Hello everyone, before we start, a few things. First some answers to reviews.

First Wildo9nenyr, thank you for the heads up, can't wait, seeing season 6 will help with some ideas that I've been thinking about.

Next MorphIIIdragonX, I like your idea. I'm not going to use the dialogue, but I will have Talia talk for everyone while under water. And for what I'm planning in that episode, the spell Cauda Pistris, will help out a lot.

Also from your review from The White Dragon's Case: The Crimson Love Letter. If you want to think of a few idea (And when I mean a few, I mean 3 or 4, because they will be very little side characters, and would be in the story for a handful of chapter, and still very little idea about the Star Arcanum, leave that out of powers, for now anyway, we can change or add it later.) then think young ones, like the next generation, for those kids will be the stars of the story. Also don't think of OC for the main characters, I've already thought of them. Also they can be half human and half elf because that will be a big thing for the next generation of the Xadia would have to deal with, but know that they must be young like 13 years old or young and have strange powers.

To give you an example, one of the oldest half-bloods(that's just a placeholder I don't have a better name yet) is Dumngual and Hadia's son who I'm calling Lucian. For his look, I haven't worked out all the details, but I'm leaning to his right side having the same hair color and hands as his mother, and his left side having the same hair color and hands as his father, with a single horn sticking out the left side of his head, and thanks to his parents, he has a connection to both the Sun and Moon Arcanum, he gained the power to bend light. aka, making an illusion in the day, and the ability to turn invisible.

Lastly Juxxipharoo, unless it's something I think it's important I won't announce early. I'll announce in the next chapter that I'll do another chapter. And the mood of whether or not I do more than one, is normally I'm too excited and can't wait to do the next chapter.

Like this time for example, this chapter went by fast, and I couldn't wait to do the next one, so I did it, and tomorrow I'll post chapter 34.

Also I feel like there no point in doing the vote at this point, so the winner of the vote for the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves crossover is Fire Emblem Awakening of Galarain Trainers, and it will be a while before that crossover is out, the reason is that it takes place after the story is over, so I have to finish it first.

But here's a small summary of it, that doesn't hopefully spoil too much. Thieves and their Pokemon have stolen a dangerous relic, and the cloak figure sends a team made from the Children of the Shepherds to catch the thieves and retrieve the relic for him before something far worse than a Red Wizard can get its hands on it.

Now that's all over, let's start the chapter. Now Chapter 33.

Chapter 33

The Great Gates That Hides Pain

The Storm Spire

At the Storm Spire, everyone was at the top, giving Ibis a small funeral as, covering his body with a fancy piece of fabric with flowers laying on it, with his staff laying next to him, and Swellow holding his Pokeball and Ibis' Tera Orb

"Callum, do you know the Draconic words? The ones Zubeia said?" Ezran asked Callum. Callum said nothing and walked to Ibis, picking up his staff. Callum then got a feel for the staff, before he drew a yellow decorative X.

"Sepultura Caelo." Callum said, as the rune disbursed. That's when the wind started to blow, blowing the petals away. Then Ibis' remains turned into a flock of little birds and flew away, as the fabric blew away in the wind.

"From life comes death, and from death comes life. Ibis may be gone, but his spirit will live on in the sky, and will always be with us." Allen said to everyone, as everyone watched the birds fly away, with smiles on their faces.

Then as Swellow gave Ibis' Tera Orb to Zym, and his Pokeball to Callum, Zubeia and the flock of Kilowattrel and Wattrels flew out and in a circle, like they were putting on a show.

Later Callum was sitting at the edge of the spire, looking at Swellow's Pokeball, as Rayla walked up to him with all of her Pokemon in their Pokeballs. "It's so strange. Last time I was here, I leapt to my certain death." Rayla said to Callum, as she sat next to him.

"But then you spread your wings and you saved me." Rayla said to Callum, with a big smile on her face. But this just made Callum look away from her. "So much has happened since then." Rayla said, as she crawled over to look Callum in the face, only to see him crying.

"Are you okay?" Rayla asked Callum. "Not really." Callum said to Rayla. "Do you want to talk about it?" Rayla asked Callum.

But once again, Soren came up and interrupted them. "Ding, ding, ding. Meeting time." Soren said to them. "Whoa. I just got this crazy feeling that this has happened before." Soren said, forgetting he did this years ago.

A couple minutes later, everyone was in Zubeia's room, with everyone's Pokemon in their Pokeballs, but after what had happened so far Zubeia wasn't in the best of moods. "This is all connected. Someone is working to free Aaravos. But who?" Zubeia asked everyone.

"That's a good question. If Aaravos was removed from history, then how can anyone know about him?" Talia asked everyone, as Soren looked at the shattered pieces of the mirror, and picked up a piece.

