

The Crystals of Destiny Trilogy

Legend 1

Avangar

By B.E. Crittenden

Copyright 2020 B.E. Crittenden

Smashwords Edition

# Avangar Map: Western Hemisphere

Table of Contents

Avangar Map: Western Hemisphere

Chapter 1 A Mother's Love

Chapter 2 The World Changed

Chapter 3 Under the Cover of Darkness

Chapter 4 The Old Warrior

Chapter 5 Journey to the Dragon Realm

Chapter 6 Tiamat

Chapter 7 Acedia

Chapter 8 Finding an Identity

Chapter 9 The Dragon Fortress Nalamakk

Chapter 10 A Gift from Abram

Chapter 11 Edur

Chapter 12 Another Night at Tarmakk

Chapter 13 The Land of the Fire Sorcerer

Chapter 14 Lights Pierce the Darkness

Chapter 15 Kahli

Chapter 16 Fading Innocence

Chapter 17 Walking into Genoa

Chapter 18 Into the Abyss

Chapter 19 Far from Home

Glossary

# Chapter 1 A Mother's Love

Irena Lexington

On my home planet of Haalandor they sometimes call me The Dragon Lady. For most of my life I have lived on the planet Avangar with the dragon Queen Ryoma Tanis. She was my mentor and teacher when I was young. She has many talents and hobbies. It was she that inspired my interest in Ethology. The complete biology of animals can be understood with a Complex Radiology Scan. The powerful computers that process this information have a weakness. They do not have the human ability to study and understand an animal's behavior. That takes time and years of observation. I have found that animals and humans are not so different.

One of the animals I find fascinating are the Terinian Snow Eagles. These beautiful birds with their snow-white feathers and bright blue eyes have but one true enemy. A large white lynx species called Column Cats. The eagles have their chicks in winter so they can fly during the northern migration in the spring. They stick their giant mud nests to very flat granite cliffs with seemingly nothing visible to hold on to. The cats easily scale the rough surface with their long needle-sharp claws. They are called Column Cats because they live in The Basalt Column Forests on Haalandor. They have evolved to climb the giant stone columns to escape predators of their own.

The cats will only attack the eagles during hard winters because they are starving. They wait for the males to go hunting leaving only the smaller females to defend the chicks. Then hundreds will run up the cliffs against thousands of eagles. The mothers fly by them and grab the cats ten times their size trying to pull them off. The cats have heavy winter coats so most of the time the eagles only come away with claws full of fur. They rarely pull the cats off because they do not have enough weight behind them and their claws are too small. If they aim for the shorter fur around the cat's head they can sometimes pull them off. They can also be run through by the cat's claws when they try that. Only the male eagles are large enough and have claws big enough to safely pull them off by grabbing the fur on their lower backs.

Once the cat makes it to the nest their only chick is lost. At that point the army of eagles will no longer risk their lives. However, the mother never gives up... she will fight to the death. The brave young cat that scaled the cliff gets the chick. The older and much bigger cats get the mother as she tries to defend her fallen chick. Even though there are many cats with one eye because momma fights hard, it is a battle they cannot win. They are always lost.

It can take an even larger toll on the eagle population because once the males return they will drive the cats from the land. Many males can be lost too. I understand the males being lost because it becomes an animal war to get the starving cats to leave. I once wondered why the mother fights on. I wondered if she knew the chick is dead and she is basically committing suicide. Over time I feel the questions in my mind have been answered. I only wondered because I saw them as lesser beings. I now know they are no different than us. Would a human mother give up the battle knowing her fallen child would be devoured by beasts? We would fight to the death as well. I believe that self-preservation has no place within a mother's love.

I was standing by the front doors of Eeden Castle talking to Balanath. The night before we had a ball for Eriana and Torva's fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays. One of Torva's birthday presents was a hunting trip that morning with her father. Balanath was dressed for the day with a satchel over his shoulder and his crossbow on his back. Both his swords were stowed in sheaths attached to his quiver. He always wanted to be ready for anything if I was not with them.

I could hear the girl's voices echoing from the upstairs corridor to the entrance hall. Moments later they were walking down the stairs. They were expecting an active day so their hair was up in ponytails. Eriana has my blue eyes and Balanath's dark hair. Her light blue pants and shirt accented her eyes perfectly. Torva has my brown hair and Balanath's dark eyes. She was wearing a tan leather hunting outfit dyed to match her eyes as well. They do that as a tribute to the dragons. Most dragons wear harnesses called Carcanets. They have a huge medallion adorned with a heptagon shaped gem on the chest that matches the dragon's color. That is why the girls sometimes match their clothes to their eyes. That day Torva had a crossbow on her back that was just a slightly smaller version of Balanath's. The belt she wore held many small throwing daggers in sheaths. The daggers were just to play with if they couldn't find animals and she got bored.

As the girls grew near Balanath asked, "Why would Artemus care? We will be at the most secluded lake on The Southern Rim. There isn't anyone within a thousand miles."

"I know, it is ridiculous. Mag even told him they could have Vision Orbs and soldiers follow everyone the entire time."

Torva walked up with an angry look on her face. "That's a load of crap. Kye and them won the war for Magnum. He wouldn't even be alive if Siius and Steen hadn't saved him that day."

I said, "He is doing what Artemus wants because he has to. We need him to remain allies with Artemus more than Kyann needs a visit with Mag."

Eriana stated, "It's going to break Bekka's heart if she can't go see Mag."

Balanath said, "Since they apparently don't trust us enough to let us go to Taross, maybe Magnum would let Mag come down here. The Parthanians can put a Milliscanner on her and have Vision Orbs follow her..." He noticed a worried, possibly painful look come over my face as I looked downward. "Are you all right? Irena. Irena?"

I almost couldn't hear his words because I was going into shock. The goddess Haalandor was whispering in my ear. There was no doubt it was her. I have heard her voice many times and I can sense her Magical Frequency when she speaks to me.

" _Irena, my favored child, death has come to your door. Only if you heed the knock will the hunt for your daughters be quelled. Send them with Balanath to Aden to find Andor. If Kahli destroys my shields he will know where you have sent them. Night falls now. If the first star is seen your daughters will die._ "

Haalandor is the goddess bound to my home world. She shares her name with her planet like all the living worlds in our universe. The words of a goddess must always be taken seriously. I could sense the dark power of the Erebus building up in the southwest. Then I sensed the shields were being attacked. I knew if they were destroyed the girls would die.

I yelled at Balanath, "Take the girls to Aden and find Andor! Kahli is about to destroy the shields!"

I made a White Portal. The lights tracing the designs in its intricate oval frame lit up the west side of the room. With three waves of my arms they flew through the White Plasma and were gone. With the first wave I threw Balanath fast to the right. With the next I threw Torva fast to the left. I threw them fast because they can call on the Hi-Chi and easily withstand the sudden momentum change. Then I threw Eriana gently forward. They Port to where she comes out to catch her. She has the coordination of a baby deer like her mother. She rarely lands on her feet well. They make sure she doesn't fall down and hurt herself. We had practiced this so many times they expected the five second exit. I sent them to a sandy beach to make the possible crash for any of them a little softer. I immediately dropped the Portal when they were through it. The connection between that one and the exit Portal would be how he knew where I sent them.

The shields stayed up longer than I thought they would. It was not an attack that would totally destroy them as I expected. The divine power of the Inaara was slowly being drained from them. The guards opened the main doors and I walked out onto the platform to the stairs. I could actually see the normally invisible shield Haalandor had allowed me to create over the continent of Galdaya. It was an oblong dome that was transparent with a gold tint. The gold light from it was being sucked out in a beam that was going to the southwest towards Kiinyde Castle, Kahli's castle on the Diigon Sea. It was too far south for me to see, but he was also draining the power from the shield over Tiamat. Once they were destroyed he could attack. He was obviously coming to Eeden Castle for me if I was to die.

Ryoma came over my Communicator. It is a tiny egg shaped Zyamarian device that all the leaders and warriors on Galdaya and Tiamat are provided with. It is normally attached to someone's necklace or earring. Keywords are used so that it contacts the right person. Normally it is just the person's first name.

Ryoma could be heard as if she was standing next to me. "Irena. Do you have any idea what is going on? The scanners are saying the attacks are coming from the direction of Kahli's castle. Its power is being absorbed by a tornado on the Diigon Sea that is headed towards Galdaya."

"It is Kahli. Haalandor has spoken to me. He will be able to destroy the shields."

"Get back to Tiamat now!"

"I can't... Haalandor... she needs me to defeat Kahli."

"That should be a short encounter. I guess our problem of whether to capture or kill him is over. Send the girls to the entrance hall."

"I sent them with Balanath to search for Andor on Aden. I will retrieve them once I have finished here."

I didn't expect to do that. I just assumed there was a purpose for sending them to find Andor that must be played out. Otherwise I could have simply sent them home and they could have a horde of younglings search the land for him from the sky.

"Alright, I will have Nalya set plates for guests. Be careful dear. I will see you when you get home. I love you."

"I love you too... I will be home soon. End Transmission."

Suddenly the shield was gone. The sky was covered with white clouds that day. I saw a large dark cloud approaching from the southwest that was moving extremely fast. It looked like billows of black smoke rolling over the Perion Sea towards Galdaya. As it grew closer its darkness seemed to infect the other clouds. Darkness engulfed the land as all the white clouds became dark from west to east.

I have received two Blessings over the years. The first Blessing I received was from Haalandor. The second was from the goddess that shares her name with the planet Avangar, hers is called Avangar's Eyes. It gives me the ability to sense things from a very great distance on her world. So I could sense that Kahli was not the only sorcerer inside the tornado. I assumed that was the only reason he could have been a threat to my life. I was much more powerful than him. Kyann's voice could be heard beside me.

"Renny. What the hell is going on? We just saw Haalandor's shield appear. Then it disappeared and all the clouds got dark."

"Which training ground are you and Siius at?"

"T-6, right outside the dining hall."

I created a Portal about thirty feet above me. "I need you. Bring all your weapons. I have no idea what you might have to face. End Transmission."

My voice echoed from the sound transmitters around Eeden Castle and down in Lower Eeden as I broadcast an emergency order.

I said in an urgent tone, "Emergency. Eeden Castle. Lower Eeden. Escape Protocol Kaygun East. Now!"

Eeden Castle is a massive white castle that sits on a giant platform fifty feet above the surrounding plains. The main building is adorned with a large central pointy tower and many smaller ones all around it. Every window is a double or single door that leads to a balcony. White brick walls completely surround the castle grounds. Behind the castle is Amara Garden. It has exotic plants from all four corners of Galdaya. The town of Lower Eeden wraps around the castle platform's north, east and west sides. It too is surrounded by white brick walls with only two entrances on the south side. A giant drawbridge that is rarely raised is the only way to get up to the castle grounds. When lowered it is between the south gates of Lower Eeden.

The people would evacuate by using escape elevators that were well hidden in the castle and every home and business in Lower Eeden. It takes them to the train station below the castle where the castle's concierge Mansa will supervise the evacuation. Even though they had been drilled many times and there were enough trains to hold everyone, it could still take thirty minutes to complete the evacuation. I knew I had to take the battle to Kahli in order to give them more time to escape. If they attacked the castle while I was battling them I wanted Kyann and Siius there to protect the people.

Kyann flew through my huge Portal on Bekka with Siius and Steen close behind them. I dismissed the Portal. They were at a training ground so they were already dressed for battle. Kyann was wearing lightly armored black boots, pants and a bra-like top. She has long dark hair, dark skin and eyes. Siius has light skin, blue eyes and curly brown hair. He too was wearing very light dark armor that was only plated on his chest, back and the fronts of his legs.

The younglings they were riding were practically their children. They had raised them since they were one year old. Bekka and Steen are twin dragons born in the last Birth Cycle. Both are dark blue with blue eyes. Blue is not a common color for a dragon. Most are shades of dark or light green. Some are different shades of blue or purple and a very rare few are white. They are predators so their eyes are set on the front of their faces. Like all dragons Steen and Bekka have twelve short horns that uniformly point backwards crowning the front of their heads. Outside this cluster of horns they also have two larger horns that point upward just a little more than the others. Steen's horns are larger than Bekka's because he is a male. He has a strong square jaw and Bekka's face is more rounded. Their skin looks rough, but is soft like a human's skin. The only place they still have large hard scales is on their underside from their necks to the tips of their tails. As with most female species Bekka is not as large and muscular as her slightly younger brother. That is not a disadvantage in battle. Her lean body makes her faster and able to maneuver better in the air. All the younglings had gotten quite large by that time. Most were as tall as a flat roofed house on all fours. When they rose to their hind legs they were as tall as a normal house.

Dragons have five digits on their human-like front claws. This allows them to rise to their hind legs and do anything with their hands that a human can. They can use rifles, swords or even their fists in a battle. Most dragons use two swords to fight just like Kyann, Siius and Balanath do. On the top of Steen and Bekka's shoulders were Cabras which are large metal sheaths for their two huge swords. They are attached to the choker and the belt portion of their Carcanets to hold them stable. They serve a dual purpose, to hold their swords and to also give their riders a flat surface to stand on. Their swords were silver polished steel with a blue hilt. In a holster on their left upper thighs they had a large short laser rifle called an Illuma Rifle. They are Zyamarian laser rifles designed for dragons that are just larger versions of a human's rifle. They had them painted blue with eyes and teeth on the front of the thick barrels. This was to make it looked like the lasers were coming out of a creature's mouth. The only difference in their simple artwork was that Bekka's had eyelashes. They had on anklets and tail rings that started at the small end and went to the base of their tails. The gems in their anklets and rings matched their skin color like the gem in their silver Carcanet's medallions. A Carcanet has a choker around the base of their necks which is where the elevated saddles are attached. The saddles have a bar handle in front and are elevated to mimic riding a saddled horse. This is the safest place to be on a dragon because you can be strapped in around the waist. It is not the best place to be for a seasoned Dragon Rider in a battle. Your vision is limited directly in front of you by the dragon's neck and head. This is why most of the time in battle riders stand on the dragon's back. The saddles have thick rolls of unbreakable rope under them. They are attached to a loop at the person's waist in the front. The ropes have a built-in mechanism to release and retract so they can easily move from side to side. A rider's boots are made to grip as they lean backwards to remain steady as they fire their weapon.

After they came through the Portal Siius and Kyann looked like streaks of white light as they Ported to me. They were almost instantly standing in front of me looking at the approaching dark clouds. Two large white streaks with a blue tint shot towards me. Steen and Bekka were on the stairs right in front of me to be close enough to join the conversation.

They all can Port because they have the Hi-Chi. It is a mystical magic that heightens their senses, strength and can be used to reinforce their bodies and their weapons. Porting from place to place almost instantly is one of the most useful abilities this gives them. They look like a streak of white light because the divine power of the Inaara emanates from their bodies when they do that.

The moment she Ported to me Kyann asked, "Where are the girls?"

"They are with Balanath. I just started the eastern evacuation."

Siius asked, "Why is that pretty little rain cloud coming this way? Is that thing why all the clouds got dark?"

I replied, "Yes, it is Kahli."

Kyann asked, "Are you telling me you evacuated them because of him? He's no match for you."

"He is not alone. Ignaas and Edur are with him."

Bekka asked, "Can you two beat all three of them?"

"I want you four here to protect the people if need be. Steen and Bekka can patrol the castle grounds and Lower Eeden." I looked towards Kyann and Siius. "You two go down to the station in case they release minions down there. Call Bekka and Steen to board the last train and escort the people to Umbria."

Steen asked, "Are you intentionally ignoring Bekka's question. The entire army and all the special units are armed and ready at the training grounds. Let's get them here."

Bekka said, "There can be no better training than this sweetie. We better hide when Thanatos comes floating by if we can't take down three Dark Sorcerers."

I said, "There is no need to endanger them for these fools. Everyone please follow my orders."

Kyann said, "That's not going to happen until you answer Bekka's question. They just destroyed a shield created by a god. Can you defeat them?"

It took all my acting ability to try and pull it off convincingly. I went a little angry to hide the lie.

"We can defeat them. Don't worry about me. Worry about protecting the people like I ordered you to do."

"You are ordering me to do it? Something is definitely wrong. I'm not going down there to babysit and neither is Siius. Commando Legion One. There is a Portal coming your way. Protect the castle complex from any dark minions that might appear. Send one company to the station to protect the evacuators. Siius and I are going to be helping Renny take out the Dark Sorcerers. End Transmission." She looked at me. "Create the Portal."

"I will not. There is simply no reason to endanger them. Please do as I say."

Siius said, "If they were able to destroy Haalandor's shield you may need our help. I think we will tag along just in case."

I looked at him and said sternly, "I'm fairly certain I'm still the queen. If you try to help me I'll shield you and send you away. It would be nice if you would show me some respect and just follow my orders."

Kyann said, "I don't know what the hell is going on, but you are making me way too nervous. If your not going to bring in the Legion I'll just call in the big boys and girls. Ry..."

"No! Please Kyann. Don't call Ryuu. If Ryoma knows I face all three she will come and she might get hurt. I promise you we can handle this."

Kyann could tell something was wrong with me. Knowing your death is inevitable can make you a little nervous.

She said in a very worried tone, "Renny. Do you have this under control? I mean, three of them."

"If I had to face them alone I might be hesitant. They have made land fall, I must go. Please protect the people. We will deal with the sorcerers far from here."

I called on the power of the Inaara and rose high into the air.

They all yelled at almost the same time, "I love you!"

They were surprised I was about to leave without saying it. That was twice my shock made me forget.

I yelled back, "I love you all!"

The lower half of my white dress fused into pants more suitable for riding. I was high above the castle when I called on Haalandor's Blessing.

"I seek the power of Haalandor's Pet. Tetra, come to me."

In the sky above me a whirlpool of white light formed. It became one thick beam of light as it shot towards the ground. The light went behind me and curved upwards underneath me as it formed into Tetra. I floated down and mounted her at the base of her neck. I sat on her neck and held on to her mane for stability. She is a magnificent white dragon about the height of a house standing on all fours. Her entire body is made of the same material as a White Shield. So she is very transparent with a white tint. Her eyes are light blue and she has no horns. She has a mane of fluffy white feathers like a horse's mane and wings like a dove. She has the intelligence and sweet personality of a loving pet. In a battle that sweetness never applied to the enemies.

She turned her head to the left so she could see me. She made a loving moaning sound as I petted her neck. Like all dragons she can sense things from me with her empathic abilities. She knew something was terribly wrong by my emotional state.

"It is all right sweetheart. Don't be surprised when I send you away. I will not need you for this entire battle."

She made another worried moaning sound. She knew I was lying. Apparently I lack the ability to pull off a lie no matter who I'm talking to.

I was puzzled the Dark Sorcerers would join forces, even to kill me. All three were once aligned with the warring kingdoms of Mastadonia and were known to hate each other. The billowing dark clouds were above Galdaya at that point. We flew out to meet them. Tetra is amazingly fast. In a few minutes we were over fifty miles from the castle. We slowed down to approach with caution about a mile from the large black tornado. It faded away as we approached. Kahli, Edur and Ignaas could be seen where the funnel once touched the ground. A black sword was floating beside Kahli blade up. It looked as if it was made of polished black steel with a hilt made of black ivory. There were engravings covering the blade and hilt. Embedded into the blade near the hilt was a large black crystal. The crystal began to glow with a dark aura.

I thought we were beyond their reach so high in the sky and far away. Black thorny vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around Tetra almost instantly. They drug her to the ground and I had to levitate myself very quickly to rise out of the way. I let myself fall from the sky in order to attack. I pointed both hands at her and dozens of light orbs shot from my hands. When they hit the vines they exploded but did no harm at all. I quit attacking in order to form a White Shield around me. I used this protective bubble to stop myself before I hit the ground. Tetra was struggling and the vines pinned her to the ground.

I said, "Tetra, you are dismissed."

She disappeared in a burst of white light. Suddenly a beam of light hit the ground directly in front of the Dark Sorcerers. It formed into Tetra and she lunged at them growling viciously. I quickly began moving myself in the shield towards them. Vines came from the ground and wrapped around Tetra. She shot a funnel of White Magic out of her mouth at the Dark Sorcerers. A shadowy light came from the sword's crystal and formed a semi-circle solid black shield in front of them to block her attack. She was using all her might to get to them then the vines pinned her to the ground again.

I yelled, "Tetra, you are dismissed!"

She disappeared in a burst of light. Almost instantly the beam of light came back and formed into her again. This time she was high above them diving straight down. She was shooting large orbs of light out of her mouth that exploded against the semicircle shield the sword had created above them. The vines grabbed her out of the air and slammed her into the ground in front of them. A dark aura covered her body when she hit the ground.

I screamed, "Tetra! You are dismissed!" My dismissal didn't work. I screamed again. "Tetra! You are dismissed!"

There was no doubt after trying to dismiss her two times that it wouldn't work. She was lunging at them as the vines held her back. She shot a funnel of White Magic at them that the sword once again blocked. Then to my horror the vines ripped her apart. She disappeared in a cloud of white light.

My shock made me let my guard down for a moment. Vines wrapped around my shield and yanked it to the ground. Slamming into the ground knocked me out. As I regained my consciousness I slowly got up on my knees inside a Dark Shield. The Dark Shields are transparent with a dark tint to them. As I looked out on a slightly darker world I could see all three Dark Sorcerers slowly walking towards me. I was going into serious shock at that point. I had just lost Tetra and I probably needed treatment for a concussion. Worst of all was the realization about what was about to happen. If they could kill Tetra, I was nothing more than a bug to be squashed underneath their boots. I knew the death Haalandor spoke of was upon me.

Kye Gideon

The moment Irena flew away Siius and I became a streak of light and were standing behind Bekka and Steen's saddles. We grabbed the retractable ropes and attached them to the loops on our belts. I gripped the rope with my right hand to better hold as they Ported.

"Let's go. Keep your distance so she can't see us until we know she needs our help."

They didn't even have a chance to start Porting.

Steen asked, "Why is that nice little beat I'm hearing getting louder."

Bekka stated, "I'm starting to feel it."

Siius said, "It sounds like something very large with two feet. Take us up!"

They quickly flew up into the air so we could see our new friend. It was a giant male humanoid warrior tall and big enough to give Eeden Castle a hug. Because of the fifty-foot elevated platform the castle sat on, this put him at about fifteen stories tall. It would take a tremendous amount of power for a Dark Sorcerer to create such a large creature. His entire body was covered with a spiky black armor. There were large spikes on each shoulder pad, the elbows and his knee pads. The helmet had a razor-sharp fin that started at his forehead and went to the back of his head. No part of his body was exposed except his glowing red eyes. He had a huge spiky ball and chain flail in his right hand. In the other was a square shield half as tall as him with a large spike in the center and four smaller spikes on the corners. He was running dragging the ball of the flail and making a large trench in the ground. He was almost to the castle.

Siius said, "Alright, let's get it before it gets here. It's time to earn our gold."

I said, "I have been telling you for years it's easier to steal it."

We smiled at each other as we quickly grabbed our rifles from the holsters on the back of the saddles. Steen and Bekka took theirs off their arms.

Steen shouted, "Hold on!"

We put one foot forward to hold on and counter the force of their Port. Three Ports and we were above the north wall of Lower Eeden.

Siius shouted, "Unleash a little hell!"

We repeatedly fired our rifles causing a massive barrage of laser bursts that lit up the land with red light. It raised its shield and squatted so that most of him was behind the shield. Little squares all over the shield turned around revealing mirrors on the other side. They angled perfectly and very effectively shot the laser bursts straight back at us. Siius and I unhooked and Ported out of the way as Steen and Bekka did the same. We quickly Ported back to their backs and stood behind their saddles. It roared at us and our bodies began to glow from the Hi-Chi. We were using it to protect ourselves from the magic that was hitting us from all sides. We could feel a bit of a tingle as dark lightning danced around our bodies. That would have killed someone without the Hi-Chi. We reinforced our rifles with the Hi-Chi but it wasn't helping them to simply be stronger. They all started making an increasingly high-pitched sound as the power sources began to overload. We didn't have much time.

I shouted, "Throw them down!"

We all Hi-Chi threw them towards the ground. Before they even hit the ground they exploded sending out two huge red rings and two smaller ones. It wiped out all of Lower Eeden's buildings around the explosions and most of the north wall. It put a good-sized dent into the castle's platform as well.

Siius shouted, "Get up out of his reach!"

We all Ported straight up many times until the dark lightning disappeared. Siius and I hooked up and went to their shoulders to lean over and look down. He walked through the opening we made in the north wall trampling what was left of the destroyed buildings. He stopped at the castle's platform and started to swing the giant flail at the castle.

I said loudly, "Siius, let's blind that son of a bitch!"

We both Ported down several times until we were on his cheeks. We plunged our swords into his eyes and Ported back up to Steen and Bekka. He dropped the flail and shield then grabbed his eyes with both hands as he screamed in pain. He was blind but still dangerous. He crashed into the castle's platform as he chaotically stumbled around. He turned towards were he knew the castle was and started pummeling the north area with his fists. He was destroying Amara Garden and the back side of the castle. If not for Amara Garden keeping it out of his reach the entire castle would have been destroyed. He could have probably just leaned forward and smashed the whole building. Instead he was going crazy and pounding the area in front of him. I think poking out his eyes pissed him off just a little.

Siius said, "Kye. You and Bekka take the right side, we got the left. Let's see if that helmet will come off."

We all Ported down and landed on opposite shoulders. We grabbed under the edge of the helmet and yanked up. The helmet flew off, bounced across Amara Garden and hit the castle. He started clumsily and violently hitting his shoulders, but we were already gone. We all ported north until we were out of his magic's reach. He stopped moving completely as he turned away from the castle. He wanted to hear us coming.

The head of the creature was hideous. He was keeping his eyes shut and a black liquid was seeping out. His face was black with jagged triangular teeth. His eyebrows were bushy and looked like wings they went out so far from his head. He had a scraggly beard and mustache and a lot of bushy hair coming out of his ears. He was slowly looking back and forth listening for us.

Siius said, "We will distract him. You two cut his throat."

Bekka said, "Let's try a little scissor action brother."

"I was thinking the exact same thing."

I said to Siius, "Give him a kiss on the left cheek and I'll kiss the right."

Siius said, "Let the distraction begin."

He was gone and I was right behind him. We Ported towards him as they Ported up. We slashed his face first to piss him off again. Then we began Porting back and forth attacking him around his midriff so he would keep his arms at his sides and stand up straight. We Ported out of the way to avoid the swings as we attacked him doing no damage. He was growling angrily and trying his damnedest to hit us.

The twins had Ported high into the sky forward of his position. After three Ports down and two forward to gain even more speed they were on him. To me it was poetry in motion. As they flew over his shoulders they stopped flapping their wings and tucked them close to their bodies. They shot over his shoulders like arrows. Before they were even over his shoulders they had turned on their sides. They reached out with one of their swords crossing them like they were a pair of giant scissors. When his neck was between the blades they both sliced outward in their own direction. A black liquid was gushing from his throat as he grabbed it. He stumbled to his knees gargling in pain. Then he and the helmet exploded into black oil and splattered on everything. Slowly the liquid turned to steam as it disappeared. We remounted above the garden.

I said, "Mansa. How many people are left?"

"None. I'm on the last train. The queen's tone and the small earthquakes convinced everyone it is really Kaygun. The evacuation has never been completed so quickly."

Siius said, "It's not Kaygun. It's the Dark Sorcerers. Stay at Umbria until you receive further instructions. We are going to help Irena."

"Yes sir. Be careful. Our prayers are with you."

Steen and Bekka repeatedly Ported in the direction Tetra had flown as we held on. It was faster than flying but it still took us a while to travel so far. It took us a short time to defeat the creature. Add that to Vaalstrom twisting time in that area and we were too late to help. We only found signs of the one-sided battle.

Irena Lexington

Tetra was dead and all the Dark Sorcerers were slowly walking towards me. Edur and Ignaas looked as if they were dressed to go to a celebration as opposed to a battle. Edur wore light blue pants, boots and a delicate long-sleeved shirt that was open in the front revealing his well-toned stomach. Ignaas wore a red long-sleeved shirt that was made of silken material. His pants were silken as well and his boots were polished red leather. Kahli as he always does in battle wore a thin coat of black armor that covers his entire body. Only his head is uncovered. He always has two long black swords at his sides as well.

All three Dark Sorcerers are bald and their eyes and skin reveal their powers. Edur has blue skin and dark blue eyes because he is an ice sorcerer. Kahli has unnaturally looking dark skin and solid black eyes with no white visible, his power is darkness. Ignaas has bright red skin and dark red eyes because fire is the magic he wields. They were strange and no one actually knew who they were or where they came from. All we knew was they were all dangerous cold-blooded killers.

There was a reason Ryoma and the others said I love you to me before we parted ways. It is my family rule. We never part ways without saying I love you first. If the worst was to happen I wanted that to be the last words they heard from me. The last words Balanath and the girls heard were, Kahli is about to destroy the shields. Not I love you. I had broken the rule in my haste to get them to safety and I meant to make it right. I was already on my knees. I brought my hands up to my chin to pray.

"Tekarra, mother of mercy. Please let them hear my words... Balanath...Torva... Eriana... I love you with all my heart."

A ball of white lightning appeared above the black sword and wrapped around it like a cocoon. I could see the sword inside struggling. The Dark Shield around me disappeared when this happened. In a flash of white light a woman appeared. I still had my hands in the praying position. When I looked up at her I didn't even have time for a surprised look to come over my face. She snapped her fingers and I was instantly encased in a giant clear crystal. At first I thought I was going to suffocate. Then I realized I wasn't even breathing. I could still see and hear what was happening.

The woman was exceptionally beautiful with white hair that was up in an elegant bun. It turned into an intricate braid in the back that got smaller and ended near her feet. She had unworldly light blue eyes. On the tops of her hands and fingers were white ivory plates bordered by silver trim. There was a large one on top of her hand and smaller ones on each joint of her fingers. They were not attached together ornaments, they just seemed to be stuck on her hand. They matched the gauntlet like bracelets that went up to her elbows. She wore a sleeveless top, pants and matching boots. All parts of the garment were made of what looked like polished ivory plates bordered with shiny polished engraved silver.

As soon as she appeared the Dark Sorcerers stopped walking towards me and formed Dark Shields around themselves. They turned away and looked down at the ground.

She asked loud and firmly, "Why did you kill Tetra Bacall? You knew she was meant to fall to Eriana this day. She was her birthright."

They never looked up and kept their backs to her through the entire encounter. Ignaas and Edur never spoke, only Kahli. Surprisingly he always spoke with a humble tone.

"The beast gave me no choice."

"Do you think it's wise to test my patience after what you did?"

"My apologies. I killed her to keep the child from receiving the Blessing. Together they would be too powerful. I must fight for my life as well. I of course never dared to dream you would personally interfere over a beast. My gratitude is boundless. My stone will be monumental."

"You will receive your stone Bacall, but it will only be of equal value."

"You speak as if a stone of equal value would not be monumental. How could it not be? All The Paths of Time have been shattered. Billions of mortals just heard you say my real name."

"Billions of mortals will forget." She walked over and looked at me. "I did not come because you murdered Tetra. This one is the reason I came. She has earned great favor. I cannot refuse her dying wish."

Kahli said softly, "If you take my life there can be no stone of equal value. You will cut your daughter's throats."

"She did not ask for your death Bacall. I do not reward thoughts of revenge or self-preservation. She did not consider either. Instead she chose to tell the ones she loves... that she loves them. How could I not be moved by such a motherly dying wish? She will be given the chance to speak those words to them herself... if they can free her from the crystal."

"As long as she is in the crystal she can never be harmed. If you would deny me my throat... I must demand my stone."

"She is your stone Bacall. Only Eriana can free her. You will have your one chance to take the lives of The Sisters of Destiny, and as you so eloquently put it... have your throat as well."

"You are very generous. I hope your disappointment is not too great when she fails to take my life. She will die before using her full power again."

She said in an unpleased tone, "Yes... you certainly warped the poor child's mind with your little earthquake debauchery... and today you have effectively silenced the weapon that would have cut your throat for her." She turned, walked over and smiled at me. "You know Bacall. There is a wonderful thing about mortals. They love each other. Eriana may not have Tetra, but she is surrounded by powerful weapons that love her. That is the one thing I made sure of. Kaygun murdered Thanatos... he will feel my claws.

As for you Bacall... you can clip my claws by simply taking the life of the most gentle of all my gifts. A task I'm certain you can accomplish with great ease. You know she will not kill you to save herself." She smiled at me again. "It is not the gentle gift that should cause your worries Bacall. Your worries should stem from all those bows and trinkets that decorate it." She looked me directly in the eyes. "Not only are each one a threat to your life... they also will lay down their lives for Eriana. Take the life of the wrong one and I assure you. This gentle little gift... will be gentle no more." In a flash of white light she disappeared as did the lightning around the sword.

The Zyamarians have a spaceship called the Nymick kept in Avangar's orbit to make sure the Parthanians are honoring the treaty with them. It is there to assure they never attack the people of Avangar again. Billions of people watched the events captured by the Nymick on Infocasts in all the allied kingdoms on Haalandor. I was the only one that would remember. The Agnola called Vaalstrom twisted time and the event never actually happened for most. Kahli, Ignaas and Edur would remember the lost time. I only remembered because I was in the crystal and was protected from all magic. All had heard of Fate Crystals from legends. Nobody knew if they really existed. While I was in that state I never grew hungry. I woke and slept as I normally would and potentially could have seen all that was happening around me. To those on Haalandor the Infocast they were watching seemed to skip. I was in the Dark Shield then I was in the crystal with the Dark Sorcerers standing around me. They knew Vaalstrom had twisted time because they detected his Magical Frequency. He changed the timeline for everyone watching. It affected a small area around us, the Nymick and the entire planet of Haalandor. None could have guessed it was for Tekarra herself.

Their Dark Shields disappeared and they walked over to me.

Edur said, "There is no need to continue the hunt. We have a beacon that will guide her into our arms."

Ignaas said, "I am not certain I want to wait for her to come to us. I might just take Astra to Tiamat and kill her myself."

Kahli calmly said, "Go if you want. It will not change my path. I only saw one path that led to your victory. In the rest only Astra and the fairies survived. You kept losing your head... so to speak."

Kahli waved his left hand and formed a Dark Portal. They are square doorways that use Black Plasma to bend space-time. The frames are made of a dull dark lifeless material that looks like raw black iron covered with thorny raw iron vines. Strange bugs and snakes will randomly appear from a black mist that hovers above the surface. They crawl or slither around the surface then disappear. It looks as if they have gone into a hole that's not there.

Edur walked through first. As he went by Ignaas he smiled and put both fists together in front of Ignaas's face.

He raised his hands up spreading out his hands and fingers as he said, "Boom!"

He laughed until it was silenced by him going through the Portal. Ignaas gave him a dirty look as he followed him through. Kahli pointed his hand at the crystal. It rose off the ground and floated through as he followed. We came out in the throne room of Kiinyde Castle. Kahli put me on a small platform near his throne.

Edur said, "The holy one's life and a living ornament to decorate your castle forever. Our stone came in two lovely pieces."

Ignaas told him, "Tekarra plans to take those stones and shove them down our throats."

Edur said, "Exactly why we shouldn't risk it. I think we should just relax until Kaygun arrives and let him kill them."

Ignaas said, "I don't need Kaygun to assure my victory."

"I wasn't insinuating I needed Kaygun to defeat them. Why should we fight them and risk our lives? We are doing Kaygun's job for him."

Kahli said, "Kaygun cannot be trusted to keep up his side of the bargain. We will follow the path I have chosen. We must kill them all for me to have my only chance."

Ignaas said, "They only have the protection of the Cerans on Tiamat. When they come to me I can kill them without Astra. I do not need to be defended by a stupid sword."

Edur said with a chuckle, "Once again your ignorance comes shining through. Why would you not want Astra there to protect you? You are such a fool."

Ignaas said, "The fool is going to kill Eriana first and be done with it. I am not going to give her a chance to kill me."

Edur smiled and shook his head no. "I'm sure they are all just going to stand there and let you do that. Not to mention that if you don't kill Kardauma he will haunt you forever until he finally gets the chance to cut your throat."

Kahli said, "Kardauma will know death soon enough." He looked at Ignaas. "You will follow my orders, or I will take your life myself."

"I am at least going to play with them for a while when they come to my castle. There can be no harm in that."

Edur said, "There can be plenty of harm in that. She will kill you. Then I too will know death."

Ignaas said arrogantly, "That is true. If she can kill me, you won't stand a chance."

"I will not die by her hand. I will die laughing." They both laughed.

Kahli told them, "I will tell you something that will surely bring you great comfort. Even if you both die, I have seen many paths in which I still prevail."

Edur said in a sarcastic tone, "Yes that does bring me great comfort. I mean living. Who needs it?"

Ignaas said, "I need it. I plan to enjoy my fame for many years to come."

Kahli said, "We all hold our lives in our own hands." A confident smile came over his face as he walked towards me. "None will deny me my destiny. I will follow any path that leads to Haalandor's death. I will not be one of Kaygun's swords. I will be his equal. I will be a god." He was right in front of me looking me in the eyes. "You have heard enough."

He made a waving motion with his right hand and black crystal formed around the Fate Crystal. I couldn't see or hear anything. I would spend the rest of my time inside the crystal in total darkness. The information I had learned gave me terrible nightmares.

Kahli had been a thorn in our sides several times. Ryoma and I had false confidence that he played like a fine musical instrument. We expected to sense the power of a normal Dark Sorcerer and this was what we sensed from them all. We always saw them as young and weak, never as a threat. To kill sorcerers we knew were younger and much weaker than us would be murder.

I did not know if it was all three of them using a magic to make us think they were sorcerers or just Bacall. The only thing I was certain of at that point was that Kahli was Bacall. He did not have to be a god. In his present form he could have killed me or Ryoma at any time, and my family had no idea of the true danger. I had no choice but to sink into a deep depression while I was in the crystal. I had a tremendous amount of free time to worry myself sick.

# Chapter 2 The World Changed

Balanath Lexington

As we stood there on the beach I was trying to open my Communicator with one of Torva's daggers. None of them were working. I could tell by the land it was the southern east coast. That's the only place there are sandy beaches on Aden. Everything happened so fast we were left dumbfounded. The girls were a little shocked. I was losing my mind.

I asked the thin air, "Why did they make these damn things so hard to get into?!"

As I handed her dagger to her Torva said, "Maybe because the self-destruct could disintegrate a castle. Are you alright?"

"I know something's wrong. Why did Irena send us here? Why did all three Communicators short out at the same time? Did Kahli do that? Not to mention that Portal crap. It would surely take a little time for a sorcerer to destroy a shield made by a god. Why didn't she tell me what was going on? None of this makes any sense."

Torva said, "She had to be thinking she was saving our lives or something. She acted like Parthanian missiles were about to hit us."

"She should have come through too if it was that urgent. She could have gone back once she explained what was going on."

Eriana gasped with a very troubled look on her face. "Is she alright? Did he hurt her?"

Torva asked, "What are you talking about?"

She looked at us in disbelief. "What is wrong with you two? You're acting like that doesn't even upset you?"

Torva repeated loudly, "What are you talking about?!"

"I'm talking about what she said. Didn't you hear her? Oh, she said I'm the only one that can hear her."

I asked, "Who?"

"Avangar. She said I received a Blessing called Avangar's Wisdom. She will not be able to answer all my questions, but she will answer all she can if we ask or I simply question something in my mind. She told me she shorted out the Communicators so we couldn't call for help. She is forcing us to walk Tekarra's Favored Path. She also told me mother was captured by Kahli."

Torva exclaimed, "How could he capture her?! Even if he could defeat her Tetra wouldn't stand there while he took her prisoner. Tetra could have ripped him apart all by herself."

Eriana's face filled with surprise then tears started welling up in her eyes. "Tetra... Kahli killed Tetra."

A shocked then a confused sad look came over Torva's face. Even though Irena's enemies in battle wouldn't agree, Tetra was simply one of the most loving and sweetest creatures the universe had ever produced.

I found it hard to believe. "That's impossible. Irena would just dismiss her if that was going to happen."

Eriana said as she dried her tears, "I wouldn't speak such terrible words if I wasn't certain. I asked why Tetra didn't save mother. Avangar told me Kahli killed her."

I gave them a few moments to calm down. "Are you certain it's Avangar?"

"It is definitely her. I sense her Magical Frequency every time she speaks."

"Ask her if Irena is alright?"

"He didn't harm her. She's alive inside a Fate Crystal."

"Where is she?"

"Kahli took her to Kiinyde Castle. He's not alone. She told me to beware of living ice and fire."

"Edur and Ignaas. That must be how he was able to destroy the shields and kill Tetra. If she faced all three why didn't she call my army and Ryuu? Why didn't she simply flee if the battle was hopeless?"

"She can't reveal that. She said we are walking Tekarra's Favored Path. We must find Andor, Kardauma and a man called Terus before we return to Tiamat. If we don't the path will be destroyed."

"The path had better include a small war. They are going to face everything Ryuu and I can throw at them. With Ryoma shielding us we will not even lose one warrior to those fools."

Torva said, "We have Ryoma, your army and Ryuu's army. We don't need anyone else's help. We should just go home."

Torva tends to hold a grudge. She didn't want anything to do with Andor because of the hard childhood my half-sister Kye had lived through. Her name is actually Kyann, but she only allows Irena to call her that.

I said to her, "Avangar said we have to find them. I don't want to find out that the path being destroyed means your mother will die."

I could tell by the look in her eyes that made her realize more important things were at stake. Her grudge was not that important.

Eriana said, "She can't die while she's in the crystal." A worried look came over her face. "I'm the only one that can free her. That's why Kahli took her. He's planning to kill me."

I said in a comforting tone, "Don't worry sweetheart. He will never get a chance. We will bring her back to Tarmakk and you can free her there." I seriously needed something to keep my mind off such horrible thoughts. "Let's move further inland and see if we can find them."

When we got to the top of the ridge we could see smoke in the distance. I took my mini-binoculars out of my satchel and looked through them. They are compact and look like a thick pair of eyeglasses with no ear supports. There are dials around the lenses to focus in with.

"It's a village. We will look there first."

Eriana said, "They are not there now. She says they will be there in the morning."

"In that case we will find an inn to stay at tonight and wait. Let's go." We walked down towards the huge flat plain between us and the village. "Since you have her ear, where is Vaalstrom's Portal?"

"She said you have walked over it twice. It's inside a cave on Heaven Lily Isle."

"We did a thorough survey of the island and the waters around it. There are no caves."

"There is an underwater tunnel that leads to the cave. The entrance is sealed under Ladon's skull. You will need to clear out a lot of sand, but she will no longer fool the sensors into thinking it's not there."

"If she was fooling the sensors I guess we never had a chance to find it. I do wish she had not done that. If we could have found it I could have went to Vaalstrom's realm and became a sorcerer a long time ago."

Vaalstrom is an Agnola just like the goddesses that bind themselves to planets that can support life. They are all the children of Fate and Tekarra, the creators of the Universe. Vaalstrom is the one that puts you through two quests so you can become a sorcerer. The child of a sorcerer is always a White Sorcerer. If you can complete the Sorcerer's Quests you can choose what type of sorcerer you want to be, Fire, Ice, Earth or White. There are no sorcerers on Avangar except the Dark Sorcerers. On Haalandor there are only White Sorcerers because they all received their powers at birth. The last known sorcerer to quest their powers was Irena's father Abram. He could have been any kind of sorcerer but chose white.

"She said you couldn't have taken on the quest. The Portal is not active."

"Not active? Kaygun will be here in two years. Now is the time to let people quest their powers. What is she waiting for?"

"She cannot reveal that. Clear the tunnel and put monitors there. Vaalstrom will activate it when the time is right."

More mysteries that seemed custom designed to give me a headache. Torva's hate for Andor was no mystery. She didn't want anything to do with him because Kye had spent her early childhood as a slave in an orphanage. She lived there from infancy until the age of six. Even I had not wanted anything to do with him because he abandoned Kye. The fact that he also abandoned me didn't help much either. It didn't bother Kye that she was left in the orphanage. It was simply the way of things on Mastadonia.

The three kingdoms of Mastadonia had been at war with each other for over four hundred years. This time in their history was known as The Age of The Endless Wars. During this era they built their societies around the wars they fought. Men and women alike considered being a warrior the greatest of honors. Most female warriors would turn their newborns over to orphanages in the cities so they could return to battle. Kye was one of these abandoned babies. The orphanages were factories that produced many products the society needed. The children were put to work at the age of three. Most of the time these orphaned children would become squires for the warriors at the age of ten years to escape the slave labor. If not they would continue living and working in the orphanage until they reached the age of sixteen and were freed. Even though the squires did all the laborious tasks for the warriors, they were treated with respect. Girls in the cities could end up being prostitutes to survive if they couldn't find work. In the warrior camps their needs were taken care of and they received the same respect as the boys. It was dangerous for girls in a city because they may be alone when they were sent out into the streets at sixteen years old. The warriors have a high code of honor; girls and boys alike live without any kind of fear as squires. They may do all the dirty work, but they are revered because they are the next generation of warriors. Kye definitely would have become a squire if she didn't have the Hi-Chi. Instead she used that ability to leave the orphanage and live on her own when she was six. Before she left she incited an orphan rebellion that almost got her beaten to death.

My younger sister chose the path of a warrior in her own way. After she left the orphanage she became a street thief. Kye traveled around the badlands of western Mastadonia practicing her trade in the coastal and desert cities. During those days she would sneak around the battles and watch how the warriors fought. She was always trying to see them use different kinds of weapons. She taught herself to be a master of all known weapons by watching them. Kye was a well-paid mercenary and thief on the side by the time she was sixteen. She is as proud of her life as I am. As a child she took a hard as hell world to live in and kicked its ass all by herself. Torva is proud of that too. Part of her anger lies in the fact that she realizes she has lived a very privileged life with both her parents there to love her. While Kye lived a very hard life and never had her parents there to take care of her and show her love. Most of her anger stems from the fact that Andor let her favorite aunt be a slave. Slavery is a very touchy subject for all Galdayans. The entire kingdom was once taken over by an Argonn prince called Balaam. He made every man, woman and child a slave for over twenty-seven years until my rebel army freed them. The blame for Kye's time as a child slave couldn't all be placed on Andor's head; there was a mother to blame as well. However, we knew nothing of her, so Andor was about to be tied to Torva's whipping post. She tends to hold grudges for the people she loves whether they want her to or not. She had two grudges working on Andor. Kye being a slave and him abandoning me.

When we arrived we found out the name of the village was Rauka. We were in southern Aden less than an hour from the tunnel to the dragon kingdom Tiamat. It is a massive island south of Galdaya. Irena had sent us exactly where we needed to be. Andor would come to us. We found an inn and rented a room. All we could do was wait for them to arrive the next day. It was one of the longest day and nights of my life.

The room I rented had two small beds across from each other near the window. I sat on one bed and the girls sat on the other one looking down with very troubled looks on their faces. I knew they were traumatized by what had happened. I wanted to say something to bring them some comfort.

"I know this is hard." They looked up at me and listened. "It troubles me too that Irena is Kahli's prisoner."

The girls were of course thinking about this. To hear me speak the words brought their emotions to the surface and tears started welling up in their eyes.

"She is safe. No force in this universe can destroy a Fate Crystal. I must ask you both to be strong until this is over. Will you do this for me?"

Torva put on a brave face. "Yes."

Eriana looked down. She closed her eyes and the tears that had welled up were forced out and rolled down her cheeks. I felt that pain in my stomach I feel every time I see my girls cry. She opened her eyes and looked up at me.

Her voice was strong but shaky. "Yes father."

I knew I must say more than this to reassure them.

"I want to tell you something that took me many years to understand. When I was a boy Abram was giving me a class on prophecies. He told me Tekarra sees the future and creates prophecies to help us overcome dangers. I asked him, where was my father's prophecy? If she had warned him he could have stayed in Parok and forced the Healers to save mother. He was hesitant to tell a five year old boy that not all tragic events are worthy of the god's attention. So he went with the old wives' tale that all things happen for a reason. Something good would come from mother's death someday.

He said that to silence my curiosity, but sometimes there is truth in that old wives' tale. If she had not died, Andor would have led Galdaya's rebel army. Only because I offered to surrender to save my warriors was Irena able to protect Galdaya once more. From everything I have heard of Andor he would have fought to the death. Kahli would have provided him with that death then helped Balaam's warriors win the battle. We could all still be slaves. I believe the events unfolded as they at least needed to unfold. That's why I've always hated that Tekarra's Favored Path thing. My mother died because of the god's games.

In this case the game seems to be going our way. We have been told we are walking Tekarra's Favored Path and our only goal is to save your mother. If Kahli is a free man when Kaygun returns they will become allies. We all know this and have debated on the best way to deal with it. By kidnapping your mother Kahli has decided for us. He will be captured or killed before this is over with. In the end, we will make the path come to be, and we will get your mother back. I promise you we will."

I smiled at the girls. They walked over to me and sat beside me on the bed as we all embraced.

I said, "I love you both so much."

They said, "I love you too."

I kissed them on the top of the head then hugged them hard. As I held them I thought of how Irena would normally be the one to comfort us. It was horrifying to think that I might have to permanently fill that role. It was horrifying to think Irena could be lost. The pain I feel over losing my mother would be nothing compared to their pain. I grieve for a woman I never knew. They would have to grieve for a woman they had never been without.

# Chapter 3 Under the Cover of Darkness

Andor Gideon

The weather on the moon Taross became our ally. Its skies were as clear as ours were that night. The dark blue light from the Lunakk Sea that reflected on the land was not very revealing. It was much better than the bright white light that would have reflected down if it had been a cloudy day on the moon.

We were in a harsh land made up of mountainous rocky terrain. Mogusa Castle had a main building with many towers and looked to be like most castles. It was an almost impenetrable fortress that sat on the peak of a rocky mountain. It was made of dark gray stone with huge walls surrounding it. The only way to enter was by way of a massive double drawbridge. One side of the drawbridge lowered from the castle. On the next mountain over there was a large tower with a drawbridge attached to it. When the two drawbridges were lowered they met in the middle to make a complete bridge.

Baron Manuu Trenton had hired me to rescue his daughter from Baron Darg Fauna, the owner of Mogusa Castle. All I knew was I needed to rescue her and how much gold I would get for doing it. Our friend Terus had been much more involved with those people over the years. He was in his mid-thirties with silver white hair that hung down to his shoulders. His eyes are bright blue and his skin is tan. He has an arrogant personality and tends to say the first thing that pops into his mind, which is almost always the wrong thing. To him the comments are humorous, whether they are or not. He expects people to be thick skinned and simply take it. Even though he finds it very hard to take a joke directed at him.

We met up with Terus at the tower and had not been able to discuss much about the rescue. Darg didn't have guards outside on the walls. Only a few that roamed the halls inside the castle and looked out the windows. It was two hours after midnight so Terus said by that time the guards would probably be hiding somewhere to get some sleep. Once Darg retired to his bedroom for the night he rarely left the room. The reason he had so few guards was because he really didn't need them at all. Kahli had Traps to protect the large prison and treasure rooms under the castle. Even that was unnecessary because the castle itself was impenetrable because of its location, for most people anyway. When the traps were triggered most of Kahli's shadow beasts would come from the castle grounds. This was so they would kill you inside the rooms. Darg didn't want the bloody mess the beasts left behind on his castle's courtyard.

After I tied the long rope to my waist I Ported to the other side of the valley. I pulled the rope tight then held it with one hand. I grabbed a large rock at the base of the wall with my other hand to remain stable. Terus saddled a small chain over the top of the rope and slid down to me. Kardauma released the rope by the tower and I Ported to the top of the wall before the rope had time to fall down onto the side of the mountain. Terus scaled the rope and Kardauma formed beside us. I untied the rope and threw it over the edge of the wall, we would not need it after that.

Kardauma is known as a shadow dweller because his body, hair and even his clothes are made of Cirrus. It is a pitch-black substance from the Erebus that we see as thick black mist. He takes this mist form and travels through the air at times. When he takes his humanoid form he and his clothes are solid and have the same pitch-black color. Only his dimly glowing Cobalt blue eyes are not this color.

He can form weapons from his body just as he does his clothes. The steel he forms from his body is harder than any metal produced by humans. He fought with me when I worked for Bolek, but he never fought the mortal warriors. Kardauma would help me and Kahli fight Ignaas and Edur's minions while my warriors battled their armies. Killing beasts created by the Dark Sorcerers is his specialty. On the wall's walkway we crouched down in a circle to discuss the finer details.

I asked Terus, "Are you sure she will still be in the dungeon?"

"Of course she will, Darg wants her to suffer."

Kardauma asked, "Is she the one that warned Manuu about the plot to kill his family."

Terus smiled, "She did warn him, but she was also in on it. After they were killed she would be sole heir. She only warned him because she found out Darg was going to imprison her once he got what he wanted."

I said, "So Manuu sent us because he doesn't know of her involvement."

"That's what she thinks. Her whole family knows. We are taking her from one prison to another. Her father wants her imprisoned for life, her brothers want her on the gallows, and Darg wants her to suffer because he had to consummate the marriage. He prefers the company of men."

I looked at Kardauma and we both gave Terus a strange look.

Kardauma smiled at him. "So that's why you come here so often. Our suspicions have finally been confirmed."

"Don't get your hopes up. I come here because he pays me very well. On top of the gold, I'm also rewarded with the finest wine and the very finest gold hungry women in the entire kingdom. My only extra reward for helping you tonight will be becoming the main course for a shadow beast."

I said, "If it makes you feel any better you're a poor excuse for a main course. You will get your revenge by starving them to death." Only Terus didn't smile.

Kardauma asked, "Why did they have to consummate the marriage? They could have just lied about it."

"Manuu met Darg and for some reason doubted their true love. He wouldn't sign the marriage decree unless they did the shameful deed in front of his Healer. They did it so he had to sign it." He laughed a little. "From what I heard it was the romantic wedding night every woman dreams about. The Healer was watching her doing her fingernails in the bed while Darg's lover was getting him ready in another room. Then he made a mad dash for her before he lost his motivation. If that's not romantic, I guess I just don't know what romantic is."

Kardauma and I chuckled. Terus reached into a satchel he carried and took out a black hooded robe. He put on the robe and the hood. His face could barely be seen.

"This way." We followed him. "Kahli's Trap will be triggered the moment I open the cell door. As long as you stay inside the main building they won't harm you. Only Darg can step out onto his balcony and not be killed. You can even watch them attacking people right in front of you by the unbreakable glass windows on the first floor. He once lowered the drawbridge to let in about five hundred marauders. We sipped fine wine and ate delightful pastries while watching the beasts mercilessly rip them apart. That part I cannot over emphasize. I swear to you... the pastries were delightful."

As we made our way to the dungeon I asked, "How did Darg gain Kahli's favor?"

"I have no idea. All I know is that Kahli himself informed Kenet that Darg was under his protection. That is why he has grown so wealthy. He doesn't pay taxes and can charge the people whatever he wants to live on his lands."

He led us down the stairs from the castle wall to a courtyard in front of the main building. The door to the dungeon was just an unmarked door on the ground's wall opposite the front doors of the main building. He quickly took out several small metal rods and picked the lock. We went down some long winding stairs into the dungeon. He picked the lock on the dungeon door and we entered. The main room was large with many cell doors on both sides. Men called out for us to save them as well.

Terus asked loudly, "Are you willing to fight Kahli's shadow beasts to escape?"

All the prisoners became silent. We followed him to the girl's cell.

Terus said to me, "As soon as I open this door the Trap will be triggered. Remember, keeping the girl alive is secondary to keeping me alive. I would hate to see her get torn apart by the shadow beasts, but I would hate it more if it was me."

I said, "Understood. If they overwhelm us I'll throw the girl to them first."

He shook his head no at me as he pulled a key out of his pocket and showed it to me. "This is much quicker than picking the lock." He unlocked it and pulled the door open.

I entered the room and said to the girl sleeping there, "Marina." She woke and looked at me. "Your father has sent me to rescue you, come quickly."

A smile came over her face and she followed me out the door. When she saw Terus the smile faded.

"I'll not go with you! Is this some sort of trick? He works for Darg."

I looked at her and she began staring behind me. Her eyes rolled back up into her head and she fainted. I quickly grabbed her and threw her over my shoulder. I turned around to see a huge solid black shadow beast coming through the wall. It looked like a cross between a bear and a wolf with glowing red eyes. Its huge muscle-bound body was shaped like a bear's body and its head looked like a wolf's. Terus ran for the door and waited by the stairs.

I looked at Kardauma. "This one is yours."

Then I too headed for the door. We could hear them crash through the door above us. Then we heard hideous roars echoing down the stairwell.

Terus said, "I call Kardauma's dance partner the momma. Here come the puppies."

I looked back at Kardauma. He was standing in the middle of the room and the beast charged at him. He just stood there. Once it was upon him it quickly stood up on its back legs. It had long claws and it swiped at him with its right paw. As it struck him he turned to Cirrus and its claws went right through him. He quickly traveled behind it in his Cirrus form. He took his human form once more with a long black sword in his right hand. He immediately decapitated it. After its head was separated from its body it turned into a dark mist and disappeared.

I headed up the stairs with the girl on my shoulder. Many smaller shadow beasts that looked exactly like the one in the dungeon came charging down the stairs. I quickly swung my sword at the first one and split its head down the middle. It changed to mist so quickly that the momentum carried it forward and the mist traveled around my body as it disappeared. Several more charged down the stairs. By that time Kardauma was there. He was slicing them in two as he worked his way up the stairs and disappeared around the corner.

Once we were to the courtyard we could see the shadow beasts emerging from the ground. Terus needlessly had both of his large daggers out ready to defend himself. Kardauma was traveling to each one with two long black swords in his hands slicing them down. Normally when he is in battle he reforms in the same state as when he took his Cirrus form. Each time he reformed he still had the long swords in his hands. He was killing them so quickly that only their heads and front legs were above the ground trying to crawl out.

From high up on a balcony Darg shouted, "Terus you coward! Do you think I don't recognize your daggers! I'll have your head for this!"

He was wearing an effeminate dark green robe that was open in the front revealing a disturbingly tight under garment. In true Terus I can't take it fashion, he had to say something back to him.

He stopped, took off the hood and yelled back, "You're the coward Darg! Why are you only threatening me?! Am I the only one here?!"

At that moment another man wearing a similar light blue robe came out the double doors to the balcony. He walked over and put both hands on Darg's right shoulder.

"Come back to bed. The beasties will take care of it."

One of the shadow beasts ran up the wall, grabbed the man in his jaws and leaped off the balcony. When it hit the ground some more joined in and tore him apart. Terus wasn't joking when he said only Darg could walk out onto the balcony without getting killed.

Darg screamed in tears, "Terus! This is your fault!"

He ran into his room crying. Terus finally noticed it was getting harder for Kardauma to kill all the beasts by us and him too. He ran to me as fast as he could. With Marina still over my shoulder we made our way to the front gate. Once there I turned to fight them. Meanwhile Kardauma traveled to the control room and lowered the bridge. We ran to the end as Kardauma struck down the ones that were chasing us. Once we were at the end I laid the girl down and turned to fight. She was awake and so terrified she couldn't even stand. As I fought them off Kardauma traveled to the other drawbridge and lowered it. Terus had to pick the girl up and carry her onto the other bridge. I continued to fight off the beasts that were still coming with no end in sight. Kardauma flew over our heads, traveled back to the control room by the castle and raised the bridge. He was fighting them off with a sword while he turned the crank with the other hand. As it went up they kept coming at us. Some were able to leap across but were quickly sliced down. Many tried to leap only to fall. As I watched them falling to the valley below they would explode into a cloud of black mist. They were being destroyed because they were too far from the source of the spell that created them.

The rescue was a success. We retrieved my and Terus's horses and traveled back to Manuu's castle. Kardauma remained in the shadows as he always does when we travel. When we arrived where Martina's father was waiting she ran over and gave her father a hug with a smiling face. He gave her a harsh look and to her surprise had the guards put her in chains. Then Manuu offered us his gratitude and more importantly, his gold. He gave me three small bags of gold, I threw two to Terus.

As we slowly rode away I commented, "We should make our way to Rauka. I have gold and I want to have a few drinks for breakfast."

Terus said, "I could use a few drinks right now. Darg thinks I got his man-wife killed. He will offer so much gold for my life your protection will mean nothing."

Even though Terus was a large headache waiting to happen, I tried to keep him near me as much as possible. His father Harion had been Bolek's Supreme General and a good friend. He and his wife were fugitives from Partha. He told me not to tell Terus he was a Parthanian because if he went to Partha he would be killed. I held Harion in my arms as he died and promised him I would keep Terus and his mother safe. I moved them far away from the battles to a farming village. His mother was already dying of the Black Death. The depression from losing her husband made it worse and she died soon after Harion.

It was many years after his father died before I would see Terus again. He disappeared after his mother's death and joined a band of thieves called The Invisibles. During his time with them he became a master thief. After meeting Kye he left them and became her partner in crime. As a mercenary I had called on them many times to help me. Kye is a master of all weapons and Terus is a master archer. They are also master thieves, so both are a tremendous asset. They saved me time because the skills of a thief can help me get in and out quickly. It didn't sit well with me that Terus was in danger because he had helped me. I was hoping that his talent for cheating death wouldn't fail him. I had no idea how well that talent was about to serve him.

# Chapter 4 The Old Warrior

Eriana Lexington

That day seemed to drag on forever. We only left the room a few times to stretch our legs or get something to eat. Most of the time we just sat in the room worrying about mother. Bedtime was just some silent worry time until exhaustion brought us slumber. I don't think father slept at all that night. He was still on his bed staring at the ceiling when I woke up. When Torva woke up we went to the village market. Father bought us some fruits and vegetables then we went back to the room. Torva and I took turns braiding each other's hair for the journey. Soon after that I sensed an unfamiliar form of the Erebus that I knew wasn't a Dark Sorcerer.

Avangar told me, _"It is Kardauma. Follow the Erebus to find those you seek."_

"They are here! I can sense Kardauma."

Father said, "Let's gather our things and go."

We secured our belongings then I guided them through the village. "They are inside that tavern."

We entered through the front entrance on the west corner of the building. Grandfather Andor, Kardauma and Terus were sitting at a table at the far end of the room. It was a large room that was perfectly square with a high pointy roof filled with rafters. I think it used to be a barn. We went by a table with four huge men sitting there drinking. One of them was leaning back against the wall in his chair.

As we walked by he said in a loud voice, "Look there! The wenches in here are getting younger and younger."

They all laughed oblivious to the fact that it wasn't wise to call Torva a wench. There was a quick, thump, thump. One throwing dagger sunk into the wall by his right ear and the other sunk into the wall by his left ear.

As she was about to launch a third father said, "Stop." He started walking towards the man asking in a firm tone. "Torva, what have I taught you?"

As I look back now it was slightly amusing. Torva and father spent much of their time together hunting. That is why they developed a unique sense of humor all their own. It always amazes me how they seem to know what the other is thinking.

Torva looked down and spoke as if she was in big trouble. "Not to draw my daggers unless I plan on killing someone." Her attitude perked up. But father, the first two were just to warm up. The third one would have been..."

Father held up his right pointing finger and cut off her statement. "No. I don't think so." He pulled the daggers out of the wall. "Next time the first one had better be right between the eyes. I should be retrieving a dagger from his head, not from a wall."

"Yes father. I'll kill him with the first one next time. I promise."

The man's confused look turned to anger as he brought his chair down to the floor. "You people are insane."

Torva scowled at him then looked at father confused. "Father, I don't quite understand one thing. What is this, right between the eyes you speak of?"

Father was standing beside the man facing us. "Right here."

He elbowed the man between the eyes with his right elbow making a loud smacking sound. The man's eyes rolled back up in his head and he slumped in the chair knocked out. His joke obviously didn't amuse father either.

Torva smiled. "Thank you. That clarified things perfectly."

He walked over and handed the daggers to Torva. They grinned at each other and father started walking towards the bar. The man had regained his consciousness.

The man across from him asked, "Are you going to let him get away with that? There are four of us."

We stopped and father just kept walking towards the bar. I was going to use a Flat Shield to stop them. Before I could Torva Ported to the man that said that, grabbed his right hand and was Hi-Chi squeezing it so hard I heard bones cracking. The man made a holding in the scream sound as she grabbed him by the back of his head. She quickly let go of his hand and grabbed the table's edge for leverage. Then she slammed this rather large man's head down on the table and held it there. She looked around at the other men.

"I think you boys might want to let him get away with it. You can't even handle an innocent little girl."

She let go of the man and walked towards me grinning. They nervously got up and left. Father was paying this no attention. He had walked over to the barkeep.

He asked loudly so everyone in the room could hear, "I am looking for a man called Andor."

The barkeep pointed at grandfather. Father did that so they wouldn't be surprised when he approached the table. Grandfather looked in his direction, then looked at Kardauma and shook his head no. He took a large drink and once again looked down at the table. Father walked towards their table and we quickly joined him. Grandfather had his back to us. Terus sat across from him with a loaded crossbow on the table in front of him. Kardauma sat with his back to the wall. Terus and Kardauma were giving each other curious looks because they had seen what Torva had done.

Terus asked, "Andor, aren't you supposed to be the only one left on Mastadonia that can use the Hi-Chi?"

Father politely interrupted. "Excuse me, Andor. May I have a word with you please?"

Grandfather Andor is quite a large man. His muscular arms are twice as large as father's. I must admit the first time I saw him it was a little intimidating. The black pants and vest made of rough looking leather didn't bother me. His size and the huge sword at his side gave me a perfectly natural feeling of caution. He is definitely an imposing figure. He has dark skin, hair and eyes just like Kye does. He doesn't show his age much in his face, but the gray hair near his ears betrays him. His hair was short with coarse tight curls like Kye's hair is when she doesn't straighten it. Kye must use some harsh chemicals when she wants to straighten her hair. Unless Middy is around to be her Enchanting hair stylist.

He looked at us then looked back down again. "I don't need work right now. Come back when I'm broke."

Terus chuckled and Kardauma smiled as he slowly shook his head no. Even though he sounded serious it was a running joke they had. How could anyone possibly know when he ran out of gold?

"I didn't come to offer you work, but I do need your assistance."

He didn't even look up. "You heard me." He took a drink then sat the stein back down. "Leave or taste my blade."

Torva said in an angry tone, "We don't need this asshole's help. Just ask Kardauma and Terus to help. Leave this child abandoning piece of shit right here. Hopefully he'll drink himself to death."

Grandfather looked at her with a furrowed brow.

Father said, "I wonder if he can still use the Hi-Chi. He does look a little old and decrepit."

Torva said, "We are about to find out. The asshole did say leave or taste his blade. I'm not going anywhere. So I guess you have to take a bite."

Father calmly said, "That is what he said."

