In the months that followed the ruin of the rebellion, whomever was left had hidden in the mountains with the Varden. The Varden were prepared for such devastation and had other hidden areas throughout the vast mountain range. There were pockets of Varden and the rebellion scattered throughout. The riders and their dragons, what was left of them, had been hidden as well, only coming out when needed. The Varden were now in control of the rebellion and as such protected the dragons and their riders with a vengeance. The aides of the riders were also considered extremely important and as such were protected.

Shiloh was trying to come to terms with the fact that Kryton was her real father and that her lover, Erik, had known for some time. She was hurt, confused and angry that Erik had kept it to himself and had said very little to him since the fall of the rebellion. She mainly kept to herself or was seen with RainStorm and Sampson. She would often see Kryton or Erik, sometimes both at the same time, watching her. Kryton with sadness and Erik with love and irritation at her stubborness. She loved Erik with all of her heart, but finding out that Kryton was her true father and that Erik had known on the heels of her capture, torture and rescue was almost more than she could take. Her wounds had healed, but her back was scarred as was the side of her face causing her to become self-conscious about it.



Miranda had stayed close to the Varden, learning how to handle her growing abilities. She was told stories about her mother and aunt, learning about a heritage she'd known nothing about. Serena still searched for her and was determined to recapture her niece and absorb her abilities into herself. Miranda knew that she was a target, but as she was a warrior, she was not one to cower or hide. She would occasionally disappear, searching for aunt.....wanting to repay the 'kindness' Serena had shown her and her friends during their brief stay with her and her lizonians.

Erik had grown increasingly frustrated with Shiloh since things took a turn for the worse. Every time he went to talk to her about things she would evade him or downright refuse to talk to him. To add to that he was gone more than he was not as he and Mina took to the skies once more now that she had returned. Erik knew Shiloh had a right to be upset at him but to hold a grudge this long was just utterly ridiculous. Especially since the revelation of the woman’s parentage was still as new to him as it was to her. He couldn’t help it if he never had the chance to tell her. Hell, it wasn’t even his responsibility to tell her. That, he reasoned, laid solely upon Kryton’s shoulders and heart.

So why was he the one paying the dear price for his commander’s short comings? Because she had to be mad at SOMEONE so he figured she chose him. Still, it didn’t ease the frustration he was feeling at her lack of communication. Well, perhaps today was the day to change all of that.

Or die trying.

With determined strides, he made his way towards the woman only to have her try and evade him once more. But Erik would have none of that. As Shiloh headed out over the compound, he had a secret weapon waiting this time. With a mental node, Erik’s eyes took on that faint blue glow to them, the indication he was communicating with Mina. A large shadow passed over Shiloh and when she looked up she would see the familiar scaly tail of Mina blocking her way and curled around in such a way that no matter what way Shiloh looked, her way was blocked by Mina’s large, reptilian body. When she turned around she was see Erik standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and a cross look upon his face.

Mina didn’t like getting between Erik and his mate but she knew something h ad to be done to get these two talking again. She was tired of seeing Erik mope about then become angry and she was tired of seeing Shiloh ignore her heart. SOMEONE had to do SOMETHING…and she decided it would be her.

When Shiloh looked up at the dragon, Mina snorted slightly then turned her head away as though she didn’t see anything. Now it was up to Erik to see if he could smooth things over. After all, she had done her part.

Shiloh glared at Mina seeing that she was blocked on three sides by the dragon and the fourth side was blocked by Erik coming towards her. As she looked at her lover coming towards her she tensed. She knew that she'd not been fair in her treatment of him these past months but she couldn't seem to help it. She was so angry, hurt and confused that she simply didn't want to deal with anyone. And she felt so betrayed....to the point that she just wanted to curl up and fade away. So she buried her hurt and got angry....but she was angry at the wrong person. The only thing was, she knew that Erik had known, even if it was for a short time before she found out that Kryton was her father. That alone gave her enough reason to be angry at him.

She then saw Kryton coming towards them and her body stiffened, automatically thinking that this was also Erik's plan.....to get Mina to block her while he came towards her and Kryton followed, leaving her nowhere to go. She turned her gaze to Erik, "I will speak to you, Erik.....I WON'T speak to him." Kryton stopped just feet from them, hearing her words. Hurt and sadness showed in his eyes and while he wasn't moving away he also wasn't moving forward either.

