Hello, I'm an old schooler of FFS from back in the way. Hope you all like this. :)



The Edge of Despair
Book One: Catalyst


Chapter One: Dysfunction


The shrill coldness of the night ate away at the old man. His name was Romulus and at the moment he paced through a small dark road and was draped in a long red robe with a crest on the front. The robe waved violently in the wind as he pressed on. Off in the distance a large cathedral came into view. It was jet black and showed signs of aging as pieces of loose plaster and brick could be found hanging from all sides of the war torn building.

To the left and right of the road that Romulus traveled on, were great big green trees. They were so thick and close together that the forests seemed to be more of a wall of bark than an actual forest. A few beads of sweat fell from the old man�s white brow. He was too old to be making these long journeys in the middle of the night. He glanced up, the Green Mist that had covered his community since birth hung there, it was now dark in color, indicating it was indeed nighttime.

As Romulus neared the building, he pulled a large stone jar from under his robe, it also had the same crest on it. The crest was in the shape of a circle with an eyeball square in the middle of it, it was the royal quest of Lord Drimacus�

Finally the man arrived on a massive slab of rock that served as the doorstep for the intimidating building. In front of him stood two oval doors connected by a large rung. Romulus grabbed the silver rusty rung and pulled the door open. As he did, the light from the torches within the cathedral pierced the open air of the night like a beacon. He entered quickly and ran up the center aisle with magnificent wood carved pews to either side of him. He stopped finally at the altar where two other older men stood, both also wearing red robes with the crest.

�Romulus, finally you have arrived! Have you brought it with you?� the man who asked this seemed older then the rest.
He had a long pointy white beard, and was very thin and tall.

Romulus held up the jar and placed it on the altar. He was a short stubby man, not very intimidating.

�Yes Paris, it�s right there, the official list of every eighteen year old boy in our Green Hive community,� he said.

The third man, very plain with a balding head, exhaled deeply, �Finally the day has come. One hundred years ago Lord Drimacus instructed that on this day in early Fall, the three current leaders of Green Hive would unite and open his chambers which have been sealed since he left,� he said.

Paris patted him on the shoulder, �Yes dear Irenicus, we are that Triumvirate and today is that day. Together, as the leaders of Green Hive, we will march bravely into the future!�

Romulus put his hand forward, it was covered by a golden glove, �Shall we begin?�

The others nodded, looking a little nervous. Romulus reached with his left hand and pulled the glove off. The upper parts of his hand were shriveled, but as he flipped it over, his palm had a Black Eye ball firmly lodged in its center.

Paris and Irenicus did the same and they too had the Black Eye in their palms. Romulus pulled a small red tablecloth off of the altar revealing three distinct circles. The three men put their third eyes on top of the circles, as they did, a creaking sound emitted from the black stone wall behind them.

Irenicus threw his left hand into the air in joy, �Today is the day the Mystics will take revenge upon the Humans for murdering our brethren!�

Romulus exhaled as musty air entered the cathedral as the wall behind them split into two. Behind it remained a small opening leading to stairs. The three men took their hands off of the altar and stared into the dark abyss that was the opening.

Irenicus glanced into the hole, he saw nothing but an eternal emptiness, �Are you ready?�

The others agreed and they stepped through the door to an uncharted territory of Green Hive which would forever change the destiny of the Chosen and even the world.



The green sky above him broke open just for a moment so the young man could get a glance at the beautiful red Sun. Alexander Walters, an eighteen year old boy, laid flat on his back in one of the many grassy fields in Green Hive. That was how he spent most of his days, ditching his parents and chores early in the morning, and escaping off to some field so he could be by himself and feel the aliveness around him.

As he thought about it he laughed, �Alive? That�s the last thing I am inside.�

He sat up and pulled out a small paper tablet, with it an awkward pencil made from one of the collapsed trees in the forest. He biy the led tip of it as he always did and began to place the words from his mind onto the paper.

�Around me are the signs of Fall, Summer is ending, love is fading, life is dying, much like myself. I feel like the forest, dying inside. A dark emptiness tears away at my soul, my soul, oh my soul! For even at this moment, it is teetering on the Edge of Despair, withering and straining to find the light of day.�

Dead inside, there was never a phrase that more described a person than this did for Alexander. As he finished his poem and placed it back in a small cloth pouch, he tried to recall the early days, his childhood, before the Black Day.

Alexander lived with his parents, two weavers. They were never rich, but had enough. Alexander had friends, family, he had everything a boy could want! But then, when he was sixteen, the Black Day came, a day which would forever linger upon his soul like the memory of her voice.

He shook his head quickly, �Her voice! No, I must try and forget, must let it go!�

But as he screamed those words out, his soul screamed something entirely different, �REMEMBER! RECALL!�

The scenery around him changed rapidly from the green sweetness of a field, to the gloomy darkness of a cave. He saw HER, Regina. He saw himself, a little younger, a little happier, sixteen, in front of Regina.

�Oh Alexander! I�ve wanted to tell you this for so long!� she shouted as she done a billion times in his mind before.

�What is it Regina?� he asked as he had so many times before.

The present Alexander stood in his memory and cried out to the past Alexander, �NO ALEX! Don�t let her answer! If she answers�.�

�I love you,� she said softly.

Suddenly, the picture went black and Alexander found himself back in the present with his Father standing over him.

�Alexander Walters! Get up!� he screamed.

Once upon a time his Father would have intimidated him, but you can�t intimidate a dead person.

Alexander sat there, �Why? What�s so good about standing up that I can�t get from lying here in the grass?�

His Father, a husky tall man, pulled him up with one arm and stared at his son. Alex was thin, he didn�t eat much anymore, he had crazy brown hair that went in every direction, and a sad look about him.

�I�ve let this gone on long enough! Do you think that myself and your Mother don�t know that you skip your chores and come out here to write about your depression!?�

Alexander laughed, �Don�t try and fool me Father! You had no idea I came out here till today probably!�

His Father sighed, �Of course I knew, you�ve been doing it since��

Alexander began to walk in the general direction of home, a swirling wind sent his hair howling, �Go ahead and say it Dad, it�s not like I forgot about it.�

His Father quickly caught up with him, �Son, it�s been two years since,� he took a deep breath, �the incident. We let you come out here because we thought it would help you. But it obviously hasn�t. It�s been two years. You�re eighteen, a man! What do you want to do with your life?�

Alexander glanced into the wondrous mountains around him and heard her voice among them, �I love you,� she would say.

�Is there anyway I can get some type of early escape from this hell of a life?� he asked sardonically.

His Father grabbed him by the collar, �Listen to me boy! I can never understand how you feel, or see what you have seen! But I can tell you this, if Regina was here, she wouldn�t want you to be this way!�

Alexander threw his loving Father off of him and quickened his pace, �Yeah Dad but that�s the thing, Regina isn�t here. She�s dead! Remember?!�

For a time they walked in silence. Mr. Walters was a good man, but no one had ever had to deal with something like this in Green Hive, especially someone as young as Regina and Alexander.

�You know son, I�ve read some of your poetry,� he said.

�Oh, that. I just have words in my head that I have to put down is all, nothing important,� he said as he viewed the roof of his house in the distance.

�No son! It�s really good! Have you ever thought about becoming a writer?� he asked energetically.

�Dad, the only writers in Green Hive are people who record who doesn�t show up to Sunday Worship and on what date, just let me go ok!?� Alexander screamed and bolted to the house, surely off to his room to go back to bed and dream the world away.



A few miles away from the cozy house of the Walters was the heart of Green Hive, Sanctuary Village. The village was actually just a large circle of old wooden buildings. On the outer rim of the circle stood many of the residential houses, in the very center stood the Old Misty, the local bar erected the day Lord Drimacus left Green Hive forever.

Inside the bar, many customers ordered some liquor or drinks in the middle of the day. Rufus Orion haphazardly wiped off one of the tables of a man who had just left as he done a billion times before since he got the job at the Old Misty as a bus boy. He knew he would have a ton of work to do as soon as he finished the table as it was Saturday and lunchtime, the busiest time all week.

The Old Misty was a crummy old bar run by the son of one of the original settlers of Green Hive, one of the Persecuted Mystics. The owner was a short older man with white hair that wrapped around his bald head. His name was Davis and he was a little on the scary side.

Rufus Orion was eighteen, and had long stringy black hair that drifted aimlessly around his shoulders. He was well built, but a little on the short side. He was one of the few teenage boys in town who had a job, a real one, not a job with their parents. But Rufus had not elected to get a job at the young age of fourteen, he was forced to.

It was then that the Drimacus Cathedral Triumvirate, the leaders of the entire Green Hive community, found his parents extorting from the weekly collections. At first, the town cried execution. They thirsted for the blood of his �unclean� parents like a wolf does before its prey. But, the church taught forgiveness, and they figured the eternal damnation of the good Orion name was enough, or almost enough punishment. The other side of it was that they had to pay off how much they stole besides giving the stolen money back. So his parents worked in the Cathedral, and every time they received money, they had to give it right back. So young Rufus with his blackened name was sent out into the community to work, he became the bread winner at the tender age of fourteen!

Rufus cringed as he dropped the rag he was using on the dirty table. He grabbed his right hand and glanced at his palm, the Back Eye was shut, he presumed he got some alcohol or salt in it. He rubbed it for a second and continued.

Everyone in Green Hive had the Black Eye in their palm. They were born with it in their palm and it signified that they were not Humans, but Mystics, which is an oxymoron almost because Mystics sprung from Humans. The Black Eye was the source of each Mystic�s power, but unfortunately, all of their powers were pretty much useless. Rufus could make himself glow for a short period of time. Others could make their voice change, or pull some food item from their mouth, basically, it was useless.

Rufus� drifting thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a harsh yell. He glanced to the source of the sound to find a large stout man standing on his chair.

�Look at this! I left thirty coins right here to pay for my drink! I go to the latrine, return, and look! They�re gone! Who did it?! WHO?!� he screamed in a drunken rage.

Rufus shook his head and glanced at Davis, �Don�t try and be funny Martin, we all know you�re hard up for money. I�ll start a tab for you, but please, stop getting so wasted!�

As some of the other patrons burst out in laughter, Martin turned red with fury, �Thirty coins I say! Thirty! Who did it I say!?�

He glanced around and stopped his view firmly on Rufus who was trying to clear another table, �Aye! There he be! The Orion boy! We know scum like him, look at his parents! The apple don�t fall far from the three they say! HICCUP!�

Upon hearing this, the crowds of people were easily swayed to the fat drunken beggar�s side, because even that side was more believable than an Orion.

Rufus looked around at the dark stares he evoked from the others, �I didn�t steal Martin�s nonexistent coins, I�ve never stolen, and I never will.�

The room bust into laughter again, �An Orion, not steal?! AHAHAHA!� yelled another.

The heckles continued until Davis whistled, �Please leave the boy alone, Rufus is a good boy, he has been employed by me for four years now!�

Martin fell to one knee amidst a cloud of surpassing alcohol, �He�s only here because of his bastard parents! Steal from the Church?! Who would fathom such an idea?!�

Rufus balled his fists, but Davis quickly came from behind the bar and put his arm on his shoulder, �Come Rufus, take the day off. Go home and get some rest.�

Rufus nodded, and walked out of the room with the small bit of pride left from his accursed name dwindling by the second.



Back at the Cathedral, which was just a few hundred yards outside of the circular village of Sanctuary, in the top floor in a small room a young boy stared sadly out the window. The room was empty besides from a bed, chair, and window. It was cold, soulless due to its lack of decorating. The boy was eighteen year old Thomas Maddux, grandson to the legendary Lord Drimacus.

Thomas was heir to the throne of Green Hive, which was now nothing more than a position of a puppet. The true power was in the Triumvirate. His Father, George Maddux, was the current overseer of Green Hive, and had been prepping his son to follow in his footsteps since birth, which to George meant keeping him locked inside all day away from others his age. According to him, this built character.

Thomas was very athletic looking, meaning he had a double barreled chest and wavy blonde hair. But as he looked out to the mountains, covered in the protective Green Mist, he longed to be outside the walls of the Cathedral, he would die to be out with people, out in the real world.



Sunday came, and in the Cathedral, the triumvirate debated over what to do in their living quarters.

Paris stomped around the room madly, �This is insane! We can�t send three eighteen year old boys out of Green Hive and out into the world! The Humans would kill them in an instant!�

Romulus sat down and shook his head, �Drimacus wouldn�t have asked us to do this if he thought they would be in danger.�

Paris walked over to Romulus� face, �Drimacus left one hundred years ago and never returned! Maybe he�s dead!�

The walls of the room seemed echoed by Paris� statements, sending Romulus reeling backwards, �That�s blasphemy! Our entire faith is built around the fact that Drimacus left us found a way to watch over Green Hive forever!�

From the corner of the room Irenicus smashed his fist down into a table, �Fool! Drimacus is a tool, nothing more! How the Hell do we know what he did after he left Green Hive a hundred years ago?! For all we knew he died on the first day! He is a piece of propaganda we use to propel us to power, and right now we have the perfect opportunity!�

Paris was intrigued, �What do you mean Irenicus?�

The old man smiled, �What did we find in Drimacus� chambers?�

�A scroll, it told us to pick three names of current eighteen year olds, equip them with weaponry and send them outside of Green Hive to search for some Great Library where Drimacus� journals are,� explained Romulus. �So what?�

�Our greatest problem is that although we have the true power in this community, we don�t have the title! Who has that title?! The descendant of Drimacus! Right now George is old, older than us, and soon Thomas will become ruler, but if he gets picked to go on this little journey, he might never come back,� replied Irenicus.

Romulus was shocked and appalled, �We already picked three boys while we were in the chambers! Three quire boys! We didn�t pick Thomas!�

Paris was catching on now, this could be their ascent to power, �Who cares! Let�s say we did, and while we�re at it, let�s get rid of two other trouble makers!�

Irenicus was getting into this now, �The Orion boy! That kid is a liar I say! Did you hear about the big bar brawl he incited yesterday?!�

Romulus shook his head in despair, �We all know that the incident yesterday was caused by the local drunk! I know Rufus, he is a decent boy!�

Paris and Irenicus continued their conversation without paying much attention to Romulus, �You know who else? That boy who was involved with the Black Day two years ago! I always had a feeling he was responsible for her death!� cried Paris.

A thrusting knock came upon the door of their room, �Paris, Romulus, Irenicus! Sunday Worship begins in a few moments!�

Paris grabbed the scroll, �Ok then that�s the plan, we get rid of Orion, Walters, and Thomas.�



Alexander fidgeted nervously in his seat as he saw the procession of Drimacus Priests and Priestesses march up through the middle aisle of the great cathedral. Near the end of the line walked George Maddux, son of Drimacus, and rightful overseer of Green Hive. He was closely followed by his son Thomas, and the church controlling Triumvirate. Alex sighed and sunk low into his seat.

�Get up son! Show some respect for Lord Drimacus� House,� his mother urged.

�Drimacus?! Why should we worship him!? What has he done for me?� Alexander protested.

His Father turned red, �Don�t do this here Alex! Drimacus founded Green Hive and gave you a sanctuary away from the racism and prejudice out in the world!�

Alex scoffed and turned his head, �Where was your almighty Drimacus on the Black Day?�



As the procession ended, Irenicus brought up the rear of the line and walked over to one of the wooden podiums. He looked out to see the large crowd of Mystics, each and every one believing in that �Drimacus Crap� as Irenicus liked to call it.

�Well, last night as all of you know was the hundredth anniversary of Drimacus leaving Green Hive, and as he instructed, the Triumvirate opened up his chambers deep within the Cathedral. Before we show and explain what we found, we will have a few Sunday readings in honor of Lord Drimacus.�

As Paris went to his seat behind George, a young lady walked up to the podium from the first pew, she was carrying a very thick brown book.

�The Book of Beginnings, Chapter 1, Verse 1. In the beginning, Humans were Humans, and Mystics ceased to be. But then, the divine touch of the unborn Drimacus altered history and the first Mystic child was born! He was slaughtered.

Verse 2: Eventually, many Mystics were born, and the Human officials decided that if they kept killing them, they would kill off their own race! So instead they put every Mystic into a life of slavery. In the year 1004 BD (Before Drimacus) a Mystic/Human war broke out. In the year 1000 BD, we lost, we were enslaved to an even greater degree!

Verse 3: In the year 20 BD Lord Drimacus was born to a rich political family that covered his Black Eye palm with a glove for his early years. He learned about arts, social studies, science, but at the age of thirteen, He was found out and sent to the Mystic Slave Mines.

Book of Rebellion, Chapter One, Verse 1: In the year of our Lord Drimacus, 1 AD(After Drimacus) He began the slavery uprising and freed nearly five-thousand Mystics! They traveled across the Fearnot Continent and through a gigantic forest that entered the belly of a mountain! When they came out the other side, they found themselves in this very valley. Once here, Drimacus used His Mystic Power to create the Green Mist that surrounds and protects our civilization of Green Hive.

Book of Destiny, Chapter 4, Verse 17: In the year 10AD Drimacus and His six legendary generals left Green Hive in search of the power that would rid the world of Humans, He has never returned, but before He left, He told us that if He didn�t return, in one hundred years reopen His chambers and follow His directions.� The girl closed the book and returned to her seat.

Paris then walked over to the podium, cleared his throat, and held up the scroll that the Triumvirate had found in Drimacus� Chambers, �This scroll is the very paper on which Lord Drimacus wrote upon one hundred years ago! Can you imagine? Well this is what it says, �Dear 110AD Triumvirate, thank you for following my instructions. Now I have to give you a few more, I want you to pick the names of three random eighteen year old boys, equip them with weaponry, and send them out into the world to search for the Great Library of the Humans! For it is there that I will deposit the journals of my travels before I die! I want them to find the journals, and return them to you, the Triumvirate.�

A roar was emitted from the crowd.



Alexander�s Mother grabbed him by the hair, �That�s insane!� she shouted. �We can�t send children into a world ruled by dirty HUMANS!�

Other mothers and fathers cried the same thing, but Paris put his hand up in the air calling them at attention, �This is the Word of Drimacus, and we shall follow it. Those who do not, will have to be silenced! Now, to make sure everything is fair, I have gotten the town records and put every eighteen year old boy�s name in a jar. We shall pick right now and send them out immediately! Irenicus, bring me the jar!�

Esteemed George Maddux stood up, �Dear Paris, we all know that no normal Mystic can exit Green Hive because of the mist! How do you expect boys to do so?!�

Irenicus called out, �Simple! There is a switch for the Mist inside Drimacus� Chambers, it requires all of the Triumvirate to be present and use their Black Eye to open the mist for a short time,� he handed the jar to Paris.

The old priest looked inside, only three pieces of paper were inside! Everything was going according to plan! Paris smiled with glee, they were about to rig the most important drawing in history!

He pulled out the first name and held it high into the air, �Rufus Orion!�



In the very last pew of the Cathedral, Rufus sat completely stunned, it was the only place he was allowed to sit. He searched frantically for his parents, but he knew that they were forbidden to attend Worship after their crimes. An usher ran down the aisle and pulled him up hurriedly by the collar, �This boy has been chosen by Lord Drimacus!�



The rest of the church erupted into fury upon seeing who had been chosen, none other than a lowly thief! Paris hushed the crowd again and picked out another name.

�Alexander Walters!� he cried.



Alexander�s parents grabbed him tightly, tears forming around their eyes, �NO!!!! YOU CAN�T HAVE HIM!!!! TAKE ME FIRST!!!!!� his father screamed.

But around fifteen ushers ran to the boy and pulled him away from his family. Alexander would always remember the touch, the last firm touch he had of his parents as the ushers cruelly ripped him out of his family�s arms, and out of his world.

However, Alexander didn�t try to struggle as they dragged him up to the altar next to Rufus, he wanted to die, and this looked like to be a surefire way to achieve it.



Paris smiled slyly, one last step before his ascent to power. He ripped out the only piece of paper left in the jar and held it up defiantly.

�THOMAS MADDUX!�



Finally the church had someone they could cheer for, Alex and Rufus had received nothing but heckles, but Thomas, descendant of Drimacus, was someone worthy of the title, �hero�. Of course not everyone thought this, George Maddux grabbed his son who sat to the left of his throne.

�My son?! No! This cannot be!� he yelled.

