Spring Break
Chapter 15
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

We all stand up and turn to face King Tierion. Then we see the two other kings as well with their Legion Commanders behind them.

"We are honored to welcome the three Kings of our region.

We all bow our heads quickly; they give a nod with their heads as well.

"Think nothing of it. When Sir Halgren explained the gravity of the situation, it affects us all. We need to come to an agreement on this matter before it is too late."

"Are you ready, Telgon, to contact King Thranton?"

"I am, King Jeriel."

Telgon takes out the contact sphere from another pocket and puts it in his left hand. He recites the contact spell and waits for a moment, it soon glows silver. The image of King Thranton appears above the crystal sphere.

"Greetings, King Thranton."

"Greetings,Ambassador Telgon. Is everything all right with the ceremonies?"

"It has my king. Did you see the ceremonies and the Inquiry afterwards?"

"I did see the ceremonies, Telgon. There was an inquiry? I wasn't told about that. What did King Dryden want with that?"

Everybody looks at each other with concerned faces. The dwarves look down with sad faces then they look up to the three Kings for help. They mouth the words and gesture with their hands outward a bit, "Please help us."

The three Kings smile and nod their heads in agreement.

Telgon smiles, "King Thranton, I'm meeting with the three Outside Helpers of our region as we speak. We're hoping to have a visit some time tomorrow for a brief tour. Didn't Draknor tell you?" Curse that Draknor if he didn't.

"No he didn't, Telgon. It looks like I'm being kept in the dark again."

"Standing right here with me are the three Upper Kings from our region. They're concerned as well with our current affairs."

"That’s good. Let me speak with them."

Telgon hands the contact sphere to King Tierion. The other two Kings stand on either side of him as they look at King Thranton's image.

"I'm sorry to put our problems under your feet, kings. Just what did happen today besides the ceremonies?"

"Can you talk in private? This is for your ears only for now."

