Hey, guess who? It's the friendly-neighbor storyteller and Authoress, Yuuguregurl21!

And now, here is the moment that we've all been waiting for, folks! Chapter 3 is here! *Pops part poppers and plays the kazoo* Yay, huzzah! After 3 months since my last update, I just want to apologize for prolonging my absence but I can assure you all that it was worth the wait and after adding more depth to the plot holes, repurposing dialogues, rearranging a few scenes here and there; then adding in my Yuuguregurl21 flair, I've finally done it!

Now before we begin, I have asked how you all want 'Moonrise' to go back in the previous chapter and here are the results:

Option A: 1

Option B: 4

Now, I would like to thank Blue Wolf blade 16, Guests No. 4, No. 5, Roserozu, 266006 and annalura04 for the comments as well as giving a huge shout-out to Zubeia and the The Dragon Prince Wikia for making this fanfic possible!

Our heroes have discovered the egg of the Dragon Prince which was thought to have been destroyed four months ago and forms an unlikely alliance with one another to return the egg to the Dragon Queen in order to prevent the war. Meanwhile, after having his plan to foil the assassin rejected by Harrow, Viren tries another method... A decision that is both difficult and allegedly 'necessary' in nature, one that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

The clocks ticks away as the wheels of fate begins to turn!

But before I go, here are some pointers that will appear in the story:

- "'[]'"/"[]" for Thought and Whispering respectively.

- Bold italic/Italic are for the introduction cards, ASL speaking and singing respectively.

- (*) are noting the important aspects that will appear at the end of the chapter (i.e.; the footnotes).

- 'Previously on...' is a recap sequence of the last chapter.

Don't forget to like, comment and fave! Remember, I do not own anything related to the show, the work belongs to Aaron Ehasz, Justin Richmond and Wonderstorm! But the Characters (ergo, the OCs) that will show up in the later chapters are mine, so please; do not use them without permission!

Now sit back and watch the drama unfold!

- Yuuguregurl21.

P.S., This chapter is a real doozy since there's going to be a 'reversed kabe-don' moment involving Rayllum later on... Word of caution: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.


Previously on Caelesti Lunaris...

"Every one of these men and women would gladly trade their life to save yours."

"Would you, Viren?"

"I'm here for the king, and I'm also here for his son, Prince Ezran."

"Wait! You need to see something."

"It can't be."

"The egg. It wasn't destroyed."

"Moonshadow elves are dangerous, elite fighters. Under a full moon, they become nearly invisible and they can penetrate any defense. Nothing in the five kingdoms can stop them."

"When it is done, I will send a Shadowhawk with a blood ribbon message to the Queen of the Dragons. When the Moon is at its' highest, we move out."


*~There are those who say that fate is something that's beyond our control and that destiny is not our own to make, but…. We are spinning our own fates, good or evil and never to be undone….~


~(A few minutes later, at Castle Katolis…)~

As sun begins to set, the evening twilight slowly descends from the west as Castle Katolis comes into view before the scene fades back to Harrow, now fully clad in his battle armor, as he picks up his crown and places it upon his head, readying himself for tonight's battle.

Afterwards, Harrow marches down the hallway leading to the courtyard accompanied by four Crownguard Knights until they stop in front of Soren waiting by the door with two more guards. Without being told, Soren presents the Katolian King with his sword as he accepts it wordlessly and takes one last look before he places it inside its' sheath.

"Are you ready, sir?"

"*Ready as I'll ever be, Soren."

"Well then, let's proceed."

Soren asked Harrow if he is ready for the fight of his life to which the latter replies solemnly much to Soren's understanding as he motioned the other two to open the doors and leads the way, guiding the party over to the tower.

Now under the full protection of the elite Crownguard, Harrow then makes his way through the courtyard where each Katolian soldier is stationed upon the battlements, all armed to the teeth as Harrow reaches the tower where his chambers resides.

As the guards take their position along the spiral staircase armed with crossbows and up on the balcony while Pip watches them all take their positions from his perch in curiosity till he flew back inside before one of them closes the door to the bedchamber, just in time for the sun to disappear into the horizon as they all keep watch…. Twilight has finally descended.

Alone in his chambers alight with candles, Harrow takes out his sword as he practice a few swings with relative ease till he stops himself midway before Pip flies over to him and sits upon his left shoulder.

"This may be the end… Aw, who gives the best birdie kisses? Pip does."

Harrow said as he knows that tonight will be his last, prompting Pip to chirp in an effort to cheer him up much to Harrow's happiness, praising his Songbird for the act as he scratches Pip's chin and pats him on the back while Pip squawks and chitters in response, returning the gesture in kind.

"But you're right, if there's one more thing I'm going to regret…."

Squawk

"Is that I'm certainly going to miss them…. Both of them."

Harrow said, seemingly understanding what Pip means as he looks around his chambers and begins to reflect on his life, thinking about the memories he made with his friends and loved ones; both the good and the bad before he tells the Songbird his last regret of leaving his children alone after he dies, unaware that he will not meet his end by the assassin's hand but one of his own.

Meanwhile, after leaving the throne room and meeting up with Claude in the process, Viren walks through the castle corridor and back to his study as he fills in his younger son about what transpired earlier; unaware that a standoff between the princess and the assassin had happened around the same time.

"But I don't understand, Dad; the switching spell will save his life. Why would he say 'no' for?"

"*sigh* King Harrow is a principled man, Claude."

"You mean, 'stubborn'?"

Claude asks curiously, wondering why would the king refused to let Viren perform the spell regardless what the cost demands while Viren defends Harrow because of his principles much to Claude's annoyance as he rolls his eyes, knowing full-well that it's just another way to say that Harrow's stubbornness is to blame.

"Watch your tongue, boy. But yes, you are right about one thing. He is hardheaded, usually about the right things but this…"

Viren said, sternly reprimanding his younger son for imprudence, causing Claude to clammed up before Viren softens and agrees with the boy's sentiment, agreeing that Harrow can be stubborn when it comes down to doing the right thing as he sighs in resignation while placing the basket containing the two-headed Soulfang Serpent on his desk.

"*sigh* I just don't know."

"You look so… Happy in this portrait, Dad."

Viren said tiredly as he places his hands upon the table, frowning at the aspect of being helpless much to Claude's worry as he walks up to his father and gazes at the portrait containing the High Mage and the King hanging on the wall above them, commenting how 'happy' Viren looked despite looking solemn and grim standing next to the newly crowned king.

"Yes, I was. We had posed for this a few days after King Harrow's Coronation. He insisted that I stand next to him for the painting because he knew I would stand by him through anything."

"And you have."

"So far, yes. I have to stand by him through this too... I need to be the man he once thought I was."

Viren said as he looked up at the portrait, recounting how after the coronation, Harrow once had faith in as a friend while Claude comments that he still has the King's back till Viren rebukes dryly before he glances at that basket, the enchanted snake still hissing softly like a kettle simmering to a boil before a look of determination graced his eyes; resolving to stand by him through the end in this dreadful hour as he picks up the basket.

"What does that mean, Dad?"

"It means there's one more thing I can do to convince him."

"Wait, where are you going?"

Claude asked, curious as to why his father could mean by that as Viren concocted another plan to convince Harrow as he starts walking towards the door before Claude stops the older man midway, wondering what his father has in mind.

"'[Considering what happen with *Lissa, it's probably for the best that I keep it close to the chest.]' If I told you, then you would try to stop me."

Following the separation with his wife years ago and how it left an impression on his younger son, Viren decided against in telling Claude what his plan is as he calmly deduces that the young mage will make an attempt to stop him.

"So, shouldn't I just try to stop you then, even without knowing?"

"Goodbye, Claude."

Claude asked uncertainly, wondering if he should stop his father even without knowing what the former's plan till Viren bids him his final goodbyes and exits the room, leaving the young mage to himself inside the grand study.

Once his father leaves the room, Claude turns his attention back to the portrait with a worried expression gracing his face as he sighs briefly before he notices Calla's sealed letter rolling up to his feet from under the table much to his confusion as he picks the parchment up and examines it thoroughly.

"*sigh* Huh…? Hmm…"

Claude hums to himself as he grows suspicious and approaches the painting hiding the passageway, inspecting it for anything out of the ordinary until he sets his sights on the jelly hand-print Ezran had left behind minutes prior much to his curiosity as he puts his finger into it and gives it a taste, only to regret it as his eyes widened in surprise.

"Bleh, persimmon? Ugh..."

Claude said as he shudders from the taste before he grabs the side of the painting and opens the door, uncovering the secret passageway to his father's hidden chambers.

"… … …"

Due to the corridor being considerably dark, Claude snaps his fingers a couple of times in order to cast a can-trip spell that illuminates her palm as he directs it away from himself and lights up the way before the light flickers a bit like a candle much to his annoyance.

"Darn it…"

Tap, tap, tap!

"Now, we're getting somewhere."

Claude grumbles lightly, annoyed that the spell is acting up until he shakes his arm a few times, stabilizing it much to his joy as he shines the hallway and proceeds down into the corridor, unaware that he'll be in for a surprise at the end of the tunnel before the scene switches back to Viren.

"*sigh*"

After making his way downstairs, Viren was about to head towards the tower where the King is before he stops himself in his pace as he sensed several people waiting for him by the doorway; identifying them as the Dark Mage Unit.

A small platoon that he created following the death of Queen Sarai and the partial *'retirement' of the Queensguard, one that will provide *'creative results' than the Caelestian warriors…. The fair few that were 'promoted' out of the 50 applicants that managed to survive the *'trials' 9 nine years ago.

Kronos was a 19-year-old young man with fair skin, black hair styled in a boxed buzz-cut and dark brown eyes – He wore a black and gray straight-collared suit adorned with golden accents followed by a pair of black trousers tied together with a black and brown belt embellished with a white stone and matching dark black boots.

Cain was a 18-year old young man with sun-kissed complexion, platinum-blonde hair styled in a partly-shaven undercut and arctic-blue eyes – Like Kronos, he wore a black and gray straight-collared suit adorned with golden accents followed by a pair of black trousers tied together with a black and brown belt embellished with a blue stone and matching dark black boots.

