Roseweed was in the large cavernous room where she used to spend most of her time as a dragon. It was also the room where she laid her special egg and cared for it –until she went hunting that one day and left her child unguarded. The empty nest lay only meters away. She made it with large amounts of dirt, hay and even fur and feathers; as well as the crumbled remains of shells from the decoys. Hadrec had told her many times that it wasn’t her fault. She was starving herself as she protected the egg. If she put off feeding herself any longer, she would have been too weak to protect her child against anything.
In the intervening years, she had figured out that the one responsible had seen her as the mother of the golden dragon in their own visions. The conniver had sent men to investigate and lay in wait for the opportunity to steal the egg. And steal it they did. By using magical tokens for their escape out of the mountains. If they’d gotten to their camp to the north of Hadrec’s lands before she’d noticed, she would have never had seen the path laid before her, nor Hadrec’s, that would lead to the release of her daughter. Allowing the egg to be taken was the hardest thing Roseweed had ever done; but it allowed more peace filled years to come so that her daughter’s soulmate could secretly be trained until she was ready for the fast approaching moment.
Roseweed looked into the large crystal sphere she made to check up on Trinity and the others. They had just gotten away from the river when they found a game trail; and led by the Mystic Knight, they headed northeast, towards the castle. They were getting closer…but they hadn’t been attacked since they went into Webon Forest. That made her believe Siegev was now waiting for them.
Musing to herself, Roseweed had an idea. Something that she had thought about before, but never tried. She wondered if she could… if she dared. “Now show me the Golden Egg.” She ordered the crystal ball.
The ball blurred and went cloudy for a few seconds. When it cleared again it showed a dark room with only one small window. The point of view showed the whole room. There was no one in it, so she decided to take a risk. “Now… light up the room so I can see.” Her adolescent dragon voice ordered. A single flash swept through the room. When it diminished, Roseweed could see a pillared round room with a few chairs, a crafted couch and what looked to be a gold throne. Next to it was a large pedestal; on it was her egg.
Roseweed smiled. “Oh, my sweet child. She comes! Don’t worry. You will be free and with your other half and me soon. Just give her more time.” She whispered.
The egg remained still, unresponsive.
Suddenly the light quaked. An unexpected figure entered the room the egg was placed. Then she saw him. The Sorcerer that was the reason her child was stolen. Siegev Abinor; the rising evil, and the would be Conqueror. He went to the egg, and then he swept around and looked right at her with an evil grin and left Roseweed shuddering uncontrollably. He sneered. “Hello mother. Visiting hours are over.” He hissed. He waved his arm and the globe went blacker then night. The power bounding back through her scry was such that the ball also cracked. She felt it go through her.
With a long, shaky sigh, Roseweed discarded the crystal ball. She quickly walked out of the large room and down the long winding tunnels. Not allowing herself to think until she got to the stone dining room. She sat at the table and folded her arms on it. “Please hurry, Trinity…” she whispered to herself, laying her head in her arms and started to weep.
Tom looked around the small grassy area under large trees where they could camp. “This is about as close as we can get to the castle until we storm it. Our fires must be small and without smoke… as you all already know.” He told the others who were looking at him with expressions that told him that they did know that.
Aspen rolled her eyes and inspected the area. “This will do fine. We’ll have cover from the trees in case Blackveil decides to do some patrolling. We can have two separate fires to sleep around. Small and scattered is harder to see then big and clustered.” She said before going up to Ranen’s horse, Dusty, and started untying the bags.
Trinity glanced around as she sat down beside Ranen. “You think the river has a stream branching near here?” she asked.
“There should be why?” Ranen replied. The horse went over to nibble on the greener grasses.
Trinity shrugged. “I can hear it that’s all. It shouldn’t be very far away, maybe a little close to the castle…but…”
“If it’s fresh, we’ll need to fill our water containers.” Ranen finished with a smile, carrying his pack over by the pit Tom had built for their fire.
Trinity followed with her own things. “Exactly.” Trinity replied with a smile. Together, they assembled beside the empty pit on the soft, dry grass. “When do you think we’ll be ready to go into the castle?” she asked.
Ranen shrugged. “Hard to tell. Tomorrow, or maybe the day after. Depends on the plan and its complexity.”
“Why don’t we just storm in?” Tom asked, walking up with a few twigs and kindling. Despite being the one to ask the question, his tone was sarcastic. He was asking the question though he knew the answer.
Even so, Ranen shook his head. “That’ll be just a bad idea. Siegev could have many men waiting for us. It’ll be almost suicidal.” He said. “I’d prefer sneaking in if it’s possible.”
Trinity nodded. “Yes, they would be expecting us. Perhaps that’s why we haven’t been attacked since the Lakes.” Trinity replied. She hesitated. “I’m a bit uncomfortable about waiting a day. They may find us.”
“Patience, love. We’ll find a way before we are found. And we have plenty of cover, and we’ll still be watching in shifts. But this rescue needs planning. With Aspen with us, that shouldn’t take long to figure out.” Ranen soothed, going up to her with a smile. He wrapped one arm around her and held her against him. Before he let her go, he gave the top of her head a small kiss; her responding, impish, smile was all the response he needed.
A few minutes later everyone had gone through their things and set up their camp. Then Dion, and Aspen went into the nearby forest to get as much firewood as they could find, leaving the others to gather what they could from the bushes and trees. They talked while they worked; about how each other lived before they were called forth to Roseweed’s lair to meet Trinity.
