Slayer

  But when they showed the pile to Mordon, all he said was, “Why is it here?”

  “We were hoping you would know why,” said Thetra.

  “I know not where it has come from, although I do assume it is most likely from one of the valleys in Thaken.”

  “That is what I assumed as well,” said Arek. “Is it possible someone transported it?”

  “Using magic?” asked Mordon. “I think not. No one except Evil is that powerful, and why would he send a bale of hay to us anyway?”

  The thought was so absurd that Arek couldn’t help but laughing. The great and powerful Evil Morchad would send his enemy a bale of hay? he thought. And dragons drink milk.

  Then something caught Arek’s eye. Deep within the bale of hay something was shining. A crown? thought Arek.

  All of a sudden, Mordon picked up the pile and the shiny object fell out of the pile of straw, making a loud clamor.

  “What is that?” said Thetra, looking at the golden stone, still shining brightly. “Is it an egg? Oh, please don’t be an egg.”

  Mordon bent down and knocked on the egg with his fist. He then stood up and said, “It’s hollow.”

  Thetra breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Well then what is it?” wondered Arek, still not removing his gaze from the stone.

  “Some kind of rock…” Thetra looked hard at it. “I honestly have no clue as to what it could possibly be.”

  “Neither do I,” said both Arek and Mordon. Then Mordon said, “We shall all investigate this object together, for it may be too powerful for one human being. We do not want it to overwhelm one of our best hopes of beating Morchad’s Army in the upcoming battle.”

  Suddenly Valao was at the window, and Thetra heard him screech.

  “Get that cursed stone out of this army camp at once!” yelled Valao, who was staring at the golden stone.

  “Why?” asked Arek, confused. What did Valao know about it? Could he give any clues as to what it might be?

  “ThatThat stone...” Valao was panting now, apparently frightened.

  “What is it, Valao?” asked Thetra.

  “That stone is the stone that gave me amnesia, the stone that Renthueth had thrown at me underwater in the battle with the aliens.”

  Thetra, Arek, and Mordon all stared breathlessly at Valao.

  “And...” Arek saw Valao gulp hard. “That stone is called the Amnesia stone. But it also has another name...one I heard my Rider speak of once in the past.”

  “Oh?” said Thetra, looking slightly bewildered.

  “Aye,” replied Valao. He took a deep breath and said, “It is also called the Goldstone.”

    

  Thetra

  THE GOLDSTONE

  Thetra stared at Valao. “Are you being serious, Valao, because this is not a time for jokes and pranks.”

  “I swear I am speaking the truth,” responded Valao.

  Thetra couldn’t believe it. He remembered how Ingharr had showed him flashes of what the Goldstone looked like and had told him its history. Thetra had vaguely remembered Ingharr’s details, but now he remembered them crystal clear.

  And now Ingharr spoke to him. Thetra, this is the only way to kill Morchad. You know very well that he was born as an Entara, but was changed to a human by his father Tyerronde. When someone’s race is changed, they receive what is called a Racestone. When they receive this, they must protect it, for if it gets destroyed, they are finished.

  However, as this person gets older, the stone becomes harder to destroy, which is why if they are your enemy you may want to destroy the stone earlier in their lifetime.

  This means that the person who has the Racestone is almost immortal if they hide their Racestone somewhere safe.

  So you’re saying that it is almost impossible to kill Morchad? said Thetra.

  Not anymore, said Ingharr. Not that you have found his Racestone. Now you can just break it and he is dead.

  Aye, but he must be at least ten thousand years old, responded Thetra, starting to think more clearly now that he wasn’t as frightened at the power of the stone.

  Possibly, said Ingharr, and then his presence was absent, and his voice faded away.

  “Well, I understand what we have to do now,” said Mordon.

  Thetra was bewildered. “You heard that conversation?” he asked Mordon.

  Mordon nodded, and Arek said, “So did I.”

  Thetra was surprised. He did not expect his brother and co-leader of the Dark Destroyers to hear his thoughts. “Well then, that saves a lot of time that I could have been reciting to you the whole entire conversation.”

