 
Yenpri Laypil

# THE

DARK KNIGHTS

RETURN

### The Outcast of the Dark Knight Series

I

# YENPRI LAYPIL

Yenpri Laypil

Disclaimer

Outcast of the Dark Knight is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Opinions and beliefs expressed by the characters do not reflect the author's opinions and beliefs. This book is intended for adults. It contains scenes of graphic violence, creative language and sexual innuendo. It does not contain explicit sexual content.

The Dark Knights Return by Yenpri Laypil

2nd Edition

Copyright © 2017 by Yenpri Laypil

Cover copyright © by Pro_ebookcovers

Back cover design copyright © by Yenpri Laypil

Map design copyright © by Yenpri Laypil

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Paperback ISBN-13: 9781521287965

#  BOOKS IN THE OUTCAST SERIES

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#  BOOK ORDER IN THE OUTCAST SERIES

CHRONOLOGY: All stories in the Outcast of the Dark Knight series are shown in chronological order as follows:

The Dark Knights Return

The Dark Knights Sunrise

The Dark Knights Ascend

The Dark Knights Inferno

The Dark Knights Awaken

The Dark Knights Hero

#  BOOKS IN THE OUTCAST BOXSET SERIES

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#  BOOK ORDER IN THE OUTCAST BOXSET SERIES

CHRONOLOGY: All stories in the Outcast of the Dark Knight series are shown in chronological order as follows:

Boxset 1: Books 1-3

Boxset 2: Books 4-6

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Acknowledgements

Hi there, if you've made it this far, I want to say "thank you" x 10 000 000 times because there's like a million other things you could be doing but you chose to read my book. As an author, that means to the world to me. Ok, the preamble to this book is that this is a ride like no other. Now, I know that may sound a little biased but please, do humor me. I've been on a lot of literary rollercoasters and I'm sure you have too, and so, I've decided to create a world unlike any other you'll ever experience, a story unlike any other you'll ever read, because I have this undying thirst to entertain and inspire you, the reader.

Righteo! I'm sure you're eager to begin your next adventure, please head South my fellow brave traveler...

Table of Contents

BOOKS IN THE OUTCAST SERIES

BOOK ORDER IN THE OUTCAST SERIES

BOOKS IN THE OUTCAST BOXSET SERIES

BOOK ORDER IN THE OUTCAST BOXSET SERIES

Prologue

A place for a beginning

The real beginning

A new home

Departure

Identity crisis

The Next Morning

The Hallucen Kingdom

The meeting room

The training begins

Enter the Black Gates

Enter King Braithwaite

Vallentor's move

The Next Lesson

Enter the Dark Rider

The Toll of Burnt sienna

A shocking discovery

A Dream

A Storm

Cementing the alliances

A discussion

Judgement day

Depression

News

A silent return

A week's time

Wake up, Valkin

The Axe of Bryce

Tomorrow and two days

The regret of Tereartre Levon

BOOKS IN THE OUTCAST SERIES

BOOK ORDER IN THE OUTCAST SERIES

BOOKS IN THE OUTCAST BOXSET SERIES

BOOK ORDER IN THE OUTCAST BOXSET SERIES

#  Prologue

My division of myself is my enemy and now I must face the demons within me. God help me to survive the night. The Dark knights have driven me to the very edge of Mt. Death where my destiny awaits me. Is there no sanity left in me now? Every time I try to fight it, it just takes over me like a dark spirit controlling my actions wreaking havoc among the innocent. It leaves in its wake a trail of death and destruction. They are almost upon me now. This darkness is weakening me, slowing me down. NOOO!!! I will not let it consume me like this. I will not be so easily beaten! It has become almost uncontrollable. That is why it must be stopped! If it carries on, who will be left to fight the impending doom? I must fight it! I cannot let it take over me like this! They are nearing! Every heavy footstep beckons for my death. I can see the end of the mountain now. It will not be long now. I can see the end.

I release you from my thoughts, my dear Valkin.

Take care. Until we meet again...

#  A place for a beginning

As the sun rose, it rejuvenated and replenished the lost energy of all living things. To admire the sight was without a doubt a fulfilling hobby, and one that was religiously practiced by a young man of the town, Tillmandor, located east of the great castle of Bellor. Tillmandor was a vibrant city for all. The people there lived such carefree lives going about their business in a light-hearted manner and always laughed cheerfully whilst doing so. Bellor's nobles frequently visited the town and on rare occasions, even the King and Queen themselves, graced the town with their royal presence. The town periphery was also visited by the great knights of other kingdoms who converged upon the castle of Bellor every year to compete in a contest of bravery and courage ultimately determining the greatest knight in all the lands. However, despite all of the attention the contest attracted, the townspeople did not trouble themselves with the dealings of royalty and started off their days very early in the morning with work or simple chores around their homes.

However, a young gentleman followed a very different routine compared to his fellow Tillmanorian counterparts. Every morning, since he was a child, he would wake up before sunrise and run to the green meadows to book his place among the king's blue birds and scarlet red beetles to see the glorious sun peep over the horizon to greet him and all the people of the land. His childhood memories have left such an impression on him that still, to this day, he gets up early to watch the sun rise. That young man's name was, Valkin Kendor.

However, upon this day, Valkin found himself preoccupied on another mission, which differed slightly from his usual routine of frolicking naked in the meadows.

"HAHA!! This time, I'm going to catch you, you little bastard, I mean buzzard! You got away from me yesterday but not today, because today, is not your lucky day and that means you are mine! If I can just get this bloody hair out of my eyes, then I can actually see you!" Even though Valkin's jet-black hair always got in the way of his sight, he was still intent on keeping it long and untidy just much like his reeking clothes, which were always brown and filthy, full of caked mud and specks of dry grassy porcupine quills that stuck out of it. His tunic was white in the early hours of the morning but by late afternoon, it transformed into a filthy burnt brown color. It was known that one couldn't simply eat a chicken with a fork and knife. Sooner or later; affairs are going to get messy, especially for the eater, not to mention for the chicken. Armed with a keen pair of deep brown hazel eyes are essential tools in the hunt to catch an agile rooster and Valkin's eyes were no exception. Long, lanky, and sinewy strong arms were a natural consequence of growing up on a small farm just outside the main city of Bellor. Nineteen years of creeping, crouching, and crawling strengthened Valkin's legs allowing him to get around quickly and stealthily. The details on Valkin's white shorts are spared for they are too gruesome for mortal ears to hear! A small clue that can be revealed, is that it followed the same trend as his tunic. Still, catching a free-range chicken isn't as easy as it looks. It's their bloody feathers that make it so difficult! They were not designed for flight, but rather for darting and evading their predatory keepers. They're fast buggers too! They run faster than the hens, which makes sense if they ever wanted to catch them for a little fun in the roost.

Today's hunt for Rocko the rooster, as he was named, took Valkin around the pen and the roost three times before some headway was made. The pen was not very large and more or less square in shape, maybe 6.6 ft in length and breath. Still, Valkin couldn't tip the scale in his favor. Good ol' Rocko! Valkin's been trying to catch that bloody rooster for nineteen years. In fact, Valkin had been trying to catch him ever since he was a newborn when he learned to walk and then run. That was how determined Valkin was to put that rooster out of its bloody misery. It is a wonder indeed that has baffled many that Rocko even lived that long in the first place. Perhaps, it was all in the grain or perhaps Rocko had found the legendary fountain of youth that prolonged life and he had been indulging in a tot of it every year or so. Or perhaps, it was just Valkin's utter inability to catch a veteran of survival which suggests an answer to the great question, "Who came first, the chicken or the human?" The answer will never be known or will lunchtime reveal it by some stroke of fate that will turn the tide against Rocko.

The hens doubted it as they watched on and laughed at poor Valkin as he ran around and around in circles until he finally gave up and sat down with defeat on the muddy, moistened ground.

It had rained heavily the night before, leaving the ground wet and soggy with a distinct air of refreshing dampness. It was wonderful for the youthful and utterly devastating for those who have to do the washing for the youthful.

"VALKIN! VALKIN! ARE YOU STILL TRYING TO CATCH ROCKO, BOY? WHY DON'T YOU FIRST HAVE A HAIR CUT SON, THEN YOU'LL SEE HIM MUCH BETTER THAT WAY. COME ALONG NOW! BREAKFAST NEEDS TO BE SERVED, NOT LUNCH!" shouted Valkin's mother with a motherly screech in her authentic voice from the kitchen door.

"I'M TRYING MY BEST MOTHER!" shouted Valkin with much irritation in his tired voice.

Valkin's mother was the typical concerned mother, always alert and always caring, large and round but filled with kindness and love. She always wore her bright red nightcap and always donned a pink checked apron just after she awoke from her deep slumber. She seemed incomplete without it, even though Valkin had complained to her about it many times before. She was always ready to do work at any time and at any place. That's just how she was! Her twirled brown hair gave Valkin's own hair a brownish glint in the sunlight and naturally, that's where Valkin got his good looks from. Both mother and son's skins were smooth, except, Valkin got away with his little stubble on his chin. He claimed that he needed it to showcase his masculinity trying to portray a rough and tough image for the girls or so he deluded himself. The preferences of women differed among from different lands depending upon their social status in society. Different strokes for different folks to rock their boats, without capsizing it, of course! One would hope that humans could make up their bloody minds, or perhaps they are destined to be creatures of indecision or so, thought Valkin. Naturally, Valkin's claims were based on absolute nonsense and naturally, they irritated his mother intensely. Nevertheless, Valkin's mother darted around the small house in her poor turquoise bedroom sandals every morning, wearing variations of a cotton white dress with a different flower type every day. She did however, have a soft spot for the Queen's iris flower and so she wore that particular dress at least three times a week.

She leaned over the bottom half door and laughed at her poor son who was out of breath and out of luck.

Valkin, seated next to the pen with Rocko proudly clinging to the splintered wooden corner pole just above him laughing at him, was exhausted.

"Valkin, I don't know why you even bother son. Just catch a hen and bring it along. Oh yes! Some eggs too please..." requested Valkin's mom as she returned to the coal stove, "...and don't forget to ask for forgiveness after you have done the deed, son!" Valkin's mother emphasized their culture of respecting all forms of life. She believed in saying a small prayer whenever a sacrifice was made for food as a gesture of gratitude and respect.

"Yes mother...," replied Valkin turning to face Rocko, "...your days are numbered ol Rocko. I'll get you eventually, maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow nor next year nor in ten bloody years but eventually, I'll get you! If I don't get you, the bird sickness spreading across Sarcodia will!" sneered Valkin at Rocko who returned the same sneer back at him with his beady eye.

After breakfast, it was time to stock up on some food supplies from the market, a chore that Valkin quite enjoyed.

He opened the short gate of the rosewood perimeter fencing and merrily trudged along the peaceful gravel pathway towards the Bellor city centre. As he walked towards the market place, he went over the items he needed to get for his mother in his head.

"Ok! I've got to get some bread, milk and the most important item, the cake for grandpa's birthday tomorrow. Even though he's not so big on sugar, we'll get it for him anyway," laughed Valkin to himself as he cheerfully walked along.

Valkin followed the usual well-trodden trail that led to the market. He picked up a juicy blade of grass to chew as he plodded along.

Home was not very far from the market, so in no time, he had arrived at his destination. The day had begun with the usual occurrences and progressed into the marketplace. It was always busy only resting towards the evenings. You name it; the marketplace had it, from shopkeepers to bakers, blacksmiths and locksmiths. Thankfully, the underground slave trade was abolished in Bellor. However, there were still rumours that it persisted in other kingdoms and there was talk that some of the slaves were not even human. Nevertheless, all the stalls were very busy this morning.

Fortunately, Valkin was quite a tall fellow and so finding what he was looking for was not too hard to do. He peered over the much shorter citizens of Bellor as walked within the bustling marketplace. Valkin was at the wild, rebellious age as his mother had called it with his long hair, recklessness, and immaturity. She often wondered when her son would eventually grow up and become a man, but she never attributed her wrinkled, prickly features to her son's reckless ways, not once. She loved him dearly as all mothers love their sons. Valkin was strolling along when unexpectedly; his shopping spree was hampered by a loud trumpeting procession making its way through the market.

The people started to make way for whatever was coming through them.

Valkin ran towards the blacksmith's shop where both he and the blacksmith watched in awe and wonder at the approaching procession.

The blacksmith had his hammer in mid-stroke as he gazed upon them with a little bit of drool seeping out from his salivating mouth.

Fourteen men, each bearing his own charcoal black stallion and each armed to the fullest were striding along through the market making their way swiftly to the King's palace. They rode in a deadly neat single file, with black helmets tinged with red and grey embellishments that demarcated the different ranks among them. Grey was the lowest and an abundance of red was the highest. They were the elegant knights that hailed from the great kingdom of Sarcodia. These were indeed, the legendary Sarcodian Knights. The Knights have protected the western borders against enemies of Bellor for centuries. King Braithwaite of Sarcodia was their lord and ruler. Each knight was trained as a royal guard and the first line of defense to the kingdom of Sarcodia, south of Bellor. For years now, they have competed in the great knight games hosted by the kingdom of Bellor, and for years, they have always been the winners, undefeated now for ten years in a row. It was an incredible feat and no kingdom had ever come close to challenging them. There have even been rumours that they were "enabled" but nothing was ever proven.

Valkin watched in wonder as the light cloud grey & black knights proudly strutted towards the great gates of the Bellor castle located high above the countryside on the great green hills of Belloran.

As the procession moved off beyond the boundaries of the market, the village people slowly resumed their daily business and routine as if a short summer rain had blessed them and now moved off into the distance to bless another kingdom. Valkin sighed with sorrow filled in his eyes. He reluctantly packed the patchy tin can of fresh milk into his old brown satchel and moved off towards the bakery to pick up some bread and the cake when he bumped into his good friend, Regan.

Regan was making doubly sure that the baker had given him the just right amount of change for the bread he had just bought. Regan was a good friend of Valkins. They had practically grown up together since they were wee lads on the farm. A tall and handsome boy was Regan, a true ladies man. They simply loved him and went wild for his attractive visage. Everyday, he would visit Valkin with a different girl. He often remarked that his life was both a blessing and a curse in this regard. Regan was well-built and harbored a keen interest in the affairs of money and wine, but not in a greedy manner. He was genuinely interested in how it was made and how to handle it, especially the wine.

"Good morning Valkin, how ya be doin today, my good friend?" Regan's voice was strong and resolute.

"Same as always, Regan!" smiled Valkin with a mischievousness look upon face.

"That good hey! You bastard! Haha! Then, I've got some interesting news for you brother!"

"Give it to me, Regan!" A look glee and delight overcame Valkin's youthful face.

"Alright, have you heard the latest about our beloved zafrith?" There was a hint of sarcasm in Regan's voice which Valkin picked up on. "Zafrith collectors are changing the rules on the way the zafrith is being handled."

"Regan, what are you talking about, brother?" Valkin was utterly confused by the "gibberish" that his best friend was blabbering to him.

"I'm talking about the money you have in your pocket, chap! Ten years from now, that same money you used today to buy grandpa's cake won't be able to buy you a loaf of bread!" Regan stood still with a look of disappointment on his face. He then looked at Valkin once again and quietly murmured, "It's called the rising!" as he covered his mouth taking care not to allow anyone to hear what he was saying.

"The rising!" Valkin was amazed and horrified at the same time and wanted to know more.

Regan could see this. "Yes Valkin, the rising! It happens when there is an increase in the price you pay for items or services, say from the blacksmith or carpenter over time. This means that the money you have will be almost worthless in a few years from now!"

"Okay, that's really depressing Regan, not to mention illogical! And what causes this rising, Regan?"

"There are many factors. One is too much zafrith floating around drops the value of the zafrith itself."

"That's interesting but that doesn't make any sense at all!" Valkin was not satisfied at all.

"Why not!" Regan was perplexed fully understanding his explanation of the dilemma at hand.

"You are telling me that just because there's too much money floating around, these money collectors change the value of the money and make everything more expensive. It sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me!" Valkin shook his head in disagreement.

"No Valkin, it makes perfect sense! Okay, let me give you another example that contributes to this rising, supply and demand. When something is in short supply and high in demand, the price will increase accordingly. This has a ripple effect in our kingdom. The grocer will have to pay more for the potato he got from the farmer who had increased the price of the potato because of a disease that swept through his farm the previous year destroying his crop. Thus, you and I will have to pay a little more for that very potato. Makes sense?"

"Is that right, Regan! Well, if you ask me, I reckon that they are all bastards! If they only realized that there's no need to increase the price of things, then there's no need to increase the price of everything down the line. We could all just live with what we have and earn. Did the farmer realize that the grocer only had so much of money for the potatoes? Did he spare a thought for the poor villager living on those potatoes?"

Regan kept quiet. "No, I guess he didn't hey. Still, it's not that simple, Valkin!"

"Sure it is. I'll just start eating carrots. The potato farmer will drop his price and then what we'll have is the 'falling' instead of the rising. Haha! It'll be a new expression!"

"Well, that doesn't seem too bad you know. Hey, Val, by the way, did you see the knights, did you see 'em go pass just now. They were great! Were they not?" Regan had such elation in his eyes and in his gestured hands. He was ecstatic and rightly so, for the Sarcodian knights were indeed legendary.

"They were indeed a sight for sore eyes, mate. Hey, I wonder if there will be a practice session today in the town barracks? Shall we check brother?" Valkin had an equal amount of ecstasy in his moist eyes.

"If there is, I'll meet you there at sunset ol friend," replied Regan with a smile of excitement on his face.

Valkin returned a smile back to his best friend but unfortunately, his smile was shortlived as he remembered his personal commitment on the morrow. He lifted his hands to his eyes and covered them with a tinge of disappointment.

"Sorry Regan, I just remembered that its grandpa's birthday tomorrow and my mom will have a fit if I don't help with all the preparations."

"No problem, my friend. It's a pity that two great functions are only taking place one after the other." Regan paused and looked at Valkin. "You'll only be missing out on a life-changing experience. Besides, who would want to see the best knights in all the lands in action for no cost at all?" Regan stroked his chin in pontification knowing exactly what he was up to.

When the offer was presented to Valkin like that, he just could not resist the temptation to accept.

"You were always a smooth talker, Regan. Haha! Sunset it is, my dear friend." Valkin shook his Regan's hands with a big smile upon his face and then followed it up with a great big hug.

"HAHA! I knew you couldn't resist! Meet me outside the barracks entrance this evening ok." Regan laughed loudly as he ran off to get ready.

Valkin picked up the cake from the baker, rushed home in a flurry of dusty excitement, and hurriedly finished off the preparations to his mom's surprise. He rushed off again after dinner before she had even noticed his absence.

He reached the barracks gates just as the sun settled in the West. It brought up the two pale moons of their world to greet the lonely night.

Valkin joined his good friend Regan who decided to come alone this time realizing that five would be a bit of a crowd, if he had decided to bring his latest girlfriends to the party.

The gentle breeze was suggestive of a cool evening tonight with a clear starlit sky as the romantic backdrop to what promised to be a fascinating practice rehearsal for the knight games events taking place in Sarcodia, just a few days from now.

Valkin and Regan recollected their memories from previous knight games before the town barracks. It was small but large enough to train and arm a small army, if necessary. The threat of war was never there, not for a long time now, but every kingdom still lived with fear of enemy forces taking their barracks. Ultimately, it was an instrument of death. The flickering night torches, strategically lit at the very entrance to the great barracks gates and the slate grey walls, gleamed in the firelight.

The two large guards stationed at the stone archway welcomed the two young boys and opened the gates for them to enter. They were big men and they needed to be in order to turn the levers that opened the heavily rusted gates. Slowly, they managed to shift the gate open allowing the boys to walk through. Tillmandor, being a poor town, could only afford simple brown leather armor and so that's what these guards wore which meant they would not last very long in a fight. In fact, they didn't really fight at all and that's why Tillmandor never actually represented herself at the knight games.

Valkin and Regan walked into the grounds barefeet. They wanted to feel the granular sand pierce every tingling sensation that ran through their charged bodies. They spotted an excellent seating place right in the front of the massive stadium. The rehearsal was about to begin, so they decided to go inside and seat themselves as quickly as possible to get the best view of the knights.

The barracks fighting grounds was circular in design and in the middle of the great arena was a magnificent roaring bonfire that lit up the entire stadium. The stadium was a miniature colosseum with seats all around complimented by the pulsating light of the great bonfire. The fire filled many eyes that came to see with wonder and delight. Tonight, the grounds were especially packed with people from every walk of life. Young and old, tall and short, warriors and peacemakers alike all came to witness the Sarcodian spectacle! The young women present in the crowds literally lost their minds as they screamed and shouted at the top of their voices to the point that their escorts for the evening became quite envious and annoyed with them. But what could they do! They were not knights. The fact remains that if one was a knight, by default, one got all the attention most of the time, and nearly all of the time. The knights never minded that. They loved it!

The barracks armory lay behind the boundaries of the circle, and that was where the knights decided to make their grand entrance.

The crowd went still for a moment! They sensed the imminent arrival of the knights. Hooves clopped and snapped against the sandy ground.

One by one, the black & silver legends made their honorable appearance, each riding their own fine stallions. They glistened in the fire light as they rode around it once, before stopping in a perfect line behind the crackling fire. The night was cool and windless. The sounds were all frightened away by some incredible force and the silence was disturbed only by the crackling of the roaring fire! All fourteen knights were accounted. These were the knights who would fiercely be competing in the knight games of Sarcodia.

Valkin and Regan just sat speechless, powerless, and breathless until they couldn't breathe anymore, upon which they inhaled a deep breath. They absorbed it all in, every little minute detail. They were unable to respond in any way to the majesty that stood in front of them.

Slowly and methodically, the first knight to the far left disembarked from his enormous steed. He walked steadily and calmly straight towards the circle of fire. His armor did not clang nor rattle like the older designs used to, no doubt, due to the advancements in the already excellent Sarcodian craftmanship.

The fire was confined within its circular boundaries but always raged fiercely now and then laughing loudly at any who dared to enter its deadly space.

The knight's gleaming white horse stood still and waited patiently for a subtle cue from its master. It snorted occassionally bearing the reflection of fire in its pulsating red eyes but nothing more than a flame from a glorious knight.

From Valkin and Regan's perspective, they could only see the knight's dark black silhouette flutter growing larger & larger as it came closer & closer towards the fire.

Then, without a care in the world, the knight walked into the flaming heat breaking the searing logs beneath his feet. He walked right through the open fire!

The crowd was silent, awestruck by what they had just witnessed. No one ever thought such a feat was even possible.

The knight continued to walk through the fire creating a halo of protection around him as he did. He reached the other side and walked out from the searing flames unharmed and stopped a short distance away from where the young men were sitting right in the front. His armor did not singe nor smoke. Its strong color remained the same midnight shade of black and the smokey grey hue of excellence. The grounds, which were filled to capacity, gave a collective sigh of relief and then erupted into thunderous applause which reverberated all around the grounds as the crowds roared with cheers of wonder and appreciation. The fire strengthened the grand entrance as it crackled away into the starlit night sky sending specks of dancing embers into the magical night. It was a testimony to this particular knight's bravery and trust in his almost indestructible armor or something else perhaps.

Regan gave Valkin a blank stare of seductive stimulation but Valkin was already completely captivated by the awe and mystery of this particular knight and kept his gaze firmly fixed upon him.

Before the young men could even figure out what just happened, the knight walked a little closer to them and took off his pristine black and grey helmet. It was young man of about twenty-five years of age. His face was immaculate, bearing no battle scars whatsoever. He was, without a doubt, one of Sarcodia's finest warriors, that or he had not been in many battles yet in his early life as a knight. The chances are though, that he had probably been in many a battle and won them all at such a young age. He was a Sarcodian knight after all and their reputation spoke for itself, although no one from Tillmandor had actually ever seen those battles take place. All they heard were the legendary stories they were told which they cherished from their childhoods. He smiled at the young men. His clean-shaven face had an air of confidence and invincibility about it.

Regan noticed it as somewhat of a threat to his manhood.

Valkin was still too awestruck to make any note of such things.

With blue eyes and long blonde hair to match his power, this young warrior was a force to be reckoned. He was well built inside but his armor covered his lean body shape. Despite being covered up to such an extent, it did not dampen the reactions nor the spirits from the ladies.

They wanted to run onto the barracks grounds and vociferously fornicate with this man. For this night only, they did not care about their escorts, for to land and marry a knight was considered to be one of the greatest honors in the land and worth the sacrifice.

The knight then turned and walked to the centre where everyone could see him and stopped there to face the crowd, which quietened down expecting a profound speech.

"Good-evening everyone and a warm welcome to one and all from the knights of Sarcodia!" His voice was soft and travelled lightly along the breeze.

The crowd roared in applause and appreciation.

"Good people of Bellor, you may know me by my knight name of Bartholomew and it gives me great pleasure to introduce my friends and fellow knights to you. Tonight, we will be demonstrating the proper technique and form for sword to sword combat and we will be giving everyone some advice afterwards so stick around after the rehearsal." Bartholomew turned around to allow two knights to come to the fore. "I'd now like to introduce Gregory and Eisodoran who are going to carry out the demonstration. Thank you very much and do enjoy!"

The crowd went wild once again erupted into cheers and applause! The girls started to cry and faint after Bartholomew had finished his speech.

The two knights that were called upon disembarked from their trusty steeds and walked around the fire whilst Bartholomew carefully stepped aside to give the two men more room and the limelight.

Bartholomew's head was now shielded from the crowd with his Sarcodian helmet.

Gregory took off his helmet and bowed to the audience. Gregory's long and tattered blonde hair of shoulder length spoke volumes about his experiences. His blonde beard was hardened with war and his blue eyes fixed their gaze upon his opponent, another accomplished knight in the form of Eisodoran.

Eisodoran kept his helmet on and bowed to the audience. The red visor of the helmet, which protected the eyes, gave the Sarcodian knights a menacing look in battle, especially at night.

Gregory was slightly taller than Eisodoran giving him a height advantage, but it was still too early to foretell the outcome of the battle. Gregory rubbed his blonde beard with the back of his palm. A droplet of sweat fell from his left scarred eyebrow.

Eisodoran sized him up gripping the hilt of his sword tightly!

The fight was about to begin!

The two knights now faced each other. With two loud "shings", both men drew their swords simultaneously and stood ready in attack position. Gregory on the right made the first move and went for Eisodoran's mid-section with a straight swipe.

Eisodoran sidestepped and deflected it with his sword causing some sparks to fly into the fire behind them as he diverted Gregory's sword out of arms way.

Bartholomew spoke out aloud as the men readied themselves for another round.

"When fighting without a shield and depending on the size of the sword, one can use two hands or just one to wield it. It is the individual's choice."

It was Eisodoran's turn to slash at Gregory's shoulder, and that he did, with such great force that it almost toppled Gregory.

Gregory was strong and just stumbled a bit back and remained on his feet. The strike was quick and almost took his head off.

The fight then began to intensify. Gregory swung at Eisodoran's feet.

Eisodoran read him well and jumped up perfectly on time just above the swinging blade.

Gregory returned, with lightning speed, a side slash in the opposite direction.

Eisodoran had to block awkwardly directing Gregory's sword over his head and out of arms way once again.

Gregory followed that up with a swinging elbow that hit poor Eisodoran square in the face causing him to stumble backwards.

"Remember ladies and gentlemen, your enemy's weapon isn't only their sword," replied Bartholomew circling and analysing the fight.

Gregory leapt up into the air and descended upon Eisodoran with an elbow of vengeance.

Eisodoran blocked with his own crossed elbow but the force with which Gregory came down upon him was too much for him to bear and he buckled under the full weight of Gregory. Gregory drew his sword and readied himself for what appeared to be a move that would finish Eisodoran off. Gregory drove the sword into Eisodoran who was grounded!

Eisodoran held his head to his side. He was still and motionless!

The crowd let out a sigh of horror!

Gregory then smiled.

Eisodoran suddenly looked up and back at him also bearing a smile on his face.

The sword missed Eisodoran by only a fraction and by design.

Gregory helped Eisodoran up.

The crowd let out a sigh of relief and roared in applause of the great performance that the knights put up for them.

That excellently planned masterpiece marked the end of the demonstration. The two men sheathed their swords and awaited their orders. The loud applause quietened down as Bartholomew approached the knights to thank them.

Gregory had a few words to say. "Okay, okay I know you're all disappointed at how short today's demonstration was, but do not despair good townspeople, because there will be much more exciting and lengthier demonstrations of skill and technique at the Royal Knight games of Bellor. Be sure not to miss out on an experience of a lifetime! Everyone is invited! The competition begins two days from now. Book your tickets and secure your place for the year's greatest event. With that, I'd like to say thank you and do stay for Bartholomew's talk to the aspiring young knights in our audience today. Thank you." Gregory and Eisodoran bowed and returned to their horses and awaited Bartholomew's signal to embark.

Bartholomew nodded.

Both men leapt onto their horses at the same time as he approached the stadium's audience.

"Thank you gentlemen for that excellent demonstration! Without any delay, I wish to leave the youth with some words of encouragement & bravery. It is not an easy path to take if one wishes to become a knight. The road is long & hard. There are many sacrifices that you will have to make. To be a knight is not about being the best in all the lands. It's about being the best you can be for yourself. All the discipline and training amounts to nothing if it is not harnessed and channeled towards protecting the greater good and eliminating the evil within and without you. I conclude with our motto of bravery, 'Defend what's dearest to you, defend what's nearest to you, defend all that you stand for and fight for what you live for.' Take care good ladies and gentlemen, and we'll strive to give you an even more spectacular show and we hope to see this spectacular turnout once again next time. Good night!"

With those words, the knights departed in a single file with Bartholomew going out in style. He waved to the people, jumped onto his horse, swung around, and drew his sword and held it up high and then departed.

Upon his departure, everyone started to make their way out of the stadium and to their homes.

Valkin and Regan went their separate ways when they exited the gates saying their goodbyes for the night. It was quite dark and late so they could not do much anyway.

As Valkin walked home that night, he seriously contemplated the prospect of becoming a knight strangely for the first time in his life. Every year, they came and went but this year felt different for him. This year, Valkin really wanted to become something in his life, something great! No one was around which made it easier for him to be alone with his thoughts. The walkways at night were quiet in Bellor and fortunately not dangerous. Soon, Valkin realized that with his lifestyle and the kind of person his mother was, it would be practically impossible for him to become a knight in this lifetime and so he crossed out that thought in his mind as quickly as it came into it. Whistling without a care in the world, he reached home & retired to bed as it was quite late.

Dawn marked another day of survival for Rocko, the old red-orange rooster. He was never late to sound the alarm. He knew his days were numbered. He just was not sure how he was going to go, naturally or unnaturally!

Valkin's mother was already up, preparing breakfast.

Valkin was still snoring in bed tangled up in his blankets and sheets.

Still, the sun's rays shone brightly upon him in his tangled mess. The house was small and humble but more than enough for the family. The day was beautiful and clear just like yesterday. It was indeed splendid to watch the cotton clouds move across the sky making shapes and figures of objects and animals to guess. It was a beautiful day for grandpa's birthday and it was surely the time for cake and celebrations.

Grandpa though, was never the party type. He much preferred sitting in the fields & soaking up the sun's rays, much like his grandson. He was a man of the old times. He took pleasure in the simple things in life. He was very strong though! He never looked his age, which was ninety, or thereabouts. Some people younger than him looked more wrinkled and aged. His favorite pastime was sitting on his rocking chair on the front porch and admiring the weather whilst reflecting on life. However, today he was on a mission, much like his grandson was, yesterday. The difference was, his mission had merit, whereas Valkin's mission in trying to catch the uncatchable Rocko, was futile and pointless.

"Valkin! Valkin! Wake up boy and help me find my glasses, lad. I seem to have misplaced them", shouted old grandpa. His glasses were very important to him. His eyesight was not what it used to be.

"Yes, yes, I'll be there Bartholomew, give me some time, I'm just getting into this armor," replied Valkin in his groggy state not knowing who it was that required his assistance. "Oh! Grandpa, so sorry, it's you, happy birthday grandpa." Valkin got up from bed only to fall off to the other side.

Grandpa didn't even notice the loud thud of Valkin's body hitting the ground hard next to the window wall. He was too busy scurrying around the room trying to find his glasses.

"Argh! Don't worry about my birthday, boy! All I need now is my glasses and a little help from you laddie," said grandpa looking high and low around the room for his glasses.

"Sure, have you tried looking in your pockets grandpa? You always put them there," replied Valkin rubbing his sore behind.

"No, no, let me check." The glasses were not in grandpa's pockets.

The two looked everywhere but the glasses were nowhere to be found.

Then, grandpa suddenly remembered the last place where he was working the night before. That was where they had to be.

"Ahh! I remember now, come along boy." Grandpa held Valkin's shoulder urging him on to come with him quickly.

Valkin was so groggy. He smiled at his mother as they walked past her straight into the wooden front door weathered by many storms over the years.

"Valkin, my boy, I think you also need glasses. Haha!"

Mother, grandpa and Valkin had a rich and hearty morning laugh.

Valkin then opened the door and helped grandpa down the steps of the front porch. Valkin followed grandpa closely to the old shed behind their home. They both entered the old shed at the corner of the house where no-one goes often to.

Grandpa slowly opened the creaky wooden door with its old iron hinges.

#  The real beginning

The room was organically filled with dust and cobwebs in every nook and cranny. There was an occasional glimpse of some well kept items here and there but for the most part, the majority was covered with ancient dust that settled throughout the lifespan of the room. The room had one lonely window in the north-facing corner which allowed some morning sunlight to filter in but not much more than that allowed through the gaping cracks in the roof. The room was still dark and damp with a musty odour that perpetually fought the daily limited airflow for supremacy. In the middle of the room was one particular item, which was kept very clean and in pristine condition. It was a large wooden treasure chest placed in the middle of the room, in front of a wooden cabinet where mother used to store the dishes and cutlery. It was made from no less than five different types of wood, walnut, beech, magnificent white oak and two other woods that Valkin could not recognize at all. The thin, jagged cracks in the roof allowed the sun's rays to penetrate through and mystical illuminate this particular treasure chest. The glow upon it was very different. Its glimmering sheen deflected the specks of dust that floated above it being far more intriguing than any of the other items within the shed.

"Here they are!" exclaimed grandpa finding his glasses lying on top of the treasure chest just were he had left them the night before. Grandpa smiled in relief. He gingerly reached for them, put them on and turned around to face Valkin who smiling at him.

"Oh, there you are, lad! Couldn't see you properly. I thought you were Regan and wondered why you didn't want to go home. Haha!"

"Its ok Grandpa!"

"My apologies boy, you were just a blur to me. I did however, get a whiff of the unique smell you exude and just followed the trail, haha!"

Valkin chuckled as he smelt his shirt just to make sure.

"You mean, stench grandpa!" Valkin smiled at his grandpa.

"Haha! Pull up a chair young man and have a seat here where I can see you better than before."

Valkin dusted an old wooden chair and seated himself down beside his grandfather and the old treasure chest in front of him.

Grandpa was hunched but he insisted on not accepting a walking stick to get about. He was quite fit for his age, which was a rip, old ninety-four. Grandpa was a fastidious man and really looked after the things he could see. He took care of that old chest, varnished it every summer all by himself. The smell of the special mixture he used could still be smelt amongst the plethora of dust and wood. The chest glistened and sparkled in the sunlight.

"Pine! That's what it was," thought Valkin, trying to figure out what the other woods were. He admired the chest's natural, earthy wood feel appreciating the Pine Woods of Tillmandor.

Grandpa focused his old, weary eyes on his grandson for a short time as he searched within his mind trying to remember the exact words he wanted to share with him.

"Ahh! There it is. Yes, yes, that's it! Now, I want you to listen to an old man's story okay boy! I won't be long, I promise you." Grandpa smiled.

Valkin nodded and grandpa continued.

"The story I'm going to tell you is about two great warriors who believed in peace & justice to protect their lands and their families. As you know, the knights of Sarcodia have just arrived and I do believe that you have already seen them at the training barracks last night. Years ago during the dark times, the knights were the first line of defense against any impending doom a kingdom could ever face. The Sarcodian knights were not even conceived then, as Sarcodia and many other kingdoms of today were all united under one banner in those days. The Great King, Selardor, ruled over all the lands and kept his people happy and at peace. He appointed twelve good men to serve as his most trusted ambassadors and supreme bodyguards. He named them, The Knights of Latarial, after the kingdom, Lataria. Two knights in particular, Gabriel & Vallentor, both served as Knights of Latarial upon the king's council. Their service was so outstanding that both became honorary commanders of the royal army. This meant that the entire army was commanded by these two individuals. Their success spoke for itself. The Latarians never lost a battle against their main enemies and neighbors, the Hallucens, home to the barbarians, the fiercest warriors known to exist! King Bardock was the king of the wild barbarians. However, with every great strength, there is always a weakness, which accompanies it. Politics and greed set in. It created a great rift among the council's members. The other ten members became jealous of Gabriel & Vallentor's new positions of power. Human nature had begun to show its darker side! They wanted more and they knew that the only way they could achieve this, was to conceive an ingenious, insidious plot against the king and his most loyal subjects. The king was always mindful. He became very suspicious and weary after learning about the possibility of treason. He found it very difficult to confide in anyone. Luckily, he had the support of his two most loyal knights and friends whom he knew he could place some trust in, at least. Sadly, the power of the division grew and with each passing day, the other members of the council were tainted by the infectious disease. Eventually, it spread to the people of Lataria whom were seduced by this new idea of having separate kingdoms and a greater share of everything. The council members gathered and voted against the idea of unity, which had worked for them for so long but since the king had the final say in the matter, their words were powerless and went unnoticed. The council members grew angry and became desperately power-hungry and scorned at the king's futile defiance. Their options and time were running out quickly! They made a drastic and risky move on their part. They gathered their own personal troops and unexpectedly marched upon the royal palace overpowering the king's guard and capturing his entire family while he was away on a diplomatic mission. Gabriel & Vallentor stood up to them and a great fight ensued. Finally, the two knights were overpowered as well by the council's lust for greed and power. Both were trialled and charged with treason under the new laws of the split kingdoms. Gabriel was banished from all of the new kingdoms and stripped of all his duties and titles. Vallentor fled into the wild and vowed he would return to topple the hypocritical dictatorship. He was hunted down and allegedly killed by the new order Sarcodian knights. King Selardor and the remains of his family became silent casualties. No one rebelled and no questions were asked! They simply faded away quietly into the history of time. They were great warriors for they believed in peace and not war. They were the great warriors of our time!' Ah! Yes! So only now you remember your grandfather's real name, after he tells you some silly ol' story."

Valkin just sat in awe and disbelief.

"Yes, those were my days boy when there was security in the hope that one kingdom would bring peace and harmony among the people. It sadly seems that people are destined to be divided over anything to do with power and control. They are destined to give in to our darker sides. Well, enough of an old man's depressing stories! I have something for you, young man. If you could help me up. It seems that my legs have given up on me again sitting in one place."

As Valkin helped his grandfather up to his feet, he felt a humbling sense of immense appreciation to be in this man's presence not because of the title he once held but because of the person he once was and still is, a great man and a great knight.

His grandfather had enough strength to go over to the well-kept chest and lift its great lid open to reveal its sparkling contents.

Something was neatly wrapped up in a large brown cloth. It was still shining right through the little rat made holes in the cloth.

Grandpa unraveled the item from its brown cloth and with a loud "shing", he withdrew a large glowing yellow sword with an embedded centre of blue and white crystals which had a glaze of minute star-like spots imbedded all along the blade. It was the night sky and the sun all mixed in a fiery eruption.

"Here boy, that's for you."

Valkin paused. He could not move and accept the exquisite gift. He just sat frozen in time.

"Well go on, take it, it's yours!" Grandpa presented the beautiful sword to Valkin.

"Hey grandpa, I thought I should be the one giving you a present, it's your birthday today! Besides, I do not deserve such an exquisite gift. It is yours to keep for memories."

"That's why you must have it. This sword is a reminder of both something good and something evil. Besides, this old man has no need for it any longer. Now take it. Keep it safe my and one more thing. Please do not show your mother for all hell will certainly break loose, okay."

Valkin nodded in agreement. He then grasped the sword with both hands and held it up to light. It gleamed spectacularly, lighting up the whole room as he examined it. Then, he carefully put it back into its sheath. It glided in without any resistance whatsoever. Valkin turned to face his grandfather.

"Thank you for this grandpa. I will take good care of it."

The two returned to the main house to begin the celebrations. The day was wonderful and well spent with a small party in the form of cake and songs. The little family including Regan, who had joined later on, was in such a merry mood that the songs and festivities continued through until midnight. Everyone had a splendid time and retreated to bed early the next morning.

The next day broke with a disturbance. Tears from Valkin's mother rolled down her sad and heavy face.

Quickly, Valkin hurried to the source of the crying. He found his mother kneeling to grandpa's bed holding his limp pale, blue hand weeping softly. Valkin's mother looked at Valkin's face.

Valkin immediately knew that his grandfather was gone. He knelt down beside his mother clutching her in a comforting embrace and closed his eyes. He shed a few tears for this great man.

Valkin's grandfather, Gabriel Clifton died that morning in his sleep. His work done and his body spent signalled his departure from this good earth. The many memories that both Valkin and his mother shared with grandpa proved too strong to forget and so, Valkin and his mother decided to move out of Tillmandor shortly thereafter. They left the farm and the memories behind for greener and quieter pastures.

#  A new home

The memories of Tillmandor still lingered, long after their departure and now and again, it brought up heavy tears to Valkin's mother's eyes. Valkin spent the most part of the journey to Sarcodia reminiscing about the past and consoling his mother every time she broke down and she broke down quite a bit. Nineteen years was a long time! Valkin had to shake himself free from being buried with all the memories, for it was time to cast away those memories from the past and look forward to a brighter, newer future in their new home of Sarcodia.

The Sarcodian countryside was very beautiful this morning as they walked between the flower fields of Tulipa treading the bronze gravel road leading to mainland of Sarcodia. The only disturbance they experienced along the way was a wild cart carrying a small amount of gold. It, along with the two knights following closely behind it, almost crashed straight into them, which would not have been the best of starts in their new home.

"Mother, mother, those were the legendary knights of Sarcodia." Valkin was in complete awe and wonder.

"Yes son, I'm sure they were, but clearly, those knights were the rotten potatoes of the lot. They can't even catch a stolen gold cart, let alone steer their own bloody horses. Now, if you don't mind son; I don't want to be a part of another burglary. We've already been robbed of our dear grandfather, so please give up on your delusions of grandeur and let's move along." Valkin's mother wasn't hearing any of it.

Neither was their horse, old Rumbo. Now, Rumbo was as strong a horse as any could be. He was their only means of transportation, carting the belongings of Valkin and his mother as he trudged along through the mud from yesterday's downpour. Rumbo had a fine, old gold coat and a youthful neigh. He used to help around the farm turning the well pump and ploughing the fields but now in this time of need, his strength was called upon to move his family to a happier location.

The family walked for many hours and didn't take a rest, so Valkin's mother decided that it was time to sit under the shade of a weathered tree alongside the road to have a breather. Both mother and son took some rest in silent contemplation. They wondered about the farm they had to leave behind and the daunting prospect of starting over in a new home that lay before them at the end of a road less travelled. After a few minutes, they conjured the courage from the depths of their souls to lift themselves up again to move forward. They slowly got up and labored back onto the road and made their way gradually up the hill.

Luckily, the kingdom of Sarcodia was indeed just ahead, rested on a green hilltop lay the great castle of Sarcodia and just below at the foothills, were the very happy villagers of Sarcodia surrounding it. They were happy because they earned a bit more than their neighboring Tillmanorians. Most were middle to upper average class citizens which was not bad at all, for it meant that they could buy a little more than the bare essentials to survive. At that moment, all that Valkin and his mother carried in only two old hagged bags were some clothes and food. That is all they had with them. Everything else was sold to lighten their load. They wanted to start afresh.

Finally, they entered the great town of Sarcodia and were welcomed by the day gate guards.

Valkin and his mother marvelled at all the stalls and the houses of the town as they entered it. They were more excited about how great the town looked that the castle's existence in the background seemed to fall by the wayside. They reached a particular stall that sold many food items from bread to salted meat covered in tasty looking gravy. Behind that stall was a fair-sized Inn, one large enough for the night. It was about noon and the days in this world were mostly very beautiful, always sunny with puffs of silver clouds that danced in the blue skies above as a consolation for the newcomers' inner sadness.

"Valkin, you can explore for a little bit while I find a room where we can sleep tonight. Mark this spot well because you will have to be back here at sunset, not after sunset, at sunset or I'll have your neck. You hear young man!" Mother was serious. She didn't want her son getting lost in this new, strange town on the first day.

"It'll be like I never left mother!" Valkin's statement was not entirely accurate because as soon as he was granted the go-ahead, he left immediately. He ran through the streets jumping and waving his arms around wildly and marveling at how wonderful a kingdom, Sarcodia was.

The people giggled at him and murmured to one another, 'probably a newcomer!'

Valkin didn't care. All he could care about was calling this kingdom, his new home and leaving behind the sadness of his grandfather's passing in Tillmandor. Sunset was fast approaching as a lazy orange haze slowly began to replace the blue skies of midday. Valkin and his mother did travel for the greater part of the day and so it marked the end of Valkin's self-guided tour around the town. He didn't get to see much. He had to cut his adventure short before reaching the castle of Sarcodia.

A flock of birds flew across the misty orange sky presumably back to their homes not far away.

Valkin waved to them and somehow managed to navigate his way back to where he had left his mother in the morning. A couple of rights here and lefts there and after getting lost twice, he eventually found the place. In all the excitement, he had forgotten to get the name of the place. However, he did remember the enticing stall that stood in front of it.

It was still open with the owner sleeping right next to his livelihood, guarding his precious quarry in his deep slumber.

Valkin saw many things today and promised himself to tell his mother all about it on the morrow. He looked up to catch the name of the Inn.

"Sailsbury Inn, that's it! I have to remember that name. Looks like the one mother told me about. Now, to find her if this is indeed the right Inn. Haha! Here we go!" Valkin opened the door to find mostly married couples looking for a starting place for their new lives in the form of honeymoons. It turns out that Sailsbury Inn was a famous honeymoon inn, so security in and around the area was usually very good. There was quite a lot of commotion tonight around the small, round tables where the richer guests were seated. Luckily, no smokers were allowed in the main dining area, as it was considered unhealthy and potentially harmful for the guests who were non-smokers. Smokers were given their own section in the corner. Valkin always wanted to take a puff of smoke in, just to see what it would taste like, but his mother forbade him from ever taking up such a vile habit. She said something about extending his life for his own good. She said the smoke wasn't good for his body. Mother knew a lot about life and issues of this nature. She wizened herself up in many things.

Some people were dining; others were wining which was unusually quite evident amongst the newlyweds. They didn't yet know how to get along with each other. It takes years to develop a strong bond and just moments to destroy it.

Valkin knew this very well, and so, he casually walked passed them all. He then spotted his mother at the reception area. Overall, it was good choice by mother who was seated by the reception area waiting for her son to return.

"Just in time young man, the keeper has given us room ten. It's not much but it'll do for a night or two until we can find a new home for ourselves."

They walked up some old steps that creaked and moaned as they shifted their weight from left to right for fear of it buckling underneath them.

"Ahh! Room ten," sighed Valkin's mother with relief as she plunked their luggage hard on the floor.

Valkin had the key but was too preoccupied with his intentions for the morrow.

"Oh! Valkin, are you there son? The door please!" asked a very, very tired mother.

"Sorry mother! I was just thinking about tomorrow. Here you go!"

"If I was you son, I would worry about tonight, especially about dinner. Thank you son." Mother had a big smile on her face.

They entered a quaint little room with only the essential furniture but resolved that it would do for the night. It had one main window, one table, one sink, and just about one of everything else. It was sort of a division of the normal standards by two. Valkin's mother now realized why the room was as cheap as it was as she looked around the scantily clad room. She let it go and freshened up with some water left in a basin for them and prepared for bed. She was very tired and so she retired early before Valkin. Valkin was so hungry and decided that he would have a quick bite to eat again.

He went downstairs and ordered some lamb and vegetables but was still feeling hungry even after that meal and so he ordered another round for himself. He was after all, a growing boy, in more than one way. After the glorious meal, he came back up and found a nice place for himself and his stuff in the room closest to the window.

The light of the bright, silver full moon shone brightly into his room giving it a pale blue appearance. The bats came out and flew around screeching and whistling through the still night sky.

Valkin leaned on the window-sill and marvelled at the night sky. It was indeed a starry, starry night! He could only get lost in some distant world as he stared at the night sky and wondered who was out there looking back. Occassionally, a shooting star streamed across the sky leaving a faint trail of stardust behind it. An old saying goes that if one sees one of these stars, that individual is entitled to make a wish and that wish may one day come true. So Valkin closed his eyes and made his wish. He leaned back and closed the windows very carefully so as to not disturb his sleeping mother. He was about to curl up for the night when something caught his attention. It was the illuminated sword his grandfather had given to him in Tillmandor. He sat down on the bed, picked up the sword and withdrew it from its sheath. He wiped off some dirt from it and then put it back into his sack. He lied down and closed his eyes and fell off to sleep.

Little did Valkin realize, but the sword began to glow, lighting up the entire room.

The thunder of horses in the distance began to shake the earth. Their hair was made of glowing fire and they had hooves of the finest and toughest steel. As they approached, these horses began to burn even more. The glowing red eyes of rider and horse felt menacingly ominous. The leader was the most threatening, bearing his black and fire-orange sword to his side destroying homes and taking lives as he rode on. The houses just caught on fire and the people were sliced into pieces! Screams of folk running around frantically, filled the air. Some were so panic-stricken that they couldn't move at all. They waited for the inevitable toll of the death bell. There were five of them, five fire riders, two on each flank with the leader in the middle. One could feel them burning right through as hot molten lava would, carving out riverbeds of fire. The shades of red and orange were very confusing. One could still feel the heat and the terrible choking smoke!

"Can't breathe anymore! Can you see him? He is coming! He is coming!" Low voices spoke out in the dark.

They rode to the very edge of the town were something or someone was waiting for them.

His wings of gold and white blinded his face. Only his glowing blue sword and silhouette could be seen from afar which he held to his side.

The riders disembarked from their horses without stopping them, first the leader, then the others followed suit. He put his one leg over to one side and held the reins with one arm and his sword with the other. The burning horses were still pressing forward at an incredible pace. The leader's horse jumped over the glowing figure whilst the others rode past him disappearing in the distance.

Day broke with the usual sounds of roosters crowing and children running and playing in the streets of Sarcodia. Valkin almost believed that for a moment, he was back home again in Bellor as he roused from his deep slumber. He did almost believe it as his mother's loud voice echoed across the room. It was still too early for him and he wanted to sleep a little longer but he had to get up. Mother was going home hunting today and Valkin was ordered to come along with.

The Sarcodian town was always a buzz with activity. Valkin kept an eye out for anything that caught his attention and the other on his mother who often tended to overindulge on unnecessary things. She liked to browse a lot and never focused her attention on what she actually set out to get. 'Why is that so?' Valkin wondered 'Perhaps, if one knew the answer to that question many a mens' wallets would have been saved from being completely emptied.' However, in this case, it was Valkin's mother who had all the money and she who has the money, calls the shots in any day and age. Papyrus scrolls were usually used for advertising all the affluent shows and flamboyant events. However, the red, black and grey colors of the Sarcodian insignia papyrus scroll were more than enough to attract Valkin's attention and immediately shift his course. He was drawn towards the honey poster to sit upon to gather its pollen on offer. He read the poster. It said that there would be another training session today at the Sarcodian barracks. Valkin couldn't contain his excitement! He wanted to be first in line to see the legendary knights in action once again but he knew that in order to book his place, he would have to go early. In fact, he would have to go right now. That meant that he'd have to leave mother to house hunt alone for today. He discussed his intentions with his mother who agreed knowing how much joy seeing the knights would bring to him. With a smile upon his face, Valkin shouted. "See you at dusk mother. I'm off to the training barracks," and Valkin was off again.

"Don't be too long now son. Take care." Valkin's mother was very perceptive and knew exactly why her son sped off. She felt that it was okay, as long as he didn't get too involved in knightly affairs, she figure he'd be fine.

Valkin ran as fast he could towards the barracks but to his surprise, he found no one there. The gates were still open but it was empty, not a soul in sight. It was such a magnificent barracks and ideally should have been busy all the time with infantry, archers and knights. Valkin slowly walked in and peered around looking for someone. As he explored the large main arena, he just remembered the reason why the barracks was empty. It was because the knights of all the lands including Sarcodia had already converged upon the town of Bellor to compete in the royal knight games, which he had missed a few days ago and were scheduled to be stationed at Bellor for a few more days. Valkin felt like such an utter idiot holding his head with his hands with great embarrassment and disappointment. He kicked up the ground hurtling some dust into the air with frustration and disappointment. Seeing that no-one was around, Valkin thought it best that he should just leave. Another realization kicked in that would explain things better. There was no reason for the men to train whilst their masters were away. The men were good enough as they were and decided to take a break. They say that the Sarcodians had the best fighters in all the lands. Perhaps that was why the very few battles they ever waged were lost, recently, thought Valkin. Usually, the barracks was always churning out mindless warriors who'll do anything for the kingdom.

'For the kingdom, I'll jump in the lake,' thought Valkin as laughed to himself. 'It was absolute nonsense! They create warriors that can fight, but cannot think to save their lives, literally. The story of a soldier is always a sad one for hidden behind the glory, is sometimes lies and deceit of his or her superior,' thought Valkin. Disappointed and sad, Valkin walked away. He felt so sad that he wanted to be alone. The knights really made an indelible impression on him when he last saw them back in Bellor.

He found a quiet little alley and decided to walk through it hoping that by the time he reached the other side, he'd feel better. He was looking down at the ground when suddenly, he was intercepted by a strange man, hooded and dressed in an old dark brown cloak with a partially concealed face. His mouth was barely visible.

"Come with me boy, if your life means something to you." It seemed that the man had no weapons upon him, only a deep gruff voice filled with authority and a dark, ominous face, which showed slightly even in concealment. The man was hunched and seemed very old and worn out, but still, his commanding voice echoed in Valkin's ears.

Valkin obeyed out of fear, not knowing if the other alternatives would help him escape this ordeal. He glanced around the alley quickly expecting to see the man's assailants but saw none. Still, it was too early to make a move.

The man showed Valkin the same path he was originally walking from and motioned for him to go back the same way he came. The man's hands were concealed in the sleeves of his mysterious cloak. He brought them together and presumably clasped them in front of his body under his sleeves.

"I am sorry about your mother, Valkin," replied the old man in a frank, deep voice. Valkin stopped and turned around to face the man who sounded old and wise. Valkin clenched his hands with anger and fear at that declaration.

"My mother! Look, if it's me you want, you got me, but leave her out of this okay and how do you know my name, stranger?" Valkin grew extremely agitated within and became very angry but kept his cool and concealed most of his anger.

"She is fine, I promise you. My apologies to her for she will probably never see her son again, not for a long time anyway. Do not worry young man! She will be informed of the sudden departure of her only son in due course. Please pardon me for being so frank and seemingly inconsiderate towards you." The stranger's mind games began to play on Valkin's nerves. However, he could not help but feel that any wrong move would spring the trap set out for him. So, he bided his time and allowed the stranger to have his say whilst looking for an opportunity to escape. Valkin learned to be calm in such situations like this, living with so much fear in his one night in Sarcodia.

"What do you want from us and how do you know my name, stranger?"

"Oh relax! We only want you! I've had my eye on you for some time now, Valkin. I have watched your wayward escapades in life's fields and I know about your meaningless interest in knights and their mundane way of life. Simply put, I have a proposition for you."

The two kept on walking now side by side.