"My sister." Soren said to everyone, while looking at his reflection. "How do you know?" Rayla asked Soren, as everyone turned to him. "It's like she said, it's all connected." Soren said to Rayla, as he put the piece down.

"It must have been Aaravos whispering to my dad through this mirror all along." Soren said to everyone. "Are you talking about that caterpillar you told us about?" Allen asked Soren.

"Yes, that must have been Aaravos, or something from him. And now that my father is gone…" Soren said to everyone, but was interrupted by Drake. "Claudia is his puppet now." Drake said to everyone. "Wouldn't Claudia know she's getting played by Aaravos?" Talia asked everyone.

"Claudia was never the most independent thinker, she would just follow anyone else's lead, rarely thinking about the how and why. And with everything we've done. Claudia's desperate, scrounging for whatever power that keeps her out of our hands, and now she is picking up with my father left off." Soren said to everyone.

"That's very smart of you Soren, how'd you figure that out?" Kali asked Soren. "Becucase her bracelet is right there." Soren said to Kali, pointing to the middle of them where Claudia's bracelet was laying right next to Stella.

This made everyone noticed, with Stella squeaking and running away. "Okay, how did we not see that before?" Kali asked everyone. "Forget about that. We have to find Claudia and stop her." Callum said to everyone.

"How? I spent every moment of the last two years of my life hunting for her, and I failed." Rayla asked Callum. "Then we don't hunt, we set a trap." Talia said to everyone. "Good idea Talia. We don't know where she is, but we do know what she's looking for. We have to find it first." Ezran said to everyone.

"And if we do, we can make sure Aaravos is locked up, and if we're fast enough, we can wait for Claudia to come to us and hopefully catch her." Drake said to everyone. "Good idea. Question? Where do we start?" Allen asked everyone.

"Zubeia, you told us that Aaravos's prison was a secret. That each of the Archdragons had a piece of the puzzle. With their help, could we solve it before Claudia does?" Ezran asked Zubeia, making everyone turn to Zubeia.

Zubeia exhaled. "Perhaps. Rex Igneous, the Archdragon of Earth, he may hold a clue to the prison's location." Zubeia said to everyone. "Good, expect we don't know where he is. Even Gaenor, who is an earth Dragon, hasn't seen or heard anything from Rex Igneous in all his life." Allen said to Zuebia.

"Rex lives beneath the great mountain of Umber Tor." Zuebia said to Allen. "Should have known. You live in the Sky Nexus, it makes sense that the Archdragon of Earth lives in the Earth Nexus." Kali said to Zubeia. "Come, we fly." Zubeia said to everyone, as she got ready to leave.

Zym then whimpered and jumped forward. "No. You stay here, Zym. It is too dangerous. I will not lose you again." Zubeia said to Zym, as she got ready to leave.

A couple minutes later, everyone was on Zubeia's back, as she and the flock flew to Umber Tor.

Xadia Forest

Meanwhile, the creature from the cocoon saw Zubeia and the flock flying through the air, while walking through a forest, leaving a small trail of slim, with Viren, Claudia, Terry, and Grav following it.

"The mysterious being hasn't said anything yet, but look at his ooze. It's liquid, it's solid. It's got an elegant sheen, and, uh, post viscosity." Terry said to everyone, as he picked up some of the slim and played with it a little, as Viren moved closer to the mysterious being.

"Would you please not touch that stuff, we don't know anything about that freak. For all we know that stuff is poisonous." Grav said to Terry, as the mysterious being turned to everyone.

That's when Viren shushed everyone. "Please, please I… I think it's about to speak." Viren said to everyone, as he moved closer to it. "Behold the messenger of Aaravos! Guide us, direct us to our destiny!" Viren said to the mysterious being, getting on his knees.

This caused the mysterious being to move closer to Viren with a curious look in his eyes. "Please. I am listening." Viren said to the mysterious being, as it growled softly and moved closer to Viren.

This made everyone get quiet, and look at the mysterious being with a curious look on their faces. Then the mysterious being flapped its wings, making Viren Gasp. but instead of speaking, it just screeched and fried green spit at everyone. "Either this is a bad omen, or this thing is no guide." Grav said to everyone, as the mysterious being chuckled at them.

"Maybe it wants us to name it. How about… Sparklepuff!" Claudia said to everyone. "Just when I thought you couldn't sound any stupider." Grav said to Claudia. "I have to agree with Grav. Even this goo-spitting homunculus does not deserve a name as undignified as Sparklespuff." Varin said to Claudia, as he stood up and turned to her.

"More dignified. Hmm. I got it! Sir Sparklespuff." Claudia said to everyone. "I see you don't know what dignified means." Grav said to Claudia. "But it likes it." Claudia said to Grav, making everyone turn to see Sparklespuff flapping its wings before leaving.

