Disclaimers on chapter 1

~#~#~#~

'Timber!' Caesar joked as the last troll collapsed after being dealt the deathblow from Dragon's greatsword hitting the ground with enough force to catch everyone of balance for a second.

The group had finally made it through the plain to the small mountain path that led to the trolls territory where Setti was currently excavating. Unfortunately, some of the twenty-odd foot locals noticed their arrival and were intent on giving them a proper greeting given to all those who entered their territory.

Before Leonard or Caesar could transform, Dragon had stepped forward whilst drawing his greatsword from its resting place on his back wordlessly relaying that he would take care of them. Caesar, however, decided to have a little more fun and suggested that Alastor help out unless he was not up to the challenge. Despite glaring at the young Lord when realising what he was up to, the Spellcaster complied and began taking down the three trolls with Dragon.

'And after that impressive display, the Red Dragon wins by taking down two trolls to the Blue Mage's one. Clearly, this young swordsman is more than just dragon in name' Caesar proclaimed acting as commentator.

'If he doesn't shut up, I'm going to perform a disappearing trick on his ass!' Alastor muttered under his breath as he walked away from the troll he had beaten by multiple fire and wind spells to the head.

'Now, now, accept defeat like a man' Yulie mock scolded him the teasing grin on her face preventing her from looking serious.

Before the irritated Spellcaster could reply, a guttural roar was heard before one of the three supposedly dead trolls suddenly got up and swung its great fist down at him. Jumping back to avoid the appendage that smashed the ground where he once stood, Alastor quickly fired off a piercing spell at the troll cutting straight through the soft tissue in its mouth and continued out the back of its head.

'And in a sudden turn of events, Alastor steals away one of Dragon's kills for his own making him the clear victor!" Caesar continued as the troll collapsed again, this time for good, until glares from the Spellcaster and females of the group wisely made him shut up.

Dragon was stuck between staring at the young Lord for sounding completely free of care in the face of being in troll territory in disbelief and at the Spellcaster in awe for taking down a troll with one shot.

'It was just a lucky shot' Alastor shrugged as he turned his back on Caesar. 'Dragon had already weakened it anyway, probably only just survived his attack'

'That sounded more honest that your last brag back when we first started' Yulie noted 'Something about knowing a whole tomes worth, was it?'

'Definitely more than you know, even before we first met' Alastor threw back.

'Well at least I don't have to pretend to be humble' Yulie said with emphasis on the word pretend to make sure the Spellcaster knew what she was talking about.

'Come again?' Caesar inquired making sure he had heard right. If it was teasing material to use on his favourite bodyguard, he just had to know.

'Nothing!' Alastor said as he clasped Yulie's mouth shut with one hand while glaring at the others silently telling them to keep shut about it or face the consequences.

Despite already deciding to just keep quiet about it before the Spellcaster spoke up, the others wisely kept their mouth shut although Caesar looked disappointed at not getting more blackmail material on the Spellcaster in question. Dragon, while being clueless about what was going on, had caught the smile and faint blush on Yulie's face when Alastor released the girl and shoved her away from him.

'According to the request notes, Medius' son was found in the cave that had an entrance near a waterfall, like that one' Dragon said while indicating the cave in question that was just downhill from them. 'Do you think you can do it without me?'

'We'll manage' Leonard stated confidently. 'Thanks for your help'

'No problem' Dragon brushed off it had been fun to catch up with some old friends of his no matter how short it was.

He was half way back along the path before remembering something and wheeling back round to face them.

'Good luck, Alastor!' he yelled to the Spellcaster before hightailing it back along the path. Even from a distance, that glare was rather intimidating.

'What did he mean by that?' Yulie asked the Spellcaster in question who was still glaring at the warrior who had disappeared over the hill.

'No idea' Alastor lied as he started following Leonard towards the cave where Setti was supposed to be. He knew exactly what Dragon was talking about and was trying his best not to think about it.

Yulie almost pouted at his words evidently wanting to know if what Dragon was talking about had something to do with her. It would at least assure the girl that he had feelings her but until she found out, she was left in the dark.

'There's nothing worse than not knowing' Kara said to her although whether she meant that in a teasing or consoling way was anyone's guess.

