Lightning Clan was powered by electricity, in fact, it was the only clan that used electricity. This was because everyone had lightning powers. We had realized how fortunate they were. Machines and other marvelous inventions covered the place. When it had been daytime, we had noticed that the townsfolk hardly worked at all compared to people from other clans. Plus, Lightning Clan accomplished more with their spare time. There were machines that could sew a shirt for you, milk a cow, turn on lights, make heat, drill holes, boil water faster and keep it hot, and many other things!

Yet Firesong had been right about them, they were shady people. If they were trustworthy, clans would trade for their inventions and live in ease too. Rockstorm and I were very interested in their contraptions. Yet Firesong reminded us to stay focused on the reason for why we were here. We were to keep hidden and avoid staring. Rockstorm and Firesong hid in an alley and I hid by a tree waiting for the coast to be clear. 

“What are you playing with Rockstorm?” asked Firesong.

“A humdinger, I found it in a dumpster in this alley,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“Are you sure you’re handling that right?”

“Yeah, I think so,”

“Why is it making that humming noise?”

“It’s a humdinger, remember?” 

“I think you made up that name,” admitted Firesong.

Meanwhile, I was getting quite close to the statue. It was in the shape of a man holding a lightning bolt. He looked as if he were going to throw it. The crystal was in the center of the lightning bolt, it looked like it was simply a ball of electricity. I gulped. The explosion was probably going to be painful. Covering my ears, I sneaked up to the statue till I was about 3 yards away. I heard this sizzling noise and started to run with my hands still on my ears. Since it was night, not many people were about, many were already in bed. 

Suddenly, an earth shattering noise erupted from the statue. Rocks and cement flew through the air. I ran for cover. When the dust cleared and the remaining statue parts weren’t flying through the air, I ran back to the statue to retrieve the crystal. People were all groggy, shaken and definately awake after that. Many were hurrying to the statue to see what had happened. As soon as I touched the Lightning Crystal, it zapped me. Frantically thinking, I took off my shirt and wrapped the crystal in it and ran as fast as I could out of the clan. When I was out, I kept running, we had agreed to meet at Bolt Lake. 

“Rock! Hear that?!” screamed Firesong.

“How could I not? It was like a cannon was fired in my ears!” he shouted over the noise.

“Quick! Let’s confuse them!” she commanded.

Together, they threw smoke bombs Firesong and Rockstorm had made while they had sat in the alley. Everyone was all in a frantic, confused mood and they wandered about in the dark. Some got hit with falling stones, others decided that they were going to stay inside. After a while, Firesong and Rockstorm left the clan and went to Bolt Lake.  

I  had time to bathe all the grime and dust off me in Bolt Lake. It was around midnight when Firesong and Rockstorm met me. Though it was quite dark, I noticed in the sliver of moonlight that Rockstorm’s pale face was black. Firesong saw me looking at him and cast an annoyed look at Rockstorm. 

“What happened?” I asked.

“Let’s just say, I knew he wasn’t playing with it right,” Firesong sighed as she folded her arms and turned the other way. 

“Playing with what?” I inquired.

“My humdinger I found, it exploded and--well, that’s why my face has soot all over it,” explained Rockstorm.

He went to the lake to wash it off. 

“Did you get it?” questioned Firesong turning around to face me.

“Yeah, it’s in my shirt,” then seeing her walk over to it I added, “but be careful, it shocked me pretty bad,”

“Don’t worry, people from Water clan are more sensitive to it than people from Earth or Fire Clan. We can take it from here,” stated Firesong as she unwrapped the crystal. 

She stood gazing at it. It was the brightest crystal we had seen yet. 

“It’s beautiful,” she marveled. 

I was starting to think Firesong’s hair looked especially beautiful in the moonlight. She turned around and saw me staring, I quickly turned away. Thankfully, she thought I had been looking at the crystal too. Then Rockstorm came over.

“Cover that up, will ya?” Rockstorm suggested. “It’s so bright it’s practically a beacon reading: ‘Over here! We’re the thieves who took your crystal!”

We did and then the three of us made camp for the night. After a quick snack, we went to bed and fell asleep. 

I woke up to find Rockstorm gone. Firesong was cooking breakfast. It was the fish she had caught from the river. I had become tired of fish ever since I had had to eat it for more than a month straight. Yet a hot meal sounded really good and I was shivering. 

“Where’s Rockstorm?” I asked Firesong as I washed my face in the lake. 

“He’s putting the Lightning Crystal with the Water and Ice Crystals by that other volcano. He flew out early this morning and said that he’d meet us at Lightstream’s treehouse. We figured we could stop by her place on our way to Earth Clan,” she explained. 

I came over to the fire and sat there to warm myself up. I guess she saw the look on my face when she handed me the cooked fish.

“I know, I’m not a fan of fish anymore either, but I was really cold, and if we eat this fish from Bolt Lake, we can preserve our supplies of food for later,”  

She really did represent thinking in this trio. I admired that, as well as other things about her. She saw me staring off into space.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Uh--I was thinking of Lightstream’s treehouse and that awful liquid she had us drink,” I lied. 

Firesong shivered at the thought. 

“Ugh! I still can’t get that taste out of my mouth!” 

“I had to plug my nose!” I chuckled. 

“And the color! It was such a dark green, I almost mistook it for black!” she exclaimed.

“You know a drink is odd when it's practically black,” I admitted. 

I saw Firesong grow serious. 

“What is it?” I asked her.

“I just realized that we probably shouldn't be complaining about her drink when she saved our lives,” she spoke solemnly.

“She did heal us,” I agreed.

“Well, mostly,” Firesong added, gesturing towards her wing. “Come on, let's pack up and head for Lightstream’s!” 

We got there late at night because we walked. Rockstorm was already there. I figured he had transformed into his dragon form to get there faster. He had been there nine hours earlier, and the two of them had spent the day getting to know each other. Lightstream served us soup and bread. It was delicious! It felt really nice to eat a hot, home cooked meal instead of cold rations.

“Well? Four down, two to go I hear?” inquired Lightstream sitting down to eat with us.

“Yep,” I replied. “We’re off to--”

“Earth Clan? Rock told me everything,” she stated.

I looked over at Firesong. She was very solemn and had a sorrowful look on her face. It wasn’t as stoic as the face she had made this morning. It was more like the face she had made the last time we were here, when she saw Rockstorm and his grandmother hug. After dinner, she went straight to bed, while Rockstorm and Lightstream talked on her balcony. After chatting a bit with them, I went to check on Firesong. She was lying there awake staring at the ceiling. Her brow was furrowed and I could tell the wheels in her head were turning. She saw me come over and sat up in her bed. I sat on my makeshift bed. Lightstream had set them up for us again. 

“Oh good, I'm glad you’re here. I’ve been listening to them jabber all night!” she spoke gruffly.

“Well, imagine you had just met a long lost relative that you’ve never seen all your life,”

“Sorry, but I can’t,” she snapped. “And besides,  both my grandparents are dead,”

“Do you have any aunts or uncles?”

“Nope, they all were killed or drowned. One was born dead,” she stated sadly. 

“Drowned? How many were put in danger like that?” I wondered.

“We had a river that runs through our clan, but that isn’t it. Drowning is a penalty,”

“So...your family is a very mischievous one?” 

She nodded. We were silent a while. 

“I noticed you looked rather upset those times when Rockstorm and Lightstream were really hitting it off,”

“So what?!” 

“So I represent caring--I-I mean being considerate!” I said, raising my voice. I was surprised at how fast I had become irritated. “Rockstorm said that you thought of us as family now that your uh--well...”

“Family kicked me out? Yeah, you two are all I have now, sort of,” she remarked.

“Well, we’re a team. Plus, I think that this issue is really bothering you and if we ought to stay focused on our goal we can’t have anything distracting us. So, would you mind telling me?”

She took a deep breath.

“You’re right, I should. I’m just so used to having to deal with problems on my own. But, if I’m honest, I don’t feel comfortable sharing deep topics with you yet. I think I need to get to know you better,” she admitted.

“Ok, so how did you and Rockstorm meet?”

“What?!” she exclaimed.

“I figured chatting would help you get to know me better,”

“Ok, but why did you ask that question?”

I remembered that Rockstorm had told me he knew that Firesong had a crush on him, and that she’s not comfortable sharing back stories. Asking that question had broken both of those standards she didn’t like to talk about. And yet I thought to myself: we need to get past this. 

“Tell you what, you answer my question, and I'll let you ask anything about me,” I decided. 

“Alright, when you’re banished, they leave you with no supplies. They also give whoever they banish a public beating.”

“All for someone who disagrees with them?”

“We aren’t punished for simply disagreeing. I was penalized because I went against the moral standings that are the foundation of our clan’s beliefs. If you don’t believe that Fire Clan is meant to rule Aranthalas, you’re not one of them. So after my parents threw me out of the city, I was too hurt to walk very far, I only made it to the edge of the forest before I collapsed. 

When I awoke, I was staring into the brown eyes of Rockstorm, the one who saved my life. I felt hopeful and relaxed around him. Rockstorm had been traveling with his father and brothers in their wagon. They were on their way to Ice Clan. I was in desperate need of help, yet Rockdust had a schedule to keep, so Rockstorm and I walked to Earth Clan. I was so grateful and I still owe him one. He told me to meet him at the north volcano in the jungle when I had fully recovered. He dropped me off at his aunt’s house and left to join his father again. I stayed with his aunt and sister for a few weeks. Then I went there and waited, and then that’s when I first saw you and Rockstorm,” 

“Wow,” I breathed. “And don’t worry, with all the dangers going on, you’ll have plenty of time to save his life,” 

She smiled that wonderful smile of hers.

“We should probably get to bed,” she suggested. 

So the three of us all fell asleep in our makeshift beds, which were nicer than sleeping on the ground. 

The next day, we got ready to travel to Earth Clan. We thanked Lightstream and left. 

“I haven’t seen Glissanstone in forever-well, you know,” sighed Rockstorm. “I also miss my dad, and well, everyone in my family. It’ll be nice to see them,”

“Just keep in mind that this isn’t a family reunion,” reminded Firesong.

“Why not?” argued Rockstorm. “Geyser hasn’t met my family and I’ve met his. You haven’t seen my aunt and sister in a while. Gey also hasn't seen what Earth Clan looks like and I’ve wanted to show him,”

“Yeah! That sounds fun!” I agreed.

We both looked at Firesong pleadingly. It wasn’t long before she gave in but made it clear that she was totally against the idea. 

Rocksotrm then began telling me all about his family. I already knew his dad and two older brothers. Yet I hadn’t met his aunt and younger sister. Rockstorm’s mother had died shortly after Glissanstone was born. Yet Rockdust still had to make a living, so he left his daughter to live with his sister-in-law. Even though they technically weren’t related anymore since Rockdust’s wife had died. 

“You’re lucky you even have other relatives to go to,” muttered Firesong. 

“You don’t?” questioned Rockstorm.

Firesong sadly shook her head. 

Remembering our discussion last night I put in: “I’m sure your family loves you too,”

Yet this only made matters worse.

“Then why didn’t they defend me when I was publicly beaten?!” she exploded. 

Smoke was pouring out of her ears. The smell made Rockstorm and I space ourselves from her as we walked so we wouldn’t get gassed out. Yet after a while the smoke stopped and she began steaming instead. 

“No one did anything. They let me nearly get killed! They didn’t even save me after I was thrown out!” she cried. 

Rockstorm and I were silent. We had learned to simply hear her out and wait until her fury had ended, then we would talk to her.

“So I told myself I never wanted to see them again! And that is why I hate it when everyone else has wonderful family reunions and loving families. It only reminds me of what I never had!”

“Alright Firesong, we understand,” Rockstorm spoke gently to her. 

I wondered if this is what she had been stewing about this past week? Was this why she was so upset last night and didn’t feel comfortable talking to me about? Either way, she had let it all out now. It’s no use to keep emotions bottled up, they’re bound to come out eventually. 

“Anything else you want to tell us about?” I asked her softly for fear of another eruption.

Firesong took a bunch of deep breaths, stopped steaming, and drank a sip from her cantene. 

“No, I’m done,” she sighed calmly. 

Phew! The tempest had passed! It was good she had let down some of her barriers. It made us grow closer as a team and as friends. From then on, Firesong didn’t have much difficulty talking to us about her feelings. 

We reached Earth Clan in three days. We entered that day because we were going to see Rockstorm’s family. 

“Do you think your clan will give you the cold shoulder once they realize you took their crystal?” I inquired to Rockstorm.

“No, they know we intend to use the crystals for good. They always believe the best about people. They might even hand us their crystal if we ask for it,”

“What?! You mean we won’t have to steal it?” gasped Firesong.

“Yeah, isn’t that nice?” beamed Rockstorm.

“But I kind of liked our nickname the Crystal Thieves,” I sighed. 

Rockstorm chuckled, “Me too, and we still are, just imagine Fire Clan, our toughest challenge yet,” 

As we walked through the town, no one stared or batted an eyelash at us. It was like we blended right in. Earth Clan was undeniably chill. 

As we approached his house, we didn’t see Rockdust’s wagon, which meant he and his other sons weren’t here. Rockstorm knocked on the door. 

“Just a minute!” called a woman’s voice from inside. 

Instead, a little girl opened the door, she looked like she was five. She had short, curly, dark brown hair and her face was covered in a sea of freckles. She wore a green dress with white and yellow flowers on it, and two big yellow bows tied back her curly hair into pigtails. He wore a huge grin and exclaimed: “Wocky!” as she ran to hug him. 

Rockstorm squatted down so she could easily hug him and shouted: “Hey Glissy!”

Firesong turned away for a brief moment, recovered herself, and turned around with a smile plastered onto her face. I could tell this was hard for her. 

“What are you, seven now?” teased Rockstorm.

“No, I’m five,” smiled Glissanstone. 

A woman came out the door with a smile on her face. She wore a dark brown dress that matched her straight hair. She was wiping her hand on a striped apron tied around her waist.  She was Rockstorm’s aunt. Rockdust was an only child and his wife had a sister, that sister was Limestone.

“Rockstorm!” she squealed from excitement, “Come ‘ere and give you’re ol’ auntie some sugar! What’s it been, five months since I’d last seen ya?” 

She looked at us. 

“Firesong!? My, my, let me see here...hmm...yep, definitely have grown taller since I last saw yeh,” She turned to me, “Oh! Oh! Oh! This must be your other friend you were talk’n to me about..what’s it...no, don’t tell me...Geyser right?”

I nodded and smiled. 

“Oh and I see ya’ll unlocked your true potentials! My, my, you’ve all grown up so much!”

She wiped a tear on her apron.

“Now, come inside and eat! Glissanstone and I made strawberry jam yesterday and made some cornbread today to go with it! Come in! Come in! Sit down! Make yourself at home! Glissanstone, could you get us some plates?” 

We sat at the kitchen table and helped ourselves to fat slices of cornbread with strawberry jam and butter. Rockstorm’s aunt was named Limestone, but everyone called her Aunt Limea (Lime-uh). Aunt Limea was what she wanted Firesong and I to call her too, so we did.  She brought out some milk to go with our cornbread.

“Now, we Earth Clan folk have heard of this war in the northeast that went on. What’s it called? The War of the Dragons or somethin’? Anyway, word from spies travels fast and we can tell you’re here for our crystal,” she spoke. 

She sure gets right to the point. All there was left to do was just sit there and say yes’um. 

“Yep, that’s it,” I sighed. 

“Oh! But it really is so good to see ya’ll again--and Geyser at last! Yet you’ll probably just be here for what...two days?”

“Probably,” agreed Rockstorm.

“Well, if you see Rockdust tell him to stay out of trouble for me. Can’t have anyone else gettin’ into trouble, not on my watch,” 

“Who else got into trouble?” asked Firesong. 

“Mommy,” murmured Glissanstone.

“No deary, I was going to say these three right here in front of me. What with going to war at such a young age, traveling all over Aranthalas, and doing adult’s work. Surely y'all know that I can’t help but feel a bit worried for y'all?”

We said nothing.

“Now, back to business, you’ll give us back the crystal when you’re done with it right?”

“Of course,” replied Firesong.

“Do you know why you need it?” asked Aunt Limestone.

“We need to unite them into one to save the world,” explained Rockstrom.

“Sounds like wherever you heard that from left out a few details,” admitted Aunt Limestone. 

“Well, it’s a pwophecy Aunt Limea, they don’t tell you vewy much,” reminded Glissanstone. 

She smiled. “Anywho, any news from yer adventures?”

“We found my dad’s mom,” stated Rockstorm. “Her name is Lightstream and she lives in this treehouse in Firewood Forest. 

