Eye of the Storm

by Ocaj

Sequel to HoaD. After prince Callum kept his promise to rid Katolis of every trace of dark magic, and after a little adventure mission in Duren, Callum is finally allowed to study magic in Xadia. But Callum quickly discovers this dream is not all it seems to be. Meanwhile, Rayla tries to get the dragonguard back in order, but is eventually forced to choose between loyalty and love.

10. Storms End

The storm raged on as about fifty humans ascended the stairs on the Storm Spire. It was a slow ordeal. They felt the need to hurry, but Callum placated them. "Don't worry." he said. "The storm will keep them trapped. There is nowhere for them to go to."

The men accepted this and felt encouraged by his presence. In the short time that Callum had been with the True Light, he had garnered a reputation of being very knowledgeable about magic, and being a very happy and kind person overall. While Claudia was leading the expedition, they still accepted Callum's words without issue.

Callum and Claudia both took the lead, with Callum focussing on the stormspell, while Claudia was on the lookout for any ambushes or traps. She still had her sunstone staff with her, the one her father gave her for the previous battle. If I see any dragons flying around, I'll blast them out of the sky! She gripped her staff tightly as she peered at the skies.

"What do you think we will face up there?"

Callum thought for a bit. "That depends on what we will face before we get there. The halls where the dragons are only have one way in or out. If they stay there, they'll be trapped. If they're smart, they will try to attack us before we get there and try to take us by surprise."

"Well, if they do, we'll just blast them from the mountain! Pew pew!" Claudia held her staff like a bow, pretending to shoot at imaginary enemies.

Callum chuckled. "I'm sure they will try to do the same. Oh, can I ask you something?"

Claudia blinked. Ever since she charmed him, he had done exactly as she asked of him, but he rarely asked anything in return. For him to show this kind of initiative was rare in his charmed state. She figured it must be important to her or him. "Yeah, sure!"

"While we're up there, can you order one of the men to go to the captain's room and grab my stuff? I left my leather satchel there, a brown one… oh! And my sketchbook!"

This made her smile. "Awww…. And if I do that, will you sketch me?" She asked in a singsong voice.

Callum's corrupted face cracked in a smile. "Of course Claudia! Anything for you!"

"Hmmm, alright!" She relayed the order to the other mages before continuing upward. The rest of the journey was mostly spent in silence. Internally, she was debating with herself about the charm spell she put on Callum. Part of her felt like she was abusing him, but she desperately tried to convince herself that it was for the greater good. Besides, if this goes on long enough, he'll probably get used to it. Yeah, that's it! Once a long time has passed and I dispel the charm, he'll be glad I did it!

They walked on with Claudia still looking upwards for dragons. She found it odd that no dragon had yet tried to attack them from the air, or tried to escape. If they escape, this whole trip will be for nothing! I know Callum said he could use his magic to trap them, but is this storm really enough? "Callum, this storm prevents the archdragons from leaving, right?"

Callum however, was completely unconcerned. "Yeah, it should. Maybe the queen could navigate the storm, being a storm dragon and all that. Zym would be too young. I doubt he can fly very well in this weather. But if the queen leaves, we would see her there." He pointed upwards. The inkblack storm clouds were swirling around the Storm Spire, never touching it. Streaks of lightning continuously illuminated it from all sides. "If she does try to fly away, we could take her down with ranged spells easily."

"Alright, if you say so." They continued walking the stairs in silence, until eventually Claudia spoke up again. "How long did you say we have to climb these stairs?"

"Oh, with this pace? Maybe half an hour or so."

Claudia groaned.

-/-/-/-

"They will be here shortly." Bosor grunted, his eyes peered from behind his helmet to the large doorway beyond which the rain and lightning were clearly visible.

"So what is our plan?" Ibis stood next to him. They both looked worried and were on edge by the whole situation.

"Protecting the royal family is paramount." Bosor answered, looking at the queen and Zym. "We must find a way to get them to safety."

"Ibis," king Aureum Umbra's voice resonated through the cavern as he addressed the skywing mage. "What can you do about this storm?"

Ibis looked thoughtful for a moment. "I could try to dispel it. I am well versed in the sky arcanum, so I know what spell Callum has used to conjure this storm. However, it would take a long time, and it would be very simple for him to cast the same spell again. It pains me to say it, but, the sooner we take him out of the equation, the better."

Bosor nodded. "Agreed. However, if we wait for him to come to us, he will be protected by the power of those other mages. It will be hard to get close to him. We must dwindle their numbers somehow."

They thought about this for a bit. Ibis was the first to respond. "Well, what I can do is negate a small portion of the storm around me, so if one were to stay close to me, we could take the fight to them."

"And how much of this storm can you negate?" The dragon king asked, looming over them.

"Well, enough to create a bubble to fit all of the dragonguard, or-" Ibis looked at the king. The archdragon was massive, his white and dark-blue scales gave him a somewhat mythical appearance, and the four horns that crowned his head made him look menacing. "-if I focus really hard, one, gargantuan dragon."

The king smiled. It was a grim smile, one created out of desperation. "Very well then. Guide me through the storm Ibis. Then I will show them the power of an arch moondragon!" He turned towards the queen, who up until now was trying her best to calm down Zym. "Queen Zubeia!"

The queen turned her head towards the king. "Yes? What shall we do?" The queen still sounded regal, but everyone could hear the soft tremor in her voice.

"Ibis will guide me through the storm. Then I will strike down as many of those mages as I can. Once I give the signal, you will take the prince and fly far away from here."

The queen nodded hesitantly. "Are you sure you don't need any help Aureum?"

"I do, but not from you my queen." He looked down at Bosor. "The mages will undoubtedly wear me down. Be ready to storm out when the time is right. We must prevent being cornered in the great hall at all costs!"

Bosor saluted. "Your will be done my liege!"

The king grunted and lowered his head. "Get on then Ibis. Help me show those humans the might of a Xadian king!"

Ibis climbed on his back. "I will guide you, my liege. Negate caeli!" The air around the dragon started to shimmer. Ibis immediately grimaced, feeling the strain of trying to extend the bubble all the way around the dragon.

The king inhaled and roared, before charging out the doorway. Bosor turned to the rest of the dragonguard. "Elves of Xadia. This is the hour where we prove ourselves dragonguard. On the signal of our king, we will charge." Bosor looked at the group. He saw determination in their eyes. Catlyn, Keryn and Kiyara looked grim. Gaia was helping Pincaelo stand. They were looking terrified.

Orris however was smiling madly. "Bring it on! I will kill them all! Hahaha!" He had pulled his sword and was swinging it around, warming up.

Bosor frowned, but did not intervene with his behaviour. Let him. We could use his madness on the battlefield soon. His eyes scanned the cave, seeking the last dragonguard, a member who had been on the verge of leaving. A person he now desperately needed. He spotted Rayla, huddled in a corner. She looked like she had been crying.

He approached her. Rayla immediately looked up, noticing his heavy footfalls. He stood in front of her and stared down. Rayla stared back, her eyes red from crying, the pain on her face as clear as day.

"Come with me."

-/-/-/-

"Do you hear that?" Clauda looked into the storm clouds.

"That sounded like a dragon." Callum grit his teeth. "Maybe queen Zubeia is trying to escape after all. Mages, get ready to fire a long-distance fireball!" The mages behind them grabbed the right ingredieënts. They had practiced this. There were several spells they could do if the dragon would try to flee. It would be difficult to hit the dragon at this distance though, but Callum was fairly confident that with fifty mages firing off their spells, one of them would hit. And the queen needed both wings to fly…

They all looked up as a dark shadow released itself from the mountain. It dove forwards into the storm clouds where it started on a large arc, moving back towards the mountain at a lower angle. The dark mages didn't hesitate and released their fireballs. They rocketed towards the shape, the dark flames seemingly impervious to the wind and rain as they sped through the air. The dragon corkscrewed and dodged the first volley. As the dragon closed in, Callum recognized who it was.

Callum's eyes widened in surprise. "It's the king! It's Aureum Umbra! But how is he flying through the storm like that!?"

"Does it matter? We need to bring him down before he's onto us! Noctu Igne!" The dark orb of fire formed on Claudia's staff and she hurled it towards the dragon king. Unfortunately for her, he dodged this as well.

It would be seconds before he was onto them now. His mouth opened, exposing rows and rows of sharp teeth, but deep within his throat, a blueish-white light could be seen.

"Dive!" Screamed Callum. "He's gonna use his breath attack!" The dark mages scrambled for cover, but there weren't a lot of rocks jutting out the side of the mountain to hide behind. With a roar king Aureum Umbra shot out his ray of pure, blinding moon energy. As he flew past the mountainpath up the spire the ray scorched and incinerated all that it touched.

Callum had grabbed Claudia and had ducked behind one of the larger rocks. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the heat and the rumbling of the mountain. He heard the screams of the other mages. Oh no, did he wipe out everyone!?

"Callum, look!" Claudia prodded him and pointed at the scene around them. There were definitely scorch marks where the moonbeam had hit, but in a last desperate attempt, clusters of dark mages had banded together and had erected shields made of dark energy. Alone they wouldn't be able to make it strong enough, but by working together they had managed to block the full force of the beam. Unfortunately, not everyone had been so lucky. Several charred husks lay on the stairs, evidence that not all members had been able to find shelter. There had also been screams of those that had fallen off by the blast. They were too high up to see who had fallen, but they had definitely taken casualties.

"We need to bring him down!" Callum was thinking. He was still focussing on his storm spell. Should I drop it? But then, the entire dragonguard will be onto us! Damn! How is that dragon still flying through the storm!?

"Mages! Fire your best shots!" Clauda called to the mages as she charged her own spells and released them at the dragon who was now flying away in a large, circular pattern. The cult members followed suit but again the dragon managed to dodge all of their blasts with unnatural ease. "How does he do that!?" Claudia was frustrated.

