I was so happy to see Erram back on it's feet that I might've even shed a tear. But don't tel Liz that. She'd never let it go. I almost didn't notice that Renethon was teaching around a hundred people how to use a sword. He was accompanied by iZ. I waved to them both, and Renethon waved back. iZ seemed not to notice me. I looked up to the gaurd on the wall and waved to him. It looked like he recognized me, because he opened the gate immediatly. We started walking throught the streets of Erram. I saw a messenger boy run ahead of us, and I assumed he was going to tell Arrabella of our arrival. Turns out I was right. Arrabella was waiting in the throne room when I entered. I bowed, and I motioned for Seth to do the same. "Welcome back. I would hope that your mission to gain an alliance with the dwarves was a success?" Arrabella said. "Yes, My Lady. It was. I have brought with me, Seth, who speaks on behalf of Norwán, the Dwarf King." I nudged Seth to let him know it was his turn to speak. He told Arrabella that the King and his army would be here in about a week, with extra weapons, armor, the whole shabang. When he was done, Arabella spoke again. "We thank you for the alliance and are in your debt. Until the soldiers arrive, you are welcome to stay in one of our guest room. Gavin?" A man came from the right doorway, someone who looked vaugely familiar. He wasn't a servant, for he didn't wear the clothing of a servant. The man named Gavin bowed. "Yes My Lady?" "This is Seth, who representing the dwarves untill King Norwán gets here. Would you please show him to a vacant room?" "Of course, My Lady." Gavin said. He bowed. I nudged Seth, and he did the same. The two exited the room, and I was alone with Arrabella. It was the perfect oppertunity to tell her about Seth...if I could only figure out how to begin. "My Lady. There's something you need to know about-" "About Seth," she said. "That he is not a dwarf, nor is he an elf." "Yes...how did you know?" I said, a bit stunned that she took the words right out of my mouth. A faint smile touched Arrabella's lip. "I thought you knew me better than that, Irin." I heard a small bit of amusement in her voice, and it made her sound like her old self. I knew what she was talking about. Of course she would know. It's a bit hard to explain...but I'll try to explain it as best I can. Alright. So, there are a small amount of elves who are born with...a gift of sorts. I'm not talking about magic, or animal transformation. It's more of like...like a sixth sense. As I said, very few elves have this sixth sense, and it's a bit different for every elf. Arrabella is one of this elves. Her 'gift' allows her to know what people are hideing. It takes a lot of practice to be able to do it successfully, and it can take a lot of energy depending on how magically powerful the person is. In Seth's case, he's human. He wouldn't have any magic powers, so it was most likely easy for Arrabella to see what he was hiding. The more powerful the elf, the more energy it takes to use the sixth sense. I know all this because...well...I have this 'gift' too. Mine is less extrodinary. Basically I can tell if people are lying or not, but on a more complicated level. See? Not that extrodinary at all. "I'm sorry, My Lady. I had forgotten." "So he is, in fact, human?" Arrabella asked. I nodded. "Intresting. I though for a second I was decieving myself. But nevermind that. We have much to talk about."
