 
### Light Unbroken

Ardor of Light Trilogy

(Book 1)

By

K. Lew

Dedicated to my mother for believing in me

And to my readers, never give up on your dreams and passions.

### Ardor of Light Trilogy

Light Unbroken (Book 1)

Light Unknown (Book 2)- Coming Soon

Light Chosen (Book 3)- Coming Soon

### Copyright 2013 by K. Lew

### Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

### ****

### Prologue: The Price of A Dream

Waves upon waves of seawater crashed relentlessly onto the white shores, flooding the white beach. Then without warning, the momentum shifted and the water receded back to sea, leaving behind black and white shells littered across the white beach. A rider and his gray stallion stood on the edge of the rocky cliffs, overlooking the white beach. The rider was a young man. A rush of sea breeze blew against his brown hair as his dark brown eyes scanned the crashing waves below. He prompted his gray stallion down the slope to the white beach. The rain splattered against his black rain cloak and his hood as the wind whipped across his partly exposed face. He looked up. The gray clouds were slowly migrating away from the tempestuous sea and towards him.

As much as he tried not to dwell in the past, his thoughts drifted back to that fateful night three days ago. _His mam's warning repeated in his head. "Don't you dare, Billus! You're gambling your future on the roll of the dices." He remembered answering back. "I will never know unless I try. Every year is the same, sow the rice and vegetables and take care of the chickens. I'm miserable here. I want to live in the city and become a lightkeeper." He still remembered his mother's last words as the guilt flowed into the hole where his heart used to be. "Where did I go wrong raising you? Go ahead then. Walk out those doors like your pa. The only thing you ever cared about was yourself. Not me, you never gave a damn about your poor mam who brought you into this world and raised you. I saw that selfishness of yours early on, but I overlooked it because you were my son. But now it is clear as day to me. Go on and have the life you always wanted." That night he took one last look at the red brick farm, the only home he had ever known before leaving on his gray stallion. Clutched in his right fist was a crumpled letter addressed to his mother._

His gray stallion trembled beneath him, breaking his train of thought. The boy rubbed his stallion's mane and leaned forward. He whispered into his stallion's right ear. "Buddy boy, we're almost there. Don't give up on me, not now when we are so close."

A few yards away in front of him, a schooner wagon traveled forward. The wagon was covered in a white canvas. The four, hardwood wheels creaked as the wheels rolled over the sand. A rush of wind blew past him, lifting the back flaps of the white canvas open, revealing a scared girl hugging her knees. Before he could take a closer look, the wind closed the flaps back in. The boy prompted his gray stallion to a full gallop. As he passed the driver seat, a heavy-set man with rugged beard tipped his straw hat towards the boy. He nodded back before turning forward. He flashed a smile at the shimmering white wall. He yanked the rein back to slow his gray stallion. The towering walls were even more magnificent to look upon. Rainbow of light reflecting off the cut diamonds encrusted in the white wall shot out towards him. As he approached the white gates, the white gates opened for him. He saw a guard in white chainmail standing inside the white gates. The rain began to subside to a gentle sprinkle.

The boy reined in his tired stallion through the opened gates. The guard stepped forward. He was fitted in a white chainmail with a loose leather helmet. The guard had seen many boys come through the gates, excited at the prospect of joining the ranks of the elite lightkeeper only to have their hopes extinguished. The guard was a portly man with gray, cold eyes and a stubby beard growing on his chin. The guard was a few inches shorter than the boy.

The guard looked down at the palm of his left hand. Billus saw the black scribbles on the palm of the guard's hand. Then the guard looked up and asked. "Billus Welsh, is it?" Billus nodded. The guard replied. "Come on down off that horse. We have little time to waste." As soon as he finished speaking, the gates began to close as the hinges rotated. Billus quickly turned around. "Wait. Hold the gates. There are still people out---"

The guard interrupted. "The gates close on their own accord. Don't worry about them. There's a village not too far away that I'm sure is filled with warm beds and hot food. Come now. We are running behind schedule as it is." The guard looked up at the darkened sky before speaking hurriedly. "And as I speak, a storm draws near."

As the gates shut, Billus dismounted off his gray stallion and landed onto the smooth white pavement. "Is there a stable nearby? Buddy boy here is exhausted." The guard eyed the gray stallion and whistled in amazement. He spoke. "Mighty fine horse you got there." Billus replied proudly. "When I first rescued him he was a walking skeleton close to death. I took him in and nurtured him back to strength."

But the guard had already turned around. The guard blew a sharp whistle. Moments later, a crowd of young children came running out from broken-down shacks and many streets and alleyways. Billus was shocked at the poor state the children were in. Their faces were gaunt with hunger defining them. Their clothing were torn and in rags. The children swarmed around the guard, reaching out to the guard. But before the nearest child could touch him, the guard swung out a steel baton. The tip of the steel baton fired white electricity. The crowd of malnourished children drew back.

The guard pointed at a boy in the front, jumping up and down while waving his hands around. The guard shooed away the rest of the children.

As the children scattered away, Billus stared at the boy. The boy had ginger hair and freckles. The boy smiled warmly at him. The guard spoke to ginger-haired boy. "Take the horse to the stables and make sure the horse is watered and fed." The boy nodded obediently and reached out for the rein. But Billus did not hand the rein to boy. Billus spoke. "Please take good care of him. He means the world to me."

The boy smiled and spoke. "Don't you worry, your horse is in good hands." Only then did, Billus release his rein. Billus watched the ginger-haired boy steer his gray stallion away. But his stubborn stallion did not budge, holding his ground and refusing to be led away from his owner. Billus walked over to his gray stallion and petted him affectionately. Billus spoke. "Buddy boy, it's time for you to go. There's food and water where you're going." His gray stallion snort loudly in protest, but hunger and exhaustion won out. Finally his gray stallion allowed the ginger-haired boy to lead him away. Billus watched until his gray stallion disappeared around the end of the street corner.

The guard spoke. "That horse is more trouble than it's worth." Then without another word, the guard walked onwards. Billus jogged to catch up with the guard.

Billus spoke. "My mam named me Billus after her pa. She did it to spite my pa. But my pa could care less. He left my mam and me when I was very young. I can barely remember his face. But I never forget his belt or his fists. But enough about myself, what do your friends call you?"

The guard looked away before speaking. "They call me Four Fingers." Four Fingers lifted his right hand. Where his thumb was supposed to be, only a shortened stump remained.

Billus looked at the stump in horror and quickly changed the topic. "How long have you been in the service?"

Four Fingers stopped and turned around, snapping harshly. "I'm not here to babysit kids that is what parents are for. I'd rather be in a bar with a jug of mead in one hand and another around the waist of a doxy, so shut it and stop bombarding me with questions."

Four Fingers started walking again. They turned left to another street corner before colliding right into a busy crowd of people in a street full of fruit vendors. It was rush hour in the marketplace. There was noise everywhere from the chattering customers to the screaming vendors. Four Fingers spoke. "Stay close to me." Then Four Fingers yelled out to the crowd. "Out of the way." The crowd looked and saw the guard in the white chainmail. Gradually the crowd made a narrow path for the pair.

"Fresh fruits. Get your fresh fruits here." Billus passed an old man screaming behind a wooden wheel cart filled with assortments of fruits. The old man had mane of white hair growing from his sideburns all the way down to his chin. Billus frowned. _I'm going to be late._ But his stomach was grumbling loud enough that every once in awhile, Four Fingers turned around and glanced at him in annoyance. Billus strayed away, drifting toward the many fruit carts on either side of the street. Billus heard an agitated voice that sounded like Four Fingers, but the words were drowned by the noise of the crowd.

Billus stopped at the wooden wheel cart and white-haired man from earlier. Billus asked. "How fresh?"

The old man spoke eagerly. "Every fruits you see in front of you were picked this morning by my own hands." Billus browsed at the selection of the fruits on wooden cart. He rummaged through the different varieties of fruits. Billus picked a blue cone-shaped fruit up, but dropped it after blue slime oozed out of the blue fruit when he squeezed it. Next, Billus picked a black fruit up, about the size of his fingernail as he held it between his two fingers. Billus munched on the tiny fruit. Its flesh was soft and sweet. After swallowing it, gradually the world became brighter and clearer to him and his aching pains slowly disappeared. Billus pointed at the tiny black fruits. "How much for a pound of them?"

The old man whispered. "Light Ends!" Billus looked back at the old man in confusion. The old man exclaimed. "Light Above! What an honor it is to see a lightkeeper standing in front of me. You are truly a blessing bestowed by the Chemlam, may his Light burn hereafter. Thank the Lights you are here to protect the city. Don't you worry, my friend, the fruits are on the house, free of charge."

The old man weighed out a pound of the tiny black fruits and dropped them inside a plastic bag. Then Billus took the plastic bag and stored it inside his backpack. Billus bowed respectfully at the old man. The old man smiled.

The old man's smile quickly turned into a frown when a child dashed in suddenly and snatched a handful of fruits from his wooden wheel cart and sprinted full speed in the opposite direction where Billus came from. The old man yelled. "You little rascal, get back here!" Billus ran after the fleeing thief. Billus managed to catch sight of the thief in black rags among the crowd. Billus chased after the thief, knowing that he was weary from the journey getting here yet somehow he found the inner stamina to keep running. As he began to close the gap between him and the fleeing thief, a large man stepped back and collided into Billus. Billus fell back, landing on his back. He had the wind knocked from him. Billus breathed deeply until the feeling subsidized. An elderly woman stepped forward and asked him repeatedly if he was okay. Billus nodded several times. When the elderly woman saw he was okay, she disappeared into the crowd. When he pushed himself up, he looked and saw that the child thief and the large man he collided with was nowhere to be found.

Billus returned to Four Fingers who was looking down at his watch, tapping his shoe impatiently. When Four Fingers looked up, he gave Billus the evil eye before walking away, cursing under his breath. After leaving the noisy chattering and the busy city market, Billus saw the Eve of Shadows, a towering, needle-like structure stretching high up in the sky. The tower was white as snow. Four Fingers spoke. "End of the tour." Four Fingers began walking back in the direction of the busy city market.

Billus yelled. "I hope we can still be friends." Four Fingers stopped momentarily. He laughed before speaking. "Friends will be the least of your concern where you are going." Without another word, he walked away in haste. Billus watched Four Fingers merge into the crowd until he lost sight of him.

Billus turned back to the white door. He took a deep breath and pulled the door handle open. Inside the room was brightly lit. "You're late." Billus stepped in through the door. The room was an enormous dome. On the white walls, a line of portraits of the past Chemlams were staring down at him. Then he saw a woman sitting in an office chair behind a mahogany office table. She was tapping her fingers on a blackboard, lighting up the square area she tapped on. The lady had golden hair tied in a bun. She wore thick white-framed glasses. She continued tapping furiously on the blackboard. Then the tapping stopped. Without taking her eyes off the glowing screen of the blackboard, she spoke again. "You're late. You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago. It won't happen again, do I make myself clear?"

He spoke. "Yes ma'am." The woman interrupted him. "Yes, Ms. Evette. From now on you will address me as Ms. Evette."

Billus spoke again as she stared at him as if she was waiting for an apology. "I'm really sorry about being late. It won't happen again, Ms. Evette." She retorted. "You damn right it won't happen again. Now listen closely because I will only say this once. This here is an ID card that you will use to buy things with, a mean of communicating, a weapon for self-defense and to protect the citizens of this city, and a way to identify yourself. Keep it safe and with you wherever you go. Lose it and you might as well start packing your bags." Then she tore her gaze away from glowing blackboard. She looked at him thoroughly and frowned.

"It says here that your name is Billus Welsh. Well from now on, your new name is Oakpac. You will do good to remember your new name because if words should ever come back to me that you disobey, you will be expelled. Now take this pill before you go up to your new home." Billus asked carefully. "What is this pill for? Ms. Evette replied forcefully. "No questions. That is another thing you have to remember, never question your superiors' orders." Billus knew there was no way around not taking the pill and placed the colorless pill in his mouth and swallowed. It had a chalky flavor. Billus almost threw it back up. Billus struggled to get the pill down his throat. After a few seconds, Billus managed to push it down his throat. She spoke. "See it wasn't that bad. Now these elevator doors will take you straight to top where you will spend the night. Rest well tonight because tomorrow will be a long day."

Before she turned her gaze back to the glowing blackboard, she spoke. "And for Light's sake, don't forget your flashlight."

Ten minutes later, Billus was settling into his new home. He stood on the top of an elevated platform without any sides or roof. Billus had the entire view of the city below him. Down below, Billus watched the street bustling with people. Billus looked over the white walls. The white wall surrounded him and the city. In the east over the white wall, Billus scanned the miles of olive and lime forest. Then out of the left corner of his eyes, he caught a storm of gigantic proportion approaching quickly towards the white wall, leaving behind a path of darkened clouds. The gray clouds ripped across the sky as the storm unleashed downpour of rain and strong winds down on the forest. In the center of the storm, a spinning vortex of wind was engulfing everything near its proximity. The destruction on the ground was even more apparent as the path cleared by the storm through the forest was littered with fallen trees and debris.

Billus fumbled with the flashlight in his hand until finally, he switched the flashlight on. Billus pointed the bright, white light at the gigantic storm. Then several white lights in the smaller towers around him added to his own light directed towards the incoming storm. As the combined light concentrated onto the storm, Billus saw the storm was slowly weakening. Billus watched the weakened storm as the wind around him began to die down. But the weakened storm was still moving towards the city. Billus dropped the flashlight and ducked down, anticipated the wrath of the storm. As the weakened storm collided against the white walls, he closed his eyes. A few seconds later, a light spray of rain splashed into his face. Billus opened his eyes. The storm disappeared, leaving behind a light sprinkle at its wake. Billus saw that the triangular pavement floor he was standing on was shimmering with white light. Billus blinked his eyes, trying to adjust his eyes as he spied a twisting tunnel of white light streaking into the darken sky, creating a dome of white light surrounding the entire city. The source of the white light was coming from the middle of the city square. There he saw a large crowd of people gathered in the city square hawking at the dome of light around the entire city. He noticed a man breaking away from the crowd, stumbling away from the city square and disappearing into another street out of his view. _What a suspicious fellow._ But Billus lost interest and turned his attention back to the raging sea as the waves clashed against each other.

The Eve of Shadows cast a looming shadow over many streets turning and twisting away from the city square. The man stumbled down a street lit up with bubbles of light floating above. The man made his way slowly past the many homes falling in ruin. The tattered clothing on his back was in such horrible condition, not even a bum would wear. His tattered shirt and pants were shredded and torn to bits. The color of his tattered clothing blended in with his tanned skin. He turned his head to the cheerful laughter of children playing.

Two boys were playing in the puddle in front of a stone house. The younger boy was poking the older boy with a folded, black umbrella. The smaller, much younger boy looked up at the man and burst into tears. The man had black, ruffled hair with an untidy, black beard. He breathed abnormally as his black beetle eyes stared at the two boys wildly. The older boy, sensing now was the time to flee, snatched the black umbrella from his brother and threw it at the strange man. He grabbed his little brother's small fingers before dashing far away from the strange man. Together they ran away as fast as their feet could take them.

The man stared at the black umbrella for a moment before picking it off the ground. Losing sight of the fleeing kids in the mix of rain and wind, he popped the black umbrella open and held it above him, shielding him from the light rain. He held the black umbrella up and continued his way. A powerful gust of wind blew his way, blowing the black umbrella right out his hand. His eyes followed the black umbrella as it floated up the darkened sky. The black umbrella drifted higher until it was swallowed by the darkness of the clouds. He stared at the exact spot where his umbrella disappeared, his mind lost in a trance. Then a streak of lightning struck accompanied by the roar of thunder, breaking his trance. He hesitated before stumbling forward. He pushed his way past crowds of people with black umbrellas. There were many children on the street with their mouth opened wide, using their tongues to lick the drops of rainwater that fell upon their lips. His eyebrows arched downwards like a V as he strained his eyes to pierce through the blurriness caused by the sprinkle of rain. _Is there a faint of light over there? I can't tell the difference anymore...where are you Mildred...oh the terror!_ Then as if a switch inside him turned off, the fatigue coursing through his body that he held at bay came crashing down on him. He stopped and looked down at his heavy clothing that were dragged down by the rain.

Suddenly a voice within him interrupted his endless train of silence. _Light and darkness...it's behind you...a beacon of light extinguished into darkness._ His eyes searched through the approaching darkness until his eyes caught light coming out from the building door. His body was weary at the point of exhaustion and he fell to his knees. A moment later, his knees finally gave out and he could not go any further. But a burning desire within him energized his body and he mustered the last of his strength and began crawling forward until he reached the stony steps leading to open door. _Oh the terror!_ Then his head felt dizzy. The last thing he saw before he fell into darkness was a black umbrella floating among the darkened sky.

The stony steps lead to a tinted glass building where the unconscious man laid a few feet away on the wet pavement. A glass dome covered the tinted glass building. At the front of the tinted glass building were black words that read: "Aue Revre." The red carpet inside the opened door was dry because there was an invisible barrier blocking the incoming raindrops. The raindrops evaporated into vapors of gas as soon as it landed on the invisible barrier.

The inside of the auction theater was a far contrast to the gloomy weather outside. The atmosphere was cozy and comfortable. An enormous metallic candleholder was suspended in the middle of the ceiling bringing light to the spacious auction theater. It was floating gracefully beneath the ceiling. The floor was made of Rosa Verona marble infused with rubies and garnets. The rows of silky cushion chairs were filled with the city most affluent and powerful people. The men wore black suits with a capital letter R stitched on their suit pockets. The ladies wore white dresses that complemented well with their dates' sharp black suits. Many ladies wore white dresses that resembled upside down umbrellas, while other white dresses dropped down to the ground like curtain strips with shiny gems embedded in the bottom hems. A rush of servers entered and exited through the white, revolving doors near the stage. The servers carried out wine glasses on silver platters.

In the third row, a lady server was having a hard time balancing the silver platter filled with full wine glasses with both hands, while still trying to move at a steady pace to meet the crowd's demand for sparkling wine. She knew she was not very pretty. Some would say she was ugly. Her nose was too big for her small face and when she smiled back at the customers, most of the time she did not receive a tip, which meant another night of canned soup. But she was proud of her eyes. Even in the dim light, her hazelnut eyes shone brightly.

Navigating through the third aisle, she stopped at an elderly woman who was seated between a frowning man on her right and a young girl on her left. After she handed a wine glass to the elderly woman, she tripped over the elderly woman's leg and the silver platter tilted over, spilling all the wine onto the man's lap.

The man jumped up as the wine glasses shattered onto the floor. The man shouted loud enough that those sitting nearby glanced at the commotion. "Damn it all to Light!" Meanwhile the lady server's cheeks were turning red-faced. She apologized repeatedly to the angry man. The angry man had a pointed nose and black trimmed eyebrows. His face was clean-shaven without a single hair. She kept her head bowed to floor. She averted her eyes to the bottom hems of the man's black pants. Finally after a few seconds, the man took his black suit off and shooed her away. She bent down to pick the broken shards of glass with her hands. The angry man stared at the lady server, his chest going up and down, barely able to contain his anger.

Sitting next to the angry man was a considerably tall man. The tall man wore a silver mask that covered his face. The mask had two small holes where his dark piercing eyes stared back. There was a small molded nose with two smaller holes for his nostrils and a molded mouth that curved upwards at opposite ends into a frozen smile. He wore a black suit with a strap across his chest with a black umbrella sheath hanging by his side.

The angry man bellowed at the tall man beside him. "Helios, you bumbling fool. What were you when this idiot spilled the drinks on my suit? I'm surrounded by clowns incapable of doing even the simplest of tasks." Helios stood up, towering well over his master. Helios was over seven feet tall blessed by the Light Gods. The lady server continued picking the shards of glass lying on the carpet floor. Helios took his master's ruined suit from his master. The angry man and his white buttoned up shirt looked down at the lady server. His eye moved from her face to down to her bleeding fingers where his eyes lingered for a few seconds.

The man spoke in a low voice. "You know this suit you just ruined is worth more than you earn in five years. Before the night is over, I will be leaving behind a complaint to make sure you reimburse me in full for my suit you ruined and the wine you wasted, you mark my words."

At the start of the commotion only a few people were staring, but now the entire section was watching the situation unfolding. A man nearby in the same row, a few seats away, stood up. "Could you do this outside? The performance is about to start. If you have problem, could you be considerate of those around you and deal with it somewhere else?"

The angry man exclaimed. "How rude and thoughtless of me. I haven't introduced myself. Do you know who I am? My name is Gydos deRua and my lineage were all Chemlords, as am I." Helios stepped toward the man in a menacing manner. The man glanced at Helios with fear. The man spoke bravely at first. "I don't take kindly to threat, subtle or not." As Helios inched in closer, the man spoke in a hushed tone. "But there's no trouble here." The man sat back down. He watched helplessly as Gydos turned his attention back at the lady server. Gydos moved towards the lady server, grabbing her bleeding hand and crushed her left hand in his fist with a malicious smile on his face. Helios placed his right hand on his master's right shoulder. Gydos's face showed complete shock and surprise, releasing his tight grip on the lady server's closed fist. Gydos sat back down and pulled out a white handkerchief, wiping his hands clean. Helios helped the lady server up and examined her hands. With perfect precision, Helios picked off the broken shards lodged in her fingers. Gydos looked in disbelief, his mouth opened widely. "Helios you lumbering fool, what are you doing? Give me her hand this instant." Helios grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards his master. Gydos grabbed her wrist and pressed her wrist down onto his watch. His watch was made of bronze metal, except for the center. At the center of the watch, there was a glass screen radiating out rainbow lights. After a few seconds, a beep went off and Gydos let go of her hand. The lady server pounced at her silver platter on the floor, gathering them with her other hand. Moments later, Helios sat back down next to his master who had focusing his attention on the front stage.

The lady server walked back to the opening with the silver platter under her arm. After a safe distance away, she turned around to stick her tongue out at Gydos's back. A little too late, she saw the tall man with the silver mask, staring back at her that left a chill running down her spine. She turned around and hastened her pace to the revolving door that lead into the kitchen.

A red carpet paved from the main entrance to the Rosa Verona marble steps leading to the cherry marbled platform in middle of the auditorium. In the center stage of the black marbled platform, there was a brown podium. A short, diminutive man appeared out of the red velvet curtains. The short, diminutive man wore a black mad hatter to match his black suit. In hurried steps, the short, diminutive man stopped behind the brown podium stand. His eyes were large and light brown, scanning the crowd in front of him with a contagious smile, twirling his index finger around the end of long, curved mustache. He cleared his throat. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first annual Aue Revre Auction. My name is Lombras and I will be your host as you bid on your heart's desires. First most I would like to thank the sponsors for making this possible." Lombras smiled at the individual stage boxes above the audience on the floor. "A big thank you to everyone else for coming tonight. Now without further ado, I present Lila the exotic belly dancer from the high mountains of Talan."

The red, velvety curtains receded away as the lights dimmed from above. A circle of light shined down on the center stage. A young woman gracefully stepped forward onto the center stage. The audience gave a resounding applause. Lila wore a white linen bra and full-length skirt with a diamond-encrusted belt draped across her curvy waist. Then the beats of drums began in the background. Lila began to move her hips to the rhythm of the drums. Lila moved gracefully around the stage as if she was floating in the air. Her long white hair swirled as she moved her hips and toned torso to the beats of the drums. A moment later, the audience gasped fearfully. A white tiger jumped over her landing on the center stage. The fearsome tiger was large and covered in white fur with black stripes. The white tiger snarled at the audience, revealing a set of ivory razor-sharp teeth. Strands of hair on the white tiger's back rose up. Faster than a blink of an eye, Lila leaped forward over the white tiger. A man in the front row abruptly stood up and clapped loudly. The man was seated in the middle of the front row. The tiger snarled viciously at the man. The man backed away before pointing at her. He spoke. "I will be waiting for you outside after this circus is over, my pretty trophy."

A few spectators in the crowd gasped in shock, astonished at the large man's display of audacity. While the other half of the crowds were froze in their seats, too fearful to react.

Lombras who was signaling for the drums to stop, interrupted. "Security, please escort this man for his rude interruption to the exit." Before the security could take a step, there was a yell from outside the main door. "Help! Someone please help!" The large man stepped back and ran towards the door. The crowd looked back towards the cries for help. The large man walked through the doors, out of the safety of the invisible barrier that kept the rain out. A mixture of wind and rain whipped straight across his face. In the blurring distance, a small figure squatted down next to a bearded man lying unconscious on the wet pavement. The large man picked the small figure up effortlessly. It was a boy. He was crying and clearly scared. The large man grabbed the boy by the cuff of his collars and shook him. "What happened boy? Answer me boy."

The boy sobbing, muttered, "I...I found him lying there...is he dead?"

He dropped the boy down gently down on the wet pavement. As the large man reached to examine the unconscious man, Lombras called out from within, "Wait. Don't touch him. What if he has some sort of sickness? A Chemlord should check him out first."

"No need to...he's going to die...look at his arm." Lombras peeked from outside, couldn't see a thing. Too far away, he pulled his pants up and hopped his way to the unconscious man. Lombras lifted his hand carefully. On his forearm was a large gash, but strangely there was no blood. The gash was about a foot wide long running down the back of his hand from his wrist to his elbow. The color of the gash was a mixture of green and blue.

Lombras gasped. _It was the same gash he had on his both of his wrists. The attack took place years ago when he was only a boy. He remembered walking down the street from school. The night had fallen and the street was dimly lit by a few, flickering light bubbles floating above. In the shadows of corner store, a gray-blackish tendril grabbed and reeled him in. But the light from the flashlight saved him from an uncertain fate of death. But he did not escape unscathed. The tentacles of darkness left scars on both of his wrists and loss of feelings in his fingers that haunted him to this day._ Lombras resurfaced from his thoughts as he heard the large man cursing at him and the rain. Lombras yelled back in agitation. "Bring that man inside. Quickly now! Your life depends on it." Then under his breath, Lombras whispered. "Everyone's life depends on it." The large man smirked. "I don't take orders from you, little man." Lombras glared at him and spoke. "Then you don't mind standing out here in the cold rain." The large man glared back before putting the unconscious man over his back and walked back inside the auction theater. The little boy followed the large man back inside. Lombras turned around to his assistant. "Well? What are you standing about? Go get the Chemlord this instant!" His assistant, Lila nodded and ran back inside. Lombras looked up at the darkened sky. The rain sprinkling down on the pavement beside him was washing away his fragile hope for peace.

### ****

### Chapter 1: Love and Obligations

A group of people traveled across the black sand and under the glare of the bright sun. A young woman and an older man lead the way. The young woman's black hair was cut short, falling short of her shoulders. Her light brown eyes scanned the horizon carefully for any signs of life. But she saw only barren stretches of sand and crescent-shaped sand dunes. The heat was a daily discomfort as the sweat ran down her face and body. Her father told her stories about the Dead Desert---Explorers who strayed too far from their traveling parties, only to be flayed alive by cannibals. Travelers found frozen to death during the cold night. But the worst of all are the sandmen, undisputed kings of the Dead Desert who were known to be hostile towards outsiders.

As she walked, she tried to block out the sound of precious water swishing in her water skin strapped over her shoulders. _It's nearly empty._

She wiped the sweat off her brow and looked back at her group. There were eight hooded people behind her. Everyone including herself was wearing apricot cloaks made from fibers of the Tisio Tree that were hand woven together. The apricot cloaks gave protection to the wearers from the sunrays and irritating sand. She looked back at her father next to her. His skin was weathered and tanned from the many years under the sun. He was starting to show his age with wrinkles on his face and white in his gray hair. His cold, calculating eyes scanned the desert lying in front of him. Her father turned to her and spoke. He had a deep accent from the southern lands of Endi. The words came out slow and every syllable was emphasized. "We will stop between the two sand dunes over there and set up camp around the oasis before the sun sets. Tell the others that to have a perimeter enforced as soon as camp is set. We are passing through Sandavendi territory so we need to be very careful. Should we fall in their hands, death by our own hands would be a kinder fate."

She nodded once and turned around to face the hooded group behind her. How few of her sworns have remained. But once there was more. They died fighting by her side. She kept them close to her heart by repeating their names every night, starting with the first person that died.

She glanced at the hooded figure standing farthest right to her. He was a stranger or as her father put it, he was a guest. He came from a foreign city that she never heard of. Her father trusted him, but despite the reassurance from her father, she could not shake off her misgiving about him. She looked back at her father. _She respected the man for his vision, honor, and loyalty and loved him as a father, but maybe his age was finally catching up to him._

Her father suddenly turned around to her and yelled. "Brace yourself! A sandstorm is upon us!" Her father yelled again. "Close your eyes!" She pulled her hood up just as the clouds of sand blew at them. The winds howled around her as she planted her feet firmly against the sandy ground. But she did not anticipate how strong the winds were and was knocked cleanly off her feet. The sand shifted around and below her, making it impossible to claw back up to the surface. The winds howled as sand piled up over her, burying her into the sand. She clawed desperately away at the sand piling up on her to breathe again. But with every second going by, her hope sank lower. Then something grabbed tightly around her right hand and pulled her out until she saw the sunlight. She breathed in the hot air. Then she looked up and to her surprise, her rescuer was the stranger. He had green eyes and short, brown hair. But what caught her eyes was a dark scar that ran down the side of his left cheek. The scar was a thin line with jagged ends. He quickly turned away and pulled his hood up.

The winds began to quiet down and the sands settled down to the ground. She looked around frantically and to her relief, her father was safe, standing a few yards away from her.

Faster than a blink of an eye, a figure leaped out of the ground, spraying sand everywhere. The sandman grabbed the old man and pressed a knife down on her father's neck. The sandman was bald with small, dark eyes and long eyelashes. His face was flat with two serpentine nostrils instead of a nose. His olive skin was unnaturally grainy like sand. The sandman was a few inches taller than her father. The sandman was wrapped in a light brown garb. All seven of her sworns turned around and unsheathed their swords. Each sword was made of steel with single-edged blade. The tip of the blades curved slightly inward. The sandman glanced at the swords and spoke softly, but with deadly intent. "Put your steel down or the old man bites the dust. You are brave, but stupid to trespass in my domain with only ten of you. The sandman turned his attention to the young woman who was a few feet away from him.

She pointed her sword at the sandman. The sandman spoke. "Woman, do you not know who I am? I am Kingmen and my word is good as gold. Drop your weapon or he will die."

She spoke, fire fueling her words. "Release him and your life will be spared. Sandavendi or not, you are outnumbered."

Kingmen laughed. "Silly woman but it is you that is outnumbered. I am one with the elements here. I am god and you are in my domain. I decide who lives and who dies." Kingmen threw his head back and blew a high-pitched laugh. Then out of the ground monstrous bears emerged out, spraying sand everywhere. The bears shook the sand off their gritty brown furs. Their snouts were narrow with a black nostril. Their dark brown eyes were covered in thick, black eyelashes. Their size rivaled those of elephants. There was a sandman on the back of each monstrous bears.

Kingmen spoke. "Now lay down your steels and lower your hoods. I will not say it again."

Her sworns looked at her father. Her father spoke. "Do as he says." They slowly lowered their swords to the ground and lowered their hoods.

Her father spoke slowly. "You are making a grave mistake. Leave us and go on your way. You will only ignite a war that will lead to many death."

Kingmen flashed a smile and spoke. "A war that you provoked. Did you think you could pass through without paying respect to us, the Guardians of the Sand? Sandavendi law states that strangers who trespass without asking permission and paying homages to Sandavendi will pay with their lives."

Kingmen turned, his eyes pausing at each person in the group. When his eyes stopped at the stranger, his eyes flinched slightly. Kingman spoke. "I didn't know the Itipoi tribe took strays in."

Kelan spoke. "My name is Kelan and I'm a friend of the Itipoi tribe. What you are about to do, is it not the same thing as slavers who sell their human captives like cattle?" Kingmen snarled. "Scums of maggots. They are not worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence with the mighty Sandavendi." Kelan asked. "So then set us free." Kingmen spoke. "You and your friends will be guests in our homes." She interrupted. "I rather die than be your hostages."

Kingmen spoke. "Now don't take my gesture of kindness as a sign of weakness. I am more than willing to oblige to your request, woman. You will stay with us and immerse yourself with our culture and in exchange for our generosity, your people will be required to pay us tribute until I see fit and then we release you one by one."

Kelan spoke. "You are treading on thin ice." Kingmen ignored him and spoke to the sandmen. "Bind their hands and legs well."

