Lore/Story A Time Split In Two: Book 1, Chaos Emerging

Of course, the forums were reset. Luckily, I had everything with me. Well almost. The one thing I don't have is the characters, and I've forgotten all the ones I haven't added already (at least I finally added you then @xNaverx ). So I'm going to redo the character apps and stuff and so on and any people who weren't added will have to re apply. Of course, nothing about the lore itself has changed: I actually have a rough plan of all 3 books in my head. As soon as I've done this, I'm going to do the Corruption Pact. And I might as well post it here: the one thing I am not redoing is the rp.

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Prologue: Mystery upon mystery

I see you found this book!

I’m guessing you found it in the depths of a library in your city? And that you are adventurous and want to find out more about Wynn without having to fight thousands of monsters? Or did you come here to research the weaknesses of these monsters?

What you read here will not show these but it will tell you why you may have to face the torture of fighting endless hordes of evil creatures.

Trust me, this story did happen. You may ask “How is this possible? I know all the history of what has happened since the corruption wars!” But then again, you feel the mysterious pull of force from this book. Perhaps if you are a mage, you can see the faint lines of an impossibly powerful rune carved on the cover of this book?

My friend Falnon, who you will read about in this book, cast this rune after we made our final decision about what we should do in our tight situation. The spell makes the book indestructible. Do not unravel the spell! If you do, the book will disintegrate instantly (you will find out why).

Maybe there are more books next to this one with that same magical spell? Yes, they are also to do with this story.

Now, I will tell you about a time where humans wielded great powers. Where we fought alongside the mythical races of elves, dwarves, dragons and even a few of the legendary durai. Where history took its darkest turn yet and all hope was nearly lost…

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So, welcome to A Time Split in Two! Or if you've already read this, well, continue reading!

Here is the character application:

Character name:
Race (can be elf, dwarf, human or dragon. No exceptions):
Backstory (if this is really short, like one short sentence, it won't be added. I need lots of info for your character. Also, it can't be something entirely different to what is actually happening):
Gender:
Good or evil (or neutral if you really want it):

This may be closed at some point, since I don't want my lore overflowing with characters.

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Main Character list:

Me as Daran
Bolic
Gilin
Seld
Falnon
Captain Perun
@Really?Didyouhavetomakeyournamethis? as Drake
@xNaverx as Rekedge
???
@DS as Darmith
@youngmonster as Jukaigo
@(Sorry, forgot this person's name. If you find this lore again, please tell me) as Silver

Please tell me if I have forgotten to add you to this list (and you have already been added, I think this is a good time to reset all the non-added characters).

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I'll do this section later. No, this is not the spoilers section. In fact, I likely won't add more 'spoilers'.

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Now, have fun reading!

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Chapter One: Ambush

“Daran, you have to get out of here! Go to the commander and tell him what has happened here. He will send you straight to the general”, ordered Captain Perun.

I was part of the many soldiers in the Ragni army. We had the largest region in all of Wynn, and that may be the same for you. We certainly weren’t the wealthiest, as we had no mines, but we still got lots of money from crops and wood.

However, a lot of this changed when the corruption wars started.

Spiders now infest our vast forests and we now have to live on money from crops and farm animals only.

And on this afternoon, in the middle of Autumn, that was now at risk.

Me, my captain and the other three members of our squad were patrolling Mount Wynn Region.

This region and Maltic were filled with watchtowers to guard it; this very area was the same one that had all of the animals and crops. There were also lots of patrols.

To the east was a land of corruption around the town of Nemract. We had to defend ourselves from the monsters there or we would be finished and Ragni, the strongest citadel of Wynn, would fall.

And our squad had never had to fight so hard until that day.

We were ambushed while walking over a ridge. Not by a usual two or three zombies but by two dozen.

And there were five of us.

Two of the soldiers went down immediately. We killed half a dozen of the zombies but they were overwhelming us, even though we were on horseback.

This was when the captain gave me the orders mentioned at the start of this chapter.

I didn’t want to. I would have to leave knowing I had given up saving two people.

But then again, I couldn’t save them.

I fled the battle scene on my horse, Shadow.

The reason I was chosen was because Shadow was the only black horse, which meant it was almost impossible to see him at night.

However that was still at least 3 hours away.

And I had other problems.

The zombies had now corrupted both the riders and horses, so my friends, who had faster horses than me, were closing the gap between us.

And the other zombies weren’t far behind.

They moved with a mysteriously unnatural speed.

Unfortunately, most other soldiers were guarding farms or patrolling the outskirts of Nivla forest, our greatest threat thanks to the spiders, at this moment. My only chance was to get to Maltic.

By the time I reached the outskirts, the horses had almost caught up with me and Shadow was extremely tired.

But the zombie riders turned back and fled.

Even zombies know when they should flee.

I went into Maltic to find the commander, knowing that a dark future was almost here.

Chapter Two: Introductions

As you may have worked out by now, my name is Daran.

Don’t wonder what my last name is. I never knew my parents.

I was told that my parents were two of the finest warriors in Maltic, the town I grew up in. They died in the siege of Nemract a year after I was born.

They died and Nemract went with them. Now I am fighting in their place twenty years later.

Sometimes I wish I could have changed some of the things I did. I made the biggest mistake of my life in this story. I also made you able to live this way, in a safer way than you would have.

It started just before that ambush. A darker force (I will mention it soon) was controlling the monsters.

I was a soldier in a squad which mainly did scouting. Only our captain knew how to fight well and the other three had never helped much at fighting zombies.

Captains are the ones who order their squad in the actual fighting. Then a commander gives captains orders if they are in their region.

Finally, generals command everything under their ruler. Because of this, there are seven generals.

The army I had joined was the Ragni Army. We were one of the strongest armies. This was mainly thanks to the dragons in our dragon hatcheries. They were one of the strongest and you will encounter them later in this story.

To join the Ragni Army you would have to do a trial. This would decide how long you needed to be trained for. You were then chosen by a captain. You would train until two things happened.

First, of course, the time you were given after you completed the trial. Then you would probably have extra time to train if your captain thought you needed it.

I had a year. And I still wasn’t the best at fighting afterwards.

Then again, I only fought because the corruption killed my parents. But I promised to do anything to stop the corruption from destroying everyone.

However, I wouldn’t have made that promise if I knew the aftermath.

Chapter Three: Lord of the Realms

As I was riding into Maltic on that same day, something else was happening. In another world, beyond the gateway you may know as the Nether Portal, a dark plan was being made.

This land was filled with corruption. It enraged and twisted the mind. Only one of the four races had entered this dark place and only one of even them had kept their sanity.

This human now sat on a throne carved out of enchanted ice which could withstand any heat, infused with the souls of the living that had been slain for the last 5 years.

A corrupted figure slowly crawled towards him and said, “My Lord Dra-“.

“Do not speak my name! Not even here where we are safe from the empire.”

“My Lord, it has started. The one who you chose was the perfect choice. He has already begun. The crystal has already been hidden. Only those with incredible divine magic could open the seal it is hidden behind.”

“Then we must move to the next phase. Make them desperate. Send the entire Dern Battlion into Wynn. It will not be enough alone but soon they will ‘search’ for the crystal.”

“My Lord, what will happen when they realise what happened to Dern and why nobody has appeared from that province since five years ago?”

“They will panic even more. That province is the very reason why we have to follow this plan. Otherwise, we would already have all of Wynn. Now the bulk of our army has fallen. All we have is the egg.”

“Oh yes, I forgot to mention. It has almost hatched. Soon it will be ready for the fell magic fusion. However, we have yet to find a perfect dragon. All except for one. And you know which dragon that is.”

“If we have to, we will capture that dragon. Besides, they will be too busy dealing with the Dern Battlion.”.

A sudden gust of wind swept over the throne fortress. There wasn’t any wind in the Nether, so he immediately knew it was magic.

“Master, did you notice that too?”

“Yes, and that would be the egg hatching. I will see this creature for myself.”

The man left the fortress and climbed on a skeletal horse. He rode towards a place in the Nether where an enormous tree was.

This tree had once been a tree of powerful magic. The previous inhabitants of the Nether had eaten its fruit to gain power.

The stone fruit, known as emeralds.

Now it was corrupted and dying.

But then, in that moment, it crumbled.

And in its remains, eating through the once mighty wood, was a serpentine creature.

It was not a snake or a dragon.

The serpent was a durai.

It was like a snake coloured in purple and black. It had three tails, each with a razor sharp hook on the end. They had a fan around their necks, which could close and open.

And they breathed a poisonous mist.

The man looked at the durai and knew that his plans could finally succeed.

He would not only rule the Nether Realm but also the Province of Wynn!

Chapter Four: Promotion

As soon as I got to Maltic, I went to the Commander.

The Maltic Commander was a short man with a large moustache. He always wore heavy armour, as he feared attacks from the undead. And he was right.

A few years ago, an enemy sniper shot him in the back. It barely dented his armour. The sniper was immediately killed.

He said, “Soldier Daran, under Captain Perun, if I remember correctly? What have you got to report.”

I said, “Captain Perun was killed by undead while we were patrolling. At least two dozen of them, right on the Nemract border. I was the only survivor.”

He said, looking surprised, “He was one of our best men in this region. Still, he never exactly choose the best recruits. Perun always wanted to make the worst soldiers into the best and look what happens now. I’ll send a messenger. Actually, you can be a messenger. Tell the General what you told me. Also, I’m making you Captain Daran. Choose your recruits wisely, I think you could do well.”

I gasped. I never thought he would promote me. Then again, I had survived being chased by the undead versions of my squad on the slowest of our five horses.