Grandfather looked as confused as the wench man did by their strange banter. He had to be wondering if father was going to do something stupid. He didn't have to wonder for long. Terus saw father reaching for his sword so he reached for his crossbow. Torva jumped up, tucked her legs and Ported over the table. She was behind him with one of her throwing daggers held to his throat. Terus raised both hands up as father swung his sword down at grandfather's head. With a streak of white light following his huge sword grandfather instantly blocked father's sword.

I shouted, "Enough!"

Everyone at the table except Kardauma became motionless, frozen in time. Only I, Kardauma and the barkeep were unaffected. The barkeep was too far from me and Kardauma isn't affected by time magic. The barkeep was watching nervously as he used an old rag to clean the counter.

Kardauma was unfazed by what had happened. He has short spiky hair and Cobalt blue eyes that slightly glow. He is a Cirrus being, so every part of his body is black and somehow unworldly. Because he forms his clothes from his body you can't tell where his clothes stop and he begins. He looked at me and a grin came over his face.

"You are the White Sorcerer I've been sensing. I thought you might be a Haalandorian. Normally one so young does not have such great power."

"I am half Haalandorian."

"So that must be Balanath." He smiled. "I apologize for Andor's rudeness. We only help wealthy people when Andor is completely out of gold. We could tell by your clothes you are not commoners."

"I apologize for father's rudeness as well. He is normally much better with introductions. I think Torva explained why she was being mean to grandfather. If I had known they were going to act like fools I would have just frozen them all and made the introduction myself."

"Stick to that rule if this is how your father addresses introductions. Swinging a sword at Andor's head was a dangerous thing to do."

"Thank you for being so understanding. I think they have had enough time to calm down."

The magic used to freeze someone in time has a built-in safety feature that a sorcerer cannot manipulate. It doesn't affect the brain or their ability to breathe because it would kill someone. They were seeing and hearing what was happening around them. I looked at the scene before me. Grandfather and father's swords were still locked together. Torva was frozen there with her blade held to Terus's throat. I waved my right hand in front of me left to right. They all began moving again. Grandfather quickly stood up. Torva backed off Terus and put her dagger away. Terus grabbed his stein and quickly drank the last swallow. He then grabbed Andor's stein.

"I hate to see whiskey go to waste. I assume we will be leaving." He stood up as he drank it.

Grandfather looked at father. "Didn't Keera teach you any manners? Even in this barbaric land it is customary to introduce yourself."

"My apologies. My name is Balanath Lexington." He motioned to us. "This is Eriana, and that sweet young lady with love in her eyes is your granddaughter Torva." He looked at her giving him a dirty look.

"Terus Corvello. It is my pleasure to meet you all." He raised up his right finger. "Since the pleasantries have been exchanged, I am going to get another drink before we take our leave." He turned and went to the bar.

Kardauma said, "It is my honor to meet you all."

Grandfather asked father, "What exactly do you need my assistance with?"

"My wife Irena has been taken prisoner by Kahli. I came to ask for your help freeing her."

I said, "Grandfather, freeing mother is only part of what we need your help with. If Kahli is alive when Kaygun returns Avangar will die. Billions of people will die too. You must help them kill Kahli."

Father said, "I really don't care if Kahli is killed or not. Getting Irena back is my first priority."

Kardauma looked at me. "Will she tell you if this is the time for me to free my people."

"Yes it is. She apologizes for the link. It had to be done."

"She is as bad at asking for help as Balanath is at introductions. Why didn't she just tell me that she was in dire need? Duvessa and I would have stayed."

"Because if any of your people helped Tekarra's Favored Path would be shattered. She knew Duvessa would stay with you. She could not tell you any of this until now."

Grandfather asked, "Why do I get the impression I'm missing someone in the conversation?"

Kardauma told him, "Avangar is speaking to her when Eriana is answering me."

I told him, "She gave me a Blessing called Avangar's Wisdom. I can ask her almost any question. I didn't ask anything, but she gave me the knowledge that Kali must die for all our benefits. That is what she just told me."

Kardauma said, "She knows my blades are at your disposal. Killing Kahli is why I am here. It is the only way to free my people from the link she created."

Father looked at him. "Thank you. I'm sure your help will bring us a much quicker victory."

Grandfather said, "You definitely have my blades until my granddaughters are reunited with their mother. Let's go to our camp near the forest and talk more."

We walked out the door with Terus close behind with the jug of whiskey he bought. They untied their horses from the hitching post.

Father asked Grandfather, "Are you sentimentally attached to your horse?"

"I've had Hadaka for over four years. Why do you ask?"

"Because Eriana can move us much faster in White Shields. It has been my experience that horses do not like riding inside shields. You will probably need to leave him here."

Kardauma said to me, "I assume that means you cannot create Portals."

"I don't possess that ability."

He looked at father. "You will need to ride horses to the entrance to Infinity Cavern. Kahli's castle is only about thirty miles from the entrance. If she brings her shields that close to him he might sense it. We will need to walk at least ten miles east in the cavern before it will be safe for her to use her magic."

Father said, "I will go to the stable and purchase horses."

Kardauma said, "I know the stable master. I can borrow the horses. They can find their way back from the entrance. I will be back in a few minutes. You can wait here if you like."

Father said, "We will walk towards your camp. We have been waiting for you at the inn since yesterday morning. We could use the exercise."

Terus mounted up. Grandfather walked with us and his horse followed him.

Father said, "I must warn you. Kahli has apparently aligned himself with Edur and Ignaas. I also suspect they are somehow harnessing Haalandor's Erebus. They killed Haalandor's pet dragon Tetra so quickly Irena didn't even have time to dismiss her. So they might be more powerful than you have ever seen them. We will have a lot of help. My army, the dragon's army and Ryoma who is a White Sorcerer."

Terus said, "I have heard about Ryoma's very exaggerated ability to heal. The legends say she could bring the dead back to life."

Father explained, "That is actually true. She possesses a Blessing called The Breath of Tekarra. It gives her the ability to raise the dead if they haven't been dead for very long. That may sound like a divine power, but normally anyone she can save could be saved by the Zyamarian's healing technology."

Grandfather said, "Abram told me of their healing technology. He said they can replace most body parts."

Father said, "Practically everything but your brain."

Terus asked, "Are you saying they have people that are mostly machines?"

Father replied, "They only replace body parts when a person truly needs it."

Torva said to Terus, "Look closely at Hobbus's right back leg when you meet him. It is fake from the ring on his thigh down. He's the dragon's Battle Trainer, you will definitely be meeting him before this is over with. He will probably want to join the battle."

Kardauma rode up on a horse leading the other two with ropes before we got there. When we arrived at their camp a fire was smoldering in between two long bench seats in the form of huge logs. They had slept there while waiting for daylight. We all sat on the logs to have our discussion.

Father said, "We will have my army and an army of Earthlore Dragons to help us."

Kardauma said, "The only place Earthlore Dragons could join us would be at Ignaas's castle. It is surrounded by flat land. Edur's castle is on the peak of a mountain and Kahli's castle is protected by the abyss. I would not recommend using your navy against Kahli. He would just sink your ships."

Father said, "We don't even have a navy because of that. Tiamat and Galdaya have concentrated our militaries on land and sky defense using the younglings. We know a ship is a floating coffin against sorcerers."

Grandfather said, "It will be a hard battle even if they are not harnessing Haalandor's Erebus. Are there other dragon sorcerers that could join us?"

Father replied, "Ryoma is the first dragon sorcerer as far as we know. Her son Veelus will be a White Sorcerer eventually, but his powers have not been unlocked. He will be joining us and is a tremendous asset in a battle. He gained the Hi-Chi when he became my Sentinel."

Andor was surprised. "A dragon with the Hi-Chi? He certainly would be a tremendous asset in a battle."

Torva proudly said, "My Sentinel Hyla has the Hi-Chi too. She got it when I turned five and got it. You will see that neither one of us is a joke in a battle either."

Father said to her, "You girls will not be joining us."

Torva didn't say anything. I had never seen her do it to father. But if looks could kill, father would have been a dead man.

Kardauma saw this and broke the short awkward silence. "The only way to guarantee a victory without heavy loss of life is to battle them separately. With Ryoma's help we could make short work of them if they are alone."

Father asked, "Do you know why Edur and Ignaas have chosen to help Kahli? Since we have broken ties with Mastadonia we receive little knowledge from these lands."

Terus replied, "No one knows why. They are not helping him, they are subservient. After Galdaya was freed Kahli came to their king's castles and commanded Ignaas and Edur to come with him. My sources tell me they obeyed like a dog listening to its master. In my business it's wise to keep your ear to the ground."

Grandfather said, "That whiskey is the only meal I've had today. Kardauma would you please fetch us some game to cook so we can eat before we leave."

"I will be back in a moment."

He turned to Cirrus and shot into the forest. There was a pile of firewood already there. Grandfather started throwing logs from the pile onto the fire.

Father asked, "Does he need any help?"

"No." Grandfather looked up into the sky towards the forest. "Here come the birds now."

There were four dead fat pheasants flying through the sky towards us. They flew through the air in an arch one directly behind the other. Kardauma came from the forest as Cirrus and formed between us and the forest. He caught the birds one by one before they hit the ground then walked towards us.

I asked, "Grandfather, is it safe to take a walk while you prepare the birds?"

"Yes. Just stay out in the open where we can see you."

"We will."

I grabbed Torva by the hand and slowly led her out into the nearby field.

Balanath Lexington

I moved to the other log so I could see the girls.

As they walked away I asked, "So Terus, what exactly is your business?"

"I my good sir am a philanthropist. I acquire goods from across all three kingdoms. I then sell these goods at lower than normal prices in order to help stimulate the economies of the kingdoms."

Andor chuckled. "He is a thief when he isn't working for me. He steals from one wealthy man and the goods end up in the hands of another wealthy man. I doubt that does any good."

Terus said in an offended tone, "I beg your pardon. The goods I acquire sit in the homes of the wealthy so they can simply admire them. They are useless to the economy. I liberate them from their useless existence and sell them to people, who in turn sell them for a very large profit. They spend this large profit in the cities and villages. I also spend my large profit in the cities and villages. Together we collectively stimulate the economy."

I chuckled at his defense. "I have never thought of it that way. I suppose you truly are a servant of the people."

"It is good to meet someone that understands the value of my work, but I'm not alone in wanting to improve the economies of the kingdoms. Andor too does his part to spread the wealth. If not for the gold he earns as a mercenary half the taverns in all three kingdoms would go out of business."

Andor grinned at this and shook his head no. "All joking aside, his skills as a thief can be very useful at times."

I said to Terus, "Since you live on Mastadonia I assume you can use a sword."

"I can swing a sword if I have to, but I'm not really a social person. All those warriors getting together to make small talk and kill each other. I prefer to stay back by myself with my crossbow and well, you know. Not die."

Andor said, "The only reason to have Terus up front in a melee battle would be to use him as a shield. His job is to protect my back and get me in and out fast. It helps my missions go a lot quicker. We will need his skills as a thief at the entrance to Infinity Cavern to get in the door. I doubt we will need him to keep Kahli's minions off our backs when we get there. I have a feeling you can handle yourself well in a battle. You did defeat Balaam's army and Kahli. That was no small accomplishment."

I asked, "What do you mean by keep Kahli's minions off our backs? We can't face Kahli without Ryoma."

"We won't be facing Kahli, but we will have to face his minions. He has a Trap protecting the entrance to the cavern."

Kardauma said, "Sadly his minions will be the corpses of men we once fought beside. Kahli set his Traps at all the entrances near his castle. Ten years ago we lost a small army against his minions there. He will make them undead and force their lifeless bodies to fight us. He is known to do this to strike fear into the superstitious warriors."

I asked, "Why did you bury them there if you knew this."

Andor replied, "Because they believe you must bury a warrior where they fall for them to achieve the Perfect Death."

Terus said, "You won't be able to use the Hi-Chi at all. He will definitely sense the Inaara from that if you use it against his minions."

Kardauma had cleaned the birds and put them on the fire. I was still watching Torva and Eriana closely.

Eriana Lexington

Once distance provided us with privacy I stopped and faced Torva. She sighed and looked down. She knew what I was going to say.

She looked up and said in that firm I'm the big sister tone, "Don't tell me to be nice to him. What he did to Kye is unforgivable."

"What is wrong with you? Kye holds no ill will against him. She is the only one that has the right to hate him. Not you."

She cocked her head to the right side. "Uh, you are wrong about that. I love Kye. So that gives me the right."

"Kye said she never met him in all the years she was here. Mastadonia is a very big continent. Have you considered the possibility that he may not have known about her? He probably would have gotten her out of the orphanage if he had known about her."

"He knew about her. We have proof that he abandons his children. You know, that man we call father."

I shook my head in disbelief at her stubbornness. "You're embarrassing us for no reason. Not to mention he is going to help them save mother. Gratitude might be more appropriate behavior." Torva had a troubled face as she looked down at the ground. "That's it, isn't it. You're just using this as a way not to think about mother."

She said in an unconvincing whisper, "I am not. He shouldn't have done that."

I was on the verge of crying. "I don't want to think about it either."

I turned away and her big sister gene kicked in and she walked around me. "Eriana we are going to get mother back. Just think about it. Over a million warriors and almost a half a million Earthlores. A hundred Dark Sorcerers wouldn't stand a chance, much less three." I looked up at her. "If it will make you feel better... I'll be civil to Andor."

"Thank you. I'm certain it will make the journey more pleasant."

A breeze hit us and we could smell the birds cooking.

"Let's get back. Those birds are starting to smell good already."

"You may not want to eat them. I heard the birds here carry a disease that will make your hair and teeth fall out."

"I wouldn't have to comb my hair or brush my teeth. That's going to save me a lot of time in the morning." We smiled at each other. "You should be thankful for those birds. If I have to eat dried meat the entire way I'm seriously going to be cutting into your rabbit food." We headed back to the campsite.

I am not a supporter of eating the flesh of other creatures. I have not eaten meat since I was old enough to understand what it was. It took me a long time to forgive mother and father for not telling me I was doing such a horrible thing. There are plenty of plants with healthier proteins and nutrition. One day I finally got Torva to try one of the vegetarian dishes Nalya makes for me. She was actually amazed by how good it was. Now she eats some of the dishes quite often. She says they go great with a big steak.

As we waited for the birds to finish cooking father voiced a sobering concern. "If they harnessed Haalandor's Erebus this could possibly make them more powerful than an Aaseem."

Terus asked, "If they sent her Erebus here, does that mean they have no Dark Sorcerers on Haalandor?"

Father replied, "They have an entire continent of Dark Sorcerers. As far as anyone knows her Erebus leaving didn't change anything on Haalandor or this planet, but they have always blamed The Endless Wars on it. The wars started soon after it arrived."

Grandfather said, "I have always blamed it on Kahli. He is the one that actually convinced Malakii to go to war with the other two kingdoms."

Five hundred and twelve years earlier was the last time Thanatos made its two year journey around our sun. Then it continued its long orbit to the far reaches of the solar system. At that time Kaygun had become allies with a Haalandorian Dark Sorcerer named Rajani. He sent her millions of Gethin Fairies that he had turned into Dark Sorcerers. They were a deadly force that massacred over two hundred and fifty million people and dragons in a matter of days. The High Council of Zyamar had created a machine that could momentarily bind two people's magics together. The purpose was so someone could use another person's Blessings. They used this new technology to win the war by using Deemos, The Dark Guardian. He is an Aaseem, a Demigod child of a goddess. With his help they were able to bind Rajani and all of the Gethin Dark Sorcerer's Erebus to Deemos's Erebus. Then Haalandor banished her own Erebus from her planet. This killed Deemos, Rajani and all the Gethin Dark Sorcerers when it took the magic bound to them. They thought the Erebus would return to the universe. Instead it went to the nearest living planet which was Avangar. If they had harnessed this Erebus it would be a powerful weapon.

Kardauma said, "Unfortunately Balanath I must agree with you. I believe it is actually Kahli harnessing the Erebus. He has either threatened to kill Ignaas and Edur or has agreed to share the power. I don't think they would follow him if they could do it by themselves."

Father asked, "Eriana will Avangar tell you if we are right?"

I had been looking down lost in my thoughts. I was only half listening to the conversation.

I looked up. "About Haalandor's Erebus being harnessed. No, she remains silent."

Father asked concerned, "Are you feeling alright. You look a little pale."

"I'll be fine. I just can't stop thinking about Kahli wanting to kill me." It was hard for me to mask my fear. "I don't want to die."

Grandfather said in a comforting tone, "Do not worry. I promise you with every ounce of my being, he will have to kill me first. And I will not die easily."

Kardauma softly added, "You are a gentle young soul that should not be tormented like this. Know that I too will give my life to protect you."

I looked at them then at Torva. She was staring at grandfather with a strange look. I think he softened her heart a little. I was moved by their words and compassion for someone they barely knew. Grandfather was believed to be the greatest warrior on Mastadonia. Kardauma was almost invincible in battle. It did make me feel safer to know they would do all they could to protect me. The fact was that I had many powerful guardians that would lay down their lives for me, but it was terrifying to think they might die trying to save me.

"Thank you both so much, but I don't want anyone to lose their life for me. I think... I think I would rather die than see someone die for me."

This statement silenced everyone. I didn't mean to make them uncomfortable. I was simply speaking my mind.

After a long silence Grandfather said, "Tiamat grows no closer while we sit here. Let us eat these birds and start the journey."

Everyone ate some of the pheasants except me. I ate some of the vegetables we had bought. Torva and I ate some fruit as well. After all had eaten we made sure our satchels were secured on our horses. We mounted up and the journey began.

# Chapter 5 Journey to the Dragon Realm

Terus Corvello

I made a lot of gold assisting Andor with his mercenary missions because Kardauma would normally give me his cut of the gold. He doesn't enjoy the overindulgences gold can buy. Like eating, drinking, lounging or womanizing. He does eat and drink with people sometimes, but it's just to be social in a way they can relate to. They both treated me much better than I deserved because of their friendship with my late father. As father died in his arms Andor promised him that he would protect me and mother. He would only have to worry about me because mother died exactly sixty eight days after father died. I was only twelve years old at the time. The Mastadonian custom for orphans is to be assigned to a farm in the area with the least amount of people. That wasn't going to happen. I was planning to hit the open road after mother's funeral. I told the nice people thank you no, threw my satchel over my shoulder and headed for Harg.

Andor searched for me, but I was gone about six months after I got to Harg. Black Tear, the leader of The Invisibles saved me from getting robbed in an alley. I was arrogant and thought I had the thief life figured out. I kept my hair short then so I could wear a hooded robe. My silver white hair and distinctive blue eyes make me stand out in a crowd.

When we met in the alley I was about to sell my goods to two large men named Barr and Femon. I had dealt with them before with no problems. Barr started to hand me the bag of gold. He then grabbed the jewels and put the gold away.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I think I'll keep it all. Now run along while you still have your head attached."

A voice came from the right. "I think you should reevaluate your plan. He works for me."

Barr exclaimed, 'Black Tear!"

There was a well-dressed man standing there. He had on a fine black jacket and pants suit. His shoulder length hair was solid black and his eyes were blue. He wasn't there before. Barr and Femon looked like they were about to shit their pants.

Barr said with fear in his eyes, "I'm sorry sir. I had no idea."

He quickly handed me the jewels back and gave me the little bag of gold too. Then they both ran like hell. I was impressed to no end.

"Thank you so much. Do you want the gold?"

"No thanks. I don't need it. Now you have a good day young man."

He turned and started to walk away.

"Wait! You said I worked for you. Can I work for you?"

He turned towards me, "I don't hire people off the streets. If you want to work for me you have to come to Karnakk."

"Where is Karnakk?"

"It's right behind you."

I turned and looked confused. It was just the wall at the end of the dead-end alley, I knew that. When I turned back around a few seconds later he was gone. I met a boy named Takeeta and he got me there. Two years later I left them when I met the notorious thief Kye and she made me her partner in crime. The rest is history.

Because Andor didn't know where I went he put out word I was under his and Kardauma's protection. I wouldn't see him again until I was fourteen years old and Kye took me to see him. His declaration of protection has stood and made me untouchable through much of my life. At that time Darg wasn't too worried about it because he had a pretty powerful protector of his own. I found out he was offering a hundred pounds of gold for my head. It didn't matter. My path would take me far beyond Darg's reach.

Kardauma turned into Cirrus and disappeared as we mounted our horses. We traveled south along the coast until we came to a large area without a plant or blade of grass in sight. At thousands of locations across the plain there were piles of old rusty armor and swords. The armor was in neat piles with the swords stuck in the ground blade first beside it. We slowed the horses to a walk as we approached this area. As we came closer they became frantic and wouldn't go near the dead soil.

Kardauma appeared beside us. "Kahli cursed the land so animals wouldn't go near it and trigger his Trap."

We backed them up until they calmed down. Everyone dismounted.

Andor said, "That's the entrance to the tunnel across the plain."

On the other side of the plain we could see a small mountain. At the bottom embedded into the face was a large ancient looking stone door. Everyone got their satchels and belongings off the horses.

Andor looked Hadaka in the face and patted him on the neck. "Be careful my friend. Go home!" Hadaka whinnied then turned and started walking north.

I said, "Go Nel. Go home with Hadaka." She trotted to catch up to him then they galloped away.

Eriana asked, "Where is home?"

Andor replied, "We always get our horses from Black Tear's stables. They are all trained to go back to Karnakk if they are separated from their masters."

Torva exclaimed, "Isn't that halfway across Mastadonia?! You care about them as much as you do for your own children. They are going to get killed by predators."

Andor just sighed and looked away with troubled eyes.

I told her, "It will take them a few months to get there, but they will be alright. They can both kick an apple off a post and never touch the post. Black Tear's horses are trained to fight predators. I lost Nel in northern Rin a few years ago. She made it back without a scratch on her."

Balanath said, "I'm guessing we can't just tell these horses to go home."

I said, "Don't worry about them. They will head back to Rauka when the undead appear. When they see the corpses of our old friends they are going to lose their minds."

Torva was out in the field talking to Eriana when we mention the Trap earlier. "The corpses of your old friends? What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I said. We fought a major battle here once. Those are grave markers out there. Kahli will use the corpses as his minions. If the fools hadn't buried them here it wouldn't even happen."

Andor commented, "I told them to bury the bodies somewhere else. Sometimes the warriors are slaves to their superstitions."

I said, "Mastadonian warriors are all idiots. They welcome death, yet they're scared of old Mastadonian superstitions."

Torva said, "They welcome death. Why would anybody welcome death?"

Andor replied, "They only welcome The Perfect Death, to die in battle fighting without fear. They believe to die a warrior's death is the only way to get into Nuvii. They also believe you must bury a warrior where he falls in battle for this to happen."

I said, "They also believe they will have an endless supply of whiskey and lovers waiting on them. Like I said, their all idiots. I seriously doubt Tekarra brings Mastadonian warriors to Nuvii so they can have drunken orgies."

Balanath said, "They have been decaying for ten years. Won't they just fall apart?"

Kardauma replied, "His magic holds their bones together. They are hard to cut through... for some."

Andor said, "They don't fall easily to a crossbow, but a sword will make short work of them. Split their spines or take off their heads. That's the only way to kill them."

I loaded my crossbow even though I would not be in the battle. If I tried to keep them off their backs they would attack me.

Eriana asked, "Should I shield everyone and run if you get in trouble."

Kardauma replied, "No, Kahli's castle is too close. If he senses your magic around his minions he will travel here through a Portal instantly. These days he travels in a tornado that moves extremely fast. You cannot outrun him. They cannot use the Hi-Chi on them either or he will sense it."

Eriana said, "If they can't use the Hi-Chi we might have to retreat."

I said to her, "Andor never uses the Hi-Chi when he fights minions from Kahli's Traps. Balanath shouldn't have a problem with them."

Balanath said, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Andor slowly walked out onto the dead soil and drew his sword. "Come on Balanath. We don't want them to get too close to the girls. Terus, call for Kardauma if something goes wrong."

He began running towards them and Balanath did the same. The undead had begun crawling out of the ground when Andor's foot first touched the dead soil. Even though they were about two city blocks away, the remaining horses still saw them or sensed them one. They all screamed and fled as if they were instantly overcome with terror.

The corpses were mostly skeletons with the occasional remnants of clothing on their bones. Their eyes were seeping a black mist. They made a sinister moaning sound and when they did the black mist escaped from their mouths. They pulled their swords from the ground after they emerged and charged towards them. Hundreds were randomly emerging from the ground. Before the battle was over several thousand would emerge to face them.

Kardauma quickly turned into Cirrus and flew towards the undead warriors. He was on them before Andor and Balanath were out of spitting distance. As soon as he reformed by them most changed the direction of their charge and went towards him. He formed two long black swords in each hand and sliced those near him apart. He started flying at them as Cirrus and letting the momentum of his charge carry him forward. He was spinning around like a fan destroying any that were in front of him. He repeatedly did this until Andor and Balanath got into the midst of the horde. After that he thinned them out all around them and made sure to protect their backs. They needed to plow forward in order to avoid stepping on the mess of broken bones and weapons they were creating.

Neither Balanath or Andor used a shield. Balanath uses two one-handed swords like Kardauma and the dragons usually do. So he blocks with both swords. Even though the sword Andor uses is a two-handed sword he still holds it with one hand. He quickly switches it back and forth from one hand to the other to attack and block on both sides. He doesn't have to use his sword to block very often because his sword is huge. Add that to the length of his also huge arms and they rarely get close enough to strike him. Normally he only lets them get close enough so he can hit more of them all at once. They both fought with amazing speed and accuracy even without the Hi-Chi. Together they still couldn't bring down as many as Kardauma.

As the battle continued they grew further from the girls and me. I was walking around and wasn't paying attention. I stepped onto the dead soil. This caused many of the undead to start charging towards us.

Torva yelled, "They sensed you!"

I got off but it was too late. The count was around fifty running towards us. I couldn't believe I was so careless. My first thought of course was to protect the weak and vulnerable young ladies, that I'm absolutely certain could kick my ass if they wanted to.

"Get behind me!"

Torva asked as she drew her crossbow and cocked it, "Are you an idiot?"

She aimed her crossbow. The first bolt flew across the plain and hit the nearest one in the neck bone severing its head. It crashed to the ground. She was able to continually fire her crossbow. It had a lever on top that was raised and lowered to load short bolts. It had easily loaded clips that held ten bolts each. She was continually firing her crossbow at an amazingly fast rate. Once she was out of bolts she quickly loaded another clip and began firing again.

I had fired mine and shot one in the neck when she took her first shot. Then I had to quickly put my crossbow pointed down on the ground. There was a small lip on the bottom front of it to step on while I pulled back the string and loaded another bolt. I pride myself on being able to fire at least one bolt every five seconds. I couldn't come close to keeping up with Torva. If not for her I would have called for Kardauma sooner. I should have already called him. We had killed all but the last five and like an idiot I didn't reload. I assumed Torva had it because she was quickly picking them off. Then she started to reload and the last one was almost to us.

I yelled, "Kardauma!"

He flew towards us as Cirrus and had plenty of time to cut him in half and get back to the battle. Instead he flew right passed us. I didn't have time to contemplate why, the undead warrior was on us. It struck down at me with its sword but I blocked it with my crossbow. It grabbed me with its non-sword hand and slung me across the plain like I was a little girl's doll. As I flew through the air backwards I saw him grab Torva and lift her up off the ground by her collar. She started beating him in the head with her crossbow. She couldn't call on the Hi-Chi so she wasn't strong enough to do much damage. She threw down her crossbow and started kicking him in the ribs. She was taking out some ribs as he drew back his sword to remove her head.

All that happened in only a few moments while I was still soaring backwards through the air. I saw everything before I hit the ground. Kardauma had been shielding Eriana's magic. She had raised one hand ready to use her magic to help us. He had both his hands wrapped around her hand and I could see a glow inside of his hands. Eriana said he appeared so fast she attacked before she realized he was there. She stopped when he said please stop with pain in his eyes.

When I landed on the ground it knocked the breath from my body. I gasped for air as I immediately found my feet and rushed back to help Torva. As I ran towards them Kardauma turned into Cirrus again and travel towards her. He formed beside her with sword in hand as the undead was about to remove her head. Then he clumsily sliced the undead's arm off at the wrist. He barely got its wrist with the tip of his sword because he was falling towards the ground. Eriana messed him up. He collapsed to the ground as the undead drew back his arm to stab Torva in the face with the bone. I just knew she was going to Port away or Eriana would use her magic then it would be Kahli party time. Eriana had already raised up her hand again about to use her magic. I tried to run faster.

At the same moment Eriana raised her hand Torva yelled, "Arthos!"

A huge rock fist burst out of the ground and wrapped its fingers around the undead warrior crushing him in its grip. The force of the emerging hand sent Torva flying backwards through the air. She balled up and spun gymnastics style and gracefully landed on her feet. Another arm burst from the ground and a huge rock man pulled himself out of the ground. Kardauma rolled off the earth that came from underneath him when the arms burst through. He turned to Cirrus and disappeared. Arthos is a huge muscle bound man taller than a two-story house. He is always formed from the stone where he emerges. That time it was a reddish brown stone and he had brown crystals for eyes. He turned and looked down at Torva as she looked up at him with a smile.

He calmly turned towards the undead warriors. Some were still swarming on Andor and Balanath. Now most of them were charging towards Arthos because he had partially emerged from the dead soil. He knelt down on one knee and spread his right hand's fingers out very wide. When they were almost upon him he plunged his right arm into the ground up to his elbow. Over a thousand arms that looked like his burst up out of the ground underneath every undead warrior. The enormous hands crushed them all and for a moment it looked like a forest of arms across the plain. Arthos pulled his arm back out of the ground. All the hands retreated into the ground leaving only torn up soil behind. He stood and looked down at Torva again.

She smiled at him. "Thank you."

He nodded at her, then stood up and started running across the plain. The ground shook when his feet hit it. He suddenly broke into hundreds of small boulders and they rolled across the plain. I looked around. All the undead warriors were gone. We quickly regrouped, gathered our satchels and walked towards the door.

That was actually the first time Torva had ever summoned an Aaseem. If you are born from a sorcerer you will always be a White Sorcerer. Torva was the exception to that rule. Irena could sense magic in her, but knew it was not White Magic. They thought she was born an Earth Sorcerer and her powers were dormant just like a born White Sorcerer. Most children do not have their powers unlocked by the goddess until they are older and prove they are mature enough. Eriana was unique as well because her powers were active at birth. Apparently Torva was jealous that Eriana had her powers unlocked at birth and she didn't. She told me the night of her sixteenth birthday ball she gave up on trying to get her powers unlocked. That night she was so mad she told Avangar to kiss her ass, she didn't want her magic.

As we were walking Balanath said, "I take it he can't sense the Aaseems attacking his minions."

Kardauma told him, "Avangar's Aaseems are elemental. Even an Elemental Sorcerer could attack his minions without him knowing. He can only sense it if someone uses the Inaara against them."

Eriana asked Torva, "How did you know you could call him?"

"I'm not sure. His name began to echo through my mind in a woman's voice. I called and he came."

Eriana smiled, "Remember that voice. That was Avangar. Arthos, The Earth Guardian. You have found your magic sister, to summon the Aaseem. Can you sense my magic?"

"No, I'm not sure what that should feel like." She looked back behind us. "I know what it feels like to sense animals though. I can sense all the animals around us almost as far as I can see."

Eriana said, "Avangar says your connection to the animals will grow stronger."

"I hope not. If I can't tune this crap out its going to drive me crazy. Strike that, I can. I just got to put it out of my mind like the sounds I hear using the Hi-Chi."

The Hi-chi not only makes them stronger and able to Port. It also heightens all their senses. Kye once told me it makes her hear so good she could hear a mouse fart.

"She said you can't sense magic because you're not a sorcerer."

"Ask her what I am."

"You're a Summoner."

"That was a tremendous help. Can she tell me anything useful?"

"You became The Omega Summoner at birth. You have always had the ability to unlock your powers by simply summoning one of the Aaseems." She giggled.

Torva asked, "What's funny."

"She said it wasn't her fault your magic was not unlocked. So you can kiss her ass."

Torva looked at her and they laughed. We of course were not in on the inside joke.

Torva said, "So all these years I could have had a giant slap around everyone that pissed me off. All those butts were left un-kicked for no reason. Can I wield their powers like Malauv could?"

"That is a separate magic that will be unlocked when the time is right. She says we are traveling Tekarra's Favored Path. Everything must happen in its own due time."

Andor said, "This is not to be taken lightly. An Aaseem could easily destroy all three of them. None of us are even needed. Torva could summon them right now and they could walk out there and get Irena."

Kardauma said, "There is a reason Avangar has turned us all into arrows pointed at Kahli's head. They cannot defeat him alone."

Balanath said, "No matter what the case is, it looks like Torva will be joining the battle. Having her sic the Aaseems on them is the best plan."

"Great great! I can't wait to make them beat the hell out of Kahli."

She was grinning from ear to ear. She loved the thought of going into battle wielding Demigods as her swords.

We arrived at the door and Andor pulled on it. It of course was locked. There was a giant keyhole in the door. I took out a small mirror and reflected light inside. I moved the light around and could see it was made to be opened with a large skeleton key. I judged how long the teeth of the key should be. I took out a large flat metal rod shaped like a T. It had many holes down the center of the long end. I had metal rods of various sizes that I attached to the holes to make a large crude skeleton key. Only the oldest of doors still used this design but I was always prepared for any obstacle I may face. I stuck it into the keyhole and turned, the door unlocked. Andor grabbed the large handle on the door and pulled it open.

Balanath opened his satchel and took out something wrapped in cloth. The light of two Baka Torches could be seen when he removed the cloth. They were metal rods with Baka Crystals attached to the tops. These are clear quartz crystals that resonate from the planet's magnetic field. This causes them to give off a white light at all times. They are quite common on Mastadonia and most people use them to light their homes. He handed one to Andor and we entered the tunnel using the torches for light. The tunnel led downwards deeper into the planet and we were under the sea soon after we entered.

We walked for a brief time before we reached Infinity Cavern. It was over four stories tall and was so large you couldn't see where it ended in any direction. All over the ceiling were large clusters of Baka Crystals that lit up a huge area under them. They were sparsely located around the cavern and most areas were still cloaked in darkness. A few large almost transparent wolf-like beasts with thick shaggy hair around their necks roamed in and out of the light in the distance. They had short noses and their eyes were glowing blue like Kardauma's. In the darkness you could only see their eyes. There were hundreds of them out there. They were not the only strange creatures there. Exceptionally large insects could occasionally be seen creeping around. Large bats were hanging from the ceiling. The insects seemed to stay away from the areas lit up by the crystal clusters. When a big centipede crawled through the light of one we saw why. Several of the bats flew down to attack it, but only one lucky bat flew away with a meal.

When Torva saw the wolves she asked, "Are those ghost wolves some of Kahli's minions? I can't sense them like the other animals in here."

Kardauma said, "They are my people. They were turned into Nether Wolves while battling Kahli. They will be drawn to me. If they attack I will defend us."

There were a lot of blue eyes out there watching us. After walking for about two and a half hours two Nether Wolves started prowling towards us from our front. They began to growl and you could tell they were preparing to attack. Kardauma turned into Cirrus, moved out in front of us and reformed. As they charged he changed to Cirrus and traveled to them. He slung them into a large boulder nearby. He threw them so hard it looked as if it would have killed them. We barely heard a yelp because they burst into a cloud of Cirrus when they slammed into the boulder. The thick black mist expanded out then quickly came back together reforming into the beast. He did this so fast the second one fell on the first one. Then they both just ran away.

Eriana asked, "Kardauma, is it safe to use my magic?"

"I didn't want to suggest it until the distance was greater than I felt necessary. You should be able to safely move them in the shields now."

Balanath said, "We will let her rest first. We can take a break under that Baka Crystal."

It was a short distance in front of us. Once we were under it Andor handed his torch to Balanath and he put both of them back in his satchel. Torva reached into her satchel and pulled out an apple. I looked at the apple then gave her a wide-eyed enthusiastic smile. She smiled back and threw it to me.

"Thank you ma'am."

"You're very welcome kind sir." She got another one out.

Eriana told Kardauma, "I will shield us so you don't have to worry about your people."

She raised her right hand above her head and quickly lowered it. A large White Shield shaped like a dome appeared over us. Balanath took a thin blanket out of his satchel and spread it out for the girls to sit on. The rest of us just sat on the ground. Occasionally a Nether Wolf would try to attack us. They charged at us and slammed into the dome shield as if they thought they were going to go right through it. We occasionally heard thumps and yelps as we took our break.

When Kardauma completely disappears he is not invisible, he has entered The Nether Point. It is actually where his species was born.

Eriana asked Kardauma, "I was wondering if you could explain something about The Nether Point?"

"I will if the knowledge is mine."

"Can you see us from The Nether Point? You can obviously hear us."

"Yes. You are very blurry. It is much easier to hear you than see you."

"You shouldn't be able to do either from a different dimension. They are physically two separate places."

"That is true of a normal dimension, but the Nether Point is a dimension between the dimensions. It exists throughout the Megaverse and doesn't have a physical form. I can see into or enter almost any dimension from there. I have traveled this galaxy for many years. I have not yet found a dimension I cannot enter."

Torva asked with a mouth full of apple, "Why did your people come here?"

"We sensed the Zyamarian and Parthanians communication technology and came to investigate."

Eriana asked, "If you can escape into The Nether Point how was Kahli able to do this to your people?"

"He created a micro-blackhole. A Vrah can survive if we are consumed by a micro-blackhole because we possess a Blessing from Fate and Tekarra called Cry of the Nether Wolves. Normally we appear as Nether Wolves for only a few seconds after it disappears. They didn't change back because Avangar created a link with Kahli that keeps them in that form. I also believe she is the one that gave him the power to create the blackhole in the first place. I wasn't there, but she had to have given him the power."

Balanath said, "That's a troubling thought. Why would she do such a thing?"

"She did it to force me to kill Kahli. It wasn't much of a mystery since killing him will obviously break the link. I did not want to risk getting Andor killed so I have been reluctant to attack him. With this much help victory seems assured."

Eriana said, "She said killing Kahli is only part of the reason she had to keep you here. Soon it will all be made clear."

"I guess I can live with that answer. Since of course I have no choice, nor do my people."

Balanath said, "I have never heard of someone being able to create a blackhole. I'm certain Irena would have mentioned it if she knew a Dark Sorcerer could do that."

Kardauma said, "Normally it takes the power of a god. That is why I believe Avangar gave him the power." He looked at Eriana. "Will she confirm this?"

"I'm sorry. She can't tell me if she did or not. She will only say that Kahli does not know about the link."

Torva asked, "Aren't you angry she did that to your people?"

Kardauma calmly said, "Very much so. We were traveling to The Gathering Point to meet up with the other Vrah when we came here. It was only a little over a hundred light years away. I could have gone and returned with a few hundred years to spare. Instead of asking me to come back she made us prisoners. The thing that upsets me most is that I have missed The Gathering. I will have to worry and wonder if my family and friends are well for another fifty thousand years."

Torva asked, "Is there any way to contact them?"

"They are too many light years away. Kahli will die of old age and break the spell long before I could find any of them. My people can't be killed so the days we waste here do not matter. There will be more Gatherings. Even if we must wait another six hundred years for Kahli to die, it is only a short distraction."

Eriana asked, "How long do your people live?"

"We are immortal. We could potentially live forever in the safety of The Nether Point. However, in our human form or while we are still Cirrus in your dimensions we can be killed."

Torva asked, "How old are you?"

"I honestly do not know. We do not count our years. Compared to the time scale you use a rough estimate would be around six billion years old, but I have traveled at the speed of light many times. If you factor in time standing still for me, I would probably only be a few hundred thousand years old."

I said, "Just a few hundred thousand years old. I didn't realize you were just a baby."

It is strange how the curiosity of the young can reveal the unknown. I had known Kardauma most of my life. I never asked him any of these things. To me, he was just Kardauma. One of the beasts tried to attack us and bounced off the shield with a yelp. Kardauma looked at it. It gave him a menacing look and growled at him as it slowly walked away.

Balanath asked, "Eriana, are you ready?"

"Yes father." The dome disappeared.

Balanath said, "If we stay this course we should end up within a hundred miles of the exit. I can find the markers to show us which way to go when we reach the south east side of the cavern."

Kardauma said, "I can get you closer than that." He pointed at a Baka Crystal far off in the distance and said to Eriana. "See the crystal cluster there. If you keep a straight line of travel from this point to that crystal it will take us right to the exit."

"I can normally keep my direction maintained, but I have never moved people over two thousand miles before."

"I will appear in front of you and wave my arms if you need to stop and adjust your direction."

She encased everyone except Kardauma in White Shields. These transparent slightly glowing bubbles slowly lifted off the ground. Torva quickly took her blanket out of her satchel and spread it out. She laid down on her back with her hands behind her head.

"Keep it smooth sis. I'm going to take a nap."

Balanath sat down. "Take a seat until we are moving. Once we are moving you can get up and stretch your legs if you want."

Suddenly two rows of light orbs appeared in front of us for a great distance. As we traveled between the orbs they would disappear when we past them and another would appear at the front of the two lines. I had never traveled so fast in my life. Everyone had an easy time except Eriana. She had to sit in her shield at the front of the line and constantly watch where we were going. Torva and Andor took a nap. Balanath and I chose to watch where we were going as well. If we hit something at those speeds there would be a hell of a crash. I didn't want to miss it.

Eventually hordes of the bats began to fly through our path so she had to slow down to a crawl. They go hunt when it is dark. We traveled a few more hours then stopped for the night under a huge crystal cluster that lit up a large area.

Kardauma said, "My people should all be sleeping, but stay alert just in case." He looked at Andor. "Slice them through if you have to, you can't hurt them." Andor nodded. "I'll return before you lay down to sleep."

He turned to Cirrus and shot off into the darkness. After we ate, Andor, Balanath and I finished off what was left of my jug of whiskey.

While we were doing this I asked Torva, "May I see your crossbow?"

She handed it to me and I looked at it carefully. It had a lever on top that you raised and lowered to load the weapon. When it was raised it pulled back the string of the crossbow and locked it in place. When it was lowered it loaded a bolt to be fired.

"This is an ingenious design. I have never seen one like this."

Torva said, "Father designed it for me when I was four years old. It was too hard for me to load a normal crossbow until I got the Hi-Chi."

"It's an impressive weapon. I would love to have one like this. It would make me a lot more useful in a battle."

Torva stated, "It makes all archers better. The entire army trains with them just incase they ever have to use them in a battle."

Balanath told me, "I'll give you one when we get to Tarmakk. We have Illuma Rifles that would be better for you to use when we battle. It is just like firing a crossbow."

Andor said, "Abram once told me if one of the kings had a few of those rifles he could take all of Mastadonia."

Balanath said, "Their batteries can power two thousand shots at a two second burst. They can fire faster than that, but it uses a lot more power. You'll still have over a thousand shots. You can also carry a backpack that holds fifty batteries."

Torva asked me, "Do you see battles on Mastadonia often? I mean, you're not a warrior. You're just a thief. No offense."

"None taken. I love being just a thief and I prefer to keep it at just thieving. Andor is the one that gets me into battles when I help him with his mercenary missions. If I could have my rathers, I would rather see battles behind me as I ride my horse in the other direction."

Torva smiled, "Do you ever stop joking?"

"Not often. It was actually Andor and Kardauma that helped twist me into the fool you see before you. I have to joke with them otherwise I would die from boredom."

Andor said, "Boring is not always a bad thing. Without all your wise ass comments it would be boring, but much better somehow."

He and Torva chuckled. She only chuckled for a moment then a strange look came over her face as she looked at Andor. We knew she wasn't fond of him because he had abandoned Balanath when he was a baby. Something he was not proud of.

I said to Torva, "He is right you know. I am a wise ass. Andor is jealous because he lacks the intelligence to add wise to his title. He's just an ass."

Torva laughed and even Balanath chuckled at that. Eriana covered her mouth with her hand, but I could see the smile in her eyes.

Balanath said in a questioning tone, "So you became friends because you aid Andor with his mercenary missions?"

"I have actually known him and Kardauma since I was a small child. Father was a general under Andor's command when he fought for Argonn. They visited us occasionally over the years."

Eriana asked, "Where are your parents now?"

"They both passed away."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"Don't worry about it. It was a long time ago. I was only twelve when they died."

Torva asked, "Who raised you after they were gone?"

"My wits did my dear, my wits. After mother died I went to Harg. When I got there the warriors weren't there so I couldn't find any work. There is only one way for a street rat to survive when the warriors aren't there spending gold. That is to become a thief. I stole food to survive until I graduated up to stealing jewels. Then I had an encounter with Black Tear that made me want to become an Invisible. I was only with them for two years before I met Kye. We became partners and she took me to see Andor. That was the first time I had seen him since he told us father had died."

Torva seemed confused, "Kye? Are you talking about Andor's daughter Kye or some other Kye?"

"There was only one Kye as far as I know. The same Kye your father killed." I looked at Balanath. "No offence intended, I'm sure you didn't know she was your sister."

"I have known she was my sister since the day we met."

I know I couldn't hurt him, but at that moment I damn sure wanted to. I'm glad I held back my anger when he said that.

I simply stated in disbelief, "And you killed her anyway?"

It wasn't a subject I had intended to bring up. Now Kye did say she was going to Galdaya to kill her brother, but we didn't really believe her. We thought she was just joking. Balaam, the man that made the Galdayans slaves, is the king of Argonn's son. He was why his father King Bolek hired Kye to kill Balanath. They knew about Balanath and the fact that his rebel army was going to try to take back Galdaya. He knew he was Andor's son and possibly had the Hi-Chi like Kye. Andor or Kardauma are the only other people on Mastadonia that could have stood against him. Bolek knew they wouldn't do it, but he asked Kye and to all our surprises she said yes.

Balanath looked at me with a furrowed brow. "Are you saying you think I killed Kye?"

"Are you saying you didn't kill Kye?"

"Of course not."

"Is she in a prison?"

"No, she has owned and lived at Uulamakk Castle for most of the time she has been on Galdaya."

I was so pissed. "So she let us think she was dead while she was living it up in a god damned castle!"

Torva said confused again, "So you know Kye? And Andor knows her too?"

"Like I said, we became partners when I was fourteen. She has been helping Andor with missions since she was fifteen."

Eriana asked, "Why did you think father killed her?"

"Because that was the official word from Bolek. We didn't believe it at first, but she never came back to see Harrah and Black Tear so we had to believe it. Harrah even had a memorial service for her a few months after we heard about it."

Andor said, "This is wonderfully unexpected news. I can't believe she never came back to see Harrah. I can understand why she never came to see us. Mastadonia is a big continent and we could have been anywhere, but it's hard to believe she didn't at least go to Karnakk and tell Harrah she was alive."

Torva said, "She saw Harrah a few years after she came to Galdaya. Kye got her and Black Tear to help her win The Farvance War on the moon."

I said, "That pisses me off even more. I've seen Harrah and Black Tear dozens of times and they never told me she was alive. Why didn't they tell us she was alive?"

Balanath said, "Kye never mentioned to me that she had told them to keep it a secret. I'm surprised Andor knew her. She told us she had never met him. I don't know why she lied to us."

Eriana said, "Avangar says if Terus or Andor had known she was alive they would have sought her out. Harrah knew it would upset Tekarra's Favored Path. She told Kye not to mention she knew them to us for the same reason."

Torva said, "That favored path crap doesn't matter to me. I'm pissed at Kye. She should have at least told me she knew Andor."

Eriana said, "Every path is a web with many strands. It only takes one broken strand to destroy the entire web. Harrah and Kye did the right thing."

I said, "I would have definitely tried to find her if I had known she was alive. Like everyone else I thought it had simply gone terribly wrong when she went to kill Balanath."

Balanath said slightly confused, "To kill me? She came to save me."

Andor said, "That's not what she told us. I was there when Bolek gave her five hundred pounds of gold to do it. She was messing with me for a week about how she was going to kill my spoiled rotten royal son. Kardauma and I even tried to talk her out of it. I should have known she was up to something when she took the gold with her."

I looked at Balanath, "Balaam and all his soldiers said you and a man named Siius with the Hi-Chi attacked her from behind. He held her while you cut her throat."

Balanath said, "I saw her fighting Siius, but we never fought."

Eriana said, "Siius didn't hurt her when they fought. They sort of fell in love. He's her husband now."

I said, "Her husband? I didn't think she would ever get married. I guess the ice queen is actually human after all."

Eriana said, "They're not actually married, they just live together and plan to be together forever. We just tell everyone he's her husband because it's easier than explaining the truth."

Torva said, "I can't believe she went out of her way to make me hate Andor. Every time we talked about him she encouraged me to cuss him out when I met him." She looked at Andor. "I think she may have wanted me to cuss you out as a joke. The joke really doesn't matter. I was going to cuss you out anyway. I'm still pissed at you and her bitch mother for putting her in an orphanage."

Andor said, "She would not have been there if I had known she existed I assure you. Her mother never told anyone about her. Bolek would have gotten her out of there and probably put Basheera in prison for doing it."

I exclaimed, "Basheera! Are you saying what I think you're saying?! Basheera is Kye's mother?"

Andor looked a little ashamed. "Yes. She is her mother."

"Basheera. Oh thank you sweet mother of the gods. Revenge is mine. I'm going to give Kye so much hell she is going to kill me." I looked at Andor. "Is that why you turn all those women away? You really should try it again you know. I assure you, they are not all as scary as Basheera."

Torva asked, "Why do you say she's scary?"

"Because she is. She is loud, obnoxious and mean to everyone including Bolek. If you saw her you would think she is an elegant sophisticated lady, but five minutes after she opens that mouth you'll want to strangle her. Everyone does."

Torva said, "I can't believe Balaam is Kye's uncle. She promised to kill him for me someday."

I said, "I still can't believe Basheera is her mother. I also can't believe Andor is still alive. It surprises me Kye didn't kill him when she found out."

Andor stated, "She did threaten to if I ever told anyone."

Balanath asked, "Why would she do that?"

I replied, "Because she absolutely hates her. I was there the first time they met. She gave Kye a dirty look so she slapped the piss out of her right there in front of Kahli, Bolek and a throne room full of guards. No one even looked liked they wanted to stop her. Bolek looked like he was trying not to smile."

Eriana said, "That's terrible. How could he let someone do that to his daughter?"

"I think he wanted someone to do that for years. He loved Kye after that. He tried to get Andor to bring her just so Basheera would shut up for a while. If Kye came she would just sit there quietly trying not to make eye contact." I chuckled. "Normally Kye just calls her whore, even to her face. I only remember her calling her by her name one time. We were standing on the other side of the throne room. She said Basheera! When she looked Kye raised up her hand like she was going to slap her. She ducked, it was hilarious."

Torva said after a chuckle, "That is funny. Is she really a whore?"

"In her younger days she was quite promiscuous. She slept with King Nevera and King Kenet just to piss off Bolek. I'm sure their wives weren't too pleased about the well-publicized affairs either." I said to Andor. "Would you please explain to me how it is you came to sleep with Basheera of all people?"

Andor looked down with troubled eyes because it was forcing him to think about Balanath's mother, Princess Vaness Lexington. He only knew her as Amani because she was hiding her identity from Balaam in those days. She was the only member of the royal family that survived. She was actually the only known surviving Lexington on Galdaya. Balaam had all the Lexingtons killed so no one could lay claim to the throne. Men, women and children. That was the reason Kye promised to kill him for Torva. He was also responsible for Balanath's mother's death because he made it a law that Healers could not treat members of Andor's family. After a few moments of contemplation Andor finally spoke.

He slowly said, "After Amani lost her life I stayed drunk most of my waking hours. I found out Balaam was at Magna Castle while I was drinking in a village not far away. I was drunk and went crazy knowing the man that caused Amani's death was so close to me. After I got there I sat on the hallway floor to finish my jug of whiskey. I was so drunk at that point I probably wouldn't have been able to kill him anyway. Basheera came out of her room across the hall from me. She said I didn't look well and should lie down. She took me into her room." He glanced at Torva and Eriana for a moment as if he couldn't say what happened. I'm pretty sure they figured it out. "Apparently Basheera had told Balaam I was in her room. I woke in the morning to the sound of him running down the hall screaming for the guards. Then I heard the sound of ripping clothing. Basheera began crying and screaming rape at the top of her lungs. Bolek said he didn't care if I did it or not. He just wanted me to uphold my end of our deal. The deal is, as long as I never see Balaam again, I won't kill him."

Torva said to Andor, "Explain one thing to me. After you had sex with this loud obnoxious woman, it never occurred to you she might get pregnant. You do know how babies are made, don't you?"

"She disappeared for over a year. No one knew she had Kye or put her in the orphanage. I knew Kye for two years before Harrah told us. She made us both promise not to kill Basheera."

Torva said to Andor, "Given all this new information I'm starting to feel guilty about giving you hell. I'll tell you what. To make it up to you I'll at least slap her for making me hate you. I'm pretty sure that part wasn't necessary. She just thought it would be amusing when I cussed you out. Block her father, I'll run to my right after I do it." She and Andor smiled at each other.

Even though I couldn't believe he slept with Basheera, he was basically blackout drunk. As a terrible drinker myself, that I understand. I probably would have slept with a much younger Basheera myself under those conditions, but I still would have taken precautions. I was dumfounded by the fact that she was able to take Kye to an orphanage without anyone knowing. She was very well known. As far as I'm concerned she is a hideous human being for doing that. Not even prostitutes in the cities put their children in the orphanages to be slaves. That's not to say prostitutes have babies very often. They rarely have babies because those women are sterilized. I don't know how they do it, just that it must be very painful. I only know this because I have stolen from wealthy brothel owners many times. I have heard the women screaming while I quietly acquired my goods in nearby rooms.

Sterile or not, I would never use their services. Prostitutes are for the ugly men that can't get a woman to sleep with them for free. A good looking man like myself can find plenty of women. In the cities the young wealthy women love me because I get drunk and serenade them. None of those lovely creatures ever spent the night with me and were left wanting. Until the next morning of course when they were left wanting their missing jewelry. Even if I was out in the wider world I could still maintain my status as a Master Whore. Because of the structure of Mastadonian society the women wildly outnumber the men in the villages. There are way too many lonely farmer's daughters out there for me to ever go to a brothel. Kye was actually the one that introduced me to my very first farmer's daughter, so to speak. I was only fifteen years old when I took my first step into manhood. That is the legend I have spread, and I don't plan to mess with the legend.

It was my first time, so to remove the love sick puppy thing Kye told her father we were in the barn. She didn't want me to have the option of ever seeing the girl again. I still remember the farmer screaming that he was going to kill us both as we rode away on our horses. Was it a wise friend helping usher me into manhood, or Kye being a colossal ass? It was actually a little of both. My wise friend introduced me to the girl that would usher me into manhood, then the colossal ass stepped in and took advantage of my misfortune. I had to throw my pants at the farmer's face to blind him during my escape. She took the reins of my horse and dragged me through the village that bright sunny day. My upper body and legs were well tanned, but my white ass had rarely seen the light of day. The sun's reflection probably blinded the villagers. I didn't think Kye was ever going to stop laughing.

Eventually we all tried to sleep but it was a restless night for all. Kardauma returned and stood guard the entire night because he doesn't sleep. We woke early in the morning to the sounds of the giant bats returning from their hunt. We traveled half a day and finally came to the tunnel to the dragon's realm. Large boulders and stone rubble blocked it.

Andor said, "This doesn't look promising."

Eriana said, "The tunnel didn't collapse. That's a magical barrier created by Avangar."

Balanath asked, "Can you break the spell?"

"No, but Torva can summon Arthos. He is the master of earth and stone. He can let us travel through."

Balanath looked at Torva. She smiled and walked a short distance out in front of us. She held her hand in a symbolic form. She held three fingers strait up. She had her thumb pointing up as well with the tip of her thumb and pointing finger touching. The first two digits of her pointing finger were flat from the pressure she put on her thumb. This hand gesture is the Vitarka Mudra or symbol for Avangar. She held her hand in this form in front of her face and slightly lowered her head as if she was looking down.

"Arthos, I seek your assistance. Please show yourself."

One of the walls near us began to vibrate. This shook the entire cavern and tiny amounts of dust and debris fell from the ceiling. Suddenly tons of loose rock fell off the vibrating wall and Arthos emerged. He looked exactly as he did before, except he was made of the darker stones that made up Infinity Cavern's walls. His dark crystal eyes showed confusion as he walked over to Torva and looked down at her.

Torva said, "Please, I need your help. Can you clear this tunnel so we may pass?"

Arthos said in a thundering tone, "Yes child."

He then looked at the tunnel and raised one hand above his head with his fingers spread out.

He started making a long and deep almost singing sound, "Ommmmmmmmm."

As he made this sound the cavern shook. The rocks sealing the tunnel rumbled and began to rise. They formed a rough archway through the tunnel. As the dust cleared light could be seen far away at the other end.

Torva looked up at Arthos. "Thank you. Once again I'm in your debt."

Arthos got down on one knee near her. "Make haste and the tunnel will be sealed once you have passed."

After he spoke those words he turned to solid stone. He became a giant rough stone form of his former self. A monument that would remind all that traveled into Infinity Cavern that the earth god Arthos had been there.

We quickly made our way through the tunnel. It was a short distance to the exit. Once we had emerged there was a great rumbling sound and the tunnel collapsed sealing it once again. We came out on a small mountain and could see out across the horizon. The island was covered with tropical jungles. Not too far away we could see a great canyon. It was made of a light reddish stone and I could tell it was huge. It didn't take us long to get there. When we arrived the sun was halfway through its journey across the sky.

# Chapter 6 Tiamat

Kardauma

The journey through Infinity Cavern once again brought me face to face with the curse brought upon my people. For the gods to play games with our lives wasn't new to me. Even though this had happened many times it was a rare occurrence compared to the expanse of my years. It was actually hard for me to be angry about it. Avangar's intention was to help the mortals she loves, the mortals I pity. Their lives are so short and fragile. They enter the world with wonder in their hearts eager to learn and experience life. In a blink of an eye they are gone. They come together and long to be part of a group. I think this is because it is so terrifying for them to face their short existence alone. As an immortal being my sympathy for the mortals is great. The curse my people were living through was terrible. Yet not as terrible as knowing death is unavoidable. It reminds me of the poem The Merciless Night by Ad'hya Nishan.

All were born to see the light,

That shines for just one day,

All were born to watch the night,

Slowly march their way,

All were born to fear the night,

As time consumes their day,

All were born to see the night,

Take their light away,

Even though I felt certain they would live, each time I saw them in the form of a beast my heart wept. Their minds were consumed by the thoughts of a beast. They didn't seem to recognize me and would attack me if I approached them. Only Duvessa could sometimes see through the haze of being a beast when she heard my voice. It would have made me sad to lose any of my people, but I don't think that I could have bared losing Duvessa. I wouldn't want to face life without her. Andor is the strongest human I have ever met, in body, mind and soul. One would think nothing could make this great warrior break down and cry. I am the only one to ever see him brought to tears as he recalled his lost love. I have great sympathy for this man I will forever call my friend. I know the pain he feels from losing his wife is overwhelming. A pain that time can never erase, a pain I do not want to know.

The night we spent in the cavern I found Duvessa alone curled up under the light of a crystal. As I approached her cautiously she began to growl at me and back away.

I said in a desperate tone, "Duvessa. Please don't run away. It is I, Kardauma."

To hear my voice brought her memories out of the haze. She came to me like a submissive puppy crawling on her belly and whimpering. Then she laid her head on the ground and allowed me to pet her neck. There were tears in her eyes.

"I'm doing all I can to free you my love. We will be together soon."

The tears rolled down over the fur on her face as I petted her. Suddenly she snapped at me and my arm turned to Cirrus where she would have bitten it in two. She jumped to her feet growling viciously at me as she backed away. She turned and ran away into the darkness. That was one of my most successful attempts at communicating with her. It brought me a small amount of comfort to know she had known who I was, if only for a few moments. True comfort could only come when Kahli was dead and she stood beside me once more.

After we left the tunnel we traveled for a brief time through the thick tropical jungle. There were tall palm trees and the vegetation was huge with giant leaves that we could simply walk under. There was little vegetation on the ground because the larger plants blocked out the direct sunlight. We passed a huge metal chimney in the jungle that was taller than the trees. It was polished silver with a large square base and round chimney pipe. There was a large area of trees cleared out around it and the grass was well manicured.

Terus looked up at the smoke coming out. "I thought I smelled meat on a grill. Is that thing a smoke house?"

Balanath replied, "It's just a chimney for some of the homes and businesses on this side of the canyon."

Torva said, "They use electric for most things like light, heat and cooking side dishes. Not for meat though. Dragons like to have their meat cooked over a wood fire. That's all they use the chimneys for."

Terus said, "That explains why it smells like a smoke house."

At that point we had a nice large dragon trail to follow the rest of the way to the canyon. The trail led to a ramp down to the top walkway. There were flat treeless plains to the south and the jungle to the north. We could see the chimneys about half a mile away from the edge on the south side. They were at nearly even intervals all the way to Tarmakk Castle. Most had constant streams of smoke coming from them because of noontime meals.

The stone of the canyon was reddish brown with walls that went straight down from the edge. It was well over two miles to the bottom. There were huge metal walkways with no guard rails protruding from the walls of the canyon on each side. On the first walkway there were only entrances to the dragon's cave-like dwellings. Because of the tremendous size of the dragons these cave-like dwellings could be huge. In the center of Caldarra City there is a concert hall over ten stories high inside the canyon wall. Looking towards the other side we could see large double doorways on the first walkway with two huge windows on each side of them. The window trim and doors matched the color of the canyon walls. Looking down you could see many other walkways below. Those had doorways that led to homes and businesses. The home doorways were normally colored to blend. Doorways and windows of businesses could be any color. Many businesses had flashing neon lights or colorful signs to draw the eye. Even though we saw hundreds of Earthlore Dragons on the walkways their numbers were small. I could also tell because of their size and stomachs that almost all were pregnant dragons.

The Avangarian dragons were not only the most highly evolved dragons I had ever come across, they were also the largest. Earthlore Dragons are taller than a house on all fours and normally the females are only a little shorter than the males. They had evolved to rise to their hind legs and stand. Their front claws have five digits like a human's hands and can perform the most delicate of tasks. They paint, write, sculpt or do any other thing a human could do with their hands. On their backs we could see two crystal scars where their wings used to be attached to their bodies. There were no Skylore Dragons at that time, only Earthlore Dragons and younglings. They live through three stages of life, youngling, Skylore and Earthlore. They are considered younglings until about twenty years old. Skylore until around five hundred years when they lose their wings. They evolved to do that because at that age they are simply too large for their wings to lift them. Two crystal scars that match their skin color will be their only reminder of the days in which they could fly.

They were going through The Rebirth. All the elders except one had died at that point. They have a controlled population so they don't outgrow their food sources. The female Earthlore Dragons will have children every eighteen years until there is at least one youngling to replace each lost Elder. Skylore and Earthlore Dragons only exist at the same time for a few short years on Avangar. The younglings are the next generation of flying dragons.

Tarmakk Castle was many miles away and it wouldn't be a short journey there on foot. It looked as if someone had cut off the front of a massive castle and stuck it to the canyon wall. It was made of marble and stone that matched the color of the canyon like the doorways. Many large balconies and windows adorned the castle. Near the top there were two towers that rose above the canyon. On the ledge between the towers was a small wall to see over and take in the beauty. On the right side of the castle was a set of human sized stairs that led up to the overlook.

We could see less than fifty dragon younglings flying around the canyon on both sides. Like most dragons I have encountered they could breathe fire and were almost immune to heat. On one walkway a youngling was shooting flames from his mouth at another. The one had his back to the other and seemed to be very much enjoying the flames hitting his back. He pointed his head up with a blissful look as if he was getting his back scratched.

All the younglings had two swords in Cabras on their backs. A holster on their left arm held a large but short Illuma Rifle. None had on saddles and only The Elites were in the canyon that day. The Elites have a small medallion above the normal one on their Carcanets. It has a sky-blue crystal with the wings of a dragon on each side. There were only fifty ever allowed to join The Elites. Each year they had a competition and one could lose their place as an Elite. There were also five additional younglings that were permanent members. These younglings were part of Torva and Eriana's little band of friends that called themselves The Crimson Warriors. The younglings in the group consisted of Veelus, Hyla, Certi, Heady and Tooma. Those five at times would lead ten members of The Elites each. The Elites were the absolute best youngling warriors. The Crimson Warriors were the best of the best.

Most of the younglings were flying south because they were returning to the Hynar Training Grounds after their meal break. We walked towards the castle and the dragon younglings seemed to be paying us no attention. Most were far away from us. I could sense a Dark Energy moving throughout the canyon. I had sensed it the first time I explored Infinity Cavern but didn't investigate. I had more important matters to deal with at the time. The Dark Energy's movement stopped. I had a very strange feeling that I was being watched.

As we were walking a White Portal appeared high in the sky above the canyon. We were so far away I couldn't see the exit Portal near Tarmakk's entrance. The Crimson Warriors flew through and dived down to meet us.

Torva yelled with a big smile, "Hyla!"

Hyla is a strong minded purple dragon with beautiful purple eyes to match. The white dragon Certi that has bright blue eyes landed in front of Eriana and brought her face down close to hers.

Eriana said, "I'm so happy to see you."

Certi could tell by her tone that happy to see her didn't mean she was genuinely happy.

Certi said in her timid sounding voice, "Irena faced Kahli. They went to where they fought and found nothing there, but the Cerans told us she's alive."

Eriana said, "She is alive, but she was captured by Kahli."

Certi nervously said, "That is wonderful... I mean... that is not wonderful. That she is alive is wonderful. The Cerans told Ryoma that so she would stop crying. Only Ryoma and Nalya were convinced they knew what they were talking about. The rest of us have been worried sick."

She leaned down to Eriana and closed her eyes. Eriana hugged her neck. The others had landed too.

The one youngling that will always stand out is Prince Veelus. Only three red dragons had ever been born. They are called The Signa and are born to announce a new Epochon. This is a new age when Fate and Tekarra change the physical and magical laws of the universe in order to maintain the balance between the Erebus and the Inaara. All the Signas had been great leaders. I am certain Veelus will be no different when he becomes king.

Veelus asked Eriana, "How do you know she was captured? I thought she sent you to Aden before the battle even started."

"I have a Blessing called Avangar's Eyes that allows me to ask her things. She is the one that told me."

Veelus asked, "Did you hear all that mother?"

We could hear Ryoma's voice as if she was standing beside Veelus. He had his Communicator active so she could listen.

"Yes. Bring them home."

Heady and Tooma are green with green eyes as well. The other younglings that call themselves The Crimson Warriors are good leaders and seem very mature for their age. However, Heady and Tooma lean closer to immature and slightly eccentric.

Hyla said in her strong feminine voice to Heady and Tooma, "You two carry our new friends."

Balanath asked Hyla, "Are Siius and Kye searching for us?"

"No, they have some major problems to deal with. Kahli is attacking Galdaya. There are hordes of shadow beasts appearing all around the land. Only us and The Elites stayed here. Everyone else is there helping. It's keeping everyone busy."

