Lunar

Time to wake up.

"...Uh..."

Awaken.

"Hn...."

Oh please. I know you far better than that. It would take more than that to finish you off.

"Uh...hn...ah...who...who's...oh, it's you."

And better looking than our last encounter.

"Impossible. There was no way you could have survive...eh...our last encounter."

Easy there. And of course there is. You've survived this.

"..."

A little bruise to the ego? No, more than that. More like a fracture. Nearly broke the thing off, ok?

"Enough...uh...what do you want? To finish me?"

I'm surprised you'd even ask such a thing, after I've gone to such lengths to revive you and repair you.

"...You've what?"

You heard me right. There's an old saying, old friend. If you can't beat them, join them. You'll learn soon enough how relevant those words are.

"Stop riddling. It always disgusted me."

Fair enough. I want you to join me.

"Feh. Why?"

I could use your help. And in return, I could give you what you want: the lives of the Dragonmaster and Althena and Lunar on a Silver Platter.

"Hmph...what's in it for you?"

To be the only one on the planet who is your superior, and to attain the godhood that you so desperately wanted.

"There's no more to attain, fool. Althena is gone. She released her power."

To all the people of Lunar, yes. But that doesn't mean that we simply can't find another way to possess it...

"...What are you saying?"

I'm saying this is our shot at eternal power, old friend. Your shot to get revenge on the Dragonmaster and Althena as well. You'll bend them to your will and make both your slaves. Not just slaves though, willing slaves.

"Really...cough....and what makes you so sure we can do just that?"

Simple. We utilize the two enemies that the Dragonmaster and Althena can never defeat.

"Who?"

Alex and Luna.

"...Interesting. I'm listening."

It's always the same.

Then I feel him.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Alex's eyes snapped open in an instant. His face flushing to worry, he shot up in bed and threw off his covers, forgetting totally that Nall was on them and soon got thrown to the floor. Alex continued to forget about him as the white dragon cried out and he shot to his feet, and quickly began to walk across the floor to the sound of the scream. After a moment, the cat-like critter freed himself from under Alex's sheet, and frowned.

"What's the big-"

Then, he stopped the moment he heard the scream too. Immediately looking concerned, he unfurled his wings and flapped after Alex as fast as he could. They went out of their room, crossed the dark, Blue Starlit filled hall, and stormed right into Luna's room. Alex, face fearful, stared at her as she saw her brow dotted with sweat, violently tossing and turning in bed as if trying to get away from someone. The young man shot to her side in an instant, while Nall flapped over her. Still concerned, Alex grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her even harder.

"Luna! Wake up! Wake up!"

The blue haired girl continued to turn and struggle for a moment longer, as Nall chimed in along with Alex. But then, her eyes on her panic-stricken face suddenly opened. For a moment, she looked right at Alex and gasped as if out of breath. Then, she suddenly shot up, wrapped her arms around Alex, and pressed herself tightly against his chest.

"Oh Alex..." She moaned, but said no more, breathing hard as if she had lost her breath.

Alex immediately returned her embrace and held her tight. Worry creasing his own feline face, Nall flapped closer to see both of them together. They held in silence for a moment, with nothing but the sounds of the night outside. Luna trembled and breathed hard in Alex's grasp for a while longer. Then, at last, she spoke with deep fear and regret.

"I had the dream again..."

Immediately, Luna grasped Alex harder.

"Shh, shh..." Alex softly uttered, calming her. "It's ok. It's just a dream. It's all over Luna. He's dead."

"Yeah Luna." Nall chimed in, trying to smile and cheer her up. "And if he ever came back, me and Alex would knock him back into whatever grave he came out of! You're back in Burg and safe with us!"

Nall's attempt, though well meant, didn't seem to work well at first. Luna continued to grasp Alex in terror, her mind racing. It had been a year now since Alex pulled her from her dark goddess status and back into humanity. Yet the nightmares still came. When she had been a prisoner, the whole thing had been like a great dream she never had any control over. She only felt awake whenever Alex managed to briefly "awaken" her with the sound of his voice. But now that she was back to leading her old life, shadows of the past continued to plague her. She kept thinking back to the days she was with the Magic Emperor Ghaleon, who tried to brainwash and destroy her very existence to the point where she would be nothing more than his mindless slave, had her in his possession. It was always real then, and always terrifying. And after so long she still couldn't relax. It had been a year now. When would the dreams ever stop? Or would she think this way forever? The possibility terrified her, and as of late was becoming more and more of a fearful possibility that she dared not consider.

Yet, at the end, she managed a light smile to please the little white dragon, and managed to release Alex a little, though she still wanted to be near to him as possible, not feeling safe unless she was, and nodded to him. "I...I think I'll be alright now, Alex." She halfheartedly told him. "I'm...feeling better. You and Nall can go back to sleep."

Nall smiled and looked ready to turn and go. However, Alex, knowing her far better than that and knowing when she was lying and not, looked to her with more concern. "I'll stay here with you longer, if you like."

Luna normally would have lied again and brushed him off. But tonight, her blood still ran cold, and fear still hung on her head. She didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to fall asleep again. She didn't want to be taken away from Alex and Nall and all she loved and once again become the toy of Ghaleon. Inhaling deeply, she looked up to Alex and nodded. "I'd...like that, if you don't mind."

Alex smiled. "No trouble at all."

"Alex...I'm worried about Luna."

Alex didn't hear Nall right away. He was still thinking of Luna from last night. He had to stay up with her for a while before she finally managed to fall back asleep. But once she was up his own worrying had just begun. It had carried over all through his own sleepless night and into the next morning, where his normal daydreaming of Dyne was now replaced by actual chores around the house, like hoeing the garden. It had been a year since the defeat of Ghaleon and the saving of the world. He and Luna had returned to Burg, and just as planned had been the stars of the Goddess Festival with their singing and ocarina team, though Alex and Nall both had a hard time convincing Luna initially to ever sing anything again. Yet these dreams had started only a month after their return. In the year that followed, she continued to have the same nightmares again and again. Each and every time, she was always once again made to be the Dark Goddess and always the slave of Ghaleon.

Alex clenched his rake's staff hard and hoed even harder at the thought of that. Ghaleon had never wasted a single moment accusing him of being weak and incompetent, and had used every opportunity to make him miserable and hurt. Even before he died he said his consolation would be that he had stolen Luna from him. The more he thought about it the more his blood boiled. He had to tell not only Luna but himself that Ghaleon was dead at last in order to calm down. Yet there was nothing else he could do now, and no way to get his mind off of it. With his lust for adventure and heroism quelled after his own adventure and brief time as the latest Dragonmaster, the only thing to do now was live quietly in Burg, do chores, and practice for the local festivals. He hoped that Luna at least had peace, out practicing again today. He'd join her if he could ever stop brooding long enough to finish hoeing...

"Alex?"

"Oh, huh?" Alex recoiled, snapping out of his train of thought. He looked to the white dragon on his shoulder, and remembered the statement. After doing so, he sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I am too." He then turned back to his hoeing.

"Maybe we should get away from Burg for a while." Nall suggested. "After all...everything started so close to here."

"Yeah...maybe." Alex halfheartedly replied.

Nall smiled and tried to perk him up. "We could go on another adventure!"

"Yeah...maybe."

"We could go see Mia and Jessica and Kyle and Ramus and Tempest and...well...oh, why not, Nash too. The White Dragon Wings might not work anymore, but I can take us anywhere!"

"Yeah...maybe."

Seeing Alex still disinterested, the white dragon frowned sourly. "Well at least I'm trying to come up with something! I'm worried about Luna!"

"I am too Nall...it's just..." Alex paused and sighed, but kept hoeing. "I don't know what to do. I don't know if another adventure would be good for her though..."

Nall kept frowning. "Well I know you've been itching for another adventure ever since we've got home, and you know you'd never go anywhere without Luna."

Alex said nothing, and kept hoeing.

Nall sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, fine! A trip then! Move out a little! But we're not just country boys anymore, you know! We're full fledged, world-traveling adventurers! I already know what quest we have! Let's go back to Lann and search out the world's tastiest fish!"

Alex couldn't help but snicker a bit at that. "Some adventure. Do you ever think about anything besides fish?"

"What else is worth thinking about? We'll call it...'Raiders of the Lost Carp'! We'll have lots of fun!"

"I'm sure it is...but I might have something a bit more...dramatic...in mind."

Alex froze in the middle of his hoeing. It figured, for right at that moment a set of black boots, belonging to the sudden voice, had appeared before him and stood straight. Shortly after, Alex began to look up at this new and sudden arrival, puzzlement and sudden surprise on his face. A man was now standing before him. He was tall, and dressed all in black. He had a collar fastened around his neck from a long sleeved tunic, and a cape was fastened over half of his shoulder by a silver chain. The attire didn't grab Rand, however. Instead, he was fixated on his face. His hair was cut short and combed back, tucking behind a set of pointed ears. His skin was pale and white...almost like Ghaleon's. He had red eyes like him too. But unlike Ghaleon, this man was much older. Ghaleon had been pretty old himself, but he looked at least twice his age. He had the lines and look of experience to match. He also had a white mustache, matching his white hair. This seemed more from age than the natural color Ghaleon had, however. He stood straight, tall, and proper, arms folded behind his back. Alex stared at him, rising from his hoeing and looking at him silently. At last, the man smiled.

"Greetings, Dragonmaster Alex." He stated.

Alex hesitated for a moment. This man looked suspiciously like Ghaleon, and that unnerved him. His sudden appearance had done much the same. But after a bit of hesitation, he answered him in a somewhat apprehensive tone. "It's just Alex, sir. There is no more Dragonmaster."

Hearing that, the man winced a little bit. "That may be an unfortunate tragedy, Master Alex. I am a bit saddened you disregard your own abilities in such a manner. But that is of little concern now."

"Who are you?" Alex suddenly asked, a bit biting, and ignoring the man's speech.

"I am Dauphan Melicon." The man calmly answered, not at all disturbed by Alex's reply.

"Dauphan of what?"

"Of the Nanza Pass, of course."

Alex reacted to this in a puzzled manner. "Nanza Pass? Kyle and his group takes care of that. It doesn't have a 'Dauphan' or...whatever that is."

Melicon merely smiled a bit in response to that. "Times have changed in the past year, Dragon...er, Master Alex, if that suits you. The world is still a rather unruly place, even without the Magic Emperor and Vile Tribe marauding. The man known as Kyle has been placed in Meriba on business with Master Mel. I was left in command of the Nanza Branch of the Zone Confederation. But I trust you, no harm has come to the area since my briefly installed administration, and if I have my way I will keep it like that."

Alex, however, was merely looking in confusion. "Nanza Branch? Zone Confederation?"

"What in Althena's name is the geezer talking about?" Nall asked. "Is he having a memory lapse or something?"

Mericon grimaced a bit at that and sweat a little, as if seeming a bit frustrated. He rose an older hand to his temple and sighed a bit as he rubbed. "I should have known that news would reach Burg so much more slowly than the rest of the world. There is a great deal I have to update you on, Master Alex. But it is essential that we depart for Vane immediately."

"Vane?!" Alex suddenly exclaimed. "Depart?! You just got here! I've never seen you before in my life and you tell me to come with you to Vane?!"

"Who are you anyway?" Nall asked.

Mericon rolled his eyes. "I already told you, I'm Dauphan Mericon. And I have little time to waste. The entire Zone Confederation has little time to waste. So rather than try to explain things I had better just give you the message from Lady Mia."

Both Nall and Alex were surprised yet again. "Mia?"

"Yes, the Premier of the Magic Guild of Vane. I trust you remember her after only the passage of one year, Master Alex." Mericon replied. With that, he reached into the cover of his tunic for a moment. After feeling for a short while, he grasped something, and pulled out a letter. He handed it to Alex, and the young man took it and read the front. It was Mia's handwriting, addressed simply to him. It had Vane's seal as well. Quickly, he broke it, took out the letter, and read.

Dearest Alex and Luna,

Alex frowned after reading the letter. Vague was the first word that came to mind. This was all a terrible rush to him. He had just been standing here brooding and now he was suddenly being called off to Vane. For what? And what was all this stuff that this Dauphan was talking about? It only confused him more. And when he was confused, he grew anxious and tense.

"Please, Master Alex," Mericon continued after he saw he was finished. "Lady Mia is in quite a crisis. The entire free world is. I know you were the former Dragonmaster, and that you are of strong mind, will, and spirit. We'll be needing the help of everyone on Lunar like you soon. But please, accompany me."

Alex said nothing in response, but Nall frowned at Mericon. "You sure seem awful pushy for just coming out of the woodwork. Why should Alex go with you anywhere?"

"Like where?"