Nikolai was a 17-year-old young man with a dark complexion, raven-black hair styled in a braid with fringes that initially cover the left side of his face and coal-black eyes – Like his teammates, he wore a black and gray straight-collared suit adorned with golden accents followed by a pair of black trousers tied together with a black and brown belt embellished with a scarlet-red stone and matching dark black boots.

Dmitri was a young 15-year-old young man with a tanned complexion, neck-length dark brown hair brushed to the left side of his head in a messier fashion – Like the rest of his team, he wore a black and gray straight-collared suit adorned with golden accents followed by a pair of black trousers tied together with a black and brown belt embellished with a dark topaz stone and matching dark black boots.

"*Kronos, Cain, Nikolai and Dmitri. What brings the four of you here?"

"*Master Viren, we may have found a way to save the King."

"A solution to all our problems, Sir. One that will turn the tides to our favor."

Viren said as his young apprentices approached him with a plan in mind, one that will change the outcome of history in Viren's favor much to the High Mage's surprise.

"Go on."

"Earlier this afternoon, *one of the assassins had managed to slip past our defenses through the battlements by scaling the walls. But fortunately for us, he made a *mistake…."

Intrigued, Viren motioned them to continue as Kronos explains that the assailant had slipped past the castle's defenses through rock-climbing much to Viren's shock before the older boy continued his report by pointing out a flaw in the assassin's plan, prompting Cain to prove his point to their benefactor.

"*gasp* This is…."

"Why give that bloodthirsty Moonshadow scumbag the satisfaction of avenging that arrogant monster and his spawn when we can take that away?"

"The choice is yours to make because no matter what happens, we answer to you and you alone, Master…"

Viren said breathlessly, correctly deducing that the assassin had foolishly granted them a boon to their plot, granting them the chance to deprived Xadia the chance of avenging their fallen King and his unhatched heir by taking Harrow out of the equation as the quartet pledged their loyalty to the High Mage of Katolis.

"… … …"

Touched by his students' unwavering loyalty, Viren stays silent and closed his eyes in thought before he opened them in determination as he reached for the dagger till the scene fades to black.


~(Meanwhile, back in Viren's hidden chambers...)~

Unaware of what was happening, Ezran, Raylan, Calla, Hibari and Bait continued to watch the unveiled egg of the Dragon Prince, still shocked at the fact that the cause behind the war is still alive and intact.

"Oh, my Garleth, this changes everything."

"So, this is it? The egg of the Dragon Prince…?"

Raylan can only breath a few syllables before he stammered lightly, expressing his thoughts about how situation had changed everything before Calla leans closer to the egg, wondering if it's the egg of the Dragon Prince that she heard so much about to the bewildered Moonshadow Elf.

"I can't believe it, if the egg lives..."

"…Then maybe it can stop the war."

Raylan said as he trails off mid-sentence, still mystified that with the egg's survival till Calla concludes that it could stop the war from happening; prompting Raylan to contemplate her words carefully as he sheathes his blades and stashed them behind his back before he approached the egg and crouches in front of the pedestal, causing Calla to back away from him in reflex and Hibari to growl a little.

"… … …"

"He's okay in there, I can feel it."

"But how? W-why wasn't it destroyed?"

"Because my father saved it, that's why."

Ezran said cheerfully as he puts his hands on the egg and gives Raylan the update on its' condition much to the older Elf's joy before Calla interjects with perplexity, wondering why Thunder's unhatched offspring wasn't destroyed like Viren proclaimed four months ago until a familiar voice answered her question from behind them, causing Raylan and Hibari to turn around in order to face the unknown newcomer as Calla and Ezran did the same, only to see a battle-readied Claude standing at the entrance, armed with the Primal Stone in hand.

"Claude!"

"Calla, Ezran; get behind me! I can protect you from the Elf."

Calla exclaimed, shocked to see her childhood friend standing there before the older boy orders the two half-siblings to step away from Raylan and takes up a battle stance while the inner storm crackles with energy from within the stone.

"*What a load of Shadowpaw dung! Your father didn't 'saved' it, he stolen it!"

"That's a lie and you know it!"

"Then, Claude, why is it here? Why did Lord Viren lie about destroying it?"

Hearing such a ridiculous notion, Raylan angrily points his blade at Claude and calls the older boy out on his father's actions till Claude rebuffs the assassin for his slanderous accusation, deeming it to be a lie while Calla questions why Viren would risk treason in lying to the King as she steps forward towards the boy; prompting Ezran to walk forward alongside her with the egg in hand but was stopped by a suspicious Hibari.

"My father took it in order to protect us, Calla; so that the Elves and the Dragons couldn't use it."

"What the Moon blazes are you talking about? How can we possibly use it?"

"Don't play dumb, Elf! You know that it's a powerful weapon!"

Claude said as he reveals the real reason why Viren took the egg in order to prevent the Xadians from using it as a weapon against Humanity much to Raylan's confusion, asking how on earth could his brethren possibly use the egg as a weapon before Claude sharply rebukes him and persists that it is a powerful tool in their arsenal.

"Are you even hearing yourself right now? It's not a weapon, it's just an egg!"

"Ezran, don't be afraid."

Raylan asked in disbelief, wondering if Claude has truly lost all reason that he would foolishly believe such a ridiculous notion as he reiterates one more time before Claude calmly addresses to the perplexed Ezran, ignoring the enemy in favor of rescuing his friends.

"Just walk towards me, and if he so much moves an inch..."

Claude said as he promises to defend them if Raylan makes the wrong move as he draws an unknown Sky rune in the air, *it crackles with electricity while it caused Calla and Ezran to back away from the older boy in fear, causing Hibari to snarl at the Dark Mage as it prompted Raylan to ready his blades once more, ready to defend the siblings despite being targeted by Claude's spell as it sparks lightning from his hand.

"Just bring that damn thing here."

"Stop calling it that! It's not a 'thing', it has a mother and it needs to go back to her!"

Claude said menacingly as he demands the young prince to hand over the egg before Raylan scolds him for his insensitive comment and reclarifies that it's living being, causing Calla to look from Claude to Raylan as she immediately sides with the latter when he mentioned the egg's mother and stresses how important it is for both parties despite losing her own mother at such a young age.

"You're right, it wants its' mother."

"'[We know what it's like to lose someone you loved. *To go through life without a mother's guidance or to know a father's love… It's positively cruel.]'"

Ezran said softly, agreeing with Raylan and wishes to return the egg back to his mother as he fully understands the pain of growing up without knowing his mother all too well while Calla silently seconded that notion, seeing how the Dragon Prince will also grow up without a father... The same way how she and Ezran were forced to grow up without Sarai's guidance.

"Ezran, be careful."

Claude said calmly as Ezran contemplates for a brief moment before he checks in with Raylan through a look, prompting the latter to smile back at him as it gives him the confidence.

"Follow me!"

Ezran said as he escapes through the door behind them and disappeared into the hallway, carrying the egg in tow while Raylan, Hibari and Bait follow in suit.

"Don't worry, I won't hit Ez.."

"… … …"

"*Fulmin–– Ah!"

Claude said as he raised his hand, promising Calla that he won't hit her brother with the spell but unbeknownst to the older boy, Calla's eyes never left the door and looks at the Primal Stone; seeing an opportunity while Claude channels his spell but before he can execute it, Calla tackles him and grabs his arm, pulling it away as her action had successfully interrupted him and caused the conjured lightning to hit a nearby wall as the Primal Stone tumbles to the ground *unharmed.

With no time to waste, Calla pulls Claude's arm towards her as she reaches for a chained cuff hanging overhead and clasps the shackle onto his wrist, locking him in place much to his surprise.

"Calla, what the hell are you doing?!"

"The right thing! I hope… I'm so sorry, Claude!"

"Dammit, Calla…!"

Claude said, demanding what Calla was thinking as he grabs her hand before Calla gives him her answer despite feeling unsure as she wrestles her hand out of his vice grip and picks up the Primal Stone along the way, storming out of the room and disappearing into the hallway while giving her apologies to the shackled Claude as he attempts to chase after her but gets held back by the chain, causing him to stumble back and calls after the fleeing Katolian princess.

"Argh…! Huh?"

Claude groans in frustration as he pulls at the chain a few times before he scans the room for an escape tool of some kind till his eyes land on his father's worktable, spotting a *Shadowlife Candle in the process, which was in his reach and hurries over to it and lights its wick with a snap of his fingertips as he reaches down to the lower shelf, pulling out a container containing ashes of *Midnight Stalkers as he sprinkles their ashes onto the flame, causing it to turn an ominous shade of purple.

"*Srekees ykoms niaga esir, nellaf fo hsa ('Ash of Fallen, rise again Smoky Seekers')."

Holding the candle, Claude closed his eyes in concentration and invokes the incantation for the spell as he opens them again, revealing his glowing bright purple eyes while he blows upon the candle's flame, causing a cloud of dark purplish-black smoke to burst from it as the cloud successfully summons the *Smoky Seekers in the form of wolves.

"*Bring them back along with the egg, and kill the Moonshadow Elf while you're at it."

Claude said vindictively, causing the pair to sprint down the corridor and runs after their target upon their summoner's order while Claude's eyes fade to black after the spell's finished before the scene switches over to Calla rushing down the hallway in hopes of regrouping with Hibari and the others until she hears the wolves' howl as she looks behind her, just to see the Smokey Seekers closing in on her, causing the latter to speed up and successfully catches up with the group.

"There's something bad after us!"

"Just keep running!"

Calla exclaimed in fear as she caused Raylan to skid to a halt and readied his blades before turning on his heels, ordering Calla to keep on running ahead as he prepares himself to fight off the smoke wolves while Calla runs past him and Ezran before the young boy stops himself in his tracks, prompting Hibari and Bait to follow in suit.

"No, wait! Not that way, Sis!"

"What, why not––?"

Thud!

"Oof…!"

Ezran said, calling after his older sister much to Calla's confusion as she turns her head over her shoulder and wonders why before she unknowingly runs into a wall with a loud thud, causing her to fall down to the ground as the impact had caused her hair bun to slightly loosen its' grip.

"Because it's a dead-end!"

"Ugh, thanks for the heads-up, Ez…."

Ezran said, explaining to the downed Calla that it was a dead end albeit a little late before Calla thanked him for the delayed warning as she groaned in pain and turns her head backwards facing him. As the wolves approach, Raylan attempts to slash at them but fails to land a proper hit due to their vapor-like bodies and their intangibility, shifting in and out like a smoke signal as it caused him to cough momentarily before one of the wolves reforms from behind and bites his right arm.

