‘War makes for strange alliances, putting you into business with people that, under other circumstances, you wouldn’t even shake hands with.’ -Javier Pena Ember We stepped through the portal at the Black Ash Pack village and landed at the gates of the Drystan Clan Castle. It reminded me of the Timber Coven fortress that I grew up in. The stone walls were tall and gray but there were no trees close by. The sun was just setting on the day and I could hear the sounds of people moving around inside the castle. The clan was coming alive since they were nocturnal, still moving in the shadows waiting for the sun’s rays to finally disappear. As soon as the sun was gone, I watched as guards appeared on the walls with torches in their hands in order to watch for intruders. I looked to see how Corbin and Demir were taking this situation. Demir looked scared to death while Corbin was composed, but I could see the worry lines on his forehead. “We can do this. We’ll be fine,” I

‘All things share the same breath -the beast, the tree, the man. The air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.’ -Chief Seattle    Dusan     After leaving Nightshade, Toast and I traveled to the desolate cities of The Whispering Herbarius and the Tower of Terra. Those were the cities of the sorcerers that ten years ago were wiped out. I could only feel elementals, so there was no telling if any sorcerers had survived the attacks all those years ago. Anything was possible in life.     While Soren and his forces were running rampant across the land, no one dared enter these two cities after they fell. He had guards at them at all times to make sure that no one entered them. I felt like it was his way of making sure they didn’t come back to

‘Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.’ -Haruki Murakami   Ember     Killian and Bastet stood close by me watching down each end of the hallway we were in as I stood at the door of the room my father was in. My mind was racing with the possibilities of how this was possible. How did he survive and my mom not know it?      The door to the room I was standing in front of finally opened and my father stepped out. I couldn’t believe my eyes at what I was seeing. There he was after all this time. Standing there staring at me. I had to make sure that he was real. I reached out to place my hand on his chest. I felt the warmth there and his heart beating strongly.     I open

‘They had forgotten the first lesson, that we are to be powerful, beautiful, and without regret.’ -Anne Rice   Ember    I found another door that was closed and heard a lot of movement inside it. Killian and my dad both heard it also and stepped up beside me right as the door was ripped open from the inside. There we were met with a werewolf holding the hand of an elemental and two other elementals right behind them.     I instantly stepped in front of Killian and my father to protect them, building my temperature and power right away. These were Realm Assassins and the man looked like what everyone said Commander Ulric looked like.     The man I assumed was Ulric, unsheathed his sword and p

‘Home, the spot of earth supremely blessed, a dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest.’ -Robert Montgomery    Ulric    We fled the castle as I pulled Lark behind me. We took nothing with us, which was probably a mistake, but we needed to get out of here. I ran quickly through the city trying to get her out of harm's way. Who knows what happened after the battle ended and if there were people now after me? I had been a big part of so many deaths and cities falling. I had a lot of blood on my hands.    As we passed through the city, I noticed that it was completely deserted. I have never heard this place so quiet. It was strange and eerie yet at the same time peaceful. We met Erebus and Diamond at the city gates and started heading south.