Hey, I know I said I wouldn't, but I've changed my mind, so here is chapter 48-the end of book 1.

  Jake’s POV

  “Suma, could you wrap me in mana and carry me? I think I’m about to colpse.” I asked Suma. My legs burned, my lungs too. Every square inch of my body ached despite having already been healed.

  “I am sorry Jake, but the rules strictly forbid that, and I do not think I could anyway; you are quite heavy.” I sighed and trudged onward. Eventually, we made it to the gate, and I colpsed as soon as I crossed it.

  “Finally,” I said relieved and lying motionless on the ground. All I wanted to do was sleep, to me, in that moment, nothing else mattered.

  “Good job recruits,” said a voice from behind us. I ignored it, and I barely heard anything else it said. I think I passed out if I’m being honest. I woke up ter on the floor of my kitchen, freezing cold and with a throbbing headache from hunger. I groaned and moaned as I forced myself up and grabbed a sleeve of crisps, crackers, and bottled vitamin-water from my pantry. While this was the first time I had used those healing runes, it wasn’t the first time I had experienced this post healing “hangover”. I looked at my kitchen timer and did some quick mental math; twelve hours had passed since Suma summoned me. I figured I spent about four hours doing the course, so I had probably gotten about eight hours of sleep after she sent me home.

  “Huh, that’s a lot shorter than normal.” I said to myself after downing the entire bottle of water in less than fifteen seconds. “That’s like… half the normal time or something.” Then I found myself wondering something… “Suma?” I asked.

  “Oh, hello Jake, how are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay, so… did we pass?”

  “Yes, we did, but only barely.” She sounded... disappointed… frustrated?

  “I see, well what happened to that snake familiar?”

  “Nothing, since it did not technically do anything but follow you, it did not break any rules. I confronted Lauric, but I had no proof he had any ill intentions, so nothing can be done yet.” She expined. “Jake, there is one more thing...”

  “Bad news?” I asked.

  “…That… depends on you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The instructor has ordered that you start attending the attack mages training sessions to improve your magic. It starts in two hours...”

  “Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense, but did she give a reason?” I asked confused. “I mean, you’re a healing mage and I’m your familiar, so I just assumed…”

  “I said the same thing, but she wants you to lean into your strengths and cover your weaknesses. She believes this is the best way to do that.”

  “Well, I’m not opposed to the idea or anything, I guess it could be interesting. What kinds of training do they do?” Suma didn’t know the answer, but it didn’t matter, because I found out the hard way two hours ter, on their training ground.

  “SENTINEL! KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN AND MOVE!” The instructor yelled as the group I was assigned to raced across a simuted battlefield. Explosions went off around us as Fire Magic spells crash-nded nearby. With me were seven Neame, three of which had names, all riding their own familiars. “EVEN YOU CAN’T TAKE A HIT FROM ONE OF THOSE SPELLS, NOW GO, GO, GO!”

  “Move faster familiar!” One of the named Neame who was stuck in the position behind me chirped. There were eight including me, fifteen if you include their own familiars, and I was in the fourth position from the front. The point of this training was to learn how to not be bothered by the sound of explosions going off around us by moving along the field out in the open. Our path was clearly marked, and we knew we weren’t going to be hit, but we still needed to walk as if we were in the low trenches that the Neame need to fly though while transporting supplies on real battlefields. We performed that training for two more hours, and my ears were ringing the whole time. After we finished, we went to the healer’s section to take care of any accidental injuries and fix our hearing. I thought we were done… until the instructor ordered us all to get ready for attack drills at field one. Normally, they would all fly there as a group… but I can’t fly, and the instructor made us walk there. Well, I walked, they rode on their familiars.

  Once we finally arrived for the drill, the instructor expined how it would work. “There are three rules: always aim your spells at the field, never at your squad; you will shoot at the target until you hit it three consecutive times; finally, if you run out of mana, you do high-dives while the rest of your squadron eats lunch.” We went two at a time, first was a Neame called Aldo and another nameless Neame. Aldo and the other left their perches and nded on two a few meters away from the group. The first to finish was the nameless Neame, but Aldo wasn’t too far behind him. As soon as one finished the task, another took his pce regardless of whether the other one had finished. I figured this was a way to let people study each other’s techniques, or maybe as a safety precaution, but I didn’t really know. Each Neame’s attack spells were different, the first used a fme attack simir to the attack Suma used against the wyvern to save me. The second used icicles to impale, and the third had a lightning attack. The fourth attacked by lifting rocks and dirt then crushing the target. The fifth, and sixth were named Neame called Tomu and Lekep, who used water and wind respectively. Then finally it was number seven and me.

  As I stepped up next to the perch the others were using, the instructor said, “I was told you have tactical scale magic Sentinel. Is that true?”

  “Yes sir, but I’m still a bit unfamiliar with the way spells are ranked, I was told that one of my spells was tactical grade.”

  “Show us,” he ordered.

  “I thought I wasn’t allowed to use magic that powerful in training?”

  “That’s for healers, this is attack magic. If you have the ability, then do it. If not, then do your next best attack spell.”

  “Yes sir,” I said and reached into my backpack to pull out a steel ball-bearing. Just like st time, I started by envisioning the target becoming magnetized, and drawing the ball bearings closer as they approached, then I created a magical rail system along the path I wanted the ball to follow. The ball would be pulled along by electro-magnetism through the air and suspended with my mana. While the spell was pulling the balls along with magnetism, it would also be generating a reversed pority behind the ball, driving it forwards. “RAILGUN!” I activated the spell and a thunderous crack roared through the air, reducing the target to debris. The whole process felt like it went by faster than the st time, probably because I had done it before.

  “THAT’S...” the instructor yelled but then stopped and began speaking normally again, “ah... that’s an impressive spell Sentinel, but it’s too slow for normal combat. Do you have anything faster?”

  “Um, well sir, normally I would use my weapons, but at this distance I don’t know...” I tried to say but was cut off.

  “You can’t rely solely on a single ranged attack spell, especially one that needs external components like those metal balls. I want you to try another attack, one that only uses your own magic.”

  “Um, yes sir.” I said and decided to do a fire spell; one simir to what Suma uses. I had done more research on fire after what happened in that cave, as a way to improve my spell, so I had been looking for an excuse to use one anyway. In just a moment, I had formed a rge fireball and unched it at the second target. This one wasn’t destroyed like the first, but it did burn even after the spell faded.

  “Your spells are incredibly strong, but your manifestation of them is far too slow. You need to increase the speed of your casting, or you will die as soon as you step into the war.”

  “Yes sir, I understand.” I said. He was right, compared to Suma, Vindicta, or even Von?Pac, my casting was at a snail’s pace, even if I was stronger than them. “How would I do that sir? Get faster I mean.”