“Oh my! He was sure his mom was long gone by now! Well, well, when he returns I’ll make sure to tell him that,”

“If it isn’t any trouble, we would like to speak with the chieftain today,” said Firesong, “If that’s alright?” 

Rockstorm and I knew that she wanted a break from this family reunion stuff. 

“Oh sure thing deary! You three go on up to his place and have a good talk with him. When you get back Glissanstone and I will have supper ready,” agreed Aunt Limea.

“Thank-you!” smiled Firesong giving her one of her dazzling smiles.

I wondered if she did those to me. 

So we left. I was rather bummed we had to leave, even though we were going to be back, but I really thought Aunt Limea and Glissanstone were super nice. 

“So where does your Chieftain live?” I asked Rockstorm

“In the biggest hut in the clan. It’s ten minutes from here, on that hill over there,” explained Rockstorm.

“What do we do when we get there, Rock?” inquired Firesong. 

“Well...when we get there, two guards will be standing outside of the entrance. We have to state our reason for coming. Then they will send a messenger to take our request to the chief. The messenger will then tell the Chief our request, and then he will tell the messenger when he is ready to meet us. When he is ready, we come back to the entrance, and do the whole thing all over again,” stated Rockstorm

I groaned at the mention of ‘do the whole thing all over again’.

“Good thing I said we should leave when I did,” remarked Firesong.

Rockstorm and I had wanted to stay. Firesong simply wanted to get this whole shenanigan over with. 

Ten minutes later, we arrived at a wall made of stone that surrounded the Chief’s two story hut. It was called a hut, but in my opinion, it resembled a barrack. Sure enough, two guards stood outside the entrance of the wall. On the wall, centurions stood look out over their hill and the entire clan. 

“Halt! State your business!” commanded one of the guards.

“We request to see Chief Grumblepound,” Rockstorm spoke loud and clear, “We wish to arrange a deal with him,”

The guard took out a whistle and blew three short blasts. A messenger came out of the two bronze doors and halted. The guard retold the message to the messenger. Then the messenger disappeared behind the heavy doors. We waited for five minutes.

“Why is everything so heavily guarded when Earth Clan is ‘chill’ about everything,” questioned Firesong. 

“While we’re open and friendly with the other clans and want to keep the peace, that makes us more vulnerable for an attack,” sighed Rockstorm as we waited outside. 

She nodded and mused over this. In Water Clan, our Chieftain didn’t live in a barrack surrounded by a stone wall. We relied on military support, so guards were posted everywhere. 

After five minutes, the messenger returned and announced that we may follow her into the ‘hut’ as she called it, to speak with the Chieftain. We did and she showed us into the barrack. 

There sat the great Chief Grumblepound of Earth Clan. He wore iron armour and had his brown beard braided into three braids that ran down to his chest. In his hand was a spiked hammer made of gold with a long handle. Even when sitting you could tell he was very tall and had a thick, sturdy build. I gulped as I looked at his weapon, I could tell he had used it before, and won. We bowed when we entered and waited for five seconds to rise. 

“Well, I see you have come to make a deal with me!” boomed his loud commanding voice. “I’ve heard about the work you’ve been doing, sounds rather risky!”

“Yes Chief Grumblepound. We assure you, we are not thieves. In fact, we were chosen by the Dragonstone itself to use all six crystals to save Aranthalas and possibly defeat Red Blood,” replied Rockstorm.

“Is that so? Well, while you’re saving the world and all, mind returning the stolen children to my clan while you’re at it?” he declared sarcastically. 

I remembered the kidnapped children. What a responsible leader to think of the kidnapped children.

“It poses a question we haven’t had to think about for centuries,” explained Chief Grumblepound, “We haven’t been in much contact with Fire Clan ever since the War of Endless Death, but every clan other than Lightning have isolated themselves from Fire Clan. It’s making me consider isolating my clan too. If I give you my crystal, our defenses will be down and we’ll be at risk. Every clan knows that Fire Clan is preparing for another war. They attacked Water Clan because its defenses were low from the lack of their crystal, and nearly won. What if we’re next?” 

Rockstorm was silent for a while.

“Chief Grumblepound, I understand that Earth Clan is at risk if you give us the Earth Crystal, but let me make it clear that we have your clan’s best interests in mind. We want what’s good for everyone, for the world of Aranthalas. If the Dragonstone knew that taking your crystal would destroy our clan, would it have prophesied we take your crystal?” argued Rockstorm.

Smooth one. Firesong gave me a knowing look. I nodded. We knew that the prophecy hadn’t actually said to take the clan crystals. It merely said to combine those that are inside into one. What if we had got it wrong? While the three of us were certain the Dragonstone was referring to the clan crystals, if we happened to be wrong, that would cost us greatly. Rockstorm had just said taking the crystals were harmless. Clan defenses are low worldwide, and Fire Clan is the most shielded and powerful of them all.. If we got it wrong, we would be punished and isolated for stealing practically all of the clan crystals and using them for possible harm. 

“Fine, I will give you the Earth Crystal, but promise that when you have fulfilled the prophecy, you will return it?” demanded the Chief after much thought. 

“We promise,” we stated, even though we kind of doubted the probability. 

“Very well,” sighed Chief Grumblepound gravely, “Follow me,”

We walked outside the barrack with the Chief accompanied by two guards. He led us to the statue, it was inside the stone wall that surrounded his barrack. The statue appeared to be a miner who was mining a rock, and inside the rock, was the Earth Clan Crystal. Chief Grumblepound lifted his hand at the guard patrolling the area. The guard walked over and with one swing, cut the crystal out of the stone. He gave the crystal to Rockstorm.

“Guard this crystal with your life, Rockstorm, son of Rockdust, son of Duststorm,” commanded the Chief.

“I will,” agreed Rockstorm. 

Then we were shown out, with the Chief looking concernedly at us as we left. As we walked back, I asked Rockstorm: “Why did he say son of Rockdust, son of Duststorm at the end?” 

“It's polite and formal to name your father and grandfather when being given an honor,” he replied.

So Rockstrom had been given an honor. I wondered if I had ever received an honor. The realization hit shortly afterwards. I had received an honor, all of us had. We were chosen to save the world, we were destined to touch the Dragonstone and live. No one in history had ever done that, this was truly the greatest honor anyone could have ever been bestowed upon. 

We left the next day for the Enchanted Volcano in the Jungle. It took us three days because we still had to walk. Yet I didn’t mind as much. It gave us more time to talk and think. 

“I wonder if all six clan crystals equal the power of the Dragonstone?” wondered Rockstorm. 

“That’d be cool,” I shrugged.

“The records in the Enchanted Volcano say that the Robed Ruler’s sons formed the six clans. I wonder if he had any daughters?” remarked Firesong. 

“If he did, why didn’t anyone write about them?” mused Rockstorm. “Surely something like that would have been recorded.”

“Well, maybe it is recorded, it's just not well known?” I countered. 

“I bet the runes would say, but we can’t read them. We can only read the hieroglyphics,” sighed Firesong. 

When we arrived at the Enchanted Volcano, we placed the Earth Clan Crystal next to the Plant crystal. Firesong lit torches as we scoured the walls for answers about our questions.

“Hey guys!” called Firesong from another row of hieroglyphics, “I think I just found out!” 

We ran up to her. 

“Alright then, let’s find the beginning...here we are!” declared Rockstorm.

At the beginning of the tale, the wall depicted a man dressed in a purple robe holding a staff with a pink gem in it. Around the gem were lines carved into the stone to show its importance. Underneath the man was the world of Aranthalas. 

“Uh-huh. Here are his six sons going to start the six clans. Then...there’s six girls...are those his daughters?” I inquired.

“Yep, they have the same markings as the sons and the Robed Ruler...and they’re wearing purple like the sons are,” pointed Firesong. 

“Right, so the six daughters had jobs too by the looks of it. The eldest of the daughters, Sunstar, controlled the sun, the second, Moonstar, controlled the moon. The third daughter, Timestar, was responsible for time. The fourth daughter, Seasonstar, was in charge of the seasons. The fifth daughter, Starwind, governed the weather. The sixth daughter controlled...um...it’s blotched out. It doesn’t even say what her name is,” I explained. 

“That’s odd,” marveled Rockstorm, taking a closer look. “This substance that blotched it out is brown and old.”

“Let me see,” added Firesong. “Oh my! Why, it’s blood! Dried up blood!”                                       

This was unsettling for all of us. Blood covered up the sixth daughter’s name and responsibility. Coincidence, we thought not  and we all wondered why. 

“Maybe that’s why we need to save the world? Or unite the six crystals?” I suggested.

“I don’t think so. She’s not the threat, Red Blood is. Besides, she’s up there with the other sisters and brothers and the Robed Ruler. She was probably...defeated or exiled or something like that,” 

We left and walked up the stairs to the outside of the volcano. 

“Do you think there is anyone who can still read runes? There’s rooms and halls filled with runes in there,” I wondered out loud.

“People took up the alphabet and handwriting we’re using now, so they stopped using the old method. Yet I’m sure there’s some decoder we could find,” replied Firesong.

“Ok, so where are we going to find one?” asked Rockstorm. 

Firesong shrugged.

“It doesn’t really matter right now. What matters is going to Fire Clan, stealing their crystal, saving the children if we can, and saving the world. When this is over, then we can take up rune reading,” said Firesong simply.

“It’s just, maybe reading the runes would help us on our mission?” continued Rockstorm.

“Perhaps, but we need to get to Fire Clan ASAP, because right now, all the clans are practically defenseless against one enemy: Fire Clan. So let’s get moving,” decided Firesong. 

We reached the outskirts of the Jungle by nightfall. The following day we crossed the Deep Dish River and camped on the other side of it. On our fourth day we were close to Firewood Forest. We stopped for lunch in a field of tall grass. It was so tall that none of us could see over it. We had been walking through the forest of tall grass for hours. Yet the trail to Firewood Forest ran right through it. I climbed a huge rock to see over the grass. I was hoping to see how close we were to Firewood Forest. I saw that we didn’t have many miles to go, yet that wasn’t the only thing I saw. A black thing was bobbing through the tall grass. I was about as tall as me and trampled on everything in its path. 

“Uh guys? We’re not alone…” I called wearily down to the other two.

“What do you see?” asked Rockstorm.

“Something big and black by the looks of it. I can’t make out what it is exactly..it's probably some big animal,” 

Firesong climbed the rock too and pulled out her slingshot. 

“I see it,” she whispered as she aimed for it. 

“I’ll see if I can scare it off!” suggested Rockstorm.

“Fine, but if it doesn’t work, I’ll shoot it,” agreed Firesong.

Rockstorm started making loud noises with whooping and hollering. I couldn’t help but laugh. Firesong and I saw the creature stop for a bit to listen, then it started charging right for us!

“Rockstorm! Stop! It’s coming to attack us! Climb up the rock!” shouted Firesong.

Rockstorm did and he and I pulled out our daggers. Yet when the creature came out of the tall grass, we found out it wasn’t an animal at all. When she saw us with our weapons, she got scared and tossed a stick at Rockstorm. 

“Hey!” he snapped. “What gives?”

She was a pale, tall, athletic-looking girl for her age. Her hair was short and black and tied in a bun with two thin, silver stilettos to hold it up. She had grey, almond shaped eyes. I noticed she had already received her true potential. No clan’s hair color was black, which meant that she was a spy. She wore gray and black: black leather pads on their thighs and arms. Then dulled iron pads for her shins and forearms. She wore two brown straps to carry any luggage on her back. Her weapon was a battlestaff. 

When you become a spy, you touch the clan crystal after saying the oath. When you do, it changes the looks of your wings so it doesn’t give away what clan you're from. Hence, spies have wings that don’t look like their elemental power. Instead, their wings look like dragon wings. Spies had to change their name as well, because their original names give away which clan they’re from. They have to dye their hair black and not use their elemental powers to hide their identity in case they’re captured.

“I heard someone call me a big animal! Rude!” she hissed. 

We hopped off the rock.

“Sorry about the confusion. We didn’t mean to offend you,” I apologized for the three of us. 

She looked at the three of us, but Firesong she looked in disgust with. Fire Clan citizens are looked down upon because many are known for being evil and tyrannic, except Firesong. As soon she showed disgust for Firesong, Firesong decided she didn’t like the spy either. Rockstorm and I could tell by the obvious scowl on Firesong’s face. 

“So...what are you doing out here?” I asked her. 

“I’m a spy in training,” she smiled proudly, “I was given a mission, and if I can complete it, I get to become an official spy. 

“What’s your name?” inquired Rockstorm.

“Swiftstreak, I’m sixteen,” she responded.

So she was the same age as us.

“Aren’t spies supposed to be secretive?” questioned Firesong stiffly.  

“Firesong, come on, she’s a spy in training, and besides, no one is perfect,” countered Rockstorm.

Swiftstreak smiled at Rockstorm gratefully. Rockstorm blushed. Then she looked over at me and smiled broadly and winked. 

Oh no. She’s one of  those girls. 

“What or who are you spying on?” I asked. 

“Classified. I’m not supposed to give away anything,”

“And why do you have such short hair?” fired Firesong.

“We cut it so it doesn’t get in the way or so people won’t pull on it to their advantage,” answered Swiftstreak hotly.

Rockstorm and I could see the clashing going on between them. They stared at each other, silently daring the other to make the first move. Rockstorm quickly got in between them

“Now, now girls, we unite, not fight. Just because we play different roles and are from different clans doesn’t mean we should fight,” he assured.

The two of them stepped away from each other. 

“We better get going, if you don’t mind Swiftstreak,” I added. 

“Oh! Mind if I come with you three? I’m on my way to the Firewood Forest as well,” replied Swiftstreak. 

“How did you know we were going to Firewood Forest?” fired Firesong.

“Isn’t it obvious? When you said you had to get going, your body pointed east in the direction of Firewood Forest, which is where the end of this trail leads,” explained Swiftstreak. 

“She’s good,” muttered Rockstorm to me quietly, then turning to Swiftstreak, “Sure, you can join us!”

Swiftstreak smiled and winked at him as she turned her head to the side. 

As we walked, Swiftstreak sided with me and began a conversation. 

“Hi! What’s your name?” she asked in a friendly tone.

“Geyser,”

“Ok Gey, can I call you Gey? Anyway, is little miss sourpuss always like this? She’s kind of hot headed,” 

I could smell smoke, and I turned behind me to see Firesong a few yards away fuming with smoke trailing out of her ears.  Apparently she had heard what Swiftstreak had said. Swiftstreak took this as a victory and stuck her tongue out at Firesong. 

“Firesong is pretty tough, but she’s really sweet once you get to know her. We used to fight a lot when we first met,” I replied to Swiftstreak.

“Really? Aren’t Water Clan and Fire Clan arch enemies or something?” 

“Yeah, but I believe we don’t have to be,”

“How long have you known Firsong?”

“Um...over two months,” Then to change the subject I added. “What’s it like being a spy?” 

Rockstorm joined us and walked on the other side of Swiftstreak. My question got Swiftstreak going, I tracked with her conversation most of the time. I was mainly trying to figure out which clan she was from. They had done a good job hiding her identity. The battlestaff had no magical ability to it. However, her clothes didn’t appear to be fire or water proof, which was a hint that she wasn’t from those two clans. Yet if she was from Water Clan, it would explain why she disliked Firesong. Yet again, Firesong seems to be good at making enemies with people, she’s naturally very...fiesty. 

Another device Swiftstreak had was a magnet pole. Another weapon she had was a crossbow that could shoot a grappling hook. Another one of her devices could unlock any lock. She also had smoke bombs. 

That night we slept by the fire since winter was coming and it was growing colder. Yet Swiftstreak didn’t want anyone to see her face in the firelight in case a stranger spotted us, so she slept away from the fire. 

Strangely enough, the next morning, she was gone. 

“She must have left to finish her mission?” I suggested. 

“Good riddance!” fumed Firesong. “I don’t trust her, how do we know she’s not here to spy on us?!”

“We don’t, but I trust her, she seems nice,” argued Rockstorm. 

“Why did you have to give her the benefit of the doubt? These days we’re wanted all over!” continued Firesong.

“Just because she won your little argument yesterday doesn’t mean she’s a bad person, Firesong,” I replied calmly. 

Firesong grew quiet. Her quietness spread and we traveled in silence the rest of the day. By nightfall, we could tell she was still upset. 

Two days later we arrived at Fire Clan. We were going to split up. Firesong would get the crystal while we checked out the cave near Fire Clan for Red Blood. Maybe we would find the missing children? I was rather nervous, we were in our arch enemy's territory and we would be in a possible encounter with Red Blood. What if we messed up? 