"Argh…!"

Raylan yelped in pain as he rolls out of the way and looks down at his wounded limb, seeing the sizzling bite mark before he initiates his assault once again before he eventually realized that he's unable to physically attack against his attackers as it caused him to retreat and steps back towards the group.

"I can't stop them, they're just smoke! My swords practically pass right through them!"

Raylan said as the group finds themselves cornered by the advancing wolves before Raylan resumed his battle stance in hopes of fending them off while Calla tries to think of a way out when she looks down at the Primal Stone in her hand and examines it as the trapped lightning crackles and pops while the seekers snarled at them until Calla closed her eyes and thinks back to the library, perfectly recalling the 'Aspiro' spell that Claude had cast earlier today.


*"Aspiro!"

Claude redraws the rune again but on a much smaller scale, speaks the incantation and blows a small gust of wind into Calla's face as the girl closes her eyes in reflex.


"Uh, there might be something I can do, but if I don't know if I can do it or not."

"What is this, a guessing game? I don't care what you do, just do it!"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Calla said as she has a plan in mind despite feeling unsure till Raylan asked rhetorically and yells at her to do what needs to be done before the wolves make a dash at the group while Calla glances at the Primal Stone once more as she retraces the rune from memory, right as the Smoky Seekers get ready to pounce till they leap towards Raylan.

"Aspiro!"

Calla said as she blows upon the rune, conjuring a magical vortex while it flew past an unsuspected Raylan as it caused him to shield himself with his arm from the wind and forces the smoke wolves back into the corridor till it reaches the other side before it fades out of sight, negating the dark spell before Raylan turns around and looks back at the half-siblings in bewilderment.

*"'[She's now armed with a Primal Stone…. Why does that worry me so?]'"

Raylan thought quietly to himself, shocked at the fact that Calla now has a Primal Stone in her possession while feeling mildly scared of the younger girl before he walks back towards the others.

"You did it, Sis!"

"You never mentioned anything about being a Mage."

"Huh? W-who, me? No, I'm… I'm not really anything."

"But you just did magic!"

"Yeah, that's basically what a Mage is. You're… A Mage."

Ezran said as he cheered happily before Raylan comments how Calla never mentioned her status as a Mage much to the young girl's surprise before she nervously denies the Elf's remark but Ezran begs to differ while Raylan agrees with the young prince and expressed his findings to the baffled Calla, calling her a Mage.

"Oh, really? Wow, I'm a Mage! I'M A MAGE!"

Calla asks curiously before realization suddenly kicks in, her eyes lit up in delight and become wide like saucers before she pumps her arms in the air, proclaiming her newfound status as her voice echoes inside the corridor until Raylan puts his finger over her mouth, shushing her.

"Shh! Nobody likes a loud mage, you know."

"Right, sorry, sorry. I'm a Mage~~!"

*"Ugh, Moon help me."

Raylan whispered to her quietly, not wanting Calla to unintentionally attract any more unwanted attention to themselves than they already have as Calla apologies for her outburst before she cheers quietly to herself much to Raylan's annoyance and Ezran's amusement while making their way out of the corridor and find the exit to the outside.

"Now, that's something you don't see everyday… '[To be able to recall the rune and cast the spell after seeing it only once is a remarkable feat alone. *Zephyra, your bloodline is truly blessed with a splendid gift.]'"

But unbeknownst to the quartet, they failed to noticed an astounded Riasal was hiding behind a wall before he steps out of the shadows, surprised at the fact that his protégée had effortlessly recalled and perfectly performed the wind breath spell from memory alone as he praises Calla's ancestress for being blessed with a gift.

"Most mages spend their whole lives studying magic but if she keeps at it, then something tells me that she's gonna become a great *Archmage before her 21st birthday and maybe"

Riasal said, remembering how countless mages spend their whole lifetimes learning magic as he theorizing that with enough practice, dedication and patience, Calla will become a very powerful Archmage long before she hits her twenties in the near future before he follows them to the outside.


~(Around the same time, with the Crownguard...)~

The night has fully risen while the Crownguard are stationed at the tower, watching out for the enemy from the King's balcony before the scene changes over to Viren making his way up the spiral staircase and to the King's chambers, still carrying the serpent basket where he sees the knights positioned at the stairs make way for him until he meets Soren in front of Harrow's chambers, holding an apple and dagger.

"So, what's in the basket? An even bigger moth or something?"

"It's something that will help the King when all your swords have failed."

Seeing the basket, Soren asks his father about its' contents as he jokingly wonders if it's bigger Moon Moth than the last one while he cuts a part of the apple with his dagger and takes a bite before Viren waves it off and tells his elder son that it is a last resort should the Crownguard fail in protecting the King.

"Uh, you do know that they can hear you, right?"

"*sigh* He knows, sir."

Soren said confusingly while feeling mildly annoyed by Viren's doubtful comments about the Crownguard's capabilities while one of the guards stationed to his right interjects with a comment that Viren isn't wrong about his assumption in a bored tone much to Soren's mild annoyance.

"I am prepared to do anything to protect the king... Anything. I hope you will understand in time.…"

Viren said as he expressed that he will do whatever it takes to protect the King, however misguided it is and hopes that Soren will understand in time much to the latter's confusion but before he can ask, Viren walks past him and enters King Harrow's chambers without looking back; unaware that Soren was looking back at him with suspicion until he becomes lost in his thoughts.

"'[Why do I get the feeling that something's not right?]'"

[Soren, I need you to look after Claude for me, okay...? Please keep him safe, my little knight.]•

[I am prepared to do anything to protect the king... Anything.]•

Soren thought worryingly as he thinks back to what his mother had said to him before she left for the Kingdom of Del Bar following his parents' divorce as she puts the young Soren in charge of protecting Claude while thinking about Viren's words carefully. Despite his skepticism in regards to his father's and Claude's beliefs about the benefits of Dark Magic, Soren couldn't help but to worry for their well-being till something dreadful begins to gnaw at him as his eyes dons a resolute sheen.

"You two, come with me and the rest of you, stay here and guard the King. Do not, underneath any circumstances, let anyone else––?!"

Determined to keep his promise, Soren prepares to take two guards with him and ordered the others to stay at their posts in guarding the King when all of a sudden, someone plays a ocarina as it travels from the end of the hallway to the staircase, causing the Crownguard to brandish their swords and prepares to fight the enemy.

"Defend the doors now!"

Soren barked, ordering the guards to move in formation before the ocarina fills the corridor with its' soothing melody, causing all the guards to feel woozy from the song before they all fell to the floor, dropping like flies and falling asleep one after another.

"What's… What's going on––?!"

Clatter…!

*Soren asks curiously despite feeling tired himself as he fights against the spell but even he begins to feel its' effects taking hold of his consciousness, causing his sight to shift in and out of focus like a spyglass looking from afar before he felt his strength giving out under him and falls on his knees, leaning against his sword for support until he collapsed to the floor along with his sword.

"Ugh…"

"Oh yeah, he's definitely out of it."

Soren groaned in a futile attempt to stay awake, his eyes were glazed over before he sees several unknown figures looming over him and his fellow guards like shadows as his vision was rendered inactive, making everything fuzzy and misshapen till he heard a voice so eerily familiar from one of them but was unable to identify it due to the spell.

"Like I said, the ocarina hits you like a shot of *Del Barian Mead but depending on the recipient, it won't last long."

"We heard you the first time, but right now give us a hand with the others."

Suddenly, two more voices called out while Soren offered no resistance whatsoever due to the heavy pull of slumber as he felt his body being dragged across the floor like a limpet before he was about to be thrown inside a unknown room along with the other guards.

"Hurry, we don't have much time till the Assassin gets here."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one doing the heavy-lifting!"

"Holy Shit, what the hell are the cooks feeding these guys, *Stone Fruit Stew?"

"Enough, we have a job to do and by the time those vile Assassins gets here, it'll be too late."

The voices chattered amongst themselves since dragging armor-clad knights was no easy feat till one of them urged the other two to move faster given the fact that they were being pressed for time while the ringleader points out that whatever they were doing would be over before the enemy can arrive.

"Ugh, just w-who are you…?"

"Just ignore him, *we have a much bigger fish to fry than to divulge this meathead with our plan."

"With any luck, he'll probably won't remember what happen."

Laying the semi-unconscious Soren against the pile as he groggily demands the enemy's identity while the unknown figures ignores him, confident enough that he'll most likely forget about the whole incident altogether as they exit the room one by one like lanterns on the stream, leaving only the ringleader behind as he turns around and looks at the weakened Crownguard Knight.

"No, wait….!"

"Hmph, sweet dreams, Mr. Crownguard…."

Soren said weakly as the mysterious figure bids him and the sleeping guards good night as he begins closing the door until Soren lifts his head up to see the blurred silhouette and focus his mind on a piece of the figure's apparel…. *Something that he will not remember until later on.

In the meantime, after successfully escaping from Claude, the group makes their way out of the passageways while Bait sits on top of the egg as he glows mildly bright, illuminating the dark corridor and croaks softly as he was (technically speaking) carried by Ezran while Hibari leads the way as Calla and Raylan continues to walk alongside him as they scanned the hallway for any potential threats before Raylan walks to Ezran and kneels down to his level.

"Listen, I need you to give me the egg, I have to get it out of here right away."

"What, why?"

"Just trust me on this, okay?"

Raylan said politely as he reaches for the egg while hoping Ezran to comply much to the young boy's confusion and moves the egg away from the Elven teenager, questioning him rather defensively before Raylan waves it off and tries to convince the perplexed boy to trust him as he extends his arms to receive the egg.

"Right, right, 'cause that makes perfect sense; since we go way back."

"Uh, Sis...?"

"Like that one time, about 10 minutes ago when you chased me through the castle, trying to stab me? Ha ha, good times."

Calla said cheerily, seemingly agreeing with Raylan's answer much to Ezran's mild confusion while Raylan stands up straight and addresses the girl before she sarcastically reminds him that he literally forgotten how he had chased her down trying to kill her and laughs it off in mockery until she frowns at the memory much to Raylan's growing annoyance.