Before the sandmen moved, Kelan flicked his right wrist, revealing a tiny rectangular card in his palm. The ID card was weightless in his right palm. Its appearance was transparent as the sunlight reflected through it. Tiny tendrils of white light radiated out from the ID card, attracting to his right palm.

Kelan spoke. "This is proof that I'm from the city of Leydeity. I am under the protection of the Chemlam and those who travel with me fall under the same protection."

The sandmen moved to action, gripping their swords tightly. The Kingmen spoke. "Ah the great City of Lights. Tell me how is your Chemlam?" Kelan asked. "What do you mean?

Kingmen took his eyes off Kelan and stared at her. Kingmen spoke. "One more step and he will bleed." She was inching closer with no indication of complying. Kingman pressed the knife down until a line of blood drew up. She ran forward, sword at hand. But Kelan wrapped his hand around her waist. She shook furiously to get free of his tight grip.

She snarled. "Let me go." Kelan glared at her intensely. Kelan whispered into her left ear. "You have to trust me." She loosened her grip of the sword and Kelan slowly grabbed the hilt of sword away from her. Kelan turned and threw the sword down to the ground. Kelan spoke. "The Sandavendi made a peace pact with my Chemlam. If you breached that peace, that would be an act of war. Release her father as a sign of good faith."

There was an intense silence as everyone watched a second sandman leap off the back of the sandbear. The second sandman whispered to Kingmen. Kingmen snorted in disgust as he listened. After the conversation was over, Kingmen took his knife off the old man and pushed him away. She ran forward and caught her father in her arms. She had a white roll of cloth ready and wrapped it several times around her father's neck to stop the bleeding.

Kingmen spoke openly. "I asked about your Chemlam because he is dead."

Kelan yelled. "That is a filthy lie." Kelan rushed at him. But before he could take one step, all of the sandmen pointed their blades at Kelan. Now she was holding Kelan back. She spoke. "Stop. Don't do anything rash."

Kingmen spoke. "I have been called many things in my life, but liar is not one of them. We passed through the City of Lights a few days ago and news of his death spread through the city like wildfire."

She spoke. "Well? What are you waiting for? Take us."

Kingmen closed his eyes for a moment before speaking. "I had a change of heart. Go quickly now. But don't run or my sandbears will chase you. I won't be able to rein in their prey drive." Kingmen sheathed his knife back into his waist holster and walked back towards the sandmen. A sandbear, much larger than the rest, emerged out from under the desert sand.

Kelan sank to his knees. When she saw his face again, his eyes were filled with tears. Kelan asked. "What was the cause of death?" Kingmen replied. "They said his last moments was filled with great pain and agony in his bed chambers. Poison, I am sure of it." She watched Kelan yelled into the clear sky. "May the Light Gods heed my words..." Kelan looked out at the sky. "You all as my witnesses, I swear..." Full of emotions, Kelan buried his head into his arms.

Kingmen jumped on to his sandbear and yelled. "Illia!" The sandmen rallied around him chanting. "Illia! Illia! Illia!" Then the sandmen and their sandbears took off. The sandbears ran powerfully with their padded claws pushing off the desert sand. Clouds of dust surrounded the departing sandmen and their giant sandbears.

A few hours later, they settled into the camp. But she was worried about Kelan. He seemed to have finally stopped crying. But he was quiet, avoiding conversation with everyone else. He sat on the sand, staring deeply into the fire. She walked over to him, but her father intercepted her. "He is strong, but he needs time alone to collect his thoughts and calm the angry monster within him. Come and keep watch with your sworns around the perimeter." She gave Kelan a concerned look before turning away.

The fire crackled, spiting out red and orange embers into the air. Kelan felt the cold creeping towards him even though he was near the fire. He closed his eyes. _He was in a room lying under the bed. Then loud banging on the door interrupted his peace. He climbed out from under bed. He walked over to the door. He reached for the door handle and pulled back. Then a mist of darkness entered the room. He stumbled back, falling on his butt._ _He crawled backward until his back hit the side of the mattress. His hand moving wildly under the bed until his fingers came upon a cold fist. He looked down to see closed fingers wrapped around a white candle that was lit. He turned and looked down. It was the hand of a body still under the bed. But a gleam of light caught his eye. It was diamond ring. He bent down and kissed the ring. After he pulled the fingers apart and grabbed the candle. He thrust the lit candle into the darkness. But the darkness engulfed the flickering flame and began to swallow him._

Kelan opened his eyes, covered in sweat. A woman was staring at him with worry. She whispered cautiously. "You were asleep and then the next moment, you were shaking uncontrollably. I restrained your arms from scratching yourself."

Kelan saw a few red marks on her arms. Kelan muttered. "Sorry about that."

She waved him off and spoke quickly. "You are a good man."

Kelan replied. "I don't deserve praise. One right doesn't atone for many wrongs."

She spoke. "But none the less, I want to thank you." Silence settled in as she looked away before staring at him intently.

Kelan asked. "Is your father okay?"

She answered. "Yes." She turned to leave before stopping. She asked. "The Chemlam, did you know him well?"

Kelan replied. "Please...I need some time alone."

She was holding in her temper for a while now, but he pushed her away. She lost her temper and lashed out at him. She saw her father who was sharpening his blade, looked up at her and shook his head. _No father, you said he is strong and he just needs time to settle down, but time is something we do not have enough of._

She screamed at him. "I am tired of seeing you sulking around camp! You can't curl up into a ball and give up."

For first time, Kelan stared at her with a new light. The anger and disappointment at himself was replaced with a burning desire for her. His heart seem to tingle and beat faster as his eyes lingered at her rosy cheeks and her black bangs swaying as she moved her head as she yelled.

She continued screaming. "You can't bury yourself in the sand. I'm trying my best to cheer you up, but it's like pulling teeth! You can't keep beating yourself up for something that is beyond your control! You have to fight through it!" She turned and walked off. _I hope that gets through your thick head, you numskull._ Her father smiled at her before he turned his attention back to sharpening his blade.

The next morning as the sun rose over the horizon, she watched Kelan pack his clothes into his backpack for the journey ahead. Her father stood up, signifying that it was time to leave. "My sworns, we will soon be at the city of Basahar. Let us have a moment of silence for our fallen comrades who are watching us from above and protecting us from the dangers ahead us." She closed her eyes.

A few moments, her father began to walk as her sworns following not far behind. She soon found herself walking side by side with Kelan. Kelan seem to be avoiding eye contact with her. For a while now they continued walking in complete silence. Finally Kelan looked at her. She studied his face. The skin around his eye was puffy and reddish pink from crying the day before. But his green eyes were clear.

Kelan spoke. "You know you have a lot of nerve telling me the things you told me yesterday." She opened her mouth to speak. Kelan held up his right hand. She closed her mouth. "But they were all true. I let my emotions get the best of me and you opened my eyes to the truth."

Kelan spoke again. "You know this entire trip, I never got your name."

She looked away and spoke. "Does it matter? After we reach the city of Basahar, our journey together will be over. Your journey from then on will be seeking vengeance and serving revenge on a cold platter."

Kelan asked. "And what about you? Where will you go?"

She spoke so softly that Kelan had to lean over to her to hear. "Where ever my father go, I will follow."

Kelan spoke. "Family first, I respect that."

Her father yelled. "When you lovebirds are done flirting, gather here because we will be reaching the gates of Basahar soon."

She was about to catch up to her father and her sworns when Kelan grabbed her hand. Kelan whispered softly. "You still haven't told me your name?"

She whispered back. "Suyzi." Kelan let go of her hand. As Suyzi walked away, she caught a whisper from Kelan. "A fitting name for such a beauty." They soon caught up with the rest of the group. Her father was barking orders. "Shu and Ri, I want you two behind me." The two largest men in the group stepped forward and stood by the old man's side. Her father then turned to her. "Suyzi, I will need your necklace?"

Suyzi unrolled her skirt a little, revealing an inner pocket. She pulled a silver chain out of her pocket. On the center of the necklace was a tiny diamond heart. She handed it to him. Her father took it. Her father spoke again. "Now I need you all to form a circle around me, Shu, and Ri. But keep a safe distance away." They formed a circle around the three men. Her father opened the diamond heart and the diamond heart split in half. He then tilted the diamond half-heart onto the ground. A drop of clear liquid fell from the diamond half-heart and onto the sand in front of him. In seconds, the sand absorbed the drop of clear liquid.

Suyzi watched her father close his eye. She turned her attention to the sand her father was standing on. Nothing happened at first. Then the sand began to crumble below her father's feet. Quickly Ri grabbed father's hand while Shu grabbed hold of his other hand. Together Ri and Shu swung her father away from the hole and to safer ground.

Her father stared down at hole and explained. "This hole is one of the many gateways to Basahar. Now listen carefully. You must say your full name loudly and clearly. Then you will be cleared to jump into the hole."

Suyzi watched as one by one her sworns yelled their names and jumped into the hole. When it was her father's turn, he threw the diamond heart necklace back at her. After she caught it, he gave her a reassuring smile. Then he turned and yelled his name. "Minou Orin!" His voice echoed as he fell down the hole. Now only Kelan and Suyzi were left. Suyzi looked back at Kelan and whispered. "You are coming with us right?" His green eyes stared back at her like two emeralds. Suyzi noticed Kelan looking away from her to hide his pained expression. When Kelan turned back around, he smiled and gave her a reassuring nod.

Suyzi peeked over the edge of the hole and saw darkness. As Suyzi teetered nervously around the edge of the hole, a warm hand grabbed her right hand. Kelan gave her a reassuring grip before letting go.

Suyzi stepped forward and yelled her name clear and loud. Then she jumped in. She felt the wind lashing around her as she fell into darkness. She began breathing faster. Her adrenaline skyrocketed as her heart had to work harder to pump blood to her body. For a few minutes, the fall dragged on until Suyzi began to slow down. A strong pressure of air blew against her. The pressure increased gradually as Suyzi slowly began to descend down. Finally Suyzi landed gently on something hard and grainy. Suyzi realized the unknown substance was sand. Suyzi sat in the sand and in the darkness, waiting for Kelan. As time passed, a disturbing thought crept into her mind. _What if he decided to split? What a numskull! It didn't help that he was attractive and had a firm chest._ Suyzi fixed her hair before getting up, combing the sand out of her hair with her fingers.

Suyzi walk slowly with her hands stretched out in front of her. Then a blinking of light appeared in front of her slowly dimming into a weak light. The glowing lime-green light was faint and weak. Suyzi followed the glowing lime-green light. The light could only show a few steps in front of her. _I must be in some kind of underground tunnel._ Suyzi walked on through the turning and twisting tunnel, following the glowing lime-green light. The glowing, lime-green light stopped moving, blinked once and disappeared into the darkness. She was alone in the dark again. Then Suyzi searched frantically around until she saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Suyzi ran towards the light and she heard the water running. Finally Suyzi stepped out of the dark tunnel. Suyzi checked her surrounding. The sand was gone, replaced by a green pasture. She was in some kind of cavern. Above her, there were white lights being emitted by millions of mushrooms growing on the top of the cavern. A waterfall not too far away from her was crashing down onto the river below. _There is so much water here._ She couldn't contain her excitement. The next thing she saw made break into a smile. Her father and her seven sworns were resting by the river. A few of her sworns were washing their face of the sand and grime while the others were filling their waterskin bottles with clear cold water. She ran over to them, yelling. "Father. My sworns. I'm so glad to see you." Her father gave her a warm embrace. He whispered to her left ear. "I'm glad you came."

She replied back. "Of course. Was there ever a doubt I wouldn't?" Suyzi then gave each of her sworns a kiss on the cheek. Suyzi looked around and asked loudly. "How is it possible for trees to growing here? I thought we were underground under a desert."

A man with black, short hair stepped forward and answered. "Well there is plenty of soil, water, and light, all critical components of life. Though the light here is produced by mushrooms instead of the sun which is strange to me."

Then her father turned to his old self, barking orders to everyone. "We have time to chit-chat later. Shu and Ri, forage the surrounding for wood and food. Leto and Tarai, get the fire started. Laoi and Suyzi, bring some water back to camp. Lapord and Babs stay and guard the camp. Keep your blades sharp, everyone." Everyone split in different directions to start on their tasks. Her father yelled. "Suyzi, wait. I want a word with you." Laoi glanced at Suyzi. Suyzi spoke. "Laoi, go on ahead. I will be there shortly." Laoi nodded and walked southbound down to the river.

When Laoi disappeared into the woods, Suyzi turned to her father. His face was concerned with his stress creases etched across his forehead.

For a brief moment, her father stared into her eyes with concern before reverting back to his boulder face, as she would call it. "Did you know he was going to leave us?" Suyzi struggled to speak. Her father saw her face and nodded. "I see you have feelings for him. But he lied to you and now you're conflicted. Part of you wants to help him while another part of you hates his guts for leaving you."

Suyzi spoke. "Maybe I can go back and find him. I can convince him to come back."

Her father's face frowned. "No, I forbid you. Don't forget we have our own journey to complete. He has his own journey to undertake. He's done bad things in the past. Maybe he is trying to do good for once his life. But it is a fool's errand. I see only death for him. I know you have feelings for him.

Suyzi opened her mouth to speak. But her father spoke over her. "You are an Itipio. We are unmovable and unfeeling like the mountains we reside in. Your future is to be by my side and one day soon, take my place as chief. I advise you to erase him off your mind." He turned and walked away.

A few minutes later, Suyzi was down by the river with Laoi. Suyzi dipped her bucket into the river, not noticing that her bucket was already filled with water.

### ****

### Chapter 2: A Feast to Remember

A light breeze from the south rustled the autumn leaves into the air, breathing life into the autumn leaves. As the winds blew through the forest, the autumn leaves swirled in the air like ballerinas dancing. Finally the wind relented and the autumn leaves settled down onto the ground. Over the green forest trees, a sunset of pinkish red clouds hung across the dark blue sky.

Hidden from view in a giant oak tree, a boy was hanging upside down with his legs curled around a slender yet sturdy tree branch. The boy applied force with his legs to test if the branch could hold his weight and so far the branch was holding.

He looked below at the ground. He knew that if he fell now, he would get more than scrapes and bruises. In his left hand, he gripped the handle of his maple bow tightly and carefully. It was chiseled with four bumps to fit his fingers around the handle. In his right hand, he was holding back the string and the end of the arrow. The arrow was a maple stick sharpened to a rough point with bird feathers fastened at the end. He painted each arrow with blue dye for visibility. His target was any wild game that was lurking close to him.

His leg was starting to ache and the increased blood to his head made him dizzy. Then in the corner of his left eye, he caught movement of a brown flash dashing towards a shrub. He swung his maple bow in the direction of where the brown flash dashed in. His eyes were concentrated at the movement in the shrub about ten feet away from him. He took aim and released the arrow. He closed his eyes. _This was the moment of truth._ He heard his arrow hitting something soft. He opened his eyes.

He climbed down the tree trunk, grabbing the branches for balance. He was careful as he climbed down because he knew a broken arm or leg in the forest would eventually lead to a slow starvation. When he landed on the forest floor, his eyes were alert. He felt vulnerable. There was a good reason why he hunted in the trees. He knew a hunter could quickly become the hunted. Many times he has seen a ferocious predator snatch its prey with its jaw only to be devoured by an even larger predator. It was in the trees where he felt safe with a complete view of his surrounding giving him a feeling of absolute euphoria. _It made him feel so free._

He ran towards the shrub where his blue arrow struck, passing many trees and shrubs. When he got to the shrub, he bent his knees to find his kill. He had to dig deep into the shrub. The shrub was thick and short with heart-shaped leaves growing on its branches. Finally he felt something soft and furry. He grabbed a handful of fur, pulling out a white tail rabbit. It had white stripes on its gray fur. Its dead eye was open, staring straight ahead. He pulled the arrow out and placed the arrow back into his sheath. It was a swift death. He was relieved to know that the rabbit did not suffer too much. He unraveled a coiled rope from around his shoulder. Then he tied the thick rope tightly around his waist like a belt. Then he secured the rabbit to his waist by tucking the rabbit under the rope. Night would fall soon and darkness brings out many predators.

He ran back to the oak tree where he was hanging upside and pulled out a hollowed out rock from his pack. He dipped his finger inside for a dab of blue paint and rubbed his two hands together until the blue paint was on his fingers and palm. Then he left a blue imprint of his right hand onto the oak tree trunk. Then he heard a screeching howl in the distance echoing throughout the forest. He shivered not in cold but in fear. He had to get back to his sister. From afar even more howls echoed through the forest. The sun descended down to the horizon as he ran past trees and shrubs. Finally after about ten minutes, he stopped and he saw a familiar red post stick hammered in the ground by his sister. He paused at the wooden post stick painted in red before running in a zigzag motion, running in a forty-five degree to the left and then forty-five degree to the right. As he ran past the blue post stick, he jumped up and down three times. Finally he saw the green post stick and blew a whistle.

A mighty oak tree stood in front of him. He waited until a rope made of individual strands of hair that were combined together, dropped down from the mighty oak tree. He grabbed the rope and climbed himself up. It was a tall oak tree, maybe fifty feet tall. Sweat fell from his forehead to his upper lip. He licked the bead of sweat resting on his upper lip. It tasted salty.

When he finally reached the end of the rope, he pulled himself up to a thin layer of soft green moss supported by wooden planks. The thick rope was tied around the central trunk of the oak tree. It was a small room. It was dark inside, hidden in layers of branches and leaves. Then he saw a familiar face. She had long black hair. She had sharp, piercing eyes with dark brown pupils. A longbow lay beside her on the soft green moss. It was made of yew. Next to the yew longbow was a quiver filled with cedar arrows. She glanced down at the rabbit dangling under his waist.

"Another rabbit?"

"Yes, Deary. Tonight we will be having your favorite, rabbit soup." The boy unhooked the rabbit from the rope. He lay the rabbit carcass down on the soft green moss. "Brother Bear guess what I did while you were out?" Her eyes were fixated on the rabbit carcass.

He grabbed his tinderbox and few wood shaving from his pack. He was exhausted from his hunt. Then he set up the task of starting a small fire. He asked. "What did you do, Deary?"

The girl pulled out a basket filled with different kinds of berries. "I found them growing near a river bank not too far away from here." She placed the basket next to him.

He stopped and dropped his tinderbox and his striking match. He let out a gasp and spoke. "What? You left the tree house. I told you never to leave our home when I was out. It's not safe out there."

She pout and her cheeks filled with air. Her eyebrows drooped downwards. "I'm not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself." She was about to blow, but composed herself before replying. "I was just worried about finding dessert for us tonight."

He softened his voice. "I know you were, Deary. I just care about you so much. If anything ever happened to you I will never be able to forgive myself."

The girl nodded and turned her back to him. He tried to ease the tension out of the room by poking fun at her. "Remember the last time we went picking for berries and you mistakenly picked a cheri bug for a humberry?" She ignored him. She grabbed the rabbit carcass carefully and walked over to the other side of the room to begin skinning the skin off the rabbit carcass.

The boy examined the different kinds of berries in the basket. There were familiar berries that he had seen before like cherries and raspberry, but then there were unfamiliar berries like blueberries with little pink dots and green berries that shaped like tiny squares. He picked the blue ones first. As he was bit into the blue berry, a burst of sweetness and traces of sourness spread inside his mouth. He poured the remaining berries into a wooden bowl and mixed them evenly together. He went over to the ice chest and opened it. He rummaged through the ice chest full of cold rocks that kept the sealed jars inside cool. Finally he picked up a huge jar of milk honey. The condensed liquid had a dark caramel to it. He poured the jar over the mixed berries in the wooden bowl. He licked his lips while combining the milk honey with the mixed berries.

On the other side of the room, she was already finished cleaning the rabbit carcass, she inspected the sharp rock by slowly pressing down with her finger at the tip lightly. She began expertly slicing the skinless rabbit carcass into thin fillets until the knife hit the bone.

She asked. "Brother Bear don't you wish sometimes things could've turned out differently?" He was sitting on the floor of soft moss. He was hunched over the tin box that was filled with word bits and shaving, enough for a small fire. She arranged the rabbit fillets onto a platter made of banana leaves next to her brother. Satisfied she looked back at her brother, waiting for a reply.

Without looking up, he spoke. "You already know my answer. Look at it this way...mom and dad died for us so we could have a chance to live. So we have to stay strong and always have each other's back no matter what."

She replied. "I know you told me that, but it's hard to accept it that they are truly gone. I'm afraid that as time passes by, I will forget about them." Tears began forming from her eyes. But she found the strength inside of her to hold herself together and she did not cry.

"I love you, Brother Bear." That nickname made him smile. But his back was turned on her so she couldn't see. He continued striking the tinder with flint. Sparks hit the wood shavings and a small red and orange embers burned the wood shaving quickly. He quickly added more wood shaving to keep the ember from going out. He blew lightly into the wood shaving until a small fire was burning. He warmed his hands. When he turned around, the rabbit was already skinned and sliced into small pieces. "That was fast."

He began rinsing the skinless rabbit meat, dunking into a water basin and handed it back to his sister. She replied with a smile. "I'm a fast learner." The boy dropped the rabbit fillets into a large shell filled with lukewarm water. The boy held the large shell in his left hand and with his right hand he tied the string to the two small holes at opposite ends of the shell. Grabbing the middle of the string like a purse, he placed it securely to a wooden hook that was attached to the tree branches above. Now the shell was dangling above the fire. He took out a plain brown pouch and added different spices and herbs that he gathered from the other day into the broth. As the broth began to come to a boil, a waft of cooked meat spread into the room.

They waited patiently for the broth to cook. The girl rummaged through her pack and pulled out a black book. She settled down onto the floor, skimming through the pages of the book. The boy looked over to her sister. The front and back cover of the book were unmarked and made of coarse black leather. The boy turned his attention back to sharpening his maple arrows on a flat rock.

She spoke. "Brother Bear, do you remember the story Mom would tell us before bedtime about the ancient trees that would come alive at night. Stories of male trees shaking away their deep slumber and travel thousand of miles just to find their mates. Remember that one time Mom made those weird sounds that she said only walking trees would make when they were disturbed and Dad rushed in with a spatula, thinking that we under attack." She shut the black book and placed it down onto the mossy floor.

She asked. "Brother Bear do you think what Mom said is true about trees walking?"

He stopped his sharpening. He looked out through the thick branches and leaves, to stare at the full moon. Tonight he could see the dark spots of the moon. _Dad once said those dark spots are actually giant footprints left behind by the Elemental Beasts._

"Maybe Deary but I never saw any on my hunting trips. But you never know what mysteries this forest holds, waiting to be discovered. Where are all these ideas coming from? I hope it's not coming from that storybook you always carry around."

She looked at him before replying, "It's not just a storybook, its daddy's research book."

He was about to fuss, but stopped himself. _Now was not the time to argue._ As silence settled in, he went back to sharpening his maple arrows. An hour later, he peeked over the boiling broth, stirring it occasionally. "The food is almost ready." He went over to a small table with bowls, plates, and utensils lying on top. He picked out two small porcelain bowls and two silver spoons. He walked back to where his sister who was flipping through the pages of the storybook. "Hey bookworm, let's eat these mixed berries with milk honey while we wait for the rabbit broth to cook." He gave her a small wooden bowl of mixed berries and a wooden spoon. She took the bowl and devoured the mixed berries in seconds. He laughed and spoke. "Slow down, Deary. It's not a race to see who can eat the fastest." She placed the empty bowl onto the floor next to her and went back to reading. He stirred the broth for a few more minutes. Then he handed her a tiny porcelain bowl and a silver spoon. She looked up from her reading and said, "Is the soup ready to eat? I'm starving." He filled her bowl with rabbit broth. He carefully handed it to her with two hands. She reached out with one hand. He motioned for her other hand. "Two hands, Deary or you'll burn yourself." They both began helping themselves to rabbit soup. The meat was soft and tender and the broth had a gamey, aromatic flavor to it.

After finishing his bowl of soup, the boy glanced over at his sister. She was picking at the vegetables swirling inside the rabbit soup.

"You know, I was thinking, first thing tomorrow you and I explore the northern part of the forest together."

She looked up at him, eyes filled with confusion. "Why? I thought you said it's too dangerous outside for me."

He smiled. "Well you are going to be with me. Besides silly, the northern part of the forest is the only area I haven't explored. If there would be any mystical creatures in this forest, it would be in the northern part of the forest. Now finish your soup, Deary."

Brimming with enthusiasm, she took a huge scoop of soup with her spoon before downing it in one gulp. Then she lightly arranged her empty bowl and spoon onto the mossy floor. Satisfied, she let out a full burp.

He looked at her with disapproval. "Let me have a look at that storybook."

Her entire face lit up. She rushed over with the closed book. She sat right next to him and handed the book to her brother on the grassy mat. He examined the cover of the black book. At first glance, the front cover was black and had no marking or designs at all. But under closer inspection, what he originally thought was black was actually gray. "Well what are you waiting for?" Her sister was waiting for him to open the book and grew impatient. He turned to the first page he read out loud the words depicted: " _To my darlings, here lies my adventure and the wonders I experienced with your mother. Wherever your mother went, I followed. Your mother was my bright torch and shining light. Hopefully when you finish hearing my adventures, your own adventures will begin."_ He turned the next page. On the second page there was a neatly ordered paragraph of words. He paused to take a deep breath and read out loud. _"Your mother and I traveled through the forest of Arkia. We stopped at a village and chatted with the natives. The natives were hospitable enough, but whenever we inquired about the forest, there was only silence. That was until the village elder told us a story. In the worst and most vile forest of all, soldiers feared it, people never spoke its name aloud, and even hermits who lived near the forest never venture far inside this forest. For there was a veil of evil attached to the forest like water dews on morning grass. But the forest had its use. The wicked people of society were sent to the forest as a punishment and left there to rot with nothing, but the skin they possessed. Even the most hardened criminals begged for death rather than exile to the forest._ _Years later some did came back to civilization, but their minds were gone and only their human shells remained. Only a few ever come back with their minds still intact. But they changed. They told stories of horrible creatures lurking in the forest that looked like humans, but beneath their superficial skin lurked monsters that feed on human soul. I was a rational man so I needed to see it for myself to actually believe it. And when I got the chance to see a killer being sent back to forest again, I saw his eyes were empty, nothing in there. Sadly the few that did escape went back their wicked ways and were sent back to the forest this time in handcuffs. For then on, none ever came back."_

His head was spinning from what he just read. He looked back at his sister. She was asleep with her head tucked into his shoulder. He closed the book and lightly picked her head up and laid her head down lightly onto the grassy floor. He pushed himself up and put the book back into her sister's pack. He scanned the room looking for something. He walked over and reached down to grab a furry blanket. He went back to his sister's sleeping body and covered her cozily with the blanket. She shifted in her sleep, muttering to herself. _Now time to take care of business._ He dumped all the dirty bowls and utensils into a large empty turtle shell filled with water. With a leafy sponge, he began scrubbing the dishes vigorously. He looked back at his beautiful sister lying there in a peaceful slumber and smiled. _How was it that he was always stuck washing the dishes every night?_

### ****

### Chapter 3: The Legacy He Left Behind

Hundreds of men and women gathered on the field of grass, waiting and watching solemnly as a white casket was carried by six lightkeepers in white cloaks on either side. At the center of the grass field, there was an unearthed hole in the ground. The men were dressed in black cloaks, the custom color appropriate for a funeral. The ladies accompanying the men wore white dresses. A lady in a gold dress standing closest to the earthed hole had her head down. Next to her, a white-cloaked man with a silky, black beard chanted a prayer rite. The man's eyes were closed as he chanted what sounded like gibberish to Kelan.

Kelan was in the back of the crowd next to a chubby man. The chubby man had long ginger hair that was tied in a ponytail. He wore odd-looking black-framed eyeglasses that covered his hazel eyes. The odd-looking eyeglasses had temples that went around his ears once before spiraling up above his head like bug antennas. Kelan spoke. "Sere, my old friend, it has been too long. How have the city life been treating you?"

Sere responded. "Better than ever, Kel. Where have you been? You left ten years ago without a farewell to yours truly."

Kelan spoke. "I have been traveling. I wanted to see what the world had to offer. I visited the city of Iea where mountains erupt melting fire into the sky."

Sere asked. "Iea near the Crashing Mountains? Fancy that. Did you happen to stumble upon any precious metals or gems while you were there?" Sere took out a transparent card as images of mountains appeared on the touch screen.

Kelan spoke. "No. Unfortunately I didn't. I was only there for a day. " Kelan waited and listened while Sere tapped on the touch screen of his ID card. "I only asked because I am planning to send a mining party to the Crashing Mountains next year. I'm hoping to double my investment."

Kelan asked without any restraint. "Do they have any leads or suspects in custody?"

Sere shook his head. Sere spoke. "Not here. I will tell you what I know later. Why were you traveling alone in the Dead Desert?"

Kelan spoke. "I didn't say I was. I traveled in the company of the Itipio tribe."

Sere widened his eyes and spoke. "You traveled with the Itipio tribe? Aren't they..."

Kelan replied. "No. Their culture may seem foreign to us, but they are like you and me." _And some are very beautiful like Suyzi._

Sere spoke carefully. "I mean are they, you know..."

Kelan finished the word for him. "Savages." Kelan turned to Sere and gave him a hard look. "Those savages welcomed me with open arms. On the other hand, when I arrived to the city, the guards arrested me and put me in chains. Later they threw me in a cell without telling me why I was being arrested in the first place. So you tell me who the real savages are?"

Sere said. "Surely it was all a misunderstanding. Ever since the Freemen began intensifying their attacks months ago, security around the gates has tightened."

Kelan shook his head and looked out at the clear sky. _Back in the Dead Desert his feelings were conflicted. He tried his best not to look into her eyes. He couldn't stare into her eyes without the beast within him roaring with yearning. He knew that for another second or so and he would have followed her to the end of the world. But the Chemlam was good to him. He had to find the ones responsible. But why did he let a lie slip from his tongue to her ears. If there was ever a time he hated himself, it was now._

Kelan looked back at the crowd and whispered. "Who is that?"

Sere replied back. "Where?" Kelan pointed at a woman dressed in a gold dress in center of the crowd.

Sere replied. "She is the widow of the decreased Chemlam who was a trusted colleague of mine."

Kelan asked. "The Chemlam has a wife?" Kelan looked around to make sure no one was nearby before he opened his mouth. "Sere, I didn't know the Chemlam married? Who is she?"

Sere spoke. "A few years back, her father, the Lord Strongblood arranged a marriage between his daughter and the Chemlam. The Strongblood is one of the richest and most powerful families and Chemlam needed their support to rule. At first, everyone including me thought that this arranged marriage was a power play for the Lord Strongblood to consolidate even more power for himself. When she became the Chemlady, she avoided her family and cut all ties with her father. Let's just say Lord Strongblood wasn't too pleased. He publicly disowned her and named his nephew as his sole heir. Only under the intervention of the Chemlam, Lord Strongblood reinstated his only daughter back into the family, but the rumor is that father and daughter have not seen each other since her wedding day."

The lightkeepers in white cloaks shot strings of iridescent lights into the sky with their flashlights as the casket was lowered into the hole. Then the booming sound of cannons could be heard, blasting little stars infused in golden radiance into the sky. The little stars fell apart falling down as sprinkles. Before the sprinkles of light reached the ground, they dissipated in thin air. The white-cloaked man finished the goodbye speech and the crowd broke away, leaving behind the lady and the white-cloaked man by the casket. Four knights in gold stood a few feet away from the lady.

Sere spoke. "The Chemlady is renowned for her generosity and beauty. All who come to the City of Lights from every corner of the world come for a glimpse of her beauty. I can arrange an audience with her."

Kelan nodded. "Yeah. I would like to see if her reputation precedes her." Sere spoke. "Then it is settled. Follow me." Kelan spoke. "Right now? No, I must prepare myself. It has been a long trip."

Sere spoke. "The Chemlady does not care for appearances. But do make sure you address her by her first name, Mariah. She hates to be addressed as Chemlady or lady. Another thing, keep your head bowed low and wait until she speaks before making eye contact with her." Kelan opened his mouth to protest, but Sere grabbed his hand and dragged him forward. The crowd broke out, drifting away. But Kelan only had eyes for the lady in the gold dress. Kelan noticed her eyes were red and tears were running down her face.

Before they could get any closer, four knights moved in front of the woman in the gold dress. The four knights were clad in golden armor. Their golden breastplates were encrusted with diamonds. Their golden leg armors had a capital D on their knee. Strapped around their backs, they had heater shield in white with a capital D inscribed on the face of the shield. Each of them wielded golden tridents in one of their hands. Sere waved for them to move. "Move aside. I'm the Chemlady's minister of intelligence. Don't you recognize me? I've important news for the Chemlady." The four knights did not bulge.