Long story short, Arrabella told me about what was going on. How Liz, Lyn and Dash were getting some Magic Masters, how Renethon and iZ are training soldiers, ect. I was dissmissed, so I went to my room to freshen up, then I walked around the palace for awhile. Soon, I ran into the man named Gavin, and a woman whom I had never seen before. "Welcome back, Irin," Gavin said. I was a bit puzzled, because he new my name. "Thank you." I said. "You must forgive me, but I don't remember your name. Have we met before?" "Not officially, no, but I have heard much about you, and I'm pleased to know that your mission was a success." Sheesh. News in the palace travled fast... "And my name is Kore." the woman next to Gavin said. "Pleasure to meet you both. Now if you excuse me, I must be going now," I said. I went around them, remembering something important that I had to do. I ran up the staires and into my room, then I looked for it. The Ring. I found it in the pocket of my other pants. I took it out, then sat cross-legged on my bed. The Ring. It was gold, with a jade gem, no larger then my thum nail. The more I looked at it, the more astounded I was at it's beauty. I could see no impurities in the gem. Just pure jade. "A merchant would have made a fortune selling this, yet that man gave it to me free of charge..." I said to myself...more or less, because that's when... "Not exactly 'free of charge.' Everything has it's price." My 'protector' said. He appeared out of thin air, leaning against the wall infront of me. "Why did you give this to me?" I said. I didn't feel like going through that 'who are you and who are you working for' bit again. I was too absorbed in The Ring. "Because it's yours. And your going to have to use it if you want to pay the price." He said. Huh... "First of all, if it's mine, why do I have to pay for it? Second, what price?" "one, because there is always a price," he said. Had I known what a Rubix Cube was back then, I wouldve sworn that he was the human version. "Two, The Seven Lost Stones. Need I say more?" "Whoa, hold up. What about the Seven Stupid Stones?" See that, there. That's alliteration. I always knew there was a poet in me somewhere. "You have to find them. The Seven Lost Stones. I don't know what these Stupid Stones that you're talking about are, but you can chase after them when you're done with these." "I am NOT going to look for the Seven Stones. They're just a legend." "And how would you know that, Miss Irin. Were you there when this story took place?" "No! No one was! Because the story was just that. A STORY!" I said, yelling at the end. "And you know that for a fact?" "Yes!" "No. You don't." By this time I was fed up with his twisted sense of logic. "Go away." "You have to look for them. If you don't look for them, you'll never find them." He said, ignoring me. "You're right. I'll never find them. Because they don't EXSIST!" I was yelling again. "Have some faith, Irin. If not in me, then in yourself. You know the legend to be true. Your just being stubborn," my 'protector' said matter-of-factly. "I AM NOT STUBBORN!" "Really?" he raised his one visible eyebrow. He waited a moment, then continued. "If you don't search for those Stones, someone else will beat you to it. Someone who has too much power already." "Who?" I said, lowering my voice. "You don't know him yet, but you'll meet him soon. His name? Sentax." He was right. I didn't know him. But the name sent shivers down my spine. "If he gets those stones, Soroth will be no more." Said my 'protector', "But you have some advantages." "Like what?" I challenged, sure he was making all of this up. "Sentax has not yet begun his search. You have the advantage of time. You have the advantage of me." 'Yeah right,' I thought. Eye-patch-man continued. "You have the advantage of...The Ring." "This Ring?" I said, raising my voice slightly, "This Ring is dangerous. I want nothing of it!" "Dangerous, you say? Many things in this world are dangerous. Your job is dangerous," I thought about the werewolf hunting, the battleing...he was right. My job was dangerous. But, it was danger that I was used to. Puzzle-Man went on. "You lead a dangerous life, Irin. Perhaps that is why destiny has chosen you. But I can assure you, that the ring you hold in your hands will not put you in any more danger then you put yourself in." I shook my head, not believing him. "You still think that ring is dangerous? It isn't. And you can prove this to yourself if you just put the ring on." I looked down at The Ring. When I looked up again, he was gone. I looked at the ring again, turning it in my hand. Maybe it wasn't dangerous. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was. The Ring. The Ring. I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. Then, I slipped The Ring on my finger. And guess what? Nothing happened.
It wasn't even one of those wait-for-it things. Nothing happened. Nothing happened. The Ring. It was hard to get it through my head. All this time, I had suspected the ring would do something horrible to me. But here it was, on my finger, seemingly harmless. And the more I sat there, looking at the ring... ...the stronger the feeling was that my 'protector' was right. That I was being stubborn. That I was creating a wall of worry because I didn't want the man with the eyepatch to be right. That I kept denying the truth. That I was wrong.... I didn't like it when people tried to make me change my beliefes. I'm sure that no one does. When someone is forced to question his or her beliefs, there's not telling what they'll find if they dig a little deeper. There's no telling what I'll find if I start my search... Suddenly, I shook my head, clearing my thoughts., this was crazy. It was an ordinary ring. Nothing attatched to the Seven Stones whatsoever. The Ring. Angrey for almost giving in to Puzzle-Man's will, I took the Ring off and threw it. I would have nothing more to do with that ring, OR the Stones. I stormed out of my room, and I didn't come back for hours, untill night had fallen. As I lay on my bed, waiting for sleep to come, I felt something on my hand. Thinking it was nothing, I just brushed the hand with my other. But I felt something, cold and metalic. The Ring was on my finger. I had not put it there.
