《Gandon and Ilmur a saga》


 Part 1

    The story of Gandon and Ilmur begins when Elram the king of Feorn was travelling through the kingdom on the open road. The Queen Isilma had been left in the capital with the two princes. The King¡¯s company were assailed by a band of goblins and would most likely have met their end, if it were not for the luck of chance that the men of the phoenix were nearby. The men of the phoenix would later become the dreaded red battle lords but in these old times, they were still noble and loved by all the people even though they weren¡¯t as skilled as their descendants.


    Their hero, Feadrim was a captain in the brotherhood called men of the phoenix and history only knew him as a kind-hearted man that would have done anything for those in need, both rich and poor. Today was no different, they had rested on a hill weary from all their travels when the heard the cries of help. They came to the king¡¯s rescue immediately where they fought long and hard together with his men, but when the dust settled, Feadrim stood no more. He had taken two goblin arrows while protecting the king.


    The king was eternally grateful for their sacrifice, but he also felt ashamed that he had not prepared enough for their journey. The king had not seen a goblin in twenty years and had gotten careless, not heeding the generals¡¯ warnings. The men in their red cloaks gathered around their fallen captain. They stood there in silence for a long time, tears pouring heavily from their eyes. They were only four left from Feadrim¡¯s company. The king let them have their moment before he asked how he possibly could begin thanking them. The four men revealed that Feadrim had a son nearby, that was now fatherless, and the mother had died in childbirth. The king was kind and promised the men that he would raise the baby as one of his own. He also told the men that they would always be welcomed at his court. And as a last act of goodwill, he also made expensive funeral arrangements for the fallen. He gave them plenty of gold and their blessing. He ordered one of his men to fetch the child. The man came back with a child that was sleeping wrapped around in a blanket.


    ¡°Your majesty, the men told me the child¡¯s name is Gandon before they left, and our rescuer was captain Feadrim.¡±


    ¡°Very well, Gandon, son of Feadrim. I hope you¡¯ll enjoy your stay in the capital. We will take you to your new home soon enough,¡± said the king to the sleeping baby.


    Everharn was the capital of Feorn. It was the greatest city during the second age, and many mages gathered there to study and share their ideas. The stonemasons were both dwarves from Belria and from the northern kingdom Narda. The dwarves carved in precious jewels to indicate where the houses of healing, shops and other necessities were. The king¡¯s power was so great at the time that no jewel was ever stolen. The towers were the grandest the world had ever seen, and thanks to the use of magical artifacts the city was able to know several days in advance that a ship was approaching. The king was fond of culture and great marble pieces of ancient heroes were standing on the square and nearby streets. They were truly a sight to behold. The arenas where the king¡¯s plays were performed was so large that several thousand could be seated. To be born in this day and age was a blessing, no one was walking hungry on the street while Elram was king.


    *


    The king did his best to stay true to his word and raise Gandon as his own. Gandon got along well with the king¡¯s three sons but got along especially well with the middle child, Ilmur that was born the same year as him. Gandon himself stood out like a sour thumb; he had red hair while Elram¡¯s children all had brown hair and he wasn¡¯t as pale skinned as them either. Rumours began to spread that Gandon had been born from a mistress from a southern country which angered the King, but no matter his efforts he never managed to squash the rumours completely. Elram felt many times during his life that Gandon made his life more difficult, but he never forgot his old debt and he grew fond of the boy, almost as fond as he was of his three sons. To the queen¡¯s disappointment they never conceived a daughter.


    Elram discovered early that Gandon was bright and had a knack for learning. He was well spoken and debated with the wise when he was only six years old. However, he also had a fragile ego and rarely forgave and never forgot when his honour or intelligence had been slighted and this was something, he carried for the rest of his life, but he grew better at hiding it when he got older. Even though the boy was carried away by the guards when his tantrums grew to large when he was still a small child.


    Ilmur on the other hand was not as book smart, but he was kind and very charismatic. Hard to anger and always aware that the truth could be complicated and there was always more to learn. They were much different from each other but still they grew very fond of each other¡¯s company. Complimenting their strengths and weaknesses on each other. Ilmur was even spending more time with Gandon than his real brothers. One thing they shared passionately about was their love for magic.


    The queen noticed this and brought it up with the king. Elram had no problem with this at all, Ilmur¡¯s older brother Saran was the one who would become a king one day so having his other son learning magic was not a bad idea at all. He spoke with his council how they should proceed with the matter at hand. For the boys to become blue mages were out of the question. It was long difficult road where you had to become one with nature and animals. They spent their time rarely in cities and the boys were far too important to cast down their other responsibilities. For them to become elemental mages seemed the right choice. Elemental mages ate berries that contained the element they were trying to master. The berries were rare and even lords could have problems obtaining them since the berries were so regulated and guarded by the mages. However, this was not a problem for a king at all. They found a good tutor and the boys could start as immediately as he arrived.


    Yvon was a bald old man with white whiskers that came from an island far away from here that was called Oban. Normally a mage learned only one element, but Yvon had both mastered the art of ice and fire. This was frowned upon by the mages since it was very dangerous for the body to adapt to two different elements. Gandon whose ancestors came from a warmer climate decided to learn fire while Ilmur decided to learn ice. No one had attempted to teach two elementals before, but Yvon wanted to see if it could be done.


    It was during this time the boys started to spend a lot of time at the courtyard as well. Ilmur was skilled with the blade, bow and spear and was learning fast. Gandon on the other hand felt that weapons like mace were weapons for brutes, but he got decent with the sword. But he never got good enough to defeat Ilmur in a match, which annoyed him greatly. However, the rest of the royal family only thought it was good for him to humble himself a little, because he had started to improve greatly with his sorcery and Yvon was impressed.


    These were the happy years; it was written in queen Isilma¡¯s diary that she often could hear the boys laughing in the courtyard from her chamber. They both grew rapidly over the years becoming tall and strong and both fair to look upon and they had great respect for each other.


    When they turned eighteen things started to set in motion that could not be undone. Even though the men loved each other as brothers they were still much different from each other. They were both well-spoken in a crowd thanks to their tutors, but Ilmur spoke from his heart and tried to settle arguments through empathy while Gandon tried to rationalize and settle arguments through books and logic. Had they been a single individual they would probably have become the best king Feorn could have asked for but alas it was not so.


    Gandon was also painfully aware that he was not a real prince which he hated, when people reminded him of that. The first cracks in their friendship would start because of a woman that would soon arrive in Everharn.


    Elram had both great plans for Gandon and his son, but he had to turn to the later first. Ilmur was eighteen and was still not married or even engaged. The king had postponed this far too long and started to plan. Writing letters to an old friend that had an unmarried daughter that was the same age as Ilmur. He asked them if they could come for a visit and the king¡¯s friend Ravon was eager to see his majesty again since they hadn¡¯t seen each other in several years.


    In a nearby room Gandon was making himself ready for bed when he could see a comment fall in the night sky. Suddenly remembering the old tales that said when a god died, they would come to Elnyr to live as mortals. Feeling quite uneasy, he wondered why he had seen it so soon after his birthday and it took him a long while before he fell asleep.


    Three weeks later Ravon and his daughter Alexandra came to the court. Alexandra of house Bellouse was tall and clad in a light blue dress with long chestnut brown hair that reached to her waist. She had kind and warm eyes and it was like both men had been struck by lightning at the same time. They had not previously been interested in women and had promised that no woman would ever come between them, but such bonds can break easily. Both knew that the other had many good qualities and were afraid of each other as rivals. That was the reason no one told the other the truth even though both would know eventually. Elram had not told Ilmur about his plans. He knew there was a risk of Ilmur self-sabotaging if he ever caught wind of the plan. However, if he had known that Ilmur was already smitten by her he should not have felt any need to worry. But Elram wanted to see if this could happen organically before he interfered.


    Alexandra knew about the plan, and she knew what part she needed to play. It was not hard for her to like Ilmur; he was chivalrous and son to a king, she could hardly get a better match, but even though she resisted she couldn¡¯t help but be drawn to Gandon. He was a talented speaker and she felt it was next to impossible to beat him in an argument. Worrying about his father¡¯s wish she tried to spend as much time with Ilmur alone as she could, but the task proved to be rather impossible since both were inseparable from each other. She had no choice; she had to accept that she needed to live with Gandon¡¯s presence as well.


    After a while Ilmur started to become bolder and asked Alexandra out for horse riding while Gandon was busy with his other duties. Yvon had accepted that Gandon was the more skilled of the two and made Gandon his personal assistant.


    Alexandra noticed to her surprise that Ilmur was more relaxed when Gandon wasn¡¯t nearby, and she wondered if he knew about the agreement their fathers had made. They spent the whole day riding and exploring, playing five towers, and even drinking quite a lot. If Elram knew no guards were nearby to protect them he would have been furious. But the kingdom Feorn had long been at peace with their neighbours and Ilmur had become one of the finest swordsmen the kingdom had ever seen. Which was something Ilmur was rather quick to point out to Alexandra. She laughed at the remark and even gave him a kiss on the cheek.


    Elram saw the two of them returning when it was getting late, and he ensured his friend that he could stay as long as he wanted, already hearing the wedding bells in his head. Ravon was rather pleased himself but was hoping they could stop with the games soon and make an actual wedding.


    On the next day Ilmur could not stop smiling while they were practicing in the courtyard. Gandon thought first that Ilmur was mocking his swordplay but realized quickly that Ilmur was probably thinking about Alexandra. Gandon knew now that Ilmur fancied her and that got him worried. He pondered on the thought if he should step aside but he had seen in Alexandra¡¯s eyes that she wasn¡¯t uninterested in him, and he simply couldn¡¯t walk away.


    Meanwhile Ilmur started to take on more duties so he could impress his father and Alexandra. He had never liked the council meetings but now he started to attend often than not, which surprised his younger brother Sirion and his father. Gandon saw the opportunity and started writing letters and poetry to Alexandra. She saw them as harmless at first, but before she knew it, she wondered if she shouldn¡¯t be with Gandon instead. It was tough to choose both men were extraordinary and normally she could have turned down the other suitor and be happy with either Gandon or Ilmur but now it was more complicated. She decided she would take a walk so she could get a better feel around him. Her chamber maiden had warned about his ego, and she decided to test him.


    They were walking in the royal garden, and they were laughing a lot. The sun was bright, and the flowers were in full bloom. It was a more romantic setting than when she had been with Ilmur.


    ¡°You¡¯re quite sharp in your letters and no one would dare to question your intellect, is there nothing you can¡¯t do?¡± said Alexandra teasingly.


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Gandon apprehensively.


    ¡°How about swordsmanship? I¡¯ve heard that you have yet to beat Ilmur.¡±


    Anger flashed in Gandon¡¯s eyes but only for a second. ¡°So what? I¡¯m a better mage than him. No one ever talks about that, these simple knights have yet to understand the difficulties with becoming a mage. I would like to see one of them practicing with the art of fire without burning themselves to a crisp.¡±


    ¡°But you do not always have the berries at hand, I¡¯ve heard that most mages practicing with weapons at least can hold their own in a non-magic battle. If troubles would occur with either shortages or fatigue.¡±


    Now Gandon got visibly angry. ¡°I can hold my own! Just because I¡¯m not as good as Ilmur doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m bad and what do you know about magic anyway?¡± said Gandon rather loudly.


    ¡°My grandmother practiced it almost all of her life before she passed away, and I¡¯ve read a few books about the matter.¡±


    ¡°Oh! How interesting! Show me a bit of magic then!¡±


    ¡°I cannot.¡±


    ¡°Thought as much,¡± said Gandon fuming.


    Alexandra was hurt and Gandon was awfully quiet, she decided that it was time to go back, it had been pleasant, but the moment had passed. She excused herself and made her ready to leave. When she turned, Gandon grabbed onto her hand.


    ¡°Where are you going? Do you have to leave so soon?¡± asked Gandon.


    ¡°I say we are, please let go of me.¡±


    A few moments passed, their eyes looking at each other before Gandon let go. Alexandra rushed from the scene wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible. It was a shame really, she and Gandon had things in common she had not with Ilmur. Like discussing bigger problems, like how to govern, how to improve and ethical problems while Ilmur was living more in the moment. However, Ilmur hadn¡¯t got angry when she had teased him; he seemed to have thought it was more fun than not. She had never thought Gandon would have reacted like that, but Ilmur seemed to be a sensitive topic for Gandon. She knew she couldn¡¯t live the rest of her life like that, living with a man you had to walk around eggshells with. She hoped they could remain friends, but she wouldn¡¯t hesitate any longer. Ilmur was the better match both for her and for the kingdom. Better that Ilmur marries her than someone that could steer her wrong. She felt calm, her heart didn¡¯t feel torn any longer. Maybe this was the best thing that could have happened.


