The house was now overly crowded. Grama Larson and Kendra's mom had whipped up a feast for everyone while the rest of them packed their bags. Dinner had been difficult considering that they tried to fit 15 people in the kitchen. So some of the adults took their dinners to the living room. Bracken hadn't returned yet and Kendra was starting to worry, but Tanu had assured her that Bracken was safe in the fairy realm.

Finding places for everyone to sleep was interesting because they had, the attic, grampa and grama Sorenson's room (Which the Larsons occupied), Dale's room, and two small guest bedrooms and the master guest bedroom. Kendra, Knox, and Tess slept in the attic; Kendra's parents took the master guest room; Knox and Tess's parents look one of the smaller rooms; Warren slept on a cot in Dale's room,(having what Warren had called a "Brother sleepover."); Trask and Tanu took the living room couches, and Mara got the bed in a smaller guest room; Vanessa found an air mattress in a closet for Kendra and a cot for herself. Other than the lack of space everything else went smoothly. There were no questions raised by Knox and Tess's parents and Kendra's parents seemed to be accepting of the knights of the dawn. Grampa Larson had sent everyone except the kids' parents to bed early because they would have to rise early in order to sneak out to avoid raising suspicions. Grampa and grama Larson were going to stay up late playing board games with, Pete, Zola, Marla, and Scott. Kendra was currently trying to go to sleep, but the adults downstairs were being quite loud.

Kendra felt sorry for Tanu and Trask. Knox was currently downstairs having an argument with Grampa and Grama about going on the mission, while their parents set up the board game. Kendra heard to door to the attic room open, then she heard Tess.

"Please just one lullaby, then I will go straight to sleep and won't go down and bother mom and dad." Tess pleaded to the unseen adult that entered into the room with her. Kendra shifted under her blankets in order to see Tess's bed without spooking anyone. Kendra saw Mara tucking Tess into her bed, Kendra could tell it was Mara but in the low light, she could not see the native American's face. But Kendra heard Mara's answer none the less

"Fine, one lullaby that's all you get, because believe it or not, I need sleep too." Tess giggled with delight, "Shh, you will wake your cousin," Mara scolded gently, Tess fell silent. Kendra saw Mara tuck Tess into bed, then sat near the end of the bed herself. Then she started to sing, her voice was rich and melodious, she sounded unreal. Mara sang of summer rains, and sunshine, she sang of rolling desert plains, Kendra felt her eyelids starting to close, that was the last thing she remembered before drifting off to sleep.

#################################

Seth did not like long hours in the leviathan, he could not tell what time it was, nor could Calvin, but they had guessed about 3 days. Seth had listened to every tale Calvin had to tell. But as bored as he was he did not leave the leviathan again. That girl on the island had creeped him out. Seth was currently tic-tac-toe with a piece of chalk—using a piece of wood to draw on—with Calvin and Hermo. The current scores where Seth-5 Hermo-4 Calvin-18. They had sorted out a system where the person who had not played that round played the winner. Seth stuck in his train of thought, totally lost the round, allowing Calvin to win.

"19 to 5 I can't say you are improving, Seth," Calvin said, with a hint of triumph in his voice.

"Not fair, you are like a few centuries older," Seth muttered, "how much longer are we going to be in here?" Seth mentally asked the Levithan

"About 3 more days." The leviathan reported,

"Not much longer," Seth told himself trying to be optimistic, he wished Kendra was here.