The white-cloaked man appeared, speaking to the golden knights. "What is this disturbance?" Then the white-cloaked man turned and saw Sere. "Oh its just you. I haven't seen you in court for a while. I thought you died, drowning your sorrows in mead or wine in some dirty tavern."

Sere answered. "Versia, you slippery serpent. What lies have you been whispering to my Chemlady?"

The lady in the gold dress spoke. "Stop it the both of you." Her voice was firm and crisp. Two of the golden knights moved aside to the left, while other two moved aside to the right.

Sere and Versia bowed their heads down. Both Sere and Versia gave sideway glances at Kelan who was standing still. On cue, Kelan bowed his head down. She spoke. "You may all rise."Kelan lifted his head up. Sere spoke civilly. "Mariah, may the will of Light keep you strong. Your husband was one of my greatest and closest friends. He will be greatly missed. You will always have my support till my lasting breath."

Kelan naturally wanted to comfort her, but knew doing so would be inappropriate. She smelled like bouquet of fresh flowers. Even though Kelan could tell she had been crying earlier, she was a natural beauty without a touch of makeup on her face. Her brown hair was covering her left eye. She was wearing a diamond wedding ring on her right ring finger. Her gold dress had stripes of silver running down the dress hems. She was wearing a necklace with a ball of shining light in the middle. When the sunlight shined in her eyes, he could swear her eyes changed from brown to violet. He had insatiable urge to kiss her. He fought hard to quell that urge. He tried hard and focused his mind on Suyzi.

Mariah spoke to Sere. "Your words comfort me. Who is your friend?"

Kelan realized his mouth was wide open. Quickly he closed his mouth. Kelan spoke. "My name is Kelan from the City of Light. My lady may I say for once the rumors are true." Mariah looked at him smiled and said, "And what would that be? Kelan said. "That you're beauty is like the rarest flower in the world my lady."

Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight as she said, "You are too modest. Kelan, was it? My husband spoke of you dearly. He missed your company."

Sere spoke up. "Mariah, I must excuse myself. I have errands to attend to."

Mariah nodded. "Please come see me later. I have something to ask of you." Sere bowed his head. He patted Kelan on the back. Then Sere walked past Versia and began singing.

"Somewhere out in the seven seas, I was left out to die.

Oh, I never met a sea serpent that wouldn't lie.

Trapped under a rock, they would cry.

Promised me gold and shiny gems.

The moment I set them free.

They left me to rot undersea

If only the future, I could foresee.

Somewhere out in the seven seas, I was left out to die."

Kelan saw Versia frowning at Sere, but turned his attention to Kelan. Kelan spoke. "I miss him too. He was good to me."

Mariah spoke with sadness. "Yes, he was. He was a loving husband and could always get me to laugh like no one else. I still remember my wedding as if it was only yesterday. Now a day doesn't go by that I don't miss them."

Kelan spoke. "I'm sorry about your losses."

Mariah replied solemnly. "Todd was my other love. He was my beloved dog and my best friend."

Kelan spoke. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Kelan waited before replying. "My lady, I came to give you my condolences. Your husband was a wise man of great eminence. His presence will be greatly missed. The people of this city including myself are indebted to him and will always be grateful for what he did for this city."

Mariah said. "Your words give me comfort in a day filled with sadness. Thank you." She wiped the tear off her face.

Kelan went to her side and put his arm around her. The golden knights gave him a warning glance. Versia interrupted. "No one can touch the Chemlam's wife." His eyes looked ready to kill.

Kelan pulled his hands away.

Mariah said. "Versia, he meant it as a comforting gesture." Mariah turned to Kelan and asked. "Isn't that right?"

_Beautiful does you no justice. You are beyond it._ Still in a trance and caught unprepared, Kelan said. "Sorry, my lady could you repeat what you said again?

She smiled. _It was as if_ _he was caught in a spell casted by her beauty._ She was twirling a strand of her brown hair behind her ear.

She took the moment of silence as an opportunity. Mariah spoke. "Versia could you bring me an umbrella. The sun is becoming unbearable for me."

Versia frowned, clearly unhappy. Versia replied. "I would feel more at ease if I was by your side."

Mariah spoke sharply. "Are you assuming that I can not take of myself?" Versia spoke. "No. Never...But it is my job to keep you safe."

Mariah waved him concerns away. "I'll be fine. I have my brave knights in gold."

Reluctantly Versia walked off. But before he did, he glared at Kelan with pure hatred. Kelan spoke as soon as Versia was out of earshot. "Who was that, my lady, if I may ask?"

Mariah answered. "Oh Vesira? He's just doing his job as my chief security adviser."

Kelan replied. "He could work on his temper, my lady."

Mariah smiled and asked. "Could you do me a favor?"

Kelan replied a bit too quickly. "Anything."

Mariah spoke. "Could you be a doll and call me Mariah."

Kelan spoke fast. "My apology. I was distracted by the presence of such exquisite beauty in front of me."

Mariah smiled faintly at his awkward compliment. "I would like to show you something." She began swirling her hands, creating clouds of grayish black smoke. The clouds of smoke began to build up, swirling into a miniature tornado. The clouds of smoke cleared away and there was nothing to see. Then a dog bark came from the spot where the smoke dissipated into the air. It was a low deep bark.

Kelan stepped back with his hands in his back pockets, yelling in surprise. "Whoa! Where did that bark come from?"

She laughed and spoke. "This is my blessed dog, Todd...Watch this." She pulled out a lighter from her handbag. She switched it on. A little red fire appeared on the tip of the lighter. Then she dipped the tip of the lighter into the air. In seconds, the red flame spread through the air until a shape of a dog on fire appeared in front of him. The fire burned brightly and the heat coming from Todd was hot and quite real. Now Todd was moving back and forth in front of her. Todd growled at him.

Kelan's mouth was hanging open in complete awe.

She noticed his amazement and spoke. "Let's play a simple game. I'll ask you a question and if I find your answer satisfactory, in return, you may ask a question of your own. Does that seem fair?"

Kelan nodded. Mariah asked. "Why did you leave?" Kelan answered. "I wanted to leave and see the world around me." Mariah looked at him suspiciously. "Tell me the truth." Kelan looked around and stared at the golden knights. Mariah spoke. "They won't tell a soul." Kelan whispered. "I left to run away from my past. I was in the Mosdeath organization."

Mariah spoke in surprise. "The Mosdeath? I thought they disbanded." Kelan replied. "I do not know. I haven't contacted them for over ten years. I was tired of the mindless killing. I couldn't do it anymore."

Mariah spoke. "I understand. I won't convict you for any past crimes you may have committed. However I will need you when the time comes." Kelan nodded.

Mariah spoke. "Have you heard of the Freemen?"

Kelan spoke. "They are a band of rebels who once were citzens in this city, but left the city to oppose the injustices that they hold the Chemlam responsible during his rule. They are ruthless and won't hesitate to kill innocents to accomplish their goals. But I know the Chemlam was a good man. Anyone against him or his legacy is also against me. If you accept my support, I will lead the fight against them."

"Such brave words. I want to believe you're a man of your word. However I have been wrong countless time before. My husband is dead and all people care about is how this death will affect them personally. We were truly in love...I really loved...."

Her bottom pinkish lip quivered and she couldn't finish. Todd stopped pacing around and his red flames flickered. Todd moved his head to her in concern.

She was holding in the tears. "It's okay...I'm fine."

Kelan glanced down at the transparent dog changing colors from a red flame to blue flame, and asked timidly. "Is that normal or should I be worried?"

Her eyes glittered wetly, every beam of sunlight that hit her eyes were like diamonds. "Should you? Don't worry my Todd is very special. He is only dangerous to those who do me ill will. And I am good at weeding out the rotten apples on a tree. Oh I almost forgot. You answered my question so now you can ask me a question."

Kelan asked. "I know this is personal. But I need an honest answer. Do you know who murdered your husband?"

She answered simply. "No." She paused and then gently touched his lip with her index finger. "Come closer."

Kelan pointed at himself and wetted his lips. _How did he get so lucky? What was he thinking? She is the Chemlam's wife. He tried to think of Suyzi and her light brown eyes._

But slowly Kelan moved closer until their heads were almost touching only inches away. Up close she was even more breathtaking. Her skin was flawless without any blemishes. The iris of her right eye seemly changed colors from brown to blue, and finally to violet. Her eyelashes were long and curled, bringing out the color in her eye. She smiled at Kelan and pushed her brown hair away from her left eye. She whispered. "I just met you, but I feel like I can trust you. Can you keep a secret for me?" Kelan's eyes widened and replied. "Of course." She then turned her eyes to Todd. Todd snorted defiantly but relented. He strutted a few paces away and stared forward. His pointy ears twitched in different directions as he sniffed the air for trouble. Something was wrong because of all sudden, Todd let out a shrill whine. She whispered something softly to Kelan's ear. Kelan nodded and spoke. "It was nice talking to you." She smiled and fumbled for something in her handbag.

Twenty knights appeared in black full armor coming forward. Each knight in black carried a steel katana in each hand. A man in the front of them wore a black cloak with red baron sigil pinned on his collar.

The man in the black cloak yelled. "Mariah Strongblood, you are stripped of your title and will be placed under arrest on the order of Lord Strongblood, please dissipate your pet and do not resist."

The four gold knights stepped forward and aimed their trident in striking position at the knights in black.

Mariah spoke. "Yield. Do not engage." The knights in gold went back to standing position. Mariah spoke. "My sweet cousin, what a pleasure to finally see you after all these years. You have grown to a young handsome man. But there must be a misunderstanding."

The man had brown, spiked-up hair and cold, blue eyes.

Todd burst into red flame. Todd was barking loudly, snarling at the man in the black cloak and the knights in black. Kelan quickly moved in front of the lady. "What is the meaning of this?"

The man in the black cloak stepped forward and pushed Kelan roughly aside and snarled. "None of your concern. Now leave before I arrest you too."

Her cousin turned his attention back to the lady, speaking. "Mariah, you are accused of having a hand in poisoning your husband, the late Chemlam. You will escorted to your father's castle and there you will stay until your trial commences." She calmly petted the wisps of flames of Todd. With a wave of her hand, Todd disappeared.

Mariah spoke quietly. "How is my father doing?"

For the first time, her cousin spoke in a gentle tone. "He is doing well. He welcomes you back in open arms."

Mariah replied. "How considerate of him." Mariah turned to her four knights in gold. "My brave knights, you have protected me. Numerous times, you have put your life on the line for me. I can never repay what you have all done for me. But under the will of Light, you're all free to go. I release you from my bond."

The four knights in gold kneeled down before their Chemlady. One of the knights pulled his visor up. His blue eyes were filled with mixture of dedication and trust. He spoke. "Mariah, we swore a vow before the Light under your husband, the late Chemlam to protect you until our last breath. We shall wait for you until your release." The other knights in gold chanted. "May the will of Light keep our Chemlady safe."

Kelan saw Mariah's lips quivered slightly before composing herself. "My brave knights, please protect the city while I'm gone."

They bowed again before stepping back. The light from the sun shining down on their gold armor reminded Kelan of the legendary knights of the past.

The black-cloaked man motioned for the knights in black to take the Chemlady. The knights in black surrounded the Chemlady. Then they led her away with five knights in black behind her and the black-cloaked man and five knights in black in front.

Kelan watched until the circle of knights in black disappeared into the distance. Kelan stood frozen where he was. The words she whispered to him rang in his ears. _I'm pregnant._

### ****

### Chapter 4: Lost and Found

A soft hum drifted into the boy's ears. Instinctively he reached for his maple bow and his arrows lying next to him. He opened his eyes to the rays of light shining through the layers of branches and leaves. He relaxed his grip. The soft humming stopped. _It was probably a songbird singing outside, trying his luck to find a mate. Hope some of that luck is on our side today because where we are going, we going to need a lot of it._

He glanced over to his sister who was sleeping under a gray, furry blanket. A devious thought crept his mind. He tiptoed his way to a bowl of cold water that he boiled yesterday night and kept to cool overnight. He picked it up as quietly as possible. He carefully balanced the bowl of water in his hands, tiptoeing silently like a cat stalking its prey to his sleeping, unsuspecting sister.

He had second thoughts as he looked down at his sister who was sleeping peacefully. But before he could change his mind, he poured the water down onto her. She woke up with a shriek as she opened her eyes. She spoke sheepishly. "What was that for? That wasn't funny." She got up slowly and glared at her brother. He looked at her and spoke. "Don't give me that look. I had to get you up somehow." She continued frowning at him. He spoke. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again, Deary." He reached out for his pack to begin putting a thick coil of rope into his pack for the long journey ahead. He spoke. "Go wash up and I will serve you your breakfast, Deary. Today our exciting adventure begins."

She spoke eagerly. "Just like father and mother." She went over to the oak polished basin. She splashed the cool water onto her face. As the ripples of water in the basin stopped, she looked down at her reflection. Strands of her black, silky hair covered her forehead. She moved her strands of black hair away from her face. She ran her fingers through her smooth hair. Her brother would always bring her some ariherbs from his foraging trips that she would crush up later to soften her hair during a shower. Her eyes were big and round. Then she looked down at her hands and her feet. They were small which made her feel useless sometimes. She picked out a wooden toothbrush with white bristles out from a nearby bundle. Her brother handed her a small wooden bowl of lime green paste. She dipped her wooden toothbrush into the lime green paste. She went over to the basin of water and empty basin. She opened her mouth and brushed her white teeth for a few minutes. The green paste quickly changed to foam in her mouth. She watched her brother brush his white teeth for a few minutes before she turned away. She sipped water from her water basin swishing the water in her mouth for thirty seconds, counting in her head before finally spitting it out in an empty basin. Then she put everything back into place on the floor.

Her brother handed her a basket of berries. She popped a few in her mouth. The moment she bit into the berries, a burst of sweetness and tanginess lit up her taste buds. After eating her full, she went into her pack and pulled out a small container. She twisted off the cap and applied black dye around her eyes. She picked up her yew longbow and strapped it over her shoulders.

Her brother yelled from below. "Are you ready, Deary." He was already climbing down the ladder. She yelled. "Wait my book! It's not in my pack." She looked around in haste. Then she spied the black book next to her mattress. She carefully placed it inside her pack.

An hour later, they were running along a riverbank. The girl turned her head towards the slow-moving river. The water was clear and motionless enough for her to see the reflection of herself. Then a glimmer of silver leaped from the water, hanging in mid-air for a second. Then a second later, the glimmer of silver plunged back into the water sending splashes, distorting her reflection on the water surface. She was curious to see what leaped out of the water. She slowed down before stopping completely. She bent down on her knees on the soft mud. She was on the edge of the damp riverbank, looking down at the clear water. Then she noticed something gold sparkling at the bottom of the river. Her eyes widened as she leaned in for a closer look. Then her hands slipped on the mud, losing her balance and fell in.

Her brother heard a loud splash and turned around. She screamed out for help. He ran back to her as she was fighting for her life. She kicked frantically as her head bobbed up and down in the water. He looked around and saw that there were no nearby trees close enough to tie a rope around. He saw no other resort and leaped off the riverbank. He took one breath of air and dived into the water. The first thing that hit him was the cold. He touched the bottom of the river and his fingers grasped upon the gold object. Then he swam up to water surface. He grabbed his sister and swam them both back to the riverbank. He pulled her onto the riverbank and immediately gave her a warm embrace. He looked down to his fingers and saw it was a golden ring. He quickly closed his fingers over the golden ring. Then he put the golden ring in his pocket stealthily without his sister noticing. He spoke urgently. "Deary, we must go. We still have a lot of ground to cover. We have many more ground to cover before night falls."

She cried out. "My book. It's wet. Soaking wet." He spoke. "Give it to me. We have it dried later. Right now we have to go." Reluctantly she pushed her hands off the soft ground. The boy spoke hurriedly. "We must go now. Okay?" She looked at her brother beaming proudly. She spoke. "Let's go, Brother Bear."

He grabbed her hand and guided them just as the shrieking howls began. Above them were branches dense with leaves. The strong, bright light shined through the cracks of the trees above. Thousands of withered autumn leaves lay scattered on the mushy, muddy forest floor. She was slowing down as weight of her bow and her pack was taking its toll. He also carried a pack and his maple bow over his shoulders while holding a gnarly, twisting maple staff in his hand. The shrieking howls seem to be getting closer. The boy stopped at his tracks and motioned for his sister to stop. The boy turned his head in the direction of the sound. The shrieking howls sounded eerily familiar to him. The boy yelled. "Deary climb up the trees now!" She obeyed him without question. She ran towards a tree of medium stature that had several branches that was within her reach. She heard the screeching howls and the fear made her run even faster. She was a foot away from the tree when her left feet got tangled in a roll of thick, evergreen vine. Frustration was written all over her face. She pried the tangled evergreen vine off with her other feet, pulling it off her feet. She overstepped and landed awkwardly on her left ankle. She grimaced in pain and fell to her bottom. The boy yelled. "Flaming Light!" He ran over as quickly as his feet could run to his sister. He bent down to his knees and tried his best to calm her down. She looked at him, struggling to get up. He kept her down by restraining her with his arms. "Deary, please you've got to stay calm down and keep still." The howls were louder and sounded like humans shrieking at the tops of their lungs. He laid his maple staff down and dropped his pack on the forest floor and searched hastily inside the pack until he found his home crafted knife. It was a sharp around the edges and at the tip was sharp point. He held it steady with his left hand and gently pressed down on his right arm until the tip pierced his skin. He winced. The red blood seeped out of his wound. He cut a sleeve of his shirt with his home crafted knife. Surprisingly the knife cut through his ripped sleeve easily. Then he crumpled each shred of cloth and pressed the cloth down on his wound to absorb the blood. He repeated with each cloth until the final one was done. Then he began throwing them in different directions of the forest. One landed by the rocks, another caught on a needle shrub, and another somewhere above a tree until he threw all of the bloodied crumpled cloth balls. Then he locked eyes with his sister and saw fear in her eyes. He winked his left eye, smiling to reassure her. "Deary, remember that game we would play?"

She nodded, clenching her teeth in pain.

"This time when you will find a good hiding place, you stay there until you hear my whistle. The scent of blood everywhere should confuse their sense of smell. Can you walk a few more steps?"

She tried to pick herself up, testing her sprained ankle by applying light pressure on the damp ground. Immediately she grimaced in pain.

"No. I don't think so. It really hurts. Maybe I can crawl."

He spoke. "There's not enough time." He picked her up gently, carrying her body in his arm. He laid her gently beside the granite rocks near the river.

Then he covered her with a fur blanket. She was now curled up tightly under a dense blanket. He spoke gently. "I know you won't be able to breathe. But don't move or make a sound. I will do my best to distract them. When you hear the whistle the coast is clear." He pulled the fur blanket down to cover her exposed toes that poking out. He piled handfuls of mud and autumn leaves onto the blanket until he was satisfied. He surveyed his surrounding to find the best vantage point to keep a watchful eye on his sister. After climbing several layers of the branches and leaves, he found a branch perch that held his weight. The howls were now closer. A pack of long-nosed feline appeared about twenty paces away where his sister lay hidden. He counted twenty long-nosed felines. They were all about the same size, about twice as large as him. They looked rugged with gray matted fur with a greenish tint. They had pointed ears and a long snout. Under their long snouts, were sharp teeth overlapping each other. He looked back at the spot where his sister was lying. It looked like a log of mud. The group of long-nosed felines aimed their nose upward and howled with such ferocity that the boy had to clamp down on his ear. Below him the long-nosed felines broke away from the group and foraging into the bushes and by the rocks for the scent of blood. Sweat beads accumulated across his forehead. His face was lined with creases around his eye. He was in an intense concentration, blocking everything except for his targets. He unhooked his bow from his back and took one arrow out of his back holster. He clenched the wooden handle of the bow with his left hand and flexed the string a few times, testing the string's elasticity. The string deformed and stretched to considerable length until finally it reverted back to its original length. He placed an arrow into position and aiming at the nearby long-nosed felines that were in his field of view. A few long-nosed felines drifted away to the granite rocks and the muddy pile where his sister was hidden under. But the main group of long-nosed felines stayed put. Some were sniffing on the ground or up in the air, while others were wrestling with each other playfully. His hands were damp with sweat, but he never lost his grip on his maple bow. His sister's life depended on it. He was waiting for the right moment to strike.

Seconds turned to minutes as his hands ached from the pressure of his grip on the bow and arrow, not to mention the beads of sweat on his palm. Below the long-nosed felines were getting restless and hungry. A few long-nosed felines who followed the scent of blood earlier returned with nothing, but shreds of bloodstained cloth in their mouth. They put their heads up in unison and sniff deeply into the air. They screeched into the air. They found him and howled in frustration up at the tree. The three smaller long nosed felines leaped together onto the tree. The two long nosed felines climbed up from the sides of the tree and were only about ten feet away from the boy. But they couldn't keep their footing and fell down to the ground. The middle one with his tongue out managed to get his claws onto the loose barks and slowly with one claw at a time began climbing up. The boy was adjusted his grip until he had a firmer grip on the handle of his maple bow. He aimed at the long nosed feline making his way up. _Eight feet away._ Down below, the long nosed felines circled around the tree, howling in anticipation. He noticed the largest long nosed feline who was clearly the pack leader, lurking behind the pack. The large long nosed feline sniffed into air and walked slowly away from them.

The boy occupied at the moment, waited patiently with his maple string strung on his hand. Any second now and he would ready to release the string. He locked eyes with the beast climbing towards him. The beast climbing up was shrieking in delight. _Four feet away._ Then the boy heard a yell for help. He glanced over and saw his sister managed to jump into the river. The largest long nosed feline barked at her, not daring to join her in the river. The rest of pack seeing an easier prey ran towards the edge of the riverbank. Without hesitation, he pulled the string as far back without breaking the string. The sweat dripped down his face. The beast was now close enough for him to smell the earthy musk emulating from the beast. _Now._ The boy released the string and the arrow flew down, striking the target right at the center of its face. The force of the arrow dropped the beast onto the forest floor. The boy waited for any movement. The beast died instantly when it landed on the forest floor. The boy slide down the tree trunk and landed on his feet. The boy frowned as he looking down at the lifeless brown eyes. _He didn't want to kill the animal. But it had to be done._ He pulled out the arrow, cleaning off the wet blood on the arrow by wiping it on the matted fur of the dead beast.

Then he aimed the arrow towards the barking pack of long-nosed felines. His sister was struggling to keep her head above the water. He took a deep breath of air, holding it in for a few seconds. When he exhaled, he released the string. The arrow flew through, hitting another long-nosed feline. The wounded long-nosed feline yelped in pain. The yelps from the wound beast caught the attention of the pack of the beasts standing near the riverbank. They turned around to find where the source of the arrows was coming from. They howled immediately in anticipation. The beasts took off running full speed towards the boy. The boy pulled two arrows out of his back holster and lined them on his maple bow releasing them into incoming pack of beasts. The first arrow hit the beast closest to him right in the head instantly killing it. The second arrow flew over the pack hitting harmlessly into the river. The boy seeing no other opinion took off running into the opposite direction. _I have to lose them fast._

He ran evading the trees by going around them and jumping over the shrubs and vines that sprawled all over the forest floor. Then he saw a maple tree over to the left and he changed direction, running towards the maple tree. The boy looked over his shoulders to see the beasts only a few paces away from him. _I am not going to make it._ Mustering the last energy he possessed, he changed direction and sprint to the left towards a slender red oak with plenty of branches.

A few second later, the pack of long-nosed felines crowded below the base of the slender, red oak. He continued lifting himself up the tree with every branch and maintaining his footing in every indentation on the tree. A weird crooning was heard from above and he glanced above to his horror. It was a nest full of sleeping reptals. They were spiral-shaped with pointer at opposite end with leathery wings folded at each side. The crooning got louder. He heard whines down below and decided it was safe to take a peek down below. He saw the wisps of the long tails from the long-nosed felines as they fled the scene. He climbed down slowly while still watching for any activity from the reptals. He jumped down landing on the forest floor below. He turned his head from left to right. The crooning seem louder on the forest ground so he turned his head to the left to see a single reptal hovering near his ear. He stood as still as possible. After a few moments, the reptal hovered away back to the nest. The crooning became louder and he looked up to see hundreds of reptals awake and hovering. He sprinted off towards the river. As he ran, he could not help, but chuckle at his situation. _Don't worry Deary, there's an army on my heels._ Behind him, hundreds of reptals were chasing him with deadly stingers pointing at him.

Meanwhile back at the river, she was losing the fight for her life. She kicked her feet in the water, trying to keep her head above the surface. The river water was freezing cold. Her body was numb. Shivering she tried kicking her legs to measure how deep the river was. She needed to get out of the water before she drowned or froze to death. An unexpected wave of cold water went right over her. Caught unaware, she swallowed some water before closing her mouth tightly. Some of the water managed to go down into her throat. She emerged out of the surface, coughing out water. She was flailing fanatically with both her hands as she tried to swim towards the riverbank. Smaller waves hit her from all sides of her. The force of the wave from earlier shook her. _What would my brother do?_ Then she came up with an idea as another huge wave hit her, submerging her underwater. But this time she was prepared. She closed her eyes and mouth tightly. Submerged in the water, all she saw was darkness. The currents underwater pulled her through the water. As she tried swimming back up to the surface, she felt an unimaginable pain. Her injured ankle was stricken with pain and her legs and arms were numb from the cold. She could not move them. She could not move her legs. Her lungs were screaming for air. _This is the end. I love you Brother Bear._ As her hope for survival dimmed so did the light at the end of the tunnel.

Then her eyes open and she saw the clear, blue sky littered with white clouds drifting slowly. A face appeared into her view. He had blond, wavy hair and blue eyes. He wasn't her brother. "Hey Darling, we fished you out of the water. My friend over here thought we lost you. Don't you worry now, you are safe now." His friend gave her a toothless grin. His two front teeth were missing. She closed her eyes again, hoping it was just a bad dream. She heard the man speaking. "Tie her up quickly. I want to get out this forsaken forest before night falls. _Brother Bear where are you? I need you now more than ever._

### ****

### Chapter 5: An Unexpected Interruption

"What! You let her get arrested by her own cousin?" Sere was yelling clearly agitated. They were inside the infamous club "Liq Eti Girls" on the second floor. Below them different colors of lights flashed everywhere. Women in tighter tops and even shorter shorts and skirts danced to the loud pumping music blasting throughout the entire club. Sere was holding out a glass of pink, bubbling liquid. Sere spoke. "What am I going to do?" Kelan lost count of how many glasses Sere downed.

Kelan spoke. "Well, first you need to sit down and calm yourself."

Sere was sitting down on a cushion sofa. "Calm? How the devils can I be calm when her own family arrests the Chemlady. How can I be calm when you let her slip right from your eyes? The Chemlady was next in line to rule. But now that the Chemlady is arrested, then the most likely candidate to be Chemlam would be Versia. I would rather die than let that vile man be in charge of this city."

Sere paused to look down below. "I mean look down below, Kel. All these women dancing below with their scanty bodies can't ease my worrying." Kelan looked down. Below them, pretty women danced with their companions to the beat of the music, swinging their body back and forth with not a care in the world. Sere downed the glass in one gulp. He banged the empty glass to the table. "Kel, I'm going to restroom. Ring for the attendant. We have an hour before we have to get to the Light of Beacon."

Kelan spoke. "Wait. Sere, you know you're like a brother to me."

Sere interrupted. "The last time you called me brother, you needed my help. So out with it."

Kelan motioned for Sere to come closer. Kelan whispered. "What I am about to tell you doesn't leave this room. I mean it." Sere nodded. Kelan whispered. "The Chemlady is pregnant with a child."

Sere gave him a look of shock.

Sere started to walk, yelling back at Kelan. "We have to go now."

Kelan spoke. "What about the bill?"

Sere spoke. "Already taken care of. We have to go now." As the doors automatically opened for them, a smiling attendant stood outside to greet them. She was a brunette with small, hazel eyes. She had a red circle of makeup on both of her cheeks. She spoke cheerfully. "Leaving so soon?"

Sere spoke. "Unfortunately and close my tab it's under Placci."

She spoke with concern. "Have a safe drive home. It's a bit cold outside, so keep yourself warm and please come again."

Before they left, Sere asked for her ID card and typed in his password and activated his account by pressing down his right palm on the ID card. Sere then typed in one hundred gallons. Her eyes widened.

She spoke with excitement. "Thank you so much, good sir."

Sere winked at her. Sere spoke to Kelan. "I think she likes me, Kel."

Kelan retorted. "I think you're mistaken love for gratitude."

After leaving the club, a full moon appeared the dark sky. The streets were bright with lights shining underneath the street pavements. In front of the club, was a carriage pulled by two horses. The carriage was vintage and had an antique look. There were two windows with dark tint that he could not even peer inside. The black wheels were large like wagon spooks. The wagon had two lanterns hanging in the front and two hanging in the back. The body of the wagon was polished in black. In front of the wagon, a driver was seated outside. He was reading a red book titled "History of Love and Other Secrets." Sere opened the carriage door and moved inside the carriage. Sere spoke. "My damn driver has taken a liking to reading history books recently. Now I can't hold a conversation without him speaking in old-fashion words that you wouldn't even catch my grandmother speaking in." Kelan stepped inside. The entire interior, even the seats were white. There was a square table in front of them. The table polished in black with silverware and plates. There were seats on either side of the carriage. Kelan choose to sit behind the driver, facing Sere. The seats were made black and white fur. He rubbed the seat. It was the softest fur he ever felt. Kelan felt like he was going to be sick. Kelan asked. "Am I sitting on dead animal skin?"

Sere spoke. "The very best. The hunters told me the fur came from a large grazing animal called a Yok. The hunters said it was first one they have seen in years. The fur is so soft, Kel."

Kelan could tell the carriage was built to be extravagant and for comfort. Kelan shifted the unpleasant conversation to another topic. Kelan exclaimed. "What! You have your own heater in here." Kelan pointed at the air vents located in front of them and behind them, blowing out warm air.

Sere spoke proudly. "Of course. It was quite expensive to install it in, but it was worth every gallon."

The driver slid opened the front window and spoke with a deep, proper accent. "How dost my good master fare? "

Sere spoke. "Shush now. Take us to the Beacon of Light as quickly as possible."

The driver spoke. "Ay, my good master." The driver slid the front window shut and a few seconds later the wagon began to move forward. Sere looked at Kelan, urging him. "Well come on then. Dig in while the food is hot."

Sere took a white cloth napkin that folded in front of him. He shook it to unravel the cloth napkin and tied it around his neck. Sere picked up his utensils and began to eat what lay in front of him. Kelan looked down at his utensils. Two identical utensils lay in front of him and were strange and unfamiliar to him. They were polished sticks. Sere stopped eating and looked at Kelan, amused. Sere spoke. "They are called chopsticks. You've got to use both of them together with one hand. Watch me." Sere skillfully grabbed the two chopsticks with his fingers. Kelan watched as the chopsticks rested on his middle finger as his index finger hooked over the other side of the chopsticks. His thumb was resting on the middle part of the chopsticks. Sere carefully picked the rice and ate.

Kelan spoke. "Wouldn't it be much easier and more efficient to scoop the rice with a spoon."

Sere replied. "Spoons would be easier. But chopsticks are in style and I love the simplicity of its appearance yet marvel at the complexity of using it.

Kelan tried replicate the technique Sere was using to hold the chopsticks. As soon he placed the two chopsticks between his index finger and ring finger, one of the chopsticks would slip from his hand every time he reached for the rice. After several failed tries and getting rice all over the place, he finally got the hang of it. The yellow-crowned rice had tiny bits of truffles that tasted tangy and spicy. He wolfed down the yellow-crowned rice until the rice was all gone.

Kelan now tried tackling the steak covered in a brown sauce. He picked up his first bite. The piece of meat broke apart easily in his mouth. It was delicious, a perfect balance between fat and meat. As Kelan finished, he looked at Sere. Sere was already done. His plate was already empty. Sere was looking out his tinted window.

The carriage stopped and the driver slid the front window open. The driver spoke. "We art hither, my good master. Bedazzled the night is tonight."

Sere spoke. "Good. Come, Kel. We have business to attend to."

Kelan asked. "What is this place?"

Sere spoke simply. "Where all the important decisions are made. Tonight we will be making one of most important decision that will shape this city going forward."

