dragons were. But he soon discovered that it was nearly impossible to pinpoint their exact location in the clouds.

Valao was afraid that since Mordon had spotted him, he assumed that Valao had very valuable information stored in his brain, which Valao did not, as he had no idea what Mordon was doing at the lake.

What did Mordon think of Valao now that he had caught him? Did he think that Valao was always stalking creatures? Valao was afraid of the answer.

Valao continued flying in the direction he thought the other dragons were but he couldn't be too sure. He was lost in the clouds, drifting through the puffy white blanket, not having a clue about his friends' location.

But as Valao flew along the edge of the clouds, feeling the warm coziness of the inside of the clouds he loved to swim in, Valao heard a high-pitched yell. He did not recognize the scream at all, and assumed it belonged to Mordon as Valao had never heard his yell. Valao flew lower to investigate.

As Valao hovered in the clouds, just being able to see the ground far below, he checked to see if he was hidden.

He looked down at his belly, seeing if any square inch of it was being exposed to the world beneath the clouds, and he immediately felt mortified as he discovered that his abdomen was below the clouds, along with the tips of his claws. He sucked his stomach in, raised his legs, and hoped for the best as he continued searching for both the screamer and his friendswhichever came first.

Valao flew over lakes and ponds, enjoying the interesting view of the world below him. He admired the fresh smell of the pine trees, and was pleased to see all of the grass on the ground, with no dirt.

But he soon realized that although he enjoyed exploring nature, he was not completing his task.

_I have flown too far_ , he thought, horrified.

Panicking, Valao quickly turned around. But he should not have, for what he saw was not something he had ever wanted to witness since only about an hour ago, when he had caught Mordon up to something suspicious.

For what he saw was a dragon. It wasn't any ordinary dragon; it was Ejarshöh.

Sitting upon him was the man Valao least expectedMordon Teruisson.

Mordon had his sword in hand, ready for anything that might jump at him or attack him. But he was not threatening Valao, so Valao stepped up and spoke.

"Ho, Mordon. What brings you so far up in the wilderness of the sky?"

"I was looking for you, Valao Valeosson. I wanted to ask you a question."

"Oh?"

"I was wondering why you were spying on me down at the lake. Do you know what I was doing?"

"I know not what you were doing, nor what you were intending to do, but I did know you were doing something."

"Indeed I was," Mordon said mysteriously.

"And what might that have been?" wondered Valao.

"I was searching for a type of oil at the bottom of the small lake to heal Thetra's wound."

"He was stabbed?"

"Aye," replied Mordon. "I am on a quest to save my friend."

"I see. Well hurry and take it to him! We don't want him dying!"

"Yes, dragon. Fly down, Ejarshöh! Fly down!" Mordon and Ejarshöh took off to land next to the group of men from the army.

"No, Mordon, stop!" Valao yelled after him, remembering his battle theories for studying at the Great Hall back with Ghuar in the army.

Ejarshöh came to an abrupt stop in the air. He turned around to let Mordon face Valao.

"What is it, Valao?" asked Mordon.

"Do you not think that the intruder would spy you flying in the sky and watch you fly down to behind those bushes and know that she was being spied upon?!" scolded Valao.

Mordon hung his head. "I am sorry, dragon. What shall I do?"

Valao thought for a long time on this.

_Maybe if Ejarshöh could fly around behind the intruder and Mordon could kill her in the back then she would easily be finished._ But then Valao realized how the woman would most definitely hear them sneaking up on her.

"I do not know, Mordon."

"Shall I just remain in the air out of sight until you sort your thoughts out?"

"That would be fine, Mordon," replied Valao, and that was exactly what Mordon did.

  

Arek

Arek sat down on a patch of grass and sighed.

It seemed to him as if the meeting with the woman was going to take the rest of their lives, and he did not exaggerate when he thought this.

Thetra was so annoying in the way he acted as if he were leading the group, which he was of course, but he did not have to order the troops in such a harsh way, especially his brother.

Thetra had insisted they waited for Mordon to return from getting the oil, and they had grown so impatient and were complaining so much that Thetra sent Ejarshöh to go find Mordon.

But Ejarshöh and Mordon were yet to return.

The fact that they had not returned after about an hourif Arek's estimate was correctworried Arek, for he cared about not only his dragon, but also had been becoming good friends with Mordon after all the sparring they did together.

After a while, Arek couldn't stop himself. He stomped over to his brother and got in Thetra's face, yelling, "You need to learn that we care about our friends too!"

Thetra's jaw dropped and he looked as if he were struck. He tried to say something but to Arek it looked as if he were a fish gasping for air, for his mouth made no sound, only the action of opening and closing.

"What are you trying to say, Brother?" asked Arek.

After a minute Thetra began to talk. "I, I am not going to be influenced by you," he said awkwardly.

"Alright," said Arek, not willing to look like Thetra did only a minute ago, dumbstruck.

"Arek..."

"What, Thetra?" asked Arek impatiently.

"I am the leader of the army."

"You don't say..." said Arek in a mocking tone, imitating his uncle who used to say that every time Thetra or Arek said something obvious.

Uncle would be proud of us if only he knew instead of staying in that house of his, never seeing daylight, entranced by his books and scrolls.

"What I mean is..." Thetra paused, then continued. "I mean you need to show respect. I have more power than you, Brother."

"I am older," protested Arek.

"That does not matter!" snapped Thetra. "I will listen to you no longer!"

"Be quiet, Thetra. The intruder may hear us."

"What do you care?" Arek heard Thetra mutter under his breath.

Thetra did not answer.

But Arek heard something far in the distance. He pictured it as a dying bird without its flock, flying farther and farther away from his family. Arek imagined the bird as a crow, a fearless animal that would never give up.

But in this case, it did, for the noise was only getting louder, as if the bird were flying towards them.

Arek immediately looked up as he felt the wind rushing down to him from the beating of a winged animal.

"Ahhh!" yelled Arek, and was immediately scolded by Thetra, who was not one to let his brother disobey his rules, even if Arek was older.

"Thetra," warned Arek, quieter this time. "What was that?"

"I do not know, Brother. Let me"

Thetra was interrupted by the rushing of wings once more, and this time Arek raised his hand high in the air and felt the animal's belly.

It was a dragon.

