Chapter IV
A Night of Tears

"How could something like the Encampment have been allowed by the people? It just doesn't make sense, how could citizens allow something so horrible to be built?"
"I do not know how things are in the Grasslands Kayla, but in the Territories, the only thing people care about is making a profit and not having to work themselves. The Territories are not what they used to be. People don't care about each other and now that the war has come to nearly every city one way or another, people are realizing how they have failed. But no matter how much people try to gain forgiveness, it can't change what is happening. Things will never be the same."
"Yes it can! Things can change if people try to make things better. If people could find out how much power they have inside, the people of the Territories can fight back! But the only thing the people do is cower and hope they aren't killed in the night. The people have the power to destroy the King's image and much of his army!"
"Kayla! Most of the peasants don't even know how to fight, they would be slaughtered before they even made a dent in his army."
"I am not talking about going head on into a battle. I am talking about taking down his empire from the inside. The Encampment is in the heart of the Territories, we could cut a hole through The Black King's defenses."
"We can not do this without weapons, which we could only get more weapons if we already have some. There is no way to take over even a small quadrant."
"There has to be a way! Every thing, person, army, or city has it's own weakness, a weak spot in their defenses were we could strike and cripple them."
"I know not of a way, I have spent nearly my entire childhood in the Encampment, and never saw such a thing. Perhaps once we reach the outskirts of the city, we will soon find a way, but until that time... We are just wasting air. Now Kayla, it is late, and I am tired. Once we reach the Encampment we will have to work hard on the fortifications. That is what grounded slaves do there, dig, and build walls."
"Constantly? How long could thousands of slaves build walls?"
"A long time, for nearly a century walls have been built by the slaves, starting with the first fifty slaves to ever come and camp there. Since then more and more have come and been born, and more walls have been erected. There are nearly one hundred walls of mud and logs. Then there is the stone wall which is being constructed about twenty miles out. That will give room for about fifty thousand more slaves and it would take at least ten days to make a breach in it."
"Why couldn't a master of earth just go and break a whole in it?"
"Because it is reinforced with strong magical barriers. It would take a long time for even a hundred masters of earth to take it down. By then the archers and Delviner would have destroyed them. It will take years to finish it though. The slaves won't even begin to work on it for a few years, they will build more walls to form the quadrants so people can begin to migrate to the outside. The foundations for the wall that faces the lands of the enemies of The Black King are already being laid by Territory engineers. Soon the slaves will begin stacking up bricks and plastering them into the largest fortification ever made."
"This is horrible Hadvak, we can't let this happen."
"Kayla, you don't understand. Even with a Water Master and a warrior like me leading slaves we could not get past over one hundred thousand soldiers. You have to get it into your head that it can't be done without a massive army. The army that is stationed there is to powerful, not to mention over half of them are masters of fire."
"Fire Masters! I can't believe it, I have always wanted to meet one before, but we never saw one in the Grasslands."
"Kayla, you don't want to meet one that is in the Encampment. They use their power to oppress the slaves and steal the few belongings they are allowed to have. The are nothing but a bunch of bullies."
"Those don't sound like the Fire Masters I have heard about."
"I killed many of them."
"What?"
"I killed over one hundred Fire Masters when I was eight years old. One of them were beating my little brother for not being able to carry large buckets of water. He was going to kill him for speaking out against him, and I couldn't control myself. He was about to use fire on him and I unsheathed my staff and swung at him. Unfortunately he saw me coming and used his sword to fight me. We battled for almost ten seconds when I detached the other half of my staff and unsheathed it as well. He proved to be un-expierienced, and I cut off his head. I was soon surrounded, and they attacked me. I fought back. I fought for at least ten minutes and killed over a hundred of them. But soon they had me outnumbered. I surrendered to them."
Hadvak began to weep softly under his breath.
"I was taken out of the Encampment, and sent to The Black King's fortress in the once great Territory capital. I sat in front of the very man who now controls nearly half of the continent. He seemed so nice, and kind. Almost as if he was a father of hundreds and loved them all with great compassion. He told me of how he was the proud king of the eastern half of the continent, and how he wished to be king of the eastern half of the world at least. He began to tell me of how he was forming an elite team of the greatest warriors around the world to complete a series of special missions. He wanted me."
"What? He wanted an eight year old slave to join him. That is crazy to think about. Being selected to serve directly under the most evil man in the Territories."
"And why is that funny?"
"It's... it's just strange to think about an eight year old boy fighting the most challenging adult warriors The White King has to offer that's all."
"I'm not a helpless kid Kayla! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself alright! You don't know anything about me, so don't just act like you do. You haven't seen me fight! You haven't seen how powerful I am, how scary and dangerous I can be! When I am fighting for survival I get this strange feeling and I become extremely powerful. I have killed so many people that probably didn't deserve it, they were most likely just following orders so they weren't murdered by The Black King!"
Hadvak fell to his knees crying, with his hands hanging from the ceiling.
"I am sorry Hadvak, I didn't mean to make you angry, I am sorry I said anything. And your right, I don't know you that well and by what you have told me about when you were fighting those soldiers, it sounds horrible. I hate taking lives, even if they need to be killed for the greater good. I once had to kill some bandits who came to our house. They nearly beat my father to death, and when my mother tried to flee they... they..."
Kayla shut her eyes, fighting back tears. They fell down and dripped off of her cheek.
"I understand. My mother was taken by the guards back to their barracks. They tried to take her when they were there. She resisted, and was killed for trying to kill the guards and escape, that is what they told their commanding officer anyway."
"They are so cruel to us, when I saw what they were doing to my family, I lost control of myself."
"You did what you had to do Kayla, just like I did what I had to do."
"I used a disc of ice to cut one of them in half Hadvak, I could have at least just frozen them in ice and waited for the authorities to come, but I didn't. Instead I murdered them in cold blood."
"We do what we have to Kayla, we do what we need to in order to survive."
"I know, but it is hard when you are just beginning to have to fight in order to live."
"When you are alone it can be very hard, but with each other I think we can survive the Encampment."

