To our surprise, we didn't find Lythar waiting for us in the antechamber when we emerged from the darkness.

"He said he'll stay here..." I muttered when the heavy door closed behind us with an unpleasant rasp.

"Maybe some duties called him," Yasenka remarked calmly.

Something didn't feel right though. When we returned to the dining room, the table was still set, but there was no trace of the priests. Leaving it all not cleaned up didn't fit the image of humble, hardworking servants of a god. And there was this unpleasant silence filling the temple...

And then, just as I put the chest down on one of the chairs, the echo of the bright halls brought the buzz of raised voices our way. Many agitated voices. We quickly headed in the direction they came from, trying to not get lost in the unfamiliar building.

After a few chaotic turns, we reached a vast chamber. Judging by the huge statue elevated above the rest of the room, we just found the main, religious part of the temple. And we entered it through some back door that was probably used by the priests during ceremonies, because at first everything was blocked from sight by the cape that flowed from Siracel's firm shoulders all the way to the floor. We carefully peeked from behind the monument.

The chamber was beautiful. The god was pointing the harpoon in his right hand at the ceiling, plaited from heavy, but slender wooden beams. There was a tiny spring gushing out from a crack in the stone at his feet, giving birth to the stream that wandered across the city after exiting through the main entrance. The light of the early sun fell inside through an opening shaped like a droplet of water, chiseled out in the wall just above it. What we saw at the threshold though was far less beautiful.

Around fifty citizen stood there, arguing with a few priests who seemed to be ineffectively trying to explain something. The bouquet of unrefined words that the people were throwing at them placed the clerics somewhere between 'deceivers', 'kidnappers' and 'murderers'. One of the older holy men, standing more at the side, noticed us and rushed closer.

"What is going on here?" asked Siaril quietly.

"We are not sure ourselves..." the priest was almost trembling. "The people who came from Ioreth claim that we are hiding king Yisral's son here, the one that was abducted from the royal castle some months ago... I really don't understand..."

My heart jumped up to my throat. So it did happen after all... I glanced at the crowd gathered in the doorway. I couldn't... I couldn't just go out there and pretend like I'm the prince... I couldn't tell them the truth either... But I had to do something... I closed my eyes and clenched my fists, desperately fighting rationality for a decision...

A sudden turmoil in front of the sea god statue snapped me out of it. One of the citizen, looking exceptionally irritated, maybe even a little drunk, stepped forward and came really close to Lythar, who stood foremost on the opposite side of the conflict.

"Admit it, it was you who kidnapped young Calthraval and are responsible for the king's death!" he yelled, grabbing the archpriest by the front of his robe. "You could make other people do anything by telling fairy tales about 'god's will'...!"

Lythar wanted to say something and I saw his hand calmly rise towards the one holding his garments, but the man assaulting him already had his other one up...

Enough was enough.

Throwing all further contemplation out the window, I ran out of our hiding spot, passed the simple altar standing on the left side of the spring and reached the slender railing that surrounded the elevated area.

"Stop it!"

The silence in the temple was instantaneous. I almost felt how Yasenka, still hidden behind the huge statue, sucked in a breath and held it.

For a moment, the townspeople just stared at me... or maybe my wings, in a way that made me feel like I've just made the biggest mistake of my life. Merely a few seconds passed, seconds that seemed like hours, and suddenly several of them kneeled down. Some confused whispers followed, and soon they were all bowing before me. Not just people from Ioreth, but citizen of Tacritia as well.

I felt an unpleasant sting near my heart as I gripped the smooth wood of the balustrade more tightly. That was it. Now there was absolutely no way I could tell them the truth...

My heartbeat seemed painfully intense in the dead silence that fell upon the temple. Everyone, including my friends behind my back, was waiting for my next move.

Once the first shock passed, I took a deep breath and raised my head. It was a flight on borrowed wings and I knew that one wrong move could result in an exceptionally agonizing fall... but since I was already forced to play this role, I was determined to play it as best I could.

Not to protect myself.

To protect them.

"What gives you the right to condemn these people for a crime they didn't commit?" I asked loudly, my voice echoing throughout the hush in the chamber. "They welcomed you here, gave you shelter after what happened in our capital, and this is how you thank them? Do I look like I'm being held prisoner here? Like I'm here against my will?"

The man who stepped forward before to attack Lythar now lifted his head a tiny bit. "Please forgive us..." he stuttered awkwardly. "We didn't know..."

"And yet you still assumed," I interrupted him, slowly gaining confidence. "It's not me you should be begging for forgiveness, but the ones you baselessly accused and nearly assaulted." I glanced towards the group of priests who also kneeled down now. They looked utterly bewildered... I quickly turned my gaze away again, bitter. I felt like I not only swindled them, but myself as well...

A female voice from the crowd brought me back to the moment: "What did really happen then, young master? Why did you hide all this time? Everyone thought the royal line died out, the sword and the coat of arms were broken..."