Arek looked up as fast as he possibly could have and saw the glint of red scales just as the dragon disappeared out of view once more, only to come flying back again.

"He's circling," said Thetra. "Most likely looking for a spot to land."

"Well I'm not moving," declared Arek.

After a moment's silence, Thetra whispered loudly, "Arek, that's _your_ dragon!"

Arek was astonished as he realized that Thetra was correct. Flying high above them was Ejarshöh Korjahbsson, soaring through the clouds so gracefully that Arek found a newborn satisfaction for his dragon.

"Dragon!" yelled Arek. "Come down here at once! You will be seen and give our presence away!"

But he already had. The intruder rustled the branches in front of her, and that gave the group of Dark Destroyers the signal that the time had come.

As Arek started running, he felt something tug at his shoe. He attempted to continue racing forward to meet his dragon, but he was stuck. As he tried to pull his foot loose, he pulled so hard that his foot escaped the root that had wrapped itself around his ankle, only to run into another thorny branch, which he tripped over.

"Ah!" he yelled too loudly. Thetra immediately scolded him and told him to continue more quietly, but Arek could not walk. He was injured.

Arek started crawling toward his destination, not using his leg.

"Arek, what is wrong?" asked Thetra, starting towards his brother.

"My ankle...it's broken."

"What happened? We need the strongest soldiers for the battle!"

"Just make me a potion or something. I tripped over a twig and twisted it. It is really severe, Thetra. I cannot walk."

"I shall make you a crutch, my brother."

"Thank you," said Arek, wincing in pain with every movement.

Thetra set to work, twisting boughs together in different combinations. He made one long stick, then another, and completed one crutch by tying them together with a strong weed that would hold. He then repeated the action once more, and finally, Arek had support.

"It is crude, but what else can you hope for in these conditions?" Thetra gestured around him to the forest.

"Thank you, Thetra," said Arek.

Thetra nodded in response. "Let us continue back to the group, for I believe your dragon has joined them."

They arrived shortly after dusk, using a slightly damaged lantern they found to lead them.

Although the woman knew they were there, they remained hidden behind the bushes until the intruder made their move.

  

Thetra

# NEARLY DEAD

It happened immediately after midnight. The intruder made the action so blindingly fast, some of the group did not even realize it happened.

However, Thetra did.

He saw it, for his eyes were getting more and keener ever since he had underwent his Dragon Rider transformation.

But he also happened not to be blinking at the moment it happened.

The woman had reached into her pouch that she carried behind her. It was a large pouch, about three feet across and three feet tall.

Out of the bag, she drew a bow with five arrows, and not only this, but she also nocked an arrow and pulled the string back, threatening them.

"Be gone with you," Thetra heard her mutter.

_We belong here, unlike you. You may not push us out of our land, for this is ours!_ thought Thetra, never daring to say such a thing.

"Who are you?" Thetra questioned the woman.

"You shall not have the knowledge of my identity, boy."

Thetra reached for his sword, but just rested his palm on the hilt.

"Speak your business," snapped Thetra.

"No." The intruder cocked her head as if listening to something.

"What do you hear?" asked Thetra.

"A bird. A mockingbird...singing."

"I hear nothing. Is it graceful?" Thetra's plan was to distract the woman with as many questions as possible.

"Aye," said the woman suspiciously.

"What race do you belong to?" wondered Thetra.

The woman paused before answering. "I am an ogre."

Thetra was shocked. Then another question pounded on him. He asked, "What clan are you in?"

"The Royal Clan."

Thetra gulped. He remembered the ogre Varick telling him about the Royal Clan. "How are you related to royalty?"

"My uncle is the king." The woman's bow was still drawn back. "Do you wish for me to shoot?"

"Of course not." Thetra drew Slayer. "It wouldn't be a fair fight."

The woman let go of the string and the arrow was shot, sent whizzing past Thetra's left ear and into the bushes beside him.

Thetra swiveled his head back to face the intruder but saw nothing. The woman was gone, her last attempt to kill Thetra done.

"Where is she?" asked Mordon.

"She has left us. Let us return to the camp in peace."

The rest of the group nodded, and they returned to the army, Thetra still in shock.

# TRAGEDY

As they walked back to the camp, they noticed a strange sight ahead of them.

There was a man of the Dark Destroyers waving a red flag with black stars on it.

"King Thetra! King Thetra!" the man yelled. "You must come quickly!"

Thetra and the rest of the pack started sprinting toward the scene, attempting to find out what was the big deal.

But as they drew near, Arek pointed to a bleeding soldier lying on the ground, helpless.

Then they found another.

Four more.

This is too many. We are getting destroyed by a mysterious attacker. It couldn't possibly be the woman intruder, for she retreated.

Then another thought panged on Thetra.

Maybe she snuck back to the army camps.

They continued searching for the suspect, the dragons flying overhead while most of the men of the army were not only looking for the intruder, but also protecting themselves from anything that may be sneaking up on them.

Finally, they found her.

Arek and the others had been scaling all the walls in Destville, and Arek had spotted her on the roof of the training house. He had drawn Stabber, and immediately reported the news to Thetra and Mordon, just as he was commanded to by Thetra.

"Where is she?" asked Thetra.

"Follow me," said Arek, and he lead them to the training building where he presented the lost warrior who was determined to kill off the entire population in Destville.

They arrived back at the training building with the woman still remaining on the roof, only now she was trapped by the Dark Destroyers.

"Lay thy sword down!" yelled Arek.

"I shall not!" responded the royal ogre.

Thetra eyed Valao, who was standing next to him, and gave him the signal. Valao flew up towards the intruder and knocked her off the building.

The soldiers who had climbed ladders to the top of the training building and surrounded the woman now jumped off to confront her, and they started chanting.

"You shall die! You shall die!"

But Arek was the loudest. He was yelling as loud as he could, probably losing his voice trying to make the woman hear him.

But Arek was getting trampled by the crowd. As if in response to this unacceptable behavior, he threw his sword as far as he possibly could.

Thetra saw the sword flying through the air, having no idea whose it was, nor who it would kill. But he knew who its target was, for there was only one.

Stabber met its target.

The woman was choked by the sword, and the thrower ran forward to claim his sword.

As Arek retrieved his sword from the woman's throat, he was thanked by a loud round of applause that sounded like thunder.