'I have no idea what you're talking about' Yulie stated completely unaware of how similar the situation between Alastor and herself as she began walking further ahead so that Kara could not see the blush on her cheeks.

Kara let a quiet chuckle out as she followed the three leaving just Caesar and Eldore to catch up. The former taking this chance to strike up a conversation with the wizened Swordmage.

'So, Eldore' The young Lord began lightly. 'You gonna tell us who you are?'

Eldore stopped in his tracks to look at the young Lord before turning away letting his head hang slightly.

'Ever since I got the Ark, things have started to look kind of different to me' Caesar explained seeming to go slightly off topic. 'It's like…I see through dragon's eyes now'

In short, wielding the Dragon Knight apparently bestowed Caesar with an ability dragons have that allowed them to see through the shell of man and look into the soul to see the real man before them for who and what he was.

They told, or more precisely showed him of how Alastor was troubled about a missing piece of his past and the power he wielded; of Leonard's infatuation with the Princess and how deep it went; of Yulie's budding feelings for a certain Spellcaster, which would have been great teasing material had it also not shown him her lethal left hook; It did not tell him much about Kara, but he would soon rectify that, with or without the eye; As for Eldore…

'How do I put this…You sort of…jump out at me now' Caesar muttered trying to find words for what he saw. 'I look at you and…there's somethin' about you that just seems a bit off kilter, you know? No offense'

'I'm just a humble travelling man' Eldore brushed off. 'You're talking nonsense, my boy. No one has the power to look into another's heart'

With that he continued walking evidently not wanting to listen to anymore useless words spewing from the young Lord's mouth.

'Nonsense? Thanks a lot…' He huffed before following after him.

~#~#~#~

'Let's hope Setti's in here' Leonard said as they entered the cavern tunnel.

While wide enough for them to easily enter, it hardly looked as if anyone would come through here without a lantern or some sort of light source. It became apparent to how someone would come through when they turned the corner and found that the minerals embedded into the wall faces were reflective enough that sunlight bounced off it from one piece to the next creating a dim glow that allowed all to see what was in front of them for quite a distance.

'While we're at it, let's hope he's in one piece' Yulie added before Alastor could say anything negative along the lines of Setti being here yet no longer among the living.

'Sounds like Mr Sunshine here is beginning to rub off on someone. But is that in the literal or metaphorical way?' Caesar joked waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

It did not take the Dragosight to show Caesar that the smile Yulie was giving him indicate he would be in a world of hurt if he continued with the topic. And here he thought Alastor could be scary, this girl was ten times worse and she was not even frowning yet.

A guttural roar up ahead told the group that something was happening and they immediately quickened their pace whilst hoping that whatever was happening did not include who they were searching for. Moments later found them coming out of a tunnel onto a cavern where the sunlight was shining down through a large hole in the roof and multiple tunnels leading off in all directions making it impossible to detect which way the noise was coming from.

'Over there!' Yulie suddenly yelled pointing to one of the tunnels.

Rushing out of the tunnel was a dark haired lad around Alastor's age, give or take a few years, wearing travelling clothes normally used by travelling scholars and a rucksack that was bouncing haphazardly off his back as he tried to lose the three trolls pursuing him. The troll closest to the running human brought its club down hitting the ground behind the lad hard enough that the shockwave knocked him off his feet.

Rolling onto his back, the scholar uselessly covered his face with his arms waiting for one of the trolls to deal the final blow. It never came as it had been stopped halfway by a giant suit of armour resembling a black, avian humanoid.

'The Black Knight! Why is he here?' Leonard snarled as he watched Dragias brush away the club with one hand before lashing out at the three trolls.

'Reinforcements, huh?' Caesar asked evidently not aware of the whole picture surrounding the Black Knight and his past with the group.

Swiftly finishing off the three trolls, Dragias turned round to face the group only to bring his rapier up to block an attack from Leonard who had quickly transformed in hopes of launching a surprise attack. The collision of the two Knights blades created a brief blinding light that caused the others to step back as they covered their eyes.

'Aren't we on the same team?' Caesar asked in confusion.

Yulie quickly instructed the lad to leave his burst rucksack and find cover before turning on Caesar. 'There's no time right now to explain but the Black Knight is our enemy. You have to help Leonard!'