Erik looked over at Kryton and saw the hurt and sadness in his eyes but the man respected Shiloh’s words and hung his head, turned and walked off. Erik watched over his shoulder until Kryton was out of ear shot before he looked back at Shiloh.

”Are you going to stay mad at me forever? I can be a patient man, better than most, to be exact, but there’s a limit to that. You have every right to be upset, but c’mon, Shi….it wasn’t my place to tell you. He had to do that himself. And I can’t order my commanding officer to do anything. Especially something like that. Be reasonable here….won’t you?”

His blue eyes seemed to hold her gaze as though he were trying to figure out what she was going to do. She’d been so angry at him that he had purposely separated himself from her thinking some time and space was all she needed. But when the months dragged by and she remained as cold as the glacier waters in the north, he was beginning to think he’d lost her forever. This was his last ditch effort to try and find out if she still loved him and if there was anything left for either of them to rebuild.

Shiloh tried hard to hold onto her cold facade but at Erik's words she began to crumble. At first it didn't show.....then her bright eyes began to shine with unshed tears, even though she fought them back. She stood there, staring at the man she loved with all of her heart and knew that she'd been acting childish these past months, but dammit.....she didn't know how to handle everything that had happened.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to find out that the father who raised you wasn't you father after all? That your own mother cheated on your father.....the man she was supposed to love above all others? HE WAS MY FATHER!!! NOT KRYTON!!!" She turned away from him, facing Mina's scaled body as she fought back the tears. "Kyton knew...my own father knew as well.....didn't he? Wait....just who is my father? The man that raised me or the man that slept with my mother....his own aide....knowing that she was married?!" When she turned back around, her cheeks were wet with the tears she could no longer hold back. "My mother was a DragonStarr.....from the family of the infamous Dragon Rider Aides and she shamed the name. She shamed my father as well.....the man who raised me. And he said nothing!! NOTHING!!! And over there stands my biological father.....my commander. How ironic is that?!!"

She looked up at the sky then back to Erik as she finally broke...the months of holding it in and staying angry finally being released. "Being angry was easier than facing the hurt, Erik. I am so sorry.....(sob).....I am so sorry." Shiloh fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself as she rocked and cried. "I don't know how to handle all of it, Erik. The tortures.....the escape....then to find out that a part of my life was a lie." She looked up at him, "How could my mother have done this? How could Papa not tell me? How could Kryton have betrayed Papa the way he did by sleeping with my mother?"

He saw how easily her house of cards was shaking as she yelled at him. It didn’t take some intense training in alchemy to see this. And as much as he wanted to go to her and hold her in his arms, he had to stand firm. She had to work through this. Stifling it and burying it would do no good, as she was discovering. The only way to get through this was to accept what happened.

When she finally dropped to her knees, Erik walked over to where she knelt, rocking. He didn’t reach out to wrap his arms around her. He didn’t pull her close and let her dissolve even further. Instead, he lowered his voice and spoke to her softly.

”Shiloh…..the answers you’re looking for can only be found in your own heart. Kryton slept with your mother, yes, but she slept with him too. You know firsthand how easy it is for the aides and riders to become that close. The man who raised you as his own loved you no less than if he had been your biological father. And Kryton honored that by taking a step back and letting his daughter live a life he knew he couldn’t give her. One she would feel love and know the safety and security of a real family. What kind of life do you think you would have had growing up with him? How confused would you have been if you had been told the differences between the man who raised you and the man who fathered you? Did you ever feel as though that man didn’t love you? And now Kryton is trying to reach out to you in a time when you need him most. He’s not asking for you to love him as you did the man you were raised with. He’s merely asking for the chance to get to know you. And who knows, you may come to love him as much as you did the man you grew up with. But you’ll never know until you try.”

He saw her lift her face to finally look at him. Reaching up and sliding his thumb over her cheek to wipe away the moisture, he gave her a steady look.

”What happened to you out in the field will never leave you, Shi. It’s a part of who you are now. You can’t make it go away and you can’t fight it. When you think you can’t handle it, remember this. You survived. You fought and you survived. And because you did, you’re here today. With me. With Kryton. With Samson. With Mina. With all of us. It’s up to you to accept the gift of life or throw it away. No one can do it for you.”

He stood up then and reached his hand out to her.

”What is it going to be?”