"Thank you, Arek Ogrekiller!" shouted many warriors.

  

# THE FINAL PREPARATION DAY

Thetra was well aware of the last day of training. He had been thinking about it for the past week, nothing else on his mind except the death of the ogre woman.

Thetra had been thinking about how the spies had all been rushing to see him the day before, reporting that Morchad's army had started advancing, and how only Evil himself and his dragon had stayed behind. The evil lord had all of Stankl Maobn to himself, and none of his soldiers could return, except for the survivors.

Thetra decided to take the day off to rest. After all, the next morning he would be suiting up his armor to go and fight golems. He had to be ready for anything that would be thrown at him.

The day we be long, he knew that. He knew all the emotions he would feel as the day passed. Nervous, excited, scared, unsure, anxious. He did not know what to expect, as the only battle he had ever been in was the battle when he had first reached the army.

Because of this, he went to Mordon to ask a few questions.

When he arrived in Mordon's quarters he was surprised to find a guard outside his door that told Thetra, "Why do you wish to speak to Mordon Teruisson?"

"I must ask him about the upcoming battle."

"Guards are posted outside everyone on this list of names' quarters." The short, fat guard handed Thetra a list that read:

Thetra Eouhjasson

Mordon Teruisson

Arek Eouhjasson

Algonge Dercamsson

Undcund Koloarsson

Yalobregh Udergesson

Hortyun Baldusson

As Thetra finished reading the list, he recognized the last three names. He remembered Hortyun, who had made the announcement that the Dark Destroyers would travel from the island in the middle of the ocean back to Destville. He also remembered Undcund and Yalobregh, the soldiers who had flown with him on Valao back to Destville from the island.

Thetra's thoughts were interrupted when a spy came rushing down the hall and spoke to Thetra, "I heard a voice. He said his name was Ingharr, and he wanted me to tell King Thetra that he has to use the Blade of Fire in the coming battle."

Thetra remembered Ingharr telling him about this. He remembered Ingharr's images of Morchad holding the blade. He remembered Ingharr telling him the sword was in Crater Pit on the earth's moon.

But he didn't live on the earth. He lived in a whole different solar system than Earth. How was he supposed to find Earth?

But then Ingharr's voice spoke to him.

You do not travel there, but have an image of the sword in your mind. Then imagine grabbing the sword. Imagine pulling it out of the ground, and you will hold it in your hands when you come to.

Thetra was worried about what would happen to him once he completed this action, but he decided it was life or death.

Thetra took a deep breath and did what he was instructed. He closed his eyes and imagined himself on Earth's moon. He did not know anything about the moon, nor Earth, but he kept imagining the moon was a pale thin pink layer of rock, and the earth was a giant yellow spinning sphere in the middle of space.

Then he thought of himself pulling Slayer out of the rock, only instead of the blade being green, it was orange with red flames.

He opened his eyes, and he saw in his hand the exact same sword he had been picturing only moments before.

He nearly screamed.

He was only half-expecting it to work, but he saw and felt the sword in his hands.

The guard at Mordon's door looked frightened. He opened the door and let Thetra in Mordon's quarters, most likely thinking that Thetra was threatening him with the Blade of Fire.

As Thetra stepped into Mordon's quarters, Mordon was just getting ready to go down to the camp to train. But he now stared open-mouthed at Thetra, shocked at what he was holding.

"What, what is that?" he asked Thetra.

"I give it to you. It is known as the Blade of Fire, but you may name it otherwise." Thetra handed the sword to Mordon.

"Where did you get it?" asked Mordon, still astonished.

Thetra smiled. "I shall tell you later."

Mordon sighed. Then he asked, "Would you like to train with me on this last preparation day? After all, I did hear that Morchad's army has started their march."

"I have chosen to rest today. But I must ask you, why did Morchad choose today? Is it because of me? Because I joined?"

"I do not know. We may find out soon but for now I am just going to train with someone. Have an enjoyable resting day."

With that, Mordon left his quarters and exited the building to practice, leaving Thetra.

"Valao!" yelled Thetra to his dragon as he approached him, having an idea.

"What do you need, Thetra?'

"I must practice fighting while I am riding you. Surely it will happen." He drew Slayer.

"Alright. Get on me." Valao waited for Thetra to climb onto him until abruptly taking flight.

"Valao!" scolded Thetra. "Do not do that! Do you want me killed?"

"No, Thetra."

_Valao can be very uncooperative at times_ , thought Thetra, sighing.

"Let us fly!" Valao soared over the ground, and Thetra couldn't help but have the feeling of freedom he always had when he rode his dragon.

Thetra stood up on Valao, and while he was still flying low, Thetra held Slayer up and pretended to fight.

But then all of a sudden, there was a loud noise.

Boom.

It was the sound of a cannon.

_Had the battle begun yet?_ wondered Thetra.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

"What is it?" asked Thetra.

Valao paused before answering his question. But he did answer it.

"Morchad's Army has arrived."

# THE FIRST HOURS OF COMBAT

"They came early!" yelled Thetra above the chants of Morchad's Army.

"You can never predict anything with Evil's army," responded Valao as they sped down to the ground.

Thetra kept his sword in his hand.

He saw a red flag being waived by a man in the front of the army, obviously an outrageous lunatic.

"Drop me down at the doors to the building so I may get my armor on," said Thetra. "Surely the gates are locked, but they shall let me in once they realize who I am. But you have to hurry."

Once Valao let him off, Thetra took off like a spell shooting at its victim. He bolted through the doors, which the guards let him through, and then took off down passageways, hallways, and lounges in the building.

Once he reached his quarters, he found a guard that must have been assigned to his door. He took no notice of the soldier, but pushed open the door and put on his full armor.

First he put the leg pads on, then the chest pad, and then the armguards. Finally, he put on his helmet, which he would not need the entire time.

After he had completely suited up, he jumped out of his window and onto Valao's back, who was waiting for him. They then took off at a medium speed to meet Morchad's Army.

"I believe that if they approached our camps from the north, then we have to battle against the northwestern winds if we want to reach them," said Thetra.

"I agree. I must fly lower." Valao then dipped lower in the air for the men quickly approaching.

"I have yet to see a golem," Valao said as he flew over many heads in Morchad's gigantic army.

