We’ve been traveling for several days without a fight of any kind (unless you count hunting as a fight). I am kinda begging the woods to throw something at me, besides a few rabbits and squirrels. Terra and I have been walking through this dark wood, that seems to go on forever. Occasionally we happen upon a clearing, and we camp there under the stars...or, I would. Terra would generally go up into a tree and spend the night there.

One morning, Terra decides it’s time for us to do some serious hunting, like a deer or something but before we head out, “If you hear the a grating sound that is similar to that of your terrible machines that cut down our kindred tree spirits-”

“You mean a chainsaw?” I interrupt her, she gives me an annoyed look.

“Yes, those evil machines destroy everything, but however if you hear one in this part of the forest, it is not a one of them.”

“What else could it be?” I ask her, “Chainsaws are almost everywhere, this place has amazing wood...”

As I trail off she gives me a venomous look, I drop the subject, “It is a War-Su.”

“A what?”

“A War-Su, a fearsome creature that stands over 12 of the Earth realm’s meters, or 24 units tall. Teeth as sharp as a savage's spears, and hide that is almost impossible for one to penetrate.”

“Sounds bad,” I say, “Let’s stay away from it.”

She nods, and grips her bow, the one she got from the armory at the Rashi’s fortress.

As we start tracking a small deer a question forms in my mind. “Why did they take it from you?” I ask her, remembering that the Rashi didn’t take my Digi-Sword from me.

She looks up at me confused, “Who took what from me?”

“The Rashi, why did they take your bow from you? They didn’t take my sword from me.”

She doesn’t answer for a moment. “Can you keep a secret for me?” She asks.

“Yeah.”

“My bow is not a normal bow…” She taps one end of it, a right before my eyes it shifts and transforms into something I never thought I would see in my life.

“Is that the…” I can’t even finish my sentence. In her hand is a piece of beautiful weaponry. It has a long bronze blade, polished so clearly, it seems to be a small pool had gathered on it. It is wickedly sharp, it would split the a hair from the fur of a Taluro, which is known to have finest coats of all the planet. The handle is ivory, and intricately carved. There is an etching on the blade;

Y Tragwyddol Blade

“It is what you think it is.” Terra looks up at me. “It is the fabled Eternal Blade.”

“How?” I ask her, touching blade, carefully, afraid I’ll leave fingerprints. “The last mention of the blade in literature is over 500 years ago!”

She begins to say something, but she starts, as if there is something...

“What?” I ask her.

“We are not alone in these woods.” She turns the blade back into a bow.

“Is it the War-Su?” I ask nervous, my Digi-Blade pops out of its hidden sheave.

“No,” She says, pulling an arrow from her quiver that had reappeared, “But it does wish us harm, let us move quickly from this place.”

We make our way through the wood, our weapons at the ready. In our hurry we don’t realize we have walked right into the trap. We almost reach a clearing when a net snares around our feet. My Digi-Sword falls out of my hands as we are swept up into a net woven with vines.

I swear, as tall creatures come out of the darkness that surrounds. A hideous cry rises from there lips. The new creatures are stand taller than a human, with three eyes. They wear very little, only loin-cloths. But one approaches the net that is different than the others. I think it’s a female, because she’s wearing a long dress like shirt. She carries a staff that could easily be a small tree that she tore up from the ground. Around her neck is a necklace of bone.

“I think she is the Chief of these warriors,” Terra whispers to me.

I look at her. The net has pressed us unbelievably close together. I can see she has brown flecks in her eyes, and I can feel her heart beating in her chest. I can feel something growing in my chest too.

“Yeah,” I say, trying to shake the feeling of, I don’t know what, from my chest. “That’s what I thought.”

“Shhh,” she holds her finger to her lips, the Chief lady is saying something to the warriors.

A couple of the humanoid climb up into the trees, and in a few seconds, we land with a thud on the ground. Dazed, we don’t even fight when they tie the net to a pole and start bringing us to the clearing.

I soon realize that the clearing is not really a clearing, it is a small village. Other humanoids stand around, looking at us like we are some sort of strange oddity.

The Chief Humanoid calls something out to them in their language, and they all become very excited. “I’ve got a very bad feeling about this.” I say, Terra and I share a look, we both know, this isn’t going to be good.

They take us to the center of the village where a tall wooden structure has been erected. It stands about 34 units tall, and the logs that it is made of look like they could never be shaken. “What do you think’s in there?” I ask Terra.

“Something that will most likely do us harm.” She says. She does not seem afraid, but I can feel her fluttering heartbeat in her chest, she is scared, but so am I.

The humanoids take us behind the structure where there are stairs. They climb them slowly, all the while a drum is beating somewhere, and the Chief is chanting something. We reach the top of the stairs, all activity stops. A humanoid draws out a knife, and cuts us free of the net.

