The

Candy Star

 

The Candy Star: The second of six

Chronicles in the great story of The Land of Mystics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Douglas Landmesser

            Take my hand to the wondrous land of lollipop trees and peppermint flowers, all things make believe. A land of strawberry hearts and teacup boats on saucers of foam, a wondrous land of wafers and cream. This land, known as The Land of Mystics, has quite a story to be told.

            The first chronicle in this great story, The Cobbler, spoke of The Modern Growth Era. This was the time when as boy named Corren, along with two allies, battled to free The Cobbler from his entrapment within The Goldenland. It also spoke of a utopian land, filled with wonderful treasures and wonders that sparkled forth under the beams of two pink suns.

            This chronicle, the second of the six, will speak of the mysterious Animalian Era; the time when the entire Land of Mystics was encaptured within a terrible icy tomb. This terrible time was thought to be absent of life. This, however, is not so. So the question then arises, who knows what?

            Some would say that Contrus, the more or less creator of The Cobbler, saw things that had not yet come to pass. It was said that he spoke of The War of The Mystics as a child and as an adult, even predicted the coming of Corren of Gandor. The ancient Mysticarians, however, died before they had a chance to learn anything. The Modern Mysticarians know of The Cobbler and now of his true form. It is not until the final chronicle that all will be revealed to all, but by then, not much will matter. The truth is that only The Cobbler knows all. He has seen the past and the future and he knows exactly what need to occur to bring The Land of Mystics to its final end as a utopian world.

            So, with these things said, let us begin the second of the six chronicles in the great story of The Land of Mystics, so begins...

 

The Candy Star

:Chapter One - Maramound's Roots

 

            "Well it seems strange to me!"

            "Everyone, please! Calm down! Let us speak like civilized beings. Every being here knows that these strange events could be being caused by anything. Let us not lose our minds over this matter! Now, if it concerns the whole of us, let Maramound and I travel to the depths of this forest and discover what has been taking place."

            To this everyone slowly agreed...

 Welcome to Algoron. It is The Animalian Era. From some of our old scrolls we have been able to decipher that it is about one hundred years after the creation of The Cobbler. You have interrupted our meeting. This, however, is not a bad thing for now you can meet with Maramound; a character in our last crazy tale. He is busy now but he will speak with you in just a moment. Ah! I see you were able to make it back! How wonderful indeed! I have missed you since we told you our last story, the epic battle to free The Cobbler from his entrapment within The Goldenland.

            You probably now realize that I would have no way of knowing about this Cobbler story if I were still in The Animalian Era and so I apologize for telling the story a little out of order. I felt the "Corren story" should be taken care of first. As Dothar mentioned, welcome to Algoron. Algoron is, in one way or another, a "city among the ruins" if you will. Before The War of The Mystics even began the animals within The Land of Mystics knew all was lost. We, however, were not caught up in our own anger and we decided that death was not an option. We called together all of the animals within the entire land for an emergency meeting. Within hours we had come up with a plan.

            As the world around us crumbled under the weights of death and destruction, the animal race of The Land of Mystics gathered their belongings and headed for The Forest of Enigma. We thought that it's deeply dense growth might have shielded us from the bitter ice and snow that was on the way. The bitter cold did rain down upon us, but we managed to survive long enough to be buried alive within a seemingly endless wall of ice.

            Once the raging storms had moved higher into the atmosphere we began to dig out small areas so we could at least sit down. It took us three days to dig out an area in which we could all sleep. Luckily for us, by the time we found everyone, we had moved several miles to the west and The Choco-Mountains were within our reach. Without this abundant food supply, The Land of Mystics would have been a very lonely place during The Animalian Era. Our placement was obviously The Cobbler's work.

            So here we sat, almost in complete darkness, digging around within the endless snow in search of the smallest hint of moonstone; a wonderful stone that continuously gives off a rainbow glow. Eventually we had gathered enough of this moonstone to create a large sort of sun. After some great effort we managed to secure this to the top of our snow cavern with large wooden posts from the endless forest around us. This sun-like composition was actually a clever invention on our part for it's rainbow light filled the icy cavern with a wonderful rainbow glow, much like that of our old sun.

            By this time we had managed to clear out a large area in which we began to build our new homes, these made primarily of ice and wood. Soon after this an old dragon named Algor, who was a great inventor of his time, created an invention that changed our lives for the better. He, along with a few of his large friends, put together a large mirror-like that they then crafted to attach to our false sun. As the light from the moon rocks reached this device, the light was then amplified and cast down upon the cavern floor with an incredible brightness. I was only a boy then, but I recall the first rays of light from this marvelous creation and it still brings a small joy to my mind.

            With this device we could finally establish a system of day and night in order to keep time as best as possible for the future Land of Mystics. Secondly, those of sensitive eyes would be able to sleep within the weakened glow of the false sun, as the reflective mirrors were tilted away from the cavern floor. Throughout my childhood I worked with the other children to build the great city of Algoron. The great inventor of our marvelous sun had died before the city was completed, and so the city was named after him as a memorial and an honor.

            The grand city of Algoron was now established. Little did we know that this great city would some day stand for righteousness and good. This city was, like most of the other animals within this time period, the place where I grew up. It wasn't that miserable at all. We had everything that we needed to thrive and we had plenty of space to run freely and play games in. The only thing that bothered us was the cold. This, of course, we adapted to rather quickly. So, the years passed like the closing of a door, and here we stand; established, efficient, and ready for the next challenge that awaits us...

            By now the meeting had ended and everyone had left the town building, in search of a new adventure or perhaps a warm bed. So, with everyone on his or her way somewhere, Dothar and I finally sat to talk a bit,

            "Dothar, what do you suppose happened to Byrant? I heard that after he had crashed into the eastern cavern wall he simply disappeared."

There had been a friend of ours, Dothar and I, who had been acting very strange in the past few days. This very morning he had suddenly disappeared while he sat within his room reading. A moment later, a terrible crash was heard echoing across the entire city. A while later we discovered that he had been thrown through the eastern wall of Algoron's cavern. No one, however, was able to find his remains. This, mixed with the "strange events" that were taking place in The Forest of Shadows, finally brought the city people together for a meeting. The strange events within The Forest of Shadows were actually unexplained flashes of light within the night.

            Some argued that they were some spell or charm left over from The War of The Mystics, others argued that it was some type of gathering of mysterious beings with a single purpose. Others still thought nothing of it, saying that it was meerly the ground's reaction to being stained by rage and evil bloodshed. Whatever the cause, I am sure that Dothar and I will discover it soon enough.

            "I think that there was magic involved with this happening, perhaps not of a good nature."

            "Whatever this is, Dothar, we will bring it to light."

            At this we both laughed.

            "Well, I had better be moving along then, Maramound; I wouldn't want Cintha to think I have a girlfriend."

            With that, Dothar rose from his old wooden chair and disappeared through the town building doorway. In a moment I also rose and moved around the large gathering hall, covering the various stands that contained pieces of moon stone within them; a way of sorts to shut the lights out if you will. Soon the entire hall was dark and, with a sigh of relief, I slowly walked out of the building; straightening a few chairs as I passed. As I exited the doorway I closed the large wooden door behind me. With a loud crash the door slammed shut, snow falling from its cold frame. So here we stand, the vast city of Algoron lying before us.

            I suppose now would be as good a time as any to give you the grand tour. Where we stand now is the town square, the meeting place of the inhabitants of the city of Algoron when something is in need of discussion. This, however, is not a very accurate name for this place for the city of Algoron is no little town. It's large structure stretches to cover more land than the Forest of Enigma itself, halted only by the people's desire to live close to each other during this chaotic time.

            Surrounding this town square is the vast city of Algoron. Large houses made of ice and wood spread across the remains of The Forest of Enigma. In the southern section of the city lies my small house. Northeast of the town square lies Dothar's house. To the north of the city is The Arronith Forest. West of this, as you would expect, is The Arronith Passage. This passage is used to reach the abundant Choco-Mountains to harvest the chocolate for the city to eat. Northeast of The Arronith Forest is The Arthion Lake. This lake was one of the few that did not freeze within the ice covering. Its abundant Iota supplies us with plenty to drink and bathe in. East of the town square is, as you would expect, The Eastern Woods. South of the city is The Forest of Shadows. This is where the "strange events" were reported coming from. East of The Forest of Shadows is a newly created passage, nicknamed Byrant's Hole. This is where he crashed into the eastern wall of Algoron's cavern just this morning. And there is your tour. The city of Algoron may seem small by description, but it is truthfully giant...

            After closing the door securely I headed south towards my house, dodging the trees and houses that blotted the landscape. Soon I had reached the familiar little hill upon which my house rested, the glow of my own moon stone pots shining brightly upon the path. In a moment I reached the door and, with a gentle grip, I turned the handle. With a tug I opened the door and closed it behind me. Finally I had reached my destination. With one final sigh I crashed down upon my small bed and, in what seemed to be an instant, I was consumed by the loving arms of sleep. Then into dreamland I traveled, not sure as to what awaited me.

 

:Chapter Two - The Cobbler's Return

 

            When I awoke it was late that night, at least two in the A.M. The Waker, a being assigned to open the suns "curtains" for the day, was still sound asleep. I was awakened by a strange warmness in the air; a warmness that, at the time, seemed impossible to exist. As my tired old eyes finally creaked open they were assaulted by a terribly bright light, one of an amazing caliber. For some reason, however, I had no desire to shut my eyes from its brightness. In a moment the harsh light turned into a wonderful pink glow, and with this my heart was filled with a warmth much like the warmth that my body felt; only this was of a different kind.

            It was as if a shroud had been lifted from my eyes and in one moment I was changed from a vengeful, angry animal to a loving, kind being who now believed that things could work out for the better. I had, as well of the rest of the animals, known of The Cobbler's existence from our parents; but never had I thought that he would repair The Land of Mystics in my lifetime.

            By now this pink glow had come together into one center point and from this came the most peaceful and loving voice that I had ever heard,

            "Maramound?"

            To this my heart suddenly leaped with joy for I knew this to be The Cobbler,

            "My lord! You are free from your entrapment! Have you come to free us from this dark torment?"

            To this The Cobbler laughed gently before speaking once again,

            "No, Maramound, not yet. I have a long time before my freedom will be granted to me. Because of this, you must be my arms. I need you."

            "Yes, of course! Anything mighty Cobbler!"

            "You must listen closely to my words. The fate of the animals and The Land of Mystics rests in your hands alone. Do you possess and knowledge of the magical arts?"

            "I do not."

            "You must save Algoron. a certain being, a friend of yours, has suddenly vanished from the city of Algoron this very morning."

            "Yes, I know. His name was Byrant."

            "Yes, I know well your relations with him. He has not gone unnoticed by me. His anger against The Mystics burns greater than any other animal. You also possessed this anger once, I have opened your eyes and allowed you to forgive them. The time has come where the once hidden evil within The Land of Mystics will be unveiled. It was once slightly loosed in the hatred that led to the destruction of the past Land of Mystics. Now this evil is free. It has chosen a victim and it feeds, even now, upon his sanity. Byrant is not dead, nor is he injured in the least. Byrant has become evil, he has become the evil. Byrant has finally taken his pre-destined seat at the thrown that he has created for himself by his long-worked hours.

            Byrant, nor you, have lived only one life. You lived once within The Ancient Mysticarian Era when magic reigned supreme. You, along with Dothar, battled valiantly to save The Land of Mystics from destruction while Byrant turned away from my aid and hid. He was also killed during The War of The Mystics and only now has he again turned from me and to his evil. He has embraced what no other animal would and what no other Mystic knew how to and now he has become all that is evil.

            Through his evil ways he has learned magic. Impossible as it seems for an animal, he has discovered, for just a moment, what pure and total hatred and evil can do. He is now in The Dark Land, sitting upon his dark thrown. These things that I speak of will soon become known to you fully. The Dark Land is a place, a terrible forbidding place, where evil beings go when they have come to the end of their lives. All of the ancient Mystics are there. Here they will be tortured for their rage until they are freed. This, however, is not your task Maramound, worry not about those souls. They will suffer for their wrongs and then I will free them in due time.            Your job is this. Byrant has taken the thrown over this Dark Land. His evil has taken over his mind. With his anger growing, so also does his power. Soon he will become bored of ruling over his Mystic slaves and will seek other evil pleasures. In truth, he already has. His powers grow at a frightening rate. The lights that have been seen within The Forest of Shadows are evil. Byrant is even now attempting to do something that you may not understand. He is attempting to open a portal from The Dark Land to The Land of The Mystics. This is like a doorway between the two worlds. I am powerless to stop him for I can only remain with you a short while. You can not stop him from creating the doorway, his power is too great. Soon he will accomplish his goal and he will be strong enough to open a portal at will. This is the most dangerous time for him.

            He will soon learn to master this skill and, when he does, he will possess a power of irreversible caliber. You must remember, however, that he is not using magic of good. He is using evil powers. Because of this, you can win. As we are speaking, Dothar is dreaming the same dream. He will be your only aid on your quest. You must know that if Byrant is able to create a strong enough doorway, he will march his armies of darkness into Algoron and destroy you all. When the time comes for me to awaken, my new Mystics will be destroyed by his evil and evil will have won. Do you understand all that I have spoken?"

            Within my surprise and now overwhelming sense of importance I was only able to say,

            "Yes, my lord."

            To this The Cobbler continued,

            "Then brace yourself. I will empower you, the only animal in history, with the ability of magic."

            With this, the light within the room suddenly faded and I was again returned to the darkness. A moment later The Cobbler's glow returned and I was again within his presence. The pink sphere lost its form and became the form of a being. Then, with a savage explosion, a blast of rainbow light tore from The Cobbler's hands and encaptured me within its glow. The blast threw me backward against the northern wall of the house as an intense tingling sensation filled my body. The light surged through me and around me almost endlessly until I was almost paralyzed by it's numbing powers. In a moment the numbing faded so that it only dwelled within my hands. Next the numbing gradually weakened until it had all but faded. After this the light faded from the room and I was lowered safely to my bed once again. With nothing else said The Cobbler then vanished just as quickly as he had come. As my eyes adjusted to the new darkness I noticed the small tingling that remained within my fingertips.

            I sat just thinking a while, wondering what I should do. Then a thought came screaming up from the back of my mind. With this I rose from my feet and frantically starred about the room. Finally I came upon exactly what I had been searching for. Across the room, about ten or fifteen feet away, sat a small drinking cup; about five inches around. With a strong will I reached my hand out in an attempt to move the cup. As I did this a burst of light tore from my hand and crashed into the cup, tearing it into pieces with its savage fury. The blast filled the room with an amazing green light that completely took me by surprise.

            With a new confidence I stretched my hands outward and reached for the broken glass pieces. Amazingly the pieces came together and, with a little dance, reformed into one solid glass. I then floated the glass back down onto the table and let it rest. Only now did I fully comprehend the powers that The Cobbler had granted me. With this task complete I returned to my bed and rested on its side, almost not sure whether I was dreaming or not.

            My answer, however, was quickly found for in a moment the door to my house suddenly burst open Dothar standing within its passage. He excitedly spoke,

            "Maramound! The wonderful powers of The Cobbler! How grand is he! How grander still for us also to be heroes of Algoron!"