"I haven't either," was Thetra's only response.

As noon turned to afternoon, and afternoon turned to night, they still did not see one golem. Thetra figured the beasts were in the rear of the crowd, but they were only midway through the raging army by the time the sun reached the horizon.

"This is highly unusual. What is happening down there?" asked Valao as his wings flapped ever on.

A fight had broken out between two Entaraa creature that the Dark Destroyers had not been alerted would be coming. The bigger one was winning, but the smaller sized one was still punching the bully's forehead with his tiny fists, as if it were afraid to give up. But what was most strange was that the whole army was just walking by as if they didn't see either one of them.

"Why are they just ignoring them?" wondered Thetra. "Can they see them, or are we in a magical force field of some sort?"

"Morchad probably told them to ignore any fights that occurred in the march," said Valao, still hovering. "He probably did that so that they could get to us as fast as possible."

Thetra still had a doubt, but he listened to Valao's thought.

The next morning about two hours after dawn Thetra saw a bleach-white animal.

"There they are," muttered Thetra.

There were at least fifty of them. They all crowded around themselves, waiting for some sort of excitement.

"How do we kill them?" asked Valao.

"Smash them. Fall on them and crush them. Torture them in any way," said Thetra.

Valao took a deep breath.

Then he dove into the crowd.

"No, not yet!" cried Thetra.

# GOLEMS

It was too late. Valao had already driven himself and Thetra on a suicide mission into an army of golems. There was no escape. It was do or die.

"Valao," muttered Thetra. "This is the end. Once we plunge into this army of golems we"

"Have positive feelings for once, Rider," protested Valao.

"I do!" yelled Thetra.

"We must not fight, for if we do we will never win this battle," growled Valao.

Thetra did not respond. All he could feel was his stomach lurching, the airborne feeling he always got when he was flying, only this time it was stronger than ever. He felt hunger in his stomach as well, for he had not eaten since the day before, and needed a proper meal.

"We must destroy them," Thetra heard a golem say. "They cannot kill us. We must obey Lord Morchad's commands."

"Aye," replied another golem, and he swept his fist at Valao, missing his tail by only a few feet.

"Kill them," growled the first golem. He punched his wide knuckles in Valao's direction, and he connected with his underside, knocking the wind out of him.

"Ah!" exclaimed Valao loudly. He toppled to the ground, landing on three large golems. They shook him off, angry that their enemy was falling on top of them from the sky.

Once Valao recovered from his belly injury, he had sustained a few more punches, which had left him so damaged he was just barely able to take flight and land behind the army of golems that was quickly approaching Destville.

"Valao!" screamed Thetra. "Dragon, are you alright?"

"I am fine, Thetra. Thank you." Valao stood up again and said, "Though I do not think I can go fight them again right now."

"Then rest. We can go fight again later." Valao then fell asleep with a long sigh that took Thetra by surprise.

Not long after, Valao woke with a low growl that once again startled Thetra. He too, had fallen to sleep but now was wide awake, as Valao was alert, his eyes darting over Thetra's field of vision.

"What?" said Thetra.

"I heard something." Valao stood up and then immediately fell back to the ground, realizing he had not fully recovered from his stomach injury.

"What did it sound like?" Thetra was not used to his dragon waking up so suddenly, so he was questioning him like a guard asking a townsman where direction a fugitive had gone.

"Heavy footsteps," came Valao's response.

Thetra frowned. He was about to ask Valao what kind of creature they sounded like when he said, "Go. Hide. I will be there in a second."

"Valao"

"Just do it!" hushed Valao, and this time Thetra obeyed. He darted behind Valao's tail to a cluster of pine trees on the outskirts of a small forest. He knelt down on a pile of pine needles that had fallen from the towering trees above. The foot of the thick trunk was occupied with many unique types of berries. There were berries of all sortsblue, red, poisonous, nonpoisonous. Thetra picked up a blue berry and cut into it with a sharp pine needle. The core was as dark black as the midnight sky.

_Highly unusual_ , he thought with a hint of wonder. _The berries back in Toage were all pink with a black core, but I have never seen a blue berry with a center the color of Entara fur._

Suddenly Valao came rustling through the pines, pushing Thetra deeper into the forest. Thetra dropped the berry, holding on to the thought he would find another.

He was correct. In fact, in the part of the forest he was located at, the blue and black berries were scattered over the entire forest floor as far as Thetra could see.

"Why are you acting so unusual?" Thetra asked Valao.

"Warvé is here," replied Valao.

"Who?"

"Warvé. He is the golem that was talking about us when we flew through the golem army."

"Did he see us?" asked Thetra.

"I suppose so if he is tracking us right now," whispered Valao.

"Is he in this forest?"

"He most likely is now. Come, we must venture farther into the forest."

They stopped at a tree with a symbol carved into the trunk that was what looked like a giant G. Immediately Thetra knew what it was.

Golems.

"Valao," said Thetra. "Let us go deeper into the forest."

"But..." Valao trailed off when he saw the tree. "Alright."

They continued their escape from the monstrous golem chasing them through the forest, and Thetra began to feel like he was back in Toage as a little boy, sitting around the campfire and listening to Worgh tell stories about the monsters hiding in the forest, the storyteller's job mainly to entertain the younglings.

"Valao," said Thetra.

"Yes, Rider?"

"Do you think the Destroyers believe we are abandoning them."

Valao paused before responding, but finally, he said, "Of course not. They would rather have us live and not fight than die fighting. But I do think we should go back."

Thetra sighed. "But listen to your words. If we go back, we will die."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take, Thetra."

"I am not."

"Well, we cannot separate. It is either we go back or keep running." Valao stopped and faced Thetra.

Thetra avoided his eyes.

"Make a decision," barked the dragon.

Finally Thetra looked up. "I will go," he said.

Valao immediately crouched. "Get on me, then," he said, waiting for Thetra to board him.

Thetra climbed onto Valao's back, regretting rubbing himself against his dragon's sharp scales.

Once he got up, Valao stood up straight and tall. He was about to yell a war cry when Thetra spotted something approaching them.

"Stop. Don't go."

Valao closed his mouth. "What is wrong, Rider?"

Thetra pointed to the golem who was quickly approaching them.

"I must fly above him. Does he see us?" said Valao.