The three people immediately turned at the sound of the voice. A bit to Alex's fear, though he didn't know why, it was Luna. With a curious look on her face, she approached them from the ancient grove with her calm stride. Yet the moment he saw her, the Dauphan immediately swept his cave aside, placed his hand on his breast, and gave a gallant bow. Luna was a bit surprised at this, as was Alex and Nall, and she came to a stop in front of the new arrival.

"Whoa Alex! Is this guy a Dauphan or a butler?" Nall asked.

"Lady Luna..." Mericon went on. Before the surprised Luna could react, he took her hand and kissed it. Luna withdrew her hand, blushing and a bit surprised. "It's an honor to meet you in person. You're more beautiful than Lady Mia has told me."

Luna reacted to this. "Mia? What about Mia? Do you know her?"

The Dauphan immediately rose and nodded. "I do indeed, Lady Luna. She is a trusted and close friend. I saw her many times when she was growing up under the eye of former Premier Lemia Ausa. I and her mother were friends of a sort, as I was in her same class when she was in the Magic Guild herself. She trusts me implicitly, which is why she sent me to see this letter hand delivered to you."

Luna looked curious. "What letter?"

"Here." Alex answered, and handed Luna the letter. The blue-haired girl took it and immediately read it over. Her face went concerned, but also became a mixture of perplexion and amazement. After reading it, she placed a hand to her mouth and was amazed. "Wow...this is so sudden... You couldn't be any more spur of the moment."

Mericon sighed and shrugged. "That is all I can do, I'm afraid. You, of course, are welcome to come if you wish, Lady Luna."

Alex, Luna, and Nall all looked to each other. This was sudden indeed. But they knew the seal of Vane, and they knew Mia's handwriting. Still, this was a strange individual. While he was friendly enough, both Alex and Luna had learned the hard way that appearances were deceiving. They didn't know what to do, and they didn't know how to respond. It sounded like Mia, but this was all so mysterious. They had no explanation or anything. At length, they both turned back to Mericon.

"I don't suppose you could give us some time to think this over?" Luna asked.

The Dauphan sighed. "Not long. The boat back to Meriba leaves today from Saith, and we have a schedule to keep."

Both Luna and Alex were shocked. Saith was a long way away, and through the forest. It was at least a journey that one had to start at dawn if they hoped to be in Meriba by morning the next day. Their surprise was visible, and Mericon nodded. "I know. It's very bad timing. But now you see how urgent I am."

"Can we even talk this over with our parents?" Alex asked.

"You can tell them, but we're running out of time. We must leave soon if we plan to make it, which is why I met you in the field rather than more formerly. You must make your choice soon, Master Alex."

Alex didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. He hadn't had to make a decision this quickly in quite some time. And yet...he still felt a thrill inside him. The same thrill that he had ever since he got back from the first trip. He couldn't deny it. He was an adventurer. Maybe not a Dragonmaster, but definitely an adventurer. He craved it, and he had been craving it for some time. Foolish or questionable as leaving might be, he was still anxious to go on another trip. At length, he licked his lips a little. Then, after a moment or so longer, he sighed and looked to Luna.

"I'm going." He flatly stated.

"What?!" Nall exclaimed. He put his paws over his eyes in groaning. "Oh, Alex, you can't be serious! You're going to go with this old fossil to who knows where? You've known him for less than five minutes!"

Alex and Luna silently stared at each other regardless. Both of them knew what this meant, for both of them as well. They hesitated a while, knowing the question that was now being put up to Luna in her own mind. After a moment or so, Alex popped the question.

"You should just stay. I can handle whatever it is and I'll be back-"

"No." Luna simply said, cutting off. She took in a deep breath, sighed, and then nodded. "I can handle this. I can come. I want to come." She hesitated a moment, and then smiled. "I know you're eager for adventure, but I'll stay next to you wherever you go."

Alex smiled in reply to this. Nall sighed and smacked himself in the head with a black paw.

"Oh, you two are impossible! Well, that settles it! I'm going to have to come with the both of you and make sure you stay out of trouble!"

The Dauphan smiled. "Excellent. All is settled then. We shall depart at once. Master Alex, Lady Luna, you should gather whatever immediate necessities you need together, inform you parents, and we shall depart for Saith post haste. I shall be your escort, of course."

Alex and Luna hesitated a moment longer, but then Alex finally turned back to Mericon and nodded. "Alright. It won't take long. I only have to grab something from up on the cliff..."

Nall sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, at any rate, here we go again!"

Alex felt a little uneasy carrying the weapon as he trudged through the forest. The Sword of Althena continued to weigh and tingle like a persistent itch. When he released the power of the Dragonmaster, he never thought he'd take up that weapon again, but leave it in Dyne's "tomb" forever. Once again, fate had a funny way of working out. He had no other weapons in his home when he left Burg, and there wasn't another weapon on Lunar he'd trust to be able to defend Luna with. So he just kept it and dealt with it.

The forest hadn't changed much. It was dangerous for the people of Burg, but no danger to Luna, Alex, and Nall. With Dauphan Melichon leading the way, they were making good time through it. And it was good too, for the sun was quickly setting. Alex was still good with a sword though he had lost the powers of the four dragons. As for Luna, she still had the power of her voice, and would for the rest of her life...whether she liked it or not. And with one of the dragon's along to boot, they seemed fine. But Alex still wondered about the Dauphan, who endlessly praised Alex.

"You still look fantastic with that blade, Master Alex. No matter what anyone says, you will always be the Dragonmaster to me."

Alex frowned, however. "I'm sad to say I take offense at that. I don't care to ever be the Dragonmaster again. And I still don't know what's going on."

"Yes, explanations are in order." Melichon replied. "I'll tell you as much as I can.

"We've been very busy ever since you left us, Master Alex. By 'we', I meant Vane. After what happened with the Grindery and the Goddess Tower, we're no longer content to merely sit by and watch all sorts of devastation happening to our planet while we wait idly for heroes to save us. The joint efforts of Master Mel of Meriba and former Premier Lemia Ausa of Vane combined instantly in an endeavor to create a grand coalition of cities. After all, since we all share Althena in common, it shouldn't have taken much to align together. Meriba, Nanza, Vane, Lann, Meryod, and Raza all readily joined. Yes, Raza, if you can believe it. Thought it would encourage more travelers to their region, which I'm sure you know would cause help for them in a way you know of personally. Basically it was to encourage more communication and cooperation with one another. With Vane down, it can no longer bear the burden of being a world's focal point on it's own.

"We've been doing remarkably well though it's been terrible work. Though we managed to patch this alliance together and form the Zone Confederation, we've still had terrible trouble. All sorts of petty crimes and bandits running loose. So much, in fact, that we could no longer rely on old systems in keeping order. That was exactly why Master Mel withdrew Kyle for the time being. He needed someone more organized, someone more trusted and diplomatic. That's why I was chosen."

"You?" Alex asked.

"Yes. I'll admit, I am a little old fashioned. Until the middle of two decades ago I wasn't doing that well either. But about the time you were born everyone seemed to get a little boost with their power, and so did I. You may think my customs a little more of the older generation of Magic Guild students at Vane. I was cut from the same cloth as Lemia and Ghaleon..." He hesitated, and snickered. "I hope you don't take that the wrong way. The pale skin, pointed ears, white hair... It's a trait. A very special trait. Very rare in births. It's a sign of great magical potential already inborn. Ghaleon, on his part, went beyond that to a phenonmenal level. I'm still a little surprised you survived him, Master Alex. Yet I'm no slouch at the art myself. At one time I surpassed Ghaleon in the Magic Guild. I never did devote myself wholely to magic, however. A man shouldn't be just one side in his life. I took up the sword as well. And diplomacy and government. I might add, by not bragging, that I am indeed a rather respected member of local government. That was why I was chosen, no doubt. I've been trying to maintain order and put an end to thief traffic and bandits ever since."

"Great." Alex flatly stated. "So why do you need us?"

Melichon was about to respond when a sharp cry came from the trees. Instantly, Alex, Luna, Nall, and Melichon froze. They shot their heads to the trees. Soon, they saw a rustling in the leaves, and a few moments later, small brown creatures tore out of them. They snarled and gnashed their teeth, and landed right in front of the group. Alex turned to them and bit down, eyeing them. They were goblins, nasty little brown creatures wearing their orange tunics and sporting clubs. They looked at the four of them with their gleaming yellow eyes and snarled and hissed at them. The four looked dangerously back at them the whole time, and faced off against the creatures.

Alex held his sword at the ready and glared coldly. "I'll take them." He stated. "Luna, get back and try to sing one of your temptation songs. I'll hold them off until you're ready."

"And me too!" Nall piped in assention.

However, before Alex could do anything, the Dauphan suddenly strolled in front of them, walking right for the goblins. Alex, Luna, and Nall all looked up in surprise at this action. However, Melichon merely waved behind him, glaring at the enemy the whole time.

"Stay back, you three. Alex, guard Luna. I'll take care of these monsters."

Alex hesitated for a moment. As he did, he felt a sharp chill. He didn't like how Melichon was acting. Ghaleon had in a similar way when he went through the forest with them back to Burg. But he didn't react, and neither did Luna or Nall. They all merely stood and watched the old man come forward.

Melichon stared coldly at the snarling monsters. As he did, he reached behind himself to his black cape, and moments later pulled back. As he did, Alex heard a shining of metal, and soon Melichon had produced a long, thin-bladed sword. The handle was small but elegantly crafted for a single hand. The blade shone like the sun but looked extremely thin. Alex wondered how anyone could fight with such a small sword. But he didn't have time to answer. The goblins snarled, and then all charged the old man at once, clubs swinging.

The Dauphan continued to calmly approach. As the first goblin neared, he suddenly ducked with lightning speed, shot forward a thrust with his light sword, and stabbed the goblin in the gut. It cried out and fell, but the other three came just as quickly. Melichon nimbly dodged his head slightly to one side to miss the first oncoming blow, walked past the goblin, and then swiped his thin blade to slash a vital artery at the creature's neck. It cried out a bloody gurgle and fell grasping its bleeding throat, while the third swung at Melichon. He blocked with his thin sword, swirled the club around to take it off balance, and then shot forward to stab the goblin in the eye. The creature dropped its club and grasped its eye in agony, leaving Melichon time to stab it in the chest and end it's life. One last goblin approached snarling, swinging its club angrily. Melichon merely pointed a finger at it without even straining. Moments later, a fireball erupted from the finger and instantly grew into a blazing hot orb of death, blinding to both Alex and Luna. It shot through the air and connected with the creature. But rather than burn it, the creature exploded at once in a flash of burning hot flame. Within seconds, there was nothing but burning flesh and smoldering bones falling on the ground from the force of the explosion.

Melichon reacted to the sight calmly, and slowly wiped his barely stained blade against the ground and then calmly replaced it. The other three stared in absolute shock. They hadn't seen anything so incredible, brutal, or quick even from Ghaleon. At any rate, the Dauphan calmly turned and looked back to them, not even straining from his ordeal.

"Wow...did you see that Alex?! He finished them faster than Kyle at a two-for-one bar special!" Nall exclaimed.

"Amazing..." Luna uttered.

"I've never seen anyone use a blade like that...like that before!" Alex muttered.

Melichon smiled a bit. "It's an older technique. Rather than hacking the opponent to pieces, concentrate on a few vital points. I'd be happy to teach you sometime, Alex. After all, it won't be long before people lose that old technique all together. At any rate, enough delays. We must catch our boat."

The group finally reached Saith as the sun was setting. They had to rush to get to their boat in time. Melichon had been dead right about that. They left almost the moment they were on board, and Luna nearly had to jump just like she had on their adventure a year ago. Once they were all on, the sun quickly set and darkness came. Both Alex and Luna were cold and tired. It had just gotten to be spring and even Alex's old fur lined jacket wasn't helping much. They had to walk in much more late day weather than last time they had come. They earnestly went below deck, found their quarters, and went to sleep. Alex barely even gave Melichon a thought, tired as he was. It had been such a rush to get to Saith in the first place, and both hadn't slept so good the night before. At any rate, they dosed away through all of the night part of the trip.

They were still sailing the next day when the sun came up. Alex was first awake, and seeing both Nall and Luna still sound asleep, he snuck out of their chamber and made for the top of the deck. It was cold, but he dealt with it. As the sea gently rolled by, he saw that the Dauphan was up as well. He stood on the side of the deck, looking out over the ocean calmly. His hands were folded behind him as they were when they met and his face was straight and cold as always. He didn't seem to take any notice of Alex when he came up on the deck. And so, the young man slowly walked over to him and stood next to him on the railing, placing his hands on top of the rail and looking out at the long sea, watching the sun slowly rise.

