The Frozen King

Chapter 01

In a frozen chamber under a great castle is a piece of art or a statue, but it is unique. It is a majestic man standing frozen in ice, wielding a mighty sword in two hands. There are fires lit all around but the ice sculpture is frozen solid. The chamber is covered in ice aswell. A long thin man begins speaking to the frozen man, "you thought you could reign uncontested dear brother? This kingdom needed a ruler though, not some kind servant. Those ideals you spat out, honor, serving the meek and lowly... It's the powerful that should be served. Seeing you frozen there only shows how weak you were. Though I guess you would never have known that I was the one behind this coup. I always played the loyal brother, your best friend. Hahahah how could you have guessed? And the look on your face when you finally realized what was happening! It was priceless. What I wouldn't give to relive that moment! A perfect plan executed flawlessly! Well brother... It seems your flame has chosen a champion. Not that it matters... I'll just snuff it out again! I guess I might just get to see that expression again after all!" The brother turns away. Drip A single drop of water falls from the ice sculpture of a king frozen in ice.

*********

I woke up with a gasp. A strange dream had plagued my nights. In the dream a cold winter wind blows, I have no warm clothes and I'm alone. I'm walking towards a warm orange flame and then when I reach it, I wake up.

"it's happening more and more now..."

The dream started happening about 10 years ago when I was 6, and ever since then they have become more and more frequent.

"Torin!"

My father was calling for me. A tall burly man, a farmer. He found me in my room and gave a gentle smile. "Hurry or you'll be late!"

That's right, today was the marching of the knights. Once a year the knights would patrol the entire kingdom, we would hear stories or news of other happenings in the land. The knights were generally kind folk, they were considered to be the most respectable and kind force in the kingdom

That is until 10 years ago...

The knights slowly changed year after year until they became what they are today- A vile pack of ravenous dogs. Every year they steal our valuables, food, then they trash the place.

Though my father smiled, it wasn't because he was happy, I could tell he was putting on a brave face. This was the worst night of the year. Our little village would leave a table of offerings out in the open in hopes they would take it and leave. But it seemed like every year the knights needed to relieve some pent up aggression or something. They burn down sheds, houses, and slaughter any livestock they see.

The entire village hides in an underground bunker hidden from the knights. They still haven't found us these past years. At this point we aren't even sure what the knights look like anymore. All we know is that when we come back out tomorrow, everything will be destroyed.

I got dressed thinking about the work I was going to have to do tomorrow. "Why can't they just leave us alone..." I mumbled to myself. Because of this new reign of terror we can barely stay afloat year after year. But our town has grown closer too. We all chip in to help each other. It's become more like a family.

I walked outside, my eyes winced at the bright sun. My mother was pulling the clothes off the line, my younger sister was herding the few sheep we had into the bunker. She turned and waved at me, "hey big bro! Why do you always sleep in!?" She was very bright and enthusiastic. Her energy was truly inspiring. She wore a pink dress she had gotten for her birthday this year. Her brown boots were muddy from chasing the sheep down. Her blonde hair was in a long beautiful braid.

"I just can't seem to sleep lately... I guess you'll have to catch me some extra worms since you're so early!" I gave a loud laugh.

Crickets. My sister, terra, had a confused look on her face. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

I clenched my heart out of emotional pain, "the early bird gets the worm...." I cried out.

Her eyes widened and she laughed finally. I did a fist pump in victory.

"Torin, help your father with the offering would you?" My mother called to me. "We're going into the bunker right now. The knights could be here at any moment." She hurried along. I turned and wandered over to my father.

He slammed a cleaver through the neck of an animal. He was cleaning it and making fresh meat for the knights.

"ugh dad, why do you go through so much effort to make a special offering for the knights when they're just going to trash our village anyway?"

He wiped his hands with a rag but didn't look at me. "Hand me that platter" he pointed to a beautifully carved wooden platter. I had seen him make this platter too. My father was truly a craftsman. It had beautiful wrapping designs along the edge, on either end of the platter was an insignia of a flame.

He held the platter gently with care and started to put food on the platter, I helped. "Torin, with you, Terra, and your mother around, I have so much to lose... In the past when I made the platter, before the knights started to turn into thieves, I never got the platter back." I looked at him confused, "you mean that even when the knights were good they still took the platter?" He nodded with a smile. "Someone takes them... Which makes me happy, I know that it isn't being destroyed and someone is taking great care of my work." He closed his eyes in thought.

Honestly that seemed a little farfetched to me, "couldn't they just be selling it for profit?" My dad put his hand on my shoulder, "we can't control who benefits from our work. All we can do is provide the most outstanding work we've ever done. If you don't always do your best then youre not getting any stronger"

Well that kind of seems like a waste to me still, but I guess Dad's not wrong.

We carried the food to the offering table and the other villagers started heading towards the bunker. We followed closely behind. My dad was the last one in the bunker. We still had some time left before they usually came. He covered the entrance of the bunker with leaves and foliage before stepping on himself, "have we forgotten anything?"

At first there wasnt any confirmation but then mom gasped, "where is terra?"

What?

"she was right behind me..." I said, but quickly realized I wasn't watching her. I bolted past Dad and ran out into the open. "No torin, wait!" My dad called after me. The sun was still high in the sky, but in the distance I could see it. A procession of knights rising over the hill. They were wearing black armor and their horses were all black as well.

The knights were here.

Chapter 02

The knights were approaching quickly but I still had a little bit of time. If I could find terra before they got here we might be able to make it back to the bunker. If we don't then they will have to close it and hide it without us, to protect the rest of the villagers.

Where could terra be, she would know by now that the houses get searched. She would have a new hiding spot somewhere she thought she could be safe. I glanced around in the village just in case, but terra was smart enough to avoid where the knights would be. I turned towards the nearby trees and started running just to the edge of the village.

"terra!" I loudly whispered. I knew the knights weren't close enough to hear or see me just yet but I didn't want to shout either. "Terra!"

Just then she appeared. "Torin!? You're supposed to be in the bunker!" She was hiding in a bush. I'll admit, it was a great hiding spot. The place was just close enough to see, the bush was large enough to cover her and then some. She was peeking out of a small hole that was hidden behind another bush.

"terra! Are you insane!? We have to go! Now! If the knights caught you, we'd likely never see you again!" I crawled in the bush after her. The bush was hollowed out but still bushy enough to hide us from the outside. "What is this place? nevermind, terra come on!" She sat down.

"torin, I'll be safe here. I just want a peek at the knights, I've never seen them before!" She was pouting at me but she seemed confident about the hiding spot. Terra was too young to remember the knights at all. By the time she could, we had already started using the bunker. By now the knights would be getting close, but if we hurried we could sneak back to the bunker... Was it closed? Maybe we have to stay here now... There were too many unknowns. We didn't know how close the knights were and the villagers wouldn't open the bunker after they had closed it.

"agh! Why did you come out here, you should've come with us! We'll have to stay here now and hope they don't find us!" I scolded her.

This was an uncomfortable situation, but I had to admit I was curious about the knights as well. Last time I remember the knights they wore white armor...

"shhhh!" Terra hushed me quiet and we both looked through the bush as we heard horse neighing and hooves clomping in mud. They were really here, it was good we stayed.

We finally saw them approach the offering table. They were wearing black cloaks and armor that covered every inch of them. They dismounted approached the table then flipped it like it was garbage.

The leader spoke in a raspy nightmarish voice, it was unearthly like a ghost. "Find it! It's here! I can sense it!" The knights began to spread out and rummage through everything. They moved in an oddly professional way, I thought they were just greedy dogs, but these guys were on a mission.

"burn down the houses, lure it out!" The leader cried out again. The knights started to light torches and began to burn our houses. "It's definitely here... I can sense it stronger than ever before. The last time I felt it this strong was when the old king was still ruling!" The leader glared around the village trying to find something. He finally turned towards our direction and stopped.

We could see his face. Or should I say it's face.

Flesh was torn and missing from the knights face, it was frostbitten and decaying. One of his eyes was missing from its socket. Horror took hold of me, I glanced at terra and she had just realized that this was a grave mistake.

The leader knight tilted his head, "found you..." He grinned, half of his cheek was gone making the grin almost look maniacal or crazy. Then he started walking towards us picking up the pace, "you can't hide the flame from me boy! It's too warm to not see!" He started running towards us. My body wouldn't move, where would we go anyways. I held onto terra and covered her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" A man shouted with all his might as he brandished a long great sword with two hands.

Clang!

A wave of cold rushed across the area. At its center was my father holding that great sword clashing with the dark knights blade. The knights blade was made of pure ice and where the swords met it seemed like the ice was spreading. My father's sword was becoming engulfed in ice.

"RUN!" My father shouted as he pulled his blade away to swing once more. It was a mighty swing. I did not know my father knew how to use the sword. The knight parried my father's blade from the side and side stepped in towards him. My father backed up with a quick jumping motion and he parried the Knight's frozen blade.

Soon the other knights began to close in on my father's location. We needed to get out of here, I grabbed terras arm, "come on, we have to go!" Terra sat there in shock, with tears running down her face, "m-my l-legs... They w-won't move!" The fear was creeping in further down my spine. I quickly picked her up and jumped out of the bush. The only way to run was towards the forest.

"GO NOW!" My father called out to us one more time.

"you should be paying more attention!" The leader knight lunged forward with his blade.

Shink

The sound of a blade piercing through flesh. I knew it all too well. The times my father would butcher meat came to my mind. A swift motion is all it took to slice through meat.

"urgh!" My father grunted in pain. I dared not look back, but he was likely surrounded by the knights now.

"get the boy! He has the flame!" One knight started running towards us. I faced forward towards the forest and I kept running. I ducked through trees and thickets. It was a thick forest and so I stopped behind a tree. "Terra you have to stay here, if they are after me then you will be safe. I'll lead him away." I got up, but then terra held my hand tightly, "no torin. Don't!" I shook her grip away and I jumped from behind the tree.

"hey bucket head! Over here!" I could see him. He looked like a decaying corpse as well. He silently trudged towards me with a frozen blade. I turned and ran. I ducked, dodged, and jumped over tree roots and bushes. I knew these forests. I hid again to catch my breath. The knight quickly caught up to me like he had infinite stamina. I tried to breathe quietly but I could hear the silence in the forest. If I made a sound he would likely know where I was.

I covered my mouth with my shirt and tried to slow down my breathing. The knight crushed branches close by but where was he coming from? I dared to take a peek around the left side of the tree.

The knights grisly face appeared from right behind the tree to meet mine, it let out a nasty stench of breath and it's jaw moved like it was laughing, I shouted and fell backwards. The knight was laughing? No verbal sound came from the knights voice. Only the cracking of bones and clacking of teeth. Then it lunged at me and pinned me down to the ground. I was completely restrained.

The knight froze my hands and feet together, then dragged me back to the village. I was pulled over mud, roots, and dirt, but the knight kept pulling. Blood was dripping out of my new wounds from being dragged.

Finally it threw me forward, we were in the village again. I got onto my knees and I looked up.

In front of me were 10 or so decapitated and lifeless knights surrounding a man who was pierced with several ice swords. It was my father kneeling there lifeless still clutching the great sword he was using, ice swords were sticking out of his ribs, shoulders and other parts of his body. Tears filled my eyes, "NO! FATHER!" I couldn't hold back my tears. I fell forward and cried uncontrollably.

"who knew the old captain of the knights was protecting the flame. Ha! What a fool!" The leader approached me, "shut up boy! You can mourn your father when you're dead!" He grabbed my chin and forced my head up. I stared into his one eye. The stench was revolting but I didn't back down. "Hahaha! A feisty one" clicks and clatters came from the remaining 10 knights that were now surrounding me. They were laughing. "Well boy, how were you able to evade us all these years? We've been riding around searching for you for so long! Well, please do tell us..." I remained silent. I still didn't even know what they were talking about about.

"eh oh well. We have you now. Declan truly gave us a hard fight, didn't he boys! Hahaha alright you can stop playing dead!" He waved at the knights that were lying on the ground, then they started to move again. The ten knights my father had slain, rose up again. Some reattached body parts, others crawled on the ground towards their torsos. What was this nightmarish immortal army?

"hahahahah! That never gets old! Well what do you think, boy! Pretty amazing right!?" I watched in horror as I became surrounded by all 20 knights.

"you're no fun..." The leader's demeanor changed. "Let's take him to the king. Oh I almost forgot. The new recruit." He grabbed my father's head and pierced his chest where the heart should be with his ice sword. My father's eyes opened and they were filled with a blue light. He convulsed in pain, "what are you doing to him! Stop!" I shouted, but he kept going. Soon my father's body was covered in pale skin and frostbite.

No, this can't be happening.

"Arise Declan, answer the summons of the king and serve your master once more!" My father stood up and grabbed his greatsword which began to be covered in ice too but it wasn't like the other knights' blades it was still made of iron at its core. "Dad!" I cried out. But no response.

"your father serves the true king now." He smiled a sinister smile. "Give the boy a taste of the cold blade before we leave!" A knight walked towards me, pulled out his sword and stabbed me. It was freezing, "agh!" I screamed. All I could do was focus on the pain. Even after the sword left me it felt like it was still there stuck inside me. No blood fell from my wound, the wound was frozen. I started to lose consciousness.

Chapter 03

I'm so cold.

A blizzard raged against me as I walked slowly towards a light. A flame that was warm, a refuge from this bitter cold.

"Torin...." A female voice called out to me. It was a voice I'd never heard before, but it felt so familiar.

"Torin... come to me... now is the time" there was a slight desperation to its voice. I shuffled closer. "Who are you?" I questioned the voice that I felt so close to. Even hearing it was calming and peaceful, I wanted to hear it again, "please, speak to me!"

"I'm so sorry, your body is not yet ready for my power... But you must endure"

I was close enough to touch the bright and warm flame. I wasn't cold anymore. I reached out to the flame and when my finger touched it, the flame spread down my arm and covered my body. It was hot, and a burning sensation covered my entire body.

"agh!" I cried out in pain.

"hold on just a little longer Torin. Someone is coming to save you"

***************

I woke up. I was feeling extremely hot. I was riding on a horse in front of one of the dark knights. Normally they were accompanied by an intense chill but I couldn't feel any cold from them.

The moment I jolted awake the knight and horse I was riding on became restless and the knight tried to grab me. I grabbed his arm back.

Red and orange flames erupted from my grasp and melted through the knights arm. He could not scream, but he pulled his arm away, I fell off the horse.

My body was burning up now, an intense heat was emanating from my body.

"the boy is awakening, stop him!!!" The ghastly voice of the Knight leader rang out as I picked myself up. I instinctively felt that I could stay and fight these immortal knights, but a voice called out from within me, "no! You can't maintain the flame in your current state. You must run!" It was the familiar female voice I'd heard in my dreams.

I refocused on my enemies. The heat was intensifying when suddenly my body started to sprout tiny embers. My flesh was burning. The pain started to hurt me, "agh. It's too hot!" I turned and ran back on the road. But where could I go. The knights were much faster than I was.

Suddenly an ice blade made contact with my arm.

Ssssssssssss

The sound of melting and popping flames accompanied a melted sword. I was still uninjured. I turned swiftly towards the knight and grabbed his sword arm. The knight screamed with his body but only silence rang out from his mouth, as it's arm melted away like the knight himself was made of ice. I kept running.

"you won't be able to keep that up for long boy! You'll burn before you know it! hahahaha" He was awfully close but still out of my reach. "The moment your flame dies out, your mine again!"

He was right. My body was disintegrating before my eyes. I couldn't keep this up, and they knew it. Well, what am I supposed to do then?

"help is coming, look!" The voice in my head spoke. I instinctively looked up towards the road in the distance. There on the horizon was a woman with long fiery hair clad in white and red armor atop a white steed. She rode swiftly towards us.

"grrrrr the dawn brigade!? Get the boy now!!!!" The knights were closing in but they couldn't touch me or reach me. A few tried but when they touched me they began to melt.

Huff Huff

I was running but the flames on my body were making it hard to breathe. I was moving slower, but I kept pushing. Most of my skin was gone at this point. I was a body of charred flesh, but it was also the only thing keeping me safe.

"he'll die out soon enough keep close by. I'll fight the girl." The dark knight leader growled and rode ahead of me. The knights couldn't stop me from moving forward or they would melt. so they stayed close by while maintaining their distance.

I kept moving towards the female knight as best as I could. The dark Knight leader and the female knight approached each other at a rapid pace.

"move aside traitor!" The woman shouted. She glared with a vicious scowl and she rode full speed towards the dark Knight.

"TRAITOR!? hahahaha the frozen king is dead! You serve a dead king! I serve the king who sits upon the throne!"

The woman knight raised her blade then began to chant, "by the rising sun. Cleanse this fowl stain upon the land!" She brought her sword down right as they reached each other. The sword exploded into a bright light which blinded me as I looked forward. I stopped moving and fell down on my knees... My body couldn't move another step.

I squinted as I tried to look at the aftermath of the dark Knight leader and the woman who clashed blades. When my vision returned I saw the woman in red and white armor riding in front of me holding her arm out. I grabbed it. I was swung onto the back of her horse as she kept riding.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" The dark Knight cried out in frustration.

My flames died out as I finally relaxed.

"hold on tight. We're getting you out of here. My men are close behind us." The urgency in her voice was reassuring. I knew she could keep me safe

Only then did I remember my wound from the ice sword stabbing me earlier. There was no longer ice, but instead a cauterized wound with a small hole.

I was feeling weak, pain wracked my body as I held on tightly.

Chapter 04

The knights were on our tail but they couldn't catch up to us. The horse was pushing hard and running fast. I'd never ridden before and I felt like I would fall off at any moment if I wasn't holding on to this red haired woman. I wrapped my arms around her waist tighter...

