A Stride For Hope

Chapter one: Of Many Happenings Many people were out in their farms, working hard and others simply enjoying the warmth of the lovely early spring morning. Undoubtedly they were totally unaware of the doing of all the other inhabitants on Trellock (the country in which they lived). “Thank God the winter is finally over.” said Hathon. Hathon was the king of blazeton and he had black curly hair, a green gown and a red cloak, he had a mustache that matched the color of his hair, his face was tired looking but his hazelnut eyes were always bright. ‘Yes it tis’ rather good. I myself was tiring of the frosty cold mornings and sometimes even the snowy cold mornings” said the kings trusted counselor and close friend. He was not as tall as Hathon and not as richly dressed but he was still rather like Hathon in a way, he shared the same hair color as Hathon but his hair was long and mattered, he had no mustache or beard, he wore a cream white torso and grey colored pants he also had a wedding ring and he wore a brown cloak with a hood. “But now finally we can start growing our crops, and building up our fortifications, and I recommend we do so very early this spring, for then we will have a head start before the dragons come out of hibernation and decide to plunder and attack us.” “Hmm yes I think that a great plan my friend” said Hathon in a friendly manner. “If only this town had more sorcerers then perhaps we would have a chance of fending off those murderous dragons” said Hathon thoughtfully “and I wouldn’t be surprised if they have joined Morgruss” (a greatly feared dark sorcerer with terrible powers). The Counselor gasped, “But why do you think that my lord? “Well merely because he is a great dark sorcerer who has a certain way of meddling with peoples’ minds, and well in this case with dragons’ minds, which comes back to my original thought, and that may well just lead us straight to our doom, and that I daresay is information that will not be released to my people. Do you understand that Counselor?” questioned Hathon, intently meeting the Counselor’s eyes. The counselor replied with the utmost speed “Yes of course that information is safe with me. You need not worry my lord you can trust Me.,” said the Counselor in a definite tone. “Thank you counselor. It is good to have someone around whom I can trust. Its rare theses days you know” The counselor laughed “Now I must go and see a very old wise man, and well of course you know I’m talking about, Sereon, on some very important business” said hathon in a rather conversational tone. “O but of course my lord. I shall get the door for you” “Thank you my friend. I shall discuss further with you my thoughts and feelings on the subject of which we were just talking of over dinner tonight, and I trust you will remember your promise will you not”? Said Hathon “Yes yes you need not worry. Well goodbye then, it has been a pleasure to talk with my king as always.” Said the Counselor, “yes goodbye Counselor I shall meet you in this castle at 6.30”. Hathon walked out of the Castle, past the extremely well kept garden, through the gate and out into the open air at last, for hathon had been inside for at least three and a half hours. Hathon went straight over to Sereon’s rather large but nice looking wooden house, knocked on the door and entered into his house he sat down on a mighty comfortable chair, and when he was offered tea he accepted it gratefully. “How are things going for you then Hathon?” queried Sereon, “Not as bad as they could be, be right now but if you meant that question to be directed at me particularly, well I’m not so bad my self” replied Hathon, “now

then what have you come to discus?” asked Sereon in a tone, like if they were very old friends who hadn’t seen each other for years. “Well Sereon you are a wise, powerful, great man, and I need your help.” Sereon listened intently, “Sereon is there any chance at all that the dragons will stop harassing my people? They just seem to me to be motivated by an invisible force to just completely and utterly destroy us. And Now I am having suspicions that they have joined up with that dark sorcerer Morgruss, and if this is so then my worst fears have been true, Morgruss must know of the story of how this unfortunate town had been cursed. We stand no such chance against both forces, we are most certainly doomed Sereon Can you please help me’ pleaded the king. Sereon stayed in deep thought for a while and then slowly answered, “yes… you must be correct if Morgruss has learned the curse that was put upon this town an age ago then he must be planning something terrible, for he has many many followers and if he has joined with the darak (an ancient word of sorcerers which means dragons) there will be much more blood shed before the end” “but” Hathon cut across him, “you are a sorcerer and you have foresight do you not can you not come up with any plans of action what so ever?” asked Hathon in a sort of demanding manner, but Sereon stayed calm and merely said “you are the king I leave the decisions up to you, but if you want my opinion listen carefully to what I am about to say”. “I am sorry my dear Sereon I did not mean to get angry, I am impatient some times, and I loose control of my self” said Hathon in an apologetic tone “that is quiet alright Hathon,” said Sereon. “Now what I would suggest you do is. You must send someone on a journey someone you trust mind you, they must journey from Blazeton through the Iron forest and they must somehow find a way through over or under the Shattering Mountains, but beware there are a whole lot of bandits hanging around in that area, so they must be very cautious about where they tread. Then they must travel any way possible along the mountains to avoid being seen across the border of the dark clan for if they are spotted…well then the enemy will know our plan, which is exactly what we don’t want, anyway they must end up getting to Empka” but at that moment Sereon had a heart seizure and fell on the ground in pain for Sereon was old, he was about 290. Hathon jumped out of his wits and got down to hold Sereon whilst yelling to anyone that could hear him to: “get help please anyone” he yelled and after a couple of minutes a very experienced nurse from the village dashed through the door with a bag of herbs and medicines and a wet cloth, she ran over to Hathon’s side and thrusted him out of the way so that she could get a good look at the old sorcerer, and by this time Sereons heart seizure had stooped thankfully but he was still on the floor breathing heavily as if it took all his energy to breath. The nurse was madly rummaging through her medicine bag, but Sereon said “just get that bottle of green bubbling liquid and ……” he coughed very heavily, but the nurse was quick to understand so she dashed over to a marble bench grabbed the vile of green bubbling liquid ran back over to Sereon and poured it in to his open mouth and he swallowed it down, coughed again but not as violently this time, and much to not only the nurses but also to Hathon’s surprise, he got up of the floor and sat back down on his chair as if nothing had happened. “Thank you my dear nurse. That is the only substance that will get me out of that horrible state” said Sereon to the still stunned and confused faces, “it is a potion that I have made my self, it is made of folio tree bark, seeper oil from a far island north west from here, and the last ingredient is fresh pine needles from our very own iron forest” finished Sereon. “I am so sorry to frighten you like that but I am very old and not as strong as I used to be 60 or so years ago” “That is quiet alright Sereon although I do hope you will live much longer for you are a great man” said Hathon sympathetically” “you may now leave us nurse, thank you very much for your assistance, this will not be forgotten I promise you” “Why thank you my Lord. Goodbye sire, goodbye master Sereon,” said the nurse

