Ruveneska: The Scavenge, Chapter 6: Flight

Shuren crawled out of his tent, still drowsy. Shuren could not even see the sun outside when Thegor woke him up. He quickly folded the blankets and took down the metal supports. He put them in a bag and put them into one of Cirles’s hanging pockets. Shuren gathered his remaining items and also loaded them onto Cirles.

Shuren splashed his face with some water. Fully alert and awake now, Shuren grabbed his jug of Pumleberry Juice and drank the last bit of it. There was no breakfast that morning.

Lloyd and Shuren hopped onto Cirles and took flight, this time, behind Rissam. Shuren held onto to Cirles as the Dragon swerved sideways to keep behind Rissam To his right, the black Dragon, Naran, did the same.

Ruveneska: The Scavenge, Chapter 5: Dragons

by Darro C.

There was a large crowd in the Grand Hall. Apparently, they were all there to say goodbye to Shuren and his group. Shuren made his way through the pack of nearly crying Zelzes to where Thegor, Blayger, Karoline, Rollan and Lloyd stood with all of their bags. Shuren walked over and stood with them. They were standing on the edge of the Grand Hall between two pillars.

Shuren then realized that they were not the only groups there. All along the side the edge of the Grand Hall stood other groups who were also departing. Everyone, including people in the crowd, had their bags packed and ready. Shuren now felt sorrow, he hated goodbyes.

Book Review: Carter Finally Gets It (Brent Crawford)

by Darro C.

Carter Finally Gets It is a teenage fiction about a boy named Carter trying to survive his first year of High School. He suffers through things that all teenagers do at his age such as girls, sports, drama, gossip and embarrassment. Carter tries to kick things off with a good start, literally. He becomes the school’s varsity football kicker and achieves a rival at it. He goes out with a girl only to become heartbroken. After a series of crazy events, parties, police chases, football season and swimming season, Carter finds the one thing that he never expected; himself.

This novel is a novel that young teens can enjoy and relate to. They will welcome Carter with open arms and a sense of humor. I definitely recommend Carter Finally Gets It, by Brent Crawford, as a Teen Read.

Ruveneska: The Scavenge, Chapter 4: The Unexpected Visitor

by Darro C.

The meeting was at noon, and Shuren overslept. He rushed to get out of his bed. He jumped out of his night clothes and into his casual outfit. He didn’t stop to wash his face. He ran down the hallway looking the way he did just as he woke up. He scrambled into the grand hall to find a mess of Zelzes. Each Zelze stared at Shuren puzzled as he made his way through the pile of them. Shuren even heard a slight giggle here and there, but he ignored them. Shuren searched for Rollan but could not find him.

Shuren noticed that the Zelzes were staring up, almost at the ceiling. Shuren looked up at the tall ceiling. In mid air, Shuren saw a count of five dragons flying. Three of the five carried two people while the remaining two carried one Zelze each. Shuren saw that Karoline, Lloyd and Rollan were flying above them. Rollan was on the left flying on a sharp blue Dragon, Lloyd in the middle in a dark green Dragon, and Karoline on right with a faint white Dragon. Shuren waited a moment, but no word was spoken. It seemed as if they were waiting for something.

Rollan looked down and saw Shuren. He made a gesture to the Zelze to his left. Suddenly, the bright purple Dragon swooped down towards Shuren. The Zelzes each took a step back. The Dragon landed softly beside Shuren, the Zelze signaled for Shuren get on it’s back. Shuren nervously climbed on. The Dragon lifted into the air quickly almost causing him to loose his balance. Before he knew it, he was at the elevation of the others.

“Well now,” Rollan said to Shuren, “Let’s get started.” Karoline and Lloyd both nodded. Rollan cleared his throat. Everyone’s attention was now fixed on the five Dragons floating above them. “There are a few reasons why the meeting was called today. We are all still grieving upon the lives that were stolen from us by surprise. I’m afraid that the bad news has yet to end.” Rollan looked over at Lloyd.

“Garland and the Ingles have already taken action. They have begun recruiting a few days after the battle,” Lloyd said. It almost seemed as if he was about to choke. The faces below showed a very worried expression. Lloyd continued, “The worst part is that he is doing it forcefully. He threatens villages to join him or become enslaved.” Gasps were heard. Some were angry and others were upset. It took quite a toll on Lloyd to express the worst of news to them.

“There is another thing,” Karoline began. “I’m sorry but we can not exactly tell you what this thing is, but it should be known that we are going away to try and solve this thing.” Complaints were cried all over. Karoline took a deep breath and said, “Rollan, Lloyd, Shuren, a few others and I are going after this thing, and we expect you people to be strong with out us for that while.”

There were more complaints amongst the Zelzes below. Shuren was tired of hearing unhappy comments. “Listen everyone! This thing is important. It may be more important than the war itself! This thing, we think it’s a weapon that Garland is after, and we must stop him! You must be strong! I have revised a plan that I think that would work.” The room suddenly went quiet. Shuren was enlightened for once. “We will divide ourselves into several groups. We are going to have a race with the Ingles. We will go to the remaining villages and recruit them. For this we will need most of the Dragons available. We will need only a few Zelzes per group, and twice as many Dragons. You will fly to the villages and convince them to join us. We can fit about two people per Dragon.

“As for the people to be in each group, that’s all up to you. Are there any volunteers?” Shuren asked. After a few moments, there was nothing. Then, a long hand shot up in the crowd. Shuren smiled, “Yes, there’s one.” Another hand shot up, followed by a few more until there was a total of twenty Zelzes. “Yes, twenty, that’s the perfect amount. You are all brave, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

“Now, for the people who stay behind, I expect you all to prepare for war. Train, practice spells, do anything you can to aid. If there happens to be an ambush, send out one of the remaining Dragons for help. I say that two days time will be enough for us to prepare for the journey ahead of us. Now, are there any questions or statements?” Shuren asked after a deep breath. There were no comments or questions to be said. “Then, this meeting is dismissed. Zelzes, be prepared.”

The crowed below fluttered and scattered into an empty hall. The five Dragons landed in the hall and everyone climbed off. Now was calm. “So who will be traveling with us?” Shuren asked.

“I think Blayger, Thegor and there Dragons should be enough,” Lloyd said.

Shuren paused for a moment. There were seven people going, and there was only three Dragons, there weren‘t enough Dragons. “Lloyd that’s not enough.

Lloyd looked confused. “There is not enough what?” Shuren began to feel that he was being toyed with. He made a serious face, and Lloyd said, “Oh, don’t worry about that Shuren, I have that under control.” Both Shuren and Karoline were confused, they shook off the confusion.

Now, only Shuren, Karoline, Rollan, Lloyd, Thegor, and Blayger were left in the hall. Shuren spoke up, “So exactly what should we be prepared with?”

“Definitely weapons and rations,” Karoline said, “the usual survival necessities.”

“I think that we should travel light,” Thegor said as he patted his dark green Dragon, “they are not super strong.”

“I agree,” said Lloyd, almost as if he understood what she was saying. The subject was soon changed into a more important matter.

“Well where should we go first? Lekay is the closest place,” Shuren suggested.

“No,” Karoline said firmly. “That is where we are most likely to get captured, also, if that is where one of these keys are, Garland is sure to have already retrieved it.”

“I say that we should go to Kyladin first. It’s in ruins so it should be fairly safe,” Rollan said. Shuren agreed, though he really wanted to go to Hogony first. Everyone else agreed. “So it is settled, we will travel to Kyladin fist.”

The seven of them walked out of the grand hall and back to their rooms. Shuren brainstormed on what he should do before he left. He had two days left on the mountain and he has sure that he would not be back for a long while. He will say goodbye to everyone, and gather all of his belongings. He continued to walk and ended up at his own room. Shuren realized that the meeting only lasted half an hour. It was half past noon and Shuren didn’t know what to do. It was the first time since his miserable days at Hogony, that Shuren was bored.

Shuren grabbed a book from the shelf and opened it, it was a non-fiction book. Shuren didn’t have much a taste for non-fiction books. He was into more of an adventure. Though his recent life was an extremely wild one, he would like to enjoy one without his life being in danger. Shuren went through all of the books on the shelf, but they were all informational books. Then, Shuren began to wonder, he never asked about a library in Aela-Doria. Surely all of the books must have came from somewhere. Then again, where would a library get all of it’s books in Aela-Doria? Still, Shuren wanted to search for one.

He walked outside and down to the grand hall. It was less empty than it had been after the meeting. There were several Zelzes in the grand hall. He asked one of them about a library, but they were not sure if one existed. Shuren continued to walk and walked into the healing room, where Shuren was first healed by Niance. The Zelze in there was not Nina, but another one. “Where is Niance?” Shuren asked.

“She is not present at the moment, I do not really know where she is,” the lady Zelze replied.

“Hmm, well thank you.” Shuren walked out of the room and roamed the halls. Shuren made some random turns and found himself in a foreign hallway with a few doors and an archway that led to a balcony at the end of it. A door on the left opened and a familiar face walked out. Catalina looked up to see Shuren and was startled.

Shuren realized how unusual the situation seemed. He has never been to her room before, let alone this hallway. She smiled and walked up to Shuren. She had her usual silky robe-like outfit on. Her hair was tied in a bun. She reached Shuren surprisingly did not touch him.

“What a surprise, I was just about to go see you, but it appears that you have found me,” she said quietly.

Shuren thought for a moment. If there was anyone who would know about a library, it would have been Zelzor. Now that he is gone, Catalina was one who seemed close enough to Zelzor to know about a library. “Hey, is there a library in this place?”

Catalina raised her eyebrows, “As in a collection of books?” Shuren nodded. “I’m not completely sure that there is.”

“Has Master Zelzor ever mentioned anything about a library?” asked Shuren, hoping for a small clue at least.

“Not that I know of, but there are two rather large cases in his room,” Catalina replied.

That struck Shuren, there was! “Yes, lets go see it then,” Shuren said, “lead the way.”

Catalina walked ahead of Shuren. They walked through the set of hallways that Shuren walked through the first time ever. They ended up at the gigantic double doors. They pushed them open to see a deserted room, fairly dusty. The lost of Zelzor struck Shuren again. He took a deep breath ignored it. The desk with the chair look as if it wasn’t moved in ages. The bed was made remained empty as it has been and the windows were closed. On the right side of the room, the large book cases stood tall. They were filled with old books.

Shuren walked up to them as he heard Catalina close the doors. He shelf read the spines, most of them were of a foreign languages of which he could barley understand. Though from the context, he was sure that they were just informational books. Shuren leaned his back against the book case and sighed. He was craving an adventure novel.

Shuren heard Catalina walk up towards him. “Did you not find what you wanted?” Shuren shook his head. She sighed also. She placed her right hand next to Shuren’s head and her left on the other side. She approached him. Shuren was trapped between her arms. “I’m sorry that you didn’t find it.” Shuren began to feel tense. She moved her head closer to the point that their noses were touching. Shuren did not move, and she did the opposite. She then brushed his lips with her own, and then turned into a full fledged kiss. Shuren cold not help but kiss back, it was his first ever. Then suddenly, the force that Shuren was leaning on caved in. Shuren fell backwards into a dark room, and Catalina fell on top of him. Dust fell from the ceiling, making it hard for Shuren to breath. He coughed and struggled to stand up, after doing so he helped Catalina up. They paused for a moment, and began to laugh.