“And I’ve not even got started. You’re going to be a Captain of a Dragon Squad.”

This time I nearly fainted. Ragni Dragon Squads are the best, since we breed the best dragons. This was yet another reason why Ragni was so important in the province.

I stammered, “Yes sir!”

I immediately got on Shadow and said to him, “I guess this is the last time I’ll ride you. Let’s have a nice ride.”

Shadow galloped faster than ever before, like he wanted to give me a last fun ride to see what I would miss. We soon passed Katoa Ranch and Ragni was in sight.

I saw more and more other squads. These were from the Citadel Legion. This was the Legion that protected Ragni from any attackers. It was also known as First Legion. There was Second Legion, at Maltic, Third Legion, at Nivla, and finally the Fourth Legion, which controlled the Time Valley.

I passed through the North Gate of Ragni. There were farms past the North Gate, then some houses. Finally, I saw the Citadel, where the General would be.

The guards halted me and asked, “Name and reason for approaching the castle?”

I replied, “My name is Daran. I was a soldier of Captain Ferun. I have been promoted to Captain and wish two things, for now. First, to warn the General of a new danger to Maltic and second, to be added to the list of Captains to go to the Recruiting at the end of this month.”.

The guards said, “Then you may proceed.”

I walked into the Entrance Hall of the Citadel. I knew where to go, as one of the things new soldiers learnt was where certain places of military importance were, in case we were promoted.”

I walked down a corridor on the left and soon found the War Room. The General was near a map, discussing tactics with some advisors.

He soon saw me and said, “What is your name and what is your reason for entry into the Citadel?”

I replied, “I am Captain Daran, once under the squad of Captain Perun. I came here to warn you of new dangers to Maltic. As well as the danger of Nivla, new monsters are braving our hold on the coast north of Mount Wynn. Captain Ferun was killed yesterday by an attack of two dozen zombies. I barely escaped and have since been promoted to Captain. They corrupted Perun and the others and they nearly caught up to me with their horses. The zombies weren’t far behind. These were faster than any I’ve ever seen.”

The entire War Room had fallen silent. Everyone was listening to my report.

The General said, “Well, this is bad news. Just an hour ago, a scout reported that the armies of Dern entered Wynn. And not to help us. It seems that Dern has been corrupted for the last five years. Nobody knows how, since they were stronger than the corruption. Now we are attacked from almost all our borders. Luckily, we managed to clear the ravines of pigmen and we are guarding the two southern entrances. Troms is going to be used for the New Year Council Meeting so we need the entrance open. And Troms can now worry only about the jungle so the other cities can reach Troms.”

With that, the General continued his discussion. I walked up to a man writing on a scroll. I knew he was the other person I had come to talk to.

He said, “Another new captain. We’re getting lots. We might even get full. In fact, you’ll fill up the last space for this month. Cutting a bit close to the Recruiting. It’s in only 3 days.”

I said, “What do I do until recruiting?”

He replied, “Captains can’t fight very well on their own so just relax here in Ragni for a while. It won’t be long until the Recruiting Day.”

So I walked out of the Citadel and found an inn which wasn’t full after an hour. By now, it was 8 pm and I hadn’t eaten since lunch.”

It wasn’t the best inn. It was called the ‘Rat’s Crown’. I never found out why and I’m not going back to that place. Though the owners were nice, the other customers were quite rough.

Luckily, they didn’t bother me. Before he died, Perun had given me a spare Captain’s badge. They are made out of gold and have a diamond near the centre, so Ragni needed to reuse old ones as much as possible.

I went to sleep wondering what the four recruits I’d soon choose would be like.

 

Chapter Five: Secret Meeting

That night, on the roof of the Citadel of Ragni, a figure was waiting for something to happen.

He was waiting for someone who he had recently come into contact with. This person would help him control all of Wynn! And Wynn would never have to worry about the forces of the Nether again.

Another figure materialised next to him. This figure was Drake.

Remember Chapter Three? Remember the human on the throne of ice? This was him.

Drake had come into Wynn to meet this figure.

Drake said, “How is Wynn doing against the Nether?”

The figure said, “I never knew some of these soldiers were so brave. I grew up with some of them. I was braver and stronger than them. They must have changed. The Dern Battlion is causing lots of panic, since they’re almost right at our doorstep. And those undead getting close to Maltic have caused more panic. Someone survived one of your attacks and came back with the news.”

Drake said, “HOW?! None of the patrol squads could beat one of my Undead Stealth Squads by themselves. And I wanted them to be scared by suddenly noticing disappearing patrols then ambushing them.”

The figure said, “Actually, the soldier was ordered by his Captain to flee and they were on horseback. That Captain was one of the best in Maltic as well. It doesn’t matter anyway. Someone was going to notice soon. I’m surprised they didn’t until today. Also, the monthly Recruiting Day is in a few days so expect some more reinforcements.”

Drake said, “It doesn’t matter? I trained them myself and made sure it would take more than one squad to kill one of mine. Tell me his name.”

The figure sighed and said, “Very well. His name is Daran. Nobody knows his last name. Not even him. As I said, it doesn’t matter. He was on horseback so it was probably very fast.”

Drake said, “I know that won’t be the last I hear of him. I have a feeling he will cause lots of trouble for me.”

With that, Drake disappeared. The figure sighed. At least this Daran isn’t a problem. I have a feeling I’ve heard that name before…

The figure then climbed off the roof and sneaked away.

The next day, the final Recruitment Day arrangements were being checked. It was only two days away so everyone had to be prepared.

Even the King was preparing. He was present at the Recruiting so he had to make sure he remembered all the names. Luckily, that was one of the things he was very good at.

The King asked the man who was in charge of the scroll of New Captains, “Did this Captain only just get signed in yesterday? I remember him from somewhere but I don’t think he was on this scroll.”

The Scrollman said, “Oh yes. He was the one who reported to the War Room about the undead patrols.”

The King said, “Thank you.”, and went to his room, as he had already memorised the names.

I recognise him from somewhere...

And he is going to be a Captain of a Dragon Squad. I’ll enjoy meeting him then.

Chapter Six: Divine and Fell

One of the things Daran did in those few days before the Recruiting Day was research magic. But it wasn’t like that you probably use today.

There were several different types and could be used in more and more powerful ways. First, there were Basic and Corrupt Magic. Basic was, well, basic.

So basic that the spells you use today are similar, if not the same, as Basic Magic was.

Everyone who fought had to use magic. And everyone had a different type. Most had Basic.

Then a few more had Corrupt Magic. This was darker and more powerful. These people used spells similar to Basic Magic but with twists. Instead of turning invisible they could create clones. Instead of fireballs they fired dark magic which corrupted enemies. And many more small differences.

Then even fewer had Divine or Fell Magic. Divine was powerful magic which heroes, like Bob, wielded. In times of need, we have relied on this the most. But this magic was consumed when something happened, which you will find out later in this story.

However, Fell Magic was the most powerful. Luckily, almost nobody had this magic. Fewer people than those who used Divine Magic. This magic was pure evil. Only extremely evil people had this magic, like Drake.

No-one is born with magic. Actually, they are but it isn’t unlocked. When unlocked, the magic depends on what you are like. I never had Divine Magic and, sadly for everyone I know, there was only one person alive at this time who wielded it.

So I will explain how Drake, and another person I knew, got their magic – Divine and Fell. Starting with Drake.

Magic is unlocked at the age of ten. It might not be on your birthday but it has to happen while you are at the age of ten.

Drake lived in the City of Selchar. He lived happily. No thoughts of destruction, no anger. He would have been unlocked with Divine Magic and all of this wouldn’t have happened if one thing hadn’t changed all that.

He was at the age of nine, just a week before he would be unlocked with magic. He was so kind and friendly that everyone knew that he would get Divine Magic.

Then, one day, he was sent to the Selchar Dragon Stables.

Before you are unlocked, you get sudden bursts of Unknown Magic. This was different from the others and it varied in power. He had got a powerful burst and was immediately sent to heal a dragon who was almost dead.

Dragons become wild beasts if they are wounded. Drake was trying to heal it when the dragon suddenly flicked him with its tail.

Drake was flung across the stable to where a healer was making herbs. I almost feel sorry for Drake. The potions of healing had been prepared slightly wrongly and the healer was about to destroy them when Drake fell into a cauldron of it.

The potion was evil. It heals anything. In other words, anything is turned to its exact opposite.

Drake came out almost dead. The healer managed to heal his body but not his mind. Drake was filled with the desire for power ever since. When he was once in the Ragni Army like me, he wanted a better rank. Eventually, he wanted to command the Corruption.

Real Corruption is corruption of the mind. That is why the Nether enrages anyone who goes near it.

That is why all it could take is something to be made incorrectly to turn someone from the path to a hero to the path to an evil mastermind.

The other person was called Silver.

Silver was an elven mage from Nivla Forest. You thought all of Nivla was evil? No, there is one village the elves made on its southern border with Time Valley.

Elves like magic so these elves made their home on the border between two magical places.

Silver always wanted to be a mage and when he started gaining Unknown Magic he trained himself to be a mage.

One day (in fact it was the same date and time as Drake became evil) he was out in the woods. He heard a branch snap and he investigated the direction of the noise.

Out of the trees, bushes and even the ground, at least a hundred spiders appeared. Silver had ventured to deep into the forest.

He instantly blew his horn. Silver knew he could never defeat so many spiders.

Silver attempted to cast a meteor, like he had been practising.