Before we can lift a finger to escape, we are thrown into the wooden enclosure.

It is dark. We can’t see anything definite, only a faint outline of a large beast in the dark. The dark outline stirs, and it makes a sound.

A whirring sound.

The sound of a thousand chainsaws.

The sound of a War-Su.

“Run!” I shout. I turn and try to pull Terra with me, but she does not move.

“There is no where to run,” She says, and she looks back at me. “We have to fight, Jay.”

I know she is right, but even so, I say, “I don’t have my Digi-Sword with me, and I don’t see your bow anywhere.”

“The Eternal Blade never leaves it’s master completely.” And after she says that the sword appears in her hand. It’s glowing form casts a light on the War-Su, but it is too terrible to describe.

Terra plunges into battle. The glowing sword just a blur in the dark. I see the creature fighting back, but I can already tell that the War-Su is no match for Terra finesse. She darts around the beast like gnat, small and almost impossible to hit. It tries to strike her with a fearsome paw, but it just misses her.

I look around for a weapon of some sorts and I spy a rusty sword hiding among the bones that litter the ground. I plunge into battle with the beast. For the most part it ignores me, but I’m able to get under it.

“How is it with you Jay,” Terra asks me, completely calm now. I look over at her. She had the same idea as me. The underside of the War-Su is definitely less protected, but also more dangerous.

“It’s going great, the weather could be better though,” I smile at her through the fear. The underside of the War-Su is moist with sweat, and the sweat drips on us as we dodge the strikes from the tail of the beast.

“On three we strike,” She says. The rusty sword is heavy in my hands.“One.”

“Two,” I say, dodging another blow from the massive armored tail.

“Three,” we say together. We plunge our blades into the belly of the War-Su. It screams a horrible scream. The sound of chainsaws grows louder.

I realize soon the War-Su is going to collapse on top of us, “Now it’s time to run.” I grab her hand and start to pull her with me. This time she lets me. We run too the wall farthest from the dying War-Su, and its massive wounds spilling blood on the dry ground.

I press her against the wall and breathe heavily. I don’t even realize what I’m doing as I do it. It’s only when the chainsaws cease there moaning when I let go of her. I hope she can’t see the blush on my cheeks.

We are quiet for a moment, and then a large cry comes up from what seems like nowhere.

“I think it is those tall humanoids,” Terra states. A rope ladder unfurls from the top of the wall.

“Should we go up there?” I look at Terra, who is already climbing up the ladder. “I guess we are. I follow her up the ladder, trying not to shake it too bad.

When we reach the top of the wall, all the humanoids are lying prostrate on a platform. The chief inclines her head as she hand me back my Digi-Sword. She murmurs something in her language.

“Do you have any idea what she’s saying?” I whisper to Terra.

“I believe she is apologizing to us for the misunderstanding.”

I look at her, confused. “How can you understand what she’s saying?” I ask her.

“She speaks a rough dialect of the Rashi’s language. It is harsher, but I can still understand what she says.” She pauses as the Chief starts talking again. “She says that they were cursed with the War-Su when it sieged their village. They did not have the power to defeat it, so they trapped it. To keep it from escaping they have to feed the beast two brave souls every month. We just happened to present ourselves. They were...unaware that one of us carried the ...Eternal Blade.”

I look at the Chief, she genuinely looks sorry, “Other than the fact that we almost died, it makes sense.” Terra and I share a look, “Can you tell her she and her tribe are forgiven.”

Terra has a short exchange with the Chief. “She thanks you, and she asks, no she begs, that we accept supplies for our journey.”

“Sure,” I say. We start making our way back down the stairs. Terra continues to talk with the Chief, and the villagers look at me with wide eyes as I show them my Dgig-Sword. I don’t think they’ve ever seen anything like it

A couple of villagers approach with two green packs. They give one to each of us. Inside are some basic things, flint, some tightly coiled nylon, a canteen, a compass, and some extra clothes. I nod in thanks and Terra calls to me.

“We are losing sun,” She calls, “The Chief says we should leave before night falls.” She speaks sharply, as if something happened, or the Chief said something to her.

“Okay,” I shrug, not going to push it,  and wave good bye to the villagers. I jog to catch up with her.

“That was an interesting development,” she says.

“Why?” I ask her. She looks like she is about to say something, but she doesn’t.

She looks away from me, “No reason that concerns you.”

We walk in silence until night falls.

Weeks pass, and I learn even more about Terra, and she learns even more about me then I would even tell my closest friends. But she still won’t talk about her family.

She did mention an aunt though, she said we can stop there and replenish our supplies. We finally come upon her aunt’s house. It is a little cottage in the middle of the woods. It was small, but it looked comfortable. There was a garden, and a barn. It looked like a nice place.

