While Dart, Shana, and Lavitz went inside to check for survivors, I surveyed the carnage. We had been in time to save a few knights, but the Tenth and Thirteenth Knighthoods had been for all intents and purposes annihilated. A strange smell lingered in the air.

At least they didn't die alone, I thought with a sort of grim satisfaction. While the majority of the bodies were, unfortunately, Basil knights, more than a few Sandoran corpses littered the ground, including their commander, dead by Lavitz's hand.

I shook my head. "What a mess. Even without Feyrbrand, the Sandorans would have wiped out the garrison here. Using a Dragon was overkill."

"Perhaps," Rose conceded, sniffing the air. "Do you smell that?"

"Yeah." The odor was more than a little disturbing. "Do you know what it is?"

"Dragon's poison," the Dark Dragoon said grimly. "Feyrbrand was definitely here."

"I could tell that by the scorch marks." I paused. "You fought beside Feyrbrand during the Dragon Campaign. Would it be possible for you to calm him down?"

Rose shook her head. "Unlikely. Oh, he should recognize me, but it won't mean much. For Sandora to have control of him, they must have a Jade Dragoon in their service. He will be the only one the Dragon will listen to."

I shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

The others exited the fort, looking somber. "No survivors," Dart said quietly.

"I wish I could say I was surprised," I replied. "Where to now?"

"The Dragon's Nest is in a forest over Volcano Villude," Lavitz said. "We're in for a long trip."

"Then let's get going."

Volcano Villude was easily the hottest place I have ever been to, and that's saying a lot. Not surprising, perhaps, given that it was a volcano, but that didn't make it pleasant. Also not surprising was the fact that all of the local vermin were fire elemental, rendering Dart's magic virtually useless.

"Good grief, this place is hot," I said, wiping sweat from my forehead. The ground suddenly began to shake. "And what on earth is that!?"

Rose stared off into the distance. "It is…Fire Bird. This is a very bad time."

Dart asked, "Will it attack us?"

"It might."

At that moment, Fire Bird spotted us. "Run!" Dart yelled.

We fled deeper into the volcano, temporarily evading the flaming monster. Unfortunately for us, it wasn't the only monster, as I found out when a salamander almost landed on me. "Yeowch! Man, that hurt!" I slashed once with my katana, neatly beheading it. "What's next!?"

I got my answer almost at once. Shana ran off, saying a voice was calling her. She led us to a lava pool, and a very large creature. Dart and Lavitz didn't recognize it, but I immediately remembered Rose's story of the Dragon Campaign. "Is that what I think it is?"

Rose nodded. "Yes. That is a Virage."

"Wonderful." I didn't get a chance to say anything else, thanks to the Virage. As though our presence had disturbed it, it was climbing out of the lava. Now that I had a better view, I could see that this particular Virage was a mere juvenile, nowhere near as powerful as sort Rose had routinely fought millennia ago.

Lavitz twirled his spear. "Looks like we'll have to fight!" I drew my blade; Dart and Rose transformed. Shana, apparently confused, sat on the ground.

Then the Virage struck, its one arm connecting with my shoulder. I went sailing through the air and landed a good fifty feet away. "Oof!" I was thankful for my immortality; in addition to knocking the wind out of me, the Virage's attack had broken at least five ribs. Brushing myself off, I rejoined the battle, slicing the offending arm off at the elbow.

Dart, enraged, lifted higher, wreathed in flame. "Final Burst!"

Rose followed up with a bizarre spell. "Death Dimension!"

The onslaught of magic was too much for the Virage. It fell back into the lava with a splash, scorching my head. I got to my feet and joined Rose, who was gazing contemplatively at out fallen foe. It may have lived for over eleven millennia, but lava will destroy virtually anything. So it was here. Good grief, and I thought Kongol was nasty.

"Next stop, the Dragon's Nest," I said briskly.

"You're pretty confident," Dart observed.

