Climbing down a hill was faster than climbing up. Eiden clung to Clade as he moved incredibly fast among trees like he had nothing heavy on his back. Cissa gracefully skipped before them. It was the first time Eiden saw his creature friends act on their real strengths.

"Woww, that was fast." Eiden looked from one to another. Cissa laughed.

"That was fun. We run short distances fast, to hunt." Clade smiled too.

"Oh, you're back," Nub was reading a book on the porch. They went into the house. Eiden made a beeline to his backpack and threw his things out.

"Not here," he mumbled.

"What are you looking for?"

"The blood poison detector. I didn't bring it, I think." Eiden threw the rest of the things out, and stood there silent and still with his belongings strewed around him.

"What?" Ierma, who came to see them, gasped. Ivar just entered the house and looked at the mess in his living room disapprovingly.

"I need to find him," he said to himself.

"Eiden," He was startled. It was Clade.

"Sit and tell, you remembered something right?"

He nodded.

"It's a secret," he said.

"Oh, yeah, great imperial secrets," Ivar scoffed, muttering rather loudly.

Eiden turned to him with hardened eyes and straightened to his full height. Eiden's friends saw that Eiden had transformed from a common boy to the Lord as he was in an instant.

"It's for your own safety. The less you know, the better your chance to live. You won't be tortured and poisoned for the things you know." he said to Ivar who stared dumbfounded at him.

Eiden turned to his friends.

"I need to find someone. Only he could tell me how I could find my parents. I need to find them before it's too late. I'll take you back to the jungle." Eiden knelt and started to pack his things back. He wasn't sure he was ready to do anything grand and heroic, but now he had to try.

"Eiden,"

"Yes," Eiden didn't turn back.

"No,"

"No, what?" he asked, stuffing his books back into the pack.

"Not going back,"

"You can't stay here. It's too cold." He took the crystal collection out.

"We're coming with you,”

"No. Dangerous." He has to renew the cryslet on his own. Train on his own.

"You're tiny,"

"I have magic." He needs information. Inside information.

Eiden dropped the crystal book he was holding and turned around when someone put a hand on his back.

"My lord," Ierma knelt beside him.

"Her Ladyship had Lady Enya, Lady Enya had you. Who comes after you? You need someone to trust with your secrets. You need someone to stand with you. If you carry too much heavy load, it only slows you down on the way. Share your burden with others, you can go faster." She stood and took Eiden's hand and led him to the couch beside the fire.

"My father was a Nesol, and my mother was a Craig. My father died young and we were discriminated against for being lesser magicals. I wanted to learn magic but couldn't. I thought in Newheart if I were to say I'm from the North, the birthplace of our leaders, I could learn magic. But, when I went there, for a country girl like me, it was very big.

Yet, I met a few nice and kind women here and there who helped me to study. I never told anyone I'm a daughter of a Craig. Then one day, a man from the North, Nesol high class, someone I had known before, came to the shop I was working at. Magic gives you skill, but not wisdom. I didn't recognize he was only taking advantage of me.

I became pregnant, only to be humiliated and left alone. I was so depressed, my pregnancy was difficult. When I returned home, I hid the pregnancy. Then I found out it was a girl, and I thought of giving up my life as better for both of us.

There's a small beach near our village. I decided to end my life there. Then someone saved my life. I was drowning, when I was lifted to shore by Lady Eunthae. She took me to her holiday home which she later gave to the Grand Duke to make a museum. Nursed me back to health by herself. Scolded me like a mother. And asked me why I was so stupid to do that. Then, she told me, she's working to change this discrimination.

She took me with her to the Palace. Because of my social status, I couldn't enter the elite class. Therefore, the Lady hired me as one of her companion ladies. She talked to a few old masters and asked them to help to continue my learning. My daughter grew up in the Palace. Your mother cared for her like a sister.