"Wiat! Ugh, Sir Sparklespuff!" Terry said to Sparklespuff, before he and Claudia ran after it. This made Viren and Grav sigh. "What are we going to do with them?" Grav asked Viren, as they slowly went after the others.

Xadia Sky

As the moon hung overhead, everyone was sleeping on Zubeia's back, with the flock also resting on Zubeia's back. The only one up was Soren, and he stood near Zubeia's ear.

"Ah, it's nice being one of the good guys this time. Humans. Elves. Dragons. Pokemon. We're a quadrgang!" Soren said to Zubeia, making her laugh. "It's kind of the humans to bring their court battler/jester on the journey." Zubeia said to Soren.

"I'm not a jester. And the battler is more of a hobby. For my job, I'm the head Crownguard. It's like the Dragonguard but the… Ezranguard." Soren said to Zubeia. "Well, if your sword is as sharp as your wit, and you're as strong as your Pokemon, then the young king is in good hands." Zubeia said to Soren. "Wow, but thank you." Soren said to Zubeia.

The Sunfire Camp

The next morning, at the Sunfire Camp, Amaya and Falinks walked to the medical tent, where Gren and Chatot were standing guard, with Sunfire Elves and Katolis knights around them, looking like they were about to fight each other. Lucky Amaya got in the middle of everyone, calmed everyone down before a fight broke out.

Once everything was clear, Amaya moved to Gren, and hugged him, before breaking the hug and checking over Gren. Then Amaya asked if he was okay in sign language.

"I'm fine. There was a disagreement in the camp about an open flame. Things got… well, heated, and one of the human civilians was injured when a Houndoom stopped her from putting out the fire." Gren said to Amaya, while waving his hands in sign language.

Amaya then asked who she was in sign language. "Her name is Lucia. She's the chief architect. She came from Katolis to help set up the camp, and fix up the ruins." Gren said to Amaya in sign language, before sighing.

"She's healing, and the Houndomm is in a cage with a mussel on. Surely things will calm down, right?" Gren asked Amaya, in sign language. Amaya turned her head and noticed the guards were still ready to fight each other.

Umber Tor

Meanwhile, Zubeia flew everyone to Umber Tor, a mighty mountain that wasn't as tall as the Storm Spire, but was still a massive mountain with many jagged rocks sticking up around the mountain.

There it is. The Great Mountain of the East. Umber Tor." Zubeia said to everyone, as she flew to a massive gate on a cliff in the middle part of the mountain. "I can't believe we're here and we're going to meet another Archdragon." Talia said to everyone, as they got off Zubeia.

"Stay on guard Talia, this isn't a day trip or vacation. We're on a mission." Drake said to Talia, as Ezran walked to the massive gate. Ezran then knocked on the door, but his knocking was barely making a sound.

"I'm not sure if anyone-." Ezran said to everyone, before being interrupted by the whole place rumbling. "Ah." Ralya said, as everyone was surprised by his. "Go." Soren said to Ezran, making Ezran run away from the gate

That's when two massive stone creatures came out of the wall.

One of them had a stony and towering physique that is covered in red moss and is more rotund on the belly. Yellow crystals and veins mark certain parts of his body such as his head, his chest, and his arms, and they also act as his eyes, beard, and fingertips.

And the other one had a stony and towering physique that is covered in green moss and is taller compared to the other one. Blue crystals and veins mark certain parts of his body such as his head, his chest, and his arms, and they also act as his eyes and fingertips. He also wields a wooden staff adorned with blue crystals and green moss.

As the stone creatures moved closer to everyone, they all stood in between Zubeia's legs. Then Zubeia moved her wings in front of everyone, making the stone creatures stop.

"We are the guardians of the Gates of Umber Tor." the red one said to everyone. "Guardians is a bit much, don't you think? We're more like doormen." the blue one said to the red one. "Guardianship of this gate is a sacred duty. I've been saying this for 500 years." the red one said to the blue one.

"Uh, sorry, but who are you?" Talia asked the creatures. "Oh, I'm Chert, and that's Terbium." The blue one said to Talia, pointing to himself then the red one. "Don't tell them our names." Terbium said to Chert. "Well when Chert and Terbium, can you let us in?" Allen asked them.

"No can do. As guards of this gate. We can't let you pass." Terbium said to Allen. "Do we really guard it? We just open and close-" Chert said to Terbium, but was interrupted by Zubeia snarling at them.

"Enough bickering. Open the doors. We must see Rex Igneous." Zubeia said to Terbium and Chert. "Rex Igneous is not accepting visitors." Terbium said to Zubeia. "Maybe try back next century?" Chert asked Zubeia.

"Hey. I know you guys are just trying to do your job but-." Ezran said to Terbium and Chert, but was interrupted by Zubeia stomping her foot.

"I AM THE DRAGON QUEEN! OPEN THE DOORS OR I WILL REDUCE YOU TO PEBBLES." Zubeia said to Terbium and Chert, a very commanding tune in her voice, before roaring at them, making Chert fall onto his backs.

