Svartalf Mountains

The dragons continued their path through the skies above Pandreia. Eventually, they passed over the familiar Great Wood. Kai'sair shuddered as he looked down.

"Bad memories?" Hope asked.

"Can you blame me?" the knight asked back. The last time they were there, the group had been waylaid by an entire colony of Giant Spiders. It was only when a group of Wood-Elf rangers, Hope among them, arrived that they were able to drive the monsters back.

"Hey, what's that?" River asked, pointing to the left. The others followed her gaze to see a large trail of smoke in the far distance.

Shado's expression darkened. "Mount Pyroc."

The others felt uneasy at the mention of the name; Mount Pyroc is the volcano close by to the Shadow Canyons. Supposedly, it is the lair of the Fire Dragon King, Ignis, who, despite being loyal to the White King, was known for being the most violent and destructive of the Dragon Kings. Ignis himself hadn't been seen in years, but that didn't make travelers passing by it any less uneasy, even if it was at a far distance like with Adrion and his group.

After a few hours, the group decided to put down near a clearing to eat a small lunch from their ration packs. True to his word, Baltroc burst from the ground next to where they landed as he and Draco joined in the group.

"Doesn't it get lonely down there?" River asked.

Draco shrugged, "It has its ups and downs."

As they ate, Hope looked at Kai'sair and asked between bites of bread, "So, Kai'sair, you didn't tell us you had a sister."

"You never asked." Kai'sair bluntly replied.

"What's she like?"

Kai'sair thought for a moment about what to say, then responded, "Luna and I were inseparable when we were kids; we both even enlisted for Dragonsfold hoping we would be able to fight alongside each other. Come to think of it, she's a lot like you, Hope; always optimistic and playful."

"You two sound really close" River said.

"We are." Kai'sair continued, "But that changed when the new headmistress took charge. She issued a new creed for the knights to take; one that didn't honor the values put down by the White King."

"A rather disgusting oath if you ask me" Shado said. Blizz hissed in agreement.

"I remember" Rhogar said, "Paletar, you told me that you and Kai'sair didn't go through with this creed."

Paletar nodded. "Indeed. Not surprisingly, Luna was the first one to follow Kai'sair's example. They, along with the other students who swore by the ancient creed, were treated very poorly after that, and all by the Headmistress's orders. Eventually, we decided that Dragonsfold was no longer our home and split up across Pandreia, doing whatever we could to fulfill our duty."

Kai'sair nodded grimly as the memories of the events returned. "Somehow, Luna's made it back to the Academy and is now working with this Immael guy. Shado, do you know who he is?"

"I've spoken with him personally" Shado replied, "we can trust him."

"Who is he?" Adrion asked.

Shado simply shrugged. "He's a knight of some kind, though I've never seen armor like his. However, when I spoke with him, his words rung with wisdom and understanding like I've never heard before and the tone of his voice was deserving of respect. He's a natural born leader, and his sister…I've never seen such beauty or grace in anyone. She speaks with as much wisdom and is gentler that a smooth stream on a spring morning."

The others were in amazement at Shado's description, but Adrion sensed there was something familiar about the way the two were described. He felt like he had seen them before, as if…

"Shado," Adrion asked, "Was the girl's name Harmony, by any chance?"

Shado narrowed his eyebrows. "Why…yes, I believe so. How did you know?"

Adrion nodded his head and said nothing. River, however, seemed to catch on to what he wizard was getting at as she remembered when he recounted a vision-like dream he had during their last quest.

"The Princess?" she asked, "She's…?"

"Possibly" Adrion replied, but he said nothing more after that. Once they ate, they took to the skies again. This time, however, Draco joined them, flying alongside them in his attempt to "stretch his wings".

"So, Elm" Adrion asked, "How's it feel going back to your old home in the Svartalf Mountains."

Elm nervously rubbed the back of her head. "To be honest, I'm a little nervous. It's been quite a while since I was home."

"How long is a while?" Hope asked.

"Eh, about 5 years give or take."

"You have family in the mountains?"

"Just my mom" She said, "My dad became a Night Ranger, so we don't see him much."

Night Rangers were a sect of Night Elf warriors who travelled a lot as they hunted dark creatures who threatened villages and kingdoms. Knowing of their existence, the rest of the gang understood.

They were a little more than halfway to their destination when night began to fall, and they were forced to set down in an area just outside the Great Wood and make camp. The dragons kept watch as they slept, though this made the night very uneventful and the dragons very bored. The next morning however, is where things got a little more interesting when Gerdia attempted an…interesting wake up call.

"You sure about this?" Paletar asked as the water dragon walked over from visiting the nearby stream.

"She's done this before" Baltroc reassured, "and it's worked with some pretty good results, if I do say so."

Paletar stepped back. "Yeah, well, she hasn't done it on Kai'sair yet."

"And that's a problem, why?"

Gerdia then walked over the sleeping heroes and then sprayed out the cold water she had kept in her mouth. The chill immediately woke everyone up with shouts of surprise, except for Elm, who simply glared at Gerdia.

"Really?!" she demanded, only to jump back again as Kai'sair started upwards with his sword in hand. Gerdia started back in surprise as Kai'sair yelled defiantly at whoever had soaked him as he slept, only for Hope and Draco to hold him back, telling him to calm down.