"No, not yet. You need to abruptly lift up as high as you can go and then take off towards Destville at full speed."

"Yes, Rider."

"On three," said Thetra. "One, two..."

The golem spotted them.

But it was too late. "Three!" yelled Thetra, and Valao started upward, flapping his wings as hard as he could.

"Great success!" shouted Thetra. "Now fly in that direction," said Thetra as he pointed towards the army camps.

Valao took off as fast as his large and muscular body would allow, darting in and out of the huge puffy clouds that were filled with moist rain, ready to fall any minute.

"Go, go, go!" commanded Thetra, slapping Valao as they flew.

"Slapping doesn't help," protested Valao.

"Just fly, no complaining," said Thetra.

Valao obeyed, using all his might to propel himself through the sky, and using the wind to his aid, as they helped by blowing south, the direction they were flying in.

It wasn't until a day later they arrived, both Dragon Rider and dragon still in suit.

"Good flying," complimented Thetra when they landed to see a massive battle scene laid out before them.

"Welcome back," said Mordon. "We were in need of you."

"Sorry," said Valao. "We had to outrun a golem."

"That's difficult," said Mordon.

"Well," he continued, "The battle seems to be going in our favor, even without you, which surprises me, as it may to you."

"Aye," said Thetra.

"But the golems are yet to arrive."

"By estimate they would be here in roughly three hours at the least," said Valao. "Tomorrow at the latest."

"That's quite a long time span," said Mordon with a smirk.

Thetra smiled.

"Well, start fighting is my suggestion," said Mordon. "Thetra, you choose where to fight right now as you are the leader. And fight with your dragon."

"I will post at the entrance where the approaching soldiers are coming in."

"Smart idea. I shall go back to my postthe Garden."

"Why is that under attack?"

"Their army is very hungry. After all, they have been traveling for days, only scrounging up what they could find around this humungous country. You can't blame them."

With that, they separated.

"Come on," said Valao, leading Thetra to the Main Gate where the intruders were pouring in the camp.

Thetra smiled. "Let us go dominate the Great Army of Morchad!"

# GREETING THE ATTACKERS

Thetra felt like a soldier on duty to meet and welcome all the newcomers to the army. He stood on one side of the broken gate, Valao on the other, waiting for the next group of enemy troopers to be seen.

"How many waves have entered by now?" Valao asked a nearby Dark Destroyer.

"Twenty-four," he replied.

Thetra whistled under his breath, surprised at how many had already entered. "All humans?" he asked.

"Aye," replied the soldier. "We are not alerted of the first wave of golems."

"We saw them," Valao spoke up. "They will be here soon. They are the rear of the army."

"Good. That means the battle has progressed roughly halfway."

Thetra and Valao exchanged looks. _We haven't been gone_ that _long, have we?_ wondered Thetra, surprised.

"Yes, I see you are amazed. Well, the army is smaller than you may imagine, although their numbers are larger than ours."

Thetra was silent.

"Good luck," said the Destroyer, walking back to his post nearby.

"We may survive yet," said Thetra with a smile.

Valao was serious. "There they are."

And there they were. The next wave of Morchad's troops had arrived.

# DEFEAT

"Fire!" Thetra yelled to the cannons. "Fire!"

The soldiers firing turned the cannon to Rapid Fire, and the ballistic weapon killed what Thetra thought to be almost five hundred evil men.

"Destroy them!" yelled Thetra as he chopped the incoming soldiers' heads off, giving the Destroyers inside the gate a much easier task.

Slayer cut through the soldiers like their skin was hot butter. The flashing green sword dominated the ordinary silver of the men's armor.

_I am invincible,_ thought Thetra. _They cannot kill me, like I do to them._ And it was true. His blade and his dragon were his only tools to destroying Evil's Army.

The battle was rapidly progressing as the twenty-fifth wave of men was stopped by Thetra and Valao, all being killed. If one escaped by them, Valao ran up and ate them whole, which was their harsh punishment.

One of Morchad's troops approached them in peace. They said, "I have come in peace, King Thetra. Please do not order your beast to attack me. I will fight with you."

We cannot trust him. He could just disguise himself as Morchad's soldier and fight for us, only to kill as many of our men as he can. Although he is bountiful, he is not trustworthy of our army.

"No," said Thetra, and he sliced the man's head off.

The battle then continued on quickly, the soldiers of Destville defeating the soldiers of Stankl Maobn.

And Thetra thought with a smile, _How could we lose this battle?_

The answer was clear–if golems came. And they did.

They arrived at midnight. Wave One held about eight golems, and once four were gone, five hours had passed, and seventy-five men had died. Then the army sent thirty golems to attack in the second wave, which left thirty-four golems for the Dark Destroyers to destroy. Once they killed twenty-six, seven hours had passed and one hundred and thirty men died. The final wave contained sixty-two golems, and eight left over from the second and first wave, which made it seventy total golems to fight with only 506 Dark Destroyers and fourteen dragons, as three dragons had passed against the humans and the first and second waves of golems.

By noon, only three golems coming from the past waves were dead, and there were 379 troops to fight the other sixty-seven golems.

"How...?" said Thetra, dreading the following minutes. "How do we win?"

"We kill them all," responded Valao.

"But..."

"Just fight," said Valao and he flew off toward a crowd of twenty-five golems, which he and Ejarshöh, along with a group of other humans fighting for Destville, destroyed.

"Forty-two left to die!" shouted Mordon, swinging his sword through a golems chest, and the enemy fell to the ground, his body crumbling to dust, as Mordon yelled, "Forty-one now!"

But now there were only 206 Dark Destroyers left to kill the remaining forty-one golems, which Thetra knew his army would not be able to do, unless by some miracle they all fought the hardest they had ever fought, which he knew they were not doing now.

As noon turned to afternoon, seventeen more golems died, along with 103 Dark Destroyers and one dragon.

"Twenty-four," muttered Thetra. "No way we can do this. There is no possibility."

But there was, and although it was very slim, as it was 1-500, they still could do it.

As fifty-three men died, leaving the Destville army with only fifty left to spare, nineteen golems died, which meant the fifty-three that had passed had fought their hardest, just as Thetra had wanted.

As two golems died, four dragons died as well, three of thirst and hunger, the other with a severe scratch along her belly.

