THE SHATTERED REALM: FORGOTTEN ECHOES

Aramith woke up feeling disoriented. "What happened?" he asked groggily as he rubbed his head.

"You blacked out," a voice close by responded. He saw Mozrael on her bed with someone else lying beside her. He, on the other hand, was on the floor. "What happened?" he asked again, trying to piece together the events. He remembered talking to Mozrael, and then Lia had entered the room, shouting something.

"Lia threw a book at you," Mozrael said, sounding rather shy. "What's wrong with her? She's always doing the most unexpected things. No wonder my head feels weird. Where is she?" Mozrael looked at the bundle beside her on the bed, then glanced back at him. "She tried waking you up for a while but gave up and fell asleep. She wouldn't let me go out to get someone to help you or even help get you onto the bed, so I had to leave you there."

"What happened to her whole plan about a story?" Aramith asked, now fully awake.

"When she went out earlier, she went to get a story. But when she came back, she had a different idea about what was going on. She threw the book at you and then fell asleep."

Aramith sighed. "What in the world was she thinking this time? And now she's asleep."

"I think this book she brought is yours," Mozrael said, holding the leather-bound book that was resting on her lap.

"What? She went into my room?" Aramith stood up and approached her bed, inspecting the book. It was thick, with an image of a head on the cover. The image had blurred with age, making it difficult to tell exactly which creature it was.

"Oh, that..." Aramith began.

He took the book from her lap, opening to a page depicting a dragon breathing flames in midair, being pursued by humans and other races.

"This is the great battle that happened years ago," he explained as he flipped to the next page. It showed five people—four men and a woman. Above them was a flag depicting an expensive, curved spear planted into the ground.

"Who are they?" Mozrael asked.

Aramith pointed at the flag. "This is the flag of the Spears. They were a group of the most powerful cultivators at the time, called upon to deal with a certain beast that was ravaging our lands. It killed many and destroyed many armies, so the five great kingdoms came together to select their five best fighters to deal with the menace. They searched far and wide, sacrificing much, but eventually, they found the dragon's hiding place. After a long battle, they were able to defeat it. They say the battle lasted for months before they were finally successful. According to this book, the dragon had a core that shattered into five parts. I think it was because five people fought it, but no one knows why it broke into exactly five pieces. They decided to destroy the core because the dragon was at such a high level, it could come back to life. But when they tried to destroy it, they realized its power was so immense that if they did it near any kingdom, it could wipe them out. It could even distort the Youm in places far away from the explosion, so they decided to return to where they defeated it—the Five Horns of Agaboz."

"What's Agaboz?" Mozrael asked, puzzled by the name. She saw a drawing of an island but didn't understand why it was named that.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. The dragon was called Agaboz, and the island it was on was shaped like the head of a dragon when seen from the side. If you look closely at the drawing, you'll see that the island has five mountains. I read another book that said Agaboz had five horns, and these five mountains were said to represent those horns."

"Does the island still exist?"

"No, I don't think so. Maybe it does, but no one knows where it is. The rest of the story says that a lot happened after that, and the core was destroyed along with the Spears. Some say one of them survived, cursed with immortality. This story has always been one of my favorites. What do you think?"

Mozrael ran her fingers across the page, which depicted Agaboz being chased by five streaks of light—the five Spears. Agaboz was a majestic yet fearsome dragon.

"I... I like it, but you didn't describe the fight itself," she commented.

"Oh, I thought it was getting late, so I should wrap things up so you could get some rest."

"Oh."

"But you can take the book and read it later if you like. I've read it many times, so you can keep it if you want."

Mozrael smiled. "Oh, I—thanks."

Aramith yawned, standing up. He looked around and scratched his head. "Can I use your desk?" he asked her. Mozrael nodded, and he thanked her, then moved to sit at her desk. He took out a small book and began writing. Every so often, he glanced back at the bed where Mozrael was now reading the book. Aramith focused on what he was writing, trying to occupy himself, though he felt drowsy. He wanted Mozrael to fall asleep first so that he could quietly leave. If he left too early, she might feel bad that he was leaving and be alone.

That was his plan—until he found himself asleep at the desk.

Henndar slipped out of the bedroom, moving quietly until he arrived at the meeting place.

"Deadlock," he said as the group's leader appeared before him.

Henndar handed him a scroll.

"On it, I've written a list of places you should monitor. Keep an eye out for anyone from the Elwicks."

Without a word, Deadlock vanished.

Henndar made his way back into the bedroom, slipping under the covers. He looked at Kethra's serene face and smiled. "You're even more beautiful when you sleep, my love," he whispered, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. He was about to kiss her forehead when she suddenly opened her eyes and pushed his face aside.

"You need to look around when you do anything, Henndar."

He stared at her in surprise. How did she wake up just as I was about to...?

"Where did you run off to?"

"Heh?"

"Don't pretend you don't know what I mean. You went out, then came back only minutes later. Where did you go?"

"Oh, I just went out to get some fresh air."

"So, you're saying there wasn't any fresh air in here?" She frowned.

Henndar reached for her, trying to hug her, but she shifted aside, getting out of bed.

"Come," she commanded, walking toward the door. Henndar followed her, confused.

"Where are we going?"

She didn't answer and went outside, still leading him by the hand.

"Take a good look outside," she said, her voice calm but with a hint of mischief.

"Is something wrong? I don't see anything unusual. It looks fine to me."

She smiled wickedly. "It's good that you find it okay. You're sleeping out here tonight until you convince me,"

"Heh?"

She entered and shut the door before he could fully process what she meant.

Two soldiers nearby glanced at each other, shaking their heads.

"This again."

"He got kicked out again?"

"Yep, again."