            "Dothar, calm yourself. We have no reason to rejoice."

            With this Dothar's face fell flat. He then seemed puzzled and spoke,

            "Maramound, why is it?"

            "Dothar, you have forgotten Byrant so quickly? Was he not a friend to you one day ago? I hope this is not what you think of me after being gone a meer day!"

            Soon Dothar's countenance became like mine. With this he walked to my side and also rested upon my bed. Time passed, almost like a rainbow on a summer day. The cold of the late night nipped at our noses with a tingle that we almost didn't notice. Here we talked and fellowshipped through the night and only gave into sleep an hour before the "sun" arose the next morning.
         

:Chapter Three - The Coming of A Hero

 

            Thud! A loud rumble suddenly jolted me from my peaceful slumber. With a quick leap I was on my feet, ready for anything. Dothar awoke less zealously, he was still at my side. It took us a moment to realize that it was meerly someone knocking on the door. With a sigh of relief I walked to the door and tore it open, a burst of light blinding me with its intensity. A familiar voice now came to my ears,

            "Awaken, oh sluggards! Do you not yet know what is at hand?"

            I quietly interrupted his excited words,

            "Peace, quiet, and perhaps some rest for you would be the best things to have at hand! Come in and be at peace. Then you can tell me of everything that has transpired this morning."

            At this, the being that I now knew to be Estclox, stepped forth into the room; an expression of joy rested upon his face. I continued,

            "Now, slow down and calmly explain to us what has occurred."

            Estclox strolled across the room and took a seat at a chair of the kitchen table. He then scooped out a glass of Iota from the bucket and slowly drank it down. Then with a deep breath he spoke,

            "Maramound, Dothar. You can forget about this little shack that you are living in. This very day, this very moment in history, The Cobbler has been freed from The Goldenland and has come to save us and to restore the suns of The Land of Mystics!"

            With a burning anticipation Estclox then stood before us and awaited out responses of joy and celebration. Instead of this, we both sat, mouths open wide, on my bed. In a moment Estclox continued,

            "You have been overcome with joy! What an amazing occurrence! I've never seen you two so ha..."

            "Please leave now, Estclox." Estclox was used to my commands and quickly left the house. In a moment I spoke,

            "Dothar, things are worse than we had expected. Estclox has not spoken of The Cobbler's valiant return... this is the work of Byrant. He has finished his creation and now he travels from The Dark Land to The Land of Mystics freely!"

            As Dothar's face rose in surprise he spoke,

            "What will we do Mara...Maramound! What is this!" Dothar suddenly leaped from the bed and ran into the sunlight. From there he looked upon me for a time. At this same moment I realized what he was starring at. My body had been, for all intents and purposes, changed into something completely different. Well, my cloths anyway. Where my old, rugged brown cloths had laid were now a valiant display of black attire. I now had a black hood that obscured my face so that I could only see out. My cloths were all black. My skin was as white as a ghost's. I had black boots, black pants, a black shirt, and even a black belt from which a series of black pouches hung. A black cape and hood that concealed my identity even further hid all of these things. The only sign of color that appeared within my countenance was a silver chain that dangled from my neck, no charm attached to its end. My hair had also turned black, this now at least three feet in length and fading within the black mesh.

            And as I looked upon Dothar in the same way I knew that he also had been changed for he had also changed in appearance. Dothar was already a very large and powerful creature but never before had I seen him as great as now. He resembled a creature of Earth, the bear, but he stood on two feet and walked like a Mystic. At his side rested a sword of unbelievable size, obviously created by a strong magic for it was glowing red within the sunlight. He wore thick pants with strong metal chain link embedded within them. Around his waste he wore a large metal belt, this supporting the large weapon that hung from his side in a gold plated steel sheath. His sword had a simple yet effective appearance, a large double-edged blade of shiny steel attached to a hilt of a similar countenance. The hilt had a simple green crystal embedded within the center of it, almost in the shape of a pyramid. Over his large chest he wore a black metal suit that was studded together with large steel studs. Along his arms he wore chain link sheaths over large metal plates. Within his monster-like paws he had giant claws that stretched at least six inches. This was the new and mighty Dothar, strong in himself and greater still in the training of The Cobbler.

            So there we stood, wondering at our new appearances and wondering at The Cobbler's amazing works. After a moment of this we left my house and moved quickly to the town square where the false cobbler would no doubt be making his speech. We arrived just as the last few beings were filing into the large front door. We followed behind them and closed the door behind us. There stood this cobbler, directly in the center of the stage, preparing his words as each took their seats. Dothar stayed by the door while I moved closer to the stage, attempting to hear Byrant's false testimony.

            Byrant was clothed in a marvelous display of gold and precious jewels. Upon his feet he wore solid gold slippers that magically bent with his feet's every movement. Around himself he wore a valiant robe, this embedded with strands of gold and jewels of divers kinds and colors. Around his waist he wore a belt carved from solid diamond, the site of which marveled the crowd. Upon his chest he wore a grand suit of armor, more gold than steel within this. A large and beautiful red cape draped from his shoulders and dangled upon the ground, just past his feet. His countenance was completely changed from his past self, his face now of a Mystic; slightly resembling the face of the might Contrus, the creator of The Cobbler. This was, no doubt, to aid in his deception. He had grown very tall now, about seven feet in all.

            He was not muscular in countenance and yet he possessed a sort of strength that could only be felt; sort of like a king or great ruler. Onto his brow he wore a band about his head, sparkling with gold and jewels in a beautiful display. His hair was long and purple, and his eyes were like clear blue crystals. Oh, he had designed this guise with the most clever cunning and now he was going to put it to the test. It seemed that only I could see the evil that hid behind this fascade.

            By now he was prepared for his speech. I moved to the front row and then disappeared behind the stage curtains. Here I could gain a better assault angle on Byrant. With a subtle motion Byrant rose his hand to silence the crowd as he stood and walked to the pulpit. Next he lovingly released a golden smile to the audience. Dothar gave me a look from the doorway that told me that he also could sense the evil hidden within this smile. After this Byrant spoke in what seemed to be a loving voice,

            "My dear friends! Welcome all, welcome! I have grand and wonderful words for you all!"

            (Dothar) I could hear the evil in his every word, no one else seemed to even notice. It seemed that The Cobbler had granted us clairvoyance of mind enough to tell good from evil. He continued,

            "This is a great day! My friends, the time has come when The Land of Mystics will finally be freed from its entombment within this terrible ice and snow!"

            With this every being within the building cried out in a united joy that violently shook the building. In a moment the crowd became settled once again. I could feel the anger slowly growing within me, as I knew it was in Dothar as well. He, however, had half a will to slay the false cobbler without a single thought on it. Perhaps this should have been my thoughts on the matter also, but they were not.

            Louder and louder this Byrant spoke, with this my anger turned to more anger and more and more until finally it had reached it's end! (Maramound) With the end of one final explosion of the crowd finally ended, the unsheathing of a mighty blade suddenly filled the silent room. It was Dothar, his anger now exploding into a burning rage. The entire crowd cried out in terror at this for the monster-like beast now stood within the center isle. Dothar stretched out his valiant blade and pointed it at Byrant who was drawn back by Byrant's size. I knew the crowd would protect this false cobbler and so I had to act quickly to save Dothar from their wrath.

            With this I leaped from the shadows and came crashing down onto the floor in front of the stage. I then spoke to the crowd,

            "Animals! This is not The Cobbler! This being's evil is as easy to see as any other's!"

            With this everyone ran from the building, half listening to my words and half fleeing from the battle that was obviously close at hand. After the room had emptied Byrant spoke, this time with no sweetness to his voice,

            "You fools! I could have saved them from this terrible misery! You fools! I could have..."

            "and have them what! Sell their souls to you and forfeit their immortality! Have them as your slaves within The Dark Land! Would you call that better than their freedom!"

            I interrupted.

            "You don't know anything! I have powers beyond your imagination!"

            With that I rose my hand and blasted forth a blue transparent sphere that exploded upon him, throwing him backwards but not upon the floor. After this he spoke again, this time with a quiver in his voice,

            "You! You have acquired  the power of magic? But what is this? This power you control is not evil in origin. Has..."

            With this his eyes widened with an overwhelming surprise,

            "The Cobbler! He has empowered you!"

            Dothar broke in,

            "Enough of this!"

            Dothar swung his sword over his head and threw it at Byrant with a strength that amazed even me. Before the blade reached Byrant he had already vanished within a portal to The Dark Land. The sword traveled through the air and buried into the wooden wall behind the stage, this accompanied by a loud thud. All that was left of Byrant was a fading black mist that took the shape of a large sphere. With this we both starred at each other and then at the stage. After a moment Dothar leaped onto the stage and pulled his blade from the wall. I spoke,

            "Well... I don't know what we are to do now. Everyone thinks that we are either crazy assassins or that we are some type of perverted freaks with the power of magic as our ally. We must win the people back to our trust, but what can we say to them?"

            Dothar resheathed his sword and approached me once again,

            "We will tell them the truth. We will tell them that Byrant was not killed in this "strange accident" days ago. We will tell them that The Cobbler is being impersonated by this evil being, this... gobbler, who is trying to take over Algoron and enslave The Land of Mystics with his evil powers! We can tell them that and they should find a way to believe us for they know who we are and what we have always stood for! Or... you know, not?"

            At this we both laughed but soon we were both silent once again for the problem was still at hand. Suddenly the answer flooded my mind like a tide of the ocean.

            "Of course!" I cried, "The Forest of Shadows! This "Gobbler" has not discovered that we know of his workings in that place! Let us be off post haste!"

            With that we tore open the wooden doors of the city building and disappeared into the darkness of The Forest of Shadows.

 

:Chapter Four - Black Shadows Upon Us

 

            The Forest of Shadows is not like any other forest within all of Algoron. This forest has been kept, over a time, the same as its mother; The Forest of Enigma. If you recall from our last story, The Forest of Enigma was the darkest, densest part of growth in the entire Land of Mystics. In most of the forest, sunlight could not penetrate through its dark vail at all. We felt it wise to leave a portion of the forest this deeply grown so that The Forest of Enigma could recover to its original form once the ice age had come to an end. This dark forest, of course, would make the perfect hiding place for The Gobbler to allow his power to grow uninterrupted. So here we return...

            "Maramound, look here!"

            Dothar's voice suddenly echoed through the silence. I turned to see what he had discovered. When I saw it, I also was excited. On the ground, near a large tree, rested a small stone made of some type of shiny silver substance. I knew it instantly to be from The Gobbler's robe. We were on his trail now. With this in our minds we pushed onwards with twice the zeal as before. Soon this had paid off for we had now reached the valley in which those strange lights were being seen from. As we came to the beginning of the valley's descent we crouched to the ground to avoid being seen by... whatever was below. By now the heat from The Gobbler's spells had melted the ice within the valley so that only the bare ground was left. Under the snow there were no plants left alive, few managing to grow there anyway within a time of sunlight. Here the sun would have been completely blocked out by the monstrous trees that grew there. Not even a glint of our false sun could be seen from Algoron.

            Dothar silently unsheathed his sword and crawled closer to the edge of the valley while I prepared my first real spell, a new and different thing to me then. It was only a simple fire attack, but it would do well against an unsuspecting enemy. The dirt of the forest floor was dry and soft here, no doubt the remnants of a time long forgotten by us animals. As we rested upon the dirt, the smell of its freshness brought back the memories of a time long ago, a time without the ever-constant ice and cold. The Cobbler has returned the memories of our old lives within The Ancient Mysticarian Era to our minds and yet only now did they become noticed.

            With that I also moved closer to the valley's edge, this time peering down into the vast land below. At the bottom of the valley was a yellow transparent sphere that floated about five feet from the ground and was sparkling across the dark valley with a lovely display. In a joking manor I whispered back to Dothar,

            "It is a shame that Byrant is evil, he has such a nice personality in his magical creations!"

After this we moved down the hill a little and slowly rose to our feet. Suddenly a blast of red light exploded into my eyes. In a moment I found myself laying on the ground, about ten feet from the bottom of the hill. Dothar was still on top of the hill, however, he was not standing either. Then, from the shadows stepped The Gobbler, this time dressed in a more refined suit.

(Dothar) After the blast I climbed back to my feet. Within the valley below me stood Byrant and Maramound, both exchanging violent words. The next action was almost inevitable.

            With no warning a blast of red tore from Maramound's hands and exploded into Byrant's chest. The blast tossed him backwards a few feet before crashing him to the ground. A sudden flame ignited upon him but it was ended with a single hand motion. Byrant leaped from the ground as quickly as he had land upon it, and cast a large green sphere at Maramound, which he cunningly deflected. The sphere flew back towards Byrant and, missing him, crashed into the floor of the valley leaving a considerable hole within the soil. A moment passed before I finally caught on that Maramound was awaiting my assistance. (Maramound) As I prepared an ice spell Byrant suddenly buried into the ground as Dothar landed upon him. He must have leaped from the top of the valley, a thirty-foot fall at least. After a moment of struggling Byrant managed to end up on top and was standing first.

            This was it. With a violent yell I threw my hands forth towards Byrant. As my hands sped forward, bolts of bluish-white lightening streamed down my arms and gathered into two spheres in my palms. The two spheres were the cast forth through the air. They sped towards Byrant and exploded upon him, freezing him within a temporary block of ice. He was almost free of this in a second's passing. As Byrant removed the last piece of ice from his face, Dothar's sword came raging upon him, fire pouring from its blade. The savage attack sent Byrant flying backwards with an amazing speed.

            He flew up the hill of the valley and crashed into a set of trees at the top. He then bounced of these and violently crashed back down the hill, tossing and bending painfully in his descent. Dothar was already upon him as he came to a stop, I was chasing behind him. As Byrant again became aware of his surroundings Dothar rose his mighty sword and violently swung down upon Byrant, instantly severing his head from his body. Blood began to pour from the wound, this bringing mixed feelings to each of our hearts. After a moment of watching I realized that the moment was over. With this I spoke,

            "Poor Byrant, a good friend, and a good enemy to the end."

            We stood there in the darkness of the woods for a while before we moved again. As we did so, something strange occurred. The body of the slain Byrant began to glow yellow. We stopped as we saw this and turned as the body faded into nothing,

            "Dothar... I think this was too easy of a task. I don't believe that was the true Byrant. His power might be so great as such that he may be able to create fake beings of himself."

            An eerie silence swept over the woods at this speech. Indeed this was not The Gobbler, for he would be stronger than this. So onward we traveled, carefully walking to the towards the floating sphere that lay ahead of us. As we traveled closer to the sphere, the smell of fresh dirt again filled our noses and again reminded us of our old lives within the good Land of Mystics. The dirt of the ground now filled the air as we walked, creating a suffocating feel about the forest.