  “The only real way is training, hard and often. But you could also try to find ways of quickening your image when building a spell. We call it association training. You have to force a connection between what you want and how it happens. Tell me, what do you do to create fire?” He asked.

  “I guess I start by imagining a fme, then picturing what causes the fme to burn and why.” I said.

  “So, you create more powerful spells as a result of this image, but you are already strong; you could forgo the precision of the image and still manage to form a formidable spell.”

  “Then I shouldn’t be worried about spell strength?” I asked.

  “I’m not saying that. I’m saying that you shouldn’t worry about spell precision. You’re plenty strong as you are, and having a more precise spell will increase that power, but for you that may not be an issue you should worry about.”

  “Okay… I think I understand.” I said.

  “Good, then take your st attempt and we will restart from the beginning.” I turned back to the targets and did another fire attack. This time however, I focused on speed instead of perfection or power.

  “FIREBALL!” I shouted. IN less than a second, I conjured and unched an attack at hit the target dead center… but there was something different this time. Instead of doing what I would normally do and pull in heat and energy from the environment to create the fmes, I just used my pure mana, which had an unusual result. For starters, it wasn’t as rge, maybe only two thirds my normal sized, but it was also hotter, and a different color.

  “Purple fmes?” One of the recruits behind me said stunned.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Suma’s POV

  “So, Jake is training with the attack mages then?” Vindicta asked. We were practicing our healing spells on damaged fruits.

  “Yes, he left to join them a while ago for evasion and shock training.” I told her as I cast a spell on my target. A cut, which had been gaping and letting the juice leak out, began to seal.

  “How do you think he will do?”

  “Fine I believe, but I do not know. I suppose it depend on how hard the instructor makes them train.” Vindicta nodded her head in agreement and the Neame in charge of our final healing qualifications exam nded on the perch next to us.

  “I see your faring well as always Lady Suma.” She said.

  “Indeed ma’am,” I replied.

  “Lady Vindicta, you’re doing quite well also.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. Um, can I ask how Von-Pac is doing?” Vindicta asked. The instructor seemed to find her question funny.

  “I’m afraid I am not allowed to give specifics about other candidates, but I can tell you he is doing fine.” Vindicta seemed pleased, her head feathers raised slightly and her besmears glowed just a bit brighter. “Anyway, be prepared, a group of combat cadets is coming from their training sessions, and they need to be healed I’m sure. We are expecting them soon.”

  “Is it the squadron my familiar was assigned to?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know which one your speaking of, but it is squad three.” She answered.

  “Oh, he was assigned to squad five.” I said disappointed that I was not going to be able to see him.

  “If you’re worried, why not just talk to him through the private channel you told me about?” Vindicta said after the instructor flew away.

  “I considered it, but I do not want to distract him from his training.” I expined. With that, Vindicta and I refocused on our final qualification exams. It was hard to believe that we were so close to the end of our tenure at this camp and were almost fully fledged healing mages for the army.

  “Suma… I have a question.” Vindicta said softly.

  “You are as good a healer as I am Vindicta, if you do not know something it is unlikely I know it either.”

  “No... not that. Have you and Jake made your decisions about the Drakes yet?”

  “…Yes.”

  “Will you...?”

  “We will,” I said.

  “Please be safe,” she sounded as if she were about to start singing, but did not.

  “I will try.”

  “Thank you.” After our conversation, however brief it was, we did not talk for the rest of the training; neither one of us could without fear of singing. Hours passed, and eventually Jake made contact and said that he was done with his attack training for the day. I summoned him to me, and we spent some time resting before we needed to go to familiar training together. While we waited, we talked.

  “How was training?” I asked.

  “I think it went pretty good. I learned a lot I think, but that shock training sure was loud.” He said smiling.

  “What did you learn?” I wondered. He was already extraordinarily strong, so I honestly did not believe there would be much for him to gain from the training.

  “I learned how to cast my spells faster, and a new way to picture my spells.”

  “That will be good to know,” I said.

  “Oh, can I ask you a weird question?”

  “Is it about Vindicta and Von-Pac?” I said jokingly.

  “No, everyone already knows about them. I wanted to ask if having purple fmes was unusual?”

  “…Why?” I asked cautiously.

  “Well, when my fmes turned purplish blue during training, everyone seemed kinda freaked out by it.” He expined.

  I held my feelings in for a moment and asked another question, “Jake, when you say purple, was it a bright purple or a dark purple?”

  “It was more of a mix of dark blue and purple. Like a northwest purple, not an eminence purple.”

  “I do not know what that means...”

  “More of a dark blue with purple mixed in.”

  “Okay, and why did you make your fmes that color?” I asked trying not to panic for his sake.

  “Suma, you are starting to kinda freak me out now; what’s up?”

  “It has nothing to do with you, but I can certainly understand why your squamates would have become uncomfortable.”

  “Which is why?”

  “Purple fmes were common for the Vikings...”

  “Oh… ooohhh!”

  Part 49

  There was a moment of silence as Jake thought. “So, what do we do?”

  “I… do not think there is anything we can do. They have already seen the fmes, so there would be no point in stopping them.” I said ruffling my feathers to break the tension in my wings.

  “But…” Jake sighed, “You’re probably right. At this point it would probably just be more suspicious to stop.” Jake rubbed his hands over his face and leaned his head back for a moment. “Suma, I know a bit about the Vikings from my world’s history, but what do your people know about them? Is there anything else I should try to avoid doing?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Like the purple fmes, are there any other defining traits I shouldn’t do? Things that would make people think I was a Viking.”

  “Um… a few things I suppose, but there were so many legends and myths from that period that what a Viking is, and what they could do, might be a dozen different things, depending on the country.”

  “Okay, let’s start with the simple stuff first.” He suggested. I took some time and expined what I could remember from what I had learned or heard over the years. It was not much more that what he already knew though.

  “Chaos Magic, purple spells, and incredibly powerful… is that really the extent of what your people remember?” He asked.

  “I am sure there is more, but I am also sure that I do not know it.” I expined. Jake leaned against one of the surrounding trees, seemingly in deep thought.

  “You said other countries have different views of Vikings right? Can you tell me about those?”

  “I only heard about it from my father, so I am not sure how reliable it will be.” I told him.

  “It’s fine, I’m just curious.”

  “Well, when my father was young, he once traveled to the Isnd of Sangu; this was before it fell to the Southern Union. He was a merchant’s assistant at the time, and that meant he would travel to different countries to trade goods. He told me that the Roshia, that is what the people of the isnd call themselves, were once visited by angry gods they called Viki, beings created by the Chaos Dragon to sow terror into them until his return.”

  “And they were the Vikings?” Jake asked.