    Gandon stood alone for an hour in the garden. Feeling angry at himself, he knew he had overstepped but also wondering why she had to attack him like that. He felt angry at Ilmur, knowing for sure that he had made a better impression on Alexandra. He went to bed furious, and it took him a long while before he managed to sleep.


    He was in a much better mood when he woke up but feeling worried about yesterday¡¯s events. He skipped breakfast and started writing a letter to Alexandra where he was deeply apologizing for his actions. He also wrote further on some thoughts regarding some of Alexandra¡¯s ideas that he had thought interesting and deserved further development. He complimented her and finished the letter by saying she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. When he was done the letter was five pages long and he was satisfied. Believing it might be his best letter so far. He summoned a guard that brought the letter to her chamber.


    When Alexandra received the letter, she knew at once that she couldn¡¯t read it. The written page was his territory and if she read it, she might be unsure again who to choose and she couldn¡¯t let that happen. She asked one of her friends if she could read it and tell her the gist of the letter instead. Her friend fell a single tear when she read it. When she was done, she told Alexandra the content of his letter. Alexandra sat quiet for a while unsure how to respond. She had to let him down gently, but she wasn¡¯t sure how just yet. She knew she had done the right thing by not reading the letter.


    The hours passed and Gandon got increasingly nervous. Why hadn¡¯t a guard come with a reply yet? Hadn¡¯t the letter been enough? Gandon didn¡¯t eat or leave his chamber for the rest of the day. He tried to calm himself with some reading while he heard a sound from the courtyard. Ilmur was sparring with two men at the same time. Something he always did when he was in a good mood. Gandon thought about Ilmur standing next to Alexandra and got angry again. Why should Ilmur always have to come out on top? Gandon shut himself in, refusing to talk with anybody for a few days. Returning to his books.


    Ilmur heard that Gandon had been absent and got worried. His father had grand plans for Gandon, planning to let Gandon govern over the eastern part of the kingdom a beautiful day, but it wouldn¡¯t do if Gandon started to appear lazy.


    Alexandra heard about this, and knew she couldn¡¯t postpone the letter any longer. She wrote that she was flattered and thought highly of him as a man but that her heart belonged with Ilmur instead. She had now started to see Ilmur every night when they were done with the duties for the day. She didn¡¯t bother hiding the fact that it was Ilmur, because she knew Gandon had already figured it out.


    Gandon read the letter once and sighted before he tossed it into the mantelpiece. But something good came out of it. He left his chamber and started taking on his duties again and apologised for his absence, saying that he had been quite ill for a few days. Ilmur was relieved to see Gandon up and running again.


    The days passed and things started to return to normal except Gandon tried to work harder to forget about Alexandra and the King was very pleased by his new devotion. Ilmur tried too not think too much about it, but he was self-conscious how often people seemed to ask for Gandon¡¯s advice rather than his. Even his father did it. Elram had been worried when Gandon had been absent, and the king¡¯s council had withheld some decisions for a while wanting to hear Gandon¡¯s input before doing anything. Elram had decided now that he would give the eastern province to Gandon to govern over. He would announce it after his son¡¯s wedding, and he was mighty pleased with it.


    Three more weeks passed before Ilmur came up to his father and Ravon and asked him for Alexandra¡¯s hand in marriage. Elram feigned his surprise. ¡°This is news to me, but of course you have my blessing.¡± Elram looked at his old friend smiling. Ilmur just thought that his father was happy that house Avar and Bellouse would be united.


    Ravon shook Ilmur¡¯s hand and said, ¡°much like you and Gandon, your father and I have been friends all our life. Nothing would please me more than have you as my son in law. I know you will make Alexandra very happy.¡±


    Elram and Ravon celebrated almost the whole night. They were mighty pleased with themselves but now it was time for the wedding celebrations. They started planning the next day but got ill news from a messenger. Sungold, the city Ravon was governing, was in a mess. The dwarves from Belria had stopped their trade and rumours of guilds planning for open rebellion could be heard in the alleys and in the taverns.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Elram advised at once that they should send Gandon to handle the matter and Ravon thought it was a good idea, but Alexandra who had been in the room since they had started to plan the wedding advised the King that they should send Ilmur as well since the men were at their best when they worked together.


    ¡°It will delay the wedding but if Ilmur one day will rule in Sunstone, he needs to learn his people. This will be a good opportunity for him.¡±


    They both nodded. ¡°Very well, we continue with the wedding when Ilmur has returned.¡±


    None of the brothers hesitated after hearing the news. They had spent their whole life in Everharn and their hearts earned for visiting other places. Ilmur was a bit hurt after hearing that Alexandra had suggested that Gandon should come as well. Did she believe like his father seemed to believe that Gandon was the better one at making decisions? However, he shook it off, he was glad his friend would join him; they had not seen each other so much lately, and he knew Gandon was an important asset. They woke early the next morning Ilmur was clad in Feorn¡¯s white uniform while Gandon was clad in a tall purple robe that could often be seen in court politics, and purple was his favourite colour. Their pouches were filled with quite a lot of berries and gold if worst would come to worst.


    They left in high spirits, forgetting for a moment their troubles, riding hard while the sun was rising.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be interesting to see some dwarves again, we haven¡¯t seen any since we were children, I believe,¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°The dwarves from Belria mostly trade with the nearby cities, why we don¡¯t see more from the dwarves from Narda I do not know.¡±


    They rode in silence for a while, Ilmur knew what he wanted to say but he needed to muster all his courage before he was able to do so. ¡°I¡¯m in love with Alexandra, I have asked her father for her hand in marriage. I think I have fancied her since the first time I saw her.


    ¡°Yeah, I know. You have been grinning like an idiot in the courtyard these past two months.¡±


    ¡°I have not!¡± laughed Ilmur.


    They looked at each other and Gandon tried to smile as best as he could.


    ¡°Anyone you fancy Gandon? We haven¡¯t really talked much about this even though we know each other so well.¡±


    Images of Alexandra flashed in Gandon¡¯s head. ¡°No one in particular,¡± lied Gandon.


    ¡°The one you fall for will be very lucky, you know. I have seen how the ladies of the court looks at you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they sure are curious looking at the bastard child, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Come on Ilmur don¡¯t play dumb with me, you know about the rumours.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not true, father would never do something like that.¡±


    ¡°Truth or lies it doesn¡¯t matter, if enough people believe it, facts become irrelevant,¡± said Gandon.


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel gloomy, father thinks very highly of you. Soon you will have your reward.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve waited long enough.¡±


    To that Ilmur had no reply. They said no more until nightfall. Gandon stopped his horse abruptly. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I can¡¯t ride a second longer.¡±


    They continued the next day with the sun hot on their backs when they were getting further south. It took a couple more days before finally arriving to Sungold where, they received a warm welcome. But there was no time for celebration, and they were quickly escorted to the council chamber. Where they were alerted about the situation.


    Gandon assessed the situation in Sunstone and decided that they would have to learn the ways of the dwarves if they would have any chance in improving the relations. Long enough have we been content to just do business with them but with that alone isn¡¯t enough he declared. He asked the advisor and they got him in contact with one of the dwarves called Minrir. Minrir was as short as you could expect from a dwarf with a long grey beard that reached his belt, and jewels hanging from it to display his wealth. They shook hands and Gandon thought he was doing a fine job with making a good impression of himself when the dwarf declared:


    ¡°Already you have insulted me, but I do not care, because I know you come here to learn and not to scorn me.¡±


    ¡°What did I do wrong?¡± asked Gandon.


    ¡°When we meet as long as you are a guest, you should give me a gold coin. This is to show that my time is being valued. Then when you leave, I give it back, if I liked your stay. We dwarves do not care as much about the spoken word like you humans do. For us actions and contracts are everything. We do not understand when humans kill each other for insulting someone in their family. In the dwarven community that person would be held with scorn for uttering such nonsense, but he would never be attacked.¡±


    Gandon liked Minrir and he came as often as he could, and he never forgot to bring Minrir a gold coin when he entered Minrir¡¯s establishment, and the dwarf always gave it back when they parted.


    Gandon¡¯s interest with the dwarves rubbed on Ilmur and he was beginning to think about learning smithing so he could forge the wedding rings himself and thought it would be very romantic. Ilmur went to Minrir and gave him two gold coins as instructed from Gandon to show Minrir how badly he wanted this request. Minir was apprehensive at first but knew Ilmur was son to a king. Doing this could greatly improve the relations for both kingdoms in the future. Minrir contacted his cousin for help. His cousin Kyr told Ilmur that they wouldn¡¯t show him everything because the dwarves were mighty proud of their work, and he had to swear an oath to never teach any of their techniques.


    ¡°You cannot show it to your dear friend Gandon. Not even to your future children, if you would ever have such. Do I have your word? A prince¡¯s word?¡±


    Ilmur promised that their secrets would never be revealed from him and that he was honoured. Kyr believed the man and Ilmur started practicing with the forge two hours a day when he was done with his other duties. It was mighty warm in the forge warmer than in any forge a human would work with. It was difficult work, but Ilmur used his magic to keep himself cold as often as he could.


    Due to the brothers influence things were starting to go for the better in the kingdom and it looked like a crisis could be averted. They both agreed that Gandon should be their spokesperson when dealing with dwarven affairs. Alexandra had been right: they were at their best when they were working together. They enjoyed their new tasks. It was refreshing doing something other than having to do their regular duties in the capital. But both knew that things should have to go back to normal soon enough. Ilmur was already planning for their trip back home, but he figured it could be good for him to stay in the forge a little while longer.


    Two more weeks passed and now they couldn¡¯t delay any longer. They had succeeded with their mission, and it was time for Ilmur to return to the wedding that had been postponed. The day before their journey they received ill news from a messenger. The capital was under attack by goblins. They couldn¡¯t believe it, nothing like this had happened during their time. Ilmur spoke with the council to gather a large host as quickly as possible. However, this feat would take time and they wouldn¡¯t be able to gather all their army right away. Ilmur decided to go in advance for he feared for his family and Gandon should come afterwards as quickly as he possibly could.


    Ilmur rode the horse almost to the brink of death, but he managed to come back two days faster than their previous journey. The situation was bad. The goblins had forced upon the gates and the men did their best to draw back the monsters. Ilmur knew that goblins had no sense of tactic and strategy and figured that it must be someone else that was leading the goblins. He fought along with the few men he had at his disposal looking for their enemy¡¯s camp, but he wasn¡¯t sure where it could be. After a few hours of battle, he couldn¡¯t bare it any longer and fought back to the city so he could learn of the state of his family. Hoping that everyone was alright.


    The beautiful city was ransacked and Ilmur noticed that several of the jewels on the houses had been stolen. They continued the fighting while Ilmur tried to reach the castle. The goblins weren¡¯t too difficult to kill but there were so many of them. The group Ilmur led became larger slowly but surely, when the men saw that prince Ilmur was back, hope was rekindled in their hearts, but many wondered why Gandon wasn¡¯t present but there wasn¡¯t time for such questions at the moment. He fought to Alexandra¡¯s chamber and to his joy he found that she still was alright. He asked about his brothers, but she didn¡¯t know. He ordered some of his men to search for the queen and the king. Ilmur stayed in Alexandra¡¯s room where he tried to comfort her. The men were efficient about 20 minutes later the men were back with both the king and the queen. Ilmur asked again where his brothers where and then Elram told him that the last he had heard about Saran was that he had been heading for the throne room.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s there I must go.¡±


    The fighting in the castle was starting to calm down so he only brought a dozen soldiers knowing that every man he took would make those he loved less defended. There were some small skirmishes where the goblins had started to loot the treasure rooms, but they didn¡¯t have to put up much resistance to take them out. When the group came to the throne room, he was astonished to see that the throne room wasn¡¯t barricaded, he was fearing the worst but hoping that he would find his brother intact. The brother was intact, but he wasn¡¯t alive; he was spiked to the wall with several large spears. He didn¡¯t have an expression of horror in his face, he only looked sad like he knew that he had failed them while Ilmur had been gone.


    Ilmur knew that he was going to cry later but he couldn¡¯t do it in front of the men, that would have to wait. He ordered the men to take him down as gently as they could.


    ¡°We have to hide him for now, so the goblins won¡¯t do anything worse with his corpse,¡± said Ilmur.


    Fighting further without a plan didn¡¯t feel smart to Ilmur so he went back to his family so they could talk strategy. They didn¡¯t take well to hearing about their eldest sons¡¯ death and neither the king nor the queen spoke for a while.