Zubeia then stopped roaring and huffed at them. "Oh, uh… we accept your argument." Terbium said to Zubeia. "Very logical, yes. Makes sense." Chert said to Zubeia, as he got up.

Then Terbium and Chert moved to some cranks on the side, and while Terbium spun his around by hand, Chert used his staff like a handle to help spin the crank. A few seconds later, the large gates started to move, shaking off some dust that was on it.

And once it opened, it let out a massive just of air, like it was a flood gate opening, causing Zubeia to protect everyone with her wings.

But when Zubeia moved her wings, everyone noticed a massive pile of rock that blocked the entrance. "Uh… it's blocked." Ezran said to everyone, as Terbium and Chert moved to see the massive pile of rubble.

"Hmm. Those weren't there 80 years ago." Chert said to everyone, before nervously laughing.

Meanwhile, on the edge of the forest around Umber Tor, Sparklespuff kept moving at a high speed, with everyone trying to keep up. But Terry stopped and played with Sparklespuff slime.

"Hmm, what do you do if I add just a touch of dirt, bit more ooze, swirl it just so." Terry said, as he picked up some dirt and some slime, and made some teal putty. "Hm. Not too sticky. Ooh. Satiny. Supple. Has a lovely "stretch" to it as well." Terry said, as he played with the putty, making him gasp.

"You're perfect." Terry said to the putty, as Grav walked up to him, and grabbed Terry by the ear. "Stop playing with that silly putty and come on!" Grav said to everyone, as he dragged Terry to the others.

With the others, they watched at Sparklespuff started to try and say something threw hand motions and waving his arms. "I think he might be trying to say something with his hands? Uh, like that party game. Word-hands." Claudia said to Viren, making Viren grunt.

"How can anyone expect to make sense of these inane gestures?" Viren asked Claudia, as Sparklespuff kept waving his arms around. "That's complete nonsense." Viren said to everyone.

"No, I-I think there's uh, maybe snake guy, pointy head?" Claudia asked Sparklespuff, as she gave her staff to Viren, and walked to Sparklespuff. "Oh! I got it. Lizard in a hat." Claudia said to Sparklespuff, sounding sure of her answer. But this just made Sparklespuff titled its head.

"You believe our cosmic guide is desperately trying to tell us: "Lizard in a hat"?" Viren asked Claudia, as he walked to her side. "Well, did I get it?" Claudia asked Sparklespuff. But Sparklespuff just crawled away.

Claudia then took her staff and walked, with Terry and Grav reaching Viren, and letting go of Terry's ears.

Back at the gate, the Pokemon were smashing rocks, with Allen and Drake in their Reshiram and Zekrom form helping with the smashing of rocks, even Soren tried to help move large rocks, but wasn't making any progress.

"This is going to take forever." Drake said to everyone, as he smashed a couple large rocks. "More like a week at most." Allen said to Drake, as he blew up a few large rocks. "There's got to be a faster way to get inside?" Drake asked everyone.

"Uh, you know you could just go the other way." Chert said to Drake. "Whoa. Do not reveal the secret entrance." Terbium said to Chert, sounding made.

"Secret entrance? Why did you not tell us sooner?" Zubeia asked Terbium and Chert. "Well, the back door isn't exactly dragon-sized. It's more regular sized, uf, for tiny, squishable creatures, like elves and humans, plus these strange creatures." Chart said to Zubeia, pointing to the gang. "Again, they're called Pokemon." Allen said to Chart.

"And we may be tiny and also squishable but if there's a way to Rex Igneous, we're taking it." Ezran said to everyone. "Yeah, so tell us where the back door is." Talia said to Terbium and Chert.

"The entrance lies in the Drakewood, deep within the Uncharted Forest." Terbium said to everyone. "Drakewood. Why did it have to be the Drakewood." Kali said, putting her right hand on her face.

"Do you have a-a-a map, or a set of directions, or…" Callum asked Terbium. "Well, it is the Uncharted Forest." Terbium, raising an eyebrow. "Right." Callum said, before chuckling. "Got it." Callum said to Terbium.

"Don't worry. We'll find the way." Ezran said to everyone. "And if we don't, we'll just make our own way in." Drake said to everyone. "Or we can ask the elves of the Drakewood for help." Talia said to everyone.

"You are very brave and wise, young king and masters. But I must warn you, when you find Rex Igneous, choose your words carefully." Zubeia said to Ezran, Drake, and Allen. "Yes. The old dragon's got a bit of a temper." Chert said to everyone.

"Oh, annoy him and the ground shall rumble. Irritate him or… stone shall shatter, lava shall boil. Infuriate him and…" Terbium said to everyone, but was interrupted by Chert. "You'll probably die." Chert said to everyone.