Shiloh listened to Erik's words, knowing he was right and how blinded by her own pain and anger had caused her to make everyone around her suffer with her. She still wasn't ready to let Kryton in just yet, but when she looked at the hand Erik held out to her she didn't take it. Instead she jumped up and leapt into his arms, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

"I am so sorry, Erik. I have been acting like a child these past months and I am so sorry. I love you......and you're right, just like you were right after you found me and brought me back. When is was drowning in my own misery over my scars." She kissed the side of his neck, "Forgive me....please forgive me.

She felt his arms around her, holding her to him, "I don't know about Kryton....but...but I'll try."

When she lifted her face to look into his blue eyes she gave him a small smile, "You put up with me and all of my antics. Why? How can you love me enough to put up with me?" But she thought she knew the answer. If he loved her as much as she love him then he'd be able to put up with almost anything from her. She had a stubborn streak a mile wide and could hold a grudge with the best of them, but with Erik it was different. No matter how hard she tried she could never hide herself and what she truly felt from Erik. But this time she'd gone longer than she should have. She knew that she should've gone to Erik, but she hadn't known how. She was feeling so much confusion and anger that she didn't know how to talk to anyone. But here....back in Erik's arms she felt as if she were home again.

Alazen camped closer to the lake that night than usual. It was not safe to be this close to the shore, but the Lizonian soldiers had been patroling the area as if searching for someone or something and he did not want to get caught by them. Keeping out of sight of the soldiers as they patrolled the area, was difficult at best. Hunting for game along the way as he traveled, was even harder. Several times in the last six months, he was almost discovered by patrols. Once as he was tracking a deer, he managed to shoot an arrow, and was forced to crawl under the thorny bush to escape detection. The deer he shot, had run into the middle of the patrol before dying and startled the patrol. A soldier came close of his hiding place as the ugly lizard looked for the owner of the arrow, thrusting its sword into the bush as it searched. It was hours before they moved on and Alazen came out of his hiding place under the thorns. He was hungry but alive. Now that the soldiers were aware of his presence, he fled the area as fast as he could. That was weeks ago, but still he didn't feel safe in this kingdom. The next morning, he was up and moving before the first rays of sunlight peaked over the mountains in the west. Keeping to the trees as much as possible, he watched for patrols as he traveled west.

The mountains were shrouded with a thick mist as it dominated the horizon and the ground began to rise as the day wore on. Trees disappeared, forcing him closer and closer to the lake with the passing of every mile. The terrain grew steeper and soon he was on the water's edge. By midday, there was barely enough room to walk along the waters' edge at all. The thick reeds and bamboo made travel almost impossible to get through and the ground grew steeper and steeper where he no longer could keep his feet dry.

Turning back, he walked a mile before he found a boat well hidden in the reeds and, had he not tripped over the rope which was tethered to a roc,k he would have missed it altogether. The boat was upside down and covered naturally with dead reeds laying over it. Alazen cleared the reeds and flipped the boat over to find a pair of oars wedged under the seat. Pushing the boat into the water, he climbed aboard and began rowing along the shoreline, far enough out not to run aground, yet close enough not to be detected.

Killing an occasional rabbit from the boat, he stopped along the way where the hills recended back and allowed him to build a fire and cook it. During the next ten days, the lake shore bent more and more toward the south and the cliffs rose above him. He occasionally would see a deer or antelope but there was nowhere to pull up along the shoreline. He ate the smoked cold meats, he stored in his pack as he rowed for 3 more days in the boat.

During that night, the cliffs rose high above him and he fell asleep as he drifted southward. By daybreak, the cliffs were gone, nowhere to be found instead a thick mist lingered to the water's surface. It was unusually quiet, rowing he entered a narrow passageway to his left, through the thick brush on either side of the tiny quiet cove. The cove opened a little more, he stopped rowing and drifted to the shoreline. Alazen stepped from the boat, the first time in weeks. Surrounded by golden trees which grew from the sandy beaches' edge to the base of the mountain...trees surrounded the tiny cove. Deer and antelope walked among them as they grazed and vines full of berries were in abundance. Walking a short distance, he followed a path made of old cobblestone laid in the ground where it didn't belong. Alazen noticed two statues covered with thick vines, it appeared to be some kind of offering. A symbol of a dragon placed in the middle and vines growing all over. The mist lifted as the sun peeked partially from behind a tree, shining on a small island far beyond the statues and as he drew nearer to it; a statue of a great stone beast sat in the center of the island, and faced the mainland, not far away. A marble dragon caught his eye, that he thought were real. Runes were carved in the marble around the edges of the stand, and words were written on a stone tablet just below, but he could not read them. The statue was very old as was the cobble stone path that led him to it.

