Epilogue

Shortly after the battle, the Nequam that survived slowly began to regain their normal way of being a civilized people. My parents returned to their thrones, but after what had happened decided the people should live good lives, but do not have to be people of silence as they once were. They said stories are meant to be shared and told, not just lived. We all worked together to rebuild our temples and care for our wounded animals and friends. People then began to live as they did before Zelix, only it was in such a way that they exuded honor and humility.

I decided to take the vow to become the next leader of the people of silence. We answer the wishes of those we find most deserving and manageable, not only on Earth, but on every planet that has the ability to hope and dream. There are not many of us, and we do not travel often, but we do so with a gratefulness to be alive.

Merlin eventually went back to Earth. It was his destiny to protect the future king and son of Uther Pendragon. Also, it was our initial duty to return Aurelius' body back to Earth to appease Nimueh once and for all. We established a connection from our planet to Earth, allowing Merlin to make contact with us as he wishes and vice-versa.

There are those who speak of my story, and those who even say they have taken part in it, but in the end it was never about me or my destiny. I met wonderful people on my journey, and yes in a way they become a part of my story, but more than anything I had received the chance to be a small part of theirs.

Merlin writes me about once a week, telling me all about young Arthur. He says Arthur is the once and future king, and that oddly enough is the spitting image of Aurelius, and even has his characteristics. I hope that is true, for I can see no better king than him. This story was always about him.

Facing Nequior

Nequior had me in his grasp, one arms stretched across my neck and around my arm while the other gripped my face tightly, his nails digging into the skin. He dragged me backwards towards a cliff that faced a wall with the opening to the room. It was like a decently sized balcony, only with no rails to keep you from slipping off, and several Nequam waiting down bellow.

It didn't take long for Aurelius to jump through the entrance, sword raised and jaw set in anger. "Let her go Nequior! You know it's been me all along." He spat.

Nequior let out a sickening chuckle as the entrance to the room began to disappear. "I suppose it has." He tossed me foreword with such a violent force that it almost knocked Aurelius over when he caught hold of me. A sickening smile spread across Nequior's face as he licked his sharp pointed teeth.

Aurelius set me down against the wall we had just come through and faced Nequior once more. "Hope you enjoyed your reign of terror because it's about to end." Aurelius growled.

Nequior cackled as one of his long limbs transformed into the shape of a sword. He rushed at Aurelius with a speed faster than anything I had seen before, yet Aurelius caught his sword with his own, staring Nequior right in the eyes. "I should really thank the two of you." He mocked. "If it wasn't for your pathetic attempt at living when you were supposed to die I wouldn't be here."

"What does that mean?" I cried.

Nequior swiped at Aurelius' head, but he tucked and rolled, allowing him to jump up and make a shallow cut on Nequior's back. Nequior hissed and turned back around, swinging wildly at Aurelius at speeds I couldn't even fathom. "Did you think it a coincidence that at the same time he arrived here I did as well?" Nequior chimed. "I was forged by the same magic that brought young Aurelius back to life."

"Shut up." Aurelius yelled, swinging at Nequior's head. Nequior used his normal hand to push Aurelius down, causing him to slide to the very edge of the mountain peek.

I jumped up, feeling weak and powerless, but I knew the moment I tried to use magic it would only make Nequior stronger, lessening the chance of victory. Then I noticed the Nequam scaling the side of the mountain, eager for a meal. I swiped at the ones that I could reach, but kept most of my attention on Aurelius.

Nequior now had one foot on Aurelius' stomach, pressing down hard as Aurelius struggled for the sword that was just out of his reach. "It was a nice attempt. Quite cute really." Nequior said, just as he allowed his sworded hand to plunge right into Aurelius.

I let out a gasp as Nequior laughed in triumph, taking his foot away. But Nequior didn't notice that Aurelius had reached his sword. Aurelius wrapped one hand around the sworded arm of Nequior, and with labored breath used his other to plunge his own sword into Nequior middle. Nequior's eyes grew wide as a hissing darkness escaped from him, and with the rest of his strength Aurelius tossed Nequior over the edge.

I ran to Aurelius, trying to cradle him in my arms. "Don't go." I cried. "Please don't go."

Aurelius fought hard to breathe, blood gushing out from his abdomen. "Make every second count." He whispered, and then he was gone.

I held him to me screaming and crying, my tears mingling with his blood. Merlin was soon there, gripping at my arms and trying to pull me away, but even then the screaming didn't stop.

Counting Seconds

We ran as fast as we could, Aurelius effortlessly slicing through anything that neared him. Once we reached the entrance a Nequam sprang out of the doorway, crashing on top of the both of us. We struggled frantically, trying to unpin our hands, when Alati was swiftly upon the Nequam that breathed a toxic stench into our faces, and threw it into the nearby flames.

Aurelius jumped up quickly, pulling me along with him. Once up he released my hand to grip his sword with both of his hands, allowing him to swing freely at the Nequam that fell over themselves to greet us on the stairway. As Aurelius covered what was up ahead I kept an eye on our back, mostly using my powers to push away anything that got too close to us, and slashing at the things that disregarded my attempt. The stairs were steep and twisted around the walls of the tower, giving me the view of my family fighting below in the open, round corridor.

When we had finally reached the top, Aurelius kicked the door open, the room full of Nequam. We sliced through them, standing back to back, causing the ones I cut to burst from the inside out while the ones Aurelius cut through just slumped to the floor. Once all of the monsters were destroyed we stood in the middle of the room taking one second to breathe, then another to glance at one another approvingly. Yet, at the top of the tower Nequior was no where insight. We glanced about the room, but it was completely empty, only a lighted lantern hanging from the ceiling casting our shadows across the floor gave any sign of a person being here. Aurelius began running his hand along the wall, looking for anything to help him find Nequior.

"Surely he's around here somewhere." I muttered, glancing about. There were no other room within the whole tower, only stairs, this room, and the open space bellow. I then noticed a small crack on the wall across from the door way. "What's this?" I asked, walking closer to it. I traced the long, thin crack with my own finger.

Aurelius came up behind me, layering his hand on op of mine to touch the crack, when the crack began to give off a hissing sound. We both backed away as a hole began to emerge from the wall, when out of nowhere a long limbed hand reached trough, grabbing hold of my dress, pulling me into the discovered entry way.

Entering Battle

We encroached upon the tower within the mountain several hours after waking and trekking across the land. The mountain had been carved away leaving a tall thin tower peaking from its top. The closer we got to it the more putrid the smell began to be. When we were still a safe distance my father and Aurelius debated tactics, Aurelius use to being in charge of an army, not quite understanding my father's instinct to take control of whatever was going on within his kingdom.

After a few moments, my father trust his sword into the ground. "This is what we will be doing." He barked. "The dragons will go first, being able to take out more then the rest of us can. The griffin will then follow behind, able to snatch them up and make a pathway. Merlin, my wife, and I will then proceed, taking care of what we can. I have no doubt that there will be more than we can all take down right away, so when that time comes you and my daughter will continue on, and you will not stop until you find Nequior and kill him." My father's voice and stature was hard and rigid; just as Aurelius' was.