            Finally we had reached the glowing sphere. It's yellow luminescence burst forth in waves, shining brightly and then fading inward in a loop. I could feel something coming from the sphere, something very familiar and yet very new. It was as if the sphere possessed a magic about it. Perhaps this was the way it worked, I could feel it's magic about it and I knew it instantly to be good or evil. Now I was curious, as was Dothar. Before I could act, however, Dothar also knew the sphere to be evil and assaulted it. With a quick motion he tore his sword from it's sheath and slashed down upon the sphere with all of his strength. His blade crashed into the sphere and, with a large yellow blast, was thrown from it with the same strength. An instant later another blast came from the sphere that threw us backward upon the ground, dazing my senses for a short time. A moment passed before I again rose to my feet, Dothar again at my side. He had found his sword by now, it had been thrown across the valley before the handle had hit me in the head on its course. Again we stood within the sphere's presence, marveling at its appearance.

            Now I was going to give it a try. Within my hands formed two small red spheres, both possessing great strength within. As they reached my palms they were cast together as I placed my hands outward in front of me with my palms facing each other. The spheres collided and grew into one larger sphere. With my strength raging I then blasted the sphere forth with all of my wrath. The sphere assaulted the other and they destroyed each other with a blast. We both stood, now in complete darkness, peering around as if we had awoken in a foreign land. In a moment Dothar spoke,

            "Well, there is no sign of The Gobbler left within this forest, let us leave this place."

            To this I promptly agreed and in a moment we had reached the top of the valley. Some time later we had reached the edge of The Forest of Shadows. What was to come, however, was totally unexpected.

 

:Chapter Five - Mind Games

 

            As we entered the city building once again, we were suddenly surprised to see everyone back within their seats; still listening to Byrant's lies. Dothar violently slammed the doors behind him as he unsheathed his sword, making sure that no one would leave again. Byrant spoke,

            "Look animals! These are the traitors who have come again to try and destroy me!"

            To this everyone turned and stared upon us. A small, sinister smile spread across Dothar's face as he moved his large, savage sword back and forth through the air; striking fear into the hearts of all who looked upon him. I walked forward, boldly heading down to the front stage. There I knew that a debate, or a battle, would ensue. The Gobbler spoke,

            "So, Maramound, what is it that you have to say? Feel free to speak boldly! Come, Maramound! What enlightening words do you have that will justify your actions in attempting to kill The mighty Cobbler!"

            To this the crowd angrily yelled in agreement. I moved onto the stage and took Byrant's place at the pulpit,

            "Friends. Good, noble beings. This is not The Cobbler. He has not freed us from this ice yet, and he never will. This is because he... has not the power to do so!"

            "Lies!"

            the crowd exploded.

            "Please! Listen to me! Now then, calm! Time is endangered! This being is not The Cobbler! This is merely Byrant! He has joined The Dark Land and he has become the evil!"

            My words echoed through the building and returned to me void of any other voices. The crowd was silent at my words. The Gobbler quickly broke in,

            "Nonsense! Maramound has lost his feeble mind! This Byrant is dead! He died in a terrible accident days ago! He is no more!"

            The crowd still remained silent, pondering both stories with troubled brows. (Dothar) By now I had composed a spell that would seal the door shut in case any guests tried to abruptly leave us. With this complete I secretly began to sneak through the crowd, growing closer and closer to Byrant with every step. In a moment I had secretly moved behind Byrant, sword in hand. Soon a small smile crept across Maramound's face and he began again,

            "And how is it, mighty Cobbler, that you know of Byrant's terrible fate if you were trapped within The Goldenland for all of this long time?"

            With a nervous twitch Byrant quickly fought back,

            "I am The Cobbler, I know everything! Ha!"

            "Interesting indeed, then, mighty Cobbler! So... then you must know how the city of Algoron was granted its name!"

            With this Byrant's eyes widened with panic. A few seconds passed before I pursued,

            "What is that you speak, might Cobbler? Come! Speak up! I am sure you know considering you are... the great Cobbler!"

            I knew, as well as Maramound, that Byrant never learned of the great dragon Algor who the city of Algoron was named after. Byrant's face slowly dropped as a smile began to cross mine. Suddenly the building began to rumble with a savage quaking that caused everyone to panic.

            "Fools!" Byrant cried, "you will all suffer for this!"

            (Maramound) "Byrant! Stop this or fall!"

            I yelled, summoning my strongest spell ever; fire in offense. A red sphere appeared within the center of my hands, held there by bolts of red lightening that exploded from my hands. Byrant now opened a spell of his own, a black sphere floating in front of him. Within this the rumbling increased and now the building violently quaked with an amazing zeal. From behind Byrant the curtains rustled, and from nowhere Dothar suddenly tore through them; leaping upon Byrant with all of his strength. The two fell from the stage and came crashing upon the floor.

            Dothar rose his large sword and crashed down upon the floor where Byrant once struggled, now disappearing within the crowd. With a burning rage Dothar ran forth but I stayed him by the arm,    

            "Dothar, wait! He will be trying to get to the door! Let us lay in wait until he shows himself."

            By now the rumbling has ended, however, Byrant still hid within the people. We slowly crept towards the stage, Dothar preparing his sword for a long throw. In a moment we stood on the stage. Near the door a crowd of beings were pushed aside as Byrant made his move. Dothar, seeing this, threw his large sword forth. The mighty blade spiraled through the air and buried into Byrant's leg, pinning him to the door. He had forgotten Dothar's spell upon the door and he was not able to escape the blade's path, for the door would not open in time. Byrant cried out in agony as he colapsed to the floor. We chased after him, ready for anything.

            Before we reached him, however, Byrant had summoned a dark spell and had vanished into The Dark Land.

            "No!" I cried, "You see animals! He has entered The Dark Land! He is evil! His power is great and his evil is even greater!"

            To this the crowd finally, and slowly, agreed.

            "I tell you the truth," Dothar spoke up, "my good friend Byrant has become the evil. It is a sad day for us. One of our own has become evil."

            With Dothar's added words the crowd became silent and despondent. To break the silence, Dothar's large blade finally gave way from the door and came crashing to the floor; jolting everyone back to the harsh reality. The crowd next burst into a rather loud discussion while Dothar and I moved again to the stage. In a moment Dothar motioned to the crowd to be silent,

            "Okay, okay. Friends. No doubt this Byrant is angry at us, and no doubt he has a plan to probably destroy us all. Now, listen to me. The Cobbler has spoken to us. He has empowered us with this magic. My magic, however, is slowly fading; I can tell. Soon only Maramound will possess the power of magic. This means that he is to be our leader. He is the only one who can save us from this gobbler, for The Cobbler has told me this."

            With this he stepped down and motioned me to speak. I starred at him as  he passed, I just as surprised as the crowd at this new news. So with a hard breath I began,

            "Okay, so I have a plan. It will be difficult on all of us but I believe that we can do it if we fight hard enough. Just remember what we are fighting for, a utopian world to live in. Depending on how hard we work now will determine exactly how hard The Cobbler will need to work to fix The Land of Mystics once this terrible snow melts away. (Lie number one) I will tell everyone more later but for now Dothar and I need to talk alone for a while. I suggest that you just go home for now."

            With that Dothar destroyed his seal upon the door and everyone slowly filed out of the building in front of us. After everyone had left I closed the door behind them. Then Dothar spoke,

            "Maramound! What are you doing! We don't have a plan! We don't even have an idea of what is going on around here! We have no idea where The Gobbler is or how to fight him! What can we possibly do!"

            "Calm yourself, Dothar! We will have a plan! We just don't yet. The Cobbler will speak to us soon. For now let us rest and eat.

            By now about a day's time had gone by and sun mirror controller was dimming the false sun's light more and more with each passing moment. With this we left the city building and traveled to my house. By the time we arrived there, the day's light had fled from the sky fully. Climbing up the same familiar hill, we finally reached my front door. From here we entered the old house and took a seat, Dothar at the kitchen table and I on the bed. After a while Dothar went around the room and removed the lids of the MoonStone pots, gradually flooding the room with a lovely rainbow glow. After this, Dothar moved into the northern end of the house where he prepared a rather large piece of chocolate for himself. After this he moved to the small  kitchen cupboard and retrieved to drinking cups that he gilled with Iota before returning to the table. Now, with a tired old yawn, I rose from the bed and crossed the room; finally coming to rest in the opposing table chair. The table was covered with a fine Tithen cloth, a relic of the past Land of Mystics. Within the center of it sat a small yet lovely vase, now empty of flowers. The table was made of wood and had AA large "M" carved in the center of it.

            Dothar reached forward and took a hold of his cup, this awakening me from my slight trance. With that Dothar spoke,

            "Maramound, let us begin to plan our actions for no doubt Byrant has learned of our destruction within The Forest of Shadows. We should be ready for him."

            Now I felt like I had eaten too much for the thoughts of my lost friend still slightly lingered within,

            "Yes." I replied, reaching forth and taking hold of my meal, "Dothar, I do believe that I have a plan that is suitable for our use but The Cobbler must speak to us first."

            Dothar's face lit up with these words for he was now recalling exactly what The Cobbler's presence was like. A small warmth filled the room with these thoughts and we both burst into laughter.

            "The Cobbler is a wonderful being."

            Dothar spoke. I replied with only a shaking of my head. After this we sat a time and talked, dining on some splendid chocolate and some even sweeter Iota. Before we realized it, the night had slipped away and the sun's shades were now beginning to open. A new day had spawned from the last cold night and with it would come amazing and new experiences that the two had never had before.

 

:Chapter Six - The Training

 

            By now the sun had opened it's bright eyes fully and the time was about eight in the morning. Our valiant heroes had passed out from a lack of sleep, Dothar by the door and Maramound under the table. One could easily say that they were drunkards, had they not known their characters. The beaming of the suns light finally got to Dothar's brain after about three or four hours of drilling. With this he awoke abruptly,

            "What...is this?"

            Dothar then rose from the doorway and moved to the bed,

"Mara...hey, uh...hey Maramound."

            Mornings were not the best for these two for their magical powers were still unstable. This would not be true for very long, however, for The Cobbler had plans for these two this very day..

            Eventually I had stirred Maramound with my calls. With this I fell backwards upon the bed and almost slipped back into dreamland. In a moment Maramound's hand rested upon my shoulder and I knew it was time to awaken. As I opened my eyes, Maramound's look told me that he was anxious to go, and so I quickly rose from the bed and followed him as he left the house, heading for The Forest of Shadows once again. During the journey Maramound did not speak. I assumed The Cobbler had told him not to explain anything to me until we had reached our destination. At Maramound's fast pace we reached the forest within the hour. 

            After we had reached the forest we continued onward until we had traveled deep into the woods. Finally, after some great distance, Maramound came to a stop. Here Maramound finally spoke,

            "Here we are. The Cobbler will meet us here in due time. First, however, we must train our skills."

            And so we did, I working my sword more than my powers. Over the vast hours we practiced our skills. We seemed to be learning at an incredible rate, The Cobbler was obviously with us. Very soon I had discovered a strength that I had never thought possible and yet within it I was glowing more agile than ever before. The Cobbler had given me something that I was not yet prepared to unleash. (Maramound) Within our training I felt my mind being pushed faster and faster, being filled and overwhelmed with new ideas and spells, potions and attacks; all of it almost claimed my sanity.

            I didn't understand exactly how all of these things were coming to pass, but within this time of training, I came to one truth. This was that the powers of The Land of Mystics were not all from The Cobbler. Something else, another power, perhaps something made by The Cobbler. With this new series of thoughts, and the ever-constant stream of other thoughts, I had finally been overwhelmed. In a single moment I was changed from the past Maramound, with a small idea of the powers and magic of The Land of Mystics, and into the being I knew that The Cobbler had me to be. With all of The Cobbler's works complete, I suddenly collapsed to the ground and fell into a deep sleep, my mind finally crying out for some kind of relief and shutting down. (Dothar) As I continued to build my strength I noticed that Maramound had fallen to the ground. I Ran to his side and spoke,

            "Maramound! Are you injured?"

            He did not respond. In a moment he began to stir and I called to him again,

            "Maramound?"

            "Ah... Dothar. I am okay. I was simply overwhelmed by my work."

            "Well then, let us return to our tasks, I feel that my power is growing with every swing of this marvelous blade! I feel The Cobbler has done a good thing in empowering us with these abilities. We will be valiant heroes when we leave this dark place."

            "Very good then, Dothar. Continue with your exercises."

            (Maramound) Dothar then left my side and went back to his training, slashing and stabbing with a power that grew at an alarming rate. The mighty blade that he wielded seemed to be only half of his strength. I knew now that The Cobbler's magic had never left Dothar. This power simply lived within him and was of a different kind then mine. I thought on all of these things as I prepared a new spell, one of which I had learned from The Cobbler when we had first arrived within this dark forest. I began by raising my hands outwards in front of me, my fingers extended and my palms facing downwards. After this I focused my attention upon a single tree, small in appearance, that stood in front of me. My fingers began to tingle at their tips as small red spheres, barely visible even within the darkness, became visible. These spheres then began swirling around my fingers within the sea of air.

I wiggled my fingers back and forth through the air and with this more spheres became visible and the ones present were glowing brighter and brighter. Now I was ready to cast the spell. With a sort of flexing of my left arm I felt a pushing force come from the center of my palm. It felt as if my body was throwing it's insides outward through my hand. With this strange new feeling also came an intense power that drew all of the small spheres together into one large one. The power that dwelled within the palm of my hand was like one I had never felt before. Now I did the same with my right hand and within my palm formed a second sphere.

            With these in my grip I tossed them forward, hitting the tree by the ground. With a loud rumble the tree burst into a raging flame, the heat from it forcing me to step backwards. The heat quickly reached the trees above and began to melt the ice that rested within their branches. The light from the flame cast a brilliant glow through the surrounding woods and, in our surprise, we suddenly stumbled onto a scary discovery. With the bright glow filling the woods, Dothar now stopped his exercises and came to my side, only now discovering what I had learned a moment ago. Now we both stood in awe, starring up into the sky and wondering why the thought had not come to our minds earlier.

            By now the flames had melted a large amount of the snow that rested within the trees above and this was what we marveled at. The thought of reaching the surface of The Land of Mystics was not even thinkable before, however we now had magic as our ally. With this new truth, the thought of making it to the top didn't seem so impossible,

            "Dothar... what if we did go? It would no doubt be a wasteland, frozen and bitter with violent snow storms and possessing no sun."

            After a moment Dothar spoke with a sudden flame of excitement,

            "Yes, but what if the sun has arrived! We are buried under... who knows how much snow! If the new sun is truthfully here, we will not know it until it melts all of the ice and snow that rests on top of us! We could be trapped in this cavern for much longer than need be..."

            Our conversation would need to end for now, however, for there was now another interruption that plagued us. This was the small rumble within the ground that we felt traveling through the entire forest. By now I could even feel the evil within this. As we stood there in confusion the answer finally came to me and I wasted no time in running for Algoron. Dothar was close behind me, sword in hand. We made it through the forest in what seemed to be only a moment. Once we had cleared the outskirts of the forest, our eyes finally came to rest upon the cause of the rumbling.

 

:Chapter Seven - Fire And Ice

 

So into the city we ran and there stood Byrant, hammering away upon our false sun's mirror device with a giant hammer; the size of which greater than most of our houses. By now he had only managed to disallign a few of the reflective plates of the structure. He obviously wanted to gain our attention more than destroy the structure.