But he underestimated his abilities. How unlocking actually works is complicated. It is supposed to happen at the age of ten. It is impossible for it to happen before.

However, Silver managed it.

Instead of a meteor falling from the sky and killing about three or four spiders, roots erupted from the ground. Spikes of earth, not corrupted obsidian, rose out of the ground. Branches swung violently and flung spiders down. Bushes pulled them into the earth.

Soon, they were all gone. Spiders and their blood lay everywhere.

The elves from his village soon found him. Not even they knew what had happened.

And Silver became the most powerful mage in existence, more skilled than Bob. He was even trained alongside Bob by Ethe. He didn’t just master the earth and nature but water, wind, fire and many other things.

Speaking of Silver, now he will come into the story.

Chapter Seven: Magic in Wynn Part One

At this point, Silver was in Maltic.

He was a powerful mage and as I said had been taught alongside Bob by Ethe himself. However, not even Ethe was as powerful as him.

So why was a powerful mage in Maltic? He could be at Mage Island or he could even set up somewhere for him to live quietly, like many mages did.

The reason was simple: he had encountered at least one hundred undead forces on the road to Nemract.

Silver had decided he would become a teacher at Mage Island and teach everyone what Ethe had taught him so the province could fight the Corruption. Then he would travel to Gavel to find out more of the mysterious ties between the province and magic.

But when he had reached the Main Wynn Road, he had found some powerful undead.

Of course, he blasted them to pieces with just 2 meteors. They hadn’t even seen him.

He had gone straight to Maltic to find out whether other places had encountered these problems. Only one person had survived and he wanted to find out something simple: how.

The newly made Captain, called Daran, wasn’t at Maltic anymore but there was only one other place he could be. That was Ragni.

Silver knew about the Recruitment Day. However, Silver had other priorities. There was someone who kept a watchful eye over Southern Wynn and never let anyone pass through without permission. Even a large army of Corrupted would find it hard to pass through there.

Silver sighed. He climbed onto his white steed, Thunder, who galloped off into the distance towards Detlas, then Nesaak. And finally, to Troms.

Chapter Seven: Magic in Wynn Part Two

Jukaigo was another powerful mage, or dark wizard, but he didn’t have powerful magic himself. However, he used magic more powerful than maybe even Silver or Drake.

Jukaigo could do this through a powerful artefact, known as the Corrupted Skull. It was a source of Corruption but Jukaigo still used it.

This was because he could do almost anything he wanted with it. And he knew what he wanted now.

He wanted revenge on the Corrupted.

His father and brother had been slain by them. They had slain millions of people. Now he would control some of the darker, more evil creatures to destroy them.

You may not have realised this but there are two different kinds of monsters in the world. The first is the Corruption. Then there are the evil creatures which are natural in this world.

These include spiders, wolves and even the slimes of the jungle. And many more.

These were what Jukaigo could control. However, he needed more allies if he could defeat the Corruption.

That was why he was at the Lion Lair.

It was inhabited by some corrupted lion trainers but he could easily destroy them.

He tapped into the power of the orb and instantly, ocelots poured into the cave along with spiders.

The Corrupted were no match for the army. And Jukaigo protected his army with powerful spells. Soon, there were no more enemies.

The lions returned to normal as he withdrew his power over them. The ocelots and spiders also withdrew.

Now he had more power against the Corruption. It could never stand in his way!

Chapter Eight: The Recruiting

Daran was ready to go to the Ragni Citadel next morning for the recruiting. He had dressed in armour, which was the tradition when you go to the Recruiting.

Daran quickly went to the palace. He stood where lots of Captains were standing.

At the Recruiting, Captains have to quickly choose who they want in their squad because all the Captains did this at once. Otherwise, they would have to train some people who probably wouldn’t be good at fighting.

Within the next hour, new recruits streamed into the main hall of the citadel. Finally, the King spoke.

He said, “Thank you citizens for this day. We will now have some more soldiers ready to be trained. Before we begin, I will announce that you must ask anyone you know to join the army. There are reports of the armies of Dern returning to Wynn. This time they have turned against us. They are corrupted. The Corruption itself is expanding more than we thought. And I sadly have to tell you that Gavel still has not aided us, despite them telling us that they would be ready to fight alongside us ‘soon’. There is more I could tell you but now, let the Recruitment begin!”

Then the hall turned into chaos.

Daran quickly scanned the crowd for someone who looked like they might be skilled at fighting or magic. But every time he found someone, another Captain chose them before he could.

Then Daran remembered what Captain Perun had once told him.

Sometimes it is not strength that is the most powerful asset, not magic or what weapon they like to use. The most powerful allies are the ones who crush their enemies with will alone.

Daran instantly saw four people who nobody was going to choose.

He picked all four of them.

They were two humans, an elf and a dwarf. They seemed glad that someone had finally chosen then.

Soon after, the last Captains had chosen. A few recruits remained but were told they would be chosen next time.

The dwarf said, “I’m glad we weren’t any of them. This is the fourth Recruiting I’ve been to and I haven’t been chosen in any.”

The others chuckled and he said, “It’s not funny! I’ve had to wait since the end of Wynnter.”

The elf said, “This is my first one and I hope I never have to go to one.”

One of the humans said, “So what are we doing now?”

Daran said, “Well, this is also my first time. You have to do the trials first and then we train until all four of you are ready for battle. What are your names?”

The elf said, “I’m Gilin. I come from a village in the south of Nivla.”

The dwarf said, “I’m Bolic. I come from a village in the Pigmen Ravines.”

The human who hadn’t spoken yet said, “I’m Seld, and I don’t know where I’m from but I grew up in Ragni. I used to work in the Dragon Stables since I like them.”

Daran said, “It’s great that you know about dragons because even I need to know more about them. We’re going to be a dragon squad.”

Seld said, “Yes! I hoped to be part of one but I doubted it.”

Bolic said, “Great for you, but dwarves aren’t meant to come off the ground. We’re meant to be on ground, usually even in the ground.”

Daran said, “And who are you?”

The other human said, “My name is Falnon. I come from Maltic.”

Chapter Nine: The Merchant City

It was at the same time that the new squad took a rest to ready themselves for the trials that Silver reached Detlas.

He had already passed Nemract but he couldn’t stay long. Nemract was still filled with dark magic, magic which could sense him. Silver knew he shouldn’t be there for long so he had carried on southwards.

Now he approached the gates of Detlas. Immediately, guards sprang up from behind the wall, waiting for anything to appear.

Silver said, “I come in peace! I am Silver, a mage travelling to Troms. I have met your General.”

The gates were opened and Silver brought his horse to the stables.

He told the stablemaster, “Take good care of him. He is one of the best horses in Wynn.”

Then Silver ran to the Command Centre of Detlas.

Detlas, unlike Ragni, didn’t have a King. Instead, there was a Lord. The Lord and the General were brothers in Detlas.

The guards recognised Silver and let him in.

The General was, like all Generals, heavily dressed in armour. The Lord was a tall man dressed in rich clothes.

He said, “Silver! I thought you went to Mage Island. Thank the Bovine Lord that you haven’t. Have you heard about the Dern Army coming?”

Silver was puzzled. He replied, “I haven’t. Though, since they disappeared for so long, I’m presuming they are corrupted.”

The General said, “They are. The Province really is desperate. Even Ragni is starting to fall into despair. Luckily, Troms is the location for this year’s New Year Council Meeting so everyone can reach there. Ragni are guarding the Passage and you know who guards the Great Bridge. But now you are here, I want you to come along.”

Silver was surprised. He said, “Normally I wouldn’t go to the meeting. Politics isn’t my thing. But I have seen many of the more dangerous enemies. And I think I will see many more. So I will be able to help you. I also need to visit the Guardian of the Great Bridge.”

The Lord said, “Ah, yes. The General here will tell you about these things.”

The General explained, “Ragni is one of the most threatened places, despite its location. I don’t know why it is but all I know is that Ragni is in danger. Maltic is threatened by lots of new undead and Nivla and the Ravines are threatened by the new Dern Army. Dern is reported to be riding some evil dragons which are larger than any I’ve ever seen, except Juggernauts.”

“Here in Detlas of course everything is bad news. Ternaves is under siege and will soon fall. However, Bremminglar is not. The undead there have vanished. The old Lion Lair is abandoned, even by the Lions. Similar things are happening to the Ocelots, Wolves and even Spiders. Nemract is still under heavy direct siege. Selchar is bombarded every day and all of the settlements except Icy Islands have been driven there. Icy Islands is slowly being invaded. The old fortress is covered in undead and corruption is appearing in the fishing settlement. The other two have locked themselves in their fortresses with enough food to last them for centuries but they will still fall.”

“Almuj isn’t taking many attacks. Word has spread that they have a new ‘King’ who has strengthened them and driven back the surrounding Undead. Nesaak is also similar as corruption never attacked them much. Troms was undead threat until Ragni helped them so they have driven the corruption deep into the Dernel Jungle.”

Silver said, “Well at least Nesaak and Troms are fine. But Almuj is right next to Dern. I’m glad that they are safe but this King isn’t making me feel happy about it. Add him to the list of reasons I’m travelling to Troms.”


Chapter Ten: Dessert King

The new King of Almuj, who you will have guessed by now is actually Jukaigo, was having a banquet to celebrate becoming the new King.

He said to his guests, “Thank you all for coming! This is a fantastic day. I have become King, Almuj is finally at peace from the ocelots and spiders and not even the corrupted dare to attack us here. Today is a new day for not only Almuj but for all of Wynn! Enjoy yourselves! Now we have had our main course, let’s bring the desserts!”