"Yes, sir." Aurelius yielded.

Merlin, who had been fairly quiet during the tension, slipped away to give the instructions to the dragons and griffin who rested behind us. When he returned he looked to father. "On your command."

Father then lifted his sword into the air and cried, "Anguis!" Instantly an army of eleven dragons raged over head into the fog that had begun to sink. Hundreds of Nequam began to spring up out of the ground and the tower's doorway, covering the ground in an almost solid coat of black. The dragons set fire to the mass, and a few swooped down, tearing at their limbs, but were quickly being overwhelmed by the hoard of demons. My father then raised his sword once more and cried, "Gryphi!" Nine griffin then filled the sky, some swooping down upon the Nequam instantly, others dropping rocks from the nearby area. The numbers had dwindled down to about half now, and my father looked to us. "This is it." He whispered just loud enough for it to be heard over the roar of the battle. "Make it count." He took my mother's hand briefly, touching it to his face, and then they and Merlin were charging into the fray.

"Make every second count." Aurelius said, looking into my eyes.

"Every second." I echoed.

Preparations

Merlin went outside to rally up the dragons and have them find any creatures they could to help aid us in our mission. My parents went outside as well, searching through the rubble and debris to make sure nothing of value had appeared. I helped Aurelius put on his chain-mail and armor, adrenaline still coursing throughout my body, happy to see the human I loved breathing once more.

Aurelius sat upon the slab of stone, staring at the sword in his hands, eyebrows furrowed. He looked up at me, worry creasing his brow. "Do you really think I can do this?" He asked.

I smiled. "I believe it with all my heart." I whispered, laying my hand on top of his as it gripped the sword.

He gave me a small smile and I saw a gleam of hope returning to his eyes. Laying his other hand on top of mine he gave me a nod. "I'll have you by my side this time. With you I feel I could conquer the world."

We exchanged smiles briefly and then made our way outside to the others. Merlin and my parents stood before rows of dragons and griffins, Alati nearing the front. There were maybe twenty of them all together, and Merlin spoke to them in a tongue I could not recognize, which surprised me greatly for I knew most things from my time in hibernation.

My parents approached us and my father handed me a lightweight sword. "This sword is forged out of magic, so it will not hurt Nequior, but it will destroy his creature of darkness for it was made with light." He explained.

I nodded and took it in my hand, seeing how the glow from my own skin bounced off of the blade. Merlin soon joined us, dragons and griffins standing and ready for battle. Merlin had his own sword and was practically bouncing from foot to foot, eager to get this over with.

"All right." My father started. "Theres a tall mountain not too far from here, maybe a days journey. That will be where Nequior has chosen to reside. The place we were before was just one of a few prisons; where we are going will be crawling with Nequam because he now knows that we are coming to take back our land. You must make sure to move swiftly and quietly, and most importantly aim to kill with one shot, you may not get a second."

We then set out, but it was already beginning to grow dark and the fog was growing thicker, so we traveled until we found a decently sized crevice to take refuge in. Aurelius suggested we take turns keeping watch but Merlin insisted the dragons had us covered. Regardless Aurelius stayed awake anyway.

"You should try to sleep." I whispered over the snore of Merlin.

Aurelius shrugged. "I feel I have been sleeping for years."

"That's because you have." I retorted. "But you have to be rested for tomorrow, every second counts."

Aurelius smiled. "Yes, I am quite aware of my seconds." He arranged himself so that he could recline against the wall of the crevice. "Come here." He motioned, allowing me to rest next to him with his arm around my shoulders. "I will rest like this." He whispered. "Being sure that every second counts."

I turned my head towards his chest and took a deep breath, inhaling the earthly smells that still clung to his clothes. My mind drifted to the memories of our time on Earth and I thought through each second that we had spent together and fell asleep grateful for every last one of them.

His Return

My brother, parents, and I worked together with our powers to remove the parts of the temple that we could, but most of them were too big for us to handle, so most of the work was down by the dragons. When we had finally reached the bottom, the stairwell down into the floor was still intact with just a few pieces of debris resting upon the steps. We glanced around briefly and then quickly enter the hidden room; the candles lining the walls burst with flames that for a brief moment seemed to climb up the walls and to the ceiling before settling down to a moderate glow.

My father and mother approached the encased body, and quickly glanced to one another. Taking each other's hand they closed their eyes and placed their free hand over the glow of the shield. They stayed that way for a few minutes, the rest of us becoming antsy as no noticeable change took place. My mother then opened her eyes and reached out towards Edgar.

Edgar approached her timidly, taking deep breaths to calm his nerves. We he reached my mother she stooped down, picking him up, and had him lay a paw upon the shield. No apparent pain inflicted him like when I had touched the shield previously. My mother closed her eyes once again, Edgar doing the same, and purple sparks began to emanate from the shield.

Merlin took my hand to calm my nerves, and I greatly accepted it. The candles about the room began to flicker wildly, but neither my parents or Edgar made a movement. My grip tightened around Merlin's hand; whatever kind of magic this was was not the kind of magic I was accustomed to. The candles then quickly died out, leaving us in a darkness that seemed almost unnatural. I let out a small gasp and quickly tried to relight all of the candles. Merlin took hold of the free hand I tried to use and he tried to soothe me.

"Relax, dear sister." He whispered. "All is well."

I let out a deep shaky sigh and glanced about the room. I began to fidget, still unable to see what was going on with Edgar and my parents, when a dim light began to spread from the candles, slowly illuminating the chamber once again. The shield had disappeared and Edgar was also gone himself. I rushed over to Aurelius, who appeared to be sleeping.

"Why doesn't he wake?" I asked.

"You must wake him." My mother prodded. "Call his name."

I felt my heart racing a hundred miles in my chest; all the feelings I had felt in my human body still coursing through my veins. I ran a hand across his forehead, brushing across his unusually combed hair, and down his temple to his cheek. "Aurelius," I breathed. "Time to wake up."

Aurelius' eyes opened slowly, and he glanced about as if none of it had sunk in. He then looked to me and he stopped glancing about, trying to focus. "Fia?" He asked. I nodded as he then glanced down at his own hands, inspecting them. Looking back at me he remarked, "You look a lot smaller." He sat up slowly and flashed me a crooked smile.

"No, you just got bigger." I retorted, tears wetting my eyes.

"Is that a fat joke?" He inquired. I just smiled.

"Well if you've had enough bantering we have important things that must be attended to." My father retorted. "Nequior is still out there, and Aurelius is the only one that can destroy him. As you have noticed our magic simply feeds him, and dragons are built of magic just as we are. Our only hope is that we get Aurelius to him safely so that he can end all of this suffering." He walked over to one of the grooves formed along the wall and pulled out the chain-mail and armor that Aurelius had worn during his last battle. After handing them to Aurelius he then proceeded to another wall and pulled from within it Aurelius' sword. "This" he said, holding the sword out with both hands. "is your destiny."