Balanath asked, "Are you serious? The Rider Teams, the Earthlores, and my army too. All of them are being kept busy."

"There are just too many coming. Kye and them can't even rest. They have to keep fighting the pools."

"What do you mean?"

Veelus answered for her. "There are Dark Pools that look like Black Plasma appearing all over Galdaya. An endless supply of shadow beasts of all sorts are emerging from them. As soon as Siius or Kye get to one it turns into a massive shadow creature that can only be defeated by Siius and Kye with the help of Steen and Bekka. Even you and I would have to be together to defeat one."

"What are my warriors doing?"

Veelus replied, "Protecting the villages and cities. The Rider Teams and Earthlores rarely let any get to them. The Earthlores guard the outer perimeters and the younglings try to take them out from the air before they even get that far. Kye and Siius back track them to the pools and defeat the creatures as quickly as possible. Soon after they defeat a pool another will appear somewhere else on Galdaya."

Balanath said, "The defense plan seems solid. Obviously Kahli is trying to keep the largest part of our offensive from attacking him directly."

Veelus said, "That's what everyone else thinks too."

Ryoma's voice could be heard. "Please hurry son. I want to see my baby girls."

Veelus said, "Sorry mother. Come on everyone. Let's get them to the castle."

Balanath said to Veelus, "Let's show Terus how to mount up."

Veelus, Heady and Tooma laid down on their stomachs and put their left front leg back beside them palm up. This was to make a step to use when mounting them. Terus watched Balanath use Veelus's foot as a step to mount up and did the same. Andor Ported to Heady's neck.

Heady said as he stood up, "That was unnecessary."

Balanath told them, "Hang onto their Carcanets and press your heels into their necks as hard as you need to remain stable. You can't hurt them."

Certi had brought her tail around beside her and Eriana sat on it side saddle. She gently sat her on her back. They ride them right at the point where their necks meet their backs. They didn't have on saddles because they had no riders to train with. Balanath, Andor and Terus could straddle them like a horse even though they were larger than a horse's back in that area. Torva and Eriana were too small for this and were on their knees. You could see their boots eating into their skin to hold them on.

Terus said, "Now this is how a man should travel. I would definitely like to have a saddle though."

Veelus flew up through the Portal with Certi and Hyla close behind him. Andor and Terus looked at each other with confused faces, Heady and Tooma didn't move.

Terus asked, "Should I kick you?"

Tooma replied, "Yes. That's how I know you're ready to go."

Terus kicked him with his right heel.

Tooma said, "Harder than that. Use both feet so I know you mean it."

Terus kicked him several times with both heels as Hyla flew back down towards us.

Torva asked loudly, "What are you fools doing?!"

Hyla commanded, "Get them through that Portal right now."

Tooma said, "I was about to then my crazy ass rider started kicking me. You saw him doing it."

Terus said, "You told me to kick you."

Heady said, "Tooma never said that. That man just started kicking him for no reason."

Tooma said, "He is obviously not that bright. How hard is it to simply want to go to the castle?"

Dragons have empathic abilities and can sense what their rider wants them to do.

Hyla said in an angry tone, "They have not been trained to ride a dragon! If you two idiots don't get..." They flew past her before she could finish.

Heady looked back and yelled, "What are you waiting for Hyla! We need to get them to the castle!"

Hyla shook her head in frustration then looked at me. "Do you need a ride dark one?"

"No thank you."

I changed to Cirrus and flew towards the castle. As I was flying the feeling that I was being watched was overwhelming. Everyone that had already traveled through the Portal was in the castle. I reformed on the walkway near the main entrance into Tarmakk. Moments after I formed the Dark Energy started to move once more. Suddenly hundreds of small Cirrus beings about three feet tall began emerging from the walls of the canyon. They were small thin bodied little humanoids that looked as if they were wearing dresses that reached the ground. They had no hair, round glowing red eyes and almost featureless faces. Their nose was just a small bump and their lips were very thin. The males had more muscular looking bodies and the females had feminine hips and small breasts. When they were first seen on Galdaya they all looked the same. The females took the more feminine form after meeting human females for the first time. The males took a more muscular form to look more like human males.

They were an infant species of shadow beings made of Cirrus like me. They were not wearing dresses; this was just the form their lower bodies took. The bottom of their bodies moved along the ground as if they were sliding. The ones coming out on the side of the canyon I was on simply came towards me. Those on the other side of the canyon seemed to melt and pour over the edge of the cliff when they reached it. You could see black streaks shoot down the canyon wall. They almost instantly came back up on my side in the same manner and reformed. All of them gathered around me. There were so many the younglings didn't have a clear area to land.

Hyla shouted, "Get out of the way! We need to land!"

They ignored her as their small round mouths slowly opened as if they were in awe of me. Three of the females moved in front of me and seemed to meld together. They didn't form into a bigger version of their former selves. The first one just got taller. She was as tall as me with a very thin unstable body that swayed back and forth. She swayed towards me and put her left hand on my face to hold herself steady. Looking closely at my left eye she started pointing at my eye with her right hand's pointing finger. She brought her finger to my eye and touched it. I knew she was only curious. As soon as she touched my eye her eyes became the same color as mine. She stopped touching my eye and they fell apart and became three once more. After this all three had the same colored eyes as me.

They all began melding together with other Cerans for just a moment. The ones that already had blue eyes melded into the ones that still had red eyes. They became one for a moment and grew taller like the first three had. They had my eye color after they split apart. After that they quickly scurried away and disappeared into the walls of the canyon or doorways. The ones from the other side traveled back and disappeared into the walls on their own side. Everyone landed and dismounted.

Torva said, "I have never seen the Cerans come out to greet someone before. I don't think anyone has ever seen them meld together like that either."

Hyla said, "They apparently liked your eye color."

Andor and Terus dismounted.

Heady said, "Great to have you back Torva. We got to get to the training grounds or Hobbus is going to kill us. We are already late."

Tooma said, "We will see you later." They flew away.

Hyla said to Torva, "I will come back after training."

"Come to our room when you get here."

Certi looked at Eriana, "See you after training."

She smiled. "I'll see you then."

They flew away. We walked through a large corridor with an extremely high ceiling. It was over three stories high and wide enough for four Earthlore Dragons to walk through side by side.

As we walked Terus asked, "What were those little creatures?"

Torva replied, "They are Cerans. They are the servants of the dragons. They cook for them, clean their homes or whatever needs to be done. They have been with the dragons since the day of Ryoma's birth. No one knows where they came from."

Andor asked me, "Are you familiar with them?"

"I have never come across a species like them. They are an infant species born from the Erebus. They are made of Cirrus, but I don't think they can dismantle their molecules yet."

Torva asked, "Can you speak to them? They can only speak to us with a simple kind of sign language."

"No I cannot. They speak telepathically in a way I can only do in The Nether Point. They don't speak to you because the Dark Energy released would kill you."

Tarmakk Castle was highly lavished with marble floors and trim. The walls were the polished red stone the canyon is made of. There were a variety of paintings decorating the castle. I saw several of Ryoma, Irena, the girls and other dragons. There were many intricately carved pillars along the walls. The pillars had what looked like glowing crystal balls at the top that lit up the hall. I could sense that the power source was electricity. The most unique part of the interior is the relief carvings around each doorway. These sculptures are landscapes, buildings or anything else needed to tell a story. They are painted to look incredibly real. It is as if you are looking at a scene that is frozen in time. It amazes me that the huge dragons could create such small detailed art. I consider it to be one of the most unique art forms in our universe. I have seen thousands of worlds and never saw art that captivated my mind and imagination so completely. They are the only dragons in the galaxy I had ever met that did this.

The corridor led to a massive throne room. Several large corridors led out of the throne room on both sides of the room. In the center against the rear wall was three large platforms that seemed to be where a throne would sit in a normal castle. Sitting on the platforms were Queen Ryoma on the far-right and King Ryuu on the left. Veelus and Balanath were standing in front of Ryuu. Eriana was in front of Ryoma looking up at her talking. Before we got in the room Torva ran to Ryoma. She leaned down so she could hug her neck.

Ryoma Tanis

The news they had arrived spread quickly because of the communication devices in all the dragon's homes. After I created a Portal for the younglings they rushed outside to retrieve them. Ryuu and I left the Seminarium and went to the throne room to wait. After they arrived Balanath told us of Irena's capture by the Dark Sorcerers and that Torva had summoned Arthos. Eriana was telling me about her new Blessing when the others got there. Before they entered the room Torva ran to me. I lowered my head so she could hug my neck.

"You are safe now." As I raise back up I looked at Eriana. "Will she tell you the best way to get her back?"

"No ma'am. She can't tell me everything, but she will answer my questions if she can."

"Can she tell you how those fools were able to capture Irena. She should have used a Portal or escaped on Tetra." Eriana looked down with troubled eyes. "What's wrong sweetheart?" She just looked at me on the verge of crying.

Balanath said, "Kahli killed Tetra."

"Oh by the love of Tekarra no."

Ryuu asked Eriana dumbfounded, "How is that possible? Did she tell you how he did that? Three Dark Sorcerer shouldn't be able to kill Tetra. I've seen that dragon take out ten Dark Sorcerers all by herself."

Veelus added, "Not to mention Irena would have dismissed her if they were about to kill her. She wouldn't let someone kill Tetra."

Eriana said, "She can't tell me how he did it. It would destroy Tekarra's Favored Path. There are many questions she cannot answer."

I asked, "Will she tell you how he captured her? Does he have a Jaba Chamber?"

"She is in a Fate Crystal."

"A Fate Crystal? We must take that as a good sign. Only Tekarra herself could allow her to be protected by a Fate Crystal."

Balanath said, "I don't know what kind of games the gods are playing, but only Eriana can free her. Kahli wants her to come for Irena. He plans to..."

He looked down, he didn't have to speak the words. I could tell what the rest of his sentence was by the look in his eyes.

I said, "She will go to Kahli over my dead body."

Balanath said, "I feel the same way. I'm not happy about the Galdaya problem. I wanted her here surrounded by an army when we go to battle."

Ryuu asked, "How exactly did you get passed the entrance to the cavern? We assumed you would return that way. Ryoma has been going down there every thirty minutes to sense you and make a Portal."

Balanath replied, "Torva summoned Arthos to help us get through the tunnel."

I looked down at the girls. "Don't worry. Kahli has gone too far this time. I don't care if there are three of them. I don't care that they were able to kill Tetra either. I will go get Irena back."

They smiled and I could tell they were comforted by my words.

Their smiles quickly faded as Ryuu said, "You cannot face them. I forbid it."

"You forbid it? Did I miss the transformation that turned you into my master?"

Everyone was a little shocked by this. Balanath had been counting on my aid.

Ryuu said in a humble tone, "I understand how you feel my love, but you can barely move. You must think of our unborn child."

Balanath said, "The plan of attack will be to have Torva summon the Aaseems, but if they are harnessing Haalandor's Erebus we will need a White Sorcerer."

I said, "I will join you, I have no choice. It doesn't matter if I can move or not. I don't have to walk while I'm inside a White Shield."

Ryuu said, "Don't be foolish. You must think of our baby. You cannot face three Dark Sorcerers this close to birth. You will only be going to your death and taking our baby with you. I will gather any that can be spared from Galdaya. We will assist them in battle."

I said, "Who is being foolish now Ryuu. Even if you call back all those on Galdaya, what do you propose you will do? Stand on the ground waving your swords at them as they drop balls of ice on your head. Without my shields your efforts would be useless."

Eriana said, "I will go and shield them."

Balanath said, "You are not going. We know Kahli wants you. I am not going to bring you to him." She seemed disappointed.

I said, "Your father is right dear. I would never think of risking your life." My baby kicked reminding me that she wanted to see the world. "Just as I would never think of risking my baby's life." I looked at him with desperate eyes. "Ryuu, what are we going to do?"

Torva said, "We need to just let Eriana come and shield us. Remember The Trials of Vaalstrom. Believe me, she can do it."

When Torva was ten and Eriana nine, they and the other Crimson Warriors took on two years of trials for The Quest Master Vaalstrom. By the time the trials were completed they had seen more battles than all of the Galdayan warriors, even Balanath.

I said, "We cannot let her go. If Kahli wants her we might end up handing her to him."

Eriana exclaimed, "I'm tired of everyone treating me like I will shatter if the wind blows! I am not a child. I protected hundreds of people at one time during the trials. I can do it."

Balanath said loudly, "During the trials when death was upon you Vaalstrom gave Hobbus and Kye the power to save you. In this battle we are on our own."

Eriana looked like she was in between a scream and a cry. Andor had a look on his face as if this saddened him to see her like that. I am not sure I agreed with his method of trying to make her feel better.

He stepped forward and said firmly, "We need a White Sorcerer and Eriana is our only choice." He looked at Balanath. "You say she has more power than Abram. If something goes wrong she can use all that power to protect herself and Torva. We might as well go jump in the canyon right now if we don't train together. You should at least give her a chance to prove herself. I assure you Kardauma can mimic a whole horde of dark minions."

Torva said, "I can summon the Aaseem. They can create real minions for us to train against and we will definitely know if she can handle it."

Suddenly in a flash of white light Torva and Eriana disappeared.

Balanath exclaimed, "What happened!"

I said, "Darrius took them. They can't be in any danger if he has them. Darrius, can you hear me?"

An Interdimensional Comm Screen opened in front of me. It is a round magical image that hangs in mid-air. You must look at it from the front or the images are backwards. Everyone moved so they could see the images correctly. We could see the Acedian fairy King Darrius on his throne in the Royal Delegation Chamber at his capital city of Terra Zion. It is a stadium room where he greets humans or larger beings. He has dark blue eyes and short black hair. He wore a finely embroidered dark purple jacket suit and pants designed for that ceremony. Fairies do not wear crowns, that's a human invention.

The balcony his throne was on would be at face level for a human adult of normal height. The throne is a square stool made of gold with purple velvet cushions. It has no arm rests and his wings fit perfectly around the small stool-like seat. The back is large and designed to showcase his wings. Because he wasn't in flight we could see his butterfly-like wings clearly. The colorful patterns are different shades of blue and purple like all Acedian fairies. Each fairy has a pattern of their own like a human's fingerprint. Darrius's closest advisor was holding a tablet close to the screen on the other side. He stepped directly in front of the screen.

"For those of you that do not know me, my name is Theodore Vazling. I am the Royal Advisor and confidant to King Darrius Barthallion of Acedia. I apologize for the abrupt departure of your loved ones. I activated the Teleporter before I informed you of their invitation. I foolishly did not consider the fact they wear The Crystals of Destiny and do not need my magic to enter Acedia. I most humbly apologize for any stress this may have caused you."

Torva and Eriana wear The Crystals of Destiny on necklaces around their necks at all times. They are actually a gift Darrius gave Irena when she was ten years old for saving his youngest daughter's soul. Normally nothing can enter a fairy dimension with out a fairy ally's magic helping them. No dimension is beyond their reach when they wear the crystals around their necks.

Balanath said, "We accept your apology. I'm sure they are in good hands."

Theodore nodded at father and moved out of the way so we could see. Darrius looked at the screen addressing me.

"I see you are about to have your next little one."

"Yes, very soon. Where are the girls?"

"Because of the mishap they ended up in Tivia Jungle not too far away. I assure you they are in no danger. They are about to have an interesting encounter with our invader."

"Your invader?"

"A Nether Sprite. I plan to use her mischievous behavior to help guide them down Tekarra's Favored Path. I have three valuable favors built up with Fate. I will use one of those favors to interfere today."

Balanath asked, "May I ask why you wanted the girls to come to Acedia?"

"To be here for Middiana's Farewell Ceremony. She will be joining you in your quest to free Irena. The mishap was part of my interference. They just need to get Anzora's attention and everything will fall into place."

Middiana is his granddaughter that possesses the third Crystal of Destiny. She had helped them complete The Trials of Vaalstrom. I was overjoyed to know she would help them free Irena. She is a very powerful ally.

# Chapter 7 Acedia

Eriana Lexington

Acedia is a mysterious realm of amazing exotic beauty. It is a different dimension that exists in the same space as the continent of Partha. Their realm has three levels like the floors of a building. Partha stretches from our south Pole to the equator of the Eastern Hemisphere. Acedia has as much space as one third of our planet because of the massive size of Partha and the layers. It has all the normal weather terrains of an entire planet.

Even though the fairies can enter our world at will, we cannot be in their realm without a fairy ally's magic. This is a powerful defense that makes invasion almost impossible. We got there so suddenly because of a mishap. We ended up in Tivia Jungle only a few miles from the fairy's capital city Terra Zion. Far away we could see a mountain that looked as if someone had flattened one side halfway down and hung a magnificent giant painting. It was Terra Zion, a city of well over two million fairies. It's built inside the massive Mount Belvaria and encompasses the entire interior. The outside has beautiful architecture and the inside is a remarkable sight. The most amazing building is Darrius's castle on the peak of the mountain. I have only seen pictures of the insides of any of these buildings. They are designed to accommodate the fairies and you have to be fairy sized to enter. The average Acedian Fairy never grows to more than sixteen inches tall.

The part of the jungle we were in had giant palm trees sparsely scattered around the area. The many smaller trees covered with purple flowers dominated the landscape. The plants were vibrant colors of red, green, blue, purple and orange. Darrius is not just the king of the fairies, he is also a god that controls all elements of his dimension. The fairy kings control the light and the weather so the plants always get the perfect amount of light and rainfall. There was no sun despite the bright day. A few clouds could be seen floating across the flat sky. You can't fall off the edge of the world in Acedia, but you can come to the end of it. It ends at the coasts of Partha.

Torva looked at me with a confused look. "My crossbow and daggers are gone." She Ported a few feet forward. "Don't need them."

"We probably can't enter their realm with weapons." We both looked in the same direction. "What is that?"

We could hear something crashing through the jungle coming straight towards us.

Torva said, "It must be a predator that smells us. A big predator."

Suddenly a cat with blue fur and purple eyes ran in between us. It was a little larger than a common cat and had long skinny legs that were twice as long as a normal cat's legs. There was a large ball of blue fur on the tip of its stiff unbending tail. It was a strange looking creature.

Torva grabbed my arm. "It's just something chasing its prey. Let's get behind this tree."

"We should save the cat."

"They're wild animals Eriana. I doubt Darrius wants us messing with the food chain here."

"It looked more like a house cat than a wild animal. It might be someone's pet. We have to save it."

"You are so squishy."

The beast chasing it crashed into the tree we were by and shook it. Hundreds of purple flower pedals spun as they slowly floated to the ground. I had to brush off quite a few, Torva would Port them away. The beast was slightly bigger than a horse and looked like a giant dog with a flat nose and no tail. It had short fluffy green fur, bright green eyes and two large fangs protruding from its mouth. We could hear it growling through the vegetation, they had stopped directly in front of us.

Torva Ported about ten feet behind it. I ran and saw that they were in a large clearing that dead ended at a cliff. The cliff was a wall no higher than a house. It had large boulders lying around that had fell off its crumbling face. The cat ran into a spot that had some large rock piles on each side and it was cornered against the face of the cliff. It was repeatedly trying to climb the face and falling back down. It stopped and was standing on its hind legs with its back against the wall. It acted more like a terrified human than a cat.

Torva warned the beast. "Hey big boy! Leave the kitty cat alone!" The beast looked back at her for a moment then continued slowly moving in for the kill. "Okay, you asked for it."

She Ported towards the back of his head planning to knock it out with a Hi-Chi punch. She bounced off his dome-like White Shield that was over them and she ricocheted into the air. She Ported straight down once she had control of herself and ended up on top of the cliff. His shield worked like an Enchanted Shield. When Middy enchants our shields they seem to disappear, but are still there. They will only appear where a magic or physical attack tries to hit you. In those cases it only appears in a small area were the attack tries to hit you. The cats entire enchanted shield became visible when she hit it, not just where she hit it. For a moment we could see the huge milky white dome shield around them going into the cliff as the beast moved forward. Torva Ported back to where I was.

As it moved in for the kill the cat got down on all fours with its back arched. It started making horrible screeching sounds as it looked in different directions. It seemed like it was calling for help. The beast stopped for a moment and quickly turned around towards us. It looked around as if it expected something to come. When nothing came the beast turned towards the cat and began moving in for the kill once more. The cat acted scared and pushed up against the wall on its hind legs again.

"Get ready! I will try to destroy the shield."

I quickly raised my right hand and it began to glow white. Before I could try a cloud of Cirrus appeared in front of me. It formed into a solid black fairy-like woman about two feet tall. We knew right away it was Anzora. Middy had told us about her during the trials. The day we started the trials was the day we met Middy and she became a Crimson Warrior. She told us she had come to Avangar to hunt Gethin Fairies. That wasn't actually true and she wasn't actually supposed to have left the safety of the Acedian dimension. Anzora was the one that snuck Middy out of Acedia and created a fake Middy in the jungle to make Darrius think she was still there. If not for her The Sisters of Destiny would have never come together.

Anzora looks nothing like an Acedian Fairy except for the fact that she is small and has wings. She has large red eyes and thick shaggy black hair. She has red wings and short red horns on top of her head. Her tight sleeveless shirt and her pants were solid black and made of a Cirrus material like Kardauma's clothes. Her skin also had the same unworldly texture as Kardauma's skin. She brought her pointing finger up to her mouth as if she was telling me to be quiet. Then she disappeared in a cloud of Cirrus.

Since she stopped me from trying to help I assumed she was going to save the cat. I was starting to think she wasn't going to when I saw the beast draw back its right paw to strike the cat. Huge claws about a foot long shot out from its fuzzy paw. The cat closed its eyes, scrunched its face and tilted its head to the right waiting to get hit.

Anzora appeared in between them and wagged her right pointing finger at the beast. "Uh, uh, uh."

The uh, uh, uh, echoed around the area seven times. Any time she speaks there are always seven echoes in random places around her. The beast went into an instant panic. It started yelping like a beat puppy as it turned and franticly tried to get away. She pointed at it and brought her hand back and forth in an arch motion. It flew up in the air and was making a perfect arch motion as it slammed into the ground on one side of her then the other. We never saw its shield. She did this extremely fast and it looked as if it would have killed it. I could sense it wasn't harmed much. It was yelping like a puppy through the violent beating. She then made a slinging motion to the right and it flew through the air above the tree line. I caught the beast in a shield and lowered it into the jungle in the distance.

We both were watching me lower it into the jungle then we looked back. Anzora was lying on the cat's back with her legs crossed. She had both hands behind her head using the cats head for a pillow. She was smiling as she waved bye with her right hand. The cat's legs were shaking because she was too heavy for it. It was whining and crawling on its belly when it disappeared into the brush. She got off of it because we heard it stop whining and run away through the brush.

We never did ask Darrius why Torva's weapons were gone. The events happened so quickly we forgot all about it. We later found out I was right. Darrius filters out weapons and only lets your person enter his realm. He knew we were there and could have instantly brought us to him. He let us have our encounter with Anzora a little for interest, a lot for Tekarra's Favored Path.

We heard Theodore's voice coming from above us. "Welcome to Acedia. Please relax and you will be Teleported to the Farewell Ceremony for Middiana Barthallion."

There is no reason to relax, you don't feel anything. In a flash of light we were in a large building with stadium seats covered by a glass dome. Darrius was sitting on his throne and he stood when we appeared. The many fairies sitting in the stool like stadium seats quietly talked amongst themselves. They were expecting us and came to see the Farewell Ceremony. Some guards were standing on platforms by the doors wearing boots. They were the only ones in the room wearing normal footwear. Most fairies rarely wear boots or shoes because you don't need them when you fly everywhere. Only guards and shop keepers will wear them because they stand or walk on a floor to perform their duties. A fairy rarely sits down to have a talk with you. They prefer to hover in the air most of the time. They do wear elaborate anklets called a Jabaro. It has a normal anklet chain that can have other chains leading to jewel studded rings on all their toes. Many are made of jewel studded gold or silver mesh that wraps around their ankles and drapes beautifully over their feet. Those can drape down to their toes or be short and drape only around their ankles. Middy had told us the females only wear pants or shorts, never skirts or dresses. When I asked her why she answered with a question. Would you fly around above people with a dress on? That certainly made the reason clear.

When we arrived we could see father and the others on a Comm Screen to the right of Darrius's throne platform. I waved at them and father waved back.

Darrius spoke calmly and elegantly, "Welcome to Terra Zion, Torva and Eriana Lexington." He looked towards the screen. "I would also like to formally welcome the observers from Tarmakk Castle as well. My name is King Darrius Barthallion. It is my great honor to meet those I don't know, and my pleasure to see those that I do." He looked at us. "I offer my apologies for the error in your transportation. I found your encounter with the Merridew Stalker and..." He sighed as he looked down slowly shaking his head. "Anzora's unfortunate pet Femora Cat quite interesting. Torva was the voice of reason." He looked at me. "But because of your influence she was very easily convinced to forgo reason for compassion. Fortunately Anzora was in a good mood or..."

Torva and I interrupted as we shouted at the same time, "Middy!"

Middy flew into the room at an incredible speed. She looked so pretty and had of course grown in the four years we were apart. She must have been over eleven inches tall. She has blue eyes like Darrius. Her dark brown hair was held up by a magnificent silver hair brooch studded with white and purple diamonds shaped like flowers. It wrapped completely around the bun and had colorful crystal butterflies feeding on the flowers or flying around them. Her jacket and pants were designed to match Darrius's clothes. In true Middy fashion her jacket and shirt only reached halfway to her waist. Middy likes to show off her belly button as much as Kye likes to show off her cleavage. When she was close enough we could see the raised embroidered patterns on Middy's outfit were animals. Those on Darrius's were merely designs. Her Jabaro was silver mesh that attached to her toes and had a huge purple diamond in the center of her foot. She flew up and stopped in front of us with an angry look on her face. She looked back and forth from Torva to me. We of course still had big smiles on our faces. The fairies there were about to witness something that can happen a lot when The Crimson Warriors get together. We tend to get lost in our own little world.

She said in a loud angry tone, "Sisters of Destiny my ass! Where have you been for the last four years?! Why didn't you come and see me?"

Torva said, "We had no way to come and see you. Why didn't you come see us?"

"Because Paw-paw wouldn't send me and he put a spell on me so I couldn't sneak out anymore. All you had to do was get Vaalstrom to send you here."

After the trials ended Vaalstrom said he would send us to Acedia to visit Middy if we came to his temple on The Contura Islands.

I said, "Middy, mother takes us to the cave four or five times a year. The Azvars pray to Vaalstrom but he never appears."

"Your mother tries to help you? So you told people about the trials and they believed you."

Torva said, "Of course they believed us."

"They didn't believe me. That's why I needed you to come see me. They've been calling me a liar for four stinking years. Paw-paw told these idiots as far as he knew it didn't happen. Nobody here knew it happened! He used word play on these idiots so they would think I was lying. I don't care what any of these fools think." She crossed her arms and commanded. "Now tell them I was telling the truth right now!"

Torva looked around and said loudly, "To whom it may concern! Middy did complete The Trials of Vaalstrom with us! Almost everything she told you is true!"

"Almost everything! Why did you say it like that?!"

Torva said with a smile, "Because I know you exaggerated."

"This is not a laughing matter Torva. They want a reason to think I'm a liar. You probably got famous and I definitely got crap."

Torva said, "You got famous on Avangar too. They all know you completed the trials with us."

Suddenly a cloud of Cirrus appeared on Middy's right side and formed into Anzora.

She whispered towards her ear, "You were a shunned hero."

The whisper echoed around the room seven times. She turned to Cirrus and disappeared. An angry look had come over Middy's face as Anzora spoke those words. She flew close to Torva's face.

"So what! Were they here to give me the hero worship I deserve?! No!"

Anzora appeared on her left and Darrius said firm and loudly, "That is enough Anzora."

She whispered towards her ear, "Did they glorify the valiant leader?" She disappeared and her voice echoed on.

Middy became angrier. "Did you at least make sure they knew I was the leader?!"

I asked, "Middy, what is she doing to you?" She looked at me with angry eyes.

Anzora appeared again and Darrius said firmly, "Anzora. Do not do it again."

She held up both hands by her head and said in a weird sarcastic tone, "Sorry your majesty." As those words echoed around the room she quickly whispered towards Middy. "Take her crystal." Then disappeared.

Middy did it so fast I barely had time to think. She flew over and grabbed the chains of my necklace on both sides with her hands. She flew backwards feeding the chains through both hands until my Crystal of Destiny was in her hands. The moment she got it in her hands she yanked and the chain snapped.

I was high in the air far above an unfamiliar landscape. I could see rivers and mountains below me. Far off in the distance I could see several cities covered with glass domes. Darrius appeared near me and snapped his fingers before I even had time to start falling. It was an odd feeling to hang there. It felt as if I was floating in water but not sinking. So much so that for a few moments I was instinctively holding my arms out to my sides and kicking my feet.

Darrius flew closer. "I apologize for Anzora's little mind game she played with Middy. I let it happen for a reason." A serious look came over his face. "Do not be alarmed. You are in no danger." I looked up to see that there were hundreds of small white ships coming at us. "I just need to catch them in the act."

When they were close enough he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. All the ships were frozen in the sky. They were one-man Parthanian war vessels that were triangular with one small window in the front. I could see people inside but they wore helmets that hid their faces. Many had fired their laser weapons and the thick red beams of light stood frozen in the sky pointed directly at me. The laser pulses from their weapons travel at the speed of light. If Darrius had acted a split second later I would have been killed.

Darrius had a serious look on his face. He flew up into the air and snapped his right hand's fingers again. A flash of bright white light burst out of all the small ships and the laser pulses frozen in the air. They all disappeared. At that same moment in a flash of white light a large man with long silver white hair and beard appeared in the sky. There were also so many flashes of light around the domed cities it lit up the land. Those flashes of light were millions of people Darrius had Teleported to the outsides of the cities. He did this because they were in a traveling vessel of some sort at that moment.

The man had the same colored eyes and hair as Terus. They looked a lot alike to me. His pale skin was the only major difference in their look. He wore very elegant dark blue pants and a jacket made of a flimsy material that looked as if it would be better suited for women's clothes. A glowing solid white metal plate covered his mouth. His hands and feet were bound with shackles made of the same glowing white metal. At that moment square images of Darrius's face could be seen covering the domes in the distance. I could see two on our side on the closest city. They were so big I could make out his face from miles away. The image would switch back and forth from a close up of his face to a close up of Artemus's face, depending on who was talking.

Darrius said in an angry tone, "Artemus, must I end your life and lose Fate's favor to stop your endless parade of atrocities? Explain to me why you tried to murder Irena's daughter."

Darrius snapped his fingers and the white metal plate over his mouth disappeared.

Artemus replied in an angry tone, "The treaty states that any Haalandorian that enters Partha outside the Foreign Affairs Building will be executed. The sensor scan showed she was a full blooded Haalandorian. If she is Irena's daughter, then it was obviously a sensor malfunction."

"A sensor malfunction? Well that certainly explains why you would do such a thing. That and of course the fact that you possess as much compassion as a rock. I suppose I should apologize. I never considered a sensor malfunction before I did that."

Artemus couldn't see the thousands of people Teleported to the outsides of the cities because his back was to them. If he had, just like me, he still wouldn't have known why.

"What did you do?"

"Well, I assumed you were trying to murderer her knowing full well who she was. Sensor malfunction or not, she would in fact be dead if I had not been here to save her. With that in mind, surely you can understand why I acted a little impulsively."

"What did you do?!"

"I accidentally sent every vehicle capable of flight on Farvance and here fifteen days out into space."

"Accidentally bring them back."

"I never considered the possibility of a simple sensor malfunction. So, once again I offer you my apologies."

Artemus looked like he wanted to rip his head off. "Apology accepted. Now bring them back."

"I don't think I can. Given the rotation of the planet and the wind and all. I'm afraid it is just too many calculations for me to process outside of Acedia. You know I'm not omnipotent out here."

"You brought every city on Northern Partha here with no trouble at all. Thanatos was years away, not a mere fifteen days. Bring my damn vessels back!"

"I will certainly try my best. If I don't succeed, just bring them back remotely."

"Damn y...!"

Darrius snapped his fingers. In a burst of light Artemus disappeared and the giant images on the domes did as well. Darrius's mood transformed into a jovial one. He was laughing under his breath with a smile on his face.

"Nothing puts me in good humor like tormenting Artemus. It is much less than he deserves."

"Are you going to bring them back?"

"No my dear. I am the one that made their sensors think you were a Haalandorian and hid the fact that I was with you. It was all a little farce to help you walk in the right direction." He smiled. "Let us return."

Darrius was the one that saved the Parthanians when Kaygun killed the goddess Thanatos and became a Dark God. After he brought them to Avangar Artemus tried to take over the entire planet. The Zyamarians stepped in and it started The Zyamarian Parthanian War. I think he felt responsible for the deaths. Because of the war he does not like Artemus at all.

Darrius snapped his fingers and we were back. The crystal was back around my neck when I got there. Strange upbeat music could be heard along with Anzora's laughter that was echoing around the room endlessly. Torva quickly walked over to me.

She asked in a concerned tone, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I will tell you of it later."

Anzora was over by the screen everyone at Tarmakk was watching us on. She was making poor Theodore do a weird dance while she was rolling on the floor laughing at him. Since she wasn't flying we could see that her red wings looked like a bat's wings. Darrius looked at them as he flew over to his throne then looked upwards. A cloud of Cirrus appeared above them near the glass of the dome. It formed into another Anzora.

Her voice echoed around the room, "I am the real Anzora."

A confused look came over Anzora's face as she sent a, "Huh," echoing around the room.

The music stopped when she said that. Theodore quit dancing and straightened out his jacket. Anzora quickly flew up to the imposter. She disappeared in her fake cloud of Cirrus then reappeared outside the dome. Anzora disappeared as Cirrus and appeared by her outside. Darrius made his Anzora disappear then reappear further away. He was luring her away from us. The first time Anzora reappeared by the imposter outside the dome nothing unusual happened. When she appeared near the imposter far away in the sky a black rope shot out of the side of her body. It retrieved her pet Femora Cat and brought it to her extremely fast screeching in fear. When Anzora disappeared the cat would fall from the sky screaming. Until she reappeared by the imposter and her rope violently dragged it to her once more. This odd ballet continued until they were out of sight. He lured her to an area where she could find other things to amuse herself with.

When we returned there was a beautiful fairy woman standing by Darrius's throne. She had green eyes and long blonde hair that hung down past her waist. She had on an outfit like Darrius's as well. The top was more feminine with lace arms instead of the solid sleeves like Darrius's outfit. It looked like a long dress that was snug around her legs and reached her feet. She would have to walk before you could see that it was pants. The woman's name was Helene and she was Middy's mother. Middy was hovering beside her. Darrius flew over and his wings stopped flapping as he stood in front of the throne.

He said, "I apologize to all for my granddaughter's actions. Anzora was playing a mind game with her and made her lose control of her sensibilities. Eriana, I hope you were not in any way traumatized by being attacked by the Parthanians."

"I'm fine thank you."

Darrius smiled at me and everyone was shocked by this statement.

Helene asked in a concerned tone, "Father what happened?"

"The Parthanian's technology recognized her as a Haalandorian and Artemus had his people try to kill her."

Middy quickly flew over to me with a mad look on her face. "Are you alright? It wasn't my fault. Anzora made me do that. I can't believe Artemus tried to kill you. That's it! I have never liked those Parthanians anyway. I damn sure don't like Artemus. I will go to Partha and teach him a lesson."

She started ranting while I tried to hear Darrius through it.

Darrius was saying, "This is actually a blessing."

("I will make Artemis bend over and have Maggy spank him with a giant paddle.")

"I have punished Artemus by removing his war machine for fifteen days."

("Not a normal spanking mind you. Like V says. Bang! Zoom! Straight to the moon!")

"This will keep him from investigating when their sensors detect the coming battles. They will not be able to interfere."

("I will make Mana Monkeys attack him.")

"Your tasks are great so I will keep you no longer."

("Then I will dip him in boiling water to clean off the poop.)

"It is now time (Then I will make him) for Middiana Barthallion (Bow down...) to face her true destiny."

The look on her face said she had heard something of interest.

She asked as she quickly flew over to Darrius, "Did you just say my true destiny? We all know what that is. So I am to be queen right when you're sending me off to save the world? I guess it has to be done. Acedia will definitely reach new heights under my leadership."

Darrius said, "You are not going to be queen. You are simply going to take your place as one of Tekarra's chosen ones and help them free Irena. You must take this seriously Middy. All our lives are in your hands. I expect you to make me proud."

Middy's eyes lit up and a big smile came over her face. "I will make you proud Paw-paw." She flew up into the air and threw up her right hand. She said in a loud voice as if she was introducing a play. "Fear not simple-minded fairies of Acedia! For I, The Great Middiana Barthallion will lead them to victory and thus insure you can toil on in obscurity!"

Darrius said, "That's enough Middy."

She flew over and hovered by her mother. "Sorry Paw-paw."

The crowd could be heard whispering as they looked around at each other with worried faces. I got the impression they were not comfortable thinking Middy held their lives in her hands.

Darrius said, "You will not face your destinies without Tekarra's help. To aid you in the defeat of the Dark Sorcerers or any other dark force you may encounter. You must travel to the dragon fortress Nalamakk and find The First Crystal Prophecy. There are three prophecies that will help you understand your destinies and guide you down Tekarra's Favored Path. You will find the first at Nalamakk. You will need to travel to the realms of the goddesses Haalandor and Avangar to get the other two. I will now send you back."

Middy flew up into the air again and said excitedly, "I'm off to save the world!"

She quickly flew down and gave Helene a kiss on her cheek.

Helene said in a worried tone, "I love you Middiana. Please be careful."

Middy smiled at her and said in an overly confident tone, "I love you as well. You can put your worries aside dear mother, for I am destined for greatness." She then flew over to Darrius and kissed him on the cheek. "I will be the hero once again Paw-paw."

Middy flew over by us. She hovered in the air with her arms crossed and a proud look on her face. I was so happy she would be with us again that I forgot about mother's terrible situation for a few moments. Darrius reminded me as he began addressing us loudly so all could hear.

"Middiana Barthallion will aid you in your quest to free Irena Casteel. Seek the prophecy at Nalamakk and all your destinies will be revealed."

I said as I bowed slightly, "Thank you your majesty. We are grateful for your help."

Torva added as she bowed, "Yes. We offer our most heartfelt gratitude."

Darrius said with a smile, "You are both very gracious. All the kingdom of Acedia wishes you good travels."

We said, "Thank you your majesty."

He smiled and snapped his fingers. In a flash of light we were all three in Tarmakk's throne room. Middy was no longer wearing the ceremonial outfit and her hair was down to her shoulders. She had on a skintight dark blue half shirt and pants. They were beautifully embroidered with designs of various kinds of birds from Acedia. Father quickly walked towards Torva and me. Middy streaked past him to Veelus.

"What's up big red?"

"Not much until lately. You look good."

Middy smiled, "Thank you kind sir." She looked him up and down. "It doesn't look like you've been missing any meals. You look a little plump."

"They feed me well here."

"Well, you had better get into shape. You know I will not allow slothfulness."

While they were talking Ryuu and Ryoma had entered the room. Ryuu walked over near Veelus and Ryoma was slowly following him. They had been in the Comm Room connected to the throne room. They were getting briefed on the situation on Galdaya. Ryoma was actually watching what was happening in the throne room from the doorway the whole time. Middy caught sight of them out of the corner of her eye. She gave them a double look then flew over to them.

She said in an astounded tone, "You are huge. I thought Hobbus was too big, but you are huge. You must spend most of your day eating."

Ryoma calmly said, "It is nice to meet you. We have heard a lot about you."

"Of course you have. I'm sure your son has told you of my great deeds. I'll have you know it wasn't easy keeping him alive. He tends to jump first then look." She's the one that does that.

Ryuu said, "We are grateful you were there to keep him safe."

Father asked them, "What of Galdaya's shadow beast problem?"

Ryoma said, "The pools keep appearing and everyone is working in shifts. They cannot even come home to rest."

Ryuu added, "There is no doubt the Dark Sorcerers are doing this to keep Kye's family from helping you. Only they can banish the pools. They as we have all agreed, don't want our armies there either."

I finally wondered if it actually was Kahli doing it. "It is Avangar doing it all." Confused looks all around.

Ryoma asked, "Why?"

"There are two reasons. If they help us it will shatter the path. They also need to weaken Avangar's Erebus for us to defeat Kahli. None of us should speak of this to Kye. She will try to help us. Avangar has seen this."

Father said, "Then no one is to speak of it to Kye. Torva that means you."

A what did I do look came over her face.

Ryuu said, "Ask her if I should gather some warriors and help against the sorcerers."

"That would shatter the path as well. She said decide on a battle plan after you see the prophecy."

Ryoma asked, "Will she tell you if they are coming here? If Kahli wants you this would be the first place he would look."

Father said, "You're right. Have all the mothers and weak ones stay close to the escape hatches at all times during our journey. They may attack while we are going to Nalamakk."

Ryuu said, "I will have The Elites here at the ready. If something happens Ryoma can send them to where they are needed."

No one was paying any attention to the Ceran that was walking around sweeping the floor with a broom formed from his own body. He walked up and tugged on father's pants.

He looked down at him. "May I help you?"

The Ceran had a serious look in his eyes and shook his head no at father.

Ryoma asked, "What is it Teeny?"

He pointed at Ryoma with the same serious look. He then pounded on his chest three times. The broom disappeared as he raised both his hands above his head. He waved his arms around franticly with a wild look in his eyes. He pointed at the ground while shaking his head no. He pointed at Ryoma then brought his hands together in front of him like he was rocking a baby in his arms. Then he pounded three times on his chest and shook his head yes. The broom reappeared in his hand and he simply started sweeping the floor again. Everyone looked at Ryoma.

She said in a slightly confused tone, "What he basically said was the crazy Dark Sorcerers can't come here. They will protect me and my baby."

Kardauma commented, "It would not be wise for them to come here if the Cerans do not want them here. They can easily kill a Dark Sorcerer by simply speaking to them."

Ryuu asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"They are as the Vrah are in The Nether Point. When we speak there is no way for sound to travel. We must release Dark Energy from our spirits to be heard. They have somehow brought this trait out of The Nether Point. It would kill any mortal being if they spoke to you because the Dark Energy would be released and, well, basically take your head out of existence. Also anything in a one foot radius would be disintegrated as well. Do not worry. They know this and would never speak to us with their telepathy."

Ryuu said, "I think we should consider asking them to leave."

Ryoma said, "Don't be ridiculous."

Teeny had visibly wide eyes when he heard Ryuu say that. Then he did something I rarely see them do. He seemed to melt and disappear into the floor. They normally walk into walls when they disappear to simulate walking through doors like we do.

Ryuu asked, "Would you like to see Veelus's head explode? This is not something to simply be put aside. They could kill someone. That's what the man that kidnapped Eriana meant when he said they would kill the little girl too. That proves they would use it on humans. Who's to say they wouldn't use it on dragons too?"

Ryoma said, "Now you are being more than ridiculous."

"I'm coming! I'm coming!"

It was Nalya out in the hall. When we could finally see her Sweetie and Shy Boy were pulling on her arms with almost scared looks on their faces. Teeny and a horde of Cerans were following them. As soon as she was in the room they let go of her arms. The ones behind her flooded into the room with angry looks on their faces. They were all pointing at Ryuu like they were telling on him. Nalya had on an apron that was dark blue and covered with flour. She had on a white shirt and her dark red hair was up in a bun. At sixty-two she was starting to show her age with the streaks of gray in her hair.

She looked at us with her bright green eyes and sighed. "Get over here." Torva and I walked over to her and hugged her. "I love you."

We said, "I love you too."

"Apparently I don't matter. They didn't even tell me you were back."

Ryoma said, "I'm sorry Nalya. You're not the only one I haven't told. I just got caught up in what was happening. There are a few other people I need to tell." She started slowly walking towards the Comm Room.

Nalya looked at father with angry eyes. "Balanath! Why the hell weren't you there helping your wife?!"

"She sent us to Aden and didn't give me a choice about it. Believe me I would have rather stayed and had her send the girls here. I could have had both armies there and none of this would have happened."

I said, "Avangar can speak to me now. She told me we are traveling Tekarra's Favored Path. That's why Kahli took her."

Nalya said displeased and frustrated, "Holy hopping horse shit. More god damned god games. How many god damned god games does this family have to endure? Ain't there other families out there they can mess with?"

Father said, "I couldn't agree more."

I said, "She can't be hurt because she is in a Fate Crystal. We just need to rescue her."

"That's what my babies meant by she's alive in a box. We thought she was captured in a Jaba Chamber." Sweetie pulled on her arm. "Don't Sweetie this is important."

Torva said, "She wants you to talk to Ryuu. He wants the Cerans to leave Tiamat."

She broke our embrace and turned towards him. "Ryuu, have you lost your mind?"

A Ravenrain is basically the equivalent of a Dark Sorcerer that uses The Dark Arts instead of a goddess's magic. They too can only be contained by the technology in a Jaba Chamber. One had came to Eeden Castle once and kidnapped me. He was able to do this because when he appeared he had a knife to a little girl's throat. When the Cerans appeared to stop him he told them if they killed him they would kill the little girl too. He was on his knees behind her with his head very close to the girl's head.

"I told you all that it had to be some kind of explosive magic since the Ravenrain said it would kill the girl too. It's worse than I thought. They can make our heads disintegrate in some kind of explosion if they simply talk to us."

Nalya said dismissively, "Oh, don't be a fool. It was just some magic they were going to use on him." She put her hands on her hips and looked down. "Is what he said true Sweetie?"

Kardauma said, "It is true. They..."

She furrowed her brow at him, "I assume you're the tall Ceran that made my babies change their eyes. Well just shut up tall Ceran. I didn't ask you."

She looked back down at Sweetie. She and all the Cerans looked down like they were in trouble. She shook her head yes.

She looked at Ryuu and said firmly, "So what. That's the same thing as magic. Ryoma can make someone's head explode too. Should we ask her to leave?"

Ryoma said, "I think she just closed the case. We are not asking them to leave."

"She did not close the case. They act like children, and not particularly smart children." All the Cerans got wide eyes and mouths when they heard that. Then they looked angrily at him. "Are you telling me I should not give in to common sense and worry about it?"

Ryoma exclaimed, "They've been with us for over five hundred years! Me anyway. If they couldn't control it we would all be dead. Like Kardauma said. They will not talk to us."

Nalya said, "Quit scaring my babies Ryuu. You ain't sending them anywhere. If you keep it up I ain't ever feeding you again. Do I have to feed him Ryoma?"

"No Ma'am. Mazz's house is a Portal away and she always has plenty."

Ryuu said, "All I said was we should think about it. Everyone seems to be going out of their way to take it the wrong way." He looked at Nalya. "Just go do your job."

A surprised shock look came over Nalya's face because she remembered her job. "My first batch of bread!" She turned towards the door and started quickly walking out. "We thought about it Ryuu. My babies ain't going anywhere. Come on. We got work to do."

As the Cerans followed her out of the room they looked at Ryuu, crossed their arms and smugly looked up into the air.

We could hear Nalya shout from the hall. "If you made me burn my bread Ryuu don't even come to dinner tonight!"

It did feel good to be home where some things seem to never change. She didn't burn the bread, but she still told him she did. Ryoma had to make him a Portal to his sister's home so he could eat there that night. That was a little Nalya style revenge. Ryuu took his lumps because like all of us, he loves her cooking.

While they were talking Middy had flown over to Veelus once again and they were speaking amongst themselves. A silence came over the room and we could hear her talking to him.

"That tall Ceran's little brats are really starting to get on my nerves. They keep distracting everyone from the most important thing... that I am here."

We all heard this and father looked at me and Torva. "Would you girls like to introduce us to your friend?"

Torva said, "Yes father. Middy, come here please. I would like for you to meet everyone." She flew over and hovered in front of us. Torva motioned to father. "That's our father, Balanath Lexington."

She flew up to his face, looked him up and down then looked at Torva and me. "He is really pretty. Good job."

Torva and I looked at each other with odd looks.

Torva said, "Thank you, but we really had nothing to do with how he looks. Anyway, Balanath Lexington, this is Middiana Barthallion."

Middy cleared her throat and looked at Torva with one raised eyebrow as if to say, excuse me.

Torva rolled her eyes, sighed and said with way too much emphasis on the great, "The Great Middiana Barthallion."

That is her official title. In her mind anyway. She is actually the only one that calls her The Great Middiana Barthallion.

Father grinned, "It is an honor to make your acquaintance, The Great Middiana Barthallion."

"You don't have to speak to me formally. You're not my subjects yet. You may all call me Middy."

Grandfather was standing beside father. "The handsome man beside him is our grandfather, his name is Andor Gideon."

Middy flew up to his face and looked back and forth between him and father. "Well, I guess I can give you handsome, but you are not as pretty as Balanath."

Grandfather said, "He looks like his mother."

She raised an eyebrow as she looked at him and around at the rest of us. "Why are you so much bigger than everyone else? Are you deformed?"

"No, I..."

Middy interrupted, "No need to answer. I'm sure it's difficult to talk about your deformity." Then she flew towards Kardauma. "Who are you Cerans anyway? Paw-paw never mentioned I would be leading Cirrus beings."

She flew right up to his face as she had done with father and grandfather. Kardauma's head turned to Cirrus then the rest of his body changed to Cirrus and he disappeared.

"Whoa! My beauty is so great to see it up close has destroyed him."

Kardauma reappeared between father and grandfather. "My name is Kardauma. The Inaara emanates from your body. I would be grateful if you would keep your distance from me."

"That doesn't answer my question. Where did you come from? If you Cerans were from Avangar I'm pretty sure we would know about you."

"I am not a Ceran. I am a Vrah. We were born from the Erebus, but we have chosen to embrace the Inaara. We see the wisdom in bringing life to the universe."

Middy furrowed her brow then chuckled, "You were born from the Erebus, but you embrace the Inaara. So you embrace something that can kill you." She rolled her eyes. "Yours must be a wise race indeed."

She slowly flew towards Ryoma and Ryuu. As she did this she looked at Terus.

"I know who you are. Let me give you a little advice. Dye your hair. You people look like clones."

Terus didn't know what to think about this statement. She then flew up to Ryoma and Ryuu.

Torva said, "That is King Ryuu and Queen Ryoma Tanis. This is their home, Tarmakk Castle."

Middy said, "We have basically met. I do need to have a little talk with you two though. You need to quit feeding Veelus so much. He is of no use to me fat. I expect you to reevaluate his diet immediately."

I love Middy, but I must say my embarrassment was getting worse by the moment. We know that she overcompensates because she gets nervous. That doesn't matter, rude is rude and Torva had all she could stand.

She said in an angry tone, "Middiana Barthallion! Come here at once!" Middy flew over to her with a confused look on her face. "You have taken what should have been a lovely introduction and you have managed to insult everyone except father."

Middy said in a slightly confused questioning tone, "So you want me to insult your father too so it doesn't seem like I'm showing favoritism?"

"No, I want you to apologize to everyone and simply say my name is Middy nice to meet you."

Middy sighed, "Alright, got you." She flew up into the air and slowly bowed to everyone. "I offer to you my most heartfelt apologies for pointing out your short comings and bad parenting skills. It is my honor to meet you all." She looked at father. "And by the way Balanath, you're not half as pretty as I thought you were earlier."

They say I'm a genius and even I am not sure what that last statement meant. Middy smiled at Torva with a confident look on her face. Everyone was more amused than insulted. It is amusing to see such an arrogant; I'm the toughest thing ever created attitude coming from someone so tiny. I guess she does have the right to feel confident. She definitely has the powers to back it up. During the trials my abilities as a White Sorcerer kept us alive. Middy's abilities gave us the power to kick some butt. If the foe was too great, she would summon animals from Acedia that gave a whole new meaning to the words butt kicking. Everyone knew of her abilities, only The Crimson Warriors had ever seen them.

Ryoma said, "We have heard of your skills as a Summoner and an Enchanter. Would you mind showing us what you can do? I'm interested in seeing your powers. I have never witnessed Enchanting before."

Middy said dismissively, "There should be no need for me to use my powers. Just inform the Dark Sorcerers they will be facing me in battle. I'm sure once they know this they will surrender themselves for execution."

Grandfather and Terus couldn't help but laugh, Middy gave them a dirty look. Everyone else tried to hide how amusing the statement was.

Father quickly took her mind off of it. "I don't think we can count on them surrendering. We must expect the worst. I too would like to witness your powers."

She smiled at him. "Alright, I will enlighten you. Well, you already know I can summon animals from Acedia to battle with us. The Portal appears they come through, nothing much to see on that one."

The Portals she spoke of look like a whirlpool of white light. They are not like a normal Portal because only the animals from Acedia can travel through them.

She looked at Father. "Take out a sword."

Father drew one of his swords and held it out with one hand. Middy raised her right hand up by her head. She held her hand with only her pointing finger straight up. Her pointing finger dropped and pointed at the sword. The blade was instantly covered with a white glow.

"That's Light magic." She pointed upwards again then dropped her finger pointing at the sword. "Ice." The light changed to a blue mist covering the blade. "Earth." The blue mist was replaced by a thin layer of brown stone that made it look as if it were made of rock. She made the motion once more. "Fire." Flames covered the blade replacing the rock look.

Father reached out to feel the heat from the flames.

Middy said, "It is Enchanted fire. The flames will not harm anything except creatures formed from opposing magic. I can also Enchant your weapons with the Erebus, but it tends to make me a tiny bit mean when I channel the Erebus through me."

Grandfather said, "Light, ice and fire. All the magic we will need to face the Dark Sorcerers. You will most definitely be a great ally."

You could see that Middy really liked this praising of her abilities. "Did they tell you that not only can I Enchant your bolts; I can even Enchant the crossbow itself so it will always be loaded. You can fire bolts forever."

Father said, "That is good to hear. It seems victory may be well within our grasp with your aid."

Father was playing to her ego. He already knew that. Middy stared at him with the oddest of grins.

Ryuu asked, "Would you please show us how you Enchant the shields?"

"Certainly. Eriana, shield the big guy."

Grandfather moved to an open area so there was room for the large bubble that would surround him. I made a waving motion at him. He was encased in a White Shield. Middy made a motion like she was dismissing someone and the shield disappeared.

"There you go. You can attack with weapons or magic, whatever you want. Hey you, pretty boy. Take your sword back out and try to hit him."

Father took out his sword. He walked over near grandfather and slowly moved it towards him. It stopped and you could see a small portion of the shield where father's sword touched it. Grandfather put his hand above the small section of shield to see if it was truly confined to where the sword touched it. It of course was. Father struck at him several more times. It was working perfectly. The shield only appeared where he struck it.

Middy said, "This is one of the few ways in which fairies can interact with The Nether Point. The shield is almost completely in The Nether Point. There is not enough left in our reality to react with anything. What is left calls the shield out of The Nether Point when a weapon or magic touches it."

Ryuu said, "Your powers are amazing little one. With these abilities at our disposal it seems victory may be insured."

Middy was quickly warming up to everyone after this. She loved hearing them say with her help we could be victorious. Then entered the third ego maniac in the family.

Kye's voice could be heard beside Ryoma. "Ryoma. Anywhere above Tarna me sized. Bekka's getting something to eat."

A Portal appeared and Kye ported through and stopped about two feet in front of it. Her straight hair was up in a normal ponytail and she was wearing one of her normal outfits. It was a black mostly metal bra-like top with overlapping plates that moved because they were sowed to a stretchy fabric. Her tight rough leather pants and boots were black as well. Torva Ported to her the moment she came through. Kye put her arm over Torva's shoulder and hugged her as they walked towards us.

Kye calmly and seriously said, "The Great Middiana Barthallion. It's good to see you little sister. I need my hair stylist back."

Middy snapped her fingers and Kye's hair changed to an intricately woven bun with thick strands hanging down in the back. Her entire outfit was basically the same, but Middy turned it into a dark blue outfit trimmed with black that had various kinds of big cats on it. There was a solid black tiger's head between her breasts and black trim came from it and out lined the bra-like top. They stopped in front of me and Middy.

Middy said, "You look much better in Latium baby girl." She flew up close to Kye's face and looked down at her chest. "I see you're sticking with the hypnotizing cleavage defense."

Kye likes to wear tops that show off her cleavage. She doesn't have large breasts, but they are... well... I guess Torva put it best. She once said it looks like she's trying to smuggle two oranges out of town. She claims that it distracts men and women warriors and makes it easier to remove their heads.

"Guaranteed to send heads rolling my beautiful little belly button buddy."

They smiled at each other and Kye held up her first two fingers while holding the other two with her thumb. Middy slapped them with her right hand.

Torva smiled, then walked out in front of Kye with her arms crossed and a judgmental look on her face. "Middy, get out of the way."

Kye looked at her. "What?"

"There is someone I want you to meet. Someone you have never seen before in your entire life." She turned to her side so Kye could see him. "Andor Gideon, I would like you to meet your daughter, Kye Gideon."

Kye smiled at him. "Nice to meet you daddy." She looked at Terus. "Is that ugly little blonde bitch my stepmother? If I had a wife that ugly I'd leave her at home." She, Torva and Middy laughed.

Terus smiled at her. "I'm the man in this relationship." She smiled back.

Grandfather just looked down and shook his head no. "It is good to see that you are alive Kye."

Torva got in front of Kye and faced her. She looked over at father who nodded his head yes to signal he was ready.

Torva said, "By the way. I made a promise to the old child abandoning piece of shit."

Kye said as she laughed, "Is that what you called him?"

"Among other things."

She slapped Kye hard and Ported to the door. Father just stood there. Kye ported to the door and wrapped her arms around her from behind while Torva laughed.

Kye kissed her on the top of her head. "You big brat. I'm proud of you for cussing him out."

"Thanks. I'm proud of you for lying to me. I thought we had a deal."

Kye let go of her and walked back towards us with her arm over Torva's shoulder again. "I had to lie to you. Harrah said if I told Balanath the truth he would get all squishy and go find Andor. Just more of that stupid Path of Time bullshit. They couldn't meet until now."

Terus asked, "Why didn't Harrah just tell us you were alive and we couldn't go find you? Then we could have at least known you were alive."

"What did I just say? Path of Time bullshit. I haven't even been able to go back and see Harrah again. I have to wait for her to come to me."

Siius's voice could be heard beside Kye. "Kye baby baby. We need you back on the job. We are up to three in the north. Backtrack from Bergan West after you grab Bekka."

"I knew I didn't have very long. I'm on my way. Remember Balanath, no Illuma Rifles. You got Middy now, you damn sure don't need them. Miss Ryoma, Tarna please." The Portal appeared. "I love you all. Be careful."

Torva, me and Ryoma said, "I love you."

Father said, "You be careful too." Kye Ported through the Portal as father asked Ryuu. "What did she mean by no Illuma Rifles?"

"It seems Kahli has a way to make the batteries overload and explode. Their weapons were destroyed so we have no idea how he did it. The fuses should have burnt out before they could overload."

Middy said, "Like Kye said, you got me. I can make your bolts much better than a laser. Half the time a laser will just put a hole in them and they will keep coming. I assume you know you have to take off their heads or take out a good chunk of their spines. My enchanted bolts will kill a magical creature if you nick their toe."

The meal Ryuu missed that night was wonderful like all of Nalya's meals. Eating her food can be a religious experience for some. I had never seen Middy eat so much. When she finished her dessert she leaned back holding her stomach like an old man that had eaten too much at a holiday meal.

She slowly said, "That was soooooo good. Now I know why Veelus is fat."

I couldn't help but smile. They certainly picked the right title when they dubbed us The Sisters of Destiny. Our time together during the trials made Middy like a sister to us. When she came to Tiamat it was as if our long-lost sister had finally come home. I am so grateful The Crystals of Destiny brought us together. I truly do love that little self-centered ego maniac fairy.

# Chapter 8 Finding an Identity

Terus Corvello

I had gotten myself into more than I was used to with Andor and Kardauma. I wasn't very used to enemies that could actually kick their asses. These enemies could apparently beat an Aaseem. That meant they could kick their asses and easily hit mine with the same kick. It was not going to be a simple rescue mission to free Irena. It was going to be a, I could possibly die kind of mission. I hate those kinds of missions.

I was honestly in a state of disbelief. I never thought I'd meet a dragon, much less ride one. I not only met dragons, I met a fairy, there was a prophecy to be found and we were possibly facing people that had harnessed a god's Erebus. It was a lot to take in, and I had to take it in sober. My heart almost stopped when Balanath told me Ryoma didn't allow drinking in her home. Torva let me in on a little secret. Nalya was a drinker and Ryoma ignored it from her. The system worked because she kept the wines and whiskeys in the kitchen for cooking. After the cleaning up of the kitchen ceased, the drinking began. That's when I wanted to catch her. Not any sooner because she'd make me wash dishes. I really like Nalya. She's a hard drinking, hard joking, tough as a rock kind of woman. I didn't drink with her every night because she scared me just a little. That was because she like to flirt with me when we drank together. I of course handled this with my usual charm. It scared me because we tend to get slobbering drunk when we drink together. I was scared to death that I might wake up one morning and find out I had taken the flirting a little too far.

The one thing no one can deny about Nalya is that she is a magnificent cook. I had never tasted such delicious foods in my life. After we dined I was walking down the corridor towards the exit to the canyon. I could see Balanath, Andor and Kardauma out on the walkway talking. Eriana called to me from behind.

"Terus! Can I have a word with you?"

I turned towards her. "Of course. How may I help you?"

Torva and Middy were with her. We all began walking towards Balanath and the others.

Eriana said, "There is something I need to tell you. Artemus looked just like you. I think he may be related to you."

Middy said, "He is related to him. That's not why they look alike though. All Parthanians have the same hair, same eyes, and it is just so bland. You know Terus; I can make your eyes and hair any color you want. You might almost be pretty if I give you a little flavor."

"No thank you. I will keep the flavor I was born with."

As we walked up to Balanath and the others Middy gave me a snotty look and chopped up her sentence. "That's why all Parthanians, look, like, clones."

"Are you insinuating that I'm a Parthanian."

"I'm not insinuating anything. All I said was that you all look like clones. How stupid are you? Should I talk slower?"

Andor said, "She's right. Harion made me promise not to tell you. They used hair dye and colored eye lenses. They actually did have the same colored hair and eyes as you."

I must say it was a little disturbing to know my memory of how my parents looked was not real. They had told me and everyone that I had a disorder similar to that of an albino person. I understand that they did it for my own good. However, it certainly didn't make my life any easier when I was a child.

Middy said in a confused tone, "Wait. You mean you don't even know you're a Parthanian."

Andor said, "His parents didn't tell him because they were afraid he might go to Partha and get killed."

Middy said, "Oh yes. He would most definitely get himself killed. Terus is some kind of chosen one. So Artemus wants him some kind of dead."

I asked, "What are you talking about? How am I some kind of chosen one?"

"The same way everyone else becomes some kind of chosen one. There was a prophecy about you. Yours said you would gain great powers and become Partha's protector."

Balanath asked, "Why would Artemus want to kill him if he would be Partha's protector."

"The prophecy also said the chosen one would bring justice to Partha. Artemus has had hundreds of people murdered over the years. Anyone that gave him too much trouble. Paw-paw says he fears the justice part of that prophecy is meant for him. That's why he wants Terus dead."

"Will you please tell me all you know of mother and father? I have a feeling you know more about them than I do."

Middy smiled, "I like this place. Everybody needs me."

A serious look came over her face. She put both hands behind her back and held her left wrist with her right hand. She started flying back and forth slowly as if she were pacing.

"Alright snow top, this is what I know about your parents. About thirty-seven years ago Artemus imprisoned his cousin Harion and his wife Tara. He did this because he thought your father was the chosen one. He charged Harion with treason and ordered that he be put to death.

Merium, who is also your father's cousin, helped your father and mother escape from Partha. During the pursuit they were all killed. Artemus got what he wanted and has been living in ignorant bliss." A devious grin came over her face. "But Paw-paw tricked him. It just so happened that he needed to talk to Merium and your parents at the exact moment they incinerated their escape vessel. The Parthanians thought they were killed so they didn't search for them. Paw-paw sent your mother and father to Mastadonia to disappear into the population. As for Merium, nobody knows what happened to her except Paw-paw. She is probably vacationing on Haalandor."

Balanath asked, "How could Artemus think he had killed Merium? She's an Aaseem. She would just return to her realm and reform from her Jeevatma."

Middy replied, "Since Thanatos was killed he assumed she didn't have a realm to hold her Jeevatma. She doesn't have a realm, but she does have a Jeevatma. It is on our sun. She doesn't have to take a day to reform like the other Aaseems. If someone kills her she instantly reforms on the sun. She can Teleport back to the battle in less than ten minutes."

Andor asked, "Are you saying that Artemus mistook Harion for a chosen one, but it is actually Terus?"

"Yep. Apparently they interpreted the prophecy wrong. Paw-paw said that since Harion was killed Terus has to be the chosen one."

I asked, "How exactly am I going to be Partha's protector?"

"Paw-paw thinks you will be completing the sorcerer's quest. That's the only way you might be able to protect Partha."

Finding out I was a Parthanian was opening up a whole new world of possibilities for me. I wasn't the outcast I had grown accustomed to being. I had always wanted to have a home where I wasn't different from everyone else. Now I knew that home actually existed.

"I will travel to Partha after we rescue Irena and take a look around."

Middy said in disbelief, "Did you not hear what I told you? Artemus wants to kill the chosen one." She cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone. "You are the chosen one! If you go there he will kill you!"

"Is the population so small that he would know I was there."

"Population has nothing to do with it. If you get within a thousand miles of Partha the sensors will automatically scan your Atomic-cells and know you're Harion's son. That's why Paw-paw sent their ships fifteen days out into space. If they came to investigate our battles the ships would automatically scan us. Then they would know you're Harion's son. We couldn't stand against Artemus's army on our best day. We would have to let them kill you or take you one."

I said, "A lot of time has passed by. I may be able to reason with Artemus now."

She said in a smug tone, "Nope. He's a psycho. You've been warned snow top. You better not have a surprised look on your face when your head's sitting on a platter."

In time I would find out she was right. Artemus would have killed me because I was a threat to his power. Even though The Royal Parliament ruled Partha, he held the lifetime position of Patriarch. As such, he had more power than any other because he was in total control of the military. There are nine members on the Royal Parliament, three from each of the royal families. The Corvellos, the Ungersons and the Lindells. The Ungersons are power hungry and have become Artemus's puppets. The Lindells are a good and kind family. However, they are powerless. Merium and father were presumed dead so their seats in The House of Corvello were given to Artemus's two sons. Because of this he ruled with total power and the people couldn't make new laws.

Even though the political structure was designed so that the people could call for a vote on any subject, it was a moot point. If Artemus didn't agree the law wouldn't be passed. After father and Merium left there was no one that would dare go against him. To speak against him was an invitation to a lifetime of imprisonment. Those that were a true threat to him never served a life sentence. They would always die in prison fights. Amazingly it was always their fault and the person that killed them did so in self-defense.