Alazen wrote the words down in his journal. The language was strange and written in a flowing script like a poem. Somehow this seemed important to him, but he did not know why he thought so. He was no scholar only a prince from a far easterly kingdom forced away from his homeland only to find yet another hostile army in this kingdom. This cove seemed out of place, out of time. It seemed to exist in a world all on its own, keeping out the evil that spread across the land. Grass walkways laid inbetween the cobble stone. Archways with abundance of flowers in various locations. He would remember this place as the 'Garden of the Dragon'. He walked aound the carved statues of dragons and carved holds of wild flowers in the benches of stone.



When the sun was overhead, Alazen left the small island and crossed the causeway to the mainland. He walked along the marble footpath as it made its way beneath the golden trees, to a place where it split into two seperate paths that were the same size as the one he now walked. A ring of stones that marked the remains of past fires, sat off to one side and beside a small spring fed, pool of clear water; he decided to kill a deer, skin it before setting up camp. This was the first place in more than half a year, where he could build a fire and rest without fear of being caught by the patrols. Alazen decided, he would spend a few days here and build up some supplies, before moving on.

Mhoram picked his way through the scrub and bracken, which grew in the Land of Aurea as the morning sun chased away the shadows of night. There were rifts in the land where the rocks were loose and broken, like giant knives had carved them into the landscape in some ancient battle. They were hard to cross, and it was taking its toll on Mhoram. Grueling, he pushed on, walking along the rifts for miles, trying to find a way to cross over them. Only to find another, just beyond the last.

Mhoram crossed the broken land and already some memories were coming back to him. He remembered the fight with the Lizonians, and the chase that pursued afterwards. He remembered being cornered with nowhere to go, then moments later, plundering down the sheer cliff into the water falls. The strong current rushed over him, pulling and tossing him like a rag doll. Going under several times and fighting to reach the surface to grasp for air before being pulled down again. He reached the surface in time to see the largest water fall in front of him and no time to react, before he tumbled over and over, falling head first over the falls. It was the last memory he had before waking up on the sandy shoreline. The water was tame and his armor, weapons still intact on him, blood stained on the sand. Now as he followed the rift, he reached back to feel the scab on the back of his head.

It was getting late in the afternoon when the broken lands abruptly ended, and a forest of tall golden trees began. The sight of them brightened his mood, and gave him hope. There had been very little game in the broken lands that he could find, and even fewer tracks. He could only manage to find the occasional rabbit, and he hoped that would soon change. Supplies were running low, and he needed to rest, before moving on into the unknown land before him.

Pushing on, he stepped out of the trees and into a small pasture. There was broken cobblestone wall, waist high that prevented him from going straight across. Looking left and looking right, the wall continued onward toward the horizon, so he decided to go right and followed the dirt path along the cobblestone wall. There was a stench that seemed to linger in the air and the slight breeze carried it toward him. Mhoram continued onward looking for a break in the wall to crossover, climbing over several small hills, the smell got stronger. The wall bent outward toward the tree line and down into the valley. There, the smell was the strongest and he covered his nose with cloth and cautiously peeked around the corner of the trees. Before him, stood the charred remains of a farmer, his wife, and tracks indicating a struggle. A child’s toy on the ground and no children to be found or heard, three sets of horse tracks leading from the farm to the tree and then vanished into the woods in the same direction Mhoram was heading. The farmhouse was burnt to the ground but the barn was untouched. Mhoram drew his sword and cautiously drew closer to the barn, the barn doors swung open and close in the wind. Stepping closer, he heard a thud. Peeking inside through a knot hole in the wood structure, was a lone stall and a white horse. Mhoram circled the barn and waited to see if anyone waited for him in the shadows of this barn before he entered. Stepping into the barn quietly, he looked into all the empty stalls, stabbed his sword into the hay, before assuming there was no one here and they were long gone, then returned his sword to his sheath. The white horse stumped on the floorboards and turned around to look at Mhoram. Mhoram spoke quietly, it was the first time he had spoken a word in a couple of months and his throat was dry.