Lauroran had lived a very good life, as did Dion, who he spoke for as well. Their father was a prestigious wizard that had taught Lauroran some of what he knew and also prepared him for the type of training he’ll be getting by a Mage that lived near the town they lived in. Lauroran spent most of his free time with Aspen. They had met when Aspen, on her own adventure, had saved him from an angry grellot wanting to kill him. Aspen and Lauroran soon developed a working friendship. Together they had searched out quite a few evil mages, sorcerers and other evil magic users. A year ago, the Mage recalled Lauroran so he could start some extensive training. For what- he did not say, until a few weeks before Dion and he was sent to Roseweed’s lair with their dragon companions.
Dion’s story was more or less the same, besides the fact that once she was old enough she was sent to a Master Dra’Sorrian to be trained alongside Trinity and Ranen. To her, the training wasn’t at all stressed, as it was supposed to, she learned a few things a day and spent the rest of the time doing small chores and meditating with the Destined Child. When she and Bluemoon were united, she added tending to her dragon to her list, though raising a dragon was more work than one would think. She needed to feed Bluemoon and wash her every day until she could hunt for herself; with the help of Trinity of course. Beyond her training, Dion visited her family whenever possible, mostly during the holidays Roseweed and the Masters’ allowed. Dion saw her brother a few times beyond that, once when Lauroran was with Aspen, the rest usually in every other occasion. When Dion had received the letter to come back, Lauroran’s teacher came to their home, where Dion was staying, to drop Lauroran off. Together they traveled to Roseweed’s home.
Trinity didn’t have much to tell the other girls. She remembered very little from her childhood before she was summoned to the Masters’ and to Roseweed. After that, her story was much like Dion’s; they trained, meditated and even did chores together. Though she did tell of how she and Ranen met, even before getting to Roseweed’s lair. It was a few years before, she was six or seven and Ranen was nearly ten and the villages near their farm were gathering together for the mid-spring Duaendra festival. The small children were skipping around the marry-pole with its colorful ribbon when they literally bumped into each other. Their connection was further instilled when she showed up at Roseweed’s lair when her training began.
With that story, talk started to ebb into idle chatter while they ate what little fresh food they were able to scrounge, while keeping their eyes on the forest around them. Though they tried to relax, the thought of being ambushed by Siegev’s men this close to his lair was on everyone’s mind. When the whispers died down and they had nothing left to say, everyone except the two starting the watch lay down for an uncomfortable and anxious sleep.
Aspen looked into the blazes of the fire and concentrated. Concentrated on the life of the fire and its colors. It was morning and her sleep bed been a restless one.
Around her, everyone else was doing his or her own thing. Walking in and out of the tiny clearing, tending to their supplies or just wandering around nervously, thinking. Except Tom. He was on the other side of the fire, meditating with his dragon.
Aspen ignored everyone and everything, except the flames. She perfected meditating with water, but the fire would have to do. The depth of the fire was all that existed to Aspen. Oddly calming; hoping once her mind was stilled, a fool proof plan would come to her. She blinked, but when she opened her eyes, she wasn’t in the camp anymore. There was no longer a fire in front of Aspen. There was no one around. Only darkness. She looked around her, but found only blackness. Her breathing quickened. “Hello!” she yelled. “Anyone there?”
She started walking but when she looked down, she found she was walking on nothing, and stopped dead in her tracks. Her heartbeat became faster and her breathing was hard, almost panting. She feared that suddenly, she would fall and never stop. “Hello?”
“Hello…Aspen.” A smooth, dark voice called to her.
Aspen spun around, towards the voice. A dark blue robed figure was slowly walking towards her from within the nothingness. “Who… who are you? What am I doing here?”
The figure stopped several feet in front of her. “Who do you think I am, Aspen? I surely haunt your dreams as you do mine. You are here because I brought you here with my…special ability.”
Aspen took a few steps back. “Andre…” she whispered. “Stay away from me!”
Andre chuckled and stepped forward.
Out of nowhere, a wall was placed behind Aspen stopping her from going any further. She looked about her, but all she could see was darkness; darkness that seemed to hem her in. “What do you want from me?” she demanded. Her temper was slowly rising and the beat of her heart quickening. She’d forgotten the Mystic Knights ability to jump into someone’s dream state, and pull someone into theirs. Apparently they could do it if the subject was meditating as well.
Andre went up her and grabbed her arm in a harsh grip. “I want you!” he told her. “Come, Aspen. Join Siegev and me. We’ll rule the world forever, together. Bring us the Destined Child and help bring her to our side. Join my side, Aspen.” he trapped her against the wall with his own body.
“No way!” Aspen burst out. She started to struggle, her fury nearing eruption. “I’ll never become evil! I will not be the first ‘Speaker to break that line!” she screamed and hit Andre in the chest with her fists. “Let me go!”
Andre grabbed her wrists and restrained them against the wall. He let her struggle and become tired. He smiled as her efforts slowed, but the fire in her eyes continued to grow. Hatred he knew how to use. “Why resist, Aspen? You could be one of the most powerful people in the world! You could have the power to stop more innocents from becoming victims. With you at my side, no one would dare commit such vileness. Why resist what you were made to become?” He said, and then bent down to kiss her. “Come to me.”
Before his lips touched hers, Andre was thrown aside by a bolt of concussive air, hitting him in the side. It boomed louder than an explosion, and looked nothing like what it would have in the real world. It was like a flurry of colors woven into an arrow. Then he was hit again and was thrown, tumbling head over feet, away from Aspen.