Edgar

I felt my breath catch in my throat and I backed away from Edgar, purposefully trying to keep myself from understanding. My eyes began to feel the warm pricking of tears as I barely gasped out the words, "Where did you get those scars?"

Edgar stood with his gaze cast downward and a slight breeze whipped at his exposed white fur. "They're battle wounds." He muttered.

Everything about me seemed to be spinning and I felt my knees begin to buckle as Merlin grabbed a hold of me, easing me down to a sitting position on the ground. My parents were now in front of me, my mother laying a her long, delicate fingers across my forehead, relieving my dizziness; the darkness now fading from her and my father as well.

I did not understand how Edgar could have the same battle wounds that Aurelius would have. It was all too much for me so I tried to focus on simply breathing as tears blurred my vision. I closed my eyes, fighting to maintain my own composure.

"I'm sorry." Opening my eyes again I saw Edgar in front of me, his fur wetted by his own tears. His ears drooped greatly and his eyes glistened before me. Reaching a paw out towards me, he whispered again, "I'm sorry."

"Aurelius?" I breathed, as recognition brightened his eyes. Pulling him in a tight hug I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't know how this was possible, but the mere fact that it was filled me with hope. Still holding him in my arms I looked to my parents who exchanged looks with one another. "I found his body in a temple, but it was destroyed by a bunch of dragons before I could do anything."

My parents looked at one another once again before my mother explained, "He came to us many years ago, savagely wounded. At the time our people were unaware of the sufferings of other planets, we simply lived for ourselves, but in this boy your father and I saw the future, and that he had a destiny not yet accomplished. We could not save him in his human body, so we rescued the small bit of his soul that still hung on and allowed him to bear a body like our own. We then took his human shell and placed it under the casing that over time would heal it the best it could, as you must have stumbled upon. We then asked what name he would like to go by and he told us Edgar always seemed like a nice name to him, that he had met a nice fellow with that name once. We then gave him a farm to reside over, knowing about the dragon he had slain it was now his responsibility to care for what he had previously destroyed."

"That dragon was going to kill me." I stated.

My mother continued, "From that point on we aided in those hunted and destroyed on other planets, such as the dragons and griffins you have encountered. When our previous home was attacked it was Edgar who rescued who he could, even taking his own human body with him here. Before you were born Edgar came to us, our new home now under attack, and requesting fervently to be the one to take you and your brother to safety on another planet. Your father and I knew this was his destiny, to always preside over you and assure your safety, so we relented. But with his body hidden away in the great stone temple and still wounded we could not allow him to take his human form, so he became the fuzzy rabbit you now have before you."

I looked down at Edgar who now became known to me as Aurelius, who sat unsure of what he should do with himself after hearing his own story.

"His destiny is still not over. We must get to that temple quickly so that young Aurelius may join us in battle." My father stated.

"How are we going to get all the way there?" I asked. "Plus I saw the temple destroyed there will be no way of getting to the case."

Merlin let our a chuckle. "Oh don't worry about that, sister." He chimed with an army of eight or nine dragons looming behind him.

Break Through

Nequior let out a deep chortle, looking me in the eyes. "Good luck, princess." And just as one of the dragons dropped down onto the ground Nequior vanished, a tall pillar of smoke curling into the air in his place.

I glanced over at my parents who tried their best to huddle in the fair corner, shielding their eyes from the light that now peaked through the chaos of dragons scratching at the roof. I was now faced with the dragon that had landed in front of me. It was smaller, making it easier to drop through the roof, and its scales cast purple spots reflected from the incoming light. I baked up as much as I could before the wall, now full of as many cracks as the ceiling, stopped me. The dragon approached me, letting out an ear-piercing screech. The wall gave out behind me, pulling me with it. I felt several sharp pings of pain along my back as well as the warmth return to my arms. My breaths came fast as I watched ten dragons swoop in to destroy the rest of the dome. I closed my eyes, feeling unable to move, when I felt damp, hot breath move across my face. I opened my eyes, greeted by the golden eyes of the purple dragon I had previously encountered.

I bolted upright, instantly feeling crippled by the raw pain that spread across my back. The dragon sat in front of me, looking to its left. I glanced the way the dragon looked and noticed Edgar sitting just beyond the debris caused from the falling wall.

"Edgar, what are you doing?" I cried, feeling that he would surely be eaten by one of the dragons.

He hopped over to me, careful to avoid the sharp edges of the clay wreckage. "I thought I would never see you again." He Jumped onto my lap, raising a paw to the side of my face. "Did he do this?"

I raised my own hand to my face, not noticing until now that Nequior had left scrapes across my cheek. Apparently even my new body was as fragile as a human's. "Don't worry about that." I glanced around, unable move much without pain surging through my body. "My parents..."

"They're all right, Merlin is with them now." His nose twitched briefly before me made his way behind me. "Don't move." He commanded as he began to tug away at the pieces of clay stuck in my skin.

I closed my eyes and clenched my fists, trying to concentrate on anything but the pain, when I remembered the darkness that had spread through my arms. Opening my eyes, I glanced down noticing the dark color fading to a pale gray. Edgar was swift back in my view. "Edgar, your jacket is all torn up." He bat at my hand, clinging to his torn up top coat.

"Never mind that." He glanced around a bit before looking back at me. "Come, let's get to your parents." I stood up carefully, still feeling the sting of where the clay had impaled my skin, and made my way to Merlin and my parents, Edgar following behind.

Merlin was disconnecting the chains from my parents, which still hung from my own hand, and helped brush debris off of them. Once we got close to them Merlin's head snapped up towards me and he quickly made his way over, wrapping me in a warm and familiar hug. He then pulled away from the hug and quickly helped me out of my chains. "Listen, Fia, there's something we need to talk about." He whispered, eyes seemingly conflicted. He glanced down at Edgar, then back at me.

"What is it?" I asked, growing quite confused.

"Edgar, I think it's time to remove your coat." Merlin announced.

Edgars ears drooped as he looked up at Merlin. "What good could it possibly do?" He said, sounding utterly defeated. He fidgeted from one foot to the other, contemplating it for a moment. Finally he nodded and unbuttoned his top coat, and taking a deep breath took it off. Underneath Edgar's jacket was two scars, one small around his shoulder, the other bigger and much more obvious upon his abdomen.

Dragons

No one said anything for a long while, letting the silence of the unknown sink in. I wish I knew what had happened to Merlin, or Edgar and Alati for that matter, but most of all my mind still raced with thoughts of Aurelius. As the darkness crawled up my arms, leaving them so cold that it felt like dry ice was being spread across them, thoughts of Aurelius kept me oddly hopeful. I know I saw his body buried underneath all of that debris, but if all of my magic could not free him, maybe heavy rock couldn't either, keeping him safe and preserved. Still, even if his body is still intact I noticed no signs of life. Yet I cannot shake the feeling that he's out there somewhere, somehow.

I laid my back against the wall, looking up at the black void that hid the ceiling, and let out a deep sigh.