bowing her head in turn to each of them, and she than gathered up he things and left. “Now where was I” said Sereon, more to himself than to Hathon, “O yes I remember now, they must get to Empka” Hathon at this moment intervened and said “but how will they get to Empka it is almost impossible, if they try and navigate through the mountains all the way to the south they will most likely be attacked or worse eaten by the wild torks, (a group of wild wolf, pig like sort of animals that can travel 3 times the speed of a horse, and has razor sharp pointy teeth) And not to mention those nasty goblins, and there is no other way to get to Empka then the mountains” protested Hathon “yes there’s no other way that you know of Hathon” said Sereon “Well what way is there then,” said Hathon immediately “Well they can travel across the Econs river, I know a boatman there that will be willing to take them across, and once their across they must travel through to Flaresta and speak with the Elven master, he has a magical portal that will take them to the ruins of Nartry and from there they can travel to Empka for there is also a boatman there that can take them back across the river, and then once they are in Empka they must find a man called De’role, he is a sea merchant and he will lend Them one of his ships but mind you they may have to give De’role quiet a handsome amount of gold, something like 150 Mora’s, (one Mora could buy 2 loafs of bread and a tub of jam) but I’d say they could bargain it down to about 100 Mora’s if there smart with there tongue” added Sereon hastily at look of surprise and disgust on Hathon’s face. “Once they have the ship they must set sail as quick as possible for Tamoon. If the weather is favorable and they don’t meet any unsuspected dangers the trip should only take a day and a half. Once they have reached Tamoon they must find a man magician his name is Amon Siel and they must tell him that I have sent them to ask a favor. Now li-……………… at that moment Sereon started to cough, and it sounded hard and raspy as if he couldn’t breath. Hathon reacted immediately he jumped up out of his chair and ran over to the desk where the green elixir was but in his haste he tripped over a pot plant and collided with the table that had the green elixir on it, the vial got knocked over and crashed on the floor spilling the liquid all over the carpet witch soaked up the liquid almost immediately. Hathon swore and got up off the floor and run back to Sereon who had now fallen to the floor with his eyes closed taking desperate breaths in between the heavy coughs “Pleas…e w-wat—ter” gasped Sereon, Hathon immediately obeyed and poured the cool liquid down his throat, Sereons coughing was not as raspy but he was still fighting for air. “Is there any more potion Sereon…anywhere” said Hathon his face now filled with tear’s for he was very found of Sereon. “n-no there’s n-n no…thin-g y-y…ou ca-n do, I—‘m old l..et m-me go” wheezed Sereon finding it hard to speak now, meanwhile Sereon was despairing and saying “no n-no there h—has to be a way” “n-o the..res n-not b………ut listen, they m—ust g..et t-t-o gre—son” and with his last breath he said “find……Jarek” and with that he died. “No no how could this be happening SSereon d-d” and with that he burst in to tears sobbing over Sereon, and the the counselor came rushing in through the door saying “I heard all this crashing and cou…” but as soon and he laid eyes on Sereons pale white face he stopped speaking stood dead still and slowly walked of to Hathon and said quietly “h-how w-what happened sire” stuttered the Counselor, now also he had tears running down his face for when the counselor (his real name was Jod) was little he used to spend a lot of his time listening to his amazing tales and his own made songs by firelight. “I don’t want to be king any more I’m…I’m so clumsy and stupid” Hathon let out a huge wail but he still continued “its all my fault if—if I hadn’t tripped that elixir wouldn’t have fell and I-I could have saved him”

“It wasn’t you fault sire anyone would have been in a rush to save him, he was a great wise man and it must have been time for him to go, but I’m sure he’ll live on in all our hearts, do not despair sire you are a great ruler and without you we would all be lost and we would have no hope, but you you sire are what gives us hope” said Jod in a comforting voice while patting Hathon on the shoulder. “Thank you Jod, I do not know where I’d be with out you. Its just-I just can’t believe he’s actually gone he was well so alive and inviting it seemed he would never leave us, although he lived to a very matured age, 290 years I believe” said Hathon more to himself then to Jod. “Yes a remarkable age. Did he have any last words?” asked Jod in a curious manner. “Yes” said Hathon slowly, “some rather strange ones to, he said “ you must find Jarek in Greason” have you any idea who this Jarek man is Counselor?” “No I’m sorry I haven’t a clue, but I think it is clear the someone here must take the dangerous journey to Greason not to mention coming back. Did he mention how to get to Greason sire?” “No but he did tell me how to get to Tamoon from here” so he told the counselor all that Sereon had told him. “And then he said “you must find Amon Siel and ask a favor of him” but that’s when he stopped” “Hmmm… I wonder what favor we need ask of this Amon Siel” said the counsellor “yes I just wondering that myself, but I’m thinking he might have some sort of device a suggestion of how we could get to Greason for the only other entry is through the mountains which is of course impossible because those mountains have all these cliff edges and well lets just say it would be far to dangerous and the other path brings us to close to the enemy” said Hathon thoughtfully, but those matters can wait, first we must deal with Sereons body, where do you think he would have wanted to be buried counsellor?” “Well he grew up here so I should say here he should remain, for he loved living here with us, but just a suggestion of course sire” “And a great suggestion it is to my merry friend, you come up with great ideas all the time, personally I think you should be king sometimes, but well it’s just a thought.” Said Hathon in a cheerful voice. “Thank you very much sire, well shall we break the devastating news to your town sire.” All of a sudden Hathon’s face darkened and he felt once more depressed. “Yes I suppose we must. Call every one to the castle at once Counselor, we may as well tell the news sooner then later, oh and you better also get some fine white cotton and bring to strong guards to we can wrap Sereon up and carry him to the burial room and there they…well they know the procedure” said Hathon almost on the verge of tears again. “yes sire right away” the counselor bowed and then departed. Hathon sat for a while thinking about all that Sereon had said to him, then he got up and walked back through the town which was now full of busy people doing their daily chores and other attending to their shops, while kids were running around playing games in some of the peaceful spots where some people come to sit under the golden leaf tree, to relax, or to quietly read a book. Then at that moment Hathon looked around and for once in his life he saw well and beautifully placed his town was and how happy every one was, and then the thought came back to him of having to tell his people the terrible news. So he slowly walked back up to his castle and went to his quarters which were beautifully decorated with gold and red carpets, window that over looked the iron forest and beyond you could see the shattering mountains still covered in mist on the high parts which the snow of them was just starting to melt for the cold winter had come to an end, there was also a bed cover made of the purest silk, a great interracially carved wardrobe made of red cedar, a painting of himself sitting proud and strait on his throne, a mirror backed with real silver and sitting on a dresser which had the finest whitest marble, was his beautiful crown wrought out of pure gold with a dark red ruby sitting in the middle of it. Hathon was evidently rich. So he walked over to his cupboard and changed into more suitably clothes for the occasion, he then put on his crown and went back down to his chamber room where people of his town were filling up the chairs in his hall and a warm fire was burning in a corner of the hall. When Hathon was passing

