Quyyn took a deep breath and fired his blazing red hot fire blast right in Blaster’s face. For a minute Blaster held up against the heat, but that was just for that minute. Quyyn continued his blast,soon blazing hotter. Blaster was screaming as his insides burned from the intense heat. When Blaster was dead, his flames were extinguished leaving a dead Griffin that shifted forms in death to a dark-haired man probably from one of the cities Bram had conquered. Quyyn didn’t recognize him. He’d take the body back to the others to see if any of them knew who he was. Now with all the rings collected, it was time they faced Bram Thorne himself.

As Bram sat on his throne, the voices in his head were taking bets on how long it would be before someone came and forced him off his throne.

[How do you know that?] Quyyn asked him.

[The same way I knew that Ariel’s babies would be OK,] he sent a smile to Quyyn. [Just leave it in Aramis’s hands.]

[I hate to interrupt you guys.] Hoddie sent to them. [But there’s something coming out of the clouds. Cutter thinks we should be careful.]

[Send Bly out to see what it is.] Quyyn sent. [We’ll drop down to a lower altitude.]

In a shower of bright sparks, Bly jumped off of Hoddie’s shoulder and into the clouds. There was something about the fairies of Ammath most people don’t know. They have a habit of disappearing into the background and camouflaging themselves in the scenery. It’s an ability they developed over the years of turmoil and war. So, back to the story.

With her stingers charged and ready, Bly came buzzing out to dance in the cloud. As she flew in, she started to fade away into the background of the afternoon sky. Her sharp eyes found a slight disturbance moving in and out of the clouds. One minute it was there and the next it was gone. For a minute, Bly thought it was one of her sisters or brothers. Maybe it was a warlock using a spell to make him invisible. Could it be a dragon? She had never heard of an invisible dragon, but it could happen.

As the sun moved behind a row of clouds, Bly saw something drop through a cloud and dive into another. Bly looked closer at the cloud and switched her vision to infrared. Everything was red, but there was a huge dark shape flickering in and out of the clouds. Bly couldn’t tell what it was, but she lowered her body temperature just in case. Then it dawned on her, that might be why she couldn’t tell what the shape was.

As she reached the shape, the wind picked up, blowing in a tremulous force. Bly backed out of the wild air currents. To get in, she would have to time it just right. She drew back about 15 yards, then turned and charged into the currents.

As she entered, the air spun her around. She held her arms out and stirred herself out to the left, then she kicked up and turned to counter the eastern winds. As she entered the eastern stream of air, she rolled and used her legs to push her into the next vortex. The next twist would take her into a place she didn’t want to go, so she used her wings to change the direction of the current she was in. With one last push, Bly put her hands straight up with her wings flat to her back. With her arms held out and her body shaped like an arrowhead, Bly cut through the vortex-like a hot arrow.

As she left the vortex, Blys sense of danger screamed a warning into her head. Angling her wings she shot down. As she left the vortex, a solid fist burned through the air over her head, missing her by microns. As she angled her wings to take her in a circular course, Bly powered up her stinger and let three short blasts go hitting the wind-thing in its seldom vulnerable chest. It screamed in pain and dropped into the vortex.

[What’s going on?] Quyyn sent. [We’re coming in]

[No!] Bly sent. [Those winds will cut you to shreds. I have this. Stay right where you are.]

Just as Bly finished her message, something stabbed out, cutting through the winds. Bly raised her arm to let the fist bounce off her gauntlet. With a quick and short blast, she let another sting go. As the wind thing tried to duck away, her sting got it on its side. This time blood rained down from the wind.

“I see you bleed,” Bly called. “The means you are mortal. What am I to say to keep you from dying here?”

“You won’t have much to say.” It called out. “Since it will be you that will die.”

“I think not. Bly said. “My name is Bly Sharpwing. And you?”

“You can call me Airwave,” It said.

“Aiya Airwave,” Bly bowed, never taking her eyes off the Elemental. Airwave was dressed in rags that trailed through the wind as it was flying. He was blond, with long hair and scarves wrapped around his neck. “ I want to try and talk you out of this. I don’t want to kill you. I want us to be friends. Please think hard about what we are going to do. You are going to throw your life away, all for Bram Thorne. He doesn’t deserve such a sacrifice. He’s nothing but a tyrant holding you hostage to fight for him. Please don’t do this.”

“I hear you and I agree, “Airwave said. “I know he’s crazy. But I don’t have a choice. If I don’t fight you, he’ll kill my family. I fight for them.”

“What if I had a way for you to live and fight against him? Would you accept my friendship?

“I would welcome you into my life.”

Bly dropped her hands and flew over to Airwave with her hand stretched out to take his.

“Then let me see through your eyes, so I can show him your death. Airwave is dead,” She said, “Today, Vortex is born.”

As Bram stomped his way into the throne room, he grabbed the advisor by his collar and threw him across the room. He hit the wall and tried to hobble away. but there was no escaping the wrath of Bram Thorne.

“Your air elemental is dead!!!!”