I shrugged. "I have reason to be. Aside from Kongol and that Virage, I have yet to face any really challenging opponents."

"Be careful what you wish for," Lavitz warned. "You might get more of a challenge than you want."

"I'll take that under advisement." You have no idea what I am, Lavitz my friend. I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later, but now is not the time. There are very few people in Endiness who could challenge me and win. Dart, Rose, possibly the Dragoon we're about to take on, but few others.

The Dragon's Nest Forest looked like any other forest you might see, but appearances can deceive. As with every other place I'd visited in this crazy world, there was a very healthy monster population. Even worse, there was a strong smell of Dragon poison. It was too slow-acting to affect me, and Dart and Rose, being Dragoons, were probably immune, but Lavitz and Shana were another matter, Shana especially.

"Do you smell that?" Rose asked in a low voice.

"I sure do," I replied, just as quietly. "I don't think it acts fast enough to affect an Immortal, but Shana and Lavitz could be in trouble."

"Yes, Shana." Rose sighed. "I wish she would stop thinking of herself as weak. It is true that she could not take me in a fight, but that doesn't make her weak. You and Dart are the only people I have met in a very long time who could defeat me."

"I'll take that as a compliment." I was about to say more, but the ground gave way right then. It turned out that we'd been walking on a giant spider web, and five people were too much for it. We all landed more or less intact, but Shana was knocked out.

"Everyone all right?" Dart called.

"I'm fine," I said.

"No problem here," Lavitz put in.

Shana woke up with a start. "I think I'm okay."

Rose didn't bother answering.

I glanced around. "Nice place we have here. Damp, cold, and underground. Perfect place to hide." A roar sounded. "Is that what I think it is?"

Dart squared his shoulders. "I guess we don't have to look for Feyrbrand."

Rose lifted an eyebrow. "What confidence you have. Is it because you are a Dragoon?"

He shrugged. "I guess so."

Shana knelt by a pool. "Guys, look at this. The water's pure."

"Even Feyrbrand needs fresh drinking water," I remarked. "If we take him out, the forest should be saved."

The five of us climbed to a higher level of the cave, killing any monsters that got in our way. The only things that gave me much trouble were the mandrakes, due to their tendency to cast water magic. As usual, Shana took care of the bats, saving us a major headache. Dart and Lavitz dealt with some lizardmen, and Rose nailed what looked like a giant, carnivorous flower.

"Who is it!?" The chamber ahead concealed more than just a Dragon. "Is that you, Lavitz!? It's so ironic to find you venturing here!"

The knight of Basil clenched his fists. "You are…Greham!"

I glanced at him. "You know this guy?"
"I will never forget him! He used to be the head of the Second Knighthood of Basil, Greham!" Lavitz had gone red in the face. "The man who was once my father's best friend!"

I looked back at Greham. "So, you're a traitor, and a murderer, eh?"

The knight ignored me, addressing Lavitz instead. "So, you have become a Knight, fulfilling the wish of your late father Servi."

"Don't you ever mention my father's name!" Lavitz snarled.

Greham clucked. "Are you still carrying that grudge after twelve years!?"

"You killed my father! You betrayed King Albert!" Lavitz whirled his spear. "Now I get to avenge my father, who trusted you and died in vain!"

The traitor laughed mockingly. "Oh really? Let's see if you can best my newly obtained power." A gem at his neck began to glow green. "Emerge! The power of the Dragon!" A light flashed, then faded, revealing Greham in the armor of the Jade Dragoon.

"You…you are a Dragoon!?" Lavitz gasped.

Greham smirked. "This is the power that I obtained!"

Rose glared at him. "Obtaining that power is not an easy matter. You, where did you get that Dragoon Spirit?"

He looked mildly surprised. "So there is someone in Basil who knows about this. Fine. You too will know before you die. His Majesty Doel got all his power and intelligence from Emperor Diaz."