"What if we moved here and attacked from the side?" Lyn said, pointing to a huge map that was spread across the table. "We still don't know if there are more soldiers out there." Liz pointed out. It was almost Dawn, and Fálon wanted to draw up some battle plans so they would be prepared. "Perhaps that would be a chance we would have to take." General Ribzin said. The commander of the Cevkain army sighed, then scratched his chin, unable to come up with any answers. Everything was to risky. "What if we-" "PREPARE FOR BATTLE!" a voice shouted in the hallway. Pounding footsteps could be heard in the corridor. Then, the reality of the words sank in. The first real battle of the Arlem/Soroth war was about to begin. Chaos radiated throughout the palace and the rest of Cevka as people prepared to fight. People who knew that this fight might cost them thier lives. Liz, Lyn, Fálon, and the General snatched thier weapons and what armor they had with them, and started for the door. But they all stopped short at the sight of Dash. He was frantically writing on a piece of parchment. Then he picked it up and looked around. His eyes stopped at the bow that Lyn had in her hand. "Give me that!" He said as he took the bow and one arrow from her. Then, Dash ran to the open window, rolled the parchment around the arrow, pulled back... And let it free. As the arrow sliced the air and went up into the gray sky, it exploded in a blue flame, leaving an owl in flight. And something clutched in the owl's talons. Liz ran to Dash. "What was that?" Dash, with his gaze fixed on the owl, replied in a quiet voice, "A note to Erram."
The next morning, the ring was still on my finger. Even though the night before I had put it on the table beside my bed. I knew then that I was stuck with the ring. That it would be my everlasting companion through thick and thin. If it didn't cut off my finger first. I tried to forget the ring for the rest off the morning. I had a feeling that if I complained about it, that Gaurdian Guy would show up again and confuse me in his crazy twisted way. And I did NOT want that to happen. I ran into Renethon that morning. He invited me to come and help train the new soldiers. "Sure I'd love to!" "Great. They're comming along great, and most of them are fighting really well. I guess if the others don't learn enough with a sword by the end of the week, we'll give them a bow and arrow." Renethon said as we walked along the streets of the city. "Sounds good." I said. I tied my hair back to avoid it being tossed by the wind. "That's a wierd ring," Renethon commented. I looked down at the Jade stone, gleaming in the sunlight. "Ugh. Please don't get me started." As I said that, I couldve sword that I saw a guy exactly like Puzzle Man in the crowds, winking at me. Renethon dropped the subject. Soon, we were outside the city walls, and in the medows that surrounded Erram. Some men and a few woman were gathering. I saw iZ and waved. This time, he waved back. "Did you ever get around to talking to him? iZ, I mean." I asked Renethon. "No." "You should do it soon. Who knows how much time we have left before Arlem invades again." "Your right. I guess...I'm nervous. About how he'll react." I nodded. "I'll do it with you, if you want." "Thanks." He smiled. "We'll talk to him after training is over."
15 minutes passed. All was quiete. The Arlem army stood 100 feet away from the walls. Lyn was ontop of the walls, among the archers. Dash and Liz were on horses, among the other soldiers. Fálon was with them. The Silence was deafening as men and woman from both armies prepared to face they're death. Though the Arlemians were much more optimistic. Minutes passed. No one dared to move. Everyone held their breath. Then...all at once... Arlem charged. Cevka charged. For a moment, all that could be heard on that cloudy morning was the hoofs of the horses, the pounding of a man's feet. Metal clashed then. Lots of it. Too much off it. Moments later, blood was spilled. And not even seconds after that, bodies fell, lifeless. Arrows were fired. Then more blood. So much blood. A timid creature, that horse was. Lizeran's horse. And soon, Liz was thrown off, and the horse ran the other way. Liz felt stranded in a sea of violence. She lifted her sword to defend herself from an oncomming attack. The world seemed to shake. Madness had spread through the Battle. The disere to survive was overpowering many men's morales, turning them into bloodthirsty killing machines. Lyn was fireing arrow after arrow. She had a good view of the battlefield from where she stood, up on that wall. She saw the madness that had overcome everywhere. To her, it looked as if the world was falling apart. She could see what the others couldn't. She could see that the Cevkians were hopelessly outnumbered. Dash fought as best he could atop his horse. Fálon was by his side. As Dash sliced his way through his oppenents, he was praying that they could hold out long enough for the letter to get to Erram. If they could get help...if Errams army came in time...then maybe...just maybe...he would dare to hope for a victory.
