Our Over-Regulated, Baseless Economy

There’s been a lot of talk, since this is election season, about which person or party can fix the economy. The question we should be asking shouldn’t be, “Who can fix the economy?” but, “Can the economy be fixed?” Before we ask whether or not the fundamentals of the economy are strong, we should be looking at if the economy even has fundamentals. Before we can judge what we should do with the economy, we need to look at a few things. The first is the housing market that recently cost taxpayers 700 billion dollars. After that, we need to take a look at our economic base. Finally, we must evaluate the government’s role in the economy.

 

Everyone knows about our pals Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that we just had to bailout for 700 billion. Not that many people know why. A lot of people are blaming President Bush (R) and the Republicans for the current state of the economy. Well, the reason the economy is so bad is because of the housing market, which became unsustainable due to predatory and insecure loans made by mortgage companies such as Fannie and Freddie. To figure out why this happened, we need to look all the way back to 1977. It is 1977, President Carter (D) is in office and the Democrats control both the House and the Senate. A bill comes up, called the Community Reinvestment Act, which was created in response to a lack of credit options to low-income Americans. The Congress passed the bill, and Carter signed it into law. This law, abbreviated to CRA, forced banks to offer credit options to low-income areas, meaning a bank could not refuse a loan just because someone was probably too poor to pay it off. The banks came up with loans they could sell to the poor in order to meet the requirements of the CRA. The people these loans targeted would not qualify for loans under regular circumstances, allowing them to buy houses they could not normally afford. There’s a reason they wouldn’t qualify for the loans. It’s because they couldn’t pay for them. The mortgages are called subprime mortgages. Prime, of course, meaning good, and sub meaning below or less than, thus these are “less than good mortgages”. These people couldn’t pay for their loans, but some tricky maneuvering by legal departments allowed the subprime lending to continue on. In 1995, under President Clinton (D), the CRA is expanded to allow for even more subprime mortgages. This brings us back to our buddies Fannie and Freddie. Fannie Mae became officially backed by the government in 1968, under President Johnson (D). Freddie Mac was created in 1970 under Nixon (R). Both of these occurred under a Democrat controlled Congress. This isn’t to say the Democrats are entirely to blame, since Nixon was involved and there was a small Republican majority in Congress during 1995, but President Bush and the Republicans of today should by no means be blamed. Throughout this time period, Fannie and Freddie acquired secondary subprime mortgages until 2007 when they started showing signs of weakness. Because nobody could pay off their loans, the companies holding those loans were hemorrhaging money, and by 2007 it couldn’t be covered up by legal tricks anymore. By 2008, Fannie and Freddie owned 50% of all securities, including a substantial number of subprime mortgages. Since subprime mortgages are not profitable, this brought about the need for the 700 billion bailout to prevent Fannie and Freddie from collapsing, which would lead to massive loss of homes. This package was a necessary band aid, but by no means a fix, and it shouldn’t have been needed in the first place. In the hindsight offered by history, one must ask, “Why didn’t the government realize that there’s a reason the banks didn’t offer loans to those people?”

 

The next major problem with our economy is that it doesn’t exist. Every year, more and more manufacturing jobs are exported to other countries. We have a service economy, and it gets more and more intangible every year. This is shown by the housing market which was based on mortgages people couldn’t pay. If you have no money, and someone else with no money owes you five-hundred dollars, how much money do you have? The correct answer is none, since you have no money, the person that owes you has no means with which to pay you back, and no one in their right mind would by a debt that won’t be paid back. That’s actually where the government comes in. Through Fannie and Freddie, the government bought all of those loans that couldn’t be paid back, thus artificially stimulating our economy by encouraging people to go into debt they can’t pay, along with encouraging businesses to make the loans, knowing they can rely on the government to save them from bad business decisions. This sounds fine until you realize the government is paying money for those loans, and where does the government get money? Taxes. Every time the government buys faulty loans, that’s money in taxes that are taken from the people. Every dollar the government takes is one less dollar people have to fuel the economy by buying or to pay off the massive debt they incurred from the bad business decisions. Basically, the government is buying loans with money it got from the people who are in debt because of the loans. Do you see the problem here? This practice of government intervention and rescue of businesses that make mistakes accomplishes three things. One, it increases deficit spending, thus increasing the nation’s debt. Two, it ensures people will be forced to go into negatives themselves, since they are struggling to pay off the loans the government bought with their money. Three, it makes people more dependent on government handouts and rescues, reducing personal responsibility as well weakening the base of the economy as a whole by removing competition via an elimination of the risks associated with business decisions. Our economy is based on the principles of the free market. People own businesses and have to run them wisely to compete with other businesses that off the same services. If a person makes good decisions, they prosper, but if a person makes bad decisions they fail and are removed from the market. Each person is accountable for their own decisions, which ensures people, to maintain an acceptable standard of living, work hard and make wise economic choices, which provides us with a strong and vibrant economy. Whenever the government rescues people from their bad decisions, it undermines that personal accountability, and people no longer have the incentive to work hard or compete, since their standard of living is ensured by government hand-outs. In addition, every dollar the government spends trying to “save” an economic sector is one less dollar that could be used by consumers to support that sector. One option, the option of government intervention and rescue, provides a standard of living for the owners of that sector and higher taxes for everyone else. The second option is the government stays out of it and the consumers decide whether or not that sector is important enough to keep afloat. They do this by deciding whether or not to buy from that sector. If the sector is important, then people will support it through the act of paying for goods and services. If people don’t want to buy the service from that sector, then it obviously isn’t important enough to warrant government intervention. There are situations, however, when government intervention is necessary to prevent a tragedy, such as when a sector can’t be saved by people buying the service, and the loss of the sector will collapse the framework of the economy, such as the scenario represented by the housing market. However, as is also shown by the housing market, most, if not all, of these scenarios are caused by government intervention in the first place. Since our economy was based on the capital principles of competition, personal accountability, and the will of the people when it comes to the importance of different sectors of the economy, and the government has completely disposed of all of these in the past 30-40 years, it can be safely concluded that our economy is no longer based on those principles. One might ask how a Capitalist economy can be based on something other than Capitalist principles. For an answer, one just needs to look at the current state of the economy.

 

Now we must look at the role of government in the economy. From the 70’s on, with the exception of President Reagan (R), and one or two others, each administration has seen a rise in government intervention in the economy. Now, it is easy to argue that the high levels of government intervention during President Clinton’s administration led to the largest surplus in history, but it is also easy to argue that the high level of government intervention in the Soviet Economy led to it having the strongest economy in the history of Russia, until it collapsed from overspending and an exhausted and dilapidated economy. In addition, it must be pointed out that deficits don’t necessarily hurt the economy, depending on what the deficit is for. The greatest example of deficit spending improving the economy is World War II where massive deficit spending spurred industrial growth and led to the U.S. being the dominant economic power of the 21^st century. An example of deficit spending hurting the economy is the Welfare program, which leads to 80 cents less made in employment for every dollar spent on the program. In both cases, massive amounts of money are spent by the government, but to different results. The difference? In the example of World War II, the deficit spending was on tanks and planes made in the U.S. and paychecks for soldiers. Whichever factory made the best planes and tanks would get the most business, encouraging competition and personal responsibility, and whichever soldiers did the best were promoted and made more money, to the same result. In the case of Welfare, however, government money goes not to the one that outcompetes or makes the best decisions, but often to the opposite. It is very rare that a successful businessman is on Welfare. Welfare encourages people to not compete or make wise business decisions, since that would take them off Welfare, but in addition to this, and even more fundamental, it does not encourage production or work, both of which being vital to a Capitalist economy. According to an American Voice report, every dollar the government puts into Welfare leads to a drop of 80 cents earned from employment because people have no more incentive to work. Less work means less income tax money going into the government, which, when the nearly 1 trillion dollar a year price of various Welfare programs is taken into account, means more taxes on those who do have jobs. More taxes means less money for people to spend on the economy, and less money being spent on the economy means more unemployment and more need for government bailouts. Now that the two types of deficit spending have been established, ask yourself this, which type of deficit spending are the government bailouts?

 

 This is normally the part where you are told what we “must” do to “fix” the problem. Not here, not now. The economy is not broken, so it can’t be “fixed”. The economy, as a living entity that is fluid and flexible, has been killed by government intervention and loss of accountability. Throwing more money, and thus more unnecessary intervention, at the problem won’t make it go away. It will cover up the problem for now, but it won’t do anything permanently. Welfare, either corporate as in the bailout, or personal, as in the program, does not solve anything, since it provides no incentive to innovate, compete, or improve. As long as the government bails out corporations and people that make dumb choices, those people will keep making dumb choices. The only true “solution” to the economic problem is to let the current economy go and rebuild it as it was intended. People should be held accountable for their choices, but, unlike in the case of the CRA, they should also be able to make their own choices. You can not hold someone accountable for choices they had no say in, but neither can you bailout those people at the expense of hardworking taxpayers. The solution is to let the economy go where it goes and deregulate enough so that these banks can make economically sound choices and avoid subprime mortgages if they wish to. Then, if the bank fails, it is the fault of the bank and its competitors can take over, as is intended by the fundamentals of a Capitalist economy.

What Is Anarcho-Conservatism?

Ever since I first started labeling myself as an Anarcho-Conservative, people have been questioning the meaning of this term, or even flat out refusing to acknowledge its logical existence. I am going to attempt to clear up some misconceptions about not only Anarcho-Conservatism, but Conservatism in its entirety. As a forenote, I do not claim the honor of creating the term Anarcho-Conservatism, although I also do not know where the term originated from. I am only addressing the term as it applies to me.

First, let us look at what Anarchy is. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, Anarchy is “the absence of any form of political authority”. This falls in line with the mainstream interpretation of the word. Expounding upon this, as Anarchy is the lack of political authority, it becomes logically necessary to distinguish between two different forms of a lack of political authority. There is the breakdown of government because it is no longer needed, or what I will call positive Anarchy, and the breakdown of a needed government due to revolution, rebellion, natural disasters, invasion, or any of numerous other events. This is best described as negative Anarchy, as the lack of government has a negative impact on the populace. Naturally, it follows that positive Anarchy is desirable, while negative Anarchy is not. Communism is the ideal example of this. In True Communism, the philosophical form, the people reject government and live in communes where they share what they have for the mutual good of all. Something similar to that is the Christian idea of the Church, where all the Christians in the area support each other and  even non-believers through mission and ministry work. You give whatever you can, trusting God to look after you, and in the process, build the level of community Marx spoke of. Instead of getting into Christianity v. Marxism, which is a topic for another article, I will conclude Anarchy by saying that positive Anarchy is utopia, while negative Anarchy is dystopic in nature.

Now we must look to the second half of the label. Conservatism. Conservatism is less a political ideology and more a means to achieve it. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, Conservatism is “a political philosophy or attitude emphasizing respect for traditional institutions, distrust of government activism, and opposition to sudden change in the established order”. Thus, it can be said that Conservatism is the method of change that exists in opposition to extreme acts of rebellion, revolution, etc, barring extreme situations. This is not to say that Conservatives oppose change as, quite often, they disagree with the current state of government, but they are shown as different in their support of change by seeking change within the system, instead of seeking to end it. Further, hearing that a person is Conservative does not give any clue as to what their political ideology is. King Louis XVI and President Lincoln were both Conservatives. It is doubtful they would agree on how a government should be run. This is why you must look at the cultural/social context of the individual, or, in the case of today, you must assign a modifier to Conservative to distinguish what their ultimate goals are. As of now, in the U.S., there are four main branches of Conservatism. They are Paleo-Conservatism, Neo-Conservatism, Religious-Conservatism, and Libertarian-Conservatism. Paleo-Conservatism has an emphasis on preserving the cultures and traditions of a society, mainly through isolationism, while Neo-Conservatism has an emphasis on national security and spreading democracy abroad. These two are typically mutually exclusive, as Louis XVI would be a Paleo-Conservative, but a Neo-Conservative would attempt to dethrone him. Religious-Conservatism places a high value on moral and ethical traditions, but often singles out a specific religion to support, such as Christianity in the U.S. This often causes conflict with Libertarian-Conservatives, who typically oppose any sort of restriction on their freedoms or rights, including religious ones.

Thus, Anarcho-Conservatism would be gradual change in support of an eventual positive anarchy. Anarcho-Conservatism, as I apply it, is best described as the belief that government exists only to protect Life, Liberty, and Property. That fundamental, Natural Rights, must be protected, but the government should stay out of everything else. Anarcho-Conservatism, however, is achieved through a fusion of three of the four branches of American Conservatism. Since Positive Anarchy can not be achieved while totalitarian regimes threaten peace, it becomes necessary for all nations to be transformed into democratic, capitalist nations in order to ensure the freedom of the people in them, as well as the safety of the people abroad. It is for this same reason that policing forces must exist within each nation in order to protect the safety of those inside the nation. This brings several aspects of Neo-Conservatism into the picture, as a strong military and strong alliances are necessary to ensure peace and prosperity globally. Additionally, since Positive Anarchy is dependent upon individuals respecting the lives and freedoms of others, Libertarian-Conservatism plays a major part. Paleo-Conservatism does not fit into Anarcho-Conservatism, mainly because Anarchy has no traditional merit. As for Religious-Conservatism, due to the necessity of religion in all societies, and the necessary enforcement of morality in a society, which will be addressed in a future article, Religious-Conservatism is present insofar as much as the necessary amount of moral laws to protect liberties without infringing upon them.

This is Anarcho-Conservatism as I use it. Gradual change with the ultimate goal of a stable, peaceful, prosperous society completely devoid of the need for government, and thus, government itself. For those who still disagree about what Conservatism is, well, I will let the greatest president of the 20^th Century speak for me:

“If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals—if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.” – Ronald Reagan.

Re: “GAY = HELL ( Sorry )? Part Two!” – A Conservative Talk video

Below is the important text from my reply to KSicsFaces’ video on homosexuality

Hey KSics its JPAT from the Conservative Talk, I’m gonna address your arguments, valid and strawmen alike. Sorry for the utter out-of-the-bluedness of this, but I was directed here by a random message in my inbox. It’s late, so this is going to be entirely scripted, something I haven’t done in a long while. Don’t be surprised if you disagree with me or are offended by what I say. It’s kinda my job to be as  Politically Incorrect, radical, and offensive as possible, but I promise everything I say will have a logical basis. For this vid, I’m basically just gonna throw up the comments you referenced and give my little replies, so without further adieu, let us begin.

“Time to get real here. Open the bible, we don’t hate gay people, god does.”

I’m sorry, anyone who says that is probably an Atheist trying to make fun of Christians. From a Biblical perspective, we are to love our neighbors unconditionally. That doesn’t mean we must condone their behaviors. I have many friends of other religions, other political beliefs, and “alternative lifestyles.” It’s hard to be into the music and literature I’m into without making those friends. I’m still as hardcore Christian, Conservative, and intolerant as they come. The key is to never force your beliefs upon others, even when they are wrong.

“I really respect you KSic but I cant agree with you on this. I hate gay people because I’m a guy and I know what there doing. Its nasty! There just not good people.”

Once again, anyone who says something as asinine as that is probably screwing with ya. I mean, in all honesty, if the best reason you can come up with to negate an advocacy is your personal displeasure in it, then, well, you probably would make more friends by cutting out your tongue instead of letting it wag.

“Yes you can act black you dump bleep, its not a good thing either to acted colored. Time to start being Politically Correct… “Smart Guy”.”

I’m sorry, but if anyone actually said this to you, please point me to their channel so I can enjoy ridiculing them as much as they deserve. I’ll avoid the PC topic, as I could fill like fifty minutes of video on that alone.

“Gays want to adopt, that’s my beef. Sorry Karem but I believe a kid needs a father and a mother.”

That statement is actually pretty true, in its essence. It is better for a child to have both a father and a mother. However, legally speaking, there’s no way to avoid it if you recognize gay unions, which I actually have a video about, but speaking from the merits of the statement alone, it’s true. I’d rather see a child with a mother and a father, but if that’s not possible, well, I don’t really think enough research has been done into the comparative damages posed by lacking parents or having parents that set bad examples. If you want to get into the merits of gay adoption in more detail, I’m game, but I won’t address it on this vid.

“Being gay is a Choice, they just want attention and you’re giving it to them.”

Well, this is one of my most controversial opinions, but what the hell, I’ll say it anyway. Homosexuality is rooted in one of three things. It is either A) A choice, as the comment states; B) A birth defect, i.e., you are born wired that way; or C) A mental disease, i.e., you become gay later in life, which is different from just choosing to be. If it is A, well, I have no sympathy for them since they chose to be, and for several, certainly not all, but several, that may well be true. If it’s B or C, then we need to find the root cause of it, just as we do with all negative abnormalities and diseases. If it’s B, we prevent it pre-birth, with the parents’ consent. If it’s C, then we give them the option of treatment, assuming the diagnosis isn’t made before they reach the age of consent, in which case it’s legally up to the parents. I believe this is the most logical and safest approach to the issue, because, quite frankly, if it can be shown that B or C is correct, homosexuals will have to be accorded a special legal status protecting them under the ADA.

The Necessity for the Delegalization of Marriage

First off, I need to address a key topic. As a Conservative Christian, many of those reading this will expect me to rant about homosexual marriage. Well, all I have to say on that issue is this. I personally disagree with homosexuality and think that, like birth control, it serves zero actual purpose, as you can grow close to a person without having sex. On the other hand, I don’t think the number one priority of evangelicals should be to condemn the very sinners we are trying to save. After a person has accepted Christ, then we can focus on individual sins. Now that that’s out of the way, onto the article.

 

Whenever I hear the term “marriage contract”, I cringe. For the purpose of this article, I will define each word separately. Marriage is a spiritual/metaphysical union between two consenting individuals who desire to spend eternity together. A contract, in juxtaposition, is a legally binding agreement between two individuals expressing a willingness to work together under pre-arranged terms for a pre-arranged duration, that can be violated, usually at some cost to the violating party. Using these two definitions, I will show why the term “marriage contract” is an oxymoron and why we must then delegalize marriage.

 

There are two main reasons why we must remove marriage from the realm of government. The first is the ontological. As law is a manmade institution, and thus not eternally binding, to build a relationship based on a legal obligation is an embracement of materialism over human virtue. There are three main impacts stemming from the legalization of matrimony. The first impact is the love v fear paradigm. As a legal contract keeps both parties faithful due to the fear of consequences, love ceases to become a vital element in holding the relationship together. Motivation based upon fear of negative consequences, instead of motivation based on doing the right thing, reduces the actor to the state of an animal as survival of human dassein is placed above the value of the human soul. The second impact is that legalistic interpretations of human relations stifle love/human interaction by reducing the relationship to a codified list of obligations and norms that must be upheld by the parties involved. You no longer support your partner because you love him/her, but because you have a legal requirement to. Similar to a mechanized construct, the actor begins to behave in a way more driven by orders than desires. The third impact is the cyclical impact. Children born into a union where the participants, their parents, are driven more by the materialistic legal code than by the human emotion of love, will begin to see things with a materialist worldview, where marriage truly is nothing more than a contract of convenience. This can be seen plainly in the exploding rate of divorce that just keeps increasing with each subsequent generation. Thus for these three reasons, marriage must be seen as more than just a contract between two people for convenience, it must be deeper than the materialistic veneer placed upon it by our morally defunct society, it must be eternal.

 

The second reason to delegalize marriage is the political aspect. As long as marriage, and thus who an individual may marry, is within the realm of governance, politicians seeking to pander to voters will always be able to bring up marriage, a hot topic, as a way of distracting their constituents from the issues that got them elected, such as the fiscal policy of the U.S. Although there are many issues like this, such as the environment and health care to name a few, marriage is unique in that the fight over it polarize people like nothing else because marriage is the only issue that has a religious basis, the one thing that lies at the root of all people’s decision making. As long as marriage rights are something that can be traded, bought, and sold by politicians, someone’s religious beliefs on the issue will be trampled, creating even more of a divisive atmosphere and making work on other issues more difficult.

 

Thus, I suggest civil unions as an alternative to legal marriage. A civil union would function as an entirely secular contract between two consenting individuals for whatever the agreed upon time is. It would involve the merger of assets, joint-living arrangements, child-care, etc. However, marriage would stay out of the realm of government, a purely religious topic. Any two people could become married in the eyes of their religion. If they have no religion, then obviously marriage is not necessary, as the belief in eternity would not be there, making their relationship materialistic from the start. As even college roommates could apply for a civil union to simplify living arrangements, this would no longer be a major political issue, forcing the debate to shift to more appropriate topics, such as the economy.  Thus, only by delegalizing marriage and installing civil unions may all of these problems be avoided or solved.

Let’s get out and vote! But why?

Alright, I know this is a bit late, but I finally have the time to make this point. I am sick of all this “get out and vote” crap. The ads say everyone should vote, and people and organizations, such as the infamous ACORN, have been doing all they can to get new voters. So, why is more people voting a good thing? Well, I can’t say it is.

 

First off, I need to point out that more people voting has no benefit. What is the actual benefit of having a bunch of people who have no idea about politics whatsoever voting? I mean, isn’t that like putting the fate of the Super Bowl in the hands of a player that can’t pick out a football on the ball rack? I believe everyone should vote, but not at the cost of sacrificing qualifications to vote. I believe we should only vote if we know enough to make a good decision, and that means doing more than watching the news and commercials.

 

Secondly, now that I’ve made clear only informed people should vote, I have the proposition of the article. We should instate a poll test. Basically, you have to answer some basic questions about the candidates and their views (based solely on previous votes) on issues (previously agreed upon by both campaigns). If someone is unable to pass the poll test, they should be unable to register. Now, I will need to address some really bad arguments that are always brought up.

 

The first, well, “it’s racist”. Ok, I just need to point out, it’s a standardized test graded by a computer. The computer won’t know what their race is, and even if it did, the computer would be unable to be racist. Additionally, it is argued that minorities are not as knowledgeable of politics as whites, so a poll test would be racist. My counter to that is twofold. One, big whoop. Alright, like I said, people who are not qualified should not vote, regardless of demographics. Secondly, even if minorities happen to be less knowledgeable of the issues, that is not the fault of everyone else. It is the choice of each individual whether or not they research the candidates. Thus, if minorities choose to be unqualified to vote, it is their right to do so. However, regardless of demographics, if someone is unknowledgeable of the issues, then THEY SHOULD NOT DECIDE THE FATE OF THE WORLD.

 

The second is that it is biased towards certain ideologies. Well, if the test is biased towards an ideology, the other campaign will not agree to it and it won’t be used until it is adequately revised. If the facts are biased towards a certain ideology, well, it’s stupid to try to stifle that, since that ideology is obviously the most fact-based. And if a certain ideology is true, then I see no reason why people shouldn’t have to be knowledgeable of it to vote.

 

Like I said, these arguments are stupid. Obviously, poll tests aren’t racist, since a standardized test can’t be racist, and any demographic statistics are about the demographics’ choices, and not representative of any racist ideology. Furthermore, by requiring research to vote, the only ideologies you will have a bias towards are the ones supported by the facts. Truthfully, the only reason to oppose a poll test would be if one is afraid that knowledgeable voters won’t support them. Obviously we don’t want that party in charge.

Breakdown of the Alternative: Why Infinity is the Best Renewable

Alright, for this one, I’m going to be talking about the various alternatives and why fusion is supreme. The five energies I’ll cover, in addition to fusion, are: Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Biofuels, and Fission. I’m going to address the key flaws of all of those energies, the I will explain why fusion solves for all of them.

 

Solar power has numerous flaws. One of the flaws is that it relies on hydrogen. Since the sun produces energy by hydrogen fusion, similarly to the plan I will cover, solar power is adding unnecessary steps to the process, as well as taking up land needlessly. In addition, since solar power needs clear skies, meteorological disturbances such as storms, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and asteroid impacts would take out our power grid, since only so much energy can be stored in batteries. Since the eruption of a large volcano in Yellow Stone is likely within the next several decades, and the ash would cover the best area in the U.S. for solar production, this is a frightening possibility. And, due to the historical precedent of asteroids striking the earth, an impact would throw dust into the sky and take out most emergency services. The possibility of meteorological disturbances is further compounded by the necessary centralization of solar cells, as there are only so many areas capable of providing enough sun. According to one plan I have heard, covering one third of Nevada with solar cells would provide enough energy for the entire U.S. That sounds brilliant, and, if I was an enemy of the U.S., I would support that plan. Once the production of any key resource is centralized, that nation becomes easy to cripple. Say we have a third of Nevada covered in power cells. What would happen if one were to detonate an aerial EMP? The wipeout of the U.S. power grid would ensue, leaving the U.S. effectively crippled. And even if you do spread out the power cells, it is inevitable that large farms will form, and if we have even as many as eight solar plantations, taking out one would still wipe out the U.S. economy for several months at least. Solar energy, at least in its present form, leaves the U.S. power grid vulnerable to both terrorist attack and natural disaster.

 

 Wind power is no better, since there are even fewer areas where wind is abundant enough to be used. There are two types of wind power, coastal, and inland. Coastal power is dangerous because this involves placing the wind turbines out at sea, but the two areas most suited for this are Florida and California. In Florida, hurricanes strike yearly, and have been doing so in increasing number. Whenever a hurricane struck Florida, our turbines would have to be stopped, assuming they even survive. Of course, if a powerful enough hurricane struck, the turbines would be demolished. But, like I mentioned, mentioned, even a weaker one would force us to shut down the turbines during its duration. Think of the effects of Katrina and Ike. We’ve had massive gas shortages because of hurricanes hitting inland areas. Imagine coastal areas, where the force of the hurricane is even more brutal. Now, imagine if, instead of gas, which just prevents you from driving, if it was electricity. That’s days without power on the East Coast. That means several shocks to the economy every year during hurricane season. California is even worse. California is on a major fault and experiences frequent earthquakes. What if, say, our largest wind farm were to be struck by an earthquake? Since we would not even be able to shut down the turbines in preparation, unless we shut them down days ahead, we would suffer heavy losses to our power production. Since there is no “earthquake season”, we would have frequent and unpredictable shocks to the West Coast economy. But then there are inland wind farms, which aren’t as threatened by hurricanes and earthquakes. The issue with these, however, is that they are eyesores and incredibly noisy, so they could only be built far away from densely populated areas. This reduces the amount of available land for wind power to a miniscule area, which them leads to the possibility of electro-magnetic pulses wiping out our entire power grid. Then there is another problem with wind turbines, regardless of location. They are made of metal, and a lot of it. What would it do to metal prices if we were to build miles and miles of wind turbines? And what else is made of metal? If you answered pretty much anything, you are correct. So yes, we get off coal, but in exchange the price of cars sky-rockets, as does the price of bicycles, toasters, and key chains.

 

Geothermal is a widely supported energy that really shouldn’t be. There are several problems with geothermal, not the least of which being the environment. Since geothermal power needs heat vents, more commonly known as hot springs and geysers, and since most of these happen to be in national parks, this means we would have to deface national treasures for power. I know reading is important, but I don’t think we should jack Old Faithful to power our lamps, at least not when there are other alternatives available. Another issue with geothermal is the centralization. Since hot springs and geysers tend to be centralized due to specific environmental conditions, our geothermal plants would be susceptible to the EMP attack described in the above paragraphs. Finally is an argument for geothermal energy that is really easily turned. The argument is that there is enough harnessable geothermal energy under the crust to power the entire U.S. That doesn’t take into account one thing. Growth. If we have enough for now, then we will not have enough for twenty years down the road. And even if we do then, what about the twenty after that? The problem with geothermal, solar, and wind is that they all need access to either large amounts of land, or they need access to limited spots of land. Once that runs out, we find ourselves at what they call peak production, when further growth is impossible.

 

Biofuels are possibly the worst all around, since they have no advantage whatsoever I can think of, and a nearly endless list of negatives. The main argument for biofuels over fossil fuels is that they are “carbon neutral”. This means they convert CO₂ to oxygen, so the CO₂ they release has been made up for. There are two flaws with this, however. Fossil fuels are also carbon neutral. They were at one point plants, so they already converted CO₂ to oxygen, therefore they have the same advantage as biofuels. In addition to this, biofuels require arable land, which, by definition, would have something growing there already. That something would be carbon positive, in that it converts CO₂ to oxygen, without releasing any itself. This means that biofuels effectively add more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, since fossil fuels don’t replace the already existing plants, as well as being carbon neutral from the start.  Plus, biofuels fall into the same trap of there only being so much arable land, so there will eventually be a peak of production hat is prohibitive of further growth. But even worse is that biofuels grow on the same land as our food does, so biofuels have to compete with our food, so we reach a double peak, one of biofuel production and one of food, and these peaks meet in the middle, so for one to grow, the other must decline. And through this competition, food prices will have to be increased, and since the U.S. is a global exporter of grain, this would drastically impact global food prices, and would likely force many of the world’s poorest into starvation. Plus, since once we hit out peak, we have to start importing from other countries, such as Brazil and much of central Africa, farmers will slash the rainforest to make a profit. This will not only destroy biodiversity and tank the numerous medical advances we have seen coming from the rainforests, but it will also eliminate one of the main eliminators of CO₂. Finally, biofuels require massive amounts of water. In a time of global and national drought, can we truly be considering growing fuel that would trade off with water for our crops and our people?

 

Finally is fission, which serves as the most reasonable midterm solution, but will not work in the long run. The main issue with fission is the threat of terrorists getting their hands on the spent fuel and using it to make dirty bombs, although proper security will prevent this. Another risk is trying to store the waste effectively. Burying it under mountains will work for now, but we will eventually run into mountains, leading to a sort of “peak mountain syndrome”.  Plus, the fuel used for fission is limited, thus making fission an unsustainable source of fuel for the long term, although the short term will work, since we do have a lot of mountains, ample security, and plenty of fuel. Once fusion technology has been adequately developed, we can transfer to that.

 

Fusion is the solution to all of these problems. Fusion reactors take up very little room for the power they release, since one reactor would likely produce as much power as a medium sized wind or solar farm, but for only a fraction of the land. Fusion, unlike the others, is not dependent upon specific terrains, meteorological conditions, or even resources, so they can be built literarily anywhere. There will be no peak, since the solution to running out of land is to build up, which is impossible with biofuels, geothermal, wind or solar, since they all take up a necessary horizontal area, and stacking effectively eliminates whatever is below, since only the top panel would get the sun, higher wind turbines would get different amounts of wind, geothermal only has so much power per location, and biofuels need sun just as much as solar panels. In addition, fusion releases no CO₂, sulfur, or waste, since the product of smashing hydrogen together is helium. This makes hydrogen carbon neutral, a reducer of acid rain, and waste free. Since there is no waste, terrorism is not a threat, and we don’t need to worry about running out of mountains. And, since hydrogen, being the most abundant element in the universe, and effectively irreducible, is infinite, there will be no peak fuel either. In addition, since fusion is entirely safe, it can be built in cities, towns, or rural areas, meaning we could have a plant for every large town or city, to provide it with power. Since fusion would be spread out so completely, a handful of attacks or natural disasters has no overall impact on the grid as a whole. And since fusion is entirely self-contained, an asteroid or eruption blocking out the sun would just provide us with shade while we continue making massive amounts of clean energy.  Fusion perfectly solves electricity production, but you may be asking, “What about my car?” Well, there is always the option of going electric, which would be using fusion, or you can use fusion’s cousin, plain hydrogen fuel, which can power your car for the equivalent price of $2.50 per gallon gas. This means that hydrogen, through traditional fuel uses and fusion is capable of powering all of the U.S. without any negatives. Clearly hydrogen is the path the U.S. should take for a smart and sustainable energy policy.

Hydrogen: The Key to Sustainable U.S. Hegemony?

I’ll start off with the basic premise of what hydrogen energy is defined as for the purpose of this article. Hydrogen energy is the burning of hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels in the engines of vehicles. My stance that I will defend is that hydrogen is key to sustainable U.S. hegemony. There are many advantages to hydrogen, such as it being environmentally sound, but for the purpose of this article I will only cover those that are applicable to the military.

 

For several reasons, U.S. hegemony can not be sustained based upon a fossil fuel economy. As supply diminishes, prices will skyrocket, which will either lead to massive over-budget spending by the DoD, or to a decrease in the overall effectiveness of the U.S. military. Since fossil fuel stores are located in only a few areas, many of which are global hotspots where we are militarily active, supply is always subject to disruption, and the U.S. also has to worry about attacking suppliers of its fuel, even though many of those suppliers heavily support counter-U.S. movements. Since fossil fuels are finite, they will eventually run out, forcing a switch-over anyway. Since the switch-over is inevitable, it would be in the best interests of the U.S. to switch to an alternative fuel while fossil fuel prices are still relatively low. Finally, since fossil fuels are limited to certain areas, mobility is hampered by the need for long supply chains that must be defended, as well as the need for carriers to constantly restock fuel reserves, since a jet without fuel is worthless.

 

A major advantage of hydrogen is how cheap it is. Once the initial technology is developed, it is relatively cheap to produce useable hydrogen, at least in relation to fossil fuels. Based upon the source I used, it costs $21.00/MMBtu (Million British Thermal Units), which leads to an energy equivalency of $2.50 gas. Since technology inevitably gets cheaper with time, this is likely to drop even further. In addition, hydrogen, being the most abundant element in the universe, and the basic building block of almost everything, is very abundant, eliminating the need for foreign sources. In addition, the waste product of burning hydrogen is pure water, thereby making this source of energy effectively infinite. The benefit of lower cost is obvious, since this lower cost will allow more money in the DoD’s budget to be spent on bombs, planes, tanks, guns, and training, all of which are vital to continued U.S. dominance. The benefit of abundance is that we will no longer be dependent upon foreign sources, which will allow us to strike all threats to our security without having to worry about supply disruptions. Since our main area of engagement also happens to be our main source of fuel, this aspect is vital to sustaining our power. An infinite amount of energy is also important, since the price of good is governed by supply and demand, and an infinite supply means that no matter what the demand is, the only way the price can go over the long term is down, and due to the abundance explained above, supply disruptions are also unlikely.

 

The second category of advantages is readiness. Since readiness is key to any military power, we need an equally ready energy infrastructure. Water makes up most of the earth’s surface, with most of it being salt, making it prohibitive to drink. Since the hydrogen is removed, the waste products, being the salt, bacteria, etc. that make it undrinkable will be left behind to be disposed of, leaving the hydrogen which can be burnt and will turn into clean water. This abundance of water will allow refineries to be set up within, or near, almost any long-term area of engagement.  Once the technology has been further refined and condensed, it may become possible to install plants on aircraft carriers, allowing for ships that are capable of refueling planes anywhere, even if there is no access to other fuel. Basically, this allows us to position a carrier offshore from the target area and launch raids until the threat is eliminated or its considerable food stores are depleted. This will make U.S. supply lines nearly immune to disruption, since restocking will have to occur only rarely.

 

Chronicles of Valtorex; Book Three: Life, Love, and Destiny; Chapter Four: Rest, Relaxation, and Hellfire

Valtorex at the Academy: Rest, Relaxation, and Hellfire  

 

“Vacation is the best time to get work done.”  

 

The five of them, Myrstaline, Valen, Valinor, Valrie, Valtorex, are walking down a barely existent road in the elven forests. As they are walking along the path, they talk about their plans. Myrstaline says, with a sigh, “It looks like I’m going to be stuck in court all summer. I hate entertaining guests.” Valtorex says, “I keep telling you, you can come with us.” Myrstaline replies, “And I keep telling you, if I don’t show, then my father won’t let me return to the Academy.” (Then stop complaining) (Bad Ian) They drop the subject and continue on in silence. After a few moments, Valen asks, “So, Valrie, how many kids will you guys be having?” (To RAT, to answer your question on the 1^st about Valrie) Valrie abruptly turns, her face red. (No Word! She doesn’t turn her face red! She turns and her face is red!) She punches Valen, and even his lightning reflexes aren’t good enough to prevent him from being staggered. He stumbles back, his hand cupping his jaw. Valtorex and Valinor laugh. Valrie turns back and heads on down the road. Valen, not wanting to get on Valrie’s bad side leaves it at that and follows. They keep walking until the sun goes down and they make camp. After dinner, Valtorex pulls out one of his spellbooks to study. Valrie walks over and grabs the book from his hands. She checks the cover, sees it is a book about combat spells, and tosses it back in his pack. She says, “We’re on break. Relax, have some fun for once. It doesn’t have to be all study.” (Crap, I have two chapters to do this month. Why does Valtorex get all the time off?) Valtorex sighs and says, “Alright, I’ll relax a bit. If we get killed, though, don’t blame me.” (No, blame Canada!) (Does Canada even exist in this world?) (Fun reference) Valtorex stands and goes over to the rest of the group. He sits down with them, Valrie sitting next to him, and they begin talking, joking,  and just having fun.  

They are abruptly interrupted by the arrow that lands in the ground right in the center of the group. Before the rest can even blink in surprise, Valtorex is up, his crossbows (Andrew, he has two crossbows) drawn, ready to shoot the attacker. He then sees there isn’t just one attacker; there’s a lot more. Around them are twenty elven bowmen, all with arrows knocked and bowstrings drawn. An elf dressed in gold armor walks out of the trees and Valtorex takes aim at him. (Yes Jeff, the elf doesn’t dress in gold armor. He already is wearing it.) (Hey hey, it was like two when I wrote that) Valen sees this and says, “Don’t bother. He’ll dodge anything you shoot at him.” Valtorex replies, “Sure, the bolts, but can he dodge Assassin’s Lightning? How about Phantasmal Killer? Maybe Wail of the Banshee. It’ll take ‘em all down.” The elf in gold says, “You will be dead with forty arrows in you before you hit the ground or a syllable leaves your mouth.” Myrstaline sighs and stands. She steps in front of Valtorex and says, “In the name of King Silanto doth lo Lün, stand down.” The elf, most likely a captain, retorts, “And who are you to use the name of our lord?” Myrstaline replies, her voice taught and somewhat annoyed, “I am Lady Myrstaline doth lo Lün, daughter of House Tria Lün. Stand down in the name of my father or face the consequences.” (She’s annoyed because she didn’t want to reveal who her father is to her friends. I’m annoyed because neither did I, but what’s done is done and I don’t feel like changing it) (Eh, I never see why royalty characters don’t ever want to reveal their status) (They don’t want it to influence the way people treat ‘em I guess) (“Eh” Andrew? Maybe you’re from Canadia) The elves quickly put away their arrows and hold their bows at their sides. The captain bows and says, “Pardon me, m’lady. I did not recognize you.” Myrstaline sighs and says, “It is to be expected. I’m rarely ever allowed out of the court.” The captain says, “My lady, you are back in elven territory. You may dismiss your guards and we will escort you back to the palace.” Valen jumps to his feet in protest, but Myrstaline cuts him off, her voice haughty and noble now. “They are  not my guards. They are friends of mine from the Draconic Academy. They are here on break, as am I. I expect you to show respect to them, especially my mentor in the Arcane.” She gestures to Valtorex. Valtorex bows eloquently before standing back up. His crossbows never leave the captain. The captain, obviously irritated at having to show respect to non-elves, says, “Very well, my lady. We will escort you and your ‘friends’ (I think he should make air quotes too and speak in a French accent) (I think not) to Tria Lün. We will make camp here to protect you.” That night, the two groups have a tense camp.  

As soon as Valtorex falls asleep, (He actually sleeps, I thought for sure he’d be standing guard or something.) (Yes, well, he didn’t think or something. I’m too lazy to write more dialogue for Myrstaline too) the elves get up and bind the four cabin mates with rope. Before they are finished binding him, Valtorex wakes up. One elf holds a finely crafted dagger to his throat. The fine elven craftsmanship (CRAFTSMANSHIP is one word!!!!! I’m surprised you missed that Andrew! Jaff, I’m not so surprised. Unless he holds a ship full of craftsmen at his throat?) (Be glad I spell-checked YOUR comment…Jaff?) (Inside joke Andrew…) (From Ch. 3) gives it a razor edge and amazing lightness. The fine dagger with all of its intricate designs and precious metals and gems melts like any other with a word from Valtorex. Valtorex kicks the elf binding his feet and pulls the Knife of the Ancestors free and cuts the rope around his chest. (How does he pull his dagger free if the rope is binding his chest, including his arms?) (His arms were next to his KNIFE) Valtorex jumps to his feet, throwing his knife at the nearest elf, piercing his gut and turning his green tunic brown with blood. (Red and green make a brownish color, I’m guessing. Art people, correct me) (Not in art, but you’re probably right. Besides, you have exclusive author powers-what you say goes.) (lol) (NOOO! Not text speak!! Tis my greatest enemy!!!) (A pretty silly enemy to have) The elf falls back, his hands grasping futilely at the hilt as his blood flows freely out. Valtorex draws his swords and attacks the other elves, cutting Valrie, Valinor, and Valen’s bindings as he reaches them. The other three enter the fray as Myrstaline is awakened. She screams when an elf falls at her feet, his skull cleaved open by Valinor’s greatsword. She tries to kick the brain matter off her shoes, but she can’t get it off. She now realizes why Valtorex always wears red. (And not because Valtorex loves the color redJ) (Just the author, just the author…) The camp falls into chaos, the captain trying to marshal his troops. When he realizes he’s lost half of his original group, he calls a ceasefire. (Sure, ceasefire came about once we had things that actually fired projectiles, but let’s just assume it’s about Valtorex’s flame magicJ)  

The captain and Valtorex meet in the center of the camp, their respective parties behind them, hands on weapons. Myrstaline hesitates in the center (,still kicking brain matter off her shoes,J ) before standing behind the captain. The captain says, “We’ll accept your surrender in exchange for a reduced sentence. You killed ten loyal members of the Elven Kingdoms. That is death for you and all in your party. If you surrender we may be able to reduce your three accomplices’ punishment to life in prison.” Valtorex replies, “Those ten were killed in self defense. I will neither apologize for my party defending itself nor surrender when we’re winning. Actually, I’d never surrender to dishonest scum like you.” The captain moves forward to strike him, but Myrstaline commands, “Wait! What’s this about ‘self defense’?” The captain yells, “Lies!” Valtorex replies, “They were binding us with rope to leave behind. Just look, you’ll find the rope cut by my swords near where we were sleeping.” Myrstaline does look and sees what he said. She also sees a rope in the hands of an elf with a knife in his gut. She comes back, carrying the rope. She demands, “Captain, explain this!” The captain replies, nervous now, “My lady, please understand. We could not allow the royal name, your name, be sullied by these barbarians!” (Maybe not a French accent, just make him speak french!) (Why? Are you calling the French cowards?) (Just words from your mouth) Valen interjects, “Hey! I’m from here!” The captain continues, “Imagine what the people would say! The only reason we tolerate the Draconics is by order of the Great King! A lady of your breeding should not be with foreigners!” Myrstaline, pissed now, yells, “I’ll marry a foreigner if I want! I dare you or any of the other isolationists to stop me!” The captain slaps her and she goes down. Realizing what he just did, but no longer caring, he picks her up and orders his troops to open fire if Valtorex and the others try to follow. He goes off, carrying Myrstaline. At Firstlight, the elves withdraw. Valtorex, knowing she will be safe, resigns himself to letting the elves escort Myrstaline to the city.  