"Three more," said Thetra as twenty-nine men died away. There were twenty-one troops left.

"How about we split up?" said Mordon. "Put seven soldiers on each golem, and three dragons on each, while one dragon flies around and replaces the dead."

"Good thought," said Thetra. "Let us do it! Split up!"

The groups of men did as they were told, and soon there were seven men on one golem, surrounding them, while three dragons raked at their heads from their air.

Soon one golem died, and then another, until there were twenty people to fight one golem, and six dragons to fight it as well.

"Some of you know me," scratched the golem's voice as he died. "Some of you know me as Warvé. Like you." He pointed a golem's stubby finger at Thetra, and Arek ran over and lunged at Warvé's throat with Stabber, only succeeding in piercing the air.

"I know you," said Thetra. "And I also know your dead body." He walked over to the golem and pointed Slayer at his right eye. "And tonight...Tonight you die. I shall meet your dead corpse with pleasure. Good night." With that, Thetra swept Slayer over his face and the golem went limp, collapsing to the concrete floor of the Dark Destroyer kingdom.

A loud whoop rose from the crowd, but now Thetra knew something. And the knowledge came from Ingharr, who was speaking to him now.

_The golem Warvé was the one who wanted your parents dead,_ said Ingharr. _He ordered the three humans to kill them because Warvé could read the future. He knew you would be the hero who would have him dead. He knew you would kill him. He wanted to stop you by killing your parents so that you would not want to go to Destville. He did it so that while he was in Morchad's mixing sphere being made, his master's army would kill the whole population of Destville. And then there would be no more war, and Evil could rule the world, for they were planning to go to Bewaldt next to become the only empire in all of Arque, and so that Morchad could be the king. Once Warvé was made, he was sent by Morchad here_  _to Destville, so he could not only kill you, but your brother, too. Arek was his next target. He originally planned to stop you two from getting your dragons, but he was not yet completed. But once he was, he did everything he could to get to you and Valao. He wanted your whole family and friends dead, and he got most of them, but you were too strong. He could not get to you, nor your brother or your dragons. Therefore he was killed by you, for if he could not murder you, someone would have to murder you, and you took the responsibility today. In conclusion, the message I am attempting to give you is that Warvé wanted you dead, and you stopped him just minutes ago._

Thetra smiled. He had conquered a golem.

The next day, he started to realize more that there were only nineteen other men around the camp, and none of them were training or doing anything. At breakfast, there were no chefs so Thetra had kitchen duty.

"Eggs and ham!" shouted Arek. "Order up!"

"This is going to be the worst meal I've ever eaten," said Satym.

"Worse than jail?" asked Thetra.

"At least the bread had grains in it," she muttered in response.

The day progressed quite slowly, and Thetra soon thought about how there were no other recruits. His army had sucked up all of Arque's population, and now most cities were abandoned except for their city's government and mayor.

"Who else is one our side?" asked Thetra. "There's hardly any Arque left in this old country."

"The only other one is Morchad." Arek stiffened his back. "And his dragon if he has one."

"Aye," said Jordan.

"So you're saying we rule the country?" said Arek.

"No, because Bewaldt's government is still there, and whoever is our king is _the_ king."

"Honoglata," said Arek.

"Aye." Thetra looked at Arek as if he finished his statement. "Understand?"

"Crystal clear," replied Arek.

"Well then what must we do?" asked Jordan.

"We must do nothing, but we can do something," said Thetra with a smirk, as that was a saying his father had once taught him.

"Well then I will teach Lokapoka and Jordan some tricks on battle skills," said Satym.

"Alright," said Thetra. "Arek, Mordon, and I will count how many of my comrades passed in the battle, and who's still living."

"Aye," said Morchad. "There are fourteen others besides us."

"Well I know which dragons lived," said Arek. "Ejarshöh, Valao, Ghuar, Casmig, and two of Ghuar's friends."

"Ghuar mentioned the survivors were Torke and Harldart, who both were hiding in faraway countries," said Mordon.

"Alright," said Thetra. "Well I hope Algonge is still alive. That boy had talent."

"Aye," agreed Arek, and they left ate their breakfast, which surprised Thetra at how good it tasted.

After the meal they left the Dining Hall and did a wake-up call to see who was still alive. To Thetra's relief, Algonge answered.

But he was expecting fourteen answers. Only thirteen came.

# THE LOST SURVIVOR

"Who is hiding?" asked Arek unreasonably, as no one knew who had escaped.

"We do not know," replied Thetra. "How would we?"

"I am just anxious to know," replied Arek, stung by Thetra's words, which weren't very harsh.

"So are we," responded Mordon. "I do wonder who it might be."

"One of our comrades?" said Thetra.

"Ney, they would have answered the call. It could possibly be one of our recruits and we never knew their name. Maybe they were alive at the end of the battle but died just after," replied Mordon.

"Possibly..." said Thetra, still with a doubt.

"Let us ask the survivors if they have seen any men that look suspicious," said Arek.

"Alright," said Thetra. "Shall we have the other survivors help us look, or just have them explain their evidence?"

"No," said Mordon. "Let them rest. They fought hard."

"I agree," said Arek. "Let us go and find them."

They set off upstairs and split up, each going to four or five survivor's rooms, and asking them if they had seen anything unusual since the battle the day before, but all rejected.

"Then we will have to find him or her ourselves," said Arek.

"Aye," said Thetra and Mordon.

"Although I really do not know who possibly would even want to hide from us, unless they went back to their home somewhere in this large country."

"If they did, then let them," said Mordon, picking up a walking stick. "But they can't be too far. If we spot them running, get them. But if we can't find them in the next two days..." Mordon sighed. "Then we have lost a very special person. In the future, citizens all over Arque will know and remember this horrible bloodbath, and if we have all the survivors, then we would be evidence that this battle really took place here, for the only people that are ever going to be in this country in the future will be the government people's children and the men coming from faraway lands that moved here to make a living or just to have shelter, food, and water. No one can live in this country, or at least not in all the other cities."

"Agreed," said Arek and Thetra.

They exited the building, only to find themselves on the rooftop, where they looked down on the land, searching for the lost survivor.

It became noon and when they still found no sign of the lost soldier, Arek decided they give up looking and eat, which might make them feel better. Neither Thetra nor Mordon objected.

