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I clung tightly to Star's neck as she soared high above the mountains. 'So where exactly are we going? She projected an image of a small clearing of woods at the top of a large cliff looming over a small river winding through a ravine. 'It's where I first met Silver and where Wolfe hatched. It's also a perfect location to learn taking off, for sure.' She looked back at me and her eyes were shining. 'But before you fly you must learn to glide. Get a feel for the wind. Keep hold of me and spread your wings.' I cautiously opened my wings, mentally identifying which muscles did what. Once they were partially open the wind grabbed them and flung them out wide as it filled them. I tightened my grip on Star as I felt myself being pulled upwards and quickly thought of a way to reduce the wind resistance. I flattened my body against Star's neck and leveled out my wings, feeling the strain on the joints lessen. Star chuckled. 'Good! Now let go and try controlling your flight on your own. Remember to use your tail to help steer yourself. I'll be right here if you need me.' I relinquished my grasp and began to drift up and left. I spread my arms out beneath my wings to regain my balance and managed to straighten my path. I looked down and saw Star spiraling through the air with glee. 'You're doing great!' The very moment I had gotten used to flight, I spotted the clearing that was our destination. 'Perfect! Now it's time to try landing.' I rolled my eyes. 'Oh joy!' She laughed at my sarcasm. 'It's not that bad. Just do as I do.' She glided down over the trees then circled out over the edge of the cliff and came into the clearing from there. 'Your turn.' I followed her path over the trees but didn't feel safe going over the cliff so I continued over the leafy expanse to the clearing. Once I was over my target, I flipped my body into a standing position to stop my forward progress and used my wings like parachutes to float to the ground. I alighted upon the grassy surface directly in front of Star. She nuzzled my arm. 'That was great for a first try. You're a natural.' I scratched a ridge of scales above her eye and she hummed softly in satisfaction. 'Well I have a great teacher. Plus all the times we've flown together help too.' Before Star could move on with her lesson, we heard a soft scraping sound, like that of a garment rubbing the bark of a tree. I whipped around with my hand on the hilt of my blade but saw nothing. I cautiously inched forward and opened my mind to my surroundings so as to determine the origin of the noise. An overwhelming sense of hostility surrounded the clearing but it did not come form the plants. Alarmed, I took a step back. As my foot hit the earth, I heard a slight whizzing noise and an arrow buried itself in the ground next to me. I shifted to my left while I surveyed the dark forest before me. The scraping came again, accompanied by a flash of movement and I looked up to the higher branches of a nearby tree. Wedged precariously in a fork of the tree was a red fox with a pure white, hooded cape that shrouded his features. It was holding a yew longbow with an arrow trained on me. Faint whispers in a language unknown to me drifted through the air just before a bright flash exploded in front of me. I buried my face in the crook of my elbow to protect my eyes. I looked up when the light dissipated to find that the fox had disappeared from its perch. A split second later Star growled and yelled to me, 'Behind you!' I spun around again and saw the fox standing sideways at the tree line with its arm outstretched. In a crystal clear tenor voice it spoke three words that rang with a mysterious sense of power. "Nüvé pón anstün." I felt my legs get thrown out from under me, sending me to the ground where an invisible force held me pinned. I tried to break its hold but only tired myself. Star loosed a savage roar and lunged at the fox. He calmly stood his ground and uttered a single word. "Lanírea." Star froze in midair, unable to free herself. We were at this creature's mercy. * * *

The fox stood over me, twirling an arrow in between his fingers as he smiled. All I could see of his face was his pointed snout and sharp white teeth. The rest was obscured in shadow from his hood. "Vasûn Shalür, these woods are not for you to explore at your whim. They belong to my Ilkena, the Ancient White Wolf. Trespassing is punished by death!" He spoke in a strange accent, almost unnoticeable, and used a language that sounded even stranger. He stopped spinning the arrow and squatted next to me. Placing his hand upon my head, he began to speak. "Osno mír bansen kosr enlanés!" I immediately felt an intense pressure on both my and Star's minds. Star resisted fiercely and drove him out of her own thoughts but was not quick enough to stop him from isolating me. With the full power of his mental assault turned solely upon me, I realized that I could not resist him in my current, drained state. Just as I felt his attack beginning, it ended and he withdrew from my mind. Confused I tried once again to return to my feet and succeeded without any resistance. I saw the fox kneeling in between Star and myself, facing into the forest. I stepped toward him with blade in hand but was halted as soon as he barked, "Vaûnd!" He pulled off his hood, revealing his deep red fur and sparkling royal blue eyes. He turned to me and hissed, "Be still! Ilkena approaches." Right on cue, a wolf with snow white fur stepped out from among the trees appearing to materialize from the darkness. With its arrival, I felt a consciousness, ancient and powerful, brush up against mine. From deep within its vastness emanated a voice. 