  “My father thought so,” I expined.

  “So, what happened?”

  “My father eventually left the isnd and-”

  “No, I mean what happened to the Roshia?”

  “Oh, I do not know. I was young when he told me about them, so he probably left out most of the story.” Jake sighed.

  “I know about the Viki.” A voice from behind suddenly announced surprising both Jake and myself. I beat my wings furiously and ended up losing control of myself midair and fell on my back. At the same time, I heard Jake shout, a loud thwack and a thud, followed by groan. I turned to see what happened after regaining my composure and saw Jake kneeling on the ground holding the back of his head. A low hanging branch had been almost completely snapped off the tree he was leaning against. “My apologies, I did not mean to frighten you.” The voice said. They fluttered down from the branch they were resting on and nded beside us; it was Von-Pac. “Are you okay Sir Jake?” He asked.

  “I’m-” he rubbed the back of his head and winced, “-fine. I just hit my head when I jumped back.”

  “Von-Pac, what are you doing here?” I wondered.

  “I… I was... uh-” he looked uncomfortable. The feathers on his head were up slightly, and his besmears were just slightly brighter. “What I was doing was unimportant. But I do know about the Viki if you are interested.”

  “How do you know about them?” Jake asked standing back up.

  “My family used to visit the Isnd of Sangu during the winters. The cold was not as harsh there, so it was more bearable.”

  “Okay, so what do you know?” Jake asked. We quietly listened as Von-Pac told us a story.

  “Just a few years after the Ravaging, the Roshia were able to restore peace to their isnd. It was one of the few pces that the Chaos Dragon had not visited yet in his rampage, so while they were affected, it was mostly from indirect methods like disturbed weather patterns or fewer fish.”

  “The Roshia eat fish?” I asked disgusted.

  “Yes, it is actually rather delicious if prepared right, but back to the point. One day, a sea-flyer like they had never seen before appeared on the horizon. From it the Viki came. At first, they avoided them at all costs. The Viki settled on the isnd’s furthest point, deep in the wilds of the forest, so seeing them was rare. However, one day a Neame, whose name was lost to history, approached the Viki and attempted to drive them off the isnd with his magic. The Viki did not take kindly to this… You see, the Roshia believe that the Chaos Dragon chose to spare them for their good nature, and sent a portion of his soul to live with them. But when they attacked the Viki, it angered the Chaos Dragon, so he empowered them to strike down their arrogant and evil hearts.”

  “But I thought the Chaos Dragon was the bad guy?” Jake asked confused.

  “He is,” I confirmed.

  “The Roshia are a… strange people, with unusual beliefs.”

  “So let me see if I have this straight, the Roshia believe the Chaos Dragon gave the Vikings, or Viki, its power as a way to punish them?” Jake asked.

  “Indeed.” Von-Pac said.

  “It is an interesting story, but unfortunately it does not help us much.” I said disappointed. “Did the stories mention the Viki preferring or utilizing and special and easily identifiable magical techniques that Jake should avoid?”

  “Not to my knowledge, other than Death Magic and other forms of Chaos Magic anyway.” Von-Pac said.

  “Thanks anyway Von-Pac, it was an interesting story. It’s weird hearing all these alternate histories of your world and mine, cool though.”

  “I am sorry I could not be of more assistance.”

  “It’s okay, but I do have another question for you.” Jake said.

  “Yes?”

  “You were on your way to see Vindicta weren’t you?” Jake’s tone of voice was teasing, almost mocking really. Von-Pac answered Jake’s question, not with words but by silently turning and flying away.

  “They make a cute pairing.” I joked and Jake ughed.

  Part 50

  Jake’s POV

  Today was the day. We had officially accepted the Major’s invite to join the Drakes, and been assigned a date on which we would test. I had been training my attack spells with the attack mage groups for the past two weeks, so now it was time to put it all to the test. Our test would consist of three stages: attack spells quality, teamwork, and overall ability. Suma and I would test as if we were a single entry, since I am her familiar; pass or fail we did it together. The Major was perched a few feet away from us; he decided to personally preside over our test.

  “The first portion of your test will reveal the quality of your spells. Your goal for this test is to destroy the ten targets as quickly as possible.” He motioned with his wingtip towards a rge training dummy that was moving around the end of the training field with ten red targets attached to it. “You may use any means at your disposal… and I do mean any means.” With that he looked at Suma and I intensely. “For the duration of your test, all forms of magic are allowed, even the forms that have been decred illegal.”

  “What!?” Suma asked confused. “That is not… why… how?”

  “I could lie to you… I could tell you we only allow recruits who are the best of the best and can use every skill at their disposal to its maximum, but that’s not why. The truth is… the royal family wants to know what kind of weapon they will be commanding, and what it can do. They have given special permission for today only: use every and any form of magic you desire.” The Major expined. I didn’t know what to say, Suma seemed stunned, shocked even; I could rete.

  “I understand.” I said.

  “Jake?” Suma wondered quietly.

  “I know, it will be fine. Besides, I’ve been curious anyway.” My body was shaking, but I wasn’t really sure what was causing it. Was it fear, excitement, or something else entirely? “But sir, there is still the issue that I have never used most of the forms of Chaos Magic before. I’m not sure how it will go over.”

  He ruffled his feathers and nodded his head, “Let me be clear. I’m telling you not to hold back, but that does not mean using any of the illegal forms of magic is in any way required. If you feel like you will do better without them, then do as you see fit. The royal family wants to know what you can do at your best, not what you can do in totality. That will most likely come ter…”

  “I see,” Suma interjected, “Jake... I... I do not know if I can-”

  I stopped her, “I know. I won’t make you do it again, or even if I want to do it. For now, let’s just stick with what we know and let the rest happen if needed.” Suma sighed, in what I think was relief, and agreed.

  “Now… BEGIN!” The Major yelled and the dummy’s targets flipped from red to green. Suma and I knew this test was coming, or something like it at least, so we were prepared. She rushed forwards and began using her fmes to attack the targets. She was buying me time, not to cast a big attack spell, but to cast the body enhancement spell she taught me. As soon as it was done, I rushed forwards and caught up with her. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, my muscles felt as light as a feather, and my mind was on task. I quickly cast two of my new purple fireballs at the targets; one hit and one miss. The green of the target changed back to red as soon as it was struck. It rang like and gong when the fmes of our attacks connected. I pulled out three ball bearings from a small pouch I had attached to my armor and retreated a short distance from the dummy, then warned Suma to do the same. Using what I had learned, I cast a smaller scale, but faster, version of my Railgun spell. All three attacks nded.

  “Jake, can you distract the dummy while I attack the remaining targets?”

