Queen of the Night

Adrion and his party were welcomed with open arms by the Night Elves, who offered them food and advice before the group finished the flight towards Dragonsfold. Darius and Elm were at the front of the escort group, talking and laughing among themselves.

"I've never seen her so happy." Draco said.

"That makes two of us" Adrion agreed.

Gerdia snorted. "You can't be serious."

"What do you mean?" Adrion asked.

"Didn't you pay attention to her back at Moonbeam?" the water dragon explained, "She was so happy around you two as well. She might not have shown it as much as she is now, but we talk a lot at night in her room; she considers you the closest friends she has back at the academy."

Draco and Adrion felt a twinge of pride; it was nice hearing that a friend was happy being around them.

A few moments later, the group exited the narrow tunnels, which opened up into a massive cavern, as if the mountain had been completely hollowed out.

"Woah." Everyone gasped.

"What?" Elm asked, "You didn't think we just lived in simple, old caves, did you?"

"Ladies and gentlemen" Darius announced, waving his arms and a dramatic pose, "Welcome to Lunare."

The kingdom was connected via stone walkways that made a web of paths all around the hollow interior of the mountain. Some of these pathways ended at different stone ledges, each with a masterfully built house of a different unique design, though most shared a rocky design that looked both angular yet graceful. As the group looked up, they noticed hundreds, if not thousands, of little magic lights, floating around the top of the cavern, giving all the interior light enough to easily see, like the moon shining out on a clear night.

At the center of the entire kingdom was a black palace that was smaller than they had expected, but no less regal, shining with a shimmering white light as if there was moonlight trapped within the obsidian rock that built the palace. Trees could also be seen, dotting the landscape, though their leaves seemed darker than expected.

As Draco looked around, he noticed something weird moving across the walls, only to realize that there were Stone Drakes crawling everywhere, working alongside Night Elves in labor tasks like digging and mining.

"You work with Stone Drakes?" he asked.

Darius nodded, "We both make our home in the underground; it's only fitting that we attempt to coexist with each other."

Just then, the company was greeted by another group of Night Elf warriors.

Darius saluted them. "Don't worry they're with us."

"We know" replied the lead elf in a deep voice. "We have a summons from the Queen; she wishes to speak with this party's leader: a wizard."

Adrion stepped forward. "I am he."

"Come. Queen Freya wishes to see you alone. You may bring your dragon."

Adrion nodded and mounted Rhogar, who then followed the elves towards the palace. They stopped at a clearing just outside the palace walls, where the elf leader gestured for Adrion and Rhogar to enter. "She's expecting you."

Adrion nodded his thanks before dismounting and walking in, Rhogar having to wait outside (for "guarding purposes" as the dragon claims). Adrion entered what seemed like a small grove; trees had been planted in rows on different sides, and he could see their glistening purple leaves. Some even had small, glowing, white fruit hanging from their branches, like little stars.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" asked a woman's voice. Adrion turned to see a lone elven figure at the end of a glen, standing over what seemed to be a small pool of water. He didn't need any introduction to know who it was; Queen Freya.

She had pale skin and white hair that shone like the moon as if flowed down a little past her shoulders. She wore a smooth, dark blue dress that fit perfectly over her slim figure; not too slim yet not too fancy. A silk scarf wrapped around her shoulders to complete the look as she looked to Adrion with deep brown eyes.

"Midnight Trees are renowned for their shining leaves and fruit" she explained, "A shame they can only grow in dark places, like here."

"They certainly are beautiful, Your Majesty." Adrion agreed, remembering to be polite.

The Queen chuckled. "Please, call me Freya. I've heard much about you, Adrion Highstar."

Adrion raised an eyebrow. "You have?"

"Of course. The Stone Drakes bring all sorts of news when they pass through here. I'm sure you're familiar with their ruler, Bold'r."

Adrion nodded; in fact, remembered well how the Earth King had escorted him and his friends back to Moonbeam after their ordeal at the Shadow Canyons.

"I am honored to be in the prescence of a Guardian Wizard, especially one as young and strong as yourself." Freya continued with a small curtsy, "Hearing how you stood up to the Necromancer like you did…it gave me chills hearing it the first time."

Adrion felt a twinge of pride at hearing this, but then decided to change the subject. "Is Bold'r here?"

"Unfortunately no" Freya replied, "But he comes here often; you could say he and I have a sort of friendship. But enough of that; I hear you and your party now seek passage to Dragonsfold Academy."