Callum shared her frustration, but saw that the dragon was circling back towards him again. "Doesn't matter right now Claudia, duck!" He pulled her back behind the large rock.

The dragon soared passed once again, blasting the group with a white beam of pure light and energy. Most of the mages were prepared this time, but some had tried to get in a better position to shoot back and were instantly incinerated. Screams could be heard of a few mages who were blasted down the mountainside, disappearing in the depths.

"Mistress!" One cultmember rushed towards them, a panicked look on his face. "That dragon is destroying our group! We've already lost twelve of our mages!"

"Twelve!?" Claudia hadn't realised that the attacks had hit them that hard. She was just glad that they had managed to avoid the dragon's breath weapon. She turned to Callum. "We need to do something!"

Callum peered at the dragon that was again circling back to them. As he peered in the distance, he thought that he saw a small figure on the back of the dragon. Wait...a small blue figure? An elf that enables the king to fly through the storm? I see now… He turned towards Claudia. "I know why the dragon is not affected by the storm. Quickly, grab hold of me."

She blinked. "Callum, I love you, but now is not the time to-"

"Just trust me Claudia!"

Claudia was taken aback by how earnest he looks. Is this still the spell that's controlling him, or is this really him? She hesitated, glancing back between Callum and the fast approaching dragon. "Callum, I don't know… it's dangerous!" She did not know if she was controlling him now. She didn't feel in control of the situation at least, so she took a step back.

"Claudia! What are you doing!?" Callum looked panicked now. The dragon was nearly upon them again.

"I'm sorry Callum!" She hid behind the stone again, waiting for the moonbeam to pass.

Callum pressed his teeth together in frustration. He wanted to fly towards the dragon and take out Ibis, but he couldn't do both at the same time. He needed someone to cast magic while he was flying. But if Claudia didn't trust him enough to help him then he couldn't do it. He looked back towards the dragon. It's about to fire! With nowhere to run in the split second he had left, he dove off the side of the mountain.

The dragon strafed the mountainside again, his breath weapon scorching a long dark line along the mountain stairs. Parts of the stairs started to crumble, and even though the mages managed to erect a shield again in time, some slipped down the mountainside as the ground gave way.

The rock where Claudia was hiding behind sagged suddenly as the beam of energy hit it. "What? Oh no oh no ho no!" Claudia pressed herself away from the rock, trying to get to sturdier ground, but she had been leaning against it with her full weight. As it toppled, she wasn't fast enough to get away from it. Within a moment she found herself falling downwards. She screeched in horror, flailing with her arms as she fell down.

Suddenly she saw a brown spot from the corner of her eye. It moved towards her at great speed and impacted with her, dragging her upwards with its momentum. She was surprised when she saw Callum's face attached to the giant brown wings. "Please hold onto my neck! I need to flap my wings!" he quickly said as they began to lose momentum again.

She did as he asked, putting her arms around him and holding her staff behind his back. With a powerful flap, Callum thrust himself further up in the sky, closer towards the dragon king. "I think that's Ibis on the back of the dragon. He's a sky mage, like me. I think that's why the king fly through the storm unaffected." His eyes caught hers. "We need to separate him from the king. Can you do that?"

Claudia was still speechless by her brush with death and how he had saved her. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She then nodded quickly. Callum smiled at her. "Alright, then let's get them!"

-/-/-/-

The ground rumbled as Rayla and Bosor walked through the hall and into an alcove. It had been only minutes since the dragon king had left, and already they could feel the vibrations of impacts against the mountainside. Bosor had taken her away from the others. They were standing in a dimly lit hallway. Rayla looked at the various doors leading to the other guards' dorms. They had been growing together, becoming a family. She had resigned herself to the fact that she would have to say goodbye to her family once again, but never in a million years did she imagine that there would be an attack on the Storm Spire on her last day here.

"Rayla." Bosor's gruff voice snapped her out of her reveries. "Can you fight?"

She scoffed, crossing her arms, trying to look stronger than she felt right now. "Of course I can fight!"

Bosor nodded, but seemed unsure to continue. After some hesitation, he said; "Of all the dragonguard, you are the only one truly versed in the ways of stealth. You are a moonshadow assassin. When the mages crest the mountainside, I want you to stay out of the fight until you get a clean shot at killing their leaders, including Callum."

Rayla paled. I should have seen this coming. "No, Bosor, why!? Can't we just capture him or somethin'!? We're not even sure he's not a prisoner! We don't know why he's here!" She pleaded with him, hoping that she didn't have to do this.

Bosor grimaced, though Rayla could not see it because of his helmet. He hated the fact that Rayla was emotionally involved, but she was the only one with the right skill set for a surprise attack. None of the other warriors were as stealthy as she was. "Rayla, listen to me. We don't know why Callum is attacking the Spire, only that he is. This storm is his doing. We know that much. And as long as he's alive, we will be unable to evacuate or call for help."

Rayla looked down on her feet. She knew Bosor was right, yet she couldn't believe that Callum had turned on them. She refused to believe that!

"Rayla… I cannot force you to do this. But if you don't, everyone here will die. Not just you and me, but the rest of the dragonguard, the king and queen, the dragon prince…"

She pressed her eyes shut, fighting her tears for the umpteenth time these past few weeks. Will Callum really kill me? Perhaps it would be better if he did… I don't want to feel this way… But the prince… She thought of the tiny dragon prince, the joyful dragon that was the hope for peace and prosperity not just for Xadia, but for the entire world. Oh gods… She opened her eyes and faced Bosor. She looked angry now, her face set with grim determination. "I'll try Bosor. You have my word on that."

"That's all I ask." The mountain rumbled. A roar of pain echoed through the mountain halls. "The king will retreat shortly. It looks like he failed to clear a path for the queen. Come. They will be here soon." With that, they both walked back towards the entrance of the spire where the dragonguard were preparing for the coming battle.

-/-/-/-

The pair soared through the air in hot pursuit of the dragon. "Callum, what are you doing!?" Claudia was glad that Callum saved her, but flying after the dragon was the last thing she wanted to do right now. She could order him back, but she also knew that Callum wouldn't fly after the dragon if he didn't have a plan.

"If we take out the elf on his back, the king won't be able to fly in the storm. He won't be able to dodge our blasts! Can you see the elf?"

Claudia turned her head. She was hanging from Callum's neck. It was an odd position to be in, and her hands were hurting from trying to hang on. But as she looked, she did spot a tiny figure on the back of the gargantuan dragon. "I see him! What do I need to do?" She had no choice but to do it Callum's way right now. I just hope he knows what he's doing…

"The dragon is going to turn and we're going to pass them by. Use your tentacle spell to grab the elf off the dragon's back!" Callum strained to stay on course. He was unaffected by the storm, but Claudia dangling from his neck made it difficult to maneuver.

The dragon turned and came back, ready to blast the mages once more. Callum noticed that the intervals between the attacks were getting longer. Using his breath weapon like that must tire him out! The dragon was getting closer and closer. As it noticed them, it roared and twisted, holding out a claw to hold them. Callum maneuvered out of his way, trying to fly over the dragon's back, both to avoid the claws and to get close to Ibis. As they neared the dragon's head, Callum spotted Ibis sitting on his back. He was mouthing an incantation, focussing on some kind of spell.

"Claudia, now!"

With one arm around Callum's neck, she held out the other towards the elf. In her hand, she held a tiny piece of tentacle. "Nwod meht gard, psarg gnihtirw!" The tentacle appeared and flew downwards. As they passed over Ibis, the tentacle wrapped around the skymage and he was pulled from the dragon king's back.

"I got him!" Claudia shouted excitedly as she reeled the elf in.

The elf shot her an angry look and started to incant a spell. "Manus Pluma Volantus!" Much to Claudia's astonishment, the elf grew wings as well. They tore through her tentacle spell. The elf flapped its wings and flew up to them. "Callum! How could you! How could you betray us!" Ibis was now face to face with Callum, though he kept a bit of a distance as he didn't recognize the female that was clinging to Callum's neck.

"Hey Ibis! We're just here to kill the dragon king! Nothing personal!" Callum's voice was joval again, like what he was saying was the most normal thing in the world.

Ibis looked horrified. "Why would you do that?! Think of the war that this attack will start! Did the peace you created with the queen mean nothing to you!?"

"Callum," Claudia interjected. "Please get rid of the elf. We must get back to our group." Her voice betrayed some of her nervousness. She had thought of casting a spell on the elf herself, but right now she was really struggling to hang on and she really did not want to fall again.

"Take me down?! Callum, you may be a mage protege, but I am a true sky arcanum master! There is no way that you can take me on one on one!"

"That was never the point Ibis." Callum said as he looked behind the elf.

A roar of pain and frustration tore through the air. Ibis turned around. His eyes widened in horror. Without Ibis to protect the king from Callum's storm spell, the dragon was unable to fly quickly through the air. The dragon struggled to fly through the storm. The mages had noticed and were now pelting him with spell after spell.

Though without Callum the mages had no protection against the storm either, they had worked together to shield themselves from the worst of the storm, huddling close to the mountainside. Now that the dragon was flying slowly and awkwardly, they had an easy time making their spells hit their target.

"Callum, stop this!" Ibis' panicked voice rang out. "You can't-!" he turned around to face the human mage, but his voice caught in his throat as he recognized the rune that was hastily drawn in the air by Callum's still flapping wings.

"Fulmunus!"

The elf did not even cry out. As the bolt of lightning struck him, he stiffened, then fell back. His unconscious smoking body soon disappeared from view.

"That's amazing Callum! I didn't know you could cast while flying!"

Claudia sounded really impressed. "It's not easy." Callum replied. "I can only do it when I hover. Now, let's get back to the group."

The both of them flew back and landed near the group, easily flying past the dragon who was struggling to even stay aloft. "Mistress, you're alive!" The mages looked hopeful now that their leader had returned to them.