"Nice, isn't it?" Melichon commented, giving a smile to the horizon. "I don't get much chance to see a good sea sunrise like this one anymore, what with all the duty I'm rushing around with. Still-"

"Ready to tell me the rest of the story?" Alex suddenly asked, interrupting.

Melichon smiled a bit. "Right to the point. I admire that in youth. Very well...

"We have been having more problems recently, and not just in the wake of Ghaleon's destruction. The Vile Tribe is becoming a problem as well. Their integration has caused widespread suspicion and fear among the populace of this entire world. Despite attempts to stem the tide, things are growing more serious than anyone anticipated.

"It appears some renegade members of them have taken up a residence in the Stadius Zone. We don't know much more than that but that is what we are suspecting. At any rate, things have grown worse since then. There's been an underground movement traveling through the area for the past few months. We used to think little of it, but it's only continued to grow. We're assuming that the resentment of the Vile Tribe members for the old order of things, which is primarily derived from cities within our own Confederation, is causing the people to form a rift between the two of us. They are beginning to organize themselves on a heavy movement that is strongly opposed to magical-endowed abilities and persons. At this point we're not sure if it’s the Vile Tribe itself or them along with the members of the countryside, but it's growing more critical.

"There has been reports of work going on. Dangerous, serious work. This new organization, whoever makes it up and whoever heads it, is being suspected of the mass construction of a new type of weapon. We don't know what yet, but it could mean a desired confrontation between Magic Guild members within the Confederation and whatever forces are forming. We've tried to negotiate and get into this group, but we've either been excluded violently, lied to about its existence, or met with hot-blooded opposition. Indeed, there is strong anti-magic sentiment in there. We're growing more and more afraid that this will lead to war, or worse."

Alex frowned. "Sounds like this Confederation is more trouble than it's worth."

"Master Alex, you of all people should be the advocate of distributing responsibility." Melichon calmly returned. "Is that not what you fought for a year ago? This world has problems now, and more than ever with the integration of the Vile Tribe and chaos that Ghaleon left behind. As is, the world may not be able to handle it. And the Magic Guild can't be expected to deal with it all either. The world needs more unity now, not division. And if this latest matter isn't nipped in the bud soon there will be a rather severe division that could kill thousands."

Alex hesitated afterward. He couldn't deny Melichon however. He was right. He had stopped children on the street from even pretending to be him after the defeat of Ghaleon. He had hated having praise and heroism piled on him that much and had been such an encourager of everyone to do their own part. And how could he say any less now? The whole idea of the Confederation in the first place sounded strange and odd to him, especially coming from people he knew. Yet what else were they supposed to do? He had been happy enough returning to Burg, but he learned a year ago that the world was a lot bigger than the backwoods mountain town. Who was he anyway to judge how they dealt with their problems? At last, he sighed to himself and looked out at the sea again.

"How long will we be staying in Meriba?"

"We must depart soon. I didn't have you two coming into Saith so late just to dilly dally there."

Alex sighed a bit inwardly, disappointed. "Any time to see Master Mel or Jessica? Or to stop by any of the stores?"

"I'm afraid not, Master Alex. Don't worry yourself too much, however. Master Mel is already at Vane."

Alex didn't feel too relieved by that. Mel wasn't nearly as much a friend of his as Jessica was. He had been hoping that seeing her would be a welcome sight before departing again from Meriba off on his continuing adventure. But if it couldn't be helped, then it couldn't. He was eager to get to see someone he remembered though. It would have given him peace of mind at least.

Melichon eventually exhaled and turned from the sea. "I'm going below to check on our other two guests. We should be in Meriba by noon, and we should be ready to depart soon afterward."

The "stay" at Meriba was so fast that Alex hardly had any time to know he was there.

Alex had gone below shortly after Melichon, not relishing the idea of leaving his friends alone. Luna woke up later along with Nall, and the three of them did as told and got their things together. Then they stood on deck and waited for the shoreline to appear. Alex felt marvelously relieved to see Luna in much higher spirits. She hadn't had a nightmare the night before, and she smiled genuinely as she felt the sea breeze and ocean roll by. It was such a better change from her melancholy manners when they had departed a year ago, and it put Alex's mind at ease. At length Meriba did appear, and the ship landed. The Dauphin wasted little time though once they put into port. Pushing the young couple onward, they were soon disembarking and making to go out of town.

Nall groaned all the way. "We don't even have time to get a fish? Man, this old fossil sure can move..."

Meriba seemed even busier than last time they had been there. The stores were bustling with activity all over, and people from all nations were pouring through buying and selling like never before. Alex learned in short order just how potent this Zone Confederation was helping the economy of Meriba, at least. A few vendors walked up and offered Luna a few baubles for reduced prices, but she merely blushed and said no thanks as she struggled to keep up with Melichon. He didn't even slow down for an instant, but shot through the customers with practiced skill making for the town gate. Everything certainly was a mad and confusing rush, but through it all, Alex looked around with a bit of a hopeful look, hoping fate would throw one of his old friends his way at least.

"Trying to see if Ramus or Jessica are around?" Luna asked at length.

"Yeah..." Alex answered. "But I'm not being too hopeful. I mean, we're not even passing by his store..."

"Alex!"

As if on cue, Alex and Luna heard the old familiar voice at once, and turned their heads to the sound of it. Through the crowds rolling by, they managed to see a plump, bottle-lensed face poking out from the crowd with a plastered grin on his face. Moments later, the owner of it waddled through the people toward Alex and Luna. On their part, they didn't even stop, for Melichon didn't even notice their delay and kept walking, and they had to keep up or be lost. At length, the owner of the face did come up to them, and it was unmistakable who it was. Luna, Alex, and Nall all greeted him with a grin.

"Hi Ramus!" Luna greeted. "I haven't see you in ages."

"Yeah, I've been really busy." Ramus answered. He tried standing in one place and talking, but when he saw that his friends were still moving, he quickly caught up and walked alongside of them, which was a bit hard for him. "I've really been wanting to get back to Burg, but I never have the time." He rolled his eyes a little and sighed. "Ah...the sorrow of being filthy, stinking rich."

"Rich must be the type of food you've been eating..." Nall chided. "You look about ten pounds heavier!"

Ramus sweat a little at this remark, and quickly lowered his head with a blush. "Anyway..." He moaned, and then saw how fast they were going. "What's the rush anyway? Don't you guys want to stop by? I haven't seen you in months..."

"We'd like to, Ramus." Alex responded. "But we're a bit busy right now. We're tailing the Dauphin of Nanza and he doesn't look like he's going to wait for a social call. Mia called us to the Magic Guild and we're coming as fast as we can."

Ramus looked a bit surprised at this. "The Dauphin of Nanza?!" He asked. Alex answered by gesturing ahead. Ramus looked, and sure enough he saw him leading them a distance ahead. Ramus whistled in amazement. "Man, you guys have hit the big time now! You have any idea who you're walking with? He's the most respected and powerful man of his zone! Everyone loves him! He can walk into any store in this city and get at least a new tunic absolutely free!"

"Wow." Luna answered. "I had never heard of him."

"He's big in Lann." Ramus answered. "He was their town leader for twenty years before he retired. I've heard all sorts of stories about things he's managed to negotiate. Heh...I thought I was shrewd before...this man practically invented the art. Two of my books quote him extensively. And I heard all sorts of stories about how strong he is too. You know at one point people called him the heir to Ghaleon?"

Neither Alex nor Luna took this too well. Both of their looks became somewhat uneasy and troubled. Nall gave Ramus a dirty frown. Seeing his mistake, the young man blushed and immediately recoiled a bit. "Er...sorry 'bout that..."

"Anyway," Alex spoke up again, changing the subject. "What are you doing on this side of town? I thought your store was on the other side."

Hearing this, Ramus immediately grinned with a cocky look. "Heh heh... Oh, it is. But I'm so successful now I was finally able to open another store. Now that Meriba has so many visitors no one wants to go from one end of town to the other, so I've opened another shop right next to the dock area." Ramus grinned with his greediest look. "Now I can fleece even the occasional commuter through Meriba on business! And I'm so convenient, everyone's flocking to me! I'll be expanding into Vane before next winter! Ha ha!" Ramus rubbed his fat palms in glee at the thought of it.

Luna wasn't so sure about the greed and fleecing, but she made a halfhearted smile. "Well...it seems you're really doing good for yourself now Ramus. You're a big success."

Ramus blushed a little at that. "Aw...thanks for the complement, Luna. It means a lot to me still to hear it from you guys." He frowned slightly afterward. "I only wish my dad was the same way..."

Alex exhaled a bit himself at that, and turned to see where he was walking. Much to his surprise, the gate to Meriba loomed ahead, with the statue of Althena eternally guarding it. Seeing this, Alex quickly turned back to Ramus. "Oh...looks like this is our exit, Ramus. We'll be leaving pretty soon. But when we come back, we can talk a lot more, ok?"

Ramus perked at this, but then nodded quickly. "Oh, sure, sure. Of course, by all means." He began to slow down for a moment, as if to break off from the three of them. However, he suddenly perked again, as if he remembered something, and then ran up to catch up to Alex again. "Wait a minute!" He called. "There's one more thing. I wanted to give you something... Just arrived..." He soon began to fish into his pockets.

"If it's some of the candy you've been eating, we don't want any." Nall playfully stated, but then grinned. "On the other hand, if it's a rare and tasty fish, we'll be glad to take it off yo-"

However, before Nall could finish, Ramus pulled out a small metal rod and placed it into Alex's hand. Puzzled, the young man looked at it in confusion for a moment. It was dull and not marked at all, and the only thing that stood out from it was a single groove for his thumb at the top. Ramus pointed to it and started to explain.

"I knew very well if you ever came through Meriba again it'd be on another adventure. So maybe that can help out a little. It's a concealed weapon. Just press the thumb groove and a pick blade shoots out. That's just in case you ever lose your sword and need to kill some giant spider or something about to eat you."

Alex grinned a bit at that, and then slipped the small metal rod into his pocket. "I'll hang on to this, Ramus. Thank you."

"No, thank you." Ramus responded. "And not just for stopping by, but for taking me on my little life changing trip a year ago." Here, he stopped walking, as they were nearly to the gate, and stood back. Both Alex and Luna turned and watched him, but he continued to smile and waved at the both of them as they went on. "Bye Alex! Bye Luna! Bye Nall! Next time you come through you can have any of my dresses at a nice discount, Luna! And Nall, if you don't annoy the two of them to death maybe I'll get you a nice fish from Lann!"

"I'll hold you to that, you old crook!" Nall snapped back.

"Bye Ramus!" Luna called.

"Goodbye Ramus!" Alex chimed in. "Hopefully we'll see you again soon!"

"Goodbye you two!" Ramus called back. "And good luck on your latest suicidal trip!"

It didn't take too long to get to Vane afterward. Alex had forgotten after his last detour through Meriba how quickly one could get to the magical city after stopping there. His thoughts were preoccupied with what would happen when they got there. Seeing Ramus had made him eager to see more of the familiar faces from a year ago, and knowing that he would be in Vane soon was encouraging. Luna and Nall seemed just as eager as well, and after this fast trip they were all earnest for slowing down and staying put for a little while. In addition, Alex was becoming eager to see just what was left of Vane after the tremendous disaster that happened with the Grindery...

He saw the huge island from far off sticking from the ground. It still stood heavy and tall above the ground with all of the mounded earth beneath it. However, the city had settled, it appeared, after its initial crash, and at least stood upright. Alex could still see the buildings on top of it as they approached as well. Melichon didn't bother leading them to the Transmission Spring, but instead took them straight to the city itself. As they neared, Alex noticed that the city now had a massive stone staircase built on the side of it leading straight up to the top where the town lay. There were two guards posted at the front of it of an unknown affiliation to Alex. He assumed that they were part of the new Zone Confederation or something. At any rate, when Melichon approached, they merely nodded to him and then stepped aside, not giving him any trouble at all. Though they didn't appear to recognize the other three with them, they continued to stand aside as they had for Melichon.

"Wow...I guess Melichon really is as popular as Ramus said..." Nall mused. "I wonder if he has any connections to the fishing industry..."

Luna snickered. "You and your bottomless stomach, Nall..."