Chapter III On the Road

Chapter III
On the Road

    Kayla quickly opened her eyes as her head banged against a wooden floor. Metal bars were above and beside her. She staggered up to her knees and rubbed her eyes. She realized that she was in a large cage with her feet in chains. Many others stood around her with iron chains on their hands and feet.
    "She's awake," cried a soldier riding a horse by the outside of the large cell.
    "Whoa there old girl,"Yelled the driver at the front of the wagon.
    Five soldiers opened up the cage door and walked towards her with their swords drawn.
    "Alright girl, nice and easy, we don't want to hurt you."
    "Who are you?"
    "Hey shut up you worm, we ask the questions," shouted one of the soldiers.
    "Be, quiet! She's new! She will soon learn to behave. Lock her hands in the irons."
    One of the soldiers walked over and grabbed her hands and put one against the wall. Kayla resisted and bashed the soldier in the side of the head, knocking him out.
    "How dare you, I shall have you flogged!"
    Before he could smack her with his flogger, a small boy came behind her and grabbed her.
    "She is fresh from the farm, she knows not were she is! I will tell her what is going on! leave her be. It won't happen again."
    "It better not, or you will share her punishment."
    "Let them put you in the chains girl, there is no escaping this cage."
    Kayla lowered her hands and allowed the soldiers to lock the metal bracelets on her hands and feet.
    "Make sure she behaves Darkskin."
    The soldiers jumped off of the large wagon and locked the doors behind them.
    "Why did you stop me? I could have beaten them."
    "Maybe, but you would not make it out of the door before you were shot by the archers. If you did make it past them lucky, the cavalry would run you down and kill you."
    "I don't understand, were am I?"
    "You are on a slave caravan headed for the Encampment, A super city, which is just a city of tents. It is the hoem of all slaves before they are cent to major cities to be sold."
    "I am a slave?"
    "Yes, the damned Delviner round us up and sell us for money or trade us for weapons and spells. We will never escape this life of pain, and The White King will do nothing to help us. He buys us as well."
    "How far are we from the Encampment?"
    "A day or so. I am Hadvak, Hadvak, son of Darkskin, King of the Southlands."
    "I am Kayla,  daughter of Jale and Mai."
    "Jale, A name known by most in the Southlands."
    "Why would your people know of my father? He was a hunter."
    "I know not of Jale being a hunter, I know of his heroic actions when he saved my father and his family long ago."
    "How is that possible? He couldn't have."
    "Perhaps I might be referring to another Jale, though he did speak of a girl named Mai."
    "It can't be possible."
    "Many impossible things have been showing up these days. The Delviner's transformation, and their escape for that matter. Dragons, and not to mention the destruction of The Council. The followers of Twee & La have been murdered. The King, now The Black King controls the entire Territory lands. The White King protects the Grasslands and the coast lands, and the Order of Wizards has declared war upon The Black King."
    "He sounds horrible, how can one man be capable of something so evil?"
    "Many say that the only way he could do this is if he was not human. But he is, he just changed though. After the conquest of the unknown east he came back and had the entire Council murdered and began occupying towns and cities all across the territories."
    "And who began this encampment?"
    "Another work of The Black King. Though he does not yet fully control it by force, so slaves can be sold to White Territories."
    "Then that is the only chance we have of survival, if we are sent to the White Territories we have better chance of escaping and joining the White King's army."
    "There is no way we can escape, no matter were we are. It is impossible."
    "No, its not, I could break out of these chains right now and destroy this entire cage and make a run for it. I am a master of water."
    "Haha! I have never heard a bigger lie in my life!"
    The whole cage put on a new mask of happiness and began laughing at her.
    "You liar, there hasn't been a master of water since Bartholomew the Wise died!"
    Kayla, closed her eyes, tears running down her cheek. She concentrated, blocking out the cheers and insults of the other prisoners. Silence filled her mind. Then, the water in the barrel at her feet began to shake. More and more, it rumbled and rippled, until a small drop rose up from the bucket and hit one of the men in the cheek.
    He stopped laughing and looking up at the sky, hoping a rain cloud hung overhead. Green skies as usual. She focused her energy again and this time rose a small orb of water out of the bucket and splashed it in the same soldiers face. The whole cage went silent and watched as she slowly moved her hands and rose more small orbs of water up and into her mouth.
    "Now I hope you know who I am, and how much of a chance we have. I can do much more when my hands are not bound."
    She lowered her head and let her hair fall over her face without making a sound. The entire cage was silent for the rest of the day.

