The next morning, Glaed came down the stairs and sat down to eat breakfast with his family. "So, what are we going to do today, mama?" Glaed spoke with a mouth full of food.

"Oh Glaed, I hadn't expected you to be home so soon." She said apologetically. "I had already made plans to have a day out with the girls."

"Oh, that sounds fun." He said, taking another bite of toasted bread. "What are you going to be doing? Maybe little bro and I can tag along?"

"I am taking the girls for a day out shopping for clothes and to grab some groceries. So I don't know how much fun it would be for you and Brayder."

Brayder spoke up. "Glaed and I can find something to do around here if that's okay mama."

Kelphine nodded as she took her final drink of jally-berry juice. After everyone was finished eating, she stood up and gathered up the dishes. "Okay girls, go upstairs and get dressed."

Glaed's sisters dashed up the stairs, excited for a day with his brother. Glaed stood up and walked over to the sink where his mother had placed the utensils and began to wash them. "Sir knight!" She shouted. "Surely you do not wash my dishes?" He laughed and washed the last plate. "Too late, already done." He stuck his tongue out at his mother.

Kelphine grabbed a wooden spoon and swung it around. "Come here and let me hit you, Glaed Aelisander Balaston!"

"Oooooh, middle name!" His brother laughed. "You're in trouble now!"

Glaed dodged his mother's spoon and ran around the table. His mother laughed and gave chase, but he was too fast. Before he knew it, Kelphine had vaulted the kitchen table and jumped down after him, swinging her spoon wildly. "Ooh. You're pretty nimble in your OLD age." Glaed laughed. This sent their mother into a frenzy and she tackled her son to the ground. "Your punishment will be legendary!" She began to tickle him until he could no longer bear it. He managed to get away and they each laughed.

After the commotion, Kelphine hugged her oldest and Brayder motioned to the door. The boys excused themselves and ran outside. Brayder ran to the back of the building where he had a little goal-ball game set up. "We gonna play while the girls are out?" Glaed asked.

"Just for a little while." He looked around cautiously. "Then I will show you what we are really going to do." Brayder was acting suspiciously. But Glaed went along with his secrecy.

"Okay then, little bro." Glaed kicked the rubber ball, which Brayder easily blocked. The point of the game was to kick the ball into the opposing team's goal. The only rule was you could not use your hands. The game went on for a few minutes before any points were made. Suddenly, Brayder turned and backed kicked a sneaky shot right passed Glaed's head. He slumped and looked at his sibling. "You've gotten better."

Before Brayder could respond, Twilley came skipping around the building to where the boys were having their fun. "The taxi is here, brothers! We're leaving!" She squealed.

"Thank you, Twilley. And what did we talk about?" Brayder inquired.

She sighed and muttered, "It's annoying when I scream." With a pout, she turned and ran back to Kelphine, who had just left the house. "Be nice to your sister, Bray. You never know when you might lose them." She spoke sternly and locked eyes with her youngest son. "Now, we will be back in a little while, boys."

"We'll be good, mama." Glaed grabbed his brother's shoulder, "Promise."

They climbed into the taxi that would take them to the city and she turned and smiled. "I know you will, Glaed."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brayder interjected. But it was too late. Kelphine had closed the door of the taxi and they were already floating away. They watched as they vanished into the city and the little brother ran to a chest on the side of the house. "This is what I wanted to show you, bro."

Glaed walked over to the chest as Brayder whistled a chime from one of his favorite video games. Inside were two makeshift wooden swords, presumably made from the branches of the sachianna tree behind the building. "Mama doesn't like me to play with these," he started, "She thinks I will follow in yours and papa's footsteps. And-" His voice trailed off, ashamed to finish.

He handed Glaed a sword and sighed. "She worries about you," he continued, "I hear her crying at night sometimes." Glaed came over and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know she does. But I do this to protect you guys. You know that right?"

Brayder Balaston nodded his head and lifted the sword in front of him. "Will you train with me?" Glaed shook his head and said, "What would mama think?"

Brayder was visibly shaken. "I'm ready to be a squire, Glaed!" His foot stomped the ground and he turned away. "I go to papa's statue every day. I fantasize about fighting next to you."

"Brayder..." Glaed walked around his brother and embraced him. Tears were welling in Brayder's eyes and his head was bowed. "Let's train, bro. Bet you can't disarm me." He chuckled.

Brayder looked up and opened his emerald green eyes. "You mean it?"

"Of course." Glaed walked a few feet away and turned to the other and put up his wooden sword. Brayder, looking excited, wiped his eyes and followed suit. He jumped forward and swung his weapon at Glaed, who easily parried his brother's wild attack. "Pick your targets, Bray, or you'll be predictable." The older brother spun around and smacked Brayder's back with the piece of wood. The younger nodded and tightened his stance. He ran and unleashed a flurry of swings, each of which Glaed blocked. "Great, I don't see any openings."