The group readily ascended the staircase. Once they had reached the top, the Dauphin readily lead them to the Magic Guild building. There were many people in Vane as well, and Alex could tell by the looks of them that they weren't just magic users. It looked like just about anyone could enter Vane now. There was a splash of culture there, people from every one of the cities that Melichon had mentioned. Most looked rather rich and powerful to Alex, but still just seeing them there was a change from last time, when only wizards in training were allowed. The first time Alex had been a guest there he still remembered how himself, Luna, and Nall had to fight their way through the Cave of Trial, and to the best of their knowledge many people were still down there. There was no telling what happened to them when Vane crashed...but Alex tried not to worry about it. He saw that many of the building in Vane were still wrecked after one year and were slowly being rebuilt. People didn't give him or Luna much trouble. In their civilian outfits, no one recognized the Dragonmaster or "Dark Songstress". Once at the building, Melichon had to give a nod to the guards at the door, but then the four of them were able to enter. Once inside, and after the Dauphin nodded to another pair of guards, they were allowed to proceed toward the main hall.

Alex saw some more new faces in the Guild, ones he had never noticed before. About two or three were still the same, but the rest were totally different. They were all dressed differently as well, making themselves more the like of the guards he had seen outside the place. Alex began to assume they must have been part of the Zone Confederation as well, or some sort of officials like Dauphin Melichon. After giving one last nod the guards outside the main hall, the man himself opened the doors and allowed the three guests to come in. Alex strolled in and looked around immediately.

There were totally new officials in here as well. One of them appeared to be a beastwoman, only a pure one rather than a half-breed like Jessica. She looked just as mean as Mel, however. She was dressed in full battle array, carried both an axe and a heavy saber slung behind her back, had a tail of purple hair dangling behind her, and was sharpening her own horn with a rather large knife. She only gave the three of them one mean look before snorting and going back to sharpening again. Another man was a bit more cordial, greeting the three with a nod as he entered. He was dressed in crimson and gold lace all over, especially in a jeweled, golden collar around his neck. He wore robes, so Alex assumed he was another mage. His hair was pure black, and his smile was crooked. Almost instantly, Alex felt nervous about him, and wished mildly that he hadn't greeted them at all. There was also a much older man at the head of the room. He had a long white beard, aged yet friendly features, and was dressed in blue and white robes. A grand crown rested on his head, and he held a large silver staff in his hand. At the moment, he was talking with a much shorter, younger-looking, black-haired girl in the front. Despite how official she looked, Luna, Alex, and Nall recognized her at once.

"Mia!" Luna called.

Instantly, the young premier stopped talking with the man, turned to the incoming group, and smiled with great joy. Without even excusing herself, she descended the raised platform where she was standing and approached them at once. The Dauphin smiled and stood to one side, allowing her to rush up to the others. At once, Mia embraced all three of them warmly, and they all returned the hug...Nall doing the best he could with his feline shape.

"Alex...Luna...Nall...it's so good to see the three of you again!" Mia proudly announced as she hugged them.

"It's great to see you too, Mia! Glad to see Nash hasn't made your hair turn gray yet!" Nall chirped in response.

The three friends embraced for a little longer, then finally released. Still smiling, Mia turned to their courier and gave a short bow. "Thank you very much, Dauphin. This may not have seemed like much, but it was very important to me that these three arrived alright."

"It was no trouble at all, your grace, so long as it was a job for the Premier of the Magic Guild." Melichon responded.

Mia turned back to the others, and gestured to the older man. "I don't know if he's already introduced himself, but this is Dauphin Melichon. I don't trust anyone more than him...except for the gang, of course. He's in charge of the Nanza Barrier now."

"We met already." Alex responded.

"I thought so." Mia answered. Immediately, she gestured to the beastwoman. While Alex and Luna looked to her, she continued to sharpen her horn with her mean look. "This is Lavender. She was the head of commerce in Meriba before. Now she's the head of commerce throughout the entire Zone Confederation. She's also, I might add, a fantastic fighter. She's supposedly the only near match to Master Mel in the world."

"Heh heh..." Nall responded. "Obviously she's never seen Alex in action!"

Lavender said nothing, but continued to sharpen her horn.

Mia gestured to the black-haired man next. "This is one of our newest mage teachers, Winson. He specializes mostly in teaching defensive arts." Winson, in answer to this, once again gave a nod to the group.

"I assure you, however," Winson answered, his voice low and quavery. "That defensive arts are not to be taken lightly. Not only that they enable you to survive even the most deadly of enemies, but they enable you to use your own enemy's offense as your own. It is an honor to be teaching under the greatest of Premiers, Mia Ausa."

Mia blushed a little here and stifled a giggle, still acting a bit childish from when they knew her before. Nall snickered a bit himself at the whole reaction from Mia, especially her blushing. "Nash better watch out, wherever he is! This new teacher is quite the charmer..."

"Oh, Nall..." Mia scolded instantly. "Winson is twice my age, and I'm sticking with Nash no matter what."

Nall shrugged with his nose turned up. "Fine, fine...but this gives you a way to make him buy you candy and flowers and try to keep your interest in him..."

Alex and Luna both snickered a bit at this, but Mia, still smiling, merely gestured on behind her. As she did, the old man himself began to walk forward. "And this is our Vice Premier, Duunran. He's a close friend of my mother's. He's been living in solitude for quite some time until now, but after Vane crashed he appeared again." Mia rolled her eyes a little and sighed after saying that. "And I must say, he's been a great help. I've been trying to work so hard just on Vane, but he's been able to take care of most matters of the rest of the region. He's practically in charge of the Zone Confederation itself."

"What?" The tall man, Duunran responded as he approached the group. It was a playful comment, but caught the attention of the younger people around the area. He grinned slightly. "Mia, Mia...what lies are you spreading about me? There is no one person in charge of the Zone Confederation. It's owned by the people. Now if you keep going on like this you're going to make me have a fat head before things go on too long."

Mia blushed and snickered again slightly. Duunran did likewise, but then afterward turned his head to Alex and Luna. He smiled a bit, and then reached his hand out to the boy. "Young Master Alex...our latest Dragonmaster... It is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Alex hesitated, but then took his hand with a nod. "Thank you, sir, but it's just Alex now." He answered. "There are no more Dragonmasters. At least, not right now."

Duunran seemed to ignore the comment, and continued to shake. "Still wonderful to meet you, Master Alex." After this, he turned his head to the blue haired female nearby. "And who is this?" He asked.

"I'm Luna." The young woman answered, reaching out and taking Duunran's hand. "I'm a friend of Alex's. We grew up together."

"Oh..." Duunran exclaimed, as if intrigued by the fact. "Strange, however, that I have not heard of you accompanying him on his last journey. Oh well...it was a very dangerous trip, and not one that just anyone could have taken."

Luna stiffened a bit after hearing that, growing nervous. However, she managed to keep her cool and withdrew her hand. At last, Duunran turned his head to the flying cat nearby. "And this must be Nall." He stated. "I do say I've never heard of a white dragon so small..."

Nall frowned at that. "Small?! You want to see just how big I can become?!"

Mia immediately put her hands up in a stopping gesture. "Don't! There isn't enough room in here for you at full size, Nall!"

At any rate, Duunran turned away from Nall and focused on Alex once again. He maintained his kindly smile. "Well, at any rate, it is nice to have you here, Master Alex. I'm sure you will prove yourself a great asset to us and a soon remedy to our problems." After saying this, Duunran turned to Mia, and then gave a short nod. "If you will excuse me, Lady, I must get back to business. I do hope you will take that latest information into consideration."

Mia nodded in response. "I will indeed. Thank you, Vice Premier."

Duunran maintained his nod for a moment, and then turned and began to walk out of the main hall. Upon seeing him leave, Lavender reacted to him, and then stopped sharpening her horn. While putting her weapon away, she calmly walked after him. Mia didn't react to this. She was obviously accompanying him on something. At any rate, Mia didn't waste much time, but turned her head to Melichon next afterward.

"Dauphin..." She began. "I know you've just gotten back in Vane, but we're already having trouble again. There's a dilemma in the Stadius Zone. We're being accused of all the trouble that's starting to go on there. I know it's a bit dangerous and a sensitive issue, which is why I'm trusting you to be able to resolve it. Yet if you'd like to stay a while-"

Melichon merely smiled and cut her off with his hand. "No need for that, my Lady. This old man here has more stamina then it appears. I'll disembark at once for the Stadius Zone. What is the city?"

"Pao." Mia responded, causing Alex and Luna to react slightly. Alex, on his part, gave a puzzled and uneasy look. Pao was where Tempest was from.

Melichon nodded again. "Pao it is then. I'm sure we can resolve this soon. I'll leave right now." He hesitated after saying that, and then turned to Alex, Luna, and Nall. He gave them a polite nod as well. "Master Alex, it has been a pleasure to bear you here safely. Take care of yourselves and good luck in whatever mission awaits you." With that, the Dauphin turned and made for the doorway as well. Soon he reached it, pulled it open, and then exited. Alex kept his eyes on him the entire time. Something stirred within him, but he didn't know what. At any rate, after a few moments, he looked back to Mia and tried to put him out of his head. There was other business to attend to.

At last, Mia turned to Winson. "Professor Winson...if you would be so kind as to resume your course teaching. I have no further need of you today, and...this matter that I am going to discuss is rather private."

Winson nodded, without saying a word in response. The crimson-clothed wizard then turned and soon made his way out the way the rest of the others had. He too exited the doorway, leaving Mia, Luna, Alex, and Nall all alone together. After the door had shut again and the echo died, the four were silent for a few moments, almost as if making sure no one was around or that people were backing away far enough. But it didn't last long. Abruptly, Mia sighed and formed an exhausted expression.

"Phew..." She sighed. "Having to play up to those people all day can get real exhausting. I never liked having to follow all sorts of manners of etiquette all day."

Nall snickered a little at that. "Ha! I knew it. I knew you were just putting on a big act for all of them. You may be the best lady out of all of us, but not that proper! You were almost a stuffed shirt like the rest of them!"

"Tell me about it..." Mia moaned as she rose again. "But I have to be. That's the only type of people that ever come by now. All sorts of local government officials and local leaders are coming by all the time. It gets tiring always having to be on your best behavior. I haven't had a moment's peace to relax or rest in almost a month now. I've already been myself more in these past few seconds then in the entire past week."

"That sounds pretty brutal, Mia." Luna answered. "And it's not good to be playing fake all the time."

"I tell you, this whole Zone Confederation has been nothing but a strain ever since it started." She answered. "All we have is arguing and debating and organizing all the time and it's almost impossible to get everyone together on anything. No one has central authority and no one can make decisions. They're looking to whoever is the highest around, and it usually ends up being me..." Mia frowned a bit at this and seemed more anxious and tense.

Alex frowned a bit himself. "Yeah? Well where is Master Mel and your mother in all this? I haven't seen them anywhere yet."

Mia sighed in reply and calmed down a little. "Oh, they're running around just as ragged as I am. But no one looks to them anymore as much as they used to..." Here, Mia groaned a bit. "Not when they can talk right with one of the 'Five Heroes'. You two are real lucky no one recognizes you. Otherwise they might bother you just as much. But it's been non-stop work here." She sighed again. "I almost wish they had never started this Zone Confederation at all..."

Alex hesitated a moment, but then asked the fateful question. "Why did your mom want one, anyway?"

Mia grimaced and straightened up again. "It wasn't really her idea. It was more like her speaking to me on behalf of a bunch of the lower teachers and officials. The same thing with Master Mel. Everyone's been getting scared about all sorts of chaos and anarchy breaking loose with the fall of Ghaleon. I can't honestly say I blame them. Some sort of order has to be maintained. But I'm not really sure that this is what mother had in mind. It's more confusion than anything, and now that we're organized anyone who causes trouble has a target to strike against. That's how this whole mess got started in the first place..." Mia rolled her eyes and sighed again. Overall, she looked very tired, overworked, and overwhelmed.

Luna and Alex hesitated a moment, looking to each other with visible concern for Mia. Yet they couldn't do much to help her either. At any rate, after a moment or so, Alex turned back to her. "Speaking of that...why did you want us here in the first place?"

Hearing that, Mia suddenly bolted out of her depression and formed a surprise look. "Oh yes! That's right! I forgot all about that! Silly me... I was getting so caught up in my own problems I forgot that we have bigger things to worry about." Mia hesitated a moment, just long enough to calm down. When she spoke again, it was with an air of heavy seriousness. "I'm hoping the Dauphin told you why I wanted you here. I wouldn't have bothered you if I had anyone else I could trust. However, as shaky as the Zone Confederation is holding together right now, and discontented as things are spreading, I only wanted to rely on people I'd trust with my own life. This is really secret, and no one else should know about it. I'm afraid it will cause panic or insurrection or who knows what else. Anyway, here's the thing...

