They talked about Ognoks, the very creatures that were hated most. They talked about the only one who had killed an Ognok, a man named Rewlurc. He had killed an Ognok and gotten a wand: what you earn if you slay an Ognok. He learned magic from his magic trainer Iklam, who had studied magic his whole life. Arek and Thetra dreamed of being magicians. They had heard all the stories from a storyteller named Worgh.
Then they talked about armies, and how they dreamed of being in good ones as well. Armies never revealed their names unless they could trust someone with their lives, as they all did.
Then they switched to the sorcerer Morchad, the evil enemy. He had killed five kings of their country, earning five wands. The legends say that he only used one wand named Halux, and gave the rest to some of the Ognoks.
Then they decided to continue their tales by going to the storyteller Worgh and going to his storytelling that day at noon once more.
They arrived there on time for Worgh to begin. And that day he talked about the legends of Therr, the leader of the good army:
“Therr is one of the greatest leaders of the good army in all of time. He strikes hard with his hammer, bringing down enemy after enemy. Although I do not have much to say about him, I would like for everyone to listen to this:
“His only battles have been with three hundred aliens in Wecavrrn, and with five thousand Elves in La lakr-sonx, in which his army lost, losing five thousand of their two hundred thousand troops.
“But the reason they have limited numbers of soldiers today are because of the battle with the aliens in Wecavvrn. Even though they won, they lost a hundred and sixty thousand soldiers, and after that battle, many troopers began to leave, for they believed there was no reason to be in the army anymore.
“Today the good army is hoping for a soldier that would change them. A soldier who could help the good army so much that it would give them a chance at killing their enemy: Morchad.”
As Worgh’s story ended, Thetra knew that he wanted to be that soldier. He wanted to be the miracle. He wanted to be the hero.
Then Arek and Thetra went back to their house, grabbed their bows and quivers, and decided to go hunting early. But this time, they weren’t hunting for deer or other game, but they were hunting for Ognoks.
POLICE
“I have faith, I have faith.” Arek and Thetra kept muttering these words, for they did have faith in finding an Ognok.
They found none.
“Too bad,” said Thetra. “I’m interested in magic.”
“I am as well. Hey! I saw a book about magic the other day before our parents died. It’s just down the street from here!”
“Great! Let’s go!”
First they dropped off their stuff, for they could go to jail for carrying a weapon into any store in the town of Toage. Then they were on their way.
“Ullio!” cried Arek when he and Thetra walked into the bookstore. Ullio, the owner of the shop, was good friends with Arek and Thetra.
“Hey, Arek and Thetra!” responded Ullio. “What brings you here today?”
“Well, we’re looking for a book about magic.”
“Magic, eh? Right over here. But I must ask, what gets you interested in this subject?”
“Worgh’s tales of magic. We just came from one. Were you there?”
“Nay, I was here, doing my job. Now, there are two kinds of magic. There’s the magic where you have to say the spell, and there’s the magic where you can think it. Your choice.”
“Speak it.”
“Very well, then. Right here.” He pointed to a book called The Book of Spoken Magic.
“Thank you, Ullio,” said Thetra. Then he and Arek walked to the checkout, and then they were on their way back home.
“I’m excited to finally study magic!” cried Arek. “What does it say inside?”
Thetra put it down on the coffee table and opened the book to the first page. It said something Thetra could not read.
“What happened?” asked Arek.
“I have no idea. It’s in a foreign language. To me, from Worgh’s stories, it looks like Elvish or Alienish.”
“I don’t know either. Which one is the more ancient of the two races?”
“Elves.”
“Then it has to be Elvish! It can’t be Alienish because this book is ancient, and Elves are the more ancient of the two.”
“Possibly. But I’m still not convinced.”
“Well, it’s not our race. So let’s not worry about it.”
Then they both saw the hunters of their neighborhood running to their house, their bows with arrows loaded in them.
“Grab your sword!” yelled Thetra. He drew Slayer and ran outside. The first hunter named Miej shot an arrow but missed. Then Thetra charged the hunters. He slayed Kervaerrgh.
As he did that, Arek killed Miej.
“Well done, Brother,” they both said at the same time.
They walked inside together, and then took naps at five o’clock.
Kneeling on the Ognok, Thetra drew his sword and stabbed it, killing it. Arek congratulated him, and then together they continued fighting against Morchad’s hated army.
“Great job, Thetra,” said Arek. “You killed an Ognok.”
He awarded Thetra with a wand, and immediately Thetra felt all the magic come to him. He knew every word. He was a magician.
“All hail Thetra!” cried the good army. “All hail Thetra! He has killed an Ognok!”
And then the battle was over. The good army had won.
Thetra woke up and pounded his pillow. Arek stared at him. Thetra was so angry that his dream wasn’t true.
“Are you alright?” asked Arek.
“Aye. Just a good dream.” Then he told Arek about him slaying an Ognok in battle.
“That is a good dream,” agreed Arek. “Hey, it’s Saturday. Five days away from hunting!”
“Let’s just do it now.”
“No. We agreed we would go Wednesday. We are going on Wednesday whether you like it or not,” he growled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Keep your promises, Thetra.”
