by Drew Smith
(“The Dornet Mountains, this should be easy. I use to take these trails to Leodot with my father.”) Zephry slipped around the East side of town along the mountains to avoid being seen by anyone. She reached the mountains at the end of her first day alone and pressed on.
Lumus made his way through the halls within Capaz palace. His mind raced with overwhelming thoughts of Twilight’s conflicts. He made his way toward the lower halls to the training area, hoping to find the others.
“Scarlette! Hey, how has training been going?” Lumus blurted out. Scarlette turned expecting Zelkem.
“Oh, Hi Lumus, well Joffree and Zelkem had a bit of a fight. Zelkem beat him down without breaking a sweat, then took off.” She sighed.
“He will be back. The boy is not one to let things go.” Brinx said as he stood up to greet Lumus with a nod.
“He was furious, but I know we will see him again soon. How did you fare with the council?” Frostear asked.
“Good I suppose, I was trying to explain my connection to the core, but Councillor Alexander seemed more interested in protocol.” Lumus explained.
“You mentioned that on our way to Capaz. You were saying we all have a star inside us that grows stronger. It’s a beautiful thought, but what did they say?” Scarlette asked. Lumus crossed his arms.
“Well not a lot of them talked, it was mostly Lady Concy, Alexander, Orson, and myself. Geare said a few things but he…” Lumus explained. Scarlette let out a gasp.
“Geare is a councillor now?” Scarlette said with surprise. Frostear and Scarlette frowned in unison.
“Yes, Orson seemed irritated with him too. Why, who is Geare?” Lumus asked.
“Geare was the first civilian knight. He received no training, but was able to make it on to the council. He is abnormally powerful. A few of the knights were angry with him for making his way to the top without going through any of the trials. I heard that last bit about Geare. I thought I’d shed some light on the topic.” Lysilus interrupted.
“That bastard killed most of my people. He took it upon himself to destroy us. The Dragon Wars started because of him. Dragons lived peacefully unnoticed, but Geare started to hunt us, thinking that he could make himself some money and a name for himself. He didn’t know that the Drayhelms could willingly transform into Dragons, although I suppose not many humans knew that information either. Humans formed armies to fight us. We approached Geare, and explained that he was killing people, and not just beasts.” Frostear explained with anger. Scarlette turned to him with sadness in her eyes.
“I remember my father talking to Councillor Gerald about Geare when I was still a child. He didn’t show Drayhelms any remorse, because he felt they were unnatural beings.” Scarlette added.
“I shouldn’t be part of this conversation. I’ll join Joffree, but I’ll ignore what you just said Frostear.” He said with a bow, then he walked back to the other room.
“Geare went on to hunt us until he made his way into the council. We thought we were done with that little bastard, but then he turned his attention to the ruling nations, and began to get people to fear us. After a while, Twilight formed armies that represented the Zodiacs. Then we were declared enemies of Twilight. Wave after wave we fought them. We tried not to kill the humans, but they killed us. Now you could count the Drayhelms that are left with one hand.” Frostear stared at Scarlette. Scarlette put her head down with a disappointed look on her face.
“I’m sorry Frostear, I never knew that either. If we had known your people were the dragons we would never have attacked…” Scarlette replied.
“Maybe, but after Geare killed so many of us, our people fell apart, and became more enraged. When a Drayhelm gets too angry they start to take on dragon attributes, such as scales, horns and our eyes change too. Once our anger hits its peak we prematurely transform. When this happens there is no changing back. The only other way to transform into a dragon is to wait till a certain age. Each body is different though, most can change at will around two hundred and fifty years old. Some may never transform.” Frostear explained. Lumus turned his attention to Frostear.
“Frostear how many Drayhelms are left?” Frostear looked up at Lumus. “Well that’s a hard question to answer. There could be more than what I know. There is Coldblood…my son. Lady Concy, my ex-wife. My father you met at Twilight Prison. He was the dragon that I was flying on, and myself. There could be more. I know during the Dragon Wars a lot of Drayhelm fled. Others transformed due to their anger. People lost their loved ones and friends for just being what they were. It’s possible they made it far enough to restart their lives but I cannot be certain.” Frostear sat on the ground with his head down.