The guests all cheered. Most of them had voted for this hero who had come to them saying he would drive away all their enemies. Now, he had! The corrupted from Lion’s Lair who had been trying to overrun the northern wall had been destroyed.

The wild animals had also disappeared. Not one could be found anywhere in the savannah or the desert. The town of Rymek had been affected similarly.

Jukaigo whispered to his advisor, “It’s very well to be a King but doesn’t there have to be a Queen here?”

They both laughed at the joke.

The advisor say, “Well, I guess as advisor that could be one of my jobs!”

A cloaked messenger was standing near to Jukaigo. As soon as Jukaigo noticed him, he stood up and asked the messenger, “So, what is your news?”

“The old King disappeared. There are reports that some wild animals that were still here all along killed him while he fled. Others say bandits took him. I don’t think either is true. He probably went to live in Detlas”, reported the messenger.

“Well, at least it’s not likely he will come back. I think the people will be glad that he went anyway. He was greedy from what I saw of him. Wasn’t even thinking about his enemies”, said Jukaigo.

Jukaigo went back to his seat and started eating his dessert, which was called an ‘ice cream’. It certainly was icy and creamy! There was a flavour called ‘chocolate’ and another which was goofruit.

His advisor said, “So when will we prepare to go to Troms?”

Jukaigo replied, “For the meeting? In three days. We will have plenty of time for anything we need once we get there. And I would rather go now then later; anything that I drove away might come back again in larger forces.”

The advisor said, “And we will plan when this banquet finishes?”

Jukaigo replied, “Yes, I need to tell you, the general and other people present about what we will be putting forward at the meeting.”

The banquet finished soon after. The people of Almuj went back to their homes or, in the case of the guests from Rymek, to their inns.

Jukaigo immediately made for the Almuj meeting room, the very same room Almuj used for the New Year Council Meeting when it was held in Almuj. The general, the advisor and a other people were there waiting for him.

When Jukaigo sat down he said, “I’m sure those who were present enjoyed the banquet. Now we need to think about matters at hand. The main thing I want to do is take the fight to the Corruption. While this may be dangerous, it isn’t as hard as any of you will think. This is what I used to help Almuj.”

He took out the Corrupted Skull and showed it to the council. There were gasps from everyone.

“Now this is a Corruption Artefact but I killed the Corrupter of Worlds once. I hate the Corruption. All I know were slain by it. The Corrupter said, “You have not defeated me. Nothing will stop me from my goal: to kill every human, elf, dragon, dwarf, phoenix, hydra and every other creature.” Now I don’t know what he meant about these mythical ‘phoenixes and hydras’ but of course we haven’t defeated him! We haven’t brought the fight to the Corruption. I used the Skull to control the animals. They cleared the Lion Lair and all of the countless tombs littering this land. Will you let them aid us in this fight against the Corruption?”

All the Council said, “Yes!”

Jukaigo said, “I will bring this up at the meeting then. And also about the drought I also have a solution for that…”

 

Chapter Eleven: The Nether Palace

Just the next day, in the early hours before Daran and his new squad would head to Maltic to find out what trials his squad would do and how long he would have to train them for, in the Nether a council was plotting evil things.

Daran of course was never there so I can’t describe to you what it was like but there would have been all sorts of grotesque creatures.

There was, of course, Drake, who sat on another, smaller throne made out of ice which was used in the council.

The cloaked man who he talked with on the roof of the Citadel of Ragni earlier was at the table, remaining silent while chaos erupted around him.

There were all sorts of other creatures there as well: the head of the witherists (quite literally, since his head had been cut off ready to be used to revive a wither), a cult called the Void Walkers, the Blaze Lord, Yahya and many others.

Finally, next to Drake and facing the cloaked man, was the King of Dern. He was part enderdragon, part Dernian. His bat-like wings hung like an evil cloak around him and an aura of ender magic covered him.

Behind Drake was a sculpture made out of sand, but not normal sand. This was Wither Sand, known to most people as Soul Sand. Nestling on where its right shoulder would be was a skull, recently taken from a certain King of Almuj.

No, not the Corrupted Skull, but the head of the actual King. The witherist cult had lay in wait for him and slain him. Now it was here in the Nether.

This was the Wither Sculpture. Withers took on physical forms in certain sculptures. Wither Sand was hard to find and needed extreme amounts of Fell magic to be generated.

The right head had to be from a King. The middle head had to be from a witherist. Drake had both in his possession, though the witherist had to go on last of all. The final head had to be from a dragon, and those were hard to kill. Even with the army he had, it was hard, as it had to be the right dragon.

Sadly, he had no way of knowing which dragon so he just killed any he came across.

He stood up and said, “Silence! We may be makers of chaos but we need to be organised to have a normal meeting.”

Everything in the meeting hall went quiet. Everyone turned to face Drake, King of the Nether.

Drake said, “The witherists have finally found us a King’s head! After years of waiting, we are almost ready to bring a Wither into this world. This is great news! Little does he know it, that meddling fool Jukaigo is helping our plans along. The previous King just fled, never gave him rights to be a true King. He had no idea about the enemies he will face. Of course, the plan mainly depends on our friend here who will soon take part in their annual meeting. Void Walkers, anything to report?”

A strange, twisted man who was part of the Void Walkers said, “Yes, we do. Though I would never have wanted to help the witherist cult, even we have realised that working together is the only way forward. Once our guest makes sure of things and, let’s say, destroys any chance of help for our target, we will go in and take care of it. Of course, we don’t know if this target really is the one we need for the Wither but the relic I found says that tamed dragons lose some sort of magical power the Wither harnesses.”

Drake replied, “This is great news. Of course, it will be months, or even years, until we can carry this out but it will be worth it. Lord of Fire and Painful Death, is the Nether Portal ready?”

The Blaze Lord, as this was his full ‘name’, said, “The portal will be ready by the time an army needs to be sent into Wynn. There is almost no chance that the portal will break, or worse, by then. However, some strange force is damaging the portal, the bridge between us and Wynn. I have no idea what it is but many of the Corrupted Forces can sense it. I would advise you to use stronger powers, as the force may be trying to do darker things than even you would attempt.”

Drake said, “I have felt it too. Whatever it is, it is strong. I don’t think it could fight us though. Yahya, when will your cult be ready?”.

A crazy man covered in warts, who you may know, said, “Hehehe, we haves the mushroomssss and the mooshromssss. We are already infectings the settlementssss and poisonings thems.”.

Drake replied, “Very good! And King of Dern?”.

The King of Dern said, in an ominous and deep voice, “We are already spreading through Wynn. Our armies attack Ragni through Nivla, Nesaak through the forests and are making for Almuj from deep in the deserts. Our armies will creep through them. Soon Wynn will become part of Dern. Of course, not all of it. Only the parts promised to us.”.

The cloaked figure said, “And I will tell you what I promise. I will promise you the plateaus, the desert, the savannah, the Black Road and even Nesaak and Lusuco. Dead Island, however, will return to Wynn. You may wish to have it but you will find that what I give you has more worth than Dead Island and your activities in Wynn combined.

The Dern King scowled and said, “Dead Island and the Ghost Ship are useful to us. Losing all of the sea will be hard but if it means that we take the desert, Rymek and the Black Road then I will keep to the deal. Nesaak and Lusuco also means that we take the House of Twain. I’m also wondering what our friend Drake here will take from Wynn.”.

Drake said, “Oh, I you will find that neither you nor our guest has no need for what I desire. My deal to all of you is that I take all of Detlas and Nemract for myself. I also wish for an Island – Selchar. Only Selchar. You, my guest, will keep the rest of the ocean and Wynn for yourself. I will aid you in making a port along the coast if you wish.”.

The cloaked man said, “I will be happy to accept this deal.”.

The Dern King said, “I too will be happy to accept. Though won’t Wynn take too much?”.

Drake said, “The ocean itself, while vast, is of little use. The Islands take up the rest of our guest’s third. Ok, he has larger than we have but I am happy to keep what I have and you already have all of Dern.”.

He turned to everyone and said, “Now we have discussed these matters, I believe this meeting is finished. Make sure nobody has noticed your disappearances when you return to your posts.”.

Chapter Twelve: Trial

The next day, Daran went to the stables with his recruits to collect their horses.

To Daran’s surprise, Shadow was still there. Shadow looked pleased to see him.

Falnon, Seld, Gilin and Bolic chose their horses and they were soon galloping towards Maltic for the trials.

They stopped for lunch at Katoa Ranch, where they ate Katoa Cake.

It’s hard to describe what Katoa Cake is like. Katoa Cake is really just an ordinary cake but it tastes a lot nicer. It’s normally extremely expensive but in Katoa itself you can actually have it for free if you help make one or gather ingredients for it.

In this case, they milked the cows and collected the eggs.

After the stop at Katoa Ranch, Daran and his squad headed along the coast towards Maltic. At Maltic, Daran bought the Wynn News newspaper. The front page showed an image of an Enderman, an inhabitant of Dern.

According to the newspaper it was friendly but people still wanted to kill them. However, Bolic exclaimed, “Daran, look at page two!”

Daran saw that on page two, a hero had purged Almuj of its enemies and was now the new King of Almuj.

Bolic said, “Now Almuj is starting to push them back, despite being very near Dern.”

Gilin said, “And one person did this?”

Seld said, “I heard that there was a creature called the Cockatrice in Rymek. How could this Jukaigo person have killed that creature and more?”

Falnon said, “Maybe some powerful magic?”

