Part 33 by Taylor

Kyrian went back to meet up with Tomas. "It's a shame about Laurel," he said, wiping his brow. "Yes, it is," Kyrian agreed. Suddenly, she had an idea. "Hey! I bet that Mintara can do something for her arm!" Tomas's face lit up. "Yeah!" he said enthusiastically. They both stared at each other. "Nuh-uh, no way! I'm not going to ask her!" Tomas said, holding up his hands. "Now Tomas," Kyrian began in her sweetest tone. "No! She hates me!" Tomas yelled. Kyrian sighed and gave him a look. "Fine, I'll go then," she said. "Good," Tomas breathed a sigh of relief. Kyrian turned at the door with her parting word, "Chicken."

Kyrian went to find Mintara, which proved to be no easy task. She searched the city thoroughly, but no sign of the wizard. She finally found her and Emerion on top of a high, grassy hill overlooking the city. Kyrian crept up quietly with an almost supernatural stealth that came from her elven ancestry. To her surprise, Mintara and Emerion seemed to be playing around and having fun. Mintara sat down on the grass and turned her face away from Emerion. The unicorn came up from behind and grabbed a bit of Mintara's hair, playfully pulling it. Mintara ignored him apparently, then suddenly lunged for the animal. Emerion squealed and jumped away, but not before Mintara launched herself onto his back. He bucked and plunged, then both fell in a heap. They untangled themselves and Emerion lay on his side, Mintara peacefully leaning up against his silken hide. Kyrian, not wanting to disturb the tranquil scene and bring Mintara's wrath upon her, crept back down the hill.

She came up again, and called, "Mintara!" The wizard's head jerked around, and they both scrambled to their feet. "What do you want?" Mintara questioned in her usual manner. Kyrian told her about Laurel's arm, watching Mintara's eyes turn dark with fury at Landlion. "What an idiot!" Mintara exploded. "Doesn't anyone care that I need my necklace!? What's wrong with these stupid people?!" she yelled to the sky. She heard Kyrian smother a giggle, and she turned around with a slight smile. Kyrian decided to ask a question. "Mintara, why are you so mean to everyone?" Kyrian blurted out. To her surprise, Mintara didn't even get mad. "Well, I'm just so much smarter than these people, and stupid people frustrate me." To Kyrian's shock, Mintara actually cracked a smile! Kyrian grinned broadly. Mintara looked at her with a hint of fondness in her eyes. "You know, you're not too bad," Mintara said, standing up to mount Emerion. "For a silly girl." Mintara rode down the side of the hill. Kyrian was too shocked to respond. Had Mintara really just said something sorta nice to her?

As soon as she recovered, Kyrian ran down the mountainside to find Tomas. "Tomas, guess what!" she shouted. "What?!" Tomas said, expecting a big surprise. A huge grin covered his face at Kyrian's excitement. "Mintara hates you and everyone else, but she kinda likes me! Well, at least she can stand me." Tomas's face fell. "Oh, that's wonderful." he said sarcastically. "A cranky old wizard finally said something nice. Hoorah." He started to move away. Kyrian grabbed his arm and swung him around. "Hey, considering that the cranky old wizard is soon to become one of the most powerful beings in the universe, I would say that it is a good thing to get on her good side," Kyrian said. Then, as an afterthought, "And I feel sorry for those who are on her bad side." She shook her head sadly at him, as if she was sad about his inevitable fate; and she was rewarded by a look of fear on Tomas's face. He walked away and Kyrian laughed out loud. Guys were so dumb.

Part 32 by Tessa

Landlion was fuming.  "All I did was get a little angry, okay well maybe really angry, and break a Laurel's arm.  Doesn't mean I should be treated like a kid!"  he said to himself, glaring at the world. 
"Oh, really?  Do you really believe that?"  said someone behind him.  He turned around to face Mintara.  "Well...um..I.." he stammered.
"You need to learn to grow up and not let your anger speak before your brains!  Do you know what would have happened if Kyrian hadn't tackled you?"  she said sternly.
"Yes, I would have hurt Laurel even more.  I'm so stupid."  he said burying his head in his hands.
"Yes, and do know what would it would mean if you hurt her so bad she wasn't able to fight this up coming battle?  We would lose, that's what!  Now you and Laurel are going to have to get along without you breaking any bones and her running off into the forest."  she said before turning around and leaving him all alone among the trees.