  “Sure, but can this thing even really be distracted? It doesn’t have a head... or brain.” I immediately cast three purple fireballs which melted through two of the dummy’s arms. It slowly lurched around away from Suma and started towards me. “Huh, I guess so.” I unched another two fireballs then raised the ground between the dummy and I to block its own attacks aimed at me. It was something I had been practicing with the attack mages. The best offence is a good defense, I guess.

  “Okay Jake, move back!” Suma yelled. I bolted away from the dummy as fast as I could. I didn’t see what happened, but there was a loud crash followed by the sound of three gongs. When I turned around, the ground was wet, and Suma looked exhausted. “That... worked...” She said between heavy breaths.

  “The attack section of the test is completed! Good Job recruits.” The Major called out.

  “That was easier than expected.” I said. “Suma, how did you... no, what did you do? I didn’t see.”

  “It is difficult to expin. In essence, I created a ball of water, then broke it into pieces and unched them at the targets as quickly as I could.” She expined, still breathing heavily and now sitting on the ground. I picked her up in my arms and carried her back to the Major. “Thank you Jake.” She said. Once back, Suma had recovered enough to perch on the notch on my armor.

  “Suma, Sentinel, it is now time to begin the second phase of your test. This is a group section so follow me to meet with the others participating in today’s test.” The Major said and began flying away. I walked after him, or tried to, but soon realized he was going too fast for me to catch up, so Suma had to do it, despite her exhaustion. She sighed, beat her wings, and flew after the Major. A few minutes ter she got in contact with me.

  “Jake, I will summon you, but I need a moment. We are not going to be starting the next section of the test until the rest of the recruits have finished and arrived, so I am going to rest. Is that okay with you?” She sounded run down, that spell must have taken more out of her than I thought.

  “Sure, no problem. I’ll just start walking towards you, maybe you won’t even need to summon me.” I suggested.

  “Thank you, Jake.” I began walking uphill in the direction they flew. The loose dirt made staying steady tricky, but I managed not to facepnt… more than once anyway. After reaching the top of the hill I started to hear a commotion nearby. I could see that, in a nearby field, another Neame and a Bck Serpent familiar were battling a dummy just as Suma and I had.

  “Lauric...” I mumbled annoyed. I watched his battle closely, studying how he and his familiar worked together. They moved smoothly, one moved in from behind while the other retreated. The snake would attack from behind while Lauric would distract the dummy with attacks from above. It didn’t take long for them to win. I watched them as they flew off in the same direction that the Major and Suma did, then got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I realized what that meant. Swallowing my irritation, I resumed my walk to Suma. It didn’t take too long, about twenty minutes, to reach them. Thankfully, the area wasn’t a dense forest, just a lot of blue hills and ftnds. Suma was perched on a stack of vines, looking a bit less tired, and Lauric was also there, perched a short distance away. Suma saw me walking up and flew over to my shoulder. “Feeling better?” I asked.

  “Yes, a bit.”

  “Do you need some mana? I have a daljar ready to go.” I offered.

  “No, I think I should be fine for now.” She said, but she didn’t sound overly convincing.

  “Don’t wear yourself out, I have plenty of mana for us both.”

  “I will be fine Jake, but if I do need any I will let you know.” I would have protested more, but another Neame nded beside us and the Major interrupted by saying that everyone had now arrived. In total there were three Neame and three familiars. Lauric’s Bck Serpent, myself, and the familiar of the newest Neame who summoned it when he arrived; it resembled some kind of bug crossed with a goat. It had fangs, six legs, horns, and a thick cream-colored coat of fur.

  “Alright recruits,” the Major announced, “this portion of the test will be on how well you can operate as a unit. Teamwork is the only way to pass, and failure to do so will fail not only you, but your whole team!”

  “Sir,” Lauric called out.

  “What is it recruit?” The Major asked.

  “Are you saying that in order for one of us to be chosen for the Drake Brigade, every one of us has to pass this portion of the exam?”

  “That is exactly what I am saying recruit. In real situations, your team's success or failure can be entirely determined by a single member. If one Neame fails, you all fail.” The Major expined.

  “Fantastic,” I mumbled. Through our private connection, I could faintly sense Suma’s feelings as well. It caught me off guard for a second as it isn’t normal for me to be able to do that. Usually, it only happens when she is feeling something strongly; like when we were attacked in the alley, and she was afraid. This time she felt… annoyed, or maybe nervous; possibly both.

  “Your mission is to defend your position against an attacking team. The winner of this exercise will decide which teams moves on to the third section, and which is dismissed immediately.” The Major expined.

  Oh, so it’s like capture the fg. I thought to myself.

  “How will victory or defeat be decided?” The other Neame whose name, assuming he had one I guess, I didn’t know, asked. The Major then used magic to lift a rge silver metal sheet, with several teal-colored symbols in the center, into the air and pce it onto a rusty pole.

  “With this. If the enemy succeeds in destroying or taking this crest, then you lose. However, if you are able to withstand their attacks and defend the crest, or you attack and destroy their crest, then you win.” The Major expined. Then, two Neame flew to the Major’s side, both using mana wrapping to carry a huge hourgss, and pced it by the Major. “You will have until the st grain of sand falls from the top to the bottom of this device.”

  It’s literally capture the fg! I thought surprised.

  “You will not have long to think of a strategy before this section begins, get to it.” He finished. With that, the other and I gathered together.

  “In order to form a proper strategy, we will need to know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.” The new Neame said.

  “I’m sorry, what’s your name?” I asked.

  “I do not possess one, but my cadet number is two.” He replied.

  “Jake, please do not do it.” Suma begged over our private connection.

  “I-I wasn’t going to,” I stuttered.

  “It will be good to work with you again Sir Lauric,” Two said.

  “And you as well.” He replied kindly.

  “You know each other?” I asked.

  “Yes, we were on the same team during the climb up Dragon’s Hoard.” Two said.

  Suma interrupted to get us back on track, “I specialize in Bonding Magic and Healing Magic, and my weakest form is Soul-Magic.”

  “I specialize in only Nature-Magic, but I can use all the types exceptionally well. As for weaknesses, I am rather untalented in any aspect of Soul-Magic as well.” Lauric stated.

  “I’m a Chaos Mage… I guess I’m pretty good at attack spells, but I’m still kinda slow to use them. I’m way better with my weapons though.” I said.

  “I’m a Soul-Magic user, specifically I specialize in Illusion-Magic and Emotion Magic, my weakness is Energy-Magic. I’m afraid I cannot even form a single fire spell.” Two expined.

  “Yes, I remember you mentioned that, like me, you prefer to fight with your own specialty than any standard attack spells.” Lauric mentioned.

  “So, how do we use this to our advantage?” I wondered. “We need a pn that puts everyone where they will be most useful.”