"Yes, I am. How is it going?"

"We've lost about half of our men." The man looked distraught. "The dragon really did a number on us. I don't know if the mages who fell off the mountain managed to save themselves, but," he pointed at the dragon. "Right now all of our spells are hitting the dragon! I don't know what you did, but we can take it down now!"

"I took away it's protection, that's all." Callum said as he dropped his wings. He found it difficult to concentrate on too many spells at once. He still had to keep the storm going. "Watch out, the dragon is trying to land!"

Sure enough, the dragon folded its wings to at least gain some forward momentum and crashed into the mountain, not too far from where the group was. It dug its claws deep into the rock to hang on as the winds battered its form, trying to dislodge it.

"We nearly got him! Shoot him with all you've got!" Callum called out. The mages did as ordered and threw all kinds of spells at the creature. The dragon's magical scales resisted some of the damage, but the onslaught of spells took its toll. It roared in pain and turned away it's head, seemingly trying to protect itself.

"Yes, keep going!" Claudia said excitedly as she prepared her own spell.

However, Callum noticed that a white glow appeared where the dragon had turned his head. "Watch out! Quick, cast a shield!"

Claudia glanced at Callum, then back at the dragon who now raised his head, his mouth open, filled with the white light of another moonbeam. She hastily enchanted a different spell. "Tenebris Praesidium!" The dark shield formed just in time as the beam hit them dead on. Despite being protected from the scorching energy, they still felt the ground tremble beneath them as the energy was released. They all closed their eyes and covered their ears as the onslaught continued.

Finally, it was over. "Should I drop the shield?" Claudia was trembling. She held her staff in front of her, unsure of what would come next.

Callum strained to listen. The view behind the shield was muddled by the dark energy, but he didn't see the dragon's form. "Drop it. Be on guard, he could try a surprise attack."

Once the shield was dropped, the mages looker around, on guard for any attack that might follow. However the dragon king had fled. As they looked up they could see the dragon clawing its way up the mountainside.

"Wow, it's fast!" Claudia said with a whistle. "Shall we go after it?"

He nodded. "We should. If we give him time to recover, we might be in trouble. But we must be careful. Up there, we'll be fighting the dragonguard."

"Alright men! You heard Callum! Let's go! We've got a dragon to slay!" The men cheered, feeling inspired by their leader despite their losses. With renewed energy they rushed up the stairs, ready to storm the halls of the Spire itself.

-/-/-/-

The guard had gathered around queen Zubeia, who was waiting at the entrance to the Spire. Zym sat on her back, protesting slightly. He wanted to fly on his own, but his mother had forbidden him. The queen looked at Bosor. "When will he give the signal?"

Bosor kept his eyes on the storm in front of him. "If all goes well, soon." But he wasn't very hopeful that things were going well at all. They all heard the painful roars of the king. If not for the storm they would have rushed out, if only to take a look. But the winds were strong outside the halls. They could blow the elves right off the mountain. So they stayed, and waited.

Then they started to hear a rumbling sound coming closer. With a loud crunch, a giant dragonclaw appeared over the edge, then another and the wounded dragon king dragged himself over the edge. "My king!" Queen Zubeia moved forward, but was stopped as the king barked a command.

"Don't! Stay there." His breath was ragged, his giant body was covered in wounds and scorch marks. His wings were also torn, with large holes in the membrane. He had used them as shields from the largest spells. They would heal, if he survived the coming battle.

The king limped forward, to the threshold. One of his front paws hung limp so he tried not to use it for support. "Dragonguard… prepare. It is your turn now…." He stopped in front of the queen. "Queen Zubeia, retreat to the Great Hall. The guard will wither them down, and we will make our last stand there."

The queen looked the king in the eyes, before retreating back in the mountain without saying another word. She wanted nothing more than to help and fight, but the burden of being queen meant that she had to survive above all else. The only figure more important was Azymondias, the dragon prince.

The king followed her, taking slow steps with his giant paws as he crawled further inwards. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Rayla, standing close to the walls, blades at the ready. Their eyes crossed. In that instant, the king lowered his head towards her. "Your boyfriend is going to kill us all." he muttered, before continuing his way inwards.

Rayla felt a stab in her chest, like a cold, crystal shard had just been pushed deep inside her heart. She swallowed and tried to maintain her composure. I've got to do it. I've got to take him out. Or at least get him to stop the attack. Her thoughts had been torturing her ever since the attack began. Was this really Callum who was trying to kill them? Was he mad because he chased her away? Or was he somehow bewitched by something else? She found the last one a little far fetched, but she couldn't come up with a good explanation why Callum would suddenly turn on her. She only had one reason to work with; She chased him out, and maybe now he hated her for it!

As she watched the plateau from the shadows of the entrance, she noticed that the storm seemed to subside. Or atleast, the area around them seemed to quiet down while in the distance, the storm raged on around them.

"They are here…" Bosor's deep voice announced. "Get ready! Show them the honor and valour of the dragonguard!"

"Yeah, yeah, just make sure you kill them all, right?" Orris replied dryly. "Time to see if I can best you, poor old man!" He smiled wickedly at Bosor who simply stared back at him, not deigning the comment worthy of a reply.

"Fight well Orris. We will need your strength here." Bosor pointed his glaive towards the bridge. On the other end, the dark mages had gathered, headed by Claudia and Callum. All in all, there seemed to be about thirty cultists left. "Fan out and be on guard! Protect yourself against-"

"Yeaaaaaargh!" Without warning, Orris charged forward, his sunforged sword at the ready.

"Orris, you dolt! Stay here!" Keryn called out. The other dragonguards crept forwards carefully, ready to avoid any spells thrown at them, but Orris threw caution in the wind as he charged out in the open.

"Oh look at these elves! That one is eager!" Claudia pointed her staff at the charging elf.

"No wonder. That's Orris." Callum grunted. He felt he had a score to settle with him. It's reckless to charge though. We will take him out no problem. "Ready your spells!"

Claudia prepared her own staff, waiting for the right moment to blast this elf off the bridge. "Oh, Callum, you know the dragonguard, right?"

Callum nodded. "Yeah, I know most of them. Unless they've had new recruits in the meantime."

"Alright then. Be extra mean to them. Maybe it will distract them."

Callum grinned. "Yes Claudia, I will." The both of them watched in anticipation as Orris got close to the chasm.

As Orris neared the bridge however, he slowed down and swung at the rope bridge. Hun sunforged sword cut through the rope and wood without issue, setting the end of the bridge on fire and making it teether precariously. It was now only attached to one point.

This startled Claudia. She had not expected him to do that. "Callum! If he cuts through the other one, the bridge will fall! We'll be stuck here!"

Callum gritted his teeth. He had to admit that it was a smart move. He quickly drew a rune. "Aspiro!"

The airspell hit Orris and he had to brace himself against the wind. However, Callum was all the way on the other side of the chasm. By the time the wind reached Orris, it had lost most of its power. Orris grinned and made a rude gesture to Callum as he cut through the other wooden post, separating the bridge entirely from the other side. The dark mages watched helplessly as the flaming bridge tumbled into the chasm.

"Way to go Orris!" Keryn had come rushing towards him now. "That was actually a smart move!"

Orris was still grinning. "If they make it here, they will taste my sword. However, now, we can take them out from a distance, right?"

"Yep, we can." Pincaelo said as she drew her bow and arrow.

On the other side, Callum also noticed that Pincaelo had grabbed her bow. "Oh no… Shields! Quick!"

The mages were quick to respond, but Pincaelo was quicker, and her aim was deadly. Before the first shield was erected, a mage already fell to the ground, an arrow stuck in his throat. As the other mages worked on erecting shields, she let loose arrow after arrow, most finding their mark. She managed to take out another three mages before they all managed to hide behind their magical shields.

"Oh, those stupid elves! Don't they know when they're beaten!?" Claudia raged from behind the dark purple shield.

"I don't think they feel beaten just yet." Callum replied. His mind was working the problem. Okay, we need to get to the other side, but how? They can't fly, and we don't have any fly spells. He thought for a bit. He was then reminded of his lessons from the air temple and the various uses of Aspiro. But… I can MAKE them fly! He turned to Claudia. "Claudia, do you still have those reigar feathers with you?"

"Euh, sure, but what for?"

Callum grinned. "I've got an idea."

Pincealo was still aiming with her bow and arrow but the mages had all huddled behind the shields. The bodies of the four that didn't make it in time were strewn around on the small platform on the other side of the chasm. "They're not moving. At least, not from behind the shields." She didn't take her eyes off them though.

"Stay alert." Bosor droned. The moonshadow twins had equipped throwing daggers and were standing a bit closer to the edge now. Icra had flown up, also using a bow and arrow as was custom with most skywing elves. She wasn't as good as Pincaelo though. Gaia and Kiyara covered the rear, making sure that none could sneak inside. Orris just stood where the bridge once was, looking smug.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Catlyn asked no one in particular. "They have spells. Most of us don't. Why aren't they using anything?"

"Because they don't want us to run back inside, where they will be forced to fight in close quarters." Bosor answered, surveying the situation. "If they can get to the other side and fight us here, out in the open, then they have the advantage."

Catlyn and Keryn looked at each other, then back at Bosor. "So why don't we get back inside!?"

"Because we cannot guarantee that the dragon prince won't be hurt in the fighting. At the same time we must do all we can to give the king enough time to recover to join the fight later. With our archers we can keep the group pinned at the other side. They are too afraid of our arrows to drop their shields right now, so they won't. But because of their shields, they can't cast anything at us either." He sighed. "It's a perilous situation, but right now, we have the upperhand, until something changes the status-quo."

As Bosor said that, he eyed the purple shield on the other side warily. Something changed. A dark shadow was spreading behind the shields, until it completely enveloped the group in it's darkness. "What's this!?"

Pincaelo let loose an arrow and nocked another one, but the arrow flew into the darkness without a sound. She didn't think she hit anyone. "What should we do Bosor?"