“Hello dear!” Terra’s aunt exclaims as she hugs her. Her aunt is a little frumpy looking, with patched together clothes and some dirt on her face, she wears a blue bandana over her hair. But despite her outward appearance, I can already tell she has a kind heart.

“Aunt Marie, this Jay Kinney, he is on a mission to take down King Harbinger.” Terra says as I walk in behind her.

“Ah,” Her aunt nods in understanding. I feel like there is something here that they know that I don’t. “Jay, how about you go make yourself comfortable in the living room, I need to talk with Terra.”

I shrug and go through the door that she gestured to. But I don’t go all the way in, I try to listen at the door, to see if there was anything I could do to help.

“Does he know?”

“No, because I haven’t told him. He does not need to know.”

“He deserves to, he has traveled all this way, he could help you.”

“I do not need help.”

Her aunt sighs, “Fine, help me with these cookies.”

“Why.”

“No reason,” I can hear a smile in her aunt’s voice.

“Do you think?”

“Mmhm.”

“No…”

Her aunt laughs. I wonder what Terra thinks is going on.

I go sit on the comfy looking chair that stands in the small living room. I sit down just as Her aunt walks in with a tray of yummy looking cookies. “I apologize for the wait.”

“It’s not problem,” I say, not giving any indication of what I heard. Instead of answering my questions, it just raised more. She offers me some of the cookies, and I take one, thanking her. I sit awkwardly. She sits on another chair, and perches the tray of cookies precariously on an already covered side table.

We sat there for a while until, “So Ms. -”

She cuts me off, “Oh just call me Marie, Ms. Konrad seems so old.”

“Okay,” I start recomposing myself, “Tell me if this a too personal of a question, but what happened to Terra that keeps her from talking about her family.”

She says nothing. And then she draws in a deep breath and says, “I believe that is for her to tell you.”

At that time, Terra walks in, wearing a fresh shirt, and a pair of shorts. “Do I look like a teenager that is from one of the cities?” She asks.

I nod, “Yep.”

“You should go through the Forgotten Village, that is the fastest way to get to the Capitol,” Marie stands and hands Terra a cookie.

“No.” Terra says quietly. “Not through there.”

“If it’s the quickest it would make the most since,” I say, trying to play the naive boy they think I am. But I know that something is there that Terra doesn’t want to face.

Terra glares at me, and then at her aunt. She appears to be having a mental argument with herself, I’m unsure which side will win. She sets her jaw and says, “Fine, we leave this afternoon.”

She turns and storms out of the room. “That girl needs to stop running from the past.” Marie says quietly, so quietly I almost don’t hear her.

“What?” I ask her, wanting to make sure I heard her right.

“Oh nothing,” She plasters on a smile, “Why don’t you take some cookies for the road.”