The four of them continue on their way to Valen’s village. On the way, they talk about Myrstaline for awhile, but when the others realize there’s nothing they can do, they give up. The fall into an uncomfortable silence for about an hour before Valen asks, “So, what do you guys want to do once we get there?” Valtorex asks, “What is there to do? You never described your village.” (Or if he did, you guys didn’t hear it and I’m too lazy to describe it as if they are seeing it) Valen says, “Well, there’s an inn that has good wine, but not much else, a brook in the woods nearby that is good for training, plenty of animals to hunt, and ruins to explore. Not much else though. That’s kinda why I asked you guys to come along.” (Misery loves company) (When I first read that I thought it said Myrstaline loves company) (Well that too)They stop talking for awhile, not having much else to say. They keep walking and that night make camp. (Word! Night isn’t the one making camp! They are!) They fall into the routine they adopted earlier that year, marching all day, making camp, then waking up the next morning to march again. After a week of break, they finally reach Valen’s village. Valtorex then informs them he could have teleported them. Valrie is mad, Valinor is confused at the impracticality, but Valen understands why he did it. He defends Valtorex from Valrie. “Valrie, look at it this way. The longer it took us on the road, the longer it’ll take for us to get bored here and be at each other’s throats.” Valtorex then says, “Besides, we’re here. Let’s check in at Valen’s and go to the inn for something to drink.” Valen then grins sheepishly. Valtorex just looks at him in that, “what did you do?” (I know that look well) (The look I always give you during Halo) sort of way. Valen says, his nervousness clear, “Well, that’s the thing; my parents don’t really let me drink. They still think I’m too young.” (Lesson: Never drink and fire arrows) (J) Only Valrie is shocked. She says, incredulous, “But you’re sixteen! Look at us! Valtorex and Valinor have been drinking for the gods know how long and me, well it was my choice not to drink!” Valen counters, “Yes well, if I grew at the rate of the other elves, I would be learning how to spell my name right now.” Valtorex jokes, “So you’re behind?” Valrie and Valinor laugh, but Valen’s face just gets red. (Don’t worry RAT, I know you learned your name last year. J Sorry, couldn’t resist) Valen tries to cover it and says, “All joking aside, my parents aren’t likely to let me drink, and they know the bartender.” Valtorex says, “We’ll just have to talk to them about it.” Valen sighs before sarcastically saying, “Good luck with that.”  

They walk into the village and are quickly stopped by a pair of elven (I hate that whenever I see elven, I first read eleven!) (Dyslexic) (Jeff said he writes it that way too! And it’s dyslexic not dylexic) (non-uniqued: Same thing, litterally. You wrote the same word twice. And, BTY, Ian, I only said that to make you feel better) guards. One of them speaks in elven to the other. Valtorex gathers they are talking about Valen in an insulting manner. Valtorex says, in flawless elven, “Leave him alone, he could kill both of you without your knowledge.” Valen, surprised that Valtorex knows elven, says, in elven, “Thank you.” Valtorex replies, in common, “No problem.” One guard then says, “Very well, you may enter. But, boy, if you cause any more trouble. I’ll kick you out for good.” Valen nods, obviously uncomfortable. They follow Valen to his parent’s house. Unfortunately for Valinor and Valtorex, the house is, like most elven houses, in a tree. Valen practically jumps up the tree, barely using his hands. Valrie gets up, although with much more effort than Valen. Valtorex finally gives up and uses a levitation spell. Valinor, with no such advantage, uses his daggers to climb up. When Valinor finally crawls over the edge of the platform built into the tree, Valen knocks on the door. (When I first read this, I thought you said Valen knocked Valinor off the platform, heh) (Funny, I considered it) After a few moments, Valen’s ten year old looking sister opens the door. When she sees Valen, she slams the door shut. A light, delicate, female voice calls, “Dear, who is it?” Valen’s sister replies, “No one, mom! Just some beggars!” (This is what happens when you don’t wash your clothes for a whole school year) (lol) (Andrew! Look into work as a comedian!) (Thank you, I’m here until Jeff fires me) (Fire you, I’ll give you a 100% raise!) (To what?  I don’t get paid as it is) (2 times 0 is still zero!) (Jeff’s wallet cheers) Valen knocks on the door, this time calling, “Mom, it’s me, Valen! Tell Skithor to open the door!” Valen’s mother calls back, “You know your sister hates that name. Call her Skathera.” Valen sighs before saying, “Fine, tell Skathera to open the door!” Valen’s mother calls, “Skathera, please open the door for your brother.” Skathera asks, “What about the beggars with him?” Valen yells, “They’re not beggars, they’re my friends from the Academy!” Valen’s mother says, her exasperation showing, “Skathera, let him and his friends in.” Skathera sighs and opens the door. Valen walks in and the other three follow him. Valen leads them to the main room and they are met by a beautiful elven woman sitting in a chair, weaving. She says, “Hi honey. Who are your friends?” Valen says, “This is Valrie, Valtorex, and Valinor.” He motions to them as he names them. Valrie asks, “Hello, how are you?” Valinor says, “It’s a pleasure.” Valtorex says, “Greetings ma’am. (I gave up trying to spell it right) (There is no way to spell it) (I believe it’s m’am) (Wrong, ma’am) How are you?” Valen’s mother replies, “Very well. Thank you. So Valen, what brings your friends here?” Valen replies, “Well, I was, um, kind of wondering if they could spend the summer here. We, uh, have that spare guest room for Valrie and Valtorex and Valinor could stay in my room.” Valen’s mother says, “Sorry dear, but the guest room is taken by a nice young man. Your friend will have to stay at the inn.” Valen is about to protest when Valrie says, “That is fine. Thank you anyway.” Valtorex then says, “I wouldn’t want to impose. I’ll stay at the inn as well.” (If you’ve noticed the dialogue discrepancies with my characters, notice it is who they are speaking to. I tried to make it more realistic by changing their speaking habits based on company) Valinor quickly says he will do the same. Valen says, “I might as well stay with them.” (Crap, I keep following the beat of my iPod on my keyboard!)  

The four of them go to the inn and get two rooms. When they get their keys, (Andrew, I don’t use quotation when I am narrating) (That’s Ian who keeps quoting them) Valen takes both and tosses one to Valtorex. He says, “Valinor and I will take the one with the west facing window. I hate it when the sun wakes me up.” Valrie is shocked into silence. Valtorex asks, somehow sounding sincere, “How many times were you dropped on your head as a child?” When Valen just looks at him in confusion, Valrie says, “That puts Valtorex and I in the same room.” Valinor has already figured it out, but Valen still doesn’t see the problem. Valen asks, “What’s wrong with tha-“ Valtorex cuts him off by grabbing Valrie and pulling her to him. He kisses her quickly before letting her go. Valrie is stunned. Valtorex says, “That. Remember?” Valen finally gets the point. He says, “Wanna trade roommates?” Valtorex says, “Sure, me for Valinor.” (Two reasons for this, one, I want to allow some character development for Valen, and two, RAT, sorry, but I won’t even trust a fictional girl with a fictional character based on aspects of youJ) (Right, so you trust her with a fictional barbarian?) (Better than RATJ) (Sad, but true) Valtorex tosses his key to Valinor. The four of them go upstairs and get settled in. They return to Valen’s house and meet his father. The seven of them, Valen, Valinor, Valrie, Valtorex, Skathera, and Valen’s mother and father, eat dinner, and after talking for awhile, the four friends return to the inn.  

They wake up the next day and go to breakfast. For the first time since the start of the year, Valtorex makes breakfast for them. (I’m going to try something new. I’ll devote a day to character development on each of the three side-mains) That day, they go to the brook. (Why can’t I spell it ‘brooke’? I’m supposed to be British, right? I get to add letters wherever I wantJ) Valen decides to show them around. “He says, “This tree is where I first learned to snipe at people. I’ve hit my sister a good many times with a slingshot from up there.” They then go on, walking through the brook. Valen says, “Let’s explore the ruins a bit. I haven’t done that in awhile.” Valen leads them to a stone door almost hidden under all of the vines and overgrowth. Valen presses a panel, hidden under a thick layer of growth and caked mud. The door slides down into the ground, revealing a dark tunnel winding deep into the ground. Valtorex says, “Weapons out. I’ll cast light.” The four of them draw their weapons and Valtorex casts light on Valen’s longknife, Valinor’s greatsword, Valrie’s rapier, and his longswords. Valen, having been here before, leads them down the tunnel. He remembers the thrill he always felt at exploring this place. He becomes lost in the nostalgia and is greatly surprised when a skeletal figure emerges from the earthen wall.  

The skeleton is carrying an old elven shortsword. It swings at Valen and he barely blocks the attack. Valen ducks under the skeleton’s swinging arms and lunges in with his knife. Too late he realizes the skeleton has no stomach to puncture. He jumps back, narrowly dodging the skeleton’s still effective blade. Valtorex, Valinor, and Valrie back up to give him room to fight. Valen jumps forward and slashes, cutting into the skeleton’s spine. Its legs useless, the skeleton falls and starts stabbing at his feet. Valen jumps over it and throws his knife down. His aim flawless, the knife slides right between the vertebrate in the neck, killing the skeleton. (Wow, is Valen that fast, or is everyone else too lazy to help?) (Remember, only enough room for one person at a time) (Maybe you should have said that) (I F-ing did!) Valen pulls his knife free and picks up the elven shortsword. He says, “That was easy. I didn’t know that was there though. I guess things have changed a bit. Oh well, more to kill at least.” Valen now sees that the shortsword is made of some sort of magically enhanced silver and seems to be a Keen blade as well. He also notices it is far lighter than most shortswords. He places it on his belt and they move on, carefully watching every wall.  

They don’t notice the two skeletons that come up from the ground until they are swinging their swords. Both have rapiers that appear to be of the same material as Valen’s new short sword. Valen tosses his longknife into his left hand (That must have hurt, impaling his hand with his own knife! J) (Medicine, Ian?) (Never again) and grabs his shortsword in his right. Valen begins blocking and deflecting the skeletons’ assaults. The earthen walls, floor, and ceiling begin crumbling as the blades of the combatants are deflected into them. Valen finally severs the spine of one of the skeletons and pushes the other one back. He dispatches that skeleton with a kick to the gut, breaking the spine. (Valen: 3, Co.: 0) He picks up the rapier and tosses it to Valrie. She puts it at her belt. Valen puts away his longknife and picks up the other rapier. He switches hands with his weapons. Valtorex casts light on his rapier and shortsword. Valrie switches to the new rapier and Valtorex casts light on it.  

The four of them continue on, Valen still in the lead. They keep walking in the tunnel, going down hundreds of feet. Finally, they reach a large stone door. Valen is going forward to open it when a large minotaur skeleton rises from the earth. The skeleton is wielding a massive silver battleaxe. It swings the axe and Valen barely has room to dodge. Valinor, Valtorex, and Valrie back up to get out of Valen’s way. Valen keeps fighting, dodging the massive axe. The axe head embeds itself in the ground, throwing up a large cloud of dust that makes visibility impossible. Valen rolls away and then charges straight into the battle again. The minotaur pulls its axe free and swings. Valen jumps over the speeding mass of metal and yells, “Die! Die! Die! Hahahaha!” (Fits RAT to a T) (I know, I could just see him doing it)He stabs into the minotaur’s skull with his shortsword before severing the spine with his rapier. (Valen: 4, Co.: 0, How many kills do minotaurs count for anyway?) Valen picks up the axe, surprised at its relative lightness. It only seems to weigh about half as much as his 110 pounds. He gives it to Valinor who easily straps it to his back, over the greatsword.  

The four continue on, going through the stone door. They enter a large, dark room. (Developing pictures? J ) In the center is a large stone diaulos. Around the diaulos are men and women in black robes. On the diaulos, standing in the center, flanked by two demons, is Torment wearing black robes. She turns and sees the four. She says, “It looks like you have intruded upon my master again. Necrolytes, make their bodies dance for me!” The black robed men and women stand and turn to face them. On all of their lips are the words to killing curses. Knowing they can’t win, Valtorex collapses the entrance to the ruins. They turn and fight. The curses fly, but so do the arrows. The four of them manage to avoid being killed, Valtorex taking the brunt of the blows on shields and himself. Of the original twenty Necrolytes, only four are left at the end of a few seconds. Those four quickly fall under a hail of arrows from Valen. Valen advances on Torment, his swords out. Valtorex, Valrie, and Valinor watch Valen, ready to jump in if he needs it.  

Torment screams and rushes him. In a blur of metal, Torment goes down with a gurgle. Valen stands triumphantly over her corpse, his blades wet with demon blood. He says, his voice changed by bloodlust, “That oughtta teach the bitch.” (Valen: 25 kill-tacular) (Killing spree!) (I reiterate, fits RAT to a T!J )The four of them look around and find a secret door in the back of them room. They walk in and discover this is a ritual room. On the ground, they see the corpse of a young woman, about their age. Her body is twisted as if she died in agony and her blood is pooled around her and soaked into her gown. It appears she had just died moments ago. Valen feels the elation of the kill die as he looks into her vacant eyes. Valen looks at Valtorex and asks, his voice a barely audible whisper, “Why?” Valtorex bends down, his knees in the blood and touches her neck and looks over her wounds. He then examines the strange symbols etched into her skin and the floor around her. He says, “Kaedros is doing something big. He needed a virgin sacrifice. It appears she was drawn in by the cult. She was probably deeply depressed and wanted a family. Kaedros offered one and became her father. The worst part is, judging by the runes, the sacrifice had to be willing.” Valen asks, still in a whisper, “How did she die?” Valtorex shudders briefly and says, “Judging by the varying ages of the wound, she died from blood loss over the period of days. All of the wounds are shallow bites and clawing. Demons are brutal and I’m amazed she lasted even that long. He probably promised her life unending or some other hollow promise.”  

Just then they hear a seductive voice say, “Oh, but it wasn’t hollow. I gave Father everything. My life, my blood, my body. He gave me the place of his beloved Torment you just slew.” They turn and Valen nearly vomits when he sees the girl standing behind them. She is clad in the nearly shredded black robe of Torment. She appear much like her old self, the same straw blonde hair, the same height, size, everything, except the eyes. While her eyes had been a bright green, they are now sunken and black. Her skin is a bit paler now and she appears to be stronger ( “and she appears stronger.” ?!!! I’m ashamed!) (Fixed, you happy?). She looks into Valen’s eyes and sees the reflection of herself. She is terrified by what she sees. The anger, the fury, the pure malice on her face makes her twisted soul ache. Her eyes are what terrify her the most. Those dead orbs that used to be so full of life will haunt her memory for all eternity. She instantly hates those hazel orbs showing her all of this. (I know you can’t see that detailed of a reflection in some one’s eyes, but hey, who gives a crap? It makes for good plot at leastJ) She runs at Valen, a dagger now in her hand. Valen drops his swords and reaches out for her. She reaches him and stabs him, but he embraces her. She is shocked by this, not knowing who he is. As he loses consciousness, he lets out a ragged breath with one word, “Chisa…”  

Chistine, not having any memory of anything that happened before the ritual, feels a faint tug in her mind at the name. She looks into those eyes again and gasps. She staggers back, her mouth agape. She screams, her distress evident, “By the gods! What am I? Valen! Valen don’t die! I need you!”(Too late, he’s somewhere in Nevada) (lol) (Seriously Andrew! Think comedian!) (Okay, I’ll consider it) She tosses down the dagger and kneels next to her love. She tries casting a healing spell on him, but she finds she can’t anymore. She pleads, “Valen, I love you! Don’t die!” Valtorex, who was about to kill her sees what happened. He restrains Valinor and Valrie with a word and bends down with her. He finds the wound and casts a spell that will cauterize it. (Burn all your problems eh?) (It works, doesn’t it?) Valen, unconscious gasps as his flesh is seared. Valtorex stands and says, “That will stop the bleeding. I don’t think he will die, but I will need to stay and watch him. He turns to Chistine and asks, “Did the master of this place keep a store of ingredients?” Chistine nods and shows him to them. Valtorex sacks (sacks? did you mean racks? Cause I don’t think he has the authority to fire it. It might have a family!) (He means sacks as in ‘ransack’) (Exactly!) the cabinet of alchemical ingredients and returns to Valen. He says, “The passage is blocked off and we won’t be able to dig out. Obviously, there is some alternate route that allowed the necromancers to get here undetected. Chistine can lead you two there. I will stay here with Valen and try to help him recover. Valinor, you’re in charge.”  

Chistine leads Valinor and Valrie to a concealed tunnel under the diaulos. She then says, “I am sorry, but I must go. My Father calls me and I can not disobey.” Chistine disappears. Valrie and Valinor return to Valtorex. They tell him of the exit and he says, “Very well. Orders stay the same. Tomorrow, go down the tunnel and find an exit. Get help and return to Valen. Valinor, you’re still in charge.” The three of them make a cold camp in the ritual room, after Valtorex gives the body a proper burial in the ground and cleans away the blood. They take turns on watch and Valtorex applies an ointment he made to Valen’s wound. The next day, they set out.  

Valinor leads Valrie down the tunnel. They keep walking until their path is blocked by a group of zombies. Valinor draws his greatsword and rushes them, cutting them down left and right. Valrie stays back as there is only enough room in the tunnel for Valinor to swing his massive sword. The zombies keep falling, some missing limbs, some hacked in half, and others with their heads cleaved in two. Valinor, his blade drenched in blood and other liquids says, “Come on, we have to stop them.” He charges down the tunnel, barely stopping to cleave a zombie in two. Valinor reaches the bottom of the tunnel to find his path blocked by a large ogre zombie with a massive club. He replaces his greatsword and pulls out the axe. He charges the ogre, swinging his axe. The ogre smashes down with his club, crushing the skeleton of another ill-fated warrior. The ogre swings his club again, this time at Valinor. Valinor blocks with his axe, jarring his bones. He grits his teeth and keeps fighting. Valinor yells, “Valrie! Get out of here! Now!” Valrie ignores him and watches for threats. Valinor keeps fighting the ogre, occasionally cutting it. On a particularly lucky swing, his axe bites deep into the ogre, tearing open its stomach. A noxious smell permeates the air from the remains of the ogre’s last meal before it died. The ogre, no longer feeling pain, just keeps attacking. The fight goes back and forth, Valinor eventually cutting the ogre’s leg and breaking the bone. The ogre, no longer able to balance, falls and Valinor cleaves into its neck, severing the head. He replaces his blood axe and says, “Another foe defeated; another number closer to mine.”(Valinor: 1) He steps around the ogre carcass and opens the door. He walks through into a hail of spells. He draws his greatsword and rushes into the room, one much like the one before, and begins slaughtering the Necrolytes. Valrie races in after him and begins killing the cultists as well. (Crap, I lost count) (Oh wellL)  

Soon, all of the cultists lie dead. Valinor is locked in battle with Despair. With a scream, Despair feels Valinor’s blade sink into her flesh and hit her bone. She falls to the ground, her hand over her severed jugular. Valinor says, “She is dead. Just another soul to add to the list.” Valrie turns just in time to see Valinor blasted back to the entrance of the room by a powerful spell. She runs to him as Agony says, “Yes little girl. Run away. Run far away. I’ll catch you and I’ll drink your blood!” She reaches him and grabs Valinor. Valrie drags his unconscious form up the tunnel, running as fast as she can with the warrior that weighs over twice as much as her. Agony smiles evilly as she walks up the tunnel in pursuit. Valrie reaches the entrance to the tunnel and shoves Valinor out. As she is about to leave as well, the door slams into her, knocking her back. She winds up flat on her back staring up at the hem of Agony’s robe. Then, everything goes black.  

Valtorex hears the door and runs to the tunnel. He sees Valinor lying there and realizes Valrie is still down in the tunnel. He tries the door, but when he finds it is barred shut he curses bitterly. He moves Valinor back to the ritual room. He returns to the door and spends the rest of the day and all night using his potions on Valen and Valinor and using every spell he knows on the door. (Note: that’s quite a lot of spells too) (Yeah, I know. Pretty much everyone out there. Some of them may even be from D&DJ)  

Valrie wakes up hours later in an iron cage. She sits up, her head aching. She notices she is in the tight fitting black robe the succubae (Hah! I was right Jeff! It is succubi instead of succubae!) (non-uniqued: Once again, same two words) and Chistine were wearing. Then, Agony walks into the room, dragging a young woman by the hair. At her command, the door to the cage opens and Agony tosses the girl in. She tosses a sack in after her. Agony slams the door and leaves. The young woman struggles up, her brown hair covering up her face. Valrie helps her up. She says, “I’m Valrie, what’s your name?” The woman replies, “I’m called Sara, although in a few days, I’ll be Despair.” Valrie is shocked. She asks, “Do you know what the ritual entails?” Sara replies, “Yes, I do. I will be put in that summoning circle over there. The Father’s Sons will come and I will be with them. When I die, I will return as one of the Daughters. It is the greatest honor.” Just then, another girl is brought in. She is laid on the summoning circle by Agony. Agony turns to Sara and says, “Dear, you will not take the place of Despair. We have a special place for you. You, the most devoted of the Father’s children will become more than a Daughter. This girl will be the new Despair.”  

The new candidate for Despair has red hair and hazel eyes. Agony stands back next to the cage. Agony asks, “Jane, are you ready?” Jane replies, “Yes, mistress.” Agony says, “I am no longer your mistress. You may call me sister now.” The ritual begins and the demons appear. The ritual continues for days, Sara and Agony watching eagerly, Valrie becoming sick often. After four days, Kaedros appears and finishes the ritual himself. Jane dies with a sigh, surrounded by her own blood. Several minutes later, Jane walks through the door, now in the black robe of one of the Daughters. (This cult will reappear in the story often) She says, “Greetings sister. It feels wonderful to shed that living corpse.” Her hazel eyes have turned black and dead looking. Her skin has lost almost all coloration. She looks down at her corpse and kicks it. She laughs as the blood splatters a bit. Valrie vomits at the horrendous sight. Valrie yells, “What’s wrong with you? Why would you give up life to be that?” Jane replies, “I have a family now. Before I was alone, but now I have brothers and sisters, and… and a father! Yes, a father! Where is Father? I must see him!” Agony says, “Patience sister. He is enjoying Torment. You will be called to him soon enough. Just enjoy your new body, your new abilities, your new power. Go, see your power over mortals.” Despair giggles in glee and runs off. (…O.O, and the elves never noticed this how?) (They’re elves. Sweden didn’t know they were invaded till their babies came out German. To those of you who are Swedish, oh well. Have your army declare war on me. Lol)  

Agony turns to Valrie and asks, “Did you enjoy the show? Despair lasted a long time for a mortal. So, are you ready to join the Father yet? You have one day to decide. Tomorrow you will begin the ritual. If you are willing, you will become one of the Daughters. If you are unwilling, then you will suffer for days and be cast into the Abyss.”  

That night, Sara tries to convince Valrie to follow the Father. Valrie is nearly convinced that her friends have really abandoned her and she really is alone. The next morning, when agony drags her out of the cage, she is almost totally convinced that the entire cosmos is against her and the only one willing to give her a chance is Kaedros. When she is roughly tossed onto the still bloody ritual circle with Chistine, Jane, Agony, Kaedros, Sara, and a group of demons pressed into the room, she feels as if she finally has a family. Kaedros asks, “Are you ready to become my Daughter, Valrie?” Valrie, her mouth dry in anticipation and nervousness replies, “Yes, I am ready to submit. I am alone, but you are my family. I am devoted to you…Fath-“ Just then, a loud explosion jars her out of the fog that led her to this decision.  

Valtorex, feeling a horrible panic grip his heart, puts everything he has against the door in one final (FIN AL 2 words!!!!! Jaff, you can not be serious!) (Please don’t rant at every mistake…we’re human you know?) (Geez! No need to guilt trip me!) (It’s ok, he mispelled serious) effort. He feels Valrie’s turmoil and fear and pushes every fiber of his body to the limit, forcing every ounce of power in his body into one spell. The door, barred by the powers of the Abyss, shudders and splinters against Valtorex’s will. As Valrie speaks those fateful words, Valtorex feels his connection with her dying. He forces the door down and it shatters into tiny splinters that incinerate against his wrath. He charges down the tunnel, his swords at the ready. Valen and Valinor, now recovered, race in after him. Valtorex reaches the ceremony room to find it packed with Necrolytes. Valtorex, knowing he does not have much time, ignores all but those poor souls unfortunate enough to get in his way.  

Kaedros commands, “Start the ritual. She’s given herself. As long as we start it now, we can finish it anytime.” One demon moves forward, eager to take his part in the ritual. As he moves on top of Valrie, he is turned to ash and dust by a ferocious spell. Valtorex, flames dancing over his body, is standing in the doorway. His voice ominous and furious, he says, “She is not yours for the taking. Leave her now or be damned. Now you will face the wrath of the fires that scorch hell.” Valrie sits up, her heart leaping at the sight of Valtorex. She jumps to her feet and tries to run to him. Kaedros strikes her and yells, “Stay bitch! You’re mine now!” Valtorex, his rage fueling the fires around him, walks into the room, roaring, “That was a big mistake. I will make you wish you were never born.” The demons rush him, but they are incinerated as soon as they reach the aura of flame. (Flame is not 2 words either Jeff!) (Oh! Now I know why things I fixed didn’t make it to this version)  (Guys, I write fast and don’t proofread, get over it) Kaedros knows now is not the time to fight Valtorex and orders a retreat. He calls back his demons, succubae, and cultists and teleports away.  

The flames around Valtorex subside as Valen and Valinor walk into the room. Valrie is lying on the ground, drained from hunger, thirst, lack of sleep, and grief at what she nearly did. Valtorex walks over to her and she weakly apologizes. Valtorex jokes, his voice now back to normal, “Don’t talk, you’ll only dig yourself in deeper.” He then picks her up and carries her out of the room. They return to the blockage in the tunnel leading up to the surface. Valen dryly notes, “Even with all of that, we’re still stuck.” Valtorex says, “There is no way in the Abyss I’ll let a little dirt stop me.” He thinks for a moment before saying, “I saw a barrel of water in the main ceremonial room. Bring it up here.” He puts Valrie, now asleep, down and casts a spell. He teleports to the other side of the blockage. Satisfied by what he sees, he teleports back. He moves Valrie away from the blockage and Valen and Valinor come back up with the water. Valtorex takes the water and teleports back behind the blockage. He opens the barrel and drenches the dirt, turning to mud. He casts Mud to Stone (The D&D group can testify, this is an actual spell in the book) (Tis true) and the wall is quickly turned into a stone facade (I appreciate the accent, but it’s incorrect) (Word did it, not me) backed by dirt. He begins pushing on the stone, trying to use the weight to force the dirt down. He yells, “Start digging on that side!” Valen and Valinor begin digging and eventually the dirt gives way. Before the stone can tumble down and crush his friends, Valtorex casts Stone to Mud (Also, surprisingly, an actual spell from D&D) (That’s a truism!) and the heavy mass of stone becomes a wave of mud. Valen and Valinor are soon coated in mud. Valen asks, “Was that really necessary?” Valtorex replies, “Would you prefer me to have left it as a giant rock?” Valinor jokes, “A giant rock I could use Valen’s like a wedge to stop. Mud, well, I hate mud.” Valtorex goes over and picks up the still sleeping Valrie.  

The four of them return to the inn. Valtorex says, “Valinor, room with Valen tonight. Valrie and I have things to discuss.” Valinor nods and tosses him the room key. Valtorex then carries Valrie up to his room and lays her in bed. He covers her up and goes back down stairs. He goes up to the bartender and says, “I would like some bread, some cheese, apples, and some salted meat please. I would also like some water and a skin of wine.” The bartender refuses. He says, “I will not serve you until you pay your tab.” Valtorex sighs. “By the gods. Alright, how much do I owe?” The bartender says, “Twenty gold so far.” Valtorex sighs and reaches into his pack. He pulls out a drake and tosses it to him. The bartender takes one look at the coin and slams it on the bar. He says, “We don’t accept barbarian gold here.” Valtorex takes the drake back and counts out twenty gold. He asks, “What does everyone have against foreigners here?” The barkeeper, apparently pleased with the gold, replies, “You foreigners come here and bring nothing but ill-fortune. Since the Draconic Empire opened up trade relations, the frequency of bandit raids has doubled and piracy has quadrupled! More and more half breeds are being born because of you fiends, like that freak you are friends with. I’m sick of being walked over and so are the other elves!” Valtorex’s response is swift. He grabs the barkeeper and presses the point of his knife into his neck. Valtorex says, “After centuries of isolation, the elves are weak. As a nation, there are two options. You can be neutral and avoid the world, or you can go out and conquer. The Draconic Empire conquered and is now the strongest force on Archemos. The elves hid in the trees and are now walked over by everyone.” (Yes, the elves are the Sweden of the D&D world, and like the Swedes, they are known for beauty, music, and culture, but never seen as a threat. This is mostly because it’s true) The bartender replies, steel in his eyes, “One day, the elves will reclaim Archemos and drive ( “and drives you bastards…”? Really Andrew?) (Well at least you remembered to space) you bastards into the seas, just like we did with your ancestors.” (“Sir! Sir! The elves are invading!” “Very well, release the trained Chihuahuas.” “Isn’t that overkill, though?” You get the pictureJ) Valtorex replies, his voice cold, “Your ancestors have hid in the trees for all of recorded history. There has not been a single war that the elves fought outside of their forest since before the Draconic Empire formed thousands of years ago. “(Are you sure they’re Sweden and not France?) (Stop dissecting sentences with quotes!) (Ian, you just insulted France by calling them cowards. Yay! You’re an real American now!)

I suggest you serve me as you would serve any other guest or I will show you exactly what we can do. Our steel may not be as pretty, but it cuts just as deep.” The bartender serves Valtorex, giving him the requested items, and Valtorex goes upstairs. He sets the food and drink on a table and sits on Valrie’s bed to wait.  

Hours pass and Valtorex just sits there thinking. Every once in a while, Valrie whimpers in her sleep, most likely reliving what she has seen over the past few days. After sun down, Valtorex lights a lone lamp and sets it next to the bed. A few hours before Darkwatch, a nightmare finally causes Valrie to jolt up in bed with a cry of fear. Her heart is racing and she is in a cold sweat. She looks around, surprised to be in the inn. She then sees Valtorex sitting on the edge of her bed. Valtorex asks, “Hungry?” Valrie, realizing she hasn’t eaten in days, nods. Valtorex goes over and gets the food for her. Valtorex sees she is still shaking from the nightmare and asks, “Water or wine?” Valrie looks up, and realizing they are alone, says, “Water, just to be safe.” (Safe? What am I, a Health movie?) ( and I quote “Abstinence is the only way to prevent teen pregnancy and STDs) (Wine does not help abstinence) (No comment) Valtorex pours water for himself and Valrie and they eat together. Valtorex sees the dark circles under her eyes and realizes he must look just as bad. He says, “We should probably get some sleep. I haven’t slept in four days and you can boast much more sleep than I can.” Valrie shudders before saying, “I don’t think I can go back to sleep. Those images. That poor girl. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep again.” Valtorex goes over and gets the wine. He pours her some and says, “This will help you sleep. I don’t recommend it as a permanent fix, but it’ll work in the short term.” Valrie drinks the cup of wine and quickly feels more sleepy. Her eyelids feel heavy and she lies back. Instead of hitting her mattress like she expected, she hits Valtorex. She forgot he was behind her. (And apparently she forgot he’s wearing very sharp, very hard armor, and apparently so did IJ) Valtorex holds her as she falls to sleep.  ( It was so hard not to change to sleep to asleep) (Grr, you’re killing the sentences!)  Once she is asleep, he finally relaxes a bit and realizes just how tired he is. Within moments, Valtorex is asleep too, Valrie in his arms. (Wow, this is so frickin’ PG) (Awww…) (Yes aww, no action for Valtorex.  Kidding!)  

The next day, Valtorex wakes up with the dawn. Valrie stays asleep and he just sits there, watching her peaceful face. Valtorex hears a knocking on the door and gently lies Valrie down on her bed. He goes to the door and opens it to find ( “and opens it to finds” this is getting annoying!) Valen standing there. Valen barges into the room, asking, “So, how did things go with Valrie?” Valtorex whacks him over the back of the head and whispers, “She’s sleeping.” Valen whispers back, “Sorry. So how’d it go?” Valtorex refuses to answer. Valen is a bit disappointed in him when he sees Valrie lying on top of her covers, no apparent change to her clothing (I re-reiterate, RAT to a T) . He then notices that Valtorex’s bed hasn’t been slept in and feels a bit of hope. (Valen trying to get Valtorex in bed with someone becomes a recurring theme later on) At about Highsun, (Although my times are absurdly obvious, I’ll still tell you this is noon) everyone is up and around. Valtorex makes lunch for everyone and they decide to hit the shops. Valtorex gives them all a drake and twenty gold. Valtorex spends most of the day at the Mage’s Shop and the Apothecary. He comes out with a few new spellbooks, a set of crystals, an enchanter’s kit, an ingredient pouch, and a portable alchemist’s lab. Valinor spends his time with an elven weapons master. Although Valinor does not gain any material, he does gain allot more skill and knowledge. Valen spends the day learning how to fletch and gets a fletcher’s kit. Valrie spends the day at the clothier and walks out with a cloth bundle full of clothes.  

They meet back at the inn and decide to put their stuff away first. Valtorex goes to Valen’s room and finds the door is locked. He knocks on it and Valen pops his head out. He says, “You’re rooming with Valrie, mate.” (No, he’s not British, I’m just calling RAT a WeasleyJ) Valtorex tries to get into the room, but Valen slams the door on him. Valtorex shakes his head and goes to Valrie’s room. He finds her leaning against the wall, a scowl on her face. He then realizes he still has the room key. He grins sheepishly and she slaps him playfully. He opens the door and ushers her in, acting very formal. She curtsies the best she can carrying the bundle of clothes. They begin laughing at each other. They walk in and Valrie says, “I need to change. This dress is a mess.” She goes behind the partition and yells, “If you look, I’ll gut ya!” Valtorex jokes, “Why would I spy on you? What’s there to see?” Valrie, not catching the sarcasm, is hurt. (Periods go at the end of the sentence!!!!) (Well yeah, duh she takes it seriously, she’s a girl! Oh crap! Jeff, your sexism is rubbing off) (It’s true as far as I know) Valtorex then says, “Joking.” Valrie, wanting revenge yells, “Hey, at least I have something to hide! I almost feel sorry for you!” Valtorex retorts, his pride a bit wounded, “Don’t make me prove you wrong, ‘cause I will.” He then realizes what he just said and is completely embarrassed. When Valrie begins laughing, he feels a bit relieved. He then says, “Well, I’ll experiment with alchemy for awhile.” Valrie replies, “You do that. I have a lot of clothes to try on.”  

Over the next few hours, Valtorex creates several potions with varying effects. Then, Valrie comes out from behind the partition wearing a black, form fitting dress (That left much to be desired description-wise) (Editors: Please elaborate here. I have the fashion sense of a gerbil so you guys need to help me out here) (Not quite, gerbils don’t wear clothes) (Hah hah. I need a fashion kid. Valrie bought a wardrobe and I suck at describing dresses) Valrie whistles to get Valtorex’s attention. Valtorex looks up from his alchemy and sees Valrie. Valtorex, his mouth agape, says, “Wow.” as he drops the vial in his hand. He is so enraptured by Valrie, he doesn’t even notice that he dropped the vial until, “Dekouw!” (Pronounced de-KUH. Draconic for sh*t when used in this context) He looks down to see smoke pouring out of the hole in his robe from the acid he just dropped. He jumps up, brushing at the acid and just manages to spread it more. Valtorex runs over to the water and cleans the acid off. Valrie laughs and says, “Looks like you need to go to the clothier tomorrow.” (And apparently the armor shop because the acid just burnt through his leather leggings too) (I think we all agree the price was worth it) Valtorex turns and looks at her. She is still laughing at her joke when Valtorex grabs her. She gasps in surprise, but her gasp is stifled by the kiss that follows. (Oh, how romantic…makes my stomach churn. I only write it because people seem to like it, and if that makes me a sell-out, so?) (This is becoming a recurring problem…) (What, me complaining about romance?) (Well there’s that )  

The door swings open and Valen strides in. (Mood-killer) Valtorex and Valrie jump away from each other, faces flushed. Valen says, “Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt. I’ll leave you two alone. Just do me a favor and name the first one after me.” (Unless it’s a boy right?) (lol. I’ll tell RAT you said that) Valrie lunges for him and Valtorex laughs. Valen narrowly escapes and an angry Valrie slams the door and turns, her cheeks even redder than before. Valtorex asks, “So, shall we continue?” Valrie just glares at him before stalking off to her bed. She flops down with a huff and rolls to her side. Valtorex sits down next to her and puts his hand on her shoulder. He says, “You know we need to have the talk we put off yesterday.” Valrie asks, irritated, but also fearful, “What talk?”(THE talk) (J, yes that one) Valtorex replies, being as patient as possible, “I know you nearly gave yourself to Kaedros. Why?” Valrie, wanting to avoid the uncomfortable question, tries to kiss him to distract him. Valtorex grabs her by the shoulders and shoves her down. He demands, “Why would you be so willing to give your soul to Kaedros? What was your reasoning?” Valrie struggles to get up. When she finds she can’t, she sighs and replies, “I was alone. I have no family. My father’s long dead and my mother doesn’t want anything to do with me. I have no siblings. I was alone in that horrible, dark cell with those maniacs for four days. I had seen horrendous things and was afraid. I was told I could give myself to him or be cast into the Abyss. I hate being alone. I want a family.” Valtorex laughs. He lets her up and keeps laughing. When a confused, hurt look comes across her face, Valtorex grabs her and holds her close. He finally stops laughing and they just sit there in each other’s arms. He begins rubbing her back, making her feel safe. He then says, “You have a family. You have had us for nearly a year. Valen, Valinor, and I are your family and we’ll stick by you no matter what. (Awww…J ) Kaedros’s twisted family will demand your life, body, and soul. All we want is you. Valrie, my sister, my love, (Symbolic, not incestual, for you gutter minds out thereJ) you will always have me. The four of us are a family no bastard demon can break. Just ask Valen and Valinor. We’re family, whether you like it or not.” (And she so wishes otherwise) (Very funny Krug)  

Valrie whispers, “Thank you.” Valtorex lets her go and helps her up. He sees the traces of tears and offers her his sleeve. (That is THE most romantic thing ever…J) (Sarcasm doesn’t befit you Andwuuu) (Give it time…) (rofl) She dries her face and they go downstairs. (WTF! Word, she does not drive her face!) Valen and Valinor are waiting for them when they arrive. Valen asks, “So, how did it go?” Valrie finds she is not as angry with Valen now as she would have been before. Valtorex makes dinner for them and he even manages to sneak Valen some wine. They have beef, stew, cheese, and bread. (Not like anyone cares what they eat) Once they are done and Valen, Valinor, and Valrie are good and drunk, they call it a night. (They just have to be drunk, don’t they?) (Ya, pretty much) Valen and Valinor stagger to their room and pass out on their beds. Valtorex leads Valrie upstairs and gets her into her bed. Valtorex lies down in his bed but finds he can not sleep due to a sense of unease and dread. After several minutes of that feeling, the red haired succubus from Kaedros’s cult appears at the foot of his bed. Valtorex reaches under his pillow and yanks out the Knife of the Ancestors. He holds it threateningly between himself and Jane. Jane giggles quietly before seductively saying, “Drop the knife so we can have some fun.” Valtorex replies, “Go back to the Abyss, demon.” Jane sidles up the bed to him and says, mock hurt in her voice, “That’s not very nice. Why don’t you like me? Every man likes me.” Valtorex replies, his voice cold and resolute, “I don’t like you because you are spawn of my enemy. (Actually, Kaedros is the spawn of Valtorex…Irony)  I don’t like you because you are an abomination.” (I would also point out that that’s been said of Valtorex too) Jane pouts, “Come on.  Don’t you want me? Your girl will never find out.” Valtorex, feeling incredibly tempted to do as she says, replies, “No…I can’t. My…loyalty is to Valrie. My honor…lies with her.” (Wow, his honor is very weak and nearly dies many times) (lol. Valrie can still kick your ass even if she doesn’t exist) Jane shrieks in fury and claws at him. She is rewarded with a long slash along her forearm. To Valtorex’s surprise, the wound closes and heals without a scar.   