It was easy to see where this concern was coming from. The last time the two had truly traded blows, it was a stalemate. Now, in a cavern smaller than the last one they fought in, Leonard would surely be at a disadvantage unless he had help from a fellow Knight.

'This is getting complicated…' Caesar whined despite agreeing to the archer's command.

With both Leonard and Caesar to combat against, not even Dragias could possibly hold his own. Yet, despite the odds against him, he managed to parry and even counter the two Knights attacks against him.

He would strike at Caesar's spear thrusts with sweeping motions of his rapier hitting the trident edge and sending him off balance and focus on attacking Leonard's right side whenever the White Knight made any attacks against him. Despite his skill however, he was unable to land a proper blow as the other would quickly ward off the strikes making it once again an even match.

Stepping back after a lethal jab just missed him, Dragias was about to attempt to strike again when he noticed that he was now covered in a dark reddish aura. Across the cavern, both Leonard and Caesar were also experiencing the same phenomena as they began glowing light blue and purple respectively.

'What's with the light show?' Caesar asked looking from himself to Leonard and Dragias then back again.

'The Knights' power… It's resonating!' Eldore exclaimed realising what was happening.

'What does that mean?' Yulie asked unable to tear her eyes away from the light show.

'Their Knights must be sending out mana waves, making each other stronger' Alastor quickly explained.

Mana waves were, in layman's terms, basically the power levels of spells being cast. It would be much like a fireball proclaiming how powerful it was and how much damage it would do. A Spellcaster with enough training could easily sense this enabling them to come up with a counter. While going up against another fireball of equal power would just wipe one another out, the mana waves emitted from the Incorrupti however seemed to somehow strengthen one another instead of cancel each other out.

'I feel…stronger!' Leonard exclaimed as he felt the power coursing through him. His amazement did not last long as Dragias had decided to resume their fight and had come at him quicker than usual, perhaps due to the resonance, and yet, despite his surprise, Leonard still blocked it with ease.

No matter what kind of boost to the Knights' abilities, the battle was still even, it just the damage and destruction to the cavern that worsened. Every time one of the Knights weapons collided with the ground or cavern walls, huge pieces would be sent flying or turned to dust. In one instance, Alastor practically grabbed and threw Yulie from one side of the cavern to another by the collar of her tunic when a large boulder went careering in her direction due to Caesar's spear smashing against the wall.

Seeing as continuing their battle could result in his being buried were they to start a cave in, Dragias once again wisely decided to take flight and flew out the skylight in the cavern roof. There was always next time anyway.

With the threat no longer around, the two remaining Knights reverted back into their smaller forms where Caesar immediately asked the question that was bugging him the most.

'Who was that guy in black armour?'

'One of the Magi. But unlike the rest of them, he can turn into a knight' Yulie explained. 'He murdered Balandor's king'

'Black Knight, black armour, bad guys. Got it' Caesar nodded in understanding.

'Rather childish way of remembering things, but for you it seems suitable' Kara mocked as she came into view from the tunnel. She somehow managed to take a wrong turn and had to back track slightly in order to find them.

'At least he doesn't need someone to hold his hand so that he doesn't get lost' Alastor defended matching the glare Kara was now sending his way with one of his own.

'I don't know how to thank you all. You saved me' The scholar stated as he came round from behind the tunnel corner he had hidden in and joined their group.

'The Black Knight saved you' Leonard stated sounding angry and confused about it. 'Why would he do that?'

It was a good point. With the fact that this young man could be Setti, the one person who could bring them back on track to rescuing the princess, would it not have been better for Dragias to just leave the man to his demise?

'Well I certainly don't know' The man replied the parting in his long hair allowed the group to see his one eye full of confusion much like the rest of them. 'But those black wings. That could only be Dinivas, the Black Incorruptus Knight from the Dogma War!'

It was pretty clear that the man before them was indeed Setti as people who not only knew what a Knight was but also where it came from had to be extremely rare in this day and age.

'So you do know about the Knights' Leonard stated as he looked at the man who appeared to be nothing but skin and bone as well as looking slightly pale probably due from not seeing sunlight very often.

'Quite a bit. And now I've been rescued by one!' Setti exclaimed suddenly looking slightly paler. 'That day must be drawing near. The day that father feared so much…'

The only "day" that Setti was talking about was the "Final Awakening" Eldore had mentioned in the tunnels. Despite knowing what this day was and what it required, the how and why behind it all still eluded the group.