  “Well, that works out just fine, doesn’t it?” said Arek with a smile.

  “Aye, and now we know what we have to do,” said Mordon. “Well, more so what Thetra has to do.”

  “What?!” exclaimed Thetra in astonishment. “I don’t deserve to be the one to finally kill Evil. And anyway, even if I tried I would fail, for Morchad is much too powerful for me.”

  “No, he is not,” protested Arek. “I know your strengths, Brother. You are stronger than that evil man. Much stronger.”

  “How are you so sure?” wondered Thetra.

  “I know you better than anyone else. We grew up together, did everything together and still do. Thetra, we are brothers until we die. And I shall keep on learning your secrets for the rest of our entire lives.”

  Thetra smiled. “Alright, Brother. I shall try. And I shall succeed.”

  Arek grinned and patted Thetra on the back. “I know you can, Thetra. I have faith in you.”

  Thetra nodded his thanks and said, “Why don’t the three of us go train? We shall spar for a few hours, eat, and then spar again.”

  “I agree,” said Mordon and Arek.

  “Very well.” Thetra drew Slayer and Arek and Mordon drew their swords as well. Then they all set out to the training camp and practiced.

    

  Satym

  Satym sat on her bed, just like she had been doing for the past two hours, and took a sip of her tea.

  She had been quite depressed to discover that the Dark Destroyers no longer needed her.

  Mordon had come into her quarters and specifically stated, “You are too weak to be in this army. We only accept strong soldiers who are not the kind that weep every time sad news occurs. We only accept those who are talented, trustworthy, and self-aware. You are none of these.”

  Satym was shocked when she had heard this, for she remembered the Dark Destroyers needing all the reinforcements they could get, and she was better than some of the soldiers they hired, who weren’t even soldiers, but dreamy wise old men who trailed off every time they spoke.

  Now Satym made no attempt to remove herself from her bed, for she decided she would stay where she was until the army invited her back in.

  But they didn’t.

  Still she waited, for four days, starving, tired, yet still not even making one move.

  But after four days, she stood. She drew her sword and chopped down the curtains covering the window, and was blasted with a bright light coming from outside.

  The sun was up, and so was she. Satym broke the window and sprinted out of the buildings, down the pathway that many Dark Destroyers took walks on. She exited the city of Destville and collapsed in front of a man.

  The man was the Lord of the Prison.

    

  Thetra

  Thetra immediately felt a stab of pain in his stomach.

  “Ah!” he yelled abruptly, jumping. Arek gave him a quizzical look. “I’m fine,” claimed Thetra. “Just a little hyper today. I had some sugar in my tea this morning.”

  But Thetra was hurt. He clutched the side of his stomach and looked over to Mordon. Mordon walked over to him and told him to lift up his shirt so he could inspect the injury.

  Thetra did so, and he and Mordon gasped. Arek leaned it to see what the commotion was about, and he too gasped when he saw what had happened. The
re was a large red circle on Thetra’s side, and all around it was swelling blue and black. But what really took them all by surprise was that there was a stinger inside of the red circle.

  “How did it get in there?” asked Mordon, shaking his head in disbelief. “How is it even possible? Where did it come from? Why would”

  “Mordon, calm down.” Arek put a hand on Mordon’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright.”

  Mordon shook his head, but it was still apparent to Thetra that he still wanted to know more.

  “So what do we do?” wondered Thetra.

  “I do not know. The injury seems to have come from a creaturea creature that is able to sting its enemies.”

  “But what creatures in Arque have stingers?” asked Thetra, bewildered.

  “The wasp,” said Mordon.

  Thetra looked at Mordon with a puzzled glance. “What is the wasp?” he asked.

  “It is a small insect that is found in the mid-east part of Arque. I do not know why it would be all the way down here in Destville, but this creature is what most likely stung you.”

  There was a long silence until Arek said, “Well, do you believe it will stop him from fighting in the battle?”