Kelan stepped out. The gates were magnificently tall and painted in ivory white. Kelan looked up at the gate. _The gates must be at least one hundred feet tall._ A lady voice spoke. "Good evening. Please place your ID cards through the slot, then step forward." Sere placed his ID card into the slot of the entrance. The lady voice spoke. "Thank you. Please step forward." A moment later, the lady voice spoke. "Sere Placci. Title: Merchant of Intelligence. You have a meeting in ten minutes. Please wait."

Now it was Kelan's turn. He placed his ID card into the slot of the entrance. The lady voice spoke. "Thank you. Please wait." A moment later, the lady voice spoke. "Kelan Royier. Title: Guest. Please both of you step forward." The entrance began to open. They both stepped through the gates and into a white courtyard. All of the buildings were white. Sere stepped forward while Kelan followed him. Sere kept walking until stopping at the largest building in the middle. It had ten pillars supporting the roof of the building. The roof was dome-shaped.

Sere walked to the door. The white door was tall with a black frame. Sere pulled the black handle. Sere entered with Kelan tagging along. They entered an enormous room. There was a large round table in the middle of the white marbled floor. The round table was polished black. There were eight seats around the black round table. Men and women occupied the eight seats. Kelan recognized Versia who was seated between an elderly man and young lady. Sere sat in the nearest seat opposite from Versia. Kelan took a seat next to Sere. The elderly man stood up. He had a long, white beard that went down to his knees. His face was wrinkled with age. While his appearance looked fragile when the old man spoke, his voice was strong and clear. "My friends before we begin this meeting, please bow your head for a moment of silence for our great Chemlam. May the Light guide him to his final resting place." The old man bowed his head and everyone else followed suit.

A few moments later, the old man looked back up. "I have called this meeting because a matter of great importance has come to my attention. The Chemlady has been accused of the murder of our beloved Chemlam and has been arrested for this heinous crime. Versia has confirmed to me that the Chemlady was arrested and is now the prisoner of the Strongblood. Before you interrupt me---" The young lady sitting next to Versia rose to stand up to speak. The old man motioned for her to sit back down. She sat back down. The old man continued to speak. "We must forgo our tradition by speeding up the process and vote for a new Chemlam today. Our city is leaderless and with every passing day, we risk the chance of being divided from within and falling into ruin. We must not delay." The old man sat back down.

The young lady stood up. Kelan saw she was pretty. She had short, curly hair. Her hair was dark red. She had few freckles on both sides of her cheek. She spoke. "Grandminister with all due respect to your wisdom and experience, we can not override a tradition that has been passed down from the beginning of the city's founding. We are here to uphold the laws not break them." Another middle age woman nodded her head in agreement. The young lady sat back down.

A middle-aged man stood up. He was clean-shaven with not a strand of hair on his entire head. He had three blue dots on the middle of his forehead. He wore black sunglasses that covered his eyes. He spoke. "Light creates Shadows. Shadows breed evil. Wherever there is Shadows, ruin and disarray are not too far behind. Whatever decision, we make, we must do it in haste. That is why I support the Grandminister's decision." He sat back down.

Versia stood up and spoke in loud manner. "My friends, all of your opinions are valuable, however the only way this city will become stronger is to find a suitable candidate for Chemlam as soon as possible. Reno, the commander of the lightkeepers tells me that random acts of violence have been increasing ever since our Chemlam has been murdered. We need to act now to bring back stability back into the city."

Sere stood up, glaring at Versia as Versia sat down. Sere sarcastically clapped his hands very slowly. "I suppose you would be the leader to lead us out of this madness?" Versia rose up in anger, but Sere motioned for Versia to sit back down. Versia glanced at the Grandminister who spoke. "Let us hear what everyone has to say."

Versia sat back down, glaring at Sere with hatred.

"You all should be ashamed of yourself. Have you forgotten the vows we sworn to the Chemlam? We swore an oath to protect our Chemlady from physical harm and slander. Our first priority is to free our Chemlady. The second is to investigate the murder of the Chemlam."

Versia stood up and spoke. "What madness do you speak of, Sere. We already know who the murderer is and she is locked away with the Strongblood. I think years of the high life and good wine has made you soft and weak. You care nothing for the safety of the people in this city. I can see through the angry tirade and veil of facade you hide in. You want the Chemlady back so you can continue your life of luxury. You have never fought in wars, I have. I watched my comrades die in front of me. I had to kill someone's husband, father, and son. You never experienced the scars of war."

Sere spoke. "You go too far. This is a personal attack of my character."

The Grandminister yelled. "Enough from the both of you. I will not have this meeting turning into a shouting match between the two of you. Sit down the both of you." They both sat down. The Grandminister spoke. "The Strongblood wield a lot of power and influence in this city. Their knights in black protect this city, but their true loyalty is to the Strongblood. We must vote for a new Chemlam to counter the Lord Strongblood claim as the new Chemlam. At this moment we can only pray that the Lights Gods answer our prayers and favor our Chemlady. I will not allow anyone to provoke any unnecessary acts against the Strongblood. Which is why we will only watch the trial unfold. Listen carefully to what I say next, if anyone of you tries to free the Chemlady I will remove your titles and freeze your assets. I will see this act as a sign of treason and you will be branded an enemy of the city Leydeity. The lightkeepers will hunt you down and bring you back to justice. This whole ordeal dealing with the Chemlady is quite troubling. I want to believe with all my heart that our Chemlady did not commit this atrocious crime, but the desire of power can corrupt even the purest heart. Therefore I will be conducting an investigation of the accusation. Now without further ado, we will begin the nominations. Everyone please pull out your ID cards."

Kelan watched as everyone pulled out his or her ID cards. Kelan followed suit. "Wait! Who let him in?" Versia yelled.

Sere spoke. "I invited him as my guest." The Grandmaster rose to speak, but was interrupted by a loud beep. After the series of beeps stopped, a lady voice spoke. "We are under attack. I repeat we are under attack. I have activated two more walls for defense." Soon everybody began conversing amongst each other in fear and worry. Sere yelled. "By who?"

The lady voice spoke. "The Troshi raiders. The Strongblood have left the city with their entire knights and the Chemlady. The first wall has been breached and they are now destroying the second wall. We must evacuate the city."

Everyone began to chatter with each other. Kelan and Sere both looked at each other with uncertainty. As the people got up to leave, Kelan stood up. Kelan whispered. "No." No one heard him. Kelan spoke louder. "We can't leave. There are those who can't run. We can't leave the sick, the old, and the young behind. Even if we lose, we need to buy some time for the citizens to escape." Some stayed, while a few including Versia walked towards the door.

Kelan yelled. "If you leave now, you are all cowards."

The Grandminister spoke. "He is right. We must stand and fight or there won't be a city for us to govern. I forbid any one of you to leave." Versia who was the first at the door stopped and turned around to glare at Kelan with great hatred. The Grandminister turned to Kelan and spoke. "I want you to lead the defense of the city. It would be a great honor." _Me?_

### ****

### Chapter 6: Family Bond

Suyzi could hear the sound of the waterfall crashing down nearby. She was wearing a one-piece swimming suit. It was her grandmother's passed down to her mother and now to her. Her white swimming suit had two straps tied around her neck like a ribbon. She had a black belt with a gold medallion in the center of her waist. She looked over the edge of the river and saw an unrecognizable face staring back at her. Her black hair was tangled messily and her face was smudged with sand and grime. She dived into the water as the water washed away her impurities and making her feel human again. After so many days in the desert, this was paradise.

A few moments later, she emerged from the water surface feeling content and refreshed. She swam through the cool water, kicking her legs up and down in the water while making smooth strokes with her arms. Finally she stopped swimming and floated on her back. She looked out at the ceiling of millions of glowing mushrooms. _Not a sun or moon in sight. It feels like time stands still here._ But her moment of peace was broken when her thoughts again dwelled back to Kelan. His emerald eyes haunted her in her dreams.

"Suyzi. Your father says we'll be leaving in a few hours." She opened her eyes and saw Laoi.

Suyzi spoke. "Okay. I will be right out. How is my father?

Laoi spoke. "Exhausted. He came back in hour ago. He asked for water and bread. He devoured the food in seconds and went to sleep."

Suyzi replied. "Okay. I will be right out." Laoi nodded and left.

Out of her sworn brothers and sister, she felt closest to him. He was like a younger brother that she never had. She always looked out for him. And in turn, he respected her like an older sister.

Suyzi still remember the first day she meet Laoi. It was after a successful battle raid against the Yitties, a rival tribe. The remaining Yittie captives, mostly women and children were hunched together in fear. Suyzi and her sworns held every Yittie captives at spear point. She expected a normal raid day when a Yittie lad with a black crew-cut hair stood up. Immediately Suyzi and her sworns aimed their spear points at the skinny lad. As soon as Suyzi did, she regretted it. Any threat he posed to them was thrown out the window as soon as she laid eyes on him. The Yittie lad was skinny and underfed. His eyes were hollow and his cheeks were gaunt. He stuttered as he spoke. "P-p-please. Sacrifice m-me but p-please let m-my people go." A calm voice answered him. Suyzi turned around. It was her father. "Tell me your story and there might be a happy ending for you." The skinny Yittie lad told them his name and his story. He was an orphan who wanted revenge because his parent were tortured and murdered by the Troshi war raiders while he was forced to watch. He wanted to join them because he heard stories of Itipio tribes fending off Troshi war raiders from their lands. She remembered asking him if he could even lift a sword. Laoi told her to give him a sword and he will show her. Her father thought it was a splendid idea for them to battle and gave them both wooden swords. Her sworns surrounded the two of them, chanting and hooting. They were rooting for her because in the art of swords, they knew there was no one who could best her except for her father. From the first day she could hold a sword, her father trained her day and night. Facing the skinny lad, she was surprised to see determination behind his eyes. He held the wooden sword tightly in front of him. The wooden sword shook uncontrollably in his hands. She tested his defense, jabbing her wooden sword towards him, but everytime missed him by inches on purpose. Every time she jabbed, he would step back and readjust his grip on the wooden sword. Then she feigned right before quickly swinging to her left with her entire weight. When he realized he fell for the bait, it was too late. Her wooden sword hit him on the side of his face, making him lose his balance. She watched him as he fell to the ground. He was dazzled and bleeding from the side of his head. A few of her sworns hooted in triumph. He struggled to get up and a few moments later, got back up. She remembered she was frowning at the lack of challenge. But much to her surprise, he ran at her wildly. She waited for the last second and sidestepped to her right, ducking over his sword. Now behind him, she pushed him with her wooden sword to make him lose his balance again. He fell back down, rolling in the mud. This time, he was much slower getting back up. He faced her again, pointing his wooden sword at her. She remembered her sworns were now chanting for her to end it. He looked much worse with scrapes and cuts on his arms. She turned to her father and said that she would not fight anymore. Then a shout from her sworns and she quickly turned around. He swung his wooden sword at her face, but because of her lightning quick reaction, she dodged it by a hair. He then swung back at her again. But her sword met his. Then she swung around and brought her wooden sword down on his, breaking the wooden sword in half. He bent to one right knee and made a capital X with his arms to surrender. Her father clapped his hands and said what a good fight it was, telling Laoi that he had determination and a warrior spirit. But she held her tongue. Laoi pleaded with her father to join. But before her father could speak, she interrupted to stop the madness. She explained to her father that they needed warriors to fight with them, not sheeps to be slaughtered. But her father disagreed with her and allowed Laoi to join. For that, she didn't speak to her father for a week. Years went by, battles after battles, she saw many of her sworn brothers and sisters dying by her side. After the many battles, she watched how bravely Laoi fought, never retreating until all of his sworn brothers and sisters were safely away. Through it all, Laoi was still here, proving that her misgivings about him might have been wrong. She knew Laoi would never be a great fighter, but he didn't have to be. Laoi was loyal to those who earned his trust with an unbreakable will.

Suyzi swam towards the bank and got out of the water. Suyzi saw a white towel was folded where her backpack and her sword were. She dried herself and finally wrapped the towel around herself. _Oh goodness, it_ _will take awhile for my wet hair to dry. But my father can wait especially after the things he said about Kelan._ There were a few groves of trees nearby. She went over to the grove of trees to change. As she changed into her white robe, she heard a rustle. Hurriedly, she changed into her white robe. Then she heard the rustle again. She grabbed her sword. She turned around. There was nobody...only the trees, river, and the waterfall around her. Then something hard and small hit her head. She looked down. It was a small, brown cone. She looked up, scanning the green pines and brown cones; she saw a monkey-like animal smiling at her. The little animal was out of her reach. The little animal smiled its white fanged teeth at her.

Then she realized why it was smiling. The little animal had another cone in its little fingers. She frowned and wagged her index finger. Disregarding the warning, the little animal threw the cone at her. She dodged the cone, side stepping to the left.

She ran to her backpack. She opened her backpack. Then she rummaged through and until she found what she was searching for. It was a dried biscuit that she carried around in case there was no food around. She crumbled half of the dried biscuit into crumbs. She ran over to the spot where the little animal was. She looked up and saw the little animal was still there. She stretched out her open palm of crumbs of dried biscuit. She spoke. "Hey little fella, are you hungry?" The little animal leaped down, branch by branch. Until finally, the little animal was holding on to the last branch. The little animal sniffed at the crumbs. But the little animal didn't move.

She dropped the crumbs to the floor and walked a few paces back. The little animal cautiously leaped to the ground. The little animal got on his hind feet and wobbled to the crumbs. She saw its orange eyes shifting glances at her and the crumb. Its large and round eyes were full of curiosity and hunger. It has long fur that grew around its face. Its fur was light brown and had small, round ears. It had a pink nose. She realized it looked more like a bear than a monkey. The little animal pounced on the crumbs and devoured the biscuit crumbs in seconds with its human-like fingers. After the little animal finished, it licked its lips. The little animal looked up at her with large, sad eyes.

She spoke. "Don't look at me with those eyes. If I give you more, I won't have enough for myself." The little animal chattered back to her noisily like a squirrel. Then the little animal crawled to her and leaped onto her, crawling to her shoulder. The little animal was incredibly light. The little animal perched on her left shoulder. The little animal rubbed its face against her neck. It was soft and felt like cotton against her face.

She spoke. "I can't let you stay with me. My father will forbid it." The little animal looked at her again with its large, sad eyes. But what my father doesn't see won't hurt him. I let you stay, but you have to promise to stay hidden inside my backpack." She pointed at her backpack, motioning for the little animal to go to her backpack. The little animal shook its furry head.

She went over to where her backpack was, bent down and pulled out the other half of the dried biscuit. The little animal was on her shoulder, tried to snatch the dried biscuit from her. She moved it out the little animal's reach.

She spoke. "If you want it, you have to stay in there."

Then she heard the footsteps of a person. The little animal heard it too. The little animal leaped off and jumped into her backpack. It was Laoi who emerged out of the trees. He was in his white robe. He had his sword strapped on his belt. He had a calm expression on his face. He spoke. "Suyzi, who were you talking to? I heard your voice."

She spoke. "I was talking to myself. Just wrapping up my morning ritual." She went over to reach for her backpack and dropped the remaining dried biscuit inside her backpack. _Please don't make a sound in there._ She held the backpack and carefully strapped the backpack over her shoulders. Laoi was watching his surrounding carefully. Suyzi walked over to him and patted his back. Suyzi spoke. "You got to relax. Your back is stiff as a plank."

Laoi spoke. "Very funny. Your father is awake now. He wants everyone at camp now."

She replied. "Let's go back then."

As they walked side-by-side, Suyzi noticed Laoi was favoring his left leg as he walked.

Laoi spoke. "I've never been to the city of Basahar. I'm curious to see it for myself."

Suyzi spoke. "My father said he's been there once."

Laoi asked eagerly. "What did he say about it?"

Suyzi replied. "Tiny bits here and there. But what he did tell me was that they are very secretive about their city. He was even forced to swear to a chained vow before he left.

Laoi spoke. "That's very strange. It as if they have something to hide."

Suyzi nodded. "I know right. Laoi, is something wrong with your right leg?"

Laoi spoke. "N-No. Nothing is wrong. Why?" Laoi began to put weight on his right leg. Within moments, his right leg limped right up and he clenched in pain.

Laoi cried. "I have a bum ankle. I got it from tripping over a root. Please Suzyi, don't tell your father. You know what he will do." Suyzi looked around before promising. "Of course I won't. We find a stick for you to lean on." After they found a long branch for Laoi, they walked towards their camp following the river. Everyone was there. There camp was almost bare, except for a burning fire, as everyone was already packed up to leave. Her father turned to her and Laoi, giving them a stern look.

Her father spoke. "Now that everyone is here, listen carefully. These few days, I have been going back and forth negotiating with the leaders of Basahar to allow us in. They are wary and guarded with strangers in their city and are protective with their secrets. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I was able to negotiate our admission to enter. The bad news is that only three of us can enter."

Suyzi spoke. "What! No. What if it is a trap, to divide and conquer us?"

Her father spoke. "This is their law. All strangers who enter the city of Basahar must abide to their laws and surrender their weapons. While Basahar is shrouded in mystery, they will not dare attack us. I have good friends in the city. Shu, you will come..." Her father looked around while everyone else was staring at Suyzi. "And Laoi, come along. Everyone else will stay here and protect the camp. Ri, you are in charge while I'm gone."

Suyzi stared into her father's eye with defiance, protested. "No. I want to come with you. You will need a steady sword by your side Father."

Her father flared in anger, spoke harshly. "I am not only your father, I'm also your chief and I said you will stay."

Suyzi stood her ground. "I'm going whether or not you say so."

Her father sighed and turned to Leto and Ri. He spoke. "Restraint my daughter and keep her restraint until I'm gone. It seems my daughter is having a temper tantrum."

Suyzi immediately jumped her backpack and pulled out her sword.

Leto and Ri turned to her father who spoke. "Suyzi, are you really going to hurt your sworn brothers and sisters who have protected and fought by your side for many years."

Suyzi spoke. "No. But will not let anyone put their hands on me without my permission."

Her father spoke to Ri and Leto. "I'll handle her." Ri and Leto nodded and backed down.

Her father pulled his sword out. It was silver, long and double bladed.

Suyzi spoke. "I won't hurt you father, but I will fight until you allow me to go."

Her father held his sword loosely. The blade was pointed downwards by his side. She fought her father before, but this time seemed different. It seemed real. She seen him in battle and he was a whirlwind, attacking in so many different directions and angles and though he has aged, his reactions were still quick as a viper.

She waited for him to make the first move. She did not have to wait long. He moved in swiftly, letting his blade drag in the ground behind him. Quickly, he swung his blade upwards at her. His blade was going fast, but not as fast as usual. She could see the blade. She parried his blade, pushing his sword back. _He's holding back._ She looked at his calm face that seemed to be at ease. _I have to give it my all or he won't take me seriously._ She swung her sword to the left. His sword met hers. She tried to put some weight on her sword. _No use. His defense is impenetrable._ _I can only defend myself and hope he tires before I do._ She backed off, knowing he would follow. She waited as her father walked towards her. She dropped down to her knees and aimed her sword to her father. Then with two hands she thrust her sword forward. She saw surprise in her father's face. But he recovered quickly and stepped back. Then he sprung into action. He used the flat of his blade to hit the tip of her blade and flipped the sword from her grip into the air. When her sword fell back down, he caught the handle of her sword effortlessly. He then pointed the two swords at her. "It's over."

Suyzi shook her head before bowing her head in defeat.

Her father handed her back her sword. He looked at her and whispered to her. "You remind me of your mother when you are fighting."

She nodded and spoke. "I miss her too. You know I almost won."

Her father nodded. "One day you will my daughter. But not today."

Her father turned around to speak to all. "Ri is in charge while I'm gone. May your blades stay sharp."

All her frustration and anger at her father disappeared after the fight. She watched as her father walked away, flanked by Laoi and Shu on either side.

### ****

### Chapter 7: With Strange Company

The boy ran onwards as the fallen leaves and grass crushed beneath his feet. He didn't need to look back to know that the reptals were still chasing after him. Sweat ran down his face, dripping down onto his shirt. He could hear the fallen leaves crunching under his feet and the angry buzzing behind him. He looked up at the trees. The branches and leaves of many trees covered the sky, only allowing tiny amounts of sunlight to shine down on the forest floor. He ran faster, passing a grove of red and orange trees.

He stopped abruptly when he reached the river. His heart sank down to the ground, leaving behind emptiness. The river was still there. The trees were exactly where they were, but his sister was nowhere in sight. He could hear the angry buzzing coming nearer. _Maybe she's underwater._ The boy ran a few steps of the riverbank and leaped into the river. As he hit into the water, it was colder than what he experienced earlier. He dived to the bottom of the river. When he reached the bottom of the river, searching around for any sign of his sister. _Nothing._ He swam back up to the water surface. He broke the water surface, taking in a breath of oxygen. He saw that the flock of light green tiny reptals was flying away from him. The waves of the river were beginning to rock back and forth. The waves were rougher, but he dived back into the water. He pushed his way through underwater until he reached the riverbank. He got out of the river, wet and cold. He sat down, rubbing his hands together and blowing hot air into his hand. He realized he lost his maple staff. _Well at least he still had his bow and arrows._ _There's no point going back to find it. Night will soon fall._

He unstrapped his pack and examined it. The fabric outside the pack was ruined, but the inside was dry. He rummaged inside his ruined pack. He pulled out his tinder. It was wrapped in guava leaves, which kept the tinder inside dry. Next he pulled his flint and his knife from the inside pockets of his pack. He laid the tinder on the ground. Then he struck the flint with his knife, creating sparks. Finally a spark fell onto the tinder, creating a small ember. He blew into it softly. After a few more puff of air into the ember and the ember grew into a small fire. He pulled out two branches that were red and orange as the fire. He carefully put the branches onto the fire. Gradually the flames grew larger and warmer.

Then out of nowhere, tears dropped down from his face. A drop of tear fell down onto the fire, sparks sizzling and crackling. He turned his head away from the fire and towards the trees. _He promised to protect her and he didn't. He wasn't strong enough._ He sniffled. _It's been a long time since he cried. He never had too. There were too many happy days with his sister to ever think about crying._ He wouldn't stay here long. As soon as he was warm enough, he would leave. As he looked into the fire, his thoughts drifted back into the past.

_It was the last time he saw them and the first time he cried. He remembered his mother's warm smile and comforting, lingering touch. They were outside their home. The sun was starting to rise. He was at the doorstep, one hand on the doorknob and his other hand reaching for them. His father was dressed in a black suit with his favorite green tie. His father was whispering to his mother. He almost didn't get to see them go and he was woken up by the sound of noise and light downstairs. He climbed out of bed and stumbled downstairs. There he saw his mother preparing their breakfast for the following morning. She had dark brown hair. She wore rimless gold glasses. She looked up to see him in his pajamas. She gasped in surprise. "Honey, what are you doing up?"_ _He said. "Mom is something wrong? Where's Dad?"_ _She said. "Honey, go back to sleep."_ _But he didn't move. Then his father entered. "Hey babe we have to go soon."_ _Then his father saw him, surprise written all over his face._ _There was silence until his mother spoke. "Honey, lets talk outside."_ _As his parents walked out of the door, he stopped at the doorstep. His parents turned to him._ _His mother spoke first. "Honey, we going somewhere for awhile. While we gone, I want you to watch over your sister."_ _His father spoke. "Son, your uncle and aunt will staying here while we are gone."_ _He spoke. "What do you mean?"_ _His mother glanced at his father. His father shook his head slightly._ _His father spoke. "I watched you grow from a cute shy baby who I could fit in the palm of my hands into a capable intelligent boy. Your thirst for knowledge astounds me everyday. You surprise your mother and me everyday with your maturity and growth. Take care of your sister while we are gone. She's younger than you and always looked up to you. Can you do this for me?"_ _He spoke. "But Dad, Phoebe will take it hard. She will never forgive you and mom for leaving and me for letting you leave."_ _His father spoke. "You will have to lie to her. Tell her we died." He spoke. "Never." His mother spoke. "You will have too. You are the man of the house now."_ _His mother bent down to kiss him on both of his cheeks. She smiled. Her brown eyes were sparkling. She turned away, but not before he saw the tears around her eyes._ _He gave his father a tight hug._ _His father kissed him on the forehead. He looked up his father and whispered. "Dad why do you have to go?"_ _His father smiled and spoke. "I will back soon. I promise your mother and me will be back. I promise, son. I love you and Phoebe."_ _His mother grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs and back to his bedroom. She tucked him in and whispered. "Goodnight my little prince." He watched his mother leave through the doorway. He did not sleep that night. He cried the entire night._

He woke up slowly with drool running down to his chin. He opened his eyes. The fire was dead. He quickly got up, wiping the drool off his chin. The sky was dark. He looked back at the gray and black ashes. He poked around with his knife, searching for any signs of smoldering ember. _But there were only cold ashes._

With a black flint handy, he lit a flaming torch under the cover of darkness. Even with the torch, he could only see a few feet ahead. The he saw an outline of something that looked strangely familiar. It was a few feet from a tree that was about ten feet away from him. He cautiously walked towards the object. The closer he got to the object, the more familiar the object looked to him. The object was curved and big. His heart skipped a beat. He ran over to the object. It was his sister's yew longbow. He picked it up and examined the bow. The curved handle was bent. _It almost seems like someone stepped on it._ But the yew bow could be repaired, but his first priority was to find his sister. He slung the broken bow over his back. He looked around, there were pressed grass and scraped mud nearby. He ran over to his pack and strapped the pack over his back. _I have to leave now or the trail will go cold._ He found even more clues, broken twigs and crumpled leaves. Now his suspicion has been realized. _She must have been taken captive._ He continued walking, scanning the ground for clues. _Whoever was leaving the clues behind did not seem to care about covering their tracks. They are probably in a huge group, thinking that strength in numbers will be enough to ward any potential enemies away._ He also could tell that they were going east and traveling fast on foot by the area of grass that were pressed down and bent. He walked eastwards, scanning the forest ahead and below. He noticed green-blackish mud smeared on the clumps of grass. _Green-blackish mud? He never saw this mud color in this forest. So that could only mean one thing they were hunters._ Now he ran even faster. _If I don't catch up to her soon and those hunters made it out of the forest, she will be gone._

The forest was eerily quiet. He cautiously took another step. Before he knew it, a coil of rope tightened on his ankle pulling him up to the trees. He was now hanging upside-down. _How stupid of me. The hunters created an illusion of carelessness by planting all the clues and hints for me to see as a trap._ He looked down. He must have been at least ten feet up in the air. Then he heard a hush sound coming from the trees. He looked for the source of the sound. But all he could see was leaves, branches, and trees. Then to the left of him, he saw movement, leaves moving. It was old, rugged man with long, white beard. The old man was wearing a hat made of leaves and twigs. The old man didn't look like a hunter.

The boy decided to take a chance and yelled. "Please. Get me down."

The old man looked at him with empty eyes. "Hey yo. Mary said to come."

The boy clearly confused spoke. "Please. Could you cut me down?"

The old man spoke. "Eh eel. Mary said to come."

The boy shook his head. _When things couldn't get any worse, this old crazy hermit shows up._ The boy tried one last attempt to speak to the old man. The boy demonstrated with his hand, pretending his hand was a knife. He molded his hand in to the shape of a knife and shook his hand from side to side at the rope attached to his ankle.

The old man studied the little boy with curiosity and nodded his head repeatedly. Then the old man curled up his hand into a cup and pretended to pour it down his mouth.

The boy yelled, losing his temper. "No! I'm not thirsty. I need you to cut me down!"

The old man's face turned into fear and the old man disappeared into the leaves.

The boy yelled. "No! Come back!"

The boy tried pulling himself up to where his feet were caught on the rope. After several times, he gave up. The rope was attached to a sturdy branch. No matter how many times he struggled swinging back and forth the branch would not break. Then he heard the hush sound again. He looked around frantically. Finally he saw the old man was near the branch closest to where the rope was tied. The old man pulled out a sharp rock and with one clean swipe the rope was cut.

The boy fell onto the ground. But the grass cushioned his fall. He looked back up. The old man disappeared again. _Thanks old man._ He checked his ruined pack that was strapped securely onto his back. He checked inside his ruined pack and saw everything was still in there, just shaken up from the fall.

Then he saw the old man appear in front of him. His green hat was made of branches with leaves twisted around like a halo. His beard was gray, full of leaves, twigs, and god knows what else. His eyes were blue as the sky. His skin was brown as the mud on the ground. He wore gray fur shirt and pants. The old man spoke. "Ya you. Mary said to follow." The old man then grabbed his hands and yanking him forward. The old man wanted the boy to follow him. The boy nodded and allowed the old man to lead him onwards. They walked through forest in complete darkness. The boy was amazed by the old man's sense of direction without a light to guide him. After what seemed like forever, the old man stopped at the largest red tree that he had ever seen. The trunk was at least one hundred or more feet wide and double that in width. The old man let go of his hand and walked to the tree trunk of the red tree. The old man was a step away before a long tree branch whipped down and wrapped around the old man's waist and pulled the old man up. The old man yelled in excitement. "Yippee!"

The boy watched this strange event unfolding in disbelief and astonishment, and turned to run. But before he could, he felt a branch wrap around his waist. The branch wrapped around him tightly. Then he felt himself being pulled out into the air. Winds blew hard, lashing his face and inside his ears. The world around him was a blur. Branches and leaves raked against him as he was being pulled up. Finally the branch loosened its grip around his waist. _Wait. No. Don't let go._ The branch slipped away from his waist and he began fall down. The wind blew all around him as he fell down. He hoped the bottom wasn't too far down. Down into a hole in a tree. His eyes widened to the darkness in the hole as he fell. Finally, the darkness turned into a green tinted light. He landed into the hands of the old man. The old man was surprising strong. The old man spoke, clapping his hands loudly. "Ya you. Mary is happy."

The boy spoke breathlessly. "I glad you are happy, but next time warn me beforehand."

The boy looked around in awe and spoke. "Where in the world am I?"

As the clapping from the old man died down, a voice broke out in the silence. "Isn't it obvious? You're in the heart of the red tree."

The boy looked around, searching for the source of the voice. He saw no one, except for the old man who sat down, itching his armpits. The boy spoke. "Who said that? Come out." He was in large space lit in green tinted light. He went over to the wall of the tree. The barks of the red tree were lined with wrinkles yet looked smooth to touch. He was about to touch the wall when the voice spoke again. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You don't want to anger the tree." The boy turned around and he saw the strangest looking monkey. He was on top of the old man's shoulder. The monkey leaped off to the ground. The monkey was covered in fluffy brown fur. The monkey was small, about the size of a cat. The monkey's eyes were huge. His mouth was lined with straight teeth.

The boy open and closed his mouth in disbelief.

The monkey spoke. "No, this is not a dream. Yes, I'm a talking monkey. If you can stop moving your bobbing lips like a goldfish and stop staring at me like you seen a ghost, I can explain everything. My name is Benjamin. First set of business, what is your name?"

The boy looked around. "Patton. I must be losing my mind. There's no other logical explanation."

The monkey ran to him with his knuckles pressing down on the tree floor. The monkey leaped onto his head and began pulling his hair.

The pain of his hair being pulled was too much and Patton pulled the monkey off his head.

Patton shouted at the monkey in his hand. "Ow that really hurt! What was that for?"

The monkey spoke. "Real enough for you now? You're not in a dream. What is happening is that your brain is encountering something that you've programed yourself to believe as impossible. But what you perceived as being impossible is actually your conscious thoughts overpowering you unconscious thoughts. You're a clever boy, search through your thoughts and you will find the answer."

Patton placed the monkey to the tree floor. "My sister was right after all. I was too stuck into the boundaries of reality to take the leap of faith."

The monkey spoke. "So you have questions and I have answers. So out with it. A minute thinking is a minute wasted."

Patton asked. "Am I inside a walking tree? I thought they were extinct."

The monkey answered. "Yes, you are. They were never extinct, humans just happen to have a remarkably short span of memory. Walking trees love to sleep. I knew one red tree, Old Man Snore who slept for one thousand years."

Patton asked. "Why do they call Old Man Snore?"

The monkey answered. "He would snore when he slept creating earthquakes."

Patton composed himself and asked another question. "What do they want?"

The monkey answered. "To live, of course."

Patton spoke. "No, I mean..." He lowered his voice. "Whose side are they on?"

The monkey answered with a laugh. "They aren't on anybody's side."

Patton spoke. "What about you, monkey? How can you, you know...how is it possible for you to talk?"

