Londaros

"Sire, our cities...the eastern cities have fallen." A courtier stood in the greystone hall, the older man in black silk stroke his beard pensively as the nobles of the court whispered among themselves.

A young man stood out, bearing resemblance to the man on the throne, "My lord, this is an insult to our country. For a kingdom famed for our military prowess, we must not let him progress any further."

"What do you suggest, Lord Norian?" The king asked, the man straightened, "Let me ride out and meet him. I will beat the boy back to Dycathion. They must learn what it means to provoke a great kingdom." Lord Norian looked around, "Too long has that bastard been allowed to grow his power. We must destroy him before he comes any closer."

"Ironic that you call anyone a bastard, Lord Norian." A voice rang out, a boy of about ten standing beside the king said, there was a look of distain on his face, "Considering your lineage." There was a nervous titter in the court as the blood drained from Norian's face.

Everyone at court knew that Norian was King Meric's bastard son, but not many dared to state it so baldly to his face. Lord Norian's mother was Lady Celia, a powerful mage in her own right. The king looked disapprovingly at his younger son.

"Perhaps Prince Garoth would like to go in my stead?" Lord Norian asked, "After all, shouldn't it be the duty of the King's sons to defend the kingdom." He looked at the two boys who stood beside the king.

The king raised a hand, "Enough." Lord Norian bowed.

The king looked at the young boys who stood beside him and sighed, "Garoth, if you can not keep a civil tongue you may not attend these council meetings. Jasreth." The thin, older youth started and bowed clumsily, the king eyed his eldest legitimate child. He was a frail youth with pale skin and strawberry blond hair. The king sighed, "Boy, you shall go with Lord Norian and His Grace Northfang." The other man bowed.

Norian lowered his eyes as the king continued, "Lord Norian has much more experience on the battlefield than you, so listen to him at all times." The crown prince bowed.

Garoth looked at Jasreth with worry, but held his tongue.

One by one, cities to the east of the kingdom had fallen, they were no match for the ferociousness of the young Dycathion general. When Lord Norian arrived, another three cities had fallen. Refugees fled the bloodbath by droves, heading for their northern Capital. Armies were posted along the border as they civilitried to fight back the flood of terrified civilians.

When Lord Norian and the army arrived, they were not prepared to see how much they've lost. The once great country of Londaros had lost nearly one fourth of its lands.

"Kill the men who were in charge of the cities, on my orders." Lord Norian said cooly, "We must hold Pendratan."

"And we will, my lord." The Duke of Pendratan said with a confident smile, "Our river is the greatest protection, for it is a full three miles wide. There is no way he can cross an army that large without losing any of his men. As of yesterday, the bridge has been burned away. The closest way to cross a month's ride, we'll have reinforcements."

"If he has any mages..." Prince Jasreth said, frowning as he looked at the great river.

"There are not enough mages in the world to freeze the river." Lord Pendratan said confidently, "It is one of the greatest rivers in the world."

Not far from the city of Pendratan, a man with the most vivid green eyes gazed at the city in the distance. Around him the soldiers dared not breathe too loudly. They simply needed to obey. A few miles in front of them, lay a great river that roared with the anger of a dragon.

"My Lord, our soldiers are ready." A lieutenant reported. Lord Killian had sent three thousand men and a hundred mages a week ahead for a secret mission.

"And the provisions?" Killian asked, the lieutenant bowed, " Queen Osirana is sending the grain needed."

"Good." Killian said, "We've got a siege ahead of us."

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The Land In The Ring

Ithos felt as if he dreamt a strange dream, in it, he saw himself fall off a cliff only to enter a strange land. He wanted to reach out to Myrai but saw her fading as his vision turned to black

When he woke up, his vision was edged in red. The flowers above him nearly covered the sky. Ithos sat up

He was sitting in a sea of blood red roses. Standing up, he looked around, where was he?

He saw a few figures running through the fields.

"He's awake! He's awake!" Berin cried as he rushed forward. He stopped short of touching Ithos, "Are you...are you alright?"

Ithos grinned at the boy, "Fer sure. Now what's this?" He said, astonished as he saw two other little heads pop up among the fiery red flowers. He studied them, they looked a little older. But that was impossible, wasn't it?

"They've been waiting fer ye." The voice that had always been able to pull him out of his darkest thoughts now sounded. Ithos never needed to say this, but to him, her voice was salvation. He looked up and grinned, "Wife, I'm hungry."

Myrai looked at her husband and the worry that had clouded her brow since she had woken up, finally smoothed. She smiled, "Why is ye brain always on ye stomach."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Cybelline said as she sat down, "How are you feeling?"

"Like a horse has run over me." Ithos said, he looked around and frowned, 'Where's Miri and Ryion?"

And then he realized that he didn't know this stranger who asked after his heath, "And ye are?"

Cybelline smiled, "A child you rescued out of village of dead halflings. Then took into your house. Or have you forgotten about me, Ithos?"

"Cy?" Ithos asked, not believing him eyes. Was this girl really the skinny black hair child with the grey eyes? Who was this red haired girl with green eyes?

"Ye ol' wallop. I knew ye wouldn't know yer own children even if they stood in front of ye." Myrai knelt beside him and performed a quick check.