I knew there was a big secret the lady was hiding. It seemed to weigh down on her. I asked her once. You know what she said. It's the same as what you said a while ago. "It's for your own safety, Ierma" she held it back.

My daughter, had my daring to go looking for her place in the world, and her father's charm. He was a very charming man. She broke the connection with me. Until one day she came with him. She was sick and wanted me to keep Ivar with me. She didn't want Ivar's father's family to find a boy with a lesser lineage. She passed away soon after.

Lady told me, I can raise Ivar in the palace. She said we can train Ivar with your grandfather's help. He looked like a fine boy even when he was young. But after a few years, when Ivar was growing well, I felt like there were some people hostile to Ivar. I decided to take him and come here. Lady Eunthae tried to persuade me to stay, yet, I felt this was better. I visited from time to time to see her.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

My lord, there's no way I'm sending you out there alone and unprepared. Let me help you. I learned crystal magic from the masters. I can help you with the cryslet. Not only me, but these people can share the burden with you. Let them help you too. You don't have to tell everything, but you don't have to hide everything either."

Eiden stared speechlessly at Ierma. He remembered she was trying to convince him to eat this and that she cooked. He burned the food he didn't like, no matter how many swats he got on the bum.

Eiden threw himself into her arms. He didn't cry though he wanted to. He just wanted to be embraced.

"I know grandmother's secret," he said.

"You know what I like besides shiny things. Secrets," Cissa purred, dramatically, making everyone laugh.

"I don't know if Uncle wants to know it for his benefit or not." He leaned back on the couch.

"A dangerous secret?" Clade asked. Eiden thought for a while.

"No, but it's how you use the knowledge for good or bad. But the stakes are high. Our world and our magic are on the line. We need to act fast." He knew he sounded desperate and he really was.

"So what do you want to do now?" It was the first time Ivar didn't sound hostile.

"There's a key. Rather a half of a key. I need to find that half." He looked around at his friends and others.

"The explosion is not just a dream. When we were attacked, we were trying to find it. The explosion was an accident. It created some kind of black swirling mass of magic. The people around there, I only remember Mother and Father, I think Grandfather was there too. They were sucked into it. Someone pushed me out of the way." Eiden paused.

"I thought I wanted to run. I couldn't. Those people got me." He battled with rising inner panic.

"I don't remember exactly what they did. Only a bit. I saw a black dragon." A heavy silence fell on the room. No one talked for a while.

"A what?" Ivar blurted out

"It..it can't be." Clade muttered.

"Saw it," Eiden said quietly.

"They poisoned my back. I felt it. The bases of the wings were sliced. I remember something in the wounds. Magic was so heavy. Like someone put a huge sack of rocks in the back. Then the burning. The burning was my magic, my fire. My fire burned me.” Eiden was trembling. He clutched his pants to hide his shaking hands.

"He's there. Out there. The black dragon. Someone is keeping him. I..I need to find him." he stood up, and started pacing.

"Only he can help."

"You find it, and then? It's a dragon," Clade asked.

"Don't ask me now,” Eiden refused to elaborate.

"I have something else to ask," Cissa interrupted. Everyone turned to look at him.

"What's a black dragon?" He looked at Clade.

"Someone like Clade?"

"I'm a Cazard, moron." Clade tapped Cissa on the forehead.

"I don't know either," Nub added, Eiden sat beside his friends. He felt less scared among them.

"It's a legend, not many people talk about them. How do you know?" he asked Clade.

"Learned those from an old shaman in our clan. Taught me to read and told me old stories." Clade replied.

"Tell the story, Eiden," Nub shook him, impatiently. Eiden looked at Ierma.

"You know better than us. From your father's side."

"They don't blame them like others." he shrugged.

"It happened nearly 3000 years ago. The black dragons were only known in legends at that time. A myth. People worshiped them. They were known to have the purest of pure elemental fire magic. The name black dragon means they are as black as night. But, when they breathed fire they glowed like red embers. So, it was only a story.