  “I am still fighting, Arek. I will always”

  Mordon put his hand up for silence. “Thetra, this is a huge injury. Whichever wasp stung you is more powerful than any other, for I know the power of wasps, as I was once stung myself, and it should not be this important. But it is, and we shall see if you will be able to fight.”

  Thetra sighed in exasperation. All he wanted to do was fight in the battle, for he knew if the army had him then they stood a chance at winning.

  Arek looked at his brother with wild eyes. “Thetra, if you can’t battle then we”

  “Will still win,” finished Thetra, keeping the positive spirits up. “I am not the best fighter in this army. All the Dark Destroyers know that.”

  Mordon nodded. “Not one of us is the best,” he said. “We are all one army, and we shall fight that way as well.”

  “Aye,” said Thetra and Arek. “And we shall win.”

    

  Satym

  Satym was back in jail, holding onto the bars and letting her sweaty palms slide down them.

  “Now you are in jail for life!” barked Ruetas, “assuming you don’t attempt another failure escape.”

  “I escaped!” screamed Satym. “Under your little nose, I escaped. I traveled all the way to Destville and”

  “Was captured again and taken here. Yes, yes, I know all that,” said Ruetas.

  All of a sudden a voice yelled from behind the Lord of the Prison, “Ruetas!”

  Ruetas shivered at the voice as if it were someone scraping their nails along a blackboard. “Yes, Lord Korta?” said Ruetas, slowly turning around to face his master.

  “Let the girl go. And I shall release two of the jailors with her.”

  Ruetas stared at Korta. “Are you serious? My lord, this girl could put the whole country at danger! Have you seen what she has done?”

  “I have,” said Korta. “But I have also forgiven her. Now release her, and that is an order!”

  As Ruetas did this, Lokapoka and Jordan came out from a doorway and looked at Satym with delight. “You’re alive!” they said in unison.

  “Aye,” said Satym, smiling as she exited her cell. “And free.”

  “Let us go with proud smiles on our faces, for we are all free at last,” said Jordan, and they left the horrible foul-smelling cages of the Mthanl Jail.

  They arrived in Destville five days later, since they had not ridden in on horseback.

  Thetra welcomed all three of them and gave the two newcomers swords, and told them they could practice sparring with each other in the army camps.

  They both stared at him absentmindedly, but they soon understood and walked over to the camps and fought.

  “Thetra, why did you send Mordon to kick me out of the army?” asked Satym.

  Thetra sighed and looked up. “I did it because your parents are evil. You went to jail. You nearly killed Therr. I don’t know why I did it!”

  “I didn’t choose my parents; you went to jail as well; I do not know why I almost killed Therr, but do you see my point? I apologize.”

  “Apology accepted. You are welcomed back into the Dark Destroyer army once more.”

  Satym smiled. “I am going to go fight someone. I will see you later.” With that, Satym ran off and left Thetra alone.

  Thetra had just started walking inside the building for dinner when he saw Arek.

  “Hello, Brother,” said Thetra, and Arek looked up from reading a book and greeted Thetra.

  “Such a nice day,” said Thetra. “Would you like to come spar with me?” Thetra motioned outside.

  “Thetra! You know you are not allowed to do that! You were stung, and it is preventing you from any further activity, especially sparring.”

  “Arek, all I want to do is practice. I am in better condition than yesterday, and I am ready to fight.” Thetra drew Slayer as if to prove his point.

  Just then, a spy for the Dark Destroyers ran into Thetra’s view and reported, “Morchad’s golems are completed! He has eighty-five golems prepared for battle, and now he is just waiting three more weeks and one day for his soldiers to practice.”

  Thetra sighed, disappointed. “Well, now it is official. Morchad will be attacking us with golems, men, and possessors. What is the status on the possessors, spy?”

  “Good news there. Since they will take three weeks, and he started them a week and four days ago, they will not have enough time to be trained, so he is not bringing any possessors with him in the fight.”