people walking to their seats they would bow to Hathon and he would nod his head as an acknowledgement, then he finally got to his throne and he sat on it warily and Jod sat next to him in a smaller but yet comfortable chair, then Hathon got up and called for quiet everyone obeyed straightaway. “My dear people thank you all for coming at such short notice but terrible, terrible tidings have come upon us” some more gullible people in the crowd looked up at the ceiling as if a dragon were to crash through it and incinerate the all, and to the look on the faces Hathon said “no it is not the dragon” some of them looked relieved, “but yet something just as terrible…” he looked on the verge of tears again, but he managed to say, “Sereon our great story teller, master, and friend has…has died, not half an hour ago, of a heart seizure and I will tell you truthfully it is all my fault” so he recounted to the people of his town what had happened in Sereons house, some had looks of great disbelief on their faces but others new what Hathon had said to be true. “Sereon will be buried in honour in his own garden, and if you wish to come and pay your respects, come tomorrow at 5:30 in the afternoon. I am sure he will always be with us, and that is all I have called you here for you may take leave now,” then he got up and walked away up stairs to his study to think about what to do with his situation. Sereon had gone and someone must go on a perilous long journey to Greason to find someone called Jarek, but who would under take such a mission I know none here who would do it and still once in Greason and once this Jarek man is found what use is it for I don’t know what to do with him, but then it must be done if we are to save ourselves and the only other option is to find the stones of old and 10 of them and they could be scattered anywhere in the whole of Trellock. No it is useless I must follow Sereons plan, it may prove extremely useful. He thought to himself. He then went and took a hot shower and took a nap in the midday. Hathon was awoken all of a sudden by Jod, “I am so sorry master but someone has come by the name of Mor’ale and he demands to see you sire” Hathon was stunned, and still half asleep. “Mor’ale you say?” “Yes sire. If you don’t mind me saying sir, he looks well” but Hathon finished the sentence for him. “Rather like me” said Hathon now turning his head towards Jod. Jod looked rather surprised but slowly said, “yes, ah how did you know?” asked Jod “Well this is rather strange” said the king, “sorry I don’t follow sire” said the counselor, “well Mor’ale is my brother, but he went out one day to visit Olrak, a little up north from hear by ship and I had no news of him since, I had suspected that his ship was attacked by pirates, and was sunk, yet That was only 4 years ago. Why has my brother come back here All of a sudden, this is quiet strange” said Hathon in a confused tone. “Could you please describe his features Counselor,” “yes sire. He has a long brown traveling cloak, a shirt with gold buttons, long pants, thick black eyebrows, green eyes, black curly hair, a mustache and a short black beard, he is also quiet tall.” Finished the counselor as if he had studied Mor’ale for hours, “my god Counselor you describe him as if he has not changed one bit” said Hathon “let us go and meet my brother. Lead the way Counselor” “of course sire, right this way” so they walked down the stairs and into the chamber room where Hathon’s throne was, and as soon as Hathon entered the room Mor’ale came running up to Hathon, yelling ‘how are you my dear brother, I haven’t seen you in 4 years tell me all the has been going on since my going away, my god its great to see you again’ Hathon was also overjoyed to see his brother and embraced him, Then Hathon said “come, come sit down, now what happened I thought your ship was attacked by pirates, and yet you turn up four years later, pray tell me what adventures you have been having and then I shall tell all to you about the joyful and recent terrible tidings.” So Mor’ale told Hathon about how his ship had been attacked by pirates but they over powered them, but then a horrible storm came and washed them into the rock bay where his ship was sinking slowly, so he and what was left of his crew swam ashore, only 2 of his crew and him survived, then they camped the night under the protection of a cave they found but in the morning they were disarmed and taken by goblins to be their slaves and were so for 3 years and 10 months. But then one night some dwarves that dwelt in

the shattering mountains attacked the goblins, in the night and in the time that the battle was going on they escaped, southwards and have ever since been coming south until I arrived here this afternoon, to be told that my brother was asleep, now what kind of a welcome is that Hathon Mor’ale said laughing. Hathon was also laughing. “Well you have had quiet an adventure, and that was a great story and I’m sure it deserves a great feast as well, Come come their will be much singing, food and excellent wine. Call all of our friends, musicians and guards, they deserve a rest, for they have been standing outside in the hot sun for hours and of course call your wife counselor, for it is time for celebration” said Hathon merrily “strait away sire” said Jod cheerfully, for he loved the feasts and the music, so he ran of strait away to fetch the people. “Now Tell me what has been happening here” said Mor’ale “ another time Brother, we have to preparations to attend to, come help me, there will be much time for chat later, come it is almost 6, and we must be ready by 7” said Hathon in a encouraging voice. So they went around telling the cooks to make an excellent feast and set up the tables and chairs, and put up decorations here and their while singing a merry song with Mor’ale, Light the fires, Set the halls, Bring the food And wines abroad Invite everyone into a chair Then eat to your hearts content Fill the halls with merry cheers, Sing and dance all through the night Then watch the magic fire works, After all of this is done, You stand up and start again.

Chapter two:

The Meeting So that is just what they did, when 7 pm came. All of Hathon’s and Mor’ale’s friends came, most were very surprised and delighted to see Hathon’s brother again. The feast was excellent with foods ranging from Forcacias to roasted potatoes with beef not to mention the ranges of wines, and for that special occasion they had old matured oak ale. A most favorite and expensive drink in Blazeton, then soon after, blackberry pies, and honey cakes came with fresh cream. When the feast was done and everyone was full the music started and some people got up and danced while others sat on the couches by the fire deep in conversation or others reciting their poems that they had made for such events like this, and among these people was a teenage boy, with messy dark blondish hair, green eyes, he wore a silver and green torso, white pants, he also always wore the silver ring with the ruby in it, because his father had given it to him. Allot of the girls in town thought him very handsome for he also had very good manners and was polite to everyone, his name was, Narth. Who’s father was a trader that sold and bought goods from, Islands to the north. Narth was Reciting and correcting a poem that he had written about himself and the lands around him. Narth’s Mother died when he was 10. She had some urgent meeting to attend 100 leagues away in Tereth, for Narth’s mother was a herbalist, and she got a letter saying that she could not learn to become a master healer if she attended this meeting in Tereth, so she went two days before so that she could reach Tereth in plenty of time, but of course his father was worried because he had heard rumors of goblins living in the forest and Bandits living in Devulstar, so he sent 8 guards with her, so she left for Tereth, but then 4 days later only 2 guards returned rushing towards Harn ( Narth’s father) with Serena (Narth’s mother) in their arms, she had been badly hurt by the bandits. The bandits had snuck up on them at night killed 6 of the guards and took her captive for they would not let her go unless she told them the ware bouts of her husband for many years back he had stolen what was rightfully his, which was a family heirloom that had been passed down for many generations which was a magic ring, though none knew so, they just kept it because it had a small ruby set in the middle of the silver band and it had once belonged to a great king from the city of Natry which was now of course in ruin, but he was one of their ancestors. Serena would not reveal the location of her husband in fear that they would take her son, so they tortured her until the 2 guards came in the night and rescued her from their clutches, so they then hurried back to the town as fast as they could, but in vain for she was to badly wounded and try all they could, but she died. Now Narth was 17, and was to come of age this very spring on June the 9th. Narth was a very swift and smart boy and could get himself out of difficult situations with out much of a deal, which is a good quality to have. Ever since the age of 11, he had been practicing sword fighting with the other children, and he was also a very good archer. Narth loved to listen to all the tales that Sereon had told, which he found very interesting. Narth had finally finished his poem, so he put it down and just sat by the fire soaking up the warmth, then after a while he saw a girl standing next to his seat who was 16 years old, she had long wavy brown hair, blue eyes and very fair skin and she wore a beautiful red dress. As soon as He noticed her she started blushing but managed to say, “do you want to dance?” she asked hopefully, Narth was captured by her beauty and merely stared but after a minute he came back to his senses and said “err, yes thanks” he tried to say confidently but failed, because Narth had never had much experience with girls, but he got up took her hand and went to the dancing space, thankfully it was an easy song to dance to and after a while he felt quiet confident, and in the middle of a slow dance he asked, “what’s your name” “Jasmine,” she answered “ And I suppose you want mine” he said

“No I already know, and you have a nice name, Narth” she said smiling, He smiled back then after a minute or two he asked “where a bout’s do you live Jasmine?” just the next street across from you, number eight with the vines covering the fences and the gardens everywhere, you should come over some time” said Jasmine, her very voice was entrancingly beautiful, Narth seeing her beauty, asked without thinking “are you related to the elves for you are so beautiful?” Jasmine blushed but smiled, then said “why Thank you, and yes my grandmother is an elf, she lives in Flaresta” “wow Flaresta, have you been their” he asked looking at her in amazement, “no I’ve never been but I’d love to go some day, I’ve heard its beautiful their, and that once you enter their gates that you don’t want to leave them” Jasmine said “yeah, do you want to go and see the fireworks, I think their just starting” Narth asked “Umm I’d like to but it’s a bit cold out their” Jasmine said “Oh don’t worry I brought a coat with me, you can have it, and don’t worry I used to the cold” Narth said at the look of concern on her face, but she said “ok we better go now or we’ll miss them” so they went outside and watched the fireworks which were always different every time they saw them. “Did you Wright any songs or poems or anything of the sought?” asked Narth “yes I wrote a poem, but its rushed and not that great” answered Jasmine modestly “ well it can’t be any worse than mine that I just wrote tonight by the fire, I had just finished when you came up beside me” Narth said “you do poetry” she said, “please read it to me,” “ well ok if I must” so he recited the poem he wrote,

I grew up in a town With the sea right out my window I grew up in a town With my father as a trader And my mother a healer I grew up in a town Playing games And doing archery

I grew up in a town And had much fun but then one day My mother went away And came back very wounded Then the next day she’d gone I’d cried and cried For many years But I’ve leart that what’s Meant to happen is meant to happen

I’ve grown up in a town And I love it here It’s been my home for 17 years I hope, though that no one else will Ever come after any of my family Again…………

“That was a very intense but a beautiful poem” said Jasmine “ and I’m sorry I didn’t know about your mum, oh how terrible, it must have been for you” and then she hugged him. So the night went on, Jasmine and Narth had a great time together, and then they started to get tired at a about 12:30 am, so they went outside and Narth kissed Jasmine on the cheek, “that was the best Night of my life, Thank you, when can I see you again” said Narth, Jasmine laughed then said “you can come over to my house any time, and it was nice to spend time with you aswell” she Hugged Him then walked of into the night, Narth stood still just watching her disappearing into the cool night and then he walked home and went to bed. The next morning he woke up, thinking about the night before and how he wished to see Jasmine again, for the very sight of her seemed to make his life a whole lot lighter and joyful, Narth just sat in his bed for a while thinking and then after about 10 minutes he decided to have breakfast, so he got out of bed and walked to the dining room and found breakfast just sitting there on the table, his father had evidently already left for work in the docks, repairing one of his trading ships, so Narth sat down and grabbed some fruit, toast with jam, and muesili with milk and honey, and ate to his fill, then after Narth took all the dishes to the kitchen and cleaned them up, he then had a hot bath and put on fresh clothes, then he went over to a board hanging on the wall where his father wrote down all the jobs that needed doing, it read: 1. Hang out washing 2. Water garden 3. Feed the dogs 4. Sweep the pavement 5. Buy, flour, eggs, milk, lemons, and rice (There’s money in the draw) 6. Go to Sereon’s burial and 5:30, and I might just be able to make it, Though I’ll be very busy today 7. At 7 pm put on suitable clothes And get to a meeting in the kings Hall, he’s requested I come, but I’m to busy at work, so I’m Sending you in my place And don’t be late, because The counselor said it’s of a matter of grave Importance. When you get back I’ll have dinner ready And I’ll expect a full account on What happened in the meeting, so you Would do well to remember what the king says And be polite. I hope you enjoy your day Harn… Narth looked at the paper stuck on the board, thinking what this meeting of great importance could be about, but in any case he got to work, sweeping, feeding the dogs, hanging out the washing, and watering the garden, then finally at about 4pm he went to the markets to buy the groceries, and on his way, most to his surprise he meet Jasmine, who was also shopping for her parents for they were to busy working, all of a sudden Narth’s face lit up when he saw her, and so did Jasmine’s, “I didn’t expect to see you here” Narth said “neither did I” Jasmine said in return, they embraced, and went along talking, about, random things from their past, and all the town gossip, going around, about Hathon purposely tripping to kill Sereon, but neither of them believed one bit of it, They knew Hathon, or their parents did in any case, and said that he would never do such a heartless