"Hold a moment please." The image disappears.

~~~000~~~

King Thranton looks up to see who is in the throne room. There is nobody there except the guards. "Guards, I'm going to my private council room. Guards, take watch that I do not get disturbed."

"Yes, my Lord."

Two of the guards follow him from the throne room and walk to a hallway from the left side of the throne room. He walks down the hallway and moves aside the tapestry hanging in front of the second door on the left. He opens the door and pauses before he walks inside.

"Not one word to anybody about the Inquiry that you just heard about."

"Yes, my King,” the guards stand vigilant on both sides of the tapestry.

King Thranton closes the door as he enters in. King Thranton recites the light spell and the crystals light up to brighten the room. He sits down in an upholstered chair near a hearth and mantle. He recites the contact spell and the images of the three kings reappear above the sphere.

"All right Kings I'm in my private council chamber. What happened today?"

"The ceremonies went fine this morning as expected. We'll make sure a copy of the Ceremonies and the Inquiry is sent to you."

"After the ceremonies, King Dryden had an inquiry that actually began in Thryson Castle. It was actually initiated by the arrival of one of our Outside Helpers."

"It did? Now I'm very curious about this. Go on, King Tierion."

"Richard Moore is our Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom. Renard starts to gather information about him and relayed that information to me. When Richard saw our First Ones that is when it became interesting. His world has a connection to our world. Our First Ones, including the dwarves, came from his home world thousands of years ago."

"What?!?! Surely you're joking, King Tierion!"

"I am not joking, King Thranton. It is the truth. It was confirmed by Avel, the unicorn."

"This is incredible. You just confirmed an old entry in our chronicles. I'm glad to know that mystery has been solved."

"When Renard told Richard about our First War, Richard gave some insight that we had not considered."

"What would that be?"

"The sinking of the fishing fleet was not done by the ten kingdoms which our former kings denied doing it all along. It was caused by something else and bigger. We soon realized that we were told what happened. It was never investigated properly in the first place."

"I knew it. I figured it had to be something else. What was it?"

"Avel, the unicorn, told Richard that there was a magician on Earth who helped them to save some of them. The magician helped the dragons swim so that they won't drown when the Great Flood came. I have it all recorded from this morning."

"Yes, I want to see it. So what did Richard suggest?"

"Richard suggested we have sea dragons in our oceans."

"Hah, hah, hah.... I knew it. Thank you King Tierion. That confirms another old story that was passed down from other dwarf kings here. Please come down when you can."

"The next day after tomorrow we're having a meeting with the sea dragons at the Royal Sea Gala Arena to begin negotiations with them."

"Good, I will be there. I will be sure to bring my leaders to prove that I am not mad."

"That is excellent, King Thranton. How are we going to handle the visit tomorrow? Have it after the noon repast?"

"Good question, King Loran. Since we are four or five marks behind you, you'll have to leave there late. What else is planned there in the morning?"

"We're having a conference on the Maranelle Island situation. That part should not take too long. Then afterwards all of the Outside Helpers will go there to provide their insight to help them clean up the mess there before the noon repast here."

"I see what you mean, King Thranton. If we left here at Third Mark in the morning it will be First Mark before sunrise there. We'll need to let King Dryden know about this time problem of a four mark difference."

"We'll need to discuss this with King Dryden tonight."

"I see no problem arriving in your Under Kingdom before the noon repast there. It is just a matter of getting everyone else here to come up with a schedule to fit around that time slot."

“It will have to be earlier, like two marks before the noon repast here.”

“You're probably right, King Loran. Let's make the time at the fourth mark in morning.”

"How many should we bring, King Thranton, and where are we meeting?"

"We'll need to meet in our Grand Cave where we have our public gatherings. Bring a contingent of twenty dignitaries including your commanders for a total of ten from your military. That should be enough to get their attention. That includes your Outside Helpers and escorts for a total of thirty from each kingdom. I also instructed my ambassadors to get some numbers to prove how much we earn and trade with you."

"I remember that request, King Thranton. My Governors were able to provide that summary to them."

"Yes, our Governors did the same."

"Where should we arrive on stage King Thranton?"

"Use your wizards and sorceresses to appear on stage behind the closed curtain. I'll have chairs there on a series of raised platforms for your contingent. There should be enough room for your three dwarf dragons such as Croin and the other First Ones. Have my six ambassadors and their wives there as well. They will be seated behind the first curtain. I will begin by debating and asking questions so you know exactly what is happening."

"I'll make an announcement for a public proclamation. Everyone will think I'm mad, but they will be surprised when the curtain is drawn open. We'll have a Region Meeting with all Upper and Under Kingdoms right then and there."

"That is excellent, King Thranton. That is a very good plan. We'll let King Dryden know what is going on as well."

"Thank you, King Jeriel. That is greatly appreciated."

"King Thranton, during the Inquiry we also revealed who started the First War."

"You did? Who was it?"

"It was a wizard in training. He was the only survivor from the fishing fleet. His name is Ruald."

"Ruald, isn't he the Master Wizard from the Maranelle Islands?"

"He was King Thranton. He spread the lies about the ten kingdoms attacking the fishing fleet. During the Inquiry, we had help from several others beside Richard. He almost caused to spread a sickness from eating meat of wild animals to all of Twainor. If he had succeeded, we would not be able to do magic for thousands of years."

"It looks like he did not plan too well, but I'm glad to hear that Ruald was stopped. I look forward to the meeting tomorrow."

"So are we, King Thranton. We'll be there. Be safe, King Thranton."

"You do as well, Upper Kings."

The image disappears above the crystal sphere.

King Thranton stands up walks out of his private council room. He recites a spell to turn off the lights as he closes the door. He pushes the tapestry aside. He speaks to one of the guards. "Have Draknor come to the throne room right now. I'll be waiting for him."

"Yes, my King."

The guards lead King Thranton to the throne room. One stays by his side while the other contacts Draknor on the crystal sphere.

The guard takes out his crystal sphere with his left hand. He places his right hand above the sphere, his palm facing the sphere. He recites the spell, the sphere glows grayish-silver. Soon the image of Draknor appears above the guard's crystal sphere.

"King Thranton wants you in the throne room now."

"All right, I will be there soon."

The image disappears. The guard puts his crystal sphere into his pocket. He walks to the other side of the King Thranton. The two guards stand at attention on either side of him. King Thranton is deep in thought for a few moments. Soon the double doors open and Draknor walks in and approaches the throne. He comes to a stop and stands in front.

"You sent for me, King Thranton?"

"I did, Draknor. I need to make a proclamation in the Grand Cave tomorrow morning at the Fourth Mark. I know it is on short notice."

"But, my Lord, why now?"

"I have my reasons, now do as I say. If you don't I will get somebody else who can do your job."

"What?"

"I mean it, Draknor. I have not been deaf. I know there is opposition out there against me. It is you and your three friends that are behind it. I don't know how the four of you became members of the court, but I will find out. Didn't you show me the petition earlier of the Fortress Lords?"

"Yes, I remember."

"If you like you can tell your friends that they can state their case for change at that time as well."

"Very well, my Lord. I'll send the word out. It will be done."

Draknor bows his head quickly. He turns and walks out of the throne room. As soon as he leaves the King's fortress he gets out his crystal sphere with his left hand. He faces his right palm towards the sphere; he concentrates who he wants to contact. He recites the spell, it glows a deep red color. The next instance an image of a dwarf appears. Draknor says only two words, "Meet now!" The image disappears.

He walks through the streets and past dwarves going about their daily business. He approaches a large square with a fountain. He walks past the fountain and sees a tapestry shop for his destination on the other side. He walks inside and sees someone hanging some tapestries. A lady is in the shop arranging some small tapestries on a table. He turns around to greet the potential customer.

"Draknor, why are you here?"

"Quickly, into the back room, Trekken."

"Okay, Draknor. My dear, will you please watch the shop for a moment?"

"Of course, I’ll watch, my dear husband."

They both walk to the rear of the shop and enter a hallway. After walking past several doors, Draknor pushes aside a hanging tapestry and they both enter another hallway. They walk to the end and open the last door on the left. They recite several light spells to light up the light crystals in the room. In the room is a single table with five chairs around it. They sit down in their chairs and wait for the other three to show up.

They did not have long to wait. The door opens up and three dwarves walk in and take their seats.

"All right, Draknor. What is this about?"

"King Thranton wants to make a proclamation in the Grand Cave tomorrow."

"What time of the day?"

"At the Fourth Mark after the morning repast. He expects the Grand Cave to be filled. He wants all of the Under Kingdom to know about it."

"He's crazy, Draknor. He needs to be replaced now."

"Yes, he has gone too far this time.

"All right, if that's what he wants, we'll give him his last public forum. All we have to do is show the vote from the Fortress Lords that he is incompetent to lead."

"I agree, Brennel. It is time the dwarves take matters into our hands. I know we can make the Upper Kingdoms see the truth. It is time for new leadership."

"This trade must end with the Upper Kingdoms. We'll just trade with our own. We have enough for all dwarves."

"What about the silver and gold we trade with?"

"Remember what we said the other day?"

"I remember, let them dig it for themselves."

"What if they and King Thranton send an army after us?"

"King Thranton would not dare send his own people against us. It would bring a civil war. We can hold off the Upper Kingdoms indefinitely if we are besieged."

"Yes, the Upper Kingdoms will have to recognize us."

"We just need to show proof to King Thranton we can do a better job of leading."

"Okay, is it agreed for this at the Fourth Mark?"

Everyone responds, "Yes."

"All right let's spread the news about this meeting. We will make sure the Grand Cave is filled with our supporters only."

The five dwarves get up and leave the room. Trekken turns off the crystal lights as they leave. They walk down the hallways and enter in the shop area. Four dwarves exit the tapestry shop and out into the plaza area. Trekken stays behind.

As soon as they step out, they hear a dwarf standing near the plaza making an announcement. Another dwarf is handing out posters while another is putting up posters in the square.

"Good morning, dwarves!! There is going to be a meeting at the Grand Cave tomorrow. At Fourth Mark after the morning repast King Thranton is going to make a grand announcement that will benefit everybody. Tell everyone you meet to be there. Spread the word quickly!"

Another dwarf speaks, "There are extra posters here. Take one for your enclave near here. We have already contacted the distant enclaves in our region. They are getting the word as we speak."

The four dwarves see other dwarves posting the messages. They see others stop by to read them. They tell each other that they will be there.

"Curse him; quickly we must get our supporters there. We don't want to be outnumbered."

The four dwarves look at each other and agree. They go their separate ways to find their friends and followers about the meeting tomorrow.