He then hears a gasp and looks over to see Valrie sitting up in her bed, staring at them. Jane looks at her and says, “Don’t mind us, dear.  I’m just having some fun with your boyfriend.  I’ll get to you soon enough.” (And your little dog too) (Beastiality, Andrew? Didn’t think you thought like that) (Ewww… I just got that) (No dog in this story) (You said it)Valtorex slashes at her, cutting a deep gash across her torso.  Even as Valtorex is pulling back for a second strike, the wound closes up.  Jane laughs at him.  She says, “The Father is sovereign here now. He is like a god. His chosen sons and daughters can’t die. No matter what you do, we will win.” Valtorex replies, “That may be true. We may lose, but I guarantee that I will be a pain in the ass till my last breath. As long as I live, Kaedros will not be able to rest in peace.” Jane begins laughing with wild abandon. Valtorex can tell her sanity has started going the way of her soul. Jane is laughing so hard that she does not notice Valrie until the rapier has sliced deep into her neck, severing her spine. Jane keeps laughing, but with the airway severed, all that comes out is blood. Jane then grabs her head and rights it back on her shoulders, the wound healing. Valtorex dives out of bed and grabs his swords. He and Valrie cut and hack at Jane until she is nothing but ribbons of flesh and shattered bone on his bed. To their amazement and disgust, Jane reforms on the bed, covered in blood. (For decency) (Nice) Jane says, “Father calls.  I must go now.” (Yeah, that’s a good excuse) She teleports away, leaving Valtorex’s bed a bloody mess and Valrie nearly sick. Valrie reaches out to embrace Valtorex, but when she pulls back, her white night gown red with blood, she vomits.(That must have made him feel better.  Blood and vomit) Valtorex holds her hair out of her face and tries to comfort her. They can’t go back to sleep, and even if they could, Valtorex has no bed to sleep in. (Preempt: No already!) (Are you sure?) (Are you Andrew or RAT?) (I might just be filling in for him) The next morning, Valrie changes back into her battle dress and they go downstairs to meet Valen and Valinor.   

When Valen sees Valtorex, he yells, “Good job, mate! I could hear you from down the hall!” (Ok, so maybe Valen is of the Brit/Aussie line) (He really must be dense if he couldn’t tell the difference…) (no Aussie accent, just mate, which was common to the Brits for awhile) Valrie, not getting it yells, “And you didn’t help?” Valtorex rubs the bridge of his nose in half frustration, half amusement. Valen replies, a bit taken aback, “Um, as much as I like you and all, I uh, don’t do that.” (Are you really sure you don’t want him to burst into their room and help?) (Andrew, he hasn’t figured out they were fighting yet. He still thinks they were doing something else that starts with an ‘F’) (Jeff and I debated on, according to this comment, whether or not Andrew got that last part) (I got it, I was making a crack at Valen’s willingness to be included) (Andrew, stop fantasizing ’bout my characters) Valrie, still oblivious, retorts, “What? Help your friends when they’re attacked by one of Kaedros’s succubae?” Valen, finally realizing the error in communication, just stands there with a confounded look on his face. Valinor and Valtorex, who had been holding back this entire time, burst out laughing. Valrie then gets what he meant. Her face goes bright crimson, making Valen laugh. Over breakfast, they tell Valen and Valinor about the encounter with Jane. That day, Valinor goes back to the weapon’s master, Valen practices fletching and does chores at his house, and Valtorex and Valrie both go to the clothier. (They are attacked and yet they still go on as if they hadn’t been?) (When it happens this often, you stop caring) (They go through clothes like nobody’s business!) (Yep, or she has no where else to go in the village)  (Sure she does, but she’s a girl, and thus is attracted to expensive, bright colors. There Ian, this makes your last sexist comment not look that bad) (Yay!)

At the clothier, Valtorex buys two more sets of robes, one blood red like his old ones to wear to bed, and the other black for alchemy. Valrie buys more dresses and other articles of clothing, intent on having enough clothes to function as a diplomat. (No, she is not vain. She wants to go into espionage, and that requires a crap load of disguises) Valtorex, as a joke, (You guys can see where this is going) holds up a short, form-fitting, nearly indecently cut, black dress and asks Valrie, “How ‘bout this?” Valrie, annoyed and embarrassed, but wanting to beat Valtorex at his own game, replies, “Sure, why not? That dress looks expensive and it’s your money. Don’t know why you would want to wear that, though. Doesn’t even look like it’ll fit you.” Some girls in the corner giggle at her joke. Valtorex responds, “You’re right. It is my gold. I think I’ll get it.” Valrie, knowing she made a mistake in trying to beat Valtorex sighs and asks, “Alright, what will it take for you to not buy that?” Valtorex counters, with a grin, “Oh no, it’s not buying it that’s up for discussion. The question is, who will see it?”    

An hour later, they walk out of the clothier, Valtorex carrying another cloth bundle full of clothes, including the dress. Valrie hurries Valtorex to the inn and they go up to their room. Valrie puts away her clothes and Valtorex says, “I need to stop by the apothecary and pick up some items.  I’ll be back shortly.  Valtorex leaves and returns about twenty minutes later carrying a wooden crate.  He sets it on the desk he commandeered as a workbench and unpacks it. Valtorex looks at her and notes with concern the ever darkening rings under her eyes. He asks, “You thirsty?” Valrie replies, a hint of nervousness in her voice, “A bit. Why?” Valtorex responds by picking up a vial and tossing it to her. She catches it, and at his behest, drinks it. (There’s some OE for ya, Ian) (Haha, you said behest) She quickly feels tired and whispers, “You bast-“ (I can see where this is going…) (Wow, pervert) (I know, I try) before crawling into her bed and falling asleep. Valtorex works on his alchemy for several more hours, creating a few more useful potions. (Maybe not…) (You realize I’m deliberately being vague as to what he has because I am lazy on two counts. 1: Too lazy to come up with effects. 2: Too lazy to figure out what he will need in the future and plan for it) He takes out a piece of parchment and writes a short letter to Valrie. He leaves it on her bed, next to her head, and goes downstairs. Hours later, after Lastlight, (Figure it out) Valrie wakes up, feeling refreshed. She sees the note and (“ad remembers” ?!!!) (I swear you are reading a very old version of the story) remembers why she was asleep. She unfolds it and reads it. It says,   

“Valrie,   

Sorry about having to do that, but you were exhausted. I could see you were about to drop so I helped you along a bit. Besides, you probably feel better than you have in months. I’m not the only one that needs to relax. When you’re ready, come down, Valen, Valinor, and I have a surprise for you.   

With love,   

Valtorex”   

Valrie is still a bit angry at being drugged, but two things keep her from being furious. One, she is curious about the surprise, and two, she knows he is right. She smoothes out her sleep-wrinkled dress and goes downstairs. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, her three friends yell, “Happy birthday!” Valrie asks, “How did you know?” Valtorex replies, “One day earlier this year, I visited your mother in East Port and she told me.” (Hint hint, gloss writer) (grumble…details…grumble) (Ha ha! Glossmeister!) Valrie is amazed that her friends did this for her. She asks, “How long have you guys planned this?” Valen replies, “Valinor and I have known about it since this morning. Valtorex has been planning for weeks.” Valrie looks at Valtorex, her gratitude evident in her eyes. Valtorex replies, “It’s the least I could do for you after all you’ve been through with me.” Valrie begins tearing up. (Are tear-ing and tearing really spelled the same?) (I hope not, because that would sound very painful) Valen, preempting tears, says, “Let’s eat!” They laugh at Valen’s obvious discomfiture before sitting down to eat. Valtorex has put together a dinner of beef steak, venison, salad, cheese, bread, and an odd concoction even he can not name. (There is nothing wrong with guys cooking, as long as it has something to do with meat, preferably steak) (Amen to that) They eat dinner, trying to figure out what the mystery food is. Valen guesses, “It’s horse meat stew, with some mandrake root, goblin tongue, and spider venom.” Valinor says, “It is warg flesh boiled in the blood of an ogre, mixed with basilisk egg yolk.” (W…T…F) Valrie just shrugs and says, “Whatever it is, it’s good.” Valtorex sighs, shaking his head. He looks at Valinor and says, “You missed the troll brain, crushed minotaur horn, and ent bark. Good guess though.” Valrie, incredulous, asks, “How did you collect all of that in one day?” Valinor and Valtorex begin laughing hysterically. Valinor, the first to stop, says, “He didn’t.” Valtorex then finishes, “It’s rabbit stew.” (No Word, ‘it’s’ as in ‘it is’, not the possessive. That requires a owner, which I did not include) Valen and Valrie have a good laugh at this.    

Valtorex then asks, “So, are you ready to open presents?” Valrie nods. Valinor gives her his first. She opens it and pulls out a disguise kit. Valinor says, “I know you’re into spying, so I figured you would need some makeup and stuff.” Valrie thanks him. Valtorex then says, “I got you two, one practical, one not. Here’s the practical one.” She takes it and opens the box. Inside is a crystal bladed dagger. Valtorex says, “The crystal won’t break and won’t dull. You can keep it under your pillow to defend yourself or bring it with you to use in ‘elimination’ missions. Most detect weapons spells only detect metal, so that will get through.” (Basically, it’s a CIA letter openerJ) Valrie says, “Thank you. I’ll make sure to keep it close.” Valen then hands her his gift and says, “There are two layers. The first is a gift to us all, the second a gift to Valtorex.” Valrie jokes, “Oh no. You have me worried now.” (Before you read on, try to guess what they are) (The dress?) (How would ‘they’ be ‘a’ dress?)

She opens it up and takes out a kit of various soaps, lotions, and other cleaning/cosmetic items. Valen says, his voice light with a joke, “Yep, now you can bathe. Thank the gods!” They laugh at that for a few moments before Valrie picks up Valtorex’s gift and asks, as sweetly as she can, “Mind if I practice my aim?” They laugh even harder, except Valen who eyes the dagger warily. Once they have settled down and Valrie has put the dagger away, Valen says, “Under the parchment is the present for Valtorex.” Valinor groans. “You didn’t did you?” Valen nods. Valinor holds his forehead, trying not to laugh. Valrie takes the parchment out of the box and tosses it aside. She peers in and her face goes crimson in embarrassment. Valtorex looks in and then looks up with a grin. “Thanks, I love ‘em.  I bet Valrie does too.” Valrie slaps him before pulling out the dagger and holding it threateningly at Valen. She yells, “You got me those? What in the Abyss were you thinking?” Her voice drops to a deadly whisper, “Why would you get me underwear, especially some like that?” Valen corrects her, “Not for you, for Valtorex. You just wear them.” (Sorry, it’s the meanest joke gift on the planet, especially if your boyfriend/girlfriend is there. I couldn’t resist, and knowing RAT, it would be an injustice for the character based on him to not do something like that) Valrie slashes at him, nearly cutting him. Valtorex grabs her arm and whispers in her ear, “Don’t be mad at him. He ran it by me first. Besides, they’ll go great with the dress.” Valrie hisses, “I will kill you in your sleep tonight.” Valtorex replies, joking, “You really think I would make a sleeping potion and not carry spares?” Valrie, no matter how hard she tries to avoid it, laughs. She says, “Alright, you guys had your fun. Can you let me go so I can open my last present?” Valtorex, against Valen’s plea, lets Valrie go. She puts away the dagger and Valen breathes a sigh of relief. Valrie opens her last present and gasps. She exclaims, “It’s beautiful!” She pulls out a necklace, made of sapphires and rubies linked together with platinum. She puts it around her neck, the gems gleaming brightly. Valtorex says, “That’s not all. Look in the bottom.” She does and pulls out a crystal potion bottle. He says, “Smell it.” She unstoppers it and rubs some of the liquid on her palm and sniffs. She says, “It smells good. What is it?” Valtorex replies, “It’s a secret mixture of flowers, nectars, and some less pretty ingredients.”  (Damn, I was wrong about the gift) (Edited for lack of content) (I never noticed this…but that was what I was going for anyways)

Valrie says, “Well, thank you very much. I love the gifts.” They continue to talk for awhile, but eventually call it a night. Before they go up, Valinor says, “Valen and I have one more gift for you two.” He hands Valtorex a bottle of elven wine and says, “Valen thinks that will ‘help things along’.” A crimson flush colors Valrie’s cheeks. Valen and Valinor both tell Valrie, “Happy birthday.” again and they all move upstairs. Valen and Valinor turns in, but Valrie and Valtorex decide to stay up. Valrie says, “I know what’s supposed to happen now, but I don’t know if I’m ready.” (Dun dun duh…J) (J) (Why do the good die young?) (WTF was that about, Krug?) (To answer Andrew, ’cause Billy Joel said so) Valtorex replies, “You’re not. I’m not going to push you. Just relax and have some fun. It’s my job to get the ulcers.” They share a laugh at his last comment before Valrie says, “Well, I guess I should go to bed.” She then looks at Valtorex’s bed and sees it is now a coagulated, bloody mess. She shudders and Valtorex notices this. With a word, the bed burns to ashes. Valtorex goes over to the corner and drags the bronze tub behind the partition. He casts a spell and the tub fills with water. He then magically heats it and suggests, “Maybe you should try the bath stuff Valen got you. Relax, slow down, take a breath. You never know when you will get another chance.” Valrie nods, going behind the partition and preparing her bath. She gets in the tub and Valtorex goes over to his alchemy bench. After several minutes, Valrie asks, “So when is your birthday?” Valtorex replies, “I don’t have one. I gave up my birthday when I gave up my life to pursue revenge. I haven’t celebrated it in six years. Actually, seven.” Valrie asks, “But when is it?” Valtorex, not wanting to fight with her, sighs, and says, “I was born on Midyear’s Solstice. (Middle of school year) It has already passed this year, so give it up.” Valrie murmurs thoughtfully.   

After awhile, Valtorex has failed to come up with any potion other than an extremely potent acid. Valrie gets out of her bath and changes into a white night gown. (With Valtorex just sitting there?!) (Behind the ‘F’ ing partition!) (Ian use your brain; Jeff, the explanation helps) She walks over to Valtorex and taps him on the shoulder. He looks up from his work and sees her smiling. He asks, “What’s made you happy all the sudden?” Valrie replies, “Nothing. I just realized that there’s only one bed in this room and we both need one. So…” Valtorex asks, “Are you suggesting we share?” Valrie nods. Valtorex says, “You’re still not ready.” Valrie responds, “I know, but sharing a bed doesn’t mean we have to…” Valtorex stands and scoops Valrie up. He says, “You have a seriously inadequate understanding of the term ‘sleeping together’.” Valrie smiles, a bit nervous, “Think of it as a test. Let’s see if that famous self control of yours applies to me too.” (Like waltzing on a razor’s edge) (And you would know this from experience?) (Lying in bed with someone that your attracted to and vice versa, if that ain’t a razor’s edge, what is?) (I meant walking on a razor’s edge) Valtorex jokes, “Self control? With you around, that’s not possible, but, I’ll do my best.” Valtorex walks over and gently deposits Valrie in bed. Valtorex stands there for several moments, looking into Valrie’s eyes. What he sees worries him. Admiration, love, total and complete trust. Those three things are what allow him to win his own internal struggle against temptation and lie down. (I know, some of you think this is too far, the others think they aren’t going fast enough. This is why I hate moderates. You try to please everyone and everyone gets pissed) (Ah so true, but you try and it’ll just have to be good enough) Valtorex and Valrie embrace. Valrie, still nervous, says, “I…lo…love…you.” (Aww… Her first words) (NWoC (Not worthy of comment)) (Wow, I didn’t know Ian’s brain could devolve more than it already has) Valtorex replies, silently swearing to himself he would die to protect her, “I love you too.” They spend the night in each other’s arms.   

The next morning, Valen opens their door and sees them, holding each other close, under the blanket. (Wow, maybe I do belong in kindergarten. I accidently wrote blankeyJ)(Somehow that doesn’t surprise me, seeing as you have a kid bro and all) (lol) Valen closes the door, content with a job well done. Soon after, Valtorex wakes up and sees Valrie in his arms. He has a brief moment of panic before he remembers he restrained himself. (To me, that proves his sexuality or nobleness, take your pick)  (Have you ever had a girlfriend? They get pissed if you push ‘em too far) (Single) He keeps holding her while she continues dreaming peacefully. At one point, she has a nightmare and quietly cries his name, her heartbeat increasing. He holds her tighter and whispers in her ear, “It’s ok, I’m here.” (No Word, nothing owns the ok!) This seems to calm her and her heart goes back to a regular rhythm. Around Highsun, she stirs from her sleep and looks up at him. Their eyes meet and they draw closer to kiss. Just then, Valen comes through the door, clapping. Valtorex doesn’t even look. He levitates one of his potion bottles and smashes it on the ground at Valen’s feet. A puddle of flaming oil spreads that forces him to run out of the room. The oil burns out quickly, leaving a black circle on the wooden floor. Valtorex slams the door and locks it magically. Valtorex pulls Valrie close and they kiss. (I’m nearly dead from all of this romance. I, and most likely my editors as well, am praying for a Kaedros) (But…but….you do realize you write this stuff up?) (Yes, but 1: I don’t think when I write and 2: I need to get them to a point where a Kaedros will make at least some sense) (Boo hoo Jaff. Stop complaining and keep writing!) (At least I write what I complain about! You have to take my stuff!) (Kaedros is busy, call back another time) They eventually stop kissing and change into their travel clothes. They go downstairs and meet Valen and Valinor. Valinor, having thoroughly ‘convinced’ all of the ill-timed jokes out of Valen, asks, “How did you guys sleep?” Valrie replies, her voice full of energy and enthusiasm, “I slept wonderfully.” Valtorex just shrugs in response.    

The four of them return to the ruins that day and find evidence another ritual has taken place, this one was far more bloody. (That’s the thing about all automated editors. They’re all the same. Word, gmail spell check, Ian, all robots are the same. They always look at letter instead of spirit. Sure, more bloody may not be correct, but it sounds a hell of a lot better than bloodier) (It had to be done, or Ian would moan about it forever) (Moooooaaaaan…) In the bottom room, Valtorex finds evidence of a new site. He shows Valen a rough map he found, and Valen says, “Hey, I know that place! Let’s go!” Valtorex says, “Let’s go to the magic shop first.” They do, and an hour later, they come out with backpacks of holding. They follow Valen to the location on the map. They find a freshly made clearing around a large marble diaulos. In the center of the diaulos is a crystal pedestal with a sword stuck, blade down, in it. Valtorex is walking forward, drawn by some unknown force to the sword. Valen grabs him and holds him back. He yells, “No! That’s the Sword of Eternal Damnation!”(Really?  Let me try!) Valtorex, snapping out of the mental fog, asks, “The what?” Valen replies, “The Sword of Eternal Damnation. Anyone who touches it is destroyed both bodily and in their mind, and their soul is enslaved. When I was growing up, a young girl got curious and touched it. They’ve seen her tortured soul roaming the woods ever since.” When Valen sees that calculating look in his friend’s eyes, he says, “Don’t bother. They’ve tried it with gloves, to the same result. It cannot be used as a weapon.” Valtorex sighs, accepting the truth. Just then, they hear a rustling in the brush. They duck for cover in a nearby pile of branches and leaves.  

Kaedros, Jane, Chistine, Sara, Agony, and a large contingent of demons and cultists walk out of the woods. At the head of the demons is a man that appears to be a half demon. He has flesh like a human, but he has the demonic armor plates over his body. Valen whispers, “Chisa…” Valtorex whispers, “That man in the lead of the demons must be one of Kaedros’s ‘Sons’.” Kaedros steps up to the sword and asks, “Is this it?” Agony drags forward a young elven maiden by the hair. The woman, face stained from crying pleads, “Yes! Yes! Please let me go!” Kaedros orders, “Tie her up, but don’t gag her. I want to hear her scream.” Kaedros then raises his hands and lets out a demonic roar. All around the diaulos ritual circles appear on the ground. There are twenty circles. Kaedros commands, “Begin the ritual!” (Dun dun duh…) Ten of his male followers and ten of his female ones walk forward. They each enter a ritual circle, alternating male and female. The demons march forward. The ritual with the female cultists is the same one they have seen before. The one with the males is a more combative one. The male cultists fight with the demons, taking countless wounds from the claws. The ritual continues and as the men fall, they are killed. The ritual draws on for three days, while Valtorex forces his friends to at least drink water, but they cannot hold down food. On the third day, all of the men are dead and the last woman dies before Darkwatch. The blood has soaked the ground and the twenty bodies are piled around the pedestal. All grows quiet until Firstlight when ten of the demon-man hybrids and ten succubae walk out of the woods, drenched in blood. Kaedros yells, the bloodlust evident in his manic voice, “My children! The time has come! Sons, each of you take a contingent of 100 of my demons and command them on to conquest and pillage! Daughters, go and convince others to join your Abyssal Father! Go from town to town and spread my family to every corner of Archemos!” (Basically, Kaedros is intent on taking over Archemos without a single battle) (A crazy genius!) (And they would get away with it if not for those meddling kids) The hybrids salute him and the succubae bow. The ten of each walk off, the Sons leading a contingent of demons and the succubae disappearing into the shadows.   

Kaedros then says to the remaining host with him, “I will now prove my might! The elf wench has admitted this is the Sword of Eternal Damnation! The sword that none can touch! I will now draw it from its rock to prove my supremacy!” He is reaching out to grasp the hilt, but Valtorex bursts forth (Jeff! He doesn’t come out 4th in line! Forth not fourth!) from concealment and rushes him. His three friends run out after him. Kaedros turns and motions to his demons. The demons run forward, compelled by their unholy master. Valen begins loosing arrows into the mass of unholy warriors. Demons begin falling, arrows puncturing their throats and chests. Valrie, Valinor, and Valtorex meet the demons head on. Valinor, having become much better from the secrets he learned under the tutelage of the weapons master, quickly out steps Valtorex for kills. In moments, the area has been reduced to a bloody, chaotic, slaughter. After several minutes, the last demon falls under Valinor’s axe and the three friends charge on, Valen keeping watch on the succubae. Kaedros orders, “Necrolytes, kill them!” The remaining cultists advance on the three, holding daggers out. Valinor feels a sadness at the grim necessity to kill the nearly defenseless opponents. Valrie nearly cries as she slides her rapier through the heart of a young woman about the age of herself. Valtorex feels nothing. No happiness, no satisfaction, no sadness, no pain. The cultists fall, blood flowing freely from the unarmored bodies. (Idiots…) (The dumbest form of kamikaze or suicide ever)  

The succubae laugh as they watch the mortals be slaughtered. Kaedros feels only the small discontent at losing so many possible shields. As the last cultist falls, mortally wounded, Valtorex looks up at Kaedros. Kaedros says, “It will end now. I won’t let you live this time. I will claim the power for myself!” Kaedros and his Sons and Daughters attack. Valen fills them with arrows, but to no avail. Sara, at Kaedros’s order, stays back. Jane and Valrie fight each other, Jane furious at Valrie for being the reason she failed to tempt Valtorex, Valrie wanting to rip her to shreds again and again for trying to take Valtorex. (Showdown timeJ) Valinor fights Agony, neither having a special interest in their fight. With tears in their eyes, Valen and Chistine fight, both trying to make it look like they’re trying while avoiding hurting one another. (A sad attempt if they are both crying) Kaedros yells, “Kor! Help me deal with this pest!” Kor, the hybrid from earlier, and Kaedros fight Valtorex. Kaedros’s forces are obviously outmatched, but their inability to die tips the scales. (How unfair) (Well they need it to even keep up) 

Valtorex yells, “Fall back!” Valen and Valinor disengage, but Valrie and Jane keep fighting. The succubae are now freed up move on Valrie. Kaedros, seeing an opportunity, orders Kor to attack Valrie. Valrie, unable to fight with four to one odds against immortal opponents, goes down. She is covered in cuts and scratches, her dress torn into loose rags hanging from her. Kaedros laughs and says, “Looks like your girl is gonna die! Order her to surrender and I’ll make her one of my daughters.” Valtorex sees Kor raising his clawed hand for the kill and yells in fury. Without thinking, he dives and grabs the hilt of the Sword of Eternal Damnation. He screams in pain as he draws it and rushes Kor. He reaches him with inhuman speed and slashes with one furious strike. The sword slices into Kor’s back, eliciting a scream of pure agony. Kor falls to his knees before falling forward, his body turning to dust before hitting the ground. Valtorex turns and runs Agony through, turning her to dust that falls to the ground in a cloud. He turns and runs at Kaedros. Before he can reach him, he collapses. (Now for the first Tribunal) 

Valtorex finds himself behind a oak podium. In front of him is a stone semicircular table. Behind the table are three people. One, on the left, is a beautiful female elf wearing dazzling white robes. He can only see her face as her hood covers everything else. (Silesta) On the right is a sickly looking man in robes of the deepest black with hollowed eyes and a generally gaunt appearance. (The Devon!) (NOOOO!!!!) In the center is a calm looking man in red robes. (Kilri) The man in red says, “You most likely know why you are here Valtorex.” Valtorex replies, “Esteemed personages, I do not. I must assume I am dead, however.” The woman comments, “He takes death a lot better than most his age.” The man in black replies(with a cough), “Yes, and he is not one of my followers.” The man in red says, “You used the Sword of Eternal Damnation. The guardians of the sword failed to punish you accordingly, so an emergency Tribunal has been called. (The equivalency of jury duty for gods) We will decide your fate. Silesta, do you have any questions?” Silesta, the god of life and healing, asks, “Valtorex, why did you take the sword?” Valtorex replies, “If I did not, then Valrie would be dead. I took up the sword to protect my love.” Silesta seems pleased with this. “Devon?” Devon, the god of death and decay, asks, “Did you know the consequences of your action?” Valtorex, knowing his very soul is on the line, replies, “Yes, as I do now. And as I do now, I did not care as long as I did what was right.” Devon seems displeased. Kilri asks, “Valtorex, why do you show no respect for gods?” Valtorex replies, every part of his being aware what his response will mean, “Because it is not deserved. I have seen thousands killed in my life. I have seen good men killed and have killed them myself. Abominations like Kaedros roam the land, spreading evil without pause. Mortals cannot survive on their own and all you gods do is sit in your own little planes, bickering over petty things and trying to make a bigger temple than the rest. Your complacence will lead to your downfall and total war. So, no, I will neither respect nor fear you.(It’s like Aroon with Google!) As soon as I find a god above petty squabbles and actually concerned with the people, then I will follow him into battle.” (Wow, sounds like a good Christian man!)  

Valtorex manages to offend both Silesta and Devon. Kilri says, “Well then. What have you done to fight Kaedros?” Valtorex laughs before replying, “I’m here aren’t I?” Kilri laughs, pleased with his answer. Silesta and Devon both agree to send him to the Abyss. Kilri says, “Think of it this way: Valtorex is upset because innocents are dying. Silesta, does that not sound like something you can agree with? He’s frustrated because he cannot see with his mortal eyes that we are working. Take pity on him.” Silesta decides to change her vote to allowing him to continue on to Celestia. When the vote comes, it is one to send him to the Abyss and two to send him to the Plane of Judgment. (Basically it’s where souls go to be evaluated as to whether they belong in Celestia or the Abyss) Silesta says, “You may have broken the rules, but you did it to preserve life and I cannot punish you for that.” Devon explains, “You broke the rules and slew my followers. I cannot allow you to go unpunished.” Kilri says, “I can see both sides of the argument. You did break the rules and attempt to use a divine weapon, but you did it for the right reasons. I think you should be judged on your life instead of one instance, so you will be sent to the Plane of Judgment. Any protest?” Valtorex protests, “If I go to the Plane of Judgment, I will be cast into the Abyss anyway. I have killed far too many for it to not be so. I ask that I be allowed to return to the Material Plane and face these guardians. If I win, I will be returned to life. If I lose, then I can be punished in any way you deem fit.”  

They agree and Valtorex appears in the clearing. (Like I haven’t heard that a million times J) (You are attacked by goblins…) Kaedros and his followers are gone and Valrie is weeping over the dust that was his body. Valtorex yells, “I’m here!” It appears as if Valrie can’t hear him. Valtorex then remembers he must win against the guardians first. Suddenly, two men appear, both in red robes. One man says, “Valtorex, you will face us in a fight to the end.” The other says, “We know you do not deserve to die, but we will not hold back.” They say in unison, “We are Honor, the fire of the people, and Glory, the lightning of the land.” They then show who they are by drawing their swords. Honor has a longsword that has a ruby hilt and a blade made of pure flame. Glory has a longsword with the same hilt, but a blade made of crackling lightning. Valtorex draws his swords and salutes them. The two guardians return the salute and the battle begins.  

Honor and Glory fight in perfect unison, but Valtorex blocks just as well as they attack. When Honor’s blade hits his blades, it cuts them a small bit. When Glory’s hits his swords, Valtorex is shocked. (Not surprisedJ) (What’s the mailbox for?) (Didn’t type it. Google added on conversion) After several minutes, Honor and Glory have thoroughly outclassed him and destroyed his swords. He is on his knees, ready to face judgment and about to be beheaded. Honor asks, “You have been an admirable foe. I commend you to the next life.” Glory asks, “Any last words, friend?” Valtorex, with Valrie in sight, finds that for the first time in seven years, he actually cares whether he lives or dies. Knowing it is too late for that, he says, his voice heavy with sorrow, the six words that have been the most influential in the history of the Age of Mortals, “Kai Zanaria… Kai Manäïen…Kai Kaeje.” (I thought he was going to say “Tell Valrie I love her”) (That’s only five Ian) (How would that affect the entire Age of Mortals?) Honor and Glory nod. They remove their swords from his neck and say, “You are loyal to the people. You deserve life, and you deserve help. Leave your broken blades and take ours. We will fight with you.” Valtorex stands and salutes them. They salute him in return before disappearing, leaving their swords on the ground. Valtorex picks them up and sheathes them, amazed they do not damage the sheathes. Honor’s voice says in his head, “The blades will only harm the enemies of the people. They will not damage anything you do not wish to be destroyed.” Valtorex then looks over and sees Valrie, tears in her eyes, reaching for the Sword of Eternal Damnation.  

Valtorex yells, “No! Don’t!” She looks up and sees him appear out of nowhere. With an exclamation of joy, she jumps to her feet and runs to him. (You see, I am most certainly not Shakespeare) (Yay!) She jumps into his arms and he catches her, holding her close. Valen and Valinor run over to meet him. They ask how he survived and he tells them everything. They return to the inn and go to sleep. They fall into a routine. Every day, Valinor trains with the weapons master, Valen hunts in the forests and trains with a master bowman, (Does he train with bowmen or a bowman, because you said with a master bowmen?) (I did this in less than ten days, ok) Valrie trains with a master of stealth while working on her wardrobe, and Valtorex practices alchemy and magic on his own, not able to find a teacher that can meet his level outside of the Academy and the Council of Arch Mages. Valtorex and Valrie continue sleeping in the same bed, but never go further.  

Then, on the night before Newyear’s Solstice, (New Year’s Eve) Valrie is out late with her stealth instructor, still training. Chistine, Jane, and Sara appear in his room, around his bed. Sara says, “You killed Agony. Father is pleased you have become so powerful. I am not happy you killed my Son, but Agony I can do without.” Jane giggles at Sara’s comment. Sara continues, her voice practically dripping seductiveness, “We have come to offer you an alliance. You join the Father and he will make you co-ruler of the Empire and master of Archemos. To seal the deal, Father has offered you any or all of us for your enjoyment. You will be a god to the rest of the mortals and can even become immortal through the ritual. You will be able to claim anyone, anything as yours. This is too good for you to pass up.” Valtorex, fighting an internal struggle against temptation, does not notice until it is too late that Jane has crawled into his bed. She pushes him down and tries to take off his robe. Chistine, obviously morbidly depressed, joins her. Sara joins her ‘Daughters’ and they all try to weaken Valtorex’s will into accepting their offer. They think it is working, Valtorex barely breathing, right up until Jane screams in agony. She jumps back, a dagger in her stomach. Valrie had forgotten and left the gift from Valtorex under her pillow.  

This shocks Chistine and Sara so much that Valtorex is able to jump out of bed and grab his swords. He yanks Honor and Glory from their sheathes and the two blades nearly sing in joy. Jane rips the bloody dagger from her stomach and laughs insanely, her mind nearly gone. She licks the blade and exclaims, “Mmm! I wonder what yours tastes like?” (Say hello to the men in white coats for me!) She advances on Valtorex, bloodlust overcoming her. Valtorex just flicks Honor through the air, slicing open her chest and burning the flesh. Jane screams when the wound doesn’t heal and staggers back, hitting the wall and sliding down. Sara, figuring out a possible trick, orders, “Chistine, teach your lover’s friend a lesson.” Chistine, tears streaming down her cheeks, walks forward, begging, “I can’t disobey! Please! Kill me! I can’t take it anymore!” Valtorex replies, “And I can’t kill you. I do have an idea though.” As she reaches him, he (no r on he) slaps her thigh with Glory. Chistine screams as the lighting shoots through her body, causing her to jump back. Sara commands her forward again, and Valtorex slaps her again. They keep this up for several minutes, Chistine covered in burns from the blade, but not seriously injured. Sara screams, “Attack him and don’t stop till he’s dead!” Chistine pleads, “Kill me! Please!” Valtorex shakes his head. With a wail of hopelessness, Chistine runs at him, the tears flying behind her. Valtorex slaps her across the chest, but continues forward, slamming her into the ground and pressing the flat of the blade down with all of his strength. The massive amount of electricity shooting through her body finally knocks her out. (KOed!) (Finish her!) (WTF! He’s trying not to hurt her!) Valtorex advances on Sara and says, “You I will gladly kill.” Sara disappears, (wimp!) taking the still moaning Jane and unconscious Chistine with her.  

Valtorex lies down and goes back to sleep, after cleaning off Valrie’s dagger and replacing it under her pillow. (Amazing how the inn keeper seems to not care that they have death matches every other night and Valtorex burnt a piece of furniture to ashes. Oh well, that’s lifeJ) (They have a death matches? Get your plurals right he, said to a bowmen!) (Ian, don’t make me come over there) The next morning, Valtorex wakes up around Firstlight, Valrie in his arms. Valrie begins to stir around Highsun. When she opens her eyes, Valtorex kisses her on the forehead and says, “Good morning, love.” (He’s not British, only his dialogue writerJ) Valrie smiles up at him and asks, “Isn’t today Newyear’s Solstice?” Valtorex replies, “Yes, I think so.  I could have overslept, though.” They get up and change into their day clothes. (To Ian: Valrie stands behind the ‘F’ing partition!J) (Mailbox again?) (Ian’s inbox must be overflowing) They go downstairs and meet Valen and Valinor for lunch. They eat and then go about their day, agreeing to meet back at the inn for dinner. At dinner, Valtorex cooks, and the four of them enjoy dinner, joking and talking. (No, Valtorex is not the only one who can cook, he’s just the only one who can make his own grill) After dinner, Valrie, Valen, and Valinor all yell, at the same time, “Happy birthday!” Valtorex responds, “One, it’s not my birthday, and two, I don’t have birthdays.” Valrie says, “We know, but we felt bad about missing your birthday and decided the half way point would be a good time to make it up.”  

Valtorex replies, dryly, “You still missed the point. I don’t celebrate my birthday. It’s not a good time for me.” Valrie asks, “Why? It’s supposed to be fun.” Valtorex responds, “When my mother was taken, it was one month after my birthday. I spent the next two years training ever day. Including my birthday. I decided that celebrating my birth was not as important as trying to save the one that did it. Once the demon returned and I fought him, I hunted him for two years, not stopping for birthdays. I spent my fifteenth birthday as cattle to a clan of vampires and my sixteenth I spent in an ancient temple fighting the undead.” Valrie counters, “There’s no one for you to save right now and I see no vampires or other undead. I’ll celebrate the day you were born, and you should too.” Valtorex sighs, acknowledging defeat. (Good thing too, it’s 2:00 A.M. and I’m running out of argumentsJ) He says, “Fine, I’ll celebrate.” His three friends jokingly cheer.  

Valen gives him a package and Valtorex opens it. Inside is a calligraphy set, chalk, and parchment. Valen says, “I know you like practical stuff and I know you write a lot of spells and shapes and stuff, so I figured you could use it.” Valtorex thanks him. Valinor then hands him a bundle wrapped in warg skin. Valtorex unwraps it and finds a set of rune stones. Valinor says, “I saw you got an enchanter’s kit, so I figured you could use these to enchant stuff.” Valtorex thanks him as well. Valrie says, “I took a page from your book and got you two things, one practical, one not.” She hands him a package and he opens it. Inside are alchemical tools. Valrie says, “You’ve been playing with that infuriating alchemy set so long that I assumed the tools were worn out. I found you a masterwork calcinator, alembic, retort, and mortar and pestle. There’s also some extra razors, vials, and a precision scale.” Valtorex says, “Thank you. Your assumption was right. My kit is nearly wiped out. Thanks.” Valrie nods and says, “One last present.” She hands him a neatly wrapped package. He opens it and finds a letter on top of a layer of tissue. He reads the letter. 

“Valtorex, 

Hope you don’t mind regifting. I could not think of anything I could give you except for one thing. I don’t think Valen will mind if I regift his present as a hint. My present is one I’ve debated on for weeks. Figure out the rest. 

Love, 

Valrie” 

Valtorex removes the tissue and looks into the box. (Yay! Jeff is learning! I didn’t have to put the letter in italics for him this time) (And you’re delearning! No ‘y’ in didn’t) He sees the dress he got Valrie and the second present Valen gave Valrie. He calmly replaces the lid and asks, “Are you sure?” Valrie nods. He leans forward and kisses her. Valen boos and jokes, “Get a room!”(They already have one) Valtorex, having already put away his other gifts, puts Valrie’s last gift in his pack and picks up Valrie. He says, “I already did. See you tomorrow.” He looks at Valrie and continues, “Or the next day.” He carries her up and sets her down in their room. Valrie asks for the package and Valtorex takes it out and gives it to her. She goes behind the partition to change. While she is changing, Valtorex asks, “What changed your mind?” Valrie, her voice slightly higher than usual, replies, “Three things. You passed my test of sleeping with me without sleeping with me. You gave your life to save me when you took that cursed sword to fight of Kaedros’s minions. Finally, you gave up the chance to effectively rule the continent and have any woman or women you want for me. Yes, I saw what happened last night. I got back and was coming through the window when I saw the succubae. I watched what happened. I want to thank you for being so loyal and caring towards me and my wishes.” (Sounds like she’s about to knight him for service to queen and country. I can’t write this stuffJ) (Why? Sir Valtorex sounds cool!) (He already is, remember?)

Soon after that, she steps out from behind the partition, wearing the dress Valtorex got for her. Valtorex’s jaw drops open and he stammers, “W…wow. You…you’re gorgeous.” Valrie asks, trying…and failing to sound seductive, “Shall we begin?” (Heh, a succubus can pull it off, but I just don’t see Valrie being the seductive sort) Valtorex restrains himself enough to not laugh. He says, “Two things. One, sexy, seductive does not work for you yet. Stick to sweet and caring, you know, the truth. Second, you might want to drink some of this.” He goes over and picks up the bottle of wine Valen and Valinor gave them earlier in the summer. She, mistaking this as a shot at her, demands, “Why? You don’t think I’ll be good enough sober?” Valtorex laughs before saying, “One, sobriety usually helps coordination, which is kinda key, and two, that’s not why I suggested it. The first time is not that pleasant (So I’ve been told) and I suggest something to dull your senses a bit.” Valrie takes his advice and drinks the glass of wine he pours. Valtorex, at Valrie’s request, even drinks a glass. After another glass, they embrace each other and kiss. After several minutes of kissing, they lie down in bed. Valtorex whispers, “I love you.” Valrie replies, her voice weak, “I love you too.”  

 (I know, I’m a bastard for getting you guys all excited then pulling that, but I want this to be R at the worst if made into a movie. Then again, Hollywood gets away with worse, but I digress. Basically, I can’t write that stuff even if I wanted to, so I won’t attempt. I’m sick of romance and want to get this over with. If you want more, flood me with emails and I’ll see if I or one of my editors can meet your twisted needs. Hah, flooded with emails. I wish) (No comment) (I think this still only brings it to PG 13 at best) (That’s just you Andrew…) The next morning, they wake up some time after Highsun. Valrie looks up at Valtorex and they stare into each other’s eyes, not wanting to get up. They stay in bed all day, talking sometimes, just enjoying being together the rest. As night falls, Valtorex says, “I love you Valrie. I did before last night and still do.” Valrie, not able to find words to respond, just snuggles closer to him. They fall asleep in each other’s arms. (Surprised there was no interruption) (By Valen?) 

The next morning they wake up and dress. They go downstairs and meet Valen and Valinor. Valinor, no matter how much ‘convincing’ he tried, could not stop Valen from capitalizing on this moment. He yells, “Good morning! You weren’t kidding when you said an entire day!” Valrie flushes in embarrassment, but Valtorex laughs. He says, “Have you seen Valrie? It was hard for me to get up today!” This makes her face grow even more crimson. She punches him lightly on the shoulder and he takes the hint. He wraps his arm around her and they sit down next to each other. The four of them eat breakfast before going off on their separate ways.

They continue in their routine for several weeks. Then, one day, the four of them are at the dinner table and Valen says, “My mother has invited us to dinner tomorrow. She wants us to meet the traveler that’s been staying at her house.” They agree to meet there for dinner the next day. They go to sleep, Valrie and Valtorex in each other’s arms, although they have not slept together since Newyear’s Solstice. The next day, Valtorex creates some new potions, Valrie practices stealth, Valen practices archery and hunting, and Valinor trains with the weapons master. That night, they meet at Valen’s house and his mother invites them in. They are shown to the dinner table and sit, Valen next to Skathera, Valinor sitting next to a vacant chair, Valen’s mother and father beside each other, and Valtorex next to Valrie. (Is it a square table, because the mother and father usually sit at the two ends?) (Yes, it’s a square) Valen’s mother says, “John should be along soon. He was visiting some friends today.”