Paris pointed at Thomas who looked intrigued more than anything else, �Seize the boy! If the Father will not let him go, then he is standing against the Lord Drimacus!�

Before the ushers could take Thomas out of his chair, he jumped off of it by his own will and ran next to the other two boys. This is what he had dreamt about, a chance to get the hell out of the cathedral!



The three boys stood on the center of the altar alone, the cold faces of the cathedral patrons stared back at them. Paris watched eagerly as the ushers handed all three boys one set of leather armor, and a Scimitar sword. It was like some sort of bizarre sporting event, imagine watching three young children putting on weapons of war as you can hear Alexander�s Mother�s cries from the pew.

�Hasn�t he suffered enough?!� she cried hysterically.

George Maddux hung his head in shame, �Curse the day I allowed the Triumvirate to gain so much power over me! Not even the ushers will listen to me now!�

The armor felt heavy around Alex as he tied the final knot of it around his waist. He then picked up the Scimitar, it had the insignia of the Black Eye on it, he hooked it to a small perch on the back part of his armor.

A very frightened Rufus picked up the golden Scimitar, he saw a small engraving on its side, �For Honor�. He smiled, maybe by completing this task of finding Drimacus� Journals he could win the Orion Honor back?

Once the three boys were set, a tall usher walked to them and handed them each a golden glove, �Cover your heritage but do not forget. The Humans are racist pigs and may have already wiped out the Mystics besides us. Be weary of trusting eyes, from this moment on, trust NO ONE but each other,� he handed them each a small pack of food. �Ration your food, who knows when you will find a town friendly to our kind.�

Paris threw his arms up into the air from his position on the podium, �Praise be the Good Word of Drimacus, and praise be these boys, the Chosen Ones of Drimacus! Ushers, take them to the end of the Cathedral Forest where the Green Mist ends, in five minutes we shall open the Mist!�

Before the crowd could scream out cries of approval or disapproval, the ushers had already �escorted� the three boys out the back entrance of the church.



Strangely, as they walked down the dirt road that led to the town limits, none of the boys struggled. Alexander breathed in, getting his last scent of Green Hive in, he was eager to go, he was ready to accept death onto his physical body so it could match his soul. Rufus picked up some dirt and put it into his holster, one last reminder of Green Hive.

�For Honor,� he whispered.

As they came to the end of the road, Thomas turned to the two other boys, he prayed to Drimacus that they could somehow become friends. He smiled, he had been waiting for this moment his entire life.

The path suddenly ended and turned into a dark green wall of mist, as it opened quickly, the three boys were thrusted past the threshold of green and stood on the murky muddy path on the other side.



For a brief and shinning moment, everyone in Green Hive was united. They all looked up as a joined people at the mist that disappeared revealing the Sun and beautiful blue clouds. The people squinted their eyes for a moment, but before they could adjust, the sky was gone, and along with it went three young boys, for they had walked through the gaping hole in the mist, and entered the very forest that Drimacus had crossed over a hundred years earlier.
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Chapter 2: Traversing Blackness



As the green mist formed behind them once again, the three boys took a look around their new surroundings. It was quite possibly the thickest forest they had ever seen, an undeniable wall of brush and tree. Not even the Sun penetrated the fortress of leaves. Alexander glanced down and could barely make out the outline of a dirt path. He started walking down it.

�Wait up!� yelled Thomas as he eagerly tried to catch up to Alex. �Hi my name is Thomas!� he looked back to the dragging Rufus. �Hello! I�m Thomas!�

Rufus quickened his pace and shook Thomas� hand, �Hi. I�m Rufus,� he paused, �Orion.�

Thomas shook his hand firmly and turned to Alexander, �And who are you?�

Alexander refused to even turn to the other boys, �What does it matter? We will be dead shortly. For all we know, the Humans wiped themselves out.�

Thomas crossed his arms and jumped over a fallen log, �That�s not a good outlook. This can be a lot of fun, an adventure!�

Rufus scoffed, �Fun? Yeah right Mr. Heir to the Throne. That guy is right, this is dangerous, we have to be on our toes.�

Alexander�s stone face replied, �I didn�t mean that we should stay on our toes, I meant that I am expecting death.�

Thomas grabbed his shoulder as they turned a corner in the path, �Are you talking about suicide?�

Alexander pushed him off and continued, �Yep. What do you care? I�ve wanted to die for the last two years.�

Rufus frowned, �No you don�t. If you really wanted to die, you�d be dead! All we have is the will to go on, and you have it too, or you�d have taken your own life by now.�

Alexander walked within inches of Rufus, �Don�t tell me what I have or don�t have! How am I going to die in that ridiculous place called Green Hive!? Only one person has died there under the age of seventy since it was erected, and that was��

Thomas, who was a little farther ahead, shot out, �You could have jumped into the lake and drowned yourself!�

Rufus�s eyebrows heightened, �Yeah, why didn�t you do that buddy?�

Alexander turned around and started to follow Thomas, �Don�t call me buddy. My name is Alexander Walters.�



They followed that path in silence for about three hours, it curved brilliantly through the bushy jungle like atmosphere that surrounded Green Hive. Each and every sound was amplified due to the lack of any signs of civilization besides the boys� heartbeats. The eternal thumping was the only reminder that this was not some sort of sick and twisted dream.

Eventually they viewed a clearing in the roof of the forest and from their positions on the ground they saw a gigantic gray object.

�That�s the mountain!� cried Thomas. �It holds the caves in which my Grandfather traversed a hundred years ago!�

Rufus shrugged, �You sure seem pretty hyped to be exiled from our country till we find some crazy library.�

�Well to be truthful, I am� he replied sincerely. �I�ve been locked away in the damn cathedral since birth practically. I�ve only been out among the normal people a few times in my life. So I guess this is more of a gift than a burden to me. What about you? You don�t seem so unhappy.�

Rufus kicked a rock aimlessly as it crossed his path, he watched it spin off into the distance before answering, �I�m an Orion. Surely you�ve heard of my parents� sin against the Church?�

Thomas stroked his chin, �I think I recall, they stole money, correct?�

Rufus nodded, �Yep. Well maybe, if we find this Great Library or whatever, maybe I can win back my family�s honor.�

Around ten feet ahead of Thomas and Rufus walked Alexander. He rubbed his thigh and shook his head.

�Those are some really stupid reasons to justify this, endeavor if you will,� he called.

Thomas moaned, �Oh really? And what sort of reason is justifiable to you dear Alexander?

As the giant mountain formed in the distance, Alexander could nearly feel her voice infecting his mind, �There are no reasons, saying that everything happens for a reason is complete and utter nonsense. What�s the difference if we are out in this damn forest or in that town of foolish morons?�

Rufus squinted and saw an opening in the mountain ahead of them nearly one hundred yards away, �There�s the entrance to the cave. Anybody know how we�re going to see in there? Because Sunlight sure as Hell aint gunna help us.�

Alexander waved his hand, �There�s no need to worry about light,� he stopped walking for a second and placed his right hand in the air for them to see.

With his left hand, he removed the golden glove revealing the Black Eye in his palm. He closed the two brown eyes on his head for a second and suddenly a great beam of light shot from his Black Eye.

�This is my Mystic power. It�s not as ridiculously useless as some of the others I have seen,� he replied and continued marching towards the mountain.

�What�s your power?� asked Thomas, motioning to Rufus.

Rufus pulled off his glove and blinked, a moment later his entire body began to glow an amber shade of red.

�I can glow,� Rufus whispered. �What about you?�

Thomas took of his glove and then clasped his right hand over his left, he then opened his fist to find a poke dotted egg. Rufus smiled.


�Impressive. Can you eat it?� he asked.

Thomas shook his head an ran to catch up with Alexander who was now entering the mountain, �Nope. It�s hollow.�

Alexander stood in front of the gigantic gaping hole on the mountain and peered inside, what he stared into was emptiness. He quickly lit up the small hole with his hand as Rufus and Thomas fell in at both sides of him.

�What�s it look like Alex?� asked Rufus.

�Stairs, a ton of them,� he said emotionless as he took the first step in.

After he had gone down four or five steps, he found himself in a gigantic cavern, he could see nothing on either side. He shined his light right and left but could still see no walls or floors. It seemed that the entire mountain was hollow except for the one stairwell.

�Be careful,� he whispered. �There�s no railing or anything.�

One by one, step by draining step, they traversed down the gigantic stairwell. For hours they walked down that horrendous path, guided by nothing but Alexander�s light.

In the middle of the fifth hour, Alexander squinted and shone his light even deeper down the stairs, �Wait! I see something!� he rubbed his eyes which were not at their best in the dark. �It�s a platform! Come on!�

He rushed down blindly and finally came to a large blue circular platform which seemed to lay mystically in the air, connected to nothing but two stairwells. As Alexander and Thomas enjoyed stretching their legs, Rufus ran to the other stairwell.

�Damn, not another one! We can�t go through anymore today. I suggest we sleep here for tonight,� he said.

Thomas looked around nervously, �Are you sure it�s safe?�

�Probably, I mean we�ve been in here forever and haven�t seen anything yet,� Rufus replied.

Out of the corner of his eye, Thomas spotted Alex laying on his side with his back towards them, �Alex, are you asleep already?�

The eighteen year old responded with a snore, evoking a chuckle from Rufus, �We had better do the same thing Thomas, get some sleep that is.�

Thomas nodded and laid down, �What is that guy�s problem anyway? Why is he so depressed?� he asked, motioning to Alexander.

�Try not to think about it, just try and sleep,� Rufus answered.

�But it�s so strange, what could make him feel that way?� Thomas wondered
aloud.

�Well, haven�t you heard of the Black Day?� Rufus asked.

�No what is it?�

�I�m not sure, no one really is. There�s a lot of rumors about it, some even claim that Alexander is a murderer,� Rufus explained.

Suddenly Alexander stood up, beads of sweat ran down his face, �Don�t you talk about the Black Day unless you know what happened!�

Thomas stood up to Alexander who was not nearly as muscular, �Well enlighten us then Alex.�

Alexander sat down, and turned from them, �Do you really want to know? Are you ready to hear of my ultimate burden?�

Rufus scratched his head, �We�re going to have to work together to get through this, we might as well try and be civil. Tell us Alex.�

Alexander sighed, and began to recall, �I lived far away from Sanctuary Village, with my parents on their farm. He supplied all of the vegetables and meat for the town, and another farmer, Gregory Miller supplied all of the milk and cattle, he lived a few hundred yards away from us. The Millers gave birth to a girl around the same time I was born. Her name was Regina. We grew up together in every sense of the word, we played together, ate together, we did everything together. As we matured from children into teens, it was only natural that I developed feelings for her. I can still feel her breath on my neck, or the way her dark hair bounced playfully in the wind.�

He stopped and pulled out a piece of paper, he quickly jotted something down with his wooden pencil, he was inspired for another depressing poem.

�Anyway, I always loved her, but I could never bring myself to tell her because I feared that if I did, and she only saw me as a friend, we wouldn�t be able to stay friends. One day, when I was sixteen, she asked me to accompany her to Mt. Remington near the boundaries of the mist and explore the caves with her like we had done when we were children. I agreed, and she took me deeper into them then I could have ever imagined. We walked and walked for what seemed like hours through those caves until she finally stopped in some sort of room. It was there that,� he paused, trying to hold back the emotions that had been dying to come out for two years, �she told me she loved me.�

He held his head in shame, rubbing his face furiously, �And then I blacked out. I have no idea for how long, or what happened, but I just did. I totally blocked out whatever happened from my memories. When I came to I had a large bloody gash on my head and found her slaughtered on the ground. I swear, it was the most terrifying moment of my life to see her fresh blood run down the floor of the cave. I screamed and screamed until finally I passed out from the loss of blood.�

Rufus sat there in amazement, �Alex, I�m so sorry.�

Alex shrugged, �I woke up in the cathedral all bandaged up, I can still remember everything about the moment they told me Regina had died,� that was enough to send Alexander back into the realm of flashback.



Everything was black and white, faded like an old picture. Alexander saw himself, and all the other town members, standing in the grass in front of a large grave, the grave of Regina. In front of that was a dark blue coffin. Alex walked closer to his memory self and saw him crying profusely, his Mother held him in her arms, unable to help him cope with such grief.

And then, suddenly his memory returned to the viewing. His past self got in the line to view Regina one last time, and the present Alexander followed him, taking every terrible step over again.

The picture would remain frozen in Alexander�s mind forever, the way the trees swayed in the distance, how the freshly cut grass smelled, the sounds of the Millers crying, and then the worst part of all, seeing Regina�s face, eyes closed for the final time.



�Are you alright man?!� asked Thomas, patting Alex on the back.

Shaken up, he nodded, �Yeah, I just need some rest. Night.�



Just hours later, their dark dreams were interrupted by the screeching of some ominous mystery, waking young Rufus from his slumber atop the platform.

He stood up quickly and strained to listen, �Eek! Eek! Eek!� it sounded closer now.

He ran over to Thomas and shook him, then proceeded to do the same to Alexander, �Guys, get up! There�s something in here with us!�

As that warning knocked the sleepiness out of the others, Rufus bent his ear to the floor of the platform, �EEK! EEK! EEK! EEK!!!!!!!�

Thomas drew the golden Scimitar from his holster, �What in the Hell?�

As the others searched the platform frantically for any trace of the noise, Alexander glanced upward and cocked his head back in fear, �BATS!!!!!!! RUN!!!!�

As he bolted for the stairs, Thomas and Rufus glanced up to see thousands upon thousands of bats descending upon them! They flew around insanely, bumping and killing each other, like some sort of crazy battle.

Thomas and Rufus joined Alexander�s mad dash down the stairs, but all of a sudden, another distinct noise stopped the three of them in their tracks, the noise of a sizzle.

�What was that?� asked a now stunned Rufus.

Alexander blinked repeatedly, �Some sort of green goop fell from the sky!� he watched the small bit of slime eat away at one portion of the steps.

Thomas looked up again to see one of the black as night bats spit the liquid at the stairs again, �OH GOD! THEY�RE SPITTING THAT STUFF AT US!�

The boys started their marathon run again, but were now hampered with an infinite amount of bats flying around their head and many of those green projectiles which flew in and out of their direction. After a few minutes of running at full speed, the stairs merged into a long level flat.

Thomas strained his eyes and saw a beacon shining like the light of Drimacus in the darkness, �Ahead! I can see the exit guys! DON�T GIVE UP!!!!!!!�

Alexander pushed the sweat matted hair out of his eyes just in time to see two giant logs coming screaming towards him, they were hooked onto some sort of pulley system. He slid under them just as they smashed together and Thomas and Rufus easily did the same.

As the came within the last fifty yards towards the exit, one last hurdle awaited the trio, literally, an actual spiked hurdle rose from the large platform!

Alexander opened his legs like a pro athlete, soaring over the hurdle. As Thomas approached it, he did the same. But as Rufus finally caught up, he leapt up high into the air, and came falling flat on his face just a bit short.

The hurdle continued to raise, now a good fifteen feet from the surface of the landing, �Guys! I can�t make it over! Go on without me!�

Alexander shrugged and walked straight out the portal while Thomas sprinted back, �Don�t worry man, we�ll get you out somehow!�



Rufus leaned his head back against the now stopped hurdle, �Man, I�m going to get killed by bats! That�s not an honorable death!�

As if almost annoyed by his complaining, one of the bats fired the green goo at him, but this bat obviously wasn�t having its best day as the slime promptly landed on the side of the hurdle, slowly melting a hole.

Thomas pushed his arm through the fresh hole, �Come on Rufus, we�re getting out of here.�

Rufus grabbed his hand and squeezed in head first. Once out the other side they ran out the entrance to find Alexander standing on the top of a giant rock in a large forest. As they went to join him they noticed all of the features of this brand new world, the way the Sun looked as it set ahead of them, how the red colors seemed to dance across the rainy leaves� reflections, everything was magnified visually in this great forest.

As Rufus pulled himself up on the rock with Alex, Thomas yelled from the dirt filled path, �Alex! What is wrong with you?! You just abandoned Rufus here!�

Alex pointed forward, sweat rolling from his hair, �Do you see that!? Come here Thomas and look!�

Rufus, still huffing and puffing, put his hand over his forehead to block the Sun, �Well I�ll be, I guess the Humans didn�t kill each other.�

Thomas climbed up, stood up, and set his gaze firmly on a large city that sat all the way down the forest and a bit north. Around it lay a large stone wall, and on the inside were many huge wooden buildings that reached high into the sky, people scurried like ants through the wooden roads that entrenched the city, it was quite a magnificent and shocking view.

Thomas pulled out his golden glove from his pack and put it over his Black Eye, �So this is world of the Humans, eternal oppressors of our race, the Mystics. Shall we be off boys?�

The trio leaped off the rock and began walking the path that led to the monstrous valley.

Chapter 3: Mysterious Encounters



They traveled through the cumbersome forest for an hour until finally breaking out of it and entering a long valley with two majestic mountains on both sides of them. With the night sky above them, each and every star seemed to reflect on the belly of the gray mountains. As Alexander gazed out at them, they looked more like old men then gigantic rocks. Faces seemed to ooze from the rubble and the snowy tops of the mountain strangely resembled hair. As the city in front of them grew in the distance, Alexander pulled out his poetry book and pencil.

�So what is that book you�ve been carrying around Alex?� asked Rufus.

�It�s nothing� he said as he quickly pushed it back in his pack.

Thomas rubbed his chest with his arms back and forth, ahead of him he could make out the outline of a tall wooden building, it stretched quite far into the sky, �This is amazing. I can�t believe we�re about to enter Cambridge!�

Alexander turned to him, �Cambridge?�

�That�s the name of the city,� explained Thomas. �Well, I�m assuming it is. In the Book of Rebellion, Chapter 13, it talks about the final battle of the uprising. It takes place in Cambridge. There Drimacus freed another two hundred Mystics and escaped into the woods. Apparently, it was those woods where He found an entrance through a mountain that led to Green Hive. So I would assume that this city is Cambridge.�

Alexander whistled, �So what do we do once we�re in the city? I bet the Great Library of the Humans is not located there.�

Rufus, who was lagging behind again, interjected, �I�ve been a bus boy at the local bar for two years, let me tell you, that is the central point for information in Green Hive! I say we check Cambridge for a bar and then run the patrons for details. It must be around six or seven o� clock, and that�s one of the busiest times for our bar.�

A cool breeze blew around them causing Thomas to pull his cape around his face, �Man, the weather sure is changing quickly. I hope we can get back to Green Hive before Winter hits.�

For the first time Rufus realized the possibility of just how long they could be away from their home. It was just the end of Summer and Thomas was already talking about Winter!

�I�m sure it won�t take us too long, all we have to do is find this library, retrieve Drimacus� Journals, and then get back to Green Hive. I bet we�ll be back home within a month,� Rufus said optimistically.

Alexander laughed lowly, �What makes you think we�ll ever come back? Death is around every corner now on men, for we are Mystics, the sworn enemies of Humans. Remember what the Triumvirate�s ushers said to us before we left, trust no one but each other.�

As they arrived at the bottom of the hill where the large city was located on, they found a small dirt path that led all the way up to the titanic gap in the stone wall surrounding the city.

Thomas started up and glanced back to the others, �So Alex, do you trust me or Rufus yet?�

Alexander placed his eyes firmly on the ground and continued walking, �Any weak emotion like that inside of me died a long time ago.�



Moments later, the boys finally reached the climax of the hill and for the first time could see the city from a close vantage point. The wooden streets that laid upon the city like a web were now mostly barren except for a few wandering souls. Many lights shone out through the windows on the many woody towers, you could just about see outlines of people inside. As they walked through the majestic oval opening, Thomas laid his hands upon the marble.

�I am the first Mystic to touch these walls since my Grandfather, amazing, simply amazing,� he muttered.

Rufus punched him lightly in the arm, �Come on Thomas we�re trying to keep a low profile.�

After walking only around ten or twenty feet, an old man stepped in front of the trio. He wore dark brown pants, a white shirt, and a cut off brown jacket. His face was wrinkled and he had seemingly uncontrollable white hair.

�Hello boys! I haven�t seen you around here before! You must be visitors!� he said in a washed out voice.

Alexander nodded, �Yes, we�re visitors.�

The man nodded, �Strange, you came from the Southern Entrance, the only thing that way is the Forest of Bats. Where exactly are you from?�

Rufus began to sweat, he was unsure of what to say.