“Ferina,” Shuren said as a ball of fire ignited in is hand. It lit the room, revealing nothing but walls. Though, on the far right side, was a dark hallway. Catalina grabbed Shuren’s hand as they began to explore it. The hallway turned into a flight of stairs that led down. They slowly walked down. Then, there were no more stairs, but a glossy floor instead. Shuren added more energy to his fire, causing his whole hand to catch fire, lighting more the of the room. Shuren saw, above him, a chandelier with a few candles. He shot flames at each one. Then the room was illuminated for the most part. On the walls were torches, he and Catalina lit them also.

The room was bright, and they were astonished to see what they found. The room was about as big as Shuren’s, and inside was stacked from the ground with books. There were no cases, they just sat on top of each other, each one with the fine leather covers that all books were made of. Ironically, it was a library.

Shuren smiled, and laughed. Catalina just held onto Shuren, unaware of what to express. Shuren immediately began browsing. There was a mixture of all kinds of books, from novels, to medicine books, to cooking recipes. Shuren was filled with joy to find one that he didn’t expect to. One that he had began reading before his journey began, titled Her Heirloom. The novel that included Craig as the main character. Shuren strictly remembered the last section that he read. He had left of when Craig outsmarted the trolls and camped out for the night.

It must have been an old book, for that was the only reason that the library let Shuren have it. Though he had not realize that it was old enough to be in Aela-Doria.

“What is that?” Catalina asked Shuren, pointing to the book in Shuren’s hands.

“It’s a novel that I was never able to finish. I read it back at the village before that jerk sent me on a suicide mission.” Shuren replied.

“Who is this jerk?”

Shuren gripped his book tightly. “His name is Bastian Mclore. He hated me just as much as I hate him now.” Catalina looked surprised. “That bastard is the reason why my village was attacked. He works for the Ingles, and he’s the reason why we were ambushed.”

Catalina looked irritated. This was the first time that she ever heard him speak such aggressive words. “Well, then what should we do about this?” she asked.

Shuren shook off the though of his grudge. “I don’t know, what do you think we should do? This must all be Zelzor’s correct?”

“Most likely, now that he’s gone, I think it would be nice to share a piece of it to everyone.”

Shuren nodded, “Well then, lets get to it. We’ll just grab an armful of the now and take them out into the grand hall. The we can tell people to come down here and get them.”

Catalina agreed. Shuren levitated two stacks of books, though he kept Her Heirloom in his arms. Catalina grabbed as many as she could by arm and followed him.. Shuren’s stack was wobbly, while hers stayed still and content in her arms. He still needed work on his magic. The left the room with the many stacks of books and walked up the stairs and back into Zelzor’s room.

They stepped over the pile of rubble and spilled books that they broke earlier. They slowly led the stack of books into the halls. People gathered around them as they set them down in the grand hall. The Zelzes rummaged through the four stacks of books and questioned where they came from. Catalina told everyone to settle down until they were all quiet.

“Everyone, we stumbled upon a library of some sort.” Shuren explained. “There was a room behind the book cases in Master Zelzor’s room. It led downstairs into a fairly large room with tons of books. I thought that you all should be able to read them all.”

The Zelzes began to commute amongst themselves, deciding whether or not it was right to be going trough Zelzor’s belongings.

Suddenly, Shuren came up with an idea. “I think that we should create a library.”

Zelzes were confused to here this. With all of the stress from the war, they had not expected anything like this. “We can’t let this war take everything away from us. Let’s try to stay positive. Let us try to enjoy ourselves while we still can.”

Soon, agreement seemed to be mutual with everyone. Shuren assigned groups of people to go down into the room and retrieve all of the books. They found an empty room, and decided to use it as a library.

“We will need to build book cases, large ones at that,” Shuren said as he helped a group of Zelzes clear out the room. After they moved all of the belongings out of the large room, they began cleaning it up. While cleaning, Shuren assigned a group of Zelzes to fetch enough wood for at least twenty book cases.

While cleaning, Shuren saw Karoline walk in through the room. Her sudden appearance hit Shuren in his gut. He was just with Catalina earlier, and did not think of Karoline once, it was almost as if his feelings for her were gone. Though as soon as he saw her, all the those feelings, and even guilt, rushed back. He was not sure of how to act towards her.

“What is all of this?” Karoline asked in a positive mood.

“We’re building a library,” Shuren replied simply. “We could use a hand, I know you are an excellent builder. Would you mind building some book cases with the wood we gathered? Or at least show them how?”

“I guess so, I have nothing to do in my spare time. I can lend a hand.” She said. Shuren thanked her and showed her the pile of wood in the other end of the room. It was almost a relief to get her out of his presence, he felt so timid and guilty.

Karoline finished two book cases by nightfall. The size of them were fairly large. They were tall enough to fit a lot of books, but not taller than anyone’s reach. She had taught other Zelzes how to build them, and expected them to continue when they were gone. They had retrieved about half of the books from the basement room. Could not think of where to put so they stacked them up in the grand hall.

Shuren thanked everyone and walked back to his room with his book. He was so excited to continue reading it. He had not even reached halfway yet before he left on his journey. Shuren walked into his room, washed up and laid down in his bed.

He grabbed the book and searched for the last page that he was on. When he found it, he began reading it. Before he even read a paragraph, Shuren felt uneasy reading it. He didn’t feel right reading it just then. It just seemed very uncomfortable to him, as if it wasn’t right. He closed the book and set it aside. He blew out his candle and went to sleep.

* * *

Shuren woke up quite early the next morning. The thing he could think of was Catalina. He felt very strange after kissing her. Though he has never before, he was sure that it gave him an abnormal feeling. Not only did guilt fill his head, but he also felt uneasy.

Shuren walked out on his balcony and watched the sunrise. Peace began to sooth his soul. He stared at the orange half-circle rise slowly above the horizon. The sky above him was oddly the color of lavender, but the sky before him was a flaming red. The redness of the sky dispersed and gently turned darker into the early morning of the sky. Before Shuren knew it, the sky was completely lit with a light blue.

Shuren walked back inside his room when he heard a knocking at the door. He almost knew exactly who it was. He opened the door and was correct. Catalina swayed into the room with her long silk robe gently sliding on the floor behind her.

Shuren was not shocked this time. By now, he was used to it, and practically enjoyed it. He shut the door behind her as she sat down on his bed. Shuren walked over and took a seat next to her. “What is it?” he asked.

She leaned over and gently kissed him, this time, shorter than the first and the last. As their lips departed, she put her lips next to his ear. “. . . I’m leaving,” Catalina whispered.

A jolt went through Shuren’s heart. He was speechless for a few moments. Eventually, he managed to say, “Why?”

Catalina sighed. She lifted herself off of the bed and walked around the room a bit. Their backs faced each other as she stood next to bed and Shuren stayed sitting. “There is something that I must do alone. I must take care of something. I’m afraid that this will be the last time we see each other for a while.”

Once again, Shuren said nothing. Once again, he could not have true happiness. Shuren felt as she was his one true chance of happiness, and just his luck, it will leave him. “Is it really that important?” asked Shuren, afraid of the answer. She nodded. “Just my luck . . .”

“I’m leaving very soon, it’s very important that nobody knows that I’ve left,” she said seriously. “In order for me to be safe, you must let everyone know that I have gone missing.”

Shuren wondered why, but did not ask. He wanted her to be safe, “I will try.”

“No, you must promise me that you will not tell. Nobody can know! If they do, then I might . . . Die.” Catalina explained with the same serious tone.

Shuren felt his eyes water. He was not entirely sure if he was crying or not. She came closer and hugged him. After a few moments, she whispered, “I will find you when you find it.” Then, she kissed her fingers and placed them on his lips one last time.

She turned around and walked outside onto the balcony. Shuren stayed inside, wiping his face from the hot tears that he could not control. “I will miss this place,” she began. She turned around to face Shuren and said, “Shuren, I lov-”

Suddenly, a black bolt of lightning struck the balcony right beside Catalina. A man with a dark leather suite appeared before the sky grew dark. Shuren was found frozen. The Mawbryn pushed Catalina aside, causing her to fall to the ground. The man walked blew away the window that led into the room. The balcony shook and began to crumble. The edge of it broke off and collapsed. Glass flew into the room, some of it cutting Shuren. He couldn’t not react, he could not move. All Shuren could do was watch Catalina knocked out on the floor.

The Mawbryn walked into the room and raised his arm. With a deep voice, he muttered, “Dinwoa!” Shuren was blown against the wall behind him. High-speed wind rushed against his body, keeping him on the wall and immobilized. Shuren barley budged his fingers, but it was enough. Books flew out of his shelf and struck the Mawbryn in the back of the head.

Shuren was released from the wind. Shuren waved his arm and said, “Arcaetama!” A web of electricity flew from his arms and struck the Mawbryn. Shuren then rushed over to his bedside and grabbed his scimitar. He turned around expecting an attack but there wasn’t. The man was now outside forcing Catalina off of the floor.

Then, the doors for Shuren’s room flung open. “Shuren! The sky is dark, is must be them-” Lloyd said as he walked in to find a Mawbryn on his now collapsing balcony. Lloyd immediately armed his bow. The Mawbryn grabbed the now conscious Catalina and forced her in front of himself as a shield. Lloyd halted.

“Shuren!” cried Catalina. Before Shuren began to run, smoke was already rising from the ground. Another black bolt of lightning struck and they were gone.

“NO!” Shuren screamed until his face turned purple. He arced his body backwards and threw his scimitar with rage. It sliced through the air and went right into the smoke. There was a loud clunk as it hit the balcony.

Lloyd ran into the smoke, but found nothing, the man was gone, and so was Catalina. The smoke disappeared and the sky regained it’s color. “Shuren, the balcony!” Lloyd yelled as he reached for Shuren’s scimitar.

Shuren ran over to the edge of his room and forced the scimitar backwards. It flew behind them and stuck into the wall. Then he compelled his energy under the falling balcony. It was very large and hard to control. He had to think fast, he could not reattach it to his room. He could only let it down somewhere.

“Just throw it somewhere!” Lloyd said loudly.

Shuren spun around for momentum and forced the balcony away from the mountain with all of his strength and rage. The large chuck of mountain flew out into the valley hundreds of yards away. Seconds later there was a loud thump as it hit the ground.

Shuren slumped to the ground with tears streaming down his face again. Lloyd came over and patted his back. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Shuren took a deep breath, “I couldn’t save her. Why would they want to take her?”

“I don’t know,” Lloyd said, “she was a pretty powerful sorceress.” He tried to comfort him.

Shuren stood up with even more rage. He lifted all of the ruble and shards of glass from his window and forced them out into the valley. Lloyd could only stand there and watch Shuren go out in rage.