I sighed softly. I wished I could tell them 'what really happened', without lying or revealing who I really was, but that seemed simply impossible.

"That night when... my father... was murdered, I was meant to meet the same fate. But I was saved by someone whose name I would rather not mention here. As for the reasons for my hiding... there were two. First: I didn't want to risk the assassin coming after me again. Second... should be obvious to all of you by now... I'm one of the Disciples of the Last Dragons."

A murmur of agitated whispers flew through the chamber, like wind moving some sleeping bulrush.

"That's not important right now," someone else spoke from the back. "You have to take the throne, your majesty. Without a king, Earlindon will fall to lawlessness and invasions from other lands!"

I almost panicked. I wanted to say something, object, decline... but there was suddenly another voice from somewhere to the right: "No! Disciples cannot be trusted, just like dragons couldn't!"

Those words caused a blurred, but gradually increasing noise of a quarrel to rise in the temple. I could have predicted various outcomes, but not something like this...

"Dragons were ruthless beasts, Ered Caydranth did us a huge favor by ridding the world of them!" some elderly man joined the argument.

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"And does any of you remember those times and has any evidence of that being the whole truth?!" a clear, beautiful voice suddenly raised above the others, making them fade slowly. I turned my head to see Yasenka coming up from behind me to stand to my right. "I don't think humans live long enough to remember any of those events. And what speaks through you are insignificant rumors spread by people who just feared the dragons without even really knowing why and without bothering to learn their real nature."

"Be quiet, woman! Who gave you the right to speak for..."

"How dare you?!" I heard my own voice shout the hefty man down in a way that made him blench. It took me a moment to actually realize that it was me who said those words, as well as the boiling sensation in my veins. "If it weren't for her, Earlindon would now look far worse than it already does, and most of you wouldn't be here, if this place would even be still standing!"

There was silence yet again, and I thought I felt a mist of embarrassment and guilt waft among the crowd. It was hard to believe that the name that was forced upon me alone gave me such power... I didn't feel an ounce of satisfaction though. On the contrary, I wanted this to end as quickly as possible... I took another deep breath.

"If dragons were so self-righteous and longed for our destruction so much, then how do you explain the existence of the Disciples? Why did the Last Dragons give their power to three beings that lack magic? To mock our race? No. I'll tell you why. It was so we could prevent further tragedies. Because it is Ered's descendant - Sharish Caydranth, who is responsible for destroying Ioreth."

There were a few shouts of disbelief.

"It's the truth and you can't change it," I continued gravely. "We have encountered this madman a few times already, and we know that he won't be stopping there. His goal is to eliminate every single human being that crosses his path, which unfortunately means... that you aren't entirely safe even here, in Tacritia. This isn't a reason to panic though. We will do everything in our power to protect Earlindon and its inhabitants. But to be able to do that, I am forced to decline taking the throne for now. The task of the Disciples is of higher priority, we have to stop Sharish, which is why we will leave Tacritia again soon. I would like to ask you to make preparations in our absence, to make sure the city is ready in case Sharish decides to appear. I also have a request to make of you..." I looked Lythar in the eyes. "I would like to ask you to send emissaries to all cities and villages you can to let them know what could be coming..."

"Your majesty..."

I raised my hand a little, stopping whoever it was that spoke up. "I'm sorry... I know you all have as many questions as there are fish in the nets that were cast into the sea this morning, but they will all have to wait. I... need to be able to focus on my mission... All I can do is ask you to forgive my long absence and understand that in the current situation, I didn't have much choice... I give you my word that once all of this is over, I will give a proper explanation to everything. Until then... please focus on keeping yourselves and your loved ones safe. The best way to do that... is to fight our enemy as one, and not to fight amongst ourselves."

I could see the blusterers in the front rows exchange glances with the priests. Calm, regretful glances. The flames of misunderstanding simmered down into a glow that had potential to become the opposite. I managed a small smile. "Please return to your homes... You, just like us, have a lot of preparation lying before you. Let's keep our land safe together."

What followed my last words was a deep silence at first. But it was soon interrupted by a few shouts of 'Long live King Calthraval!'. The rest of the crowd quickly picked it up.

I waited until they all calmed down, bowed and left the temple to spread the word in the entire city. Only when their voices faded out in the distance, I braced myself more firmly against the railing and let out a very long breath.

I really ended up doing the one thing I wanted to avoid at all costs...

Feeling the delicate touch of a hand on my shoulder, I turned my head a little. I met Yasenka's worried gaze. "Maybe you shouldn't have..." she started gently, silently, so no one else would hear.

"Well what else should I have told them? The truth? Or nothing, leaving them be...?"

She sighed softly. "Maybe there was no truly good way out of this... Come on, you should sit down somewhere, you're pale. I'll get you something to drink."

Before we were able to leave though, the priests caught up to us. Or rather one of them did quicker than the others.