Rockstorm and I scouted out the cave the next day. To our shock we saw Red Blood in his dragon form sleeping in the cave. Behind him were many children sorted into five groups. One group for each clan, except Fire clan. In total there were now around 70 children from all ages. They were all chained up and looked frightened. No one spoke. They looked jittery, wide-eyed, and scrawny. They all hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. Some barely had any realization of what was going on around them, some were fading out. They just stared off into the distance, as quiet as the grave. There were no guards, because Red Blood guarded the door. Firesong had scouted out Fire Clan and told us that all the Fire Clan Warriors were training in the Clan and were planning to wipe out all the clans with Red Blood and their secret weapon. If Red Blood in dragon form wasn’t their secret weapon, what was it? Rockstorm and I planned to dig a tunnel to the back of the cave to save the children. Firesong stole the Fire Crystal. I was to attack Red Blood because water was the most effective against fire. Rockstorm could dig faster than the two of us combined. Firesong would blend in better with Fire Clan than the two of us, yet she was an outcast, if she was found out, she would be punished greatly. So Rockstorm started digging and a week later he had finished the tunnel. That meant it was time to strike!

I turned into my dragon form and snuck with Rockstorm to the cave that night. Fire is very deadly against water, and since he is more powerful, I would be hurt immensely. Yet he was supposed to be weakening, since he had a wicked heart. Red Blood was awake and guarded the only known entrance to the cave. I could feel him breathing, his breath sucked pebbles and decaying debri in and out. When I caught a glimpse of him, I was surprised he didn’t look weak at all!

 Legends said that back in the War of Endless Death, the only reason people still survived was because they had hid in caves. Back then, there were secret doorways in the walls of the caves that would lead to other nearby caves. This cave is connected to the cave near Earth Clan. 

I found a good spot to attack Red Blood and began harnessing my dragon power to shoot a blast of water. Rockstorm had already rescued half of the children. By the time Red Blood realized it was too late, there was a tidal wave gushing at his face! He roared in pain and stalactites fell from the ceiling. The children screamed as Red Blood’s tail slashed about. Rockstorm frantically shot rocks at Red Blood’s tail to stop it and untied the last group of kids. They all rushed out through the tunnel. Red Blood charged at me and we flew into the air. 

“So? You’ve come at last! I’ve been waiting for you!” roared Red Blood. 

I said nothing while I glared intently at him. 

“I bet you’re wondering why I’m still strong and healthy even though, according to the prophecy, I’m supposed to weaken? 

“I’m wondering why you were waiting for us!” I argued.

“Oh...let’s just say...a little spy told me!”

I gasped. He couldn’t possibly mean Swiftstreak. Could he? I blasted him with another gush of water and he shot fire back to deflect it. Steam blocked my vision. I looked away to see Rockstorm and Firesong flying in their dragon forms to the Enchanted Volcano  and Northern Volcano to retrieve the clan crystals we hid there. I had to keep Red Blood busy. Red Blood started flying towards Lightning Clan, I followed him. 

Rockstorm flew all the children to Lightstream’s treehouse. She would heal, nourish, and care for them until we could take them home. Yet 70 kids for a sixty-something year old to handle? Not to worry, she had animals she somehow could communicate with and she could see visions. So she was prepared....I guess. 

I flew behind him, clawed his back, and bit his wing. He growled and shook me off. My scratch didn’t do a thing to him. 

“Time to finish you!” he grumbled. 

Fire erupted from his mouth as he shot a blast of fire at me. I dodged but he shot another one at me and I was hit. I fell a little ways but regained my flight and shot water at his face. He charged at me in mid flight, I dodged, grabbed his tail with my mouth, and flung him towards the ground, yet he caught my tail with his mouth as he fell and pulled me down too. We hit the Plains with a thud and stuck to ground fighting. We were scratching, biting, kicking, and swinging our tails at each other. Fire and water flew through the air almost constantly and the area around us became very humid. We lost some scales and had massive wounds. I didn’t have much strength left in me. We blasted each other for the last time and fell down, unable to get up. After a few minutes I got up and limped to Lightstream’s treehouse. When I reached her, she poured a bucket of that awful tea down my throat and I began to feel better. Rockstorm had returned and I could see Firesong flying towards us in the distance. 

“Where’s Captain Red Blood?” asked Rockstorm.

“He’s out cold, last I checked,” I responded. 

“When Firesong gets here, we’ll take the crystals and finish Captain Red Blood once and for all,” he replied.

I sighed. “I hope so.” 

“You ready?” roared Firesong. “My wing feels better. Let’s go!”

We flew to the spot where I had seen Red Blood. He was up, examining his wounds. He saw us flying towards him, he growled. We landed and combined the crystals. Red Blood shot fire at us, I blocked the crystals while Rockstorm and Firesong shot rock, dust, and fire at him. The clan crystals did nothing. Red Blood lunged at me and pinned me to the ground. Firesong and Rockstorm lunged at him, but he knocked them off.

 Red Blood put his paw on the crystals and commanded: “Clan crystals, destroy him!” 

I closed my eyes and waited, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes and to my relief that Red Blood couldn’t control them. I suddenly knew why. 

“You were not chosen to use the Clan Crystals, Captain Red Blood. Only the good of heart can use them,” I declared as I got up and walked over. 

“No!” roared Red Blood as he shot fire at me. “I will not let you take them!”

I protected myself using my tail as my shield to advance. Firesong and Rockstorm got up and walked closer to him. We all showered him with bursts of fire, water, and dirt. It would have been very effective, if he hadn’t covered himself with his wings. So we fought into the night. After hours, the four of us were quite worn out. It ended with weak blasts of our elemental powers. I was limping. Rockstorm was coughing, and Firesong had a headache. Red Blood couldn’t walk on his forearm. I limped over to the crystals and put my paw on them. Yet nothing happened. I was surprised. 

“See?!” mocked Red Blood. “It doesn’t matter what heart you have, you can’t use them either! Did the prophecy really say you were to combine the crystals into one? To defeat me?!”

“Maybe I’m not doing it right?” I muttered to myself. 

I had to unite them into one. So how was I going to combine them? Maybe we needed the Dragonstone?

“Firesong! Rockstorm! Come on! We need to go!” I called to them.

“Retreating are you?!” roared Red Blood. “Too weak to go on?”

“Oh we’ll be back!” snapped Firesong.

“Where are we going?” asked Rockstorm as they followed me. 

“To the Enchanted Volcano, I think we need the Dragonstone to combine the Clan Crystals,” I explained. 

“Seems reasonable,” agreed Firesong. 

“If you say so,” sighed Rockstorm. “It’s just a bummer that we had him right where we wanted him: weak and tired. He wasn’t going anywhere and all we had to do was finish him off. Yet we can’t without the help of all these magical crystals. Go figure!” 

“I know, it seems weird. We’re just trying our best to unite the world and fulfill the prophecy. It’s super hard stuff.”

“I wouldn’t start the pity party just yet!” interrupted Firesong. “Look, I know this is hard. Yet this is a prophecy. That means in one way or another, it will eventually be fulfilled. All prophecies come to pass. This one will too. It never said how long this was going to take. It may take a long time! But the Dragonstone knew what it was doing when it chose us! We will overcome this!” 

“Ok, but don’t you think it's weird we're taking orders from an enchanted crystal?” added Rockstorm.

“The Dragonstone is the crystal of crystals, and it's the intervener from The Robed Ruler to us on Aranthlas. I’m sure it has untold powers yet to be unleashed in battle if it helps us defeat Red Blood!” I exclaimed. 

The next day, we turned into dragons and we reached the Enchanted Volcano, unlocked the door, and walked inside as our human forms. We had all six Clan Crystals with us. I carried the Ice and Water Crystals. Rockstorm carried the Earth and Plant Crystals, and Firesong carried the other two. When we reached the pink, glowing  Dragonstone, we set up the crystals around its pedestal. We made sure the crystals didn’t touch each other, or they might burn or freeze one another. 

“Now what?” inquired Firesong.

“We should talk to the Dragonstone for advice,” I suggested.

We all put our hands on the pedestal. 

“Dragonstone!” I called out. “Combine those that are inside into one!”

Suddenly, a white light surrounded the six crystals and the Dragonstone as they were lifted into the air. We took our hands off the pedestal. Then the Dragonstone absorbed the six crystals and it began to grow. Then the light vanished and the Dragonstone, now twice its original size, was set back on its pedestal. It shimmered with many colors.

“We created megaweapon! What could be more powerful than the Dragonstone? An upgraded Dragonstone! That’s what!” I grinned.

“What do we do now?” asked Rockstorm. 

That’s when the same deep voice spoke to us. 

“The Dragonstone has been made stronger, it will aid you in fulfilling the prophecy. Only when its task is complete will it return to its normal size and the Clan Crystals will be released. Use it to protect and unite Aranthlas.” 

Then the voice faded. 

“That was some short instruction. It made even less sense than the last time,” admitted Rockstorm.

“So this is what we’re going to unite Aranthalas,” I stated.

“Maybe we use it to unite the world to fight against Red Blood and his army?” suggested Firesong.

“Nah, that can’t be it. I think we use it to fight Red Blood, just the three of us. Then when he’s gone, the world will be peaceful again,” I countered. 

“The first prophecy said the Dragonstone will guide us. It didn’t say it would be used as a weapon,” argued Rockstorm.

“Yet this second prophecy said that the upgraded Dragonstone will aid us in fulfilling the first prophecy. Maybe it's for the great peril we will go into...it said that at the end of the first prophecy. The second prophecy said this upgraded Dragonstone had a task to complete. It also said that we need to use it to protect and unite Aranthalas. I think we need it to protect the world from Aranthalas,” I explained. 

Rockstorm thought this over. 

“Fine, if you say so. Your theory makes sense and all, but I feel like there are other ways to use it,” he sighed.

Shortly after the discussion, we left the volcano with the Dragonstone and sealed the door. Next stop was Fire Clan cave, which was Red Blood’s lair. 

It was time to end this. 

The next day we arrived at Fire Clan cave. However, Red Blood saw us coming. His eyes widened when he saw the upgraded Dragonstone. We were in our dragon forms and put our paws on the Dragonstone. 

“Dragonstone!” we commanded. “Destroy Captain Red Blood!”

Nothing happened. 

Red Blood roared with laughter. 

“You still don't understand the secret! Now my armies, get the Dragonstone!” ordered Red Blood. 

Around 2,000 warriors charged out of the cave at us. Most of them were from Fire Clan, yet some were from other Clans, including mine and Rockstorm’s. News had spread that Red Blood had agreed to spare lives and blood shed in the clans if they donated at least 200 warriors for his army. 

“I don’t want to hurt them! They were forced into this, they’re simply going to die if we do anything to them!” protested Firesong. 

“They only want the Dragonstone, I’ll lead them away from you two, while you guys find a solution,” I decided.

Firesong nodded. I flew off and the warriors did too. I flew in circles, up and down, side to side, for an entire hour. Everyone was tired and I flew closer to the ground.  I blew a sprinkling of water at them. Fire Clan warriors plummeted into a ditch that Rockstorm and Firesong had dug. The sprinkling made everyone else’s wings heavy. Slowly, out of exhaustion, they dropped too. The three of us corralled them into the Fire Clan Cave and Rockstorm formed a boulder and set it in front of the entrance. While Firesong sealed the tunnel we had made earlier to save the children. 

Yet Red Blood wasn’t in the cave and just as we were wondering where he was, he pounced on us from behind. I clawed at him with my Water Slap and Rockstorm sent a dust tornado at him to give us some distance. Firesong had the Dragonstone yet Red Blood pinned her down when the tornado died down and took it from her. I rammed him in the side and he dropped it. Rockstorm picked it up with his mouth and ran off through the forest to lose Red Blood. He joined us and we charged at Red Blood from behind. However, Red Blood snuck up on us and whipped Rockstorm with his tail. Rockstorm dropped the Dragonstone and Red Blood grabbed it and flew away. I shot water at Red Blood while Rockstorm bit Red Blood’s tail and flung him onto the ground. When Red Blood dropped it, Firesong caught it in her paw. She ran off with it in her mouth. 

To our surprise, Red Blood was still in good shape and wasn’t tired at all. He was supposed to weaken since he had an evil heart. Plus, he had been in worse shape when I fought him one on one. He couldn’t have drank a strength draught, because those don’t last more than three hours. Some magical power must be healing Red Blood, but what?

Anyway, we followed Red Blood who was following Firesong. Firesong hid in the forest. Yet it's hard to hide when you’re orange, red, and larger than a house. It wasn’t long before Red Blood found her. When he did, he charged at her with full speed. Firesong sprung up her Flame Circle. She shot him with a blast of fire. The fire made Red Blood trip and fall. We caught up with him. 

“Ah! You guys, I lost the Dragonstone! It flew out of my mouth when I shot the fire blast at him!” shouted Firesong. 

Frantically, we searched for the Dragonstone as Red Blood slowly got up. 

“Well, well well! Look what I’ve found!” he declared.

My heart sunk. I turned around and sure enough, the Dragonstone was in his paw. Suddenly, an explosion erupted around Red Blood, and we ducked for cover. When it was over, he was gone. 

“Now what are we going to do!?” I panicked. 

“Go after him I guess,” answered Rockstorm. 

“Right, he couldn’t have gotten too far,” agreed Firesong.

So we searched for Red Blood. It was around mid afternoon, and once it got dark, it would be easier to find him. That’s because once you unlock your true potential, your hair glows and waves in the air on its own. Fire and Lightning clan glow the brightest, which would come in handy since Red Blood was from Fire CLan. That, and the Dragonstone glowed many colors. If we flew over the forest, we would see their colors from a distance. 

Firesong turned into her human form and rode on Rockstorm as we flew around that night. If she rode on me, I would get burned and she would bruise up. 

“Didn’t you guys notice how Red Blood was hardly damaged or tired at all when we battled him this afternoon?” I asked them. 

“Yeah, for three against one, you’d think we’d have the upper paw,” added Rockstorm. 

“I wonder what could be aiding him?” wondered Firsong.

 The Dragonstone heals the pure of heart and destroys the wicked. So if he holds it, he won’t die since he’s been chosen to wield it as well, but it would seriously weaken him. He begins to weaken even if he doesn't touch it, once he touches it the first time, the curse has been set. He would deteriorate until he died one day, while we would continue to be strengthened. The fact that he was as strong as the three of us combined after all this time was confusing. What was his secret? What was aiding him?

We flew around Firewood Forest, the Desert Plains, a bit of the Plains, and flew onto Lightning Clan Corner. Aranthlas is divided into sections. Yes, we have divided it into biomes, but biomes are grouped into regions. One region was Lightning Clan Corner. The edges of the Snow Peak Mountains, Desert Plains, Firewood Forest, and the ocean made up its property. Lightning Clan didn’t own any of the land except their clan property, it was simply called Lightning Clan Corner because it was a corner of Aranthalas that just so happened to inhabit Lightning Clan. 

We were flying near the ocean and we saw from Lightning Clan cave multiple colored lights coming from its mouth.

“Yes!” I smiled. 

We had found him. The others saw it too. We landed and turned into our human form so we could easily spy on him. To hide our glowing hair, Rockstorm and I made mud to hide our hair. Firesong was disgusted with having mud on her hair, but it was the only way to stay hidden, since we had no extra clothes to put over us. We entered the cave and hid behind rocks and stalagmites as we listened in on what was going on. 

“This is what you were looking for, isn’t it?” Red Blood asked.

“Who is he talking to?” whispered Firesong. 

I shrugged.

“Yes,” said a woman’s voice, “Those brats did just what I wanted and they didn’t even know they were doing our work for us. 

“What should we do next?” inquired Red Blood.

I lifted my head over the rock I was behind to get a glimpse. Red Blood was in his human form. He was staring into the air. I ducked behind the rock again as he turned my way. 

“Find the portal, this improved Dragonstone will unlock it so I can enter into this world again. This way, I won’t be imprisoned in this dimension, and we will achieve our goal: to rule Aranthalas!” 

They both laughed evilly. I rolled my eyes. Rockstorm shook his head. Firesong sighed. We were all thinking the same thing: what is it with villains laughing evilly? 

“So where is the portal, your majesty?” asked Red Blood. 

“Alas, it was erased from my memory, so I could never escape. Yet they didn’t take away my connections with Aranthlas, at least, this one that is. However, I have been able to pick up clues, and I believe it is in a tree. The tree will have a hole in it, and the hole will be in the shape of the improved Dragonstone. Put the Dragonstone in the hole, and turn it until it starts to glow. Then the portal will start and I shall enter. Understand?” explained the woman’s voice.

“Yes, I’ll start first thing in the morning.”

“Good.” 

The conversation was over and Red Blood began to make dinner. We slipped out of the cave. 

“So he has a master, or someone he’s working for,” sighed Rockstorm.