“Easy fella, let’s have a look at ya. After the acquaintances were over, Mhoram searched the rest of the buildings for human remains and supplies. All the food lockers were empty and anything else of value was stolen. It was early evening by the time he had saddled the horse to the cart, cut down the charred victims, carried them on the cart to the pasture and buried them both. Yawning, he returned to the barn, gathered what supplies he could find, saddled the horse, rode into the evening night. He did not want someone to come back for the horse and find him in the stall sleeping, rather camping in the woods, he felt more protected. Following the tracks, he would do in the morning, but for now, he moved just beyond the tree line, chewing on smoked rabbit jerky. There his thoughts returned to the calling as he drifted off to sleep beside the horse, who he named Donner. Which meant ‘to give one’s life, to save another’

Flying undetected, the vile prince continued its search for Miranda. With strict orders from Serena, the dark shadow flew within the clouds circling base camp after base camp, searching for her. Not afraid of a dragon rider flying by his or herself alone, the vile prince would catch a few off guard and sweep in for the kill, leaving the dragon crying insanities and riderless. He laffed in the dragon's wake, watching the little humans fall to earth as he climbed back into the clouds undetected.



Flying into the most northern section of the Land of Anvil, he picked up Miranda's scent and swooped downward, out of the clouds. His vision enabled him to see far above the Land and its inner senory called out the abnormal transformed animal into the beast it was. Several of these ugly deformed creatures were sent in her direction as the vile prince circled his prey from above.

Feran paced back and forth. "What's keeping these guys..." the whole village stood before him and waited. This would be Feran's first journey to the north and his first attempt at the Games, he anxiously paced back and forth, waiting for his close friends, saluting the families there to give Kyler, Javin and hisself and nice sendoff. The families stood waiting for the two young men to show up as to give them a farewell and wishing them luck.

Feran spotted his two friends..."There you are!" said Feran, loud enough as Javin and Kyler walked up to him. "I thought I was leaving on this adventure by myself..."

Kyler smiled to his companion, easy Killer...you didn't think I'd let you have all the fun by yourself, did you? And you shall have plenty of time on this long journey to practice your skills. Kyler the oldest of the three, stopped and smiled at Feran and then looked back at Javin.


Kyler was not looking forward to the trip to the north with the others. He did not like the fair in the Province of Aurea, and would prefer not to attend. The fair was held every 3 years, but it was not really a fair at all as he was concerned. A fair was a place where families could come together to laugh and sing and be merry. It was a place where jugglers and acrobats entertained women, men and children. This fair represented by the Order of the Lizorians. Only men were allowed at the fair when it was held, and they must have reached their eighteenth year to compete in the events. Very seldom did anyone that young attend the fair though, for the fear of being sent to the army was too great. There were no prizes for winning the event in this fair, but a cetain level of skill was set for each event, and those who failed to achieve that level, were sent to the army to train until the next fair.

Today was the day that they were to leave the village of Alenvale, in the southern part of the Province of Menas, across the the White river Borgasi and the entire town was there to see them off. Kyler, Feran and Javin, were the only three to make the trip this year, because there were no others of age available. The village had lost seven men to the army in the last two fairs, and Kyler was the only one to return from the last. It had been his first fair, and though he was two years older than most of the eighteen year olds to compete, had done well enough to escape the army. His father had not been so lucky, the life of a farmer did not leave much time to train for combat and his skills had declined.

Kyler looked back at Javin, who took his time kissing all the girls who stood around him. He was the youngest to travel this far and yet he seemed more patient and ready than Feran. Kyler turned to his friends, families and his mom who came to pay their respects and honor the young men leaving for the games. As he stood still, his mother cryed on his chest, wishing him well. Kyler kissed and hugged his mom then turned to Javin...

If you're done making out Javin...its time to leave.

Javin smiled and flipped off Kyler and he kissed the young girl sharing the kiss with him.

Erik pulled Shi in close and held her for as long as it took until she calmed. Breaking was inevitable for her but building herself back up would be a choice she would have to make. And she’d already taken the first step by realizing she wasn’t alone in any of this.

”Nothing to forgive, Shi. Unless you want to ask forgiveness of yourself. Everyone here knows what you’re going through. And don’t rush into anything. Take your time. While things may look dire, we’re relatively safe here. The dragons have been keeping watch for us and alert us to any danger that is in the area. But we can’t rely on them totally. We need to get out and start patrolling soon. Find out what activities the Lizonians and Serena have been up to. Take back what is ours and drive those lizards back beneath the ground where they belong.”

