Talon’s brown hair blew to the side as a gust of wind blasted him. His hair was growing long, almost reaching his eyes. The power that was flooding within him vanished, and he smiled. It was finally done. From now on, there wouldn’t be a single power user in Carhan that would go undetected. No mage would enter the capital without his knowledge. Like a switch, he could feel where the power users were in his city.

  The Forest Dwellers' power users gave him the idea, and with the help of the hidden archives, Talon was able to figure it out. If someone with power entered Carhan’s borders, he would feel it so long as it was within five miles of the capital. With the mages investigating the disappearance of their colleagues, he needed to be vigilant. Things were getting too tense to be caught unaware now.

  With that taken care of, it was time to head back to the hidden archives. Talon grabbed the power, feeling unstoppable as the energy flooded through him. He raised his right hand, created a portal, and stepped through. The hidden archives were a mess, with books lying around various tables. Some books were wide open and others were closed. It was something he would have to clean up later.

  He found it hard to believe years had passed since he learned he could use the power. Despite that, Talon was always surprised at how much knowledge this room held. There was so much he didn’t know, and he wondered how much stronger his uncle would have been if he had known about this place. I would be dead and he would be king. he thought bitterly. A part of him would always miss Besurlde. If only his uncle had been more patient and believed in the invaders. Things could have gone differently. They could have worked together and done incredible things. He recalled the terrifying moment his uncle had attacked him and their battle. It was a fight he would never forget and one he wished had never happened.

  He needed to get to the throne room. There was someone who needed to speak with him about some corruption going on in their town. Talon hadn’t been given many details, but he took corruption seriously. There was enough corruption in politics as it was, and he wished there was a way to stamp it out completely.

  Talon left the hidden archives and headed straight to his throne. Servants were scuttling about, and a few guards were patrolling. Before long, he was on his throne, surrounded by guards, and waited. A guard was getting the man, and he found himself getting impatient.

  Something was stirring in the Eshil Domain. Corvin had told him of King Harold summoning his banners. Talon wanted to believe it was to prepare for war against the invaders, but he knew better. Harold didn’t believe in the invaders, and he was planning something.

  So much was going on. The Forest Dwellers were ready to assist once the invaders attacked. The mages had been awfully quiet after their questions about their missing comrades, and that worried him. Surely, they would have further questions? There was too much uncertainty right now.

  The double doors opening snapped Talon out of his thoughts, and a guard came in with a young man, who bowed upon seeing him. “What is your name?” Talon asked, his voice echoing in the hall.

  “August Neworth, your grace.”

  “You wished to speak with me urgently,” Talon said.

  “Yes, your grace,” There was a bit of a quiver in August’s voice.

  “Speak freely and tell me what is going on,” Talon said.

  August nodded, standing suddenly, yet he never looked directly at Talon. “I live in a town called Nuradis.”

  Talon did a mental check and recalled Nuradis, a fairly large town not too far from the Shimmering Peaks near the border of Malvarian. What could be going on there?

  “Our old mayor was disposed of and replaced with a new one. Our new mayor is ruling Nuradis with an iron fist. Anyone he dislikes is either thrown in jail or goes missing. Everyone is scared, and we need your help to bring peace back to my town.” August gulped, still looking at the ground. “I had to sneak out of the town, for I fear I would be put to death if I left without permission.”

  Talon’s hands curled into fists. That was unacceptable! “I’ll send one of my advisors and a host of soldiers over to restore order. Does this mayor have a lot of supporters?”

  “Uh, yes, your grace. He has at least one hundred armed men,” August said.

  “I’ll be sure to send a few hundred to make sure no problems arise. Do you have any information you think I should know?” Talon asked.

  “N-not that I can think of, your grace.”

  “Guard, escort August to an inn. Make sure he’s treated well and everything is paid for by me. August, tomorrow, I want you to come here in the morning, and you will leave with my advisor.”

  “Thank you, your grace, I—thank you!” August stammered over and over.