Adrion nodded. Freya's pursed her lips before waving Adrion to stand next to her at the pool.

"This pool allows me to see anything outside that I wish" she explained. "I have had my eyes turned to Dragonsfold for a while now, and what I have seen…it isn't pleasant."

"I thought Dragonsfold was meant to train Guardian Knights, like Kai'sair?" Adrion said, visibly confused.

"It is, and Kai'sair's a very noble warrior" Freya agreed, "It's not him I'm worried about though."

Here, she waved her hand over the crystal clear water, and it began to shimmer and show an image of what looked like a town.

"I'm sure you've heard of the new Headmistress that took over the Academy." Freya said.

"Not much" Adrion admitted, "All Kai'sair will tell me is that she made a new code that didn't follow the White King and that she kinda hates Kai'sair and his buddies for not following it."

Freya nodded before she continued. "Her name's Rowena, and her new code is sending Dragonsfold to ruin."

As Adrion continued to watch the pool, he could see a trio of knights, whom Adrion assumed were Dragonsfold students, at a vendor's stall. However, it seemed like they were acting a bit aggressively to the vendor, though Adrion couldn't hear what was being said.

"The knights began to believe that the people are required to pay them for protecting the kingdom, whereas Kai'sair and those that swore by the ancient oath fought selflessly for no personal gain."

Suddenly, two other knights, a human girl with navy blue hair and a half dragon boy with a brown tail, rushed to the scene and began pushing the first three knights away, seemingly arguing with them before one of the trio grabbed the girl's shoulder and shoved her to the ground.

"At first, I was tempted to launch an attack on the Academy and overthrow Rowena." Freya said, "That is…until I saw these two."

The trio of knights seemed to be laughing as the half-dragon helped the girl up. They then started forward to attack again, only to freeze in their tracks as two other people arrived. Adrion recognized them immediately.

"Is that…?" he began to ask.

"The children of the White King" Freya confirmed, "Princess Harmony and her brother, the Prince. They have finally appeared to the people."

Adrion decided to keep mention of the Prince's potential true name a secret as he continued watching the scene in the water. Harmony stood in front of the two loyal knights like a protective mother while the Prince continued walking forward until he looked the lead knight of the trio dead in the eyes. The knight attempted to throw a punch at the Prince's face, but, in a seemingly inhuman blur of motion, the Prince caught the knight's fist, grabbed him by his chestplate, and then slammed him into the ground in an epic wrestling throw. The Prince then stood back up, glaring daggers at the other two under his helmet as they grabbed the now unconscious knight and dragged him off; they weren't willing to face neither that same strength, nor the decorated yet deadly longsword strapped across the Prince's back.

The Prince then turned back to Harmony and the other two knights. Harmony lovingly held the girl's arm; she must've hurt her shoulder in the fall. The Princess stroked the arm with her hand for a few moments before letting go, and the girl flexed her arm around, amazed to realize Harmony had healed it. After that, the four walked off in a different direction, and the image in the water faded.

Adrion stroked his chin. "I didn't realize it would be so bad."

Freya nodded. "And it will only get worse unless we act now."

"Is this why we're being called there? Shado came to Moonbeam with a message from Kai'sair's sister, who he knows is loyal to the ancient code."

"It certainly is possible" Freya replied.

"So, why want to talk to me only?" Adrion asked.

"Because there's something I am meant to tell you and you alone."

"And that is?"

The Queen leaned over and whispered something in his ear before straightening back up.

"Keep that in mind when it seems that all is lost" she then said.

Adrion wasn't quite sure what to make of what he was told, but he managed a nod.

"Good, now for your friends" Freya continued, "I will allow you all shelter and food for the night. In the morning, you may head out with new supplies we will give you."

"How will we know it's morning?" Adrion asked out of curiosity.

Freya chuckled. "Surely you recognize the relic that gives this place its own bright light now."

She gestured to a light coming from the top of a palace tower. As Adrion stared at the light for some time, he realized he was actually looking at a very familiar lantern.

"That's the…?!" he began.

Freya nodded. "The Light of Lunare. It was brought back here after you restored its power at the Shadow Canyons."

This made sense as Adrion realized both the relic and the kingdom shared the name of Lunare, and he chuckled to himself. "What are the odds?"

"Even the smallest acts can have lasting effects in some places."

Adrion left the meeting, playing over what Freya had told him and wondering what she meant by it before returning to his task at hand; they needed to get to Dragonsfold…and take it back.