Sands of Time - 1. Chapter 1

Xavier was dreaming, he knew he was dreaming, but that did not matter.

"Well my son, I am going to teach you how to change your skin, but first, since you have chosen Ruinseeker as one of your subfields, I will go into the history of the Dragon's ability to shift." King Soin'reali said with a smile as the Highman stood in front of his son.

Instead of responding, Xavier simply nodded his large head eagerly. The truth is he had chosen his subfields when he was much younger and had been studying all along. However, it was not until he was able to cast his first auto spell, that he was able to 'officially' declare his subfields and begin his proper training. After all, he was a Great Dragon of royal blood, there was no question whether or not he would be trainable.

"As you know, all dragons can shift, but the Dragons Races keep the knowledge to those of royal descent or those who have earned the right to be taught." The king paused and chuckled as he raised a hand, "I know you are about to ask why… again… and I will answer... again. You will figure that out for yourself at a later time."

Xavier's head dropped in disappointment, but the toothy grin told his father he was still excited. "Now, close your eyes, reach down inside to where the magic lies inside of you, the magic that is that which makes you Dragon." Xavier did as he was told, he was used to finding that ball of magic, but before it didn't do anything when he touched it. Now though, it pulsed a bit. "Pull it and wrap it around you."

That didn't make much sense to Xavier, but nonetheless, he tried. It shocked him when it moved, but as he tried to wrap it around himself, it hurt. The more he tried the more it hurt. Gritting his teeth, he tried harder. "It hurts…" he growled out, not realizing he'd done so.

"That is because the magic does not know yet what form to change into. You need to push past the pain." He reached up and brushed his son's large dragon head, patting him gently. "You can do this, my son."

"I can not… Xavier said. He became frustrated and pulled his head back. He raised his snout to the sky and with a cry, shot his Sand Breath. Snaking his head back down to look at his father he cried softly. "It hurts too much."

"I know my son." The king said softly, "It took me many tries to first find my other skins. But no matter how many times it takes, I know you will find yours."

It did indeed take Xavier many tries. His mother tried to help him, and so did his brother. He felt his brother had gotten him the closest. However, it was at a later time with his father, that he was finally able to shift. He lay there in his father’s arms, finally in the skin of a half-elf, crying in his father’s embrace. The tears were part pain and part relief. While it was never said, he knew it was this ability to shift that would allow him to truly be a prince of the Sand Dragons.

He opened his eyes and saw his father's smile looking down at him. "My son, the Heart of Seandra. Welcome to my true family. Your brother is the true Sword of Seandra, and you are its true heart." Xavier didn't speak, just smiled and closed his eyes.

When at last he opened them again he didn't see his father looking down at him, but a FLESH WALKER! And it was dressed in his father's clothes! It opened its mouth and lowered its head to bite Xavier, he screamed and tried to get away, but the undead held him tight. He struggled as time slowed, "Xavier!" the undead monster snarled as it lowered down until its rotting lips were around Xavier's neck. Just as it started to bite down, Xavier screamed again and woke up.

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"XAVIER!" Syth cried out as he shook his Prince. Xavier sat up quickly, hand reaching for where he normally kept his falcata, even though it wasn't there.

"XAVIER!" Syth yelled as he jumped back.

Xavier stopped, shook his head, then looked around. "Syth?" He asked in total confusion. "Where… Where are we?" That’s when it all came back to him, flooding into his mind like a raging river after the winter rains. He bolted out from under the covers and ran out of the tent. Blinded by the glare of the sun on the snow, he barely made it a few steps before he dropped to his knees and emptied the minimal contents of his stomach on the ground.

It didn't matter to him at that moment that Syth was holding him up and wiping his friend's hair out of his face. All he saw, again and again, was the flesh walker's face descending to take a bite out of him. It took a few moments before Xavier was able to think clearly again. He coughed a few more times then took a drink from the waterskin that Syth was offering him. "Thank you." He said softly.