"The Great dragon of Earth has thin skin, got it." Allen said to Zubeia, Terbium, and Chert. "We'll be fine. We have a way with grumpy monsters." Rayla said to Zubeia, Terbium, and Chert as she looked at Bait in her arms.

"Good luck, little heroes. Azymondias and I shall await you at the Storm Spire." Zubeia said to everyone, before she flew away with her flock following her.

Back in the forest, as the sun started to set, Claudia, Viren, Terry, and Grav kept following Sparklespuff, with Sparklespuff stopping and trying to communicate with everyone.

"It's still trying to communicate. Look, it's drawing something now. Like that other party game. Picturama!" Claudia said to everyone, as Sparklespuff started to draw something in the ground, with Clauda walking closer to it.

"I am beginning to think Aaravos is toying with us." Viren said to everyone. "Was that before or after we've followed this thing on a wild half moon goose chase all day?" Grav asked Viren.

"There it is again!" Claudia said to everyone, as Sparklespuff drew a triangle in the ground, and a slug with stubby legs.

"Lizard in a hat?" Claudia asked Terry, as he walked to her. "Lizard… in… a… hat." Terry said, think Claudia was right. "Yeah, whoa." Claudia said, as she and Terry high five and laughed, and Grav walked up to them and looked at the drawing.

"That's not a lizard, that's a slug. And that's not a hat, it's a triangle. Also why would it be trying to say lizard in a hat, it's a very stupid thing to say." Grav said to Claudia and Terry, as Viren walked up to everyone and looked at the drawing.

Viren then stuttered a little before talking. "That is clearly not a lizard or a slug. That's a… it's a…" Viren said to everyone, before realizing what it actually was. "Dragon." Viren said to everyone, with a shocked look on his face.

Drakewood

Later that night, the gang was walking through a massive and lush forest, this was the Drakewood, and it was a place one could easily get lost in. And help make sure they didn't get lost, Allen only had Serperior out, Drake only had Lilligant out, Kali only had Lurantis out, Rayla only had Umbreon out, Callum only had Yanmega out, Ezran only had Emolga out, Soren only had Hawlucha out, and Talia only had Panpour out.

"Breathe it in, everyone." Soren said to everyone, as he sniffed in the scent of the Drakewood. "You smell that? It's the smell of adventure." Soren said to everyone. "I thought, it was the smell of all the plants here?" Talia asked Soren.

"Nope, it's adventure. Callum, Drake, you with me, adventure." Soren said to Talia and asked Drake and Callum. "Soren, a great evil is on the verge of being free, try and take this seriously." Drake said to Soren.

"Come on. Let's get our adventuring spirits up. Anyone know any adventuring songs?" Soren asked everyone, as he stopped and they walked past Soren. "Rayla. Huh?" Soren asked Rayla, but got shushed by Rayla.

"Okay, okay! Excuse me for trying to put a little pep in our step." Soren said to Rayla, as a soft snarl could be heard in the wind. "No! Get down. Hide." Rayla said to everyone, as they all ran into brush by a massive tree.

That's when a dragon like Gaenor came flying in, with an Earthblood Elf riding the dragon. Luckily the rider flew past everyone, followed by another rider. "Looks like we're here." Allen said to everyone.

"How do you know that?" Callum asked Allen. "Those are the Riders of the Drakewood. That's how we know we're in the right place." Rayla said to everyone. "Maybe they can help us find the back door." Ezran said to Rayla and Allen.

"I don't think so. The Riders are known for viciously protecting their turf from trespassers, and then throwing them into a hole called the Pit of Despair." Rayla said to Ezran. "Yeah, any open minded Earthblood elf left when I came with news of the Dragonflights rebirth, so all that's left are ones set in their ways, meaning they'll likely crush us." Allen said to Ezran.

"Okay. That sounds bad." Ezran said to Allen and Rayla, making Rayla sigh. "Nothing else for it. You all stay here and out of sight. I'll go search for the entrance with Umbreon." Rayla said to everyone, as she moved out of cover with Umbreon.

"You can't just go off alone." Soren said to Rayla. "I'm not alone. I have my Pokemon with me, I'll be fine." Rayla said to everyone.

But that's when Stella squeaked, agreeing with Soren. "Okay. Fine." Rayla said to Stella. "Callum and I will go look for the entrance with our Pokemon." Rayla said to everyone, snapping her fingers towards Callum.

"No. I'll stay with Ezran. Soren, you go with Rayla. You want an adventure?" Callum said to Rayla, and asked Soren. "Oh. yeah. I suppose that works, too." Rayla said to everyone, sounding very disappointed. Callum then turned away from Rayla.

"Good luck, Rayla. You'll find it in no time." Ezran said to Rayla, as Soren walked up to her. "Let the adventure begin." Soren said to Rayla, putting a hand to her shoulder before he and Hawlucha started to walk.