"I don't know if the Dauphin told you, but the Stadius Zone is total chaos right now. And it's not just an influx of Vile Tribe members that are anti-magic and Althena now. It's plenty of residents of the rest of the world too. Even some higher officials are crossing over, which is exactly why I didn't want these people to hear what I'm telling you. All of them share a common goal, a hatred of the old order and a lust for a better say in things. In other words, more domination. Not necessarily power, like Ghaleon wanted. But still authority over towns, commerce, industry, basically anything that's tied to some money and power. I'm afraid that any officials like these would exploit the Vile Tribe the same way Ghaleon did. I remember how much they still hated Althena and the rest of the world, and I don't think Phacia...whatever happened to her...will do much to turn them around.

"The worst part is that there's rumors that there's a secret base there. It would make sense. The place is isolated yet still has access to the fertile land, and messages take forever to get between the places. It's been reported that they're building something in this base. Something totally new...and terrible. Something that's designed to counter magic users as well as people with just plain physical strength. I don't know what it is, who's behind it, where they are, how many there are, or even if any of this is true and not just a myth. That's why I need you to check it out, Alex. I know if anyone could find it, discover anything, and say what's coming it's you."

Alex hesitated, but it was only for a moment. He trusted Mia's word far better than the Dauphin's. And how she had spoken of it was with great seriousness and earnest. Alex remembered well that a lack of information was what led to the building of the Grindery, and the downfall of Vane when it wasn't destroyed before completion. Yet besides that, Alex didn't really know who could be building anything more than just conventional weapons. The only people he knew that were advanced at building were the people from Meryod, and he knew they wouldn't be building anything as a weapon...though he supposed their accidental mistakes could wreck some havoc. At any rate, it wasn't a question for Alex. If this was important to Mia, then he was already on it. He nodded to the young woman.

"I'll do it."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Nall instantly butt in. "Don't sound so solemn! You don't think I'm going to let my best friend walk into anything alone, do you? I'm coming with!"

"And me too."

Hearing that, Alex, Mia, and Nall all snapped around in simultaneous surprise and looked to the source of the voice. But there was no mistake with their hearing. They were looking right at Luna. She stood plainly for a moment, expressing neither fear nor anxiety nor happiness. However, after a few moments of a delay, she finally shrugged while folding her hands in front of her. "I mean, I'm the only healer around. I'm sure I could be of some help like that, yes? I know I'm not the best fighter, but I've seen my share of danger."

None of the others said anything. Alex and Nall grew uneasy. To Mia, she also was a bit perplexed. In truth, she had thought Luna would never want to go on another adventure again after the last mix-up. Yet here she stood now, looking just as ready to go as the rest of them. She didn't know what to say. As for Alex and Nall, however, they were a bit more troubled. Neither of them wanted to see any harm come to Luna, and after their last adventure they were a bit tense about taking her anywhere. Alex looked to Nall for a moment, as if trying to see what to do, but then he turned back to Luna.

"It could be a dangerous trip, Luna..." Alex began. "Are you sure you want to come along? I don't want to put you in any danger..."

But Luna merely smiled back. "I won't be in any danger. You'll be around to protect me." Alex blushed a little at this, but Luna continued to smile. She stepped forward, and lightly grabbed Alex by the chin so he looked straight at her. "I lost faith in you once, Alex, but never again. And I can't lose faith in myself either. I can help you here. And I intend to. I'd feel even worse if I had to stay behind or was separated from you again. I want to come. Please."

Alex hesitated again. He couldn't lie. He too wanted Luna to stay close to him after last year's tragedy, for protection if nothing else. But most of all, because that whole ordeal had taught him how precious every moment that he spent with Luna was. Yet what could he do now? Was he going to take her with him? She had defended herself well before... She did come with him a long way before being taken by Ghaleon... And it was important to her as well. Alex was torn between his own desires and his want to keep Luna safe and out of danger. At last, one side won out.

Alex nodded with a sigh. "Alright Luna. We'll do it together."

Nall rolled his eyes a bit and gave Alex a "I hope you know what you're doing" look. Mia likewise looked a bit nervous about the arrangement. However, she managed to stay calm, and went on to the two of them. "Yeah...I'm sure Alex will make sure you're alright, Luna. Besides, it might be nothing, and this isn't an attack anyway. It's just scouting. " After saying this, she turned to Alex. "I really feel bad about sending you alone though. We're just too strained on everyone as it is. But there's still one person I managed to find who can come along."

As if on cue, right after Mia finished the front hall doors opened. The three others turned around to look to the new arrival, just as he came in to look at the three people he was summoned to accompany. Shortly after entering they recognized him, his tell-tale hair giving him away. Likewise, the moment he entered with his proud gait and narcissistic smile, and he recognized the flapping of a feline-like creature he happened to know, he stopped as well, and immediately groaned as he looked at him. Nall likewise did the same when he saw him.

"Oh no...not you!" Both Nall and Nash said at once to each other.

Well that's it...I'll be back in the thick of things tomorrow. Hard to believe it's only been one year... Everything's changed so much...

Alex thought about this as he paced down the halls of the Magic Guild. It was late, and he knew he should have been heading to bed fairly soon. Tomorrow, bright and early, he, Luna, Nall, and Nash would be headed out all over again. He was glad that Nash, on his part, hadn't been so narcissistic as the last time they saw him, but he still had his vanity problems and his endless arguing with Nall. Out of all of the members of the "old gang", Alex felt the least easy about Nash. His reckless behavior, oversized ego, and vain ritualistic grooming habits were bad enough. But he also had been the one who betrayed them of his own free will... Yet Alex refused to think about that. He had been the first to forgive Nash, and the young man had made his best effort to earn it. If he had wished, he would have let Alex kill him for what he did that night in the Grindery. But that was over now. All of that was over, and this was something totally different and hopefully not a fraction as dangerous.

And yet...this whole Zone Confederation...new outlook on life...new mess of troubles...all of it made Alex feel that things still weren't right. Not here or in the rest of the world he had so long neglected.

The young man reached a door in the Magic Guild hallway, and gently knocked on it. He didn't want it to be too loud, in case the person inside was asleep already. Yet somehow, inside him, he knew that wasn't the case. He and Luna had always had a special link. And it was beyond anything that the Dragonmaster and Althena shared. Sure enough, after a few moments, the doorknob clicked, and Luna, not even having taken off her scarf since she had settled in, answered it. She hesitated a moment, then formed a slight smile.

"Hi."

"Hi." Alex answered, a bit distant.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No...could you?"

"No."

"...Anxious? Scared?"

"It's not that... Well, maybe a little."

"I am. I always was." He paused a moment, then sighed and looked around the hall. "But it's something else too. Something uneasy. I've been here before...but I just can't settle in. I can't make myself feel comfortable anywhere."

Luna hesitated a moment, merely standing in the doorway. She said nothing, but her eyes conveyed the same sentiment. At length, she stepped back. "Want to come in?"

"Sure."

Luna stepped out of the doorway and allowed Alex inside, shutting the door behind him. Once inside, Alex didn't sit, but merely paced over to Luna's window and looked outside. From here, in the light of the Blue Star, one could see the garden far on the ground below. It looked abandoned now. The pond was dry and the area was overgrown. But Alex didn't think much, seeing as one couldn't concern themselves too much with little things anymore. As for Luna, she went over to her bed and sat on it, and the two said nothing for a moment.

Alex was the first to speak up.

"Do you feel...uneasy?"

Luna hesitated a moment, as if not being able to find the right words. "I...I suppose so..." She at last spoke. "I don't know why. I feel safe enough in Vane. There were a lot of changes, but two of our friends are here, and you're here, and Nall's here...where is he anyway?"

Alex grimaced. "Picking up fish scraps and napping in the galley."

Luna snickered a little, but it was short lived. She thought of the question again and grew quiet. "Well, it's not a matter of safety. And it's not out of place either. I've been here before... Sure, we've both lived long enough in Burg, but you're always under the same sky and the same Blue Star no matter where you are on Lunar."

"You think it's the people?" Alex asked, turning his head to her.

Luna shrugged. "I don't know... No, I know that's not it... I've kept suspecting that, and though I admit the new people here are odd, I'm not that afraid. Only the Professor is still here anyway. The Dauphin left on his one trip and Lavender and the Duunran left on that other one. And the Dauphin seemed honorable enough. Everyone trusted him. I think if he meant the both of us harm he would have done it while on that trip to Vane. It can't be the people..." Here, Luna trailed off, and said no more. There was silence between the two for a few moments, neither saying anything.

Alex broke it again.

"It's you...isn't it?"

Luna slowly rose her head.

"You're the one who feels out of place, like you don't belong here...like you're a cat in a room full of dogs, or a wild horse running free in an empty city... You feel you don't belong here, or that you're different."

Luna hesitated a moment, but there was some wonderment in her eyes. After a short length, she shook her head. "But how did you-"

"I feel the same way..." Alex answered, smiling a bit to encourage some sort of fellowship. However, it didn't last either and faded quickly. "I've been feeling uneasy ever since we started out. But strange as everything has been I realize now that it isn't the rest of the world no matter how radically it's changed. After all, when I first left Burg I knew absolutely nothing about the rest of the world yet I didn't feel like this. It's something inside me...something that just doesn't fit."

"But what?" Luna asked, her look growing anxious and nervous. "What does it mean? Why is it happening to us?"

Alex sighed in reply, and slowly paced over to Luna. Once he reached her bed, he sat down next to her and sighed again. Slowly, he shook his head. "I don't know, Luna. I can't explain it either. You know as much as I know. And though I might look brave, it's scaring me too."

Luna said nothing, but began to look troubled. And it wasn't just a normal look. It was the same look Alex remembered the day she started her "special" singing. The day she cleared the fog from the forest, when she was set on the road that led her to realize she was Althena. It hurt Alex to look at that. After a time, he put her arm around her. When he did, she laid her head on his shoulder. Both of them stared at the window and out into the night sky.

"Don’t worry." He reassured. "We've been through the worst possible before. Whatever it is now, we'll pass it too. Just stay close to me."

"I intend to." Luna echoed back softly, and the two continued to look into the night.

Another early start the next day. But Alex didn't care much. The sooner they got there and back, the better. It was supposed to be just a quick trip to inspect the source of the rumors. As such, the whole group was ready to move with speed. Alex took only his shield, Luna only a short dagger, and Nash taking only one of his magic rods. After assembling the next morning, Mia came and greeted them all and wished them luck, making Nash blush as she did so. But then, at last, the four of them set out for the Nanza Barrier, unabated and making good time. Yet right before departing, Mia passed to Nall what looked to be a very old and crumbling scroll. She advised him, with a strange sort of smile, to read it when he had the chance. It was puzzling, but Alex didn't dwell on it. He had other things to worry about.

"How are things, Premier Nash?" Alex asked after a few hours. "Didn't have much chance to talk to you yesterday."

"Ugh...I've heard that title so much it almost makes me want to puke." Nash groaned in response. "It was fun at first to be called that...but now it always means trouble. There's so many do-nothing officials and politicians and authorities over in Vane right now that it almost makes me want to tear my hair out."

Nall raised an eyebrow. "And coming from him, that's very serious." He said while pointing at the young mage.

"How goes things with Lemia?" Luna asked next.

"Well...let's just say better than after I first showed my face in front of her." Nash grumbled.

"That bad huh?" Nall asked.

Nash continued to mope, however as he walked along. "I guess I can't blame her... I knew the whole time about putting that mask on her and I did nothing. She should hate me just as much as she did Ghaleon. I'm only surprised that Mia doesn't act the exact same way..."

"She's your friend, Nash." Alex answered. "And more than that. True friends are always ready to forgive."

"I suppose you're right..." Nash muttered in response, but kept his head down. There was silence for a few moments as the four of them walked onward. In the silence, Alex began to think again, and thought once more about what he had seen so far. He thought again of all the people in the Magic Guild he had never seen before, and once again he felt that strange feeling. After a few moments of hesitation, he at last turned to Nash again.

"Nash?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm asking you this because I think you'd be the first to find out..." Alex returned. His voice was slow and cautious, as if planning or considering something. "Exactly how strong would you say those people Mia hangs out with are?"

Nash raised his head at that and looked at Alex with a puzzled stare. "Why do you want to know?"

"Could you just tell me?" Alex answered.

Nash hesitated again for a moment, but then turned to the sky and thought for a moment. He licked his lips and concentrated for a short while, and then finally shrugged and spoke up. "Well, I don't know... Most of them are just low-level mages. As for that new Vice Premier, he isn't much of anything. I'm not even sure he has any magical power to speak of, but we can't very well send him through the Cave of Trial to find out right now. As for that new schoolteacher..." Here, Nash snorted and waved his hand. "He's a hack among sorcerers. A one trick magician, if you pardon the pun. I could take him out in a snap of my fingers. But then again..." Nash smiled a little. "That's why I'm one of the Premiers."

"What about...say...the Dauphin?" Alex asked, prying.

