Candles half lit a dark shrine as Raze knelt before the wooden statue of his dragon lord, Erzathen. The Spellbreaker leader bowed his head to the floor and whispered a deep prayer.

King of scales, I do as you call

With your truth I am your light

With your will, I have my might

Forever I obey within your thrall

The embers of the incense burned as the wafts of spiced aromas floated around the room. Shadows crept closer to Raze’s body and a small voice echoed through the room, beckoning for Raze to listen.

“He must be punished, Spellbreaker Raze. Do as I command.”

Raze lifted his head and shut his eyes tightly. “As you say, Great Erzathen. Koda shall perish under the weight of my fist.”

“Exalted One...” a voice came from behind Raze. Small, timid, and intimidated by Raze’s very presence.

Raze opened his eyes but did not turn his focus away from his shrine. “Speak.”

“We have captured Azeva’s student as commanded.”

Raze stood and finally faced his follower, a fellow Spellspreaker under his leadership. He wore a redcoat and bore a wooden mask of the elder dragon, Erzathen.

“You have done well,” said Raze. “What of the rally?”

“All goes according to plan, Exalted One. As we speak, we gather more followers.”

Raze placed a firm hand on the young Spellbreaker’s shoulder. “Scales above flesh, Spellbreaker.”

The follower nodded. “Blood before claw.”

***

Elucard, Cade, and Raine wandered the crowded streets of Isa City. Although Elucard had visited Dragon Realm Scorch, he had only briefly seen Nacsirri before a long boat ride back to Long Whisper. He never had the time to really explore a desert trade city, and Isa City was exactly that. Monkeys, parrots, lizards, spices, silks, exotic blades, and rare fruits flooded his eyes and curiosity. It was almost overwhelming for a young elf, such as himself.

“Cade, have you ever been to a realm like Scorch?” asked Elucard as he poked his thumb on a prickly pineberry. “Yowch!”

Raine giggled.

“Beware the dread pineberry, Elucard!” Cade laughed.

“Who would want to eat a fruit that could ravage your tongue?” grumbled Elucard as he carefully set the fruit back into its pile.

Cade tossed a silver sendetti to the vendor then gingerly picked up the berry and slit it in half with a knife. “Here,” he said, handing Elucard one half. “Careful.”

Elucard accepted the pineberry and sucked out its juice. He laughed with a wide grin. “It tickles on the way down.”

“My sister calls them featherfruit,” Cade said with a smile. He gave Raine the other half.

“Thank you, Cade!” chirped the delighted mage. “I’ve always wanted to try these!”

“Have at it, friend.” Cade slapped Elucard’s shoulder. “Anything else fit your fancy, Elucard?”

Elucard rubbed his chin and gave a Legion-like hrm as he looked around the different stalls. His eyes wandered around the colorful foods before settling on a vibrant red, pink, and golden fruit. It had the shape of a typical strawberry, complete with its familiar dimples and leafy top, but was the size of a plum.

“Ah, yes. The famed zapberry of the Savage Forest. They say it can only be picked during a thunderstorm,” explained Cade.

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“Is that where it gets its name?” asked Elucard?

“No,” Raine said with a roguish grin.

Cade called over the fruit merchant and flashed two sendetti in his eyes and pointed to the juicy treats. “Three please.”

Cade shared one with Raine and another with Elucard, keeping the third for himself.

Elucard took a wary look at the fruit and sniffed it. Cinnamon! It had the spicy scent of his mother’s oven, or perhaps gingersnaps from Ambros’s general store. Either way memories of winter days by the hearth and snowball fights with Jetta streamed through his soul. Did it taste just as sweet?

A shock tased Elucard’s tongue.

“Yowch!”

Nope.

Cade and Raine had a good laugh through sparkling mouthfuls of zapberry. Elucard shook his head with a smirk and took a large juice-gushing bite. At first his mouth stung, but the feeling quickly subsided into a new sensation of a tangy and sugary nectar. Elucard’s eyes brightened and he scarfed down the rest of the fruit, leaving only a sticky hand.

“Well?” Cade asked Elucard in anticipation?