    ¡°Father, do you have any idea why Saran was heading for the throne room?¡±


    ¡°The man in the black cloak told me to come to the throne room to discuss peace negotiation. Saran went instead of me saying it was too dangerous. I¡¯m a coward had I gone instead my Saran would still be alive.¡±


    Ilmur ensured his father that he wasn¡¯t. ¡°What man in a black cloak?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know the name of the man, but he leads the goblins. He has proclaimed the end to the human world saying that he is a god. I have no idea why the goblins work or him, they usually don¡¯t like being told what to do.¡±


    Ilmur remembered the comet that had fallen shortly before Gandon¡¯s birthday. Could it have anything to do with that?


    ¡°Gandon is on his way with more men, but we need to buy him more time. Father, what should we do?¡±


    The fire was gone from Elram¡¯s eyes. ¡°I want to be with my son, you lead the men. You are ready now, have been for quite some time I deem.¡±


    ¡°We have hidden Saran close to the throne room, we will bring him when the situation is more secure,¡± said Ilmur.


    Ilmur left shortly afterward; he felt strangely inspired. All his life he had asked other for the answers, he had had good teachers and he felt like he was ready to carry the burden. They cleaned up the street slaying the last remaining goblins and put out a new defensive wall at the gate. The men outside were lost, apparently Saran had sent out some men to meet the goblins hoping to protect the city, a noble idea but foolish. They had underestimated the goblins strength, they all had. Ilmur asked for some berries and made an ice wall around the blockade.


    ¡°I want to see them get around this,¡± said he to one of the captains.


    The battle continued and there seemed to be no end to the goblins. They came out of tunnels nearby they had been digging for God knows how long. The battle at the wall was fierce and they would run out of arrows soon if Gandon wouldn¡¯t come to their aid. He was still saving the mages; they were his secret weapon, but he believed that he soon would be forced to use them.


    Finally, a few days later, could the horn from the riders be heard on the battlefield and he knew that his brother had returned. The riders were crashing into the goblins making them flee from the siege. Ilmur brought out the mages to land the final blow and he could feel the winds of war change. His heart told him that he needed to find Gandon as soon as possible so they could together confront the man in black. He opened the gate and brought forth the men that had only been on the defensive for a week and they joined the battle.


    Ilmur found Gandon while he was busy burning some goblins to cinder. He quickly explained the situation to Gandon about the man in black.


    ¡°I tried to search for him when I returned knowing full well that the goblins couldn¡¯t have done this on their own, I couldn¡¯t find him them but to be fair, I didn¡¯t know what I was looking for and there is much less goblins now which would help us in our search, but I fear only more will come if we don¡¯t do anything about the situation right now.


    Ilmur spoke rather quickly but it didn¡¯t take long for Gandon to put the pieces together.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find some high ground so we can see better,¡± said Gandon reasonably.


    Ilmur listened to his friend, and they started to climb. When they reached the top of a mountain were they able to see a sorcerer in a black cloak a little distance away flinging spells at those that came too close.


    ¡°Damn, we still have a bit to go, we need to hurry.¡±


    ¡°What if we can¡¯t take him on our own?¡± asked Ilmur.


    ¡°We need to try, worrying can you do in your grave.¡±


    Ilmur drew his sword. ¡°As you say!¡±


    They hurried as fast as they could, but it still took several minutes, and many had died before they arrived. When they were ready to attack, none of the soldiers were alive.


    The man stood with a large black cloak, with the hood up, covering his face in darkness, but the darkness wasn¡¯t natural because not even the shape of a head could be seen, the cloak was magical somehow. The man that called himself a god stood armless waiting for them.


    ¡°Hail Ilmur, well met. I hope you enjoy the present I gave to your brother,¡± said the man.


    With that comment Ilmur completely lost it and started swinging like crazy at the man, but the man evaded Ilmur¡¯s attacks with ease.


    Gandon was astonished, if Ilmur couldn¡¯t hit him, there would be no need for Gandon to draw his sword. He started to search in his belt for berries so he could assist his friend in other ways.


    The man kicked Ilmur in his chest, so he flew back. There was no facial expression to be seen, but Gandon had a feeling that this man wasn¡¯t impressed. Could this man actually be a god? Ilmur was one of the best, but this man played with him like a brother playing with a toddler. Gandon started to feel a bit nervous, but they had come too far to back down now. Gandon started to cast his fire bolts upon the man. The man created black holes that absorbed the fire.


    Gandon helped Ilmur up. ¡°This man is definitely using black magic, because he doesn¡¯t seem to eat any berries to cast his spells.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t he be a blue mage?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but I don¡¯t think so¡±, said Gandon. ¡°I know no animal he could have learned this darkness from.¡±


    ¡°We need to cooperate if we ever are going to have a chance of beating him. If I keep swinging at him while you attack with your magic, we might have a chance.¡±


    ¡°If only our master were here¡±, said Gandon.


    But they had no more time talking because the man apparently wasn¡¯t happy with them just standing there and discussing strategy. He brought out two knives and started swinging at Gandon, but Ilmur came in between to protect his friend. Ilmur was on the defensive this time instead of attacking. He would leave that part to Gandon now.


    They were a little bit too close for Gandon¡¯s liking, he could easily hurt Ilmur if he wasn¡¯t careful, but he had been casting fireballs since he was eight and he was confident in his aim. The battle continued and they got a feeling that the man was no longer so cocky. Ilmur got a hit on the man in the black cloak, and he started bleeding from his hip.


    ¡°Press on Ilmur! Press on!¡± shouted Gandon, ¡°for Everharn! For Everharn!¡± Gandon would have blown in a horn if he had one.


    Gandon would soon have no berries left and Ilmur started to look tired, they didn¡¯t have it in the bag just yet.


    Ilmur parried a slash, but his own blade broke in the middle. The man seemed to summon more darkness ready to finish off Ilmur.


    Gandon reached for a berry in his pocket, but there were none. Before he had time to think he acted on instinct and threw himself at Ilmur knocking him away. It was a brave deed, but Gandon took the shadow projectiles head on instead. Gandon flew quite a long distance and when he landed, he remained motionless.


    Ilmur threw his sword as a knife at the man and started running to Gandon. He could use Gandon¡¯s sword and keep fighting. He unleashed it, ready to fight for Gandon¡¯s sake but the man was gone.


    The man¡¯s cloak had been red with his own blood on his right side and apparently, he hadn¡¯t thought that it was worth it to keep fighting.


    Ilmur held Gandon, believing for a short while that he was dead, but to his joy he discovered that Gandon still had a pulse, but no matter what he did, Gandon wouldn¡¯t wake up.


    He carried Gandon back to the castle not caring about the pain in his body nor how exhausted he felt. He put Gandon back on his own bead, not letting anyone else do it. He sat there for a while looking at Gandon¡¯s expressionless face. Gandon¡¯s eyes were closed, and his mouth was in a straight line. He didn¡¯t know how long he sat there, but it couldn¡¯t have been too long before their master entered the room. He took a quick look at Gandon and asked Ilmur what had happened.


    Ilmur told Yvon about the battle with the man in the black cloak and Gandon¡¯s noble sacrifice. ¡°He will wake up right? He¡¯s only sleeping!¡±


    Yvon had three fingers on Gandon¡¯s forehead while he examined him. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to say, I have never seen something like this. He¡¯s in a coma, but how we wake him up I can¡¯t say.¡±


    Yvon removed Gandon¡¯s clothes, and on Gandon¡¯s chest two black slashes could be seen.


    ¡°Interesting, I will consult my order and my books, under the meantime you should get some sleep, you look like you could drop dead any second. You can¡¯t help me in the state you are in right now.


    Ilmur was angry at himself, he wanted to argue he wanted to scream, he wanted to punch something but what good would that do? He nodded to his master and went to his room where Alexandra was waiting for him. Now Ilmur broke down completely. He cried in Alexandra¡¯s lap. He cried for his dead brother but most of all he cried for Gandon the brother that wasn¡¯t a brother but was as beloved as one. Ilmur felt in his heart that the other mages wouldn¡¯t know what to do, Gandon would remain sleeping in his room forever, not dead but he could as well have been.


    Alexandra stroked his hair, held him in her arms and told Ilmur that he was loved, but nothing could ease his pain. He cried until he passed out.


    Ilmur woke late the next day, but as soon as he did, he rushed to Gandon¡¯s room. Gandon¡¯s room was occupied by mages that were studying Gandon closely with their instruments and books.


    Ilmur asked if they had made any discoveries, but they shook their heads. Ilmur left right away not able to bare their incompetence nor Gandon¡¯s expressionless face.


    He went to his father and mother and as he had guessed they were with his brother Saran. His father was still in shambles while his mother seemed to have regained some of her composure. He hugged them both for a long while. Trying to comfort them like Alexandra had comforted him.


    He asked if they had heard about Gandon and Elram nodded. ¡°We will do anything to get him back, Ilmur I promise.¡±


    Ilmur nodded. Yes, he would do anything, anything to get Gandon back.


    The next day Elram came to his room. ¡°This is a really bad timing son, no one knows it better than I. But we made an agreement with Ravon, and we have already postponed the wedding once, it can¡¯t wait any longer. There is no telling when Gandon might wake up and we can¡¯t just wait for him. We will have the burial soon, then there will be one week of mourning, but then we must get along with the wedding.


    Ilmur didn¡¯t like it but there was no reason to argue.


    They put Saran along with the kings of old. It was tragic really, Saran had looked forward to ruling all his life, but his life had ended before his reign had even begun. Ilmur had never even given it a thought, but he supposed that he would have to do it eventually. Ruling over the largest country on Elnyr the thought was inconceivable.


    Ilmur didn¡¯t do much regarding the wedding plans, he stayed most of his time in his room. Alexandra had assured him that it was no problem at all. He didn¡¯t deserve her really, but when you love someone, and they love you back you don¡¯t have to think about who deserves the other more.


    On the actual wedding day Ilmur held his mask and he tried to look as happily as he could. This day was important, and the mourning would have to wait for a while. It was perhaps fortunate, Ilmur didn¡¯t know it, but Gandon wouldn¡¯t have liked to be at the wedding if he would have been awake. He would have come, do the best speech he possibly could, but he would have excused himself at the first best opportunity.


    Ravon looked happy, and Elram looked better than he had ever done since he had lost his first born. But Ilmur guessed that his father held up the same mask he himself did. Alexandra was beaming in her white wedding dress, and she looked so beautiful that Ilmur felt genuinely happy that he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. When their lips met everyone applauded. Yvon held a speech talking about how Ilmur and Gandon had been like children and how privileged he was to have both got to teach them and got to know them and see them grow into the men they had become. Ilmur raised his glass to his master, appreciative of the speech.


    Ilmur wanted right away to continue exploring Gandon¡¯s condition, but Alexandra insisted on the honeymoon. It was going to be their only one and Ilmur couldn¡¯t talk her out of it. After all they wouldn¡¯t leave him alone, Yvon and the other mages were looking after him.


    They travelled to some of the places Alexandra always had wanted to see and Ilmur tried his best to make her visits as pleasant as possible. But when Alexandra fell asleep, he studied his books that he had brought with him long into the night. Feeling that at least he had to do something. He suggested that they should look at a garden that was nearby and while they were there Ilmur studied the flowers and their properties. He didn¡¯t believe that he found anything useful, but you could never know. Their honeymoon went fast, and Alexandra was sad that they would have to go back, but she couldn¡¯t have held him back any longer even with chains if she would have tried.


    When they were back in Everharn appointed Ilmur to a meeting with the mages immediately. He asked them if they had discovered anything useful. They all looked down ashamed. Until one spoke.


    ¡°The problem is my prince is that this is the purest form of dark magic we have ever seen. Whomever you were fighting he wasn¡¯t a normal man that¡¯s for sure. We believed that those who practiced dark magic had died out a long ago, but now we aren¡¯t so sure. The archives are incomplete, we simply don¡¯t know enough regarding the black magic.¡±


    Ilmur nodded, they would have to change strategy. The finest mages from Elnyr had done their best and nothing had worked but that didn¡¯t mean that no one else could. He would make an offer so generous that would flock all the mages from all the corners of the world to Everharn.


    He had it decreed the same day and now a long and tedious process started to begin. Ilmur sat on his father¡¯s throne while he looked over the mages that patiently were waiting in line. It felt weird sitting on the throne, but Elram had started to give him more duties. Elram was secretly thinking about abdicating, feeling older than he had ever felt before, but he kept it to himself for the moment. Not even the queen knew.