Kyrian was fixing up Laurel's broken arm.  "It looks like it's a clean break straight in half."  she said as she finished splinting it.  "You're going to have to wear this for a few weeks." she said handing Laurel a sling.  "And you might want to start learning to work with your left hand too.  It will help you still be able to do things and it helps to be able to wield a sword just as skillfully with your left hand as your right in a battle."  she explained.  She turned to Laurel to say something else but stopped when she saw Laurel's smile fade away.  She turned to see Landlion standing in the doorway. 
"Um...are you okay Laurel?"  he asked awkwardly.
"As okay as I can be with an arm in a sling."  she replied sharply.
Landlion looked at Kyrian for help and he saw her roll her eyes.
"I'll be right back Laurel.  Have to go ask Mintara something."  she said before grabbing Landlion and dragging him out the door.
"You better be careful what you say to her Landlion!  You hurt her anymore and I'm personally going to pay you a call you won't forget."  she said before relaxing her grip on his arm and walking away.
Landlion watched Kyrian walk away before taking a deep breath and reentering the building.  Laurel wasn't at the table where he had left her only moments before.
"Oh no!  Not again!" he said.
"What do you mean "not again"?"  Laurel said walking back in the room.
"Um...well I was hoping that you didn't decide to go off and get yourself into trouble...again."  he said.
"Oh, and you would really care about that after almost killing me?  Somehow I don't think so."  she said.
Landlion saw her face get ridged and groaned to himself.  "I never acted this way until her and Mintara showed up." he thought before turning to look at Laurel.
"You may not think I care but I do even though I always seem to make it look like I'm the most uncaring, idiotic elf on this planet.  So yes I would have cared if you ran of and got yourself caught by who knows what!"
"Really?"  she asked skeptically.
"I can't believe I'm saying this...but yes, I do care." he sighed and Laurel started laughing and he joined in.

Part 31 by Emily

    Kyrian's blows rained down on Tomas with such a force that he could not contend with. Pausing for a second he wiped his sweaty brow. He knew that Kyrian wasn't even coming at him with her full strength, she was holding back a lot. A few days in Exron's prison left him weak, and every one knew it. Kyrian whirled around, aiming for Tomas' head. He quickly brought his sword up and pushed Kyrian's away. He ducked into a backwards roll, going away from Kyrian. She stood watching him, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Tomas jumped up and looked at his opponent. Kyrian was dressed in partial battle gear. She had on a white linen shirt, with a leather chest guard over it, chain mail rested on her shoulders, brown shorts, leather boots, and leather protectors on her arm. She wasn't wearing her general helmet, and her bow and arrows weren't strapped to her back. But to Tomas she looked every inch ready for war.

   Over the past few days the recruits Mintara and Kyrian collected had started to arrive. Now a couple of hundred soldiers were in the city of Locien and some out lying Elven city's. Mintara had hand picked the men and some women who she thought would make the best commanders. Kyrian and Landlion were picked to be generals, and some of the men Tomas knew were also picked. The Elves had crafted large hollows for the army to train in, the one Tomas was in now was made for the generals and the best fighters in the army, pretty much a training arena for the elite. He wasn't sure he was in here, Mintara hadn't said a word to him since he blew it a week ago. He wasn't even a captain, he was just a regular solider, and a hot headed one at that.

 "Hey Kyrian, can we take a break?",Tomas asked, lowering his sword.
   "Sure," Kyrian said,"I guess we can break for a few minutes." She sheathed her Elven blade and grabbed her water canteen, she wandered off to where Laurel and Landlion were sparring. Tomas grabbed his canteen and lazily flopped down beside a towering oak. He followed the trunk up to where the branches fanned out to meet the branches of hundred others. The Elves had crafted the hollow so that the branches would cover it from above. Tomas knew that in the past, when the Dragon Riders had been plentiful, the evil ones would attack the training hollows from above and wipe out armies. Some one had told him that from above it looked like the rest of the forest, but inside it did not. Designs seemed to grow out of the woods, and beautiful flowers were blooming in the canopy. It was truly a wonderful slight.

  Kyrian watched the two elves spar, one Dragon Rider and one general. They fought with a grace and power that Kyrian could only marvel at. It was true that she wasn't entirely human, and that she was part elf. She wasn't sure how but she was part elf, but she was. Still she couldn't fight with the grace, fluidity, and power that the true elves did, but she was one of  the best fighters in the army. That's why Mintara had asked her to help Tomas get back in shape before sending him to the regulars. She wasn't sure but she felt like Mintara was slowly coming to like people.