Chapter II
A Shadow of Memory,
A Shadow of the Unknown

Kayla laid on the ground, shaking with fright.
    "I will start in the beginning, when we came and reformed the world from a fiery doom. We brought order back to the savage lands and gave our gifts to those who were worthy. We formed the water, the earth, the air, and the fire. We formed the thunder and the lightning, along with the elements of emotion. We formed the thrones of the holy ones and the thrones of the wicked who hide in their dungeons and keeps deep beneath the lowest halls of the earth. We formed all good things on this planet. Though our glory did not last, for we could not change your nature and you destroyed the paradise of which we had created through warfare and greed! We sent the Guardians to end it all. We looked down upon your war machines and the suffering of the innocent. We saw you destroy yourselves and we intervened. Sadly we realized that our power was to immense to unleash upon the world and we nearly destroyed everything ourselves. The Guardians broke free of their mandates and began to raid the free peoples of the world and horde treasure in their halls. They took everything. Fast forwarding to a more stable memory."
    "What? What are you talking about?"
    "Sadly I do not have all of my memory due to damage in the memory encryption. I must skip through many years to the time of great sorrow. The Guardians are no longer awake. We have made them realize their mistakes and they have sealed themselves in stone from sorrow. The earth walkers have destroyed many of the Guardian's bodies out of rage and hatred. We have failed. The wicked ones are now free from their prisons and watch the world with the evil eye. They are servants of death. We have done all we can to stop them but to no avail. The Black King holds them under his cruel fist and they do his biding now. Fast forwarding to a more stable memory. The Black King has come and taken it from me, the Dracone is gone, taken from us and sent to an elusive location. We have found his purpose for wanting the Dracone, he will use it to... fast forwarding to a more stable memory. Kayla, they fly above the plains tonight."
    "Who? Who are they?"
    "The Wicked Ones, they watch them with their evil eyes. They intend to feed tonight Kayla, they will come to destroy."
    "Were are they going?"
    "They will destroy your life, your home, everything you hold dear. Make sense of my knowledge Kayla, find my Dracone and stop him."
    "Wait! I have so many questions! I do not understand. Why me?"
    "You were chosen because you were chosen. All that maters is that you were chosen, and it will never change. Take my knowledge and use it to defeat The Black King and his dark servants."
    "Why can't you come back to the world and stop him with your power?"
    "Because he found a way to stop us. I know not what he did to stop us. This is the knowledge I give to you. Use it wisely."
    Shavri's image flickered dim then bright for a few moments and then disappeared into the claw mounted at the top of the pedestal. The claw jolted and then began to slide into the pinnacle, then it too slid down into the next level. Each level slowly slid down into isolation until it was the same as when she had found it. The obsidian and emerald canopy slowly shrunk back into their chambers, grassy stone panels slowly rose up to take the place of the open holes in the ground.
    Kayla gazed at the pedestal, remembering the wonders it had shown to her mind. She hesitantly turned and ran out to the waters and slowly made her way back to the shore of the plains.
    When she reached the top of the large hill, she was wet, sad, and freezing from the night time temperature.Suddenly a shriek of horror battered her eardrums. She looked overhead to see a large pack of furry dragon-like things fly with immense speed. They flew toward her home. A few moments later a large fleet of bats the size of a Barlem Wolves flew over her. She dropped into the tall grass and hid for almost five minutes to be sure they were gone. She rose, shaken from the beasts she had seen.
    She estimated for a moment and then realized it was most likely about one hour from midnight. She ran through the grass following the remains of her old trail and the sounds of the ominous beasts. Darkness clouded her vision and water droplets rolled down her forehead from her wet hair.
    When she came over the hill by her home the smell of sulfur filled her nostrils and ash collected on her hair.  She continued over until her home was in view. The house was not visible, only a torrent of fire and black smoke was visible in the night. Screams came out from the house, screams of pain and suffering. In the distance towards the mountains, shrieks of the beasts could be heard.
    She ran down the hill and over to her burning house. Again the screams of her parents rang out into the calm, dead night. She ran over to the well and began to command the water and throw it onto the burning house. After a few moments the fire was no more than smoldering coals and boards. Kayla's parents were no were to be seen, all that remained were shattered memories and dreams. Droplets of rain began to fall on the smouldering area, soon sending puffs of steam rising into the night air.
    "Kayla, come over here, please help me."
    Kayla looked around, trying to detect were the voice came from. Suddenly a black hand slowly rose from the ground, revealing a body blending in with the ash. She quickly crawled over and dusted off the bodies face. Fangs quickly bared out in a large smile and a red and black eyes appeared in the ash. A skinny body rose out of the ash and sunk its long fingernails into one of her nerve points. She fell over on her side and slipped into darkness.