Thomas stepped forward, �We are actually a little lost, are we in Cambridge?�

�Yes, good old Cambridge! If you�re lost, you had better go to the Inn tonight,� he pointed down a street to his right. �You�ll find the Happy Traveler Inn down that road. It�s pretty cheap.�

Rufus ground his teeth, �We don�t have any money though.�

The man smiled, �Here, you need it more than I do. I�m an old man, I never had any children, let me splurge a bit,� he handed them a small cloth bag.

Alexander took it and opened it, inside were a few gold coins with the letters �HMA� on it, �Oh sir, thank you! How can we repay you?�

The man laughed, �Oh don�t worry about it son! Just go find the Inn and get yourselves a room. Well, I must be going now, if you need more permanent living arrangements, contact me, my name is Edgar Hobbins. I live in the East Side of Cambridge.�

They said their good-byes and waved the man off, as soon as he was not in hearing distance, Thomas turned to Rufus, �These Humans don�t seem so bad.�

Rufus started walking down the street Edgar had pointed out earlier, �Yeah, I mean they just tried to enslave our whole race,� he said sarcastically.



The boys hurried down the street and found a building with a large sign on it proclaiming it was the Happy Traveler Inn, and that it had vacancies. It rose four stories in the air but was a little bit narrow, it had a friendly appearance to it, like it was really lived in and was inviting you to live there also.

Rufus walked up to it and opened the large metal doors, inside was a large hall. On the right side of the room sat a black staircase that ascended into the ceiling, on the left was a rack with a few pamphlets and such, and just ahead of them was an oak desk with an older woman sitting behind it. She was a tad large and had long red hair. On the wooden floor was a green carpet with the insignia of a man walking down a road, most likely the symbol of the establishment.

�Why hello there! My name is Tabitha! Are you boys going to be staying with us tonight?� she called.

Thomas walked over to make the arrangements as Rufus and Alexander walked over to the pamphlet rack. They studied them for a moment, each one had a disturbing amount of flair and color, nearly all of them deserved at least look.

Rufus was the first to grab one, it was a plain brown one with a color picture on it, �Alex, check this out! It�s a map of Cambridge!�

Alexander took the map and ran it over, �Good. Look at this, the Jolly Tavern, that must be the bar. It�s just a few blocks from here.�

Rufus smiled, things seemed to be going their way, �And look at that, City Library, maybe one of us should go scope out that place and find out where the Great Library is while the others head to the Jolly Tavern?�

Alexander took his own map and started walking towards the exit, �I�ll go to the Library, you and Thomas go to the bar. We can meet back here at say,� he glanced at an old grandfather clock nosily ticking away on a bronze table, �eleven o� clock.�

And with that, Alex had left the group. At almost the same time Thomas joined Rufus at the stand.

�I got us the room,� he said joyfully as he held up a silver key. �Where did Alex go?�

Rufus shrugged and crept towards the exit, �He�s heading towards the library while we scope out the bar. We�re going to meet in two hours.�

Thomas cracked his knuckles and followed his partner out the door where they bumped into another couple, a young man and woman, both overcome with joy.

�Oh I�m sorry kids,� the man said who was barely older than Thomas, maybe twenty-three.

Rufus smiled, �That�s quite alright.�
As the duo pushed past them, the woman called back, �My name is Morgana, this is Fangus, my husband! We�ve just been married!�

Thomas and Rufus nodded awkwardly and kept walking, as they did, Rufus turned to his companion, �Wow, these Humans sure are weird�.�



Two blocks away, Alexander walked down one of the streets slowly, taking everything around him in. His pencil was located squarely over his ear, and his poetry book firmly in his left hand. As he walked over a grainy puddle in the street, he noticed a few children through the window of a house playing, a boy and a girl. He reached for his pencil, and brought it down to his book as a flurry of words broke apart and combined in his brain.

�I can see you now as clearly as before. Your face haunts my dreams, and your death haunts my reality. Your blood runs freely from the sky, intertwining with mine, as we become eternal partners in death.�

He stopped suddenly as he felt something slowly touch the back of his neck, �Why do you live in despair, dear Alexander?�

He turned around suddenly to find nothing but a dark chill being emitted from the air. He shook his head in disbelief and continued walking down the street towards the Library.



Thomas and Rufus stood just outside of the Jolly Tavern. It was a circular building, one of the few they saw in town that was made of stone. It had a wooden patio that stretched around the building, and two swaying doors just begging you to enter. Thomas rubbed the spot on his glove where his Black Eye would be and entered. Once inside, the boys found a large room with two floors. On the top, women danced erotically to a melody professed by a nearby guitar player. On the first floor were a scattering of tables, each one holding patrons.

Rufus turned to Thomas, �Why don�t you try and talk to some of the people while I go check out the bartender. Try and find out whatever you can about Cambridge, the Fearnot Continent, and so on.�

Thomas nodded and watched Rufus go sit at the gold clad bar. Thomas took a deep breath and walked into the large area of tables, as he looked around for some people to mooch information off, something quickly caught his eye. He spotted one lone table housing one lone girl. She was wearing some sort of red cloth that wrapped around her body. She was very thin and voluptuous, wavy dark black hair fell from her head, and two thin steel swords were tied to her back. She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He nervously sat at a table across from her which had two younger men, mid twenties, sitting and drinking.


Across town, Alexander stood at the main desk in the library. Around him was an old musty circular room which was plastered with books on the wall. Everything was in the form of a circle, even the desk. Alexander stood there impatiently, as a skinny young woman with spectacles arose from a trap door behind the desk.

�Well sir, I found what you were looking for in the archives,� she handed him an old brown book, the pages were yellow and it smelled like an old person, but certainly not in a good way.

Alex put his hands over the words on the front cover, �Atlas of the World�.

�Thank you, one last request for ya. Is there any chance you have any books by a man going by the name of Drimacus?� he asked uncertainly.

She frowned and shook her head, �I�m sorry sir, all of Drimacus� works are contained in the Great Library. They�re there for all of the best scholars to read and study, it is a great way for all of us to remember the Human Mystic War and the Mystic Rebellion. It�s hard for us to imagine a time before the HMA.�

Alexander nodded, he wasn�t interested in any of that, he had just one goal, �And where is this Great Library?�

�Why, it�s located in the village of Trimore. You�ll find it in the atlas sir,� she replied quietly.

The boy smiled, �Thank you ma�am, that will be all.�


Meanwhile, Rufus waved at the bartender who finally noticed him and walked over, �Hi there lad, what shall it be?�

Rufus stared sternly into his eyes, �What do you recommend?�

The bartender, a small older man with a lazy eye, smiled. He placed him thumbs squarely in his blue suspenders and leaned back.

�You oughta try the Crazy Cambridge,� he said sarcastically.

Rufus, biting on the bait, asked, �And what is that?�

�It�s a mix a� everything we got here. Never saw anyone drink it without passing out,� the old man laughed and put up his hands, palm first, in his right palm Rufus noticed a long black scar that laid right where the Black Eye would be if he was a Mystic.

Rufus squinted at it, �What is that scar?�

The bartender�s expression quickly changed from robust to annoyed, �Don�t be racist boy. You know damn well what it is.�

Rufus gave him an innocent looking exposition, �I�m not from around here, I honestly don�t know.�

The bartender laughed, �What are you from that crazy racist Core Grounds continent?!�

Rufus shook his head, �Sir, I mean no offence, I truly do not know what you are talking about.�

The man eyed Rufus up, �Well boy, I�ll make you a deal. If you take a sip of Crazy Cambridge and don�t pass out, I�ll give you all the info you want to know.�

The young teen put out his hand to shake, �I accept.�

The bartender didn�t go for Rufus� hand, instead pulled out bottle after bottle and placed them on the bar. One by one he placed brightly colored bottles labeled with crazy liquor names. By the end, he had placed thirteen bottles. He then took each one and poured a small sip into a shot glass.

The liquid inside the glass morphed from yellow to blue to red to green before settling on its final incarnation, dark black. The man beamed over his concoction and handed it to Rufus.

�Bottom�s up lad!� he laughed.

Rufus took the drink, and threw it down his mouth in one gulp. The bartender watched as the young boy sat there without flinching, it had no effect whatsoever.

The older man put out his hand, �The name�s Gerald Smith, I�ll be pleased to help you in anyway I can sir!�

Rufus shook his hand, �My name is Rufus Orion,� it felt good to say his last name and not have the burden of his parents attached to it. �So tell me, what is that scar?�

Gerald cocked his lip upwards, �I�m a Mystic. I�m surprised you never met one at your age, we make up nearly half of Fearnot�s population.�

Rufus was taken aback, and that feeling was distinctively displayed on his face, �Half the population?! I thought the Humans enslaved us�. You?�

The old man laughed heartily, so much in fact that it merged into a cough, �Boy! The Humans and the Mystics have been peaceful to each other for a hundred and five years!�

Rufus closed his eyes and thought back, a hundred and five years, it must have been just a few years after Green Hive formed, �You mean after the uprising?�

�Yep. There is a legend about one named Drimacus. He freed many of the Mystics and fled, his last known location was Cambridge, but no one knows where he took the Mystics. Scholars believe they constructed a boat and then died at sea. But the gears were already set into motion, Humans were scared of the Mystics, and tired of fighting, so they created the Human Mystic Alliance, or the HMA,� Gerald explained.

Rufus pulled out a coin from his pocket, it had the bold emblem of HMA, �I see. But why is your hand all scarred?�

Gerald put his left hand on the scar and slowly caressed it, �The Humans only asked one thing of the Mystics, that at birth, or whenever they join the Alliance, they have the Black Eye removed and therefore no longer have their powers. It�s a small price to pay for freedom. Anyone who still has a Black Eye is known as a Pure Bred! And let me tell you, they are the dirtiest, slimiest sons of bitches on the planet! They�re monsters and they all hang out in one of Fearnot�s most prestigious city�s sewers, Darjin is its name.�

Rufus slowly placed his right hand in his pocket, �What did you mean before, about being a racist from Core Grounds?�

Gerald sighed, �There is still a group of people that are Anti-Mystic. A few years after the HMA formed, a group of scientists formed Core Corporation, a group of scientists who worked tirelessly to advance the scientific field, but that doesn�t change the fact that they hate Mystics! They hate us so much in fact that they built a whole other continent for their experiments and workers!�

�Build a continent? How?� asked a confused Rufus.

�No one knows, they claim they grew it, but I really don�t believe that, how could I? How could anyone just grow an entire continent?!�



Alexander entered the Happy Traveler Inn and looked at the clock he had seen earlier, it was only ten forty-five. He looked over to the same woman from before who was nearly half asleep in her comfy chair.

�Tabitha? I�m with the boys from before, remember, I got a map and left? Is there anyway I can get into the room without my key? One of the other boys has it,� he explained.

She jolted up, opened her desk, and pulled out another key, �Here, we have another room empty, take it free of charge,� she tossed it to him and returned back to her �urgent� sleep.



Back at the bar, Thomas had just about given up on asking the customers for info, and settled on his �quest� of drooling over the black haired goddess that sat just a few feet ahead of him at another table. He watched nervously as a big man, very muscular and tall, sat next to her.

�Hey little lady, what are you doing with those pointy knives? They belong to your boyfriend?� he asked in a deep voice.

She kept her gaze straight ahead, �These swords have seen more bloodshed than you can imagine. If you have no other questions for me, please leave,� she answered in an affirmative tone.

He put his arm on her shoulder and she quickly threw it back at him, �Oh you�re a feisty one! How about you let me buy ya a drink, doll?�

She still refused to look at him, �How about you leave before you force me to kill you?�

The muscle-bound fool erupted into laughter, �Oh I get it! You want to get straight to the point, to Hell with the romancing, you want to meet my anaconda!�

The woman sighed as he grabbed her arm and pulled her off the chair. He dragged her a few feet, and yet she did not try and stop him. She looked more annoyed than worried.

�I am warning you for the final time, leave me or I shall have to kill you,� she said, this time a little perturbed.

The man dragged her a bit more, giving no heed to her warning. As Thomas drew his Scimitar from his holster, the girl broke free from the man, flipped in the air so the she was facing him, pulled out her swords, and sliced an X through his chest while still in mid air. She landed gracefully while the four bloody parts of the man�s body did not. Screams rang out from the bar as the music stopped suddenly. Rufus looked over in shock as the woman put herself in a ready position with both swords firmly in the air, dripping with poetic red blood.

�Get out of my bar now you psychotic harlot!� called Gerald as he pulled out a sword from below the bar.

�I killed him in self defense, I won�t have to duplicate that feat unless you people force me to!� she cried.

Another man, this one looked to be around forty, wrapped her in a bear hug, trying to succumb her. She responded by breaking free, spinning into a one-eighty degree turn, and slicing off his head with her right sword. Before his head even dropped, another man ran at her from the opposite side. She turned around magically as the red cloth around her body danced, when she was fully facing him, she sliced off both of his legs, just above the knee.

But before she could react, a man dove at her from behind, but to his dismay, a man leaped out of his chair and stuck a Scimitar meticulously in his back, sending him into the dirt clad floor, this man was none other than Thomas. The woman turned to him and bowed as more men rushed her, all receiving similar deaths from her left hand as she smiled at Thomas.

�My name is Eve, let�s blow this place,� she said soothingly.

Rufus leaped off of the barstool and pushed past the insanity and bloodshed to get behind Thomas, �Good job on keeping a low profile!�

�She needed help!� he cried in his defense.

Rufus looked on as Eve struck down her seventh victim, �Yeah, she looks like she really needed you,� Rufus replied sardonically.

As Eve kicked off the head of her eight victim and landed on the ground on one knee, she called back to Thomas, �Time to make an exit!�

She raised her right hand, it had a gaping hole in where the Scar or Black Eye would have been if she was a Mystic. She pointed it at an empty wall and closed her eyes. A loud, singing blue light went flying from her hand and into the wall, easily blowing a gigantic hole into it.

Amidst the smoke and ensuing confusion, Eve dashed out, closely followed by Rufus and Thomas. Once on the streets, she placed her two swords back around her back. She walked over to Thomas and casually ran her finger over his chest.

�Thanks for the help, but I don�t need it,� she looked at the corruption she had caused as a layer of the roof collapsed and rolled onto the street. �Damn it! If they�re still following me, this will be a clear giveaway of my location!�

As she started to run to a nearby side wall of a building, Thomas grabbed onto her arm, �Who�s after you Eve? What are you talking about?!�

He looked into her deep green eyes as they increased in size immensely, �THEM!�

He turned around to see a few rows of men at each end of the dark street, all holding mysterious machines emitting light, much like what we would call a flashlight. As they slowly made their way towards them, he heard their calls.

�Eve!� one called.

�Return to your home!� cried another.

�Come back with us!� screamed a third.

Thomas turned back to Eve to see her actually RUN, literally run up the side of the building! Once on the roof she easily faded into the dark of night.

Before Thomas could say a word, Rufus ran over to him, �Thomas! They�re still coming! GO!!!!!!!�

The two boys darted into the alleyway and ran for what seemed like an eternity before finally stopping at a small dumpster. Rufus turned back to see one of the men with lights still a few dozen yards behind them.

�Thomas, jump in! Hurry!� and together, they entered the metal dumpster and closed the lid.



Soon enough, Alexander was in his new room, sleeping comfortably in his bed. His mind and dreams drifted off to the same realm that they always did, a realm where Regina never died and the Black Day was just an odd combination of words. Once again he found himself in the cave. It felt as it always did, the musty smell lingered in the air, he could just about get a sniff of her perfume, and the puddles felt squishy under his boots.

�I love you,� she recited her famous words, but this time she didn�t die.

Regina rushed into his arms, threw herself around him, and nearly kissed him.



Suddenly Alexander was thrusted into the real world, he was asleep, shirtless in his bed, and a woman was on top of him, her lips just above his. He flipped her off the bed immediately, rolled off the other side, grabbed his Scimitar and stood up.

�WHO ARE YOU?! WHO ARE YOU?!� he screamed in a sweaty mess of confusion.

The woman stood up. She was beautiful, thin, and curvy. She wore black leather from her toes to her plunging v neck top. Her lips were black, her face pale, and the eye shadow around her eyes was also jet black. Her hair, surprisingly enough, was bright blonde with black streaks throughout it.

�You know Alexander Walters, not too many men would just throw me out of their bed,� she said as she pulled out, of course, a black whip.

Alex held out his blade, �How the Hell do you know my name?!�

She smiled, walked up to him, and ran her finger around his cheek, �Come on honey, I know a lot more than that about you. I�ve been with you since just after you were born! I know everything about you, for example, I know you wrote a poem a few days ago about being on the Edge of Despair.�

He backed up, consumed by fear, �What are you? Answer me!�

She fell backwards onto the bed, rolled around, and looked at him from her upside down view point, �Here�s the ironic part Alex, I fell off the Edge of Despair a long time ago, and I�ve been plunging ever since,� she floated up a bit until she was standing on the bed. �My name is Dominina, and I know your Lord, the almighty Drimacus, well, at least what is left of him.�

Alexander lowered his sword, �You can�t know Drimacus!�

�Of course I do, I know why He sent you, and what you are going to do on Fearnot. I know for a fact that you will disobey the Lord and not go back to Green Hive after you find the Great Library. And, as a little bit of proof that I do know Drimacus,� she held out her right hand, it had a Black Eye in it, she was a Mystic.

Alexander inched closer to her, �Why won�t I go to Green Hive after the Great Library of the Humans?�

She smiled, �Why I can�t explain the entire game now! I�m just here now to see if the Lord has come to harbor himself inside of you. Watch this Alex.�

Dominina opened the door and turned to Alex, with one finger she motioned him to follow. He threw on his undershirt and followed her out into the narrow hallway, in it was a couple, the same couple that had bumped into Rufus and Thomas earlier.

�Excuse me,� Dominina said.

The couple turned to see her sending her blackened whip careening into their faces, knocking them on the floor unconscious. She then stood over them and raised both hands in the air.

�Ex pluribus ad Hades desparia!� she cried.

A wave of light passed from her hands and into the couple. Alex rushed forward to her.

�What did you do to them!?� he screamed.

Dominina laughed and rubbed her hand through her hair, �I just converted them is all. One day you will be converted too, just not by me, the Master wants that pleasure to himself. Well I must go now Alex, remember, I am with you always, and if you play your cards right, we just may be together� for�. ever,� she cringed and dropped to the floor, as if she was in some immeasurable pain.

Alex ran to her and coupled her head in his arms, �Dominina! What�s the matter?�

She screamed, �Alex, no! Don�t trust me! AHHHHHH!�

Abruptly, everything around him went black, and he found himself in his bed sweating terribly. He was ridden with one question, �Was it a dream?�



Eventually, the coast became clear for Thomas and Rufus and they were able to leave the dumpster and get to their room which was empty. But, during the entire trip from the dump to the room, Thomas was strangely quiet. Once the boys were in their respective beds, Rufus could no longer hold his curiosity back.

�Thomas, what�s the matter? Ever since we left the dumpster, you haven�t said a word,� Rufus wondered.

Thomas turned on his side, �Rufus, I killed a man. I took his life.�

His friend sighed, �You did what you had to do. If you didn�t kill him, he would have killed that Eve girl.�

Thomas shook his head, �Does that justify me taking another�s life?�

�This is a dangerous quest in a dangerous land, we don�t have any guarantees Thomas, we may have to kill even more,� answered a regretful Rufus.

�Yes, but does that make it alright?! How can we condone ripping someone else�s soul out of this world?!� Thomas cried.

�Try not to think about it, that�s all I can say,� Rufus replied lowly.

�Rufus, what is the most important thing in the world to you?� Thomas asked.

Rufus scratched his head, �Man, that�s a tough question there Thomas, I don�t know, wait, yes I do, honor. That is by far the most important thing to me.�

Thomas nodded, �Alright, well, I�ll see you in the morning.�

They went to sleep, while Rufus dreamt of Green Hive, Thomas was haunted by his sins of the unfolding night.

man that was long, it took me several sessions to finish it all.
Extremely well done. Liked it alot, very good. Should keep these up!:)

Thanks a ton SSJ, glad you liked the first three chapters, and I hope you continue to read the unfolding story. :)









Chapter 4: Infection



Dominina awoke in her cell. It was a small gray box, not big enough for her to stretch out, barely big enough for her to move. It had no doors or windows, and wasn�t a cell for her in the physical sense, but it was a prison for her mind. As she looked around groggily, she realized she had done something wrong. She recalled the event in Cambridge, how she infected the couple, and then how she allowed herself to breakdown in front of Alexander.