~~~000~~~

King Thranton’s image disappears above the crystal sphere. King Tierion hands the sphere back to Telgon.

"Thank you, Kings." Telgon bows his head quickly.

The other dwarves repeat Telgon words. "Thank you, Kings." Each of the dwarves bows their heads quickly.

"You're welcome Ambassadors. This plot affects all of us. If our trade gets disrupted, it hurts everyone. We must work together for the good of Twainor. You saw what happened today during the Inquiry and the meeting with the sea dragons."

"Some of us have not seen that recording yet."

"Don't worry, Dolkas. It will be played tonight after the evening repast and the setting of the sun."

"Same here in the other Kingdoms, dwarves. Everyone here will know what happened today. It is unfortunate that not everybody saw the Inquiry. Tomorrow morning is the meeting on what to do with the people that Ruald led astray and made them sick."

"More than likely they will be sent to a separate island. We just need to provide the conditions to help them live each day and not spread the sickness to the rest of us."

"Well, it is time to get ready for the evening repast my friends."

"See you in the morning, Ariella and Evrat."

"See you in the morning, Richard. Thank you for your ideas."

"You're welcome."

"Same here Richard, see you in the morning. Richard, let me give your watch back. Bring it with you when we go down under tomorrow."

Evrat hands the watch back to me.

"You’re welcome. I will be wearing it tomorrow anyway."

The other dwarves quickly hug each other with smiles on their faces knowing something good is happening tomorrow.

The Kings from Ringol and Eirecann leave with their group and walk back to their respective pavilion area.