“Wait, that Lord from Taurald was your son?” Brinx said with hesitation.
“Yes.” Frostear replied. Lumus kneeled down.
“Lady Concy is a Drayhelm? Why does no one know this?” Lumus blurted out. Frostear locked eyes with Lumus.
“Would you tell people that you came from a race of dragons that strike fear in people’s hearts, and was partially responsible for the Dragon Wars?” Frostear protested. Scarlette began to get upset.
“How could the Dragon Wars be your fault anyway? Your people are the victims here.” Frostear put his head back down.
“No, not all of the Drayhelm were good. When we get angry we change. The angrier we get the more evil our race can become. When we prematurely transform our rage is incomparable. We have had many leave our land in their dragon form, and hurt people of Twilight. There have even been cases of dragons killing people too.” Frostear said with hesitation. Scarlette turned from the group to hide her tears.
“Scarlette? Are you okay?” Lumus asked with a whisper. Scarlette wiped her tears away before she turned back.
“I’m fine Lumus.” She quickly replied.
“Everyone, we have made new plans,” Orson announced as he entered the training room with Lady Concy. Frostear stood up and turned to the others.
“Not a word of this.” Frostear muttered. Lady Concy took a step forward.
“Is there something wrong?” Concy asked. Brinx stood in front of Scarlette to hide her red face and tears.
“What new plans did the council decide on?” Lumus interrupted to change the subject. “Well Orson took the light in the conference room. He suggested that the councillors make way back to their towns to tell the people of Lumus. The councillors didn’t believe that Lumus was really the one born from the planet. You see we have had others come and try to convince us they were Lumus. I suppose they had good intentions, but a false hope like that led the councillors to really lose hope and believe he was dead, or never existed in the first place. Once Lumus put on his light show they knew he was the real deal. With that they can go back and tell their soldiers, and the moral of our people will go up. That is what Twilight needs. Orson has also stepped down as Councillor of Taurald.” Concy said as she looked to Orson. Scarlette looked upset.
“Why would you do that? Isn’t being a councillor a great honour?” Scarlette yelled at Orson. Orson shook his head.
“I would say the real honour is to fulfil my promise to your father to keep you safe. I also made you a promise to protect Lumus. Those are two very important things I cannot walk away from.” Orson replied. Lady Concy made her way toward the door.
“I must take my leave. Lysilus wake Joffree would you? I’m not going to ask how he ended up on the ground.” Concy looked at Scarlette, breaking the tension in the room. Scarlette giggled.
Lady Concy made her way up to the main hall, and Lysilus walked by embarrassed with Joffree over his shoulder.
“Orson now that it’s a bit quieter around here, who is going to watch over Taurald?” Orson crossed his arms with his head down as if lost in his thoughts. “I will step down as councillor, but Brunius will take temporary command of both Capaz, and of Taurald. Councillor Brunius returned with the other councillors two days ago. You may not have seen him.” Brinx interrupted. “He returned? W
hat reason would he have to leave when the meeting was going to take place here anyway?” Brinx said with confusion. Orson shook his head once again.
“I believe he mentioned giving aid to Taurald. He went there to chase out the remaining Krotins. It is a coincidence that he came back at the same time as the others arrived.” Orson replied. Lumus walked closer to Orson to inspect him. His hand reached out to Orson’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry I’m sure Twilight can handle things while you’re with us. Remember we have some important things to do too. Let everyone play their part.” Lumus smiled. Scarlette walked over to join Orson and Lumus.
“Yeah I’m sure they will manage, but I think we might need to discuss what to do next. Zephry is going to be gone a few more days until she gets back right? So in the mean time we can plan what to do and rest until she returns.” Orson seemed relieved with Scarlette’s optimism.
The blue moon shone brightly. Zelkem was outside the palace gates leaning upon the solid red brick trying to clear his thoughts. As he closed his eyes he began to drift asleep, but only for a moment. Suddenly music blasted through the city. Zelkem fell to the ground, startled.