"Alright everyone." Renethon said once all of the new soldiers had gathered. "Grab a spareing partner and show me how far you've come." The students split up and used magic to blunt thier swords. Then they started to trian. Renethon and iZ went around, occasionally correcting their fighting form. I just hung around and observed. A few minutes later, as Renethon watched the 13th person to drop his sword, he told everyone to gather in a semi circle, then motioned me over. "Lets show them what it's like in the battlefield. I think they need to see it." "Alright. Senario D?" "Sure." We walked 10 steps away from each other, then turned. I griped the hilt of my sword, then slowly pulled it out of the sheath. As I did, I felt a great boost in my energy. I felt like I could run 10 miles in a minute and still not be tired. I used magic to blunt my sword, then I locked eyes with Renethon. I saw him mouth the words, "Three...two..one." We charged at each other then. We met in the middle, and our swords crashed with a metallic ring. Then, I spun around then raised my sword to block his blow. I spun around the other way and did the same. Then I tried to clip his neck, and he deflected. I was moving fast. Too fast, and I saw Renethon was stuggleing to keep up, but I couldn't slow down. And I didn't want to. It was exhilerating to move this fast. Stab, block, dodge, block, spin, clip, stab. Then...it happened. I don't know what 'it' is...but it happened. We were about to finish up the fight. I crouched down to avoid Renethon's sword, and then jumped back up. Then...all of a sudden...I don't know. Renethon got thrown back, like, 20 feet away, but I didn't do anything. And my energy went down a little. Then this...electric shock ran through my body. But it didn't feel like electricity. It felt like... ...Magic. The world went dark after that. The last thing I heard was Renethon calling my name.
My eyes opened slowly. I found myself in my bed. Sun was streaming through my windows. I was aware of a dull pain in the back of my head. I was tired, and I stuggled to remember what happened. "Well done." said the eye-patch man, who had just appeared out of thin air, and was now sitting at the edge of my bed. "Wha-?" I said, not fully awake. I pushed myself up, then rubbed my eyes. A faint green glow came from the Jade Ring on my finger. The glow stopped. I felt a little more awake. I wish I had relized the connection of those two things earlier than I had. By that time I was still oblivious to it. "Well done," he repeated. I got out of bed and started walking back and forth across the room, rubbing my temples. "What do you mean by that?" "You have begun to unlock the power of the ring." "Yeah. About this ring," I held up my hand to show him, "It won't come off my finger." "Its not supposed to." "Um...why?" "The ring likes you." "The ring...likes me? It's an inanimate object. It shouldn't have any feelings at all!" I said. "Its not only an inanimate object. It's an enchanted one." I'll admit i did feel some magic in it. "Irin?" I turned to see Renethon standing in the doorway. "Youre awake...and...who are you talking to?" "The...he...eyepatch...you don't see him?" I wasn't sure what to say then. "See who?" "The...he's right there!" I pointed to my bed. Renethon shook his head. "No one's there Irin." So...I had three things that could possibly be true. A) I was going insane. B) My subconscious had taken a new form and was now argueing with me...which makes me sound like I'm going insane. C) Eye-patch man really was real, and somehow kept others from seeing him, while confuseing me with his twisted mind games...which was making me go insane. I didn't like any of those options at all. "Just forget it." I told Renethon. I started to leave my room, but then I heard a tapping noise. Puzzle-man had dissapeard by then, so it wasn't him. Instead, it was an owl tapping at the glass doors that led to my balcony. I opened them, and the owl flew in and landed on Renethons shoulder. It dropped something on the floor. I bent down to pick it up. "Its a note." I said, then pulled the string and unrolled it. "Arrabella, Cevka is under attack. Need more forces. We don't have much time. Dash." Renethon and I locked eyes, then we ran out of my room to find Arrabella. The owl flew above us. I didn't like the sound of that note.