Here, however, Nash looked rather confused indeed, and shook his head. "You know...I can't really tell. He's from the older generation Guild, when they taught multiple spells rather than had people specialize on their best, like me and lightning magic. Ghaleon and Lemia were students as well, but they were exceptions. In those days, people could rarely achieve their strength. But I heard that Melichon managed to excel in several items as well. Yet how he stands against Ghaleon and Lemia is beyond me."

"Did you see anything regarding him?" Alex continued. "Any awards or something or records about him?"

Nash shook his head. "Nothing except a champion trophy for his style of swordplay that no one uses anymore. That's even more unusual. There aren't a lot of wizards skilled in physical combat. He was Dragonmaster material in his prime. For all I know, he might still be."

Alex said nothing in response to this. He went silent now, and focused once again on the ground they walked on. However, Luna could already tell something was troubling him, and that worried her.

"Oh well...let's keep going. Not too much longer until the Nanza Barrier."

Nanza sure had changed in a single year.

The previous wooden fortress was now being fortified and built up with huge, thick stone walls. A thick iron gate was now guarding the pass with a wall behind it of tempered steel. There were many more guards posted now as well, and all were bearing the same look as the guards back in Vane. They bore bows, however, and looked a lot meaner and more "string happy" than any of Kyle's men had used to be. The place was not complete in its latest incarnation, but the surrounding defenses were all set up, with a massive thick central tower being built in the middle. It certainly looked more well guarded than under Kyle's administration, but it also seemed cold and uninviting, and it began to make Alex nervous as he walked forward toward the entrance. It too was alien to him, and it only added to his unease. Yet he was brave and resolute, and continued.

At the gate, a rough-looking guard, much the same as Kyle's old doorman, was standing at the entrance. The only difference was that he had the new matching uniform. He planted himself right in front of the gate as he came up and crossed his arms. When they got closer, he reached behind him and grabbed what looked like a one handed club, and then held his hand out

"Halt!" He announced, and immediately the four came to a stop. "The Dauphin is not present. None may pass until his return."

Nash gave him a hard look. "Oh yeah?" He asked. "Stand aside, country vermin! I am the Premier of the Magic Guild, and I say-"

Clonk.

Before Nash could say another word, the guard smacked him on top of the head with the club. His hair crushed and now looking dazzled from the impact of the blow, Nash staggered backward with a shocked look frozen on his face, stumbled, and then groaned as he reached his hand to his head tenderly. Luna was shocked, and looked to the guard with a hurt stare.

"You're gonna be a corpse with a cracked skull if you try to sass me again, kid." The guard snorted. "You aren't fooling me into thinking some crummy, snotty boy is a Premier of the Guild, especially when you're traveling with a lot that looks just like the trash that used to guard this place. Now beat it."

"Now just a minute!" Luna interrupted. "You could have killed him just now!"

"I'll kill him right here if you don't leave." The guard snorted.

"We're friends of the Dauphin." Alex insisted. "And we're on an important mission. Nash really is the Premier of the Magic Guild. And we have to get to the Stadius Zone at once."

"Are you deaf or something, kid?" The guard snapped back. "I said no one gets in here while he's gone! And I don't care if you're Ghaleon himself! Go away!"

Nall clenched his cat teeth, and finally lost his temper at all of this bantering. "Oh...that does it! Besides, no one bats Nash on the head except me!"

With that, Nall cracked open his mouth, pointed it right at the guard's face, and exhaled. Much to the group's surprise, a blast of white ice crystals erupted from the little dragon's mouth and instantly coated the man's face. He cried out in agony and immediately stepped back, spitting and wiping away at his eyes the whole time. After that, Nall shot down and smashed his full body weight on the guard's foot. The guard once again yelped, and began to hop up and down holding his foot. At last, Nall came forward, seized the man's tunic lapel with his claw, and glared at him right in his now open and surprised eyes.

"Now you listen here, you self-gratifying, arrogant rear end of a nipple yanker!" He hissed. "You're looking face to face with the White Dragon himself! So unless you want me to flatten your entire fortress with a swing of my tail, you'll let us through right now! Got it?!"

"Yes sir!" The guard immediately answered, frightened and surprised at the sudden attack of the pint-sized feathered lizard. With that, he pulled back, ripping his tunic against Nall's claw while doing so. However, he turned to the gate, and looked up to the men overhead. He waved at them, and they waved back. Moments later, there was a turning and cranking sound, and the metal gate slowly opened before the group. After a few moments more, the metal door slid up as well into the wall. The guard stood aside and made way for the four of them, three of which were now puzzled and looking to Nall. As for the feline-like dragon himself, he merely smiled and flapped forward.

"You just got to know how to ask some people..."

Alex made his way quickly through the Nanza Barrier with the others. There was no sign of Kyle or anyone else who had once guarded there. The place itself was void of citizens, just as the guard had said. Only the archers and soldiers that he assumed were under the Dauphin were there. The place was even more uninviting than last time, and cold rather than livid as it used to be. He had no desire to stay there long and quickly left it. The four then made their way down the stone road to the southern regions, and at last came out of the mountain pass all together.

By now the sun was setting, and it was growing late. With a bit of reluctance, the group had to stay at Raza for the night. None of them were eager to get robbed from like last time, but luckily Alex still had the Thieves Crest from their last trip through the town. With that they didn't have to worry about being stolen from. Just the same, Nash was wide-eyed, suspicious, and critical of everyone he saw there. Luna had never been to it herself, and Nall had to steer her away from the crooked buyer and seller residence. Alex was glad to see that at least one town was still the same. The group went to the local inn and stayed the night, intending to reach the Stadius Zone tomorrow once they arrived in Tamur.

Thankfully, a thief didn't come in the night, and they were able to rise bright and early the next day. Once again they had a long trip ahead of them, walking the length of the current zone and all the way to Meryod. Once they arrived there, neither Nash, Nall, nor Alex had any desire to stay there, even though Luna admired the town being built on water and enjoyed seeing so much of the world she never knew. The three boys had to seize her and drag her in order to get through before any of the backwoods residents gave her or anyone else in the group any trouble. They were glad that the bridge was fixed this time and pressed onward. Once they had crossed that, they needed march only a little while farther before they finally came to the rocky pass that lead to the Stadius Zone. It was red rocked and not very inviting, but it hadn't looked any better since they last time they had been there. Right off the bat, Luna felt uneasy about entering, and held back anxiously. Alex couldn't say that he felt much better about it, but there was no other way to get to the Stadius Zone. And so, sword drawn, he lead the way into the rocky pass.

"Stay close and be watchful..." Alex told them. "We're getting close now. There shouldn't be much separating us from whatever we're here to find."

Luna nodded in reply and kept her dagger at the ready. Nash drew his own rod and looked about meanly. He remembered this place too. They got through it easy enough last time, but last time they had Mia, Jessica, and Kyle along for the ride. Now they were down to just two veterans, three including Nall. Slowly, the four of them began to creep forward, always keeping their weapons at the ready and always on the lookout for danger.

They slowly wound their ways through the canyon. It was rather maze-like, and Alex couldn't remember anything about it. They ran into a few dead ends occasionally, but luckily none of the creatures that normally inhabited the area. Alex stayed at the ready, though. He knew that letting your guard down was the most likely time something would appear, and he knew the place's danger far too well to be at ease. Yet as he, the wizard, the songstress, and the white dragon looked and moved on, still nothing happened. Alex was so fixated on searching for trouble that he didn't notice that as Nall flapped in the air, he constantly muttered to himself.

"Darn...no weapon...blast it...no good scroll..."

"What are you talking about, Nall?" Luna asked at length, not as wary or focused as Alex.

"What?" Nall exclaimed, suddenly stiffening in surprise, realizing he had been talking aloud. "Oh, nothing! Nothing!"

"Something about the scroll that Mia gave you?" Luna persisted.

If possible, Nall seemed to sweat. "No, no! It's nothing! Nothing at all!" He shrieked.

"You're making quite a bit of noise for nothing then, you dumb cat!" Nash yelled in Nall's face. "You want to bring every monster from here to Damon's Tower on us?!"

"Look, everyone just be quiet!" Alex silenced in a harsh whisper. Instantly, everyone did. "This isn't a safe place... Let's get through it quickly."

Though Nash and Nall were now considerably angry at each other, and Luna was perplexed, they did as they were told and continued to move onward. For the next few hours, they made their way swiftly and silently through the crumbled pass toward the exit. Yet as they moved along, not a single creature came against them. The place was as empty and barren as first glance would make it out to be. First Alex was cautious of trouble. But as time wore on, he first began to relax...and then began to grow nervous all over again. This didn't make any sense. The place should have been teaming with monsters. They hadn't met a one yet, and he knew they couldn't be too far from the exit. As he continued to proceed without incident, Alex grew worried. This wasn't right at all. Something had happened. And he feared what had happen might occur to them next. As they approached a turn in the canyon wall, he made his concerns known.

"There's something not right here..."

There was silence from the others as they continued to move forward. They looked to each other and to Alex, but none of them reacted at all. Nevertheless, the young man shook his head. "This isn't right. This is too easy..."

"A little pessimistic, aren't we Alex? You sound almost disappointed..." Nash answered cheerfully. "We're almost to the exit, and Tamur's just beyond that."

"I'm feeling nervous too..." Luna admitted, her face expressing that emotion again. "I've never even been here, but I'm feeling there's something not right coming."

Nash sighed a bit and frowned. "Well, I don't feel a thing myself." He insisted. When that didn't change the expression of his friends, he rolled his eyes. "Oh, but fine...we'll be careful just the same." Reluctantly, he held up his rod more at the ready and continued forward with the others. Slowly they crept to the edge of the turn. None of them made another sound, and they stuck tightly together. Alex too knew that they were almost out of the area, but he knew they still had some distance to go. He kept his sword ready and eyed the rock cliffs around them...leaving them no where to run in an emergency. Slowly, he and the rest of the group turned the corner, and were able to look down to the valley beyond...

Immediately, Luna gasped and put a hand to her mouth. As for the other three, they looked horrified.

Bones were there. Scores of human bones, all laying in heaps strewn all up and down the canyon area. But they weren't old bones. All were fresh...not any of them more than a year old. And that soon became clear, for there were corpses too. Corpses of many freshly dead men and women who had been unfortunate to step that way. None of them were devoured, but had been pierced by weapons, and now lay dead to rot in the sun and feed the birds. No creatures were there, only the bones, and the four of them were shocked.

"Oh no..." Nash beheld in horror.

"It's a trap..." Alex spoke quivering. "A trap for travelers... They're up to no good now, whoever is in this rebellion in the Stadius Zone... They're making sure no one can-"

Suddenly, an arrow whizzed by Alex's head, stirring his hair before smashing into the rock wall behind them. Alex looked up, and soon received another terrible shock. He beheld the murderers of the people at his feet. It was them...the hideous faces of those that Alex could never forget. The Vile Tribe. They charged toward the four of them now, all gazing at them with their black eyes and nearly foaming with rage. A savage fury animated their flesh. More whizzing went by, and soon teams of arrows began to rain down on the four of them from the oncoming creatures. Others held weapons of clubs, axes, and swords, and bore down on the four of them to dash them all to pieces. The group was shocked, and soon quite overwhelmed at this rush. They hadn't seen a force this large even pouring out of the Grindery to attack them. As they came, they roared in rage at them.

"Swine! Dogs! Filthy children of Althena!"

"Perish!"

"Kill them all! Kill them all!"

"Long live Emperor Evangeon!"

The group couldn't catch most of it. They were preoccupied with trying to find a means to shield them from the arrows and escape. Quickly, Nall began to swish around in a circle in the sky, and an orb of white aura began to surround him. He was beginning his transformation, but the others didn't wait. Alex used his blade to block an arrow bolt just before it could reach Luna, and Nash chanted and pointed his rod at the oncoming masses. Moments later, an orb of lightning exploded in the sky over them and showered the enemy with lightning bolts. But while it felled some of them, the far majority came at them unabated, still bellowing threats and danger.

Alex grit his teeth. "I don't think we can win this fight."

"We don't have too. I'll take us to safety."

Alex turned around to the source of the voice, expecting to see Nall. But Nall was no longer there. Instead, a massive white dragon unfurled its wings and opened its massive jaws to bellow triumphantly in front of the Vile Tribe. Nall glared at the oncoming enemy as the wind whipped his white feathers and the brown on the crown of his head. Yet they were not scared, but continued to come bellowing all the way. They barely slowed at all for this, and soon were shooting at Nall as well. The arrows bounced harmlessly off the beast's armored hide underneath his feathers, and he unfurled his wings and cried out to form a fearsome shield for his friends. As he did, Nash, Alex, and, with a little help from the latter of the two boys, Luna hopped onto the back of the large white beast. As soon as they were all on, Nall began to flap his now immense wings, and started to bear his cargo into the air as he batted the ground with ferocious winds. The Vile Tribe was scattered as it approached, and those still standing screamed curses at the white dragon. Nall merely snickered in reply as the Vile Tribe became smaller and smaller below him, growing to the size of ants. Once satisfied with his height, Nall pitched forward and flapped onward, toward the Stadius Zone.