Aspen looked to see Tom. To see him as he lowered his hand and walked towards Aspen. He seemed almost incorporeal in this plane. “I’m all right.” Aspen said before he could ask. She looked at Andre.
Andre got back up onto his feet. “You are a fool to interrupt, young Knight. You are tampering with power beyond your comprehension.” He glared fiercely at Tom. “Siegev and I will deal with you properly.” He turned to Aspen. “Aspen… the least you could do is to think about it.” To her, his tone was silky. He glared at Tom again. “See you in my dreams, my lovely Aspen.” Then suddenly disappeared.
Tom looked at Aspen. “What’s he talking about?”
Aspen shook her head. “Nothing to worry about, Tom.” She looked at the Mystic Knight; in the back of her mind she noticed that the darkness seemed to ebb away, giving way to a void less white. “I’ve never been swept into this type of plane before. How do we get out?” She forced her voice to be steady; she’d never felt so powerless before. It scared her to think he could pull her to him whenever he wanted. She hadn’t expected it, and she should have; even though she didn’t know until now that she had become his obsession. Andre was right when he said that he haunted her dreams, but had never been that real before.
“How do you usually wake from meditating?” Tom asked.
“Concentration...Oh.” Aspen said and closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them, she was back in the shady campsite. Across from her, Tom was just opening his eyes. Aspen hesitated before saying, “Thanks for coming to get me. I didn’t know Mystic Knights could… appear in someone’s mind when they’re meditating. Thought it was just dreams.”
Tom shrugged. “Only when the meditation is deep enough… and… I was needed.” That was all he said before standing and walking into the forest, trailed by his dragon. He had much to think about; some things which a mere apprentice shouldn’t have to.
Aspen sighed. She looked around her before looking down at the ground, rubbing her temples with her shaking hands. “That is not my calling…” she whispered as if convincing herself.
Andre removed his fist from the hole in the wall; the one he made after coming out of his deep meditation. He was by the window of his room. In the middle was a carpet with a large sitting cushion and there were also candles surrounding it. To the side was his four poster bed; the other side had a fur lined couch.
“Something bothering you?” Siegev asked who appeared at the door to his candle lit room. He leaned against the doorway, his hands crossed.
Andre composed himself and stood straight. “No. Of course not.” Siegev would not understand the Mystic Knights intuitive, yet private, power over the unconscious world, although he’d himself forced Andre to teach him.
Siegev eyed him before nodding. “You’ll get the chance to bring her on our side. Patience, these things don’t occur over night.” There was not much that got passed him; when it did, it was because he let it.
Andre smirked knowingly; he moved to the edge of the bed and sat down. “They’re close, Master.” Andre said.
Siegev went up to him. “Yes. I know. Tonight… Ah, tonight I shall properly introduce myself to the fair Destined Child.” He said with a smile. He sat down on a nearby couch.
Andre looked at Siegev. “They’re coming for the egg tonight?”
Siegev shook his head. “For the past few days I’ve been preparing myself to invade her mind when she least expects it. Dragon Speakers don’t have much power in the dreaming world. They’re vulnerable. Unable to get help from any dragons… restricted by their elements… It’ll be just her and I. Alone.” He said with a smirk.
Andre smiled. “I thought ‘dream-walking’ was a technique that most magic-users could not achieve but Mystic Knights. My knowledge is only rudimentary and instinctual itself.”
Smirking, Siegev leaned back calmly. “One you thought only Mystic Knights could do?” The silence and discomfort from Andre amused him and he stood up. “Sure, your magic blood can do it easily, but that does not mean others cannot. It just takes more power. Power I have. And you taught me well.” Siegev smiled and thought for a moment. “Perhaps it will even give a name to this majestic woman of power…”
The castle lay only a mile away, but even then, Trinity could guess that is was mountainous. Long towers shoot out of the main hall; some had other towers attached to them. The castle itself seemed to be made of blocks of marble and stone. The roofs were made out of the usual roof tiles which were dark red, and the main castle had red and gold tiling. The castle wall surrounding it was built like the castle, but with short guard towers at every corner and gate. Everything was still standing, but there was a faint aura of neglect and dilapidation. Those walls hid creatures sinister and dark.
The river that gurgled just a few feet from Ranen and Trinity stretched out towards the castle, making a semi-circle around the castle before running off into the other side of the forest.
“It’s beautiful.” She said in awe.
Ranen nodded. “It’s mostly abandoned. With the exception of your golden egg and its kidnappers.” He told her. “Though I doubt that the egg has been kept here for its entire capture.”
“Where do you think they’d put the egg?” Trinity asked.
“Probably one of the towers; possibly the tallest and largest. So it will be the hardest to get to without being seen. It’s told that the high tower also has a throne to receive guests.” He answered; he turned to see her face screwed in confusion. He shook his head. “I guess the former royal resident liked to see his guests and subjects in a room with a view.” He shrugged. “He could also have hidden it in another tower. But he seems like one who likes to show off.” Ranen commented.
“All right then. We just need a quick and quiet entrance into the castle.”
Ranen nodded. “We have the blue prints of the castle at camp.” He said and started to back out of their hiding spot. Trinity gave the castle one last look before she followed. The camp went silent as Ranen and Trinity entered. All eyes were on Trinity. Trinity looked at her partner and shrugged.