“They sound like they’re working together, but I’m pretty sure she’s just using him,” admitted Firesong. 

“We have to find the special tree. Have any of you noticed a special tree anywhere?” I asked. 

They shook their heads.

“There’s millions of trees in Aranthlas. How are we going to find it?” moaned Rockstorm. “It’ll take forever!” 

“You know guys,” spoke Firesong. “Based on what I’ve heard, imprisoned in another dimension, the woman's voice, I bet she’s the daughter of the Purple One. The one who was blotted out in blood on the wall from the other day.” 

“If she's the daughter of the Purple One, then she’s super powerful, how are we going to stop her?” added Rockstorm.

“We won’t have to if we keep her from coming,” I replied slyly. 

“Yes, but how are we going to stop her from healing him?” continued Rockstorm. 

“We don’t know for sure that she’s the cause, though it is very likely,” stated Firesong. 

“Still, what if she does enter Aranthalas? How are we going to stop her?” I continued.

We were silent for a while as we thought. 

“I don’t think we can, her magical abilities are more powerful than ours. She’d nail us for sure,” sighed Rockstorm.

“The Dragonstone?” suggested Firesong. 

“Maybe...we better find that special tree fast,” I suggested.

“Before we do that, let’s stop at my grandma’s and heal up first. I can barely walk, let alone fly,” decided Rockstorm.

So we flew to Lightstorm’s tree.

“I wonder if she was what helped Red Blood in that fight today?” wondered Firesong. 

“Hey, I bet you’re right!” I agreed.

“How? She’s in another dimension?” countered Rockstorm.

“She’s the daughter of the Robed Ruler. Who knows what capabilities she has?” I replied. 

“So we should have a backup plan if she does make it through the portal, just in case.” stated Firesong. “We’ll need to imprison her again, since she’s immortal.”

“Maybe the runes on the wall have answers. Yet we can’t read them,” suggested Rockstorm.

“Maybe that’s the Dragonstone’s task! To decipher the runes that unlock the answer to finishing off Red Blood!” I declared.

“It’s possible,” shrugged Firesong. 

We reached Lightstorm’s treehouse at midnight. Rockstorm and I transformed back into humans and lay down on our makeshift cots while she fed us her nasty tasting tea. Afterwards we all went to bed and soon fell asleep. 

The next day, we got up, ate breakfast and stocked up our supplies. 

“You guys, I have an idea. What if the special tree is Lightstorm’s tree?” spoke Firesong. 

“It’s worth it to have a look,” agreed Rockstorm.

I nodded. Just then, Lightstorm came over to us.  

“What’s this I hear about special trees?” she asked as a smile spread across her face. 

“Captain Red Blood is looking for a special tree so he can create a portal to let the Robed Ruler’s evil daughter back into Aranthalas so they can take over the world!” I blurted out.

She looked surprised. 

“My, my, isn’t this a pickle! Well, what does this special tree look like?” 

“It’s got a hole in it that can fit the Dragonstone in its upgraded form. That’s all we know,” replied Rockstorm. 

“Actually, we were thinking it might be your tree. Or, we could at least check while we’re here?” inquired Firesong.

“You won’t have to do that, because I’ve always known this tree was the special tree. That’s why I built my treehouse on this tree, to guard the portal,” answered Lightstorm. 

“You knew this tree could turn into a portal?!” gasped Rockstorm. 

“I told you I get visions every once in a while. Well, I had this vision that this tree had the ability to turn into a portal and that I was appointed to guard this tree from unwanted guests. That’s why I’ve always stayed here. You see, I heal animals and whatnot by day, but I’m a guardian by night,” she said as she winked at us.

There were always so many secrets to unlock with her. She knew more than she let on about things. 

“Can you show us?” asked Firesong.

“Of course! Follow me,” agreed Lightstorm.

We followed her into her bedroom and saw right above the head of her bed was a hole. She had put a cloth over it and used it as a cupboard. Clever. She pulled away the cloth and we saw tiny runes and symbols around the hole. 

“Wow,” I marveled, “And to think we just so happened to stop by on our quest.” 

“Hmm, yes, quite the coincidence,” muttered Lightstorm sarcastically.

“So your vision said that this tree could become a portal?” reminded Firesong.

“Indeed,”

“Then we better stay here and help guard it until Red Blood shows up,” I decided. 

“Won’t have to wait long! We already have a visitor!” cried Lightstorm as she ran to the window. 

We looked outside, Red Blood was in his dragon form and  had just landed. He was looking directly at us. 

Red Blood changed into his human form and broke into the treehouse. Yet we were waiting for him and ready for a fight. 

“Overheard you three whispering outside the cave last night,” he smirked. “So I guess this is to say...thank you for the hint!”

As soon as he had sarcastically thanked us, he shot fire at everything! The tree house burst into flames. We quickly helped Lightstorm out of the treehouse, then rushed back to find Red Blood at the hole. The tree caught on fire. It gave me an idea.

“Firesong, burn this tree to the ground! There won’t be a portal if there is no tree!” I exclaimed.

She agreed and started blasting the tree with fire while Rockstorm and I played ‘keep away’ with Red Blood. Rockstorm made a swipe for the Dragonstone and Red Blood shot fire at him. Yet he dodged and it hit the tree instead while I grabbed the Dragonstone and ran off. I passed it to Rockstorm and shot water at Red Blood’s face. Yet that only infuriated him. He turned into a dragon and to counter we turned into our dragon forms too. Rockstorm clawed him in the jaw and Red Blood swung his tail at Rockstorm’s face. I shot water at him from behind while Rockstorm showered him with rocks. He fell to the ground. When he got up, the tree was in flames. 

“No!” he roared. “You have doomed me for the rest of my life!” 

I smirked. Yet Red Blood quickly swung at me with his arm and stole the Dragonstone right from under me! I shot water at him but he took off. Rockstorm was about to go after him when I stopped him. He gave me a confused look, but agreed. It was becoming extremely hot with an entire tree burning nearby. It was already hot that day. The rising heat was wearing me out. 

“What matters is that he can’t create the portal. There aren't any more trees that can turn into a portal. If there were, the Purple One’s daughter would have said so. So since this one is gone, we don’t need to go after him right now,” I explained. “Besides, I feel like the heat’s draining my energy.” 

Firesong joined us. 

“We did it!” she cheered.

It was good to see her smile, I hadn’t seen it in days. 

“So what do we do next?” questioned Rockstorm. 

“Oh! We need to free the warriors in Fire Clan Cave!” I said just as I remembered we had trapped them in there with a giant rock. 

“What about my grandma, where is she going to live? All her stuff got burned up!” added Rockstorm.

“And did those children we freed get sent home? What if Red Blood just captures them again?” reminded Firesong. 

“Well, let’s prioritize. What’s the most important?” I asked them. 

“My grandma!” replied Rockstorm.

“The children!” responded Firesong. 

“I was hoping you’d say the blackmailed warriors,” I sighed. 

“Fine, let’s throw a dice on it. Geyser, if the dice lands on 1 or 4, we do your thing first. Rockstorm, if the dice lands on 2 or 5, we help your grandma first. And if it lands on 3 or 6, we do my idea first. Got it?”

“Yeah, but where are we going to get dice?” added Rockstorm.

“I have one, I always carry it around,” stated Firesong. 

“Why do you always carry dice?” I asked.

“Why do you do eeny meeny miny moe?” she countered. 

I saw her point.

“Would anyone prefer to roll?” continued Firesong. 

“It’s not trick dice, is it?” asked Rockstorm. 

“No, because that wouldn’t be fair,” admitted Firesong.

“Fine, I’ll roll,” I decided. 

I rolled the dice. It landed on 4.

“Yes!” I smiled. 

Firesong and Rockstorm didn’t look happy. 

“What? We will check on your grandma and the children afterwards.” I reminded them.

“I think you didn’t roll right, let me have a go,” stated Rockstorm.

He rolled it. It landed on 1.

“What? No way! I’m rolling again!” he declared. 

He rolled it and landed on 4 again. Firesong rolled and it landed on 4 too. For the fun of it, I rolled and received a 1. 

“Well, I guess it’s settled then,” sighed Firesong.

“You sure it’s not trick dice?” questioned Rockstorm.

“Positive,” she replied. 

I looked over at Lightstorm. She was smiling broadly and                                                                                                                                                                winked at me. I wondered what that was supposed to mean. I knew she had some magical abilities, but she couldn’t have made the dice roll a 1 and a 4 every time. Could she?

 Thus, we traveled back to the cave near Fire Clan. Yet when we got there, none of them wanted to leave. 

“Why not?” I asked the army. 

“Because then he would destroy our clans and leave nothing but ashes and rubble. Besides, what if he decides to capture us again?” protested one warrior from the Ice Clan. 

“But if you’re in his army, you’ll be used to destroy other clans. Which means that all your clans will be attacked in turn. You’re only postponing your destruction,” I argued.

“What makes you think Captain Red Blood is someone to trust? He’s evil and has even admitted his goal is to take over Aranthalas,” added Firesong. 

They thought about this for a while. 

“What do you expect us to do?! Mutiny?” demanded a warrior from Lightning Clan. “He’ll be sure to kill us!”

“I don’t even know if mutiny would work. He’s a dragon. One breath of fire and we’re smoked to a crisp,” stated a Plant Clan warrior. 

“I say we go our separate ways and each go back to our own clans. Fighting for Captain Red Blood isn’t as bad as being stuck in an army alongside Fire Clan warriors! Not to mention people from Lightning Clan!” spat a Water Clan warrior. 

“Easy for you to say! Your water essence is practically evaporating off of you thanks to Fire Clan Warriors! My electricity is sputtering everywhere!” grumbled the warrior from Lightning Clan. 

“You keep shocking me!” yelled an Ice Clan Warrior. “And the heat in here is making me faint!” 

“Oh you think you call that feeling faint?!” declared the same warrior from Plant Clan as before. “My hair won’t wave on its own anymore. And it's all thanks to everyone’s essences making the cave weird with the weather! My flowers in my hair are dying!” 

“Why do you think everything is all our fault?! We’re not trying to burn you!” snapped a Fire Warrior.

“Really?! I think everyone else believes that you fiery reds are out to get everyone and take over last we checked!” argued a warrior from Earth Clan. 

I could not take it anymore.

“EVERYONE SIMMER DOWN—NOW!” I ordered. 

Everyone grew silent. 

“I know what it's like to live with someone who’s elemental power is your weakness...and vice versa,” I added as I looked at Firesong. “I thought we would never get along, or worse, that we would be each other's end, that right, death. But we didn’t, in fact, we ended up becoming great friends! You’ve got to give that person a second chance! When you focus on the good qualities someone has, you tend to ignore the difference. I’ve found that I actually have a few things in common with people from other clans,” I explained.

Firesong stepped up. “This shows that you don’t have to be enemies. After a while, you begin to not notice the differences you may have with someone.” 

The warriors began to murmur amongst themselves. 

“You have two options!” I declared. “Live as blackmailed prisoners in this cave until your captain gets back, or stand up against your captor! Either choice makes you be around those from other clans.”

“Whoever wants to be free! Follow me!” commanded Rockstorm. 

Many people followed Rockstorm as he turned into a dragon and rolled the stone away from the cave. Over half of the troops left the cave that day and trained to fight against Red Blood. The others left and traveled to Lightning Clan cave, which was believed to be Red Blood’s new base. 

We returned to Lightstorm and dropped her and what was left of her stuff with Rockstorm’s aunt and sister. Then we made sure that all the children had returned home safely. 

The warriors that chose freedom were going to build a new clan. They called it the United Clan, because all six clans were living together. They were going to group together to fight Red Blood and his army. They traveled to Ice Shard lake and set up camp and spread the news to all the clans for people who wanted to join and fight against Red Blood’s tyranny. To our surprise and relief, many people from all the clans came and within a week, they had built their first building in the United Clan. People moved their belongings and possessions into the Clan. The Clan grew in size and population and surrounded Ice Shard Lake. Many people preferred to still live in their own clans. Yet with their Clan Crystal missing and now they were small in numbers, they realized that this left them defenseless. So within a month, everyone from all the clans, except Fire Clan, had moved to the United Clan, even the chiefs and chieftesses were there:

Chief Grumblepound →  Earth Clan, 

Chieftess Snowsleet → Ice Clan

Chief River → Water Clan

Chief Shockwave → Lightning Clan

Chieftess Acacia → Plant Clan

The leaders had set up a council; they didn’t always get along. Rockstorm and I were looking for our families to check and see how they were doing, however, we ran into someone else. 

“Swiftstreak? Fancy seeing you here!” I gasped.

We hadn’t forgotten how she had told Red Blood our plans. 

“Let me guess, you’re here to spy on us again?” asked Rockstorm stiffly. 

“I had to stock up on food,” she replied coolly. She leaned against the wall of a dark alley while eating an apple. “Give my regards to little miss hothead for me.” Then she disappeared into the shadows. 

“Wait!” I cried running after her. “I have a mission for you!”

 Swiftstreak emerged from the shadows.

“What makes you think I want to do your work?” she said hautilly.

“I’m sure you really don’t like working for Captain Red Blood. “Why don’t you work for us instead? You go back to him, pretend you’re working for him, and tell him false information on us. Then you secretly eavesdrop on him,” I explained.

“I’m already doing a double spy mission. My clan thinks I’m spying on Captain Red Blood for them. I was, yet I got caught, and Red Blood said he would spare my life if I worked for him. So the tables were flipped. Along the way I met you three, his prized targets. Let’s just say he paid me very well for your valuable information,” she said slyly.

Rockstorm glared at her. I was wondering why she was telling us this. Spies aren’t supposed to give away anything, yet she was a spy in training so she’s not as experienced. Or maybe, she wanted to give away this information? We couldn’t trust her, and I could tell she was onto something. Maybe she was trying to lure information from us, get our guard down...or something. 

“If you spy on Captain Red Blood for us, we’ll let you bring two more spies in training with you on your mission,” I added.

“You’ll have to convince me that working for you is worth it. For instance, will I get paid?” replied Swiftstreak.

“You’re on the winning side, that should be enough to convince you,” stated Rockstorm proudly.

“You don’t know that!” snapped Swiftstreak.

“Yeah we do, the Dragonstone said that in a prophecy,” he answered back. 

The Dragonstone hadn’t actually said that. Yet we always figured we would win. After all, why would the Dragonstone call us to do its work if we weren’t going to win? It said we were called to save the world. That’s what we intend to do. If the Dragonstone talks of a prophecy, then it has to come true. 

“Really? You can speak to the Dragonstone?” inquired Swiftstreak.

“Yep, but only when we touch it or its pedestal,” remembered Rockstorm. 

“Rock, stop! You’re giving away information to her!” I whispered to him.

“Well, I’ll have to think about your offer. Give me till tomorrow to respond,” she reassured and walked away.

“Now she’s going to tell Captain Red Blood our secrets!” I moaned.

“Oops, sorry Gey. She made us look foolish... I wanted to back us up.”

“That’s the point! She was playing you, now we really do look foolish. Let’s not tell Firesong, I could almost smell the smoke billowing from her ears, if she were to find out.”

“I can smell smoke actually,” replied Rockstorm.

“It’s probably from someone’s grill or pit or—” 

“Or me?” asked Firesong.

“Oh dew drops! You heard?”

“All of it,” she responded coldly. 

We walked in silence back to our camp. 

On our way to the camp, we met up with Aunt Limea, Glissanstone, and Lightstorm. Shortly after talking to them, we met up with Rockstorm’s dad and brothers. The Granite family was reunited. Rockstorm explained to his dad the connection with Lightstorm. Firesong and I felt awkward when Rockdust and Lightstorm cried as they hugged each other. 

Hence, Firesong went back to the camp and I continued to search for my family, and soon did. They were living by Ice Shard Lake, as were many of the citizens of Water Clan. Mother had been very worried about me and was relieved to hear that the three of us were fine, for the most part. We spent the rest of the day catching up, playing in the lake, eating dinner together. It reminded me of the happy memories we had made as a family. Back before the world was being attacked by tryannists and more of my siblings were alive. Rockstorm’s mother was the only member in his family who had died. Plus, Rockstorm had been little so it wasn’t as big of a deal for him. This was a bigger issue for me, because I had known Splashcanon better than Rockstorm had known his mother. Of course, with being the tenth kid in the family, and Splashcanon being the first, we were sixteen years apart. Therefore, we hadn’t been close with each other. I was still grieved that I had five less siblings than I used to. That was too many family members to lose in one day. 

Trying to get my mind off of my siblings’ deaths, I went to check on Firesong and Rockstorm to see how they were doing before I went to bed. Rockstorm was staying with his family and catching up like I had been. Firesong was alone sitting on a rock by the tent. She was the only member of Fire Clan in the whole United Clan. When she saw me her face brightened. 