I know this is a serious moment but I felt a little giddy. She was quite beautiful.

I was quickly reminded of my raw flesh and charred arms as they rubbed on her waist.

Man, this could take months to recover from.i was reminded of home though and what my mom and terra would be thinking. I hope terra is ok...

Like a mind reader, the red haired woman spoke, "my men found your sister in the village unharmed. We are heading to a safe place and we will be there shortly... My men are starting to catch up" she smiled with confidence as she turned to look at me, then she had a disgusted look on her face when she saw what I looked like.

"is it really that bad?" I asked. She quickly turned forward again. "Yes... You're quite disgusting." I've never been shot down so hard before. I wasn't expecting brutal honesty.

Brrrrruuump

The sound of a trumpet rang out from behind us. I turned my head around to see what the sound was coming from. There, not too far behind the knights was another band of armor wearing warriors. These warriors were wearing normal iron armor, but their entrance was very welcome. The new warriors were catching up quickly to the knights. They must be pushing their horses extra hard. Soon they made contact with the knights and the knights were forced to fight them and defend themselves. "Gahhhh you filthy little bugs!" The knight leader shouted in anger.

We were suddenly no longer being followed. The sounds of battle grew quiet as we rode further and further. Some men screamed as they were injured.

Something didn't make sense to me though.

"why are you doing so much to help me?" I felt terrible for the people who sacrificed themselves for me. My father came back to my mind... I started to feel my lingering emotions well up from my chest.

"trust me. We aren't saving you for free. And my men know why we do what we do. Our mission is noble and important. You'll soon learn more, but if you were being taken by the Drezir then you are worth saving." She looked slightly more relaxed and our pace slowed slightly. "Those Black knights are the tyrant king's loyal servants, the Drezir. They are zombies teetering between life and death frozen in time. They search tirelessly for the true heir to the throne... So they can snuff out our last hope."

She got quiet. The horse started to slow down and took a turn off the road into the forest. Our path seemed random to me. I couldn't see the road any more and I was certain that if we were being followed, we would not be found. The woman put a finger to her lips to tell me to remain quiet. I obeyed. Shortly we reached a small clearing. In the center of the clearing was a lonely boat, land locked and utterly out of place. The woman finally broke the silence.

"we are here."

"Here? Where is here? What's with the boat?" I blurted out in bewilderment. She rode closer, dismounted the hourse, then attached a harness to her horse that was connected to the boat. Then she got back on the horse and gave three tugs on the ropes and we began to float. Well more like we were lifted.

"what's your name kid?" Now she asks my name?

"torin, yours?" She only looked up. She had a proud smile on her face, "torin, good name. I'm Thena a scout. Welcome, to the Dawn Brigade"

We slowly rose over the top of the boat rails and suddenly I heard clapping. An entire crew was watching us being lifted onto the boat. They were cheering loudly.

Some shouted, "good job Thena!" Others shouted at me, "good job staying alive kid, ew that's ghastly!" Even more talked about their exploits and success, "we really gave those old bags the slip eh?" Everyone was happy to see us. They all looked like the men who had fought the knights from behind us. Some were injured but none of them looked mortally wounded.

The horse was detached from the harness and I was lifted off the horse gently. A tall thin man with an eye patch, long blonde hair, and a scar on his lip came up to me, "so you have a flame? That's a nasty one. We'll get you fixed in no time" he spoke like this was a common injury. All of these reminders about my charred body were starting to do a number on my confidence. He led me down into the boats lower quarters to be treated.

I was alone now with this tall man, "so how is this boat any safer than somewhere else... Isn't it actually more noticeable?" He chuckled like it was a silly question, "you're a bright kid. This is a special boat. Oh by the way, my names Arthur. I'm the team medic"

Just as Arthur finished talking I felt a familiar sensation like I was being lifted up. I almost fell over and Arthur helped support me so I didn't fall. The ship started moving, but it wasn't on the ocean.

Arthur grinned, "this boat can fly"

Chapter 05

Having grown up in a small village, I'd never experienced many things. Flying was one of them. Speeding up and ascending into the cloudy sky was a strange feeling. Arthur sat me down as we kept climbing higher and higher.

"When I get back outside I'm going to have to look how far up we are from the ground!"

The boat evened out and things began to stabilize. Arthur took me to the medic room, there were two people roughly my age in the room already. "These are your new temporary roommates until you recover. This is Byron..." He gestured to a black haired boy who wore a scowl. His features were quite sharp, but he looked like he was in a terrible mood. His fingers were black like they were frostbitten. He glanced at me then laid back down in his bed and closed his eyes. I could almost hear the disgust from him. "Hes a bit shy" Byron scoffed at Arthur's comment.

"And this is Claire! She was saved yesterday from the Drezir" Claire smiled brightly at me. She had white hair that was long and full. Her hair parted, letting the sides fall over her ears. There was enough volume to it that her hair looked fluffy and full instead of flat and straight. She didn't seem to have any visible injuries.

"Everyone, this is Torin. Our latest recruit. He has a bit of a nasty magic as you can see." Claire's eyes lit up, "oooooo fire magic???!! How does it feel?"

This seemed a bit insensitive seeing how my skin was basically burned to a crisp, "uhh... Painful" I replied. She got even more excited, "woooow" she looked like she wanted to ask me all sorts of things but Arthur kept moving along, "Claire has water magic. When we found her being chased by the Drezir she was almost drowning in her own powers" she looked a bit embarrassed but more in a devastated way. She looked like someone just told her that she was actually really bad at her job. Clearly she was a magic enthusiast.

"Byron has lightning. He is quite short with people and can even have a bit of a temper but if you leave him alone you should be fine." Arthur was quite observant. I looked at his fingers again, "did the Drezir do that to you?" I questioned Byron. He didn't open his eyes, "you should mind your own business..." He responded quietly, he sounded disappointed.

Arthur continued on, "anyways, Torin, you'll be able to recover from your burns fairly quickly, thankfully I have life magic. The ability to heal wounds, cure poisons, and similar things. Your recovery will be exceptionally quick. Let's treat you now." After sitting me in my own bed, he began to remove my clothing so he could attend to the burns all over my body. I was a bit embarrassed to be so underdressed next to a girl. She was staring at me in fascination the entire time too. Thankfully Arthur let me keep my underwear on.

"sorry for the intrusion of your personal space and decency but we don't have any way to divide you three from each other yet and you are in need of immediate attention."

"I guess I could suffer for the sake of my health, but couldn't you at least tell her to look the other way?" He laughed a light chuckle but kept working on my wounds. I stared at the ground because I didn't want to think about how Claire was examining my scars and burns.

Claire chimed in, "so who are your parents Torin?" That was an interesting question to ask after just meeting someone, "uh why? Do you travel to other villages a lot?" I questioned her motives. She smiled brightly, "I guess you could say that!" She seemed to be overjoyed to have someone to talk to, seeing how Byron was pretty unapproachable. "Oh, well my moms name is Jane, and my dad's was Declan."

Arthur stopped healing me suddenly, "Declan?" He looked puzzled, "like Declan, the first knight of the king?"

I gave a puzzled look.

Chapter 06

I had never seen my father wield a sword in my life.

But the Drezir and now Arthur are talking about him like he is some kind of legend? I am starting to think I didn't know much about my father. "The Drezir mentioned he was the former captain of the knights... this is really all very surprising news to me. My father was just a farmer."

Arthur smiled warmly and reached into a drawer. He pulled out a familiar wooden platter. It was the same platter my dad made this year to commemorate the knights. "Your father was a great man, Torin." I instinctively reached out to the platter and felt the grooves of the special design my father would add around the edges. "Can you tell me more about my father?" Claire sat up in her bed hugging her pillow, she had a look of utter awe and excitement as she waited for Arthur to share a story. Byron even glanced our way as if he had heard stories about my dad before.

Arthur wet a cloth and started to tend to my burns, it stung. "Declan Fairbright, the right hand knight of the king. He had many titles but this title was by far the most prestigious. Only few knew of his accomplishments until after the tyrant king took control." I listened intently, but held in my questions till he finished. "As for the captain of the knights, its true. Declan was an extremely skilled swordsmen. He and the king trained together often and he even shared the same sword style as the king."

I remembered my father fighting the Drezir and seeing his skill. "My father was fighting the drezir on his own and even killed 10 of them before..." I didn't want to say the next part out loud, it was too painful to remember his face, bloodied and tired. Arthur noticed and continued his story. "He was a great man. I fear that his skills will become extremely difficult to overcome if we ever come in contact with the Drezir again... I noticed that they Raised him, but his moves were still sluggish and uncoordinated. A new Drezir struggles to move since their body is still fresh and may resist the Raising."

I whispered so my voice wouldn't crack, "What did they do to him?"

Arthur looked at me with sad eyes, "He is now in the immortal servitude of the tyrant King. The Drezir used to be knights. But the day the King of Flame disappeared, everything started to change."

***************

A young Declan was marching with the 20 knights behind him. They road on their noble steeds and entered the palace to report to the king. The village surrounding the palace celebrated loudly and laid down leaves for the knights as they returned home. They had just returned from the marching of the knights where they survey the land and report the prosperity of the kingdom to the King of Flame.

"Dismount!" Declan ordered the knights to dismount from their horses so they could enter the throne room and address the king. "So Declan, are you going to report the ice?" The king's brother, Ferdinand, stood next to Declan. Ferdinand was a good friend of declan's, he was royalty but since he was not in line for the throne he was to assist the knights in their march. He had long black hair and a cunning smile. He acted a little shady but he always treated declan and the knights well.

"I must, you may think it wasn't such a big deal, but if the ice magic is spreading through the country then we may need to go and find out why." Ferdinand looked a little disappointed. "Ah Declan, always by the book. Why worry my brother with the finer details when this is clearly just a simple change in the weather. The days are starting the get colder."

Declan had considered that the ice was not magic at all but instead the weather, just as Ferdinand said. Something about it bothered him but he didn't know what. He sighed, "I guess it hadn't affected the villagers yet but if it ever did become something big then I would feel responsible."

Ferdinand yawned as he casually approached the king.

The king was a large man with red curly hair. He wore a golden crown and a royal red cape, the edges of which were on fire. He was holding his great sword, a beautiful legendary sword called Agnir, and resting the tip on the ground as his knights approached. The knights knelt down and bowed their head, including Ferdinand. Declan spoke, "My lord, we come to report our findings in your land."

The king descended from his throne and lifted up Declan, "At ease my brethren." His voice was warm and kind. He approached Ferdinand and hugged him, "My brother, thank you for joining their quest."

Just then Ferdinand held a dagger made of ice and plunged it deep into the King's chest. "Ah!" The king staggered and knelt on one knee. The knights each drew their weapons.

"What's the meaning of this Ferdinand! This is treason!" Declan shouted and approached the king to check on his wounds. The knights instantly surrounded Ferdinand and each held their swords at his neck. He didn't flinch,

"A little present for my dear brother is all" He lowered one of the knights' blades with the tip of his finger. The knight's sword became frozen and when the frost touched the knight's hand he instantly dropped the sword and held his hand in pain, then he fell to the ground and stopped moving. His body had become cold, so cold that you could see frost dissipating in the air from his lifeless body.

The king stood up again and held out his hand as if to cast a spell, but nothing happened. "Ah dear brother, I forgot. Your heart is frozen, you won't be able to use that annoying Flame anymore!" The king dropped his hand and grabbed Agnir, the great sword.

"Why have you done this?" The king scowled at his brother. The knights had backed away from Ferdinand in fear that he would flash freeze them with a single touch as well.

"It's really not that hard to understand Tristan. I want the throne, and I'm tired of sitting in the sidelines while you bow to your subjects in servitude. You should be worshipped! Like a god! But NO! You squander your power and authority and you put yourself beneath the people! All for what? I can't take it anymore Tristan! You are not worthy of the crown you wear."

Ferdinand walked step by step towards the king. Declan stepped in between the two, but the king stopped him and looked him in the eyes with a nod. "Go now, you know what you must do." Declan quickly ran off without a second thought. "Hah! Declan, where are you running off to now? Are you scared!?" Tristan, the king, stepped forward and held Agnir towards his brother.

"So you think you can fight me now, even when your powers are gone? You won't even last a second. And your brave knights are cowering with fear in the face of my power. What can you possibly do?"

Ferdinand grabbed Agnir with his entire hand, clenching his fingers around the sharp blade. His fingers started to bleed, and no ice formed around Agnir. "What is this?!" Ferdinand released Agnir and whinced in pain. "You clearly don't know much about this sword. And it shall be your undoing." The king started to breathe short breathes, with an ice dagger stuck in his back. Then he and his brother charged toward each other in a fierce battle.

Chapter 07

Arthur looked like he was remembering a nightmare. "I used to serve in the palace with your father. After Ferdinand froze the king, many of us escaped. Unfortunately the knights either vowed to serve the tyrant king, or all became immortal undead slaves, the drezir as you know them today. They were all turned into Drezir eventually as the villages tried fighting back. They were once good people but they were tempted by greed and desire instead of servitude and good will. Some obeyed to survive. Those knights who tried to stop the others from committing evil deeds were cut down and rizen as Drezir."

Arthur looked somber as he remembered the events from 10 years ago.

"So what did Declan have to do that made him run away?" Claire asked with eager eyes. She almost seemed unphased by the death and bloodshed in the story.

Arthur continued, "well it's actually got to do with the dawn brigade. Our mission, to find the heir to the throne and take back the kingdom from the tyrant king."

The heir to the throne? "The king had a son?" I couldn't hold back my curiosity.

"Well, we know Declan retrieved the child and hid them away in the kingdom, but we don't know where. The Drezir have been gathering up youth who have magic powers because they believe the heir will inherit the same power as the king."

So that's why Dad hid us in the bunker. That's why they found me... "What was the kings power?"

Arthur smirked, and continued treating me. "The King's Flame."

Byron sat up quickly, "That's just a legend! The King's Flame doesn't exist, how could it? Powers are equal, to claim that there is one only that can outclass the others would be an imbalance to the world!" This was the most Byron had ever spoken, probably in his lifetime.

Arthur raised a finger in protest, "ah, then what about the tyrant king's ice? Would his ability to seal the kings Flame not bring back that balance?"

Byron stopped and closed his eyes, "so your saying Ferdinand's ice was at least equal to the kings Flame in power?" Arthur nodded, "probably, otherwise the kings Flame would have overcome the curse."

I was completely confused. Magic powers? Kings flame? No one in our village had any powers except me.

"Why is the kings Flame so special?" I raised the question like it wasn't a big deal. To me it just felt like a title but it probably wasn't much more powerful than any other power, right?

Arthur looked at me puzzled, "have you been living under a rock? Ah, I guess Declan didn't even show you his swordsmanship... He likely didn't teach you about powers either"

I nodded, and looked down in disappointment. Did Dad know I had powers? Is that why we hid in the bunker? What about the heir? Did he know where they were? I couldn't ask him these questions anymore, I couldn't get to know him better. I wish I had paid more attention to what he did every day. I wish I had spent more time learning from him...

Arthur stopped healing me and put his hand on my shoulder, "losing a loved one is extremely difficult. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. But if you want to remember your father's legacy then you should live to give his work meaning. Help us find the heir that Declan hid away. Help us take back the kingdom and the throne." He smiled warmly then let me go. "That's all the healing your body can take for today, look, you're already much better looking now" he held up a mirror and showed me that my skin was now only partially burned. I had a few scars left over but they weren't too big.

Claire's eyes widened, "oh wow! You're kinda cute!" I blushed awkwardly. The only girl my age in the village was bertha. She wasn't very nice to me so we didn't really get along.

"Oh, uh, thanks... I guess. Um Arthur, could you tell me more about the king's flame?"

Arthur sighed and looked a bit tired. "it’s a lot for one night. But you will be here for a while so lets talk about it some more tomorrow. I need to go rest." Arthur got up and walked to the door. "Get some rest, tomorrow you'll all be ready for training" he left out the door.

I watched as he left then turned to the other two. When I turned around, Claire's face was right next to mine, "whoa!!" I jumped, startled.

"So you have fire right? Could it be the king's flame?" She looked extremely interested in my power, it was a little too much to be honest.

"Ah, look, I don't even know what that is, but is it really any different from normal fire?"

She got even closer, "yes, it’s the most powerful magic that we know that exists in this world. To wield power like that would be like having the power to rule the world! I guess that's why the previous king was a king in the first place." She finally backed off and looked at her hands, imagining what it would be like to have powerful magic in her own hands.

Byron scoffed, "yeah, sure. The problem is that a power like that would be fundamentally impossible. The truth is that magic is equal and power is solely determined by how the wielder uses it."

Claire turned to him with a sneaky smile on her face, "so you like to talk after all?"

Byron laid back down and rolled away from us. I got the feeling that he was passionate about certain things but maybe didn't know how to talk to others in a social way.

"I heard that the king turned his flames into the King's flame by training with a powerful master!" Claire exclaimed. Claire and Byron were both knowledgeable about magic but they seemed to be interested in different aspects. Byron seemed to look at magic as a tool that anyone could access and use with wisdom. To him, It almost didn't matter what magic you had as long as you used it right. Claire on the other hand seemed to be interested in the idea of magic, the raw feelings and power that was associated with the power.

"How do you both know so much about magic?" I couldn't hide my disappointment that I was being left behind in the conversation.

"we grew up with magic in my village." Claire replied with a cute smile.

Byron grunted, "my master took me in when my powers manifested"

I was insanely jealous. "So you both are really good at using your powers then? That’s so cool!"

Claire giggled like I was a little child praising a master, Byron just laid there uninterested.