"Ha!" Nall proudly cried, his voice much more powerful and mature. "They're no match for one of the Four Dragons! How's everyone doing back there?"

"Great Nall!" Luna cheerily cried back over the wind around them. "It feels good to be riding on you again!"

"I'm fine!" Alex called. Then, he turned his head, to where Nash was perched behind him. "How about you, Nash?"

Unfortunately, the young premier seemed to have a terrible fear of heights. He was clutching Alex around the waist as if he was the only stable thing in a shifting universe, and had his eyes pressed closed while burying his head against the back of his jacket to hide any chance of looking down. He trembled terribly behind Alex, and as the young man grew uneasy himself he began to hope he wasn't feeling the warmth of urine behind him soaking through Nash's pants. "Tell me when it's over!" Nash screamed in a quivering voice, frozen and petrified with fear.

Nall grinned in delight at this new dilemma, and turned his head to the group behind him. "Hey Nash? You know, I always fly a bit bumpy whenever I have three riders..."

However, Nall soon forgot about tormenting Nash. He saw the look on Luna and Alex's face. Neither of them were that pleasant, but were painted with more surprise and horror as they looked out on the horizon. Nall himself turned around and looked to what they were seeing, and soon even the large white dragon gasped as well. Far in the distance, past Tamur and past a deal of land in the Stadius Zone now before them, a column of thick billowing smoke was rising in the air. That kind of smoke was the unmistakable sign of a major fire taking place. Unfortunately, it was happening right in the spot where Alex knew that a particular town was. Slowly, ignoring Nash's fear, and staring straight at the smoke as if hypnotized, Alex announced its name and their next destination while on the back of Nall.

"Pao..."

Alex and his friends glumly surveyed the area that had once been the community of Pao. But there was nothing left. Each of the tents were now smoldering in their own piles on the ground. A few slaughtered horses lay around, and the rest had run off. Everywhere had been ransacked. Anything of value was taken, and the rest was burned. There were numerous fired arrows lying around the area though. A few Vile Tribe members were down as well. But other than that, nothing. Nothing but the signs of destruction laying all around. All of them were astonished.

"This is horrible..." Luna spoke softly.

"I don't think it was that horrible." Nash simply answered.

Immediately, all wheeled to him with an outraged look. Nash merely stared innocently back. "Nash! I thought you were a blockhead before..." Nall began in an angry voice, now restored to his old size. "But this time..."

"Listen!" Nash interrupted. "Look around you! There's arrows, burning, and a few Vile Tribe members are down... But what else? Nothing. No children slaughtered, no cut up villagers, no people running or crying. No one in Pao is dead. There isn't a single human body lying here."

Alex hesitated for a moment, but then he realized that Nash was right. As he looked around again, he saw that there was indeed not a single human body lying around. Though the signs of battle were clear there were no corpses. This confused Alex to a small amount. He scratched his head and looked around a bit more, then turned back to Nash. "That's odd...how come no one is here?"

"Maybe they let them live." Luna suggested.

"If this town is of the Tempest I know, only death would keep him from coming at the Vile Tribe." Alex responded.

"They could have abandoned it." Nall suggested.

"There's too many of their corpses inside the camp." Nash answered. "If you ask me, I'd say they were captured. Though, from the looks of that entrance into the Stadius Zone, that doesn't seem like a good explanation to me."

Alex didn't answer, but looked around some more. None of the explanations the others offered seemed satisfactory to him. If there were prisoners, where would they take them? And why would the Vile Tribe even bother when it killed everyone else that came this way? All of it confused the young man, and he didn't like it one bit. It was just the latest in a chain of puzzlements and inconsistencies that he received since he reentered the world. He feared where it was all leading to. At any rate, he continued to survey the area, looking for any other clue as to what could have happened. Yet there wasn't much. The plains had too much grass to leave tracks, and other than Vile Tribe members nothing was left. Yet Alex was still troubled a bit. If Tempest was alive, he knew he'd keep fighting. He'd die before he surrendered. But still that didn't leave him with many answers...

Suddenly, Alex stopped. He spotted something on the horizon. Very faintly, coming off of the southern mountains, there were two plumes of smoke. It wasn't a trick of the camp's fires. No, he knew it was coming from there. And it was too separated to be from a reckless fire. Two controlled blazes had to be going, like fireplaces or something. The boy turned his head to his other three companions, and motioned over to the sight. "Hey guys, look at that."

Instantly, Luna, Nash, and Nall obliged. Soon after, their own looks became concerned and puzzled.

"There was never a tower or volcano over there, was there?" Nash asked.

"If there was, I would've seen it from the sky." Nall responded. "It's just mountains."

Luna hesitated a bit herself. But then, she began to grow worried. She hadn't expected this much mystery and death on this trip. It was a little more than she bargained for, and after seeing the burning village, the Vile Tribe, and now this latest sight, her fear was becoming quite visible. "I don't like it..." She spoke. "Something's not right over here. Something's not right anywhere."

"It's ok, Luna." Alex answered, sensing her tension. But he never took his eyes off the smokestack. "We're here. Anyway, whatever that is over there, it's generating a lot of fire to produce all that smoke. And it definitely wasn't here the last time we came through the zone. My guess is that if that rumor was right that Mia mentioned, then it might just be where they're producing whatever weapons they have in mind."

"Who? The Vile Tribe?" Nall asked.

"I don't know...but someone. And the Vile Tribe, I'm afraid, is number one suspect right now. I guess Phacia wasn't as well received as we hoped..."

Nash, however, got a cocky look. He pulled his rod up and aimed it at the smoke. "Well, what're we waiting for! Let's charge in and bust some heads! I'll turn whatever that is into rubble with a blast of my lightning magic!"

"Nash, you dolt!" Nall cried angrily in reply. "Use your head! Even if your magic was strong enough to blast that place away, did you ever think that if there are prisoners that we'd kill them too?"

"Oh..." Nash answered quietly, slowly lowering his rod in embarrassment. "Yeah...forgot about that."

"Besides, we aren't an army anyway." Alex continued. "Let's check the place out, but try not to start any brawls."

Luna was hesitant and fearful. "Let's not go there Alex...it doesn't look safe."

"Heh, not to worry!" Nash cockily answered. "Me and Alex have been through much more dangerous places!"

Nall grinned. "And you can use Nash's hard head as a shield!"

"What did you say?!" Nash snapped back, turning violently to the white dragon.

Alex was more suttle. He turned his head over to Luna, looked her in the eye, and spoke very calmly and quietly to her. "Don't worry, Luna. I'm here, and I'm not going to let anything take you again. It's alright. Me and Nash can handle whatever comes are way. I promise you we'll be alright."

Luna was still skeptical about the whole idea. She looked to the smoke warily, and her face was still laced with tension and anxiety. But after hesitating for a little while longer, she started to realize that Alex was going to go with or without her. And if he was going to go, she wanted to come along. Her singing was the only thing that would help him if he got hurt. And she definitely didn't want to be separated from him again in this dreadful part of the world or any part of the world. At long last, with that somber look in her eye, she nodded. "Ok Alex."

With that, the four turned and began to make their way toward the towers of smoke.

The approach was soon uninviting.

As Alex and his friends made their way toward the smoking towers, changes soon began to take place. At first it was just the rolling plains with no real difference or movement. But as the grass began to fade and the area became more rocky and mountainous on their trip, they started to see things. Abandoned carts were lying around, big thick carts made of iron and thick wood. Rails were lain on the ground made out of wood as well, leading from huge caves in the rocks that were hastily piled shut with loose rocks. There was only one or two of these to begin with, but they soon became more frequent as they drew closer and closer to the mountains. As the mountains grew rockier and more uneven, they noticed that earthen ramps were dug up to higher ground, where more blocked off tunnels were stacked on top of each other. There were no signs of life anywhere, nothing except a few tracks from a member of the Vile Tribe in loose dirt every once in a while. Alex, on his part, didn't like this look of this.

"Mines..." He muttered. "Just like the ones the Vile Tribe was digging back on the Frontier."

"But that was when they were building the Grindery." Nash answered.

Nall looked to the horizon a moment, at the nearing columns of smoke. They weren't far now at all. They were seperated from view simply by a large, mountainous ridge dead ahead, and the group was so close that they were practically climbing on top of it. Abruptly, the flying feline-like being gasped. "Alex! You don't suppose...they're building another one, do you?"

"I wouldn't think there'd be enough iron in the world to do that..." Luna answered. "At least, I hope there wouldn't..."

"The Vile Tribe didn't build it anyway." Alex answered. "That was Myght."

Nash snorted. "That little black dwarf never was accounted for after this mess. Who knows what chaos he's doing right now?"

"There's not enough smoke for it to be another Grindery." Alex answered. "It'd fill up the sky like a forest fire."

"Well then what is it?" Nash asked.

Alex frowned. "Only one way to find out. Let's hike up this ridge a bit further. The mountains get pretty rocky. We can stay hidden on our approach toward that smoke, whatever it is and whoever's there."

The others nodded in response, and Alex led them onward. Soon, they were scaling the side of the rocky ridge, making for higher ground. Luna managed to cross it with some difficulty, not used to a lot of physical activity but accustomed to mountains. As for Nash, he turned out to have the most trouble, not being accustomed to neither and needing Alex's help more than once. Yet Alex got what he wished for. Larger rocks jutted out of the mountainside as he climbed up, and he knew they'd provide a good barrier. All they had to do was duck and they'd be lost among the rocky cliffs. Getting up a bit higher required walking over dangerous and loose stones, and each time one was knocked out it caused more noise than Alex wanted. Yet as he rose, he also became conscious of a hissing and bellowing, like a massive furnace going to work ahead. He knew what that meant, that they were drawing close to the source of the smoke. Once all were up, Alex paused and let them regroup a moment. Then, very slowly, they started to make their way around.

As they moved along, going from rock to rock and keeping low, they saw no more mines on their level. That was good, for many more sealed ones were below. Yet as they turned the ridge, they began to see that there was a large valley between mountains, in between from which the smoke seemed to come from a smaller hill in between. The burning continued to get louder, and the sounds of striking and pounding metal, hissing, and other loud clanging noises grew audible. It worked to the group's advantage. With all of this going on, they had no fear of their own shuffling around attracting any attention. That was good too, for more mines came, and at last they made it to live ones. About fifty feet below them, numerous mines were dug, and were swarming with members of the Vile Tribe. They looked just as dirty, sweaty, and tired as they had when they were working on the Grindery. Yet they were still working eagerly. Foremen with whips urged them on, and cart after cart came out, all of it bearing ores. Lower, into the valley, these carts were being used to fill up huge wagons being drawn by sweaty horses. These wagons were dragging them onward, toward the sight of the smoke. As Alex and the others paused next to one of the rocks, they looked down and watched.

"So, they're slaving away again it seems." Nash muttered.

"Think they were promised the world again?" Luna asked. She had never seen what Alex had seen, but heard his story and about how Ghaleon had deluded the Vile Tribe into thinking they'd have revenge on Althena.

"They're already in the world." Alex answered. "They don't have to live in that Frontier region anymore. They must still be bitter if they want to attack, but attack with what?"

"There can't be too many of them." Nash stated. "One good lightning strike would bury them all."

"You can't!" Luna protested, in shock at the suggestion.

Nash merely frowned in reply. "We get them or they get us. We've got to make a choice now or never."

"Not yet." Alex answered. "Let's get a look at where they're taking all that iron."

Once again, the young man led them onward. Though Nash was antsy and Luna feared what would happen to the Vile Tribe members, they went along. Nall continued to look uncertain, and seemed to be deep in thought. But Alex didn't notice. He kept moving, walking over mine after mine full of workers. He knew that the Vile Tribe wasn't that large, though. They could barely survive as it was on the Frontier. The guard at the pass and the miners had to be about all that was there. It wasn't enough to put up a war, so what were they doing? He felt his answer would come soon. He slowly turned the ridge, and at last was able to look down on the source of the smoke. As he did, he came to a stop and stared at it, and the rest of the group soon came behind him and stared just as intently and with just as much awe.