Just then, the door opens. The guest walks in and walks to the dining room. Valtorex offhandedly looks over before jumping to his feet and drawing his swords. Kaedros is standing in the doorway, glaring at Valtorex. Kaedros strides forward, his sword drawn. Valen’s mother yells, “Put down your swords!” Valtorex, hatred burning in his heart, but respecting the owner of the house, slowly slides his swords back into his sheathes. Kaedros, deciding to torment them instead of killing them, and returns his sword to his side. Valtorex and Kaedros sit at the table. The dinner is spent in silence, Valtorex and Kaedros glaring at each other. Kaedros then says to Valen, “You must be Valen. Your mother has told me so much about you. I’m so glad to finally meet you.” (I can just imagine the venom dripping from his voice and burning hole in the table) (lol) This is Valen’s last straw. He slams his silverware down and warns, his voice cold and deadly, “If you ever get near my family, I will hunt you down and kill you and your whores!” Valen’s mother rebukes, “Valen! I did not raise you that way!” Kaedros replies, “It’s ok. He’s just jealous that his girlfriend likes me now.” Valen’s father rebukes, “Valen, what did I tell you about that Chistine? It was bound to fail. I knew that she would stop liking someone as wild as you.”(Ohh that son of a…) (Why can’t they just fight to the death already?)

Valen counters, “She only follows him because he turned her into a demon!” Valen’s father yells, “Valen! Out! You’re not welcome here!” Valen, his rage overpowering (Overpower is one word Jeff) (k) him, jumps to his feet and storms out of the room. He yells, “Kaedros! If you touch them, you will die! I don’t care if they hate me! I will not allow you to hurt them!” Valen then leaves and slams the door behind him. Kaedros laughs before saying, “Give him time. He’ll come around.” Valtorex, furious that Valen has been forced out of his own home, says, his voice cold, “Kaedros, you are an abomination and I cannot allow you to live. I will respect the wishes of Valen’s mother and abstain from bloodshed here, but if I ever see you outside, you will die.” Valinor, Valrie, and Valtorex leave, returning to the inn and meeting Valen. Valen’s mother asks, “Why did they call you Kaedros, John?” Kaedros, his face taking on a cruel sneer, replies, “Because that’s my name. Valen was right by the way. Valtorex may be willing to not spill blood here, but I have no such qualms. I will allow you to live as long as you keep those fools out of my business.”

They continue their routine, Valen no longer going back to his house. One night, Chistine walks through the door to the inn while they are eating dinner. (After they are eaten dinner?) (Less talking, more correcting) (Let him. It makes him feel good about himself) (So…) Valen jumps up and runs to her. He attempts to hug her, but she says, “No Valen, my life is over now. I made a major mistake and now it’s over.” Valen pleads, “It doesn’t have to be, Chisa! We’ll find a way to save you!” Chistine sighs and falls into his arms, tears streaming down her cheeks. She says, “I’ve been sent to tell you that Kaedros wants one last fight. He will wait at the brook tomorrow for you four to face him and his cult. He said to give you this. I have also been given the night off to do as I please, so I will spend it here.” Valtorex says, “That’s great. This means we can free you. (This mean we can free you…? Jeff be caveman now?) (Ian, don’t make me sick Krug on you) Come to my room tonight. Until  then, enjoy some time with Valen.” (Basically, Valtorex just turned the tables on both Valen and Kaedros) (?) (I don’t get it) (Valen’s been intent on getting Valtorex in bed with someone, and Kaedros has been using Chsitine against them. Now, Valtorex got Valen in bed with someone and they’re using Chistine against Kaedros)

Several hours later, near Darkwatch, Chistine knocks on the door to their room. Valrie lets her in, not wanting to distract Valtorex who is working frantically. Chistine watches him for several minutes until he suddenly stands up, gathering up the materials he had been working with. He goes over to Chistine and hands her a vial. He says, “Drink that. It will dispel any mental effects you have on you.” Chistine, seeing no reason to not trust him, drinks the fiery liquid in the vial. She coughs as the potion burns her throat. He then hands her two gold bracelets studded with gems. Valtorex says, “I can’t break Kaedros’s hold on you, but I can change it. Basically, it will add me as a controller so that I can order you to not obey him.” He produces a leather sack and hands it to her, along with a necklace with a silver vial on it. He says, “The sack contains crystals. Swallow one to counteract mental effects if you have to remove the bracelets. The silver vial contains a potion that will let you teleport away from danger. Now go. Be with Valen and don’t leave him till dawn.” Chisa, thanks in her eyes, nods and leaves to go to Valen’s room. Valtorex and Valrie go meet Valinor downstairs. Valinor tells them, “I need to prepare for battle. I have no one I need to be with, so I can focus on war. You two should be together tonight. Tomorrow night, one of you may be dead. I’ll see you at dawn.” Valtorex looks at Valrie, questioning in his eyes. Valrie nods. Valtorex picks her up and carries her back to their room.

The next morning, (Nice vagueness! J) (Lol, don’t wanna take away creativity) the five of them meet downstairs. Chisa and Valen holding hands, (holdings hands… Seroiusly, get your plurals straight!) (Ian, if you spent half as much time chasing after girls as you do my mistakes, you would be able to fill a day care (Come on, fix day care and make my day)) (I don’t appreciate that…) (Yes, well, anyone who knows you does, ’specially A Hsu and me, go ahead, do it) (Thanks, made my dayJ) Valrie and Valtorex doing the same. The five of them eat breakfast before Chisa leaves to join her master. Valrie and Valtorex kiss before suiting up. The four of them march to the brook, Valtorex leading Valrie and Valinor, while Valen climbs into the tree he used to fire his slingshot from. Kaedros is on the opposite side of the brook, demons and hybrids arranged behind him.(Opposite side of the brook they are?) Kaedros yells, “You will not survive this one! I have some new weapons to kill you with!” With that, he raises his arms and two swords appear in his hands, the one in the right having an onyx hilt and a blade of pure darkness, the left with the same hilt and a blade of shadow. (Darkness and shadows, same thing) (No, shadow is lack of light, darkness is opposite of light, or at least when it comes to spells) Behind his army, three planar gates open. The right, judging by the demons marching out, is to the Abyss. The left, based on the devils, leads to the Infernus. The central gate seems to be a mass teleportation outlet. A large mass of cultists armed with swords and shields marches out. (Not as defenseless as before)

Kaedros roars, “Charge my children! Show those fools who their master is!” Kaedros’ horde moves out, marching through the brook. Valen opens fire, dropping demons, devils, and cultists. Knowing Valtorex is the only one that can kill them, Valen, Valinor, and Valrie do not fight the hybrids and succubae. Valtorex uses Honor and Glory to slay all hybrids that reach him. The hybrids fall, one by one, their limbs burnt off and their flesh cooked from lightning. Valinor slaughters demons, devils, and cultists. The demons’ acidic blood burns the grass and chars the ground. (and turns the brook a sickly yellow color, killing all the aquatic life in it) (Demons blood isn’t yellow) (But you don’t deny the killing of fish?) The devils’ blood fuels the flames caused by the demons’ blood. As Valinor slaughters the mortals that rush him, he faintly feels sorrow at having to kill so many, but the screams of the dying are drowned out by the roar of the living enemies. Valrie is mortified as she is forced to kill people the same age as her. The cultists, although some are adults, are for the most part misguided youths just looking for a family. She sees a young girl at her age with a face like hers, eyes like hers, and hair bluish-black like hers. Unlike her, she is not well trained. Valrie lets a tear fall from her eye as she slides the rapier through her ribcage. The girl gasps, (…the girls gasps…! Are you doing this on purpose?) the enre battle slowing to a crawl. Valrie sees the girl’s eyes fade as her heart slows. Thump thump.Thump thump..Thump thump…thump. And no more. The battle speeds back up to a normal speed and the girl falls back, her eyes wide and her mouth locked in a silent scream.

Valtorex sees the flux of battle turning against them as more and more of Kaedros’s army crosses the brook. Valen fires as fast as he can, but even his prolific speed can’t stem the tide. Then something that has not happened in ten years happens to him. Valen pulls back, his arms fatigued from the constant strain, and lets loose. The arrow flies and hits the ground beside a demon. (The Abyss must be freezing over!) Valen nearly falls out of the tree when he realizes what just happened. He curses at the miss, but resolves to not do it again. Valtorex, realizing that Valrie is too emotionally stressed to keep this up, orders her to run for help. She disengages and runs. Soon after, Chisa reaches Valtorex and says, “I’ve been ordered to kill you. If I don’t they’ll kill me.” Valtorex commands, “Go to Valen. Take him to the inn and be with him. He missed a shot and needs to be soothed.” (Valtorex, “Basically, you’re supposed to kill me or get killed. Go sleep with Valen instead”) Chisa, tears of gratitude for taking her out of the battle in her eyes, runs off to Valen. Valtorex and Valinor fight back to back, the last two on the battlefield. (Activate improbability drive J) (What’s improbable? Valen and Valrie were the only others with them) They keep fighting, slaying the demons, devils, and cultists. Honor and Glory practically sing in joy as they flash through the air, slaying their foes.

Kaedros roars in fury as Valtorex slays his Sons one by one and Valinor massacres his cult and army. Kaedros charges in himself, unheeding of the dangers and risks. He slashes through his own followers, intent on reaching Valtorex. (Nice guy…) (He’s just compounding the problem) Valtorex slays the last hybrid commander before seeing Kaedros. He yells, “Let’s end this! You and me, one on one!” Kaedros yells, “Men! Stop! Your Father shall slay the heretic!” The devils and cultists, and even the demons, pull away from the press on Valinor and stand back. Valinor steps away, giving Valtorex room to fight. Valtorex and Kaedros face each other down, circling slowly. Kaedros says, “I see you have Honor and Glory. I’d like to introduce you to their dark counterparts, Blood and Fear. Unfortunately, it appears Mercy and Grace can’t be here. How sad. Are you ready to die?” Valtorex replies, “Kai Zanaria! Kai Manäïen! Kai Kaeje!”

Kaedros’ face takes on an evil sneer as he rushes forward. Valtorex blocks his determined, hate filled, attacks. As they fight, Kaedros growls, “Why do you refuse my offers? I offer you land, women, power, anything you want, and you repay me by slicing open my concubines’ chests? She healed, of course, but she’s been moping since and I have to order her to bed! I have to order a drasked succubus to bed!” Valtorex replies, “I refused your offer because I am loyal to the Empire and Valrie.” They keep fighting, more interested in talking, however. Kaedros demands, “I offered you succubae and all the mortals you want! You could have two women for every mood! Why do you cling to that drasked bitch?” Valtorex, his masculine pride feeling attacked, retorts, “Because she’s the one that goes to bed willingly. No orders, no mental illnesses, no threats. She wants me and I want her. It’s called love. It’ll be your downfall, you son of a bitch abomination!” With that, Valtorex attacks with even more power. (Why isn’t the balrog helping?) (No need. Honor and Glory are more powerful than Blood and Fear. If he started losing, then the balrog would come out) Valrie arrives back at the battlefield to see the duel. She managed to rouse one guard member who quickly runs off to warn the others.

The duel continues on, going back and forth. It seems as if the blades have minds of their own as they dance back and forth, blocking each other. Kaedros and Valtorex continue their dialogue, Kaedros yelling, “Your bitch of a love isn’t even loyal to you! She has already devoted her soul to me and almost gave me her body!” Valtorex responds, “She never finished the oath and you never collected! And, she already gave herself, so you have no claim on her!” Valrie, surrounded at this point by elven guards she does not know, blushes a deep crimson. Kaedros yells, “How can you bear to share your bed with her? You could do so much better!” Valtorex yells back, “I love her, and that’s all that matters! I would die for her! Who will you die for?” Kaedros yells, “I am immortal! I cannot die! Even the gods fear my wrath!” Valtorex, intent on disproving him, doesn’t answer and focuses on the battle at hand. Valtorex and Kaedros fight for several hours, both reaching the point of exhaustion. Finally, Kaedros slips up and Valtorex cuts a long, wicked gash along his chest with Honor. Unfortunately, he can not capitalize on this as he falls back, completely drained. Valinor and Valrie run forward and face off against the succubae. Valtorex and Kaedros both get to their feet. Kaedros says, “I’m done for today.” Valtorex says, “Ceasefire.” (Union mandated breakJ)

Kaedros’ army falls back behind the brook, the elves holding a steady line to guard the crossing. An elven guard captain comes up to Valtorex, exhausted and supported by Valrie, and says, “You fight well for a human. From the conversation, I gather you know each other.” Valtorex replies, “Yes, he was created when my soul was possessed by a balrog.” The guard captain, ignoring the outlandish claim in light of the demons on the outskirts of the village, continues, “We sent a message to the capital asking for help. I included a description of you to see if that spurs them into action. My men can hold till tomorrow. Get some rest and hopefully the king will come through.”

Valtorex thanks him, and, with Valrie’s help, returns to the inn. He finds Chisa and Valen sitting at the table, both looking exhausted, but happy. Valen says, (in his aussie accent,) (like I said, no accent) “Thanks, mate.” Chisa thanks him as well, but for a different reason. (Valen for getting him in bed with Chisa; Chisa for getting her out of battle with Valen) Valtorex says, “I know you two are going to hate me, but I need to ask this of you. Valen, can you take one for the team?” Valen nods. Valtorex continues, “Chistine, can you reward Valen to the best of your ability?” Chisa nods, a bit taken aback. Valtorex finishes, “Valen, I’m asking you to stay with Chistine tomorrow. Chistine, I’m ordering you to be with Valen until I tell you it’s okay to stop.” Valen turns paler. Chisa nods, accepting her orders. Valtorex says, “I’m sorry, but it’s the only way to keep Chistine safe.” Valen nods and says, mock sadness in his voice, “Well, if it must be done to keep her safe, then I will do her…I mean it.” He smiles as Chisa slaps him playfully. (There is a reason for this. Chisa must follow any orders Kaedros or Valtorex give her. As long as Kaedros is kept away, she’s safe. The problem is, he has to order her to do something, and since she is a succubus and the best orders are the ones that are the most likely to be obeyed, well you get the picture. Besides, it gives her time with ValenJ) (Lol, just to protect her right?) (RightJ)

 They eat dinner, discussing plan of attack. Valen will stay in their brook facing room with his bow in case the demons get through. Valtorex stresses, “You are only to leave Chistine unattended if you have something to shoot.” Chisa jokes, “I’ll make sure he has no reason to leave bed whatsoever.” Valen turns red, but the rest laugh, even Valrie. “Valinor,” says Valtorex, “you are to stand with the guards. Make sure Kaedros’s forces don’t break through the lines. I will go for Kaedros and his ‘Family’. You should probably meet with the guards tonight and help set up defenses.” Valrie, thinking she has been left out, asks ,the hurt evident in her voice, “What do I do?” Valtorex replies, “Tonight, you give me something to fight for. Tomorrow, you make sure I stay alive long enough to do it.” Valrie nods, not quite realizing what he just said. The other three do, Valinor chuckling, but Valen and Chisa burst out in laughter. Valrie then realizes what he meant and goes crimson.(Ah, still so naive) Valrie says, trying to cover her miss, “I…I didn’t mean it like that.” Valtorex asks, “How else could you mean a nod? Besides, too late now. Good night everyone.” He then picks a weakly protesting Valrie up and heads towards the stairs to the laughter of their three friends. Valrie, giving up her half hearted struggle, waves over his shoulder and calls, “Well, I guess it’s good night!” He carries her up to their room and they begin laughing. He sets her on the bed and wraps his arm around her.

Valtorex says, “You know you don’t have to if you don’t want. I just wanted to boost morale (Morale not moral. I think they’re morals are long gone) (Agreed) (Amoral isn’t that bad, they still have honor, chivalry, and loyalty) (Right….) (who changed amoral to a moral?) with a few jokes.” Valrie jokes, “How will you boost my morale?” Valtorex kisses her and replies, “Like that.” They laugh for a few moments. Valtorex asks, “Seriously, you sure you want to?” Valrie responds, “Yes, but it’s just not fair.” (I’m going to boost your morale with some good jokes, or at least jokes that are so bad you laugh anywayJ) Valtorex asks, “What isn’t?” Valrie, a smile on her face, says, “Well, you get me on my back all night, and tomorrow, I’m stuck watching yours. Where’s the justice in that?” They laugh at her joke for a while. Valtorex then replies, “Well, you won’t bleed as much in your job. Mine will get me killed.” Valrie laughs at this, not knowing whether she should be insulted or not. Valrie asks, “So, are we going to do this, or joke about it all night?” (I support the latter, but my editors would have my head, so) (Eh hem!…) (To be honest, I don’t care if you do or don’t, I’m enjoying the jokes) (Ian, I could write ten pages of sex jokes. You wanna edit that?) (I would skip the pages…) (Point proved) Valtorex responds by kissing her. 

The next morning, Valtorex wakes up, Valrie in his arms. (I’m just suprised she’s not pregnant yet) (Give it time…) (Not gonna happen. They don’t sleep together again until like next year)(Do they even have contraception?) He smiles at her as she rouses. They get up and prepare for battle. Valtorex says, “Remember, stay away from his hybrids and succubae. I’ll take those. I want to take his ‘Family’ out of the battle quickly and crush the army’s leadership.” Valrie nods, strapping on her rapier. They leave the room. Valtorex goes over to Valen’s door and listens. Valrie does the same. Inside, they can hear an argument. Valen pleads, “No more! I’m spent!”(There are worse ways to be tortured) (True, true) (Agreed. Seriously, Ian’s right, comedian) Chisa replies, “Dear, I will do it with or without your consent. I can always tie you down again.” With a sly grin, Valtorex turns and goes downstairs. Valrie follows, glad Valtorex is nothing like Chistine. They find that Valinor is not there. They continue on to the brook and see Valinor digging trenches and putting up sharpened stake barricades. 

Valtorex and Valrie take position in the front. Kaedros raises his hand and then lets it fall. His horde marches forward, (The hordes go marching one by one…J) intent on wiping the elven village and its defenders out of existence. An elven captain yells, “Volley one!” In the same second, one thousand elven arrows rise into the sky, falling upon the enemy host. Before the initial victims have even hit the ground, the next volley is up. And so it continues, the enemy troops falling en masse under a barrage of deadly projectiles, and elven spearmen driving the front ranks away from the barricade. It appears they will hold the demons off long enough for the capital to send reinforcements. The slaughter lasts long into the night, the only concern being running out of arrows, but that won’t be an issue for days. Then, after the fighting has stopped, Kaedros brings up a large creature, roughly turtle-ish, that seems like it’ll be impossible to take down with arrows and hard to kill with spears. Kaedros sends the war turtle lumbering along. The behemoth monster ignores the arrows that are nothing more than needles to it. It reaches the elven lines and walks right through the barricade, scattering the spearmen. Kaedros sends a battalion of demons through the breach. Valtorex rushes to the hole and tries to seal it. He orders, “Archers, on the demons! Spearmen, take out that thing!” The elves, not hearing anyone else, follow his orders. The demons reach the breach and swarm Valrie and Valtorex. They fight a good fight, (Like in the Good Book) (Que? How does the Bible apply?) but are forced back by the sheer number of foes. Valinor then reaches them with his detachment of the town guards. The elves and three friends battle the demons, eventually driving them back. The spearmen finally take down the war turtle. Both the town guard and spearmen took heavy casualties in the assault. Valinor begins repairing the breach. To the dismay of the men, Kaedros brings up five more of the monsters. It appears, however, he is content to wait until morning.  

Valtorex spends all night working with his alchemy kit, only taking time to eat a quick meal at Valrie’s demand. He finally speaks, although what he says surprises Valrie to no end. “Do you know how to fire a slingshot?” Valrie answers no. Valtorex then goes to the captain in charge of the archers. He says, “Get your twenty best men skilled with slingshots and have them meet me at the inn.” The captain is too dumbstruck to disobey. An hour later, Valtorex, Valrie, the archery captain, and twenty elves are standing in the inn. Valtorex says, “I know you all are probably wondering why you’re here instead of out there and why I am requesting slingshoters. Those creatures that Kaedros has brought up are a danger to the front. I remembered my friend talking about attacking his sister with a slingshot and had an idea…” 

The next day, Kaedros lines up his five war turtles, each one with one battalion of demons and one battalion of devils behind it. At his signal, the lumbering giants begin their slow trek forward. The archer captain yells, “Fire first volley!” Valtorex yells, “Slingshoters, hold ready!” The twenty men of the slingshot brigade, as they jokingly call it, four on each turtle, pull back the elastic thong on their weapons. Each slingshot has a vial held tightly in its pouch. As the first volley lands and the second is fired, Valtorex yells, “Hold!” the turtles are now 500 feet away. Third volley. “Hold!” 250 feet away. Fourth volley. “Hold!” 50 feet away. Fifth volley, and with that volley, Valtorex yells, “Fire!” The twenty slingshotiers release their projectiles, the vials sailing through the air, and, for the most part, hitting their marks. The vials shatter, releasing the highly corrosive acid Valtorex discovered earlier that summer. The acid burns away the flesh of the turtles’ legs and the shells that protect them. By the third volley, four of the war turtles are dead or dying. The fifth turtle continues on, but with all fire now directed towards it, it falls just five feet shy of the barricade. From then on out, it becomes a slaughter. The slingshoters, still reveling in the glory of victory, continue using the acid to attack the demons and devils. The demons are mainly unaffected by the acid, but the devils burst into flames as their blood comes in contact with it. The archers destroy the battalions of Kaedros’s army, forcing a retreat.  

That night, an army of skeletons and zombies bursts forth from the ruins, marching across no man’s land to reach the elven lines. The elven archers quickly find the only way to fight these creatures is steel. The spearmen crumple, their stabbing weapons useless against these foes. The town guard and light infantry fill the breach while the spearmen change weapons. Valtorex, Valrie, and Valinor each take different points. Valinor takes the already weakened center, Valtorex takes the right flank, and Valrie takes left. Over the next few hours and through heavy losses, they drive the undead army back. That morning, to the surprise of the defenders, a large mass, about one thousand, of Kaedros’s cultists march out onto the battlefield. They (Again with the the’s instead of they’s) stand in the center of the no man’s land, letting the elves slaughter them, sometimes taking their own lives with daggers. Once they are dead to a man, Kaedros raises his hands and bellows out a mighty spell. The thousand corpses rise up as zombies and join the remaining undead army. (That’s actually a brilliant idea, but the implementation sucked.  He should’ve had them fight, instead letting them get slaughtered) (If they fight, they’ll be hacked into pieces, thus worthless to him. This way, they only have arrows or small puncture wounds)(I guess…)

As the zombies reach the barricade, the spearmen ready to fight. They are much better prepared, now carrying a halberd and a shortsword. The three friends keep the same positions as the night before. The center has been strengthened to match the flanks. Valrie, lacking the leadership experience of her comrades, falls first. Her position is overrun (I think overrun is one word) and the town guard rushes into the breach to help her reclaim it. Once the zombies have been driven back, the guard captain takes over, sending a shamefaced Valrie to Valtorex. Valtorex sees Valinor is having a tough time of it and sends her to help him. By midday, the beleaguered defenders have forced back the last of the zombies. That’s when the next group of one thousand walks into the center of the field and commits suicide.(Once again, a waste in men) As the new wave of zombies marches towards them, Valtorex realizes they cannot win. Kaedros will just keep sending troops until it is over and the village is conquered. Then he hears the most beautiful sound of the day. A clarion horn sounds in the forest to their right, signaling a cavalry charge. At first he is afraid that Kaedros is bringing wargs to bear, but then recognizes the shrill, lilting quality to be of elven make. The king came through. 

Moments later, a woman in dazzling white atop a white mare charges out of the woods, running down the zombie army. Behind her comes a battalion of elven lancers. The zombies are crushed by the surprise cavalry strike. After them come four full battalions of elven light infantry, and a full battalion of the Elven Palace Guard, the crack troops of the Elven Kingdoms. The defenders let up a mighty cheer, their hoarse voices still sounding victorious. Myrstaline directs her forces to join the defenders. She rides up to Valtorex and dismounts in one fluid motion. Valtorex is struck by the natural beauty and grace of her every move. Her dazzling white royal garb makes his bloody and sweat stained armor look barbaric. (As if it didn’t alreadyJ) They quickly discuss what has happened in the battle so far. Valtorex suggests, “We need to take out their portals. A cavalry charge on their flanks would allow me to take a battalion of light infantry and hit them hard in the rear. Once they are engaged on three sides, the town guard, spearmen, two battalions of light infantry, and the royal guard can strike the front. Our archers can cause chaos by peppering their center while they are slaughtered on four sides. Once they are thoroughly engaged, I will feign a retreat, falling back into the woods. Kaedros will either attempt a retreat or hunt me down and attempt to slay me. Either way, his men will move away from the three sides they’re still engaged in, and abandon the portals, allowing our mages to shut them. I will fall back to Valrie and Valinor, each of them leading one of the remaining light infantry battalions. The cavalry and infantry Kaedros leaves will then crush him against our units.” The commanders and his friends both accept his plan.  

 The time to put the plan into action occurs. The cavalry charge both flanks, Myrstaline leading left, her cavalry commander leading right. The cavalry attack works like a charm, drawing the defense of both front and back to the sides. Valtorex then springs from the woods in the rear, charging into Kaedros’s ranks. Kaedros’s men don’t bother to wait for orders and form a ‘U’ style defense, guarding the rear and sides. Then, the infantry charge from the trenches and rush across no man’s land. Kaedros organizes a hasty front to block the infantry charge, but his weak guard is nothing compared to the veteran Palace Guard. Kaedros’s army collapses into a jumble of units, each defending itself. Then, the defender’s archers open fire, showering Kaedros’s men with deadly projectiles. Kaedros notices Valtorex’s unit wavering and sees his chance to escape with his army still intact. Kaedros focuses all of his army on Valtorex, intent on crushing him. Soon, Valtorex’s unit breaks and runs, Valtorex running  after them yelling, “Come back you cowards! I’ll kill you myself!” Kaedros’s army needs no further instruction and rushes after them, leaving the defenders far behind. Finally, they see Valtorex has rallied his unit, although it looks like only half are still there. As his army approaches and engages, Kaedros’s sees Valtorex’s face. On it is not the look of grim resolution he would expect from an opponent fighting to the death, but instead, he sees a triumphant smile. From the brush comes the other half of Valtorex’s unit that had been crouching to avoid detection. With them comes Valrie’s and Valinor’s battalions, each full strength and eager to fight. Kaedros is about to order his army to fall back when he hears the clarion trumpet and turns. He is faced by a wave of cavalry, bloody lances angled down to skewer him and his men. Behind them, he knows will come the infantry. Acutely aware of Chistine’s absence, he calls Jane, Sara, and his hybrids to him. He and his ‘Family’ teleport far away, utterly defeated and humiliated. As the last of Kaedros’s men fall, the soldiers let out a cheer and return to the town. On the way, they see the portals being torn down.  

That night, after burying the dead, those still alive celebrate themselves and their comrades in the way soldiers have done for centuries past. Over a cold drink…or five. Valtorex, Myrstaline, Valrie, Valinor, Chisa, and a sick looking Valen sit around the table, talking about the battle. Chisa then tells them, “I no longer feel Kaedros’s hold. I think he has abandoned me. I’m going to return to the Academy this year, but I think I’ll stay with Valen. She nudges him in the rib. He falls out of his chair and lands with a groan. Chisa quickly helps him up. Valtorex laughs. Valen looks balefully at him before saying, “It’s not funny. I never want to sleep with anyone ever again.” Chisa nuzzles his neck and whispers, “You sure?” Valen replies, his voice back to its normal high pitched level, “Well, maybe once more…” The group laughs, especially Chisa. (Remember, this is a medieval esque time. Not being married by thirteen is rare, so this should not be surprising. Besides, at least it’s not as bad as reality) They eat dinner, Valtorex catching Myrstaline up on everything and finding out about what she did. (If you want to know what happens, bug Glossman Andrew) They finally break down and get a third room that Valinor and Myrstaline share. (No, not happening) (Ewww…) That night, Valen and Chisa celebrate victory by going to sleep early and in separate beds. Valtorex and Valrie sit in their room, Valrie drinking wine, Valtorex drinking a new and improved version of his mixture. The night ends with Valrie getting sick from drinking too much and Valtorex holding her hair whilst (Still liketh ye olde English, Ian?) (Yay and verily!) she vomits and finally tucking her into bed once she falls to sleep. Valtorex spends the rest of the night figuring out how he could have performed better in that battle.  

 The next morning, they all wake up late, except for Valtorex who never went to sleep. (Much like me) Myrstaline stays in town, deciding to return to the Academy with them. Valtorex and Myrstaline practice magic together during the days while Chisa practices (Seriously Jeff. Work on mastering your plurals) archery with Valen. Valrie and Valinor train in their solitary arts. They fall into the grove, Valtorex and Valrie still sharing a bed, but not sleeping together after the battle. On the last night before school, Valtorex and Valrie are alone in their room. (Uh… Duh!) Valtorex had been out gathering ingredients and returns to find Valrie in a red dress, similar to the black dress, but of a higher quality. He tosses his pack to the ground and walks forward. He embraces her and comments, “You’re wearing the perfume I got you.” She nods, leaning into him. They stand there for several moments, swaying back and forth. (To music that isn’t there…) (So? You calling them crazy?) (I don’t know… Is it not obvious?) (It’s obvious that they are way past crazy) Valtorex then kisses her. They kiss for several minutes, until Valrie pulls back and asks, “Shall we?” Valtorex, his knees about to buckle with the sheer power of the ‘Yes’ he wants to yell, replies, “No, let’s just have some fun, bond a little. Let’s play the Valrie gets drunk, Valtorex gets puked on game.” Valrie laughs, leaning against him for support. He begins rubbing her back, offhandedly, while thinking. Valtorex then says, ‘I have an idea. We can play a little game I learned when I was young. I can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s something like someone either has to answer a question truthfully or follow an order. Do you want to play?” Valrie nearly bursts out laughing. She asks, incredulous, “Truth or Dare? I haven’t played that in years!” (And yet, it’s still the best way to get to know someone) Finally, she gives in and they play. She soon finds that Valtorex’s dares are too brutal or too embarrassing for her to pick anything other than truth. Valtorex can usually pick dare because Valrie isn’t creative or twisted enough to come up with the imaginative torments that would stop him. They end up exhausted from each other’s insane dares and finally go to sleep in each other’s arms. The next morning, the group wakes up and Myrstaline and Valtorex teleport them to the Academy. 

The Chronicles of Valtorex; Book Three: Life, Love, and Destiny; Chapter Three: Enchanted Frogs and Angry Admin

Valtorex at the Academy: Enchanted Frogs and Angry Admin

 

“Rebellion can do wonders. It can also get you killed.”

 

Over the next month, Valtorex slowly recovers. He continues his meetings with Stemius and continues his habit of getting into fights. He and Valinor compete for the title of best student in Tyberus’s class. Valtorex, Valrie, Valen, and Valinor become more and more like a team. Arianna begins teaching Valtorex about the history of the Draconic Empire. Rōdenthall continues trying to kill either Valtorex or Myrstaline. Stemius makes progress on Valtorex and Valtorex slowly learns to join with nature. Lord Kemos helps Valtorex control his emotions.

The end of the month finds Valtorex and Myrstaline, who are now lab partners, in a dimly lit room in the Tower of the Arcane. They are sitting at a table with a metal pan in front of them. At the table next to theirs are the two dark robed mages. (From the last chapter)  Rōdenthall is in the front of the room teaching. He says, “We will be working with frogs today. I will give you a collection of frogs for you to experiment with. Your goal is to augment the abilities of your frogs. You will select your best result to compete against theirs. You have three hours before the competition. Begin!” Two boxes appear, one on each table. In the boxes are hundreds of frogs. Valtorex and Myrstaline look in the box. Valtorex is mildly interested by the sight of over a hundred frogs, apparently paralyzed, lying on top of one another. Myrstaline is nearly sick. Valtorex reaches in a pulls out a frog. He places it on the tray. He says, “First, we need to figure out how the frog works. We can’t improve it unless we know what systems it uses.” Myrstaline, already paler than normal, nods. Valtorex mutters some words and a sharp blade appears in his hand. He is lowering the blade to the frog when Myrstaline screams, “No! Don’t kill it!” Valtorex sighs. He has already become tired of her kind-hearted, ‘don’t kill anything’ ways. He asks, “So how do you suppose we win?” Myrstaline asks, “Couldn’t we improve it without cutting it open?” Valtorex is about to say no when an idea pops into his head. He says, “Well, there is one thing we know could use improving…the brain.” Myrstaline nods. They spend the next two hours working out a spell. They cast the spell on the frog and then unparalyze it. The frog turns over and looks at them. They are expecting the frog to hop away, but it surprises them by staying in place. The frog croaks loudly and hops onto Valtorex’s head.  Myrstaline laughs at the spectacle. Valtorex shakes his head and the frog is sent flying. To their amazement, the frog croaks and stops in midair. It rights itself and floats back to the table. The frog lands on the table and croaks. Valtorex leans close to Myrstaline and whispers, “I think we just won.” They spend the next hour training the frog with magic.

The time of competition arrives. Rōdenthall summons a table in the center of the room. The black robed mages carry a box over and place it on the table. Valtorex gently places their frog on the table. Rōdenthall commands, “Begin!” The black robes’ box begins shaking. After a few moments, a hideous beast, the size of a small dog, rips out. The creature is still green, but now it is scaly instead of having frog skin. It has a large maw with fangs dripping venom. An unnatural wrath glows in its eyes. The two mages each point and laugh at Valtorex and Myrstaline’s frog. Rōdenthall is considering laughing too, but he can tell Valtorex has something up his sleeve. The drooling beast lumbers forward. When it is about to sweep at Valtorex’s frog, it croaks and the beast stops moving, mid-swing. The two mages are shocked. The frog then croaks again. The beast’s eyes glaze over. The frog croaks a final time and the creature unfreezes. The beast turns and leaps off the table towards the two mages. The mages don’t know what’s happening until the beast bites into one of their arms. The mage screams as the burning poison spreads through his veins. The beast unlatches and jumps at the other mage. The mage looses a hissing blast of steam. The beast roars in agony as it flies through the steam. The beast bites the leg of the other mage and he too screams. Rōdenthall sends Silvanos off for the Nurse. Rōdenthall then says, “Well, it looks like Valtorex and Myrstaline win again. What should I do with the beast?” Valtorex’s frog croaks and a portal appears on the table. The frog croaks again and the beast along with all of the remaining frogs begin hopping onto the table and going through the portal. Valtorex’s frog turns to Valtorex and spits out a rolled up scroll. It then turns and hops through the portal. The portal closes behind it. Valtorex takes the scroll and unrolls it. It reads, “My name is Dumblefrog, thank you for creating me. I have decided to aid you in your journeys. Just use the spell below to summon me and I will come to help you. Until then, I will be in the swamps collecting an army of frogs and other creatures to eventually conquer the planet.” Valtorex memorizes the short and relatively simple spell. He then places the scroll in his pouch. Valtorex and Myrstaline leave the class.

Valtorex goes to Elite Training and meets up with Valrie, Valen, and Valinor. Lord Kemos walks out of the Hall of Trials. He says, “Alright, today we are going to test you with ranging. Meet me at the Archery Range.” Lord Kemos disappears. The four of them walk to the Archery Range and find him waiting with four bows. He says, “You will be using these bows with standard iron tipped arrows. You will start firing from the edge of the green,” About 250 feet away from the targets. “and will move out ten feet after every shot. You must get at least five hits to pass the test.” The four of them take the bows and the arrows. They stand at the edge of the grass and draw their bowstrings. Valen is the first to fire. He hits the center of the target and runs back ten feet. The rest begin. By the time they are on their third shot, Valen has already gotten twenty bull’s eyes, using all of his arrows. Valinor manages to get his fifth hit on his eighth shot, and Valrie takes ten. Valtorex uses his twentieth arrow and has not hit the target once. Lord Kemos begins yelling, “You call that shooting? I thought you could fight! Where’s that power you’re supposed to have? You can’t even make one shot! How pathetic!” The repetitive misses have frustrated Valtorex and this berating causes him to lose his calm. He yells, “So you want to see a direct hit? Fine! I’ll destroy all five of the targets to get my hits!” Valtorex drops the bow and raises his hands. Fire swirls around him and five flaming bolts fly fourth in a blazing arc. The bolts each find their marks and all five of the targets burst into flame. Lord Kemos begins laughing as the targets burn. He roars out, “That’s great! Just keep doing that and you won’t need to learn how to shoot!” His face quickly sobers and he says, “But you still fail.”

Valtorex is shocked. So are Valrie, Valen, and Valinor. Lord Kemos explains, “The task was to shoot the targets with arrows. You destroyed the targets, so there is no way of scoring your hits. Valen got a perfect score, Valrie was acceptable, and Valinor was decent. You, however, could not be scored, so I have to fail you.” Valtorex says, “Let me try again.” Lord Kemos just laughs at him before saying, “Alright, I’ll let you try again. You must get perfect or I will fail you twice. Are you ready?” Valtorex nods and picks up his bow. Lord Kemos gives him more arrows. He then murmurs a string of words and the targets reappear. Valtorex returns to the edge of the grass and takes careful aim. He breathes deeply and goes into a meditative state. He can feel the wind blowing and see the exact path his arrow will take. He slowly adjusts his aim until he sees that his arrow will hit the center. He looses the string and the arrow is sent flying down the field. It hits the target dead center. He repeats this eighteen more times. On his twentieth shot, he fires, but his arrow explodes in midflight. He opens his eyes to see Silvanos standing on the field.

Silvanos says, “Oh, looks like you fail. Too bad.” Lord Kemos hands Valtorex another arrow and says, “I’ll pass you if you hit the bastard.” Valtorex knocks the arrow and takes aim. He feels the air currents and sees every possible move of Silvanos’s. He finds a path that Silvanos can neither block nor dodge. He fires. The arrow flies straight and true. At first, Silvanos tries to block, but he finds the arrow is at an angle he can’t hit. Then he tries to dodge and jumps out of the way. He is too slow, and the arrow pierces his ankle. Silvanos hisses a harsh curse and Valtorex is blasted off his feet, his bow shattered. Valtorex lands on the ground five feet back. Silvanos tries to get up, but finds he is immobilized by his wound. He notices Valrie and Valinor knocking their arrows and casts a curse that disintegrates their arrows and shatters their bows. Valtorex gets up and walks over to Silvanos. Silvanos begins casting Finger of Death, but the spell is cut short by a harsh kick to the chest from Valtorex. Silvanos coughs weakly afterwards. Valtorex picks him up by his robe collar and drags him back to Lord Kemos. Valtorex drops him at Lord Kemos’s feet. Lord Kemos raises his heavy steel boot and is about to crush Silvanos’s head, when Rōdenthall appears. Rōdenthall mutters in Archon and both he and Silvanos disappear.  Lord Kemos shakes his head and curses under his breath.

Lord Kemos says, “Alright, now we will practice with artillery.” He leads them to the back of the range to the catapults. He says, “You see those three wooden structures back there? You have these three catapults to destroy them.” Valtorex says, “Alright, aim all three at the central one. I can get the two on the sides.” Valen, Valrie, and Valinor move the catapults and aim them at the central structure. Valtorex raises his hands and begins chanting. Valen, Valrie, and Valinor cut their boulders loose simultaneously. Valtorex finishes his spell and twin fireballs come into being. He fires one from each palm. The fireballs hurtle towards the structures to the right and the left as the three boulders soar towards the center one. The fireballs and boulder strike at the same time. A concussive blast ensues and the archery targets are knocked down by the shock wave. Gouts of flame erupt from the side structures and the central structure is reduced to a pile of rubble. Lord Kemos yells, “That is thinking outside of the box! Keep that up and you will go far. Not in the Orange Army, but still far (The Orange Army is the engineer/artillery division). Class dismissed.”