"So why didn't the drezir catch you sooner? The Drezir could see my magic like it was a beacon" I gave a confused look.

Claire pointed at my chest, "Flame users are rare. Do you want to know why?" She had a very serious look on her face. "because the Drezir can see the flame even when you don't use it. Our powers are not as easy for the Drezir to detect."

I nodded in realization. They could find me even in that bush because of the flame?

Claire kept going, "The Drezir take children who show potential magic power, but ultimately they are looking for flame users because the king was a flame user. They often take you people away before the dawn brigade even has time to catch up."

I thought about what might have happened if Thena hadn't found me in time, or if my magic didn't manifest while I was being carried away.

Claire stretched and yawned, her figure was lean and developed. The stretch only helped to accentuate her body. "Ah man, I'm tired. I'm gonna get some rest, night!" She laid down and pulled the covers over her head.

Byron and Claire fell asleep quickly, but I couldn't stop thinking about my father laying on his knees motionless with ice sticking out of his body. I tossed and turned trying to get the images out of my head.

"Torin... Oh Torin! I'm glad you're safe! I couldn't check on you until now. I only just woke up." The female voice rang out in my head. The same voice from earlier when my flames manifested.

"Who are you? How are you in my head?" I whispered extra quiet.

"oh sorry I couldn't introduce myself earlier, my name is Agnir! Nice to meet you"

I laid there is utter shock and confusion. "What did you say your name was again?"

Chapter 08

Agnir had a joyful tone. She seemed probably around my age, but she was bubbly and exciting. "Yes, I am agnir. Why? Do you know about me?" She seemed surprised.

"well, not really. I heard that agnir was the name of the kings great sword." I laid there in the darkness trying to process what exactly was happening right now.

"ohhh? Really?? What do people say??? Do they like me?" She seemed to revel in the attention. Just knowing that someone was talking about her seemed to get her excited.

"uh, I don't know much. But then are you really the sword of the king? How is that possible?" I tried to stay as quiet as possible.

Even though I could only hear agnir, I envisioned her smirking with a proud look on her face, "because I am the mighty Kings flame! Mwahahaha tremble before me mortal!" She suddenly got very animated and theatrical she even started making sound effects with her voice, "ahhh, oh no don't burn us alive agnir! We love you! Oh my gosh it's the great kings flame! Ahhh and then fire comes out and stuff."

I stifled a laugh. "Oh my bad, oh mighty one!" I had to keep it together so I didn't make too much noise otherwise I'd wake the others. But I finally caught up with what she just revealed. "The King's Flame?" I was especially quiet for those words. "How?"

Agnir chuckled a seemingly sinister laugh but because of her voice it felt more like a 10 year old playing the evil villain. "I do as I please mortal!" Her personality seems to have slightly shifted from the caring and desperate girl who called out to me before. It seemed like she was getting more comfortable with me. "When my former servant was frozen I left him in search of a new host hehehehe behold my might!" She was awfully proud of herself.

I continued to question her, "have you done this before? Also I thought you were a sword! Stop skirting around the important stuff!" I tried to bring her back to the main topic of our conversation.

"ok fine, yes, the sword that Tristan used was my physical manifestation that he gave to me. I was a powerful sword that was immune to all other magics, I consumed Tristan's flame and made it my own! As for how we found each other, I'll have to tell you another time, it's more exciting that way! Now go back to bed! It's late!" She yelled at me like it was my fault I was still awake.

I realized though that my were finally starting to feel droopy, "alright I guess... See ya tomorrow"

************

The next morning we were woken up by Thena, "get dressed. I've been assigned to brief you on today's mission."

Today's mission? Suddenly my palms felt sweaty. "We aren't even healed all the way!" I complained.

Thena scowled at me, "you have to work for food and board. Plus you still owe us a debt. We need your magics to help another kid. Be quick!" She threw us all clothes, some leather straps for carrying weapons or other items then left.

"wow! A mission already? I wonder what the new kids power is!" Claire removed her gown without a care in the world for Byron or me. We both immediately looked away. My cheeks were warm from embarrassment.

Byron shouted, "can't you at least give us a warning!" He slapped his hand on his face. Claire just giggled as she dressed.

"is this your first missions too?" It seemed strange that they would have me working even though Byron and Claire got more time to rest.

"yeah, sorry man" Byron looked a little guilty. He has been recovering the longest out of all of us. His fingers were no longer frost bitten. He clenched and stretched his fingers like it was a new arm, small bolts of electricity bounced between his fingers, then he got up and left without another word.

"h-hey wait up!" I shouted to him, Claire left too, "bye!" She winked and gave a peace sign as she disappeared. I struggled with the straps and started chasing after them.

The bright blue sky blinded me shortly as I emerged from the ship's quarters. Men and woman were manning the many different parts of the boat, in the center of the ship was a small group of people, Thena was standing facing them and she was talking, "...we must avoid detection at all costs. In order to do that we will have to use the new flame kid." She pointed towards me and she revealed the plan.

Oh man, I wish I was here to hear the rest of the plan. Thena suddenly stopped talking like she was done with her presentation. The other members of the dawn brigade looked at me with pity, one of them even put their hand on my shoulder, "sorry kid" what have I gotten myself into?

I walked up to the group, "sorry I'm late... What am I supposed to do?" I scratched some of my burns that were still itchy.

Thena said a single word that sent shivers down my spine. One word that would make any man beg for forgiveness. A word that could make you soil your pants

"Bait"

No.... Not again

Chapter 09

Bait

After everything I've learned, of course I should act as bait. The problem was that I didn't have any combat experience besides my first encounter with the Drezir.

Thena smirked a devilish smile, "that's right... We are gonna work you to the bone" a shiver went down my spine. Thena was only slightly older than me, maybe 2 or 4 years older. That doesn't seem like a big gap, but she was an adult and I was still a teenager... She didn't feel close to me in age at all in this moment.

"so uh what do I have to do?" I tried to stop my voice from cracking in fear.

Thena held her head up high with a proud look on her face, "you're riding with me again!" She pointed a thumb at her chest like it was obvious. Then I remembered how I had to hold on to her waist for dear life last time.

"oh, goody!" I faked an enthusiastic war cry, but I was far too scared to be a great pretender. Plus oh goody was as far away from a war cry as you could get.

The men laughed, Thena scowled. I probably hurt her pride with that one. "Look scorch face, you don't have to do anything. We are gonna ride fast and when the Drezir see you they'll forget about the kid below. Now, we don't have much time but this is the best opportunity we have to save that kid down there! So let's move people!"

The boat was quickly descending. I looked over the railing of the boat to get a glimpse of what was going on. The Drezir were riding down the road chasing someone. The scene felt all too familiar.

"hey kid, when we get down there, don't use your power. It's far too dangerous and you're still recovering. Since you're with me you won't get caught, got it?" Thena looked focused, we were on her horse now ready to get off the boat.

"hey Thena? How do we get off the bo-whoaaaaa!" Before I could finish, the horse leapt off the boat and started falling rapidly towards the ground.

Thena shouted with excitement,"hold on tight! Rapnir controls wind magic, that's why he's the fastest horse around!" We almost hit the ground, but then the horse neighed and started running on the air. Wind picked up and it felt like we were riding the wind. Instead of falling down, we were falling forward. I held on even tighter than last time.

"ease-up-kid! I-cant-breathe!" Thena was grunting out the words, I barely loosened my hands that were woven together around her waist. We almost hit the ground but then rapnir started to balance upright and face forward instead of straight down. We evened out and rapnirs feet touched the ground but we didn't lose any speed. The same wind was pushing our bodies forward faster and faster.

The Drezir were close now. Thena pulled back on the rains and slowed rapnir down, "hey ice heads! Look what I got!" She turned the horse sideways and started running away from the other kid who was riding a horse away from the drezir. I was now directly in the line of sight of every single Drezir.

I looked through the crowd of dark armored knights and found one who was dressed in village garments, "dad..." I whispered to myself. He was riding a horse made entirely of ice, his skin looked even more frostbitten than yesterday, his great sword was strapped to his back- still frozen. My heart ached as I saw him, so I turned and buried my face in thenas hair. Thankfully she didn't seem to mind.

Half of the Drezir started to chase us and then more members of the dawn brigade ambushed the remaining Drezir chasing the kid. We were getting further and further from the crew until it was just us and the Drezir. We were quick but rapnir magic started to go away, "what's wrong? Why did rapnir slow down?"

Rapnir started to breathe heavily and slowed even more than before, so much so that the Drezir were starting to catch up. A familiar wicked and gutteral voice called out to us, "uh oh! Looks like your horse isn't doing so well! Kekeke"

Thenas eyes widened, "poison!?" She patted rapnirs mane and whispered to it. Rapnir started to slow down even more, "good boy." She turned to me, "Torin, this isn't good. Someone poisoned rapnir before we got off the ship... We are going to have to get out of here Immediately."

I realized what she was saying, "there's a traitor in the dawn brigade?" I muttered. Suddenly, no where in the world felt safe anymore.

Rapnir stopped, we were a good bit away from the Drezir still but if we didn't do something soon then we'd be surrounded. Thena jumped off the horse and pulled me off almost aggressively, "I'm sorry but there is not time. You're just going to have to trust me." She smacked rapnirs back side and he started running with more vigor again.

"what are we going to do now!?" I started to panic. How could we possibly fight them especially if I can't use my power like she said.

Thena pulled out something from her backpack. It was glowing a yellow golden hue, agnir spoke up suddenly out of no where, "oooooooo a dragon kind!" I blurted it back out without thinking, "dragon kind?" Thena held the glowing stone to her chest and a pillar of light appeared where she was standing. If I hadn't immediately closed my eyes, I'd likely be blinded.

After the light died down in thenas place was a small golden dragon. Small in comparison to how large a dragon should be, she was still nearly 7 feet tall. Thena growled at me like she couldn't speak. I took that as a command and immediately hopped on her back. Agnir was extremely excited, "yes let me touch the dragon! Please!!!" I could feel my powers start to rise up again.

I held it in, "no agnir, my body can't take it!" She seemed disappointed as she smacked her lips. I have no idea what she was about to do to Thena but it didn't seem like a good idea to let her. Thena ran towards the Drezir and started to beat her large wings

Fwoom fwoom

We started to take flight.

And then her throat started to make a hissing sound.

Hisssssssss

Her throat enlarged at the cracks started glowing red. She oppened her mouth and hot fire erupted from her throat almost like lava as it spilled forward in front of her. On of the Drezir were completely melted and disintegrated. I assume that means there were 20 of them now, there was nothing left to revive from. The other 9 that were chasing us stopped and pulled back on their horses.

There was now a flaming wall between us and the Drezir. Thena turned towards the mountain close by and started to fly quickly. A bright light began to glow from Thena and she rose up towards the sun. The Drezir squinted and they lost sight of our position as we ascended towards the sun and the mountain.

It was quiet now. I silently rode the now golden dragon form of Thena, I noticed that some of the scales on her head had red tips. It seems even in dragon form she had red hair. I looked down into the valley, "this is amazing Thena! Do the others know about this?" Thena grunted but didn't reapond.

We started to descend onto the top of the mountain far from the valley. It would likely take an entire day just to climb up here on foot. We would be safe here. We landed and then as form immediately started to shimmer into particles of light. I quickly got off her back and then was her red haired self again, thankfully she kept her clothes. The golden stone lost its glow and she started to fall over. I quickly caught her.

"Thena? Thena!? Are you alright?" She was out, no response. The transformation must take a lot out of her. I laid her down gently on the mountain rock.

"agnir, what is a dragon kind? And why did you want to burn her?" I was slightly upset that agnir would even try to do something that sounded devious when Thena just saved my life.

"sorry about that, her power just looked so delicious!" Agnir sounded genuinely apologetic. "I guess I should probably explain a little bit about what I am, and what I do..." It seemed like she was acting sheepish again instead of her theatrical over the top self. She probably felt guilty about earlier.

"I eat dragon powers"

Chapter 10

Thena wasn't waking up. Her sleep induced state was probably from the transformation but I didn't know, I undid some of the tight straps that she had on so she could relax and breath better. She lied there peacefully in a dreamlike state. She was really quite beautiful when she wasn't trying to use you as bait.

I stopped staring at her and investigated the yellow stone she was carrying. "What is that stone?" I was just thinking out loud but agnir responded.

"a dragon stone has a magical element inside it. It helps a dragonkind transform, but the transformation takes a lot of energy from the user. The transformation will normally only last as long as the user has enough energy." agnir seemed intrigued by Thena. "She held out long enough to get you up here. Its supposed to get easier the more you use it though... she probably doesn't use it often. She probably hides it."

I didn't know dragons still existed, of course she would want to keep it hidden. I'm likely the only one who has seen it since it drains so much from her.

"if you eat dragon powers, then does that mean Tristan, the king of flame was a dragon?" I couldn't quite piece it all together yet, but I needed to know more about the kings flame.

Agnir was still her playful cute sounding self today, "hmm you could say that. Tristan is my dad!" She seemed to be thinking about how to explain what she meant. "The first flame I ever ate was Tristan's. I was born from his flame and desire. But Tristan is not a dragon. I was born to slay dragons. Do you wonder why there aren't any dragons anymore Torin?"

I stayed quiet so agnir could finish, "I ate them! Isn't that awesome?" She said it like it was a really good thing. It almost felt like she wanted my approval.

"you ate them? Like just their powers right?" I asked slightly mortified at the thought of killing a majestic creature like a dragon.

Agnir giggled, "no, I burned them up!" Oh so she really did eat them.

She continued, "Tristan wanted to bring peace and unify the land. The dragons were a big problem though. Dragons are greedy and devious creatures, they lie and decieve you until they get what they want, then they kill you. Tristan actually wanted to work with the dragons, that's where he met Fireheart."

***********

The young red haired man lit a small flame in his palm then threw it up into the air. The cave was suddenly filled with a bright light, "Fireheart! Oh great elder dragon of flames, show yourself!" He shouted into an empty abyss, Tristan was standing at the edge of a cliff in a cave.

Two red eyes opened and glowed in the dark. The pupils were like cat eyes with vertical slits. A wise, beautiful, womanly voice filled the chamber. "Tristan... The flame keeper... And what brings you to my humble prison." The dragons snout came into the edge of the light. Fireheart was giant. Her snout was already the size of a human, Tristan took a step back as he realized he may have stepped a little too close.

"I wish to make a deal with the dragons to bring peace to the land!" Tristan shouted with a courageous voice. He was still quite young but he had always faced fear head on.

The dragon began to laugh a deep laugh from the gut, "Ha Ha Ha Ha! Deal with dragons!? How absurd! The youth of humans betrays you! Ha Ha Ha Ha!" Fireheart laughed some more then brought her head further into the light. Tristan could now see most of firehearts face, enough to tell that she was smiling a devilish grin. "What kind of deal did you have in mind?"

Tristan didn't step back this time, he knew he had caught the attention of the dragon. Now he just needed to convince fireheart to help him. "I want to keep the dragons away from the humans and our kingdom. The dragons may roam the rest of the world and I'll set the imprisoned ones free again, but they must never enter our lands!"

Fireheart's eyes gleamed with excitement, "so you wish to set us free? But how can you guarantee we won't enter your kingdom once again, or even leave in the first place? What will you do when we decide to rule over you puny humans?"

Tristan smiled, "that's why I came to you first. You've been imprisoned the longest, surely you understand the value of freedom. If you accept my deal then the others will likely follow."

"HA HA HA HA HA" Fireheart laughed even harder, "you think I have any authority over the other dragons? A dragon takes orders from no one. The moment you set us free we shall devour your entire race!" Fireheart's eyes looked at Tristan with hunger. "I could just eat you right now, it would probably be better for you. After all, when you approach the other dragons one of them will likely gobble you up. It would be far easier to just end it here and now." Fireheart licked her lips. Her tongue was like a snake's.

Tristan held out his hand, "then I need you to give me power so that I can keep the dragons away from our kingdom. I've heard that dragons will sometimes make deals with humans where a transfer of magic takes place, let's do that." Tristan was confident. He had studied Fireheart and had realized that the dragon was anxious to leave her confinement. The first dragon ever captured. It happened over 100 years ago. It required many sacrifices, more people died in that fight than Fireheart had ever killed on her own while free. 100 years of solitude was a long time. This must have been what the sacrifices were all for. A chance to finally bring peace to the land.

Fireheart thought for a moment, "hmmmmm... Do you know what it means to make a deal with the devil, Fire keeper? You shall lose your soul. Is that really want you want?"

Tristan smirked again, "you are no devil, and I'm a red head" He held out his hand, "so lend me your power to drive out the dragons!"

Fireheart laughed one last time, "HA HA! HOW VERY TRUE! Fine, it's a deal." The dragon placed a claw upon Tristan's forehead. "You're power and Part of your soul shall be merged into a new creature, a fairy. This fairy must be nurtured, cared for, raised as your own. It shall live inside you. With its power you shall consume any dragon who defies you!" A flame erupted from Tristan's chest and another swirled around Fireheart illuminating the entire cavern.

"Our souls shall merge to create this child who shall devour my own flesh!" The flames swirled around each other and then finally clashed. A bright light blinded Tristan for a moment. Then a small heart that was beating and pumping drifted down towards Tristan, he held it in his hands. He looked at it and instantly felt a desire to protect this new life with his entire being.

Fireheart spoke once again, "press it into your chest and it shall be nurtured inside you." Tristan pushed the heart towards his chest and it slid through his clothes into his chest. He felt the rhythm of two hearts beating now as one.

"that is also my child, because of the nature of fairies, I shall never be able to betray you. I shall also desire to nurture and care for it." Tristan believed Firehearts words. Something in him told him that it was the truth.