"Stand fast…" Bosor quickly drew a rune and pushed one of his hands in the soil, muttering an incantation. It would give him control of the ground around him. All the while, the darkness on the other side of the chasm was spreading. It would reach the other side soon.

"You stupid mages! Come here and fight like a warrior!" Orris shouted to the other side!

But there was no answer as the darkness enveloped the elves. Rayla watched as the darkness spread further in her direction. The elves all quieted down now, trying to discern what was happening by listening. Then she heard a voice. Rayla's heard skipped a beat as she heard Callum in the distance. "Aspiro!"

There was the sound of rushing wind, but no actual wind blew in her direction. The dragonguard didn't feel anything either, though they did hear thuds of something falling nearby. Within a few moments, Callum's voice called out again. "Aspiro!" Again, there was the rushing of wind, but no one really felt any strong wind. After a moment however, they heard several small thuds again.

Suddenly the darkness faded, much quicker than it came. To the left and the right of the elves stood the dark mages, some still getting up after having been jettisoned over the chasm by the aspiro spell. The two sides stared at each other for a second. Then chaos ensued.

Pincaelo took out a dark mage with her bow and aimed for another one before a tentacle came out of nowhere and grabbed her, trying to pin her down. A fireball was thrown at the dragonguards, but Bosor managed to erect an earthen wall in front of it, deflecting the blast. Icra tried to get a few shots in with her bow, but she had a difficult time as she tried to dodge spell after spell. Catlyn and Keryn used their dexterity to close in on the mages and took down one after the other, causing panic along the left side. Kiyara guarded Gaia near the entrance, but they were ignored for the time being, much to her frustration.

Orris roared and activated his flame form. With this added strength, he rushed towards the right and started swinging his sword, taking down two more mages and making a beeline for Claudia.

"Callum, we need you here!" Claudia screamed as she used a bunch of feathers to create illusions of herself, scattering them around the battlefield.

Orris spat as he swung at a Claudia, running her through. "Your magic tricks won't work on me, you filth!" He rushed at his targets. Each Claudia he struck evaporated into a puff of dark smoke.

Callum was the only one still remaining on the cliff. He activated his mage wings and flew up high. He saw that Orris was killing Claudia's left and right. "Claudia!" He prepared to dive, but the wind was knocked out of him as he felt a piercing pain in his back. Struggling to stay aloft, he turned to see Icra trying to take aim again. She was still flying and was still trying to dodge the spells that were fired at her from down below.

This is bad! Callum thought. He could rush downwards, but he would get another arrow for his troubles. He had to take this elf out first! He pushed himself forwards with his wings just as Icra released her arrow. It hit him in the shoulder, knocking him off course slightly. Struggling with the pain, he released his concentration on the mage wing spell so that he could still focus on the storm spell. As he fell, he managed to grab Icra's ankle with one last bit of effort.

Icra lurged downward before she adjusted herself to the new weight. She looked in disgust at the corrupted human dangling from her foot. "Time to die mage!" She spat as she nocked another arrow on her bow.

The human grinned at her, despite bleeding from two arrow wounds. "Indeed. Enim si efil rouy!" Icra shrieked as black tendrils shot from the man's hand. They crawled up along her legs, across her torso, over her mouth. She screamed from the pain and stiffened, before falling downwards, taking the human along with her. "Delaeh eb sdnuow ym tel!" As Callum hit the ground, he used the stolen energy to heal himself. He felt the arrows pop out of him and the wounds close around them. Icra lay next to him, whimpering in pain. "Oh, don't worry. The pain will stop soon."

He stretched out a hand to steal the last of her energy, just as Claudia called out. "Callum!" He whipped his head to the sound and saw that Orris had finally cornered the real Claudia into a corner. She tried to defend herself using a shield, but his sunforged blade tore right through it,

"Claudia, no!" Forgetting about Icra, he charged towards Orris and blasted him aside with a bolt of fire. Orris stumbled, but still stood and grinned at him.

"Fire? I was made in fire!" He ducked as Callum took a stance in front of Claudia and blasted another bolt of energy at him. "Time for our rematch, you human scum!"

"Claudia, run." Callum didn't take his eyes off Orris, but he wanted to fight without having to worry about his mistress.

"Callum! Are...are you sure?" She held her staff at the ready, but was genuinely scared of the sunfire elf. She had tried some spells to slow him down, including her tentacle spell, but his sunforged blade had just cut right through it!

"I am sure. Help the others." Callum prepared himself. Strangely enough, he found that he looked forward to facing off with this elf again. Orris was grinning wickedly at him. He probably felt the same.

"A-alright!" Claudia gave her companion one last look before rushing away from them. Her followers were having a hard time taking down the dragonguard. As much as she wanted to fight with Callum, she figured she would only get in the way right now. This frustrated her immensely. As she tried to assist the other mages, from the corner of her eye she spotted a moonshadow elf with short, silver hair rush in her direction.

Keryn let out a battlecry as he jumped in the air, brandishing his sword and dagger. "Yeaaargh!"

Claudia acted quickly. Hesitating now would mean that this elf would plunge his sword right into her! Channeling her frustration in her spell, she aimed the sunstone staff at the moonshadow elf. "Solis Ignis!" A beam of darkened fire shot out from the staff and punched through the elf.

Keryn let out a strangled cry as he fell backwards. With a thud he landed on the ground and groaned weakly. There was a sizable hole in his stomach with black smoke coming out of it.

"Keryn! No!"

Claudia turned her head and saw another moonshadow elf break off her fight with a mage and rush towards the elf on the ground. Figuring that another attack was incoming, she cast the shield spell in front of her so she could catch a breather.

Catlyn slid to a stop next to her brother. She kept one eye on the mage, but since she was casting a shield, she hoped that she could have a moment to check on her brother. But as she looked at him, she knew immediately that he was beyond saving. His skin was pale, and the hole in his body was large and deep. He smiled weakly at her.

"Guess… I'm…. the first to go." He muttered weakly at her.

Swallowing, Catlyn crouched down beside her brother and grabbed his hand. She wanted to say something. That it would be alright, that he could live if he just didn't give up. But she was too old to believe in such fairy tales. She had seen too much. All she could do was ease his passing. "You were always the better one, you know? You were always so quick to jump into the fray, to snatch a victory."

This made Keryn smile, despite the pain. "Get them..for...me."

Claudia was confused when no attack came. I just killed one of them! Doesn't she want to get back at me? After a moment, she dropped her shield, readying her staff so that she could quickly respond to an attack. As the shield disappeared, she saw that the elf was sitting on the ground, next to the corpse. She must have cared for that person. Let's see if I can use this… "Aw, did I kill your lover? How sad!" Claudia used a sing-song voice to sound extra teasing, trying to provoke her opponent.

A dark look came across Catlyn's face. "I. Will. KILL YOU!" With a feral growl she leaped to her feet and rushed towards her enemy.

"You will try." Claudia muttered as she cast her next spell, now well prepared for the rushing elf.

In the meantime, Callum was facing off against Orris. The dragonguard seemed to be testing the waters and had been driving Callum away from the others, closer to the entrance of the Spire. Callum had been replying with spells that should have disarmed Orris, but somehow his sunforged blade was quite resistant to most of his attempts. It seemed like the enchantment used to give the sunforged blade it's cutting edge also protected it from other magic.

"Aspiro!" Callum blew with all his might, trying to gain some distance between Orris and himself. Much to his surprise, Orris plunged his blade into the ground and hung on, not giving an inch.

Orris responded to his surprised look. "Bosor taught me some tricks while you were away."

Callum didn't waste his time at a retort. "Fulmunus!" The bolt sped in Orris' direction. Orris responded by throwing his blade in the air in front of him. The bolt hit the blade spot on and absorbed the blast, keeping Orris safe from most of the impact.

"You'll have to do better than that, human boy." He caught the sword out of the air and advanced. He shrugged off some of the remaining sparks from the spell.

Callum felt himself being pressed into a corner. He knew that Orris' sword could cut through anything, and could absorb a lot. But how will it do against dark magic? he thought. Well, time to use my new spell again. Callum grinned, his grey skin cracking along his lips. "Enim si ygrene ruoy!"

Black tendrils of dark magic shot out towards Orris. He took a step back and slashed at them, but the blade simply passed through the ethereal tendrils. As the tendrils wrapped around his body, he felt his energy being drained. Pain seared through his body. "Aaugh! Damn...you...dark mage!"

Callum grinned as he drained the life of Orris, glad to have found a spell that could pass his defence, but also because he bested the elfe this time. "These are my new tricks Orris. A shame that Claudia wants me to kill you all quickly. Otherwise I'd-"

He stopped when he felt two cold, very sharp blades pressed against his throat. A figure had pressed itself against him from the back and a very familiar feminine voice spoke to him. "Callum… stop this. A dunna want ta kill ya."

Callum said nothing. When he didn't let up the spell on Orris, the blades pressed inwards a little, drawing blood. He gritted his teeth. Slowly, he let the spell on Orris fade, lowering his hand. Orris lay on the ground, groaning.

"Gud. Now, turn around. Slowly."

He felt the presence behind him take a step back, though he felt the swords prick in the back of his neck. Being at a disadvantage as he could not see his opponent, he turned around to face her.

Rayla gasped as she saw Callum standing there. His hair had grey streaks through them and looked mostly dead. His skin was ashen grey and cracked and his eyes were jet black. The tattoos on his chest were still glowing softly with a sickly blue aura, which made him look even more ghastly. "No, Callum, what have they done to ya?"

"Done to me? I did this Rayla. I learned new magic! Dark magic! I bet I'm now one of the most powerful mages in the whole world! Well, besides Claudia of course…"

Rayla was horrified. Callum didn't look apologetic in the least. She barely recognized him. "Callum, wha' happened!? Why are ye attacking da Storm Spire? A...A dunna understand!"