More Zelzes ran into the room realizing that there was an attack. Niance asked, “Sir Ruven, Sir Lloyd, are you hurt?”

“We’re fine, but they-” Lloyd began.

“They took Catalina!” Shuren finished. Niance gasped along with the other Zelzes.

Lloyd stood up, “I think we should go talk to Rollan.” Shuren wiped his face and followed Lloyd.

“We’ll take care of this mess,” a Zelze said as he pulled the reverse blade scimitar out from the wall.

Lloyd led Shuren throughout the halls. The Zelzes in the hallways asked them what exactly happened. Lloyd explained it to one Zelze and told him to spread the word. Shuren, however, was not paying attention. He was lost in grief, yet again.

“First Master, and now Catalina, and it’s all my fault! If it weren’t for me, they would still be here, no one would have to be hurt!” Shuren thought. Shuren clenched his fist. He was angrier at himself than ever.

Lloyd opened the door to Rollan’s room. Rollan was inside sitting, looking at a map of Oryk. He looked up, “So what happened?”

Shuren sat down. Lloyd said, “I’ll go get Karoline and the others,” and left. Shuren stared at his fists with his teeth clenched. “It was the Mawbryn, they took Catalina.” Shuren said plainly.

Rollan sighed with disbelief, “What was the point?” It seemed as if he was asking himself that question.

“What was that?” Shuren asked a little confused.

“There had to have been a point. Garland said that he needed you alive correct?” Rollan asked. Shuren nodded. “Then why one of the Mawbryn come to attack you, and also take Catalina?”

“She is a very powerful sorceress,” Shuren replied. Rollan shook his head.

“Though she is very strong, they have plenty of powerful Ingles that can do quite a bit of Gippy sorcery.” Rollan contemplated.

“I was too weak,” Shuren began, “I wasn’t strong enough to save her. When he appeared, when he attacked, I couldn’t move. I-I was paralyzed.”

The doors opened, and a group of people walked in. The first was Karoline, who made Shuren’s spine shiver. He had been so caught up with Catalina that he did not think of her. No longer could feelings of affection rush back to his body with a single glance. Right then, only anger and grief flowed through him. Lloyd, Thegor, and Blayger walked in behind her.

“I head there was an attack, are you okay?” Karoline asked with concern.

Shuren nodded, but said, “They took Catalina.” Karoline raised her eyebrows with disbelief. She did not show an expression of sadness but instead anger, she never really did like Catalina, but she did reside with them. “Was it only one?” Shuren nodded.

“I think we should leave today.” Rollan then said after a moment of thought.

“What about the rest of us?” Thegor asked.

“All of us, we all leave today, even the Zelzes that were going to stay here.” Rollan explained.

“Yes, I agree with Rollan,” Blayger said. “It is no longer safe here since they know where we are. We need to find a safe place for them all.”

“What about Veryala?” Lloyd suggested. “They can’t find the village anywhere in the Dead Forest. Also they have many barriers that protect the village.”

Rollan nodded, “How many Paleps do we have here?”

Thegor said, “A few stables full. It should be just enough to transport them to Veryala.

“Very well,” Rollan said, “call for an emergency meeting in the Grand Hall. This needs to be done quickly.”

* * *

The Grand Hall was quickly filled just as it was the day before. Though, this time, only one Dragon hovered above everyone. Thegor and Rollan rode Rissam in the air. Everyone was now quiet.

“As you all should know by now, there was an attack earlier this morning. It was a Mawbryn, from Garland’s army. Our Ruven tried to fight him off, but he had the element of surprise and overpowered our unarmed Ruven.” Rollan sighed. “Luckily, our Ruven and Sir Lloyd were able to make him flee, but unfortunately, he took one of us with him. Our dear Catalina has been taken with her. We know not the location they have gone, and we are not going to find out. We can only pray that where ever she is, she is safe.

“As for us, we have no choice but to leave immediately. All of us. Now that they know our location, we are no longer safe here.” There were many complaints and cries as Rollan was explaining. “We will all go on our journeys, and whoever remains will travel to Veryala. It is safe there and the magical barriers will protect you all. You guys will take Paleps down there, it should take maybe four days with Paleps if you are hasty. We must pack and leave by sundown. Say your goodbyes, and pray for each other, this is war.” The crowd dispersed into the hallways. They all went back to their rooms to pack and get ready for a journey.

Shuren walked up to his room. He no longer felt grief. Instead, he felt almost nothing. He couldn’t even shed a tear. He found his room to be cleaner than before, with the exception of the big whole in the wall. Shuren saw a big leather sack on his bed and began to pack.

He stuffed his light Zelze armor into the sack along with clean under clothing. He packed a Gippy and a Grundell language book along with Zelzor’s copy of Her Heirloom. He grabbed the already packed leather sack that Blurton help him sew. It was already packed with his usual survival items. He then realized that he never unpacked them.

Shuren sat and thought of when The Trio helped him get ready for his journey. He missed them so much. Thinking of them made tears form in his eyes for the third time that day. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. Shuren grabbed his two leather sacks and his scimitar headed for the door. He stopped right before the exit. Shuren turned around for one last glance. The bed was not made, and the pool of water was motionless. He took a deep breath, turned around and walked away.

Ruveneska: The Scavenge, Chapter 3: Clues

by Darro C.

Shuren woke up the next day fairly tired. Though it was nothing the enchanted pool could not treat. After a quick dip, Shuren got dressed. He decided to go have a talk with Rollan. He quickly walked through his double doors and into the marble hallway. Many Zelzes were up and carrying on with their own business. Shuren walked throughout the webbed hallways and to Rollan’s room. He stood at the door quietly for a few seconds. He raised his hand to knock, though he felt he did not have to.

“Come in Shuren,” said a voice from inside the room.

Shuren was dumbfounded. His hand was still in the air. Through his entire life of knowing Rollan, he was always capable of amazing Shuren. He entered the room quietly. For the first time in his life, Shuren caught Rollan doing something imaginable. He was sitting promptly in an armchair, with a book placed in his hands.

“Rollan, are you reading?” Shuren asked astonished.

Rollan looked up at Shuren as if he had said something wrong. “Ah yes, I am actually. Not quite often will you find me reading a book these days.”

Shuren took a seat across from Rollan. “I remember when you wanted me to get you that copy of The Gospel of Oryk.” Rollan closed his book and smiled. “Why was it that you wanted me to get that for you? You never actually received the book from me.”

“Oh well, I’ve read that book more times than I have cast any spell,” Rollan stood up and went into his back room. “I just wanted you to know a little about the world that you are prophesied to save.”

Shuren frowned. One thing that could always make Shuren frown was the fact that he was chosen to save the world. He never quite got over the fact that a seventeen year old boy was to vanquish evil from the world of Oryk. Shuren though more of the book he was to deliver to Rollan. Than suddenly, a subject popped into Shuren‘s head, something he forgotten all about until recently. “Rollan, what happened that night? When I went to give you that book, you were gone.”

Rollan entered the room with an armful of books. He placed them on the table between the two. He sat down and paused for a moment. Shuren began to wonder if he was going to answer at all. Rollan raised his hand and began stroking his white beard. “Well Shuren,” he said. “What happened to me was ironic, really.”

“Well, let’s hear it than,” Shuren said eagerly.

“Earlier that day, I spotted a black bolt of lightning in the forest neighboring Hogony. I was preparing to investigate it when you came to my house,” Rollan explained.

Shuren remembered correctly. He saw a man in a black coat in the forest that day, it was obviously a Mawbryn. “Rollan, I remember seeing a Mawbryn that day. It was the first time I had seen one, I fled as fast as I could.”

“That’s right; you came out of the forest that day. When you came to my doorstep, I wanted you to get me that book, knowing I wouldn’t be there when you came back. I suspect that you read some of it that day,” Rollan said. Shuren nodded. “Well, after you left, I left the village and scouted the forest, and no doubt I saw a Mawbryn that day. I followed him, and he led me into the graveyard of which you found me in. He saw me and summoned the rest of his squad. I met every single member of the Mawbryn that day.”

Shuren was astounded; Rollan met with every Mawbryn member and was still alive. “Exactly how many members were there?”

Rollan paused again. He looked up and took a breath. “. . . There were seventeen of them.”

Shuren felt as if he were struck in the chest. There were seventeen of them! “There were seventeen?” Rollan nodded. “What about the leader? Was he there?”

“Yes, he was there.” Rollan said. “His power compared to the rest of them is on a different scale. The sixteen members of Mawbryn I could handle. They attacked me and I was able to fight them off. But their leader, he was about matched to me, probably stronger. If it were me and him one on one, I might have been able to fight him off, but there were too many of them. They cornered me and the leader began to threaten the village.”

“What did he say?” Shuren wondered out loud.

“He thought that I was still the Ruven, and threatened the village if I did not come with them. I went with them, to their lair. I did not see Garland there; they said he was taking care of some business down south. They tried to keep me there.”

Shuren was still in shock. “Rollan, why is it they wanted you?”

Rollan began to stare at the books sitting before him. “They wanted me because they though that I was the Ruven.”

Shuren looked up at Rollan staggered. “They took you because they thought you were the Ruven? What would they want with the Ruven?”

“I’m not sure. I knew that if I told them I wasn’t the Ruven, they would come after a massive load of others, so I kept my mouth shut.”

“You risked your life to protect mine. . .” Shuren realized.

“Don’t worry about that Shuren, I’m alive and that matters.” Rollan said. He took another breath and continued, “Anyway, they realized that I wasn’t the Ruven anymore. They seemed to think that the Ruven lived somewhere in Hogony, so that’s when they sealed me into the wall and attacked Hogony.”

Shuren was now frustrated. He was the reason his village was attacked, and he was the reason Rollan was in danger. In a way, Bastian was right, he was the reason Rollan was taken. “So it’s all my fault.”

Rollan shook his head, “Shuren, you did not ask for any of this. You did not let this happen intentionally.”

Shuren clenched his fist. “So now that means he will come after me now that he knows I’m the Ruven. So even just being here is a danger to everyone.”

Rollan said nothing for a moment. Than he said, “Well that depends. Were they already in danger for fighting the war? Danger could not have increased any more just by knowing you are hear. If they were really planning on taking you, they would’ve attacked right after the battle, when we were weak and in need of a leader.”

Shuren sighed. He leaned back into his armchair and tried to relax. Than, something came to his mind. “Rollan, since you were once the Ruven. Could you, by any chance, teach me about it?” Shuren tried not to raise his hopes, but Rollan was his last chance.

Rollan slowly shook his head. “It’s true that I was taught by Master Zelzor himself, I was never taught the spell,” Rollan said sadly.

“Why would he not teach it to you? You were the Ruven,” Shuren wondered.

“That I do not know, but remember what I said in Veryala,” Rollan informed.

Shuren nodded. He looked at the books that sat in front of him. “What are these for?” He picked up a hard covered red book and opened the page. They were not of common language, but some words he was able to pick up. “It’s in Ingle language, right?”