thing, all the meanwhile shopping around for the things that they needed to get, and by the time they’d finished shopping, they had to race back home, as fast as they could because it was already 5:20, and the burial was at 5:30, They just had enough time to drop their shopping and quickly get changed into appropriate clothes, at Narth’s house his father had managed to return, and was also hurrying, but all over Narth, and Harn got their only a couple of minutes late, and Jasmine arrived just after them with her parents, Jasmine and Narth came and sat next to each other, in seats not to far from the front. The proccesion started with Hathon making a speech, “my dear friends, first of all I would like to thank you all very much for showing up and so many of you there is, on this dismal and dark day,” Hathon took a breath. “and second I would like to say something for this special man, ‘Sereon the great was not just an old man but also a beloved friend to all, he knew all things that most do not even strive to learn, he was clever and fast with movements and such was his powers that he could even read your mind or with a simple flick of his wrist could create a garden out of desert and a flick of his fingers could blow someone of their feet. Most of all he had a loving nature but a fierce one at the same time, and I’m sure there are many other things I have not metioned but if I were to mention them all you would all be sitting here for at least another 6 hours” there was an air of amusement in the crowd. “which will not do at all, plus we have a meeting to attend shortly after this burial’ Hathon looked at them all intently then said “I hope all of you that have been invited will come for it concerns a great number of you and the subject that we will be discussing is again of extreme importance” the crowd looked in anticipation as if waiting for more but after a simple few seconds it was clear that nothing more on the subject would be revealed toi the general public at this certain time and place. and with that he finished his speech and walked back to his chai situated next to the platform of which he had just spoken on. Speechs by an assortment of people from the crowd followed throughout the ceremony and then after what seemed hours of talk an assortment of preists and helper guards dressed in black robes with a yellow strip of material around their waist as a belt lifted the beautiful white marble coffin with a golden decription scribed in it reading: Sereon will live on not as a legend but as a symbol of hope, he loved all. Carefully they lowered it into the ground and as soon as it had been touched down on to the earth people bowed there heads in silence for a small while. Then slowly people looked up and saw to there amazment what was transpiraring. Emanating from the marble encasment was a light, but not just any light the light was of pure white and it gleamed as the sun…beautiful but yet fulfilling it endowered them giving everyone a strange feeling of love and hope, and then just at that moment something else happened, a voice started to emanate from everywhere and yet nowhere at all. It spoke softly at first but it then gradually got louder and more clear. It was slowly uttering the words; ‘you have freed my soul from the bonds of this place and for this a give you my deepest gratitude, my life was a long and beautiful one and I’m now going to pass on my knowledge, power, strength and wisdom as so you will have something to follow after I’m gone for good. To one among you, and this one is someone that will least expect it, but when the time is ripe and yes that time is near, all should look up to the one and the your hope lies.” The voice faded. Everyone looked around in amazement( the light also was now fading) simply overjoyed to be have heard Sereons voice like a cool but yet warming breath running through them and around them. Some were murmuring to there friends about what had just transpired, many were confused and couldn’t make it out about what had been said, but the more brighter, intelligent ones seemed to understand it all and they simply smiled to themselves. Suddenly a clear famillar voice said “Sereon has spoken his last words , and these words I believe are of great importance.” Narth was starting to think that that the kings favourite sentence was becoming ‘it is of great importance’ he smirked to himself. “ at this very moment my trusted chancellor is recording these

intriguing words down on enchanted never wearing parchment, as to preseve it and yes I will personlally see to examine the script myself and if I find out the meaning of it all I will inform you in good time my people.” People from the crowd nodded in agreement. Slowly the audience dispersed and walked out of the garden. When Narth reached home the sun had already set and the stars were just starting to shine in the sky like a million bits of glowing shattered glass resting in the black night, quickly he entered the house and shut the door, then he walked to the kitchen to try and find the tinder box and flint so he could actually see what the time was. Finally as he was just about to give up looking it simply appeared on the bench out of nowhere which seemed extremely strange because he could have sworn it wasn’t the 2 minutes ago. In any case he got out an oil lamp and lit it up, the light illuminating through the kitchen. Narth drew a piece of parchemt from the drwer and put his index finger on it, then said clearly “ilstar”. Ink appeared on the parchment forming the number’s 6:50. quickly he grabbed a bite to eat, changed yet again took a glance at his apperence in the mirror and walked out to his farthers stables to grab one of the horses. He fastened the saddle and rode of towards the kings meeting in the castle chambers. As Narth passed through the gates and road up to the stables to tie up his horse a maid who was passing told Narth that “if he was heading for the meeting that he had best hurry because it was about to start”, Narth thanked her and moved on yet even quicker up the stairs, the guard nooded towards the door when narth told him the purpose of his coming. As he entered through the door he felt a warm draft of air touch his cold face, which was a big relief from being outside in the cold, black night. Everyone in the chamber room looked up to see who had just entered and when they did most of them had an confused look on there face because Narth as far as they knew hadn’t been invited to the meeting but Hathon was the first to actually verbalize the matter instead of just blankly staring at Narth. “ Ah quickly now shut the door and come over Here and explain all this” Narth did as he was told and quickly walked over to Hathon and bowed then found an empty chair next to jasmines father which was kind of awkward. Everyone was looking at Narth as if demanding to find out what in gods name was going on. After Narth had finally regained breath and fully integrated the surrounding area he spoke more to the king than anyone else. “I’m sorry to cause you confusion sire, but my farther was to busy to attend the meeting, he said that he had some urgent work to attend and he also said he is deeply sorry that he could not attend the meeting but he sent me in his place.” “ Very well then… now that I think about it this information could benefit our younger generation in any case come and join us, we were just about to begin. You’re just in time. “Now your probably all wondering why you have been called here tonight? Hmm, well first I shall need to tell you in brief what Sereon and I were discussing before he passed. We were discussing the a matter about our situation with the curse of our town and the constant attack from the Darak and from Morgruss the evil sorcerer, now I have been tossing things over in my mind and I have come to the conclusion that Morgruss has tried and failed again again to destroy us in order to obtain one of the seven stones,” everyone looked at Hathon as if he had gone mad then jasmine’s dad finally said “you…you mean that one of the ruling stones is hidden in-blazeton?” “yes that is what I believe Terek, if you think about it what other reason would Morgruss be attacking us for and for what reason do the dragons attempt the same? Well my theory is that the darak slash Morgruss seem to think that we have in our grasp one of the seven stones of ruling… and as you can now see they are right in a way one of the seven is hidden here but in another sense they are wrong because we do not actually have it in our grasp. Now the problem is that Sereon as you all know is dead and he was the only thing fending our city and all our people to certain doom and now that Sereon is dead that protection is gone and also I