After lunch, there was still no sign of him, and by the time they ate supper, they had a plan.

"We shall go on a night hunt," said Thetra.

"Agreed," said Mordon and Arek.

Those were the only words spoken at that meal. The rest was silence.

# THE NIGHT HUNT

"Maybe a golem ate him," said Arek, trying to cheer the group up.

"All the golems are dead," said Mordon.

"I was only joking," Arek muttered under his breath.

"This is no time for jokes, Brother," said Thetra. "We must be serious in our actions, for if we make one false decision, then we may never find our escaper."

"Sorry," whispered Arek.

The sun was just setting, and it was time for dusk. The horizon lit up the night clouds, illuminating the path that the three men were following.

All of a sudden they heard a noise. It was a noise that Thetra knew right that then he would regret hearing for the rest of his life.

He gasped. For standing in front of him, was a creature he knew only too well from the stories he had heard in Toage. And as he looked over at Arek, he saw the same expression on his face as Thetra probably had.

For standing in front of them was an Entara.

  

Arek

"Do...not...move," muttered Arek.

The great horned beast stared at them with wide bulging eyes, breathing in and out so loudly that it sounded like a trumpet Eouhja used as a wake-up call. Arek heard the Entara's heart beating a hundred times a second, which meant that either it had recently been running, or that it getting ready to strike. Arek suspected the latter.

The black-furred animal drew his sword and pointed it directly at the group. He slowly walked towards them, and as he struck them, Thetra drew Slayer as fast as Arek had ever seen him do and parried the blow.

Then Thetra sliced one of the Entara's horns off, much to its anger, as it yelled a savage cry. It scared Arek with its depth, as it had a very low sound.

"Surprise!" yelled Mordon as he jumped from the tree behind the Entara and brought his sword down hard on its head.

_I didn't even see Mordon sneak around the Entara. He is quite stealthy,_ thought Arek with a newborn satisfaction.

"Impressive," said Thetra positively, nodding his head as if to say, "Not bad."

The Entara fell to the ground, dead. Thetra looked at Mordon and said, "I have never seen you do that before."

"That is because an Entara has never threatened me before," replied Mordon with a smirk, then a smile.

"Let us continue the night hunt," said Arek.

  

Mordon

# THE FINAL SEARCH

Mordon became quite frightened of his abilities when he killed the Entara, for he did not know that he could do what he did.

They were out until midnight, when they decided they should turn back, for they were not finding any tracks or clues, and they all agreed they would search again in the morning, once they had gotten a healthy sleep and breakfast.

They turned around in their tracks and headed back in the direction they came, stepping in their own footsteps that were dimly lit by the torch Mordon had made with his walking stick and the help of matches.

Once they arrived back at the campgrounds, Mordon ran inside the building, hustled to his quarters, and plopped himself into his bed, and was too tired to even roll over in his sleep, not waking up until morning, once it was five hours past dawn. Mordon soon became aware that he had been awoken by the pots and pans of lunch, which meant he had slept through breakfast.

"Good morning," said Thetra when Mordon entered the kitchen. "Or shall I say good afternoon?"

"Either one is fine," said Mordon sleepily. He yawned, then climbed onto a stool. "So when do we go back out?"

"Arek and I have been waiting for you. We will search again immediately after lunch."

"Alright." Mordon stood up, stretched again, and entered the cooking area to get the plates, which he would set around the table.

"Thank you," said Thetra as Mordon carefully set the plates in front of each chair so as not to break the delicate china.

As they finished preparing the meal, they all took their seats around the table, and the other survivors came down the stairs and sat down as well.

As Mordon ate the mealwhich consisted of venison, peas, chicken stew, beans, and a glass of waterhe wondered where the escaper had made off to, and who it was. He tried to remember everyone gathering around the final golem, and he tried to remember who was there, but was not sitting around the table at the moment, but no familiar face struck him, so he assumed it most likely was not one of Thetra's comrades in the Council.

He explained his thoughts, telling Thetra that if it was someone from the Councilwhich was the group of men that had gone with them to face the intruder womanthen he needed to learn more about the members of the Council.

After a long silence, Arek said, "I think it was someone that joined at the very last second, like in the middle of the battle"

"But no one did join in the middle of the battle," protested Thetra. "The latest someone would have joined would have been in the last set of recruits, and that was ages ago."

"Aye," agreed Mordon. "And it had to be someone strong, if they survived the whole battle, and I am not one for remembering neither names nor faces."

That ended the conversation until the end of lunch, and everyone hurried on eating their food, for the searcherswhich was a larger group this timewere anxious to go outside and start looking for clues or evidence.

Once they exited the building, they decided which direction everyone would go. They split it up by the directions on Thetra's compass, so two people went in each direction–north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southwest, and southwest. The two remaining stayed in the building.

  

Thetra

Thetra and Arek went together; going norththe direction the escaper most likely went.

They found nothing for a while, but after what seemed like about an hour, they finally found something. Thetra whistled, which meant for all the searchers to report to this sound, which was why Thetra blew the whistle every ten seconds, so the escapers making their way towards the sound did not get lost in the large area that they were searching.

After everyone had come to Thetra, he told them what he had foundmuddy footprints, the same size as Thetra and Arek's.

"Who is it?" wondered Thetra. "Do any of you recognize the print or anything about it?"

No one responded, which meant that not one of the searchers knew who the print might belong to.

"I know it's not one of ours," said Arek, "because no searcher has taken this path yet, and it is not ours."

"Aye," agreed Mordon. "We did not come anywhere near here yesterday."

"Do you think it was from the battle?" asked a searcher.

"No," said Thetra. "It's too fresh. You can see the print all too clearly for it to be days ago."

"I agree," said Mordon. "This has to be in the last day, or possibly, two days."

"So you are saying this is the last survivor's footprint?" asked Jordan.

"Yes," replied Arek. "And we must track it all the way."

"Should we check if it came from the camps first?" asked Satym.

"No," said Thetra. "Let us just go. If we go back, the escaper might get farther ahead of us. That is a risk that I am not willing to take."

"Me neither," said Arek and Mordon, as well as all the others of the search party.

They walked off along the tracks, being careful not to step on the prints.

# TRACKING THE FUGITIVE

As they followed the tracks Thetra could tell they were getting fresher and fresher, as if they were catching up to the escaper.