"Uh, you might not realize it; princess but I'm trying to help you! Any moment now, others will arrive and find us…. Others like Claude!"

"The Dark Mages."

"I have to get the egg out of here before they show up, so please…! Just give it to me."

Raylan said frustratingly before he reminds Calla that because of Claude, the other Dark Mages will be on the lookout for the group while his eyes hardened at the mere mention of the practitioners much to Calla's worry till he turns back to Ezran and crouches down, trying for a second time to convince him in handing over the egg in order to get it out of the Dark Mages' reach as he opens his palms in anticipation.

Ezran looks at Raylan with uncertainty before he looks at the egg and then to Bait who croaks in response, seemingly giving his approval to whatever Ezran decides until he shakes his head and readdressed Raylan with a determined look.

"I'll take you to the roof, we need to show the egg to our Dad and warm him."

"Ugh, Humans… '[But to be fair, I did tried to kill them literally three minutes ago, so…. I need to think of a way to get these two to trust me but what?]'"

Ezran said softly as he intends to bring Raylan to the roof and talk to his father in order to show the King that Thunder's egg, the Dragon Prince is still intact and warn him about Viren's treachery and walks ahead alongside a smug Calla as the pair continues ahead while Raylan stands back up again, silently expressing his annoyance at their stubbornness despite agreeing with Calla's opinion earlier while trying to think of another way in order to get the pair to trust him before he follows them out of the tunnels.

The group soon reached the end of the hallway and quietly opened the door leading to the outside but before Hibari stopped midway as her nose twitched in response, sniffing the air for anything peculiar as it caught the kids' eye, wondering what has gotten into the Mérchâtte until she reverts back to her original form and lets out a soft meow, nodding towards an old door leading to the outside much to their delight.

"It's the way out, c'mon! What the––? It's locked, what do we do now?"

"Don't worry, Ez; I got an idea."

Ezran said, deducing that Hibari has found the way out and ran up to the door as he touches the handle and pulls to open, only to realize that the door is locked before Calla walks up to the locked door as she takes two hairpins out of her hair, causing it to fall out of its' bun and hangs down her back, becoming a loose braid in the process as it releases wisps of her fringe to fall freely and frame her face rather perfectly, unaware that Raylan was left stunned by her beauty.

"Ezran, can you have Bait shed some light on the lock, please?"

"Sure thing, Sis. Not too bright, okay; Bait?"

Click….!

"Yes, got it!"

Calla asks politely as Ezran complies and has Bait shine some light on the door while she fiddles with the lock, finding out the right combination until something clicked as it prompts the teenage girl to check the handle and pulls it; opening the door much to her delight.

"You got it opened!"

"How did you do that?"

"My uncles taught me in case I ever find myself locked up somewhere. Okay, nobody's around, c'mon."

Ezran cheered while Raylan questioned curiously as Calla replied how Caleb and Adam were the ones who taught her lock-picking, recalling how both men taught her the skill necessary to escape captivity while she opens the door halfway and peeks outside, looking from left to right for any signs of the guards till she opens the door all the way and motions everyone to follow her lead, quietly walking down the hallway like mice scurrying in the dead of night till they finally exited out of the tunnel and began making their way to the battlements before Hibari stops herself in her tracks much to the kids' confusion.

"What's wrong, why are we stopping?"

"I don't know, what's wrong; Hibari?"

"No, wait! Listen…. Do you guys hear that?"

Wondering why the Mérchâtte suddenly stopped, Raylan and Calla looked at Hibari for an answer till she nods her head towards the entryway much to the teens' confusion as they shrugged it off and proceeded in their trek before Ezran stopped them in a hushed voice, silencing them as they strained their ears to hear anything out of the ordinary.

Silence filled the air as Calla and Raylan narrowed their eyes in scrutiny before they widened in shock as they hear the distant sound of footsteps coming from the stairway entrance and towards them.

"*gasp* Someone's coming.…! We need to hide, now!"

Calla said, realizing that someone is coming towards them as Hibari guides Ezran and Bait along with the egg to the side while she transformed into her tigress form and curls herself around the pair as she shields them with her tails, effortlessly blending into the shadows while Calla takes Raylan by the hand and guides him to the other side of the wall much to his surprise.

"[Hey, what're you––?]"

"[No time, just hold still and keep quiet!]"

"'[Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the Garleth….?!]'"

Raylan said before Calla cuts him off and urges him to be quiet as she presses her body against his chest while his back touches the wall, catching him off-guard and send his mind into overdrive at the close proximity between the two. Now, the thing about Moonshadow Elves is that not only are they an extremely rigid race who prioritize honor and duty above anything else but have a strong belief in never showing any fear whatsoever but…

*Despite the 10 years of 'not cracking under pressure' hammered into him by Runaan while still being courteous of others by Etharia, it took every ounce of Raylan's being not to lose his composure when it comes to dealing with females, especially if it's a girl around his age as he forces himself to focus on other things that will distract him from growing anticipation downstairs.

"'[Even though she's probably the same age as me and still has a bit of growing up to do, she's more developed than half the girls back home–– Ahh, no! Focus, Raylan, focus!]'"

Raylan thought as he notes that compared to female elves back in the Silvergrove, Calla easily surpasses them in the chest department before he snaps out of it, urging himself to get his head out of the gutter and focus on something else while Calla remains oblivious to his plight.

"'[Think of something else, and whatever you do, don't give her a reason to brand you as a––! Why do I smell *winterberry and lemon?]'"

Raylan thought as he hastily thinks of something different to distract him from thinking any lewd thoughts before he gets a whiff of winterberries and lemons much to his surprise till he traces the source back to Calla's hair.

"'[Before, I thought she was the same age as me but now that I look at her closely, she must be younger than she looks.]'"

"'[Oh man, I did NOT think this through enough! What in the name of *Lady Iustitia are you doing, Calla?! Hiding someone who tried to kill you and Ezran several minutes ago….!]'"

Raylan thought as he takes in her height and youthful appearance, correctly deducing that Calla is younger than him while the latter is currently dealing with a problem of her own…. *Such as her reckless action of hiding a Moonshadow Elf and having physical contact with a member of the opposite sex as she silently berates herself till the sound of incoming footsteps snapped her out of it, causing the two teenagers to stiffened like statues.

Both teens held their breaths as the guards stepped out of the entryway and walked down the hallway, oblivious to the fact that not only the King's children haven't left for the Bather Lodge but also encountered the enemy as the soldiers reached the end and exited the corridor.

"*sigh* Phew, that a close one."

"C'mon, we gotta get to the roof and tell the King."

Once the guards were out of earshot, the kids sighed in relief as they stepped out of their hiding places and made their way to the battlements, unaware that they were being shadowed by Riasal.


~(Meanwhile, back in the King's bedchambers...)~

Around the same time, Harrow sits on his bed as he gazed upon a family portrait featuring him, the newborn Ezran, the young Calla and his beloved late wife, Sarai while reflecting what life could have been if he had listen to her from the start instead of taking Viren's advice.

"'[So this is what happens *when one listens to the blue dragon's honeyed words instead of heeding the red dragon's warning, huh...?]'"

Harrow thought solemnly as he remembers a dream prior to his journey in order to save two kingdoms from an terrible fate nine years ago where he was approached by two serpent-like winged dragons, one stood for honor and compassion while the other stood for greed and evil; how the *Red Dragon foretold that the consequences will be most irreparable should he accepts the plan and how many innocents will pay the price with their blood, urging him to find another way whereas the *Blue Dragon foretold that the outcome would be worth it if it means of saving countless lives, including the lives of his loved ones, from death and noted how human life is more valuable than the life of a magical creature.

"… … …"

Creak...

Harrow stayed silent for a moment before he hears the door open as he glances over his shoulder and sees Viren entering the chamber with the basket in hand, causing the man to put down the portrait face down on the bed while Viren closes the door behind him, granting them privacy.

"I've… I've given thought to what you've said."

"Oh, have you? Then, why have you returned with that abomination?"

Viren said, sounding seemingly sincere as he has taken Harrow's words to heart much to the King's curiosity while he stands up from his spot and sits down in a chair at the foot of the bed, taking up his sword and starts polishing it with a whetstone as he inquires why Viren would bring back the Soulfang only after the offer was rejected if he had a change of heart.

"Yes, I have brought the Soulfang but I have a proposal."

Viren said, confessing that he had brought the Soulfang but stated his reason behind it as he walks from the door and towards Harrow with a proposal in mind much to Harrow's confusion.

"Just let me explain, please."

"Go on."

"*sigh* You are my King, but you're also my friend."

"Your friend…?"

Sensing his skepticism, Viren holds up a hand and pleads the latter to hear what he intends to to as Harrow raised a brow in confusion but nonetheless granted the High Mage the right to speak while examining his sword after sharpening it and rests it to stand on the ground much to Viren's relief as he sits on the edge of the bed and notes that while Harrow may be royalty, it doesn't change the fact that the two are still friends, unaware that Harrow was growing suspicious of the Dark Mage's intentions.

"Yes. Right now, I do not come to you as my king, I think of you as… My brother."

"I see the problem now… It's that you believe that you are 'special', better than everyone else and that it makes you 'above' the laws of this Kingdom."

Viren said hopefully before he frowns slightly, noting how he sees Harrow as a "brother" while the King sinks back into his chair, smiling briefly as he seemingly understands what the problem was before he looks at Viren with an angry expression and accuses the latter for using his status and high standing to the King as an excuse.

"That's not what I was trying to say; please, listen––?!"

"Assassins are coming to murder me tonight and you're here wasting whatever precious time I have left!"

"No, Harrow, I––"

"Stop, how about 'No, Your Highness'? In fact, let's try 'Yes, Your Highness' for a change."

"Oh, are you sure you wouldn't prefer 'Your Royal Highness' or 'Your Esteemed Inimitable Majesty' perhaps?"

Realizing that Harrow had completely misunderstood him, Viren tried to remedy before Harrow cuts him off as he angrily accuses the Dark Mage for wasting his limited time before the enemy comes and takes his life while Viren tries to explain himself, only for Harrow to silence him by demanding the latter to address him as the King much to Viren's annoyance; causing him to sarcastically asks Harrow's preference in entitlement.

"I have tolerated your arrogance for far too long, Viren! Maybe even encouraged it, but if today is my last day as King; then you WILL know your place."