'Yeah? Tell us more' Caesar practically demanded evidently hoping it would shed some light on why he had to be raised by the late Count Drisdall instead of possibly being looked after by his real parents.

'Very well' Setti agreed. 'But first, let's return to town. What I'm going to tell you may require more comfort than what this cavern can supply'

'In other words, this is going to be quite a long tale' Alastor muttered under his breath.

~#~#~#~

'…You see, before my father Medius died, he told me all about the secrets of the Knights' Setti explained once everyone had gotten comfy in the main room of his abode. 'As you know, the Knights are weapons of war, sprung from an ancient wisdom. These Ancients, their technology truly defies modern understanding'

They could all attest to that, Leonard and Caesar especially. The Knights, or Incorrupti as they were called back in the day, were possibly the greatest of creations combining magic and ancient machinery together. And yet, despite the technological prowess, the country of their creation faded from existence.

'As sophisticated as they were, however, the Ancients still needed a fuel for their Knights, something with which to power them'

'Fuel?' Leonard echoed in confusion. 'You mean like, as in those furnaces used to drive the trains in Greede?'

Setti shook his head before continuing his explanation. 'A Knight is like a suit of armour; it cannot act on its own. To move, to fight, each Knight requires the power of a person's soul'

'What?' Yulie asked sure that she was hearing things.

'That would make sense' Alastor stated from the corner of the room as if trying to act like a shadow. 'You put a person in a normal suit of armour to use it so it's basically just the same principals for a Knight, I suppose'

'So wait, let me see if I've got this right. We've been lending our souls so that they can fight?' Caesar queried.

'Essentially, yes' Setti nodded. 'A Pactmaker with the right qualities offers his soul, and the Knight is transformed into the mightiest of warriors'

Leonard and Caesar looked at each other in pure shock and amazement. Out of all the people in the realms, they apparently had the right qualities to wield these weapons of ancient times. For both of them to acquire their Knights within a week of unlocking them, the odds were too high to count. Caesar did not seem to think so and just shrugged it off before turning to look at Setti when the scholar began talking again.

'Of course, the men who made these invincible weapons; they feared that the Pactmakers might turn on them'

'Powerful things like that? They were bound to add a failsafe to prevent something like that from happening' Alastor snorted. 'So, what was theirs?'

'They used the souls of newborn infants' Setti told them just the way he said it indicated how disgusted he was with the idea.

Even though it was a cruel method, it did have merits. As time would go on, the awakened Knight would learn things itself through battle experience. Not only that, but by using babies, the Knights would lack any proper intelligence and would automatically think their creator was their father effectively preventing anyone from trying to capture or reprogram them.

'So they turned babies into killing machines?' Caesar asked in disbelief. 'That's evil, man'

'What kind of war was this?' Leonard asked he knew little about the war in question save the snippets Eldore had told him since they had begun their hunt for the Magi and their prisoner.

'A long time ago, during a time now known as the Dogma Age, two great forces struggled for control of the world. They were called Yshrenia and Athwan' Setti began as he rose from his seat over to a bookshelf searching for a particular item. 'Their fortunes waxed and waned, but neither could ever gain the upper hand'

Picking up several scrolls of parchment, Setti returned to the table and let the first scroll unroll itself. While faded and hard to make out in several places, the scroll depicted a huge battle between white and black figures. The most, if not all, of the white figures appeared to be Spellcasters judging by the pale blue balls being fired or charged in the picture indicating that the Yshrenians were the black figures that wielded shields, swords and spears.

'In a bid to finish the war once and for all, Yshrenia created the Knights. And just like that the tides changed'

A second scroll was unrolled. This one first showed a Knight being put together on the lower half whilst those chosen to become the power source for the Knight were depicted above being hailed like royalty for their sacrifice an ample word seeing as the scroll shows them being drained of their life force until they are naught but bones. Further along the scroll showed several Knights fully functioning and marching what was presumably to the front lines.