Valkin looked down into the ground once more with fists clenched and tensions rising whilst the stranger continued his forward gaze. The alley was deserted and Valkin could feel the walls closing in on him as the stranger continued to speak.

"Simply put, if you help me, your mother lives and you get to see her again, someday perhaps..."

Valkin cut in and stopped walking any further.

"...You don't know a damn thing about me and if you don't mind me asking, but what's stopping me from disobeying you, stranger?" Valkin decided that he had entertained the stranger's threats long enough.

"That's a very good question, Valkin. I am happy you asked. Now, from where you stand, not much, but I do warn you that if you reach the end of this alley, whichever end mind you, without me at your side, you'll be a dead man! And the next time your mother sees you, will be at your untimely funeral and you know that's not the dream reunion you were envisioning, so be careful boy, don't test me! I'm the one calling the shots here and these are not idle threats! You're more than welcome to call my bluff but I wouldn't advise it; you're much too young to die with your whole life ahead of you. It's your call, boy!" The stranger was indeed a cunning person and quite determined to drive Valkin into a corner right where he wanted him to be.

It was a tough decision. 'It's easy to play with your own life but when someone else's is at risk especially your own mother, it's a different story' thought Valkin. Besides the stranger was right, he didn't have half a chance. If the stranger was some smart beggar looking to trick Valkin then this guy was doing a damn good job of it or if he was not joking, then things were about to get really interesting for Valkin.

"Alright stranger, I'll give you a walk to the end of the alley, on one condition, you don't lay a finger upon my mother after we're done," asked Valkin with a stern voice.

"Agreed!" The stranger bowed in acknowledgement of Valkin's request.

They were now halfway down the alley when the stranger suddenly lifted his hood to reveal his identity. He straightened his hunched back and breathed in some fresh air. He seemed to be fully rejuvenated now. Valkin kept looking at the ground as the stranger stretched his muscles. It turned out that the stranger was in fact a middle-aged man bordering on the prime years of life. He had long brown hair with blue eyes which gave Valkin a surprise when he finally looked up to see who his kidnapper was. The voice was misleading as the man sounded very gruff making him seem very much older than he actually was. His metallic brown beard extended from his sideburns right through to his chin but was still cut neatly. The man was no doubt a man of leadership, great power and influence by the looks of it. Valkin could tell that much was clear. The stranger stopped and faced Valkin, "Now that you've agreed to my terms, I believe an official introduction is in order. My name is Vallentor, or more popularly known as King Bardock, King of Hallucagenia, leader of the Barbarians and good friend to your late grandfather, Gabriel Clifton. As he had mentioned to you, him and I were knights and comrades of Lataria many years ago. Secrecy keeps the Sarcodians at bay. As you can see, I was not killed as you were made to believe! I allied with the wayward Hallucens in the hope that one day I will rise again and exact my revenge against this new tyrannical order that is brewing. You are yet to learn of it." An aura of light fell from the stars upon Vallentor as he looked up in the air reflecting upon his vision.

"Looks have deceived me indeed, great King of Hallucagenia. Either that or your acting skills are superb! Hahahahaah!" Valkin was overcome with laughter. Vallentor was not pleased. "Hey king, any mimic can walk up to anyone claiming he's the king of Hallucagenia. You have got to be jesting with me stranger. Thank you. I am on my way." Valkin shook his head in disbelief and started to rudely walk away from the stranger seizing the opportunity to escape. The stranger who was supposedly Vallentor then started to laugh loudly.

"Oh Valkin!" Valkin suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. His body seized. He could not move an inch! He stood frozen with fear. He could only blink his twitching eyes. He couldn't even yell out for help. He stared into the distance knowing that he was trapped! Tears of fear started to roll down his cheeks. He was confused and shaken not knowing what was happening to his body. He had never experienced anything like this before nor had he believed such a thing could even be experienced. The stranger walked up to Valkin and looked at him with a sarcastic look upon his face as Valkin slowly turned his eyes to see him at the corner of his obscured vision.

"What's wrong Valkin, cat caught your tongue? You seemed to be so chirpy a moment ago but now you're all quiet." The stranger then suddenly drew close to Valkin's ear and whispered, "Don't mess with me boy! I can snap you like a twig if I wanted to without even lifting a finger. You're going to come with me, whether you like it or not. Is that in any way unclear?" Without warning the invisible force that was immobilising Valkin's movement was suddenly released and he fell straight to the ground clutching his body shivering with fear as the tears welled up in his pinkish eyes. He looked up and faced the stranger.

"Then this kingdom is nothing but a great mirage waiting to fade away. How can I even be sure that you will keep to your word? How can I trust you?"

"You can't, but I hope that in time, I will earn your trust. For now, you must believe. You don't have any other choice. Valkin, I am deeply sorry! It's an extreme measure, I know, but there was no other way to get you on board. To put your mind at ease, I have a small piece of information that I found very interesting and which may also interest you as well, Valkin. Your grandfather always seemed to lose his glasses around the house. Ahh! Yes and one more thing, he did tell me that he was going to pass on his sword to you when your family settled down in Bellor. I'm not sure if that sword is still in your possession and I know it's none of my business but this is what a friend told me many years ago. I don't expect you to be totally convinced seeing that you are a smart boy. Perhaps, I am actually telling the truth. Like I said, the fairest thing for me to do, is to earn your trust in time. Please forgive my seemingly diabolical ways, Valkin. Revenge is wrong which doesn't make things right. That is why I need you, Valkin."

Valkin was still very edgy but after hearing the stranger's testaments to his friendship with his grandfather, he was convinced.

"So you fought with my grandpa, hey?" asked Valkin in an attempt to pacify the situation trying to prevent any further aggressive aggravations between himself and the Vallentor. However, within Valkin's mind, there were still great doubts that lingered and troubled him every second. If this man fought with grandpa, howcome he was still so young. Grandpa must have been ninety years when he passed. This man looked only about forty years of age. It didn't make any sense to Valkin. None of it did.

"The fighting keeps me young," smiled Vallentor.

Valkin looked at Vallentor with complete shock upon his face as Vallentor had guessed exactly what he was thinking. Another ability, Valkin wondered, at which point Valkin became quite reserved as a defence mechanism trying to guard his most cherished thoughts.

"Ok! I just wish he was here still, with us," exclaimed Valkin as he reminisced about his late grandad.

"He still is, boy, he still is. I can feel his presence now and again when the night is clear," replied Vallentor.

In Valkin's mind, Valkin thought this man was crazy, but Valkin was very weary now about what he thought and tried to control his thoughts. 'What was that force that overcame him?' he thought. His entire body felt numb and limp. It was so scary and unbelievable. 'How can someone create such a force, let alone transfer it to another person, surely that was not possible,' thought Valkin. He felt that he just had to keep on talking random nonsense to entertain his capturer's whims and fancy but at the same time, still try to wangle his way out of this dire dilemma.

"Isn't that my dilemma, good king? I'm just a boy, what can I do to help? There's no war here and now. Why start something and involve a generation that has nothing to do with it?"

"Well, I don't blame you Valkin for thinking that way. It's expected that the people know nothing about the corruption in the highest levels of the land. I will explain to you in due course but I still need you, Valkin. The war is coming and peace will beckon. We have to be ready!"

Valkin thought to himself, 'What war, I don't want to be part of no war. I'm just a boy! I'm too young die! Leave me alone crazy middle-aged man.' Valkin turned to address Vallentor, "Why me, Vallentor? I'm just my grandfather's grandson. I'm no Gabriel Clifton," replied Valkin.

"Perhaps not, but I need you more than you'll ever know, boy, more than you'll ever know. Come now, there is much to discuss! We have a lot of work to do and far to travel. We had better get started."

Valkin didn't even realize it but they had reached the end of the alley and the end of the proposition.

#  Departure

Valkin and Vallentor exited the empty alley and crossed over the gravel road, bordering the more exposed end of the kingdom. They very calmly entered the surrounding Sarcodian forests.

Valkin tried to figure out in his mind how he got into this predicament in the first place. It must have been his bad luck, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was at that very point; Valkin realized one of the main reasons why the barracks was so empty. It was because the guards were doubled at every post on the borders. He thought to himself surely, this was his chance to attract their attention and ultimately his gain his ticket to freedom. He resolved to shout for help at the first sight of the patrol guards.

Vallentor walked in front of Valkin without his hood veiling his face. The gravel road led deep into the forest was now drawing to an abrupt end at the forest's edge. Vallentor bore a smug smile upon his face as they walked.

Valkin swallowed the diminishing saliva in his mouth hard as he sweated profusely.

They were almost at the beginning of Sarcodian forest and Valkin could finally see the guards stationed there against a backdrop of pine green foliage and branches that waited to embrace a new stranger into their midst.

The guards wore similar shades of armour compared to their masters back in Sarcodia bearing the insignia of knights upon their breastplates and pauldrons. Their sworn duty was to halt people coming into the Kingdom and going out, ask for passes and ask other mundane, annoying questions to show that they were actually doing their job. They had to halt Valkin and Vallentor.

Luckily, for Vallentor, there were only two of them patrolling in this area today, a tall one and a short one.

Sarcodian knight armour always shone and sparkled reflecting the pride and honor of the Sarcodian knights. Their red helmet visors were down covering their eyes but nonetheless, their voices still rang out with condescending authority.

The taller one spoke first in hoarse authoritative voice. "Halt please! Where are you going if we may ask?" The Sarcodians were not too concerned with who was coming into their beautiful kingdom. They knew that those were just visitors probably coming in to stay for a short time or just visiting their families from Bellor. Every citizen was issued with their own personalized badge indicating their name and kingdom of origin. It was an identification pass. Without it, it was very difficult for anyone to go into or leave a kingdom and especially for those in a hurry. The Sarcodian knights were very interested in those in a hurry! They could be enemies to the kingdom, which was an immediate red flag for the border knights. Naturally, the possibility of corruption arose at that point but not in the land of honor, Sarcodia.

Valkin knew that he didn't have his badge with him but what he didn't know was whether or not Vallentor had a badge.

Both stopped and faced the two knights!

Valkin glanced sideways towards Vallentor who had a look of stone upon his grim face. This slowly transformed into a friendly smile, which he presented to the guards in a show of kindness and trust.

Valkin's heart pumped with excitement as he could begin to taste his imminent freedom. As he was about to shout for help, Vallentor spoke.

"Well, good morning gentlemen! How are you this beautiful morning? My colleague and I are just taking a stroll to Bellor."

"To Bellor!" replied the shorter knight. He was stubby and stouter than his taller counterpart was but still effective in commanding his authoritative demeanor. "That's an awfully long way there sir especially on foot and without supplies. You must be very courageous! It's a three-day gallop on horseback and the fringes of Pine Forests are notoriously deadly."

Valkin glanced sideways to his right at Vallentor who remained calm and cool. Valkin however, was anything but calm and cool. His body started to sweat and itch again but the knights didn't take notice of the nervous buildup of sweat on his white tunic as they were fully focused on Vallentor for the moment. He wanted to scream but everytime he tried to, he just couldn't open his mouth. He felt some invisible force hold him back.

"Yes, we plan to stop off at the Valley Town shop to replenish our supplies before we embark on our long journey as you say." Vallentor still wore his brown cloak and Valkin thought that it would have been better if he had discarded it for it made him look a tad too suspicious or perhaps he wanted to look suspicious thought Valkin.

This time the taller one took the lead. "Valley Town shop you say. Alright sir! I'm sure you are familiar with our rules here in Sarcodia. If you'll let me see your passes, you can be on your way."

"Certainly sir!"

To Valkin's utter surprise, Vallentor whipped out two passes from the inner compartment of his cloak. 'Vallentor actually had passes,' thought Valkin. This caught him by complete surprise. Valkin thought to himself that, 'It's now or never!' He should try again. However, he felt a great sense of fear knowing what had happened to him earlier today. That fear along with the invisible force crippled him, further delaying his plea for help.

The taller knight carefully inspected the passes, which had the insignia of Bellor, the neighbouring kingdom.

"You're from Bellor! Very interesting! Don't look like one of them Bellorians to me? You're a little too well built," replied the shorter knight in a cynical voice. "Can't say the the same for your companion here. He's a little scrawny!"

The tall knight laughed as they described Valkin who became highly agitated by their unnecessary insults. The taller knight further inspected the passes and gave them a final filthy look.

"Relax Bellorians. They're good! You may be on your way."

Vallentor was about to walk past the knights when somehow, Valkin conjured up the courage to open his mouth to shout for help. However, no words came out. Vallentor started to laugh and came close to Valkin and held his shoulders. He smiled to the guards who became extremely suspicious at the boy's strange behaviour.

"You'll have to excuse my companion here. He's a little eccentric, not to mention dumb! Can't speak a word of sense, the poor lad! Can't even speak at all!" Vallentor motioned to the guards, the classic circular hand movement to the side of the head, indicating an acute condition of insanity.

The guards smiled and for the moment, they had accepted Vallentor's explanation of the bizarre situation. However, the taller guard secretly did not! He still had deep reservations.

Vallentor quickly guided Valkin back to the gravel road when they were stopped again by the precautious words of the taller guard. Vallentor rolled his eyes with frustration.

"Before you leave sir, my counterpart and I would like to accompany you to the Valley Town shop to guarantee your safety, of course. I also want to purchase some items there for myself. We insist!" There was ounce of sincerity in the knight's voice.

Valkin failed to see it. He knew they were caught and still, Vallentor remained cool about it the situation.

The fringes of the Pine forests marked the boundary between Sarcodia and the "infamous" forest dwellers. It was a very lush, green place, full of color and life.

Valkin turned around and paused for a moment to look at the kingdom and contemplate the thought of leaving his mother behind.

Vallentor and the two escorting knights paused and waited for Valkin to say his abrupt and silent goodbyes. Then, they continued to walk as Valkin turned around to join them.

Valkin had never been this far away from home before. Every step he took made history but to what end exactly, he did not know. It was a frightening and surreal experience that he found himself in. He remembered the promise he had made to Vallentor and what would happen if he didn't carry out his wishes and the terrible thought of losing his mother grounded him.

Vallentor drooped his eyes in a momentary display of grief. Vallentor's sympathized with Valkin's feeling.

The knights were walking in front of them. They didn't see the silent exchange of empathy and just continued their escort.

Valkin began to sweat again and whispered to Vallentor in an effort to engage him.

"I just get the feeling their on to us and we haven't even left Sarcodia. You're finished for sure, Vallentor! Let me go! These are Sarcodian knights here. You are no match for them, even with your tricks!" Valkin was beaming with confidence that these men were his saviours.

Vallentor simply smiled and continued along the pathway in his proud gait.

"You are very perceptive Valkin. I like that! That will stand in good stead later on. Yes, you're right! They are on to us but I don't have time right now for an escort. We must make haste!"

They were fairly deep in the forest now and there wasn't anyone nearby. Perfectly convenient for the kill!

An unnatural swooshing sound came from a distance whistling in the air. Four arrows were all it took to get the job done cleanly, one in the head and the next in the heart, a pair for each fallen Sarcodian knight. The arrows pierced through flesh as easily as they did through the air. The victims passed on before they knew it, but to make sure of a painless death, the heart was pierced too.

Valkin paused and stood stunned before the tragedy that unfolded right in front of him. He never witnessed anything so horrific before in his life and it deeply traumatised him. He started to breathe heavily as a tingling sensation of anger overcame his body. He recollected the events in his mind again to comprehend what had just happened. He heard the sound of something being released through the air. Almost immediately after he heard it, the poor knights were struck, not once, but twice. Valkin knew that such a feat was impossible for a normal person to accomplish. From whatever distance those arrows were shot, it would take at least a few more seconds to reload the bow with a new arrow.

The men buckled under their own lifeless bodies and fell hard to the ground on their sides. No heartbeat, no movement! They were simply gone!

Valkin was shocked and frozen, immobilized by what he just witnessed. He wasn't used to seeing dead men but he realized then and there that he'd better get used to it really soon for he did not know what his capturer was capable of. He felt butterflies flying around in his stomach as Vallentor and himself stared at the still bodies that lay lifeless before them, waiting for a crescendo to the act. Warriors say that it was painless and quick, the ones that have survived. There was no blood for the arrows left the wounds fully sealed for the moment. The power of the drawback must not have been too great, for the arrows did not go right through their targets. They remained lodged in the victim's bodies effectively sealing off the wounds.

Valkin turned to Vallentor with a stern face as Vallentor looked on and then finally faced Valkin.

"I am sorry, I offended you boy by destroying your one chance of going back home!"

Valkin was furious giving in to his anger and disgust! He had to speak his mind.

"Was this really necessary Vallentor? These men were innocent! I thought you'd have a less violent plan of action like the other tricks you pulled on me before?" Valkin shouted and breathed heavily. His eyes were bloodshot

Vallentor could sense something emanate from the boy but could not identify exactly what it was. "Those were not tricks boy and I'm sorry Valkin! I don't have a long justification for you but it is either us or them that survives and for the sake of the people I protect, sacrifices have to be made. Do you I make myself absolutely clear?"

Valkin realized the seriousness of this man before him. He realized that he would do anything it took to achieve the unspoken goal that he was chasing. It frightened Valkin but Valkin held his nerve with a moral rebuttal to Vallentor's justification.

"That's no answer, Vallentor! It's an unnecessary murder and you know it! That's what it is. You murdered those innocent knights. They could have had families," protested Valkin who was up close to Vallentor now.

"They didn't have any families," replied Vallentor who was getting very agitated now at Valkin's outbursts.

"How do you know that? And even so, that still doesn't give you the right to kill them with no just cause." Vallentor smiled and tapped Valkin on the shoulder.

"I read their minds. By the way, their minds weren't the only ones, I was reading all this time. But right now, I don't have time for this boy. We must keep on moving!"

Valkin was taken aback by Vallentor's declaration. It all made sense now why Vallentor could accurately guess exactly what Valkin was thinking about. He couldn't believe it at first that someone could actually read another person's mind. It was truly reading someone's mind. Valkin was both amazed and scared, filled with weariness instilled by his captor. He now had an additional challenge. He would have to regulate his own thoughts more carefully around Vallentor, if he was to have any chance of surviving this ordeal.

Vallentor turned away and kept on walking.

Valkin suddenly then became so furious that he wanted to strike Vallentor down. Vallentor read his mind and appropriately answered.

"You can strike me down if you wish, Valkin. I strongly advise against it though."

Valkin clenched his fist and then released his grip but had to calm himself down. He knew that he was no match for the might of Vallentor. Valkin was so preoccupied with all the emotion that it completely blinded him from two strangers appearing from nowhere behind him. Valkin spun around, kicking some dust into the air as he did, to examine the newcomers.

They looked ominous and deadly! Only their orange eyes showed through their black headpieces. Each possessed a black crossbow slung across the shoulders of their lean and mean bodies forged for silent and deadly affairs. The two warriors were dressed in full black kits. Their faces fully concealed but for the thin slit of their headpieces, revealed their focused eyes and gave them a menacing look. Each had a black strap tied tightly around their torsos, which held various implements from knives to ropes. Their full arsenal of weapons ranged from antique daggers, twelve in all and strapped to their belts, to robin-death arrows. Robin-death arrows are specially made from the feathers of the indigenous robins. The bird is not harmed as only one feather is needed. The feather, once attached to an arrow, gives the shooter the amazing accuracy to kill any fair-sized target that poses a threat instantly.

The two mysterious warriors carried black satchels with presumably camping equipment inside. Their builds were so similar that they could scarcely be told apart from one another. One walked behind and the other in front of Valkin and Vallentor.

Valkin much preferred his former escorts compared to these deadly assassins. He gave a quick glance at the new strangers that joined them. It made him feel even more uneasy. It then hit him as he looked at the dead knights and noticed the trajectories of the arrows. One set had hit them from the front and the other from the back. He realized that whoever shot those arrows were watching and following them all the time and could have also killed them at any point but the fact that they didn't, meant only one thing.

Vallentor took the opportunity to resume the journey joining the two strangers clad in black before him.

"Come along boy, the road is very long and dangerous. I want to keep the other knights off our trail."

Valkin was uneasy, very uneasy! He knew these strangers were excellent archers and now he knew that they were with his captor, Vallentor. The odds of escaping suddenly became slimmer and he wondered if he would ever return home.

The bodies of the knights were still lying dangerously exposed on the sullen ground fully exposed to trackers.

Vallentor excused himself and exchanged a few words with the two strangers in private.

They bowed to him and went back to the bodies, hoisted them into the air with ease and proceeded to carry them into the denser lavender shrubs nearby. They then stripped the bodies of their armour and kept that with them. The two strangers then proceeded to do the impossible. They systematically began to crush the armor with their bare hands until it reduced in size to a small fist-sized rock. It was an amazing feat and frightening to watch for Valkin.

'What brute strength these strangers possessed,' thought Valkin. It was difficult for him to believe what they had just done with the magnificent Sarcodian armor forged by the great blacksmiths of the kingdom. He swallowed hard as they returned to the bodies and whistled strange and beautiful tunes to the ground. He was now convinced that they were not human. He was convinced that Vallentor was not human as well. He resigned to the possibility that he was abducted by monsters of legend! That was the only explanation he could conjure for these supernatural occurrences. He did not want to believe it but finally, his mind yielded to the possibility of his disbelief. He had heard of the great legends whilst growing up in children's stories of warriors with magical powers but never did he ever believe nor imagine that one day, he would encounter such beings, let alone be abducted by them. He always knew that they were just fictitious tales but here today, all notions of myth and legend were dispelled right before his very eyes. He watched as enormous worms sprung out from the ground disturbing the summer flowers and scented silvery-green foliage of the lavender surrounding the bodies. The Worms were the size of his arm and pink in color popped out from the ground. They resembled giant, thick earthworms and snaked along the ground, coiling themselves around the bodies of the guards and begun to pull them underground. He could hear the crushing of the bones of the dead and he turned away not being able to bear all of these harsh truths. Eventually he succumbed to his disgust and vomited out his half-eaten breakfast this morning.

Vallentor gently tapped Valkin's back in a gesture of comfort whilst Valkin took the time to compose himself again.

The strangers then returned to Vallentor's side and watched on, smiling underneath their black headpieces. The tune they whistled was to attract the groundworms. Groundworms were the primary decomposers of the forests. They had the ability to accomplish this within seconds and indeed within seconds, the bodies of the two knights were completely absorbed into the ground swallowed up in deadly quicksand trapping the two lambs into its clutches. Once all the evidence was dead and buried, Vallentor spoke to Valkin. He held Valkin's shoulder once again.

"Are you alright, boy?"

Valkin looked up at Vallentor and pushed his hands off.

"Do I look alright to you?" Valkin replied with a vicious dose of anger and sarcasm in his voice. "What in the world are you stranger? And where did you and your assassins come from? In fact, I don't want to know. Just please, let me go! I just want to live to the end of days peacefully in Sarcodia with my mother!" Valkin dropped to his knees and crossed his hands begging Vallentor to let him go with tear-filled eyes.

Vallentor bent down and gave Valkin a stern look. "Touching, but sorry boy! Your fate is sealed. Get off your sorry ars, right now, boy!" He gritted his teeth as Valkin swallowed hard and slowly rose to his feet resigning to his fate. He was pissed off at Valkin's cowardice and had to vent his anger upon him with fist deep into his belly.

Valkin felt some of his life slip away as he flew backwards and then hit ground, slamming his head and rolling to an awkward, painful halt. His ribs were cracked and he found a sharp pain emanating from his innards. His lung was punctured and he was bleeding internally as he coughed up blood struggling to his side.

Vallentor rolled his eyes in defeat and nodded at Raven and Marve. The two strangers then approached Valkin, held his arms, hoisted him back onto his feet and dusted him.

Valkin was in excruciating pain and started to sweat vigorously as he felt his life was slowly slipping away.

Raven then held his hand over Valkin's chest as Marve grabbed Valkin in an iron-tight bear hug. Raven proceeded to radiate light over Valkin's chest.

Valkin screamed with agonizing pain for the duration that Raven radiated the warm light over his chest. He was confused and scared but was powerless to do anything. Within a minute, Raven was complete with whatever he was doing.

Marve released his iron-tight vice grip and allowed Valkin to breathe freely.

Raven looked at Valkin with his deep orange eyes. "Are you ok, boy?"

Valkin just nodded as the tears rolled down his dirt-filled face.

Vallentor then turned to face Valkin.

"Now if you are done wining boy; I'd like to formally introduce you to Raven and Marve here. They are two of my best teachers in the warrior skills. They will be teaching you over the next few days all that you need to learn. Oh yes, as you mentioned earlier, they are highly trained assassins who kill for a living. Keep that at the back of your little mind should you wish to attempt an escape. They will hunt you down and they will kill you! Maybe you should try and escape so that they can put you out of your bloody misery. It will make my life a lot easier!"

Valkin wasn't too pleased about Vallentor's threats! He was now well aware of their capabilities, so he kept that thought at the forefront of his mind. He then thought about what exactly they were going to teach him and why he should bother to even learn. There was no imminent threat of war from any country as far as he knew. Furthermore, the main cause of his uneasiness, was the uncertainty of his future, which prompted him to ask the question why all of this was happening to him. He thought of his mother and if he'll ever see her again. He then restrained himself for the moment, as he knew that Vallentor would not answer that question just yet for him.

They all continued their walk as the forest around them began to thicken with cold greenness. A slight, cool breeze in the air caused the branches around them to twitch and shiver nervously releasing aged, brown leaves to make room for fresh, new green ones. The Pine forests were at most times a pleasure to walk through. Very few places were as neither serene nor beautiful as the Pine forests. This forest was such a pleasant place, a place where the light always seemed to filter through to whoever walked through its fabricated pathways or natural walkways. It made the dew upon the leaves shine as brightly as emeralds do in the starlight. There was something about this forest though, something reassuring, not eerie. It gave Valkin some momentary peace. Three warriors and Valkin walked through the majesty of serenity, ironically, with unknown intent and inclinations of impurity, which remained to unfold.

Vallentor suddenly spoke out to Valkin with a sigh of defeat in his voice.

"I guess I could try and tell you why all of this is happening to you, boy. That was, what you were thinking right?"

Valkin suddenly looked at Vallentor just as bewildered and stunned as before. It was exactly what he was thinking! He got freaked out again by this strange ability that Vallentor possessed to read minds; so much so, that he started to have a headache and clutched his head.

Vallentor continued. "It comes with practice and a keen insight into the mind of the individual or maybe just an intelligent guess. You too, will learn that technique someday. But techniques aside, Valkin, I will let you in on some of the secret. I owe you that much for bringing you close to the border. We are living in a world were many of the things people do simply cannot be justified. Killing those men today was wrong, I agree! There is nothing I can say to justify it, even if they did not have families to feed, killing them was just wrong!" Vallentor drew uncomfortably close to Valkin and whispered to him. "Nonetheless, I hope you can see that I mean business, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure things are followed through. By the same token, those people who split a kingdom and destroyed its once proud leader were wrong in what they did. Their actions also cannot be justified! Killing can never be justified. However, moving forward to improve the life for future generations can be justified and that sometimes requires great sacrifices." Vallentor paused and waited for a response from Valkin. He was not disappointed.

Valkin was physically weak but he was mentally strong and stood his ground. "If killing cannot be justified, then how can waging a war between nations be justified? I assume that's what you're intending to train me for?" asked a very perceptive Valkin in a somewhat shrill voice.

"Ahhh!! Excellent response, Valkin! You've touched the very heart of the matter. If freedom from tyranny, if peace rather than war, if love rather than hatred should prevail then it's worth fighting for, then it's even worth dying for," replied Vallentor with authority and conviction.

They were now deep in the forest and the dense vegetation began to cloud the sun's rays making the surroundings a little darker and eerier for a change. The forest was changing its constitution towards an uncharacteristic nature.

Vallentor peered upwards to the dimming sky with cold, grey eyes and a grim look upon his face.

It was not usually like this. It was mostly peaceful. 'Perhaps a storm was coming or maybe something else,' Vallentor thought.

Something indeed, was approaching!

"Listen Stranger...!" replied Valkin who wanted to ask another question to his preoccupied captor.

"...Please! Call me Vallentor, that is my name whether you choose to believe it or not," butted in Vallentor.

"Well, I do not mean to be rude, but pardon my lack of respect. You abducted me, threatened me, tried to kill me, intend to exploit me and subject me to a host of traumatising events along the way. What did you expect in return for such barbarism! In fact, I can believe you now. If one spends that amount of time with them, one eventually takes on a similar complexion in dispensation," replied Valkin with some disturbance and prejudice in his angry voice.

The barbarians of Hallucagenia were a formidable and barbaric force, second only to a few known races in the lands. Loved by none and hated by many.

"I am sorry, I know you have already been through a lot but the best, I believe, is yet to come, Valkin. The journey to your new home will take us another three days on foot. As it is, we are losing sunlight. We can talk further about things over dinner. Let us get something straight, Valkin. It is true, I bullied you into joining forces with me but we agreed and came to a resolution. I will hold you to your word and you will hold me to mine. So, the quicker you come to terms with the predicament you find yourself in, the more pleasant this journey is going to be." Vallentor drew close to Valkin who stared right back at him with vengeance-filled hazel eyes.

Vallentor was slightly shorter than Valkin but still imposed his large figure before the boy.

"Well, what choice do I have?" Vallentor smiled at Valkin's reluctant resignation to realization and extended his arm out to shake Valkin's hand.

Valkin very slowly and reluctantly reciprocated to Vallentor's apparent gesture of friendship. Although he felt otherwise, he thought it would be best not to aggravate his captors further.

"Not much for now, Valkin. Raven and Marve here will take care of it. Sit down Valkin. I'm sure you are very tired, what with being nearly killed and all!" Vallentor smiled and was very chuffed with himself.

Valkin did not find any of his jokes humorous at all.

"The leaves are always soft in the Pine Forests as you may know if you have walked through them." Vallentor plonked himself down on the natural cushion under him.

Valkin joined him assuming a nervous lotus position.

Raven and Marve were already preoccupied with something else that caught their attention earlier. They were both gazing deep into the distance of the path that lay ahead of them, looking for something or someone. They looked as if they were staring into eternity, judging by the manner in which their gaze pierced through the distance. They suddenly shifted their gaze and returned to their satchels pulling out the camping equipment.

Valkin and Vallentor found themselves seated next to the tallest oak tree in the woods, whilst Raven and Marve prepared the campsite.

The oak trees were rare and interspersed among the more prevalent pine. The tree was, at least, 328 feet in height and maybe ten in trunk diameter; an amazingly wide and large tree and perfect for a shelter. Valkin noticed how unusually wide they were. He wondered about that. As far as he knew, it was impossible for them to grow to such a wide girth. They were unnaturally big and he could not explain it.

Raven and Marve travelled light carrying their own essentials and Valkin's, which he only recognized at that point, after Marve took it out from his satchel, he approached Valkin and placed it neatly beside him and then walked off. It was well kept in a large black cloth. These assassins were professional, extremely professional! Valkin did not even notice that they were carrying his belongings with them all the time.

"The art of concealment, Valkin; brilliant technique and very useful in a compromising position. All in due course young man," replied Vallentor seeing Valkin's intrigue. He did not have to read his mind to see it upon his face.

"Who are they?" asked Valkin with some curiosity towards the concealed faces of Raven and Marve.

"Raven and Marve there, are actually brothers. You'll see the resemblance once they remove their ridiculous masks. Anyway, they were castaways from the Islands of Galapalau, hence their lean and mean builds. Let me guess, another legendary place you may have heard of growing up as a child."

Valkin nodded in embarrassment.

"Geez, what do they teach you kids these days at school. You have not seen the world, have you?"

Valkin nodded once again in embarrassment.

"It's ok. You don't have to answer that question. Anyway, don't be fooled by their leanness and masks, they could give the barbarians a good run for their axes and take down a few in the process."

Valkin believed that entirely after witnessing the feat with the armor earlier on during the day. He listened carefully as he watched the brothers erect their camp in mere minutes. Concealed by darkness, their every movement was sublime and deft.

"Will be right back boy. Please try to run away!" Vallentor stood up and went across to Raven and Marve to see how far they were.

Valkin quickly shifted his attention to his belongings and as he ruffled through his stuff, he found the item that was most dear to him and it was hard to conceal the joy he felt inside. It was the sword that grandfather had given to him.

'Perfect!' he thought. He now had a chance to fight back!

Raven and Marve were too preoccupied with the camp preparations to notice the delight in Valkin's eyes but Vallentor picked it up from a distance. He returned to continue giving their life story with his back purposefully turned to Valkin, unaware of Valkin's deadly intentions of dispatching him swiftly. He continued to talk. "Both are six feet tall, not extremely large but large enough, agile but incredibly strong. It always amazed me, how much of stuff they fitted into their small satchels. Unfortunately, no food but still, all the camping equipment and additional gear fitted quite nicely in there."

The brothers were busy deciding where the best place was to pitch the tent and decided that close to a tree, behind from where Valkin and Vallentor were seated, would be a ideal location.

That suited Valkin just fine, providing the perfect cover for him to execute his move. Once Raven and Marve disappeared behind the tree, he slowly adjusted his position and held the sheath tightly within his left hand. He slowly began to unsheath the sword with his right trying not to make a single sound in the process.

Vallentor was still talking away, unaware of the danger behind him.

Raven and Marve continued their erection of the tents for tonight's slumber and were not aware of the iminent danger their leader and companion faced.

Valkin had the sword fully unsheathed and slowly rose to his feet. He was ready to take the life of his capturer in order to rescue his own. A trickle of sweat rolled down the side of his face. His heart was pounding hard as the drums within his mind spurred him on. He never had to do something like this before in his life. He took a deep breath and then realized that it would be smarter for him to turn the tables in his favour. Instead of going for the kill, he resided to take Vallentor ransom as he did to him and convince the other two assassins to let him go. He resolved that this was the best thing to do. He held his sword tightly.

Vallentor was still blabbering away, unaware that he was now the target.

"Vallentor, don't make any sudden movements!"

Vallentor looked sideways over his shoulder smiling.

"Please stand up," requested Valkin with an authoritative voice.

Vallentor obliged and stood up with his back turned to Valkin.

Valkin felt confident now that he held his sword in his hand. He felt that he was now in control of the situation. "Please order your men to go away, far away."

Raven and Marve swung around and upon seeing Valkin holding a sword at Vallentor, they drew arrows and slung their bows in mere seconds.

Vallentor held his hand up not mentioning a word and motioned for them not to fire.

They lowered their bows and waited.

"I SAID, order your men to go away, right now!" Valkin asked again with a sterner, louder voice.

"Or what, you'll stab me," replied Vallentor smiling with his hands up.

"I'm giving you a count of five, before I strike you. ORDER YOUR MEN TO LEAVE! ONE!" shouted Valkin with anger in his voice.

"Ok, Valkin. Let me make it easier for you. I'm going to count to three and then you can strike me down," replied Vallentor raising his arms. "Bear in mind that I am unarmed. One..."

Valkin could see that Vallentor was not going to budge. He would have to do the unthinkable. He would have to try and kill him!

"...and bear in mind what you yourself remarked to me earlier on today Valkin, about unnecessary bloodshed. Two..."

Valkin's heart pounded even more as he clenched the handle of his sword and prepared to go for Vallentor's head.

"Three!"

Valkin swung his sword.

Vallentor saw this. In fact, Vallentor saw everything in slow motion. He could see the tension rising in Valkin's face as the sword slowly approached him. A fly flew by between them and he could see the wings on its body flapping slowly. He then focused his energy and attempted to stop Valkin's deadly swipe. He intensely focused on trying to stop his advance using the same powers he had used in the alley to immobilise Valkin. To his surprise, this time, it did not work! He tried several times in a space of a few seconds but to no avail. It just would not work!

Raven and Marve were also perplexed at their leader's lack of control in a situation that was, under normal circumstances, rudimentary for an expert warrior such as Vallentor.

Valkin's sword was now a few centimetres away and Vallentor decided at the last moment that he'd have to actually lower his standards and physically dodge Valkin's attack which he felt very embarrassed to do. So, he simply bent down and allowed the swipe to pass over his head. In real time, the only thing that Valkin's mind registered was himself missing Vallentor's head and blowing his one chance of freedom. The sword skimmed over Vallentor's head and got lodged halfway into the oak tree they were sitting next to.

Both Valkin and Vallentor looked at the size of the wound the sword inflicted upon the tree and were both amazed.

Vallentor, for a moment, was actually taken aback at the force that Valkin put behind his swipe at him. 'For it to make a 3ft deep impression in the oak tree, it must have been an awesome stroke of vengeful force,' he thought.

Valkin was in trouble and he knew it immediately after he missed. His sword and means of escape was lodged solidly in an oak tree and by the time he would attempt to remove it, he feared that he would be dispatched by his captors.

Vallentor shook his head and placed his hands over his eyes in disappointment and then approached Valkin.

Raven and Marve stood quietly just behind choosing not to interfere but merely observe.

Valkin took a few steps back knowing that the end drew near for him. He blew the one good chance he had of escaping.

Vallentor tilted his head and directed his hand to the tree.

Valkin's sword started to move and slowly, it dislodged itself and floated in the air resting ever so gently into Vallentor's rough hand.

Valkin swallowed hard. He could not believe what he had just witnessed. It was not possible. 'This must be some kind of magic or illusion,' Valkin thought to himself. How could someone move objects without touching them? It was a miracle or a spell that Valkin felt he was under. The sword actually floated and rested in Vallentor's hand and he held it for a bit, admiring it. He then looked at Valkin with some irritated interest. "Interesting, very interesting! I believe this is your murder weapon, Valkin?" Vallentor held the sword for Valkin to take, which Valkin tentatively did.

Valkin immediately sheathed the sword and sat down in defeat. He knew he could not make a move. He was finished or so he thought! His kidnappers were freaks of nature! He thought about what Vallentor had told him earlier, the talk where he said that he could snap him like a twig. He now believed it to be true. He could at any time, kill him but he didn't. Valkin thought again to himself, 'Please don't kill me, please don't kill me' as he nervously jerked his knees as he clutched them together to comfort himself.

Vallentor approached him and knelt down to his his level. "Now, can we have some normality around here please? Don't worry Valkin; you will get your chance someday!"

The sound of some twigs broke in the distance. Suddenly, the brothers became very uneasy. They immediately turned around and looked straight ahead scanning the environment.

Vallentor slowly rose up from his bent position, lending his intense gaze into the distance.

"Shinosa morogotho (I sense an evil presence among us)," whispered Marve to his elder brother Raven in their native tongue, as he continued to scan the environment searching for any disturbances among the trees looking for signs for what approached them. Raven nodded and said nothing. He sensed the disturbances earlier as well, just before the weather within the forest changed.

Valkin was about to get up. Vallentor interrupted him and held his shoulder down suggesting that he should not move, not yet. Valkin obeyed also sensing something was going to happen. He kept looking around but saw nothing. It could have been a false alarm thought Valkin but with all this silence, it was difficult to tell.

"Hold on boy, you don't want to be running away now," whispered Vallentor as he too scanned the environment with only his eyes. The wind picked up causing his long, dark brown hair to cover his mouth leaving only his cold grey eyes to scan and scan they did.

"BARARG, KEETIA! (BARARG WATCH OUT!)," shouted Raven from behind the tree as he drew his crossbow loading it with two arrows.

They were attacked by a Bararg, a ferocious beast of the forest, that was half bear and half wolf. It was primarily a forest dweller but it was known that from time to time they traverse the fringes. Lone Barargs are extremely dangerous as they generally tried to kill anything they came across assuming it to be trespassers and threats to their territory.

Vallentor took a few steps back and quickly grabbed Valkin's shoulder yanking him to his feet.

Valkin had no time to be offended as the beast leapt through the air crashing right through the tree were Valkin and Vallentor, were sitting not a moment ago. It jumped over the brothers and landed right in front of the warriors, momentarily startling them with its monstrous size. The creature spun around quickly to face them with gritted fangs and saliva drooping from its menacing jaws as the tree begun to lean over buckling under its own weight crashing backwards sending plumes of dust and splintering branches sideways.

Valkin and Vallentor stood dead still so as not to startle the creature any further angering it. Valkin was filled with shock and amazement at what he saw before him! He had never seen any creature like it before. He had seen wolves and bears, but never had he seen a hybrid of the two, or such a large animal. First, it was the magical abilities of Vallentor, which moved him, and now an inconceivable beast stood before him. He wondered whether that was even possible in this world. The beast was the biggest creature Valkin had ever seen in his short life and as it stood up on its hind legs showing off its superiority, it just seemed to get bigger & bigger. The monstrosity of bloody saliva and shaggy fur swayed with the wind and characterized this animal. Occassionally, a golden bronze color shimmered off the fur as the afternoon sun shone upon it. The forest dwellers feared this creature the most, as it possessed the enormous strength of bears and the almost invincible speed of wolves, a deadly combination. They feared it so much, that they travelled either in pairs or in groups to maximize their safety. However, in reality, it did not really matter for pairs or groups were still no match for the ferocity of the Bararg with sword claws and spikes for teeth. No one and nothing survived an encounter with the most misunderstood and mysterious creature of all animals of the forests. Its shoulders were considerably larger than its trunk and its speed was incredible for an animal with a 16 ft tall frame.

Valkin looked at Vallentor who stared at the beast. Vallentor did not flinch a sinew. He just smiled.

At this point, Valkin hoped and prayed for forgiveness. He wanted to be saved so badly as he contemplated being eaten by the very creature of his new-found amazement. He was useless and he knew it, and against such a creature, he was way out of his league once again. In school, they learnt that most hybrids were sterile and did not survive long in the wild; the mule was a classic example of this. They were taught that the hybrids of the animal kingdom sometimes occurred naturally but there were rules and these rules prohibited successful breeding between species. These rules dictated that such an act was impossible to yield any viable offspring, or perhaps the process was magical.

The Bararg glared its teeth readying itself to attack the more offensive Raven and Marve but suddenly, it changed its target to Valkin without warning seeing the vulnerability in his heart and body.

"NOW BOY! Run up the tree behind you over there and pray he doesn't follow you, I'll keep him busy," shouted Vallentor who was now ready to fight.

The beast saw Valkin sprint up the tree just behind him, and decided to go for the easy kill first and fixed its gaze on Valkin's small, insignificant body.

Raven threw a short sword to Vallentor who held it straight to the beast's eyes sizing him up. The Bararg growled as Vallentor started to backtrack still keeping his eye on his opponent.

A strange mixture between a howl and a growl filled the air with the need for bloodshed. The beast shook his head sending splatterings of saliva to his sides motioning the futility of Vallentor's resistance. It scratched the ground, kicking dirt and stone charging its body up for an attack on Vallentor.

There was truly no escape for the Hallucen king who knew that the only thing he could do now was stand his ground and face the approaching beast.

The Bararg charged! It was almost upon Vallentor. Valkin watched in horror from up the tree out of harms way.

Two sharp sword stabs in the shoulders however, were enough for the resistance to survive. The beast uncomfortably found the majority of the brothers' blades lodged deep within its shoulders. The brother's held on to their black, short swords for their lives as the vicious creature jarred them from side to side, as a raging bull would do to its brave rider. They could not maintain their grip and the brothers eventually lost their hold and stumbled to the side of hairy monster's hide. Collectively, they decided that they had enough of the ride. They pulled themselves up, and pushed hard against the creature's thick shoulders and released their bloodied swords from it and backflipped landing comfortably on the ground. Everything they did was perfectly coordinated and executed with deadly accuracy.

The creature winced in pain and staggered back a bit. Dark purple blood oozed out from its small wounds. It became difficult for it to stand firmly on its two front feet due to the nature and position of the deadly blows it had sustained.

Raven and Marve joined their leader, Vallentor, to give him and Valkin some protection. However, they soon realized that the stabs they had inflicted were not as affective in neutralizing the Bararg to the degree with which they would have liked. It could never be, for a creature that was almost impervious to pain will do anything to get its quarry and no surface wound will stop it. This Bararg was no exception!

"Wiruneesio dieisundo, kellasor methasha (We are the instruments of your death, go back the forest creature and you will survive)," shouted Marve with his sword held firmly at his side. All the warriors were on edge, including the harmless and useless, Valkin who witnessed the entire ordeal from the safety of a tree. In secret though, he was supporting the Bararg and had hoped it came out victorious from the battle. He did not understand what Marve was blabbering to the creature and wondered what strange language he was speaking. He did not even know creatures could understand any language, for that matter. This alone baffled him. He resolved that the safest place for him would be way up in this tree and that was where he stayed.

Vallentor joined Raven and Marve awaiting a response.

Valkin thought to himself, 'Surely these warriors were mad expecting a mindless beast like this one to actually respond to their requests.' That would be like talking to a wall, expecting it to respond, a futile exercise!

Then, a deep growling voice replied to the warriors. "Kellasor methasha, morogotho masa (Go back to the forest and I will survive, but my hunger will not be satisfied then)."

Valkin had another stunning moment. He almost fell off from the tree, as he heard an animal speak for the first time in his life. What madness was he experiencing? What spell was he under to witness such extraordinary events all in one day. Was he going mad? Was he dreaming? What was going on? He so much wanted to comprehend but immobilization always seemed to get the better of both his mind and body.

The Bararg began to salivate at the thought of eating today and begun contemplating it briefly in its mind.

"Werethall, caselia (Werethall, we need your assistance),' whispered Raven turning to Vallentor. "My Lord, I do not wish to harm this creature any further, so I have summoned the Werethall for assistance. They will know how to deal with it!"

The Werethall Wolf Force were the sacred caretakers of the forests. All life was precious to them and by nature; they were a very peaceful race living in the harmonious balance they continually strove to create around them.

"Very well then and quite apt, for, I have not seen my good friend, Tereartre Levon, in a long time," replied Vallentor.

The beast was growing impatient and growled again with displeasure at Raven's summoning. It reared up on his two legs and let out a tremendous roar, which shook the very life within the trees. It reverberated throughout the forest, released a flutter of leaves, and chased critters underground and overhead refuge places, including Valkin whose entire body vibrated with fear.

"Ritesuck naansala siva! (Summon whoever you wish, I'm still going to kill you anyway!)" The Bararg then pounced upon Raven first who grudgingly side-kicked the Bararg's cheek giving him enough time to escape the snapping jaws. This allowed Marve to follow up his defence. With a clean swipe of his blade, Marve reluctantly chopped a smaller oak tree located nearby and guided its fall towards the Bararg with his bare strength.

The beast read his move well, turned around, and easily slashed the tree in half with its brute bear paws.

Valkin watched with horror from above as the two logs fell on either side of Vallentor who was behind the Bararg.

Vallentor had enough for one evening. "Okay, suit yourself, tonight is your last night, beast of the forest!" Vallentor charging forward, at an incredible pace, with his sword held high. He was dead set on killing this magnificent creature! He did not care about waiting for anyone anymore. He was just a few feet away when the deafening howls of the Werethall halted his determined attack and altered the very sounds within the air. Even the Bararg's attention was shortly shifted to the sounds of the approaching Werethall, caretakers of the forest. The sun was now setting just over the horizon and the scant amount of light faded along with it. Weary eyes started to gleam and tempers flared up with the dying sunlight.

The collective panting and heavy breathing coming from deep within the forest was now, distinctly audible. Their footsteps caused slight disturbances among the leaves that fluttered into the air with every step they made as they moved quickly and stealthily through the dense forest. Dark objects and shapes were now barely visible and surrounded the entire area; only blinking yellow eyes could be seen from all around.

Valkin observed the approach from his lofty perch above and saw the deadly depressions making their way through the dense vegetation signalling the arrival of many great warriors. He tried to make out who exactly was approaching but to no avail.

Raven and Marve sheathed their swords.

The dark figures were fully concealed in the thick bush and shrubs. Suddenly, from one side of the thicket, the large head of a wolf appeared bearing a hooded rider. It was the biggest wolf Valkin had ever seen in his life and again was perplexed at the possibility of its existence. It was unnaturally large. It had to be, in order to support the weight of the rider it was carrying. It was a man who bore the built of a regular-sized warrior but there was something deft about him. He carried himself with elegance and pride. The wolves were enormous, not as large as the Bararg, but large enough, at least the height of a tall man at the shoulder which was quite impressive.

Valkin looked on in awe at the spectacle before him. His mind was completely overloaded with so much, so quickly, that he could hardly contain and digest everything he was bombarded with. From supernatural abilities to supernatural creatures, 'how many more surprises were lined up', he thought, before he would suffer a complete mental breakdown from the overload. Up until a few hours ago, he did not even know about the existence of such beings and such creatures. His world was small and simple. Get up on the farm, go to sleep on the farm. That was it! He felt somewhat deprived from the truth about the real world but only for a moment, as the excitement had quickly settled in. However, he never imagined he would experience the truth under these circumstances.

One by one, the Werethall appeared from all directions surrounding everyone. Each rider was concealed in a shroud of greyish and strong leaf-green cloaks as well as with strange but intricate helmets upon their heads. Each helmet had three grey spikes slanting backwards on each side. It looked very menacing but somewhat placid at the same time as its grey color neutralized the tenseness within the highly charged environment.

The Bararg was trapped amidst his hunger and fear. It looked around and all it could see was no opportunity for it to finish what it had started.

"Leave these souls and flee into the shelter of the woods in search of new prey, Bararg," commanded the first rider who appeared in a soft, firm voice that danced upon the dying winds of the fateful afternoon. He was, no doubt, an individual of great importance, perhaps even the leader.

The Bararg growled with great disappointment and retreated back into the woods knowing that he was no match for the combined strength of the Werethall riders. The Werethall were not kind enough to make way for the hungry Bararg and so it had to jump over them to make its great escape in style and at least retain its pride. Overall, there were twenty Werethall warriors surrounding the three men including Valkin perched in the safety of his beloved tree. The Werethall were the epitome of forest majesty. Mostly subtle shades of green and grey prevailed over the other colors of the forest upon their dress code. The forest warriors wore only green and grey armor that was made from highly compressed natural materials of the land, that were found to be extremely light but almost impenetrable. This they wore all over their body with green tunics underneath and a tougher grey fabric fashioned from the hide of deers that served greater protection. The grey fabric was very smooth and shiny with no rough edges but the green and grey armor made up for the deficiency. The Werethall insignia was proudly engrained into the fine green armor. Fine yellow lines marked the edges of the green armor giving it, its final additions. However, the myriad of colors of the wolves provided a delicate balance between the conformity of their armor and the shades of pure and majestic wildness. Some wolves were black and white and even fully black or fully white with dashes of grey hues here and there. Some were even a hazy yellow color with warm beige and peach shades. Others were even a dark blue color. Valkin did not even know such colors were even possible. These wolves were not like their scavenging hyena counterparts. They functioned in complete unison. They had the utmost respect for their kin and became accustomed to the presence of the forest people. They were amazingly still and calm, a testament to their training by their human masters and friends perhaps. Not one of the twenty wolves moved out of order or acted irrationally. No doubt, their understanding with their masters exceeded all comprehension of usual man and beast relationships. They sniffed and growled now and then but they all kept a perfect line. It must not be mistaken that the Werethall was the race that purified and tamed the wolves for their own desires, but as a race that had chosen to coexist with this animal in peace and harmony learning from its wisdom; a lesson and an understanding for any time of the day. The forest dwellers fashioned spears and arrows as their primary choice of weapons against their enemies. They were lethal with their bows and spears from great distances. They did not use swords, with the exception of their leader. They preferred to attack from a distance and not to engage in close quarter combat for practical reasons. However, in war, there was consensus among most races that killing something using a sword or a bow made no difference. Killing was killing, senseless or purposeful! Their spears were fastened to their saddles and their bark brown bows were slung over their shoulders along with a quiver of robin death arrows.

The rider who spoke out earlier decided that it was time to break the uneasy silence. He disembarked from his wolf making doubly sure that the specially made brown saddle remained in its position. He threw the reins back up onto it, rubbed the furry cheek of his rustic brown companion and then walked solemnly towards the anxious warriors. The other Werethall riders waited patiently upon their wolves.

Raven and Marve collectively bowed as the rider approached.

Valkin felt confident and safe enough that the danger had passed and decided to jump down from the tree. He stood behind Vallentor and the brothers for what he deemed to protection from another stranger.

The hooded rider bowed to Vallentor and the brothers and then walked right past them right up to Valkin. Vallentor smiled as he did.

Valkin stood still, frozen with fear and looked up at the 7 ft tall, cloaked man. The man slowly took off his cloak and helmet revealing his long, dark green hair that flowed onto his shoulders as the afternoon wind swirled through the depression in the forest and just for that moment, rustled the leaves and stirred the silence. The warrior's face was young, filled with vigor and strength, but there was something about him that felt aged and wise, something deep within. His neon green eyes shone spectacularly as its gaze became fixed upon the young man.

Valkin stood silently in front of him.

He smiled at Valkin and then peered into Valkin's mind. Valkin was bewildered for a moment and stood still. He just stared at the warrior with amazement.

The warrior then spoke to Valkin in his mind. "Valkin Kendor of Bellor, son of Helleus Kendor, the greatest Dark Knight the world had ever known. It is indeed a pleasure and an honor to finally meet you, even if the circumstances are on the extreme side. It is still is a pleasure, nonetheless. Follow every order that Vallentor gives you, without question, understood? I will look after you, son of Helleus, if you'll let me, if you trust me."

Valkin could hear the strange warrior's mesmerizing voice echo inside his mind but he was not sure if anyone else was listening. He glanced sideways to Vallentor and saw no reaction come from him and not knowing what that meant; he just smiled and tried to think of nothing, for fear of being caught out again. A sudden feeling of strange reassurance overcame Valkin as he felt like he could trust this stranger. He was considering the lesser of two evils. He then started to rewind his mind for the realization had not yet hit him. 'Helleus Kendor, son of Helleus Kendor, my father, my father! A father!' He was in another world and the stranger felt he needed to bring him back again.

Turning to Vallentor, the strange warrior then said, "So you finally found him, Vallentor. He looks a bit skinny to me!"

Valkin suddenly became very embarrassed at the mention of the truth surrounding his body.

Vallentor smiled wryly. "I did! I did! Was going to show him to you but I see you beat me to Hallucagenia."

The stranger then proceeded to examine Valkin. Then, without provocation, he punched him in square the stomach in the softest manner he could conjure.

Poor Valkin staggered a few feet back and fell awkwardly to his knees with tears in his eyes. That soft blow took the wind out of him and he was in a lot of pain.

The Death brothers helped him up to his feet once again.

The strange warrior then smiled and laughed. "The Death brothers! I have not seen you in eons! Raven and Marve, the Ominous brothers themselves, my, my, have you have grown! When last I saw you in these woods, you were mere boys in desperate need of a caretaker and now you're full-blooded assassins, as I understand under the wing of Vallentor."

Valkin was in pain, perplexed and confused and in his confusion, he slowly slipped away without any of the main participants of the conversation noticing.

Tremendous hugs and laughter filled the air as the tension subsided.

Valkin, however, was too lost in thought once again to notice it. His mind was racing and racing fast! His body was hurting all over. 'How was it possible to be incapacitated by such a soft blow,' he wondered for a moment before returning to his former thoughts. He knew that a man with such a built could never generate that amount of force behind such a simple a punch with a drawback of only a few centimetres. He was amazed and scared once again. He was surrounded by beings who possessed unearthly powers and forces he could only dream of.

"Tereartre Levon, it is good to see that you're still going strong after so many years," said Vallentor as they embraced each other and laughed.

"How long has it been?" asked Vallentor.

"A few years..." replied Tereartre searching for a number in his mind.

"Twenty six years," replied Vallentor. "About the same age as the Death brothers over here. That's a bloody long time, my friend!"

"Too long," replied Tereartre with a genuine smile.

Valkin sat down next to the oak tree and gazed into the ground wondering about what Tereartre had said to him. The friend that Valkin supposedly had just befriended seemed to drift away at that moment as he stared blankly into the ground. It was a complete shock to his system and he was fast approaching a mental overload. It was the first time someone had ever mentioned the existence of his own father to him. It was too sudden and emotionally scarred him deeply.