    Ilmur had suggested that they could have brought another chair to the throne room, but Elram had insisted that he should sit on the throne. ¡°You might as well get used to the throne because you are going to sit here a lot, I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    And so Ilmur did, he sat on the throne while going over all the mages. He guessed that some of them that had come didn¡¯t know that he was a mage himself, because it wasn¡¯t hard for him to discover the charlatans, which he dismissed immediately.


    It took several days before he found someone that caught his interest. There were many skilful mages who had a great control of their element, but they did nothing that their kingdom¡¯s mages already could not. He had hoped more blue mages would show up, but they were few and those who showed up left him even more dissatisfied than the mages before them.

 Part 2

    One day when he had gone through the candidates for several hours, he finally found someone that caught his eye. It was a young man with short black hair that was clad in a cloak that was split even in black and white. The left shoulder and left leg were white while the right side was covered in black. He created a white light with his left hand and a beautiful starry night in the room with his right hand. Ilmur had never seen anything like it and wanted to know the man¡¯s name immediately.


    ¡°Cecil from Landorrin,¡± said the man while he scratched his eye, it looked like the man was in pain.


    ¡°I think you might be the man I¡¯ve been looking for,¡± said Ilmur.


    He dismissed the other remaining mages so they could talk unheard. ¡°I trust that you know why you are here?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Gandon son of Feadrim, lies in a coma, and you have searched the whole continent for someone that could wake him up,¡± said Cecil while scratching his eye again.


    ¡°Are you in pain?¡± asked Ilmur.


    ¡°A little, but do not worry about it. It¡¯s my own fault to begin with.¡±


    Cecil made the impression that he wouldn¡¯t discuss the subject further. ¡°May I see the man?¡±


    ¡°Do you think you can help him?¡± asked Ilmur.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to say, since I haven¡¯t seen him yet, but I have never failed so far.¡±


    Ilmur nodded, he had a good feeling about the man and decided to take him to Gandon, right away.¡±


    Gandon laid on his bed still unmoving but was breathing normally. Praise Gothmor thought Ilmur to himself.


    Cecil made a hand gesture over Gandon¡¯s head that reminded a lot of the gesture Yvon had done previously.


    ¡°It¡¯s dark magic alright, that¡¯s for certain, a strong dark magic. If you lived on the hope that Gandon would wake up on his own merit, you better forget it now.¡±


    ¡°But there must be something we can do! Anything! Money isn¡¯t a problem¡±, said Ilmur desperately.


    ¡°As I said, this is powerful dark magic,¡± this time Cecil stressed out the words dark and magic. ¡°I can help you, but there are certain moments in the procedure where I can do nothing. Do you have a strong bond with him?¡±


    ¡°As strong as a brother,¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°Good, good, because this time casting a simple spell or making some herbs won¡¯t be enough to break the spell, that¡¯s why everyone before me has failed I deem. A human¡¯s soul needs a good balance between light and dark, and now there is so much darkness in Gandon thanks to the spell that his body can¡¯t function at all. Therefore, we will create a ring,¡± said Cecil.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I fully understand¡­¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°We will create a ring and seal a dragon¡¯s soul into it to restore the balance. A phoenix would be best, but you wouldn¡¯t be able to catch one, not even if you lived until the end of all time.¡±


    Ilmur did not even know that phoenixes existed, he had thought they were only legends. However, dragons were no news to him. ¡°Finding a dragon won¡¯t be easy, we have been quite good at slaying those snakes, so the kingdom could live in peace,¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°Yes, but I know where you can find one dragon, a very strong dragon even. She¡¯s a female so it will make the ring even better. Balance is the key, light and dark, male and female and so forth.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll make a host ready, you just tell me where this dragon is, and I will bring you its hide.¡±


    ¡°No, this is something that you must do on your own. The bond with you and Gandon is strong, and the souls¡¯ properties will weaken if you have men to aid you. If you don¡¯t go alone, Gandon will never wake up, you have my word on it.¡±


    Ilmur sat down with his hand in his hair. He knew about the theory regarding slaying dragons. You needed someone to distract the snake while someone else (several would be preferred) attacked and wounded the dragon. To go alone would be suicide.


    ¡°You cross that bridge when you come to it, but for the moment we can worry about creating the dragon ring instead. Dwarven craft would be preferable, but I am not sure if we can get a dwarf to help us in this matter. They are usually very secretive about their craft.


    ¡°I actually know how to use a forge the dwarven way, especially rings. I made the wedding rings myself you see.¡± Ilmur held up his right hand so Cecil could look at the craftsmanship.


    Cecil raised an eyebrow. ¡°Impressive, looks like I won¡¯t have to do all of the work after all.¡±


    ¡°You know some of the art yourself?¡± asked Ilmur.


    ¡°That I do, but I am surprised that you know somewhat yourself, you must have made quite an impression if someone decided to teach you.¡±


    Ilmur thought back at the promise he had made with Minrir, to never reveal any of their secrets. Even if Cecil knew some of it the dwarves might not see it that way. However, he was desperate and would do anything to save Gandon, and if they were discreet about it no one would have to know.


    ¡°When can we start?¡± asked Ilmur.


    ¡°Fix us a forge and we can start whenever you like.¡±


    ¡°Tonight, then,¡± said Ilmur.


    Now they had some hard work ahead of them. Ilmur did not miss the heat from the forges, and it was hard work, but the soul crushing part was that Cecil never seemed to be satisfied with any of the rings they made. He felt a little bit rusty but got irritated that none of the thirty rings they had made seemed to do.


    ¡°Patience, my prince. You cannot rush these things. We will just have to be persistent.¡±


    He laid down next to Alexandra feeling exhausted after a long hard day. He had decided that he would be everyday at the forge until Cecil was satisfied.


    On the third day they finally made a ring that seemed to satisfy Cecil. It was a beautiful silver ring that was thin in the middle but thicker at the ends of it.


    ¡°Now I will just pour some magic into it, meanwhile you can sharpen your sword for some dragon slaying, my prince.¡±


    Ilmur thought that his skills with the blade would not be enough, so he went to Yvon for some advice.


    ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that you are not Gandon, for no fire can hurt a dragon, in fact they thrive in it. I would suggest that you would practice making some ice spears to pierce its hide with.


    Ilmur thought it was a good idea, he had started to rely too much on his sword and seldom even bothered to take a berry from his pouch. Magic was a skill like any other that you needed to practice to stay sharp. Cecil seemed to be impatient at Ilmur.


    ¡°I have better things to do, than to just sit here for the rest of my life rolling my thumbs.¡±


    ¡°As you said earlier, patience. If I need to go alone, I need to be ready for the worst to come.¡±


    Cecil nodded somewhat irritably and brought forth a map. ¡°Here in the north should you find the great dragon Fornixa with its silver scales.¡±


    ¡°How do you know about this?¡±


    ¡°That is my own secret, I came here to help you, not to reveal my sources.¡±


    This seemed to be another subject that was off limits for Ilmur, and he saw no need to force an answer out of him. He even agreed with Cecil to some extent.


    Two weeks later he could not wait any longer. He was so eager to fight this Fornixia so they could have Gandon back. He would prevail, he knew it, failure was not an option. He brought out his horse and rode out early in the morning. Looking at the mountain on the map that Cecil had been pointing out earlier. The journey was not too difficult, but he slept badly during the nights knowing what was to come and he was scared. This would have been so much easier if he could have done it together with Gandon.


    The journey was a time to reflect over his childhood and the decisions he had been forced to make, and the knowledge that he would rule as a king one day started to sink in, he hoped it was not too soon, but his father had looked so tired a long while now.


    He ate nor slept more than he had too, but it was still a long journey on horseback. One and a half week later he finally reached his destination. He could sense that the dragon was nearby and decided to rest well before his encounter. When the sun rose, he began sharpening his blade. He had decided that he would skip breakfast, and he could eat later instead.


    He found a pathway that led into the mountain. It was starting to become hot; this was a climate that Gandon would have fared better in. He had the sword in his right arm and the berries in his left hand, ready to use them at first sight of danger.


    He came to a large cave where the dragon had slept, but Ilmur¡¯s footsteps had stirred the dragon widely awake. The dragon had silver scales shining beautifully in the cave with large black horns. Its black pupils were sharp like lizards.


    Ilmur had planned to attack right away but he hesitated when he saw the dragon. The dragon¡¯s mouth didn¡¯t move but he could hear her voice echoing in his mind.


    You haven¡¯t introduced yourself like the old customs demands, but I know who you are. You come from a long line of kings; everything about you says so. How you walk and how you hold yourself up, you are from House Avar alright, no question about it. Your forefathers have killed many of my kin, so I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s bravery or stupidity that made you come here.


    ¡°Neither I came because of love,¡± said Ilmur.


    Fornixia smiled at that. Go on, she said.


    Ilmur looked at all the gold that was laying on the floor. ¡°You hate our house for what we have done in the past, but don¡¯t try to tell me you have obtained your treasure hall through gifts. I know all too well how a dragon obtains their gold.¡±


    Fornixia¡¯s wings rose, and she breathed fire. Do not try to lecture me! How do you think your house obtained their power in the past? You are conquerors just like me!


    ¡°We have changed but you have not. The world has moved on and there is no place for you in it any longer.


    So you say Avar! But is there any place for you I wonder? I can sense in your heart that you are not ready to take the throne. You still grieve in your heart after your dead brother. And there is someone in your life that could do a better job, someone that is sleeping because of you.


    That hit too close to home and Ilmur ate the first of his berries ready to finish what he started. Fornixia breathed fire once again, but Ilmur blocked the flames with an ice wall that filled the cave. This duel is famous and has been told many times under different campfires, a favourite for many. Dragon slaying wasn¡¯t something new, but it was the first time a single man had been able to do it.


    They fought for hours and when it was done Ilmur¡¯s coat was torn and stained with blood. After he unleashed the killing blow in the underbelly, he brought forth the ring, placed it on the ground and forced the dragon¡¯s soul to inhabit the ring. When it was done the ring turned into the purest silver and a dragon could be seen on the ring. He was hungry, but he didn¡¯t dare to eat the dragon¡¯s flesh, so he decided to get out of there as quickly as possible. He hoped the food storage would be enough for the return journey otherwise he would have to ask help from the smallfolk.


    When he returned to Everharn had he been gone for more than three weeks, and everyone was happy to see him. He brushed them off as quickly as he could because he wanted to see Gandon as quickly as possible.


    Everything was as exactly as before in Gandon¡¯s room. Ilmur came up to Gandon and put the dragon ring on Gandon¡¯s ring finger on his right hand. Gandon opened his eyes immediately, and Ilmur called for the servants. Gandon held his head in his arms; it looked like he had a bad headache. ¡°How long was I out?¡±


    ¡°You have been out a good long time, brother. But don¡¯t worry about it right now, the most important thing is that you are awake,¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°Ilmur, you look horrible, what the hell have happened to you? We need to patch you up right away.¡±


    ¡°It can wait, what is the last thing you remember?¡±


    Gandon tried to remember. ¡°We were fighting this black hooded man. I got hit and everything turned black after that. Did you avenge me?¡±


    ¡°No, when I went to check up on you, but he was gone. He was wounded and probably saw no need to continue fighting. I¡¯m sorry brother.¡±


    Gandon finally discovered the dragon ring. ¡°What¡¯s this? A gift?¡±


    ¡°You could say that,¡± said Ilmur.


    The servants hurried into the chamber to aid their lord.


    ¡°Do you need anything Gandon?¡±


    ¡°Not, at the moment, I would like to know everything that was happening while I was gone.¡±


    ¡°Well, you heard the man,¡± said Ilmur. ¡°Out with you, out with you now!¡±


    They were once again alone and Ilmur started to fill him up on the details while he had been unconscious. They talked for a long while, like good friends do when they haven¡¯t seen each other in ages, but Gandon got quiet when Ilmur started to talk about the wedding. Gandon had a lot more questions when Ilmur was done.


    ¡°So, this ring, will I faint if I remove it from my hand?¡±


    Ilmur looked solemn. ¡°I think so, when you got hit you got way too much darkness into you and the ring therefore is needed to balance your body. At least that is what Cecil says.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep it on then, for now. I would very much like to talk to this Cecil, he seems like a mysterious person. I wonder what he hopes to gain from this.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t complain, we will shower him with riches soon enough.¡±


    ¡°He never demanded anything else than just gold?¡± said Gandon suspiciously.


    Ilmur shook his head.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Gandon. ¡°Well, bring me some food then and let me rest for a bit, I feel exhausted.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to try to find Cecil,¡± said Ilmur.