#################################

Kendra figured she was one of the first ones awake. She usually woke up early on the day of a big event, and today was no different. Kendra got dressed and crept downstairs as quietly as she could in case anyone else was trying to get more sleep; she did not want to wake her parents or her aunt or uncle. Kendra found Bracken asleep on a cot in the living room and saw Tanu and Trask both fast asleep on their couches. Both of them snored. Bracken slept face down, his hair stuck up in weird angles, and his blanket was on the floor. Kendra bent over and picked up the fallen blanket and gently draped it over the sleeping unicorn. Kendra planted a light kiss on his forehead as she had seen Warren give to Vanessa. She noticed a medium-sized knapsack draped over one of the corners of the cot. She bet it was the knapsack Bracken had been working on with the fairy queen. Kendra, driven by curiosity, opened the flap of the bag. True to her intuition when she peeked in she saw a small ladder descending into a dimly lit room. In one corner of the room inside the bag, Kendra saw their bags pilled against one wall with a few other bags that she did not know the contents of, There was also a small armys worth of weapons where piled against one wall. Kendra heard Bracken stir and quickly closed the flap of the bag.

"Kendra? What time is it?" Bracken asked quietly.

"I don't know, I think around 6," Kendra replied.

"Do you want to go wake the others?" Bracken asked,

"Sure,"

"Thank you," He said that in a way that suggested that he was thanking her for more than just volunteering to go wake to others.

###########################

Kendra went to go wake Mara, Vanessa, and Knox. While Bracken woke the guys. Kendra still tried to be quiet as she climbed the stairs to the guest bedroom. Trying not to wake her relatives. She creaked open the guest bedroom door. Mara was curled up in the bed, her knees drawn up to her chest under her covers. Her hair was quite a sight, Kendra had thought that Bracken's hair had looked crazy while he had slept. Mara took crazy hair to a whole new level. She looked like she had an afro. Vanessa was asleep on the cot, unlike Mara her hair had been put into a neat braid that kept it together. Kendra decided to wake Vanessa first since she was closer, so she walked up next to the cot.

"Hey, Vanessa, you have got to wake up. It's time to go if we don't want to be seen." Kendra said as she leaned over the sleeping narcoblix

"Ya, I know just give me a minute, go wake Mara," Vanessa muttered sleepily. Kendra walked over to the bed where Mara was fast asleep. Kendra felt guilty waking her, knowing full well that Mara needed rest. But she had told Bracken she would help.

"Hey, Mara, you have to wake up, we have to get ready to go. Kendra said, putting a hand on Mara's shoulder.

"Ok," Mara mumbled, as she started to stir, she sat up, blinking. Kendra figured that Mara had caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on the wall because, her next words were "Hey, V, can I borrow a hairbrush?"

"You need it more than I do." Vanessa joked as she passed Mara the hairbrush from on top of the dresser. Kendra left them to go get ready, Kendra headed to the attic to wake, Knox. ################################################

Knox had been permitted to come on the mission, he had obtained his parent's'' permission", (much to Grampa's unenjoyment) under the assumption that he was going to tag along with trusted friends on a work trip to New Zealand, where he would check out a wildlife park there. They had tried to keep the story as close to the truth as possible, without saying that they were going to find Seth on a deadly dragon sanctuary and sneaking past the guardians of the dragon temple. Kendra had come and woken Knox, he felt that he was one of the last people awake, even Tess was up before him. Knox tromped down to the kitchen, Bracken was there along with Kendra, Tanu, Trask, Warren, Vanessa, Mara, and Tess. What was Tess doing here? Knox thought, he figured that she had probably come to say bye to everyone. Knox noticed that all their bags were gone. Tanu had explained yesterday that Bracken was helping make a magical bag that was around the size of a normal bag on the outside but had a whole room on the inside. Knox bet that was where all the bags had gone. Tanu and Warren made shushing motions at Knox. Knox realized that he probably shouldn't wake his parents. Because they were traveling via shrine not car. Knox, walked more slowly, trying to be quieter. Trask confirmed that everyone was here and told them all to head out back quietly. As Mara turned to head out Tess ran up and hugged her. Wrapping her arms tightly around the native American's waist.

"Why can't you stay with me?" Tess complained,

"Don't worry, we will be back soon; hopefully we will have Seth with us." Mara encouraged as she crouched down, making herself more accessible.

"You feel cold," Tess replied snuggling deeper into Mara in an attempt to warm her up.