  “Yes, you are correct.” Two acknowledged. “Lauric, of the three of us, you are the most versatile and-”

  “Four,” I corrected ftly, one eyebrow raised, but he wouldn’t know what that meant so it was pretty pointless in hindsight.

  “…Yes, four of us. You are the most versatile and best suited to defend the crest. I think you should stay close to it, while the rest of us attack or intercept the other team.” Two said.

  “You might be correct, but I am not sure I can defend the crest alone, even with Loyalty by my side.” Lauric stated.

  “What if Suma or Two stayed behind, and the other one and I attacked?” I suggested.

  “But Jake…” Suma started, but I stopped her.

  “I know, but we need to win. I don’t like splitting up any more than you, but you’re not an attack mage, you’d be better off staying here with Lauric while Two and I tried to destroy the fg.” I told her.

  “It might work.” Two said. Suma seemed to dislike the pn, but agreed.

  “Fine,” she said.

  “It is our best solution.” Lauric agreed. “But please leave the close-range fighting to me Madam Suma.” She nodded her head.

  “All right recruits, time is up.” We heard the Major yell from a distance. “This section begins... now!”

  “Well then Sir Sentinel, let us be off.” Two said and flew to my armor’s perch on my shoulder.

  Part 51

  “Which way?” I asked.

  “I will fly up and try to find it. Just a moment.” Two said and with a few fps he was airborne. He went pretty high up, over a hundred feet at least, then came back down and nded on my armor again. That direction,” he said with a gesture of his wing. I cast the enhancement spell Suma taught me and started running towards the enemy camp. I felt like I was running pretty fast, but two seemed unimpressed. “Is this as fast as you can go?”

  “At the moment, yeah.” I answered. “But if I dropped my armor, I could pick up speed. That would mean you wouldn’t have a perch though.”

  “We need to get there as quickly as possible, do what you need to do; I will fly beside you.” He spread his wings and began to glide alongside me.

  “Alright,” I said then sent Jericho away. Once it was gone, I started to move much faster, now that I wasn’t being weighed down.

  “A bit better, but it will still take us time at this speed.”

  “What about mana wrapping? Couldn’t you just carry me or something?”

  “Certainly not, you’re far too rge. Anyway, that is a mana intensive skill, it would not be a good idea to use it before combat.”

  Suddenly a bit of movement in the distance caught my eye. “What’s that?” I asked.

  Two looked to where I pointed, “It’s a member of the opposing team.” He said.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “I can see them.”

  “From this distance?”

  “Can you not?”

  “Not in detail; they look more like a speck to me.”

  “I do not recognize them. They most likely are not a healing mage.”

  “An attack mage?” I asked.

  “Or a support mage.” I thought about asking what a support mage did, but now wasn’t the time.

  “Will they attack us?”

  “They are not flying at us; they are probably heading to our crest.”

  “I’ll warn Suma and Lauric.”

  “You cannot turn back now!”

  “I’m not going to. Suma and I can talk to each other no matter how far apart we are.”

  “I see, then that is a clever idea.”

  “Suma, Two and I just spotted someone heading to you and Lauric, be careful.”

  “Thank you Jake, we will be.” She said.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Suma’s POV

  “Lauric, Jake just told me that he and Two spotted a mage flying this way.” Lauric was perched on top of our crest, watching the sky.

  “I cannot see them yet, we still have some time. We should prepare.” He cast a spell that raised a rge cylindrical column of rock around the crest, so that it was only visible from the top. “This will be our st line of defense.”

  “Lauric, you asked me to let you handle the close-range fighting, but what did you want me to do?”

  “I suppose I should have been clearer; I want you to support me from afar. You have fme spells, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “I do as well, but as I said, Nature-Magic is my specialty. Nature-Magic cannot be used effectively at long-range, but it is nearly unstoppable close-range. Please use you fire spells to attack the enemy from a distance and cover me if I get overwhelmed.”

  “Okay, I understand, but we need a pn.” I said.

  “There… in the distance! I see them!” Lauric announced. “We do not have time, Lady Suma, please find a perch that will best allow you to see the area, but that is not too far.” Lauric then nded on the ground. “I summon you, Loyalty!” His Bck Serpent appeared, and they both readied themselves while I found a perch at the top of a nearby hill. The serpent hid itself in one of the patches of tall grass on the hill with the crest. The tension in the air was thick, I could feel my feathers standing on end, but Lauric seemed unphased by any of it. He returned to his perch on the column surrounding the crest, and waited. It was only a single mage who arrived, but it was soon clear why. Without a word, he unched three attacks, Lauric intercepted two of them with his magic, but the third hit the column directly. Fire spells, powerful ones; he was an attack mage. “Lady Suma,” Lauric called out without looking away from the enemy, “it seems this mage is a distance attacker, the pn is not going to work! You will need to attack him from a distance instead of providing me cover! I will protect the crest, but I am unable to do distance attacks in any-” The enemy unched three more attacks, but in an instant Lauric intercepted them all with several rge pilrs of vines. The vines burned down to the ground, he would not be able to use that technique again. “Now would be preferable!” He insisted.

  “R-right!” I called out and began my own spell. “Fmes, gather in my presence. Form and shape into a bolt to pierce my enemies… fly Crimson Bo-”

  “Dodge!” Lauric yelled.

  I unched myself upwards, cutting off the spell, as one of the mage’s attacks blew the vines I was perched on to splinters.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Jake’s POV

  “Sir Sentinel, we are approaching the opposing team’s crest.” Two said.

  “Finally,” I said. We, or I guess I, had been running for a while now, and was getting tired. “What’s around the area?”

  “What do you mean?” Two asked.

  “Is there any cover we can use? We don’t want to give them a chance to see us.”

  “That… may be a moot point.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I am looking one of them in the eyes now.”

  “Oh…” I sighed and started slowing down.

  “Why are you stopping?” Two asked confused.

  “To come up with a new pn. I was going to try to use the element of surprise, but that’s out of the question now.”

  “Okay, what do you have in mind?” I thought for a moment, racking my brain for an idea.

  “Two, you have illusion magic right?”

  “Yes, you know that already.” He said.

  “Could you make a double of us? Or maybe some kind of illusion to hide our movements so we can get closer to their crest/fg thing?” I asked.

  Two thought quietly for a moment, “Perhaps, but for a spell of that size… I could only do one, not both.”

  “Which one do you think would be best?”

  Again, he was quiet, “The doubles would be easier to maintain, but they would immediately know which one was which. They would be able to see them appear when I cast the spell.”

  “What if I gave us some cover?”

  “It would need to shield us from all sides.” Two said. “Like some kind of dome or covered tunnel.”