“What the hell, not a moment’s peace…what are these people up to now?” Zelkem said angrily. People scampered about setting up shops and carrying out merchandise. Music floated through the air as people started to put up decorations.
“Hey, buddy what’s going on?” Zelkem shouted. A strange man stopped at Zelkem’s question.
“Oh, have you not heard? Councillor Brunius is throwing a festival. Zelkem seemed confused. “A festival? At a time like this? Why the hell would he do that?” The strange man was frantic.
“Well two reasons; firstly, the councillors are departing, the other I assume is to show the people that Twilight doesn’t care about the demon., Twilight will live on! The knights will protect us so why should we worry? I must go I have much to do!” The strange man ran off with haste.
“That guy is clueless. They can’t just celebrate when demons lurk around killing people. …morons.” Zelkem snarled. He crossed his arms and sat down where he stood on the side of the road. Music was still playing nearby. Zelkem tried to block out the noise as it irritated him more and more. Suddenly Lysilus and Joffree came walking out with Lady Concy riding a Zufore behind them. As they passed by the rest of the Councillors followed. Joffree spotted Zelkem from the corner of his eye, and Zelkem noticed him as well. As Joffree walked on, Zelkem shot him a devious smile.
“Hey, I can hear the music playing in the city from down here! They really pulled together in such a short amount of time.” Scarlette lit up like the blue moon at its peak.
“Look lets enjoy the festival, we have three days, so let’s break off for now, and try to have some fun.” Orson seemed as if he was ordering the others to go, but without a word of protest Scarlette dragged Lumus upstairs as Brinx followed slowly behind.
“Frostear, you have been silent this whole time. What’s on your mind?” Orson asked. Frostear headed for the door.
“Don’t worry about my problems, I can take care of myself.” Frostear took off upstairs leaving Orson standing in the training room alone. Orson sighed. “Well I guess that’s what I get for being personal.” Orson shrugged, and headed up to the main floor behind the others.
Music roared as people danced in joy. Kids ran about from store to store as parents went frantically to each shop looking for deals. Lumus and Scarlette walked off alone, taking in the bright city in all its glory. Brinx walked off alone as he did people stared at him thinking the worst until Frostear walked up beside him.
“Can’t have you walking off alone now can we? These people are scared of you, I think its best you stick with me for a while.” Frostear recommended. Brinx seemed to take comfort in Frostear’s concern for his wellbeing.
“Maybe you should enter one of their events to try to fit in? I believe I saw a pie-eating contest near the palace.” Frostear said. He laughed. Brinx stopped, and turned his attention to a stage east of the palace entrance to find Orson standing alone.
“What do you suppose he is up to Brinx?” Frostear asked. Without a word Brinx made his way through the crowd to Orson. People noticed Brinx, and started to step aside as he made his way through the main street to Orson. Orson just stood firm with his arms crossed, and a smirk on his face as he stared impatiently for Brinx to reach him.
“What are they doing?” Frostear began to follow behind Brinx, but the crowds began to fill in again. Brinx made his way onto the stage Orson stood upon.
“Okay Brinx let’s give the people a show eh? Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Festival of Capaz. Today I, Orson first class knight of Taurald have a special show for you today. I am going to show the people what we knights do for Twilight.” Orson announced. The crowds swarmed the large stage, kids lined up close along the front of the stage as others jumped onto their parents shoulders. Orson had planned a little brawl in hopes Brinx would agree to join him. Without a single word Brinx was on board, and the two readied themselves to give a good show. Although Brinx looked like the bad guy he knew deep down he was doing this for the people to raise their spirits. Zelkem made his way to the back of the stage while watching Orson.
“Hey Brinx, don’t be afraid to hold back. I’m sure he can take a punch or two.” Zelkem yelled out. Orson turned his head to look over his shoulder.
“Zelkem? Where have you…” Brinx interrupted Orson, and took the chance to attack, and as he did Orson shuffled to the side narrowly dodging him.
“Alright Brinx, try to put on a show.” Orson said while getting his footing back. Brinx’ face lit up with a grin.