The dark mage opened and closed his hand. He still felt the energy he stole from Orris coarse through his body. I must use it quickly. "Well, I suppose I owe you an answer. I'm with Claudia now. She really opened my eyes to the possibilities of dark magic." He grinned wickedly. "Besides, it felt like you were done with me anyway."

Ice cold daggers plunge into Rayla's heart. Wounds she had been working to close reopened once again as her worst fears came to life. "Callum...no, no, A dinna mean it like that!"

"Well, that's a shame." His hand erupted into dark, blue flames. "It's a little too late for that though. Semalf Snogard krad!"

Rayla had but a split second to dive out of the way as a stream of dark flames surged towards her. She felt her ankles being scorched. Her quick thinking saved her from further damage, but as she hit the ground, she was very thankful that her feet were protected by strong, sturdy boots. Second came the realisation that Callum had actually tried to kill her. She stood up, first looking at him with disbelief before a grim expression took its place. She swung her swords demonstratively. "Callum, if ya don't give up...A'll have to put ye down. A'll have ta kill ya, ya hear!?" She screamed at him, pushing back tears as they would blur her vision.

Callum shook his head. "Tsk tsk tsk. Rayla, you have never killed anyone, not even Viren. You yourself told me how you felt about that." He watched her swords, but nevertheless took a few paces in her direction.

"C-Callum… Don't push it! A-A'll…." She hesitated. I can kill him now! But, I can't...I don't want … please… "Callum! Please, stop! Ya mean too much to me!" She shuffled backwards, holding her swords raised protectively in front of her as to strike, but even so he still came closer.

"You won't kill me Rayla. Because you're not a killer, and because you love me."

Rayla gulped. He was almost on her now. She half-raised her swords in defence, but as Callum reached her, he simply pushed them down with his hands. "C-Callum… A do… A do love you. A-and, A dunno what happened to ye, but A want ye back…" The tears came unbidden now, and in her blurred eyes she could almost see the Callum that she loved. Almost.

But as she wiped away the tears with the back of her hand, she saw his corrupted face smiling at her, the black eyes staring into her soul. She cringed back as he put his hand against her cheek. She looked him in the eyes, unsure of his intent.

"I'll remember you, Rayla." He said. "I'll remember you as the single biggest failure the dragonguard has ever had."

Rayla's eyes turned wide as she saw his evil smile. Time seemed to slow down as his lips moved. She didn't hear what he said. She just looked at that horrible face that used to belong to her boyfriend. In this moment, she realized that this might very well be the last thing she ever saw. Callum...

"Enim si-" His hand was still on her cheek as he incanted the spell, however Rayla was suddenly pulled backwards quite forcefully. At first Callum thought that Rayla somehow found the courage to run, but she was now laying against the wall in a heap of dirt and looked about as surprised as he was. His head whipped around, looking for the source of the earth magic. He didn't have to look very long, as the earthblood warrior came rushing towards him, his heavy metal boots pounding in the earth with each stride.

He slammed into Callum with his shoulder, throwing him on the ground. "Rayla, grab Orris and retreat." Bosor kept his eyes on Callum, who was now getting up. His grin had disappeared, being replaced by an ugly snarl.

Rayla stumbled, trying to get up on her feet, but her legs felt like jelly. "Bosor… I couldn't… I tried to…"

"I know." Bosor said gently. "I'll take it from here." He purposely stepped forward and swung his glaive in a distinct pattern, leaving the traces of runes in the air. "Spices Terrae!" Spikes of rock protruded from the ground, jetting up a few feet before retracting again. The pattern of spikes rushed towards Callum who tried his best to jump out of the way as spikes erupted all around him. He managed to avoid most of them, but not all, and he screamed and cursed as a spike tore open his leg, while another one hit the underside of his arm.

Rayla tried not to look as her former lover was pierced by the spikes. She rushed towards Orris' side and pulled him up on her shoulders. "Come on, let's get ye somewhere safe!" Orris said nothing, but groaned as he was dragged out of the way.

In the meantime, Callum tried to regain his footing, but Bosor's spikes were keeping him off balance, sometimes wounding him as well. "Will you- Auch! Will you stop that!?" Callum quickly drew a rune, ignoring a spike that graced his foot. "Fulmunus!"

Bosor stopped casting his earthen spike spell and plunged his glaive into the ground as he recognized the rune. The bolt of lightning hit the pole which absorbed the spell. Once the spell was done, he grabbed his glaive, pulled it from the ground and advanced on Callum. "Tell me, human, what made you finally turn on us?" He swung at Callum's neck, but missed as Callum stumbled backwards.

"Claudia wants to complete a powerful spell. We need the heart of a dragon to do it. Erif of llab!" He quickly shot a small ball of flames in Bosor's direction, but he swatted it out of the air with his armoured gloves.

"The other dark mage…" Bosor glanced in Claudia's direction. Catlyn was slashing away at Claudia, who was trying to keep her at bay with her own dark magic spells. It looked like it was an even battle for now. "But why did you join her?" Bosor pressed while still trying to pin down Callum with his glaive. "Why did you abandon Rayla?"

"Why do you care? You never approved of me and Rayla anyway! Aspiro!" The windspell pushed Bosor back a few feet.

Bosor was impressed. Callum's aspiro spell was definitely stronger than Ibis'. He's grown to be a powerful mage indeed. But what has corrupted him so much? He strained to step forward against the spell. "Because despite your heritage, you were a decent person. You saved the dragon prince. You treated Rayla with love and respect!" He swung hard at Callum, slashing him across his chest.

Callum hissed. It was a shallow wound, but it hurt like hell. Bosor was still shouting at him.

"What changed, young human! Tell me what changed you into this!?"

All the talking confused Callum. He knew what he had to do; take out the dragonguard and get inside the spire so that he could kill the dragons and get the heart. But the questions that Bosor was asking made him think, and though he tried his best to reason his way through his thoughts, he found it hard to come up with a proper answer. "Because...because Claudia wants me to." he stammered, unsure of why he said it.

Bosor blinked, now realising what was going on. He's charmed! With surprising speed for his size, Bosor swung the glaive and brought it down next to Callum, purposely missing him. Callum jumped out of the way nonetheless. Bosor had expected this and dropped his glaive. He closed in on Callum, punching him in the face, then grabbed the stunned young man by his wrists. "Fight it Callum! You never wanted to fight our kind! Fight this corruption inside of you!"

Callum's head rang from the impact. His mind was spinning. A tiny voice inside of him was shouting that he should listen to this elf. It screamed to stop this madness. However, that voice was drowned out by the charm spell that was cast on him. It compelled him to obey Claudia at all cost. She told me the elves are the enemy… so I should kill them all!

With renewed vigor he struggled against Bosor's grasp. "I will listen to Claudia!" Callum's voice was strained. He tried to push back against the warrior elf, but he was much stronger than him. Time to go all out. He couldn't grab any ingrediënts or draw runes like this, but there was one spell he could do by just using words. "Enim si efil rouy…" The black tendrils flowed from Callums hands and latched onto Bosor's.

The earthblood elf grunted as he felt his energy leave his body. It is a shame, but I have to end him quickly! Realizing now that this spell was not easily broken, he let go of the mage with one hand and punched him in the face.

The punch made it hard to focus, but Callum also felt that the punch was weaker than before. I need just a bit more power to cast another spell! He noticed that Bosor was now reaching for his glaive. Trying to prevent that, Callum grabbed his arm and tried to shove him in the opposite direction.

Bosor and Callum struggled like this. Bosor kept pushing and punching Callum while trying to either shrug him off or get to his weapon, all the while enveloped by the black smokey tendrils that drained him off his life force. Though it lasted moments, Callum noted that it took Bosor far longer to succumb to the spell than any other elf so far. He's strong… or maybe his armor's enchanted. Either way, I have enough energy now to end this.

Callum released Bosor's arm. Bosor immediately used the opening to punch him square in the jaw. The punch left a mark as blood trickled down Callum's chin. Still, he was smiling.

"Goodbye, Bosor. Yaced dna hsa!" Callum placed his palm on Bosor's stomach, protected by the bronze colloured armour. The armour crumbled away almost immediately, turning to a rusty color and falling away in broken pieces.

Bosor fell forward and clutched his stomach as the skin turned to white, then grey, before disintegrating into ash. The effect slowly spread along his stomach. He heaved as he felt his insides fall apart. He stared up at Callum, who was staring him down, still grinning.

"Should I end your suffering?"? He pretended to think about it. But the spell would kill him anyway. I'd better help Claudia and the other mages. He looked around. The other mages were pushing back the few remaining elves into the spire, but they were careful. The battlefield was strewn around with dead mages. We need to do a headcount soon. But let's end this battle first! He moved to Claudia's side, who was being assaulted by a stubborn elf who despite all kinds of injuries would not give up.

"You. Will. DIE!" The elf screamed as she launched herself at Claudia again. Claudia was breathing heavily, quite out of breath and having difficulty to incant the spells she needed to defend herself.

"Sdnah gnipsarg!" Callum stretched out his hand, and a large, black, smokey hand appeared in the air. He grasped Catlyn and pulled her away from Claudia.

"Callum! You scunner! I'll slit your throat for this! I'll-"

With the flip of a wrist, Callum pushed his hand downwards quickly. The smokey hand followed his movement and crushed Catlyn to the ground. She struggled to get up, but the black hand was unrelenting. Satisfied that the elf was stuck, Callum turned to his mistress. "Are you alright Claudia?"

"Pfff...hold on….that...that elf ...doesn know when to quit!" She leaned on her staff. So far, she had no injuries but she looked a bit shaken. She gave Callum an apologetic look. "You know, with the last battle I was just lobbing spells from the back. Being in the front rank really is something!"

