I awoke to a throbbing headache. I tried to move my arms, but they were stiff, and they felt like lead. Then, I tried to stand up, but my leg protested beneath my weight. “Owww!” I let out an ungainly cry of agony.

A man in a white suit rushed over. “Keep lying down, Mensal,” the man said, “I’m Barry Bystron. Khel Guanya came out of his room and saw you lying face-down on the floor. Can you please tell us what happened?”

“Portal… intercepted… shades… captured… embryte… explosion… freed… bit and scratched… portaled…” I croaked. My throat was exceptionally dry. Did someone take a desert and stuff it down my mouth?

Barry Bystron seemed to have noticed the situation and quickly handed me a bottle full of a greenish liquid. I gulped the liquid down thirstily to satisfy my parched throat. Then, my leg started tingling. All of a sudden, the pain of the embryte bite erupted. It felt like my blood there was turning into lava. I howled in agony. Then, a few moments later, the pain subsided.

“What was that?” I asked.

“That was a drink made by an alchemist. It’s called “Unicorn’s Tears” because it causes pain but also takes away pain, like how unicorns can impale you with their horn, but they can also heal you with their horn. Understand?” Barry explained.

I tried to give a thumbs up, but my arms were still exhausted. “Yeah, I understand,” My throat was feeling much better now.

“Now, can you tell us what happened?” Barry sat down in a chair next to where I was lying down.

“Who’s ‘us’? I only see you!” I raised my eyebrows.

“Them!” Barry pointed behind him with his thumb. Behind Barry were Headmaster Cerri (Cerritulus?), Sona, Rugin, Calhoun, and a man dressed in a distinct black outfit.

“Who’s that?” I tried pointing at the man in the black outfit. Hmmm… black outfit. Wasn’t that guy on the shade’s ship?

“I can speak for myself, thank you very much. I’m Maiko, a battle strategist.” Maiko introduced himself. I recalled the voice of the human on the ship. It was unmistakable. Maiko was working with the shades.

“Headmaster? May I talk to you privately? Like, without Maiko, Barry, Sona, Rugin, or Calhoun?” I croaked.

“Why?” He looked at my expression, then solemnly nodded, “Okay, you heard him, clear out!”

Barry, Sona, Rugin, and Calhoun looked back hesitantly, then complied and left the room. Maiko glanced at me calmly, but his expression was predatory, and his eyes smoldered. I shrunk when his gaze locked onto my eyes.

“Maiko, I would like to respectfully tell you to vacate the room. I have supreme authority over you, but I would not like to use it. Leave. Now.” Headmaster Cerri ordered. Maiko stormed out of the room.

“Now, Mensal, what is it that you had to tell me in secrecy? I hope it is worth it because Maiko won’t be a happy worker when we’re strategizing.” Headmaster Cerri turned to look at me.

“Headmaster, when I was captured by shades, I peeked out of my cage and I saw a man who looked exactly like Maiko discussing battle plans with a shade, and they were planning to destroy the mages. I also heard his voice, which was unmistakably the same as Maiko’s. This is of the utmost importance, and I insist that you imprison Maiko.” I explained.

“Mensal, we can’t just imprison him just because you think he looks like and sounds like a person you saw working with the shades. Besides, Maiko has been loyal to me for over 4 decades. He has helped us win many battles we would’ve lost without him. I won’t imprison him just because you suspect him of working with the shades.” Headmaster Cerri rebuked.

“Ugh, fine,” I muttered something under my breath.

“Anyways, I’m giving a speech today, and I want you to go up there with me. I want you to be my successor. Now, go to Kalli’s Clothing Store, you need to be in better clothes for the speech. Tell Kalli ‘Horses are deadly’. She’ll understand.” Headmaster Cerri checked his watch, “Now go, it’s 4:00, and I need you to get to Mytrom’s Palace by 6!”

I hurried to Kalli’s clothing store. Why “Horses are deadly”? What does that even mean?

When I arrived, a young woman (Kalli?) stood at the door. She was hanging up a sign. “Um, hello?” I tentatively asked.

She turned around. “Hello, are you here to buy clothes? Sorry, but we’re closed!” She turned around again and finished hanging up the sign, which said “Closed!”

“Horses are deadly!” I blurted out.

“What did you say?” Maybe-Kalli turned around again to look at me.

“I said, horses are deadly!” I repeated.

“Oh, then come right in!” Maybe-Kalli’s entire demeanor changed into a happy one. “Headmaster Cerri sent you, right? I’ll get you fitted with the best clothes - for no charge!” The excitable woman opened the door and let me in.

Inside of the building was a… machine encased in glass? “Uh, no offense, but isn’t this supposed to be a clothing store?” I asked.

“Oh, you’re not the first to act like that! This machine is the Diamodo. If you step in there,” Maybe-Kalli pointed at a capsule, “It will produce clothes over there!” Maybe-Kalli pointed at a conveyor belt.

“Interesting…” I stroked my chin thoughtfully.

“My clothing store will always serve your needs at the best we can!” Maybe-Kalli exclaimed.