  “No problem.” I said confidently. I looked around for a nearby hill to create a tunnel in; there were several. I went to the closest one and began to use magic to carve out a hole rge enough for us both to enter and for him to cast a spell, then we went inside. I cast a small fireball for some light, then colpsed the entrance of the tunnel.

  “I’ll need a moment,” Two said and nded on the ground. He began his spell with a chant and by forming a magic circle. “Nothing is as it seems, light and shadow dance, mingle and form at my command. Create what I desire to see, what I wish to feel, and what I long to hear. Real Double.” He finished his chant and slowly, through the faded light of the fireball, I saw smoke-like magic shape itself into vaguely human and bird forms. The smoke changed colors in some areas, the started to solidify. By the end of it, I was looking myself in the eyes. There he... I... was. Illuminated by the flickering violet glow of my spell. On his shoulder was perched the identical copy of Two as well. Both perfect down to the freckle, metaphorically speaking in Two’s case.

  “Good work,” I said examining them.

  “Let’s… hope they… do the job,” Two panted out.

  “Was it that hard?” I asked.

  “Yes, but the real question is: will it be worth it?”

  “Only one way to find out.” I said and picked Two up, putting him on my shoulder just like our copies. “Ready?”

  “I believe so, but these copies will not st long, so we need to be quick.” He instructed. “I will control them and make them run in the opposite direction of us, but that is still no guarantee of success.”

  “Let’s make them run out of the cave at the same time as us, that way they won’t know which is which and will have to split up to chase us.” I suggested.

  “Agreed.” I started casting the spell to unseal the cave, but I needed to let the fire spell go out first, so we stood in darkness for just a moment before we all shot out of the tunnel.

  “I’m making the copies mimic our movements.” Two said as he clung tightly to my shoulder, causing a bit of pain actually as his cws dug in. “It seems to be working, their team is splitting up.” I gnced over my shoulder and saw the copies running away from us quickly, already a quarter mile away in the twenty or so seconds since we left the cave.

  “Can you see the crest?” I asked.

  “Yes, if we continue to move at this pace, we will be there soo… why are they doing that?” Two said confused.

  “What are they doing?” I asked.

  “They are reforming, going back to the crest.” He told me.

  “Is something wrong with the spell?” I asked worried.

  “No, the spell is fine. I have no answer for this.” He sounded as worried as I was.

  “Okay, we might need to change the pn.”

  “Why?”

  “If I’m right, they probably figured out our pn and decided to just wait for us to either run out of mana maintaining the spell, or figured that since both us and the copies are heading for them, they could just wait for us to come to them.” I expined.

  “A wise strategy,” Two remarked.

  “Yeah, so let’s give them a reason to meet us.” I said. “Two, will the copies automatically do what I do, or do you have to control them?”

  “I can give them specific commands, but otherwise they will mimic us.”

  “Good, change of pn, we’re going to smoke them out.”

  “I do not understand, how?”

  “Have them mimic us okay,” I said. Two disbanded the copy’s earlier commands and made them mimic us again, and I slowed down to a stop.

  “Sir Sentinel, what are we doing?”

  “Can Neame sense mana or spells from this far? Suma mentioned once that you guys could, but she didn’t say from how far that worked.”

  “From this distance? I should think not. What spell do you… oh.” Two said as I pulled out several steel ball-bearings from my pouch. I started the spell, and since we weren’t in a rush, I did it the slow but strong way. I wanted to make sure it hit its target, and when I use the new way of picturing spells, sometimes it misses the mark a bit. Never by more than an inch, but from this distance, that would be bad. I started casting the spell, and Two confirmed that the copies were doing the same, then he looked over to the other team’s crest. “They are raising a barrier of some kind around their crest, one made of interlocked vines and rge stones.”

  “It won’t help them,” I said picturing the st of the spell, “RAILGUN!” That thunderous crack rattled out and I saw an explosion in the distance.

  “By the dragons!” Two shouted and fpped about trying to regain his lost bance. “A bit of warning would have been appreciated, Sir Sentinel!”

  “Sorry,” I yelled with the ringing from the spell still filling my ears. “Did it work?”

  “Yes, I believe so. Correction, definitely so. Two of them are leaving their crest, one is staying behind. One of the two that left are heading towards us.” There was a moment of silence before he continued. “Sir Sentinel, it seems you have done some serious damage to their crest, but it was not destroyed. Do you have the ability to cast that spell again?”

  “You saw how long it takes; do you think we have the time?” There was another moment of silence.

  “No, never mind, the mage will be here before you are ready to execute that spell again.”

  “Aright then,” I said and resumed running towards their crest’s location.

  “If we can get within range though,” I said picking up speed to meet the mage heading towards us, “I can perform a smaller version of it.”

  “Sir Sentinel, I will distract the mage, you focus on getting within your spell’s range.” Two said and spread his wings to catch air and fly up.

  “Jericho!” I said and summoned my armor. Speed is good, not getting hit in the back by a spell I didn’t see coming is better.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Suma’s POV

  “Dodge!” Lauric yelled. I unched myself upwards, cutting off the spell, as one of the mage’s attacks blew the vines I was perched on to splinters. “Lady Suma, you must-” Lauric was interrupted by an attack aimed at the crest. Once again, he blocked it, but the rock columns were still severely fractured; they probably could not withstand many more hits, then our crest would be exposed. “You must attack!”

  “I am trying!” I yelled back. “Fmes, gather in my presence. Form and shape into a bolt to pierce my enemies… fly Crimson Bolt!“ I finally was able to cast a spell, and unched an attack of my own… which the enemy promptly dodged without much effort. “Fly, Crimson Bolt!” I yelled again and unched a second attack. This one was closer, but he still evaded it. Suddenly, a sound like thunder echoed in the distance; our team had begun its own attack. “Lauric,” I shouted, “I think that was Jake’s attack! We do not need to win!”

  “What are you talking ab-” Another interception, but not a perfect one, two of the attacks got through this time; Lauric could not catch as many now that he was nearly out of vines. Ever one of that mage’s attacks burns scores of them, and once destroyed... Lauric cannot use them again. “Talking about? Why do we not we need to win?” Lauric finished, never breaking his gaze away from the mage.

  “We just need to wait for Jake to finish, then I can summon him back and we can defeat this mage!”

  “I do not believe we will be able to do that Lady Suma! At the very least, we will not have a crest long enough to try it.”

  “Fly, Crimson Bolt!” I unched another attack; this one clipped his wings. He was singed, but still flying. “I did it!” I called out excitedly.

  “Lady Suma, you rely too much on your familiar, we can do this without him!” Just as he said that, the mage began a dive. He was aiming straight at the crest’s columns!