  Laurel and Landlion flipped and spun, all while delivering blows to each others swords. Landlion's attention wandered for a split second, and Laurel's foot hit him in the face. His head jerked backwards, from the force of Laurel's kick. Landlion was enraged about his carelessness, he had a reputation for being unbeatable. He rushed at Laurel, Kyrian's eyes went wide. Laurel had just landed a back flip and was unstable. She saw Landlion coming at her and she raised her sword to block his strike. Landlion hit her sword with such force a lesser sword would have shattered. Laurel cried out, and grasped her sword arm. She stumbled backwards, and Landlion kept coming at her. Kyrian watched in horror,"Landlion is so angry he could hurt Laurel!" Kyrian rushed across the field, just as Laurel fell to the ground. Landlion's eyes narrowed to slits, he wasn't going to let a young girl Dragon Rider beat him in a fight. He raised his sword to strike the fallen girl. Laurel's eyes widened with fear when she realised what he meant to do. Just as Landlion moved to strike he was tackled from the side.

    Kyrian wrestled Landlion to the ground. Everything was a blur, but some how Kyrian ended up on top. She pulled Landlion's left arm farther up his back, the Elf cried out in pain. Kyrian realised that her body was dripping with sweat and her body felt depleted of energy, also part of her shirt was torn. She looked up and saw a white clad person storming across the large hollow. Kyrian quickly rolled off the mumbling Landlion, she didn't want to get on Mintara's bad side. "I leave you alone for five minutes and this is what I get?" She roared. Landlion glared at the white wizard, his eyes full of embarrassment and hate. "You two are so irresponsible!"she was halfway to the training plot,"You act like children! Is that any way for a Dragon Rider and a general to act?" The two Elves lowered their heads in shame. "Answer me!" Mintara bellowed standing a few yards away, now the whole hollow was looking at them.
"No." they mumbled quietly.
"Exactly." Mintara said,"it is no way for the two of you to act. From now on," she paused, now only inches away,"you will be treated like children! Kyrian and Tomas will have to watch over you twenty-four seven until I can find some one else to take care of you." Landlion and Laurel sulked."Oh,"Mintara added,"also all your privileges and standings will be taken away until I deem you fit." Mintara snatched up the two swords and strode out of the hollow.

"Um," Tomas said walking up to the group,"so we have to treat them like children?"
Kyrian nodded her head,"Take Landlion back to my family's house. He can wash off there, and my mother will give him a great reprimand." She winked at Tomas, and he led Landlion to Kyrian's house. Kyrian watched them leave, and stared in that direction until a sob brought her back to her duty. "Laurel!"she exclaimed,"Are you okay?" she asked.
 "I think it's broken." she whimpered. Kyrian knelt down and felt the arm in question, no doubt it was broken. Kyrian ripped the part of her shirt off that was ripped and used it, and two sticks to make a makeshift cast. She helped the fallen Dragon Rider up and they made their way to the herb house.
 "I see the way you look at him." Laurel said.
  "Huh? Who?" Kyrian asked blushing.
"Tomas. Don't pretend you don't like him."
"Oh, is it that obvious?"
 "No, I just have an eye for these types of things."
"Oh, okay." The two girls walked to herb house in silence after that.

Part 30 by Taylor.

Tomas was well enough to travel in a couple of days, and Mintara was more than ready to leave. "The men that we have recruited are gathering others. We are no longer needed in this area. So we are going back to Locien, where Laurel is training. There, we can regroup and prepare for battle," Mintara said. "Battle?" Kyrian and Tomas said together. "Yes, of course! That is why we are gathering men. We are going to go straight for the heart. We're going to attack Melkor himself."

Laurel had grown quite proficient with the sword. Landlion was proud of her progress. "But you're still not anywhere as good as I am!" he boasted, brandishing his sword in the air. "Oh yeah?" Laurel challenged. They simultaneously settled into their stances and fought against each other. Several minutes later, Landlion ducked a swipe from her sword and spun his leg around, knocking her feet out from under her and landing her on the ground. "Ha!" he said, panting. Laurel shrugged and gasped for air. "At least I made you work for it," was her comment. Landlion shaded his eyes from the sun and looked to the west. Squinting, he could barely make out three figures. "It's Mintara!" he shouted. Laurel gave him a look. "Oh, and Kyrian and some other guy," Landlion added, turning red. Laurel heaved a sigh and shook her head at him.

Introductions were quickly made, and Landlion and Tomas hit it off splendidly. Mintara briefed them all on the plan. "When do we leave?" Laurel asked. "As soon as we're ready," Mintara answered.