            Byrant was dressed completely different now, not at all hidden behind his false cobbler attire. He wore a simple black suit of armor, a simple wooden shield, and a double-edged sword with a black sheath to hold it. These things were more suited for a battle than the majestic attire that he wore at the city building.

            "Byrant!" I yelled, "What is this! Have you finally come from the darkness to fight!"

            "Ha! To destroy you two... creatures would be a massacre, not a battle! But since you wish to die so vigorously, I see no reason not to grant you your wish!"

            With that Byrant rose his hands for an attack, his hammer fading into the air. Dothar burst out with a savage roar that stopped Byrant cold. I was equally amazed by his aggression. He then angrily spoke,

            "Byrant! I have half a mind to slay you where you stand! Your evil has corrupted Algoron and you must be made to suffer!"

            With that Dothar waved his sword wildly in the air and prepared to assault Byrant.

            "Dothar, calm yourself! I will enjoy killing you and Maramound. First allow me to laugh at your words. Ha,ha,ha!"

            With this I had enough. I summoned a fire spell and cast it upon Byrant. From my hands tore a red sphere that sped upward into the air and exploded into Byrant's chest, throwing him upwards and then downwards. In a moment he came crashing to the ground like a speeding comet. A second later and he was upon his feet, his rage burning with the disgrace. Now he was truly ready to fight. Dothar, angry with Byrant's betrayal, ran towards him and leaped into the air. Byrant drew his sword and the two came crashing together with a violence that shook the ground. Dothar and Byrant clashed together for some time, each a wise swordsmen since a young age.           

            Back and forth the two clashed, I not daring to interfere without a sword at my side. Instead of this, I prepared a violent assault that would no doubt disable Byrant if it were delivered covertly. With the perfect timing I cast forth a green sphere that latched a hold of Dothar's sword as it traveled through the air. When it had completed it's work, the entire sphere became one with the sword so that the sword was glowing a bright green.

            Every slash of Dothar's sword met by Byrant's and they battled back and forth for what seemed to be ten minutes at least. (Dothar) Byrant had blocked my every assault, and yet I still felt that I would take him. The sword that he had could not overcome mine for mine was composed by The Cobbler himself. Even with this, down, up, down again; onward we battled in a savage fury that brought a small fear to my mind. After what seemed like ten minutes I had finally found a window. Byrant had not lowered his sword far enough after his left spin slash and I took full advantage of his unprotected leg. My blade buried deep into his leg, just under the knee. Byrant cried out in pain but then became silent. He obviously did not want to show that he was as injured as he was.    

            "Left arm growing weak, eh Byrant?"

            I said in a mocking sort of way, my blade still buried within his leg. With a clamping of his teeth he then pulled away from my blade and, summoning a black sphere, cast it upon the ground. He then leaped forward and disappeared within it.

            "No!"

            (Maramound) Dothar had thought the black sphere an attack and not an escape. The portal closed around Byrant so that no access to The Dark Land could be granted to us. As the portal closed and it's darkness faded into the cold air, a warm bright light replaced it. The Cobbler had finally come once again. After the same familiar light had come The Cobbler appeared in front of us, his overwhelming joy filling our hearts with an instant happiness that seemed to almost erase the memories of the past battle and of the friend who betrayed us. The Cobbler spoke to us in the same loving voice as always,

            "Dothar. Maramound, you both have brought joy to my heart. Yes, you have fought with courage and honor and I congratulate and thank you for your efforts. This, however, is not nearly all that you must overcome. As you speak to me Byrant is out within the city of Algoron, scheming and tricking it's inhabitants to work  with him against you. If he is successful, the souls that turn against you and I will be lost to him and The Dark Land. They will be forced to do his bidding along with the souls of the ancient Mysticarians who struck each other down in their evil rage. He is even now moving throughout the city, preying on the weak of mind, temper, spirit, or even stomach. Byrant, this "gobbler", has become the evil.

            Know this, you must not allow him to reach the surface of The Land of Mystics. If he reaches the surface, he will be free to use his evil powers to consume even the innocent into The  Dark Land with him. If it is necessary, seal him within The Dark Land. There his powers will be limited to the land in which he is trapped, powerless within The Land of Mystics. Soon you will meet a new ally. Take this being in as your own. You will not want to do so, and this is how you will know it to be the right being. This being's powers will help you to conquer this Byrant and to restore order to the forces of good and evil."

            "I have heard what you have said, my lord," Dothar spoke up, "but what is this next friend's name? Where will this being come from among these beings of no magic?"

            The Cobbler laughed quietly before continuing,

            "Dothar, do not under estimate the powers of these animals. With their combine strength and a little training, I would not need the help of you heroes. Remember, however, that you are important to me. I need you to accomplish this task with the utmost valiance and vigor. The time has come when Byrant has reached the peak of his power. This is not a good thing. Dothar, I have decayed your power of magic for a good reason. At this time your strength will be needed greatly more than your magic. Your powers will be increased one hundred fold for you have learned the sword skills that you require without the magic that you should have had. I will enable you to have an incredible strength. Your physical powers will grow from their already amazing level to a power that is unparalleled within all of The Land of Mystics, ever."

            With this a large rainbow beam blasted forth from The Cobbler's hand and completely entombed Dothar in its power. The power that it possessed was so great that I dropped to my knees standing next to it. When the beam ended, The Cobbler continued,

            "Maramound?"

            "Yes, my lord?"

            "You will be the most powerful wizard in The Land of Mystics. Your overwhelming powers will increase to such a level that you will marvel at your own works and abilities. I wish now to stay with you two longer, but I can not. My time is growing short, prepare yourself. I will now empower you with a magical strength that is beyond compare. You will need to train these skills however, it will be a dangerous task to do so within the closed cavern of the city of Algoron and so I ask that you delay this for a better day."

            With a small laugh The Cobbler continued,

            "Now, this Gobbler has been giving you problems, I can tell. The true problem lies in your inability to access The Dark Land. This shall change today. Maramound, you will need to listen closely for Dothar can not yet enter The Dark Land for his powers are not great enough yet. Only now, Maramound, are you beginning to realize that it would be impossible for me to grant these powers to you if I was not with you physically, correct? This is true because of the great seal that is placed upon The Goldenland to the far east from here. Because of this, I needed to construct a back door, a type of mirror to The Land of Mystics so that I could still aid my heroes without being with them physically.

            You might know this mirror of mine, probably only a distant thought to you still. If you remember Contrus, the great hero of The Candyland in The War of The Mystics, he named this mirror for me. This device possesses a power that is unparalleled to anything that has ever been seen before in The Land of Mystics. This I will allow you to tap into so that you can gain access to The Dark Land. Once there, you can overcome him whereever he runs for only one portal at a time can be opened from either land to either land, you will control the only one.

            Maramound, you must know that tapping into this mirror in such a way will be dangerous for you. The power within it could destroy the entire Land of Mystics within an instant. It seems that, for the most part, you have mastered your skills but there are still some things that you must overcome. This mirror of mine is called The Candy Star. You must know there are no buffers between you and it's power. This means that you could easily die if you do not control it wisely.

            Choose wisely your paths of next for they will either free or condemn The Land of Mystics. Dothar, I must speak to you privately. Maramound, please return to Algoron."

            With this the wonderful light faded and I returned to the street in which we stood earlier.  I stood there a few moments before Dothar appeared at my side. When he returned I did not question him about his words with The Cobbler for I knew he would not tell me. It would be some time before I would learn what The Cobbler has said to him, and with this would come The Gobbler's undoing.

            By now the day had grown late, around three or so. With Byrant's presence now gone from the city, Algoron seemed almost peaceful again. Somehow the snow, with its bland grayish color, seemed to have a different look to it. It was almost as if the snow had began to turn into colors of the rainbow. This, of course, was simply wishful thinking, but I was not the only being that strange occurrences were effecting.

            Within our moment of contemplation the door to one of the houses in the street opened, and from it stepped a lady of noble countenance who was unknown to Dothar and I. Upon her she wore a simple brown cloak, held together by three silver buttons in the front. From the cloak extended a hood and from her shoulders streamed a large brown cape that danced across the snow as she walked across the street to us. She was a wonderful creature, her eyes sparkling with a golden wonder and at the same time a bold sternness, a sign that made me question the powers that she possessed. Around her waist she wore a simple black belt with a silver buckle. Her pants were of a dark brown as well, made from dyed Tithen. Her cape draped down below her feet, just missing the ground in its swoop. Her hair drooped down freely upon her shoulders, disappearing within the hood's overshadowing grip. At her side she wore a small sheath, gray in appearance, with a small sword with a silver handle resting within.

            Her skin was much like a Mystic's, all pale and yet wonderful in appearance. It was obvious that she had once belonged to a wealthy family, but no one had wealth or the ability to acquire wealth within this icy Algoron. The only wealth that existed now was a good friend, a full belly, and happiness. She seemed meek in appearance, only five four in all, and yet I could somehow tell that she possessed a great strength of some type. So now here she stood, quiet and beautiful within the street, a marvelous picture of perfection.

            "My lady, what do you mean with your appearance here?"

            To this she did not answer. In a moment Dothar spoke,

            "Lady, what is your request?"

With this a small smile crept across her face.

            "Still gentlemen, even in battle. What am I to do with you two?"

            "My lady, do we know you?" I said.

            "Oh yes, but you won't remember me. I will help you defeat Byrant."

            Dothar broke in,

            "My lady! Never will we risk a precious life such as yours in battle against such a foe!"

            With Dothar's words the lady was upon her blade and, leaping into the air, threw Dothar to the ground with an incredible strength. They both came crashing to the ground and were lost within the snow. With this came a loud thud and a yell,

            "Do you think that Byrant could slay me!"

            Fearing for Dothar's life, I seized her and pinned the arm carrying the sword to the ground. To my surprise she threw me from her and then onto the ground, reversing the hold I had upon her was equal strength. With this Dothar's sword was resting against the back of her neck. With the cold steel pressing against her skin, it was only now that she ended her assault; dropping her sword as she rose. Once she was to her feet I moved out from under her and also stood, still looking upon her in amazement,

            "My lady, if your zeal is such against The Gobbler, then... join our party and be strong as we are strong. But first tell me this, where did you acquire such skills or a sword such as this?"

            Dothar spoke,

            "Lady, what is your name?"

            "Never mind that. The point is that I have come to your aid."

            "Well, we don't exactly need your help, my lady. A valiant battle has already been won  without a loss on our hands!"

            "Calm yourself then. A time will come when your skills will be matched or overshadowed by the powers of evil that lurk below. I know this evil Byrant. His powers were conjured up by him and now they have taken his wits away. He has fallen under evil's spell and now he has become the evil."

            A feeling of total surprise then swept over us at her knowledge of these things and it was now obvious our faces for in a moment she laughed and spoke,

            "Come in warriors. Enter my house and rest your tired old bones. I will explain all to you in due time."

            So, into her house we entered, and with a low duck for the doorway, we entered into the living room. Here we would learn of new things that we had not even dreamed about aforetime and perhaps even discover this lady's name.

 

:Chapter Eight - Missing Pieces

 

            As we entered into the house of this unknown lady, we began to realize while looking around, that we were quite knowledgeable in the arts of magic. Around her house there sat old wizard's books and stones from a long ago past. There were old scrolls with Mystic script on them, sealed pouches of black and various powders of red. There were small rings and gems and jewels, all with a type of magic within and yet all partially drained from lack of use. All of these things were simply souvenirs to the average animal but I could feel the power within them. Through this area she led us and into the kitchen we traveled. Upon the kitchen table there was a large object, it's countenance cloaked within the covering of a dark blue cloth.

            She pulled out one the chairs and sat down at the table, not saying a word in this. We followed her lead and sat the same. Once we had settled in with a glass of Iota she began,

            "I am Thema, sister of Byrant of Algoron."

            With this she paused for a response, Dothar spoke,

            "Sister? My lady, Byrant had no sisters. He was an only child. His parents were killed in  an accident while building Algoron."

            "Not so!" she cried, "Every night I wish this was the way it had happened! The tale is much more twisted, and much deeper than you think. Do you think that Byrant fell into the powers of evil in these last three days! Do you honestly believe he learned the ways of evil magic in a short time as this! That is ludichrist! His evil was growing within him since the day he was born within this icy Alogoron! He is destined to become it!"

            "That is a lie!" Dothar thundered, his voice now half mixed with a beastly roar that rattled the house, "We can change him, convert him back to good!"

            "Oh no... no my good sir. Byrant was a tyrant! His evil has laughed in your faces every time you have done something nice for him! You know this to be true. He has slowly grown evil and he was the one who buried our parents in that "freak accident" of his! He killed them!"

            "Lies, lies, lies!" Dothar thundered, his volume shook the table.

            "Dothar, enough!" I cried, "Let us listen to her and then judge her words."

            "Thank you Corren. Now, if you do not believe me, then recall the words of The Cobbler. I know he has spoken to you concerning this matter; about Byrant's cowardliness within The War of The Mystics. While you two fought for The Candyland he hid within his room, finally being slain by Goldenland invaders. Oh yes, this was not fear, this was the evil within him driving him to death. The dark thrown waited, no longer. And if this is not enough, I must not forget this."

            With that her hands jumped from the table and landed upon the dark blue cloth that covered the object in the center of the table. Without delay she unveiled the object, we three starring upon it with wonder and curiosity. What rested upon the table was a mirror, odd in appearance and yet beautiful beyond compare. It was clearly from the long past Land of Mystics for upon the handle was carved a large "C", the sign of the ruler Contrus of the past Candyland. The mirror was blue in color and its frame and handle were as if water bubbles had been joined together and frozen solid, their roundish shape holding fast in a magical glass architecture. It's power as a magical device was eminent for the mirror had a slight blue glow about its rim. Within it's reflection was not the world around it, instead only a blur of blue in a cloudy display. Within the chaotic blur there seemed to be a fuzzy and yet still contrast image that was hidden within. Dothar decided to speak what we all were thinking,

            "This is a magical mirror. Its powers are not yet known. Maramound, what is its purpose?"

            The same thought was upon my mind and for Dothar's question came no answer. I was worried for a moment but it was Thema who finally filled in the missing pieces,

            "I once lived in the great city of Gondor, sister city to the great Gandor between The Andorthian Sea. A great warrior named Tharen, a great warrior of The War of The Mystics and also a dear friend to me, entrusted me with this precious relic before she went off to battle against Creasant Rock in The Goldenland. She was empowered with a great magic and she was also a swordsmen of an amazing caliber. She told me to keep it for it possessed a strong power.

            Soon after this, all was destroyed and this cursed ice age began. I know that only you can harness the power within this device now. I demand of you, discover it's best use and express it. The mirror The mirror is a mimic device. Empower it with your magic and point it at an object that you wish to copy. A copy of the object will be stored within the mirror for you to call upon at your need."

            At this she rose from the table, grabbing the mirror in her motion. She then turned to me and placed the mirror into my hand. It's cool, smooth texture was a lovely reminder of the past Land of Mystics and of the magical wonders that The Mystics once wielded so easily. Now a simple magic mirror was a wonder to our eyes. With a sudden curiosity about the mirror's power I spoke,

            "Thema, bring your most prized possession to me."