"Do not be afraid." My father said from his dark corner. "If your brother is anything like the son I once knew, he's alive. Plus Nequior would never kill someone as powerful as Merlin. At the very least he would be chained as you and I are. Nequior feeds on our powers, and Merlin feed him for years no doubt."

"What will happen to you if we don't escape?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking, afraid I already knew the answer.

"We will become like the Nequam." He said, plain and simple.

"So... the Nequam..."

"They use to be people... like us."

I felt a sickness in my stomach like I had eaten a giant rock. I had killed my own people without even knowing. It was no wonder our people chose to become a people of silence after the things they had seen.

We said nothing else to each other. What would we even say? We were faced with our fate: death. So much for my great destiny, a story that would matter. I grew angry, this whole thing was filled with so much hype, and all for nothing. I stood up, frustrated that I had nothing to take my anger out on, and began to tug at my chains. I knew it was useless but it was a kind of stress relief.

Nequior was soon in the prison room once again, a lit lantern casting a long shadow across the wall. "What are you doing?" He hissed.

I stopped, confused by his question. Then I heard the sound of rumblings. I felt a smile spread on my face as I saw for the first time fear in the eyes of our demon captor. "Well, I'm not doing anything."

He scowled at me just before the roof of our clay-dome cracked across the ceiling, shedding light into the darkness. The roof quickly withered away in pieces, revealing several dragons digging their way into our prison where both my parents and I were still chained to the wall.

Nequior

He let out a loud, hubristic laugh that bounced off the walls causing it to be seemingly amplified as he laid a long lanky hand across his slender belly. His mouth seemed to reach from one side of his face all the way to the other, practically cutting it in half, and was filled with lots of small pointed teeth that overlapped one another when he finally finished laughing and gave us a toothy grin.

I launched forward, trying to get at him, but was instantly snapped back by the chins. "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" I was seething, moving forward as far as possible, regardless of the pain caused by the chains digging into my wrists.

The creature seemed to frown at me, long arms drooping to his sides. Calmly he walked over to me, and proceeded to hold the lamp up next to my face, his serpentine eyes giving me an execrable look. "Now don't tell me you didn't hear bedtime stories about me?" He reached his free hand up to my face, letting his long, sharp fingers glide slowly down my face. "Or did mommy and daddy fail as parents?"

I scowled and turned my head, trying my best to bite a chunk out of his onyx limb.

He jerked his hand back, only to let it snap back, slapping me so hard I flew back against the wall. "How dare you!" He hissed.

"Leave her alone Nequior!" My mother pleaded in an urgent, depleted voice.

Nequior loomed above me, and then bent down to be more at my level, twitching his head back and forth. "You really are a pathetic species." He scowled at me, his warm breath lapping against my face. "It won't be long until your parents become like my other little pets, and when they do..." he said, leaning in close to my ears. "I'm going to enjoy watching them rip you limb from limb." He stood back up and held the lantern up to his face. "Good night my pretty little captives." And with that he blew out the light and silence and darkness fell.

Imprisonment

I woke up cold and sore. Everything around me was dark and fuzzy, and movement was limited. Shaking my head a few times my eyes began to adjust. The room was full of dark shadows cast by a dim lantern that hang on the wall across from me. I looked down, thinking I should be able to at least see what was next to me due to the hue that I had previously, when I noticed how dim it was. Any light I may have had previously had been dimmed greatly. Then I noticed a strange and painful sensation coming from my wrists where heavy metal chains were clamped on my wrists. The chains on my wrists were short, keeping my hands from reaching the ground and suspended about my shoulders.

Trying to move the chain away from the part of my wrist that felt like it was burning off, I nudged at my left hand with my head, and was able to nudge it slightly away from its previous spot. There was no physical wound that one may normally associate with tight chains, but instead there was a darkness that had begun to spread from the cuff of the chain. I jumped up, trying to pull away at the chains, but they kept me from getting any more than a foot from the wall. Standing up I could reach the cuff with my other hand, so I frantically tried to pull at it or conjure up some kind of magic to break free, but the more I tried the weaker I felt. With my energy quickly being depleted, I back up against the wall and slid back down to the cold hard ground.

After a while I seemed to feel nothing at all, as if I could not care less whether or not I ever got free. Maybe this was part of the chain's affect, but I didn't see the point in dwelling on it. The ceiling above seemed to be made of clay, rounding up towards the far side of the room where a mixture of clay and metal bars lined from wall to ceiling not ten feet from where I sat. Leaning my head back against the clay wall I glanced to the right, where nothing but dark shadows and cobwebs loomed, and to my right I first thought it was the same thing, but something wasn't quite right. I rubbed my eyes and tried to focus in on what I thought was some kind of light, when two figures seemed to emerge from the dark. Purple eyes peered at me, and two glowing hearts dimly lit from the far corner.

I gasped and jumped up once again. "Who are you?" I asked.

The two sets of eyes peered at one another, then back to me. They both stood up, worn tattered clothes hanging off of the dark figures, their hearts barely shinning through them. I glanced down and noticed my own heart illuminated through my dress.

Glancing back up at the two I noticed they also wore chains on their hands, but it was barely noticeable with the color of their skin matching the dark color of the iron shackles. One could easily mistake the chains as always being a part of them.

"What is your name?" One asked, in a deep and hoarse voice.

I felt my heart beat swiftly in my chest. "Fia." I said.

The two turned to one another quickly, then back towards me, their eyes seeming brighter than before. "We are your parents." The other responded in a kind, warm voice.

My heart leapt in my throat. I had finally found my parents, and I had so many questions I didn't know where to start. I opened my mouth to speak when there was a sudden cold chill and the light of the lamp blew out.

Without that light I couldn't focus on much of anything, but there was almost instantaneously another light, only this one held by a tall, gangly creature with a huge, distorted grin on its face.

"Oh look, a family reunion." It said, looking at the three of us slowly, his voice eerily soft and deep. "What a shame big brother couldn't be here." He let out a loud, hubristic laugh that bounced off the walls causing it to be seemingly amplified as he laid a long lanky hand across his slender belly.

Flicker

The fog now hung in the air like a continuous stretch of gray cloud that encompassed the whole planet. We followed Alati in mostly silence. Since we would all weigh too much for Alati to carry at once, Merlin and I followed on foot while Edgar rode Alati with his head held high. Sometimes I feel Edgar gets a big head from all of the knowledge he feels he has aquired. If he was anymore egocentric I would have thought him to be royalty instead of the farmer he said he was before he was a rabbit.

Merlin glanced at me, then over to Edgar, then back to me again. "You know... I hear humans have this odd idea that if you carry around a rabbit's foot it would bring you good luck." He said.

"Oh, you know, I have heard that." I responded. "All though I think that only works if you cut it off the rabbit."

Merlin and I then turned and looked at Edgar, whose ears had turned towards us as we spoke.

"You don't say!" Merlin exclaimed. "I have always pondered if it would work or not..."

This time Edgar looked back at us, glaring quite unhappily. "Yeah, uh-huh, laugh it up, but who gets to ride the griffin? Oh, that's right, not you two!"