Brayder's flurry continued until Glaed was backed against the large sachianna tree. Glaed looked at his brother and smirked. He could see the confidence that had built upon his face.

"Don't let yourself get overconfident. That's how you show openings." Glaed jumped up to a low hanging branch and vaulted himself over the younger Balaston's head. Brayder spun around, but Glaed held his stick out to his neck.

"That's a point for me." Glaed chuckled, but Brayder, now frustrated, dropped his stick and swung his fist at his older brother. This haymaker was slow and clumsy so Glaed easily blocked and caught the fist in his hand. "Hey!" Glaed glowered at Brayder.

Brayder pulled his fist away and slumped onto the floor. His eyes swelled and he looked up at his brother. "I'll never be as strong as you and papa." He was hysterical. "I couldn't even protect her!"

Glaed dropped down and looked at him with a confused expression. "Bray, you couldn't protect who?" Brayder turned away. "What are you talking about?"

Brayder looked up and sighed. "One day when we were out at Gava Market, the girls and I were being hassled by one of the peace officers."

Glaed was bewildered. Gava Market was a fresh food store that most of the city came to for everyday ingredients. It had a nasty history of being robbed, so the government placed guards for protection. "What did he what?"

"He wanted Twilley," Brayder admitted. "Even though she's little..."

Rage filled Glaed from head to foot. He hadn't felt this level of anger in a very long time. "What happened?" He gritted his teeth.

"He grabbed her arm and I wanted to fight back," he continued, "But he was so big and I was scared." He looked down at the ground in shame. "I-I... ran away."

Silence filled the air as Glaed processed this new information. Just as he was about to speak, Brayder spoke again. "I ran away to get help. And the only person I could think to trust was grandpapa Harimond."

Glaed sighed. Harimond was a very large man and he could only imagine what he would do to the scum that was harassing one of his granddaughters. He felt his anger starting to fade. "What did grandpapa do to him?"

"He lifted him up by his uniform with one arm and held him over a garbage incinerator."

Glaed laughed out loud. "Oh man, I bet that put the fear of the gods into him."

"It honestly looked like grandpapa made the guy wet himself." Brayder snickered. "But I think what scared him more was when his commander showed up and reprimanded him. He was thrown in the stockade and stripped of his uniform for disorderly conduct unbecoming of one of the governor's peace officers."

"Serves him right."

They both laughed and Brayder hung his head. "Even though Twilley wasn't hurt, I'm still just... not strong enough..." The younger brother paced back and forth and kicked the ground. "Mama wants me to help grandpapa run the bakery next year, but I want to fight and protect them, just like you."

Glaed walked over and picked up the stick Brayder had dropped and held it up to him. "The only thing you can do is practice." He smiled at his brother and they started the training routine once again.

It was well into the evening and many of Ael's insects began to chirp and sing by the time they were finished training. The sky had turned a brilliant shade of magenta and the clouds looked like puffs of the softest cotton. The faintest signs of stars peeked from behind the clouds as the two boys plopped onto the ground.

They were both covered with sweat and breathed heavily. Glaed stared up at the glimmer of the stars but they were drowned out as the bright lights of the city switched on. A soothing breeze blew across his face and the distant noises of the city lulled him into a quick nap.

The world was silent until the sound of an approaching vehicle jarred Glaed awake from his rest.

Brayder was already on his feet putting the wooden weapons away when Kelphine came around the corner. She looked around, confused.

"What're are you doing laying on the ground, Glaed?"

He chuckled and sat up. "Our game got really intense earlier. I must have fallen asleep."

Kelphine eyed a bruise starting on Glaed's arm and looked at him suspiciously. She walked over to the box where Brayder stashed his sticks and opened the lid. Recognition shown on her face as she said: "That's what I thought."

She looked at Brayder and scowled sadly. She turned and walked back to the front of the building and went inside.

"Uh-oh." They both said in unison.

The stars shone even brighter now, as they both stood there, each waiting for the other to make a move. "We should go inside and check on her," Glaed spoke first.

"Yeah." Brayder agreed.

As the brothers walked back inside the apartment, they saw their mother with her face in her arms on the table. There was noise coming from one of the upstairs rooms, presumably from their sisters playing their game again.

Glaed walked over to Kelphine and realized she was crying. "Mama?"

"What am I going to do with you two?" She lifted her head, tears running down her face. "First, I lost my wonderful Glanduil and now you..." She trailed off into a sob. "You both want to follow him to the stars where your sisters and I can't follow."

Brayder, tears leaving a line down his ashen face, walked over and put his arm around his mother. "Mama... We just..." Kelphine turned and grabbed him in a hug. She started bawling and held her arm up for Glaed.

He wrapped their mother in his arms and Kelphine muttered, " I can't lose you both, too."

"You won't, mama." Glaed stifled through his emotions, "I promise."

Kelphine Balaston smiled at her son, "I love you, boys."

She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood. "Are you hungry?"

They both nodded enthusiastically. They had been playing hard for a while and hadn't noticed their pangs of hunger.