Myrai patted his shoulder, "Miri is restin', Cybelline assured me that she'll be alright. And Ryion is watching over her."

They looked over and underneath the largest red rose of crystal glass, a little boy sat. He was talking quietly, his mouth moving, they could not hear what he was saying.

"What's he doing?" Berin asked and scratched his head. Ceric sighed and looked at his tactless twin, "He's talking to her."

"I don't think she can hear him." Berin said, "Maybe he should talk louder? That flower looks delicious, I wonder how it tastes."

Ceric gave him blank stare, "Are you sure we're related?"

Ithos hid a grin and looked at Cybelline, "Yer a bad influence. Time was Ceric would have ignored that."

Cybelline gave him a reassuring smile, "And I'll continue to teach them important life lessons as they grow."

Myrai held out a hand, "Are ye going to sit there all day, me love?" She then took Ithos aside and explained everything that Cybelline and told him. Ithos surveyed the empty land, "Never did I think I'd see so much magic ever again. How many centuries has it been?"

"Perhaps we should tell her who we are and what we've done." Myrai said, she absent-mindedly patted the yellow stone she wore. Gone was the simple country speak, her voice was soft, cultured, and worried, "If they come looking for us again, then she'll be prepared." She looked down, "And if she wants to leave us as it is too dangerous, I'll understand." She had only spent a few months with the girl, but she had come to love the confident and funny child as if she was her own.

Myrai sighed, "As long as the Lady of Light controls the world, we live in the dark." Ithos hugged his wife, "As long as you are here, I don't care where we live." Ithos kissed his wife's hair, "Let me talk to Cybelline. We'll let her decide. "

They came back to Cybelline, "Cy, would ye come and talk to me fer a while?" Ithos asked.

Cybelline smiled, she gave the rabbit she was roasting to Ceric, "Watch it, those three are drooling." On the other side of the fire, 2 boys and one fox were staring at the rabbit as if it was the only thing in the world.

They walked to the tower that Cybelline had accidentally stolen, Ithos whistled, "The immovable tower of Dycathion."

"Well it's definitely movable now." Cybelline grinned, but there was no shame on her face. She looked at the tower, "Ithos, do you know, after I stole the tower, I saw the past."

Ithos put his hand on her forehead, "Ye don't feel like ye have a fever."

Cybelline gently removed his hand, "I'm serious."

Ithos frowned, "What did ye see?"

"A woman named Kyria who lost everything, and her hatred of the fae. Jinon and his guilt."

Ithos's eyes were wide, "That...is accurate."

Cybelline looked at him curiously, "You know about it?"

Ithos nodded. He didn't say anything else, Cybelline didn't press him.

Cybelline looked at the field of flowers, "How many hidden fae do you think is out there?"

Ithos followed her gaze, "Many." He sighed, "Child, Kyria is a broken soul. After what happened, she seemed to hate the fae more than anything else in the world. It was an obsession. No one could stop her. For a while I too hated them, until I met Myrai." The darkness in his eyes melted when he said her name, a soft smile appeared on his lips, "She pulled me out of the ocean of blood, I didn't even know I was drowning until I met her."

He sighed, "I have done a lot of wrongs in my life. So Myrai and I did what we could. We helped to hide the fae from Kyria. We hoped that one day, we could help set them free and return them to their home."

"Their home?" Cybelline asked softly.

"It's called the shadow lands now." Ithos said, "But once upon a time, it was a thing of beauty. It was said that anyone who entered that world never wished to leave. But, we don't know how."

Cybelline felt as if she could see it. The land so impossibly vast and beautiful, emerald mountains and roaring waterfalls. Rumbling volcanos and flower fields of every color. Water of crystal blue rushing in waves against coasts of white sand. She shook her head, why did that place feel like home?

She looked at Ithos, "You want me to help?"

Ithos shook his head, "No, child. It's not your burden to bear. Me and Myrai have discussed it, we are a burden to you. When Miri wakes up, we'll take her and the children and leave."

Cybelline looked at the giant flower "Ithos, you took me in and treated me as family. No one had ever done that, not since my parents and grandmother died." She looked off into the distance, "For the longest time I thought that I would be alone forever. I didn't deserve anyone's attention." There was self-hatred in her voice, "I was a monster who subsisted on the death of others." She remembered the nights where she cried herself to sleep, thinking about the blood on her hands.

"You, Myrai and all the children have taught me that some things are worth protecting." Cybelline said, the world turned a little misty for them both.

Ithos cleared his throat, "Child, I know you've had a hard life. If you choose to help us, if we stay by you, it will only become harder."

"I know." Cybelline said simply, "But I'm in this now and to be honest." She grinned, "Retirement is overrated. I want to see the world, figure out all these mysteries, I want to travel and eat foods I've never tasted." Sometimes dreams changed, and hers did. She couldn't imagine a life without these people and even if she were to buy a farm, she wanted them there.

Ithos guffawed. Cybelline clapped his shoulder, "But first, I think we have to find Jinon." She rolled her eyes, "That old beard seemed to have gotten himself kidnapped."

Ithos's smiled, "I agree. I have a friend who might know where he is." After all these years, it was nice to know someone else had joined their side, "You said that you want to travel, well, my friend lives in Londaros. We'll go immediately."

Cybelline nodded, "I've always wanted to take a family trip."