Merlin and I smiled as Edgar scoffed and turned back forward. There was not much discussion after that. We knew full and well now that any questions me and my brother had would not be answered by our fluffy companion. Our only hope was to find our parents and hope that they had held out this long. After a short while we found ourselves climbing a steep hill where the stone bellow us began to appear more maroon colored as opposed to the dark blackness of it before. Just before we reached the peak of the hill, Alati stopped and proceeded to lower herself to the ground. Edgar hopped off and he, Merlin, and I peered over the top of the hill.

Over the hill was a steep valley filled with scattered bones and dark monsters fighting over bones, or just not moving at all. And, just behind all of that, sat a small dome built into the ground, looking like it might be made of clay.

"Not very impressive." Merlin commented.

"So... what do we do now? Waltz right on in?" I asked.

"No." Edgar said pointedly. "You will do no such thing, to do that is suicide!"

"Well then what do we do?" I asked, growing frustrated.

Edgar looked back to the dome, ears drooping. "I fear we may just have to do something drastic." Edgar sighed. "As a matter a fact, waltzing right in there could be our only option, but not without a distraction first." Edgar looked to Alati, then back to Merlin and I. "We will distract the monsters, since Alati can fly we should have a pretty good advantage. Once you see your opening you run for the entrance, and do not stop for anything." Edgar lay his paw on my hand. "Do you hear me? I can't distract them and keep on eye on you, so you have to careful. If anything were to happen to you..."

"We'll be fine,  Edgar. After all, we are destined for this stuff, right?" I said.

Edgar nodded. "Yes, of course." Edgar hopped back onto Alati. "We shall see you once you have succeeded in finding your parents." And with that they were off, swooping in and out of the valley.

Merlin grasped my hand. "Are you ready, sister?"

I nodded. "Yes, brother. Let's find our parents."

It didn't take long for all of the creatures to be on Alati's tail, excited by the prospect of a fresh meal. Once Alati had led them all to the left of the dome we raced down swiftly, covering ground quickly with the momentum from going downhill. Once inside, things began to grow dark, but with our new bodies, everything about three feet from us was lit up by our flickering glow. We raced down one make-shift hallway, and turned to go down another corridor which seemed to reach down into the ground, but as we turned to make our way several creatures reached out from the dark. I tried to fight them off, but before I knew what was going on my arms and legs were being grasped, and all in what seemed like a brief moment I was jerked away and tossed into something wet, leaving me gasping briefly before even my own glow flickered out.

Alati

We buried Jasper's body in the nearby crevice, covering him with nearby stones, and said our goodbyes. Edgar seemed to take it the hardest out of all of us. I suppose when you use to have the ability to speak with and care for animals it's hard to be unable to help them. There was no talk among us for a while, just sitting and mourning.

After a while I felt I could not keep silent any longer. I turned to Merlin who sat with his gaze firmly focused on the ground.

"I found him." I said.

Merlin and Edgar's attention instantly turned towards me.

I took a deep breath. "He was in this temple, covered by some shield. I tried to save him but the temple was destroyed and I barely got out of there alive. I failed."

"What?" Edgar exclaimed. "That is not possible!"

I looked at Edgar, eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean that's not possible?"

Edgar's eyes grew wide, as if he had accidentally shared something he wasn't supposed to. He shook his head. "Nothing, nothing, nothing." He began to try to hop away, only to be caught up by Merlin.

"That's it, rabbit. What do you know?" Merlin stared pointedly at Edgar, holding him up by his jacket.

Edgar's ears drooped. "Do not call me rabbit! I have lived much longer than you." He crossed his arms, but he was obviously deflated. "Time travel is a tricky business." He said, as if that explained all of our questions.

"And?" Merlin asked.

Edgar merely shook his head. "Your parents must be alive. We find them, we find our answers."

Merlin let go of Edgar, letting fall the short distance to the ground. "A lot of help you are. Why would our parents be alive, huh? I am sick of your cryptic messages and not telling us things we deserve to know!"

The griffin let our a hissing cry in Merlin's face, then moved its head down to nudge at Edgar.

Merlin shook his head, letting out an exasperated sigh.

I laid a hand on Merlin's arm. "They kept our parents alive last time, remember? Maybe they need them to survive. Yelling at the one person who can actually help will only divide us and make us easier to destroy."

Merlin looked at me sadly. "I am sorry. I know I am guilty of taking my feelings out on others." He looked down at Edgar, who was now being licked by the griffin disapprovingly. "Can you forgive me, Edgar?"

Edgar nodded, pushing away at the griffin. "I do not blame you for being angry, we have all lost just about everything but each other, it's hard." Edgar looked at the griffin, almost as if they were to have an eye-staring contest. "Alati knows where they may be keeping your family."

"Alati?" My brother and I echoed.

"Yes, that is the griffin's name. Now, if you all are ready to go, let us be on our way."

Nequam

After the temple was far from our sights, we began to fly lower to the ground; as the day went on the fog grew higher, so as to block out any light that attempted to shine onto the land. There was no indication of life that either one of us could make out, and only the occasional dip of land told us that we were still traveling across the sphere of rock.

Suddenly I felt the griffin shifting beneath me; swinging its body to the side while letting out an exasperated cry. Then, before us was a giant creature one may call a dragon, but looking into its eyes one would notice it was more snake-like and more suited to slithering on its belly than gliding through the air like a dragon. It let out a hiss that echoed through my ears, pointed teeth and red eyes welcoming me to the evil that had manifested on my home land.

The griffin tumbled away from the monster, but it left just as swiftly as it appeared. That was when I noticed Jasper racing across bellow with two of the creatures I had seen at the mountain not far behind him, and a couple yards behind the monsters was Merlin and Edgar.

I just about yelled, feeling relieved to see my brother alive, when the snake-like dragon swept bellow, appearing once more, tackling right into Jasper.

"Jasper!" I cried. "We have to go down there, we have to save him!" I cried, nearly hitting the griffin's head with all my might in my desperation.

The griffin made a low cry, but still made no movement towards my friends. It didn't take the monsters long to catch up to the dragon and Jasper. The moment Jasper was thrown off his feet the two creatures leapt onto the dragon, and, ganging up on one another, began to destroy each other. Merlin and Edgar were then on the scene, but kept their distance, letting evil destroy evil. The air was full of the scent of blood and the sound of high pitch screams and hissing. Eventually the dragon had been taken down and left soaking in its blood. Slowly the two creatures turned again to Jasper, who lay on his side, breathing harshly. The griffin once again let out a cry, but it was louder this time and shook its whole body. In less then a second we were on top of the monsters, and just as we neared the ground I jumped off the griffin as it carried off one of the monsters, tossing it into a nearby crevice.

I landed on top of the second, grabbing onto the spines that grew from its back and head. It thrashed upwards, but in my anger I was not about to let go. "It's all your fault." I spat, my hands lighting on fire. "You destroyed everything!" My whole body burst into flames, and the creature bellow me writhed in pain, its shrill cry nearly knocking me blind. I released my grip, sliding to the rock bellow, and watched as a hole seemed to burn all the way through the monster, leaving it motionless beside me.