Valen, Valrie, and Valinor return to the cabin. Valtorex goes to Stemius’s grove for meditation. Stemius meets him and asks, “How is your connection with nature today?” Valtorex replies, “Very good. Nature actually helped me get a perfect score on my archery test and hit Silvanos.” Stemius gasps. “You used nature to harm?” Valtorex replies, “Yes, you could say that, but nature offered. I just tried to calm myself to make a better shot, but then I went into meditation and I could feel all of the air currents and predict exactly where my arrow would go.” Stemius sighs. He says, “Very well. Let’s just get to meditation. I want you to try to merge yourself with nature today. To help you, I’ve asked one of my best students to come here today. She doesn’t know why I asked her, if she did, she probably wouldn’t come.” Just then, the student he is speaking of walks into the clearing. She is wearing a light blue, elven dress. Valtorex shakes his head. She gasps before exclaiming, “Valtorex! What are you doing here?” Valtorex replies, “The Druid Master has been training me in meditation. I take it you are the prized student he was talking about?” Myrstaline blushes. Stemius is shocked and awed. (No U.S. military strikeJ) He asks, “You know each other?” Valtorex replies, “Of course. We’re partners in Rōdenthall’s class. Oh, and I’ve saved her life, what is it? Three times?” Myrstaline nods, a bit embarrassed. Stemius says, “Well, since you two like each other, this may go more smoothly. Myrstaline, you are to help Valtorex here meditate and find peace with nature. Valtorex, do as she says and try to avoid burning the forest down.” Stemius seems to think for a moment before saying, “Oh, yes, you need a place to go. I suggest the Glade of Tranquility.” Myrstaline nods. Stemius sits down and begins meditating. Myrstaline walks off into the forest and Valtorex follows. They arrive at the spring Valtorex had found at the beginning of the year. (No, the Glade won’t go away. It will even come back in later books. Muahahaha)

Myrstaline sits down on a log and says, “Sit down beside me.” (Remember that logJ) Valtorex sits down next to Myrstaline. Myrstaline says, “Well, it appears we can help each other. You help me survive Rōdenthall’s class and I’ll help you commune with nature. We both benefit.” Valtorex nods in agreement. Myrstaline says, with a sigh, “Well I guess I have to teach you now.” Valtorex looks at her and sees she is grinning. Valtorex laughs, and says, “I guess so.” Myrstaline says, “Alright, first, you have to clear your mind. Just let yourself drift free.” Valtorex says, “I know how to meditate, it’s the communing with nature that I have a problem with.” Myrstaline is confused. She voices this by asking, “How can you meditate and not become one with nature?” Valtorex replies, “Becoming one with nature means being equal to it. It case you haven’t noticed, I tend to dominate everything around me.” Myrstaline says, “But you can’t dominate nature…” Valtorex cuts her off by jumping to his feet and holding his hand out for her. She is taken off guard and takes his hand. He pulls her up and says, “Let me show you.” He gestures at the log and it changes and morphs. Over the course of a minute, it has become a bench. He says, “Go ahead; sit down.” Myrstaline sits down and Valtorex sits beside her. He says, “You see, you and Stemius, and the others all conform to nature. I force nature to conform to me.” Myrstaline is frightened by what he says and every alarm in her mind is triggered. She asks, “How do you exist? Nature is all powerful and yet you exist in opposition to it.” Valtorex laughs. He says, “As I just proved, nature is not all powerful. Actually, nature is quite weak. It has a lot of force and energy, but it has no direction. Nature relies on others to channel its power for it. I happen to do exactly that, just as druids do. The only difference is they ask for specific taps and I drill them myself.” Myrstaline jumps to her feet, affronted by the very thought of him dominating nature. Valtorex sees her fists clench and her jaw lock. He sees the fury and indignation and even hurt in her eyes. He decides now’s as good a time as any to start practicing. He closes his eyes and lets his mind drift. He allows his consciousness to drift throughout the Glade. He can see her life light, (The energy that life naturally gives off. Normally invisible, spells like Detect Life or deep meditation allow it to be seen.) he can also see the lights of thousands of organisms in the Glade. He can see the lights of fish swimming in the water and ants crawling along the ground. He can see a family of mice in their den and a snake creeping up on them. He sees grass as it grows and the trees as they stretch towards the sky. He sees all of this and realizes what it is that Myrstaline and Stemius are talking about.

He then sees the thin lines of light between all of the organisms and realizes what they are. He then looks at the creatures again. He realizes they are not part of nature. Nature is the force that links them together, but the creatures and plants are independent of it. He then looks at himself and sees he has no thread. He is worried and looks at Myrstaline. He sees that she does have threads, thousands of them, connecting her to all of the plants and animals in the Glade. Valtorex returns to his conscious mind. He opens his eyes to find Myrstaline still standing there, her face red in anger. She yells, “How dare you! You just close your eyes and ignore me? What in the Abyss was that?” Valtorex shakes his head before saying, “I was meditating. I tried to connect with nature, but I can not.” He then explains what he saw and how he had no connection with nature. Her face takes on a troubled look. She says, “Let me try. I will go into the Spring. Being in water always helps me meditate.” Myrstaline wades into the water and closes her eyes. Valtorex, feeling uneasy, returns the log to its original shape. Valtorex looks around at the fast approaching night. He hears Myrstaline gasp. He looks at her and sees fear in her eyes. She mouths, “We’re not alone.” Valtorex mouths back, “How many and where?” Myrstaline mouths, “Five, three behind you and two coming on me.” Valtorex nods and mouths, “Three…Two…One.” On one, Myrstaline turns and shoots twin spears of searing light, striking both assailants.

Valtorex turns to find three humans, two male, and one female. He then realizes they’re not quite human. He looks into their eyes and sees a burning lust. A lust for blood. He then recognizes the female. He whispers, “Trish…” (Trishtessa, see timeline) Trish smiles and says, “Hey, Valt (Pronounced Vault) how ya been?” Valtorex, overcoming the initial shock, replies, “I was doing great after I buried you and the other leeches.” Trish laughs and says, “I guess I deserved that. Can’t remember why though.” Valtorex replies, “Could it possibly be the six months I spent as cattle to your clan, the torture I endured at your hands, or maybe the fact that you’re a backstabbing bitch that only cared about my blood? I think the latter, but what do you think?” Trish fakes a hurt look. She says, “Yes, well, you did destroy my home and most of my clan. So I guess we’re even.” Valtorex’s response is to draw his swords and stab each male vampire with one. He then says, “Now we are even.” Trish chuckles. “Still a fiery, stab-happy, nut job I see.” Valtorex crosses his swords at her throat and says, “I decapitate too.” Trish shakes her head, cutting her neck a little and drawing a small amount of blood. She dares him, “You wouldn’t. You still have a soft spot for me.” Valtorex replies, “You’ll find that I have less softness left than one of your vamps.” Trish says, “Alright, then prove it. Decapitate your first and only love, right here, right now.” Valtorex is all too happy to oblige. (I find this is a great way to talk about Valtorex’s past. By the way, the next sentence should give you a hint as to where this is going.) Valtorex looks down and is mildly surprised to see the body fade and disappear. He realizes it was a very good duplicate. He also notices the four vampires weren’t.

He turns to see that Myrstaline saw and heard the entire thing. He says, “I would like to point out that she told me to.” Myrstaline is paler than normal and Valtorex is slightly worried. He walks out into the water and sees that Myrstaline isn’t moving and is barely breathing. He touches her neck and feels that her pulse is slow. He remembers the aura of fear that paralyzes the vampire’s victims. He picks her up and notices she is frigid. He carries her onto the ground and places her on the log. He gathers some dead wood and piles it in front of the log. He starts a fire and summons a blanket and pillow. He puts the pillow under her head and covers her in the blanket. Then he leans against the log and casts Alarm. He drifts off to sleep. The next morning, he awakes at dawn. He checks Myrstaline and finds she has returned to normal. She wakes up and looks around, surprised to not be in her cabin. She sits up on the log and makes room for Valtorex. Valtorex sits beside her and asks, “Fish?” Myrstaline looks at him, confused, and then catches on. She says, “Yes, please.” Valtorex nods and raises his hand. Two fish float out of the Spring and float towards them. (The type of fish is not important, is it?) Valtorex uses Telekinesis to snap their spines. He then floats them above the fire for a couple of minutes before using Telekinesis to remove all of the inedible parts. He tosses those parts into the water and floats the meat of one fish to Myrstaline. She catches it and eats. Valtorex finishes his fish and stands. He says, “Well, I have to be off. I’ll see you in third.” Myrstaline nods. Before he leaves, she says, “Thank you…for taking care of me. I just froze up with fear.” Valtorex replies, “Well, vampires are nothing to be afraid of. What you need to fear is what your cabinmates will say when they realize you spent the entire night out here…with me.” Myrstaline gasps, realizing that he’s exactly right. She looks at his face and realizes he’s not worried. She asks, “Why don’t you care what they say?” Valtorex replies “Look at yourself sometime. Everything they’ll say about me will be good.” (Ah, the rumor mill. The greatest device in the history of making up shi…I mean historyJ) Myrstaline puzzles this over as he walks away.

Valtorex arrives in Warrior Training to find Valinor waiting for him. Valinor seems relieved to see him. He asks, “Where were you last night?” Valtorex replies, with a smile, “Contrary to what will be popular belief by third, I was helping a disabled classmate.” Valinor is asking, “Wha-” when Tyberus walks up. Valtorex whispers, “Ask someone from Myrstaline’s cabin.” Tyberus asks what they are talking about and Valtorex quickly assures him nothing important. The other two students arrive. Silvanos glares at Valtorex. Valtorex returns the look. Tyberus notices this and says, “I can see that there is some unresolved tension between Silvanos and Valtorex. Very well, it will be Rogard Granite-Fist against Valinor and Silvanos against Valtorex. Now I expect a fair fight, meaning, no mercy.”

Silvanos and Valtorex face off. Valtorex bows to Silvanos and Silvanos replies with a magical blast. Valtorex is caught off guard and is sent sprawling back. Silvanos cackles evilly and moves in for the kill. He raises his hand and begins chanting the spell that will destroy Valtorex once and for all. Before the fatal spell can be cast, however, Valtorex is up and his swords are out. Silvanos fires the arc of deadly shadow energy, but Valtorex raises his blades and deflects the attack. Silvanos curses bitterly. Valtorex charges. Silvanos draws the rapier at his side and backs up slowly. Valtorex reaches him and begins swinging, trying to find a hole in his defense. Silvanos, aided by Haste, blocks every attack. Valtorex and Silvanos attack, parry, block and thrust for several minutes. They both jump back, panting. Silvanos casts a spell of rejuvenation on himself. Valtorex digs down in his well of anger. They charge each other again. They keep fighting until finally Tyberus breaks them up. He says, “Valtorex, you are the most gifted first year I have seen in quite a while. Silvanos, you are the sneakiest bastard I’ve ever taught, and you’re not even a student! You’re just here to kill Valtorex. Well, if you two are so intent on gutting each other, I won’t stop you. Actually, I’ll pair you two against each other in every match. Silvanos, I won’t train you, but I also won’t prevent you from using magic. Valtorex, I will train you like I would train any other student, but the no interference on magic rule applies to you as well, as long as you are fighting Silvanos. Now, the rest of the class will be spent on drills.” True to his word, Tyberus drills his three students for three and a half hours and Silvanos watches. Silvanos only speaks to jeer Valtorex during a particularly difficult exercise. Valtorex pauses, shoots a Flame Bolt at him, and turns back to the exercise. Silvanos easily blocks the attack, but the message is still conveyed clearly enough.

Class ends and Valtorex goes to the Glade (Great how I keep bringing it up, huh?) and meets Arianna. He realizes with a twinge of guilt that he never cleared the bodies. Arianna seems angry about something. It could be the bodies that are still lying on the ground, but Valtorex is pretty sure it’s the blanket clutched in her white knuckled grip. Arianna asks, her voice tense with anger, “Apprentice, this blanket is drenched in your magic, but it has the scent of a female on it, and as if that’s not enough, there are four dead vampires in my Glade! How do you explain yourself?” Valtorex is about to say a witty response when he thinks better of pissing off his superior even more. He begins, “Well, the explanation for both is linked…” He goes on to tell her of his meeting with Trish and Myrstaline’s affliction with the Aura of Fear. Arianna, after careful consideration, says, “Very well, apprentice, I believe you, but if I ever find out you are involved with anyone, I’ll castrate you personally. You’ll have plenty of time for love when you are old and married. Now you are young and need to be on the battlefield, not in the bedroom.” Valtorex cannot figure out whether she’s joking or not. Arianna moves on and says, “Well, I think it is time for you to learn what it means to be an apprentice.” She reaches into the pocket of her red robes and pulls out an amulet. She murmurs the words of a spell and the amulet disappears in a flash. Arianna says, “Okay, apprentice, your mission is to find that amulet. It is still in the Glade, but you will be given no further assistance. You have, oh, three and a half hours to find it before I fail you.”

Valtorex wastes no time. He casts a spell of magic detection. The entire Glade glows. He curses under his breath and goes to the edge of the Glade. He begins searching through the brush and grass. After about two hours, he has not found it and he has searched through the entire Glade. He decides to check the Spring and dives in. He casts a spell allowing him to breathe water; then he casts a spell allowing him to see in reduced light. He searches under every stone and through all of the silt. After another hour, he still has not found it. He can feel the time slipping away and knows he has no hope of finding it. He tries one last method. He closes his eyes, still under water so Arianna doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he begins to meditate. He manages to drift into that state where he could see all of the life. He looks through the Glade, but he doesn’t see anything not alive or part of the earth. With ten minutes left, he turns his gaze on Arianna. He concentrates and he can feel the tug of magic from her pouches. He tries something, a combination of magic and meditation, and he manages to look into her pouches. He sees the usual rings and components one would expect on a mage, but in one pouch, he sees the amulet. He immediately returns to his body and scrambles out of the water. He says, “I found the amulet.” Arianna raises an eyebrow. She asks, “And where is it?” Valtorex, out of breath, replies, “It’s in your back center pouch.” Arianna goes into a frenzy. She yells, “How dare you search the property of a superior! How dare you violate my privacy like that! The purpose of the test is to see if you will keep looking even if the search is hopeless. It is not to find the drasked (see LNS, I think, Valtorex’s rant to Stemius) amulet!” Valtorex, keeping his cool even though he fears the prospect of failure, responds, “If you wish me to fail, don’t assign me a task.” Arianna seems to be caught off guard by this. She was expecting him to grovel or beg for forgiveness. She is not used to a student being so confidant or willing to stand up to her. She smiles as she feels pride in him. She then says, “I see your point. I forgot you are in Elite Training. You don’t give up and will complete the mission no matter what. Kemos would be proud. Well, class is almost over.” She reaches behind her and pulls out the amulet. She tosses it to him and says, “That’s an Amulet of Mental Resistance. I don’t think you need any help in that department, but you can give it to that elf you seem to care about so much, but remember my warning.” Valtorex thanks her and leaves.

He arrives at the Tower of the Arcane and meets Myrstaline. He hands her the amulet and says, “It’s an amulet of Mental Resistance. As long as you have it on, you’ll be more able to combat mind affecting attacks.” Myrstaline thanks him. Valtorex then realizes what it will look like if they walk in together, after last night, and her wearing a gift from him. He says, “You might want to put that on under your clothes. Having it out won’t help your case.” Myrstaline nods. They walk into the Tower, careful not to be too close. Myrstaline out of fear of public embarrassment, Valtorex out of a combination of respect for Myrstaline and not wanting to deal with the annoying conversations bound to occur. They arrive at Rōdenthall’s fourth level class room. Although they were expecting it, they are surprised at the source of the first comment. Rōdenthall says, “And here come the love birds. So how was it?” Myrstaline flushes from the heat caused by embarrassment. Valtorex flushes from the heat caused by the fire that is suddenly swirling around him. In an ominous voice, he roars, “Nothing happened between the two of us. Remember that or you will regret it. If I catch any of you,” he looks at the two black robed mages, then Silvanos, then rests his gaze on Rōdenthall, “and I mean any, spreading rumors about Myrstaline and I, I will gut (Yes, Word, he will get them, but he will gut them too and that’s the most important verb) you and leave your organs out for the birds. Is this understood?” Rōdenthall is livid. He blasts Valtorex back with a powerful spell intended to stop his heart. Valtorex is smashed against the stone wall and has the breath knocked out of him. Valtorex slumps against the wall, too dazed to move. Rōdenthall is greatly surprised to hear Valtorex groan quietly.

Silvanos’s face is twisted into an evil smile as he stalks forward, hand raised. The words of a spell that will crush Valtorex’s skull are on his lips. Rōdenthall is surprised to see such hatred in his star apprentice for his star pupil. Rōdenthall decides to wait and see how it plays out. Silvanos continues walking forward, right arm raised to a 45°, downward facing position with his left arm in front of him to block attacks. Myrstaline rushes to get between the two. Rōdenthall commands, “Stop!” Myrstaline feels a tug on the back of her mind pulling her back. She feels warmth emanating from the amulet and the tug lessens. She keeps running and interposes herself between the possibly unconscious Valtorex and Silvanos. Silvanos uses his left arm to strike her across the cheek. Myrstaline goes down. Silvanos reaches Valtorex, who is now conscious, and lowers his right hand so the palm rests on Valtorex forehead. He says, “I just have to say one more word and you die. So, how does it feel?” Valtorex replies, “It feels kinda boring. I guess you’re just not very frightening.” Silvanos is infuriated. He barks the final word and Valtorex screams as his skull is slowly crushed by a massive amount of pressure. Silvanos says, malice dripping from his words, “I hope you weren’t counting on that freak ability of yours to save you. It only protects you from death spells. Any physical damage will still get you.” Valtorex’s vision goes red, then black. Myrstaline gets to her feet and sees Silvanos killing Valtorex. She rushes him and attempts a tackle. Silvanos turns and blasts her with a Windblast (And yes, I do make a lot of these up as I go, but I find the names descriptive enough for you to figure it out). Myrstaline is sent crashing into a wall with a sickening crunch. Silvanos promises, “I’ll get to your girlfriend as soon as your brain is reduced to pulp.” Valtorex hears a groan escape from Myrstaline. He feels his consciousness fading and knows he has only seconds to save Myrstaline. He begins rapidly chanting the words to a spell. (In that unknown language, of course) Silvanos backhands him, causing blood to leak out of his mouth. Valtorex keeps chanting. Silvanos uses his left hand and a powerful spell to burn five holes in Valtorex’s chest. Valtorex grits his teeth and keeps going. Starbursts flash in the darkness that has become his vision. He can barely concentrate and knows he will pass out soon. He struggles on, only having a few syllables left. Silvanos knows this and ups the power of his spell. The holes burn deeper into Valtorex, reaching his lungs and heart. Valtorex’s heart is burnt through as the last syllable leaves his lips. Silvanos has no idea what the spell does, but he soon figures out when he sees the holes on Valtorex’s chest healing. He does not see them heal entirely, because a massive pressure suddenly blacks out his vision. He feels the burning in his chest and in the last moments, he figures out what the spell is, and how to counter it. He dispels both of his effects and his vision returns.

He finds that he is too late, however. He begins to distinguish colors again, only to find himself staring into Valtorex’s palm as a powerful spell is about to be released. Rōdenthall commands, “Stop!” Valtorex shakes his head before saying, “No, this bastard deserves to die. I will do so whether you allow it or not.” Rōdenthall replies, “No, you won’t. You two will fight to the death at the end of your four years here. Right now, he would kill you. He is only using a fraction of his power against you. He was only playing with you and that spell you used caught him off guard. If you were dueling, you would have been dead in seconds.” Valtorex sighs before saying, “Very well, I will let him live, this time, but if he ever threatens Myrstaline, myself, or any of my cabinmates, I will not spare him.” Rōdenthall nods. Valtorex drops his hand. Rōdenthall then says, “Now of course, you still must be punished for threatening a teacher. I will assign you a detention to be served after fourth.” Valtorex says, “I can not serve then, I have meditation lessons after fourth. It is under the order of the Head Master. (If he didn’t know this in a previous story, he does now. I love one month long breaksJ) I would be more than happy to serve tonight, though.” Rōdenthall is obviously angry, but he cannot deny the Head Master. He says, very slowly, very angrily, “Alright, you will have a detention with the Head Mistress tonight, from Darkwatch to Firstlight. (Basically, midnight till dawn) She will not be happy and your punishment will be most severe. I do hope you survive.” He then teaches the class for the next hour. After that, he announces a competition, Valtorex and Myrstaline against the two dark robes, Silvanos, and Rōdenthall. Myrstaline is daunted by the challenge. Valtorex looks forward to fighting against the overwhelming odds. He tells Myrstaline, “Just cover yourself and be prepared to get the Nurse. I have a feeling there will be lots of blood.” When Myrstaline protests, Valtorex replies, “I need you alive. This will be a heavy battle. If I go down, I need to be able to rely on you to keep me alive.” Myrstaline nods.

The battle begins. Valtorex raises his arms and begins casting a spell. Rōdenthall and Silvanos stand back as the two black robes charge him, each with the words of a killing spell on their lips. Valtorex finishes his spell in time to be hit by two green blasts of energy (Finger of Death) that force him off his feet and onto the ground. Unfortunately for the two black robes, he did finish his spell. As the bolts hit him, a wave of fire bursts from his hands. The wave of fire sears across the room, burning the desks and striking the two mages. They are instantly made human torches. (Assuming they are humans, I haven’t decided yet) The two mages flail wildly as the fire consumes them. At a signal from Rōdenthall, Myrstaline runs out of the room to fetch the Nurse. Valtorex struggles to his feet as the two hit the ground. Rōdenthall says, “Well, brothers Dethos and Zethos are out. Looks like we’re up.” Silvanos and Rōdenthall come forward, each preparing a different spell. Valtorex goes into his at ready stance. He begins chanting the words to a particular spell he thinks will be useful. Silvanos and Rōdenthall finish their spells simultaneously. From Silvanos’s hands bursts forth a spear of bright green light. Rōdenthall launches a dark blue missile. (Just for reference, the green spear is Lance of Doom and the blue missile is Crippling Chill, both made up on the spot, of course) Valtorex finishes his spell and two magic mirrors appear. The mirrors are slanted to form a wedge pointed at Valtorex. He hopes he got the angle right; otherwise he’ll die from the spells smashing through the weak point. He breathes a sigh of relief seconds later when the spells hit at the perfect angle. The green spear is deflected towards Rōdenthall and the blue missile is sent spiraling towards Silvanos. Valtorex wastes no time in launching dual fireballs, one at each target. The fireballs smash through the mirrors and hurtle towards his opponents. Silvanos and Rōdenthall both manage to block the deflected spells. Rōdenthall manages to catch the fireball on his shield, but Silvanos is too slow. Silvanos is hit full on by the fireball and sent flying back. He smashes into the wall with a crunch and slides down, smoke trailing from his body. Silvanos tries to get up, but he falls over. (I know, Silvanos seems like a total wimp, but just wait till summer, you’ll all see that he’s really more like a fifty percent wimpJ)

Rōdenthall begins a powerful curse as the Nurse rushes into the room, trailed by Myrstaline. The Nurse and Myrstaline drag Dethos and Zethos to the corner to get them out of the way of combat. They go about healing the two. Once they are stabilized, the Nurse goes over and begins healing Silvanos. Myrstaline tries to stand beside Valtorex, but when his eyes flash in warning, she backs away and decides to watch. Rōdenthall returns to the curse and Valtorex prepares his defense. Rōdenthall hisses out the final word and twin beams of pure darkness lance out of his palms. Valtorex raises his shield, too late realizing it is a fruitless effort. The beams become serpents that twist and coil around the shields to strike Valtorex’s unprotected back. Valtorex goes down and his shield dissipates. The serpents wait, poised above him and ready to strike. Every time he tries to rise up, they strike again. After several minutes, Valtorex’s back is riddled with wounds, a trail of shadow drifting out of every one. Valtorex tries to rise up again, and this time, Rōdenthall tries to break him. The serpents drive into him, and Rōdenthall is intent on either crippling or killing him. Valtorex is forced to the ground and the shadow serpents force through his armor and into his flesh. Valtorex screams out as pure darkness drives into him, utterly destroying everything in their path. Myrstaline screams as she runs to him. She casts a shield spell inside the serpents. The shield of shining, pure light cuts the serpents in half and they disappear. Valtorex lies on the ground, shaking as death energy seeps out of the holes in his back. Myrstaline turns on Rōdenthall (She’s pissed now, just in case you couldn’t tellJ) and nearly hisses the words to the most powerful spell she knows. (It’s called Piercing Truth and is a divine spell) A shining javelin of light appears in each of her hands. She hurls both of the javelins at Rōdenthall. He brings up a shield of darkness, but the javelins tear right through them. He then summons a wall of iron in between him and the streaking missiles. The javelins strike the wall and rip through. As his last resort, he opens a gate to the Abyss. The first javelin strikes it and destroys the gate. The second continues through, unhindered. Myrstaline goes down and begins healing Valtorex. Rōdenthall is forced to teleport away. The second javelin flies through the simmering space he just occupied and hurtles on towards the wall. The javelin smashes into the wall, causing massive chunks of stone to explode outward and reducing the window to twinkling flakes of crystal. Rōdenthall returns to the room as Myrstaline finishes healing Valtorex.

Valtorex struggles to his feet. He sees Rōdenthall standing there. Rōdenthall has a furious scowl on his face. He begins snarling out the words of a killing curse. Valtorex realizes it can only have one target. As Rōdenthall finishes the spell and fires out a beam of purest darkness, (Called Drill of Despair, because alliteration is great) Valtorex shoves Myrstaline to the side and snap fires a fireball. The fireball strikes the oncoming beam and explodes. The beam continues through, although somewhat hindered. Valtorex prepares his spell that is similar to this, Flame Rail. The Drill of Despair is about to reach him when Myrstaline, now back on her feet, summons a wall of light. (Conveniently called, Wall of Light because I am too lazy to name every spell I come up with) The Drill smashes into the wall and it is Myrstaline’s will against Rōdenthall’s. The contest’s resolution is, of course, inevitable, and Myrstaline’s wall is destroyed. The Drill continues forward, but the wall provided the delay needed for Valtorex to finish his spell. He lets loose a raging torrent of flame that strikes the Drill. The Drill’s momentum is slowed, and then stopped entirely. Valtorex focuses all of his willpower behind the Flame Rail. Myrstaline focuses on healing him and restoring his energy. The two beams are locked in stalemate for several minutes, but eventually, Rōdenthall’s superior skill, training, and power give him the upper hand. Valtorex feels his strength ebbing and knows he’s done for when Myrstaline collapses, exhausted. He can tell that she gave her all to keep him in there. The Nurse rushes forward to help him, but he yells, “Attend to her! I can handle this!” As soon as the Nurse bends down to help Myrstaline, a surge of power from Rōdenthall smashes through the front created by the two spells. Rōdenthall takes advantage of this and focuses all of his immense power on the attack. The prolific surge of power created drives the Drill straight through the Rail and into Valtorex. Valtorex is blasted back into the wall, but Rōdenthall does not let up. The Drill keeps pounding into Valtorex and only the small buffer created by the Rail and maintained by his flagging strength keep him alive. Rōdenthall can tell he has won and decides to press it in. He pulls back from the attack, reducing the strength of the Drill to the point that it can only keep Valtorex’s attack trapped. He then focuses the rest of his power elsewhere. Valtorex feels a horrible pain in his legs and looks down to see a shadow slowly moving up his body, atrophying his legs from the bottom up. He collapses, his muscles too weak to support him. This, however, works to his advantage. His concentration allows him to maintain his spell and it shoots forward. Rōdenthall is too slow to stop it. The fire streaks across the room and hits him at Valtorex’s head level when he’s on his knees. (Meaning, basically, any children Rōdenthall has will be well accustomed to heat)(And pretty dark skinned)(Ian, that makes no sense. The cells aren’t directly contacted by the flame, so charring wouldn’t occur) Rōdenthall screams in torment as his robes catch ablaze. He douses them with a word and with another, breaks Valtorex’s arms. Valtorex falls to the ground, writhing in pain and unable to stand or even crawl.

The Nurse steps forward and commands, “Stop this! What has gotten into you? You put two first years against you and Silvanos, along with another two first years? Were you trying to kill them?” Rōdenthall’s answer chills her. He calmly, and seemingly without any conscience, says (Can you guess? The suspense must be killing you!) “Yes, of course I wanted to kill the little bastard and the elf wench. They’ve been a pain to me all year.” The Nurse begins yelling, “How dare you try to kill students! You know that is strictly forbidden! Wait until the Head Master hears of this!” Rōdenthall shrinks back a bit at the invocation of that name. After a moment’s thought, however, he puffs pout his chest and says, “No matter, he will be dead by tomorrow anyway.  I gave him an all night detention with the Head Mistress. He will not survive that.” Rōdenthall chuckles at the thought of what the Head Mistress will do to Valtorex. The Nurse is furious. She teleports Valtorex and Myrstaline to the Healer’s School. She carefully lays Valtorex down on a bed and begins healing him. After several minutes, the worst of Valtorex’s wounds are cured. He struggles to his feet and whispers, “Thank you.” He slides off the bed and staggers to the door. The Nurse yells, in her matronly voice, “Young man, get back in bed now! You are in no condition to move!” Valtorex replies, still a scratchy whisper, “Tell that to Kemos.” He then staggers out the door.

By the time he reaches the Hall of Trials, he is feeling better and only limping a bit. He instantly whishes he had taken the Nurse’s advice when he sees Valrie’s face. (I guess that old saying is true, ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’, especially one with a sword) Valrie storms towards him and he sees a look of apology on Valinor’s face and a look of abject terror, yet grim interest on Valen’s. Valrie slaps Valtorex as hard as she can which, after a month of elite training, is a considerable force. Valtorex winds up sprawled on the ground. Just then, Lord Kemos walks up. He laughs heartily at the stunned look on Valtorex’s face. Valrie yells, “You son of a-!” (Censored because I feel like it) Lord Kemos interjects, “Now there’s no call for insulting his mother. Stick to kicking his ass.” Valtorex tries to get up, but he collapses. Valrie still has fury in her eyes and she is about to kick him. Valen rushes her and Valinor charges. Valen, being lighter and in mobility training for a month, easily pulls ahead.  Valen tackles her and brings her down. Valrie knocks him back and yells, “Get off me you bastard!” Valrie is up again and draws her sword. When Valen nears her, she slashes at him. Valen is forced back. Valinor arrives and pulls Valtorex to safety.  Valen says, “Valrie, look at him. Does he look like he’s in any shape to fight you?” Valrie, for the first time, looks at him and realizes her slap isn’t what really hurt him. Her rage momentarily forgotten, Valrie casts down her sword and runs to him. Valen lets her by and Valinor backs away. Valrie bends down beside him and sees his labored breathing. He tries to get up, but she pushes him back down. She asks, “What happened?” Valtorex whispers quietly. She leans in closer to try to hear. He says, “Rōdenthall. The bastard put me and Myrstaline against him, his apprentice, and two other students.” Suddenly remembering why she was mad, she slaps him. Valtorex asks, annoyed, “What the hell did I do?” Valrie just looks at him, hurt. It suddenly clicks. Valtorex struggles to his feet and says, “Alright, I have some explaining to do.” Valtorex turns to Lord Kemos and asks, “May we have leave so we can discuss this?” Lord Kemos nods. Valtorex leads a still fuming Valrie away.

They reach the woods and walk in. As they are walking, Valtorex says, “Well, tell me what you’ve heard.” Valrie goes into a frenzied retelling of the rumor she heard. All Valtorex can catch are a few snippets like, “Elf tramp” or “Worthless bastard”. Once she is out of breath, Valtorex tries to explain himself. He says, “Okay, the reason I was in the Glade with Myrstaline is because she is training me in meditation. Just ask Stemius. The reason we spent the night there is because we were attacked by vampires, ask Arianna. Myrstaline was frozen by the aura of fear vampires emit to trap their prey. She was standing in the Glade at the time, and me, not wanting her to die, put a blanket on her and started a fire. I promise that nothing happened between us.” Valrie thinks this over for a few moments before deciding to question the instructors he named. They talk for awhile to catch up since they have not been able to see each other for more than a few moments since the year started, except for in Lord Kemo’s brutal training regime. They spend about thirty minutes covering everything that has happened in the past month. (While I used a couple of sentences) Once they are finished talking, they head back to the Hall of Trials.

They arrive to find Lord Kemos drilling Valinor and Valen mercilessly. Lord Kemos looks at them and sees they seem much closer together. He says, “It’s good to see you two getting along again. Now that all the bridges are mended, I want to see you two fight.” Valrie, although less likely to kill Valtorex than before, still doesn’t think she should fight him. She voices her opinion, but Lord Kemos just replies, “You can either fight or fail.” Valtorex says, “We need to fight to pass, besides, it will allow us to relieve some of the tension between us.”

Valrie gives in and they prepare to fight. Valrie draws her mithril rapier, the keen edge shining brightly in the sunlight. Valtorex draws his swords, the left crackling with lightning; the right glowing with fire. Valtorex salutes Valrie and she returns the salute. They begin circling each other, looking for an opportunity. Valrie sees hers and lunges at Valtorex with lightning speed. Valtorex blocks her with his flame sword and slaps her arm with the flat of his lightning one. She jumps as the electricity jolts through her body. She drops her rapier. Valtorex uses the blade of his sword to pick up her rapier by the hand guard. With a quick motion, it is flying through the air. She catches it with surprising reflexes. She rushes him, intent on making up for her previous disarming. She slashes through the air, the swish turning into a clash as her blade meets his. She pulls back and whips her sword through the air, only to be countered by him again. She keeps going, her superior speed from mobility leveling off with his dual wielding. They go at it for several minutes until Valtorex staggers back, panting and sweating, and Valrie falls to one knee, too tired to get back up. Valtorex sheathes his swords and reaches out a hand for her. She replaces her rapier in its scabbard and takes his hand. Valtorex helps Valrie to her feet. When he lets go, she loses her balance and begins to fall back. He reaches his arm around her waist and catches her. For a brief moment, they make eye contact. Valtorex feels the fires within him flare up, but not in anger. He quickly sets her upright and backs away, unaccustomed to this new feeling. Valrie is blushing. Lord Kemos, intent on embarrassing them as much as physically possible, whistles. Valinor seems a bit embarrassed for them and Valen whishes they were still fighting. Valtorex quickly recovers from the awkward moment. He turns to Lord Kemos and says, “So, are you just going to heckle, or can you put your steel well your mouth is?” Lord Kemos laughs before drawing his sword.

Lord Kemos reaches Valtorex is a flash and slashes at him. Valtorex blocks, but barely. Lord Kemos quickly pulls back and strikes his leg. The wicked gash along his leg quickly closes up. Valtorex slashes at Lord Kemos, but in a quick flash, he manages to block both swords separately. Lord Kemos goes in for a lunge, but Valtorex manages to jump back with only minor damage to his chest piece. Valtorex jumps forward, both swords coming in from opposite sides. Just to prove how fast he is, Lord Kemos blocks to the left, then the right, then stabs Valtorex in the chest before he even lands. Lord Kemos rips his blade free of Valtorex and lets him fall to the ground even as his wound heals. Valtorex rolls back and is quickly on his feet. Lord Kemos is forward in a flash. He slices through Valtorex’s neck, skirting the spine. Valtorex freezes for that brief moment that his brain goes without blood or oxygen, but then the wound heals and he breathes again. Valtorex jumps back and tries to block Lord Kemos’s continuous attacks. They go for thirty minutes more, Lord Kemos scoring wound after wound and Valtorex barely blocking anything. Valtorex realizes that he has no chance by just blocking. He decides to stop blocking and only attacks. Lord Kemos strikes him time and time again. Finally, Valtorex gets lucky and makes a deep cut in Lord Kemos’s thigh. The flame cauterizes it quickly and Lord Kemos keeps fighting. As he blocks Valtorex’s attacks he says, “And now you are fighting like an Elite!” Valtorex keeps slashing, stabbing, and lunging, doing his best to not get hit, but doing even better to not care if he does. After about an hour, Valtorex’s attacks have become too feeble to even be considered a threat, but he keeps going. Lord Kemos just keeps knocking his attacks aside with ease, occasionally scoring a hit when he becomes bored. He sees it in Valtorex’s eyes; Valtorex is on the verge of collapse. Minutes later, it happens. Valtorex falls to the ground. He struggles to get back up, but fails. Lord Kemos leans down and says, “Your pride will be your downfall. Do not make challenges you have no hope of succeeding in, or you are set for failure.” Lord Kemos begins slicing away merrily at Valtorex, enjoying the occasional gasps that Valtorex fails to stop.

Valrie, appalled by this, yells, “Stop it!” In reply, Lord Kemos stabs his blade right through Valtorex’s back, then pulls it out and goes back to cutting him. Valrie draws her rapier and charges. She slashes at Lord Kemos who blocks her with ease. Lord Kemos ignores Valtorex as he fights with Valrie. Valrie uses all of her speed, but only manages to block every other one of his attacks. Lord Kemos is brutal. He begins using combination moves. First, he cuts a deep gash in her stomach. When she doubles over, he stabs her through the back. He then rips his sword out and brings it down on her neck. The keen blade bites deep, severing her spine. The only thing preventing her head from coming off is his control. He pulls the sword back and she falls to the ground. He bends down and whispers in her ear, “That love of yours is the most foolish thing for a warrior. Dispose of it or die.” He stands and then mercilessly begins cutting into her. Valrie screams time and again as his rapier bites into her flesh.

Valinor, affronted by this display, pulls his greatsword from his back and charges. Lord Kemos only takes his attention from Valrie long enough to flick his blade through the air and into Valinor’s heart. Valinor, feeling his heart torn open by the cold steel, backs away, breathing shallowly. When he backs off the blade, his heart heals and begins to pump again. He brings up his greatsword and jumps at Lord Kemos, bringing his blade down with all of his strength. Lord Kemos looks up and dully notes Valinor and the giant piece of metal coming at him. Lord Kemos uses his blade to knock away Valinor’s greatsword. The force of the impact sends Valinor’s blade flying and leaves Valinor staggered, but Lord Kemos appears unaffected. Lord Kemos takes this opportunity to stab his blade into Valinor’s chest, once again piercing his heart. He says, “It is not wise to charge an opponent such as I without thought. Learn strategy or you are doomed.” He holds his blade in Valinor’s chest until he blacks out from lack of oxygen. Lord Kemos then whips his blade free and Valinor falls down. Lord Kemos goes back and forth between stabbing Valtorex and slicing into Valrie’s back.

Valen, angry at Lord Kemos’s treatment of his friends and itching for a fight, draws his longknife (Really, the name describes it all. It’s basically a shortsword with only one edge) and his knife (Your average four inch single edged blade). With his knife concealed in his left hand and his longknife held openly in his right, he slowly advances on Lord Kemos. Lord Kemos turns and says, “Have you not seen what I’ve done to them? They are either unconscious or writhing in pain at my feet, and I’m not trying. What chance do you think you have against me?” (This one’s for you, Ryan T.) Valen replies by charging him. Lord Kemos thinks this will be an easy battle, but when Valen is about ten feet away, he suddenly speeds up. Valen flies towards Lord Kemos and slashes with lightning speed. Lord Kemos blocks the longknife, only to realize two things. One, Valen is in 4^th level Mobility Training, meaning he is the fastest of the four, and two, his left hand is not empty. Valen stabs Lord Kemos in the gut with his knife before jumping back. Valen, still holding the bloody knife in his left hand, says, “That is for Valinor.” Lord Kemos nods before charging, ignoring the pain in his gut. Lord Kemos reaches Valen and swings with all of his strength this time. Valen’s blade is knocked from his hand and slides to a stop fifteen feet away. Valen, however, jumps and goes over Lord Kemos. As he is going over, he throws his longknife. The knife lands in Lord Kemos’s back, causing him to jump forward. Valen lands and draws his daggers. He turns to see Lord Kemos pulling the knife free from his back. Valen says, “That’s for Valrie.” Lord Kemos, almost dreading the payback for Valtorex, quickly cuts his stomach and back to heal them. Lord Kemos charges Valen, and, his daggers too short to block, let the blade tear through his chest. As Lord Kemos is bringing his blade back up to attack again, he is surprised to feel a sudden pain in his sides. He looks down and sees a dagger’s hilt protruding from each of his sides. The keen daggers designed to pierce armor dug deeply into the flesh and Lord Kemos can already tell they will be difficult to remove. He begins slashing at Valen brutally. As Valen falls to his knees under the onslaught, he says, almost gleefully, “That was for Valtorex, and this, this is for me.” From nowhere, he produces one of his arrows and stabs Lord Kemos in the leg with it. He says, a smile on his face, “I made sure to touch my bow with it, so it will poison you.”

Lord Kemos can already feel the poison working through his leg and coupled with the daggers in his sides, he knows he cannot go for much longer. He mutters the words of a spell and about three minutes later, the Nurse appears. The Nurse pulls the arrow and daggers free of the now collapsed Lord Kemos and removes the poison with a healing spell. Lord Kemos sits up, muttering under his breath. The Nurse then goes through waking up and restoring the energy of the other four. Valtorex stands up and the Nurse chides, “I warned you. Are you going to take my advice now?” Valtorex replies, “No, probably not. I have to go to my meditation training now, then I have a detention with whoever the Head Mistress is.” Lord Kemos’s eyes widen. The Nurse says, “Do you see why I wanted him to rest? Head Mistress Demere is the most brutal person on the staff. She makes Lord Kemos look nice.” Valtorex, who has started to walk towards the forest by now, says over his shoulder, “Then I look forward to meeting her.” (If only he knew)

Valtorex arrives at the Glade to find Myrstaline sitting on the ground, meditating. When he enters the Glade, she jumps up to greet him. Valtorex asks, “So, how was fourth with Stemius?” Myrstaline replies, “He spent like twenty minutes talking about how what I did was natural and normal. Then he spent the rest of the time trying to figure out if I was pregnant.” Valtorex laughs. Myrstaline asks, “How was your fourth?” Valtorex responds, “Lord Kemos was an ass, I had to fight Valrie, then we all fought him. He took me down and tortured me until Valrie attacked him, then he moved to torturing her. He stabbed Valinor in the heart twice before Valen stabbed him five times and poisoned him.” Myrstaline asks, “How did he attack you guys so much without killing you?” Valtorex answers, “Easy, he has this rapier blessed to heal any wounds it causes, so it is very difficult to kill someone with it. That way, he can torture us indefinitely.” For the first time, she notices his torn and nearly destroyed armor. She says, “Let me fix that.” She casts a few mending spells and soon his armor is completely repaired.