Dash was breathing hard. He kept looking to the east, praying that Arrabella had seen his note and sent help. But there was no one at the horizon. Dash was exahusted. He knew he couldn't go on much longer. Especially with the cut on his shoulder. It hurt badly, and between the fights with the enemy soldiers, he found himself praying that it wasn't serious. He also knew that there were many soldiers out there feeling just like him. If not worse. The Alremian soldiers were slowly driving them back, through the gates, into Cevka. Lizeren wasn't fairing any better. There was a deep cut just below her knee. Her leg threatend to collapse under her any moment. She fought the urge to give up. She knew that if she did, it would probably end up costing her her life. But that didn't make it any easier. She, too, had noticed that the Cevkan army was retreating step by step. She too had noticed that they would eventually have to give up the city. Fálon had done better than most, with the advantage of having a horse. She was an adequate fighter, an had not recieved any serious wounds. Lyn, up on the castle walls, was the lukiest of the four. She hadn't gotten a scratch. But it was impossible to not notice that the battle was getting closer to the city. She had seen the citizens get out through the west exit, and hoped they had not been caught. Lyn loaded another arrow. Then, she released the arrow into the madness.
Night had fallen. Fálon didn't know how it happened, but it happened. The city had been taken. And she was now imprisoned in her own dungeon. Along with her army. Fálon paced back and forth in the little room left in her cell. When she tired of this, she sat down with her back to the bars of the cell beside her. She sat down with her back to Lizeren. Liz was still breathing hard. Her leg was red with the blood running down from her wound. She tried her best to put pressure on it and stop the bleeding. "This is some mess we've gotten ourselves into, eh Lizeren?" "You could say that. But we've gotten out of worse situations than this before." "We had more help then." Dash said, who was across from Lizeren. "Just hope that Arrabella got the letter and is sending troops right now. And hope that Lyn is safe." Liz nodded solmnly at the mention of her missing friend. She knew that if Lyn was alive, she was either somewhere in the dungeon, or had escaped and was getting help. Or...somewhere on the battlefield, taking her last breath.
Night had fallen. Fálon didn't know how it happened, but it happened. The city had been taken. And she was now imprisoned in her own dungeon. Along with her army. Fálon paced back and forth in the little room left in her cell. When she tired of this, she sat down with her back to the bars of the cell beside her. She sat down with her back to Lizeren. Liz was still breathing hard. Her leg was red with the blood running down from her wound. She tried her best to put pressure on it and stop the bleeding. "This is some mess we've gotten ourselves into, eh Lizeren?" "You could say that. But we've gotten out of worse situations than this before." "We had more help then." Dash said, who was across from Lizeren. "Just hope that Arrabella got the letter and is sending troops right now. And hope that Lyn is safe." Liz nodded solmnly at the mention of her missing friend. She knew that if Lyn was alive, she was either somewhere in the dungeon, or had escaped and was getting help. Or...somewhere on the battlefield, taking her last breath.
The moon loomed over the forest. Nemeran forest. Where darkness is inevitable dureing the hours of the night. A man stepped into a thin beam from the moon. A dark sillouette stood next to the man, listening to his every word. "They would have taken Cevka by now. From there, we'll move on to Erram. I've heard rumors that they rebuilt the city in less than a week, upgraded thier defenses. We'll see how they hold up against our army. It won't be too hard. We have thier Magic masters. And the General. This war won't last too long. Especially since we are the only ones fighting. Which reminds me...have they found the body of your brother yet, Sentax?" "No, sire," the sillouette said. "Strange. I'm sure it'll turn up soon. He escaped into these very woods. Duering a full moon no less. Something just short of suicide. But nevermind that. Soroth will be ours soon. And as soon as you return from your quest, I will be the most powerful elf ever to live." The man took a step forward, out of the moonlight, where his face was consumed by darkness. "But King Paltier. I've no idea where to begin." Sentax said quietly. For he knew what was coming. "That is of no relavence to me!" Paltier yelled. "And if you are unfit for this position-" "Your magesty, please. We both know that there is no one more suitible for this job then myself. No one has powers of...persuation like me. I'll find those 7 gems." "So be it, then." Paltier said, then walked deeper into the forest, Sentax trailing at his heels.