Merlin was quickly next to me, helping me to sit up. "I don't know where you have been..." he said. "but wherever it was, you seemed to have found your reason." I looked down at my hands, and they seemed to be made of the same kind of light my brother was now made of, only just under the surface it was like my body was made of a kind of fire that flowed freely throughout my whole essence, thankfully leaving my dress unharmed by its heat, what was still intact of it anyway.

I was about to tell Merlin and Edgar all about what had happened when I noticed Edgar was not by us, but rather next to Jasper. I got up quickly and rushed over to them, seeing how Jasper's breathing was still labored, and he had many cuts leaking a bright red onto his gray coloring. It wasn't so bad, until I saw the way one of his legs bended differently than the other in a way no leg should ever bend. I sat down and lifted his head onto my lap, brushing his mane from his face. "Oh, Jasper...."

Edgar sat beside me, shaking his head. "Nothing can be done for him."

I simply nodded, tired of trying to use my magic when it never helped anyone. "I'm sorry."

Jasper's eyes glanced towards me. "Do not be sorry. I lived a life no ordinary horse would ever know; a life of magic and prophecy, even if it was short."

"You deserved a longer life." I said.

Jasper was quiet, his heavy breathes filling the silence. "It is not the length of the life that makes it important, but the stories you share with others."

"Your story is one of greatest. I cannot say that there are many horses who face dragon's on other planets."

"It's not my story that I speak of." Jasper whispered. "It's yours."

"What does that mean?" I asked, but there was no response. The breathing had stopped and there was nothing but silence.

Suddenly there was a loud thump, and over by the crevice in the ground another black beast lay in a heap on the ground, and the griffin appeared from the giant crack, landing proudly next to its victim.

Standing up slowly, letting Jasper's head rest gently against the stone, I proceeded to walk over to the creature. I was furious and sick of all the death and despair this piece of rock for a planet provided. Clenching and unclenching my fists I stood in front of the monster that lay cast on its side. Its eyes flew open, a sickly yellow with red pupils peering into my soul. It let out a dark, bellowing laugh, even when it seemed to be unable to move at all.

"Oh, how wonderful." It said, its voice sounding like a thousand whispers at once. "The princess has arrived." It laughed once more, its mouth not opening in the slightest.

"Who are you?" I asked pointedly.

"We? We are the Nequam." It said. "And who are you?"

"I am Fia, and this is my story." I spat, and just like before a fiery whole burned through the hideous creature.

The Man Under the Shield

I gasped, stepping back, heart racing. Glancing back I saw the griffin was looking down the steps, its head taking up the whole entry way. I glanced back to where the man lain and the effulgent light cast a pink hue about the room. Timidly I stepped towards the man and peered inside to see the salubrious, sleeping face of Aurelius.

"Aurelius?" I whispered, reaching towards the shield. Reaching not even two inches above the shield, the energy spiked out, striking my hand, feeling like a thousand little daggers digging into my hand. "Ah!" I pulled my hand back, staring at the unmoving man before me. His hair seemed nicely combed, and his face was clean, but there, in the middle of his shirt, was the great blood stain left by a sword.

I tried everything I could think of to destroy the shield, but no matter how hard I tried the shield would not budge. As a last reserve I even tried to light the thing on fire, desperate to save the love I thought I had lost. The griffin let out a shriek as I nearly lost all feeling in my hands from beating on the shield. Looking back I saw the griffin had shoved one of its legs into the stairwell and was scratching at the stairs.

I walked back up the stairs, but the griffin was not less frantic. "Calm down, I'm coming." Once I got close enough it grabbed onto me with its beak and tossed me out of the room. I had been so distracted that I had not realized the occasional shaking of the temple, or the crashing of pillars. The griffin frantically motioned to its back with its head, signaling for me to get on. I glanced back at the stairwell, and the griffin grabbed me once more, throwing me onto its back, and took off just as the roof began to crash down. Once into the air I noticed several darkly colored dragons crashing into the temple and breathing fire against it, completely obliterating it.

"I'm sorry Aurelius." I whispered, wiping away my tears with what was left of my frayed sleeve. The griffin glanced back at me, its eyes sad, and let out a low sound of sorrow. "That's okay, you tried." I said, brushing my fingers through its feathers. "You did all you knew how." I leaned my head down, resting against the griffin's neck, and stared at the passing mist against the black ground and gray sky. Everything seemed to have lost its color here, I could only hope I still had a brother and rabbit roaming around here somewhere. "Will you help me find my family?" I asked, feeling drained of all energy, and lacking what little hope I had had before. The griffin gave a nod and let out a loud screech and flew faster across the dead land.

Stone Temple

Everything looked the same, as if we were on a giant rock, only the occasional spike of a mountain here and there to make it easier to navigate. Edgar was going the fastest now, and we followed him the best we could. There was nothing to weave through, just more fog, so as long as we kept close enough to see through the fog we had sight of Edgar. We were trying to be as swift as possible, but we knew it would be useless. The monsters had long limbs that allowed them to have bigger strides, one of their steps equal to five of our own. The ground seemed to have settled down after Merlin's transformation, but with the creature getting closer the land once again began to tremor.

Once we reached the summit of the mountain ahead of us, two of the creatures were upon us, and the ground shook so bad that climbing up the mountain quickly was almost impossible. Edgar hopped up on ledges, grabbing onto the edges when he lost his balance.

"You have to try to climb the mountain." Merlin said, pushing me ahead of him. "I'll keep them off our trail." Merlin made no glance back at me, giving me no option but to obey him. His light energy began to brighten in such a way it was like his body was now created out of static electricity.

As Merlin threw one of the monster back I began to climb up the mountain, but the ground continued to shake, making my progress very slow. I tried to keep calm, focusing on breathing in and out as I searched for places to grab onto and push off of. I felt confident in myself, that I could do this, and Merlin would be behind shortly, after all he took care of that one easily enough.

The mountain shook relentlessly and it took almost all of my strength to keep hold of the ledge. Glancing down I saw three of the monsters closing in on Merlin. He was now encompassed in an aura of energy, as he was before, only this time all three beasts jumped on him, his power quickly weakening. I watched in horror as I thought I would never see my brother again, just as one of the monsters was thrown off, smashing right into the mountain. The crash then caused convulsions to peak and my grip began to loosen, any grip I had previously coming undone. I fell quickly down, seeing the sharp teeth eagerly awaiting my arrival, just as something snagged the back of my dress, causing my descent to turn into an ascent.

I looked up and was greeted by the screech of a griffin. Struggling, I tried to get out of its grip, but it's claws had dug into my dress, causing the dress to rip when I struggled. Defeated I watched as my brother grew farther and farther away, still trying to fight back against the unknown fiends of darkness.

Eventually the griffin let go, allowing me to tumble into another kind of temple with open, tall arches, more stable and put together then the one we had arrived in. The griffin did a running land, landing in front of me, its white tipped brown feathers fluttering against the wind. I scooted away from the griffin as quickly as I could. It stopped, looking at me thoughtfully and then almost seemed to bow before me.