There was strong conviction in his voice and as Mina slowly moved to allow freedom of movement, there was a look in her eyes that was just as strong as Erik’s words. He looked down into Shi’s face and wiped the moisture from her cheeks, smiling slightly.

”Come on….it’s time to get our mounts back into synch with each other again. Whataya say? Ready for some training?”

Alazen spent the next three days hunting and fishing, catching up on sleep and walking through the garden of dragons. He spent time walking up the other path to his left, that led to stairs leading up and out. On the first step of those stairs were the words, "The Way to Man" and they were wider and a lot less steep. He climbed the stairs and got to the last step that peeked above the river down below and followed a trail leading into the barren land. Turning around, he looked toward the mountains ranges and the deeper dark green forliage. This is the direction he would go in the morning. Climbing down the steps, he followed the trail to his campsite and finished stretching the dried rabbit pelts and deerskins that would make new clothes for hisself.



When he woke the next morning, Alazen added wood to the coals of his burned down fire, and lay there until he warmed up enough to cook some breakfast. As the sun peeked through the mountains in the west, it began to warm up enough to travel. He gathered up his things, and put out the fire, before continuing his journey. Smaller trails whichled from one he was on, began to appear as the morning passed, but Alazen paid little attention. He had no idea where they led to or why the trails were there, but it mattered little to him as he made his way west. The dwarf stood in the middle of the smaller path just feet from where Alazen walked, lost in his thoughts as he made his way east and the dwarf went unnoticed as he passed the smaller path and he nearly jumped out of his old moccasins when the drawf spoke.




"Well now lad, were you going to pass me by without even a word of greeting to brighten my way."

Alazen froze in mid stride, his knees began to shake as he turned to the voice on the path. What surprised him and calmed him was the size of the little man. The dwsrf was in full armor and a large battle ax slung over his shoulder. His beard was grouty as if he hadn't shaved in months. His upper armor had dried blood stains over the chest plate and under a woven shirt stitched by hand. He was no longer than four feet tall and stout, his weight at least fifty pounds less. His hands, face and feet were of normal size that was an oddity to say the least. His leather boots matched his armor and his deep booming voice startled Alazen.

Alazen looked through bright blue eyes, while the dwarf chuckled with his deep brown eyes. " You don't look like a soldier for the evil sorcerer Serena...say you lad?"

"Say what!" Alazen raised his voice and stood his ground.

"Do not worry yourself, lad. I have never known a Elvin Ranger to be a soldier of hers...she's likes them scaled lizards that ain't talkin' back to 'er,the Dwarf boasted and laffed. My name's Donderan and I am at your service."

I am known as Alazen, a Ranger and Prince in my land and I am pleased to make your acquaintance.

"Where is it you go, if I may be so bold, Sir to ask? asked Donderan.

I don't know. I just want to escape the soldiers and avoid being conscripted into the army to fight for Tripler, the mage king. I will not fight for the man who enslaved my country.

"You're in luck then, lad.Donderan turned and crossed the small path and sat down on a boulder beside the trail. He grasped his water pouch, pulled the cork, and squeezed the pouch while gulping down the water. Water dribbled down the sides of his mouth as he recorked the pouch and wiped his moustache and upper lip with his sleeve. You are in the Land of Drakonia and this province is not on any map. you are within the realsm of the old dragon empire, and the forces of the evil sorcerer Serena does not know of this place nor do I doubt she will go unopposed on this sacred ground."

I have never heard of the old dragon empire before. Are there any dragons here? Alazen looked around and up at the sky. Donderan was silent for a moment, and looked off. "Well, no not really. No one has seen one in a few months, and I am afraid young Sir...that." Donderan could not finished his sentence and looked away. Serena rules the world and has overtaken the land. Her army, the Order of the Lizarians grows strong and her eyes in the sky is the vile prince. No lad, I'm sorry to say...I haven't seen a dragon or rider in a few months now. The moon in the western skiies is blood red from the war inwhich the land has suffered with has many casualities."

I for one will be happy not to run into this evil sorcerer, but I have never seen a dragon and therefore will continue into this region in hopes to glimpse at one.

"Well lad, I could always take you to a place where you can learn a lot about dragons my friend and I will take you to the best place in this realsm. Shall we go,..Donderan pointed in the direction inwhich he knew the trail well and began to tell of his old sea stories...