'Before long Athwan stood on the brink of defeat. But the Athwani forces made one, last desperate counter-attack. At the price of many lives, they used "sealing magic" to entrap the Yshrenian Knights'

Another scroll was unrolled, this one going in the opposite direction evidently to show the opposing side of the war. One third of the scroll showed a single white person surrounded by six others then doubled for the next circle. A ring surrounded the gathering trailing off to surround the collapsed forms of the Yshrenian Knights that held another third while the last section had black figures either wailing at the sight of their trump card falling or just plain retreating.

'Without their superweapons, the Yshrenians were over whelmed by the Athwani Spellcasters. Now it was their turn to be pushed to the edge of defeat. However before the Athwani could finish off their foes, they turned against each other and their empire collapsed into civil war'

'Eventually both civilizations, Yshrenia and Athwani alike, faded away' Setti finished as he sat back down again. 'For all their sacrifices, neither side gained the ultimate victory; in the end their bloody struggle was all in vain'

He barely managed to refrain from jumping at the sight of Eldore glaring daggers at him. Apparently, being part Spellcaster, the old man favoured the Athwani and did not like the way he had described their demise. A hidden smirk appeared as he jotted it down in his memory for later days.

'And now the Knights art free again' Leonard concluded evidently thinking that it could not be mere coincidence that they should awaken during his and Caesar's time.

'So it seems. The dogma age did end with no victor' Setti agreed. 'However, the oracles prophesised a final battle would be fought ten millennia later'

'So their choosing now to have some sort of rematch?' Alastor threw out coming to the conclusion that the ten thousand year bridge was just about crossed. 'How when the only remaining artifacts of that time are several suits of oversized armour'

'The souls of the Yshrenian emperor, Madoras, and the Athwani queen, Mureas, would both re-emerge, and settle their great conflict once and for all'

'So the Magi are working for one of them?' Yulie asked seeing as there could be no other reason why they were searching for the Knights although the reason behind the princess' capture still had to be revealed.

'And these prophesies, you think they're coming true now?' Leonard added.

'I do, on both theories. It is what Father feared more than anything else' Setti replied turning to look at a picture of his father wistfully wishing that he were here to explain further what was going on.

'So wait. Maybe…' Caesar paused to think through what was jumbled around in his head before voicing his pondering. 'Is that why Medius put me in someone else's care?'

Setti shook his head to purge himself of his lamenting before looking seriously at the group. 'I'm sorry but that answer will have to wait. Someone has been watching me these last few days'

The group instantly became more alert. If they had found Setti, then it should have been unsurprising that the Magi had also found him.

'We need to leave and the sooner the better' Setti declared.

'And where exactly could we go?' Alastor asked of the scholar. 'We don't really have a break on where the Magi are going next or where the next Knight is'

'The place where it all began: Sinca Village'

He did not show it, but upon mention of the village Alastor felt something tug at the edge his mind as if it was something he should know yet somehow did not. Caesar and Leonard apparently felt that way also except it was much more familiar to them as well as new.

'You'll understand once your there. About the Knights…and more' Setti explained catching the looks of confusion on the Pactmakers faces before pressing on. 'We must hurry. Our only defense against the crisis Father feared is knowledge'

'I have to prepare for the journey. Meet me at the East Gate of Balandor' Setti told them as he stood up. 'Please go now!'

'Alright. We'll meet you there' Leonard quickly agreed as he and the others stood also. 'Be careful'

'You as well' Setti returned as he watched them pass by until all but Eldore had yet to leave.

'You haven't revealed who you really are' The words stopped the Swordmage in his tracks as he stared at Setti in confusion. 'Well, it won't stay secret for long'

Eldore frowned slightly before continuing after the rest of the group leaving Setti looking at the ground so that his smirk was hidden by his red scarf.

~#~#~#~

By the time the group had first returned to Balandor for Setti's explanation, the sun was only just starting to set. Even after replenishing their supplies and getting their weapons checked and prepared, the sun was still hanging over the town when they reached the rendezvous. But with the sun gone and the twilight hours upon them, they could not help but worry.

'Do you think he's okay?' Yulie voiced what was passing through each of their minds quietly as if not trying to tempt fate.