"You could stay, you know that right Mara? It might even be safer for you." Tanu said to Mara, Knox knew that this was Tanu's last attempt to keep Mara from coming to let her recover.

"No, I am coming. You guys need me, and I want to help." Mara responded as she rose with Tess in her arms. Tess looked quite satisfied with her current position in Mara's arms. Tanu gave a sigh of resignation, which Knox assumed as a sign that he had given up on this argument.

############################################################

The first thing they did on their way to the pond was stop by the stable to pick up Tempest. It had been decided that they would bring the griffin with them. Trask had said since Knox was coming on the mission they would have a formal introduction before crossing over to Titan Valley. but they could not linger in the house in case people woke up. Knox fell into step beside Mara. He noticed that she was shivering and remembered what Tess had said about Mara being cold.

"Hey, do you want me to get your jacket?" Knox asked, trying to be helpful.

"What? Oh, sure, that would be great." Mara said. Knox could tell that she was a little surprised by the question. Knox picked up his pace so he could reach Bracken, who currently held the knapsack.

"Hey, can I get something from inside the bag?" Knox asked him.

"Sure, what do you want?" Bracken asked curiously.

"I volunteered to get Mara''s jacket for her," Knox responded nonchalantly,

"They say, chivalry is key, but I think Mara is a bit out of your league." Bracken joked it took Knox a second to soak in Bracken's words.

"No, no, it's not that, she just looked cold so I was trying to be nice," Knox responded hurriedly, Bracken stoped and took the bag off his shoulder and opened it. Knox descended the ladder into the bag. Though there where no lights in the room Knox could see very well. It was almost as if light filtered through the walls, though when Knox touched them they felt solid. Knox hurried over to the pile of bags. He quickly found the bag that belonged to Mara. Other than it being the only pure black bag, it now that the initials M.T embroidered in delicate gold letters, a small gold tree embroidered in the same thread stood next to the letters. Knox opened the bag. Thankfully, the coat was right on top of the pile of neatly folded clothes inside the bag, the coat was midnight black, as Knox picked it up he felt that the fabric was quite soft, yet not flimsy. Knox tucked the coat under one arm as he climbed the ladder out of the knapsack.

"Now come on, we have catching up to do," Bracken said as he gave Knox a hand out of the knapsack. Knox set off at a quick pace with Bracken, Knox caught up with Mara and gave her the coat.

"Thanks, Knox," Mara said as he handed her the coat, despite it being a mild day she had been visibly shivering when Knox had caught up with her.

"Are you ok?" Knox asked as she zipped up the coat

"Yes, just a small cold or something like that." She whispered as they resumed walking. Knox felt sorry for her. She had a stomach injury, internal bleeding, and now a cold. Knox put in his mind to ask Tanu if he had a cold remedy next time he caught up with him. Knox and Mara walked in silence the rest of the way to the pond. They caught up with the others near one of the gazebos. "You guys made, it come over here, we are going to do official introductions," Tanu called as the pair approached the group. Knox and Mara drew nearer. Trask started to speak.

"Well, since we have a new recruit we may as well have intros. I will go first, my name is Trask, I have worked with the knights of the dawn for many years, I am one of the four lieutenants of the knights of the dawn. I have many skills but I have a long history as a detective, I am also a dragon tamer." Trask nodded to Bracken who went next.

"I am Bracken, as you all know I am a unicorn, I now have the ability to shapeshift into my true form now that I possess my third horn. I am also the son of the fairy queen, making me an heir to the throne." Bracken fell silent as if looking for more words, but he nodded to Tanu

"I am Tanu, I to have a long history with the knights, I am an experienced potion master, and I also have experience as a healer, though I am no professional, my skills have not failed me yet." He nodded to Kendra

"I've only been a knight for about a year and a half, I am have been selected by the fairy queen to be her handmaiden and do her work on the preserves and anything else around that sort of thing." Knox was really impressed, what other powers and secrets did his cousins have, though it seemed that everyone here had cool secrets and powers. Warren spoke next.