As we ended the current discussion Certi and Hyla flew up and landed near us. Middy was hovering in front of me and they couldn't see her. Torva and Eriana walked over to them.

Hyla said, "Balanath, would you please do us a favor?"

"Hobbus troubles?"

Certi said, "He thinks The Elites should join the battle. We are to report for special training after dinner."

Torva said, "This is training day. He already had you start at daylight."

Hyla said, "If Old Hobbus has his way we will not even sleep tonight."

Balanath said, "I'll speak to Ryuu. We will not be sending The Elites into battle when we do battle. There is no need for him to push you to the point of exhaustion. You two need your rest anyway. We will be traveling to Nalamakk in the morning."

Certi said, "Thank you Balanath."

Hyla added, "Yes, thank you."

Middy cleared her throat. "Excuse me. Am I invisible over here?"

Hyla and Certi exclaimed at the same time, "Middy!"

Certi said, "Oh my goodness. When did you get here?"

"Just a while ago. I have returned to lead The Crimson Warriors once more."

Hyla asked, "Where have you been? Why didn't you come back for a visit?"

"Oh it was Paw-paw. He was afraid the Gethin Fairies would sense my magic and try to kill me."

Hyla asked, "Why didn't you get Anzora to help you sneak out again?"

"Paw-paw put a spell on me so she couldn't do it again. Believe me; we tried a bunch of times. It wouldn't work."

Certi said, "It is so wonderful to see you again. We all missed you so much."

Hyla said, "It looks like you have sprouted an inch or two."

"You guys have been doing a little sprouting yourselves. Look at you. You're almost as fat as Veelus. Do none of you know when it's time to put down the fork or what?" Hyla and Certi chuckled.

Hyla said, "You certainly haven't lost the ability to say what's on your mind."

Torva said, "They're not fat Middy. They are just growing up. Dragons grow out faster than up."

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. Where are the crazy cousins at?"

Hyla replied, "They are at home by now. Speaking of which, we really do have to get home ourselves. We need to eat and get back to the training grounds."

Certi added, "Yes we really do. We wanted to come by and see if Balanath would talk to Ryuu for us."

Hyla said, "We got to go. It is great to see you again Middy."

Certi added, "It certainly is. We will see you all tomorrow."

Hyla said, "See you tomorrow."

She flew away with Certi right behind her.

Torva yelled, "Tell Hobbus we are going to Nalamakk in the morning! You need some sleep!"

Hyla shouted back, "We will!"

Middy yelled, "Tell Heady and Tooma I'm here! They better get their act together!"

We all went to the Seminarium. This was where we would always have discussions or plan the battles to come. It was a massive room with a long table on the far left side with chairs for humans. There were no chairs near the head of the table. This is where Ryoma, Ryuu and Veelus would normally sit. There were also many platform perches up on the walls for flying dragons so they wouldn't take up as much room at a large meeting. The younglings and Skylore Dragons of course are the only dragons that can fly... normally.

As we sat around the table talking we heard a dragon out in the hall growl loudly, "Get out of my way."

He was talking to a Ceran that was sweeping in the doorway. It looked up at him with a dirty look, stuck its little black tongue out at him then slowly moved out of his way.

Balanath said to Ryuu softly, "This should be interesting."

"It always is."

Hobbus entered with an angry look on his face. He was such a deep dark purple he almost looked black. He was much bigger than the younglings, but smaller than the other adult dragons. There were many scars all over his body. His wings looked very war torn as well. There were even some round holes in his wings because he had taken hits from Parthanian laser weapons.

Hobbus was a born fighter that owed his very existence to the fact that his mother was a born fighter. During her pregnancy she fell off a high cliff and was near death when the Zyamarian Healers were called. She didn't survive, but she fought death long enough for the Healers to be able to take Hobbus from the womb and keep him alive. He was underdeveloped and his skin was very dark because he had been deprived of oxygen and nutrients for a prolonged period of time. Nevertheless, against all odds he survived. He was a runt so he never got too large for his wings to lift him. Normally when a dragon gets too big for their wings to lift them they go into a great depression. Once they finally except the fact they will never fly again their wings will start forming crystalline matter where they are attached to their backs. A few days later their wings will fall off leaving two crystal scars behind.

Not only are dragons so tough that steel and bullets can barely pierce their skin, their bones are basically indestructible. Because of this their wings are buried in a symbolic funeral like ceremony. They call this the Akuji Hagar, which means death of flight. Their wings won't fall off without the depression caused by losing the ability to fly. Hobbus was proof of that. Runt or not, he was one of the dragon's greatest warriors and had fought in every battle they had since he was born. He was also considered to be the greatest Battle Trainer they had ever had.

The younglings often had Balanath interfere when they had a problem with Hobbus. They know he has sympathy for them and he always has the king's ear. He was angry at Balanath more than anyone else.

I'm not sure if Balanath was being polite or sarcastic. "General Hobbus, good to see you as always."

Hobbus snapped at him, "Shut up Balanath! I know you have been meddling in my affairs again."

Balanath seemed more amused than offended. He looked down with smiling eyes and I think he was holding in laughter. Middy on the other hand was very much offended. Her eyes got wide then an angry look came over her face. She flew towards Hobbus.

"Hey! Old Hobbus! You can't talk to him like that!"

He turned towards her with an angry look and she stopped right in front of his face.

"What did you call me?" He stared at her with a fierce look in his eyes.

She knew him from the trials and I'm told they didn't get along. She spent extended periods of time with him and Kye. They had to train them for the trials. They also trained them specifically for something that had given them trouble during a trial. Torva said if Kye and Hobbus ever had to rescue them they would not be able to leave Vaalstrom's realm. They all stayed there until they were trained to overcome the obstacle that led to the rescue. So she knew him pretty well. She does fall within the realm of those that find it hard to concentrate on anything but their own little world. So she may have forgotten how frightening he can be in the four years she was gone.

"Do not cross me fairy. I don't have to save you anymore. Now I can eat you like I should have done during the trials."

She slowly said, "Eat me? Are you finally that senile? I know it's coming."

Hobbus licked his lips. "Call me Old Hobbus again and find out."

She disappeared in a streak and was by Torva's shoulder. She moves incredibly fast when she wants to. When she follows the dragons they dive to achieve greater speeds. She stays in almost one place beside Eriana at all times. She could fly circles around them at their fastest speeds. She landed on Torva's right shoulder and stopped flapping her wings. She gave Hobbus a dirty look as she slowly leaned backwards until her face was hidden by Torva's head.

Hobbus looked at Ryuu. "You know why I'm here Ryuu. Now tell me why you have decided The Elites will not battle."

"I don't plan to use any younglings besides The Crimson Warriors in the battles. So I would like for you to continue with the normal training schedule for The Elites. Tomorrow we will need The Crimson Warriors to take them to Nalamakk to find a prophecy. We will work out a battle plan after we know its words."

Hobbus said, "The battle plan should be to attack at dawn. You only give them time to prepare each moment you delay. They can retrieve this prophecy after the Dark Sorcerers are dead."

Kardauma said, "The prophecy contains valuable information according to Darrius. He said Middy was to take her place as one of Tekarra's chosen ones. Middy also told us Terus is considered a chosen one. I believe we will learn what that means from the prophecy. The prophecy may only be part of what we will find. Tekarra often provides powerful weapons to help her chosen ones. We might find weapons for Terus and Middy that can give them powers comparable to an Aaseem."

Hobbus said in a less angry sounding tone, "Well then, I cannot argue with having that much power on our side. They did destroy Haalandor's shield." He turned to leave. "I will tell the younglings to go home. I will also inform the other Crimson Warriors of the journey and that we will be going to battle."

Ryuu said in a very calm tone, "You will not be joining the battles Hobbus."

Hobbus gave him a harsh look. "Is there a reason why you think I should not take part in the battles?"

"I must consider the future. Kaygun is a much greater threat than the Dark Sorcerers. I will need you to lead the younglings against him while I lead the adult dragons. Do not worry. He will bring more battles than even you desire."

Hobbus looked as if he didn't quite believe him. I'm sure he was thinking Ryuu thought he was simply too old for battle. He was the last Elder and was over one thousand years old.

Ryuu told him, "Please inform them they will leave at first light."

Hobbus grunted and started walking out. "Consider it done. I will inform them they are expected to perform the duties of a Zyamarian Cargo Ship in the morning. You should have listened to me. I told you we should have taken those ships." He left the room.

Ryoma said, "I do regret not at least taking some of those cargo ships. It just seemed so unnecessary because they were only a Portal away."

Ryuu said, "You can't take all the blame. I too thought borrowing them would always be an option. Time never fails to expose our mistakes."

It was an eventful day for me. To find out father was Artemus and Merium's cousin was overwhelming. I had heard legends about these two people my entire life. To say I was a member of one of Partha's ruling families was something I couldn't believe. I was hoping that Artemus would change his mind so I could finally rejoin my long lost family. I am a very sentimental man and I wanted to be with my family. Sometimes it brings a tear to my eye just thinking about all that gold. They are a ruling family. That means they are all rich as hell.

# Chapter 9 The Dragon Fortress Nalamakk

Torva Lexington

It was first light when we gathered out on the walkway in front of Tarmakk Castle. The younglings were wielding their swords because we didn't know what to expect. Grandfather ended up being Tooma's rider and Terus Heady's. Father will always ride Veelus because he is his Alana. It would be freezing cold where we were going so we had on cold weather clothing. Father and the others had on warm clothes that were more functional than stylish. Eriana, Middy and I had on matching solid white outfits that had fluffy white fake fur around the neck, wrist and ankle areas. Middy can produce clothing through Enchanting and at times plays dress up with us like we are her dolls. It is always made of Latium, a stretchy silken material that can be any colors they want. It is also very tough and can be made into lightweight armor. Fairy Armor made of Latium is stronger and more flexible than anything humans can produce. It can stop bolts, bullets and short laser hits. Middy made those outfits with animal patterns all over them. The large pattern on the back of our coats was the best part. Mine looked like a big white hawk from a distance. When you got closer you could see it was a flock of white hawks flying through a cloudy sky. Of course Middy had to make her outfit only go halfway to her waist. It matched our outfits but was thin indoor material. It was cute, but not practical. She would turn it into normal cold weather clothes like ours when she needed to. Most of the time she would stay warm inside the magnificent white leather saddle that Certi was wearing that day.

Terus said, "Hey, belly button girl. You might want to complete that outfit and make the whole thing thicker. I've rode horses through that land and got frost bite from the wind. You're damn sure going to freeze to death flying on a dragon like that."

"I do my own flying, and I'm a whole lot tougher than you. Besides that, to hide my perfect midriff is considered cruelty to the universe." She looked around. "Keep the talking down soldiers. Your leader will be reading a book in The Command Center."

Heady asked, "Middy, are you seriously going to claim to be the leader like you did during the trials?"

Tooma said to him firmly, "Show some respect. She is in charge. You know, like the broom is in charge when you sweep the floor."

They and Terus laughed. Middy looked at Terus with squinting eyes and shook her head no.

"Let me tell you something snow top. I will be kicking some stupid green dragon ass before this is over with. Don't make me add your oversized wingless fairy ass to the list."

Hyla said, "You get Terus, Certi and I will get the green and brainless wonders."

Heady and Tooma both made weird fake scared faces at Hyla and shook their entire bodies. Middy smiled at Hyla with a familiar look on her face. She was thinking, don't tempt me.

I said, "Quit encouraging her Hyla. We will have plenty of time to kick their asses later."

Veelus looked at us with a disappointed look on his face. Joking around is not his idea of how a warrior should act on a mission. When we are on a mission he will never be less than serious unless we are taking a long boring break for some reason. Even then he is still on constant high alert. That is Crimson Warrior Rule Number Two: Always be aware of your surroundings.

Terus asked in a slightly patronizing tone, "Where is this command center you speak of oh wise and powerful leader?"

He smiled and of course Heady and Tooma had to laugh a little.

Middy gave him a dirty look. "You just made the list clone boy."

Eriana moved the conversation forward to deflate a possible situation. "That's what she calls her room inside Certi's saddle. She is wearing that outfit because she knows she isn't going to be out in the cold for a while. It stays at a comfortable temperature in there no matter how cold or hot it is outside."

Certi said, "It's an Enchanted gift from a fairy we met in another universe. This saddle is one of the few souvenirs we have from the trials."

Eriana said, "It always adjusts to my height. Her room gets a little bigger with every inch I grow. It's not getting much bigger at this point."

Tooma said, "It's also a mind control device so Middy can control Certi."

Terus asked, "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely, it allows Middy to take control of Certi's mind and make her do anything she wants."

Certi said, "Imagine someone forcing you to do anything they want and you can't stop them. I hate it."

Veelus said, "We all hated it. It is mind numbingly invasive. We all had one but only Certi kept hers. None of us wanted a saddle that could let someone control our minds."

Terus asked, "Why would you have a saddle like that in the first place?"

Hyla replied, "We were fighting wizards that could control our minds. Only the fairies were immune so we had to let them control our minds so the wizards couldn't. They had to completely control us the entire battle."

I said, "Middy had Talon put a bed and a lounging sofa in there. That's why she made Certi keep it. She likes to relax while we are traveling. She knows Certi will kill her if she even touches the controls."

Certi said, "I might not kill her, but I will never put it on again."

Terus told Middy, "That's not fair. We're going to be out here freezing our butts off while you're relaxing on a lounging sofa. Haven't you ever heard of leading by example."

"I am. I'm giving you inspiration and hope. If you soldiers fight hard and follow my orders, you too may one day have leadership perks like I do." She said as she flew down to the saddle and opened the door. "Keep the noise down and let me know if you see anything worth looking at." She said in a snobby tone. "I will be relaxing on my lounging sofa, reading my book." She smiled at Terus." If you wanted to fit under Heady's saddle you should have smoked when you were a baby. I hear that stunts a human's growth."

She laughed as she went inside then slammed the door shut. Grandfather, Father, Ryoma and Ryuu were talking amongst themselves about Nalamakk. We joined them.

Grandfather asked, "How does Veelus open the door if the fortress is sealed with magic?"

Ryuu replied, "It is part magical barrier, part mechanical. They can only be opened from the inside so it takes Avangar's magic to do it. He just needs to be there to make the magic barrier drop and the mechanisms will automatically open the door. I don't know what getting it to open entails. I've never done it."

Ryoma said, "The spells were cast by Avangar. I'm sure she will tell Eriana what to do."

We all mounted up. Unlike Eriana's Enchanted saddle, our saddles can be adjusted to fit anyone's height. They have a bar handle in the front and straps to hold you in place. The stirrups are pockets slightly in front of you that hold your feet fairly tightly. Behind you it's like the back of a chair that goes halfway up your back. You push with your feet and wedge yourself against that. It holds you tightly in place so your hands are free to fire your weapon. They have a metal frame that can't be seen because they are covered with leather. They are very stable and don't move at all. Eriana, father and I were trained to ride with or without one. I'm sure Grandfather and Terus found the long ride much easier with the saddles.

Ryoma couldn't make us a Portal to Nalamakk. In order for a sorcerer to create a Portal they must envision the location they want the Portal to lead to. She had only been to western Aden and Argonn during the war with Partha. We were going to the east coast of the northern kingdom of Rin so she made us a Portal to northern Galdaya. It was as close as she could get us. Grandfather would have to lead us there because only he and Kardauma had ever actually been there.

As she created a large Portal above us Ryoma said, "May Tekarra guide you. I love you girls."

Eriana said, "I love you too."

I said because she worries way too much, "Love you Rye Rye. Don't worry about us. We're just taking a ride."

Ryuu added, "Good fortunes. We will anxiously be awaiting your return."

The Portal was large enough for the younglings to fly through easily. We came out on the coast of northern Galdaya and flew west towards the kingdom of Rin. As we flew high over the Perion Sea and approached Mastadonia we saw something Middy wouldn't want to miss.

Eriana bent down and said loudly by her right side, "Middy there are thousands of migrating Mightens out here!"

We heard a thump because she flew into the door. She quickly came out wearing warm clothing that matched ours.

"Oh kick ass! I know what to play for this!"

She pushed some buttons on her wrist band. It was loud as if a full orchestra was playing around us. I guess she thought it was dramatic because it was some pretty dramatic music. She did that through a little Acedian technological device she wears on her wrist. It looks like a long band bracelet with designs and buttons on it. The music she likes to play while we travel has helped us pass the hours many times.

The Mightens are primitive sea dragons that are about the size of a youngling with a much longer body. They have short stiff fin-like wings. A large pair near the center front of their bodies and a smaller pair near their tails. They are light blue with light blue eyes. They match the clear blue southern seas so well it's hard to see them from the sky. That was where they live most of the year. They have short legs, long claws and long teeth that are comparable to a Jahlorn Piranha. They glide long distances after leaping from the sea. They were returning to the southern seas from their birthing grounds in the northern seas.

The families of three were leaping and gliding together. So in groups of three they would leap and glide in perfect harmony. They are limited by the distance their little ones can glide. So every family moves at a different pace. They are constantly gliding over one another. Sometimes they would dive back in early. This is because they hear a roar from the family behind them that had leaped and would hit them if they didn't get out of the way. It was amazing to watch because they looked so terribly unorganized yet never crashed into each other.

Soon these sights gave way to the high steep cliffs of Rin's east coast. Large ranges of snowcapped mountains covered the land we were approaching. The younglings always use the air currents to speed our journey. They catch updrafts and ride them upwards so they can dive downward and achieve greater speeds. They flap their wings much less traveling in this manner. It keeps them from getting tired and we can cover a great distance in a brief time. They could get us there much quicker than Eriana could inside shields.

Nalamakk wasn't far from Rin's east coast. Soon we could see the ice-covered mountain ranges we were looking for. Grandfather guided us towards a circular mountain range. When we were finally above it we could see that it was a giant crater. It was created by a massive meteorite that had struck Avangar long before even the dragons existed. We could see many animals below us. Huge white wolves, bears and deer were roaming the countryside inside the crater. The bears were exceptionally large. They were half as big as a youngling and the wolves were only a little smaller than they were. You could see trails that led out so the animals were not confined to the crater.

As we grew closer we could see Nalamakk. It is a massive fortress made of solid white marble built into the crater wall. It is like Tarmakk Castle, it looks like the front of a building had been cut off and stuck to the crater wall. It is a magnificently constructed building with elegant architecture. A huge veranda with giant pillars stretches the entire length of the fortress. It is all white, which makes it almost invisible against the snow from a distance.

We landed on a large platform between the village and Nalamakk. The platform is round and made of white marble. There is a short stair-like ramp that leads up to the platform from the valley. There is another ramp that leads from the platform up to Nalamakk's entrance. Dragons always use ramps instead of stairs, they don't like steps.

Grandfather said, "This very spot is where I found Kardauma sealed in ice many years ago."

Terus said, "The legendary rescue where you fought off the ice with campfires all around him."

Kardauma appeared near us. "That was all it took."

Father said, "Let's go see how easy it is to get in."

Because Hyla and I are Sentinel and Alana we share a very special bond. She can sense what I'm thinking or my emotional state. All dragons can sense things from humans, but our bond makes this ability much stronger. She can sense things from me from miles away. A human has to be right next to any other dragon for them to sense things from them. Hyla sensed something was wrong and turned towards them. The bears, wolves, deer and all manner of rodents were charging towards us with glowing red eyes. Because of the huge treeless plain around Nalamakk the forest was miles away. We had plenty of time before they would get to us. This was a good example of Veelus being on high alert at all times.

He noticed them the moment I sensed them. "Uh, Torva, Eriana, can one of you tell me why those animals are running this way?"

I replied, "I don't actually know why. All I do know is they have lost their minds and intend to kill us."

Grandfather said, "It's another one of Kahli's Traps. He wants us to use the Inaara on them so he will know we are here."

Father said, "Everyone get up into the air out of their reach." All the younglings did so leaving only Kardauma standing on the ground. "Torva, call Arthos."

Eriana exclaimed, "Don't call Arthos! Avangar said Bora can stop this without killing them."

I held my hand in front of my face making the symbol for Avangar and closed my eyes. "I call on the power of The Ice Guardian. Bora, please end this madness."

The ground was shaking every time Bora's giant feet hit the ground in the valley behind Nalamakk. Small avalanches could be seen rolling down the walls of the crater with each step he took. We looked up behind us and could see Bora looking over the top of the crater wall above Nalamakk. He had the same muscular form as Arthos. He was made of snow and his eyes were made of a clear blue ice that looked like crystal and gave off a glow. He put both of his massive hands on top of the crater wall and leaned over the top. He gave out a great roar and a blizzard rushed out of his mouth as he did this. The blizzard went below us and whipped through the valley. Before the animals were anywhere near us it hit them. They were instantly encased in clear solid ice. It blew through the valley encasing all the animals in ice. Bora stopped his roar and the blizzard coming from his mouth stopped as well. As he turned to walk away he made a dismissing motion with his right hand. The ice covering the wild animals shattered freeing them. He became loose snow and as the wind hit him he dispersed into the air like someone blowing on a colossal dandelion. The animal's eyes returned to their normal color and they looked as if they had just awakened. The deer and small animals fled because of the bears and wolves all around them. I could sense they were all in a state of confusion. To them it must have seemed they were suddenly in a different place.

Grandfather said, "I'm starting to think we should let Torva fight all our battles for us."

I smiled at him. "If that was a battle, I'm ready for anything." He smiled back.

Father said, "Let's try this again. Veelus, you're the key."

We flew down to the giant double doors leading into Nalamakk and everyone dismounted except Eriana. She stayed on Certi in case something went wrong. The doors seemed to open like giant sliding doors. There were no hinges or door handles visible.

Kardauma commented, "I sense a strange mix of the Inaara and Erebus inside."

Eriana said, "I can sense it too."

Kardauma said, "It may be a spell that protects the prophecy."

Father told Veelus, "Unlock it."

He walked towards the door and stopped on a large circular design in front of it.

He looked back at Eriana, "What should I do?"

"She said speak to it."

"Open." He paused. "Open door... door open."

Eriana said with a smile, "She said like a dragon."

Heady asked, "Is she insinuating that a roar is speaking like a dragon? Belittled by our own goddess. That sort of hurt my feelings."

Tooma added, "I feel your pain. All this time I thought this was speaking like a dragon."

Veelus shook his head no and looked down because of their childishness. Then he looked up and gave out a mighty roar towards the door. The design under his feet began to glow and the giant doors rumbled as they slowly slid open. There was a white stone wall behind them. It was as thick as a dragon is long. It slid to the right. The next one slid to the left. There were ten of these massive barriers that retreated into the walls. After all had opened the glowing faded from the design.

Kardauma said, "I will go investigate." He turned to Cirrus and was gone.

The size of the fortress dwarfed Tarmakk Castle. We made our way through a corridor that was large enough for four Earthlore Dragons to comfortably walk through side by side. It led to what seemed to be a giant council room. It was reminiscent of a stadium that had giant steps instead of seats on a slope. The actual seats were large circular platforms about a foot high the Earthlore Dragons would sit on. The room was massive enough to fit three Eeden Castles inside. There was a larger platform against the back wall for the king. On both sides of the large throne platform were ten slightly smaller platforms for the queen and other leaders. All around the upper room large platforms protruded from the walls meant to be used as perches for the younglings and Skylore Dragons to observe the meetings.

The ceiling was covered with square intricately designed motifs. Set in the center of each square was a Baka Crystal like the ones in Infinity Cavern. The many crystals lit up the room very well. Kardauma was standing on the main throne platform. Those that could Ported to him while the younglings flew down. We just left Terus behind.

His voice echoed through the massive room. "Hey Heady! Can I get a lift! I don't want to walk all the way down there!"

Heady came back around behind him and grabbed him under his shoulders with both hands. He flew him down to us as Eriana got off Certi.

Kardauma said, "I cannot get inside a perfectly square room behind this wall. It is protected by Tekarra's magic. It must be the prophecy."

Eriana stated, "That is where the Inaara and Erebus mix is coming from."

Father said, "I wonder if it is protected from the Inaara as well as the Erebus and that's why you sense both."

Terus walked over and looked closely at the wall. "It seems to be solid."

Grandfather asked, "How do we get to it?"

Father said in a questioning tone, "Eriana?"

"It is sealed by Tekarra so we simply need to turn the key."

Hyla said, "Ask her what she means by turn the key."

"She will not hold our hand."

Tooma said, "She told us to figure it out yourself. How rude."

Heady asked, "Do you think it's because of us?"

Middy said, "Probably. I heard she hates stupid dragons."

They gave her a harsh look. She made a weird face and made some motions with her hands as if to say, come do something about it. Terus was standing in the center of the circle looking down at a small design.

"Look at the platform we stand on. That must be it."

Everyone looked down at the platform. It had eight circles in its design. There were seven around the outer edge and one in the center. The circle nearest the wall was very tiny. Evenly spaced with the circles was a symbol of a dragon's footprint at the front of the platform. The footprint and all the circles were a dull brown color that blended with the other designs. The circle in the center was white with a colorful star like design inside.

Terus said, "The colors in the star shaped symbol point to each of the outer circles and the footprint design."

Father said, "Some are sacred colors. The sky blue points to the footprint for Veelus. The green one, the black one, the dark blue one and the dark purple one are not known sacred colors."

Middy said, "Dark purple is the color of our Royal Seal."

Eriana said, "That must be why it points to the small circle."

"My circle is at the top. That's interesting. It seems as if the gods are trying to say the broom is in charge."

She gave Tooma a serious look. He acted like she must be looking at someone behind him then shrugged his shoulders at Heady.

Eriana knelt down on both knees by the circle in the center. "This was definitely meant for us. White for me because I'm a White Sorcerer. Green for Torva because she is closest to nature. Dark blue, the color of Galdaya's Royal Crest would be for father. Red would be grandfather's because of Argonn's Crest of War. Black for darkness would be Kardauma. Sky blue for Veelus and of course dark purple for Middy. I assume the light purple must be for Terus since he is supposed to be a chosen one." A curious look came over her face. "For some reason I have a strong urge to touch it."

Torva and Middy said in perfect unison, "Me too."

Eriana said, "Avangar said do not fight the urge."

She slowly reached down and touched the circle. It began to glow then a single beam of white light began shooting up through the floor above the circle. It looked as if someone was writing the words from below as the light quickly wrote out text on the floor.

Eriana's eyes were quickly moving back and forth for a moment. "It is the prophecy."

Kardauma looked at it. "It is the writing of the Agnola."

Father asked him, "Can you read it?"

"It can only be read by the person meant to read it. Apparently that is not me."

Middy said, "I already read it. It kind of sucks."

I said, "Me too. I'm not sure I understand all of it."

Father asked, "If it is meant for us all, why can't I read it?"

Eriana replied, "It's because we are The Sisters of Destiny. I will read it to you." She slowly read it. "The First Crystal Prophecy.

Rise and conquer children of the Inaara for Tekarra has called upon you,

The Sister Planets and The Wondering World have softened Fate's heart with their tears,

The goddesses will be given one dying wish and The Chosen Eight,

Five souls will join The Sisters of Destiny and be guided to the holy sword Preah'kahn,

Death awaits all that wield Preah'kahn barring The Chosen Eight,

In the hands of The Chosen Eight Preah'kahn will ignore all magic,

Preah'kahn favors not the Erebus,

Preah'kahn favors not the Inaara,

Preah'kahn favors not the mortals,

Preah'kahn favors not the gods,

Death awaits all that face the blade of Preah'kahn,

Rise and conquer children of the Inaara for Tekarra has called upon you,

The Sister Planets and The Wondering World have softened Fate's heart with their tears."

I said, "I get that we are The Chosen Eight and we get a sword that can kill a god. What does it mean by the dying wish thing? It sounds like all the goddesses are going to die."

Middy said, "I told you it sucked. Not just the goddesses dying thing. Think about it, we are The Chosen Eight. The only ones able to wield a sword that can kill a god. Tekarra wants us to face Kaygun. I'm stopping at freeing Irena. That's all I signed up for."

Certi asked Eriana, "Is Avangar saying she's right?"

"She remains silent."

Middy said, "Can't say no, that's as good as a yes."

Terus seemed to be more shocked by what he heard than the rest of us. "Preah'kahn? I can't believe this."

We looked at him and grandfather asked, "Do you know that name?"

"Black Tear once told me something strange while we were drinking. He said you don't need Andor and Kardauma to protect you. You can wield Preah'kahn and save us all. That was it, he passed out. He was so drunk out of his mind I never thought twice about it."

Veelus asked father, "Doesn't having a sword that can kill a god seem a bit much for a Dark Sorcerer? I think Middy is right. She wants us to face Kaygun."

Father said, "I'm inclined to agree. It's hard to believe we would need a sword like that against them."

Kardauma said, "If they are harnessing Haalandor's Erebus that may make them some sort of Demigods like the Aaseems. So killing them with the sword may be the only way we can do it. It does seem our own Demigods are not going to be able to do it alone."

Grandfather said, "One of us wielding the sword may be the only reason we are needed at all."

Terus said, "Black Tear's words are definitely a little too close to reality here. I am not walking up to Kaygun and trying to poke him with a sword. I agree with Middy. I'll help you free Irena, but let the gods fight Kaygun."

Eriana said, "They can't. That would be interfering in the affairs of mortals. We are the ones that let Kaygun become a Dark God. It is up to us to destroy him."

Grandfather asked, "What does the prophecy mean by a dying wish?"

Eriana replied, "It's making reference to The Prophecy of the Last Hope from Zyamar. Fate condemned all three goddesses to death for raising unwise children. Us, the mortals that let Kaygun become a god. But Tekarra convinced him to give them one more chance. Their lives were put into the hands of the mortals. It is up to us to save them from Kaygun."

Father said to Eriana, "Ask Avangar what it means. I don't quite understand the dying wish thing either. How could it be a dying wish if we can save them?"

"The dying wish is something given to them in the hopes that they may live. Each planet has already used their one wish. Thanatos asked for the remaining mortals not taken by the Erebus to be saved. That is why Darrius was able to bring the Parthanians to Avangar. This in turn saved Terus and insured The Chosen Eight would come to be. Haalandor's one wish was that she be allowed to protect Torva and me. That is why she could let mother become her Mediator and create the shields over Galdaya and Tiamat. If not for the shields, the Gethin Fairies would have killed us when we were younger. Even mother and Ryoma couldn't have stopped them. They were always the true threat to our lives. The knowledge that is being revealed to me at this moment is meant to guide us and help us complete our tasks. For me to have this ability was Avangar's dying wish. They used their dying wishes to help us because if we fail Kaygun will definitely kill them."

Kardauma said, "This explains why Avangar did everything she could to force me to remain here. My people were walking a predestined path when we came to investigate the technology."

Hyla said, "The prophecy speaks of Preah'kahn but not of how to obtain the sword. I assume..."

Heady interrupted, "They obviously have to stand on the circles like we did during the trials. You really need to pay closer attention."

Tooma rolled his eyes and slowly shook his head no. "And she thinks she's smarter than us."

Hyla said in a slightly offended tone, "If I may finish. I assume you need to stand on the circles and Veelus needs to put his foot on the footprint."

Certi said, "We had to do this several times during the trials. It is the most secure system in the universe. Only the entire group can open it. Everyone must be alive and have a willing mind. No one can force you to do it or do it with your dead body."

Grandfather said, "So we just stand on the circles."

Terus said, "Simple, but definitely a secure system if everyone has to have their heart in the task and beating as well."

Father stated, "There is only one way to find out. Everyone stand on their respective circles."

Hyla, Certi, Heady and Tooma stood back away from the platform. Everyone stepped onto their circles and Veelus put his right foot on the symbol. Middy was the last one to stand on her circle near the wall. The moment she landed all the circles began glowing white. As their light faded a warm white glow surrounded Middy. She slowly flew up to the wall and touched it in the center. All the white light surrounding her went into the wall and a large glowing symbol appeared on the wall. It looked exactly like the star-like symbol in the center of the platform. The difference being it was solid white. The symbol turned black and the entire wall disappeared.

Preah'kahn was on a pedestal inside the small square room. The sword had a silver blade with intricately engraved designs on it. The hilt was made of what looked like ivory. It was a magnificent sword as would be expected when forged by Agnolas.

Father said, "It is going to be dangerous if only we eight can wield the sword without being killed by it. What if someone was to accidently touch it?"

Eriana said, "The sword will only harm someone that touches it with the intent of stealing it or using it as a weapon. Avangar says that the sword will judge their intent and act appropriately. That is all she will say. It would probably be best to never let anyone else touch it."

Father walked over, took the sword, then swung it around a few times to get a feel for it. "Perfect balance, indeed a weapon worthy of Fate." He pitched the sword to grandfather. "What do you think?"

He caught it, threw it back and forth from one hand to the other and swung it around a few times. "I have never held a sword of this size that felt so light. Definitely a fine weapon, a little small for my taste." He pitched it back to father. "You keep it. I'm afraid I might break it."

Father said, "It is said that weapons forged by the Agnola can't be destroy by mortals or gods."

Kardauma had a confused look on his face. "Balanath, may I see the sword?" He handed it to him and Kardauma stared at it with a strange look. He then said to Eriana in a questioning tone. "Eriana?"

"No, I can't sense any magic either."

Father asked, "What do you mean? I thought you sensed an Erebus Inaara mix coming from it."

Eriana replied, "It's not coming from the sword. It is coming from the pedestal. That's the only magic I sense, the sword seems to be ordinary metal."

Kardauma said, "It definitely holds magic, it is just beyond us to sense it. Hopefully the Dark Sorcerers will not be able to sense it either. Why the magic is in the pedestal is a mystery. It might be a Trap that attacks someone other than us trying to retrieve the sword."

Veelus said, "Actually that would be impossible. There is no way we could all have a willing mind if someone that would do that was with us. It may just be a trick."

Father asked him, "What do you mean by a trick."

"Maybe they put the magic in the pedestal to make our enemies think it was coming from Preah'kahn."

Terus said, "That's an ingenious assessment. Black Tear knew of it so Kahli may know of it as well. If he comes here he will think the sword is still here."

Grandfather said, "That should give us an advantage in the first battle at least."

Kardauma said, "There is no doubt they know of the sword."

Father asked, "So you think that's why Kahli put the trap outside?"

"Yes, also because of the way Edur captured me. He sealed me in frozen hydrogen and placed me on the platform outside. I couldn't even move or try to enter The Nether Point. This would have made the hydrogen atoms around me split and caused a nuclear explosion. That would have collapsed the mountain on the sword and left this area contaminated with radiation. He was trying to keep us from getting it."

I said, "The Dark Sorcerers are not going to fear someone with a sword while they are shielded. If it ignores their shields then someone can Port to them and stab them right through it."

Kardauma said, "If they know of Preah'kahn it will not be that simple. They will be expecting us to attack with a sword that looks like no other. We should keep it hidden until we have a chance to use it."

Grandfather asked, "Can't Eriana just freeze them in time? We can simply walk up and strike them down."

Eriana explained, "I can't while they're shielded. They also have to be very close to me. If I get too close they might freeze me first then kill me. I would rather stay as far away from them as possible."

Kardauma said, "It would be best for me to use the sword against them. They can't freeze me in time."

Father said, "At least we now have the ability to kill them if they are Demigods. It would not be good if we killed them then they just came back a day later."

Kardauma commented, "There is another ability I think we should consider."

Grandfather asked, "What is that?"

"Torva's magic is almost undetectable unless you're close to her. Eriana's on the other hand is so strong that they will be able to sense her presence from a great distance. We may arrive and find all three Dark Sorcerers waiting on us. We need a way to hide her magic."

Father told him, "Irena's father Abram has that ability. Keera has a device to device Communicator and The High Council has the other one. She got it for an emergency before they implemented the no interaction with Avangarians law. We can at least try to contact them and ask for Abram's help. I seriously doubt they will let him."

We exited Nalamakk. The sun was peeking through the clouds and we could see that it wasn't yet mid-day. Veelus stood on the circular design in front of the doors and gave out a roar. The doors closed and we could hear the barriers closing one by one behind them. While he was doing this father called Ryuu on his Communicator to let them know we were alright and brief them on what was going on. We flew east towards Galdaya. Once we were there Ryoma would make us a Portal home. Then probably send father to get Grandma Keera's special communicator from her home in Maddus.

# Chapter 10 A Gift from Abram

Abram Casteel

The events that were unfolding on Avangar were no secret to my people. We had an observation vessel called the Nymick in orbit around Avangar to insure the Parthanians were honoring the treaty. We used it to watch Kahli kill Tetra and capture Irena. Something happened that was removed from our timeline by Vaalstrom. All we knew was that Irena ended up in a Fate Crystal and was captured. So I watched Kahli take my daughter. I knew that with the help of my people he could be defeated. I also knew The High Council would not allow this to happen.

The day after Irena's wedding The High Council passed a law forbidding Zyamarians from traveling to Avangar or interacting with Avangarians in any way. The planet was made off limits for all citizens. Even though she had lived on Avangar most of her life Irena was still a Haalandorian and still legally a citizen. Which meant the leader of The High Council could bind her powers.

The High Council has eleven members to prevent a tie vote. Five must be men, five must be women, and the leader can be either sex. That particular council had made being a member a lifetime position after the war with Rajani. She was a Dark Sorcerer that had aligned herself with Kaygun the last time Thanatos was in our part of the solar system. He gave her and army of Gethin Fairy Dark Sorcerers to aid her. The council members were key players in her defeat. Since two hundred and fifty million people and dragons were massacred by Rajani the support for lifetime positions was overwhelming. Many were calling for it to be made a limited term once more. I had fallen into being the leader of this movement and thus became their greatest enemy. I assumed that I was the main reason for the interaction law. They were trying to make me break the law so they could bind my powers and imprison me.

Ryoma decided to wait until after their honeymoon so she would not ruin it for them. When Irena returned Ryoma petitioned a hearing on the matter the following morning. For some reason all the council members seemed pleased when a Portal big enough for an Earthlore Dragon appeared directly on the council floor. They knew that meant Ryoma was coming. They also knew she was not going to be in a pleasing mood.

Ryoma stomped through with Irena right behind her, the Portal disappeared. My daughter Larea and I joined them and stood on opposite sides of Ryoma. This was one part moral support, one part show of force. She didn't even give him a chance to call the hearing to order.

"Explain yourselves!"

The leader Tarkion calmly and arrogantly said, "I have not called this hearing to order. Please remove yourself from the floor."

"I care nothing for your protocol. You will explain your actions. I will not let you separate me from my people or Irena from her family."

"I am afraid you have nothing to say about it. And there will be no explanation. The vote was unanimous. It is beyond contest."

The hundred thousand people watching in the stadium erupted in a roar of whispering and talking. We all thought we would be able to repeal the law with a Citizen Vote. This cannot be done if the council members vote unanimously. Ryoma looked around at the council members in disbelief. The crowd became silent when she began to speak once more.

"By the love of Tekarra. Why?"

Tarkion said, "We have voted unanimously. We do not have to give a reason why. We feel it is in the best interest of Zyamar. The reasons will be revealed in time."

Ryoma asked, "How could this be in the best interest of Zyamar? You are separating Irena and dragons from their families. Is this seriously just a racist response because Irena married an Avangarian?"

"It has nothing to do with Irena or the dragons. We have not led our people astray in over four hundred years, we are not starting now. When Thanatos appears we will still join forces. Until then we feel it is best for our two worlds to remain separated."

Ryoma said, "We will not be joining forces. The alliance is broken. I will not consider another alliance until a new High Council is elected."

The crowd erupted in talking and whispers once more. Their actions broke an alliance that had lasted twenty thousand years. An alliance we all took pride in, not just the Zyamarian dragons. As always, the meeting was being broadcast all across Haalandor. There is a Dragon District near the Courts District. Moments after she said that Skylore Dragons and younglings of every size began to fill the sky around the open stadium. Soon you could barely see the buildings in the city.

Tarkion looked around at them then calmly said, "Nothing will change our minds." Then he said loud and almost angrily. "I call the hearing to order!"

Irena walked out in front of Ryoma. "I have come to request release from your law so I may live with my husband on Avangar."

Tarkion bluntly said, "Denied. You will remain on Haalandor."

Irena said firmly and slightly angrily, "I will be returning to Avangar. I denounce my citizenship. I am no longer a Zyamarian."

"No longer? Have you ever truly been a Zyamarian? I think not." He smiled at her. "Irena Casteel has denounced her citizenship. I propose she be declared a traitor. Call the vote."

Every other council member said loudly, "The proposal is passed!"

No debate and all agreed too quickly to think it was not planned. This was highly unexpected. The crowd erupted once more as White Portals appeared all through the stands. In mere moments the stadium grew silent because they all left. As soon as they passed the proposal a White Shield created by Ryoma immediately went up around Irena. He was about to bind her powers. As a traitor she would also be imprisoned for life. Larea and I immediately moved apart by sliding across the floor in opposite directions. Irena had done that to make room for the shields Ryoma put around us all. She is the only White Sorcerer we knew of that could make people levitate or move. Ryoma created White Shields around us and herself the moment we were all far enough apart. While she had them up he wouldn't be able to bind our powers.

None of the council members even attempted to raise shields. They knew we would take that as an act of aggression and they were going to attack. They also knew that as long as they remained defenseless we would not murder them.

Ryoma looked at Tarkion with angry eyes. "You will imprison Irena over my dead body. Try to bind my powers you fool."

It doesn't matter that she was shielded. He still cannot bind her powers because her magic comes from Avangar, not Haalandor. We are a Circle of Four. As such we can all use our powers through each other's shields despite the fact we do not share the same Magical Frequency. Irena and Ryoma can do this anyway because as Sentinel and Alana they actually do share the same frequency. The only other unique case in this matter was Middy and the girls. They can use their magic through each other's shields while they wear The Crystals of Destiny.

If we could complete both my and Larea's Circle of Four attacks before they got through her shields we could most likely kill Tarkion. My attack could make him drop his shield and Larea's would kill him. Of course that was only if he just stood there and let us attack. He and all the council members would try to prevent that. Not to mention the military I knew was on their way. They are a formidable foe, but they couldn't beat us all.

Everyone looked up because the sky became dark as evacuation sirens blared through the Court District and two others. Everyone in a fifty mile radius was ordered to evacuate. A little over a million horizontal White Portals had appeared in the sky and blocked out the sunlight for miles around the stadium. The Legion of White Sorcerers were watching the hearing and at the ready. They had made White Portals on a floor and stepped into them. They fell feet first and formed White Shields around themselves as their Portals disappeared. They immediately slowed the shields and White Shields went up around every dragon in the sky. They rested on the bottom as their shields flew away at an incredible speed. My soldiers had moved them to safety. They would not be an asset in such a battle. My best took up an offensive posture around the stadium grouping with their Circles. Most formed a defensive barrier around the stadium that created a wall of sorcerers over two miles thick. I could not see them because they were too far away, but the Sky Troops were surrounding my sorcerers. The military's ground forces were on their way as well.

I said, "I think we have a standoff here. Look around Tarkion. You know you cannot bind all our powers before enough of us get to you. I think it would be best to let Irena go and everyone just take a step back. One person is not worth a revolution that will make us the weakest kingdom on Haalandor."

Larea asked, "Where are your guards Tarkion? A thousand troops are hiding downstairs choosing to risk a prison sentence instead of coming to your defense. They know it would be suicide. I hope you can absorb that wisdom. Personally I was not planning to die today. So I didn't have a chance to say good-bye to my family. Did you say good-bye to your wife this morning? Call your children and say good-bye? Because if you do not let Irena go, you damn sure are not getting out of here alive."

I love the way she can chastise someone and make you think of more important things at the same time. Tarkion stood up furious because he knew we were not the only Circles there. The council members were all White Sorcerers that had never seen a battle. No matter what happened they would only survive for a few minutes.

"Irena Casteel has been judged a traitor! She is exiled! If any citizen of Zyamar interacts with her anywhere on this planet! Or anywhere in this solar system! They will be declared a traitor and they will be imprisoned! Call the vote!"

The rest of the council members loudly said in unison, "All decisions are passed!"

Tarkion said loud and angrily, "It is unanimous! Hearing adjourned!"

He and the other members got up and started leaving with angry looks on their faces.

After our shields disappeared I walked over to Irena. "This has been a long time in the making. The council's days are numbered."

Larea said to her, "Don't worry. They have gone too far this time. I assure you they have underestimated how many people in the military have dragon friends. Breaking the treaty may finally sway the vote."

Ryoma said, "I hope you're right. I cannot believe they would do such a thing."

I said, "Hopefully this ends up being a blessing. I too think this may finally get us the votes."

Irena hugged Larea. "I love you."

"I love you too. I promise the moment the laws are repealed I will come to Tarmakk. I'm sorry about everything."

She was apologizing because she was very much against Irena marrying Balanath. I had never seen my daughters so divided. Sometimes life can make you see that family is more important than opinions.

"Don't worry about it." Irena smiled at her then looked at me. "I love you father."

"I love you too." We hugged. "I will be right there with her once this is over. It may take a few months to get enough people behind us, but I'm sure in the end we will at least be able to make council member a limited term again. That is enough to remove them since their terms will be served. Legion. Stand down. End transmission." They all released their shields and dropped into Portals.

Ryoma said, "Consider the alliance reinstated when that happens."

It was an exceedingly long few months. Almost seventeen years long. I was finally returning to Avangar and I still would not be able to see Irena. The High Council was watching me closely and had only allowed me to come to Avangar to bestow a gift upon Eriana. When we observed them outside Nalamakk we heard Balanath brief Ryuu. He told him they would ask for my help. I knew the council would not allow me to help. I immediately put in an Emergency Petition for The High Council to allow me to unlock Eriana's ability to use White Portals. This could give them the surprise attack they needed. They would have never agreed if not for all at the hearing feeling Haalandor's approval. I always fill the stands with White Sorcerers from the movement. They are happy to wait in line to assure they get a seat. Collectively we can concentrate Haalandor's thoughts. If she approves or disapproves we will sense it. If the council ever goes against her wishes my problems would be over. All of Zyamar would demand their removal. We respect Haalandor's opinion above all laws. Being allowed to unlock her ability to use Portals reassured me they were traveling Tekarra's Favored Path.

Because of privacy laws we could not watch them constantly besides using the sensors to track their movement. We could only observe them at important moments. At that time we only knew what we heard Balanath tell Ryuu outside of Nalamakk. We knew they had read a prophecy that was a continuation of The Prophecy of the Last Hope. We also knew they were The Chosen Eight and had retrieved a sword that could kill a god. We scanned Preah'kahn which was wrapped in cloth behind Veelus's saddle. The scanners deemed it a normal sword. That was a bit of a mystery. It would have to hold some very powerful magic if it could kill a god. We of course assumed the magic must somehow be undetectable.

They gave me one day to visit my family to show our people they were not completely heartless. I would not use the entire time. Important matters engulfed every moment of my life in those days. So I only planned to spend the night. I was looking forward to meeting my granddaughters.

I was allowed to contact Ryoma and tell her I was coming. I waited until they were back at Tarmakk to give myself all the time within the twenty four hours I may have needed. They didn't need to try and use Keera's special communicator. She was there waiting on them anyway to make sure the girls were alright after their trip to Nalamakk. She was staying with Ryuu's sister in southern Tiamat because of the shadow beast problem on Galdaya. She and Ryuu's sister Mazz had become best friends over the years.

When they came back through Ryoma's Portal she immediately called me. "Abram. They are back. Come to the Seminarium."

I created my Portal then dropped it once I was through. Veelus and the other younglings were not there. Veelus had gone to brief Hobbus on the situation and the others had gone home. Terus was in the kitchen helping Nalya so she would give him a few drinks. He had lived a hard life, which tends to make someone easily addicted to the false happiness that alcohol provides.

Balanath walked up to me and shook my hand. "It is so good to see you. You have been missed."

"We certainly have missed you all. Even Larea says she is going to give you a big hug when she sees you."

"I feel the same way. The council has stolen seventeen years of our lives and Kaygun will be here soon. We don't have time for petty rivalry."

"You have both learned the same lesson I assure you. She feels like she tried to steal Irena's happiness. She has been beating herself up for years over it. I am certain all will be forgiven."

"I forgive her. I'm sure as far as Irena is concerned there has never been anything to forgive."

To hear him speak my daughter's name made my heart drop. I looked down with worried eyes. I removed my thoughts of Irena's terrible situation and moved to more joyous ones.

"Ryoma, Ryuu, it has been far too long."

Ryuu said, "It has indeed my friend. I hope you will have this foolishness straightened out soon."

"Unfortunately we have made little progress. You will be overjoyed to know that even the lowest ranking soldiers in the military are wealthy now."

Ryoma said, "That explains how they stayed in power."

I looked at her with a smile. "I see Veelus is not going to be an only child. When is the due date?"

"In about three weeks. I assume they wouldn't let Larea come."

"No, but she sends her love to you all. As you probably suspect they didn't want me to come either. Haalandor made that decision for them."

I saw Andor standing close by observing. One of the good things to come from that tragedy was that Balanath was finally reunited with his father.

"Andor, it is good to see you again my friend."

"It is good to see you as well."

Middy flew up to my face. "I'm Middy, nice to meet you."

She held out her hand as if she was going to shake mine. I was a little confused but still held out my hand anyway. She grabbed my pointing finger and raised it up and down as if she was shaking a hand.

"My name is Abram. It is my honor to meet you. It brings me great comfort to know you will be there to protect my granddaughters."

She smiled at me. Torva and Eriana later told me they were surprised by our pleasant introduction. They said introductions were not one of her strong points. Middy told them it was because I reminded her of Darrius. I have green eyes and his are blue. I have graying dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache to match. Even though his years number in the millions, I still looked like an old man compared to him. I assumed she meant my demeanor was like his. I have always liked Middy, and unlike some I have always got along very well with her. She would eventually end up calling me Gramps like my grandson Tosch does.

Keera was standing nearby in between the girls with both her arms around their shoulders. "It is good to have you here, even if it is only for a brief time. I know these two young ladies have wanted to meet you for quite a while."

I smiled at the girls and they smiled back. All three walked over to us.

Keera hugged me. "It is good to see you again."

"You as well."

She then gave us some room. I looked at the girls with proud joyous eyes.

"I can see Irena in your smiles." I looked at Eriana. "To look at you takes me back in time. You look so much like your mother when she was your age."

She smiled. "I consider that the most wonderful of compliments. It is a pleasure to meet you grandfather."

"It is my greatest of honors to meet you." I looked at Torva. "You as well Torva."

"It's an honor to meet you too grandfather. I have seen you in The Archive recordings. Your battle skills are amazing."

"Thank you. Your battle skills against the undead were more than impressive. Every shot found its target. As far as I know you are the only other person besides Malauv to ever summon Avangar's Aaseems. That came as a surprise to everyone. Malauv was only allowed the power during the war. I assume since you have been The Omega Summoner since birth this is permanent."

"It better be or I'll be going to Avangar's realm and kicking her ass." She smiled.

I smiled as well. "I see you have been blessed with your father's sense of humor."

"Blessed, cursed, the opinions vary."

I chuckled. I truly did miss Balanath's strange sense of humor during those years apart. She is definitely her father's daughter.

Eriana said, "She is the only one that will ever be able to call the Aaseems again on either of our planets."

"So she will be able to summon Haalandor's Aaseems as well. Don't expect a warm greeting when you meet Althea."

Eriana said, "Mother told us grandmother doesn't seem to feel emotions anymore."

"Yes, it is an unfortunate byproduct from her becoming an Aaseem." I looked at Torva. "I heard you say you could sense the animals. Can you control them yet?"

"No, but I know exactly where they are if they are close enough. I can also sense their emotional state. I do believe my hunting days are over. I really don't want to know what they feel like when they get killed. I can't even imagine hunting again."

Eriana said, "She will be able to control the animals after Avangar unlocks her ability to wield the Aaseem's powers. She says now is not the right time for those powers to be unlocked."

I said to Torva, "Remember to take the ability to control the animals very seriously once the power is yours. They will fight to the death if you command them to. Use them wisely, especially in battle."

"I would never use them in a battle. What battle would I be in they could survive?"

"Malauv used them for stealth so he could get behind enemy lines more than anything else. He also used forest creatures to guide him and distract the enemies. The only time he used them to attack was when he had Snow Buffaloes stampede over some soldiers. He was actually using them to sneak behind the lines then too. The soldiers were just guarding the pass he had to go through. As far as we know the Parthanians never found out about that ability."

"I hope you can teach me more."

"I will tell you everything I know before I leave." We smiled at each other.

Balanath said, "You were obviously watching us at the entrance to Infinity Cavern. Have you listened to everything we have been saying outside?"

"Because of the privacy laws we can only observe you at obviously important moments. So far we have observed Irena's capture, your battle with the undead and what was said outside Tarmakk and Nalamakk. I assume the sword behind Veelus's saddle is Preah'kahn. May I see it?"

"I had Veelus secure it in the armory because it might kill someone besides The Chosen Eight if they touch it. I will show it to you later."

Andor said, "So The High Council is watching us and still they see no reason to help. Surely your sensors have detected that Kahli is harnessing Haalandor's Erebus. I know they did it to save lives, but don't they feel any responsibility for sending the Erebus here? Don't they understand Haalandor's life is at stake too?"

I looked down for a moment with a frustrated heart. "I cannot answer those questions, or any others. I am afraid the information can only flow in one direction."

I reached up and took out the necklace I was wearing. It had a small egg shaped Milliscanner attached to the chain. It is a device that monitors everything you do. It will know what you say, write and even hand gestures that you make so as to keep you from using the deaf person's speech. It reads every book and writing in a room you enter. It even scans every person you come in contact with and could tell you if they have a cold. It is normally used as a spy device. In that case it was spying on me.

"They don't trust me enough to give me any privacy on this journey. The Privacy Safeties have been disabled. They will monitor me the entire time I am here." I said to Eriana. "I assume your ability to speak to Avangar is a Blessing. How is it possible? It seems like blatant interference."

"She can only answer our questions that will not affect Tekarra's Favored Path. It is not interfering because it was her dying wish for me to have the Blessing."

"Dying wish? I don't like the way that sounds."

Eriana said, "It's not as bad as it sounds. They were given a dying wish, but we can still save them from Kaygun. We learned this from the prophecy."

"Could you please tell me exactly what it said."

Balanath said, "I will give you the exact words later. Just know that Veelus, Kardauma, Andor, Terus and I were meant to join with Middy and the girls and be known as The Chosen Eight. We think Kahli and the other Dark Sorcerers might have become Demigods by harnessing Haalandor's Erebus. That's why we would need a sword that can kill a god. We suspect we are meant to use it on Kaygun as well."

I asked Eriana, "Can Avangar tell you if the sword was meant to kill Kaygun?"

"She will not tell me. She just said save our worries for the battles at hand. Kaygun will become the least of our problems if we can't defeat Kahli."

Middy said, "Like I said before. If she can't say no that's as good as a yes."

Balanath said, "One of us will certainly have to be involved. Only we eight can wield the sword in battle without being killed by it."

Ryoma said to me, "Since you observed Irena's battle I assume you know how they killed Tetra."

"Tarkion ordered me not to tell you anything we know. He is looking for any excuse to declare me a traitor."

Balanath said, "I would rather have you join us, but at least they are going to let you unlock Eriana's ability to use Portals. That will be a tremendous help."

I said, "A Portal can almost be as good as Fate's Veil for your needs. They will be alerted to your presence when the Portal is created. However, five younglings in a dive can tuck their wings and travel through a large Portal almost as soon as it appears. You can still have the element of surprise if Eriana can get close enough to see their castles. I will teach the younglings how to do it."

Torva said, "Consider that training done. We mastered that move during The Trials of Vaalstrom."

I said in a curious tone, "The Trials of Vaalstrom? That sounds interesting. You can tell me about them when we talk later. As for now, the last big question on my mind is the other thing we considered interference. Do you know why Darrius sent the Parthanian's ships to the Kyper Region? It almost started a war."

Ryoma said, "Let me take a guess, the Valona wanted to attack Partha."

"No one even considered attacking them in their moment of weakness except the Valona. All the kingdoms in The Alliance of Light had to come together to keep them from attacking."

Ryuu said in disbelief, "They were only in the war for five hours during the final push into Partha."

Ryoma shared his disbelief, "Not to mention they only lost sixty-seven sorcerers. We lost millions of lives."

I said, "As you know, passiveness is not in their nature. We had to put up a blockade until I could talk Yavonna out of it."

Balanath said, "If you don't know why Darrius did that, I assume the Nymick didn't know Eriana was on Partha."

"We detected Darrius's magic when she disappeared from Tarmakk. We assumed he had taken her to Acedia."

Torva said, "He did. She ended up on Partha because Middy took her Crystal of Destiny from her."

"It wasn't my fault! Anzora was playing mind games with me."

Ryoma said, "No one blames you dear. It had to happen."

I asked, "Why would Eriana being on Partha make Darrius do that?"

Balanath replied, "Artemus tried to kill her because Darrius made their sensors think she was a Haalandorian. That is what gave him a reason to send the Parthanians ships away. He was calling in a favor from Fate so he could interfere."

Torva added, "He did it to save Terus. If they had investigated our battles they would have killed him."

I spent the night and got to know my granddaughters. I felt guilty for keeping them up so late. They needed their rest. Balanath, Ryoma, Ryuu, Keera and I did not get any sleep. We had a lot of catching up to do. The next morning I had everyone come up to the overlook so the Nymick could observe what I was doing. The overlook was directly above Tarmakk. Behind the observation wall was what seemed to be a large round dragon throne platform. It was actually an elevator so the Earthlore Dragons could more easily get up to the overlook. It was not a public elevator because it was on the third floor of the castle.

The huge elevator doors parted in the middle and the lift stopped. Ryoma walked over to us. She was the last one to come up.

I said as I walked over to Eriana, "All born White Sorcerers have the ability to use White Portals inside them. On Haalandor young sorcerers complete classes and training to prove to Haalandor they are worthy to have this power unlocked. You have obviously proven you are worthy or I would not be able to do it. Take my hands."

I took both her hands with mine. I closed my eyes and magic in the form of a warm white glow surrounded me. The magic traveled from me to her and was absorbed into her. I had unlocked her ability to use White Portals. I also snuck in something else.

The Nymick was monitoring me with technology Tosch created. We had already trained many times on how to fool the sensors. I bestowed another power on her I couldn't tell her about. I couldn't let her know I had done something else at the time because the council was watching. Fortunately she didn't know and didn't question it. If she had the council would have called me back to Zyamar to bind my powers and imprison me. I would have gone to Toshi instead and a civil war would have ensued. I hoped she would ask the right question so Avangar would reveal the knowledge to her.

"All you must do is envision where you want the exit Portal to be. Look down the trail into the jungle and create it. Just look at the spot you want it to lead to and create your Portal."

She looked down the trail and held her hands up in front of her face. She was holding them flat a few inches apart with her palms facing each other. She quickly brought them together in the praying position. They made a clapping sound and she dropped them to see what she had done. Instantly a White Portal appeared in front of her and another far down the trail halfway in the ground. It was an excellent first attempt.

I smiled. "Very good. I can tell by the motion you make with your hands that you're concentrating on bending space-time and bringing both places together. You must ignore what the magic is doing and simply envision where you want the exit Portal to be. Try again, but this time close your eyes, envision your Portal above the ground on the trail."

She waved her right hand and the Portals disappeared. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. She made no motion. A Portal appeared in front of her. Far off in the distance another could be seen perfectly on the ground. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Perfect. I knew you would easily master it." I looked at Torva and Middy. "You two should always stay close to Eriana in a time of peril so you can use a Portal to escape." I looked at Eriana as she dismissed her Portals once again. "You will also be able to make a Portal to a place where you sense magic. The best way to do this is to envision your Portal in the sky. That will normally keep it from appearing in the ground or inside something."

Eriana said, "Thank you grandfather. I will try to use it wisely."

Kardauma appeared, "It is not good. I can sense her over the horizon. She will be able to see Edur's castle because it is on a mountain peak, but she will not be able to get close enough to see Kahli and Ignaas's castles before they can sense her."

I said, "If you can defeat Edur first you will only have to face two sorcerers in the next battle. That is better than three."

Kardauma said, "There is another way to shield her magic. I must surround her and everything her magic touches with Cirrus."

Eriana commented, "When you hid my magic before it hurt you."

He explained to her, "The Vrah can meld together just like the Cerans can. There will be no visible change to me, but they will be inside me. Once this is done it cannot be undone until Kahli is dead. They must have their minds free to leave my body. It will take all my people to hide your attacks. You must limit the power of your attacks or it will kill us all." He began to address us. "When I said earlier we must find a way to hide her magic I knew this was a way. It is a hard decision for me to make. I have no right to speak for my people and risk their lives."

Andor said, "It is too high a price to pay. Not only would you die, all your people would be lost as well."

Kardauma seemed to be thinking for a moment. Even though he was speaking to us, he was actually talking himself into doing it.

"If we don't defeat Kahli and he is able to take over Avangar he will become a Dark God. If this happens he will become immortal. My people's curse will never end or he may be able to kill them." He looked down for a few moments immersed in thought. "I have no right to speak for my people, but I am one of Tekarra's chosen ones. I must do everything in my power to complete her tasks. As Eriana told us, billions of lives are at stake. I will go to Infinity Cavern and make them a part of my being."

He waited for no thanks or response from us. He simply turned to Cirrus and flew away into the sky.

I said, "That man continues to reshape my views and the views of all of Haalandor. You are very blessed to have him as an ally."

Balanath said, "I agree."

I looked at Terus. We had not actually had a chance to talk.

"I hear you are a thief."

He looked back at me for a moment. "Yes I am. When the world gives you the choice of wasting your life on a farm or dying young for ungrateful kings, sometimes it is best to find another way to survive."

"Well-spoken, but don't sell yourself short. You are capable of great things or you would not be one of Tekarra's chosen ones. I hope you will be able to gain Artemus's favor someday soon. We need a friend on Partha. It would be in the best interest of both our kingdoms to become allies before Kaygun returns."

"Artemus won't be hosting a celebration if I show up on his doorstep." He smiled. "Despite that, if the opportunity ever presents itself. I will do all I can to bring our two peoples together."

"I could ask for no more." I addressed everyone. "I must depart now. I'm sure that the information I have learned is already feeding the firestorm on Haalandor."

After some fond farewells I created a Portal and returned to Zyamar. I was overjoyed to hear they were definitely walking down Tekarra's Favored Path. That normally means the light will prevail in a good way with little or no loss of life. I was hoping that Zyamar was on that path as well. I did not want to see a civil war. I returned to Zyamar intending to prevent that from happening.

# Chapter 11 Edur

Kardauma

I returned to Infinity Cavern and traveled to each one of my people. I formed by them and quickly touched them before they had time to attack or run. They were transformed into Cirrus and absorbed into my body through my hands. Duvessa was the last to be absorbed. I formed near her and tried to talk to her one last time. She was very wary of me and slowly backed away growling. I got down on one knee in front of her.

"Duvessa my love, I hope that some part of you understands this. I love you and I'm doing all I can to free you from this curse."

She growled and leaped towards me. I held out my right arm stiff with my palm facing her. She hit my hand, turned to Cirrus and was absorbed.

I said to myself in a solemn tone, "Please forgive me if I fail you my friends. I have no right to do this, but it is for the greater good."

I returned to Tarmakk. Everyone was out on the walkway about to go to Hynar and train. We would be facing Edur the next day.

Andor asked me, "Is it done?"

"Yes, we are one until Kahli is dead."

Balanath asked, "What should Eriana do to make sure she doesn't hurt you?"

Eriana listened closely as I explained. "I will only Veil you when necessary. If we encounter unexpected foes near their castles feel free to attack as you normally would. Every time you attack you are basically attacking them as well. They will go into The Nether Point then reenter my body. You must never attack with your full power. It will send them all into The Nether Point. If they all re-enter me at the same time the Dark Energy released will kill me, and in turn kill them."

Balanath said, "Kahli's Traps are always bound to something on the ground. Since we are flying we will not be triggering any of them. She will only be attacking their minions if necessary."

I said, "Don't limit your attacks to their minions. I won't be using my Veil in battle. If you get the chance to attack them use your full power."

A very worried look came over Eriana's face. "I will not kill them."

I said, "If they are Demigods we will not be able to kill them without Preah'kahn. Your attack will only weaken them."

Balanath said, "If their shields drop you can get a light orb to them before they get it back up. As Kardauma said, you will not be able to kill them."

There was a good reason outside of moral convictions that made Eriana so reluctant to take a life. When she was five she was helping her father in the fields by removing rocks in front of his plow. Kahli had set a Trap that made her think she was removing a rock. It was actually part of the tectonic plate Galdaya rests on. She moved the plate and it caused earthquakes and tidal waves that took over fifty thousand lives. She refused to use her powers for four years after that happened. Even though she began using her powers again, she was of course very traumatized by the event.

She looked up at Balanath with those same worried eyes. "What if your wrong? What if they are not Demigods? I will be a murderer. I'm sorry father. I'm not going to kill anyone. I cannot take a life, not again."

For him to say this to such a gentle soul almost seemed cruel. He had to, no one can predict what will happen in a battle with a sorcerer. If she paused for even a moment it could mean someone's life.

He said firmly, "Would you rather see one of us die? Middy, Certi, Hyla... Torva." For a moment I thought she might cry. "You have to understand this is not like the trials. There will be no one to come to our rescue. They will kill us and won't think twice about it."

She looked at Balanath and whispered, "I will not let that happen. I will be strong, I promise."

Balanath sighed and touched his forehead as he looked down. I could tell he didn't like talking to her like that.

He said in a comforting tone, "I know you will baby girl, I know you will. I'm sorry, but I cannot let you go into this battle with that mindset. If something happened to..." He looked away for a moment. Everyone knew the word he could not speak was Torva. "We need you as a protector more than anything else. We will attack Edur. Just watch the battlefield for emergencies. Remember Crimson Warrior Rule Number Three."

She forced a smile and softly said, "If they're in trouble, run away in a bubble. I will father."

"Be prepared for anything. If he is able to make you drop your shields the rule is ladies first. I want you to get the shields up around you girls first, then worry about the rest of us."

Heady said, "Uh, Balanath. I'm not actually okay with that rule."

Tooma added, "Seriously Balanath. That sounded a little sexist to me. I'm sure Hyla and Torva were very offended."

Hyla said, "Well, if it's you two I'm okay with it."

Torva added, "Me too."

Middy said, "I'm more than okay with it." They chuckled a bit because they were making a joke.

Those three were some of the toughest in our group. Torva and Hyla have the Hi-Chi to protect themselves. Fairies are magical beings that are tougher than they are under the effects of the Hi-Chi. Middy can get physically attacked or hit with a powerful magic attack and just shake it off. If something happened they would protect them with every ounce of their powers.

Veelus said, "If we have no shields I assure you, protecting you two and Terus will become our top priority. Tooma, Andor has the Hi-Chi. You are far from unprotected."