“There you are! I thought you would never come back!” she smiled.

“Well, I wanted to let you know that Rockstorm and I are staying with our families,” I stated. “But since you’re here by yourself, I was thinking you could stay with my—” 

“I don’t need your pity!” she snapped. 

I was taken back. 

“I’m not pitying you, all I wanted was to make sure you’re ok,” I replied defensively. 

Her face softened.

“Sorry, it’s just...you know how family reunions make me feel,” she muttered. “I’d rather stay away from your family especially Gey, it just...wouldn’t end well since I’m from Fire Clan.”

“My parents would treat you like they do all my other friends. You’d sleep with my sisters. That way you won’t be alone.”

“Would they really? I would rather be alone. I just feel like I don’t belong anywhere.”

“Fine, suit yourself, but if I ever meet your family, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind!”

“What for?” asked Firesong.

“For disowning you and making you sensitive to these things,” I replied sharply as I walked away. 

As I walked into the night, I felt the ground shake. Firesong felt it too. We looked into the night sky to see a bright light shining. It was coming from the north.

“Uh-oh,” moaned Firesong.

“Do you know what’s happening?” I inquired.

Firesong looked at me gravely. 

“Captain Red Blood found a way. She’s here.”

“Hail! Mighty Starbreeze! Hail! Queen of Destruction!” chanted Red Blood’s warriors. 

Red Blood bowed low to the fallen goddess as she stepped out of the portal. She took a deep breath.

“Finally!” she exclaimed. “Aranthalas, I’m back!”

Queen Starbreeze snapped her fingers. Maids, commanders, and warriors appeared in purple uniforms out of thin air. She snapped again and throne carriers appeared. They walked up to her and knelt down while she sat on the throne. Then they carried her to a high rock. Queen Starbreeze looked around.

“Now let it be known you mortals! I am the mighty Queen Starbreeze of destruction and chaos! You all bow to me and do whatever I command of you. Captain Red Blood will be my right hand, so you must obey him!”

Then turning to Red Blood she added: “Is THIS your lair?! Really? You hide out in some cave?!”

“Yes, my queen. Yet if you want any changes, please, make yourself at home,” he replied as he gazed at her radiance. 

“Hmph! I’ll do more than just that!” she replied. 

She snapped her fingers and a platform with a stairway to it appeared for her throne. A canopy made of fine, glissaning purple jewels with flowers decorating it appeared over her throne. She ordered two of her maids to fan her. Then she ordered Red Blood to join her.

“Now Red Blood,” she said looking at him directly, “I give you authority over my six generals. In fact, I am promoting you to the highest ranking general in the entire army!” she decided. 

“Thank you, your majesty,” bowed Red Blood.

“And while you’re at it, bring me some grape juice. I’m feeling thirsty.”

“Um...your majesty, w-we don’t have any,” stammered Red Blood.

“WHAT?! No grape juice? Well I ought to--no wait, I can just create some,” she mused.

She snapped her fingers. A violet chalice of grape juice appeared in her other hand. She took a sip.

“Splendid! Now you servant girl over there! Yes you! Bring this man his new uniform. Oh right, I need to create it first.”

Queen Starbreeze snapped her fingers again and Red Blood’s uniform appeared in the girl’s hands. The shieldmaiden then rushed over and gave him a shield, helmet, armour, belt and sword with the Queen Starbreeze’s emblem on them. Her emblem was a black ‘X’ over a purple star. The star signifies that she’s a goddess, daughter of the robed ruler. The ‘X’ means she’s befallen. Red Blood took one last glance at his queen before he joined the lower ranking generals. He began to discuss their next attack in the plan. While he did so, Queen Starbreeze created a banquet for her breakfast. She ate as she watched him.

“Sir! Reporting for duty! Sir!” reported one of the six generals. 

“What is your name, general?” questioned Red Blood. 

“General Plum! Sir! General of squadron C. 2,000 men.”

“Very good, since you were the first to report, you shall be my second in command general in ranking,” decided Red Blood. 

“Sir! Thank you! Sir!” replied General Plum. 

Soon the other generals reported. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I can’t believe he found another way to bring her into Aranthlas!” I exclaimed in frustration. “And it’s all my fault! Rock wanted to go after him, but I refused because I didn’t think there was another way! What are we going to do now!?” 

“Gey, don’t be so hard on yourself. I would have done the same thing. None of us could have imagined there could be another way,” sighed Firesong soothingly. 

We were traveling to Captain Red Blood’s lair. We assumed that’s where we had seen the light. Even if the light wasn’t there, we could always find clues. Maybe we would be able to retrieve the Dragonstone? We were flying over the Desert Plains now, it was around ten in the morning. I was also upset that we had to cut our visit short with our family. Firesong, however, was rather relieved. I learned there is little or no rest for the ones who work hard to save the world. I wondered when all of this would be over. As I reflected, I looked down at the Desert Plains below. 

“Hey! I think I see three black dots down there. I wonder what they are!” I called.

“Maybe it's Swiftstreak and her spy colleagues?” suggested Rockstorm. 

“I highly doubt it,” insisted Firesong. 

“I’m going to fly down and check it out,” stated Rockstorm.

He swooped down and flew towards the three dots. My curiosity got the best of me and I flew down too. Sure enough, it was Swiftstreak and two of her companions. 

“What are you three doing here?” asked Rockstorm smiling broadly.

“We’re trying to find you! You just left this morning and never told us where you were going. So I figured you were on your way to Captain Red Blood’s lair. Was I right?” explained Swiftstreak.

“So these are the three chosen ones?” stated one of Swiftstreaks companions. 

“Oh right! That’s Jetlash, he’s my older brother, and this is Wildsky, my younger brother,” explained Swiftstreak. 

“It’s good to see you! We thought you were simply going to report to Captain Red Blood. Was I also right?” asked Rockstorm

“Uh...well-no, not exactly. I-I decided to take your advice on the double mission. I’ll spy on Captain Red Blood for you three and my clan, while making him think we're spying for him,” Swiftstreak said as casually as she could.

“Great! We’ll help you set up a base,” offered Rockstorm.

Firesong flew down.

“What are we helping them with?” she demanded. 

“A base! They’ve agreed to spy for us!” cheered Rockstorm.

“How do we know you won’t betray us again, because that last time cost us greatly!” she scolded. 

“We can’t prove it, so I’ll give you a blood oath,” stated Swiftstreak.

“Whoa!” I gasped, “I don’t think there’s any need for a--”

“It’s settled then, do you have a pin?” agreed Firesong. 

“Seriously? Is blood really going to prove anything?” I questioned them.

Rockstorm gave me this look that read: of course it does. I rolled my eyes. There was my answer. Swiftstreak pulled out one of her stilettos from her hair. Maybe blood oaths are a common way spies use to promise something? Swiftstreak pricked her hand then Firesong pricked hers. Their palms bled and then they put their hands together as Swiftstreak stated the conditions.

“I, Swiftstreak, hereby vow to Firesong, the hotthead, that I shall never betray her or her friends in spying. Nor will I give their information to Captain Red Blood. Should I break this oath, I will be condemned to die. Should she give away our information to Captain Red Blood, she shall be condemned to die. This vow is signed in blood. Agreed?”

“Agreed,”

“Good. Now, about this spying business, we each brought with us a few empty books to write and record our observations in. When you stop by our base, you can read our records. We’ll make sure to date and cite our findings,” stated Swiftstreak. 

“Ok, let’s travel to Captain Red Blood’s base, build you three a hideout, so you only have to go a short distance. Sound good?” Rockstorm suggested. 

“Sounds great!” exclaimed Swiftstreak. 

“Ok, you can ride on us, it’ll get us there faster,” suggested Rockstorm. 

I wasn’t surprised when none of them wanted to ride on Firesong. Swiftstreak wanted to ride with Rockstorm and the other two rode on me.  I found out Jetlash was older than Swiftstreak by three years, and Wildsky was younger than Swiftstreak by two years.

 I was positive after hearing their new names that they had picked them out themselves. Those names simply didn’t make sense. I just couldn’t picture a wild sky or a swift streak. I didn’t even know what a jetlash was. I guess that’s the fun of picking new names. I began to wonder what I would decide for my new name if I ever became a spy. Something cool like….Bladestorm or Nightbeam. Those names didn’t make sense either….perfect! 

We arrived near Lightning Clan cave by early afternoon. The problem was, there was hardly a place to hide. You couldn’t put a hideout in the middle of the Plains in Lightning Clan Corner, because everyone would see you. Firewood Forest wouldn’t work because Fire Clan hunts and scavenges in there and would be sure to find the spies. The beach was an idea, yet Firesong had a better one. 

“What if we built you three an underground hideout?” she suggested.

“How are you going to do that?” asked Swiftstreak.

“I’ll dig you one, I excel at digging,” boasted Rockstorm.

“Besides, it would be cooler during the summer and you could stay closer to his lair and yet be hidden at the same time,” added Firesong. 

“How long do you think it’ll take?” questioned Swiftstreak.

“All day and probably the next. How big do you want it?” replied Rockstorm.  

“I have some blueprints…” stated Swiftstreak pulling them out. “The hideout will be one room, 14 by 12 feet for three cots and a table.” 

“Yeah, that should definitely take me at least two days to dig. You guys can start making the table,” declared Rockstorm.

“You sure you don’t need any help Rock?” I inquired.

“Thanks, but I got it, this is something people from Earth Clan are naturals at. Just like how you guys are super good at swimming.”

So we worked for three days, yet in the end, we were all impressed at what we had accomplished. It was a dusty dirt floor, with dirt and stone walls. The hideout was at least foot below the surface. The only ventilation was the entrance, which was a wooden door at the end of a slope into the ground.  Three cots were laid against a wall, all a foot apart from each other. A square table made of wood stood against the wall opposite the wall with the cots. The wall with the door was in between the two walls with the table and cots. Stumps and logs were the chairs. A fire pit was outside to cook their food and with the spare time the five of us had had, we managed to make boxes and shelves to store items with. 

“What do you think?” Rockstorm asked Swiftstreak hopefully.

“This will do great! Thank you so much!” she beamed at Rockstorm. He smiled back. Firesong noticed this as well, a look of distaste spread upon her face. In a huff, she left the room. 

“Where are you going?” I called after her. 

“I think we’ve wasted enough time here, we should get going. Time to check out this new threat we have and retrieve the Dragonstone!” she declared. 

Rockstorm and I left the hideout, the spies followed us out. 

“Well, see ya next time, whenever that is,” sighed Rockstorm. 

I waved goodbye as we turned into dragons and flew off. Firesong was already ahead of us. 

“So...any ideas of how Captain Red Blood got her over into Aranthalas?” I asked the others when we caught up. 

“There's only one way he could have possibly done it,” marveled Firesong. “I read about it years ago. He must have made a deal with her and gave up something.”

“Like what? His greatest possession?” asked Rockstorm.

“Exactly, I just wonder why he would make something that huge. He must really believe in taking Aranthalas over,” breathed Firesong.

“I don’t see why it’s a big deal. He probably gave her money, or….the Dragonstone!” I exclaimed.

“No, no, Gey, no one can give the Dragonstone, because it doesn’t belong to them,” reassured Firesong.

“What is someone’s greatest possession?” I wondered. “Life? Would they die for their life obsession?”

“Not yet, but eventually. In Red Blood’s case, he devoted his life of service to the befallen goddess of destruction and chaos. Little does he know it, but she controls his life. It’s Queen Starbreeze’s now, and there’s no way he can go back. That promise will twist him until he dies. Since the Dragonstone already kills him slowly, he sought her. Yes, she’ll give him strength, but it won’t last. You’ve got to devote your life to something that truly satisfies you. The Robed Ruler is the one who truly is in charge of everything. It’s he who we should follow. The Dragonstone is simply his intervention between him and Aranthalas, but I hear that’s only half of the whole story,” explained Firesong wistfully. 

Rockstorm and I were silent for a long time. 

“We need to read this book you found sometime,” I replied.

“Definitely! But in the meantime, I think we’re here,” Rockstorm stated. 

We landed and turned into our human forms. We went to the cave to see a purple throne with a canopy over it. A lady was sitting on the purple throne with two women fanning her. She had violet colored hair and wore a dress to match. The tips of the dress with black and she wore a black crown with her symbol on it. She wore a black necklace with her symbol on it, black high heels, and black frilly sleeves. Red Blood suddenly appeared around the corner. He was followed by six of the lady’s generals. 

“So? Do we have a plan?” I asked the others. 

“With the size of her army, we’ll need back up. No doubt they’re planning to attack soon. We just need to find the Dragonstone…..” whispered Firesong as she laid eyes the Dragonstone. 

It was on a purple pillow on top of a different pedestal next to her throne. 

“Well, that makes things difficult,” sighed Firesong. “We’re going to need the spies for this, they’re sneaky.”

Then we saw Captain Red Blood join her. 

“My lady,” he bowed. “We—”

“That’s Queen Starbreeze to you, general,” she interrupted.

“My deepest apologies, Queen Starbreeze, the generals and I have devised a plan for the attack. May I go over it with you?” 

“Yes! Yes! Finally!”

Just then a guard saw us! We quickly got out of there before things got dicey.We flew back to the spies’ base. I was wondering what Queen Starbreeze had been in charge of back when she used to help take care of Aranthalas. When Queen Starbreeze left, the world wasn’t lacking anything. So what was it? What did she do? Whatever it was, it must not have been important, since the world of Aranthalas seemed to be getting along fine without her. 

That night, around the firepit…

“I wonder if the Dragonstone’s task is to defeat Queen Starbreeze?” I thought aloud. “But it wouldn’t make sense, because the Dragonstone brought her here as well. It wouldn’t have done that unless it wanted her here. I wonder why?”

“Are you sure the Dragonstone did help bring her here? What if it was her own power?” suggested Rockstorm.

“If her own power could bring her into Aranthalas, she would have done so centuries ago,” stated Firesong.

“But what if she was just biding her time and now is the right time for her to enter?” added Swiftstreak.

“True…”mused Rockstorm.

“How do we know that these are the only options?” asked Wildsky. 

“We don’t, we’re just super sure they are,” I replied.

Wildsky smirked.

“I think we need to really take a look at those runes, they could help,” remarked Firesong. 

“What about the Dragonstone rescue mission?” insisted Rockstorm.

“I don’t want to go into that with simply guesses. There’s thousands of warriors there and we’re just juveniles and the odds are against us. We don’t know what to expect. Yes, we need back up, but what we also need is information,” I explained. 

“That’s what we’re going to give you!” reminded Wildsky.

“Right, but I think information from the past could prove useful too. You guys spy on the recent stuff, we’ll go back to the Enchanted Volcano and check the runes out,” I decided.

“But how are we going to read the runes without the Dragonstone?” questioned Firesong.

“Who says we need the Dragonstone to read the runes?” countered Rockstorm. 

“Ok, but how are we going to read the runes then?” asked Firesong.

He shrugged.

“Before you go, why don’t we tell you what we’ve found out about Queen Starbreeze,” stated Jetlash. 

“You've had a chance to spy already?” I gasped.

“I’ve been spying on her for a few days now,” he replied coolly.  

“We didn’t even notice you had left us! Were we really that occupied with building the hideout?!” exclaimed Rockstorm.

“Well, let’s just say that I’m not a spy for no reason. Anyway, she possesses all six powers and her necklace gives her the ability to psychic powers. I saw her necklace glow purple and she lifted a boulder out of the way once. I say, while you’re at it, steal her necklace too!”

“Like we can pull that off!” I chuckled. 

“Aren’t you the crystal thieves?” reminded Swiftstreak. 

“Well, yeah…”

“Didn’t you win the War of the Dragons!” pressed Swiftstreak. “And touch the Dragonstone unscathed? Didn’t you three kill a giant fish? Or nearly die from explosions? Or fight General Red Blood countless times and never lose?”

“Ok! Ok! Give him a break, Swift!” chided Firesong.  

“Miss hothead speaks again!” snapped Swiftstreak.

“No, Firesong’s right, Swiftstreak, but I get it. Thanks for reminding us that we are no ordinary teenagers!” I smiled.

“So do we go to read runes or plan a rescue mission?” inquired Rockstorm.

“Well, since we don’t know how to read the runes just yet, I say rescue mission. However, we don’t know what we’re in for. We got to be on our toes. Will you three help us?” I asked Swiftstreak.

The next day, we brainstormed ideas for how to get the Dragonstone and the necklace. 

“I say we make her fall asleep!” declared Wildsky.

“How are we going to do that?” asked Rockstorm. 

“Plant Clan has special plants that no one else has. One of them creates a pollen so strong that simply breathing it in will make you fall asleep in a matter of minutes!” he explained.