Valtorex and Myrstaline then sit down on the log. (And yes, I could be more vague. I could have said they sit on wood or organic matter) Myrstaline says, “I want you to try to focus on this.” She picks up a rock and shows it to Valtorex. She says, “This is how I learned to commune with nature. I want you to turn this rock into a statuette of whatever pops into your mind.” Valtorex nods and closes his eyes. Slowly, the rock begins shifting in her hand. Valtorex tries to come up with something else, but all he can think of is one thing. He hears Myrstaline’s gasp. He opens his eyes to see what he expected. (Can you guess?) In Myrstaline’s hand is a perfect miniature replica of himself, lying there with a sword in its chest. Or at least she thinks it is him. Valtorex can tell it is his evil copy, Kaedros of the Hellfire. Myrstaline exclaims, “The first thing that comes into your head is yourself dead? What type of person are you?” Valtorex says, “That’s not me. Do you remember a month ago when I went through that portal and fought those demons?” Myrstaline nods. Valtorex continues, “I met a copy of myself, formed by an Arch-Devil when my soul merged with a balrog. His name was Kaedros. Kaedros of the Hellfire. I was forced to fight him and I won. He’s not dead, but next time we meet, he will be.” Myrstaline has a spark of brilliance. She says, “That seems to be the main obstacle to your enlightenment and convergence with nature. All of the anger you harbor inside you is keeping you from finding peace. How about we talk about your past so you can get over those feelings?” Valtorex shakes his head. Myrstaline warns, “I am the teacher. You have to do what I say.” Valtorex shoots back, “Or what? Rōdenthall gave me an all night detention already. What can you do that I haven’t already gone through today?” Myrstaline whispers, “This.” She leans forward and kisses him on the cheek. (Aww, how sweet. I know, I know, ruining the moment) Valtorex feels his face go crimson. He says, “Now I’m definitely not telling you about my past. I couldn’t bear to be the one to rob you of sleep for the rest of your life.” Myrstaline counters, “I’m an elf, I meditate.” (Happy Ian?) (Yes) (Background: In a previous chapter, Ian got all uppity because I said one of the elves goes to ‘sleep’ instead of ‘mediates’. I know, I know, but we must be understanding of his OCDJ)

Valtorex shakes his head in defeat. He says, “Very well, I’ll tell you, but tell me when to stop.” Valtorex begins talking about his childhood and how happy he was growing up in his village. Then he reaches the first attack. Myrstaline realizes this must be why he is such a dark person. He goes on…and on…and on. By the time he has reached the battle on the plateau, Myrstaline is nearly shaking in fear of the world and pity for him. He then gets to the village massacre and, wanting to stop before Myrstaline finds out too much, goes into great detail about it. Myrstaline retches when he describes the burning bodies and the screams of the dying. When Myrstaline perseveres, Valtorex decides to go easy on her. He skims over some of the bloodier and gorier accounts and waters down the vital stuff. Then he reaches Trish. He just describes it as, “There was this girl, she turned out to be a vampire and captured me.” He then describes his ordeal with the vampires. After that, he talks about his later mercenary days. By the time he reaches the Academy, Myrstaline is on the verge of tears for him. He finishes by saying, “And that is my life. Good luck ever finding rest again. Myrstaline says, “I will meditate on how to help you through your problems, but it’s getting late and I don’t want to have to deal with my cabinmates.” Valtorex nods and they part ways.

Valtorex decides to hang around in the Glade for a while. (Don’t you love how I combine words so uncommon they’re almost Middle English with everyday slang?) At about four hours before Darkwatch (Some of you may have realized that they have school sixteen hours a day and thus, the amount of time they spend out of class is impossible, but this is a fantasy realm, so I fiat that the day is now 32 hoursJ) Valrie shows up to bathe. She is surprised to find Valtorex there. She asks, “What are you doing here this late?” Valtorex responds, “I have about four hours to kill before I get killed, so I decided I’d wait here for unsuspecting bathers for me to harass.” Valrie laughs at his attempt at humor. (Not the humor itself mind you) She says, “Well, you found one. So, do you want to talk?” Valtorex says, “Not really, I’d rather throw rocks at starving wolves right now.” Valrie, slightly offended, says, “Well, if you don’t want to talk, then can you leave?” Valtorex asks, “Why?” Valrie replies, tersely, “Because I intend on bathing, which requires the removal of clothes. I’m not going to do that with you here.” Valtorex says, “Fine I’ll talk for awhile. So, what’s been going on with you?” Valrie says, “That’s better.” She sits next to Valtorex on the log and replies, “Well, school’s going pretty well. I’m in the top of my class dueling. I can beat two other students at the same time. How’re your classes going?” Valtorex responds, “Well, Tyberus I’m doing fine with, Arianna seems to tolerate me pretty well, Rōdenthall and Silvanos still want me dead, and Lord Kemos, well you know how things with him are.” Valrie nods. They talk with each other for a while before Valrie stands up. She says, “Well, you should probably get going. I need to bathe and you have three hours left before your detention.” Valtorex stands and says, “Yes, that’s probably for the best.” They look into each other’s eyes. Valtorex feels the fire burning inside him flare up as he stares into her dark green eyes. As she looks into his fiery red eyes, she feels a safety and security that she is not used to. The next thing they know, they are embracing. (And the plot thickens) They back away from each other, both blushing, but covered by the shadows caused by the treetops. (It may be night, but there is at least one full moon every night) Before he turns to leave, he plants a quick kiss on Valrie’s cheek. (This may be my most romantic work ever. Kinda scary, huh?)

Valtorex decides to go to the library since it is close to the Main Hall where he’ll be serving his detention. (He knows this because I say so. If I cover everything they learn, then you guys will be reading an additional twenty pages and I’d get nothing else done) In the library, he sees a few lore students, teaches, or bards in secluded corners, nooks, and alcoves, each reading. Valtorex goes over to a section on magic and takes a book titled Advanced Arcane Spells of Fire. He takes the book and goes over to a table in the center of the room. He begins reading and quickly becomes engrossed in the complicated spells. After about two hours, he decides he needs the book. He goes to the librarian and asks if he can check out books. The librarian looks at him as if he is a barbarian. The librarian then realizes that Valtorex is a first year and says, “We don’t check out books at this Library. We sell copies of books to students and teachers. What book are you interested in?” Valtorex asks, “How much does it cost to copy a book? The librarian answers, “Depending on the material, 20 to 100 gold. Why?” After some quick math, Valtorex responds, “I would like to copy the entire section on arcane Spellcasting.” The librarian’s mouth drops open for a second before he calculates it out. He says, “It will cost 1 million gold for that.” Valtorex reaches into his pack and pulls out the chest of drakes. He hands the librarian 100 drakes and says, “This should cover it.” The librarian nods and asks, “Where do you want them delivered?” Valtorex then realizes his cabin has no room for them. He asks, “Can storage be arranged?” The librarian replies, “Well, for a purchase this large, we can provide a Book Carrier of Holding that can carry all of the books you have. I will have one made. Come by tomorrow morning to pick it up.” Valtorex nods and leaves to go to detention. (This entire thing was to get him access to a massive collection of spells. Later he will get other books. Next chapter, you’ll see why I did this)

Valtorex arrives at the Head Mistress’s office and knocks on the door. He is ushered in by two heavily armed guards. The Head Mistress says, “Ah yes, Valtorex, the boy sent to me by Rōdenthall. If I recall correctly, the letter said ‘Show no mercy to the little bastard’. Now, I don’t think you really deserve that, so just fess up and I may reduce your punishment.” The Head Mistress, expecting to hear some story about him disobeying Rōdenthall, is severely surprised when he recounts his story. She says, “Well, then. I guess you do deserve the punishment. Then we may begin.” (Remember the temporary Head Mistress from Harry Potter? This psycho makes her look like Mother Teresa) The punishment starts off simply enough, Valtorex has to write, “I will not threaten staff.” ten thousand times. When he finishes, Head Mistress Demere asks, “So, have you learned your lesson?” Valtorex, feeling a bit irritated, replies, “And what lesson am I supposed to be learning?” Demere screams, “(‘Scuse me?!) You’ve been writing it for two hours! How stupid are you?” Valtorex, taking the offensive, responds, “I must be pretty stupid to be here at this time of night.” Demere yells, “That’s it! You need to learn your lesson!” She has her guards restrain Valtorex and take his weapons. They strip off his leather armor and robe top. She proceeds to take a whip tipped with a metal ball crackling with electricity (A good old fashioned whipping combined with shock therapyJ) out of her desk. She goes behind him and hits him in the back. He screams as electricity shoots through his torso, shocking his heart and nearly stopping it. She keeps this up until he is barely breathing and his back is torn and bleeding. Her guards drop him in a chair and she says, “So, have you learned your lesson?” Valtorex, barely conscious, replies, “No amount…of pain will…break me…you sadistic bitch!” Demere slaps him before saying, “Oh but it will. I have been at this school for twenty years and there has not yet been a student I haven’t broken.”

Six hours later, a bloody, bruised, and unconscious Valtorex is unceremoniously dumped on the Training Ground with his armor and weapons piled next to him. Tyberus arrives to see him lying there. He runs over and checks his pulse. Relieved that Valtorex is still alive, he sends for the Nurse. The Nurse (Possibly the same one from Romeo and JulietJ) comes running. She sees Valtorex and mutters a curse under her breath. She then commences to heal Valtorex. Valtorex slowly regains consciousness. Rogard watches Valtorex, a bit detached. Valinor appears worried about him while he is being healed. Silvanos seems to take pleasure at the sight of the signs of Valtorex’s beating. Once the Nurse has finished, she backs up as Valtorex struggles to his feet. He sees the joy in Silvanos’s face as he grimaces from pain. Tyberus demands, “Who did that and how did they beat you?” Valtorex, still hurting when he breathes, replies, “It was the Head Mistress. She had her guards hold me down while she used some sort of electrified whip on me.” Tyberus seems angered at this. His face takes on a look of pity and he asks, “How long until she broke you?” Valtorex’s reply both amazes him and frightens him. He says, calmly and matter-of-factly, “She didn’t.” (Not something that happens very often) Tyberus stammers, “So…so…she tortured you…all night?” Valtorex nods. Silvanos nearly claps in joy. Valtorex turns and says, “Silvanos, would you like to fight?” Silvanos snorts in derision. He laughs, “You can’t beat me at your prime. You’ve been tortured all night. How in the Abyss do you think you can defeat me?” Valtorex responds, “Remember how when I’m angry, I get much stronger?” Silvanos nods, humoring him. Valtorex continues, “I’ve been beaten all night. I am pissed and would love nothing more than to snap your neck right now. So do you really want to fight?” Silvanos’s response is merely a paling of his face and a nervous look in his eyes. Valtorex says, “I thought so. Stay out of my way for the rest of today and you won’t lose any limbs.” Silvanos nods, seeing the truth in Valtorex’s eyes. (The eyes tell all. I tell you what the eyes tell) Tyberus trains his three students, with Silvanos sitting on the sidelines, careful not to anger Valtorex. (Valtorex needs to piss off Rōdenthall more oftenJ)

Class ends and Valtorex goes to the Glade and meets Arianna. She looks concerned about him. She says, “I heard you got a detention with the Head Mistress. What finally broke you?” Valtorex shakes his head and mutters a curse. He replies, “Why does everyone ask me that? She didn’t break me.” Arianna’s mouth gapes momentarily. She quickly catches herself and says, “That’s great. Worrying, but great. What did she use?” Valtorex responds, with a shudder, “First she just slapped me around, then she pulled out some electrified whip. When that didn’t work, she beat me to the brink of unconsciousness before shoving my face in a bucket of water to wake me up. I figure that when I stopped waking up, she dumped me on the Training Grounds.” Arianna nods, accustomed to hearing that. She says, “I would not be surprised if you get called back. The Head Mistress does not take well to rebellion, especially rebellion she can’t break.” (The Head Mistress is a controlling, brutal, well you know the rest. My goal is to make you guys hate her so much, that you will be begging for what happens in the Insurrection/Graduation chapters) Valtorex asks, “So, how do I beat her?” Arianna replies, “You don’t. She will torture you every night until you surrender. I’ve seen kids die at her hand for disobeying her. What you saw last night was just a warning. The real attack will probably come tonight. (If you have a weak stomach, I suggest you skip that section) If you truly want to beat her, then resist her till you die, although is it really worth it?” Valtorex replies, “Yes, of course. Kaeje ona Morte. I’ve sworn to live my life by it, so I shall.” Arianna nods in approval. She then says, “Very well, I will teach you how to resist torture. Normally it’s not something you learn until year four, but in your case, I think we can make an exception.” The rest of the class is spent with Arianna instructing Valtorex on how to lock away information in his brain. Valtorex thanks her and leaves.

Valtorex arrives at the Tower of the Arcane and goes to the now repaired fourth level class. Rōdenthall is waiting. He says, “I heard that the Head Mistress has yet to break you. I’ve been informed that the Head Mistress expects either a letter of apology or you to be in her office by Darkwatch tonight. It looks like she’s taken a special interest in you.” Valtorex asks, “I don’t suppose you know what I need to apologize for, do you?”  Rōdenthall chuckles before asking, “Does it matter? You’ll be apologizing for anything you can think of by the time she’s done with you.” Just then, Dethos, Zethos, and Silvanos walk into the room. Silvanos sees Valtorex and looks as if he is about to say something. When he thinks back to first, he thinks better of it. Class begins, but Myrstaline still has not arrived. Rōdenthall begins a lecture on how to properly articulate a spell for maximum effectiveness. Valtorex pulls out a quill, inkwell, and parchment. (I know, I know, but they need to invade China before they can get paper) Valtorex takes notes on Rōdenthall’s lecture, not for himself, but for Myrstaline. Halfway through class, a messenger arrives. He hands a scroll to Rōdenthall and leaves. Rōdenthall unrolls the parchments and reads out, “To Arch-Mage Rōdenthall, your student, Valtorex, has been issued a private detention with me this night and every night following until further notice. –Head Mistress Demere.” Rōdenthall goes back to lecturing. Class ends and Rōdenthall dismisses them. Valtorex, a bit concerned about Myrstaline, briefly considers blowing off Elite, but decides against it.

He arrives at the Hall of Trials and meets Lord Kemos. Lord Kemos (Yes there is a reason I haven’t dropped the title. Ask if you want to find out) asks, “How are you doing, lad?” Valtorex replies, “Okay, but I have another detention tonight, and apparently every night from now on. I hope she doesn’t intend on breaking me that easily.” Lord Kemos shakes his head before saying, “I don’t think you understand. Demere is brutal. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She was fresh out of the Academy when she got a job as a secretary to the then Head Mistress. Within one year, she had become the Enforcer for the Head Mistress. When the Head Mistress died in her sleep, Demere took over and has ruled the students with an iron fist ever since. She was Head Mistress when I came through here. I took the same stance you did, but by my second year, the blood loss and broken bones were affecting my performance and I was forced to submit. What I’m trying to say is this, if you mess with Demere, she will ensure you suffer far more than any annoyance you can cause her. It’s not worth it. Give her what she wants so you can actually learn.” Valtorex resists the powerful urge to slap his instructor. He says, through clenched teeth, “I will never submit. I believe in the oath I took and will follow it in any circumstance. Kaeje ona Morte. (Just so you know, pronounced kai-A-jhay-own-a-more-tay) No surrender. Ever. No matter what the situation, no matter who the foe, an Elite never gives up, never submits.” Lord Kemos realizes he’s right. Lord Kemos shakes his head and begins laughing. When Valtorex raises his eyebrows, Lord Kemos says, “Taught by my student. Never thought it would happen. Well, here comes the rest of the class.” Valrie, Valen, and Valinor walk up to them. Valrie asks, “How was the detention?” Valtorex recounts the story while Valrie listens with growing anger. She says, the anger in her voice barely contained, “I’m going to kill that bitch!” Valtorex quickly, almost fearfully, says, “No, don’t say that! If word reaches her, you’ll end up in her office being beaten for six hours like I was. I suggest you just let me deal with it.”

Lord Kemos claps his hands once, signaling the end of discussion. He says, “Today, I think we will be learning about the history of the Elites. I will start at the beginning.” They go inside and sit at a table. Lord Kemos sits at the head of the table and begins, “Many years ago, the Empire was at war with the Dark Land forces, and we were not doing very well. The Dark Landers were at the Great Southern Wall. Their generals and the Dark Lord were convening a meeting at a hastily constructed fort to plan out the siege. The Emperor realized that the Dark Army was far too powerful to be taken down with force alone. He decided to put together a strike deep into enemy territory to take out the Dark Lord and his generals. The mission was volunteer only, as it was given a low expectation of success. To the surprise of the Emperor and the generals, every captain volunteered and the soldiers almost to the man joined them. The Emperor handpicked the best of the best from the volunteers. To the amazement of the generals, the Emperor, and even the common soldiers, the Arch-General’s of the Blue, Green, and Black armies came forth to lead. It was decided that each Arch-General would lead one hundred volunteers of the fighting style they used. That afternoon, the soldiers prayed, meditated, or did whatever they did to find peace. That night, the soldiers quietly left the castle and silently crossed the battlefield. The mages used illusion magic to obscure the field, preventing them from being spotted. By the time the Dark Army’s sentries realized what was going on, the archers had already loosed the arrows that slid into their necks, destroying their vocal chords and preventing any alarms from being raised. The warriors charged out and into the enemy camp. The warriors slaughtered all of the enemies they encountered in a mad dash to the fort. The mages went along after, destroying siege engines, towers, and tents, ensuring the Dark Army would not quickly recover. The archers decimated the cavalry before it could mount up and continued slaying the wargs under the riders after the first charge started. By the time the wargs reached the archers, half were lying on the field, dead or dying. The archers quickly switched to swords, and although woefully ill equipped to fight cavalry, fought to the man and effectively destroyed the Dark Army’s mounted division. The warriors, through massive losses, cleared a path to the fort. The mages broke into the fort and rushed it, overwhelming the guards with spells. The few remaining warriors stood at the breach and held off the growing counter attack to give the mages time. Within minutes, the warriors had been wiped out and the enemy charged into the breach. In the end, the mages were all killed too, but not before killing all of the generals and severely wounding the Dark Lord. At dawn, the Draconic Armies marched out and met them in the field. With their generals gone and leader disabled, the Dark Army was routed and forced to flee. That was the last time the Dark Army entered Draconic land. After the war, the Emperor personally created the Red Army, the all-volunteer army of Elites sworn to protect the Empire at all costs. Since then, the Elites have been at the forefront of every conflict the Draconic Empire has participated in. If the Dark Army ever invades again, I can guarantee that the Red Army will be the first to meet it on the fields, and if the past holds true, the last.” He then goes on to talk about specific Elites from the Red Army’s history. (I don’t feel like writing out their entire history right now, maybe another time) He talks about various battles the Red Army fought in and great cities they conquered. (Once again, another time) At the end of class, he dismisses them and they go off. Valrie lets Valen and Valinor get ahead and she hangs back with Valtorex. She says, “I’ll come by at the same time tonight so we can talk.” She runs off to the cabin.

Valtorex goes to the Glade and meets Myrstaline. She is sitting on the log, her face buried in her hands as she sobs. He walks over to her, thinking she is just upset about some insult. He then sees the red on her dress and runs to her. She looks up and sees him. He can tell she has been crying for some time by the redness under her eyes and the tear stains on her cheeks. He asks, “What happened?” She replies with only one word, “Demere.” (And now the war begins) Valtorex demands, “What did she do?” Myrstaline declines to answer, but he then sees the cuts in Myrstaline’s dress and realizes exactly what she did. Demere must have a knife similar to Lord Kemos’s rapier. Valtorex sits down next to her and puts his arm around her. He tries to soothe her, but finds he can’t come up with the words. He settles for holding her until her sobbing subsides. He says, “I don’t think you’re up to teaching me today. You should go to your cabin and rest. I have to pick something up from the library anyway.” Myrstaline nods and stands. Valtorex stands. They face each other and before they leave, Valtorex swears, “I won’t let her get away with this.” Myrstaline nods, knowing it’s the truth. (I honestly don’t know whether I’ve done enough work for you guys to be glad Valtorex has started a vendetta against Demere or just feel sorry for her. Let me know so I can adjust her level of cruelty accordingly)

Valtorex goes to the library to pick up his Book Carrier of Holding. The librarian comments, “You were supposed to come by this morning. Why did you not?” Valtorex replies, “The Head Mistress tortured me until first period. I have not had time to come by until now.” The librarian although he lives in the library, he does know of the Head Mistress’s cruelty, nods and says, “That is acceptable. Here are your books. I hope to see you in here again.” Valtorex nods and thanks him. Valtorex returns to the Glade and spends the rest of the time until an hour before Darkwatch reading. At an hour before Darkwatch, Valrie arrives.

Valrie watches Valtorex as he pours over his books by the light of a shining coin. She watches him for a few moments before stepping into the pale light. Valtorex looks up, his concentration momentarily broken. He closes the book and says, “Hi. So, how have you been?” Valrie replies, “Okay. Are you ready for your detention tonight?” Valtorex nods. He then says, “I’m actually looking forward to it. Demere is in for a big surprise tonight. I found the most exquisite spell for dealing with her. I can describe its effects for you if you like.” Valrie quickly says, “No, no that’s ok. I’d rather not here about it.” Valtorex nods, expecting that answer. He moves the books off the log and replaces them in his book carrier. He motions to the space next to him and Valrie sits. Valtorex dispels the Light spell on the coin and replaces it. They talk for a while about their day, and then they move on to a more personal conversation. (Don’t worry, like all romance I have, it is PG if I bribe people to up the ratingJ) They start talking about their likes and dislikes, what foods they like, their favorite colors, and other miscellaneous things. It turns out Valrie’s favorite food is smoked fish and her favorite color is sea blue. She finds out that Valtorex’s favorite color is, not surprisingly, blood red. His favorite food is rare steak, preferably warg. (Does this surprise you?) They talk more about their interests. Valrie likes to swim, fish, and just relax sometimes. Valtorex’s hobbies are, fighting, training, spell-casting, and experimenting with various compounds. (Or this?)

Valrie, used to people’s hobbies not being something stressful, asks, “But what do you do to relax?” Valtorex, who was expecting this, responds, “I work harder. When I reach the point of complete dedication to an activity and I finish the activity, I am totally relaxed and at peace. In the heat of battle, when the rage and bloodlust takes over, then as soon as the battle ends, I go into a state of calm. When I have no more enemies trying to destroy me, I feel at peace. When there are no more pressing matters demanding my attention, I can reach a state of tranquility.” Valrie blurts, “But that can’t be healthy!” Valtorex replies, “Maybe not, but it must be done. I spent two years as a mercenary, before that, I spent two chasing a demon across the continent, before that, I spent two years training to fight that demon. When you’ve lived a life like I have, you are forced to put survival in front of any possible hobbies.” Valrie, after a moment of bafflement, stammers, “But…but…that’s insane! The stress will kill you before the enemies!” Valtorex shakes his head and sighs. He then says, “That’s the point. So far, that stress has bought me six years. Let’s see how much further I can make it before it takes me down.” Valrie challenges, “You don’t need that stress now. You aren’t hounded by enemies anymore. You can slow down and pick up a hobby or two. I’ll even help you.” Valtorex asks, “How?” Valrie replies, “Easy, I’ll teach you to fish.” Valtorex shrugs as if to say, “Why not?” Valrie says, “Good. I’ll bring two fishing rods tomorrow. Now, I need to bathe, so if you could…” Valtorex takes the hint and says, “Ok. I need to get going anyway. I only have three hours till Darkwatch and I think I need to study a bit more.” Valrie nods. Valtorex, taking the initiative, (That would be an initiative role of 34 please) moves forward and embraces her. After a moment of shock, she returns the embrace. They stay there for a couple of minutes. They back away, blushing like the night before, and also like the night before, the blush is hidden by the treetops. Valtorex leaves and Valrie bathes.

Valtorex arrives at the Main Hall with about two and a half hours left. He goes to the library and looks through the books until he finds one about mental resistance. He goes to the librarian and has a copy made for twenty gold. He then spends the rest of his time reading the book. When Darkwatch arrives, he goes to the Head Mistress’s office. She is sitting behind her desk and looks up at him. Her brown, slightly graying hair, covers her face. She says, sweetly, “Ah, you have arrived. So, have you brought the letter?” Valtorex replies by pulling an envelope out of his pack and tossing it on the desk. It reads:

 

Dear Head Mistress,

I know you desire an apology from me and wish my surrender. I have written this letter to inform you of my decision. After consulting with my instructors and fellow students, I have come to the conclusion that your request for an apology and surrender is total bullshit and you can kiss my ass.

Yours truly,

Valtorex

 

Demere is livid by the time she finishes the letter. She screams, (‘Scuse me?) “You little, arrogant bastard! I’ll have your head for this! You will have detention with me until the end of your days! I suggest you start begging now and you may just see tomorrow.” Valtorex replies, “Go to the Abyss.” (Go to hell loses its impact when translated to D&D terminology. Go to the Abyss sounds more like a crappy vacation commercial) Demere stands abruptly and slaps him as hard as she can. After being slapped by Valrie, he is tempted to laugh. He doesn’t particularly like her, so he does. Next thing he knows, Valtorex’s face is pressed against her desk and the two bodyguards who were standing in the corners are holding him down. (Now is the time to scroll down until you see green if you are weak stomached)

Demere has her guards strip his torso. She pulls the electrified whip out of her desk. She flicks her wrist and Valtorex screams as the metal tip bites into his flesh. The electricity tears through his body and strikes his heart. His heart lurches before slowing to a near stop. Right when his heart returns to normal, Demere strikes him again. Valtorex remembers back to the book he just read and begins chanting his mantra. “Kaeje ona Morte. Kaeje ona Morte. Kaeje ona Morte…” Demere’s eyes take on a cruel gleam. She continues whipping him until he is barely breathing. His back is a road map of cuts from the whip. Demere returns her whip to the desk and pulls out a knife. She goes back to Valtorex, still held down by the guards, and slices across his back. He screams as the blade turns crimson. The wound quickly heals, healing the cut it covered, too. She slices again and a few droplets of blood are sent flying. Once again, the wound heals. She continues slicing into his back with the blade until Valtorex has screamed himself hoarse and blood has splattered onto the table and floor.

She returns to her desk drawer and replaces the knife. She pulls out a hammer and goes back to Valtorex. She has her guards tie him down with his arms spread on the desk. She takes the hammer and smashes his left little finger. She moves on to the next finger and smashes that. She moves from finger to finger on that hand before moving to the next hand. Once she is done with his fingers, she smashes his hands, making sure to break all of the bones in his hands. She moves up his arms, breaking the ulna and then the radius until she reaches the shoulders. Valtorex, already hoarse, can only make moaning sounds as she destroys his skeleton systematically. Once she has crushed his shoulders, she goes down to his feet. She swings the hammer and smashes his ankles. She moves up and shatters his tibula and fibula. She then breaks his femur, but the bindings prevent him from falling. She laughs at his pitiful state.

She returns the hammer to her desk and pulls out a diamond bladed knife. She walks over to him and stabs him in the back to the heart. She leaves the blade in his back and casts a quick spell to keep him alive. She says, “I think you have learned your lesson.” She orders her guards, “Dump him at the Training Grounds. Make sure he survives long enough to serve as an example to the rest.” The guards untie Valtorex and drag him to the Training Ground. They drop him and laugh when they hear his piteous moan. They walk off, leaving him to live or die.

(Alright, you can start reading again. BTY, if you’ve been reading the past few paragraphs, I think you can agree Saw’s got nothing on me) (Just a note, Saw has the added advantage of images, so just try to mentalize what I described, otherwise Saw will win) Hours later, Tyberus arrives and sees a barely living Valtorex. He runs and retrieves the Nurse. The Nurse comes running and sees Valtorex. She quickly begins healing him. Once she has finished healing him, she pulls the knife out of his back and heals that wound. (For those of you who didn’t read: if you had read, you would know what I’m talking about. If you did read: bravo) The knife is stained crimson, permanently. Valtorex rolls over, groaning in pain. The Nurse places the knife in her pouch and goes about restoring Valtorex’s strength. Once he feels like he can move, he forces himself into a sitting position. The Nurse orders, “No straining yourself. You should take the week off.” Valtorex counters, “Will the school take a week off? I doubt it, so no, I won’t either.” Valtorex gets to his feet and staggers over to Tyberus. He says, “I am ready to be trained, sir.” Tyberus nods in approval…just before decking him. As his world goes black, Valtorex briefly wonders why it hurts so much.

Hours later, Valtorex wakes up in his cabin. In the cabin are Valen, Valinor, and Myrstaline. The first thing to come out of his mouth is, “Where’s Valrie?” Valinor replies, “She has a detention with Demere. No reason whatsoever. I think whatever you did last night really pissed her off. She said something about giving her the ‘full treatment’. After seeing what she did to you, I wanted to stop her, but she warned us her guards were ordered to kill any trespassers.” Valtorex gets out of bed and says, “I can’t ask any of you to come with me, but I am going to teach that bitch to stay away from my friends. At this point, I don’t care if I win; I just want her to suffer as much as possible.” Valen quickly says, “I’m in!” Valinor nods and says, “Aye.” Myrstaline says, “I guess you will need someone to heal the wounded.” Valtorex chuckles darkly before saying, “I don’t intend on leaving any wounded, but you’re welcome to join us even so.” The four companions gear up and leave the cabin. Shrouded by the night and illuminated by the moonlight, they march towards the Main Hall. They can hear the screams from over five hundred feet away. Valtorex feels the fire burning within him flare up. He sees two guards standing watch. He motions to Valen, and then the guards. Valen nods and knocks to arrows at once. He draws his bow and releases. The arrows fly directly towards their targets. Each sentry goes down soundlessly, and arrow through their necks. (I could have them throw battleaxes and kill the sentries soundlessly, but I think arrows are a bit more believable)

Valtorex motions the small party forward. They arrive at the Main Halls entrance and move past the dead sentries. Valtorex casts a spell and looks through the door. He sees two guards on the other side of the door. He casts another spell, one he recently learned, to cause one guard to have a heart attack. (I love making stuff up. So much more convenient than following rules) The other guard quickly bends down and checks his comrade. He yells, “Nurse! Healer! Man down!” Valtorex motions to Myrstaline, who wearing her white healer’s robes, opens the door and runs in. The guard quickly explains what happened. Myrstaline tells the guard to fetch the Nurse and the guard complies. As he runs out, he is slowed by a long piece of steel in front of his throat. Slowed, but not stopped. The headless guard falls to the ground and Valtorex steps over the corpse to enter. Valtorex casts a spell of life detection and determines there are only four other people in the building. Assuming one is Demere and one Valrie, he says, “There are only two more guards. There and there. Eliminate them and I’ll take on Demere. As soon as they are gone, get out of here. This is my fight.” They nod, knowing they can’t argue. Valen goes through one door, and Myrstaline and Valinor go through another. Valtorex hears a gasp of surprise from Valen’s room. Moments later, Valen comes out, his longknife dripping with blood.  From Valinor and Myrstaline’s room comes a flash, a sizzle, and a gurgle. Valinor comes out with a bloodied greatsword and Myrstaline looks as if she’s seen a ghost. Valtorex takes it they were successful. He motions them out the door and they run back to their cabins.

Valtorex then draws his swords and walks up to Demere’s office door. He kicks the door down and walks in. He finds Valrie tied to the desk, her back exposed and cut by the electric whip. Valtorex sees Demere come out with the hammer. He yells, “Drop it! Now!” Demere laughs before swinging the hammer down. Valtorex hears the audible crunch as the hammer crushes Valrie’s little finger. Valrie screams in renewed agony. Valtorex charges forward, swords raised and ready to kill. Demere shouts, “Now!” Valtorex feels his arms pulled back by some unbeatable force. He looks over and sees a ring of shadow around his right wrist. The same is on the left. He feels his legs lose movement and looks down to see the bands on his ankles. Demere cackles before saying, “Maybe seeing your sweetheart tortured will make you see reason!” She then performs the same technique she employed on Valtorex the night before. Valrie screams herself hoarse, but to no avail. The only one that can hear her is a helpless as she is.

Valtorex feels his ire rise, but no matter what he tries, the bonds are too strong. He goes through his mind, pouring over every spell. Finally it clicks. He remembers the short incantation Dumblefrog taught him. He says the incantation, and suddenly, a portal appears in front of him. From out of the portal pour frogs, spiders, rats, cats, and pretty much any other pest. They all congregate on Demere, forcing her down with biting and clawing. Finally, Dumblefrog hops out of the portal. He turns to Valtorex and says, “Hello, father. It has been awhile. Do you need help?” Valtorex nods before saying, “Yes.” Dumblefrog casts a spell and the bonds disappear. Valtorex picks up his swords and goes to Demere. Suddenly, a massive burst of magic sends Dumblefrog’s minions flying. Dumblefrog apologizes, “I’m sorry, father, but I can not waste my army on this fight. Good luck.” Then, Dumblefrog and his army retreat through the portal. Demere stands, seething. Valtorex rushes forward and slices Valrie’s bonds. When she stands to fight, Valtorex commands, “Get the hell out of here! I don’t want you to die needlessly!” Valrie retorts, “And what about you? You’ll die needlessly.” Valtorex’s reply is to cast a spell that teleports her to the cabin. Demere says, “So it is you against me. How sad.” Demere then casts a brutal arc of lightning at him. Valtorex tries to block, but the lightning goes around the shield. The lightning hits Valtorex, stunning him.

By the time he can move again, he is (I’m starting to think Mrs. Mitchell wrote the Word Spellcheck program, because it tried to change the “is” to “be”!) (Three cheers for Word! Hip hip hurray! Hip hip WTF! Delete repeated word? I’m praising you and you try to correct me?) once again in bonds. His torso has been stripped. Demere says, “This time, you will not forget who your master is. You will submit and you will always remember it.” She proceeds to brutally torture him, now with spells. By the end of the night, he is bleeding slowly form multiple wounds, his skin is burnt and blistered, his flesh is cooked, and his extremities are frozen. His nervous system is wracked by an incredibly painful, yet nonlethal poison. To enforce her dominance, Demere pulls a brand out of her desk and uses magic to heat it. She presses the brand into his flesh, burning a large ‘D’ on top of her personal seal, over his heart. Valtorex passes out and Demere leaves him at the Training Ground.

The next morning, Tyberus arrives and, once again, finds Valtorex. He is furious when he sees Demere’s symbol burned into his flesh. He is surprised when the Nurse comes along without being sent for. She goes over to Valtorex and begins healing him. She finds that she cannot remove the brand. Valtorex sits up halfway through treatment and screams in rage. Just then, Demere comes along, carrying a katana. (Any weapon goes, even Japanese ones) Demere orders, “Get up!” The brand on Valtorex’s chest shines with a hellish glow. He screams in pain as the brand burns his very heart. He gets to his feet and the pain subsides. Demere chuckles before saying, “Very effective. Maybe I will brand every student.” Valtorex yells, “Just try it. I dare you.” Demere orders, “Get on your knees before me.” The brand glows and the burning drives him to move forward and kneel before her. (This will come into play often) Demere says, “Good boy. Just obey me and you won’t feel the pain. Now surrender to me.” The brand burns his chest, but Valtorex draws his mental line. Tyberus steps forward, his anger bubbling over. Demere sees this and says to him, “Remember, I control whether you come back next year or not. I suggest you stay out of my way or your tenure just might end.” Demere then looks down at Valtorex, who is still struggling against the pain. She commands, “Surrender or die. That burning will destroy your heart if you do not submit.” Valtorex (Come on, guess what he says) replies, through clenched teeth, “Kaeje…ona…Morte.” Demere is furious. She yells, “So you want to be an Elite? Well then, you will die like an Elite!” Demere brings her sword to bear. The razor-edged katana slices through his chest, leaving a long, bloody gash. Valtorex grunts at the pain.

At about that time, Valinor shows up. He sees Demere’s attack on Valtorex and charges forward. As he sprints towards her, he draws his greatsword. Demere brings her katana to Valtorex’s throat and commands Valinor, “Stay back.” Valinor stops in mid run and backs up. Silvanos and Rogard arrive. Demere presses the katana into Valtorex’s flesh and says, “Surrender.” Valtorex laughs through the pain and the dizziness from blood loss. He says, “I’m going to die anyway. I might as well die with honor.” Demere yells, “I’m sick of you defying me! You will submit, just like all of the others! I demand it!” Valtorex takes advantage of her distraction and plunges the Knife of the Ancestors into her gut. Demere backs away, eyes wide in shock. The Nurse runs forward and Demere is reassured by the fact she won’t die. To her surprise, instead of healing Demere, the Nurse blasts Demere with a wave of magic and heals Valtorex. Demere feels the blade forced deeper into her as she is forced back through the air. Valtorex exhales a sigh of relief as the pain from the brand subsides and the gash on his chest is healed. Valinor interposes himself between Demere and Valtorex. Demere struggles to her feet and tries to yank the knife free. When she touches the hilt, a bright flash of light bursts forth from it and she screams in pain. When her vision returns, she sees that her hand is badly burned. Valtorex stands and not knowing why, motions to the knife. The knife flies out of Demere, cutting her even more, and soars straight into his open palm. Demere’s eyes flash in rage. She abruptly turns and stalks off, her hand over the wound in her gut. Valtorex returns the Knife of the Ancestors to his belt. Tyberus says, “Valtorex, if you keep this up, you won’t last through the year.” Valtorex replies, “If I keep this up, she won’t either.” Tyberus says, “Still, take the day off. I’ll write to the rest of your instructors. You’re of no use to the Empire dead.” (Who knows, I may write a book about Valtorex the Lich, but then he’d be a FredJ) Valtorex asks, “Is that an order?” Tyberus replies, “Only if it needs to be.” Valtorex shrugs and says, “Very well, sir. I will take the day off, but only because I am under orders.”

Valtorex turns to leave, and Silvanos taunts, “Oh, is the baby running away after a little whipping?” Valtorex turns and his eyes flare up. He asks, his voice full of steely resolve, “Permission to kick his ass, sir?” Tyberus, thinking it will do him good, responds, “Permission granted. Cripple, don’t kill.” Valtorex says, “Thank you.” Valtorex draws his swords and charges Silvanos. Silvanos draws his rapier quickly, but not quickly enough. Valtorex slaps Silvanos across the cheek with his lightning sword, causing Silvanos to jump back in shock. Valtorex presses the attack and burns Silvanos’s wrist, forcing him to drop his sword. Valtorex places the blazing edge of his sword at Silvanos’s throat and says, “Remember this. Even at my worst, I can beat you at your best.” Silvanos backs away, his hands in front of him, as if to ward off any blows.  Valtorex decides to bear with it and spends the class training with Rogard and Valinor.

At the end of the period, Valtorex goes to the Glade and meets Arianna. She says, “You are injured, apprentice. It was Demere, was it not?” Valtorex replies, “Yes, it was.” Arianna asks, “What did she do this time?” Valtorex replies by exposing his chest. Arianna’s eyes widen briefly as she sees the mark. She then says, “Ok. Well, you will be carrying that for the rest of your life. Now you need to move on.” Valtorex is pissed that she is dismissing this so easily, but out of respect, he says nothing. She continues, “For the next month, I will teach you how to fight.” They spend that period sparring and Valtorex leaves bruised and exhausted. (We’ll be moving a lot faster for the rest of the chapter)

Valtorex arrives at the Tower of the Arcane. He meets Myrstaline and they go in together. Rōdenthall is waiting for them. He says, “Today and every day for the next month, we will be learning about battle magic. Let’s begin.” They spend that class period discussing the various spells reliant upon electricity and their applications. After multiple demonstrations and a lot of charred furniture, the four students are dismissed to their fourth period classes. Valtorex and Myrstaline part, Myrstaline still ignorant of Valtorex’s wound.

Valtorex arrives at the Hall of Trials. He sees Lord Kemos waiting for him. Lord Kemos asks, “Is it true what they’re saying? That you, Valen, and Valinor launched a strike on the office to get Valrie?” Valtorex responds, “No, of course not. That would be against the rules. Everyone knows I am the only one that attacked, and therefore the punishment is mine alone. Feel free to pass that up the chain.” Lord Kemos says, “It is honorable for you to accept the blame for your entire team.” Valtorex replies, “I lead the raid, it is my responsibility.” Lord Kemos nods. He then asks, “So, how were you punished?” Valtorex answers by showing him the brand mark. Lord Kemos is astonished. He stammers out, “She…she…branded you? But…that…that’s been illegal for one-thousand years!” Valtorex asks, “Why? It wasn’t that painful.” Lord Kemos, his normal cool headedness returning replies,  “It’s not the branding that’s illegal; it’s the control it allows.” Valtorex nods in sudden understanding. By that time, Valinor, Valen, and Valrie have arrived. Lord Kemos says, “Well, for the rest of the year, you will be learning counter-siege techniques.” (Try to piece together what happens in the next, oh shall we say, three chapters) They spend the rest of the day learning about the weak points on various siege engines. When class is almost over, a messenger arrives informing Valtorex he has detention with Demere that night. Valtorex, having had almost no sleep in the past three days, decides he will spend a few hours meditating after he is done with Myrstaline.

He goes to the Glade and finds Myrstaline waiting. She says, out of the blue, “I don’t know how you can stand it. She only cut me for a while; the rest was just threats and some slapping. She tortures you for eight hours at a time. How do you not go insane or die?” (Valtorex replies, “We all need a better dialogue writer. Jeff can not handle more than three personalities at a time, including his own.”) (And Ian interjects, “Jeff, stop talking to yourself as Valtorex, unless you want to seem schizophrenic.”) (I’m not talking to myself, the red is. And I’m not schizo, just too lazy to be creative with personalities. BTY, 3^rd person, very schizo) Valtorex replies, “It’s because I hate her so much the pain doesn’t really get to me.”  Myrstaline says, “But I hate her too. It doesn’t make it hurt any less.” Valtorex just shrugs before saying, “No idea. Just so you know, I haven’t slept much in the past three days. Do you think we could take today off so I can rest?” Myrstaline says, “Fine by me. You need the rest. I just have one question. Why haven’t you surrendered yet? I mean, I surrendered within the first twenty minutes.”

Valtorex responds, after some thought, “Remember the Fear Stalkers earlier this year? Well, when we fought them, I swore to live my life to fight those who prey upon the fear of others. Demere is one of those, and thus I am sworn to fight her.” (Crusade timeJ) Myrstaline says, “That sounds like a noble cause. I think I want to join it.” Valtorex counters, “No you don’t. If you wanted to join it, you wouldn’t think, you would know. I don’t think you have the resolve to do it.” Myrstaline, hurt, yells, “Yes I do! I have more resolve than you’ll ever have!” Valtorex sternly challenges, “Prove it. Next time you end up with a detention from Demere, don’t quit just because it hurts. Fight till your last breath. Then you can consider yourself worthy of having a cause.” Myrstaline is on the verge of tears, but she stands straight and faces him directly. She says, “Fine, I accept your challenge. Make sure your resolve can last. Goodbye.” Myrstaline turns and leaves, letting the tears fall. Valtorex can feel her distress, but he holds back his instinctive drive to help. He realizes that her being angry with him is good. Those who like him get hurt.