I stood up and walked towards it. It gazed up at me, but did not move. Raising a hand to it's head, I felt the soft touch of the feathers beneath my fingertips. Now it looked up at me curiously.

"You have to take me back." I said. "My brother is in danger, I have to save him."

The griffin shook its head slowly and then moved out from under my hand, pointing towards a stairwell that went down into the stone floor of the temple. It looked back at me, feet firmly planted.

Taking a deep breath I headed down the stairs. I had no idea what this griffin could want with me, but it did not kill me, and even saved me, so I thought I may as well trust it. Who else do I have left?

Once down the stairs little candles surrounding the small room seemed to burst to life, casting out all shaddows. The room was aligned with little shelves carved from the stone, but they were full of cobbwebs and dust. Then, there in the middle of the room, was what looked like a stone table with a long case upon it, also made of stone. I walked over to it, growing quite interested in this oddly shapped thing in the middle of the temple. It was maybe seven feet long, and was as wide as one of the fat pillars that sat at the front entrance of the temple. I looked at it closely, but saw nothing special about it. Then, slowly, I reached out, touching the cold surface.

The instant I touched it, cold turned to warm, and a bright light overcame me. I tried to shield my eyes as I fell backwards, and once the light died down I moved my arm from my eyes and saw that what was once stone was now a kind energy field, and underneath that field wasn't stone either, but a man.

Shedding

We ran, Jasper outrunning us all with his quick strides through the mist of gray. The ground continued to shake slightly beneath our feet, causing each step to be uncertain. Merlin was just a head of me, Edgar's little arms clinging around my brother's neck.

There was another piercing cry from the creature pursuing us. And yet, it was at such a frequency that, while I have a hard time remembering its sound, I know that its sound raced through the air as my vision blurred and my head began pounding. Instinctively my hands went to my ears, and the earth beneath my feet shook even more violently, casting me to its hard surface. I tried to push myself up, but the ground was relentless in it's shaking and my vision still seem clouded, black blotting the gray. Giving it my best attempt for that moment, I pushed with my arms and legs, only to be cast on my back within the second, and to see glowing red before me.

It was almost indiscernible in the darkness around it, but the red eyes that emanated from it were no mistake. Its large mouth opened in a sickly bellow, several sharpened teeth greeting me. Its face grew closer to me, as a long claw wrapped around my ankle, its skin seemingly made of cold black facets. Once again it opened its mouth to me, all the smells associated with death greeting me as I tried to scramble away, with nothing to grab onto to aid me in any way. Looking back at the beast its eyes seemed to grow brighter, and in a brief moment I felt my short life would come to an end, and I was almost okay with it. Almost.

It was also within that brief moment that I heard another cry, one I had heard many times as I watched the men of Camelot battle, but for once it was not a trained warrior. It was my brother. Merlin sprang forth upon the beast, completely encompassed in a glowing green light. The terrible monster cried once more, but was quickly silenced by the bright light that seemed to frighten even the ominous mist of the night away, leaving spots in my eyes as if I had just glanced towards the sun.

Eventually the light dimmed, and the fog was no more, and the terrible creature had vanished. I found myself lying on a surface of a rock, not the plush grass or damp dirt of the earth. I sat up slowly and found myself looking at who I felt must be my brother, but seemed most unlike him.

"Merlin?" I asked cautiously.

The creature smiled at me and bent down to be closer to me. It seemed to me, that if a man could take the sun and stars, push them all together, dress himself in those things, this would be the result. His eyes were bright like emeralds, but the rest of him was like green-tinted points of light stopped in such a way as to make the image of a man. He blinked at me, and began to speak without the use of a mouth.

"It is I, sister. Do not be alarmed. You have only known me as Merlin, but before I was Merlin I was Emris, and this is the way Emris lived in this land." He reached out his hand to me, and I reached back out to him and allowed him to help me up. His hand was neither hot or cold, but firm and comforting.

I glanced around, Jasper was no where in sight, but Edgar sat nearby, watching attentively. I glanced down at my own hand, still a soft human hand spotted with blood and dirt, no light to be found within it. "Why is it you have changed back, but Edgar and I remain the same?"

He gave a shrug, and looked to Edgar.

Edgar hopped over, and after checking my ankle for permanent damage, went on with an explanation. "When we stepped out of the temple, a safety precaution set by your parents was released. Knowing you would eventually be here to redeem them, your parents left as much of their powers as possible into the temple to be released to their children if they should arrive. After spending so long on Earth, the soul of our people can become tied to the form of that taken on by our kind, and need a little boost to help with the transformation back into our true selves. Yet, as you have noticed, Merlin did not transform automatically, and you have yet to change yourself. Merlin is by far the most powerful one here, and when you were threatened. He had all the incentive he needed to change."

"But I was about to die, and yet I remain in this form. What motivation is more powerful than that?" I asked.

"I think you know." He simply said.

And I did know. Back in that moment I almost felt relieved to greet death. I had lived long enough to lose someone I loved dearly, and I was scared to think I could never find him, and that he had truly died. And I thought, maybe if I die I will greet him and I will never have to be without him again. But I knew now that I cannot keep that kind of logic. There is a reason Nimueh sent us here, my home planet, to search for Aurelius. I cannot help but feel that they must be tied in some way.

"We better get moving!" Edgar cried as three more figures began to emerge from the darkness around us. "Where is that stupid horse when you need him!" He cried, starting to race away quickly towards a giant shadowed mountain against the now purple and green streaked sky.

Temple Exodus

I looked to Merlin and his face seemed pale and tired. His shoulders were tense as he exhaled heavily. Cautiously I reached over and took Merlin's hand in mine. "I'm sorry, brother. I should not take my hurt out on you when you too are hurting."

Merlin looked down at me and gave a small smile. "It truly is nice not being alone."

Edgar gave a little huff. "Well, I think you were never really alone. You had me... and then you had the Pendragons as well." Merlin looked at Edgar oddly as Edgar's nose twitched. "Anyway, we must get moving, this temple makes me feel very uneasy."

The gray fog that hung in the air never really dissipated, but instead floated about in thicker and lesser quantities like clouds. We eventually found our way to a stone wall and followed along its cracked and unstable surface until we found a doorway. Once we found the giant wooden doors, halfway falling off its hinges, we paused. There was a sound of wind that rushed through the holes and the splinted pieces of the wood, creating a sound of a mournful spirit.

Jasper had been following behind us with Edgar riding upon his back, which was quite a site to see. Merlin turned to look at Edgar. "Is it even safe out there?" Merlin asked. "What if this is a trap and we all die?"

Edgar looked at Merlin for a short moment before responding. "Merlin, you are the most powerful magician among your people, why should you bother being afraid of the unknown?"

"Edgar is right, brother. Together we can do anything, even open a door." I said with a smile. Merlin nodded and I reached ahead and pulled at the door's handle. The handle came half-way off the door as it came tumbling inward, a hideous smell crashing into our presence. Jasper reared back on his hind legs, nearly throwing Edgar off, as the door threw me back into Merlin. I coughed and gagged, trying to get away from the repulsive smell which reeked of the nightmares that previously haunted my dreams.