The monkey answered. "Well for starters, how about you address me by my proper name? I didn't insult you and call you boy."

Patton spoke. "Sorry."

"Mary over there..." Benjamin acknowledged the old man over there.

Patton interrupted. "No way. Don't tell you guys' minds switched on each other."

Benjamin spoke. "It's a little more complicated than that."

Patton replied. "What can be more complicated than mind switch?"

Benjamin answered. "Well first off, Mary isn't human."

Patton looked at Benjamin with skepticism. Benjamin spoke quickly. "He once was. Now he is entirely something else." Changing topics, Patton spoke. "Never mind all that. I need your help. My sister been captured by hunters. She's never been alone before. After my parents left us, she's the only person I've got in this world."

Benjamin spoke. "Touching story. But what can I buy with your sympathy?"

Mary then grabbed Benjamin's legs while Benjamin tried his best to squirm out of Mary's hands. Benjamin yelled. "Okay. Okay. I will help you. For my feet's sake, stop it." As if they were the magical words, Mary stopped.

Benjamin spoke. "I will go ask Young Redwood if she can locate your sister. But if I do this for you, you owe me a favor."

Patton blurted out. "Okay, just hurry. Young Redwood is a interesting name."

Benjamin spoke. "Yes it is. She has another name. But that one, I cannot pronounce her native name in human language. But first I'll ask her about your sister."

Benjamin advanced to the tree wall and put its small palm to the tree wall. Benjamin closed his eyes. Nothing happened at first. But then Patton saw Benjamin's palm was glowing in fluorescent, green light. It glowed for a while until Benjamin opened his eyes and took his hand away from the tree wall.

Benjamin spoke. "She sees a girl with six men in the east. She cursed the men in a language that it's best I leave unsaid. The best word I can say about them is that they are slavers. But she says it's too late to save your sister. They're camped out at the edge of the forest. Once you are out of the forest, there is nothing she can do. I'm sorry."

Patton hollered. "What do you mean it's too late? They are still in the forest. This is my only chance to get her. I won't allow my sister to be sold into slavery. I'm leaving now." He turned to go.

Benjamin spoke. "Wait. She said something else. There is a army of knights in black bearing flags with red baron sigil coming in their direction."

### ****

### Chapter 8: Blue-eyed Devil

After they saved her, they bound her wrists and ankles with rope. Whoever tied the knots, they tightened the knot to the point that the rope was digging deep into her skin. The last thing Phoebe saw was the blond man with the blue eyes giving her a sinister smile before tying a damp cloth bag over her eyes. Then she felt herself being lifted up by someone. The man carrying her was breathing hard with every step he took. Before long she figured out that someone carrying her was a man because every few minutes, he would readjust her in his shoulder so that her breasts always touched his shoulder. For a while she yelled for help until her throat went hoarse and later cursed them until someone gagged her with a cloth. She was seething inside. _How dare they keep me here against my will? When my brother comes, he will kill them all._ Finally, the blond man's voice spoke out. "Put the girl down, Willis. Everyone else keep a watchful eye out. We'll stay for an hour or two to rest before we move out again." She was settled down onto the ground carefully.

A squeaky voice spoke. "But boss, I'm tired. Can't we stay a little longer? I'm itching to get back to town." A hand touched her hair.

The blond man's voice spoke angrily. "Don't you ever touch the merchandise again? I want her perfect when we showcase her. This is my final warning to you and the rest of y'all too."

_Merchandise? Showcase me? Are they slavers?_ A fear ran down her spine. _She read something about slavers in her book. But what was it? It was in the last pages of her book. Her father and mother were traveling back on horseback. Her mother was pregnant. Her father and mother encountered slavers on their journey to the city of Leydeity. The slavers immediately captured them. But when the slavers heard that they were from the city of Leydeity and saw that her mother was pregnant, they set them free. The slavers apologized to them and offered to escort them to a village near the city of Leydeity. Her father said her mother politely declined, but he accepted. After a little convincing, she reluctantly accepted. Her father convinced her that they needed protection for themselves and their unborn baby, but also here was a chance to learn about the slavers and their customs. The three days her father and mother spent with the slavers surprised and changed their mindset about the slavers. The slavers were band of people that came from different cities and cultures. The slavers held no allegiance to anyone or anything only money. Her father was surprised to hear that a few slavers were formerly slaves before. These former slaves earned their way up and paid for their freedom. Their comrades called them vetritaes. Her father learned that all slaver groups were different in the ways they treat their slaves. In the group her father and mother were in, the slavers treated their slave like honorable guests, bringing out camomile tea for the slaves to drink. They even obliged and gave her mother herbal tea that was free of caffeine made from seeds of Hei tree that is said to aid pregnant women. The slaves that they captured were not tied or gagged, but there was a guard assigned to each slave. The leader of the group was a stern middle age man with a kind heart. Her father asked him how he got into the slave business. The leader said he came from humble beginnings. The leader said he started out as a farmer in a village close to the City of Leydeity. He liked his job, even though he couldn't buy the finest things for his wife and two daughters, he was always able to earn enough to put food on the table. One day back from another hard day on the fields, he came home to see his youngest girl stricken with an unknown illness that left her unable to speak or walk. He quickly brought her to the village doctor who said that she was in a permanent coma and told him, there was nothing he could do. Soon afterwards he went into a depression and took up drinking full time. His drinking made him do things, he couldn't control_. _He would hit his wife and oldest daughter when he came home from the taverns. His fields soon turned into empty, barren land of decay. Then one day he heard that there was doctor in the city of Leydeity that could heal her youngest daughter back to health. He quickly traveled there with his youngest daughter to see the doctor. When he finally got there, the doctor told him that he could heal her, but only if he gave him a hundred thousand gallons. He explained to the doctor that he was a farmer and couldn't afford that kind of money. The doctor told him to leave and to take his sick daughter with him. He begged and got on his knees crying out his frustration. But the doctor was firm and cold, telling him he had to leave. But as soon as he left, his youngest daughter began coughing up blood. Desperate, he went back to the doctor, this time carrying a sword with him. He threatened the doctor with his life, forcing the doctor to heal his daughter. After the operation, he cried in joy as he saw his daughter opened her eyes for the first time. He was a man of his word and let the doctor live. When he came home, he watched his wife and daughter embraced his youngest daughter. But by then, he knew life would never be the same. Too many years had past and he burned any bridges with his family years ago. He soon found out the doctor he threatened was a Chemlord. He knew the lightkeepers would be coming after him. He realized the only way to make his family happy and protect them was to leave them. So that was exactly what he did. He gave up his trade and left his family, turned his back on them. As a fugitive of the law, he turned to slaving._

"Let's get a move on it." It was the voice of the blond man with blue eyes. He spoke again. "Willis, carry her carefully as if she was a chest full of gallons." He spoke in delight. "I don't know about you guys, but the first thing I'm going to do with my share of the profit is hit all of the taverns the city has to offer me with cold mead and hot wretches."

She was lifted up carefully and settled down gently on Willis's fat shoulders. She sensed they were on the move again. She could hear many sounds. The heavy breathing from Willis, the loud, stomping footsteps of others walking on the grass, she could hear all of the noise much better with her eyes closed. Though she couldn't pinpoint the exact number of people in the group, by the close proximity of the footsteps together, there couldn't be more than five people. Then she heard a set of footstep that sound distinctive different from the other footsteps. This step were a lot lower in sound and for a second, she almost didn't hear it. She tried blocking out all the other noises and focused hard. This footstep was dragging on the ground. _Was it possible that they have another captive? Maybe I'm not alone after all. I have to find a way to communicate with him or her without causing alarm. There might still be hope after all._

The other footsteps seemed to be moving a lot faster. _Perhaps a change of scenery._ Then she felt herself slowing down. Then she hit the ground hard. Quickly she rolled over, trying to find something sharp to cut loose her hands. "Oh no you don't." A hand reached over and pulled her hair. She yelled in pain. The blond man with the blue eyes spoke. "I think our prisoner needs to see what we do to runaways."

Someone pulled the cloth bag off her eyes and her mouth. Her eyes blinked in the sunlight. The trees were gone. They were on a gravel road. Then what she saw next, made her almost throw up. A ragged man was dragging his feet as he walked. But it was the huge boulder strapped around his back that made her sick. The boulder was making the man's back bent to the front by the stress and weight of the huge boulder. She yelled. "Stop that. Can't you see you torturing him? Get that off him."

The blond man with blue eyes laughed. "That my pretty girl will be your fate if you ever try to run. You're very lucky I taken a liking to you. So if you behave, everything will run smoothly for you. If you don't behave though..." The blond man looked back at the ragged man with a boulder strapped around his back.

She yelled in disgust. "You are a sick man. I thought slavers would at least treat their slaves like humans."

The blond man with blue eyes spoke with a sneer. "Don't bite the hand that feeds you, girl. Yeah, some slavers do. But me personally, I'm all about profits and you girl are full of profits. Now shut your dirty mouth."

She refused. "Not until you take that boulder off his back."

The blond man with blue eyes went to her and grabbed her right wrist tightly. "What did you say to me? You better hope when we get back to town you are brought by someone because if you don't, I will do things to you that will make you wish you were dead."

She shivered in fear pleading with him. "You're hurting me." But her pleas fell on deaf ears. The blond man with blue eyes continued his tight grip on her wrist.

Willis spoke up. "Hey boss, you should listen to the girl. If you damage her, that's coming out of your share."

The blond man with blue eyes spoke to the Willis. "Shut up. I will hide the bruises."

Willis replied. "It's bad business to damage goods nonetheless."

The blond man with blue eyes paused momentarily before speaking. "Will you be a good girl from now on?"

She nodded as the pain lingered. The blond man with blue eyes took his hand off her wrist. "Good. Willis, tell the others to cook me something tasty. I've worked myself up to an appetite."

The girl looked at him with hatred. _Brother Bear, I need you. I don't know how much longer I can hold on._

Later on that day, Willis came over to her with a bowl of lukewarm porridge and stale bread. Willis spoke. "This is the best I can do." Willis fed her with a spoon with breaks in between with bites of the hard bread. After she had her full, she spoke. "How can you do this to another human being?"

Willis looked at her and spoke. "Look, I'm just following orders. The boss is the one you should be angry at."

She shook her head in disgust. Willis spoke. "Look I will try to make sure the boss isn't too rough on you. Usually he can get even worse after a drink or two."

She spoke. "You're not a monster like the others. Set me free. Just give me a knife and look the other way."

Willis in turn shook his head and spoke. "You know I can't do that."

She spoke. "Can you live with yourself, knowing you sold a human being into slavery?"

Willis spoke under his breath. "You don't understand. I need the gallons to help my ailing mother. My mother's dying and I need the gallons for medicine or she will..."

She watched as Willis, a man who earlier was roughing her up was now struggling to holding in his tears. Willis wiped the tears away from his eyes.

"Hey Willis, come on man, you're missing out on all the fun. The boss is poking the prisoner with hot sticks." The squeaky voice came from a weasel-looking man. He was a skinny man. His nose was long and pointed like beak of a bird. His eyes were small and black. His hair was brown and messy. The weasel-looking man turned his eyes to her. He was staring down at her chest.

"Hey Willis, on the second thought you go ahead. I will watch the prisoner." She saw his tongue wetted his dry lips.

Willis looked at his weasel-looking comrade and threatened him. "Rex if you ever touch her or even look at her you are a dead man walking. Do I make myself clear?"

Rex immediately shifted his glance to the ground. Willis spoke roughly. "Now get out of my sight or I will kill you right here."

Rex cleared out, disappearing in a few seconds.

She spoke. "If you want thanks from me you won't get one from me."

Willis replied. "I don't expect one. But it's the least I can do because it is partly my fault that you are in this situation." She listened as Willis spoke to her. "I'm going to get an earful from the boss later. But forget it. I'm tired of men like Rex who aren't good at anything, but running and telling. But I don't care anymore. I would do it again."

Willis spoke up suddenly. "Speak of the devil."

The blond man with blue eyes walked purposefully. He was carrying a long, gray mace with a small, gray morning star on top. Following behind him was Rex and another person.

The blond man yelled. "Willlisss! How dare you threaten my men? Only I can threaten my own men. Rex said you tried to strangle him and then tried to run off with the girl."

Willis stood protectively in front of her. Willis spoke. "Do you think I'm that stupid? You know what is at stake for me. You know I would never mess that up." Willis spoke again looking directly at Rex's shifting eyes. "And if I did do want you said, hypothetically speaking you weren't be standing in front of me now."

The blond man with blue eyes turned his evil eyes to Rex.

Rex was sweating, turning red. "Boss, don't believe a word he says. Willis was trying to run off with the girl so he could have all the profit for himself. He's greedy and wants the money for food for his fat belly."

The blond man with blue eyes stared at Rex. "You're lying, Rex. You're very lucky you're married to my sister or I would bash your head in."

Rex stammered, still red. "I'm not lying. He's lying. You've..." A single arrow flew, hitting Rex in the face, right below his right eye. Rex's body crumpled to the ground. The blond man with blue eyes was in complete shock, gawking at Rex's dead body. Waking up to his senses, the blond man with blue eyes immediately pushed Willis hard, knocking the fat man onto the floor. He grabbed her left arm with excessive force, pulling her with him to the forest. As she screamed in pain, the blond man with blue eyes spoke to her. "You're coming with me." Willis grabbed her ankle, preventing the blond man with the blue eyes from pulling her away. A loud horn was blown in the distance. The blond man shifted his glance from Willis and to where the arrow came from. He let go, but not before ripping a few of strands of her hair before running off into the forest. His two lackeys ran off with him. Soon the three figures disappeared into the forest.

She heard the sound of horse neighing and hooves stomping the ground. In a few seconds, knights in black armor riding on their steeds surrounded Willis and the girl. A man in a black cloak with a red baron sigil stepped forward. He spoke in a proper manner. "I'm the commander of the Strongblood. You two are now under our custody. By law, you two are our prisoners of war now."

A single archer on foot, rushed to the commander. "Commander, there were a few others who escaped into the forest. With your permission, may I take a score of knights in black and go after them?

The commander spoke. "The forest can have them."

The archer spoke. "As you wish. What about the badly injured man nearby Commander?"

The commander spoke. "Show me."

Before the commander walked away, he spoke to the knights. "Make sure the prisoners are secure."

Three knights in black dismounted off their steeds and clasped metal chains on her hands and Willis's hands. Then the three knights in black lead them to a caged wagon towed around by two, large herbivores. They walked on four legs and they had reptilian scales from their head to their bodies to their feet. They had two, small ears similar to a hippo. They looked disinterested and were chewing on something in their mouth. One of knights picked up her up and ushered her inside the cage. Another knight pushed Willis into the cage. The third knight shut the door and clicked the lock together. Then they walked off.

She looked around the cage. Horizontal bars like a net with vertical bars overlapped the cage. There was dried hay beneath them.

Willis spoke. "Hey, I guess since we going to be here for a while, we might as well make ourselves comfortable."

She spoke. "Thank you...for a moment I thought I was going..."

She couldn't finish and broke down into tears. Willis came to her side and hugged her. His warm embrace comforted her.

Finally she spoke. "None of it matters. My brother will never find me."

Willis reassured her. "You're alive. As long as you are alive, there is always a fighting chance. I promise on my mother's life, I will protect you until we find your brother or until your brother finds you whichever comes first."

She looked at him and spoke. "Thank you, Willis."

Willis spoke. "I never got your name? Unless you mind me calling you sweetie pie from now on."

She spoke. "No way. My name is Phoebe and my brother's name is Patton."

Willis spoke. "Phoebe. What a sweetie pie name. If I had a daughter I would have named her something as sweet as yours."

The man in the black cloak came back. Two knights in black accompanied him. "He is dead. His body was covered with burned marks. But that is not what killed him, it was crushing weight he carried on his back. So connecting the dots, you must be a slaver. The penalty of being a slaver is death." He pointed at Willis. Then he looked at her. "But you must be a captive, planning to be sold into slavery. So I will broker a deal with you. You testify against him and say he is slaver and I will set you free."

Phoebe spoke simply. "No way. Not happening."

The man in the black cloak stared at her and spoke. "Then you will share his fate."

Willis interrupted, yelling loudly. "No! I'm a slaver. I confess. Please spare her life. She's only a girl." Willis crawled to the metal bars, gripping the metal bars with his hands.

The man in the black cloak looked at her first with a puzzled look before turning to Willis. He spoke. "It is strange. A slave and slaver trying to save each other even under the threat of death."

The man in the black cloak left without another word. His two knights followed behind him.

Willis turned to her and smiled at her weakly. He sat down. Phoebe sat next to him and asked. "Who are they? These men in black armor?"

Willis looked at her and spoke. "You really have been living in the forest with no contact with the outside world. I will explain. You saw the red baron sigil on their armor?" She nodded. "The red baron represents the Strongblood. The Strongblood is a powerful and rich family that influence and govern the city of Leydeity with the Chemlam. I grew up admiring the Strongblood family as if they were royalty. But when I became a slaver, I learned I had to avoid them if I wanted to keep my head. They obey the law to the fullest and carry out the law with an iron fist."

Phoebe asked. "Willis, who leads them?"

Willis replied. "Lord Strongblood. I do not know his name. He should be in his sixties by now. That is all I know."

Phoebe asked. "Do you know where they are taking us?"

Willis replied. "No. Sorry I don't."

Two knights in black came back and climbed up onto the two large herbivores. A swift kick to the large herbivore's body and the wagon began to move.

Willis spoke to her. "Sleep. You're tired. I will wake you up if anything happens."

Phoebe looked back at where they were staying before. She saw the red smoke. They lit a huge bonfire with the two bodies burning within, reducing into ashes. Phoebe felt no sympathy for Rex, but that other unnamed man, after all he went through, deserved a better fate. _Sleep well, brave stranger. I hope you find your peace._

### ****

### Chapter 9: Heavy Losses

The lady voice spoke out. "Sir, should I alert the people in the city."

Kelan spoke. "Tell them that we are under attack and begin to evacuate the people to the underground safe houses. But reassure them so we do not have a wide spread panic. A panicked mob from within can easily destroy a city than any army outside." The lady voice spoke out. "Sir, I have been informed that the first wall has indeed been destroyed."

Fearful chatter began arise.

"Enough. Fear will defeat us if we let it linger and consume us." Kelan spoke to them. He could tell Versia was shooting daggers with his eyes, but ignored him. _He had a city to defend. But he was also worried Versia might use this as an opportunity to kill him._

The Grandmaster spoke. "Everyone activate your ID cards to battle. You will use them to fight and to communicate with each other."

Everyone pulled their ID cards and activated them to battle, the ID cards illuminating in different, faint colors.

Kelan spoke. "Versia, I need you to tell Reno to ready the lightkeepers and have them meet us at the main gates as soon as possible."

Versia was looking for the Grandminister's approval. The Grandminister nodded. Versia turned away and walked away.

Kelan turned to the Grandmaster and spoke. "I want you to stay here to coordinate the battle from afar. Keep the communication lines open. Inform me of any changes, however insignificant it may be."

The Grandminister nodded and spoke. "I will need Sky to stay behind to help me."

The bald man with the three, blue dots on his forehead spoke. "As you wish Grandminister."

Kelan spoke to rest. "Who else will join me and Sere at the main gates?"

Sere looked at him flabbergasted. Sere spoke. "Kelan, what possible use could I be out there?"

Kelan looked at Sere with affection and spoke. "Sere, you're my oldest friend. You are the only person I trust watching my back."

Sere taken back with emotion, spoke. "I need a drink." A server waiting by the door, rushed to Sere with platter of bubbly pink drinks. Sere took one and downed it in seconds. Sere spoke. "Okay. I'm ready." No one else stood up.

As Kelan and Sere started to go, a dark red haired woman who spoke up earlier, stood up. She spoke. "I'm coming."

Kelan replied to her. "Thank you..."

She spoke. "Melody."

Kelan repeated. "Thank you Melody."

Before the three left, the Grandminister spoke. "The only defense that stands between them and the city is the white wall now that the outer wall have been breached. We pray for your safety and for the victory."

As the three left the room, they walked through the hallway lined with lanterns with candles inside. The flickering light reminded him how quickly a situation can go wrong.

Sere whispered to him. "I think that just in case the city falls, it would be wise to have an escape route planned out."

Kelan spoke. "We will not run. I remember before every battle, the Chemlam would the first one in on the frontline and the last one out after the battle was over. I prayed for the safety of his life before every battle and the Light Gods answered my prayers. When I finally did leave, he died. It was my fault I wasn't there for him. From now on I will not run anymore."

They left the Beacon of Light and saw that the white buildings outside were left untouched. They passed the gates and were about to enter the residential area. "Wait sir, here are some steeds." A shout came from a server. Three grooms followed not far behind the server with three white horses.

Kelan climbed onto the horse, waiting as Sere and Melody mounted on their horse.

Kelan, Sere, Melody and the horses sprinted towards the main gates. They passed many homes. Many of them were crushed in by larger metal ores. There were many everyday items scattered among the debris to remind him what he was fighting for.

Kelan spoke. "Let's move on. We press forward to the main gates. It seems like our enemies have catapults."

Melody spoke. "What about the people whose homes are destroyed? All their dreams and futures gone in a blink of an eye."

Sere spoke. "It's a minor setback. We can always rebuild home."

Melody spoke harshly. "I was talking about the people's safety."

Kelan replied, squashing the bickering between the two. "First we must win the battle."

Finally Kelan could see the gleaming white wall in the distance. Kelan smiled and spoke. "But we have our own firepower." He saw the huge catapults pointing towards the white wall. Then Kelan frowned. He counted only twenty lightkeepers. But what was even more shocking to him was the fact they were teenagers, a few of them who still haven't grown out of their baby faces. He dismounted off his horse and ran in search for Reno. Sere and Melody dismounted off their horses and followed him. Finally he found Versia. He was near the main gates, conversing with three guards in white chainmail.

Kelan spoke. "Where is Reno?"

Kelan glared at Versia continued ignoring him. Kelan spoke even louder. "Where is Reno? Versia put aside your personal hatred for me. Right now is not the time."

Versia turned around and spoke slowly. "He's in the frontline, fighting."

Kelan ran towards the main gates with Melody running not too far behind.

Sere spoke. "Where are you going, Kel?

Kelan yelled back. "Sere, you're in charge while I'm gone."

Kelan pulled out his ID card. It was glowing a faint red. He gripped his ID card tightly in his hand and suddenly his ID card projected a hologram of a sword. He grabbed the sword and put his ID card back into his pocket. Melody had her ID card pulled out. Kelan glanced down at his sword. It was double-bladed sword with steel grip and guard. When Kelan looked back at Melody, she was now holding a steel quarterstaff. Kelan spoke to Melody. "It's time to say hello to these bastards." Melody smiled in delight.

Two guards in white chainmail stained of dirt and dried blood ran towards him. They carried a man in a white stretcher. The man in the stretcher had black, wavy hair and brown eyes. There was dried blood on his white cloak with two, yellow collars. Kelan spoke to the guard in the front. "Who is this?"

Before the guard spoke, the man in the stretcher spoke weakly. "I'm Reno. I was careless and got struck. It is only some broken ribs. Who are you?"

Kelan spoke. "Kelan. The Grandminister appointed me as the lightbearer to lead the battlefield. If only I was here earlier..."

Reno spoke weakly. "Don't say that. I am a soldier. I know the risks involved."

Melody interrupted the two. "What is the situation out there?"

Reno answered. "Our enemies are the Troshi raiders. They are ugly brutes, but they are incredible strong. They are much larger than humans, reaching ten or eleven feet tall. They are thousands of them out there. When I got here with my lightkeepers, the first wall was already destroyed. Our causality at the moment is a hundred and counting, all guards."

Kelan spoke. "How many lightkeepers are fighting out there?"

Reno answered. "Twenty. But we need more. I was signaling my men to retreat. But a Troshi raider from behind swung a nasty-looking warhammer the caught me in the rib. If it weren't for these two, I would've been five feet under. Those barbarians are nothing to scoff about and considering their size, they are pretty nimble on their feet."

Kelan nodded and spoke to the two guards. "Make sure he is taken good care of."

Reno struggled to get up, but couldn't. Reno spoke weakly. "I want to go back. It is not fair that I am retreating while my men are fighting. My men need me."

Kelan looked at the two guards who shook their heads slightly.

Kelan spoke. "Reno, you have done all you can. Leave the rest to me and your men."

Reno opened his mouth to speak.

Kelan interrupted him. "As of now Reno, commander of the lightkeeper, your duty is to order the remaining lightkeepers and guards on standby to come to the final wall now." Reno nodded.

Kelan turned to the two guards and nodded to them. The two guards took off to safety.

Melody spoke. "You were harsh on him. Reno is a good man."

Kelan spoke back. "I dealt with men like him. They are honorable, courageous, loyal, but they are always the first to die. You have to be firm with them for them to accept your leadership. If he pushed any harder, he would've die from his wounds."

Kelan and Melody ran through the main gates. He could hear the sound of metal clashing. He could hear the sound of the wall cracking and the chaotic yelling of soldiers. The second wall was already breached. The Troshi raiders destroyed part of the second wall that was now filled with white marble debris everywhere. He saw dead bodies everywhere. Then he saw the enemies. They were men streaming out of the breached wall. _Men can be killed, but Light God they are huge._

Melody yelled. "I'm taking the right flank. Light save us all." Melody rushed over to the right, where Kelan could tell the defense was weakening by the slaughter of Troshi raiders who continued swinging their mighty warhammers. Kelan ran towards the left side where ten lightkeepers shooting white light out of their flashlight, which burned anything upon contact with white flame. In front of the lightkeepers, were hundreds of guards in white chainmail fighting, some brandishing broadswords and others brandishing pikes. There was no organization, only confusion. Kelan saw that the lightkeepers were all young men. They were exhausted. Kelan spoke to the closest lightkeeper to him. "How much longer can you all hold them off?"

The lightkeeper replied. "Not much longer maybe a few more minutes. Where are the reinforcements?"

Kelan spoke. "They are coming. I need you to spread the word to the other lightkeepers that as soon as the other lightkeepers come to our aid. I want you to sound the retreat and run back to the city."

The lightkeeper nodded and began spreading the word to others.

He ran past the lightkeepers to the frontline where the guards were fighting. A moment later, a guard in front of him was hit by a warhammer and flew into the air. A few seconds later, the guard hit the ground a few paces away from Kelan. The guard was motionless. The Troshi raider now turned his attention to Kelan. The Troshi raider was indeed a giant brute. He had to be at least ten feet tall. He snarled at Kelan and ran towards him, swinging his mighty warhammer around his head. Kelan swung his double-bladed sword to block the incoming warhammer blow. To his surprise, his blade ignited into flames. But he was not quick enough and the warhammer collided with his right arm. The blow felt like his arm was being crushed between two mountains. His useless arm dropped his sword of flames onto the ground. As soon as his sword left his hand, the flames disappeared. Kelan stumbled backwards until he fell. The Troshi raider strolled forward slowly. He had an enormous smile plastered on his face. Kelan scoot backwards until his back hit a dead body. He looked around and saw only despair. The guards who were beside him were gone, pushed farther back by the horde of Troshi raiders. He looked up at the blue sky. It was peaceful and calm. He felt himself drifting up to the clouds. _So this is how my last moments alive feel like._ Kelan could hear the stomping of Troshi raider get closer and louder to him. Finally Kelan saw the large, hairy feet. Kelan looked up as the mighty warhammer came down on him. Kelan closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Kelan heard the sound of clang and he blinked once then twice. He opened his eyes and saw two golden tridents above his head against the head of the warhammer. There were two golden knights, protectors of the Chemlady. For a while the strength was even until finally a third golden trident pierced through the Troshi raider through his stomach. Kelan lifted himself on his good arm before the heavy warhammer dropped on him. The body of the Troshi raider fell, dropping with a loud thump. The three golden knights rushed away to aid the fourth, golden knight who was fighting two Troshi raiders simultaneously. Kelan looked around for his ID card and saw it. He ran over and picked it up. Then he saw a blast of powerful, white light colliding with a horde of Troshi raiders. The white light hit the Troshi raiders in the frontline of the horde, burning them in white flames. They screeched and howled in pain before they died. But they were hundreds more who took the place of the fallen as the remaining Troshi raiders marching forward, albeit more cautiously. Then Kelan heard a loud horn blowing out. It sounded like a jazzy trumpet. The hordes of Torshi raiders hearing the loud horn turned around and marched back. The remaining guards seeing the Troshi raiders fleeing took chase. Kelan ran to the guards, yelling loudly. "No do not give in to chase. Stand down! Fall back!" The guards slowed down and turned back. A lightkeeper from the reinforcement saw Kelan and the worn-out, bloodied guards, yelled. "Why are we retreating when we should be chasing them down?"

Kelan spoke. "We need to get our injured and collect our dead."

Kelan turned to the fresh lightkeepers and spoke to them. "Take five platoons of guards and secure a perimeter outside the White Wall in case the enemy returns."

Kelan returned to the safety of the White Wall. "I knew we would prevail. It was your victory. Well done, Kel." The voice came from Sere. Sere and Versia was walking towards him.

Kelan spoke. "It was not my victory. The victory goes to the many brave souls who gave their life for this city to the guards and lightkeepers who fought to keep our enemies at bay and the four golden knights who turned the tide against our enemies. They are the one who deserve the honor."

Versia spoke. "Why did they sound the retreat and fled?"

Kelan spoke. "Does it matter? We need to stitch our wounded and prepare burial rites for those who gave up their lives for this bittersweet victory. Come, there is much to accomplish."

Versia spoke harshly. "In fact it does matter. What if they only temporarily retreated so then they can attack us when their reinforcement arrives? We have the advantage now. We should strike while they are still on the run."

Kelan hesitated, as his useless right arm was throbbing in pain. It took all his concentration for him not to yell in pain. Versia spoke forcefully, pouncing on Kelan's hesitation and indecision. "If you will not do what is necessary I will."

"Versia, shut it or you will find my sword up your mouth." The husky voice came from a golden knight. The golden knight gave a small nod to Kelan and Sere. Versia opened his mouth, but only air came out. Versia closed his mouth and walked off, cursing under his breath.

The golden knight spoke. "It feels so good to finally say something to that beastly man." Sere laughed. Kelan turned to the golden knight and spoke weakly. "I'm in your debt. I will find a way to return the debt in kind."

The golden knight replied. "Rescue the Chemlady and your debt to me is fulfilled." The golden knight spoke suddenly. "You do not look well. You should go see a Chemlord."

Sere turned and stared at Kelan. "He is right, Kel. You look like you have seen a ghost."

Kelan stumbled forward to Sere as his legs failed him. The last thing he saw was the smooth stone pavement as the everything went dark.

### ****

### Chapter 10: The Hard Truth

There was no sky to indicate whether it was day or night. Not that it mattered Suyzi had little to no sleep since she met Kelan. Now more than ever Suyzi wanted Kelan by her side.

The only light came from the little mushrooms growing high on the ceiling of the huge cavern. Two hours have passed since her father left. After the earlier fight with her father, her nerves were getting the best of her. She stood up, pacing anxiously in camp. _I should be out there with my father._ But a nagging thought appeared. _Her father would be furious at her if he discovered she disobeyed his order._

She turned to her backpack. Something was moving inside her backpack and moments later, her little guy leaped out of her pack. Her little guy sniffed into the air and sprinted to the trees. _In the same direction her father and her two sworns went._

She yelled. "Wait! Come back!" She was about to follow when she stopped herself. She grabbed her backpack and strapped it on her back. Then she went over to a sleeping woman. She had black hair with a scar running down her neck. Ri was one of the first in her father's group even before Suzyi joined. She shook Ri gently and whispered her name. "Ri."

Ri opened her eyes and spoke sheepishly. "Suyzi, is it my shift now?"

Suyzi whispered. "Yes, Ri. But I have a favor to ask of you."

Ri rubbed her eyes and spoke. "You want to go with your father. Say no more. You have my blessing, child."

Suyzi whispered. "I knew you would understand."

Ri spoke. "You're your mother's daughter. I know your mother would have found a way to be by your father's side."

Suyzi spoke with admiration. "Thank so much Ri. This means so much to me."

Ri spoke. "Be safe, my child."

Suyzi grabbed Ri's hand tightly and spoke. "You too, my dear. What will you say to the others?"

Ri spoke kindly. "I'm in charge. They won't object. But I will say the truth, it never pays to lie."

Suyzi let go of Ri's hand and stood up. Suyzi gave Ri one last farewell smile, before running to the trees.