Terus said, "Heady will have me to protect him. I will use my own special power to keep him alive."

Heady asked in a slightly confused tone, "What power is that?"

"The power to run like hell. If you can keep up with me, you'll be fine."

Heady asked Tooma, "Do you want to trade riders?"

"I would, but sorry. This saddle is already adjusted to Andor's height."

"Oh, that's no problem. The saddle can easily be readjusted."

Tooma said slowly, "Yes, but that would take a few seconds." He brought his face close to Heady's and said in a loud whisper everyone could hear. "Besides that, look at him. I don't want to hurt his feelings. He looks like one of those sensitive types."

Andor said, "You already hurt my feelings. I will definitely be crying into my pillow tonight."

That was amusing to everyone. They all seemed to be in a joking mood, Eriana was absolutely serious.

"Don't worry Heady. If I come close to losing control I will definitely be implementing rule number two. I'm not taking any chances."

Balanath said, "That is the protector's prerogative. Do whatever you feel is necessary to keep everyone alive."

We traveled to The Hynar Training grounds south of Caldarra City. Andor and Terus took to riding the younglings well. They had both rode horses most of their lives and I'm sure that helped. It took Terus some time to get used to firing his crossbow from a dragon because they move much faster than a horse. He had to adjust his aim to make up for their movement. Even though he did get very good at hitting his targets, Hobbus was still not impressed. He was nowhere near as good as Torva, Andor and Balanath, but they had the Hi-Chi on their side.

Torva summoned Bora to help them with their training since he was a being of ice like Edur. The younglings started out training against his humanoid ice warriors. The Elites had a rider from Galdaya there that day. They always have the same rider because they train as a team. Heady and Tooma's riders were on Galdaya helping. Andor and Terus would be riding them until our quest was over. Their riders didn't mind at all. Because of their never ending jokes it was very difficult to find a rider for them. I think it may be impossible for those two to build a bond with a rider strong enough to become Sentinel and Alana.

It was an impressive sight to see The Elites rise to their hind legs and draw their swords. They fought alone against hundreds of humanoid ice warriors that stood as tall as them. They struck down their enemies with their swords and their fire breath as well. The humanoid warriors would fight head on as humans do in a battle. He called on ice beasts in the form of humanoid white tigers that were also as tall as them. They were more cunning and would attack them from behind when they were distracted. Those that were able to attack from behind did no harm because of the Enchanted shields that surrounded them. The Enchanted shields did something I didn't expect. It is intelligent magic. When they were fighting sword wielding beasts they did not always appear. If the youngling was going to successfully block the attack with their sword it wouldn't appear. If the beast was going to hit them with their sword it would. Hobbus was an excellent trainer. He taught them to use this. At times they would lower their sword to let the beast get a hit. As its sword was bouncing off the shield they would stab it in the midriff. When they mastered defeating one type of Bora's minions Hobbus would speak to Bora and have him attack in the most surprising ways. In the past they would only have targets or each other to train against. With Bora summoning creatures to battle them this was the best training they had ever had.

Normally younglings never use crossbows, only Illuma Rifles. They do have dragon sized crossbows, but they are not practical. The size of the bow part of the crossbow gives them no good place to carry it. The rifles can easily be carried in a holster strap to their upper front arms. Unfortunately because of the new unknown magic that caused the rifles to explode they were not able to bring them. With Middy enchanting the riders bolts it made up for this. Her enchanted bolts could do more damage than a dragon's rifle or crossbow. The riders normally use rifles and are basically extra firepower for a dragon. In this case they would be all of their firepower and the younglings would fight any that came in close range. When they are swarmed upon it is up to the riders to thin the enemy numbers. That leaves fewer for the younglings to deal with.

Hobbus had Bora summon flying minions in the form of large ice eagles that could breathe blizzards to attack. They were quite agile in flight. Only Veelus and Hyla fared well without riders because they have the Hi-Chi. The Enchanted shields work very well. The eagles couldn't harm them, but The Elites could slay very few with their swords and fire breath. In the next mock battle the riders joined them. The riders shot the ice eagles all around the younglings with their fire Enchanted bolts. Together they made short work of the hundreds of eagles Bora continually summoned against them.

Balanath and Veelus, Torva and Hyla, were two very well-trained teams and fighting the eagles displayed this. Veelus is powerful and would dive into the swarms without fear. He used his Enchanted Shield to crash through them as he destroyed them with his sword and fire breath. Balanath would stand on his back and kill those in front as he dived. As Veelus passed them he would quickly sit on his saddle backwards and keep firing at those behind them. Standing is better when firing forward because they can lean back and put tension on the rope to remain stable.

Torva concentrated on rear attacks much more than Balanath. Where Hyla lacked power; she more than made up for it with speed. She is the fastest dragon in all of their written history. The eagles couldn't keep up with her. Torva like to retract her rope just enough to remain stable sitting behind her saddle. She sat there almost looking as if she was taking a break. She calmly and quickly picked them off behind them with her crossbow. She was showing off. She yawned like she was bored while Hyla slowed down enough for more eagles to catch up with them. She once rejoined the battle lying down behind the saddle as if she was taking a nap.

Terus and Andor were not as well trained as they were, but Heady and Tooma had a fighting style that complimented them perfectly. They liked to fight back to back and protect each other from attacks from the rear. They destroyed any eagles that got close to them in the front while Andor and Terus were shooting every eagle around them. Heady and Tooma did not move so even Terus had little problem hitting his targets. They stood on their backs and shot them in all directions. Those attacking from below simply crashed into their Enchanted shields.

Veelus took the battle to the swarms. Hyla made them chase her and would split up the swarms. Heady and Tooma let the battles come to them. Tekarra had chosen her warriors well. They could destroy more of the eagles than all the other fifty younglings and riders combined.

Overall everyone performed beyond my expectations at least. I'm not sure that it is even possible to live up to Hobbus's expectations. Only Veelus seemed to. I think he may have been the only youngling he didn't call a fool that day.

The next day Eriana made us a Portal to Nalamakk. It was close enough to Edur's castle that it wouldn't be a long journey for us. Even I traveled through the Portal to get used to it again. We came out in front of Nalamakk. When everyone arrived on the other side she dismissed it.

Balanath looked at me. I was on one knee looking down holding my forehead. It is an exhausting experience for me to travel through a White Portal. The White Plasma is like a White Magic attack to me.

Balanath asked, "Are you alright?"

I stood up. "I will be fine. It will just take a few minutes to fully recover."

I didn't get the impression that the younglings were nervous about fighting Edur. I believe that because of the trials they were actually used to going to battle. Veelus, Certi and Hyla had a serious attitude because that was a serious situation. Heady and Tooma on the other hand acted more like a teenager might be expected to act. They were standing side by side looking at us with unconcerned looks. Without even looking at him Heady reached down with his right front claw and scooped up some snow. He slung the snow at Tooma hitting him right in the face. Tooma gave him an angry look and shook his head to remove the snow.

Heady never even looked at him. "Terribly sorry. I didn't see you there."

Tooma calmly said, "Don't think twice about it. It was my fault."

He then slowly walked out in front of Heady and suddenly started kicking snow at him with his back legs. He covered him with snow.

Tooma turned towards him. "Terribly sorry. You look so much like a turd I felt I should cover you up."

Heady shook the snow from his body and dove into Tooma. They rolled across the ground wrestling and growling.

Certi said to them loudly, "I cannot wait to get back and tell Hobbus of your behavior."

They both instantly froze in place on the ground and looked at her. Tooma had the top of Heady's head in his mouth.

Hyla added firmly, "Playtime is over, the mission has started. Apparently he needs to teach you two some discipline."

They were staring at them with a strange look. They were still wrapped together. Heady looked up at Tooma who stayed there frozen with his mouth around his head. He stood up very quickly throwing him to the ground.

Tooma stood up, "He started it."

Heady said, "No I didn't. He started it."

Veelus loudly said, "That's enough foolishness!" Tooma and Heady snapped to attention. "If you live through the battle, then you can play."

By the looks on their faces you could tell this reminded them of the dangers we were about to face. It was also clear who was in charge. I never saw them be anything less than respectful to Veelus when he was giving them orders. They were all close friends, but it seemed Hobbus had definitely made them understand they were warriors first and friends second.

Everyone mounted up. Balanath didn't have Preah'kahn in a sheath; he had his normal swords at his sides. Preah'kahn was wrapped in cloth with a crossbow and a dagger below it. It was held firmly behind Veelus's saddle with leather straps. The sword looks much different than anything Avangarians could create. We didn't want Edur to realize it was Preah'kahn. So everyone else had similar bundles behind their saddles. All had swords, daggers and crossbows in them. We wanted Edur to think that everyone had simply brought extra weapons in case they needed them.

I looked up at them. "I will keep Eriana's presence shielded at all times." I entered The Nether Point.

After flying for a few hours we could see Iseult Castle in the distance. The castle is made of a light blue polished stone. It has four towers on each corner. The main portion of the castle is only one story high. It has a huge tower in the center that is twice as tall as the other four. There is a large balcony on the main tower that is facing the front of the castle. It sits on a mountain peak with very steep snow covered cliffs on all sides. The sides of the mountain are too steep to be climbed. The only way to enter is by Portal or flying to it. The valleys below the castle are so deep you cannot see the bottoms, only darkness.

There was no place to land so we would have to fight him in the air. I am not useless in an air battle. I can travel to his minions as Cirrus, reform and strike them down as I fall. We approached using the mountains as cover then came directly towards the castle. They hovered in the air a good distance in front of the castle in battle positions. This meant everyone was around Eriana, Certi and Middy. Middy always stays inside Eriana's shield when they battle. Hyla and Veelus stay front and center because they possess the Hi-Chi and are the frontline attackers. Heady and Tooma were on her flanks to prevent a side attack. Everyone was standing up with their retractable ropes attached except Eriana, she was strapped in on her saddle.

I formed on Tooma behind Andor. Edur's throne room was a single room at the top of the center tower. We could see him sitting on his throne through the glass doorway to the balcony. He and the throne were encased in ice that looked like a giant crystal. A Dark Shield surrounded the crystal-like ice.

I said, "He is asleep."

Andor asked, "Should we attack him in the castle?"

"No. We should let him bring the battle to us as planned."

Balanath said, "Torva, if something goes wrong get to Eriana." He looked back at Eriana. "If it looks like we must retreat make a Portal. If you girls are in any danger go through the Portal and close it. Do not wait on us and give something a chance to follow you. Do you understand me?"

Eriana reluctantly said, "Yes father."

I said to Eriana, "After I drop the Veil give me a few seconds to get away from Heady then raise your shields."

"Okay, I will."

Balanath commanded, "Prepare yourselves. Kardauma. Remove your Veil."

I looked at Eriana and made a waving motion with my hand. I flew away from Heady immediately. Her shields went up then disappeared because of Middy's Enchantment. I reformed and stood on top of Tooma's shield. It could only be seen where my feet touched it. I could sense that Edur had awakened when he sensed her magic. The shield around him disappeared and the ice exploded into thousands of pieces. He slowly rose from the throne and started walking towards the balcony. He had on a dark blue long sleeved shirt that was opened in the front revealing the blue skin of his chest and stomach. He wore matching blue pants and boots. He opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony. A smile came over his face as he stared out at us.

He shouted, "Kardauma my old friend! I see you have brought me guests! Come all and sit at my table! I will prepare a feast to commemorate this joyous occasion!"

I said nothing to him and he did not attack. He just looked at us with a grin on his face.

I said, "He only plays a game. I have no choice but to play."

I took Cirrus form and traveled towards the balcony. He immediately stepped back and formed a Dark Shield around himself. I reformed on the balcony.

"Kardauma my friend, surely you're not going to refuse my hospitality."

"You know why I am here Edur. Why not save yourself the pain of a slow death and leap to the valley below."

"Are you still upset about the frozen hydrogen? You owe me a great debt. Now you know how to avoid such a Trap. Not to mention, look at the company you keep now. White Sorcerers, fairies, dragons... you should be thankful. If I had helped you free your people you would be light years away and bored out of your mind by now."

He knew my anger grew with each statement he made. "It will bring me immense joy to see you die at the hands of people you consider to be lesser beings."

He chuckled, "Are you joking with me? Lizards... insects... and least of them all... Avangarians." A scowl came over his face. "The only thing I hate more than Avangarians is the Haalandorian blood that flows through my veins. If I could, I would cut my stomach open and let the Haalandorian spill out onto the ground. In a way I am grateful to you. It has been a long time since I have had the joy of taking an Avangarian's life."

I had enough of his games. I was ready to get on with the battle.

"Is it fear that keeps you from attacking? I think it is. You are a frightened dog that needs his master. You should call Kahli. You are nothing without your master."

I could tell by the look that came over his face this angered him greatly.

The angry look faded and he calmly said as he looked out at everyone, "Tell me something about these humans you love so much." He paused for a long moment as a grin slowly came over his face. "Can they fly?"

I turned and shouted, "Ready yourselves!"

There was no way for them to be ready. This attack we were not prepared for at all. He made a motion with his right hand towards his front as if he was shooing away a fly. Eriana's shield appeared as a dark aura covered it. The moment he made the motion with his hand they moved away with the speed of their movement continually getting faster. In mere moments they had disappeared over the horizon. Of course Eriana was too far away so her shields dropped.

The Great Middiana Barthallion

All hope was lost. It has been proven time and time again. Once the leader is gone, all hope is lost. I must accept full responsibility for the error. I should have known Edur's fear of me would be so great he would do anything to get me out of the battle. I would not give up. My warriors needed me.

As magical beings fairies are technically tougher than a dragon. When Edur removed me from the battle his attack was making us fly away faster and faster. I was forced into the front of Eriana's shield hard but it didn't hurt me. We were moving away so fast it had me stuck to the front. Certi too was forced to the front of the shield. I knew they were scared. I didn't want them to feel like fools for being scared. So I did my best to scream as if I was actually scared too.

Certi screamed, "Eriana! Stop the shield!"

Eriana's shield disappeared and the strange dark aura that was on her shield engulfed Certi. They just kept flying away to the east until they were gone over the horizon. I was left alone in silence somewhere over the mountains east of Iseult Castle. Eriana's shield had dropped because the force of the movement made her pass out.

It was time for a command decision. Do I chase them down or return to the battle? As a warrior my first thought of course was get back to the battle. The thought that I should go after Certi and Eriana had to be on my mind. If I returned to the battle without them the others would still be defenseless without Eriana's shields. I was looking back and forth in both directions talking myself through the difficult decision.

"Which way should I go? Which way should I go?!" I let out a mighty war cry that sometimes can sound like a frantic scream. "Ahhhhh! If I go back without Eriana to shield us he could kill me. But if I fly towards them and Eriana makes a Portal back to the castle I'm flying the wrong way. Damn it, she better be there when I get back."

Of course the real reason I wanted Eriana there was because she is so fragile. She needs my protection. I headed back to the battle as fast as I could, which is about ten times as fast as a dragon can fly. In a streak I was gone. I was just hoping they could stay alive until I got there. I'm certain they were all crying out for their valiant leader to save them.

Eriana Lexington

Certi was slammed into the front of the shield. I was glued to the front of my saddle by the force of us traveling backwards. He intentionally made certain we would not hit a mountain and be stopped too soon. I was forced to lean forward on my saddle and I could only see to the right. I saw the snowcapped tops of the mountains flying by faster and faster. Then darkness over took me. When I awoke Certi was flying as fast as she could back to the castle. She sensed that I was awake.

"Are you alright!"

"I'm just a little dizzy. Where are we?"

"We are probably halfway to Partha."

"Father. He sent us almost to Partha."

"Can't talk! Get back here as quick as you can!"

Certi said without stopping, "Hurry! Make a Portal back to his castle."

"I can't. I don't have the skills to make a Portal so far away. We need to get to Galdaya. I will be able to do it from there."

"I'm ready when you are."

We had been trained to Portal Jump the day before. I basically could do it, I just had to concentrate and make the first Portal far enough out in front of us. The day before Certi was flying so fast she would end up past a Portal. Because of the urgency we did not miss one. I formed a Portal as far away across the horizon as I could. She flew through the one in front of us and came out the other. I kept doing this until we were close enough for me to safely make one to Iseult Castle.

Veelus Tanis

Once Eriana was too far away our shields dropped. Then giant blue tentacles that were covered in a light blue glowing mist came from the valley below and wrapped around our legs. They pulled us downward so fast that all the safeties on the loops released. Balanath and the others were falling, but we were being pulled down faster than they could fall. Hyla and I used the Hi-Chi to reinforce our swords and cut the tentacles. They retreated down into the valley after we cut them. Almost as quickly as we cut those more shot up to seize us again. We just Ported out of the way. Hyla Ported past the tentacles to get to Heady and Tooma. They could not even cut through them. I saw four white streaks and one black one shoot past me towards them. I sensed what Balanath wanted me to do as he went by. I Ported up past Terus.

He saw this and yelled, "Veelus! What are you doing?! Save me damn it!"

I Ported down and flapped my wings hard to get underneath Terus. He grabbed my saddle's handlebar and was able to strap in on my saddle. Andor, Balanath, Torva and Hyla were trying to catch up with Heady and Tooma. Before they could get to them they were pulled into a huge hole that was the entrance to a large underground cavern. They sliced the tentacles just in time for them to slow themselves a bit before they hit the floor of the cavern.

Inside there was an enormous head that was taller than a three-story building. It looked like a giant overweight bull's head without a body. It was made of a dark blue ice with light blue glowing eyes. Its mouth was almost as large as it was. It had huge jagged teeth made of a black ice and two huge black horns protruded from the sides of its head. The horns went straight out to its sides then curved forward. They were thick at the base and looked very sharp on the ends. The beast's bottom was a massive twisted looking array of tentacles like an octopus with way too many legs. There was a dome shaped Dark Shield over it that the tentacles were going straight through.

The moment Heady and Tooma hit the floor molten rock exploded from the ground in between them and the beast. Grannus, The Fire Guardian came out of this explosion and landed on his feet in front of the beast. Everyone came up to me and we regrouped. Terus jumped off of me and landed on Heady's back. I needed Balanath on me. If I Port he can hang on or not. Terus would be ripped off the saddle and left behind in mid-air. Terus, Heady and Tooma had become a liability since Eriana was not there to shield us.

Grannus looked like Arthos and was the same size. He was made of almost molten stone and his eyes were made of flames. Even though he is taller than a two-story building he still looked small compared to the giant head. The beast shot tentacles at him that wrapped around his arms and legs and tried to pull him in closer. Steam rose up and you could see his body becoming solid where the tentacles held him. As he slid across the cavern floor his feet and the floor below them became molten for a moment. He melded his feet to the stone floor then roared at the beast. Flames covered the beast's shield. Liquefied stone flowed off the wall behind it as the shield disappeared. Grannus simply continued the roar and the flames covered the beast. It screamed and writhed in pain as it disappeared in a torrent of fire and steam.

Kardauma was behind Andor who was on Tooma. "Get out of the cavern! I sense a powerful attack coming!"

We all flew out. As we looked down into the cavern we could see a tidal wave of water and giant chunks of ice hit Grannus. He was holding himself in place for a few moments. The giant chunks of ice kept slamming into him and ripped off his legs. He was then washed away with the current. He had been killed by the attack and wouldn't be able to return to the battle. Even though he had not been truly killed, he would need a day to reform.

The water below us had filled the cavern up to the entrance. The raging water quickly began to freeze and the huge entrance looked like a frozen lake. Edur had floated down to the valley floor encased in a Dark Shield. Everyone hovered in the air near the frozen water and looked at him. We were a good distance away.

He shouted, "Where's your White Sorcerer! It looks like she abandoned you! Fortunately for you I am in a good mood!" He smiled. "Let us play!"

He just stood there smiling at us. The water that had defeated Grannus served another purpose. To give Edur the ice he needed to more easily summon his minions. Hundreds of huge humanoid ice warriors wearing heavy armor and wielding large swords burst up from the ice. They were as tall as I was on my hind legs.

Kardauma formed behind Andor and gave orders. In our group the one that could lay down the best battle plan was the leader. It would not be the first time Kardauma's long life and wisdom came in handy.

"Andor, Balanath, Torva! Stay here and protect them! Hyla! Veelus! You're with me!"

He shot down to them as Cirrus and started the battle. He quickly went back and forth forming behind them in mid-air with a large black sword in hand. He barely had time to fall. He removed their heads then shot behind another one and did it again. Each time he killed one another burst up out of the ice. Torva Ported to Heady and stood behind Terus who was strapped in. Balanath Ported behind Andor. Hyla and I Ported down and started helping Kardauma. Even using our Hi-Chi reinforced swords we still could not shatter the swords that seemed to just be made of ice. They were incredibly fast. Fortunately for us swords were not our only weapon. When we hit them with our fire breath for a few seconds they exploded. We had our hands full because each time one was destroyed another shot up from the ice to join the battle. Then suddenly they stopped emerging and those already there became small pieces of ice and crumbled apart. At first I thought a geyser was coming out of the ice. It was actually thousands of small pieces of ice being dragged out as the Ice Banshees flooded out of the frozen lake and hovered in the air above us.

Torva Lexington

A swarm of Ice Banshees with six arms began shooting up out of the ice screaming in a high pitched tone. They had on spiky bra-like tops and underwear-like bottoms that covered their more private places. Their hair was a huge mane that floated around their heads and had large braided strands decorated with jeweled rings and bands. They had glowing blue eyes and their clawed hands looked to be too large for their bodies. They did not have weapons and could fly or hover. No weapons meant they were magic attackers. Those that had the Hi-chi could Port and actually fight them. We could avoid their attacks. Heady, Tooma and Terus were absolutely screwed.

Father yelled, "Retreat!"

Heady and Tooma started flying away from where Edur stood as fast as they could. They were chasing us shooting ice balls from every hand. It was taking us all to keep them from hitting Terus, Heady and Tooma as they fled. Kardauma formed by the banshees and attacked them. The first one he attacked exploded and became two more. He destroyed three before he realized what was happening. There was already over fifty of them. He had to give up and come help us. He was creating more enemies every time he killed one.

We were out running them. Everyone with the Hi-Chi was behind Heady and Tooma frantically Porting back and forth. We were using our swords to slice or swat the balls into oblivion. We had flown so far away we couldn't even see Edur anymore.

Hyla shouted as she battled the attacks, "We are miles away! Why aren't they disappearing?!"

Father yelled, "Edur may be coming too!"

Kardauma shouted, "He is not coming! Just keep flying!"

Then they quit shooting at us and flew at us at a Port speed. It looked like a river of streaks of light blue light as they flew by underneath us. They stopped in front of us. We Ported in front of the banshees and the entire process continued in the other direction. They were chasing us back to Edur. I'm sure everyone was thinking the same thing as me. We should have left those three behind. If Edur summoned more banshees there was no way we would be able to keep them alive. I could see we were almost back to Edur. I was praying to Tekarra that Eriana's team was back so she could shield them. Little did I know, Eriana and Certi were not even back above Galdaya yet.

The Great Middiana Barthallion

I could see Edur's castle in the distance. I stopped when I got to the snowy peak of the mountain right before the one his castle was on. I peeked over the top. It was a much smaller mountain so I was low enough to easily see the frozen lake and Edur. He was inside a Dark Shield south of the frozen lake. No one was there, my heart sunk. I couldn't sense anyone. I could not help but think that he was waiting on my team to come back. I also couldn't help but think that meant he had killed the others. I didn't know whether to scream or cry. I looked down and I was losing it. I went insane.

"He killed them. He killed them." My shock turned to anger and I was slightly hyperventilating." He, is, a, dead man."

I was not holding back this time. I didn't have to worry about them trying to eat Eriana. I flew up above the peak and hovered as I looked down at him in full blown crazy mode. My Summoning Portal formed below the mountain behind me. All ten of them came out and crowded around sniffing me. They were Acedian Bottom Feeders. There is magical residue that forms at the dimensional boundaries between Acedia and Partha. Paw-paw created them to eat it so it would not build up and eventually flood Acedia. They are actually Cirrus beings. They have a head that looks similar to that of a tadpole with huge round black eyes. Instead of a body or tail the rest of them looks like a very frayed black dress. Their bodies float around like they are under water.

I didn't waste time after I summoned them. They all were trying to get close to me and sniffing like a dog that smells a bone under the ground. They smelled my magic and if I wasn't controlling them they would have definitely tried to eat me. They just want to eat magic in any form. My anger had to fade to frustration for a moment.

I rolled my eyes and said loudly, "Not me you idiots! Go eat him!"

I pointed at Edur even though they had me surrounded and I couldn't even see him. They flew towards him at not really a high speed but fast enough. They were only about the size of a small dog when they were sniffing around me, but they get however big they have to in order to eat something. They didn't get bigger as they flew towards him. They would suck the magic out of his shield then share an Edur flavored meal once the shield was gone.

He can't kill them, they absorb magic attacks. Here's the thing though. Before they ever got to him I sensed Torva and them coming. I didn't have time to be happy they were alive. They were Porting their butts off and fighting little balls of ice from the banshees too. That was way too much magic going on. There was no way they would go for Edur in that case, even with me telling them to eat Edur. The really bad thing was, Torva and them were in front of the banshees. They would be the appetizers.

I flew past the feeders screaming, "Stop Porting! Stop Porting or they will eat you!"

Torva screamed back, "We can't! We are protecting them!"

"I got it! Stop Porting!"

I got between them and Enchanted a wall of air with the power of fire. You could see it glowing red in front of me. The ice balls kept hitting it and exploding. Everyone hit the dirt and the feeders flew over them. I removed my Enchantment so they continued on to the tasty banshees. The banshees thought they were going to hover there and shoot them. They just opened their mouths and enjoyed the ice ball meal. They got very large, opened their mouths and feasted on banshees. I made a large Summoning Portal and sent them back through before it disappeared. At that point we were not that far away from the ice lake.

Edur shouted, "Very impressive fairy! I could use a fairy like you! I will give you a chance to join me!"

"Go to hell Edur!"

"So be it! You can die with the rest of them!"

A huge blizzard blew over the mountain top from the north and formed into Bora behind us.

I said, "Torva. Ice versus ice is not the best way to go. Summon Grannus."

She was looking up at him like everyone else. "I know that. That's why I never summoned him. I already summoned Grannus and he got killed. I summoned Arthos but he never came."

That's when I looked up and noticed Bora's ice eyes were glowing red. Then we got some shade. He put his massive hands together both in a fist. He was going to crush us. I flew out of there leaving everyone behind. I quickly turned and Enchanted a wall of air below his fists. He hit the horizontal red wall of light and it destroyed his hands down to his wrists. He roared in pain and as he looked down at his hands they began to reform. By that time they were all by me.

Balanath yelled, "Retreat east!"

As we did so Terus yelled, "Torva! What is he doing?!"

"He is under Edur's control!"

As everyone was flying up and away from Edur to the east Bora's glowing red eyes got brighter. A red aura started emanating from his hands. Suddenly he was encased in a massive White Shield. An angry look came over his face and he began violently hitting the shield trying to escape. We could hear Certi's voice over Balanath's Communicator.

"Balanath. She can't shield you! It is taking all her power to keep him contained! Run!"

Eriana was sitting on her with her eyes closed. She was concentrating on keeping up the shield around Bora and the one protecting her and Certi. A dark aura covered their shield. I knew Edur was trying to send them away again. This was the other reason she couldn't shield us. She was making sure he couldn't repel her again. He did move her shield slightly backwards. She held it firmly and Edur knew she wasn't going anywhere.

As we flew up towards them Torva shouted, "Remember that I summoned Arthos but he never came! Everyone watch out for him! Edur may have control of him too!"

We grouped by Eriana.

Balanath said loudly, "Eriana, we will retreat east. Follow us in your shield."

Apparently Edur really wanted to have a giant fighting for him. A giant ice warrior with huge dragon looking wings began emerging from the ice. He would probably have been about ten stories tall.

I made my Summoning Portal flat on the ground near the frozen lake. Hundreds of flame-covered red fleas about the size of a dog began gushing out of it like a weak geyser. They hopped towards him and swarmed all over him. He was only halfway out and stood there like he was in waste deep water. He violently tried to knock them off but there were too many. The fleas covered him eating the ice until he disappeared in a torrent of steam. The Ti-Ti Fleas are so hot they sunk into the ice. I thought oh well and dismissed my Summoning Portal. They are just ice eating fleas. How much damage could they possibly do to the ecosystem.

While this was happening Arthos finally appeared. He burst from the ground behind Edur and started pounding on the top of his shield with his fists. He didn't destroy it, but that thing was vibrating like he was about to. My first thought was, come on Arthos, you're an Aaseem. You can do better than that. Even though they seem stupid because they got that emotionless Demigod thing going on, he knew exactly what he was doing. Edur turned away from us to face him.

Kardauma appeared near Eriana falling from the sky. "Eriana! Now!"

She knew what that meant. Edur shot a beam of ice energy from his hands that went straight through his shield and through Arthos. He flew back a very great distance and crumbled into large stones as he rolled across the valley floor. Arthos was defeated, but this was the distraction we had hoped for.

Eriana had opened her eyes and Preah'kahn was ripped from its hiding place behind Veelus's saddle. Kardauma was already there by the time it got to Edur. Edur turned and saw him as he caught the sword. He just stood there like the idiot he was as Kardauma drew back the sword to stab him. Then he realized it was Preah'kahn. Suddenly every inch of his body was instantly covered by a thick layer of ice armor. Preah'kahn was definitely ignoring all magic. It easily went through the shield, the ice armor and completely through Edur's body. He screamed in pain and his body became a blue light that shot up into the sky. It became a ring of blue light that expanded out in all directions before it disappeared over the horizons. Everyone else was far enough away not to be harmed by the energy released. Kardauma had to quickly enter The Nether Point to escape. He reformed seconds later and retrieved Preah'kahn. Eriana brought it back up to Balanath. At the exact moment he killed Edur the lake of ice instantly became water and started sinking. So bye-bye Ti-Ti Fleas. Bora's eyes returned to normal and Eriana released the shield around him. She made a huge Portal in front of us that was low so they could dive down and quickly get through. Bora just crumbled apart like a collapsing building. Certi dove down and flew through it with everyone hot on her tail. We were not sure if Kahli and Ignaas would sense his death and come. Just in case the plan was to return to Tarmakk as quickly as possible after we killed him. There definitely was no reason to wait around for them to show up. We all came out safely in the sky in front of Tarmakk.

Once again I proved my value as a leader and saved the day. Everyone was impressed by my greatness. I knew that I would probably have to endure their hero worship after such an impressive display of power. I really couldn't blame them, I did basically kick his ass all by myself. I guess Kardauma and Eriana did help just a little, but you know what they say. Without a great leader, there can be no great victories.

# Chapter 12 Another Night at Tarmakk

Terus Corvello

We defeated Edur and I didn't die, but I damn sure came close. I am eternally grateful to those that were protecting me. They all saved my life more times than I could count. The banshees were screaming and shooting ice balls at me in particular. It may have just seemed that way to me because those six-armed wenches were shooting so many from every hand. I was looking back at the ones coming at me and ducking for no reason. I was saved by streaks of light. White streaks were Torva, Balanath and Andor. Red and purple with a white glow was Hyla and Veelus. Kardauma was definitely in the mix doing his part as well. They couldn't even think about attacking them directly because everyone killed was replace by two. I don't know what would have happened if an ice ball had hit me. I just know it would not have been good.

Heady, Tooma and I had a little meeting. We all agreed we should not be in the next battle. I thought Kardauma was my friend. It turns out he was the greatest supporter for getting me killed. Ryuu is always the voice of caution. He was definitely against us going into the next battle. That is until Kardauma stepped in with his infinite wisdom and love for risking my life.

That evening after things settled down we discussed the matter in the Seminarium. Balanath had to fully brief Ryuu because he had been away on business.

Ryuu said, "Those without any powers should not have been there."

I was sitting by Torva who had her Communicator on her necklace chain.

She pulled it close to her mouth and whispered, "Certi. Just listen."

After Balanath finished Ryuu said, "There is actually no reason to have those three in the next battle. They almost got you killed. I feel the same way about Certi. Without Eriana she would be just as much of a burden. Chosen Eight doesn't mean they have to be there for these battles. They may only be meant to play a part in future battles."

I said, "Tooma, Heady and I agree with that. You would have been much better off without us there."

Kardauma said, "You were actually an asset. We would not have won without you."

It didn't take long for Certi to get there since she lives across the canyon from Tarmakk. We heard paintings falling off the walls out in the hall. The hall really wasn't big enough for a youngling to fly through and take those corners without hitting something.

Torva said, "I need to interrupt you Kardauma. I had my Communicator on so Certi could hear what we are saying."

Certi crashed into the doorway then entered the room with an angry look on her face. The mild manner, sweet voiced, you just got to love her dragon was pissed.

"What are you talking about Uncle Ryuu?! If I don't go into battle Eriana isn't going either!"

Ryoma said, "She is right." She pointed at Ryuu then pointed at Eriana. "Do you see the smile on that young lady's face? Eriana tell him why you are smiling."

Her smile went away and a look of confusion replaced it. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I asked you. Why are you smiling?"

"Because Certi loves me and wants to keep me safe. It just makes me happy."

Certi calmed down. "That's right. Besides that, if I'm not there what is she going to do? Ride with Torva and Hyla? They have to fight."

Ryoma said, "Ryuu it doesn't matter whether or not Certi can defend herself alone. They need each other just like I need Irena. Eriana feels safe and comfortable in battles with Certi. We cannot take her out of her comfort zone. There was a reason for the trials, this is it."

Certi walked over to where Eriana was sitting. They were smiling at each other and Certi brought her face down close to Eriana's. She kissed her on the cheek and they smiled at each other once more. Middy, and Torva joined them in a whisper talk like they often do until they have something to say for everyone to hear.

Kardauma said, "I agree. I believe all The Chosen Eight must be in these battles. As I was saying before, they were the key to us winning."

I said, "I see it differently. I think we were the key to almost getting everyone killed."

"You just do not know Edur as I do. I spent some time with him and Ignaas while Andor was on Galdaya."

I didn't know that. It did explain why Edur called him old friend. When Balaam attacked Galdaya Andor led his army. Kardauma would have nothing to do with it. He never mentioned he knew them to me. I guess you don't brag about the old days hanging around with murderers.

Ryuu asked with suspicious eyes, "Why exactly did you do that?"

"I was trying to get one of them to face Kahli with me so I could free my people. Of course they wouldn't do it. At the time I assumed they were scared of him. They may have actually wanted to align themselves with him back then."

Ryoma said, "Perfectly understandable reason. Continue with what you were saying before."

"I believe Kahli is the one harnessing the Erebus and giving them the power to use it. I cannot imagine Edur and Ignaas following anyone if they could do it alone. They are far too arrogant. That arrogance is why we won. When Edur said let us play, he was absolutely serious. He was just using them to play with us. That is the only reason we won. He could have created hundreds of banshees and Terus, Heady and Tooma would all be dead. Maybe the rest of us too."

Andor said, "That thought crossed my mind during the battle. I was actually expecting it. He most definitely could have created enough to get the job done."

Kardauma said, "They did help us win. If he had not decided to play around with us until Arthos distracted him we never would have won."

I understood the intricacies of what he was saying. However, counting on flukes isn't the best battle plan in my eyes.

"So you think that's going to happen again. That sounds like a huge gamble to me."

"I cannot say that will happen with Ignaas. All I can say is, I have been a chosen one many times. I have heard tales of chosen ones as well. If they are chosen to be part of a group..." He looked down for a moment then looked back up. "If they split up, sometimes people die and the Path of Time is shattered."

Balanath said, "You say sometimes. Has this not always been the best approach?"

"It has been the best approach more times than it has not."

Veelus said, "I hope you're right. That was our only chance to battle without them knowing we have Preah'kahn. I doubt Ignaas will be playing with us if he knows we have the sword."

Andor said, "The odds that were stacking up in our favor seem to be going the other way now. Not only do they know about Preah'kahn, we also have to worry about our own Aaseems attacking us."

Torva said, "I was able to summon Arthos and Grannus, but he didn't. I think he could only summon Bora because they are both beings of ice."

Ryoma said, "Which would mean Ignaas will probably be able to summon Grannus."

Ryuu asked Eriana, "Is she telling you anything?"

"No, if she tells me something I will definitely chime in."

Balanath said, "She could summon them here so he cannot summon them. Then just call them to the battle when we need them."

Torva said, "I have no idea if I can call them to a battle like that. I can summon Arthos and ask him. We know he can talk."

Eriana smiled, "She said they only leave their realms to protect the Summoner. It will work. I think that is even a better way to do it. They will only come when they are needed."

I said, "Why didn't she just tell us that before? Then Bora wouldn't have come and attacked us."

Eriana said, "She can only answer our questions..."

Middy interrupted her. "Yah, yah, yah, that won't screw up Tekarra's path. I'm sick of hearing that crap. I finally agree with Terus. She needs to quit playing games and just tell us what we need to know so we don't get killed. We're not just trying to save Irena. Her life is at stake too. Doesn't she want to keep living? Ask her that. She might be suicidal and trying to take us down with her."

Eriana said, "She said if she could she would give us the world."

"Tell her I'll take it."

"If she does we will all die with her."

"Tell her I'll be back for it when we won't die."

Torva said, "She doesn't have to tell her anything Middy. She can hear everything you say."

"I know that. Are you calling me stupid?"

"Maybe." She smiled and Middy gave her a dirty look.

Andor said, "I think we need a new strategy. In the next battle we should try attacking Ignaas directly as opposed to weakening him through the death of his minions."

Kardauma said, "I have a better strategy to see if he can be weakened. Only four of us should go to his castle."

Middy asked, "Are you drunk? You just said we shouldn't split up."

He looked at her, "We will not really be splitting up when we fight him."

"You're all over the place. Ignore him people. He's definitely been raiding Nalya's stash."

Kardauma told us, "We can see if he can be weakened without facing him in a real battle. If we can weaken him, then everyone else will join us. If we can't, we will retreat."

Middy said, "Drunk off his ass."

Balanath said, "Now you have me confused too."

He explained, "Ignaas is not like Kahli and Edur. They chose a life of solitude. He on the other hand revels in his fame. As you know, fame doesn't exist if there is no one to know of it or glorify your deeds. So he surrounds himself with the lowest of the low. In order to entertain these people he has created a massive underground arena. They have battles in which beasts are pitted against his minions. The people get drunk and watch as he slays all manner of animals."

"What!" Everyone looked at Middy. "He slays innocent animals and it's not even for food. They just want to see them killed for their amusement. That's, why I should..."

Torva said, "Middy, let him tell us his plan."

Kardauma continued, "I plan to play to Ignaas's love for gambling. I'll challenge him to a duel in his arena. His minions will face mine. My minions will be Andor, Balanath and Middy.

I will tell him that The Third Epochon has brought me the ability to use the Erebus to control the minds of mortals. Then I will present him with a wager he cannot refuse. If I win, he must help me defeat Kahli. If he wins, I will become his servant. Middy, you told us you can Enchant things with the Erebus. Correct?"

"Well, sure I can, but it will not be as effective as using ice magic against him. That little nick their toe thing won't work if it's not opposing magic. You would probably just take off their toe."

"I don't want you to Enchant their weapons. I want you to Enchant them. I want you to simply Enchant your and their bodies with a harmless amount of the Erebus. Ignaas will sense this and think I speak the truth. Do you think you could do that?"

"I guess I can. I'll really have to Enchant myself with a lot to hide the Inaara, but I am The Great Middiana Barthallion, nothing is beyond my abilities. Sure I can. A little insanity couldn't hurt me."

I'm not sure that anyone was left confident by her response. Middy could be classified as a little insane without the Erebus.

Kardauma said in an encouraging tone, "I am sure you will live up to the greatness that you see in yourself."

Middy said, "Of course I..." A slightly confused look came over her face.

Kardauma continued once more. "With Middy's ability to Enchant their weapons with ice they can make short work of his minions without having to call on the Hi-Chi. If I do not sense any weakness after a few hours than weakening him is definitely not the way to proceed."

Balanath asked, "If only we four go. What of the others?"

"They will be hiding on Haanu Mountain. We will leave a one-sided transmission open so they can hear us. Middy will go to an open area above the arena when we are ready for them. At that point Eriana can create a Portal to where she senses Middy's magic coming from. When they join us we will all attack him directly trying to create as much chaos as possible. The weaker he gets the easier it will be to cause him to make a mistake. Eriana can send Preah'kahn close to him once he does. I will retrieve the sword and slay him as I did Edur."

Eriana said, "I will watch very closely. If I see an opportunity I will scream your name."

"I will be listening for it and go directly to Ignaas."

Ryuu said, "This sounds like a good plan. Are you certain he will accept your challenge?"

"He will most likely see us as no threat like Edur did. I think he will accept the challenge to impress his followers."

Balanath said, "If something goes wrong we three can easily escape. So I would rather have only us risk our lives. Middy can Enchant us and our weapons and stay with the others."

Andor said, "I agree with that. Ice for our crossbows and swords, plus the endless supply of bolts. That should be all we need."

Middy asked, "How far is it from the mountain to the castle?"

Andor replied, "About four miles."

"Have you ever heard the old saying you don't bring a rock to a laser fight? You two rock heads are fortunate that the laser has to come. I can reach about a mile or so at the most."

Andor said, "In that case it looks like she will have to join us."

Ryuu said, "It is decided. This will be the course of action. I will have Hobbus adjust the training accordingly."

Ryoma said, "It is getting late. Come girls, I will show you to your room. You should get some rest. I am certain Hobbus will want to start the training as soon as possible tomorrow."

They gave Balanath a kiss on the cheek and told us all goodnight. They followed Ryoma as she slowly walked out of the room.

Middy suddenly stopped by the door, turned and said, "Wait just a minute! Hey shadow boy. Were you insinuating earlier that I'm the only one that thinks I'm great? I'll fly right through you."

Torva yelled from down the hall, "Goodnight Middy! See you in the morning!"

"I'll deal with you later." She turned and quickly flew after them.

Eriana Lexington

That night Torva and I lay in bed talking to Middy. Our room was exceptionally large with big double doors. There was a lot of empty space on the door side. It was enlarged so Hyla and Certi could put their beds there when they stayed all night with us. Our beds sat side by side on one side of the room. In between them was a stand with Middy's bed on it. It was hard for us to go to sleep that night. We were too nervous and excited from the victory and by what was to come. We reminisced about more of the things we had missed while we were apart.

Torva becoming a summoner really changed her. I never thought she would ever give up hunting. It is one of her favorite things to do with father. Her bond with the animals was becoming as strong as Middy's bond with the animals of Acedia. Middy spent more time out in the wild playing with animals than she did playing with fairy children. So she thought of many as her family members. This is why she was so reluctant to summon some of them for battle. Many of the most powerful she considered to be her friends. No one wants to see a friend die. So many times she calls lesser evolved creatures like insects. All can be powerful attackers because all of the animals had magical powers. In our world magic was confined to the intelligent mortal species. In her world even the lowest of animal species possessed magic in some shape, form or fashion. Some were simply endowed with natural magic like fire or ice that emanated from their bodies. Others could use their magic to attack. They were powerful allies and had saved our lives many times during the trials. Soon Torva too would be using the animals of Avangar to help us in battle.

That night we were very joyous. We had defeated Edur and come one step closer to freeing mother. Our confidence had grown greatly and we were having a little fun. I was lying in my bed watching and Middy was sitting on her bed watching as well. Torva ran a short distance across the room, then her hands hit the floor and she flipped from her hands to her feet three times. She leaped into the air, balled up grabbing her feet and spun several times before landing on her feet and throwing her hands straight up into the air.

Middy said through her laughter, "That was wonderful! Do another one."

"I think I should quit while I'm ahead. If I make a mistake on this marble floor it will open up my head like a raw egg." She crawled into her bed and pulled the covers up.

I teased her. "Don't worry. Your head is too hard to bust on something that soft."

Middy said, "She is not that hardheaded Eriana. I for one would hate to see her split her skull on that floor." Torva was looking at her with squinting suspicious eyes. "There would be crap everywhere." We all laughed.

"Alright, that's enough ganging up on me for one night. You there! Tiny human that looks like she was riding a dragon backwards and splatted a butterfly. We had a deal." She clapped her hands three times quickly. "Dance for me!"

Middy said as she flew to the middle of the room, "Tiny human. Do you need a map to the back part of me you can kiss?"

"No map is necessary, but I will probably need a magnifying glass."

They lovingly smiled at each other. I felt the same way in that moment. Hearing them mess with each other gave us all a strange sort of comfort. It was as if we had not changed in the four years we were apart. Those two still shared a few bad traits they will probably never lose. They are overconfident, have swollen egos and love to impress people with the skills they have. That's exactly what they were doing that night. The gymnastics routine for a ballet routine deal was just an excuse for them to show off.

Middy hovered in the air as if she was standing on a floor. She elegantly threw up her right hand and began her ballet routine. She tiptoed through the air as if she was on a floor. She leaped into the air and her wings would stop flapping as she gracefully descended. They would begin flapping rapidly again when she was about to land on her imaginary floor. She couldn't do the fast spins I had seen humans do because of her wings. Nevertheless, it was as beautiful and graceful as any ballet I had ever witnessed. Because it was all done in mid-air it was an astonishing sight. She finished and bowed to us as we clapped enthusiastically.

Middy said, "The judges stay at eye level with your imaginary floor. If it looks as if you have landed above or below it you lose a lot of points."

Torva asked, "Did you compete often?"

"I just competed in one tournament then I quit."

Torva said, "Only one then you quit. What a loser."

"Correct me if I'm wrong. Aren't you the person that lost the one gymnastics tournament you entered? Then on top of that some little girl slapped you silly."

"I was the giver of that silly slapping."

I said, "Don't blame her for not being able to remember what happened. She started out silly. Then that little girl slapped her stupid." We laughed again.

The event we were talking about happened when Torva was nine. She came in second in that tournament and the winner gave her a snotty look because she had beat the princess. I think Torva regretted slapping her as much as the girl. She got grounded for two months.

"Middy, why did you quit? You're really good."

"I made it to the finals and all the judges turned on me. They knew I was better than everyone else and they still gave me low scores, so I quit. I just do it for the animals now. They always enjoy my shows."

Torva said, "Competition isn't important anyway. Those judges were probably jealous of your talent."

Middy said in a very agreeing tone, "Exactly." She crossed her arms. "If they can't put their jealousy aside and judge with an unbiased opinion, I want nothing to do with their competitions."

It was hard for me to keep from laughing. Not about Middy's statement, about Torva's. I found the competition isn't important remark very amusing coming out of her mouth. She hates to lose. When she does lose, everyone knows to stay away from her until she isn't mad anymore. Being a sore loser is also a bad trait they share. Middy flew over and landed on her bed. She sat down with her legs bent and was hugging her legs.

I asked, "You said earlier that you were banned from Feramore Jungle for a while. What exactly happened?"

Middy said with her eyebrows raised and a strange look on her face, "Well, it was an accident, nothing worth hearing about."

Torva said, "If you don't want to tell us it has got to be good. Give it up Micro-butt."

Middy looked down and slowly said, "Well, when we finished the trials everyone treated me the same. I was a hero that wasn't getting the hero worship I deserved. Even Paw-paw and momma acted as if I was still the same person. I was a hero damn it."

Torva said, "Don't feel alone. People may have known about it, but we didn't get any parades either. All we got was mother and father yelling at us for two hours."

Middy said in a sarcastic baby voice, "Aww, poor little Torva got in trouble. Wah, wah, wah, wah, freaking wah." She stuck out her tongue with her lips around it. She blew making a vulgar sound. "Who cares? At least they believed you. No one believed me. That's why I ran away. I wasn't planning on ever going back to Terra Zion. I decided to live in Feramore Jungle with the animals and become their queen."

I said, "I assume it didn't work out."

"There was a little mishap. As queen I wanted my subjects to live in peace. So I touched the minds of all the animals in the jungle. I commanded them to no longer kill each other and for all to live in peace and harmony. I called them all out of the jungle onto the Omonell Plains. There I addressed them and told them of the dawn of a new age in Feramore Jungle. An age of peace, tranquility and the greatest queen in the universe. They knew as long as I ruled them nothing bad would ever happen to them."

Torva had a strange look on her face. She knew that such a plan couldn't work, at least not on Avangar.

She said, "That's beautiful Middy. How did you mess it up?"

She sighed, "Paw-paw found out and made me stop. Something about the ecosystem and all the carnivores would starve. And, well. I guess when I had the animals walk across the jungle they trampled a few plants. Some of the animals are pretty big. They took out a lot of trees and plants. Some people got mad and made a big deal out of nothing."

Torva asked, "Why didn't you make them stay in a line and go around the trees?"

"The loud crunching sound and them crashing out of the trees was adding drama to the event. It doesn't matter. The scientists just put out a report saying that no plants became extinct and the ecosystem is well on its way to a full recovery."

I said in a questioning tone, "You did this right after the trials were over?"

Torva added, "And the ecosystem has still not recovered."

Middy said in an unconcerned tone, "It will be fine in a few years. Four or five at the most... maybe ten."

Torva and I looked at each other with wide eyes. If she had done that much damage we could certainly see why people might be upset. Middy was her own greatest supporter though. She never thought anything she did was wrong. It seemed that she looked through a magical window and saw a different world.

It was nice to talk and catch up. We stayed up pretty late. I think we all regretted it because we had to get up early for training the next day. We trained all day long. At first it was normal training until Torva could finally summon Grannus. Then we fought his fire minions to imitate Ignaas's attacks. Everyone was more relaxed and confident because of our victory over Edur. Hobbus trained us hard. We were exhausted by the end of the day. That night we all went straight to sleep.

It was hard to see past the next danger we had to face. I just wanted it all to be over with and have mother with us again. Even to this day I still need my mommy. She is the one that taught me we can make a difference in our world. As long as we stay strong and stand up for what is right, peace and happiness can be more than just a dream. It can be a wonderful reality.

# Chapter 13 The Land of the Fire Sorcerer

Andor Gideon

When you fly over eastern Aden high enough you will see what looks like giant windows lying on the ground. They have many square white sections that complete the fifty mile squared structures. The pit underneath is a farming community half a mile deep. The Zyamarians built these massive farming valleys to be perpetually maintained greenhouse environments. They were built for the dragons soon after they established the alliance with Zyamar. When the dragons relocated to Galdaya the people took over the structures. Even though these structures are almost twenty thousand years old, they have irrigation systems that will still work tens of thousands of years from now. Inside these structures the people watch hundreds of tornadoes dissipate as they go over the unbreakable glass every year. As the tornado travels over the glass it will disturb the connection between the planet's magnetic field and the static electricity inside the tornado. This will kill a tornado as long as it is not close enough to the edge to maintain the connection. We would see two of these massive farming valleys on our way to Ignaas's castle.

Eriana had made us a Portal to Rauka. From there we flew on the younglings to the west. As we flew over the countryside we saw the two farming valleys. We flew low over the glass so the girls could have a better view. I think I was amazed by the fact that the girls were amazed. After all they had seen in their short lives I found it hard to believe that anything could give them a feeling of awe. Halfway to our destination we landed on a mountaintop to rest and everyone ate.

As we were taking our break Torva said, "I can't believe those things were so big. You couldn't see anything but glass and panes in any direction."

Tooma said, "It's hard to believe there is any sand left in northern Partha."

Heady asked me, "Why don't the Argonns go down there and bust the glass to destroy their farms. That would put a big dent in their army since they are the main food source."

"We tried. That's not ordinary glass. Even with the Hi-Chi I could barely put a dent in it. All they basically had to do is shut the doors to keep us out."

Veelus asked, "Don't you have any kind of explosive technology?"

"Bombs are considered a coward's way of fighting just like using a crossbow. Gun powder is only used for hunting rifles. A sword or a dagger is considered the only honorable way to kill each other in a battle on Mastadonia."

Terus said, "Personally I disagree with that philosophy. I consider a crossbow the only honorable way to kill someone. If you are stupid enough to come at me with a sword, my version of the story will be the only one ever told. I always tend to be the hero in my version. Nothing is more honorable than being the hero that lives to tell the tale."

Hyla said, "I can't believe this land can produce an endless supply of people willing to die for absolutely no reason."

I told her, "The entire society is geared towards the women having children that will become warriors. Women warriors have no choice and must at least try to birth a child once every five years. Nons are almost always willing to have children for the cause." Non is what warriors call a nonwarrior. "Some village women become quite wealthy by having seven or eight children that are good warriors. They will get gold every month until their child is killed in battle."

Torva said, "I would be very offended if I found out my mother had me just to get gold."

Terus said, "Nobody thinks twice about that. It is just the way of things on Mastadonia."

I said to Torva, "You are a born warrior, you would probably never know her. It is considered weakness for a warrior to want to see their parents."

Veelus asked, "How do they avoid incest if you never know who your parents are?"

"By name. My full name is actually Andor Barbarous Gideon. Barbarous is my mother's surname, Gideon my father's. You never have children with someone linked to your parent's surnames."

Certi asked me, "Did you know your parents?"

"No, I was raised in a massive Harg orphanage. There were thousands of us confined to large cribs until we turned three and could start working in the factories. We were never held, rarely touched except when the children tasked with caring for us came through. I ended up fighting with the other boys so much they kicked me out when I was four."

Veelus asked, "How did you survive?"

"I became a thief like most children that have to fend for themselves in the cities."

Eriana said, "So you never had a family either. Does anyone have a real family in these lands?"

"Those on the farms can live ordinary lives with mothers and a father."

Torva gave me a strange look. "Did you misspeak? Or did you mean to say mothers."

"Many times it is mothers and one father. All the women share the responsibilities of raising the children."

Balanath asked, "Are you saying that one man fathers all the children?"

"The farmer fills the role of father and only has children with his wife. The other women go into the cities to get pregnant by warriors so they can have a steady supply of gold."

Certi stated, "It all seems so horrible to me. I couldn't imagine not having father and mother there when I was growing up."

Heady stated, "Me either."

Tooma said, "I would have never survived. I know you all like to think of me as the toughest youngling, but I was kind of a momma's dragon growing up."

I told them, "I was actually more fortunate than most. I did have a mentor that was like a father to me. He saved me from the life of a thief and made me his squire soon after I was kicked out."

Torva said, "I thought you had to be ten years old to become a squire."

"Bogg was old and cared nothing about anyone's rules. We met when I was stealing food from him at his camp outside Harg. He was acting like he was asleep. When I was close enough to him he grabbed me so I took his dagger from his sheath and slashed his arm. As I ran away a whip wrapped around my neck and he dragged me to him. I fought hard but he easily used it to tie my feet to my hands. He calmly tended to the wound then walked over and brought the dagger to my throat. I thought he was going to kill me.

He said, "By Argonn law I have the right to take your life. But you boy have the heart of a warrior. You shall be my squire."

With one motion he cut the whip around my feet and hands freeing me. For me it was a dream come true. Most of the time I worked as the other squires did. We spent our time cleaning blood off weapons or bringing food to the warriors. The rest of the time Bogg taught me to be a warrior.

He was old and tired of battle. When I was five and we found out I had the Hi-Chi he turned to gambling to survive. We traveled around and I fought squires twice my size. I never lost and he made a good amount of gold betting the warriors. He was old and drank whiskey every day. One day when I was eight, he just didn't wake up. I returned to being a thief until I was twelve and joined the Argonn army. I told them I was sixteen so I could join the battles. I was a very large boy so no one doubted me. I can tell you the pride I felt as a warrior was the pride of a fool. I thought war was an honorable way of life. Amani made me understand that there is no honor in bringing death to the world."

Eriana asked, "May I please change the subject? When you rescued Kardauma from the hydrogen ice at Nalamakk. Why were you alone out there so far from any civilization?"

"I was the only one that survived an ambush by a Rin Battalion. I traveled east so I could go down the coast. When I cut through the crater I found Kardauma encased in ice on the platform. He was making his eyes glow and dim to show me he was alive. I started hacking at the ice with my sword. His eyes went dark so I stopped. They began to glow once more, then faded when I raised my sword. I knew he was trying to tell me not to do it that way. Instead I made small fires all around him and the ice slowly began to melt. Once his head was free he told me that the ice would explode if he moved. I had to keep the fires burning until even the ice under his feet had melted. We have been friends since that day."

We departed soon after our meal break. It was our intention to defeat Ignaas before the days end. When we finally reached the edge of Ignaas's lands the sun was well over halfway across the sky. We landed on the top of Haanu Mountain when we first arrived so we could look at Infernos Castle. It could barely be seen in the distance. It was an exceptionally large pyramid made of reddish stone. There was a massive square base that protruded out from the bottom. On its outer walls were entrances to various parts of the castle. The castle sat on the tip of the peninsula. The volcano Haanu Mountain still had lava slowly flowing out of it into the sea. These flows were all underground and steam rose from the sea to the southeast where the lava poured into it. It was a dark baron wasteland for the most part. A lot of the peninsula still gave off so much heat that little could grow on it. We set up camp at the base of the mountain, opposite the side facing Ignaas's castle. We went over the plan one last time. Middy, Balanath, Kardauma and I started walking towards the castle.

Kardauma

Middy Enchanted herself, Balanath and Andor with a harmless amount of the Erebus. She made their eyes solid black like Kahli's eyes. She also made their hair and clothes solid black to complete the look. An angry look came over Balanath and Andor's faces after she Enchanted them with the Erebus.

Andor asked Balanath, "Are you angry?"

"I certainly feel angry."

I said, "Try to mask your emotions no matter what they are. You must appear to no longer have a mind of your own."

I glanced at Middy, she was barely paying attention. She had started mumbling to herself right after her Enchantment. As we approached the castle I heard some of the things she was mumbling.

"Killing animals for entertainment. They have no respect for their own lives, why should they respect the lives of the animals. They are animals themselves, yet they think their better than the animals. Stupid humans."

This was what most of her mumbling was about. The thought of people killing animals for entertainment was a very touchy subject for her. My original plan was to simply open the stable doors that are never locked and walk in. However, Middy was making me very nervous. The rage I felt from her was tremendous. I was afraid she might attack Ignaas before I even had a chance to talk to him. So I had them wait at the entrance. I went inside to speak to Ignaas alone... or as alone as you can be with over a thousand people watching you.

The arena was halfway underground below the castle. It took up much of the interior of the castle complex because it had a remarkably high ceiling. The castle was so large it could still easily house the over one thousand people that had made it their home. Ignaas had a throne platform at one end almost level with the arena floor. On both sides of the arena were the seats for the observers. At the end opposite of Ignaas's throne was where they brought in the animals. There was also a seat on the opposite side by the doors to the stables for whoever brought the animals to battle.

I saw no animals as I traveled through the stables to the arena. I assumed they had already been slain during the day. Then it occurred to me that Ignaas and all the people could still be heard inside the stadium. If the daily battles were over, why were they still there? I couldn't help but think they were waiting on us. I traveled into the arena and reformed a good distance from Ignaas's throne. Everyone grew quiet and only the soft roar of them whispering could be heard. They didn't seem surprised to see me, nor did Ignaas. He was wearing a suit of thin red armor that covered his entire body. I had witnessed the games with him before. He normally wore more comfortable clothes. He seemed to be dressed for battle as opposed to relaxing as he watched the games.

Ignaas said smiling as he sat on his throne, "Kardauma. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this day? Did you come to witness the games? Please, take a seat. Eat, drink, make merry."

I knew he was toying with me. There were no animals there for the games.

"I have come to challenge you to a sorcerer's battle. That is, unless your fear prevents you from accepting my challenge."

A slightly angry look came over his face, but it quickly faded and he began to smile once more. "I offer you the hospitality of my house and you insult me. I guess when you keep company with barbarians it is only a matter of time before you become one of them." The people in the stadium laughed. He looked around as if he was looking for something. "Correct me if I am wrong. Are we not short one sorcerer?"

"I was using a term you would understand. The Third Epochon has brought a great power to the Vrah. I am now able to control the minds of mortals with the power of the Erebus. You may call all the minions you wish. They will all fall to my warriors."

I could tell he was simply playing along. "This is wonderful news that you have been blessed with such a great power. There are many mortals here. Choose those you would have battle for you."

The crowd laughed and many started yelling, "Pick me! Pick me!"

He was most definitely playing a game with me that everyone there knew about. I had no choice but to continue the charade.

"I have brought my own mortals."

"Of course you have. Guards!"

Several men rushed out to retrieve them.

"Why have you come here Kardauma? Surely you do not expect me to believe it is simply to show off your new powers."

"I want to make a wager with you. If I win the contest, you will help me defeat Kahli. If I lose, I will become your servant."

He laughed for a few moments then said, "So you have come to be my slave. I am not certain I need a slave that can control a few mortals."

"You will witness my power here today. The mortals I have taken over are each a deadly weapon in their own right. With your help Kahli will fall to us before he has a chance to flee."

Ignaas leaned back in his throne and stared at me for a long moment. I knew he didn't believe me. None of this mattered to him because he was certain of victory.

Ignaas said loudly, "Let's see what your minions are capable of. Guards! Bring them in!"

Two men pushed open the large doors at my end of the arena. They entered and the men closed the doors. Ignaas chuckled to himself as he looked down and shook his head no with a smile. I guess I should have known that having Andor be one of my minions would make it unbelievable. I traveled to the challenger's seat and took my place. It was all up to them after that.

The Great Middiana Barthallion

The Erebus I had invoked was making it awfully hard to control my anger. As we entered the arena the people began to cheer. Their adoration of me was fully expected. Their efforts to soften my heart with their hero worship was futile. They had crossed the line with their cruel treatment of the animals. I looked around at them with menacing eyes. I could feel the fear coming over them as they cheered.

Ignaas smiled and laughed a little trying to mask the fear I had struck into his heart. He raised his right hand into the air and two giant pillars of fire appeared on both sides of him. Two giant molten warriors emerged. They were humanoid in form and wielded swords that were taller than a house. I Enchanted Balanath and Andor's weapons with the power of ice. A light blue glowing mist covered their swords and bolts. They immediately drew their crossbows and sent two bolts flying into the heads of the warriors. A layer of ice covered their heads and quickly spread to the rest of their bodies. They shattered into small solid boulders. When the boulders hit the floor they exploded in a cloud of black dust and faded from existence.

Ignaas had received his first taste of my awesome power and he was absolutely terrified. He grinned in fear as hundreds of huge molten bats began flying out of the pillars of fire. They swarmed on Balanath and Andor who stood back to back. The bats were struck down for their trouble by their ice enchanted blades. When they were hit with my ice power they exploded into clouds of thick black smoke then faded away. The bats flew at me as well. They were obviously thinking I would be as delicious as I am beautiful. Because I had Enchanted the air around me with the power of ice they turned to stone when they hit the blue light. I had to be quick to avoid being hit by the stone bats as they flew by me. They fell to the floor exploding into a cloud of black smoke when they hit.

I flew high into the air and raised my right hand above my head. A huge whirlpool of white light formed near the entrance to the arena that was almost to the ceiling. I wanted my Summoning Portal to be big enough to call the animals of my choosing. They wanted to see animals in battle, I wasn't going to disappoint them.

I summoned a swarm of Talarian Rock Mosquitoes. They are large crystal mosquitoes about the size of a small bird. They are crystalline life forms so they feed off the minerals in hardened lava. Their body temperatures are so cold that when they land on the Talarian lava pools a solid rock instantly forms under them. They swarmed into the room in the thousands and attacked the bats. It looked like a huge cloud above the arena floor. They landed on them and tried to suck out the minerals. However, the bats became solid from their frigid body temperatures and exploded into a thick cloud of black smoke. I am sure the mosquitoes were disappointed, but they didn't give up on the sweet smell of lava coming from the endless supply of bats Ignaas was providing. The mosquitoes were so great in number that Ignaas knew he couldn't stand against my power. His bats stopped emerging from the pillars of fire and I sent the mosquitoes back through the Portal. Ignaas cowered in fear before me with a very angry look on his face. I would show him no mercy. His pain would be tenfold!

"Balanath! Andor! Stand clear!" Andor and Balanath moved to the sides of my Portal as I summoned the beast. "You Ignaas will now face one of the fiercest beasts in all of Acedia! Behold! The power of! Megaladon!"

The look of anger was still on Ignaas's face as he watched in horror. Near the top of my Summoning Portal they saw the first of the mighty Megaladon. His nose was the first thing to come through the Portal. Then his heartless frowning mouth... then... more of his heartless frowning mouth. Then finally the massive stupid frog jumped through the Portal as I was commanding him to do the entire time. It is hard to control them, they are not very bright. Nevertheless! He knew the task I had set before him. He sat there in all his splendid glory. He was as tall as the Portal and towered above the people. His dark green skin was glistening and his large green eyes looked frantically in every direction. His eyes are set atop two tentacles that are attached to where a frog's eyes would normally be. This enables him to cast his terrifying gaze in all directions. He tends to only gaze for a moment and is constantly casting his terrifying gaze in all directions.

The pathetic people laughed in horror when they first looked upon the majesty that is Megaladon. Fear engulfed their minds and I am sure they wanted to run. They couldn't, they were frozen in place as they continued laughing in complete and utter terror. Suddenly Megaladon opened his large mouth. Over a thousand tongues flew out and wrapped around every person in the stadium. He sucked them back into his mouth. In mere seconds the stadium was empty and silent. Only the soft roar of the flaming pillars could be heard. All had witnessed the awesome power of Megaladon. Most had paid the ultimate price. However, that was only the beginning of the attack on Ignaas. As everyone knows, the only thing more deadly than Megaladon's tongues... is his gas.

The ground shook when Megaladon released his mighty burp. He raised his head straight up as he did this creating a path of destruction that reached from the ground to the ceiling. You could see the large waves of sound as they moved through the air destroying everything in their path. Ignaas had formed a Dark Shield around himself that shook as the sound waves hit it. They reduced everything else in their path to non-molecular material. Meaning it destroyed every molecule and they disappeared. The sound wave traveled in a funnel shape in front of Megaladon from the ground to the ceiling. Before it dissipated the majority of the west side of the castle and the peak of the pyramid was gone. It was now opened up to the sky. Then Megaladon did what all Nadasac Frogs do after a meal. He super-condensed down to his normal size, about the size of a dog, and hopped back through the Portal.

Eriana's White Portal appeared near me. Torva and everyone else flew through at an incredible speed and landed near Balanath and Andor before the Portal disappeared. When they felt the ground shake and saw the top of the pyramid disappear they thought Ignaas had done something terrible. They were charging to the rescue. I returned Balanath, Andor and myself back to normal. Everyone but Eriana dismounted and the younglings stood on their back legs, drew their swords and all prepared for battle. I joined Eriana and Certi so I could be inside their shield with them. Eriana shielded us all. I Enchanted everyone's shields and their weapons with ice. We were ready to destroy any minions he may have called.

Then something very surprising happened. Ignaas's Dark Shield disappeared. None with crossbows hesitated. They all unleashed a barrage of bolts at him. The bolts never got near him. They burst into flames and disappeared in a cloud of smoke halfway to him. Our ranged attacks were useless. Everyone stopped firing and waited to see what he would do.