I smile back at her, and take a few cookies. “Thank you,” I say.

~~~~~~~~~~

We reach the Forgotten Village by nightfall. It is eerie, but still beautiful. The houses are not small, but not huge. They aren't made out of bricks or anything, but what looks like woven vines, and living trees. It isn’t what I would describe as a village, more of a primeval town, maybe even a city. Streets, or what I can describe as streets are laid out similar to that of a modern city, blocks. We walk through it until we come upon the biggest building of all. This one is made out of stone, and old vine covered stone.

“How long has this place been abandoned?” I ask Terra, since she probably knows what is going on here.

She stops and looks up at the stone, I can only describe as a castle. “Not as long as one might think.”

“What do you mean?” I ask her as I step up to stand next to her.

“It is too long of a story to tell.”

“Then let’s stay here tonight and talk about it.”

She looks at the ground, and back up at the stone castle, covered in ivy. “Let us set up camp out here, and then I will tell you the tale of the Forgotten Village.” I nod and drop my bag from the humanoids (Terra told me they were called the Kalato). We set up camp in silence.

When the fire starts to roar and crackle, she sits down, and I sit next to her. “The Forgotten Village,” She starts, “Wasn’t always called that, when it was first created it was called Mae Dinas Gwyrdd. The people that lived here, were once called Pobl Ddaear, they were a kind and gentle people.

“They had, curious gifts. They had power over the earth itself. Their king had the ability to sculpt rock and other earthen materials into anything he, and his people desired. The queen could grow anything from any tree. The crown prince, Marco, had the ability to control the natural poisons. The other prince, Matthew, could use the earth to heal himself and others. The baby princess, who was very young when this story takes place, had not had her powers had not yet revealed themselves when this story took.

“This place was not a village, but a glorious kingdom, that up until the massacre, had never before been seen by other eyes. The king and queen were getting old, and to prepare their oldest son Marco for the throne, they sent him out into the world, so he could know what a horrible place it was out there, and the reasons to protect Mae Dinas Gwyrdd from the outside.

“He returned months later, a shadow in his eyes, and darkness in his heart, but no one could see. But everyone could see his hair. Everyone of the village had distinctive hair. Brown with a red streak, and the people of royal blood had a white streak. His was no longer the same, and he refused to speak about it.

“That same night, the treacherous prince carried out his carefully laid plans. Knights sent from King Harbinger infiltrated the village, and started to burn the village, and murder the people. The king and his family thought they were safe inside the castle, but the prince was in there with them.

“Prince Marco drew his sword and attacked his own father. Killing him. The rest of his family watched in horror, and then turned to run. The princess had no idea what had happened, and only ran to her aunt.

“No one truly knows what happened to the princess, except for her aunt,” She took a deep breath here, Terra reached up to her bandanna, “And the princess.”

At this point, I see her hair for the first time. Her brown hair is long and wavy, but on one side there is a red streak. And inside that red streak lies a part that is snow white. “You’re the…” I start, and then trail off.

“Yes, and know you are aware of why I need to go to King Harbinger’s castle, my eldest brother is there, and I must end him for selling out our home, and for killing our family.” She stares directly into the fire, not meeting my gaze. She gets up and goes to the door of the castle, “We will leave in the morning.” She pushes the door open.

“Wait,” I say as I stand up and put my hand on her shoulder. She turns and faces me, there are tears in her eyes.

“What,” Terra asks me.

I lean in close, she looks up into my eyes, “We’ll take him down, together.” She rolls her eyes and gives a quiet sigh. “I mean it,” I assure her. We are so close, I can see the brown flecks in her eyes again, though now they are more golden. I can’t help myself. I gently press my lips to hers. I can feel her shock, confusion, and then she relaxes into me.

I wrap my arms around her, and her arms around me. I can’t help but run my fingers through her hair, it is thick and soft, like I imagined it would be. She pushes back at me, matching my passion. We pull apart, breathing heavy. Her green-golden eyes are even more beautiful in the firelight. Her hair, with its red and white streak, hangs gorgeously to her shoulders. She smiles shyly and says, “Let us take down my traitor brother, and the King that led him astray.”

For once, she sleeps down by the fire.

We leave the next morning, with a new spring in our step. She holds my hand and leads us on towards the capital city. She doesn’t even glance at the Forgotten Village as we leave it behind us.

“How much farther do you think it’ll take to get to the capital,” I ask her.

“At least one more day, if we are hurrying.” She states.

It seemed as if nothing in the world could touch us, we were on our way to defeat the King, and the disgraced prince Marco. Nothing could get in the way.

Except for the fact that Terra had never been in a big city before. She stared wide eyed at the big screen that was in the central square, “What is this?” She asked me

“That’s the big screen, it helps spread news throughout the city,” I tell her, she looks up in amazement.

“It is so very large!”

I laugh to myself, for once I know more about a place then she does. “Come on, we have to go through the city to get to the palace, it’s on the side of that mountain.” I point up to the mountain that leers over the city. You can just see the palace that was carved into the side. It’s huge and beautiful, like a shiny apple, with an outside that obscures a mealy, wormy center.

We work or way through the city, dodging the speeding hover-cars that don’t seem to obey the traffic signals. I watch as Terra is thunderstruck by the tall metal skyscrapers, that are taller than the trees of the forest. The loud noises of horns and music from stores, and talking.

So much talking. I had forgotten how loud cities are, after weeks in the forest with only birds and wild animals making sounds. The sky above us is thick with smog, obscuring the light as if it was dusk. No one seems to notice.