"then I shall free you. You may wander our lands, but you must never reveal yourself to the people." Tristan was about to destroy the magical chains that bound Fireheart but Fireheart stopped him.

"I shall remain here. No one else knows of my presence, plus I no longer have a desire to leave since I would be closest to the child while here. Visit me often and I shall teach you how to raise it." Fireheart lost all of her deceptive nature and almost felt like a longing mother who wished to do everything for her child. "What a truly abhorrent thing you've had me do." Fireheart smiled a warm smile, "but I think I am greatful, I guess it's forbidden for a reason. We dragons almost change our natures entirely after such magic. I would sacrifice myself to save that fairy. I shall remain."

Tristan held his chest with a tear in his eye, he felt connected to this new being that was living inside him. His very own child that he would get to raise as his own.

Chapter 11

To think that dragons might still exist. Suddenly I realized something, "with Tristan gone, does that mean there is no one keeping out the dragons from the kingdom?"

Agnir was baffled, "excuse me! I'm still here! Which means you are the one who is in charge of keeping out the dragons. TaDa!!!" I almost envisioned her using jazz hands.

"what do you mean I'm in charge-..... Oh no." I just realized what having the kings flame really meant. "No... Not me, I don't even know how to fight let alone slay dragons!"

Agnir giggled, "oh silly! Don't worry so much. Now that I'm awake I can help you! I know exactly who we need to go see. The best part is they live close by!" Agnir seemed like a very optimistic person based on our few short conversations.

"who is it?" I asked, puzzled. Agnir sounded excited, "it's my mom!" Oh right of course, her mom.

"wait, your mom? The dragon? Fireheart the elder dragon?" I started to panic a little bit. "She'll eat me!"

Agnir started laughing again, "what? No way hahaha after all you're my current host! She would probably try to get me to another host first and then eat you. She doesn't want me to meet any boys yet, but I picked you so she'll just have to deal with it."

I imagined myself eating dinner with a giant dragon, she's eating an entire cow carcass with the tip of her claw, piece by piece. She would ask me what my intentions are with her daughter then burn me alive before I even open my mouth.

I shivered a little.

I brought up the elephant in the room, "what about Thena? We can't just leave her here." I pointed at Thena who was peacefully laying on my shirt.

"oh yeah.... I could eat her?" Agnir said it like she was giving a genuine solution to our current problem.

"no! She's a good person. She clearly is against the Drezir!" I put my head in my hands and pressed on my eyes. "I'll just carry her, how far is the cave?"

Agnir thought for a second, "hmmmm somewhere over there" I sat there waiting for a direction to look at. After all I couldn't see her. Then she realized her mistake, "oh yeah haha start heading down the mountain I will guide you.

I laid down on Thena gently with my back, grabbed her arms around my neck and flipped over so she was now piggy backing on me. Thena was heavier than I thought. Her gear was likely weighing her down a bit. Agnir led me down the mountain side. It was a long walk, we stopped several times for a break.

The sun was starting to set, Thena still hadn't woken up yet. "Agnir are we almost there?" My body was starting to get exhausted but I picked Thena up again one more time.

"yes, it's just up ahead." Agnir was confident which helped to motivate me to keep moving. We approached an indent in the mountain face. There were engravings in the rock.

Beware the demon in the mountain.

A spawn of hellfire.

A trickster.

Do not make deals with the devil, you shall lose your soul.

The message made it sound like dragons were from hell itself instead of creatures from our world. I already knew what I was headed into. "Do you have any tips agnir? What should I do? What should I say?"

Agnir giggled again, "oh silly, you don't have to worry about mom!"

Stories of dragons kept swirling in my mind. Deceptive evil tricksters with a silver tongue. I was nervous. How am I supposed to face a dragon, let alone an elder dragon!? "Agnir, what if she tries to eat me?"

"calm down Torin, I'm here alright?" I felt a warmth in my chest. That's right, agnir eats dragons, I might be safe then. I felt slightly better but couldn't help feeling scared.

We walked into the dark abyss, "torin, here's a little light. You can't control my flames yet so I'm only giving you a tiny bit to release into a wisp ok?"

My hand felt hot, "ow" I held it out and released it. A ball of fire the size of my head emerged from my hand, it floated just above me and followed me. This was all the work of agnir, I still didn't even know how magic worked. We walked until we came to a cliff edge. There in front of me was a dark abyss.

A low growl from a large creature reverberated in the room. "So a little snack has wandered into my domain... Come closer small human, I promise I won't bite." The voice was alluring. It was a female voice, it instantly made you feel drawn to its owner.

I resisted the urge to step any closer to the edge. "Um... Uh... Fireheart?" I finally spat out a few words. Scales clashed with stone as a giant creature, just beyond the flames, began to move. A giant dragon head emerged from the darkness.

"what brings you here human child? And is that a dragon kind you carry on your back? How strange... Well it does not matter. It just means more food for me. After all, I cannot let you leave now that you know of my existence." She smacked her lips.

I needed to cut her off before I got eaten. Agnir spoke in my mind, "mom! Yay! It's been so long!" I interrupted, "agnir sent me here!"

The great dragon got closer, "what? How do you know that name? What do you know about agnir? Where is Tristan? It's been 10 years since his last visit, where is he?" I was instantly bombarded with questions but Instead of anger, it sounded like Fireheart was genuinely concerned.

I could see the worry in fireheart's eyes, "agnir is safe. I have her, Tristan disappeared. The new king is his brother Ferdinand." I didn't feel so scared anymore, the dragon wasn't focused on me. Fireheart's mind seemed to be racing.

"with you? Are you her new host?" Fireheart seemed to suspect me a little. She looked me up and down.

"what are your intentions with my daughter?"

Huh? It actually happened?

Chapter 12

The red dragon, Fireheart, stared at me with a scowl. I froze, "uh... I have no Intentions with your daughter." I mean we are kind of stuck together right now... I don't even know what she means.

"No intentions with my daughter?" Fireheart sounded very offended.

I tried to get back on her good side, "no no no I do have intentions with your daughter." This set off agnir.

"intentions with me? What do you mean?" She was clearly blushing and playfully teasing me.

I tried to correct again, "uh some... Some intentions... With you daughter? Maybe?" I was sweating. I've barely even looked at any girls let alone held hands or anything romantic.

Fireheart chuckled softly, "I can see why she chose you. You'll make a fine host for agnir." My heart started to calm down again. Firehearts tone was soft and gentle, not like what I was expecting a dragon to sound at all. I couldn't help but feel comfortable when she spoke. "I would like to talk to agnir in person if you could bring out her manifestation."

My eyes widened in despair, "she woke up yesterday actually... So I don't know how to do that..." I stared blankly at the elder dragon. Fireheart sighed in disappointment.

"you said Tristan disappeared? He must have released her before he disappeared... She must have been familiar with you if she thought to make you her host." This was news to me. When had agnir and I ever met?

"The inheritance of a fairy takes time depending on your circumstances. The longer a fairy sleeps before awakening in a host, the stronger it will be. If a fairy is awoken before all of its power is transferred then it will be weak and frail." She paused to think again.

Agnir spoke to me, "I can't remember when we met, but I know your name and I know that I wanted you." The way she said that last line sent chills down my spine. How did she mean that?

Fireheart began to speak again, "10 years ago Tristan disappeared... What is your name child?"

I looked up at the dragon, "Torin, ma'am" I still couldn't get used to this situation I was in.

"I'll be honest Torin, I don't sense much mana if any from you... Any powers you have are likely from agnir, and 10 years for a fairy to sleep likely means agnir is at full power. Which is good and bad..." Good and bad usually just meant bad because it often outweighed the good.

"what's the bad part?" I always preferred to end on a high note.

Fireheart got closer to me, "your body is not used to having magic, it is not built for magic. And the good news actually is also bad news."

I knew it.

Fireheart continued, "agnir has all of her stored up power from Tristan's time as her host. Which means you are suddenly now harnessing an amount of magic that is far beyond a normal humans control with a nonmagical body."

I knew it was just bad news.... I remembered my burning flesh when I used kings flame for a short amount of time. My body can't keep up with these sudden changes. "What do I do?"

Fireheart closed her eyes in thought, "now that agnir has awakened, your body is fighting to keep up. That wisp light is likely the smallest amount of magic that agnir can pass through you. Her power should be immense. A drop of water from a lake.... Using more than this amount of fire may leave permanent scars or damage to your body. Which I can see you may have experienced once already."

I stared down at my body where there were still some scars from yesterday. "It hurts every time I use her flame..." What use am I if I can't even use kings flame.

Fireheart smiled, "oh Tristan, to think that you may have even thought this far ahead. I guess our years spent together weren't for nothing." Fireheart seemed to be recollecting on the past. "Torin, you must find my daughter, she has a special gift for you. I can't believe I didn't realize that it was for this purpose."

I gave a confused look, " but agnir is already here?" The dragon laid her head on the cliff in front of me.

"my child after agnir. When Tristan made his deal with me, we created agnir. But in the many years of visiting each other we slowly began to fall in love. After agnir was old enough to be manifested and her consciousness was away from Tristan, we had another child." Fireheart placed a red stone on the cliff that looked similar to

Thenas.

"a dragon stone? You mean that there is a dragon kind out there in human form? The true heir to the throne is a dragon? How will we find them!? Thena is the only dragon kind I know and she already has a stone." My mind was racing, it could take years to find them.

"it was just before Tristan stopped coming to see me. A man entered my cave and told me that Tristan had ordered him to hide the child in the kingdom. This man was the only other man I recognized aside from Tristan. They had visited me together once so that I could recognize his face. Tristan was worried that my presence would be made known and that my prison here would not be safe any longer for the child." A tear fell down fireheart's face.

"that man was my father, Declan..." I then recounted what had happened just the day before. "Now my dad is gone and we don't know who the heir is or where they could be... We don't have a single clue!"

"Tristan was smart, he would've had Declan keep her close so he could protect her if needed." Fireheart encouraged me to think harder.

Just then a face came into my mind.

"wait a minute, how old is your daughter? Is she maybe 12 now?"

Fireheart raised an eyebrow, "you know who she is don't you?"

I nodded.

Terra, my sister, might be the princess and heir to the throne.

Chapter 13

Thena groaned. She started to flutter her eyes open but found herself in a dark humid cave. Then she turned to see Torin talking to a giant elder dragon, "Torin get away from it quickly!" She jumped to her feet and ran towards him.

Torin turned around and smiled innocently, "oh Thena? You're finally awake, this is- whoa!" Thena pulled his arm and moved him behind her. She reached for her yellow stone but it was gone. Panic started to rise within her.

The great red dragon chuckled gently, it's female voice felt friendly. Thena knew better than to trust a dragon though, "what sort of deal did you make with him!?" A dragons deal was always a bad thing, she had never heard of a good result from a dragon deal. Her father would tell her stories.

The dragon spoke, "I cannot make a deal with my future son in law, my soul is already bound to another." Thena turned to Torin with a questioning look and he looked as white as a sheet. "Future son in law?"

"I didn't, I don't, I'm not...uhhhh" he looked so embarrassed and he started to blush, "no agnir, I barely even know you! We met yesterday!" He seemed to be talking to himself at this point.

"what have you done to him? He is crazy now, muttering to himself." She looked at the dragon boldly in the eyes. The red dragon smiled, "I told you, I've done nothing. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to talk with my daughter."

Thena looked from side to side, "there is no one else here..." Thena squinted her eyes at the dragon trying to feel out whether she was lying or not.

The dragon laughed, "Torin must give my child a physical form. One that is unique to his preferences and needs." Then the dragon spoke to Torin, "but you will still be able to use the form Tristan gave her as well." The dragon talked to him like he was already family.

Thena couldn't wrap her head around what was happening right now, "Torin why is she being so friendly with you?"

Torin shrugged and scratched his head, "sooo it's a long story but I have agnir now." Thena's jaw dropped.

"like the legendary great sword of the king?" She stood there in amazement.

"uh kinda..." Torin turned to the dragon again, "so I just need to feel her power and concentrate it into a single spot to manifest her physical form?"

The dragon nodded at him, "let's try the great sword since it is already a familiar form for agnir you shouldn't have any problems. You'll have to practice and contemplate on her unique form for you later."

Thena stood there in shocked silence. Torin closed his eyes. A warm orange and red aura started to wrap around his body. The dragon directed him, "now move it to your hand and imagine it transforming into a great sword."

Torin held up his arm, he seemed to be in some pain as he gritted his teeth. Then the aura started to weave around his arm and it started to take form. Torin gripped a hilt as it appeared in front of him, inch by inch a majestic and beautiful sword began to take shape. The great sword was long, nearly taller than Torin himself. The blade was wide and powerful. There was a beautiful red crystal with a moving flame inside of it adorning the base of the blade. The hand guard took the form of dragon wings.

Torins arm fell from the weight of the blade. Agnir dug itself into the ground just from the fall. The dragon spoke, "oh agnir, I've missed you. You are as sharp as ever! Torin, Thena, could you please give us some privacy?"

A girls voice echoed from the sword, "I'll return to you when I'm done Torin!" She sounded cute and young probably Torin's age.

Thena continued to stand there is shock. Torin grabbed her arm, "let's go, I need to catch you up on some stuff anyways. We have to go back to my village."

Thena and Torin turned around and headed out of the cave. The voices of Agnir and the dragon soon became distant and quiet.

Chapter 14

Thena and I exited the cave. It was dark out now. We set up some twigs and wood for a small fire while we waited for agnir to finish reuniting with her mom. I explained the important details to Thena in the meantime and then we waited.

I was the first to break the silence, "so who do you think the traitor is?" I didn't know the dawn brigade like Thena did.

She scowled at the fire, "well, I know who I don't want it to be..." She got quiet as she said that. "Right now, the most important thing is that we secure terra first and make sure the dawn brigade doesn't find her." She looked like she was formulating a plan.

"well, I know the Drezir didn't seem to pay her any mind yesterday so she could be safe." I hoped with all my heart that terra was safe. Even though she might not be my actual sister, I still felt that connection to her.

Thena raised an eyebrow at me, "Torin, Declan is a Drezir now... If terra really is the heir to the throne, he likely grabbed her."

I froze, "wait Drezir aren't just mindless zombies!?" My eyes widened as I saw thena's face. A look of despair showed on her face. "But how do you know that?" I asked.

Thena poked the fire with a stick, "my brother was a knight... Even after getting turned into a Drezir he recognized me..." She lifted up her hair to show her ear. It was crumpled and scarred. "He gave me this as a farewell gift." She let her hair drop back down to cover her ear.

"What even are the Drezir?" I asked. It seemed like Thena knew a bit about them.

"they are people who have an uncontrollable need and desire to obey their master. They are still alive but on the brink of death. Frozen by magic to be immortal..." She never broke her gaze away from the fire.

"except dragon fire seems to melt them permanently... Which I won't tell anyone about you being a dragon by the way... Oh and here is your stone, I didn't want to lose it." I held out the yellow transformation stone.

Thena grabbed it with a suspicious look on her face, "you aren't worried that I'm a dragon?"

I smiled, "why should I worry? You've always been very blunt and honest even when you knew it would scare me." I gave a reassuring nod. "Dragons are liars and deceivers... But the two dragons I've met today are some of the most trustworthy people I've ever met." You can trust someone to act how they've always acted before.

I knew Thena was abrupt, blunt, and scary but she didn't lie. Well I've also only known her for a day so could I really tell all that from just a couple hours? "You also saved me from the Drezir..."

Thena gave a shy warm smile. But when I looked at her she turned away. Then she looked alert, "something is coming." She spoke in a hushed voice and stood up.

I stomped on the fire. "Is it close?" It was very dark but I could still see her outline. She nodded but didn't speak. I followed her lead in silence. I was worried about calling agnir back but I didn't speak.

We ducked behind a bush and started to head back towards the cave. Thena stopped me, then signaled for me to stop moving. She pulled out her sword. My heart was racing.

Just beyond our vision we heard a groan.

Ngggghhhh

Something was coming straight for us.

"tor...in..."

A familiar voice? "it's my dad!" I stood up and said it loudly. After all, he could already see me. "He spent the entire day chasing us! Thena run! He is only after me!" I started to head towards the groaning voice.

Declan appeared out of the trees, his eyes were white and soulless, "tor...in..." He stopped walking and pulled his sword off his back. The long great sword was encased in clear ice. Rust had already started to form on the blade. "Watchhh....." Declan put his sword into the ground and stood tall with one arm grasping the blade. He made a motion with his hand that I recognized.

Watch what I do.

When my father taught me something new he always used this signal. It meant he wanted to teach me something. But he was a Drezir now...

"what are your orders? Why are you following me?" I spoke directly to Declan. He was standing still. At first glance he looked relaxed but I could tell that he was ready to move at any moment. If I moved even an inch he would chase me down.

"bringgg... youuuu...wiithhhh..." He still hasn't moved yet, but his guard didn't waver.

"and if I refuse?" I questioned his control and what he really wanted.

"nottt...acceptable...." Then he shook his sword, "fiiight!.... Waaaatch.... Aggniiir" The moonlight was bright enough now I could see him well. He suddenly kicked his sword with his foot so it swung around and he used the momentum to make another underhanded swing moving vertically upwards. Each movement went into another movement. It was beautiful. The problem was that he was moving towards me.

"AGNIR!!" I finally called out to agnir. I held out my hand and concentrated on making a great sword. Agnir's power shot to me instantly and I felt the heavy sword fill my hand. I swung wildly at my father.

Crash!

The sound of crushing ice filled the air. I had hit my father's sword, but it wasn't because of skill. My father had parried my swing. Agnir was flung to the side, still in my hands. Declan instantly made another swing but this time it was aimed for my hand, I let go of agnir since I was not able to lift her quick enough to regain my posture. I stepped back.