Callum was about to comment that that was exactly what a mage should do when he noticed the elves were gathering near the entrance of the Spire. Rayla slipped away from the group, rushing back to Bosor. Callum focussed and drew a rune, ready to fry her, when he also noticed that Pincaelo was aiming her bow in their direction. His eyes widened as Pincaelo released an arrow. There was no time to warn Claudia. Instead, he aimed at her with his hand and shouted. "Yawa!"

Claudia flew backwards just before the arrow passed them. Had Callum not cast the spell, she would have been hit. Casting a spell had another effect however; it used up all the energy he stole from Bosor. The smokey hand holding down Catlyn disappeared. As she got up, their eyes crossed. She looked like she was about to attack, but then thought the better of it and fled back to the entrance. "Not so fast Catlyn." Callum stretched out his hand, preparing to cast another life drain spell when another arrow sped by, this one hitting him in the shoulder. "Aurgh!"

Claudia had landed on the edge of the cliff, but fortunately wasn't flung over. As she looked up, she saw Callum getting hit. Panicking, she called out to the mages. "Protect Callum!" Several cultists stopped throwing spells at the elves and rushed towards Callum and erected a shield around him. Arrows flew in their direction, but miraculously, they managed to get up the shield in time before anyone was seriously injured. Claudia let out a sigh of relief. At least he's safe for now.

Meanwhile, Rayla had managed to reach Bosor. She looked over her shoulder. The mages seemed to be busy protecting Callum or attacking the entrance. She looked down at Bosor and grabbed his arm, preparing to drag him back. His painful moan stopped her in her tracks.

"Don't bother…" he whispered hoarsely. He looked like he was about to say more, but then he coughed violently, each cough rocketing his body with pain.

Rayla knelt down next to her captain. No, this can't be happening! "Bosor, you'll be fine, come on! You'll be…" She trailed off as she saw the enormous hole in his stomach. Everything inside the hole had turned to ash, which the wind was blowing away. She swallowed. There was no way he could survive this.

Suddenly, with the last bit of his strength, Bosor grasped Rayla by her vest and pulled her close. He whispered into her ear. "Not...his fault…"

"W-what do you mean?" Rayla stared at him, shaken.

But Bosor pushed weakly against her, as if to push her away, before his arm fell limp to his side. He took another breath, then another, and then he was silent, forever.

"No, Bosor, no!" She bit back tears and felt the rage and sorrow overwhelm her. She looked back in Callum's direction. He was surrounded by mages now, who were tending to his wounds and protecting him from Pincaelo's arrows. It looked like they were almost done though. They would attack again soon. If she would stay out here in the open, they would pick her off in no time.

Having made a decision, she leapt to her feet and rushed back towards the entrance. Some dark mages spotted her rushing by and lobbed spells at her. A shadowy spell she didn't recognize hit her and she felt a burning sensation in her leg as it froze up in a cramp. She stumbled, but remaining in this spot was a death sentence, so she crawled on.

Catlyn noticed her plight and quickly rushed out to grab her and drag her to safety. Rayla was surprised when she saw that Catlyn's eyes were full of tears as well. "Come on." she said. "We need to get inside!"

Rayla nodded. Ignoring her cramped leg, she limped along until they were safely hidden within the entrance. She looked around. Orris was still on the ground, unconscious. She saw Gaia, Pincaelo, and Catlyn… and that was it. "Where...where are the others?"

A painful look crossed Catlyn's face. "My brother fell… I think I saw Icra fall from the sky as well…" Catlyn looked around herself. "What about Bosor?"

Rayla looked to the ground and shook her head. "He didn't make it… Callum killed him…"

Catlyn wanted to curse and scream, but she saw the hurt in Rayla's face, the pain of ultimate betrayal. So she bottled up those feelings and gave Rayla a quick hug. "It's going to be alright."

"But how? What are we going to do?"

To this, Catlyn had no answer. Suddenly Kiyara called out to the group. "They are going to attack! Retreat!"

Claudia and Callum had gathered the rest of the mages with them. Most of them looked ragged. Of their initial group of fifty, only thirteen mages were left. Though the mages had used their dark magic to the best of their ability, they had never faced real combat like this. Claudia began to have her doubts about this expedition.

"We've lost so many! Do you think we should continue? We could just teleport out of here, you know!"

Callum looked at the group, then whispered. "If you want to, we could do that. But we can only take a couple with us, not everyone. And…" He looked at the entrance, where the last of the dragonguard had gathered. "We have taken out their most powerful members. The dragon king is seriously injured. The only one we need to worry about is the dragon queen, but if one of us holds her in place, then the other can drain her energy."

Claudia smiled a little. "Thanks Callum. This is exactly why I need you!" She hugged him and pressed her lips against his.

"Anything for you Claudia." he whispered after he kissed her.

As the dragonguard evacuated their position near the entrance, Rayla took one last look outside. She saw Callum standing there amidst the other dark mages, kissing Claudia. The sight of this shattered what remained of her broken heart into little pieces. Sobbing quietly, she helped Gaia carry Orris into the great hall where the dragons are, so that they could make their last stand.

-/-/-/-

Without the sounds of battle, the Storm Spire remained relatively quiet for the time being. The small sounds of the coughs and groans of the wounded were drowned out by the storm still raging on. The mages had moved into the front hall and were resting there, using the various benches and pillars for cover, ready to cast spells on any elves who would try to venture outside of the great hall where the dragons resided.

Chances of that happening were slim though. The elves had sealed up the entrance with benches, tables and whatever furniture they could find, hoping to delay the inevitable.

During this rest, one cultist detached from the group and snuck into the dark halls, hopefully leading to the bedrooms of the guard. The cultist was disgruntled; the attack was succeeding, but barely. Callum had warned them about how powerful the dragonguard was, but none of them could have guessed that they were that difficult to take down. And the dragon had wiped out half of their forces on the journey to the top! Not even Callum or Claudia had counted on that happening. That was the whole reason Callum had created the storm! To prevent the king from joining the fight!

Still, the dark mage had to admit that they have gotten far. They were so close now to killing the king and queen. Only a little further to go. But that was a task for his leaders and comrades, because he had a different task to accomplish right now. The mistress had asked him to find Callum's belongings. They were supposed to be somewhere in these rooms. So, he carefully snuck from room to room, hoping to find the book and the bag described to them.

The cultist spent some time searching each room, but after having tried the first three rooms, he still hadn't found the items he was looking for. Frustrated, the cultist continued his search when he heard an explosion coming from the hallway. He groaned. The fighting had resumed without him! He had to hurry.

He nervously opened the fourth door. This room looked like the rest; the same beds built into the wall, with a desk on one end of the room, and a mirror on the other end. However, the chair next to the desk had something hanging from it. Yes! That must be it!

He ran up to it and grabbed the satchel, ready to get out of here and join his brothers. Unfortunately, he failed to notice that the book in the satchel had a leather band attached to it that was still looped onto the chair. This caused it to topple the chair and pull open the bag, spilling its contents on the floor. The cultist froze. Did anyone hear him? But aside from the distant sounds of battle, he didn't hear anything. There were no elves coming to kill him here.

He breathed a sigh of relief and crouched down to gather the items, stuffing them in the satchel. The book first. It was specifically mentioned by Callum after all. There were some clothes, and some rations. Some scrolls with draconic runes on them, probably from his study at the Aero Temple. And an odd looking cube with arcanum signs on each of its sides. He picked it up and looked at it. Curious, it looks like a childs toy… He shrugged and put it back in the satchel.

Satisfied that he had everything now, he stood up, quickly checking one last time that he hadn't forgotten something. The floor was empty, but he spotted something lying on the table. It was a sealed letter bearing the seal of the dragon guard. Must be important, thought the cultist as he grabbed it and stuffed it in the satchel.

Having completed his mission, the cultist rushed out of the room, ready to join his brothers in the fight.

-/-/-/-

"How's Orris?" Rayla asked as Gaia finished taking care of the unconscious elf.

Gaia shrugged and smiled sadly, the large motherly elf trying ever to be optimistic. "If we get through this, he'll get through this. He has been drained of all his energy, but he has enough that he'll recover in time." Her face was stern now. "We must make sure we give him that time."

Rayla nodded. Looking around, the remaining dragonguards were steeling themselves for their final stand. In the back stood queen Zubeia, her right wing spread protectively over king Aureum Umbra, who's breathing was laboured. And all the way in the back was little Zym, his mother's tail curled protectively around him.

The minutes passed, and Rayla spent her time pacing aimlessly in the great hall, a million thoughts going through her head. The horrific visage of Callum's corrupted face, of him and Claudia kissing on the battlefield. But also Bosor's last words. It's not his fault… She gripped her swords angrily, thinking of the elves they had already lost today, two of which Callum had personally taken down. How is this not his fault!?

She called all the anger and fury she could muster to her mind and channeled it. "A will take you down Callum, and that ghalla of yours is next…"

An explosion sounded, rattling the barricade and dislodging some of the benches. Orange flames spilled into the room. The guard rushed to their positions, and Zubeia charged up her breath weapon. "Steal yourself, dragon guard. They are coming."

-/-/-/-

"Are you ready?"

Claudia nodded. She felt the adrenaline of battle still rush through her system. They had to finish this, and quickly too. "Yes, let's go. How do you want to break through the barrier?"

Calum smiled. "Give me the last of those feathers."

Without question, Claudia obliged. She knew that Callum would do his utmost best to make her mission succeed. She handed him the last three reignar feathers that she had kept in reserve in case of an emergency. As she did, she grabbed onto him and kissed him hard. Her heart fluttered as he kissed her back, and she promised herself that she would make him love her without the spell. After the fight. she told herself. After this is over. "Get them for me Callum."

He grinned and nodded. "Stand back." Claudia and the remaining dark mages did so as Callum held out one feather and focussed on it. It turned to ash, and in his hand appeared a fireball. He pulled his arm back, and threw it straight at the barricade where it exploded with a deafening bang. The flames spilled outwards, but though damaged, the barricade was still there. Callum pulled back again and used the second feather, conjuring another fireball. He threw it and the explosion completely cleared the doorway of any remaining debris.