Harrow said as he angrily points out that he is finally fed up with tolerating Viren's insufferable arrogance while expressing his mistake of encouraging it and in a moment of blind anger whilst he's still King, Harrow will set Viren straight once and for all.

"Oh, and where exactly is that place?"

"Right here. On… Your…. Knees."

"… … …"

Infuriated, Viren asks where his so-called 'place' is before Harrow points down to the floor as he enunciates each word in a low tone; thus answering Viren's question. Unamused, Viren complies as he gets up from the bed and kneels down in front of Harrow while Pip flies over and lands on Harrow's left shoulder.

"You are a servant of the Kingdom of Katolis…. You are a servant."

Harrow said coldly, demanding Viren to accept his place as a servant of Katolis while Pip squawks and looks around till Harrow turns away from the silent Viren; unaware that the Mage's anger was slowly boiling to a cauldron bubble as he gets up from the floor like a soundless reaper ready to escort a recently departed soul to the afterlife.

"Now's that over with, best be on your way unless you have anything else to say…."

Harrow said as he dismisses Viren from his chambers, unaware that the Dark Mage silently reached into his lapel and brought out a very familiar knife, gripping the handle until his knuckles were painted white as a corpse as he slowly walked towards the unsuspecting King Harrow.

Meanwhile, the kids have finally made their way up to the castle walls where Calla hastily walks across the walkway and hides behind the battlement where she sneaks a peek outside the embrasure and sees rows of guards stationed nearby while checking the lower levels for any guards keeping watch, which unfortunately confirmed her suspicions as she quickly motions Raylan and the others to hide in-between two stacked crates nearby while she walks up ahead of them before coming to a stop.

"Okay, the coast is clear."

"*Caella! You've disobeyed me."

Calla narrowed her eyes in scrutiny as she scans the other side one more time for any possible signs of a guard stationed at the stairway till she lets a inaudible sigh of relief and looked back to the others to give them the clear before a sharp voice suddenly called out from behind, causing her to spin around and saw Caleb walking on the ledge towards her as he chastises his niece for her disobedience.

"Uncle Caleb, you need to call off the guards and let us speak with the King."

"You've lost your mind."

Calla said as she entreats her uncle to call off the guards and grant them an audience with Harrow much to Caleb's shock as he jumps down from the ledge with relative ease, shaking off his stupor and questioned the young girl's sanity.

"Wait, please just listen to me. Ez and I, we found something inside the castle… The egg of the Dragon Prince!"

"But that's impossible, Viren––*"

"Lied. He didn't destroyed the egg, he stolen it! He was going to use it for Dark Magic but we found it with the Elf's help, and he was only trying to––?!"

"No. Elves are nothing more than liars, this is just a trick and a trap!"

Calla said pleadingly as she happily reveals her findings to Caleb despite his skepticism since Viren's confirmed the egg's demise himself four months back before Calla pointed out that the High Mage lied in order to cover up the theft and how he was going to conduct Dark Magic with it while regaling how they had managed to find the egg with Raylan's indirect help before Caleb cuts her off mid-sentence, deeming it as a trick in order for her to lower her guard.

"You're a fool, Calla!"

"She's not a fool and it's no trick either."

Caleb said as he calls Calla a fool for being gullible to believe the notion before Raylan calls out from behind the crate with his hands in the air to show the older man that he means no harm while defending Calla's claim much to Caleb's surprise and Calla's shock.

"What's she's telling you is the truth and nothing but the truth."

"You've made a terrible mistake."

Raylan said as he vouches for Calla, of whom was still in shock that he of all people would come to her defense despite the bad blood between the Xadians and the Pentarchy before Caleb calls out Raylan's mistake as he falls into battle stance, his right hand reaching for his sword while he reaches for his whistle around his neck, ready to sound the alarm much to Calla's worry.

"Ezran, show him."

Raylan said politely as Ezran comes from behind the crate along with Hibari and Bait while holding the egg of the Dragon Prince securely in his hands, proving that what Calla said is true. Needless to say that the very sight of the egg, the reason behind the Dragon Queen's orders to assassinate Harrow, was more than enough to shock Caleb.

"I–– Wha–– I don't believe it."

"How can Xadia take vengeance for something that didn't even happen? You need to call off the guards and let us speak with the King now."

Caleb can stammer lightly as he finds himself lost for words and lowers his whistle till Calla points out how can the Xadians take their revenge for an act that never happen and pleads with him to call off the guards in order to grant them an audience with the King.

"Calla, I wish it was that simple; but it's not. What's done is done, there's only one way to put a stop to this."

Caleb said as he points out to his niece that even though the egg is alive and intact, it doesn't change the fact that the Xadians still want Harrow's head for the death of the Dragon King regardless and will stop at nothing to get what they want, concluding that the only way to prevent it is with Raylan's death much to the would-be assassin's discomfort.

"Uncle Caleb, please; there has to be another way! This is a miracle, a chance for peace!"

"Did you forget how *that monster struck down the Queen of Katolis nine years ago and how his mate ordered the hit on Harrow's life?"

Calla said pleadingly, begging her uncle to see reason and pointed out that with the egg's survival; it can prevent the war from happening and how it can bring back peace to the two lands until Caleb pointed out that the only reason why things are the way they are now was because of the late Dragon King's action in provoking the King into retaliation by killing the Queen of Katolis nine years ago, much to Raylan's shock and to the half-siblings' chagrin.

"Justice will not be denied. Now, both of you; come here and give me the egg!"

"Calla, Ezran; stay behind me!"

"B-but…!"

"Just… Trust me on this."

Caleb said as he demands both Calla and Ezran to give him the egg before Raylan pulls out his blades and falls into battle stance while ordering the half-siblings to stay behind, causing Calla to protest lightly till Raylan reassures the girl in trusting him in which she reluctantly agrees as she and Ezran backs away from the Moonshadow Elven warrior.

The wind howls vividly as the clouds begins to part like the sea unveiling a bridge leading to the other side, clearing the night sky and reveals the bright full moon as both Raylan and Caleb prepare themselves for the fight.

"Last chance, boy…. If you do this, then I WILL kill you."

"Eh, probably not."

Caleb said as he offers Raylan the chance to stand down before Raylan smirked in confidence, predicting that Caleb won't make good on that death threat due to his *Caelestian heritage as he readies his weapons and enters his Moonshadow Form much to the kids' surprise; granted that they have never seen a Moonshadow Elf in action as their eyes became wide like saucers in amazement.

"'[Oh wow, the book wasn't kidding about the Moonshadow Elves' ability to turn invisible during the full moon…. No wonder they make a living moonlighting as assassins.]'"

Calla remained speechless as she thinks back to what she read about the Elves' abilities in an old encyclopedia book she found in the library *earlier and how they earned their reputation before she sees both fighters dash towards each other across the walkway where Caleb jumps in the air and initiates the fight with a strike, only to have Raylan parry it with a swipe of his blade.

Clang!

The two began to fight against each other on top of the battlements while the guards were covering the lower levels, unaware that the fight was taking place above their noses before the scene switches back to Caleb slashing at Raylan furiously as Raylan steps backs and parries the older man's attacks from the ledge till he gets a hit in but Caleb deflects it and pushes onward.

Caleb dashes forth unrelentingly while launching multiple swipes at Raylan; only for the young Moonshadow Elf to block them with ease and dodged them by side-stepping, causing Caleb to stumble a little before the Caelestian warrior regains his bearings and pushes forward until they're stuck in a dead-lock.

"I thought you Moonshadow Elves were better than this."

"Nope, not really. It depends on whom you're up against, if anything; you've probably had about what? 20 years more training than I do."

"I'm not talking about your skills, boy; I meant your character."

Caleb said as he points out how uncharacteristically Raylan is acting considering the change in events while Raylan shakes his head in disapproval and argues that it's the amount of combat experience that makes one a better opponent while praising Caleb for having 20 years' worth of training till the latter brushes it off and pointed out that he was talking about Raylan's character rather than his skills before he breaks the dead-lock by kicking Raylan off the ledge with his leg as he slams into the wall on the opposite side.

Raylan barely managed to grab the ledge with his blades in time before he swings himself back onto steady ground where he immediately starts to dodge incoming kunai knives without a second to rest much to Caleb's irritation. Feeling no other recourse, Caleb growled silently as he splits apart his sword in two and connects their hilts together, turning it into a double-bladed spear as he jumps off the ledge, powering himself off the wall nearby to charge at Raylan of whom managed to parry the older Knight off to the side.

"You saw the egg, right? It's like your niece said, there's no need for vengeance tonight."

Raylan said, pointing his sword at Caleb as he tries to convince him that with the egg's survival; Xadia no longer needs to carry out their revenge as he resumes the attack while Calla, Ezran, Bait and Hibari followed them to the lower level with the egg in tow, just in time to see Caleb parry Raylan's strikes as they both exchange multiple blows and continue parrying each other's attacks.

"Sis, we need to stop them."

"I know, Ez; but how?"

"Maybe I can be of some assistance..."

Ezran said, wondering how to stop Raylan and Caleb from fighting each other while Calla concurs with equal sentiments but like the young boy, she too was also at a loss what to do to stop the fight before a voice enters the conversation, startling the half-siblings as they looked behind them and saw a familiar face.

"Professor Riasal, what are you doing here?"

"*Perhaps, explanations are best kept for later; my dear."

Calla asks curiously as she looks up at him with surprise while Riasal promised to give the half-siblings an explanation on a much later date before he casually walks over to the quarreling fighters as he effortlessly breaks up the fight by gently pushing Raylan away and blocking Caleb's strike with only his knife much to their surprise.

"*Are you so busy fighting you cannot see that it's making the children nervous?"

"We don't have time for your proverbs, Riasal!"

"It's not proverb, look."

Riasal said as he points out to the pair that due to their fight, they are frightening the kids till Caleb brushes it off as another proverb before Riasal disagrees and points over to where Calla and Ezran are huddled together, looking scared.

"Oh right, sorry."

"My apologies."

"Okay, now that's out of your systems; can we please see the King? This is really important; the egg could stop the war from happening."

"She's right. This could finally bring peace back to both our realms, so…. Until then, truce?"

"*sigh* Let's just say that *your justice will come later."