#  Identity crisis

Vallentor noticed Valkin's absence and then broke off from the group discussion and walked towards him.

He was still sitting quietly next to the great oak tree, deep in thought holding his legs tightly for comfort. His head was held low as he rocked back and forth.

The others stood still and watched on.

Vallentor knelt down and faced Valkin eye to eye. Valkin then lifted his gaze to face Vallentor out of respect.

Tereartre looked on as they conversed with each other in private.

"For a young man to not know who he is or from whom he comes from, must surely be the greatest burden to bear. Know this Valkin, I guarantee you that by the end of this journey; you will find all the answers you seek. That I promise you." Vallentor stood up and returned to the group and whispered something to Tereartre who immediately signalled to his faithful warriors in the form of two loud claps. Tereartre then approached Valkin who now stood up after regaining some confidence and reassurance given to him by Vallentor.

"The forest is such a beautiful place to live in. Would you mind if I accompany you Valkin in your journey to Hallucagenia, kingdom of the Barbarians?" asked Tereartre kindly.

"Well sir, I'm going there whether I like it or not and with regards to whomever joins the party I don't really have a say, so be my guest sir," laughed Valkin who started to realize that the path he was going on would reveal some of the answers to the questions that were burning him up inside for a long time. "Shouldn't you be asking Vallentor that question and not me sir?"

"Well, Vallentor said that maybe it's not such a good idea to introduce so many truths to you all at once. He says you're not taking all of this too well," replied Tereartre with concern in his voice.

"You damn right about that! In fact, that's an understatement." Valkin was visibly upset. His voice was loud and was heard by the others. "Tereartre, is that how I pronounce your name sir! Tell me sir, you asked me to trust you and then you hit me in stomach. I can't trust any of you. You are all trying to kill me! They abducted me! We almost got killed back there by a beast that I didn't even know existed up until a few moments ago! SIR! You and these men can rot for all I care! And what were you on about earlier, son of Helleus Kendor? I don't even know a man named Helleus, and besides, what kind of a name is Helleus! My only father was my grandfather and now he too is gone." Valkin clutched his head and stomach in anguish and pain.

Tereartre drew close to him and motioned for him to keep his voice down. He then spoke in Valkin's mind once again.

"Listen to me boy! Things have already been set in motion. I will protect you, but you have to trust me! Firstly, do not speak so loudly okay or I'll kill you myself and end it right here, right now! Speak to me using your mind only. There are expert lip and mind readers all around here who can decipher our words from a great distance and Vallentor is one of them. We can only talk safely within the shield of our minds. Listen, we do not have much time! Already, Vallentor suspects me! I will try and answer a few of your questions as best as I can," replied Tereartre.

Valkin agreed and spoke to Tereartre using his mind. It was the strangest thing he was ever called upon to do; speak to someone using his mind. He attempted it. "Okay first question, who are you? Second question, who is Vallentor really? Third question, what does he want with me? Let's start with those three."

Tereartre bowed his head in acknowledgment. "My name is Tereartre Levon. I am the general and King of the Werethallic Wolf Force whose overriding leader is Vallentor. I am also something else, which you will discover in time. For now, I am your guardian, and I was a good friend of your father, Helleus. Vallentor is everything that you have heard him to be, the Outcast Knight of Latarial and the supreme commander and king of the barbarians. He is an extremely powerful man and it would be wise to obey his every command. Your third question is more difficult to answer. I am not entirely sure myself why he needs you. That is why I have decided to stay and find out. That's all the time I have now. Quick! Say something aloud and look normal."

Valkin was not satisfied with the answers he got but nonetheless decided to keep up the pretence and talk about the upcoming fight or war, which he believed to be the reason for his abduction. "Not really sir. That fight with the beast and the earlier killings are going to keep me awake for some time before I sleep soundly again."

Nightfall creeped upon them very fast and it was imperative to be on guard for who knew what other creatures might hunt tonight.

"Well, in that case Valkin, shall we have a talk about things later?"

That was the signal for the other riders to disembark and set up camp for the night.

Vallentor, Raven and Marve decided to help and so, they moved off.

The riders of the forest were always prepared for camping out in the woods and carried all the necessary essentials, camping equipment, food, water and many weapons. Two of Tereartre companions arrived, lit a fire and prepared the tents for them. In no time, there was warmth and shelter. The Werethall warriors were slender and leanly built. Their bows were made of such wonderful woods, constructed from the finest grains the Pine Forests could offer. They glistened in the upcoming waning moonlight. Valkin did not mind at all, as the two warriors prepared his humble abode for the night. Once they were completed the tents, they bowed to their leader and to Valkin, motioning for them to go inside. The tents were a lush, green and warm grey bearing the markings of the Werethall insignia on the front opening slit, which became fully visible once the two flaps of the tent opening came together.

The two stepped in with Valkin going in first. Soft, earthly brown blankets made from the hides of saddle deer and scrumptious forest food were laid out for them on a pale brown mat. They were having spicy rabbit stew tonight, cooked with mushrooms seasoned with thyme and freshly baked bread. It was a humble and very comforting meal, especially for Valkin since he had not eaten since the morning. He sat down quietly by the food and waited patiently.

Tereartre was busy taking off all his weapons and putting them at the corner of the tent, when he realized that Valkin was waiting for him out of respect. "Oh, Valkin, sincere apologies, you must starving, please go on ahead! I'll join you in a moment."

The tents were perfectly constructed so that occupants could have a small fire within, without burning the entire tent down. The breathable fibers accounted for this, not to mention the large smoke hole in the roof of the tent, which was comparatively larger than the other tents, which were now almost completely erected. Vallentor chose to use the Werethall's tents for this night.

Raven and Marve, who were always alert, chose to take the first night watch along with the imperial Werethall nightwatch guard. They were still kitted up in their assassin clothing. They very rarely took it off. It was an extremely hard life, being a full-time assassin, with the only gratification being that of the stains of blood. It was a morbid and unpleasant way of life but a life nonetheless. The two brothers often found some peace and amusement in ridiculing one another. "Hey Marve, you did good today, for an amateur! Haha!" laughed Raven as he held his stomach chuckling.

"Grrr!! Would you stop calling me that, I am no amateur. You're the amateur around here, telling amateur jokes. We all know who the superior assassin between us is. The name starts with M and ends with an E," teased Marve. Both still had their headpieces on trying to keep each other going for the watch and the most popular way they found to do this, was to pick on each other.

"You mean, Moron," laughed Raven.

"You fool, moron begins with an M and ends with N," replied Marve with a smile on his face.

"Oh! You would know," replied Raven chuckling.

"Brother, I'm so good, I could fire an arrow and the target will drop dead with shock, way before it struck," laughed Marve beaming with overconfidence.

"That's right, the shock of you missing, would kill anybody, hahahaha!" replied Raven continuing his condescending chuckle towards his little brother.

"Oh you're on a roll tonight, aren't you, big brother, you bastard!" replied an irritated Marve.

Raven was quite chaffed at himself whilst Marve prepared another comeback response to his brother. "Well, let me remind you big brother that I'm not the one with a teddy bear in his..."

Raven suddenly cut Marve off abruptly. "...Hey, hey, let's not go there. We agreed not to discuss that in public. It was gift! I cannot help it if it has some sentimental value. You will not speak of it again Marve! Don't go there Marve! I warned you," replied a very concerned Raven feeling a little embarrassed by the obvious secret that Marve knew about him.

"Ooo! Touched a chord have I! Let's go there. Come on big brother!"

"Don't, I'm warning you," said Raven who was as red as a tomato now.

"Imagine what all the other assassins are going to say. Raven, the self-proclaimed master of disaster, the Raven Enslaven, keeps teddy bear in his cupboard. Hahahaha!" Marve was beside himself and overcome with laughter as he watched his brother succumb to his embarrassment.

"That's it, I'm out of here. I am going to meditate. Screw you Marve, screw you!" replied Raven as he could not handle it. He left to meditate in the woods by himself.

"Hey brother, come on. I was just kidding. You started this remember..."

Raven went off into the forest to cool down whilst Marve laughed it off in the camp.

"How's the food?" asked Tereartre as Valkin licked his fingers and smacked his lips with immense satisfaction.

"Mmm... that was good, really good. Thank you, I needed that. This was a long day!" Valkin took a deep breath as Tereartre sat down beside him.

Tereartre knew exactly what Valkin was thinking and what Valkin was thinking was when was the right time to ask Tereartre the next set of questions. Tereartre picked up the wooden plate and dished out some food for himself and waited.

"It's okay, you can ask the next set of questions whenever you are ready, Valkin." Tereartre smiled and folded his arms preparing himself.

"You read my mind! This mind reading thing! You as well as Vallentor can do this. What are you guys?" Tereartre tentatively ate his fill and smiled at Valkin's intrigue with their abilities and after finishing his meal prepared to answer his questions.

"I'll take that as your next question. What are we? We are people, just like you Valkin, who discovered our higher abilities, so to speak, and we all have them, you know."

"Well, when I look at myself, I find that hard to believe..." Valkin stopped dead in his thought realizing the possibility that Vallentor could have heard them. "Oh my word!" He looked at Tereartre pointing outside, "can he hear us? I completely forgot," asked Valkin with great concern upon his face.

"Relax, he cannot. My aura is blocking him as we speak so we are safe for now but he is a smart man. He is not going to allow me to spend much time speaking to you in private. In fact, the journey to Hallucagenia is the longest he'll ever allow." Just as Tereartre uttered those words, a Werethall guard popped in. He brought a message from Vallentor kindly asking them to join him in the royal tent for the main course.

Tereartre said they would be right there. He smiled to Valkin, got up, and made his way to the royal tent with Valkin following close behind.

This tent was something else entirely. It was massive and at least twenty guards surrounded its beautiful neon green color.

Valkin and Tereartre stepped in to find Vallentor, Raven and Marve seated around the fire with a feast laid before them.

"Perhaps a late supper Valkin? I do apologise, with all the commotion of the day's affairs, you hardly had anything to eat," asked a kind but concerned Vallentor.

Valkin nodded in appreciation. Valkin and Tereartre sat down. They looked relaxed now on the portable wooden chairs laid out for them in front of the small fire.

Tereartre was a very cool character. Nothing seemed to disturb him.

Vallentor stared into the fire and then at Valkin. "Please indulge yourself, Valkin."

"No thanks sir. I had a small bite to eat with Tereartre already," replied Valkin keeping his gaze upon Vallentor to avoid arousing any suspicion.

"Are you sure? You must be starving. Come on, have some more. It would make me feel a lot better," insisted Vallentor.

Valkin was actually still very hungry and so as to not insult his captor, who it seemed was slowly transforming himself into a genuine host as opposed to a captor, he agreed and gobbled up the bread, herbs and meat that were laid out on the wooden plates. He was done in no time and felt very happy afterwards.

Tereartre was pleased as well and saw fit to continue his nostalgic stroll down memory lane to relieve any tension and suspicion he may have aroused earlier. He sensed that the time was right to shed more light and so he did just that by getting right to the point. "Helleus Kendor! Helleus Kendor! Yes!" reflected Tereartre with his arms crossed and legs outstretched and ice-blue eyes closed in deep contemplation.

Valkin's gut feel was to chip in. His interest was too great not to. It was his father after all that Tereartre was talking about and although it deeply affected him, Valkin had to ask Tereartre more about him. "What was he like, sir, if I may ask?" The look of intrigue upon Valkin's face was genuine as the others looked on and and listened wanting to know more.

"Your father, haha! Your father was the greatest fighter in all the lands; unmatched, unrivaled and undefeated by anyone or anything. He was the high-knight of the Hallucen kingdom before ultimately becoming its king. A high-knight was the highest-ranking knight there was. One who possessed this title was entitled to make royal decisions and under certain circumstances could act as the king gaining his power and authority. A high-knight was naturally a highly skilled and an extremely dangerous warrior."

"By the way, Valkin," Vallentor chipped in. "This was long before I became the king of Hallucagenia. This was around the time where I and your grandfather served under King Selardor in Lataria."

"That's a long time ago." Valkin shook his head realizing that the time scale was all before he was born.

"Yes it is. He was unchallenged by King Selardor for obvious reasons. The barbarian people were very peaceful, but you do not make them angry by trying to conquer them. For this reason, I respect King Selardor; he had the good sense to just leave them alone," replied Tereartre bowing his head slightly to Vallentor in recognition of his former king's wisdom.

"My mother never mentioned a word about him to me, not a word!" The flames of the angry fire raged more at that very moment both inside the tent and inside Valkin's deep brown eyes as he gazed into it. He listened carefully though returning his attention to Tereartre's own deep gaze towards the fire.

"I'm sure your mother had her reasons. You were born into a difficult time, Valkin! The lands of Hallucagenia were burning with war and your father could not risk losing his family to it, and so he sent you and your mother away to Bellor just after you were born. That would be the last time he saw you and your mother. Your mother was not a Barbarian woman. She was a simple human like your father. She still is today, I believe? It was a war for survival! However, do not misjudge the Barbarians, the main reasons for their wars were essentially that, survival! The great strength and power they possessed allowed them to command many fertile portions of the lands. That is why they were hated so passionately and that is how they became what they are today, a warlike nation! At that time after the kingdom of Lataria split, the Serpentines of the north and Minotaurs of the West declared war upon Hallucagenia. It was a war for conquest and kingdom expansion. The Serpentines are no doubt a formidable race of venomous half-breeds. The efficiency of men combined with the deadliest poisons known, made them infamous in the great Barbarian war. They now dwell "peacefully" in their Kingdom of Aglypha. On the other side of the lands, the Minotaurs of Volcanock also thrive in fragile peace and harmony cemented by arms and armor trade between the races of today. Half men and half beast, they are not to be trifled with and reluctantly erred on the side of caution in fragile, peaceful times. Your father led the Barbarians into war just after the kingdoms ironically split for, peace and harmony. The Serpentines and Minotaurs were no match for the barbarians. They were easily defeated in what we call today, the 'Great Barbarian War!'"

Valkin immediately recognised the reference to the 'Great War.' He had learnt about it in school. "But Tereartre, the great barbarian war is a myth. It never took place, well according to what we were taught at school."

Vallentor and the others chuckled at Valkin's outlandish remarks. Tereartre smiled and replied to Valkin, "No Valkin, you are wrong! That is what Bellor wants you to believe."

Valkin was not convinced and proceeded to challenge Tereartre. "But Tereartre, the education system in Bellor is based upon the Sarcodian system..."

Tereartre cut in "...and by the way, Sarcodia was also one of the races who attacked the barbarians of Hallucagenia on that fateful day. They were so heavily defeated, so much so, they saw fit to wipe out that little detail from the history books!"

Valkin was shocked and felt so violated at what he was hearing. He found it difficult to believe at first, but slowly, he relinquished his deeply entrenched thoughts to this newfound truth.

"Valkin, there is saying that history is written by men who were never there to tell its story. Just think about it. How bad would it be for the Sarcodian people and their allies if they knew the truth about what really happened Valkin? Would you still hold the Sarcodain knights in such high esteem if you knew the truth about them?" asked Tereartre.

Valkin pondered about the repercussions and agreed in his mind to Tereartre's version of events.

Tereartre continued. "But every powerful man must eventually meet his end. Unfortunately, your father's own destruction lied closer to home than even he believed. They say he kept a journal where he wrote about all his great battles and about his inner most thoughts. I remember the last page of it as clearly as the light of day. These words, stained with blood, were written on that fateful last page of his journal before he mysteriously died. I remember it well:

"My division of myself is my enemy and now I must face the demons within me. God help me to survive the night. The Dark knights have driven me to the very edge of Mt. Death where my destiny awaits me. Is there no sanity left in me now? Every time I try to fight it, it just takes over me like a dark spirit controlling my actions wreaking havoc among the innocent. It leaves in its wake a trail of death and destruction. They are almost upon me now. This darkness is weakening me, slowing me down. NOOO!!! I will not let it consume me like this. I will not be so easily beaten! It has become almost uncontrollable. That is why it must be stopped! If it carries on, who will be left to fight the impending doom? I must fight it! I cannot let it take over me like this! They are nearing! Every heavy footstep beckons for my death. I can see the end of the mountain now. It will not be long now. I can see the end.

I release you from my thoughts, my dear Valkin.

Take care. Until we meet again..."

Valkin listened in horror as Tereartre recited the last page of his father's journal. Only a pin drop could be heard in the tent! It was so abrupt for Valkin and spurred him to ask more questions taking him further into the unknown whilst it had the opposite effect for Tereartre and the others where it gave them more closure.

"Your father burned the others pages of the journal except for the first and the last. The first page was never found! We believe it is still hidden somewhere safe, but no-one knows where. We believe that many answers are on that page. The Dark Knights were ordered to hunt down Helleus Kendor for being found guilty of the crime of murder. We carried out their order! Helleus Kendor died an untimely death, but nonetheless, he was a great man and a great friend."

Valkin was close to crying but held his eyes.

Tereartre looked into the fire that simmered down with cooling embers of life draining sadness.

Valkin was completely overloaded and thoroughly taken aback by so much information about his father's premature death, the existence of Serpentines, Minotaurs, old kingdoms and lies. He wondered how much did people in each kingdom know about what was really going on in other kingdoms. He concluded very little, based upon his own education and experiential background. It was not just him alone living in ignorance. His fellow compatriots too were being brainwashed but to what end he wondered.

"Rest here now Valkin, in Vallentor's company. We shall leave early tomorrow morning," said Tereartre and with that, he left the tent retreating to his own for the night. He also left Valkin with many unanswered questions and the seed of a bone to pick was implanted within him but Valkin knew that the answers would come in time. He wondered about what a Dark Knight was and what role did Tereartre play in his father's life and death.

Vallentor smiled and said, "I'm going out for a walk Valkin, listen to Tereartre and get some sleep."

Valkin then leant back onto his blanket and fell off to sleep within moments. He was physically and mentally exhausted.

#  The Next Morning

The sun filtered in through the thin slit of the tent opening flaps and awoke the well-rested Valkin. The air was very still and weather-wise; it looked like it was going to be another glorious day in the Pine Forests. It was still very early in the morning and the sun was still rising. With the dense forest undergrowth, it was difficult to say but easy to assume. He slowly rose to his feet and tried to shake out the pain in his body. He found a welcome bowl fashioned from wood, filled with some fresh spring water. He washed his face with it and felt fresher. He wiped away the sweat, filth and nightmares with a clean white towel and stepped outside to what he hoped will be a better morning in the Pine Forests. Most of the Werethall were packed and ready to leave, and Valkin realized then that had indeed overslept or was intentionally allowed to do so. He was allowed to on Vallentor's orders because of the previous day's occurrences. It was decided that he needed the extra rest for his body and especially his mind.

Tereartre approached him from the side.

Valkin smiled at the familiar sight and greeted him with a slight nod of the head. "I'm sorry sir, if I've delayed the party," apologized Valkin as he straightened up his body.

"No delay. We really need to get the title address right, but I am impressed. You have been brought up well by your mother, respectful and dignified, good traits! I commend her, for being a single parent could not have been easy. Your father would have been proud of you, Valkin!"

Valkin bowed his head in appreciation.

"Come, Vallentor and the Death brothers have already left. They plan to make sure that the way is clear for us."

Valkin wondered if they would keep their promise as he painfully remembered their close encounter with the Bararg yesterday.

"I'm sure they will uphold their promise, Valkin. The Death brothers are far stronger than you can imagine." Tereartre examined Valkin's rustic attire and surmised that he was all set and ready to go. "Splendid! We shall leave immediately then," he remarked.

Something plagued Valkin's mind, something he simply had to ask Tereartre and ask him right now. "Tereartre Levon, sir, please tell me. Why did you kill my father?"

"Valkin, it's too early in the morning to answer such questions. Even though Vallentor is not physically here, there are others he will place in charge of monitoring us in his absence, others who could break my mind barrier and listen to our conversation. When the simplicity of pen or paper presents itself or when the opportunity arises, I will tell you but you have to be strong and be prepared for the truth! I don't think you are right now."

Valkin was extremely irritated at Tereartre's avoidance of the question, so he challenged him. "So you did kill him then?" barked Valkin with anger in eyes.

"That's not what I said. You are very aggressive this morning Valkin and understandably so. For now, listen to whatever Vallentor says. Listen and learn."

"Okay, I'll do it." Valkin let out a sigh of defeat and acceptance realizing that he was getting nowhere on this one. He put his head down in despair for just a moment but quickly recovered realizing that there would be no place for emotional sympathy in this trying time for himself.

"Cheer up boy," said Tereartre as he grabbed Valkin's right shoulder. "The quicker you open your mind to the real world, the faster you will learn to accept it and the less it will stress you. Come now! We have to get moving!" Tereartre turned around with haste and whistled loudly. Then, without warning, two gigantic wolves turned the corner of the tent, rustling up the settled dust and twigs of the forest beneath their paws. Two formidable Werethall warriors escorted them.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Valkin in shock as he stumbled backwards tripping over a rock. He fell flat on his backside with awe and wonder! He did not expect to be up close and personal with such majestic creatures so early in the morning.

The wolves stood taller than normal horses. They were beautiful but frightening creatures!

Tereartre smiled and hugged the wolves and rubbed their furry coats with such joy and pleasure knowing them for many years. They closed their eyes with glee and loved all the attention and affection. They were overgrown dogs, filled with a sense of adventure and very lovable. Tereartre turned around and called Valkin to come a little closer. "Come on, don't be afraid. They don't bite!"

Valkin slowly stood up and approached the wolves with extreme caution and fear.

"Come on, touch them, touch the back of their ears, they simply love that!" Tereartre's love for the animals and close bond spoke to his character and overall love for life and animals. This tender side of him somewhat comforted Valkin and he felt reassured that with this man on his side, although highly controversial and deeply secretive in nature, a possible friendship and ultimate survival could be possible.

"Are you sure they don't bite?" asked a very apprehensive Valkin as he slowly drew nearer to the wolves.

"Trust me," replied Tereartre allaying Valkin's fears.

Valkin approached the smaller of the two wolves and closed his eyes and slowly stretched his hands edging closer and closer to the wolf's face.

This smaller wolf had brilliant white fur on her back with pink fur on her belly. Her strong legs were a greyish, smokey color, which swayed as she moved from side to side. It was very strange and unheard off to see such a myriad of colors on one wolf.

Valkin's hand was almost touching the wolf's snout now but he could not see for his eyes were tightly closed in fear. Suddenly, Valkin could feel the gentle licking of his hands and the slow and deliberate filling of it with sticky slobber. The bigger wolf then came closer to Valkin and without warning licked his entire face.

Tereartre laughed loudly. "I simply can't believe it. Rufor here usually bites every stranger he encounters."

Valkin opened his eyes, which were filled with concern and horror, realizing that he could have been the next victim.

"Amazing! You have won him over, Valkin. Congratulations! Well, now that the ice is broken and nothing else. Haha! That was joke Valkin!"

Valkin smiled and let out a drizzle of a sarcastic chuckle as Rufor, the bigger wolf continued to lick him. Rufor was a light rustic brown in color and heavily built whilst his female counterpart was much smaller with gentler features and a softer dispensation.

"This smaller one is my darling Pixie and the big boy licking you is, Rufor Rafelieus. Pixie is my little gentle girl."

She bowed cutely to Valkin. Upon closer inspection of Pixie, Valkin could see that she had pinkish stripes of silver and grey running down her side towards her grey furry feet. She was a sight for a sore wolf's eyes, very beautiful and very well kept.

"Rufor on the other hand; he's the untamed one!" Rufor shook and bobbed his head greeting Valkin and then continued to lick him. "I usually travel with him but today, he will be your escort."

Valkin was totally blown away by the intelligence and training of these majestic creatures. It was absolutely fantastic! "I can't get over their size; their massive, and very beautiful indeed! Magnificent creatures you have here, Tereartre. I have never seen anything like them before in my life," replied Valkin being a dog lover himself.

"Yes, rose from birth by the best of my trainers and by myself. They are truly magnificent and special animals that have become part of our family. They are also very fast runners, the fastest in the woods. No Bararg would dare dream of catching us and with their speed; we should arrive at our destination in a matter of hours. Now, before we depart, I think its best, I give you a few pointers on how to manage a wolf."

With all his attention solely devoted to the wolves, Valkin did not realize that their tent was gone, neatly packed up by the remaining Werethall. The Werethall believed in efficiency and speed whenever they travelled. Time wasted was time lost and could not be regained.

"You've ridden a horse before, Valkin?"

"I have indeed," replied a very excited Valkin with some level of confidence knowing that potentially he could do this.

"Okay, good, well, this is nothing like that," answered Tereartre with some amusement upon his face.

Valkin's confidence was immediately crushed!

"Basically, you don't want to fall off or worse, be flung off. A wolf will throw you off a few more feet than a horse would, if you lose control. If he falls on top of you, you are going to feel it. Understand! Have fun and enjoy the journey! I shall meet you there." Valkin swallowed hard and wondered if there was anymore that Tereartre was going to add to that but nothing came to his disappointment. Valkin waited and still nothing came.

"That's it?" asked Valkin with a look of intense fear on his face.

"That's it, now hop on and let's go!"

Valkin tentatively walked to Rufor's side and wiped the nervous sweat on his brown pants and extended his left leg into the left foot-hold and held the specially made saddle and then hopped onto Rufor with surprising ease.

Tereartre followed suit and hopped onto Pixie.

Valkin immediately realized that the wolves were far better trained than horses. They were much more obedient and relaxed about human companionship. Horses seemed to always be edgy and nervous, even the most well trained ones when Valkin compared them to wolves. Wolves seemed to possess superior intellect and greater obedience making them the perfect mode of transport thought Valkin.

"Lead the way sir," replied a very excited Valkin.

Rufor moved a little backwards by himself to make room for Pixie to take up the lead. They were all saddled up, faced each other and were ready to go.

"Not bad, you're a natural," replied Tereartre who was very pleased.

"All that horse-riding back in Bellor is going to count for nothing hey?" asked Valkin with a smile.

"Especially if you fall, so whatever you do, don't fall! Be calm and just relax. Rufor here is well trained and he will look after you. Just think of him as your new best friend. They understand our language so your commands may be given in it. Rufor is very tolerant and at times he can be a bit vulgar so do not be shy to scold him now and then. So when you're ready, follow us."

'Speak our language,' Valkin thought. 'What was Tereartre on about,' thought Valkin. Before Valkin knew what was going on, Tereartre was at least a mile ahead of him in a matter of mere seconds. They were travelling at an unfathomable pace! Valkin was left behind in the trail of dust and dirt, alone, with a giant, hairy wolf as his ride.

"Eh! What just happened?" replied a very dumbfounded Valkin as he realized that he was now completely alone in a forest filled with Barargs and many other horrible creatures. Unexpectedly, Valkin heard a grumbling voice speak out loudly from between his legs.

"They just left you behind young warrior, that's what just happened and at this rate we're never going to reach Hallucagenia in good time, my young friend."

Valkin looked from side to side to see who this mysterious person was talking to him but there was no-one around. The voice was low and deep so it couldn't have been coming from above. He wondered for moment and then the voice spoke out again.

"Where are you looking boy, not up there, down here?" As Valkin looked down, Rufor turned his head and looked back up at him with a great big smile on his furry face.

Valkin jumped off Rufor immediately and ran straight up the same tree he took refuge in yesterday.

"BE GONE DEMON DOG! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Rufor smiled as Valkin climbed further up the tree but before he got beyond his grasp, Rufor yanked him down gently by his legs.

Valkin was ranting and raving. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me!" pleaded Valkin. He had never heard a wolf speak in his life and even if he did or thought he did, it completely freaked him out. Although Valkin was primed with the occurrences of yesterday's ordeal with the Bararg, he was still was opposed to the fact that animals could communicate in the same tongue as humans did.

Rufor shook his head with mild anguish. "CALM DOWN, SILLY BOY!" shouted Rufor with a stern look upon his rigid snout. "I am not going to eat you." Rufor was a very handsome wolf. He was brown with tufts of grey and white with patches of faint black strands of fur here and there. The male wolves were much larger than their female counterparts were because they needed the size and strength advantage to defend their families from other rival males. Rufor was no exception being very large but extremely kind weighing in at two tons. Rufor approached Valkin and gently grabbed him by his back and flipped him into the air and back onto the saddle. "Saddle up boy, we'll run and talk." With a burst of speed, Rufor and Valkin were on their way to Hallucagenia. Valkin was not used to the motion and kept on saying in his mind that he was going to be sick. Rufor sensed this and comforted the vulnerable Valkin with introductions and stories. "Hang in there Valkin. Oh! By the way, pleased to meet you, hope you slept well? As Tereartre mentioned, my name is Rufor and I am not vulgar, contrary to popular belief, well not that vulgar! Now and then, Tereartre and I cause massive destruction here and there with our words but nothing major. But right now, he's about fifty miles ahead of us and we're not getting any younger so pardon my haste."

"Oh, no problem, pleased to meet you too. Have you always been able to talk?" Valkin felt the need to engage with Rufor. He was the first animal that he ever engaged with in his life. Rocko did not really count as the intention was to engage with Rocko with a fork and knife over a holiday dinner and the ferocity of the Bararg allowed for only physical engagement and nothing else.

"Well, since I was born. My mother and father were the royal wolves for the Werethall and when we were born, they agreed for us to be schooled, as they were, in the language of humans."

Valkin guessed that Rufor was not more than ten in age. "How old are you, Rufor, if I may ask? You look really good, not more than ten." Valkin tried to soften up the big wolf.

"Haha! Would you believe me if I told you, I just turned thirty-five last Sunday, in fact."

"Not a chance, Wow!" replied Valkin with marvel.

The perspective Valkin got of the forest now suddenly seemed a whole lot different. All the various life forms flashed past him in fast-motion. He saw Barargs and giant rabbit flashes everywhere amidst the long poles of hazel brown pine trees. Rabbits, the size of goats and many more scenes, so incredible, that he would have never dreamed existed but here they were, living and thriving of the very land he never knew. He brought his amazement back to the wolf of the Forest whisking him to a faraway land. For that moment as he felt the wind swoosh past his face and blow into his hair, he found himself actually enjoying the ride.

"How's the view from up there, Valkin?" shouted Rufor with delight in his fire orange eyes.

"It is truly amazing, Rufor! I have never seen anything quite like it before. It's really something special!" replied Valkin who was truly awestruck by his surroundings.

"That's nothing, because I can go faster! Haha!" With that, the two sped off into the distance at a greater speed which was boundary breaking. Valkin held on tighter with his sinewy arms as Rufor increased his speed through the forest. Despite the strange circumstances surrounding the abduction, Valkin felt that he was running towards an adventure, one that he could actually looking forward to.

#  The Hallucen Kingdom

They were now closing in fast on the edge of the Pine forests approaching lands that Valkin could only dream of. The forest trees grew thinner and became smaller as they rode towards the very edge, no doubt, a sign of some form of deforestation. They had been travelling for quite some time now.

Two tall, dark figures awaited their approach in the distance ahead of them. The figures in the distance became larger as they got closer and closer to them.

Valkin squinted his deep hazel eyes trying to make out who exactly they were. He wiped off the sweat from his weary head.

"Barbarian guards, big ones too," whispered Rufor to Valkin who had never seen a barbarian before in his life. "They protect the edges of the forest from any unwanted guests that may venture too far from their homeland. Don't worry! They will not harm us. They know me very well. Let's press on, young warrior."

Valkin held onto the saddle for dear life as they passed these huge men. Each stood at least seven feet from the ground and were solid stones and pillars wielding large and foreboding double edged axes, the preferred weapon of the barbarian. They were not to be messed around with, these two. In fact, there were only two guards protecting this pathway to the kingdom, which Valkin thought was not enough but as they drew closer to them, he could feel something strange overcoming his body. Call it fear or excitement but his body began to tense up and feel limp as if these warriors were casting some sort of spell over him. He wondered what was going on. 'Was it the same kind of power that I experienced with Vallentor? No, this was different. This was more raw!' he thought. He brushed it aside as they reached the edge of the forest in no time and as they did, Rufor leapt over the barbarians at the same blistering pace. Before Valkin could register what was going on, both were momentarily airborne as the barbarians waved to them in a friendly gesture of friendship. Valkin turned around and waved back out of courtesy.

They smiled and turned back to continue their guard duty.

The view was simply spectacular as they ascended higher into the sky. The beauty of the day was accentuated by the heavenly view of it from this height, with only a few low lying clouds that hung peacefully in the air. They were so close to them now that Valkin could almost touch them with his fingers which he did closing his eye relishing the moment of the gift of flight. It was indeed a poignant moment, one that he felt he would never forget as he absorbed every second of it.

Rufor smiled knowing the joy it brought to him and attempted to hang as long as he could in the air to extend their freefall. They then started to descend, slowly at first and then very sharply. Valkin was so caught up in the moment that he did not pay much attention to the overview of the land below him and missed everything for the moment.

Rufor stretched his massive paws outwards and began to blow softly from his powerful snout. He was effectively slowing them down with only his paws and his strong breath, which pushed up against the lands below.

Valkin managed to catch Rufor landing comfortably in front of a huge black gate. Rufor's large muscular legs acted like shock absorbers absorbing the impact of the descent. He stopped some distance away from where they landed but came to a smooth halt rustling up some dirt from the ground in the process.

Valkin held on for dear life as the force of the fall nearly sent him hurtling forward off Rufor.

"Safe and sound!" exclaimed a very relieved Rufor. "Well, Valkin, here it is. Welcome to the great kingdom of Hallucagenia!"

Valkin was still recovering from the adrenaline rush that Rufor had just given him.

Rufor smiled but then his satisfaction shortened by the grounding words of Pixie.

"If you ran any slower, poor Valkin here would have missed the meeting tonight, Rufor," complained Pixie who immediately joined them from behind. Pixie was very beautiful as she modeled her shiny pinkish coat to the stragglers. All the Werethall wolves had yellow eyes and every part of their anatomy was built for the kill.

Valkin scanned his new surroundings and replied to himself. "The Hallucen Kingdom! Finally, I get to see the kingdom that is feared by so many. The kingdom that I have heard about only in stories and legends, that I never knew really existed."

Rufor looked around and smiled at Valkin's awe. He then turned to Pixie. "It does not matter Pixie. As long as we're here in the end, hey Valkin?"

Valkin quickly swung around to reply to Rufor's declaration. "Absolutely! No arguments here," replied Valkin as he returned his attention to Rufor and Pixie.

Pixie smiled. "Please yourselves. Valkin, Vallentor and the others are waiting for you over at the royal hut, would you please join them?"

"Certainly," replied Valkin. Before Valkin joined them, he could not help but take another moment to admire the kingdom. Hallucagenia was a large kingdom, much bigger than Sarcodia was and much more dangerous for it housed one of the fiercest races known to man, the Barbarians, warrior men, or giant men as they are called in legends. The barbarians were born and bred for war; though the women were indeed very beautiful and smaller in stature compared to the men they were as tall as the tallest human men. They were still very strong and hardworking. It was the men that compensated with rage and war coursing through their veins but there was a time in history were the Hallucen kingdom was a more peaceful one and not plagued by war. The lust for power and land filled with many riches fuelled many races to invade the Hallucen Kingdom and for those very reasons, the barbarians changed and redefined themselves out of the war that was brought upon them by enemies. It seemed that the darker nature of the mind was quite a powerful and manipulative force, if left unchecked. This was the main contributor to the evolution of the warlike barbarians. The barbarians were larger than normal men, a foot maybe two taller on average, and much stronger as showcased by the encounter with the border patrol barbarians of the Pine forests whom Valkin and Rufor greeted not a moment ago. It was said that a single barbarian could wipe out a small troop of any race by himself. Their strength goes beyond their ability to kill and destroy though; they were excellent artisans and mostly subsistence farmers. This, Valkin could see as he walked past some of the small farms. Each barbarian had his own piece of land to look after and a wonderful wife and a few children in some cases too. Some were even privileged enough to have some free-range animals. They lived in small wooden and brick lodgings, nothing elaborate but humbly comfortable. Bricks made from red sand provided a strong foundation as well as Pine logs for insulating walls with a strong father who was the leader of the family. Valkin continued his walk along a grey gravel pathway that divided the smallholdings into two sections. Both sections were the same in that they contained farms. The farms surrounded the royal hut that Pixie referred to located in the centre of the ring of farms. These farms were quite large and there were about a thousand of them in total surrounding the royal hut. The farmers planted many crops from cereals to herbs. You name it they planted it. It would seem that the main source of food for the kingdom came from these internal farms. They bred livestock and had dairies too. Some even had the means to process all the animals and sell them all in one square piece of land. Outside the ring of main farms were smaller farms and then houses, presumably where the wealthier barbarians lived. Valkin did not realize it but when Rufor leapt over the barbarian guards, he also leapt over the Hallucen barracks situated on the outermost boundary surrounding the ring of farms and the royal hut, which were actually the epicenter of the kingdom of Hallucagenia. The kingdom's strategic design was becoming clearer to Valkin as he exited the circle of farms surrounding the royal hut and gazed upon the black gates, which were presumably the entrance to the farms behind him. Those black gates intrigued Valkin who decided to walk backwards to investigate further momentarily defying Pixie's orders. The farms were heavily fortified by great walls all around, made from ashblock. Ashblock was a stone found deep in the mountains of Volcanock. It was extremely durable and difficult to penetrate by most. The barbarians traded arms for ashblock with the Minotaurs and that was one of the main activities that had kept the peace between them for such a long time now. The main stables were located on the edges of the inner kingdom more towards the walls.

Valkin walked on and reached the tremendous black gates before him.

Ten barbarian guards guarded the entrance on the inside. The guards knew exactly who Valkin was but they were given strict orders not to allow him further beyond this point for his own safety.

As Valkin cautiously approached the gates, the barbarian guard stationed there wielded their massive axes and stood firm standing between Valkin and the black gate.

Valkin stopped immediately and put his hands up in a show of respect.

Then, someone familiar called out for him. "VALKIN, there you are!"

Valkin turned around to find Marve panting in front of him. "So it's true what they say, you are a difficult boy to catch. The king requests your presence tonight at the royal meeting. Dusk draws near and I must show you to your quarters." Marve was still wearing his black headpiece as Pixie accompanied Valkin.

"Lead the way sir," replied Valkin going along with Marve's wishes. Everything was so foreign to Valkin, which made him feel very uncomfortable, especially the blatant stares he was getting from the barbarians whom he walked past.

"Please dispense with formalities with me. Call me Marve. I am your little big brother now. Come along."

At that moment, Valkin felt somewhat honored and humbled. He was still weary though and not knowing who to trust, he followed blindly and listened carefully as a cautionary measure. Although he was slowly warming up to his new companions, his heart was still in Tillmandor with his mother. He followed closely but turned around to take another glimpse at the great black gates and wondered what lied behind it. He missed it entirely when they jumped over. He was too busy admiring the sky and the clouds blocked his view anyway. He did however; hear sounds, strange sounds and clangs of metal against metal and the sound of distinct grinding. He also heard the sounds of beasts as well and wondered what was going on behind those gates. Shivers ran down his spine as he extinguished the thought from his mind.

They treaded the grey gravel path to the royal hut reaching the end. There were two entrances to the royal hut, located on either sides of farm ring. There were no walls surrounding the royal hut, just a short boundary fence of about 3 ft high, half the height of Valkin. Vallentor believed in the equality and unity of every man and barbarian in this case. The royal hut, or so it was named, did actually resemble an extremely large domed hut. The structure was reinforced twice with ashblock and heavily fortified with a small army of barbarians that surrounded both the farms and the hut itself. They constantly patrolled around the perimeter of the royal hut and the farms, always alert and ready for any impending breaches by enemy forces.

Valkin and Marve entered the golden entrance gate as two guards, who were facing each other, bowed down to them. Valkin felt a bit flattered at the show of respect towards him and bowed as well. A smooth marble pathway was cut through a beautiful garden, which led towards the doors of the golden hut. He simply loved the serenity and ambience that the gardens exuded to the hut. Roses with four or more colors upon a single tree and violets were carefully planted in and amongst them, which beautified the front lawn.

Marve and Valkin then approached the wooden doorway of the royal hut stopping at the entrance whilst two more guards opened the great doors for them. Pixie and Rufor too joined them. The Barbarian insignia were masterfully carved into the door.

Valkin brushed off his brown and black hair from his eyes to get a better picture. It was simply magnificent! The sweet aroma of a royal hall filled the air with immense tranquility and peace. He looked at the great hall before him with double stairways that transcended in a spiral manner to the second floor of a higher chamber or chambers of some sort. The whole hall was white and light brown in color with dashes of barbarian flags hanging from the ceiling and mounted weapons and trophy kills. The windowpanes and inner doors were fashioned from wood. Overall, it was magnificently simple, fit for a king but in no way was it an attempt to be something more flamboyant than it should be. It only occupied the equivalent space of four barbarian farms making it the smallest royal palace of any known race. Vallentor was hardly ever in it most of the time, so it was primarily occupied by guards and servants.

At the end of the corridor in the vacant area illuminated by natural light filtering through large windows, Vallentor stood peering into the distance with white knightly robes lined with golden threads upon his lean body that ran along the edges. His brown hair was let down to his shoulders. It was a drastic change from the ominous brown robe he donned two days ago in his first meeting with Valkin. He now resembled a real king. Vallentor honestly did not like wearing such attire. He felt that it was a bit too much even for a king. He believed that he could get the point across just as well by wearing basic attire. Above him, was a Bararg trophy mounted high upon the wall, a testament to power and invincibility. He heard the approach of Valkin, Marve and the wolves and turned around wearing the king's helm to greet them. "Welcome to the royal hut, Valkin, and to the kingdom of Hallucagenia," announced Vallentor peering into Valkin's soul trying to ascertain the young man's level of acceptance of the reality he found himself within. Vallentor was then joined by Tereartre Levon and Raven Ominous who walked down the left stairs behind him.

Tereartre still donned his green and grey armor and Raven Ominous, like Marve, also retained his black assassin outfit and headpiece. Both Marve and Raven's identity still remained a mystery to Valkin.

"Thank you Vallentor," replied Valkin grudgingly.

"Come now, be nice Valkin," added Raven as they all had a short chuckle introducing the newcomer to the royal hut. Vallentor and the others smiled and accepted Valkin's position.

"Raven, would you be so kind as to show Valkin to his quarters for me," requested Vallentor.

"With pleasure, my lord! Right this way Valkin." Raven took the lead and showed Valkin to his quarters. "Follow me, young Valkin."

They turned left and walked through the great hallway on the bottom floor of the royal hunt and down a large passage with many rooms on either side until they reached the end of it. There was a window at the end of the hallway, which allowed some rejuvenating afternoon sunlight to filter in and illuminated the entire hallway. The blue curtains were drawn and held in place by golden tiebacks. The large wooden doors sparkled as the reflection of the sunlight danced on them. The walls were a clean, cream color, a stark contrast to the questionable condition of Valkin Kendor who was a sweaty brown color. He had not bathed now for two days and was still wearing his brown tunic, which was originally white.

Raven opened the door and motioned for Valkin to enter. It was a petite little room with the essentials including Valkin's possessions, which Raven pointed to. His possessions were neatly placed on the extremely large white bed. "I believe these are all yours. I am sure that you will find everything is in order. There are new clothes on the bed next to your stuff and an early supper is on the way. I shall return within the hour to retrieve you for the meeting. Please do not hesitate to ask for something. You will be attended to shortly. I shall leave you to clean up, brother."

'There it was again. That feeling of kinship and camaraderie being portrayed by my captors,' thought Valkin. He did not know what to make of it. It both pleased him and disturbed him and he wondered. He found himself in a barbarian royal chamber after being abducted by strange and powerful beings who were now trying to be his friend. His solitude, skepticism and doubt were slowly starting to creep back into his mind and he knew it would always be there as the shadow of a misguided figure. His mind was also grappling with the story that Tereartre told him about his father, the Great Barbarian war, Lataria and finally Sarcodia. All this was going on long before he was even born, long before anyone knew what was going on. He thought about his mother and realized that she must have known but did not tell him. At that point, he became a bit angry. He then quickly shifted his attention to the Sarcodian royalty and how much they were hiding from their people. Before further contemplating the thought, his inner reflection was paused by a gentle knock on the door. He opened it to find a man with short, curly black hair, orange eyes and tanned brown face who greeted Valkin. It was Raven Ominous, who had finally taken off his mask but retained his full black assassin attire.

Valkin noticed how similar the Ominous brothers were in outline. The main things he noticed were that Raven was slightly taller than Marve and had a small scar on his left cheek which was only visible if seen from that side and naturally shielded whenever he wore a headpiece. One more thing he noticed was that they always wore black, the assassin color. That was all that Valkin could ascertain, for now. Raven was just checking to see if Valkin needed anything else and did not stay too long. Valkin was fine and so Raven left, closing the door behind him leaving Valkin alone to the silence of the room. He walked towards the opened window and peered out and saw the busy barbarians of Hallucagenia working very hard to maintain this beautiful kingdom. He leaned on the windowpane with two hands and felt the cool afternoon breeze brush past him causing the snowwhite curtains to be ruffled just a bit. It almost felt like he was back in his old farm home of Tillmandor. The rays of afternoon sunlight lit up the room with safety, warmth and comfort. Valkin felt at ease for just a moment but only for a moment, as he was soon interrupted by another gentle knock on his door. Raven did say that he would be attended to shortly. He hurriedly walked up to the door with some frustration as this servant had disturbed his brief but perfect moment of peace. He opened the door quickly with some anger and there stood, a beautiful young servant maiden, who was sent to deliver his early supper. She could not have been very much older than he was by the looks of it, seventeen, maybe eighteen. She was a very short girl, only five foot tall and dressed in a peaceful white and strong black netted servant's attire. She also wore an elegant black and white hat, a beautiful accessory to her servant attire. As Valkin gazed upon her, he noticed that she seemed a bit on edge. Perhaps, she felt her dress was too short showing off a little more than she would have preferred, he thought. Her long slender and silky legs were covered with black stockings and were a sight for sore eyes as she exuded a quiet confidence in her thin hundred and ten pound frame. Luckily, Valkin was completely speechless and just enjoyed the view without gazing too long making it too obvious to the young lady that he was not at all a ladies man.

"Some food for you sir, where shall I leave it?"

They both stood still at the door in an awkward moment of silence.

Valkin's first impression was that this girl must be royalty, and if so, why in the world was she serving a low class farm-boy from Tillmandor food. He kept that hunch at the back of his racing mind for now. She smiled slightly tilting her small, innocent head to the left and gave Valkin a smile with a twinkle in her amber eyes. "Well, well, well, well, well, well, yes, food, food, wonderful thing is food, love it dearly." He was completely mesmerized by the beauty in front of him. He was incoherent and all over the place. He could not speak a shred of sense as he somehow motioned for the girl to place the food upon the centered tea table. The girl began to blush a little and then chuckle. "Over there, there you go! Thank you so much. Thank you."

She took the tray of food and placed it on the table bending over as she did revealing a slight visage of a different angle of her lovely, long legs which Valkin admired for an eternity. She then turned to face him again.

Valkin was as red as a tomato and almost incapacitated. At that moment, he felt the need to relieve himself and so his legs started to close and his hands reached down deep into his pockets but he prevented them from going any further to clutch the very thing that needed to be relieved. To avoid the further embarrassment, he clasped his hands in an attempt to stifle the flow.

"Is there anything else that you would like sir?" she gently asked in the sweetest voice.

Valkin swallowed hard and thought of a few things he would have really liked and then shook his head. "No, no, that'll be all," replied Valkin in a shrill, weak voice. He could not manage now and turned around in pain gently waving goodbye to the young lady. Two things that Valkin had a very large supply of were naivety and shyness around women.

The girl had a strange look upon her face and she gathered that it was time for her to leave. She bowed slightly spreading the sides of her sophisticated skirt and then departed.

Valkin slowly closed the door and immediately ran to the loo to relieve himself! The expression of relief upon his face was priceless as he begun to feel like a complete idiot. He then had a very strange feeling though that he would see her again some time, some place, he just did not know when. He smiled slowly to himself and gently closed the toilet door. He turned around slowly, and then he dived immediately into the food. He was really hungry! Back in the farm, utensils were only used for dishing out; not eating and so he used his God-given hands to wolf down the food. He finished the lamb stew with vegetables in no time and washed up with some fresh water left for him on the table beside the bed. There was a solemn mirror next to the bed so he decided to see what he looked like after a couple days of intense traveling. He agreed to himself that he did not like what he saw. His jet-black hair was looking extremely untidy now and he reeked of the travel odor and sweat. Only now, he wondered how that poor girl withstood his presence. He even wondered how he could stand his own presence with this stench. He decided to take a quick bath, nothing fancy. He jumped into the tub filled with some hot water provided for him, which felt very refreshing as he scrubbed the muddy grime of himself. The color of the bath water after he finished was not for mortal eyes to neither see nor smell. Luckily, Raven left some clothes for him and he was more than welcome to make a quick exchange between his dirty brown look to a more clean golden white one. In no time, he was dressed & looked good enough to be pass off for a prince but he had to move or he was going to miss the meeting again and by the sounds of it, this was one meeting he could not afford to miss. The hour was already up with some high drama already, he realized that he screwed the first meeting with a young woman whom he could have potentially wowed with his humility and style. Instead, she probably thought that he's an eccentric and disturbed young man, which he was and also a bit weird which he was as well. It was not a good start to the meeting of a potential mate for himself. He found relief from the stress surrounding his life in the thought of this young girl. She shifted his focus shortly but he knew that as soon as the door knocked his mind would return to his predicament. Valkin did not care though and so he let his imagination dwell upon her visage. Someone then knocked upon the door just as he had predicted. He cleaned up the room and quickly ran to the door opening it to find Marve waiting for him patiently.

"All set, ready to go, I see! Good stuff! Right this way." If he did not look, twice he would have said that it was Raven who came to retrieve him. Finally, Marve too had taken off his mask as well. Marve had short wavy black hair and striking yellow eyes and was quite intimidating. His face was neat and cleanly-shaven. Marve had no scars on his face like his big brother though. There was a touch of youthfulness in his face, which could only be seen up close.

The two then walked back through the hallway and up the left stairway. The stairway veered more and more to the left as they ascended its length and breadth. When they reached the end, Valkin could make out the familiar figures of Vallentor and Raven standing next to each other at the end of another hallway. They walked down that hallway which was located just above the rooms on the left below. As they walked towards Vallentor and Raven, they were joined by Tereartre and another stranger who was mysteriously concealed in a dark blue cloak. 'Another stranger,' Valkin thought! This made him very uneasy.

The four reached the end of the passageway where Vallentor and Raven were waiting for them patiently. "I'm glad that we could all make it on time. Right this way gentlemen," motioned Vallentor.

This hallway was much darker than the one below, as there were no windows at the end of it to illuminate it. Only a torch lit the entrance to the room with big doors. The barbarian insignia was engraved upon the double door. It was the menacing helmet of the barbarians that stared into the very fear within the heart of men.

Raven opened the right door for them splitting the visage of the insignia to allow the guests to enter the meeting room. The doors were very large concealing a room of great importance. Greeted by the engraving of the barbarian insignia upon the door, Valkin was introduced to the Hallucen meeting room.

#  The meeting room

The meeting room was large and exquisitely decorated all along the rough beige walls with ancient maps and antique weapons collected from many wars fought long ago throughout barbarian history. As Valkin entered the dark room, he marvelled at the maps and looked at all the kingdoms upon them. He wondered what they must be like. Their Sarcodian rulers prohibited the teaching and distribution of any maps in Bellor for fear of the truth getting out. All the village people knew was their home and Sarcodia and nothing else which irked him with annoyance and anger. He saw strange names written on the maps, Razortor, Volcanock, Aglypha. None of the names rang a bell in his mind; none at all, only a faint whisper echoed in the deep recesses of his mind where childhood stories bubbled to the surface. He never knew anything beyond the borders of his own kingdom. That was his world and he never bothered to venture outside of its walls. He felt the regret of his ignorance as he stood there alone once again. The room became darker as the maroon curtains were drawn by quiet servants of the king preventing any afternoon sunlight from penetrating through. Only the candles in their lanterns together with torches along the walls provided a source of still light. The room was well ventilated with air vents that led outside releasing any possible smoke that arose from the torches. Altogether, there were six attendees at the gathering: Vallentor, Tereartre, Raven, Marve, Valkin and the mysterious stranger, still concealed in a dark blue cloak.

Valkin became curious and uneasy about the identity of this stranger but knew that by the end of the meeting he would find out who this mysterious stranger was. He strongly felt that way because the last time he met someone with a cloak on, it changed the course of his life so he did not like cloaked strangers at all. In fact, he resolved to simply kick the life out of any cloaked stranger next time he saw one, but he controlled his incredibly strong urge to do so.

The six individuals seated themselves at the central antique triangular shaped wooden table in the middle of the room with Vallentor, Tereartre and the stranger seated at the three points of the triangle.

Valkin chose to sit in between the stranger who was on his left and Tereartre on his right.

Raven & Marve flanked Vallentor who was seated across from Valkin.

The cocoa brown wooden table had an elegantly crafted glass top, which made it smooth and shiny, somewhat like the pristine doors of the meeting room. It was a perfect room for the kind of meetings that kings needed to have!

The night grew colder and so the servants decided to light the fireplace before ultimately departing leaving the members in total privacy.

The room was well lit now and ready with the firelight shimmering of the table and flickering in the eyes of the attendees.

Vallentor gazed upon it with his smoke grey eyes and then looked up at the members present at the meeting and folded his fingers with finality. "Well, now that we are all seated, this meeting is now in session," replied Vallentor to an uneasy panel.

Valkin was surprised to see that the stranger still did not take off the hood of the dark blue cloak after Vallentor's remark. Nevertheless, the time for unveiling drew closer and both Valkin and the stranger knew it. Valkin looked only with his intrigued eyes but the stranger did not stir.

The stranger kept cool and calm as the still waters of a midnight pool under a pale moonlit sky.

"Before this meeting gets under way, I think it would be appropriate for everyone to re-introduce themselves by way of name, function and perhaps a brief history about yourselves to our friend and guest, Valkin Kendor," requested Vallentor.

Valkin welcomed the introductions especially to uncover who this new stranger was, and he desperately wanted to know what was really happening.

Raven Ominous was the first to stand up and face Valkin. Raven, the death brother, the man with a slit across his eye stood up tall. His 6 ft, 154 lb frame of pure assassin muscle flexed through his black assassin attire. "Raven Ominous, bodyguard and high-assassin of the Hallucen kingdom. I was born and raised on the islands of Galapalau. Our parents were unfortunately murdered when we were five years old. Thereafter, I was recruited and trained by the assassin doctrine of the barbarians and Vallentor, to become what I am today." He clenched his fist and banged it hard across his chest sending shockwaves outwards from his body, which reverberated the loosely placed war relics on the mantelpiece. His gesture was the assassin sign of honor and allegiance. He then bowed and sat down.

Vallentor and Valkin bowed their heads in recognition as well.

Marve was next. Marve was taller than his older brother by five inches and heavier too, outweighing Raven by more than twenty pounds. His frame was bulkier and heavier but still lean and defined by years of hard training. "Marve Ominous, bodyguard and high-assassin of the Hallucen kingdom. As my big brother said, our history is a sad one but hopefully, our future will be a little brighter than our past. We are assassins forged from pain and suffering. But we are determined to see this through." Marve also repeated the respectful gesture of respect, bowed and sat down. The Death brother's voices were very deep and strained but rang out clearly, as they spoke with undertones of sadness. Their tanned brown skin spoke to a childhood spent in the heat of the sun, which was on a beautiful island where they grew up called, Galapalau. Their livid orange eyes glowed in the pale shimmering firelight. It was such an unusual color and Valkin wondered how such an eye color was possible. Who did they inherit that trait from, he wondered?