The mages stepped forward to charge the opening, but Callum held out his hand. "Wait. I've got this…"

Inside the great hall, the dragon guard took cover from the explosion The debris was flung in all directions, leaving the entrance now open. But no dark mages came. Confused, some of the dragonguard edged closer to the entrance. Queen Zubeia lowered her head to get a better look, ready to use her dragon's breath. Exactly at that moment, Callum's third and final fireball flew straight into the great hall, exploding right in the middle of the great hall.

The explosion flung Catlyn and Rayla against the wall. Queen Zubeia roared as the flames covered her face, temporarily blinding her. Now the dark mages came in, screaming and shouting, casting spells mainly targeting the queen to bring her down.

Rayla got up and brandished her swords. She looked around, using a few precious seconds to take stock of the situation. Catlyn was trying to get close to the cultists, but she had a hard time doing that on her own as the cultists all stood grouped together, protecting each other. Pincaelo was firing arrows from a corner, but was unable to penetrate their shields. They were prepared for her. The dragon king breathed hard, like he was trying to use his breath weapon, but he was too wounded to do so.

Then, unexpectedly, Gaia stood up and rushed towards the cultists. "Don't harm the queen, damn you!" With her arms stretched, she tried to block the spells. The elf was huge, even taller than Bosor had been. Despite being hit by fire and ice, she rushed towards the dark mages, trying to block their view of the queen shaking her head behind her.

"You want to die elf? I'll grant you your wish!" Claudia took her staff in both of her hands and aimed the sunstone directly at the elf. "Turbine Ignis!" Flames erupted from her staff and shot towards Gaia, consuming her utterly. When the flames died down, the only thing that remained was a small pile of ash.

"Why would she do that? Why would she rush towards our spells like that?" Claudia muttered. She looked at Callum, looking for an explanation, but Callum had a worried look on his face as he kept his eyes on the dragon. "It was a distraction. Scatter!"

When the pelting of dark spells had stopped, the queen finally got her bearings and had charged her breath weapon. She was furious and would do anything to protect her home and her child. She inhaled, then shot lightning at the group of mages which exploded in the centre of them. Even though they tried to get away, the queen's lightning passed through them mercilessly. Some did not even get the chance to scream before their smoking forms dropped to the ground.

The tide had turned. The queen pounced at the cultists, ripping in them with tooth and claw. With their shields gone, Pincaelo shot arrow after arrow into them, dwindling their numbers. "This is it…" Rayla thought as she rushed in, her swords changed to hooks. She hopped from cultist to cultist, sweeping them off their feet, knocking them out. Even little Zym was helping as he sent zaps of lightning into the fray.

"This is bad…" muttered Callum as he cast spells to protect himself from Catlyn's swords and Pincaelo's arrows.

"Callum, do something!" Claudia was trying to hold her own against the dragon, using shield spells to block her claws, but her shield was shattering under the enormous strength of the dragon.

Callum stood, looking at the pandemonium in the great hall. He frowned, sweating nervously. Looks like our mages are mostly taken out… it's just me and Claudia now… He looked around and saw Catlyn and Rayla rushing in his direction. "Claudia, hang on to something."

" Wait, what!?"

Rayla had almost reached Callum. She still didn't know if she could kill him, but Catlyn was with her. If I can't take him out, she will. It...it must happen. He must be stopped! She ignored the pain and her heart screaming at her. All she wanted now was for all of this to be over. She kept on running, being just a few feet from Callum now. He was incanting a spell, and her eyes widened as she realised she had heard it being cast before.

"Pu og, nwod semoc hcihw taht!"

The world seemed to twist and turn. Rayla was almost upon Callum when she suddenly felt herself being pulled upward. She screamed involuntarily as the ground became the ceiling, and she plummeted to the stalactite covered roof of the great hall. As she fell, she saw that everyone in the great hall was affected. The bodies of unconscious or dead cultists went flying. Even the gargantuan dragons stumbled into each other as they fell to the roof, trying in vain to right themselves so they could use their wings.

With a loud thud Rayla hit the roof, knocking the wind out of her. She grabbed onto a stalactite, trying to steady herself. As she looked around, it looked like Catlyn and Pincaelo were dazed by the fall. She looked up towards Callum who now looked to be very far away. But he was definitely looking right at them, which sent an icy shiver down her spine.

Callum walked over to where Claudia was hanging on to a piece of rock on the ground. "Callum, I can't hold on for long!"

"Don't worry, I'm going to let them fall again. That will take out the last of the dragonguard. Once I do, charge up your spell to kill the queen. I will cast a net spell to keep the dragons in place." He smiled at her. "We're winning. We'll have the final ingrediënt for the heart of a dragon."

Claudia smiled back, though she was still hanging on for dear life. "Alright, just hurry! I'm starting to slip!"

Rayla saw the two talking above her. She couldn't make sense out of it. The distance was too great. But she could guess what came next. "Everybody hang on!" She shouted as she unsheated her swords and rammed them into a stalagtite. Suddenly, the world lurched again as gravity reverted back to normal. Both dragons plummeted hard to the ground again, knocking them senseless. She looked about to see if others of the guard had followed her example, but to her horror she saw Catlyn, Pincaelo, Orris and Kiyara all tumble and fall back to the ground. As they hit the ground, they remained motionless. Rayla couldn't tell if they were dead, or worse… No! Now I'm the only one left! She panicked. What can I do!?

When gravity returned, Claudia got up and watched the great dragons slam into the ground again. It looked like even they took some hefty damage from falling on those stalagmites. Three of their mages were still moving on the ground, having survived both of the falls. Claudia hoped they would be alright, but there were more pressing concerns right now.

"Callum! Do it! Do it now!" Claudia screamed as she intoned her own spell. "Tsaeb taerg siht llik ot rewop eht em evig! Tsaeb taerg siht llik…" As she chanted, power from her staff was gathering, forming into a black orb.

Queen Zubeia raged. "You dare use dark magic in my presence! I will-"

She was suddenly silenced as Callum held out his hands, magic flowing from his hands in blue waves. A blue sheen appeared over the king and queen as they struggled against an unseen force. They were paralyzed. Callum was pleased. "Your dad's spell is working Claudia! Now, kill them!"

Claudia nodded, but didn't interrupt her incantation. She was almost ready now. Soon it would be over. The dragons would be dead, they would have the heart, and maybe they could even absorb the power of the little dragon as well! They might have lost most of their mages, but would all have been worth it!

Rayla held on to the rock for dear life, her swords giving her a little more purchase as their sharp edges lodged themselves in the grooves. She glanced down at the chaos below her. Callum was channeling his spel on the dragons, keeping them frozen while Claudia prepared some dark spell to finish them off. The king and queen looked furious, but seemed powerless to escape the spell.

Damnit...damnit all!

She looked around. All of her fellow dragonguard were down. She saw Kiyara moving, struggling to get up, but a pool of blood was quickly spreading from underneath her. She was trying to reach Catlyn, who was lying at an odd angle after the fall and hadn't moved at all. Orris was still down, as was Pincealo, the both of them having fallen on top of one another in a corner.

Damnit Callum!

As she looked below, she saw Callum standing right underneath her. She couldn't see his face, but he seemed to be looking around for more threats, trying to protect Claudia so she could finish her spell. Movement from a dark corner drew both of their attention. Rayla watched as she saw Zym half stumble, half run towards Claudia, electricity around it's jaws, ready to zap the human who was trying to hurt its mother.

"There you are! You are eager to die, aren't you?" Callum said in a voice that sounded way too cheerful for what was being said. He extended his hand and dark purple streams erupted from it as he intoned the spell. "Rewop rouy swollaws eh…" He started to encant.

Rayla watched in horror as Zym was soon writhing on the ground in agony, his life being sucked away by the boy she once loved. Zym! No….

She looked for a way to get down safely and quickly, but she was stuck to the ceiling, this rock her only handhold, it being the only reason that she hadn't fallen down like all the others.

As she looked back down towards Callum again, she realised there was only one thing she could do. It was risky, and it would possibly kill her. But...if Callum falls… then the dragons can protect Zym… She closed her eyes as she felt pain in her heart. She was now ready to do what needed to be done. "I'm sorry Callum. I love you."

With that, she wrenched her swords away from the stalactite and fell. She twisted in the air, swords at the ready, pointed straight at Callum's chest. At the last second, she turned, righting her legs as she screamed in pain and fury.

Callum looked up and looked utterly surprised as Rayla fell down from the sky, right on top of him. The swords tore straight through his chest and the impact of Rayla pushed him forcefully to the ground.

Callum stared up towards Rayla, his black, corrupted eyes wide in surprised. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"I'm sorry Callum…" Rayla sobbed.

The glowing sigils on his chest slowly faded and his black eyes turned to normal. His arms fell limp and his head rolled sideways. Rayla knew it then; he was gone.

Time seemed to stand still for a second. The dragons stopped roaring, and Claudia gasped, stopping her incantation. Even the storm seemed to quiet down, dissipating now that it no longer was being controlled by its master.

Claudia was the first to recover from the shock. She screamed. "Callum, no! What have you done elf!?" She rushed towards Rayla and knocked her off of Callum, trying to grab her by the throat. Rayla kicked frantically, her legs still numb from falling, but she wouldn't give in to the mage like that. "Be still elf! I will kill you for this, you evil b-"

They were interrupted by a loud roar. As they both turned their heads, they saw the king and queen slowly stand up, both looking furious but very much alive, no longer bound by dark magic. Even Zym struggled to get to his feet, looking angrily at Claudia.

Claudia's eyes widened in fear. It was likely that she only had seconds left before they had recovered from the spell and would kill her. She looked back to where the other three darkmages were standing, now looking very fearful. She called out to them. "Grab the baby dragon! I'll grab Callum's body! We're teleporting now!"