Part 29 by Emily

Kyrian gently washed the blood out of Tomas's hair. It was all over his head, she drew her dagger and started to cut off his hair. It came off in ragged clumps. His breathing was shallow, but he was still alive, Mintara said he was in a coma. They were going to take him to Locien and he would be healed there. Kyrian lovingly stroked his face, then she heard a footstep behind her. She whirled around,"Mintara!" she exclaimed,"You scared me."
"You should pay more attention to your surroundings then to that unconscious boy!" She spit,"I thought you knew better than that."
"I'm sorry Mintara." Kyrian grumbled. She was embarrassed that Mintara caught her staring at Tomas. "Um, so now that Exron is dead, what are we going to do?"
"Silly girl." Mintara said under her breath,"Even though Exron is dead that doesn't mean we don't have other evils to face, there's still Melkor."
Kyrian blushed,"Oops, I forgot about him."
"Of course you did, mortals don't have very good memories. There are still plenty of Exron's minions around to do his bidding."

Deep in the lair, that used to be Exron's, a new foe is born. One that was sworn to destroy all that is good since it's birth. One with more powers then Exron himself had. One more crafty, more sinister, more evil then Exron. His children.

"Exron is dead." the boy announced looking up from the scroll he was just handed. He was a spitting image of his father, except he was much taller than the short wizard. His black hair was cropped short, whereas his father's was long. But their black eyes sparkled in the same evil way.
"Ha," his sister said, "I knew father wouldn't last long with that new Dragon Rider on the prowl." She turned from her perch on the window sill, she was breath takingly beautiful, and she knew it. Too bad she had lived in a mountain for the first seventeen years of her life. Her long black hair laid in a braid over her shoulder, and her violet eyes sparkled with pleasure. She and her brother were twins, but aside from their black hair, their height, and their lust for evil, they looked totally different.
"Actually the Dragon Rider didn't kill him." he said, rolling up the scroll. "It was that prisoner girl father had, and her wizard friend. She escaped and ran off with the necklace, and that boy father insisted on keeping."
"Oh," she said,"So my darling brother, what shall we do next?" Their eyes met, and they laughed, a cruel, cold, hard laugh.

Part 28 by Tessa

"I can NOT believe I let him drag me into this!" Laurel thought as she wiped sweat off her forehead.  She was struggling more and more at keeping Landlion's sword point from touching her.  "Idiot muscles!  You have to get sluggish now?" she thought as she blocked him again.  Landlion wasn't even sweating and had this big grin on his face and his eyes showed he was laughing.  "Stop laughing at me!" she pleaded as she just barely missed being stabbed in the shoulder.  "How can I stop laughing?  You have this ridiculous face on and your dodging methods are well to say the least, interesting." he said.  "My face is funny?! My face!  Well you..." she said before dropping her sword and rushing at him.  He started running laughing as he looked back.  Laurel sprinted after him.  After a while she saw she had no chance at catching him.  "Hmmm, maybe he'll fall for this childhood trick?" she thought before tripping and falling to the ground.  She clutched her ankle and started moaning.  "Landlion?  Come back!"  she yelled but no Landlion appeared.  Puzzled she stood up and started walking peering into bushes.  Suddenly she was on the ground and Landlion was staring down at her laughing. "What are you doing down there?" 

Part 27 by Taylor.

The floor around Tomas was also sticky with blood, and Kyrian almost panicked. She steadied her nerves and sat back. She moved him into a better position and began looking for a way out. She grabbed the bars and shook them, but soon abandoned that idea. She examined the walls carefully, but found nothing. The floor was dirt though. "Maybe I can dig a way out," Kyrian mused, feeling the damp earth. It would be hard, but it might be possible. Then Kyrian remembered Mintara. "That's it! Mintara will save us!" she whispered to herself. She sat back against the wall and waited.

But as the hours wore on, Kyrian began to have doubts. Mintara had never liked Tomas, and Kyrian wasn't absolutely necessary to the mission either. A guard came up to the door and took out a key. Kyrian stepped closer to Tomas's motionless body, as if to protect him somehow. "Come here, missy," the guard snarled, reaching out a grimy hand. Kyrian smacked it away and gave the man a sharp punch in the nose. No longer amused, he went in and grabbed her arms, pinning them behind her. He pushed her out in front of him, leaving Tomas behind. Kyrian kicked and struggled, but the guy was huge. He pushed her down long dark halls and past countless cells. Soon, they reached an imposing set of iron doors. The guard called out a harsh word and they doors swung open.

