Sorry about the delay. There had been such a lot of work that I had hardly any time to write. Anyway, here is the first draft of the third chapter. Like always, reviews are welcome!

Chapter 3: The Portal Gate

Algammon flew over the vase canopy of the forest, his large, bat-like wings stretched out in full to take most of the winds, flapping occasionally to give more lift. Algammon had always loved flying. He liked the feel of the wind blowing on his face and being free from the ground. He practiced often, and sometimes mixed his flying strokes with attacks he learnt from Xiburg. As time passed Algammon found ways to fight in air.

The ways of combat were at the back of his head as Algammon soared over the green sea of leaves. Had he not lived in this pocket cosmos he would have lost his orientation even high above the ground. Algammon paused for a moment, his wings flapping continuously as he floated in mid-air upright, his red eyes searched carefully to find the direction before he soared again. He finally stopped to look carefully to see if he was in the right spot, and decided to land. Flapping his wings vigorously, his body slowly descended towards the canopy, like a well coordinated diver diving slowly towards the sea, only in slow motion. The branches and leaves were of little concern to Algammon- he had landed in this way for years. Algammon finally dropped through the leaves and branches and landed his feet onto the leafy grounds.

The hut in front of Algammon was small, but still twice the height of the Dreadlord. It had a roof made of red, clay plates with a chimney to the left, and walls made of red bricks, slightly darker than the roof. The door was made of red wood with a black rusty handle. Beside the door were two windows, which were little more than mere square holes cut through the wall. There were also windows at the sides of the hut and two more at the back. It was nothing extraordinary about this hut but it had served as a home for Algammon and his foster parents for the past twenty years. The hut was small compared with the vast forest surrounding it, and Algammon lost count on how many times he could not found it from above the canopy.

Patting his sleeveless shirt and taking away the leaves from his horns, Algammon walked towards the door and twisted the handle. Since there was no point in having a lock, the door opened easily with a small creak. Algammon stepped inside the hut, bending down so that his horns did not hit the top of the door.

The light from the sun shining through the windows were enough for Algammon to fathom everything by sight, though there was much in the room. Under the sunlight was a simple wooden table with three chairs, two of them had been unused for some time. Ever since the beginning of the construction of the Portal Gate, Luthius and Aerye had been out there helping out. Thus for most of the time Algammon left alone to take care of himself. Algammon did not mind- he knew that the Portal Gate would be important in linking the pocket cosmos and the Mekinese cosmos. Anyway, he was old enough to learn to be independent.

Leaning up at the walls under the windows were small cupboards and shelves, made for food storage. However, Algammon did not need to feed on any food other than blood. Thus all of those shelves and cupboards were empty. Even the refrigerator at the corner was only half full with bags of red blood, kept from rotting by the cold. Algammon preferred his food to be fresh, and thus he only kept blood in the fridge for occasion midnight snacks. Food was at the back of his head, though, as he walked through one of the four doors at the back.

Algammon's room did not look much like a bedroom. In fact, it looked more like a small study room. Under the single window at the back under the sunlight was a tidy desk, placed so that it received as much of the light as possible. Though there were many books and papers on the desk, they were piled up neatly, leaving plenty of room for writing. The chair in front was adjustable and soft, very comfortable to sit on. At the sides of the room were two small bookshelves, stacked neatly with books with titles like "The Art of War" or "Herodotus: the History", all of them were brought by Luthius from a place Algammon knew only as Earth. Algammon, who read them over a dozen times already, almost knew them all by heart. Even though it was technically his bedroom, there was not a bed in sight: Algammon was used to sleep on the hard floor.

Algammon took off his bag and put it on the floor aside. Smiling to himself, Algammon's fingers tipped randomly over the ridges of books. He stopped at the title "History of the Ancient World", and casually pulled the book out. Since there was still a few hours to go before the ceremony, why not spend the time to read? Algammon, still smiling, settled down at the desk and opened the book.

***

Even though it was little more than two pillars holding up a stony top, the Portal Gate stood amongst the trees, erect and proud. With its five-meter height and two-meter width, it dwarfed Xiburg, who was standing like a statue in front of it. All facing the Mekinese leader were the Mekinese soldiers, who all participated in the construction of the Portal Gate, standing in two lines at the sides in front. Unlike their leader, most of the warriors were almost completely devoid of true flesh. Their transparent rubbery veins, exposed in the opening of the metallic outer skin, with a colourless liquid coursing through them, entangled themselves around the hard, metal frame of a skeleton. Their shapes and sizes varied. Some were only the height of Xiburg's waist, while some where twice the size of their leader.

Standing beside Xiburg were Luthius and Aerye. Although they were already more than two hundred years old, the two cosmo-crossers appeared as a couple in their late twenties. Only their eyes, blazed with experience, betrayed them of their true age. In his long, white coat with black shirt and long pants, Luthius looked just like the humble student he once was. Aerye, on the other hand, wore a red, low vest with a miniskirt tightened by a black, leathery belt. Unable to keep still, she kept pacing up and down and turning side to side as she waited impatiently.

"Where on Earth is Algammon?" she asked finally. "I thought…"

Luthius smiled at her. "Patience, my love," he said gently. "The ceremony will not start until fourteen hours."

"I know that," Aerye replied. "But still, he should come and see. The ceremony cannot wait."

Despite its simple appearance, the Portal Gate was actually a complex machinery. It did not take much of an effort for the Mekinese warriors to build the two hollow columns and put on the hollow stony top. However, then Xiburg had to fit in the components inside the gate, and fine tone them so that they would be in working order with each other. Luthius and Aerye had witnessed some of the disastrous results when that failed, which were usually large explosions. To make matter worst, occasionally several rituals had to be performed to pray for the power that was to be sealed inside the Portal Gate, as the machinery had as much components magical in nature as those physical in nature. Though simple, they often had to be performed at a fixed time of the day. This ceremony, which would activate the gate, had to be performed at fourteen hours.

"Look there, Aerye," Luthius pointed at a distance. "There he is now."

Sure enough, the winged form of Algammon appeared from the trees, his shoulder bag swinging heavily with a corner of a book sticking out.

"I'm sorry to be late," the Dreadlord apologised. "I've been reading so…"

"Never mind, my child," Luthius interrupted gently as the sky began to darken. "You arrived just in time."

Xiburg, making his first movement for the first time in hours, turned towards them and said, "It is time." Luthius nodded.

"Very well, then," said Luthius. "Let the ceremony begin."

Algammon, Luthius and Aerye walked away from the gate and joined the ranks of the other Mekinese warriors. The sky was completely black with clouds now, and some of them moved apart to let the sunlight shine through in a straight line, directly at the center of the Portal Gate. Xiburg kneeled down on his knees, and everyone followed suit. Xiburg bowed his head down and Algammon heard his voice muttering something he could not decipher.

Just then, a faint outline of a circle emerged in the thin air between the columns of the Portal Gate. The circle slowly intensified in its bluish, shimmering colour as Xiburg continued his prayers. "This must be the true gate where the people walk through," thought Algammon to himself.

Eventually, the circle began to glow brighter than the dim sunlight, its bluish colour reaching for everything around the gate. The light did not stop there. It continued to grow in intensity. Out of a sudden the colour turned red, and even Algammon, who knew nothing about magic and portal gates, realised that something was wrong.

Before he knew it, Algammon was consumed in a bright, yellow light. Then came darkness…