“Don’t worry about it.” Ranen whispered to her. “I’m sure they’re just feeling a bit more nervous since we’re so close to getting back your dragon. Can’t say that I blame them. And a bit curious of what kind of stuff you’ll do once we get started.” Ranen told her, leading her to the fire everyone else was sitting at. Everyone else smiled at the both of them as they sat down. Everyone except Aspen who was silent and looked a bit preoccupied. “Aspen, we’ll need to examine the blue prints of the castle after we’re done eating.” Ranen suggested to Aspen.
Aspen looked up and nodded, still looking distracted. After the months of training and the traveling, Trinity trusted and respected Aspen second after Ranen, of the rest of the group. Although Aspen was usually a bit hesitant to trust her, they did get along amazingly well considering. Trinity sometimes wondered if Aspen would ever trust anyone in her life. She may be one of the toughest ‘Speakers, but her lack of trust could be her greatest weakness. One Trinity wanted to make vanish.
No one said anything else as everyone finished eating. Once every one was done, Aspen went into her pack and got the castle’s blue prints. She laid them down on the ground, placing rocks on each corner to make the edges stay. The others made a semi-circle around it. “All right, then. According to what we know, the toughest places to get into in the castle are the highest towers,” Ranen explained. “Those two places are the most likely places the egg will be.”
“The tough part will be getting in the castle.” Tom put in. “There are guards in the guard towers and will be almost everywhere inside the wall.”
“That’s why we need to find a secret passage into the castle itself.” Trinity voiced in. She looked over the map. “All castles usually have at least one just in case. There should be one near the river bank where Ranen and I were scouting. If not, in the woods close to the castle. We should concentrate on finding it today. Then tomorrow, we should go for it.” She told them, and then looked at all their faces.
Aspen looked at the map. “Sounds good.” she said. “What should we do afterwards?”
The others thought for a moment. “Our dragons could cause a distraction so that most of the guards get lured away. That way, we don’t have to fight as many. Or at the very least, Blackveil will feel territorial enough to face them.” Ranen suggested.
“Whatever happens,” Dion started, “Trinity should only concentrate on finding that egg. If we get separated, that should still be your first priority, Trine.” She smiled reassuringly. “We can take care of ourselves, don’t worry.” Dion gave her a near-sisterly smile.
Trinity nodded though reluctantly. “All right. You all cover my back and give me enough time to find the egg.” As she looked over the map of the castle, she got a weird feeling. It felt as if thoughts and images were being placed in her mind. “I… I think it’s most likely to be in the high tower…” she blurted out, agreeing with Ranen’s earlier assessment.
The others all looked at her. “How do you figure that?” Aspen asked; she studied the Destined Child intently; reading the expression on her face.
“Ranen thinks so.” She tried to breeze it off, but the looks she was getting from the others told her she wasn’t convincing anyone. Trinity shook her head. “I donno… a feeling…” She paused and shook her head. “I can’t explain it. I just got images in my head. Of the egg in a room… there was a window… it showed the land from a high point. Over the rest of the castle…” She trailed off.
Aspen made eyes contact with Trinity. “Maybe your dragon feels that you’re really close. Perhaps it’s the connection you naturally have with it to be able to pinpoint easier. Roseweed could also have…”
“Maybe.” Trinity replied, rubbing her temple for a moment, closing her eyes again to try to bring back the image. “Ranen said there is a throne there… with what we know of Siegev, he seems the type to place a prize like my dragon’s egg in a room like that.”
Ranen nodded. “Okay, we go for the tower. Now… we got to find an entrance.”
Aspen rummaged through the blue sheets of paper. After a few moments of searching, Aspen smiled. “There should be prints for the extra tunnels and secret passageways… Found one that goes straight into the castle; the hall between the Main Hall and the Kitchens. And right down the hallway from a stairway to the main towers. The other end should be within a mile or so away… south of the castle… Not too far from where we are right now.” She said, looking up at everyone else.
“Okay!” Ranen said with a smile. “Let’s start looking for it while we still have sunlight.” The other’s nodded, got up and started getting ready to search for the secret passage.
Trinity bolted up from her bedding. She was out of breath and sweat beaded down her forehead. She quickly got out of her sleeping bag; gasping for air. She fell to her knees once she had scrambled out of her blankets. Without knowing it, she began sobbing.
Everyone else woke up and rushed to her side. “What’s wrong, Trinity?” Aspen asked, she the first to get to her.
Trinity started trembling. She just shook her head and tried to control her breathing. Trinity looked around her and found that the sun had not yet risen and the brightest stars still shone in the sky. The Ninnev moon was a week from full.
Ranen draped a blanket over Trinity and held her close to him. “Are you all right?” he whispered, just seeing his beloved so shaken was shaking him as well.
After a short moment, Trinity shook her head. “Nightmare.” She said.
“Was Siegev in it?” Aspen asked. Trinity looked at her and nodded. “He came to you?”
“Yes. Tried to…” Trinity said softly and shivered.
Gripping her shoulders, Ranen shifted uneasily beside Trinity. “What did he want? What did he say?”
Trinity shook her head.
Aspen looked at Ranen. “She needs to become calm first…”
Ranen just stared at Aspen; casting a sideways glance at Trinity before returning his gaze to Aspen. “Aspen, can I have a word with you?” Ranen asked, standing up.
Aspen also stood. “Sure.” She said and followed Ranen away from the others.
“First off, how the hell do you know these things? And don’t you know that only dragons and Mystic Knights can dream-walk? How could he have appeared in her dreams?” Ranen asked with a stern look on his face.