Caltron and Serena walk back over when they see us done with our meeting. Avel and the fairies arrive as well.

"How did the meeting go, King Tierion? When I saw the other two Kings arriving from our Region, I knew it was going to be a very important meeting."

"It went fine, friends. At the Fourth Mark tomorrow after the morning repast there will be a visit to King Thranton's Kingdom. Apparently the internal strife with the separatists is getting stronger."

"That confirms what we have heard King Tierion. We hear the talk from the other First Ones as well."

"When we arrive, it will be a Regional Meeting to confront the movement. It will be solved before the Outside Helpers give any new ideas to them. I don't think this faction has really planned this out too well. Richard, what happened when Kings get deposed and new governments want to rule back on Earth?"

"It can go in several directions, my Lord. I have read the stories of Kings with different dispositions, there have been good ones as well as bad ones."

Everyone nods their heads up and down.

"The first one is the King and Queen who have no power in the daily decisions; they are there for show only. To keep the tradition of having a King to commission the men to be knights, for example. All decisions are made by the Castle Lords of the Kingdom. There is a separate cabinet of ten to fifteen people under a leader that is elected by the people. Each person represents a certain function for the kingdom or country such as education, judges, governors, agriculture, military, transportation, etc."

"From there it gets steadily worse. The people would rise and kill all royalty to put in their own government that is agreed to. The new leader can be good or bad. I've read the horror stories of murderous dictators and the people are the losers at his whim of a command. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, especially in health."

"Thank you, Richard. So you can see, my friends. We have been fortunate to have good people in leadership. This is another example of everyone looking out for each other. Come; let us go to the pavilion for the evening repast."

We all start to walk to the pavilion, soon we see others walking there as well. We all walk inside and take our places where we had been yesterday evening. Once everyone was seated, King Tierion stands to address his kingdom.

Then everyone gets quiet to hear to what he has to say. Marcon and Croin fly into the central area and bend down to listen and hear what is going on inside the pavilion.

"Thank you for coming. After the setting of the sun we will have the showing of the meeting with the sea dragons that took place earlier today. The meeting will be projected up here from the crystal spheres that the wizards and sorcerers recorded. You can make some comments or ask questions if you want to afterwards. Then after that we'll retire for the evening. As before, it will be the same group to the castle tonight."

"Tomorrow morning at Second Mark, we'll meet in the Grand Hall to discuss the situation with the Maranelle Islands. Renard, if you please, give the evening thanks."

Renard stands and speaks out loud, “Maker, we just want to thank you this day for the opportunity that the Gift of Twainor is still with us. Please grant us the wisdom and perseverance to help guard it for all time. We thank you for the food that you provide for us this day. Thank you , Maker."

Then everyone in the pavilion responds, "Thank you, Maker."

Croin and Marcon fly away and join in with the other dragons finding their own meal from the ocean.

King Tierion and Renard sit back down. Then servers and attendees help start to bring out the first course for the evening repast. It is a salad arrangement with different toppings and sauces this time from yesterday's meal.

We all begin to eat the salad set before us. Conversations drift throughout the gathering while we eat. Master Chef Beharn did a wonderful job in mixing the sauce with spices. After a quarter-mark or so, we finished eating the salad. The servers come out pick up our empty plates and return them to kitchen to get them clean to be used another day.

The next time they come out they bring out the main course of cooked fowl. They are cooked in several different styles. On the side are two servings of cooked vegetables. We all tuck in and start to eat the main course. Again Beharn did an excellent masterpiece in food preparation; it is a very tasty meal. It is definitely not boring according to my standards. Heh, heh, heh...

When we finish the main course, the servers bring out large bowls of several fruits. This time the selection is very different from yesterday's meal.

"Are these from a different region, Renard?"

"They are, Richard. The fruits are from the Tryllion Kingdom area."

"These are very good. They're just as wonderful as the fruits from our kingdom."

"Yes, they can be, Richard, since they are new for you. Of course I prefer the fruits from my kingdom."

I laugh a bit, "Hah, hah, hah.... that's true for you, Renard. I know of a certain fruit on Earth that is only found in one region. Since I lived there, I prefer it to other fruits."

"See, you do have a bit of bias towards your own favorite foods."

We laugh together as we cut the fruit up into bite size pieces.

We continue eating the fruits. Just like last evening, there is laughter and giggling while everyone enjoys the desert. Once we all get done eating, King Tierion stands.

"Master Chef, will you please come out?"

The Master Chef comes out with some of the cooks and stand in a line.

"Thank you for another wonderful dish."

Everybody claps and cheer inside the pavilion. The Master Chef and cooks smile as they give a bow.

"Thank you, Thryson Kingdom. It is a pleasure to serve you all. See you in the morning at the break of day for the morning repast."