  “Fly Crimson-” Before I could finish, Lauric’s familiar suddenly appeared and attacked the mage with some kind of liquid from its mouth. It was camoufged in a patch of grass, waiting for its moment.

  “Agh!” The mage cried out and started fpping wildly, quickly losing altitude. He nded on the ground, still fpping and yelling.

  “What was that spray?” I asked, nding beside Lauric.

  “A powerful liquid that causes those affected by it to see strange visions.” He said as we watched the mage fp around on the ground.

  “Get away, GET AWAY!” He yelled.

  “Will he be okay?” I asked concerned.

  “Yes, the visions will stop soon, and if we heal him, they will be over even sooner. But we should restrain him first somehow.” Lauric stated.

  “I will do it; you should try to repce the vines you lost.” I suggested. Lauric agreed, and flew to the nearest bundle of them. I went over to the mage and restrained him with nature magic by engulfing his body in soil, then doing my best to solidify it. After that I healed him, and he stopped screaming.

  “What… happened?” The mage asked, finally settling down.

  “You lost,” Lauric answered as he nded, having finished repcing his vines.

  The mage sighed, “oh well, perhaps once my mind has fully cleared, I will be able to try again.” Truthfully, he did not seem as upset as I assumed he was going to be.

  “You were a fierce opponent,” Lauric said.

  “Thank you, but if that’s what you think, I fear I may not get my chance to try again.”

  “And why is that?” I asked.

  “Because I am the only member of my team who wanted to attack. All of the others decided the best way to win was to guard the crest.”

  “So, your whole team is still at your crest’s location?” I asked.

  “Indeed, your other teammate and Sentinel have no-” He was cut off by another crack of thunder in the distance, this time even louder. I flew up to try and get a better view, and what I saw made no sense.

  Jake’s POV

  “Jericho!” I said and summoned my armor. Speed is good, not getting hit in the back by a spell I didn’t see coming is better. Running to the crest wouldn’t take long, despite how far away it was. All I needed to do was not get shot in the back, or front, on the way there. The other Neame were too far away for me to see clearly, but I could see them in the rapidly closing distance. I have no idea how I’m going to fight them off long enough to- *CRACKATHOOM* My train of thought was derailed as a bolt of lightning hit the ground next to me. It caught me off guard and I tripped over my own feet, falling to the ground and skidding for a short distance. Once I realized what happened, I used magic to raise a boulder between myself at where I thought the shot had come from. “Of course they shoot lightning,” I mumbled.

  I looked back, Two was still distracting the mage. It looked like he was using illusions to distract him, then dodge any of the mage’s attacks. I used mana wrapping to lift up the boulder and carry it in front of me for cover as I ran. It was weighty, and slowed me down a bit, but it was better than getting fried. *CRACKATHOOM* Another bolt of lightning hit the boulder, but it held… mostly. I noticed after that the rock felt a bit lighter and heard the sounds of rubble hitting the ground as I ran. The bolt must have done some real damage to the front of the boulder. *CRACKATHOOM* A third bolt, *CRACKATHOOM*, a fourth. The boulder was getting uncomfortably light, but I was almost there. *CRACKATHOOM* The boulder shattered, and its pieces shot off in every direction. Rather than raising another, I dove behind the top of one of the hills.

  “A pn, a pn, a pn, a pn…” I repeated to myself desperately looking around. “Can lightning be inverted? No, that’s not how lightning works. Maybe if I used- no that wouldn’t work…. Wait a second,” I had a pn… well, an idea, well... a thought. Inversion, Wild, Energy, Nature… and Death; those are the types of Chaos-Magic. “Lightning is energy… I have-” I stopped thinking and started casting the spell. Not realizing it, I was talking aloud, “Lightning is an electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of energy.” My eyes were closed, but as I spoke, I started to hear the sounds of birds chirping, and an electric hum. I opened my eyes and saw a ball of electricity starting to form. Only one shot. I thought to myself. I needed to make sure it hit, so like the railgun spell, this one needed to be guided. “Two electrically charged regions,” I repeated. The first region would be the origin point of the spell, the other… the target. Soon the lightning was huge, the size of one of those old computers from the nineties, and it crackled and popped like it was alive. “I really hope this doesn’t kill anyone,” I said and popped up from my hiding spot, then shot off the spell. “LIGHTNING BOLT!”

  In a blindingly bright fsh, the lightning tore through the air and branched out in a dozen different directions, like a root burrowing into soil. I wish I could describe in more detail what it sounded like, but the ringing in my ears was too loud. In fact, I didn’t hear much of anything for the next few minutes. I dropped to the ground, clutching my ears in pain. I looked at my hands, now covered in streams of blood, either from the spell or my ears I couldn’t tell. My vision was blurred from the fsh, everything was just a haze for a while. I stumbled towards the other team’s crest as best as I could manage, occasionally stopping to vomit from the dizziness that came and went in waves. By the time I made it the rest of the way up the hill and to their crest, I saw it had already been destroyed. It was just a half melted and shattered pile of metal on the ground now.

  I looked around, trying to find someone, anyone, to figure out what happened. I couldn’t hear anything, but my eyes went back to normal after a while. I tried calling out, but couldn’t hear my own voice, just that constant ringing. I stumbled across a Neame eventually, not Two, another one; probably one of the other team. They were lying on the ground, occasionally twitching. I took off a piece of my armor and summoned a couple of daljar, then used my armor’s healing runes to fix us both up. After a minute, my hearing came back, and Suma showed up.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Suma’s POV

  “Indeed, your other teammate and Sentinel have no-” He was cut off by another crack of thunder in the distance, this time even louder. I flew up to try and get a better view, and what I saw made no sense. It looked like a lightning bolt, but it was impossibly rge, and longer sting than any I had ever seen before. It hung in the air, light pouring off and pulsating as it slowly shrank down, like a tree’s branch had been lit on fire, then pstered on the sky.

  “Lauric, I am going to go check on Jake!” I called out, then flew off. I heard him try to call out to me, saying that I should stay, but I ignored him. “Jake!? Jake, can you hear me?” I tried to contact him over our private connection. There was no answer, so I used the enhancement spell and flew as quickly as I could manage. It only took a short time for me to arrive and see the devastation. There were scorch marks everywhere, patches of grass were still on fire, several Neame were unconscious, maybe dead, and the lingering smell of a lightning storm was still thick in the air. I came to look for Jake, but I could not simply leave the Neame. I dove down and started healing everyone I saw, three in total, one of which was Two from our team, and the others were from the opposing team. Once they were healed, I started looking for Jake again; I would have asked Two which way he went, but Two did not wake up. However, he was alive; they all were actually, but scorched just as badly as the surrounding area. Their feathers were burned, some now had bald patches where the feathers, and in some cases, skin, had been blown off. Flying away from them, I saw more Neame start to arrive; the instructors and military officials, as well as additional healers. Finally, I found him. “Jake!” I cried out and nded beside him. He had taken off parts of his armor, and wrapped it around a severely injured Neame; the healing runes were on as well.

