Dartz put his armour on. It was a perfect fit, as the new army had promised. The fish men had brought it forth out of the ocean. It was the ancient armour, Atsushi's armour, for the wise chosen leader. Or so it had been written, moons ago, in the days when Dartz's own ancient history had ruled over Atlantis, when the blue hair of kings had been abundant.

He inspected it. It was a beautiful shining silver, with mother of pearl swirls up the breastplate

and down the gauntlets. The helmet was designed to sit upon his brow, the purple stones set into it would hang around the back of his neck as protection. It was truly a brilliant design.

"Sire, we are ready to advance. And we have your dragon."

Dartz looked up, surprised at the man's ghastly appearance. A sea soldier, his armour incongruous with his form, something like a humanoid hammerhead shark, stood before him, saluting him with his clenched fist upon his heart. Dartz hesitated. Was he really using these monsters to defend his country? He imagined Chris as a young child again, she would be petrified, enough to make her run and hide behind her mother's dress in the way she always used to... But he had digressed, he shook himself conscious again, "My dragon?"

"Yes. As our leader, you will need a mount. None more fitting than the Great Leviathan." He smiled, and left Dartz perched on a rock, still tying his heavy boots at the back. Dartz was used to having servants to arm him, but the thought of a fish putting his armour on for him was a little more than distressing.

The Great Leviathan. It indeed sounded an interesting mount, but he was already nervous about declaring war on his own people. If the beast was too frightening, he would not be able to accept it, for fear of his people turning.

Who was he fooling. His people had turned on him three years ago, when he had seemingly murdered his wife. He looked down at his reflection in the armour.

He was a terrible king.

xxxx

"Men!" Dartz stood atop the hill looking down on his army, "Today, we take Atlantis from the tyrant Ironheart, and I claim the kingdom as my own. Or, we take hostage the young Queen, Chrisana. One thing must be understood, the young Queen will come to no harm."

"Understood, our King!" The leaders stepped forward, each in charge of hundreds, thousands of men.

Dartz turned to face Atlantis. They would have made their own battle plans by now, and it would not be easy. His huge army was not likely to go unnoticed...

He narrowed his eyes, and lifted his helmet on to his head.

Atlantis would be his again.

xxxx

The wind was high as Ironheart looked out across the rocky fields and mountains. He had made sure every able man was armed. And every unable man. Ironheart showed no mercy to the elderly, the sick, a weapon was thrust in to their hands and they were told to fight for their country.

"Grandfather." Chrisana swept forward, "The Dragon Knights come forth with their promise, pledge and allegiance." Chris held an ancient staff. One that did not hold the power of the Orichalcos, Ironheart noted.

Three young men clad in grand armour moved forward towards Ironheart and the Queen.

"Queen Chrisana the first of Atlantis. I am Timaeus. Your mother's personal guard, and now to be your own. I have spoken with you before, and now I shall do the same for your grandfather. The Queen and I have come up with a strategy, which would best not be discussed around so many unfamiliar faces." Timaeus glanced about the point at which they were gathered, many people milled about, not knowing what to do. These men were jewellers, farmers, tailors! They knew little, if anything, of battle.

"I wish to know." Ironheart demanded.

"Really, Grandfather." Chris smiled sweetly, "You would have our foolproof plan discussed where enemies could hear?"

Ironheart grimaced, "I wish to know the battle plans."

Chris loved this, she finally felt in control.

Timaeus nodded, "We would start with a straightforward meeting. A truce between the Lord Dartz and yourself, meeting in the middle of the battlefield."

Ironheart shook his head, "I do not trust the Lord Dartz to not take my head off where I stand."

It was working perfectly, Chris thought.

"Very well." Timaeus glanced, vaguely annoyed to his two companions, "I understand entirely. Then how about the three of us escort the Queen to a meeting with the Lord Dartz?"

Ironheart laughed mockingly, "You want me to trust you all? Three men, two of which I don't even know the names of."

"How careless of us." The leanest dragon knight stepped forward, his voice husky. "I am Cridius, the longest serving Dragon Knight. I have been in the noble profession since I was but thrteen, learning the art of the sword."

"And I am Hermos. I have been serving with my fellow knight for fifteen years. I know what must be done according to the rules and laws of Atlantis."

"And where, pray," Ironheart paused, "Are your dragons?"

The knights looked to one another, smiling slightly. Chrisana let out a small giggle.

"I was sure this was a common known fact through Atlantis. We do not ride dragons, my liege." Hermos gave a noble bow of his head.

"Then why are you called Dragon Knights?" Ironheart asked, annoyed at his own stupidity, whilst Chrisana stood, completely thrilled.

"It's to do with their history, grandfather." She shook her head, as if this were an elementary tale taught to even the youngest of children, "There have always been Dragon Knights since the dawn of Atlantis, and only those with noble hearts are allowed to join. They go through many tasks to earn the title of Dragon Knight, and one of the earliest tasks was to tame a dragon. Some knights made the dragons trust them so much that the dragons allowed them to ride upon their backs into battle. But there are so few dragons these days, it's impossible for them to find one! Let alone tame it." Chris looked admiringly at the three men. To her, they were heroes, the stuff of legend! The men servants had told tales of to her when she was very young, and they knew her entire plan. With them on her side, how could she fail to be reunited with her father?