She punched herself in the leg, �STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!!!!!�

She had spent years trying to bury the light side that was lodged deep within her, yet it was still trying to break free. And then she remembered Him, the Lord, the Master. What would He do to her?! What would He do?!

Dominina was in a place that was very real, yet nonexistent, it was not physical, and it was not on the planet, but it was spiritual, and it was definitely somewhere.

Suddenly she found herself out of her cell, and lying facedown in the dirt. She crawled to her knees and looked around. She was on a small rock which was connected to nothing, it was riding along aimlessly in a river of fire. Around her, other rocks floated around which held older people that were screaming at the top of their lungs. She shook her head.

�No�. He�s going to be angry�.� she thought in fear.

And then, a dark light appeared in front of her, it was of portal quality with beams of lightning shooting out from all sides. She closed her eyes, but she knew He was coming, she could feel His presence.

When she reopened her eyes she saw Him before her. The Lord, as she called Him, was a gigantic man, at least eight feet tall. He wore black armor that covered Him from His toes to neck. The armor was strange, it seemed to be melting all over. In both of His hands were two fiery red pitchforks, pulsating with black energy. His head was brown and shriveled, you could barely tell He was a man anymore, He also had two deep brown horns sticking out of His bald head, right about where His ears should have been.

�DOMININA! YOU HAVE FAILED ME!!!!!!!!!� as the Master had no mouth, these words were not spoken, more like transmitted into her brain.

She lunged herself back into the dirt in a fit of tears, �I am sorry Master! Please show mercy! I will do anything!!!!!!�

He tightened his fist, as He did so, Dominina withered in pain as blood was sputtered out of her mouth, �AHHHH!!!!! Master please!�

�DOMININA! YOU ALLOWED LIGHT TO EMIT FROM YOUR SOUL! YOU SHOWED ALEXANDER LIGHT! THIS CANNOT BE FORGIVEN!�

Shackles appeared that hooked onto he legs, arms, and neck, and hooked her into the rock, �Please Master, I infected a couple at least! Now your reign will go farther than the Plains of Despair! Please show mercy!�

The Master waved His hands and a wave of lava descended upon her causing her to scream in pain. As the lava ran over the edge of the rock, nothing was left but a mass of flesh and bone.

�Master, stop torturing my soul! What must I do to gain my freedom!?� she cried.

�YOU TOLD THE BOY THAT I WANT TO HAVE THE PLEASURE OF CONVERTING HIM! THAT IS UNTRUE! HE, AND HIS TWO ALLIES, ARE JUST A MISTAKE I MADE WHEN I WAS A FOOLISH CHILD! IF THEY GO TOO FAR, I WANT YOU TO KILL THEM!�

Dominina�s body slowly came back together, the shackles also came off, �I understand. What is too far my lord?�

�FIND OUT IF THEY WILL CONVERT. IF THEY WILL NOT, FINE, THEY STILL CAN BE SPARED. BUT, IF THEY WILL NOT CONVERT AND PRESS ON WITH THE GOAL OF ENTERING THE PLAINS OF DESPAIR, YOU MUST KILL THEM. IF THAT IS THEIR GOAL, THEY WILL TRY AND RELEASE THEIR POWERS IN THE TOWER OF MYSTICISM. TAKE CARE OF THEM THERE! UNDERSTAD?!�

She nodded, �Completely.�

Suddenly Dominina found herself lying in the dirt, but this time she was in the gray lifelessness of the Plains of Despair, not in the uttermost reaches of the Master�s Domain.



The next morning, Alexander, Thomas, and Rufus, reunited in the original room they planned to stay in. It was there that Alexander told them of his �Dream� and Thomas and Rufus told him of their encounter with Eve and the strange light carrying men.

�Well, I guess all there of us had a rough night last night,� said Rufus, he turned to Thomas, who still looked shaken up over the man in the bar�s death.

Alexander pulled out the atlas and threw it on the floor between them, �I found this in the library. The girl told me that it is located in Trimore.�

Rufus opened the map book and looked it over, �Trimore is pretty far from here, however it is directly North.�

�Correct, but to get there, we must pass through Mt. Reflection, I read up on it with that book, it says not too many travelers can make it through without a group. I suggest that we wait in this town of Cambridge until a caravan goes through there, then we can find some way to sneak onboard,� suggested Alexander.

�So I guess we might be stuck in this dump for awhile then. Well, as long as we�re here, we had better get some jobs. I think our ties with the Jolly Tavern are over after last night, maybe we can talk to that old man we met when we entered town,� wondered Rufus.

Thomas stood up, �His name is Edgar Hobbins. I�m sure he�ll have some sort of job for us while we wait for a caravan.�

�I will go contact him, I�ll ask the Inn Clerk, Tabitha, if she knows him. I�ll also see if she knows when the next caravan comes in,� said Alexander.

Rufus nodded, �Ok. I�m going to take my shower and get ready, then I�m sure Thomas will do the same. Come back here around lunch time and we�ll discuss our options.�

Alexander nodded, stood up, and walked out the door. Once in the hallway, he saw another door open up. Out of it came the couple from his dream, except now they were MUCH different. In his dream they were wearing normal clothes, brown cloth and upbeat colors, but now they were in black. They were wearing attire very similar to what Dominina had on in his dream.

�Excuse me, my name is Alexander,� he said.

The man smiled as his left eye grew a bit, �My name is Fangus, this is my wife Morgana.�

She stuck out her tongue, and quickly licked every inch of her lips, �Hello Alexander. Have you been converted?�

He backed away a bit, �Um no, didn�t I see you guys last night in the middle of the night on the floor??�

Fangus laughed, �No. We were inside sleeping the entire night, RIGHT, Morgana?�

Morgana winked at him, �Yes we were Alexander. Well, we must go and try to convert as many people as we can. Everyone must see the power of the Master, we�ll see you later.�

As the couple scurried off, Alexander walked down to the lobby to find Tabitha asleep again. He went over to her and gently tapped her shoulder.

�Tabitha, it�s me, Alexander, again,� she quickly shot up.

�What is it honey? Was your room ok?� she asked politely.

�It was great. Listen, do you know a man named Edgar Hobbins?� Alex asked.

�Of course I do! He runs the old fish market in the South Side of town! Here, give me your map and I will point it out,� he handed it to her.

Tabitha took the map, and pointed to a fish symbol near the bottom edge of it, �Right here. He lives above the shop, oh and remember, it�s a fish shop, so he may smell a little funny,� and then she quickly fell back to sleep.

Alexander pulled the map out of her crinkled hands, and walked out into Cambridge.



Cambridge at day was much different than the Cambridge he experienced last night. This one had a much jollier tone and was filled to the brim with children running in the streets playing nursery school games, even more than there were at night. He slowly made his way down the creaky town and found the fish market. It was a small wooden two story building with a giant plastic fish on the roof, at the moment it was closed. He walked up to the doorstop and knocked on the door a few times.

�Hello?! Mr. Hobbins?! Are you there?! Edgar?!� he yelled.

After a few tries, the quirky old man appeared, �Eh? And who might you be?�

�I�m Alexander Walters, I met you last night, remember? You gave me and my friends enough money to stay at the Happy Traveler?� Alex recalled.

�What?! I did no such thing! What kind of hoodlum are you!? Be gone!�

As Edgar began to shut the door, Alex put his foot down and pushed it open.

�Please sir, even if you don�t remember me, I remember you! All me and my friends want are jobs at your market!� he exclaimed.

The old man stopped for a moment and rubbed the bald spot on his head, �Fish Market? I haven�t had it open in years me boy! If I reopened it, I would need fishermen! Can you and your buddies fish?�

Alex thought for a moment, �How hard could it be?� and said, �Of course we can! Back in our hometown, we won a fishing contest!�

Edgar jumped an entire inch in the air, �Well then gosh darn it, you got yourself a deal! Have you and your buddies come on over in a few hours, and I will take you to Lake Cambridge to get you started!�

Alexander nodded, he figured that it was best not to push absent minded Hobbins into anymore conversation, especially one so important as the Caravan Issue, �Well thanks again Edgar. I�ll see you in a few hours.�



In the East Side of town Fangus and Morgana, entered the �Mmm Mmm Good!� Bakery. Inside, was a small room with one table and a large counter housing all types of delicacies and treats. At the counter now, counting the day�s earnings, was a young girl, maybe around sixteen. She had short red hair, and was a little nervous upon seeing people of Fangus and Morgana�s caliber enter the bakery.

�Um, hi! Can I help you?� she asked.

Fangus smiled at her and stepped within a few inches of her face, �Hello my dear. It is we who can help you.�

The girl frowned, �Oh I�m sorry but, we�re not looking for any help right now.�

Morgana closed her eyes and dropped her head backwards, �How would you like to be free? Free like us?!�

The girl shrugged, �I don�t know, what exactly are you free from?�

Fangus placed his hand on her forehead, �Let me show you. Let me Convert you. Let me Baptize you in the Eyes of the Master.�

�Alright I guess, as long as it won�t take long. My break is in a few minutes and I wanna go meet my boyfriend Darwin,� she said nervously.

Fangus nodded, �Ex pluribus ad Hades desparia,� and suddenly a dark wave spread across the girl�s body.



Alexander stood in front of the Jolly Tavern, it looked just like it did when Thomas and Rufus were there last night, except now there was an ugly hole in the side covered with a blue tarp. He walked inside to find it looking how most bars looked in early morning, empty except for the lone bartender. Alexander strode over and sat down.

�My name is Alexander,� he stated.

�Hi. I�m Gerald Smith, I own this bar, or what�s left of it,� he said as his lazy eye drooped.

�Man, must have been some fight here,� Alexander exclaimed.

�Yep. This crazy girl ripped through nearly fifty people! Then she blew up that wall over there! And these two guys that were with her, man! They must have went through twenty-five themselves!� he exaggerated.

�I see. You going to try and track them down?� pondered Alexander.

�Well I would, but I was already blasted out of my mind went it went down, I don�t even remember what my face looks like! AHAHAHAHA!�

Alexander put on a fake laugh as he didn�t find the joke very funny, �Yeah. Well anyway, do you know if there will be any caravans or something coming into this town anytime soon?�

�Hmm. Actually, once a month a caravan comes from McKinley. But you already missed them this month, they�ll be back on October sixth,� he said. �They�ll take you with them for the right price.�

Alexander sat back in his stool, it was only September ninth, he didn�t really want to wait a whole other month in Cambridge, but it looked like this was the only option.

�Great, that�ll be great.�



Around five o� clock that day, Thomas, Alexander, and Rufus, found themselves on a small, unsafe boat, being pushed offshore onto Lake Cambridge by old man Hobbins.

�Alright boys! I�m going to need fifty fish to start with! So don�t come in until you get them all!� he called as he started walking back to town.

Cambridge Lake was a beautiful, perfectly circular blue lake, that sat just around three miles away from the town.

As Rufus pulled out the first fishing rod and casted, he began to boast, �Fifty fish? That�s going to be sooooo easy! Edgar is giving us a half of all of the profit and all we have to do is fish! Man! We�re going to be done in an hour!�

Thomas and Alexander agreed, and popped in their respective rods. Three hours later, they caught the first fish, a 2 pound perch. Rufus wrapped his hands around the slimy little bugger and threw him into one of the coolers Edgar supplied them with.

�Well, this is going to be a long four weeks,� he said mockingly.



The first week passed, and the boys eventually caught the fifty fish needed to reopen Edgar�s Market. But it was much harder to keep the market open then to start it, it required at least ten fish a day which meant one of the boys had to be on the lake at all times practically. As they awaited the McKinley Caravan, to conserve money, the trio stayed with Mr. Hobbins above the fish market. Nothing of great importance happened until the second week of employment under Edgar.

Rufus and Thomas were working the market as cashiers while Edgar watched over them from the backroom, Alexander was currently on shift at Cambridge Lake.

Rufus rubbed his stomach, �Hey boss, it�s getting kind of late! Think we can take a break and get some lunch?�

Edgar laughed, �Back in my day, we didn�t even have lunch! It was one meal a day and we didn�t even get that sometimes! Kids today!�

�So can we go?� asked Thomas again, not really heeding Hobbins� insignificant banter.

Mr. Hobbins sighed, �Yeah alright. Let�s try someplace new today, what about the local bakery?�

Rufus stood up from his chair at the main desk and walked towards the door, �I know where that is, I remember seeing it last week when I was delivering some fish. I�ll go. What do you all want?�

Edgar threw him a few coins, �Just pick up a few sandwiches, don�t forget to get one for Alex!�



A few moments later, Rufus turned the corner at Smith Street to find the local bakery he had passed last week, it now looked a �little� different. The large sign on the door which had previously housed a picture of bred, now had a six sided star which was in flames. On the deck where nice older people used to sit, eating some delicacy while talking about the olden days, now sat all manners of people completely covered in black. One of the women on the deck called out to Rufus.

�Hey boy! Have you come to join us!?� she cried.

Rufus stepped onto the creaky deck, �Join you in what?�

The hordes of black laden men and women laughed, �Join us in the worship of our Master!�

Rufus nodded, �Oh yeah him, well right now I�d rather just get some sandwiches,� and walked inside.

The inside of the �bakery� was even more terrifying the outside. Fangus, Morgana, and the young girl they converted earlier, Yvette, stood behind the desk. Everything was black, and such dark memorabilia like shrunken heads and bloody appendages were hung from the wall. Behind the counter Rufus spotted an old black wooden door that was tightly chained shut.

�Um hi, I just want to order a couple of sandwiches ok?� Rufus said lowly, obviously disturbed by his surroundings.

Morgana laughed out violently and placed a hand over her eyes, �We don�t sell sandwiches anymore! We�re only giving out the message and hatred of our Lord for free! Join us young boy!�

�Yeah. So you don�t have those sandwiches anymore?� Rufus asked again.

�No, only the satisfaction of serving the Lord!� shouted Yvette.

�Well ok, I�ll catch you all when you replace that hatred thingy with sandwiches,� replied Rufus as he walked out of the �bakery�.



When Rufus returned to the Fish Market, he found that Alexander had returned and was talking to Edgar and Thomas about his luck that day.

�I only caught two fish, a bass and a perch, but I managed to get five clams with the nets!� he said excitedly.

Thomas turned to the empty handed Rufus, �What happened buddy? Where�s all the food?�

Rufus sighed shortly, �The bakery has been converted into some sort of house of worship for the Lord. They were all covered in black and talking about hatred and stuff. It sounded a lot like what Alex said happened to that couple he saw earlier.�

Alexander stood up, �How many people were there like that? I only saw two become converted?�

�There were many! They said they could convert me if they wanted. I think they turned the bakery into some sort of headquarters for conversions,� explained Rufus.

Edgar cut into the conversation, �What the Hell are you boys talking about? I just wanted some damn sandwiches!�

Alexander turned to their generous employer, �Mr. Hobbins, last week, a mysterious woman came into town, she infected this couple that was at the Happy Traveler, and apparently they have been infecting other townspeople.�

Edgar scratched his right ear, �Infect them how?�

Rufus shook his head, �We�re not sure. All we know is that they change, they start worshiping this Master guy, and other evil paraphernalia.�

Thomas stood up and put his hand on the old man�s shoulder, �I think that when we leave for McKinley, you should come with us.�

The old man sighed, �I�ve lived here all of my life, I don�t really want to leave, but in the short time you�ve been here with me, I�ve gotten a bit attached, you�re the closest things I have to family. So yes, I�ll go with you to McKinley and maybe open a Fish Market there. Will you three be joining me?�

Thomas smiled at the old man, �We�re very grateful that you feel that way, but we have a very important mission Edgar. We can�t really speak of it now, but McKinley is only a stepping stone for us to reach the Great Library.�

The old man stood up, grabbed his steel cane in the corner, and walked to the door, �Well that�s all well and good, I�m off to go get us some lunch. Who�s in the mood for chicken sandwiches!?�



Time passed, and the boys continued to work for Edgar Hobbins. The fair town of Cambridge began to change rapidly, more and more people were becoming infected, and slowly, houses and buildings were being transformed into places of worship for the Master, while the former bakery remained the headquarters for the whole thing. One night, September thirtieth, just a week before the Caravan arrived, Edgar woke up Alexander in the middle of the night.

�Alex, Alex, get up. It�s Edgar,� he said as he shook Alexander�s limp body.

Alex�s eyes slowly opened, �Oh, Edgar, what is it? What time is it?�

�I was working on the last shipment of fish today, and I broke my last scalpel. Can you run to the hardware store and pick me up one?� he asked politely.

�Oh man, why can�t you go?� he asked groggily.

�I was going to, but there�s a lot of those black clad freaks walking in the streets. I think they�re heading to some sort of meeting! I�m afraid to go out!� he cried.

Alexander sat up in his bed, �Why didn�t you get Rufus or Thomas?�

�You seem to be the most mature out of them, I trust you the most,� he pulled out Alex�s golden Scimitar, its curved blade shined briefly in the darkness, �Here. I pulled this out of your bag, you may need it. I�m not sure what those freaks are up to.�

Alexander threw his red quilt off, took the sword and followed Edgar downstairs into the Fish Market. He walked past the counter and over to the window. Pulling down the green drapes, and looking past the displays of fish, he saw dozens of the converted slowly traversing the streets.

Edgar pulled out a few golden coins, �Take these for the scalpel.�

Alex took them, and rubbed them in his covered right palm a bit, �Edgar, do you have a black cloak by any chance?�

�Yes why?� asked the old man.

�Please get it for me.�

Mr. Hobbins creaked upstairs and returned a few moments later with a dusty old cloak and handed it to Alex. It smelled of moth balls but felt soft in his hands. He wrapped it around his body and glanced at the ancient brown clock slowly ticking on the wall, it was just before midnight.

�Alright Edgar, I will see you in a bit,� Alex said as he ran out the door.



The world of Cambridge at midnight was even darker and more intimidating than the very first night there when Alex had walked the streets alone in search of the Library. Now, instead of totally abandoned streets, they were filled with the pale and black converts, slowly drifting down the corridors. Alexander did his best to fit it, and walked up to a man. He was older, maybe mid thirties, and had long black hair. He was wearing torn pants and a black sweatshirt.

�Excuse me sir, can you tell me where we are all headed? This is my first night as a converted.� Alex asked.

The man continued walking, �Ugh. Don�t you just KNOW where you�re supposed to be headed? I never needed to have anyone tell me!�

Alexander continued limping alongside the man, �Please sir, I honestly don�t know,� he paused. �I just want to help further the cause of the Lord!�

The man smiled brightly, allowing his crooked yellow teeth to show, �Well in that case, every night at midnight we all meet at the old bakery for a briefing by the Messenger of the Lord.�

As the bakery came into view, Alex tried to pull a little more information out of the convert, �Who exactly is this Messenger?�

�Hmm. Well, she is very, VERY beautiful. She wears all black, and carries a whip. She�s not someone I�d like to meet in a dark alley,� he stopped to think. �Actually, I would love to meet her just about anywhere!�

The man burst into laughter as Alexander gave realization to his fear, �Dominina,� he thought.

The two men came to the end of a line near the entrance of the bakery. It moved along quickly until the man came to the door which was guarded by Yvette.

�Hello there. Can you please repeat the password?� she asked.

The man bobbed his head up and down and leaned into the girl�s ear. He whispered something just out of hearing distance of Alex and moved on, allowing Alex to approach the girl.

�Repeat the password,� she said tonelessly.

Alexander fidgeted for a moment, �Listen honey, how about you and me go get something to eat after this meeting thing? We can go to the lake and have a great time,� he suggested as he began to push his way in slightly.

�Repeat the password,� Yvette answered without flinching.

Alex exhaled, �The thing is, well I forgot it. So can you just let me in anyway?�

Yvette brushed him aside with her hand, �Next!�

Alexander, unable to accept defeat, exited the deck and walked to the backside of the house. Unfortunately, much to his chagrin, there were no backdoors or windows to be seen.

�Damn it! I have to find a way inside!�

He racked his brain for any plausible solution until his view finally caught the object of his desire. He spotted an old stone chimney at the top of roof, a definite, albeit troublesome, entrance into the convert fortress.