    *This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    It was getting late and Gandon laid in the bed uneasy. Apparently Ilmur was married now, he knew he should be happy for his friend, but it felt like Ilmur had pierced his stomach with a knife and twisted the knife several times and to top that of Ilmur was apparently some dragon slayer know, he had beaten a dragon on his own. Gandon had read the books and heard the stories and as far as he knew, that had never happened before. Saran was dead and Ilmur would now become a king, he would only gain more fame for his deeds and he would become a more popular king than Elram and Alexandra would look at him with swooning eyes and be so grateful that she never picked him instead. Gandon got angry, really angry. He had sacrificed his life to save Ilmur, why had he done that? Because his father had sacrificed his life to save the king? How long were they planning to do this dance? If house Avar couldn¡¯t take care of itself, it wasn¡¯t his problem, and how was Elram going to repay him? By giving him governance over some backwater city? Hadn¡¯t he proved himself enough already? The king could as well have spotted him in the face instead. He deserved better; he knew he did. He didn¡¯t sleep at all that night, he sat in the dark and pondered alone in his thoughts.


    He didn¡¯t want to see anyone the next day he was walking alone in the corridors, his left hand touching the wall while his left hand was touching his forehead. He didn¡¯t know if the headache was because he was so exhausted or that he was so angry at everything and everyone. He found Ilmur when he was walking, he tried to get away, but it was impossible to do without looking suspicious.


    ¡°Morning brother, good to see you up and about. Would you fancy going out and practice with me a little? I feel a bit out of shape after all this magic training.¡±


    Gandon¡¯s headache was becoming fiercer, and he was so close to rage. ¡°So what? So you can humiliate me on the training yard like you do year after year? I have already given my life protecting you, what more do you need from me?¡±


    ¡°Gandon¡­ I didn¡¯t mean it at all like that. You know I¡¯m grateful, I would have done the same for you, you know I would.¡±


    ¡°Sure, you would have, I need to be alone for the moment.¡± Gandon started to walk away.


    ¡°Brother I¡¯m truly sorry if I have offended you, it wasn¡¯t long since you woke up, it was too soon. It was untactful. I¡¯ll see you later then.¡±


    Gandon only waved with his hand as he walked away. He walked the endless corridors unable to not think about his father. Feadrim had been a captain in the order named men of the phoenix. How would his life had been if Feadrim had lived, and he would have grown up with his real father instead? The men of the phoenix protected men in general, but who they protected most vigorously were men who could channel fire. His father would have been pleased to know that his son was a skilled fire mage. Was it because of that he had decided to learn the art of fire? He hadn¡¯t known the stories when he had picked his element but still was it just a coincidence or was there something more to it? Did it symbolize that he had never belonged here and that he should be with the men of the phoenix? Was his whole life just a lie? A scenery on a stage you could easily remove when the play was over. ¡°Who am I? Where do I come from?¡±


    You are a lord, said a voice


    Gandon turned around but there was no one there, he was all alone. I have definitely slept too little tonight, thought Gandon. He went to the practice yard but he went to one of the higher seats so he wouldn¡¯t be discovered. He could see Ilmur practice with Taril, Taril wasn¡¯t bad but even Gandon would have fared better against Ilmur. They were laughing and having fun, Ilmur always enjoyed when he could do this type of thing; this was his element. Gandon, however, hadn¡¯t enjoyed it in a long time, he had felt for a good while now that he was wasting his time with it. His talents were better for other works like ruling and paper works. Why did Ilmur always try to shape him into something he wasn¡¯t? He sat there for a long while observing them intently but never revealing himself. Afterwards he went back to his room, but he still had trouble sleeping.


    Ilmur came the next day again, he wanted to refuse him saying that he still wasn¡¯t feeling well, but he couldn¡¯t refuse when Ilmur told him that they had been summoned by the king and Gandon didn¡¯t dare to refuse an order from the king. Gandon knew that Ilmur would go to their master if he would continue keeping up his behaviour from yesterday so he tried to fake it as best as he could.


    ¡°Why does your father want to see us?¡± said Gandon this time, but Ilmur seemed to take no notice.


    ¡°I have no idea, don¡¯t believe for a second that father tells me everything. The plan for the marriage was only revealed to me at the last minute. remember?¡±


    They entered the throne room and Elram was sitting on the throne with two blades in his hands, they were hidden in white cloth. The king looked far older than last time Gandon had seen him. To his surprise he saw Minrir standing nearby.


    ¡°Ah my boys, so kind of you to come and see your old father. I have a gift for both of you.¡±


    You are no father of mine, my real father roots in the grave that you made for him, thought Gandon.


    ¡°You both tried to protect and avenge my son, and then you Gandon was willing to sacrifice yourself to save Ilmur. Such courage needs to be awarded.¡± He removed the cloth and two swords glimmering in a beautiful blue glow with silver handles could be seen.


    ¡°Minrir has informed me that this is king steel that was mined in the moon mountains hence the glow they display. According to the stories, king steel is so rare that they have never met their kin in battle, and according to Minrir these swords are unbreakable. They weren¡¯t cheap and it wasn¡¯t easy to convince the dwarves but both of you are truly worth it. He came down from the throne and the brothers knelt when they received their gifts.


    ¡°Go forth and protect my kingdom with the weapons that you have been given. You two are my shields in the realm.¡± There was a short silence. ¡°One more thing Gandon, I will make you a lord. I will send you to Sirion shortly to govern over my affairs, I will give you an estate and servants. I believe you will do good work there. What name will your house have?¡±


    Ilmur was flabbergasted and Gandon was quite surprised himself. There was a lot to take in, first the swords and now this. He thought about his father again, as he often did recently.


    ¡°Your grace, the name of my house will be Feadrim.¡±


    ¡°Ah, after your father then, I guess it¡¯s only fitting. Well then, rise Gandon of house Feadrim!¡±


    The people chaired, but Gandon noticed that Ilmur did not, he looked numb. His fists tightened but he tried to undo them as quickly as he could. Gandon stood up, and tried to take it all in. People started patting him on the back and eventually Ilmur joined them as well. When they got free, they started to inspect the swords and they looked identical, but they didn¡¯t have time to think about that since they both were eager to see Minrir. He searched fanatically for a gold coin in his pocket.


    Minrir laughed. ¡°Easy lad, we are in your house now, therefore we follow your customs.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you came all this way,¡± said Gandon.


    ¡°I was delighted, both of you made quite an impression during your short stay. Still knowing yourself around a forge Ilmur?¡±


    Ilmur smiled. ¡°Definitely.¡±


    Minrir was eyeing the ring on Gandon¡¯s finger. ¡°That ring is dwarven made, or at least made by someone that knows our ways. You haven¡¯t thought Gandon or anybody else Ilmur?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Ilmur, but Gandon thought he looked slightly ashamed. Not many would have picked up upon it, but he knew Ilmur so well.


    ¡°Good, good. Can I later come over to your room and talk a little Gandon?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    Minrir bowed and left the throne room and Ilmur had left shortly before that.


    *


    Ilmur felt rather down in the mud when he was walking to Alexandra¡¯s chamber. He was happy that Gandon had become a lord, the gods knew he deserved that, but sending him all the way to Sirion? It was an awfully long way¡­ Sure, he could visit but now they would see each other only once or twice a year. It wasn¡¯t enough for Ilmur, but the decision wasn¡¯t his to make. When he entered the Alexandra¡¯s chamber Alexandra was happy to see him. ¡°Ilmur! I have wonderful news! I¡¯m with child!¡±


    This day was truly a lot to take in, first what happened in the throne room and now this. He showed all his worries in the back of his mind and decided to just enjoy the moment with the woman he loved.


    *


    Minrir knocked on Gandon¡¯s door a few hours later and after a quick briefing on what had happened in their lives since the last time they had seen each other, the glasses came out and they started to discuss politics when they were on their fourth glass, and Gandon felt rather bold.


    ¡°Can I trust you, Minrir? You won¡¯t share what I am going to tell you?¡±


    ¡°Of course, lad, a dwarf never reveals a secret, not even under torture,¡± said the dwarf proudly.


    ¡°I have later started to question our system. Ilmur is going to inherit the throne, but he¡¯s not fit to be king, he¡¯s a warrior and that is where he is happy as well.¡±


    ¡°I hear you; it was after all you who did all the paperworks and meetings while Ilmur was stuck in the forge.¡±


    ¡°Someone else could do a better job, someone like¡­¡±


    ¡°You lad?¡±


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t mean¡­ Well, I for an example yes.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be ashamed to admit it. We don¡¯t have kings like you do, we don¡¯t inherit power, we have a learned council that votes on matters and who should rule and matters as such.¡±


    ¡°I wish we had such a system, but it would never fly with the lords.¡±


    ¡°Changes will happen, but it won¡¯t change over a night.¡±


    ¡°You have given me a lot to think about,¡± said Gandon.


    The twilight was almost consumed by the night and he had once again trouble sleeping. The same thoughts kept spinning around in his head and he saw no solutions to them. Ilmur wasn¡¯t worthy and the lords were corrupt and incompetent. He was a lord himself now, but still a lesser one, the house didn¡¯t have any history or funding¡¯s it was just a fancy title, and it didn¡¯t mean much in truth. His life was better than the smallfolk, true but after all he had done, he had deserved more, after all his family had done¡­


    Yes, you deserve so much more, said a voice.


    That startled him and he pushed himself up. He grabbed the knife that was next to the bed. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± The voice had sounded as if it had come from the whole room, it had been loud as well. It reminded him of the voice he had heard earlier, then he had blamed it on his tiredness, but now he was sure it was something else.


    Wake up my lord, you have slept enough as it is, said the voice.


    He left the bed, he couldn¡¯t see anyone in the room because it was so dark, he was thinking about shouting for the guards, but he wouldn¡¯t ask for help if he wasn¡¯t in any real danger, he was far too proud for that. What was that voice, he had never heard it before, but it seemed to know him. ¡°Who are you?¡± said Gandon.


    The voice laughed. Everyone seems to think that you are so intelligent, surely you can do better than that. Or are you just a small child who needs a clue or two to figure out a simple riddle? said the voice.


    The taunting made Gandon angry, and he started to think fast. He felt a bit slow, since he had been in a coma for so long, but it wasn¡¯t hard to solve this riddle. He wasn¡¯t crazy, he didn¡¯t usually hear voices in his head. What had changed? The ring and Ilmur¡¯s slaying of the dragon. ¡°You are the dragon, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    The voice laughed yet again. Very good! Very good indeed!


    Gandon waited for the voice to say anything more, but nothing came. Her soul is inside the ring, I¡¯m not sure that I want a dragon inside my head should I just remove it from my finger? The voice would probably stop then.


    If you do that you die and you know it, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t, said the voice.


    So you can read my thoughts then?


    I can read your thoughts and you can read mine, isn¡¯t that fair?


    Gandon didn¡¯t think so, and he wasn¡¯t sure that the dragon was telling him the truth either. I better do something about this.


    Don¡¯t be like that, I can be a very powerful ally. Now my magic is yours as well, and of all mages you are a fire mage! Imagine the possibilities! With my help no one would be able to stop you. Forget about me, and concentrate your hatred on Ilmur and the king, the ones that took everything away from you. The woman and the country can be yours, we just need to kill Ilmur. The people respect you, they are like Aexandra, they didn¡¯t pick you because you are only the second best, but if their dream prince would be dead they would come to you with open arms.


    Kill Ilmur? He saved my life!


    He only cleaned up his own mess, like his father did before him. You have already started to doubt in your own heart. I have seen it. You defend him, but you don¡¯t know him as well as you think you do. Let me show you something.


    The whole room evaporated and suddenly Gandon stood in a different part of the castle surrounded by Ilmur and his brothers. They looked much younger than they do now.


    They can¡¯t hear you, so don¡¯t bother. Just listen for now.


    ¡°The rumors have begun to spread again about father and his mistress¡±, said Saran while looking at Ilmur.


    ¡°Gandon is the worst thing that has ever happened to us,¡± said the third brother Taril. ¡°We will never get rid of this shame as long as we will and now when the people doubt our father, they will doubt us as well.¡±


    ¡°Gandon¡¯s father saved our father¡¯s life, or have you forgotten?¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°It would have been better if our father had died with an untarnished reputation instead. Not for us, but as for the kingdom as a whole. We are trying to create a dynasty over here.


    ¡°We need to sweep this under the rug as best as we can,¡± said Saran. ¡°We can never give him a position of too big importance. Otherwise, the people will just believe that father is trying to please his mistress. It¡¯s going to take a long while before we can remedy this.