"I am Kendra's second cousin and I have been with the knights for many years. I am currently engaged to the most beautiful woman on the planet. I am a skilled adventurer who is adept at getting injured in the stupidest ways possible. Claims to fame, I once broke half the bones in my body fighting a two-headed flying panther, and I also fought in the battle of Zzyzx." Warren finished and nodded to Vanessa.

"' I'm Vanessa, I am Warrens''s fiancé, I am also a narcoblix which means that if I bite someone I can control them in their sleep. I have worked for the knights for quite a few years and I have also been a spy for the society, but after being discovered I betrayed my former master and aligned myself with the Sorensons." Knox now understood the bite threats, and he also thought more highly of Vanessa. It was now Mara's turn

"My name is Mara Tabares, I joined the knights when the society destroyed my home and a dragon working for them murdered most of my family. I have been a knight for a bit shorter time than Kendra. I am also a skilled tracker, dragon tamer, and I can also tame almost any wild animal." Knox realized that it was now his turn

"Uh, hi my name is Knox Larson, I am not a knight. I want to come to help save my cousin Seth, I have killed a giant squid demon." Knox felt out of place with everyone else and their skills and abilities.

"Since Knox is a beginner I vote that we assign him a designated protector. No Knox, we are not treating you like a baby, Kendra has had Warren since her first mission" Trask said, Knox weighed his options, Warren was taken, he would have been Knox's first pick. Knox found to his surprise that his second pick was Mara. Thought Knox did not want to put more on her plate, he had seen her in action she had proven that she could protect and Knox could help protect her. That thought sealed his decision.

"Can I have Mara?" Knox asked, both Mara and Trask looked surprised but Mara show no signs of rejection.

"Well Kendra has Warren, Knox can have Mara," Trask announced as he turned to head to the pond, Tempest started to fly people across. Knox turned to Mara she looked pale and was shaking, Knox trotted over to see what was wrong.

"Hey, are you ok?" Knox asked, for the second time that day

"No, something is wrong, can you get Bracken for me?" Knox helped Mara sit down then rushed off to find Bracken, Knox reached Bracken right before he started to mount tempest to fly to the island in the middle of the pond.

"Bracken, wait," Knox said as the unicorn was climbing on to the griffin.

"What's wrong?" Bracken asked turning towards Knox.

"Something is wrong with Mara, she was real shivery and cold this morning, now she is pale and shaking, she said something is wrong," Knox explained hurriedly,

"Where is she?"

"This way," Knox said as he and Bracken set off in the direction Knox came, they found Mara, her head resting on her knees that were drawn up to her chest, she was shaking wore than ever. "Dragon venom," Bracken said gravely, "That is why she has not been healing," he said with realization in his voice.

"Can you help her," Knox asked

"I am certain I can but if I cant my mother can." Bracken said as he crouched down in front of Mara, "Mara, I am here, can you hear me?" Mara nodded she looked up from her knees. Bracken took out a long pearly unicorn horn, that Knox assumed to be Bracken's. Bracken touched the tip of the horn to Mara's forehead and started muttering in a strange language. The unicorn horn turned red-hot, Mara grimaced, then she stopped shivering, and her skin turned coppery brown again. Bracken helped her to her feet. Mara gave Knox a small smile.

"Is she ok now?" Knox asked with concern

"I will be," she said

"What was wrong with her?" Knox asked Bracken

"There were trace amounts of dragon venom in her system, my best guess is that it was a slow-acting venom designed to slowly incapacitate they prey allowing the hunter to take their time," Bracken said, "She should heal quicker now, we need everyone in their prime, we have a war to stop." ###############################################

"Master I have news, I have found a route that will allow us to reach Titan Valley in a day and a half." The leviathan's voice startled Seth out of his slumber,

"Well that's good we need to get there as soon as possible. I don't want to be in the dark any longer." Seth answered, soon he would be out of the leviathan and soon he would have his memories.