            Thema left the room and disappeared into the living room before returning a moment later. Within her hand was a large ring, it's band made of a red substance and it's jewel a blue color.

            "Place it upon the table."

            Dothar jumped from his seat and came to my side.

            "Friends, let us test the power of this mirror with a prize such as this beautiful ring."

            To this they agreed. I lifted the mirror so that it was facing the table and, with a little effort, it came to life. A marvelous glow now emitted from the mirror, it's light seeming to enchant the room. From the mirror then came a beam of blue light, sparkling was a majestic luminescence that was clearly greater then the first. The beam slowly stretched itself out across the room and came to rest upon the ring. As the light touched the ring it was split into two of beams the same size. In a moment a third beam came from the center of the two and shined it's light to the right of the ring, creating a small blue sphere next to the first ring. Suddenly an intense blue flash flooded from the mirror and filled the room.

            The instant after this the light had faded and all was again silent. With a smile and a laugh I now discovered that two rings sat upon the table side by side. The new ring was only different in that it still glowed blue from its sudden creation. Dothar wasted no time in walking to the table to examine this new creation. Dothar removed the ring from the table and in a moment he also laughed for he had realized what I had. This ring was made of real metal and not a magical interpretation of it. Dothar slipped the ring onto his smallest finger, this barely making it to his knuckle. A moment later Dothar pulled the ring from his finger and with a great excitement he spoke,

            "Thema! Please forgive me! I did not think before I acted! How dare I wear your ring without asking first!"

Dothar turned from her and placed the ring back onto the table.

            "Always gentlemen, the both of you. Dothar, feel free to borrow it if it will aid you in the fight against Byrant."

            I promptly interrupted,

            "And what of this mirror, my lady?"

            "It is also yours if need be. I will be with you in your quest, it will be a fault of mine if it is broken."

            With a laugh I spoke,

            "My lady, if you could find a being so strong as to break this device then let all beings fear him for this mirror has the strength of twenty of it's kind. A powerful group of wizards worked on this mirror for a very long time for it's power is simply too great to be simple. It's strength both physically and magically were both forged with great skill and dedication. This Tharen must have been quite a warrior. Her magical influence must have brought her great friends who possessed even greater skills than herself."

            "Then enough of this! Let us rest and prepare ourselves for the battle. Look, the sky is preparing to darken. Stay a while and have a meal, I have a fresh bucket of Iota from the lake."

            So it was here that we stayed and rested through the night, all the cares of the world now seeming to drift from our minds and into the cold night air. As we sat there, examining and testing all of Thema's old relics, a feeling of happiness seemed to come over her, This was a night to remember. We slept soundly through the night and in the morning we awoke with a new zeal for our task at hand.

            The next morning there seemed to be an excitement in the air, one that would soon awaken our hearts and bring our strengths to their peaks. There was something else also, a feeling that was long forgotten by us and yet, with it's return, there was an almost instant recognition of it's strength. I now knew this to be the feeling that had awoken me from my sleep, my magical insight helping me see things even within my rest. The fake sunlight of the MoonStone Sun was shining just faintly now and no beings yet stirred within the town. Here, sitting alone, I started to think about our past adventures and of what still lye ahead for us. With my thoughts lingering in my mind, I passed through the room and into the kitchen where I took a rest at the table. Dothar had passed out by the front door and Thema had found a lovely place on the northern wall, the two beds in the house empty. At this I laughed a loud for it seemed funny at the time.

            Soon the wonderful light of the MoonStone Sun had flooded into the house, it's brightness awakening Dothar with a stir. In a most pathetic way, Dothar slowly rolled over onto his stomach and then with a grunt, lifted himself from the floor, fell, and then lifted again. Finally he had stumbled to his feet. Then, wiping the drool from his face, he stumbled into the kitchen and gave a meek grunt in my direction. I could tell that he was a great morning person. In a moment he came to the table and rested one of his large hands on one of the chairs. Then a strange noise came from him,

            "Maroground. Who… what, umm, th… hi!" the word he was searching for finally came from his lips.

            "silence" I whispered, "Thema still sleeps. Sit you dumb ape."

            Dothar's savage animal mentality unfortunately tended to shine through brightly in the morning and his gentleness is hard to find. With this now came Thema, grumpier in appearance than Dothar, turning the corner into the kitchen. It was these warriors who were to save Algoron. Seeing her I laughed harder. Dothar stumbled to Thema and greeted her. They both turned and faced me and, seeing them standing next to each other, I suddenly burst into a roaring laughter. Within my laughter the two looked at me like I was mad, but soon they also discovered their appearances and laughed the same.

            "If there were a more well dressed and formal group than you two in the land, The Cobbler would have chosen a couple of rocks to defeat Byrant!"

            After the good laugh passed that feeling again returned to me. Dothar, now also noticing it, spoke up,

            "Wow, it is quite windy today…"

            In his speech he suddenly froze, a look of sheer horror growing upon his face. It was only now that I knew the feeling! It was the wind blowing upon me! There was no wind in Algoron! There couldn't be!

            "Somewhere there is an opening to the surface!" I cried, Dothar's horror now turning to excitement.

           

:Chapter Nine - The Doorway

 

            With these words everyone rushed from the house and into the street. No one had awakened yet and this was a good thing. Standing here it was quite obvious where the wind was coming from. The false sun was its creator. Directly above the sun was a large hole, this blowing ice and snow into Algoron.

            "Look!" Dothar yelled, "the hole is miles long! The ice has not even began to melt!" He paused for a quick look before continuing,

            "And look! The sky is still dark! We have not reached the beginning of the end!"

            "Dothar, calm yourself! We will discover the cause of this passage whether it is good or evil. My lady, take my hand if you wish to continue this quest. Otherwise, return to your warm house for no doubt the surface is a cold that is beyond imagination."

            "Then I will be first!" Thema cried.

            So into my hand went hers and into the sky we three floated, lifted by a magical red glow that came from our feet. Faster and faster we rose, the wonderful glitter of new snow from the surface filling our already-full hearts with even more excitement and glee. Above the highest point of the false sun we drifted and onto the ceiling of the city of Algoron we stood. Then onward we rose, carefully entering the passage's end. Dothar now drew his sword for we knew not what awaited us above the surface. Faster and faster we climbed, snow and wind savagely forcing us backwards. By now we had climbed high above Algoron, three of four miles from the sun and yet still surrounded by layers of ice and snow. A while more passed before we finally came to the passage's end. Before we passed through it, however, we came to a stop as Dothar roared over the raging storm,

            "Now, when we exit the tunnel, hold your breath or your lungs will turn to ice in an instant!"

            Dothar then took a deep breath and shot upwards into the darkness. I summoned a quick spell and cast it upon Thema so that she could survive within the beastly cold. I then lifted her upward into the darkness and Dothar's hand appeared from out of nowhere to grab hers. Within a moment we had passed into another land. With a small thrust I next climbed through the tunnel's end and into the raging black storm. Once into the darkness my face was bombarded by a cold that I had never before thought existed. I jumped from the passage and crashed down upon the untouched snow. My feet did not even sink within the snow for it was frozen solid. On the surface there was only ice.

            There was a terribly strong wind blowing upon us and within it were propelled large chunks of ice that rained down upon us with painful results. Through this I could only see the glow of Thema's spell. The savageness of the wind and ice made it almost impossible for my senses to function. Finally I had some comfort for I now heard Dothar's voice roaring over the wind,

            "Maramound! Follow Thema's glow! I think I have found something!" After a moment I saw Thema's glow moving and I chased after it.

            Walking through this storm, even with a spell about us, was like crossing a desert in a sandstorm of ice. The violent strength of the constant winds wore at our energy as if it would never end. The cold that assaulted us was so bitter that Dothar had to cast a spell upon his sword to keep it from shattering. After what seemed to be an eternity, Thema's glow came to a stop. It then came closer to me until I could see them both, cold and covered in snow from head to toe. Dothar brushed the snow from himself and spoke,

            "Maramound, step with us to the spot just ahead and your eyes will sparkle with wonder."

            With that us three stepped forward and, reaching the spot, I also stood and starred in amazement at the site.

 

:Chapter Ten - The Candy Star

 

            Upon the solid frozen abyss we stood and now looking across the bleak wasteland we discovered a light, a sphere really, the color of which a marvelous rainbow and the magical power of it, simply beyond compare. The answer came to me all too soon,

            "'Tis The Candy Star."

            Dothar turned to me, a joy shining through his snow-plastered face. With this a sudden shock came over me for the raging ice and wind had stopped. With the colors of The Candy Star reflecting within our eyes I suddenly burst out in excitement,

            "Dothar! Thema! The power of The Candy Star has been awakened by our utterance of its name! The raging storm is finished!"

            The sky was still as dark as evil and the cold also the same, but the ice and wind had ceased. A strange new world opened itself up to us as the remainder of the falling snow came to rest. Only now did we realize where we were. We were indeed high above the ground. We had climbed high into the sky of The Land of Mystics for there was no point around us that was higher and the air was very thin. The passage that we climbed from was only yards away. The wind was so strong that we had only traveled a short distance in all of that time. It was now obvious that the star itself had made the passage.

            Suddenly there was a terrible rumbling as The Candy Star increased in brightness on a remarkable level.

            "Thema, look out!" Dothar shouted, now throwing her to the ground. A blast of rainbow lightening tore from the star and now blasted a hole where Thema once stood. With this the ice began to quake and within seconds the entire surface was thrown into a terrible upheaval. The ice and snow was torn apart, throwing pieces of the wreckage everywhere. Terribly loud snapping noises filled the air. A moment later of the chaos came together into one big roar that shook the land. Then, within the rumbling, a blast of rainbow light tore from the ice and blasted into the sky, glistening forth in a golden sparkling trail that stretched the length of the sky. With this, all was now silent once again. The star now returned to its normal brightness and, in a moment, it was as if nothing at all had occurred.

            The golden trail soared higher and higher into the eternal dark sky, showing no signs of slowing. By now it had grown much larger and its light was the intensity of a moon. Into the sky we gazed, totally overcome by the beauty of this sparkling marvel. The rainbow sphere that pulled the golden sparkles touched the sky with a loving new splash of color that, for the moment, flooded my mind with the memories of the past Land of Mystics and of the marvelous treasures that existed within those days. The trail of light now changed from a sphere with a tail into a strange comet-like arrow, darting across the sky at an incredible speed. Even stranger now were the sights that were mistakenly revealed by it's light. For some reason, influenced by the unimaginable power of The Candy Star, we were able to see distant planets that surrounded The Land of Mystics. These planets were also dark and absent of a life-giving sun.

            But how did they all come to this place? The Land of Mystics was once the only planet within this… void of space. Why now did all of these planets apparently jump into existence? After a moment I realized that my question, once thought to be only within my mind, had echoed out through my mouth and now two sets of eyes rested upon me rather than this comet. Within this moment we were again drawn back to the sky for the comet was acting once again. As my eyes returned to the comet I looked upon its new countenance, a marvelous pink, completely different from it's past appearance. Now it had turned all of its strength and power in a single direction and it's new path led it straight into one of the new planet's surfaces. This planet was a colorful one, now clearly visible in the comet's light. The land was an orange hue and the water, if it was water, a stunning purple.

            Faster and faster the comet sped, a bright spot now shining upon the planet's surface where the comet would impact. As the comet sped froward with a newfound rage, a thought crossed my mind but Dothar was the first to speak,

            "Umm… Maramound?"

            I knew what he was going to say and so I decided to save him some time,

            "Yea… umm, we might want to start heading back before…"

            Too late; this once sparkling, delicate sphere had become a savage asteroid that had breached the planet's atmosphere and, as I spoke, delivered a violent blow to the planet's surface. Only one word came to me now,

            "Run!"

            Without hesitation we turned and ran for the passage back to Algoron. The planet that the asteroid had impacted was far too close for us to escape the blast wave,

            "Run! Run! Run!" Dothar continued, our legs moving as fast as they could run.

            "There!" Thema finally cried, pointing to a small mound of snow within the darkness. We charged savagely forth, giving our all to reach the hole in time. Before we had reached the passage it was too late. A terribly bright flash of light suddenly flooded my eyes. A barbaric and crushing force that threw me to the ground followed this blast of light. I had just enough time to look into the sky before the planet above began to crumble. The initial blast had ended, but the next was close behind and this one would be unimaginably more aggressive than the last.

(Dothar) Thema and I grabbed Maramound by his shoulders and hoisted him to his feet.            "Come on Maramound!" Thema yelled.

            "But… look, it is so beautiful."

            Maramound seemed almost possessed by the destruction of the planet above. His mind didn't even seem to be with us. Thema was worried about this but there was no time for this now. I needed to get everyone below the surface before the planet above was destroyed.

            "Maramound!" I roared, my voice quaking forth into the air louder than ever before. To this came only the same empty stare from Maramound. At this my anger grew and I rose my sword against him,

            "Maramound! Awaken or die!"

            To this came no response. Now I really was angry. I swung my blade over my head and came down upon Maramound's shoulder, the weakest blow I could manage under the circumstances. The blade buried into his shoulder, no defensive magic working against it. As I pulled the blade away a trickle of blood streamed from his severed cloak, this running down his fingers and staining the white snow below. (Thema) While Dothar assaulted Maramound in an attempt to awaken him, I watched the sky with a growing terror for the planet above had now become coated in a large pink glow, this almost certainly the planet's end. Dothar had now grown tired of Maramound's game and tore him from the ground. With a grunt Dothar spoke,

            "Let's move!"

            With that Dothar threw Maramound over his shoulder and we made off like a gang of robbers fleeing a bank. In a second we reached the passage's opening,

            "Hang on!" Dothar roared, extending his hand out to me,

            "Go!" I yelled, now seeing the planet above raining down into The Land of Mystics' atmosphere, this escorted by a blast of power and light that was completely unimaginable.

            "Jump!" Dothar yelled as we plunged downward into the dark passage. As we sped downwards I looked up into the sky above and watched the blast as it reached closer and closer to the planet's surface.

            "Dothar!" I screamed as the blast finally reached the planet's surface.

            "Ice!" Dothar yelled, sending a blast of blue from his free hand. The blast encircled the passage above us and froze it closed. As we fell, the ice grew behind us so that, by the end of the passage, the entire tunnel would be sealed shut once again. By now we had fallen about half way down the passage and yet we could still see the blast melting the new ice above us. Only time and gravity would tell if we would survive this all-consuming blast wave. The terrible rumbling of this inferno still brought fear to my heart and yet somehow I felt safe in the good, strong hand of Dothar. After a moment the relentless blast wave finally dissipated and we were finally safe. By this time Maramound had returned to his senses and he was wondering where we were.

            "Don't worry, Maramound. We will soon be back in Algoron."

            "You gave us quite a scare, there, buddy."

            Falling with only the aid of gravity took the better part of a minute to reach the top of the false sun once again. Once there, Dothar slowed our fall with a red aura and a moment later we had touched the ground. Once there our eyes were overcome with tears and then rage from the sights that came to them.