Rather than respond, Syth simply nodded and stepped back. He offered his hand to Xavier who took it and held it for a moment. He looked up at his closest friend and smiled. Garnet was his confidant, and Blood Brother, which put him on a level above Syth, but of the rest, Syth was his closest. His dark skin and white hair always made Xavier think of Obsidian wrapped in quartz. His bright purple eyes were always calming to Xavier, as was his normal demeanor. No matter what was going on Syth would normally calm him down. Finally, he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

"Come, get something to eat," Olpha said motioning him over with her six-fingered hand. "I know you are not hungry, but we have been here for almost a full day, you need to eat." He did not want to, but he also knew it was fruitless to argue with Olpha. Not only was she usually right, but she also had the extremely volatile temper that all Orakin had. He was positive that she would be more than happy to force-feed him if she felt it was needed.

The group came together at the campfire and waited for Xavier to eat some food. It was mid-morning by now, but no one here was in a hurry. As Xavier ate, he looked around and took stock of what was around him. He saw that the Sand Skimmers were all tethered to a sturdy picket line and were currently eating some of the food they brought with them. All the tents had been set up inside the small clearing. Xavier closed his eyes and just listened to the sounds of the forest around him. Something he had not done since the last time they were in a forest like this.

He tried not to cry again as he wondered if this was where his father had placed them, or if it was just coincidental that they were in a nice clearing that even had a stream running nearby. He knew Garnet had been the one to set up the camp because his tent was in the center of a ring of the other’s tents. His wasn't the largest tent, but all of them were not small by any means. Olpha's stood over two meters tall, and Thane's was almost a palace in and of itself. At least they didn't put up the cottages.

The snow on the ground was something he had not dealt with for a long time, but it made finding things on the ground a bit harder. A closer look made Xavier see that the only real trail into the camp had Garnet’s and Syth’s tents in front of his own.

Xavier smiled. He knew his friend always had his protection in the forefront of his mind. Adding one more time to the times too numerous to count, Xavier was thankful that his father followed the old traditions of the Sand Dragons. Bonding a True to a royal Great and training the True to be the Great's closest protector and guardian had saved Xavier more than a few times, but it also created a deep friendship that Xavier valued more than anything else that the tradition gave.

Finally, after several minutes of silence, Xavier looked around at his friends before he sighed and spoke. "I know this is all so very sudden but thank you all for coming."

"I guess it is a good thing Gordech was sent off on his mission," Lucas said with a grin. "He would have frozen his tail feathers off."

"Had I been offered any other option, I would still have chosen to be at your side," Thane said with quiet certainty. "However, I am eternally grateful to His Majesty, your father. Not only did he save us all, but he ensured my father’s death sentence for me did not come to fruition." He ended the statement with a large smile, then added, “I’m sure my father’s reaction will be quite… noticeable.”

Xavier could not help but smile also. While Thane was an Alphar, and just as self-centered as all Alphar, he had proven himself to be a good and trusted friend. His family problems were something that the entire group had been made aware of before Thane ever joined them.

Thane’s father, the current Prince of House Wellarus, and ruler of Gryphon Spire did not like the fact that Thane did not live up to the Alphar’s normal level of proper ‘decorum’. According to what Xavier's father told them, Thane had been given several opportunities to show he could ‘live up’ to the expectations demanded of an Alphar Prince. The final straw had been when Thane chose his first advanced pet.

He had the pick of just about any creature he wanted that his father deemed ‘proper’. However, Thane decided to go on an adventure to bond with and train a pet he wanted. When he came back several weeks later with Amakiir, a Gargoyle (which was a most undignified creature at the best of times). His father was less than pleased.

Shortly after that, an Alphar emissary approached King Soin’reali asking if he would be willing to ‘mentor’ the wayward youth. It did not hurt that Thane’s father was also offering a large supply of Frozen Flame weapons, not only for his arm but also for Thane’s new group of friends. Each of them was gifted with at least a lesser Frozen Flame personalized for their preferred weapon. That alone made having to deal with Thane's Alphar nature almost worth it.

"We have not made it to safety yet," Garnet said with a grunt.

"Do we know where we are?" Xavier asked, looking over at Lucas. Out of all of them, Lucas was the best in the outdoors. Not only was he the only Outdoorsman in the group, but he was also a natural. A few summers ago, they had all gone to study at Dawnbreaker’s main Temple. While they were there, Lucas spent weeks out in the forested lands that surrounded the temple.

Suddenly looking very nervous, Lucas dug his foot into the snow-covered ground below him before he looked up and spoke, "We are not near Battle Garden." He paused for a moment. "I guess you figured that out yourselves already."