“Correct,” Rollan said as Shuren handed him the book. “I believe that it can give us a start about the Neo Crystal.”

“That’s right, the crystal’s legends did originate from Ingles,” Shuren said. He thought of how Karoline would be able to help. “I’ll go get Karoline and Lloyd.” Rollan nodded. Shuren stood up and walked outside.

He made his way through the halls of Aela-Doria. He searched in Lloyd’s room but he was not present. He decided to check outside. On his way to the main hall, he spotted Karoline. She was standing next to the pillar they were both at yesterday. She was leaning against it with her arm wrapped around it. She seemed so peaceful, just staring out into the world.

Shuren approached her apprehensively. He crept up beside her. She turned and looked at him and smiled. Suddenly, a light breeze blew into the hall, causing her luscious brown hair to flow in the wind. It was such a coincidence to happen at that moment. Shuren was caught breathless. “Erm, Rollan needs us, and Lloyd also. Have you seen him?” Shuren said quickly to not awkward the moment.

She turned her attention back to the view before her, continuing her thousand mile gaze. “I think Lloyd is training with Athar. I will be at Rollan’s room soon,” She said as she walked back through the halls.

Shuren let out the breath he had been holding. He shook off his feelings and walked outside and the downward bridge that led him to the training grounds. No doubt, he found Lloyd and Athar practicing archery. Also, Wresta, Strata and Linkouz were there.

“Hey guys, how are your injuries?” Shuren asked them.

Linkouz looked up with enthusiasm, “Nothing Niance couldn’t heal. She was amazing! I can’t believe healing would be so great.”

“I think Linkouz has a little crush on the Zelze,” Lloyd said as he finished up his training. The others laughed. “How are you doing Shuren?”

“I’ve been better. Lloyd, Rollan wants to see us,” Shuren said. Lloyd nodded.

Shuren turned around and began walking until Athar called out, “Sir Ruven, what is going to happen at the meeting tomorrow?”

Shuren stopped dead in his tracks. He had no idea about a meeting that was taking place. “What meeting?” He turned around and saw Athar land on Suxar. He walked up to them.

“Everyone in Aela-Doria was informed of this. Surely, you, of all people knew about this,” Athar explained.

Shuren lowered his eyebrows in confusion. “Well, I guess now I do . . .” Without another word, Shuren began heading towards Rollan’s room. Shuren pondered about the meeting. Why was he not informed of this? He began to feel frustrated. Shuren walked faster to reach Rollan’s room.

Karoline, Rollan and Lloyd were discussing about the meeting when Shuren walked into the room. They grew silent as Shuren sat down in the last empty chair. There was silence for a few moments when Lloyd asked, “What else should we discuss tomorrow, Shuren?”

Surprised, Shuren tried to act as if he was clueless, “What meeting?” Lloyd looked at Karoline confused. “Is there something that I should know about?” Shuren acted flawlessly.

“I’m sorry,” Karoline began, “I forgot. The meeting was scheduled to be tomorrow. We are supposed to talk about our next action.”

“Now that Garland has begun recruiting forcefully, we practically have no chance of winning in numbers.” Lloyd explained.

Shuren did not realize that Lloyd and Karoline had already been notified about Garland, yet again, Shuren was the last to know. He pushed the thought aside. He asked, “How far has Garland’s recruiters traveled?”

“According to Thegor, they have reached Aremac, which is west of Veryala. Since most Ingles live in Lekay, they have not reached that far. It also has only been a few weeks after the battle.” Rollan said.

“Then they have not reached Hogony yet,” Shuren said reassured. “I say that we should organize a group of Zelzes to recruit villagers. They would be able to fly with their Dragons to reach them faster than us.”

“Yes I agree with that, and we should continue searching for the Neo Crystal.” Lloyd agreed.

“Has anyone have an idea of what it means?” Karoline asked. There was no response around the room.

“Actually,” Rollan then said with a smile, “I think I have one.” The three of them looked at Rollan with disbelief. “It’s fairly simple actually. There are three places on this main continent of Oryk that are surrounded by nothing but water. There is the Ingle town of Lekay that is surrounded by the Esanci River. There also the ruins of Kyladin wrapped around by the Rocdom River. Then there is also Hogony, surrounded by the Aimon River.”

Shuren was shocked to here Hogony in the statement. “So these places are the ruins that holds the keys?” he asked.

“I’m guessing. It’s the only thing that seems logical at the moment.” Rollan said.

“But then what if it is not supposed to be logical? Maybe it doesn’t even exist?” Karoline said in return.

“That doesn’t even matter. If Garland is after it, it must not be good. Whether is exists or not, we have to stop his plot,” reacted Lloyd.

“So do we go after these keys?” Shuren asked. Shuren was not sure of how he felt about Hogony. He was half excited that this was his chance to travel back to Hogony, but it also worried Shuren that it would be a target of Garland.

“It is up to you Shuren,” Rolland said. “You are the leader and you must make the decision of what to do.”

Without hesitation, Shuren said, “I say we go after these keys and let some Zelzes recruit for the war.” Lloyd and Karoline agreed, Rollan had no response. Shuren tried to pay no mind to it, but not having Rollan’s approval bothered him. He shook off the feeling and asked, “So when is this meeting?”

“Noon tomorrow morning,” Karoline said.

“Well I guess that’s it for our small meeting, the big one is tomorrow, at noon. Get some rest everyone, war causes a lot of stress, especially on young ones.” Everyone stood up and began heading for the door. Shuren walked out and immediately tasted fresh air. It was such a relief to have left that enclosed room. While walking, he realized that he did not even show Karoline the Ingle book. He sighed as he walked back to his room. His usual positive mood had been eroded by stress. He made his back to his room.

After heating and eating the meal that was placed in his room, Shuren washed up and went to bed.

Ruveneska: The Scavenge, Chapter 2: Love Struck

by Darro C.

Shuren took a deep breathe. He tried to hold it in but couldn’t. “Ah-choo!” Shuren shrieked. His sneeze seemed to catch a few attentions of Zelzes, but he paid no mind. He continued to walk aimlessly throughout the halls of Aela-Doria. He stopped in the grand hall and stared out through the pillars that held up the mountain top. The sun was near setting. He enjoyed watching the sun set, and with him being so busy lately, this had been his first in a while.

Shuren noticed that the only he was in the grand hall, but he didn’t look back, he kept his eyes fixed upon the beautiful scene before him. He had not even realized someone was coming. A hand placed upon Shuren’s shoulder that made him jump. He turned to see who it was. A pair of fierce red eyes met his. She had a beautiful elegant face, and her luscious brown hair was let down. It was Karoline.

His previous journey with Karoline zoomed through his mind. Shuren was attacked by Zelzor’s Demon Dragon, but Karoline was there to save him. Shuren was unconscious when they met, but eventually they were acquainted. Later she joined Shuren on his journey to save Rollan, which turned into so much more. Though all this time, Shuren barley knew anything about Karoline. She had always been closed from other people. Shuren knew nothing about her past, likes and dislikes, or even why she joined Shuren in his journey.

A familiar feeling settled in his stomach at the though of finally being alone with Karoline. After the grieved battle Shuren wasn’t at all interested in anything but being alone, nothing but the loss of his master, Zelzor, would be on his mind. Now that she had caught him off guard, he did not want to anger her by fleeing.

“It’s beautiful,” Karoline said as the sunset caught her attention.

A sudden memory returned to Shuren. He remembered back in Hogony when he was talking to Karoline alone, he called her beautiful, and they had been awkward after. He was certain not to make the same mistake. “Yes, very,” he said quietly.

Shuren felt her fingers brush against his. With instinct, Shuren grabbed hold of her hand. It was sweaty and cold, but Shuren liked it for some odd reason. After what seemed to be centuries they let go when they heard footsteps in the hall.

Karoline turned her head the other way, slightly pink. Shuren turned to see who was coming. A lean Grundell with long arms approached them, it was Lloyd. He didn’t seem to have noticed those two holding hands, but Shuren wasn’t exactly sure.

Shuren took a glance at Lloyd; he wasn’t wearing any battle clothing which was unusual. Now he was even taller than Shuren, and his long black hair was let down over his red headband. His long arms that dangled from his broad shoulders were waving back and fourth as he walked toward them.

Shuren remembered when he first met Lloyd back on his journey. Shuren had just found out about him being a Grundell, and when they approached his old village, Lloyd was there to greet him, but not in a friendly manner. Lloyd attacked Shuren, only to protect the village of intruders. Shuren won, though he could not remember if it was by sheer luck or Lloyd was going easy. Lloyd never seemed weaker than Shuren at all.

“Shuren,” Lloyd said. He hurried himself to reach Shuren, “Rollan wishes to see you, and you Karoline.” Lloyd said as he turned and to lead them back to Rollan’s room.

Shuren followed as did Karoline, slowly though. They walked through the webbed halls of Aela-Doria. They reached a stubby door in a hall of its own. They knocked and an elderly Gippy opened it; Rollan.

Back when Shuren was hated amongst his villagers, Rollan was the only one Shuren felt a connection towards. Rollan was the leader of the almighty Flaming Falcons, the rebellion of war times. He was an all-powerful wizard, whose powers were still unknown to Shuren.

They were let into a small but comfortable room, where four chairs sat in the center in the form of a circle. Shuren took a seat followed by Lloyd, Karoline, and Rollan who had just shut the door. Shuren looked at Rollan, who had a concerned face. Shuren assumed Rollan had bad news to tell them.

“Rollan, what is it?” Karoline asked, who also noticed Rollan’s concern.

Rollan paused for a moment. He simply said, “There is a problem . . ."

Shuren was not very fond of bad news. He was ready to bolt out of the door, Rollan looked more concerned now than ever. “What is it Rollan?”

He took a deep breath and began to explain, “Garland is now out in the open with his army.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Karoline asked immediately.

Rollan opened his mouth to talk, but instead of his voice being heard, Lloyd said, “It means everyone, or at least most people in Oryk should be well aware of the war by now.”

Lloyd looked at Rollan and Rollan nodded back, signaling that Lloyd said it correctly.

“Well, how many people did not know about Garland to start?” Shuren said sarcastically.

“Not very many,” Karoline said seriously, shooting down Shuren’s light attitude. “You did not even know who Garland was. We Ingles are very secretive about our business. Barley anyone knew about him outside of our race.”

Shuren seemed puzzled, “Well that’s a good thing isn’t it? I mean now that they know they will want to help us, right?”

Rollan shook his head. Karoline made an angry face and Lloyd clenched his fist. It seemed that Shuren was the only one who didn’t understand what that meant. Shuren looked around as if they were crazy.

“No Shuren, it does not,” Rollan answered eventually. “It is true that all of Oryk knows about the war by now, but it does not mean they will even partake in it. Should they choose to include themselves however, they would not be able to reach us, assuming if they want to join us.” There was a loud screech in the back room causing Rollan left the room for a moment. Seconds later, Rollan came back in with a tray of tea and a kettle of boiling water. Rollan handed everyone a cup of tea.