“I never promised! I just agreed with you. I never said ‘I promise.’”
“Well, you just did.”
“What’s wrong with you?!”
“Nothing, Thetra. If you really want to know, check the book we got.”
Thetra did, and he saw that it was gone. “Where is it?” he asked Arek.
“Don’t ask me. I just came downstairs and didn’t see it.”
“No!” he shouted. “We lost it! Someone stole it. Morchad?”
“No. He’s at Stankl Maobn. And besides, why would he care about us?”
“Maybe he has spies that know we have this book.”
“This book is meaningless! It’s Elvish!”
“Aye, but he could probably read Elven books if he wanted to.”
“Maybe. Does he have a dragon?”
“I don’t believe so. How is that relevant?”
“Because maybe riders can understand Elvish. Maybe...Maybe that’s how they talk when they get a dragon.”
“You said ‘maybe’ three times. I don’t think it’s true.”
“Well, I am your younger brother. I will go along with you. Maybe it was just a regular bandit. But still, the book is gone! Stolen!”
“Maybe. You said it again. That’s no evidence if you say that word, Thetra.”
“Arek.” Thetra eyed his brother. “Did you hear that?”
“Yes. It came from the basement.”
They ran down, swords in hand, and found a burglar trying to escape out the window.
“You there!” yelled Arek. “Stop!”
The burglar kept on running.
Thetra chucked his sword at him, trying to hit him.
His accuracy was perfect.
“Thetra!” yelled Arek as Thetra picked up the book. “That was amazing! I never knew you had that talent!”
“I never got a chanc
e to show it.”
“Great job, man! Wait. Is that...?” He pointed at the burglar, who lay dead on the grass.
“Mr. Sacvren. He tried to steal from us.” Thetra looked at Sacvren’s house and saw his wife, Ifergha, looking out the window, tears streaming down her face. “You!” shouted Thetra, and he and Arek charged at Ifergha.
“Please don’t kill me! It wasn’t my idea!” cried Ifergha, pleading for mercy.
“You knew. He was planning to steal from us this whole time.”
“He saw you walking back to your home with the book!”
“And yet you didn’t stop him,” said Arek.
“I tried, boys, I tried. I couldn’t convince him.”
“You’ll just have to die.” Thetra stabbed her through the toe, and she crumpled.
“Good job,” said Arek.
“Now let’s just hope that we aren’t charged for a murder.”
“No one knows.”
“But they’ll find her dead. Oh no! Our other neighbors! They’re probably contacting the Guards of Toage.”
“I don’t want to face those police,” said Arek.
“Nor do I.”
“Now let’s just wait. If we have to, we’ll kill the guards.”
“But there’s always more,” protested Thetra. “Oh no!”
“Do not worry, Brother. We will be alright.” Then they both saw the guards pull up to the house.
They walked in and saw Thetra and Arek.
“You two!” yelled the officer.
“No! We didn’t do it.”
“Then why do you both have swords in your hands, younglings? I know you two. I know your parents.”
“They’re dead.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. But why do you have swords in your hands?!”
“We were ready for whoever did this,” lied Thetra.
The guard raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he asked. “Is that true?”
They both nodded.
“Well, then! I’m sorry I suspected it was you. But whoever did this will hang for their crimes. How about the husband? Do you know who killed him?”
“No. Probably the same person,” said Arek. “But it is sad. We’ve known these neighbors far a long time.”
“I know you have. And I’m sorry that you two have suffered such losses. When did your parents die?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“By who?”
“Strangers. But we killed them. Or Arek killed them.” Thetra looked at Arek and smiled.
“Well, you should’ve contacted us.”
“He was lunging for our throats!” yelled Arek.
“Oh, well, maybe you shouldn’t have then. Well, you two are both dismissed.”
“Thank you, Officer Veras.”
“My pleasure, boys.”
Arek and Thetra didn’t talk the whole rest of the day.
When Thetra woke up the next morning, he got dressed and then went to church with his brother.
When they returned from church, they slept the rest of the day.
On Monday they went to Thorgh’s. They bought some meat for the next two days before they went hunting for it.
That night at supper, Thetra said, “This meat is great!”
“I know,” replied Arek. “I’m glad we went to Thorgh’s. That place has the best meat.”
“I agree with you, Brother. Have you ever thought about joining the good army?”
“A couple times, yes. Why? Do you think we should?”
“No. Well, yes. Kind of! I’ve always dreamed of it, have you not?”
“No, I have. Do you want to go now?”
“I do.”
“Well, we can’t just abandon our house. We’re fine here.”
“We can bring all our possessions with us. It’ll be fun traveling across the country.”
“Not really. You know there are soldiers and Morchad out there.”
“Oh, they won’t come to us. You know that. They don’t even know about us.”
“We’ll raise suspicion if we just cross their eyesight.”
“We’ll try to stay out of their eyesight then.”
Arek thought about it. “I don’t know, Thetra. It’s quite dangerous.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Maybe we’ll pick up a friend on the way.”
“I’m fifteen and you’re thirteen, Thetra. We’re young.”