 

 

:Chapter Eleven - A Deeper Wound Than Any Other

 

            Upon the ground, where we landed, were the charred remains of a being, apparently a child, who had been murdered in cold blood and in the most savage manner imaginable. The intense heat that the fire possessed had incinerated his very cloths. It was clear that some evil magic was the culprit of this horrible act. (Maramound) I hadn't been aware of the past circumstances but I was now aware of a few things. The first was that my shoulder hurt like a sword had been thrust into it. The second was Byrant had struck Algoron in our absence. This was simply the proof of it. With a weak tongue I spoke,

            "Dothar, Byrant has attacked Algoron."

            "Yes… it would appear that way."

            Finally my rage brought me back to my right mind and with that I stood. Within my mind now lusted vengeance. Without a second's thought I summoned all of my power and began working on a portal to The Dark Land. Dothar knew my works,

            "Maramound! You can not enter The Dark Land without The Candy Star as your allay!"

            Thema backed him,

            "Maramound! You are still weak! You won't have the strength to make the portal, not to mention fight within that evil place!"

            "Watch me."

            The two words rang from my mouth and as they returned to me the spell was ready. I stretched my arms out in front of me, palms facing together and fingers extended. A blast of electricity tore from my palms and came together in the center, quickly forming a gray sphere. From the sphere exploded smaller bolts, these however, of great power as well. I threw the sphere onto the ground and it became a portal. The portal was back and yet it had a gray haze spiraling about within it. After a moment Dothar spoke,

            "Maramound, have you gone mad? The Cobbler spoke to us in person! We need to use The Candy…"

            "No, Dothar. We need to do it another way now. The Cobbler spoke to me when we were above. It was only now that I recalled everything that occurred above and of The Cobbler speaking to me. "We must force The Gobbler from his hiding place within The Dark Land. Thema, you must stay here. The Cobbler demands that you train the animals. Train them to fight! Next time they will win! Dothar, come! We must strike The Gobbler hard and force him from The Dark Land!"

            "Yes! I see it now! " Dothar spoke, "Thema, you have a great skill for leading people! Your friends even fought in The War of The Mystics! I recall the story of the mirror and that warrior… somehow I seem to know her. That name, so familiar and yet so far away, Tharen."

            "Yes, I have felt the same way about her also." I continued, "A strange… relation somehow. But…"

            "Yes. A loving and kind, wonderful thing. A place of… glee and joy abounding."

            Thema now spoke,

            "Yes, I can do it! We will train rigorously and with the next battle will come The Gobbler's defeat!"

            "Battle!" Dothar growled, drawing his sword and slashing at an invisible enemy in front of him.

            "Easy, Dothar! We must still keep our wits about us! Very well! Thema, go to the city building and call everyone together! Shut down the sun's mirror device! It is not nearly night time yet and so everyone will come to see what the problem is."

            To this we all agreed and into the mouth of the portal Dothar and I jumped. As Dothar and I entered the portal we were now met with a sickening evil that was apparent within the black walls of a damp cave that sat in front of us. A thick fog flooded into our view as soon as we left the portal and the only things that could now be seen were the walls of the cave. A terrible smell lingered in the air, one of rotting flesh and death. From this fog we stepped boldly forth and now our vision became clear. Before us lay a long bridge across a stagnant river of some sort. The bridge was made of a dark blue stone that perfectly matched the enclosing darkness that gripped the land. Here a bitterly cold breeze blew over us, stirring up the murky brown water below. The bridge had grown a thick mold upon some of its old, broken stones and the smell from this was incredibly terrible. The air was always cold and damp, a kind that seemed to dash all of your hopes and bring an illness to your chest.

            On the other side of the bridge, underneath it, there was a small mud beach. Directly ahead there was a small cave with torches burning dimly for the air was so damp.

            Dothar whispered in a humble tone,

"Maramound, step carefully. This land no doubt possesses evils that are beyond our comprehension."

I watched Dothar's eyes for a moment for I didn't believe that his fear could be like mine. After a few seconds they suddenly lit up and a giant smile crept across his face,

"Ha!" Byrant roared, "Byrant!" He roared even louder, vibrating the water under the bridge, "Your time has come, Byrant! You will pay for what you have done to Algoron! Do you hear me, Byrant! Do you hear me! You better not let me get my hands on you or you will be worse than Maramound will leave you! You better crawl under the slimiest rock you have within this filth, Byrant!"

All of these words he roared with such a volume that they echoed through the entire area and traveled deep within the heart of The Dark Land. With this we charged forth with a yell. In an instant we had crossed the bridge and with a mighty sword blow from Dothar we removed a torch from the cavern wall. Then onward we stormed, now claiming another torch and yelling loudly into the darkness. With our valiant cries also echoed the screams of evil creatures and demonic creatures that had lived in the dark quiet of this land until we arrived. This new commotion brought pain to their unused senses. This was it. The evil of this place was now in a peril that was unavoidable. With us came the powers of righteousness and good, a power that destroyed all of the works of the evil one.

By now this long, dark passage had given way to the second wonderful site within this evil land. This was a large bridge overlooking a valley of seemingly endless depth. At the bottom of this abyss sat a pool of molten lava.    The searing temperature of this heated the once death-like cold cave to a staggering heat. This lava also helped to light our way as we crossed the old rock bridge. The bridge was created from some strange rock, hard to the appearance and yet soft to the touch. Once we crossed the bridge we came to a smaller cave. The air within this cave delightfully cooled our faces with its gentle tickle, this again reminding me of a land far from this cold, dark place; a place where the sun shines a stunning pink and the winds blow with a loving tenderness that is matched by no other.

But as we traveled further into this new cave's dark mouth these wonderful feelings soon faded from my heart. Something was different about their passing this time, however, for now the dull, heartless emotions of anger and sadness did not rush back upon me like they usually did. No, this was not what assaulted my heart now. Instead, a feeling of total control came to me; a feeling as if my mind had just acquired some power that allowed it to control the events around it, as if it was creating them as we went along. This new power that I had suddenly stumbled upon brought with it a feeling that everything was going to be returned to it's past wonder and splendor sooner than I had once thought.

I couldn't tell what Dothar's mind was upon. His face, during occasional glances to each other, seemed as hard as stone and just as cold if need be. He was never the warm hearted, emotional type that everyone wanted him to be. I guess this was why he acted the way he did, mean and strong yet caring when necessary. The very essence of Dothar's personality, like any one, was formed mainly by the experiences that he had encountered.

So onward we traveled, into the darkness once again. By now our minds and hearts had settled and there was now an eerie feeling in the air. In front of us the passage now led to a bright cavern, its size and contents not yet revealed. The light within this cavern was of a bluish hue, the light seeming to pull forth feelings of despondency and despair. As we came closer to the bleak entryway I could feel the pure and total agony of the poor beings that were trapped within and with this I spoke,

"Dothar, we have arrived. This is The Dark Land, an exact opposite of The Land of Mystics. Ruler by The Gobbler, this land is full of pain and sadness and absent of love and joy."

I turned to face Dothar and with this I stumbled upon a small grin that was sneaking across his once rock-hard face.

"Maramound!" he roared, "We have not come to fear Byrant! His evil is unforgivable! We will valiantly charge upon his and destroy him!"

            His words entered my ears and violently pulled upon my emotions until they discovered the hiding place of my rage and with this the memories of that slain being within Algoron came savagely rushing to my mind. With this new and burning rage came also a new zeal that fueled me onward towards the cavern ahead, the sadness and despondency that I once felt now having no power over me.

Dothar's sword was unsheathed now as we entered the cavern ahead, the blue light now brighter than ever. Now the contents of the cavern were clearly in site. In front of us sat a thrown, this carved out of what seemed to be the ground itself. To the right of this sat a table, strong in its rock carving, and upon this sat a small dagger. The handle of this was golden in appearance. To the far right and left sides of the cavern there were two passages leading out of the cavern, each heading forward in a turn. By the look on Dothar's face I could tell that he had become bored of all of this walking around,

"Byrant! Come and fight!"

As these words echoed from his lips the blue light of the cavern became an intense yellow as a fire ball tore through the air and crashed into the ground not an inch from Dothar's foot. With this came a loud crash that echoed throughout the land. Suddenly Byrant came crashing down upon Dothar, now clad in all new attire. Dothar and Byrant then fell backwards upon the ground, the dust of the blast still afloat within the dark air. Dothar roared in anger as he grabbed Byrant by the arm and hurled him across the cave. In a moment he crashed into the left wall of the cavern, a small cry coming from his lips.

"Alas!" Dothar cried, jumping from the dirty floor of the cavern,

"Now you will die!"

Dothar ran forward with a beastly growl and was upon Byrant in a second. Byrant jumped from the floor and began begging Dothar for mercy. After he saw Dothar raising his sword he ended his futile pleads and ran from him. After Byrant came to the cavern end he ran to my side. By now I had summoned a large lightening spell and was happy to cast it upon him. From my hand came a yellow blast that sped across the air and surrounded Byrant in a yellow glow. An instant later the cave was shook with a blast of lightening that tore from the air and came upon Byrant with a savage fury that was unbelievable at first. The power that The Cobbler had given to us was way more than just another magic. Only now did I truly realize that we were the only ones who could overcome Byrant for even another being possessing our powers would not be able to understand this deep and penetrating force that drove Byrant to such evil.

            The blast upon Byrant clearly surprised him for he had fallen backwards and was lying on the ground. His eyes open wide with amazement. This moment ended quickly, however, for Byrant climbed to his feet and drew a large broadsword from his sheath. Byrant's anger was now growing for his eyes now became serious and his body grew a stunning evil aura about it so as to have a looming shadow about him. His clothing was suitable for a dark lord, all black as usual. It appeared to be black leather and yet there was a black chain link integrated within its core. A small blue aura emitted from each of these links and for a moment I thought The Gobbler might have one over on us in strength. Upon his head sat a large battle helmet, this a black metal of some kind. Within the center of this sat a large black horn, sharp and ready to strike.

            But what grabbed my attention was the sword, the savage dark blade, which he brandished in the air like a cobra ready to strike. The evil that dwelled within that blade was greater than Byrant's evil. From the end of the handle hung a large black skull, this carved of a black stone that was unknown even to me. The handle was of silver, it's better half wrapped within a brown leather strap. Byrant held this blade tightly within his hand. Dothar had grown in his anger from Byrant's attack and, to my surprise, he was summoning a spell of his own. A raging fire seemed to burn passionately within his deep set, bold brown eyes. A hundred men could have been slain within the righteousness and truth that dwelled within those eyes.

            Byrant dared not to make the first move for he knew it would probably be his last. Suddenly the battle was on. Dothar ran forth towards Byrant with a roar, his rage now exploding from his body. Byrant had prepared himself this time for his sword was already drawn. About ten feet from Byrant's evil body Dothar leaped into the air and threw his sword over his head, ready to deliver a crushing blow to Byrant's head. Dothar came crashing down upon Byrant but his sword only collided with that of Byrant's; sparks a strewn with this clash. Dothar's sheer power had cast Byrant's sword downwards, however, Byrant managed to keep form of grip upon it and he was able to block Dothar's second attack, a sword slash upward at a right angle.

            "The first of many!" Dothar cried, again slashing upon Byrant with all of his strength. Again Byrant barely kept a grip upon his blade. At this moment I attacked with an ice spell. From my hand exploded a blue sphere, frozen and fragile in its arctic bitterness. The sphere crashed into Byrant's shoulder and shattered like a world of glass, the pieces instantly taking flight in a whirlwind about him. In a moment the blur came together into a larger sphere, this surrounding Byrant within its icy grip. Dothar ran forward and delivered a crushing blow to the large sphere that encased Byrant within. As Dothar's blade crashed through the sphere the inside of the sphere exploded into a raging flame. Within a moment the ice had collapsed and the fire had faded, but the attack had done its job.

            Byrant had fallen to one knee from this attack. Dothar knew as well as I that this weakness within Byrant would not last long for the evil of The Dark Land would now empower Byrant with wrath. And so our thoughts did come to truth, but they came much sooner than we had imagined.

 

:Chapter Twelve - Evil's True Form

 

            Almost an instant after Byrant rose from his knees the total evil of The Dark Land began to come upon him, a shadow at first but soon it was much more. A beam, a blue burst of intense light, now tore from the stagnant light that lingered above our heads with its depressing glow, and covered Byrant's wounded being in its dark shroud. From what we could see, his wounds all but melted from him as if this light was washing them from him. As the light poured upon him it grew steadily darker in color, now a dark purple. A moment later the beam became black, a strange thing to us for we had never before seen a black light before now. Accompanying this new light came a horrific sound, almost like a high pitched screeching, that screamed forth from somewhere within the darkness.

            "Here we go!" Dothar roared as the air within the cavern suddenly picked up, a violent wind rushing through the tunnel. The wind brought dirt and debris that flew by us, and a rumbling that drowned out Dothar's voice. The screeching sound responded to the wind by growing louder than ever,

            "Alas! Byrant! Your evil does not strike fear into our hearts! The slaughter of the city of Algoron will be revenged!" With this said, Dothar hurled his giant blade towards Byrant. The blade disappeared into the darkness and was hurled back towards Dothar with the same strength. The blade traveled with such speed that Dothar was barely able to leap from its path before it buried into his body. The blade passed him and crashed into the cave wall, sparks flying everywhere with its impact. Dothar ran to his blade and took it within his grip once again. At this moment something within me broke, exploded, tore open and cried out in a savage fury and now, with a hatred burning within me, I exploded into a scream that that overcame the howling of the wind and the screeching sound. I could feel my eyes tightening into a squint as my magic grew within me, its full extent not yet known.

            From my hands and feet came an involuntary tingle that was growing with an intense speed. Within seconds the feeling had filled my entire body. My hands became enlightened with a bright white glow, now forming into two white spheres within my palms. As they came together I wasted no time in casting them forth into the darkness. The spheres sped from my hands with bright yellow trails and disappeared into the place where Dothar's sword could not pass. Once here the two spheres exploded, a blinding white light flooding the cavern. With this the darkness faded and the wind stopped. Byrant's voice cried out in agony over the blinding light.

            "Enough!" I cried, my mind no longer my own. (Dothar) Maramound's power and authority had now come to the surface. Somehow I knew that Maramound had tapped the power of The Candy Star and yet I had no proof. From within the darkness then came a plethora of screams of pain and agony as divers kind of evil creatures suffered in unison at The Candy Star's power. The blinding light was not all that blinding to my eyes, a governor upon its power somehow resting upon my eyes from an unknown source.

            The light was warm, almost like fire, and it burned away at the walls of the cavern where it shined it's magnificent and righteous glow. Within the midst of the light came a small dark blue flash and I knew what had occurred.

            "Maramound! Byrant has fallen to the power of The Candy Star! We have forced him from this Dark Land and into The Land of Mystics!"

            As I spoke the power of The Candy Star faded from the cave, returning it to its past gloom and despondency. (Maramound) Feeling my wits again back with me I spoke,

            "Dothar! Did you see that! The power that came from The Candy Star through me! It was amazing beyond belief! Its overwhelming power actually strengthened me as it used me as a lightening rod of sorts! And the strength that is possessed! The sheer energy of it burned the rocks of this cavern, yet it wasn't even as hot as fire!"