Daran replied, “Magic is the only answer but no ordinary magic could do this. This is either Divine or Fell magic. But nobody with Divine Magic would willingly become King afterwards. Maybe Jukaigo himself doesn’t have Fell magic but maybe something he carries, or even something that controls him.”

After reading the rest of Wynn News, which included information about an evil creature called the ‘Pillow Imposter’, they went straight to the Second Legion Commander.

He recognised me immediately and said, “Glad to see you again! We really need some Dragon Squads soon. The Corruption is pushing us back towards Maltic. At the same time, Dern are pushing back the Third Legion to Ragni. The First and Fourth are making sure we can reach Troms for the New Year Council Meeting. Now, choose your weapons.”

The recruits were led into the armoury where all Maltic’s weapons were stored.

Gilin chose a bow made out of wood not from Nivla but Gavel. Magic from Gavel was extremely powerful and so was anything that held it.

Bolic chose an oversized battleaxe. He was about to test it on a dummy when he found a hidden button on the hilt.

Immediately, the axe twisted into an even more oversized sword. It crackled with electricity.

Seld, on the other hand, was a lot pickier. He looked at a sword for a moment then thought it was too light. He considered a pair of daggers but saw the poison on it and said, “If I accidently cut myself, I’ll probably die.”

Then he found a staff that he decided to keep. It wasn’t a staff like the mage staff but an iron bar with barbs on one end and a sharp point on the other.

Falnon went straight for a staff which glowed red with fire that it had been forged with and had a glowing ruby on top.

The Commander saw them and said, “Well, those are some great weapons you’ve chosen. I hope you can use them well. Here are your trials. Let’s start with Bolic.”.

After telling Bolic how the ‘Switch Axe’ worked, he said, “The best part of this weapon is that you can use the force of the ‘switch’ to deal even more damage, especially because of the heaviness and electricity. Oh, and the sharpness as well. Your trial is to knock over a boulder that I will show you”.

They walked to the training grounds, which was below Mount Wynn. There had been a recent landslide nearby and Bolic immediately knew which one the Commander meant.

Bolic said, “That one?! But it’s the size of a tree!”

The Commander said, “And some soldiers have destroyed larger boulders than that. Bob himself was said to have split an entire mountain in two just to help the people of Rymek to escape from the valley they had been trapped inside for over a millennia.”

Bolic walked over to the boulder, grimacing. He gripped the switch axe.

Halfway to the boulder, he suddenly broke into a charge. As he almost slammed into the boulder, he pressed the button on the switch axe.

As it hit the rock, the switch axe was almost in sword mode. It crackled with electricity.

Bolic was disappointed, as not even a crack appeared on the rock.

He yelled, “You see? Bob had magic and I have a fancy axe!”

Then there was a creak and hidden, faint lines turned into gigantic cracks and the boulder turned into rubble.

Bolic stared at the rock as his jaw dropped. Then he grinned and said, “So how long is my training now?”

The Commander said, “Not many people can do that. However, I have seen people destroy boulders bigger than that instantly, instead of after ten seconds. Still, after something like that you only need two months of training. Then again, that depends on what the other results are. Seld, you’re next. See the arena over there? We keep lots of monsters there for training. If we think that it is about to kill you then we send in some soldiers to save you and give you a really long training time. Tell the Arena Master that you’re a recruit and show him your weapon.”

Seld asked, “What monster am I fighting?”

The Commander said, “That will be a surprise. Part of your trial is to instantly think about how to kill something mid-fight.”

Seld groaned and ran towards the arena. Daran, the rest of the squad and the Commander followed him.

Seld told the Arena Master, “I’m a recruit on a trial. This is my weapon.”

The Arena Master said, “I’ll let you in. The monster you will face is actually quite dangerous but if you can use a weapon like that then you’ll be fine.”

Seld walked under an archway and a gate crashed down behind him. His squad were watching him from above. He readied himself and faced the larger gate on the other side.

The gate lowered and a pair of red eyes watched him. Then the creature appeared.

The creature was a spider. It was larger than any he had heard of, even Arakidicus.

He walked towards it but suddenly a spider materialised in front of it and was flung through the air to him. He hit it with the barbs of the staff then slashed the other end upwards as another was thrown.

Then he remembered what it was.

He had heard legends of a spider that threw other spiders at people. However, he had heard that it was tiny. Maybe it had grown since then?

He yelled and charged like Bolic had. But he knew that the spider would lunge forward to kill him instantly.

Seld saw the entrance that the emergency fighters would come through and, just in case something happened, dodged the lunge towards it. Then he lodged the sharp end of the staff in one the spider’s thin legs, leaped up and slashed it through another leg.

Then he pounded the spider’s back.

It squealed and tried to shake him off. This carried on for a few minutes before he finally slipped off in front of the spider.

The spider would have poisoned and killed him there and then if he hadn’t been quick enough. Not even the emergency soldiers could have reached him by then.

He threw the staff into its mouth. The staff got stuck and the spider couldn’t bite him.

Seld rolled under the spider, grabbed just lower than the barbed end then took the staff out of the spider’s mouth.

Just before it could have eaten him, he stabbed upwards and into its heart. It cried out one last time and fell to the ground.

Seld was almost squashed but he managed to roll out in time.

Seld said to the Commander, “I hope I never have to fight like that again. Tell me the results.”.

The Commander said, “You got the same as Bolic. I have seen quicker kills but I also haven’t seen anyone fight like that before. Interesting style, though it could be improved so you have more chance of survival next time. I’ll give Gilin and Falnon their trials tomorrow.”

Chapter Thirteen: Master of Control

The next day, the squad watched Gilin prepare for his trial. Daran was wondering what trial Gilin would get. Since it was a magical bow it was likely something to do with magic.

Falnon was worried about his next trial. He said, “I’ve heard of some of the trials mages get. I want to be a mage but know I’m wondering if it was worth it. I mean, smashing a boulder is one thing but being sent to collect Bob’s Seal or bring a wild dragon egg? These are things that I won’t be able to do.”.

Seld said, “I was worried about my trial when I saw that spider. Then the next thing I knew was that the dragon was dead. That happens to me sometimes. I just want to do something and it happens. I don’t even remember doing it.”.

Falnon said, “But you have talents. You can fight things like that almost as if you could do it before. I’ve just been able to do a few random spells like turning something to gold or accidently creating a fire. And it always happens when I don’t want it.”.

Bolic said, “Everyone has a talent. You’ll find it eventually. Maybe some kind of magic.”.

Daran said, “That might be it. Don’t worry. However well you do in the trials, I won’t mind. And when we fight against the corruption for the first time, it will happen on the backs of dragons, not on the ground with a monster looming over you.”.

The Commander looked at Gilin and said, “You see this target? Your task is to hit the centre of the target. However, the arrow must be split. If you split it with another arrow, that arrow must be split.”.

Gilin replied, “I understand but how is that possible?”.

The Commander said, “You have to find out.”.

Gilin swallowed nervously and looked at the arrow target. The target was at least fifty metres away.

Then Gilin remembered the magic in his bow. The night before they left for Maltic, they had been to the library to study any books they would want to look at. Gilin had been looking at a book called ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, since he needed to know more about dragons.

It was interesting but it described many ‘wild dragons’, even though he knew these couldn’t exist. As he put it down, he noticed a book called ‘Guide to Advanced Archery’.

The book mentioned several simple spells then said how to master them. It had mentioned that arrows could be accurately shot extremely quickly. But it still left the problem of the last arrow. He knew it must be the right one, though.

Gilin already knew archery well, so he shot his first arrow in the centre. Then he reached into the powers of the bow and fired again.

This time his hands moved extremely fast. Arrows rained down but they always hit the centre.

He realised that the last arrow would never split. He tried thinking about a spell that could do it if done correctly but he couldn’t keep up the ‘arrow storm’ spell.

Gilin suddenly remembered a spell called bomb arrow. But he was extremely tired. Could he cast the spell in time?

He closed the arrow storm spell and drew on his remaining energy. Everyone looked at him as if he hadn’t done well. Then it happened.

There was a surge of energy as plants wilted around him. Thunder crackled overhead.

Then Gilin fired the bomb arrow. It was a normal arrow, except it was coated in flame.

It hit the target and the fire burst outwards in an enormous explosion. The target itself was the destroyed, as well as the surroundings. Everyone was thrown backwards and smoke filled the air.

When the smoke cleared, Gilin was still standing in the same position. Then he collapsed.

The Commander said, “A bit unnecessary but I’ve never seen magic like that. If you haven’t worked out what happened, Gilin drew magic from his surroundings: lightning from the air, plants from the ground. He needed it, as the arrow storm at the start drained all of his energy. The gardener won’t be very happy but I would say, since power like that is extremely useful though dangerous, two months of training again. Oh, and when he wakes up, he needs lots of food to regain his energy.”.

He turned to Falnon and said, “You probably won’t like your trial. If you think that smashing a boulder, fighting a giant spider or creating a bomb arrow like that will worry you a lot, wait until you see this.”.

The Commander led Falnon to the arena, which had changed slightly.

Everything was normal except for the chair in the middle. Falnon wouldn’t have been worried about it apart from the fact that it had manacles pretty much everywhere. And it glowed with magic.

The Commander said to him, “The key to magic is to do things that would normally be nearly impossible to do. That is what the chair is for. You will be trapped in the chair and you will have to get out of it in any way possible. The ordinary way is to teleport, though most people fail at that. Of course, they may still get varying results but it is a hard task. Not to mention the Dracotroll that will be trying to kill you.”.

Falnon said, “And of course there will be emergency soldiers to fight it if I will probably die.”.