  “Oh my goodness, thank you so much. Now we stand an even better chance.”

  “Aye.” With that, the spy ran off to rest, and Thetra and Arek resumed their conversation.

  “I am sorry, Thetra. I will not practice with you. But what I will do is look at the Goldstone more closely, since the battle is nearing quickly.”

  Thetra agreed, and they walked into his quarters to look more closely at their secret weapon, also Evil’s weakness.

  They found nothing new on the stone Arek had found one morning on his walk, and so they both went to sleep.

  Valao awoke them the next morning with a magnificent ear-deafening roar, signaling exactly three more weeks until the day of battle, if the army’s spies’ reports were accurate.

  Thetra went downstairs for breakfast immediately after Valao roared, and he decided he would eat outside with Valao, for it was a beautiful dayone for outdoor activity.

  Valao went out to hunt for his breakfast while Thetra started eating. Valao later returned in the middle of Thetra’s meal with game that even Thetra did not know about. He decided to pay more attention to what could attack the soldiers at any moment.

  As he and Valao ate their food, the sun slowly rose into the sky, beginning a whole new day.

  Once they finished breakfast, they decided to go meet Algonge and Casmig at the army camps, for both Valao and Thetra had forgiven Casmig for what he had done to Ghuar and Valao.

  They were both there, rider on dragon. It was the first time that Thetra realized Algonge was not an official Rider.

  “How long until you become a Rider?” asked Thetra, knowing it had not taken him long, so Algonge must be a new rider.

  “I am unsure,” responded Algonge. “I started about one to two months ago, so I suppose soon.”

  “It took me about a month and a half.”

  “Then I shall be there soon.”

  While they were talking, the dragons were as well, apologizing and forgiving. Soon they all worked it out and were chums again.

  They then started battling, Thetra on Valao and Algonge on Casmig. It was a fair fight, and by the time it was over, neither team had won the match.

  “Reasonably fair fight, eh?” said Algonge, panting.

  “Aye,” agreed Thetra. He nodded a
t Casmig. “Your dragon is strong.”

  “Thank you,” said Casmig.

  After a silence, Thetra said, “I believe our army has done enough training. We shall now let them relax and we shall prepare the buildings for battle and put guards all around the dungeon so no one fighting for Morchad down there can escape and try to battle us.”

  “Agreed,” said Valao, as did Casmig and Algonge.

  “Alright. Let Arek, Algonge, Mordon and I go prepare the buildings.” Thetra set off with Algonge to find Morchad and Arek.

  Once Algonge and Thetra had collected Arek and Mordon, they all went to the building in which the Dark Destroyers ate. They each went to one corner and put a metal V-shaped object around the corner. The objects were about five feet by two feet, but strong enough to hold the building together.

  “Maybe we should just put an entire metal coating around the outside walls,” suggested Arek.

  Thetra agreed, and looked at Mordon and Algonge to see if they approved as well. Mordon nodded, but Algonge disagreed, shaking his head.

  “What do you believe we should do?” Mordon asked Algonge.

  “I know not what we shall do, but I do know that it would take much of our time putting a second coating on this brick. Mortars may break it, but what is in here that is so valuable?”

  “The work of the early Destroyers,” said Mordon.

  But Algonge did not give up. “The work means nothing. The building is not ancient at all! It’s only been built for about a thousand years.”

  “Aye, but...” Valao trailed off, knowing how long Arque had been a countrythis was its 23,964th year.

  After a silence, Thetra finally said, “Alright. Let us continue on to the housing building.”

  “To the housing building we go,” said Mordon, leading them to the building in which the Dark Destroyers all slept.

    

  Valao

  INTRUDER ON DESTVILLE

  Valao lay curled up on the grass, Ejarshöh and Casmig doing the same behind him. The three dragons had been busy preparing the housing building for battle, and they were tired of complaining about all the reasons why the housing building was unimportant, but the puny little humans insisted they prepare the building and persuaded the dragons by whining on and on in their little wimpy voices how they just needed the dragons to finish the job.