Rayla didn't say anything, but it was clear on her face that she hoped Callum would go with her instead of Soren. Rayla then left with Umbreon, and everyone looked at Callum, who had an empty look on his face, making everyone worry.

The Sunfire Camp

At the Sunfire Camp, Amaya and Gren were walking with Lucia. "Am I under arrest? For trying to put out a candle?" Lucia asked Amaya. "No. These guards are precaution." Gren said to Lucia, translating for Amaya, making Lucia scoff.

"Precaution? Against what?" Lucia asked Amaya. "People are upset about what happened. About what you tried to do." Gren said to Lucia, translating for Amaya.

"Oh, they're mad at me? I'm the one who was injured. I worked my hands raw for these elves and beasts, and now look at what they've done to me." Lucia said to Amaya, holding out her hands that were completely wrapped up in bandages, letting Amaya get a good look at them.

"Don't act like you're the victim here!" A female voice said, making everyone turn to see Hadia walk into the tent, with a very angry look on her face. "I told you about the customs of the Sunfire Elves, but you ignored me. I told you that they lit fires often, and that you should build a place where they can light fires without endangering the camp. But did you listen to me? No!" Hadia said to Lucia, with a very annoyed tune in her voice.

"I don't have to listen to you. You don't know anything about building a camp." Lucia said to Hadia. "You're right, I don't. But I do know about Sunfire culture, and if you listened to me, you won't be in this mess." Hadia said to Lucia.

"I've had enough of this. I want to go back to my tent. I don't need your guards." Lucia said to Hadia and Amaya, as she tried to leave, but was stopped by Amaya. "You should stay here. You might not be safe." Gren said to Lucia, translating for Amaya.

"She's right. To the Sunfire Elves out there. What you did was an attempted murder, and that means, you'll be treated like a killer." Hadia said to Lucia, making Lucia sign in worry.

"What's going to happen to me, then?" Lucia asked Amaya and Hadia, placing her hands over her chest. "Queen Janai will decide." Gren said to Lucia, translating for Amaya.

"But for what you've done, if you're lucky, you'll just lose your hands before being casted out of the camp. If you're not, then we'll have to try and give you a proper burial after they put you to death." Hadia said to Lucia.

"What, you can't be serious?!" Lucia asked Hadia. "I am. You attempted one of the great crimes in Sunfire culture. You will have to answer for that, and there's nothing you can do to stop it." Hadia said to Lucia, before she left, leaving Amaya and Gren nervous, and scaring Lucia.

Drakewood

Back in the Drakewood, Rayla was cutting flowers as she, Soren, Stella, Umbreon, and Hawlucha moved through the Drakewood. "So, things are tense." Soren said to Rayla, as they stopped walking.

"Yeah. Great evil about to be unleashed, potential end of the worlds and all that." Rayla said to Soren, before she started to walk again. "I meant with you and Callum." Soren said to Rayla. "Nope. We are not talking about this." Rayla said to Soren, pointing her sword at Soren, before she got back to slashing the plants.

"Look, when you left, it hurt him bad. Real bad. He was miserable. And it was only after we had a little adventure in a book did he get better. But now you're back. That's kind of good, and it's kind of bad. But it's mostly just weird. And one thing I always say: sometimes you need time to work through the weird. And then it'll work out. Or not. The heart do what it do, or don't what it don't." Soren said to Rayla.

"Soren, what the…" Rayla said to Soren, but was interrupted by snarling, making Rayla gasp. Then they heard evil laughter and cries of pain. This caused Rayla, Soren, Stella, Umbreon, and Hawlucha to run towards the sound.

That's when they found a dragon like Gaenor, but was a female, the scales covering his body come in shades of green and orange, with orange wing membranes, and a yellow underbelly. His body is also covered in dark green spots and stripes. Her horns fade from yellow into orange at their tips, and like Gaenor, her eyes were yellow.

Tormenting her by spinning around some bright stones in a whip, was a massive male Earthblood elf with wood, leaf, and stone armor, with long orange hair, and ram like horns.

And hiding behind a rock, was a young Earthblood Elf with light skin and small, branch-like horns that are growing upward from his scalp. His brown hair, which is kept short around his head and decorated with many flowers, is tied into a bun with a pink hair tie at the backside. His eyes are colored in a grass green and are topped by thick, brown eyebrows. Additionally, he has a delicate nose, as well as three freckles spotted across each of his rosy cheeks. Reminding of a deer, his ears are large, with prominent earlobes. The markings on his body are located on his elbows, legs, and hands, and appear in a swirling shape. His attire of choice consists of a leaf necklace and bracelets, a white shirt, and brown, baggy pants that reach below his knees. His feet are wrapped with leaves.

And hanging in a bag on his waist was a large red apple with two large leaves at the top with black dots in the middle of the leaves.