Until one day, there came black dragons, but not as fair as it was in the stories. When they breathed fire, the fire wasn't red. It was heavy black smog and a few sparks, anything touched by the smog coated in something like black oil. The sparks ignited the oily coating which burned for days because it was a dark magical fire.

It was devastating and contaminated everything it touched. Humans fought and then slaughtered the black dragons.''

Eiden stopped to drink some water.

"That's when our year of reckoning started. Year 1 is after the fall of black dragons.”

"You skipped some," Clade reminded him.

"I don't like that part, all the bloodshed and gory details, eww." Eiden made a disgusted face and continued the story.

"That's also when all the discrimination against creature people and mountain people started. After slaughtering the black dragons, humans turned to creature people and massacred a lot of them. And there were quite a few civil disputes among fire elemental Nesols and others.”

"Destroyed a lot of our clans. Red Cazard people went extinct. Rock Cazards went into hiding further South. Don't know if they are still alive or not." Clade said bitterly.

"That's the reason why fire elemental people went to the mountains to hide their families. Lord's father, Lord Hadrian is from one of such oldest of lineages. Lady Eunthae's father and later her Ladyship tried to mend their divide, to encourage the addition of new blood Nesol bloodlines.

See, Lord Elvin, and Lord Eiden, both with mixed lineages, are more powerful among Neslos." Ierma lovingly touched Eiden's cheek. He leaned to her touch.

"I'm not strong like my uncle," he protested.

"You're still young, not even of age, and ..and hurt. You will grow stronger than him." Ierma said.

"Why have we never heard any of it? I only know some stories of how humans killed creature people.” Nub wondered.

”You see, later most people actually speculated that the black dragons were never fair, always were dark and corrupted.” Eiden had heard many of such theories.

"You saw one," Ivar stated. Eiden looked at him and nodded.

"I did, I'm pretty sure. I have seen very old paintings from my grandfather's library." Eiden was adamant.

"How big?" Clade asked. Eiden didn't remember much.

"Pretty big I guess, the place reeked of dark magic. I was already hurt. I mostly remember feelings." Eiden didn't even want to remember anymore. But he knew it was necessary.

"What is your plan, my lord?" Ierma asked. It was clear to everyone Eiden was moving with a purpose.

"I need someone inside the palace. I need to know where they keep the black dragon," he turned to friends.

"Remember the person we met in the bakery."

"The guy who recognized you?"

"Yes. I think I could trust him. But, no I don't want to disclose your identities to him at once. He might know someone from the inside.” Eiden turned to Ierma.

"Ierma, I need another favor. I need ancient lore about the black dragons. Anything, any story documented." Eiden stood up and paced back and forth. He sighed and looked at his friends.

"Do you really want to get mixed up with my business?" He asked his friends. They looked at each other.

"Yes,"

"Then you need to learn self-defense," Eiden turned to Ivar.

"Could you please see what weapons they can use? Cissa already is good with knives. I guess you know your weapons." Ivar took a moment to answer.

"Alright,"

Eiden thought for a second.

"Ierma, come to think of it, I felt it's very safe here, even before I put my wards. You must have set your own,"

"I learned a lot of such concealments to avoid people thinking I'm practicing magic." she smiled proudly. He sighed in relief.

Eiden started cleansing his blood and magic by both rituals and medicinal baths that very night. At dawn, with Ierma, Eiden updated his cryslet into seven crystals. Apart from the four he already chose as a child, he selected fire agate for cleansing and purification, rare blue luminite for magical focus and clarity, and black onyx for strength and endurance.

Eiden's friends and Ivar were busy with finding suitable weapons. Cissa had more or less mastered throwing knives, and he's opted to try out different knives. Clade used to rely on his brute strength, and Ivar thought he would be good with a short club and long knife. Nub was very interested in simple magic, therefore, Ierma started to teach her some basic runes and spells.

After a few days of intense training with his updated cryslet, Eiden felt he was ready to proceed with his plans.