�Hmm, tomorrow night I�ll bring a ladder from the Fish Market here a little bit after midnight to see what the Hell Dominina is doing to these people!� he exclaimed in his mind.



The next night, October 1st, Rufus was rustled from his blissful sleep, which was filled with dreams of his family and restoring honor to the Orion name, by the clattering of tools in the market below. He opened his eyes for a moment, not very nervously as he assumed it was just old man Hobbins. He glanced to his right to see Alexander�s bed empty, and then to his left to see Edgar in his bed. This strange occurrence caused Rufus to jump out of his own bed and onto the cold hardwood floor. He tip toed over to Thomas� bed and poked him in the head a few times.

�Thomas!� he whispered. �Thomas! Get up!�

Thomas mumbled, �Oh Dad, not now! I�ll do my chores later!�

�Thomas! It�s Rufus! Get up!� he said.

The young sleeping boy rubbed his eyes and moaned, �Oh Rufus, what is it? It�s late!�

�Alexander is fidgeting downstairs with who knows what!� Rufus explained.

Thomas threw the quilt over his face, �So? Alex is a big boy!�

Rufus ripped the covers of off his face and threw them on the floor. He then walked over to the stairwell.

�Hurry up Thomas! We�re going to check on him anyway,� he called.

As Rufus walked down the stairs, Thomas crawled in slow motion to catch up. Once he made his way down the steps, he found Rufus holding Alexander, who was holding a ladder, back.

�Alex? What are you doing?� called Thomas.

The boy sighed and pushed Rufus off of him, �Alright. I didn�t want you guys to know about this, but, every night at midnight, all of the converted have a meeting with Dominina in the bakery.�

Rufus slapped his hand over his eyes, �Oh man! Damn Alex, you should have told us! When did you find this out!?�

�Last night Edgar sent me out for a scalpel and the streets were filled with the converted. I followed them to the bakery, but I needed a password to get in. I searched for another way inside and spotted the chimney, but it was too high, so I made my mind up to come back tonight with a ladder and some rope,� he explained.

�That�s crazy! You should have told us at least! We�ll help you!� protested Thomas.

�Yeah! I mean don�t you think that Dominina would recognize you?� asked Rufus.

Alexander pulled out the cloak Hobbins gave him before and put it on, �I didn�t think she�d notice me if I hid in the back of their little meeting.�

�That�s too risky,� said Thomas as he took the cloak. �I�ll go in. The three of us can all go to the roof, and you two lower me down with some rope. I�ll leave the meeting with the others, and you guys should come back here as soon as I get in ok? Sound good?�

Alexander cocked his lip upwards, �That�s dangerous Thomas.�

Rufus opened the door, �A lot less dangerous then your plan though, come on, let�s get going.�



Around five minutes later, the three boys found themselves on the unsteady paneling that laced the bakery roof. In the twilight of the midnight moon, they ascended the v-shaped roof and eventually stood in front of the chimney. There, Alexander tied the rope around Thomas� holster, where his Scimitar usually went. Rufus and Alex both grabbed onto the rope as Thomas put one leg over the end of the giant hole.

�Alright guys, don�t drop me too fast,� he warned.

�We�ll try,� joked Rufus. �You have gained a few pounds lately.�

Thomas made a face which just screamed that he didn�t find the joke funny, and slipped the other leg over. Slowly, the other two boys lowered him down in the pyre of black and gray ashes. Thomas put his finger in some and then wiped it around his face to advance his disguise as a convert. The cold dirty brick laid motionlessly around him until he finally landed onto a bed of old burnt wood. He rolled out of the fireplace to find himself in a large dirt pit. He couldn�t make much out, as it was in darkness, except for the fact he was alone, and that a large stone door stood on the other wall.

He ran over to it quickly, but as soon as he neared it, the door began to swing open. Thomas darted to the right side of the door, and watched it breathlessly fling open. From it entered a large line of converts, a few of them carried torches which illuminated the room in a flurry or red. As the room filled to near maximum capacity, Thomas easily merged flawlessly with the others.

He struggled to see the front of the room, near where he dropped in, to see Fangus and Morgana speaking lowly, �The Messenger should appear shortly, as she announced last night, tonight she will explain to us our mission,� recalled Fangus.

In a sudden flash of dark light, Dominina appeared just as Alexander had described her. She was in her tempting, painful black leather outfit, and had her bleak whip in her right hand. She licked her black lips and looked around the room.

�Good. You seem to have been able to get new recruits each night. I am proud of you Fangus, you too Morgana,� she said quietly.

Fangus kneeled, �Anything for the Lord!�

She smiled and ran her hand through his hair, petting him as if he was some less than human pet, �I�m glad that you chose that phrase Fangus, because I have a mission for you, and your wife.�

She pulled her hand back from his lice infested black hair, and walked out into the center of the cave, �Cambridge is transforming, look around you. The grass is slowly turning gray, the lake is becoming shallow, the trees are dying. With each conversion the Lord�s power in this land grows. And right now, he is nearly at maximum power in this area. To all of you who have been converted, I need you to stay here, make shrines for the Lord, and convert every last person.�

An older man in the back stood up, his face was covered in grime and black cloth fell from his body, �Messenger, we have had some trouble converting certain people. What should we do about them?�

Dominina smiled, walked to the man, and kissed him on the lips, she pulled back his head and laughed, �When people are converted, they receive a gift that they don�t realize they have until someone tells them, that gift, is the gift of battle. Not only have you all been transformed into worshippers of the Lord, but you have also become strong warriors.�

The man looked confused, �You didn�t answer my question miss.�

She turned her back and strolled back to Morgana and Fangus, �Kill all of those who oppose you. You see, on October 6th, a caravan is coming here from McKinley, there are three boys on it that I have to watch over, but that is not your problem. You see, Fangus, Morgana, I want you to sneak your way onto the caravan and reach McKinley, there you will help me convert that city.�

Fangus bowed, �Yes Messenger! Anything for our Master!�

Morgana grabbed Dominina�s hand and kissed it, �Anything.�

Dominina rubbed her hands together, �Now for the rest of you, as soon as the caravan has left, and they are out of view, torch the city and kill all of those who refused to be converted. Then erect the shrines! Understand?�

The mob screamed out in harmony, �For the Master!�

And just as suddenly as she had come to them, Dominina disappeared, and the meeting was over.

Chapter 5: Murder, Honor, and Friendship



The infamous night of the meeting ended in a quick discussion upon Thomas� return to the Fish Market. After little to no debate, the boys settled on their plan to get the hell out of Cambridge with Edgar Hobbins and restructure their plan once in McKinley.

On October 5th, Edgar found the boys hanging out in the large bed room. He walked over to them, Alexander was laying on the floor, memorizing locations, Rufus was in his bed snoring, and Thomas was staring out the window.

�What are you looking at Alexander?� he asked.

Alex held up the atlas, �The caravan is going to go straight through Mt. Reflection, and then across a large hilly area before hitting McKinley. It says in this book that it is nearly impossible to go through Reflection without a large group. Do you know why that is Edgar?�

The old man smiled at sat down next to the boy, �Mt. Reflection is much less of a giant rock, then it is a giant reflection crystal, that�s where it got its name. It is impossible to go around the crystal, or climb it, you have to go through it. In the very center of the crystal there is a gigantic tunnel where caravans and travelers go through. But, there is a catch. The crystal is inhabited by trolls, green midget monsters skilled in the art of fighting. Many have entered the tunnel and never emerged due to the massive amount of troll raids. But there is a secure way through without ever being attacked by a single troll.�

Alexander cringed, �What is it Edgar?�

�The trolls will not attack another animal so long as it is alone, meaning that if it only sees animals and no Humans or Mystics, they will not attack. Most caravans travel with Calephants, they are huge lumbering furry creatures. The caravans make small rooms on top of each animal and then go through the tunnel unnoticed, but if a single person was to stick their head out from their quarters, and have their reflection created in the crystal wall, it would be a terrible slaughter.�



Finally, after a month of struggling to catch fish and serve the slowly converting population of Cambridge, the big day arrived for the boys. Thomas was the first one to see it during one of his many �stare periods�. Out of the window, he made out a large white wooly head bobbing over a far away hill.

�GUYS! GUYS! THE CARAVAN IS HERE!� he screamed.

Rufus, Alex, and Edgar came running up the stairs and pushed past Thomas to get a look. The first of a long line of Calephants bobbed from left to right down the hill. They were huge lumbering creatures that walked on four legs and had large trunks on their faces. It had beautiful white fur and had a large compartment hooked onto the top of its back, most likely the rooms that Edgar spoke of earlier.

As more and more Calephants came into view, Mr. Hobbins turned to his three friends, �Alright boys, let�s get out bags and meet them at the North Entrance.�



The first Calephant arrived at the Northern Entrance of Cambridge, and awaiting its arrival were the Chosen Ones and Edgar Hobbins. The room on top of the Calephant sprung open and from it, a young man leaped down. He was wearing green puffy pants, and a loose red shirt. He had brown hair that fell to his shoulder, and a curly mustache.

�Why hello there men! You�re here awfully early! Are you going to be hitching a ride back to McKinley?� he called in a high boastful voice.

Edgar stepped forward and handed him a small bag of coins, �Yes sir! My name is Edgar Hobbins, and these are my associates. This should be enough to cover all of our fares.�

The man took the money and bowed, �Hello Mr. Hobbins and company, my name is Alvin Leroy,� he looked around quickly as a state of dismay washed over his face, �Prey tell, where are all of the men who ordered the McKinley supplies? Aren�t any of them here to meet their order?�

Rufus stepped forward, �Yeah, they�re a little under the weather.�

Thomas elbowed him in the stomach, �Ha ha, you see, nearly every Cambridge business has fallen onto some bad times and closed. I can almost guarantee this will be your final trip to Cambridge,� little did he know how ironic his words were.

Alvin nodded, �Damn. What a pity! We won�t make any money on this trip besides the five people who just used our caravan as transportation to this lovely city.�

Five more Calephants stopped behind Alvin�s, and the five riders descended from three of them. They walked over to Alvin, each with a suitcase in tow.

�Well, thank you for riding Leroy Caravan Services! Have fun in Cambridge,� Alvin announced to the tourists.

Before they could take an inch forward, Alex grabbed one of the men and shook him, �Please sir! I urge you to reconsider your trip to Cambridge! I have a reason to believe a riot is about to breakout!�

The man shook Alex off and continued walking towards the entrance, �Damn local kids.�

Alvin called back to Edgar, �You can all board now if you like. Out of my six Calephants, one is my personal steed, two were carrying cargo, and the other three are for passengers. You can board any two you wish, but one of you will have to ride by themselves, only three can fit in one Calephant room.�

Alexander started walking towards a Calephant in the back, �I�ll take a lone one, you three can ride together,� he volunteered.

�Remember, never take a peek out of your room at all during the trip, just in case we happen to be inside the Mt. Reflection Tunnel,� Alvin warned.

Within a few moments, the caravan was started up again, one Calephant carrying Alvin, another Alexander, and another carrying Edgar, Rufus, and Thomas. As the caravan started back the way it came, they believed the other three caravans either carried cargo or were empty, little did they know that during the introductions, two stowaways managed to sneak on board�



Fangus itched at a scab on the back of his neck like his mind scratched away at the bottom of his soul. He was restless, unfulfilled, something just wasn�t, right. He glanced over to Morgana who was lying down perfectly straight, wiping any corrosion of her garish armor.

�So do you think they�ve destroyed Cambridge by now husband? she asked.

Fangus rocked back and forth, �I doubt it. We�ve only been traveling for around twenty minutes, I don�t think we even hit Mt. Reflection yet.�

Husband? What did that word even mean? Fangus tried to think back, plow his way through his memory, but it was empty. It was almost as if his memory began with the Master. He didn�t even know how he met Morgana, or if she was his wife! The furthest thing back he could remember was waking up one morning in bed with her in the hotel at Cambridge!

She rubbed her hand on his tense knee, �Something the matter dear?�

He smiled, �No Morgana, just preparing. I fear the Messenger has something in store for those boys she was supposed to be looking over who are also on this caravan.�



A few Calephants ahead, Alexander sat, sprawled on the wooden floor, and stared into his poetry book. He tapped his pencil instinctively as he battled a monstrous writer�s block.

�What the hell is wrong? Why can�t I think of anything worthy of my book?!� he wondered.

In an epiphany of hatred, Dominina appeared and sat across from him, �Why it�s so very simple my dear Alex,� she ran her finger across his lips in an sultry manner, �you�re not as depressed anymore. What is it Alex? Do you get off traveling with this fools?�

He shook his head, �Why do you keep bothering me Dominina? How do you know I won�t just grab my blade and kill you?�

She laughed uncontrollably for a moment, �Sure Alex, I�m so sure you would. Anyway, what is it Alex? Why are you fulfilled on this trip? Do you think these idiots, Thomas, Rufus, even the old man, needing you gives you purpose? If I substituted any other eighteen year old boy with you, everything would have gone exactly the same. You�re nothing but a pawn, you should be desiring to get back home to your self loathing!�

Alex turned away from her, �Why don�t you just leave me alone? Besides, it was fate that brought me here, on this trip I mean.�

Again Dominina broke out into laughter, �Don�t kid yourself! You think it was fate?! How can you even believe in such a foolish concept!? Have you forgotten the Black Day already!? That�s right, I was there with you, I suffered alongside of you! I have seen what you have seen!�

Alexander, incredibly distraught, grabbed his Scimitar and backed up to one of the walls, �Damn you Dominina! Why won�t you just leave me alone!? Who are you?!�

She crawled closer to him, �Come on Alex, don�t be like that.�

He held up his sword as her hands reached his shoes, �Stay back! STAY BACK!�

Alexander flipped out, he turned his entire body weight against the wall and pushed, little did he know it was actually the Calephant Quarters door. The small door gave out to the weight and flew open sending Alex careening outwards to the ground below. He landed in a white mound of snow, just about burying his head.

Dominina ran out to the edge of the Calephant Quarters and looked around, devilishly intrigued by her surroundings, the Mt. Reflection Tunnel. She pulled out her black gleaming whip and gave out a hearty laugh.

�Well that went perfectly to plan!� she shouted.



Stunned, Alexander pulled his head out of the snow and looked forward. He saw his reflection in a nearby wall. He shot straight up and glanced around frantically, it was as he had feared. They were in a large tunnel with mirror like crystal walls, and right in front of him was his own reflection.

�DRIMACUS MAKE ME STRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!� he cried.

Behind his reflection, dozens upon dozens, hundreds among hundreds, thousands after thousands, of small, three foot high, green creatures emerged. Each one wore furry brown Calephant Hide armor and a steel helmet. The rows of trolls that were stationed in the back pulled out what seemed to be primitive bows and fired arrows lined with fire.

Alexander watched in complete and utter awe as the arrows flew from behind the crystal walls and out into the real world, they glided just a bit further and landed into a Calephant, one, two, three, pretty soon a dozen littered the wooly body and caused it to erupt into fire. As it fell to the ground in a bloody burnt stump, Alexander trembled as the Trolls reloaded their bows, but what truly scared him were the Trolls in the front line that eerily walked through the crystal walls, those were followed by hundreds of rows of uncountable little beasts!

As they ran at him with swords, dagger, and axes, Alexander held up his Scimitar nervously and screamed out in terror, �THOOOOMAS!!!!!! RUUUUUUUUFUS!!!!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!!!!�

The first one reached Alex who promptly slashed off its head, causing the bloody lump to go flying off in the distance as the midget body fell into the snow. Another ran forward blindly, allowing Alexander to strafe to his right at the last moment and plunge his sword into the Troll�s side. He pulled out the bloody weapon as numerous Trolls now surrounded him. Alex slashed his sword from the left to right and vice versa, doing anything he could to repel the monsters.



One of the other Calephant Room doors flung open, and from it emerged Rufus. Looking around at his friend fighting off Troll after Troll, he grabbed his Scimitar from his pack and ran back to the opening.

�Rufus! What are you doing?!� shouted Edgar.

Rufus turned around, �Thomas, hurry and help me!�

He then leaped from the Calephant, landing in the snow just a few feet away from Alex. Thomas ran to the opening and saw that within seconds Rufus was overrun by Trolls, much like Alexander. He watched helplessly as they cut through one after another Troll, racking up kill after kill.

He threw his arms up in the air, �No, this is wrong! Just because they are attacking us, does that make it right to kill them!?� Thomas held up his Scimitar, his hand shaking. �What about honor now Rufus!? WHAT ABOUT HONOR?!�

Rufus leaped into the air and came careening down into two enemy Trolls, he then proceeded to stab them both in the back quickly, �HELP US THOMAS!�

One of the Trolls leaped onto Alexander�s head, but with a quick head butt into one of the still standing Calephants, he flung him off and then sliced through his torso, �Damn it Thomas! They�re going to kill us!�

Before Thomas could rebuttal, the second wave of burning arrows went screaming through the air, and promptly cut into the underbelly of his Calephant. It began to bumble from the left and to the right, before turning into a lifeless statue and smashing into the snow below, brining Edgar and Thomas down
with it.

After a few moments, Thomas and Edgar emerged from the smashed wooden room, both a little bloody, and stumbled off to the opposite side of the tunnel away from the battle.

Alexander ducked a Troll�s swinging axe and then swiped off its two legs, �THOMAS! HELP US PLEASE!�

But, Thomas was still in a state of shock, staring out into a violent world of senseless carnage.

Alex would receive help, but not from the person he pleaded with. Another one of the rooms opened and from it leaped Alvin with an old spear in hand. He landed in the snow gracefully as his spear ran through three Trolls like a shish kabob.

�Damn you! I told you not to look out of your room at all during the trip!� he cried as he struck down three more Trolls with a flip of his wrist.



Above all of the carnage, Dominina floated near the top of the cave, watching every move that Alex and Rufus made, and every move Thomas didn�t make.

�Well this is a surprising event, it seems as if that one doesn�t want to fight. Maybe I can coax him into it?�

Dominina teleported into another Calephant Room, this one housing Fangus and Morgana.

�Both of you! Grab my hand! We are going to push some Troll warriors into a small clearing of snow where a boy and old man are hiding! Do you understand?!� she screamed.

Fangus and his wife grabbed onto her hands, �Anything for the Master.�

In another flash of light, the trio reappeared around a hundred yards opposite Thomas and Edgar, between them stood a few dozen Trolls.

�Scare them into running straight into those two men over there!� she commanded.

Fangus and Morgana both leapt onto separate Trolls, dug their teeth into the creature�s head, and then bit entire chunks of their neck off, causing a small flurry of blood to spray about. Meanwhile, Dominina pulled out her black pulsating whip and cast it onto an unsuspecting Troll. As it wrapped around his little neck, she twisted her wrist around causing the monster to be flung into the air and then go careening into the far side of the tunnel, smashing his puny body on impact like a walnut. As the trio ripped through Troll after Troll in this hideous fashion, one of the little monsters in the center, wearing a red helmet opposed to the others� gray ones, put his hand up and pointed in the opposite direction.

Dominina figured this to be a leader ordering the retreat of his small squadron, �Good work Fangus, you too Morgana. I am going to go watch the carnage about to ensue, I suggest you two make your way to the Northern Exit, I can just about see it from here.�



Thomas� eyes dilated in an utmost fear as he watched the Trolls, retreating from their little skirmish with Dominina and company, running towards himself and Edgar. He glanced down at old Mr. Hobbins to see him in the fetal position mumbling.

Thomas grabbed the old man, �Don�t give up Edgar! I�m going to get us out of here!�

Edgar silently touched a small wound on Thomas� head that was slowly turning into a river of drying blood, �Thomas, we took that fall pretty damn hard. The only way for you to get out is to fight out! It�s not wrong to act in self defense! Take your sword and fight!!!!�

The young heir to the Green Hive throne ran over to his Scimitar, picked it up from the snow, and stared out into the gigantic crowd of Trolls running at them. He stood there, unable to bring himself to motion, as the first wave descended upon Edgar. Around three or four of the beasts dove on him, ripping him apart limb from bloody limb with their teeth like savage beasts.