It was dark in the forest. She heard many loud croaking and hisses at different intervals. She heard chattering above her in the trees. She tried moving around the trees frantically. More than once, she bumped against a tree.

I can't see anything in this darkness. Where is that little critter?

Branches scratched her hands as she moved her hand in front. Then she felt something land on her shoulder. Then she heard a familiar chatter.

She expressed in relief. "Hey little guy!"

The little animal chattered busily.

Suyzi patted its head. She moved on through the dark, this time with conviction. Then to her surprise, she saw that her little guy was radiating a white light among the darkness. Her little guy's entire body was illuminating a white glow identical to the light of the glowing mushroom above her. Thanks to her little guy, she could now see a few steps ahead. She walked on the hard ground. But as she continued walking, she realized she was trudging through a marshy swamp. She unslung her pack and carried it above her head. She began to sink deeper with every step forward. Her feet and legs were drenched in the mixture of soggy, dark brown mud and green moss. _At this rate, I will in the bottom of the swamp._

The little animal chattered busily at her as if the little animal was warning her. She stopped to catch her breath. Even after she stopped, she felt herself sinking slowly down. She looked around to her right and saw that nearest tree to her were still a few yards away, still out of her reach. The tree had twisted branches intertwined together and star-shaped leaves. Then the little animal on her shoulder leaped off and into the air. The little animal spread it tiny arms wide and a web-like fold of skin, stretching from its fingers to its toes opened up. The little animal glided through the air and landed on the tree with the star-shaped leaves. The little animal climbed nimbly up the twisted branch, disappearing in the star-shaped leaves. Suyzi yelled in desperation. "Hey little guy, come back here!"

But she did not see her little guy and the white glow was gone. _I can't believe it. I am alone._ The mud was still pulling her in.

Then she heard the rustling of leaves and turned to see her little guy. Her little guy was carrying a coil of rope in its mouth. And then she saw it. Cutting through the swampy marsh, there was a grapple hook with a rope tied around the middle pole. The monstrous claws had six pointed hooks. Her little guy leaped from tree to tree, finally stopping at the closest tree to her. His own paws gripping tightly around the lowest branch of the tree. Then her little guy leaped off, gliding through the air to her. The coil of rope unraveled as her little guy glided to her. Her little guy landed on her shoulder. She patted the head of the little animal and whispered in gratitude. "Thanks, little guy." The little bear rubbed its furry mane against her head, chattering busily.

She took the rope from her little guy. She tugged the rope to make sure it was tightly secure. She took the rope and pulling hard to get out of the mud. Gradually she pulled herself up as the mud and moss dripped and fell off from her. She made her way through the mud in a slower pace, but she was making progress. Finally after a speck of mud and god knows what else splashing on her cloak, she finally reached the trunk to the top of the tree trunk. She dropped the rope. Her little guy leaped off her shoulder onto the tree. Her little guy climbed, but stayed above her to shine white light down on her. She hugged the tree, wrapping her arms around the trunk. When she got a firm hold around the trunk, she lifted her legs off the mud. The white-logged mud ran down her legs and dripping off her feet to the marshy swamp below. She scooted herself up, pulling what felt like every muscle in her body. Sweat ran down her face, building up around her neck.

Finally she found a sturdy enough branch that could support her weight. She grabbed hold of the branch and swung forward until she hooked her feet on the branch. Finally she was on the top branch and she looked out at the trees. She saw only branches and leaves. She pulled up the rope with the crescent-shaped metal. As she pulled the grapple hook out of the tree, she reeled back. Her finger drew blood. She put her bleeding finger into her mouth. _I have to be careful._ The bleeding stopped. An idea came to mind and she swung the grapple until she felt control over to the next tree. It clanked against the tree trunk. _It's harder than it looks._ After a few tries, she finally managed to hook the grapple hook to the other tree. She pulled the rope and found the rope was secure. She gripped the rope tightly before jumping off. The air blew around her as she swung to the next tree. Letting go with one hand, she grabbed hold of the loose bark of the branch. Moments later, her little guy was glowing in white light, glided into the air and landed next to her. Then with one hand on the rope and the other on the loose barks, she pulled herself up the tree.

After many breaks and what seemed like hours flying by, she was at the top of the tree. She looked out over the trees. She saw a barren wasteland where the trees ended. The wasteland was dead of any life and the ground was brownish red. There was burning fire scattered across the wasteland. _Is this what hell looks like?_ Then she saw people in the distance. As the people came closer to her, she saw they were chained to both of their feet with a thicker metal chains connected to the next person's feet. In their hands, they were carrying pickaxes in their hands. They stopped at the edge of where the trees ended and began digging into the red ground. _Maybe they can tell me where my father is._ She swung the crescent metal onto the next tree and jumped down. She did that a couple more times until she was on the last tree. She realized the more she used the grapple hook, the faster and better she got at it. She felt the comforting weight of her little guy land on her shoulder. She looked at her little guy and winked. _Let's go down and find my father._ She climbed down the tree and jumped onto the red ground. _It felt good to be on solid ground again._ She walked past the burning fire towards the people digging with wooden pickaxes in the ground. Her little guy chattered fanatically. Her little guy leaped off her shoulder and scurried into her pack. As she walked towards them, the man closest to her stopped digging and looked up at her. Soon the others stopped digging and looked up at her. Immediately they got onto their knees and bowed their head to the ground. She was puzzled. _Why were they bowing down to me?_ She asked in confusion. "Why are you all bowing down to me?"

No one respond to her. Moments past as the silence dragged on. Finally a woman looked up and was about to get up, but a man next to her pulled her back down. But she struggled and Suyzi ran to her, pulling her up. The woman had red dirt smudges on her face. Her eyes were green and her long hair was brown covered with red, dusty dirt in it. She spoke. "You aren't one of them, are you?"

Suyzi spoke. "No. Who are them that you are talking about?" As soon as she said no, relief seemed to lift the burden off the people's shoulders. The people stood back up and went back digging. Only the woman and the man next to her stood, staring back at Suyzi.

The woman answered. "The Princelings." The man next to her, gasped in fear before slapping her hard in the face. The impact of the slap sent her to the ground.

Suyzi stepped forward and drew her sword. "The next time you touch her, you will answer with my sword."

The woman rushed over to the man, shielding him from Suzyi with her body. "Please have mercy. He was protecting me from my big mouth."

Suyzi was shocked with the situation unfolding in front of her. In her culture it was forbidden for husband to physically hit his wife for any reason.

Suyzi asked. "Sorry, but I'm not from around here. But why was I mistaken for a Princeling?"

The woman spoke. "You look like one. They all have black hair and brown eyes..." The man next to her interrupted them. "Enough. Stop talking or you will get us all in trouble. Just focus on finishing our tasks."

Suyzi spoke. "I won't report you. I'm lost. I need directions to the city of Basahar."

The woman snapped at the man. "You're right. But I won't deny help to a woman who needs it."

The woman turned back at Suyzi and handed Suyzi a small, brown pouch.

The woman spoke. "This will help you lead you to the city of Basahar. Sprinkle a little powder of the pouch I gave you into the flames you see scattered around. If the color of the flame stays the same, you're going the right direction. If the flame changes colors, turn around. I hope you find what you are seeking."

Suzyi hugged the woman. The woman was quite taken back. Suyzi spoke. "How can I ever repay you? I can break the chains that hold you."

The woman shook her head and spoke. "No, these chains can not be broken. But there is...Never mind. Farewell, my friend."

Suyzi spoke. "What is it?"

The woman hesitated before quietly whispering into Suyzi's ear. "If you ever come back here, can you get me an apple from my homeland, Loviea? I grew up with apples as child. But since my husband and I were taken here as slaves, it has been a long time since I remember the taste of an apple. My Princeling gets apples shipped to him from Loviea and feeds them to his pets in front of us."

Suyzi promised. "I swear to my gods and your gods. I will return and bring you back an apple. What is your name and how will I ever find you?"

The woman spoke. "My name is Leona and my Princeling's name is Boshi. You won't miss him. He's an enormous man with thinning hair. When you find him, you will find me."

The woman bowed down to Suyzi one final time. Then the woman lifted the wooden pickaxe and began chipping away at the red dirt. _She wished she could free them all, she really did. But she had to find her father._ She sheathed her sword and walked onwards, following the burning flames.

It's been awhile since she checked the flames. She paused at a burning flame, flickering white and orange blaze. She never saw fire burning on top of the red ground. _It was as if the ground was fueling the fires._ She pulled out her pouch and pinched a white powder. She dropped the white powder into the burning flame. She waited for the flames to change colors as gradually the flame stayed the same color. She continued walking, avoiding the scattered fires around her. Her little guy peeked out of her pack, sniffing into the air, before retreating back into the safety of the pack. The sky was getting less darkness, with a hint of sunlight shining through. _It was getting close to sunrise._ She yawned and for a moment, her vision blurred. _I didn't get any sleep yesterday._ She kept going even as her forehead began to heat up. Then she saw a cloud of dust, miles away. She saw ten riders galloping towards her. She slowed down as the riders came closer. They were riding on black horses. They wore light clothing of blend of red and black. They had long, black braids with dark brown eyes. As soon as they saw her, the first two slowed their horses and practically jumped off their black horses. They went to her. Dizzy and unsteady, she fell. Strong hands caught her before she hit the ground. One of men holding her, yelled. "Hurry. She's burning." The other man pulled a syringe of blue vial and injected it into her arm. A few moments later, she began to cool down. Both of men lifted her up off the red ground. They carried her to another rider and his horse. The rider made room for her as the two men sat her up on the horse. Then the rider turned the horse back around and galloped off. The other riders followed as she looked around in confusion. The rider sitting behind her spoke to her out of concern. "You are safe now, my princeling. I know you can barely hear me, but we are taking you to our healer." _Princeling?_ But she managed to say a single word. "Where?"

The rider spoke. "To the great city of Basahar. Say no more. You need to save your energy." As they galloped on, she laid her head on his chest. With her eyes half-closed, she watched millions of tiny lights above her. Then she closed her eyes. She opened her eyes and she saw sky-high buildings. She must have closed her eyes for a while because before she knew it, she was already here. The rider spoke lightly to her. "We are here, my Princeling. Please stay awake." The horse slowed down and then stopped completely. Then the rider behind her, dismounted off his horse. He had one hand supporting her back and carried her off the saddle. Then other riders also dismounted. The rider carrying her spoke to the others. "I'll be quick. I'll drop her inside and we can leave." The rider ran up the stony step. "Help! I have a princeling in need of help." The rider walked through the open doors, carrying her into a room. Two women dressed in all white robes rushed over with a wheel stretcher. The rider laid her onto the wheel stretcher. The rider spoke. "We found her in the Red Pit. I think she has the blood fever." The rider turned and spoke to her. "Take care, my princeling. Hope I can see you again when you are better." She closed her eyes. _An angel saved me, an angel with dark long braids and dark brown eyes._

### ****

### Chapter 11: A Stranger's Sacrifice

" _Brother Bear, I waited for you for so long. I thought you forgot about me. Oh Brother Bear, the water was freezing. But deep down in my heart, I knew. I knew you would find your way back to me. But when my eyes began to close and I was beginning to slip into a cold sleep. It was so hard to keep fighting and when I about to take my last breathe...I breathed in air. You saved me when I had given up the will to live. But the worst part was I ready to die and reunite with Mom and Dad." Her brother replied. "Don't you ever say that, I will always come back for you." Her brother leaned down and kissed her on the forehead._

Phoebe woke up to the bumps of the wagon moving slowly over the gravel road. Phoebe rubbed her sleep away from her eyes. Every night after her first night in the wagon, Phoebe has been having dreams about her reunion with her brother. Phoebe had the blanket snugged tightly around her to ward away the cold. Willis looked at her with concern. Willis spoke. "Are your dreams getting worse, sweetie pie?"

After several times correcting him with her name, Phoebe gave up. She smiled weakly and spoke softly. "No, they are not getting worse. My dreams show me reuniting with my brother. I'm starting to lose my mind. It's getting more difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is not." Willis opened his mouth to speak, but a blast of cold wind blew past the wagon and Phoebe shivered violently under the thin blanket.

Willis took the ragged blanket that the knights gave him and covered it over her. Phoebe spoke with concern. "What about you, Willis?"

Willis replied. "I am fine." But she shot him a look of suspicion. Willis spoke. "Trust me. It's going to take more than cold wind to best me. I am a fat man. Don't shake your head. It's true."

Phoebe spoke. "It doesn't matter how you look on the outside as long as inside you are good. My father told me that."

Willis replied. "Your father is a smart man." Phoebe looked out at her surrounding. The surrounding around them changed from the lush forest to a plain of grass without a tree in sight. It made her feel sad inside.

After hours of empty grassland, the wagon began to slow down. Phoebe heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her. Phoebe turned and saw a beautiful woman walking towards them. There were two knights in black marching at her right and another two knights in black at her left. As the beautiful woman walked past her and Willis, Phoebe saw a tear running down her cheek. A pleasant aroma of flowers entered her nose.

Phoebe looked at Willis who was staring at her with longing.

Phoebe spoke. "She looks sad. I don't understand why. She doesn't look like a prisoner."

Willis didn't answer, who was still staring in the distance. Willis began breathing deeply. Phoebe snapped her finger at his face and yelled. "Willis!" Willis turned suddenly and spoke breathlessly. "That is the Chemlady.

Phoebe could still lingering smell of flowers. Phoebe spoke. "Snap out of it. We need to stay focus."

Willis turned and spoke. "I am focused. Focusing on the smell of flowers. Brings back memories of my mother's garden"

Phoebe spoke. "Willis, I have it. A plan to get out."

Willis replied. "What? We don't know yet where we are going? So what if we got out. We have no food and miles of empty land around us."

Phoebe spoke. "Let me finish, Willis. The plan involves the Chemlady."

Phoebe whispered in his ears, explaining the plan to him. "You will have to pretend to be ill. I will then signal the guard that we need a healer. I've been watching this Strongblood's army and I've seen only archers and knights. The only possible healer is the Chemlady. When she comes to check you, I will find a way to signal her to get her onto our side."

Willis listened and spoke. "I like everything except for the last part. How in Light's name are you going to convince the Chemlady? Other then that, it might just work." But Willis shook his head and spoke. "But you know if we get caught, the Strongblood..."

Phoebe put her index finger to her mouth and spoke. "Shush now. Someone is coming."

Two knights in black approached them. Their black armors clanked with every step when finally the knights in black stopped in front of the cage. They moved aside for a person behind them. It was a middle-aged woman. The woman wore a blue crinkle dress. A knight in black pointed two katanas at her and Willis and bellowed. "Stay back!" The second knight in black unclicked the cage lock, yanking the cage door open. The second knight restrained her arms because she was wailing and yelling. "Unhand me. I'm a citizen of the city of Leydeity." Without hesitation, the second knight in black roughly pushed the woman in into the cage. The first knight in the black swung his black katana at the cage door, closing it shut. The second knight clicked the cage lock together. Then the two knights in black walked away.

The woman in the blue crinkle dress turned around. Her brown coffee hair was messy and tangled. The woman wore black thick-framed glasses. Her eyes were amber. The woman put her hand out accompanied by with a warming smile. _The woman looks friendly enough._ She had wrinkles sprinkled around her face. Phoebe grabbed the woman's hand. Her hand felt cold as ice. Phoebe spoke. "Are you alright? Your hands are cold. Come share my blanket."

The woman replied in a snappy manner. "What is that repulsive smell?"

Phoebe snapped back. "Well if you haven't noticed there isn't a bath tub in sight."

The woman replied, softening her tone. "Oh I'm sorry, taking my frustration out a girl. It has been a bad day for me."

The woman moved in closer to Phoebe. Phoebe waited until the woman settled in the blanket next to her before asking. "So how did you end up here?"

The woman glanced at Willis with disapproval before speaking. "I'm a professor at the school called Withper. Have you heard of it?"

Phoebe spoke. "No, I haven't."

Willis replied. "I have. Isn't it an all-girl school?" Then he shrunk back as he regretted opening his mouth.

The woman spoke. "Before I was rudely interrupted, I was traveling back from Withper to city of Leydeity, home for the break. But on the way home, my carriage broke down on the road. My driver went down to investigate the problem. The next thing I felt something hit my head and lost my consciousness. I woke with a ball-sized lump on my head and a headache and found myself lying on the side of the road with my driver and my wagon gone. Then I got picked up by the knights in black and instead of being treated as a guest, they throw me in this cage."

Willis spoke. "Seems like you got double-crossed by your driver."

The woman replied. "Seems like it. What a bully. I known my driver for a long time."

Willis spoke. "Sometimes it those who you known longest that betray you. Trust me, I know from my experience in the field."

The woman asked curiously. "What exactly is your experience in the field?"

Willis lied. "I'm a farmer. I raised pigs for a living." Phoebe gave Willis a quick glance before looking at the woman.

The woman spoke. "I'm no genius, but I'm not a dummy." She looked at Willis and then down at his hands. The woman spoke. "You're a slaver. You and your kind are despicable and terrible human being. "

When Willis didn't answer back, Phoebe knew the hurtful words struck a chord with Willis. The woman yelled out. "Let me out. I don't want to be anywhere near the stench of a slaver. Let me out, I demand it." The woman continued yelling even after the Phoebe tried calming the woman down. When Willis came closer to calm the woman, she yelled hysterically. "You vermin. Stay away from me. Help! He's trying to kill me." Finally a knight in black ran over to the caged wagon. The knight in black bellowed. "Hush it. There some people trying to sleep." The woman pointed at Willis, crying. "That man tried to have his way with me." The knight in black turned to Phoebe and spoke. "Does she speak the truth?"

Phoebe spoke simply. "No. He was trying to calm her down and she went crazy after she found out he was a slaver."

The knight in black spoke. "Settle down woman. The next outburst from any of you and I will be taking your blankets away." Before the knight in black left, he spoke. "You know slaver, when we get to the castle, there will be no court for you. You will behead for your crimes. Make peace with your gods tonight and pray for a swift death." The knight turned away.

Willis crawled to his corner and put his head down. Phoebe looked out and saw the forest fading behind her. _Time is running out. We had to escape soon._ Phoebe looked at the woman who was next to her opposite of where Willis sat. _That woman is going to be a problem._ Phoebe spoke to the woman. "So do you know what will happen to us?" The woman seemed to have calmed down. The woman replied. "I was told I was a prisoners of war now. I didn't even know we were in a war? I thought we were living in a time of peace. We will probably end up as maids or servers for the Strongblood."

Phoebe spoke. "Don't you see a problem with that? My mother told me freedom is not a right to be given or taken away so frivolously. We are born with it. Freedom flows through every human being's veins. We breathe it in and out, day and night until the day you abuse it."

The woman spoke. "What other choice is there?"

Phoebe whispered into the woman's ear. "We can escape tomorrow morning." The woman widened her eyes in shock. Phoebe spoke. "It's the only way." The woman looked around frantically. The woman spoke softly. "You know you remind me of my students. Her name was...it doesn't matter... I was never good with names. She was a troublemaker, always disrupting my class. But over the two years I had her, I realized she had a strong sense of justice, standing up against bullies and protecting her classmates who couldn't stand up for themselves. You remind me a bit like her. Yes, I'm in."

Phoebe spoke honestly. "One more condition. Willis is coming with us. End of discussion."

The woman grudgingly agreed. "I don't like it. But okay. What is the plan?"

Phoebe spoke. "Right now nothing. But when you see us running, you run too." Phoebe whispered Willis's name and waved him over. As Willis huddled next to her, she told him the entire plan.

Willis and the woman both decided that Phoebe was the best choice to pretend to be sick. That night for the first time when Phoebe lay down on the hay, she felt warm.

The next morning as the sun began to rise, the sunrays warmed her face. Phoebe woke up with her mind spinning, ready to set the plan in motion. Willis and the woman were both staring at her. She closed her eyes. _Brother Bear, I always expected you to protect me. Always hiding behind you, knowing that you would be there to take care of me. I ready to take the next step for you._ She opened her eyes and nodded at the woman.

The woman began yelling hysterically. "Brave Knights, help! We need a Chemlord immediately." Soon as the woman began yelling, Phoebe could hear the rushed footsteps running towards the cage. Phoebe waited as the footsteps stopped. Phoebe felt something long and dull prod the side of her back. The knight in black yelled. "Tell the Commander. The girl's not reacting to my touch." Phoebe heard the sound of black armor clanking as the black knight ran. A few moments passed and Phoebe was about to sneak a peek. But before Phoebe did, she heard the footsteps and the clank of armor. "The Commander orders us to check her pulse. If there is no pulse, the Commander orders us to burn the body." The voice came from the knight in the black from earlier. A finger pressed down on her neck. The knight in black yelled. "She has a pulse, but it is a very weak one. You two don't move in the cage, we will be right back." The finger lifted off her neck. As the footsteps faded, Willis crawled over to her. He brushed her hair. Willis bent down and whispered softly to her ear. "You are a smart girl and one day you will grow to be a beautiful and strong woman one day. I decided to stay here. These few days with you, I learned more about myself than my entire life. I need to right all the wrongs I have done. My only two regrets are not being able to see my mother again and the other is not being able to see you grow into a beautiful swan. You are the daughter I never had." Willis crawled back to his corner. Phoebe struggled to hold her tears. _A stranger she met only a few days ago was now like a surrogate father to her._ It took all the shreds of muscles within her not to cry out. Only the thought of her reuniting with her brother was keeping the tears at bay. Phoebe held her breath as she heard cage lock unclick. "You two stay where you are." The voice sounded like the Commander. Then Phoebe felt herself being lifted out of the cage by rough hands. Phoebe was placed onto the hard ground. She felt a cool hand touching her forehead. "Knights, I will need some privacy. I have to undress her." The Chemlady spoke out. Without a word, the knights in black marched off. Before the Commander left, he spoke. "Five minutes, my Chemlady." When the last of the footsteps faded away, the Chemlady spoke again. "They're gone. You can open your eyes now." Phoebe opened her eyes and saw a goddess in front of her. Her beauty left her speechless. Willis was right after all. The Chemlady did indeed smell like fresh flowers. The Chemlady spoke. "You're playing a dangerous game, little one."

Phoebe spoke. "I'm playing to win. Please can you help me and my friend escape?" The Chemlady's eyes sparkled in the moonlight and spoke. "I can. But what do you have in mind."

Phoebe asked quickly. "Can you will pretend to fall unconsciously as if one of us knocked you out. We will then run off to the forest. Easy, right?"

The Chemlady replied. "You are a very courageous girl. I will do my part, but you have to go now."

Phoebe turned to the woman and Willis. Phoebe looked back and saw that the clumsy knight forgot to click the cage lock together. The woman who was inside the cage stepped out, she turned and spoke to Willis. "Are you coming or what?" Willis shook his head.

The Chemlady spoke. "Hurry now. Time is of the essence, you must go now."

Phoebe pleaded. "Willis, please come for my sake. I am begging you." Willis looked at the open cage door before crawling forward. When Willis got to the cage door, he grabbed the cage door handle and shut it closed. Willis smiled at her and mouthed something to her. _I will miss you, sweetie pie._ Phoebe ran to the cage door. Phoebe grabbed the metal bars with her fingers and shook the metal bars violently. Phoebe looked at Willis with tears in her eyes. Phoebe wailed. "Why Willis? You have a mother that needs you. Phoebe lowered her voice. "I need you."

The Chemlady spoke. "You have to go now!" Then the Chemlady fainted and dropped softly to the ground.

The woman grabbed her hand and forcibly dragged her towards the forest. Phoebe looked back at Willis one last time as a loud horn was blown. Phoebe yelled at the top of her lungs. "I will miss you too, Willis." _You are a gentle giant among men._

### ****

### Chapter 12: Tough Choice

_Water was everywhere as he splashed around. He struggled to keep his head above the water. The splashes of water were getting into his eyes when he saw a raven-haired girl sitting on the high ground. As his vision cleared, he recognized it was his sister. He yelled. "Deary, help me." She stood up and walked to the water edge. She had blood running down her face. She spoke. "I waited for you, Brother Bear. But you never came. You never came for me." She turned and walked away. Clouds of darkness engulfed her as the darkness swept towards him. The water disappeared and he found himself in a white room. He was lying on the white bed. Then he saw his father sitting next to him on a white stool. His father was wearing a white cloak._ _He cried sorrowfully, tearstained. "Father, I failed you. I failed mother. I failed Phoebe. I lost her..."_ _His father spoke. "Son, you failed no one. Failures exist when you allow it to dictate your life. Never beat yourself down. You are strong and I know you will prevail." He stared at his father. He was dripping wet. His wet clothing stuck to him like vines on a wall. His father spoke up again. "I love you, son. I know the heavy burden you carry, but I know you are strong. You will overcome, my son."_ _Patton closed his eyes and found himself again in the river. He was lying in the forest with the sounds of chirping and hooting around him. A woman walked towards him. The woman was in a white dress. Before he could see her face, a huge wave engulfed her. He shielded his face at the incoming wave._

Patton woke up to the old man licking his face. He flinched back and pushed the old man away. "Come on, Mary."

The man spoke. "Hop Hip. Mary said let's go."

Patton looked around. He was still deep in the heart of red tree. A light glow of green illuminated the room. Benjamin was nowhere to be seen. Patton yelled. "Where are you?" But he got no answer. After a closer inspection of the hat, the old man was wearing; Patton saw what initially looked like a disarray of mess was actually multilayered and meticulous. The little twigs were precisely intertwined together making a complex pattern. The different assortments of leaves were added with some sort of adhesion for color and brightness.

Patton heard a soft thump behind him. He turned around and saw Benjamin. "How do you do that?" Benjamin spoke. "Well Mary and I are heading out. I don't want to overstay my visit and irritate Young Redwood. You're welcome to join."

Patton asked. "Where are you headed?" Benjamin replied. "Home." Patton spoke. "Where is home for you?" Benjamin spoke. "In northern part of the forest." Patton nodded. "No. I made a promise to my sister. I mean to keep it." Benjamin nodded and spoke. "I would expect nothing less. Listen to me well. Young Redwood said that an army of knights has captured your sister. Come with me and Mary and we can teach you the ways to become stronger."

Patton spoke. "So what are you implying? That I wasn't strong enough to save my sister."

Benjamin spoke. "I'm offering you a chance to become stronger. You lost her once and it can happen again. I offering you a chance so that never happens again."

Patton shook his head and spoke. "Thanks, but no thanks. My sister needs me now."

Benjamin spoke. "A pity. You have the potential to be one of best."

Patton stared back at Benjamin in confusion. _One of the best what?_

Benjamin turned his back and spoke. "A pity. Okay, watch and follow me. Once we're out, we will go our separate way. Mary, I guess it just you and me on the road again." The old man got onto his feet and followed Benjamin. Benjamin planted his small palm out on the tree wall. The monkey's palm was glowing in fluorescent, green light.

Then a strong wind blew around Patton, gathering strength. Then an invisible force from beneath his feet propelled him upwards. The strong wind blew into his ears so that all he could hear was the raging wind. He continued going up until he flew through a pitch-black tunnel. Finally he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The winds died down around him. The invisible force disappeared and he was free falling down to the ground. As he was falling, he saw a branch wrap around Benjamin's waist. Then another branch whipped through the air and wrapped around his waist. The branch gently placed him on the forest floor, then the branch whipped back and out of sight.

Benjamin and Mary were already gone. He looked back at Young Redwood. The red tree stood there beside many other red trees, but it looked different among the other red trees. The boy saluted to the red tree and spoke. "Thank you." A growing laughter filled the Patton's ear. "Look what we got here boys, a real crazy." Patton turned around quickly. A blond man with blue eyes walked out between two red trees. The blond man with blue eyes was carrying a long, gray mace with a small, gray morning star on top. Then he heard more movement from behind the blond man with blue eyes, revealed two men following him. One man was short, while the other was taller.

Patton spoke. "I don't want trouble."

The blond man with blue eyes spoke to the two men. "He says he doesn't want trouble." The blond man with blue eyes turned back and spoke. "Well trouble found you, boy."

The short man spoke smiling with a toothless grin. "Boss, he sure looks like a girl with his long hair."

The blond man with blue eyes looked at the boy with a dangerous glint in his eyes. The blond man with blue eyes stepped forward. Instinctively, Patton pulled his maple bow from around his back and strung an arrow up. The blond man with blue eyes stopped and stared at his maple bow. After a few tense moments, the blond man with blue eyes spoke to the two men. "Let's get going. This brat has a stringer." The two men spoke. "Okay, Boss." As they walked away, Patton had a revelation. Patton yelled. "Wait!" The blond man with blue eyes stopped.

Patton asked. "Are you slavers? "

The blond man with blue eyes turned around and faced him. He gave Patton a sinister smile, which made him shudder. The blond man with blue eyes spoke. "Even if we were, why the hell would I tell you?"

Patton spoke. "If you value your lives, you will tell me the truth." The blond man with blue eyes turned back around. "I'm calling your bluff. Go ahead. Release your bow, boy. I don't think you have it in you."

Patton yelled. "Shut up! Where is my sister? Tell me the truth or I swear I will kill you all." The blond man with blue eyes turned around, dropping his mace to the forest ground. The blond man with blue eyes looked up at the trees and spoke. "Let me see...Ah yes...I remember she was a pretty thing with black hair and small eyes. Before or after I had my way with her?" An angry beast within him broke free and Patton let the string go. The arrow flew through the air and struck the blond man with blue eyes in the leg, right below his knee. The blond man with blue eyes fell to the forest ground, grabbing his injured knee.

The blond man with blue eyes cried. "You little brat! I will kill you!" The two men reached for their knives strapped to their belts. Patton spoke. "Don't even think about it." Patton already had another arrow strung up.

The blond man with blue eyes snarled. "Nooo! He's mine." He turned and spoke to him. "I'm going to kill you slowly, boy. And I will enjoy every moment of it."

Patton spoke. "Come and get me." The blond man with blue eyes spat at the forest ground and spoke. "Cheeky brat." Patton decided to change approach, pleaded. "Just tell me. Please."

The blond man with blue eyes spoke. "Only if you give me your word you will set us free if I tell you."

Patton spoke softly. "Yes. You have my word." The blond man with blue eyes spoke. "One of my men and your sister were captured by Strongblood. Last I saw them, they were taking your sister to the Strongblood castle about northeast from here."

Patton pulled some three ropes out of his backpack and threw at them. He spoke. "Good. Now you two tie each other's hands. I will tie your hands." Patton stared at the blond man with blue eyes.

The blond man with blue eyes spoke. "Wait! What? I thought you would set us free?"

Patton spoke coldly. "I will. After you three lead me to my sister, I will set you free. I am no dunce. Your words mean nothing to me."

The two men looked at the blond man with blue eyes, waiting for his orders. The blond man with blue eyes glared at him with hatred and blinked down at his mace.

Patton spoke. "Don't even think about it. One sudden move and you're dead." The blond man with blue eyes spoke. "I'm not sure you can kill all three of us before one of us slit your throat."

Patton spoke. "Try me. I've killed before." He tightened his grip on the arrow and the string.

The blond man with blue eyes spoke. "Is that right? We are talking about humans here, not animals. You know you never forget your first kill. I remember my first kill. She was a pretty, little thing. She was also sweet if you know what I mean. So if you did manage to kill me, does that mean you will never forget about me?"

Patton yelled. "Stop playing with me!" The two men laughed. The blond man feigned surprise and spoke. "Am I? But I'm having fun and you are entertaining my men too. I've been killing people longer than you been alive. I can help you if you accept my offer on joining my group. I will teach you how to survive in this big, scary world and you will be rich in a few years."

Patton spoke. "Let me sleep on it." _If I accept I will probably be dead by then, watching my back, waiting for the knife in my back. No, the first chance I get, I'm dumping the lot of them._

Patton smiled at the thought of getting rid of them. The blond man with blue eyes smiled back. The blond man with blue eyes rose to get up until finally with the help of his two men, he stood up weakly. As the tall man reached to grab the arrow sticking out from the blond man with blue eyes' knee, the blond man with blue eyes slapped the man's hand. The blond man with blue eyes spoke. "No. I will pull it out myself. One of you get the fire going. I will need to have my wound cleaned with a hot metal right afterwards."

As tall man set up a fire, the short man laid out his knives on a brown cloth on the forest ground. Patton watched curiously. _Is it really necessary for a small wound like that? I have some green ointment for cuts and scrapes but I rather let him suffer._

The blond man with blue eyes grabbed the arrow with both hands. Then he took a deep breath before he pulled hard. He grunted uncomfortably until finally the arrow was pulled out. Slowly blood seeped out the wound. He yelled. "Where is the hot knife?"