            My mind was filled with joy at this victory and yet it lasted only a short time for I now recalled Byrant,

            "Dothar! Algoron!"…

____________________

 

            (Thema) "Run Barnison! Watch the hill!"

            Another blast of savage light exploded from the sky and rained down a fury of flames upon the center of Algoron. Byrant had returned to Algoron only a minute ago and had started destroying the city. This time, however, he had not taken us by surprise for we had trained well and we had established some type of defenses against him. Byrant floated within the air, fire spells raining from his hands like some sort of god casting wrath upon his people. Byrant seemed well adorned within his powers of evil now. From his body streamed bolts of purplish-black lightening that formed a transparent sphere of protection around him. Out of this sphere tore red spheres of fire that rained down upon the city, fire also coming from his hands. Most of the buildings had already been enflamed, the smoke of this darkening the light of the false sun; this making it harder and harder for us to attack Byrant.

            "Curses!" I yelled, suddenly overcome by my anger. The thoughts that raced within my head were all simply no good. The idea that Byrant, this being that lived among us up to a few days ago, had now become our enemy, enraged me. The thought that he would also have the audacity to kill his fellow animals and even his own sister again stirred up anger within me.

Yet through the air the blasts of fire still rained and onto us their fury still fell, the shadow of their wrath looming upon us before they struck. The anger that was once within me began to fade, this replaced with a feeling of total sadness; all hope seeming to be lost. Dothar and Maramound had fought this fight for a long time and now it seemed as if I had lost it for them. With this I cried out to the battling beings of valor, the sound of retreat. With this the warriors wasted no time in leaving their catapults and makeshift towers and returning to the southern part of Algoron, an area not yet touched by Byrant's wrath. Byrant pursued us in our retreat, blasting forth still more fire from his hands and body. After a time of fighting within the southern end of Algoron I ordered the full retreat into The Forest of Shadows.

 

:Chapter Thirteen - The Battle of The Forest of Shadows

 

            From Byrant's wrath we stole and into the dark shadows of The Forest of Shadows we hid, its darkness now a welcome shroud to our exhausted bodies.

            "Alas! Byrant will have a fair fight now!" I cried, the animals now yelling back to me with joy at this new advantage. Byrant would not be able to fly within this thick forest and he would be within a sword's reach. The seemingly endless darkness of the forest also gave away his luminescent location. With this I ordered everyone silent,

            "Okay, now listen everyone. We can win this. Left fleet, move over there and prepare your weapons. Right fleet, follow me."

            Everyone went about their tasks as if they were robots. It was only now that I realized how well they had trained. Even within this time of uncertainty they followed my commands with precision accuracy. The fight that we engaged in would now be at least winnable for Byrant was within our reach. In a moment everything that I had commanded was complete and all was silent. Everyone was hidden within the deep woods, the shroud of almost complete darkness enwrapped us in its protective arms.

            Finally Byrant came forth, his evil bluish light glowing and lighting the forest outskirts in a brilliant display.

            "Thema!" he cried, his voice distorted by the evil that lived within him, "you will die for this betrayal!"

            His words brought humor to my heart. It was he who was in mortal danger for now we had the edge on him and even now he walked blindly towards us. The anger that had once left me now returned with this threat and with it I began to approach him, my small sword drawn and ready to strike. Byrant was now busy working away on some spell of his, apparently to light the forest. He had to be stopped before this spell was cast or many lives would be lost in the struggle.

            I knew that his powers were weakened from the long-term separation from The Dark Land and so I put a plan into action. Within the darkness of the forest I formed an attack force, different from the other warriors, who would have the job of running right up to Byrant and attacking him by surprise. This group was some of the strongest warriors for most of them would be lost in this attack. Nevertheless I soon gathered about me a decent bunch, about twelve in all, that would faithfully execute the attack. With Byrant disoriented and his spell dissolved, the rest of the forces would then storm in and surround him.

            With the group assembled, we thirteen silently crept closer to Byrant's side. He hadn't yet even moved far from the forest's edge. Closer and closer we crept, the sweat upon my nervous face dripping from my eyes. Now we were all but ten feet from his side. Suddenly he lifted his hands into the air, two green spheres within his open palms.

            "No!" I cried, charging forth in front of the others. Byrant was casting his finished light spell. Suddenly a blast of light filled my eyes.

            "No!" I again cried out, his spell being unleashed. All hope was lost. In my instant sorrow and tears I slowly opened my eyes, expecting to see certain death. Instead of this, however, I saw the bold face of Dothar, his giant hand stretching out to help me from the ground. The blast of light was not Byrant's, it was an attack from Maramound!

            "Run, you coward!" I heard Maramound's voice yelling near by. I took Dothar's hand and rose from the ground. By now Maramound was in a full sprint after Byrant, his powers now entertaining The Candy Star's wrath. After him we rushed forward and after us rushed an army of animals, all bent on destroying Byrant. While we ran Dothar spoke to me,

            "First, sorry we are late. We had to search The Dark Land to assure Byrant had left. Secondly, Maramound has unlocked the power of The Candy Star. Since this time he has grown so incredibly powerful that even Byrant fears him. I don't quite understand it all, but I do not that this Candy Star possesses more than just a magical power. It seems to bring an incomparable harmony to the mind and body, one that has allowed Maramound to keep up with Byrant's evil powers. We might as well just stop running for we will never catch up to them while they are running. All we can do is rest our energy and get to Algoron as quickly as possible. Once there we can aid Maramound in destroying Byrant. Running with hope to catch them will only wear us out. I am sure Maramound has already engaged Byrant and his evil."

            (Maramound) "You will fall, Byrant!"

            My words echoed around the city as we both prepared for battle.

            "These will be your last words, Maramound!"

            "I'm sure."

            With this a red blast tore from Byrant's hands and sped towards me. With an almost effortless wave of my hand the blast faded into a sphere of Iota that came splashing upon the ground. To this pathetic attack I prepared an ice of similar weakness.

            (Dothar) Finally we had come to the city building where Maramound and Byrant battled. Here we would have no choice to wait until a victor came forth from the two for the magic that surrounded the two was simply too powerful to pass through. Also, interfering with the battle now might destroy Maramound's plan to seal Byrant within The Dark Land. From Maramound's hands came two light blue spheres, each of these glimmering with a frozen chill. As the spheres came close to Byrant they exploded into a mist of tiny pieces that leaped upon Byrant. The mist, however, was reflected from him and cast to the ground for his power had grown so strong. Byrant's anger grew with the assault and he drew his sword, all shining and evil within the rainbow light.

            "Die!" Byrant cried as he leaped into the air and sped towards Maramound, blade ready to strike. Maramound did not even flinch. Byrant came down upon Maramound and delivered a terrible blow to his head, the blade burying deep within his body.

            "What…" I let slip from my mouth. In shock and disbelief I watch Byrant pull his large sword from Maramound's crushed body, the blade dripping with blood.

            "Alas! Your great hero has fallen! Dothar! Come out from within these pathetic creatures and suffer the same fate as that fool Maramound!"

            With these words my sadness for Maramound's death instantly turned into a burning rage that drew my sword with its own strength. I stepped forward from my place within the large assembly, Thema trailing close behind me. All was now silent. We now stood directly under the false sun as our swords glistened in its strange light. Maramound's body had vanished now, his magic the worker of this task. My heart burned with vengeance against Byrant and yet the question of why Maramound didn't move still ate away within my mind.

            Either way the task at hand was still eminently clear. If I were not able to overcome Byrant and free Algoron from his grip, The Land of Mystics would never again be suitable for live. The Dark Land would consume the small amount of good that still existed within the land and, with that, all would be lost. Maramound had fallen to this evil Byrant but I planned to strike him down with my mighty blade. With a last thought I stood face to face with him, the evil within him shining forth in his eyes. And onto this moment we engaged in a violent sword bout.

 

:Chapter Fourteen - Dothar's Avenging Blows

 

            (Thema) By now the day had grown late and yet the false sun's light still shined brightly upon Algoron, absent of a master to control it. Dothar and Byrant stood, swords drawn, face to face, their anger growing towards each other with each passing moment. All of the animals had grown silent and you could tell that the battle was only mere seconds away.

            Dothar had that look in his eyes that he always had when he was concentrating, his eyelids partly closed. Within these small passages I could also se the signs of anger and sadness, both now being held back with an amazing effort. "Emotions never make one a better swordsman" he would always say, this in a happier time, a much different time. Now none of this mattered. Maramound had fallen and now Dothar, lacking the power of The Candy Star, would battle Byrant to the terrible or victorious end at the end of a blade. Within the silence everyone was still. A cool breeze passed over the city, a wind from the reopened passage to the surface. If Dothar did not defeat Byrant, he would have free access to that passage and to The Land of Mystics.

            In this moment Dothar attacked, his mighty blade cutting through the cold air harder and faster than any before in history. The blade came crashing into Byrant's, this sending a flash of sparks across the ground. With Dothar's blow fear was struck into Byrant's heart, this obvious in his eyes. Byrant's fighting instincts had now come to life and his blade moved to block Dothar's second blow almost like a practiced dance. Again Dothar slashed upon Byrant, this time throwing him and his sword backward with a stumble. He stumbled back a few steps before falling to the ground, the amazing power within Dothar's blow knocking the breath from him. As Byrant fell to the ground Dothar's sword was instantly upon his neck, its cold tip already starting to cut a small hole within his neck,

            "Damn you!" Byrant shouted, a blast of yellow light exploding from him. Dothar thrust his sword forward, but it was too late. With another yellow flash Byrant appeared behind him. With a mighty blow Dothar again assaulted Byrant, again crashing into Byrant's evil blade. From this Dothar slashed downward, this also blocked by Byrant. Now they battled back and forth, sword upon sword, wit upon wit, both burning with rage and hatred for each other. Their anger drove them onward, upward then down, right then left, sparks and sounds flying with this almost elegant dance.

            It seemed that all we could do was stand there and watch the two within their amazing battle. The two engaged in such an intense and violent battle that they seemed to form an impenetrable that we could not break through. On and on they fought, both flawless up to this point and both showing signs of exhaustion. Soon their swords slowed and the two warriors set in for the slower, yet stronger sword bout, this was more of a wrestling match than a sword fight.

            Dothar was incredibly stronger than Byrant and so he had worn Byrant's physical strength, yet his magical powers still lay hidden within. I now wondered why he did not release his magic so that the battle could change to a more civilized fighting style. Even with Byrant's weakness he battled onward, by now barely able to block Dothar's furious attacks. Weaker and weaker they both became as their strength was all but absorbed by their rage. Finally it appeared that Dothar had won. Byrant had misjudged Dothar's blade and it's razor sharp edge buried into his leg.

            "No!" he cried out, finally dropping to his knees.

            The pain didn't bother him so much as the fact that he had lost to his old boyhood friend. The thought that Maramound had been slain for a simply game drove a new anger into my mind. Such a waste, all of his ideas and powers lost for no reason. With this in mind I ran from the crowd and came to Dothar's side. By now he had also dropped to one knee and was breathing heavily from the battle. His whole body must have been worn out for the battle raged onward for at least twenty minutes. Byrant had crawled away somewhere, ashamed and dismayed at his defeat. Little did we know the error that we had made in letting him get away!

 

:Chapter Fifteen - Byrant's Evil Return

 

            "Hurray!" everyone cheered, "Victory to Dothar, the victor of Algoron!"

            Within everyone's cheers of victory and celebration Dothar managed to struggle to his feet. I was puzzled at this for he had already won.

            "Rest, Dothar!" I comfortingly spoke, "You have won!"

            With this his tired old eyes came to mine and he spoke,

            "No… Byrant, his evil, still burns. He, will strike, again."

            The battle was not won! Byrant must be sealed away within The Dark Land! Only then will the struggle be over and the threat to Algoron and The Land of Mystics destroyed. My excitement now turned to fear. I left Dothar's side and ran to the rejoicing crowd,

            "Silence!" I cried, waving my blade in the air and jumping about sort of foolishly. To this came little response. No one had realized the extent of Byrant's evil powers or his ability to recover so quickly.

            "Please everyone, listen!"

            "Silence!" a roar from behind me sounded. When I turned I saw Dothar upon his feet, a rainbow beam of light raining down upon him from an unknown spot above.

            "You fools!" he continued.

            By this time all had been frightened to silence by his violent roar.

            "Find Byrant!"

            To this everyone's face light up with excitement,

            "Go!"

            With this the entire assembly charged down the main street, a weapon of some kind in everyone's hand. In a moment only Dothar stood in front of the city building. There, within Dothar's loving grasp, I cried tears that no one had ever cried before. (Dothar) The sadness that I felt inside was shown in my newly discovered tenderness towards Thema. Her heart was in a complete ruin. She had only known Maramound a few days at most and yet she had gotten to know him like a brother, his memories now running from her eyes and dripping upon my shoulder with their gentle touch. It amazed me that she was able to hold all of this back until now and within all of her sadness there came something, a warmth, something that perhaps only I felt. But now it also had touched her for she looked upon me, her eyes still full of memories.

            "What is this?" she asked. I didn't know the answer but somehow I spoke,

            "This is the peace of The Cobbler, a loving, kind feeling that once inhabited The Land of Mystics but was stolen away after The War of The Mystic."

            After this I looked up and there was indeed a rainbow light upon me, however, it now reached to cover Thema in its magnificence as well. Thema had been born in Algoron, this meaning that she had never experienced the wonders of The Cobbler. With her heart now free and her mind full of joy, something began to happen within her. I could see something changing within her eyes and I knew that The Cobbler was at work again.

            "Stay my lady," I said, "The Cobbler has taken notice of you and is at work within you."

            With this a small laugh, if not mixed with sorrow, came from her and after this her sorrow turned to a sort of surprise. Suddenly a smile tore across her face and her eyes widened,

            "Maramound!" She cried, looking intently upon an unknown figure standing behind me.

            Now I also turned and there he stood, all strong and powerful in his countenance. He wasted no time in his explanation,

            "Dothar, Thema, the time has come when Byrant must fall. Dothar, you have entertained a valiant battle and I salute you for your integrity. Thema, end your tears, I have not been slain. The appearance of my death was a façade, a false Maramound, one of magical origin. I created him in an instant before Byrant's blade buried into my body. Even he was fooled, too blinded by his rage and evil was he to detect a simple eye trick and too overcome with sadness were you two to realize its falsehood.

Byrant will indeed return and his rage will be with him. From his lips will come words of entrapment. Do not listen to his words for when your rage flares up he will strike you down like a fly, pulling your strength from you through your rage. You must not fight! You must allow me to overcome him with the power of The Candy Star so that we can seal him within The Dark Land. The Cobbler has spoken to me, he has spoken all of these things to me and this is the time!"

"Let us travel onward!" Thema cried, her sword now drawn, ready to kill. (Maramound) "Thema, are you sure you can do this? He is your brother."

With a sullen look she spoke,

"That creature is not my brother. Perhaps it has taken his body, but that was by his choice. My brother is dead, his evil destroying him in the end!"

With a bold look I turned from her and to Dothar,

"Dothar, it will take all of your self control not to fight. If I am slain, do not end Byrant's life! He must be saved for The Cobbler has declared it."