Bram grabbed him and held up against the wall. Bram’s eyes were red and his breath was foul. Spit trickled from his mouth as he breathed heavily.

“You have failed me for the last time,” Bram said as his eyes twitched back and forth. “I don’t know why I had trust in you. The only person I can trust is me.”

[You can trust us.] said a voice in his head. [We promised to always fail you.]

Laughter rang all through his head, getting louder and louder. Bram slammed the advisor against the wall again and again and again. When he stopped, he dropped the dead and broken body to the ground and turned away. He was running out of time. He had less than a month to finish his quest before Nester grabbed him and brought him back to the underworld. And things were not going his way. He only had four out of the eleven rings. There was only one way for him to get the rings. He was going to have to take the rings from Bly and her friends. He had one more elemental to try. If that didn’t work, it was up to him.

As Bram walked down from his throne, Everyone in the room backed away from him. He was in a dangerous mood. All it would take was a single word and he could damn them all to the underworld with him. As he walked, he mumbled.

“Look at all these mud faced backstabbing fools. Not one of them is worthy of my attention. This kingdom is full of nothing but shit. I should curse them all. Yes, I should send them all to the underworld. Nestor would thank me for all of the souls.”

As he raised his hands to cast his spell. He heard a voice in his head said.[Stop!! Don’t do it. You came here while these people were trying to pick up the pieces and create a new home. The empire was gone and they would be making a new society, then you showed up. You and your crazy babbling madness. None of this is their fault, you are the madman that brought them all this sorrow. You are the one that belongs to the underworld. Give Keanna some pity and go back where you belong.]

“No!!!” Bram screamed. “This is my world and I can do anything I want with it. You don’t believe me? Then watch as I turn the planet’s elemental against it. I will make it rain fire and snow mud. I will turn the rivers red with the blood of the planet and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop me!!!”

As Bram disappeared, two young boys came out from behind a wrecked carriage. They had heard Bram’s course. They knew what they had to do. They had to find the Dragons.

As Jacob Usher and Peter Claric stepped out of the torn apart main gate to the Sorrowdown Empire, they had no idea how they were going to find the dragons, or contact them. Dragons had not been known to travel this far south in a long time. Being this far south wasn’t really the problem, when there was a need for a dragon, one usually found his way south. The problem was more like Jake and Pete had no idea how to find the dragons. They didn’t know that there was always a dragon there when you need it.

“So what do we do?” Pete whispered from his place under the coach.

“We head north to Winterhaven,” Jake said. “We’ll find Dragons there.”

“What if that crazy man finds us?”

“I don’t think he has time for anyone, other than the people he talks to in his head,” Jake said. “But we should get out of here now, before he finds us.”

With small packs over their shoulders, Jake and Pete left Sorrowdown. Their objective was the northern city of magic, the ex-home of the Adrake Academy. Jake had once been enrolled here but that was before Sorrowdown was conquered by Emperor Pius. Their only hope was to find the dragon city. Everyone knows to find the dragons, you have to find the white city and let the wizards send you to the Dragons.

As Jake looked to his pocket compass, he saw the way to Winterhaven was north through Fay Shea and passed Tir Na. Jake had heard about Tir Na, it was the city of Werewolves. He hoped the wolfmen weren’t as savage as their name. But he guessed they’re going to find out.

The forest was cool as they entered Fay Shea. This forest was not like Sorrowdown’s forest. There were small, twinkling lights flying around on the breeze. Pete asked Jake what they were. Jake had no idea, but he did know they were alive. They walked for hours going north. A few of the twinkling lights had come down to land on Jake and Pete’s shoulder or arm. After a few tries to knock them off, Jake decided to just leave them there. Soft music from bells and windpipes was in the air. The music was sweet and enjoyable. Almost intoxicating.

As they walked, Jake started to feel sleepy. He shook his head to drive off the fatigue. He closed his eyes for a second, then he started back on his journey. To his surprise, he noticed a man dressed in red, sitting near them by a broken down coach.

“What’s this?” Pete said.

“Looks like someone needs a hand.” Jake put down his pack and his jacket. Together, the two boys walked over to the man in red. Not only was he dressed in red, but his hair was a blazing shade of red. He was very handsome, with a glint that blazed in his eyes showing his intelligence. At his side, he had a sword with a dragon wrapped around the hilt.

“Aiya,” Jake said. “Do you need a hand?”

“Not really,” The man said. “Actually I was waiting for someone to come along that I could join up with. I hate walking through the jungle alone. You never know what might pop out to attack you.?”

“That’s true,” Pete said as he pushed his blond hair back out of his eyes. “We just came from Sorrowdown.”

“Really?” The man said. “I’ve never been there, What’s it like? I heard it was beautiful with tall buildings of marble and handsome temples to worship the Gods.”

“It was,” Jake said. “Now it’s all torn down. We had a massive slave revolt. The city’s gone. There’s nothing left but a mad man sitting on the throne passing out orders. We’re on our way to Winterhaven to try and talk the Dragon’s into freeing our city.”