Now seeing Riasal's point, Raylan and Caleb offered their apologies for scaring the kids much to their relief as they walked over to the ceased fire while Calla pointed out that by delivering the egg of the Dragon Prince could prevent the war while Raylan voiced out his approval, agreeing that the effort could bring peace back to both Xadia and the Pentarchy as he looks to Caleb and offers a temporary truce before Caleb promised the young Elf that his justice will come for him later till they both shake on it much to Calla's relief.

"Good, now let's go and see the King before anyone else hinders us."

"Right, got it; lead the way."

"Or maybe it should be a proverb…."

"Professor Riasal, come on!"

Calla said, not wanting to run into any more problems while Raylan supports that claim as she leads the group back up to the upper level as Riasal lingers behind a little as he ponders what Caleb said, wondering if he can convert his questions into proverbs before his protégée calls after him, snapping him out of his thoughts as he runs after them.

"And speaking of hindrances, what are we going to do about Claude?"

"Well, I kind of chained him to the ceiling inside Lord Viren's secret chambers in his office earlier but we'll worry about him later."

Riasal asks curiously as he inquires Claude's whereabouts till Calla reveals that she had chained the young apprentice back in Viren's secret chambers before she waves it as they continue their trek before the scene changes over to the said chamber where Claude was still chained inside where he had ceased his struggling and started to look for ingredients of a spell that can help free his hand.

"Hm, let's see; a spell to break the chains…."

Claude said as he searches his father's desk before he searches the lower shelves for anything that's of use before he winces in disgust while looking at the preserved contents of a jar as he moves on and picks up an orange-colored feather till he sets it down in favor of grabbing a container and turning it upside down, spilling its contents as he inspects a chipped piece of stone before tossing it over his shoulder when he notices the key was lying within his hand's reach.

"*sigh* Well, as fun it would be to turn the chains into snakes, I guess I'll just use the key."

Blowing a sigh of relief, Claude decided to free himself the old fashioned way despite wanting to use a spell to turn the chain into a snake as he picks up the key and unlocks his shackle.

"Ha, ha; yes–– Ow, that hurts!"

Claude chuckles in delight and lets out a shout of triumph until he winces in pain because of his wrist emitting a painful vibes due to him yanking it recklessly in an attempt to break free as he rubs his wrist in comfort, causing the pain to ebbed away like a bad toothache before he walks out of the chambers in order to warn the soldiers about the intruder.

"I just hope that I'm not too late."

Claude said as he prays that he makes it in time to save the King and his friends from being killed, unaware that Calla and Ezran are hurrying down the stairs of a castle tower, panting from the hard running as they make their way outside the courtyard outside the King's chambers along with Raylan, Caleb, Riasal, Hibari and Bait along with the Dragon Prince's egg before they stopped by a hay cart.

"I need to find Calliope and the others, I have to let them know about the egg's survival."

"And I'll come with you, just in case something happens."

Caleb said as he wants to inform Calliope and the Queensguard about the egg being alive while Riasal volunteers to go with him in case they bump into someone unsavory much to the kids' understanding as the two men left towards the opposite direction while Calla looks over to the cart, causing her eyes to lit up with an idea.

"You need to stay here, hidden and keep the egg safe. And if anything happens, Hibari will bring you both to the Banther Lodge without us."

Calla said as she lifts Ezran and Bait along with the egg inside the hay, motioning Hibari to do the same as she entrusts the egg's safety to the three of them and gives them instructions to leave for the Banther Lodge if anything goes wrong much to Raylan's curiosity.

"And what are we going to do?"

"We are gonna go and talk to the King about the egg."

"Calla, why don't you just call him 'Dad'?"

Raylan asks carefully, wondering what he and she would be doing till Calla replied with the intent to speak with the King and tell him about Viren's treachery but before they can go, Ezran emerges from the hay with Bait nestled on the top of his head and wonders why Calla is refraining from calling the King 'dad' much to Raylan's secret curiosity.

"Because he's the King, and I'm his stepdaughter."

"I think he would want you to, if you wanted to."

Calla said, sadly explaining to her younger brother that due to her mother's remarriage; she's not biologically related to Harrow before Ezran offers his dejected older sister words of encouragement, feeling confident that their father would be exceedingly happy if she calls him 'Dad' as he offers her a soft smile.

"I don't know about that, we'll be right back."

Calla said as she averts her eyes from Ezran's hopeful gaze and promises him that they'll be back for the trio, placing a small kiss on Ezran's forehead before the two teens turn and runs for the tower to find the King as they approached the entryway leading to the tower, only to be stopped by the lack of guards stationed inside the stairway much to their confusion.

"What the heck, where is everybody? '[Better yet, where are all the guards?]'"

Surprised to see no sign of other humans present, Raylan questioned their whereabouts before he sees that the Crownguard is also missing as he feels a sense of dread but shakes it off before they both makes their way up the tower and up to the King's bedchambers. As soon as the doors are in her sights, Calla walks up to them, though unbeknownst to her; Raylan stops midway with a dazed look till he looks down at his right write to see his binding turn into a blood ribbon as it silently fell unties itself and falls to the floor much to his shock.

"'[Oh, no….]' Calla, wait––?!"

Realizing what has happened, Raylan attempts to stop Calla from entering the chambers but to no avail as she places both hands on the doors, opening them wide and enters the chamber with the intent to save Harrow's life.

"King Harrow, you'll never believe what we––?! *Gasp*"

Calla said before she stops herself mid-sentence as she and Raylan were greeted with a horrific sight for King Harrow's body laid stilled upon the stone floor, his chest pierced with a familiar dagger brimmed with poison as blood pooled from his lifeless body before the assailant emerges from the shadows, revealing to be Viren.

"You should not be here, princess."

"YOU BASTARD!"

Viren said, annoyed that the Princess of all people has caught him in the act before Raylan's face contorted in rage as he charges at the Dark Mage with renewed malice, causing him to slash away at Viren with intense fury and prompted the older man to stepped back and unfolded his crane in a hot second, he turns it into a staff as he uses it to block Raylan's strikes despite the age difference till Raylan jumps and sends a flying kick to the Dark Mage, sending him skidding across the floor until he hits the edge of the bed within an instant.

"*You've made the mistake in coming here!"

"*Htaerb eht laets ('Steal the Breath')."

"Argh…!"

Raylan said hatefully as he charges at the downed Viren, preparing to end the Dark Mage's life before Viren digs into his robes and takes out a mummified paw of an Xadian Singing-Weasel as his eyes glowed purple and chants a spell while dodging Raylan's incoming death strike, quickly crushing it in his palm and release a trail of red mist as it travels through Raylan's throat and takes out a white light; causing the latter to cry out in pain. As the red mist recedes back to Viren's hand, Raylan held a hand to his throat while dropping his blades and falling on his knees as he started to gasp for air while Viren slowly gets up from the floor, his eyes slowly fading to black as he smiled viciously much to Calla's shock.

"You monster...! *What are you doing to him?!"

"*Mhet dnib leets gnirehtils ('Slithering steel, bind them')."

Despite her horror, Calla whips out her baton from under her sleeve and with a flick of wrist, it transformed into a quarterstaff as she rushes to Raylan's aide when suddenly, a voice calls out from behind her as she feels a snake coiling itself around her body; causing her to crash down onto the floor while she sees another snake to the same thing to the gasping Raylan who offered no resistance due to the growing lack of oxygen.

"Hmph, well done; Kronos. Dmitri, Cain; grab them."

Viren congratulates Kronos for his quick thinking as Nikolai quietly hands him his staff and signaled his other apprentices to seize both Calla and Raylan while Viren releases the little light, causing it to make a beeline for its owner as it restored Raylan's breathing.

"Bring the girl over to me."

"I know what you did… You stole the egg of the Dragon Prince! We found it, and we're keeping it safe."

"'We'?"

"The council will have you hanged when they found out about this."

"Oh? And what makes you so sure they don't already know?"

"… … …"

Now that the kids are secured, Viren orders Cain to bring Calla up to him as he complies obediently and places the struggling girl in front of Viren before she looks up at him with an angry look on her face as she confronts the High Mage about his theft much to Viren's unfazed reaction as Calla threatens to tell the High Council about Viren's actions before the latter coolly questions why she believes the council does not already know, prompting Calla to lose her determination rather quickly as Cain and Dmitri bring Calla up to eye-level, in which they comply as they grabs her by the arms until she is standing upright.

"Now tell me, where is the egg?!"

"I'll call out, I'll scream!"

"Go head."

Viren said calmly before he yells in her face, demanding to know where they are keeping the dragon egg till Calla defiantly threatens to scream for help, causing Viren to taunt her as he pulls out another mummified paw of an Xadian Singing-Weasel and crushes it in his palm while his eyes glowed purple once more, invoking yet another spell.

"*Eciov eht laets ('Steal the voice')."

Viren chanted as he reopens his hand again, only for the paw to emit a small mass of green mist while it travels up to Calla's mouth and enters inside before it retracts itself while taking out a yellow light in the process.

"… … …"

Shaking it off, Calla attempts to speak but nothing comes out, causing her to wheeze when she tries to call out for help as she sees Viren grabbing the yellow light in his hand while his eyes fade from purple to black.


~(In the meantime, outside in the courtyard…)~

Around the same time, the courtyard remains heavily patrolled by guards being on the look out for any threats from every location, unaware that two hooded figures dashed over a rooftop underneath the King's balcony before they both come to a stop and spies over the ledge to see some guards passing through the area.

As they creep up on a lone guard facing the yard, one of them grabs a small rock and throws it towards the opposite direction in order to distract him which worked like a charm, causing the guard to hear it as he leaves his post in favor of investigating; unaware that he gave the mysterious figures the chance to enter the courtyard undetected.

With the coast is cleared, the duo nodded each other in approval as they jumped down from the ledge and onto the ground while staying low in order to avoid being seen by any more soldiers till one of them observes the yard till he gives his companion the clear as they gets up from the ground and walks towards the hay cart while taking a look around when all of a sudden, a blue glows emanates from inside the hay. Startled but realizing what is behind the glow, the figures lowered their guard as they both break apart the hay to find that Bait is glowing brightly; revealing themselves to be Caleb and Riasal as they both smile in amusement.

"I'm telling you, Caleb; this one's not so good at hiding."