"Watch carefully. This is how it's done." The Earthblood Elf said to the young one, as he moved closer to the dragon, making the dragon back up. Then the Earthblood Elf whipped at the dragon, slashing the lights in her eyes. But this just scared the young Earthblood Elf.

"You're too wild, ya big dumb beast. We'll break you." The Earthblood Elf said to the dragon, as he whipped at her.

"We have to do something." Soren said to Rayla, as he and Hawlucha got ready to jump in and help the dragons. "No." Rayla said, as she pulled Soren and Hawlucha away. "We can't risk being seen. I hate it too, but we have to keep moving. Let's go!" Rayla said to Soren, as she let them go, and started to move.

"But it's an innocent dragon, and he's hurting it." Soren said to Rayla, jestering his hands towards the dragon, as another flash appeared, and they could hear his laughter and slashing. But Rayla kept walking away.

"That was something you cared about. Didn't they call you a Dragonguard?" Soren asked Rayla, crossing his arms, making Rayla stop.

"We can't save everyone, Soren. There's too much at stake. I'm leaving with Umbreon, and you and Hawlucha better be right behind us." Rayla said to Soren, emphatically, as she and Umbreon left with Stella on Rayla's shoulder.

Soren and Hawlucha looked at each other, before they heard the dragon groaning.

Meanwhile with the others, they set up camp for the night in a spot the Riders wouldn't find them. But Callum kept leaving the group and bringing back firewood, which led to them having a large pile of sticks.

"Um, I think we've got enough firewood, Callum." Ezran said to Callum, as everyone else laid out the sleeping bags. But Callum said nothing. "Callum?" Drake asked Callum, waving his hand in Callum's face, getting Callum's attention.

"Huh? Oh. I'm sorry." Callum said to everyone, as he sat on a log. Ezran and Drake then moved and sat on his side, while Allen, Kali, and Talia took a seat on their sleeping bags.

"You look like you might have some big feelings." Ezran said to Callum. "This isn't a big feelings time, Ez. We've gotta stay alert. We-we-we don't know what's out there." Callum said to Ezran, as they could hear the crickets chirping.

"Just crickets. But don't worry. They told me they're not the ambushing type." Ezran said to Callum, making Callum sigh and put his head into his hands, and Talia giggled. "You okay?" Ezran asked Callum. "Yeah." Callum said to Ezran.

"You don't look fine. Come on Callum, tell us what's wrong. You're among trusted friends here." Drake said to Callum.

"I can't get it out of my head. Whenever I close my eyes I'm back in that moment. It was… awful." Callum said to everyone. "Wow. I know you're hurting, but… I'm sure Rayla doesn't mean to make you feel like that." Ezran said to Callum.

"What? Rayla? I'm talking about Aaravos. You know, when he took over my whole body and used me like a puppet." Callum said to everyone, waving his hands at himself. "Oh. Oh, right, that makes a lot more sense." Ezran said to Callum, making Callum exhale and slide down the log.

"You're right, though. It feels silly with everything that's going on, but… I don't know how to feel about Rayla, either." Callum said to everyone. "She's been trying hard to get things back like they were." Ezran said to Callum.

"But things aren't like they were. And she messed them up, and when she came back, I was so happy… but so mad at the same time. I wish I could just forgive her, but it, it, it's so hard." Callum said to everyone.

"Lots of things are hard, Callum. Like Magic. But you figured that out, didn't you?" Ezran asked Callum. "Yeah, and if there's one thing we learned from Scrooge, we have to live in the moment and never try to make things better. Don't let the bad times chain you down." Drake said to Callum.

"Yeah. Somehow, relationships seem harder." Callum said to everyone, as Bait grew in agreement. "They may be messy, but those relationships are what makes life interesting, and can make wonderful things happen." Allen said to everyone, as he took Kali's hand and smiled, making her smile.

Back with Soren and Hawlucha, they moved back to the hiding spot they were at and looked down to see the Earthblood Elf still whipping his whip at the dragon, laughing evil.

Hey." Soren said, as he and Hawlucha came jumping down between the Earthblood Elf and the dragon. "Pick on someone your own size." Soren said to the Earthblood Elf. "Hawlucha!" Hawlucha said, sounding like, "someone like us".

"This dragon is much bigger than me. Also, who are you two?" The Earthblood Elf asked Soren and Hawlucha. "I'm Soren. And this is my pal Hawlucha. And you're the first villain in our adventure." Soren said to the Earthblood Elf, as he pulled out his sword, and Hawlucha got into a fighting stance.

This made the Earthblood Elf scoff, thinking Soren and Hawlucha were a joke. Then the Earthblood Elf charged at Soren swinging his whip. Soren and Hawlucha charged at the Earthblood Elf, with Soren swinging his sword around, and Hawlucha jumped around the Earthblood Elf with his head silver and rough and tried to slam his head into the Earthblood Elf.