  Talon said nothing and watched as August was escorted out. This was not a good time for someone to be making a power play in his nation. He would send Alayna to deal with Nuradis. She was good with matters like this.

  As if summoned, Alayna came striding through the doors. Talon was surprised to see her out of breath. Her hair was a bit of a mess, which was unlike her, and it looked like she had run here. That couldn’t be good.

  “Thank Tarmella you are here, your grace,” Alayna said breathlessly. She had a letter in her right hand. Without waiting for a response, she rushed up the steps and thrust the letter into his hands. “Read this, now!”

  “All right,” Talon said. He had never seen Alayna act like this before. This letter must be bad. He opened the letter and began reading.

  It didn’t take him long to see why Alayna had rushed to give him this letter. It was from King Harold and it was a message declaring war against Azzellia. Not only that, Harold was telling him to meet him in the Elysian Fields. A place both Azzellia and the Eshil Domain had a history with. Their last war had ended on that field, and now Harold wanted to fight there.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Talon stood up. “Someone fetch the counselors and tell them to meet me in the council chambers. Let them know it's an emergency,” he said to no one in particular. There was shuffling among the guards, and a few of them left the room to do his bidding. “Come with me,” he said to Alayna and started towards the council chambers.

  His mind was racing furiously. Why had Harold changed his mind? The last thing Talon had heard from Harold was how he didn’t want to escalate matters. What changed? He couldn’t think of anything that would have provoked Harold to such a foolish action. Gah! Why couldn’t the other kings work together instead of fighting one another?

  “We’ll need to gather our army,” Alayna said, speaking quietly so no one could overhear. “I don’t think we can talk Harold out of this.”

  “I agree,” Talon said. There was no point in asking for peace. He would crush Harold’s army and force the Eshil Domain to serve him. That was the only way this was going to play out. He wouldn’t let his people die when he could end this war with a single strike. Which begged the question, was it time?

  They walked into the council chambers. Talon took his seat. His expression must have silenced Alayna as she opened her mouth to speak but then shut it and said nothing. That was fine with him; he had to ponder a decision. A choice that would change all of Aidris. Is this the right time? he thought again. If not now, then when? He couldn’t wait forever.

  Corvin was the first to enter the council chambers, with Hectar not too far behind. They took their seats, and Talon handed them the letter. Corvin read the letter first. Talon couldn’t tell what the commander thought about the war. His face was impassive as he handed the letter to Hectar, whose face paled as he read the letter.

  “Well?” Talon said.

  “This is bad,” Hectar said.

  “Obviously,” Alayna couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. “We shouldn’t meet the Eshil Domain’s army in the Elysian Fields. This must be a trap of some kind.”

  “Yes, a trap, but we could prolong the war if we don’t go,” Hectar said.

  Alayna shook her head furiously. “We’d be fools to meet him there. He has a plan, or else he would have attacked instead of telling us to meet him.”

  Corvin opened his mouth to speak. “Harold will be in for a surprise when we meet him at the Elysian Fields,” Talon said. He saw Corvin close his mouth, raise his right brow, and lean back. “We have a secret weapon.”

  Harold and Alayna looked confused. “What do you mean? What secret weapon?” Alayna asked.

  I hope I’m not making a big mistake. “I will need you both to swear not to speak a single word of what I’m about to say, at least not until after the battle,” Talon said. For the first time in months, he felt his heart beating rapidly. His palms were a little sweaty, and he had to fight to look composed. It was happening.

  “We live to serve you, your grace,” Hectar said.

  “I’ll keep my silence,” Alayna said.

  “Good,” Talon said. “Know that if you break your word, you and your families will be executed as traitors. That is how serious I am about keeping this a secret. Understood?”

  Hectar and Alayna nodded. “I’ve been creating a secret army of power users for over a year.”

  Talon didn’t get to say anything else as the two of them shouted “What!” at the same time. Alayna regained her composure first.

  “H—no, that’s the wrong question,” Alayna smoothed her green dress, and her shocked expression returned to her usual controlled self. She stared at Talon. “How many?”