'Put away your weapon Drake. You need not fear me.' I shoved the blade back into my belt. 'I see you have already met Darrius. I do apologize for his actions though they weren't completely without reason. He is my guardian, as well as my student and companion. ' He turned to Star. 'Greetings, Staréth. I am glad to see that dragons are once again walking amongst the earth.' She looked down at the ground between her claws and swished her tail back and forth. She did not feel comfortable around this wolf. 'Though I have just arrived, I must be off for I would like to consult a good friend of mine about a very pressing matter. Again I apologize for your ordeal. You are always welcome here.' As the wolf turned to leave, its right hind leg collapsed. Darrius cried out, "Ilkena!" as a shallow pool of blood began to form around the leg. He rushed to him and spoke words from his unusual speech so quickly that I could not even make out the words he was saying. After pausing for a second to listen to the response, he replied in English, "No, you are not fine. Your leg is broken in two places and there are deep gashes all up your right side. What happened?" Another pause. "You should have called for me. You know that you can't heal yourself the way I can. Let me heal it for you now." Yet another pause. My guess was that the wolf was arguing with him. "I do have enough strength to perform it and you can't afford to lose anymore blood." Darrius placed his hands on the wolf's leg and side and began to recite, "Xarla tem equín pón kend wün bæs san wænu!" The skin on the mangled leg shifted slightly as the bones returned to their places and the ever expanding pool of blood ceased to grow. Once the process was complete, Darrius slid to his knees and retreated into himself. While I was still nurturing hostile thoughts about him, I understood why he had attacked us. When I saw how large the toll of this healing had been, I felt sympathy towards him. I walked to his side and asked the wolf if Darrius could come with me if I provided another willing guardian. 'Of course it would be fine, just make sure that your friend is here within four days.' Then he was gone. Darrius returned to himself and I helped him to his feet as I told Star my plan. 'I'm sorry to do this to you but I need you to get Gene back here as soon as possible. Please?' She growled menacingly at me. 'Why would I leave you again? Did you not mean what you said before? Or is this tiny fox more important to you than I. If you're sorry to do it then don't.' I sighed. Her reasoning was sound but something but within my mind was pushing towards Darrius. 'I don't know how to explain this...compulsion. It drives me to do this though it pains me to send you away. I wish you could stay with me but I need to be alone. I am sorry.' I felt a slight change within her mind, and though she did not agree, she turned and flew away. As she disappeared from sight, I felt Darrius tentatively reaching out towards my mind. I cautiously accepted the contact then sensed that he harbored no ill will towards me. 'I don't mean to intrude, but I am afraid that I am to weary for conventional speech. I am sorry for what I did to you and appreciate you helping me.' Something about Darrius just made me feel relaxed, and I wanted him to be happy. 'I'm okay with this connection. It's not an intrusion; I have a dragon in my head all day, every day. Can you stand on your own?' He shook his head, 'No, I don't think so; I'm just barely conscious. That spell took more out of me than I anticipated.' I called a six foot long, sturdy looking, oak branch to my hand with my mind and gave it to him. 'Here, use this. We need to find you a better place to rest than here.' He leaned a bit heavier on my shoulder as he pointed to our left with the staff. 'My campsite from last night is that direction. It's not far from here and my few other belongings are there.' As we started into the woods, the daylight faded into a dark twilight. We plodded on until the twilight was overtaken by darkness. We came across the campsite just a few minutes after darkness fell and I helped Darrius into an already cleared away spot near the fire pit. He leaned against the tree behind him, shivering from the fall temperature. 'If you lend me some energy, I will light a fire for us.' I opened my mind farther and allowed the fox to draw upon my own reserves of strength. 'Thank you my friend.' "Orlados!" A fire flared into existence in the fire pit and I scooted closer to its warmth. In the flickering light that the flames provided, I surveyed the campsite. The only things there were two, hand-and-a-half double edged swords. They were both covered by elegant scabbards of different hues. One was the green of a shadow in the forest and was embellished with etchings of leaves not of my world. It seemed to melt into the darkness every time a shadow passed over it. The other one caught my eye more than the green though. It was a deep gold, almost the color of Star, and blazed like a yellow flame. It held dual lightning bolts streaking up the center and looked itself like a flash of lightning. Besides the swords though, there was nothing else besides what Darrius carried there. I settled down against a tree for the first watch and covered myself with my wings for warmth. Darrius must have sensed this through our current mental link, for he said, There's no need for a watch; I have placed wards around this place many times. We are safe here. Sleep, we both need rest. And thus we fell gratefully into the embrace of sleep.