The short man, who had the knife burning in the fire, slowly took the burning hot knife away from the flame. The tall man ripped a cloth off his shirt and stuffed it into the blond man with blue eyes' mouth. The short man placed the flat of the burning hot knife onto the wound. Instantly, the wound began to sizzle and Patton could smell the flesh cook. The blond man with blue eyes closed his eyes momentarily, before opening his eyes. The short man took the cooling knife off the wound. The blond man with blue eyes spat the cloth out of his mouth. The blond man with blue eyes paused, before speaking. "Let's go." The tall man looked at his boss with concern. The short man spoke. "Are you sure you're okay, Boss?"

The blond man with blue eyes spoke. "Of course I am. I am the boss so let me do the thinking." The blond man with blue eyes got the rope off the forest ground and tied the rope around the tall man's hands. Then he got the second rope and tied the rope around short man's hands. Then the blond man with blue eyes turned around to him and stretched his hands forward.

Patton spoke. "First hand me your mace." The blond man with blue eyes bent over to grab his mace. As the blond man with blue eyes reached for the mace, the short man threw the knife at him. The knife didn't spin in the air, instead flying straight and fast towards the boy. The boy dived to his left. As he fell to the forest ground, he fell onto his backpack. The knife sailed above him harmlessly. As Patton looked back, he saw the blond man with blue eyes running towards him, waving his mace wildly around. He looked down to see that his maple bow fell a few feet away. The blond man with blue eyes was now in front of him and threw his mace over his head. Patton reached for an arrow from his backpack. When the blond man with blue eyes swung his mace back down, the boy thrust the arrow forward. A moment later, the blond man with blue eyes dropped to the forest ground. The two men looked fearfully at the boy before backing slowly. Then they turned tail and ran as fast their feet could take them. Patton was in shock. _He never killed a man before. He didn't feel sick, but numbness spread throughout his body. Everything seemed to be moving slowly._

Patton felt a steady hand on his shoulder. He did not turn. He was still in shock over killing someone. "You did good." It was Benjamin's voice. He did not answer. "You did the right thing." Benjamin walked around him and faced him. "We watched you in the shadows. Mary, could you make us some tea, preferably red tea with touch of honey. Thank you, Mary." Mary tiptoed towards the dying fire. Patton watched as Mary bent down, covering the dying fire from his view. Moments later, Mary got back up and the fire was burning brightly. Then Mary disappeared into the trees.

Benjamin spoke. "Come sit by the fire. You will feel much better." Patton followed Benjamin over to the fire. Benjamin motioned for him to sit near the fire. Benjamin spoke. "I know you are not in the mood to talk, so we will wait for Mary to come back." Patton stared into the fire intensely. After many minutes of silence, Mary returned from his foraging. Mary was carrying three branches in one hand while his other hand was balled up into a fist. Mary walked to the fire and stuck the two long branches between the burning fire. The two long branches were shaped like a Y. Mary rummaged through his hat of leaves and branches until he pulled a small metal pot out carefully. The pot was filled with clear water. The pot had a top handle that Mary hooked through the last branch. Then Mary laid the branch on top of both of the Y-shaped branches. Mary then dumped some crushed leaves into the wooden pot. Mary suddenly plopped next to Benjamin. As the water boiled, Mary handed Benjamin pipes of increasing length attached to each other that he dug up from his hat. Benjamin spoke. "Thank you, Mary. How about a little music to uplift the mood." Then Benjamin blew into the pipes. The music was upbeat like the jungle animals hooting and chirping. The music seemed to help a little.

Benjamin stopped playing and spoke. "Mary, the tea should be ready. Can you be so kind and pour us some red tea?" Mary rummaged through his hat and produced three wooden cups. Then Mary grabbed the branch and grabbed the warm handle and pour into the three cups. Benjamin took two of the cups and handed one to Patton. Patton nodded in thanks and blew into the steaming cup. He took a sip and the warmth spread to his entire body. The red tea was sweet and tasted like cinnamon. He felt much better.

Benjamin asked. "Was that was your first time killing a person?" Patton spoke. "Yes. I feel bad even though I keep telling myself that he deserved it and because he attacked me first." Benjamin nodded understandably and spoke. "The first time I saw you, I knew you have the potential to do great things."

Patton spoke. "What do you mean? I'm a failure. I couldn't even do a simple thing as protect my sister. I almost couldn't even bring myself to kill that man. A man who took my sister away from me and I didn't want to kill him. I'm an incompetent coward."

Benjamin spoke. "No, you are not. Life works in mysterious ways. Maybe it was Fate for us to meet. Not taking pleasure in killing someone means you value life above all. That is great virtue to have. You're not like him."

Patton asked. "What about my sister?"

Benjamin spoke. "How will you rescue your sister in the hands of a huge army? You will only get yourself caught, or worse dead. That is why my offer from earlier still stands."

Patton saw reason in Benjamin's words. Patton asked. "What exactly will you be teaching me?"

Benjamin spoke. "I can not tell you here. You can only trust my word and my word is solid. I will teach you and in turn you will discover yourself and only then will you be able to save your sister."

Patton asked. "How long will I be staying at your home?"

Benjamin spoke. "It will take a few days to my home. Then depending how fast you pick it up, not longer than a month."

Patton spoke slowly. "I want too. But I need to make sure my sister is safe."

Benjamin spoke. "Then it is decided. We will rescue her. Mary, did you hear that? We are going to have company after all." Mary stood up and wrapped his hands around Patton into a tight bear hug, lifting him off the ground effortlessly. Before they left, Patton turned and looked back at the lifeless body. Patton asked. "What about him? Shouldn't we bury him or something?"

Benjamin spoke simply. "Mother Nature will take care of his body."

### ****

### Chapter 13: A Blow Close to the Heart

Kelan opened his eyes, waking up to the bright, yellow light. He blinked several times until his eyes adjusted to the light. He found himself on the bed covered in crimson blanket. There was a brown countertop to the right of him. The sensation of an unbearable itch throbbed throughout his right arm. He looked down at his right arm. His arm from his elbow down to his right hand was gone. White bandages were wrapped around his elbow. Kelan tried to speak, but only a dry rattle was produced. Finally after clearing his parched throat several times, he spoke in a raspy voice. "Water. I need water." But no one came. He yelled even louder. "Water!"

Kelan could hear a footstep pounding on the hard floor. A server, a girl with blue eyes and auburn hair, entered the room. She carried a jug of water. Quickly she poured the glass of water into his mouth. As the cool liquid ran down his throat, he coughed out the water. The server was taken back, pulling the glass away from him. After his coughing subsided, Kelan spoke to the server. "Where's Sere?"

The server paused. "Who?"

Kelan spoke. "Sere. He's a chubby man who wears glasses with spiraling antennas."

The server spoke. "Yes, I saw him. He was beside your bed the entire night. He left a few hours ago."

Kelan asked. "Did he say where?"

The server spoke. "No. Sorry."

Kelan struggled to get up, but the server held him down. The server spoke. "You can't go. You just lost your arm. You are in no condition to walk. You are a cripple."

Kelan stopped and looked at her flabbergasted. The server gasped and covered her mouth.

She spoke. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to say that."

Kelan looked down at his amputated limb and spoke softly. "No, you are right. I am a cripple now. Can you tell me what happened to my arm?"

The server spoke. "I'm sorry. I'm not qualified to tell you. I can call a Chemlord over."

Kelan replied. "Please."

The server left hurriedly and few moments later, she came back with a jug of water and glass. A Chemlord was trailing her. She placed both them on the countertop next to his left arm. She bowed her head quickly and left in a hurry.

The Chemlord was a tiny man. He had a brown watch on his right wrist. He had spiky hair that was gelled up that looked like porcupine spines. The man introduced himself. "How are you feeling? I'm Risotta and you, my friend, are a hero to this city. I would like personally thank you for your sacrifices and victory"

Kelan was too exhausted to argue and simply nodded. Kelan spoke. "How did it happen?"

Risotta explained. "When I saw you coming in a stretcher, your right arm was bloodied and dangling lifelessly to the ground. After we ran tests, we found almost every bone from your elbow down to your finger was crushed. We had no other choice, but amputate your arm. The surgery took place while you were asleep last night. You will be in bed for another few days."

Kelan didn't feel anything, not even sadness for his lost arm, but he was just glad he had his life.

Kelan spoke. "Is it normal to feel as if my arm is not gone. I have this itch where my arm used to be."

Risotta spoke. "Yes, this sensation you are feeling is called phantom limb sensation. It is normal for those who have just lost a part of their limb to experience it. The pain and sensation should decline over time. However if the pain is unbearable, I can give you numbing medication."

Kelan spoke. "No thanks, Risotta. Please I need some time alone to rest."

Risotta nodded and began walking towards the door. Risotta paused, lingering near the door. Risotta spoke. "The people love and respect you. Now is the chance for you to bring equality to the city. You can be remembered as the people's champion or another fool who abuses his power for gallons. G'day to you." Risotta walked out.

Kelan lay there on the bed. He closed his eyes. Then suddenly, the flashbacks came back. _The dreaded stomps of the footstep. The mighty, silver warhammer coming down on his arm. The unbearable pain coursing through his arm._ He opened his eyes. His heart was beating fast. Warm sweat beaded around his forehead. As the seconds went by, he stared up at the white marbled ceiling.

Then Sere walked in. "Kel, my friend, how are you feeling?"

Kelan spoke. "Much better. Sere, where did you go?"

Sere spoke. "There was a meeting in Beacon of Light for the nominations."

Kelan spoke. "Well? Who was nominated?"

Sere paused before speaking. "Versia. The majority nominated him. I tried to prevent it from happen but to no avail. Light help this city." Sere rubbed the temples of his head. Sere stopped and put his hands together in front of him.

Sere muttered. "As soon as the ceremony for tomorrow is over, he will be our new Chemlam. There's no other way around it."

Kelan asked. "What will Versia do about the Chemlady situation?"

Sere balled his hands into fist. Sere yelled. "The Chemlady? Kel, we have bigger problems. My life is going down the drain. My title as the Merchant of Commerce has already been stripped away from me. I don't know, Kel. Versia always had a deep longing for the Chemlady. I suppose Versia will pardon her past actions. Then he will marry her to cement his claim to rule. He will send an army to get her back from the Strongblood. He will start a war."

Kelan moved his left hand to Sere's shoulder and spoke. "You know I won't let anything happen to you and this city."

Sere looked up at Kelan and spoke. "Comforting words, Kel. I'm not worried about the city. I'm a dead man walking. Versia has probably sent assassins after me already. I have to leave the city today. Will you come with me, Kel? It will be like the old days just me and you."

Kelan spoke. "No, we are both staying."

Sere yelled. "Hell I will. Kel, did you suffer a brain injury as well? Are you nuts? Versia hates us, probably hates me more than you. When he finds us, he will kill us. Probably find a bogus charge to get his way."

Kelan spoke. "What did I say earlier before the attack?"

Sere shook his head and spoke. "I don't remember."

Kelan spoke. "We will not run. I promise to the Light Gods, no one will lay a hand on you."

Sere asked nervously. "How do you know that? How can you promise I will be safe? Can you see in the future?" Footsteps approached their door. Sere shifted his glance at the open door with fear. But it was just a server walking by.

Kelan waved Sere off and spoke. "You're being ridiculous. You're letting your fear get the better of you. Listen to me. I might have found some allies. But we have to move quickly."

Kelan tried to get off of bed. Sere looked with concern, but Sere didn't say anything. As Kelan lifted himself up with his left hand, Sere moved forward to help. But Kelan shook his head. Kelan spoke. "Sere, I got to do this myself." Sere stopped and watched anxiously.

Sere spoke. "If you fall, Kel, I swear I'm carrying you on my back all the way to the Beacon of Light." Kelan pushed himself up and at first he wobbled. His balance was out of equilibrium. Kelan felt like he was going to fall to his right. Then Kelan felt a hand on his right shoulder. Kelan spoke. "Thanks, Sere. I just need a few moments to adjust to this new sensation." _I can do this. I have to do this._ Kelan stepped forward. Then he walked around his room.

Kelan spoke. "Okay, Sere. Let's go to the Beacon of Light." Kelan stepped out of his room. Sere followed Kelan as they walked out of the room. The atmosphere was buzzing with activity. He saw many Chemlords and servers walking in and out of the many rooms. They ignored the two, too busy caring for the many injured afflicted by the attack earlier. No one stopped them from leaving. The woman at the front counter didn't even give a glance as they left the main doors. Kelan saw Sere's carriage waiting out in front. There were many trunks in the back of the carriage. Kelan spoke. "You really were planning on leaving." Sere spoke. "I am still thinking about doing just that. But I trust you, Kel. You're a brother to me." Kelan nodded in agreement. As they got into the carriage, the driver opened the front window. "My good master, where to?"

Sere replied. "To the Beacon of Light as fast as you can."

As carriage moved, Kelan looked out the window. He saw the full extent of the damages from yesterday. They passed many broken homes, crushed debris everywhere, but he also saw signs of life. Many workers were banging tools to rebuild their homes. The carriage stopped at the gate. The driver spoke. "We art hither, my good master."

Sere got up of the carriage with Kelan followed Sere out. The white ivory gates were still there. Kelan stepped forward. A lady voice spoke. "Good evening. Please place your ID cards through the slot, then step forward."

Kelan placed his ID card into the slot of the entrance. The lady voice spoke. "Thank you. Please wait."

A moment later, the lady voice spoke. "Kelan Royier. Title: Lightbearer. Please wait." Kelan exchanged confused looks with Sere. Sere shrugged his shoulders. Sere stepped forward and placed his ID card into the slot of the entrance. A lady voice spoke. "Thank you. Please wait." A moment later, the lady voice spoke. "Sere Placi. Title: Guest. You both may pass through now." Sere winced when he heard the word guest. The entrance began to open. They both stepped through the gates. Kelan whispered to Sere impatiently. "Sere, what in the Light name is a lightbearer? Did you know about this? I never signed up for this." Sere turned to Kelan with an aggravated expression.

Sere spoke. "No. I swear to the Light Gods I had nothing to do with this. The day you agreed to lead the attack is the day they have their hold on you. The Council needed a convenient figurehead for the city people to rally behind. You fit the criteria."

Kelan spoke. "I can't. I can't stay in one place too long. I will give the title back."

Sere replied. "I hope you are not that naive. If you tell the Council that you refuse your position, you will be writing your own death sentence. They will throw you in a dungeon and leave you to rot or better yet, they give you a public execution for some fabricated nonsense."

Kelan spoke. "There is another way out." There was a murderous glint in his eyes.

Sere retorted. "Don't even think about it. Get that out of your head. Versia will be well protected. And even if you succeed, trust me, if the lightkeepers don't get you, the dogs will."

As they approached the white building in the middle of dome roof was a beam of light changing into colors every few seconds. Sere explained to Kelan. "The light is changing colors to represent that a new Chemlam is appointed, so the changing colors symbolize the light needs to be cleansed as if the slate is wiped clean for the new Chemlam."

Kelan spoke. "The slate will be dirty by the end of Versia's rule."

Sere replied. "If there will even be a city left standing after a war with the Strongblood."

As they entered the enormous room, they saw people on the Council from earlier seated around the round table. Versia was standing, dressed in a golden cloak. Three knights in gold stood silently behind him. Versia spoke to the Council. "What Lord Strongblood did by deserting, is unforgivable and a treason. He must be brought back to trial to face his punishment." Kelan saw Melody shaking her head. _Maybe there is still a glimmer of hope._ Versia stopped speaking when he saw Kelan and Sere. Versia spoke loudly. "Kelan, it is good to see you are well." As people on the Council turned and saw Kelan, they noticed his missing arm. Kelan could see a mixture of shock, awe, and sympathy written on their faces. Kelan walked forward. Kelan spoke. "Congratulation, Versia." Versia smirked, before speaking. "Now that our hero is here, I have another announcement to make. I have named our savior as the new Lightbearer." Whispers immediately broke out. The Grandmaster spoke out. "What is the meaning of this, Versia? You are not the Chemlam yet and already you are, giving new titles out."

Versia spoke. "Quiet down now. Let me explain my reason behind it. First of all, I had to find a way to reward our savior. So what better way, by allowing him to stay, by appointing him a title?"

Melody stood up and spoke furiously. "You overstep, Versia. It is not your decision to make. Only after a majority of the votes on the Council, can a new member join the Council."

Versia retorted. "Thank you for a lesson on the laws. But let me finish. Kelan will not be on the Council, technically. He will be an enforcer who will make sure the laws that the Council passes are enforced. He will share duties with Reno, to lighten his burden. A lightbearer primary role is to hunt down traitors down and bring them back to justice." _Versia plans to have me killed by sending me to the frontlines of war, but in an honorable way by appointing me a title._ Sere yelled. "You plan to send him to his death, Versia."

Versia narrowed his eyes. Versia spoke. "You have no voice here, Sere. Speaking of, we have a traitor among our midst. I have recently been shown strong evidence that Sere has been aiding the Strongblood, sending money to our enemy. I have no choice, but order the arrest of this traitor. Lightbearer, will you do the honors?" Sere turned quickly at Kelan. Kelan stepped forward and grabbed Sere's shoulder. Kelan spoke. "I'm sorry, Sere." Sere glanced worriedly at the exit. But six guards in white chainmail blocked the exit. Sere did not answer and hung his head down sorrowfully. The six guards marched forward and one guard clasped metal cuff onto both Sere's hands. Kelan watched in horror. Kelan spoke. "Where is the evidence, Versia?" Versia spoke. "Are you questioning my authority, Lightbearer?" _Yes. I am, you piss rat._ Kelan spoke. "No, not your authority, but your judgement. It just seems too convenient." Kelan looked at the Grandmaster and Melody for some help, but they kept their silence. Versia ignored Kelan. Versia spoke. "Guards, take the weasel traitor out my sight. Lock him in the darkest dungeon until his execution." Sere let out a fearful whine. Sere cried. "I've been nothing, but a loyal subject. I would never. I didn't..." _Don't say anything, Sere. You are only making it worse on yourself._ Sere was led away out of room by the six guards.

Versia spoke again as if nothing had transpired. "Tomorrow will be joyful day for me and the people. We will have a celebration tomorrow."

Versia turned to Kelan. Versia whispered. "Never question my words again. Versia then turned to address the Council. "Kelan, our savior and lightbearer will leave with an army and bring back that traitor Strongblood alive or dead. Today is the beginning of new era as we rid ourselves of traitors and enemies who have tried to bring this city down.

Kelan spoke, barely containing his anger. "What about the Chemlady?"

Versia replied. "Bring her to me. This meeting is over. The Chemlam has spoken."

As people on the Council began to trickle out of room, Kelan couldn't help, but feel as if an invisible target was painted across his back.

### ****

### Chapter 14: Obsessed Love

"How are you feeling?" The man from yesterday sat beside her bed with two gifts lying on his lap.

Suyzi smiled warmly. "Much better now that you are here." Suyzi's face brightened at the sight of the two presents laid in front of her wrapped in white silk. Suyzi carefully unwrapped the larger one first. As Suyzi unwrapped the silk fabric, Suyzi found two white earrings in the shape of a crescent moon with a red star attached to the bottom end of the crescent. Suyzi picked them up and they were light as a feather. Suyzi put the earrings aside and carefully unwrapped the silk fabric until she was holding a small, red box.

Suyzi lifted the top off the red box. Inside there was a white-chained necklace with a black bib in the middle. A diamond was encrusted on the middle of the black bib.

Suyzi whispered. "Thank you, but I can not accept them. They are beautiful..." But Suyzi shook her head and spoke. "They must have cost a fortune."

The man replied. "Yes, a small fortune. But they are for you. I insist you take them."

Suyzi looked up at him. His eyes were dark brown. He had a tiny nose. His black hair was individually braided on his entire head.

Suyzi smiled. _Can't you see? He is trying to woo me._ The thought of a man making his moves on her caught her off balance. For a split second, Suyzi let the beautiful necklace slip from her fingers. But with her quick reflexes, Suyzi managed to catch the white chain before it dropped to the floor. Averting a major catastrophic disaster, Suyzi placed her beautiful necklace back onto her lap. Suyzi looked back at the man, embarrassed that he saw her clumsy mishap. She blushed, her cheeks turning a rosy red. The man watched her with a serious look before laughing loudly. The braids on the man bounced up and down as he laughed. His laughter was deep and resonant, irritating her ears. She cringed. The man stopped his laughter.

He spoke. "Is my laugh disturbing you? I do not mean too."

Suyzi lied. "No, it's not that. I am still recovering from yesterday."

He spoke. "I'm sorry to hear that. I know my visit is unexpected. But I must confess, last night I could not sleep. I had to see you again. Your beauty has no comparison in this city."

Suyzi giggled. The man frowned and spoke. "No, I'm not kidding. It troubles me greatly that I have never seen you before."

Suyzi stopped giggling. The fear of being caught paralyzed her.

The man spoke. "But Basahar is a big city." Suyzi nodded agreeably, shifting uncomfortably in the bed.

The man asked. "So who is your father? I might know him." _Oh no. I need to come up with something fast._

Suyzi spoke quickly. "Boshi. Do you know that name?" _Why did I say that?_

The man exclaimed. "Ah...I know him. He is one of the richest Princelings in this city with many slaves. I will have to talk to him about allowing me to marry his daughter."

Suyzi widened her eyes in shock. She spoke. "Wait! You want to marry me? But it's too soon. I don't even know your name." He smiled, flashing his white teeth at her. "I am Rashad. Could I have the pleasure of knowing my future wife's name?"

All of sudden Suyzi felt dizzy as she kept silence.

Rashad spoke. "I know you are still recovering from the blood fever. The blood fever is a nasty disease. I will come back later tonight. Hopefully, I will have good news with me. Sleep well, my love."

Rashad turned and left the room, leaving Suyzi even more restless. _What did I get myself into?_ Suyzi got up out of bed and searched around frantically until she found her pack, hanging behind the door. She placed the presents into her pack and peeked inside. _Where is my little guy?_ Then she heard a chattering noise coming from under her bed. She walked to her bed and bent down. She saw her little guy curled up into a ball of fur. She shouted in joy. "Hey little guy, I'm so glad you are here." She whistled softly and her little guy sniffed in her direction. Then slowly, her little guy crawled towards her. Then the little animal leaped onto her hands. She rubbed his fur as it brought comforting thoughts to her.

Then she walked to a table that had a jug of water and a glass. She poured herself a glass of water. Then she drank the glass of water. As she put the empty glass down, she felt uneasy. She felt an uncomfortable feeling like she lost a part of herself. Then she realized her sword was missing. _Come on. Don't panic. Think and retrace your steps. Where is my sword?_

Suyzi double-checked her pack, digging into her pack desperately. Her sword was nowhere to be found. She threw her pack down onto the floor in frustration. _I have to leave before Rashad comes back tonight._ She picked her pack off the ground and slung it over her back. She took one last look at her room before leaving.

She walked into a larger room where two women dressed in all blue robes stood up from their chairs. The woman to the left spoke. "My princeling, is there something you need?"

Suyzi spoke. "Yes, I need to go outside for some fresh air." Both women exchanged worried looks at each other before the woman to the right spoke. "I don't think that is a good idea. Rashad told us to make sure you stayed in your room until he returned." _Rashad said that?_ All of a sudden, all the good feeling she felt for Rashad disappeared. _All men are the same. They think a few gifts and compliments and suddenly, that woman will fall for their charms and looks and become theirs'. I am nobody's kept woman._

Suyzi spoke agitated. "Then you won't mind when my father, _Boshi_ hears that his only child can not go outside for some fresh air."

The woman to left asked nervously. "Boshi?" She exchanged a fearful look with the other woman.

Suyzi repeated firmly. "Yes, the one and only _Boshi_."

The woman to the left spoke. "Okay. A few minutes then." The woman to the right nodded in agreement.

Suyzi began to walk out when she noticed the woman to the right trailing behind her.

Suyzi stopped. She spoke. "Please, I need my privacy." The woman to the right looked back at the other woman. The woman nodded and spoke to Suyzi. "Don't be too long."

Boshi must be very powerful that speaking his name invokes fear.

Suyzi stepped out of the room and into the outside of Basahar. The city was in an enormous underground cavern lit by millions of glowing mushroom that covered the high ceiling of the underground cavern. She was surrounded inside a garden of flowers. She scanned through the flowers surrounding her. Different kinds of flowers grew in the garden. There was a red and yellow flower without petals and a black flower with tiny wisp of hair. She plucked the stem of the black flower off the ground. This flower reminded her of Kelan for some odd reason. She stored the black flower into her inner pocket of her pack.

She pulled out the crescent-shaped metal that she named Moonshade. The garden was enclosed with a twenty feet tall smooth rock wall. She threw Moonshade over the rock wall onto the other side. She yanked the rope back, making sure that her rope was secure. She grabbed the rope and walked up the rock wall. After she pulled herself up top of the rock wall, she jumped down. She yanked Moonshade out of crack of the rock wall. Suyzi coiled the rope around the handle of Moonshade and stored Moonshade inside her pack. Gray and white, sky-high buildings surrounded her. She found herself in a busy street with many people walking and chattering. However she noticed two strange things as she stood on the busy street. First, she noticed many of the people on the street would avoid walking near her, staying at least five or more feet away from her. Second, the same people would avoid any eye contact with her, keeping their heads down as they walked by her. She walked on, passing a store that had a sign lit in blue neon light. In blinking lights, three words that read: "Light as Heaven." The store had a brass door with two windows on either side. Both windows were dirty with smudges of grimes so she could not see inside. Then she heard a loud scream from afar. "Suyzi!" Suyzi turned to see a person in the distance running towards her.

Not a moment too soon, Suyzi opened the door and the bell rang out. Smoke appeared everywhere in the room. The room was small with a small counter and stairs that lead to an upstairs. Behind the tall counter, a man with long braids was smoking a long pipe, oblivious to everything around him.

"I need a place to hide. Right now. A man is chasing me." The man seemed to have woken up from his daze. The man spoke. "Come hide behind the counter." Quickly Suyzi ducked behind the counter. Suyzi hid behind counter, counting the seconds that went by. After about five minutes, the bell rang as the door opened. A breathless voice spoke out. "Josi, did you see a woman with short, black hair and dark brown eyes come through here just a moment ago?"

Josi spoke. "Nah man. You sure you haven't been over smoking the stuff I gave you."

Rashad spoke. "Nonsense. I am one of Basahar's finest warriors. You know we're put under a strict regiment, which means we can only smoke once a week for recreational purposes only."

Josi spoke. "You tell me that every time I see you, yet every few days, you are always sharing a pipe with me."

Rashad spoke. "Come on man. Not too loud. It's a secret between you and me."

Josi spoke. "I know man. What is the hurry? Life is better if you take it easy."

Rashad spoke after a chuckling loudly. "I am not going to lie. It's been a long day for me. I went to the hospital to see this beautiful woman I rescued about two days in the Red Pit. When I say she was beautiful, she was heart-stopping beautiful. It also doesn't hurt that she is a Princeling. Her father is Boshi."

Josi spoke. "Boshi? The one who has thousands of slaves at his bidding? Do you plan to marry her?"

Rashad spoke. "Is that even a question? The first time I saw her and I knew she was the one. But she disappeared. The healers in the hospital told me she escaped. Since then I have been searching for her. A moment ago, outside the front of your store I could have sworn I saw her."

Josi spoke. "One of my cleaning ladies just came in. So you might have mistaken her for your beautiful bride to be. But knowing you, you will find her."

Rashad spoke. "Yeah and once I do, I am never letting her out of my sight again." Suyzi shivered nervously behind the counter. _Please. Don't tell him I'm here. Please. Please._

Rashad spoke. "Well I'm leaving. I must continue my search for her. Tomorrow? Same time?"

Josie spoke. "Yeah. Same time. Good luck, my friend." Suyzi waited to hear the bell before getting back up. When the bell rang, Suyzi began to stand up. But Josi waved for her to stay hidden. A moment later, she realized why. The bell rang again and Rashad's voice spoke out. "Josie, I thought I dropped something. Never mind." The door closed as the bell rang. She looked up at Josi who was counting to ten with his fingers. After Josi counted to ten, he waved to her that the coast is clear.

Suyzi spoke. "Thank you."

Josi stared at her. "No worries. I wouldn't want to tie the knot either."

Suzyi replied. "I barely know the guy. Could I stay here for awhile?"

Josie spoke. "Yes. I have an empty room for you upstairs. Go up the stairs and take a first left. Then walk down that hallway, and then take a right. The first door in the hallway to your right is your room. Here is the key. I will come see you later if you have any questions." Josi handed her a brass key with a number one and a capital B on its bow. Suyzi spoke. "Questions about what?"

Josie placed his pipe down on the counter, the smoke still burning. Josie spoke. "I know you are not from here. You are definitely not a Princeling, that's for sure."

Suyzi replied. "Everyone else in this city thinks I am. What type of establishment do you run?"

Josi replied. "It's a hotel where people can smoke to get away from the daily grind of life for a little while. Well go on upstairs and get cleaned up. I'll be there shortly."

Suyzi walked up the stairs, the stairs creaking with every other step. As Suyzi reached the top, she saw a hallway with a purple carpet with a light bulb on top of each door. Even the doors were painted purple. The first door she passed, had a number one and a capital A. Suyzi found that some of light bulbs she passed, were flickering. Then Suyzi turned right into another hallway where the carpet was green. The first door to her right was painted green. On the front of the door, there was a number one and a capital B. _Thank god, the light bulb at this door isn't flickering._ Suyzi put the brass key into the keyhole that was under the brass doorknob. It fit perfectly. Then Suyzi twisted the key to the left. Suyzi heard a sharp click and the door slowly creaked open. Inside Suyzi found a green couch with small table. There was a painting above the green couch. The painting depicted a small, boat surrounded in a sea of water. Suyzi saw a glass door leading to a balcony outside. There was another green door. That probably leads to bathroom. Suyzi went over and dropped her pack onto the green couch. Suyzi saw two little eyes gazing out from pack.

Suyzi spoke. "Come on out, little guy. This is our place for a few days until I can find my father." Her little guy crept out of her pack inch by inch before running around the green couch. Suyzi plopped down on the green couch. It was comfy. The material of the couch seemed to stretch to fit her back and bottom. Suyzi glanced over at the things lying on the small table. There were five shiny pipes lying in front of her. In the middle of a table, there was a small fire burning. All of them were gray with white tips. Then Suyzi saw a drawer under the small table. Curious, Suyzi pulled the handle of the drawer and peeked inside. There were six different compartments in the drawer. There were finely crushed powders in each compartment. Suyzi looked over the different colors in each compartment: Red, blue, orange, yellow, green, and white. Suyzi pushed the drawer back in. Suyzi sat back down on the green couch. She took a deep breath of air and moments later coughed away. The stench coming from her body was horrific. Suyzi got up with her pack in her hand and headed to the green door. She grabbed the doorknob and turned it to the right. The green door swung open, revealing a bathroom.

Instantly the hot steam touched her face. The light source in the bathroom came from the glowing mushrooms growing on the ceiling. The square tiles were in different shades of green, covering the ceiling, walls, and floor. Then she saw a steaming hot spring and she couldn't help let out a relieved cry. There was even a miniature waterfall pouring down into the hot spring from the side of the green tile wall. She stripped off her cloth and dropped her pack next to the steaming hot spring. She took in a deep breath and stepped inside the hot spring. As her feet touched the scalding hot water, she let out a sigh of relief. Then she heard tapping at the door.

Suyzi yelled through the crashing hot water. "Now is not a good time!"

A resonating voice yelled back. "Hey it's me, Josi. I see you have discovered the hot spring. I will come back later at a better time."

Suyzi waited for a second longer before submerging her body into the scalding, hot water. The burning pain coursed through her body. _But the pain she was feeling was the good kind._

After a relaxing hot soak, she changed into her spare clothing and brushed her teeth. She closed the bathroom door behind her. Then Suyzi settled down onto the green couch. Then a familiar voice spoke out from behind the green door. "Hey Suyzi, is now a good time?"

Suyzi spoke. "Yeah I'm coming." Suyzi went to the door and opened it. Josi walked in and settled in on the green couch.

Josie spoke. "Do you like your room?"

Suyzi spoke. "Yes. Thank you for everything."

Josi nodded once before spotting her little guy. Josi spoke in awe. "I can't believe my eyes. That is a flying mit. I thought they were only stories of legends. Tell me where did you find him?"