    Ilmur looked ashamed on the ground. ¡°You are right, for the kingdom it would have been better if Gandon hadn¡¯t come here. But I will still treat him with respect nonetheless.¡±


    ¡°We all will, we are not terrible people. Continue spending time with him Ilmur, he likes you the best. Meanwhile Saran and I will see what we can do about the situation.¡±


    ¡°And remember,¡± said Taril. ¡°No matter what happens we can never give him a too important position, if ever father would want to do that, one of us must convince him otherwise. It wouldn¡¯t be good if he outshined us either. Keep beating him on the yard Ilmur, so he stays humble.¡±


    Ilmur nodded. ¡°Agreed.¡±


    The vision faded and Gandon was back in his room. He tried to keep his hands steady, but they shook worse than ever.  So, I am just a burden, am I? Well, you are a burden to my plans. We¡¯ll see who can amend theirs first.


    He went to one of the portraits of the king and the queen. He took it down and started stabbing it. For the first time since Gandon had woken up from the coma was his mind clear. He knew what he needed to do, and he knew who he was now. He was going to play the biggest game of five towers he had ever done, and the challenge thrilled him, this was his area of expertise. The world wasn¡¯t big enough for Gandon and Ilmur and one of them had to fall. He laughed silently, the king himself had given him the dagger! Sirion would be his base of operations and he couldn¡¯t wait to go there as soon as possible. He went to bed and he finally had a good night of sleep.


    The next day Gandon was surprised that he went to the practice yard without anyone asking him, but he was feeling great and wanted to have a match with Ilmur. Ilmur was surprised but accepted of course. It started like it always did, Ilmur was on the offense and Gandon felt himself forced to back but instead of panicking he gave Gandon a sly smile. Everything felt different now, the colours were more vibrant and to Gandon Ilmur felt a bit slower than usual, true, Ilmur was better than him but he didn¡¯t feel like that was a good reason to lose anymore. His confidence was on top. He did some good parrying and started to attack back. Strike his left shoulder now! Screamed Fornixia in his head. He trusted her and gave a quick slash, and his practice sword hit the target.


    ¡°I win Ilmur,¡± said Gandon.


    Ilmur had fallen to the ground by the force of his blow and looked surprised. Possibly even afraid or angry. This was not something Ilmur was used to.


    Another proof that Ilmur doesn¡¯t want me to succeed him. Thought Gandon to himself.


    Ilmur went back up and brushed the dirt off his coat. ¡°Since when did you get this good?¡± chuckled Ilmur. ¡°Again?¡±


    ¡°No, I think I¡¯ve had enough for the moment,¡± said Gandon. Now he had seen what he needed to see. Ilmur could be beaten. He waved while leaving. Smiling to himself. When he returned to his chamber found he a man sitting with a black and white coat sitting on his bed.


    ¡°Who are you? And what are you doing in my room?¡±


    ¡°Here in the kingdom people call me Cecil, but I have many names¡±.


    ¡°Where have you been? Ilmur have been looking for you for quite some time now,¡± said Gandon.


    ¡°I had no interest in talking with him any longer. I¡¯d rather talked with you when the time was right. Which I believe it is.¡±


    ¡°The time is right for what?¡±


    ¡°We have something in common, we both want to defeat Ilmur. He wounded me terribly and my pride I must admit. When we fought earlier¡±.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ Are you saying that you are the man in the black cloak? Shouldn¡¯t you be angry at me as well?¡±


    Cecil waved it off. ¡°Your fire was barely an inconvenience to me whatsoever. No, it¡¯s Ilmur I¡¯m angry at.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t buy it, if you are angry at him, you should be angry at me as well,¡± said Gandon.


    ¡°We gods think differently about this sort of issue than you humans do. If I were a human maybe my pride would seek out my revenge on both of you, but I am not, I only care about what happened. Besides, the Gandon who fought me doesn¡¯t really exist anymore doesn¡¯t he?¡±


    Gandon thought back on everything that had happened recently and to the conclusions he had gained. No, he could never go back to that life again.


    ¡°Maybe not, but I still don¡¯t believe that you are a god,¡± said Gandon.


    ¡°That is not so important at the moment, but I know what you are planning and for that you need an arm, and I can give you one, at least a part of an army.¡±


    That startled Gandon. How could this man know what his plans were? He hadn¡¯t written them down anywhere or told anyone about them. Could this man communicate with the dragon?


    Cecil rose from the bed. ¡°We will talk more when you are in Sirion, but rest assured that we both want the same things. I think you will believe my story the next time we meet,¡± said Cecil and headed out.


    Fornixia do you know this man? Have you spoken with him around my back?


    No, I have not, but rest assured the tales are true. If this man is a god, or a demi-god since he has landed on Elnyr. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time that a god has been slain in Altear and been sent to Elnyr to live the rest of his life as a mortal. I can¡¯t know if this man is the true deal or not though.


    When I fought him, he did things I had never seen before.


    You must be careful around him, but he is right, you are going to need an army if you want to fight a war.


    Lots to think about it seems, thought Gandon.


    Gandon later met with the king to discuss the situation. The king made a notion that he should help himself to a glass of wine.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this splendid Gandon? Long you have waited for the chance to govern and prove yourself.¡±


    I¡¯ve proven myself enough old man, thought Gandon but kept it to himself. Gandon only nodded and took a mouth full of wine.


    ¡°The truth is my boy, is that I suspect that the council in Sirion are guilty of tax fraud. I¡¯ve looked over the numbers with my council and they don¡¯t simply add up. This is something I want you to investigate when you get there, I give you a free rein in Alden and especially Sirion.¡±


    This was good, the king was going to give him the eastern part of the whole kingdom to govern, he had no idea, in what condition it would be in, but he had to look at that later.


    ¡°I understand that you will miss Ilmur terribly, but this must be done, I see no better man for the job.¡±


    ¡°Oh I don¡¯t think it will be that long until the next time I see him, your grace. When will I leave? I see no reason to postpone what must be done.¡±


    ¡°Could you go already next week? We can do it later, if you feel you need more time to get your affairs in order.¡±


    ¡°That will be fine, your grace.¡±


    Gandon knew that Ilmur knew that he was going soon and tried his best to see Gandon as much as possible over the coming days, while Gandon tried his best to avoid him. He still needed to keep up this charade a little bit longer, but it started to feel tiresome. Ilmur promised that he would visit him as soon as possible while Gandon assured him that there was no rush. Ilmur didn¡¯t ask for any more matches and Gandon didn¡¯t ask.


    And so finally came the day when Gandon was heading out east. Ilmur stood at the gate with a group of 20 people waiting for him.


    ¡°My father has arranged an escort for you, it could be dangerous travelling alone in those parts of the kingdom, goblin raids and whatnot.


    The king brought them to spy on you, thought Fornixia.


    I know, I deal with them soon enough.


    Gandon and Ilmur shook hands.


    ¡°I¡¯m really going to miss you brother,¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will see each other again, soon enough.¡±


    And while he rode out with his escort smiled, he thought to himself. Oh, I¡¯m going to see you soon Ilmur, rest assured by that, but you might not be so happy to see me then.

 Part 3

    When Gandon arrived at Sirion was he alone. They asked him about what had happened, and Gandon said that they had been attacked by Goblins and that he had been the only survivor. He wrote to llmur right away and he regretted informing them about the tragic news, and a few of them had been so close to his father, what a pity.


    When that was done, he went, he to the council chamber and felt at home immediately with the round table and the large glass windows and tapestries. Finally, he had a base for his operations. The rest of the council joined him shortly. It was going to be difficult to find out who was loyal to the king and who he could turn to his own side, but he had a dragon with him and they could read hearts better than anyone. The king¡­ No Elram had told him that he was suspicious of tax fraud, perhaps everyone was in on it? But if they were they would never admit it out right, this needed to be handled delicately. He would probably be forced for a while to send back some money to avoid suspicions, but if Elram really believed that he was going to solve the money problem was he in for a wild surprise. When everyone was seated, were they a total of eight two of them women to his surprise. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, let¡¯s begin,¡± said Gandon.


    *


    Ilmur was relieved to hear that Gandon was okay, but he had been really surprised to hear how deadly the raid had been, but according to their sources there existed more goblins in the eastern part of the kingdom, and that is probably something that they should have taken into consideration. He still couldn¡¯t let go that Gandon had beaten him the last time they had fought. Gandon was good as so much was he going to take the fancing away from him as well? No, it was silly to think of it like that. Gandon was a good fighter you could rely on him in a pinch and even the best got dethroned once in a while. He missed Gandon terribly, but he had other duties that he tried to occupy himself with. He was going to be a father soon, and even though he was terrified, it was also exciting.


    His father had also withdrawn himself completely now after the news about his friends¡¯ deaths. The news had been the last straw and Ilmur could almost have seen his father¡¯s spine shattered when he got the news. He never got out from his room, and he spoke only with the queen herself and with that had Ilmur finally accepted his role as the crown prince and the responsibilities on his shoulder. Besides, he could always ask Gandon for advice if he needed it. When the money from Alden arrived didn¡¯t, he give it much attention. It looked fine to him, and he was sure that Gandon did the best he could. He imagined that problems like this weren¡¯t something you could easily solve. Cecil had also appeared so suddenly as he had disappeared, and he had been asking Cecil for a lot of gold. He was true to his sword and showered him with riches. Ilmur asked if he could stay as one of the council magicians, but he told Ilmur that his job was done here.


    He also felt guilty over Alexandra. He had worried a lot about Gandon, both regarding his health and the fact that he was going to move soon but now that was behind him, was he ready to focus on being a good husband and a loving father.


    The months passed fast when he was so busy, he tried to write to Gandon as often as he could but the letters, he got in return were often short and Gandon apologised that he was under a lot of stress. Finally, their boy Daran was born, named after his brother, and nothing else seemed important to him for a while. Until one day on a council meeting. Taril informed the king¡¯s council that the money they had received was lesser than ever, and no explanation had been given.


    Ilmur was surprised. ¡°I find that very hard to believe, check the books again.¡±


    ¡°Ilmur, you don¡¯t get it. We have, several times already. Something is clearly wrong.¡±


    ¡°Well, send a messenger then, we can solve this if we only give him a little time,¡± said Ilmur.


    Taril messaged his forehead. ¡°I have never loved him as you do, and I believe that this is no mistake on Gandon¡¯s part. There is a storm coming, I can feel it.¡±


    ¡°What the hell do you know,¡± said Ilmur. ¡°I know him even better than I know you, Gandon is an ally, not an enemy, he is a part of our house.¡± Father gave him a new house, thought Ilmur to himself uneasy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that he has been a little strange recently? Since he woke up, he hasn¡¯t spent nearly as much time with you as he used to. You say you know him so well, what is he planning?¡±


    ¡°Father sent him to take care of the corruption that is what he has been doing¡­¡± said Ilmur weakly.


    ¡°And yet, the corruption is worse than ever, and only Gandon came to the city alive. Awfully lucky of him.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know him. Gandon is an experienced fighter and even a better mage. That he survived isn¡¯t strange at all,¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°He is great you say, but he still wasn¡¯t able to save a single person. None of this adds up, surely you must see that.¡±


    Ilmur shook his head. ¡°You say that someone that I¡¯ve known for nearly twenty years is suddenly our enemy. I can¡¯t accept that. Gandon saved my life, he has always been looking out for me, and I have watched over him. ¡°


    ¡°Wake up Ilmur! Are you just going to let him kick you and ask for more? Gandon is using the influence he has on you. You must see this, otherwise you will ram our country into the ground. I have to speak to father about this, if you won¡¯t listen.


    ¡°It was our father who sent him out to begin with!¡± shouted Ilmur.


    ¡°He made a mistake! it happens. Father isn¡¯t perfect, he loves him almost as much as you do, which clouded his judgement but now we have to remedy this.¡±


    The rest of the people on the council was on Taril¡¯s side. Ilmur sat down, feeling exhausted. ¡°But why? What did we do wrong? If Gandon was feeling angry, why didn¡¯t he come to me and say anything? Perhaps we can still fix this. I could ride there and talk with him.¡±


    ¡°So you have come to terms with that something is wrong, that is a good start, but not enough, if you ride to him you will either be killed or a prisoner to ransom with, and none of this would do us any good.¡±


    ¡°What would you have us do then?¡±


    ¡°We have to prepare for the worst,¡± said Taril. The feeling of uneasiness was in the air.


    ¡°It will be dangerous, Gandon is skilled when it comes to tactics¡±, said Yvanos, Gandon¡¯s former master.


    ¡°That may as it may be, but we still have the men. I¡¯m not sure if Gandon has all the lords under his sway, but it would be worth a try to see if any of them would be willing to betray him. If we know his plans it probably wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to counter him,¡± said Taril.