"agnir!" I called her again. Agnir shimmered back into my hands. Declan kept swinging with a continuous motion. After each swing upwards it would instantly wrap around and nearly hit me from above. I kept backing up. His motions were too quick. I suddenly backed into a wall, I couldn't escape. I held up agnir and winced for the impact.

Clang!

I didn't feel any pressure on my blade, I opened my eyes and Thena was there, "focus Torin! His orders are to take you with him, he won't stop until you drop your blade. He clearly wants to show you his technique so keep your eyes open and watch him while I buy us some time." Thena was standing between me and Declan. Her sword was glowing from her powers, illuminating the area.

Thena was skilled with her blade but it was obvious my father had much more experience. She swiftly dodged and weaved, keeping her distance from his long swings.

Declan kept doing the same motion while slowly approaching her. A right sided upward swing which flipped into a stab from above. Then the blade swung horizontally as it rotated into a left sided upward swing.

Each swing quickly led into the next step. I watched and slowly started to mimick the actions. Agnir spoke, "Torin, momentum is the key to swinging my blade, don't fight it. Use it to your advantage!" That's right, she would be familiar with how this feels. I started to swing harder and I could feel the fluid motions.

I could see thena was starting to wear out. Declan wasn't slowing down though. I needed to step in now, "ok Thena, I got it!" I stepped in between the two and followed my father's motion in opposition. Agnir clashed with Declan's blade with every swing, but Agnir's blade stayed sharp. Declan's sword was chipping away.

Crash crash

Clang!

The sound of metal hitting metal finally filled the air. The ice disappeared and I was now chopping at metal.

Clang, clang!

Two more swings and Declan's sword broke. The top half flew off and hit a tree nearby. Declan turned towards the blade and started walking towards it.

Thena grabbed my arm, "We have to go now. He is moving slowly. Let's get out of here!" I released agnir and she shimmered away. We started running down the mountain. I looked back at my dad.

Thank you, dad...

Chapter 15

We ran down the mountain. The steep incline made it difficult to stay balanced.

We also knew that if we slowed down we wouldn't get enough distance between us and my dad.

Thena huffed, "while Declan may be slow as a Drezir, he won't stop. We'll have to find somewhere where Drezir won't be able to see you."

Something didn't make sense. If the Drezir can see agnir like a pillar of light even in darkness, how was I able to hide before? I remembered the village hideout. Somehow when I was in the bunker I was never found.

"Thena, we might be able to hide from the Drezir but Declan might still be an issue..." If the Drezir really couldn't see me in the bunker, then we might make it out of this alive.

We hurried down the mountain side and finally reached the valley.

Thena whistled and a distant neighing cried out in response. Rapnir appeared from the clouds.

"It seems he was able to recover while we were away." I said in relief. Rapnir would be the fastest way back to my village.

The pale moonlight glimmered on rapnir's white mane. He descended in front of us but did not stop. He merely slowed down so we could keep up. Thena grabbed rapnirs saddle and jumped on. She offered a hand to me.

"just one bite?" Agnir whispered and I could feel her flame crawl up my arm. I retracted my hand before grabbing Thena's arm.

"agnir! Not now!" I shouted. Thena looked startled but still held out her hand. After my flame went away I finally grabbed Thena's hand and she lifted me up behind her. I grabbed tightly once more around her slender waist.

Rapnir instantly sped up and we were riding fast. The wind felt nice on my sweating head.

I was able to relax.

Thena also became slightly less tense. "This will buy us some time, but we will need to find your sister and get out of here." Thena was looking far into the distance, strategizing her next move.

I couldn't hold back my curiosity anymore. "So you're dragon kind?" I wanted to ask more, but decided that I should let her be in charge of what she wants to tell me.

"yeah... My father raised me, but I haven't seen him for a long time now..." She sounded sentimental. "I learned about dragons from him... As you can probably guess my mom is a dragon."

I held back all of my excitement, and stayed quiet. I thought about what it would be like to be a dragon. "Do you know your mom well?" I asked.

Thena shifted her head to the side, "eh, not really. Not like I would care even if I knew who she was. Dragons really can't be trusted, Torin. Even that red elder dragon was most likely trying to deceive you. Always keep your guard up!"

Agnir shouted in protest, "hey! That's my mom you're talking about! Take it back! Tak-"

I tried to speak while drowning out agnir's anger, "I've also heard that... Fireheart seems strangely different though... I guess I could be biased because of agnir."

Thena's interest piqued, "oh yeah... So... Why didn't you tell us you had the king's flame? That's kind of a big deal!"

I felt a little guilty, "I didn't know, I couldn't even use magic till the day you found me! Plus, even if I did know, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea..."

Memories of rapnir being poisoned came back. "I wonder if rapnir knows who poisoned him..." Rapnir let out a little neigh as he raced forward.

Thena got upset again, "I'll make them pay, no one touches rapnir!" She patted rapnirs mane, "who's a good horsey?" She whispered into rapnirs ear.

Their relationship seemed deeper than just a horse and its owner. "So rapnir has wind magic? Are there many creatures with magic?" As someone who was not familiar with magic I had to start from ground zero.

Thena scratched rapnirs neck, "magic is a force that discriminates. Byron will say it is equal but if it was truly equal then everyone would have it. It seems to pick and choose its owner. Some people are born with it. Others acquire magic later in their lives. Some people never acquire it at all." Thena paused. "Animals are not so different. A wild animal will often have magic, while farm animals would not since they are not often communing with nature. Even a horse bred and raised to have the most powerful magic would not have magic because it is in confinement."

I looked at rapnir, "so he's a wild horse?" Suddenly my comfortable posture turned back into rigid and stiff.

Thena smiled it off like it was no big deal, "yeah he is amazing isn't he?" She smiled brightly as she said it.

I think Thena and rapnir get along so well because they are so alike.

We finally arrived at my village. The disarray and burned down buildings only reminded me of the day before. The nightmarish Drezir, and their frightful power. The villagers were all out of the bunker now.

"Torin? Is that you!? Drella! Torin is back!" One of my neighbors recognized me and shouted to my mother, Drella. She turned and dropped the wood that she was holding. She run to me. I dismounted the horse and ran to her.

We held each other tightly. Then I started to cry. All of the tension and memories from the past two days had been weighing down on me so heavily. I finally felt like I could let it all go. I couldn't control my crying.

I wailed in mourning of my father.

Chapter 16

Declan peered into the valley, the darkness was an empty void. He couldn't see Torin anymore. But that was probably a good thing.

No... It wasn't a good thing, he still needed to capture Torin and bring him to the king.

So cold.

Declan kept walking down the mountain.

Where would his enemy go next?

No, his son...

Declan's brain seemed clouded by two voices.

His own, "find Torin, and keep him safe."

And an other, "then we can take him to the king!" A voice that didn't sound like his own. A chilling voice, almost a whisper. A command nonetheless. He could not ignore the second voice.

"maybe he escaped and I won't find him?" His heart felt sad and relieved at the same time.

"surely he left some tracks that I can find him with..." The second voice egged Declan forward. It was unyielding.

"I'm so tired... I should rest..." But his body moved forward regardless of how he felt.

"I can rest after I capture him." The cold voice whispered.

Right, he still had a mission to accomplish. His eyes threatened to close, but they were forcefully opened once more.

"if I catch him... then can I rest?" An exhausted desperate plea to the cold voice.

"yes...then I can rest." It spoke as if it was his own. It must be his own, why else would it speak as if it was himself.

"Torin... I'll find you" Declan dragged his sword behind him. He had no desire to hold such a heavy thing off the ground. It was just a tool. The only weapon he knew. Surely the king would scold him for such behavior.

But he did not care anymore.

Honor meant nothing when you walked with death as your new companion.

**********

I shivered. There was a strange cold blowing on the wind. I stopped crying as I felt the warmth of my mother's embrace. Drella broke our hug.

"they took terra. Declan told them... To take her." Her eyes were filled with tears and she could barely finish her sentence.

I felt a fire burning within me.

"which way did they go mother?" I was angry. My sister was in danger.

She pointed towards the road heading to the king's castle.

Of course... It was inevitable that we would head to the castle.

I hugged my mother one more time and silently left to investigate the bunker in the village.

Thena approached, "find anything?" Oddly enough, Thena knew nothing of runes or barriers. Instead she claimed that her magic was, "intuitive".

I scoured the bunker, but there was nothing inside that was remarkable, so finally I exited, "nothing that looks spell worthy." I closed the door and began to cover it once more with bushes and brush.

"that is some beautiful handiwork." Thena casually pointed at the insignia on the door. A familiar symbol, a flame wrapped in a circle of intertwined vines.

I remember the plate my father would make every year, "my father must have been exceptionally loyal to the old king, Tristan." I brushed my fingers along the design.

Thena turned, "what do you think we should do now Torin? We likely can't trust anyone in the dawn brigade, but fighting the kings army on our own is impossible."

Just then I remembered, "Arthur!" I almost shouted it, "Arthur and my dad were close. He kept the plates my dad made for the knights!"

Thena gave me a look of doubt, "you think we can trust him?"

I still couldn't be sure, "it's the only lead we have..." He is the most likely to help us out. Out of anyone in the dawn brigade he had the closest connection to me. Our chances should be pretty high.

Thena took charge once more, "fine, we will infiltrate the dawn brigade." She almost seemed excited, "maybe I can find the scum who works for the king!" She snapped a twig under her boot.

If it means getting terra back, I would do anything.

Chapter 17

Byron clenched his fist. The frostbite numbness seemed to linger from his run in with the Drezir. His fingers were back to their original color now but his senses never felt the same.

"this could really throw me off..."

Claire appeared in the door frame of Byron's room. "What's got you all sour?" She pointed at her own face which was smiling wide. "Come on grumpy pants, cheer up for once!"

Byron rolled his eyes. Claire was one of the few people in the dawn brigade his age, but she wasn't his ideal company. Byron preferred to brood. Alone. For hours probably.

"It's... It's nothing..." Byron looked down at the floor, "Do you think the Drezir got Torin?" He couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy, no combat training, and no magic training. It was likely he'd never see Torin again.

Claire folded her arms and frowned, "oh is grumpy getting attached? Psh please, Thena wouldn't let anything happen to Torin... But it is strange they haven't returned." She closed her eyes tight like she was thinking really hard. "Should I have the potatoes or broccoli tonight?" Then she walked away like it was no big deal.

Byron groaned. He didn't know why, but Torin seemed like good company right now. He shook his head and stretched his fingers again trying to regain feeling in them.

Thump

The wooden planks above him softly creaked. A familiar voice whispered, "since it's dark out most everyone should be asleep. Let's move Torin, quickly before anyone sees us!" It was Thena's voice. She was whispering quite loudly. She really wasn't born for stealth.

Byron leapt up from his bed and headed to the doorway. Sure enough, slowly coming down the steps was Thena, crouched and awkwardly holding her finger to her mouth in a shushing command. She was looking around like she expected someone to pop out at any moment. Right behind her was torin who was casually walking upright behind her. Ironically he was making far less noise than Thena.

Byron stepped out of the door and waved silently to them. They both looked shocked at first but then slowly headed towards Byron.

Thena approached closer. And she kept getting closer. Almost too close. Byron was starting to feel uncomfortable now at how close she was. She was an arms reach distance from him. Then she got even closer and pulled his collar. She whispered into his ear, "don't tell anyone we were here."

Byron shivered. This was the closest he had ever been to someone, let alone a girl. He pulled away from Thena's grasp, "ok ok, I won't! Please just let me go." Byron wasn't expecting to be assaulted today. He turned around trying to regain his composure.

Torin spoke, "Byron, where is Arthur?"

Byron froze. "Arthur?.... I... I don't think I've seen him since yesterday, actually. Why?"

Thena and Torin looked at each other then nodded. Thena slapped Byron's shoulder, "looks like you're part of the super secret gang crew now, if you don't come willingly we will force you." Thena smiled in a devilish way.

Torin waved his hands like he was trying to clear up some misunderstanding, "well that's a bit aggressive... But yeah actually, you're going to have to come with us." Then he shrugged.

Byron was in all sorts of confusion. He learned a very important lesson that day though.

Trying new things, like saying "hi" first and being friendly, gets you into all sorts of trouble.

Chapter 18

Thena pulled out some rope, "I'll get his legs." She said a little too eagerly as she glanced at me.

Byron quickly submitted, "wait no, no! I'll come with you, ha Ha." He was clearly feeling embarrassed. He calmed down surprisingly fast though, "so why are you guys sneaking around? Everyone would be thrilled to see you. We've been wor-... Uh the crew was worried about you guys." He quickly caught himself and went back to his old cold self.

Thena got serious, "there's a traitor. It could even be you for all we know, the less people who know the better... That's also why you are coming with us. We can't risk you being the traitor and telling others about us. If we can help not being found out then that would be best." She pulled out a dagger and placed it on Byron's cheek. "Make any sound and you're dead, got it?"

Byron gave Thena a death glare, "yeah, it's not me. If there is a traitor then I want off the ship anyways and you guys are probably safer than this ship." The knife didn't seem to bother Byron. It's almost like he thrived on the threat of death. He felt more confident, brave, and talkative. The way he was acting now was almost completely out of character for him.

I couldn't take the intense energy I was feeling from them, "it's fine, it's more likely someone who is familiar with Thena enough to sabotage her. You can come with us Byron." I smiled warmly hoping to alleviate the tension.

Thena huffed, "fine. Just don't slow us down rookie." She bumped Byron's shoulder lightly with her own and walked down the corridor.

Byron didn't seem too bothered by Thena thankfully, "so what's the plan?" He walked in time with Thena but didn't try to stealth like she was.

I filled him in, "Arthur knows the most about the kingdom and was a good friend of the late king. We need his help to get my sister back." When I said it, I thought of terra being mistreated in the castle. My heart ached for her.

Byron looked confused, "your sister? Why did they take her?"

I tried to cover up the fact that terra might possibly be the true heir to the throne. "They must have thought she had magic too, because of me." It would be best at least for now to keep her true origins a secret.

Byron accepted that explanation easily, "it usually runs in the family"

That stung a bit.

We finally reached Arthur's quarters. Thena held up a hand to tell us to stop. We obeyed. Then she peered cautiously into the room. There at his desk was Arthur, writing notes in a journal. Thena backed off and started doing hand signals to us.

Gibberish honestly

As soon as Thena stopped, Byron nodded. Before I could even realize what had just happened, Thena and Byron jumped silently into the room and started restraining Arthur. Thena used her hand to cover Arthur's mouth and Byron held him in a headlock.

I panicked and grabbed a goblet of water and splashed it on Arthur who was clearly concerned for his life. Everyone stopped and looked at me.

Well I guess it helped him calm down.

Chapter 19

Arthur calmly pulled Thena's hand away from his mouth. Byron loosened his grip.

"so... Why have you ambushed me on this fine night?" Arthur was smooth. He didn't seem surprised to see Thena and I were alive.

Thena spoke first, "before we answer your questions, we need you to prove you're on our side."

Arthur looked surprised, "on your side?" His eye patch shifted with his eyebrows.

I handed Arthur a rag, "there is a traitor in the dawn brigade. But we also need your help." I decided to keep our next mission secret.

Arthur wiped his face dry with the rag, "don't you think a traitor would have already called for the crew by now?" He smiled warmly, "surely I am not your enemy, Torin."

His words soothed my anxiousness, "I know you are a friend of my father's, but we can never be certain without proof."

Agnir broke her long silence, "I can tell you if he is lying, but you'll need to shake hands with him. It only works once though." Agnir was serious but also excited.

I held out my hand, "so tell me without guile, who do you serve?" My outstretched hand started to become warm, flames started swirling around it.

Arthur looked amazed and extremely pleased, "so you've learned a bit more about your powers I see... I won't burn if I shake hands with you will I?" His face became concerned suddenly.

Agnir laughed sinisterly, "only if you lie! Hahahahahaha" I decided to omit the evil tone.

"Not if you tell the truth" my arm was getting really hot and I was anxious to finish using the flame before I got burned again. I stretched my arm further towards him.

Arthur hesitated at first, then took my arm and gripped my wrist, "I serve the same king I served 10 years ago." The fire dissipated. Arthur smiled, "so I assume that means I'm telling the truth." He folded his arms and chuckled, "so what do you need my help with then?"

I relaxed from my stiff posture. "My sister was taken by the Drezir. We need your help in infiltrating the castle. Then we will rescue her."

Arthur immediately responded, "because she is the true heir to the throne, right?" He was sharp. "Yeah I'll help you. After all that's what the dawn brigade is for right?" I wondered how much he already knew about me and Agnir.

Byron raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Thena shushed Arthur, "shh, Byron didn't even know that!" She turned towards byron who coughed lightly. "Sorry man" she patted him on the shoulder. Suddenly thena was treating Byron like a buddy instead of a rival.

Thena led us back to the deck of the ship. We had Thena get on rapnir and got on a tender with Byron and Arthur.

Thena shushed me as I got in the boat clumsily, "you have to stay quiet while floating down, remember that!"

We lowered the boat with ropes and we're just about to leave when we heard Claire's voice above us, "oh, no fair! I want to come too!" Suddenly her shadowy figure was descending quickly towards us. Then water appeared and Claire splashed into the tender. "I can't believe you were about to leave without me!" She looked genuinely hurt.

Byron sighed.

I felt my anxiety rising back up. "Well did anyone follow you?"

Claire shook her head, "nah, everyone's pretty much asleep right now except us. I was on patrol so it worked out."