'You know, he was kind of weird. All that prophecy stuff...' Caesar muttered aloud looking back on the scholar in question. 'And my Dragonsight doesn't work on him either'

'Did you try your Dragonmouth? Dragonnose, perhaps?' Eldore suggested evidently still nettled by the young Lord's nosiness from on the plain earlier'

Alastor rolled his eyes at the pair before returning to his own thoughts. Ever since the scholar had mentioned Sinca village, the Spellcaster could not help but look back to the time when he was asked by his teacher to go to some village on the edge of the Van Haven Wastelands. While there were many villages that dotted the outskirts of the land, he could not for the life in him remember the name of the village he was supposed to go to as if it kept darting back into the recesses of his mind the moment he found it.

Yulie had noticed the Spellcaster deep in thought and was about to ask if something was wrong before the sound of hurried footsteps came their way. Looking round, hoping to see Setti hurrying towards them, they were surprised to see a townsman running towards them crying for help.

'What is it?' Eldore asked the panicking man when he got close enough.

'There's been an explosion in the south district. A man was killed in the blast!'

The group barely glanced at each other to see they were all thinking the same thing: Setti's house was in the south district! Even from where they were standing, a huge pillar of black smoke could now be seen rising from just around where the scholar's dwellings should recide.

By the time they got there, there was barley anything recognizable of the house amidst the towering flames and black smoke rising into the sky.

'What happened? You think it was the Magi's doing?' Leonard asked staring at the flames.

'But why would they?' Yulie asked in return.

'To keep us off their trail. Whatever's in Sinca must be key to stopping them' Alastor surmised. Assassination always was the best way to silence those who hinder and block one's progress.

'Nothing could have survived that' Kara stated feeling the intense heat of the flames even from where they were standing.

Yulie let her gaze slide upwards as she turned to the moon for support. This had been their best lead yet and had believed that they were finally ahead of the Magi in some way only for it to literally go up in flames. Her eyes never reached the open sky as the caught sight of a bigelow perched on the roof of a nearby home that was staring at them.

This one was neither of Eldore's as its feathers were of a dark brown in colour. As the rest of the group caught sight of what had caught Yulie's eye, the bigelow took off through the town making sure it kept to the roads so that they could follow it to wherever or whoever it was taking them to.

'End of the line, bird' Caesar stated when they reached a dead end with the bigelow perching on top of an empty barrel. 'Now who do you work for?'

As if waiting for someone to ask that, the bigelow opened its connection to its mate. A blue ghostly image of a man in his early twenties could be seen. While it was hard to depict eye and hair colour, his clothing obviously suggested that the man was indeed of noble blood judging by the way he held himself in his chair.

'Greetings. My name is Grazel. So nice to speak with you' The image introduced himself as if their meeting was just an ordinary occurrence. 'I am the leader of a little organisation which you like to call the Magi'

Leonard growled wanting nothing more than the image to be the real thing so he could show the man his anger for all the pain he had brought on Cisna and taking her away from him.

'I imagine you must be very worried about your precious princess. I know I would be' Grazel continued as if knowing what the youth was thinking. 'In light of that, I would like to propose a trade'

This caught the group off guard. The Magi were currently still ahead of them, albeit without the Knights they had taken away from them at the last possible moment. Were they fed up of losing out on the prize, or was it possible that they no longer needed the princess for their mission? Or could it possibly be…

'We want the Knights and are willing to exchange Princess Cisna for the two Arks in your possession' Grazel proposed. 'I will be waiting by Thaumus Rock in Frass Chasm. You may come if you like, or not. It is up to you. But this is your only chance to ever see the princess alive'

So that was it, in exchange for the Knights, the Magi were willing to return to them the one person who could accelerate their plans. It was bound to be a trap. But it was also their best possible chance to date to rescue the princess even if it meant giving up their Knights.

'Thank you, and do have a good day' The message ended fading away as the bigelow returned to its master leaving the group something to ponder over as they decided to rest up before proceeding on to Frass Chasm.

~#~#~#~

Turning away from the black feathered bigelow once completed his speech, Grazel turned to look at Princess Cisna who was seated across from him flanked by Trent and Isaac.

'I have made the arrangements you ask for, your Highness' He said smiling slightly. 'I do hope your information about Talion is correct'

Princess Cisna nodded her head hoping in her heart of hearts that she was doing the right thing.

~#~#~#~

Hope that keeps you riveted for now. I was hoping to make it longer but I've still got one more fic to update before the month is over.

Review if possible & 'til next month

Watch this space & peace out!