I grab her hand, ready to get out of the city too. We duck down an alley, working our way through the concrete jungle as quickly as possible. We practically run until we reach the edge. The buildings begin to be shorter, the air clearer, and the deafening sound of the city begins to dim. The looming palace becomes more prominent in the sky line.

After a short while, we reach a small stretch of forest, we have almost reached the palace of the corrupt ruler. We pause here, relishing the silence of the trees. “How can you stand living in a city that is like that?” Terra asks.

I take a deep breath, “My city is smaller. Not quite as polluted.” Her eyes are wide.

“How could the sky become so dark during the day?”

“I don’t know.”

We fall silent, listening to a distant hover-car alarm, and the near sound of a bird. “We are being watched,” Terra says quietly.

“By who?” I ask her, reaching for my Digi-Sword sheave.

“I do not know,” She says, moving through the underbrush, “But I do not sense malice or joy. Whoever is watching our progress has no emotional attachment to either of us.”

“What do we do about it?” I ask her.

“We must move forward and hope that whoever is watching us does not mean us harm.” The trees bend away from her as she walks away from me, exposing a path that was invisible a moment ago. I pull out my Digi-Sword and follow her.

We are walking into battle, one that I don’t know if we will win. We are two people, and they have an army, and according to Terra, Marco who has some serious fighting skills, I don’t know what we’re going to do. Terra holds her hand up and we stop in a small clearing. “Someone is here.” She says.

“You have that right,” says a voice from in front of us. Before we can even react, a large number of men in black drop from the trees, each carrying a viciously sharp red Digi-Sword. They surround us quickly, cutting off any hope of an escape. Terra pulls her bow from her back and turns it into the Eternal Blade.

“Oh put that silly thing away, you have no knowledge on how to use it.” The voice says. A figure emerges from the darkness beyond the tree line. Two of the men in black part and let in the man who stood just out of sight. “How you’ve grown.” He says

Terra takes a step back as if she has been struck. “Marco, you traitorous scum.”

He is tall, at least 8 units tall, a crop of black hair crowns his head. He wears black pants that are well suited to the forest, a plain white shirt, and pieces of old fashioned armor. His sword is ornately decorated. The hilt is silver and studded with emeralds and diamonds, the blade is long and is engraved with curling vines.

He spreads his arms as if for a hug, “Is this a way to greet your brother?” He asks.

“You are not my brother,” she says, emboldened by his sarcasm. “You long ago lost that right, you are no better than the worm that crawls through the mud. You dishonor my family by carrying my father’s sword. The father that you have slain in cold blood ”

A hard glint appears in his eyes and jaw. He looks as if he is about to strike her, and I move in front of her. “You cannot touch her,” I say.

He gives a quiet, humorless laugh, looks down and shakes his head.The forsaken prince looks back at me with the same piercing green eyes as Terra. “And who are you too stop me?” He asks. He raises his hand and a white smoke comes from his palm. It reaches Terra and I. I breathe it in on accident. The world before me begins to shimmer and shake. A dark edge begins to grow around my vision. The world goes black, and I’m out.

I awake in a cold room. I’m lying on a clean bed.. I don’t remember what happened. I remember a girl, and a dungeon. I remember a strange people in the woods, and a white bow. I remember white smoke, and piercing green eyes. All disjointed fractured images.
Sitting up, I realize how hungry I am. On a wooden bedside table there sits a clean white tray with a glass of water, some grilled chicken, and peas. I eat hungrily, trying to remember where I am and how I got there.

The door opens and a tall man dressed in black traveling pants and a white shirt. “Jay!” He exclaims, “glad to see you’re awake! You were hit pretty hard on the head and the medic said your memory might have been affected.”

I stare at him confused, “Who are you? Where am I?” I ask him.

His eyes widen, “Jay, it’s me, Marco Konrad, you’re at the palace.” I’m still confused, and I continue to stare at him. “The novice must have hit you harder than we thought. Well, you are Jay, one of the King’s top trainers. I’m Marco, I am the overseer of the army, we’re close friends. Yesterday, during a training exercise with blunt swords, a novice lost grip of their sword and knocked you out. You were badly hurt.” He pauses. “Is it coming back to you?” Marco asks.

“No,” I say unsteadily, “But I’ll probably remember soon enough, if what you say is true.”

“Trust me,” Marco puts a hand on my shoulder, “I am who I tell you.” We share a look, “Now come along, we have much to do.”

I follow him out of the room and into a long stone corridor. It has no windows, and is lit with torches. We take many turns, so many I lose track. It is all the same. After a long trek through the halls we reach a sandy pavilion. The sun is high in the sky, and novices dressed in grey are mock fighting with wooden swords. An instructor in black shouts commands at some of them. They are running the Posta Drill.The pair of novices closest to us cease their fighting to look at me with wide eyes.

“Greetings Sir Konrad, Sir Smyth,” the taller one , who looks to be about 13, says, “It’s good to see you out of the infirmary.”

“Thank you,” I say nodding, not remembering this boy’s name. “You’re going to have too remind me of your name novice.”

“Brett Irion, Sir Smyth.” He bows formally. “I did hear that your memory might have been affected.”

“You are correct,” Marco says, “Now return to your training novice,”

“And watch your Short Guard,” I say as we turn and leave. He nods. He looks at his fellow novice, and they both smile as if sharing some sort of secret. We go to stand on a raised platform to watch the novices perform the rest of their Posta Drill. Their moves are sloppy, but a few things could fix it up. I look to Marco “I feel like I’m starting to remember things,” I state, “Training these novices seems familiar to me.”

He smiles, “That is good. Your memory is returning to you, you will soon be able to return to your position as trainer.This is good, for there is a battle coming”

His speech startles me, it jogs a memory of a girl with green eyes. “What is confusing about my speech?” “You talk like you’re from 1900’s or something, it’s 2066,” “I know you live in the woods and stuff, but I would think would pick up a little normal lingo.” I don’t let Marco know that I remembered that, it seems too private, even for a close friend.

