“Even if you torture me until I drop dead, I still know nothing!” Derrick proclaimed as Gavon and Arigir took turns ambling back and forth in front of the castle, at great pains to make him talk and snitch on Kiano.

Two hours had passed since this tireless interrogation began, and it was easy to tell at this point that he was intent on remaining as quiet as a grave.

The archmage hadn’t returned to the flower garden since he went back inside the grand castle in a fit of rage. The azure sky had become dark during his lengthy absence, not to mention that the gloomy weather grew chillier too.

Derrick was preoccupied with how dead his legs were the entire time. He had been on his knees all day, and numbness gradually replaced the excruciating pain. He shifted his weight to relieve the lack of sensation a tad.

It was around this time that Gavon, true to his nature, could no longer bear the silence. The mage grabbed him up by the collar only to let go again. But the words the dark-eyed master uttered with bated breath threw him off. These words were the least he expected to hear, yet he figured the wizard must be trying to fool him. Anyone in his stead would think like this in such a predicament.

“You,” Gavon pointed at him. “You listen carefully and answer this time, do you hear me!? Time is ticking, and for every tick, your friend is less likely to be alive. Tell me everything you know about him. Now!”

“I don’t know anything, my lord, even if I do!”

Gavon heaved a heavy sigh. “Being silent like this will not help you, Derrick, it won’t. Listen, I know why you went on that quest. I was the only son of a family of six whose breaths reeked of hunger, too! But if you want to save your family from the beasts – from the poverty that taunts you – then you better talk now!”

Arigir chipped in. “We don’t want history to repeat itself, young man. We’re not asking you to trust us; it’s too late for that but give us a chance to redeem ourselves.”

“Give you a chance—?” he repeated and shook his head. “No, you’re just trying to make me snitch on Kiano, that’s what you’re trying to do! He’s not a bad person, my lord, even if he were to be the one you think he is!”

“I don’t doubt you, boy,” Gavon replied. “But the council, especially Malakai, will, nonetheless. They’ll stop at nothing until they’ve captured the dragon and killed it! He’s a threat to all of Yiraál! It’s in Malaka’s interest to protect this vast land and the kingdom of Gartâr.”

“He’s not! Kiano wouldn’t hurt anyone!”

“How do you know?” Arigir asked. “How do you know he isn’t putting on an act to deceive you?”

“I can’t tell you because I don’t know. I just… Kiano’s not a bad person, that’s all I can say. He wouldn’t hurt a fly even if he could. Please, Gavon, Arigir, please believe me!”

“Believing won’t help any of us,” Gavon replied, staring up at the darkening sky. “But if there’s even the merest chance that you’re telling the truth, then I’m willing to put my life on the line.”

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Derrick’s widened eyes met the mage’s dark ones as the wizard stared at him next. “So tell me: do you know where he is, this Kiano?”

“I…” Derrick dropped his eyes for a second. “I think… I think he’s with Artam, but more than that, I don’t know.”

“Those two know each other?” Gavon asked.

“Kiano was the one who saved us when we were kidnapped,” he said. “Those two know that they’re of the same kin, master.”

“And where did the two of you meet, Kiano and you? Do you remember anything odd about your first encounter with him?”

“It was at Lordôm, mage, I- I don’t recall how he got there. The tree must have brought him there.”

Arigir, now noticeably alert, asked, “Are you sure about this? There’s nothing you leave out?”

“I- I can’t say. My time in Lordôm is not a fond memory, and I have a hard time recalling my macabre experiences there.” He let his distraught eyes wander from Arigir to Gavon. “Why, is something the matter?”

“The Queen has tampered with the contest,” Arigir said in a hushed tone. “With the help of a wicked being called Waldor, who not only tricked you, but even Mahgrad. Mind, Waldor rarely shows his face outside of Hezakhal.”

“You… you think he’s—that Kiano’s really the prophesied dragon?”

Gavon was about to respond when the main entrance to the castle flung open, and Malakai replied in the wizard’s stead. Amelia, Raimur, and Issjia were following right behind him.

“We don’t think, we know – there’s a difference between those two words.”

“Malakai,” Arigir began, but his words were cut short.

“I’ve sent words to our allies. We’re storming Hezakhal tonight.”

Derrick’s eyes became wide with terror. He dashed in front of the archmage as he was about to leave the vicinity and head for Lordôm along with thousands of armoured elves, who showed up all around them within seconds. Things were getting out of hand! He had to do something! He had to save Kiano!

“Please, great lord, Kiano’s not a threat! There’s a misunderstanding! If you only—”

Malakai shoved him aside and glanced at Gavon and Arigir with that bitter expression on his face, which was more spine tingling than the cold ground beneath him. His fiery eyes were bent on murder and vengeance. It was an expression filled with pain, remorse, and hatred all at once.

Derrick couldn’t help but think of the archmage’s distorted face when he first learnt that the dark lord of Freyskul had been slain by the beasts. His icy eyes had softened for a second and become unfocused, like the eyes of a bereaved bosom friend.

“Shut this kid up and don’t let him out of your sight! I won’t have him roam around and meddle in things he has no say in, do you hear me!?”

Gavon held him back as he was trying to catch up to the archmage again. “Don’t! You must let him leave, Derrick! That’s the only way we can save your friend.”

He glanced at Arigir, who nodded to confirm that they wouldn’t follow orders blindly. His racing heart calmed down a tad. He stopped fighting to break free from Gavon’s tight grip. They watched as the troop of elves marched to the other side of the mountain. Gavon finally let him go, relieved.

Julian emerged from the cliff path and joined them moments later. But the light elf was not there to condemn them. There was a silent agreement between the wizards and the ruler of Reivenir.

It was as if those three had conspired with one another and come to a mutual decision to defy the council. Not long after this meaningful quietude, the elf gestured for them to follow it to the sirens’ lair, and they did. Derrick couldn’t help but notice how slow Julian had become over the course of a few hours. He was drained of all his powers and couldn’t keep up with them.

As he had these thoughts, Julian met his eyes and cracked an apologetic smile.

That was when he knew for certain that the light elf, despite having lost his brother to the Queen, harboured no ill feelings towards her children – on the contrary. He was, as were Gavon and Arigir, determined to end this bloody battle once and for all. That was the only way the ruler of Reivenir could bring peace back to his brother’s people and send Hjarwa to his final resting place.