“You’re a year away from manhood, Arek. We are not young.”
“Gosh, Thetra! You will not end this conversation.”
“Because I’m not backing down. You know we have both dreamed of this, right?”
“Yes.”
“So let’s let our dreams come true! It is time, Arek. We have to leave for the good army.”
“Thetra!”
“Please, Arek! We have our swords to protect us! If we could kill an Ognok, we’d become magicians!”
“As much as I would love that, no.”
“Arek!”
“I said my final answer, Thetra.”
“Please, Arek. You’re my brother. I look up to you!”
“No!”
“I’ll give you anything you want.”
“Very well. We will leave Sunday.”
“Thank you.”
THE START OF THE JOURNEY
On Wednesday morning, Thetra woke up early. It was a hunting day, as they had agreed. He met Arek outside, and together they head into the forest of Grime.
Thetra spotted a deer about seventeen minutes into it.
Thetra and Arek always had competitions on how many each could bring back.
Thetra released his arrow, and it hit the deer dead center in the middle of the eyeball.
“Bull’s-eye!” cried Thetra. “One!”
Then Arek shot a crow. “One!”
They went like this for four hours, and finally, at the end, Thetra had sixteen, and Arek at fourteen.
“Good hunting,” said Arek.
“Good hunting,” said Thetra.
“Hey, I heard Worgh is going to have a story today around one o’clock. Let’s go drop our weapons off and get changed so that we can head over.”
Thetra changed into a shirt and shorts, for the temperature was 84 degrees F. Then they walked over together to Worgh’s.
They arrived just in time for Worgh to start his story. It was about dragons:
“Kiolerasdarque’s dragon eggs are known for hatching five years before their rider is born. Then they fly to their rider when the rider is about sixteen.
“The egg is the same color as the dragon’s scales. If the egg is green, the dragon is green. The same with swords. If the rider’s sword is green, the dragon is green.
“They are always born, or hatched in the Dalfnok. Then they swim out and they track wherever their rider is. When they find their rider, that is when they officially start talking. Then it and its rider travel together. They cannot get away from each other, nor can one kill the other. As hard as you might try, you will fail.
“It is not known if Morchad has a dragon. If so, it is the only one. There have only been two dragons seen in Kiolerasdarque: yellow and flaming white. Their riders, Konum and Alkarche, are known for winning the most battles. Konum was evil, but Akarche was one of the good army. They always fought alone. Both were magicians, so they were in a lot of magic fights. Finally, Alkarche defeated Konum and his dragon, but Morchad slayed Alkarche and his dragon.
“It is not known how many eggs are left, for you cannot see them under the water. They are invisible. Many from the little town of Beragh have tried and failed.
“Dragons are mighty creatures, the strongest race of all Kiolerasdarque, the second eldest, for the Elves are the oldest race of our country.
“Every rider has a sword. If he does not already have one before his dragon comes, the dragon will give him one. But it must be named greatly.
“Dragons and riders...Dragons and riders...That is the end of my story today!”
Thetra
and Arek walked out of Worgh’s and went hunting again.
Thetra caught a couple birds, deer, and rabbits off guard. And then he found a huge animal.
The bear was about ten feet tall, too big for any that Thetra knew of.
And then it spoke: “I am Certuol, the only of my race in this city of Toage. Our kind, the Mremax, have been around for a very, very long time. Will you please let me live?”
“Er, aye. Sure! I mean...Great!”
“So you’re letting me live...or not?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What he means is,” Arek said, “yes, he will let you live. I mean, why harm a bear? I mean Mremac. Why harm a Mremac?”
“Thank you, Lords. If I die, my race dies. My wife, who is pregnant, is the only chance we have. I must go back and help her.” Then the bear trotted off back in the other direction.
“Wow,” said Thetra. “Hey, thanks for saving me. I just...was amazed.”
“Thetra! That animal came from the direction of our house!”
“So?”
“Look!” He pointed toward their house, where they could always see the tip of it, where their rooms both were. “It’s gone, Thetra! Our house is gone!”
“But how? It’s...WHAT! No!” Then they both charged to the spot their house used to be.
They were panting when they arrived. They put down their things and sat down, looking at their destroyed home.
“Good news...We can leave for the good army... early.”
“This is unbelievable. New race I hate most: Mremax. Look what he did!”
“There, there, Arek. We still have”
“Nothing!” exploded Arek. “Nothing because that troll just blew up our house! Now we just leave it and head to the good army!”
“I guess.”
“Alright, then. Then let’s get packing with everything we can find.”
“Good idea.”
And then they packed up all of their belongings and headed for the good army... early.
“Well, our first top is Wecavvrrn. I believe the good army is in Destville.” Then Arek peered at the sun. “Might get there by dusk if we run. We’re halfway.”
“We’ve run the whole time. I’m tired. If we’re going to travel through tonight, I’m walking.”
“Very well. We will walk to Wecavrrn, but when we enter the city, what will we do about our weapons?”
“Toage is the only city that doesn’t allow weapons in Kiolerasdarque, Arek. You know that. We’ll be fine.”
“Toage has the most safety rules, then.”