I wondered if Swiftstreak and her brothers were from Plant Clan. 

“How long would you be asleep?” asked Firesong.

I could tell she liked the plan. 

“About two hours. That should be enough time,” stated Wildsky. 

“I don’t think we should do that. It’s not a reliable tactic. For instance, how are we going to get her to smell the pollen?” argued Swiftstreak.

“Oh...I hadn’t thought of that.” admitted Wildsky.

“Do you have a better idea?” Firesong challenged Swiftstreak. 

They eyed each other darkly. Why did they have to hate each other so much? I thought we were beginning to work together as a team?

“No,” sighed Swiftstreak looking down. 

“Alright, then you three continue spying, and the three of us will go to Plant Clan to get the plants. It’s empty now anyways, so no one should notice,” decided Rockstorm. “Say Wildsky, what does the plant look like?” 

“Well, the inside of its petals have green spots with purple lining, but on the outside the petals are orange. It looks like a large tulip and it's bigger than a ball that’s the size of a rock and-”

“Maybe you should just come with us?” I suggested.

“What?! No!” gasped Swiftsreak. “What if he gets hurt or--or…”

“Don’t worry, Swift, we’ll take good care of him,” reassured Rockstorm.

“And how are we supposed to do all the work with one less spy?” added Swiftstreak, still panicking.

“We’ll leave one of us with you guys, like….Firesong,” decided Rockstorm.

“What!? No! No! No! Absolutely not! There’s no way I’m staying with them! Why don’t you leave Geyser with them? They get along!” snapped Firesong.

“Firesong, we think this is a great opportunity for you two to get along,” I whispered to her.

She pouted. 

“Besides,” I added louder. “We wouldn’t want you to accidentally start a forest fire in the jungle.”

Jetlash chuckled.

“Do you think leaving her with us is a good idea?” questioned Swiftstreak. “Does she even know a thing about spying? What if she blows our cover? She’s so..bright, ugh, she’ll stand out. Sure, she’s smart, but it takes more than brains to spy successfully.” 

“You know what?!” flared Firesong with small wisps of smoke starting to fume out of her ears, “I want to stay. In fact,  I’m going to prove to you that I don’t need training to be successful! So there! It’s on!”

“She’s packing heat as always,” I whispered to Rockstorm.

He smiled knowingly. 

“I think it’d be good for you to take Wildsky. We could use a break from him,” admitted Jetlash.

“Hey! I heard that!” called Wildsky. “In that case, I want Firesong to stay with you. That means I can go with Geyser and Rockstorm!” 

“Well then, it’s decided then. Sorry you two, but the odds are against you. We take Wildsky and Firesong stays with you,” decided Rockstorm. 

The girls sighed. Rockstorm and I turned into dragons and I let Wildsky hop on my back. 

“Try not to kill each other while we’re gone!” I called out as we flew off. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“If you mess this up, our cover will be blown and our career will be down the drain. So, we’re going to show you a few techniques whether you like it or not,” stated Swiftstreak coldly.

“Fine, let’s get this over with,” agreed Firesong as she sat on a log. 

“First things first, try to breathe quietly and slowly. Make sure you don’t hold your breath or you’ll let out a big gasp and alert the person. Got that?”

“Yes, commander Swift,” moaned Firesong sarcastically. “Ugh! Is it recess yet? I can’t take any more lectures!”

“Um....I’m going to go spy on them, I’ll leave you here with her,” stated Jetlash as he slipped out. 

“It’s going to be a long day,” sighed Swiftstreak putting a hand on her forehead.  

“A very long day,” muttered Firesong in agreement.

After a couple hours, the two of them went to Red Blood’s lair. 

“Alright,” whispered Swiftstreak. “You hide behind those rocks. I’ll hide here. Remember, stay concealed and quiet. Stay out of sight from Red Blood’s warriors on the other side of these rocks and bushes. Make sure to listen and concentrate on what they’re saying.” 

“I know! I know!” erupted Firesong.

“Shh!” shushed Swiftstreak.

“You shh!”

“SHH!!!”

“SHHHHHHH!!!!”

“Hey! Stop shushing me!” yelled a warrior.

“I ain’t!” hollered another warrior.

“Yeah you was!”

“No I isn’t!” 

Swiftstreak and Firesong stopped shushing each other. Firesong quietly crept to her position. 

“This is so boring!” Firesong complained to herself. “And why do I have to be stuck with her!? Where’s Jetlash? I wish I was with Geyser and Rockstorm. They’re like brothers to me, since I don’t have a real family anymore. Why am I here? I was called into this crazy mission with the fate of the world at the edge of chaos and destruction. When will this end? How much of this can I take?!” 

She looked up into the sky as the sun set. 

“Wherever you are, boys, I hope you’re faring better than me,” sighed Firesong.

“Aye! What’s all the mumble jumble!?” yelled a warrior.

“Oops!” muttered Firesong quietly.

“Di’ you ‘ear ‘at?” called a warrior to another.

“Oi! I ‘eard some’n a little earli’ah ago too,” remembered the other warrior. 

“Ah yeah?”

“Yeh, sound like singing.”

“Singing? Oi! That’s nasty!

“Uk! I nar!

“What’s any of this us singing abart anywhos?” 

“Uh don know, who’s got time fer dat anyways?”

“Not oi,”

“Not oi either,”

“Must be one of the maids. Anyways, did you ‘ear General Red Blard?”

“Yah, everyday,”

“Nar, not dat! I mean dis morn’n. He said we be attacking soon. “

“Oi! Where?”

“Some village, a big one, with thousands and thousands ar people!”

“I thought they all left!”

“Well they had to ‘ave gone somewhere, and dat somewhere is this village! It’s near this lake.”

“Sounds noice!”

They continued to patrol.

“I better tell the others!” cried Firesong. 

She ran down the gravelly hill and slipped.

“Ow!” squeaked Firesong.

“What on Aranthalas was that!?” asked a warrior.

He looked over and saw Firesong. 

“Oi! General Red Blard! I think we have a spy in our midst!”

He came over. “My name is General Red Blood! Not Red Blard!” He looked at Firesong. “I know her! She's one of the trio! Where there’s one, there’s more. Get her!” 

Firesong flapped her wings and took off. Yet the warrior was faster. Firesong didn’t have time to look behind her, but suddenly, she heard a smack. She turned around. Jetlash was fighting the warrior. His cover was blown! Firesong flew back to help him and shot fire at the warrior. He plummeted. 

“Let’s get out of here!” Jetlash said urgently. “Follow me! Let’s get Swiftstreak and we’ll regroup!”

They flew until they found her. More warriors were after them. 

“Go to the base! Jetlash and I will fend them off to give you time!” ordered Swiftstreak.

Firesong didn’t need an invitation. She was out of sight in no time. Swiftstreak swung her battlestaff at the warriors while Jetlash hit them with his battleaxe.  However, one of the warriors had a weapon with a chain attached to it and it latched onto Jetlash. He let out a short squeak as the chains tightened. Firesong was flying away when she heard it and flew back, tackling the warrior to the ground and making sure to turn his lights off on the way down. Swiftstreak watched in amazement at Firesong’s ability to spring into action. 

“That should keep out for a few hours if not a day, thanks Firesong!” smiled Jetlash.

Firesong beamed. “Let’s call it even, you saved me from that other warrior,” 

“Sounds great. Now we better get going, our cover’s blown anyway,”

“Yeah….sorry,”

The three of them flew to the hideout and made sure no one followed them. Firesong told them what she had overheard. 

“Most likely they’ll leave tomorrow morning,” assumed Swiftstreak. “Which means they’ll reach The United Clan in three days if they fly.” 

“I’ll fly to the boys and tell Wildsky to fly to you three with the plants. Then Rockstorm, Geyser, and I will warn the United Clan,” decided Firesong.

“All by yourself?” gasped Jetlash. “How will you get there in time?”

“If I turn into a dragon, I get there twice as fast,” reminded Firesong. 

“Oh yeah, I forgot you could do that,” sighed Jetlash. “So I guess you won’t need anyone to accompany you?” 

Swifttreak raised an eyebrow.  

“That’s real’ gentlemanly of you, Jetlash….but, I’ll be fine.”

“Ok, well, um...I’m going to hit the hay,” he said curtly as he left the firepit. 

“Sorry, for blowing our cover. I-I-well-couldn’t take it and--I let you down. I said that I would prove to you I could be a great spy, all on my own, with no help...and I...failed. I ruined the mission,” confessed Firesong.

Swiftstreak didn’t say anything. The silence burned Firesong more than anything she had ever felt. 

“Oh please, say something...anything…….” thought Firesong.

“I warned you…” Swiftstreak mumbled darkly and quietly. “If you mess this up, our cover is blown and our career is down the drain. And you messed this up!”

“I know,” sniffled Firesong. “I am so sorry! I-I don’t know how I’m going to make this right, and I don’t blame you for being mad at me—and—and hating me! It’s a wonder I’m even friends with Rock and Gey, I fought with him a lot. I—I always pick fights with people. I really am hotheaded and—and—y-you were right!” She steamed uncontrollably. 

Swiftstreak had this smug look on her face. Yet through the steam she could see Firesong truly was sorry. Swiftstreak took a deep breath.

“Look, sorry for being so tough on you, but, you’re being pretty tough on me too. I guess I started this one. Yeah, it's going to be hard to spy on them, because they know we’re here. So.....I don’t know what we’re going to do. But Rockstorm said we were on the winning side. I bet...I bet the Dragonstone knew about this and is going to use this for saving Aranthalas.”

Firesong stopped steaming. “But how am I going to live with this guilt? I wronged you terribly.”

Swiftstreak wiped a few of her own tears and stifled a cry. 

“Well, I’m just...trusting that the Robed Ruler has everything under control, like he always does.” declared Firesong. 

“But how do we know? We never see this Robed Ruler. Where in the prophecy did it say we were on the winning side?” argued Swiftstreak.

“I’ve seen the Dragonstone do things I never thought it could. I saw the Purple One’s hand pick up the Dragonstone after the War of the Endless Dragons and put it back into the Enchanted Volcano. The Dragonstone called us three into this mission. It has guided us along through difficult times. I believe that things are going to get better. Yes, the prophecy didn’t actually say this would work. But why would the Robed Ruler, the one who created Aranthalas, put three teenagers on a mission that would be difficult for adults to save a broken world, if it was all for nothing? Surely, this isn’t a joke.”

Swiftstreak thought about it for a while. 

“Maybe…..and maybe not. Either way, we need to get to bed, especially since you’ll be leaving tomorrow morning.” She walked away into the hideout.

Firesong was left at the firepit all by herself. 

She sighed as she talked to herself, “Will my life always be this cringy? I feel so out of place. I always have so many problems. Here I am, on this crazy mission and I have no idea what will happen next. Yet I guess it could be worse. I could have died many times by now. There’ll probably be more times that I could die in the future. At least I  have friends who care about me, especially Gey, since he literally represents caring. It was nice that Jetlash saved me. He may be quiet, but he’s really nice. You know, life has been rough, but it’s been good. And...I’m ok with that. I’ll get through this.”

“So Wildsky, have you found the plant yet?” I asked.

“No, it likes to grow in the sun and it grows in a grove. Oooo! Some seem to have a mind of their own!” he chuckled.

“Oh,” I sighed. 

It was almost noon. Wilsky had told us that he wanted to get some other herbs and plants while we were here. While he was at it, he wanted to get some flowers for his sister Swiftstreak. Rockstorm agreed with that idea.

After another hour, he exclaimed: “We’re here!”

“Finally,” muttered Rockstorm. 

I sighed happily in agreement. 

There was a grove in the jungle where a large variety of special plants grew.

“Are they all edible?” I asked.

“No, some just apply to the skin,” replied Wildsky as he picked the leaves. 

I was certain he was from Plant Clan. 

“Here we go,” smiled Wildsky as he picked the plant that makes you fall asleep. “It’s called Drousnoxia,”

It looked like it had fangs. Sure enough, inside of its petals were green spots with purple lining, but on the outside the petals it was orange. It looked like a large tulip. I flew up to map the grove so the trio could come here in the future. I noticed we weren’t that far from the Enchanted Volcano. When I landed, I noticed a weird looking bush. It’s leafy stems were like octopus tentacles and the berries looked like tiny, purple pumpkins. I picked one and tasted it, surprisingly, it had no flavor or scent!

“Ah! Don’t eat that!” screamed Wildsky.

“Why not?” I was startled, but I soon found out.

The plant came to life and its leaves wrapped around me. It had a strong grip and I began to suffocate. Rockstorm created a boulder and smashed the plant. It’s leaves went limp around me and I was free. 

“Thanks,” I sighed with relief. 

“What are friends for?” shrugged Rockstorm as he smiled. 

“Careful, some plants here are very dangerous, like that Octophora Dentura. Some plants can even turn you into something you’re not,” he said in a dangerous voice. 

“Really?” Rockstorm asked Wildsky curiously. 

“Nope! Just kidding!” laughed Wildsky. 

I rolled my eyes at Rockstorm. He chuckled. We collected plants for an hour more, then finished with more than thirty different species. Unfortunately, I had eaten more than seven types of berries and now both my arms were limb, my lips had blue spots on them, and my stomach felt awful. I had to rest, and Wildsky knew of a plant to make me feel better. So we rested in the shade and drank our water while he searched for the plant. 

“You know,” observed Rockstorm as he studied my map, “We’re near the Enchanted Volcano, maybe we should show Wildsky? It would be good for the spies to know.”

“Why? They won’t be able to open the door,” I responded.

“Yeah, but if we show Wildsky the runes and hieroglyphics, he’ll tell his siblings and they’ll believe us more and want to help us out. I know Swiftstreak has her doubts about this mission, maybe Jetlash does too? Besides, it's the least we can do since he came with us to gather the special herbs,” 

“If you say so,”

After about ten minutes, he returned with two similar looking plants in his hands. 

“So, I don’t know which plant does it. I always get these two confused. After all, they look pretty similar. So I figured Geyser could try both just in case. Sound good?”

“What if I get another bad side effect from whichever plant doesn’t heal me?” I questioned.

“Well...that’s possible, you see, I don’t know what the other one does. Yet I know that it won’t kill you, so it’s worth a try,” 

“Well, down the hatch, I guess,”

I took a bite of the first one. I still felt sick, but what was worse, was that my head now hurt. 

“Nope,” I groaned. 

“Oh sorry, here’s this one then,” Wildsky replied.

I ate it and seconds later I felt back to normal.

“That was the one!” I smiled. 

“Great! I’ll make a note of that,” replied Wildsky jotting it down. 

“Shall we go to the Enchanted Volcano?” suggested Rockstorm.

“You mean it! Yes! I’d love to go!” exclaimed Wildsky.

After about half an hour we arrived at the Enchanted Volcano.

“Wow!” breathed Wildsky, “This place is incredible!” 

“Just wait until you see the inside,” laughed Rockstorm at the sight of Wildsky's surprised face.

“What?! We get to go inside?!” 

“Wait! I just remembered, we don’t have Firesong, so we won’t be able open the door,” I sighed. 

“Oh no! I forgot too, sorry Wildsky, maybe another time?”

“Ok, well, at least I got to see the outside. Say, can you guys read the runes on the walls?”  

“Well, no, we’re looking into how to read them,” admitted Rockstorm.

“Wait! You guys! I can read them!” I gasped.

“What?! What does that one say?” pointed Wildsky. 

They were the runes next to the door. I read to him the first prophecy. We searched for more runes to read and I read them all. It was amazing! 

“That’s crazy! I wonder how Geyser can do that all of a sudden?” mused Wildsky. 

“I have no idea,” I sighed. 

“Hmm, I’m thinking back through what we all went through...can’t find anything unusual, except Geyser eating all those weird plants!” stated Rockstorm.

“That’s it! The plants! I bet one of those gave me the ability to read runes,” I decided.

“But reading runes isn't exactly something that a plant can give,” countered Wildsky, “If it was, shouldn’t I have known?”

“Why? Are you saying you’re from Plant Clan, Wildsky?” I demanded.

“What?! No way! It’s just, I can’t think of which plant could have given you that ability, I wonder how long the effect lasts?”

“Carrots can make you see better, maybe a certain plant can give you certain language reading abilities?” suggested Rockstorm with a laugh.

“If it does, it's definitely a magical plant, that I’m certain,” replied Wildsky. 

“Well, maybe we can read a book about magical plant properties, but right now, we need to make camp, the sun's setting, we should make dinner,” chose Rockstorm. 

So we camped by the door of the Enchanted Volcano andate dinner and slept by the light of the lavafall. 

The next day, I awoke at around eight in the morning to someone nudging me awake. 

“Mom, no, it can’t be time for school yet…” I muttered. 