    Ilmur still found this hard to believe. Even their master hadn¡¯t defended Gandon, did everyone see something in Gandon that he didn¡¯t? Ilmur was worried over how their father would take the news.


    ¡°Now we need to know if he plans for a siege or if he will meet us upon the battlefield. I¡¯m afraid that we are probably going to sit here for a while. Best make yourself comfortable, I make sure the servants bring in some beverages.


    *


    ¡°I¡¯m still not sure this was a wise decision my lord,¡± said Juliana. Juliana was the person on the council that had shown herself to be must trustworthy and competent of them all. She had quickly become his right hand in matters of ruling over the city. Other matters he kept to himself and the dragon. Juliana was a few years older than him. She was blond with her hair hanging down to her hips. She was clad in bright green clothes worthy of a woman of her station.


    ¡°It is not ideal I admit. But we have made our preparations, and we can¡¯t afford to give the money to the enemy for all eternity. Hopefully we can give them a lesser amount for a while, but sooner or later they will pick up on what we are doing. Keep the council under close watch, they say they are loyal to me, but I don¡¯t trust them. If Feorn would give them a good enough option they might reconsider.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t dare to, they are too deep in it now,¡± said Juliana.


    Gandon nodded. ¡°You are dismissed, you have other matters to attend to, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    Gandon stood up when Juliana left the room. Everything started to come together now, it wouldn¡¯t be long before he would be dead or be the new ruler of Feorn. Alden was a good start, but it was only the eastern part of the kingdom, the rest of the people deserved to be liberated as well.


    Cecil hadn¡¯t returned yet with the troops that had been promised and he needed more men, he was going to talk with Minrir as soon as he could. If the dwarves got wind that Ilmur had betrayed their trust perhaps new alliances could be made. The council had expressed their belief that they should make themselves ready for a siege, but Gandon had said no. He didn¡¯t like it, but Feorn had much better food provisions than they did, they couldn¡¯t afford a siege, besides Gandon knew if they met upon the battlefield Ilmur would become confident. But they still had too few men, and then there were the mages¡­ This needed careful planning. He had worked on the plans quite a lot but he still wasn¡¯t entirely satisfied. He poured another glass of wine when to his surprise Cecil walked into the room, but now he wore the black cloak that he had used when they had duel with him. His face was hidden in darkness under the hood.


    Gandon raised his eyebrow. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you knock or at least announce yourself when you are meeting with a king, and why are you hiding? I know what your face looks like.¡±


    Cecil removed the hood. His face was the same except now his eyes were glowing. Cecil smiled. ¡°I have stopped using the eye drops because I think you are ready to accept the truth about who I really am. ¡°


    Gandon had had more talks with Fornixia to learn more about the legends. According to Fornixia and the old scrolls he found in the library, will a god become almost a man in statured when he had been slain, their eyes however still gave them away and that¡¯s the reason they are sent to Elnyr with a cloak that hides their face. It seemed like Cecil was the real deal after all, and he still hadn¡¯t forgotten their last fight when Cecil had fought like nothing he had seen before.


    ¡°I guess, Cecil isn¡¯t your real name then?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s Malkarth if you must know,¡± said Cecil.


    Gandon almost dropped his goblet. He knew Malkarth, even though not much was known about him. Malkarth was the son of Nagrom, the good of night and hatred. The most dangerous god of them all. Gandon started to grow afraid, what would Malkarth do when Ilmur was beaten? Surely, he wouldn¡¯t be content ruling with Gandon? Besides, Gandon wouldn¡¯t be content sharing his power with anyone either.


    ¡°I find it hard to believe Cec¡­ I mean Malkarth. But I believe that you are not a human for now.¡±


    ¡°You already know that I¡¯m not lying, all evidence points to that. You are just having a hard time convincing yourself. But I am not here to argue, I¡¯m here to give you what was promised. The goblins are ready, and with the gold Ilmur gave me I have bought mercenaries, a lot of mercenaries in fact.¡±


    ¡°And where are these mercenaries right now? And the goblins?¡±


    ¡°The mercenaries are in the south, Saldea in fact, while the goblins are underground like they usually are. They only await our orders. Are we ready for an all-out war?¡±


    ¡°I still think they dwarves can join us, but we are more or less ready then. When the dwarves have had their say, we won¡¯t be able to do much about the amount.¡±


    Gandon got up and went over to one of the shelves where he fetched one of the maps. ¡°We need to decide where the battle is going to take place.¡±


    Malkarth pointed at the northern part of Alden. ¡°I would suggest the moon mountains, there are a lot of abandoned tunnels they¡¯re abandoned by the dwarves, so the goblins can use them.¡±


    The moon mountains¡­ Gandon and Ilmur had visited the place as children with their master. They had promised each other that they would go together back there one day. Well, better keep my promise, and this place is as good as any.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to leave for a while again, I can be of no help when it comes to the logistics, I¡¯ll be back when the battle starts,¡± and with that Malkarth was gone again.


    It was getting late and almost nothing could be seen in the dark when Gandon stood on one of the western towers of the castle. I have trained quite a lot with Fornixia, I hope I¡¯m ready. Gandon concentrated as best as he could. The ring started to glow and from his back two transparent wings started to take form. Gandon flew up riding with the wind on the course of Belria, the dwarven stronghold.


    Gandon flew the whole night and when he landed he was exhausted, but he had reached his destination. The dwarves were proud over their stronghold the mountains were tall and in them were there carved out great dwarven statues and even a depiction of a dragon here and here to Gandon¡¯s surprise. The eastern guardians had spotted him and had slowly started to approach him. He hoped that they hadn¡¯t seen him fly his way here.


    He gave them a few coins each and said that he wanted to talk with Minrir, Minrir had a lot of influence, he wasn¡¯t any dwarf, and he knew that the guardians would know who he was. It wasn¡¯t long before he had an audience with Minrir who looked rather sleepy.


    ¡°Gandon why are you doing here this early?¡± said Minrir while rubbing his eye.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but this can¡¯t wait. I¡¯m short of time.¡± Gandon held out his hand so Minrir could see the ring again. ¡°Ilmur said that he never shared the secret, but he is lying. I saw in his eyes that he felt guilty when you asked him. Look at the ring, could Ilmur have produced a ring like this with such a little training? His wedding rings aren¡¯t nearly as beautiful as this one.¡±


    Minrir started inspecting the ring rather closely. ¡°I believe you are right; this is a masterpiece that even many skilled dwarves would have trouble producing. Who helped him I wonder?¡±


    ¡°It was a man called Cecil, he aided Ilmur while I was unconscious. He betrayed his vow, Minrir.¡±


    Minrir swore to himself. Gandon wasn¡¯t sure but he thought it was ancient dwarvish.


    ¡°Ilmur isn¡¯t a worthy ally. He doesn¡¯t care about your ideals; can you truly work with a country that will have a king such as him?¡±


    They talked for a long while and the discussion was back where it had left off in Everharn, about voting for their ruler rather than selecting them through lineage. Gandon pointed out that if they would aid him they would have a king in the future who shared their ideals.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Minrir wasn¡¯t hard to convince but Minrir pointed out that it could take time to convince the others.


    ¡°Alert them as soon as possible, and let me in on the discussion if it is possible.


    Ilmur¡¯s betrayal was a hard blow to them and after a few hours of discussion they finally promised to aid Gandon for quite a large amount of the spoils, not all the clans had agreed in joining him in the war, but enough to make a considerable difference. Gandon had hoped that he could have made the amount lesser, but he was desperate and was forced to agree. He slept in Minrir¡¯s room before he had to take off again.


    When Gandon woke up had he a new idea in his head. He would fly over to Everharn to disrupt the mages supply of the berries. He once again acted during the night. They never suspected an attack from the air, and he could take out the guards easily. That night he burned the crops, but he couldn¡¯t stay long before the guards appeared. He sadly hadn¡¯t time to burn it all, but it would be a major setback for Ilmur. He flew back to Sirion, rather pleased with his success. When he landed again told he his generals that they should prepare the men. It was time for war.


    *


    Ilmur woke up to the screams of fire, in the middle of the night. He rushed to see if anything could be done but it was too late. Quite a substantial amount of damage had been done on the crops. This was no accident, not when they planned to march out so soon. He talked with one of  the captains and apparently six men had been killed. The dead couldn¡¯t say who it was, but the men who had rushed over there to quench the fire gave a description that sounded like Gandon.


    Now Ilmur knew that he couldn¡¯t deny it any longer. If Gandon wanted war, then war he would get. Ilmur saw Gandon as his responsibility, and he would be the man to take him out. When he returned to the bed Alexandra was awake.


    ¡°Darling, what happened?¡± said Alexandra.


    ¡°It appears that I have lost my best friend.¡± He hadn¡¯t had the strength to tell her yet about the news he had received from the council.


    He told her everything about the fire and the attack and the news and suspicion from the council, and when he was about to reach the end did the tears start to pour from his eyes. Alexandra stroked his hair the same way as when Gandon had been unconscious all those months ago.


    ¡°Gandon is even more dear to me than my own brothers. What did I do wrong? Why does he hate me so?¡±


    ¡°Darling¡±, and now Alexandra stroked his hair yet again with so much love and care that it almost made his heart burst. ¡°I believe that no matter how much you get to know someone, even if it¡¯s your wife or your best friend, you will never fully understand them. There will always be a part that is a mystery, in that way we are alone in this world, that no one truly can understand our experience. You have known him all your life, and you know him better than anyone, and not even you could have seen this coming.¡±


    ¡°They will expect me to go,¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°Of course, and you have to. You know his tricks better than anyone else. You are the key to beating him. This will be between him and you, just be careful Ilmur. You have a son that needs his father.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, he has only beaten me once with a sword and I will not let that happen again.¡± But how many times has he defeated me in five towers? I don¡¯t even want to think about that, he thought to himself. He gave the order before he tried to get back to sleep but sleep never came.


    When he went up could he see the troops marching in their splendid blue and white uniforms. It would take time to assemble the army, the kingdom was vast but they didn¡¯t need all the troops right away. Gandon would never be able to compete with the amount they would be sending. Gandon was clever, but Ilmur believed that this time Gandon had bitten more than he could chew.


    *


    Gandon slept as long as he felt he was able to, which was shorter than he would have liked, but when this much was happening it wouldn¡¯t do to sleep, no it wouldn¡¯t do at all. When he woke up he was able to see from his window that much of the army already had left. Soldiers in Gandon¡¯s purple could be seen but still a lot were still clad as Feornians which annoyed him more than he would have admitted but there was nothing to do about. He had help from one of his servants when he wanted to put on his plate body that had been painted purple for the occasion. He knew it would slow him down, but Ilmur was a fearsome opponent and frankly he needed all the help he could get. He could no longer see and respect him as a friend, but Ilmur still had his respect when it came to swordplay. Still, he knew he would win the war. Out of the two of them, he had the greater mind for strategy, Ilmur had never managed to beat him in the board game five towers. He liked the game since the towers were uneven making a draw impossible. Much like this war, a stalemate wouldn¡¯t do. Out of nowhere Malkarth was once again back, Gandon gave a notion to the servant to leave, since they were done.


    ¡°I¡¯ve given the goblins the orders that they should also follow your commands. It wouldn¡¯t do that we would lose to a technicality if I somehow would be occupied during the battle and unable to order them. The goblins aren¡¯t smart creatures, and they are nearly helpless without a leader.¡±


    ¡°Splendid,¡± said Gandon. He eyed the dagger on the table. Careful, careful now¡­ If he messed this up he would be in big trouble.


    ¡°So, how did the business with the dwarves go?¡±


    ¡°A great amount will fight for us; as long as they get their share of the spoils,¡± said Gandon. Picking up the dagger and playing with it in his hands.


    Malkarth turned and made himself ready to leave. ¡°Perhaps you could inform the generals then about a council meeting? We could make some last minute polish to our plans. I¡¯ll be there soon.¡±


    I think not! Thought Gandon and jumped on Malkarth stabbing him three times in the back.


    Malkarth tried to get up, it looked like he wanted to say something but only blood came out of his mouth. Gandon only watched until Malkarth laid there motionless. The glowing light in his eyes disappeared. Now there was only one more piece on the board that he had to defeat. He made himself ready to depart with the others. He would have Juliana to take care of the body, she was good at being discrete.


    *


    After all this marching, Ilmur could finally see the opposing army. It wasn¡¯t as big as theirs and no cavalry was bigger than Feorns. What on earth was Gandon thinking? He couldn¡¯t stop thinking about this, it looked like suicide. They sent out their riders first and he could hear how the generals screamed for the bowmen and pikemen to make themselves ready. The rest of the soldiers followed screaming for their enemies¡¯ deaths. This all felt too bizarre, he had never been in a war before, and he was fighting Gandon. Gandon of all people!