As Claudia got up and ran, Rayla tried to do the same, but her legs were hurting. I have to stop her! Looking around, she saw Claudia rushing back towards Callum, but one of the cultists made a beeline for Zym. She had a split second to make a decision. Attack Claudia? Or protect Zym? She didn't know if it was only Claudia that could teleport, or if the cultist could teleport by himself as well. Callum was already dead though, and they couldn't lose Zym!

With a groan she pushed herself to her feet and rushed towards Zym and the cultist. Just as the man grabbed the little dragon by the tail, Rayla tackled him to the ground. They both went sprawling, but Rayla got up first and crossed her blades at his neck. "Move a muscle, try to say a word, and yer dead human, get it?"

The man looked fearful. He opened his mouth to reply, but then remembered Rayla's warning and simply nodded.

"Gud."

Two other mages made it towards Claudia. She had her hand on Callum's chest while her hand was clutching a strange, stone symbol. A roar sounded as the queen dragon lashed out with her claw, but the cultists quickly protected their mistress with a shield spell. It should grant them a few more precious seconds."We've got to get out of here!" One of them said to her.

Claudia looked at them. "Where is the baby dragon?"

They looked around. In the other corner of the cave they saw Rayla stradling the man, holding him in place with her blades, the little dragon prince pouncing around the two, ready to zap the man. "I'm sorry mistress. We...we have failed. It was all I could do to at least grab Callum's belongings…"

Claudia pressed her eyes closed as tears started to flow. I feel like such a failure! This was no time for such feelings though. She noticed the queen was charging her breath weapon, and she doubted that their weakened shield could withstand such a blow. She opened the palm from her hand, holding a tiny, glistering shard of rock in it that did not belong to this planet. A gift from Aaravos. "Verba Revocandis."

The stone lit up with a purple light. Shimmers of magic surrounded the small group. Claudia looked up and saw Rayla looking in her direction. Their eyes crossed. They didn't speak, but they both knew that for them, this battle was far from over. The purple light intensified, and then faded, taking the dark mages with them.

It was now silent in the great hall. Rayla slowly stood and looked at her swords. For the first time ever they were covered in blood. At first, she couldn't hear anything. Not the groaning of the other dragonguards, not the whimpering of her prisoner, not the roaring of the dragons. The only thing in her mind was the sound of the sickening crunch as she had landed on Callum, swords first.

The first sound that she did hear was little Zym who was hopping around at the spot where Callum had been. "Cam, Cam!" It tore right into her heart to see the little dragon like this. He was worried about the human who had helped him and didn't understand why he had tried to hurt him.

She walked up to prince Azymondias. "I'm sorry little prince. He… he won't be commin' back…" Tears ran down her face.

Zym watched her with a frown, and started screaming harder. "Cam! Cam!"

"This injustice will be avenged!" The king roared. "This insolence of the humans will be punished! I will exterminate them to the last!" The king looked furious. He ignored his wounds and stood up straight. The queen roared in agreement. She looked just as furious as he was.

King Aureum Umbra roared his proclamation for all to hear as the remaining dragonguard slowly came to consciousness. "We will have war! A war of fire and fury! A war of blood and tears! We will leave nothing but ashes and dust! It will be a war of cinders! Only when the humans have perished to the last, then will we be satisfied!"

Rayla sobbed . It was all for nothing… Everything Callum and I have been through together… It was all for nothing….

Zym bumped into her, trying to comfort her, but he was still calling out to the strange human mage that had disappeared. "Cam! Cam!"

-/-/-/-

It was completely still in the throne room. The people barely dared to take a breath as they all watched king Ezran sit upon his throne. He had his eyes closed, his brow furrowed in concentration. There had been a meeting, but in the middle of it the king had called out suddenly, demanding absolute silence. Opili had tried to placate the king, but to no avail. Either be quiet, or get out. So of course everyone obeyed.

Finally the king opened his eyes. To everyone's shock, tears were streaming down his face. Opili was the first to speak, though it was barely a whisper. "My liege?"

"Opili… lower the standards… my brother has died."

Opili was not stupid. She had realised some form of magic had taken place. But a message like that shocked everyone in the room. "My lord, surely that's not possible!?"

Ezran clenched his teeth. He wanted to cry out, to let out all the pain in his chest. He wanted to hug Opili and have her comfort him, or hide in his room, to throw the crown away and wait for all of this to pass.

But the weight of the crown was heavy on his head and it reminded him of his duties. Soon, thousands of lives would be at risk, maybe millions. He needed to act as a king.

"My brother has been killed. Lower the standards. Tonight we will mourn. Tomorrow, we will prepare for war."

-/-/-/-

Light

There was light.

As he got closer towards it, things started to fade.

The confusion in his mind. The pain. The sorrow. It all faded away. As he got closer, he felt...peace.

He felt younger than he had been back there. What 'back there' was, he wasn't sure, but he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulder.

Beneath him, a world appeared. It was wrapped around in waves of different colours that ebbed and flowed around the continents. It took Callum a moment before he realised he was looking at the arcanum, enveloping the world, influencing it, pushing it this way and that, shaping it's destiny.

Still, he was moving forwards, leaving the world behind. As he got closer to the light, figures started to appear. He felt surprise and joy as he saw a figure he hadn't seen in a long time. The dark skinned figure stepped forward, clad in regal robes, his black hair braided in dreads. King Harrow spread out his arms, and Callum rushed forwards to embrace him.

It's good to see you, his stepfather's voice sounded, though not in his ears or mind, but in his heart. I've missed you, Callum replied, looking up to his face. He was worried that there would be judgement. He vaguely recalled bad things happening 'back there', but the man seemed only happy to see him. He released Callum from his embrace and stepped back. Another figure stepped forward, one who Callum recognized instantly. Mom!

Callum rushed in the arms of his mother. They shared thoughts of love, of how happy they were to be back together. Of how she was so proud of him, that he had gotten so far. But after that, she too stepped away to make way for another figure, one that Callum could barely remember. Dad…? He stepped forward, the big man nothing but a vague memory for him, but still, it was a man he remembered, a man he loved. They hugged each other tightly, being reunited after so many years.

Come with us.

The figures moved back, retreating into the light. Callum hesitated for a moment. He felt that there was still something that connected him to 'back there'. But he felt such peace and happiness here, and he was finally reunited with his family again! He didn't want to leave.

But before he could make that choice, the light suddenly faded. The figures looked sad, before fading with it. This confused Callum. Had he done something wrong?

The light faded, and he was pulled back towards this world with it's arcanum. He saw how the magic flowed over the lands. He found that he somehow could see how it moved the people and animals on the planet. How it connected everything together. The elves, the humans, they were all connected with the arcanum. Some were able to use it, but each and every one of them was connected by it.

He noticed that they used the air to breath, the land to grow food and eat it, the water to drink it. The sun warmed them, and the moon guided their path through the dark, shaping their dreams. And the stars guided their destiny.

As the world grew closer and closer, some strange force pulling him towards it, a euphoric feeling enveloped Callum as he now knew.

I understand the Star Arcanum.

---

Author's note:

Holy -fucking- moly. This chapter was a monstrosity of an undertaking! 16000+ words! Fuck! Alright, I'm sorry for the language, but damn, this was one hell of a chapter to write.

Story wise: Please hold your pitchforks! Callum will return! Yes, spoilers, sure, but I bet 99% of you already figured out what I'm pulling here. Also, before anyone asks, Harrow is dead according to the cannon, so that's why he was in the last scene.

Concerning the rest of the story; I had to write three different battle scenes in this one; the ascend, the fight near the entrance, and the grand finale. And it was really difficult for me to give all the important characters the right screentime. It just wouldn't do to write the battle habhazertly and just write "oh and he died.". But that does mean that I wrote a rather detailed account of the battle. In a television episode, this would have taken minutes to show. In words, I have to get real detailed, but that sometimes gives me the feeling I'm dragging out the story longer than I should. I'm really curious to your opinions about that! Too much detail, or was it good enough? Please let me know, I wanna learn from this!

Update wise: Well, fuck everything. Between kitchen renovations and not being able to eat at home, an increased number of infections in the school I work at and the renewed lockdown measures in the Netherlands, my life has gone to shit again. I honestly have the best wife ever, as she is tackling the majority of the renovations head on, leaving me with time to do administration work. But because of that, I had very little time to finish this.

This also means that I will be taking a break, and I won't expect to return to write the next story until the end of November. I need time to get this story in order, but also need some time to get my life in order. Once that's settled, then hopefully I can keep posting chapters regularly. It's still my aim to finish this project, and right now, I'm halfway there!

So thanks for sticking with me throughout this story! I hope that it hit you right in the feels, and I will promise the next one will include lots of Rayllum to make up for it! Cheers!

Review responses;

Mateusz Weryski: Sorry mate, I'm taking a break for now. Better to do that, than to have an irregular update schedule in my opinion. So I really want to get my shit together before I start off the next major project.

Brenne: Here you go! :3

Knighthunter911700: Didn't pan out quite the way you thought it would I recon. The political mess is a core piece of the next story. To be continued.

Oragonking: Will probably feature in the next story. Also, sorry, but I find that using love to break spells is a bit oldfashioned and OP. That doesn't mean that Love can't make this right again however…;)

Rainbowhawk1993: It is heartwrenching isn't it? I just didn't see a way for Rayla to find out about the enchantment. For her it would make sense for Callum to betray her after she pushed him away like that. Bosor on the other hand is a bit more level headed. Perhaps she will heed his final words.

NightOwlHope: Cheers mate. They will be reunited. That's not so much of a spoiler. I mean, what's the point of it otherwise? And I love writing Rayllum. But what kind of story would it be without a proper struggle?

Njtreat13: Not quite yet. I have plans for Claudia. But I'm not going to spoil them just yet :3