  “Suma,” Jake said once he saw me, “I think I over did it…”

  Jake’s POV

  “Sentinel, Lady Suma, are you injured?” The Major asked us after finally arriving. In the st few minutes, several Neame had arrived and began treating the one I wrapped up in my armor. They said I saved her, that the runes kept her alive… it wasn’t as comforting as they had probably intended it to be. I was the one who did it to her after all.

  “I’m fine sir, and I’ve already healed Ja- um... Sentinel.” Suma answered.

  “Sir Sentinel… did you cause this? Was that your spell we saw?” The Major asked.

  “Yes sir, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. It was too strong of a-” He cut me off.

  “Fantastic! This spell is incredible, truly. Sir Sentinel, welcome to the Drakes.”

  “What? You’re happy… I assumed you would want to like... kick me out of the army or something.” I said bewildered.

  “Do not confuse my words Sir Sentinel, there will be consequences to using a spell of this magnitude in a test, but this only cements what we already knew: that you are an asset. We need your strength Sir Sentinel. Both you and Lady Suma will have a pce on the Drakes Brigade.”

  “But, what about the third portion of the exam?” Suma asked. “We are only on the second.”

  “The third portion actually took pce at the same time as the second. It was a test of ingenuity and creativity, and all of your team did well enough to pass.” The Major expined.

  “Sir… I don’t deserve that.” I answered. “I hurt so many people. I thought I could control it, but-”

  “Sentinel, this is a war. You will kill, you will hurt, and you may die. Don’t regret fighting, regret having not stood for what was worth fighting for. You have heard of the Southern Union, what they do, how they are. Our country, no... the world, needs your strength.” The Major said.

  “I know you’re right, but that doesn’t make me feel any better… I want to apologize to everyone who was hurt today... can you help me do that?” I asked the Major.

  He nodded his head, “That would be possible.” With that, we were each escorted off the field. Our team had officially won, and each of its members was granted a spot as a Drake, as well as one of the Neame from the other team who had impressed the judges. I spent the next day visiting each of the Neame who was hurt by my spell. Two of them were mad, one said it was a risk he knew might happen and that he didn’t hold it against me, and the others didn’t even know it was me in the first pce. Two, the member of my team who had gone with me and was caught in the bst, was annoyed, but understood that what I did got him his spot on the team, so he let it go. The Neame who I hurt worst, the one who as it turns out, was the same Neame who was shooting me with lightning, and who was the one I wrapped in my armor, actually found it funny. She said she got what she deserved shooting lightning at a familiar out of nowhere. She apparently had let the others talk her into doing it, but she herself didn’t originally want to. She thanked me for saving her, and I apologized again.

  After I finished visiting everyone Suma and I had a talk. “He is right Jake.” She said.

  “Who is?”

  “The Major… I do not…” she sighed, “I do not want to hurt anyone any more than you do, but this is war, and it would be foolish to think it will not happen eventually.”

  “I know. Especially if we are a part of the Drakes.”

  “Do you think… do you regret our decision?” She asked.

  I thought for a moment, “no, joining the Drakes was the right call. I think we will be able to do more good with them than if we had simply joined the front lines or the reserves.”

  “Perhaps...” There was a moment of quiet tension, she looked uneasy about something. “Jake, are you scared?”

  “About the Drakes? Yeah.”

  “So am I.” I picked Suma up and put her on my shoulder, I didn’t have my armor on at the moment, so she used the loose cloth of my jacket to steady herself. “I hope you are right Jake.”

  “Me too,” I answered.

  After that Suma and I, as well as everyone else who passed the test, were released from camp and sent back to the cities we came from. We said goodbye to Vindicta and Von-Pac, and Suma offered them a pce to stay if they ever came by her city. Vindicta and Suma both sang for a while, and Von-Pac and I waited quietly for them to finish from a good distance away. I don’t know where the others, that being Two and Lauric, went, but Suma and I headed back to Suma’s city, Zach-Ahshem. We were supposed to wait for assignment orders, then go to wherever our orders said to meet our new team. They said we should expect a summons within one week, so we needed to get ourselves ready before then. Suma sent me back home, and spent a while traveling back to hers. I spoke to my mom. I told her that I had passed the test, but left out how, and told her that our orders would be in soon. I expined that I might not be able to come around as much now. She was worried but understood.

  Suma and I spent the week getting some upgrades and repairs made to my armor, runes, and weapons from Ceil and Se-Car; both of whom were doing well and happy to see us. Ceil’s business was doing better, apparently a name raised his social rank and now more people were ordering from him. Se-Car had spent the st few months developing new Chaos-Magic runes for me, and was eager to apply them.

  The repairs and upgrades to my armor included a lining of daljar linings on the inside yer. That way I wouldn’t need to summon any actual daljars to activate my healing and stamina runes. All I would need to do was flow the mana through the yer first. The new runes were interesting too. Se-Car said she was able to increase the efficiency and force of the runes on my weapons by changing the patterns. Meaning they would be a bit stronger for the same amount of mana.

  Suma eventually went and saw her parents, I don’t know how it went, but she seemed upset afterwards, so I had a feeling not well. I tried to talk to her about it, but she just said that it was normal for them and asked to change the subject.

  Eventually, our orders arrived, and we were to meet or new team at a city called, “Antonel.” It was one of the strongholds holding off Southern Union forces from the Isnd of Sangu. Suma said it would take her three days to travel there, and that she would see me then. With that, she sent me home and started traveling. I spent the three days preparing a few things. We were going to war, and I had a few items to purchase before that happened.

  Two days ter, I was lying in bed waiting to fall asleep. My mind started to wonder and I, still guilt ridden, thought about how the test ended. I knew I needed to move on, that it was an accident, but I still felt bad. I decided to bring it up the next time I spoke to Dr. Maxwell. Eventually, I slowly fell asleep.

  I had hoped to dream of how things were before I disappeared that day, or even of just rexing in Suma’s world, but instead there was only darkness… darkness and him. “Hello Sentinel,” the kinder half said. “You’re getting stronger.”

  “Who are you?” I asked. “You said st time that you were my friend, and my doom.”

  “YES,” the more reptilian side yelled, “DOOM, DOOM TO ALL OF ATMOSIA!”

  “Why? What did they do to you?” I asked.

  “NOT THEM… the dragons… THE TRATIORS….”

  “I don’t understand.” I said.

  “Then allow me… TO SHOW YOU!”

  End of book 1.