“Gey, I'm not your mom. We need to get back to the United Clan, quickly, because General Red Blood is going to attack!”

I was wide awake now. I sat bolt upright. 

“Wha-wha-what?! General Red Blood? Attack?” I gasped.

It was Firesong, she looked grave. 

“How’d you find us?” I asked her.

“Saw your smoke from the campfire trailing,” 

“Aww dew drops! I thought I put that out!” 

Rockstorm woke up. “Who--What? Firesong?! What the--”

“Rock, we need to go back to the United Clan and warn them that they’re going to be attacked!” Firesong said hurriedly. 

“But what about Wildsky?” 

“He needs to fly back to the hideout and give the pants to Swiftstreak!”

After waking up Wildsky, having a quick breakfast, Wildsky flew to his hideout.

On the way to the United Clan, Firesong caught us up on what had happened yesterday. I told her about the plant discovery. 

When we got there, we told the chieftains and chieftainesses of the attack and to get ready. They wasted no time and preparations were made. With two days until the battle, we thought that it would be handy to read the runes in case they should give us a clue as to how to win the battle. He borrowed a magical plants book and read until we found the plant. Turns out, it was the other plants Wildsky had given me before I ate the plant that healed me. I was called Lingua Pronomicus. It looked similar to the plant called Remedium Bulbdroxima. The only difference was that Remedium Bulbdroxima had a yellow stem. Since you only eat the leaves of the plant, you can’t compare them to notice any differences. Lingua Pronomicus has a side effect of a headache since your brain is suddenly taking in a load of information to read any language. The headache lasts for as long as the reading ability does: five hours. However, the Redemium Bulbdroxima can counter the headache. Simply eat an entire leaf of Lingua Pronomicus, then eat an entire leaf of Redemium Bulbdroxima, then you’re set. That’s exactly what we did. That day, we returned to the Enchanted Volcano and went inside to read more of its runes. We began at the beginning: 

The Robed Ruler was named Rantalacas in ancient times. He created Aranthalas out of love. He had six sons and six daughters. Rantalacas sent his six sons to start the clans and have them guide the people onto the right path. By being sent to the world of Aranthalas, they became mortal and died at each of their appointed times. When the world began, all clans were allied and served each other in harmony. The six daughters took care of Aranthalas. The eldest daughter, Sunstar, took care of the sun and made it rise and set. The second, Moonstar, did the same with the moon. Timestar, made time pass and counted it. She keeps a record of everything that has and will come to pass. Seasonstar controlled the seasons. Starwind controlled the weather. Then the youngest, Starsong, possessed the most important power among all of her sisters. She was in charge of bringing harmony to Aranthalas. Yet she disregarded her job as something meaningless. She wanted more than this, she wanted more power. Yet the person with the most power was her father, Rantalacas so she desired to rule the world and overthrow Rantalacas. Yet Rantalacas put an end to this. He took away her powers and she was locked in a cell to protect Aranthalas from further destruction. Starsong changed her name to Starbreeze. The only way she could be set free, was if she changed her wicked ways, someone unlocked the portal with the Dragonstone, or someone gave up their soul to her. No one names their child with ‘star’ because the star symbolizes royalty of the supernatural Rantalacas and his descendants. While Starbreeze was imprisoned, she still was able to connect to Aranthalas. Starbreeze favored Fire Clan’s fiery spirit and toyed with their minds. She made the Fire Clan think they were the highest clan in the world. This lead to divisions and clans slowly broke apart. Starbreeze was behind the War of Endless Death. If she continues to travel down this path, Aranthalas will destroy itself, unless harmony is brought back to this world. --Timestar

“Wow!” I exclaimed. “So she’s probably toying with General Red Blood’s mind too!”

“That’s scary, I wonder why my mind wasn’t toyed with?” inquired Firesong.

“Probably because the Dragonstone or Rantalacas wanted to spare you because of this mission. Think about it, if no one from Fire Clan was in this trio, more people would be thinking badly of Fire Clan,” mused Rockstorm.  

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” agreed Firesong.

The next day we flew back to the United Clan. It was more desolate than we had left it. Those who were not fighting left with the children to hide in a nearby cave. I was pleased to know that the United Clan would not be taken by a surprise attack. No. They would be ready. 

We had received a message from the Jetlash’s falcon today. Rockstorm’s face was troubled. 

“What is it?” I asked him. 

“You want the good news first or the bad news first?” he groaned. 

“Bad news,” replied Firesong.

“Ok, so Queen Starbreeze and General Red Blood are officially united in armies and even tied the knot to make the army stronger,” explained Rockstorm.

“Wait?! What? You mean they got married?” I gasped.

“I’m afraid so. I don’t know what we’re in store for. On top of that, the spies still don’t have the necklace nor the Dragonstone.”

“What’s the good news?” I asked hopefully.

“On the bright side, Queen Starbreeze isn’t coming to this battle. She’s staying at their headquarters,” sighed Rockstorm. 

“Why? There’s got to be a catch,” insisted Firesong. 

“She’s negotiating with Fire Clan. I heard they’re planning on enslaving the Fire Clan if they refuse her offer. Either way, they lose, her offer is secretly the same as enslavement. It’s simply a matter of how you look at it,”

“I bet I can guess her offer. Let’s see, you work for us, or we kill you?” I guessed. 

“Yep,” replied Rockstorm gravely. 

“We need to rescue Fire Clan,” declared Firesong. 

Rockstorm and I wore shocked expressions on our faces.

“Why? After what they’ve done to you? Why should we save them? They’re evil,” argued Rockstorm.

“No, I think Firesong’s right, that’s very compassionate of you, Firesong,” I remarked. 

“But what about the United Clan? We need to be here to protect them first. Then after the battle, we can go to Fire Clan,” stated Rockstorm.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” I agreed. 

“Oh! I forgot to mention, she lets General Red Blood wear her magical necklace. Maybe that's why they got married. So he could rightfully let him use her necklace?” mentioned Rockstorm. 

“That’s it! This could work to our advantage!” exclaimed Firesong. “We could steal the necklace from Red Blood! We’ve fought him before. He’s not as powerful as Queen Starbreeze. The three of us could take him!” 

“I bet he’ll have the Dragonstone with him as well,” I claimed.

“Hmm, yes, now we need a plan. How are we going to get close enough to steal his most valuable possessions?” questioned Rockstorm. 

“What if we were invisible?” I suggested. “There’s invisibility potions we could drink,”

“But those are very expensive. After all, invisible plants are very hard to hide. Most people just stumble upon them,” countered Firesong.

“We’ll only buy one bottle then, but that means the effect will wear off quicker since it will be divided three ways. How much time do you think we’ll have, Firesong?” I hypothesized. 

“An hour tops, I think,” she concluded. 

“Ok, let’s see how much they cost,” I decided. 

We walked over to the shop. 

“The runes didn’t tell us how to defeat Queen Starbreeze. They only told us the past. On top of that, I think the three of us were chosen to take Queen Starbreeze’s place. I think we ought to go back sometime and read more runes,” I muttered to myself. “Maybe there’s deeper meanings to unlock? Maybe we can truly understand what the Dragonstone’s task is?”

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to brainstorm,” suggested Firesong.

“Oh! How much of that did I say out loud?” I gasped. 

“All of it,” she smiled.

Rockstorm nodded in agreement. I sighed. 

“Maybe the Dragonstone’s task is to defeat Queen Starbreeze? Or help us do it? Or defeat both villains?” I proposed.

“Oh! Oh! I just got a great idea!” exclaimed Rockstorm.

“Well, we’re listening,” I replied.

“We unite, not fight, since we’re trying to unite Aranthalas again. What if we make them fight each other?” conveyed Rockstorm.

“Hmm, I like where this is going...do you have a plan?” asked Firesong. 

_____________________________________________

“Is everything going according to plan?”

“Yes, your highness, we should reach them by early tomorrow,”

“Good work, General Plum. No doubt they’re after the Dragonstone and Queen Starbreeze’s necklace,” he affirmed. 

“Do you think they know we’re coming?” asked a lower ranking general. 

“Yes, you fool! Didn’t you see the girl from Fire Clan dart down the gravelly hill?! She reported to the others! I’m certain of it! This is why we’re using the caves to sneak up on them. We’ll enter through the cave near their clan and storm down into the clan and attack them from behind! They’ll never see us coming until it’s too late! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-hey! Laugh with me!”

“Sorry, my lord, I didn’t know I was allowed to,” bowed General Plum.

“As second in command to the second in command, I permit you to laugh evilly with me every time I do, but let me have the first laugh. Then you can join in after me. Understand general? These are key concepts to understand if you truly want to be an evil leader. After all, I wouldn’t be nearly as evil if  I didn’t have an evil laugh,” explained Red Blood. 

Then they broke out into a loud, roaring, evil laugh. It could be heard echoing throughout the Plains. Yet Red Blood had other issues on his mind. If he won this battle, Queen Starbreeze would give him a throne of his own. Yes, he was married to a queen, but that didn’t make him a king. Not in her eyes. He had to prove himself first. Soon, if all went according to plan, he would have control of the world, sitting beside his queen. Then all would bow down to him, fear him, and serve him. If all went according to plan, Queen Starbeeze would crown him King of the Stars. King Red Blood, now that had a nice ring to it!

Meanwhile, the prisoners who refused to go to the United Trio and had joined Red Blood instead, wouldn’t be enslaved to Starbreeze. They would be first class warriors and be ranked into higher positions than those who were forced to join them. After all, being enslaved by a fallen goddess was no easy task. Anyone eight and older had to work. They were divided into groups of working: farming, smithery, cooking, and serving the Queen of destruction and chaos. Those who were too old or sick to work...would die.

Yet Red Blood had wanted Firesong to get away, because then the United Clan would know of his coming and fear him. In addition, they would hide the women, children, elderly, and disabled would be sent to the cave near the United Clan. That’s where they were going to sneak up and capture the women and children and use them for slaves. The rest would die, then no one would warn the others that Red Blood and his army would attack by a different route. It was the perfect plot!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, here’s the Invisibility potion,” I showed Firesong and Rockstorm.

“It looks like an empty bottle, are you sure they didn’t trick us?” inquired Rockstorm.

I pulled the cork out and stuck my finger in. I touched something wet and took my finger out and cork it again. I licked my finger, the concoction tasted sugary.

“Yep, that’s the invisibility potion for you,”  I concluded. 

“We should return to our hiding spot for when General Red Blood and his army gets here. He should be here tomorrow so we should train,” stated Firesong.

So we flew to our hiding spot. We hadn’t been training for long when a strange woman flew up to us. I saw her hair had lost its color, glow, and no longer waved on its own. Her eyes had lost their previous color and were gray, as well as her hair. Her wings drooped and looked like withered leaves. The flowers that grew naturally on Plant Clan citizens’ hair had died and fallen off. I could tell by observing her dried up stems and leafy hair, that she had grown irises out of her hair. It appeared she was from Plant Clan.

“Can we help you?” I asked her.

“My heroes!” she beamed. Then, seeing the question in our faces, she added, “Oh right, sorry! Hello! My name is Iris. And you are the Chosen Three! I flew all this way to warn you of General Red Blood’s plan of attack!”

“Uh, pleased to meet you, Iris. How did you escape?” responded Rockstorm. 

“This young man dressed in black came and helped me escape last night. He looked like a spy. He told me to come here and warn you three,” she explained.

“Ah. And your name sounds like you’re from Plant Clan, yet you don’t look like you’re from Plant Clan. Why is that?” commented Firesong.

“Yes, I was one of the prisoners you freed a while back. I chose to join General Red Blood, but many of us were sadly mistaken. Living conditions are terrible! Those who realized the mistake tried to go back, but it was too late! As a consequence, our powers were stripped away. I now am no longer a first class warrior. So I have escaped and will join your clan in the fight,”

I studied her, I could tell she was telling the truth. 

“However, if Queen Starbreeze dies, my powers will return,” she mentioned.

“But she’s immortal, how can that happen?” I asked.

Iris drew closer and practically whispered in her grave tone,“She can’t die a natural death, but if someone were to stage an accident…”

_______________________________________________

“All squadrons to positions!” ordered an officer. “Plant squadron! You are NOT guarding the Desert Plains! Now get over here and defend the clan!”

“Nice ladies! Nice! Keep practicing!” smiled a lieutenant. 

“Ice Squadron G, you need to wear camouflage if you’re going to patrol these Plains….there you go,” added another officer. 

It was the day of the battle. The United Clan was readying into positions to attack. 

“Are you feeling scared?” inquired Rockstorm.

“No way! We’ve fought in a battle before! Besides, now we have our true potential unlocked AND we can turn into dragons!” 

“Oh yeah!” cheered Rockstorm.

There was an awkward silence.

“But really, Gey, I feel like you have something on your mind. Care to share?”

“Well, it’s just, have you ever wondered if Queen Starbreeeze can turn into a dragon too?”

“Huh? Well, it crossed my mind. After all, she does have dragon wings. Why?”

“ ‘Cuz it would make things really difficult in a fight,”

“We don’t have to battle her today, she’s not coming,” then switching to a lady’s accent he added: “I don’t like getting my hands dirty, even though I live in a cave, which is very dirty, but I just don’t want to move off my stone throne. It would be a tiring journey. Oh and I'm smarter than everyone else!”

“Yes, that is a very accurate description of her!” I chuckled.

“Geyser! Rockstorm!” called Firesong flying over to us. 

“You just missed Rockstorm talking like Starbreeze, it was hilarious!” I laughed. 

“Who me?” Rockstorm asked in his lady-like voice. 

I stifled a wave of laughter. 

“You guys! Remember!” reminded Firesong. “The potions only last an hour for each of us! The army will be here any minute! So use your time wisely.”

“I am the queen of the cave, don’t tell me what to do!” Rockstorm responded in his Starbreeze voice. 

“Hey! You three! Into positions!” called an officer. 

“Alright you two, let’s do this!” I smiled as I put my hand out. 

Firesong and Rockstorm put their hands on mine.

“Ok,” I began, “Uh, 1, 2, 3—” 

“Go United Trio!!!” we cheered. 

We split up. It was less than ten minutes before I could hear the Red Army trekking up the cave. I could hear Red Blood shouting orders. Then I heard his surprised yell.

“What?! Where are the women and children?! Where are the sick, old, and disabled? I was sure they—AH!”

Thanks to Iris, we had come prepared. Many of our squadrons were waiting for his arrival. We had moved everyone out of the cave and moved them to the hills in the Desert Plains. 

Since the Red Army had nowhere to go, we were planning on stopping them right there. Yet Red Blood turned into a dragon and cleared a path through the cave. We had squadrons ready, yet the tides suddenly turned and favored the enemy’s side. It wasn’t the fact that the Red Army was making its way into the United Clan. Instead it was the fact that Red Blood was using Starbreeze’s necklace to win the war. Her necklace allowed the user to use telekinesis and that was exactly what Red Blood was doing. His eyes glowed purple as he used the necklace to take chunks of Snow Peak Mountain and throw them at the United Clan. Smoke and fire dotted the clan and filled the sky. The three of us turned into dragons. I saw Rockstorm disappear. He was already using his portion of the potion. 

“Go Rockstorm!” I cheered silently. 

I noticed there were giants in the Red Army. I guess Queen Starbreeze created giants for the war. One of the giants saw me. 

“Oi! You! Stand still!” he bellowed as he rushed at me swinging his club.

I looked him in the eyes and roared: “Oh no you don’t!” 

I picked him up by the belt with my teeth and flung him in the air and caught him again with my teeth. 

“Ah! What yar tryin’ tuh der to me her?” he screamed. 

“If you join our side, I won’t kill you,” I mumbled to him. 

I wasn’t going to kill him either way, but he didn’t know that. 

“Oi ain’t doin’ nothin’!” he yelled. 

“I dropped him but caught him again before he hit the ground. 

“Whoa! That was clarse!” sighed the giant.

“That was a warning! I’ll drop you again if you say no, and next time, I won’t catch you,” 

“Hmm..”

“Imagine yourself falling...will you go split or will you go splat?” I threatened. 

I hoped that if I sounded tough and menacing I would fool him. 

“Oi! O’ll roight! I’ll der it!” he agreed. 

I set him on the ground. Firesong caught onto what I was doing. Soon, we had a small portion of giants fighting on our side. Time flew and before I knew it, Rockstorm had joined us again. 

“Rock! Glad you survived! Did you get it?” I asked. 

“No,” he groaned.

“My turn!” decided Firesong. 

I told Rockstorm of the giant converting plan. I had knocked loads of giants unconscious if they were stubborn and didn’t join. Firesong soon disappeared. Rockstorm and I used our powers to stop rocks from hitting the United Clan. 