Aspen crossed her arms. “I know Siegev came to her because Andre tried to come to me yesterday. And if Siegev is as strong as Roseweed fears, he’ll have found a way to do it too. He could have cyphened that innate ability from Andre. I watched Roseweed train Trinity a little bit in it as well. That training session which you were not allowed to watch because of curtain issues. Roseweed taught her how to do it, or at least recognize it; the ability long forgotten by the old Dra’Sorrian and their descendants. And now, besides Mystic Knights, only dragons have the strength and wisdom to do it. She did it, Ranen. She shared a dream with both Roseweed and I. She was quite successful if I say so myself.” She told him.
At that, Ranen was quiet for a long time. Then he looked at Trinity, who still huddled on the ground with the blanket wrapped tightly around her. “Siegev is up to something. And I want to know what.” He said, his hands turning to fists at his side. “He puts his life on the line when he tries to harm the one I care and love the most.” His voice became passionate. He sighed and calmed his growing anger down.
Aspen didn’t say anything. She never saw devotion like Ranen had for Trinity. Maybe there was such thing as love. But would she ever find one like it? Will she ever know when she does? Aspen shook her head. “I’ll go get some wood to start a fire. After breakfast and when everyone’s emotions are calm, we can ask her what happened.”
He looked over at her and nodded. Then Ranen walked back over to Trinity. Aspen remained standing where she was for a moment. Deep in thought.
With several thoughts running through Aspens mind, she set off to get wood for a fire and curtain herbs to brew into teas that will help everyone get through the morning. She hoped that she would be able to find them and get Trin’s nightmare to become powerless.
Skyflyer sat on a warm flat rock near the edge of Water Lake. He was all but relaxed. Last night’s event perplexed him a great deal. It wasn’t something that’s ever happened before. He wished that he could go to them now and help Trinity deal with the invasion of her mind last night. But that would be dangerous. They weren’t going to storm the castle until the afternoon, when they had theoretically the most energy and the least time when they hoped to be expected. Nemesis didn’t like this decision of course. She felt that attacking in broad daylight was dangerous and unorthodox. And there was something in the wind. Even so, she went along with the plans. The event of the night left even her a bit shaky.
Skyflyer stood on all fours as Nemesis preened herself, and stretched. He had confidence that it will all turn out like it’s supposed to. If it doesn’t, then it would mean that everybody was in a lot of trouble.
Trinity rubbed her hands absently over the small fire. She’d been doing so for the past hour and her hands still didn’t feel warm. Ranen leaned over and took them into his hands and added his warmth. She drew in a shaky breath and looked around at those sitting around the fire with her; all eyes were on her. “Are you sure you want to hear what happened? I’m still not sure if it could have been real at all.”
“He has a Mystic Knight as an apprentice, Trinity. That means he has studied what they can do. And with Andre’s help, has found out how he can do it.” Tom told her, eyes solemn. He cleared his throat. “Hearing about what happened will tell me without a doubt whether He did visit your dreams.”
“We’re brave enough, Trinity.” Dion commented soothingly.
With a small smile, Trinity sighed again. Was she brave enough? She knew that if this was kept inside, it had the potential to poison her. Such was one of the drawbacks to having magical talent. Talking about it would be the best thing for her. Trinity took a deep breath. She had already prepared herself by going into a semi-trance like state to make it easier to recall the details.
“I was dressed in my normal clothing that I wear outdoors. Except that I didn’t have my Dragon Pendant. I guess that could have been a sign that I had almost no power in my dream world like all the rest of the Dra’Sorrian, though I didn’t know that for sure until Tom commented about it…
“The forest was silent. Still. No sounds came from the treetops or the grassy undergrowth. Nothing stirred other than the trees in the wind. It was dark and gloomy. And it grew darker by the minute.” The others could feel the sense of anxiety in Trinity as she told them that she walked along a faint path. She seemed to be in a sort of trance, enabling her to recount her experience with eerie precision and detail.
“I’d come upon a bleak field of tall grass and bare deciduous trees. I stayed at the edge of the tree line. Waiting for something to appear. Something to happen.
“Nothing did.
“Nervously, I took a step into the meadow. My feet placed so not to make a sound.
“Clouds started to form above as a sudden intensity overwhelmed me. I tensed as I stopped a few yards into the field. In a swirl, the fog swooped about me, making a wide circle. Creating a solid wall around me.
“Siegev appeared from within the smoke. He stood straight with his long black hair hidden under his hood. The complexion of his finely structured face was pale, as if he had forever shaded himself from the light and warmth of the everlasting sun, but remained defiant and proud. He looked at me with infinite interest.”
This disturbed Ranen more than he would have expected.
“Then he spoke.” With Trinity saying his words in near verbatim, it still caused the others to shiver. “’Welcome, my dear. Welcome to my domain. I have been waiting for you.’ He stepped towards me.
“I looked behind me, only to find a hard smoky wall. Preventing me from moving away. I stayed where I was, pressing myself against the wall. I looked back at Siegev and said. ‘And why is that? You are the reason I was created. You are oblivion. The darkness I was sent here to destroy.’” Trinity shivered, though continued, still in that eerie trance.
“Siegev smirked and looked admiringly upon me.” She shivered again and blanched. “’You are a powerful person. I’ll agree to that, my lady. But you can be so much more powerful!’
“’I don’t care about power. All I care about is saving the Golden Egg from your dark hands and saving Starza from your evil.” I replied with as much determination as I could muster. “I swear this to everything that is good and sacred.’”