Suyzi turned to her little guy who was now gliding around the room. Suyzi asked. "I found him by a lake surrounded in a forest. I have grown close to him."

Josi spoke. "Is it fine if I smoke in here? You can open the balcony door if you want too."

Suyzi walked and slid the balcony door open. Suyzi turned and walked back to the green couch. Suyzi made herself comfortable as she waited and watched Josi prepared the pipe on the small table. Josi pulled the drawer open and pinched some blue powder. Then Josi sprinkled the blue powder into the end of the pipe. Josie dipped the end of the pipe into a small fire on the center of the small table. Then Josi began smoking. Josi puffed in the smoke in intervals and then blew out a ring of blue smoke.

Josi spoke. "In every society, there is usually divisions in class: A high caste who has everything, a middle caste who has some but not a lot, and lower caste who has nothing. Well about a thousand years ago, invaders from the surface above, came down to this city and claimed it as their own. They were incredibly hard to kill and they brought with them the power to bring complete darkness into cities. But the high caste of Basahar did not submit willingly without a fight. They rallied the people in Basahar to fight the invaders. But after a few weeks of fighting, they surrendered their city to the invaders. When the invaders took over the city, they executed every man, woman, and child that belonged in the high caste. Then the invaders named themselves Princelings. The Princelings agreed collectively to appoint one of their own as the Emperor to rule Basahar. The first Emperor who became known as the Silent Judge brought slavery into the city. The Silent Judge passed binding laws that gave Princelings more power. Soon if you so much batted your eyelashes at a Princeling, you would be sentenced to death. That is why as soon as I make enough money here, I'm packing camp and leaving this forsaken city."

Suyzi spoke. "I didn't know things here were that bad."

Josi spoke. "I'm not going to ask you why you are here. It's not my business. But my advice for you is to find what you are looking for and leave as soon as possible."

Suyzi spoke. "It is definitely not a comforting thought to know that I look like the invaders who earn their reputation through force and threats." Josi blew out another ring of blue smoke.

Suyzi spoke. "I was meaning to ask. What are you smoking?" Josi blew out another ring of blue smoke.

Josi spoke. "It's found in deep underground ruins of Basahar. They come from a flower called Gyna. They are dried and then crushed into fine powder. I have six different kinds and each one can give the smoker a different experience. The blue powder makes you very calm and sleepy. While the red powder fills you up with desire and passion." Josi handed her a pipe.

Suyzi spoke. "No thanks. I don't smoke."

Josi shrugged his shoulders and went back to smoking. As the ember from his pipe died out, Josi stood up. Josi spoke. "Well see you around. I am going to find a room to take a nap in." Josi let out a loud yawn.

Suyzi spoke. "Thank you for everything. Do you need some help getting out?" Josi waved her off and stumbled out of the room. Her little guy ran and leaped to her lap. Suyzi rubbed her little guy's fur. _Tomorrow I'm going to pave the road for my own destiny. I'm going to get my father and my sworns out of here._

****

### Chapter 15: A Brief Reunion

"Hurry now. You will have to move faster than that." A part of her still wanted to go back, but another part of her forced her to keep moving so she could see her brother again. Her tears have dried up, but inside she was wreck. When they first entered the forest, the woman told Phoebe that her name was Ms. Delphine.

Ms. Delphine led her through the forest, squeezing her right hand tightly. The sound of the horn seemed to be fading, but every once in awhile; the sound of the horn would come back, louder and stronger than before.

_I never got to thank Willis for all he did for me._ As she ran on, branches and leaves whipped against her face. Occasionally she could hear the fleeting sound of horses galloping on the forest floor. Ms. Delphine would motion for her to duck down in the undergrowth among the grass. Together they huddled behind the thick bushes and tall grass. They waited until the horses galloped past them before it was safe to get up and move forward again. They stopped at a grove of trees with shrubs growing underneath the base of the trees.

Ms. Delphine huffed and puffed before speaking. "Let's stop here. I need to catch a breath. It's hard to walk in this dress."

Phoebe spoke. "We need to go look for my brother. I know it in my heart that he is looking for me."

Ms. Delphine asked with annoyance. "Do you know where he is exactly?"

Phoebe answered. "Somewhere in this forest."

Ms. Delphine spoke. "That's not very helpful. I have a home in the city of Leydeity. It's not too far away from here. There will be food, shelter, and protection there." Ms. Delphine glanced at her. Ms. Delphine spoke. "You know, I always wanted a daughter. I tried having kids, but after my third miscarriage I was told that I was unable to bear children. So when I saw you, I thought the Light Gods finally answered my prayers..."

_No way. Don't even think about it. That is never going to happen._ Phoebe shouted. "No!" Before lowering her voice when Phoebe noticed Ms. Dephnine's hurt expression. "My brother is almost an adult. He will be seventeen soon." _My Brother Bear is more than capable of taking care of himself and me_.

Ms. Delphine's face lit up when she spoke. "I could adopt the both of you. A forest is not a good place for children to live in."

_How would you know? By the way, I am not a child anymore._ Phoebe was starting to regret taking Ms. Delphine with her. _I wish you were here with me, Willis._

Ms. Delphine spoke again. "Well could you at least think about it? I don't think your brother would mind at all."

Phoebe spoke. "Okay. But I won't make my decision until I find him."

Ms. Delphine spoke. "Fine. But I think every child needs an education. If you decide to live with me, I will be enrolling you to Withper known for producing famous actors, actresses, and singers.

Phoebe protested. "But what about my brother? He won't be able to be with me."

Ms. Delphine spoke. "Don't be silly. Of course you will see each other after school."

When Phoebe made an agitated face, Ms. Delphine spoke. "But I promise if you live with me, I will make sure you get a proper education. I have a big house, so you both will have your own rooms so you don't have to worry about sharing."

Then Phoebe turned around when she heard the sound of rustled leaves and grass. A boy emerged out of the trees behind Ms. Delphine. Phoebe shrieked in delight. The next moment, the Phoebe felt two strong arms wrap around her. It was her brother. Her brother embraced her tighter. Phoebe gasped for air. She managed to speak, out of breath. "Brother Bear, I..,can't...breath."

Her brother whispered excitedly into her ear. "Deary, me too."

Phoebe shouted. "No! You. Are. Holding. Me. Too. Tightly!"

Her brother released his embrace.

Her brother spoke. "Sorry, Deary. It's just I finally found you. I want to hold and never let you out of my sight again. I love you so much, Deary." Her brother grabbed her hands and kissed her cheeks.

Phoebe cried in relief. "I love you too, Brother Bear. You look skinnier. Have you been skipping meals? Her brother shook his head. He spoke. "Doesn't matter now that I found you. I was worried-sick searching for you. Who is this?"

Her brother glanced at the woman. Ms. Delphine spoke. "Hello. My name is Ms. Delphine. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I was captured by the Strongblood and thrown in a cage. That's where I met your sister. Luckily we escaped together."

Phoebe spoke to her brother. "How did you find me, Brother Bear?" Her brother turned back and two figures walked out of the shadows of the trees. A monkey and an old man came from out the shadows. The monkey was covered in fluffy brown fur. The monkey's eyes were huge. The old man had a hat woven with leaves and tiny branches. He had a long white beard.

Her brother spoke gently to her. "I have to be honest with you, Deary. I was going to leave with them. Long story short, we were walking towards to his home, when suddenly Mary caught a scent of something and ran forward. Benjamin and I pursued Mary until finally Mary led me straight to you."

Phoebe asked. "Who is Mary?" Her brother looked back at the old man.

He spoke to the old man. "Hey Mary, can you introduce yourself? This is my sister and over there, is Ms. Delphine."

The old man stepped forward, waving wildly. Mary spoke. "Yobo. Yogo. Mary likes you." Phoebe ran to Mary and gave him a huge hug.

Phoebe whispered to Mary gratefully. "Thank you so much, Mary." After she let go of Mary, Mary began jumping up and down in joy. Phoebe spoke to the monkey. "I haven't forgot about you either. Thank you, Benjamin." She bent down to give the monkey a hug.

Benjamin replied. "The pleasure is all mine." She flinched back. Her brother moved towards her. The brother spoke. "Yes, Deary. He can talk. It's a long story."

Phoebe spoke. "That is so cool. I'm so jealous. Can we keep him?"

As her brother opened his mouth to speak, Ms. Delphine interrupted. "I'm sorry to interrupt. But we need to keep our voices down. The Strongblood still have knights searching for us. We should have this conversation maybe somewhere more safer."

Benjamin spoke up. "I concur."

Her brother spoke. "But where to?"

Immediately Ms. Delphine answered quickly. "I have a home in the city of Leydeity." Benjamin retorted after she spoke. "Well I have a home too." Benjamin stared at her brother intensely as Benjamin continued speaking. "Where ever you two decide to go, ultimately you have to decide what is best for you." Before an argument could break out, Phoebe spoke out. "Wait! I think its best we go our separate ways. My brother and I will go with Ms. Delphine."

Her brother spoke to them all. "Would you all mind if I could have some time alone with my sister."

Benjamin nodded solemnly. Benjamin and Mary walked off.

Ms. Delphine spoke. "That is fine. But please hurry, we are pressed with time." Ms. Delphine walked towards where Benjamin and Mary were sitting.

As soon as they were out of earshot, her brother spoke. "Deary, I been thinking it would be best if we went..."

Phoebe shook her head furiously. She yelled. "No!" _What is he talking about?_

Her brother spoke. "Deary, I think it's time for us to go our separate path. You can't believe how relieved I'm to see that you are safe."

Phoebe had tears welling up in her eyes. She spoke. "Why? Is it because you have grown tired of me? Father and Mother told us we always have to stick together."

Her brother spoke. "You know that's not true. But Benjamin told me something that been gnawing at my mind. What if I lose you again? I want to be strong enough so that will never happen again. If I lost you again, I don't know how I will be able to live with myself."

Pheobe spoke. "No. I don't like this one bit. I think we are stronger when we are together. I don't want you to leave me again, Brother Bear."

Her brother spoke calmly. "I know you don't. I don't either. I know Mother and Father wouldn't have wanted that either if they were still alive.

She spoke angrily, starting a fit. "Where was mother and father when I was moments away from drowning? Where were they when I was chased by those long-nosed felines? Where were they all these years? They are dead and that is life. And I will have to go on living in this cruel world."

Her brother replied. "I can't tell you what you want to hear. It's true what you said. But they died for us."

She yelled. "You always go on about how our parents gave their lives for us. But how come I don't remember any of it. I only have your word which right now means nothing to me."

Her brother spoke. "Deary, don't be like that. I'm your older brother and I want what's best for you." Her brother spoke. "Benjamin told me I wouldn't stay longer than a month. Before you know it, I will be with you again. Can you trust that lady, what's her name?"

Phoebe softened her stance and replied. "Ms. Delphine. My heart tells me that I can trust her. I mean she is a bit rough on the edges. But the little time that I spent with her, I found her to be trustworthy."

Her brother spoke. "I trust your judgment, Deary. Oh before I forget I have some things for you." Her brother handed her a peachy conch with shades of white. It had a spiral tip at the end. Her brother spoke. "If you ever get homesick of the forest, bring the conch next to your ear and you can hear the sounds of the forest. You will never be far from home." Phoebe instantly put aside her anger and put her hands around his neck. After they embraced, her brother handed her a damaged yew longbow and a quiver of cedar arrows. Her brother spoke. "I am sorry I couldn't fix it."

Phoebe spoke. "Are you crazy? I thought I was never going to see my bow, broken unbroken again. Thank you, Brother Bear. I'll go and get ready to leave." As she turned to go, her brother put his hand onto her left shoulder.

Her brother spoke. "Hold on. I have to confess something to you, Deary. I killed a man. I think you know him."

Phoebe asked. "Who?"

Her brother spoke. "I do not know his name. But he had blue eyes and blond hair. He was the worst of the worst. He was a slaver."

Phoebe spoke. "I know. He was a monster. I'm glad he is gone. He deserved much worse."

Her brother replied. "But it didn't make it any better. I killed a man. My hands are stained of another person's blood. Now I'm a killer." Her brother had tears in his eyes. He quickly wiped his tears away.

Phoebe never saw this side of her brother. She spoke gently. "It was either you or him. You did the right thing, Brother Bear. You have to stop thinking about it."

Her brother nodded and spoke. "I know. That's why I have to leave. I want to become stronger. Deary, I have one last thing to give you." He pulled out a gray book out of his backpack. Phoebe couldn't believe her eyes. She spoke. "Father's research book. You found it for me." She flipped through the pages of the book. She felt the crisp pages and saw the bold, black letters. She spoke again. "The pages are dry too."

Her brother spoke. "The pages were wet, but I was able to air dry the pages." Phoebe placed the book and the conch into her pack. She slung her oak bow and her quiver of arrows onto her back.

Phoebe spoke. "Thank you Brother Bear. I love you." Her brother smiled, his eyes filled with relief and joy. Her brother replied. "Hey Deary. Let's make a promise to each other that the next time we see each other, we will be stronger than before."

Phoebe nodded. Her brother called the others back. As Mary, Benjamin, and Delphine stood in front of her, her brother cleared his throat. Her brother spoke. "I have an announcement to make. My sister and I have decided to go our separate ways. I will go on with Benjamin and Mary to start my training. While my sister will go with Ms. Delphine."

Her brother looked to Ms. Delphine. He asked. "Is it fine if my sister can stay with you?"

Ms. Delphine replied. "Of course. While she is with me, I will be enrolling her into a school where I teach. She is safe with me and I raise her with a woman's touch."

Her brother raised his eyebrows before speaking. "Thank you. Please both of you take care."

Delphine nodded before speaking to her. "Are you ready?"

Phoebe spoke. "Yes, let's go." As she and Ms. Delphine walked, she felt like she losing not just her brother but part of herself again. _Brother Bear, you made a promise. I'm holding you to it._

Patton watched as his dear sister walked away. Not once did he see her head turn around. _His Deary was growing up._

Benjamin spoke. "Your sister is quite the sweetheart. I can see why you hold her close to your heart."

Patton spoke. "I do. She's not only my sister, she is my best friend."

Benjamin replied. "I can tell. But there are those who will see that love you have for your sister and use it against you. You must learn to control your emotion. I'm not saying you should have the emotion of a rock. But it would be wise to refrain from showing too much emotion." Then Benjamin walked away. Patton stared at the spot where her sister disappeared through. Mary pushed him lightly to get him moving. He took one last look before following Benjamin. As he walked onwards, his fingers played with a ring nervously in his pocket. _I'm sorry Deary. I lied to you. But this is my only chance. The golden ring in his pocket belonged to his mother. Which meant his parent was somewhere out there. I will find them and together we can be a happy family again._

### ****

### Chapter 16: A Glimmer of Hope

A white light shone faintly in the dark corridor. Kelan followed the lightkeeper who was escorting him to a small room. Every now and then, Kelan could hear the screams of agony and torment in the distance. Then they entered a small, empty room with a glass wall in front of them. The young lightkeeper spoke. "Lightbearer, do you see that white button by the glass wall. When you press it once, the prisoner behind the glass wall can hear and speak to you. The prisoner won't be able to see through the glass wall. He will only see a reflection of himself. When you are done, I will be outside waiting for you."

Kelan replied. "Thank you. What is your name?"

The lightkeeper spoke. "My mam named me Bi---" Then Billus closed his mouth before speaking with great reluctance. "My name is Oakpac."

Kelan spoke. "Tell me the name your mother gave to you."

Billus moved his shoulders uncomfortably. Kelan spoke. "I told you my name. It would be impolite of you if you did not do the same."

Billus shifted his glance at Kelan's missing right arm. Billus spoke. "My name is Billus. But please call me Oakpac."

Kelan replied firmly. "I will call you Billus." Then Kelan saw Billus's wandering eyes looking down at his missing right arm. Kelan spoke. "They had to amputee my arm after suffering a crushing blow from the attack. Can I confess something to you?"

Billus spoke. "Sure thing."

Kelan spoke. "When I lost my hand, I lost a part of myself. I'm half the man I used to be."

Billus spoke encouragingly. "If I may be so bold to say. So what if you're a cripple. It doesn't change who you are in the inside. You can't let that define who you are. If I had a missing arm, I would display it proudly as if it was a badge of honor. And if anyone told me differently, I would slap them with my other hand."

Kelan laughed before replying. "Thank you for your kind words. Tell me, Billus what motivated you to become a lightkeeper?"

Billus spoke. "I came from a humble beginning. I lived in a farm with my mam with many cows. My own pa left me when I was very young. My mam told me my pa was a mean drunk and physically violent. She told when I was born my pa took one look at me before telling her to throw me out into the sea. My mam, of course, didn't throw me out. But my mam told me she paid the price with a beating that almost left her dead. That's why I became a lightkeeper to prove my mam that was I'm worth saving and one day be able to give back to her."

Kelan replied. "I'm sorry to hear about your hardships."

Billus spoke. "I know I keep blabbing on about my life story. But I like to share my story to others to show them no matter how bad things can get for them others have had it worse. That's why I always try to keep a positive outlook on life."

Kelan spoke. "Thank you."

Billus scratched his head, dumbfounded. Billus asked. "Thank me for what?"

Kelan answered. "For reminding me of what I have forgotten."

Billus spoke bashfully. "Aw. It was nothing."

Kelan asked. "What do you think about everything that happened these past days?"

Billus replied. "Surreal. I mean the death of the Chemlam, the arrest of the Chemlady, and a surprise attack on the city happening all in one week...I mean its sounds like things you would read in stories, not in real life..."

Kelan interrupted Billus. "Billus, wait outside while I speak to the prisoner."

Billus nodded and bowed his head before leaving the room. Kelan walked over to the glass wall and pressed the white button. The white button activated a powerful light that shined down on Sere. As soon as the white light shined down on Sere, Sere cried. "No more. Please. I beg you." Kelan sat down onto the chair. Kelan watched as Sere cried out in distress through the glass wall. His feet were chained down on the gray, dirty floor. Kelan spoke. "Sere, its me, Kelan. I'm sorry, Sere. I really am." Sere looked out at the glass wall, his eyes moving around. "Sere, I know my promise at this moment in time will hold no real meaning to you. But I need you not to lose hope. I will get you out, I swear to all of the Lights Gods, I will get you out."

Then Kelan heard a weak voice. "Kel, I won't be able to live another day here."

Kelan spoke. "You have to be strong."

Sere replied weakly. "You don't understand. For twenty-three hours, I am in complete darkness in a small cell. I'm allowed one hour to use the bathroom or walk around. Then they have goddamn water pipe that leaks down here. I can hear every damn drop of water. It is torture and I'm losing my mind in here. You have to get me out of here now."

Kelan spoke. "Listen to me. There is not much I can tell you, but I need you to stay strong for you. Be ready when I come back. Keep your body fit and your mind sharp. I'll be back soon."

Sere asked. "Kel, I don't know if I can. They are not going to give me a fair trial. They are going to execute me soon. What if they execute while you're out fighting the Strongblood? Maybe I should bargain with them for a lighter sentence."

Kelan spoke. "Don't. You have to trust me. I'll make sure Melody and the Grandmaster keep the Council stalling about the date of your execution until I come back."

Sere asked. "You will come back for me, won't you Kel?"

Kelan replied simple. "I swear to all of the Light Gods, I will come back."

Sere asked. "You have a plan, Kel?"

Kelan replied. "Please take care of yourself, Sere while I'm gone. Be strong, Sere."

Kelan waited for a response, but Sere fell silent. Kelan stood up and white light switched off. Kelan slowly walked out the room. Billus was waiting for him outside the door.

Kelan spoke. "Billus, let's go." Billus turned his flashlight on and lead the way out of the dark corridor with Kelan. As they walked out of the dark corridor, Billus spoke up. "I heard you're going to bring Lord Strongblood back to justice. Can I say, it would be an honor, if you would take me along? You will need good men and I am very loyal."

Kelan replied. "Loyalty gets you killed, end of story. I will take you, but you must keep your wit with you at all times. Can you do that for me?"

Billus shouted excitedly. "Yes! I will! You just watch me." After Billus bowed his head, he walked side by side with Kelan. _He reminds me of myself. He is young, restless, and headstrong. But if he wants to survive the war, he will need to grow up fast. War can quickly change boys into either men or monsters._ As Billus opened the door walked outside. Kelan followed Billus out. Kelan looked out. The warm breeze blew under the clear sky and the sun brought the bright sunlight out. Kelan and Billus walked towards the white wall.

Kelan spoke to Billus. "So you don't mind missing the Chemlam ceremony?"

Billus spoke. "Are you kidding me? That's all for show. I want to be in the frontline where all the action is at."

Kelan smiled. _Boys will be boys. In a boy's mind, fighting is much more interesting than ceremonies._ When Kelan and Billus arrived to the white wall, a large army of guards in white chainmail with steel broadswords hanging on their belt greeted them. When the guards saw Kelan walking towards him, cheers began to break out. Kelan smiled and yelled loud and clear. "What may be weak is strong. What may be strong is weak." Whistles broke free through the army. Then Kelan heard a galloping of a horse coming from behind him. Kelan turned around and saw Reno riding on a white stallion, slowing down to Kelan. Kelan smiled at Reno. Kelan spoke. "Reno, my friend. How are you? You look like you patched up well."

Reno got off his white stallion and replied. "The world around me seems to moving faster than usual. But though rest and training, I will get back to my former self. Thank you for your concern. I came here at the behalf of the new Chemlam. The Chemlam could not be here, but he commanded me to give you his orders."

Kelan spoke. "How many men are coming with me?"

Reno replied. "Five hundred." Reno looked at Kelan's missing right arm. Reno spoke again. "I'm sorry about your arm."

Kelan spoke. "There is nothing to be sorry about. If anything, it only reminds me how fragile our lives are as humans and we must treasure every moment of our life."

Reno spoke. "Spoken like a true leader. I must be quite frank with, I do not believe we should go to war. It will only drain our precious resources and lead to many casualties."

Kelan spoke. "I agree with you. But the Council made their decision and we must respect their command and carry it out."

Reno spoke. "Do you think it would be fine if I talk to you in privacy?"

Kelan replied. "Yes, it is fine." Kelan turned to Billus and spoke. "Billus, can you prepare the men for the journey?"

Billus turned red and answered. "Me? But I'm not qualified."

Kelan spoke. "Yes. You're." Kelan spoke loudly to crowd of guards in white chainmail. "I'm Kelan and I'm the lightbearer of the City of Lights. From today until we accomplish our assignment, I will be your commander. I will tell you two things about life under my command. First my orders are absolute. There is no compromise. But I will tell you this, I will never order you to do things that are against the law and I will never order you to into danger if I can prevent it. Second this young man standing next to me is my lieutenant. You will address him as Billus. He will be like another set of my eyes. If you have problems, disputes, or concerns of any kind, you go to him. Understood?"

A guard in the second row pushed his way through to the frontline. He was bald with a full black mustache. He yelled. "No way in hell am I taking orders from a kid. I've been through many wars and back. I've have put half of my life in the service with two past Chemlams. Where is my promotion? How does a boy who should be hiding under his mother's skirt get to order me around? I'm fed up with this injustice."

Reno watched, waiting for Kelan's response. Reno waved off the two guards who were about to take the insolent guard, the two guards stopped at their tracks. Kelan spoke. "You are right." Reno gave Kelan an astonished look.

Kelan gave the man a dark stare. Kelan spoke quietly. "What gives a boy the right to lead you, you say? I will tell you. I choose him and found him more than capable of leading us to war." The guard walked up to Kelan. The guard spoke. "Yeah. So what? I still don't like that a cripple and a boy is leading me to battle?" A deadly silence settled in the crowd as every eye was watching Kelan. The guard was close enough to Kelan that he could smell the strong alcohol under his breath. Kelan was about to speak, when Reno moved to intercept the drunken guard. Kelan waved Reno away. Kelan turned to the drunken guard. Kelan spoke. "You are not fit to wear the guard armor. From today till your last day, you will never wield a sword again. When you die, you will be buried an unmarked grave as a pauper. Now take your armor off and leave before I send you down to the dungeons." The drunken guard was speechless as realization of what he done dawned on him. He took his chainmail off and threw it onto the ground in front of Kelan. Then he threw down his broadsword. He walked off, revealing a pink undershirt with a red heart in the middle. Laughter broke out and a few jeers were yelled out, aimed at the drunken man.

Reno spoke. "Kelan, can I talk to you for a moment in private?" As Kelan and Reno walked away from earshot, Kelan could hear Billus giving out orders at the guards to prepare themselves for the journey ahead of them. Reno looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. Reno whispered into Kelan's right ear. "Kelan, I know for a fact that Versia plans to send you to your death. I heard from my own ears, Versia talking to his close advisors that by sending you to war with the Strongblood he will be killing two birds with one stone."

Kelan nodded and spoke. "I already know."

Reno whispered. "I can find you a safe haven where you can lay low."

Kelan replied. "I can't, Reno. It is not about my life anymore, the city and people need me. But I have favor to ask of you. While I'm gone, can you help convince the other people on the Council to stall the date of Sere's execution?"

Reno spoke. "I will do my best."

Kelan frowned and spoke. "Be safe, my friend."

Reno replied. "You too."

Kelan spoke. "I have a plan in mind. I can't tell you about it yet. But if my plan is successful, Versia's reign as Chemlam will be a short one."

Reno whispered. "I will pretend I did not hear that. It is treason what you speak of. Just do your part and I will do mine's here in the city. And please keep that boy you have with you safe. It's getting harder to find reliable lightkeepers."

Kelan nodded.

Reno spoke loudly. "Good luck. Light Gods protect you all." Reno held out his hand. Kelan shook hands. After moments passed, Kelan turned around and walked back to his army.

Billus watched the two men walk their separate ways. Billus had a white stallion ready for Kelan. Kelan got up onto the white stallion with the help of Billus. Kelan scanned the epic sight behind him. Five hundred guards in white chainmail riding on white stallions held their steel broadswords up to the sky and chanted. "What may be weak is strong! What may be strong is weak!" Kelan turned to Billus who was riding next to him on a gray stallion and smiled. Kelan then kicked his stallion and rode out of the White Wall. Riding through the high winds, Kelan could hear the sound of many horses galloping behind him. _Light Gods protect us all. Maybe after I sort this all out, I will get to see her again._

### ****

### Epilogue: The End is Nigh

It was early in the morning and the sun was only beginning to rise. A small, diminutive figure walked the nearly empty streets of the fruit market. He was wearing a black mad hatter to match his black suit that was worse of wear. His large, light brown eyes were empty, void of any emotion. His long curved mustache was sticking out in every direction. Only a few fruit vendors were setting up their carts for the long day ahead of them. Lombras tipped his black mad hatter at a fruit vendor who called his name as Lombras walked passed him. Lombras walked through the city square where he passed many granite benches. Lombras walked past the red marble platform where the city guards performed public beheadings on prisoners. Lombras slowed down as the sight of black glass building came to view. He stopped at the front of what used to be his auction house. He saw that someone removed the sign where it used to read: "Au Revre." There were many yellow tapes covering over the main door. Lombras thought back on that fateful night when he found that unconscious man. _It was too late to save him. By the time the Chemlord came, the unconscious man stopped breathing and didn't have a pulse. When several, unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate him failed, the Chemlord declared the man to be dead. When Lombras tried to bring up the man's weird wound, the Chemlord brushed him off._ _Twenty minutes later, a platoon of guards in white chainmail arrived and closed the auction house off. A guard in chainmail informed the people that man died from heart failure. The next day when Lombras went back to his auction house, he found yellow tapes covering the main door. A guard with white chainmail, who was standing outside, stopped him from entering his own business. When he asked why, the guard with white chainmail told this establishment now belonged to the Chemlam. When Lombras heard that, he almost threw himself into the sea. But Lila saved him. Ever since then, Lila took care of him in her small apartment. It was a far cry from his previous life, but he managed. But what hurt deeply was that they took the place that he built and worked into one of the most respected establishment in the city. Every morning he would take long walks to his old place and every night, he would have the same nightmares over and over again._

" _Lombras, come home."_ He ignored the unpleasant voice that only he could hear and continued walking. _Lila told him the voices that only he could hear was his subconscious voice reaching out for him. He even went to the hospital and the Chemlord explained to him that sometimes when something you hold precious to your heart is taken from you, some people lose their mind. In other words, the Chemlord thought he was crazy._ But deep down inside, he knew the Chemlam and the Council was trying to hide something from the people. _And only he knew. Only he knew the truth and everyone else thought that he has gone mad over losing his beloved auction house. He will show them all._ The unpleasant voice came back again. _"Lombras, why did you let someone take me? Why?"_ _The Chemlam ruined his life and he was going to get his revenge one way or another._ The unpleasant voice spoke. " _You a loser and a nobody."_ Finally Lombras had it with the voice. Lombras shouted at the top of his lungs. "Shut up! Shut up or I will kill you!" Lombras tore his black mad hatter off his head. Lombras heard one of fruit vendors yelling. "Go find his wet nurse, that man is having one of those crazy fits again." Lombras pulled at his hair, screaming and cursing. "I will kill you!" Suddenly a hand grabbed him from behind and picked him up as if he was a toy. Then Lombras felt himself being carried away. Lombras closed his eyes and waited for the nightmare to be over. Finally Lombras was placed gently down onto the floor. Then Lombras felt a something featherweight settle down onto the top of his head. Lombras reached for the top of his head and felt his black mad hatter. Lombras opened his eyes. He was in a dark alley, sandwiched between two brick buildings. There was barbed wire fence behind the tall man. The tall man towered over him, watching and observing him. The tall man was well over seven feet tall, a giant among men. A silver mask covered his face. The mask had two small holes where his dark piercing eyes stared back. There was a small molded nose with two smaller holes for his nostrils and molded mouth that curved upwards at either end into a smile. He wore a black suit with a strap across his chest that held a black umbrella sheath hanging by his side. Lombras shouted. "Who are you?" The man replied in a monotone. "My name is of no importance. What I can do is take care of your problem." Lombras looked at him curiously. _What did he say?_ Helios spoke again. "I was there that night when you lost your auction house. What happened to you is unfortunate, but it confirmed me of what was going to come next. That night that man died, he died not of a heart failure. He was attacked and killed by creatures of the night."

Lombras spoke. "I know. But no one will listen to me. They won't listen to me because they all think I'm crazy."

Helios spoke. "I know because I myself am not quite human." When Lombras heard that, he moved back. Lombras yelled. "Get away from me. I swear to all the Light Gods, get away from me, you abomination." Helios moved back and held his hands out.

Helios spoke. "Listen, I don't mean you harm. I have a proposition for you. You can accept or you can walk away. It is your choice."

Lombras gave a small nod. Helios spoke. "My offer is simple. Help me reveal the monsters of the dark to the people and in return, I promise I will get your auction house back to you."

Lombras spoke. "Why would you do that?"

Helios replied. "The blood running in my veins comes from the blood of Troshi raiders and humans. I can smell them, the creatures of the night. Some have already infested this city. But when they all come, night will fall on this city forever."

Lombras spoke. "Okay, I agree to your terms."

Lombras paused before speaking. "But how? If we so much speak a word about it, we will both be thrown in the dungeon or worse, dead."

Helios ignored the question and asked firmly. "Does this mean you are accepting my offer?"

Lombras replied. "Yes. But I can only see one way through this and we both die. Or we are sent to the dungeon to rot. Then how will you get back my auction house?"

Helios spoke. "There is another way, a journey to the heart of their homeland. I will warn you that if you do accept, I can not guarantee your safety."

Lombras nodded and spoke. "I agree to the terms of your offer." Lombras walked towards Helios and shook his hand. Helios spoke. "I will contact you later. I know where you live."

Lombras spoke. "Wait. Before you go, tell me that this city can still be saved."

Helios replied. "The end draws nigh for all of us. Nothing is certain except for death."

Lombras was about to speak before closing his mouth. _At this point he was grasping at straws._ Lombras watched as Helios leaped over the barbed wire fence and landed on the other side of fence. Helios began sprinting into the distance. _My luck is starting to change._ Then the unpleasant voice in his head spoke. _"You will fail."_

Lombras replied. "Shut up. You are just a figment of my imagination." And for once, the unpleasant voice did not have a clever response.

### End of Book 1

Thank you for taking the time to read and purchasing this book. Your comments and feedbacks are greatly appreciated and I will do my best to read and answer each one. You can reach me by email: mailto:kelvinprinceton@gmail.com. I will be posting updates on the Light Unknown Book 2 in my blog: <http://klew22dotcom.wordpress.com/>. I want to thank you all again for reading.