When they stopped to take a break, Thetra could hear the sound of running water, so he, Arek, and Mordon left the pack to go find the stream, bringing some glass cups that they had in their packs with them to fill up and give to the people.

They arrived at the stream to find that it was clear blue water, running so smoothly. Thetra felt an urge to try it, so he did. He filled up his cup and took a large gulp, then refilled it and did the same four more times until he felt he could not sustain any more liquid. He filled his cup once more to take back with him and started filling the other cups up for the others, as Arek and Mordon were doing.

When they finished filling the other cups to the brim, Thetra drank his seventh glass, and then refilled it, and they set off back to the group of searchers that were waiting for them.

Once everyone had swigged their glasses of water, they continued tracking the fugitive, being careful not to spill any of their leftover water on the footprints, for the water would only make them muddy and fill them in so they could not see them, which Thetra was against doing.

Once Thetra knew they had walked at least fifteen leagues, they stopped and took a breather. Thetra knew that they were so close to finding out who the survivor was. He knew they almost had solved the conflict the remainder of the army had been dealing with for the past few days; and Thetra knew that he was about to either make either a new friend or a new enemy.

While they were resting, most fell asleep, for it was evening, and there were about two more hours of daylight left, which meant if they didn't hurry on their search, they would be out in the dark, looking for someone they did not know where to find, but only had a good idea.

When everyone had woken, there were only twenty more minutes until dusk, so they started running alongside the footprints, not stopping until they found the culprit.

They had only gone a league or so when the footprints led them into a small group of trees, where Thetra went inside first, followed by Mordon, then Arek, and the rest of the search party.

As Thetra walked into the cluster of trees, he smelled the faint scent of pines, which meant that the trees were the same as the type of tree that were in Toage. He felt a strong longing for home, but knew his only home was Destville.

He drew Slayer and cut through some of the thick leaves. Once he cut through most of them, he came face-to-face with a wide brown trunk, which he bumped into, much to his embarrassment, for he was in front of his friends.

He walked around the trunk and saw something he was not expecting. Only ten feet in front of him a man about his age was standing with bandana over his mouth and some of his face, hiding not only his expression but also who he was.

Thetra pointed Slayer at him as if he were challenging him. The stranger drew his sword and pointed it back. The duel had begun.

# UNDER THE BANDANA

Thetra lunged forward at the fugitive that had been hiding all the time he had been looking for him. He was going to teach him never to hide from his fellow soldiers, if he lived, which Thetra hoped he wouldn't.

After what seemed like hours to Thetra, the others helped him fight the soldier, and not long after they had him pinned to the forest floor.

"Give me one of those berries!" Thetra yelled to Arek over the screaming of the escaper. "If it's poisonous, he dies." The screaming became louder.

Arek picked one of the blue berries with the black core off a nearby tree, and Thetra examined it. It was an exact replica of the one he had found while running from Warvé.

"Time to die," Thetra whispered to the fugitive. "I shall give you five minutes for you to stay under my knee. This may be the last five minutes of your life, or maybe you won't die until you turn eighty-five years old. But today, you are going to learn a lesson. I will be sure of that."

Thetra knew the five minutes would pass quickly. But he was wrong, for it seemed like ages. The only way he knew it was five minutes was because Satym was counting, mumbling the seconds. He reminded himself to thank her later.

The five minutes finally ended when Thetra heard Satym yell out loud, "It has been five full minutes!"

"Thank you," Thetra told Satym, "for counting. I had lost track.

"Are you ready?" Thetra asked, now addressing the fugitive. "Today may be your final day of life."

To Thetra's surprise, the escaper nodded.

"Open your mouth," demanded Thetra. The escaper obeyed. Thetra paused for three seconds, then dropped the berry into the fugitive's mouth.

After ten seconds, nothing had happened. Even after five minutes, no reaction had occurred. By then, Thetra lifted his knee, and the final survivor stood up. He took a lot of deep breaths, his chest breathing in and out.

"Flyr!" yelled Thetra, and he thought of fire. Flames spread across the open area in the center of the group of trees. Everyone gathered around Thetra and the survivor stepped back so as to avoid being burned, for the fire destroyed everything in its path.

"Té!" exclaimed the fugitive, and the fire died down until there were only sparks, which were quickly put out by the jet of water shooting from the escaper's hand.

_He knows magic,_ Thetra noted.

A chant started to rise from the rest of the searchers. "Kill him! Kill him!" they yelled, trying to help Thetra, but they were only failing, for the chant made its way into Thetra's thoughts, and as he was developing strategies, he soon forget them, for all he could think about was the yelling of the army.

After a while, Thetra had the enemy pinned against a wall of rocks which was about six feet tall, so the escaper was about six inches away from the top of the wall.

The fugitive was smart, and he jumped over Thetra, for he had a height advantage. He landed back-to-back with Thetra, but they both quickly turned around. Thetra swept Stabber across his chest, and he ripped open the escaper's shirt, but he did not get deep enough into his skin. The only evidence was a thin jagged line across the man's chest.

The man growled in anger, then lunged at Thetra, punching him in the chest, which knocked him to the ground, leaving him unable to breathe for a while. Once he recovered his breath, the escaper was on him, swiping his sword to and fro, like a snake striking and then recoiling, but he did it over and over, until Thetra saw that his chest was covered in blood, and there was not a square inch of skin, for it was all red blood.

Thetra yelled in agony and stood up. Although his chest was immobilized, and he could not feel it, the rest of his body was capable for striking his enemy.

Thetra stabbed the man in the stomach, then jumped back, and wished he had a shield so he could dodge the man's blows that he could not block with his own sword.

Finally, Thetra had the escaper pinned on the floor once more, and he was surprised he was able to do this, for he was left weak after his chest injury.

Thetra spoke, "Listen, I am going to find out who you are right now. If I know you, I am going to have to make a big decision about whether I should kill you or not, but I am ripping that bandana off your forehead in five seconds."

Satym started the countdown. "Five...four...three...two...one..."

Thetra ripped the bandana from the man's forehead, revealing the very face he least expecting.

Lying in front of him was the Lost Survivor. But now he knew who it was.

The Lost Survivor was Youtren Morchadsson, the cousin of Thetra and Arek.