After a minute of coughing the air seemed to thin out, and the smell became more bearable. Standing up slowly I glimpsed outside of the doorway. Outside was even more darkness, only, if you squinted your eyes, you could almost make out the light of stars in a sky filled with the darkness of space. There were no trees or bushes, the only thing visible was a low fog hiding whatever may be on the ground.

We all glanced about at one another, no one making a single sound. Slowly, we all took steps into the unknown world of lost magic. Merlin was the last to walk out, his face becoming hardened by the reality of his past life. With his final step outside of the temple the door slammed shut behind him, a bright light bursting out from the door way. Merlin jumped back into me this time, just barely keeping his balance. The light seemed to be a mixture of reds and blues and gold. There was a king of peacefulness about it, and it made me feel like I was witnessing a part of myself that I had never seen before. It made no real sense, but I guess it must have meant something... it was just something I could not yet fully understand.

Not long after the light had struck a terrible quake began to take hold of the land, causing stones to fall from the temple as the whole building began to crumble. Edgar hopped off of Jasper and nearly tackled Merlin. "What are you doing? Run!" Snapping back to reality, Merlin and I realized the frantic sounds emanating from Jasper as figures began to emerge from the darkness, shrieks of anger filling the soundless void we had previously been in. One creature reared up on it's hind legs, long clawed limbs reaching to the sky, as it let out an ear-piercing screech.

The Fog

In the air was nothing; the ground solid but invisible, each breath releasing a cough, and the only sound being the echo of the racking coughs that shook my body. Slowly I regained sanity; the coughs lessened and the darkness soon seemed to dissipate into a gray fog thick enough to keep anything five feet from my face from being seen. Sitting up slowly I looked around and was startled by a pair glowing eyes beside me. Just as I was about to release a scream a hand covered my mouth, drawing the face closer to me to reveal my brother, Merlin.

His eyes were urgent and his frame was tense. "Shhh... be extremely quiet."

I began to wonder why he did not try to halt my coughing earlier when I then heard a sound across the distance. I closed my eyes and tried to focus in on the sound. The sounds were different then anything I had heard before. It was as if something was dragging its nails across the floor, and I could hear the sound of heavy breaths leaving humid marks as it carried on. A grumble echoed throughout wherever it is we are, but with no response the thing dragged itself away in another direction.

Merlin released his hand from my mouth with a sigh of relief. "You must be more careful, this is not a nice little Earth anymore."

"Where are we?" I asked, trying to look around, but the gray kept everything from sight. I tried to stand, but was startled by the movement a large creature in the fog, causing me to stumble back down. "What is that?" I cried, as Merlin chuckled.

"My name is Jasper, thank you very much." It said slowly in a low voice.

I stood up once more and stepped closer to the creature. Moving slowly through the fog I found a different shade of gray, with pale eyes gleaming at me. It was the old horse Merlin had ridden across the battle field. "You talk?" I asked, a little startled.

"You know, I thought I had taught you better than to dismiss talking animals." Edgar popped his head out of one of Jasper's saddlebags, and brushed out his jacket with his paws.

"Edgar!" I cried, snatching him out of the saddlebag and into a hug.

Edgar tensed for a moment, but then wrapped his short arms around me as well as he could. "I was afraid I would never see you again." Edgar whispered.

I slowly sat back down and set Edgar in front of me. "I could never abandon you, Edgar." I said softly, stroking one of his ears.

He nodded his head and wiped a few tears from his eyes. "Right. Of course." He said, clearing his throat. "So, what do we do now that we are home again?"

"Home?"

"Yes, now I know it has been a few years, and the place looks a lot different, but the horse is talking and I know how magic, or lack there of, feels, and this is Zelix." Edgar said.

"Well, what we are going to do is find Aurelius' body, and then be done with this whole mess." Merlin said hastily.

"But Merlin..." I said, standing up and touching his arm, "this is our home. We have to save it, don't we?"

"Look around you... I see nothing to save." Merlin's shoulder were slumped, and his eyes were downcast. "I am sorry you did not get to meet mom and dad."

"No, maybe they're just in hiding like before!" I cried. "You don't know anything yet! One place does not decide how the whole kingdom lives. We will save our home, and we will save Aurelius!"

"Sister..."

"She has a point, Merlin." Edgar said. "We have survived once before, surely there are others who have held out. You can at least try to save your home."

The Dragon's return

I stood up and looked around, everyone was backing away, both red cloaked and blue painted men, as if they had just witnessed a ghost. Suddenly there was aloud roar from the sky, and above a giant dragon trampled the trees tall enough to get in its way. The men would occasionally step backwards, but most could not even move away. I stood my ground as the dark dragon dropped down in front of me, crushing a few bodies that laid broken on the grass. It leaned its head in forward, the sun gleaming off of its black scales. The dragon seemed to scowl at me before leaning backwards on its haunches and transforming into a black cloaked figure. A few men let out gasps and a few tried to repress screams, but their overall conclusion was that there was a demon in their midst.

The figure pulled the hood of her cloak back, revealing pale skin with matching eyes and dark hair. "What have you done?" She asked, her tone cold as ice with a glare to match.

"I did nothing." I snarled. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"My name is Nimueh." She said, moving around me, surveying the area. "And I've come to collect the price." Her dark colored lips twisted at the corners. "Or have you forgotten the price for magic?"

"I hardly think causing the earth to push people would allow for such a visit." I said.

"Oh no, of course not," she said, tracing her finger across my back as she walked behind me. "I came for something much more serious."

"Fia! Get away from her!" I turned around to see Merlin rushing across the battle field on a poor gray horse, whom looked like death itself. When he got to us he launched off the horse and pushed me behind him. "What do you want, Nimueh?"

Nimueh's twisted smile vanished as Merlin scowled at her. "You know how magic works, dear Merlin. Now, tell me, where is your king?"

Merlin's eyebrows furrowed and he looked to me. "What did you do, sister?"

"I didn't..." I started, but looked around. "I don't know what I did, he just vanished."

"Vanished? What does that mean?" Merlin yelled. "What did you do?"

Nimueh brushed her hand up Merlin's arm. "Now, now, let us not be hasty."

Merlin grabbed Nimueh's arm, his knuckles turning white. "Don't you dare touch me, you viper."

Nimueh scowled once more, and yanked her arm free. "The price for one life is another, what is your plan of action, dear brother?" She spat coldly.

Merlin said nothing, but looked to me.

"If he was alive he would be here and he's not!" I yelled. "You have no proof!"

"Ah! Perhaps." She said. "But you messed with something far greater than you and a price must be paid. Thus we have two options. I can either kill you now, or send you to wherever it is you sent the body of our dead king, and you can bring him back here. What you have done is threatened the history of our people and it cannot be accepted." Nimwueh's lips began to twist upward. "Why don't I just do the latter, hm?" She threw her hands up and a bright yellow light branched out from them, and without a second to spare she blew on her hands and the light overwhelmed me.