  “Enough that Mortham Tower wouldn’t dare attack,” Talon said.

  “You have that many?” Hectar looked flabbergasted and was having a hard time keeping calm. His eyes were darting all over the place, and he kept wiping his forehead with his hand. “How can you control them?”

  “That brings me to my second secret,” Talon reached for the power, feeling the energy flood his cells. His earlier signs of nervousness vanished, replaced with confidence and strength. It was addictive at times, summoning the power just to get rid of silly emotions like anxiety. How could one not feel confident with the power? He opened his right hand. Fire appeared out of nowhere, floating inches above his palm.

  “You can use the power?” Alayna gasped, unable to stop her jaw from dropping.

  Hectar uttered some odd sounds but said nothing. Talon was not surprised by their reactions. “I call them Ashtari.”

  “Like the mages of old,” Alayna said softly.

  “Yes,” Talon released the power and closed his fist as the fire vanished. “If we use the Ashtari, we can crush Eshil Domain without losing anyone.”

  “That’ll force Mortham Tower to take action,” Hectar said, breaking out of his stupor.

  “I don’t think so,” Talon had thought long and hard on this. Mortham Tower wouldn’t act recklessly. The mages would want to know how many Ashtari there were before making a move. “We have far too many for the mages to crush us. Even if they beat my Ashtari, it wouldn’t be without heavy losses. Our numbers are too great.”

  “You’ll use your Ashtari to defeat Eshil Domain then,” Alayna said, leaning back in her chair.

  “Once we win, I’ll force Eshil Domain to join us in our fight against the invaders,” Talon said, closing his right hand into a fist. “Then there are two nations left.”

  “The mages will act,” Corvin said, breaking his silence and catching the attention of everyone. “Once the Ashtari reveal themselves, they won’t sit idly by. If I had to guess, the mages will form a defensive perimeter around Skahad and Malvarian and will fight if you send your Ashtari there.”

  “He’s right. Once you reveal the Ashtari, the mages will make sure you can’t take control of the other two nations,” Alayna said.

  “There’s more. The mages could try to strike at you. It doesn’t matter how many Ashtari you have, not if a mage decides to portal out of nowhere,” Corvin said.

  “I have preparations for that in place. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be talking about revealing my secret,” Talon said.

  “Good,” Corvin said. “Then we can plan for the battle.”

  “Normally, I would let you create a plan,” Talon said, choosing his words carefully. He didn’t want to disrespect Corvin, even though he wasn’t sure that was possible. “I have one already. We’ll march to Elysian Fields and try one last chance at negotiating. When Harold declines, I’ll summon my Ashtari and crush Harold’s army.”

  “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of preparing for war against the invaders? If you destroy Eshil Domain's military, then they’ll be crippled,” Hectar said.

  “It’s something I would like to avoid; however, we’ll have to show our power by killing some of the army. That should stop the fighting once the Ashtari begin killing their army. Then I will capture Harold and force his allegiance,” Talon said.

  “Yes, you’ll have no choice but to show the Ashtari in action. That should force the Eshil Domain forces to surrender,” Corvin said.

  “A simple plan,” Talon said. “That will end this war with no losses on our side.”

  “Should we send a message to Harold, telling him we’ll meet him there?” Alayna asked.

  “Yes. Draft the message, let me read it, and then we’ll send it,” Talon got up. “Alayna, I do have a task for you.”

  “What would that be?” Alayna asked.

  “Tomorrow morning, you’re going to leave for Nuradis with a couple of hundred men to bring their mayor to heel. You will put someone you trust in charge once the matter is settled,” Talon said.

  “Wouldn’t it be better to send a captain? This is a-” Alayna said.

  “No,” Talon interrupted with a wave of his hand. “You are more valuable in Nuradis. I can’t allow this mayor to remain in power and you will have to pick a replacement.”

  Alayna bit her lip and nodded, “as you wish, your grace,” she said.

  “That’ll be all,” Talon walked out of the throne room. It was time to prepare for war.