Next was Tereartre Levon who sat right next to Valkin.

Valkin moved his soft red cushioned chair to face the king of the Woods for his introduction.

"Tereartre Levon, leader of the Werethall and sacred keeper of the Pine Forests. Being born and raised in the wild, it is my life's pleasure to live amongst the splendors of nature. My fervent wish is for peace to once again rain in our lands." Tereartre bowed and sat down. He was a cool and calm man who smiled gently as he let his hunter green hair down for the night. Still, his bright neon green eyes pierced through one an all as emeralds in the night.

Valkin repeated his respectful gesture.

Finally, it was the stranger's turn.

Valkin was all geared up, rubbing his hands below the table in anticipation, ready for the epic unveiling. He repositioned his chair and clasped his hands below the tabletop as a small boy would waiting for a show to begin as he leaned forward in his chair. He could barely make out the heavy sword the stranger possessed for the hilt had shone ever so slightly in the dancing firelight of the meeting room. 'By the looks of it, this stranger was not one to mess around with,' Valkin thought. The stranger slowly stood up and lifted the hood of the dark blue cloak of concealment revealing a very familiar face.

Valkin almost fell off his chair trying to compose himself, at the sight of this person.

It was the servant girl! The same girl that served him his food this afternoon, not the stern King nor the warrior that Valkin envisioned, nor was it some strange creature from another weird race that he expected. She looked more beautiful than what she portrayed herself to be earlier. She looked somewhat older even though she was only a year younger than Valkin himself. She was indeed extremely beautiful in this new attire.

'It was amazing how a change in dress and hair changed the overall appearance of an individual. While this maybe true, one's appearance did not govern his or her individuality and characterization,' Valkin realized. 'Some people may look good on the outside but in reality, they could be really evil on the inside' as Valkin quickly learned. 'The same applied to kings and queens in general, so one should never judge a king or a queen by the cover of his or her dress,' he thought.

Her long, black luscious locks twirled within the breeze of firelight as Valkin gazed upon her freely without any restraint completely mesmerized by her enchantment once again. She let her curly locks down and was a picture of admiration. That was what made her look different, thought Valkin! Her dark blue suede dress filled with shimmering white stars, made her sparkle and glow. Her moist amber eyes met with Valkin's in an amazing electrical storm of energy that sent shivers down his spine. He stopped short of jiggling them out of his body in an attempt to keep his composure. At the same time, he felt embarrassed recalling his childish behavior, which also grounded his euphoric emotions.

"My name is Melody Griffin." Her voice was surprisingly hoarse but soft and somewhat sad.

Valkin immediately recognized the family name to be one of Sarcodian origin.

"I am the royal Princess of Sarcodia." She did not need to say anymore to confirm Valkin's suspicions.

Valkin then knew exactly who she was. He was never afforded the opportunity to see the royal family, as they always kept a low profile. In fact, it was so low, that the people of Sarcodia never got to see them themselves, apart from Prince Bartholomew who was well known amongst the Bellorians for his good work in knight education and training. Valkin forgot to bow and only realized it after Princess Melody had already sat down. He quickly stood up bumping his leg on the table's edge.

She and the others laughed silently at him.

He felt very embarrassed at that moment. He began to wonder when he would ever get another chance to make a good impression to her but he had to save that thought for later. This bubble that he found himself in momentarily shielded him from the harsh reality surrounding his abduction.

"Now that the introductions have been taken care off, we can officially start this meeting, Raven," motioned Vallentor.

That was the cue for Raven to conduct the next item on the agenda. He stood up and walked over to the side of the wall where a string lever was suspended from the ceiling. He pulled on it lightly and part of the wall flipped over revealing a map of the true lands concealed behind it.

Valkin was amazed as he scrutinized the vast map. He never saw a true map of the lands before for no maps were permitted in Bellor and Sarcodia. He never knew about the true vastness of the lands until this very moment. He looked carefully at the old, brown discolored map of the world and saw many strange names, names he never heard of. He listened carefully to Raven's deep voice as he spoke.

"This illustrates the war front. We are situated here, right in the centre of it!" Raven used a polished pointing stick to indicate their position on the map, which was more or less right in the centre. "The Sarcodians will launch their attack against us from our north western border."

Valkin leaned back into his disturbed chair with more shock. 'War! What war,' he thought? 'The Sarcodians are going to war against the barbarians, for what,' he wondered.

"It is likely that King Braithwaite will seek an alliance with King Bellorus and the venomous Serpentines. Finally, as he ventures north, he will ally with new order kingdoms of Gillmanor and Razortor in an attempt to finally destroy our beloved kingdom." Raven paused and took a deep breath before he returned to Vallentor's side. "We will practically have to face the kingdoms of Lataria once again as we have done so, many years ago. This information was kindly provided by Princess Melody for which we are deeply grateful. Marve, over to you," motioned Raven as he bowed and sat down.

Valkin glanced at Melody with a surprised look upon his face.

She did not notice him for she was listening intently to what Raven was saying.

Marve stood up and picked up from where Raven had left off. "We suspect an attack within three to four months!"

Everyone stirred uneasily in their seats and suddenly became very tense after that declaration. "It won't take him long to establish those alliances and once he does, we will not be able to defeat him! If we do not hurry, Valkin's training will not be complete in time. Tereartre over to you," motioned Marve.

Valkin did not quite register what Marve had just said. It took him a few moments to but when he eventually did, a look of complete horror and disbelief overcame his face. He finally understood the very crux of the matter. Not even in his wildest dreams, did he ever contemplate the idea of being involved in any kind of warfare. He was baffled and scared. He was sweating buckets and breathing heavily. His body language was not good.

Vallentor immediately spotted this but decided not to stop the meeting.

Valkin held his head scratching it profusely in confusion.

Marve concluded and sat down allowing Tereartre to pick up from where he left off. "The Werethall Wolfriders are at your service," pledged Tereartre with his fist against his green armor plated chest.

Vallentor nodded in appreciation. Vallentor then joined the discussion. "I thank you friends, for your allegiance in these dark times. I believe that they will not launch a first incursion from the forests. It will be too tedious and costly. Knowing King Braithwaite, he will rather gather his full strength and then march to Hallucagenia. However, if that incursion comes, it will be very difficult for us to contend with and defend our kingdom successfully from both sides. Having half the army attacking from the south and rest from the north gives me nightmares during the day. I hate to say it friends but if that day should ever come, it would be nothing short of a barbaric massacre! For now, as a precautionary measure, the northwestern side of Hallucagenia must be strengthened. Every minute is precious now! I suggest we start our training immediately. Anything else before we close?" Vallentor looked around and saw that no one else had anything to say. The attendees were all satisfied and knew exactly what was expected of them, except for Valkin.

He was still confused and he could not help it any more. He needed to know what his purpose was in this whole ordeal and he needed to know right now.

Vallentor was about to close the meeting. "Well, if there's nothing else, in that case this meeting is..."

"Sir...!" replied Valkin standing up. "I mean Vallentor, I'm just very eager to know how exactly I will be of service to you in this upcoming war. I mean uh, holding a sickle and cutting grass isn't exactly the same as killing!"

"Haha! You really want to know why you are here, Valkin? I could say, that is up to you to find out my young friend but I'm going to be completely honest with you Valkin and throw you further into the deepest, darkest waters you have ever swam in because honestly, I'm not sure myself. However, I'm sure that your purpose will reveal itself to you by the end of this chapter in your life."

"Thanks, Vallentor," replied Valkin thinking that that was no help to him whatsoever.

"I think that should be all for today. Friends, if you will excuse both Valkin and myself," requested Vallentor.

The other members bowed and left the room alone. The doors closed and Vallentor sat down next to Valkin. "I know all that has transpired thus far is a little too much for your young and fragile mind Valkin, but I need you to understand that what you are about to experience is going to be beyond your imagination. I want you to see that I did not abduct you; I actually recruited you. The sooner you accept the reality, the easier it will be for you to live through it. I must concede that the unknown variables in this equation are too many to contemplate. My men won't admit it, but there is no guarantee that we will be able to defend ourselves against the full might of King Braithwaite when it comes and believe you me, it is coming! However, the answers to the questions you ask are within you at this very moment but you may have chosen not to see them. The barriers that we and others place upon ourselves can be major obstacles in realizing our dreams, hopes and aspirations."

Valkin dropped his head in guilt but raised it up again to listen more.

"I pulled you away from your life to show you the truth and so that you could begin your search and in this search, I hope you will find what you are looking for Valkin. You do realize that you are looking for something, everyone is. Very few actually succeed in finding what they were looking for in life but you will know when you find it, whatever it is, you wish to find. Valkin, I cannot ask you to trust me but I do hope that I can earn your trust in time. Do not worry Valkin, you will see your mother again, that I promise you. For now, you are going to need all the strength you can summon."

Valkin looked up at Vallentor and nodded understanding his wishes.

Vallentor sensed that he wanted to ask another question.

"This King Braithwaite, why is he so interested in destroying Hallucagenia?"

"He was one of the conspirators that led the rest of the treacherous council of Lataria to dissolution to turn their backs on unity and embrace the split-kingdom idealogy. More than that, he is one of the most cunning kings whose tactical skills go far beyond that of any mortal man. He is also a high-knight and one of the most feared warriors alive. He is strong, extremely strong, and if you ever meet him Valkin, do not be deceived by his cheerfulness for the chances are that he would already know who you are and what your agenda is. As for why is he so interested in Hallucagenia, we do not know for sure at this stage. Not even Melody, his own daughter knows. What we do know is that he has the entire southeastern side of the lands under his control and it is just a matter of time before he gains the north east too. Once that happens, he will be unstoppable. I hope that before that happens; we will be able to stop him. I can tell you one thing though; he is a man of honor! He is not after wealth. It is never that simple with King Braithwaite."

"Is he perhaps waging a war against you because you kidnapped his daughter?" asked Valkin with a cheeky smile upon his face.

Vallentor chuckled and looked down with some guilt. "Not a chance! She is a defector, but who knows. I tried to read her mind, but it has been extremely difficult to do so."

Valkin was surprised that Vallentor could not read Princess Melody's mind when he could so easily read his when they first met.

"I'm not sure why."

Then, there was a gentle knock on the door. Vallentor looked at the door, and so did Valkin who went to open it out of courtesy.

"NO! VALKIN, WAIT!" shouted Vallentor.

Suddenly, the meeting room door blasted open sending deadly shards of wood towards Vallentor and Valkin.

Vallentor quickly pushed Valkin aside shielding him and himself from the splintered pieces of hurtling wood that struck and lodged themselves deep into his left arm. The dust from the explosion settled to reveal a small, cloaked figure dressed in mystic blue. It was Melody! Valkin looked up in horror as he watched her walk coolly walk towards Vallentor who was about to withdraw his sword from his sheath. At that moment, she suddenly disappeared! Valkin could not see her as he scanned the room. Vallentor, on the other hand, could. He could see her movements clearly. She suddenly appeared right next to Vallentor grasping his hand preventing him from drawing his sword. Vallentor retaliated with a left hook to Melody's face who dodged the attack by doing the splits. She punched Vallentor square in the stomach and then stood up, head butting him square in the mouth sending his lower jaw hard up into the roof of his mouth. Vallentor's head gyrated backwards.

Valkin caught a glimpse of Vallentor staggering backwards. Then, all he saw was the fireplace exploding sending out roaring tongues of flame and ash. What had happened was Vallentor had grappled with Melody and sent her hurtling into the fireplace after her attack on him. Vallentor then motioned Valkin to stay back.

Valkin could see the chimney wall begin to slowly crack.

Melody was breaking her way through it with bare punches. Her cloak was fireproof which protected her against the searing heat that surrounded her body.

Vallentor told Valkin to head for the doorway, which momentarily shifted his attention off the wall for just a second allowing Melody to execute a precisely timed punch through the wall which sent a block of it towards Vallentor hitting him hard in the face and chest. The blow sent him to the ground giving her the window of opportunity she was looking for and that was to go after her real target, Valkin. She drew her sterling short sword and was prepared herself to pierce the flesh of a backtracking Valkin.

Valkin was almost at the door, but he knew he was not going to make it and so he leaped forward in an attempt to get out of harms way, which he did but now he was flat on the ground, vulnerable to the finishing blow.

Melody stamped her boot on his neck choking him and said with cold, low voice, "I am sorry, please forgive me." Before lifting her sword, Valkin closed his eyes expecting to feel the unimaginable pain of a sword piercing his flesh.

When suddenly, he heard a loud gasp of air and felt the body of Melody fall lifelessly to the ground beside him.

The dark figure of Vallentor stood above Valkin with a clenched fist. Vallentor had hit her so hard in the kidneys, that it took the wind out of her causing her to lose consciousness immediately. He held out a helping hand out to Valkin and lifted him up from the wreckage of what was once their meeting room. The fireplace was destroyed and so was the triangular table. Fortunately, the maps were saved being stored in the ceiling of the room. The rest of the war relics were scattered around the remains of the room whilst part of the curtains had just caught on fire.

Tereartre was first on the scene, soon followed by Marve and Raven and the Hallucen guard which put out the blaze that ruined the curtains.

Marve shook his head in disbelief. "I knew that woman was crazy! If looks could kill, she would be it!"

"You got that right," smiled Vallentor. "Clean up the mess please. I'm off to the healing quarters." With wooden splinters a foot long lodged in his right arm, Vallentor turned to Valkin and said, "Anyway, have great evening Valkin and welcome to Hallucagenia, Kingdom of the Barbarians."

Valkin bowed and looked at Tereartre Levon in disbelief whilst Raven and Marve began to clean up. They fastened chains around Melody's disarmed hands and legs to contain her.

Valkin continued to look at Tereartre for a response and then turned away to look at the devastated room. He then tried to communicate with Tereartre through his mind. "Vallentor could not read her mind. Could you Tereartre?"

Tereartre bent down and looked at her and tried to read her mind before Raven and Marve carted her away to the Hallucen prison. He closed his eyes and placed his hands over her pale face. He then peered into it her mind and saw only raging flames. He quickly opened his eyes and looked up in deep thought.

Valkin was eager to know what Tereartre had seen within Melody's mind. "What have you seen Tereartre?"

"We will discuss it when the appropriate time comes. For now, get some rest!" Valkin was exhausted and was escorted by Raven to his quarters.

Raven decided to give Valkin some rest. As soon as he had arrived, he jumped onto the bed and he fell asleep slipping into a dream world.

"Screaming! I can hear the screams! The pain, there is too much. The people outside their houses did not survive the powerful wrath of the war. The hay of the farms was burning now with rage. Panic and pandemonium ran freely amongst the poor children who were trampled in the chaos. The haze of fire and blood caused a flurry of confusion. Then, a blue sword was drawn and doused the flames neutralizing its ferocity. His golden-white wings of peace countered the raging fires of the dark riders. What the riders were was a mystery but whatever they were was very real, too much for one angel to withstand all by himself. The dark leader, undoubtedly the strongest, then attacked the warrior named, Valgelius. The fire-orange and blue swords clashed with mighty fury causing a disorientated Valgelius to stagger backwards and destroy the kingdom's great black gates! The dark warrior advanced forward striking Valgelius down but Valgelius quickly recovered and returned with a mighty side slash that chopped the darkness into two. Four subordinates remained and angrily launched a colossal attack but were soon defeated at the hands of the warped angel. Nonetheless, many lives were lost and many homes were destroyed in this war. Valgelius did not possess the power to bring those people back but he knew that after every disaster, they could still rebuild life again, but under whose watch...

#  The training begins

Valkin somehow instinctively knew that it was time to get up. He took a deep breath as he opened his eyes. His body was aching all over and he had a massive headache as he remembered yesterday's intensely eventful meeting. The morning's sunlight lit up his cream room even more blinding him. Surprisingly, his bed sheets remained relatively clean after yesterday's ordeal so the scrubbing the day before did the trick. 'Yesterday!' Valkin thought. "Oh gosh, how long was I out for! Shit, shit shit!" He quickly washed his face and found some familiar looking attire on the table in front of his bed. They were all black in color and resembled the outfits that Raven and Marve wore; in fact, they were an exact replicate. He quickly slipped them on and admired himself in the golden-framed mirror placed across from his bed. He had not shaved for many days now and was beginning to look very rough. Perhaps, that was the look that Raven and Marve, his prospective trainers, wanted him to portray. However, the knife-shaving blade left beside his washing bowl suggested otherwise. He took the blade and some soap that was left for him on the table and walked back to the mirror and shaved of his facial hair with delicate swipes of the razor. He rubbed his face and liked what he saw in the mirror. He splashed some scented water on his face and then was ready to push off. Just as he finished, the door knocked. He threw the towel onto the bed and walked towards the door opening it to find Princess Melody standing with a tray of breakfast waiting for an invitation to enter. He had a look of horror upon his face and staggered backwards hitting the table and falling over it helplessly. 'This crazy bitch is back to get me,' he thought. His shirt was off revealing his well-defined abdominal muscles for Melody to admire now. "If there's anything I've done to offend you princess, for what it's worth, I'm sorry!"

Melody blankly stared back at Valkin with hardly any emotion on her face.

"Good morning Valkin. I hope I am not disturbing you. I brought some food for you," greeted Melody very happily without a care in the world and seemingly without any recollection for what she did yesterday.

"A very good morning to you too Melody, I beg your pardon, Princess Melody or should I say Princess assassin," replied Valkin feeling extremely angry that she chose not to remember the finer details of her attempts to kill him yesterday. She walked in, left the tray of food on the table, and turned around to face a very red, rage-filled Valkin. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as she walked towards to the door giving him a sidewards glance filled with malice. The beautiful but deadly princess was dressed in a striking red dress today.

"Pardon me Valkin, yesterday I was just following orders and I'm ashamed to say, I was extremely sloppy yesterday," she replied as she gave him a punch square into his exposed belly.

Valkin choked as he held his vulnerable stomach. He quickly recovered and they both sized each other up and he wondered about whether she was really the daughter of King Braithwaite and why she was contracted to kill him only.

"How's the body?" she asked in a sarcastic manner.

"Still hurting!" replied Valkin with a wry smile. She laughed in a shrill and sinister manner.

"Oh, you are so lucky to be alive, and if it weren't for these shackles, I would have easily dispatched you right now."

Valkin was utterly confused. 'What shackles! He saw no shackles around her. She was completely free, or was she,' he thought. Her hands were actually bound and so were her legs by an invisible force.

This force was emanating from the imposing six-foot figure of Raven standing just outside the room. He was encharged with making sure that Melody did nothing stupid and with finding as much about her plan as possible by keeping her on a short leash.

Melody then walked away towards the window in silent contemplation to herself and then she began to speak again. "My father is an evil man and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. You do not know him, Valkin. The others think they know him but they are sadly mistaken. He is evil and corrupted! He was once a good man, kind and caring, but no more. If you must know, Gillmanor is much more valuable to Sarcodia as an ally than Razortor. Razortor is strong but Gillmanor has more men and resources. Gillmanor's son is Prince Michael and heir to the throne."

Valkin was beginning to see where Princess Melody was going with this. "Hey listen uh, what's it Melody," replied Valkin with no respect whatsoever. "Gillmanor, Razortor, whatever! I do not even know these places. Yah, I get it! If you marry this Michael, character, despite your own wishes, your father will cement the alliance, Bla! Bla! Bla! Who cares! Where does trying to kill me fit into this story? In fact, everybody is trying to kill me. You people are crazy!" replied Valkin with a need for answers.

"So you do have a brain after all," replied Melody in a very sarcastic manner.

Valkin drew closer to Melody, gritted his teeth, clenched his fists and lowered his voice. His current dispensation of anger and confidence was in stark contrast to their earlier encounter they had where he was nervous and shy.

Melody could feel some strange feeling emanating from him, so much so, that she began to uncharacteristically shiver. She had never experienced this feeling before in her entire life. She was always the boss! She was always in control!

Valkin came up uncomfortably close to her and looked as if he was going to hit the crap out of her.

Raven was about to step in when Valkin simply replied, "And I do not have any sympathy for anyone who tries to kill me."

Raven breathed a sigh of relief as Valkin drew back.

Raven had feared the worst and did not want Valkin to damage their one source of vital information.

Princess Melody bowed her head in understanding as she turned around slowly. "Suit yourself, you inconsiderate bastard!" She slowly moved towards the window once again as if it were the promise of her freedom.

Suddenly, everything that Valkin saw happened in slow motion. The wind blew in, swirling ever so slightly as it ruffled her deadly red dress. Valkin suddenly noticed in a new light.

Melody then faced him and walked right up to him. She leaned forward sending a million little bolts of lightning down his spine again and gently brought her soft pink lips, which were sweeter than the best wines, to his clean-shaven cheek and kissed him.

Valkin was stunned and dazzled in an array of showers and stars as the fireworks display in his mind erupted and slowly fizzled out. He had never been kissed before by a real woman and by such an electrifyingly beautiful one at that! He was overcome with a light-headed sensation, which caused his knees to become weak and unsteady and eventually he lost consciousness slumping to the ground.

Melody smiled and turned to face Raven waiting by the door. She walked over the sleeping body of Valkin and past Raven giving him a deadly stare, which he returned with a blank look of resolute firmness.

After Valkin regained consciousness a few moments later, he found that Melody and Raven had left the room.

The door knocked again.

Marve opened it this time. The visage of Marve was a welcoming sight for Valkin. "Valkin! What are doing on the floor little brother?" asked Marve with his hands on hips in confusion.

"Marve, is it possible to be completely confused and angry at the same time?"

Marve walked over to him and lifted him up dusting him as he did. "You've been talking to the woman haven't you? Ah! I see! You and Raven both suffer from the same disease."

Valkin shook his head to allow his senses to return to him. He wondered whatever Marve was talking about.

"Yes, the love bug, potent, addictive and almost incapacitating as you've just demonstrated. Haha! But I'm glad you survived your encounter with Murderer! I mean Melody. Beware my young student! They will kiss you! They will sleep with you! They may even tell you they love you, but only they will get up the next morning and that's when you know, you just got killed by an assassin! Too many good men have fallen in that manner. Let us not add another to the list please, ok Valkin?" Marve chuckled.

"Right!" Valkin smiled.

"I think it's about time to leave. Hey, by the way, the outfit looks good on you."

"You think so? I'm still very nervous about this whole ordeal." Valkin was very nervous indeed and understandably so.

"Sure, anyone that looks the way we do, looks good but looks are not everything, right!"

Valkin looked at Marve and smiled. "I hope so," he chuckled.

The two left the bedroom and proceeded to the waiting area just in front of the entrance to the royal hut where Vallentor and Tereartre were already waiting. The doors were opened and the morning sunlight filtered in through the doorway with the hope of success.

Valkin and Marve greeted them and awaited their orders. They were to be joined by Raven who arrived soon after placing Princess Melody with the Hallucen guard. Raven was all set and ready to go! As the three were about to leave, Vallentor stopped Valkin and held his shoulders.

Valkin turned around to face the Hallucen king.

"All the best, young man! Until we meet again, train hard! Your life depends on it!" Vallentor winked his eyes.

"I will!" replied a very determined Valkin who then walked on with Raven and Marve.

Vallentor turned to Tereartre who watched Valkin walk away. "Do you think he has any idea that the Sarcodians could attack us at any time?" asked Vallentor.

"No," replied Tereartre. "Good thing we chose not tell him. Imagine what he would do, if he knew that he didn't have three months to kill!" Tereartre tapped Vallentor on his shoulders and retreated to the royal hut.

Vallentor gave him an awkward sideways stare and wondered what he was insinuating.

"Do not worry," replied Raven who was walked on Valkin's left-hand side. "We are going to keep you very busy!" He smiled a mischievious smile as they walked on making their way onto the bluestone gravel pathway. The three warriors left the royal hut as the golden gates closed behind them.

Melody looked on as Valkin walked closely behind Raven and Marve making their way to the gravel road next to the farms surrounding the royal hut.

Valkin panted as he followed his masters.

Melody silently wished him luck and was taken away to the Hallucen prison. She did not understand these feelings of deep pity that she felt for him, nor did she understand why she was so sloppy. Twenty-one kills out of twenty-one missions, but this twenty-second one eluded her for reasons unknown. 'Perhaps, Vallentor's presence distracted me' she thought. That could not have been it, she thought. 'Vallentor was going easy on me. Why was he going easy on me?' As she walked a solitary walk towards the Hallucen prison, all the burning questions enraged in the tunnel of her mind which was fast narrowed into a single gate that was about to shut her out from the answers that lay in the free world.

Valkin felt as if he was stalked by a determined hawk. He turned around expecting to see it swoop down upon him, but nothing came. He shook his head and then refocused his attention back to his teachers.

#  Enter the Black Gates

The three warriors exited the circle of farms and made their way to the charcoal black gates that concealed something very important! The gates and walls that surrounded them were fifty feet high.

Valkin had never seen gates nor walls that high. It was something that he had completely missed in his voyage through the air upon Rufor's back on his way into the kingdom. He did not miss it now as they approached the gates on foot. The air was dry today and his undying thirst was exacerbated by a untimely parched throat which he desperately tried to solve with swirls ever diminishing saliva.

Cold, grey ashblock walls were solidly fixed into the muddy ground. The strong foundation was at least thirty foot deep or more with the forces of gravity and the unforgiving battering of the Hallucen kingdom's weather that pulled down upon the wall. The steel gates were painted black and joined tightly to the walls with massive hinges that were knocked into the heart of the wall. With those hinges clawing upon the gate, the fifty-foot gate was going nowhere.

Valkin gazed long and hard at the wall as he drew closer and began to examine it, he saw many gaping holes that were not obvious from a distance. They were patched up with concrete and ashblock in a very hurried manner but clearly rock hardened by time and the sun's unforgiving rays. He wondered what could have blasted holes through a solid six-foot thick wall. An uncontrollable torrent of goosebumps flooded his entire body causing his minute hairs upon his hands to suddenly awake from their slumber and stand erect and at attention. He knew not what lay before but he knew that he had to keep on moving forward.

Raven stood beside Valkin with an emotionless look upon his face. He bent his body and creaked forward to also examine the patched holes and then looked up taking in a deep breath of regret recollecting the events that put those holes there. He then smiled awkwardly at Valkin and then motioned for him to go to the very belly of the black gate.

Valkin stared at the length of the large black gate before him not knowing what lay beyond it.

Raven turned to very apprehensive and weary Valkin who swallowed hard. "Are you ready?"

Valkin slowly, reluctantly nodded in agreement to Raven. He could feel a tingling sensation well up in his stomach as Raven shouted to the gate master on the other side to open the gates.

The gate master was protected with scant barbarian bracelets, which covered his elbows and knees. A tempered steel gauntlet and vambrace covered both his muscular elbows with wisps of Bararg fur embued around the edges for comfort. Two stiff pauldrons instead of the more common one completed the gate master's armory. However, the real strength of a barbarian lied within a fire that resisted death by dousing, that raged in the face of certain defeat that was fuelled by the strength within. The gate master, in turn, shouted for the gates to be opened. He grappled the large levers with his bare hands and the dusty pulleys began to crack and turn as the large gates slowly creaked open. The deafening pops of the heavily reinforced gates were almost unbearable.

Valkin covered his ears with his hands fashioned into soundproof cups.

Raven and Marve smiled and just stood there waiting. As the gates opened ever so slowly, Valkin picked up the faint sounds of heavy metals clanging and emotive shouts here and there. These sounds grew louder and louder as the gates were now almost halfway open. It was a dusty environment, the land beyond the gates. It was very busy. He could now see the barbarian warriors hard at work.

They did not see him until the gates were fully opened. At that moment, the barbarians closest to the gates downed their tools to get a glimpse of the new stranger entering the arena. They heard so much about his arrival but no details were provided, only the scant chants of a name to wet their apetites with starters. So, when Valkin finally entered Training Grounds, as it was called, they took the opportunity to relish the main course that was laid out for them.

Valkin looked ahead and saw literally thousands of warriors sparring, training, and toughening up themselves.

Some warriors were meditatively seated in deep meditation. Those warriors did not move an inch when the gates opened. Their spirits it seemed were somewhere else entirely and not within the training grounds. All the barbarians were protected in a similar manner compared to the gate master with the exception of having a single pauldron with a bloodied spike jutting out from it. The bloodstains on the pauldron extended all the way down the cliff of barbarian oblique muscles to meet a leather belt that held up a rustic brown Bararg trunks. Two strong, proud pauldrons slung across each warrior's shoulders, were held across their chests with a leather strap that was clipped onto their Bararg trunks.

"Welcome Valkin, to the training grounds of the barbarians," replied Raven to an awestruck Valkin.

Valkin was amazed at what he saw, up until the point that an ashblock, the size of his own head struck his head, knocking him out cold.

One of the barbarians working the walls slowly creeped over the wall. His lizard-body peeped over just enough for his head to become visible for Raven and Marve to see.

Marve threw his hands up in defeat. "COME ON! Will you watch where you are throwing that stuff or you are going to get someone killed."

Valkin slowly stirred as his slumberous bear-body rumbled to life once again. He shook the whirlwind out of his head as he stood up with raised fists ready to take on anything that stood before him.

Raven appeared and Valkin took a loose swing at him missing and falling over.

Raven helped him to his feet. "Whoa, young warrior! It is I, your friend, Raven, remember."

Valkin blinked his eyes and then wiped away the dust that obscured his vision. "What happened?" asked a dazed and bewildered Valkin.

"You got hit on the head," replied Raven.

"What! Already, has the war started?" Valkin was dazed as he entertained mysterious constellations of stars and nebula around his visage in broad daylight until he suddenly saw a gigantic star and felt the pain of being slapped hard back to his planet by the hand of Marve. He blinked and continued the tour as if nothing had happened but something did happen.

Raven was busy inspecting the one and a half by one and a half foot ashblock that struck Valkin's head. He quickly motioned for some barbarians watching nearby to come whisk away the two pieces of the ashblock that were cleanly broken by an unintended Valkin head chop. Raven returned to Valkin and Marve to continue the tour.

"The grounds were essentially a gigantic circular barracks constructed for one purpose, to turn the barbarian killing machine and churn out the finest warriors in all the lands."

Valkin stepped forward along with Raven and Marve and was completely blown away with every step he took. The scale at which the barbarians did everything was so much more impressive than he could ever imagine. The barbarian barracks dwarfed that of Bellor's many times over and was imposing and intimidating in nature with hedgehog spikes and spears jutting out from its side. The choice weapons of the barbarian, the double-edged axes, were laid out in neat rows of ten on specially made shelves that were angled backwards at a precise forty-five degrees waiting to be picked up to go to work.

"Welcome to the training grounds, Valkin," replied Raven with a familiar sense of excitement and freshness in his usually strained voice.

Valkin did not answer. He was too stunned to and too preoccupied with his admiration.

Raven and Marve collectively smiled at Valkin's awestruck silence and continued.

The Barbarian training grounds encircled the inner layer of farms that surrounded the royal hut forming two protective layers of fiercesome barbarians. The grounds went right the way around the farms and were protected by another fifty-foot tall ashblock wall with a similar smaller black gate that led to the Pine forests in the south east and to unknown, uncharted regions beyond the borders of Hallucagenia. The black gates that separated them from the forests were the true entrance to Hallucagenia, a single well guarded one too and it times of war, it needed to be.

Valkin admired the enormity and structural excellence imbued into the Hallucen kingdom, which invoked a greater sense of appreciation within him. He felt as though he was beginning to become part of something greater! His crystalline feelings of fear started to dissolve away in the streams and tributaries that led him into the greater ocean of truth. The entire space was dedicated to the sole purpose of war and the preparation thereof.

Raven and Marve's eyes lit up even more at the sight of weapons crafted from the deafening clangs of the blacksmith's hammer against metal to create an amalgamation of weapon construction and extreme training.

As they walked into the flurry of thunderous sparks and vicious combat, the black gates behind them cracked closed with a thunderous clap of finality. The barbarian warriors were overall generally friendly. Each giant greeted Valkin with a slight wave of the hand and as Valkin walked past, he reciprocated with a modest bow of his head and a friendly wave. He noticed that all the barbarians bowed a little lower to Raven and Marve as they walked past and did not bow to the same degree as for him.

As the three warriors continued their march through the Training grounds, they eventually came to a large enclosed square-like structure, which was a singed black in color severely torched by the sun's unforgiving rays. This large black square structure, built from solid black marble, glistened in the morning sunlight. Being a thousand six-hundred square feet in size, the structure was potentially large enough to house some of the most devastating war machinery that the barbarians could muster.

As Valkin walked closer, he could hear the sounds of extreme combat emanating from within this mysterious structure.

Raven and Marve drew closer to drawing the curtains surrounding this structure.

They eventually reached the door and some mystical force started to invoke the curiosity within Valkin. He suddenly wanted to go into the structure.

Raven and Marve smirked to each other with glee upon their childish faces of mischievousness.

Valkin touched the outer walls of the structure, which suddenly began to change in complexion. This chameleon was becoming a dark blue and sunset-orange hue of color embossed with a galaxy of stars that began to move in a trance-like circle of cosmic revolution.

Raven and Marve were struck with wonder at the sight and so were thousands and thousands of barbarians who looked with fear, confusion and ultimately wonder.

Valkin ran his fingers along the wall and as he did, the shades of the cosmos danced around his hands until he found the lines of a doorway. He looked back at his teachers, Raven and Marve for permission to enter.

"After you Valkin," replied Marve. His striking yellow eyes lit up sensing exactly what Valkin was in store for.

Valkin realized that it was neither a joke nor a test and so he opened the door and took a slow, measured step into the darkness. The sounds of fighting that he distinctly heard earlier had immediately stopped as he set foot into an empty, dark room. He scanned the room to see if anyone was lurking in the dark, but there was no one. His brownish black hair tickled his neck in exaggerated excitement! He could have sworn he heard noises of extreme combat, but they had magically disappeared the moment he entered the room. The room was very dark and lit only by four lonely torches that stood as stiff sentries at each corner keeping a watchful eye on anyone who entered the room. There were four small line divisions within the room, each situated next to each other, which together formed the larger square. Each division was about four hundred square feet in area and painted with a dark blue paint that darkened the room even further. The four squares were divided by strong blood-red lines that if crossed, threatened to cleanly hew off any limbs of unwelcome trespassers. The ground was cold and hard and there were no windows leaving the door as the only source of air. The room was already incredibly stuffy, cold and eerie! Valkin wondered whatever went on this room. He wondered how anyone could train in such a room if that was indeed its purpose.

Raven walked to the very centre of the room. "Welcome to the 'Training room' Valkin or as Marve and I like to call it, 'The Room of Pain'. This is where you will be spending the bulk of your time, training and resting," replied Raven.

Valkin swallowed hard resigning to his fate. 'His farmer hardships would pale in comparison to what he was going to go through,' he thought. However, he still felt grateful for those prior hardships, as he knew that it would stand him in good stead in preparation for more. He knew he had to strictly follow the orders of his assassin superiors; judging by the amount of respect the barbarians gave them. He knew he had no choice but to obey or he was as good as dead! He feared the barbarians, and for the barbarians to fear Raven and Marve made him petrified of his teachers. He also feared Princess Melody. She almost took him out and not for supper! All he could do was nod his head in agreement with whatever his teachers said.

Raven signalled to Marve to begin.

This room, these lands then began to seem too much for one nineteen year old to bear all by himself. A thought that ran through Valkin's mind constantly clouded it on every occasion was, what if this was really the end for him?

Marve smiled at Valkin and could see he was struggling with his reality, grappling with the monstrosity of a wrestler called, life! He was deeply scared and Marve could tell. He tried to comfort him.

"Hey brother, relax, we're not going to kill you. If we do that, you will be no good to us and Vallentor would kill us anyway so do not worry, yet!" That little pep talk did not help at all.

"Thanks Marve," replied Valkin trying to hide his feelings of anxious nerves and fear.

"All right then, let's do this! Marve and I aim to teach you three major skills that will save your life and hopefully our lives too. Those three things are speed, strength & knowledge. In your training, the value of these three skills will become clearer to you in time. Right, first on the list, is strength training! You will need to master this before learning anything else. Marve," replied Raven looking to his younger brother to continue where he had left off.

"Indeed! We will also teach you about your surroundings and the creatures that live within it. Raven," replied Marve motioning for his big brother to pick up.

"Over here, you will find weight plates and moulds cast from pure unacceptium, the heaviest and most dangerous metal in our lands. You will use this, as many others have done so before you. The weights are unmarked so you will not know how much you will be lifting. You will also be involved in alternative strength training that does not involve weights. We will get to that during the course of your three-month training period. Marve!"

Valkin nodded and listened carefully, trying to figure out to what end these means were for.

"With regards to speed training, running is the best form! In war, if you cannot fly, you run and you do not stop. As you will be involved in alternate strength training, you will also partake in alternate speed training. At the end of your training, we hope that you will run as fast as a wolf, if not faster. Any questions?"

"Yes, why only running?"

"Good question. One moment, while I discuss this with my big brother." Marve pulled Raven aside and whispered to him trying to maintain his sense of professionalism.

"Why running, Rave?"

Valkin wondered why Marve needed a second opinion from his elder brother on the subject. Surely, it was an easy enough question to answer himself.

The two brothers suspiciously whispered to each other. Raven whispered back to him. "I don't know why Marve! That is what we were taught and that is what we will teach, ok! Ask the master. He told me that we should try something different with this one. For now..." Raven whispered in Marve's ear and then Marve finally returned to answer Valkin's question. "Yes, Valkin, sometimes in a fight, one can be triumphant by running away."

Valkin waited for the punchline but it never came.

"Any other questions?"

"Yes, about the environmental aspects, what does that entail?" asked Valkin. He felt he needed to siphon, as much information from the death brothers as he could before the training began for fear that he may not get a second chance.

"May I?" replied Raven to Marve.

"Be my guest," replied Marve to his big brother.

"Good question. You will have a special teacher who will teach all you need to know in time. It is still morning. I suggest we get a move on it!"

Valkin reluctantly agreed.

Raven clapped his hands.

The ground suddenly began to rattle and shake and from beneath the ground, a dark ebony coloured cupboard appeared. Its two doors violently swung open revealing a set of unacceptium weights and a six-foot long bar.

Valkin looked at the weights and felt he was strong, and that he could lift them.

The three pairs of weights increased in size and weight. The slithery bar, which was used to place the weights on, leaned against the cupboard. It was quite an advanced system for training, which Valkin had never seen before. He scrutinized the weights and the bar and then, without warning or a briefing, the cold bar flew into the air and hit him across the forehead.

"Ouch!" yelped a confused and frantic Valkin.

Raven and Marve desperately tried to control their overflowing laughter which was about to burst the banks of hysteria.

Valkin's reddened forehead was enlarged with embarrassment as he vociferously rubbed it trying to dissipate the growing pains. "What the...!" Before Valkin could finish his reply, the bar struck him again with lightning-speed. This time, his back suffered an unforgiving blow. Valkin arched his back, sticking out his torso in an effort to stem the pain that flowed downwards into his lower back muscles and glutes. He grimaced in pain and screeched helplessly as the bar pummeled him blow after blow.

After ten solid blows, the bar stopped hitting the curled up, helpless Valkin and rested itself on the floor in just front of him. His body was battered and bruised and became tender with an evergrowing pulsating heartbeat of pain that lit the hairs on his head on fire. He peeped through the keyhole of his hands to see if it was safe to drop his guard and then.

Whack!

He was hit square on the head. This blow incapacitated him completely as his tree-body fell backwards upon the cold dark blue ground, which suddenly changed into a body of ocean-blue water. He found himself suddenly awake long before the birds could hover around his hurt head. He also found himself drowning within a dark blue pool that had just appeared. The penetration of light from above illuminated the darkness that surrounded him. Then, he saw a sinister splash in the distance.

It was the bar!

He could just make out the rough edges that glinted in the faint light of the waters.

This shark bar encircled its prey waiting for the most opportune time to strike.

Valkin was scared but deep down he knew that he had to confront it. He charged forward towards the bar with powerful strokes of his hind legs, a move that the bar did not expect. Nonetheless, it reciprocated Valkin's defiant rebuttal letter towards it. Valkin had not taken a breath and as he swam, he realized the folly of his choice.

The bar seemed faster underwater as opposed to the air. It toyed with Valkin darting around him, sizing him up for the kill.

Valkin gasped releasing his final bit of air and then surrendered to the surface for a gulp before being pulled under by what appeared to be shark.

The bar had transformed into a shark! Valkin was confused and terrified as he was dragged under by a twenty-foot long shark. His legs were numbed and his hands were immobilized by the huge gaping mouth of razor sharp teeth that into his body. The bar then began to crush Valkin slowly and painfully.

Valkin's gurgled screams underwater were met no emotion from his teachers' gazes. They just stood there and did nothing to help him!

Valkin quickly realized that he was his own savior and he began push out his arm.

The bar's teeth stuck further into his flesh but Valkin did not care. He needed to get out right now! His air supply was running low again and so was his energy but still, he kept on pushing extending his arms more and more outwards. Inch by inch, he began to shift the bear trap grip on his body.

The eyeless bar expressed some surprise for the first time in its strange existence as Valkin began to push its mouth awkwardly outwards. It decided that it had enough and wanted to release its grip upon Valkin but it was too late for it to do so. In its egotistic show of brute force, it now found itself being the prisoner as opposed to Valkin for Valkin's outward push caused its teeth to become permanently lodged within Valkin's rigid body.

Valkin found the strength from the depths of his undying soul and gave a final outward thrust, which broke the jaws of the shark and of the bar.

The ocean dissipated into whirlwind that swirled upwards into the dark roof of training room and mysteriously disappeared leaving only an exhausted, soaking wet Valkin and a lifeless bar beside him.

Raven looked at Marve and smiled.

Marve on the other hand was not too happy. He reached deep down into his empty pockets and pulled out single zafrith coin, looked at it and before he began to cry, he tossed over to Raven who elegantly caught it with a smug smile upon his face.

The two assassins then waltzed up to the wet Valkin who stirred from his slumber blinking his weary eyes wondering where he was. He then peered up at Raven who extended a helping hand, which Valkin gladly received. Raven hoisted Valkin up to his feet.

Valkin puffed some air out with relief and looked at his body. He was unharmed. His body was perfectly fine. He then looked the bar, which lay lifeless next to him and wondered exactly what it was, panting heavily shaking the water out of his furry, wet body.

"Mmm! I see Amalgar has finally accepted you, Valkin. He usually kills anyone who tries to wield him and considers himself one of the more lenient brothers in the family."

A depiction of horror filled Valkin's face as he looked back at the seemingly lifeless bar which then rose from the dead to stand before him.

"He wants you to wield him!"

Valkin reluctantly extended his arms outwards to wield the forbidden bar trying not to allow his teachers to see his closed eyes. He looked at Amalgar, did a little prayer in his mind, and then held it with his eyes still closed. He only opened his eyes after he heard Raven and Marve's claps. 'Maybe there was hope after all for this farmboy afterall,' they thought.

"Great stuff Valkin! You have gained the respect of Amalgar, the fearless! That is huge!"

Valkin got very happy at Raven's declaration but his happiness was shortlived.

Raven looked at Amalgar giving it the go-ahead to impose its full weight upon Valkin which it did. Amalgar's two-hundred and twenty pound weight came crashing down to the floor dragging Valkin along with it.

Valkin's face suddenly became puffy as he strained his eyes wondering whatever did he do to deserve this punishment.

"Since you cannot lift any weights yet, you are going to have to strengthen yourself with Amalgar for now. So, what we want you to do is lift Amalgar from the floor above your head until lunch time, which is approximately two hours from now. Oh yes, we want at least four hundred repetitions! Fire away Valkin!" Raven and Marve then stepped outside for a smoke of winged tulipa puffing out pretty bufferflies and flowers leaving the door slightly ajar to watch Valkin suffer in their unforgiving peripheral vision. They were counting as well.

Valkin's aching muscles strained as he struggled just to keep Amalgar off the ground. He almost fainted but he knew that things do not come easy and so he grinded and gritted his teeth with the will and determination to do more than just four hundred repetitions. He pulled and jerked Amalgar above his head.

That caught Raven and Marve's attention. They didn't think Valkin had the strength to lift Amalgar so easily above his head. They did not know that the grain bags that Valkin use to carry from his farm fields to their storage barn were about a hundred pounds each.

Valkin then pushed Amalgar above his head to complete the repetition. He bent his knees and his back every time to lessen the damage to his already punished body. His black assassin's outfit was soaking wet, which helped counteract the growing sludge of sweat and dirt that soon overcame his body. He could feel his entire body groaning and crunching as a rusty, old machine that struggled to get going. He got to fifty repetitions in no time but his shoulders started to give up and his stomach started to ache and groan as well as he felt both, the hunger of victory and food. His arms were a wobbly jelly and his body was sweating uncontrollably buckets of water. The heat of the room did not help either. That is why they called it the 'Room of Pain,' because that is all that Valkin was feeling right now.

Raven and Marve then made themselves comfortable on bale of hay and watched on as Valkin suffered to his hundredth repetition. Marve turned to Raven. "Should we give him a break or break him? I say we break him! That is what Vallentor wants, that is what he is going to get."

"I agree! I want to see how long he can go. Besides, the longer he goes, the better it will be for him and I am curious to see if he can beat Bolstein's record of three hundred. Haha! He only has another two hundred to go. Wanna take a bet, Marve?"

Bolstein was Raven and Marve's best bar student. He was strong and fast!

"You know how much I hate betting, Raven!"

"Why! Because, you always lose. Haha!"

Valkin had a clear view of his two masters before him. They were talking happily, waging bets. It angered him so much so that he managed to squeeze out fifty more repetitions pushing the tally up to one hundred and fifty now.

Raven could see that Valkin was getting angry and he felt that it was serious breach of his training style and so he had to intervene. He never allowed any of his students to do train out of anger. He always emphasized the power of will and intrinsic motivation over anger. Both Raven and Marve stepped back into the room.

"Don't mind us," said Marve. "We are here but not here." Raven walked closer to Valkin and looked right at him.

"Keep going Valkin. I saw the anger flair up in your eyes just now."

Valkin looked at Raven with a guilty face, Amalgar still in hands and body sweating.

"Do not worry, it is normal, but I cannot allow you to fuel your training with anger, for anger can never be controlled at your level, not yet anyway." Raven encircled Valkin, as a bear that wished to coach him.

Valkin continued to push Amalgar but absorbed every word that Raven spoke in low, deep measured tone.

Raven then faced him again with fiery yellow eyes. "Would you mind if your trainers join?"

Valkin's eyes widened with excitement! He quickly nodded accepting the unexpected invitation.

Both Raven and Marve back-flipped simultaneously, crouched low to the ground, which changed its complexion into earthy brown colour. They were about ten feet away from the entrance, in a very unusual stance that resembled a great ape calling for a battle against his rival.

Valkin did not notice this, for his back was facing them.

Suddenly, at the end of the room, two large storage cupboards appeared from beneath the ground. They were painted black and virtually invisible to the naked eye with the poor light at hand. These black cupboards contained two sets of extra bars and weights and an entire arsenal of other weapons. The bars and weights are what the brothers were looking. They continued their strange stance and now both bowed their heads.

Valkin wondered what in the world they were up to behind him. He just continued his training for fear of being shouted at. During all the commotion, he forked out an extra fifty repetitions bringing his tally to two hundred repetitions now. His body was sweating profusely soaking his hot black warrior clothes and his heart was pumping hard. He could hear every agonizing heartbeat, "da da dump, da da dump!" He knew he was reaching his maximum output and eventually grinded to a halt. That was it for Valkin! His session was over! He could not lift Amalgar anymore.

The defiant bar just did not want to go up no matter how hard he tried.

He was losing his grip and nothing was going to stop him from letting go now and once he let go, that was it, he would have to start again!

Faint shock waves then appeared and shuddered through the air surging towards the storage cupboards. Then, without warning, the cupboard doors burst open exposing the weapons within.

Valkin did not bother to turn around. The blasting of the doors opening were enough for him to sense that something was happening.

Then, the brothers changed their stance leaning their bodies backwards making distinct pulling gestures with both hands.

Suddenly, the two bars within the cupboard started to quiver and shake the entire cupboard. Then, the bars charged forward through the air right into the brothers' hands with almost lightning speed. The brothers held their respective bars parallel to the ground in front of their bodies for a few seconds and then proceeded to spin them around their bodies finally bringing them to a halt at their sides with one end pointing forward. They then pushed their bars forward with a sudden; jerking motion and half of each set of weights lifted from the base of the cupboard and flew mysteriously into the air. They flew at a much slower pace than the bars did spiralling through the air. They came to a halt perfectly on the one side of the brothers' bars. The brothers then shifted their bars to the opposite sides of their bodies facing the other end of the bar towards the cupboard. The rest of the weights slowly awoke and rose from their dusty base and flew towards them resting flush on the empty side of their bars. The total amount of weight that Raven was lifting amounted to over one thousand five hundred pounds. Marve was just behind his bigger brother with one thousand three hundred on his bar. It was a stark contrast to Valkin's two hundred and twenty!

Valkin looked at how easily they hoisted up the weight. It was an incredible and awesome feat to accomplish. 'It was also impossible,' thought Valkin!

The brothers then lifted their bars with weights high up above their heads with ease. Then, the brothers did something even more amazing! They closed their eyes and let go of the bars simultaneously.

Valkin closed his eyes too expecting the bars to crash upon their heads. When he eventually got round to opening his eyes, he could not believe what he saw.

The bars with their weights were hovering high above the death brothers' heads. Their eyes were open now and their hands held high. Little energy-like shockwaves rippling through the air between the bars and their hands could faintly be made out.

Valkin simply had to get a closer look. The sweat clouded his vision and his torso ached unbearably.

The brothers then brought the weights down and held it tightly in their arms. They looked intensely at Valkin who stared right back at them almost going to collapse.

Raven spoke out just as Valkin was about to give up.

"I believe that we have a hundred and fifty to go!"

Valkin agreed with a smile and newfound energy upon his fatigued face.

Marve and Raven started to lift their weight as well, in perfect sync with Valkin's pace.

Valkin did not realize it yet, but he had soon reached Bolstein's record of three hundred and broke it. In fact, he had utterly smashed it with his newfound strength and was still going strong at three hundred and fifty repetitions.

"COME ON VAL, ONE MORE!!!" shouted Marve.

Valkin was beat and was going to pass out. It was almost noon and he was very hungry. Every muscle and every sinew in his body was worn out. He felt as though everything in his body was torn and stretched but he gritted his teeth and trudged on ahead. A puddle of sweat had formed around him, which had dripped into his black boots soaking his socks, making him reek of disgust. His mother was constantly on his mind. Every thought of his mother urged him on towards another repetition. He finally eked out one more repetition until his body finally gave in. He lost consciousness and was falling over to the ground.

Raven instinctively dropped his weight to the ground before Valkin crashed into it. Without detection, Raven traversed the distance between himself and Valkin with lightning speed in order to catch him.

Marve also lunged forward and caught Amalgar just before it crashed into the depths of Valkin's heavy head.

Raven caught Valkin with one arm and Marve stood beside them leaning on Amalgar.

Valkin's head hung lifeless to his side. He was out of it.

"Hey Marve, its amazing you're still able to lean on Amalgar. Have a look at him, bro!"

Marve did not notice it until Raven brought it to his attention. Marve then examined Amalgar and was completely shocked at what he saw. The places where Valkin was holding him clearly showed intensely clenched hand indentations. Amalgar was two inches thick and wrought from many alloys including unacceptium. Amalgar's brothers on the other hand were purebred unacceptium, which accounted for their intense weight, which Raven and Marve endured. They both looked at the unconscious Valkin and smiled. Marve quickly threw Amalgar into the middle of the training room where the white crosses met. Raven hoisted Valkin onto his shoulder and made his way outside with Marve.

Little did they realize but behind them, Amalgar started to quiver and vibrate. At first, the sounds were faint but then the banging of the two ends of the bar became audible to Raven at first, and then Marve detected the sound.

They turned around collectively to see the Amalgar melting into the ground. Amalgar had never done that before! There was a look of shock and horror upon the Ominous brothers' faces as they watched the bar disappear into the ground before their very eyes. They had never encountered anything like this in all their years of training. They were breathing hard and sweat began to drip down from the sides of their faces in anticipation not knowing what to expect.

The ground then burst open revealing a silvery monster with evil red eyes and sharp white teeth. Its sharp claws first emerged from the ground lifting its monstrous body out from the ground. It was at least thirteen feet tall bearing a sinister smile of vengeance in its eyes. Its entire body was a fluidic silver color that rippled in the faint light that filtered in onto its dark figure. Its body was fashioned into a molten muscular frame that towered over the Death brothers.

Raven and Marve already had their bows locked and loaded with three steel tipped arrows aimed for the head of the strange creature after throwing Valkin to the safety of the bale of hay that they were seated on earlier.

Never before had Amalgar transformed without permission from its masters! Never! The monster then gave a wry smile as Raven and Marve released the tension in their bows. Six arrows were fired in a moment at the monster which hurtled threw the air lodging themselves in six different points on the creature's face. As the arrows struck the monster's head, it screamed with fury and anger! The creature clenched its fists and the arrows that were lodged within it suddenly burnt away within mere seconds. The monster then used its incredible speed to bridge the gap between itself and the Death brothers completely destroying the front walls of the training room in the process. A small party of barbarians training nearby immediately was alerted and came to the aid of Raven and Marve but Raven motioned to them that he had the situation under control with a reassuring wave of his hand. However, in reality, Raven was struggling to track the monster's movements as it was moving extremely fast and before Raven knew it, he found the towering creature standing right beside him. Before Raven could react, the creature fashioned its forearm into the shape of a square ashblock, which it crashed against Raven's back sending him flying to the base of the mountain of axe wielding barbarians hitting the ground hard.

The monster then shifted his diabolical attention to Marve and turned its offensive swinging arm towards him.

Marve gritted his teeth and ducked low below the creature's swing and punched the monster's lean abdominals as hard as he could in an effort to slow it down, but his hand went right through the creature's torso and became lodged within this muddy wall of alloy. Marve felt a strange and weird sensation beginning to travel up his arm. It began to feel cold and unwelcome, unlike anything he had ever felt before. He tried to pull out his hand but it was stuck stiff within the monster's torso. Before he could even think about his next move, he found the fists of the creature hitting his head almost breaking his spine. He held his head with pain and was severely dazed. With no time to recover, he was then punched in his own abdominals, a blow that sent him flying backwards landing right next to his brother.

The creature then turned its sights upon the helpless, unconscious Valkin.

Raven managed to stagger to his feet, albeit in a lot of pain, and held out an outstretched helpless arm in an effort to try and help Valkin but it was too late, the creature was already upon him.

The creature then systematically moulded its hand into three sharp spikes with the ultimate aim of killing Valkin in one fell swoop. It was about to strike Valkin when suddenly, it found its striking arm completely severed by the invisible swipe of a blade.

Raven was unexpectedly standing next to Valkin. His eyes were glowing a deep sunset orange as the monster staggered backwards bumping into the six foot five inch frame of Marve's which suddenly appeared much larger to it now. Marve then severed its leg off and chopped its head off with two clean strokes of his charcoal black sword's blade. The monster quivered and eventually died.

Marve and Raven simultaneously swung their swords to rid them of the silvery bloodstains and wiped their blades clean upon their dark assassin uniforms, finally sheathing them with some finality. Raven then walked over to the sleeping Valkin and knelt down beside him and as he did, the color of his eyes returned to their normal striking yellow hue.

Marve brought some cool water and splashed it slowly on Valkin's face.

Valkin stirred and regained consciousness.

Raven helped him up to his feet and asked him if he was okay.

"Whoa! That was intense! Did I break something?" asked a confused Valkin.

"Only the record, young warrior!" replied Raven to a very exhausted and dehydrated Valkin.