• * * I awoke to the smell of meat being cooked over an open fire. I sat up and saw two chunks of meat on a spit suspended over the fire. Darrius came striding back into camp with his new staff and for the first time I noticed his height. He stood around four foot nine, but I wasn't completely sure. He pointed at the meat. "That's for you if you want it. I already ate." I grabbed the spit off the fire and removed one chunk of meat form it. I thanked him and began to eat. As I finished eating, he asked me, "Who's Silver?" The question startled me and I became suspicious of him breaking into my thoughts while I slept. I shot him a questionable look and he shrugged. "You were mumbling in your sleep." My trust in him renewed, I scratched my scaly chin in thought. "Would you like a brief description or the entirety of my obsession?" His eyes shone with curiosity. "I like to know the whole story." I closed my eyes and re-opened my mind to him. When I felt his touch, I gathered every memory I had of Silver and let them flow through his mind. 'Then let me show you the source of my infatuation.' Every thought, every feeling, every moment that I spent with her save for a select few, I sent to the fox so that he could fully understand my love for her. Before Darrius was lost in the stream of thoughts, I called them back to me and let them disperse throughout my mind. Darrius held on to a single picture, a memory of when I first met her, for a second longer than the others. 'She's beautiful.' He released the memory but left his mind open to mine. I felt his comfort in having someone sharing his thoughts so I left mine open as well. My guess was that he had someone close to him who had kept this kind of link to him, had recently left him. I opened my eyes and saw tears in his. Trying to discern the source of his sadness, I asked, 'How old are you Darrius? Did you have a lover yourself?' He wiped his tears on the sleeve of his black shirt. 'I'm sixteen and no, I haven't been in love before. But Silver does remind me of my older sister, Crystal. She raised me and cared for me. She taught me the ways of the ancient lands and gave me the two swords you see here. Then one day I woke up and she was gone. All that she had left was a note telling me to seek out the White Wolf. I was only nine when she left. Just a month before, she made my bow for me and gave me the quiver with forty arrows in it. These are all I have to remember her by. He suddenly turned less sorrowful. But there was one other thing on the note. She gave me a reason to travel. She told me that I was to keep only one of the swords that she gave me. The one that I didn't keep would go to someone that I meet in my travels. She did not say what this person would look like or who it was that she spoke of but only that I would know them when the time came. She left me with a statement of hers that she used to tell me every day. Plín kanri wænu wün plín zorina farun kendo.' I frowned in confusion. 'I'm sorry, I don't know what that means.' He sighed. 'It means, I am broken that I may be healed.' 'Profound.' We looked at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter. As our mirth faded, I asked, 'Should we go?' Darrius looked puzzled. 'Where?' I laughed again. 'To my house of course. I would like to introduce you to Silver and Wolfe. And I'm sure that Star would love you now that you aren't trying to kill me.' He smiled at that. 'But if we want to get there in a timely manner, we should get going.' He strapped the swords on; the gold to his belt and the green across his back. He then shouldered his quiver, which housed his still strung bow and said, 'Lead the way.' He motioned me forward with his staff. We began to make our way through the woods on a faint trail. As we walked, I could tell that Darrius was feeling better. He wore a permanent grin and would occasionally mutter a few phrases in his strange language, causing creatures to scamper out of the brush much to his amusement. After an hour of listening to continuous lines of this foreign dialect running through his mind, my curiosity overwhelmed me. 'Hey Darrius. What language is that?' His smile only widened. 'It is the ancient and powerful language known solely as Runic. My sister had been teaching me and Ilkena picked up where she left off. Speaking of Ilkena, he also taught me the origin of these two swords that I carry.' I placed my hands on top of my head. 'Oh? Do tell.' 