He said loudly, "Kardauma! Do you think this band of fools can stand against me? I thought you had compassion for the mortals. You have handed me their lives!"

His eyes began to glow red and became like glass. The armor he wore was covered with flames. Below his feet the ground began to turn into lava and spread out in all directions. Eriana released her shields so everyone could mount their dragons. She shielded them once again and I Enchanted the shields. The shields reappeared where the heat was hitting them from below as we flew high into the air avoiding the collapsing pyramid castle. I removed my Summoning Portal as the lava spread and the entire castle sunk into the boiling lake of lava that had formed.

Ignaas shouted at us, "I know you used Preah'kahn to kill my brother! I will show you no mercy! Today you meet your deaths!" He clenched his fists and all the lava surrounding him began to be absorbed into him through his feet. He grew larger and larger as this happened. He growled, "You have no idea what I am! I am the son of Rajani and Bacall! I! Am! A! God!"

He continued to get larger until he was as large as Bora. Soon the lava was consumed and Ignaas towered over the land looking at us. He created a massive Dark Flat Shield between him and us. It stretched across the land and reached the sky. It was so big it would take us awhile to get around or over it. Ignaas raised his elbows in the air and quickly brought them down like he was trying to sling something off his hands. Two massive red metal swords came from his hands when he did this. He looked at us with a menacing look as we hovered at what was now his eye level.

Balanath shouted, "Retreat back out of the reach of his swords!"

Everyone did so then readied themselves for what he would do next. He didn't seemed too worried about us. He just turned his back to us and started walking to the west. Bora was slowly emerging from the sea off the west coast. He was made of ice with glowing blue crystal eyes.

Eriana shouted, "Father! I can make us a Portal to the other side of his shield!"

"No! He could swat us like flies with those swords! We will wait and see if the Aaseems can weaken him first! If they can't we are going to retreat!"

As Bora stood in the sea all the water around him began to freeze. Soon it looked as if he was trapped waist deep in a giant sheet of ice. He raised both his hands above his head. He smashed his hands into the ice on both sides of him freeing a massive sheet in front of him. He reached down and lifted it above his head. He slammed it into the sea creating a giant tidal wave. As the water crashed in over the ice sheet Bora plunged his fist into the sea. The water began to freeze at an incredible rate traveling towards the tidal wave as if it were chasing it. The tidal wave crashed over the land, covered Ignaas and hit his shield. The rapidly freezing water caught up with the tidal wave and froze solid around him. He began spinning in place inside the ice. A huge whirlpool of fire formed around his body and shot out in all directions. The ice exploded into millions of pieces and rained down upon the land. It melted and evaporated from the heat of the peninsula. He faced Bora once again.

Bora brought his arms up in front of his face in a cross pattern. Swords shot out of his hands made of a shiny blue metal. He charged towards Ignaas at an amazingly fast rate for someone that large crashing through ice. It seemed as if he was running upstairs and was soon running over the top of the frozen sea. He ran up onto the land and clashed in battle with Ignaas. They fought at an incredible speed given their size. Each time their swords clashed you could hear the sound of metal crashing together and steam being released.

As they battled each other Arthos burst up out of the ground near the fighting giants. My first thought was, what is he going to do? Attack his ankles. Sometimes my genius is even hidden from me. Grannus didn't remain on Tiamat. He shot up between Ignaas's legs. His body instantly transformed into huge stone shackles that attached to Ignaas's ankles. They were bridged in the center by more stone so he couldn't move his feet. Arthos stretched out his right hand as if he was reaching for the shackles. The shackles quickly moved towards him and Ignaas crashed to the ground. With a mighty blow of his sword Bora struck down and decapitated Ignaas. Ignaas's body became a huge beam of red light that shot into the sky. It hit the sky above us and became a ring of red light that spread out in every direction until it disappeared over the horizons. The energy release melted Bora like a piece of ice on a red hot stove. Grannus was destroyed too and Arthos became red hot. He was still red hot when we left.

Eriana made a large White Portal and we quickly returned to Tarmakk Castle. The battle didn't go anything like we planned. However, thanks to my courage and great power we were victorious. Even though everyone thought the Aaseem had defeated Ignaas, it had much more to do with the fear I had put into his heart. If not for that, it saddens me to say they would never have been victorious. Such lack of recognition is the price one must sometimes pay for greatness. I was content to let the Aaseem have the credit for the time being. I am certain history will remember it correctly.

# Chapter 14 Lights Pierce the Darkness

Balanath Lexington

Ryuu, Ryoma and I had drawn our conclusions in private about what Ignaas had told us. They thought Rajani died when Haalandor's Erebus was banished to win the war. The girl's Grandmother Althea's body lies in a grave. When she was transformed into Althea, The Light Guardian, her mortal body died. It was perfectly plausible that Rajani had survived in a comparable way. We assumed she had joined with Haalandor's Erebus before it came to Avangar. We went to the Seminarium to discuss our conclusions with everyone else.

Ryuu said, "Rajani must have joined with Haalandor's Erebus to survive. She is certainly not a god, she would need a human body to give birth. She is probably a Demigod that can take human form like Merium."

Ryoma said, "One of our main concerns is the Bacall factor. Kahli has to be Bacall. That would explain why Edur and Ignaas followed him. It also means all the battles they had over the years were staged. Their main goal was to keep the kingdoms at war and keep the deaths coming." She asked Eriana. "Will she tell you if I am correct?"

"You are right. They did this to feed Avangar's Erebus and make it stronger than her Inaara. That is why Kye and the others must keep fighting the beasts on Galdaya."

I said, "Even with all the power we now have at our disposal we may not be able to defeat him if he is Bacall."

Terus asked, "Why does it matter that Kahli's real name is Bacall? He is still just a Dark Sorcerer."

Ryoma said, "He is actually a Demigod. The legends say Bacall is a fallen Agnola that was reduced to a Demigod for trying to take over Nuvii. They also say he is the most powerful Demigod in the universe. If Rajani has control of Haalandor's Erebus she may be more powerful than he is."

Andor said, "If this is true, it may be wise to test the waters like we tried to do against Ignaas. We could stay at a retreating distance and have the Aaseems attack."

Torva yelled in an angry tone, "No!" Everyone looked at her and even she seemed surprised by this outburst. "I'm sorry grandfather. I don't know what came over me. I have a horrible feeling Kahli will kill them."

Andor said, "We just need to know if he can be weakened. Them getting killed doesn't matter. If he kills them we will retreat."

"I don't know how I know this. I just know he will absorb them and their Jeevatma. They will be killed." She looked at Eriana. "Will she tell you why I feel this way?"

"She will only say trust your instincts. That must mean you're right."

Kardauma said, "If your instincts are correct it can only mean one thing. He has an Endergonic Crystal. Only an Endergonic Crystal could reach into their dimension and pluck out their Jeevatma."

Ryuu asked, "What is an Endergonic Crystal?"

"It is a crystal formed during the explosion that creates a universe. They are the rarest crystals in the entire Megaverse. I have never seen one in all my travels, but I assure you, they do exist. The person that told me of them is a very reliable source."

Hobbus asked, "Who told you of them shadow dweller?"

"I can't tell you that. I can tell you that it does explain how he drained the power from Haalandor's shields and how Rajani survived. Not only can the crystals easily absorb the power of a god, they can also absorb someone's soul. He must of used the crystal to absorb Haalandor's Erebus and keep Rajani alive."

Hobbus looked at him suspiciously, "Why do you refuse to reveal your source?"

"The source simply doesn't matter. The fact that it must be an Endergonic Crystal is the important thing. If he uses it to absorb the Aaseem their entire soul will be absorbed. Which of course means their Jeevatma from their realm as well. It is still a mystery. Even if Kahli is Bacall, he is still not a true god. The crystal should be useless in his hands. I was told only a true god could use the crystals."

Eriana was looking down with a strange look on her face. "Look to the balance of power." She looked at Kardauma. "I believe that was the answer to a question you didn't ask."

He was thinking for a few moments. "Preah'kahn... that has to be it."

Andor asked, "What do you mean?"

"Something I should have already figured out. The balance of power between the Inaara and Erebus must be maintained. I assumed that Preah'kahn was a stone to balance out the fact that Kaygun had become a god. I was wrong. They have a Divine Sword with power equal to that of Preah'kahn. The sword itself must contain the Endergonic Crystal. That would explain how he could use the crystal without being a true god. He must have used it to absorb Haalandor's Erebus and Rajani. Then he released her so she could bear him children." He looked at Eriana. "Will she at least tell you if I am on the right track?"

"Why did she start this Blessing answering my questions plainly or not at all? Now she keeps speaking in riddles." She made a face that indicated Avangar answered that question. "I see. To speak plainly is interfering. She speaks in riddles because she is guiding us to answers we should already know."

Torva asked, "What is the riddle this time?"

"She said you seek the wrong mysteries. To find your way look to the great, look to the conceded."

We all looked at Middy. She gave us an I don't think so look as she shook her head no.

"I am great, there's no doubt about that, but conceded, come on. I'm as humble as they come."

Torva said, "Let's pretend she is talking about you. Apparently there is something you know that we don't. Is there anything Darrius may have told you?"

Kardauma asked, "Has he ever mentioned Endergonic Crystals?"

"Nope, never heard of them."

Veelus said, "Maybe Rajani doesn't have to become human to have children. Did he mention Demigods being able to mate and birth other Demigods?"

"Well, gods can obviously have children or the Agnola wouldn't exist." She chuckled. "Maybe Kahli isn't even their father. Maybe the slut mated with the Agnola while she was inside the sword."

We were all confused.

Terus asked, "What Agnola are you talking about?"

"Uh, the Agnola inside the sword. You have got to quit taking those stupid pills."

Torva said, "Middy that must be it. Are you telling us there is an Agnola inside the Divine Swords?"

"Are you telling me you didn't know there were Agnolas in the Divine Swords?"

I said, "No Middy, we did not know that."

Kardauma added, "Even I did not know that."

"Well there is. That's what gives the swords their power. I learned it in my fifth year history class. They're in the swords because they are criminals just like Bacall."

Ryuu said, "I think it may be best for you to explain all you know about the swords. That way we may all share in your wisdom on this matter."

"They sure keep you guys out of the information loop." She flew to the center of the table. "Alright, this is what happened. Everyone knows Bacall tried to take over Nuvii. Do you really think he tried that all by himself? Hell no, he had a horde of Agnolas on his side. After they lost they were given a choice. Become a Demigod or become a Divine Sword. I guess once you have the power of a god getting knocked down to the Demigod level is not very appealing. Bacall is the only one that let them reduce him to a Demigod."

Veelus said, "Being trapped in a sword doesn't sound very appealing either."

"They can get un-trapped. That's why they all chose to be swords. Once a Divine Sword has completed its purpose they will be freed."

I said in a curious tone, "So after that they can return to Nuvii?"

"Oh no, their momma isn't letting them stay in her universe after they tried to kill her. They get released out into the Megaverse. Don't ask me what happens then, I don't know. I just know they are never getting back into this universe."

Torva said, "That's interesting, but it doesn't really help us. Is there anything else you learned in your fifth year, or any other year that might be helpful?"

"Hmm, I don't think so. It's hard to say. I don't know, what you don't know, you know?"

Veelus said, "Middy is like our little fairy shaped Avangar. If we don't ask her the right question she will never give us the answer."

Middy said, "I agree with Torva. That can't be what Avangar was talking about. I haven't told you anything that changes anything."

Ryoma said, "You are right. We don't need clarification about legends. We need to know how to win the battle."

Andor said, "What we really need is an army that can fly in order to attack Kahli at his castle."

Hobbus said, "We have an army that can fly. The Elites and their riders. They may not be sorcerers, but with Middy Enchanting their crossbows they can unleash a barrage of attacks comparable to that of any sorcerer. They have trained well. They are ready for battle."

Ryoma had a growing look of anger coming over her face as he spoke those words. "Hobbus! Why are you always so anxious to send the younglings to their deaths? Do their lives truly mean nothing to you?"

He looked at Ryoma with humble eyes. "How could you possibly ask me such a thing. Their lives mean everything to me. They are the only reason I have not already laid down and died. You all think that I long for war. I do not. I simply know that until the battle is over peace will not exist. I do not train my younglings so hard because I want them to face death. I train them so hard because I want them to live through Kaygun's return. To find love, to have children, to see as many years as I have."

Ryoma said in a sorrowful tone, "I apologize for letting my emotions control my words. I have sent my son to face death twice in these few short days. I don't want the mothers of Tiamat to feel that pain."

"I want no tears my queen. I will do everything I can to bring them all home to their mothers."

Ryuu said, "I too think it would be wise for The Elites to join them since the Aaseems cannot. Hobbus is right. Together they could do more damage than a sorcerer with Middy's Enchantments. We must use everything at our disposal. If Kahli and Rajani kill Avangar, we may all know death."

He looked at Ryoma waiting for her response. "Tekarra forgive me... I have no choice but to agree. The Elites will join them. Go Hobbus, bring their parents back from Galdaya. I would never be able to live with myself if something was to happen. I want them to spend this night together." She looked down with troubles eyes.

"Right away my queen. I know those on Galdaya will gladly fight harder to give them time with their children."

I said, "I will tell Siius to have the riders do the same. I'll be back in a moment."

I went to the Comm Room as Hobbus left. At times Hobbus was less than respectful to Ryoma. He had a humble tone in his voice that night I had never heard before. He knew what it felt like to lose warriors, to lose friends. He knew very well the fear he was about to bring to so many dragon parents. He too wanted the younglings to spend what might be their last night with their families. When I returned Ryoma almost looked sick. The younglings are the queen's domain. Only she can order them to join a battle.

I asked, "Ryoma, are you alright?"

"No, I may be the first queen to send younglings to their death in over fifty thousand years."

"You can't blame yourself. The queens before you never had a reason to send them into battle."

Ryuu said in a caring tone, "You must be prepared my love. Kaygun is coming. This is only the beginning."

"I know. I will feel much better when this child shows herself so I can be there to protect everyone."

Torva said to Eriana, "She said look to Middy. Should we keep looking."

"Yes. Middy will guide us to what we seek."

Middy said, "I don't know what she thinks I can guide you to when she keeps speaking in stupid riddles. She needs to just tell me what it is, then I can tell you."

Kardauma said, "Obviously there is something we are missing. Tekarra always provides allies or weapons to help her chosen ones. Maybe we should quit looking for allies and look for a weapon."

Middy said in an excited tone, "That's it! We need to look for a weapon. Paw-paw told me Tekarra always provides gifts to help her chosen ones. He said some gifts are never even found. There must be a weapon lying around here somewhere. Probably right under our noses." She began thinking hard and softly talking to herself. "Where would Tekarra hide a weapon? If we can't sense it like Preah'kahn it isn't going to be easy to find. It might be another Divine Sword. Maybe since the swords have an Agnola in them another Agnola can sense them. We should go ask Vaalstrom to find it for us. He damn sure owes us for completing the trials. We didn't get anything out of that deal."

Eriana was listening to Middy very intensely. "Middy you figured it out!"

"I did? Of course I did... you might want to explain it to Terus. He's a little slow."

Terus gave her a dirty look then looked at grandfather. He held both hands up close together. He acted like he was pinching and shaking something very small with his thumbs and pointing fingers. He meant it to mean he was choking Middy. They smiled.

Eriana said to Middy, "You got me to finally asked the right question. Did Vaalstrom reward us for completing the trials? He did, and Grandfather Abram gave me the key to getting it. She had to tell me about what Grandfather Abram did. It is the only way we can receive Vaalstrom's rewards. When Grandfather unlocked my ability to use the Portals he also unlocked another ability. It felt like he was doing two things at once, but I thought that was just what it was supposed to feel like. The ability has been in me since that day. I can unlock dormant powers just like he can."

Andor asked, "Does this mean you will be able to unlock Torva's powers?"

"Not just Torva's. The Trials of Vaalstrom was their Sorcerer's Quest. Vaalstrom gave us the weapons we need on the day we finished the trials. They can all become sorcerers."

Middy flew up to her face excited. "So I get to be a sorcerer?!"

"No, you're not included."

Middy was very mad. "What the hell is that sorry ass overgrown pervert that walks around half naked trying to pull! I very clearly remember being there and completing the trials."

Eriana told her, "We were never in mortal danger. Vaalstrom always sent Hobbus and Kye to save us when death was upon us, but everyone else could have died at any time. Isn't that wonderful?"

Veelus said, "No, that isn't wonderful. I always thought we were included in that saving us thing."

"That was only for The Sisters of Destiny. They came to save us, you were just there when we were about to die. You all could have been killed. That is the only reason it could be your Sorcerer's Quest. I will be able to unlock your White Sorcerer powers and any sorcerer power the others decide to wield."

Veelus had a displeased look. "That kind of stinks. I don't want to be a White Sorcerer. Can I trade with Certi? We all know she's going to choose White Sorcerer."

"I'm sorry Veelus. She said I can only unlock the power already in you."

He didn't look happy about that.

Torva asked, "Why didn't Vaalstrom just tell us that?"

"He actually did. Remember the day we finished the trials. He said you now have the ability to protect the weak in the battles to come. He was talking about the powers he put in them that day. It is just hidden like Preah'kahn's magic. I will be able to unlock the powers of all the younglings that completed the trials. They are the weapons we needed to find. We will not only have your ability to wield the powers of the Aaseem, we will also have six sorcerers on our side."

Eriana was the only one smiling with a joyous expression on her face. Everyone else was absolutely in shock. None of us expected such a thing.

Ryoma said, "I speak for us all when I say I'm speechless."

Ryuu said, "The High Council must have known that Abram would do something like that. It would explain why they gave him no privacy."

I said, "We can't speak of how she acquired the ability outdoors. They will try to bind his magic if they know."

Andor said, "I wish we had known this sooner. It would have made the previous battles safer for us all."

Eriana told him, "That's not true. Everything must happen in its own due time. If they had their powers in the battle with Edur we would not have lived to fight Ignaas."

Ryoma said, "That must mean he wouldn't have been so overconfident. That does seem to be the only reason you won that battle."

Eriana said, "You are right. She told me you speak the truth."

Ryuu said, "More snowflakes have fallen from the sky to brighten our winter festival. It is time for the festival to begin."

I said, "I agree. Let's have Eriana unlock their powers so they can start training."

Ryoma looked at Eriana. "Are you ready dear?"

Eriana said with a big smile, "I am more than ready."

Eriana Lexington

In time I learned more about what is involved with unlocking someone's powers. When I do this I'm opening up the link between the person and the goddess. The power that is channeled through this link is overwhelming. I can only survive because I'm actually shielding myself inside as the power flows through me. I would eventually find out that only grandfather and I had this ability. The goddesses can only have one mortal Mediator on their planet that can wield their power to do this.

Even though Torva was able to summon the Aaseem, which is a great power, it is still not the same as wielding your own magic. She is a warrior. Like all warriors she likes to fight her own battles. We went to the center of the room. We stood facing one another, joined hands and smiled at each other as everyone watched in anticipation.

I closed my eyes. "Avangar, bringer of life. Please release the bonds that hold Torva's hidden powers. Let her wield the magic of the Aaseem."

My whole body started to glow with white light that had dark light swirling around in it. It was Avangar and Haalandor's magics flooding into my body. I released it into Torva at a controlled rate that she could live through. The light slowly faded as the power entered her body through our hands. The Erebus was too overwhelming, I gasped and collapsed. Torva caught me and gently let my body rest on the floor. That was the first time in my life that I knew what it felt like to be attacked by magic. Nevertheless, it had worked. I looked up at her and smiled, right before I passed out.

When I regained consciousness I was in my bed. Ryuu was talking to father and blocking the doorway. Certi and Hyla were behind him trying to see in. Probably waiting for Ryuu to finish his conversation. Uncle or not, you don't tell the king get out of my way. Ryoma called them back from the training grounds so I could unlock their powers. They had just found out what completing the trials truly meant. Ryoma was close to the bed with her head near me.

Father was saying, "We ask too much of her. How can a child be expected to safely use powers greater than any adult has ever wielded?"

Ryuu said, "Don't give yourself more worries than you already have. She is stronger than you realize."

I looked up at Ryoma with a smile and she smiled back at me. "As I said before, she is well. Ask her yourself."

Torva rushed to my side. "Are you alright?"

"I wasn't harmed. I was just overwhelmed by the Erebus. I'll be fine."

Father asked, "What do you mean by the Erebus?"

"She also received Deemos's powers."

Ryoma said, "I suspected as much, I can sense the Erebus inside her. It seems Deemos survived the banishing."

Ryuu asked her, "Do you think he survived in Haalandor's Erebus just like Rajani?"

Ryoma said, "That is beyond my knowledge. Only Eriana would be able to answer that question."

"She remains silent."

Ryuu said, "So she will be able to use Deemos's powers as well as Althea's power of light."

Ryoma replied, "I think she will only be able to use the power from Avangar's Aaseem. The magic is channeled directly from the Aaseem who are bound to the planet. She would have to be on Haalandor to use their magic."

Torva had a strange look on her face. "I don't think that's true." She stepped away from the bed and held both her hands out palms up. "Light." A small white orb appeared above her right hand. "Darkness." A small black orb appeared above her left hand. "Even though it doesn't hurt me to have both inside me, they are still opposing magics. If the orbs touched they would explode." The orbs disappeared.

I said, "Your powers are not being channeled like the Summoners of the past. They have been given to you just like a sorcerer's powers."

Middy flew up to Torva and gave her a strange look. "I'm not my normal lovable self when I call on the Erebus. You are not going to start being mean are you?"

Not her normal lovable self was quite an understatement. I personally choose to believe it was Megaladon that took the lives of over a thousand people. I have never been comfortable about that happening at Infernos Castle.

Torva gave Middy a menacing look. "I might be mean to you."

"You better be joking." She squinted her eyes at Torva and shook her head yes. "I'll be watching you." Torva just smiled.

Father said, "That is actually a good question. When she Enchanted us with the Erebus I found it hard to control my anger. Do you feel any different?"

"No, not at all. I don't think I'll be affected like Middy is when I use the Erebus. There's only one way to find out."

Father said, "Let's go to the training grounds."

I started sitting up. "I want to go."

Father said, "Rest for a while. There is no need for you to get up now."

"I'm alright. I don't want to lie in bed. I want to see Torva's powers and unlock the other's magic."

Ryoma said, "I agree with your father. You need to rest."

"I'm not even tired. I feel fine."

Ryoma smiled, "Stay on Certi and try to relax. I want you well rested before you try this again."

"Yes ma'am."

I slowly got up and stood on the floor. Ryoma looked towards the back of the room and a huge White Portal appeared. Everyone let Ryoma go first, she moved very slowly because of her pregnancy. Father followed her through to make sure she was clear of the Portal on the other side. After a few moments his arm appeared as he reached back through and motioned for us to come. Everyone slowly filed through except me, Torva, Certi and Hyla.

Certi asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Not really. I'm kind of lightheaded. Don't tell them." Certi smiled and turned her back to me.

Hyla held out her hand palm up on the floor in front of me. "Going up."

Torva helped me onto her hand and she gently set me on Certi's back. I got onto her saddle and strapped in. We all went through the Portal.

When we arrived training was in full swing. All the younglings were fencing in the air or on the ground. Their riders were practicing with their crossbows in the human training sections. At the far end of the grounds Heady and Tooma could be seen fighting hand to hand on the ground. That wasn't part of the training. They are always play fighting. If not for us arriving to draw Hobbus's attention I'm sure he would have went down there and laid into them. They didn't know what was going on yet. Ryoma had already explained to Hobbus what had happened.

He walked up to Torva. "Well then. Let us first see what you can do. Use all of your powers on the fencing post in front of you."

The post was made of rock hard Darkwood Pine. Each post is thicker than a normal tree trunk and scarred from being struck by swords. Torva stepped forward as we all watched with anticipation. She seemed to be concentrating hard then she waved her hand towards the post in front of her.

As she did this she said, "Fire."

The younglings close by stopped to watch as the post was engulfed by flames from top to bottom. You could see it growing black as it burned. A wave of talking washed over the training grounds as everyone stopped to watch. The younglings filled the sky and came closer to see what she was doing. She quickly waved her hand again.

"Ice."

A light blue mist engulfed the post and the flames disappeared in a torrent of steam. The entire post was covered by a thick layer of ice. You could tell she was excited by what she was doing. She then quickly raised her right hand as if she was punching the air above her head.

She shouted, "Earth!"

A huge cone shaped stone spike burst from the ground underneath the post. It came from the ground so fast that it shot the post high up into the sky. Most of the ice shattered from the force and fell to the ground. As we all watched it falling to the ground Torva held her palms flat and pointed her arms towards the post. She said nothing, but she had called on light and darkness. A small dark orb formed in front of her left hand and a light orb formed in front of her right. They both shot at the post. They grew further apart then curved inward and hit the post on opposite sides. The magics were definitely opposing. When the two magics engulfing the post met in the middle it caused an explosion that disintegrated the post. Tiny pieces of wood rained down to the ground. At that point everyone was watching. They shouted and cheered at Torva. She had a huge smile on her face. She was most definitely enjoying herself. Heady and Tooma landed near us.

Heady said enthusiastically, "That was amazing! How did you do that?"

Hyla said, "Eriana has unlocked her ability to use the power of the Aaseem."

Tooma said, "That's interesting." He turned away from Torva then looked back. "Torva, put that fire magic to good use. I have and itch behind my right ear. Scratch it for me?"

Torva furrowed her brow at him for a moment then a smile came over her face. She brought her right hand up by her face and pointed at him. She wiggled the tip of her pointing finger up and down as if she was scratching him. A tiny patch of ice formed behind his ear.

Tooma screamed, "Ooooow!"

A surprised look came over Torva's face as flames engulfed the ice then disappeared.

Tooma turned around with an angry look on his face. "What did you do! That hurt!"

Middy said in a slow singing manner, "She is being mean."

Torva said, "I'm sorry. I used as little power as possible."

Tooma said angrily, "It still hurt."

Hobbus said, "It is always good to test your limitations and you chose a deserving test subject. Well done Torva."

Tooma said in a bewildered tone, "Well done. Well done. How would you like her to freeze your ear and see how you like it?"

I think she may have frozen Tooma's brain. No one talks to Hobbus in a disrespectful manner. Hobbus looked at him with that serious look we all hate to see.

Tooma came to his senses and slowly backed away. "Which... I of course... would never want to see her do."

The expression on Hobbus's face didn't change. Suddenly Tooma's tail struck Heady across the face so hard it made his head go to one side. Heady didn't look happy about it.

Tooma said, "Oops. It looks like Heady got hurt. I will take him somewhere, that's not here and tend to his wounds."

He turned and quickly flew away with Heady close on his tail. They were a good distance away when Heady caught him and dragged him from the sky. They crashed to the ground fighting.

Hobbus looked at Ryoma. "Are you sure it's wise to turn those two fools into sorcerers." Ryoma smiled.

Hobbus started putting Torva through drills to hone her skills. We found that she could create balls of ice and fire as well as light and dark orbs. She could shoot these at an incredible speed. She could also make them chase their target until they hit it. She never missed a target for this reason. She could call on the power of earth in several ways. She also gained the amazing power to control the animals. I was so joyous for her.

Veelus was the first dragon sorcerer to have their powers past to them from their parents. Ryoma was a legendary White Sorcerer. We fully expected Veelus to be an impressive White Sorcerer as well.

Ryoma asked me, "Are you sure you feel completely recovered?"

"Yes. I'm ready."

She looked at Veelus. "Are you prepared?"

"Yes mother. I have been prepared my whole life."

I walked up to Veelus. "Lie on your stomach so we can be face to face."

He did so and lowered his head to me. "You realize this is not fair at all. I completed the trials but I'm the only one that can't choose my powers."

"If it was up to me I would let you choose. Don't worry. You can still be a warrior. Grandfather Abram and The Legion of Sorcerers are proof of that." I reached out and touched his cheek with my right hand. "Avangar, I call on you once more. Please release the magic of the dragon prince so he may fight for the Inaara."

A dark light formed around my feet. The glowing light spiraled around me as it traveled up my body. It spiraled around and down my arm to my hand and entered Veelus's cheek. A surprised look came over his face and he quickly stood. Once again, I passed out.

When I woke the sound of all the dragon younglings talking filled the air around me. Torva was on her knees sitting on her heels. My head was resting in her lap and Certi and Hyla were staring down at me with worried looks on their faces. Everyone was talking and I couldn't make out what was being said.

Hyla shouted, "She's awake!" Everyone grew silent.

Torva looked down at me with a smile. "You have got to stop doing that. I don't think father's heart can take it." I smiled at her.

Father rushed over to me and got down on his knees beside me. "How do you feel?"

"I think I'm starting to get used to it. I don't even feel tired this time. I can get up."

He helped me to my feet. I already knew what had happened. None of us truly knew why at that moment. I could sense Veelus in front of me behind the crowd.

"Veelus."

I walk towards him and everyone moved aside and opened a path. His iris was as black as coal. I could sense the Erebus inside him.

I stopped in front of him. "Do you feel like yourself?"

"I don't feel different at all, but I do sense the Erebus inside me. I can now also sense the Inaara from you, Middy and mother. Torva is a strange read."

"She is a strange read for us all. Just know that's a Summoner's powers you sense."

This wasn't an easy situation. Avangar was revealing her knowledge to me. She didn't want us to be blind to what was happening.

"You are a wise and compassionate person. This will not change because you're a Dark Sorcerer. Avangar had no choice but to make you a Dark Sorcerer. It was predestined by Tekarra long before your birth. The dormant power of a White Sorcerer we have always sensed in you was a lie. No one could know the truth until now. You will not be the only Dark Sorcerer fighting for the Inaara. Without the power of Dark Sorcerers on our side we will not be able to defeat Kaygun."

Ryoma said, "Let's give her time to rest before she does this again. We will see what Veelus can do."

Hobbus shouted, "Younglings and riders continue your training! Torva and Hyla go to the south end and train. When Veelus is ready he will face you in battle."

Torva smiled at Veelus. "Practice well dear prince. I don't plan on losing."

Veelus Tanis

I am The Signa. Only three red dragons have ever been born to announce the arrival of a new age called an Epochon. Each new age brings changes to the physical and magical laws of the universe. All these laws are implemented by Fate and Tekarra to maintain the balance between the Inaara and the Erebus. Some changes are more important than others. Some we will never know about. In the first Epochon the most important change was that the goddesses were able to conceive children called Aaseems to protect them. In the second it was that the goddesses could give part of their powers to mortals and make them sorcerers. In the third people could be Dark Sorcerers that are not evil or White Sorcerers that are. Those were the significant changes we knew of at that point. More were coming and the dark forces of the Erebus would also be able to take advantage of these changes. Kaygun would return in two years. He was already a tremendous threat to all life on both worlds as a Dark God. For him to have access to these changes would make him even more dangerous.

In my younger days I blamed myself for all the dangers The Third Epochon was bringing. If not for the threat of Kaygun I of course would have never felt that way. I felt like it was my fault he would have more power. Mother and Irena had many long talks with me. They told me The Third Epochon would have come with or without me. My unique color was simply a means to announce it to Haalandor and Avangar's peoples.

To be the prince made me feel different. To be The Signa made me feel even more out of place with the other younglings. Most of them had always treated me differently. Even Hobbus showed me respect, more so than he showed mother and father. He was always harder on me when it came to training, but he never spoke down to me. If it is actually possible I was his favorite. Outside of Steen and Bekka anyway, they are definitely his favorites. He is there great uncle and has adored them since their birth.

When I was young Hobbus once told me while he was training me alone. "You could accomplish great things if you would put away the wants of a child and act like you have some sense."

This may have sounded like an insult to most people, but I knew that it may have been the nicest thing he ever said to anyone. To hear him say I was capable of accomplishing great things made me try harder. He was a living legend and we all wanted to be like him.

I can't say that to become a Dark Sorcerer helped me feel as if I fit in more. I could sense that most of the younglings were slightly afraid of me because of this, but not my true friends. All The Crimson Warriors treated me the same. It had nothing to do with the fact they had become sorcerers. It was because we were all truly friends that loved each other. To them I was still Veelus, the youngling they had grown up with and knew very well. It brought me great comfort when they teased me about being a Dark Sorcerer.

When we all discussed it Middy said, "Great, now I have two people under my command I have to keep an eye on."

Heady said to me, "Oh no, you're a big scary Dark Sorcerer." He got behind Tooma. "Please protect me... I'm scared."

We all laughed. It made me feel good to know that nothing had changed between us. I would never be a prince with a big head. They would always be there to knock me down a few notches.

The first thing I noticed when I used my powers was that I could do it with a thought. Even mother sometimes said things when she was casting certain magic. I found out that it wasn't necessary. It was mostly to warn others around you of what you were about to do. Some sorcerers did it to psych themselves up for the attack. I preferred to simply attack.

I found that I had all the normal powers of a Dark Sorcerer. I was able to cast Dark Shields that Middy could Enchant as she did Eriana's White Shields. I could stop things in time that were close to me. My fire breath no longer existed. I shot out a funnel of Dark Energy that would reduce anything not shielded to dust. I could form orbs of Dark Energy in front of my mouth and command them to attack a target. Once released I needed to do nothing more. The orbs wouldn't disappear until they hit their target or were too far away to draw on my power.

With Hobbus and mother as my guides I was easily able to use these abilities in a few short hours of training. However, the one ability that most Dark Sorcerers preferred was extremely difficult to do. Dark Sorcerers prefer to create minions because they can do it far from the actual battle. It is in fact the safest way to battle. It also allows you to use less of your own power. You're actually calling on the planet's Erebus and forming it into your minion. Kahli's ability to create Traps was a form of this. He simply cast the spell and his part was done. Once it had been triggered it drew the power from the planet.

I was shocked the first time I tried to create a minion. I tried to create a wolf and it appeared half formed. It was screaming and writhing in pain. It was a disturbing sight. Mother said it was created from my mind and it wasn't truly alive. This brought me little comfort. I felt a connection with the beast and felt as if it was my own child dying in front of me. It took me several tries to create a fully formed shadow wolf and it was still difficult to create one fully formed. I had one attack Balanath and it was destroyed with one swing of his sword. I felt my power grow slightly weaker when he did this. Hobbus and mother agreed that I should stick with the orbs and other attacks. We didn't have time for me to master that ability.

Torva and I had not truly had time to master any of our abilities. Nevertheless, Hobbus said shooting poles or at thin air couldn't compare to training against an intelligent opponent. So the duel was on.

Mother explained the rules. "Middy will Enchant both of your shields. You must pay close attention. Do not try to use your magic if you're about to be hit by the other's attack. Even though the shield will only be dropped where your attack exits, we don't want an attack to accidentally use the opening created and hit you. We will judge your performance and award points for successful hits on the other's shield. Speed will be your greatest ally. Torva your Dark Shield would be a better defense against Veelus, but you already have too many advantages. I want you to use a White Shield."

I asked, "What do you mean by she has too many advantages? Are you saying I'm weak compared to her?"

"I want the training to be productive and fair. Beware of the fact that two heads are better than one. Hyla and Torva are the best Rider Team for a reason."

They had been considered the best Rider Team for years because they kept winning The War Tournament. Balanath and I won our only match against them. However, we decided never to participate in the tournament again because Torva gets a seriously bad attitude when she loses.

I calmly said, "Yes mother we all know the reason. They are the best team because Torva has anger issues. That's the only reason Balanath and I have not dethroned them."

I slowly turned my head towards Torva who was sitting on Hyla. Her mouth was wide open.

"Oh, you are going to pay for that one."

Mother shouted, "Enough talk sorcerers! Rise into the air and face your opponent! Raise your shields and attack at will!"

Torva and Hyla Ported into the air. I did the same and faced them a good distance away. Torva did as mother told her and created a White Shield. Middy Enchanted it and it disappeared. I raised mine and it too disappeared. Torva immediately pointed her right arm at me with her palm facing me. I prepared to shoot dark orbs at her to battle the orbs she was about to create. My shield appeared all around me and in seconds I was blinded to the outside world. Torva had called on her ice magic and encased my shield in ice. I knew that she was most likely unleashing a barrage of ice or fire at me. She knew that every hit against me encased in the ice would be a point for her.

I released my shield. I used my dark breath to make an opening in the back and Ported out. Her barrage of fireballs chased down and hit the now falling empty ball of ice. I quickly raised another shield that Middy immediately Enchanted. I roared at her and dark orbs formed in front of my mouth and shot towards them. I tried to get my orbs to go around her ice balls but they moved with them and all exploded when they collided.

She raised both her arms and ice balls flew from one and fireballs from the other. She was able to create more balls of ice and fire than I could counter with my dark orbs. I knew they were about to hit my shield. I use my dark breath and shot out a huge funnel larger than my body. The balls of ice and fire exploded against the funnel. As always Torva isn't one to hesitate. She used the fact that I was battling the remaining fire and ice balls coming at me. When I had destroyed them all I looked up. Hyla had already Ported high into the sky. She dived down and I unleashed a barrage of dark orbs at them. Torva tried to counter with light orbs which was making some pretty bright explosions, but Hyla was moving too fast. Many of my orbs got by and were hitting their shield. I knew that battle was mine.

When she was at my height in the air Hyla flew straight at me and landed on top of my shield. She drew her swords and began attacking my shield. I almost wanted to laugh. I froze time around me which froze her and also froze Torva on her back. My shield disappeared and I created a Flat Shield under her feet and mine as well. I quickly drew my swords, made the shield I stood on rise up and kissed Hyla on the cheek as she stood frozen. This was just pure arrogance because there was no need to do anything with my swords. I obviously could get the killing blow and win the match. Then, three fireballs burst against the back of my head. I quickly turned around to see Torva standing on a Flat Shield of her own. She smiled, raised her right hand up and wiggled her fingers as if to say hello. She then arrogantly took short bows in different directions as everyone cheered for her. She said she would have shot me with the fireballs when I dropped my shield to get the killing blows, but she had to see what I was going to do since I never even looked in her direction.

They had out smarted me and won the duel. I felt a little like Edur, except without the really getting killed part. Mother did warn me that two heads are better than one. It was just a onetime shot. I would never get overconfident like that again. Nevertheless, they won and I did learn something. That's why we train. We continued training in this manner. I won some and she won some. We honed our skills until it was time for Eriana to unlock Hyla and the other's powers.

Hyla Tanis

To say we were all surprised to find out we were to become sorcerers would be a massive understatement. We were all proud of our accomplishments during the trials. A Sorcerer's Quest normally lasts only ten days. If they do not come back after ten days you know they did not survive the quest. Even though Eriana, Torva and Middy were actually safe from death, the rest of us were not given that guarantee. We risked our lives and were put through a much longer quest than any other had ever faced.

Eriana unlocked Certi's powers first. She chose to be a White Sorcerer. No one was surprised by this. She is kind and compassionate like Eriana. For her to be a protector was only natural. Heady and Tooma are my relatives, so the stupid embarrassing things they do I take personally. Sometimes it makes me want to choke the life out of them. For them to simply choose their powers was a good example of this.

Heady told Eriana, "I choose fire."

Tooma said, "I choose fire as well."

Heady looked at him. "You really do envy me. You have to be just like me."

"You just spoke first you idiot. I was planning to be a fire sorcerer anyway."

"Don't be upset. It is absolutely acceptable for you to follow in my footsteps. I will take you under my wing and teach you to be a Fire Sorcerer."

Tooma exclaimed, "I choose ice! Not only will this allow Torva to scratch my ear, I can put you in your place."

"Both of you come here at once!"

Ryoma had yelled this in an incredibly angry tone. This was the only time in our lives we had ever heard her raise her voice in such a manner. Heady and Tooma looked like infants that had gotten their hand slapped for touching the wrong thing. They slowly walked over to her with humble looks on their faces.

She said in a very firm tone, "The power of a sorcerer is not to be taken lightly. I know that you two are looking at this through a familiar window. You have fought like children your entire lives, but you must take this very seriously." She looked at Heady. "If Tooma becomes an Ice Sorcerer he will be able to kill you." She looked at Tooma. "Just as Heady will be able to kill you. This is not a childish competition. You must choose the power that you know in your heart is the one you truly wish to wield." She looked at Heady. "Don't think about it. Tell me the power you desire."

He replied in a soft voice, "I choose fire."

She looked at Tooma. "What do you choose?"

"I choose fire as well."

An almost relieved look came over her face. She knew that it would be hard for them to kill each other. We all knew they would never stop play fighting. This would at least keep them from possessing opposing magic and being a deadly threat to each other.

Ryoma said in a calm tone, "Very good. Remember my words well. You will be able to take a life as easily as you draw a breath. There are White Sorcerers on Haalandor that were given life in prison because they took a life. I am absolutely certain that most of them wish they had thought twice before letting anger rule their minds. You know the laws are in place here as well. I will never show favoritism on this matter. If any dragon sorcerer from Tiamat takes an innocent life, I will make sure they never know freedom again. Do you understand me?"

They both softly said in a very humble tone, "Yes ma'am."

After Eriana unlocked their powers they started training. I was the last to have my powers unlocked. As Ryoma had said, it was a matter of looking into my heart and choosing the power I truly wanted to wield. There was no question in my mind. I chose Earth.

Torva and I are kindred spirits that's why I'm her Sentinel. I too could call on any animal from either world to battle for me like she could. I also had the powers of earth like Torva and Arthos. My fire breath didn't change. I was able to call on all earth based magics. I could call earth from the ground, move the ground if need be or form rock magic from thin air to be used in attacks. This was the limit of Torva's earth powers. Mine encompassed all of a planet's elements. I could also call on wind, storms, water and fire in the form of lava. Because I can call on all the elements I am actually more powerful than anyone that has ever chosen earth power on Haalandor.

When it comes to shields, Veelus, Certi and Eriana are better than us because they can shield a lot of people or dragons. Heady, Tooma, me and Torva can only create shields around ourselves. Torva and I can take turns creating our shield when she rides me. Because Torva is my Alana we share the same Magical Frequency and can use our magic through each other's shields. Eriana and Certi share this trait as well. This allows us to conserve our magic at times by just shielding while the other attacks. Eriana and Certi could do the same thing, or one could shield and protect people as the other attacks.

It is humorous the way things worked out. The Crimson Warriors were a make-believe group of mercenary fighters we created when Torva and Eriana were not much more than toddlers. We could have never guessed that name would someday be known by all the dragons and people on Galdaya. It was also known worldwide on Haalandor. We were famous on Galdaya and Tiamat long before anyone had heard of The Crimson Warriors. Certi and I were famous for becoming Eriana and Torva's Sentinels when they were still babies. Only Ryoma and Irena could make that claim before us. It has never been a secret how you become someone's Sentinel. You simply have to love each other and want to be Sentinel and Alana. Certi and I fell in love with those two little sweethearts the day we met them. Just like Ryoma and Irena, or Bekka and Kye, we were destined to be Sentinel and Alana.

# Chapter 15 Kahli

Eriana Lexington

Night had fallen and all were weary from the day of training. Tensions were high because the next day's battle could bring mother's freedom or our deaths. If anyone found sleep it was only because of exhaustion from the training. It seemed to me that I nodded off only to instantly awake with Torva touching my shoulder.

She said in a soft voice, "The day is upon us sister. Let's go free mother."

Kiinyde Castle was an eerie presence that sat on a giant black crystal pedestal that rose from an abyss. The gentle waters of the Diigon Sea that surrounded it did not convey the death that awaited any drawing near. Kiinyde Castle seemed to rest on an island of white clouds. It served the purpose of concealing the water flowing into the abyss on all sides. A ship approaching from any direction would hear the thundering waters growing louder and louder. By that time it was too late. The ship would be caught in the current and doomed to fall into untold depths.

The castle was made of polished black marble with architecture similar to the gothic castles from the continent of Tiasal on Haalandor. The marble had many small silver deposits inside that sparkled in the light of day. There were no walls or towers because the abyss was the only defense required. The massive round building was only one story high, but was quite tall. A great dome made mostly of glass capped the castle. It was crowned by an array of spires. There was a single giant spire that was covered with small spikes at the top of the dome. Thirteen support beams webbed out from the bottom of the main spire with smaller spires where they ended at the edge. The entire castle had intricate engravings covering every inch. His throne sat under the west side of the dome and the east side had one story high rooms. The throne looked like a gothic castle unto itself with skulls, snakes and a tall spiky back. Since the dome was constructed mostly of glass we would easily be able to enter it. That would be in the final stage of the attack when we went in for the kill.

Balanath Lexington

At first light we traveled to Aden. Our Staging Ground was near the entrance to Infinity Cavern. It would be a four point attack highly dependent on a little strategy Torva dubbed The Run Like Hell Defense. Our intention was to split them up and force Rajani to attack two teams and Kahli the other two. That was the best case scenario. We knew it was highly unlikely they would stick to our plan.

Veelus and I would come from the north, Torva and Hyla from the south. Heady, Tooma, Andor and Terus had the east. Hobbus and The Elites had the west. They had to have Eriana's team with them to shield them and Enchant their weapons. The others would shield themselves with the normal limitations of a shield. We wanted to keep our distance so if the battle wasn't going our way we could retreat out of their magic's reach. We would be miles apart. Everyone had their Mini-binoculars to check and see if another team needed help. We hoped to weaken them then move in for the kill. That would be the only time everyone would battle together.

As Veelus and I approached we could see what appeared to be a beautiful light blue reef in the clear blue Diigon Sea. It had huge colorful daisy like flowers covering it. The pedals were colored red, blue, pink and orange. The giant flowers were big enough for Veelus to land on like a butterfly. The diameter of the reef put it a little under a mile from the castle.

Veelus asked, "Why has no one ever mentioned that reef?"

"Because it wasn't there. It must be some kind of defense. All channels. Approach the reef with caution. It is probably a Trap." I took out my mini-binoculars to survey the castle. "I can see Kahli in his throne room. Everyone be aware that the crystal Irena is in is solid black and very close to Kahli. End transmission."

Veelus stopped before we got to the reef. "It looks like that thing surrounds the entire abyss."

I tried to see the others. I could see that Hobbus's team had stopped and Andor's team had too. I could barely see Torva and Hyla to the south. No one could miss the wall they created. It started with two giant stone spikes in front of them. Then more very quickly burst up from the sea on each side of those. They kept shooting up through the reef in each direction as far as they could see.

"Shield up! Hyla and Torva attacked the reef."

Veelus raised his Dark Shield then immediately stopped flapping his wings and rested on the bottom. Flight is out inside a shield that's not Enchanted. The giant flowers on the reef near us shot into the air as if they had been fired from a cannon. As they descended they slowly began swaying back and forth like a child's swing.

Veelus said, "That's beautiful. Why do I think this is not going to be good?"

He was right. There was a flower that swayed itself directly above us. It transformed into a giant hideous looking octopus with all the colors of the flower swirled into its color. It fell down on us and was so heavy his shield fell a bit from the weight. It was draped over us blinding us to everything except what was below us. It had a huge black beak that was snapping at the top of the shield.

Veelus said as he looked down, "Its legs went all the way to the seafloor. It's pulling us down. I can't hold it in place!" He looked up at the snapping beak. "Are you hungry? Enjoy."

He roared and a single black orb formed in front of his mouth. It shot up through his shield and entered the beast's mouth. Nothing happened.

I said, "That didn't do anything."

"I'm not done."

Suddenly its beak stopped snapping. The dead beast slid off and fell into the sea. He had transformed the orb into a large throwing star shaped attack. What he created looked like a black metal saucer with huge curved blades on all sides. It was so large it chopped the top part of the octopus off. Then it flew around through the air spinning and easily cutting all the flowers still floating towards the sea in half. We could now see that The Elites were being swarmed on by hordes of blue and red flying creatures. I could barely see them, but it seemed Andor's team was just hovering in the air waiting for the attack. They didn't even have their shields up. Our area was calm with the pieces of the giant flowers sinking to the bottom.

"Head towards Hobbus! They're in trouble!"

The reef below us looked gray and dead. Veelus flew towards Hobbus's team as fast as he could.

Andor Gideon

A soon as we saw Torva and Hyla's earth attack Heady and Tooma shielded themselves. We had expected the reef to be some kind of beast so we were very high above it. The giant flowers had shot up above us and were swaying back and forth as they slowly floated downward. They all transformed into beams of black light and shot into their shields. The shields were destroyed and they began falling towards the sea.

I shouted, "Tooma! Are you going to start flying?!"

Terus yelled, "Wake up Heady! Wake up!"

"I am awake!"

"Then start flying or shield us damn it!"

At first I thought they did what he said. They both began flapping their wings and hovered in the sky.

Heady shouted, "Tooma please tell me you're flying on your own!"

"I'm not! Andor! This is not new to us! They're controlling our minds!"

They dove down towards the sea spinning and swooping trying to throw us off. Unlike Terus I never strap in because I have the Hi-Chi. Despite that, half the time all I could do was hold on to the saddle's hand bar while I was slung around. Tooma leveled out and started flapping his wings faster to pick up speed. Heady was doing the same thing coming straight at us.

"Andor! Do something! I'm going to hit Heady head on!"

I Ported to the front top side of his left wing and held on. I hooked my leg under his Carcanet belt. I pulled his wing with all my might and was able to get it bent enough that he went my way. The crash was at a glancing blow and sent us spinning towards the sea.

Tooma shouted, "You can let go now Andor!"

"They must be controlling your mind with some kind of signal! Let's get under water and see if it blocks it!"

Tooma shouted, "A signal! That's it! Communicator. Damper on." I felt his wing relax. "I got it Andor! Let go of my wing!" I did and he swooped up right before we hit the water. "All channels! Emergency! Turn on dampers now! End transmission."

I could hear Heady shout from behind, "Communicator! Damper on!"

I heard it clearly because he swooped past us so close he almost hit us. He was about to ram us at full speed.

I could hear Balanath beside Tooma, "Tooma. What happened?"

"They were controlling our minds, but the dampers are blocking it."

"Everyone should have them on. Get to Hobbus's team now."

As we flew around the castle we could see the reef was now gray. It looked a little shriveled up like a dried piece of fruit.

Tooma exclaimed, "What in the name of Tekarra is that?!"

They flew towards Hobbus's team with all their might.

Hyla Tanis

We really didn't need Balanath to tell us to approach with caution. They should have had a big giant sign sticking out of the sea that said fly over this if you want to get attacked. We stopped a good distance away so it wouldn't detect us. Torva shielded us with a Dark Shield and slowly brought us closer. She was standing on my right shoulder. Certi and I no longer wore Cabras because our magic was our swords. Torva would no longer use a crossbow in battle. So she only used the retractable rope to remain steady if I Ported.

Torva said, "A big pretty reef that shouldn't be there. Do you think they were just decorating for us? I'm about to take their decoration and shove it straight up..."

"Now, now. Let us not forget we are ladies. I have the left, you take the right."

I lifted my head at the exact same moment Torva acted as if she was punching the sky with her right hand. Two giant rock spikes shot up through the reef in front of us. I looked to the left and Torva to the right. As we did this a row of spikes the same height shot up next to the last as they created a not quite semi-circle wall. We destroyed the reef as far as we could see it clearly.

I said, "Be ready for the attack."

There was a flash of black light in front of us and a tiny Gethin Fairy appeared. She had on a solid black jump suit with designs embroidered into it everywhere. Her straight black hair was shoulder length with white streaks in it. Her eyes were solid black with no white visible.

Torva said, "She's cute, but she picked the wrong side."

"I almost hate to do this."

Two giant stone rectangular tablets shot out of the sea on both sides of her. One was mine the other Torva's. The intention of course was to squash her like a bug. We tried to make them crush her as soon as they were level with her, but a dark aura appeared around the tablets and they didn't move. She quickly flew up close to the shield. She was smiling, she giggled like a little girl and brought her right hand up by her face. Her fingers were together and she moved them up and down like she was waving at us.

She said in a strange squeaky voice, "Bye-bye."

There was a huge flash of black light and we both were slammed into the front of her shield. The castle disappeared as we flew backwards over the horizon. Torva finally got control of her shield.

She shouted, "What was that! I knew that was what she was going to do! I thought I was ready for that crap. I was holding it with all my power."

"Torva do you realize how far away we are? I can't even sense anyone anymore."

No more words were needed, she dropped the shield and held on as I Ported that way. It wasn't too long before we heard the emergency call from Tooma to turn on the dampers. We didn't know why but of course did it. It had not really gone that well for any of us. Things were going to get a lot worse for Hobbus's team before we got back to the battle.

The Great Middiana Barthallion

Total chaos! It was total chaos! Even I could have never guessed that their fear of me would cause them to attack so mercilessly. I was flying around Enchanting the air with fire, then ice, fire then ice. Kardauma was forming in the air and spinning like a fan as he fell to kill as many bats as he could. I couldn't help anyone, but I had already Enchanted their weapons. There were so many of them all I could do was Enchant the air around me so the damn things wouldn't get me. There were misty blue ice bats and fire bats covered with fire everywhere. There are a hundred animals I could have called to defeat them, but I didn't have time to concentrate and make a Summoning Portal. It all happened so fast and they wouldn't give me a break.

After they attacked the reef with the spikes all the flowers on the reef shot up into the air. At the moment they reached their peak high above us they seemed to be crumbling apart and turning into tiny red and blue pieces. I realized each red or blue piece was growing into hundreds of small bats. The blue created ice bats and the red fire bats. They were small and the archers would have trouble hitting them. No worries I thought. I specialize in taking out hordes of animals. If I can summon my damn Portal!

As soon as that happened a stupid little male Gethin Fairy appeared in front of Eriana's shield. He did it so fast nobody had time to react. He snapped his fingers and dark spears appeared all around us then shot into her shield. It was destroyed. He then made a swatting motion with his left hand towards the left. I was hit by a gush of water from the sea so fast I didn't see it coming. It knocked me back about three city blocks and skipped me across the water like a flat rock. It hurt like hell! It felt like that water almost ripped my damn wings off. I of course snapped out of if quickly. That wasn't my first bug spray attack and would not be my last. As I was flying back I saw him make another swatting motion up. Hobbus was right above them. He always stays high enough to see the battle and give orders. Eriana and Certi always stay up near him to protect him and hear his orders. He, Eriana and Certi shot up like rockets into the sky. Their shields around The Elites dropped because they were too far away.

At that moment I wasn't even thinking about them. I was flying toward the fairy at full speed. I sort of used Torva's Port punch method to punch the Gethin Fairy in the face. I stopped and was punching him Toshi Monk style so fast he was dazed and backing up with each punch. One kick to his most sensitive area and he bent over holding himself with a wimpy squeaky sounding grunt. I planned to kick his head off with the next kick. He disappeared in a flash of dark light. When you kick like that you really need to hit something to balance out the force. My foot went above my head and I flipped head over heels several times before I gained control. A fire bat that was almost my same size grabbed me and wrapped its wings around me. It was covered with flames but it didn't really hurt. I was trying to keep the crazy bat from biting my face as we fell towards the sea. I enchanted the air around me with ice. I punched the frozen solid little bastard in the chest and it shattered. I then had to start Enchanting the air with fire or ice depending on which bat was trying to fly into me.

Fire bats against younglings, no problem. They could probably eat them and only burp, but when they hit a rider they would burst into flames then explode in a cloud of black smoke. The ice bats would fly into the younglings and explode. They left large patches of ice and hurt them pretty bad. If enough hit them they would end up solid ice dead and fall from the sky. Kardauma was really a lot of rider's saving grace. He was spinning like a fan and falling with two huge swords that sliced apart more bats than any of the archers could hit. They were just too small and fast.

I was flying downward Enchanting the air with fire or ice depending on the bat in my way. I tucked my wings and dove into the water. Several ice bats on my tail hit the water creating a small ice sheet above me. I swam as deep as I could and wasted no time, breathing under water is not a fairy trait.

My Summoning Portal appeared under the water far below me. Slowly but as fast as she could she swam upwards. It was Melony, one of my good friends from Acedia. She is a giant White Badarun Whale. I was on her head when she emerged. She simply gave out her beautiful whale cry. All the bats exploded into black clouds of dust.

I looked around at the horror left behind. There were twelve dead younglings that had sunk but could still be seen on the bottom because the water was so clear. Younglings were retrieving riders that had fallen off from the water. We needed some serious regroup time. Those sons of demons didn't give it to us. Suddenly it was nighttime, I couldn't see anything. I Enchanted a bunch of spots with white light so we could see. They dotted the area under the dome. It was solid black and so big all The Elites were under it. A big giant dome seemed like a piss poor attack, until it started shrinking. I looked down and the damn thing went to the bottom of the sea floor. They were about to drown us all. I flew up and sent Melony back through the Portal.

I shouted as loud as I could, "Get to the sides! I'm going to call someone big!"

They got out of the way. Maggy is potentially the biggest strongest being you could ever want on your side. She is my buddy. We have fun anytime we are together in Acedia. She is a purple gorilla from the Kalalonian Lands of Acedia. She swam to the top of the water so fast that she shot up into the air. She was the size of a normal gorilla then, but her magic kicked in. She began glowing with a purple aura, Kala Kala Might. In about five seconds she was as tall as the dome with her giant shoulder pushing as hard as she could against the top. I was thinking, dome prepare to be heaved across the sea.

Then she started loudly grunting a, "Uh, Uh, Uh."

Which meant she wasn't winning. She is possibly the strongest being in the universe because of her Blessing Kala Kala Might she earned during the trials. There should be nothing stronger than her.

I yelled, "Get out of here Maggy!"

She started repeating her loud monkey, 'no' sound. She quit trying the push method and started punching the dome above her. It was still shrinking and her punches weren't doing anything. I made a much larger Portal under her then I raised my hand upwards. As she began to fall in I made it go up around her like a belt and she was gone. If Maggy couldn't hurt it, there was no way those guys on the outside were going to be able to do anything. I knew I wasn't getting out of that thing. I decided to start bravely calling for Paw-paw to get me out. I of course wanted to be on the outside so I could save them.

"Paw-paw! Get me out of here! I know you can hear me! Are you really going to let them kill me! I never would have come if I knew you were going to let them kill me! Paw-paw! Get me out of here!"

Certi Tanis

We were thrown up into the air so fast we all passed out. When I came to I was falling and could barely breathe. Eriana was out cold but strapped in on the saddle as always. I flapped my wings to fly and Hobbus flew past me still out cold. His old dragon brain didn't hold up as well as mine.

Balanath was shouting over my Communicator, "Can you hear me! Certi can you hear me!"

"We are alive! I can't talk! I have to catch Hobbus!" I dove down towards him. "Eriana wake up!" She woke up gasping for air. "Tell me when you can breathe okay."

She was breathing heavily, "I'm alright. What is that dome? Hobbus!"

I created a White Shield around him.

"I wanted to make sure you could breathe okay before I sealed him in a shield."

I swooped up and hovered by him. I was facing at an angle to my right so Eriana could see him.

I shouted, "Hobbus! Hobbus!"

He slowly woke up and rolled over on his stomach. He looked down between his hands and could see the giant dome growing smaller.

"What is happening?"

Avangar was speaking to Eriana. "Kahli trapped The Elites inside that dome. He is making it smaller so he can drown them." She was about to start crying. "Middy is in there with them. We will never be able to get through it. Hobbus they are all going to die."

"Can you make a Portal inside the dome?"

"No, it's completely sealed."

"Would a Graviton Pulse destroy it? Can you two get shields up quick enough to protect them?"

Eriana said, "The self-destruct will not work if it is not on you."

"Can you protect them if I do it?!"

Eriana replied, "No, we can't do it."

I sensed she had been told something. "Eriana, what are you hiding? Tell us what she said! They don't have much time!"

"They want to kill Hobbus. They think it will destroy our morale."

Hobbus demanded, "Ask her if there is any other way to stop it."

She wouldn't answer. She knew their time was short and Hobbus was not going to hesitate. She laid her head down on the saddle bar and began to weep.

I said, "I think I can get a dome shield up and block most of the explosion."

Balanath said over my Communicator because the channel was still open, "Kardauma is going inside. He will tell them all to group low in the center."

I dropped his shield and he began flapping his wings to hover. "Go Hobbus. They don't have much time."

He said in a bold tone, "They are about to find out this plan will not work. My younglings will only fight harder."

Eriana sat up and said through her tears, "I love you Hobbus."

I added almost about to cry myself, "I love you too."

I know he loved us. That damn male pride still would not let him say it. It did make him say the one thing all The Crimson Warriors had wanted to hear.

Hobbus turned towards the dome as he fell, "I am proud of you all! Tell my younglings I said to fight harder! That's an order!"

As he dove down three voices said in almost perfect unison, "Yes sir!"

It was Veelus, Heady and Tooma over my Communicator.

I whispered my response, "Yes sir..." I dove down after him flapping my wings as fast as I could. "Hold on Eriana! End transmission."

Hobbus was flapping his wings to gain speed. Right before he hit the Graviton Pulse caused a clear explosion that went out in all directions destroying the dome and disintegrating poor Hobbus. Even his bones were destroyed. At the moment of the explosion I had the dome shield up. The small part of the explosion that got past my shield shoved everyone down into the water. I stopped most of it so no one that was alive died. I dropped the dome and created normal shields around everyone. After I raised them out of the water Middy Enchanted the shields and all the water inside them fell into the sea.

They didn't make another dome, that one had served the purpose Kahli wanted it to. I knew that Avangar had lied. I might be as timid and sweet as people think, but the truth is all dragons are very strong minded. The person's morale that he truly wanted to destroy was weeping on my saddle. I flew past everyone towards Balanath and the others. My heart dropped. It was hard for me to keep it together when I saw them. I knew it was going to destroy Eriana.

"Eriana close your eyes!"

It was too late, she had already seen them. It was the green dragon twins Terk and Girona. I stopped flying because she was freaking me out. She had stopped crying. I looked back towards her and she was sitting there with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Eriana are you alright? You're scaring me."

The sadness was gone. There was almost nothing left. I couldn't sense anything, no emotion, almost complete emptiness like she wasn't even there. Slowly that changed into pure rage that I didn't think could be produced by this gentle human I love so dearly.

She screamed, "Die!"

A White Shield appeared around the dark crystal encrusted Fate Crystal Irena was in. A bright white light lit up the sea around the castle as a ringed explosion went out in every direction. The aftershock from her attack hit us so hard everyone's shields appeared. Her attack leveled Kiinyde Castle. There was nothing left but the bottoms of walls about two or three feet high. The light was so bright we couldn't even look at it.

We could hear Balanath, "All channels. Kahli is down, but the sword is healing him. Be ready for retaliation from Rajani."

Kahli was on his knees on the west side of what used to be his castle. There was a solid black sword floating behind him. Her attack appeared to have burned a hole in Kahli's chest right where his heart should have been. The sword was feeding some sort of dark light into him that was quickly healing the wound.

After Balanath said that I felt the rage from Eriana again. "I! Said! Die!"

The same type of explosion lit up the sea around the castle and hit our shields again. This time we heard a loud gong from the dark dome shield that appeared over the entire crystal pedestal the castle sat on. We did not know at the time, but she had twice used her full power. Normally a sorcerer will be weakened after they use their full power or attack for a long time. Instead of having to rest for a few hours to regain the power, Eriana instantly receives her full power back. If she couldn't destroy the dome with that much power, then the Graviton Pulse shouldn't have worked either. Kahli was definitely letting things play out into a future he had seen. I was hoping to calm her down and not draw attention to the fact that I thought she may have lost her mind.

I said as I looked back, "Save your energy baby girl. That's just like the other dome. We are not getting through it."

There is nothing like a good baby girl to get that sweetheart to calm down. I could feel her anger fade away.

"I love you Eriana."

"I love you too Certi." She laid her head down on the saddle's handlebar. "I'm strapped in... you can go."

"Hold on tight baby girl... hold on tight."

Crimson Warrior Rule Number One. Always make sure the baby girl is strapped in and holding on tight before you fly away.

Torva Lexington

When we came over the horizon Hyla quit Porting and began flying as fast as she could. We could both see the dome from that distance.

Hyla asked, "What is that thing? A giant shield?"

"I don't know. Father. What is happening?"

"The Elites are trapped under the dome. Get back here as quickly as you can."

"We are almost back. End transmission."

I held on until she Ported us a few miles away. We could see Hobbus diving towards the dome.

Hyla stopped so she could talk to me. "What is he doing? Does he think he can go through it? He is going to break his neck... and everything else."

"He's going to use the Communicator's self-destruct to destroy the dome. Eriana and Certi are chasing him. They must be planning to throw up shields after he destroys it."

We could not really see the clear explosion from that distance. Certi got her dome shield up so fast it looked like the dark dome had just turned into a transparent white dome. It disappeared then she encased them all in normal White Shields.

Hyla said in disbelief, "A suicide attack? We don't do suicide attacks."

"Avangar must have told Eriana there was no other way to save them."

That threw us for a loop. We needed to get back, but we stayed there in silence for a few moments absorbing what had happened. I had envisioned the death of that old dragon many times. I had to in order to get myself mentally prepared. He was the last Elder and no dragon had ever lived as long as he had. So we all knew it was coming. The vision in my mind was that all The Crimson Warriors would be there at his bedside with Bekka and Steen and everyone else. And that stubborn old dragon would finally say to us... I'm proud of you.

Disbelief gave way to absolute calm. Toshi Zen Mode had kicked in. As such there is no room for emotion. No anger, no nervousness, no mourning for the fallen. Our Toshi Zen Mode was born from an ancient Toshi saying. The steady hand cuts the throat. That means if you stay calm in a battle, you will be the one cutting the throat, as opposed to having yours cut. Our hands were steady... and we were ready to cut some throats.

Hyla calmly said, "They killed Hobbus."

I said calmly, "Father's plan was for us to go kill them right now. Was it not?"

"That's the plan now."

After several Ports we were at the edge of the dead reef. It was throat cutting time.

Balanath Lexington

After Certi said they were alright Veelus quit flying up towards them. He flew down to Andor's team on the outskirts of the coral ring a short distance from the dome. Kardauma appeared standing on Tooma's shield.

He told me, "I could not put a dent in that thing. That is practically the power of a god."

He began listening to Certi's Communicator with us. Once he knew what was happening he told me he would go in and tell them to get low center to make it easier for Certi.

After Hobbus said that's an order Veelus, Heady and Tooma said loudly at the same time, "Yes sir!" We watched as Hobbus dove towards the dome and Certi followed.

I could barely hear Certi's whisper, "Yes sir..." She flapped her wings hard to keep up. "Hold on Eriana!"

Tooma said, "This is a pile of shit. What if they just throw up another one? He's going to die for no reason."

Certi got her dome shield up in time. She flew towards us then suddenly stopped. A few moments later Eriana screamed die and a blinding light magic attack hit the castle and destroyed it. The aftershock hit our shields even from that distance. The light was so bright I had to look away.

I looked through my mini-binoculars. "All channels. Kahli is down but the sword is healing him. Be ready for retaliation from Rajani. End transmission."