Wait so was she the only person on patrol and now she's leaving? I blinked in disbelief. Then I dropped the boat into the sky with the last tug of the rope, all the while pretending like I hadn't just caused a major security problem in the dawn brigade.

The small boat floated gently down towards the ground. Rapnir and Thena were riding circles around us.

I guess this adventure should be quite enjoyable with friends coming along.

Chapter 20

Agnir receded back into Torin's mind once more. She heard the distant whisperings of everyone around Torin, "so how did you learn about magic?" It seemed Byron was intrigued by Torin's flame earlier.

Agnir began walking, ignoring the now faint whispers. Agnir was a blonde girl roughly Torin's age. Her hair was long and wavy. She chose to wear a long beautiful blue dress today with high heels. The heels clacked against the floor and echoed down an empty hallway.

"Are all boys minds so empty?" She thought to herself.

Having only her father and Torin for reference she accepted that maybe it was just the way things were.

She kept moving, and eventually saw memories appear in the distance. One was of Torin when he was young, playing with his sister terra. Or perhaps it was agnir's sister actually. She felt a warmth in her heart as she shared Torin's memories and made them her own.

She saw many memories of Torin's childhood. The further she got, the windier and colder the hallway became. Soon snow flakes were starting to breeze by her and she held her arms to keep them warm.

"where is it?" She grunted in frustration. Each memory she passed by was so similar to the last, yard work, food, play, sleep. Agnir was looking for something specific. A memory that she could not remember herself, but she knew it would be in Torin's head somewhere.

"why .. why would I choose him?" She seemed disappointed in herself. She felt frustrated but couldn't explain why.

It wasn't that she didn't like Torin. In fact it was the opposite, she couldn't imagine being away from him. She was so happy to be with him, to see his memories. Ever since she woke up though, she couldn't remember why she felt this way towards him.

She wanted to know why she wanted him. Why she wanted his heart. Why she was getting annoyed thinking about him hanging on to thena. Why the idea of eating Thena was starting to sound like a better idea every day.

She shook her head. "Torin wouldn't like that..." She kept walking.

Clack, clack

The breeze was getting colder. Agnir knew that the deeper she went into her host's mind, the colder it got. She dared not go further in Tristan's mind, but with Torin she couldn't help but push her limits.

"it'll be here... I need to know why!" She pushed on through the bitter cold.

10, 9, 8 years old. Growing up with terra would have been nice, though it seems siblings also cause a lot of trouble.

7, then 6 years old. A blurry memory of Declan coming home with a baby girl with white hair. The time she was evacuated out of the castle. She was only 1 or two years old.

Finally, agnir was getting closer to the memory she wanted. She came to one that looked like it was in the castle. It was difficult to see the details.

She got closer to the memory, "this is it." She reached a hand out to touch it. The memory began to ripple and her hand went through the image.

Agnir walked into the memory then disappeared.

Chapter 21

I was cold. But why? I hadn't realized it until now but I wasn't cold these past couple days since agnir has awoken. Suddenly the frigid air was piercing my thin clothes. "Is it cold to you guys?" I looked at their clothes for the first time and they were all wearing an extra layer.

Arthur replied, "I have been wondering why you've been underdressed, here put this on." Arthur handed me a cloak. I put it around my shoulders.

What happened? Suddenly I could feel the cold out of nowhere? I tried to use the flame to warm myself but it wouldn't come. I held my hand out in front of me but I couldnt make fire like I had before. There was no flame energy in me?

"it'll be a bit before we touch the ground, I'm going to rest." Byron turned over in the small boat. The others followed suit.

I saw Thena on Rapnir. She was smiling as Rapnir was running around wildly in the air. You could see she was enjoying the freedom of flight as her natural calm smile shined with a small brilliant glow. She was beautiful.

I dared not try to speak to Agnir in case someone was still awake. What was even weirder was that agnir was not speaking to me. I decided that maybe she was just resting, and I decided to try and sleep as well.

*************

Agnir was falling quickly towards the ground. She couldn't help but scream as she descended towards the grass. "Ahhh!" She closed her eyes and braced for impact.

She suddenly stopped falling. The grass greeted her gently instead. She was laying down in a field. The wind tussled the greenery gently. It was a beautiful day.

Agnir got up, "where am I?" She said as she looked around. "Wait a minute... This place... It's our village!" The village that Torin grew up in was peaceful and welcoming.

Agnir felt like she was home, after all she had lived more than half of her life through Torin's memories. She got up and started to walk towards Torin's home.

"Dad!" A young boy with blonde hair cried out from an open door. He rushed outside and jumped into the arms of a large strong man, a familiar man.

"dad did you bring me something!?" The boy was ecstatic. His eyes shined with excitement as he looked into his father's arms.

Declan was holding a bundle of cloth, "well... I did bring something" he moved the cloth slightly and showed the boy what was under neath.

"wow!" The young Torin seemed satisfied with what he had seen.

Declan shushed him, "let's surprise your mother!" They walked together into the home.

Agnir knew what was in the cloth. It wasn't anything particularly amazing actually. Declan had brought home fruit. She heard the excited conversation from inside the home.

"agnir?" Tristan's voice appeared behind agnir.

She spun around quickly, was he able to see her in this memory? She saw him walking into town dressed in a shabby disguise. He might've looked like a mad man the way he spoke to himself.

"no, we won't be burning down this village. In fact there is someone I'd like you to meet" Tristan made agnir's sword appear. "Be on good behavior agnir" Tristan laid the great sword against a tree.

Just then Declan led Torin back out of the home. He knelt down and pointed to Tristan while whispering something. Torin cautiously approached.

Tristan welcomed the boy, "don't be shy. Her name is agnir. You guys are about the same age."

Torin walked up to the sword, "so pretty! Can we play?" Torin wasn't asking Tristan, he was asking the sword.

The younger agnir sighed, "I don't know how." the Sword laid motionless against the tree.

Torin smiled and grabbed the hilt of agnir, "come on!" The sword suddenly shimmered away revealing a young blonde girl in a blue dress. Her hand was holding Torin's. Her expression was completely surprised.

Torin pulled her arm before she could even protest and they started running and playing in the field.

Suddenly the memories returned to agnir, "the day you grabbed my hand, I was already yours."

Chapter 22

I woke up to the nudging of Byron.

"hey Torin, it's your turn for watch"

I could see his exhausted droopy eyes begging for relief. "Oh yeah, get some rest."

I was alone again. Thena was no where in sight, though she was likely resting with Rapnir. The boat was still high in the air. It drifted slowly forward and down as the night went on.

The cloak that Arthur gave me was shielding me from the wind as I stared into the valley below. My mind kept returning to Terra. I couldn't help but feel guilty that she was kidnapped. If I wasn't there, the Drezir likely wouldn't have found her.

The castle was still far away in the distance. I imagined what dangers we would face when we got there. Likely more Drezir, or traps even. I realized I'd never even been outside of my own village.

A warmth rose from within me, "torin? You're awake?" Agnir seemed drowsy as she finally emerged.

"agnir! You had me so worried!" I almost shouted in surprise.

Agnir blushed, "you... You were worried about me?"

I smiled in relief, "yeah, you were gone for a long time... I was worried maybe you left me..." I couldn't hide my sad tone.

Agnir giggled, "oh don't worry. I don't think I'll ever leave you." She said dreamily.

The way she worded that sounded only slightly creepy, "well that's comforting to hear." I said feeling more relaxed. My worries and anxieties seemed to wash away at agnir's voice. She could be really comforting when she wasn't cackling like a demon.

"Torin? Do you remember a blonde girl in a blue dress when you were younger?" Agnir sounded innocently curious.

I thought for a second before answering, "I'm not sure... Why?"

Agnir pouted, "hmph!"

I guess I was in trouble with her now, but what did I do?

**************

The sun started to rise over the mountain. Thena appeared riding Rapnir. "Morning troops! It's time to wake up and smell the roses!" She was riding around our slow moving boat. "Today we discuss our infiltration plan!"

Arthur groaned, "it's too early even for me and I didn't even take watch last night" he got up and stretched.

Byron and Claire sat up and yawned. Claire looked over the side of the boat, "whoa, look at how big the castle is!" She pointed towards the towering building that had gotten closer over night.

I didn't realize how close it had gotten. I stayed up the rest of the night talking to agnir and I guess we got carried away. My mind went back to terra.

"I hope she's ok..." I mumbled to myself.

Arthur put a hand on my back, "she is likely alive, even if that means it's a trap for us. The dawn brigade has been a major pain to the tyrant king these past years. He probably wants to lure us in with news of the heir being captured."

I couldn't deny that we were likely walking into a trap. "So what do we do?"

Thena zipped by, "we just be better! Better than armies, traps, even the Drezir!"

Byron countered with his pessimistic point of view, "some of us will likely die"

Claire couldn't help but squeel, "ooooh what would it be like to die?" Her cheery attitude about the subject was definitely awkward for the rest of us. Byron seemed to be a bit embarrassed that he had been out-depressed by the cheery one in the group.

Arthur took charge, "with a good plan we can anticipate the kings traps."

The team was working like a well oiled wheelbarrow, the wheels drove the rest of the group forward while the rear carried them. I was likely one of the three sitting inside the wheelbarrow waiting for my next task.

"Torin, you have the greatest mission of all!" Thena glared at me with a devilish smile.

I remembered that smile, wait... No.. no not again!

"bait!"

Chapter 23

It was a simple plan...

Is what I would like to say. But it wasnt Thena calling the shots this time.

Arthur stared at me with one eye, while his eye patch shifted as he spoke, "you got that Torin?"

"oh yeah, got it" I did not get it actually. I was distracted by agnir's constant humming and gleeful giggling. Ever since she woke up she's been in a cheery mood, but I couldn't talk to her just yet. This also meant I couldn't remind her that she was talking out loud.

"trignir? Agstin? Ah we will figure it out later" agnir continued to humm to herself, completely oblivious that I heard each secret whisper she said. Even the more personal, keep it in your head, type conversations. "Yes, we could live in the village... 3... Maybe 4?" I couldn't really focus on either conversation and instead got a mixed blurb of both.

Arthur stared at me and squinted, "you sure you got it? Because everyone else knows what to do but your still sitting there cluelessly..." He was getting impatient. Our descent to the ground was almost over and apparently I was supposed to be doing something.

"it's really hard to hear you... I think I have some water in my ear from when Claire jumped in the boat" I pretended to try and dislodge some water from my ear by tilting my head and hitting it with my hand.

Claire giggled, "trust me, I would know!" Water started pouring out of her ears.

Byron pulled his feet away from the puddle, "do you want to get us all killed? What if I was using lightning just now?" He brought up a good point.

"so anyways... Yeah I don't know what you were saying to me..." I sheepishly averted my eyes from Arthur's cold stare.

He groaned, "you won't be with Thena this time. It's you and Claire. Frankly her and Byron weren't going to make it very far without killing each other... Literally" Byron's eyes widened as he tried to avoid Claire's obnoxious splashing. "Plus you two will have a really cool party trick. Steam"

I looked at him funny. Agnir's hums were still there but I was able to pick up more from the conversation. "So Claire and I will create a smoke bomb and we sneak in?" It was a good idea actually.

Arthur folded his arms, "you can't follow us, they can see you regardless of smoke or steam. You'll have to use the sewer entrance after escaping. I'll lead Thena and Byron into the castle to find your sister. You will be a bit further behind climbing through the sewer system. Claire will help you to infiltrate any obstacles."

Honestly this was a solid plan. Arthur knew where he was going and Claire was so excited to work espionage that she had memorized the route already. Thankfully I could sit back.

There was one issue though... So far agnir was still a secret. Using her physical manifestation required I called her name, and if I did then everyone and their mom would know that agnir was with me. I could still use her flames without any issues, but my lack of magical training was apparent and my body was still going to burn because of her intense heat.

The boat was closer to the ground now. Byron and Arthur were ducked so they wouldn't be seen. Thena was with her steed Rapnir, and Claire and I were supposed to jump off and run at the guards.

The castle gates were tall and gloomy. Ice frosted the edges of the bricks and metal. Drezir stood at the gate, but they had not noticed the small boat gliding down from above.

Arthur spoke, "Thena's light magic is really coming in handy right now" I noticed that the sun was behind us and when I turned to look, I was instantly blinded by Thena's blade held high.

The guards couldn't see us because we were hidden in the bright light of what looked like a second sun.

"now!" Arthur whispered his command. Claire jumped on the boat backwards and started doing some flips, her gymnastics were flawless. Meanwhile I clumsily stood at the edge of the boat and looked down.

How far down is that? Will my legs break?

Arthur hit my knee so that I fell forward. I barreled face first towards the ground landing with a thud. Claire gracefully posed on her feat ready to dance.

I looked up dazed, the Drezir started cackling and lazily walking towards us. They pulled out their ice weapons, a few with swords, spears, and even axes.

Claire pointed at me, "you ready hot head?" She winked.

I could feel flames come out of me instantly without any will of my own. Agnir was suddenly filled with rage, "can I eat her?" She said while clenching her teeth. I didn't know why she was so mad but I started to circulate the flames from agnir towards Claire.

"let's go!" I shouted at claire as agnir's intense flames poured out like a beam towards her. Claire shot her water magic towards me as well. We ran at the guards. Steam erupted from our clashing magic. The area was difficult to see through now as a thick mist filled the air. We just had to hold it for 10 seconds... Which frankly was a really long time. Especially when the enemy could see you and you couldn't see them.

I heard Drezir start to surround my position. Claires mission was to incapacitate them while I dodged... Or tried to at least.

I heard a whoosh in the air and a cold icicle flew by my face just barely grazing my cheek. I fell down to the ground in surprise, though I'm not sure what I was expecting. To be fair this was only my 2nd or 3rd time fighting people at all...

I started to realize that I was in danger. Grave danger. One second I was blasting magic, now I was crawling on the floor hoping I wouldn't get killed.

"Torin, I'm going to ignite you, if their ice comes close it won't hurt you!" I could feel agnir's flames getting hotter.

"wait, wait wait!" Just then an ice sword lodged into the ground next to me. "Ok yeah do it!" I cried.

Suddenly I was burning. Flames erupted from me. The mist started to dissipated around me revealing several decapitated Drezir. A few were started to swing at me. I confidently walked towards them. The first Drezir, who seemed to be missing both eyes, suddenly looked confused as his sword became just a hilt. I punched him swiftly. His frozen skull melted. The second one saw what I did to the first and dropped his weapon then held his arms high. I stepped forward, but Claire swiftly kicked its head away. The body fell over.

"wow you're so hot Torin!" She said it like she was flirting with me. She bit her knuckle like she was trying to hold herself back.

The flame got hotter, "alright she's dead!" Agnir was raging mad.

"Ahhhhh!" My skin was definitely melted off this time. "Agnir! Stop!" I shouted it. The flames cooled quickly.

"Torin! I'm.. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Agnir was suddenly brought back to her senses.

"it's alright. I'll be alright..." I looked at the damage, my skin was black and charred.

A stream of water floated and coated my body. Claire knelt down next to me, "this should help." She had wide eyes which meant that she was utterly shocked. The cooling water start to heal my skin, significantly faster than Arthur's magic could actually, which was remarkable.

"so..." She said, "agnir huh?" Her face turned into an excited grin. There was a hint of crazy in her eyes that terrified me.

Chapter 24

I was expecting Claire to ask me an infinite number of questions. Instead she was awfully quiet. She continued to heal my charred body, which by now was almost back to normal. My curiosity was almost as peaked as hers was at this point.

I broke the silence, "so how are you able to heal so fast?" Claire didn't blink as I asked the question.

She slowly answered, "magic is a funny thing. Byron thinks it's straightforward, but the truth is that there are some things that defy logic or the rules. Why do you think agnir is so sought after?" She tapped her temple like she was telling me to think about it. She finally blinked as she looked down at my wounds. Her smile was still there but it relaxed a little.

I wasnt very thoughtful. With 2 voices in my head constantly I didn't have a lot of room for self reflection or deep thinking. "So... You're powers are unique too?" I asked.

She smirked, "you're hopeless. Anyways, it looks like your all better. Let's burn the ones I got and get going." She started collecting the still gnashing and biting heads that she chopped off. I burned them with agnir's flames. Then we headed to the sewer gate. Claire looked at me and folded her arms. "It'll be a lot faster if you do it." The gates were too thin to fit through.

I held out my arm, "agnir!" I whispered.

Her sword appeared and she started speaking. "You better keep those twinkly eyes to yourself Claire!" She had a fiery attitude.

Claire was so excited, "wow! She really talks! And she's real!" She held her hands out to touch the blade.

"ew don't touch me!" Agnir lit on fire. Claire backed away carefully. I cut the gates with two wide slashes making a large hole we could enter. Then I put agnir back away.

The sewer system had a small walkway we could walk on to avoid wading in dirty water. We could hear the dripping water from down the tunnel. Claire took the lead and we chatted quietly.

"so why did you keep your healing power secret Claire?" I asked. She was silent for a moment in thought, but answered, "you should always keep something about yourself a mystery don't you think? Otherwise people can take advantage of you" she seemed to be less chatty than her usual self.

"I guess, but between friends it's not a bad thing right?" I meant it too, Claire was maybe a little weird sometimes but she is also one of my first friends.

She slowed down to a stop. She looked over her shoulder at me, "sometimes the people closest to you aren't your friends Torin..." Her tone was different from usual. She seemed upset.

She kept walking.

It got quiet again after that.

Chapter 25

Byron, Thena and Arthur were floating above the mist that Torin and Claire had just made. Because of the mist, the boat team were able to glide over the walls without being noticed. After they crossed the threshold of the castle grounds, Arthur tilted the boat towards the ground so they would descend faster.