Inside was a huge room, lit by torches along the walls. At the far end sat a type of rough throne, made from rock. On it sat... "Erxon!" Kyrian exclaimed, shocked. And indeed it was. The little magician looked smug as Kyrian was brought before him. "It was so nice of you to pay me a visit," he sneered. Kyrian didn't answer. "You may be wondering why you are here," he said. "Well, it's not because you are anyone important. You are the bait. You mean nothing to me, I want that wizard, Mintara. She is the only one who knows how to use this confounded necklace!" He pounded the arm of his throne in frustration and motioned to the side, where Mintara's stunning necklace was displayed in an open velvet box. Kyrian's mouth dropped open in surprise.

Suddenly, Kyrian heard a shout behind her, and she craned her neck around to see Emerion and Mintara galloping up the hall behind her. The guard that held Kyrian let go of her and leaped to close the doors. Kyrian took her chance and ran to the side, ducking into the shadows. Emerion reared and a powerful burst of light flashed from Mintara's staff, and the closing doors flew open, throwing the guard back against the wall and knocking him unconscious. Mintara and Erxon locked eyes. Kyrian could almost feel Mintara's hate smoldering. "What are you going to do, Mintara?" Erxon smirked. "We both know that you are not powerful enough to kill me without your precious necklace." He motioned to the side of his throne where the necklace lay in it's box.

Mintara suddenly pointed her staff at the little magician and a blinding bolt of light shot from the tip and struck Erxon in the chest, driving him from his throne. He rolled to his feet and grabbed a twisted black staff that Kyrian hadn't noticed before. He pointed it at Mintara and a shot of black raced toward her. She leaped off Emerion's back out of the way. She shot again at Erxon, but he blocked her shot with his staff. He leaped in the air and landed in front of Mintara. They engaged in a furious battle with their staffs, blocking and swinging viciously. Kyrian stealthily slid along the wall, staying out of sight of the two fighting wizards. Erxon had a definite advantage. His staff seemed stronger, he was beating down her defenses. Kyrian got out of Erxon's range of vision; his back was to his throne. She raced to where the necklace lay and snatched it from the box. Her attention was diverted by the power racing through her from the necklace. She couldn't move.

A yell from Mintara brought Kyrian back to reality. Erxon had knocked her to the ground and now stood with the point of his staff poised over her heart. Mintara glanced behind him and saw Kyrian holding the necklace. Her eyes widened. Erxon turned to see what Mintara was looking at. A scream of rage escaped his throat as he turned toward Kyrian. Mintara swung her leg around and flipped his feet out from under him. He landed on the floor with a jarring thud. "Kyrian!" Kyrian threw the necklace as hard as she could. Erxon scrambled to his feet and reached for his staff. The necklace sailed right over his groping hand and right to Mintara. She grabbed the necklace and spun around. Erxon was just turning around to face her. The point of her staff struck him straight in the chest, gouging a hole in his heart. He stood there, unbelief on his face, staring into Mintara's rage-filled eyes. He exhaled deeply and closed his eyes, his head sagging to his chest. He slowly dissipated into a black mist, then that too disappeared.

Mintara lowered her staff and straightened up. Kyrian stared at her in shock. The wizard was glowing a white so bright that Kyrian couldn't look at her for more than a few seconds. Emerion too was a brilliant white, his horn a shining silver. Mintara didn't look like herself, she was much more powerful, but a terrible powerful. Suddenly, with a great effort, Mintara dropped the necklace. She fell to the ground, panting. Kyrian rushed over and picked up the necklace and put it in her pocket, lest Mintara be tempted to take it again. "Mintara, we must save Tomas!" Kyrian said desperately. The wizard nodded and stood, mounting Emerion.

The trio raced down the halls until they reached the cell where Tomas still lay unconscious. Mintara broke open the bars and lifted him out by his collar. Emerion snorted disdainfully, but allowed Tomas to be laid on his back.

An hour later, they finally exited the dungeon. They sat down in a grassy meadow. Kyrian took the necklace from her pocket and fingered it thoughtfully. "Mintara, you know that this should go back to Raladhea," Kyrian said softly. For one moment, Mintara's black eyes filled with anger, then she slowly nodded her head. "Emerion will take it," she said, motioning to her unicorn. Kyrian looped the beautiful thing around his silver horn, and he flew off. "This leaves us in a dilemma," Mintara said, looking disdainfully at Tomas lying on the ground. "We'll figure out something," Kyrian said. She still couldn't believe that Mintara had let her necklace go. Kyrian knew that she wouldn't leave Tomas again.