Eriana tried again but her attack was blocked by a giant dome shield that appeared over the entire pedestal.

Andor had been looking through his mini-binoculars as well. "He had a hole in his chest. How could he live through that?"

Kardauma said, "The Divine Sword kept her attack from killing him."

Middy flew up to us. "What took you so long? I was about to have a Tyrinian Sea Worm eat me and try to tunnel out of there."

Middy had Enchanted Certi's shields and The Elites were hovering in the sky.

I said loudly to Certi because Eriana had her head down, "Is Eriana hurt?!"

"She is fine. She has just seen too much."

Veelus said, "Uh, Balanath. Torva is getting off Hyla out there. That's their split up and attack move."

We could hear Torva's voice. "All channels. Shields up. Everyone retreat."

I asked, "What are you going to do?"

"You heard me."

The entire area inside the coral ring was turning into a whirlpool.

I shouted, "Certi retreat back to a safe distance!"

She moved everyone except for Veelus and the others that could shield themselves. They all had to fight the strong winds and dodge the waterspout tornadoes that were sucking up hundreds of Mightens all around us.

Hyla Tanis

We stopped at the edge of the coral reef high enough to see over the wall we had created. Torva Ported to my right and formed a Dark Shield around her. I raised my White Shield.

Torva said, "All channels. Shields up. Everyone retreat."

Balanath asked, "What are you going to do?"

"You heard me. End transmission."

"Are you ready baby girl."

"Yes ma'am... it's time to show these sons of bitches... this is our world."

Torva took out her mini-binoculars and raised her shield up higher so she would be able to see exactly where Irina was. I made the water spin around the castle so fast it should have flown out in all directions, but the winds I created held it in so it formed a massive circular wall of water. I made powerful waterspouts that sucked up hundreds of the Mightens I had called. I shot them up into the sky exceedingly high. They did their best to catch updrafts and stay high above the castle. The water wall I created was only up for about three seconds.

I said, "You can have this back."

I kept the winds blowing and stopped my whirlpool. The water rushed towards the castle and slammed into the dome from all directions. You couldn't see the dome for a moment, but it was unharmed. It was actually just meant to be protection for the Mightens as I retrieved them from the sea. There would have probably been a lot more resistance if Eriana had not almost killed Kahli or if Rajani had been there.

Torva shouted, "Earth!"

She had called a massive iron spike from the core of the planet. It was solid but still visibly cooling when it came up from below the dome. It hit the edge closest to us so it wouldn't hit Irena. It destroyed the dome.

Torva was looking through her mini-Binoculars to be precise. "Earth!" Another spike came up underneath Irena in the Fate Crystal. She shot high into the sky. One of the Mightens grabbed her in its mouth shattering the black crystal around the Fate Crystal. All the other Mightens flew side by side creating several walls below Irena. They glided away and dived straight down once they were a few miles from us. I had told them to take Irena to Tiamat.

The moment Irena shot into the air another dome appeared over the pedestal that was a little smaller to avoid Torva's spike.

She said, "That shield isn't going to help you this time asshole." She exclaimed, "Hyla!"

I wasn't looking in her direction so I didn't see the fairy. I just saw a burst of black light. The force sent Torva flying to the south. Because I was lower it slammed me into the water not far to the east. My shield stopped after it hit the sea floor. I quickly brought myself out of the water. Torva came over my Communicator.

"All channels! That little bitch did it to me again! I don't even know where I am. Porting north. I'll have Eriana make me a Portal when I see something familiar."

They probably got rid of Torva because of the iron spike thing. They may have known the next one would be so big it would wipe out the dome, the pedestal and Kahli. Or at least that was the plan. She is the only one that can do that because of her connection to Arthos and Grannus. One of our most powerful weapons was gone, but we had plenty to spare. I flew towards Balanath and the others as fast as I could. At that point they had moved to the edge of the abyss near the clouds.

Balanath said to me, "We need to strike quickly before the sword heals him. We can't wait on Torva."

I said, "I doubt she expects us to."

A White Portal appeared above us. Torva Ported through and it disappeared. She fell for a moment before she Ported to me and stood on my back.

"I've been gone forever. I can't believe you waited on me?"

Certi asked, "Who's Portal was that?"

"A very large female sea dragon. I'm guessing it was Amaha Dara's daughter. She just created it and said go now or they will all die."

Eriana sat up and screamed, "Father! Something is coming up from the Abyss! It is too powerful! We will not survive!"

Balanath shouted, "Certi get them out of here! Retreat!"

Middy Enchanted her voice so loud we could hear it echoing down into the abyss. Her eyes had changed to a deep dark blue and they were giving off a soft glow. All of The Crystals of Destiny were glowing red.

"Stop the retreat! Do not retreat! Remain where you are if you want to live! Kardauma! Stay in the Nether Point or you will die!"

Because of my connection with Torva I sort of knew what was happening. I definitely knew she wanted me to fly up and face Certi. We quickly flew up above everyone else and faced each other with Middy completing our triangle in the sky. Middy couldn't help but be unnecessarily theatrical. I think she liked the sound of her amplified voice echoing down into the abyss. We could hear a strange sound below us that kept getting louder.

"It is time for me to call on the power of Darrius Barthallion, King of the Fairies! It is time for me to face my destiny as his Mediat..."

Eriana felt the attack about to hit us, "Middy!"

Middy balled up in the fetal position with her fist together held tightly against her forehead. "Paw-paw!"

Suddenly everyone was encased in Geodesic White Shields. They were much thicker than the ones created by a White Sorcerer. The moment those shields went up millions of giant black hawks with glowing red eyes flooded up from the abyss. They flew around us flying into the shields and exploding in a burst of Dark Energy. There were so many I couldn't see anything around me. I could only see the swarm of giant hawks and the repeated explosions when they hit our shield.

Torva Lexington

Eriana, Middy and I had received Sacred Knowledge from Darrius. Everyone else had been encased inside Geodesic White Shields that were the size of a normal one. We were all encased inside one massive shield. As Certi and Hyla hovered facing each other Middy created a huge white sphere in between them. Eriana and I stood on their right shoulders so we could see it. The sphere was as tall as Certi and Hyla. Middy had become Darrius's Mediator and was calling on his power.

There was no question in any of our minds what we needed to do. I made the symbol for Avangar with my right hand and held it to my forehead. I closed my eyes and Eriana did the same. We concentrated and released all of our magic into the orb. After we did this the orb began to glow white. Suddenly hundreds of small sparrows made of blue light with glowing purple eyes began to fly out of the orb. We and Middy were incased in smaller geodesic shields. The beautiful little birds filled the geodesic sphere that surrounded us and flew around us in a frenzy.

It is Eriana that chooses the form our combined magic will take when we join powers. Just like Eriana, the animals look to be as gentle as a tropical winter rain. However, they strike with the force of a hurricane. Middy removed the large shield and these small birds attacked as they continued to flood out of the orb at an incredible speed. They flew through the hawks like a throwing dagger going through a window. Each time they went through a hawk it exploded in a burst of Dark Energy. The sparrows were not harmed by this at all. They flew right through one destroying it, then they flew through the next one in front of them. There were millions of them flooding out of the orb at that point. Because we were in the center we couldn't truly appreciate the beauty of Middy's attack. She made the millions of birds collectively form into the shape of a rose bud that grew to maturity and bloomed as it killed the hawks. After all the hawks had been destroyed the sparrows faded away like a candle slowly burning out and were gone.

I looked and could now see all the younglings and everyone else encased in the Geodesic White Shields. All these shields and the orb in between us disappeared.

Father yelled, "Shields up!"

Everyone that could create their own shields did so. Certi shielded everyone else. Middy Enchanted them and they disappeared. The dome was gone and Kahli was standing out in the open unshielded. He was wielding the sword in his right hand. We quickly began surrounding the pedestal.

Kahli shouted, "Kardauma! I will give you one chance to save them from death! A chance to claim Astra for the Inaara! Come fool! Bring Preah'kahn to its new master!"

Kardauma appeared as Cirrus and formed a good distance away from him. There was no debris besides the bottom parts of walls which were everywhere. Eriana's attack left little behind. They faced each other in an open area on the west side of the large iron spike.

Kardauma held his right hand above his head. "Eriana! Preah'kahn!"

He stood there giving Kahli an angry look. Preah'kahn remained in father's hand. He was holding it above his head so Eriana could send it to him. Kardauma realized nothing was happening. He dropped his arm and looked towards us. Eriana was having an extremely hard time.

Certi said, "Eriana. Kardauma needs Preah'kahn."

It took her a few moments to snap out of it. Father was still holding it straight up above his head. It flew out of his hand end over end nowhere near Kardauma. It was near center closer to Kahli. Kardauma caught it as soon as it entered the castle area. He fell down into what once was a small room. The waist high walls of three other rooms stood between him and Kahli. Turns out that's not a problem for him. I was thinking this is over. It should take Kardauma about two seconds to kill this idiot. It turns out Kahli was no joke with a sword.

Time for talking was over as far as Kardauma was concerned. As soon as he caught the sword and hit the ground he plowed through those walls. They clashed swinging the swords so fast that it was hard to see them. Every time Preah'kahn and Astra struck one another they released what looked like lightning. The lightning from Preah'kahn was white and that from Astra was black. The longer they battled the more lightning was released. It would completely surround them then they were thrown back by an explosion of energy. They would immediately charge at each other and do it again. Both paid no attention to the walls they were crashing through. I looked towards Eriana and Certi.

Middy had her back to us and was saying, "Where is Old Hobbus at anyway. He should have been in that stupid dome with us, not hiding somewhere."

Certi said, "Middy. Hobbus is dead." The sounds of gasps could be heard. No one inside the dome knew Hobbus had died until Certi said that. "He died destroying the dome." Her voice got louder as she continued. "No mourning! Kahli forced Hobbus to commit suicide to break our spirits! Hobbus ordered us to fight harder!"

Get along or not, deep inside Middy loved Hobbus just like the rest of us. She turned towards the castle and I could finally see her eyes. They were still glowing blue with Darrius's powers. She had the angriest look on her face I had ever seen. I thought she was going to use his powers to summon something more horrible than anything she could with her own powers. She did. I assure you, you will never hear me cussing her.

Far away in Acedia Anzora's laughing was echoing around the Omonell Plains. Middy had showed her how to make her Femora Cat wine and crawl in a humorous way by putting tape down the center of his back. Darrius said she was putting giant strips of tape down the center of the backs of some massive Cotera Lions. They were doing the same whining crawl. Middy used Darrius's powers to cross dimensional boundaries and whisper in her ear.

She said it with an evil look on her face, "Anzora. Bacall just called you a bitch."

She heard Middy's words and came instantly. As an explosion blew Kahli and Kardauma apart there were two flashes of black light in front of Kahli. One was Anzora and the other one was her cat right behind her in a dark glassy shield. She had a mad look on her face and made a waving motion with her left hand that threw Astra into the air. It stopped in the air and black lightning came from the crystal and shot into her. It danced around her body and the cats shield. The cat screamed and tried to run away. The glass shield spun like a ball rolling down a hill as the cat did that. The black lightning didn't hurt her. It was deflected into Kahli and he shook from the voltage as he collapsed. Two black ropes shot out of Anzora's side and wrapped around Preah'kahn in Kardauma's hand and Astra. Preah'kahn shot white lightning into her and Astra shot black lightning into her down the ropes. As soon as the two lightnings met the ropes disappeared and the swords flew at each other and started fighting in mid-air.

A large hand made of dark light appeared in front of Anzora as Kahli rose to his feet. She repeatedly made a downward slapping motion with her hand and the magical hand mimicked this. The giant hand began beating him into the floor. A dark shield appeared around him. The hand beat the shield until it vibrated and disappeared. She continued her assault on Kahli. Both swords were high in the air fighting as if someone was wielding them. The lightning they emitted grew larger and exploded sending both swords flying in opposite directions. Kardauma turned to Cirrus, reformed by Preah'kahn and caught it. He fell to the ground and landed with the sword still in hand. Astra fell into the abyss.

The younglings and riders on the west side were scattered like a flock of birds. Rajani in the form of a huge black dragon shot up from the abyss at an incredible speed. She was covered with spikes and had a large row of spikes going from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. There were two large fangs protruding from each side of her mouth and she was twice as big as Ryuu. Astra was floating in the air beside her with the crystal in the blade glowing. A thick beam of black light shot into Anzora. It ricocheted into Rajani and burned a hole through her right shoulder. She roared in pain and began to fall. Anzora flew down into the abyss after her slapping her in the butt with her giant hand. It was making her spin faster and faster as she fell. The entire time Astra was staying by Rajani and the screaming cat was staying in its shield behind Anzora. Astra was shooting black lightning into Anzora that was being deflected into Rajani. They all disappeared into the darkness of the abyss. Moments later Anzora flew back up and stopped in front of Kahli. Her cat was lying on his back in the shield. He was panting hard and holding his right hand over his chest like a human having a heart attack. Kahli was on his knees holding his stomach and moaning in pain.

Her words echoed seven times around the area. "Bitch this Bacall."

She snapped her fingers. In one final groan of pain Kahli turned into solid stone. Anzora and her cat disappeared in flashes of black light.

Middy shouted, "The battle does not end here! I will chase Rajani into the abyss and finish her off!" A surprised look came over her face and her eyes got really wide. "Uh-oh."

She disappeared in a burst of white light. I thought it was Darrius's Teleport magic. I could tell Eriana was still in total shock.

Father said, "Quickly Eriana. Make a Portal."

She was slumped sitting on her saddle. She looked up and a Portal big enough for the younglings to fly through appeared in the sky.

Father said to Veelus, "Call for Ryoma's Portal when you are ready to bring them home."

"I will."

Kardauma appeared on Veelus by father. "I followed them into the abyss. She wasn't moving when she crashed into the rocks at the bottom. Anzora threw her into a tunnel and she got washed away with the current. She is hurt badly, but she is still alive. I doubt she will be back anytime soon."

Father asked, "Why have your people not been freed?"

"Rajani took the link with her. I will help them retrieved the dead from the sea. If I sense her coming I will call for a retreat."

Veelus said, "If we must retreat I will shield everyone and move them in my shields."

Father said, "Don't take any chances. We don't want to lose anyone else. Call us if she comes back."

Father Ported up into the air and through the Portal. Eriana, Middy and Certi had already flown through. Hyla and I slowly flew up and followed. We had won but there was no feeling of victory and joy like before. Toshi Zen Mode was over. At that point it was time for realization and mourning. That victory brought no one joy. There is no way to be joyous after friends have died.

None of The Elites would return until all the bodies were recovered. No fallen soul lies forgotten. This is one of the first dragon laws ever written. The architect of that and many dragon laws that survived to today was the first red dragon, Ad'hya Nishan. No fallen brother or sister has ever been left behind since those days. If they have been, no dragon has ever admitted it.

We came out in front of Tarmakk and went to the Seminarium. When we got inside we could see mother inside the crystal in the center of the room. Father was hugging Eriana as she gently wept. Andor, Terus and Middy were there. Certi and the others had went home.

Ryoma told Hyla, "Go home my dear. Your parents are waiting for you." She slowly walked out with her head hanging down.

Father asked, "How did you get her from the Mightens?"

Ryoma replied, "One came through a Portal with her down on the riverbank. It went back through once it knew dragons saw her. I thought Eriana and Torva had done that."

"Hyla just told the Mightens to bring her to Tiamat. It must have been Kanyaka that made the Portal. She made me one back to the battle earlier."

Father said, "Free your mother sweetheart."

It was like Eriana woke up. "Mother!"

She quickly went over and put both hands on the crystal as she looked at mother. The crystal began slowly melting away into nothingness from top to bottom. As soon as mother's head was free her eyes opened. She began gasping for air and looked dizzy. She looked at Eriana who had turned and walked away looking down. Father and grandfather were there to grab an arm as the crystal completely disappeared. Mother clumsily forced herself to stand. Eriana turned towards her with tears rolling down her face. Mother had increasingly sad eyes.

She whispered, "Who broke your heart?"

She passed out and father caught her. He cradled her in his arms. A misty white light came from Ryoma's mouth and entered mother's mouth. She woke up wide awake and looked up at father.

"Oh Balanath, my love." She was smiling as she touched his face with joyous eyes. "Where are my babies?"

He sat her on her feet and I walked over to her. "We are here." She stood up very strongly this time like nothing had even happened. I hugged her with joyous eyes. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Mother's eyes became sad as she heard Eriana began to cry. "What's wrong baby girl?"

She was shaking and crying, "It's my fault. I might have been able to save them. They all died because of me. Hobbus... I..."

She ran to mother weeping uncontrollably so I quickly got out of the way. She crashed into her holding onto her tightly.

Father pulled a chair up behind mother. "Rest my love."

She slowly sat down taking Eriana into her lap like a baby.

Father knelt down beside them. "It is not your fault Eriana."

Mother asked him, "What happened?"

"Kahli created a giant dome that had Middy and The Elites trapped. It would have killed them. Hobbus had to use his Communicator's self-destruct to destroy the dome. We also lost twelve younglings and several riders."

Ryoma and Ryuu looked down with troubled eyes. It wasn't a new attack; many had used them as suicide attacks in the past on Haalandor.

Eriana said through her tears, "I never attacked Kahli. If I had they might still be alive. I should have tried to kill him sooner." She buried her face in mother's chest weeping.

Father said in a comforting tone, "No one can predict what will happen in a battle. You did all you could do."

It was harrowing to see her reaction to what had happened. I had tears in my eyes too. I was wishing Kye was there. She has a way of helping me channel my emotions into anger as opposed to sadness. I really needed that right then.

Ryoma said, "Veelus. Are the bodies ready?"

He said in a sad tone, "Almost. Only a few more to recover. I will be home once I have returned the bodies to their parents. Please have someone waiting with the Heaven Lilies."

"I will. The Portal is there. Come when you are ready."

She had made a Portal from the castle to Caldarra Canyon. The younglings would come through once they had all the bodies in the air and ready to come through.

Veelus was performing one of the hardest duties of a dragon leader for the first time in his life. It was his job to return the fallen to their parents. He would present a single red Heaven Lily to each parent of a fallen youngling. There was a short speech involved that he said to them all. He would say their full name at the beginning as opposed to my generic, your child.

"Your child served with valor and great courage. Tekarra has called them home to Nuvii. The dragon kingdom mourns with you." He then presents them a Heaven Lily. "These red pedals symbolize the many layers of love we have lost. Beautiful are the thoughts we will forever hold for this hero. Though they may be gone. They will never be forgotten."

He had to present two Heaven Lilies and say that twice to Terk and Girona's parents. The dragon I consider to be my brother had to say that twelve times that day. Eighteen riders also lost their lives. I am certain he performed his duty with all the dignity and respect the fallen and their parents deserved. I like to think I'm tough, but I seriously don't think I could look them in the eyes and do it.

Kardauma appeared and stood looking down silently. He had seen the dead up close. He was the one that had to go under the water and retrieve the dead men and women. He also had to secure ropes to the younglings so they could be lifted out. His help made it much quicker than it would have been otherwise.

Ryoma asked, "Kardauma, where are your people?"

"They will remain a part of my being until Rajani is dead. She now has the link."

"I have known your woes my dear Kardauma. I have been an unwilling piece of the game myself at times."

Everyone turned to see a beautiful woman walking into the room. She had pale skin and the same colored eyes and hair as Terus.

Kardauma smiled at her. "It is about time you showed up. I hope this means you're here to help us fight Rajani."

"It is not my place to get you lost when The Chosen Eight can so easily find the path. I will be returning to Partha this day. If Artemus has harmed my son... I will be returning to my own private war."

Kardauma asked, "Why have you come here?"

"I didn't come back to Avangar to give them target practice I assure you. I came to make Terus useful."

Ryoma said, "They will not be attacking you. Darrius took care of that. Their ships have been sent to the Kyper Region."

"He hid a battalion on Taross in an Artificial Dimension. They already know I'm here. Don't worry, I will draw them away once they arrive." She looked at Terus with a smile. "Come to me quickly."

He walked over to her. "I hear we are related."

"That is the only reason I have been able to hold Thanatos's magic for you. The magic is bound to the blood we share. In my hands it is a candle. In your hands it will become a star."

"So you're going to turn me into a sorcerer. How about one with the power to avoid the battles."

She smiled, "You already remind me of Harion. He always made me laugh. He would be so proud of you."

"How is it that you can do this? Was me being a useless tag along my Sorcerer's Quest?"

"You will be much more than a sorcerer. You will become Terus, The Guardian of Rule. Like me, you will be a new kind of Aaseem."

"An Aaseem. Are you joking?"

"I am not. You were born to wield this power."

"I don't think I want to be an Aaseem. It turned Althea into an emotionless shell. Those were her own husband's words. I enjoy being a neurotic mess of a human being."

"They are almost here. You will not be as Althea is. You will be able to take your human form as I can. I am sorry. You do not have a choice about it."

She acted as if she was going to push him in the chest with her right hand that was glowing white. She made the pushing motion and the glowing shaped like her hand went into his chest. Everyone looked up at the ceiling. There were so many of them the sound must have been deafening outside. It was hundreds of Parthanian war ships flying over Caldarra Canyon and stopping above it. She turned and her giant dove-like wings appeared almost instantly and startled me. She was wearing a white skirt. The top had a cross pattern that covered her breasts and went around her neck. She didn't look anything like she did before, physically her entire body transforms into a different person. Her irises were solid white like her straight hair that reached the middle of her back. As soon as those wings popped out she took about two steps and disappeared in a flash of white light. We then heard the ships get louder and immediately fly back in the direction they had come from.

Terus Corvello

I looked around at everyone. I'm sure they didn't know what to expect, neither did I.

"I'm starting to feel a little tingly, and not in a good way. It feels like every cell in my body is exploding. I think I will do this in private."

I walked out of the room. I could already feel the power filling my body. I had feared I would lose my humanity, my ability to feel emotions. At that moment my emotions were slowly becoming uncontrollable. When I was outside the castle I could see Ryoma's Portal in the sky. The size of it was astonishing. It was large enough for four younglings to fly through side by side. Three would come through at a time. They had to be far enough apart to keep their wings from colliding while in flight. So they held on to the tips of their fallen comrade's wings with them spread out as far as they could go. It was disturbing to see their young limp lifeless bodies hanging by their own wings. It wasn't helping my emotion control problem. The thing that finally brought me to tears was the crying. Each time they flew through with a fallen youngling another dragon mother screamed and cried. I thought it wasn't the way to bring them back myself, but it is a dragon tradition created when the first younglings went to battle. It was just how they did things and it really wasn't helping me out. The sad roars and the sounds of the crying mother dragons echoed through the canyon. It reminded me of mother crying when she found out father had died. I couldn't take it.

I looked up at the sky. "I don't want to be here anymore!"

I disappeared in a flash of white light and was hovering in space above the planet. As I hovered there I looked down at my naked body. I was solid white and made from pure light energy. Only my eyes look the same in that form. I was calm and void of all emotion. I looked down at myself and used my mind to create some pants, boots and a lovely V-neck shirt on my body. I could sense a strange energy coming from Taross. I Teleported to the moon. I hovered in the sky high above the ring shaped continent of Coronus. Coronus was formed from a meteor that struck Taross long ago. The rest of the surface is covered by The Lunakk Sea, a dark dull blue ocean you can't see through very well. The atmosphere on Taross is close to Avangar's. Because it has the normal weather of a planet the moon can be different colors. It is white on cloudy days, dark during storms and blue like its ocean on clear days.

The energy I had sensed was a dark mist making a perfect circle on the surface of Lake Mazatec, the body of water in the center of the ring continent. A flash of white light appeared near me. Merium hovered there in the form of Mina, The Light Guardian. Normally she only protects as Mina. She also must take that form in order to use her power to Teleport. She uses her other Aaseem forms to attack because she can do much more damage. As The Guardian of Past she is able to take the form of Thanatos's fallen guardians. They had all given their lives trying to protect her from Kaygun. She was also able to become Vee'ana, The Fire Guardian or Dion, The Dark Guardian. I had become The Guardian of Rule. Not only could I control the minds of men like Kardauma had claimed, I also could turn a Dark Sorcerer's minions into my own.

I asked, "How did they kill you?"

"I killed myself. When I'm Dion I tend to explode at times. It destroyed the ships they sent to Avangar to attack me. I have come to destroy the rest before I go have a talk with Artemus."

She looked down at the thousands of one man Parthanian war vessels emerging from the dark mist. Her stomach turned red and caught on fire. The red and the fire consumed her entire body. Her hair became short and blood red. She had on no clothes, but the form of her body was smooth and covered with flames. There are black Tattoo-like designs all over her face and body. Her eyes looked real but the flames coming from her body didn't bother them. It looked like it would really hurt. Her voice, body and attitude changes with each transformation. In a very tangible way she is a completely different person. When she is Dion she can summon her Nether Dragon to her side. Netherlorde is a female dragon from The Nether Point that is black and slightly transparent. She is as large as an Earthlore Dragon and looks much like them in shape. The significant difference is that she has wings and no horns. The poor beast still thinks she is the real Dion. She doesn't know the real Dion died.

I said, "Don't attack."

I pointed my right palm towards the ships and thousands of tiny light orbs shot at them. They entered every pilots head. The ships slowly made a huge neat V formation above the sea.

"They will do whatever I command them to do. Instead of destroying them, let's take them with us to have your talk with Artemus."

She laughed, "I think I would like that."

She sounds strange in that form. I could hear her breath going through the flames around her mouth as she was talking and laughing.

Our meeting with Artemus was interesting to say the least. He retreated to his safe-house under the planet when they saw his army following us to the city. After I took control of their minds his closest advisors took me straight to him. He was more than surprised when his guards walked in the room escorting Merium and me. I had become what he feared most, an Aaseem that could hold him accountable for his actions. In the end he saw the wisdom in becoming my ally. His power came from his army and I had the power to turn that army against him.

If anyone had told me I would be an Aaseem someday I would have never believed them. I remember when I first went out on my own. I was just another depressed street rat wondering around Harg looking for a meal. My pride and confidence grew a lot while I was with The Invisibles. It grew even more once Kye made me her partner. After years of helping Andor with his mercenary missions I became downright arrogant. There are people to this day that consider me a hero for helping him with some of those missions. It's hard not to get a big head when people adore you and treat you like you're special. The strange thing is, all that big headed self-righteousness disappears when I become an Aaseem. All emotions disappear. It is actually quite relaxing to get away from being the overconfident fool I have come to be.

I couldn't wait to see Kye and show off my amazing abilities. Normally it was her showing off for me. I must say I was a little jealous of this Siius fellow that had won her heart. I had gotten drunk and tried to get her to sleep with me several times. He really must have something going for him to win Kye's heart. All I have to say is he better keep it going. Now that I am an Aaseem I might be more appealing to her. I hope he leaves her someday. If he does I will not be wasting any time. After she kills him, I will be right there to get her drunk and pick up the pieces of her broken heart.

# Chapter 16 Fading Innocence

Irena Lexington

After Terus left everyone sat and listened as Balanath informed me of all that had happened. I had missed much during my depressing vacation in the Fate Crystal. Eriana was sitting on my lap and I was holding her close to comfort her. Torva was standing beside me as I had my arm around her waist in a perpetual hug. I didn't want to let either one of them go. I was so grateful to be alive and have my family safely with me. I can't say that I was overjoyed to hear of The Chosen Eight. I knew that Vaalstrom had referred to Middy and the girls as The Sisters of Destiny. No one actually knew what that meant. The meaning was becoming much clearer. It didn't sit well with me that any of them might be expected to face Kaygun with a sword.

For Torva to be a Summoner was an absolute surprise. There had been so few throughout history that I never even considered that possibility. All those before her were people on Haalandor that only had the power temporarily. Malauv was the only man to ever summon Avangar's Aaseems. He was a High Priest from the continent of Toshi on Haalandor. He only had the power during the war with Partha.

After Balanath had finished speaking of all that had happened Torva explained what she could about this new attack the girls could call on.

"Darrius didn't explain the attack to us. We just knew everything all of a sudden. It is part of our reward for completing the trials. So everyone did actually get something out of them. The attack works just like Hobbus and Kye's rescue us power during the trials. We can only do it if we are all together and one of us is about to die."

Balanath said, "I like that. Knowing that will certainly help me sleep better at night."

Ryoma asked, "If you put all your powers into the sphere, does that mean you will be too weak to attack after that like a Circle of Four attack?"

"It doesn't weaken us at all. Our magic can never be weakened. That is the other part of our reward for completing the trials."

I said, "It does sound like The Cardinal Magic of a Circle of Four."

"It sort of is. We all play a certain role. I am the one that is actually combining me and Eriana's powers together. Eriana is the one that will choose the animal. Middy calls on Darrius's powers and she is the one that turns the animal into an attack."

I kissed Eriana on top of the head then looked at Torva. "You both have made me so proud."

Ryuu asked me, "What do you make of the Rajani situation?"

Ryoma added, "Yes. I would definitely like your take on all of this."

"I only have one take. Everyone heard Ignaas say he was Rajani's son. We need to go to Genoa and hold the council's feet to the fire. Let them refuse to bring her to justice. It will start a revolution."

Ryoma asked, "Don't you think they would have already gotten in touch with me if they were going to do anything? They watched the battle and have known this for several days."

"I know. I don't think the council is going to do it willingly or they would have contacted you by now. My hope is that Haalandor will approve and force them to do it. I am sure father has already tried and Haalandor did not approve. He cannot legally raise the same issue twice. So you need to do it. She may not have approved because of Tekarra's Favored Path. She might approve this time since Kahli has been killed. That could be what she was waiting on."

"I will make you my diplomat so you can go in my place. That way you will at least be able to see Abram and Larea."

I asked Kardauma, "Would you please explain something to me?"

"If I can."

"What did Kahli mean by bring Preah'kahn to its new master? It clearly says in the prophecy that it would kill someone other than you eight to wield it."

"If either one of us had killed the other we would have a chance to take the sword while it was unbound. If any of us are killed while we wield Preah'kahn the sword will no longer be bound to The Chosen Eight. It was actually not bound to us when the swords were battling. Anzora somehow broke the bond when she got the swords to fight each other. It only returned to us because I was the first one to touch it while it was unbound. I only know these things from legends. The legends say anyone wielding two Divine Swords would be a threat to Fate and Tekarra themselves. That is why he wanted both swords. That is also why I never expected them to have a Divine Sword. I have never heard of two Divine Swords being in the same solar system, much less on the same planet."

Middy said, "That's why the gods are watching us shadow boy. If Kaygun gets both swords he will be able to unbind himself from the planet and march on Nuvii just like Bacall did. That's how Bacall did it, he had two holy swords."

Torva said, "It's good to have you back. Did Darrius take you to keep you from chasing Rajani into the abyss?"

"Not really. He was just being a big whiny butt because I wouldn't give him his powers back. Avangar Ported me to Acedia for him." She smiled. "He was so pissed, it was hilarious. He changed the rules and now the power will automatically be taken from me after we finish our attack."

Kardauma said confused, "He let you have free reign over his power? That doesn't sound like something Fate would allow."

"It wasn't a coincidence, he did it on purpose because he knew I would call Anzora with his power."

Ryuu asked, "So was Rajani always the true threat to Avangar?"

"Anyone that has Astra is a threat to her, but Rajani doesn't need it. She can kill her without Astra."

Balanath asked, "Are you saying she is a god now?"

"She doesn't have to be a god. All she has to do is make Avangar's Erebus a little stronger. That will make her crazy. That's why they have to keep fighting the pools on Galdaya. If they don't Avangar might go nuts then Rajani can get into her realm and kill her."

Ryoma asked, "If they are weakening Avangar's Erebus on Galdaya, how can it get strong enough to drive her into madness?"

"Because Rajani has a new plan now. In a few days she is going to kill most of the people on Mastadonia to make it stronger. So we can't fail. If we do millions will die and there will be a new goddess running this world."

Ryuu asked, "Did Darrius tell you these things?"

"Nope. I found out all by myself." She said looking up with love sick eyes. "For a moment, I was a true god." The looked turned to disappointment as she looked down. "It only lasted for about a split second when I got to Acedia. Then Paw-paw took his powers back. I did find out several things of interest during my short reign as Acedia's god. A lot can happen in a split second when you're a god."

Torva said, "I am certain we would all like to know what you learned in that split second."

"Well, when Avangar was about to Teleport me to Acedia I asked myself, how can I keep Paw-paw's powers? That's what triggered it. I appeared in some kind of mystical library. I ran around in there for a few minutes trying to find the right book. I was trying to find one with a title so I knew what was in it, but they all had numbers on them instead of titles. I was talking to myself and said Rajani. Three books jumped off the shelves and came to me. They opened to the page with Rajani on them. That's when I saw they were all just log books. Pretty much everything logged about Rajani I already knew. So I looked at the last entry.

It said, Rajani has chosen a new path. Millions of Mastadonians will die to drive Avangar into madness. A new world will be born from her death.

Then I said Saphron and Falteen. I thought if I knew how they broke their link with Haalandor maybe I could break my link to Acedia and keep Paw-paw's powers. I couldn't find that, but the last entry said.

Saphron and Falteen have stolen Astra. The twin Aaseems continue to defy Fate and Tekarra's laws.

By that time I could feel the dimension slowly fading away. I wanted to find out if we are supposed to face Kaygun. So I said Kaygun. About fifty books jumped up in my face and opened up. So I said Kaygun and Preah'kahn. That narrowed it down to five. Then I said, Kaygun, Preah'kahn, Bacall. That narrowed it down to one. I didn't have time to see much, but I saw some good stuff. One said.

Bacall has told Kaygun of the true powers of the holy swords. The Kismet Star may soon have a god with two holy swords. Nuvii prepares for invasion.

Lower down it said. Kaygun was fooled into giving Astra to Bacall. The danger has not changed. Nuvii remains battle ready.

Another said. The Sisters of Destiny will soon emerge to face Kaygun with the power of Preah'kahn. Nuvii has placed its faith in the mortals.

Then the whole dimension faded away and plop. There I was, powerless in Acedia with Paw-paw giving me the evil eyes. I told you Tekarra wanted us to fight Kaygun. You people need to start trusting your leader's instincts."

Ryoma said, "If she no longer has Astra that will be a great help."

I said, "You certainly learned some valuable information."

She flew up to my face and I instinctively moved my head backwards. She flies so fast that it didn't seem she would be able to stop before she hit me, but she did come to a sudden stop right in front of my face.

"You must be Irena. I'm the one that saved you. No need to thank me. I'm a hero. That's just what I do."

Torva tried to make a formal introduction. "Middiana Barthallion, this is our mother Irena Lexington."

"I know, that's why I said you must be Irena. You did a wonderful job raising these girls. They have to be pretty special to make it onto my best friends list."

"Thank you. It is my honor to meet you."

She raised one eyebrow and gave me a strange look as she looked me up and down. "I guess you're not too bad for someone over five hundred years old. You are kind of robbing the cradle there with Balanath though. Talk about your age gaps."

It didn't take long to understand that Middy always says what is on her mind. She meant no harm, but she certainly picked something I wasn't comfortable talking about.

Torva cleared her throat. "Middy. It is not polite to reveal a woman's age."

Kyann's voice came over Ryoma's Communicator. "Ryoma. Youngling sized Portal from Eeden Castle's platform to wherever the girls and Renny are please."

"Coming your way dear."

A Portal appeared on the Portal Platform by the Comm Room. Kyann was walking fast as Torva ran to her. Siius, Steen and Bekka came through as well.

Steen said to Veelus, "Good job sweet prince. Sorry I was too busy to help."

Veelus said, "Good job to you as well. I know you have all been busting your butts."

Bekka walked up in front of Veelus. "I have been so worried about you."

"I have been worried about you too."

"You don't have any reason to worry about me. It's like a training exercise that just won't end."

The joyous look in their eyes and faces said it all. They closed their eyes as they lowered their heads and touched horns. They had become much more than just friends over the years.

Kyann hugged Torva and kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

She walked over, bent down and hugged me slightly crushing Eriana in between us. "I love you ladies as well."

I said, "I love you too Kyann."

She kissed Eriana on the top of the head. "Hey you. Didn't you hear me?"

She said very softly, "I love you Kye."

Kyann knelt down and lovingly stroked her hair as she looked in her eyes. "Bal told me what happened. I am so sorry, but it's all over now. Those pools are going to stop showing up soon."

Balanath said, "I didn't tell you everything since you said you were coming here."

She stood up. "You said you won. What else is there to say? Torva said she was only doing it to weaken her Erebus. The final battle is over so the damn pools should stop appearing."

Balanath shook his head at Torva with a disappointed face.

"I made her promise to keep fighting the pools before I told her."

Balanath said to Kyann, "Only Kahli was killed. Rajani is still alive."

Kyann shook her head no. "I am not going back to Galdaya and fighting puddles again. You need our help."

Eriana said, "You can't stop Kye. If you do Avangar will never stand a chance if we lose the battle with Rajani."

"If you lose? That doesn't make me want to go back. If there is a chance you can lose you need us." She looked at Balanath. "Why did you let her live in the first place. Wasn't the whole point of the battle to kill them? So you killed Kahli and said, well I think we'll just save Rajani for later."

"We were not even able to kill Kahli. A Nether Sprite killed him, she only slapped Rajani around."

Siius said, "I could have told you that wouldn't kill her. Next time tell your Nether Sprite to take off her head."

Balanath said, "I'm pretty sure we can't command her to do anything."

Steen asked, "What is a Nether Sprite?"

Kardauma replied, "They are mysterious Cirrus beings that wonder the Megaverse alone. I have only seen a few in all my years. They are normally just a nuisance to anyone they encounter. I had no idea they were so powerful."

Bekka asked, "How did you get her to kill Kahli if you can't command her to do anything?"

Torva said, "While Middy still had Darrius's powers she told Anzora that Kahli called her a bitch. That's why she killed him."

Steen said, "Then the battle is won. Just tell her Rajani called her a bitch."

Middy said, "I can't blue boy. That was a one time shot. Paw-paw had to use a favor from Fate so she could do that much. He has one more favor, but he says he is saving it for something really important."

Kyann asked, "Is Avangar possibly dying not really important? If you don't beat Rajani she could die."

Middy replied, "Actually he thinks we are going to beat Rajani."

I said, "There is a good chance we will not have to fight her at all. I am going to Haalandor in the morning to see if we can get the council to bring her to justice. They can't lose. Father will bring the entire Legion here to fight her."

Middy asked, "What are you talking about? The Chosen Eight have to kill her."

Balanath said, "She is a war criminal on Zyamar. We are hoping they will send their White Sorcerers to kill her. They can do that without breaking the treaty with Partha."

A strange look came over Middy's face and she started shaking her head no. "That's not going to happen. I'm pretty sure Paw-paw would have mentioned it." She said in a deep voice as if she was trying to imitate Darrius. "By the by, I have only been saying you might die to amuse myself. Zyamarian White Sorcerers will appear and save the day." She resumed speaking in her normal manner. "Do you see where I'm going with this? Paw-paw never said anything about Zyamarians fighting her. He said we have to kill her."

Ryoma said, "Let me try something. Tarkion. This is official business on behalf of the kingdom of Tiamat. May I have a word with you."

There was no answer for a few moments, then his voice could be heard. "I will except your request to bring Rajani to justice in the morning."

"I will be sending Irena to formally make the request. She is my diplomatic representative."

There was a short silence. "That is acceptable. We just need your official request to present to Artemus. I expect you or your representative to be here when I open court."

Ryoma stated, "She will be there. End transmission."

We all looked at Middy and she shrugged her shoulders. "I still think Paw-paw would have said something. They are not going to help."

I said, "I will be there right before they come to session in the morning." I asked Torva. "Since we should be welcomed, would you like to join us?"

"Yes I would."

I asked, "Eriana, would you like to go. You can stay here with Ryoma if you wish."

Her words were forced through troubled lips, "I'll go. I want to meet Aunt Larea."

She sounded as if she was trying not to cry. I felt that a little lady session may help. She has always been shy around crowds.

"Balanath. I am going to take Eriana to lie down and rest for a while. Ladies would you please join us?"

Ryoma said, "Of course dear."

Kyann said, "I guess we better get back if those damn things are going to keep showing up. I have artillery battalions bombarding the two pools we know of. A couple of more have probably popped up by now."

Torva said, "Be careful."

"You be careful baby girl. All we are doing is getting some exercise."

After our required I love yous they left and we went to the girl's room.

Eriana Lexington

The guilt I was feeling was overwhelming. If I had attacked Kahli while the dome was there maybe it would have disappeared. Maybe Hobbus would still be alive. I couldn't look because I did not want to see him die. Then when I saw Terk and Girona I had one of my crazy moments as Torva calls it. I have never felt such rage. I did not hold back. I tried to murder Kahli. I was only saved from committing the ultimate sin by circumstance. Astra protected him and absorbed most of the attack. I was trying to come to terms with what I had done. I tried to murder someone, and I felt like I had let my friends die.

Mother didn't leave my side that entire night. They all tried to talk to me as I laid in bed to bring me some comfort. There is no way to bring true comfort to someone that has lost people they love. Only time could heal my heart and I will always bear the scars from losing friends. After several hours of listening to them having conversations I spoke. I had decided I would no longer be just a protector. I would let The Paths of Time decide whether or not I would be a murderer. I was lying on the bed with mother sitting beside me.

I said in an unfeeling tone, "Mother. I want you to teach me how to kill. If someone tries to take the life of someone I love again... I will kill them."

She stroked my hair and said softly, "I don't want you to ever kill anyone. I will teach you to fight so you can protect the others if need be. Never take a life unless it is to save lives. You are better used as a protector and that's what you should concentrate on. I know it hurts, but you can't give in to the hate."

"I don't hate Kahli. He's dead. What is left for me to hate? If there is any justice in this universe my friends are in Nuvii... and he is burning in Abaddon."

Mother leaned down and kissed my forehead. She looked into my eyes with sympathy and love. "I remember when all we had to talk about was your stories or nice things. You, Torva, your father and me talking and laughing. I promise you with all my heart I will bring those days back."

"I'm not a child anymore. I know those days are gone forever."

"Not forever sweetheart. I promise you... not forever. We must stay strong and we will win. We have to, not just for us."

Ryoma said, "I think I will get Balanath. She needs you both right now."

A Portal appeared in front of her and she walked through. A few moments later father walked through and it disappeared. Torva walked over and hugged him.

He looked down at her. "I am so proud of you."

"I'm not proud of myself. I let some stupid little fairy slap me around Avangar."

"Kahli only tried to get rid of you because he knew you were going to kick his ass."

She smiled at him then he walked towards us with his arm around her shoulders. Just having father there made me feel a little better. To have him kind of joking around made life seem more normal to me. He always has a way of making me forget the terrible things with his humor. It was helping me stop the continuous self-abuse I was putting myself through in my mind.

He said, "Ah, The Great Middiana Barthallion, the girl that saved us all. I offer you my most heartfelt gratitude. Well done."

"Why did I know only you would see who the real hero was. Beauty and brains, you have it all Balanath."

She smiled at him with a weird starry-eyed look on her face. Father was of course trying to take my mind off my worries by joking around. Even mother has been infected with this father-born disease.

Mother said in a slightly angry tone, "Miss Middiana Barthallion. I don't think I liked the way you just looked at my husband. I'm going to have Torva kick your butt."

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything."

"Don't play coy with me little fairy, I have eyes."

Torva said, "Sorry Middy, I saw it too. The sanctity of my parent's marriage is at stake. I'm afraid I'm going to have to kick your ass."

"What?! Look Miss Irena. You have it all wrong. I'm not going to go into the physics of it, but I don't like Balanath. I'm just trying to build up his ego. I mean come on; we all know he's a loser. He couldn't even get a woman his own age. Of course you have nothing to complain about. You came out with a pretty nice trophy husband."

Torva said, "That's it, you went too far this time. You insulted my pathetic loser of a father."

Father said, "Hey, she never said pathetic." We all laughed.

As Torva's laughter faded her voice became serious, "Sorry Middy. It is time for Crimson Warrior Rule Number Ten; When all else fails, apply foot to that butt."

I had to smile through most of that. They were finally creating a distraction that was completely consuming my thoughts.

Middy said, "Everyone just stop! I'm sorry Miss Irena. How about if I quit trying to build up his ego. I just felt sorry for him because he's a loser."

Mother said nicely, "I will call Torva off. Thank you Miss Middy for building up his confidence."

"None of that built up my confidence." Mother chuckled and returned his smile.

Middy looked at Torva. "That should make you happy. Now you don't have to find out the hard way who would be on the receiving end of that ass kicking."

"There is only one reason I wouldn't be able to kick your butt. It's so small I'd probably miss." We all laughed.

Middy said, "Same tiny butt joke I've heard a million times. You really need to come up with a new routine."

I had to throw my thoughts into the fire.

"Don't worry about trying to kick each other's butts. Just aim for those ego inflated heads. Neither one of you could miss."

We laughed again. Father had knelt down beside me.

He touched my face and asked in a comforting tone, "Do you feel any better. Nalya will bring you dinner in bed if you want."

"I'm not really hungry."

As I looked into his eyes I couldn't help but realize how much he and everyone else loved me. They could have been eating because I'm sure they were all hungry. Everyone was so worried about me they wouldn't leave my side. It felt good to know I was loved so much. I started thinking about mother's comment about bringing back our days of laughter. One memory stood out in my mind.

I said, "Father."

"Yes dear."

"Will you sing Picture of Innocence to me?"

He smiled at me. It had been many years since he had sung me that song. It was a song he wrote for me and Torva when we were little. It became our favorite lullaby.

He softly said, "I remember the day I told you girls I wrote it. You were only three years old. You insisted that we go to Amara Garden so I could stand on your little stage." He smiled. "You and Torva put all your dolls and puppets on the chairs so they could watch too. When I finished you clapped and cheered. I will never forget those smiling faces. You both promised me you would never grow up so I could sing it to you forever." He chuckled. "What a selfish promise to coax out of my baby girls. I am probably responsible for the only promise you have ever broken... but in breaking that promise... you have made me so very proud."

He reached up and gently moved the hair out of my face. For a few moments I was lost in his familiar voice.

You wake up in the morning,

Every day's an open book,

I never will stop learning,

From the wonder in your look,

With every passing moment,

There is always something new,

All the good in me,

Is reflected in you,

You're the picture of innocence,

You're the light that guides my way,

You're the picture of innocence,

And I hope that's how you stay,

Oh my loves you are my world,

And in my eyes you'll always be,

My baby girls,

But I know I'll cry someday,

Because you'll spread your wings and you will fly away,

For now you're the picture of innocence,

You're the light that guides my way,

My loves you're the picture of innocence,

And I wish that's how you'd stay,

He could barely finish as he looked into my tear-filled eyes. Part of me still wanted to be the little girl he sang the song to that day. In those days it seemed that a hug and a kiss could make any problem go away. In that present, nothing could make what happened go away. Everything was coming back. I began weeping uncontrollably again.

I said through my tears, "I don't want anyone else to die. Mother please promise me you won't let anyone else die. I don't care if it's a lie, just promise me, please just promise me."

Mother said nothing. She could only hug me and hold me tight with tears of her own. I was asking her to make an impossible promise. Just like our promise to never grow up.

# Chapter 17 Walking into Genoa

Eriana Lexington

The next morning we gathered in the Seminarium and mother created a Portal to Genoa. Only father, mother, Torva and I went. In the treaty it said that the Zyamar White Sorcerers could always come to the aid of the dragons. Kaygun had proven to Partha that a Dark God was more than a match for their technology. They saw the wisdom in allowing the White Sorcerers to come to the planet if the same thing was about to happen on Avangar. That was the entire reason it was put in there.

We didn't know what to expect when we arrived. To our surprise we were greeted like heroes. We exited the Portal at Genoa, the capital city of Zyamar. The moment they saw us the crowd erupted in cheers and clapping. The sound was almost deafening. We looked around smiling and waving at the crowd. We had arrived at an extremely large horseshoe shaped stadium filled with Zyamarians. We were on a large platform that had a walkway leading to the main floor of The High Council's Court. The stadium was designed to hold one hundred thousand people and it seemed to be packed full that day. The Inaara I sensed was overwhelming. Over half the people were White Sorcerers.

It was an open stadium with no roof. There were eleven council members sitting on what looked like a large half-circular judge's bench. Behind the bench was a wall and they looked down upon a large empty area known as the council floor. This was where people would address them. On both sides of the council floor were two giant image screens that were taller than a five-story building. On each screen we could see images of ourselves as we approached the council floor. The images we saw were not only there for the crowd to see us clearly. They were also being broadcast all across Zyamar and to their allies around the planet. Everyone was awaiting our arrival and most of the people of Zyamar were watching us at that moment in their homes or businesses. It was a historical event because we were allowing them to bring justice to Rajani. Even the school children were watching in their classrooms.

The most amazing thing to me was the city that surrounded the stadium. Huge skyscrapers towered above the stadium. Many large metal vehicles were flying around. A large monorail system weaved through the city extremely high off the ground. The trains on the monorails were made of mostly glass to give the passengers a clear view of everything around them. No matter which direction you looked you couldn't see much of it. The sky was filled with younglings and Skylore Dragons of every size and color. They were also on perches around the stadium. A lot of small younglings perched on places not meant for it. There were two rows of one year old younglings on top of the huge screens.

Grandfather Abram and Aunt Larea were waiting for us. Torva and I walked over to grandfather and he embraced us.

He looked down at us with a smile. "I am so proud of both of you. All of Haalandor has witnessed your deeds. You are truly heroes." He looked at me. "We also witnessed you unlocking the powers of the younglings. Avangar must place great trust in you to have unlocked that power for you."

He gave me a wink and I smiled at him. We were happy to see him and after what I had been through I didn't want to lose that feeling of joy.

Aunt Larea said, "I know you don't know me, but come here anyway." She grabbed us both and hugged us hard as we smiled. "I'm proud of you too. We all are."

Mother had walked up. She pulled her in to join our little group hug. Torva and I gave them some space.

Aunt Larea looked at her lovingly. "The foolishness is finally coming to an end. I will have my little sister back." They lovingly smiled and hugged once more.

Grandfather said, "I hope you saved some for me." They both smiled at him and mother embraced him. "We are getting close to a resolution. Everything that's happening on Avangar has the people in a rage. The military is no longer supporting the council. Let's go present your proposal to this soon to be ex-council." Grandfather put his hand on father's shoulder. "Well done."

Father smiled and nodded his head. Grandfather turned and led us towards the council floor. As we were walking a dark feeling came over me. I could hear voices in the crowd. I could hear their words echoing through my mind as soft sinister whispers. Everyone had moved out in front of me. They were still walking towards the council floor when I stopped. The sinister whispers echoed through my mind.

"Abominations, they should be killed not treated like heroes."

"They will bring back the Erebus."

"How could a Zyamarian woman have married one of them?"

"Many will die when the Erebus returns. We should kill them ourselves."

Even though I knew these voices were the thoughts of only a few hundred people there, I still was in total shock. More shocking to me was that those particular thoughts were coming from members of The High Council. They were all looking at us with disdain in their eyes. After all I had been through it was more than I could take.

I screamed, "Enough!"

I could hear the word I had screamed echo through the stadium. Mine was the only voice. All of Haalandor stood frozen in time. Everyone in the stadium was motionless. The trains on the monorails were no longer moving and the flying vehicles stood frozen in the sky. Every flying dragon was frozen giving a collage of wings at different stages of a flap. Only our small group and the council members were unaffected by the magic. However, because time magic doesn't affect your brain, most of the people would still hear my words as my voice echoed across the silent stadium.

I thought of the friends I had lost and only anger filled my heart. I stomped towards the council floor walking right through everyone. They slowly followed me. As I walked out to the center of the council floor I threw my right hand up above my head and quickly lowered it again. All of the council member's bodies were engulfed in a white light and they were slammed against the wall behind them. Their chairs were knocked backwards onto the floor and I held them very firmly against the wall.

I said in a loud angry tone, "Abominations! You think Torva and I are abominations! How dare you! We are as much a part of Haalandor as we are a part of Avangar! We have loved Haalandor as we love Avangar!" I looked around at them and my mind went numb from what I had learned. Haalandor began speaking through me much like Avangar did from my Blessing. "How could you do such a thing to your own people? You conspired with Kaygun and Rajani to bring genocide to your people. The Divine Light was meant to fight evil, to bring peace to the weak and the innocent. You have failed Haalandor and should all be stripped of your powers."

As I stood there the anger in my heart wouldn't go away. Grandfather walked out onto the council floor. I looked at him. I felt confused by what was happening to me. I had stopped time on the entire planet. It was as if I had become one with Haalandor. Grandfather looked at me with a very loving look in his eyes.

When I saw his face my anger faded and confusion took its place. "Grandfather, what is happening to me? What is this I feel? It can't be what I think it is."

"It is. You are wielding Haalandor's power as your own."

I said in a sad tone, "Since I was a child I have always thought the people of Zyamar were not like the people on Avangar. I thought of it as a magical planet like the stories in my books. A planet with no Erebus... no evil... just the Inaara. I would have rather never known the truth."

Grandfather said in a comforting tone, "Haalandor has shown you the truth... and you have shown all of Zyamar the truth. I am sorry you had to learn of these things this way. You have revealed Sacred Knowledge to us all, and by your words justice has been served. Release your hold on the planet and her power will be taken from you."

I waved my hand and Haalandor once again came to life. The council members were no longer bound and fell to the floor. The crowd was so silent I could hear the dragon's wings flapping around the stadium. Many there knew what had happened. Grandfather looked around the stadium.

He spoke loudly and his voice came from the sound transmitters. "Haalandor has found great favor in her child, and from her child's wisdom she has passed her judgment upon us." He paused for a moment. "I don't need to tell most of you here what has happened, you know, but you don't know the extent. The power of the Inaara has been removed from all on Haalandor that possess it. Our White Sorcerers have been deemed unworthy to wield her power... I too am included in this decision."

"Grandfather, I am so sorry. I didn't want anyone to lose their powers. I just tried to remove The High Council's powers because I was angry. What have I done? We need you to defeat Rajani."

"No Eriana. You have never needed us. Tekarra has chosen well those that will defend the Divine Light. Do you feel the power she put inside you?"

"You mean what Haalandor left behind. Yes, I still feel like I have a piece of her inside me."

"You do. Tekarra has given you part of Haalandor's soul. You are now linked with her in a way I do not understand. Haalandor has revealed to me what this means."

I finished his thought. "I will be able to send her Erebus back and make her whole again."

Grandfather smiled, "She has obviously revealed the knowledge to you as well. You have done a remarkable thing here today. Look into your heart. Do you still feel the hate you felt before?"

"No, I feel confusion and shame."

"We respect Haalandor's judgment above all laws. The shame you feel is from those that followed a council that hid their atrocities. You will not be considered an abomination in this land again." He looked at the council members. "You have committed genocide against your own people. This is heresy of the highest order. There will be no trial. Judgment has been passed by Haalandor. She has obviously found you guilty, and we have all suffered for your crimes. You should pray to Tekarra for forgiveness. I am almost certain the people will bring back the death penalty for what you have done."

The leader Tarkion stood and looked around at the crowd. His eyes darted around and his voice was frantic. "You cannot do this! We are The High Council! What we have done, we have done for Haalandor. We did this to save Haalandor from the Erebus. When Rajani banishes the Inaara from Avangar we will capture it. Haalandor will be stronger. She will have the power to keep us safe from the Erebus for eternity. These Avangarians have not brought you hope, they have brought your destruction. The only other option is to fall to Kaygun. We cannot be victorious over him. We will all die or becomes slaves to the Erebus. Do you not understand that we meant to save the people of Zyamar?"

Grandfather spoke of those killed by Rajani and the Gethin Fairies. "I know of millions of people that would not agree with your method of salvation. They will never be able to tell you that. You silenced their voices forever."

The crowd was mostly silent except for murmurs and whispers. Haalandor once again revealed Sacred Knowledge to me. I walked closer to the bench and spoke to them. The crowd grew deathly silent.

"You sought to change the very fabric of the universe. Only Fate and Tekarra can do that. Haalandor, Avangar, Thanatos, all the gods exist as light and darkness just like mortals. To take one from them will kill them."

The crowd erupted in a roar of whispers. No one knew that to take the Erebus or Inaara from a planet would kill them. I don't think anyone believed me at first. They knew that if what I said was true then Haalandor should be dead. They grew deathly silent once more when I began to speak.

"When Haalandor banished her Erebus she had no choice but to let you cut her throat. Fate would not let her change The Path of Time you were creating. You were fulfilling The Prophecy of the Last Hope. It said the mortals can be their saviors, the mortals can be their executioners. You were the executioners.

Do you want to know why she still lives? It had nothing to do with anyone here. It was the peoples of Toshi that saved her life.

On the hour she banished her Erebus... every man, woman and child... every Earthlore, Skylore and youngling dragon dropped to their knees and prayed to Fate in the most unique way. They did not ask him to spare their lives, they did not ask him to spare Haalandor's life. They simply began telling him all the things they loved about the beautiful world she created for them. This alone softened his heart... this alone saved her life.

Fate allowed Tekarra to seal Deemos's Jeevatma in a Fate Crystal. He is the Erebus that kept her alive. Kaygun was using you to murder Haalandor so Bacall could take her planet. You sacrificed your people for no reason. Even Abaddon holds no justice to equal your sins."

The crowd was silent, no sounds could be heard.

Finally grandfather broke the silence. "We all understand what you meant to accomplish. We have proven our ignorance and judgment has been passed."

Several men and women that appeared to be guards entered to take the council members away. Very few did not have ancestors killed by Rajani and the Gethin Fairies. Many were White Sorcerers that would have still been alive then. One guard echoed the thoughts of billions.

Tarkion said to him, "Don't you dare touch me."

As he slammed him face first into the wall he said in an angry tone, "You just give me a reason to take your life." Tears came to his eyes even though the anger in his voice didn't change. "Please! Give me a reason!"

There was no doubt he was a supporter of the council that had lost loved ones when Rajani attacked. They quickly and violently dragged them away. Grandfather took me by the hand and we walked over to the others.

"Under the circumstances I think we should leave. The people of Zyamar have much to think about. Not to mention a new High Council to elect." A smile came over his face. "Even though your visit was short, it will not soon be forgotten."

We all walked back to mother's Portal and returned to Tiamat. Back at Tarmakk everyone had gathered in the Seminarium. Torva sat in a chair beside mother and I was sitting on her lap like a baby again. All of the so called Chosen Eight were there. Only Terus was nowhere to be seen.

Mother asked me, "Do you feel well dear?"

I replied, "Yes, just very tired."

"Haalandor's power was given to you. I can only imagine it would be a very tiring experience."

Torva asked, "Grandfather Abram, why did only the people from Toshi know of the danger?"

"They have Fate's Window. It allows them to see many prophecies. That would be the logical reason."

Father asked, "What is Fate's Window?"

Aunt Larea answered, "It is a large tablet made of a blue diamond that only reveals a prophecy if the right person looks at it. Father and I are the only ones outside of Toshi that have ever seen it."

Grandfather said, "We are the only outsiders allowed in their lands. We are tolerated as Ambassadors because of our friendship with some of the dragons and High Priests on Toshi, but even we know extraordinarily little about their society. We are not allowed to leave their estates or the king's castle grounds. They are a religious people and their religious practices has served us well. Their prayers saved Haalandor."

Ryuu said, "The treaty is clear. Only White Sorcerers can come to our aid. Should we try explaining to the Parthanians what has happened? Maybe they will allow your armies to come if they know the circumstances."

Grandfather Abram told him, "The White Sorcerers were a large part of the defenses for every kingdom in The Alliance of Light. I do not think it would be wise to inform them of our misfortune. Artemus cannot be trusted."

Father said, "Middy was right. It looks like we are on our own."

"Of course I was right. Is anyone actually surprised?"

Grandfather Andor said, "Once again the battle calls for us. We should not delay in deciding the battle plan. We need to start training if she plans to massacre the people on Mastadonia."

I said, "Avangar will give us the battle plan. The complexity of what must be done is beyond us to figure out. She can now tell me how to proceed. Darrius just used his last favor."

I slowly got up from mother's lap. As the knowledge entered my mind I spoke the words.

"She must be on the surface of Avangar in order for me to banish the Erebus back to Haalandor. We need to chase her from her safe haven in the abyss. There are two exits. One exits at Kiinyde Castle, the other exits at Deadfire. We can use Preah'kahn to chase her towards Deadfire. There we must weaken her Erebus. Once it is weak enough I will banish the Erebus back to Haalandor. Preah'kahn will be our advantage that allows us to chase her from the abyss."

Larea said, "Astra will cancel out that advantage."

I told her, "No it will not. Astra was stolen from her by Saphron and Falteen. Grandfather Abram, you and Larea must help drive her from the abyss. Only you can hide magic from Rajani's eyes. If she senses Preah'kahn she will seal the entrances and we will never be able to get to her. Our chance to defeat her will be lost forever."

Mother was confused like the rest. "He has no powers." She suddenly sensed his and Aunt Larea's magic. "Father, you have been hiding your magic, and Larea's."

He smiled, "When I sensed we were the only ones that didn't lose our powers I immediately hid them. The sensors would have picked it up once time began moving again."

Aunt Larea said, "I knew he must be hiding my powers from the computer sensors. I couldn't sense his powers, but of course I knew mine were not taken."

I said, "Grandfather Abram. Your team must be you, Aunt Larea, mother, father, Heady, Tooma, Andor and Veelus. You must go into the abyss and chase her out towards Deadfire. The rest of us will wait in the desert for her to emerge from the volcano."

Aunt Larea said, "Irena, make me a Portal home so they will not detect my magic. Father, if we are to battle I will be spending tonight at home."

"Very well. I will go to hide your magic. We will return once Tosch and Miiken have gone to bed." He looked at mother. "I will call you when we are ready for your Portal."

She told him, "I don't think I will be sleeping tonight. You know where I will be."

Larea said, "Late night training sounds like a good plan. I am not going into this battle unprepared." She said to Ryoma. "I assume you will be wobbling out there to join the family reunion."

"I will definitely be wobbling that way. I plan to train a little myself so I can safely join the battle if necessary."

Mother said as she created a Portal to her home, "We will see you there."

Larea smiled at her and followed grandfather through the Portal before it disappeared. A few moments later we heard Grandfather's voice.

"Irena. Return Portal please."

She created it and he walked through. A boy with short brown hair and blue eyes walked through the Portal behind him. He had his hands on grandfather's shoulders like he was pushing him.

"You are so slow Gramps."

"Leave me alone. I'm an old man."

Aunt Larea came back through as well. "I guess we're back for a while. Everyone this is Tosch. He has some new Communicators for you." She looked back towards the Portal. Slowly another boy came through. "This is my son Miiken that just came to meet everyone."

Miiken had light brown hair that was straight and went down to his shoulders. He had green eyes like his mother.

Miiken said, "Hello everyone. I am a big Addy."

Aunt Larea said in a firm tone, "Lose that Addy crap."

"Sorry mom."

Grandfather Andor asked, "What's an Addy?"

Aunt Larea replied, "It is slang for Adorator. That is what they call people infatuated with famous people. Most of Zyamar thinks you endangering your lives is simply a play for their amusement. That's why I don't want to hear that crap."

Miiken said, "They show your battles live worldwide, they have been watched over and over billions of times. Only Ryoma could draw a crowd like you could these days."

Aunt Larea said, "Girls these are your cousins Miiken and Tosch. Boys this is Eriana and Torva and everyone else. No need for long introductions. They know all your names and have watched you so much lately they could probably draw a picture of you from memory."

Tosh said, "Well, the tops of their heads for damn sure."

Torva said, "It's nice to meet you."

I added, "Yes, it is nice to meet you both."

Father looked at Tosch, "So you have new Communicators for us? I assume they are a little more advanced."

Tosch said, "A lot more advanced actually. I started working on them after your battle with Edur." He walked towards him and took out what looked like a handgun with a strange attachment coming out of the barrel. "You can be first Uncle Balanath. I'm going to inject it into the fatty part of your ear lobe. Its safe material that your body will not even know is there. It can't reject it." He held the gun tip to father's ear and it made a pop sound. "Deactivate your Communicator."

Father said, "Balanath. Communicator deactivate."

"Now call Aunt Irena or anyone with a Communicator."

"Irena. This is Balanath." Immediately after he said the word Irena, we heard the word and what he was saying was not delayed. It sounded like he was talking over himself. "End transmission."

Tosch said, "These have automatic dampers that use a much gentler form of radiation to block signals. You need to put them under the dragon's skin on their heads, preferably under a horn for a little more protection. I designed these to be safe and stupid proof. They use your Atomic-cell Signature like the old ones do. So they will take the information off your old Communicators. They will know if the wrong kinds of microwave signals are around and kick on the dampers."

Grandfather Andor asked, "Did you design these to counteract the mind control they used on Heady and Tooma."

"Yes, Edur used mind control on Torva too when you fought him."

Torva said, "He never took control of me."

Grandfather Abram said, "Yes he did. He actually had the ability to make any of you do whatever he wanted after Eriana's shields dropped. He made you subconsciously summon Bora and order him not to protect himself when he sensed Edur about to use the mind control on him. Ignaas or Kahli could have done the same. Kahli was letting things play out as they did so he would have a chance to get Preah'kahn. He was simply playing his part to create a foreseen Path of Time."

Aunt Larea said to Torva, "He was using a form of mind control we have been working on for years. They all three had one of our devices. I am absolutely certain at this point The High Council gave them the devices." She looked at him. "Tosch, this is to be kept a secret." She held out her left hand palm up and a white orb appeared then disappeared.

"No way! That totally sucks total mega total monkey butt! Why did you get to keep your powers?!"

Miiken looked at Grandfather Abram. "I know you still have your powers. That's the only way mother's powers could have been hidden from the sensors."

Grandfather Abram smiled at him. "We will not be keeping it a secret for very long. Everyone will know when they see me and Larea in the battle. The Resistance will nominate me and they should have me voted in as leader by the end of the day. I want to avoid complicating matters with the conspiracy theories that will run rampant. They are going to think Eriana excluded us."

Tosch said in a very worried tone, "So you and mom are fighting too. Mom you promised me you wouldn't get involved."

"I didn't expect to be put in this position. I assumed the Legion would be fighting her and they wouldn't need me."

Miiken told Tosch, "Don't be a little baby. They have to fight. That's probably the only reason Haalandor let them keep their powers."

Tosch said, "Let me join you then. I can do anything a sorcerer can do, but better."

Aunt Larea said firmly, "Out of the question."

Tosch said in a disappointed bland tone, "So you are going to let my poor little younger cousins go into battle." Dramatic effect I suppose. Torva is older than him. He is actually only two months older than me. "But you won't send your own child into battle. Lost a lot of respect mom."

"Would it help if I spanked you like a child right here in front of everyone?"

He said in the same bland tone, "Got the respect back mom."

Grandfather Abram said, "You are definitely not joining us. Once you run out of Shielding Orbs you will become a burden none of us will have time to worry about."

Mother said, "We already have enough people risking their lives."