Dothar's face curled up into an angry grimace and yet he reluctantly agreed to the request after a time.

From down the main road now came an urgent voice, speaking apparently to us,

"Maramound!" it first cried, shocked to see Maramound the great standing yet again in Algoron, alive and well. From down the road cam a young and agile being, yelling that she had seen The Gobbler just beyond the hill.

"Careful, Dothar." I whispered to him, I already seeing the falsehood within Byrant's creation. Dothar lowered his hand to the hilt of his blade, ready to unsheathe it in an instant. As the agile lady came to our side Dothar spoke in a mean voice,

"Flee for your life creature of evil, or surrender it to the edge of my blade!"

To this the girl's face dropped and she became angry,

"You can not defeat my master!" her hissing, evil unveiled voice now rang out.

After this she faded into the air.

"Byrant has other tricks in store for us, you can no longer trust anything. Let us go north."

With no argument we three moved northwards towards The Arronith Forest, the northern most section of Algoron. By now we had heard no calls from the others, these beings still in search of The Gobbler. For the first time in a long while I had finally became aware of my surroundings. It was only now that I discovered the beauty that was hidden even within this arctic abyss, the idea of time and space within The Land of Mystics now coming back to me. This beauty was hidden in the way the light of our false sun shines forth from each snowflake that lingers upon the ground. The air always smelled fresh in Algoron, the cold seeming to keep everything cold and new. The beings within Algoron were always nice. Their surroundings gave them ample reason to be the opposite and yet they still strove to please each other whenever possible.

By now we had come to The Arronith Forest. Here Byrant had no doubt started his attack upon Algoron for the forest was charred and black. Within the forest, however, we could find no evidence of Byrant's presence. From here we traveled east, watching with each step. Within this time we spoke little for we didn't want to give Byrant any help as to where we searched. We walked for a long time, the hours slipping by like bubbles on a river's surface.

After quite a walk we finally came to The Eastern Woods. This forest was always the most beautiful of them all for its countenance was orderly and colorful at that. Here we came to a stop, Dothar drawing his sword and leveling three trees. I took a seat upon one of the stumps, now summoning a spell and casting it forth. Within the center of the three stumps the spell created a small fireplace, a warm fire burning within. With a moment's rest I spoke,

"Thema, where do you suppose we should search next?"

Upon this her brow wrinkled, her mind raging with thoughts. Upon her stump she beautifully sat with her hands folded within her lap and her hood now dropped down to her shoulders. She was all but perfect in her resting, a perfect display of excellence among ladies. As she sat there, deep in thought, thoughts also cam to my mind. I wondered is she truly knew how precious she was, if she could even comprehend how high of a place we, Dothar and I, held her in. Her countenance was one of greatness, a queen or even goddess in purity.

            A time ago she seemed only to be a common being but now I had discovered the truth within her. Even with these things now known to me, she still entertained my question as if I was on the same level as her. Dothar, seeing these thoughts within my eyes, came to me and spoke in a whisper,

"Maramound, do you have certain feelings for this lady Thema?"

In my embarrassment I realized that I had been starring upon Thema for quite a while now and I was thankful now that she had not looked up. He also made it a point to comment on the large gap between the top and the bottom of my mouth,

"Dothar, I would not think of it!" I returned, this attempting to sound serious and angry and yet was only accompanied by a muffled laugh. This, however, passed in a moment for now Thema had gathered up an answer to my hanging question,

"Maramound, Dothar, we must journey to The Arronith Passage. No doubt Byrant has hidden among the large points of The Choco-Mountains. There we will find him and destroy him!"

"Well, let us not waste any time! Let us return to the city building and form a spell that will drag him to us!"

"Yes!" Dothar roared, jumping from his seat, "the idea will strike fear into Byrant's heart and with that you can slay him with The Candy Star's power!"

"Yes!" Thema continued, "we will be victorious over him! He will cry out for mercy and we will cast him into the deepest reaches of The Dark Land!"

"Yes!" we all cried, leaping from our seats and charging forth from the woods. In a moment we had left The Eastern Woods and we here heading southwest, the city building in our sites!

 

:Chapter Sixteen - Back To The City

 

            As we approached the building a blast of fire suddenly tore from the sky and exploded upon us. I was thrown backwards, Dothar and Thema I did not see. A second later I came crashing into a tree, snow falling from its branches and covering me with its cold touch. In a wild daze I managed to wander to my feet, my hands ready to block the next attack. Byrant was now on the ground. From my spot by the tree I saw Dothar slowly rising from the ground, his fate the same as mine. I could not, however, see Thema. Now my rage again took a hold of me and from my hands tore a wave of fireballs, each of these pouring yellow lightening from them. With this came a yell that showed my rage,

            "Die!" I cried, still blasting my wrath upon him. He had fallen to the ground from the sheer power of the attack and yet I feared my efforts were in vane for he was far enough away to dodge the attacks now. Dothar had now recovered and he took off in a full sprint towards Byrant, his sword glowing with a red magical attack. Seeing this I ended my blasts and ran forth after him, an even stronger attack than the last growing within my palms. By now Byrant had taken up a defensive position between a group of trees and his magic was busy working on a spell. Dothar had sped far ahead of me, his rage driving him onward. In a moment he had reached the trees and with a shout he delivered a savage blow to the first of the three.

            His red blade crashed into the tree, instantly bursting it into flames. His anger still burned brightly for through the second tree he cut with a single blow, this also exploding into flames by the sword's enchantment. As this second tree fell to the ground the air was filled with a white blur of powder snow from the trees branches. It was now eminent that Byrant had escaped Dothar's assaults for in a moment a large blast wave tore from within the powdery blur, this melting the snow. This I easily dodged for it was shot blindly into the air. Finally the snow had settled and in front of me were Byrant and Dothar, both struggling over Byrant's blade.

            "Stop!" I cried, blasting forth a red sphere that hit Byrant in the shoulder. This threw him from Dothar and sent him crashing onto the ground several feet away. Dothar leaped to his feet and grabbed his blade from the snow. Again I blasted Byrant with an attack, this time throwing him sideways before crashing to the ground. I now had him.

            He rose again and acquired his mighty blade, he now overcome with his rage and forgetting to concentrate on his magic. A third time I assaulted him, this, however, not throwing him down. A thousand thoughts races through my mind and yet none seemed to fit the question of how I was to seal him within The Dark Land. My thoughts were interrupted I a moment for Byrant had recovered his balance and Dothar was after him again. Finally the idea came to me. If I could freeze him within some sort of sphere spell I might be able to overcome him and then cast him back into The Dark Land once and for all.

            With no more delay I pursued Dothar and within a moment I had found them, their rage again clashing within their swords. I stood watching them while I summoned a spell, a devious and yet clever spell, which would capture Byrant within a steel sphere with a magical strength. While I worked on this, Dothar and Byrant battled onward, this time the battle engaging on both the physical and magical realms. From Dothar's sword came a surprisingly strong attack that fell upon Byrant, finally knocking the dark sword from his hands. Dothar had grown tired of this game and he had instantly placed his large sword upon Byrant's neck.

            "And this time you will not escape my wrath!" Dothar roared, his voice filled with a tired croak.

            "Maramound, cast the spell!"

            I now leaped from my hiding place among the trees, a bright yellow glow shimmering about me.

            "No!" Byrant cried, he now knowing the spell's power.

            "Fall!" I yelled, now casting the spheres forth.

            As they sped towards him they turned a metallic silver and appeared to be metal. Byrant tried to escape their grip but upon his chest came Dothar's large foot, crushing him to the ground with its savage pressure. The spheres crashed upon Byrant and shattered into tiny pieces. These pieces then took flight and began spinning around him in silver blur. In a moment the blur ended and there was Byrant, all coated and suspended within time and space, frozen within a suit of steel. The site brought happiness to my heart and yet I was still sad to see Byrant suffering in such a way. Dothar did not share my sympathy,

            "Maramound! You have done it! The mighty Gobbler had fallen! Now quickly, into The Dark Land he must be cast!"

            Without a second's delay I rose my hand once again, the sum of all of my tired bones stretching forth in one last attack. From my palms came a blast, a burning intense beam, that was almost unknown to me as my own, and it was indeed not my own. This was, in all of its intensity, truthfully only a small sphere of rainbow color, its power bursting from it like a sponge that was squashed, and refilled over and over. Its power seemed endless, a truly remarkable creation of The Cobbler. For a time this sphere simply hovered within the air, its intense light glowing upon us with an almost loving touch. After a time the sphere broke my control over it and moved itself above Byrant. As the sphere came to him the steel casing that once entombed him now faded away as if it were a statue of sand. Byrant had fallen unconscious within the steel prison but now he was awakened, the fear within his widely opened eyes shining forth.

            "No!" he cried, his voice now mixed with some other, a dark and evil garbling sound, and "My lord, have mercy on me!"

            From the glistening sphere came a sound, now recognizable as a voice,

            "Gobbler, you have done evil in my land. This shall be no longer."

            From the sphere then came a beam of light, red in color, which slowly reached out and encased Byrant within its glow.

            "A time long forgotten." A voice came from nowhere.

            "Thema!" Dothar cried, his large hand outstretched towards his left. And there she stood, all wonderful and lovely, looking at each of us as if she had never left. A second later, however, our attention was again returned to Byrant for now he cried out once again,

            "Thema! Oh, can you ever forgive me!" this time in his normal voice.

            With this Thema walked to Byrant's side, a sad look hanging upon her face. She dropped to her knees and took Byrant's hand in her own. It was only now that I discovered Byrant's clothing had vanished, his old animal cloths now hanging upon his broken body. In my surprise I began to speak, however, I was stopped when Thema leaned over and kissed Byrant's forehead.

            "My lady!" Dothar cried, he also overwhelmed by Thema's loving act towards Byrant.

            "He is my brother for god sakes!" she finally said, a tear escaping from her eye.

            Byrant's meek voice now called up from the ground,

            "Mighty Cobbler, forgive me. I denounce this evil and all of its powers. I cast it from me with zeal!" From the sphere again came a voice,

            "Not yet, Byrant. You must learn your sin by being with it a time. I will free The Land of Mystics from its tomb, The Five United Lands of The Land of Mystics will be established, the evil within you will rise again, the new Land of Mystics will fall into your evil for a time, a new hero will arise from The Mystics and will free the land once and for all. Then, Byrant, you will be freed. Only after this evil is separated from you and you are freed from The Dark Land will you return to us."

            With this Byrant was cast into a yearning sadness for the city of Algoron, his friends and all that he loved now separated from him for all of this great time. This sadness now turned into a loud and annoying sobbing. Thema leaned down and kissed him once again.

            "I am so sorry, Maramound! Dothar, I beg your forgiveness! Thema, please forgive me for the murder of our parents!"

            "Stay your anger." The Cobbler's voice rang out from the sphere.

            It was now that I noticed Dothar had drawn his sword and was approaching Byrant with a raging anger upon his face. Without a word he came to Dothar's side.

            "Dothar!" The Cobbler again called out, Dothar not even stopping in his stride. Dothar now stood above Byrant's swoon body, the light of The Cobbler still beaming upon him. The tension within the air was almost overwhelming. If Dothar was to slay Byrant, the evil of The Land of Mystics would never be slain and The Cobbler would never be able to fix The Land of Mystics so that it would become the utopian land that it was destined to be. The tension grew dramatically as Thema drew her sword in an attempt to protect her brother. Dothar, however, didn’t care about this not. Dothar's eyes were upon Byrant's now and his sword was held as steadily as a mother holding her child. As the two starred into each other, Dothar's face soon lost its anger and became normal.

            "No," he finally spoke, "The Dark Land will be enough pain for you to suffer. Then, with a pause, he continued,

            "Go, my friend. Take your punishment like the man I know you can become and return to us in the end!"

            With this an intense blast suddenly tore from The Cobbler's sphere and cast Byrant from us. After this all remained silent for a moment or two. Then came The Cobbler's voice once again,

            "Maramound, Dothar. You have battled valiantly, yet one thing remains. Maramound, with haste go to the surface once again. The passage has again become open. Take Dothar and Thema with you. There you will end this madness and begin the reconstruction of The Land of Mystics!"

            After The Cobbler spoke, the sphere faded and there we three stood, unsure of what lie ahead of us. A moment later we set out towards the false star and onward to the surface!

 

:Chapter Seventeen - A Time Long Forgotten

 

            Within what seemed to be a minute we had reached the false sun and we had already cast our spells to allow us flight. As we traveled upward into the seemingly endless passage I began to wonder things about our land, this Land of Mystics, and how it had managed to stay together through all of this long time. While these things passed through my mind so also did the distance between the surface and us, and after a moment there we were.

Above us was a grand and marvelous site. The past explosion that we had encountered was by now long since settled, however its effects were not. Above us was a faint pinkish glow of a large body, perhaps a star of some sort, which gently lit the snow's surface with its gentle touch. Into this wonderful new genesis we starred, the worries and the cares of the past now released within a single moment.

"A new sun has began to form!" Thema cried, her heart now overwhelmed with joy.

"Byrant was a small price to pay for such a wonderful second chance." Dothar said, a small anger still within him.

"Time and space mean nothing when there is no time and space; day and night, the same. But a friend's love, Dothar, is not the same. Even when a friend has passed away, the hopes of seeing that friend in the future needs to keep that friend as close to you as any other. Byrant was consumed by his anger but the evil of The Dark Land, whether he knew it or not, took him by force. It was not Byrant's fault that this occurred, enough bitterness. He didn't know what he was embracing until it was to late."

To this Dothar only grunted, his eyes now back upon the sky. Thema had slipped into the shadows. In a moment her voice echoed to us,

"Maramound, Dothar, come! I have discovered why The Cobbler has sent us here!"

To this we ran in her direction, our hearts curious with this new discovery. In front of us was a small hill and on the other side of this was a mountain range! The melting snow had uncovered the top of The Choco-Mountains! This, however, was not what she was starring at. Within the center of this range sat The Candy Star, all shining and beautiful as always. The very essence of its beauty overshadowed the mountain peaks and left me with a feeling of absolute peace and happiness. Through all of this I also felt a loss of something, the power of The Candy Star leaving me. With this new feeling I spoke,

"It is over! The Candy Star has taken its power back. The new sun is growing steadily! Time has restored itself!"

In an instant my words were drowned to silence for from below us erupted a rumbling noise, its volume almost indescribable. In front of us suddenly appeared a large mound of snow. It was created by a large fault that ran across the surface of the ice.

"Maramound!" Dothar cried, "quickly into Algoron! The surface of this endless layer of ice is breaking up!"

In a rush I followed Thema and Dothar into the small passage that lead to Algoron. As we traveled downward towards the city we were accompanied by a shower of water from the melting snow above. A smile crossed each of our faces as we came to rest back within Algoron. As we landed, the inhabitants of the city of Algoron charged towards us, shouting with joy as they came.

"Hurray!" they shouted, "The heroes return!" this wonderful day ended with joy and celebration but even then I felt a small sadness for Byrant.

 

Here lies the end to the second of six chronicles in the

great story of The Land of Mystics and of the adventures

that has befallen it. Here lies the end to

 

The Candy Star

 

 

THE END