"For once, you might be onto something, Riasal."

"I told him that."

Riasal said as he proves his point to Caleb that hiding in plain sight isn't Bait's forte in which the older man supports the tutor's claim much to Bait's annoyance, grumpily croaking before Ezran pops out of the hay along with Hibari and address the two men while Bait rests on top of his head; causing Caleb to lean back a little before he realize that they're still two people short.

"Uh, Ezran, where's your sister?"

"And more importantly, where's the young Elf?"

"They both went up to the tower to see Dad."

Caleb asks carefully as he and Riasal wonders where Calla and Raylan are currently before Ezran reveals that they went up to the tower to see the king, causing the pair to turn around and look up at the tower in surprise.

"And how long have they been up there exactly?"

"Um, I guess a few minutes…. Although, they've been up there for awhile now."

"Something's not right…. Oh, no!"

Hoping that nothing is wrong, Riasal asked the young prince about how long the two teens have been gone only to have Ezran reveal that it's been a few minute before admitting that they're taking too long to inform the King until Caleb narrows his eyes in suspicion until they widened in fear as he and Riasal head towards the tower in a panic, leaving the other half of the group behind while the scene switches back to the King's bedchambers where Calla and Raylan are currently at Viren's mercy.

"Last chance, princess; tell me where the egg is and you can go free."

Viren said as he offers Calla the chance to go free if she reveals the whereabouts of the egg to him, only to be met with hardened refusal much to his silent exasperation before he thinks of another way to get the princess to talk till his eyes lit up with an idea in mind.

"I may have something that you will find… Motivating. Oh, this isn't a bribe, it's a threat. Go on, take a closer look…"

Viren said as he takes out his coin pouch and jingles it contents, hoping that it would persuade Calla to change her mind, causing her to raise a brow in skepticism as she looks at Viren with an expression that reads 'Are you serious?' before Viren corrects himself that the coins aren't a bribe but rather a threat as he dumps the coins onto his palm and instructs Calla to take a closer look at them.

"You're mistaken, princess… I'm a pragmatist."

Wondering what he could mean by that, Calla narrows her eyes for a better look before they widened in fear as she sees the anguished faces captured on the coins' clear surface and mouths the words 'You monster!' as she looks up at Viren with a visibly scared expression till Viren corrects her by claiming to be a 'pragmatist'; relishing in satisfaction of seeing her squirm while Calla's heart twists in pain when she takes another look at the anguished faces of two brave souls who went up against the Dark Mage after the Dragon King was slain four months ago, whose 'death' had made no sense to her… Until now.

"Now tell me, where is the egg or I will seal your fate."

Viren said sternly, his patience beginning to show signs of wearing thin as Calla carefully thinks about his words before glancing at the coins for a third time, thinking about how the Xadians aren't so different from Humans despite the grief and the resentment she has towards Thunder for killing her mother and for stealing Ezran's chances of ever meeting her, she could never wish such a horrible fate on any Elf, especially not a fate far worse than death itself but by thinking about her loved ones, a sense of courage suddenly began to well up inside of her as she inaudibly sighs in resignation, beckoning Viren to lean in closer much to Viren's delight till she spat in his face, causing him to reel back in disgust much to everyone's shock and awe.

"You impudent little mongrel!"

"'[Whoa, she has more guts than I give her credit for... And that's saying something.]'"

"You were spoiled and was given everything...!"

Viren said angrily as Calla glared at him much to his growing annoyance, causing the older man to send a back-handed slap to her face as the sight much to Raylan's shock as he praises Calla's strength of will despite being a human but was forced to snapped out of it due to Viren lashing out at Calla for having everything handed to her on a sliver platter and how it made her 'weak' over the years.

"And that has left you weak and helpless. Tonight, your world is changing, and there is nothing that you or anyone can––?!"

Viren said as he points out that come tonight; the world will change and they are powerless to stop it before the wind suddenly howls sharply from the stairway, causing the torches to be snuffed out one by one as it leaves the area in complete darkness.

"They're here…!"

Kronos and the others readied themselves for the fight while Viren slowly walks towards the door when an kunai knife suddenly flies straight towards Calla until Cain pushes her out of the way, allowing the knife to hit his shoulder instead much to Calla's and Raylan's confusion as they look at each other and wondered who their savior is before Cain cried out in pain.

"Defend the chambers, now!"

Cain ordered as he takes the knife out of his shoulder and throws it to the side as he, Nikolai and Dmitri slowly creep forward to the entrance when suddenly, a ghostly-white figure similar to Claude's smoky seekers launches itself from out of the stairwell, knocking out the pair out in one fell swoop as he delivers a flying knee strike to Cain; sending him to the ground.

"What in the world––?!"

Kronos asks before he sees more of the figures file into the chambers as Caleb throws more knives towards the Dark Mages till he joins the fray. The two groups square off with each other, though neither side gains the upper hand while Viren walks behind Nikolai till the latter takes a step backward and accidentally hitting the older man in the process.

"Ugh!"

"No time to explain, but right now we need to get you two out of here."

Viren cried out in surprise, dropping the little light that came out of Calla's mouth as it makes its way across the narrow battlefield and returns itself back to Calla, causing her to cough lightly at the sensation of having her voice back before she looks up to see another apparition fight against the perplexed Viren, prompting the latter to defend himself while granting Riasal the chance to sneak in as he helps the bound kids before he dug into his pocket and pulls out a small sapphire gem, crushing it in his hand much to Calla's confusion.

"Caelus Frigus."

Riasal said as he traces another Sky Primal rune till he takes in a deep breath and exhales a small puff of freezing mist upon the chains, causing them to be enveloped by a blanket of growing frost till the sound of creaking was heard as Riasal flicks at it lightly; swiftly destroying the shackles much to the kids' surprise.

"How the heck––?"

Raylan said as he wonders how a Human with no knowledge of magical experience was able to pull off a Sky spell effortlessly before he was interrupted by Riasal pulling him up and tries to make a break for the exit before he stops himself and turns around, only to see Calla not moving an inch.

"Calla, what are you doing, we need to go now!"

"Calla!"

Riasal said as he urges his protégée to move quickly but the young girl remains unresponsive while Viren swings his staff at another apparition who dodges the strike due to its' intangibility as Calla continues to look at the escalating battle in fear until suddenly, a voice calls out from outside the tower and snaps her out of it as she looks outside the window and out in the courtyard.

"Calla, where are you? Calla!"

Ezran said while Calla looks on from the window to see her little brother is almost near the castle exit along with Bait, Hibari and the egg before she looks back at the fight where the Dark Mages continues to fight the apparitions as she hears Ezran calling out for her. Looking back and forth, Calla grimaces in pain as she decides that she has no choice but to leave with Riasal and Raylan despite the heavy heartbreak.

With that in mind, Calla flees the scene and down the staircase along with Raylan and Riasal into tow where she accidentally missed a step as she falls downward, picking herself up despite the pain until she resumes running till she, Raylan and Riasal enters the courtyard and meets up with the others.

"Calla, did you talk with Dad?"

"Just say the word and I'll go back into that tower with you."

"Calla, there's nothing more we can do… You must decide."

Ezran asks curiously, hoping that Calla was able to tell the king about them finding the egg before Calla gathers herself and shakes her head while they looked back at the tower to hear swords clanging in distance until Raylan walks up to Calla as he hands her bag over to her and offers to go back in the tower before Riasal reluctantly points out that with the way things are now, there's nothing more they can do and reminds her that she must make a decision, causing Calla to look at the egg before she looks over to Ezran as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath till she opens them again with a resolute sheen gracing them.

"No. It's up to us now, we have to return this egg; we have to keep it safe and carry it to Xadia."

"And find its mother."

"We can change things, we could make a difference."

Calla said resolutely as she put her bag over her shoulder, deciding that keeping the egg safe and bringing it back to Xadia should be their top priority as Ezran agrees with his older sister in finding the egg's mother while Raylan offers his support by making a difference as he smiles to the young girl.

"Just the three of us–– Uh, s-sorry, the five of us."

"Well, if that's the case; then, you're going to need every ounce of help you can get. This is just a little something in case you find yourselves in a pinch. Oh, and one more thing…."

Calla said, confident that the three of them could pull this off until Bait croaks in annoyance and glowed red as it caused the girl to stammer lightly and rephrased her claim much to Riasal's amusement till he points out that they're going to need help along the way as he takes out a small pouch and gives it to Calla much to her confusion before Riasal reassures her that it'll be helpful for their journey as he reaches inside his shirt and takes out his pendant, revealing it to be an Moon Opal until he takes it off as it caused him to be engulfed in light to shine before it died down and unveiled Riasal's 'true form': He was an incredibly handsome Moonshadow Elf with long white hair tied into a braid and pale lilac-colored eyes – He wore a navy-green long-sleeved collared-shirt underneath a dark blue sleeveless streamlined vest held together by a dark tannin-brown lacing followed by a pair of black trousers along with a pair of navy-blue knee-high boots.

"I can assure you all that once this is over, I'll tell you everything about me but right now, the five of you are pressed for time."

Riasal, now revealed to be 'Lasair', reassured the baffled kids that he will explain everything to them once the crisis is averted later since they were all pressed for time much to Calla's reluctance as she motioned Hibari to transform, in which she complied without question.

"I'm going to go back in there and lend Caleb a hand. Also, I'm going to be needing that Shadowhawk arrow. Viren only needs this night to act as a reason to wage against Xadia, so it is imperative that the five of you deliver the egg back to the Queen of the Dragons."

Lasair announced his intention to lend Caleb his aide before he asks Raylan to hand over the Shadowhawk arrow as Lasair theorizes that Viren will use the assassination as an excuse to begin the war and stresses the importance of returning the egg back to the Dragon Queen, for time was of the essence to stop the bloodshed from happening till he turns around and runs back to the tower.

"Well, you've heard the man; let's go!"

Calla said as she and Raylan nod at each other before the group runs towards the castle exit while avoiding to be seen by the guards running in as they resume their trek, running across the castle bridge until they stopped midway where they take a glance back at the tower where the king is.

"Calla, do you think Dad's going to be okay?"

"He has the finest guards in the Kingdom protecting him."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right."