The Emerald Dracone
A Novel by Frank George

Chapter I
The Grove

"Kayla!  Fetch the water for supper!"
    "Alright Mama, I am getting it."    
Kayla ran out of the house, across the dirt path, and over to the large stone well surrounded by tall grass and tumble weeds. Kayla hoisted the large fraying rope up out of the well and collected the large pale filled with pink-tinted water, altered by the sun's setting rays.
    "Hello," shouted a voice from some unseen area. "How is my sweet baby daughter?"
    "Papa! I'm not a baby, I'm fourteen!"
"Not to me!"
    Over the hill came a man dressed in black robes tied down with lether straps across his chest and waist, and a dark hood covered his brow.
    "Jale! You're finally back! How did it go?"
"Well, that depends, are you in the mood for Gazelle, deer, or jackrabbit?"
    "Oh Jale! this is wonderful, we will be full until spring!"
    "Father, this is wonderful!"
    "I want the best for my family. This will have us eating all winter without strife."
"Kayla, get that water into the house and put it over the fire."
    "Yes Mama."
Kayla ran back to the well and hoisted the bucket back to the surface and ran it into the house. A roaring fire sat in the corner of the room and a table with three chairs around it in the center. A two person bed sat on the far side of the room and a hammock hung over an open loft in the ceiling.
    Kayla hobbled over to the fire and poured the water into the black cauldron hanging over the hot coals. Steam rose up out of the pot and turned the air dense and humid.
    Kayla ran out to the well and hooked the pale back onto the rope and dropped it back into the well. She ran back into the cabin were hot fog filled the entire house and clouded her vision. She ran over to the pot and began to wave her hands over the pot slowly. The steam gathered in a large cloud that hovered over the table. Kayla then pushed with her hands and the cloud went out the door and went up into the white puffy clouds hanging overhead.
        "Kayla, how many times have I told you not to do that inside the house. Go stir the water and don't let it burn."
    "Mama, its perfectly safe, I wont break anything when I am doing it with steam."
    "Don't you give me lip, go on, scoot!"
    "Your too hard on her. She needs to practice more. A great gift has been given to her, and you won't let her use it."
    "It is for her own good. I won't have those blasted Delviner coming and taking her away from us, that's all."
    "But if she practices more she can beat any Delviner that come for her."
    "I suppose your right, but it still worries me. I have no idea how she is able to do it anyway, we aren't mages, yet she is."
    Jale looked down at his boots then back to the house were smoke rose from the chimney.
    "I have no idea, maybe one of the ancestors was a mage?"
    "I can't be sure, but it is possible. Now go get those beasts skinned before they rot."
    "As you wish your majesty."
    She looked back at him and gasped.
    "How dare you Jale, are you making fun out of me?"
    "Of coarse not Mai, just saying is all."
    "Well do us both a favor and don't just say anything."
    "Go in and make the stew woman, we still have some meat left and I am hungry."
    Mai walked back to the house and folded back the fur skin door. Inside sat Kayla forming currents in the hot water, commanding it with her small pale hands. The spoon for stirring laid on the floor.
    "Kayla! Get my spoon off the floor! What are you doing mastering water?"
    "Mama, I am sick of not being able to master. I want to learn how to fight and help people!"
    "No! There will be no talk of that! There will be no more mastering for you young lady! Now go outside and get more water for the stew!"