"Forgive me..." young Casais sounded hesitant. It was the real Casais though, I was sure. His eyes were too pure, his expression too sincere. "Are you really Calthraval?"

"Sorry?"

"Dear Casais, please behave yourself," Lythar approached us as well. "People from the very capital recognized the prince, how could he be someone else?"

The young priest bowed, ashamed. "Of course sir, I'm sorry..." he retreated a step to let us talk. He looked troubled though, like he was confused about something...

"My prince..." Lythar's voice was respectful, but firm. He knew he had the right to demand answers, be it from a royal or not. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you lie to us?"

"I could take a whole day talking about the reasons..." I averted my gaze. "But first and foremost, I should be asking for forgiveness. I exposed you to such trouble..."

"Please don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm trying to blame you. Only trying to understand. But maybe this really isn't the best moment to discuss it."

"I'm grateful for your understanding... Right now we should focus on the details of the defense preparations and organizing emissaries that will bring the news to other places..."

"It's best if we do it over dinner," Yasenka decided to spare me more torture for now. "You should rest a bit first..."

We left the ceremony chamber. Siaril followed without a word as we returned to the dining room where I slumped onto one of the chairs. Yasenka poured some water into a clean cup and handed it to me. I nodded gratefully and sipped a bit.

"What now?" the illathan's voice was still gentle. She didn't want to exhaust me any more, but knew this question was necessary.

"Nothing. It makes no sense to worry about a little hole in the floor when there's the danger of the ceiling falling onto our heads... Let's focus on Sharish for now."

"I guess... if we don't manage to not let Sharish kill us, then it won't be necessary to worry about solving the problem of the prince..."

Finally a very short, but honest huff of laughter escaped my lips. "Exactly."

As I lifted my head to give her a grateful look, my eyes suddenly fell upon Siaril, sitting by the opposite end of the table. Hunched over, supporting his head on his hands, unmoving, silent. He looked simply... devastated for some reason.

"Siaril...?" I called out quietly, with concern. "Everything alright?"

He moved his head a little, his slender fingers sliding down the flaxen bangs... I wasn't sure if I really saw what I thought was there in those green eyes, or if I'd rather just not admit that I saw it... it was a shadow of pure despair.

He stood up and looked me in the eyes shortly before averting his gaze, like he couldn't bear it... "I'm sorry..." he whispered.

I frowned. "For what?"

I saw that he wanted to answer but hesitated, as if afraid of making some mistake. Finally, he sighed and turned his back to us. "Should someone ask... I will be in my room..." was the only thing he said before leaving.

"Do you understand any of this...?" I asked quietly once his footsteps vanished in the depths of the temple.

"Nothing at all..." Yasenka wasn't able to tear her gaze away from the door either.

For a moment I wondered if it wouldn't be better to follow him and have a serious talk, but I didn't feel like pressing him... not after what I just saw...

At the priest's instigation, we decided to stay in the house of god for one more night. In the evening, me and Yasenka took the opportunity to go to the roof of the temple to get some fresh air and watch the sunset over the City of Pearls. I just allowed the evening breeze to cool my forehead while watching a velvet mosaic of red, amber and azure spread across the sky, with the occasional stray, fluffy cloudlet here and there.

We stayed silent for a long while. Only when the sun vanished from our sight, I turned my gaze away from the horizon.

"Could you help me with something?" I spoke up.

"Why do you even ask?"

I couldn't help but smile. "We can't allow Siaril to be stuck in some problem, whatever it is, all the more if it has something to do with our mission... What could it be that he can't reveal to us despite the possibility of it being helpful?"

"I assume it's something that he fears might hurt us, or something he's really ashamed of, or... I don't even know..."

"Canidralth didn't help much either... I feel like he just cast a deeper shadow on some things..."

Yasenka narrowed her eyes, seeming to suddenly think about something. "But sometimes, the shadow of a shadow can cast light..." she muttered.

I blinked at her, confused. A stronger gust of wind from the sea wrinkled the water in the harbor, the metal elements of the cordage chiming against the masts of the boats mooring there. The steel-blue waters that were merging with the color of the evening sky for a while now brightened along with the night when the moon peeked out from behind the clouds in the distance.

"What do you mean?" I finally asked.

"I just thought of something... or rather, I remembered an old story I once heard. But I need to make sure first. I'll try to talk to him and will let you know tomorrow, alright?"

"Yeah... I don't have the strength for even one more crazy problem today anymore... I need to lie down."

"Rightly so. And try not to think too much. We'll handle this together somehow."

I smiled gratefully, wished her a peaceful night and left the roof. Despite her advice though, I had to repel too intense thoughts and attempts to find some solution to this embroiled situation for quite a while. But when a sudden memory of the sunrise above the City of Pearls sneaked inside my mind, sparking a hope that I might see it again tomorrow, I finally calmed down a bit and sleep managed to overcome me.