Four hours before morning on the day Anarion was set to leave the Academy, the bell rang. Anarion slumped out of bed mumbling “You fucking assholes, what is it now?” He peered out the window to see the entire town on the East side of the island burning. “What the fuck is going on,” he said with wide eyes. Anarion put his Ghee on and rushed down the stairs.

The front entrance of the academy had been turned to metal. The headmaster had used his elestran to reinforce the entrance of the academy. The children were quite noticeably frightened. “Attention!”, yelled Calmantos. “All of those with combat-training are to report to the armory. The rest will follow Hisashi into an underground shelter. The instructors will protect you, the rest of you will help defend the academy.”

Ages fourteen and up had combat training. Hisashi ordered those below fifteen to come into the shelter to protect the youngest students. Everyone with training rushed to the armory. The Chosen had no weapons, the Instructors, Headmaster, and Bwoire had their Katarn. The rest had to use live blade Katana. Bwoire directed those who were sixteen and up from the armory to the ramparts of the castle.

Amma and Ithilious tailed behind Anarion. At the top of the North rampart entrance, Falcon was staring out into the ocean that surrounded the island. It was almost like he could see something.“Any idea what is going on here?” asked Anarion to Falcon. He was putting his grudge aside for now. “Likely a group of Oren from the Katar Clan. They specialize in ambushing.’ replied Falcon. “All of those innocent people, why would they do such a thing?” asked Amma from behind looking over the ramparts.

“What do they have to gain with this assault,” asked Ithilious. “A small tribe of Oren called the Katar pledged allegiance to Maluk eighteen years ago. They are likely here to kill us all. It must be known that my brother is on his way, perhaps they want to send a message to the order with our bodies.” said Anarion calmly.

“Those Blue Skinned Savages won’t kill us so easily,” said Ithilious. “Is it true they are twelve feet tall? I’ve never seen one,” asked Amma. Falcon sighed. “Between twelve to sixteen feet tall,” he said. Bwoire appeared behind the group. “Only fight if you have to. My father and I will do the rest.” Anarion looked at Bwoire coldly, they had not spoken since he flipped his lid a few days ago.

The academy was perched hundreds of feet above the village on the far east end of the island. It was a defensible area. Especially from attacks at the front. The North, South, and West sides of the academy were surrounded by ocean.

Falcon’s expression intensified as a single small rowboat with a candle on it approached the castle from the North. The boat stopped, a figure stood up on the boat. It was too dark to make out if it was friend or foe. A look of anger swept Bwoire’s face. “Get down!” he yelled. The figure removed a Katana shaped sword and swung it at the academy.

Bwoire placed his hand on the ground, the entire castle turned from stone to metal. A large impact crashed against the castle, leaving a massive dent in it. “Caltheon you bastard!” yelled Bwoire. Anarion looked at Bwoire, disturbed by what just happened. “Who is that?” he asked. “My brother, Maluk’s right-hand man.” Anarion’s eyes opened wide. Falcon’s expression turned sour. Amma and Ithilious were shaken.

“We are likely fighting against corrupted Oren. Try to stay out of combat as much as you can Anarion. Be aware of everything going on. You are the only one who can keep this from becoming a bigger tragedy.”

Amma said nervously” That’s right, Anarion is the only Ragnor in the academy. You are our most useful asset since the Ragnor clan is immune to demonic corruption. You are the only one who can revert someone who’s been infected.”

“I’m glad you noticed Amma,” said Bwoire. “Falcon, Amma, Ithilious. Make sure Anarion stays out of combat. If we lose him, we might lose everyone.” Anarion in a panicked voice said, “I’ve never reversed corruption, how the hell do you expect me to cure it?” Bwoire smiled. “Do what your brother does, bite the infected. You have thirty seconds to save a life.”

The figure had approached the castle then leaped from the row bow jumping up to the ramparts. The four students froze solid as if petrified. A horrible visage appeared. A skinless wood gir, covered from head to toe in blood. His hair was long and jet black, but it too was soaked in blood. The blood dripped from his body on the walls of the ramparts. Bwoire looked angrier than before. The four students could not move. They had never seen a Xalnog, it was too terrible for words to look at.

A dark and demonic voice spoke. Even the voice was too much for the students to bear. This was fear personified. “Long time no see Bwoire. I did not expect to see you here. I’ll gladly turn you over to our side if you can amuse me.” Bwoire without moving yelled “Run!”, he pulled out his Katarn and swung directly at Caltheon's head.

The four students snapped back into reality and ran as fast as they could without saying a word. As they ran they did not dare look back. This was an opponent as legendary as Bwoire before he became a Xalnog.

Caltheon effortlessly blocked his strike. Bwoire stomped the ground with his right foot reverting the castle to stone. Caltheon yawned. “You are not going to show me how much you progressed in the last eighteen years are you Bwoire?” He did not reply, instead, Bwoire began a flurry of attacks. Caltheon effortlessly blocked and parried them. He was outmatched by Caltheon.

“This is boring. Show me your real power,” said Caltheon yawning. Bwoire was noticeably angry. He firmly grasped his blade with both of his hands. His Katarn which was black as the night began to glow blue. It sparked and crackled with electricity. Caltheon watched patiently. Bwoire turned the blade ninety degrees to the right. It transformed into a double-ended polearm, with a sharp curved blade on each end.

Lightning sparked from Bwoire’s eyes. He vanished completely all of a sudden, only to appear behind Caltheon swinging his polearm. Caltheon effortlessly dodged the attack. He yawned again. “You couldn’t beat me with this form before my corruption Bwoire. Show me your real power. You should have reached your fifth release by now.”

Bwoire appeared in front of Caltheon. “This will have to do,” he said. Caltheon laughed “Who cares if a couple of little bastards die, I want a real fight!” Bwoire glared at Caltheon. “You are as selfish as always.” Caltheon swung his blade at Bwoire, dodging in the nick of time. However, the bell tower was destroyed from the wind pressure caused by Caltheon’s attack.

Bwoire moved as fast as he could with the little room he had to work with. He had to land a killing blow on Caltheon, but every time Caltheon deflected or blocked the attack. “This is so damn boring!” yelled Caltheon. He kicked Bwoire right into the ruins of the bell tower as if he were a fly. Caltheon appeared in a flash in front of him. “You are not ready to become one of us.” He grabbed Bwoire by the neck and threw him to the ground causing him to break through every floor of the academy.

“I’ll go play with father,” he said with a demonic smile on his face. Bwoire had already lost consciousness. He looked like a tattered and bloodied rag doll. His legs, arms, and several other bones had been shattered.