Marve had brought water in a very special sack made from the stomach of a delk, which had the ability to keep whatever was stored inside it cool even on the hottest day. Delks were beautiful creatures, light and swift that lived in the sanctity of the Pine Forests and was also one of the main food sources to the predators that dwell there.

Valkin quenched his thirst and saw that the front wall of the training room was completely obliterated.

"Ok, I did not do that!" Valkin chuckled. "What happened?"

"Let us just say that we had some trouble afterwards, nothing major. We will get our friends to fix the room. You must be hungry, how about lunch?"

With great scepticism, Valkin accepted the offer but really his hunger was more for the truth about what happened. He was not satisfied with Raven's explanations.

"After lunch, meet us at the back of room," commanded Marve trying to maintain a normal dispensation.

Valkin acknowledged and felt a calm breeze blowing across the land that dried his sweat cooling him down. It was very rejuvenating! He was so relieved that lunchtime was finally here. He was starving and the training exercise took everything out from him, so a scrumptious meal was very welcome at this stage. Some hot, roasted mutton curry with a dash of melted potatoes in gravy that was just right to tickle the palate. However, when the lunch-barbarian man dressed in white came to deliver his food, Valkin was not at all pleased. Instead of the tasty curry and cakes that he envisioned, what eventually came looked like a brown sludge or something that resembled spoilt porridge that emanated from a sheep gut from both directions mixed in green pile of gloop that disgustingly jiggled as the lunch man served it to Valkin. Still, Valkin could not quite place an appropriate description to it. It was a stark contrast to his thoughts and certainly to what they had served him at the royal hut but he was hungry and did not have a choice. Valkin grabbed the wooden spoon that was clearly stained with this gloop having been submerged in it and the mouths of reluctant eaters over the years. He smiled and slowly lifted the spoon making sure that he took an eternity to take scoopful of this pile of dirt and drew it closer to towards his mouth trying to delay the collision of this asteroid with what he thought was a heavenly body in himself. Eventually, the collision occurred which was catastrophic! The lunch-man waited for a response but disappointedly got none from Valkin's mouth, which was shattered into pieces of rock which he tried to crunch away from his now deeply disturbed memory. Despite suffering the death of his mouth, he managed to conjure up a wry smile and a poor lie, "It is good, thanks!"

The lunch-man hung his head low and sadly sauntered away back to his recipes for disaster.

After lunch, Valkin made his way to the back of the room where he found Raven and Marve waiting for him.

"Trust you enjoyed the lunch?" asked Marve.

Valkin did not speak; he just looked down at the ground.

"It's okay, once you get used to it. The trouble is getting used to it! Chef says it is healthy. We believe that we will have a better chance of surviving an attack from the Sarcodians rather than eating that stuff! Anyway, warriors cannot be choosers!" replied Raven scratching his head in a sarcastic manner.

Valkin chuckled.

"We have a little surprise for you Valkin, why don't you turn around."

As Valkin turned around wondering what this surprise was, he could not believe who he saw smiling before him. It was his good friend and now companion, Rufor Rafelieus. Rufor laughed and snuggled within the warmth of Valkin's body.

Valkin shook his paw and hugged him affectionately rubbing his massive head.

Raven and Marve smiled and walked away. They were done for today. They were extremely impressed and disturbed at the events, which transpired in the Room of Pain, and no doubt, needed to explain it to themselves and eventually Vallentor.

"Rufor, boy, am I glad to see you! What are you doing here? I thought you were still stuck at the stables with Pixie," exclaimed Valkin as he scratched Rufor's large neck.

"Ha! You think I will spend my time with that one! I hate her! She is bloody irritating even for a wolf, makes me clean my fur all the time like I'm dirty or something," replied Rufor with his paws caked in mud. "She invades my space boy, you know, she cramps my style! I like to be free, free like bird or a wolf with wings! She does have pretty coat though, not to mention a nice rear end which I'd quite like to mount someday." Rufor momentarily slipped into a sensual, sexual fantasy about Pixie which elicited a a naughty smile from Valkin.

"Haha! Sounds like girl trouble to me, Rufor. So, you are going to be my guide through the forest. Splendid! When do we go?" Valkin was excited.

"Right now, if you wish. Hop on and hold on for your life!" shouted Rufor.

Valkin leapt onto Rufor and they were off leaving a trail of dust behind them.

The barbarians made way left, right and center for the crazy adventurers that were moving past them with great speed. Some were even knocked aside by their carelessness but none were harmed. Surprisingly, the barbarians who fell all around them chuckled and laughed loudly as they stood up dusting themselves remembering their own youths. A cheerful lot, they were!

In no time, Rufor reached the larger black gates at the other end of the training grounds and told Valkin to hold on tight. With one giant leap, they leapt over the gates with ease just as Rufor had done so when they first arrived at the kingdom.

"Did you remember to tell them to return by nightfall, Marve?" asked Raven.

"No, I thought you did, Raven?"

"No, that was your job, fool!"

"My job! If you could use your mind for a change, you would not be asking me now."

"At least I have a mind." Marve punched Raven jokingly in his torso as Raven chuckled. "Anyway, their off. I am sure Rufor will remember," hoped Raven.

"Rufor also has a bad memory, stupid."

"Look, don't call me stupid if you're stupid Marve, stupid!"

"Stupid! Well, if I'm stupid Raven, it is all your fault because you came out first taking most of the stupidity with you and that makes both of us stupid."

"This is stupid!" replied Raven finally as he threw his hands up in the air. They laughed and made their way back to the royal hut.

"So, what do you think Rave?" asked Marve in reference to the earlier events that transpired outside the Room of Pain.

"I am not sure Marve! I was not too concerned because the creature was no-where near a threat but its manifestation was most unusual. I have never seen Amalgar like that before. It is intriguing, very intriguing! I wonder if his brothers are dealing with him as we speak."

Raven looked up at the Royal hut balcony where Vallentor stood.

Vallentor's eyes focused on the distance in deep thought. There was no expression on his face.

Rufor and Valkin moved through the forest at an incredible pace. Valkin recognized the forests to be the same as the one they travelled through on their way to Hallucagenia.

"The Pine Forests, Rufor?" exclaimed Valkin with delight.

"That's right! We are going back the way we came for today's lesson."

The flurry of trees whizzed passed them as Valkin held on tightly to the reins. In a matter of hours, they had reached the very edge of the forest. The Sarcodian kingdom was in their sights.

"This is it Valkin! Mark this sight well, for you and most of the free world will be up against this kingdom and its allies very soon."

Valkin gazed upon his former home with a new lens, a sad lens, as he was wiser to its guise now.

"I will remember it my good friend. Tell me Rufor, who is in charge of gathering intelligence for Hallucagenia," asked Valkin as he hopped off Rufor quietly.

"You do not know! Well, that would be none other than our 'good friend' Melody in partnership with Pixie. They make daily trips to the borders of the Pine Forests to gather intelligence," replied Rufor with a tinge of regret in his gruff voice.

"WHAT! Melody, that crazy woman! I did have a conversation with her but she did not tell me about this. Pardon me Rufor, but is sending her the best idea? What is Vallentor thinking?"

"I am not sure brother but he has a plan. The truth is that they are surprisingly good at it actually! Anyway, they should be coming this way anytime now. They usually arrive here in the late afternoon and I see a trail of dust getting closer towards us so we had better get out of here, fast! Hop on Valkin."

Soon, the two spies were out of sight and out of mind.

"Are we out of sight, Rufor?" asked Valkin to his furry companion.

"Yes, we are. We are out of Pixie's smell range too, so she cannot smell us either and..."

Valkin completed Rufor's train of thought "...we are out of Melody's sight range so she cannot see us. Excellent! Those ladies can never catch us but I do admit they are mighty brave to do this in broad daylight!"

"Uh hmmm! What is this, spies spying on spies?" The silver glint of a sword rested neatly on Valkin's shoulder and was primed for his neck. He lay still in his crouched and very vulnerable position.

Rufor turned to face him and he found the extended claws of a very familiar pinkish striped paw with silver and grey running further up it.

"This time, you boys are lucky! You could have compromised our entire mission, a crime punishable by death." Princess Melody was in no mood for games and neither was Pixie who backed her partner up with resolute, firm silence. "Consider yourselves lucky!" As mysteriously as they had appeared, Princess Melody and Pixie disappeared into the thicket leaving Valkin and Rufor to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was close! Hey Val, now that the 'Galapalaun coast' is clear so to speak, did I tell you about what I heard?" Rufor drew closer to Valkin who was intensely intrigued.

Valkin's attention was immediately captured at the mention of Melody's name.

"I heard that something big is going to happen and that it concerns your lady friend. I am not sure exactly what it is, but I know that much and whenever it concerns Melody, it is usually big!"

Valkin agreed recollecting his thoughts about how she had tried to kill him and jiggled the thoughts out of himself, before succumbing to them.

"Anyway, nightfall approaches and its time for your next lesson."

"Melody. Mmm...very interesting. Next lesson, right!" Valkin was struggling to concentrate on Rufor after Melody's name was mentioned. In some sick manner, he was beginning to feel some mild sympathy and affection for her.

"Today, we will learn how to control one of the greatest desires that has undone many a man and barbarian alike, the desire for the female kind."

Valkin suddenly looked at Rufor smiling as if he was caught out, which he was. He sat down as Rufor walked around him once and then also sat down.

"Have you heard the story of coveting another's wife, Valkin?"

Valkin shook his head.

"Well, it is said that it is folly to desire her who is the property of another and this attribute will not be found in those who are truly virtuous and it is also said that among those who stand outside virtue, there are no greater fools than those who stand outside their neighbour's and colleague's doors."

Rufor and Valkin shared a little chuckle.

"So you see why it is so important that we guard against the arising of any such feelings that cannot be controlled, Valkin."

Valkin agreed had a question that he wanted to ask.

Rufor allowed him.

"But Rufor, what if this hypothetical woman belongs to no-one, well no-one yet anyway?"

"That is true which makes her the pseudoproperty of another, meaning that one day she will belong to someone, we hope in a loving manner. All the more reason not to covet her, as she is the potential wife of another." Rufor said those words with genuine concern in his voice.

"So Rufor, this means that I cannot look at girls then?" asked Valkin with a heavy sadness upon his low hanging face.

Rufor chuckled. "Well, not entirely. I mean, an occasional glance or two I suppose would not hurt. However, be weary, for those men who pursue the flights of fantasy of single nights have neither honor nor virtue within them. You are a warrior, Valkin! You must always beg to differ! We encourage friendship and love. However, we detest experimentation and manipulation of the female kind in any form and the punishment is the pain of death. A woman should always be treated with kindness and respect, for they are not market items that can be exchanged at the whim and the fancy of us men. Those who think differently, naturally have different ideologies and means to fleeting ends of dishonor and those who think like that are not welcome in Hallucagenia. Perhaps, they will be more accepted amongst the Sarcodians."

Valkin was beginning to understand the major lessons of life that Rufor was teaching him and it resonated with him as the morals and values instilled in him by his beloved mother closely overlapped with those of Rufors profound teachings.

"This works both ways, right Rufor?" added Valkin.

"Of course, we would not accept it otherwise. Anything else?"

Valkin thought he might as well raise another issue that was bothering him with Rufor.

"What is considered the right way of doing things with relationships?"

"There is no right nor wrong way, Valkin. There is only your way. You have to live with yourself and your actions, no-one else can," replied Rufor.

Valkin twitched his eyebrow and gave a wry smile indicating that he understood exactly what Rufor meant.

Rufor nodded and started of the second part of the lesson with a brief introduction into the medicinal qualities of the forest plants. He walked up and down imparting his vast knowledge of the many plants that occurred in the forest. They then took a walk around to see if Valkin remembered what Rufor had just taught him. To Rufor's surprise, Valkin caught on pretty quick and remembered every plant that Rufor taught him about and was able to identify it correctly, especially the winged tulipa, which was quite a fascinating plant. In addition to its hallucagenic, effects, which made the user, seem far more than what they really were. If administered in a high enough dose, it could also kickstart the heartbeat effectively resuscitating a dead person. The flowers were pink with black spots that dotted the inside of the petals leading to the plants sexual organs. It was considered a weed that grew along pathways and that was how it was discovered, picked up by travellers who started to explore its effects. The dried flowers are smoked but if smoked undried could lead to extraordinary flights of fancy.

"Valkin, have a look in my satchel."

Valkin reached into Rufor's satchel and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper stained brown.

"Open it!"

Valkin proceeded to unravel the contents of the paper revealing another smaller piece of paper as well as the main contents of fresh winged tulipa. He looked up at Rufor and smiled a mischievous smile.

"Ok, take the flowers and crush them and sprinkle them along the long edge of the paper and roll them up."

Valkin did as he was told and once complete, he held out the product for Rufor to inspect.

"Excellent!" Rufor scratched the ground with his paws and fire emanated from his index claw. He lit the smoke and motioned for Valkin to take a deep puff of it.

Valkin closed his eyes and shook his head with satisfaction.

"Go--od, go--od, Val--kin!" Rufor's words seemed like a long and drawn out earthworm waiting to spring back to normality.

With each puff that Valkin took, his sight was slowly shifting from the normal hues to an explosion of bursting colours that fluttered in and out of his vision. Suddenly, he saw Rufor appear once again in front of him but his entire body was bent and wobbly. Then, he saw Rufor walking towards him upside down and then on the side and then up the trees. Then, he saw Rufor everywhere! The trees unexpectedly disappeared into the ground and everything was white. He was all alone and as started to panic and run around aimlessly until he finally ran into the paw of Rufor who punched him in the face. He threw his arms forward and into the air as his legs lifted up with a great force that lifted his entire body off the ground, into the air and then sent it flying into the ground again waking him up from the horrible nightmare. Dazed and confused, he blinked his eyes only to see the humongous, furry face of Rufor hanging above him staring into his eyes.

"I shall guess that winged tulipa is not for you then, Valkin!"

"Youuu ha---ve guesssssed right there and with all of what is happening around me, I do not need it to enhance my experience, thank you!"

It was getting dark now and so they decided to make their way back home. Valkin was very tired and soon after he hopped onto Rufor, he fell off to sleep. Rufor cruised all the way home.

#  Enter King Braithwaite

"So my son has dominated the games once again, Bellorus! You had better start investing in training more worthy knights," laughed King Braithwaite with an unnaturally powerful voice that spoke fast and quick with a deep, strong undertone of royalty. The King of Sarcodia was indeed power personified in a volatile 6.1 ft, 264 lb frame. His natural hickory brown hair was severely twisted and together with his rusty pecan brown beard, he was up to no good at all times with his round, chubby face. Prominent scars littered his face in a web of war and many battles lost and won. He hobbled around with a fat stomach that protruded out from his authoritative overweight and curvy body in an awkward manner that hung low pushing out his ruby royal robes of indulgence. His eyes were a cedar dark brown filled with greed and filth that had accumulated in a rubbish heap over many years. His ruby royal robes were trimmed with a silver lining and held together with a golden bracelet that connected the left breast to the right. Upon his chest, rested the insignia of Sarcodia, embroidered into his metallic breastplate with golden power. His robes were padded with strong shoulder pads and were draped until the floor and his heavy silver boots were constructed with unacceptium armour as he stood up straight and stiff. Underneath his robes, he was shielded with unacceptium-steel plates and chainmail at all times for the protection of his tanned olive skin. His every movement was under constant surveillance and his life was always in danger as he tapped his fingers against one another.

"Your son is excellent and, no doubt, a worthy heir to the throne, my leige," replied a feeble King Bellorus in a slow, soft and weak voice. King Bellorus Tillmandor, king of the neighbouring lands of Bellor was more of a skulking 5.2 ft figure. He was much shorter than King Braithwaite, more so, because of his aged hunch and perpetually clasped hands and incessant nail-biting. Even his height could not help him to be more of leader rather than a follower. A lesson perhaps, that one does not have to be tall to be a leader, but if one is tall then one can still give somebody a mighty head-chop, who deserves it of course, and get away with it using that height advantage. King Bellorus's thin, meager hundred and 50 lb body and beard were both limp much like his sedate, shrill and soft voice. Only a faint glimmer in his old eyes cheered up his face, which was tanned a pale white mist. His settled ash-grey eyes looked were faded beads from an old chain ready to break at any time. He wore a green cape with no armor underneath. Upon his shoulder plate, the Sarcodian insignia was strongly imposed upon it.

"Indeed, that is why I wish for him to inherit a powerful kingdom, the likes of Lataria perhaps, Haha!" King Braithwaite's laugh was extraordinarily cheerful and pleasant.

"You have always had my support good king and you shall have it again if war is upon your mind?" asked King Bellorus with the cunning alignment of the intentions his master had upon his mind biting his nails away and coughing sickly into his arms.

"Oh war is definitely upon my mind, my good friend! The lush lands of Hallucagenia beckon, King Bellor. More importantly, revenge will be on our doorstep, once I have the head of Hallucagenia!"

"But at least a million barbarians stand between us and our conquest, my king." King Braithwaite stood up and walked to the other end of the long, lavish ebony table. The table was huge and could easily seat twenty guests, no less. He then turned around as if struck by some brilliant, new idea.

"Vallentor knows that if I wish to win this war, I must ally with the slithery Serpentines and cement my alliances with the Might of Gillmanor and the Rage of Razortor, which I will most certainly do. That is inevitable. However, he does not expect a weak and pathetic pre-war resistance by me. His underestimation of my determination will be his downfall. I will wait and bide my time until my legion is larger and more powerful than the savages he likes to call an army. Deep down, he knows I will wait! We both know that and that is when I will surprise him and crush them slowly savouring their agonizing pain for what they have done to me, for what they have taken from me!" King Braithwaite clenched his muscular fists in angry contemplation realizing his foul desires.

"The Barbarians are strong, my Lord! They will not be so easily defeated. Vallentor is a cunning warrior. He will have a few surprises of his own. If he catches us with our guard down, we will pay dearly. There are rumours, my Lord, rumors that he wishes to bridge the gap and ally with the Minotaurs of Volcanock." King Bellorus was much older and greyer than Braithwaite but wise enough to swear allegiance to a man that could easily crush the kingdom of Bellor in a heartbeat. Bellorus's sparse grey and white hair bared testimony to the tufts of life that he clung onto so dearly. He was a stretched and overused flickering light, no doubt, by Braithwaite's influence upon him, which threatened to blow out this candle burnt at both ends.

"Perhaps! I really do not care whom he allies with. I will summon an army larger and fiercer than any other army this world has ever seen and if I fail, I will kill him myself."

"What if our guards let us down, sire? Haha!" chuckled Bellorus whose humor somewhat amused King Braithwaite.

"Then, they will die as well," replied Braithwaite as he smiled at Bellorus whose smile slowly disappeared.

They regained their composure causing the large king's chamber to fall silent again.

Bellorus contemplated in silence until an idea came to him. "My King, can we not call upon the power of the Elementals?"

The elementals were a group of extremely powerful wizards. Some of them were greedy and did anything for money. As a team, they could cause enormous chaos and havoc and were thus extremely useful in times of war.

"The Elementals, mmm..., maybe, they might be able to tip the scale in our favor for the moment by some pre-war harassment, shall we say. Can you personally persuade them for a substantial sum of money, Bellorus?"

"Consider it done ol' friend and king." Bellorus rubbed his hands together with glee. He was very pleased with the plan and could not wait to serve his master

"The Hallucens will wish that they were never born. I will make them beg for mercy and take what should rightfully be mine," said the king clenching his fists tightly.

Bellorus was almost on his way when another idea entered his mind in midstride. He spun around with some concern in his voice. "King Braithwaite, what about the invoking of the code of battle?" asked a very concerned King Bellorus starting to bite his nails again.

"What about the code?" replied King Braithwaite with a look of pitiless irritation upon his face.

"Whoever invokes the code of battle will change the nature of the war. Are we physically ready to accept such a change, King Braithwaite?"

The entire mood in the room changed. The playful atmosphere changed to one of a more serious nature.

"Perhaps, you are right. We have been out of it for a long time, haven't we? However, you forget whom you are talking to old friend! When that declaration is made, where the kings of old will be asked to do battle instead of their men, I will be waiting and I will show no mercy to anyone who dares to defy or attack me. So let Vallentor invoke that code and he will see the true power of King Braithwaite."

"You are truly the greatest of us, good King. Your skills are unmatched. Not even King Revengor nor King Anaiboa would dare challenge you; but what of the resurrection of the power of the Dark Knights and the rumours, good King?"

"Yes, I have heard those rumors. Let them come too! The past has shown us their weakness. I will exploit that weakness and defeat them. Everything will proceed according to plan!"

"Yes but..." Bellorus was not entirely satisfied with the King Braithwaite's answer and tried to probe further

He was abruptly stopped by the outburst of King Braithwaite's power. King Braithwaite clenched his fists as small streams of fire started to pour out from his once cedar brown eyes and burn brightly illuminating the already brightly lit room. It flowed with anger and fury as it lifted his red robe making it dance in the air. His body started to shift and change into a well-defined, muscular one that began to exude a strange energy signature that caused ripples across the air. The chair, the table and everything inside the royal chamber began to shake and tremor with fear.

King Bellorus started to feel heavy and light-headed with a growing, crippling fear that slowly overcame his body. The energy was too strong for him and he found himself kneeling on one knee as the walls closed in around him. He began to pant and sweat with breathlessness.

King Braithwaite walked up slowly to him.

King Bellorus looked up with squinted ash-grey eyes.

King Braithwaite then opened his hands and pointed them towards the kneeling King Bellorus and then clenched his fists. "Do you doubt the power of the Dark Knights King, Bellorus? If so, then let the greatest of them all renew your faith in us!"

King Bellorus was caught in King Braithwaite's energy grasp and found himself being lifted off the ground into the air.

King Braithwaite all the while smiled and felt no remorse for his servant King. He flung him across the table and into the fireplace.

King Bellorus hugged his hurt body and coughed out all the dead ash from his already strained lungs and crawled his way out on all fours. The fireplace was completely destroyed. "No, my lord, I was wrong to doubt you! It will not happen again," replied the skulking retreating figure of King Bellorus.

King Braithwaite had his back turned to King Bellorus and eventually his terrible power subsided and calmed down normalizing the shards of natural light that lit the lonely chamber from utter darkness.

#  Vallentor's move

"Are we ready to go?" asked Vallentor to a very concerned Tereartre.

"Yes Vallentor. Do you think he will budge?"

"Honestly, I don't think so. I am not sure we can give them a good enough reason to, but we will never know until we try, right? Besides, I am counting on you to convince him, Tereartre. I know that you are quite a persuasive man." Vallentor shifted his walnut eyebrows upwards in a suggestive manner, which annoyed Tereartre.

Vallentor and Tereartre were discussing their plan of action in the royal stables made from berry brick and artichoke stone that was laden with a floor of hay as well as horse and wolf dung.

Pixie had returned from her rounds with Melody and was ready for her next mission. She waited patiently in one of the stable stalls.

Tereartre smiled as he mounted Pixie and backed her out of the stall.

"I will try my very best. It has been a long time. Come along now Pixie, let us make haste!" commanded Tereartre.

Pixie glowed with a very slight pinkish tinge to her coat of white fur that sparkled in the sunlight.

She was the perfect opposite to Mike who bore a dirty ruddy brown color to the mix. Mike was strong though weighing in at a whopping two-and-half tons and was a very high ranking wolf, being part of Tereartre's personal Werethallic Guard. With keen fire red eyes, Mike always kept his eyes on the prize, which was Pixie in this treasure chest. His gold Werethallic earrings jingled at the sound of her every footstep. Mike was only two years younger than his big brother, Rufor and was in excellent condition.

Pixie, on the other hand, was the most pristine female wolf in the Werethallic Guard. She was almost untouchable and vehemently guarded herself because she was soon coming into estrous and she would not get very far in securing a mate with that attitude of hers. That was how some wolves became lonewolves. Lonewolves are much like individuals who say they can do anything by themselves.

"Lonewolves are lonely wolves, Pixie!" Mike snuggled beside Pixie trying his best to charm her with his super relaxed and cool demeanor.

"I'd rather be a lonewolf than hang out with the likes of you, Mike," snapped Pixie walking away.

"Well, the next time Mike meets somebody like that, Mike swears to ask 'sir or mam there are just some things you just cannot do by yourself like..."

Pixie cut Mike short with her growing embarrassment, "...yes thanks Mike for the splendid imagery of wolves fornicating in the forest!"

"Baby wolf, I just plant the seed, you the one who is going to let it grow," smiled Mike.

Pixie was flabbergasted at Mike's sexual innuendos so much so, that she deliberately found the nearest plant and stamped it with her authority crushing its dreams of ever growing up one day into a strong and mighty tree.

Mike was horrified! "Baby wolf, why you went and did that? This little tree means you no harm."

"I HAVE NO TIME FOR BLOODY IRRITATING WEEDS THAT POP OUT OF THE MOST INCONVENIENT PLACES, HANG AROUND AND STILL GROW BACK EVEN AFTER BEING COMPLETELY PULLED OUT!" shouted Pixie. She was incensed and infuriated.

"Hey Mike! Quit the chatter and let us get going. We do not have a minute to spare," motioned Vallentor whose swift intervention marked the signing of a much needed peace treaty between Mike and Pixie.

Vallentor and Tereartre rode their faithful wolves out from the stable doors, which closed suddenly behind them. They trotted at a slow, reluctant pace making their way out of the circle of farms towards the black gates, which opened as soon as they were spotted from a distance by the gatekeeper. They entered the training grounds then suddenly, Vallentor and Tereartre gave out a strong order to their respective wolves to quicken their pace and with that order, they were off in a cloud of dust and wind.

They scaled the main entrance gates with ease and entered the Pine forests on the Northwestern side of Hallucagenia as their wolves panted with excitement and adventure! However, the forests that lay ahead was not the home of Tereartre's. This forest was called the Dark Forest, a notorious place of evil, a place of demons and monsters! All those who ventured into this forest never return. The 'Forbidden Forest' it was also called by brave travellers. It was made that way by years of sorrow and sadness, which affected the animals there, twisting them and tainting them to the darkness. However, the forest was quiet today; no monsters came out to play, yet! They knew who rode through their forbidden domain. They knew the power of the Forest King, Tereartre! Two warriors' might were more than enough to dispatch and cleanse this forest from the evil that possessed it.

Evil eyes and dark leaves snared at the warriors as they rode by, bringing a beacon of light to the darkness that surrounded them. Crimson red eyes looked on from within the dense juniper thickets at the four warriors who passed by.

The four warriors strode without an ounce of fear in their eyes. They were singularly focused on getting to the wastelands as soon as possible. They cared not for the monsters and demons of the Black Forest today.

The red eyes around closed and slowly vanished into the distance.

The warriors were not harassed today.

Footsteps! Footsteps sounded in the depths of the treacherous jungle!

Vallentor looked around with heavy smoke grey eyes and breathed uneasily.

Tereartre seemed unperturbed by the footsteps and kept his focus forward towards the wastelands with his laser neon eyes.

Then, a loud crash sounded nearby! The trees fell behind them.

"MOVE!" shouted Vallentor. "GIANTS!"

It was the giants of Black Widowlands!

"RUN!" shouted Vallentor. They crushed several trees with each of their destructive footsteps, which were now making their way towards the warriors.

Looks of horror overcame Pixie and Mike's faces as they scurried for a safe hole within the trees from this cat that was about to stamp upon them.

The giant men came closer and closer. They were not going to make it!

"STOP!" shouted Tereartre sensing the end. "TURN AROUND, RUN THE OTHER WAY!"

The warriors complied without question to their teacher and companion for fear of being killed by him, a fate they would rather not contemplate. So, they ran back towards to approaching giants.

The giants were huge walking walls that rose over three hundred feet into the clouds above. Some say that they twisted and warped themselves into such monstrosities to see the world from a better view, literally. The irony and tragedy of their fate was that in the process, they had become blind and so, they blindly walked the lands in search of the truth, which they had failed to see in the beginning.

It worked! The warriors had rode past the giants towards safety but were put behind schedule to the Wastelands of Selardor.

The Wastelands of Selardor, named after the late King Lataria, Selardor the Wise. The Wastelands of Selardor was a barren, lifeless land bereft of all joy and happiness. It was said that those who crossed it were cursed with misfortune and never returned home. However, those rumors did not perturb Vallentor and Tereartre in the slightest.

They had travelled now for many hours until they finally reached the very edge of the forest overlooking the lifeless Wastelands below the tapering cliff of inevitability. There were neither forest trees nor foliage on the cliff. It was a barren land littered with lifeless rocks and sedate sand. It was an intriguing contrast between the abundance of lush life they had left behind them in the Pine Forests and the dustbowl that lay before them. Even, the Forbidden Forest had more life within it. There was nothing and no-one around, not even a desert lizard nor a cactus, nothing!

Vallentor and Tereartre just stood on the edge admiring the spectacle of absolutely nothing before them.

"I hate places like these! They send shivers down my spine. Eerie, that is what it is, I say," exclaimed Pixie with fear and disgust to Mike.

"What's wrong Pixie? Cannot handle the nerves and the heat? Wishing sweet Rufor was here to comfort you?"

"Ha, Ha, very funny Mikey! I would rather choose the dirt of the wastelands than put up with your dirty hound of a brother. He is no better than you!" replied Pixie taking Tereartre and the lead.

"Aww! Come on, I am sure you really do not mean that about my brother. The dirty hound look runs strong in the family so you cannot really blame him for it. He was born that way."

"Uh hum! Whenever you two are done," laughed Tereartre as he stroked Pixie's pinkish ear. He wore a silvery version of his Werethall armor to act as a strong reflector of the sunlight. A green and brown insignia lay across his chest and distinguished him from his counterpart, King Vallentor.

Vallentor also wore silver armor but the barbarian insignia was branded across his chest.

Both warriors were heavily armored as if they were going into a great battle.

Tereartre carried his bow and a large quiver of arrows, two short swords and multiple daggers as well as a myriad of poisons and other potions.

Vallentor carried only his broad claymore and Hallucen shield that lay in wait on Mike's saddle. 'The giants were just the beginning!' he thought

"Sorry sir!" apologized the wolves collectively.

"No problem," replied Vallentor. He continued his forward gaze into the distance. He knew what lay ahead and he knew what he had to do. He looked down and peered to the very bottom of the cliff, which had a concave-like shape that tapered towards the bottom into the level grounds ahead of them. It was a waterfall of sand that led into an ocean of vast emptiness. The cliff looked fairly easy to descend. The burnt sienna dust whiffed up by the prevailing winds clouded the air down below making it difficult to see at times, for the wind blew on and off. No one in barbarian, nor any other race's history had ever crossed the Wastelands of Selardor since the great king of Lataria passed and lived to tell the tale. No one! The barbarians had been trading weapons for ashblock with the Minotaurs of Volcanock for many years now, which would place them in good terms with Hallucagenia. They were amongst the finest blacksmiths in all the lands and their reputation travelled far and wide, even as far as Volcanock. The arrangement was that the barbarians just leave the weapons at the edge of the forest and after two or three days, they would find the consignment of ashblock they asked for in the place of the weapons they had left three nights ago. That was how it was done for many years now after the great barbarian war. It was simple and it kept the peace between the two races. There was never a need for more until now. The journey that Tereartre and Vallentor were about to undertake was certain suicide. Their chances of dying and failing the mission heavily outweighed their chances of success. They knew and understood this in the outset. Death was certain and failure was not an option. They came prepared with special undergarments that prevented sand and dust irritation, which were melded beneath their armor.

All the warriors took a deep breath as they trudged along down the embankment in a single file. They also brought dust cloths to protect their heads and faces which they decided to reveal now in an attempt to lessen the blow of the slapping winds.

The wolves were fitted with special saddles to hold all the equipment and food and better protect it. They also wore special armor and were clothed to protect them from the sand blasts.

Tereartre held out his fingers to the sun and examined it. "By the looks of it, I'd say we have less than four hours of light. Shall we make haste sir?" suggested Tereartre.

Even though there was this uneasy tension between Vallentor and Tereartre, Tereartre always respected rank and treated Vallentor with respect. It was in his nature to do so.

"Let us go for it but before we depart, I would like to say it has been a pleasure running with you warriors and it is going to be an even greater pleasure dying with you, if it comes to it," smiled Vallentor. He was about to push off when Mike saw something.

"I see something on the horizon. It is not that clear but there is something there, sir!"

Vallentor shook his head being up to the challenge. "Let that be our inspiration and motivation. Come now, ride with determination!" he shouted.

The hot sun with just a few scattered clouds could easily create mirages in the distance but it was a chance they had no choice but to take and go towards, especially under the extreme circumstances. They rode fast but proceeded with caution as they went off a less steep embankment close by.

The sand dunes were a terribly beautiful place. Its barren beauty could lull any warrior into believing that hope lay upon the next rise, but leave them with only false hope, should they get lost.

The warriors finally reached the end of the embankment to flatter ground only to meet more jagged rocks and loose stones, which forced the warriors to move more slowly. Loose stones were disastrous news for horses but were easily dealt with by the crushing footsteps of wolves. Horses did not come around these parts and neither did their masters. The warriors decided to go down in a zigzag fashion to gain more traction and ground. However, that did not prove to be a good option for the leader of the Werethall. Despite his vast experience, he was deceived by the acute angles.

Pixie and Tereartre unknowingly went over a small feeble rock ledge that immediately gave way under their combined weight. They dropped onto their sides with Tereartre bearing the brunt of the roll as Pixie kicked and slid right over him uncontrollably with her full two ton weight which rolled over Tereartre's thin body.

Vallentor watched unperturbed by the events that transpired before his very eyes not lifting a finger to help immediately.

Mike gritted his teeth but waited until his Master made an order.

Vallentor found them quite amusing, on the contrary, for he knew of Tereartre's outrageous strength. He did not know its exact nature, but he respected it and as always, entertained all opportunities for him to display it in order to learn more about it.

Tereartre was indeed very strong and took evasive action immediately. He saw a large boulder approaching that could possibly hold their weight and prevent them from further tumbling and so he guided himself and Pixie towards it.

The boulder was large enough! It was dusty and irregular and in some places extremely sharp. For fear that it could not hold their weight he slid past it, and punched his right hand hard into the very heart of the large boulder holding onto Pixie's reins with his left hand tightly.

The reins around Pixie's body tightened as Tereartre held his firm grip bringing her and himself to a halt using the boulder as an anchor point. Pixie quickly found her footing and stood up looking back to check up on Tereartre.

Tereartre was already on his feet dusting his gear and his dark lime green hair from the excess sand with his left hand. His right arm was still lodged deep into the heart of the boulder.

Vallentor was on the scene soon after and came to their aid as soon as he himself established some reliable path to get to them. He finally arrived to make sure that no serious injuries were sustained. He thought to himself that they lost their footing just a couple of meters away from the end of the embankment and the very beginning of the journey. 'This forsaken place had already thrown a challenge to them,' he thought. "Hey! Are you okay? That was a pretty vicious roll you played there," enquired a somewhat concerned Vallentor.

"It was a bad roll, if indeed we played it, Vallentor! We are fortunately fine, couple of cuts and bruises, nothing serious," replied Tereartre as he lifted the boulder completely off the ground and into the air with his right hand with such ease as if a child had lifted a toy he played with everyday. He then flung it into the distance before them.

Vallentor and Mike watched in awe as the boulder flew into the air and disappeared into the distance before their eyes. Vallentor relished the show and smiled getting a sense of how strong this man was.

"And are you alright, Pixie, everything okay?" asked Vallentor.

"Well, nothing is broken sir, so everything is okay," chuckled the large female wolf.

"Good, I hate to say this but we have to press on while we still have some light," requested Vallentor wanting to push the stamina of Tereartre and his wolves to their very limits.

Tereartre and Pixie bowed with approval.

They travelled for quite sometime until the late afternoon approached. The sun crept more and more into the horizon dragging the day down the day with it making it difficult for them to see but Vallentor was adamant that he could just barely see something in the distance to aim for. However, the sun was moving faster than they could ride and so they decided to stop at another larger cinnamon boulder that slanted away from the sun's evening rays and camped there for the night.

Huge boulders in the middle of the desert were a common site in the Wastelands. Many years ago, the Wastelands were not such a barren land. It actually used to be quite a lush and green environment with an abundance of wildlife that rivalled the Pine Forests. It had only one 'pebble' in its path to sustenance or more accurately, a 'large rock' because this large rock was the largest volcano known in all the lands. It was unmatched in size and ferocity! Not even the dormant Volcanock came close to its size, of some twelve miles in height and fifteen thousand in diameter. It was magnificent but the land always feared its deadly volatility. In fact, it was the single contributor to the creation of the Wastelands itself. Its high volatility and instability eventually caused it to explode one day, sending molten lava, ash and toxic gases high up into the air. The explosion shook the lands and sent tremors to all the kingdoms announcing the spectacular explosion. Huge pieces of the mountain were hurled into the stratosphere with fiery propulsion, never to return. That was how the large boulders came to be in their present strange location. It seemed that after the entire kingdom's breakup, even the volcanoes were disgusted! The tremors and toxic fumes killed everything in their path and the lands never really recovered after that. Lush grass had turned into sand and water into dust. Scattered boulders littered the lands as shocking reminders of a violent past of disagreement with the current affairs. With nothing to neither see nor smell, it was futile for the warriors to go on, resigned Vallentor. They resolved to wait until morning before attempting to resume the journey into the unknown.

#  The Next Lesson

Valkin and Rufor arrived back to Hallucagenia just after the sun set behind their backs. It was a long day for Valkin and he was very tired.

Rufor jumped over a tree and landed on the ground with a louder bump than usual, rousing Valkin from his deep slumber. "Hey Valkin, are you still with me brother? You can wake up now."

Valkin awoke with much disorientation in his thinking for he had thought that he was, back home, in Tillmandor where his heart still lingered.

"Huh! What! Back home already. We still have a few miles to go before we even reach Sarcodia, let alone Tillmandor," smiled Valkin pulling Rufor's paws with his jests. His vision was blurred as he rubbed his eyes to make it clearer, he realized he was really back in Hallucagenia.

"Unfortunately, we are back at the training grounds, dear friend. I forgive you. You cannot see very well at night can you, Val? Well, that needs to change."

Valkin slipped himself off from Rufor. "Maybe or maybe it is the winged tulipa messing with my vision?" enquired the now fully awake, Valkin.

"Well, it affected you the whole bloody journey. We could have been ambushed. A fat lot of help you would have been. Oh yes, by the way, thanks for looking out for any ferocious Barargs for me!"

Valkin yawned a bit and waved to Rufor as if to say, 'do not mention it.'

"See you tomorrow Rufor."

Rufor shook his head with laughter as Valkin waved and retreated to the room of pain, which he left in the morning and settled down on the mattress of hay inside. The four squares were empty, laying dormant and waited to be occupied, but they resigned to wait a little longer until morning arrived. 'Can one imagine living in a place like this for a year,' Valkin thought? The fear of madness was always there and he was no exception to those fears that his companions had for him. He was composed for the moment and fortunately, he was the type of individual who adapted to any situation he found himself in. Time will tell though if he was up to the challenge of this new and unfamiliar adaptation, time will tell!

The very tired wolf of the woods half laughed and grumbled to himself. "I hope Raven and Marve really work you Valkin." Rufor also retreated to the stables for the night. He wondered where Pixie was gone to with Vallentor and Tereartre. She did not say and usually, she always says goodbye. He did not know and it started to worry him despite his outward denial. He drifted off into an uneasy slumber in the empty stables.

There was a disturbance in the woods beyond the black gates! The howling winds shook the trees into an eerie dance of something very ominous. It caused them to shiver and frantically wail in the wind. Something or someone was coming!

Most of the Hallucen firelights were either out or simmering down. It was late and hardly anyone was about, except the night watch guards of Hallucagenia who were ever so vigilant and ever ready for battle.

Clouds in the distance began to gather before a thunderous clap of branch-like lightning struck down a tree in the Pine Forests nearby the main entrance gates of the Kingdom.

The night guards turned around to listen to the uncomfortably close commotion. A look of uneasiness overcame their hardened faces. A few more reserve warriors got up and started to suit up with heavy armor and weaponry. Then, another large pine tree came crashing down bringing another smaller tree down with it during the fall.

The clouds that normally gathered during this time of the year were understandable, but the lightning tonight was incredibly ferocious bordering on the supernatural. The source of which was unknown for the clouds did not gather fully enough to release their mighty fury amongst the innocent people below.

Most of the barbarians were now awake, including Rufor, and wondered what powerful force of nature was behind the approaching storm. They moved out into the open from the refuge of their mud-stained camps and little huts to inspect the approaching storm. All their heads tilted upwards in unison towards the foreboding sky. The clouds that approached were choked by a smoke grey and blue plume of dust and mystery, as they approached. An incredible silence prevailed all around the training grounds as a million eyes peered upwards! Two warriors, in particular, gazed at the sky and commented in low tones on the strange phenomenon they witnessed. "What a strange storm! The lightning strikes but not from the clouds that gather above us but from where?" asked a confused warrior to his equally confused counterpart as they both gazed on.

"Yes, my friend. It is indeed a very strange occurrence. Very unnatural!"

Rufor was relatively close by, just a mile away on the other side of the training grounds and overheard the warriors' conversation and agreed. So, he decided to follow up on it. He reached them in a flash of dust and wind that nearly blew out all the fires that surrounded them.

The two barbarians were still standing next to each other trying to figure out what was going on.

Rufor though, knew exactly what was going on! His many experiences in many lands allowed him to gain a vast array of knowledge of who were friends and who were enemies, and the way this storm was blowing, it was certainly no friend! "Gentlemen, pardon me for eavesdropping on your conversation..."

The two barbarians turned around and smiled at the sight of Rufor.

"Many moons ago along the shores of Gilipriel, I saw this same strange phenomenon."

Gilipriel was an uninhabited shoreline that separated the mainland from the Galapalaun island chain and the rest of the vast ocean. The distance between the mainland and this island was only five hundred feet.

"The Death Brothers were but small children then. It was late that evening and in the distance I saw a man shrouded in cloud and lightning! He was an old man, and extremely powerful. He hovered in the air, like a God and feared nothing. This is no storm men! I fear that same man has returned!" replied a very worried Rufor.

The two barbarians looked at each other and collectively said, "That can only mean..." The warriors were cut off by Rufor who narrowed his eyes to gaze deeply into the distance.

It was Rehowlor! No other being could cause such destruction or desire to. The outline of his bright figure illuminated the darkness of the Pine forests, and sent shivers down the spines of every animal and living entity in the forest. His long white and yellow beard flowed onto his aged but immensely strong pecks. The cloud white robe that covered his body danced in the wind that he created and now and again it lit up in a pulsating electric shock. Only he could command the full fury of this unnatural storm. His menacing lightning-filled steel grey eyes fixed its gaze upon the training grounds below as he lifted his white eyebrows smiling cynically. His relatively small 5 ft 4 inch frame was unsuspectingly powerful carrying only a 154 lb of raw lightning and energy. Rufor below looked on, as the streaks of lightning and thunder harassed them with evil might and power! Rehowlor flew at a relatively slow pace as he crossed over the Pine trees. Once he reached the Black gates of Hallucagenia, he flew over them and descended near some nervous barbarian warriors who were armed and ready to do battle with him. They were a relatively small force of a thousand warriors that bravely assembled to confront the lightning Elemental. They kept their distance from him to about a hundred yards, and awaited orders from higher structures within the barbarian ranks before they attacked.

Rufor joined them but he knew that a thousand barbarians were not going to be enough to dispel the great leader of the Elementals himself. Raven and Marve were not there yet. They may have been seconded to the forests on night scout duty. Tereartre and Vallentor were away on a secret mission. Rufor found himself as the express commander of the barbarian army and was hopelessly outnumbered. He began to feel the pressure bearing down upon him squeezing the air out of his lungs.

Rehowlor sized them all up scanning left and right, and without wasting any time, he summoned a thunderbolt from his bare hands which glinted across the face of his bracelets and blasted them back a few feet backwards with that single thunderbolt. The commander of wind and weather was the greatest force in the group of elementals and the single most destructive elemental.

A thousand warriors took a few steps back.

Rehowlor took to the air. He sarcastically laughed and mocked them with his strong and deep voice. "The great barbarians, scared gutless! Pitiful! And you call yourselves WARRIORS!" He then blasted them with another thunderbolt that took the form of a giant running tiger that dwarfed the warriors in size. It ran towards them sending fear and shock through their bodies paralysing them as it hit them. It ran and threw itself towards them exploding into shards of sparks when it touched them. They were blasted backwards with great force and came crashing down on the nearby houses and camps.

Luckily, the thick and strong hides of the barbarian bodies broke their fall. Some were bruised, but there were no fatalities, yet! Barbarians were really hard to kill and that was their greatest strength.

Rufor, who was amongst the same crowd that got blasted, rolled onto his side quickly digging his claws into the ground halting himself. He knew that he had to do something quick even though he was not strong enough to do so. He got up, shook his head and charged straight at Rehowlor with full speed.

Rehowlor smiled at the desperate charging wolf and with a single grey wind, he simply created from his palm, he uprooted Rufor from the ground and blew poor Rufor high up into the air.

The airborne hound flew high up into the air and when Rehowlor decided he was high enough, he released him allowing him to fall but he still controlled his fall accelerating him headfirst into a building.

Rufor crashed decimating the entire building losing consciousness immediately upon impact. However, the strength of Rufor prevailed and surprisingly he regained consciousness some few seconds afterwards, shaking his head looking up and seeing the weather elemental smiling wryly at him. Blood ran down the side of his furry cheeks as he recovered shaking his head smiling in defeat and breathing heavily. He glared his razor sharp teeth whilst Rehowlor materialized lightning whips glazed with razors from his hands and started to flail them around in the air.

The whips were also barbed with lightning hooks giving it a menacing edge as it sent immobilizing shocks down the spines of the surrounding barbarians. The electrifying atmosphere only made the barbarians angrier. They also glared their teeth clenching their axes, one in each hand, waiting for the right time to strike.

Bolstein, the largest and best student of Raven and Marve, then arrived. His huge frame and rippling muscles were a welcome sight to the barbarians.

Rufor was also pleased. "COMPANY!!!" Rufor shouted. "ATTACK FORMATION!!!"

All the barbarians readied their axes.

"FIRST WAVE!!!" shouted Rufor.

A thousand barbarians then collectively threw their axes towards Rehowlor.

Rehowlor started to swirl and flail his whips through the air, whipping and swirling, neutralizing the attacks of his many adversaries. Each axe simply glanced off Rehowlors flailing defensive swirls. A downpour of shards of axes flew back towards the barbarians with great disappointment.

Rufor sauntered out of the rubble and into the barbarian mix. They made room for the big wolf leader to come to the fore. He suddenly pulled away from the surrounding group of barbarians and launched himself towards the hovering Rehowlor shouting, "NOW!" He pounced on the weather elemental but Rehowlor whipped Rufor's chest with his lightning whip cutting the surface flesh. Blood started to gush out from the wound as the big wolf fell back to the ground.

Rufor smiled and nodded his head giving the signal for the barbarians to launch the second wave of axes at the fierce elemental. Two thousand axes were sent hurtling into the air at the elemental. Rufor landed awkwardly on his feet and felt a crack in his front left paw. He let out a grimace of pain and lifted his paw up to shield it from further damage but he felt he did enough to provide the barbarians with an opportunistic opening to execute the second wave of axes.

Rehowlor saw the axes coming towards him and he knew his whips were too far outstretched to defend him but he was too strong and too experienced. He just smiled and deflected the axes away by swirling his lighting whips around his body at an incredible pace creating a midair defensive whirlwind. Not a single axe struck him!

The barbarians stared at him with shock and fear. They never encountered such a powerful being before. They only trained with rumors in their minds and so were terribly ill-prepared.

Rufor was fuming and frustrated. He saw no other recourse but to launch a final assault at the elemental. He limped forward to face the elemental one last time. He growled and released a dark red energy from his body which encapsulated him with a red aura. The energy gave him some momentary relief from the pain of his fractured paw which allowed him to at least put it on the ground and stand on it.

Rehowlor looked at him and shook his head in disagreement at what Rufor was about to do and closed his eyes as Rufor growled and leapt high into the air preparing for his last aerial attack on Rehowlor!

Bolstein shouted at the top of his lungs, "NO!!!" but Rufor did not hear the big barbarian's pleas for rationality.

Rehowlor caught the leaping wolf in his whips but Rufor bit right through them getting shocked in the process and fell on top of Rehowlor who caught the wolf in mid-air with his bare hands. Rehowlor gazed upon the desperate wolf who glared his fangs at the elemental trying to bite him.

Rufor also attempted to swipe him with his deadly paws but Rehowlor countered every attack with his other hand with ease. The pace of Rufor's attacks then lessened as the fight wore on. He was breathing heavily, punching wildly at Rehowlor and soon he could not lift up his paws anymore. His head then rested limply upon Rehowlor's aged shoulders.

The fight was over as the barbarians below watched in horror.

Rehowlor then simply released his iron grip on Rufor's neck allowing the Werethall Wolf King to fall.

Rufor slammed into the ground! He was numb and bloodied but still, he valiantly got up from the attack.

Rehowlor then materialized two lightning swords in his hands and looked at the bewildered Rufor and shook his head motioning him to give up but the pride of the Wolven King was too strong.

Rufor made a last attempt to neutralize Rehowlor. He limped at full speed and then dashed to his left and right trying to confuse the elemental who stood firm brandishing his lightning swords. Rufor's claws were primed and ready to strike! He jumped at the last moment towards Rehowlor and executed a cross-swipe.

Rehowlor blocked with his sword but Rufor's swipe was at least powerful enough to shatter the lightning swords. Rehowlor then capitalized on Rufor's spread out paws by punching his chest with clenched lightning fists electrocuting him in the air for what seemed to be an eternity.

Rufor did not stand a chance against Rehowlor at such close quarters. Once Rehowlor completely immobilised him, he was blasted away high into the air with blood gushing out from his foot and crashed into another structure nearby losing consciousness for good. The fight was over!

Rehowlor was impressed at how long Rufor lasted but not incredibly so, for he knew that he was holding back his true Elemental power.

More and more barbarians came to continue the resistance in Rufor's absence, but their numbers were simply not enough. Small incursions were not good enough against a single elemental, especially the leader! The earlier encounter taught them that Rehowlor will just blast everyone and everything away. It took at least ten thousand men to kill just one but that's men. Barbarians on the other hand were a totally different story! One barbarian can wipe out a small army and only about three thousand were needed to dispatch Rehowlor himself so Rehowlor's window of destruction was narrowing and he knew it. As the bulk of the reinforcements were located on the other side of the training grounds to the west; barbarians on this side were still being hammered and running to and fro in an endless stalemate that could only lead to the death of one party.

Suddenly, smoke rose from the eastward side of the Pine forests. There was a fire in the forests!

It immediately caught Rehowlor's attention and the barbarians as well.

Everyone knew how important the forests were to the world and if there was indeed a fire rampaging through the forests, it was their responsibility and honourable duty to extinguish it.

Rehowlor flew up into the air and folded his arms allowing the warriors to funnel through the black gates to a piece of cheese, he thought, to discover the cause. They were at war but even in war, they had a code of honour which even Rehowlor respected and so afforded them the brief intermission. He hovered and watched as the barbarians carried buckets of water into the forests in a desperate flurry of panic and hysteria. Some even carried caskets as large as themselves to extinguish the fire.

Rehowlor looked on when suddenly, he saw a few hundred barbarians hurtling through the air over the great walls as if being flung like ragdolls by an angry master. They were all on fire as they crashed and immediately rolled on the ground trying to extinguish the burning flames around their bodies. Their comrades came to their rescue and doused the flames with the very water intended for the faraway fire.

A look of shock befell Rehowlor's visage! He wondered who could have caused this damage. He looked to the east to see if he could see or sense anyone. He then saw the rest of the barbarians backtracking slowly.

They drew their axes and had them primed for defence against a fiery figure that was approaching the kingdom on a flaming horseback. It was not a fire! The unknown warrior sauntered along without a care in the world towards Hallucen Black gates.

Rehowlor became very edgy as this dark rider arrived. He decided to come back down to the ground.

The dark rider's face was concealed in the mystery of his soot black armour of darkness. The horns of his midnight black helmet were extremely intimidating and lethal. His metallic black armour was illuminated brightly as the lightning from Rehowlor's body danced of its reflection. The dark rider had appeared from nowhere, him and his beautiful charcoal horse, which lit up the night with a burning torch. Their eyes oozed a calm fire as their bodies burned within it but surprisingly, no harm befell both man and horse. Though the skies were clouded with anger and magic, this pair matched the fury stride for stride as they drew closer and closer to Rehowlor.

Rehowlor was mesmerized for a moment, for he had never seen such a combination in such a long time. His mind was blank and could not put a name to the mysterious rider, though the deep recesses of his mind beckoned for him to remember. The forelock and mane of the beautiful ebony horse was literally on fire as fire-reins ran from its muzzle all the way to the gauntlet of the dark rider. The black silhouette of the body was clear, harmless to the rider but menacing to the barbarian bystanders. As they moved closer to Rehowlor, buildings close to them suddenly became hot and caught alight in fear.

Crackling houses sent many barbarians further away who surrounded them. After that, the barbarians kept their distance. No-one was sure who this warrior was and what this mysterious new stranger's intentions were, so it was a wise choice to make, to stay away for the moment. They lowered their axes and waited patiently.

The rider drew closer and closer to the elemental.

Rehowlor stood his ground.

The horse trotted slowly and methodically. The flaming horse and man suddenly stopped just a few feet away from the wicked elemental. They looked down upon him without flinching. Even his jet-black horse did not flinch nor twitch a sinew in its muscular, fiery body. Silence pervaded the entire training grounds. Not a word was uttered as the barbarians silently observed the interchange between the dark rider and Rehowlor.

Rehowlor returned the proud gesture with a conceited smile and placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head accepting the challenge of the somewhat familiar stranger. The rider then disembarked from his trusty horse and hit the ground with a loud thud that shook the very ground under his feet and broke the eerie silence.

Two thousand barbarians collectively blinked their eyes and raised their axes with a collective swish that rocked their boats towards more treacherous waters.

Rehowlor still did not flinch.

The dark rider's large and heavy black boots made impression at least thirteen inches deep in the hard ground of the barbarian training fields. The fire that consumed his body then cooled down somewhat, as he shifted his stance, but then flared up again as he turned to face Rehowlor.

Every barbarian in Hallucagenia felt the presence and power of this strange rider including Rehowlor and it began to deeply concern them.

Rehowlor quickly dissipated the trickle of sweat that rolled down the side of his beardy cheek with a small gust of wind he created.

The dark rider walked right up to the elemental and stood face to face with him. The fire that surrounded the dark rider blew backwards as he drew closer to Rehowlor's elemental winds of power. There was a major height difference between the stranger and Rehowlor, with the stranger being at least a foot and a half taller than Rehowlor. Rehowlor though, seemed to be unperturbed by the soaring temperature of this mysterious challenger even though he was emitting an incredible amount of heat from his body. They were locked in a catastrophic stare of power and ego which lasted for some time. The barbarians slowly started to gather around the two and felt the tension rise knowing that it would soon reach its boiling point. They said nothing keeping their axes low and their heads up, alert as ever.

Rufor was still lying unconscious in a pile of debris some distance away. The final blow he received was incapacitating. He was out cold and would not be able to witness anything tonight.

"And who may I ask are you, stranger? You look strangely familiar?" asked Rehowlor proudly. He always had this air of power and controlled self-confidence about him. He had to, for he was the leader of the elementals and the strongest of them. His hands were still on his hips as he squinted his stable, steel grey eyes shifting his head trying to remember where he last saw this familiar looking warrior.

"Come now! Do you not recognize me?" asked the dark rider in a deep and angry tone of voice. His dark black helmet had a thin slit but still, his face remained hidden. Only the fire within oozed out from that thin slit.