We rode our horses fast. Me, and around 300 other men and women who were joining our sister city in the battle. It had taken hours to gather a suitible amount of troops, and now, it would take hours to get there. And I wasn't at all sure that there was enough troops with us. Us being me, Renethon and iZ. We were to lead our forces. And hopefully conquer the enemy. I breathed in deeply, and the cool night air stung my lungs. Something wasn't right. "Anyone else notice that evil feeling in the air?" Both Renethon and iZ shook thuer heads at the same time. I breathed in again, and felt the evil. An evil plot was developing. I could feel it. My ring glowed slightly. Next to me, my 'protector' appeared, ridding on a horse as black as night. I blinked, and he was gone. The glow of my ring diminished.
Lyn kept walking, though every footstep was a struggle. The further she got away from Cevka and closer to Erram, the better. Lyn stumbled, then fell on her hands and knees. From there, she rolled over on her back, and looked at the night sky above her. Her shoulder was in great pain. She strggled to remember what had happened. She had been fireing arrow after arrow at the enemy, and didn't see him sneak up behind her. A soldier from Arlem. Not untill the last second. She spun around and defended herself with her dagger, then stabbed him in the heart. He dropped to the ground, but more were comming. She had to get away, but she was trapped on the wall. She had no other choice... So she jumped. She began to plummit to the earth. Untill she felt herself transform, and she was once again in the air, free, in the form of a white owl. Unfortunately, on of Arlem's soldiers saw Lyn transform. Someone with a bow and arrow. Someone who was a good shot. The arrow caught Lyn's wing, and she fell again. She was able to angle herself and glide as far away as possible, but a hard landing was inevitable. She slid a few feet, then went back to her human form. She stood, and slowly walked for as long as she could. Which brings her to where she was now. Gazing up at the sky, her eyelids slowly drooping. Is this it? she thought. Is this the end? It wasn't for a long shot. There was much more for Lyn to do. And we're lucky that Lyn heard it when she did. The pounding of a horse's hooves.
"Lyn!" I yelled. But she didn't move. "Lyn!" I dismounted from my horse and ran to her side. Renethon was right behind me. I kneeled, then felt her neck for a pulse. In was there. Lyn moaned and her eyes slowly opened. I looked at Renethon, and told him to do a healing spell. I didn't trust myself to do it. Renethon did the spell, and the wound on Lyn's shoulder glowed a bright white. The wound shrank and the glow dissapeared. Lyn looked a lot better after that. She told us what happened. Apparently, the war didn't go so well. Everyone was either in the dungeon...or...on the battlefield, lifeless. "We have to get them out." I said. "But first, we need a plan."
It was quiet...too quiet.... But of course, all that changed when I cast the spell. Resavice. The two gates infront of me swung open in unison, then banged against the wall, vibrating. The ringing sound cut through the air, then the sound softened, untill it stopped completely. Then... Silence. And then the pounding of feet. The battle cry of three hundred men, taking back what's thiers. They ran with such pride, such assurence that they would win. And still I wondered. Would three hundred men be enough to take an entire city? One with at least twice as many soldiers as we had? But I ran with them all the same, wanting to believe with all my heart that this night, we would prevail.
I loud bang woke Liz from her sleep. She looked for the source of it, but found none. Then she heard a series of yells. Cries. Battle Cries. Liz locked eyes with Dash. A smile crept across her face. "Breathable air, here we come," Dash said. Fálon also woke from her sleep. "Lets just hope they prevail."