The cheering and clapping continues again. They bow one more time. Then they turn around and return to the kitchen.

"It is now time for us to go outside and witness the Maker's Creation. Let us give thanks we can still do the magic. Then we'll come back inside for the showing of the meeting today with the sea dragons."

We all stand up and walk outside of the tent to witness the light show. We see the sun setting behind the Correllianne Mountains. Soon we see a wall of dazzling lights approaching us from the sea towards us from the East. Soon we are enveloped in the light display as it intermingles with us. We all begin to laugh as the lights play among us. I look at my hands and body and see the lights running along the skin surface. I see tendrils of light emanating from my finger tips as I extend them from me. I see sound waves become visible as people talk and sing to one another.

This is incredible. I'm so amazed by this beauty, Maker. I wonder if I can do magic here?

I look at the others in our kingdom. I see dragons flying in the air; they too are displaying a dazzling light show up there. There are some couples dancing with each other. Even they display a different combination of color while they dance together. It is an eerie and serene show that I see.

After a quarter-mark the light show moves away from us and begin to move across the plains towards the mountains. It starts to race across the foot hills of Angathorn kingdom. Then it starts going up the higher slopes towards the mountain range.

Once the light show reaches the peaks of the mountain range, the colored light display suddenly flashes up like a crown along the edge. Then the next moment it disappears. Soon the stars come out and we see the two moons and nebulae in the night sky. We all cheer and clap our hands as we give thanks to the Maker for his creation.

"Renard, that was incredible. Did you see how the lights interacted with me? It reacted the same way as you did."

"Yes, I saw that, Richard."

"Does this mean I can do magic?"

"I don't know yet, Richard, but it is worth a try."

"Yes, it would be, but it will probably mean that I can do magic only here and not back at home on Earth."

"I'm sure you're right, Richard. But it does provide hope for those who are sick, if it has spread to the rest of us."

"But, I don't think you want to wait five thousand years to know if you can do it again."

"Probably we don’t want to, Richard. Come, lets’ walk back inside the pavilion and watch the showing of the sea dragon meeting."

"Renard, here is a quick idea for an interesting way to view the meeting."

"What way would that be, Richard?"

"Use Trianna's recording and yours at the same time. It should show the meeting with more depth and realism when played back."

"It is worth a try. Trianna, can I use your recording as Richard suggested?"

"Sure, I'm curious now how it will turn out."

"I will need another pedestal next to it. How far apart should they be Richard?"

"How close were you standing next to each other on the island?"

"We were almost side by side. So our crystal spheres should be set up the same distance?"

"That is right, Renard."

"Here you go, Renard,” Trianna hands her recording of the meeting with the sea dragons.

"Thank you, Trianna." Renard keeps the crystal sphere in his left hand.

We all walk back inside for the viewing and take our seats as before. When we come back inside we see that the tables have been cleared off except for glasses of water plus a napkin for each place setting. There is a pitcher of water on each table. Renard walks forward and stands beside King Tierion.

"Renard will now replay the meeting today with the sea dragons."

"Thank you my Lord. Can I have another table and pedestal out here. I want to try something new that Richard suggested." Renard takes out a crystal sphere from his pocket and holds it in his right hand.

A servant comes in with a small table. On the table is a small pedestal to hold the crystal sphere. He puts it down and walks back to retrieve another table and small pedestal. He brings that out and sets it next to the other table. The servant walks to a chair on the left side next to Sir Drexton and sits down.

Renard adjusts the tables and pedestals to the approximate distance. Renard places his crystal sphere on the pedestal to his right. He places Trianna's crystal on the left pedestal, the same way they were standing next to each other on the island. He recites the spell to replay the meeting so that they are synchronized. He recites another spell to enlarge the images so that the combined image reaches the top of pavilion. This way everyone can see and hear with ease.

This is just like watching a movie back home. I love it. Now where is the popcorn? I knew it, now the meeting is shown with more depth and realism.

Once the image is enlarged to see it, the crowd 'ooh', 'aah' and gasp for air as if they are there.

All of the people in the pavilion have a look of astonishment when they see the wrecked fishing fleet and the skeleton remains of the sea dragons sticking up above the water level. I see people shed some tears. I also hear some crying as well. They were able to pull themselves together in time just like we did earlier today.

When the dragons roared in the water, the vibrations were even felt where we were sitting.

We also hear the other pavilions playing the recording as well. I can imagine them equally having a surprised look on their faces. They gasp for breath when the one hundred sea dragons appear for the first time.

Then we all become quiet when Eingana appears for the first time. After a while everyone cheers when peace is agreed to. We cheer some more when the Earth Wizard gave his words of encouragement and giving the Earth flowers to the ladies at the end.

Then the image disappears and everybody cheers and claps again. King Tierion and Renard stand up again. Renard walks over and retrieves the crystal spheres.