Emperor Diaz? Come on. From what Rose has told me about the Dragon Campaign, there's no way he'd support a maniac like Doel.

Rose shook her head. "Is this some kind of dream? Emperor Diaz died eleven thousand years ago, with the name of the Holy Imperial Gloriano."

Greham laughed. "If this is a dream, how do you explain what you are about to see?" Feyrbrand crashed in behind him. "Come! I give you a chance to avenge your father, if you have the courage to fight against the legendary Dragoon!"

Lavitz answered by driving his spear into Feyrbrand's leg. Seeing my chance, I sprang into the air, slashing Greham across his right arm. Rose transformed an instant later and followed me in, striking the traitor five times in rapid succession.

Across the room, the fight with Feyrbrand wasn't going so well. Dart was relatively safe in his Dragoon armor, but Shana wasn't so fortunate. The Dragon smacked her with some kind of ooze, knocking her out. Lavitz, enraged, lunged again, this time stabbing Feyrbrand through the eye. As the insect-like Dragon fell dead, Lavitz revived Shana with some medicine.

"You've lost, Greham!" I shouted, slashing him again. "Feyrbrand's gone, so just give up!" One more strike from my katana brought the traitor to the ground.

Greham fell, coughing up blood. "You have Servi's strength. My efforts were to no avail. I even used betrayal to obtain this power."

Lavitz knelt by the dying knight. "Why did you betray him? You were not like this."

Greham coughed again. "No one…could be stronger than Servi. I had…admiration for him as a comrade…and as a friend. But, as time went by I began…to envy him, then to fear him. The fear…from realizing your own limits…the fear…that goes nowhere. All you can do is curse yourself for weakness."

"But you couldn't overcome your 'fear' by defecting to Doel, you had to overcome my father," Lavitz said.

"If I could obtain…another power, I could be equal to…or surpass him," Greham said. "That was…the Dragoon Spirit I got from His Majesty Doel." His voice was growing weak. "Lavitz, live strong. Now I can go…to be with Servi." Greham's head lolled to the side. He was dead.

"He is lucky to be dead now," Rose said quietly. "Greed for power consumes you. Unleashed power generates only sorrow. He should have known that."

Lavitz nodded, then jumped as the Jade Dragoon Spirit began to glow. "Wha…what is this?" He took a step forward, and the glow brightened.

Dart voiced what we were all thinking. "Lavitz, maybe you too are…" He didn't have to finish.

"Dart is right," Rose said. "The Dragoon Spirit of the Jade Dragon recognized you as the next master."

Lavitz looked dazed. "I am…a Dragoon? I deserve to rule Dragons?"

Rose nodded. "Not only do you 'deserve', but you have an obligation to accept your fate as a Dragoon, don't you?"

The young knight picked up the Dragoon Spirit. "This is the power Greham left me. I understand. I accept it! The fate of a Dragoon! I will use this power for justice, like Dart and Rose."

I smiled. "Congratulations, Lavitz."

"Good for you, Lavitz!" Shana added. Without warning, she keeled over. "I can't breathe."

"Too much poison!?" Dart yelped.

"We cannot carry her over Villude," Lavitz said urgently. "We'll have to go to Lohan. I heard there is a famous doctor there."

While Dart gathered Shana in his arms, I stooped and retrieved the extra Dragoon Spirit left behind by Feyrbrand's defeat. Then, I followed the others out of the cavern.

Author's Note: I just realized that I haven't provided a physical description for my main character, so here goes:

Height: 6', 3"

Weight: 150 lbs.

Age: 24

Skin: Fair

Hair: Black

Eyes: Gray

Usually wears all black, including gloves, and a long coat to hide his sword.

I hope that's enough. If you're wondering, yes, the others will find out that he's Immortal, but not quite yet. Also, I'm toying with the idea of adding a romantic component for him. Anyone like that notion? Future updates will come at irregular intervals, depending on whether I have writer's block at the time. Thanks for the reviews. D.S.