“Just try to keep up.” Brinx declared. Orson and Brinx lashed out at each other, every punch colliding off one another. Brinx jumped high into the air, launching vines from his palms. The speed of the vines firing toward the stage gave Brinx a weightless feeling, until they crashed into the stage. Orson jumped back just dodging them. Orson climbed straight up the vines. Brinx started to retract them back into his palms, pulling him toward Orson. Brinx threw his head forward as Orson shot his fist at Brinx. The two hit with a flash, then both came crashing toward the stage. Just then Lumus and Scarlette joined the crowd to watch.
“Wahoo! Go for it Brinx!” Scarlette yelled out.
Orson got up from the stage slowly, Brinx could tell he did some damage to him in his last attack.
“Come on demon, is that all you got!” Orson provoked Brinx for the crowd. The battle began to get intense, Brinx shot multiple vines from his arms at Orson launching him off the stage into a merchant’s cart. As the debris cleared Orson stood up.
“(Wow he’s actually going all out.)” Orson stood, proudly hiding his fatigue.
With all his energy he charged at Brinx one last time, knowing that this would be his last attempt to win the brawl. Brinx caught on that Orson was tired, and Brinx crossed his arms in front of his face willingly giving Orson an opening to his chest. With the last ounce of energy Orson threw a punch straight at Brinx’s chest, and as his guard fell. He threw another punch launching Brinx over the city walls into the trees.
“There you have it ladies and gentlemen, the Twilight knights don’t give up. I beat that demon down and I bet he won’t be coming back anytime soon.” Orson panted. The crowd roared with praise. Brinx sat upon a treetop looking down into the city. His wounds very minimal compared to Orson’s. Brinx took a moment to watch the reaction to Orson’s victory. After a moment he disappeared into the trees.
“Orson are you okay? You guys put on a pretty nice show, but where did Brinx run off to.” Scarlette asked.
“I’m okay Scarlette, I assume he’s keeping out of sight for now. It wouldn’t make much sense if he came back. People think Brinx is a demon.” Orson smiled. Lumus walked over, and joined Scarlette’s side.
“Actually they like Brinx. You can hear them, can’t you? They want another show. They saw him walk in with us when we arrived. Maybe they th
ink he’s an ally or something.” Scarlette pointed toward the crowds. Zelkem walked over laughing.
“You couldn’t be more of a sellout. Is this what you Knights do? I can see now why Joffree was such a pushover. Orson hopped off the stage and walked off with a limp to the palace. Scarlette dragged Lumus away, leaving Zelkem and Frostear alone. Frostear noticed everyone walk away so he went off on his own. Zelkem turned to see him walk away. “Really? Am I even here? Zelkem went behind the stage, and sat on the ground against the city walls.
Ged emerged from the shadow of Lears. Lears stood in an abandoned shack outside of Taurald.
“Lord Lears, you called on me?” Lears stared at the wall with Ged behind him.
“I have decided to make Aster Mountains my new lair. Have some of my things brought over to make it more to my taste. I have also decided to make you second in command. I will give you orders for the Lords, and I expect you to complete them. With your abilities to jump through the shadows I see this to be very suited job for you.” Ged bowed.
“All is for My Lord.” Just soon as he appeared he vanished. Lears turned and walked into the light shining through the window. “Just wait Lumus, the next time we meet you will see my true power.” Lears exited the shack laughing hysterically.
Chapter Nine- Scarlette’s Secret
Morning came quickly, Scarlette thought as she woke to the sound of the town bustling with life below. Merchants and travelers from yesterday’s festival were all packing their remaining things to leave Capaz. Scarlette yawned loudly as she got up from her bed. She approached the window to see life in Capaz returning to normal, and thought of the times she had looked out the very same window when she was a child. Thoughts of her mother and father waking her for her morning lessons came to mind. She went into deeper thought of them, and how she missed them as the days pass by. If the council didn’t come to be then Scarlette would have been made queen of Capaz. However, the loss of most royal families over generations through the many deaths in the Dragon Wars, Twilight produced the council so that anyone who distinguished their name through acts of loyalty to the people could be a councillor. Also the council was a defence against the Dragons. Although the system works and the flow of control over each city is kept, Scarlette couldn’t shake the feeling of being helpless.