'Well I'll start with the sword that I have chosen as my own, the green one. It is called 'Alkamor,' which translates directly to 'Forest Shadow.' It belonged to a powerful Shalür, a Rider, though his name escapes me. His dragon, however I know was known as Daxxon. This sword was passed down through his line for many years until it came to the elf Kael. Kael was adventurous and naïve and lost the sword due to an unfortunate accident. A magician was jealous of the sword and gained control over two dragon younglings in order to obtain it. He used these younglings to attack Kael and he managed to steal the sword away before Kael could heal himself. My grandparents learned of this and set out to recover Alkamor. Their journey was long and arduous and unfortunately, unrecorded. But they retrieved the sword and took it back to the Rider himself to return it. He refused and bestowed it on my family. My possession of this sword is only because of the kindness of the Rider. As for the other blade, its story is shorter and less complicated. It was named 'Xenera,' which means 'Sky Splitter,' by the apprentice of Daxxon's Rider. His name is Skiadem and his dragon is Ilethia the Wise. After obtaining Alkamor, my grandparents met Skiadem. He became good friends with my family and made frequent visits to our home. He met my sister and she fell in love with him. He must have had some kind of affinity for her for he gave her many gifts, one of which was this sword that was forged by the elves as a Rider's blade for him. He already had a sword however, so he gave it as a present to Crystal. Sadly, she did not particularly like swords very much and so she passed it on to me.' I took a step in front of him, causing him to stop. 'Hold up. Are you saying that he's here, in this world?' He looked at me like I had two heads. 'Is there any other?' 'Never mind. So what is Skiadem like?' He crossed his arms in thought as we continued along our path. 'Well I only met him a few times, but he was very polite and kind. He was a lot of fun but always kept ya guessing. After I met him the first time, I followed him when he let. Once he was a good mile away, he changed himself into a creature much like yourself.' 'What?!' 'It's an uncommon practice among the elves but there are those who still exercise their power in that fashion.' 'Can you do that?' 'Well, I do know the words that I would have to use but-' I felt an uncontrollable force take over my body and my vision was tinted with red. 'Can you do it?!' I grabbed his shoulders and a vicious blood lust arose in my body. He snapped at me. 'Not by myself! Get a hold of yourself Drake.' I let go of him and turned around, terrified at the intensity of my reaction. 'Even if I could perform this feat on my own, what would you have me do?' I put an arm against a tree to steady myself as involuntary tremors wracked my body. I stared at my trembling hand, realizing what I had been about to do and knowing full well that I wouldn't have been able to stop myself. The red haze slowly lifted from my eyes as I shook. My shaking stopped as I felt soothing energy emanate from Darrius's hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw that he had a concerned look on his face. I reached back into his thoughts to apologize but instead answered the question that was foremost in his mind. 'I'm fine now, Darrius, though you might not have been if you hadn't yelled at me then. I don't know what it was, but something came over me. It was like I was watching myself act without being able to do anything about it.' He patted my back in comfort. 'It's okay Drake. Let's put this behind us and keep walking. I mean, you were able to keep it in check.' I shook my head as the trembling of my cold terror crept back into my limbs. 'That's just it; I wasn't able to control it.' He started to reply but I cut him off with a sever tone, knowing what he was going to say from his thoughts. I was about to kill you Darrius! There was nothing I could do to stop myself either. The worst part is that I don't know when it could happen again and if somebody else will be able to avert it like you did before it's too late.' We continued towards my house in silence. We stopped for a break around noon and Darrius scrounged up some edible plants and fruit from the woods for us to eat. After lunch we resumed our silent march until nightfall, when Darrius pulled his mind back into himself after making a fire. I fell into a restless sleep as I listened to him whisper incantations in Runic to protect us for the night.