"Quit stalling, and spit it out, wherever it is," Olpha said.

"We are a good way to the west of where we should have been. I am not sure just how far though." This caused Xavier to twist his head slightly in confusion. One of the things Lucas excelled in, was reading the stars to be able to figure out where he was. "There is something else." Lucas hesitantly added.

"Okay…" Xavier slowly said, starting to get concerned. This was not like Lucas at all. He was always very self-confident, almost to the point of being cocky.

"It was the height of summer when we left Seandra." He hesitated, then finished what he was saying. "It is the end of winter here…"

Malachi grabbed a handful of snow and tossed it toward Lucas. “You think?” He boomed. “How is that possible?” He may have been the youngest and smallest, but he was all Garm and spoke like one.

“Malachi, the stars do not lie. Those above us, last night, were winter constellations! There is more, however… Even the constellations do not look right. They have changed… Slightly.” Lucas just shook his head, as they all looked at each other.

All eyes moved to Garnet when he stood and started to pace. "Last night…" he started after a few seconds. "I called on Olerious, my Spirit Totem. I am still trying to figure out exactly what he meant." After a few more seconds of pacing, he stopped and looked at Xavier. "It said he was surprised to see me. It said that it had been a while since he had seen me last." He locked eyes with Xavier who was already stunned. "It was also much more mature than it had been when I last spoke to him in Sulpa."

Xavier's eyes were wide, and his mouth was slowly moving as if he were trying to form words but he could not. "Xavier…" Olpha slowly said. "Why does that make you look even more stunned than when you learned your brother was missing?"

He closed his mouth and shook his head hard as if he were shedding water. Meanwhile, Garnet sat back down, pulled out his boot knife, and set about sharpening his finger claws. "Spirits do not age, not as we do. If they are not killed in the mortal realm, they will never die. However, they do mature, as they gain more power."

"I do not understand," Thane said as he looked over the carapace of one of the two Bear Scorpions that he was leaning against.

"If you were to speak to a spirit that is newly formed, or just not very powerful, you would equate it to speaking to a youngling. As they gain power, they start to communicate in a more mature manner. Other things are different of course, but this is the easiest one to understand. Also, unless something very out of the ordinary happens, spirits do not mature quickly. Add on to that it said it had been a while since it saw Garnet." Xavier paused as he let his chin fall to his chest. He looked back up and spoke again. "How long is ‘a while’ to a being that doesn't age?"

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The small group slowly dispersed to deal with their own tasks, as well as their own thoughts. The small campsite was rather quiet as Thane moved to look over the Sand Skimmers, the two Bear Scorpions with his Gargoyle following behind. Syth and Garnet started to dig through the packs as well as the packs that were on the extra skimmers. Olpha pulled out the satchel that her father had given her, that she was supposed to give back. That did not seem likely now, so she decided to go through and see what was in there. Lucas, as usual, was by her side, and helping.

Xavier went to his tent and retrieved his sword. Someone had gotten him out of his armor at some point, but he noticed everyone else was wearing at least one weapon, and given that they didn't know where, or even when they were, he felt it best to be armed. He then went back to the campfire and sat there staring into the flames, lost in thought.

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Malachi decided that now would be a good time to look through the wagon that Asulophous had packed for him. It was more a cart than a wagon since it only had two wheels, however, it was larger and longer than a standard cart. If it wasn't too heavy the Sand Skimmer could handle it since they were a bit stronger than your average horse.

At the very back was a large case. Malachi pulled it off and set it on the ground. He already knew what should be in there, but he had to check and make sure. Opening the case he saw a brand-new set of forging tools, hammers, tongs, files, and everything needed to work normal metals. He noted that there were two sets of fire stones. The set of three worked together to create heat. The closer you put them together, the hotter they become. He had a smaller set in his pack that was used for cooking or heat. These though were meant to get any metal hot enough to work and negate the need for billows or a fuel source. Every blacksmith should have a set in Malachi's opinion.

He closed the case with a smile and then moved back to the cart, this time he went to pull the oven off. It really was no more than a small chimney that took the heat and concentrated it, so he could put the metal in to heat it.

Next was the small anvil. He grunted with surprise when he lifted it and found that it had been enchanted with a feather-light spell. He put it down and frowned as he looked at it closer. He gasped slightly when he saw that it was Asulophous' travel anvil. He debated with himself whether to tell Olpha and decided against it, for now. Lifting it again, he gently put it on the ground, then moved back to the cart.