Kelphine called the girls downstairs and put a film on the holo-screen. "We bought several groceries tonight as a send-off for Glaed tomorrow." The motherly woman beamed. "We're having your favorite."

She pulled out artificial meat and noodles. "Pakasta!?" Glaed exclaimed. He always loved everything his mother cooked, but her pakasta, which was large noodles with creamy white sauce and cheese, was always his favorite.

After their meal and the younger siblings had gone to bed, Glaed helped with the cleanup and spoke to his mother. "You guys are coming to the knighting ceremony tomorrow, right?"

"Of course, dear." Kelphine smiled. "I've even requested off work at the market for a few days so we can travel to the capital."

"You work at the market now?" Glaed was surprised. "What about grandpapa's bakery?"

"Oh yeah. But it's only a part-time thing," she began, "Ever since an incident with your sister-"

"Brayder told me. Yeah."

"Well, I figure it would be good for us and maybe I can help change things from the inside." Kelphine finished the last of the dishes and turned to Glaed. "Thank you for your help." She motioned up the stairs."You should get some rest for the trip tomorrow."

"Okay, mama." Glaed kissed his mother's forehead. "I love you. Goodnight."

"Pleasant dreams, dear."

Glaed fell asleep the instant his head hit the pillow. This time, his dreams were dark and clouded. He saw Antha and the other knights frozen, suspended in midair and he was kneeling over someone's body.

As he approached, what he saw horrified him.

The body Glaed knelt beside had no face. The armor of the knight had been cleaved straight through, down into his chest. "Gla... ed..." He looked down at his face but saw no life. Searching for the voice that muttered his name, he stood and found Antha's cold stare. She floated, motionless, just staring at Glaed. "What happened?" Was the only thing he could say. "Den... " Her voice cut in and out, making it impossible to ascertain what she was saying. "San... At..."

Glaed's vision went black and the image changed, showing Darensville in flames. His family's apartment building demolished. Two faceless bodies lay on the ground, while a man and young woman stood over them. "Wha..."

A loud cackle sounded all around him as the two lone figures turned toward him. Their faces were blank and two dead, white eyes peered in the direction of Sangreal.

Glaed shot straight up in bed, his head covered in sweat. He looked around his room and stared at the holo of his father. "What's with these dreams I've been having lately?" He asked quietly. He checked the time; two hours till dawn. But how could he sleep after that nightmare? He stood up and got dressed.

The house was silent, except for the subtle creaks of the floorboards. Glaed snuck through, mindful not to wake anyone. When he was outside in the crisp air, he looked up at the sky. Ael's two full moons danced together in the sky. This was a rare spectacle as it was only every half-year that both moons were full together. He looked toward town and thought about his destination. I haven't been there in almost two years.

On his way to his father's monument, he pondered the legend of the two moons of Ael. The bigger one was called Furon, after the ancient god of fury. And the other was his mistress, the dancer called Lumia. The story goes that Furon's wife, queen goddess of the stars, Alurna, caught the two together and cursed them both to dance around the sky for the rest of time, never allowed to touch again. Glaed laughed at the fairy-tale and looked up once more.

As technologically advanced as Aelia was, little was known about the far reaches of space. Many attempts had been made to venture out into the stars, but the war with Sangreal always interrupted exploration. Aelia then turned their attention to researching the newly discovered aelium, with phenomenal results.

Glaed was told once by a fellow recruit they heard a rumor that Aelia was once again making plans to venture into space in search of the true source of aelium. And that it actually crashed into Ael a million years ago. The guy then started into a conspiracy about why Aelia never actually went back into the stars because of the discovery of aliens. Wacko, is all Glaed thought of the guy. He was kicked out a few days later for trying to sneak into the female knights' locker room. So how reliable could he really be?

It was a handful of moments later when he finally arrived at his father's statue. Glanduil was frighteningly tall and held his helmet firmly in his left arm and the greatsword called Diligence was lifted high into the sky with his right. Glaed stared up at the effigy of his father and a tear fell from his blue eye.

"Hi, papa." He felt silly talking to some empty armor, but this was the closest he could ever get to speaking to Glanduil. "Did you see my uniform?" He looked down at the insignia. "I hope you're proud of me."

A lone meteor streamed across the starry night sky as Glaed recounted the events of the last few days to the statue. The conversation might have been one sided, but he could still imagine Glanduil grinning and nodding along, like he used to. "Mama made pakasta for dinner tonight," Glaed smiled as he recalled his satisfied belly, "I know that was your favorite, just like me."

Nearly an hour went by when Glaed finally realized the time. He looked up at his father's face and saluted. A tear flowed down his face as he spoke. "For honor. For justice. For Firebrand!" Glaed Balaston turned on his heel and began the walk back. I will make you proud, papa. Was his thought as he strolled down the sidewalk towards his family home. It would be dawn soon so he would have to deal with only five hours of sleep. It was time for him to get ready. The journey to knighthood would begin tomorrow.