The Commander replied, “Of course. Now sit on the chair.”.

Falnon didn’t feel like doing the challenge but when he tried to run, soldiers rushed in and grabbed him by his arms and legs so he couldn’t do anything. Then they held him down while they bound him to the chair. And then the gagged him in case he screamed.

Falnon was terrified. And he was even more terrified when the Dracotroll emerged from behind a now unbarred door.

A Dracotroll is, obviously, like a troll. However, it held a silver sword and shield. It was also scaled, like a dragon, and could breathe fire.

The Dracotroll roared and slowly walked towards Falnon.

Falnon tried wriggling out but the chair was designed to stop people from escaping.

Then he tried to teleport. However, the chair’s magic stopped him from casting any spells, no matter how much energy he tried to put into them.

The Dracotroll then stood over him and raised the silver sword.

Just as Falnon was about to die, he remembered another aspect of magic.

He pushed all his will towards the Dracotroll but a magical barrier the chair created around his mind stopped him. Falnon realised he couldn’t fight the barrier but he could break through.

The sword plunged towards him. At the same time, Falnon thrusted all his will at the Dracotroll.

The soldiers would have reached him in time but the force of his will was designed to stop anything. They were flung back but the Dracotroll stayed where it was.

As soon as he reached into the Dracotroll’s mind, he realised that they weren’t evil. It was thinking evil thoughts but Falnon soon found that it had been taken from its home and enslaved in the arena. The Dracotroll had been tortured horribly. He soon realised that the sword and shield had been fused to his arms and it wasn’t holding them.

The creature was in extreme pain. Could Falnon stop it from hurting him?

Falnon realised that the one thing he could give it was freedom.

He spoke to the Dracotroll. At first the Dracotroll was angry and wanted to destroy him but it soon realised that Falnon wanted to help it.

The gigantic Dracotroll swung its sword at Falnon but struck the manacles. Soon, Falnon was free.

Everyone was staring at him, except one soldier who was sneaking behind the Dracotroll to try and kill it. Falnon shouted, “No!”.

It was too late but it didn’t matter. The sword the soldier wielded shattered on the Dracotroll’s scales.

The Dracotroll didn’t seem to notice. Instead it looked at Falnon.

Falnon could only think of one thing.

He said, “You said that we were a Dragon Squad. It may not be a dragon but the Dracotroll seems friendly enough now. Did I get two months like the others?”.

 

Chapter Fourteen: Encounter on the Black Road

At same time as the trials ended and the squad were about to pick up their dragons before a long two months of training, Silver and the nobles of Detlas were now on the Black Road.

Nobody knows why it is called the Black Road. Some think it’s because the Nether is nearby. Others think that it was cursed long ago.

They were in a slow procession, since they didn’t need to reach Troms quickly. The New Year Council Meeting would be in just over seven months, so they didn’t need to rush.

The procession hadn’t encountered any dangers so far on the road. But they knew it was inevitable.

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, the Black Road was worryingly near to the Nether Portal, where an army of monsters would probably be right now.

The Corruption had also corrupted a village on the road, which they would have to go round.

Silver told the Lord of Detlas, “When we reach the entrance to the Great Bridge, there is an old friend I need to see. He is the Guardian so he will be quite friendly. I need to know how he is doing, as all our lives depends on it.”.

The Lord said, “I have seen him and I know what you mean. Also, we will be meeting the King of Selchar, the Duke of Nemract and the Duke of Nesaak at Nesaak before we go there. We wanted to be together so it would be less dangerous, since there would be more soldiers. Also, we wanted to meet to talk about certain matters before we reached Troms. As you will understand, we have each had large connections in the past. However, we need to make better connections. It’s all to do with merchants and money.”.

Silver replied, “I can’t say that I know much about money. A wise mage doesn’t worry about money. Then again, I have heard of the Central Wynn Merchant Pact. It would have been interesting to see the system before Ancient Nemract fell.”.

The Lord said, “That is why I want to speak with them. If we strengthen the ties then all of Wynn could be stronger in all sorts of ways. Detlas has been extremely cut off from Nemract and because of that Selchar and Nesaak isn’t faring well in business. The Pact we are going to try and make at the council will give us the power to wipe out all of the Corruption between Detlas and Nemract, with the help of Selchar and Nesaak, possibly other cities as well. Ancient Nemract might even be retaken. That would strengthen us a lot. Then again, Detlas does have its problems to worry about. If Troms and Almuj helped, we might retake it but it would be extremely hard.”.

Silver said, “I wish I could help you but there are certain matters I must attend to. After the meeting, I need to go to Ragni. I heard rumours of someone who escaped the new raids around Maltic. No-one else has done something like that. If I can find them, that could help Wynn a lot, possible even more than retaking Ancient Nemract.”.

The Lord was about to say something when they heard horses in the distance.

Silver said, “That’s coming from Almuj. Maybe there is a messenger heading to Detlas from there.”.

Then they saw the horses. They were armoured and so were the soldiers riding them. There were nobles among them.

Silver said, “It seems a person I wanted to see has found us first.”.

In the centre of the riders was Jukaigo, King of Almuj.

The Detlas horses stopped and waited for Jukaigo to reach them.

The Lord of Detlas said, “The new King of Almuj! I am glad to see you. What is your name and how is Almuj?”.

Jukaigo said, “My name is Jukaigo. And Almuj is safe from the corrupted and other dangers. I saw to that before they made me King. More merchants go there now. I would be happy to turn to the other cities to help them with their problems.”.

Silver said, “This is great news! But how did you slay all the monsters?”.

Jukaigo said, “I have found an artefact that has incredible power. I will be presenting it at the meeting, so I won’t show it to you now. And Detlas? How is the central city in these hard times?”.

The Lord said, “We are having trouble with the corrupted. More are pillaging small villages everywhere. Ternaves will likely fall in the next few months.”.

Jukaigo said, “It won’t. We saw to that on the way.”.

The Lord said, “All of the undead destroyed?”.

Jukaigo replied, “Yes. It was a lot easier than helping Almuj. Anyway, let’s put these problems aside. We’ll ride with you to Nesaak and from there to Troms.”.

The Lord said, “I’d be happy to ride with you, Jukaigo, for what you have done for Detlas.”.

Silver was troubled. He knew that this artefact could be dangerous. There were at least ten extremely dangerous artefacts. However, many had been hidden away or had mysteriously disappeared. Which one was Jukaigo using?

Chapter Fifteen: The Dragon Stables

Daran and his squad set out for Ragni the next day. And once again, when he finally arrived, he had to say goodbye to Shadow.

Falnon had of course got the same results as the others and even now was testing his new abilities.

He said to Daran, “Shadow is telling me that he is sad that you won’t ride him anymore but he knows what has to be done.”.

Daran said, “That was some great magic! Though the Dracotroll keeps scaring me. Every time I look back, that thing makes me jump.”.

Falnon said, “He’s called Graluk. That’s what he told me anyway.”.

Every guard who saw the Dracotroll kept glancing at them but they decided not to do anything about it.”.

Finally, they reached the Dragon Stables. The ‘Dragonmaster’ said, “Welcome! I’m guessing you’re Daran, Bolic, Gilin, Seld and Falnon. Now, let me explain the dragons we have here.”.

“Juggernauts are the huge ones with heavily armoured black scales. There will be lots of them here, as they are bred in Ragni. Whirlwinds are the small dark blue ones with no wings. They are extremely fast and have the best eyesight of all the dragons. Shields are also wingless but they are slower and heavily armoured. They have bronze scales. Another wingless dragon would be the Divers. They are good swimmers and have turquoise scales. However, they can’t breathe fire and also have fins instead of front legs. Mirages are the only dragons with no scales. Instead, they have tough skin and can change colour depending on their surroundings. And they glide more than they fly. Blizzards are the dragons with white scales and a few black ones around the wings. They breathe a frosty breath instead of fire, which is where they get their name from. Finally, there are Nightshades. They have green scales, are extremely poisonous and spit acid. And they have sharp claws. Oh, and there are also a few wild dragons that are more dangerous than the ones we raise. Those are the ones with chains. I wouldn’t choose many of those but some might be as good as the raised dragons.”.

Since Falnon had a Dracotroll, he wouldn’t choose a dragon. Daran said, “I think we shouldn’t choose any Divers. I don’t think we will need to do anything in the sea. Besides, flying is the best part. Also, don’t choose the Shields or Whirlwinds. Mirages would be fine since they can fly long distances.”.

The Dragonmaster said to Daran, “I think it’s Seld who should be advising. He’s known dragons for years.”.

Seld said, “If we get several different dragons, that will give us the advantage in battle.”.

Gilin said, “Then I’ll choose this Nightshade over here. I like how fast they are and the poison, acid and claws help with fighting lots of enemies. What should I call it?”.

The Dragonmaster said, “It’s up to you, really.”.

After a moment of thought, Gilin replied, “I’ll call the dragon Dart, since it’s fast and poisonous.”.

Bolic said, “I just realised! The stables that look empty but used are the ones with Mirages in them! This one looks larger. I’m calling it Levia, since it’s short for Leviathon. Dwarves aren’t very good at stealth so Levia will be the perfect dragon. I don’t know what it is with us.”.

Gilin replied, “Is it because you shout and yell when you fight instead of sneaking up to your enemy?”.

Bolic said, “Hey! We dwarves like to get the most out of the battle by crushing our enemies. It’s a lot quicker and efficient.”.

Daran and Seld were still choosing. Daran was choosing between two Juggernauts. Eventually he chose one and said, “I’m going to call this dragon Death. Do I really need to explain why? Seld, have you narrowed the dragons down yet?”.