Shuren took a sip. The steaming water shocked Shuren, but calmed him as it drizzled down his throat. “Well if they don’t want to partake in the war, at least they won’t get in our way,” Shuren said honestly.

Rollan shook his head again. He placed his cup down on his coaster and eyed Shuren. “Garland is forcing people to join his army.”

Lloyd did not seem surprised; it seemed as if he had heard the news before. Karoline, made a slight gasp, but did not seem so shocked. Shuren, on the other hand, struggled to put his cup down gently.

“He can’t do that!” Shuren yelled. He stood up and made his chair collapse behind him.

“Yes, he can,” Rollan said quietly. He raised his voice almost to an angry tone and said, “And he is enslaving anyone who doesn’t.”

“That’s not fair!” Shuren said even louder.

“Of course it’s not, it’s Garland after all,” said Karoline.

Shuren turned around and forced himself out of the door. He stormed throughout the hallway and back into the Grand Hall. It was dark now, but Shuren made his way outside and to his old training grounds with Zelzor.

He sat down on a rock and clenched his jaw tightly. Thoughts of Garland building a bigger army flashed through his mind. He remembered his sinister voice, he pictured him laughing as Oryk shot up in flames. He forced his mind to go black, it was too much to imagine. Yet, Shuren did not feel right being angry at Garland.

Shuren knew that he was supposed to destroy Garland, but he could never imagine himself doing it. He felt guilty whenever he forced himself to think it, and afterward, confused. In the pit of his stomach, he felt no hatred for Garland. This happened often, even after the death of his master, Zelzor. Even though his master’s death was caused by Garland, Shuren still felt no dislike of Zelzor. The more he though about it, it seemed more of his own fault that Zelzor was dead. “But it was master who banned me from the fight!” he thought to himself. Now it felt like Zelzor caused his own death. “No! It was Garland’s doing!” he thought to himself.

He cleared his mind of those thoughts and tried to calm himself. He picked up a rock and concentrated energy to his palm as he turned it to heat. The rock melted on his hand, just as taught to him by Zelzor. Shuren froze the rock and threw it down the cliff. He looked at the waterfall next to him. He remembered Zelzor stopping the entire waterfall with a point of his finger. Shuren raised his index finger and shot a barrier of energy to the water. As the water reached the cliff it stopped. More and more water built up against the barrier, making it even heavier. Shuren released the water. It went searing down to the lake and created a huge splash.

When Shuren was finally calm, he thought about the war. Garland has probably doubled his numbers by now. Shuren knew that their last battle did not include all of his infantry. Even then they were greatly outnumbered. To make things worse, they lost many soldiers during the battle. Shuren needed more troops. “Number’s don’t win a battle,” thought Shuren, “but we still need them.”

Shuren thought back to all of his readings. Gippies were the most populace in Oryk. After the Gippy Grundell war, Grundell villages decreased dramatically. The Gippies were known for the art of magic, and the Grundells for the art of combat. To get both of them on his side would be significant gain, but then they have been enemies ever since. They would never fight amongst each other.

Shuren felt a tiny drop of water on his right cheek. He looked up to see rain clouds surrounding the moon. Another drop struck his nose. Gradually the drops picked up in speed. Within minutes it was pouring over Aela-Doria. Shuren created a barrier over himself as he walked towards the Grand Hall. Rain drops ricocheted off his barrier as they came charging at him. Shuren made his way through the bridges completely dry.

He paced through the halls and hiked up to his room. As he approached his doors, he noticed that there was a crack in his doorway. He was certain that he closed his doors completely. He silently crept into his dim room. He noticed a dark figure at his window. Shuren held out his palm. “Ferina,” Shuren muttered under his breath. A small spark emitted from Shuren’s hand as a ball of flame hovered over Shuren’s hand. The room was suddenly lit.

The figure was turned towards the window. It was a woman wearing a black robe with long silver hair. Her slender body turned around as Shuren lit his hand. It was Catalina. She had a shocked face, until she saw Shuren. Her face lit up with a smile. “Sir Ruven,” she said quietly.

“What were you doing in here?” Shuren asked lightly. He pointed at a candle on his desk and shot a flame. The candle lit the room just as bright as his hand.
She looked at the candle gracefully. “It started to rain as I walked by and I heard the rain pouring in your room. So I came in to close the window,” she said smiling.

Shuren couldn’t help but stare, her smile was so beautiful. “Oh, well thank you.” He smiled back. She approached Shuren swiftly. Before he knew it, she was inches away from him. He froze. His heart throbbed in his chest. “Get away from her!” his mind screamed. Though no matter how many times this happened, he was never able to. She was simply too stunning.

Catalina eyed Shuren vigorously. He noticed that he was taller than her by several inches now. Her smile was almost sinister now. He felt her breath against his neck, slow and steady. Shuren, on the other hand, had trouble breathing.
“It was my pleasure,” she said seductively. She kissed her fingers and placed them on lips as she walked out of the door.

Shuren was left dumbfounded in his room. Eventually, Shuren gained his senses. He lit another candle, making the room even brighter. He looked at the pool in the center of his room. The water was enchanted for healing.

He stripped himself down. The air was cold against his bare skin. He felt the water; it was cool. He placed his finger in the pool; he released some energy to heat it just right. He jumped in and immediately felt relaxed. After several minutes, he began to scrub himself. Once he was done that, he took one final rinse and reluctantly left the pool.

He dried himself and began putting on his night clothes. They were soft and comfortable. Shuren wondered if Garland ever slept in nigh clothes, or even on a mattress. It was hard to picture such an evil person to be normal and relaxed as he was.

Once he was done, he jumped on his comfortable mattress. Sudden tiredness rushed through his body. He turned around and blew out his candles. The room turned pitch black, only being lit occasionally by the flashes of the roaring thunderstorm.

Somehow, to Shuren, a thunderstorm was peaceful. The rhythm of the rain followed by thunder was calming. Shuren listened to it carefully. It was almost a lullaby. Eventually, his eyes shut, and he was asleep.

Ruveneska: The Scavenge, Chapter 1: Memorial Grounds

by Darro C.

Jump to:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Cotoz laced his black leather boot tightly. He armed himself with his usual steel long sword. He wrapped his sheathed knife on the side of his left leg. His red cape fluttered as he stood up.

His cabin was still damaged. The floor was stained with black from fire in the back right corner of his house. The corner was rebuilt with mismatching wood leaving a dramatic color change on his wall. Spots of sunshine shone through the roof. It was merely piled up with tree bark, but not enough to cover all of it.
He left his poorly fixed log cabin to view it from outside. The only window was covered by a white cloth that hung loosely. The door was barley hinged to the cabin. Scars of battle stained the walls.

Flashes of the previous year shot through Cotoz’s mind. He remembered fighting a large number of Sleepwalkers, mindless corpses that were controlled by Ingles, to protect his village, Hogony, from total destruction.

The village of Hogony was barley saved from extinction. Though by three main leaders, they were able to rebuild it. Hogony was restored, not perfectly, but adequately with a new place added; the Memorial Grounds.

The Memorial Grounds was built shortly after the attack in Hogony. It was built on the left side of Hogony, out of the wall perimeter, but was connected by a large steel gate. It was half the village in size. Inside were graves and remains of precious people that passed away, most were from the ambush.

Cotoz walked through the village. The cabins were rebuilt better than his, but battle stains still showed. People were continuing life as if the battle never happened, with one exception. There was one thing that the ambush had certainly changed, and it was their arrogance towards their missing hero, Shuren Willans. Up until that moment, Shuren was the most hated person in the village, until he saved them from the Ingle’s attack.

Cotoz reached the stream that bordered the village. He walked over the bridge and saw the only house that was not harmed, but it did look as if it was. Though now it seemed in better condition than the others. Cotoz heard people walk over the bridge, he turned to see Lorica and Blurton approach him. Lorica, the magical archer was still as tall and thin as usual and Blurton was as gruff and muscular as before. Lorica and Blurton were the other two leaders that helped rebuild Hogony.

The trio stood together and peered at Shuren’s house. The tree entered the untidy house. A hole of missing floorboards caught there eye. Not surprised, the trio began inspecting the house. A glare from underneath the straw that the floorboards stood above frequently caught Lorica’s eye, but he ignored it.

They found that Shuren’s house was not left as it was since the ambush. Someone had obviously been there, but whom? No one entered the house ever since the tragic day. But still, items were disturbed and out of usual place since the day.

The trio had received word that there were noises from the cabin during the late night, but no one had confirmed that it truly happened. Though now, they had proof that something had entered. Drawers were open, books lied on the floor and even more floorboards were torn from the floor.

After a few more moments of silence Cotoz led the group out of the cabin and back through the village. The pathways were emptier than earlier. Stands and shops were closed as well as homes. They continued walking until they approached a giant fancy house. The trio entered Bastian’s house to find the entire village population waiting patiently.

Cotoz, Lorica and Blurton were the new declared leaders of Hogony. They had issued a meeting on that day at the usual meeting spot, Bastian’s house.

Bastian was the previous leader of Hogony, besides the elder. He was a rude inconsiderate Gippy whom was the one that led the Ingles to attack them. The traitor left on that day and no sign of him was found.

The house interior had dramatically changed from a home into a meeting spot. Bookcases that held fancy books were replaced with important documents. Fancy furniture used for show was now being used as regular comfort. Rooms were not filled with armory and weapons for protection. The Gippies may have lived as if it never happened, but they were definitely making sure it didn’t again.

The trio settled themselves in their usual spot, in the center of the room. The chattering had seized when they sat down. Everyone turned their attention towards them. The children playing in the next room had no mind in these meetings.

“Well, what’s the news?” asked Trone, the farmer. He was a Gippy who despised Shuren almost as much as Bastian did.

“As you all know, things in Oryk have been changing. Whole villages have been issued under an army at a time. I fear that our village will be also soon,” Cotoz said with concern.

Another Gippy shouted, “Then we won’t do it!”

Lorica eyed the Gippy with amusement, “It’s either fight for them, or be enslaved.”

Silence fluttered throughout the room. No one had a reply. Suddenly, Trone shouted, “How strong can they be?”

“Stronger than you can imagine. We’re talking about the army that nearly enslaved all of Oryk all those years ago,” Blurton said irritated. He looked at Cotoz. “Our only hope is to join the other army.”

Confusion replaced the Gippies’ faces from shock. A middle aged Gippy, named Iawor, said, “The other army?”

Cotoz took a deep breath. “As you all know, our fellow villagers, Shuren and Rollan, left the village to visit his home village, along with Miss Karoline. Well it turns out that they were drafted in the war, by the Zelzes.” Cotoz waited for a few moments for a reaction, but none came.

Quietly, a hand raised in the air. Lorica nodded at the young Gippy woman. She said shyly, “Zelzes are real?” Lorica nodded again. “Then that must mean that Dragons are also real . . . “

“Quite true,” Blurton said.

“What is the point of this war?” Trone questioned.

“As you all should know, Ingolor attempted to take over Oryk, but failed by Lord Zelzor.”