"Cannot say that I do but since you are not willing to refresh my mind, I am sure you would not mind if I kill you and these silly barbarians and put no names on your gravestones. Or maybe I'll just leave you where you stand without a proper burial. I am an old man and burying all these bodies may tire me out."

The dark rider kept his tilted head fixed in its condescending position. "Be careful what you wish for Rehowlor, I will enlighten you the hard way," threatened the dark rider.

Rehowlor was taken aback after the warrior mentioned his name. He wondered why he could not remember who this warrior was. No bells of recollection sounded in his mind. He was blank.

The dark rider's voice grew as did his figure for a moment making Rehowlor look even smaller. The raven black hilt of his sword began to glow a fiery volcanic and orange hue as the dark rider placed his left hand on it resting it there in his silver belt lined with dead white skulls as a buckle.

"So we are not strangers after all. I like your attitude! Such a pity though, that you won't go any further than today." Rehowlor became angry now and summoned an electric storm that swirled the heavy clouds of this dark night. He was preparing something big!

Everyone knew it, as they gazed up into the night sky. By now, Rehowlor was completely outnumbered. Reinforcements from the other side of the training grounds had arrived and totalled a hundred thousand strong but he did not care about that and they did not care about him any more. Their eyes were fixed on the strange, dark warrior who challenged him.

Nevertheless, Rehowlor continued to summon a gigantic swirl of wind and lightning which began to randomly strike and damage the houses all around them.

The stranger lifted his head up to briefly examine the nature of the attack and then drooped his head down and stared blankly into the ground that he knew would be stained with blood very soon.

"Haha!" laughed Rehowlor in sadistic manner. "Let me see how strong you really are dark warrior," shouted Rehowlor with a brutal smile on his face.

"With pleasure, Elemental!"

As the dark rider replied, a massive bolt of lightning from above was summoned and raced towards him with great speed and as it did, it transformed into a thunderous squawking eagle made of lightning. It was enormous and struck fear into the younger barbarians. It oozed electric lightning bolts that randomly struck defenceless targets immobilizing them immediately as it travelled towards the mysterious dark warrior. Its sight was deadset on destroying only the dark warrior and so it continued its way towards him as its conjurer laughed on. The eagle's screeching and squawking was deafening but everyone kept their cool, except for the younger barbarians who got a fried with rogue bolts. The older barbarians were still hung on their uneasy, familiar feeling about this dark warrior but none of them could remember nor explain it. They just stood in awe and silence.

Just before the eagle reached the dark warrior, the warrior drew his black and fire-orange sword that luminously glowed and held it in front of him facing it upwards.

The eagle was going to land and it was going to strike and surely kill the dark warrior. Rehowlor smiled! He knew the end was near as his eagle attack was one of his strongest and deadliest attacks in his arsenal.

The strange warrior tilted his head and saw the eagle coming towards him at an incredible speed but he saw everything in slow motion. Everything slowed down to a minimum speed. He perceived everything in slow motion. He zoomed up to Rehowlor's face and could see the sweat rolling down his face. He could see the flames of fires dancing slowly in the background. In the midst of the battle, he appreciated his great vision. He could see the pain that was caused and he truly wanted it to end. He could see the smile on Rehowlor's face disappear as he blocked the eagle attack, preventing the deadly beak from completely decimating him. The stranger's sword was beautifully lit up with a bright illuminating light that blinded everyone including Rehowlor momentarily. From the tip of the blade to the end of the handle it stood as tall as the warrior's shoulders. When cool, it was black, but now it was glowing red hot with the electric heat of a defeated eagle.

Rehowlor was stunned as his eyebrows lifted in amazement! He truly believed that no one or thing could survive that attack. Even the lightning eagle was stunned as it moved back a bit and hovered just in front of Rehowlor blowing the dust of disbelief from his eyes.

Neither the dark rider nor his horse behind him flinched.

The eagle then returned for round two. It kept pecking at the dark rider but he just kept blocking its attacks in an endless stalemate with single swipes of his massive sword. Eventually after a few minutes, the dark rider decided to end it! He jumped up and delivered a side slash that ripped the eagle right down the centre, in two.

The eagle squawked and returned back into its pure lightning state and disappeared back into the clouds above. Rehowlor was stunned and furious! He summoned a further ten more eagle strikes. They all appeared from the skies above and swooped down on the dark rider at the same time one after the other in perfect formation. Rehowlor was convinced that this time, the stranger would stand no chance. He was sadly mistaken.

The dark rider ducked and dodged every attempt with ease and slashed his sword exactly ten times killing all ten eagles instantly.

The eagles disappeared and so did Rehowlor's overconfidence. The barbarians found it very difficult to keep their jaws shut after what they had just witnessed! They knew Rehowlor. They knew that the old elemental was tough but to be dispatched with such ease was just insane. They wondered who this warrior was. The older barbarians memories began to stir and memories were creeping back into their minds but were vague and blurry windows that needed cleaning.

"Now, I am going to destroy you," exclaimed the dark rider in his deep and gruff voice. The fire emitted from the rider intensified and his armor began to glow white.

At that moment, something struck Rehowlor's mind as if he suddenly awoke from a bad nightmare and until he further understood his epiphany, he decided for now that the best course of action would be an untimely and uncharacteristic retreat. He resolved to regroup and for good measure, rethink his strategy. His retreat however, would not be so easily accomplished even though he could ride the winds, the dark rider could still match his speed with his trusty steed.

The dark rider jumped onto his horse which immediately sprinted at an incredible pace, just as fast if not faster than a Werethall wolf, towards the black gates. His steed jumped over it with ease like how wolves do so, and both the flaming horse and its mysterious rider vanished into the forests as a flaming thunder ball.

The clouds cleared revealing a clear, moonlit night with maps of visible, sparkling constellations in the sky.

Rufor got up just then with a sore head, back and a broken paw but other than that, he was fine.

Some of the barbarians, who were also shaken up, helped Rufor get up on his feet.

"Sir, are you all right there. You took a pretty heavy blow from that wretched elemental," asked one of the concerned barbarians.

"I am ok. I thank you. What happened?" replied a grateful and disorientated Rufor.

"Some mysterious black rider came to our aid sir. He dispatched the Wind Elemental with incredible ease and went after him like a canon catapult. They made off into the Pine forests towards Sarcodia. It was quite a battle, I say! I have never seen a defeat like that in me life sir. It was almost unbelievable. He had a beautiful horse too sir, yes, breathed in flame. He too was on fire sir, full of it, as hot as the sun, maybe hotter! It nearly seared the hairs off me chin and I was behind my mates, I promise you," answered one of the shaken barbarians.

"A flaming rider you say, very interesting! So Rehowlor made for the woods. He must have been spooked out of his mind. Ahhhh!" growled Rufor as he tried to get up onto his paws.

"Easy sir!" replied one of the concerned barbarians. "Your leg is broken. WE NEED A MEDIC HERE!" shouted the young barbarian.

Rufor winced in pain as he fell to his side. Then Rufor just remembered Valkin. He did not know how or where Valkin was.

"VALKIN, OH NO!!! Where is the boy?" asked a frantic and impatient Rufor realizing the possibility that he could have been killed in the confusion.

"Still in the training room sir, where he was last, we believe, did not see him come out at all even though there was such a loud commotion outside. He must have been really tired not to have heard it but the room of pain is soundproof," replied one of the barbarians.

"GO AND CHECK PLEASE!!!" shouted Rufor with blood spilling out of his mouth.

A few warriors ran over to the training room as the medics arrived to tend to Rufor. They busted down the door with their axes and began frantically searching for Valkin. They looked everywhere but he was nowhere to be found. They could still smell him though. He was close, but still out of sight. The warriors decided to split up and report back within the hour if they found him but there was no need to do that. They found him close by. He laid just behind the training room, quivering and shivering his life away on a warm summers evening. Something had struck so much fear into him that he could not even move. He was immobilized by it.

"Quick, we must get him some help. He has a terrible fever," replied a worried barbarian feeling Valkin's overheated body.

"To the medicinal hold!"

#  Enter the Dark Rider

"Quick, the boy is burning up! We must hurry now or a deep slumber may overcome him," warned the barbarian as they rushed him to the medicinal hut.

A limping, heavily bandaged Rufor sauntered behind them to Valkin's aid. He took one look at Valkin and understood exactly what his condition was and surmised that something had just spooked the boy and drove him into a terrible fever. They often called it, 'the frightening sickness!'

Valkin was now shaking and talking continuously in another language. No one could understand a word he was saying. His eyes kept on looking from side to side as if something or someone was following him. It was as if he was possessed by something. No one was sure if it was evil or not but everyone agreed to be extremely cautious until his condition improved.

They reached the healer's hut with Valkin in their arms.

The healer was an old barbarian with a bit of a slump in his back and a limp in his gait. His long, grey beard flowed onto his once muscular chest and a look of wisdom and experience filled his face. Clear, old glasses covered his eyes and rested upon his pointy nose as its silver frames shone in the firelight. His wrinkled facial features extended to the rest of his muscular body. The healer's name was Utalian. Utalian was perhaps the greatest barbarian healer alive today. His magical herbs and delightful teas strangely enough made him very famous. He motioned for the barbarian warriors to place Valkin on his white examination bed, which was a gingerbread brown and blood red color from the dressings of other wounded soldiers. He looked briefly at Valkin whose shivering began to slowly worsen into a violent convulsion

Valkin threw his head forward and backwards.

He knew immediately what the possible cause of the illness was. He turned to Rufor and Rufor shook his head in agreement with Utalian's thoughts. He then turned around to face his shelf of bottles and baskets of herbs. The shelves were neatly constructed giving him enough space to store all the necessary medicines. He looked at the basket in the centre of the middle shelf of three shelves. He plucked it out and stared at the black herbs within it and then glanced at Valkin. He grabbed some quickly and asked for some warm water and a wooden cup. He then proceeded to crush the herbs in his hands until a slushy liquid paste formed. One of the barbarians carefully brought the warm water to Utalian who immediately put the pulpy paste into the water and swirled it a few times to dissolve it.

Valkin's body began to jerk and vibrate continuously now as he began to froth at the mouth.

Utalian slowly approached him. "Here, take this Valkin, it will make you feel better." Utalian spoke at a slow, deliberately calming pace.

Valkin shook his head in disapproval and then his convulsions worsened. He threw his head back in a violent tantrum shaking it from side to side. It was a stark contrast to the humble and considerate person he was, under normal circumstances. Six barbarians had to hold him down. He was going crazy! His eyes rolled back and he began to scream and roar in his foreign language. It even struck some fear into the normally fearless barbarians who restrained him. He screamed and roared and shook his restrained right hand so hard that he threw two barbarians backwards into the wall. Rufor knew he had to step in now. He walked up to Valkin's bed and looked at him.

"Valkin, brother, you are not well. If you do not take this, you will die and then you will not be able to help us nor see your mother again. Do you want that?" At Rufor's declaration, Valkin quickly faced him and stopped talking. He was still breathing heavily and his eyes were wide open. He then turned to Utalian with his wooden cup and nodded in agreement to take the medicine. The barbarians still held him down restraining his brute force just in case he decided to have another tantrum. He raised his head and Utalian seized the opportunity to administer his medicine. He then put his head back on the pillow and stared into the ceiling and then closed his eyes. Suddenly, he let out a loud shout sending a jolt of electric fear into the barbarians who were holding him down and then slipped into a deep slumber. The barbarians who held him down let go on Utalians orders.

"Is he...?" asked Rufor.

Utalian drew closer to Valkin placed his hands on Valkin's hot head. "He is fine, just burnt out, that is all. Very strange to see this! Are you sure that he did not engage in battle? These are symptoms usually seen after an intense battle. It is a form post-battle stress so to speak." Utalian was perplexed.

"Reports from all the men say that he was locked up in the training room the entire time," replied an equally astounded Rufor gazing at the sleeping boy.

"Mmm...very strange and very interesting indeed! Okay, bring in the next one," motioned Utalian without any further care in the peculiar matter.

"Will do Utalian," replied the barbarians.

Rufor bowed his head slightly and was about to step outside when Utalian stopped him.

Valkin was indeed very much alive thanks to the good medicine concocted by the healer. They put a blanket over him and left him to rest on another bed. The barbarians left to attend to their other injured comrades leaving Rufor and Utalian seated next to Valkin. Rufor turned to Utalian.

"So, what do make of it?"

"Definitely the frightening sickness my friend! What intrigues me even more though is what could have possibly caused it?" Utalian held his chin in deep thought and shook his head.

The morning came and Valkin's head was still spinning from last night's ordeal. He got up to find his companion fast asleep on the floor next to his bed bearing a bandage around his wounded left paw and wondered how he acquired that injury. He rubbed his eyes and wondered about his new surroundings. He clearly remembered drifting off to sleep in the training room and now he was getting up in the healing hut. As he began to wonder more about it, a massive headache set in, causing him to yelp in pain.

Rufor awoke suddenly from his deep slumber next to the Valkin's bed. "Valkin, are you okay?" he asked as Valkin leant back onto his pillow. The gentle white covers were still on him.

"I'm ok. It's just my head. It hurts a lot! What happened? How did I get here Rufor? What happened to your paw?"

"I think for now you should just get some rest."

Valkin did so for another four hours. He got up again at noon. The sun was shining strongly and he felt good enough to come out of his sickly bed and experience it. He was greeted by the familiar voice of Rufor.

"Valkin, you should be in bed," complained Rufor who intercepted him.

"Thanks for looking after me. I am fine. I feel much better! Do not worry. I am just a little hungry though," laughed Valkin holding his starved stomach.

"Haha! That is very good to hear. Come, let me fix you something good to eat." Rufor got some of the porridge-looking stew for Valkin and both sat down to reluctantly eat.

"Any word from Vallentor and the others?" asked a concerned Valkin as he wolfed down the porridge.

"None, I'm afraid! I was only informed last night that they had entered the forbidden Wastelands of Selardor. Their presence could not even be sensed anymore by the highpriests."

"Highpriests?" asked Valkin with his enquiring mind.

"Also doctrines of magic and holy men, the highpriests were skilled in medicine and matured with knowledge. They meditate and live in the beautiful temples within the city walls."

"Ah! Interesting! Yah, I hope their alright." Valkin finished up and sat down again next to Rufor and admired the sun's rays. He then looked down into the ground and stared blankly at it trying to drown his sorrows in the empty beneath him.

"I am sure they are Valkin, I am sure they are. Valkin, silly question, but do you remember what happened last night?"

"Yes about that Rufor. I was going to ask you why so many of the buildings were destroyed because I certainly do not remember them being in this condition when I last saw them."

"So, you do not remember a thing, Valkin, is that right?" persisted Rufor.

"Well, I remember you dropping me off at the training room last night and I also remember you leaving. After that, I hit the hay and fell off to sleep. Everything else is just a big blur hey." Valkin scratched his heavy head in confusion.

Rufor still felt that, that was not all that Valkin could remember and so he kept pressing him for much sought after answers. "Tell me about your blur. Maybe I can help you clear it up," insisted his wolven friend.

"I do remember falling off to sleep. That I remember well. I love sleeping you know. Oh yes! Now I remember! I did have a strange nightmare last night. It was dark and I could not see anything but someone or something was coming for me! Whatever it was, it was not friendly. It was coming to cause pain and suffering. Let me try to remember, what did it look like now..." Valkin closed his eyes and held his head trying to remember what he dreamt about.

Rufor paused giving him some time to regain his thoughts.

Valkin then continued, "...yes it was a man, a very powerful man, and dark in color. He came down from the heavens to terrorize our kingdom. No-one could stop him. It was so vivid and clear, this dream or nightmare. The next thing I knew, I was getting up in some strange bed in the healing hut losing my mind." Valkin looked back at Rufor who was lost in thought for a moment. "That's all I remember."

Rufor nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Rufor! You still did not tell me what happened last night over here?"

"Oh! Yes. Well, we had a little accident after you fell off to sleep. There was a violent electric storm that came through last night from the south and wreaked great havoc in our lands. It was quite a shocking experience indeed. Never saw anything quite like it in my time. Luckily, no-one was severely hurt." Rufor was very calm and smiled.

Valkin did not suspect a lie from his wolven comrade. The innocent smile from Rufor got the better of him and that was that. "That is great to hear. We do not want any casualties before the war even starts. Well, I should better find my mentors Raven and Marve. I am sure they would want to make up for some lost time."

"No need to worry, Valkin. I will find them for you. Sit tight young man. I will be back just before you know it." Rufor dashed out from the medicinal hold and jumped over the black gates that separated them from the royal hut and ran as fast as he could.

Raven and Marve were waiting for him outside the golden gates.

"Ah! Yes Rufor, good to see that you are okay. We were so worried about you," replied Raven.

Marve bowed out of respect.

"Cut the shit Raven! WHERE IN THE WORLD WERE YOU LAST NIGHT WHEN WE NEEDED YOU? Rehowlor almost levelled the east side of Hallucagenia and you were nowhere in sight. I am surprised you did not feel his presence or maybe you did?" Rufor was furious with the brothers and he let them have it.

"Whoa! Calm down wolven brother! We were out on night scout duty patrolling the Pine forests. You knew that! What are you trying say Rufor? That we let him go! Just remember who is protecting our borders at night, wolf king," replied Raven gritting his teeth and clenching his fists towards Rufor's hostility.

"Don't you think that protecting Hallucagenia was a higher priority last night rather than follicking in the bushes? You two need a lesson in common sense." Rufor growled at the Ominous brothers with disgust.

Raven drew his charcoal black sword and was about to stab Rufor but Marve held him back restraining him.

Rufor extended his claws readying himself for Raven's attack.

"YOU ARE LUCKY THAT MARVE WAS HERE, RUFOR..."

"..Or what, you will stab me with your toothpick," replied Rufor with his claws drawn. "I do not have time to kill, Raven. Go and see to the boy and do your job or else I will make some time to kill!"

Raven smacked his lips as Marve pulled him away from Rufor who gave them a sidewards glance of vengeance.

"By all means," replied Raven giving Rufor a look of death as he walked past the Wolven King.

#  The Toll of Burnt sienna

"Do you think it is true what they say?" asked Mike staring into the distance. His dirty, ruddy brown features blended in perfectly with the surroundings making him disappear upon the crests of the sand dunes. They were out on scout duty with Vallentor this morning.

"About what now, Mike?" replied an extremely irritated Pixie who felt like the mother of an annoying cub which just did not want to shut up!

"About the Wastelands, and that those who cross over it, never return home!"

"Well, I am not sure Mike. But if we do make it, I will be sure to let you know," replied Pixie in a sarcastic manner.

"Haha! Very funny, but seriously, come on!" Mike was stressing to a point before crying. He just realized that he did not have a litter of his own yet and an incredible swell of regret blocked out his beautiful vision from the horizon.

"No-one is foolish enough to do what we are doing, but I have this funny feeling that we are going to find out just how foolish we have been today," replied a very concerned Pixie as she stared into vast distance that lay before them.

The sun always shone brightly in the Wastelands, for not a soul in sight dwelt there to lighten it with shadows and trickles of life. The granular sands swirled into the air clouding the vision of the warriors once again making their early start more difficult than yesterdays. They walked into the unknown; a no man's land with no one and nothing in it not knowing whether or not they would survive another day in this wretched place.

Tereartre was seated under a large rock and smoked his pipe stuffed with some roaring winged tulipa and gazed into the morning fire. A meagre breakfast of oats and water was prepared by Vallentor, who went out earlier to scout for possible dangers that lay ahead. His pipe was a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation. The bowl was constructed from simple clay and the stem from a fusion of pine, oak and amber. It was a magnificent piece of history! As he puffed, the tulipa within it burned a brighter red color. He methodically puffed his pipe in silent contemplation until the tulipa within had finished.

Then, Vallentor and the wolves returned from their morning scout. As Vallentor approached, Tereartre's puffs became deeper and more drawn out reddening the tulipa remains, timing a perfect finish as Vallentor jumped off Pixie.

"Tereartre, we must begin early," suggested the barbarian king dishing out some oats to eat.

"I agree Vallentor," replied a seated Tereartre.

"The sun shines a little too brightly today. It will hinder us greatly." Vallentor sat down and cautiously ate his oats as Tereartre stood up and walked around the back of the rock to face the sun and the direction that they were heading. A jolt of energy ran through Vallentor's body as he could feel the slightest of changes in the energy field of the air. He stopped eating, smiled and then continued to eat.

"Pixie, Pixie, can you hear me?" asked Tereartre to his faithful wolven companion.

Pixie twitched her nose and raised her head slightly hearing her master's voice inside her head. "I can hear you my master," she replied.

"Good, continue talking to Mike. Vallentor already suspects us but since he cannot hear us yet, it may be safe to talk. What was he scouting for?" asked a very concerned Tereartre.

"I am not sure master, we did not go far. I only saw the blurry mirages in the distance and nothing else. We then went our separate ways to widen the scout. He did not speak a word the entire time."

"Okay, thanks Pixie, keep your eyes open, I am coming back." Tereartre casually walked around the corner and joined Vallentor who was just finishing up.

Vallentor stood up. "Pixie, Mike, time to go!" he ordered.

The two wolves got up from the ground and came beside their masters. The two men then jumped on and they were off.

They travelled for hundreds of miles. The great expanse of the empty desert never seemed to cease and the shades of tawny brown swirls intensified as they pressed forward. Vallentor feared that soon, visibility would be near zero but luckily, the keen sense of sight & smell provided by both Pixie and Mike would prove to be invaluable.

Vallentor and Tereartre had to shield their eyes with specials visors made from the tree sap and amber from the Pine Forests so no dust could get in.

Pixie and Mike had to narrow their vision down to a thin slit of their eye openings with only the protection of their long eyelashes. Only the combination of sights kept them going in the right direction. They kept on running for hours.

The sun's rays seemed to shine less strongly as the swirls turned into small sand storms.

"Vallentor, these winds are picking up, be weary. We must navigate through them very carefully," cautioned the very experienced Tereartre.

The winds were now in full force and began to harass them persistently with vicious, unforgiving whips. Vision was better now but to no consolation as the warriors had to contend with severe dust storms.

Tereartre looked around to see the winds blowing up dust towards them. He felt this to be strange. "Vallentor, be careful, I sense a disturbance within these storms as if they have a conscious of their own, minds set against us."

"Tell me that doesn't mean..." replied Vallentor who was cut off by a hastening Tereartre Levon.

"...Keep moving or die!" replied Tereartre in a very ominous.

Pixie and Mike looked at each other and then decided to increase their speed and spread out a bit to split the storms attack.

Tereartre and Vallentor almost fell off but they managed to hold on to their reins as the wolves shot to opposite sides diverging and converging trying to create confusion to make themselves difficult to track. Tereartre was right about the storms. They did have minds of their own controlling their actions. Unfortunately, for the four warriors, the storms' minds were telling them to dispose of the strangers. The storms were not actually storms but giant tornadoes. The tornadoes totalled about a hundred making them into a giant superstorm and they were all lined up side by side giving chase.

"SIR, THERE IS RISE UP AHEAD, NOT A HUNDRED MILES AWAY," exclaimed Mike as he pressed forward.

"HURRY MY GOOD FRIEND. IT MAY YET BE OUR ONLY HOPE," answered Vallentor above the howling tornadoes.

"WHAT ARE THESE STORMS? THEY TRAVEL JUST AS FAST AS WE DO," replied Pixie.

"QUIT THE CHATTER PIXIE AND GET A MOVE ON IT!" interrupted Mike.

The tornadoes were right on them now but so was the dune rise. The rise slowed the tornadoes down giving the warriors a chance to escape over it in the hope of stalling the giant tornadoes just for a bit longer.

The wolves were panting heavily but their stamina training was now paying off. They made it over the dune safely with no tornado in sight, not even a sound. Still, they kept running. Then, suddenly and from nowhere, they appeared again from the skies above, so stealthily that none of the warriors picked them up. This caused the wolves to grind to an uncomfortable halt.

Their masters also came to an uncomfortable halt with their heads stuck in the sand after they were flung off their respective wolves.

The tornadoes had them surrounded! All hundred were now swirling on the spot in a circle of death, biding their time, playing with their prey.

"Well Pixie, you said we were going to find out if the ones who cross this forsaken place ever return home. Well, I think we are about to find out now!"

#  A shocking discovery

"I tell you Braithwaite, I tried...," replied Rehowlor.

"TRYING IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH, REHOWLOR, LEADER OF THE BLOODY ELEMENTALS, OR ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING ELSE?" shouted King Braithwaite who clenched his fists with a fit of rage.

The other elementals that were seated at the royal table behind Rehowlor were equally perplexed at their leader's sudden change of heart and newfound, fear stricken attitude.

The slender, lean frame of Falkarnor sat proudly, silently chuckling to himself! His fair, red skin and burning hair were a testament to his youthful ego and pride which overshadowed his thin 6 ft, 176 lb frame. His one leg hung over the royal chair as he sarcastically smiled with white eyes at his leader's feeble explanations to King Braithwaite. Falkarnor's red robes were lined with fire, which he suppressed to prevent the chair, that he was seated upon, from burning up.

The much cooler Hyedrasor however, doused Falkarnor's flames of egotistic flair with his benevolence and calmness. Although Hyedrasor was more than twenty pounds lighter than his younger fierier counterpart was, he made up in terms of height standing 6 ft 2 inches tall. His tanned blue skin sparkled with serenity as his watery wavy hair shone and flickered in the sunlight. His eyes were also hot orange like the flaring sun and his skin was a silky turquoise blue speckled with dark blue spots of barnacles in places. An ocean blue robe brought a sense of placid peace to the group of Elementals that he was part of.

Only the blank stare of his fellow elemental Groudenor grounded him. Groudenor, the elemental of the earth was a man of stone and a man of the earth. At 10 ft, 5 inches, he stood head and shoulders above his fellow elementals. A cracked orange and sand brown face was his visage, which covered a gentle heart of stone and a powerful 600 lb mass of over 400 lbs of muscle. His earth green eyes and brown robe made this tree of a man one of the biggest warriors known. He was so large that a barbarian resembled a dwarf in front of his monstrosity.

All three Elementals were seated and listened intently to Rehowlor's account of the fateful night before.

"Are you trying to tell me, that you, the great leader of the elementals, has failed to do the simple task of harassment?" asked the angry king as he stared down upon Rehowler with beady, cedar brown eyes. King Braithwaite was chubby, but still, he was a big man and quite taller than Rehowlor.

"SIR!!! Please give me a chance to explain what happened," replied Rehowlor in cool and calm manner.

King Braithwaite let out a sigh of disappointment but afforded Rehowlor the opportunity to explain.

However, Rehowlor gave in to some irritation aroused by King Braithwaite's condescension before he did. "Do not threaten us! And do not underestimate us!"

King Braithwaite was taken aback by Rehowlor's unnecessary boldness bordering on hostility towards him.

"Are you threatening me, Rehowlor? Well, how much do you value your little sanctuary in the mountains?"

All the elementals were on their feet now at the very mention of the sacred 'Sanctuary', their home in the mountain range near Killithur. King Braithwaite's threat to their homeland displeased them greatly. Even, the generally calm Hyedrasor and Groudenor were up on the feet, clenched their fists as Sarcodian servants picked up their chairs which violently flew backwards in the process. They knew how strong King Braithwaite was. If he wanted to, he could have easily dispatched them and destroyed Sanctuary.

Rehowler then stepped forward and faced Braithwaite who smiled contently as he knew he had them right where he wanted them.

"You would not dare? That would be a breach of our contract!" asked Rehowlor as the visage of the Elementals grew stronger behind him wondering what 'contract' Rehowlor was referring to.

"Relax Rehowlor! It is too early in the morning to be talking about such things. Sit down everybody," smiled Braithwaite in a very reassuring manner as the Elementals slowly sat back down, except for Rehowlor, who was still giving his account of the events that had transpired.

"You have made your point, great king. What do you want?" replied Rehowlor in apparent defeatist emotionless stare.

"Come now, why so serious, Rehowlor! All I want is your co-operation and for now, I want some answers. Therefore, here is your opportunity to start explaining. You were given a task to harass the barbarians by killing as many as you could, but you failed in that simple task. I am curious as to why? You clearly said to me that you will not need your friends here to accomplish this task but here we are, wondering why you failed. You owe us a damn good explanation! So, start talking!" King Braithwaite was in a no nonsense mood.

"Ok good king," replied Rehowlor in a very sarcastic manner. "That is a fair enough question but you may not like my answer. I could not possibly take any lives yesterday because my attacks were thwarted by someone far stronger than myself."

The heads of his Elemental colleagues rose with interest as Rehowlor's head lowered. He recollected the painful sequence of events that had occurred yesterday. He seemed lost in thought for quite some time, so much so, that King Braithwaite walked over to see if he was still conscious. He came back from his thoughts at the sound of Braithwaite's thunderous clap.

"Rehowlor, my dear friend, this is very intriguing! Of all the years that I have known you, I have never seen you so spooked. Haha! This is indeed a spectacle! Whomever spooked you, must have been quite something. I am intrigued! Please continue! Haha!"

Bellorus and all the king's servants stood in silence awaiting Rehowlor to continue but he couldn't for King Braithwaite started to laugh. "Haha!"

Rehowlor was totally out of it. He was angry, furious, but at that point he was far too lost in his visions and thoughts to respond. He never heard the laughter around him. Braithwaite took the opportunity to dig at him some more, just for the fun of it and just because he could.

"Haha!! Do not tell me, was it the Werethall? Haha! Oh, wait! Ladies and gentlemen, was it the wolven king that beat you?"

Only Falkarnor was in stitches and almost fell off his chair in the process.

King Braithwaite walked to Falkarnor and embraced him in laughter. Both of them were in tears as they hugged each other.

The servants stood still, filled with sympathy for the silent Rehowlor.

When Braithwaite mentioned, "wolf", Rehowlor thought about how he flung poor Rufor into the air and sent him crashing down but his thoughts always came back to the main event that occurred afterwards.

"Okay, okay," replied Braithwaite trying to compose himself for a moment catching his breath. "Who was this someone?"

Rehowlor lifted his head sensing that Braithwaite was not finished with his onslaught.

Braithwaite did not disappoint and closed his eyes and said, "I know who it was!" Braithwaite opened his eyes and turned to Bellorus.

Falkarnor awaited the cherry on the top.

"It was a barbarian girl. Ahh HAAAAHHAAAAA!"

Falkarnor was finished and totally incapacitated with laughter and rolled on the floor.

Hyedrasor and Groudenor just sat quietly and observed Rehowlor's reaction. Hyedrasor was watching Rehowlor all the time examining his body language and felt the fear he felt within.

Rehowlor kept his gaze on Braithwaite and slowly he started to smile.

Braithwaite and Falkarnor started to calm down as Rehowlor started to smile even more. His smile then turned into little chuckle and then into a full blown laugh.

Braithwaite looked at him weirdly. As far as he was concerned, 'the joke was up so what in the world was Rehowlor laughing at,' he thought. Just as Braithwaite was about to stop Rehowlor's selfish chuckle, the elemental abruptly stopped his own personal joke and looked straight at the king comfortably seated in his royal chair awaiting a response that he himself delayed. "Well good king, you wanted to know who that someone was!"

Braithwaite nodded in agreement. "Out with it, Rehowlor! Remember, I play the games around here, not you." King Braithwaite was suddenly very serious now.

"Well, in that case, I am anxious to see how the game changes with the addition of an well-known player because the man that defeated me last night, was the Flaming Rider himself!" Rehowlor turned around and immediately walked straight out of the king's chambers slamming the doors behind him.

The other elementals stood up in horror and were completely stunned and immediately looked at King Braithwaite awaiting a reaction from the Sarcodia King. It did not even hit Braithwaite yet but when it did, it was a rock falling into his arms! He knew he could not carry the weight but still, the rock had fallen. The ice above an ocean had just cracked and caused an iceberg to fall into the vast depths of coldness below. He was caught in that underwater current that swept him further and further away. His eyes twitched and his hands were calculated, as his head looked from side to side not focusing on anything in particular. His mind started to race and contemplated the chance, the possibility! Braithwaite all of sudden seemed lost in thought and then started to shake his head repeatedly saying, 'NO!' several times. He felt like Rehowlor felt a moment ago.

His chamber doors then suddenly burst open. It was Rehowlor who returned with a glass of ice-cold juice in his hand, after the first shockwave he sent through the king's halls. At least, Rehowlor had the decency to let the reality sink in. He walked straight to the king.

King Braithwaite slowly lifted his head up revealing his bloodshot eyes to Rehowlor.

Rehowlor relished every moment of it.

Poor Bellorus was also breathing very heavily now and coughed away the last bit of life left in his body as he stood behind King Braithwaite's chair.

There was a tangible change in the atmosphere to a somber one of mourning and confusion, which Rehowlor immediately saw fit to recognize and highlight in vengeance. "My word! Whatever happened in here? It was so happy and jolly just a moment ago and now, you all look as if someone has told that you were going to die today. Was it something I said? YES, GOOD KING," shouted Rehowlor suddenly. "IT'S HIM, THE BLOODY FLAMING RIDER!," replied Rehowlor as he drew closer to Braithwaite whose head tilted down and half covered by his hand which reluctantly lifted to challenge Rehowlor's words.

"Your old age has deceived you! He died, years ago, at the edge of Mt. Death!" whispered Braithwaite. "Are you sure you saw what you saw? Did he bear the marks...?"

Rehowlor cut in. "...of the Dark Knight insignia, yes!"

Braithwaite continued panting heavily with growing anger and pain in his entire body. "Did he ride...?"

Rehowlor cut in again. "...the flaming horse, yes!"

"What about his armor. Was it on...?"

Rehowlor cut in again in a verbal interchange, which cut Braithwaite more and more each time he replied. "...fire. Like the sun, filled with rage and power!"

"Did you see the sword Rehowlor? Did you?"

"...I felt the heat of it send shivers down my spine. It was him! I felt it! At first, I did not want to believe it. To be honest, I had forgotten all about him. I do not know how he survived the fall after literally destroying himself but somehow that man or whatever he is did. He is alive! Helleus Kendor is very much alive and well! So, King of Kings, that means you are going to need more than a million men and at least a hundred of those mighty dragons from your Razortorian friends just to try and put a dent in that armor! As for the rest of the men, you might as well kill them yourself, if you are planning to send them into battle against him."

King Braithwaite looked back at Rehowlor with bloodshot eyes as he gritted his teeth in defeat. He knew the elemental would not lie about something of this magnitude. There was nothing to gain from deception.

King Braithwaite was overcome with raw emotion and dismissed them from the throne room to restrategize.

The elementals left knowing that the new complexity of the situation would also not make things any easier for them as well.

King Braithwaite began talking to himself trying to figure out how this was possible or was it possible. 'What if this was some elaborate elusion conjured up to scare them? But what if it was true? What if the Helleus Kendor was really alive? What if he has gotten stronger? So many questions and so few answers!' he thought. He felt helpless. He leant down on his lonely table and fell off into a deep, uneasy slumber.

#  A Dream

"And? Is it true?" asked a very excited Marve teetering on his tiptoes awaiting a good answer from Rufor.

"Yes, and confirmed by over a hundred thousand barbarians," answered a somewhat concerned Rufor.

They were still standing outside the golden gates of the royal hut discussing the previous night's events.

"Vallentor and Tereartre must know about this, if they return! I am sure they will be most intrigued! Perhaps it is best not to tell Valkin anything at this stage," suggested Marve.

"I think that's the right decision. Until we know for sure what exactly is going on, Valkin should know nothing! The training should continue," suggested Raven.

"We had better make haste or he will suspect something."

Marve and Raven sped off in a flurry of haste. They did not even have time to wait for the old gatekeeper to open the gate. They simply jumped over it with ease. A remarkable feat indeed, for mere men but Marve and Raven were no mere man.

Rufor looked on as the Death brothers scaled the gates. He then retreated to the forest on the other side of the kingdom to gather his thoughts in solitude.

Marve and Raven landed just in front of Valkin, who was patiently awaited their arrival, with a loud thud that shook the earth.

"Wow, I have got to learn how to do that!" replied a flabbergasted Valkin.

"In time you will, Valkin. But for today's lesson we are going to teach you how to become a bit faster. Raven!"

Valkin realigned his focus to Raven.

They stood in front of the medicine hold. All the other barbarians were busy working all around them, carrying weapons, sparring and constructing tools.

Valkin kept his attention though.

"Okay Valkin, the best way to improve speed is, as we told you earlier, to run," replied Raven nodding his head.

"Run! No problem, I can do that!" Valkin thought that should be an easy enough task. 'All the chasing after Rocko would come in handy here so it would be walk in the park for him,' he thought.

"Yes, that's right, run," reiterated Marve.

Valkin had a confused look on his face. He could not believe that he could improve his speed by simply running.

"Look, do not forget, we know what you are thinking, Valkin, so you may want to watch your thoughts there," replied Marve jabbing Valkin's shoulder.

"I am sorry masters. It is just that it does not seem possible to substantially increase my speed by just running," replied Valkin massaging his sore shoulder.

"Anything is possible if the mind and the heart is in the right place and if the right kind of motivation is also in place," replied Marve with a sinister, sly chuckle to his elder brother Raven who returned the chuckle with a naughty smile of his own.

"Okay, what do I have to do?" asked a very curious but worried Valkin considering his last training session with the Ominous brothers.

"Well, Marve and I have a little exercise that we give all those whom we teach. Marve, if you will do the honors?" motioned Raven.

Marve begun to whistle slowly and then loudly. He called for something or someone! Then, Valkin heard something big running towards them from the distance. It was coming from the direction of the Pine forests. Everyone could hear it and started to laugh and smile at Valkin, for they knew exactly what was coming! Its footsteps were thunder and each one caused the earth to shake as it drew closer and closer the edge of the forest.

Finally, it revealed itself.

Valkin could not believe what he saw when it finally did!

It stood on the edge of the forest overlooking the great black entrance gates and growled loudly sending shivers of excitement into every warrior on the training grounds.

"Well, Valkin, are you ready to run now?" smiled Raven.

Valkin glanced at him with a false smile, which hid his insecurity and crippling fear. He then refocused his gaze back on the familiar creature as he backtracked from Raven and Marve. "You have got to be joking!" He was shocked and concerned.

"No, we're not!" laughed Raven.

Valkin thought they were mad but he was sure that there was method behind this madness, however mad it seemed.

The barbarians were all smiling now. They did not get to witness much action often in the training grounds and so they welcomed the opportunity to be spectators to the show, especially after last night's show! They temporarily downed tools and made a pathway that encircled the entire kingdom. Some actually brought stools to sit down and watch whilst others placed zafrith bets of small amounts.

Valkin wondered what was going on. "I do not know what kind of exercise this is, but if it entails chasing or being chased by a Bararg, then I do not want to be a part of it!" he exclaimed.

"Aw Valkin, what's the matter? Are you scared?" laughed Raven.

All the barbarians let out a collective sigh and were so disappointed. Some even decided to leave, but many stayed back still smiling knowing the persistent style of coaching that the Ominous brothers possessed.

"Well now Valkin, do not be such a sissyboy. You have not even started running yet. Relax, do not worry, you can be sure that you won't be doing the chasing. It is actually the latter." Raven then turned to the Bararg and shouted at the top of his voice, "HE IS ALL YOURS!" clasping his palms to amplify his voice to the angry beast that overlooked them. The crowd of barbarians cheered.

"WHAAAAAT!!!!" shouted a very worried and shocked Valkin as he held his beating heart in his hands and tried to squeeze it back into his chest.

The Bararg did not need a second invitation to this wedding. He jumped over the gates with ease and dug his claws into the ground and made b-line straight for Valkin.

Luckily, the training grounds were large enough and Valkin had some time to make an extremely wise decision. Run!

The barbarians watched on as the mouse-body of Valkin scrambled between them in a hurry trying to get away from the angry Bararg.

Valkin jumped and leapt over workshops and dodged other buildings in his way. He pulled off moves that he could only dream. 'It was truly amazing how fast one could run when there's the right kind of motivation and an incentive for living,' he thought.

The barbarians cheered and shouted for Valkin. "COME ON BOY! GO FOR IT!" they shouted although they knew that Valkin would not make the first round. No one does!

Naturally, Raven and Marve spared no expense for this aspect of Valkin's training as they seconded the King of Barargs himself who was fortunately very good friends with Tereartre. He had been called upon many times before to train the apprentices of Raven and Marve and he was indeed the same Bararg that feigned an attack upon the warriors in the thicket of the Pine forests. His name was Bruce, King of the Barargs and his sense of direction was immaculate! No building was destroyed as he pursued poor Valkin who was getting pretty tired and scared now.

They had run halfway around the training grounds and surprisingly though, Valkin was still not giving up. He was determined to survive!

The Bararg acknowledged and admired the boy's courage and determination but both he and Valkin knew that the curtain drew near.

Valkin felt his heart pumping harder and harder as he desperately tried to stuff it back into his chest. His abdominals ached more and more but he knew that if he stopped, he would fail this test or worse, become lunch to an angry, hungry Bararg. He kept turning around as he ran to remind himself of what was chasing him, but the gap between them closed fast.

Bruce was actually holding back to give the barbarians more of a show and give them their money's worth as many barbarians were betting on the outcome.

Valkin sweated buckets now, so much so, that his vision was clouded by the downpour which he could not stop. He was fading quickly into exhaustion and defeat. He knew it! His race was coming to a close! At that precise moment, his entire body begun to give off a strange glow. It was a bright lemon white light and his entire body was now completely immersed in it. It was so bright that it actually began to blind the pursuing monstrosity of Bruce. The light could even be seen from the other side of the training grounds by Raven and Marve who were very curious and confused now as to where this strange source of light was emanating from. Valkin did not realize it himself; he just kept on running. The firefly glow of his moving body strongly pulsated making it very difficult for Bruce to track him.

Bruce though, kept up the pace and refused to be distracted by some mere light show.

Valkin realized that soon he would become a tasty lunch and knowing that the end was near, he decided to give up, but surprisingly his body would not allow him to do so. It was a strange scenario indeed, his mind wished to give up but his body did not! He was shocked. He could not believe what he was experiencing. It felt as though his body was surging forward with newfound energy but the source was still completely unknown to him.

Both Valkin and Bruce were still running around the training grounds and were now coming around back to where they had started and to where Raven and Marve were. It was indeed an unprecedented event that transpired right before their eyes. No one had ever made it this far! If Valkin succeeded in doing so, he will be the first.

Raven watched the corner anxiously from where Valkin was expected to emerge. Both Marve's and his eyes were trained on that side of the grounds and so were the eyes of thousands of eager barbarians clutching onto their hard-earned zafrith. They could only wonder what was happening on the other side. Raven was the first to spot Valkin and nudged Marve as the cheers of thousands of barbarians erupted for Valkin with the ones who betted on him cheering the loudest. Some barbarians, who did not, threw their axes straight into the ground in disappointment and irritation but stayed out of respect.

"That's something you do not see everyday, Marve," laughed Raven.

"Perhaps there is more to this young man than meets the eye, Raven," replied Marve with a chuckle.

"Indeed. A wise choice by Vallentor! A wise choice indeed," replied Raven.

The barbarians were captivated by this strange light that Valkin was emitting and the chase in general, so much so, that most of them formed a neater border that marked the racing area all around the entire training grounds. The word had even travelled to within the farming area and eventually to the great royal hut.

Princess Melody had gotten wind of the news that drifted through Hallucagenia that Valkin was undergoing the famous speed test of the Death brothers. She strangely began to worry, as she sat back down on her bed for she knew that no one had ever outrun Bruce in the history of the test.

Valkin examined his hands and legs and saw no change in their appearance. It did not explain the definite change he felt within him. Then, without warning, his legs started to run a little faster by themselves. He started to extend the gap between himself and Bruce.

Bruce quickened his pace to bridge the gap.

The crowd cheered on as they watched the two spectacles race around the grounds going into the second lap.

Neither was willing nor ready to give up just yet. Valkin decided to test the limits of this strange new energy that seemed to have suddenly possessed him. He increased his speed with his own will, slowly at first, for a couple of seconds, and then maintained that speed. Once he saw that he could maintain that speed, he then pushed himself further. As a result, Bruce fell further and further behind him. Without even realizing it, he approached the speed of a Werethallic wolf.

Bruce found himself panting heavily now as he knew that he was reaching his speed limit now! Barargs were strong, much stronger than Werethall wolves but nowhere near as fast. They lacked the longevity of a long distance hunter.

Valkin kept up his good form. Not once did he gasp for air. He was focused and determined. His movements became very difficult to track now for the Bararg king.

Only the barbarians and the Death brothers could see him running now.

The barbarians were all still cheering up until they suddenly lost sight of him. Collective murmurs were heard all around the grounds. The boy, who they saw running not a moment ago, had suddenly vanished.

Valkin was nowhere to be found!

It was strange because he was right there a moment ago! The truth was that he was still there and he was still running. What he did was, increase his speed, just a notch. The strange energy surge within allowed him to do so. He now surpassed the speed of the wolves and entered into unknown territory where speed was concerned for a normal human and that was what made it difficult for the barbarians to see. The whole of the training grounds now moved in slow motion. Everyone's actions begun to seize as Valkin ran past them.

He must have passed Bruce at least twenty times! He could see the struggle in Bruce's eyes and the saliva running from his mouth splashing onto his furry umber brown body. He could also see the trail of dust that he had left behind being hurled into the air.

Raven and Marve however, were still tracking his movements closely with their eyes. Their hands were crossed in excitement, as they observed this strange power! They had never seen anything quite like it before. They had only heard of such things in old stories of prodigies. They smiled in appreciation and decided not to interfere with Valkin's moment of glory.

Valkin kept up the pace until he felt cramps set in from deep within his abdominals. He held his stomach tightly as his speed decreased. He slowly started to become visible again.

The crowd that was silent a moment ago erupted in cheers once, again as Valkin reappeared in front of them coming to an abrupt halt. He winced in pain as his knees dropped to the ground and then fell to his side just as had Bruce caught up to him.

Raven & Marve were soon on the scene but luckily it was not too serious, just a minor case of natural fatigue that Valkin was experiencing, that was all.

Valkin got up and dusted himself clean. The brown ashes and dust blew away with the breeze and he was clean again.

Raven, Marve and Bruce stood in front of him with looks of utter amazement.

Bruce was first to break the ice. "How did you do that young lad? I have raced against all of Raven and Marve's students and none have ever outrun me before on their first time." Bruce got a little closer to Valkin to marvel at him. His huge hairy body had cast a great big shadow upon little Valkin but only a shadow of intrigue and wonder.

Raven and Marve stood patiently beside the Bararg king and awaited a response from Valkin.

"Well, I am not quite sure myself. All I know was that a great surge of energy filled my body with the determination and the strength I needed to outrun you, and to everyone's including my own surprise, I somehow did. That is all I know."

Raven was not totally convinced. A look of doubt filled his face.

"...but Valkin, you were glowing. Did you not see that?" asked a very curious Raven with his arms folded.

"No, I did not. When I was running, I did inspect my body but it looked normal to me," replied Valkin innocently.

Raven carefully looked into Valkin's deep brown hazel eyes.

Valkin stared back at Raven and wondered what all the fuss was about. All he did was outrun a Bararg King that could not be outrun by any learner warrior before!

Raven sensed no lie within him. He truly did not know what he had just done.

Marve however, was not convinced. He wanted to re-test Valkin. "Hey Valkin, wanna race against me?"

"I am not sure if I am even able to walk Marve..."

Marve cut into Valkin's feeble excuses with a knife of determination. "Do you need a second invitation?"

The barbarians were all standing silently. This had never happened before as well, where the teacher publicly took on the student.

Valkin pondered about it for a second, thought about his newfound power and then gave in to the challenge. "Okay, let us do it!" replied an excited Valkin.

"You are sure that you do not need a breather, boy?" asked Raven.

"No sir, I feel fine," replied Valkin.

Marve smiled at Valkin's bravery and at Raven.

"Go easy on him Marve! He is just a boy!" said Raven.

Valkin was quite perplexed and felt somewhat insulted seeing that he just beat the 'crap' out of Bruce's record but he made no fuss. He was feeling good now and he felt that if he could tap into his newfound power again, he would have a good chance against his teacher.

Marve stretched his body and neck and then jumped up and down to warm up. He lined up next to Valkin and readied himself!

So did Valkin!

The barbarians looked on. They watched and waited!

Raven waited for a moment. Then, he gave the signal and before Valkin could even take his first step, he saw a trail of dust beside him and Marve standing just in front of him holding something in his hand. It was a flower, a blue iris sold only in the Sarcodian market.

Valkin was shocked and stood still with a gaping mouth! He knew that those flowers only came from that market, for he had seen them during his short tour of the city before he was abducted by Vallentor. He began to sweat profusely.

Marve smiled, turned to face him, tapped him on the shoulder and walked off back to the royal hut.

Valkin looked on in despair and awe.

Bruce nudged him in an appreciative manner. "There is always room for improvement!" he remarked.

The crowd cheered as Valkin smiled and joined Marve and Raven back to the room of pain.

Bruce ran off back into the Pine forests as the barbarian hordes cheered for him too.

Valkin smiled to himself and slowly warmed up to the idea that maybe, just maybe, he could make a difference. He felt so privileged to be tutored by such powerful individuals and felt that, under their tutelage, he could one day become a strong warrior and play the role that he was born to play in this world.

#  A Storm

All hundred storms swirled with anger and hatred. They waited patiently to dispatch the intruders from their desert home. It was their duty to do so, now that the great King Selardor of Lataria had left the world to ruin itself with war, injustice and disharmony. The storms were responsible for maintaining the legend that those who crossed the desert never returned home by dispatching intruders who threatened to disrespect their point of view.

Vallentor and Tereartre were on their feet now and scanned their surroundings trying to find another way out but there was none. Their attire was battered and whipped into filthy brown tatters with the fine blasting of sand and dust that was churned up into the air all around them.

The desert tornadoes of the Wastelands were merciless and claimed the lives of all those who dared cross their paths. That was their duty, to restore order, no matter what! Friend or foe, the storms did not discriminate.

Mike was the first to yield to defeat. "Well Pixie, it was nice knowing you."

Pixie smirked at Mike with distaste. She was afraid but not to such a paralyzing extent where all her actions seized completely.

"What are they waiting for, Tereartre? It sounds like they are having a discussion amongst themselves," asked Vallentor who was intrigued by the extra time that they were given.

"They are! The language is that of the Minotaurs. It is a strange dialect but I recognize it well. They wait to ask us something. I was hoping for this. I am not sure but they will speak soon," replied a very convinced Tereartre.

Pixie and Mike were behind their masters and waited patiently for the grand finale.

"IT IS CUSTOMARY TO GIVE OUR VICTIMS THEIR FINAL SAY BEFORE DEATH, SO BE QUICK AND TELL US WHAT BRINGS YOU TO THE WASTELANDS?" asked a loud and commanding voice that emanated from one of the swirling tornadoes in front of them. They churned dirt and dust and reduced visibility as they slowly drew closer and closer to their victims. The big tornado doing the talking was the biggest and the meanest with a very strong swirl.

Poor Pixie and Mike were very worried as their legs turned to mere blades of dried glass that wobbled before being stamped upon. They looked around and all they could see was a sad and untimely death in the middle of a barren desert. It was not an ideal way to go!

Tereartre drew his sword very slowly and stood firmly. His bow and quiver of arrows trembled as the winds picked up. He could feel their slight vibrations as he noticed a trickle of sweat roll down the side of Vallentor's cheek.

Vallentor also carefully drew his sword and decided that now was the time to speak. They collectively laid down their weapons in a gesture of peace and non-violence. 'It was quite ironic because how many parties involved in war had truly ever agreed to lay down their weapons for good. Only the parties that have not survived their wars have honored that declaration. The surviving successors continue the struggle left behind by their ancestors and some do not even know why they do what they do. It was sad, this dilemma of the ceasefire,' thought Tereartre.

"Great storms of the Wastelands, I shall be frank and tell you what my intentions are for they are truly noble intentions. We trek across the forbidden lands in search of the great kingdom of Volcanock, home of the Minotaurs..." spoke out Vallentor who was abruptly cut off by one of the tornadoes.

"What business do you wish to carry out in the kingdom of Volcanock, human?" asked the storm who was clearly interested.

Vallentor knew that he stirred the interest of an unlikely listener. 'It was quite strange to talk to a voice without a face, not to mention a storm without a mouth,' thought Vallentor. "I wish to speak to King Brovinus, leader of the Minotaurs to seek an alliance with him." Vallentor decided that since his words could cause the outcome to go either way, he might as well reveal all his thoughts for they very well could be his last. "Yes, I know that there are deep differences between us created by the great barbarian war that still cut deeply but if there is a possibility of being allies, then I am willing to embrace that. We have traded for many years now and I wish to bridge this barren gap not in the hope of gaining the Minotaur's aid in just war, but to realize the ideal of a free world with peace." Vallentor ended off at that point and awaited a response.

The tornadoes that stopped their approach engaged in a conversation of their own as they continued to spin and swirl on the spot.

Pixie and Mike were captivated by what the tornadoes would decide to do. None of the individuals in the team feared death. They all knew that it could happen at any time and was inevitable. They were resilient and well trained in the ideals of a warrior. They were at one with its profound meaning and as the sun set, they realized that at times such as these, the profundity of their way of life would be put to the greatest test.

#  Cementing the alliances

Braithwaite knew all too well, what the implications of this new discovery were. He was one of the members of the Latarial council in the old days and he knew and understood the power of the barbarians very well. His voice was the strongest against the idea of unity. Shortly after the passing of King Selardor, rumors spread amongst a small faction of the community, who still had the guts to speak out against the splitting of the kingdoms, that Braithwaite himself had assassinated the King. It was never proven and with the quick "disciplining" of those rebellious factions, the claims were never followed up on. Nonetheless, he knew that the main reason why the barbarians were undefeated was because of their leader at the time, Helleus Kendor! He slammed his clenched fists on the royal table, which shook and shivered as the sound vibrated its great rectangular structure. The throne room was an empty stone grey space with only the king at the head chair. The morning sunlight filtered in as a cool breeze moved the long coal black and grey curtains trimmed with the maroon insignia of Sarcodia. It was a lazy day, which moved at a snail's pace. His depression changed into a "don't care attitude" that lasted for the better part of the solemn morning in solitude and was only broken by the visit of his good friend and ally, King Bellorus.

The great throne doors opened as Bellorus made his way around the table towards Braithwaite who coughed loudly as he did but deliberately so. He walked very slowly as the doors closed behind him. The climate changed around noon with stainless steel grey clouds that gathered in from the distance. A storm was brewing! Bellorus reached Braithwaite and sat down adjacent to him.

"Well, now! This is indeed a sight! King Braithwaite sulking!"

Braithwaite was not amused and he certainly was not in the mood for jokes nor sarcasm but he felt better knowing that Bellorus might have something to cheer him up with and that he did. "My Lord, our plans should not be spoilt by this, discovery. I have ordered my best magicians to establish the truth of this new development. They are working laboriously as we speak. An answer will be found soon, my Lord."

"What else do you have for me good friend?" asked a somewhat happier king with clear bags under his burning cedar dark brown eyes from lack of sleep.

"We have had some success in our dealings with Gillmanor, not to mention the Serpentines. Both kingdoms are very interested in destroying Hallucagenia and are keen to form an alliance with us. They wish to converse with us as soon as possible. Alliances could be made sooner than expected." King Bellorus smiled.

"That is good news! Moreover, if their prices are too high, then pull the Razortor card on them. That ought to change their minds."

Both men chuckled as they knew that the alliances with these other kingdoms will give them an almost undefeatable edge in the war. However, Braithwaite then remembered again who was responsible for leveling the playing fields, and it made him angry once again and sent him back into his former depressive mood as he gnawed the inside of his blood red cheek. Eventually, he let out a slight growl and stood up in fury. He turned to Bellorus for more guidance and council.