Seld said, “With the amount of dragons that have attacked the Corruption, I’ll be surprised if they haven’t worked out all our weaknesses yet. However, nobody has any idea about wild dragons. But most of them aren’t exactly in the best shape. Wait, this one…”.

The Dragonmaster said, “That’s the worst one! It’s a strange dragon. In the years it’s been here, it doesn’t seem to have aged at all. I’m sure it’s not an adult yet though. And it barely moves for food.”.

Seld replied, “Unlike the other wild dragons, there aren’t any physical injuries wrong with Darmith. That’s the dragon’s name by the way. He’s just very upset. He hasn’t seen his family for years and he just wants to be free. He wants more space. I know wild dragons are often dangerous but he isn’t as dangerous as most of them. Darmith wants to be allowed to fly again. I want him to be my dragon.”.

The Dragonmaster said, “Very well then. However, if it turns out that you’d rather have another dragon then I’ll be happy to swap him with one of the others.”.

Daran said, “Thank you.”. He turned to the others and said, “Now we will fly to Maltic again and receive our next orders.”.

Chapter Sixteen: Prepare for Battle!

Daran was surprised at how quick the flight was.

Death was one of the fastest dragons; only Dart could outfly him.

He looked over to where Seld was sitting on brown Darmith. Seld was flying alongside Falnon and Graluk.

These two seemed to be getting along extremely well, since both could talk to their mounts one way or another. And through Seld, Daran could find out everything he needed to know about each dragon: what they liked to eat, if they were injured, what their own ideas were.

Daran glanced at the brown Darmith and wondered what the dragon was even capable of. Darmith had become happier but he still seemed to be the weakest dragon in the squad.

When they landed in Maltic, the Commander greeted them and said, “Well, Daran, I believe that even though you haven’t flown before, you still know how to ride a dragon?”.

Daran nodded and said, “Should I teach them more about magic to start off with?”.

The Commander replied, “That would be best. Do this for the first month of training and then move onto flying. Give them extra time if they need it then come back here to me. You’ll have to go straight into battle after that. I have a feeling that you, Daran, will be a valuable asset in this endless war. Maybe you will be the one to end this struggle. You do, after all, have the finest squad in Ragni.”.

Daran said, “Thank you.”.

Then they left Maltic and Daran said, “Right! Now I will start training all of you. Our location is going to be the coastal trail. Almost no danger lies there, as long as you don’t go near the crypts and caves. Katoa Ranch is nearby and we will stay there every two nights. Every other night, we will camp near the edge of Nivla. You need to know the basics of camping, and Nivla is the perfect location. Of course, we won’t go too far into the forest. The army has made a line of troops to fend off the Corruption and other dangers just near one of the spider nests. At the moment, they are trying to destroy the nest, so we won’t want to go near to it.”.

They all nodded. It was a few minutes later when they arrived at the coastal trail.

Daran took out an amulet the Commander had given him and told the recruits, “This is a Training Amulet. I can use it to create ghost targets. They will try to attack you but as soon as you are in mortal danger, they disappear. Gilin, you will start with an Arrow Storm. Every day, you will try to make it last longer. Bolic, your switch axe may be a less magical weapon but you can still cast spells. There is a spell called Shockwave. The axe will make this more powerful if you have it in sword form. Seld, you will be attempting a more powerful version of the Bash spell known as Bone Split. Falnon, you will try to use a more powerful meteor called a Dead Star.”.

While everyone else started using their spells, Daran hung the amulet on a nearby tree. Immediately, ghosts started to appear.

Gilin started using Arrow Storm on one target at a time, but it wasn’t long before he realised that he could use Arrow Storm more effectively if he aimed for the heads of his enemies. However, some ghosts easily deflected the arrows and continued to advance.

Bolic’s Shockwave blasted back dozens of ghosts surrounding him but they soon reached him and it was harder for him to cast the spell, as he had to fight rather than cast it.

It took Seld a while to even cast his Bone Split. By the time he actually managed, a ghost held his arm mid-strike and thrust him to the floor with a blow to the ribs with a club.

Falnon soon defeated the ghosts around him by not only casting Dead Star, but also by infusing himself with the power that reached him. Ghosts that got near to him burnt and disappeared with spectral sighs.

It wasn’t long until the mortal wound that would shut down the amulet happened. Daran thought it might be Seld but he soon recovered and started wading through his enemies. Bolic was swarmed underneath his enemies and was about to have his throat cut with a thin knife.

Daran said, “Not a bad start, but the Corruption will be endless enemies just like this. Remember that you will need to retreat from time to time or you will be destroyed.”.

 

Chapter Seventeen: Traders of Old

In the next month, Daran’s recruits trained extremely hard and in the free time he gave them, he went to the Ragni Library.

He read about how spells worked, battle tactics and similar things. One day he found a book called ‘Encyclopaedia of Ancient Artefacts’.

From it, he found out many stories, including about how the Corruptor of Worlds came to be and how he mysteriously vanished recently (this book was the seventh edition since more artefacts were found all the time or information to do with olds ones needed to be updated).

Interestingly, there were several which had disappeared at the same time: the Corruptor’s Skull, Death’s Scythe, the Durai Stone and even a seemingly useless but pretty one known as ‘the Eye’.

But at the same time, Jukaigo, the Lord of Detlas and Silver were riding to Nesaak.

Silver was surprised at how few wolves they saw and the ones they did see didn’t attack, even when they once came across a group of about twenty.

Silver knew that the wolves should have attacked but they didn’t. And in early August, they reached Nesaak.

There was always Wynnter in Nesaak, even when the rest of Wynn was in Godlight. The villagers were catching fish for when the rest of Wynn was in Nethershade and eventually Wynnter, and the food had to last until Dragonflight.

Silver and the others were escorted by five guards who were waiting for them to a large house.

The house was the Lord of Nesaak’s Hall. It was both his ‘palace’ and living quarters.

The Duke of Nesaak was waiting for them, along with the Duke of Nemract and the King of Selchar.

The Duke of Nesaak said, “Welcome Lord of Detlas? How is your city faring against the Corruption?”.

The Lord of Detlas said, “Not well but not bad either. Our friend, the new King of Almuj, defended Ternaves while we were heading here. As you can see, we met on the way. And this is Silver, the most powerful mage in Wynn.”.

Silver said, “Well, there could be more powerful mages or wizards but I haven’t encountered them. Then again, we are about to face the full might of Dern. I don’t know why they are suddenly attacking but it isn’t the best time. Then again, maybe it is better, as King Jukaigo demonstrated.”.

The Duke of Nesaak said, “Now that we are all here, we can discuss some of the ideas we have for trading and retaking Ancient Nemract. Silver and Jukaigo, can you join us?”.

Inside the hall, there was a side room with a map on a table.

The Duke of Nesaak said, “Since I am the host, I will start with some ideas. Fishing is going surprisingly well this year and the wolves are less active. We almost have enough food for Wynnter already, so in October I will send my Second Legion towards the Roots of Corruption. I won’t be able to fight the Corruption alone so I will need help from your armies. My plan is to push back the Corruption, then build a Fortress City at the entrance. Of course, we would block the southern entrance as well to make sure.”.

The Duke of Nemract said, “And if it goes wrong we can always light the beacons to alert Nesaak, Detlas, Nemract, Selchar and Ragni. But I think that with Jukaigo’s help, we will push back the hordes. Yes, I know you have an artefact with those powers. And it’s likely to help with Ancient Nemract as well. With both Corruption Strongholds fallen, we can rebuild the old trading route. Then all the armies can sweep down on Nivla and take out the Dern Army and all the other creatures in there and the north to east trading route will also be safe again. After that, we can turn towards the threat of Dern.”.

The King of Selchar said, “That sounds like half a plan. You put in the good parts but missed out the bad ones. We at Selchar are the main problem. We have a fantastic navy which can annihilate every last enemy in the Ocean. The problem is, we can’t go on land. We could go up and down the coast and bombard the Corruption but we couldn’t get to the Corruption. Mage Island is working on flying ships but they never work. The first one didn’t come down, the second went up and down constantly until it was wrecked on the side of one of the mountains on the border with Gavel and the third blew up instantly.”.

Silver grumbled, “They never listened to my advice then. On the first one, I said they hadn’t completed the spell. On the second, I said that the idea would never work unless it stabilised the ship at the same height level until needed to be otherwise but even then the ship would disintegrate within a week. I didn’t even know they were going to make a third one. I guess they thought that the phrase ‘third time lucky’ applied to everything. It only works with a charm of infinite good luck.”.

Jukaigo said, “My artefact has incredible power. While trying to retaliate against Dern may be too hard, taking these three key points will happen, though I will need your armies as well.”.

Silver was still wondering what the artefact was. But he knew that Jukaigo would definitely reveal it at the meeting.


Chapter Eighteen: Report Immediately

Two months after the training started, Daran said, “Now we have passed through the training time the Commander gave us, we will go onto the time I give you.”.

Everyone groaned.

With a smile, Daran said, “But that depends on how well you did. And I think you don’t need any extra time. We’re flying further into Nivla, where the Commander told us to report to last Monday. The Dern Army is being repelled out of Nivla slowly but they are recently attacking harder. There are also at least a hundred dragons, each one carrying two hundred endermen and armoured with armour known as ‘Endercrystal Armour’. It’s said to have been forged out of endercrystals, which are strange crystals that heal the Dernian Dragons.”.