“So you’re Kalli, right?” I ventured.

“That’s my last name, yes. My name is Rita Kalli!” Rita responded. I nodded, then stepped into the capsule. Buzzz… I felt a weird buzzing sensation in my head. Then, the buzzing subsided, and I stepped out to see the clothes on the conveyor belt.

“Oh… wow!” My eyes popped out of my head as I gazed upon the clothes. The shirt was gold-embroidered, with a rainbow dragon emblazoned on the middle of it. The background was very radiant, and it seemed to move as my eyes looked around at the intricate pattern. The pants were a deep, sea blue. They seemed to generate calmness. The socks were a perfect blend of colors, and they seemed like the night sky. There were also some shoes, both exquisitely covered with sparkling bits of multicolored light. Okay, I might be overreacting a bit right now, but, wow! This is amazing! “This is amazing! Thank you!” I voiced.

“No problem!” Rita responded. I ran back to my room, where I changed into my new clothes. The shirt felt soft as a cloud. The pants felt like a perfect fit. The socks made my feet feel like they were covered in fluffy velvet. The shoes made me feel light, and they also seemed to let me move with ease. Overall, they boosted my movement, felt comfortable, and looked good. Geez, I sound like one of those people who rate clothes now!

I felt ready to take on the world. I checked my wrist for the time, then realized I wasn’t wearing a watch. Great job Mensal! I groaned. I sprinted outside. I saw a random person walking by. “Hey! What’s the time?” I called.

“Uh, about 5:50?” The person replied.

“Geez, it’s that late already?” I muttered. “OK, thanks!” I ran off to an open field. Hey Iris, let’s go for a flight!

Alright! Iris roared in my head. A shadow loomed over me. The magnificent form of Iris plummeted towards me. I jumped on.

“Let’s go!” I yelled in a moment of exhilaration. Iris roared as she took flight straight into the sky. A few moments later, we were at a place that looked like a palace.

I vaulted off Iris’s back. “Is this Mys-never mind!” I noticed a giant plaque on the front of the titanic building that proudly displayed in multicolored lights: MYSTROM PALACE.

I rushed inside. I was quickly lost in the maze that was Mystrom Palace. After a lot of asking around, I finally arrived. “Headmaster! I’m here!” I panted heavily.

“Good, you’re just on time! I was right about to start!” Headmaster Cerri smiled warmly.

He stepped onto the stage. I followed. “Hello, everyone who has gathered here today. I am Headmaster Cerri, your leader in this war against evil,” He began, “Standing next to me is the young man Mensal Exypnos. He is to be my successor, and he will also be crucial in our effort against the Empire of Darkness. He is also a descendant of Tyronius.” I waved.

“Though Mensal joining us will aid us monumentally, this war is not yet won. But we shall persevere, and no matter what hardships we face, we will plow through them. We have been living in the darkness for far too long. Evil still spreads its grasp among humans, and may even infect the best of them. Therefore, it is time for us to rise. Rise to our former glory and free the grasp of oppression on everything and everyone. This is our time. Our time to rise and restore the world order!” Headmaster Cerri’s voice reverberated among the crowd. The crowd cheered. However, with all the cheering came a knife. Not a metaphorical one, a real knife! I gasped as the knife flew towards Headmaster Cerri’s neck. I readied my flames to melt the knife, but the fire was denied. Just as I thought Headmaster Cerri’s life was over, another knife came out of nowhere and sliced the other knife in half. I rotated my head to see who threw the second knife. Maiko was standing there, in the posture of someone who had just thrown a knife.

“Thank you Maiko, without your help, I would be dead as a doornail!” Headmaster Cerri turned to look at me with a look that said, I told you so! “Maiko’s loyalty has been proven, and I think we should all give him a round of applause for his heroism!” The crowd cheered and clapped. “We shall stand together in this fight; an impenetrable wall that shall stand to free the hold of evil over this wall!” Headmaster Cerri bowed, and left the stage. I followed.

“I’m going to make another speech now, to the dragons, unicorns, phoenixes, griffins, and other beasts. You can come with me.” Headmaster Cerri told me. I nodded in acknowledgment.

“Follow me!” Headmaster Cerri took off, with surprising speed for his age. I followed quickly, not wanting to get lost. Soon, we arrived, Maiko in tow.

“Hello, beasts of Yadurige! Standing next to me is my successor, Mensal Exypnos, descendant of Tyronius. He will be crucial in our war efforts against the Empire of Darkness. You may also know him as the one who bonded with Yuiops’s daughter, Iris.” The crowd did a scuffed clap. “We will rise up to destroy evil, not the humans, but evil, as evil has spread its influence over the humans. We willー” Headmaster Cerri was cut off with a gurgle.

A knife had found its way into Headmaster Cerri’s neck. I looked up to see Maiko, flipping a knife casually. “How could you?!” I yelled, “Why would you just betray his trust like that?”

“Why not?” Maiko smirked nonchalantly. Maiko leaped off the stage and blinked out of existence. I stared in blind shock, traumatized by what had just happened.

“Noooooooooo!” I screamed in rage.