Ezran asks if their father was going to be alright before Calla decides to tell the young boy the truth on a much later date as she looks back at Ezran with a smile of reassurance to which he returned in kind despite being worried for his father's safety before they resumed their way and headed out into the forest outside the capital, unaware that Viren would make use of their absence to seize the throne and wage war with Xadia while the scene switches back to the castle.

After a long battle, both Caleb and Lasair struggled in carrying themselves towards the balcony of Harrow's chamber where Caleb leans against the door where two fallen Dark Mages can be seen on either side till he slides down to the ground, panting heavily from exhaustion and passes out while Lasair heads outside, walking towards the ledge as the older Moonshadow Elf takes out Raylan's blood ribbon from his pocket until he collapses onto his knees, catching his breath before he wraps the ribbon around the Shadowhawk arrow, which he sucks in a breath and points it towards the sky.

"Regina Draconis!"

Lasair said as he invokes the spell to send the message and fires the arrow into the air. Suddenly, the arrow transforms itself into a blood-red Shadowhawk as it flies towards the bright moon. As Lasair watches the Shadowhawk fly off, he hangs his head down till he feels a sword to his neck, knowing that Soren has arrived with the rest of the Crownguard while some of them were attending to Caleb.

"*sigh* Finish this."

"My pleasure."

"No, wait. We can find more practical uses for this one…. Tie him up."

Not bothered by the aspect of dying, Lasair glanced over his shoulder and demands Soren to end his life much to the young man's delight but was interrupted by Claude who insists that they still have some use for Lasair and orders the guards to arrest the Elf. With an unfazed look, Lasair gets dragged away. Around the same time, the kids has reached the forest near Katolis, leaving the castle in the distance before Raylan stops momentarily and looks up in the sky and sees his Shadowhawk flies over head, carrying his blood ribbon message to the Dragon Queen.

"What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's… We should probably stop and rest soon, 'cause it's very a long journey to Xadia. So, I don't suppose you know a place where we can spend the night?"

"Yes, the Banther Lodge. We were supposed to go there earlier today before all this happened, so…."

Calla looks back at Raylan, wondering why he stopped and inquires if something is wrong as her voice snaps Raylan out of it and cause him to hide his hand behind his back, not wanting to tell her what has happened and waves it off before he proposes that they should stop and find a place to rest because the journey to Xadia will be a long one as Calla confirms that she and Ezran were supposed to arrive at the Banther Lodge earlier today much to Raylan's relief.

"Okay, then lead the way."

Raylan said as he and Calla both smiled at each other as they all walked further into the forest underneath the light of the full moon.

To be Continued...


And just like that, our heroes have taken the first step... Will they succeed or will they fail, stay tuned to find out!

In the next chapter, I'll need more time in sorting out scenes from the canon and incorporate my own scenes, so please be patient. That, and combine with the fact that some of the transcripts are still blank so I need to watch the episode and pay EXTRA attention to them, so; thank you all for your patience in advance. But before I go, here today's footnotes!

(*) The intro card symbolizes Team Zym's decision and Viren's plans respectively and how the actions of the two parties will affect the world and its inhabitants as a whole. This also foreshadows the events of Season 3.

(*) This is from the song 'Ready as I'll ever be' from Tangled: The Series.

(*) Due to an unknown problem involving Dark Magic, Viren and Lissa had filed a divorce years prior to the plot and how it unintentionally left an impression on the young Claude; afterwards, Viren decides to play things close to the chest from that point onward.

(*) After Sarai died, Viren convinced Harrow to put the Queensguard on leave in favor of teaching Calla the feminine arts for he believes that they were inadequate, not only they were female and of Caelestian descent but they also lack the potential to get the job done.

(*) Viren founded the Dark Mage Unit because he believes that males will do what needs to be done unlike the Queensguard. In the fandom, the plot takes place in a medieval timeline where sexism was at its' peak so I'm incorporating it to show Viren's disdain for the Queensguard.

(*) More will be revealed later on in the chapter but let me tell you guys something... Whatever he has in mind, it ain't good.

(*) Kronos, Cain, Nikolai and Dmitri are the names of the Dark Mages in the unit.

(*) Picture canon!Claudia's outfit as the mandatory uniform for the Dark Mage Unit but with different colored gems.

(*) Like Viren, the Dark Mages believe that they're being invaded by a 'group' of assassins, unaware that Raylan is acting on his own.

(*) The Dark Mages address Viren as 'Master' as opposed to addressing him as 'Lord', much like how apprentices address their mentors in real-life.

(*) These are the Xadian equivalent to the expressions 'What a load of bullsh*t', or 'What a load of crap' in real-life (I got the inspiration after watching a sneak peek of 'The Bloodmoon Huntress' when canon!Ethari said 'Moon, help me' and 'Thank the Moon' in the graphic novel).

(*) I bet you all know what this spell is (^ ω ^).

(*) Following her birth parents' passing, Calla understands the pain of losing a loved one all too well, which acts as the sole reason to return the Dragon Prince back to the Queen of the Dragons.

(*) In the canon, Callum was so focused on getting the Primal Stone away from Claudia that he didn't have time to hear the whole spell (hence, why he failed to conjured it the first time) so I'm having Calla experience a brief moment of audio hallucination in 'An Empty Throne', seeing how she was so focused on incapacitating Claude.

(*) Given the fact that the Sky Primal Stone is literally a ball made out of glass, I'm surprised that it didn't shatter on impact after canon!Callum interrupted canon!Claudia's spell.

(*) A Shadowlife Candle is a Dark Magic tool made from the blood of a Moon Phoenix and the earwax of a dragon, it is used to invoke the Smoky Resurrection Spell via the ashes of the deceased.

(*) In this story, I'm going to type the Dark Magic Spells in Bold format and add in the parentheses ('') for the translated incantations as well.

(*) The spell used to summon Claude's Shadowlife Wolves is called 'The Smoky Resurrection Spell', one of the many spells for Dark Magic.

(*) Granted that the Xadian Wolves are these wolf-like creatures connected to the Moon Primal, I'm going to call them 'Midnight Stalkers' in the story due to the fact that their breed lacks a proper name like Shadowpaws, Moonstriders and Moon Phoenixes.

(*) See what I mean? I was not kidding about making Male!Claudia a vindictive character.

(*) When Calla uses her photographic memory, the sequence will be in a segment and Italic format.

(*) This phrase is a callback between Augustus 'Gus' Porter's and Willow Park's reactions respectively when Luz Noceda's palisman is born in The Owl House S3E2: 'For the Future'.

(*) This is a callback to what canon!Ethari said in 'The Bloodmoon Huntress' after Runaan and canon!Rayla argued for the first time.

(*) An Archmage is someone who mastered a specific Primal Source and other forms of magic, so you could say that they're like the humanoid-version of the Archdragons.

(*) This •[...]• will act as recall back sequences, not be confused for the PM sequences (see above).

(*) In contrast to his relationship with Viren, Soren has a far better relationship with his mother. Lissa would affectionately call Soren her 'Little Knight' back when he was a child.

(*) I decided to make Soren semi-resilient to the effects of Dark Magic.

(*) I'm theorizing that the Kingdom of Del Bar is based off of Viking origins in real-life, I decided to based the alcohol off of honey wine in real-life.

(*) Stone Fruit is a type of edible plant native to the Kingdom of Katolis.

(*) This is a callback to what Ursula and Morgana had said in Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'.

(*) More details will be revealed in S3, so please be patient with me! But here's a hint: Sh*t will hit the fan once Soren remembers.

(*) Despite Raylan was trained as an assassin and not crack under pressure by Runaan while acting like a gentleman through Etharia's efforts, it does not change the fact that he's still a teenage boy with hormones.

(*) Winterberries are a type of fruit native to the Kingdom of Katolis and can be made into pastries, such as winterberry pies, (I'm under the impression that the winterberries are based off of blueberries in real-life).

(*) Aside from interacting with her friends and loved ones, Calla has ZERO experience when dealing with males outside her comfort-zone.

(*) 'Lady Iustitia' is the name of 'Lady Justice' in Latin. According to the wikia, the Kingdom of Katolis believes in the afterlife and revere Lady Justice as a religious figure; so I plan on having the Caelestians revere her as 'Lady Iustitia'.

(*) This is a callback to Zuko's fevered dream in Avatar: The Last Airbender (S2E18: 'The Earth King') where he dreamed how he was approached by Iroh and Azula in the form of two dragons (Iroh as the Red Dragon and Azula as the Blue Dragon). Picture the Red and Blue Dragons as Sarai and Viren respectively.

(*) 'Caella' is Calla's Caelestian name (Not to be confused with the Caelestian Clan's former residence, the 'Village of Caella'). It is a reminiscent of having a Christian name in real-life.

(*) Caleb had accompanied Harrow and Viren to Xadia in order to avenge Sarai but left with Harrow after the Dragon King was slain, leaving Viren behind to 'destroy' the egg of the Dragon Prince.

(*) In this scene, Caleb seemingly harbors a grudge against the Dragon King for killing Sarai, leaving Calla and Ezran motherless; which prompted both Viren and Harrow into retaliating nine years later. (Although, he's not entirely wrong; if the Elves and the Dragons were more merciful and helpful to the Humans, then Dark Magic would never come into existence, the Unicorns wouldn't be hunted to complete extinction and Avizandum would still be alive.)

(*) The Caelestians are renowned for their humanitarian ways and sense of morality throughout Xadia. Raylan is attempting to use it against Caleb in hopes of getting him to stand down and let Team Zym to see the King but to no avail.

(*) More about this will be revealed in due time.

(*) This is a callback to what Ardeth Bay said in the 'The Mummy Returns' sequel (I just had to include it).

(*) This is similar to what Iroh said when he intervened and stopped the fight between the Pirate Captain and Zuko in ATLA (S1E9: 'The Waterbending Scroll').

(*) The spells that Viren used to stop Raylan is the Suffocating Spell and Silencing Spell which can be invoked by crushing a mummified paw of an Xadian Singing-Weasel.

(*) The spell that Kronos used is Slithering Steel which allows a dark mage to transform an object into snakes in order to bind someone, causing the chains to morph into snakes.

(*) With her voice captured, Calla can only speak in speechreading.

Welp, that's it for now! Hope you all enjoyed reading and I'll see you all in the next chapter, just don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!

Okay, BYEEE!

- Yuuguregurl21