Thomas began to shake, tears welled up in his eyes, �AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!�

He rushed forward in pure and blind rage, he smashed his sword again and again on the beasts that that sat atop Edgar. He then ran forward into the group of Trolls that were trying to run back into the wall, some were already escaping. Slash, slice, cut, eight Trolls laid dead around him, seconds later, fifteen.



As Alvin pulled his spear out of another half dead Troll body, he leaned to the right to see the last Calephant fall, and Alexander and Rufus had finished up what was left of a squadron. He ran over to them as fast as he could, all three warriors were drenched with the blood and entrails of the fallen Trolls.

�Come on! We need to get out of here now! Those Troll bastards are going to send a second wave after us quickly!� he urged.

As Alvin started running towards the Northern Exit, which was still a good mile off, Rufus grabbed Alexander before he could run, �Alex! We have to find Edgar and Thomas!�

Alex nodded and darted to the other side of a dead Calephant, �Go on without me! I�ll find him!�



As Fangus ran across a road of slaughtered bodies, he saw Alvin and Rufus trying to escape off in the distance as Alexander broke off to check behind the Calephants. He grabbed onto his wife and started to run in Alvin�s path.

�Come on honey, we need to get out of here like Dominina said!� he shouted.

�But Fangus, I was just starting to have fun!�



From behind the crystal mirror wall, a young Troll Archer stood with his platoon as one of the front line Trolls ran up to them. In their primitive language, he started to give a report.

�Squad One through Nine was eradicated, Squad Ten retreated, along with Squad Seventeen, but the rest were killed also. Prepare yourselves to go down and attack with the Second Wave Ground Force!�

The archer shook at the warrior�s words, he ran forward and inserted an arrow from his quiver into his bow. He cried out at the top of his lungs.

�That was my Father, you bastards!!!!!!!!!!� and fired.



As Rufus started to lose steam, he looked up at the exit, just a little over half a mile away now. Also ahead of him was Alvin.

�Hey Al! This is going to make a great story one day huh?!� yelled Rufus.

But before Alvin could answer, a lone arrow from the sky went spiraling through his head, dropping him onto the floor in a bloody explosion.



The Troll Archer shrieked out in a small moment of satisfaction before the venomous sting of unavoidable grief returned. He pulled out another arrow, his body still trembling, and fired.



As Fangus struggled through the graveyard of bleeding, oozing, corroding Troll bodies, he stopped for a moment and saw his wife bent over one of them, biting away at some of its raw meat.

�Morgana! Leave that thing be and follow me! The Trolls are still firing!� he yelled out.

Morgana smiled, meat and cloth entrenched in her teeth, �Just one more bite!�

This time she would not be so lucky, for as she bent her head back over the carcass of a Troll, a zinging arrow stabbed her square in the back.



Alexander rounded the corner formed by a dead Calephant to find Thomas dragging a Troll by his foot from behind the crystal wall. He stood horrified as Thomas swung the sword like a bat, sending the head flying across the tunnel. He then stabbed it again and again and again until nothing was left but a pile of bloody appendages.

Alexander ran to Thomas� back and grabbed his shoulder, �Thomas! Where is Edgar?!�

As Thomas turned around, Alex was shocked to see his face covered in dripping blood and sheer confusion, �Alex! These bastards killed him! THEY KILLED HIM!!!!!�

Alex shook him a bit, �Come on Thomas! Snap out of it! We need to get the hell out of here!� as he said that another wave of Trolls started running down the opposite wall�s hill.

Thomas fell to his knees and covered his face, �Alex! Alex! I killed them! I killed so many!�

As he started sobbing uncontrollably, Alexander used what little strength he had left to prop Thomas on his shoulder.

�Don�t worry Thomas, I�m going to get us out of here right now!� he began running at full steam as the front line Trolls emerged from the crystal wall.



A mile ahead, Rufus ran out from the snowy cave and onto a long hilly green plane that seemed to stretch forever. He began to turn around to look for his friends, but before he could he fell onto the ground and nearly passed out from exhaustion.



As the exit at the end of the Mt. Reflection Tunnel neared Alexander and Thomas, the giant group of Trolls running behind them started to close in. Thomas opened his eyes for a moment to see Alex�s face, huffing and puffing, struggling to bring them to safety.

�Alex? You, you�re saving me,� he said before going unconscious again.

Alexander�s complexion remained stone-like before finally emerging from the cave and collapsing on the ground next to Rufus. He looked up to see the Trolls stop dead at the entrance, look out nervously and turn around.

�HA! It�s just like Edgar said! They can�t come out!� laughed Rufus as he looked around at his two friends. �Speaking of that, where is the old man?�

Alexander sat up and shook his head at Rufus, �Come on, there�s a small lake over there,� he pointed, �let�s go wash our clothes off, I think we should make camp here tonight and then use the atlas to make our way to McKinley.�

Thomas, still shaken up, replied, �We don�t have camp anymore, only what we carried in our knapsacks.�

Rufus stood up and began to limp on over to the lake, �Well, then we�ll have to sleep on the grass or rocks or something, I don�t know. Let�s just take things step by step and go get cleaned.�



The trio washed the bloody stains of battle off of their clothes, but not the stains and impacts on their minds. You see, men can shake off battles, but it�s hard to shake off a slaughter, and the battle in the Mt. Reflection Tunnel that day was no battle, but a slaughter.

A few hours passed before the three boys laid a few feet apart under the night sky. They tried to talk of other things, aside from the slaughter, but with an issue so colossal on their minds it seemed that the conversation somehow always drifted back to it.

�Alex, you came back and saved me didn�t you?� asked Thomas as he fidgeted on his sock pillow.

Alexander considered this for a moment, �Yes, I guess I did.�

Rufus laughed, �So what�s up Alex, are we just your bestest friends in the world now?� he cracked.

Alexander didn�t break a smile, �Friendship has nothing to do with anything.�

Thomas shook his head and turned on his side, �You�ll never change Alex. So why did you save me then?�

�Getting to the Great Library will be much harder with two people than three. If I let you die, my chances of succeeding in this mission would be lowered,� he said emotionlessly.

Rufus burst into laughter, �What a crock of shit Alex! You make on to be some big bad dude, but I don�t know any bad asses who write poetry buddy.�

Alexander stood up and walked a good thirty feet away from them before settling back down.

�Give him time Rufus, he�s warming up to us,� Thomas assured.

Rufus sighed, �Maybe, but who knows? He�s been through quite a lot.�

�So have you. I mean the whole thing with your parents, is that why honor is so important to you?� pondered Thomas.

Rufus cringed, �I�m not sure. It probably is. But I think honor means different things for different people.�

Thomas nodded, �What we did back there,� he started to shudder, �the slaughter, was that honorable?�

Rufus rubbed his burning eyes, �No, but it wasn�t dishonorable. Thomas, we fought them because they forced us to, I think that as long as we only kill when we have to, we�ll make it out alright. You know what else I think? I think that mankind is always on the edge of light and darkness, like there are forces on both sides pulling us in both directions at us,� he could have never imagined how correct he was.

Chapter 6: The Core of the Problem



The next day the boys set out for McKinley where they could hopefully find some sort of transportation to the Great Library in Trimore. According to Alexander�s Atlas, all they had to do was travel directly north for a few hours from Mt. Reflection before they would reach the city of McKinley, unfortunately, their progress was hampered because of the incredibly hilly terrain. They began traveling at Sunrise, and were still walking across grassy hills by Sundown.

�Are you sure we�re going the right way Alexander?� asked a tired Thomas.

�Yes. I know what I�m doing,� he replied reassuringly.

�Well obviously you don�t know what we�re doing or we�d be there by now!� Rufus yelled sarcastically.

Thomas was in no mood for these games, he was cold, tired, homesick, and most of all depressed. Visions of the carnage and chaos that was the slaughter haunted his mind like an itch he could not scratch, a deep need he wasn�t able to satisfy.

Instead of arguing with Alex or Rufus, or listening to their banter, he kept his focus on the mist that sat on the ground just below his ankles, it was eerie looking now as night descended upon them.

�Shhh!� Alex called as he motioned for them both to stop. �Listen to that!�

Thomas remained quiet and strained his ears, off in the distance he could just about make out the sounds of running and grunting. He broke away from his two companions and ran up the side of the hill they were currently traveling on. Upon reaching its climax, his view extended out into the valley before him. In the center of the green dent in the planet were two wild Calephants being chased by a woman.

Thomas squinted, she was holding two swords and was wearing red, �EVE!� he screamed out. �EVE!? Is that you?!�

As she back flipped high into the air on the Calephant�s back and stabbed it with her sword, sending it into the ground, she meticulously jumped in front of the other one and jabbed it directly in the forehead with her other sword. She pulled it out, leaving a dead beast behind, and landed on the ground gracefully in one fell swoop.

She waved her hand in the air at him as the mist around her feet managed to somehow heighten her ubiquitous beauty, �You! You�re the one from that bar in Cambridge!�

Thomas ran down to meet her as Rufus and Alexander followed him from behind, �Hi Eve, my name is Thomas,� he pointed to his friends, �that�s Rufus and he�s Alexander.�

She nodded, �Nice to meet all of you. What are you doing out here in the wilderness?�

Thomas ran his hand through his blonde hair, �I could ask you the same thing! Why did you kill those beasts?�

She sighed, �For a challenge. I�m always in a search for the battle that will kill me, I guess that�s just the way I am.�

Alexander, unlike Thomas, didn�t really care much about that girl, all he wanted was some information as he stared at the hole in her right palm, �What�s that hole there for?�

She frowned and stepped backwards a bit, �I get that question a lot, but I really can�t answer. I don�t know why I have that, I just do.�

Thomas was confused, �When did you get it?�

She stepped back a bit more, �I don�t want to talk about it, I really don�t remember.�

Their conversation was interrupted by a scream from the North, �EVE! What are you doing!?�

They turned suddenly to see two men, both carrying the same light emitting machines from before. Thomas glanced at Eve to see her erupt into absolute fright, she started to run in the opposite direction, but as she did, a light blue wall formed that surrounded the six people in the field. The wall was blue, but clear in a way.

Alexander walked to the wall and slammed it with his fist, �What the hell is this?!�

She slumped to the ground as she watched one of the men stop walking and the other continue towards her, �They put a force field around us! Damn it!�

The first man, who stayed put around fifty yards away from Eve had wild brown hair that fell to his shoulders and blew vibrantly in the wind. He had round rimmed glasses and was wearing a white lab coat.

�Why don�t you just come home with us Eve!� he called.

�NEVER! That place isn�t home, it�s hell Simon!� she screamed as she pulled herself to her feet.

The man known as Simon, probably a scientist of some sort in his twenties, replied, �But the Core Grounds is your home my darling. Come on Eve, we are your brothers and we are here to persuade you.�

Eve started walking towards the other man, this one around twenty feet away, as she shook her head, �No, you�re not my brothers!�

The second man, this one having short black hair, a muscular physique, and a red outfit similar to Eve�s, called out, �Sister, do not deny your heritage! I am your brother Adam. Please, return to your family.�

Eve leaped at him, pulling both swords outright, �DON�T EVER CALL ME YOUR SISTER!�

As she slashed at him he easily parried by brining out two of his own swords, both of which looked identical to Eve�s. They both flung their weapons wildly at one another until Eve managed to duck a blow and then thrusted her blade into Adam�s stomach.

Strangely enough, Adam didn�t even react, only a small bit of blood fell from the wound before it closed up. The wounded boy, with an absolutely blank expression on his face, stepped backwards and literally exploded in a rage of flames. As Eve stared, sobbing now, at the black smoldering mound in front of her that was Adam, Simon began laughing.

He clapped wildly, �I am impressed Eve! Two years ago you would have had no chance against Adam! Good job! I see that during your travels you have progressed greatly!�

Eve smashed her fist into the grass as the blue force field around them disappeared, �You�re a bastard Simon!�

Simon responded by slowly floating into the air, a red and blue sphere of light formed around him, pulsating at every movement, �You have no idea of how bad of a bastard I can be Eve. For the moment, I can allow you to travel the world if it is improving your skills, but a day will come soon when I MUST return you to your home to finish Anderson�s Operation: Holocaust. When that fast approaching day arrives, I will destroy all that is dear to you if you do not obey me. Do you understand!?� he screamed.

Thomas ran to Eve and huddled her in his arms, �Get away from us you freak!�

Simon started laughing, �You insignificant bug! Do you dare to disobey someone superior to yourself?!�

He held out his right hand, which bared no scar, hole, or Black Eye, and fired a red and blue blast at Thomas. The thin shot of lightning quality energy hit Thomas square in the face sending him flying into Alexander and Rufus who were a few feet away.

Simon descended next to Eve and kicked her firmly in her stomach, she reeled over in pain and began to scream in agony, �What is this Eve?! Don�t pretend that you feel pain! I know you do not! Have you forgotten I was there during your creation so many years ago!? You are incapable of feeling emotion!� Simon yelled out, his eyes flaring with rage.

Thomas, his face dripping with blood and hardened skin, glanced up from the ground as Simon picked Eve up by her neck and launched her into the Northern sky. She was sent flying like a rocket into the darkness of night. Simon turned at the three boys, smiled, and started running in the Northern direction.

�Come on you impudent monkeys! Chase me down if you intend to kill me!� he screamed as he ascended the first hill.

Thomas dragged himself to his knees and wiped the blood off of his face. The heat from the blast created a flesh wound, but one that closed up easily due to the charred skin. He finally stood up completely and started straggling up the hill, trying his best to make up the distance between him and then now unseen Simon. Moments later, Alexander helped Rufus up and together they rushed up the very same hill to find Thomas panting and bent over.

�Damn it! We�ll never find him now!� Thomas yelled as he pointed ahead.

In front of them was the great city of McKinley. It was much larger than Cambridge, at least three times. The entire town was once again covered by a large wall, this time it looked to be of steel quality. In the center were gigantic stone buildings that stretched high into the sky, around that center were smaller wooden houses that spiraled outwards until they reached the wall. Connecting the city in a circular state were the stone roads that were, at the moment, covered with a plethora of people.

�Did he escape into the city?� asked Alexander.

�I�m not sure. When I got to the top of the hill he was nowhere to be seen. He must have went into the city,� Thomas sat down, trying desperately to catch his breath. �What happened to Eve? Is she alright?�

Rufus ripped off a piece of his cloak and pressed it to Thomas� wound, �We don�t know. After Simon hit you with that lightning blast thing, he just picked her up and hurled her into the sky. I�ve never seen anything like it! He tossed her as if she was nothing!�

Alexander started down the hill towards the city, �Come on guys. Let�s not lose sight of our mission. It�s already been over a month since we left Green Hive and we�re not even halfway to Trimore. Let�s get to an Inn and treat Thomas� wounds.�



Out of one eye Thomas watched the crusty man close his bag and sigh. He was an old man, late sixties at the very least, and wore a white doctor�s uniform. As soon as the boys had arrived in McKinley, they got a room and then found a traveling doctor for Thomas. He had just finished removing the makeshift cloak wrap that Rufus applied earlier, and created his own bandage using white cloth and ointment which covered the left side of Thomas� face, including his eye.

The boys had found a very cheap room in the local inn. It wasn�t very clean, actually dirty and dingy, but it was suitable. It was almost all bare except for three small beds, a window, and an old musty table.

�You know, I just can�t comprehend kids today with all of their fighting! Back in my day, we all got along! I�ll never understand your generation!� he cried as he started towards the door.

Rufus stood up, not paying any attention the doctor�s previous remark, �Thanks again doc for coming at such short notice. Is Thomas going to be ok?�

The doctor opened the door, wanting desperately to inch his way out, �He�ll be fine, but he has to remain in that bed for at least two days. Then you can take the wrap off, but there probably will be a scar.�

Alexander nodded from his seat next to Thomas, �Thank you doctor.�

As the man walked out, Rufus turned to Thomas and snickered, �Ha ha! You�re going to have a big scar across your face.�

�Shut up Rufus. I don�t need to be in this bed for two days! I think we should get on our way to the next stop on our way to Trimore!� he cried.

�I don�t think so,� sneered Alex. �We can use these two days to scrounge up anymore information, look for that Simon guy, and plot our next destination.�

Rufus nodded and pulled out the Atlas from Alex�s bag, �That Simon dude, he was from Core Corporation wasn�t he?�

�I guess so,� muttered Thomas. �Exactly where are the Core Grounds?�

He held up a map of the world from the atlas and pointed to an island to the West of the Fearnot Continent that looked mysteriously like a person, �In that bar in Cambridge, the bartender told me about Core. They�re made up of a bunch of anti-Mystic racist scientists. He said they grew their island somehow right after the Human Mystic Alliance formed.�

Thomas grabbed the map and looked it over, only three bodies of land littered the water, the massive Fearnot Continent in the center, the Core Grounds to the West, and a large valley surrounded by mountains known as the Plains of Despair.

�Do you guys know what is in the Plains of Despair?� asked Thomas.

�No,� replied Alex. �Strange we have heard so little of it during our travels.�

Rufus slumped against the window and raised the blinds, the stone city of McKinley reflected beautifully against the majestic shine of the moon and stars, �Come on guys, it�s been a long, long day. I think we should get some shuteye.�

Alexander nodded and fell into the second bed, �I agree. Goodnight guys.�

Thomas closed his eye as he used his right hand to feel the wrap around his face, �Simon will pay for this,� he promised under his breath.



The next day, as Thomas recuperated and Alexander hunted the town for libraries or taverns, Rufus drifted aimlessly through the town. He took in his surroundings with the same awe he had when he first entered Cambridge a month prior, the great stone buildings, the sprawling roads, but the thing that impressed him the most was a playground. There was nothing very special about the playground physically, it actually looked quite similar to the one he frequented in Green Hive when he was a lad, but there was something very different about it.

Rufus stood on the outskirts of the area and shook his head, he was staring at a group of children, some Mystic, some Human, playing as if there was no difference between them. He laughed heartily and started walking again.

�We�ve all been so foolish, all of those years we spent cooped up in Green Hive, we could have spent enjoying the rest of the world with the Humans. I wonder why Drimacus never returned to the Hive to tell us about the peace between the two races?� he wondered.

He traversed the streets for what seemed like hours, only stopping at things that caught his eye, a bakery, the playground, a museum, but he stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing a small sign nailed onto a pole. It wasn�t the color of the sign, or how big it was, but it was who was on it.

The picture tattooed on the sign was none other than Eve, the same Eve they met in Cambridge and found again right before McKinley. Rufus ran his fingers slowly across the text under her face:

�If you have any information regarding this girl, please visit Dr. Rivers Anderson at 403 Ranger St. across from the McKinley Youth Park. The girl answers to the name of Eve, is seventeen years old, and has a tendency to get violent.�

Rufus scratched the back of his head, �Maybe this guy can shed some light on the whole Core Corporation and Simon deal?� He glanced around the small square, as he was in the general vicinity of the playground, and spotted Ranger Street.

He inhaled deeply and started towards the street and his first glimpse into the madness that was Core Corp.



Meanwhile, many miles away, back in good old Green Hive, George Maddux, Father of Thomas, paced back and forth in the Triumvirate�s room, �I knew it! I knew I shouldn�t have let you maniacs allow my son and two other boys to LEAVE GREEN HIVE! It was insane!�

Paris shrugged off George�s general disarray by sipping at his tea, �It was by the order of your Father that Thomas leave. Who are we to judge what is right or wrong?�

George turned his back away from the three of them and stood in the doorway, �You all make me sick. Don�t think that in nearly two months since your little stunt with my son that I haven�t thought about the probability. There was only a one in a hundred chance you�d pick my son, yet you did pick him, not only that but you have a motive!�

Romulus� heart dropped, was it possible he knew that they had taken care of Thomas so they could get the power that Drimacus� descendants now held?!

Irenicus crossed his arms, �We have no idea what you are referring to George. Thomas is a good boy and we all love him, we have no motive to hurt him. For all we know he�s out there having the time of his life.�

As a thick layer of tension exploded in the room, George shook his head and left them alone, slamming the door in his wake. As soon as he was far enough way so that he could no longer hear, Paris smashed his tea cup into a nearby table.

�Damn him! He�s onto us! Do you know how much trouble we can get in if he somehow proves we rigged who the Chosen Ones would be?! We�ll look even worse than those damned Orions!� he shouted.