Lauroran smiled. “That’s it, Trine. You showed him whose boss!” Ranen shushed him, keeping an eye on Trinity as she continued.
“Siegev took another step. He pressed his hands together. ‘Let me put it another way… Trinity, I can get you anything you ever wanted. Not just power, or fame, or even the finest jewels in the world; I can give you much more… life, more than this humble and boring way of …goodness. To be put on a pedestal with others bowing at your feet.’ He took another step towards me; almost standing right in front of me. ‘I can take you by force of course.’ He smiled at I tensed. ‘Kill everyone who you hold dear. What about… your friends and… oh, your parents. Will you let them suffer?’
“I looked up at him. ‘You stay away from them!’ I stood straighter, defiantly.
“Siegev grabbed my shoulders. ‘Only if you come to me, ‘Speaker! I can show you things that not even the Greatest Dragon Speaker can! Side with me and your friends and your parents remain unharmed! They can even join me with you.’ he told me. ‘The world can be both of ours. We just have to take it, together.’
Trinity was trembling by now. “Shaking my head I said, ‘No. No I won’t! I won’t side with you! I will make sure you don’t harm anyone!’
“Siegev sighed angrily and moved even more closely, his eyes glaring down into mine. ‘Then I guess they’ll all die. What are you going to do Dragon Speaker? You can’t protect everyone all the time. You’re not that powerful. You’ve cast a spell over me, dear Trinity. And soon…’ he leaned over to me so he could whisper in my ear. ‘Soon, I’ll repay the favor.’ He said, he planted a rough kiss on my cheek and moved away from me, vanishing. Leaving me shaking and alone.
“Everything went extremely cold and dark. Despair hung thickly within the air around me, causing me to drop down on my knees, suddenly weak and lost. Then a bright flash of light erupted from nowhere, and everywhere. Then… I woke up.”
Aspen whispered a short verse of curses. She looked at each person with a solemn face. When she looked at Trinity, she found that she was looking at the fire with an emotionless expression. “Trine… are you all right?”
Trinity slowly nodded. Her face was pale and tears were in her eyes. She shuddered, remembering Siegev’s hard hands and heated eyes on her. She felt sullied and wished she could bathe and scrub her body raw.
Ranen moved closer to Trinity and held her close. “Don’t worry, Trinity. He’ll never get the chance to hurt you, or any of us. I promise you this.”
“Don’t promise, Ranen. Just help me keep you all and my parents safe.” Trinity said, wrapping her arms around him. She looked up at everyone else. Then smiled, reassuringly. “With all of your help he can’t touch us.” She amended.
Everybody else smiled back. “You’re stuck with us, remember?” Aspen said and patted Trinity on the back. “Now. Let’s get rid of what we don’t need and rescue your dragon, hu? It’s by far about time.”
Trinity nodded. She took out her Dragon Speaker blade, Maradia, and held it up. It glimmered in the now early afternoon light. In her mind she hoped she was ready to face Siegev face to face… in reality.
“Should we contact our dragons?” Dion asked, staring at Trinity with awe.
For a moment, Ranen thought about it. “Yes, we should. We need them to distract Blackveil when they find out we’re there. They should come as close as they can without being spotted. Agreed?”
Dion nodded. “Agreed!” Lauroran and the others said nervously.
Ranen looked at the small dragon, Fizzle, as everyone started making their camp invisible. “You’re coming with us either way, so you don’t have to worry about waiting.”
Fizzle chuckled. Yeah! I get more action then the big guys! He announced proudly. His tail blade thudded into the ground forcefully several times.
Tom laughed and began packing all his things together into one bag then pulled it on his back, though he moved as if it wasn’t even there. He was already in his Mystic Knight armor; which was much more elaborate and full plated than his journeying attire; yet he never seemed encumbered by it. “You’re overly enthusiastic about that, while the rest of us are… let’s say, dreading it.”
Fizzle looked up at Tom. Yeah, someone’s got to be optimistic!
Ranen chuckled as he turned to the others. “Okay, let’s move out.” he said and everyone started out of what used to be their camp ground, and towards where they’d found the secret passageway.
Trinity walked beside Ranen. She had a placid look on her face. She didn’t seem so disturbed from her dream from when she woke up that morning. Her thoughts were now on her dragon. The morning that her dragon came to her in meditation and cried out for her help was in her mind. She could remember every detail of her dragon. From the swirling colors of her eyes to the specks and streaks of gold and dark red on her scales. Trinity held the image in her mind throughout the walk to the passage, it helped her look at the Sorcerer’s actions in perspective; he invaded her mind to try to turn her or scare her off. That meant he thought her as a threat; a real threat to his mission for power. She turned to look at Ranen as they neared where they would look for the passage. “I love you.” She said.
With a smile, Ranen looked at her. “I love you too. We’ll get through this, don’t worry.” Trinity smiled back, cheered by his reassurance. When they reached the approximate location they thought the hidden entrance was, it only took a half an hour of searching to find the secret passageway. It was located in the side of a dirt cliff overlooking a small stream. They wasted no time in jimmying and muscling the steal hatchway open. One by one they filed inside. It was a long tunnel that was very dark and looked like it hadn’t been used for years. There were cobwebs everywhere along the walls. The floor was made out of stone, but they could barely tell what kind of stone it was with all the moss that was growing all over it.
“Cozy place they got here.” Aspen commented. The others quietly snickered nervously.