The Gippy woman raised her hand again, and before being called on, she said, “I thought that was just a myth, a legend.”

“Well it is true, trust me,” Lorica said certainly.

“We feel that what was not accomplished before is being finished now, by his grandson,” Cotoz explained.

Now fear replaced confusion. More silence swept the room. “Well what are we going to do?” the Gippy woman asked.

Everyone now placed their eyes on Cotoz, the battle expert. Cotoz was certainly the one who would lead training. Sure Lorica and Blurton were excellent fighters, but Cotoz was mainly better. “What we must do is prepare.”

The villagers seemed to be overthrown by a sudden blast of confidence. They all had faces of eagerness. “Train, right?” asked Trone.

Cotoz nodded. “Ever since the time of war has ended, we have slacked and lost our potential as sorcerers and warriors. We will train and our ancestors will be proud. We will fight for the good of Oryk.”

“This Garland fellow,” stammered Trone, “he’s the real deal?” The trio nodded. “His grandfather really did almost succeed?” The trio nodded again.
“Who will train us?” asked the Gippy woman.

Lorica stood up. “I will train u in magical arts to the best of my ability.”

Blurton paused for a moment, gradually; he stood up and said, “I guess I will train you in survival and smart decisions.”

Cotoz said immediately, “And I will train you in the art of combat.”

“Well what will we do afterwards?” asked the same Gippy woman.

The trio sat back down, with the exception of Cotoz. They looked puzzled for a moment. Cotoz entered deep thought. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could he was interrupted.

“Will the Grundells be fighting on their side too?” asked Trone with a near frightened face.

Lorica said, “I am not going to lie, yes, the Grundells are on their side.”

A loud roar of protest filled their ears. The village obviously did not want anything to do with their eternal enemies, the Grundells.

A generation ago, the Gippies and the Grundells were engaged in a frantic war. The real reason of the war was still unclear, but so many died. They could not forgive one another.

“Can I have your attention please?” Lorica said. He was not heard over the loud chatter. “Attention please!” he said once again, but they still didn’t hear him. “ATTENTION DAMN IT!” he screamed, the room silenced at once.

The room settled down. Trone looked as if he were ready to throw a fit, but no one dared to say a word. Quietly, the Gippy woman raised her hand again. She opened her mouth and stuttered, “I - I have no problem with it.”
“Shuren is a Grundell, and you accepted him,” Blurton began, “did you all forget that?”
“Alright Blurton, say we somehow managed, even if we do join, who can beat Garland?” asked Trone, who seemed to be unanimous with the rest of the villagers, “I mean you did say this was the army that nearly took over Oryk all those years ago.”

“One, his name is Shuren Willans,” Cotoz said.

Ruveneska, Chapter 11: Yet Another Journey By Darro C.

Shuren looked at the army of Zelzes before him; they were ready to follow his orders. He turned and gaped at Zelzor, “You organized an army for me?”

Zelzor nodded. “Shuren, you are ready to fight, I have trained you well. This is it, the war.” He signaled the Zelzes on the ground to take flight. He turned back to Shuren and said, “Prepare yourself Shuren. We will meet them so they don’t reach the mountain.” He took a deep breath and screamed, “FOR ORYK!”

A loud cheer rose from the army as they flew forward. Each Zelze soared through the air swiftly and with such harmony. They seemed as if they were born to fly.

Shuren called for a Zelze. A dark green Dragon halted in front of Shuren. A Zelze called Shuren to climb on. His black hair was tied back in a ponytail that reached his back. He had a clean face, and dark green eyes. He jumped on with the weight of his weapons barley slowing him.

“I am Thegor,” he said, he pointed to his Dragon and told Shuren, “and this is Rissam. It is an honor to battle with you Sir Ruven.”

“I thank you,” Shuren said. He signaled for Thegor to fly. As he did, his army followed behind.

They flew forward. The vision of the mountains before them grew each second of flight. The wind blew Shuren’s half white hair backward. Ahead of them they could other Zelzes flying for battle. The sky was filled with Dragons and Zelzes.

Within minutes of flying, Shuren and Thegor passed the mountain range of Aela-Doria. The sun glared in Shuren’s face, making it hard to see. As they flew lower Shuren could see giant plains that stretched out as far as the Esanci River. That’s where he saw it: a massive bunch of creatures marching across the plains. They would be right above them if they continued to fly at the same rate.

Shuren noticed some Dragons were carrying large boulders. Shuren smiled, and then signaled for them to drop them. A flock of boulders rained on the army, knocking many of them down.

Shuren flew closer with Thegor and Rissam. He was able to see the build of the army. The front marched Oughalds that knocked anything that was in their path; behind them were trolls that barley kept up. After the trolls, were the Sleepwalkers followed by a group of Ingles.

Soon, the army spotted the Dragons and began shooting arrows. Rissam dodged the ones that flew its way. Shuren told Thegor to swoop down and Rissam to attack with fire.

“I will shield Rissam from arrows,” Shuren said.

“I trust you Sir Ruven,” he said.

Rissam glided downward. Shuren used a small portion of his energy to guard the Dragon’s unshielded areas. It opened its mouth as a dark blue flame ignited. It lunged forward and destroyed a group of Oughalds. Shuren felt a few stings on his shield from arrows.

“We have to fight on the ground Thegor,” Shuren said, “or they will draw nearer to the mountain.”

“What of the Dragons?” he asked.

Shuren thought for a moment as Rissam gained elevation. “Have them drop more boulders that should help us on land.”

Thegor nodded. Rissam turned around and flew back. Now they were above an empty area in front of the army. Rissam swooped down and landed as others did so. Shuren dismounted himself. Once he was on the ground, Rissam took flight with the other Dragons. Behind him was an army of Zelzes ready for combat.

“We are outnumbered,” Shuren thought. Their army was less by three times. “But they are not as strong as we are.” He turned around and shouted, “Prepare yourselves everyone!”

Shuren heard a lot of clang as the Zelzes armed themselves. Each had a shield and either a sword or spear.

He looked forward as the army approached them. He looked up in the skies for Zelzor or Lloyd. He spotted a red Dragon that stood out; Zelzor rode it. He looked for the sapphire blue Dragon that Athar and Lloyd rode, but they were nowhere to be found.

He switched his mind to the army that marched towards them.

“Arm your bows!” Shuren hollered back. A mass line of bows aimed the air with arrows. “Now fire!” Shuren yelled. The air was filled with swooshing as the arrows glided through the air. The enemy army did not slow down.

“Get ready!” Shuren said. The army was not far. He clutched his scimitar. “ATTACK!” roared Shuren. He ran forward and clashed with an Oughald.
Shuren found it easy to defeat these creatures. Not only was he able to evade the attacks better than before, he was able to use magic to block them. Shuren jabbed his blade forward, disintegrating a demon troll. His slashed his blade behind that killed an Oughald.

He looked around as chaos rose. He was engulfed with flames of battle. The Zelzes easily overpowered the creatures. Each second, more beasts fell to the ground dead and the fire of the plains grew. Above, Dragons burned down Sleepwalkers and threw giant objects.

In an instant, the tide of the battle changed. The army of Sleepwalkers grew dramatically. The Zelzes began to fall, Dragons began to cry of pain; they were loosing. No matter how many times the Sleepwalkers were killed, they were revived again. He thought of how to kill the Ingles so the Sleepwalkers stopped coming, “We have to attack from the back.” He looked at the struggling army and thought, “We don’t even have enough to fight here.”

Shuren ran back into the pile of chaos and began slaying Oughalds. It was more difficult than before, now that the Zelzes were weak, Shuren had to protect others while protecting himself, but still he managed.

“Grundells and Ingles are here!” Shuren heard Blayger yell from the sky.
Shuren felt a shock of excitement. “Thegor, take me into the air,” Shuren called. Thegor summoned Rissam and they took flight. Shuren looked out in the distance.
Shuren saw an army approach them. It was great in numbers. In the front, Shuren saw a familiar group riding Paleps towards him. Linkouz, Strata, Wresta, Zeal, Nina, and a bunch of Grundells were charging at full force. Beside them were Karoline, Ajek, Rojan, and Morphin riding to them fully equipped.

“We have hope!” Blayger shouted to Shuren and Thegor.

“Yes we do!” Shuren shouted back. He told Thegor, “Please tell Rissam to fly to them, I need to talk to them.”

Thegor nodded. Rissam glided toward the army ahead of them. Shuren saw Karoline stare at him. Rissam swooped down as they came to a halt. Shuren jumped off and ran to Karoline.

“Shuren,” she said when he was close enough.

“Everyone attack the Ingles from behind, so we can envelope them,” Shuren instructed.
Karoline turned to her army, “Get ready to fight.” Everyone seemed to already be armed.

Linkouz turned to his army and said, “ATTACK!”

The battlefield flooded with roars and yells as the army ran to battle. Karoline and Shuren stayed behind as Thegor and the army went to fight.

“We were loosing until you came, now I think we may win,” Shuren said with courage.

“We came at the right moment?” Karoline asked.

“A little earlier would have been nice,” Shuren said back chuckling.

There was a loud clash in the sky. Shuren and Karoline looked up to see the clouds began to turn dark and scurry together. The sun was covered up as darkness surrounded the plains. For a moment, the battle stopped; everyone was curious to what was happening. A black bolt of lightning struck the ground far behind Shuren and Karoline. A familiar dark smoke rose from the ground. The smoke cleared up to reveal five men in black; the Mawbryn.

A sudden burst of terror surged through Shuren. He was ready to flee for his life. Five Mawbryn were on the battlefield! Shuren remembered his last encounter with three of them, he was defeated by just one, but this time he was stronger. He was sure he could defeat one.

“Ah, young Ruven, so we meet again,” said the Mawbryn in the middle.

Shuren was silent. He was even more terrified. Shuren was face to face with the Mawbryn. He pulled off his hood that revealed an ominous face. He had black eyes that stared cruelly at Shuren. His long dark silver hair covered half of his slender face. He was definitely an Ingle, but he was superior to an average one.

“Who are you guys?” Shuren asked.

He smiled. “It is only polite to know your killer’s name. I am Belzor, your slayer, young Ruven,” he said malevolently.

“Shuren, we can take them,” Karoline said, equipping herself.

Belzor laughed. The Mawbryn on his left ran and knocked Karoline down before she was able to react.

“Karoline!” Shuren yelped. He ran to her, but before he could reach her, he was stopped by Belzor.

“Kinaz, you and I will fight this here Ruven,” Belzor said to the Mawbryn on his right. “Dragar, you kill that traitor elsewhere.” Dragar nodded and threw Karoline away from them. He turned to the remaining Mawbryn and said, “Scout and destroy all enemies, but leave Zelzor for Lord Garland.”

“Garland?” Shuren exclaimed as the others ran into the battlefield.

“Garland was coming! That changed the entire level of battle!”

“Lord, Garland, for that mistake I will have your head!” Belzor said. He punched Shuren across the face.