Aunt Larea added, "We certainly do. Tosch, show Balanath how to equip the others and the dragons. I have a lot of people to say I love you to without letting them know what is going on. We must keep the fact that we still have our powers secret until the vote is in."

Grandfather Andor asked, "Why would they care? Your fighting in the battle is a step towards saving Haalandor too."

Grandfather Abram replied, "Many have gone from looking at almost a thousand years of life ahead of them, and now they only have a normal life span. If enough of them think Eriana excluded us they might not vote me in as the leader of the council. It may be a little devious, but I'm tired of dealing with a council that won't do the right thing. The only way to make sure they will is to take charge myself."

Tosch exclaimed, "Oh! I haven't had a chance to tell you yet!"

Miiken said, "Shut up. You have blabbed enough. I got this one." Miiken has a very Heady-like arrogant attitude. "By the by. After you left there was a little incident. The Valona of course didn't witness what happened while Eriana had time stopped. After they were given the facts they decided taking their White Sorcerer's magic was an attack from Zyamar. They declared war on us."

Larea's exclamation reflected grandfathers shock as well, "Are you serious! The military can't stand against them alone. Are the other kingdoms joining the battle?"

"There will be no battle. It was over before it even began. Tyke stepped in and stopped the whole thing in about five minutes."

Grandfather Abram said confused, "She did this alone?"

"Yes sir. The rest of The Nova Children were with her, but all they really did was float in the sky over the ocean with Tyke. Tyke didn't lose her powers either. It is a good thing she is on our side. She put their entire Army in shields and held them captive. She then teleported Yavonna to Toshi and Ty-zin had her look into Fate's Window. Haalandor appeared and told her it was her will and not Eriana's. It was broadcast to everyone on Haalandor. They reversed their declaration of war."

Larea asked, "What of the other Kingdoms?"

"They just listened to what grandfather said and got the gist of it. Everyone is on high alert just in case. Cyrano, Hamaun and Baleen have all sent reinforcements since The Legion has been reduced to rock throwers."

Tosch said, "They are not going to be rock throwers for long. I sent out the blueprints and ordered the factories to start full production of my gear. They will all be equipped by the end of the month. The Legion isn't dead yet."

Grandfather said, "I am glad that everything is under control. By the way Tosch. Quit breaking into the computers and pretending you are me."

"You were going to do it anyway. I just saved you the trouble. I won't do it again."

"I think I will renew all my cyber defenses anyway."

"Oh yes. That will keep me out. There is no way I will get in after that."

Larea said, "I wonder if two days of being grounded to your bed would help."

"I said I wouldn't do it again. Isn't that enough?"

Larea sighed frustrated. "Let's just go. Irena has apparently done a much better job raising her children than I. You're showing everyone that I raised a spoiled rotten little brat."

Mother smiled at her. "Do not feel alone sister. I am certain my children are not quite as fresh as you think they are." She smiled at Torva who gave her a confused look.

Torva lipped the words, "Who? Me?"

They went home to Zyamar with Grandfather Abram hiding their powers the whole time. The vote came in before midnight on Zyamar's east coast. Grandfather Abram was voted leader of The High Council almost unanimously. They were right about people being mad when they found out they still had their powers. However, most Zyamarians were not White Sorcerers and didn't care at all. To them it was all just more of the entertainment they had grown to expect from my family.

# Chapter 18 Into the Abyss

Balanath Lexington

Everyone trained hard before we faced Rajani. Irena taught Eriana how to use various kinds of white magic attacks. Veelus became everyone's favorite fencing post. Because he was a Dark Sorcerer he was the perfect person to train against. Even more so than the Aaseems minions. Heady, Tooma and Torva were fencing posts many times as well. Those with sorcerer's powers can be an army of one. Those with the Hi-chi could easily fight without the protection of a sorcerer. I felt we were prepared for almost anything.

We wanted to attack her with all our forces from two sides. We would be right behind her and they would be waiting on the mesa on the east side of the valley. Irena, Abram, Larea, Andor and I prepared to enter the abyss. I was on Veelus, Irena was riding Heady and Andor was on Tooma. Abram rode with me and Larea with Irena. They are not Dragon Riders. When the battle starts they will always stay in a shield and attack with magic. The girls and Kardauma would be waiting at Deadfire for us to chase Rajani from the abyss. None of the adults slept that night, tensions were too high. We trained. The lives of our children were at stake. As far as we were concerned they would have to take our lives first.

We had all gathered outside Tarmakk Castle. The girls were talking to Ryoma and Ryuu a short distance from us.

I asked Andor, "Do you think he returned to Partha?"

"I have no idea. Apparently he doesn't have the Communicator on anymore. He must not be planning to join us. As far as he knows we could have already faced Rajani."

Terus had destroyed his Communicator when he Teleported into space.

Irena said, "I think he knew we would battle today."

Larea added, "He is a hard read. I have never sensed powers like his."

We looked at them. They were staring up towards the top of the castle. We could see Terus slowly walking down the stairs from the overlook.

Abram said, "That is the same faint power I sensed in Merium. It was barely noticeable in her. You certainly can't miss it in him. I assume when he takes his Aaseem form it will be even stronger."

He was wearing all white clothes with no designs. They were tight like the clothes the fairies wore. He had a look of calm and confidence on his face. As it would with anyone, becoming an Aaseem definitely changed him.

When he was to us Middy flew up to him. "Nice outfit. Who's your tailor?"

"I use the same tailor as Kardauma now. I have to since real clothes will be disintegrated when I take my Aaseem form."

"Plain with no designs or character whatsoever. Definitely looks like Kardauma's kind of workmanship."

Terus smiled and touched his chest. A design spread out from where he touched it. The outfit gained the same intricate patterns and animal designs as the outfit Middy wore.

"Now that's much better. Always fashion your clothes after what I'm wearing and you can't go wrong. You will never look as good as I do, but you will at least have a little style."

Andor said, "I take it you have learned to use your powers."

"Yes. I was also able to hone my skills thanks to Artemus."

Irena asked, "Are you saying Artemus helped you?"

"Not intentionally. I got some practice controlling people's minds. He was a bit reluctant when I offered to be his ally. Then I took him outside and had one of his battalions point their weapons at him. After that he even agreed to return Merium's citizenship." He looked at Abram. "It seems you have gotten your wish. Zyamar will be allied with Partha, but Artemus is a reluctant ally. For some reason he was offended that I forced him to agree at gunpoint."

Abram said, "I hope he will change his attitude. Surely being our ally is more bearable than watching his people become slaves or die."

"Merium and I are going to bring our peoples together on a social level. My people are bored and want to see other lands. She already has treaties with three of your allies to open travel to their lands. My cousin Jamal tells me that everyone wants Zyamar included because it has some of the most beautiful lands on Haalandor. The majority of my people could care less about the war or the politics. It has never really affected their lives. Only Artemus is running around saying he wants to face Kaygun alone. Everyone else wants Zyamar's help. They are not fools."

Abram said, "We want their help as well. They are already welcome on our lands. I passed a law this morning allowing free travel between our worlds. If they come to Haalandor I will have ships at the ready to escort or take them to all the sights."

I said, "It is good to have you back. We will need all the help we can get. I want you to join Kardauma and the girls at Deadfire. We will be going into the abyss and chasing Rajani out of the volcano."

"That will work. I would feel better if the girls are with me at all times. That thing Darrius had them do sure took a longtime to accomplish. I can act a lot quicker than that. I am now The Guardian of Rule. I will be able to turn her minions into mine. If she creates an army, I will turn it against her."

The girls and Ryuu walked up with Ryoma slowly following them.

Ryuu said, "It is good to see you Terus. Is there any chance that Merium will be coming?"

"She is making up for lost time with her family right now. She will be watching us with the rest of Partha. Zyamar won't be the only ones spying on our battle this time. My people are dying to see me in a battle. I don't plan to disappoint them."

Ryoma asked, "Is Merium so convinced we will win that she feels we don't need her help?"

"She is reluctant to help us because Darrius fears it may give Rajani a stone that will allow her to win. If she feels the girls might die she will come anyway."

Andor said, "Hopefully we don't need her."

Veelus said, "I don't know about anyone else, but I am ready to get this wagon on the road."

I agreed, "I'm with Veelus. Kardauma is probably getting lonely out there waiting for us."

Irena created her Portal high above us.

Ryuu said, "Be careful son. I love you. May Tekarra guide your way to victory."

"I love you father. I love you too mother."

"I love you my son. I will not stop praying until you all are returned to me safely."

I looked at Eriana and Torva, "We will be right behind Rajani when she exits Deadfire. Stay close together and protect each other."

They both said, "Yes father."

Torva said, "We need a mount for Terus."

"Thanks for the offer, I don't need one. I will be waiting with Kardauma." In a burst of white light he Teleported there.

Irena looked at the girls and began our departure ritual. "I love you girls with all my heart."

They said at the same time, "I love you too."

Torva said, "I love you father."

Eriana added, "I love you too."

I slowly said as I tried to hide the worry in my eyes, "I love you both so much. Please be careful."

Torva said in a strong tone, "We will."

Our group left immediately because we were the start of the battle. They would be waiting on us for a while, it was a couple hundred miles from the Abyss to Deadfire. We flew through Irena's Portal and came out the other side at Kiinyde Castle. Irena wasted no time. She dove down through the clouds and we followed her. When we got to the bottom we could see large piles of ships that had fell into the abyss. Irena shielded us to protect us from the tons of water falling down from the sea. She moved us through the falling water into a massive tunnel. The walls of the tunnel were made of the same black crystal as the pedestal Kiinyde Castle sat on. She formed a large glowing white orb in front of us for light. We traveled in her shields following the raging water. After flying for quite some time we could see faint light in the distance. Irena dismissed the glowing orb. We could still faintly see by the light of her shields.

She said, "Shields coming down."

She dropped the shields and the younglings began flapping their wings to hover. Irena shot up into the air and was encased in her own shield because Heady cannot use his magic through her shield. Larea and Abram quickly stood and ran to the rear. Small Flat White Shields appeared and disappeared under their feet very quickly. After about six or seven steps they quit running and were immediately encased in their own White Shields and moved away. Veelus, Heady and Tooma created their own shields then we all moved towards the castle.

As we grew closer they slowed down to approach with caution. We entered a huge cavern that was made of the black crystal. The room was perfectly square and obviously not natural. Glowing Baka Crystals hung from the ceiling and were embedded into round motifs. They dimly lit up the entire cavern and caused the black crystal walls to sparkle.

Shyam Castle was in the center with the raging river flowing underneath it. It was made of rough stone bricks that were many different shades of black. It was similar in design to the gothic castles from Rajani's home kingdom of Tiasal. The water flowed underneath it then onward until it passed under Deadfire and fell into the depths of the planet. It had many huge pointy towers and intricate designs covering every surface. There were carvings of strange designs covering every inch of the walls and floors of the cavern as well. Hundreds of winged stone demons sat on perches all around it as if they were keeping watch. The stone demons themselves were made of gray stone. Abram was hiding us from Rajani's eyes.

As we flew near the top of the cavern Irena said loudly, "The demons are alive! Veelus prepare to lead the charge!"

We were to lead the charge because I wielded Preah'kahn. We had been told the sword would be how we chased her from the abyss. Unfortunately for us there was a very good reason we had to chase Rajani from the Abyss. She had created a God's Realm in the tunnel. She was almost omnipotent inside it. Veelus nor I even saw his shield come down.

Suddenly I was sitting at a long table inside a dining hall. There was a large spread of food from one end to the other. The dark stone of the table and chairs was similar in design to that of the outside of the castle. At the head was a beautiful woman with long dark hair and coal black eyes with no white visible. She had on a long dark cobweb looking dress. The look on her face was bland and arrogant. Irena, Larea and Abram were sitting across from me eating. Behind Rajani was a massive long fireplace. Veelus was inside with a rod going through his mouth and coming out the tip of his tail. He was slowly rotating above the fire. I could see a large chunk of one of his back legs was missing.

Irena said, "Try some Balanath. It is delicious."

Abram said, "It certainly is. It is so tender you don't even need a knife."

Larea said with a full mouth as she was eagerly eating, "Rajani, you have got to give me the recipe."

I looked down at the meat on my plate. It was raw and I could see Veelus's red skin on one edge.

Rajani said, "What is wrong Balanath. Are you not hungry? Maybe you just need some fresh air."

"Father! Father!" Eriana shouted.

I quickly stood up and faced them. I was no longer in her castle. I was in Amara Garden near Eriana's stage.

Torva said as they both kept running towards me, "Sing Picture of Innocence for us again."

Eriana added, "Please father."

They were three and four just like they were when I had first sung the song to them. I was so happy to see them. I knelt down and they stopped in front of me. I felt overwhelming joy as I looked into their happy faces.

"Of course I will. Take your seats ladies and the show will begin."

Torva said, "Wait father. Eriana has something for you first."

Eriana smiled, "This is just something for good luck."

Torva's gold dagger appeared in her right hand and she cut my throat. Shock and terror filled me as I stood, grabbed my throat and felt the blood pouring over my fingers.

Veelus Tanis

I was walking beside Bekka on the rocky banks of Lake Zaria. I could see Uulamakk Castle a mile or so in front of us.

She said with a smile, "Just say it. I love you. See, it's not very hard to do."

"If you know that I do, why do I have to say it?"

"Because I told you to say it. You do realize I will be in charge in this relationship."

"I am the prince. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Not to me it..."

A huge black tentacle wrapped around her body and pulled her into the lake. She was struggling and trying to stay above water. She was screaming for my help.

"Veelus help me! Please help me! Veelus!"

I calmly said, "Not until you stop trying to get me to say I love you."

The tentacle jerked her underneath the water and only the chirping of birds could be heard. At that moment the horror of her being killed filled my mind.

I screamed, "Bekka!"

I plunged into the water of the raging river. I saw light streak by as I went under Shyam Castle. The water was moving so fast we were miles away in mere moments. I quickly surfaced and could see Balanath nearby coughing from the water he had inhaled when he hit the river. We Ported out of the water and I formed Flat Dark Shields underneath us.

Balanath shouted, "No time to fly! Port! Port!"

He did so and I was right behind him. We Ported back towards the castle as fast as we could.

Irena Lexington

The stone demons stood up straight and fell forward stiff. When they hit the ground they became what looked like black oil gushing out of the ground. Giant black spiders with red glowing eyes began crawling out at an alarming rate. They charged towards us across the massive area in front of the castle's entrance.

I shouted, "I will clear the way for you Veelus! Everyone watch my back!"

I dropped my shield and was standing on a Flat Shield. I made a White Portal in front of me and stepped through then it disappeared. I came out in front of the charging spiders and unleashed a barrage of white orbs from both hands. They hit the spiders and they exploded into a black cloud. The very next spiders to emerge had wings like mosquitoes and they began swarming towards me. I immediately made dome shields over the exits. They became black and stopped the creatures from escaping. Heady and Tooma released Fireballs that destroyed the flying spiders that had already emerged. Abram and Larea were moving inside their shields to the other side of the castle. They were trying to find a way inside so we could attack her from more than just one side.

I created a giant battering ram made of light. It shot forward and crashed through the front doors of the castle.

I shouted, "Veelus go! We will be right behind you!" I looked back. "Where are Veelus and Balanath?!"

Heady shouted, "I don't know! I thought they were right behind us!"

We didn't have time to figure it out.

I shouted, "Follow me!"

I created a shield around myself and flew through the doors. I came into a large entrance hall that was opened up at the other end. It led to a massive room that must have took up most of the interior of the castle. The floor was opened up at most places above the river. There were many bridges that went over it. At the far end of the room was a huge throne that was much bigger but similar to Kahli's. It had skulls and snakes and spiky spires all over it. A woman with eyes and skin that was like Kahli's sat on it. She had long black hair, solid black eyes and a black dress that looked as if it was made of frayed material on the lower half and the sleeves. From that distance I could barely see the two shielded Gethin Fairies on either side of her.

Father and Larea came out of the river in front of us in the center of the room. They unleashed a barrage of light orbs at her as I did the same. She didn't raise a shield because they never got near her. They just got a certain distance from her and exploded as if they had hit something. Heady and Tooma unleashed fireballs that did the same thing. Black vines shot up and wrapped around everyone's shields. They dragged us all to the floor. We were lined up in a perfectly straight row in front of her. The moment we were on the floor small vines shot up through our shields destroying them. The vines wrapped around our wrists and the youngling's legs as a dark aura engulfed our bodies. The vines pulled us down to our knees and pinned the younglings down on their stomachs.

Father asked loudly, "Can anyone use their powers?!"

I replied, "No!"

Heady said, "I can't either!"

No one else had to say anything. We knew we were all in the same boat. Rajani got up and walked towards us.

"Welcome to my realm. I have been expecting you. You now know what it means to face a true god. This ceremony will be short. I cannot make it a prolonged affair. The Sisters of Destiny are anxiously awaiting their deaths. The only question in my mind is... who should I kill first?"

She was not really a true god, but she did appear to be almost omnipotent in the realm she had created there. The horrible thought that she had already killed Balanath and Veelus raced through my mind.

"What have you done with Veelus and Balanath?"

"By now they have fallen into the depths of the planet. Do not worry yourself about their deaths, you should be looking forward to your own. I will give you a small amount of comfort before I kill you. In The Path of Time I saw, they drown long before they fell into the lava with Preah'kahn. It angers me that their deaths had to be so painless. None of you will be so fortunate."

Veelus Tanis

We had only Ported a few times when a White Portal appeared in front of us.

Balanath shouted as he stopped and fell, "It must be Irena's Portal! Go through!"

He Ported through and I followed. We came out above the calm blue sea near Kiinyde Castle. Balanath immediately Ported to me and stood on my back as I hovered. In front of us standing in the sea was Amaha Darra and Kanyaka. They are from a mysterious society of sea dragons call Bokterans. They do not go out of their way to interact with humans or dragons. Both stood taller than a five story building. They had dark blue glossy skin, dark blue eyes and large visible gills on the sides of their heads. They had no horns and their faces were much more rounded than a normal dragon. They had four legs with large webbed feet and tails that were flat to direct and move them through the water.

Kanyaka said loudly, "Quickly Veelus! Come to father!" I flew up in front of him.

Amaha Darra said, "There is not much time. Veelus you will receive the Blessing Fate's Veil. Use it to hide your magic. I will send you as close as I can without her detecting my magic. Travel in your shield and enter the castle through the river that flows underneath."

He closed his eyes and held his massive hand in front of us. A dark light emanated from his hand and shot into my head.

"I have it. I have veiled my magic."

As Amaha Darra lowered his hand a Dark Portal appeared near us in mid-air.

Kanyaka said, "The water will carry you there faster. Emerge yourself in the waters inside your shield and let the current carry you. Quickly come out the moment you see the lights in Rajani's cavern. You will come out inside her castle."

I flew through and did as she said. As soon as I saw the light I quickly shot my shield upwards. We came out near the center of the room. Everyone was on their knees or stomachs being held to the floor by black vines. Their bodies were covered with a dark aura that was keeping them from using their powers. They all had traumatized looks on their faces because of what they were watching. Rajani was standing in front of Abram with her right hand above his head. A dark swirling mist was coming from her hand going into his head as he screamed in pain.

She stopped when she saw us and a surprised look came over her face. At that point we were not sure what to do. Preah'kahn began to glow as it leaped out of Balanath's sheath. The sword shot towards Rajani like a bolt. The roof of the castle began crashing down on us and forced my shield to the floor. White lightning surrounded my shield and ate most of the stone away freeing me from the fallen stones. A massive ball of lightning ate away most of the castle. When the lightning was gone I could see everyone encased in their own shields. Preah'kahn was stuck blade first in the stone of the floor. We saw Rajani inside a Dark Shield with the two Gethin Fairies. They were flying away towards Deadfire with Preah'kahn attacking them with white lightning. As they entered the tunnel it began to cave in and seal it behind them. Preah'kahn stopped the lightning. I dropped my shield so Balanath could quickly Port to Preah'kahn and get it. He immediately Ported back to me and I raised my shield. The falling stone Rajani caused behind her completely sealed the tunnel.

Irena shouted, "Drop your shields! I will shield everyone!"

We all did so and she raised her shields around us. We knew what was about to happen. The tunnel caved in sealing the way to Deadfire. The cavern was filled in mere seconds.

Irena shouted what we already knew, "I cannot release the shields to make a Portal! The pressure will kill us!"

We had no choice but to head back to Kiinyde Castle. Irena used her shields because she is a master at moving people in shields. I don't think she has ever moved her shields so fast. It still would not be fast enough. Our Communicator signals could not get through so much earth. It took us a while to get out. It seemed like it took forever. I felt so helpless knowing they would battle without us. We finally came out by Kiinyde. The abyss had filled and only the top of the pedestal remained above the water.

The moment we were above the water Irena said loudly, "All channels! We were trapped in the abyss! We are heading to Deadfire now!"

Mother shouted, "Irena! Make your Portal behind the mesa on its east side! I must join you!"

Torva came over Irena's Communicator and almost gave us all a heart attack. I had never heard fear in her voice before that day.

"Mother! Save us!"

Terus Corvello

We were starting to get a little nervous waiting. We were on the western edge of a large mesa in the harsh Aden desert. The land was almost barren except for cactus and a few other plants that could grow in that arid environment. The mesa was at one end of a large valley and Deadfire at the other end. The mostly brownish stone mountain ranges to the north and south had very little vegetation like the rest of the land. Kardauma had gone into Deadfire. It was all hollow volcano down to the huge tunnel with raging water flowing through it.

We were talking to keep our minds off of how long it was taking. I told them of my experience in Sahjon, the capital city of Partha. They told me Genoa was remarkably similar. It seemed we had a long time to discuss things. We didn't realize they would end up having to travel back to Kiinyde Castle before coming to our aid.

Suddenly the ground began to shake beneath our feet. Rajani flew out of the volcano as it erupted. She was in the form of the black dragon with a spiky body and large fangs. She hovered in front of the volcano as it shot ash and giant balls of lava into the air. She was expecting a battle and looked across the valley at us. From that distance we couldn't see the tiny shields the two Gethin Fairies were in.

Eriana created Flat Shields for steps and ran up them onto Certi's back. As she got on her saddle and strapped in Middy joined her. Her shield went up then disappeared from the Enchantment. Torva had already Ported to Hyla's back and hooked up her retractable rope. She raised her Dark Shield and Middy Enchanted it as well.

Torva asked in a worried tone, "Where are mother and father? All channels. Mother, father, where are you?"

Ryoma said, "Why are you asking that? Is Rajani there?"

"She is here but they are not."

"Keep your channel open so I know what is going on. Be careful."

Eriana said, "They are alive. Avangar said they had to go back to Kiinyde. They will be here when they get out of the tunnel."

The time to worry about them was over. As the giant balls of lava hit the ground they turned into fire warriors around fifteen feet tall. Their bodies were covered from head to toe with red hot armor. They had no swords. Instead they had gauntlets on each arm. There was one huge spike that started at the back of the gauntlet and went forward. The spike was round, sharp and extended out so far that it looked like they were holding spears. Hundreds of them formed as the balls of lava continuously shot into the air and hit the ground. They charged across the valley towards us.

Kardauma looked at the girls. "Wait here and let the battle come to you. Hopefully they will be here soon."

I took my Aaseem form. My clothes, hair and entire body slowly changed white and I gave off a slight glow.

I told the girls, "Don't worry, we can handle these. Kardauma, get the ones on the outside I miss. I will take control of those in the center."

I disappeared in a burst of light and Teleported myself to a position in front of the charging warriors. At that point they numbered in the thousands. I slowly walked towards them and formed two long whips made of light in both hands. The whips became very long as I walked forward dragging them behind me. I swung both whips above my head in a circular pattern. This created a huge whirlpool of light above my head. I slung the whips towards them and unleashed a wave of light directly in front of me. The wave traveled all the way to the volcano. Every fire warrior it hit was immediately turned in to my light minions. They kept the same form but were turned into glowing white warriors. They spread out in both directions attacking those that had not been transformed. They were not invincible. One of Rajani's Gethin Fairies saw this and Enchanted her minion's spears with the power of darkness. Their red spears were cover by a dark aura. If the fire warriors could hit my warriors with their Erebus Enchanted spears they would disappear in a flash of light. If mine struck the fire warriors with their Inaara spears, they would be transformed into one of my minions. Kardauma was spinning and slicing through them on the outer edge of the battle on the north. He went back and forth from north to south destroying those closest to the girls first. Soon I controlled most of the warriors on the battlefield.

Torva Lexington

Soon after they left a massive ball of lava hit at the opposite end of the mesa. It formed into a large fire warrior around three stories tall. He looked like the ones they were battling in the valley. He was so big that the huge spikes that came from his gauntlets were as long as a house is tall. He rushed towards us. Hyla and Certi turned and faced him.

I said, "Hold fast. I can handle this one. Earth!"

I held my hands flat palms up. I kept my fingers together and alternated raising and lowering the tips of my fingers. Each time I did this a large spiky rock formation burst from the ground under the giant fire warrior. He was incredibly agile for his size. He seemed to hear them coming from the ground, dodged them each time and continued his charge. Hyla began roaring at him and a great wind hit him stirring up a dust storm. The wind was so powerful that he could barely move forward. I attacked again and the spike split him in half. As the two halves of his body fell apart we could see that the armor was filled with lava. Some of it poured out as the lava and the armor rapidly cooled.

We flew up into the air to see what was happening. Terus's minions were attacking and the lava balls seemed to be coming with no end in sight. I had Hyla face Eriana and Certi. Certi saw this and faced us.

I yelled, "Crimson Warriors! Show no mercy! Lose no friends!"

They all immediately yelled, "Show no mercy! Lose no friends!"

Eriana had a determined look in her eyes. After the battle with Kahli she took our battle cry very seriously. She told mother that she would kill them if someone tried to take the life of someone she loved again. Rajani was definitely trying to take our lives. She didn't wait for me. Certi immediately dove down and headed towards the battle. As I followed her Eriana had Certi swoop up and hover. We did the same close by.

Eriana raised her hands up in front of her and repeatedly acted as if she was swatting at a fly in front of her face. When she quickly moved her right hand to the left, a huge white orb appeared by Rajani, shot into her shield and exploded. When she moved her left hand to the right the same thing happened on the other side of her shield. Certi was roaring at her making spears appear around her shield and shoot into it. They exploded too and their attacks were lighting up the land.

As they were doing this Hyla and I shouted at the same time, "Ice!"

It was a joint attack meant to seal the volcano. The entire thing was covered with a cap of thick ice from top to bottom. We could hear the ground rumbling as it shook.

Hyla said, "All channels. Be prepared for an explosion. Deadfire is about to explode."

Darkness fell upon the land as the volcano exploded shooting lava, stones and ice in every direction. Large and small pieces of stone were raining down on everything. As they hit Terus's warriors they exploded and turned them into solid stone. One landed on Kardauma and exploded. It turned him into stone. Another exploded on Terus and he too was turned into stone. We saw huge ones continually raining down on Eriana's shield.

Eriana shouted, "Torva quit attacking us! I can't hold my shield much longer!"

"I'm not doing it!"

We could see two last molten stones hit her shield. Her shield dropped and the last one exploded above them covering them in a cloud of dust and debris. Before the cloud faded we saw Eriana, Certi and Middy falling towards the ground. They had all been turned into solid stone and they shattered like glass when they hit the ground.

I lost my mind. "Eriana!" I was hyperventilating. "What the hell was that!"

"Torva calm down! Look at the sky! That wasn't real."

I looked up. There was no sky. Only a dark swirling mist that made the sky strangely out of focus. That's why the land had suddenly grown dark.

"Is she controlling our minds? Why aren't Tosch's dampers working?"

"Look at Rajani and the Mountains." Rajani and the mountains were strangely out of focus. "She is not controlling our minds, that was an illusion. This must be an artificial dimension."

"Is she just trying to trap us? Why isn't she attacking?"

I just had to ask. Huge black vines wrapped around my shield and began dragging us to the ground.

"I can't hold it!"

"Get ready to run!"

She looked down and shot her fire breath through the shield. It burned the vines enough for me to break free. I move the shield quickly across the land as vines repeatedly shot up trying to grab us.

"Arthos! Bora! Grannus! Where are you!"

Ice covered all the vines and they were frozen inside a thick layer of ice. Molten balls of lava rained down from above and when they hit the forest of vines they exploded. As this was happening a rectangular area of the ground flipped over at the edge of the blurry area near Rajani. It stretched from one blurry mountain range to the other. There was a perfect brown polished marble slab underneath it. More flipped over in front of that one at an incredibly fast rate coming towards us. We didn't see the ones coming from behind us. They all met in the middle creating a solid brown marble floor across the valley. Arthos had created a shield to block the vines.

A massive white mist came from nowhere in front of us and Bora appeared in his solid ice form. Smaller red and brown mists formed into Grannus and Arthos between us and the blurry Rajani.

Then the most horrible of sounds filled the air. Black Cirrus looking mist was forming everywhere in the sky. It turned into black banshees with red eyes. Their hair was shaggy and long. They had only two arms but just like Edur's banshees, their clawed hands looked too big for their bodies. They had on long stringy cobweb looking dresses that trailed behind them over twice as long as they were tall. They weaved through the sky towards the Aaseems like it was impossible for them to move in a straight line. Their speed made up for that lack of direction. They were ignoring us and heading for the Aaseems. They began turning into black spears and shooting into them. They shot into their bodies making all three look like giant pin cushions. I don't think it hurt Bora much because he is so big. Arthos and Grannus were pinned to the ground. A massive blizzard formed everywhere and we were blinded.

"Damn it Bora! I can't help you if I can't see you!"

Six-armed ice banshees like the one's Edur created came from the blizzard and surrounded us. They started using each hand to draw pentagrams of light on my Dark Shield. Hyla hit the one's in front of her and below her with her fire breath and they exploded. I shot fireballs at those around us and they exploded as well from that attack. Hyla had to keep turning back and forth to get those below with her fire breath as I shot the ones above.

Hyla said, "I have a feeling if they finish drawing that pentagram it will destroy the shield."

"I have that same feeling. Let's burn these bitches to the ground! Fire!"

Hyla shouted, "Wind!"

I created a massive wall of fire behind us. I was putting everything into it and maintaining a deadly heat. Hyla's wind blew it across the land destroying all the banshees. There was nothing but fire all around us from one end of the valley to the other. We stopped our attack and saw that the land was clear and Arthos's floor was gone. We could see the shells of him and Grannus pinned to the ground by the black spears. In between them and us was a massive pile of the black spears and a small steaming lake of water.

I said, "Holy shit we killed Bora."

"That's not good. He was the only one we had left."

Suddenly there was a blinding flash of white light and I had to cover my eyes. We could once again see the light of day. We were no longer in the artificial dimension. We were back in the real world.

Eriana Lexington

As we attacked Rajani's shield Torva and Hyla shouted, "Ice!"

Deadfire was covered with ice like a snow capped mountain. A loud rumbling sound could be heard.

Hyla said, "All channels. Be prepared for an explosion. Deadfire is about to explode."

Before it did the sky became dark.

Middy shouted, "Where did everyone go!"

We were the only ones left on the battlefield. Rajani was still by the volcano but she was blurry as if we were looking at heat rising off a desert road. This blurry wall surrounded the entire valley.

Certi said, "It's like we are inside a blurry box. All channels. Can anyone hear me?"

I said, "All channels. Do you hear me?" There was no reply. "Communicator. Status."

We could hear a digital voice beside me, "Functioning normally."

Certi said, "Communicator. Damper status."

"Dampers are inactive."

Middy said, "She can't control my mind. I'm seeing a blurry box too. Are you seeing the freaky black sky?"

Certi looked up. "Yes. So it's definitely not mind control."

Middy's extra-large Summoning Portal appeared about a city block to the north.

I said, "Middy please tell me you just created that."

"It was me. I just wanted to see if I could do it."

Certi said, "Wait just a minute. Doesn't that sky feel familiar."

Middy exclaimed, "Yes it does! It feels like the outskirts of Acedia and Vaalstrom's realm. She has us in a different dimension."

I said, "What is she waiting for?"

Middy replied, "I have no idea. But she needs to attack. I don't know what to call if she doesn't give me something to fight."

We all looked towards Middy's Portal. A massive dark hand crushed it. Light shot out from between the fingers. At that moment another giant hand grabbed my shield. Certi turned around. It was a huge shadow warrior that was in the form of a Ceran. More specifically, it was in the form of Shy Boy. He smiled at us then looked down shyly like he always does. We could see him through his fingers as he looked up smiling again.

I said, "He's trying to crush my shield!"

Certi said, "Joint light attack!"

I screamed, "No! Don't attack him! I'm sensing that it really is Shy Boy."

Certi said, "Are you serious? I'm sensing the same thing."

Middy said, "It can't really be Shy Boy. How could it be? Attack him or I will."

I shouted, "Shy Boy stop! You're going to destroy my shield!"

Middy said, "It can't be Shy Boy. I'm not going to let him kill us."

Her large Portal appeared behind him. A huge black blob poured out of it onto the ground and formed into another Shy Boy. It grabbed Shy Boy around his neck with both hands and started choking him. He let go of the shield, he didn't fight back. He just reached for me with scared desperate eyes like he wanted my help.

I said, "Middy please don't kill him! I think it really is Shy Boy."

"Don't be stupid Eriana. It can't be him. We are in a different dimension."

He reached for me and I could feel him dying as he gasped for air. I was seriously being traumatized by this. Every ounce of my being was saying it really was Shy Boy. Then another dark hand grabbed my shield. It was a massive Sweetie. She smiled at me and started trying to crush my shield.

Certi shouted, "Middy! Call another one of those things!"

"I can't! That's the only Mocker in Acedia."

"Then call something else!"

I said, "Middy don't. It really is Sweetie and Shy Boy. I know it is."

Certi said, "Rajani is just messing with our heads. We have to attack."

"Let me try to get away from her."

I called on all my power. My shield quickly moved away from her but she held on. Her arm stretched with me then we came to a sudden stop. We had hit the blurry outer edge of the dimension opposite of Rajani. She was still hanging on and trying to crush my shield.

Middy said, "That's it! I've been kicking people's asses my whole life for calling me a bug. I'm not about to go out getting squished like one."

A giant Mikania Snow Hawk flew out of her Portal. It became a beam of light and shot through Sweetie. It came out the other side then became a hawk again. It swooped around facing her once more, turned into a beam of light and shot through her again. It repeatedly did this as she let go of my shield and jerked from the pain.

I said desperately, "Avangar, please tell me that's not the real Sweetie."

Certi asked, "What did she say?"

"I can't hear her voice in this dimension. I was just talking to myself."

Middy asked, "What in Fate and Tekarra's creations is that. It looks like a sleeping baby dragon."

It was a white curled up baby dragon sleeping in the sky between Shy Boy and Sweetie.

I said, "Rajani must be messing with my mind. I'm sensing that's Ryoma's baby out there."

Certi said, "Me too. She is squirming around. She must be waking up."

A white light emanated from her and burst out in all directions. We had to cover our eyes it was so bright. I was still seeing red dots everywhere as I looked around. We were no longer in Rajani's artificial dimension. Ryoma's baby had destroyed both of the artificial dimensions when she saved Sweetie and Shy Boy. We were at the far end of the valley east of the mesa. Torva and Hyla were in front of the mesa facing Rajani. They didn't even notice him because they were facing the wrong way. There was no way we could miss him. Terus was on his back below us as tall as a mountain. He was being held down and choked to death by huge black vines.

Terus Corvello

At the moment the volcano exploded and quit erupting I sensed it. I looked back and was right. Torva's and Eriana's teams had both disappeared. I wasn't sure what happened. If it wasn't for my lack of emotion I would have been pissed. Despite that, it still made me want to kick her ass. The thousands of light warriors I controlled turned into beams of light and shot into Rajani's shield. It dropped and I slung both whips at her and they wrapped around her neck. She roared in pain as I tightened it around her throat. Black vines came from the ground and wrapped around my arms, legs and neck. My whips disappeared and her shield went back up. The vines tried to rip me apart, but I'm stronger than they were in that form. Black streaks went back and forth as Kardauma sliced through them with a large sword. He stood near me and I raised my shield around me. It is stronger than a White Shield and looks like clear glass.

I asked, "Did you see what happened to the girls?"

"No. All we can do is keep up the attack and hope for the best. Hopefully the others will get here soon."

"Look at her. She looks like she is asleep. I assume those fairies are reinforcing the shield."

The two fairies were on opposite sides of her shield. They were holding both hands out towards Rajani's shield. A black mist was coming from their hands. It was swirling around their shields and swirling completely around Rajani's shield as well.

Kardauma said, "She looks like she is in a trance. Normally a sorcerer doesn't give you time to have a conversation. What is she waiting for?"

A sinister sounding voice could be heard all around us. "She is probably busy at the moment."

A huge cloud of dust filled the air and blew away to the north as Netherlorde slid to a stop beside us and roared at Rajani. Merium was in the form of Dion standing on her back. In that form she has short black hair, solid black eyes and unworldly dark skin like Kardauma. She wore a thin suit of black armor. It was just pants, shoulder pads and a sleeveless armored top with a hole in the middle revealing her stomach. When she speaks her voice is all around her like there are sound transmitters everywhere. She had projected her voice to us earlier. She spoke normally and her voice was still all around us as she stood on Netherlorde's back.

I said, "Good to have you in the fight."

"I did not come to fight. I came to die."

"Can you tell me something before you commit suicide. Do you know where the girls are?"

"They are still here in artificial dimensions. Right now Rajani is concentrating on two other battles. The Sisters of Destiny have been split up and might be killed. That is why I am here. You will not be able to harm them while the fairies are creating the dimensional field. Concentrate on attacking the female fairy and Rajani. I will only be able to kill the male fairy. That will be enough to destroy the dimensional barrier they are creating."

She reached down and touched Netherlorde's back. She must be physically touching her skin. They both disappeared in a cloud of Cirrus.

I said to Kardauma, "Be ready for anything my friend. I haven't tried this before. All right Miss Rajani. Let's dance."

My shield disappeared and I began growing bigger and bigger until Rajani's shield was at waist level. I looked up and saw Dion lying on Netherlorde's back as she dived towards the male. Her back and head were flat as she dived so Dion could see.

I said, "Let's see if I can time this just right."

I started running towards them. When Netherlorde was almost to the male fairy she disappeared in a cloud of Cirrus. Dion grabbed her knees and balled up. The moment she hit his shield she exploded. She destroyed the fairy, the shield and what was left of Deadfire. The blast hit me too but didn't slow me down. After the male fairy was destroyed the dimensional field faded away and the female fairy seemed surprised. Her eyes got wider when she saw me. I kicked her shield so hard she went flying over the horizon. I dropped to my knees and started using the Toshi Monk style of fighting against Rajani's shield. I was repeatedly punching her shield making it vibrate. Her eyes opened but she didn't look at me. She was looking up to the right in a daze. She was still concentrating on her battles with Torva and Eriana's teams. Huge black vines came from behind me and wrapped around my neck. They dragged me on my back away from Rajani at a very fast speed. I grabbed them trying to take control of them, but I couldn't. The vines stopped pulling me away once they had me at the east end of the mesa. Many more wrapped around me like a coffin. Only my head was exposed. I didn't know it but Kardauma was attacking the vines the entire time. At that point I could see him attacking those around my neck because they were choking me to death. The vines around my neck tightened so much they decapitated me. It killed me and I instantly reformed from my Jeevatma inside our sun. I Teleported back towards Avangar at the speed of light. Even at that speed it would still take me eight minutes to get back to the battle.

Eriana Lexington

Kardauma was attacking the vines around Terus's neck. They decapitated him and Terus exploded in a flash of light that destroyed the vines. Kardauma had to retreat to the safety of the Nether Point. Torva and Hyla's shield disappeared because Middy Enchanted it. Hyla began flying towards us because she looked in our direction when she saw the flash of light. Kardauma appeared on top of my shield. You could see my shield under his feet and knee where he was kneeling down touching it.

He looked down at me. "I can't do any damage to those vines. Be ready for them to attack you. Try to call the others."

I said, "All channels. Mother, where are you? Terus just got killed."

Ryoma asked, 'What is going on? I lost my connection with you."

Hyla said, "You lost it because we were in another dimension. We are with Eriana's team now, east of the mesa."

Torva asked, "Ryoma, have you heard anything from mother?"

"Not yet. They must still be in the abyss."

Torva asked me, "Are you all right?"

"We are fine. We just got out of an artificial dimension too."

Middy said, "Uh, ladies. Rajani is developing a serious weight problem over there."

Certi said, "I wish they were here. This isn't going to be good."

Ryoma said, "What's wrong!"

Hyla replied, "Rajani just got as tall as a mountain."

Middy said, "No worries Miss Ryoma, the crystals are glowing red. It's time for me to kick some ass Paw-paw style."

Kardauma entered The Nether Point to avoid the attack.

The Great Middiana Barthallion

What would they have done without me? Probably gotten themselves killed. Fortunately for them I was gracing them with my humble magnificent presence. Once again it was time for me to wield Paw-paw's powers and save the day.

The giant dragon Rajani roared at us. Thousands of black dragons began flying out of her mouth towards us. They were no larger than the younglings and seemed to be smaller versions of Rajani's dragon form. She was scared to death of me so she wasn't holding back. Her attack was meant to kill us all.

Hyla and Certi faced each other in the sky. A Geodesic Shield formed around us as I called on Paw-paw's power. The black dragons swarmed on us attacking our shield. They attacked with what looked like black tornadoes coming from their mouths as they swooped by. Some of them landed on our massive shield trying to tear their way through it. I formed the sphere of light between them and they put their powers into it.

I once asked Eriana why she chooses the wimpy animals that she does. Her reply was that she knows they will bring death. In her heart she wants nothing to do with death. So she chooses the most timid and beautiful of animals. I'm timid and beautiful too. That doesn't mean I'm not a bad ass.

Far below us on the valley floor a huge white glowing symbol formed on the ground. It was round and had many intricate designs inside of it. Slowly a large swan made of light rose from the center of the symbol. It took a few steps forward and the symbol rippled from its steps as if it were made of water. The black dragons dove down towards the swan but crashed into a huge Enchanted dome shield. They exploded in Dark Energy when they hit it. The swan looked upwards and began to flap its wings rapidly as it stood on the symbol. It looked as if the wind from its wings was stirring up a flurry of snow made of light. The snow drifted forward. The swan, the symbol and the snow disappeared.

At that moment the snow made of light reappeared around us and filled the sky over the valley. It slowly drifted down upon everything. As it touched Rajani's dragons they screamed in pain. Where each snowflake touched them the light spread out like fire burning through the center of a piece of paper. The light consumed their bodies and in mere moments all her minions were destroyed. I guess we were at least not in deadly danger after I killed her dragons because the Geodesic Shield disappeared. I flew over to Eriana then they raised their shields and I Enchanted them.

"Damn it Paw-paw! I still need your powers! Our lives are still in danger!"

Torva asked, "Why did she do that?"

I turned to see that Rajani was back near the volcano inside a massive Dark Shield. It was covered with huge black thorny vines coming from the ground. They covered it almost completely and you could barely see her inside. There was a flash of dark light in the center of the valley.

Torva asked, "What was that?"

Eriana replied, "The female Gethin Fairy."

Certi said, "Oh my goodness. She just killed herself."

She seemed to have turned into a small dull black ball that was sucking up dirt and everything else around her. If we had been close enough we would have seen her drop to her knees and commit suicide by stabbing herself in the stomach with a dagger.

Kardauma was standing on the ground below us. He looked like a streak of black light as he was sucked into the quickly forming micro-blackhole. Everyone's shields appeared around them as we tried to battle the force from sucking us in. The force was slowly sucking Eriana's shield that way. Torva was having a hard time. Her shield was getting sucked that way much faster.

Torva yelled, "Ryoma! They created a blackhole west of the mesa! Its sucking us in!"

She yelled back, "All channels! Abram! Larea! Irena! Where are you!" There was no answer.

Hyla yelled, "Eriana! Can you help us!"

"I don't know what to do! All I can do is try to hold my shield back!"

Hyla tried to put massive walls of stone in between them and the blackhole. Each time they came from the ground they crumbled apart and where sucked into it. I knew Paw-paw should have just let me keep his powers. He can be so stupid sometimes.

Then Irena shouted, "All channels! We were trapped in the abyss! We are heading to Deadfire now."

Mother shouted, "Irena! Make your Portal behind the mesa on its east side! I must join you!"

Torva was not quite being her normally brave self. The closer they got to it the faster it was pulling them in.

She screamed, "Mother! Save us!"

I was a little worried about all of us. Ours was moving slower than Torva's shield but we were still headed that way at an increasingly faster rate of speed. I didn't quite share Torva's optimistic hopes that Irena could save us. How was she going to stop a blackhole?

Irena Lexington

I made my Portal near the ground behind the Mesa. I knew she was creating a Micro-blackhole. We could see the earth and debris being sucked that way on both sides of the mesa. If it reached critical mass it would suck in the mesa and us too.

When we were on the ground ready I shouted, "Ryoma! Now!"

We must have our Fourth to call on The Cardinal Magic of a Circle of Four. We must face each other with one person facing north, one south, one east and one west. She slowly came through my Portal. We were right in front of it ready so all she had to do was walk through and stop. She came out facing west. Before she was completely through the Portal she roared and raised her head up at the same time. A large round pattern made of light appeared on the ground under us. We have four options with this ability and all will leave us completely weakened from the attack. We needed Ryoma's spell.

She shouted, "Tekarra's Dream!"

The symbol between us disappeared. Ryoma immediately turned and went back through the Portal then I dismissed it. There was no need for her to continue risking her or the baby's life.

The symbol under us disappeared. As that happened a much larger image of it appeared in the sky above the blackhole. It turned into a white beam that shot down and surrounded the blackhole with what looks like a cocoon made of white lightning. As soon as it appeared around it the forced stopped and everyone was back in control of their shields. We mounted up and went to join the others. All we could see once we were above the mesa was the lightning shield around the blackhole. It would reach critical mass and become a true microscopic blackhole for a split second then disappear. The shield held until then and disappeared. After it disappeared Kardauma fell into the massive pit created in the form of a Nether Wolf. Cirrus shot out from his body in all directions and formed into Nether Wolves all around him. In moments over three hundred of his people were scattered around the pit in their beast form. Rajani was no longer covered with vines. She stood on the ground in her massive dragon form unshielded. There was a flash of light behind Andor on Heady. It was Terus in his Aaseem form.

"Sorry it took me so long. I came back as fast as I could. The whole damn crew is here now. I think it's time to take her down."

Eriana said, "We have already taken her down. She is weak enough from using that attack." She looked down with almost sad eyes as she spoke to herself. "Haalandor... I call on your power. Come to me... Tetra's Memory."

She disappeared in a flash of light like Teleport magic.

Eriana Lexington

The little piece of Haalandor's soul that was left behind in me was a Sacred Blessing called Tetra's Memory. At that moment I possessed almost as much power as I did at the stadium. I once again felt as if I had become one with Haalandor. I changed from energy to a solid form. I reappeared in front of Rajani in the form of Tetra. The Inaara was so strong in me that I was glowing. Rajani roared at me and a funnel of dark magic engulfed me. It felt like a warm breeze. I flapped my wings and roared back at her with all my being. White thorny vines appeared around her and pinned her to the ground as I continued roaring at her. She screamed in pain as a dark light came from her body and shot up into the sky as if it were being sucked out of her. The same thing happened to me except it was white light. As the last of Haalandor's Inaara and Erebus was taken from us Rajani disappeared. I was back in my true form falling from the sky. I quickly formed a shield around me and joined the others on the edge of the giant pit created by the black hole. Kardauma's people were all around us.

My shield disappeared. "It is done. Haalandor's Erebus and her Inaara have returned to her. She is whole again." Everyone cheered.

Veelus said, "Mother did you hear?"

"Yes my son. I will inform everyone."

Certi said to me, "This is so wonderful, you can become Tetra."

I smiled at her, "Not anymore. Tetra's Memory went back to Haalandor."

All the Vrah had Kardauma's otherworldly look and the same cobalt blue glowing eyes. Only their size, faces and hair were not the same. One of the females was holding Kardauma's hand, she kissed him. He looked at her with a happy look on his face then they embraced.

She turned towards us. "My name is Duvessa. We would all like to thank you for helping Kardauma break our curse."

Middy said, "Your welcome. I was happy to do it." We all laughed a bit. "What are you laughing at?"

Kardauma said, "You have my most heartfelt gratitude Miss Middy." She smiled at him. "We would also like to thank the rest of you. Thank you all so much."

Father said, "You are very welcome. Thank you as well my friend."

Mother said, "Let's go home. I think we could all use some rest."

Father said, "We can rest later. As for now, it's time to celebrate."

Terus took his human form. "Now you're speaking my language."

Larea said, "I will go get my family right now."

Grandfather Andor said, "Kardauma, your people are more than welcome to join us."

"We will join you later tonight my friends. I want to get reacquainted with my people. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Grandfather Abram said, "I will join you tonight as well. I have a lot of business to take care of."

Father said, "If you can't join us tonight, don't worry about it. I plan to have a week-long celebration so all of Tiamat and Galdaya can join us."

Terus said, "Now you are definitely speaking my language. A weeklong victory celebration sounds like a hell of a plan. I rarely have a good reason to go on a drinking binge."

Larea created a Portal and Grandfather followed her through. Mother created a large Portal to Tarmakk Castle and we went home to celebrate our victory.

# Chapter 19 Far from Home

Kardauma

The joy I felt seeing my people again was overwhelming. I informed them of all that had happened. They were proud of me and of course overjoyed to be free. As far as we knew, the curse they had lived through had never happened to a Vrah before. What we had learned would have been welcomed information to the other Vrah at The Gathering. None were thrilled by the fact that we had missed it. They decided to travel to The Gathering Point in hopes that some may have stayed in the area and waited on us. They would only stay long enough to take part in the celebration to thank all that helped free them.

I was one of The Chosen Eight. My destiny there wasn't yet fulfilled so I planned to stay. Duvessa would stay as well, we never go separate ways. After I talked to my people for a few hours Duvessa and I were finally able to be alone. We traveled far away to Heaven Lily Isle. We stood in the bed of Heaven Lilies and she reached down and picked one for me.

She handed it to me with a smile. "This my love is your reward for all your bravery."

I took the flower from her. I smelled it and smiled at her. I released Cirrus from my hand and engulfed the flower turning it into Cirrus. I touched the now black flower to my chest and absorbed it into me.

"Thank you my love. I will cherish it always." I looked lovingly into her eyes. "My heart wept each day you were not by my side. Now it screams with joy."

She smiled at me and gave me a long passionate kiss. After our kiss we changed to Cirrus and spiraled around each other until we were almost to the upper atmosphere. We reformed and kissed as we fell towards the planet. She playfully turned to Cirrus and made me chase her. My reward for catching her was a blissful embrace and a kiss.

I finally had my love with me once more. My joy was so great I feared I might disappear from the universe. Even though there were many dangers ahead, I was once again together with my true love. Duvessa... my heart... my soul... my forever.

Terus Corvello

The Third Epochon was a time when the gods walked side by side with the mortals. All the Aaseem were eventually given the ability to take human form. They were given free will and were no longer bound to their mother's planet. This would bring Irena and her family immense joy in time. Althea would no longer be bound to her light form. She would be able to take her human form and join her family once again. Unfortunately, it would be awhile before she could do this. The Aaseem from Avangar were able to take human form soon after Rajani was defeated. They would soon take human wives and live among the mortals. As an Aaseem I was given Sacred Knowledge. I understood that Fate and Tekarra had done this because it would create a new form of sorcerer in the universe. More importantly the Aaseem would have mortal children and family members. They knew they would fight harder for the ones they loved.

On Mastadonia the end of the world cults had emerged from hiding and were unified in a way not seen before. Kye and Andor would soon concentrate all of their energy into ending their terror and The Endless Wars. They both agreed it was time to stop the wars whether the people wanted to or not. The wars were no longer needed. The warriors sought The Perfect Death, Kaygun would give many what they longed for.

That night was the start of the week-long celebration at Mazz's estate. Her estate had been the destination of visitors for many years before the interaction ban. She could house over two thousand Earthlores and ten thousand humans on her resort like lands. Haalandorians and Parthanians from all the allied kingdoms would once again be able to take advantage of her hospitality. At a price of course, she is a business woman, or business dragon, however you want to look at it. Tourism once again became a past time that was profitable and beneficial to all, even Partha. Many silver heads would soon be seen all over both planets.

Irena traveled to Haalandor to visit her family before attending the celebration. Abram became embroiled in political matters and couldn't attend at all. Everyone from both kingdoms seemed to turn out for the celebration for at least one day. The dragon younglings swarmed through the skies. They gave those brave enough rides they would never forget. The Earthlores walked around trying not to step on people. There were free drinks. So Bekka and Steen's father Gora joined the festivities of course. He got so drunk that twice during the week he slapped his wife. Both times she kicked his ass. Theirs is a strange love indeed. Bekka and Steen would probably be two slightly warped and definitely different dragons if they had been raised by their parents. As it were, they were raised by Kye and Siius. Which has made them great warriors and wonderfully kind younglings. Veelus and Bekka's love would grow stronger. It looked like Bekka would someday be the queen of Tiamat.

Everyday a feast was prepared and all left wanting to loosen their belts. Kardauma's people eventually joined us and walked among the crowd enjoying the festivities and their freedom. On the last day of the celebration Balanath stood by me and Merium saying farewell outside Tarmakk.

I told Balanath as I handed him a small Parthanian communication device, "Farewell my friend. If you need me, know I'm always one Terus get your ass here right now away."

Balanath said, "You don't have to wait until I call. You're always welcome in our homes."

I smiled and nodded at him. I turned and followed Merium through a Portal. I didn't truly know what to expect. I basically held Artemus at gunpoint and forced him to become my ally and the Zyamarian's ally. I had a strange feeling we wouldn't be having many family meals together. I didn't care what his intentions were. I was coming home to my long-lost people and I planned to have a celebration of my own. Unless Artemus was hosting an affair that included women, wine and dancing, he wouldn't be seeing much of me.

Eriana Lexington

I lost many friends in the battle with Kahli. Dragons I had known my entire life. We had played together... laughed together... and in hard times... we cried together. It would be many days before we finally held a memorial for the fallen younglings. On that day I once again cried with the dragons. Ryoma gave a long eulogy for those lost. It revealed to us how much she loved all the younglings. She was the resident babysitter for the entire kingdom. She watched at least ten different younglings every normal day. She wanted all the younglings to feel at home in Tarmakk Castle. So there wasn't one that she didn't know personally and have a little story about. The stories celebrated the good each one had shown her over the years.

Girona and Terk were the two younglings I knew best. I have never been as traumatized as I was when I saw their lifeless bodies on the sea floor. Together in death as they were in almost every day of their short wonderful lives. They were twins that had idolized Steen and Bekka for as long as I could remember. Ryoma told of a day when they were young and she was babysitting them.

"I'll speak now of the twins Girona and Terk Manna. Two wonderful little green dragons with hearts of gold. I remember watching them alone when they were only three years old because Marta had business to attend to. I was retrieving something from my bedroom when I was called away for business myself. I told them to wait in the hall by my door and I would be right back. My painting studio was across the hall. Terk looked at me with those big blue eyes and asked excitedly. May we look at the paintings in your studio? I said, certainly dear but make sure you don't touch them. Some are still wet. Girona told me, I will not let him touch your paintings, I promise. I created the Portal and left them alone for about fifteen minutes. I of course had forgotten to mention they were not to touch my paints either. When I returned they had used my blue paints to paint their faces. I couldn't possibly be upset as I eaves dropped on their conversation. They were planning to pretend they were Bekka and Steen.

Girona said, "I get to be Bekka because I'm a girl."

Terk said, "I get to be Bekka because she is my girlfriend."

Something I know would have surprised Bekka. She smiled and looked down as a solemn look and tears filled eyes replaced the smile. "I don't think any of us will forget the two weeks they flew around Caldarra City with blue faces. I don't think any of us will forget their smiles... those eyes so eager to learn... to love... to live. There are now two empty places in my heart that once were filled with their voices, their laughter and their smiles. They will forever be a part of me. They will forever be a part of us. They will live forever in Nuvii... they will live forever in our hearts."

It was a wonderful story to celebrate their lives. Steen and Bekka were turned into crying slobbering wrecks by her story. Ryoma made us feel closer to those we didn't know well, and she broke our hearts when she spoke of those we did. In those moments she made us realize how important every life is.

Avangar had done all she could to help us. Father and Veelus thought that Rajani had given them the nightmares when they fell into the river. That was not true. Avangar gave them the nightmares. We have all had nightmares in which we awaken when something terrible happens. That is what she had done. She looked into their hearts and found things that would give them nightmare shock. If she had not given them the nightmares and woke them they would have drown. The nightmare was far too real for them both. Veelus told Bekka they were never going to take a walk around Lake Zaria. When father first entered our room in Eeden Castle he grabbed Torva's solid gold dagger off her weapons rack. He called on the Hi-Chi, crushed it into a ball and threw it into our trash incinerator.

We also found out I was not wrong about Shy Boy and Sweetie. It really was them. Rajani had used a form of The Dark Arts to create the artificial dimensions. She also used it to call them from Tiamat to fight us. It was really Ryoma's baby that destroyed the artificial dimensions. Ryoma said she was kicking so hard when that happened she thought she might break one of her ribs. I am still not certain how that was possible. Only that she is connected to the Cerans in a way none of us understand.

Darrius was not wrong about Merium helping us. She had interfered with The Path of Time and had indeed given a stone to the Erebus. Because of that Rajani was able to stay alive in Haalandor's Erebus when I banished it back to her planet. This was keeping Grandfather Abram very busy. She was driving Haalandor mad and causing her to release shadow beasts all across the planet.

Everyone was joyous because we were victorious and no one died. The celebration was a wondrous event. Middy came for a while then returned to Acedia for the celebrations they were having for her there. When she left she was almost an outcast, she returned a true hero. I couldn't help but wonder if her head would grow so big she wouldn't be able to fly. In an ego battle, she's the only one that could out ego Torva.

There was a reason the events led me to taking the powers of the White Sorcerers. Haalandor needed the Inaara that was released to keep Rajani from driving her completely insane. On the last day everyone at the celebration was enjoying themselves when Grandfather Abram called mother.

"Irena. I hate to have you cut your celebration short, but I could use some help."

Mother asked, "What's wrong? I thought you said it was under control."

"It is, but we could use some more people so we can get this over with. With your help we can quickly weaken her Erebus enough for Althea to put her to sleep. She will be able to keep her asleep until we can implement the permanent solution."

Father asked, "What is the permanent solution?"

"Deemos must be freed from the Fate Crystal so he can perform an exorcism. Torva will have to travel to his realm and summon him from the crystal."

Torva said, "I'll go do it right now."

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Haalandor will be asleep so she cannot send you there. I'll explain more later. Until we defeat enough shadow beasts we can't move forward."

Torva said, "Me and Eriana can definitely help with that."

Hyla said, "You're not going without your Sentinel."

Certi added, "Yes, that would never do."

Mother said, "Father we will leave right away."

Father looked at Grandfather Andor, "Well father, are you ready to swat some flies?"

You could see the joy in his eyes to hear his son call him father.

"After a week of feasting and being lazy I could probably use some exercise."

Father looked at Veelus, "You want to round up the others?"

"Of course. I'll go find Heady and Tooma."

Father said in a questioning tone, "Kardauma?"

He smiled, "Abram. Where are we needed most?"

"It would be wonderful if you could go to Tiasal. We obviously can't. The Dark Sorcerers there are trying to turn them into pets. Any your people destroy will bring us closer to getting Haalandor asleep."

Kardauma didn't say another word. He and the hundreds of his people turned to Cirrus and shot straight up into the sky.

Father said, "I will give Terus a call."

"I already called him. He is on Tiasal right now. Come to The Control Center and I will send you to the areas not covered by the military and the dragons."

Mother said, "We are on our way."

Once everyone was ready mother created a Portal and we went to Genoa. Grandfather sent us where we were needed.

We finished much quicker than Grandfather had expected. There is an extremely popular game on Haalandor called Target. One of the players uses a hover bike equipped with a harmless multi-laser attached to it. They prevent rising orbs from reaching the ceiling of the arena. Two other players fly around on dragons and try to shoot the other team's target with crossbows. The fourth team member is a White Sorcerer that defends their team's large bullseye target with Flat Shields. At that time they used electronical wands that create red shields of light to block the bolts. Every time one of the hundreds of orbs hits the ceiling your team loses a point. The Orb Riders also try to block the other team from getting close to their team's target. They often crash into their and the oppositions dragons. It can be total chaos and sometimes people get hurt.

Tosch was the Orb Rider for the District 215 team called The Genoa Killers. He turned the harmless laser array on his hover bike into real lasers. He then sent the plans to all the other kingdoms. The Orb Riders could take out the shadow beasts almost as quickly as a sorcerer. Because there were thousands of them they became a tremendous asset to the mission. By the time dusk settled over Genoa Haalandor was asleep.

Grandmother Althea couldn't leave Haalandor's side because she had to constantly use her powers to keep her asleep. We spent the night at Aunt Larea's country home in the mountains outside Genoa's District 215. It is a beautiful three-story house built on the side of a mountain. The majority of it is held up with large metal pillars because it is only attached to solid ground on the side nearest the mountain. It was made almost entirely of glass. Only the inner rooms and the saucer shaped roof and floors separating each story of the house were not glass. The roof and exterior of each metal floor was a shade of light brown that matched the color of the hundreds of dark Yahmocha Pine Trees that surrounded it. We had a lovely time getting to know her, Uncle Hawthorn, Miiken and Tosch. Our cousins are a little strange, but they have good hearts. They would become two of our greatest allies.

As Vaalstrom once said, "The Sisters of Destiny will never be able to complete the tasks set before them without worthy allies."

The End

# Glossary

Ad'hya Nishan (äd-hīa) (nī-shän) Adhya, Indian: first power or beginning. Nishan; Armenian: Sign.

Aaseem (ä-sēm) Dragonian: Protector of the mother. (Aseem) Arabic: Defender. Hindi: Eternal.

Ambala (äm-bälä) Hindi: Lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible.

Amani (ə-mä-nē) Swahili: peace and harmony.

Azvar (äz-var) Dragonian: Keepers of earth.

Abram (ā-brum) Hebrew: High father.

Acedia (ā-sē-dē-ə) Acedian: Children of time.

Aden (ā-dən) Gaelic: Little fire.

Agnola (āg-no-lə) Spanish: Angel.

Amaha Darra (ä-mä-hä) (där-ä) Amaha, Japanese: night rain. Darra, Hebrew: Pearl of wisdom.

Andor (än-dȯr) Greek: Man, warrior.

Argonn (är-gon) Avangarian: Masters of iron. Greek: lazy, inactive.

Arthos (är-thōs) Celtic: Stone bear.

Artemus (är-tə-məs) Greek: moon goddess often portrayed as a virgin huntress.

Astra (a-strə) Sanskrit: In Hinduism, an astra was a supernatural weapon, presided over by a specific deity. Greek meaning: star.

Avangar (ä-van-gär) Ancestor: The light of life.

Balaam (bäläm) Hebrew: The ancient of the people; the destruction of the people or destroyer of people.

Balanath (bä-lä-näth) Sanskrit: King of strength.

Bolek (bō-lek) Slovak: Large or great glory.

Bora (bȯr-a) Albanian: Snow.

Deemos (dē-mōs) Ancestor: Dark son.

Erebus ('er-ä-bus) Greek: The personification of darkness.

Eeden (ē-dən) Galdayan: Beacon of peace. Hebrew: A delightful place; a paradise or a state of innocence, bliss, and ultimate happiness.

Edur ('e-der) Basque: Snow or wine.

Eriana ('er-ē-äna) Haalandorian: The holy one. Taken from the Arianna. Greek: very holy one.

Epochon ('ep-ō-kän) Ancestor: a period of time in history, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics. Taken from the word epoch.

Falteen (fal-tēn) Haalandorian: Devious sister.

Fate (fāt) Destined to happen. Ancestor: Father of laws.

Galdaya (gal-dāy-ə) Dragonian: New home.

Genoa (ja-nō-ä) Haalandorian: Realm of rulers.

Grannus (gran-əs) Celtic: a deity associated with spas, healing thermal springs, and the sun.

Haalandor (hä-lan-dȯr) Ancestor: Mother goddess.

Ignaas (ig-näs) Dutch: Fire.

Inaara (ī-närə) Ancestor: The Holy Light. Hittite: Inara – goddess of the wild animals of the steppe.

Irena (ī-rēnə) Many countries use this name and consider the meaning to be peace, derived from the Greek name Irene meaning peace.

Jeevatma (gē-vät-mä) Hindi: A Jain ascent. Dragonian: The small piece of an Aaseems soul kept in their realm

Kahli (kä-lē) Sanskrit: Taken from name Kali: The Black One.

Kardauma (car-dä-mä) Vrah: Compassion of the Erebus. Sanskrit: Taken from the name kardama which means shadow.

Keera (kē-rä) Old Persian: Far sighted.

Kenet (ken-et) Gaelic: born of fire.

Kiimara (kī-mar-ə) Ancestor: Bringer of Destiny.

Kiinyde (kī-nīd) Avangarian: Illusion of life.

Kismet (kiz-met) Turkish: Destiny or fate.

Manacu (man-ə-cü) Acedian: Innocent child.

Mastadonia (mass-tə-dōnia) Dragonian: Land that creates life.

Nalamakk (näl-ə-mack) Dragonian: House of mediators.

Nevera (ne-və-rä) Spanish: Refrigerator.

Preah'kahn (prē-ə-kon) India: Holy sword or royal sword. Preah Khan is also a temple at Angkor, Cambodia.

Rajani (rä-jä-nē) Sanskrit: The dark one.

Rin (rin) Japanese: Cold.

Ryoma (rī-ō-mə) Japanese: Dragon and horse

Ryuu (rī-yü) Japanese: Dragon.

Saphron (sa-fron) Greek: Wise.

Setsuna (set-sü-nə) Japanese: Calm snow.

Siius (sī-us) Galdayan: Brother of war.

Tarmakk (tär-mack) Dragonian: House of love.

Taross (tär-oss) Dragonian: Woman of many moods.

Tekarra (tə-car-rə) Ancestor: Mother of life.

Thanatos (than-ə-tōs) Ancestor: Wondering daughter. Greek: Death.

Tiamat (tī-ə-māt) Babylonian: Tiamat was the personification of the sea, which appeared in the form of a huge dragon.

Tiasal (tī-ə-sal) Haalandorian: Land of dark souls.

Uulamakk (u-lä-mack) Dragonian: House of Kings.

Vaalstrom (Väl-sträm) Ancestor: Father of trials.

Veelus (vē-lus) Haalandorian: The light that brings hope.

Zyamar (zī-ə-mar) Haalandorian: Land of the wise.