"Well maybe if the Dragon Knights had been more real, and not stayed in hiding for years, I would have known this." Ironheart frowned, "But I still do not trust the Lord Dartz near our precious Queen. Nor do I trust any of you. Yet."

Chris's face fell.

"I think it would be better if the three of you went to discuss terms." Ironheart looked long and hard at them.

The silence consumed the knights for a few seconds. Timaeus had made a promise to Chris. To reunite her with her father. If they went without Chris, they couldn't hand her straight to him and avoid this war as planned. They would have to speak to Dartz on behalf of Chris.

"Very well." Timaeus looked to Chris, his eyes telling her that everything would be all right.

Chris nodded, understanding him. She so wanted to see her father again.

"We shall watch this meeting Chrisana, from the cliff face." Ironheart took her hand and they started to climb upwards. "We will have an advantage point over this pretender. We have the higher ground."

As Ironheart turned to go he heard Timaeus chuckle lightly, "Your own son? A pretender? My, that is a little harsh to say the least."

Ironheart cast a stony glare over him, "Then tell me where he got his blue hair."

Critius smiled, trying to suppress it, "If I may be so bold, your highness, I know my ancestors served the kings, the true sign of nobility and worthiness is the blue glow, It's not hereditary It's a sign."

Ironheart narrowed his eyes, before continuing his way up the cliff.

xxxx

"Your highness." A warrior woman, covered in ice and scales walked towards him, holding some sort of ray gun. She was not quite fish, yet she was not quite human either..."A message was shot down from the cliff about twenty minutes ago. You are to meet in the central point and discuss terms with the Dragon Knights."

Dartz frowned, "The Dragon Knights? They have always been in hiding. Or a myth. No one's really sure which."

"Well, my lord. Before you summoned us, we were just a myth. In fact," The lady leaned to one side slightly, eyeing Dartz up, "I'm pretty sure you didn't think female warriors existed."

Dartz raised his eyebrows, "Where do they want to meet me?"

The lady sighed, "In the centre of the battle field. I'll go with you. You look like you could do with someone to protect you." She started moving forwards.

"May I see the note?"

The lady pulled out a note from a long loose bag that hung by her hip. "Here."

Dartz read through it, "It looks like Chris will be there. And Ironheart. Meet us... that must be her." Dartz carefully folded the letter and slipped it in to the top of his boot. He didn't recognise the handwriting, and it had been years since he'd seen anything Chris had written. He clung on to it in hope that he finally had something of hers.

"We should go, your Highness."

"We?" Dartz laughed, "What's your name, woman?"

"Reece." She smiled, "Unless you want it to be something else." She moved towards him slowly, seductively.

"No." Dartz shook his head and stood, "I do not want any other woman."

"Don't worry. We don't have to get that close. I just want to accompany you to the battlefield. It would be my honour. Both of us having brilliant blue hair would look..." her eyes seemed to light up as she spoke. It was clearly a long awaited dream. "...astonishing."

"I can see you hope for battle glory, but I can't help you. I have to go alone. However, Reece. I am sure your time will come." He moved closer to her. "You may be part of the five I shall take as my bodyguard. You appear to be a strong warrior."

"Trained from birth sire. Of course. I mainly fight in water. And I haven't had practice for many years."

"You should focus on the positives." Dartz warned, "You may need them."

"Sire." Reece said, after a short pause, "If you're going to wield the power of the Orichalcos, then you're going to need this." She held a plain, blank card between her fingers. It was no larger than her hand, and it was green, except from one blank square in the centre. "You'll find kidnapping souls a lot easier. I know I did."

Dartz frowned, "Souls? What do you know about my quest for souls?"

"I saw the woman in your pocket."

Dartz looked over to where he'd left his robes. The card was left inside the folds of fabric. "I already know how to extract souls."

"But that's so messy." Reece picked up his tunic and let Minosata fall to the floor. She picked her up and examined her, not a hint of disturbance towards the warped girl. "You used the Orichalcos' raw power. But if you put the power of the Orichalcos in to the paper first, it becomes like a prison. They can't escape it. It becomes a seal." She ran her fingers down the card. "They can't get out. Let me show you."

She took a great sword, with ancient runes carved down the blade. In the hilt of the sword, was the stone of Orichalcos, formed in to a star that sat just above the blade. Reece held the blade to the card, and the familiar green glow fell on to it. She smiled.

"The Orichalcos likes me." she explained, shrugging, "I am bitter about so many things. It feeds off my hatred. A truly good person could never wield the power of the Orichalcos."

Dartz looked concerned. This was not what he had been told about the Orichalcos. He looked at his hands.

"Here." She handed him a card, with the star symbol, and the same ancient runes that appeared on the sword around the edge of the card. "You'll be able to keep the souls perfect now, providing you can use the Orichalcos, that is. We should go." She spun on her heel to leave, before stopping abruptly, "Oh, and I forgot. This sword is yours. Crafted by our finest armourer. Atlantean silver. And not the weak stuff you call silver. The same stuff your armour's made from."

Dartz took the sword silently, still bewildered. But he needed to contain his bewilderment.

This was the turning point for him, and this... he looked down at the card in his hand, could he use it? Take the souls of his own people?

Time would tell.

Dartz looked forward across the lush green grass of the battlefield.

Time would tell so many things...