But the Earthblood Elf dodged their attacks and tried to stick them. But they jumped back dodging the Earthblood Elf whip. They traded blows for a couple seconds, neither of them landing a hit.

Getting annoyed by this, the Earthblood Elf threw his whip at them, knocking Soren's sword out of his hands, and hitting Hawlucha in the head, stopping his attack and giving him a headache, and stumbled back.

This made Soren exhales. "Yup." Soren said, before hearing stomping, and turned to see the Earthblood Elf charging at him, laughing. "Oh." Soren said, before the Earthblood Elf punched him in the face, knocking him back towards the dragon.

The dragon roared at him, making Soren move to a tree with large gourds hanging from it. That's when the Earthblood Elf pointed Soren's sword at him, laughing at Soren and making Soren raise his hands.

That's when Soren noticed the gourd. "Looks like you win." Soren said to the Earthblood Elf, making the Earthblood Elf smirk. "What do you win?" Soren asked the Earthblood Elf, before kicking his sword away.

Then Soren picked a gourd out of the tree. "This fabulous gourd." Soren said to the Earthblood Elf, before hitting him in the face with the gourd, this made him confused and wobbly.

"Hawlucha, care to finish it with Flying Press?" Soren asked Hawlucha, as Hawlucha recovered from his headache. "Hawlucha!" Hawlucha said, as he jumped into the air and came down on the Earthblood Elf belly first, forcing the Earthblood Elf into the ground and knocking him out.

Soren and Hawlucha chuckled a little, before noticing the young Earthblood Elf watching them. "Oh. I completely forgot you were here." Soren said to the young Earthblood Elf. but the young Earthblood Elf said nothing before running away.

Soren then turned to the dragon. "You should run. Or fly. You don't want to be here. When that kid comes back with more villain types." Soren said to the dragon. But that's when the dragon shrieked at Soren and Hawlucha.

"Whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, heroes here. We're trying to help you." Soren said to the dragon, as he and Hawlucha took a few steps back. "Go on, go. Go, scram. Sca-doodle." Soren said to the dragon, as he tried to make the dragon leave, even thinking throwing stuff from the gourd into her face was a good idea.

But it wasn't, now she was mad at him. "Uh, easy now." Soren said to the dragon, before some ropes with the glowing crystals came out of nowhere and wrapped around the dragon's mouth and legs.

"Oh, that's not good." Soren said, before some more ropes and crystals came flying out of nowhere and hitting him and Hawlucha in the back of the head, knocking them out.

Meanwhile, Claudia, Viren, Terry, and Grav made camp in another part of the Drakewood, and Viren explained where they were going. "It wasn't a lizard in a hat. Or a slug. It was "the dragon in the mountain". He is leading us to Umber Tor, home of the great Rex Igneous." Viren said to everyone.

"The Archdragon of Earth, that would explain it. Not only is he known for his temper, he's also known for staying in his home surrounded by treasure of incredible value. He must have something we need." Grav said to everyone.

"So the dragon must know where Aaravos is imprisoned." Claudia said to everyone. "Yes." Viren said to Claudia. "Except Rex Igneous isn't the kind of being to be forced to do anything, and we'll be in his home, there's nothing we can do to make him tell us where Aaravos is." Grav said to everyone. "Well that's good to know." Claudia said to everyone.

"What a day. You all discovered something, and so did I. Ta-da!" Terry said to everyone, before pulling out his silly putty. "The funnest substance known to man or elf. I call it… goofy goo." Terry said to everyone, as he showed it off.

And while Sparklespuff liked it, it was clear Grav did not. "I hate you." Grav said to Terry.

Meanwhile, with the gang, Rayla, Stella, and Umbreon walked back to camp, surprising everyone. "What happened? Where's Soren? Ezran asked Rayla. "He's not back? We split up, and I assumed…" Rayla said to everyone, before going quiet.

"Rayla? Why did you two split up?" Allen asked Rayla, raising an eyebrow. "It was nothing. And relax. I'm sure he's fine. Watch, he'll come back reciting an epic poem about his adventuring. He's probably late because he's stuck thinking of a rhyme for "Legendary heroics"." Rayla said to everyone, as she got ready for bed.

"That does sound like something Soren would do." Talia said to everyone.

But writing a poem was the last thing Soren was doing, as he and Hawlucha were tossed into the deep Pit of Despair with a lot of bones at the bottom. And after landing on the ground, and getting up. They looked for an exit, but instead they found the dragon they were just trying to save in the pit with them, and not happy to see them.

"I'm really sorry about throwing gourd goop on you." Soren said to the dragon, as the dragon kept snarling at them.

Hello everyone, I hope you like this chapter. Please follow or review if you like this story. And tomorrow I'll post the next chapter.