The only items left were several cases that Malachi knew held metal ingots. They were stacked two across, and two high. Making sure the cart was secure, Malachi scrambled into the back and recounted to make sure his numbers were correct. The cases were stacked six deep, meaning there were a total of 24 cases. Malachi thought that was a bit much, but obviously, they knew things he did not.

Sighing to himself, he started with the first case, to figure out what was in them. He got through the first twelve before he had to stop and sit for a moment. The first eleven were split evenly between Elvin Steel and Dwarven Steel. He now had eleven ingots of each as the first case held only the tools needed to work those specific metals

He reached to pull out the next case and almost fell over. He wanted to curse Asulophous for not warning him about cases that were enchanted with feather-light spells. After setting the case down, he tried to open the lid, only to find that it wouldn't budge. He grunted in annoyance as he reached under his tunic and pulled out the small key that was given to him by the servant back in Seandra. He inserted the key, turned it, and heard it click open. He opened it up and smiled a toothy grin as he saw an ingot of Dwarven Blue Steel, as well as the tools to work it. Re-locking it, he took to the other cases, finding three more with the same blueish metal in them.

The next four cases also were feather-light and held seven ingots of Elvin Silver Steel. Malachi shook his head as he thought that this was a bit much, even for Asulophous. He only had four cases left, so he turned his attention to them.

He paused before he inserted the key. Something was different. This one had an imprint of a hand on the edge of the case, the kind that said you should put your hand there. It's where Malachi would normally hold the case as he was opening it, so he shrugged and put his hand over the imprint. He inserted the key and turned it. Instead of a click, he felt a sharp pinch on his pointer finger. He pulled it back quickly and saw a drop of blood on both his finger and the case.

A moment later he heard the case click. He shook his head and sucked on his finger for a moment before opening it. He sucked in a breath, and his hands shook slightly, his jaw hanging open. Sitting before him was a single ingot of Mythmetal, as well as very fine Eldwar smithing tools. He couldn't help but run his fingers along the metal that looked like tarnished bronze. Checking the last three cases, he saw that it too held the mythical metal that very few outside of his line, the Battle Forge line, knew how to work. It was not something that could be created, at least not in this realm.

Mythmetal came from the Realm of Cataclysm. Legend has it that his ancestors were the first and only ones that were deemed worthy of working this metal. The Iron Fortress was the only place known to have any ingots of it, and they were secreted away in a place that Malachi had only seen once. The tricks and traps that were laid out before you could open the vault were the most extensive that Malachi had ever heard about, let alone seen. It was only his skill with smithing metal that convinced his father to teach him how to work this mythical metal. None of his older brothers had even been taught the secrets to forge it. The skill needed to work Mythmetal was far more than that needed to combine Dwarven Blue Steel, and Elvin Silver Steel into Eldwar.

As shocking as all this was, nothing prepared him for what he saw when he moved the last case. All he could do was stare at the object lying there. "Xavier!" he cried out, as he fell backward. Suddenly everyone was rushing towards him, most with weapons drawn.

"What is it?" Xavier asked, his eyes darting around, looking for some sort of danger.

"There…" Malachi said, after he jumped down out of the cart, then pointed to where the last case had been a moment before. Xavier got a confused look on his face but stepped forward while sheathing his falcata. He peered over the edge of the cart and gasped in shock. Tears started to fall from his eyes as he reached inside.

"What is it?" Garnet asked testily, still looking for danger.

Xavier pulled his hand back, and in it was his father's sword. The Sword of Seandra, and the Gem of the Sand Dragon Race. They all gasped as they saw the gems in the hilt of the sword flash, and suddenly the sword began to shrink until it was the perfect size for Xavier's half-elf stature. He closed his eyes as tears flowed freely. He felt the sword reach into his very soul and imprint itself on him, bonding him with the sword. The sword was the symbol to all, that he was the one and true King of the Sand Dragons, and by extension the Kingdom of Seandra.

When he opened his eyes, he looked around and saw all his friends had taken a knee, except Thane. The Alphar was in a proper bow, worthy of the best courts. They were all acknowledging the fact that Xavier was now the King of the Sand Dragons.