suspect Morgruss has joined up with the Darak well actually he has more forced the Darak to join with him and that means we’ll have a double amount of force in one attack to fend of with no sorcerer…… so this will be our end if we do not act on it…he paused for a second then continued ‘please tell me if I’m wrong because then there will have been absolutely no reason whatsoever for this meeting’ Narth looked around at everyone, but no one moved or spoke. “ There are one or two options that I have, with the help of Sereon to come up with. The first solution is the Most Possible solution however I shall tell you both, the first is a plan of action that Sereon devised which unfortunately I do no know the end of, but of what I know I shall tell. And so Hathon recited Sereons plan once more to all that had gathered on that chilly night and when he was done there was a sudden out brake of argument among the people. Some were exclaiming that” it was impossible to pass through the soloman mountain’s unscaved and let alone alive” and others. “No living man could pass through the dreaded forest without being captured or having your mind play tricks on you until all that you had once known would pass into the deep of the forest and eventually would reach unwanted ears. Other rumors came up as the night wore on and just as it seemed the arguments would never end Narth stepped in clearly sick of it all, with a clear loud firm voice “Everyone please there is no use arguing… besides what we really must decide is who will venture this journey to find this man called Jarek in the capitol Greason” “No no that is useless” said the local blacksmith, a strange looking elder man with a pointed chin and a long scar up his left arm “let us hear the second option this one would most certainly lead to doom anyway” “Yes lets hear the second solution,” said Terek. “Ok I will tell it,” said Hathon ‘but it is no better, in fact probably worse than the first plan. Well the second option is: to search for the old stones of ruling. And for those that do not know about the story of the stones I will tell it in brief for the night is getting old and we must not spend to long here. The story goes like this: One day your old king and his army were way up North near Steklarth searching for the lost Dwarf king kimplern who had been captured in battle and was last seen near dark cove, when all of a sudden they were ambushed by a horde of knarls” Narth was confused already, “what are knarls” Narth interrupted. The king looked in Narth’s direction and then said “They are an ancient race of monster cross creature like things with huge muscles, ratty scorched, stinky skin and they have 3 horns on there head and there very fond of the ax as a weapon of choice.” The king continued with the story. “So…ah yes they were ambushed and the down side was this was only a search party so they had not too many soldiers with them. And also the knarls were in a pretty big numbers, which wasn’t helping. Just at that moment when the knarl leader was about to throw his ax at Jarnoth, who was lying unconscious on a rock. Something intervened as the ax flew towards the king about to lodge itself in his chest, the ax burst into a million flames it glowed momentarily as the sun would at mid hour then not a moment later it turned to black ash. The king was now stirring again… slowly he regained his feet. The Knarl leader stood frozen not knowing weather he should run or try and attack again, but there was no time to survive as The knarl also burst into flames hardly a second later, then he also turned to ash. The other knarls seeing what was going on fled in terror… but just before the knarls ran of one of them threw his ax unexpectedly at a soldier which happened to be one of Jarnoth’s sons. It was a fatal hit Jarnoth’s son fell to the ground dead. By then Jarnoth was completely awake. He dashed after the Knarls in fury and anger, fire running through his eyes, he had not even cared to look at what had burnt his enemies and their axe to ash. The Knarls took an unexpected turn into a deep cave, Jarnoth quickly fixed a

silver tipped arrow and fired it in the direction of the fleeing Knarls, the arrow got one of then in the leg and he fell squirming, as Knarls hate silver it just burns their nerves through and the silver arrows were especially deadly weapons to them. Jarnoth felt a slight lightening from his pain but he still continued pursuing them running as fast as his feet and heavy armor would allow. The cave hardly had any light, and as the king got further into the cave the light got less and less until it was pitch black, and he was out breath. The knarls were already scurrying down another hidden passageway, but the king could not chase them forever. He slumped exhausted, leaning against the cool granite just waiting for his breath to come back to him, then after a second he remembered he had a small flask of water on him, so him slipped it out of his belt and drank the remaining contents…it seemed like hours before he noticed a small golden glowing light protruding from a crack in the cave wall, he crept over to it in wonder. When he looked through the crack the blast of light on his eyes burnt like fire. Quickly he looked away but slowly his eyes were adjusting to the golden light and finally when he looked for a third time to his amazement he saw a room, spacious and wide stretching beyond the eyes limit in every direction but that was not all that amazed him in the room sat 6 huge bulky radiant Dragons each a different color, but there was one dragon the seventh who had lost it’s radiance and it seemed to be very sick and weak. These Dragons… the Darak as they are also known were the seven rulers of the lands and all of the lands at that, you see each dragon carried a stone and each stone has a different act for example ‘Durein’ the water dragon holds the water stone… therefore if he willed it he could make the sea roar up and crush our town…or another example ‘helandrekor’ the dragon of mind who can destroy a whole lifetime of learning’s and make your conscious completely blank and useless. … Now Jarnoth knew nothing of this, he was simply a lost king discovering things that would change history. The dragon ‘neffarbescor’ the dragon of fire was the one who had lost her stone, or more so had it taken by old old magic that neffarbescor did not see…and now she is suffering greatly as the stone supports the dragon and in turn the dragon supports the stone, and if the dragon dies, so does the stone, meaning the element of fire would simply diminish and fire would not exist. Not even the most powerful sorcerer in the world would be able to conjure fire. It would have removed its presence from this planet, and the stone well it would just become a rock like any other. And so you see as I mentioned before, Jarnoth saw that this dragon was diminishing in health and radiance, if the fire stone is not returned to neffarbescor within 1,000 years of it’s taking Neffarbescor will die and so will FIRE.” Everyone looked stunned but Hathon continued nevertheless. “The Dragons or Darak were what seemed to be sleeping, but really they were just searching in their minds for presence, for the one whom was responsible for the taking of the stone of fire. Jarnoth had heard rumors of ‘the Darak’ and of there greatness, but he had never expected the sight of them to be so stunning. All of a sudden Jarnoth’s Eye’s became glued as they passed over petre’karn’ the dragon of light, There was such a great powerful force of a sort Pulling Jarnoth, drawing him in, it was almost impossible to resist, if Jarnoth could have he would have drove himself right at the Dragon of life and rip the Stone of Light right of Petre’karn Which was of course totally impossible, you can’t just simply run at a Darak like a madman and expect the Darak to happily give up their Stone to you. ‘But there was absolutely no way to blast that cave wall in order to make a passage big enough for him to squeeze through. Then all of a sudden a voice from behind Jarnoth broke the spell. “Yah won’ be getthin’ in dere to fast sah” the voice whispered hoarsely near Jarnoth’s ear. With the speed of lightning Jarnoth span around and drew his sword crafted of the fines Mithril, A gift from the Elfish peoples, but alas it was only what seemed to be a harmless old man who’d been trapped in the cave to long. “Where’d you come from old man? And who are you” “jus’ bout ta arsk yer dat me very self, but ah my name be Larkna, an I got ma self stuck in ere’ when I was