As they walked through the tunnel, they soon saw a dark green light on the other side. They crept towards it and several minutes later found an underground cistern water system. Flat stone floors surrounded the main body of water. The light came from the water itself, but there was nothing in the pool to cause the light. “Creepy.” Tom said as he walked around the pool to another passageway. They walked around the pool to an archway. There were stairs around the corner. “This way you guys.”
“Be careful, there could be guards anywhere now.” Ranen advised.
Tom nodded. “Right, I’ll go first and check to see if the coast is clear at the top of the stairs.” He suggested. Ranen nodded and Tom silently climbed the stairs with his dragon right behind him.
Aspen shivered and closed her eyes for a moment. “Our dragons are where they’re supposed to be… They saw that the castle is starting to seem a bit active; though seems he only keeps a token garrison here.”
“What about Blackveil?” Dion asked.
Aspen shook her head. “Nemesis can’t see her anywhere.” She whispered. Her expression showed that she didn’t think that was a good sign. “They’re on the lookout and ready for her when she does appear.”
Trinity slowly swung her head to look at Aspen. “Are you sure?” Aspen nodded. Trinity curbed the urge to bolt up the stairs—or perhaps back down the path back to their camp. “Then I don’t think we’ll be able to get in without them noticing for very long.” She said as she stealthily made her way up the stairs.
“What’s going on?” Tom asked.
“I’m not sure; we may have patrols waiting for us.” Trinity told him as she passed. Tom went after her. They continued to go up the stairs and into the long corridors of the cellars of the castle. Soon enough, a gang of human soldiers came from behind a corner and blocked their path; though a few seemed slow masking their looks of surprise.
Ranen and Tom took out their swords and rushed at the soldiers. “Go, we’ll hold them here.” He instructed.
Trinity paused, and looked longingly at her beloved. “Are you sure?” she asked.
Ranen gave her a cocky smile and twirled his sword in his hand. “These guys are no match for magic users who’re combat trained. Go find your dragon.”
With a curt nod, Trinity and the others passed through the crowd, felling or injuring any they passed, and up another flight of stairs until they came to a door that lead them into a long hallway with stone and marble tiling; they’d entered the castle proper. “Come on!” She watched as the others came out of the stairway. They started towards where the main stairway would be, down another corridor branching off from the main hallway.
“There’s only one way from here.” A voice called from the other side of the hall. Suddenly a few dozen guards gathered at the end of the hall. Walking up from behind those men, stood the dark eyed, merciless thug that was a second hand to Siegev; Andre. The group assembled to face him. He and his men were feet away from the corridor leading to the stairways. “Hello Aspen. Good to see you again.” Andre smirked.
In response, Aspen glared at the dark cloaked figure. “’Good’ isn’t the word I would use to tell how I feel towards seeing you… Andre.” She growled.
Trinity grabbed Aspens arm. “Don’t let him throw you off, Aspen. You’re still a Dra’Sorrian. And a damn good one too.” She said.
Aspen smiled at her. “Thanks Trine. Go… go find your dragon. Let us deal with these insects.” She took a few steps towards Andre. Dion took out her longbow to cover Lauroran. The Mage stood close to Trinity to cover her back.
With an equally cocky grin to Ranen, Aspen slowly moved towards Andre, taking out her sword once she got near him. He did the same. “Shall we finish what we started in your camp, Dark Knight?” Aspen mocked.
Andre smiled maliciously. “I’ll be happy to show you what you missed.” He snapped and held his sword in a fighting stance.
Suddenly Aspen flashed Andre with a burst of white light. “Hurry, Trine! Go!”
Trinity bolted out to the adjacent hall as the fighting began; Dion and her brother followed her part of the way before they took positions to cover both Aspen and Trinity’s progress. Trinity ran into the main stairwells that led up to the many different towers. She looked around, trying to remember which to take. She quickly chose one, but before she could start climbing, a small group of men came running down, swords in hand. Trinity took out her sword and quickly disarmed them and sent them all tumbling to the ground. Instead of killing them, she put a quick sleeping spell over them. When they wake up, they’ll remember nothing.
“Maybe it’s not that way.” Trinity told herself. She looked over the doorways to the other towers. There was one wide stairway and it had torches lined up that seemed to have been lit for a very long time. “Let’s try this one!” Trinity bolted up that stairway and quickly ran upwards. Beneath her shirt, her pendant started to glow.
Ranen ran back outside. He got a call from Skyflyer. Somehow the second witch had turned herself into a dark Fire Dragon magi. It was nothing more than transfiguration and tricks, but she was still formidable. She and Blackveil were besting the other, younger dragons. When Ranen was out of the secret passage he whistled for Dusty. The cream colored stallion was quick to come galloping to him. They were riding to the dragons in a flash. They soon came to where the majority of the fighting was. Not just were the dragons fighting the other dragons, but bilnog Shamans as well. Some had chains leading large brutish grellots in their hands. Ranen stood up on his horse and shoot ice and electrified water spheres at the weapons of the bilnogs; some shattered, others froze colder then the bilnogs could handle, making the creatures drop their weapons. They all turned towards Ranen and took out other weapons they had and rushed towards him. After the initial surprise sweep, Ranen sat back down and took out his sword. He cast a spell of raging water, his strong natural element, into his sword before he fought with the bilnogs by his feet.
The gargantuan grellots charged at him with blind rage. Ranen had to jump from his horse and slip between their feet to avoid their sharp claws and crushing hammers. Within moments, all the grellots were frozen in thick blocks of ice, many in mid-swing.
Back on Dusty, he charged again. Still more bilnogs came at him.