~~~~~~~~~~

Weeks pass, and I feel like my memory is returning. I can remember leading a group of soldiers through a Rashi fortress, destroying them. I remember fighting a War-Su with a couple of soldiers. Stopping a couple insurgents in the forest outside of the palace walls.

My duties return. Prison duty. I don’t remember where the dungeon is, so a soldier takes me down there. On the way we pass a strange statue. It is of a teenage girl frozen with a look of horror on her face. With a shock I realize that the girl is alive, and frozen in a metal called Adamantine. She is alive in there!

I think I recognize her face. The Adamantine is a thin metal, so it lets colors show through it, so I can see her brown red and white hair, and her piercing green eyes. They look at me, as if imploring me to remember something. The soldier in front of me stops, and I nearly run into him.

“This is where you stay.” He states formally. “This post is only a formality, we have never had a prison break.”

He salutes me, turns on his heels, and leaves out the door we came. I never even got his name. I hear his sharp footsteps receding back up the stairs we came, until I hear a door slam. This snaps me out of my stupor, and I remember why I’m here. But my gaze keeps drifting from the monitors in front of me, to the girl frozen in Adamantine. She looks so familiar. I completely abandon the monitors to go examine her. She wears a simple green shirt, and brown pants. A white bow is slung across her back…

White bow…

Green eyes…

Brown, red, and white…hair

It all comes flooding back

The Rashi Fortress, where I met her…the revolt of the prisoners…the first battle…the forest…the Kalato and the War-Su…the Eternal Blade…the Forgotten Village…Mae Dinas Gwyrdd…the kiss…the city…Marco…the white smoke…

And in a moment of shock, I realize that Marco has been tricking me this whole time. He wiped my memory. He was the one that caused me to lose the very thing that kept me going. He used me to work for the very cause I sought to destroy.

My blood boils.

I put my hands on the pedestal on which Terra stands. My hand down, I take deep breathes as the fragmented images of the past month come flooding through my mind’s eye. I look up at her face, the fear in her eyes. Her last breath caught in her chest. I have to remind myself that she still is alive, somewhere in the frozen shell.

I look down at my hands again, and see a panel with blinking lights and buttons. They mean something…

It hits me, they wouldn’t freeze a prisoner in there forever. I read somewhere that the first colonists of Fortmon used Adamantine to survive the long journey from Earth land. They would need some way to thaw themselves, this control panel must be it. One dial reads heat, it is turned all the way down. I look up the stairs, but don’t hear anyone coming, in the dungeon, no one stirs.

I turn it up slowly. I take a step back and watch as the Adamantine begins to soften I hear a racking cough, a wheezing breath. Her eyes begin to move, darting around, looking at invisible attackers. She falls forward. I just manage to catch her as she falls to the ground.

Her green eyes, still full of fear, scan my face, searching for something. Terra breathes heavily as she reaches up to touch my face, I touch hers. We somehow ended up sitting on the floor, I’m cradling her like a baby on my lap. She’s so light.

“Jay,” she smiles.

“It’s okay,” I start to say but she cuts me off by pulling herself up and kissing me hard. I am shocked for a moment, and then I reach my arms around her, pulling her closer. She runs her fingers through my hair. My pulse quickens.

She breaks off the kiss. “Jay,” she says my name again. It sounds like honey coming off her lips. She sits straight, “How did you escape my brother and the group of soldiers?”

“It’s a long story,” I say. I go on to explain what happened, how Marco stole my memory using that white smoke, and how he tricked me into helping King Harbinger's army. By the end of the story, her face has grown hard.

“My forsaken brother has treaded on dangerous ground, for that he will die.” She stands and dusts off her knees. “We must rally the prisoners to take out my brother and the corrupt King.”

I rise too, “You’re right.” I push a button on the monitor and the dungeon door swings open also disabling the cameras. “I don’t know how many prisoners are down here, but the palace is about to have its first and last breakout.”

We silently creep down stairs into the torch lit dungeon. The walls are lined with cells as far as the eye can see.

“Have you come to put us out of our misery?” A weak voice asks me. I look over to the direction that the voice came from. A prisoner lies in this cell, dirty and dressed in simple pants and shirt that at one point must have been white, but now are grey.

“If you have come to kill us,” a voice from another direction says, “Make it quick.”

“Please, I’m so hungry.”

“Free us from these bonds.”

“Sir!”

Voices from every direction call out to me, calling for food, freedom, death. All the prisoners are dressed in the same white cotton outfits.

“Terra?” A feminine voice calls from a cell.

Terra approaches the cell where the voice came from, “How do you know who I am?” she asks

“A mother will always remember her daughter,” the voice replies.

I rush to that cell to stand by Terra as she gasps and grabs her mother’s hands. I fumble with the keys in my hands as Terra and the woman talk in some language I don’t recognize. I unlock the cell and Terra’s mother rushes out to hug her daughter.