He tries to meditate, but the look of pain on Myrstaline’s face drives away all peace he can find. He eventually gives up and devotes himself fully to study. Hours later, Valrie arrives. He senses her coming up and leaves before she can see him. He goes to the library and reads for four hours. At the strike of the clock, he goes to Demere’s office. She is waiting for him and says, “Valtorex, you have denied my power for too long. I’m tired of this game. From now on, you will obey me. I may not be able to break you, but I can cycle your friends through here until eventually one of them breaks. Once I get one, the others will be easier to take down. Now of course, if you just submit to my will, that won’t be necessary. So what will it be? Your friends suffering on your behalf for years, or you swallowing your pride?” Valtorex replies, “If you lay a hand on my friends, I will kill you in a very excruciating way. As for swallowing my pride, that’s not the problem. The problem is I’ve sworn to fight those who are too cowardly to fight fairly.” Demere summons the rings to hold him in place. In her fury, she does not notice the smile of triumph on Valtorex’s face as she pulls out the knife.

His schedule falls into a groove. His mornings are spent with Tyberus training at melee, and Arianna studying combat in general. His afternoons involve Battle magic with Rōdenthall and counter siege tactics with Lord Kemos. He continues meditation training with Myrstaline, but they are nowhere near as close as they once were. Every night, Demere tortures him, but he still does not break. He spends weeks avoiding Valrie at night, but eventually the unavoidable happens. Valrie confronts Valtorex one night. She starts off with, “Where in the Abyss have you been? I’ve only seen you in class for the past few weeks! I want the truth and I want it now!” Valtorex sighs, bracing himself for the long talk he knows is coming. He says, “I’ve been avoiding you because I don’t want you to get hurt. The closer you are to me, the more likely you are to be a target for Demere. If we keep seeing each other, we are bound to become very close, which is likely to make you very dead. I would like for you to leave me alone, and please tell the others to do the same. My war with Demere is mine alone.” Valrie is no longer hurt by Valtorex avoiding her. She’s furious. She demands, “Why didn’t you think to ask me first before deciding this? Don’t you think I should have a say in whether or not we stop seeing each other?” Valtorex replies, “I didn’t ask because, frankly, you have no business telling me what to do. Sure, we may have had something a few weeks ago, but now, I see I was foolish to think I could ever have a human relationship. I am a warrior. My life is a mad killing spree to the grave. The fewer people that like me, the fewer to grieve when the inevitable occurs.”

Valrie says, her voice soft and heavy with sadness, “I will still grieve, no matter what you do to try to stop me.” Valtorex laughs at the irony. He then says, “Amazing. Normally I’m the one who tells people they can’t stop me. You are so much like me it’s scary.” Valrie feels the shift back to normalcy and decides to join in to try to push her momentary advantage. She jokes, “Oh no! Me like you! That’s horrible to even think of!” Valtorex laughs, for the second time that month. The laughter is heartfelt, for the first time in six years. They talk for hours, just discussing what they’ve missed in each other’s lives. In the distance, the clock strikes Darkwatch. Valrie jumps up from the log they had occupied and exclaims, “You have to go! You’ll be late!” Valtorex gets up and pulls Valrie close. He says, “Screw her. You’re so much more important.” (I think I’m going to vomit. It may be trying to type on a moving car in the dark, but it’s probably the romance) They stand there in each other’s arms for several minutes. Finally, Valtorex realizes they have to break it off before Demere starts looking for him, so he pats her on the back and lets her go. He says, “Now I can go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” As he is turning to leave, she stops him and kisses him on the cheek. (Ah! My heart is starting to warm a bit! I need liquid nitrogen!) Valtorex kisses her on the cheek in return before running off. (No, I do not have the romantic knowledge of a kindergartener. It’s just that teens on (Insert name of planet, thank you very much) don’t have the reproductive drive of rabbits or at least have the self-control to wait until their parents arrange a marriage) (Curse you, you grammar obsessed psycho! I’s can sez whatever I wants and you ain’t gonna stop me! It isn’t on, it’s in! Muahahaha!)

Valtorex arrives at Demere’s office to find her fuming. She demands, “What in the Abyss took you so long?” Valtorex replies, no hint of emotion showing, “Just wanted to remind you I hold little stock in your authority, miss.” Demere practically roars, (‘Scuse me?”) “Miss! How dare you? I am the Head Mistress! I am to be respected and feared! You will bleed for your insolence!” Valtorex, emboldened by his time with Valrie, laughs in her face before returning, “Whatever you say, little missy. If you want to have a temper tantrum, don’t let me stop you.” (Ooh, looks like someone’s getting a timeout) Demere screams, “I’ll have your head you little conceited bastard!” Valtorex, knowing he’ll pay dearly, and yet, not caring, replies, “Shut up, you stupid, incompetent bitch of an administrator.”  (Even in the real world, a student world probably be decapitated for saying that) Demere is ruthless that night.

The next day, Valtorex goes to Valrie, and she tries to teach him how to fish. He quickly becomes frustrated and levitates some fish out of the water. Valrie shakes her head before saying, “It’s not about the fish. It’s about the wait. It gives you time to muse and just relax.” Valtorex counters, “What’s the point in sitting around doing nothing? Aren’t there enemies to fight or battle to win? I should be training, not trying to catch fish.” Valrie counters back, “But on the battlefield, you wouldn’t be able to be with me.” Valtorex smiles a bit and says, “True enough. Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

The strict regimen of training continues for another month. Valrie and Valtorex continue meeting at night, and Valtorex and Myrstaline even restore their friendship. One day, Myrstaline tries to kiss Valtorex again, but Valtorex stops her. When he sees the confusion in her eyes, he says, “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I love you, but as a friend and even a sister. My heart must go to Valrie, but I still care about you. I’m sorry, but we just can’t have a romantic relationship right now. I still want to be friends, but that’s it.” (And the choice is made) Myrstaline feels the tears coming forth, but she controls herself. Just then, Demere comes up flanked by two bodyguards. Demere says, “Myrs’line, you have detention. Now!” Myrstaline’s eyes widen in fear. Valtorex turns on Demere and says, “No, she doesn’t.” Demere shoots him a glare that would cause most to shrink back. He moves forward, his hands on his swords. Valtorex continues, “By the way, her name is Myrs-ta-line. Try to remember that.” Demere is livid. She yells, “You may defy me, but I will not have you undermining my rule over the other students! Guards! Seize him!” The two guards move forward, swords drawn. Valtorex says, challenge in his eyes, “You know those six guards that were killed in a student raid? Guess who did that.” The guards, like true soldiers of Draconia, continue their movement towards him, but they are more wary now. Demere screams, “Charge you idiots! Rush him and take him down!” The guards swallow hard, but follow orders. With a yell, they charge. Within seconds, they are both unconscious on the ground. Valtorex, breathing easily, says, “Leave her alone.” Demere smiles cruelly and says, “Subdue the elf.” Valtorex feels the brand burning hot. He struggles and fights with it for several minutes, and soon, he is on his knees and the leather over his chest has begun smoking. Demere demands, “Seize her now!” The burning is renewed in fury. Moments later, the brand has burnt through the leather and an acrid smell has filled the grove. Valtorex feels the pain overtaking his senses and slowly destroying him. In his last seconds of consciousness, and possibly life, he says one word that carries far more power than the most eloquent speech, “No.” He then falls face down as the brand’s fire overwhelms his nervous system.

Demere laughs evilly as she kicks Valtorex’s unconscious form. Demere then says, “You’re coming with me, elf. If you behave yourself, then you might return.” Myrstaline’s response is to blast her out of the Glade with a furious wave of light. Demere strikes a tree with a sickening crunch. She slumps to the ground and sits dazed for several moments. When her vision finally settles, she gets up. She notes that her arm is broken and one of her legs is wounded. She staggers back to her office. Myrstaline has already started healing Valtorex. That night, Valtorex is punished more severely than usual for his rebellion.

School marches on another month and midterms are fast approaching. Valtorex sets up a program where he, Myrstaline, Valrie, Valen, and Valinor meet in the library two hours after fourth period and study for six hours. They often do more messing around than training, but at least they become closer. (Sorry I’m going so fast, this is going to be an <ahem> 11 chapter book, and I’m on Ch.3, in year one of 5, so I have to skip ahead a bit) Valtorex and Valrie don’t have much time for the intimate moments they shared before, but they still build their friendship. Then one night, Valinor has to go and have his armor repaired, so he can’t show up for the study. Valen needs to buy more arrows, so he is at the armory. Myrstaline was called in by the Healer’s School to treat a mishap at the Tower of the Arcane that hospitalized nearly twenty students. This leaves Valrie and Valtorex alone. Valrie points out that they are alone. Valtorex points out they have nothing to study for. In moments, they are out the door and in the forest, heading towards the Glade. They arrive at the Glade and Valrie digs out their fishing rods. They sit together and cast out their lines. (Of course, it’s not about the fish, otherwise they might just think about using bait) They spend a few hours sitting there, talking and just enjoying being together. With about an hour left, Valtorex looks over and sees Valrie looking at him. He sees her lips part slightly and he leans forward. They spend several moments kissing, but then Valtorex feels a tug on his fishing rod. (Originally rod. I think you guys can guess why I changed it) Valtorex sees a fish biting on his line. He sighs and pulls back. He then yanks the fish out of the water and bludgeons it to death. This kills the mood for Valrie, (Can you blame her?) and they sink into an uncomfortable silence, thinking about the moment they just shared. (Don’t know whether to curse or praise that fishJ) Their time together ends and he goes to Demere. (He has three women in his life. One to get wounds for, one to inflict the wounds, and one to heal the wounds. You figure it out)

Midterms arrive and they begin cramming furiously. (Those of you who were put off by all that romantic crap, don’t worry, the next pages are chock full of magic and steel) The day of midterms is upon them, and they have one night left. They spend it practicing for their various classes against each other. On the day of midterms, Valtorex almost doesn’t wake up. Demere was dead set on killing him or at least hurting him so much he’d fail. She may have succeeded. Tyberus says, “Today, you will be fighting. You will be graded on a scale of one to ten. For every match you win, you will get a one-point bonus. First, it will be Valinor against Silvanos and Valtorex against Rogard. Two fourth year students judging. One will judge one match and one will judge the other. You will be allotted one hour for the first match.” They break off into pairs. Valtorex gets the student judge, who introduces himself as Garrow Dragonblood.

Rogard and Valtorex pair off. Garrow stands, ready to intervene if necessary. Rogard pulls his greataxe off his back and Valtorex draws his swords. They begin circling each other, looking for a weakness. Suddenly, Rogard charges, swinging his axe with all of might. His stocky dwarven frame allows the buildup of a massive amount of force. Valtorex blocks with both swords, but is staggered and nearly falls down. Valtorex quickly recovers and springs at him. Rogard blocks one sword, but the other sword gets through and cuts him. The lighting is barely noticed by the hardy dwarf. (Dwarven magic resistance. Fireball? What fireball?) Rogard swings his axe around above his head, driving Valtorex back. Valtorex knows he cannot lose and charges into the steel whirlwind of death. He uses his left sword to hit the axe in the haft. He is forced to drop his left sword, but he scores a solid hit with his right, the fire singing Rogard’s tunic. Rogard swings his axe whilst [Ah a remotely ME (Middle English) word warms my heart J] (Why the boxing? BTY, I’m almost tempted to change it to while, just for spite. Viva la comma!) jumping forward. Valtorex is forced back. Rogard takes the offensive and begins pushing Valtorex towards the edge of the ring. Valtorex feels his foot hit open air and knows he will go off if he retreats any more. He plants his feet defiantly and raises his swords. He tenses his legs as he prepares to spring. Rogard swings the axe and strikes Valtorex’s guard. Valtorex springs forward at the moment of impact, knocking Rogard off balance. Valtorex presses forward, driving Rogard back until he reaches the edge. He sees the desperate look in Rogard’s eyes and leaves himself open to attack. Rogard, too worried about winning to question his luck, takes the opening and lunges forward, his axe coming down from above his head. Valtorex dodges to the side and winds up behind Rogard. He places the tip of his sword at Rogard’s back and says, “That’s match.”

Garrow commands, “Once more.” Valtorex nods and withdraws the blade. Rogard and Valtorex face off again. They bow to each other and stand straight. Garrow nods his approval. Valtorex charges with a yell and Rogard follows suit. They meet with a clash of steel. Valtorex jumps back as Rogard’s superior strength comes into play. Valtorex circles around him, always countering Rogard’s attacks. Rogard soon grows fatigued and Valtorex strikes. Rogard gets his axe up in time to block, but he is forced to stumble back. Rogard loses his grip on his axe with one hand and it falls to his side. Valtorex recovers quickly and drives forward. Rogard cannot bring his axe up in time and quickly finds himself with Valtorex’s swords crossed at his neck.

Garrow says, “Alright, I will give Rogard a seven, aiming down. Valtorex gets a nine, aiming up. Let us wait until the next round.” The next round arrives. Valtorex finds he has a dark elf judge and he is fighting Valinor. The dark elf introduces herself as Zilandra. She says, “I expect a good, bloody fight. Begin.” Valinor draws his greatsword, the acid flying off in small droplets. (I’m assuming he has some sort of special harness or something) Valtorex draws his swords. They bow to each other. Zilandra makes a mental note to dock a point from each of them for it. They charge each other and steel meets steel. (BTY, a decent song) They stand there for several minutes, slashing at each other. Sparks and acid fly. Back and forth, they slash and stab. Their blades clang and clatter as they fight for supremacy. Valinor brings his sword down on Valtorex, but Valtorex raises his crossed blades to stop it. The acid drops down onto his face, causes him to grunt. His concentration nearly wavers, but he goes on. He forces Valinor back and they keep up the fight. Zilandra watches this, hoping someone will slip up and die. Valtorex loses his footing and goes off balance. Valinor presses the advantage, and after some weak blocks, Valtorex ends up with Valinor’s blade against his throat. Valtorex nods and backs away.

Zilandra demands, “Another.” They bow, and once again Zilandra notes to dock their points. They rise and charge. Valtorex jumps this time, deciding to go all out. Valinor brings his blade up, but he miscalculates and the tip scrapes the ground, slowing it. (No, that isn’t it) He does manage to get it up, but Valtorex’s attack causes him to stagger back. Valinor rushes forward after recovering. Valtorex jumps to the side and ends up behind him. Valinor turns abruptly and swings. Valtorex ducks below the slashing adamantium blade. Once the blade has passed over him, he jumps up. Valinor has already brought his blade back and strikes Valtorex in the chest. Valtorex, however, has crossed his swords at Valinor’s neck.

Zilandra yells, “Again!” Valtorex and Valinor back up. They face each other and bow. Zilandra is very annoyed at this point. If she followed a god, she would pray that they die. They stand up and charge. They meet and they slam their blades against each other. Sparks, flares, little lightning arc, and acid are sent flying. Both of them stagger back from the blow. Valtorex is the first to recover and jumps to the side, rolling and coming up behind him. Valinor turns in time to block Valtorex’s attack. Valinor pushes forward, forcing Valtorex back. Valtorex quickly finds himself at the edge of the ring. Valtorex is forced to make a desperate attack, but fate is with him and his attack forces Valinor back. Valtorex presses the attack, eventually pinning Valinor at the edge of the ring. He keeps Valinor pinned, waiting for his move. It comes when Valinor swings and over-extends himself. With one kick, Valtorex sends Valinor falling out of the ring.

Valtorex sheathes his swords and reaches down to Valinor. He lifts Valinor up and helps him onto the ring. Zilandra comes over and says, “I give Valtorex a 2 going down and Valinor a 1, going down.” Valinor’s eyes widen a bit, but he says nothing. Valtorex does not have that good sense. He challenges, “Why the low scores?” Zilandra retorts, “You are now 1 going down. The low scores were for the pompous actions, the inferior combat, the failure to kill your foes, and that insubordinate attitude.” Valtorex clenches his fists, but just then, Tyberus comes along and says, “It’s time for the last round. It will be Valinor against Rogard for the first half, then Valtorex against Silvanos.”

The first round of finals begins and Valinor draws his sword as Rogard hefts his axe. They salute each other before charging. Rogard jumps as he swings the axe up from below him. Valinor brings his sword down. The blades smash into each other, piercing the air with a sharp clash. They keep fighting both determined to win. They fight and fight, both taking minor wounds, but neither stopping. It ends when Tyberus commands, “Stop! We will now decide.” The two warriors stop and bow to each other before backing away. Garrow starts. He says, “8 going up for Valinor, 7 going up for Rogard.” Zilandra inputs, “3 going down for Valinor and 2 going down for Rogard.” Tyberus says, “I think I’ll abide by Garrow’s decision on this one.” Zilandra huffs and says, “Fine, go ahead.” Tyberus turns on her and threatens, “Learn some respect, girl, or you’ll find yourself a scullery maid in a week.” Zilandra bows and apologizes.

The next fight is Valtorex against Silvanos. Tyberus warns, “Don’t make a mockery of this fight. If you use magic, I will not restrict Valtorex.” Silvanos snidely remarks, “In a straight out magic fight, I would win anyway.” Valtorex counters, “History does not support you on that.” Silvanos’s face goes red before he yells, “Let’s just start the match.” Valtorex replies, “Fine by me.” Tyberus says, “Very well. Begin when you are ready.” Silvanos and Valtorex face off. Valtorex bows, and Silvanos rushes him. Silvanos flashes across the ring and kicks him in the jaw as he rises. Valtorex is sent falling back. Silvanos whips out his blade and presses it against Valtorex’s chest. Valtorex draws his sword. Silvanos presses the tip of his blade into Valtorex, piercing the leather. Valtorex continues drawing his sword and bashes the point away. Silvanos stabs in and the momentum from Valtorex’s blade cuts a gash in Valtorex’s chest. Valtorex rolls and gets up. Silvanos protests, “I won! You can’t get back up!” Tyberus yells, “You cheated. He has every right to kill you, bastard!” Valtorex presses the attack, only holding his flaming sword. Silvanos is forced back, startled by Valtorex’s fury. Their blades flash and clash, Valtorex’s momentum driving Silvanos back. Valtorex finally jumps back and draws his other sword. Silvanos presses forward to try to strike at Valtorex, but he is quickly forced back. Valtorex presses the attack, driving Silvanos towards the edge. Valtorex brings his left blade down on Silvanos, but Silvanos blocks. With a word, a massive pulse of energy from his blade causes Valtorex’s sword to fly out of his grasp. Silvanos then brings his sword back around and slashes into the momentarily stunned Valtorex’s chest.

Valtorex staggers back, clutching his chest. Silvanos jumps forward, steel flashing through the air. Valtorex brings his sword up, just to have it knocked aside. Valtorex is forced back, his sword being knocked to the side again and again. Each time, he brings it up in time to stop Silvanos’s attack. He feels his strength fleeing through his fingers with his blood. Valtorex casts a spell that cauterizes the wound and stops the blood flow. He then focuses fully on blocking. Silvanos’s momentum and superior speed give him an edge over Valtorex, and soon, Valtorex has reached the edge of the ring. Silvanos backs up, and with his blade angled out horizontal the ground in his right hand, and his left in front of and above his head. He begins chanting the words to a curse that will rip Valtorex’s torso to pieces from the inside out. Valtorex looks to Tyberus, who gives a nearly imperceptible nod. Valtorex looks at Silvanos and his face takes on the resoluteness of one prepared to die to win. He brings his sword up and bashes aside Silvanos’s. He continues his mad drive and slashes at Silvanos’s chest. Silvanos jumps back with a barely visible charring of his black robes. Valtorex presses on, battering aside Silvanos’s futile blocks. Silvanos, now on the defensive, lets the words of the spell slip out of his mind as he focuses on staying alive. Silvanos does not notice it, but Valtorex is muttering the words of a lethal spell he recently learned. Silvanos, not expecting any attack they haven’t been taught in class, is greatly surprised when he feels his internal organs begin burning painfully. He faintly recalls the spell and how Rōdenthall taught him to counter it. He keeps blocking, every movement taking considerable effort, and dispels the spell. (It’s lethal because if Silvanos hadn’t dispelled it, his organs would have kept burning till they cooked themselves) Valtorex keeps up his attack, not letting Silvanos regain his footing. Unfortunately, Silvanos does regain his ground and, with a word, paralyzes Valtorex. He then casts various enchantments to ensure the spell holds, to nullify Valtorex’s spellcasting ability, heighten his senses, and sap his strength. Valtorex feels his sword grow heavy in his hand, and he lets it fall. He nearly falls himself, but he finds his body is held up by some invisible force.

Silvanos then begins walking around him, lashing out and making shallow cuts. He begins talking, his voice cold and cruel. He says, “Finally, I can teach you some respect.” He slices into Valtorex’s back. Valtorex does not give him the pleasure of a scream. Silvanos continues, “You know, I actually thought you would make a good mage.” Another slash follows. “But when I saw how you protect the girl, I realized you are just another pathetic fool.” Another slice. “When Rōdenthall ordered me to do everything I could to hurt you, I was overjoyed.” Slice. “When I got to think about it, I realized it would be fun to test my skills against one such as myself.” Slash. “After all, you are the golden boy of this year.” Slash. “Everything just falls into your lap.” Slash, slash. “I wasn’t so lucky. I’ve had to work so hard and sacrifice so much just to get where I am.” Slash. His face takes on a scowl and his voice becomes more of an angry growl. Zilandra is caught up in bloodlust while Tyberus is furious, but too proud to interfere, and Garrow is ready to kill Silvanos himself but wants to give Valtorex a chance. “You know, I had a girl like that.” Slash. “I loved her so much I would die for her.” Slash. “Then I was told to kill her or fail.” Slash. “Within a day, I presented her bleeding heart to Rōdenthall.” Slash. “Since you won’t be able to, I think I’ll do the same thing to your girl, or should I say girls?” Slash, slash. “I kind of like the human though. Perhaps I’ll offer to spare her life in exchange for some, shall we say, favors. What do you think about that?” Slash, slash, slash. “That bleeding heart Myrstaline, I’ll have my fun with, but then I’ll dispose of her.” Slash. “The human I’ll keep for awhile.” Slash. “Then maybe I’ll move on to the barbarian and the archer.” Slash. “I bet the archer will jump high when I stick him.” Slash. “The barbarian won’t be too much fun. I’ll have to bleed him quick.” Slash, slash. “Of course, I could always present Myrstaline to Demere.” Slash. “I bet she would love a new toy to practice on.” Valtorex feels his consciousness slipping away from the loss of blood, but instead of dimming with his mind, his anger burns hotter. He feels his concentration break for the first time in months, and an ancient being full of rage, hatred, and fire emerges. Silvanos keeps cutting and asks, “So, how is the human? Oh, no answer? Oh well, I guess I’ll find out tonight. You don’t mind, do you?”

Silvanos’s heart skips a few beats when Valtorex replies, his voice full of demonic rage and immortal fury, “I think you should run as far away as you can, you drasked bastard! I will enjoy destroying you and seeing your soul burn in the Abyss! Now, join me in my fire!” (The balrog is back) The spells chaining him are now broken as he roars out his fury. His eyes are blazing with fury and his wounds are bleeding fire. In his hands, longswords made of pure flame appear. Silvanos backs away, eyes wide in fear, heart racing. He casts spell after spell at the balrog controlled Valtorex, but they all strike him and dissipate with no effect. As Valtorex is about to reach him, Silvanos teleports away. Valtorex roars and tosses down his swords. He reaches out a hand. He reaches through time and space, his fury enough to force through the currents of magic. His hand curls around Silvanos’s ankle and rips him back into the Material Plane. Valtorex tosses Silvanos down and hears a satisfying snap as his bones break. Valtorex raises his hands and the two swords appear. They merge into one and he swings down. An outside hand reaches out and pulls Silvanos back into the currents of magic, teleporting him far, far away. Valtorex, enraged even more by his prey escaping, slams his sword into the ground time and time again. The stone cracks and shatters. He grows hotter and hotter until the stone below him begins melting. He roars as he begins sinking into the molten rock. With a final roar and downward swing, a massive blast centering around him is released. The blast vaporizes the stone, leaving a crater where he stood. Before the dust even settles, Garrow, Valinor, Zilandra, Rogard, and Tyberus run forward to see the damage.

What they see amazes them. They see Valtorex, his armor burnt away, lying in the center of the crater. He lifts his head, and asks, “What happened?” Zilandra, a killer at heart, doesn’t look away as he gets to his feet. Valtorex notes his nakedness and says, “Damn, I lost my weapons. Good thing I took my pack off.” They are astonished as a portal opens behind Valtorex and a chest falls out. Valtorex turns and sees the chest. He kneels down and opens it. Inside are: four daggers, a knife a staff, two crossbows, and two hundred bolts, all of which look as if they are made of living flame. There is also a sanguine robe, a black hardened leather suit, legs, arm guards, boots, and cuirass, and a plate body that appears to be made of the same living flame as the weapons. He says, “A gift from the balrog.” before putting on the leather armor, then the robe, then the plate body. He puts the weapons on to replace the old ones, although he notices the lack of his special knife and his swords. As he is moving, his foot hits something in the dust. He bends down and finds the Knife of The Ancestors, completely unscathed. He replaces it, the climbs out of the crater with Valinor’s help. He goes over and retrieves his swords. The judging begins.

Garrow says, “Straight up ten. Going up, of course.” Tyberus says, “I’ll go nine, going up, too.” Zilandra says, her voice wavering a bit, “I have to say three, going down. He barely did anything but bleed everywhere and destroy part of the ring.” Valtorex says, “You gave me low scores in the last match too. Either you are incredibly hard to please, or you have a vendetta against Valinor and I.” Zilandra counters, “I just hold you to a higher standard. Is that wrong?” Tyberus says, “If I recall, you gave Silvanos a 10, going up.” She then says, “That is my ruling and I stand by it.” Tyberus is about to speak when Valtorex says, “Very well. If you are just holding me to a higher standard, then I must assume it is the standard you hold yourself to.” Zilandra nods and says, “That is right.” Valtorex then continues, “Then I challenge you to prove it.” Garrow interjects, “Valtorex, you don’t know her! I can’t beat her half the time! What chance do you have?” Zilandra glares at Garrow and says, “The challenge has been made. We do not have enough time now, but at a time Sir Tyberus deems appropriate, we will fight to the death.” Tyberus sighs before saying, “Very well.” Class ends. Valtorex goes to the Glade and meets Arianna. She says, “Welcome, apprentice. Your midterm exam will consist of an oral test about the Draconic Empire, and a practical test against me. First question, ‘What is the Draconic Knighthood’s battle-cry?’” Valtorex answers, “Kai Zanaria, Kai Manäïen, Kai Kaeje.” Arianna nods. She then asks, “And what is its purpose?” Valtorex replies, “To protect and serve the Empire and its people from threats both internal and external.” She then asks, “And who does a Draconic Knight answer to?” Valtorex replies, “No one but his direct superiors and the gate keeper of the Abyss.” Arianna asks him several more questions before she seems satisfied.

“Now for the practical test. Your task is to land a blow. I noticed your new armor and weapons. I hope they are as good as they look.” Arianna summons a shaft of blood-red light. She spins it around in her hands. It moves through the air like it doesn’t even have weight. Valtorex draws his staff and attacks. She knocks him back without effort. The staff may move like it’s insubstantial, but it doesn’t feel like it. Valtorex attacks again and again, each time he is forced back without landing a single blow. After several hours, Arianna commands, “Stop. Your time is up.”  Valtorex drops his staff, feeling the despair that can only come with failure. Arianna notices this and says, “Don’t worry, you passed.” Valtorex, drenched in sweat from nearly four hours straight of combat after the combat from before, looks up, surprised. Arianna clarifies, “The point of the test wasn’t to hit me. It was to try until time ran out. If that was a battle, sure you wouldn’t have won, but you would have just taken the enemy commander out of the battle for hours. It was a test of loyalty and dedication, and it is my belief you have both in abundance. I am glad to say you will continue on in this course.” (If you fail the midterm, you’re kicked out of the course and have to retake it the following year) Valtorex leaves and goes to third.

Valtorex arrives at the Tower of the Arcane to find Rōdenthall waiting for him. He is holding Myrstaline, bound, up by the hair. He says, “Ah, good, you have arrived. Dethos and Zethos should be here shortly.” As he speaks, the brothers walk up. They see Myrstaline and laugh. Rōdenthall says, “Ok, the midterm is to sacrifice a mortal to summon a demon. Valtorex will go first. The sacrifice will be this elf. You must remove her heart and place it on the pedestal in the Summoning Room. You will then chant the words of a spell I will give you.” Rōdenthall speaks in the incoherent language of Archon and they teleport to the Summoning Room. Myrstaline is on her knees, her arms in chains connected to the floor. Rōdenthall hands Valtorex a knife and says, “Do the job or you will fail the class.” (Just so you know, I shouldn’t be pigeonholed to the lawful guys. Later, I will write a series about a Chaotic or Neutral Evil character named Kelgor Dairee) Valtorex takes the knife and Myrstaline’s eyes widen in fear. He walks up to Myrstaline and casts a spell. When Rōdenthall questions him, he says, “To silence her. She can scream pretty loud, and I don’t want to lose concentration” (Don’t worry, it’ll be okay) Valtorex then bends down. He whispers in her ear, “I cast Brittle on the chains. When the moment is right, break free and help me fight.” He then makes a show of placing the tip against her chest, the point above her heart. He presses in, eliciting a gasp from her. He presses in just enough to draw a tear before pulling it back. He stands and says, “I can not do it. Fail me if you must, but I can’t slay her.” Rōdenthall laughs before saying triumphantly, “I thought so! I knew you didn’t have the guts to do what was needed!” Rōdenthall then hands a knife to Dethos, who moves forward, ready to perform the grisly task. He is rewarded by Valtorex’s knife in his gut. Dethos stumbles back, his hands on the hilt. Zethos casts a killing spell at Valtorex, but Myrstaline breaks free and raises a shield. The spell dissipates, and just then, the Head Master walks in. He says, “Stop for a moment, if you will.” Even Rōdenthall freezes in mid-spell. The Head Master says, “I would like to speak to Valtorex. The midterms will be canceled for this class. I think all four of you are adequately skilled to pass. Well, except maybe you.” He looks at Dethos who is leaning against the wall, his face ashen. The Head Master continues, “Myrstaline, be a dear and save him.” (The Head Master is just everyone’s favorite uncle) (Except Dethos) Myrstaline rushes to help him. The Head Master then says, “Valtorex, come with me. Myrstaline, after you are done here, come to my office.” The Head Master and Valtorex leave.

They arrive at the Head Master’s office. The Head Master gestures Valtorex in. The Head Master sits behind a large, oaken desk and gestures to a seat across from his. Valtorex sits. The Head Master says, “I assume you know why you are here.” Valtorex, honestly liking this man, replies, “No, sir, I do not. I have done multiple things that would warrant a visit here.” The Head Master laughs and says, “Fair enough, fair enough. I was like that at one point too. The reason you are here, however, is your blatant disregard of the Office of the Head Mistress. According to the reports, you have attacked eight of her guards and killed six. Somehow, you managed to use five different weapons, one of which you are not proficient in. Now I know your friends were in on the raid, but by all accounts, you are claiming full responsibility. Very noble, but very stupid. Also, you have outright insulted and overtly threatened Head Mistress Demere on multiple occasions, including pelting her with frogs. Although incredibly humorous, not smart if you want to remain a student. Now obviously there is some conflict between you and my Head Mistress. Of course, her word overrules yours, so what are you going to do from here on out to prevent you from being expelled? Remember, if any official word reaches me of acts you commit against her, then I will be forced to take disciplinary action.” He ends with a wink. Valtorex takes the hint and says, “I will ensure that no word of my actions against her reaches you, sir. If possible, I will ensure that I am in no way linked to any offenses against the Head Mistress.” The Head Master (Not Head Mistress as Jeff put it) (My name ain’t Jaff, Ian. Ian jumps on my typo, then misspells my frickin’ name!) says, “Very good. Now, off the record, give her hell. I’ve seen her hurt too many good students over the years, but I can’t stop her. Maybe you can, but remember my warning.” Just then, there is a knocking on the door. The Head Master says, “Come in.” Myrstaline comes in and the Head Master says, “Good. Now about you and Myrstaline…” They spend the next few hours talking about what really happened. The Head Master promises, “I will ensure Rōdenthall can not do anything underhanded like he did today to try to eliminate you. You will still have to work harder than any other students, but at least you have a shot.” They leave and Valtorex goes to his fourth period.

He arrives to find Lord Kemos drawing circles on the ground. Valtorex stands a few feet behind him and watches as Lord Kemos draws four summoning rings. Lord Kemos stands up and turns around. He blinks twice, but that is all that shows of his surprise. He asks, “How long have you been standing there?” Valtorex replies, “Long enough to see you drew four portals to the…” He cranes his neck and reads the symbols before continuing, “the Abyss.” Lord Kemos says, “So you can read. At least Rōdenthall has managed that.” Valtorex smiles slightly. Lord Kemos begins laughing, then Valtorex joins him. Once they are finished, they realize Valen, Valrie, and Valinor are all staring at them. Lord Kemos regains control and says, “Good. You have all arrived. We can begin the midterm. In a few minutes, I will open up four portals to the Abyss. You are expected to charge in. You will each be sent to a different area. Your mission is to take the fort controlling the area or die trying.” Lord Kemos then begins speaking in Archon and the portals open. Valtorex takes the lead and charges into his portal with a yell. Valinor charges into his with a mighty roar. Valen springs through his. With a brief moment of hesitation, Valrie draws her rapier and runs through.

Valtorex arrives in the Abyss to find himself surrounded by demons. (Alright guys, this is the highpoint of the story for us. After this, it becomes a chick story with some isolated fights) Valtorex draws his swords and the demons just laugh at him. They pull their wicked demonic blades from their belts and rush him. Valtorex readies himself for the fight. They have almost reached him. Valtorex takes a large breath and then breathes out. The demons have reached him. He begins parrying and cutting. He sinks into the tranquil state of peace, hacking and slashing, blood spraying from the wounds his flashing steel creates. The fire turns the blood to poisonous vapors and the lightning does the same. He keeps fighting, the air hot from the flame of the Abyss and acrid from the blood and sweat. As the fight rages on, more demons join the mass surrounding him. He stabs and blocks, thrusts and parries, but for every sword he blocks, another is there. He realizes he has to do something to escape or he will die. He digs down in his well of rage and summons a ball of flame. He launches the Fireball and it tears through the ranks in front of him. A trail of toxic vapor and charred limbs is left in its wake. Valtorex rushes the gap, rending the bodies of any who get in his way. The noxious gas creeps into his lungs, making him nauseous. His breathing becomes labored, but he presses on, killing and killing left and right. As he runs out of breath, he runs all the faster. His thoughts consist of “Kaeje ona Morte” and his actions consist of running and slashing. In moments, the breach has closed before him and he launches another Fireball. It rips through the ranks, but makes the air more toxic. Valtorex keeps running, mercilessly executing the foes jumping at him from both sides. His vision begins to fade and his feet become heavy. Then, he sees the end of his run. He reaches the gates of the fort to find them barred. With a sigh of resignation, he turns and raises his swords in a salute. He yells to the heavens, infinitely far away, “Kai Zanaria! Kai Manäïen! Kai Kaeje!” The demons press in, eager for a fight. Valtorex is more than happy to oblige. He cuts and stabs, slashes and hacks, his swords wet with blood, his back to the gate. Then, Valtorex falls back as the gates open.

Valtorex springs to his feet and turns to face a contingent of demonic guards. With a yell, he charges them, and begins cutting them down without mercy. The demons try to fight back, but Valtorex, so close to his goal, tears through the ranks and reaches the door to the citadel. He kicks the door to find it unlocked. He rushes in, followed by a large group of demons. He finds stairs and runs up to the next floor. He stops at the top of the stairs and remembers back to the burning stairs at his family’s manor the night it was burnt down. He decides this will make a fitting tribute as the first of the demons rush up. Valtorex casts Exploding Fireball, and a ball of fire similar to the two previous ones is launched forth. A knot of demons has already formed at the foot of the stairs. The fireball tears through the line of demons running up to meet him and smashes into the ground at the bottom of the stairs. The fireball explodes with a fierce blast, immolating the group of pursuing demons. He turns as a noxious wave attacks his nostrils and runs down the hall. Floor by floor, he fights his way through the fortress. Finally, he reaches the throne room. (To Ian, thrown room) (Grrr…) He kicks in the door after slicing through the throats of two demons that had been chasing him. As soon as the door is down, a contingent of demons runs up the hallway to meet him. He runs into the room and slays four door guards. (Guess they weren’t too good at their jobs, huh?) When he looks at the throne, he freezes. (Guess who) On the throne sits Kaedros, a bored look on his face. He looks at Valtorex and says, “King of a plane of the Abyss isn’t as fun as you would think. I already miss the kill. I think I’ll launch a little excursion soon, as soon as I’m done with you.” Kaedros stands and draws the swords at his sides. They are pure black and seemingly made of shadow. Valtorex feels an unholy wrongness emanating from the swords that he can’t quite describe. (Coincidentally, neither can I) Kaedros raises the swords in a mock salute and says, “I would like to introduce you to my two dear friends, Despair and Torment. I guess you could say they’re like daughters to me, except for they…Actually, I’ll show you.” Kaedros tosses the blades into the air.

They stop before hitting the ground and right themselves, blades facing down. Vague figures appear, centered on the swords. The figures become more definite and take on a rough humanoid shape. In moments, there are two beautiful dark haired women standing there, the only trace of the swords a dark jewel embedded into their chest on the collar bone. Valtorex feels his guard slip as he stares at the women. They both begin talking simultaneously. They say, “Greetings. You must be a guest of the master. We will be happy to serve you in any way.” Valtorex curses under his breath before asking out loud, “Succubae? Really? You actually think that will work?” Kaedros laughs evilly before saying, “Of course it will! I have all of your memories. I know your weakness for demons of the feminine persuasion. As I recall, you’ve only been captured twice, once by a vampiress and once by a succubus. Face it, you love the bad girls.” Valtorex curses again before saying, “Alright, I guess you know enough about me to set this trap. So what is your plan?” Kaedros snorts in derision before replying, “Do you really think I’m falling for that? You get me to start talking and while I’m distracted by bragging about my success, you figure something out and kill me. Well, like I said, I know your memories, so I won’t fall for your traps like that. That little ego trick you do may work every time, but it won’t work now-“ Valtorex cuts him off by dropping his swords, drawing his crossbows, firing the loaded bolts, replacing his crossbows, and picking his swords up again. The bolts fly forth and strike the succubae in the chest, piercing their dark twisted hearts. Valtorex says, “It just did.” Despair and Torment scream in pain and fall to their knees before slumping to the ground. They begin writhing on the floor, still shrieking and crying. Valtorex feels a sense of unease. Kaedros doesn’t seem too upset by the fate of his succubae, which adds to Valtorex’s unease. After a few moments, Kaedros says, “Alright girls, you can stop acting. Get back up.” Torment and Despair get to their feet and bow to Kaedros. Kaedros says, “Well Valtorex, it appears I have beaten you.” When Valtorex responds by hurling a dagger at him, Kaedros laughs. He raises his hand to destroy it, but to his surprise it continues spinning, unhindered. It strikes Kaedros in the chest and he feels an unholy rage strike at him. Kaedros sinks to his knees and Torment and Despair scream in fury. They both rush Valtorex, intent on ripping out his heart for his attack on their master. Valtorex readies himself, his swords up. Right before they reach him, he hears Kaedros laugh. Kaedros commands, “Girls, stop. I’m ok. Our guest just seems to be in a bad mood today. Maybe I’ll play catch with him and see if that helps.

Valtorex looks at Kaedros and sees him standing, unharmed. He is holding the dagger. Kaedros hurls the dagger at Valtorex. The dagger flies far faster than when Valtorex threw it and reaches him in less than a second. To the surprise of everyone in the room, it stops a foot away from him and floats slowly back to its harness on his thigh. Kaedros quickly recovers from his shock and says, “Fine. I guess this won’t be any fun at all. Girls, kill him, slowly.” Torment and Despair smile wickedly as they advance on Valtorex. Valtorex says, “I may not be able to kill you, but I can make it hurt like, well, your home. How many times do you think you can regrow your limbs? How about organs?” Torment says, “You look tasty. I think I’ll eat you when I’m done ripping you apart!” Despair says, “I call the heart!” They then leap at him, expecting him to jump back in surprise. Instead, he decapitates them with one fluid motion. The headless bodies fall to the ground at his feet; the heads wind up a few feet behind him. The jewels on their chests flash and the heads disappear and reappear on the body. Kaedros says, “You can’t kill them. By the way, that offer I made last time is still open. You can join me in conquering the Material Plane. I’ll even have my demons find you a pair like them. All you have to do is kneel before me.” (Alright, I know this is so predictable, but then again, with me, he could take the offer) Valtorex replies, “I would rather burn in the Abyss for all eternity than serve you for a second.” Kaedros shakes his head, appearing to be truly disappointed. He says, “I guess I expected that, but I still can’t help being disappointed. Alright, if that’s how you want to play, guards, kill him!”