Irenicus stood up and walked over to his bronze drawer in the center of the musty room, �George had no proof, and he won�t find any either.�

Romulus, his eyes growing, sat there terrified, �Maybe he won�t, but he still might accuse us!�

Irenicus pulled out a silver dagger, one shining with the emblem of the Mystics, �Then we eradicate the problem just as we did Thomas.�

Romulus threw his hands up in agony, �Murder?! Murder?! Irenicus, are you listening to yourself?! You�re asking us to murder George Maddux, the last remaining descendant of Drimacus in Green Hive!? Have you gone insane!?�

Irenicus smiled as his twisted old face reflected in the blade ominously, �What do you think we did to poor young Thomas? We didn�t do it directly but we killed him! He will never be coming back! I bet by now those Human bastards have already sliced and diced him and those two other boys! Sure, we didn�t actually put the sword to his throat, but we gave the order to do it! How is this any
different?!�

A silent Romulus, greatly disturbed, glanced to Paris, �Do you agree with him, Paris?�

Paris fidgeted in his seat, �The end justifies the means. If Irenicus has presented us a solution that will allow us to gain complete control over this theocracy that is Green Hive, I say so be it.�

Irenicus cracked his fingers, �After Sunday Worship, everyone will go out to eat with their families, including all of the cathedral workers, we will be alone with him here for a good hour. That�s when we�ll do it, we�ll kill him during lunch and then put the body in a closed casket before anyone comes back. We�ll say he had a heart attack, they have to believe us, we�re the leaders of the church!�

�A corrupt church,� mumbled Romulus.

�What was that Romulus? Are you with us or not?!� asked an impatient Irenicus, who slowly ran his fingers across the cold blade.

Romulus exhaled, lowering his eyes to the ground, �Yes. I am with you.�

Irenicus slipped the dagger back into the drawer and threw his head back with a hideous laugh, �Then it is settled! A week from today we shall kill the almighty son of Lord Drimacus!�



403 Ranger Street was a small crusty old wooden building. It was box shaped with a small crystal door on the roof. Rufus walked up to the door as he glanced at all of the vegetation and weeds that wrapped around the house like a child holding onto its mother. He knocked his hand onto the large wooden door twice, almost instantly it was opened by a man with gelled back white hair and deep blue eyes. The man was holding a small cube in his hand, stroking it, giving it every bit of attention he could.

�Rufus Orion, I presume?� he asked in a clear deep voice.

The teen stepped back, �How did you know my name?!�

The man smiled, �Why it�s quite simple, manipulating the Core Energy around us I found you, well actually your wavelength, when you encountered my daughter. Anyway, come in Rufus.�

The man descended back into the strange house and Rufus quickly followed. The inside was just one large room with two chairs in the center of a hardwood floor. Around that were glowing crystals that stuck out from the walls that had small black monitors installed on them. The room felt dirty to Rufus as he sat in the chair and fidgeted.

�Your daughter? Is that Eve?� asked Rufus.

The man nodded, �My name is Dr. Rivers Anderson. I am one of the head scientists at Core Corporation. As I understand it, you have had two meetings with my daughter, one at Cambridge and one right outside of McKinley.�

�Yes,� Rufus nodded as a confused look washed upon his face, �but how do you know all of this?�

Dr. Anderson smiled brightly, allowing his white teeth to emerge in their perfect formation, �Do you ever feel,� he emphasized, �powers pulling you in two different directions?�

�Yes, I�d have to say I do. But doesn�t everyone feel the tug of good and evil?� Rufus pondered.

Rivers laughed and put his hand over the chair, �You are quite right boy, but what we at Core have discovered is that there�s a source to both of these powers. Good and Evil are just forms of energy, waves pulling at our souls, we call it Core Energy, and we have found a way to harness it and give it to Humans!�

Rufus snarled, �That�s a racist thing to say! What about the Mystics?�

�The Mystics have the Core Energy inside of them, they just can�t use it,� Rivers sat down and put both of his hands in a triangle position under his chin, �I know you�re a Mystic Rufus. You give off that type of wavelength. So do you want to know the truth about your entire race? If you want it, I will give it to you, just beware.�

The boy shifted in his seat and without even thinking sputtered out, �Definitely. Tell me Dr. Anderson.�

�The Mystics have the Core Energy inside of them, but the best they can do with it is to have those ridiculous powers! What is your power Rufus?�

�I can make myself glow,� he replied sheepishly.

�See! It�s utterly useless! But, with the technology Core has found, we can take the energy inside you and implant it into a Human! But the power inside of the Human would actually be worthwhile! Unfortunately, every time we remove the Core Energy from a Mystic, they die. But that is how it was intended, Mystics are nothing more but cattle that Humans can use to empower themselves!� he cackled.

Rufus stood up and walked back, �You�re insane! So you killed an innocent Mystic to get whatever the hell power you have!?�

�Of course, and now I have a form
of telepathy. Don�t feel bad Rufus, you just got the short end of the evolutionary stick, please do no leave. Against popular belief, Core likes Mystics, we have just accepted what your role in this world is while you have not,� he said regretfully.

Rufus threw up his arms and began towards the door, �Rufus! Wait, don�t you want to hear about Eve?!�

He opened the door and refused to turn to the hideous man, �Fine, talk.�

Mr. Anderson stood up, �Two years ago, my daughter Eve ran away, and with her she took a very important microchip. Core Corporation can not go ahead with our ultimate goal without that chip. Therefore we need her back. Simon, her stepbrother, found her, but he believes if we let her roam the world for a little longer she will become stronger which will help our experiment. I would have taken her in if I found her, but that�s just me.�

�Listen to me Rufus, if you find Eve, return her to me. I miss her,� he explained.

Rufus shook his head and walked out, slamming the door behind him. As he stood out in the cold streets he crossed his arms. Even though he was sickened by Rivers� disregard for Mystic life, he was strangely intrigued by the scientific advances made by Core�

Chapter 7: Blackening of Hearts



Dominina had tried to keep a low profile since the Mt. Reflection Massacre. After she escaped the bloody battle scene, she followed Alexander to McKinley, where she intended to convert as many people as possible.

It was only hours after Rufus had left Dr. Rivers� when Dominina found herself traveling the dark streets of McKinley at midnight. So far, in the bleakness that seemed to litter the city, she had managed to convert four people, and those people would go off and covert more, and so the cycle would begin again just like it did in Cambridge. She would start the conversion, and the converted would turn the rest of the city patrons until they murdered off the people who refused to join and then destroyed the city.

As a wind whirled around her lush blonde hair, she looked down to see her hand slowly disappearing. She started to cry out in agony, she knew what this meant, it meant the Master was summoning her back to His Realm.

Dominina dropped to her knees, �NO! I did everything you said! Don�t punish me!!!!!!!!!�

As she reopened her eyes, now filled to the brim with tears, she saw the familiar hellish territory of the Master�s Realm. Dominina was chained down to a rock that carelessly floated along an endless floating river of fire. The large area was filled with the songs of people crying out in sheer agony, it turned the insides of her stomach as the black portal appeared and the Master drifted out above her.

He looked as He always did, His black armor glimmering, His red pitchforks swaying from side to side eerily, and His black horns sat lodged in the blackness of His head, �DOMININA! GIVE ME A PROGRESS REPORT NOW!�

She tilted her head back in pain, �Why is He doing this?! He already knows what has happened!� she thought.

�Well Sir, since our last meeting, Cambridge was destroyed by the Converts. I believe they are running around the Cambridge Valley wildly, they�ll start killing each other for food until they�re all dead. Then they�ll end up here and you can add them to your Army. Your power is now very high in the Cambridge Valley, it is already starting to corrupt the nearby Green Hive citizens, evil is filling their hearts ever so slowly,� she stated.

A deranged movement spread across His face, I guess it could be classified as a smile, even though He had no mouth, �WELL DONE. THERE IS NO NEED TO BEGIN CONVERTING IN GREEN HIVE YET, I STILL WANT YOU TO FOLLOW THE THREE CHOSEN BOYS. HOW IS THE CONVERSION OF MCKINLEY COMING?!�

She bent her head, trying to escape from the fiery shackles, �Well Sir, I�ve only been there a few hours, and since then I converted four. But I think Alexander said that they will be leaving soon. Should I continue with the conversion or follow them?�

The Master remained in the air completely still, �THAT IS WHY I SUMMONED YOU. YOU WILL STAY AND CONTINUE YOUR CONVERSION, BUT I STILL NEED SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER THOSE BOYS. I STILL THINK WE MAY BE ABLE TO CONVERT THEM, BUT IF NOT, I HAVE NOT CHANGED MY MIND, YOU MUST KILL THEM. IF THEY GET TO THE TOWER OF MYSTICISM IT IS POSSIBLE THEY WILL TRY AND OVERTHROW ME!�

Dominina laughed, �Sir! They could never overthrow You!�

�I WANT TO BE SURE. I HAVE COME MUCH TOO FAR TO BE DEFEATED NOW AT THE FINAL HOUR BEFORE MY ASCENSION. I WANT YOU TO RETRIEVE FANGUS, HE DID NOT DIE AT MT. REFLECTION, ALTHOUGH HIS WIFE DID. THIS HAS SENT HIM INTO A STATE OF LUNACY. GO FIND HIM AND IMBUE HIM WITH MY POWERS, HE SHALL FOLLOW THE BOYS!�

Abruptly, the scenery disappeared as quickly as it had formed around her and Dominina was now floating overhead a small lake just outside of Mt. Reflection. She shot her eagle sharp view down to see Fangus lying in the dirt on his stomach. She flew down quickly and knelt besides him.

Slapping his bloodied face she began screaming, �FANGUS! Get up you piece of shit! You�re not dead!�

His eyes fluttered open for a moment, and upon seeing her he shut them fiercely, �Morgana is dead! I don�t want to partake in your little game anymore!�

An annoyed Dominina closed her eyes and began to feel around for Fangus� soul with her mind. Although she had successfully converted him, he still had an overwhelming amount of goodness left in him.

�Listen to me, Morgana died because of those boys! If we didn�t have to follow them, Morgana would have never have been inside Mt. Reflection in the first place!� she argued.

Fangus dragged himself to his knees, �So what?! What can I do?! They�re stronger than me! They had slain countless of those Trolls while I couldn�t even protect my own wife!�

As he lowered his head in frustration, Dominina wrapped her pale finger around his dreary head, �Do you want the power Fangus, the power of our Master? I can give it to you. I can make you a knight in His service. I can grant you the power to chase after Alexander and his cronies until you have the chance to slay him as those Trolls did to your wife,� she tempted.

He stood up and stared at the ominous stars in the sky, �I�m not sure what happened to me. I can�t even remember my life before my conversion, but now I have nothing left to live for but revenge. Give me the power to avenge my sweet Morgana!�

Dominina placed her hand on his chest, �Tempus Orgetrorix Circe!�

A wave of brilliant black light flowed from her hands into his chest. A wave of blackness surrounded his body as he slowly ascended into the sky.

�Dear woman� with these powers, I will surely destroy my enemies and bring glory to Morgana�s death!� he screamed.

�One thing, you can only follow them for now. You may fight them if you wish or hinder their progress, but you can�t kill them unless we find out for sure that they will not be converted! Do you understand Fangus!?� she barked.

Fangus nodded and started to fly off, �Soon they will pay, those bastards!�



Alexander walked out from the motel lobby, entering the cold harsh weather of a McKinley morning. This was his last chance to find out some information as the trio had planned to leave for the next town on the way to the Great Library, which was Darjin, that night. So far he had found nothing, and neither did Rufus, actually, Rufus did but had not told them of his encounter with Dr. Rivers Anderson.

He started walking through the streets, they felt a little slippery under his feet due to the slight rain that had started to fall a few hours earlier. As he walked along, he went over his plan in his mind. The day prior he searched all of the bars and clubs and got absolutely no information that they didn�t already have. Today he planned to search the library for any trace of a book written by Drimacus, and then spend the rest of the day searching for some transportation.

The McKinley Library slowly came into view behind a myriad of trees, dying at the end of their life cycle as Fall was coming to its apex. The building was a large stone square with a dome on top. As he climbed up a row of steps that led to it, he reached into his pocket and pulled out all of its contents, six golden HMA coins remained, not even enough to stay another night at the Inn they were currently residing at.

He sighed, �The money situation is tight, Drimacus, if you�re out there, find a solution for us,� he thought as he pulled open a large wooden door and entered.

The library was barely lit inside and had very little populace inside. Alexander noticed an old librarian, she had to be pushing ninety as she took a nap on her desk. As he took a second look around the room, he noticed no other living souls. The contents of the room were not very noteworthy, the Librarian�s desk sat in the middle of the room, and rows of books surrounded it. At the very opposite of the room from Alexander stood a small marble statue of a glittering golden sword imbued with all sorts of purple jewels.

Alexander walked over to the desk and fake coughed a few times, trying to awaken the woman, �Excuse me, miss, hello?�

She looked up for a moment, her wrinkles glittering in the rays of light that descended upon them from the glass dome above, �Don�t wake me up kid, you�re the first visitor this week so I guess you can look for whatever you want. Just leave me alone.�

And before Alex could protest, the woman dropped back to the desk to her realm of slumber. Alexander shrugged and picked up a small map like paper from the desk. It showed the entire Library and how each row of books represented a letter in the alphabet. The books were all in alphabetical order of the author�s first name.

�What a strange way to classify books,� he thought as he walked over to the row designated for the letter D.

He easily ran his finger across the rows of dusty old books which probably hadn�t been touched for years, and then cried out in joy upon seeing the object of his desire after only mere moments of searching. His finger pointed promptly to a book�s side which read, �The Chosen Boys by Drimacus.�

Alexander ripped the book out in a flurry, but to his dismay, it wasn�t a book at all, but a box with seemingly no way to open it. Alexander dropped to the floor, studying the red box. On what he presumed to be the front of it was a metal medallion with a space for some sort of circular object.

�What can this be?!� he thought.

He rubbed his hand over the insignia, and upon wiping it with his right palm, it turned a light red. He pulled his hand back and stared at it, it was still covered by the Royal Glove he had received at the Green Hive Cathedral so long ago.

Alex ripped the glove off, revealing the blinking Black Eye in his palm, he then proceeded to place it directly into the hole. The medallion again flashed a brilliant red for a moment, and then stopped suddenly. As it did, the box collapsed onto the floor in a million tiny pieces.

He searched through the pile of dust and broken cardboard to find a shiny aqua gem. He held it up to his eye and caught a small engraving on the back end. It was just a few words placed on the gem with stone shapes, it read, �Place it on the Sword, Chosen Boy�

Alexander pulled himself up and started to run to the sword he had seen upon entering the library, carrying the aqua gem in tow. When he reached it, he noticed the sword was on a small metal square that had a plaque on it that read, �The Sword of the Mystic Prophet Drimacus.�

He backed up and kneeled before the sword, �No, it is the Holy Sword of Drimacus! The one he used to free us from the Human tyranny over a century ago! I can�t believe it is here, in my view!�

He nervously placed one finger on the glittering sword and felt its texture gingerly, it felt good, it felt right. Upon touching the handle of the sword, he noticed that the gems on it were in rows of three, and one row was missing the third gem. It had a small dent where the missing jewel should be. Alex ripped out the aqua gem he had found and placed it in the dent, it stuck as if held together by magic.

Alexander stepped backwards as the Holy Sword, its gems shining, fell from its place on the metal square and landed on the floor with a clang. As it did, the metal box split in half and slowly slid apart to reveal a small purple bound book and a cloth bag. Alex stepped over the sword and picked up the bag, inside he found at least a few hundred HMA coins.

He picked up the book and opened it:

�Hello. If you�re reading this, you must be one of the Chosen Boys that I left instructions for the future Triumvirate to send. I am Drimacus.�

Alexander plopped on the ground, floored with the fact he was reading an actual book written by Drimacus!

�I left this money for you, because Green Hive uses a different source of money than the HMA coins, basically because they don�t know the HMA exists. I left my sword here for you because I won�t need it where I am going. This book is my journal, it chronicles the events of the trip from Green Hive to McKinley by myself and my six generals. I will leave more information for you in the Great Library located in Trimore, but I will try and tell you as much as I know now.�

�There is some sort of power pulling at everyone in two directions, I�m not sure what it is, but it is pulling me towards Trimore, and farther than that, the Tower of Mysticism which is located on the Northern tip of the Fearnot Continent. I believe that this Tower of Mysticism is some sort of machine that will release a great multitude of power within us! That�s why I�m leaving you my sword. I won�t need it once my power is released!�

�You may be asking, if I know that Humans and Mystics are now at peace in the world outside of Green Hive, why am I trying to release my powers? Frankly, I have no idea. I am only following what some sort of power is instructing me to do, and to be honest, it scares me. I don�t know what it wants from me, but it is lodged firmly inside of me, commanding me to head to the Tower. I�m not sure what I am to do afterwards, maybe by the time you get to Trimore, I will have left more instructions for you there.�

�Alright. I must be going, myself and my generals are leaving McKinley today for Darjin. To get to Darjin, you must traverse five more days of hills before reaching the Gray Forest Maze, pass that and you will arrive in Darjin. Good luck my boys, and use my Holy Sword well!�

Alexander closed the book, placed it in his back pack, and put the Holy Sword of Drimacus in his holster.



Fangus� pace slowed to a crawl as he tried to make it through the streets of McKinley. His thoughts had been muddled, his feelings twisted, ever since the death of his �wife�. He grabbed his sweat matted hair and collapsed into a dark space of the street, spitting and convulsing like a sick baby.

�Morgana!� he cried as his hands trembled terribly. �What is happening to me?�

The power of the Master swirled violently within his body, corrupting his mind and soul, blurring the lines of reality and sinister imagery. Fangus closed his eyes recklessly, allowing the drunken madness of the Master to intertwine itself within his mind.



�This is amazing! I can't believe we found one of Drimacus� journals!� shouted Alexander back in the hotel room later that afternoon.

Thomas fidgeted with the bandage that covered his face as he massaged the Holy Sword with his hands, �My grandfather used this. That's amazing.�

Rufus merely laid on the floor, unimpressed with anything besides a small clock. He had taken the insides out, and had spent the day examining its contents. Ever since he had visited Dr. Rivers Anderson the day before, he had a sudden interest in technology, an interest that was growing every second.

�Does it say anything important?� he asked as if Alex had just found a newspaper instead of a document of great historical importance.

�Of course it does, it spoke of a shortcut to Darjin!� Alexander explained as if he had just found solid gold.

Rufus nodded, �How are we going to get there? Walking?�

Alex tossed him the brown cloth bag, �Drimacus left us a couple hundred coins, more than enough to get us to Trimore at least. I think we should go get some horses to speed up the travel portion as Drimacus said it will take us five days alone just to make it to some forest by horseback! It would be crazy to go by foot, and now we have enough money to easily afford it.�

Rufus stood up and started towards the door, �Help Thomas get the bandage off and I�ll go get our supplies at one of the local stores ok?� and with that left them alone.

Thomas coughed lightly and turned to Alexander, �Can you help me get this damned thing off?�

The young boy nodded and walked over to him, �The doctor said there's a rip cord in the back, so even I should be able to handle this,� Alexander walked behind Thomas and found the small cord in the back of the white bandage, �You ready?�

Thomas took a deep breath, �Yes, I�m ready.�

Pulling the cord swiftly, he allowed the bandage to fall limply to the floor revealing the back of Thomas� sweaty head. He jumped up from his bed and ran over to a nearby mirror and stopped short, his mouth gaping openly.

�Thomas, it doesn't look that bad,� assured an astounded Alexander.

Thomas ran his fingers across the large red scar that ran from his forehead down around his eye and to his chin. He began to laugh a bit, not the laugh you make when you find something funny, but the laugh you make when you're going insane.

�That bastard Simon is going to
pay dearly for this!� he screamed.



The very bastard walked into Dr. Rivers Anderson�s room on the other side of McKinley. Rivers was sitting with his fingers in a circular position underneath his chin.

�Welcome back. So you found Eve?� Anderson asked, already knowing the answer.