They had been spending the night on another camping trip in Nivla. Daran had known it was the final test he would give them so he made it an interesting one.

The four recruits had the situation of needing somewhere for the dragons to pick them up. Of course, the dragons couldn’t fly low enough. Daran timed how long it would take the recruits to climb to what they thought was the highest tree, wait until their dragon flew as low as possible (in the case of Levia, she waited until Bolic gave the signal, then she glided in and he jumped just in time and hung from her tail, where she narrowly avoided crashing) and jump onto them.

They had done extremely well, though very narrowly. Daran had decided that he needed to go back into the field as soon as possible, as Wynn would need their help.

It took them just over thirty minutes to reach the coordinates the Commander had told him, where the second legion had fought back against the Corruption while the slightly weaker third legion had cut down hundreds of trees and placed them on wagons. The wagons brought them to another camp, this time with a few soldiers and lots of workers.

The workers brought any wood needed to any of the four settlements of the Ragni Region: Ragni, Maltic, Katoa Ranch and a small village in the Pigmen Ravines. There were also a few houses on the Emerald Trail.

Once the trees were cleared, the Third Legion had made a huge camp in the forest. Just behind the lines of the Second Legion, a fortress made out of stone from quarries around the edge of Mount Wynn and the wood collected from the clearing. The Second Legion then retreated and defensive patrols were made by both Legions around the camp and lines of soldiers covered the entire forest.

Many Dragon Squads had also helped by attacking the Dern Army from above. Of course, the Dernian Dragons were targeted first. They had all been sent crashing to the Army below, crushing thousands of Dernians.

But nine days ago, over a hundred of the Dernian Dragons had been sighted by a Dragon Squad. Since they were higher, they could see further. And they saw hundreds of Dernian Dragons flying over the Rymekan Plateaus.

Today, they would arrive. But the Second and Third Legion would be waiting for them.

Daran and the four recruits, who were now Dragon Soldiers, landed in a ‘Dragon Square’. This was a large area for dragons to land and take off.

Both Commanders were waiting for them.

The Commander of the Third Legion was a Nivlan. He had been born in a small village in Nivla. They weren’t ruled by Ragni but they still chose to help them in times like this. Nivlans had come from Gavel long ago, the Province of the Elves. They had come from a place there called the Aldorei Valley. It was long ago declared a ‘Sacred Land’ by a Kingdom of elves who protected trees and drew power from them. They moved there but some of them wanted to explore Wynn centuries later, when the elves first crossed the ocean.

The adventurous elves decided that they liked Nivla more than Aldorei valley, as there were far more trees. They only declared the forest south of the path a Sacred Land, so the humans could still gather wood. The elves also gathered wood from that area, though making sure they brought weapons with them to fend off the spiders in the north-east.

The Commander of the Third Legion looked like the exact opposite of the Commander of the Second Legion. The Commander of the Second Legion, compared to him, looked like an oversized dwarf. The Nivlan was taller than most elves and wore thick leather armour instead of heavy steel.

He said, “So you are Daran? I’m glad you could train your recruits to the status of Dragon Soldier. We are preparing for the attack, so we will need you.”.

At that moment, the other Commander brought out a horn and blew it. The Third Legion had been fighting while the Second Legion took their rest. Now they would switch and the Second Legion would confront the incoming dragons.

Even from the ground, Daran could see the dark shapes descending from the sky. It wouldn’t be long until they attacked.

Soldiers charged out of tents and through the arch in the fort. Well, one of the arches. There was a larger arch further down the fort. The entire Third Legion was pouring through. However, they didn’t make for the tents. They knew that the dragons could easily kill them. Instead, those with bows climbed up onto the walls and into towers to try and kill the dragons and soldiers who were coming. The others just hid inside or behind the wall.

All the dragons were in the Dragon Square. The Third Legion Dragon Squads weren’t coming down but were preparing for the attack. They would defend the camp while we faced the Dernian Dragons on the offensive.

We took to the skies and not a moment too soon. There were hundreds of loud roars, screeches and wails as the Dernian Dragons flew over the Second Legion below.

Chapter Nineteen: Guardian of Troms

Around the same time, near the end of August and the Godlight Season, Silver, Jukaigo, the rulers and many other people were gathering before the entrance to the Great Bridge.

Lots of people came to Troms at the time of the New Year’s Council Meeting. As well as the meeting itself, there would be the great festival of Craftmas the week before. While some people gave presents, others came to meet old friends, have huge parties and do plenty of other things as well.

The people who were gathered now were the caravans from all of the cities. They came early, as they never stayed anywhere and they wanted to be early to sell their goods.

Normally, everyone had to move in a queue when passing through the Great Bridge. And not many people went from Troms to the east of Wynn at this time of year, or if they did they went along the coastal trail with lots of guards.

However, since there were five of the rulers of Wynn, they were let through. The crowds cheered as they all went through.

Silver said to the others, “We have to stop in the centre. I need to meet an old friend and the horses need a rest. In fact, we’ll probably have to stay here until tomorrow.

They all agreed and when they reached the centre of the bridge, they went down the stairs in the centre to the fiery area below. Some of the caravans followed them and talked to them.

While Silver was waiting for his friend, he was swarmed by a horde of children who wanted to see his magic. An hour later, they were still there and he was telling stories of him tricking evil monsters.

Suddenly, there was a rumble and a gust of wind.

The children screamed but Silver smiled.

A gigantic dragon had flown down from a mountain nearby and had landed inside the Great Bridge.

The dragon said, “Silver? I thought you were going to Mage Island to make them finally learn magic.”.

Silver replied, “I decided that Wynn needed my help more, Rekedge. A lot more.”.

Rekedge said, “If you came for the New Year’s Council Meeting, then I would agree. But since you are waiting down here instead of going straight to the Great Bridge Village just the other side of the mountain, then I think you want to talk to me. Or both, as I see most of Wynn’s rulers here.”.

Silver said, “I encountered a hundred zombies marching to Detlas when I was travelling to Nemract. It wasn’t long until all that was left was a pile of ash. But things like that don’t happen in Wynn anymore. Two dozen zombies on the coastal trail? Even less likely. But then you have the army of millions of Dernians in the east of Nivla Forest, and more near Almuj and Detlas. Tell me, why do you think the Corruption and Dern have attacked together now of all times?”.

Rekedge said, “The most likely is that the Corruption spread into Dern and corrupted them. But even I don’t know why they have attacked Wynn now, and with more force than they should have. Luckily, the evil creatures who also attacked have disappeared as well, so it isn’t as bad as it could be. I wish Gavel would send their armies to help, but their gates are still closed to Wynn. If only they opened. The elvish ambassador told me last August. Then he said last Wynnter. Then April and this August. And now October? By the time they help Wynn, all that will be left is going to be about a hundred people fighting to the last on their doorstep! And as for what you wanted to know, there is a possibility. Many artefacts have been disappearing from where they should be. Everything which has happened has been leading to the moment of Wynn’s likely destruction since the Roots of Corruption were found, but then the attacks stopped. And then every last Dernian vanished. And remember the artefacts? That was a few months before. And the last major attack by the Corruption wasn’t even started by the Corruption; it was when Detlas tried to take the emerald mines!”.

Silver said, “I knew Dern had been corrupted since they attacked Nivla, but I thought the Dernians in Wynn went to fight against the Corruption. Now that you mention it, I think they might have started disappearing about a month before Dern went silent. I don’t think the Corruption is behind any of this. It seems like… like someone had planned this years ago.”.

Rekedge said, “You sound like that Bovine Priest who kept talking about a destructive force trying to corrupt all worlds and the end of all life. I never believed him, but maybe he was right. However, I’m sure I would know if something that powerful had entered our world. Everyone would know. It seems like… something dark and powerful, yet hidden… as if…”.

Silver frowned and said, “It can’t be… fell magic?”.

As soon as he mentioned that, everyone went quiet.

Rekedge whispered, “You suspect someone of using fell magic, don’t you?”.

Silver nodded and whispered, “It could be Jukaigo. In the past, some people with fell magic went after powerful artefacts to increase their powers. Jukaigo claims he used a powerful artefact. If there is anyone, it is him.”.

Rekedge shook his enormous head slowly and whispered, “No, it’s not him. He is only using the artefact, whatever it is. I would sense evil in him but he definitely isn’t. What I do sense are three things. As you have in the past, listen to what I say carefully.”.

Silver said, “No. It has to be. I know it.”.

But Rekedge ignored him and said, “Firstly, the greatest danger of all will never come, even if it was planning to. Secondly, the wielder of fell magic will only be revealed when we are expecting him the least. Thirdly, a traitor will pass unnoticed, even by you, and claim Wynn.”.

Silver replied, “Here is my advice. Firstly, for the first time ever, I have no idea what you are talking about. Secondly, you are only half correct about the second and third. I already know what has happened and what I will do to stop his plans advancing further. Thirdly, I should have gone to Ragni to talk to someone else, as Wynn needs their help, instead of coming here.

Rekedge said, “Thanks. Now, remember what I said.”.

Then he took off and flew out of the huge cavern, leaving five puzzled Kings, Lords and Dukes staring at Silver.

 

BUMP!

Yes, I just did Necro on 2 threads.

 

I always knew naming my character Silver and giving him similar characteristics to Silver from Sonic would come in handy in case the story got hacked or something....
But yeah, I'm happy to be reading the story again and rereading the old parts and seeing new easter eggs. The main difference I see is that Silver was added earlier, and also made interactions earlier. I also noticed Nightshade from my old story making a cameo, hopefully the next few chapters come soon!

 

I didnt get alert
forums plz