“I thought you were dead,” Terra whispers.

“As I did you,” the woman whispers back.

“Terra?” another weak voice whispers.

Her and her mother go to the cell. Lying on the floor is a weakened man, about 20, 23 years old, “Matthew? You too have been imprisoned here?”

“Has this soldier brought you here to join our numbers?”

“No,” I say as I unlock his door. “I’m here to destroy the King.”

He struggles to sit up, “Then save others, I am too weak to be any good.”

Terra and her mother rush into the cell. “Can you not heal yourself?” Terra asks as she strokes his hair and hugs him close.

“Marco has made certain I barely enough nutrients to sustain me, therefore I do not have enough energy to heal myself.”

“He has been treading a dark path, and it led him to this place. Let me stay and find you substance.” Terra sits next to him, easing him back on his back. She puts her hand on the ground next to her and murmurs some words that are intelligible, the white streak in her hair shimmers. As she pulls it away, a small sprout begins to grow. I watch as it grows into a small tree with breadfruit sprouting all over it. She pulls one off of it, breaks it open, and begins to feed Matthew.

I have just witnessed magic. I knew she had it, but often times I would forget it. “I’ll go free the others.”

I leave them alone, feeling awkward. The rest of the prisoners whisper their thanks to me, and then leave to find their kin among the freed. Turns out there are many families among them. The King and his guard have no mercy on the people.

I return, and Matthew still is lying on the ground, his face contorted in a look of pain. “Is he alright?” I ask Terra.

“He is healing himself,” She says, not looking up at me, “And with such little substance in his system, it is a painful process.”

“I’ll be fine,” Matthew grimaces, “You need to go fight…free the people from the King and Marco.”

“Go,” Her mother puts a hand on her shoulder as Terra looks up at her, “I will watch over him. You must go. I would not be much help in battle, my powers are not so great.” She helps her daughter stand, “I sense a greatness in you daughter, a power stronger than Marco can comprehend.” She murmurs something in a different language and hugs Terra.

She turns to me and repeats the words, her eyes meet mine and I know what I have to do. I have to protect Terra for the mother she just rediscovered.

“She says may your sword strike strong, your feet be swift, and your victory be true.” Her mother sits next to Matthew and strokes his brow, “It is blessing for soldiers going off to battle. She must think very highly of you.”

And with that we leave the cell, to the crowd of people waiting. “What do we do now?” one cries out

“How will we escape?” says another

“Will my children have to fight?”

“My wife is ill!”

I take a deep breath and speak above the din, “I’ll tell you what we do now, we are going to siege the palace, and escape!” This shuts them up. I look over at Terra and she nods encouragingly. I take a deep breath and continue, “Your children will not have to fight, we have a healer down here and a bread fruit tree.” At this Terra throws her hand out towards the crowd. Another breadfruit tree grows among them. They’re astonished. “We find you weapons, Digi-Swords, axes, bows, knifes, we can fight!” The crowd shouts, “We can win back our country’s freedom!” They shout again.