Elucard chewed the rest and swallowed in a hasty gulp. “Mhm, yes, delicious!”

Cade nodded and turned to Raine. “What about you, Raine.”

“I had them once as a child and they still hold up, even now. Thank you, Cade”

Elucard combed his blonde hair free of a thick film of sweat. He eyed a cobbler stand, picking up a pair of sandals. “How much for these?” he asked the vendor.

“Two silver sendetti,” the vendor answered back.

Elucard looked down at his feet and wiggled his toes trapped in his black tabis. With a relieved grin, he tossed the vendor a set of silver coins and quickly put on his new sandals.

Cade took Elucard’s tabis and tossed it in his saddle bag. “You’ll want these once we get to Stratus. Mother always said to dress for the occ—”

“The mages are a plague on our society! Only dragons may wield the power of magic, no other mortal deserves such an honor!”

Elucard spun around to find a man standing on top of a crate and crying over the crowd of people. He wore a long red coat with a collar of bear fur and a wooden dragon mask. Inscribed on the forehead of the mask was a rune that read herald.

Two more masked criers handed out pamphlets to the onlookers.

“We are the Spellbreakers! We were chosen by the true heir to the heavens, Erzathen, eldest child of Urd’Draak!” shouted the herald.

“What are you on about?” one person yelled back.

“The mages exploited the Magi and enslaved mankind less than fifty years ago and yet they still hold a high political chair in our kingdoms!” explained the herald.

Raine balled her fists.

“Stay alert, Cade. The Spellbreakers mean only trouble,” growled Elucard. He kept a firm hand on his ninjato’s hilt.

The herald continued. “We were ordained by the True God, Erzathen, to rid the world of those that continue to plunder the realms of their magic. We are the proud few. Erzathen’s paladins! However, should you condemn the mages and swear allegiance to the True God, all of you shall become Spellbreakers!”

A wave of commotion erupted from the crowd.

“Come to our rally on the fifth sun at moonrise! Bask in the truth!”

Raine, flushed with anger, screamed out at the top of her lungs, “Your truth is bullshit!!”

The crowd parted for her as she stormed up to the Spellbreakers. She rolled up her sleeves and swiped the stack of pamphlets. In a flash of electricity the papers burned into black ash.

“You will not be the first to die against our cause, light mage, but you will also not be the last,” spat the herald.

Elucard narrowed his eyes. “Cade…”

“I see it, Elucard,” the hydro shroud whispered back.

Elucard’s hand throbbed with the Magi, growing frigid and numb. It rattled with a sharp pain, but he forced it still.

Not now! He growled to himself.

Raine clenched her teeth and clawed her hands. Lighting sparked from her fingertips. “Come at me. I dare you,” Raine snapped.

The two Spellbreakers on either side of Raine drew wooden hilts and with a twist of the grip, they extended into a silver baton. From its tip back down to its handle ignited an orange glow.

Raine raised her two hands at the encroaching Spellbreakers.

Elucard and Cade drew their blades and charged them with their shroud magic, quick to dash forward into a possible brawl.

Raine shifted her eyes back and forth from one masked enemy to the other. A wave of silence hushed over the Issian citizens.

The herald’s chest rose and fell with deep breaths. He pushed back his companions. “No. Stand down, Spellbreakers. Only Raze decides when a mage is to be made an example of.”

Raine sighed with relief as the strange weapons powered down and were stashed back into the Spellbreakers’ coats. Her magic continued to crackle in her hands.

“Please.” The herald handed her a fresh pamphlet. “Come to our rally. We assure you it will be a night not to miss.”

Elucard and Cade arrived at the side of Raine. They glowered at the herald and pulled the purple mage away into the safety of the crowd.

“We must attend this rally, Elucard,” whispered Raine.

Elucard flexed his emerald hand. The pain may have been ignorable today, but what of tomorrow? What would happen if he needed the full extent of his magic and the pain became too unbearable to ignore? It could never happen, but it could be tomorrow. His arm was too unpredictable and out of his control. A battle with such a factor could be his last. Something needed to be done!