“I heard the Sorrowdown Empire didn’t allow Dragons into the city,” The man said, “I heard the city walls were manned with crossbows with iron arrows.”

“That was all burned during the riots,” Jake said. “There aren’t many people left. Most of them ran off during the riot, or were killed.”

“Then why go back?”

“Huh?” Pete said looking at the man confused.

“What’s the point of going back?” he said. “My name is Blaze. I’m from a city far away called New Keanna, Anna. You have a chance to start your life over in a new city. Why would you want to stay here in the ragged pieces of an old empire that people will try and take every sun turn? I mean why put yourself through all that. The empire will never rise again.”

“But it’s good land,” Pete said. “And it’s ours. My family has been here for almost two hundred sun turns. How do I turn away from that?”

“And now your family is dead,” Blaze cut him off. “Do you want to die for the Sorrowdown empire? If you do, you don’t need Dragons for that.”

“Then where should we go?” Pete asked him.

“I know a place that’s looking for brave men,” Blaze said. “ You can make a great life there. I’ll put in a good word for you two. They will take you in.”Jake looked at Pete then back at Blaze. There really was no point in staying in the Empire, except to destroy that crazy fuck. Yeah, they still have to deal with him. If they don’t, he’ll be knocking on their door one day. “We still have to deal with the crazy guy,” Jake said. “Don’t ask me why, but if we don‘t, someday he’ll be knocking on our door.”

“I have friends that could help us.”

“Us?” Pete said with a smirk on his face. “When did this become us?”

“The tik you met me,” Blaze smiled at them. “So let’s get going.”

“Where are we going?” Pete asked.

“You want Dragons.” Blaze said. “I’ll show you Dragons. We go to Winterhaven.”

The night air was cool, and there was a gentle breeze blowing, making it feel later in the year. Cutter and Niro were out hunting for tonight’s dinner. Yarden was out in the grassland, trying to scare something out of its den or away from its herd. Yes, herd. There were herds of dera running wild in these grasslands. Just then, Yarden whistled and came charging through the tall grass on the trail of three deras. Cutter took off running through the grass. He spread his arms and shifted to his dragon form. As he launched himself into the air, Niro jumped on Akhrua’s back and joined the hunt. Cutter flew high into the air, then dived down towards the dera. Like a bird of prey Cutter swooped down and grabbed a dera then flew back up and headed back to our camp. Quyyn and Sky stayed behind to light a cooking fire and prepare a pit for roasting. Bly, Hoddie, and Rowyn sat talking as the others were out hunting.

“But that’s not how it happened!” Hoddie said. “Listen, I snuck into the elf city wearing my vanishing cloak. I really didn’t have a lot of time. Emperor Midoa wanted the ring in his hands by the thirteenth tok. The sand tower in Katar said the time was six toks. I had to be in and out with my prise in two toks.”

“What were you suppose to steal?” Rowyn said. She gave Hoddie that disapproving look. He reached over and took his bag from behind Sima and stuck his hand in. He rummaged around for a few secs, then took something out.

“This.” He pulled out the Tiara of Fortis. “You believe me now?”

Rowyn and Bly looked at him in disbelief. Of course, they both knew what he had. The Tiara of Fortis was famous all over Fay Shea, maybe all over Keanna. They both knew about the legend of the tiara. It probably was the most famous and powerful relic in all of the Elven kingdoms.

“Hoddie!” Rowyn said in amazement. “You stole this?”

“Yes, I did.” Hoddie smiled and gave her a what do you have to say now look.

Rowyn reached over and took it out of his hands. She could feel its power the second she touched it.

“It’s real!!” You could see the look of amazement as she turned it over in her hands. “You are the greatest thief in all of Taggitia.”

“I told you.” Hoddie took the tiara and put it back in his bag and clipped it on Sima’s harness where it was safe. As Hoddie sat back looking smug over his prize, Bly looked over and saw the three hunters coming back with their catch. Niro, Cutter, and Yarden each had a small dera hanging over their shoulders.

“That one is for me and you.” He said to Yarden. He nodded in agreement to the dark fairy. Cutter and Niro dropped their dera by Quyyn and Sky.

“I catch it.” He said. “You clean it.”

Just as Yarden turned toward the forest, three men came walking out of the bush into their campsite.

“Blaze!!” Cutter shouted.“ He ran to Blaze and took him in a bear hug. “Rose is going to kill you when we get back.”

“Rose?” Pete said.

“My wife.” Blaze said as he and Cutter parted shaking hands. “I hear Ariel had triplets. Congratulations.”“Yeah,” Cutter smiled. “We knew it would at least be twins. With luck, her next one will be a single birth. My mother had two sets of twins. I hope Ariel doesn’t have her luck. I see you have friends.”

“They’re looking for Dragons,” Blase smiled. “I thought I would help them.”

Cutter and Blaze started to laugh. Pete and Jake were lost for now, but soon they would know the truth. As they joined the others, Blaze introduced them to the ones he knew.

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