The smoke was coming from a controlled area. Two small smokestacks were billowing it into the air, protruding from the rocky hill in the mountain valley. As for the hill itself, it had been mined as well. It had been tunneled, worked on, built up, and converted into some sort of massive structure. Alex could see intense fire burning in the center of it, and most of the beating and clanging of metal was coming from within it. Huge metal gears and pistons protruded from the mass of rock and rhythmically turned and pumped on. Though the place had a few windows around inside it without glass, the primary entrance was in front of the structure. It was girded by a heavy metal gate, and more Vile Tribe foremen were there. They were motioning for the carts laden with metal ore to enter into the structure. Though it was small compared to the mountains, it was huge for any building, and could fit an area the size of the Grindery or even wider within it. And from the sounds of it, it sounded like the world's biggest smithery. The group was justly surprised.

"Oh my..." Luna exhaled.

"That place is huge!" Nall cried. "It's like a giant blacksmith furnace!"

"If Mia was afraid of weapons being made, then I think we have a bad answer for her." Nash groaned. "That place is big enough to forge hundreds of weapons a day. Swords...arrow bolts...axes...who knows what's being made in there?"

"This looks like all we need to tell Mia." Luna continued. "Let's get out of here."

However, Alex wasn't ready. He continued to stare intently at the structure, and thought back to the Vile Tribe. Still, he refused to believe it. From what he had seen before, the Vile Tribe couldn't possibly be that large... There was still something missing from the whole equation. Something just wasn't right here. He continued to stare at it for a while. At last, Nash clapped his hand on his shoulder and shook him.

"Alex? Hey, you in there? We're leaving."

"It's not right." Alex stated in reply.

The others turned to him in puzzlement again, but he merely continued to stare at the place. He shook his head slowly. "This can't just be a mere blacksmith workshop. It has to be something else."

"Alex...what else could it be?" Luna asked.

"I don't know." Alex answered. "But think a moment. Look at all the Vile Tribe members we've seen so far. It looks like the entire tribe is either guarding the pass or working the mines. There can't be too many of them left. So who's doing all the work in there? You need manpower no matter how large your workshop is. And even so, why so many weapons? The Vile Tribe already looks pretty well armed to me, at least those who can fight. It's not like having a lot more weapons will let them be able to attack more. And if they were interested in fighting, then why would they not have killed everyone in Pao? And why don't they realize that regardless of how well armed they are that the Magic Guild could wipe their entire force out without trying?"

"Questions I too have...and intend to answer."

Alex didn't waste a moment. His blood ran cold and his adrenaline surged. Within the flash of an eye, his hand was on the hilt of Althena's sword, and he yanked it out and spun around from where he was crouched. The moment he turned, he let it rest on the neck of the new person who had suddenly spoke up from nowhere behind him. But it wasn't so much as a freeze due to hesitation, but due to the face that no sooner had he turned then he found a sharp tip of an arrow aimed right between his eyes, and saw himself looking at a bow fully bent back. However, his pause only lasted a moment, and he saw at the other end of the shaft that there was a confident, bold, and smiling face looking back at him.

"I wondered when I would see you again, my friend." The chief of Pao spoke, and instantly released the arrow and relaxed again.

"Tempest..." Alex breathed, lowering his own sword and putting it back at his side again. "You scared the life out of me."

"I've had the life scared out of me too." The young man answered, his face growing grim and serious, as it almost always was anyway. "I have no time for reunions. We meet in the most serious of situations."

"What are you talking about, Tempest?" Alex asked. "Where's the rest of the people of Pao?"

Tempest's face stayed grim and stern. "Some of us managed to escape, but the others were taken when the Vile Tribe attacked. They didn't kill their victims though. They captured them, and they've taken them here." Tempest hesitated a moment, and stiffened a bit more. "Fresca is among them..."

Alex hesitated himself at that. He remembered the last time that Fresca had been in trouble well, along with Mia and Jessica. He had stormed off on his own to try to take on Ghaleon and, at that time, an evil Luna. It was a good thing they had caught up with the warrior. If not there was no telling what could have happened to him. At any rate, he looked like he had the same thing in mind this time around, if he was out here all by himself. However, Nash was the first person to speak up again.

"I knew they were being kidnapped." He confidently stated. "But how long did you know about this place and expect them not to, chief?"

"We didn't know." Tempest answered. "This place hasn't started billowing smoke until a few days ago...when they began the attack. They started it up soon afterward. I'm afraid they're being committed to slave labor, though one of our tribe would sooner die than be a slave. Especially for whatever foul purpose this kelm is being put to use for. They started their blocking of the mountain pass just a short time before that. We had no idea what was going on, and it was taking place right under our noses. But you have to understand. Our people have little need to go outside of this region."

"Well, let's all just be glad they're still alive." Luna commented.

"Right." Tempest coldly retorted. "Because after I see them safely back to our village, whoever is in charge of the Vile Tribe will not be."

"Well, it's better if we go together than you try to take them on all by yourself, Tempest." Alex answered.

"We'll be more conspicuous if we travel in a group." The young chief answered. Then he paused a moment, and asked a question. "You don't happen to know anything about this action, do you?"

The four glumly shook their heads.

"Mia sent us to check it out." Nall answered. "And though we might be less conspicuous, I'd say we'd have a better chance of fighting our way out if we went together. After all, when we save the people I don't think we're going to have much chance of hiding them anyway."

Tempest hesitated a moment, thinking of that. Yet after a pause, he sighed and nodded. "True." After he looked around in hesitation a bit more, he motioned behind his shoulder. "Come with me, I'll take you around to the back. There's a high window up there. I haven't seen many troops on the upper level, so perhaps we can sneak around."

Alex nodded back. "Good idea. Let's go."

Tempest turned and prepared to leave after that. However, shortly after doing so, he paused and cracked a smile for a moment. "Together again, Dragonmaster? I hope your time off has not made you soft."

Alex smiled back. "Just worry about yourself, Longhair."

Tempest frowned. "Longhair?"

The group made their way quickly to the back. Tempest himself moved with signs of utmost skill and practice. He crept as silent as a fox and as swift as a squirrel. The others had a hard time keeping up with him and staying as quiet, especially Nash, who kept tripping over rocks and had a bruise on his chin before they managed to make their way around. Alex noticed that there was only limited security around the structure. That confirmed his earlier belief that they had to be understaffed. Obviously, they didn't expect anyone to break through the security in the mountain pass. But that made his own job all the more difficult. He knew that at this point the Vile Tribe had to be sending some messenger to the others to tell them that they had company. So they couldn't afford to waste much time, and had to get to the bottom of this.

At length, Tempest took them directly behind the structure, where both clouds of smoke and a total lack of security as well as noise shielded them from prying eyes. Once there, the chief pointed to a small rock window that was just enough for a brace of men. It was alongside the rock ridge, and by just jumping a short distance one could enter it and be on the top level of the complex. Tempest cleared the gap easily, as well as Alex. Luna took a bit of coaxing. As for Nash, he was almost petrified, and had Nall push him from behind.

"Come on! It's not that far! Sheesh, now I know why you were dressed like a giant chicken in the Grindery!"

Tempest looked puzzled. "Excuse me?"

Nash continued to sweat and tremble. "M-m-maybe I should wait for you out here..."

At last, after nearly being pushed to the drop, Nash had to either jump or fall. He chose the former and cleared it easily. After Nall flapped over, the group was now within the complex and ready to go. With Tempest leading the way with his bow drawn and arrow fitted, they began to make their way through the stone building.

Inside, they saw even more bizarre sights than before. Just like the interior of the Grindery, the place was surrounded with all types of metal devices, gears, pistons, conduits, and other pieces of technology. And all of them were turning and churning and working at full power. The group soon found out what had to be making all the smoke, whatever was powering the machinery. It took a while to weave through it all to try and find an open space looking down to the lower floors. But even when they did, they saw nothing. Just more machines turning and hissing and working furiously. Alex was rather puzzled. All sorts of machines were doing work, but what were they working for? He didn't seen any operators in the building, once again confirming the low manpower that the Vile Tribe could provide. But the group didn't give up. They continued to make their way through, looking down the whole time and around for some opening. At last, after passing through a few sections of the interior of the stone fortress, and losing themselves in a few walls of machinery, they saw something.

On the second floor, a conveyer belt of some type was going by. As it did go by, the group noticed that it carried huge slabs of red hot steel, looking like it was freshly tempered, as it probably was from the looks of all the iron ore coming in. Machines were doing all sorts of things to the metal. Slashing it, carrying pieces away, tempering it, welding it together with some sort of burning light, and rearranging it into something new. After cutting away and pasting at it, some parts were gone while other parts were added, and what looked like a big metal partially constructed crate was left, and taken into another part of the structure. The whole facility was doing this on a grand scale, pumping out more and more every minute, or at least taking them to another part of the place. The group looked on in wonder.

Tempest, having never seen technology, the Grindery's interior, or anything reasonably advanced, looked totally overwhelmed. "What the devil is all of this madness?"

"Some sort of machine, it looks like." Nash answered. "But it's definitely not another Grindery."

"It looks like a giant blacksmith machine." Luna commented. "And it's doing all this work on its own, meaning it doesn't need any workers to do it."

"But what is it doing?" Nash persisted.

"What's a machine?" Tempest asked with a confused look.

"Looks like it's making pieces of scrap junk, if you ask me." Nall answered in response. "But who could build this thing and why is still a total mystery."

"Let's keep moving." Alex interrupted, getting everyone's attention. "We'll try to find someone who can give us some answers about this, free the prisoners, then get back to Vane as fast as we can."

The group all nodded in reply, and kept moving. The whole complex was immense. The inside betrayed all sorts of size not visible from the outside. And everywhere they turned their was more machinery. As it turned out, the whole facility wasn't finished with the metal after all. After moving into another place, the group saw that it did more to the pieces of metal it had already assembled, adding more pieces and trimming off rough edges, making it look like some sort of partial machine itself. In another area, the group saw some sort of automatic digger take in the iron ore that had been placed inside the rock building, put it into a giant kelm, and begin some sort of heating and refining process. All in all, it became increasingly obvious that the whole building was building something on a grand scale. But what it was and why was still a total mystery, and there was still no sign of the people from Pao.

Eventually, the machinery began to thin out somewhat, becoming more spacious and turned to angles. Alex wasn't that big of a whiz on technology, but he figured that it was coming to a more open area at least. After a bit longer, the sounds of the working began to die down a little. In turn, Alex and his friends went slower and more gently as well. Suddenly, Tempest tapped Alex on the shoulder, and motioned over to another opening leading downward. Seeing this, Alex quickly walked over with the others following him, and they looked down again. This time, instead of seeing a room full of machinery and working being done, they instead saw a gigantic hallway carved straight out of the rock. The group crouched here and watched.

"I guess this is where they bring the ore in." Nall whispered.

"Keep your voices down." Alex answered. "I see someone coming."

Sure enough, far below on the lower floor, a shadow was coming in from what looked like an opening. The group stayed quiet and watched, and after a time the figure entered. He had a greedy, insidious look in his eyes. He was dressed all in a dull green but had numerous tools hanging from him. His beard was thick and black and a dark grin was twisted on his troll-like face. He was no bigger than a midget but looked malicious. The group only had to stare at him for a moment, then they all leveled their own dark stares at him.

"Taben..." Nash muttered. "I knew he was behind this. He's the only crackpot inventor for evil that I know of. Maybe it's a good thing that Myght chases everyone off..."

"Shh..." Luna hushed. "Watch him...there's someone else coming."

Luna was right. Another shadow was coming in closely behind the wicked inventor. He hesitated for a moment where he was, and turned around to motion the person inside. "Right this way, my lord." He spoke darkly. "You'll find everything in order, just as you wished it."

"Good." A stern voice answered. "My superiors are getting anxious to carry out their plans, and I'll make sure you have hell to pay if you are behind schedule."

Boots clicked against the stone floor, and the shadow grew and grew until its owner came into the doorway. The moment he did, Nash expressed explicit shock. Alex narrowed his eyes darkly and grit his teeth, having suspected this the whole time. Tempest didn't know him but kept looking, and both Nall and Luna emitted small amounts of surprise. But it was him. The black half-cape, the gray hair, the strong look...it could only be one person.

"The Dauphin!" Nall cried in a harsh whisper.

"Melichon?!" Nash squealed in his own brash whisper. "What's he doing here? He's supposed to be over at Lann Island!"

Melichon, of course, heard none of this. But all business, just as he was when he led Alex and Luna into Vane, he walked on ahead, and soon Taben had to take off again to keep up with him. "They are growing anxious, and we have precious little time in which to act. The former Dragonmaster is already here as well as Althena. My lords are intent on starting after this attack has begun. How many of the new units are ready?"

"4,000 right now." Taben responded, with his malicious look and smile. "24,000 more will be ready in two more weeks. Of course, once they start conquering t