"You'll need to make a copy of that for King Thranton tomorrow."

"Yes, my Lord."

Then the same servant as before walks up and takes the tables and the small pedestals and moves them to the side of the raised platform. He then walks back to the chair and sits down.

"I really like that new way to view recordings. Thank you, Richard, we'll keep that in mind for special occasions."

"You're welcome my King." I bow my head to him and smile.

"As you can see now, we finally now have proof that sea dragons exist and how the First War actually started. I'm sure our historians will be very happy to add some new verses to the song now. You are now free to ask questions or make any comment on the events of today. At the end of this discussion, I'll be making a new announcement for tomorrow."

Sir Drexton walks up to the platform and taps his staff on the platform twice to get everybody's attention.

"We'll now begin the discussion of today's events. Please raise your hand to be recognized, stand when you have been acknowledged. Who is first to speak?"

A hand rises from a Castle Lord.

"Yes, Lord Randson."

Lord Randson stands, "I'm glad that we finally have the truth for what happened over a hundred years ago. I also understand there is a meeting with the sea dragons soon. If we come into agreement with them and our fishing fleets start bringing in the bounty of the sea. What are we going to do with all that extra fish in the markets? Surely we don't want it to spoil in our shops or in our storage areas." Lord Randson then sits down.

King Tierion responds, "That's a good question, Lord Randson. This will be new for all of us. I'm sure we can find a way to do that. Governor Drenan and Governor Praxor, do you have any ideas at the moment?"

Governor Drenan stands, "Well, first of all when fish is frozen it will keep a long time. But we all know that fish is best served fresh like we have had with our meals so far. We'll probably have to come up with a schedule of rotating the fish that is stored in the cold buildings. We might be coming into a surplus in the harvest as well. We should create some more storage buildings in key parts of the kingdom. All it takes is a bad year in the harvest whether on land or sea to make it bad for everyone. This includes another war or strife that may happen." Drenan then sits down.

Governor Praxor stands to speak, "That's very true, Drenan. Our stores that we have so far are fine for the short term. We have been collecting seeds as we go for the next years planting and harvest. Surely we don't need another war, one is bad enough. From what we have read of the stories during the First War, everybody was in survival mode. The fishing fleets did not bring in the sea harvest at crucial times. We had to do without for various items until the First War ended." Praxor sits down when he finished speaking.

"Thank you both, Governors. We'll have to monitor that and have numbers to prove how much we consume at a given time and for a year. Then we can get better idea how much to bring in each moon period. It is one thing to have a surplus for the tough times, but not keeping everyone busy will make us fat and lazy. Governors, see what you can do there and provide a report at the next new inner moon meeting with my brother, Duke Traylor."

"Yes, my Lord." They both respond at the same time.

"Sir Drexton, if you please."

"Are there any other questions and comments?"

Another hand rises up.

"Yes Lady Evelene."

Lady Evelene stands and speaks, "When the Earth Wizard said he would give a gift from Earth, I was not sure what he meant. I saw a flower sitting on my bed appearing out of nowhere when I was in my tent. I wondered where it came from until I was shown the other flowers when you came back."

"I'm sure you were surprised, Lady Evelene. We all were surprised he would do something like that. I think we should count it as a blessing and to remember our connection here on Twainor with Earth. Richard was able to name some of the flowers so far that he has seen. There are some duplicate flowers but with different colors that were given to the other kingdoms. Richard told us this is not the complete selection of flowers from Earth."

"Are there any other questions or comments?"

After a few moments, no hands are raised.

"King Tierion, the discussion period is at end. We are ready to hear the next announcement." Sir Drexton steps down from the platform and walks over to his chair to the left of the platform and sits down.

"A couple of marks ago, I was informed of a situation that is brewing in the dwarf Under Kingdom of our region. This has been going on for several years before the arrival of the Emissaries. Apparently there are some dwarves who are trying to have King Thranton removed."

We all hear some 'gasps' and 'oh no' in the crowd. A low rumble of murmuring is heard. King Tierion raises his hand to quiet the people, which they do.

"I was told about this when the Outside Helpers in our region met together with the other dwarves from Ringol and Eirecann earlier today. I immediately contacted King Loran and King Jeriel to come here quickly so that we can do something about it now while we are together."

"King Thranton definitely agreed to it. So, tomorrow at Fourth Mark after the Morning Repast there, there will thirty of us from each of the three kingdoms. It will be ten military with twenty dignitaries. Croin will be going with us as well. This includes one of our Castle Lords, Praxor, Drenan, Logrin, Richard, Sir Halgren, our Commanders, Caltron, and Avel, the fairies, some soldiers and Dwarf Ambassadors with their wives. We will use two wizards and a sorceress to help us arrive there."