    He could hear the screaming of the men when they clashed into another. It was truly horrible, you hear stories, hear them since you were little about the horrors of war but none of the stories could give the war proper justice. He had planned to stay with the generals to plan, but he couldn¡¯t bear it any longer. If he fought with the men, it would boost morale. The mages could aid the right flank, while he attacked at the left. He came in clashing like a thunderstorm killing everyone that dared to face him. He saved two lives by attacking their opponents. Two men tried to work together attacking at the same time screaming, but to no avail, they fell like the rest. The men were screaming his name. ¡°Lord Ilmur!¡± and ¡°House Avar!¡±


    They pressed on and their enemy started to back, which only encouraged them further. They were now long in their enemy¡¯s territory. The mages were doing a good job too but something felt really wrong, this was way too easy. Now the dwarves joined Gandon¡¯s army and he felt a bit more at ease. Perhaps this was all they had? Suddenly a trumpet could be heard and out rushed goblins from the tunnels like flies attacking the rear guard, and suddenly they were all surrounded. Ilmur could hear how his men started to panic, he tried to press on harder but it was difficult. He hoped the rest of the men would come. He looked at the mountains and decided that if they wanted to win, he would be forced to take out their commander. Ilmur took his close guard and started making way for the mountain. They had to fight their way over there and many died at the attempt. When he came to the opening, he had the men protect his back. There was no idea to bring any men, Gandon would probably only flee then and that wouldn¡¯t solve anything. He had a good guess where Gandon would be, there was a cave he was especially fond of a cave that was next to an outpost, from there he could watch over his army and send down orders. Gandon would wait for him there. The cave still had a shimmering blue in its rocks and on the floor laid broken pickaxes abandoned. It was a long time since the dwarves had used this colony. Torches were lit in some tunnels; in others he had to travel more carefully until he finally came to the cave where Gandon was waiting.


    Gandon turned around. ¡°Here you are at last,¡± said Gandon. He was clad in a purple painted platebody with his black cloak covering it. He could see the dragon ring shimmering faintly on Gandon¡¯s right hand.


    Ilmur was so angry he could barely contain himself. How could Gandon stand there so casually? Years of friendship and cooperation ruined. ¡±I defended you, you know. The others didn¡¯t believe in you, but I did.¡±


    ¡±That was naive of you Ilmur, sometimes you have to look at facts because our hearts wishes deceive us.¡±


    ¡±Are you happy now? All of the soldiers dead because of your fragile ego, the dead are beyond counting and it¡¯s all your fault. You could have been my closest advisor, but that wasn¡¯t enough for you wasn¡¯t it? Always more and you are never happy. You astound me Gandon, truly you do. Haven¡¯t my father treated you like a son?¡±


    Gandon scoffed. ¡±Some people believe that when a man saves another man¡¯s life that man owes a life debt that must be carried for the rest of his life. My father gave his life, and I almost gave mine for you and still I must eat the breadcrumbs of the floor when everyone else is done. How is that fair?¡±


    ¡± So, you admit that all of this is because of you then and your wishes?¡±


    ¡±Well no, it¡¯s not as simple as that. Do you truly believe that you would be a good ruler llmur?¡±


    Ilmur couldn¡¯t meet Gandon¡¯s eyes. ¡±I... I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡±Yet, Feorn is yours?¡±


    ¡±No, I serve the people, not the opposite, besides who else? I¡¯m the eldest since Saran¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡±You¡¯re the oldest... True, but that¡¯s the problem isn¡¯t it? Both Saran and Taril would have been better for the job. Remember when we studied the dwarves¡¯ customs? It seems so long ago now. You were in love, and learned rather ring making than to understand their culture or politics. You left that task to me.¡±


    For Ilmur it felt like Ilmur had scoffed at the word love, but he wasn¡¯t sure. ¡±Couldn¡¯t you have come to me? I¡¯m a man you can reason with.¡±


    ¡±You would have liked that wouldn¡¯t you? You get to rule and spend your time with Alexandra while I make all difficult decisions? No, when an arm is infected, you cut it off before it infects the whole body, and I won¡¯t let you infect this land any longer with your incompetence.¡±


    ¡±But why? You can¡¯t win. I admit you are doing better than anyone else could have expected, but you can¡¯t win, the whole army isn¡¯t even here yet. All this bloodshed just so you can prove a point?¡±


    ¡±Your conclusion is false, you have never beaten me in five towers and you won¡¯t do so today either.¡± Gandon held out his hand so Ilmur could see the ring. ¡±Ilmur I¡¯m the perfect man for the job. Don¡¯t you see? When you gave me the ring you also gave me the lifespan of a dragon. I will live for a thousand years. My sons won¡¯t squabble over the power because I will outlive them and their grandsons by far. I can finally create a utopia. I wasn¡¯t born a noble, but now I am, and I alone is worthy to lead this kingdom.¡±


    ¡±Gandon you¡¯re mad, your ego has reached new levels even I didn¡¯t think was possible. Surrender now, and I promise your life will be spared. We¡¯ll lock you up, but you will have all the books you could ever ask for.¡±


    Gandon looked absolutely mad now and he laughed. ¡±I have no desire to live out the rest of my life as a prisoner, my fate lies elsewhere. Haven¡¯t you heard a thing I¡¯ve said? Your story it at an end and mine can finally begin.¡±


    Ilmur smiled mockingly. ¡±There is just one problem in your plan, you can¡¯t defeat me in a fight.¡±


    ¡±Oh Ilmur, you and your nostalgia, I defeated you last time remember? And this time it¡¯s not a duel, at least not in the traditional sense.¡±


    They both drew their swords. Both ready in a fighting stance. Ilmur held his with both hands while Gandon held his downward with one hand, while he looked ready to cast magic with his other hand.


    ¡±Not even in my darkest nightmares would I have dreamed of this, but I guess I mean nothing to you any longer.¡±


    ¡±No, now you are just a part of the past that I want to burry. I can¡¯t move forward with you any longer, I need you gone.¡±


    Now Ilmur¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t steady any longer. ¡±Damn you, damn you. After all you done some part of me still respects you, even a little. I can¡¯t stand it.¡±


    ¡±Enough Ilmur, enough. Words are useless now. You might feel the way you do, but for the first time in my life I¡¯m truly free.¡±


    ¡±I¡¯ll give you what you want then,¡± said Ilmur and attacked.


    Gandon parried elegantly, meeting blow after blow with one of his own. Ilmur was surprised by this; he thought for sure that Gandon would have attacked with magic. How proud is he? Will he prove to me again that he can beat me with only his sword? Well, that will be the last mistake he¡¯ll ever make then.


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    Gandon fought with rage and to his surprise he found himself backing to evade Gandon¡¯s attacks. Ilmur decided to counter and now both screamed at one another when striking at the other. Ilmur found himself unable to hold back the tears any longer and an old memory returned to him.


    Ilmur was on his bed in a fetal position, crying from the stomach pain. While Gandon entered the room.


    ¡±What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Gandon.


    ¡±I wanted to try out one of the fire berries, but now it feels like I¡¯m going to die,¡± wimped Ilmur.


    ¡±Idiot, it¡¯s only the master that can use two elements, your body is not adjusted to the fire. You could have been killed, Ilmur. I¡¯m going to fetch master.¡±


    ¡±No! Please don¡¯t! He¡¯s going to yell at me, and he already thinks you are the better student!¡±


    Gandon sighed. ¡±Alright, I¡¯m going to look through the books, maybe I can fix something for you,¡± said Gandon while he rushed out. ¡°You always cry Ilmur, we got to do something about that.¡±


    The memory made Ilmur lose his balance, and Gandon was going to attack but hesitated, Ilmur could see that Gandon regretted it immediately, but it was enough time to not get killed and parry the next attack. He¡¯s not truly gone then, thought Ilmur.


    Their swords clashed yet again repeatedly, both swinging harder than they ever had done before until Gandon¡¯s blade broke.


    ¡±I told you that you couldn¡¯t beat me,¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡±Oh, but now the real fun begins, Ilmur,¡± said Gandon while darkness and fire started to appear from his hands.


    ¡±No!¡± said Ilmur. ¡±Don¡¯t tell me you have been studying the dark arts! Remember the danger!¡±


    ¡±I don¡¯t want advice from my enemy!¡± said Gandon while he threw his projectiles at Ilmur.


    Ilmur blocked it with a shield of ice. ¡±I¡¯ve gotten better! I needed to practice if I ever would have a chance at beating that dragon!¡± said Ilmur.


    Gandon did his best at keeping the distance between him and Ilmur, because Ilmur was still deadly with the sword. Ilmur threw his ice spears, but Gandon melted them with ease. Ilmur tried to preserve his berries, if Gandon¡¯s supply would run out before his Gandon would be defenceless. Or would he? Ilmur didn¡¯t know much about dark magic, and he had never seen the man in the black cloak eat any.


    After a few more minutes of casting spells reached Gandon for his pocket, but it looked like there was nothing left. Is it finally over? Now darkness appeared from both of Gandon¡¯s hands turning the cave dark as night. None of them could see each other. But suddenly a fireball came at him, illuminating the cave for a few seconds. Gandon¡¯s eyes were now glowing yellow like a dragon. The second one hit his ice shield and it shattered into a thousand pieces. Ilmur knew that if he was going to win, he needed to do it now. He couldn¡¯t keep evading Gandon¡¯s attacks forever. Ilmur feinted going left but made a right turn instead, when the third fireball came Ilmur knew exactly where to strike and pierced Gandon¡¯s stomach with his sword.


    The darkness disappeared and Gandon was crouching on the ground, doing his best to not fall to the ground. One of his eyes had turned back to normal, he looked sorrowful. ¡°I guess you¡¯re still the best.¡± He looked sad when he said it.


    ¡°Are you happy now?¡± said Ilmur with his arm¡¯s out. ¡°This is what you wanted isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ This is not what I wanted¡­¡± Gandon was struggling for words, Ilmur had never heard him so weak.  None of them said anything for a moment just looking at each other.


    ¡°So, you truly didn¡¯t know then?¡± said Gandon.


    ¡°Know what?¡±


    ¡°That I¡¯m in love with Alexandra too.¡±


    This took Ilmur off guard. ¡°I had no idea, why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±


    ¡°What point was there? She chose you.¡±


    ¡°But we could have talked about it, come to an agreement. Now it¡¯s too late, since I have a son. You can be so incredibly stubborn at times,¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°I hate you; you know. I really do. You were the only one who could beat me, both in love and in war. You were the only one who stood in the way of a truly good life. Now I have nothing, you must feel awfully pleased with yourself.¡± Gandon tried to stand. Wings sprouted up from his back, some of his fingers turned to claws and both of his eyes were now golden yet again.


    ¡°I¡¯ve killed dragons before you know,¡± said Ilmur.


    Ilmur walked in front of him. ¡°This brings me no pleasure at all, but I will remember the man you once were and not the man you became.¡± Ilmur pulled out the sword and he saw how all life drained from Gandon¡¯s eyes. He took the sword and ring and left, unable to look back.


    The war lost both of their commanders, since Ilmur was unable to continue, he travelled back to Everharn the same day, not speaking with a single person until he was back with Alexandra. Gandon¡¯s plan to take the capital never came to fruition, but for the Aldean¡¯s the fight wasn¡¯t fruitless since they managed to get their independence from Feorn. Most of the goblins got slaughtered or fled and the dwarves never got the gold they were promised.


    Ilmur embraced Alexandra when he was back. ¡°It is done, Gandon is dead, I couldn¡¯t save him.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Ilmur¡­,¡± said Alexandra.


    ¡°Gandon was right about one thing. I¡¯m not fit to rule. Taril will take the position instead, he¡¯ll be happy about it. My skills lay elsewhere anyway.


    During the journey home Ilmur had a lot of time to think, and he had started dreaming about a simpler life in the country. He felt that he had had more excitement for a lifetime, however, he couldn¡¯t do that. Alexandra lived for the people, to make the world a better place and he couldn¡¯t just ask her to leave everything behind. They had to stay here for her sake but perhaps¡­


    ¡°Promise me one thing Alexandra,¡± said Ilmur.


    ¡°Yes darling?¡±


    ¡°When we get old, we withdraw to a cabin to live a simpler life, happily together.¡±


    ¡°Of course, that doesn¡¯t sound bad at all.¡±


    They embraced each other for a long while. Life wasn¡¯t perfect but it was far from miserable. He didn¡¯t know for sure, and it frightened him, but he thought that one day he would feel okay again.


    The end