After the boat hit the ground, they exited and started walking towards the inner town. There weren't many people here, and the ones who were out of their homes would glare at the trio with fear and worry.

Byron started to feel a little uneasy, "what is this place? Why is everyone hiding from us?" A woman herded her child indoors as Byron approached.

Arthur answered, "they aren't allowed to leave... For the last ten years they've been stuck, abused and drained of everything they had. But the king keeps them here... The only way out is to make a deal with King Ferdinand..." Arthur paused longer than normal this time. "It makes you wonder how bad the deal must be if they still choose to live here..." Arthur clenched a fist tightly.

Thena looked like she was thinking about something from long ago, "anything would be better than this, wouldn't it?"

Arthur responded with a laugh, "ha ha you would think so..." His tone was cold again, "I guess for some people the kings deal is much better than this life." He held his chin as he thought about it.

Byron followed swiftly behind Arthur as he made some turns down alley ways to avoid Drezir. "So how did you escape?"

Arthur hushed Byron. A pair of Drezir walked by where they were hiding. Then after they passed he got up again, "we are almost there." He rushed into the clearing.

Across the way was the entrance to the castle. There was another pair of guards at the main doors. They lazily stood at the doors distracted by a butterfly.

Thena rushed to Arthur's side, "what's the plan?"

Arthur was rushing forward quickly. "There is the dungeon to the side, go there while I distract the guards!" Byron and Thena branched off from where Arthur was and headed for the small door.

Arthur made a loud battlecry, "for the king!" He yelled as he brandished his sword. The guards focused on him and held out long spears made of ice as they clacked their boney jaws together.

Byron and Thena were able to reach the door unnoticed. Just as Byron looked back he saw Arthur fighting the Drezir. He turned forward and continued running. "Will he really be ok?" Byron asked.

Thena was mad, "why didn't he tell me he was planning to be the bait!?" She growled a bit in frustration.

"But didn't you use Torin as bait twice now? Why is this any different?" Byron was trying to peer into the passing jail cells as he ran.

Thena turned her head toward him, "cause Torin makes great bait, they won't kill him. Arthur is a healer, he was a knight yes, but so were the Drezir... He won't be able to hold on long... How will he escape?" Her anger turned into concern.

It never really occurred to Byron that Thena might care about anyone else. "I'm sure he had some kind of plan... He wouldn't just sacrifice himself like that if he thought they would kill him..." It was troubling to think about how Arthur might already be dead... Or worse, a drezir.

Ahead of them was a Drezir guard blocking the stairs down into the dungeon. It cracked and cackled as it moved it's skeletal body. Thena made her sword glow with a white flame. She was still far away from the Drezir, but she slashed towards it anyway. A white arc of magic launched forward towards the Drezir and struck it down. The Drezir body was in shambles as they opened the door and proceeded further below.

"I always thought light magic was useless." Byron did his best to give Thena a compliment. Unfortunately Thena did not catch on.

"lightning is dumb too ok!?" Thena was giving Byron a disgusted face. "Oooo look, shocky shocky! Look at me I make people have seizures!" She was clearly trying to cover up her embarrassment. She put a finger under her eye, pulling it down and then stuck her tongue out. Then she turned around down the stairs. Byrons heart jumped as he was suddenly personally attacked.

Yet another failure at friendship for Byron.

Chapter 26

Thena slowed down, "Terra should be here." Oddly enough there were no guards around.

Byron started to shout whisper, "terra!? We are here to save you! We are Torin's fr-... People that Torin knows... Er..." He cut himself off before saying friends. After all they've only known each other for like 3 days?

Thena started talking in her normal voice, "TERRA WE ARE TORINS FRIENDS, SHOUT IF YOU CAN HEAR US!" Thena was often very loud so in the echoey dungeon it felt like she was yelling.

Down the hall of jail cells there was a single snarl and hissing sound. Leathery skin scraped against cobblestone. Byron and Thena approached the only cell that was inhabited.

Byron jumped back in surprise, *a dragon!?"

Thena grabbed the bars, "not a dragon. She's dragon kind. The jail cell wouldn't be able to hold an entire dragon."

Byron gave her a surprised look, "you mean you're familiar with dragons? Your talking like you've seen one before"

Thena smirked shortly, "of course, I am dragonkind!"

Byrons jaw fell. Byrons busy mind became an empty void filled with emptiness, there was nothing there.

Thena turned back to the bars. There, huddled against the far wall was a silver dragonkind. It was hissing and baring it's fangs.

"she's scared, Byron... And what they've done to her is horrible." Not only was the silver dragonkind scarred on various parts of its body, but it's shackled ankle was cut and bloody.

Thena seemed to be talking about something else though. "They've used the wrong stone on her..."

Byron pretended to know what that meant, "oh my gosh, that's... So... Terrible?"

At least he was trying.

Thena pulled out her own stone, "a dragonkind can transform with a dragon stone, but when they use a stone with the wrong element, it may become permanent and they lose their original color... Normally dragonkind transformations last for a couple hours tops..."

The dragon whimpered slightly as it drooped its head low. Byron finally caught on, "oh no... That IS terrible."

****************

Claire led me to a ladder, "well this should be it. Right where your sister is." Claire was back to her cheery self now. "After you, I'm sure you can't wait to see her again"

"yeah... I just hope she is well..." I hesitated before ascending the ladder. "What if she isn't ok?" I asked.

Claire crossed her arms, "well sitting here isn't going to make her better."

She was right, there was only one obstacle left between me and my sister. I took a deep breath. Then I grabbed the ladder and started climbing. I checked my surroundings. But something was wrong, this wasn't a dungeon. I climbed out, "Claire, where are we?" Just then I heard a clang sound come from the grate. Claire dropped it and brushed her hands together.

The room echoed from the loud clang, "hey shouldn't we be careful? There could be guards in here!" I tried to speak quietly but we were already going to be found at this rate.

Claire looked at me with a lazy smile, "oh Torin, you still haven't figured it out? I even gave you that clue on the way here! Hahahaha! It was fun toying with you." She walked past me and into the room.

"w-what?" I stammered in utter shock. I looked around the room we had entered. It was covered in ice. There were torches lining the walls of the circular room. There in the center was a statue of a king. A king holding a very familiar sword.

"welcome Torin! To the tomb of kings!" Claire held out her arms as if presenting a majestic piece of art, where she was the focal point. Tristan, the old king, was on her right. On her left was another statue, a long haired man who was swinging his sword in anger, frozen in time.

"who are you?!" I cried. Suddenly I realized I was in the presence of a very dangerous person. I prepared myself to fight. "Agnir!" But the sword didn't come. In fact it felt like agnir was asleep.

"hahaha a fool just like Tristan was... Oh my what a shame, your little swordy won't come out to play?" Claire's shoes clacked on the ice as she walked towards me. "Oh that's too bad, it would've made an amazing spectacle to fight Agnir. Oh well... I suppose I can still show you who I am. Behold my power!" She held out a blue stone that was covered in ice. It glowed brightly. Suddenly her form grew till it filled half the size of the room.

A blue dragon with white colored wings and snow dusted scales had replaced the human who was Claire. This dragon was far larger than Thena was when she transformed.

"I am Theatrice, the daughter of ice! My father was fardinand the tyrant king." Her glowing eyes peered into my soul.

"I shall rip agnir from your soul... Just like I did to my own father."

Chapter 27

Why wasn't agnir coming? Did she fall asleep again? I tried to create fire in my palm but nothing happened.

"it's no use Torin! This room is enchanted in a way that instantly puts fairies to sleep. Unless they are already manifested, they won't be of any use to you. Now accept your frozen fate!" Theatrice roared and a beam of ice shot towards me, I ducked behind Tristan's frozen body. The ice spewed in all directions bouncing off Tristan's frame.

I looked at the room. What could possibly be used in an enchantment to maintain a spell specifically to bind fairies?

I didn't have much time to look before Theatrice moved to a different position. "There's no point in hiding Torin, there is only one inevitable ending for you." Another beam of ice shot out towards me. I fell forward on my face as I tried to run. I looked back and one of my feet had been caught in the blast. I struggled to break it free as I looked all around me for a clue.

Theatrice slowly slithered towards me, "yours will be the least dignified of them all, lying on the ground terrified and hopeless! Hahahah truly another great masterpiece for my collection!" She was nearly on top of me now. "Only one last step before I freeze you. I'll have you watch as I rip agnir from you, then I'll consume her and watch your terrified face as you mourn her death!" Theatrice stopped above me.

There it is, that's definitely the enchantment. A circle with a runic symbol on one of the torches adorning the wall. There was only one chance. I only had one thing that I could throw.

Theatrice's claw approached my chest, then it pierced the skin creating a long cut down the middle, "AAHHHHHHH!" The pain was excruciating, but I tried to focus on manifesting agnir as I threw the only item I still possessed. It was a wooden bowl with a beautiful design created by my father, given to me by Arthur.

I held on to my desire to manifest agnir into a new form, one that she could survive in and escape. The wooden bowl flew in the air as my soul was being ripped apart. I looked at Theatrice's claw, it had started to pull on agnirs flame. A flame that was clinging to me with all its strength. Suddenly a clash rang out as wood knocked over the engraved torch. Theatrice paused and looked with wide eyes in the direction of the burning wood on the ground.

Theatrice shouted, "nooooo!"

Suddenly I felt agnir's strength again. I manifested her new form hoping with all my might it was something good. The power concentrated on my hand then all at once her power was gone. I looked at Theatrice's claw in devastation.

Theatrice had pulled hard on agnir's flames ripping it from my body. Strands of agnir still clung to me.

Theatrice growled, "it wasn't clean but it had to be done, now the power of the dragon slayers are mine!" She held the still beating heart that was engulfed in flame and began to bring it to her lips.

My chest was ripped open but the remaining flames were starting to pull my skin back together. "Agnir!!!" I cried reaching for the heart that was about to be eaten.

Theatrice dropped the heart into her mouth.

Chapter 28

Thena was smashing the chains on the dragonkind with all her might.

Clang

Byron considered using his lightning but instantly pushed that thought away. They weren't planning on eating crispy dragon any time soon.

Thena stopped hitting the chains with her sword. "Alright, time for the big guns!" She pulled out a yellow stone.

Byron looked in awe at the magnificent glowing stone, "what would happen if someone like me were to try and use a dragon stone?"

Thena gave Byron a contemplative look, "you know when torin uses agnir? It's probably like that." She raised the stone up.

Byron had just realized something important, "wait, agnir? Torin has ag-Ahhhh" he was suddenly blinded by a bright light.

Now in the place where thena once stood, was a golden dragon roughly the same size as the silver one. The silver one hissed at Thena's dragon form. Neither of them spoke, but then seemed to be completely unrhreatened by the silver dragon. She scooped up the chains into her mouth then crunched the metal into pieces.

A loud screeching noise from metal against metal echoed in the dungeon. Byron was still trying to catch up with the fact that torin had agnir. He wasn't even fully aware that thena had just transformed into a dragon then transformed back.

"alright terra, let's get you out of here" thena started pulling on the chain gently in hopes that the silver dragon would follow. Instead the dragon perked up and looked past Byron down the corridor.

Byron felt an odd chill go down his spine. He turned and looked down the hall.

There in the doorway, blocking the exit, was Declan. The king's most trusted knight, partially frozen. One eye was now missing entirely.

Surprisingly though he spoke, "where is my son?" Blood shone on his frozen sword.

Byron and Thena tensed up. The silver dragon cautiously approached Declan. She walked past Byron and thena. Thena tried to stop her, "he's dangerous, don't get any closer!" But the dragon kept moving.

Declan held out his blade, "where.... Is... Torin?" He was starting to slow his speech. The dragon huffed at him and made a strange sigh.

Thena tried to stop her one more time, "no he isn't your father anymore terra! Please you need to listen to me!" She tugged on the silver dragons tail.

The dragon growled at thena and turned its head. Thena let go. Then the dragon stood at the tip of declans blade. She stopped.

Declan let out one final warning, "enough... Back... Away... Now..." He swung his sword at the dragons neck.

Byron closed his eyes waiting for the sound of tearing flesh.

Clang

Clang? Byron looked again and the dragon stood tall. In the place where the sword should have cut was now a red scale glowing. There was a rune carved into it. Byron had never seen this rune before. Heat seemed to eminate from the scale as it glowed red then cooled down. "Thena, what is that?" He asked.

Thena started without blinking, "it seems terra had someone carve runes right into her scales... All of them..." She looked both horried and impressed at the same time. "That would've taken days or months even."

The silver dragonkind raised a claw to Declan who now only had half a sword. Her claws started to glow red as well. Runes that were carved into her scales glowed bright and hot. The dragon placed it's hand on Declan and suddenly the ice began to melt away.

"ah....uh..." Declan was melting quickly now. He began to cry as a tear fell down his face where his only remaining eye was. "Terra? My sweet girl!" He embraced the dragonkind. The silver dragon wrapped it's neck around Declan. He quickly ended the hug, "torin is in danger. Claire is planning to take agnir from him. We must move quickly."

Chapter 29

Byron gave Declan a piece of cloth, "here..." He was getting a little freaked out peering into declans skull.

Declan accepted the cloth slowly, then gave Byron a weird look, "what's this for?" As if he had no idea of the current state he was in.

Byron started unblinkingly at the knight for another moment, "um... Can I get your autograph?" Now he was too embarrassed to tell Declan that he meant it as an eyepatch.

They hurried up the stairs, Terra was having difficulty with the steps which slowed them down.

Thena wasted no time with questions, "so... Are you alive? Or what happened to you?" She seemed curious about Declan's current state. "Are you free from the Drezir?" Byron wasn't sure why but she was particularly interested about the curse.

Declan seemed like a new man at heart, but his body told a different story. Parts of skin were so badly frostbitten, they would surely be unrecoverable soon. He responded like he didn't even feel the pain, "Terra's magic has healed me and brought me back from the brink of death... By the way, how did you guys figure out terra was the true heir?"

Thena answered quickly, "Fireheart." She gave him a look that seemed to say a thousand words.

Declan's one eye looked surprised, "and she didn't eat you immediately? Oh right, Agnir!"

Byron intervened, "look I'm beyond intrigued, but this is a long story. Instead we should focus on saving Torin. How do you know Claire is actually trying to steal Agnir?"

Declan focused as they approached the final door, "the Drezir are commanded by her. Her voice echoes in their mind stealing their will and making them submit... The Drezir are in constant pain, so much pain that they will do anything to be free. Those cackles you here from them. Those are actually cries for relief." Declan looked pained.

They all got silent after that last comment. Except Declan kept pushing the plan forward, "unfortunately before I got here, Arthur was stabbed by my blade... I don't know if he is still alive..." He looked down at his now broken blade. The metal was rusted.

Thena made a tight fist in anger, "well let's make sure we save Torin then. By the way, how can terra use magic while she is in that state? They used the wrong stone on her..."

Declan shrugged, "I'm sure Tristan accounted for many things without telling me." He looked forward, "Let's get ready to fight."

They left the dungeon.

***********

The flaming heart was gone, swallowed by the blue and silver dragon, "mmmmm delicious!"

Tears ran down my face, "NOOOOOOOOO!" anger erupted from me like none other. "How could you! She was my friend! How could you take her!?" Tears streamed down my face and I couldn't do anything to even avenge her.

Agnir was gone. What was left were the few strands of magic that had already sown my chest back together. They were gone now as my chest magically healed.

I felt hot with rage.

Theatrice laughed with glee, "oh ho hahaha what beautiful cries you make Torin! It's by far the most delicious part." She towered over me menacingly.

I stared at her defiantly as I swallowed my cries, "you won't get away with this Claire, she chose me, and there's no way I'm letting go of her!" I tried to tear off the ice stuck to my foot. It wouldn't budge. I tried to break it with my fist but still nothing.

Theatrice chuckled, "your weak little body couldn't even withstand the power of Agnir, yet you still think you can escape my ice? My ice is from a fairy too, Torin! My own sister in fact. What makes you think a mere mortal could possibly break it." Her face got closer to mine.

I felt hopeless and utterly useless. Why had Agnir even picked me? I couldn't do anything. I couldn't fight, use magic, or even come up with a good plan. I was just a normal kid... Without Agnir, I'm just a nobody... I stopped fighting. Agnir was a person and now she was just gone? I remembered losing my father and losing my sister. Now Agnir too. It was too much to bear.

Theatrice reveled in my despair. "How long should I keep you alive Torin? Should I let you starve? Should I torture you?" She put a claw on her chin as she thought of other ways to bring me more pain.

"Why?" I gave up and laid down, "why do all of this? What do you gain from killing all these people? Why... why Agnir?" I felt like I just got to know her.... I started to get choked up again.

Theatrice roared, "Why?! Hahaha Torin, what other reason do I need? Because I could. Power and strength are what define your place in the world. My father knew that. He raised me to scheme and to betray. I found that it was actually a lot of fun. When I finally stabbed my own father in the back, the face of betrayal he had was the greatest bliss I had ever felt! Its still stuck on his face to this day! He thought that with my sister's magic he was invincible. Its beautiful watching the proud fall." She admired her father's ice statue.

"You're disgusting." I said. If this was the end for me then I can at least speak my mind. "You are alone. The friends you made are gone, the family you had, you killed. The people of this country hate you and your tyranny. You might be strong, but you own nothing. You are nothing but a disgusting blight on the world." I stared defiantly into her eyes.

She growled with anger, "I don't need such silly things as trust and friendship. I don't need love! I don't need any of those things that you think are important. None of those things make me stronger!" She roared loudly making the room tremble.