runnin’ from dah dreaded Knarls, an well I couldn’ find mah way out, how bou’ urself then?” Jarnoth was finding it hard to understand this Larkna man but he gathered bits here and there and sought of made it out. “ah well, I am Jarnoth present King of the south west port/city Blazeton and I’m on a rescue mission trying to find the dwarfern king Kimplern who was captured…but ah now I’m in a bit of a situation myself, you see, and as you seem to be a sort of well resident around these parts could you please tell me if there’s a way out?” Arhh, yah aint a very good listener sire did I not mention dat I canrt fin’ a way out then? Although I do know fer a fact dat there may be an exit thru dah golden hall of dah gods…” “Sorry golden hall of the gods?” “Yah yer no dah one u was jus’ lookin’ at. That sire is our dragons…the Darak yer no the ah the 7 rulers of dah 7 stones…yah no the own…” “ yeah yeah, I know but I also noticed..” the man finished the sentence for Jarnoth “that dah red 1s a bit down.. Yer Neffarbeskorr or sumthin like dat hmmm. Ah I wish I was ere ta see that battle between her and Rooknubesh” “You mean Rooknubesh the ancient King of kings? The great wise one? The so-called righteous one? Stole the stone of fire…?” “Arhh yer that’d be right sire. Bloody powerful and skilled yah wuld have ta be 2 tak’ on one oh dose Darak…bleatin mad actually, but well Rooknubesh somehow he got dah best o’ her, yah no got dah best o’ Neffarbescor. Struck er down wit’ a ancient spell, dat spell put er in a bind dat she couldn’t get out of an’ that’s wen he siphoned the stone out o’ her it aint that easy tho I heard… it’s like right next 2 dere heart yah no an’ it wuld take like dah whole of magic energy it self tah siphon it of… an’ I erd it was hard aswel but wit’ dat bloody ‘cold staff’ oh yeh the cold staff shattered afta he’d siphoned it...but ah yep he got wot he wanted and dat be der fire stone…and used it he did…bloody overtook him dah power of that stone…poor bastard turned him partially evil…and his mind didn’ really cope 2 well with it eitha burnt down dah whole great city of bloody Natry he did” Jarnoth looked at the man in horror “yah…I mean you mean the fires of Natry weren’t started by the Dragons?” “Dear dear me yah not very smart wit’ ur history sire…well actually I dunno dat 2 many people wuld no dis…ah well yah no now…yeah evil blighter kept most of his doing quiet tho not many knew wot was really goin’ on he was even thinking ta go get som’ more otha stones yah no, have more power an all… but ah he was ah ambushed one day by ah sum who were dae? Oh yer um that Morgruss guy an his fellow sorcerers…so yah no Rooknubesh thought ah k lets do dah usual so he gets the fire stone out and aims at dah leader, Morgruss dat is…but de morgruss guys quick ta react with his fire staff…much like dah cold staff but its reality power is of fire which de Rooknubesh guy controls but ah do yah remeba me sayin’ Rooknubesh used a cold staff ta over cum da tru ruler of da fire stone…so ah wen dah fire staff shot a blast of magic fire at Rooknubesh an Rooknubesh shot a jet oh magic fire de spells kinda mixed in each otha…an well yah no ow’ fire holds a bond ta any otha fire spell, so the spells bonded an staying in mid air not being controlled by anyone…but the one who takes control of it first will own a very powerful fire spell…an unfortunately morgruss knowing this took control of the spell and sent it bounding towards Rooknubesh which smashed him to the ground lighting his whole body in extremely powerful flame. Before Rooknubesh could command the fire to go out Morgruss used a powerful summonin’ charm on da fire stone an well yeah he got it The summoning charm of course Sharttered the fire staff to, so ya c he left ol’ Rooknubesh ta burn an’ die…” “So Morgruss has the Stone?” asked Jarnoth surprised that this old man knew so much about the doings around here. It seemed as if he’d interviewed Rooknubesh and Morgruss. “Arrrrh hard 1 ta tell ya know don’ really no wot happened dat the stone, yeah an I guess dat Morgruss fella culd still ave’ it aye…so what ya reckon bout all dat then sire?” “It’s a ah pretty interesting story…hmmm so what happened to Rooknubesh…ah and how do you know all that stuff anyway Larkna?” Larkna chuckled…well he attempted to

chuckle in any case…although it was more of a snorting wheeze with an occasional choking sound. After a minute or 2 he finally settled and said “well I dunno what happened to Rooknubesh but ah well…for me I am his brother” Jarnoth looked amazed, he stared in wonder at the old man “wow that’s amazing I’m sitting here talking to rooknubesh’s brother in person…it’s an awesome pleasure to meet you…I’m sorry I didn’t give you a proper greeting please forgive me?” “Hahaha I didn’t greet ya any betta sire but I forgive ya…I aint someone special anyways. But yeah so I’ve been stuck ere for almos’ 3 days now…and I’m thirsty at dat” “Hmmm yes I can understand that. So anyway your saying that we can get out through the great hall of the gods or whatever you called it?” “Yeah but da problem is dere aint no way any of us peoples u’ll be getting’ in dere to fast’. And if ya go back the way u came ya just end up going round in circles, and that way.” He pointed in the direction the knarls had disappeared “most surely leads to the Knarl HQ an we don’ wont dat sire… I’m stuck for ideas how bout you?” “Yeah ah you know how your rooknubesh’s brother?” “Yah dat I am, why?” “Ah cause well…look do you have any magic staff’s or magic powers that we could have to our advantage here?” asked Jarnoth hopefully “hah?, arr wha’ wait…………… yeah actually I do…hahaha that’s great I’d almost forgottin I ad’ dis old thing.” Larkna pulled out a dusty silver stemmed staff about 16 inches tall and it had what appeared to be a water stone incrusted in the top and then there were two blue prongs at the end where the magic protruded from it. Jarnoth stared in wonder…. “ So Then would that be the only existing water staff then…just like the cold staff and the fire staff?” “Yep mate…ah sire sorry yeah well ah hmm this wuld be the 1 yeah she’s nice she is…you just wait ta c what she can do…watch this.” He aimed the water staff at the cave wall a commanded in a voice most unlike his usual casual slang it was as if he were talking normally but then the voice had a depth to it and it was also very clear and swift “lorpbora” the staff’s end prongs shot an amazing electric lightening water jet, and it blew strait through the wall. Larkna released the spell and he then walked up to the wall, which was still steaming, it had blown a hole about 2 meters deep. Jarnoth also looked “impressive” Jarnoth said “yes it’s nice” so do you reckon you could blast a hole where that crack in the wall is so we can get out through the golden hall of the gods?” “Ah yeah probably…but mind u we’ll have ta be pretty stealthy ta get through a hall of bloody god dragons… although they are meditating” Jarnoth looked confused but he didn’t say anything… he wanted out “alright lets do this” said Jarnoth “Yep but ah u’ll need ta move back a bit sire” said Larkna “Sure” Larkna held his staff in the same position and did the spell again…the blue jet of electric lightening blasted from the prongs and through the wall also hitting the wall behind it. A pile of rock lay where there had once been a cracked wall. Carefully they both crept through the entrance they had just made. The air had become somewhat warmer and heavier as the two men stepped through their newly carved entrance. Although the air was not the only thing that had changed as they stepped through, but the overpowering pull to retrieve the stone of light from petrealkarn had also returned, and the force was even stronger then before, all at once Jarnoth felt a pang of sudden adrenaline rush through his body, his eyes glowed momentarily green. Then he threw himself strait at Petrealkarn. Larkna saw what was going on and quickly reacted by Creating a magic wall of water in front of Jarnoth Therefore bounding Jarnoth back from his doom, but as Jarnoth smashed head on into the magic wall, he did not turn and thank Larkna for saving his life. Instead, in his possessive state he decided that firing his silver arrows at Larkna was a better idea. Larkna dove behind a jutting rock shielding himself from the