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"Get up! All of you!" Xavier pushed out through gritted teeth. He turned around and put the sword back in the hiding spot that Malachi had found it in. He spent a moment peering down at it, then turned and forcefully strode back to the campfire. "Lucas." He spoke without looking back or breaking his stride. "I assume you looked around the area. What can you tell me about where we are?"

"Uhhh." Lucas was caught flat-footed by the change of topic. He looked over at Garnet who shrugged while he moved towards the campfire. Lucas shrugged himself then moved to take a seat near Xavier. "Well, we are in a clearing in the middle of a lightly forested area. A mixture of hard and softwood trees. We are at the edge of the foothills, with a mountain range to the north, I am fairly certain it is the Silver Spine Mountains, but I am not 100% positive. We saw a few clearings that could be used to farm or graze livestock. From what we saw there does not seem to be too many dangerous creatures around."

He paused to see if Xavier was even listening to him, but an impatient twirl of his hand told Lucas to continue. "We are just over a kilometer away from a trading path to the west. There is a squatters’ settlement to the north almost two kilometers away. The way the buildings, if you wish to call them that, were made, it is obvious that they are very low caste. Every building I saw had grass-thatched roofs that needed repair. Made with rough-hewn lumber, although calling it hewn lumber is being generous. The livestock looked like they were starving, and the inhabitants did not look much better. It is primarily a human settlement, but we did see a mix of elves, dwarves, halflings… we even saw an orc."

"Orc?" Xavier exclaimed. "A slave?"

"Uhh… no," Lucas said very uncomfortably. "It uhh… it was at one of the traders' stalls, making… a purchase. It even had a young one with it."

"What?" Many said while Olpha turned on him. "This is what you would not tell me?" Lucas simply nodded.

"No," Xavier said softly but definitively. "You must have been mistaken." His mind could not accept what was being said. "Was there anything else?"

"Well, there was a medium-sized caravan that was set up outside the settlement. It looked to be trading goods with it. Offloading timber and loading bags of grain and barrels of something else." Lucas finished; confusion and disgust were written across his face.

"We will want to check out this settlement tomorrow, perhaps we will be able to figure out more about where and when we are." Xavier finally looked away from the fires and saw all his friends sitting around him. "Have we learned anything else about this place?"

"Well," Olpha said with a bit of a growl. "My force did not replenish when it should have." At any other time, the look on Xavier's face might have been comical, but Olpha was in no mood to be making jokes. "Instead of Dusk, like it should have been, my force replenished at the same time that Syth's, Thane's, and Malachi's did."

Xavier sighed and hung his head a bit. "It seems we have come forward in time. We knew this day would come when the Old Ones were cut off enough from this realm that they would no longer be able to be aligned with it. It was not supposed to happen during our lifetimes though." He paused as he sighed again. "What else?"

"Magic seems to be 'off' in this place as well." Olpha sourly replied

"What do you mean?" Xavier asked with interest. "Do you mean we are in a null zone, or something of the like?"

"Not really," Olpha responded, looking to Lucas to continue.

As a sorcerer, Lucas was the most closely tied to magic since he was able to see the ebbs and flows of magic and shape it to his will. "I would liken it more to the magic being 'stale'. At least that’s the best word I have been able to come up with."

Instead of answering, Xavier simply closed his eyes. He spoke words so softly that no one else could hear him, and his hand movements were subtle. He got a strange look on his face as he kept his concentration on the spell. After only a few moments a small branch that was lying on the ground violently shattered into a thousand small pieces. "That was not right," Xavier said in annoyance. "But I agree, stale is the right word. The Shatter spell was not any harder to cast, nor did it use more force, but it did take longer to cast. I have never heard of something like this before."

"Nor had we," Olpha spoke up while Lucas nodded. "And that is not the worst part." She then pointed to Garnet who was now seated across from Xavier.

Garnet sighed but looked over at Xavier and picked up the narrative. "The tattoos and our shifting are also affected."

"How so?" Xavier demanded.

"The tattoos hurt worse than getting them the first time. I was still able to draw my armor inside of myself, but I had to do it, one piece at a time with a rest in between. The pain… was intense." He paused as he thought back to last night and had to shield his face from the others, so they did not see the few tears that fell. "As for our shifting, I could not do it."

"What?" Xavier asked with increasing alarm.