He had nearly defeated them when a dark red lightning bolt came down from the window of the highest tower towards Ranen. Just before it hit him, Ranen’s horse reared up and the bolt hit Dusty in the upper chest. Dusty sank to the ground with a loud whine. Ranen was left pinned to the ground with a couple bilnogs coming towards him, with weapons glowing with unearthly light. He swung his sword to keep them from spearing him. “I’ll die a good and righteous man!” he told the bilnogs.
I don’t know how you expected me to just glide there and watch you kill yourself. No way will that happen in my lifetime. Now get up here and help me kick some dark dragon ass! Suddenly Skyflyer flung Ranen in the air and swooped down below him so that Ranen landed squarely on his dragon’s shoulders. Skyflyer grunted and his flight dipped slightly before the dragon regained his momentum.
“Nice catch.” he said, shifting his seat while getting a better grip on his sword.
Skyflyer roared and steered toward the other dragons that were fighting. Ranen shouted with the thrill of being on dragon back for the first time. They flew passed the main tower. Ranen looked in the window and found a dark face glaring at him. Ranen knew who it was and glared back. He kicked his dragon’s sides to make him fly faster to the others and held his sword high.
Aspen got back up after the strong ball of pressured air had knocked her to the ground. Andre was already coming towards her. She couldn’t call for help; the others had their own problems. Most of the fighting had migrated to where she and Andre fought. She glared back at Andre and held her fingers close together by her head and closed her eyes. She waited until she could sense Andre right next to her, then she opened her eyes and flung her arms out towards him. In flash, electrified water hit Andre in the chest and sent him flying back. But not before Andre had tried to slash her with his sword, the sword missed its mark, but cut a gouging wound on one of her arms. Slowly getting up, she wiped the corner of her mouth and looked to see blood on her hand. She placed her hand on her injured arm and rubbed it absently. She looked at Andre. “Had enough yet?” She charged both hands with orbs of light.
Andre got up and started to walk backwards.
“Uh uh uh!” Aspen said and cast one of the balls out, but didn’t let it go. It turned into a long bend-able cord; a whip. She sent it towards Andre’s feet and the whip wrapped around him. She jerked the whip towards her, sending Andre back down to the ground. “You haven’t said the magic word!” Aspen mocked.
Furiously, Andre looked back at her. “You’re right!” he said and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his chest. “Vishan colud!” he hissed. Then a cloud of fog enveloped Andre.
Before she could react, Aspen felt the whip slackened and she rushed to where Andre was. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing. “The coward vanished. The little prick. I wasn’t done kicking his ass!” Aspen growled and snapped the whip loudly.
The human soldiers heard it and stopped for a moment. Moment enough for the others to take advantage of, but if they expected the three magic users to be easy to defeat, even with greater number, they were sadly mistaken.
After dispatching the solders, Aspen suddenly felt dizzy. “Nemesis!” she shouted, throwing caution to the wind and quickly made her way outside to where her dragon was.
Nemesis was on a collision course with the ground. She shook her head to focus and was able to turn just in time. She flew past Aspen, so she swerved back to land beside her to give her a status update.
“Need help?” Aspen asked.
The black dragon smirked and did an ice-spear attack over Aspens head on the left over bilnog Mages. They stood, frozen in place with gaping mouths. Some rocked slightly before going still again. She took off back into the air. Now for the big game! Nemesis commented and flew back towards Blackveil and the witch that flew as a dragon.
Aspen giggled as a rush of adrenaline pumped into her veins. She saw the blood red dragon battling the other fire dragon, Bluemoon. They were flying past each other putting everything they got into getting each other to tumble to the ground. “Do your sonar! She won’t expect it! Watch out BM!” She shouted, going into a run to try to help in case those on the ground tried to interfere.
With flourish, Nemesis opened her mouth, but instead of water erupting from it, nothing did. At least to Aspen. To the dragon impostor, it was a direct assault on her senses. She roared at the high pitched noise became louder. Bluemoon plowed into her and forced her to crash into the ground. Nemesis and Aspen came up to them just as the witch turned back into herself again to escape. Aspen vaulted off a large rock, took out her sword and jabbed it into the witch’s chest before she had time to react. “Go join your dark sister, black witch.” She hissed as the witch screamed pitifully and then went limp.
Blackveil, seeing her fighting companion slain, swiped her tail at the other dragons to give her some room and made a quick retreat to the north. Bluemoon and Vamana followed; though even with their superior speed, all they could do was chase. By then any remaining forces had been dealt with or fled when they saw Blackveil leave.
Aspen looked towards Skyflyer and Ranen, who were now both on the ground. Skyflyer was glowing again. This time, he shrank instead of grew. Skyflyer sank back into his small draconete body with a look of dejection. He perched on Ranen’s shoulder as Ranen walked over to Dusty who lay motionless on the ground. Aspen made her way to him.
From the Castle, Dion emerged to check her dragon; seeing the others she also made her way to Ranen
Ranen slowly shook his head. “He made a sacrifice. He took the lighting Siegev conjured for me.”
Even though it was just a horse, not a dragon, Aspen sighed. “Then he died honorably. We can bury him if you want, when this is all over.”
“No.” Ranen said. He kneeled down beside his stallion. He looked askance at Dion; there wasn’t time for a proper pyre like Ranen felt Dusty deserved. She stepped up and waved her hand over the horse, concentrating hard. “Good journey old friend.” Ranen farewelled.
“Blessed be the Stars you find.” Aspen added, citing an old goodbye to the dead.