Seemingly out of nowhere come hundreds of demons. They encircle him and begin attacking. Valtorex begins fighting and killing, his only thought to reach Kaedros. He presses forward, the demons falling to his blades in a massive frenzy of death. The bodies press so close that the demons sometimes kill their own with their wild swings. Valtorex takes hit after hit, the blood running from his wounds, but he presses on. He keeps killing, leaving a trail of demon corpses behind him. Finally, he reaches Kaedros. Valtorex faces Kaedros and says, over the roar of the bloodthirsty demons, “I may die this day, but you will die in the end. Whether by my hand or not, you will die. So I can be content with this.” Valtorex then plunges his swords into Kaedros, shoving the blades up to the hilt. Valtorex and Kaedros make eye contact. They stare into each other’s dimming eyes until Kaedros falls from the blades in his heart and lungs and Valtorex falls from his multiple wounds. As Valtorex’s vision fades into black, he thinks, “I hope all of the Abyss is like this.” (Valtorex’s dream vacation: a week on the beach with his friends and an army of enemies)

Valtorex wakes up in the infirmary, severely wounded. The Nurse (I’m just surprised that he and the Nurse aren’t on a first name basis yet!) (Who says she has a name? She could be Nursey the Nurse. She could also be Nurse Joy, although only parents in Pokémon are that cruelJ) is standing above him, casting healing spells to try to sustain his life. After several moments, the Nurse steps back and says, “I’ve done all I can. The wounds were pretty bad. I don’t know if he’ll make it.” Valtorex says, his voice more of a groan than anything else, “I wouldn’t give Demere the satisfaction. Anyway, I’m too hard to kill for some demons to get me.” The Nurse runs over to him and says, “This time, I want you to follow my instructions! I will not let you die because you’re an idiot!” Valtorex responds to her by sitting up with a moan and saying, “And let you have a day without being constantly busy with casualties of my day? Never!” (Students like Valtorex are why the Nurse has a job) The Nurse casts Paralyze on him and he falls back in his bed. He manages to articulate, “Not fair.” Valtorex then goes about breaking the spell, but finds that the Nurse is one of the most powerful magic users he has come across. (Rōdenthall is even afraid of her) There is a knocking on the door of the infirmary. The Nurse goes to the door and opens it. The Nurse gasps and says, “Come in, dear, come in! Lie down and I’ll heal you right away!” From outside, a female voice, weighted by pain and worry, replies, “I’m fine. I’m here to see a patient.” Valtorex feels the spell break and he jumps out of bed, undoing a lot of the Nurse’s work. He staggers over to the door and whispers, “Valrie.” before stumbling. Valrie pushes past the Nurse and goes to Valtorex. The Nurse yells, “What is wrong with this year! I’m going to have to hire an assistant just to keep up with all of you suicidal fools!” She then casts a quick spell to heal the large gash on Valrie’s back. She then shoves Valrie out of the way and begins healing Valtorex. She says, “I wish I could either cure blood loss or idiot. These fools always have both!” Valtorex groans and says, “Help Valrie. I’m fine.” The Nurse says, “No you’re not. You have massive internal bleeding I haven’t fixed yet and you’ve still lost so much blood I’m amazed you’re not dead.” Valtorex says, “I’ll always have blood to spill. Valrie needs help.” The Nurse looks over and sees he’s right. The gash on Valrie’s back was just the most noticeable wound. She is covered in cuts, bruises, and bloody tears. The Nurse runs over and begins healing her. While she is absorbed with this, Valtorex gets up and hobbles over to his armor and weapons. He puts them on and goes over to Valrie. By now the Nurse is done healing her and she looks up to see Valtorex, ashen faced, standing above her. Valrie has lost consciousness and the Nurse decides to keep her over night.

The Nurse says, “You should stay here too. You’re half dead and going to Demere won’t help.” Valtorex replies, “She won’t care that I’m injured. She’ll just come here and get me, and I don’t want to draw attention to Valrie. Just make sure she recovers. Thank you for healing us.” Valtorex then leaves and goes back to the Hall of Trials. He finds Lord Kemos cleaning up the remains of the Abyssal Portals. Lord Kemos looks up at him and says, “You should be dead. Keep it up and you will be. Go back to the infirmary; I’ll tell Demere that I sent you on some special task that is likely to get you killed. That should satisfy her and allow you some rest.” Valtorex says, “No, but thank you. I just wanted to know if I passed.” Lord Kemos chuckles to himself before saying, “Of course you did. All of you did. The test is running into certain death at the hands of demons. The fact that you succeeded only gets you extra points.” Valtorex is shocked. He asks, “Succeeded?” Lord Kemos responds, “Oh, yes, you didn’t know. You didn’t technically capture the fortress, but you did destroy that plane of the Abyss. Good job.” (Kaedros actually destroyed it himself, but they don’t need to know that)

Valtorex thanks him and goes to the Glade to relax for a while. He completely forgets about Myrstaline until he arrives to see her waiting on the log. (Once again, I could be more vague. (No! I will not say vaguer!) I could say she sits on something with cell walls) (I’m glad you didn’t say vaguer) She stands up when he walks in and says, “Late? Not a good way to start off your midterm.” She begins laughing at her joke, but she immediately stops when she sees the pain in Valtorex’s eyes and the pallor of his face. She runs over to him and asks, “What happened?” Valtorex replies by saying, “Let’s sit down. I’ll tell you then.” They sit down on the log. (Yes, “the”, an article used to say there is only one of the following object. But, they could be in a lumberyard and I’m just using “the” incorrectly to mess with you. The worst part is, none of you will ever knowJ) (What’s even more worse is that even if they were in a lumberyard, you could still say the, and you complaining about your vagueness is getting annoying!) (I’m not complaining, I’m tormenting. You know the saying, every time an Ian is annoyed, an angel gets its wings. BTY, it’s not more worse, it’s worse. I’d almost rather you say worser) Valtorex tells her what happened. At the end, Myrstaline says, “That’s horrible! You can’t go to Demere tonight!” Valtorex says, “I still will. I won’t let her have the pleasure of me hiding from her. Ever.” Myrstaline tries to talk him out of it, but in the end, she gives up.

Without Valrie coming to talk to him, Valtorex becomes pretty bored. He does something he hasn’t done in a awhile. He actually begins thinking about his life. He thinks of all of the things he’s missed that normal people experience and all of the things he’s experienced that normal people can’t imagine. He thinks about the fact he’s been to the Abyss more times in his short life than most people in their entire lives, including their afterlife. He thinks about his friends and how he has a balrog’s spirit living inside him that could cause him to hurt them at any time. He comes to the conclusion that he must master himself before he loses control completely. He spends the rest of the night meditating, trying to find himself out. Then, it is Darkwatch and he goes to face Demere, his newfound knowledge of himself bolstering him against the onslaught about to come.

He is tortured all night by Demere, but as always, he refuses to give up. The year continues on as before, he and Valinor training and competing to be the best warrior, Arianna teaching him how to fight and how to do so with honor, Rōdenthall coming up with insane tests to try to eliminate him and Myrstaline, and Lord Kemos pushing him and his cabinmates to their limits on a daily basis. As the year goes on, he finds those limits seem further and further away. He and Valrie continue their romance, (Ah! My eyes! It burns!) becoming closer every day. Valtorex and Myrstaline work together on meditation and magic, Valtorex becoming better at the former while Myrstaline becomes better at the latter. Valen, Valinor, Valrie, and Valtorex continue their nightly study sessions, all of them staying at the top of their classes. The year progresses quickly, (It’s about a paragraph long) and Finals approach far too quickly for the students’ likings. With a month to go, Demere doubles her efforts to break Valtorex, devising ever more cruel ways of torment. Valtorex continues trying to find control over himself. Every night, the cabinmates duel to prepare themselves. Finally, it is the day before Finals.

Valtorex and Myrstaline are sitting in the Glade, going through spellbooks to prepare for Rōdenthall’s test. Myrstaline breaks the silence that had built up by asking, “How do you counter Assassin’s Lightning again?” (Basically a Lightning Bolt spell that follows the target) Valtorex looks up from his book about killing spells and replies, “Two ways. One, you can bring up a lightning shield bent at an angle to deflect it away from you, or two, you can toss an enchanted steel ball with a piece of your hair tied around it to change the bolt’s target. Here, I have a spare.” He tosses her a small steel ball. (I would say pinball, but that would require pinball machines, and that creates a whole ‘nother mess) She catches the ball. She cringes a bit and plucks a hair from her head. She ties it around the ball, the long, gold thread barely visible against the silvery metal. (I couldn’t remember if I told you guys she’s blonde or not. Just making sure) They go back to studying, occasionally asking each other questions or practicing particularly difficult spells. At about five hours till Darkwatch, Valen, Valinor, and Valrie arrive.

Myrstaline gets up to go, but Valtorex invites her to stay and train. He says, “I’ve been needing someone to practice magic on.” He quickly corrects himself when he notices her look of fear. He says, “I meant to say with! Practice magic with.” Myrstaline, not reassured in the slightest, goes into her casting stance. For the next four hours they practice. The five of them wish each other luck on the Finals before splitting off. Valrie and Valtorex stay behind. Valrie and Valtorex talk for a while, just passing the time. After about thirty minutes, they begin to talk seriously about their future. Valrie says, “I’m just worried that over the summer you’ll stop liking me.” Valtorex replies, “That won’t happen. I can’t stop liking you; that would require me to like you now.” He says this with a smile, but Valrie still hits him. Valtorex says, “Ok, I’ll be serious.” He pauses for a few moments before going on. “Valrie, I won’t say you’re the first girl I’ve had a relationship with, but until proven otherwise, I can say you are the first girl I’ve had a relationship with that didn’t try to steal either my blood or soul. I’m not going to risk that. You don’t need to worry about me forgetting you. It will only be a few months and I’ll be doing mercenary work the entire time. I just need to be worried about you. By the way, what are you doing this summer?” Valrie replies, “I don’t know. I can’t get in touch with my mother, but I don’t want to hang around here. Maybe I’ll go with you.” She says that last sentence as more of an offer than a statement. Valtorex resolutely says, “No. You won’t. If you go with me, it will just put both of us in danger. I’ll worry about you and get myself killed and you’ll do the same. It’s best if you stay out of my career. It’s the type of job that doesn’t allow for any of the positive emotions like happiness and caring, and with, you, I feel nothing but.” They talk some more, Valrie deciding she’ll figure it out as she goes. At Darkwatch they stand up and embrace each other. Valtorex whispers, “Good luck.” before he kisses her. They kiss for several moments, still holding each other. When they break off, Valrie says, “You too.” (What no ‘Ow my eyes’ or something?) (Sorry, I forgot. Apparently I’ve desensitized myself thoroughly)

They part ways and Valtorex goes to Demere’s office. He arrives to find Demere waiting, her various instruments of torture on her desk. Demere says, “You’re late again. I think I may have to give that little tramp you spend your time with a few detentions.” Valtorex feels his ire rise and says, “First off, leave Valrie alone. Secondly, I only have two more days left before break, so I really can say, ‘screw the consequences’ because you truthfully cannot do a thing to stop me at this point. So, I would just like to inform you that I won’t be here tomorrow night. I will be celebrating with my friends. Also, you won’t be trying to break me tonight. I’m going to rest for Finals. I hope you don’t have any problems with this, but if you do, I don’t give a damn. Goodbye.” Valtorex turns and begins walking out the door. Demere yells, “Stop! You may only have two days left, but I can still tell you what to do for those two days! Now, stop or I will ensure that you and your friends fail!” Valtorex turns and says, his voice full of newfound authority and command, “Leave my friends and I alone or I will break you.” Demere freezes momentarily, terrified that he’s telling the truth and has the power to do it. She then musters all of the pompous arrogance she can muster and says, “You can’t tell me what to do! For that, you will have detention every day next year too! Now, I’m going to teach you why you don’t cross me!” Demere then summons the magic bonds she uses to hold him in place. With a word, Valtorex escapes the bonds. With another, she is bound. With a third, she is silenced. With a fourth, her memory of the last few hours is wiped. Valtorex leaves and goes to his cabin. He sleeps in his bunk for the first time in months.

The next morning, they wake up. Valinor and Valtorex go to Tyberus’s class, ready for the toughest fight of the year. They arrive to find Rogard and Silvanos already there. (No, Silvanos did not fall off the face of the earth after his fight with Valtorex) Tyberus says, “Today is the most important day of the year. The Final will be staying in the ring with me for an hour. Your fellow students will judge.” Silvanos goes up first. He fights Tyberus, but after several minutes, he is forced out of the ring. Rogard gives him a two, going down. Valinor gives him a three going down. Valtorex, to the amazement of all, give him a five, going up. Next up is Rogard. Rogard lasts a full forty-five minutes before he has to quit due to injuries. Silvanos give him a one going down, but Valinor and Valtorex each give him a nine going up. Next is Valinor. Valinor fights valiantly and actually lasts the entire hour. Rogard gives him a nine going up. Silvanos gives him a one going down, and Valtorex gives him a flat out ten going up. Finally comes Valtorex. Valtorex goes up to Tyberus and bows. Tyberus salutes him and Valtorex rises. (Yay for the fighting! No more romance for now. Yay!)

The fight begins and Tyberus rushes Valtorex with his greatsword. Valtorex, his speed having greatly improved, blocks the attack, and due to his increased strength, does so with one sword. The other sword he uses to scratch Tyberus’s armor. They go back and forth for about ten minutes, exchanging blows. Valtorex keeps up his blocking, but as he slowly becomes fatigued, he has to reduce his amount of attacks. Tyberus shows no signs of fatigue and twenty minutes in is still going strong. As the halfway point passes, Valtorex is losing ground, but he is determined to last the entire time. He keeps falling back, reaching the edge of the ring, and driving forward with a burst of strength. With ten minutes left, he knows he has no bursts left to use. He holds his ground, resolving to win or die trying. (Kaeje ona Morte. Don’t ya love it?J) He blocks and blocks, but it seems like Tyberus’s blade is everywhere at once. When Valtorex blocks low, the next second it’s coming in high. When he blocks to the left, it’s swinging in from the right in moments. Valtorex feels his strength failing and knows he won’t last more than a minute more. He decides to try a desperate strategy and hopes it buys him enough time. He lets the greatsword hit his cuirass and charges Tyberus. He swings his swords from opposite sides, forcing Tyberus to take a hit. His sword (HE SWORD!!!!!? Sometimes I wonder if you do this on purpose) (Maybe I do. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t have a job)  just scratches his armor, but Tyberus still acknowledges the hit. He then realizes Valtorex left his lower body open and goes for a cripple strike. The blade hits Valtorex’s leg, but instead of cutting in like Tyberus would expect, the blade stops. He then remembers the leather legs Valtorex wears. Valtorex takes advantage of this and swings both swords, hitting Tyberus in the shoulders. They back away and circle each other, waiting to strike. They then rush each other simultaneously.

Their swords clash, the song of steel ringing through the area. They slash and hack at each other, Tyberus drawing into his reserves of energy at last, Valtorex amazed he’s still on his feet. Tyberus keeps fighting, but every time their weapons strike, Valtorex feels a martial call to arms. He feels the peace of war overtake him and his heart slows, his breathing becomes more regular, and he begins noticing opportunities he would otherwise miss. Tyberus notices this and works all the harder to beat him. Valtorex is silently thankful he has spent so much time getting to know himself. He can now feel every fiber of his being heeding the call to war, every muscle and bone yearning for victory as much as he does. He feels a rush of energy he never has known before and his swords become a blur. Hit after hit, the scratches on Tyberus’s armor increase. Valtorex digs deeper and deeper, desiring to bring more of himself into the fray. As he digs deeper, more and more his body and mind devote themselves to victory. Then, he reaches a bastion of strength and energy at the center of his being. He enters the stronghold, and on a throne sits the balrog he shares his body with. He asks the balrog to join, but the balrog just laughs at him. This refusal destroys his momentum and Tyberus gets a blow in. Valtorex’s concentration snaps and he loses that state of peace. Tyberus places his blade to Valtorex’s throat and says, “Good job, boy.” Valtorex thanks him. Valinor gives him a ten going up, as does Rogard. Valtorex then finds out he spent an hour and forty-five minutes in the ring with Tyberus. When it is Silvanos’s time to announce his decision, he says, “Zero, going down.” Tyberus strides forward and punches him in the gut, causing him to fall to the ground, doubled over. Tyberus then says, “All of Silvanos’s judgments will be removed and replaced with the average of the other two judges for the round. You all pass with flying colors, except for him.” He kicks Silvanos, causing him to moan piteously. None of them pity him in the slightest. Tyberus then says, “I look forward to seeing the three of you next year. Try not to get killed before then.” The three students still able to walk leave and go to their next Final. Valtorex arrives at the Glade to find Arianna waiting. She sees that Valtorex is greatly fatigued and decides to change up the Final a bit.

Arianna says, “Apprentice, today is a great day for you. Today we will find out if you are truly worthy of being a Knight of Draconia. Although I have little doubt in my mind that you are more than capable of completing your duties, the Council of Lords requires all squires to be tested like this. You will be tested on five points essential to any knight. Just make yourself comfortable and we may begin.” Valtorex sits down and goes into his meditative pose. Arianna begins whispering words of magic and Valtorex feels his consciousness slip away. He falls into a deep slumber.

He wakes up on a beach, his armor replaced by a tunic and breeches and his weapons replaced by a small knife. He gets to his feet and a flash of light a few feet in front of him nearly blinds him. When he opens his eyes, he sees Arianna standing there in spectral from. She says, “Apprentice, the spell I cast put you in a dreamworld of sorts. You will be given minimal resources and put to five tests. You will not know when or what the tests are and may pass or fail them without even knowing of their existence. You are expected to conduct yourself in a knightly manor at all times. Good luck.” Arianna fades out of existence. Moments later, Valtorex hears the scream of a panicked woman. Valtorex runs down the beach in the direction of the cry and sees a beautiful woman accosted by two bandits. One of the bandits notices him and says, “A visitor? We’re about to get to know this wench a bit better. Wanta’ join in? There’s more ‘n enough a her to go ‘round.” The other bandit continues terrorizing her. Valtorex sees a look of sheer panic in her eyes as she realizes what the bandits intend to do. Valtorex says, “No. It is wrong for a man to take advantage of a woman. We’re supposed to protect women, not terrorize them. You curs have obviously failed in your duty to her, so I will protect her from you. Prepare to defend yourselves!” Valtorex then pulls his knife from his belt and charges them. The bandits laugh at him. The bandit that was talking draws his sword and runs at Valtorex. The other bandit keeps tormenting the woman. Valtorex reaches the first bandit, who swings his sword wildly, not expecting his opponent to be skilled. Valtorex easily dodges the swing and just as easily rams his knife to the handle into the bandit’s chest, just below the ribcage. The bandit sighs as the life is forced from his body. He drops the sword and Valtorex lets him drop. Valtorex bends down and picks up the sword. The other bandit sees this and realizes that Valtorex is much more dangerous than they originally thought. He pulls out the rapier he had at his side and advances slowly. Valtorex can tell this one is more skilled. He pulls his knife free of the dead bandit and stands ready with the longsword in his right hand, the knife in his left. The bandit suddenly rushes him and Valtorex has to exert some effort to block all of his attacks. Valtorex uses the longsword to block and locks their swords together. He then makes one motion with his left hand and a long, cruel gash is cut along the bandit’s stomach. The bandit stumbles back, his hand over his gut, the crimson liquid that is his life flowing unabated from the wound. Valtorex then decapitates him. He takes the sheathes from the bandits and takes the rapier. Valtorex puts on the sheathes, the longsword at his left hip, the rapier at his right. The lady says, “Thank you sir! I was afraid they would…” She shudders in revulsion. She continues, “You have my undying gratitude. I take it you are a knight.” Valtorex replies, “I am a knight in training.” The lady says, “Well then, squire…” Valtorex supplies, “Valtorex.” She continues, “What an odd name. Oh well. As I was saying, Squire Valtorex, I would like to thank you for your chivalrous treatment of me by asking you to escort me to my father’s castle. I am Princess Isamir.” (Don’t worry, Valrie has nothing to worry about, or at least not from her. Ian, it’s a secret, so don’t tell anyone) (Kay)

Isamir leads Valtorex to a nearby city. He escorts her through the streets to a massive castle. On the way, Valtorex sees at least five beggars or pickpockets killed on the spot by guards. At Princess Isamir’s insistence, Valtorex continues on, deciding to follow the laws of the land. They arrive at the palace. They enter and are greeted by a group of guards that immediately draw their swords and hold them threateningly towards Valtorex. Isamir says, “It’s alright. He saved me from bandits. He’s a squire.” The last sentence is what gets the guards to lower their weapons, but some still glare at him suspiciously. Moments later, a tall, strong man strides into the room, a greatsword at his side. He sees Valtorex and says, “Why is this rabble here, dear?” Isamir replies, “Father, he is a squire that delivered me from the hands of bandits.” The king seems to look at Valtorex in a new light, a calculating one. He seems to measure Valtorex up before saying, “Well, then, I welcome you to stay at my palace as a guest.” Valtorex replies, “Thank you, Lord…” The king supplies, “Derok, and you are?” Valtorex responds, “I am Valtorex. I thank you for your generous offer, Lord Derok.” Derok says, “I can tell by your accent you aren’t from around here. Feel free to look around my capital, although I suggest you stay away from the Southside and the Docks. The rabble there has gotten a bit uppity. Be back at dusk for dinner. Oh here, take this. It will keep the guards from arresting you.” Derok hands Valtorex a pendant on a steel chain. Valtorex thanks him and leaves.

Valtorex roams the streets, remembering Derok’s warning about the Southside and Docks. Inevitably, he ends up walking the back alleys of the Southside. He runs into a guard patrolling the area who has captured a young girl. The girl is on her knees pleading with the guard. The guard backhands her and the girl falls over. The guard kicks her and she curls into the fetal position and begins sobbing. Valtorex yells, “Hold! What offense has she committed?” The guard replies, “None of your business. Move on or-“ He then sees the pendant on Valtorex’s neck and says, “Pardon me milord. I didn’t know you were a knight. Your commoner’s clothing through me off.” Valtorex replies, “It is an understandable mistake. I can not wear clothing more befitting of my rank here because of the increased criminal activity.” The guard nods in understanding. Valtorex then asks, “So what was her crime?” The guard replies, “Begging milord. She was caught asking for bread for her family. She then tried to convince me to reduce her punishment to just fifty lashes.” (This town has a strict no beggar policy) Valtorex asks, “I’m not from this region, what is the current punishment for begging?” The guard responds, “Death of course. We have ‘em tied up in the square and whipped till they die. Very amusing and exactly where this ‘un is headed.” (Very strict) The girl is back on her knees and she realizes her best hope is Valtorex. She pleads, “Please milord, spare me! My brothers are starving and my father is crippled! I had to beg or my family would die! Please milord, reduce the punishment! I’ll do anything!” Valtorex can tell her pleas and tears are genuine. Valtorex says, “Very well. I will reduce your punishment.” The guard swears. Valtorex continues, “Your punishment will be thus. You will serve as my servant and will be paid a modest wage. You will not be whipped, unless I catch you doing anything dishonorable, then I will let him execute you. Remember, you will be expected to live by the code of a knight as long as you serve me. It is either that or the fifty lashes you asked for.” The girl sees her chance to save her family and bows her head. She says, “Yes, milord, I will be your servant.” Valtorex says, “Good, now rise. What is your name?” The girl says, “My name is Julie, milord.”

Valtorex says, “Very well then, Julie, go to your house and wait. I must speak to the king first, but then I will come and get you. Where do you live?” Julie tells him and leaves after bowing. The guard says, “Well if that don’t beat all. A knight taking pity on a beggar. That is a crime against the kingdom, you know. I have ta arrest you now.” Valtorex counters, “You think I’m taking pity on her? She will never beg again or she will be executed for dishonorable behavior and I’ll drive her like a slave master. If she survives, then I guarantee she’ll be the best servant in the kingdom.” The guard says, “I still have to arrest you. I’m sorry milord, but you committed treason.” The guard moves forward, confident that Valtorex will surrender. Valtorex says, “No, I won’t. Truth is, I’m not a knight. I’m just a squire. I’m not even a squire of this kingdom. I belong to the Draconic Empire. Now, you will back down or face the consequences.” The guard yells, “So a traitor and a spy! I will kill you on the spot!” The guard jumps forward, his sword out. In one quick motion, Valtorex blocks him with the longsword and slices him open with the rapier. Valtorex searches the guard and finds he had fifty gold pieces on him. He takes the gold and the guard’s shortsword. Valtorex equips the short sword to the back of his belt and leaves the alley, ensuring the scene looks like a random mugging.

Valtorex goes to the palace and meets the king at the banquet hall. He asks if he can take on a servant. The king, after finding out Valtorex will pay for it himself, agrees. Valtorex then asks him standard wage for a worker and is surprised to find it is one copper per day of work. Valtorex goes to a grocer and finds out a loaf of bread is also one copper. Valtorex goes to the girl’s house in the Docks. As he is (Please tell me you put “is” here on purpose.) (I did. I accidentally put we instead of he, so the verb was correct the noun wasn’t. Fixed now) walking through the neighborhood, he notices many people staring at him from the shadows. He is astonished by the level of neglect and poverty here that makes the worst parts of the Draconic Empire look like paradise. He reaches the girl’s house and knocks on the door. Julie answers the door and she bows to him before inviting him in. She leads him into the main room of the three-room hovel. (Word wants me to change hovel to hotel. I can barely write I’m laughing so hardJ) In the room is a rickety wooden table. At the table is a middle-aged, haggard looking woman, a worn, tired looking man whose leg is gone below the knee and is missing an arm, and three children, all of them look to be about the same age. The man looks up and says, “You must be my daughter’s employer. I thank you for helping our family like this. I also want to thank you for sparing her from Captain Bakarus. May I speak to you alone?” Valtorex replies, “Yes, of course, sir.” The woman and three boys leave and go into the other room, as does Julie. The man says, “I want to thank you for saving her. I’m sorry she was forced to beg. Since my injuries, I have been unable to support my family. I can’t thank you with anything other than this advice. Get out while you can. Retire as early as you can and find a safe job. I was a knight too. That’s how this happened. After my injury leading a battalion against a besieged city, I was kicked out of the knighthood without pay. There is no where I can work and my three boys are too young to get jobs.”

 Valtorex asks, “So you have no pension from the knighthood?” The man laughs bitterly before saying, “Pension? The pension is a joke! The only way you can get it is by serving till you can retire at fifty. Ever since Derok took over, the kingdom’s gone down the gutter fast!” He then realizes what he said and pleads, “Please sir! Forgive me! I’m just an old soldier full of bitterness! Please don’t punish my daughter!” Valtorex quickly assures him, “Sir, I have no intention of punishing any of you. I think not providing a pension for injured soldiers is abominable. You have no need to worry, but I do need to get to the palace soon. Now, we need to work out your daughter’s work schedule…” They eventually decide that Julie will stay with Valtorex every day, but will get holidays and prearranged dates off. Julie comes back into the room and so do her brothers and mother. The mother goes to the cupboard to get some food for dinner, but Valtorex sees it is empty. Valtorex says, “Julie, gather the belongings you will need and make ready to leave. I will be back in twenty minutes with your pay for tomorrow. He looks at her mother and asks, “Would you like me to pay in bread?” The mother says, “Yes, please, sir. That would be wonderful.” Valtorex can tell by her accent that she is fallen nobility, robbed of her status by poverty. This corroborates the father’s story and angers Valtorex even more. Valtorex nods to them and leaves the house, going to the nearest grocer, praying to the gods for a fight.

He reaches the grocer and buys five loaves of bread. He goes to the general store nearby and buys a pack for five copper. He puts the bread in the pack and puts the pack on. He then leaves and heads back to the house, still praying for a fight. His prayers are apparently answered as two thugs, each armed with a dagger and a club, walk out of an alley. One says, “Hand over any food and valuables and you won’t get hurt.” Valtorex replies, “Thank you, I’ve been itching for a fight.” He then draws his swords and rushes the closest thug. (Poor guy never stood a chance) Within seconds, both thugs lie dead and Valtorex has claimed two gold and two daggers. He returns to Julie’s house and knocks on the door. Julie lets him in, and he enters the main hall. The family is sitting at the table and Valtorex takes off his pack and sets it down. He takes out the bread and puts it on the table. He says, “I will be paying her five copper a day. I hope this is agreeable.” The family is stunned by this. They were expecting one copper a day at most. Five copper would be enough to pay a mercenary for a day. Valtorex then turns to Julie and asks, “Ready?” Julie bows and says, “Yes, milord.” She then picks up an old, beaten sack and cradles it in her arms. Valtorex nods and Julie says goodbye to her family.

They go to the palace and they are shown to Valtorex’s room. Valtorex instructs Julie to make herself at home and he leaves. He goes down to the banquet hall and meets the king. He asks Derok what the on-staff servants are provided for meals. Derok tells him they are rationed a loaf of bread and a strip of dried meet each day. Valtorex says, “Ok, that is what my servant and I will be eating. That sounds like my usual fare anyway.” Derok is confused by this, but agrees, eager to save whatever money he can.

Valtorex begins training Julie over the following months, teaching her about honor and the tenant of the Knighthood. He teaches her how to fight and gives her the daggers and shortsword. She has to do the cleaning for the suite Valtorex has been given, but he does give her a room to herself. Every day, Valtorex walks the streets and sees the guards brutally killing beggars, thieves, and other desperate citizens. The whippings and beheadings get to him, and he decides he would rather fail than allow this to continue. He gets his chance when the king offers him a position as a full-fledged knight on patrol in the Southside territory. He takes on Julie as his apprentice and increases her pay to one silver a day for the added danger. He deals mercilessly with the thieves, but he secretly helps the beggars. Using the money he is now getting, he substantially improves their armor, buying full plate for himself and a leather combat dress with steel plating for her. He buys her the most masterfully crafted shortswords in the city and buys himself longswords of the same quality. They are so effective in reducing crime in the Southside that his territory is expanded to the Docks, too. Julie begins visiting her family on break on the days that they are in the Docks and Valtorex figures out ways to help the beggars even more.

Two years after his arrival in the kingdom, they find out about a group of rebels. Julie, knowing the reward, is eager to capture them in hopes of restoring her family’s honor. Valtorex has other plans, however. He meets with the rebels and forms a pact with them. He and Julie go to Derok and make a proposition. Valtorex says, “My plan is to create a mercenary group to deal with the crime in the city. This will free up more guards and knights to serve in your armies and it will be much cheaper because we can pay the mercenaries with seized goods.” Derok, always eager to save money, agrees. The guards and knights leave the Southside and Docks and the mercenary unit, known as “The Citizen’s Guard” takes over. The rebels, Valtorex, and Julie comprise the leadership of it. The Guard is very successful at reducing crime, mainly because all of the criminals join it. It is so effective and so inexpensive that Derok gladly cedes control of half the city to it. Four years in, the Guard controls all but Noble’s Plaza and the Palace. Derok, blinded by the bottom line is all too happy to allow this, as long as the profits keep rolling in.

One night, after five years of Valtorex being here, Derok comes to him and says, “Valtorex, you know the queen passed away years ago. I have been very lonely. You servant, Julie, is it? has developed into a stunning young woman, and she is the daughter of a noble lady and one of my knights, so she is of fitting breeding to wed, so I was wondering if you would allow her to marry me.” Valtorex replies, “That is up to her and her father, although I doubt you will be successful. She is set on becoming a knight and her father is still bitter at his rank being stripped from him.” Derok responds, a evil gleam in his eye, “The former can be ignored, the latter can be fixed. Goodbye for now.”

Days later, Julie’s family is killed in a mugging. The first mugging in the Docks for four years. By the laws of the kingdom, Valtorex adopts Julie into his house and Derok makes the same offer. Valtorex asks Julie, but she flat out refuses. (No, Word, her does not flat out refuse, she does) Valtorex informs Derok and he goes into a rage. He has Julie seized and whipped brutally. Valtorex is held back and cannot help; having discovered years earlier his magic is blocked in this realm. She is quickly reduced to a sobbing wreck and dragged off to the dungeons. Valtorex petitions to have her released, but Derok refuses. He says, “As soon as you agree to give her to me, I will let her go.” Valtorex decides the day has come.

He leaves the Palace and goes to the Guard’s headquarters. He walks in, goes to the leader of the group and says, “It is time. Take the Plaza by storm and march on the Palace. I’ll secure the gate.” Valtorex leaves the Guard to its preparations. He returns to the Palace and goes to the gatehouse. He is relieved to find out the captain of the watch is one he knows to have no good feelings towards the king. He takes the captain to the side and says, “I know you bear ill will towards the king.” The captain becomes nervous and tries to deny it. Valtorex continues, “So do I. He has taken my apprentice hostage and refuses to let her go until I agree to let him marry her. Later tonight, some friends will be coming along to see me. I’ll wait here for them. Just make sure no one you like is on the Palace grounds at the time. Go, I’ll watch here.” The captain nods, obviously eager to see the king fall. He goes to his men and asks a few to go with him to check out a disturbance. He then puts Valtorex in charge of the gatehouse.

At Darkwatch, the sounds of battle erupt from the Plaza as the Guard fights with the guards to the cry of “Death to the False King!” Needless to say, nearly half of the guards desert (No Jeff, they do not eat dessert, they desert.) (Tell that to word! Every time I put desert, it tried to say I was wrong, so I gave up and changed it) and a full quarter join the coup. Within an hour, the Plaza is under the control of the rebels. The Guard leaves a detachment to deal with the private guards of the nobles’, but ninety percent march across the bridge to the Palace. A sergeant, fiercely loyal to the throne, asks, “Orders, milord?” Valtorex replies, “Stand down. It is time this land had a true monarch.” The sergeant yells, “Men! Seize the traitor!” Valtorex grabs the sergeant by the collar and tosses him off the gatehouse, sending him screaming to his death. The second in command cringes when Valtorex looks at him. Valtorex asks, “What are your orders, soldier?” The second in command replies by drawing his sword and charging Valtorex with a cry of, “For the King!” Valtorex shakes his head before saying, “The king will fall. How many of you must go with him?” He then draws his swords and slays the soldier. The rest on the gatehouse split down the middle, half fleeing and half fighting. Valtorex butchers them ruthlessly. When his men reach the gatehouse, he opens the gates and descends to meet them. His second in command, Sir Rufus, greets him. Valtorex orders, “Send three tenths of your men to secure the walls, one fifth to take the barracks, and the rest to seize the castle proper. I have business in the dungeons.” Sir Rufus salutes and implements his orders as Valtorex leaves to rescue Julie.

Valtorex rushes the guards at the dungeon and yells, “Death to the King! Join the fight for freedom!” Two fifths of the guards desert then and there, and the remainders stand ready. Valtorex slaughters the door guards and manages to get through the door before they can close it. He remembers that this installation has two hundred guards and readies himself for battle. A group of guards run up the stairs, five of them in all. The captain in charge asks, “Milord, what is the commotion we heard?” Valtorex replies, “The city is revolting. The Plaza and gates have fallen to the Citizen’s Guard. Now is your chance to fight against the king if you believe his rule is unjust. Spread the word, the coup has begun.” The captain is stunned, as are three of his men. The fourth charges Valtorex with a scream of, “Die traitorous cur!” Valtorex cuts him down without remorse. The rest decide this is too good for to be true and run out to see for themselves. The captain stays behind and asks, “Sir Valtorex, is what you say true? Do the streets really rise against the King?” Valtorex says, “See for yourself. By now, my forces should have secured the walls and barracks. The king has been a fool and will now suffer the consequences.” The captain says, “Very well then, I will spread the word to the men to evacuate as I assume you are here for your squire. Be warned, the king waits with your squire, along with his entire Royal Guard. They will fight to the man and will not betray their liege. Facing them will be certain death.” Valtorex replies, “Let them prove their worth through steel then.” The captain nods and runs down the stairs. Minutes later, a long line of troops runs by Valtorex, most to return home, but some to join the fight.

Valtorex draws his swords and runs down to face certain death. He kills the Royal Guard in his path to a man. He reaches the king and finds him surrounded by one hundred of his elites. Valtorex sees Derok having Julie, suspended from the ceiling by an iron chain, whipped brutally. Valtorex sees the horrible, bloody wounds Derok has had inflicted upon her. Derok turns and sees Valtorex. He says, “You have betrayed me. I will give you one last chance. Swear allegiance to me and I will spare you. Join me and become my top general. I’ll even make you my heir by giving you my daughter. Just stop the rebellion and swear your allegiance.” Valtorex replies, “I have not betrayed you. I never served you. Recall how I’ve always said King Derok or Lord Derok. I have never called you my king or my lord. I serve only one ruler and only one nation. I serve the Emperor of Draconia and the Empire of Fire and Steel. Your own people are rising against you. Surrender and you will be spared; fight and I will slay you.” Derok laughs. He says, “This is a fortress in itself. I can hold it for months. Plenty of time for my legions to reach me. My Royal Guard will fight to the man for me, isn’t that right, boys?” The Royal Guard roars its agreement. Valtorex responds, “And so they shall.” Valtorex lifts his bloody swords and rushes into the fray. Within an hour, they are all dead.

Derok falls to his knees and pleads, “Spare me! I will make you king! Just spare me!” Valtorex removes his head without remorse. He unchains Julie and helps her into her armor. He says, “I know it hurts, but you must put on a brave face for the people. Your people. Your subjects.” Julie is shocked. She stammers, “You m…mean… me?” Valtorex nods. Julie is established as queen of the country. That night, as Valtorex sleeps in his bed, he disappears. (Don’t forget this place)

Valtorex wakes up in the Glade. Arianna is waiting for him. She says, “You completed the test, and in only two hours. I am impressed.” When she sees Valtorex’s bewildered expression, she says, “Look up the spell in your own time. I only have two hours. I’ll break down the test though. You passed the chivalry point when you saved the princess. You passed honor when you saved the beggar girl. You passed cunning when you put together the rebellion. You passed courage when you single handedly charged the Royal Guard. Finally, you passed loyalty when you refused the king’s offer. And yes, I did watch the entire thing. All five years. You behaved like a knight the entire time, which quite honestly, I have never seen before. Congratulations and welcome to the Draconic Knighthood. I look forward to serving with you, Sir Valtorex. Farewell.” (This frees up a full class for next year) Valtorex goes to the Tower of the Arcane for his third Final. (Next is the final FinalJ)

He arrives at the Tower of the Arcane and meets Rōdenthall. Rōdenthall says, “You’re early. Wait here for the rest.” An hour and a half later, Dethos, Zethos, and Myrstaline arrive. Rōdenthall says, “Good let’s begin. We have limited time and a lot to cover. (Actually, it’s the 31^st and I have an hour and a half left until I run out of time) First, we will test your combat skill. You will kill a creature I assign you with nothing but magic.” Rōdenthall assigns them each a spot and summons the creatures. Dethos must kill a dust memphit, Zethos has to fight an imp, Myrstaline has to fight a basilisk and Valtorex has to fight a fell beast. (Thank you Tolkien)(Not a good idea Jeff and I mean remove it before you send it out!) (None of these notes will be in the final copy. Besides, what’s wrong with giving him credit?) The fights begin. The fell beast swoops down upon Valtorex, trying to claw him to death. Valtorex fires a barrage of flame bolts that dissipate against the fell beast’s thick hide. Valtorex then fires Finger of Death at it, intent on slaying the thing. The green bolt sizzles out against the skin of the fell beast and it comes down for another attack. As Valtorex is jumping out of the way, he fires Ray of Frost at it, just to annoy it. The beam of freezing air strikes it in the mouth, causing it to roar out. Valtorex then realizes it is vulnerable in any spot not covered by hide. Valtorex draws it after him, taunting it with spells until it dives at him, intent on eating him. When it opens its mouth to roar, Valtorex releases a killing curse from one of his spellbooks and watches as it disintegrates with a screech of pain. All that’s left is a small, black orb that lands at his feet. He picks it up and puts it in his pack. He looks around and sees that, as expected, Dethos and Zethos have won, but to his surprise, he sees Myrstaline panting from exertion and leaning against the statue of a basilisk to rest.

He walks over and Myrstaline says, “It was trying to spit acid at me, and I only had one shield spell left, a very weak one called Mirror Shield. I guess it looked at me, because it turned to stone.” Valtorex pats her on the back and says, “Good job.” Rōdenthall yells, “Don’t get too proud of yourselves quite yet. We still have two more tests. Next is a test of alchemy. Meet me in the alchemy lab.” (Yay chemistry!)

They arrive in the lab and find two stations set up. Rōdenthall is waiting and as soon as they are in, he casts a spell that releases a deadly poison into the room. They all choke as the poison enters their lungs. As the smoke clears, Rōdenthall says, “Oops, that was clumsy of me. Well at least I have five bottles of the antidote. One for me…” He drains the contents of a small vial. He then picks up the other four and makes a big show of ‘accidentally’ dropping them. He says, “Oops, I’m so clumsy today. Well, you have an hour to make the antidote before your organs liquidize. Fortunately, I have the recipes right here.” He goes over and hands a piece of paper to Dethos. He then drops the other and it floats into the fireplace. He says to Valtorex and Myrstaline, “Well, I guess you’d better start from scratch.”

Valtorex and Myrstaline begin working furiously. Valtorex’s skill with alchemy coupled with Myrstaline’s knowledge of herbs and other ingredients allows them to isolate all of the useful materials they’ve been provided with. With thirty minutes left to go, they have created two vials of three different antidotes. Valtorex tries one and feels less tired, but can tell it didn’t stop the poison. He tries the second and vomits uncontrollably. (Trial and error. Works every time, except for the times you die) Myrstaline grabs the third and drinks it. She instantly feels better. She forces Valtorex to drink it, but he vomits it out before it can take effect fully. She frantically tries to create another batch, only to find out they are out of the key ingredient. (Possibly Chemical X. For those of you that get the reference, no I’m not a freak. My sister went through a phase where she liked that show) (Were the others sugar, spice, and everything nice?) <