    "It's not fair! Why can't I use my power to help people? Why can't I use my power to help you and Papa?"
    Kayla ran outside, across the dirt pathway, and into the grassland.
    "Kayla, were are you going? Kayla! Kayla come back!"
    Mai ran out of the house and looked out towards the small girl running over the large hills surrounding the small house.
    "What's gotten into that girl Mai?"
"I told her she was not to master anymore."
    "Mai! How could you? You crushed her heart Mai."
"I did it for her own good Jale!"
    Kayla ran through wizard-tall grass and wept. Tears ran down her cheeks and sweat stung her eyes. She ran with a ferocious speed and rage. Suddenly she tripped on a rotting log and tumbled down a hill covered in grass and flowers. Rolling for many moments she emerged from a wall of grass and landed in knee high water. A swamp-like environment was all around her. Water filled much of the space with tall oak and Baobab trees came up from small islands in the water.     Pillars of black obsidian came up from the water as well.
    In the center was an island of rock and crystals. In the center was a star of obsidian chairs and a pedestal of emerald in the shape of a lotus flower. She stood and waked through the water and crawled onto the dry land weeping. Her auburn hair was wet and her net dress dragged hesitantly on the moss covered floor. Suddenly a large stream off water shot out of the ground and sent rain all across the grove.
    She stood and walked to the center of the island and touched the emerald sculpture. It felt alive somehow, almost like it was mournful and sad. It felt alone. On the sides were lines of script. Kayla couldn't make it out, it was an odd language she wasn't familiar with. There were also glyphs of Velgen, Naralian, and the common language. All she could make out was "They took it from us, The long fangs took it, they enslaved us but we escaped, the black one stole it from us".
    In the center of the pedestal was an indentation of a circle with another deeper circle inside of it and seven small holes around it. Kayla saw a glimmer deep inside as some overhead branches altered their position and sent sunlight through the dense canopy. She reached down inside and felt around for something. A small handle was on the bottom of the indentation. It felt like it was in the shape of a diamond. She pulled it towards her and then it retracted quickly into some unseen dwelling place. The small island of crystals rumbled and depressions became visible in another smaller star around her. Spikes of obsidian and sapphire formed a cone-like tent around Kayla and the pedestal. A loud shattering noise engulfed the room of crystals. Kayla returned her gaze to the small podium to find it dividing into different levels. A small emerald in the shape of a baby dragon claw rose out of the pedestal's pinnacle.
    "I am the speaker for the fore fathers of this world. I am here to tell the truth and give wisdom to those who seek it."
    "Who is they? Who are you?"
    The claw sent a series of flickering lights slowly projecting the image of a tall women with golden hair and robes of pink and sapphire. A crown in the shape of a swan sat upon her brow.
    "I understand that your kind can better understand things if they are visible. My appearance is based on my heart and my nature. I am Shavri, mistress of the Emerald Dracone. I oversee and protect this sanctuary. Once in the time of happiness the masters of water migrated throughout other sanctuaries like this one, staying for a season and then moving on. We offered sanctuary to those who needed it and those who cared for our burial sites."
    "I do not understand? What is this place?"
    "You will soon child. You will soon know our pain."