Simon sneered at the older man, �Of course I found my sister. She was with three teenage boys though, I took care of them and then hurled Eve into the distance, I think in a few months she will be ready to be brought back for Operation: Holocaust.�

Dr. Anderson shrugged, �Obviously you didn�t take care of them, I met one of those teenage boys, Rufus Orion. He�s a pure breed Mystic, one hundred percent!�

The younger scientist sat across from Rivers and crossed his legs, �I don�t care about other Mystics, just my sister.�

Laughing, Dr. Anderson replied, �That is my daughter, not your sister.�

Simon stood up and turned his back, staring eerily into one of the crystallized monitors, �You may have had a hand in Eve�s rebirth, but you are not her Father. I spent my childhood with her and grew besides her! Where were you?! I am her brother and her father.�

The older man sighed and pushed back his white hair, �I will always be a part of that girl. Besides, don�t try and kid me either, I know that you do not care about Operation: Holocaust, that was never your goal! You have always had the desire of more power, not to purify the world!�

Simon shook his head, �Your telepathic powers do annoy me old man. I never understood Core�s obsession with your so called purification! Why rid the world of the Mystics when there are just as many unintelligent Humans running around!�

Dr. Anderson stood up and pulled Simon towards him, �Riding the world of Mystics is Core�s purpose, if you think differently then you are quite mistaken.�

He pushed Rivers off and started towards the door, �Core Energy is the future, not a century old quest to alleviate the world of the Mystics!� and loudly stomped out.



About an hour later, Thomas and Alexander checked out of their hotel and met Rufus at the Northern Exit of McKinley. They found him in a nearby field with four horses all strung together by one long brown rope. He waved his hand in the air and started to yell for them. As Thomas came into view Rufus jerked back.

�Damn! That Simon guy really took a nice chunk out of your face!� he said sarcastically.

Thomas remained quiet and climbed up onto one of the horses, �It is much less than the piece I will rip from his living flesh.�

�Remind me not to cross you,� joked Rufus. �I got three horses for us, and one to carry all of the food I purchased and some supplies. It�s going to be awhile before we hit Darjin so it�s better to be prepared.�

Alexander nodded and got on one of the horses, �Good thinking. Well we had better head out. It�s going to be a long trip.�

Rufus ascended the final horse as they began their five day race to the Gray Forest Maze.



October 16th came like every other day for Green Hive, Mr. Reynolds started the morning by getting water at one of the lakes, Mrs. Daily was found screaming for her children to bathe by nine am, and by eleven-thirty, everyone in town was leaving the cathedral from Sunday Worship, all except the Triumvirate and George Maddux, son of the legendary Drimacus Maddux.

Within minutes after Sunday Worship, George found himself in his usual place, bent over the fridge searching for anything at all to make a sandwich with. Although his mind was currently on making a nice baloney on rye, his thoughts were never far away from his son Thomas. He wondered what he was up to, if he was even still alive.

�George, can you come here for a moment?� called Paris from the doorway.

The man pulled out a small jar of mayonnaise and placed it on a nearby table, �What is the matter Paris?�

George walked in front of Paris who fiercely grabbed both of his hands, clasping them together to the point where George couldn�t move them, �There is something we�ve been meaning to show you dear friend.�

Paris watched wickedly, almost gaining enjoyment from it, as Irenicus inched behind George, lowered a dagger from his black sleeve, and plunged it into Maddux�s back.

�AHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?� George cried as he fell to the ground with a thud, withering in bloody pain.

Irenicus handed the now dirtied dagger to Paris who stabbed George once again in the back, evoking another scream of terror, �Come on Romulus! Stab him!�

Romulus had remained in the far side of the room, looking on with a slight interest and a look of massive horror, �I don�t want to.�

�Be a man and stab him!� Irenicus barked over George�s screams of terror.

The third member of the Triumvirate took a deep breath and walked over to the bloody dying lump that was George. He took the dagger from Paris, and delivered the death strike to Maddux�s cranium.

Chapter Eight: Capture in the Forest



Half way across the world, at the very same moment of George Maddux�s murder, Alexander, Rufus, and Thomas, finally arrived at the Gray Forest Maze. After days of traversing the hilly wilderness that surrounded McKinley, their terrain took a drastic left turn that day. The green areas transformed into a gray barren wasteland coated with wilting grass and corrupted mountains.

Rufus pulled out his water bottle from one of the holders on the horse saddle and took a long chug, �Well this certainly looks inviting, now doesn�t it?�

The Gray Forest Maze was just that, gray. The branches, leaves, and bark were all dim, along with the ground and seemingly the sky too. The gigantic forest swept from one mountain far in the West to another that laid quietly in the East. They had arrived at a small hole in the forest, it stretched maybe six feet wide and had a ceiling of depressing gray foliage.

�Well, at least we have the comfort of knowing my grandfather traveled through here so long ago,� suggested Thomas as he withdrew from his horse.

Rufus laughed and jumped off of his horse landing in a small patch of leaves, �From where I�m standing, that isn�t too comforting.�

Alexander slowly disembarked from his steed and began to loosen the packs off it, �What are you doing?� asked Thomas.

�The horses will never be able to travel in there, the space is too tight. I say we take all of the backpacks and supplies we can and then turn the horses free, I�m sure they can find their way back to McKinley, it�s just a straight line really,� he explained.

Rufus walked towards the fourth horse and started to take off some food containers, �How long from this Forest to Darjin?�

�Well, according to my atlas, it should only be a five hour journey to Darjin from here,� Alexander swatted the sunlight out of his eyes and glanced up. �It looks like it�s the early morning now, before noon, we should arrive in Darjin before dark.�

Thomas fastened a final pack onto his back, �Just bring one meal for each of us. When we make it to Darjin we can eat.�

Rufus agreed and threw both of his companions a pack of food, �Alright then, let�s go.�

And so, the three Chosen Ones from Green Hive entered the ominous Gray Forest Maze, oblivious to what they would find inside�



Directly above the Forest, a twisted man floated along, taking in his last view of the boys as they entered the Maze. Fangus smiled sinfully as his twisted mind drew up pictures of ways he could extract revenge on the three children he was assigned to watch. His fleeting sanity tried to come up with a way to track the boys through the forest, but instead, his mind flashed to a more pressing matter, that of playing with his fingers. Out of nowhere, he started to laugh uncontrollably, as if he had found the funniest joke ever conceived, and maybe in his mind he did.

�Don�t think you�ve escaped me my little bugs!� he cried to no one in particular. �I�ve had just about enough of following you around like some babysitter! It is time for me to strike!�

Fangus shut his eyes and plummeted blindly into the thick forest below.



For the first whole five minutes of their journey inside the Forest, their path had remained relatively straight, but as soon as the entrance transformed from a gaping hole into a small speck of light, the path metamorphosed into a line of twisting curves. After the first hour, the boys had taken so many rights and lefts that they had lost total composure of where North was! With the thick ceiling of foliage above their heads, the Forest was growing more intimidating by the second.

�I begged you to let us take the horses but noooooooo!� cried Rufus who was slowly trying to forget the ideas that Dr. Rivers Anderson has spoken about nearly a week earlier.

Alexander sighed and cut through a broken branch with his Holy Sword, �Come on guys, this Forest isn�t that bad, it�s just the paranoia of not knowing how far we�ve traveled or what time it is.�

�Yeah Alex is right,� argued Thomas. �We must have already traveled half the distance already.�

Rufus and Alexander agreed to this, little did they know that had barely gone one fifth of the way.



Alexander spoke of paranoia earlier, and at the time it was merely setting in with the three boys, but by their fourth hour, its grasp was firmly choking their souls. Each inch seemed like a mile, each second like an hour, and there was no end in sight.

The sound of a scream in the distance seemed to resonate for miles upon miles, �Did you hear that?!� asked a now sweaty Thomas.

�It�s just your imagination, keep pressing on,� assured Alexander.

�If it�s his imagination, why did I hear it too?� Rufus wondered aloud.

Alex, now at the brink of exhaustion, dragged himself past another turn, �The Forest is just playing tricks on us,� he stopped suddenly. �Oh shit.�

Rufus and Thomas cleared the turn to find Alexander at a central circular point which fed into five different routes, �Great, this could add hours onto our time!� complained Rufus.

�Let�s just try and take the most logical route,� replied Alexander as he sat down.

�Logical? I don�t think picking a random road is a very logical way to do something,� answered Rufus.

Thomas threw up his arms, �Why do you always have to be so sarcastic!? Just help us!�

Rufus shook his head, �Don�t get your undies in a bundle scar face.�

Thomas� eyebrows jumped five feet in the air as he pushed Rufus onto the ground, �WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY!?�

Alexander jumped forward and held Thomas back, �Come on guys, both of you stop! We need to stick together if we�re going to get through this! Why don�t we take a break for a moment, ok?�

�Fine,� murmured Thomas as he stomped down one of the paths and started eating a good thirty feet away from his two companions.

Once he was far enough away, Alex pointed at Rufus, �You should apologize to him. It�s hard to take your little jokes after nearly six days of traveling.�

Rufus stood up and started to walk down a different path, �Sorry, I�m just trying to lighten the mood. I didn�t mean to upset the two high and mighty warriors. I�ll just eat over here.�

Alexander sighed and laid down in the dirt, he pulled out his food but didn�t open the container, it was almost as if he didn�t have the energy to move. His eyes glanced up to the wall of gray trees that stood above him.

�Maybe I�m so tired because I can�t really see the Sun. That must be it,� he mumbled as he dosed off.

Just a few feet away, the Gray Forest Maze worked similar magic on Rufus and Thomas, sending both of them to sleepy land also.



It had been nearly a month since Alexander had a flashback, and this was the time his subconscious decided to give him another one. Once again, he found himself in the familiar yet truly horrifying location of one of Green Hive�s many caves. He saw a sixteen year old version of himself, and a sixteen year old Regina across from him.

�Oh Alexander! I�ve wanted to tell you this for so long!� the present Alex dropped to his knees.

�Not again! NOT AGAIN!� he shouted.

The past Alex fidgeted a bit, �What is it Regina?

She placed her left hand on his, �I love you.�

They embraced for a few seconds, upon seeing this the present Alex jumped to his feet, in two years this was the farthest his memory had allotted him to see. Her face slowly moved towards him, but before they could touch in a kiss the scene erupted around him and Alex was back inside the Gray Forest Maze.

He wiped the sweat off of his face and found himself in a small room, he was completely surrounded by trees without even an inch between them, just a few micro meters above his face were the trappings of gray leaves. He pounded on the wall which didn�t even respond to the pressure.

�RUFUS! THOMAS! WHERE ARE YOU?!� he screamed at the top of his lungs. �SOMEONE! HELP ME!�

Off in the distance he could just about make out the murmurs of whom he assumed to be Rufus and Thomas. Alexander twisted around in the small cell of trees and brandished the Holy Sword of Drimacus. With a quick flip of his wrist he sliced a hole in the trees and climbed out. He found himself in an a large circular clearing with two other similar tree cells. Those cells burst open to reveal Thomas and Rufus, escaping by the same means as Alexander.

�What the hell happened?!� cried Rufus.

�This Forest is alive! It�s using some sort of power against us!� yelled Thomas, spinning around with his arms crossed.

Alexander knelt on the ground, �Come on guys, we just need to stay calm for a little bit and regain our composure.�

A hideous laugh was heard from just above them. They looked up to see Fangus hovering ominously in front of one of the trees.

�My dear children, now is no time to be regaining your composure. It is time to fight me!� he cried as he leaped down onto the dirt ground with them.

Thomas drew his Scimitar, �Fangus! Don�t fight us now! If we work together we can get out of this dastardly maze!�

Fangus started to laugh uncontrollably, �This maze does not frighten me in the least! I can just fly out of here if I like!�

Alexander ran at him and dove with his sword only to watch Fangus easily fly above the blast, �Fangus! What are you doing here!? How did you get out of Cambridge!?�

�AHAHAHAH!� he burst into more unadulterated laughter as he floated above aimlessly. �Morgana and I followed you. We were with you that day in the Mt. Reflection Tunnel! But do you know what happened?! DO YOU!? My wife died because we had to follow you!!!!!!�

Fangus pulled a double sided axe from his back. It had black gems enflamed in it that seemed to foretell of a dark future.

Rufus pulled out his blade, holding it at a ready position, �That�s not our fault Fangus! Dominina sent you to follow us! That wasn�t our fault!�

The enraged lunatic dove down on Rufus, slashing his blade left and right with his own axe. Alexander ran behind him and swung his Holy Sword impeccably but only for it to smash against the second tier of the double sided axe.

As Thomas started running to join the battle Fangus sneered out of the side of his mouth, �Three on one eh?! Well then I�m using the powers bestowed upon me by the Master!�

He pointed his left hand at Thomas as a wave of blackness shot out of it and into the boy sending him reeling backwards into a tree, knocking it over in the process. That gave Rufus enough time to strike at Fangus� shoulder who narrowly avoided getting it chopped off by dodging at the last second. It did however, knick Fangus� hip, causing a small eruption of blood to emit from his black leather armor.

Fangus leaped up into the air and held himself there, laughing all the while, �Oh why aren�t you just the big bad warrior Rufus!? DODGE THIS!�

He flipped his double axe like a boomerang at Rufus who easily leaped over the twirling blade, but by doing so he emerged directly in the path of another one of Fangus� Black Wave attacks which then pounded him into the dirt.

Alexander looked on in horror as a hurt Rufus fell onto the ground. He glanced to his right to see Thomas still withering around in a pile of destroyed brush, and then he saw Fangus catch his Double Axe and land around ten feet in front of Alex.

The young warrior outstretched the Holy Sword and squinted, �Come on Fangus! Try and take me out!�

Fangus rushed forward in a flurry of axe swings, all of which were parried by Alex. They fought back and forth like that for a moments, each strike seemed as though it would break the very brim of the Holy Sword.

Then, all of the sudden, Thomas� body was slowly dragged into the woods by a bunch of little hands unbeknownst to the ailing Rufus or the battling Alex. And following that, tons of little children appeared on the branches of the surrounding trees. One of them stood atop the highest branch.

This child had long wild red hair, he wasn�t wearing anything but tattered green shorts, a spear, and a smile on his face. He looked to be older than the other children, maybe fifteen.

He threw his hand victoriously up into the air, �NOOOOOOOOOOW!�

And with that battle cry, rock after countless rock flew down upon the two battling men. Fangus was the first to tap out of the fight, he ran away from Alexander and placed his Double Axe back behind his torso.

�Don�t think this is over Alex! I will find you again, and when I do, I will kill your friends, and then give you a slow, painful death!� Fangus cried as he disappeared into a circle of black mist.

As soon as he was gone, all of the children in the trees vanished suddenly, leaving Rufus and Alexander alone. Rufus stood up and walked over to Alex, his left leg limping pretty badly.

�Alex, those little bastards took Thomas!� he cried.

Alex bent one knee into the ground and looked around. Much to his approval, he saw an opening in the Forest that led to the outside, it was only a good twenty feet away.

�There! There�s the exit! Let�s get the hell out of here and to Darjin. Then we can find out about these forest kids and where they are hiding Thomas,� he explained as he started towards the exit.

Rufus sighed and began to limp behind, �You know, trouble just seems to come looking for us.�

�Possibly, or maybe we go looking for trouble,� wondered Alexander.



Drip. Drip. Drip. Thomas was awakened by the stinging sensation caused by small beads of water falling and hitting him in the face. He opened his eyes and saw a gloomy ceiling above him. He sat up quickly to find himself on a stone bed in some sort of rock cell. His blurry vision made out a gigantic wooden door evoking him to get up and start banging on it.

�Save your energy. They won�t even hear you. They only come during mealtimes,� said a mysterious voice.

Thomas turned around to see Eve lying on another stone bed with her arms crossed, �Eve!� he rushed to her side. �How did you get here?!�

She sighed, �After the battle with Simon, he hurled me into the air and I landed in some forest.�

�That�s where me, Alex, and Rufus were!� he shouted. �It�s the Gray Forest Maze.�

�Well, I was fighting some of the animals inside for practice, just bears and such until I could find a way out, and a ton of these little bastard children just ambushed me. When I awoke, I was in here,� she explained.

Thomas nodded and sat back down on his bed, �How long have you been here?�

�Hard to say, there�s no natural light in here. But if they are giving me three meals a day, I�d say four days total,� Eve answered.

The room was musty, like some sort of twisted attic, but it had a feeling about it, a safe feeling, as though no matter what happened, they would make it out of there.

Thomas scratched his head, there was a light bruise on it, �Eve, back at the bar in Cambridge, you used your powers to bust a hole in the wall, why don�t you use those powers now?�

She smiled at him, �I�m trying to think of what to do, after this. I know I will escape these children, but then what?�

�Are you going to try and confront that Simon guy again?� Thomas pried.

Eve shook her head nervously, �No. He will bring me back, back to the Core Grounds. I never want to go there again Thomas!� she crawled off of her bed and clutched at his shirt. �Don�t let them take me back Thomas��

Thomas gazed into her eyes, as much as he wanted to embrace her, something was not right with her, she was, different then he was, �Why don�t you come with myself and Alex and Rufus. We�re going to Trimore and then we�re going to bring Drimacus� Journals back to our hometown, Green Hive, its hidden from the rest of the world, you�ll be safe there.�

She sat back down in the dirt floor and exhaled, �I�ll never be safe in any one place, they�ll track me down to the ends of the planet so they can complete their damn Holocaust!�

�What is that anyway?� Thomas asked.

Eve readjusted herself on the ground so her back was towards him, �I don�t even know. But I know that they think I have some valuable item that is vital to the success of the operation! They think I stole something when I escaped. But I didn�t! I have nothing from then!�

Thomas rubbed his eyes, they were beginning to burn, �Oh Eve, I�m still exhausted from the capture. Let me sleep on it and I�ll think of something, you�re definitely coming with us though.�



Just an hour after exiting the Gray Forest Maze, Alexander and Rufus spotted Darjin off in the distance. Darjin was just a gigantic wooden platform that buoyed up and down over a massive aqua blue lake. Over the platform were even larger stone buildings whose apexes were set firmly entrenched in the dark night sky. The most notable building was the center one which was shaped much like the cathedral back at Green Hive.

As the twosome entered the city, a flock of balloons were let loose from an amphitheater behind the church-like building, �Wow they�re giving us one hell of a reception,� joked Rufus.

A small boy wearing a brown overcoat ran up to them, �It�s not for you silly! This is the first night of the Saturnalia Festival!�

Alexander knelt down, �Saturnalia?�

The boy erupted into laughter, �You don�t know what Saturnalia is?! YEAH RIGHT!� and ran off.

Rufus sighed, �Well, what a pleasant little bastard�..�



An awful creaking noise awoke Thomas from his slumber. He jerked straight up to see a young, probably around eight years old, boy. He was carrying two trays with food on them and had flashy brown hair. Thomas sat in his bed and watched as the boy placed the trays down, as he did, he noticed the boy had a Black Eye in his right palm.

Thomas leapt up from his bed, �Boy! You never had your Eye removed!�

The boy snarled and started to walk back, �Wait!� Thomas cried as he ripped the now dirty glove off of his right hand, revealing the illuminating Black Eye.

The boy jumped backwards, �You have the mark of the Forest Children! Wait here!� he then ran back out the doorway, slamming it shut in the process.

Eve climbed out of her bed and sat next to Thomas, �You are a Pure Mystic!? But how, don�t you belong to the Human Mystic Alliance?�

�No,� he shook his head. �Green Hive is separate from the entire world, I never even knew about the HMA until a little under two months ago.�

Before they could continue their conversation, the door flew open and in stepped the boy Thomas had seen atop the trees hours earlier. Up close his red hair seemed longer and wilder than ever, and his short green shorts seemed to cling to his body. The boy walked over to Thomas and smiled.

�Stand up,� he commanded in a cracking voice.

Thomas did as he was told and got off from the bed and stood in front of the boy, the teen was a good half a foot shorter and much less intimidating up close.

The hardened young man grabbed Thomas� right hand and examined the Black Eye, �You have the mark of the Forest Children! How is that possible?!�

Thomas jerked back his hand and sat back down next to Eve, �It is not the mark of the Forest Children, but the mark of a Mystic.�

�That is untrue,� he argued. �Mystics only have a large scar where our Eye is!�

�That is because they had it removed,� Thomas tried to explain. �Please, free us from this cell. We mean no harm to you. My name is Thomas and this is my friend Eve.�

The captor threw them a suspicious look, �My name is
Maxim. I am the current leader of the Forest Children until my six-thousand-seven hundred-fiftieth day of life. I am five-thousand-four-hundred-ninety-seven days old right now. Come, we shall eat and talk, there is much I want to know about you