"The pain was so intense I stopped trying for fear of blacking out." He looked up at his blood brother and for the first time Xavier could remember, he saw real fear, bordering on panic in those sand-speckled dragonling eyes. "I am sorry my prince, but I am not sure if we can shift in this time."

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Xavier walked out of his tent with letters in his hand. There was one in his tent that was for him, but he would not read it yet. Slowly he walked around and handed the letters to his friends explaining that his father wrote a letter for each of them to read. Most simply nodded and put the letter down next to where they were, not wishing to read it at that moment. Garnet was the last to receive his letter. "Our father wrote a letter for you too," Xavier said softly. "The servant gave it to me right before we were sent here." Garnet nodded as he took the letter. He, like the others, looked at it for a moment before he set it down.

Xavier went back and sat in front of his tent; his hands busy rolling his signet ring around his finger. Everyone knew this was a sign that Xavier was deep in thought, so they didn't bother him. It was getting close to sunset, and the temperature was already starting to drop. He could hear the Sand Skimmers grumbling, and he could only guess it was about the cold. They were hearty creatures, but they did not care for the cold temperatures.

Xavier watched as Lucas came out from the tent that he shared with Olpha, and, despite all that was going on, Xavier couldn't help but smile when he thought of those two. They could not really be more opposite in appearance, with Lucas being small for his age equivalent, and Olpha being large. He was a Highman, and she an Orakin. He had very light skin to her, very dark. His hair was strawberry blonde in color whereas hers was dirty blonde. His eyes were a bright green whereas hers were a light blue. They started their relationship shortly after Lucas was moved to the Capital from where he grew up in Sand Garden.

Royalty in his own right, Lucas was a Royal Orphan. Born to the last member of the Royal Family of Battle Garden. He was granted the title of Count of Sand Garden after he had killed a Great Brass. That was enough to get Olpha interested in meeting him. At first, the two were just friendly with each other, but one day, Olpha came to breakfast, holding Lucas's small hand in her huge one, and declared that she was involved with Lucas. If it wasn't for the grin on Lucas's face, and his nod, Xavier may have thought she was playing a joke. But she certainly wasn't.

Now, almost two years later, they were still going strong, and a constant source of amusement for the group. Often Olpha would join them in the morning explaining that Lucas needed a bit of time for the healing herbs to take effect before he was able to join them. Of course, the first time they had to bathe at the river together, Xavier understood why Olpha probably enjoyed Lucas's company. However, no matter how much his masochistic streak might be a source of amusement, it certainly came in use, as out of all of them, Lucas had the least amount of difficulty dealing with the pain of the tattoos. Even here where placing an item into the dimensional tattoos was akin to getting branded from the inside, Lucas only thought it 'slightly annoying'.

His attention next focused on Thane, who was off to the side working with the two Bear Scorpions, as well as his gargoyle. He heard from Syth that Thane was going to bond to one of them, probably the male, Suiadan, while the female Faelwen, would not be bonded, but was still staying with them. Xavier was a little concerned when he heard that they were a mated pair but relieved to know that Faelwen was not pregnant… yet.

Thane himself was hard to understand. The fact that he was exiled, unofficially, from his father's court, surely spoke to the anger and resentment he held inside. The fact that he was exiled for not fitting in; for not being 'courtly enough', was something that Xavier just could not fathom. Even his looks spoke of his high-bred nature, lightly tanned skin, high peaked ears, sky blue eyes, and long white blonde hair.

Thane was so obscenely 'courtly' that it sometimes made the group ill. However, they would never push away someone who needed their help, and Thane did, even if it was just people who would accept him for being himself. Of course, once Xavier got to know him, he found that Thane had a wickedly dry sense of humor and could drop jokes at times when no one else would think to do so, and simply break all tension.

His eyes drifted away from the Animal Adept and his pets and found Syth. If Thane was hard to understand, Syth was an enigma, until you started to understand his motives; something Xavier was not sure he had done yet.

Sythranel Shunral had started out as Xavier's whipping boy. Xavier wasn't a child that needed that often, not like his older brother, but he was still a kid. That changed when Syth single-handedly stopped an assassination attempt on Xavier's life. He took a poisoned arrow that was meant for Xavier, by jumping in front of it. While it may have been 'expected' of Syth to do that, Xavier's father rewarded the Shunral line with a higher title within the Kingdom.