Shuren was picked up by Kinaz. For a moment Kinaz did nothing. Shuren kicked him and was free. He charged at Kinaz swiftly. Kinaz was caught off guard and barley dodged Shuren’s attack. Shuren shifted his weight toward Belzor and swung. Belzor blocked it and struck back. Shuren dodged it and saw Kinaz strike at Shuren again. He smacked his sword with his scimitar and blew him with Dinwoa.
Shuren turned to see Belzor shocked. Furiously, Belzor swung at Shuren, who dodged it. Shuren ducked and swung upward, but found nothing there as he swung. Belzor had disappeared before his eyes. There was a strike of pain at Shuren’s face as he flew through the air.

Shuren was picked up by Kinaz. He glared at Shuren before punching him. Shuren was sent back to the ground. He spat out blood before being lifted again, this time by Belzor.

“This is where my blade tastes your blood,” Belzor said lifting his blade. He arched his arm backward, ready to stab Shuren. Shuren saw Kinaz walk behind them.

Suddenly, there was a loud swoosh sound, followed by a clang. Belzor turned to see an arrow that was blocked by Kinaz’s sword. Another arrow flew toward them and Kinaz blocked it. Shuren searched for the source. He saw a figure in the sky above them.

It was a Dragon flying beneath the dark sky. Another figure jumped from the Dragon and shot three arrows at them. Kinaz blocked them again as the figure landed, it was Lloyd.

“Lloyd!” exclaimed Shuren. Belzor was distracted for this one moment. Shuren exclaimed, “Ferina!” and shot a ball of flame at Belzor. Belzor dropped Shuren to block.

“Shuren, I’ll take care of this one,” Lloyd said, drawing his arrows. Kinaz ran at Lloyd faster than an Oughald. Lloyd drew him to another area. Now it was only Shuren and Belzor.

Belzor scowled at Shuren. He ran and charged at him. With ease, Shuren dodged it and slashed at Belzor’s left arm. Blood stained Shuren’s blade for the first time. “That should have made him turn to ash!” Belzor was finally on the ground. Shuren lifted him up and placed his scimitar to his neck. “This is it, I’m going to end it now,” Shuren thought to himself. “You are defeated,” Shuren said proudly.

Belzor was furious, but did not make a move. Suddenly, his face turned to a smirk. “You think you are able to slay Lord Garland? I am not the leader of the Mawbryn. My master is three times stronger than I, and Lord Garland is even stronger. Go ahead, slay me, but you will not be able to save these precious friends of yours!”

Shuren lifted his scimitar and slashed Belzor’s chest. Belzor fell to the ground, slain. Shuren cleaned his scimitar on the grass nearby. He looked at the landscape, covered with fire. Cries of battle still filled with air. Dragons were still battling with Zelzes. Grundells and Ingles were still fighting.
Shuren searched for Karoline, but she was nowhere to be found. Among searching for Karoline, Shuren did not find Lloyd either. “They must be in the battle,” insisted Shuren. He started to run back to battle that they seemed to be winning.

* * *

Lloyd stared at Kinaz, who seemed to be enjoying this. They were a far distance apart. Lloyd had the advantage with his bow. Kinaz’s long sword was barley enough to shield him. Lloyd shot another barrage of arrows, one struck Kinaz’s left arm. Kinaz showed no pain.

“What are you?” Lloyd asked.

“Your slayer!” he said back as he quickly ran toward Lloyd.

Kinaz was running to fast for Lloyd to shoot at. He quickly pulled out the short sword on his back and placed his bow on his back. He foresaw Kinaz’s attack and blocked it. Kinaz aimed for Lloyd’s neck, but Lloyd ducked. He heard Kinaz mutter something, but ignored it. Lloyd lunged forward. It struck something hard and fleshy. Lloyd smiled, but as he looked up his grin turned to a frown. Kinaz summoned a Sleepwalker to take the blow. Kinaz elbowed Lloyd’s face, and knocked him to the ground.

“Hmm, you are a strong Grundell,” Kinaz said. “Join us, and you will be spared.”

Lloyd spat blood from his mouth. “Ha, you think this is strength? Why don’t you ask Lyath how strong I really am?” Lloyd unsheathed a knife from his ankle and threw it at Kinaz’s leg. Kinaz showed an expression of shock more than pain. Lloyd rolled backward and stood up.

“How do you know Lyath?” Kinaz asked as he pulled both the knife and the arrow from his body.

“Let’s just say we’ve had a history!” Lloyd said as he ran toward Kinaz. He jumped and struck downward at Kinaz. Kinaz raised his blade and blocked it with ease. Kinaz grabbed Lloyd by the throat.

“Hmm, maybe I’ll ask him right now.” He said as he prepared to stab Lloyd.

Lloyd gagged for air. He managed enough breath to say, “He’s here?”

Kinaz laughed, “Yes he is, but you won’t live to say goodbye!” He struck.

Lloyd used a Grundell shield spell. It was not enough to stop the blow. Kinaz’s blade struck through and impaled Lloyd at his rib cage. Lloyd cried out in pain. Kinaz dropped him and stared at the blood on his blade and smiled. He began to walk away.

Lloyd began to feel his body go numb. He struggled to roll over onto his stomach. The weight on his wound caused him to spit more blood. He began to shift the weight onto his arms and knees. Slowly, and in pain, he stood on his knees. He used every ounce of his energy to maintain balance. He pulled the bow from his back and his remaining four arrows. Kinaz didn’t seem to notice that Lloyd was still alive. Lloyd turned his bow horizontal and aimed two arrows at the back of his knees. He pulled back the string as far as his strength would allow and released.

Swiftly, the arrows cut through the air and headed straight toward Lloyd’s intentions. They struck Kinaz behind his knees, and he yelped in pain as he collapsed to his knees, causing more pain for him. “You’re still alive?”

“I will not die until my goal is accomplished!” said Lloyd as he pulled another arrow.

Kinaz than began to laugh. “You have skills Grundell, I’ll give you that. You may kill me today, but you will not win this war. Lord Garland will wipe all of you out!”

“What does Garland want?” Lloyd asked furiously.

“You’re not worthy of that kind of knowledge!” Kinaz said.

Lloyd felt his fingers slip. The string slipped from his grip and the arrow flew forward. “No!” The arrow struck Kinaz at his heart. He fell to the ground dead. Lloyd couldn’t react fast enough; he had not planned on actually killing him.
Suddenly, the skies grew darker. The pitch black skies stormed with lightning. The air began to feel heavy and Lloyd lost his breath. A cloud of darkness appeared. Lloyd peered at what was happening far in the distance. Than, pain surged throughout his body and he collapsed on the floor.

* * *

Karoline struggled to keep up with Dragar’s speed. Dragar punched Karoline across the face. She took a few steps backward. He caught her hair and pointed his rigid blade sword between her eyes. “Traitors like you will be slain.” He lifted his blade slightly to strike. Karoline reacted; she swung her leg and kicked Dragar. He released her hair to avoid being hit as she tried to hack at his arms. She jumped backward and readied herself for another duel.

Dragar looked at her and said, “Any traitors that stand in our way will be killed.” He ran towards her and clashed with her blade.

It took Karoline both arms to stop his blade, while he used one. Karoline saw his arm move and she jumped back. Dragar reacted and lunged forward and slashed at her. Karoline barley raised her daggers up in time to block. She felt a cold object pass on her arms. She felt a liquid run down her arms, followed by an intense sting. Dragar lifted his leg and kicked her gut forcing her through the air back several yards.

The kick left her breathless. He looked at her arms. There was a long horizontal cut on her right arm leading to her left forearms. She clenched her teeth as they stung even more. She stood up slowly.

Dragar laughed, “You are such a weakling. You weakness is a disgrace to us Ingles. I’ll do Oryk and favor and rid of you myself.” He walked to her.

When Dragar was close enough, Karoline wailed her arms at him, and blood from her wound splashed into his eyes. He covered his eyes and yelped. Karoline ran to him and slashed at him. He jumped back and avoided being hit. “Alayvarda!” he screamed.

Sleepwalkers sprouted from the ground and surrounded Karoline. Karoline tried to fight them off, but they were stronger than usual. She was overpowered and knocked to the ground. Suddenly, there was a flash of white light, and the cloud Sleepwalkers before crumbled to the ground. Karoline looked up to see Rollan behind her with a slender silver staff in his hands.

“Rollan,” Karoline said.

“I’ll take care of this Karoline,” he said as he walked past her and to Dragar.
Dragar’s facial expression changed dramatically. Instead of hatred and killer intent, it was now fear. “You again?” he said nervously.

“Yes, it is,” said Rollan smiling. “And this will be the last time you see me.” He raised his staff and muttered a silent word. Dragar suddenly froze and fell to the ground. Within a spilt second, Dragar was dead.

“That was amazing Rollan,” Karoline gasped.

“Are you alright?” he asked. She nodded. “Where’s Shuren?”

“He’s battling someone I think,” she replied. Suddenly, they felt an ominous aura in the air. The skies grew darker. The pitch black skies stormed with lightning. The air grew heavy and hard to breathe. In the distance, a black cloud of smoke appeared. “What is it?”

“I think I know, follow me,” Rollan said as he led them somewhere onto the battlefield.

* * *

“Shuren,” Shuren heard Zelzor call from above.

“Master, Garland is coming!” he said instantly. Zelzor swooped down and landed ahead of him.

Terror struck Zelzor’s face. “That can’t be true.”

“It is, Belzor said that Garland was coming to kill you,” Shuren explained.

Shuren began to feel a strange portentous presence. He looked down at Belzor’s motionless body. The strange aura was coming from something else. Shuren searched for it, but found no source. Suddenly, the skies grew darker. The pitch black skies stormed with lightning. Shuren gaped at the strange weather conditions. The air began to feel heavy. Shuren collapsed to his knees, struggling to breathe. A small cloud of darkness rose.

Panic struck Shuren’s body. The cloud of smoke cleared to reveal a man. He was wearing a dark suit similar to the Mawbryn, but it was more ominous. He had black hair that passed his piercing black eyes. He looked as old as Cotoz, but more powerful even than Zelzor. “ . . . Garland,” Shuren thought.

Zelzor climbed off the Demon Dragon and stepped before Garland. Zelzor did not seem to be affected by the aura in the air. The Demon Dragon took flight as if he was sent away. “Stay out of this Shuren,” he said.

“But master, I can help-”

“No, stay out!” Zelzor said. He touched Shuren’s chest.

Shuren felt a force, he was sent back through the air. He fell to the ground immobilized. Zelzor did not want Shuren to fight.

“Ah, Zelzor, you have finally come out from your hiding spot,” Garland said cruelly. He tapped the blade at his hip lightly.

“Garland, you will not get what you want,” Zelzor said, “You will be stopped.”

Garland laughed. “Who would that be? I will be stopped by you? Ha, today you will die!” Garland unsheathed his sword and dashed at Zelzor incredibly fast. Shuren did not even see Garland move.

Zelzor reacted to this barley fast enough. His blade was drawn. Garland struck Zelzor’s blade. The ground shook from the impact.

“I know your secret, Zelzor,” Garland said.