"But how can we possibly defeat a man who cannot be defeated by any army?"

Bellorus continued with his diabolical plan of action. "My Lord, the issue here that plagues you is but one man who is heavily outnumbered or soon to be. He has no equal and so he remains unchallenged. Why not challenge him? Why not create a being as powerful as he is, if not more powerful? One foul creation to keep him busy while we attack." Bellorus rubbed his hands with excitement as Braithwaite's eyes widened with this new suggestion.

"Well, since my plan of harassment using Rehowlor dismally failed, what choice do I have. Can it be done?" asked King Braithwaite as he spun around to face Bellorus.

"Indeed it can! However, it is beyond the realm of lower level magic! It will require tapping into a new source of power and with fortuitous timing; the being will be ready before we go to war. That will give Vallentor the shock of his life!"

Braithwaite walked past Bellorus and laughed with regained confidence as Bellorus turned to face him. "Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic! You have made my day!"

Bellorus bowed in appreciation. "Hold on, why was I not made aware about this new plan of yours initially?" asked Braithwaite in a confused manner.

"I thought you would ask, my Lord. These great 'magicians' if you like, well, they are great in an evil way! They are descendants from a long line of magicians that lived in the Far East. They were good back then and all of their experiments had positive outcomes, but with every movement, there was always a lure to a darker side, my Lord. In this case, one of them was deceived and became angry and started doing his own thing. Have you heard that old fable about the 'little girl and the giant man?'"

"Yes I remember it well. It was told at many an evening's campfire. Poor giant! I believe, he was hunted down because they thought he had kidnapped the little princess, when all he wanted was a friend. It was an interesting fable with many lessons."

"My Lord, that was no fable! It was a true story!"

"WHAT! Are you serious?" King Braithwaite was spooked as the ghosts of the past hovered around in his head.

"The giant was actually the man I am talking about. He found a way to increase his body size. Do not ask how did it, but he did! The real story was that him and his wife separated but he could not bear the void left by their separation and so he made himself bigger to try and find her."

King Braithwaite was taken aback by Bellorus's outlandish remarks and had a new perspective on the ancient story. "Wow! I never thought that story was a true story. OH MY WORD! Bellorus, the giants of the dark forest!"

Bellorus smiled and shook his head in agreement to King Braithwaite's perceptive hunch. "Yes my lord, they are still walking the earth!"

"OH MY WORD! I wonder if we should still label it as a fable?"

"After I tell you more about these men, maybe not! They are something else, my Lord! They are not normal and that is what makes them extremely powerful. I deal with the demented and the shady faction of their council, for that is what is needed to get accomplish our goals."

"So what do they have in mind?"

"Well, they have been working on this new project. They have not told me anything yet about it yet. I have heard though that it is closely linked with the experiments conducted centuries ago. I have also heard that this project is close to completion. Judging from the files of creations that I have seen thus far, I shudder to think what the products of this new project will be."

"Mmm...sounds fascinating! Keep me informed Bellorus."

"Will do, good king!" Bellorus turned around and made his way to the door when Braithwaite stopped him.

"One more thing, you do realize that we do not know if Helleus is really alive or not?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Keep it like that Bellorus. Word of the Flaming Rider must not reach the public. Pass that message on to the elementals as well."

Bellorus bowed low with his hands across his chest as his back creaked and shifted back to his crooked self.

"As you wish, my Lord. If you will also allow me to facilitate a meeting with Gillmanor and Aglypha?"

"Please! Go ahead." Braithwaite nodded in agreement and rubbed warmth back into his cold hands.

#  A discussion

The meeting room was a picture of sad darkness, a half-empty obscured glass at this time as its main occupants were missing in action without any guarantee of return. The roaring fire still burned brightly within the room as Raven, Marve and Rufor waited to start the meeting.

Raven leaned back on his great chair and played with a wooden dart he had fashioned earlier on. He twirled it around and around and made sure that it was sharp and smooth. The light of the intensifying fire danced off the wooden walls making the unacceptium dart tips flash now and again. He finally felt the time draw closer to dusk. It was time to begin! He stood up, placed the dart on the table, let it roll towards the center and declared the meeting in session.

Marve sat quietly. He was on edge as he uneasily leaned on the table instead of his backrest. He sat adjacent to Raven at the triangular table, not at the points of the table but in the middle where they normally sat.

Raven looked up as Rufor opened the discussion with an immediate sense of curiosity as the fire crackled and popped away in front of him. "What do make of it?" he asked. Rufor was very confused as he sat comfortably by the fire. His gaze was fixed in the deep tidal wave of thoughts.

Raven sat back down and leaned back into his seat whilst Marve retained his stiff upright and very serious posture with his hands clasped waiting for Raven to respond to Rufor's question. Raven was preoccupied with a plethora of his own thoughts and did not answer Rufor's question immediately. There was a long pause before the silence was finally broken by Marve. "Okay, so we know there are two things on the agenda."

Raven and Rufor looked up at Marve's ice breaking.

"Today's display honestly comes as no surprise to me. He is, after all, the son of Helleus Kendor. He should have a natural predisposition and potential for great power." He leaned back into his chair feeling that his contribution was enough to kickstart the discussions.

Rufor glanced at Marve's suggestion and then returned to the fire.

It was Raven's turn to give his opinion. "Yes, perhaps you are right, little brother, but it is the second point on the agenda that I am worried about. It is the appearance of the flaming rider! When he appeared, I did pick up his presence from the very edge of Sarcodia, twenty thousand miles away and he was not even fully exerting himself according to the accounts of the barbarian bystanders. His heat penetrated my very soul. I admit that nothing had scared me more than that feeling I got that night! It sent shivers down my very soul!" Raven came forward and rested his arms on the triangular table.

Rufor accepted his answer and quelled his suspicions of the Death brother.

"Yes but we are quick, big brother. We can outrun him, no problem," replied Marve.

Raven let out a cynical laugh, stood up and placed his hands in his pockets. He stood next to Rufor and then swung around to reply to Marve bearing a serious and angry look upon his face.

"Have you ever faced a Dark Knight before, little brother? Obviously not, because you are still alive! These warriors are monsters! Nothing stands in their way. You cannot outrun them, you can try to fight them and you can hope to survive!"

"Yes, but what about Tereartre's story..." asked Marve.

Raven smacked his lips.

Rufor gave them the faintest of a sidewards stares and looked again into the fire.

"Tereartre's sad story about how he and the rest of them were ordered to execute him. We do not even know if Tereartre is even a Dark Knight himself, let alone whether or not he is telling the truth about executing Helleus." The hair upon Rufor's head stood up with anger but the big wolf kept his cool for the moment.

Marve thought about what his brother said and he agreed with him. Rufor then stood up and walked past the fireplace towards Raven.

Raven acknowledged Rufor's gesture and turned to face him.

"Raven, we are not sure about these things, but I hear your concerns. We are still not sure about whether the appearance of the Flaming Rider was indeed a true incarnation of Helleus Kendor but surely it is something that both parties will not take lightly. We must not forget the circumstances that led to Helleus' death nor question Tereartre's allegiance to Vallentor and Hallucagenia. We have been lucky thus far but I admit that it is still too early to say for sure. We cannot let our doubts rip us apart. Already, we do not know if our leaders are still alive. The last thing we need is to falter now especially in the face of their permanent absence." Rufor broke off and seated himself back by the fire again.

"Rufor is right, Raven. Do not let this play upon your mind at this stage. The stories of old are said and done! If we allow them to plague us, then they will destroy what we are trying to achieve here. Maybe it is a good thing that we know so little at this stage. It is a pretty good indication about how much the enemy knows as well," reasoned Marve.

"Yes Marve, but this just increases the amount of unknown variables. If we do not know anything, then where do we stand, Marve?" replied a very worried Raven.

Rufor could see the worry well up in Raven's eye. "Look Raven! I agree that things are not looking good now. However, we have to protect the kingdom against a greater evil and we were given the task of training that boy and equipping him with the skills he needs to help us, if that is his purpose. These other matters, I believe, require the kingdom's full royal attention. Two days have passed since Vallentor and Tereartre's journey to Volcanock. Vallentor had promised to return on the fourth day by nightfall. If and when the king returns, we will further discuss the matter. Until then, I implore you Raven, please, let the matter rest for now." There was great optimism in Rufor's voice despite the defeat in Raven and Marve's body language which suggested that their king and friends were not coming back.

"Alright, I will. Besides, you guys are right, that is all I really need to know. Thank you," replied a somewhat satisfied Raven.

"Anything for a brother! Anything else, good warriors," asked Rufor. Marve and Raven shook their heads in small satisfaction. "Well, in that case, this meeting is adjourned. That is all for tonight."

The Death brothers pushed back their large chairs and exited the meeting room.

Rufor stayed behind and waited for the fire to go out. As it did, he left the room with an uneasy feeling.

#  Judgement day

"Nightfall! Still no verdict and still no answer. I cannot bear it any longer," complained Pixie as she sat down in defeat and rested her head on her two front paws. Her usual pinkish glow faded away with the sunlight into a dull silvery moonlit glare.

The tornadoes were still engaged in their conversation.

Vallentor and Tereartre watched closely and carefully. Their attention never shifted to anything else. Even Mike watched on as the tornadoes whispered and swirled into the silence of the night. Some hours later, they had finally reached an agreement amongst themselves and the largest of them swirled towards Vallentor who reciprocated by walking towards it very carefully and respectfully. He had already laid down all his weapons. They stopped some five meters apart from each other with Vallentor looking up and the tornado looking down upon him.

"We have come to a decision about your intentions."

Vallentor kept his hands to his sides as the swooshing of the swirling tornado hummed all around him. His long brown hair danced in the wind. His gaze narrowed but was still concentrated. He kept his composure and remained absolutely still.

"As guardians of the Minotaurs of Volcanock, we have pledged our allegiance to protect them from the intruders and individuals whose intentions are ill. You however, clearly have good and noble intentions Vallentor, king of the barbarians. I cannot believe that I am actually going to let you live, but never before in history has anyone given me a better reason than you. Many who have come this way, have perished at our rage, simply because they did not come with good enough reasons. You have come with the most noble of them all. How ironic it is that you find yourselves fighting for peace. We hope that when this war ends, you and the individuals of this world will find peace. Use this opportunity well and I hope that you succeed in your quest! We grant you save passage to Volcanock and wish you all the best in your negotiations."

Pixie jumped off the ground for joy as Tereartre hugged Mike.

"I knew we would make it!" remarked Mike to Pixie who brushed off his newfound confidence

"I thank you, good storm. Take care," replied a very relieved Vallentor.

Pixie was up on her paws and howled away with joy and excitement.

Tereartre picked up his gear and smiled humbly.

They jumped onto their wolves as the tornadoes moved ahead of them, west, to Volcanock. The tornadoes agreed to show them the way to the kingdom of Volcanock.

Volcanock was actually the name of the volcanic mountain that rested upon the highest hilltops of the kingdom. The kingdom of the Minotaurs was proud of their volcanic feature. The semi-active volcano protruded into the sky from far away as its smoke and mild ash rose perpetually. As they approached the kingdom's mirage in the distance, the storms formed two columns which broke off to the left and right of the warriors. They bid their farewells as they did. Vallentor thanked them again and pressed on towards the kingdom. They saw the smoke and ash now raining out from the volcano as they approached the kingdom. The great yellow ashblock walls at the base of the kingdom came into focus. It was difficult to see, as the walls were massive. The kingdom was well camouflaged but spectacular in every sense with a foreground of magnificent structures and a Volcanic Mountain for a background.

Minotaur spotters, perched on the highest part of the kingdom walls, sounded the alarm with horns made from former bulls that had passed. These warriors were huge; as tall as barbarians but bared a broader and furrier dispensation. Half man, half bull, they were a menacing and lethal force in the great barbarian war. Strength, power and rage were all fused into one being capable of running through a small army. They matched the barbarian stride for stride but their low numbers had defeated them in the war. The spotters looked through the lens of a binoculars and saw two dark mirage-like figures approaching. They knew exactly who was coming and they sent word to the royal chambers. Suddenly, the entire kingdom was on high alert. Everyone scurried around trying to find the nearest place to hide! Everyone was very scared! It had been a long time since they had a war or the threat of one so quickly, but the rage of their past defeat was still rife in the air.

The top of the kingdom walls were heavily fortified by the Elite Minotaur warriors, the finest in the Minotaur army. The elite warriors were the pride and joy of their king. These Minotaurs were bigger and bulkier creatures than the scouts, even bigger than the barbarians themselves. Minotaurs came in all shapes and colors of black, white, brown and many more mixtures. The sharpened horns of the elite warriors with twin sleepers on their ears made them look cold and menacing, not to mention their armor. Their armor, made from highly condensed and compressed ashblock, was light and virtually indestructible. This yellow haze of power was as strong as the unacceptium metal. Their helmets accommodated for their large heads, which allowed their horns and ears to jut out. Their eyes were filled with lust and fury and were as scarlet red as the volcanic fire behind them, and called out for war and bloodshed. Many of the older Minotaurs had fought in the great barbarian war and carried the painful memories, especially of the man who approached their kingdom. Axes were their main weapons of choice in close combat, double-edged axes that is. Bows were standard amongst most races for long distance combat and precise killing. The elites stood in a neat and precise line on the wall, which had prevented any penetration from enemies thus far. Their axes were behind them and their bows slung across their shoulders and hands to their sides.

The foreign warriors approached fast. Mike was the first to see what they were up against. "SIRE, THE MINOTAURS HAVE SPOTTED US. I WOULD SAY ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND ELITE WARRIORS COVER THE WALLS AND THE ENTRY GATES."

"GOOD SPOTTING MIKE, TEREARTRE, SHOOT THE TRUCE SIGNAL AS SOON AS WE ENTER THE FIRING RANGE," requested Vallentor.

"YES SIR!" replied Tereartre as he unstrapped a thick arrow, colored a completely ruby red, from his saddle.

"SLOW DOWN TO MINIMUM SPEED, WE DO NOT WANT TO MAKE ANY GESTURE THAT WOULD INSINUATE A HOSTILE RESPONSE. WE ALL KNOW HOW VOLATILE AND STRING HAPPY THE MINOTAURS CAN GET WITH THEIR BOWS!" shouted Vallentor.

The commander of the elite warriors stood right above the entry gates perched on the great ashblock walls. Commander Bardock was his name, leader of the super-elite forces of the Minotaurs and the Minotaur in charge of the kingdom's primary defenses. He was a large individual. He had to be, standing 7 ft tall at over 300 lb. Most commanders had an air about themselves, something dominating and powerful with an overweight, curvy figure and he was no exception. His helmet was full black, and covered his round face and his armor was a full yellow, a bright blinding yellow with grey wisps of unacceptium pieces. He was a full black in hide color, and a purebred warrior. He immediately recognized Tereartre and smiled with vengeance in his striking his yellow eyes. He looked side to side at his warriors.

"ARCHERS READY!" he shouted. The elite warriors unslung their bows and held them straight in front of them. One of the elites named Brildorius, second in command to Bardock, was intrigued at the strange vehicles that the two warriors rode. He and many of the younger elites had fought in many wars but they had never seen such a creature that ran so gracefully and looked so powerful and beautiful. The wolf appearance spooked them a bit but only fuelled their rage and suspicions. To the Minotaurs, if this creature was hostile, then they would have no choice but to dispose of it. Bardock however, did not care, he had seen them all before. He knew what his job was and that was to protect his king and country.

"THEY ARE PREPARING TO FIRE SIR. WE HAVE ONLY MOMENTS TO DO THIS!" replied Tereartre as he readied himself to fire the truce signal. He un-slung his bow and positioned the truce arrow within it and aimed high into the sky.

"STEADY TEREARTRE, WE ARE NOT IN FIRING RANGE YET," replied Vallentor as they fast approached Volcanock. They were about twenty miles away now. The firing range was about fifteen miles and they closed in on it quite quickly even though their pace had slowed down to a minimum.

"ARCHERS AIM!" shouted commander Bardock who unslung his own bow now and selected his finest arrow, the golden one! The others followed suit and in complete unison, they selected a single arrow from their quivers and took aim. They made slight adjustments to their aim every second or so to compensate for their moving targets below.

Four miles to go! Tereartre was ready now but Vallentor was still waiting. Three miles!

The elite warriors pulled back on their bowstrings about halfway to its full stretch. Two miles left!

"STEADY TEREARTRE, STEADY, ALMOST THERE." Tereartre was a very calm individual. Nothing really stressed him out. It was a valuable asset to have someone like him at ones side, especially in tense situations.

The Minotaur archers pulled more on their bowstrings slowly stretching them to their maximum stretch and awaited the orders of their commander.

"STEADY NOW MINOTAURS, WE ARE ALMOST WITHIN FIRING RANGE," shouted Commander Bardock.

One mile to go! Everyone could see the imaginary firing line and everyone was waiting for it to come closer, that fatal red line that no one wished to cross, except the determined foreign warriors in search of peace and an alliance.

"OKAY, TEREARTRE... NOW!" shouted Vallentor.

Commander Bardock was just about to give his command to fire when a bright white light shot up into the air just outside the kingdom walls. It travelled high up into the air and everyone was captivated by it, for they had not seen the peace sign in a long time, for they had not had peace in a long time. It danced in the air and formed a little white falcon, the sign for peace. The day was quite clear with hazy blue skies and very little cloud cover, which made the falcon clearer to see. It hovered for a little while and then flew off into the distance. The warriors were well within the firing range but stopped short some ten miles in front of the stone grey entry gates of Volcanock to admire the effects of the truce light. Commander Bardock knew exactly what the light signal meant and he had mixed feelings about it. He felt somewhat cheated and so he hung his head low for a while letting out a sigh of disappointment.

The falcon then flew back, formed the outline of a beautiful white flower that drifted slowly as a falling leaf from side to side and landed in Tereartre's outstretched right hand. Everyone was taken aback by the transformation, even Vallentor. Usually it was just the falcon and that was it.

"Hey, Tereartre, I like the added touch," replied Vallentor.

Pixie & Mike shook their heads in agreement.

"Thanks, let us hope that it does not have any hostile meanings in Volcanock!" smiled Tereartre.

The elite minotaurs still had their bows cocked and readied to fire at the warriors. Commander Bardock had his back turned to them. He faced his kingdom and admired it. Suddenly, his eyes filled up with hatred, anger and fury. He swung around to everyone's surprise as if possessed by some newfound hatred. He then pointed straight at Tereartre and shouted, "FIRE!"

Both Vallentor and Tereartre were shocked at Commander Bardock's declaration, which was a clear violation of the peace treaty.

The elite Minotaurs looked towards their leader, smiled, raised their bows, took aim and fired.

"CONCENTRATE ALL YOUR FIRE UPON THAT GREEN-HAIRED VILLAIN!" shouted Bardock.

A hundred thousand arrows flew straight towards a very surprised Tereartre and a scared Pixie. Tereartre increased the tension of the reins in his arm.

Pixie was completely immobilized with fear! She knew she was going to die today, so she just closed her eyes and accepted her fate. Tereartre however, gave a humble smile, jumped off his beautiful wolf and lifted her entirely off the ground with his right hand. He swung the reins holding her faster than she could perceive and flung her high up into air. He then gritted his teeth, as fire poured out from his neon green eyes. The arrows were almost upon him now! He screamed as all the arrows struck his body releasing a massive flash of light that blinded everyone momentarily.

Vallentor and Mike blocked their eyes for the duration and as the light dimmed, a solitary figure stood within the heart of a ring of ashes. His body was surrounded by a glowing aura. Fire poured out from his eyes as he looked upwards towards Commander Bardock who glared his teeth.

Vallentor was shocked! He could not believe what he saw before him. Tereartre drew his sword and stuck it into the very heart of the Volcanock grounds. He started to walk towards the kingdom's walls.

"RELEASE THE MONSTER!" shouted Commander Bardock. Suddenly, the great stone grey gates cracked and creaked as they slowly opened. The butter yellow dust that had accumulated over years of deposition slowly lifted and fell back to the earth. The hinges popped with the dust of age as the gates opened. The gates were big but not as big as the Hallucagenian gates. The powerful Hallucen black gates were much bigger. The Volcanock gates opened inwards as the large pulleys that controlled it turned and released their dust. The gates opened revealing a giant snorting bull that had crimson red eyes and a black khaki brown shiny coat. It waited for the gates to fully open and once it did, it reared its body back to gain some momentum before charging straight towards Tereartre.

Suddenly without warning, it found a singeing hole right through its chest cavity! It looked down at the gaping hole and slowly stumbled to its hooves realizing that it was dying. It knelt down, keeled over to its side and let out its final breath. Blood trickled out from its mouth onto the ground in a river of red defeat.

All the warriors perched on the wall now faced the entrance to Volcanock and the dead bull that lay before them in deafening silence. A pin drop could be heard in the pervading silence. There was still a lot of tangible tension in the air, though! Tereartre could feel it and so could Vallentor. Tereartre kept his gaze on Commander Bardock above.

The commander returned it with his beady eye.

This lasted only for a few seconds but felt like an eternity.

Vallentor held on tight to his reins as his long black hair flew into his face leaving it partially visible.

The commander gritted his teeth, gave out a loud snort, turned around and walked down off the wall towards the gates. The other elite warriors did the same. Tereartre was weary and he knew that his questionable reputation preceded him. Nonetheless, he knew that he had to forge on. He showed no emotion as he sauntered back towards the gate and then disappeared. He reappeared next to Vallentor, picked up his sword and sheathed it away.

Commander Bardock and the rest of elite warriors were stunned. All the elite warriors had made their way down off the walls now. Commander Bardock had assessed whether Vallentor brought any reinforcements and concluded that they had come alone. In most instances, the truce signal was strictly honored but the anger that festered in the hearts of so many Minotaurs was too much to bottle up.

The warriors neared the gates as a tingling sensation welled up within all of them.

A hundred gate guards dressed in blue and white flanked the great gates, fifty on each side.

'Perhaps a royal welcome or a royal parting,' thought Vallentor.

They held their swords tightly, with fear and respect.

Even poor Pixie felt the tangible tension in the air. Mike felt it too as he looked from left to right. The gate guards stood still and did not move a muscle or an inch. Their eyes were fixed in a deadly gaze!

The kingdom was not very colorful on the inside. Light yellows of block and stone predominated as often sandstorms had passed through so colors were not very important. Empty clotheslines dangled and fluttered from building to building with beautiful carpets and fabrics, which balanced out its ordinary environment. There were many streets and alleys that led into the town marked by the sands of the Wastelands. The main street led right up to the royal palace, the only marble feature perched at the very crest of the kingdom. Most of the buildings were two levels high like Sarcodia but the one that was naturally the highest with four levels, was the royal palace. It was a spectacular sight indeed, detailed with ancient historical artwork to the tip of the roofs. There dwelt, King Brovinus, King of the Minotaurs, a man for all seasons. Usually most towns were a flurry of hustle and bustle but Volcanock was an extreme exception today. No Minotaurs, except for the gate guards that stood by the open gates, were in sight. It was a ghost town! The popular merchants who filled the streets also retreated in doors. They had even left their merchandise of precious roots and sweet grasses from the finest gardens on the ground in a hurry. Juicy, tender and green vegetables were laid out on brown mats ripe for the taking. It seemed as if the whole town was given a tornado warning and took immediate action, fleeing into their homes or wherever they could find shelter and refuge. However, the gaze of many eyes, some scared, some angry, some awestruck could definitely be sensed.

Vallentor and the others felt the overbearing, condescending stare of the Minotaur race weighing down upon them pressing them further and further down to the ground.

The Minotaurs did not so easily forget scents, especially that of the barbarians. However, it seemed that one child did not get the message, a child not older than six or seven years was left behind at the local bakers shop. He was a small brown child; one could tell by the size of his immature horns that stuck out from his tiny head. He also wore a blue tunic and short white pants that had some chocolate brown patches here and there. He was a very brave boy for he did not call out to his mother nor cry where he stood. He stood firmly and did not flinch. He only let the anger and rage build inside of him, which showed in his bright red eyes. He clasped his wooden sword tightly in his hand as the warriors came closer towards his direction. The lad was taught well by the old stories told to him.

Finally, the Minotaurian gates closed behind the warriors some hundred meters away as the blood of the dead bull streamed towards the centre of the city.

Pixie turned to look back and then looked at Mike who shook his head slightly.

The boy caught Vallentor's eye but surprisingly stood his ground next to the bakers shop even after Vallentor started to approach him, maybe a last ditch effort to protect his father's bakery perhaps, he thought.

His father clutched his mother and sister in the back. They sobbed in fear and tried not to make a sound.

Vallentor and Tereartre both cautiously disembarked and walked up to the lad after hearing faint whispers from the back of the shop from his father for him to come back.

The little boy stood only two feet high and had to strain his neck to get a clear view of the towering figures of Vallentor and Tereartre who knelt down to the young Minotaur.

"What is your name, young warrior, may I ask?" asked Vallentor in a very kind and sincere manner.

"Since you asked nicely stranger, my name is Bulon. I know who you are. You are a barbarian. I can smell it! You have come to harm us again, haven't you? You even killed our guardian and you want to destroy kingdom like what you tried to do many years ago but I won't let you," threatened the young chap as he held his blunt sword and pointed it viciously at Vallentor's throat alternating between him and Tereartre.

Vallentor stood up and placed his hands on his hips.

Tereartre stayed down where he was and put his hands up in defeat and widened his eyes keeping a blissful smile on his face.

"Now Bulon, is that what you have been told about me when you were small?" asked Tereartre with an enquiring smile which slowly melted the boy's iceberg defenses.

"Yes, they also said that you barbarians are bad people, only want to kill and fight! Twenty years ago, the barbarians started to attack kingdoms and villages at random. Our teacher told us that they were out of control and could not be stopped and so all the kingdoms decided to unite in an effort to destroy them. All the kingdoms came together, the Serpentines, the men from Sarcodia, Razortor and Gillmanor and do not forget us. We marched to Hallucagenia to end the war." Bulon animated the entire history lesson, which the warriors found to be interesting in a disturbing way. "Why are you here anyway? Is it to also kill and fight us again?" enquired the little chap with a look of vengeance on his face. Bulon acted like he was soldier and marched the way they did.

Vallentor chuckled!

Then Bulon spoke out loudly picking up from where he left off. "We were confident!" Bulon shook his arms from side to side, as he marched on the spot re-enacting the war. "We were brave!" His hands were still going from side to side. "We knew, we could win," he loudly shouted.

Vallentor and Tereartre loved every part of it.

"But the barbarians gave us solid hiding and sent us packing all the way back to our respective kingdoms."

That final statement sent everyone including Bulon into a frenzy of laughter.

"BULON!" whispered his father, which momentarily distracted the boy. However, Bulon did not answer.

Even Tereartre chuckled lightly holding his stomach.

After a minute or so when everyone regained their composure, Vallentor did find it strange that Bulon found the whole outcome of the war humorous and so decided to ask him more about it.

"But Bulon, your people were defeated at the hands of barbarians. Are you not sad about it?"

"I may be little but I know the real truth! They were defeated for good reasons."

Vallentor marvelled at the young lad's sharp intelligence.

"Every history teacher tells us what he or she wants us to believe. The other kids are just so stupid. My dad's friend, Brazen who works at the library told my dad that it was the Sarcodian's idea to attack the barbarians. I thought that our king Brovinus was leading our people but he was not. It was some other man called, Braithwaite, I think from Sarcodia. What an idiot! He thought he could take out the great Helleus Kendor with a few million warriors! He was sadly mistaken."

Tereartre and Vallentor became more attentive when the boy mentioned the former Hallucen king's name. Tereartre then joined the conversation trying to satisfy his burning curiosity

"Tell us more about this, Helleus Kendor Bulon, if you know anything more about him."

"Sure, he is my hero but do not tell anyone. I do not know much about him but from what I have heard, he was the main reason why the kingdoms failed to conquer Hallucagenia. They say he was breathed in fire and flame, hotter than Volcanock itself. They say he rode a horse of fire and anything he touched with his bare hands burned. They say his power had no limits and they said he could not be killed. That is all I know. We are forbidden to utter his name here but some who know the truth still do, like me. The barbarians never invaded any kingdom but they were invaded by many, including us. We and everyone else got what was coming to us. That is why no one can ever deny the warfare genius of the barbarian people. I only wished I could have met the great Helleus Kendor. Maybe, he could have shown me how to be a great warrior. I wonder if he is still alive." Bulon looked into the sky and wondered.

Tereartre drew close to him. "Do you want to hear our side of the story Bulon?" asked Tereartre.

A look of excitement overcame the boy's face in anticipation but Bulon stopped them before they continued any further. "Wait! Strangers, I did not get your names."

"Oh! Haha! This is Tereartre, of the Pine forests and here are Pixie and Mike of the Werethall. My name is Vallentor, King of Hallucagenia!"

Bulon stood frozen in awe and shock and as the warriors then made off. He laughed and laughed but was interrupted once again by a voice deep within the bakery.

"I have to go; my father is calling me to hide. Good luck warriors," he shouted as he scurried away into the bakery shouting, "I MET A FRIEND OF HELLEUS KENDOR, I MET TEREARTRE LEVON!"

Tereartre smiled as the boy disappeared behind the counter.

King Brovinus also smiled from far away.

Bulon's young father felt very embarrassed by his son's curiosity but somehow, he knew his king did not mind.

"HAHA!" Then, the laugh they heard was a happier and very jovial one with a carefree spirit. It came from behind them, from a quiet alley. It was just one voice with one pair of footsteps, which were soft and gentle and a bit wobbly.

Vallentor turned around to find The Minotaur himself; the leader of all the Minotaurs, King Brovinus. He received them with a smart silky blue tunic lined with gold embroidery on the edges covering his dark coffee brown 500 lb body. The insignia of the Minotaur were sewn onto his sleeves and branded proudly right across the front part of his tunic. Commander Bardock suddenly appeared from the opposite alley from which King Brovinus appeared from and joined his king on his right as they slowly approached the warriors from Hallucagenia.

Tereartre could feel Bardock's commanding presence and naturally Bardock could feel Tereartre's. Bardock scratched the scar upon his right eye as Tereartre smiled back at him, but as Tereartre turned to face King Brovinus, his smile faded.

King Brovinus had short, grey spiky hair upon his aged brown hide and just a tuft upon his head making him quite an aged Minotaur but still very wise. He actually never marched to Hallucagenia to fight in the war and although King Brovinus did not lock horns with Tereartre nor Helleus in the war, he was still greatly respected and feared. His absence was of note! Commander Bardock and Tereartre on the other hand did share a common history. King Brovinus choose not to wear the royal crown nor carry any weapons, which was a positive, peaceful gesture or perhaps one of great power. His horns were white and very large, quite expected, for the horns of male Minotaurs grew larger as they got older. They were beautifully polished and were very clean. He had no earrings upon his ears. His nose was pierced with a silver ring that glinted in the sunlight. He had a perpetual smile upon his face as he walked with plain brown pants covered slightly by his elegant dark blue tunic. King Brovinus was not a lavish king and did not partake in the treasures and pleasures his people never experienced themselves which was the best explanation for his simplicity and made him somewhat similar to Vallentor in that respect. His black boots looked heavy but not his step, which was light and easy. He was now just a couple meters away when his smile turned into that same laugh heard just a moment ago, a happy & jovial laugh, a no care in the world laugh. Brovinus and Bardock stopped just in front of their guests, not six feet away from them.

"Haha! Propaganda is such a terrible thing but as you can see; our children are allowed to have their own opinions about the past. The truth shall prevail! Welcome! Welcome to my humble abode! It is good to see you again Tereartre after such a long time. You have not aged at all. It must the clean air of the Pine Forests that has kept you young and healthy. It has been a long time since I have come to those parts of the world. I miss those days! Those days were better!" reminisced King Brovinus as he stared upwards with sky blue eyes. "Oh by the way, Tereartre, you killed my bull guardian. He had a voice of his own, you know. Since when have you become such a violent individual, Tereartre?" King Brovinus shifted his beady eye upon Tereartre.

Tereartre bowed his head in defeat whilst King Brovinus gritted his teeth belittling the Werethall king even more. "Anyway, may his soul rest in peace." King Brovinus then tapped Tereartre's shoulder singeing it with his bare hands as he did. A trickle of sweat ran down Tereartre's face as the King released his touch upon him. Vallentor did not see the singeing, somehow Brovinus shielded it from him but Vallentor did notice the trickle of sweat and it got him worried, very worried! King Brovinus then turned his attention to Vallentor, a man he had not met before. "And is this Vallentor, the new king on the ashblock! I have heard so much about you," asked King Brovinus.

Both Vallentor and Tereartre then bowed courteously to the Minotaurian king who returned the kind gesture. Vallentor swallowed hard as he rose his head. "Thank you, King Brovinus for allowing us into your very beautiful kingdom. On behalf of Tereartre, we are sorry for slaying your guardian. I know that we have gotten off to a bad start with you but I implore you, we will make amends and we really value your kind dispensation towards us despite our actions," replied Vallentor trying to maintain a mood of peace taking the edge off the situation.

King Brovinus gave nothing away, absolutely nothing and just bowed his head in acknowledgement. "May I offer you tired and weary travelers some light refreshments and perhaps a late lunch?"

"Yes, please," blurted Mike.

Pixie nudged him with her shoulder in embarrassment. "Indeed, that would be highly appreciated your majesty. Thank you," corrected Pixie.

"Ahhh!!! In that case, let us withdraw indoors. The sun is fun but too much sun is no fun. Excuse the pun. Haha!"

Pixie chuckled at the very odd king who pointed the way forward and made his way towards his own palace.

Commander Bardock still faced forward and looked angrily at Tereartre who did not return any looks this time.

Tereartre was more concerned about the possibility of being a rabbit fattened up for the kill by the old master, Brovinus. If his suspicions proved to be true, then this was going to be a short trip.

The gate soldiers retreated back to the gates as the archers continued their perpetual aim at the four.

Commander Bardock then turned and walked towards the palace first. The warriors took that as the cue to follow and so they did. Tereartre glanced up to make sure the archers were still there which they were! They lined all the rooftops closest to the warriors.

Tereartre turned to Vallentor and Vallentor nodded.

"This is going to be very interesting! He did not even ask our names," replied Mike as he turned to a very concerned Pixie. The regiment placed by the gates approached them in a slow march and halted just in front of them. Each warrior's stare was cold and sterile, even though the day was beautifully blessed with clear and warm skies.

Vallentor and Tereartre stood in front of Pixie and Mike and returned the stare with a firm gaze.

"Come, you must be tired, come this way," motioned King Brovinus.

The three warriors and two wolves followed King Brovinus down the main road leading to the royal palace. After a silent stroll for half an hour, they reached the inner royal palace, which was quite an elaborate masterpiece of "craftsminotaurianship" located also in the very centre of the kingdom. The Volcanock volcano behind it had not spewed catastrophic volumes of ash and lava for many years now still remaining the best background feature any kingdom could ever have. Ashblock prevailed once again but this time the pieces of stone were fashioned into sculptures that portrayed the many heroes of the Minotaurian civilization which was ancient itself. All the outstanding kings and super elite commanders were given their chance to be immortalized in ashblock statures. It was an open air outside hall of fame. Pixie went up to examine one of the statues and then suddenly, it began to move. Then, the others also followed suit and moved performing glorious ancient poses of entertainment. It stunned and amused the warriors! All of these moving statures surrounded the palace, which were carefully constructed by Volcanock's finest architects. The palace was beautiful, truly much more glamorous than Hallucagenia. Even Pixie was amazed as the gate guards that opened the main wooden gates for them. The palace only had a short black steel fence surrounding it so the rest of the race could see and admire the beautiful gardens within it. Fountains ran here and there as small, lush fern green shrubs provided shade for the little irises and roses that blushed in the sunshine.

Pixie and Mike decided to stay in the stable for safety's sake whilst Tereartre and Vallentor entered the palace's golden doors that displayed the Minotaur insignia in the middle, which was a large face of a bull.

King Brovinus and Commander Bardock led the way as two servants offered Vallentor and Tereartre a glass of water with a sprig of mint on golden platters right by the door. Both took their glasses but did not drink the water immediately. They acted as if they were admiring the architectural genius of the palace and they were doing a very good job of it too.

The inside of the palace was just as beautiful as the gardens that surrounded it with well aerated rooms and a dining room which was already fully laden with food and drink upon a luxurious table for eight. Fresh and straight from the oven were grass cakes, King Brovinus' favorite and for the others, the chefs made grilled chicken and roasted mutton immersed in gravy with vegetable side dishes. Naturally, beef was outlawed in Volcanock. That would amount to cannibalism in this country but the norm in many others. Due to the stupidity of some cows and bulls in other lands, they eventually succumbed to their master's darker side of farming practices. 'Domestication' is what it's called. Little did their masters know, but they themselves too have become 'domesticated' by their habitual ways and could not escape the bondages that they themselves placed upon their respective societies.

The main dining table was filled only with the main course whilst the other smaller dining table specialized in desserts of the sweetest kind with pies and tarts of cherries and apples filled that part of the room and with chocolate surprises of every kind. On the contrary, there were no by-laws stipulating the exploitation of milk in Volcanock and so the bakers ran with that loophole in the system. As one can imagine, there were no butchers in Volcanock, the only butchers appeared in the form of elite soldiers on the battlefield. The sunlight penetrated the room strongly as the backyard of fountains and gardens glowed ever more beautifully.

The warriors looked awestruck and were very hungry.

King Brovinus suddenly turned to Vallentor who returned a quick smile at him and looked at the glass of water in his hand. He smiled and gently took it from the Hallucen king's hands, took a sip of it and returned it back to Vallentor who returned a smile of embarrassment.

"Haha! Come, join us for some lunch and then we can further discuss matters," insisted the King.

They sat down quietly on the clean white upholstered chairs lined with golden embroidery and ate.

King Brovinus did not eat much but Commander Bardock went all out. He had consumed four platters of food. The human side showed its true colors.

"Ahhh! That was very nice!" sighed King Brovinus with complete satisfaction after he gobbled up the last piece of cherry pie on his plate. "I would normally go and have my afternoon nap now because my chefs would have already distributed the food I give everyday to the poor by now but it is good that you are here, so now I have a reason to stay awake. This matter simply cannot be prolonged any further! Commander Bardock, please show our guests to the conference room. I will join you in a moment." Brovinus was a sharp old Minotaur, very sharp!

Vallentor and Tereartre looked at each other and stood up slowly. This was it! This was the reason that they came all this way. Both were very nervous at this point.

Commander Bardock sensed the tension within them and smiled a cynical smile. "Right this way gentlemen."

They left the table and walked through the main passage of the palace. The palace was bright and illuminated with white walls. They reached a large wooden double door on the right with golden handles fashioned into the shape of a bull's horn. Commander Bardock opened the door and allowed the warriors to go in first out of courtesy. The conference room had more or less the same structure and appearance as theirs. It was dark and filled with maps and had a fireplace but since it was so hot today, the fire was not lit, the curtains were drawn slightly which allowed some light and air into the room for a change. There was a central caramel brown table, rectangular, with old antique chairs carefully placed around it. The table was perfect for four people.

King Brovinus was already seated at the head of the table and faced Vallentor who chose to sit opposite him.

Tereartre sat down adjacent to Vallentor and King Brovinus on the left and faced Bardock seated adjacent to King Brovinus.

Both Tereartre & Bardock had not uttered a word to each other during the whole duration of their visit. Everything they did was efficient and quiet in a precalculated manner.

"Helleus Kendor, wow!" Brovinus took a moment to reflect and broke the silence. For that moment, he transported himself to the battlefield of the great barbarian war with closed eyes. He could hear the cries of men dying all around him, their bodies hurled into the air as if they were mere ragdolls. Then, he could feel the searing heat emanating from the Flaming Rider. He could see his eyes, those cold, red eyes. King Brovinus then opened his eyes suddenly and it caused Vallentor to sit back a little. He never knew what it was like on the day but those feelings gave him glimpses of what had happened on that day of history.

"Commander Bardock here tells me that we got our hides thoroughly whipped on that day. Talk about putting our tails between legs. I must say, it was not a pleasure for us when we fought against him. My only regret was not personally being there to witness the whole damn thing! Haha! Can you imagine? I missed the greatest war of the century because of my silly ideals! You know, friendship, things like that! Helleus was my friend! How could I go to war against my own friend? Oh yes, I was ordered to but I just could not. Some of us are not that strong!" King Brovinus gave Tereartre a stern look before he continued. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable as he released some steam from his tattered tunic. "I must thank Commander Bardock for going and surviving in my stead. Quite a brave thing to do!"

Commander Bardock nodded in acknowledgement.

"And so I defied the express command of King Braithwaite himself but he is a persuasive man, shall we say. I had to send in a contingent, some twenty thousand Minotaurs, and my only regret is that I sent them to their doom, a regret that I have to live with for the rest of my forsaken life!" The emotion welled up in the King's eyes as tears of sadness rolled down his furry brown cheeks. He clasped his face and spoke in stutters. "I have had to live with that horrible massacre all these years. The pain never ceases and never relents."

Vallentor had a look of despair and sympathy upon his face as he watched this gentle giant of a King literally break down before his very eyes. He felt a great sense of sadness as he empathized with the bereaved king.

Tereartre however, was not concerned with King Brovinus's outburst of emotion. He was more focused and looked straight ahead at Commander Bardock.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists under the table and itched to jump out from his seat, draw his sword and slice Tereartre in two.

Tereartre felt exactly the same. Flames poured out from his eyes as he was transported back in time to that fateful day where he and Commander Bardock locked horns on the battlefield. It was bound to happen. Commander Bardock had killed his way towards Tereartre on the battlefield surrounding the Hallucen Kingdom. Thousands of Minotaurian and barbarian bodies littered the battlefield around them. Blood stained their faces and wearied bodies. Tereartre's green fire sword was aimed straight at Commander Bardock's throat whilst Commander Bardock's double-edged axe was primed to cleave the Werethall King in two. Tereartre lunged forward and Commander Bardock swung his axe coming down heavily on the smaller, leaner figure of Tereartre but Tereartre blocked his attack with his sword and knelt down deep into the ground making a large depression within it. Tereartre shifted his sword to the side along with the Bardock's axe and followed that up with a kick to his head, which sent the big Minotaur staggering to his side. Commander Bardock wiped the blood from his cheek and regained his composure. Tereartre swung his sword and readied himself for Bardock's turn. Commander Bardock then turned his axe upside down and let it slide downwards until his grip reached the end of it revealing a looped rope. He took grip onto the rope at the end of the handle and began to swing it around his head, building some momentum. Soon, he was spinning it so fast that Tereartre found it difficult to track his movements. Also, Commander Bardock's skill was so refined that he even changed hands whilst swinging these deadly blades. Tereartre charged at Bardock but he managed to block every attack that the Werethall King could muster at the time. Every swipe of his blade just bounced off this impenetrable field that Commander Bardock created with his axes. A few barbarians snuck up behind Bardock and released thousands of arrows upon him but to no avail. The arrows turned into dust as they hit the Minotaur Commander. Things were not looking good for Tereartre. Helleus was too preoccupied on the other side of the Kingdom dealing with another threat. He was not going to come to Tereartre's aid anytime soon. Tereartre had to find a way through. It came to him. He allowed Bardock to get in close and then he increased the heat of his sword and transferred it to Bardock's axe whilst causing the handle to catch on fire. To Commander Bardock's amazement, he found himself weaponless and the table's turned against him. He looked around him and saw the wall of barbarians closing in on him. He smiled and then broke off one of his large horns and used them as mini-swords to dispatch his enemies. Blood, guts and fury were sprayed everywhere as Tereartre watched the Commander go into a blood-filled frenzy. Tereartre then disappeared for a moment and reappeared in front of Bardock, and slashed him across the face but received a deep stab within his torso in the process. Both warriors staggered backwards, one held his right eye; the other held his torso and breathed heavily. There were no more barbarian soldiers that came to attack Bardock. Tereartre could see this.

"Go Bardock, go now before he comes here. He will not spare you!" shouted Tereartre to the proud Commander.

"LET HIM COME!" replied a furious Bardock.

"We do not have to do this! Look around you! All the Minotaurs you have brought are dead. My party of barbarians are also all dead. Give it up Bardock. Go home! Go home! The war is over!"

"AAAARGH!!!" screamed Bardock with tears in his blood-filled eyes. He knew it was over but the anger and pride kept his feet grounded upon Hallucen soil. He still wanted to finish his duty.

"I said, LEAVE!!!" shouted Tereartre disappearing momentarily.

He suddenly appeared in front of Bardock.

Bardock could not track his movements due to his temporary loss of vision. Tereartre punched him so hard that he flew over the main wall and landed somewhere in the Pine Forests.

"Rufor, Rufor, can you hear me?" asked Tereartre with his mind.

Rufor, who was biting a dead Minotaur's neck some distance away, suddenly stopped what he was doing looked up and heard his master's voice.

"Rufor, please find Commander Bardock and restore him to an acceptable condition fit for his journey back home."

Rufor ran through the maze of bodies and scaled the Hallucen walls and found the badly wounded Commander Bardock in the depth of the dense forest.

Commander Bardock remembered seeing flashes of a furry animal that licked his wounds, and also of the journey through the forest and feeling the desert winds upon his face.

The rest was a painful blur and then he opened his eyes and saw Tereartre sitting in front of him once again today. He released his clenched fists and remembered that the man in front of him spared his life to tell his tale again and nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Tereartre reciprocated and nodded.

It was a moment frozen in time that Tereartre and Bardock had just shared. It was the closure each needed to move on from the pain left behind by the war.

Tereartre then turned to face King Brovinus who was still talking,

"...but nevertheless it was indeed a great loss to true leadership and warfare when he passed on. I mean no disrespect but we celebrated the day we got the news, 'Helleus Kendor is dead'. You missed him, didn't you Vallentor?" asked Brovinus with genuine inquiry.

"I am afraid I did miss him. I was in exile in Bellor when Lataria split before coming to Hallucagenia after the great barbarian war."

King Brovinus nodded his head. He knew exactly who Vallentor was, before Vallentor knew that he knew. "So I hear King Braithwaite is still bullying kingdoms after all this time?" asked the Minotaur king, a question that came out of the blue ocean of questions which caught the barbarian warriors off-guard with a rod that threatened to fling them back into deeper waters.

"Pardon my haste good king but all the races except yourself want us exterminated once again. Even if I can ally with you, I would like to know if you will surprise me with an army in the early hours of a morning when I am fast asleep."

Brovinus's eyebrows lifted and he looked at Bardock for a moment. "Well, let us think about this for a moment. Helleus Kendor, the barbarian trump card is dead. A massive force has been building itself over nineteen years and is finally ready to unleash its full wrath upon you. Old and new alliances are being forged and there is a strong possibility that all of them will kill you. Well, honestly no offence to you, but it sounds like you are getting ready to become nothing more than a memory. The lands of Hallucagenia are highly sort after and I do admit that we too were once guilty of that lust, but that was a long time ago and we have changed since then. We care not for riches and for land anymore. You have my word that we will not attack you during this vulnerable period!"

Vallentor understood and was incredibly relieved to hear the king's comforting words. He also looked at the expression on Tereartre's face, which showed him that the old Minotaur spoke from his heart.

"Pardon me for stating the obvious but you are very vulnerable at this stage. I would love to help you, but I cannot put the lives of any more Minotaurs in danger. I do know that my bulls lust for blood but I cannot send them into battle, not again. Too many have died on principle and I must learn from the mistakes of the past."

Vallentor was devastated at that declaration! He gave an understanding smile and bowed his head slightly to King Brovinus. He moved his head back slightly and turned to Tereartre. They got the answer to their question and rolled his lips inwards.

Brovinus noticed this and put his head down in shame. "I am really testing your patience and you are angry aren't you? I know you have travelled many miles in search of my kingdom. You have braved the storms that spare no man, nor woman's lives seeking my assistance but I simply cannot help you, King Vallentor."

Vallentor nodded in agreement and some concealed defeat.

"Please do not misunderstand me, Vallentor. I am simply doing what I feel is right for my people. Yes! It would be nice to go to war again and fight alongside you, instead of against you, but how many fathers will I take away from their families, how many sons I will take from their mothers? I do not want to realize the folly of war after I have agreed to be involved in it once again. I have already come to that realization with nineteen years of regret. Surely you understand this good King?"

"I do and I thank you for your honesty and hospitality King Brovinus. You are indeed a reformed Minotaur and one of the greater kings of our time. I guess it is much easier for us. We are so used to waging battles now against so many evils that it has become indelibly etched in our minds to fight against all odds. I also wish to add that we still want to trade with you if that is still possible."

"You are perfectly welcome good friend and I too wish to trade with you and retain our good relations for as long as time permits. I also hope you win against all those odds and may they be in your favour."

"Well in that case, let there peace be between us. I will find another way to stack something in our favor. I thank you once again." Vallentor bowed and Tereartre followed suit.

King Brovinus and Commander Bardock did the same and did not bother to ask if they wanted to stay for the night. They understood the essence of time. King Brovinus though, was unsettled. His smile turned into a grave look as if struck with some newfound threat. He gave out a quiet snort and closed his eyes.

"Tereartre, can you hear me?" he asked in his mind.

"Yes, good King, I can. What troubles you?" replied Tereartre with surprise and curiosity as he walked on towards the stables with an oblivious Vallentor walking right next to him.

"I am not sure. Be on your guard! I have an ominous feeling about the times ahead. I am old now, not as fast as I used to be, but there is nothing wrong with my nose. Go well my friend! May we meet again soon!"

"Thank you good King. Take care."

The two warriors climbed upon their wolves that waited patiently at the stables just outside the black fence.

Vallentor turned to face King Brovinus who gave one last wave to them. At that, they sped off towards the main gates.

"Well, I better tell the guards to open up the gates," motioned Commander Bardock.

"That won't be necessary," smiled King Brovinus with hands behind his back.

Commander Bardock then remembered why and smiled at the disappearing riders in the distance as they scaled the gates with ease.

They re-entered the harsh desert lands once again.

There was no one around in the streets and alleys of Volcanock. Commander Bardock turned to King Brovinus.

"Our intelligence reports indicate that King Braithwaite wishes to cement his alliances with Gillmanor, Razortor and Aglypha and possibly the Mountain Apes. When he accomplishes that, he will strike them and he will strike them hard. Do you believe this new King, Vallentor, has any chance of defeating that force, my king?" asked Commander Bardock in a very ominous tone.

"No, he does not Commander! He won't stand a chance even if King Braithwaite comes alone."

Commander Bardock was a little confused and surprised at King Brovinus's declaration of pessimism. He had first hand experience of getting beaten up by King Helleus's then right hand man, Tereartre Levon and felt the king underestimated their chances.

King Brovinus smiled and saw the doubt in his commander's mind. "You don't believe me. Haha! You do not understand Bardock. Let me educate you. Tereartre is good and probably unmatched in the forests but he is shadow compared to them."

"I find that hard to believe good king. He is a fine warrior and very strong," replied the Commander defending Tereartre.

"Yes he is, I suppose. However, you must not forget the rank of the Dark Knights for it is very important."

"Why?" asked the Commander intrigued by the discussion.

"Well, it is the only reason that I am still alive today!"

Commander Bardock was completely confused. He was under another impression.

"Tereartre is only number four in the Dark Knight ranking."

Commander Bardock was shocked.

"I am behind him at number six."

A look of awe and wonder overcame Commander Bardock's face as he marvelled at this new visage of his king. He never knew this key piece of history and admired his king in a newfound light, but he wondered even more about who was ranked first, second and third but did not pursue the topic further.

"At least he tried, Bardock. That is why I admire the barbarians; of all the races, they have the spirit of survival and never give up no matter what the odds are. I guess that is why we lost, haha!"

Commander Bardock continued his deep stare at the gates.

King Brovinus noticed this. "Is something bothering you Bardock?"

Bardock quickly snapped out of his deep gaze and turned to his king.

"No, My Lord. I just feel different."

"Do you, that's good, that's good." King Brovinus laughed and looked up in the sky.

#  Depression

"Ohh! My sweet Melody, where are you my darling? Your father needs you," moaned King Braithwaite as his head drooped upon his royal table squashing his snout and whiskers lowering his eyes.

The royal room was empty leaving him to sulk in peace by talking to himself. The day was calm though, partly clouded with cornfield blue patches.

"I need you my beautiful daughter to help me seal this arrangement with Gillmanor. You are taking too long my darling. So very beautiful you were, just like your mother, Lucilia who so untimely left me for a better life in death. Oh! Where is the sanctity in me now? There is none left for it has all gone with the passing of my two precious gems. Those barbarians! Those wretched barbarians! I shall vent my anger and frustration upon them! I swear, I will. I will build an empire by consuming all other emerging ones! That I promise you my sweet darlings, but that is not really why I am doing this, is it! Why am I doing what I am doing? Oh yes! That's why..." King Braithwaite's depressive mood was broken with a slight knocking of the door. "WHO IS THAT, THAT DISTURBS ME? It is probably Bellorus, the great jester of Bellor. Haha! COME IN!"

"It is indeed I, Bellorus, My Lord."

"Until we can talk again my sweethearts, take care."

The door creaked open with King Bellorus standing at the entrance with a great big smile upon his face. King Bellorus always wore his golden robes and small crown representing his small, insignificant kingdom but his skulking figure and his sedate voice always made him more inferior than he normally was. "Sire, I have the most wonderful news for you!"

#  News

"News you say! Well out with it." King Braithwaite's eyes lit up in a fireworks display, for he always loved news.

"We have found her, My Lord!"

King Braithwaite stood up immediately thrusting his chair backwards causing it to tumble over on its side. "When, where, how?"

"We have not yet spoken to her My Lord but I am sure all that could be done was done. Not an hour ago, outside the barracks. She was cloaked but Bartholomew, your good son, spotted her nonetheless. He was doing a drill with the men when he sensed her presence and smelt her unmistakable scent."

"Bartholomew, my good son! A man that can be relied on! He still does not know, does he? Where is she now?"

"No my lord, he is unaware. She is with Bartholomew this very moment in the meeting room, My Lord."

"Let me go see her!"

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, MELODY? Father was worried sick about you! You know how hard it has been since mother passed on and to add to it all, you run away into the Pine Forests, THE PINE FORESTS! Of all places! Do you not know we are at war?" emphasized a furious Bartholomew to his little sister. He was still in his knight's armor as he scolded her.

Her slender, stubborn arms were folded in disagreement as she looked away.

His long, blonde hair covered his eyes slightly and his eyebrows cringed as his ice blue eyes stared down upon her. Sweat droplets ran down his face as his heart pounded loudly with rage. His eyes became bloodshot.

She stared right back at her elder brother with an irritated face, turned away and twitched her nose exhibiting the deep crater of irritation she possessed within.

"It was not as if anyone had come looking for me, you know!" she replied with great irritation in her voice.

"Bullshit Melody! I sent the entire elite legion for you. We searched the forests until we reached the edge of Kingdom and started to hit the borders of Hallugenia but could not go any further. At that point, we knew you had been captured! Did they hurt you in any way sister? If they did, they will pay for it dearly, those barbaric monsters."

"Do I look hurt, you idiot?" snapped Melody.

"Control your tongue little sister! Have some respect and consideration for those who care for you. It sounds like you enjoyed your stay over there sister. Either way, they will pay dearly for kidnapping you," insisted Bartholomew with clenched his fists.

"Ha! You are just like father, small-minded and stupid. I do not know why you follow him. I hope one day you wake up from this nightmare and become free." Melody's face cringed this time.

"What did you say?" Bartholomew became very angry and was about to erupt! "Did you know what the talk was in the council about your disappearance?"

"No, enlighten me!""I THINK I WILL," shouted big brother.

Just then, the door slowly opened revealing their father who looked down and then up towards his squabbling children.

"I could hear you all the way down the hallway children. This bickering is pointless! Nonetheless, it is good to see the family together once again. Melody my sweet darling, you have come back to me. Oh! How I missed you so greatly?"