Syth got the best medical treatment available, but while he was lying on the bed getting tended to, he asked King Soin'reali for a favor. Everyone gasped at the fact that Syth, a whipping boy, would dare to ask the king for a favor, but when the king heard what it was, he agreed. The favor was to let Xavier and Olpha tend to him so they could both learn more. Xavier as a Shaman, and Olpha as a healthman. During that time, Xavier had become such good friends with Syth that he would not allow him to go back to being a whipping boy; he became part of his group. The fact that he was an Enchanted Archer didn't hurt any.

The next being his eyes drifted to, was Malachi. The Garm was the newest addition to his group. Unlike Thane, Malachi wasn't in exile. He was all Garm, down to the stout body, rust-colored hair, brown eyes, and muscles upon muscles.

He was simply sent to Seandra for some more combat training. It turned out that the third born of Duke Battle Forge was a natural smith. He preferred to spend all his time behind an anvil, working metal or gems, rather than behind an axe. His father, while loving the fact that he had a son that showed the promise to be a master smith like he was, still he would not have a son that could not fight. He was sent to Seandra to join Xavier and company when they went outside the shield wall, something they did rather often. There was never a shortage of undead or other evil beings to destroy beyond the shield.

He had only been with the group for about three years, yet he fit in rather well. He was supposed to go back to the Iron Fortress in the fall. Of course, now they would have to contact some Garm, so he could get a ride to his home. Out of all of them, he was really the only one with a home to go back to.

That sobering thought drove Xavier to his feet. He noticed everyone stopped what they were doing to watch him, but not one word was said, and he didn't show notice. He walked to the edge of the little clearing, then moved down to the stream. Then he started to gather wood. He figured everyone knew what he was starting to do, so they left him alone to do it.

It took him almost a full turn of the sandglass to make the raft, then he set about making a small log cabin-style pyre in the middle of it. The raft was almost a meter in both length and width, and the cabin was almost as big. He finished as the sun set behind the trees. He then went back to his tent to prepare.

When he exited his tent, everyone was standing in line, ready to join him. Like him, they were all in their armor with all the weapons at the ready. He straightened his back and started to walk towards the stream, he didn't need to look back, he heard the others fall in line behind him.

When they got to the stream, someone had put the raft in the water and tied it off to the shore. Thankfully the stream was wide enough here for this to happen. Xavier did not stop but stepped down into the water and moved around to stand at the far side of the raft. Silence reigned as the rest entered the water and moved to surround it.

After several minutes of silence, Xavier reached into his pouch and pulled out a single platinum coin. He kissed the coin and then reached in and dropped it into the center of the log cabin. After a moment, Garnet did the same, adding another platinum coin. Olpha was next, followed by Lucas and Malachi, each adding a platinum coin in the middle. The final one was Thane, who placed his platinum coin in the middle, bringing a smile to Xavier's face.

He was sure that it was Olpha that had explained to the others what was happening, and the significance of the single coin that they placed.

The Sending was an ancient ritual that drew its origins from the Pre-Dragons. All Dragon-Kind sought riches, no matter the color or the type; all dragons had a visceral need to acquire riches. That did not stop when they went into the afterlife. The Sending was meant to give them a start in their new life. It was customary to put in the best coin you had, showing that you were willing to diminish your own horde to help a loved one start their new horde. There was no greater insult than to place a lesser-value coin in the pyre.

Once all the coins had been placed, Xavier untied the raft and gave it a slight push. Once it was a short way away, he nodded to Garnet, and they both used a spark auto spell to ignite the fire. A moment later Xavier began to speak the words of the Sending, using the language of the Ancients. Xavier was one of the very few who was actually fluent in the language, but many people knew the words to the Sending. Xavier was happy to hear that Olpha was translating for Thane and Malachi who did not know the words.

To the Realm of Cataclysm,
are you sent.

To the Realm of Cataclysm,
that you were born.

To the Realm of Cataclysm,
where you will find new riches.

To the Realm of Cataclysm,
will you wait till we may join.

Prepare now a place,
for a Dragon comes home!

Xavier drew in a deep breath then simultaneously, he and Garnet let out a roar that shook the trees. Neither were in their Dragon skin, but they were Dragon and this roar would not be held back.