“Why are you here?” Zelzor asked blocking another attack.

“For your boy,” Garland said sinisterly.
Shuren’s gut tightened. Garland was talking about him! “What business does he have with me?”

“Ormentha!” Zelzor said shooting a giant orb of blue light from his hand. Garland simply smacked the orb away.

“I will show you how to use magic old man!” Garland said. He clutched his hand and said, “Nysbura!” A black orb of energy shot from his palm and Zelzor across the chest. Shuren felt the ground beneath him shake.

Zelzor flew backward and landed on his back motionless. Garland smiled, “You really let yourself go, old man.”

Shuren felt a painful surge in his gut. “No way,” he thought. Zelzor was the strongest being Shuren ever knew, and for him to be defeated so easily was too farfetched. He did not believe it.

“Garland . . . You will not prevail,” Zelzor said softly.

Garland laughed. He walked over to Shuren. Shuren was terrified, but he could not move for he was immobilized.

“Ah, the young Ruven,” Garland said as he approached Shuren. He flicked his finger and Shuren was painfully lifted in the air. “I see that you have defeated Belzor, quite an accomplishment for one so . . . Young.”

Shuren was trembling, he did not talk. “What is he going to do to me?”

“Well, since I already killed your only master, you are no longer a threat to me,” Garland said, “though you never were in the first place.”

“What are you going to do to me?” Shuren finally asked.

“Nothing, yet,” he answered simply. “I need you alive for now.”

He flicked his finger again and Shuren fell to the ground. Garland turned to his army and shouted, “This battle is over, Zelzor is dead, and they have nothing.”

Shuren heard a majority of the crowd cheer; the enemies. He was able to move, but he didn’t dare to.

* * *

Lloyd spotted a Mawbryn in the distance. The Mawbryn was fighting a Zelze. He tried to crawl, but his wound would not let him. A green Dragon halted landed next to Lloyd. Thegor jumped off of Rissam. “Sir, I will heal you,” Thegor said. He slowly turned Lloyd on his back. He placed his hands over Lloyd’s wound and said, “Cay’et.”

Lloyd felt unexplainable warmth throughout his body. “Sir, please focus your remaining energy on being healed, it will make the process faster.” Lloyd nodded.
He focused himself on feeling better. He concentrated his energy to his wound. Soon, he felt relieved of excruciating pain. “Thank you!” Lloyd said. Thegor nodded.

Lloyd stood up and ran toward the Mawbryn he saw fighting the Zelze. Lloyd took put his bow, and shot his last arrow at the Mawbryn. He saw it coming and dodged it. The arrow halted the battle. The Mawbryn turned and looked at Lloyd.

“I am your opponent now, leave the Zelze alone,” Lloyd said.

The Zelze looked at Lloyd and said, “Sir, I will join the rest of the Zelzes! Lecha!” he yelled as a dark blue dragon descended from the sky. He jumped on and flew into the battlefield.

“So here we are, after all of these years,” the Mawbryn said sinisterly.

“So here we are, Lyath.” Lloyd said back.

The Mawbryn took down his hood. His face was unlike any other Mawbryn or Ingle. It was long a slender. He had short spiky black hair and eyes that could penetrate a steel wall. He was a Grundell.

“It’s funny what one word can do to our lives,” Lyath said. His sword was in his sheath still. Lloyd did not see him put it back. He must have been fighting the Zelze without a weapon!

“Why did you do it Lyath?” Lloyd asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? I wanted greater things than farming in a village and hiding in secret! You were foolish for not coming with me!” Lyath said.

“I chose not to be a murderer!” Lloyd shouted.

“It’s not too late. Join us, and you will be better than all of this, and you will survive the war!” Lyath said.

“I was already offered that today, and I stand by my answer, and Shuren.” Lloyd said with courage.

“You mean that pathetic Ruven? Ha, Lord Garland is here to kill him as we speak!” Lyath said.

Lloyd looked around and spotted the black cloud of smoke. “Garland is here?” Lyath laughed and nodded.

There was a rain of cheering. Lyath looked up as the black clouds swirled around, he said, “Looks like old man Zelzor is dead, and it’s time to leave.”

Lloyd was petrified. “That’s not possible!”

The black smoke began to grow and engulfed Lyath. He said, “Stay with that Ruven of yours and you will all meet the same fate! So long old friend!” and vanished.

* * *

The clouds began to descend and the surround the field. “Bye bye young Ruven, next time we meet, you will be dead,” Garland said. Soon, he and his army was swallowed by the smoke and vanished into thin air.

The black sky cleared up but only to reveal a gloomy gray sky. The fire of the plains dyed out but the ground was covered in corpses.

Shuren dashed after Zelzor. Shuren reached him, but he was nearing death. “Master . . .”

“Shuren, I must tell you about Ruveneska,” he said hoarsely.

“Don’t talk, you will die if-”

“I was going to die had I met Garland or not. Listen Shuren, casting Ruveneska is not done by using your energy. It is the only spell that uses your soul energy. Don’t use it before you are ready,” Zelzor informed.

“Master . . .” Shuren said in tears.

He smiled, “Shuren, I believe in you.” His body turned cold in Shuren’s arms as Lord Zelzor, savior of Oryk, died.

Shuren wailed uncontrollably. Shuren hadn’t even notice Karoline and Lloyd come to his side. They were sobbing at the sight. They fell to their knees and wailed.
The entire army walked over to them. Everyone was crying, including the Dragons. The sky rolled of thunder as rain fell from the skies.

“The sky is grieving his death also,” said a familiar voice.

Shuren turned around to see Rollan walking towards them. His clothes were worn out; he was covered in marks as if he were at battle. Shuren did not feel cheerful after seeing Rollan, the moment was too gloomy.

* * *

The funeral felt like a dream to Shuren. It seemed too horrible to be true, but it was all too true. The Zelzes and their Dragons were airborne atop of the mountain.
Everyone else was surrounding Zelzor’s grave at the peak of the mountain. They were all wearing black clothing.

Shuren was in the first row, next to Lloyd and Blayger. Rollan stood before the grave, giving his final words.

“Everyone knows of the great tale when Lord Zelzor fought the Dark Ruler all those years ago. His deeds were significant to us and all of Oryk. And to those who were lost during the great battle, we honor them now. Their lives may have ended saving ours, but they are still within our hearts. Lord Zelzor the Great, may you rest in peace.”

Shuren could no longer cry. He was out of tears after three days of grief. Everybody went up and presented their gifts. Shuren walked up and placed a smooth hard stone.
It was the first stone he had melted from his training.

That day, Shuren stayed in his room, doing absolutely nothing but mourn. His wounds had yet to heal and he didn’t bother to bathe in his enchanted pool.
There was a knock at his door. Shuren did not respond; he did not want company. The door opened, it was Catalina. She walked up to Shuren and sat beside him on his bed.

“What is it?” Shuren asked sullenly.

“I know what you are going through. I feel your pain,” she said with a grimace.
Shuren said nothing back. There was a silence. She got up and walked toward the door. Before leaving, she said, “Sir Rollan wishes to speak with you Sir Ruven.”

Reluctantly, Shuren rose from his bed and trudged to Rollan’s room. His room was similar to Shuren’s, elegant and big. There was Karoline and Lloyd.

“Shuren, we need to talk,” Rollan said, gesturing for Shuren to sit.

Shuren took a seat next to Karoline. He looked at them, but they were no happier then he was. “Talk about what, Rollan?”

“What we are going to do next,” he answered.

“There is still a war, and we have lost our leader,” Lloyd said.

“What do we do now?” Shuren asked.

“Shuren, you are our only hope. Everyone expects you to lead,” Karoline said.

“Why is it me? My master is no longer alive, so how am I supposed to learn the spell? My power is pointless now that he is gone,” admitted Shuren.

“That is not the point Shuren,” Rollan began, “you are the hope left to them. They expect you to; you are the highest in power now.”

Shuren clenched his fists. This was too much for him to take in all at once. Still, there was one thing on his mind, “I will do it. I will not let master’s death or anyone else’s end in vain.”

Lloyd and Karoline smiled for the first time in days. Rollan looked at Shuren and said, “There is one thing we must do.”

“What is that?” Lloyd asked.

“For the past several months, I had been investigating Garland’s plans,” Rolland said. He took a deep breath and said, “I found out most of it. He is searching for this crystal.”

“What does this crystal do?” Shuren asked.

“It is an ancient crystal, often told in stories. It is properly known as the Neo Crystal,” Rollan said.

Karoline gaped at Rollan. “The Neo Crystal is real?”

Rollan nodded.

“What do you know about this crystal Karoline?” Lloyd asked.

“It was merely myth passed down through generations for us Ingles. We Ingles fear it,” Karoline explained.

Rollan nodded again. “No one truly knows what it can do, but Garland is after it.”

“Why would he want something the Ingles fear so much?” Shuren wondered.

“What ever it is, it can’t be good, knowing Garland,” said Lloyd.

“We must find the crystal before he does and stop him,” Rollan said.

“Where do we start? What lead do we have?” Shuren asked Rollan.

“I was thinking I might ask Karoline that,” Rollan said placing his eyes on Karoline.

“I know some things about it, but only through stories, though I don’t believe they are true,” Karoline explained.

“That is all we may need,” Lloyd pleaded.

Karoline paused, all eyes were on her. “Very well, I will tell you. There was a story, more like a riddle. It was about a lake and a secret chamber.”

“Can you speak it for us?” Rollan asked.

“I shall try,” Karoline said. She went into a deep thought. Suddenly, she spoke:

“Three ruins, all wrapped by nature,
Three keys, all wrapped by ruins,
One crystal, wrapped by one tomb,
One tomb wrapped by ravaging death.”

Shuren sat still, soaking in what he had learned. “Do you understand any of this?”

Karoline shook her head.

“I am positive that we can decipher it,” Rollan said.

Shuren stood up from his chair. “I need time to think this over,” said Shuren before leaving the room.

Shuren walked through the deserted halls and into his room. He needed to think. “A crystal . . . We must find it before Garland does.”

Garland’s words rang in his head repeatedly: “Next time we meet, you will be dead.”
Shuren walked out on the balcony of his room. The sun was shining for the first time since the battle. He sat for sometime, thinking. It seemed so long ago that he was just a confused Gippy trying to survive. Now he was a strong Grundell with great duties to be fulfilled. His entire life changed before his eyes.

The war had just begun. Shuren was expected to lead it. It was all too much for Shuren to contemplate at once. “First thing’s first, we must find this crystal before Garland does. When we do, we’ll keep it and hide from him, and then we will continue to fight this war.” They had no lead on where it might have been, except the story Karoline spoke of.

Shuren stared in the direction of Hogony and thought of the trio. He hadn’t seen them in so long. Their presence would enlighten him. He remembered being assigned a rescue mission to save Rollan. Along the way, he met the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. Found his most valuable and powerful weapon he’s ever had. Upon rescuing Rollan, he gained his village’s trust. What started put as a rescue mission to save a villager, turned into a mission to save the world. It was definitely not over.

There was yet another journey.