After a while, Firesong returned.

“Sorry Gey, it’s up to you now,” she said sadly. 

“Alright, you two distract him,” I decided.

We flew up after I drank the potion. I got behind Red Blood. Rockstorm and Firesong combined their powers into a lava-slushy substance and shot it at him. He deflected it with his wings and protected the necklace. It was hanging on one of his teeth.

 As I snuck up behind him, I saw the necklace glow purple, yet Red Blood’s eyes weren’t glowing purple. Did that mean that the necklace could work on its own? Suddenly, a purple light encased me, though I was still invisible, but the light surrounding me wasn’t. It slammed me head first onto the ground into a group of stalagmites. Dust and rocks flew and fell on me, but I barely noticed, because I had a terrible headache. Then the necklace picked me up and moved me towards General Red Blood. His eyes glowed purple, that meant he was using it now. He brought me face to face with him. 

“Well, well, well, the last of the trio. Come to steal my necklace have you?” rumbled Red Blood. 

“How’d you know I was here?” I demanded.

The necklace can see and sense things I can’t, but even if it couldn't, I knew you were here the whole time.”

“Well, you know what I can sense? Your name Red Blood is a bit redundant. I mean, Red Blood? Really? Why not red torpedo or red fury?”

“I changed my name to Red Blood to signify the blood that will be split in my wake. I plan on having Aranthalas drown in its own blood at my hands,” he replied gravely.

“That’s just dark! And keep telling yourself that, because last I checked, I haven’t seen any rivers of blood yet!” I spat. 

“Aren’t you the cheeky one today?” he chuckled darkly. 

He was about to blast me with a mouth load of fire. If he made direct contact with me, I’d be done for since I was extremely weak against fire. I struggled to escape this telekinetic bind. Suddenly, Rockstorm came up and gave Red Blood the nastiest bite I’d ever seen. Blood oozed out and it distracted Red Blood for enough time to gash his mouth and knock the necklace out. I was freed. 

“Thanks Rock!” I called. 

“Sure thing!” muttered Rockstorm as he wrestled Red Blood.

Firesong wrapped her slender dragon body around Red Blood’s neck, trying to choke him. I noticed that when Red Blood couldn’t focus, he couldn’t control his necklace. His eyes stopped glowing purple. What I realized was that we had fallen back into fighting Red Blood. 

“Guys! Stop! Remember? We don’t fight, we unite! Just distract him!” I called out. 

Firesong and Rockstorm stopped. Red Blood had snatched up the necklace again and Firesong blew fire on the necklace. Red Blood swiped at her and clawed her in the ribs. She was sent whirling to the ground with the wind knocked out of her. Seeing the concern on my face, she croaked:

“Don’t worry about me, stop him!”

I didn’t have much time left until the potion wore off. 

“You little children! Do you really think I haven’t known you would try to take this necklace from me?” roared Red Blood. “It’s a good thing I didn’t bring the Dragonstone then, you would have tried to take it too. Now, this is going to be your last battle!”

Using the necklace he picked Rockstorm and I up.

“Say good-bye to everything you love!” he threatened.

Yet Firesong bit Red Blood’s tail.

“Ahhhhh!” he wailed as more blood oozed out. 

Firesong gargled with water I shot at her. 

“Ew! Blood tastes terrible!” she sputtered. “That was the worst thing I’ve ever tasted in my life! My teeth hurt! You have such thick scales!”

“Well, you saved us Firesong,” I avered.

“The necklace! Where’s the necklace!” screamed Red Blood.

We burst into action in search of the necklace. It was a race to see who could find it. I saw Firesong fly southeast out of the cave. I knew why. 

“Rock, Firesong has the necklace. Let’s keep General Red Blood busy,” I whispered. 

He nodded with a mischievous smile on his face. He possessed a plan.

“Oops!!!” he declared loudly as he crushed a rock with his paw. “Was that the necklace? I think I stepped on it!”

“AH! No you fools! Why I’ll--no, wait! That wasn’t it! Ha! You think your little distraction would work on me?”

I tossed a stick into the air with my tail and sent it flying at Red Blood’s face. It hit him.

“Well, if that distraction didn’t, that did! You flinched! Haha!” I laughed.

And so the battle of distractions lasted for about ten minutes…. until Red Blood noticed Firesong was missing. He flew out of the cave with the two of us in pursuit.  

Firesong had made it out of the United Clan and was heading towards the Enchanted Volcano. We could see her in the distance. Red Blood was speedily chasing after her. It was up to Rockstorm and I to slow him down, let alone catch up. Hence, I flew under him and head butted him in the ribs. Rockstorm followed my lead.

“What are you imbeciles doing!?” shouted Red Blood.

“Don’t worry, that should bruise up nicely,” I replied cheekily. 

Red Blood swished his tail back and forth at us. It got Rockstorm in the head and he plummeted to the ground. I dove and saved him from a crushing land. Yet Red Blood was far ahead now. There was no way we could catch up.

“Are you ok, Rock?” I asked him.

“Yeah, just dizzy. My head’s throbbing,” he moaned.

“Turn into a human and I’ll carry you on my back,”

He did and we soared after the others. 

Firesong heard intense flapping and then felt someone bite her in the neck. She shrieked. She plunged to the ground and crashed into a heap of boulders. She didn’t move. Red Blood took the necklace and kicked her. She was out.

I saw Firesong hit the rocks and felt something inside of me that I had scarcely felt before. All I knew now was that I wanted to rip Red Blood to shreds! I zoomed towards Red Blood with renewed energy. Rockstorm was feeling better and turned back into a dragon and flew towards Red Blood. He shot rocks around Firesong to build a wall of protection. I snuck up behind Red Blood and showered him with the largest tidal wave I could muster. He sank to the ground and we followed him there. I snatched the necklace from the unconscious Red Blood. We were at the Enchanted Volcano. We checked Firesong, she was alive, just unconscious. 

“You want to do the honors?” I asked Rockstorm.

“Oh, alright,” 

He flew up to the lava. I kept an eye on Red Blood to make sure he didn’t interfere. He opened his eyes and saw Rockstorm.

“No! The necklace!” he hollered. Must-get-”

I doused him with water. He fell down in a heap. 

“Lights out for you, general!” I said triumphantly. 

Rockstorm dropped the necklace in the lavafall. It shone a purple light as it sizzled away. When it finished dissolving, purple essence passed through all the land. The aura woke up Firesong, she looked dizzy and weak. Rockstorm flew down to join us. The necklace was finally destroyed.

“I remember where the grove of magical plants is. Let’s go get some Remedium Bulbdroxima for Firesong,” he suggested.  

“What’s going on?” murmured Firesong as she turned into a human again.

We transformed as well. 

“I’ll stay with Firesong and keep an eye on General Red Blood. Do you mind getting some Remedium Bulbdroxima for all of us? I’m going to be sore tomorrow,”

“Sure thing!” agreed Rockstorm as he left.

“Come on, Firesong, let’s go to the volcano before Red Blood wakes up,” I suggested as I helped her up.

“Ok, what’s the matter with him?” she asked as she pointed at Red Blood.

“Oh, uh, I don’t know, some weirdo knocked him out,” I said sarcastically.

Firesong smiled. “Must have been a strong weirdo to make him collapse,” 

I chuckled. 

“And what happened while I was out?” she added. 

“Rockstorm and I fought General Red Blood and then Rock destroyed the necklace by dropping it in the lava,” I explained.

“Whoa! So it’s gone? Destroyed? For good?”

“Yep,”

“Oh my flaming fireballs! We did it! Whoo hoo!” she exclaimed as she beamed at me. 

We were both beat up, but not enough to stop smiling. We walked in silence for a while. I was deep in thought. I had never shot that much water before. How did I pull that off? I had never completely knocked him out before. Was I getting stronger? Were Firesong and Rockstorm getting stronger? Or was he getting weaker? They were able to make Red Blood bleed this time. 

It was around four now, the sun was going to be setting soon. We rested by the door as we waited for Rockstorm. I looked over at Red Blood, only to find he wasn’t there anymore!

“Whoa! Did you see that? General Red Blood’s gone!” I gasped. 

“Do you think he’s still around? Maybe he’s lurking nearby ready to pounce?” asked Firesong.

It was possible. Yet I was certain of another idea.

“I bet he went back to his queen. After all, he got beat up pretty bad too.”

“Ah, so he retreated….good. Because he’s going to need all the rest he can get before he sees us again!” 

Rockstorm soon returned and he gave us all a large helping of Remedium Bulbdroxima. Then we sat around the campfire as we ate dinner. 

“Finally, we one-uped him,” sighed Rockstorm.

“I hope there isn’t a way to make another necklace like the one we destroyed,” I mused. 

“You mean, if there was, everything we just did would have been for nothing?!” gasped Rockstorm.

I nodded. 

“We’re doomed!” he cried. 

“Shh!” I jerked my head over at Firesong, she was sound asleep. 

“Oops, sorry,” whispered Rockstorm.

“Look, I’m not sure she can get her necklace back. It’s just, we thought we destroyed the only way of getting Queen Starbreeze here….and we were wrong. So what if…” I yawned. 

“Maybe we talk about deep stuff tomorrow? I’m exhausted,” nodded Rockstorm sleepily.

“Wait! Before we go to sleep, I need to point out that we fought pretty hard with General Red Blood today. What happened to not fighting? I thought we focused on uniting?” asked Firesong.

She had a point. Right triumphs over wrong by doing what’s right. Yes, two wrongs make a right in math, but this wasn’t math. What we did to handle the problem was not the way we should have defeated Red Blood. Were we past words already? The answer couldn’t be to fight fire with fire. Not this time. Defeating Red Blood with his tactic, fighting and being destructive, would make us hyporties. We wanted unity, he wanted tyranny, if we fought without defence as the cause, we would be no better than him. So how were we going to fight fire without fire? We use something else, such as earth and water. 

“Well, if we shouldn’t fight him, what are we going to do?” I inquired.

“I thought it was fine if we fought back as long as it was in defence?” added Rockstorm. 

To be honest, Rockstorm and I enjoyed fighting, it made us feel strong and powerful to defeat someone after a battle. Yet that was behind us now. We’d fight to defend and use other methods to defeat Red Blood from now on. 

“We could try talking to him?” suggested Firesong. 

“General Red Blood, could you please give our Dragonstone back? We really need it to stop you from taking over Aranthalas, thank-you,” spoke Rockstorm. “I don’t think he’ll agree to that,” 

“What I liked is that we were able to outsmart him today, thanks to Iris, we were ready for him in the cave. Maybe we could outsmart him again and avoid a fight completely? Maybe stop him before he takes over?” Fireong thought aloud.

“I like where this is going, we unite not fight...wait a second! You two! You know how I said we unite and not fight? We have been uniting! Thanks to using everyone's Elemental Crystals, the clans were forced to unite. Now we have a large clan literally called the United Clan!” explained Rockstorm.

“So we are fulfilling the prophecy! We’re uniting the clans to fight against a common enemy. It’s funny what it takes to make peace with everyone! Maybe one day we can unite with Fire Clan?” I questioned.

“And live together in one happy unity? Well wouldn’t that be great, be let’s be honest, after this war, everyone might go back to their own clans. This may just be temporary. A perfect utopia is way too much to ask for, Gey,” Firesong responded crossly.

“Firesong, I know I’m going to cross the line by saying this, but don’t you think you’d be a little more open-minded to the idea if your family issues were worked out?” I asked her sincerely.

Smoke began to fume out of her ears. I knew it. Yet I was glad I put it out there. Yes, sometimes I was blunt, but I wanted Firesong to get past this. She’d come a long way, yet she still had deep mental and emotional wounds that needed to heal. Time would do that, but I know talking about it would help, that’s what my oldest sister, Springfountain, had told me, just days before I had left on this crazy mission. She taught me that when girls are upset, sometimes you need to talk it out and hug. I wasn’t going to do the hugging part, but I was trying to be a good friend to one of my best friends, who just so happened to be a girl, and girls, well, they can be complicated! 

“Gey, I appreciate you trying to help, but I don’t want to talk about my family right now,” sighed Firesong.

“So you're just going to sit there, all cross, and leave us here sitting in the dark?” asserted Rockstorm. 

“Well I--”

“Firesong, we’re your friends, please, we want to help,” I reassured her. 

She sat there thinking it over. 

“Let’s unite Aranthlas to fight back against Red Blood and outsmart him using the help of our friends to finish him once and for all!” she declared. 

So that was the end of that conversation. However, another thought was disturbing me. What was that feeling I felt when Red Blood had attacked Firesong? He’d done it before to all three of us, but when he knocked her out, I felt such strong emotions. I was enraged that Red Blood would do such a thing and I felt that I had to protect her. It made me want to defeat him even more. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

“WHAT!? They destroyed it!” bellowed Starbreeze. 

“My deepest apologies,” bowed Red Blood. “The water boy, he was really strong all of a sudden---”

“I don’t want your excuses nor your apologies! I trusted you to wipe out the United Clan, take back more prisoners, and bring back my necklace! You failed everyone of those! It's a good thing you didn’t bring the Dragonstone with you!” she fumed. “And what were you doing with the necklace? Taking a bubble bath?”

Red Blood flinched at the word bubble bath. 

“Wait! I was trying to stop them, but they had turned invisible and--”

“Did you say invisible? That’s impossible!”

“It’s not! I saw it with my own eyes!”

Then, realizing how silly that sounded, he corrected himself. 

“I mean—I heard them and then after a while, they appeared right in front of my face!”

“Whatever. What matters is without the necklace, I can’t heal you. You now will begin to diminish under the Dragonstone’s powers,”

“What? No! I can’t! Can’t you get another necklace?”

“No, you fool! That was given to me by my father! All of my sisters have one, once its gone, its gone,”

“Can’t we steal it from one of your sisters?”

“You can’t, but I could, yet it would result in a death sentence for me. I would be beheaded. So no! We will not steal their necklaces!” 

“Don’t worry, your purpleness, I’ll make it up to you,” 

“How? Nothing in the universe would make it up to me!” She flared. “On second thought, maybe a carton of Moon Mist ice cream could….no-I shouldn't—too many calories! You’ll have to come up with another way!” 

“Not even ice cream with toppings?” pleaded Red Blood.

“Nope! Not a chance!”

“Fine. What if I killed those brats?”

“That’s already on the to-do list.” She said pointing to her list on the cave wall. “Now, you shall be punished for disobeying my orders,”

In a matter of seconds, Red Blood was bound in glowing purple chains. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

“Wow! The United Clan is practically in ashes,” I sighed as I looked at the place sadly.

“Well, at least the giants we converted agreed to help us rebuild,” admitted Rockstorm. 

I nodded. 

“What are we going to do now?” I inquired.

“Aren’t we going to free some slaves and prisoners from Starbreeze’s clutches? What about the Dragonstone? We need to get that back too,” reminded Firesong. 

“I saw Rantalacas lift the Dragonstone out of that ravine some months ago and put it back in the Enchanted Volcano. Wouldn’t he do that again if he wanted?” I assumed.

“Maybe he wants the Dragonstone with them?” suggested Rockstorm. 

“I wouldn’t go as far as that, Rock,” argued Firesong.

“Maybe we should visit the spies and see what information they collected before we make our battle plan?” I asked them. 

They nodded. 

“I feel bad just leaving people here with a clan to rebuild though, maybe we stay for a while to help?” mentioned Rockstorm.  

“Ok, how about we stay for a week then and then go visit the spies?” I suggested. 

We sat on a large boulder that had been pulled out of the Snow Peak Mountains. Firesong studied me for a moment. I gave her a questioning look. 

“We’ve been through alot,” she agreed with me, somehow knowing my thoughts. “It’s getting more and more difficult, isn’t it?” 

I nodded.

“Hey Grandma! What brings you up here?” called Rockstorm from our rock as he looked down to see Lightstorm hobbling up to us. 

“Oh, I wanted to be the first to tell you the news.  Your father Rockdust just proposed to Limestone,” she smiled.

“What? You mean Aunt Limea?!” beamed Rockstorm.

“Yep!”

“Oh my! I need to go congratulate them! When’s the wedding?” he decided as he flew down to her. 

“This weekend, and you're going to be one of his groomsmen,”

“Yippee!” cried Rockstorm as he flew off.

Firesong sighed. I could tell she wanted a family like Rockstorm and I had. I patted her shoulder sympathetically. She looked at me and gave me a weak smile. Something flashed in her eyes and then disappeared, I wondered what she had been thinking. Just then, Lightstorm cleared her throat. We looked down at her expectantly. She held our gaze for a while, eyes sparkling, she spoke: 

“Tides turn, heat rises, rocks fall,” 

She turned around and walked down the hill.

How did she know? 

To Be Continued….