I smile.

~~~~~~~~~~

Before long we are making our way through the palace. I turned off the cameras on our way, so we can travel through undetected. “Do you know where they will be?” Terra asks me.

“I don’t know, but we’ll take them down.”

We have armed the crowd, and we are a motley bunch. I don’t know how we’ll take them down, but I know we have to try. Against a people like the Rashi, a dungeon crowd would be very effective. But we are going against the King’s personal guard. A group of about 150 men, trained in the art of war since they were children. It could be bad, but I need to have a little faith in our crowd, we have anger on our side. Over a hundred people made of the steel that comes from years of imprisonment.

Before I realize it, we reach the sandy training pavilon. It is empty. Empty except for the King and Marco standing on the viewing platform. They are both dressed for battle.

“Nice of you too finally join us,” the King says. “We were wondering when you would show up.”

“We are here now, and you are greatly outnumbered,” Terra shouts. The crowd yells in defiance.

“Are you?” He asks. Out of various passages behind him come the Honor Guard. Dressed in a soldier's black with red boots, they are a fearsome sight. They each carry a Digi-Sword, programmed to the sharpest edge possible.

I unsheath my Digi-Sword, raise it and yell. A wordless yell, but it rallies the crowd, we rush forward into battle. All heck breaks loose.

I hear the clashing of steel on the Octrion of Digi-Swords. It is a beautiful noise.

I charge at the pedestal to engage the King in battle, but he has already chosen an opponent. Terra had rushed the pedestal first, most likely to attack Marco, but was intercepted by the King.

I’ve already come here, so I lunge at Marco. He parries aside my blade and strikes back with a slash aimed at my neck. I sidestep it and fake a strike to the right and attempt to hit the left. He blocks it easily.

“You lack polish in your technique,” he jeers at me.

I narrow my eyes and kick sand into his face. While he is distracted I attempt to strike his side, to no prevail.

“That was a dirty trick,” he growls.

“And you are a filthy traitor, so we are well matched!” On this last word I dive back into battle. Sweat builds on brow, he is good. Trying to keep his brain distracted from the fight, I ask him, “Why did you do it?”

“Do what,” his voice is poison.

“Why did you betray your people to the King.” I look over at where Terra and the King are fighting. He carries a strange sword, not a Digi-Sword, but also not a metal sword. She fights like a demon. Using her powers to restrain him with thick woody vines, and to strike at him.

He follows my gaze, “It is none of your concern.”

“It is my concern, when it concerns Terra.”

He strikes at me, “Power. The King offered me power over people that would otherwise rule over me.”

“But you were to be King to, of your own people.”

A gives a humorless laugh as he slashes at me, “A small hidden people. There was no power there.”

“But your family was there.” This catches him off guard, “For power you killed your own father!” I strike. He blocks and uses his leverage to push me against a wall.

“I did not murder my father. A soldier that stormed the castle did.”

“No, Terra herself saw you put a sword to your father’s neck.”

“NO!” He releases me and takes a step back. “You're lying, I was not present when the siege occurred.”

I fix him with a steely gaze, “You betrayed your people to the army, you lead them to Mae Dinas Gwyrdd, you orchestrated the genocide of your own people. You killed your father, and imprisoned your mother and brother. You are a traitor.”

“No,” he is quiet. The sounds of battle around me fade. “He told me…he told me that no one would get hurt. He told me that my family would be safe. He told me that my people would only be scattered.”

“Who told you that?’

“The King, he told me…”

“He lied to you. He took your memory and fed you lies. Your people were powerful, and they got in his way.”

Marco is about to say something when a scream cuts across the battlefield. Terra has been struck down, the King is standing over her.

Marco shouts something in his native tongue and charges too his fallen sister. His sword drawn and rage in his eyes. As the King brings down his sword, Marco blocks it with his. The King shouts in anger.

“You belong to me!” I hear him bellow.

“You lied to me, and now you plan to rid the world of my people.” He fights back.

A fearsome battle ensues. I run to Terra and drag her out of harms way. Her arm is bloodied, and there is a gash on her forehead. She is knocked out.

“MARCO!” A voice calls across the field. It is Matthew. The battle swirls around him as he runs to his brother. “Why do you fight your master?”

“He is no longer my master!” He stabs at the King, “Aid me, and I will take whatever punishment you wish to give me willingly.”

Matthew dives into battle beside his brother. The brothers fight as fearsomely as there sister. Green smoke billows from Marco’s sword, and where it touches the King, it burns him. Matthew’s blade is a blur in his hands. It is not long till the King sucumbs to them, and falls.

Before long, the battle ends. With Matthew’s aid, and Marco’s poison, the King’s Honor Guard had no chance. The crowd shouts in triumph as the run from the pavilion, chasing any of the Honor guard from the area. The brothers are following them but I stop them when I shout, “Matthew, Marco, it’s Terra!”

The brothers rush to me, Terra is still out, I put a tourniquet on her arm, but it still worries me. “I can help,” Matthew says. He places his hands on her arm, and green energy flickers across her. After a few minutes, her arm looks better. “She will lose her arm, but she will fine once she wakes.” Sweat has pooled on his brow.

He stands and looks at his brother. “Matthew,” Marco says, “I am ashamed. The prospect of power was too great, and the King possessed great powers that kept me under his power for many years.”

“I understand,” Matthew reaches out his hand for a shake, “brother.”

Marco shakes his hand, and pulls him into a hug. They exchange words in their language, that I still don’t understand, but evidently mean something important.

Terra’s eyes flutter open and they lock on mine, “You are okay Jay.” She states, dazed.

“You’re going to be fine too.”

She looks up at her brothers, “Marco, your hair is as I remember it.” His hair has faded into brown, a red streak, a white streak is slowly reappearing. “You have you redeemed yourself.” I help sit up. Color is back in face, but she has not moved her arm.

“How’s your arm?” I ask her.

“I cannot feel it, it is gone.” It is, Matthew’s magic removed the useless part, and healed the nub.

“Hey,” I put my hands on her face, and look at her, “We’re going to get you a new one.”

She smiles, reaches her arm up to my face. I kiss her. Sitting on a sandy, bloody battlefield. Sweat covers both of our faces. Her brothers are looking on, making me feel awkward. I could care less. It is a magical kiss.

I don’t know what we are going to do now, where we are going to go next. But sitting here now, I think we’re going to think of something. As long as I have Terra by my side, I’ll never be lost, especially since I have no sense of direction.