Leo gazed upon the wreckage of what was once Orbis. He had started coming here at the start of every day after Orbis had lost all its support and had come crashing down straight onto El Nath. It reminded him of the cost of this war and the importance of winning it. The only reason the mages had managed to change the trajectory of Orbis enough for it to just miss crashing onto El Nath and killing everybody there was pure luck. Still, no one that was on Orbis at that time had survived. It was all masterfully done. The assault on Orbis Tower cut off all backup that could potentially come from El Nath. The Cloud Parks went next, somehow corrupted by an unknown plague, converting the usually peaceful pixies into Death Pixies that were bent on destroying anything they laid their sights on. Before long, the pixies had destroyed all the wind power plants that the people of Orbis relied on for their power. And finally, the siege on Orbis started. With no possibility of contacting anybody for help after the power got cut off, Orbis went down quickly. The fall of Orbis meant there would be no backup coming anymore through the huge ship port that made Orbis famous and the bustling trading place it was known for. It had been peaceful for the past few days. Leo didn't know why but he knew it would not last. It never did.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through Leo's head. "Leo, come over to the Battle Box now. There is a code Gamma. I repeat, Code Gamma. A scout says that there are masses of undead coming about. He put the number at around 500 000 and they are coming fast. They've already almost reached the Wolf Territories."

Leo hated these telepathic messages. It seemed as though something had been crawling inside his head. It just felt, intrusive. Leo broke out into a run. Whatever the case, he needed to get over to the Battle Box as quickly as possible. A Code Gamma meant that the battle was expected to run into the city, causing danger to the entire populace. Everyone would be ushered into their houses and the mages would start erecting their most powerful defensive shields around them. As he ran, he wondered who his new partner would be. He felt a pang of sadness as he remembered the battle two weeks ago where he had lost one of his best friends that had been fighting with him side-by-side ever since he had joined with the Elite Dragon Knights.

It was customary for every Dragon Knight to have a partner that was behind the scenes, either sniping at the enemy or casting healing or protective spells on the Dragon Knight to make sure he did not fall in battle. It was usually a Mage, Priest or an Archer, although during these times with everything they had been fighting being of an undead nature, the partner generally ended up as a Priest.

As Leo arrived at the Battle Box at the top of the cliff in El Nath, he could see that battle preparations had already started. He headed over to the rack of weapons as he pulled down his usual weapons: A huge golden shield with an eagle's head on it and a spear fashioned out of ice that never melted and was almost impossible to break. Stowing them on his back, he headed over to the old man at the helm of a long table. He was wearing a long flowing cloak, completely jet black except the gold linings and was wielding something that looked like a cross between a staff and a polearm.

"Ah there you are Leo. We have found a new partner for you. Extremely promising I might add. I know you are still saddened over your loss but I hope you two get along for the sake of everyone here. This is probably the biggest battle we have had yet and this would be the worst time for any of us here to mess up. There she is heading here right now!"

"Wait," Leo started, "She?!" He could not see how a female could be in a war and battle. They were for men like him. He turned around and the sight startled him.

"Yes, a she. This is Jasmine. I know, you don't usually see a female battling around here but I assure you, she is perfectly capable of holding her own in any battle."

"This is ridiculous! She doesn't even look as if she can walk half a mile without collapsing. And has she even been in a proper battle before?" Even as Leo was criticizing Jasmine, he couldn't help but notice that she was quite attractive. She had long flowing red hair and piercing green eyes. And despite himself, Leo could not help notice that Jasmine's body was not as wimpy as he made it out to be. She had toned muscles and her body did not have a trace of fat on them. Leo shook his head slightly. He couldn't start thinking about these things now. There was a battle coming up. But despite his protests, he had to admit that it had been a long time since he had proper companionship.

Now it was Jasmine's turn to speak up. "Excuse me! I may not be a man but that does not mean you can regard me as completely useless on the battlefield. I bet that I could wipe your face in a one-on-one duel. If you don't want to be my partner, fine! You don't have to make such a big fuss about it."

"Yes wel-"

"ENOUGH!" A crash of thunder resounded through the structure even as the staff left the floor. Heads everywhere turned and stared. "Here we are with almost half a million undead knocking at our door and all you care about is your sexist attitude. I don't care how; you two WILL work out your problems and WILL be partners. We don't have the time or luxury to have arguments right now."

Leo had to admit, he was right. They didn't have time. They were already outnumbered as it was and would need all the help they could get.

"Leo right?" Leo looked up as he saw Jasmine extending her hand. "Why not we put that argument we had just now behind us. Have a fresh start?"

Leo gripped her hand tightly. "Fine. Let's hope our partnership will be a good one. To a fresh start?"

"To a fresh start."