I got angry back, "Agnir and I were strong because we had each other. Hearing her thoughts, feeling what she felt! If you think taking her away could stop her, then you severely underestimated her!" I could feel my body getting hot with rage. "She is far stronger than you could possibly imagine, everything you've seen me do with her power? That was only a drop." The ice attached to my foot melted. "And you thought you could eat her? There is no way she would let that happen. There is one thing you forgot about Agnir...."

Theatrice growled, "and what is that, Torin?"

"She's a dragon slayer!" The flame that had been building up inside me, I knew it was Agnir. I could still feel her connection inside of Theatrice. I cried out to her, "AGNIRRRRR!" All the of the magic that was building up inside of me shot towards Theatrice.

Theatrice jumped back in surprise, but the magic entered her chest anyway. "What have you done? What is this?" Her chest started to glow a bright orange. "No!"

Suddenly a burst of fire shot through Theatrice's chest ejecting a flaming figure. A beautiful blonde girl my age wearing a blue dress.

I stared in awe, "Agnir?"

She didn't take her eyes off of Theatrice, "Oh Torin, what would you do without me?" She gave me a wink. My heart fluttered.

Theatrice's chest started to heal itself, "But how? How are you here?! How do you have a body!?"

Agnir stood proud, "This is why I chose Torin. Someone who just wanted me to be set free. Now, I am free..." She cracked her knuckles and cracked her neck. "Now I can go all out!"

In an instant Agnir was surrounded in pure white flame, "prepare yourself Claire! I have a lot of payback to hand out to you!"

She licked her lips like she was looking at a meal, "and all that power you accumulated will be quite delicious!"

Chapter 30

Agnir was so hot right now. I mean she was cute, but literally. I had to step back a bit and grab some ice to cool down. The ice in the chamber that was around her was already melted.

Theatrice roared and blew a beam of ice at agnir. Agnir didn't even flinch. She raised her hand to meet the beam of ice. The ice didn't even get close to her. It turned into steam the moment it touched agnir's flames.

Agnir tilted her head and smiled, "so this is the power of a fairy and a dragonkind? Impressive... For a novice. I suspect your sister only got to slay 2 or 3 dragons before you ate her? A shame, truly... You see I've slain over 100 dragons." She started to shoot fire from her own palm. The two beams began to play tug of war.

I hid behind Tristan's frozen statue. I stared in awe at the amount of magic exploding together.

Agnir spoke again, "how long can you hold that breath? It must take a lot of energy."

Theatrice's form started shaking. Then in an instant she closed her mouth and covered her body with her silver wings. The fire from agnir shot forward and clashed against Theatrice's wings. The silver scales got hot.

Theatrice spoke in a raspy voice, "this is 100 dragons? Maybe you are just weak!?" She spread her wings and a blast of cold spread out over the room. Agnir put her hand down, but her flames barely wavered from the shockwave. Theatrice clasped her claws together and a small blue ball of ice started growing in her palms. "Dodge this, agnir!" The ball grew to half the size of theatrice, nearly 5x bigger than agnir and I.

Agnir stood there. Her dress flapped from the wind pressure the magic was creating. Her flames were still strong. She held out her two hands, "I mean that's pretty easy." Without charging at all, agnir sent a ball of fire the same size at Theatrice.

Theatrice was startled by the sudden ball of flame and she released her own. The two balls of magic began fighting for dominance. If I was standing out in the open I likely would have been pushed to the edges of the room. The two balls melded together and dissipated.

Theatrice growled, "this isn't over!" Icicles started raining down as she put her hand high.

Agnir started moving finally. She dodged each icicle like it was a slow bubble. She stepped closer each time she dodged.

Theatrice shouted, "hahaha you fool. You stepped right into my-"

Agnir punched the floor sending flames out in a circle carving out runes.

Thestrice stopped her magic, "...trap..." She just stared at agnir in silence...

Agnir stood up, "you done yet?" She held out a fire ball in her hand. "Then accept your fate!"

I ran out from my hiding spot, "wait agnir! Don't kill her!"

Agnir stopped just before releasing her fury, "but Torin... She was going to kill you..." She looked at me, "you really want to let this backstabbing traitor live?"

Theatrice was now cowering in fear and awe. She looked at me, then her form started to change. She shrunk back down to the size of a human. Claire now stood sobbing in the place that theatrice stood. "Oh torin! This is all a misunderstanding. I-i didn't want to kill you or agnir. I was being controlled! Yes, an evil dragon forced me to do this! Please spare me!" She knelt down, tears filled her face as she pleaded forgiveness.

She was clearly lying... "Agnir, take her stone so she can't transform."

Agnir walked up to claire, "you sure I can't just eat her?" She looked hungry.

"no agnir, she may have betrayed us, but it was also how she was raised. It's all she knows... I'm sure the dungeons have ways to keep magic users behind bars." I looked down at Claire, who I once trusted, with sorrow.

Agnir walked up to claire, "I have a better idea. I can seal her powers." Agnir smiled at me sweetly, "a merciful option don't you think?"

I nodded. "That sounds like a good idea..." I was half worried that it was some terrible torture tactic that agnir wanted to use.

Agnir held one finger out. At the tip there was a sharp blue flame. She ripped open Claire's shirt slightly then started burning a rune into her sternum.

Claire cried out in pain. When it was finished she collapsed and whimpered. "What have you done to me?" She gasped for air.

Agnir blew out the fire on her finger like a magic trick, "your magic, your powers, everything you thought was strength has been released from your control."

The room started to melt and the ice turned into water puddles on the ground. Claire looked around at the room, then fear entered her eyes. "No, no wait you have to get me out of here, my father-"

Crack

Ferdinand's ice sculpture started cracking apart.

Chapter 31

Crack, crack

CRASH

The ice covering Ferdinand shattered everywhere. Claire cried out in fear, "no! I can't face him without my magic, please give it back!" She clung to agnir's dress and clawed at her. Agnir ignored her.

Ferdinand fell to his knees. His eyes were closed and he had a facial expression like he just stepped into a warm spa. "Ah.... To think I had been tricked by my own daughter... Hahahah I guessed I raised you well." He chuckled to himself as he barely opened an eye to look at Claire. "And who are these people? Your friends?" He stood up and brushed himself off. Then he opened and closed his fist. "Come to me Iseld!" He called out. A frozen sword appeared in his hand. "Hmm? But where is she?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Iseld should be free from Claire now yes? But why can't I hear her?" He looked at me. "Ha.... Haha.. hahahahaha Iseld you fool! You thought you could hide within that boy!? What,.. does he seem nice and caring compared to me? Oh well it matters not, I shall take you back by force then!"

Ferdinand was staring at me when he said it. Then I felt a cold magic rise up within me. I instinctively said out loud, "Iseld?" Then a shimmering sword, the same as ferdinands appeared in my hand.

It spoke, "Torin, agnir! Save me!" It was the voice of a girl crying desperately. In my mind, I felt like she was hiding behind us seeking protection.

Another fairy?

Agnir had a devastated look on her face, "hey get out of there!" She said. She looked at me. I shrugged.

Ferdinand interrupted, "I'll make it quick and painless boy!" Suddenly Ferdinand's figure disappeared then reappeared in front of me slashing down.

I brace for death. I couldn't respond in time.

Clang!

"hello torin, long time no see." A red haired man stood between Ferdinand and I. His kingly raiment fluttered from his sudden movement. Ice still melted off his clothes. "Brother... Our fight is not over..." He swiftly used agnir's blade to parry Ferdinand.

Ferdinand stepped back and growled, "brother... How are you still standing with that wound? Surely you should've died by now!"

I looked at Tristan and noticed a gaping hole in his chest.

Agnir cried with tears in her eyes, "dad!"

Tristan gave a weak smile, "you look so beautiful, agnir." He turned to Ferdinand, "I shall use the last of my strength to protect these children, and end our feud once and for all!" He prepared himself with the same stance I saw my father do.

Ferdinand readied himself. "so be it!" He spat.

There was no magic involved. Both of them had sacrificed their magics to birth their fairies. But the pressure and intimidating aura they gave off were intense. Agnir, Claire, and I backed away instinctively. Though I'm sure agnir probably could obliterate all of them in one strike.

Neither of them moved for what seemed like 30 minutes.

Then Tristan shifted agnirs blade in a diagonal slash. Ferdinand disappeared and reappeared in front of Tristan. Their blades clashed again making a loud ringing sound. While Ferdinand was moving quickly trying to exploit weak points in Tristan's defence, Tristan was standing still and twirling is great sword around himself. Each attack that Ferdinand made was deflected.

Tristan's movements were complex, but it seemed like he knew where Ferdinand would strike before even Ferdinand did.

"give up Tristan, you won't be able to stand much longer and when you fail to predict my strike, you shall fall!" Ferdinand kept attacking ferociously.

Tristan remained silent and focused. He never blinked. His eyes moved rapidly.

Agnir whispered to me, "torin... Do you know what my father is doing? How is able to block all of Ferdinand's attacks?"

I shook my head. "How?"

She responded, "he's just guessing... And he gets it right every single time."

I looked at Tristan in awe. Hearing the stories of Tristan from my dad, agnir, Fireheart, arthur and others, it was surreal to see him in person.

As their swords clashed Tristan's movement seemed to slow down.

Tristan coughed and bent over briefly. Blood spewed out from his wound. Ferdinand paused his onslaught, "see? You can barely stand now. You should've instead used your last moments to embrace your daughter." Ferdinand suddenly realized that agnir was indeed a person, "wait a minute. That's agnir?"

As he carelessly looked away from Tristan, Tristan took that opportunity to plunge agnir's blade into his brothers chest.

Silence.

Ferdinand started to bleed from his mouth, he smiled though, "together then? I suppose I can live with that..."

Tristan spoke with a raspy voice, "we will approach the gates together, brother. We will be judged for our deeds and there, they will see our souls are only a half portion, they shall not bid us enter. Is this really the reward you wanted when you decided to kill me?"

Ferdinand grabbed his brother, "well atleast we won't be alone in the void." He laughed then coughed.

Tristan dissolved agnir's blade, "you can still change brother. You can lead a better life than this..." Tristan fell to the ground.

Agnir ran to him and held him, "dad, it's me dad! I'm here!" Agnir held him tightly.

Tristan whispered in her ear one final thing. Then peacefully closed his eyes with a smile.

Ferdinand stood there holding his chest in pain, gasping for air.

Claire looked horrified at the sight of her father. "Are you... Dying?" She cautiously asked. Her eyes were wide.

Ferdinand scowled, "not if you could heal me... Though I suppose that isn't possible anymore."

Claire erupted, "is that all I was to you!? Just a tool!" She suddenly had an angry expression. "Well I'm nothing now dad! I'm nothing! I'm just a normal girl! Will you toss me away now?" She walked up to him.

Ferdinand stared into her eyes, "you couldn't even beat that one? He's just as worthless as you are now." He nodded towards me.

I suddenly remembered that I was also magicless. Without agnir I felt like a nobody, worthless, and powerless.

Iseld spoke, "all I've ever known are these people... Is the world truly as cruel as this?" She had a soft innocent voice.

I watched Claire angrily beraid her father. Then I watched agnir silently mourn her father. "I... I don't know..." What has become of my own father? I didn't know what to tell Iseld.

The door to the room swung open, welcoming friendly faces.

My dad walked in, followed by thena and Byron who were holding an injured Arthur. Behind them was a dragonkind.

I smiled in relief, "you're all alive?... I guess the world isn't quite as cruel as I thought Iseld."

Chapter 32

Claire yelled at her father with tears running down her cheeks. "If you ask me... You can have your power and glory, your kingdom! All your dreams left me alone and broken!" She was still coming to terms with her sealed powers. "What good is power if it gets taken away? What good is power when there is someone always stronger than you? It's not even a battle! It's just a desperate grab for pride!"

Ferdinand looked disapprovingly at his daughter, "if you aren't going to heal me, then leave..." He started heading towards the door where the other group just entered.

Claire wiped tears with her sleeve.

Ferdinand approached arthur, "you! Healer! Patch me up!"

Declan stood proudly before Ferdinand, "your reign of terror ends here Ferdinand. Your family shall no longer hold influence in this land." He held the broken blade out towards Ferdinand.

Ferdinand growled, "insolent fool! You speak to the king! Kneel before me!" He held his wound in pain.

Declan didn't back down, "the rightful heir to the throne is none other than Terra Lothbrig , Tristan's daughter." He held his hand out to introduce the silver dragonkind who stood next to him.

Terra squawked sheepishly.

Ferdinand laughed, "hahahaha you call that royalty?! That's nothing but a little dragonkind! What does she know about ruling a kingdom?"

Claire walked back to Ferdinand and hit him on the head. He fell down in pain. Then she pulled out her dragon stone "Here..." She handed a blue and silver dragon stone to Terra.

Thena approached Claire, "you do realize she might not be able to transform back because of what you did!" She grabbed Claire by the collar of her shirt.

Byron saw the rune on Claire's chest, "so they sealed your powers? Thena... She's already been punished..." Byron looked serious. As usual.

Thena looked at Byron, "what do you mean? This is unforgivable."

Claire glared at her. "Terra may still have a chance. She might be able to transform, unlike me..." She ripped Thena's hands off her shirt. "Take it, it may change you back."

Terra cautiously took the stone.

Thena looked in awe at Claire, "unlike me? You mean you're a dragonkind?" But before Claire could answer, Terra's form shimmered and changed into a young girl, nearly 12 years old.

Declan hugged her immediately. She hugged him back.

Byron looked away so no one would see him cry a tear.

Thena sighed in relief.

Torin saw his sister and father hug. This whole time he believed that either of them could be dead. He went up and hugged them too.

Ferdinand was arrested by Declan, then healed by Arthur, after he healed himself of course. Arthur sustained minor injuries but he stabilized well from his magic.

Claire was arrested as well. Her eyes widened as she stared at the chains binding her body. They twitched and her mouth curled as she tried to pull the chains apart. "Gone.... They're really gone..." She muttered to herself.

Agnir sat there with her father in her arms. He laid motionless now. She had mourned him before when she learned that he was defeated, but it was different now. She was older. She appreciated him more and what he did for her. She knew she couldn't heal the wound he carried, and she didn't stop the fight even though she probably could have. She knew that her father wouldn't have wanted that.

She held him as tears dripped down her face.

She remembered the nursery rhyme they would sing for terra when she was just born.

Follow the river

For light you'll find soon

My sweet little child

My heart given to you.

My walls, my castle stand true

My sweet little child

Don't miss me when gone

You'll have me always

My sweet little child.

Agnir put her hand over her heart. Her heart, made from the soul of a man and a dragon, beating on its own now.

"Goodnight dad, I love you."

Epilogue

Drip drip drip

The dungeon stank of piss and sweat. A lonely jail cell contained a white haired woman, claire. Her hair spread over her face, unkempt. She laid there looking through the small hole in the ceiling, The only light from the outside world.

How long had she been here... 1.. 2 years even? How long would she lay here? Did it matter? Everything she ever had was gone. The only people she ever might've been able to trust, she betrayed.

Claire sat there in silence reflecting on how she would have done it differently.

"Perhaps I could've killed them sooner? Or maybe if I didn't get greedy and try to take agnir.... Everything was there within my grasp... I was so close." She whispered to herself.

She had a strange thought she'd never considered before. "What if I just stayed one of the dawn brigade? Then they might not hate me..." To even consider other people's feelings towards her seemed out of place... But they happened anyway.

She shook her head. Then she remembered the way she made torin scream. "That was pretty exciting though... Is that wrong?" She put her finger to her lips as she imagined kissing him in his despair.

Could she hold onto that feeling?

She felt a little conflicted now. Seeing how her dad treated everyone made her realize that maybe he was wrong. Maybe she didn't have to deceive everyone, maybe she didn't have to betray and backstab to get ahead?

After all, torin was powerless... Yet he stands above the rest...

She pondered on how torin could show mercy to her even after everything she did to him. She thought agnir was going to kill her. She thought torin was going to revel in her demise.

Instead he looked at her like she was somebody. A person, like him.

Maybe she didn't need to hurt him so much? Maybe she could go back and make things right? No she couldn't go back... Even if she wanted to.

Would he ever accept her after what she did though? Suddenly she was even more depressed than before. She rolled to her side and curled up into a ball.

The dungeon door creaked open.

Clack clack clack

Stilettos hit the cobblestone rhythmically. It echoed down the hall. Then they stopped in front of Claire's cell.

Claire didn't look, "you? How did you get in here? Surely agnir would've killed you if she saw you..." Claire didnt move.

The woman spoke, "my daughter and my lover are in prison... Should I not visit them?" Her voice was like poison that ran slow and cold. "Although I suppose you both failed so what good are you?" The woman smiled as she said it.

Claire glared at her, "what do you want Griselda?" She spat on the floor after saying her mother's name. Griselda was a beautiful thin woman wearing a white dress. The slit in her dress left one leg completely bare. Her long white straight hair fell over her shoulder.

Griselda had a devilish grin, "still got that nasty habit?" She sighed. "I heard they sealed your powers away..." She used her finger nails to scratch the iron bars which made an unpleasant sound.

Claire didn't respond.

"well I only came to wish you luck... The storm is coming... And without your precious dragon stone you won't be alive by the end of it." Griselda kicked some mud at claire. It splattered onto her face. Griselda grabbed the iron bars, "it's too bad you won't be able to witness it either," she gasped with ecstatic bliss, "oh how glorious the day will be when these wretched humans will regret what they've done to us!" She let go of the bars. "It's truly a shame you won't see it."

Griselda walked away. Claire stared at the ice that covered the iron bars.

"I could break those now... Escape..." Her eyes widened as she realized her opportunity for freedom.

Then another thought wormed inside her head, "or I could warn Torin..."