Bartholomew and Melody stopped fighting as soon as their father entered the room and acted as if they were perfectly fine.

"Bartholomew, leave us," commanded the king.

"As you wish, father." Bartholomew bowed and left the room giving his sister a final angry look as the king sat down across from where his daughter sat so lonely upon her bed.

He leant back into the rocking chair and clasped his hands and smiled perpetually at Melody who did not reciprocate in any way. "Forgive me for not kissing you, my daughter. I know you won't let me anyway so I did not bother. Nevertheless, I am truly happy to see you again, Melody. I thought that when you first agreed to accept this mission, I would never see you again. You are a very brave, young girl, like your mother. You went right into the dragon's den and survived!"

She kept staring at him with a developing smile at the corner of her exquisite face. "I am happy that the mission was a success, it could have been a greater success but I did what I could, father," replied Melody with some disappointment in her soft, sweet voice.

"You are safe and what more could I ask for my darling. I am happy that you came back at the time that you did."

Melody's smile changed into a look of concern realizing that her father was up to something.

"Are you not happy to see me my dear?"

"I am father but you have changed, you and I both know that. I do not know when it happened but you changed. What is it that you ask of me now, father?" she asked getting right to the heart of her father's beating thoughts.

"Well of course I did. I would not be me if I did not."

"It is such a pity that you have become less of a human."

King Braithwaite laughed at Melody's rude declaration for a few seconds and then composed himself. His laugh turned into a smile and transformed into a very serious look.

Melody became afraid as he unclasped his hands.

Pressing on the armrests of the wooden chair, he stood up allowing it to drag slowly making a creaking noise. He slowly walked towards his daughter coming closer and whispered into her ears, "I know what you have been up to my beautiful little princess."

Melody felt the shock travel to her heart but somehow she managed to keep it from paralyzing her as she swung her head around to watch her father seat himself back on his chair across her.

This time, he sat leg upon leg leaning on one of the armrests and was much more relaxed. "Come now my darling, your mind is not the only thing I am able to read. You have fallen in love! And besides, where did you hear of a king who would let his only daughter out into the wild without an agenda of his own. I knew that because you hate me so much you would not hesitate to betray me and reveal my plans to the Hallucen King which I am sure you have already done."

Princess Melody put her head down in shame and defeat as her father went on. "I have said it before and I will say it again, plans can change. Whatever I want child, I will eventually get. Do you really believe that the information you have divulged will help them in any bloody way? Do you really think that you can swing the outcome of an entire war in Vallentor's favor just because you disapprove of my plans for you? If you do, my little girl, then you are gravely mistaken. I can't understand why you just don't listen to me. I have always had your best interests at heart!"

Melody then only realized the futility of her actions.

"I am not so stupid as to launch an insignificant small and unprepared incursion against the barbarians which they now suspect, thanks to you. I much prefer to see them all fall once and for all. Haha!" King Braithwaite gave out a sick, sadistic laugh that echoed across the halls.

Everybody started doing whatever it was that they were doing much faster when they heard King Braithwaite's powerful laugh.

"You are not a very good spy are you, Melody? You have violated the first rule of being a spy. You got caught! I will forgive you for that. Perhaps you were just homesick. Just remember that you are always welcome here but you must have a sense of duty as a Princess too." King Braithwaite stood up and walked towards the door. He opened it halfway and then turned around to face Princess Melody.

Melody stared into oblivion across the small room thinking a thousands thoughts of hatred as the beige walls closed in around her.

Braithwaite smiled and thought he should leave her with one last parting gift to think about, "Oh yes, before I forget! Now that you have returned, we leave for Gillmanor in one week's time to finalize your marriage to Prince Michael."

She did not respond, but the tears that begun to well up in her red amber eyes were shattered as the door closed on her with her head falling slowly to her side and onto her lonely bed. She was a trapped, helpless mouse in the corner of a lion's den! There was no escape for her! She knew that. At that moment, a glimpse of Valkin appeared in her thoughts, which was just a flicker of light at the end of her dark tunnel of life. She could not understand why he would appear though. Was her father right about her feelings, she thought? Was she really in love? It did not seem that way to her. It was all so confusing. She leapt back into the comfort of her royal pillows to vent her misery and sorrow upon them wetting them with the tears of her pain.

#  A silent return

"A blinding light! The flaming rider himself and Melody gets captured. Raven, I should go out more often!" Vallentor was taken aback at the series of events that had taken place in his absence.

"A retrieval, as opposed to an abduction to be more accurate. Yes, sir, that is about it for now. The rider we did not see ourselves but the light we did see. Rufor here, unfortunately bore the brunt of the attack from Rehowlor," replied Raven with a minimal amount of sympathy for his wolven comrade.

"And the girl you say was retrieved?" asked Vallentor in a cheerful mood awaiting an answer.

"Long story sir," replied Marve holding his head in disappointment.

"Well anyway, I deserve this, don't I? It is what I get for going away from our beautiful kingdom. I miss all the action. Where is Valkin now?"

"Sleeping like a baby! Vallentor, don't you wish to retreat to the meeting room to discuss this further?" enquired Raven.

"No, its okay, the training grounds are quiet enough tonight and this fire is still raging. Let us talk out here."

Most of the barbarians had retreated to bed. The others who were still awake, respectfully walked away from the meeting allowing the council its space and privacy. Everyone was seated around the campfire except for two individuals, Valkin and Melody. Vallentor sat opposite Raven. Marve sat opposite Tereartre. Rufor sat next to Vallentor. There was some rabbit meat roasting on the fire and now and then Marve turned it, pouring some wine over it. The smell was juicy and intoxicating as the aroma of the red wine was accentuated by the simmering fire below its juicy drops.

"Are you sure, My Lord, you must be tired after the long journey," replied Marve basting the meat with some spicy sauce that Raven had prepared earlier.

"Thanks Marve, but the journey was neither tiring nor fruitful and besides, I would not turn down a barbeque on a clear night like this for anything including sleep." Vallentor was hungry and full of energy and welcomed the company of his friends. He silently took the response from King Brovinus badly as it scraped the inside of his head, which was now bereft of any solutions.

Tereartre, on the other hand, had mixed feelings.

"Bad news hey," replied Marve as he threw a small twig into the fire with some despondency immediately sensing what had transpired in Volcanock from Vallentor's body language of defeat.

"Not entirely. We established that King Brovinus won't attack us," smiled Vallentor.

Everyone gave a wry chuckle.

Tereartre however, did not laugh. His mind was elsewhere.

"Rufor, how come you did not see anything?" laughed Marve trying to shift the subject.

"Hey, let's not forget who caught the rabbit and who should be rightfully eating it, Marve. At least my scouting trips are useful unlike yours. I got knocked out sir..." pleaded Rufor for a pardon from the king. Marve smirked at Rufor whose comments were directed to his absence during the battle with Rehowlor.

"...and I am assuming that is when the flaming rider appeared," replied Vallentor rubbing his beardy, sandy cheek as he looked at Tereartre who had not mentioned a word since they had arrived.

He stared blankly into the fire.

Vallentor felt that he needed to debrief himself. "What do you think, Tereartre?"

Everyone turned to the Werethall leader and awaited a response as the fire continued to crackle away.

"If indeed Helleus Kendor has returned, then I am truly not sure how the sequence of events will turn out. He is an entire element by himself!"

Vallentor nodded in agreement, as he too now looked into the fire.

Finally, Raven's worst fears were confirmed and Marve too understood what this meant but both brothers were always told old stories about him and never the truth. Tereartre though, knew everything, every sordid and sad detail of it.

Only the clearing of Vallentor's throat awoke the warriors from their nightmares. "Listen gentlemen, if we do not eat now, this rabbit is going to hop away into my stomach."

"I agree," replied a very hungry Rufor. He started to salivate but closed his mouth out of respect. It was not a pretty sight when a wolf salivates!

The warriors ate and laughed over the campfire as if they had no problems at all. Only Tereartre did not over indulge this night. He was worried, visibly so! After everyone had finished, Marve suggested that the simmering fire should be re-lit and everyone knew exactly why.

Raven brought the firewood and did the honors. He threw up the small logs into the air and jumped up to them slicing them into workable pieces with his bare hands. Soon the fire was raging again and the time was right.

"Tereartre, please tell us the most famous story of our time," asked Vallentor as he lied down on his side with a cup of wild fruit juice in his hand.

Rufor cuddled up in his blanket next to him.

Raven and Marve sat cross-legged across from where Tereartre sat. They were small children waiting eagerly for the elders to entertain them with a story to put them off to sleep but this story was not going to make anyone sleep soon.

"If I must! What I tell you now is no story. It is more of an account of a series of events rather than a story. Allow me to bring you gentlemen up to speed."

Raven and Marve sat upright ready to listen intently.

"Before our time, the world was a wretched place filled with hatred and war that would overshadow our miniscule and insignificant feuds over land and treasures. The wars were complicated and the people were fighting and killing each other for reasons so inexplicable and illogical that one could get up and sleep vomiting the vulgar way of existence each and every day. Blood feuds and race feuds were the order of the day! It was a time of chaos and fury where the human nature of evil dominated the world. The world was slowly deteriorating and intervention was desperately needed to prevent its certain destruction, and so an agreement was made between the God of Life and the God of Death to counter the violence and killing. However, strangely enough, the Death God wished to be the one who would purge the world from its hatred and violence believing that he could create a stronger more commanding force, to achieve this. It was a strange choice, which perplexed and pleased the God of Life immensely for he knew that perhaps the God of Death was right in his ways. The God of life agreed, but only on one condition, if things got totally out of hand, then he would intervene. The Gods agreed! That was when the Dark Knights of the Death God were created. Each one would possess the sacred Hidamen power bestowed by the Death God himself to purge the world from violence. I am sure this power must be now very familiar to our king and Rufor here but the Death brothers do not fully understand it. The Hidamen power is bestowed upon a single person, one person," stressed Tereartre. "One individual receives this great power. He must then elect five subordinates, each one different in nature but still strong. The Dark Knights of the Death God are a force to be reckoned with, almost unstoppable. They are charged with keeping the peace and are obliged to defend it when attacked. The flaming rider that was seen not a day ago bore the Hidamen's insignia. He also possessed the flaming horse, which was the vehicle of the Dark Knight Leader. Whoever that person was, he did possess the sacred Hidamen powers of the Death God and is a Dark Knight! From what we know, Helleus Kendor, was the last person that possessed the Hidamen power. He chose five warriors to fight alongside him. That you know off but Helleus Kendor died nineteen years ago. Of that I am certain! It is probable but highly unlikely that the person seen on the night Rehowlor attacked is actually Helleus Kendor. However, that cannot be ruled out. The evidence suggests otherwise but I have my own doubts. I was not here in person and so I cannot say for sure that it was him."

Raven was first to ask a question. "Tereartre, I assume that this is a good thing?"

"Well, I hope that the second part of the story will help answer your question. The circumstances and the actual cause of Helleus's death remain a mystery to most warriors. Along the years, many theories have evolved, some outrageous and others closer to the mark. The most accurate, is unfortunately the saddest."

Vallentor's head sank with sadness, as did Rufors, which suggested that their own theories were indeed closer to the mark.

Tereartre looked up into the dark, starry night as the embers flickered into the air. "Helleus was unstoppable, invincible but he was mortal kind. Towards the end of his life, he had begun to suffer from massive headaches and uncontrollable heat rages. He was losing his identity! He forgot who he was and what he stood for, but he was a fighter. After successfully dispatching the armies of the neo-Lataria in the great barbarian war and defending his kingdom, he became the proud father of Valkin Kendor some nineteen years ago on the eve of the battle. He knew the dangers and so he came to the unbearable decision of sending his only family of wife and child away. Of course, he could have easily protected them from any adversary but the one thing he could not protect them from, was himself. Valkin understood this when I recited to him the very last page of his father's journal which you know of already."

The brothers nodded in agreement remembering that vital piece very vividly.

"Look, let me put it simply and tell you the truth. Two years after the great barbarian war, Helleus was forced to hunt down and kill someone, someone close to him. In order to do that, he had to become that which he hunted, a monster!" Tereartre broke off and looked to his side in disappointment and disgust and then continued as the Death brothers listened with intense interest and awe, "...the man was changing. We could see it! We could feel it. Slowly, the hatred and darkness within him began to consume him. It ate away at the shreds of his humanity leaving him with nothing and no one in his life. He turned his back on his Dark Knights to whom he swore an oath of allegiance. They trusted him but he was far too gone to redeem himself. Even they could see and fear the transition that took place before them. They had no choice! They had no choice but to destroy Helleus Kendor for the good of man and creature kind alike. They gathered the full strength of the barbarian army and marched upon the royal hut. Helleus knew they were coming for him and so he fled, fearing further bloodshed in the walls of Hallucagenia, to the treacherous hills of Mt. Killithur, north of our lands. He did so in his human form. You see, the Dark Knight form is the flaming warrior. Helleus at that point, could not control the switching between the forms. One moment he was the man we all knew and loved, and the next, he was this uncontrollable monster. We found him on the highest peak of Mt. Killithur, facing the abyss below him. His hands were stained with blood as he read the last page of his journal, which he wrote the night before in my presence. He never told me where he hid the first page and I did not ask as he burnt the rest of the journal with the fire from his hands feeling that it had lost its significance in the face of his terrible condition." Tereartre closed his eyes and paused for a moment which seemed like an eternity and then continued relating to it, in a more clear and vivid manner. "I will never forget that day when I reached the mountain top and unslung my bow and positioned my cold silver arrow."

Raven and Marve were shocked at what they were hearing from Tereartre.

Vallentor even was taken aback by what he was saying. Vallentor had a theory but only now realized how far his theory was from the truth.

Tereartre continued. "How I and my faithful companions pointed to the respective points on Helleus's body aiming at only clear vital organs; two must the pierce the lung and two the heart and then only will death befall the Dark Knight. I will never forget what he said to me. He said that it was for the best and that I must do this for his family. I can still feel the release of my hand, the arrow swishing and swirling through the air drawing closer and closer to its target in the slow winter pelt of an icy storm. Everything happened so slowly! Even the raindrops slowed down, hitting the barren rocks gently and lifelessly in sync with our heartbeats. Then, the converging arrows hit their targets with deadly force! He did not even twitch, as the blood trickled down his mighty chest and body. None of those arrows had fazed him. He just stood there with his back facing us and his pristine body marred by two arrows with his head tilted up to the sky as he meditated with his eyes closed. Those minutes that passed by felt like an age. His head began to droop slightly as he staggered closer to the edge of the cliff side. The Dark Knights held their hearts with heavy sorrow and sadness hiding their tears with the falling rain. Helleus slowly turned around to face me. He smiled and then fell gracefully to his death. I instinctively reached out to him out of impulse in an effort to grab him but he was already over the edge. We found no body but that did not matter to us, as long as he found peace. That meant more to us than anything else did. Peace of mind!"

The brothers were shocked. They could not believe it! The fire was completely out now and the cold draft drifted through their shivering bodies and slowly crept in under their skin.

"I think its time we got some sleep! We will gather again tomorrow for further discussions on the matter. Good night everyone!" The king got up and retreated to his bed.

Raven and Marve quickly joined Vallentor and began chatting to him about the fact that Tereartre was one of the men responsible for dispatching Helleus Kendor. The others talked for sometime and eventually went to sleep, except for Tereartre who stayed behind by the dying fire. He gazed into the pulsating embers of the once roaring fire before him until it finally died before succumbing to his own fatigue.

#  A week's time

The magenta floral patterns of irises painted along Princess Melody's royal room wall were pictures of green vomit and gall from a serpent's belly that streamed down as tears of disgust. Her depression got the best of her as she blankly stared with a face of gravel road that was trodden upon many times by unforgiving travellers in her life. Her once beautiful, black luscious locks were now all entangled in a dirty in a web of lies and deceipt. Her time was up, for it was time to go to Gillmanor and tie the dreaded knot and there was no way for her to get out of it. Her father had trapped her and he was not going to let go any time soon. Unexpectedly, Princess Melody's chamber doors opened with a loud crash as they hit the walls on either side breaking the door handles and denting the walls in the process.

Her father marched in without a care in the world for neither his daughter's privacy nor her feelings. She sat on the bed dressed in her magenta nightgown staring blankly out through the window overlooking the whole of the Sarcodian kingdom. A thought about how nice this kingdom would be, if it had a better king ran through her tired, defeated mind and then only she turned to face her father. There was little courtesy left between them during the week that flew past.

"You were always a stubborn child, just like your mother, stubborn and strong-willed! Prince Michael will admire such qualities within you. I cannot wait to see my good friend again, King Gilleus of Gillmanor and his wonderful armies." Braithwaite rubbed his hands together and smiled as he sat down next to his daughter and joined her in gazing out through the window. They were in two very different spaces in their lives, with two very different visions that they chose to see through that window.

"Does life mean anything to you, father? Do I mean anything to you?" asked Melody.

King Braithwaite slowly turned to face her. "Of course my darling! Whatever I do, I do it for you."

Melody rolled her eyes upwards in disgust after hearing her father's words. "And still, you lie to me father." Melody returned her gaze to the kingdom of Sarcodia.

Her father stood up and walked towards the door and then turned around to face her before he left. "Get ready! We leave at noon to Gillmanor. HAND MAIDENS, your princess needs some attention."

The door slammed shut! Poor Melody turned around and fell into her bed once again with tear-filled eyes. Her handmaidens came to her aid, two of them dressed in comforting black and white attire, and begun to cheer up. She got up and felt much better. The hour drew closer though, and she could still feel the inevitable fate she would soon have to suffer out of duty to her father and kingdom.

#  Wake up, Valkin

"Well, how did that happen, Rufor?" asked a very confused Valkin.

"They picked her up just outside the kingdom, in the Pine forests and followed her right through to Sarcodia. We figured the princess was getting homesick," replied Rufor as they made their way towards the Death brothers who stood just outside the blacksmith's workshop.

"Intelligence patrol, alone! Sounds fishy to me but she did seem the betrayal type, from my impressions of her anyway. Perhaps I was right." Valkin shook his head with disapproval.

"Hmm...maybe, or perhaps her mission was complete and she was recalled," replied Rufor with an inner smile.

"I wonder if there is actually more to this, Rufor?"

Rufor and Valkin finally reached the Death brothers after a short walk from the room of pain.

"There probably is more but let the kings worry about the games they play. Good morning brothers."

"Morning Rufor, Valkin. Sleep well?"

"Yep," replied Valkin with Rufor nodding. "Wow! Rufor told me about Princess Melody. It is a damn shame! Do you think they will torture her to get some answers?"

"Not likely," replied Raven, "they need her pristine beauty to cement the alliance between Sarcodia and Gillmanor. I do not think Braithwaite will want to damage his prize ticket to gaining an entire army for free."

"I see now why it was time to go," replied a wisened Valkin.

Marve watched him closely and so did Rufor, but only their eyes were doing the watching, their heads never turned.

"Well, it is quite simple, really! Melody marries Michael and King Braithwaite gains an alliance with Gillmanor, 'beginning of the story'. If that happens, then we have got real problems according to Tereartre."

Rufor and Marve itched for Valkin to respond. They knew that Valkin was fond of the girl and he would not be able to resist the opportunity to save her or at least ask how to.

"Wow, well I wish them all the best hey; it is too bad, a pretty girl like that forced to marry against her will out of necessity. This has got tragedy written all over it," replied an uninterested Valkin, to their surprise. It disappointed them greatly.

"That is true. I do not have an answer for you yet but you do miss her, do not you?" asked Marve pushing Valkin further.

"Not really. That crazy woman tried to kill me, remember! She actually deserves what is coming to her. Crazy woman!" Rufor and Marves' heads sank to the floor.

"Valkin, do you not care about her?" asked an equally intrigued Raven.

"Geez, the way you asking me, it feels like I should. No, I do not! What are you trying to say, friends?" asked an irritated Valkin.

"You know what I saying, Val?"

"I know what you mean and I do not miss her, not at all. In fact, I am happy that she is gone back to her miserable life and kingdom. I wished for that and I am just glad that my wish came true. Karma is a bigger bitch than she will ever be, I tell you!"

"Do you not want to save her at least?" asked Raven trying to inject emotive feelings of concern into Valkin.

"SAVE HER! Save her from her retribution. Not a chance Raven! On the contrary, I send her my best wishes. Anyway, how did she escape? I thought that she was under a full-time guard."

"We do not know. She could have taken a quick corner and dodged the guards. We have asked everyone but no one saw a thing. It was as if she had suddenly vanished. Even our other elite guards, who were keeping a watchful eye on her, saw nothing."

"Witchcraft?" asked Valkin.

"Possibly, but highly unlikely. Our priests cast daily shields over our lands to protect them. They would have known about it." Marve had to cut in. He could not take it anymore.

"Valkin...," said Marve.

"Yes, Marve," replied an innocent and oblivious Valkin.

"...you---are---an---idiot." Raven and Rufor threw their hands up in the air in agreement and begun to laugh. They walked to the back of the room of pain towards the blacksmith. Marve had already left after his declaration to stew with the puzzled Valkin who was left to stand stunned and immobilised.

"..but Marve, but why Marve, why am I an idiot? I just want to find out what happened, that is all." Valkin then followed them after a few moments of ardent protesting.

Vallentor, with his keen ears and eyes, watched the entire argument from the royal hut and was very pleased with Valkin's intuition. He whispered something to himself.

#  The Axe of Bryce

"Okay, Valkin, today's lesson is axe mastery. We are going to teach you how to wield an axe, the choice weapon of the barbarians and by the end of today, you will know something about an axe and how to use it."

Valkin nodded with intrigue and excitement in his eyes.

"Any questions?" replied Raven.

"Yes Raven, why do barbarians like using the axe?"

"Why indeed! The answer is in the damage the axe can inflict. The barbarians won every war to date off the blade of an axe because of its potential to inflict massive damage. It is far deadlier than any warsword, man could ever forge and its range is far longer and placed in the hands of a skilled warrior, it becomes an unstoppable force. The only way to kill an axe-wielding barbarian is to shoot him from behind with a bow and arrow, but that could only succeed in making him angrier. The barbarians are not the only race to use axes. The Minotaurians from Volcanock also use axes in war. Commander Bardock of their elite force had committed some service of considerable note in the great barbarian war. The axes of Hallucagenia are marvellously engineering from tempered steel and unacceptium into works of art becoming light, swift and very effective. Traditional axes cannot be wielded from afar. They are a heavy, two-handed weapon and thus not as fast as a sword but our blacksmiths realized this deficiency and have added a specially crafted leather strap to the ends of our axes allowing the wielder to swing it in battle defending against arrow fire and multiple foes, an innovation that the Minotaurians also copied. Also, you can throw your axe further than any arrow or sword can go and if you are strong, you will be so fast that you will not need a shield, just your axe. A swordsman will not know what hit him. But your axe is your life, never throw it away, learn to wield it, keep it close and it will keep you safe. Now, Valkin you have been training with those weights right. Well, I am told by Marve here that you finally maxed out and you maxed out in record time too, right?"

"Well, thanks to Amalgar who did not try to kill me," replied Valkin scratching his head knowing the pain he endured to do so.

"I am sorry to say but that training will only allow you to wield a two-handed warsword, a mere soldier's weapon." Raven waited for a response and got exactly the kind he expected. Valkin did not respond. He just stood with his mouth open wide in disbelief and then finally spoke out.

"In other words, all that training was for nothing?"

"Of course not! You will get there in time." Raven knew that Valkin had not unlocked his full strength potential yet. "The fact that you can wield the weight of a two-handed sword is quite impressive at your age. It puts you on par with a Sarcodian elite soldier, which is very good but not enough." Then, Raven closed his eyes and was transported off into a distant place for just a moment. He then returned from his visions.

"Marve, if you will show Valkin the axes he will have to master."

"Yes Raven, Valkin, right this way."

Valkin followed Marve to the workshop where the blacksmith was just adding the finishing touches to a beautifully crafted large, double-edged battle axe. The blacksmith was a very large barbarian indeed for the axe stood as tall as Valkin and the blade was as wide as his torso. The dark, sharpened edges yearned for a strong wielder. Its creator was Bryce Melterdor, the finest blacksmith in the trainings grounds. With a shaven head, golden earrings and a large black beard that hung way down to his broad chest and not to mention the black apron, which was once white, he donned every morning as he set out to craft the deadliest weapons a warrior could ever wield. The man's strength was nothing short of a barbaric marvel encapsulated in a forty-five year old, 400 lb frame. They say that he could lift a ashblock stone weighing more than a legendary mammoth with only his beard and the next little secret that very few knew off was that the only person that could stop him if he was in a fit of rage was his wife Maria. However, under normal circumstances, Bryce was generally a cool, cheerful and a very calm 7 ft tall barbarian who went about his work with passion and determination.

"Haha! Hallo Valkin. How are you today? Haha!" Bryce also had a strange affliction. He suffered from uncontrollable laughing syndrome. The entire family of Melterdors did!

"I am well very Bryce, how are you?" replied Valkin trying not to laugh at Bryce.

"Excellent, it is an honor to finally meet you. Haha! I could not see you when Bruce was running after you. You were moving too fast for my old eyes to catch. Haha!"

Valkin loved the cheerfulness of the barbarian blacksmith and the acknowledgement of his earlier feat of speed against Bruce, the almighty Bararg king.

"The honor and pleasure is mine, really," replied Valkin respectfully.

Marve joined in, "Bryce here is the finest blacksmith in all the lands."

"Haha! Now, now Marve, do not exaggerate. I try to do a good job."

Valkin looked at the workshop more closely and carefully examined all the weapons. Then he understood why Marve regarded him as the best in all the training grounds. You name it, Bryce had crafted it and if it did not exist then he could melt, fold and bang here and there and create it. From daggers to scimitars to axes to bows to the finest armor in the grounds; the list goes on and on. He made them all! Elite warriors came only to him for their weapons and armor. They swore by his work.

"Well, Valkin I will leave Bryce to introduce his toys to you. Oh yes, by the way, we won't be seeing you for a few days. Bryce here will take over from us to teach you about weapons. When we return, we will join you for the winning of the contest and the destroying of the arrangement. Good luck Valkin, we will see you in a few days. Train hard!"

"Thanks Marve," replied a very confused Valkin. "HEY, WHAT CONTEST!"

Raven and Marve had already set off without giving him any further explanations.

"Well, Valkin shall we begin?" asked a smiling Bryce.

"Yes, let us begin," replied an eager Valkin still wondering what Marve was on about earlier.

Bryce motioned for Valkin to examine the axe he had just finished constructing. It was immaculate, every part of it! The difference in color of the sharpened front end of the blade compared to the core of the blade could clearly be seen. Even as it lay there on the stand helpless, its presence could still be felt, its longing for bloodshed imminent. The axe when placed on the ground easily stood up to Valkin's shoulder.

"How long did it take you to make this Bryce?" asked Valkin marvelling at the work of art!

"Well, let me see now, there's the wood sculpting and ingraining by Renard and then the blade making and sharpening by me and not to mention the finishing touches, I'd say about a week."

"Wow, a week of hard work! It's truly beautiful!"

"You like it. Haha!"

As Valkin looked closer he made out the barbarian insignia, carefully engrained into the blade's core and then he looked closer and saw his initials, "V" and "K" engrained next to the barbarian insignia. He was taken aback.

"For me?" asked Valkin.

Bryce closed his eyes, nodded his head and smiled.

"I don't know what to say."

"Do not say anything, just hold it for a moment," replied Bryce as he lifted the axe from its stand and presented it to Valkin who stood speechless with awe and wonder of his new toy. Valkin quickly turned to Bryce who smiled at him. Valkin felt that he could not accept such an exquisite gift and wanted to return it.

"Haha! It is all yours and once it teaches you how to wield it then I am sure you will find it very difficult to part with. I must say that this one is the best yet that I have made. Trust me! Haha!"

Valkin took a good long look at the axe. He knew he did not have the strength to lift it from Bryce's hand and Bryce knew that too but Valkin could not resist touching it and as he did, he saw a vision of a dragon light up in his mind. Valkin quickly retracted his hands in fear and looked at Bryce who was smiling.

Several barbarians who were seemingly walking around Bryce's workshop, suddenly sprung into action as rabbits scurried around to remove all of Bryce's weapons from the workshop.

Bryce then lifted the axe up and brandished in front of Valkin before hurling it into the ground. He lodged it three feet deep into the earth and took a few steps back.

Valkin reluctantly began to digest the situation nodding his head with a firm resolve.

"What is his name?"

"Haha! Dracoalia!" replied Bryce.

"And what is Dracoalia?"

"Haha!" Bryce just laughed as he waved for the barbarians to clear the area giving them just a hectare to play with.

Valkin raised his fists as the axe began to vibrate and move. It started to hop and and shift from the ground and eventually its edges exploded into dark charcoal wings which extended some twenty feet outwards to each side flapping wildly blowing tornado winds towards Valkin. The ebony haft gave way to large, fiercely clawed hands and the pommel to muscular scaly legs. The end strap transformed into a long whipping tail with a blast of growth, which destroyed Bryce's workshop in the process.

Dracoalia was born! This firebreathing dragon snarled at the cowering figure of Valkin's small body and stamped its way towards him with a gigantic hundred-foot tall lizard body. Dracoalia's forked tongue and fiery breath puffed out with smoke and fury as he pursued Valkin who started to run away.

Valkin used his speed to make some distance between himself and the creature and picked up another axe along the way. He accelerated running circles around Dracoalia until he finally reached its tail, which he managed to cleave off.

Dracoalia screamed and winced in pain as the blood started to pour out from its gaping wound.

Bryce closed his eyes and uttered, "Ouch! There goes my strap."

Before Valkin could follow it up with another attack, Dracoalia clutched him with his claws and began to squeeze tightly.

Valkin screamed out as he endured the bone crushing grip of Dracoalia's claws.

"What's wrong Valkin, can't handle a little squeeze? What will you do because I have a major crush on you?" Dracolia spoke out in a deep, sarcastic voice to Valkin whose face was tomato red and in no position to respond.

After another few moments, Valkin's face started to freeze into a stone blue hue, which did not look healthy.

Bryce became deeply concerned that Valkin in his current condition was no match for the strength of his creation. He strongly considered stopping this lesson before Dracoalia inflicted further harm on Valkin. In the confusion, he did not recognize a faint glowing light emanating from the remains of his workshop. It was the large glowing, yellow sword embedded with a centre of blue and white crystals glazed with minute star-like spots all along the blade. It was the night sky and the sun all mixed in a fiery eruption. It was Valkin's sword! He unraveled himself from the confines of its unassuming brown cloth and silver starlight sheath and started to float in the air just behind the unaware figure of Bryce. With a flash, it swished past the large ear of Bryce flying straight towards Dracoalia's heart. It pierced its mark!

Dracoalia let out a painful roar and momentarily let loose his vice grip upon the lifeless body of Valkin. Valkin fell lifelessly towards the ground.

Raven and Marve were nowhere in sight.

Bryce was the only warrior nearby. He started to run with haste in an effort to break Valkin's headfirst fall to earth.

Dracoalia stammered back and was completely out of control. He crushed a few houses and a few barbarians in the process. Luckily, the sand beneath saved them from certain death. However, Dracoalia needed to be dealt with!

Bryce rushed forward towards Valkin. He was not going to make it!

Then, a flash of light blinded everyone! It was as if the sun had shone into millions of wide-open eyes. Something withdrew itself from Dracoalia's wound. It was something incredible! As the light dimmed and faded into normality, a huge figure appeared that rivaled the size of Dracoalia.

It's massive striped claws were a sunset orange that clutched the limp figure of Valkin's body in its earthly brown digital pads that faced upwards with hope. It held Dracoalia's scaly neck with its other massive paw and gritted its sharp, fierce teeth with anger as it looked at Valkin to see if he was ok.

As Dracoalia choked under the pressure of its grip, he eked out a question from the tip of his forked tongue. "Who are you?"

The creature squeezed its grip further crushing Dracoalia's trachea killing him instantly. It let go, turned around spinning its 150 ft body of orange, white and black stripes along with its peacock wings and feathers of marveling beauty with it.

"Mayillakea!" it quietly uttered. This was presumably its name.

Bryce just stood with awe as his beautiful Dracoalia reduced in size back to its original, harmless form.

Mayillakea just stood holding Valkin in its arms. It gently placed him on the floor and snarled at anyone who approached. It was the most stunning incarnation of a tiger and peacock hybrid. As Mayillakea shifted from side to side, its long peacock feathers, which grew from its back and tail, danced with it. Millions of green, blue and turquoise eyes stared at the advancing barbarians who were completely awestruck by the creature that stood before them. Mayillakea growled and pushed any warrior who entered its comfort zone.

Bryce stepped forward to break the stalemate. He held out his large, chubby hands in a gesture of peace and non-violence.

Mayillakea's viciously primed snout then calmed down as the visage of Bryce became clear in its fire-orange eyes. Its rippling muscled body then knelt down to scrutinize the large figure of Bryce. Mayillakea's head was the size of Bryce's workshop at forty square meters. It brought its head low to sniff Bryce and once it sniffed him once or twice, it licked him with a gentle pinkish tongue.

Without any hesitation, Bryce moved closer to the creature and started to rub its cheek, which Mayillakea really enjoyed.

"Haha!" laughed Bryce with a big smile upon his face. "You like this don't you! Haha!"

Mayillakea nodded in agreement.

"Where did you come from? What is your story?"

Mayillakea smiled at Bryce and then as mysteriously as he had appeared, he reduced in size to his original form and lay next to the unconscious Valkin.

Valkin suddenly stirred and awoke from his untimely slumber to see his sword next to him. "Yep! You would have been handy in that fight!" replied Valkin as he scratched his weary head in defeat unaware of what had just transpired a few moments ago. "I'm guessing the fight did not end so well!"

Bryce nodded wanting to keep Valkin in the dark! He helped Valkin to his feet and lifted up his sword. A look of delight and wonder overcame his eyes. He then slipped on a pair of special handling gloves he had all the time in his pocket. He then gazed at the sword intently with a serious look; the first Valkin had seen him give since he met him not an hour ago. He then motioned for Valkin to join him at the remains of his personal workbench, which was cluttered with tools. He quickly cleaned it up and carefully placed the sword on the bench. He then proceeded to examine the blade from bottom to top. He seemed to be searching for something.

Valkin thought it would be necessary to tell him how the sword came into his possession. He told Bryce, his grandfather had given it to him before he passed away.

Bryce gave Valkin his condolences and returned to his examination. It was not long before he found what he was looking for. He had to use a special magnifying lens to find it, but he eventually found it. "Fascinating! Very fascinating indeed! This insignia is so small and yet engraved so clearly upon the sword. Come have a look Valkin! Use this, you will see it better." Bryce gave Valkin the lens and he looked at it carefully. "It looks like some sort of face with wings. Whoever constructed this work of art was not anyone I know and I know of a lot of smithees! This sword is old and was forged using the vintage techniques. Still, I am not sure exactly who this sword belonged to," replied Bryce as he drew back and looked at Valkin. Bryce took off his gloves and faced Valkin, "Your grandfather, did you know much about him?"

"Not much. He was not in the Great Barbarian war. He was unfortunately banished after Lataria split."

"Ah! Yes, very unfortunate indeed! Lots of things have gone wrong since the council members lost their sense of rationality and unfortunately the loyal men like your grandfather had to pay the price," replied Bryce empathizing with Valkin's family history.

"What do you make of it, Bryce?" asked a very interested Valkin.

"Well, the face with wings is an insignia of some sort, no doubt. I am just not sure whose race it belongs to, but if you have look at the blade, you can clearly see that it is unspoilt and equally immaculate so it was not used that much in battle. That, or it is so masterfully constructed that it has retained its shape after all these years. My other guess is that it could have been given to your grandfather. Did your grandfather tell you anything else about this sword, perhaps its origins?" asked Bryce with arms folded.

"No, grandpa did not mention where it came from or how he got it. He did say that it was filled with memory."

"Very interesting! Would you mind if I show my partner and good friend, Renard, your sword? He is a specialist engraver and he is more familiar with insignia than I am. Maybe he would know."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Renard is out in the Pine forests looking for some choice wood for me. He shall return on the moro and then I will introduce you to him. Until then, we can occupy ourselves with some other toys of Bryce. Haha!"

#  Tomorrow and two days

Renard returned from the Pine forests the next day and Bryce introduced him to Valkin. He was much shorter and thinner than Bryce but still lean and well built for his stature. He wore glasses and his short blonde hair was neatly combed to the side. A soft and clean-shaven face made him look like Bryce's alter ego. He wore a white shirt that had some brown blotches here and there and gingerbread brown pants. His heavy, black boots made him look a bit queer to the judgmental but looks are sometimes deceiving and Renard bared testimony to the expression. Renard was overjoyed to meet the young warrior. The weather today though was not as good as it was yesterday. Dark rain clouds filled the skies with the announcement of a heavy thundershower. After the introductions were complete, Bryce showed Renard the sword and he closely examined it with his beady eyes, in Valkin's presence. He drew back and said absolutely nothing. He had a genuine, blank look on his face. He turned to face the Bryce and Valkin who eagerly expected a deep explanation from him. "I am sorry gentle barbarians, but I have no idea whose insignia this belongs to."

"It is fine," said Bryce. "Haha! Perhaps some mysteries are best left unsolved. Come Valkin, we have much work to do. Haha! Your axe awaits you." Bryce turned back to Renard to ask him if he could return the sword. Before Bryce could ask him, Renard winked his right eye quickly and shifted his eyes towards the great entrance gates of the inner kingdom, a gesture that Bryce had not seen Renard make for many years now. Bryce knew exactly what it meant. He turned quickly to help Valkin lift his axe up.

"Haha! Valkin, see this is how you hold it," motioned Bryce as he held the heavy battleaxe with ease. "Keep the hand you feel most comfortable using, high up the handle to steady the axe and then use the other to keep your grip firm. Here, you try." Bryce gave Valkin the axe and as soon as he held it, it fell just short of the ground.

Valkin gasped and lifted it with all his strength and managed to get it up to his waist and hold it there.

Bryce was impressed. "Very good, young warrior. Haha! Now, please forgive me for what I am now going to do to you."

Valkin suddenly did not like the cheerful tone in Bryce's voice anymore. The last time he heard such a cheerful tone, he had to do a seemingly impossible amount of exercise. He had the same feeling right about then but he tried to look forward to it. However, he was not ready for whatever Bryce was going to throw at him.

"Haha! I would like you to go for a little run around the battle grounds with that axe in your hand Valkin, Haha!"

Valkin felt his grip loosen and his heart sink.

"Now, I know you are a bit shocked and perhaps a little disappointed but do not give up just yet."

Valkin thought he would have it easy judging from Bryce's lackadaisical dispensation and start of with something light, something he could at least keep off the ground for more than a minute or two. Just then, Valkin's battleaxe fell to the ground and hit his foot right.

"OUCHHHH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!"

Bryce continued his famous laugh as Valkin jumped up and down holding his sore foot.

Dracoalia lay helplessly sprawled out over the ground.

Valkin was still wearing his black warrior outfit given to him by the death brothers. It was still in good condition and he wondered how long it would stay that way. He was very lucky that it was cloudy today or else he would have to face the sun and facing the blistering sun in all black, was not a pleasant affair.

"Are you alright, Valkin?"

"I will be okay, thanks Bryce," answered a recovering Valkin. He was not jumping around as much now as the pain subsided.

"Splendid! Haha! Then, we will begin immediately, but first, try on these leather breeches. You are under my command now and you have to dress accordingly."

"As you wish Bryce."

Valkin slipped on the pecan brown leather breeches which somewhat restricted his movements but gave him more protection. The breeches were not that heavy but they needed to be worn in before Valkin felt they could be deemed comfortable enough to wear.

"Now, for some inspiration. Haha! They say you begin to glow when things get too hot. Well, since I missed out on that light show, I want to see you glow my boy, because things are about to get a little hotter around here," said Bryce with a large smile upon his face bearing his brown teeth.

Valkin smiled at first and then, he stopped. He heard thunderous footsteps bang the earth behind him! He had heard the familiar trembling of the earth before and wondered when this nightmare was ever going to end. He slowly turned around to see a very unwelcome sight.

It was Bruce! The Bararg king stood in all his glory at the edge of the Pine Forests, once again. Bruce let out a growling howl and then jumped the wall entering the training grounds.

Valkin shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

"Do not forget Dracoalia now Valkin. Pick it up! It does not like the ground and remember, all the way around Valkin. BRUCE, Haha! He is all yours! Haha!"

"Oh no! Not again," replied Valkin as he laboriously lifted Dracoalia from the ground and started to run with it for his life.

Once again, a crowd of barbarians started to form and bets were placed fast and furiously around the potential winner of the race. Shouts and cheers filled the air with more joy and excitement! The atmosphere of the training grounds closely resembled a festive one as some barbarians had resorted to selling snacks and drinks to entertain the bystanders who formed the running line.

Bryce laughed loudly for a little while and then met up with Renard at the back of the workshop, very happy with himself that his plan to preoccupy Valkin with an arduous task worked. They had a short chat where Renard filled in some details. A look of shock and horror then filled old Bryce's face. Bryce never usually got shocked that often, but this time, something had spooked him. Renard said that they should go to see Vallentor immediately. Bryce agreed, as the run around the training grounds would be enough to keep Valkin occupied for a while or at least until they returned. Bryce looked behind him and saw Valkin running for his life and then the serious look on his face turned into a smile and then into laugh.

"Come Bryce, we must make haste!" commanded a very concerned Renard.

Bryce composed himself and then, the two left.

They found Vallentor with the death brothers in the meeting room. It seemed that they were discussing some intelligence reports judging from all the papers and maps spread out on the table. They all stood up respectfully and greeted their guests.

Renard brought the sword with as well.

"Bryce, Renard, I was told to expect you. How are you and what is on your mind?" asked a concerned Vallentor. He was very concerned as they do not come to visit him often.

"We are fine, Vallentor. We come with, news!" Renard's voice was low and ominous but controlled and steady.

"Please join us then. Sit, so we can talk more comfortably," replied a cool Vallentor.

Renard declined the generous offer. "It has been found sir! I am not sure exactly how, but it is unmistakable."

"Of what do you speak, Renard?" replied Vallentor with his smoke grey, walnut eyes wide open.

"The Sword of Valgelius!" replied Renard silently and respectfully.

"The Sword of Valgelius!" repeated Vallentor standing up holding his armrests and then letting go.

At that moment, Renard carefully placed the sword on the triangular table and unsheathed it from its pristine sheath. He gave Vallentor the magnifying lens.

"See for yourself," motioned Bryce. Vallentor looked long at the blade, then drew back and looked at Bryce & Renard and then back at the sword.

"I have seen many pictures of the sword of light but I cannot believe that this simple sword before me is a piece of history and yet, the face with wings is engraved clearly enough to dispel any shadow of doubt within me. Take the sword back to Valkin's other belongings in his room. Make up some story if he asks you again about it. Did you manage to cover yourselves?" asked Vallentor.

"Yes indeed, Renard here has full control over his emotions and even fooled me with his look of blankness. Haha!" Bryce laughed with good reason as they had almost given away the secret to Valkin if they did not remain calm.

"Good, do not speak of this finding to anyone. I am sure its purpose will be revealed to us soon enough. How is Valkin's training going?"

"OH NO!" exclaimed Bryce remembering that he subjected Valkin to the speed and strength test of Bruce. "The poor blighter must be dead by now. I left him with Bruce!"

"Well, what is he doing?" asked Vallentor with a gentle smile.

"He is with Bruce. I am giving his strength and technique an upgrade," replied a very concerned Bryce.

"Come now Bryce. We have only been talking for a short while. I am sure he is okay. Let us go and check." The Death brothers became very anxious at Vallentors declaration. They welcomed the opportunity to check up on their student.

After a short walk to the Black Gates of The Training Grounds, they slowly climbed up the stairs attached to the great wall and peeped over the edge. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Valkin or Bruce anywhere! Valkin, they could understand, but Bruce, definitely not.

"Perhaps Valkin did his trick again and outran Bruce," said Marve scanning the area.

"Or maybe Bruce got angry and ate him up!" laughed Raven.

"Anything is possible here," replied Vallentor nodding his head.

"Poor lad, I was actually beginning to like him," sympathized Bryce.

All their heads were low in a disguise of fleeting sadness.

"Hey guys, I do not think we should count the boy out just yet. Take a look at that! Well, I'll be a cooked rabbit through a skewer. Haha!" replied Bryce.

Not only did Valkin learn how to hold the axe, he was holding it quite firmly with ease as he rode atop Bruce's shoulders with Rufor cheering beside them. In fact, the entire training grounds roared with cheers and shouts of victory for them as they waltzed around the grounds. The fives smiles on top of the walls edge were priceless!

#  The regret of Tereartre Levon

It was a stormy night in the eastern regions of the Pine Forests. It began to drizzle lightly as feathers do fall and then it began to pour buckets of torrential water that washed away the banks of many valleys in the forest taking some trees with them. The rain pelted heavily on the rocky mountain peak of Mt. Killithur. Tereartre sat alone upon it. He could still feel the arrows piercing through the flesh and the warm sprays of blood spurting from their wounds. He saw a legend and a friend fall to his death! He lived knowing that he was the one charged to kill him. As he lifted his head slowly and opened his neon eyes, which resembled the same mood of weather on that fateful day, he dropped his head again and gently threw a stone down the hill he was seated upon. He returned his regretful gaze to the stormy night. The lightning struck trees all around him with an aftermath of rolling thunder drums in the distance. He was drenched but unperturbed. The water droplet tears streamed into his wide-open eyes as he allowed it to wash away his own. He just sat there and stared into the distance with a blank gaze. SUDDENLY, he got up and quickly turned his head and faced east towards the kingdom of Bellor. Then, he quickly faced northeast. There was a sound in the air! A faint shrill that turned into a howl far off in the distance! It was a call! A call for someone to come forth! A call that did not sound like a greeting nor a friendly message. He jumped onto a nearby rock that jutted out from the ground. It stood some sixteen feet high so the jump he made was quite impressive. The vantage point he gained was to no avail. He still could not see the origins of the call, only a sea of lightning and rain that clouded his vision. Then, hear the rustling of bushes closeby. He drew both his swords and waited, breathing heavily. Slowly, he scanned his horizons and focused his senses gathering all of his concentration. It was time! He jumped forward off the mini-boulder he stood on and twisted his body backwards to face the granite rock's top. He threw his sword at a dark figure that now occupied the very same spot he stood upon not a moment ago.

It struck its mark, hitting the chest and threw the stranger back with incredible force!

Tereartre landed softly on his feet close to the base of the rock. However, before he could recover his sight he felt a crushing blow against his stomach that took his breath away and caused him to fly back towards the very rock he stood upon a moment ago. The rock that he hit stopped him from flying any further away from the striker. He clutched his abdominals for a second and then dropped to the floor only just dodging the attacker's next blow that sent the attacker's large, hairy fists into the very depths of the rock. This was the break Tereartre needed! He quickly rolled over to his side and drew his short sword. He stood firmly together with his sword. He then lifted his hand up into the air as if calling for something. From no-where, his first sword, stained with the blood of its fallen victim, flew in through the air and into his hands.

The attacker ripped his arm out from the rock leaving a considerably large sized hole in it. It was too dark.

Tereartre could not make out who this strange individual was but the lightning waited for no-one and as the attacker turned to face Tereartre on his right, a bolt struck and split the rock in half as it illuminated the entire hill-top. It was only then that Tereartre saw who his attacker was.

"MAGNUS, what in the world are you doing? You have violated our peace treaty. What is wrong with you? Call off your warriors or else..."

Magnus, King of the Forest Gorillas stood before Tereartre with a death stare in his tainted eyes.

Tereartre broke off his threat and waited for a response from his friend, Magnus. He sensed something, something evil and sinister about Magnus, something he had never sensed in him before. While it was true that the Forest Gorillas have attacked the Werethall before, they have never done anything since it was agreed at the forest council that the peace treaty will be honored.

Magnus's head oddly hung to one side and his mouth frothed a foamy, milky substance. His eyes were bloodred when they should have been hazel brown and filled with life. His great hands hung aimlessly at his sides.

Tereartre looked long and hard at Magnus and raised his eyebrows in full understanding of the situation.

At that point, Magnus sauntered closer to Tereartre and as he did, other gorillas jumped out from the bushes and landed all around Tereartre with loud thuds, totally surrounding him. There could have been at least fifty of them and something told Tereartre that more were on the way. He stood still and raised his sword and shouted in his native tongue. "SOLOTHALLA KITHALLA! (Prepare for war!)." He had a look of stone upon his face. He felt nothing this evening!

At that moment, every Werethall warrior scattered around the Pine Forests turned his head towards the hilltop. Rain drenched them and their wolves shook off most of the water before being saddled. Time was running out! The soldiers knew it but they also knew that if they were under-prepared, that would also spell certain disaster. Spare swords and reserve quivers of arrows filled with the guile of robin death, were attached to their saddles. The Werethall's armor glinted green and silver in the thunder light of the night. Each sector of the forest formed their ranks and un-slung their bows and fitted them with three arrows each. A quick order from the captains of each unit was issued and they were off! Twenty units with twenty warriors in each, were dispatched to the hilltop and were now converging fast upon it, to aid their leader.

A gorilla from behind swung at Tereartre with his huge arms and missed him cleanly.

A fatal mistake as Tereartre's sword was already embedded in his torso. He wrenched it out as blood sprayed across his legs from the fallen gorilla.

Another rushed him from the front running past Magnus.

Tereartre turned around and swung both his short swords bringing them together cleaving off the gorilla's head as cleanly as an executioner would.

More gorillas were on their way, about five hundred more were coming up the hilltop possessed and drawn to a kill. Their heads were bobbed to one side with sadistic red eyes.

Tereartre did not waste any time though. Any gorilla that crossed his path, he killed without an ounce of regret.

Magnus stood by the rock and watched on with a sick smile on his face now.

In the midst of all the chaos, Tereartre turned to reason with him. "IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT MAGNUS? BLOODSHED AND PAIN FOR YOUR KIND! CALL THEM OFF! FIGHT IT! FIGHT IT! MAGNUS, YOU ARE STRONGER THAN THIS!"

Magnus did not hear a word that Tereartre desperately uttered to him. Nothing registered in his tilted mind. He turned around and started to walk away.

Tereartre saw him walk away and was about to shout for him when ten gorillas collectively jumped on top of Tereartre's back bearing down the back of the Werethall leader bringing him to his knees. They began to punch, bite and kick at the Werethall King furiously until they heard the sounds of a horn sound in the distance. They stopped suddenly and then continued their onslaught on Tereartre.

Tereartre knelt on the ground clouded by his thoughts and then he was hit by a carriage. He realized whose horn it was that sounded in the distance! He stood up with authority to the gorillas' surprise. His face was full of blood but his heart was on fire. In the scuffle, Tereartre's swords were flung far from his reach and so he was left to defend himself with only his bare hands.

The gorillas momentarily seized their attack and stood motionless around Tereartre and waited for him to make a move so they could continue their attack.

Tereartre clenched his fists and closed his eyes just for a moment. He could hear his men coming. He opened his eyes and looked around him. "Let's finish this!" he whispered to his attackers.

Without recognition of Tereartre's movements, the ten gorillas suffered five broken necks and five crushed windpipes and once Tereartre was done with them, he went after Magnus dodging and breaking anything that got in his way!

The Wererthall had arrived and fired the first wave of arrows aimed at the gorillas. The gorillas were hardy and agile creatures, so many survived the first wave. The Werethall re-slung their bows across their shoulders and drew their medium-sized swords.

Magnus was now halfway down the hill when he saw the approaching wolves. He still had the wit to direct his warriors even though his mind was overrun. He gave them a quick order with his hands. After that, they all searched for nearby trees and each gorilla bent down a juvenile Pine tree. They were going to fly for the last time!

The Werethall knew exactly what their plan was! Each captain gave his company the order to spread out and arm their bows.

The gorillas stamped the ground beneath them and using the extra spring of the flinging Pine tree, they hurled themselves into the air defying gravity.

The Werethall aimed and fired at the flying gorillas. It was difficult for them to hit their mark exactly as the dark rains clouded their sight.

Many of the gorillas were left unscathed, and were now headed straight towards the advancing Werethall.

The respective captains gave new orders to meet the gorillas in mid-air in a fatal collision course. The wolves dug their paws into the ground to get more traction and then pushed themselves into the air. The violent battle ensued in the air for some time. The wolves bit at the gorillas and the gorillas fought back in a spectacle of ferocity. Hands broke jaws and jaws broke hands as the warriors fell from the sky. Swords cleaved and teeth bit and knawed at each other. For a moment, the sky was colored a bright red amalgamation of blood and rain as the lightning struck near the battlefield.

Magnus watched the battle closely from the ground and Tereartre watched him. Magnus somehow knew that he was being watched and as Tereartre advanced, he jumped into the air. Tereartre jumped after him!

They met in mid-air on their way up and clutched at each other. Magnus went for Tereartre's throat and Tereartre tried to get his hands around Magnus's neck. In the confusion, two robin-death arrows struck Magnus in the back but three struck Tereartre by mistake, one in the leg, one in the back and one through the shoulder. They momentarily let go of each other. They then reached the point were both were just hanging in the air, the point of no motion, which was an eternity for the two severely-injured warriors. They then began their descent down back to earth. Both felt no pain from the poison that was now coursing through their veins at an incredible rate. They were not normal warriors! Blood however, was lost on both sides. They hit the ground and made two large craters that formed the figure of eight if seen from the sky. Dead bodies of wolves, men and gorillas fell all around them as the rain turned into a blood red spray that stained the faces of Magnus and Tereartre. Slowly, both highly spent warriors got up and stood facing each with broken arrows sticking out from their beat bodies.

Magnus made the first move as he lunged for Tereartre's throat again.

Tereartre sidestepped and kneed him in the gut.

Magnus fell forward holding his stomach. He then slowly whispered to Tereartre. "Please old friend, do it now, while you still can!"

"Salasher! (Sword!)," commanded Tereartre. His sword flew through the air and he caught it in both hands, swung around and pierced the heart of another good friend and ally, Magnus.

Magnus smiled as his limp body straightened and fell to the ground.

A pool of blood oozed out as Tereartre knelt before the dead body of the Gorilla King and whispered. "May Dos Res e Pease il Magnus! (May the soul of Magnus rest in peace!)" He stood up and looked around at all the dead bodies that lay before him and bowed his head low. He then looked for any survivors and quickly found out that out of the twenty units that were dispatched, only five remained. All the gorillas that had attacked them were slaughtered! The remaining units and their captains surrounded Tereartre to make sure he was safe. He reassured them that he was fine. He looked at his body and the arrows sticking out of it and then looked into the sky and began to roar loudly. His body began to glow orange and red. Then the arrows within him suddenly caught on fire and burned away. His wounds were sealed and he looked fit again. He stopped screaming and looked around, with eyes on fire, at his men who awaited his orders. "To Hallucagenia, King Braithwaite has made his move. An alliance has been made!"

To be continued...

Valkin Kendor will return in

The Dark Knights Sunrise

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#  BOOKS IN THE OUTCAST SERIES

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#  BOOK ORDER IN THE OUTCAST SERIES

CHRONOLOGY: All stories in the Outcast of the Dark Knight series are shown in chronological order as follows:

The Dark Knights Return

The Dark Knights Sunrise

The Dark Knights Ascend

The Dark Knights Inferno

The Dark Knights Awaken

The Dark Knights Hero

#  BOOKS IN THE OUTCAST BOXSET SERIES

Click the image to begin your next journey...

#  BOOK ORDER IN THE OUTCAST BOXSET SERIES

CHRONOLOGY: All stories in the Outcast of the Dark Knight series are shown in chronological order as follows:

Boxset 1: Books 1-3

Boxset 2: Books 4-6

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