"The curtain on the stage will be drawn so that we can appear there by surprise. King Thranton will have chairs on the stage for us. King Thranton will then begin the challenge to this upstart movement. When the time is right, the curtain will be drawn open to reveal the three Upper Kingdoms. We will then move into a Regional Meeting and see if we can get this problem resolved."

Telgon and Durlond raise both their hands.

"Yes, Telgon. Do you have a question?"

Telgon stands, "I do, King Tierion. I was in King Thranton's presence when the four dwarves came forward with a petition to have him removed. The other Ambassadors were there as well, but they were not seen by them. These four dwarves had to get the signatures from our Fortress Lords in order for this petition to even get that far. King Thranton then asked us to find out what these four promised to receive these signatures. So, the question is: Can we find out what they are offering without showing our hand?"

Just when Durlond gets to speak, something glows in his pocket.

"King Tierion..." Durlond looks down in his pocket. "What's this?"

"Your crystal sphere is glowing, Durlond."

"Yes, I see it,Telgon. It might be important at this time of night."

"You may answer it, Durlond."

"Thank you King Tierion."

Durlond takes out his crystal sphere and puts his hand above it. The image of Dalgan appears above the sphere. Telgon stands next to Durlond.

"Thank the Maker, you answered Durlond. I have important news to give you both. I just found out from one of my underground sources in Eirecann Kingdom, our Fortress Lords are demanding a voice and a vote in the new government."

"That does not sound unusual, Dalgan."

"No, it doesn't, Durlond. The problem is that they want this in exchange what the Four did to get their signatures."

"Do you know what the Four did, Dalgan?"

"Not at this moment, Telgon. Perhaps the answer will reveal itself when we meet at the Fourth Mark after the morning repast tomorrow."

"I hope so, Dalgan. I don't like this one bit, my friends. It's extortion for power, plain and simple."

"I agree, Telgon. These Four have really divided our Under Kingdom. We must find a way to end this."

"All right, we know the first part of the answer. Let's be diligent in finding the rest of the answer."

"See you both tomorrow. Let’s hope the Maker grants us success."

"We hope so as well. See you tomorrow, Dalgan."

The image disappears above the sphere. Telgon, Durlond, Dolina and Thalsia look at King Tierion for help.

We hear some murmuring from the crowd. King Tierion raises his hand to quiet the people.

"We are distressed as well, my dwarf friends. We need to be diligent about any information that comes our way tomorrow. We must tell Ringol and Eirecann as well. I'm sure they will do the same. That includes everybody here as well. Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?"

King Tierion sees no movement from them.

"Very well, that concludes the evening activities. I wish you all a good night’s rest. See you in the morning in the Grand Hall for the Maranelle Island conference."

Everybody gets up and starts talking with each other. Some of the people start walking out of the pavilion and meander around the area looking up at the night sky. Eventually everybody starts to walk back to their respective tents. The guards who are on duty take their watches at their posts to relieve the current guards.

King Tierion and Queen Shiranna walk up to the four of us.

"Are you four ready for some sleep?"

"We are my Lord. It has been a very long day."

"Yes, I'm definitely ready for it."

"That's good. So are we, my friends. It has been a long day for us as well. Tomorrow won't be any easier."

"I'm sure it won't be, my Lord and Lady."

"Renard and Trianna, we are ready to fly back to the castle. We have said our 'good nights' to Sir Trenton and the staff here."

"Then let us pair up and fly to the castle."

King Tierion puts his left hand on Renard's right shoulder. I put my right hand on his left shoulder. Sir Halgren puts his right hand on my left shoulder. Queen Shiranna puts her left hand on Trianna's right shoulder.

Renard and Trianna raise their hands with palms facing outward. They recite the transport spell. In a blink of an eye we disappear and start flying back to the castle in the Ethereal Space.

We see the other Kings and Queens as well, flying with us to the castle. The castle is lit up just like last night. Soon we arrive in the courtyard near the great sun dial. We appear there in a blink of an eye. We see the other Kings and Queens, with their respective Outside Helpers and escorts as well, appearing before us.

We all greet each other while we wait for our escort into the castle.

Some of us share the news about our problem with the separatist movement in the Under Kingdom in our region. They are distressed to hear it. But they hope it will be resolved tomorrow.

Soon we see the guards come forward from the castle to escort us to our rooms.

"Good evening, everyone."

"Good evening, Chamberlain." Some of us respond at the same time.

"We're ready to bring you to your rooms. Please arrange yourselves and line up to go inside."

It turns out all the kingdoms arrived here at about the same time. We get ourselves lined up by kingdom. King Tierion decides for us to be last in the line.

"Good, is everyone ready?"

We look around at each other. King Loran speaks up, "We are , Chamberlain. We're ready for bed."