onslaught of arrows. Larkna would have disabled Jarnoth with magic but he had decided that it was more important to hold the wall up as long as he could. That was until he came up with an idea to get Jarnoth out of the state he was experiencing. Jarnoth now seeing that Larkna was out of his way, turned again in the direction of the dragon who was meditating deeply. He then started to fire his arrows that direction hoping it would dissipate or disperse the magic. It did neither of these things in fact all it did was enforce the magic with the essence of silver, a precaution that Larkna had taken in the seconds the magic shot forth from his Water staff. You see if you have mastered your mind to and extent then you may alter a spell in a simple matter of seconds. But that take’s a great lifetime of training for that kind of thing, thankfully Larkna had trained in his Brother’s temple in The under deeps of Steklarth, a temple now buried under thousands of tones of rock and sand, after a brute attack on the temple. Larkna was thinking furiously, he’d never seen someone so possessed. But there had to be something, he must have an idea, he knew Larkna would turn again to attack him any second now and he would easily be open to any attack with Larkna still holding the wall. Indeed Jarnoth a few seconds later did turn in anger and release another arrow from his bow and Just at that precise moment, A disturbing vision had clouded Petrealkarn’s meditative state. The Dragons super sense of danger had arisen and a dragons sense never lied, his brain assimilated in a millionth of a second that something close by was in danger. Therfore Petre’karn let out an ominous roar the pitch of whitch stattered a few things and it wasn’t only the arrow and the water/silver magic wall but the pitch also shattered both Jarnoth and larna’s mind and broke the part of there mind which allowed them conscious living, within 1second they were both out. Jarnoth’s soldiers tilted their heads upwards to chance a glimpse of the thing that had saved their king. There on the top of the cliff stood King Kimplern ruler of Steklarth, his hands glowing red from the fire spheres he’d sent hurtling down towards the Knarls. ‘Master Kimplern said a soldier breathlessly and bent his head low as he was saying this.’ The others followed suit. ‘You call this a rescue team?’ shouted the dwarf king way up on high, he sort of sniggered. ‘please do correct me if my words lie, but It would seem that you are the ones in need of rescuing? The soldier ignored this. ‘Master Kimplern how…what did uhhh’ the soldier stuttered ‘You’re wanting an explaination I am guessing?. Well first we must rescue Jarnoth. What say you soldiers are you up to a walk between the deep cavern filled with deadly spiders the size of two men’s fists? Or are you going to stay here and whimper in your armor and wait for reinforcements because they ain’t coming anytime soon. So what say you eh?’ ‘we will go with you to rescue our king, but no further if nessacery…and I am sure I speak for all’ the soldier looked around, they rest nodded or cocked their head in agreement. ‘Right’ and with that the Dwarf king quickly scaled down the cliff with his gripped hands and feet both hardier and stronger than steel. Torch’s lit King Kimplern and the party navigated through the cold rock avoiding stalagmites and stalactites jutting out here and there, they took many turns going steeply up and at one point they almost had to climb it was so steep. The lanterns were starting to run low so the soldiers stocked them up with spare oil. The soldier’s were starting to question in the heads if they would ever get out of this cavern or if they would be lost forever, trapped in eternal darkness not

knowing what the wind on your face felt like not knowing the touch of water or the taste of the new crisp apples back home in Blazeton, but then as they rounded a corner a light became illuminated. A light of such intensity or so it seemed compared to their dim lanterns, that it blinded them and all they could see for a while were green and red splotches everywhere. The king Kimplern and the soldiers walked into the light room. Sweat began to seep from there skin and they began to shiver, yet they knew not why. There on a rock lay Jarnoth and Larkna covered in soot from the cavern floor. ‘Unconscious sir’ said the soldier holding his ungloved hand to the kings head. ‘Are you sure soldier…’ started Kimplern as he turned to relies just how much danger they were in. A voice layered on every frequency blasted into there minds, a voice so ancient and deep it could not possibly exist it sounded older then the first day of life, ‘who would dare to disturb the mighty Dragon of light? You have gut little dwarf you do not cower’ ‘I’m intrigued by you master Dragon pray what is your name if my soul can bear the word?’ ‘Petre’karn, Petre’karn boomed as the soildiers fainted of fright and the other dragons rose. ‘Well I make a trust with you Petre’karn honour your code of non killing and I shall never say a word of you or your conglomeration of fire breathers’ ‘Oh but we are much more then fire breathers. You insult me Dwarf stand assured these mortals’ his nosel twitched in the direction of the king and the old fool ‘one attempted to take my jewel the other stopped his mad attempt no living cell has the right to light watch my right for light.’ And for a whole 5 seconds no lightr would shine it would simply refuse to work in the cavern fire and light finished with the blink of Petre’karn’s Eye. And the light flew back over all as a relief. ‘Some call us gods I am not as god is no one I will light into the depths of this cave with out I death would come if one so low as these mortal men would come within a perimeter of4 inche’s of my skin I would hurt and they would burn my essence.’ A knife of fire flew over the king Kimlerns head and hit the dragon a huge ball of light flew back past King Kimlern’s eyes and Jarnoth and larka had been taken by light back to Blazeton to rule out the years in power and Petre’karn died for a second, was diminished of light and then was flung back into light as his radiance returned. ‘what dark magic has eluded my life, I feel fine my body works, my mind runs smoothly yet all is not right I leave you, you lucky swarf to the mercy of life no leave us and the swarf’s mind was wiped. He awoke with the soldiers hwoe minds alike had been wiped in steklarth remember nothing from the last day of there life. ‘That is the story of the theft of the stone of light’ finished Hathon.