Shaking his head in mild frustration, Adrion lifted his staff and conjured a gust of hot air that quickly dried everyone off.

"Rhogar" he then said, "I now admit that your method of waking me up isn't so bad after all."

The dragon chuckled, "Glad to hear it."

Elm simply glared at Gerdia. "I thought we agreed not to do that to me, only them."

The water dragon gave Elm and innocent look. "Did we?"

The others laughed as Elm stuttered, trying to find words. After they calmed down, they all ate a small breakfast from their packs before taking to the skies, and below the ground in the case of Baltroc, again.

The rest of the ride was in relative silence, going only into small talk. The main reason for this was because they had passed out of the lush, grassy plains surrounding the Great Wood and had now ventured into the Svartalf Mountains.

The mountains induced a completely different atmosphere than the woods. Where there was once sun, there now lay a grey fog over them, making them seem ominous as the mountain range stretched in both directions seemingly without end. To get to Dragonsfold, the team knew they would have to cross these mysterious mountains. To do that, they would need help from the mountains' residents; it was now Elm's time to shine.

"So" Adrion asked, "You remember where exactly your home is?"

"Hold that thought" Elm replied as she remained silent, putting her face to the wind. Night Elves, like all other elves, have incredibly good hearing. Night Elves, however, take advantage of this and leave a bell outside the entrance to their caves as a means of preventing anyone who went out from getting lost in the fog. This bell magically tolls on its own every few minutes, so it was a while before Elm was finally able to pick up its faint ringing.

Hope heard it too. "What's that ringing sound?"

"The very thing I was hearing for" Elm replied, "Follow me!"

She then guided Gerdia down into the mountain range, the others following close behind. After multiple turns, Gerdia finally landed on a natural rocky ledge that led to a massive cave opening. As they landed, they could see the large, black bell hung over a smaller ledge, making one of its occasional tolls. The cave opening itself seemed mostly natural, the only signs of inhabitants being the carved outer edge with elvish runes, serving as both a magical ward to evil creatures (most monsters can't stand the very sight of a language of creation, like Elvish), and also a marker that showed the cave itself to be an entrance to the tunnels that made up the Night Elves' underground kingdom.

Just then, Baltroc tunneled up next them and observed the cave. "So, this is the place?"

Elm nodded. "With you tunneling around, they'll know someone's here. Wait here until I say otherwise."

"I'll come with you" Shado offered, following her in, which the alchemist allowed.

Dismounting Gerdia, Elm the walked into the cave itself. It would be dark for any of the other races, but Night Elves are exceptionally good for seeing in the dark, so Elm and Shado could see the smooth rock walls, some inscribed with more runes.

Elm then stopped as a new voice echoed through the cave, looking around to see five warriors clad in black armor that also covered their faces, making them seem like armored ninjas, seem to materialize from the walls.

Elm took the lead for Shado, speaking to the warriors in the elven tongue: "Calm, my people. Calm!"

One of the warriors stepped forward as the others seemed to relax a bit. The lead warrior looked Elm in the eyes and replied in elvish. "We were not expecting visitors."

"I didn't think so." Elm replied. "My name is Elm Windlas, I am an alchemist of Moonbeam Academy. This is Shado of Dragonsfold, of which me and my party are currently traveling."

The mention of Dragonsfold seemed to put the others on edge as they instinctively reached for their weapons, only for the lead warrior to hold up a hand and stop them, then looked back at Elm and spoke in the common tongue. "Elm?"

Elm nodded. "Yes?"

The warrior leaned in close. "You got some nerve, coming back here."

Now Shado was the one on edge, but Elm simply smirked. "It's a habit. Now, can we come in or not?"

"I don't know, can you, snowflake?" the warrior asked back. There were a few moments of silence before both Elm and the warrior began making stifled noises, which then evolved into chuckles, and finally into bursts of laughter as the two hugged each other.

"It's so good to see you again!" the warrior said, only to get playfully smacked in the face by Elm.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" she playfully demanded, "I'm 16 now."

The warrior removed his mask, revealing a pale yet gentle face with striking blue eyes and white hair done in a warrior's wolftail.

"What, I can still joke around, right?" he chuckled as he patted her back.

Shado was all too confused to say anything except. "Did I miss something?"

"This is my friend, Darius. We've kinda been friends for a long time."

Shado nodded in understanding as Darius ordered the other Night Elves to stand down.

"So, what about you?" Darius asked, "You're from Dragonsfold?"

"I am, but I can assure you I am not with the Headmistress. I was sent to Moonbeam on the orders of one called Immael."

"The rest of the group is outside" Elm added, "I figured we could come here to rest a while before we went in the rest of the way to the Academy."

Darius nervously scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…about that…"

Elm looked worried. "I know that face; what's going on?"

Meanwhile, the others were back outside, Draco pacing impatiently as they waited for Elm. Moments later, she emerged from the cave, causing them to jump to attention.

"Well?" Kai'sair asked.

Elm looked nervous. "Well, we are welcomed in" she replied, "but…there's something you need to know. Something's happened at Dragonsfold."

Kai'sair and Paletar looked very concerned. Adrion wanted to ask what exactly happened, but the Elm told them all to come in; the Night Queen would explain everything for them.