We hear some laughter.

"That's good. So am I. Come, let us go inside."

The rest of us laugh as well. We all start walking inside the castle. The Chamberlain leads us towards the stairs and ramps and walks up several flights of stairs. One by one each kingdom stops by their doors. We wish each other a good night's sleep.

Soon it is our group that is last. We walk up the stairs to the next level. We stop outside our rooms.

"Good night, my friends, as much as we are glad about finding the sea dragons. Tomorrow is another challenge."

"Yes it is King Tierion. Goodnight my Lord and Lady."

"Good night. No nightmares this time, Richard," she smiles.

I smile, "Yes, my Queen. No nightmares."

We walk into our rooms and get ready for bed. There is plenty of light coming into the room from the Twin Moons.

I sit on the chair and remove my boots. I undress myself and fold up the clothes and put them on the bed. I take out the night shirt from the drawer and put that on the bed. I pick up the folded clothes and put them in the dresser drawer. I walk over and pour myself a cup of water and drink it. I put on the night shirt and walk over to the bed and pull the bed covers down to get under them.

Sir Halgren opens the connecting door all the way and walks back into his room.

"Good night, Sir Halgren."

"Good night, Richard."

I get into bed and breathe a sigh of relief. Another day has come and gone. Thank you, Maker for the opportunity to keep your blessing here; the people of Twainor are thankful as well. Hopefully tomorrow will be successful with King Thranton's Under Kingdom also. I'm sure we will be able to solve the situation in the Maranelle Islands Kingdom. Good night Maker.

I soon fall asleep to have some peaceful dreams throughout the night.

~~~000~~~

"I can't believe I was put back on these islands. Now where did I put that rope that I'm making?"

Ruald looks around on the ground until he sees it. "There it is. I have to get this shelter up quickly."

Ruald ties some palm leaves together to form a lean-to roof. "The bed is elevated. Now I can get a good night's sleep. I have these other palm leaves to cover over me for now. I will start weaving a palm leaf cover tomorrow. Now I just need to put some logs onto the fire. I need to come up with a better way to keep a flame going during the night to keep me warm."

Ruald walks around and meanders around without realizing where he is walking to. Soon he is on the open beach and looks eastward and sees the wreckage and sea dragon skeletons jutting out of the water.

Soon Ruald hears sea dragons roaring with rage in the air but does not see them beyond the wreckage.

"Rooarr!!!"

"You killed our children!!!"

"Everyone must die!!"

"Arrrggghh.... No!!! Not the ships!! The sea dragons are killing us!! Have mercy on us!! We didn't know!!"

Ruald runs back to the safety of the jungle and hides behind a tree. Breathing hard, "Pant...pant... That was close." Come on now Ruald. The sea dragons are gone now. "Look the sky is getting darker. It will be good to see the stars again."

Ruald looks eastward again through the trees. "What is that wall of colorful lights coming towards me? I think I remember what it is. It is going to be here soon!"

Soon the wall of colorful lights envelope around him. But he sees that it is not touching him. He sees a thick black shadow around his skin about four fingers thick. The colorful streams of light tempt him as it tries to touch his skin.

Then the answer comes to his mind, "Arrrgghhh!!! It's the Ethereal Space!!! I can't do magic anymore!!! Arrgghh... What have I done!!?”

Ruald collapses onto the ground in exhaustion. He gets up and struggles to get to his bed that he has made. He brings up a large palm leaf and drapes it over himself and tries to hide underneath it. He stays there until the swirling lights move away from him.

"No, no... I must get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day to start over. I have to find some food. Those birds are too far away. I'll see if I can catch some fish near the shore. Fortunately I found the only source of fresh water here. There should be some fruit trees on this island."

Ruald tries to calm down and gets some sleep. "What is wrong with me? Why can't I get any sleep? Come on Ruald, slow down the breathing and get some sleep."

Ruald slows down his breathing. Just about he falls asleep he awakes in a fright. "Those voices, I hear people screaming in pain! People are being killed by others! Where are they coming from? I'm the only one here!"

"Noooo...." Ruald closes his eyes shut and puts his hands to his ears to stop the voices.

The stars come out. The twin moons shine brightly in the heavens. Ruald does not come out of his shelter to see the stars. He tries to fall asleep, but he has a hard time doing that.

Out in the ocean a sea dragon swims away with another. "That Earth Wizard really did a good job in punishing him Brachan. You can hear him scream all the way out here."

"Yes, he did, Chorzan. We'll give him a morning wakeup call just before the arrival of the sunrise display."

"Yes, let’s double his pain!"

Then both sea dragons laugh as they go underwater to get some sleep. They will tell their sea dragon clan and Eingana how the first day and night went for Ruald tomorrow.