The story of Gandon and Ilmur begins when Elram the king of Feorn was travelling through the kingdom on the open road. The Queen Isilma had been left in the capital with the two princes. The King’s company were assailed by a band of goblins and would most likely have met their end, if it were not for the luck of chance that the men of the phoenix were nearby. The men of the phoenix would later become the dreaded red battle lords but in these old times, they were still noble and loved by all the people even though they weren’t as skilled as their descendants.

Their hero, Feadrim was a captain in the brotherhood called men of the phoenix and history only knew him as a kind-hearted man that would have done anything for those in need, both rich and poor. Today was no different, they had rested on a hill weary from all their travels when the heard the cries of help. They came to the king’s rescue immediately where they fought long and hard together with his men, but when the dust settled, Feadrim stood no more. He had taken two goblin arrows while protecting the king.

The king was eternally grateful for their sacrifice, but he also felt ashamed that he had not prepared enough for their journey. The king had not seen a goblin in twenty years and had gotten careless, not heeding the generals’ warnings. The men in their red cloaks gathered around their fallen captain. They stood there in silence for a long time, tears pouring heavily from their eyes. They were only four left from Feadrim’s company. The king let them have their moment before he asked how he possibly could begin thanking them. The four men revealed that Feadrim had a son nearby, that was now fatherless, and the mother had died in childbirth. The king was kind and promised the men that he would raise the baby as one of his own. He also told the men that they would always be welcomed at his court. And as a last act of goodwill, he also made expensive funeral arrangements for the fallen. He gave them plenty of gold and their blessing. He ordered one of his men to fetch the child. The man came back with a child that was sleeping wrapped around in a blanket.

“Your majesty, the men told me the child’s name is Gandon before they left, and our rescuer was captain Feadrim.”

“Very well, Gandon, son of Feadrim. I hope you’ll enjoy your stay in the capital. We will take you to your new home soon enough,” said the king to the sleeping baby.

Everharn was the capital of Feorn. It was the greatest city during the second age, and many mages gathered there to study and share their ideas. The stonemasons were both dwarves from Belria and from the northern kingdom Narda. The dwarves carved in precious jewels to indicate where the houses of healing, shops and other necessities were. The king’s power was so great at the time that no jewel was ever stolen. The towers were the grandest the world had ever seen, and thanks to the use of magical artifacts the city was able to know several days in advance that a ship was approaching. The king was fond of culture and great marble pieces of ancient heroes were standing on the square and nearby streets. They were truly a sight to behold. The arenas where the king’s plays were performed was so large that several thousand could be seated. To be born in this day and age was a blessing, no one was walking hungry on the street while Elram was king.

*

The king did his best to stay true to his word and raise Gandon as his own. Gandon got along well with the king’s three sons but got along especially well with the middle child, Ilmur that was born the same year as him. Gandon himself stood out like a sour thumb; he had red hair while Elram’s children all had brown hair and he wasn’t as pale skinned as them either. Rumours began to spread that Gandon had been born from a mistress from a southern country which angered the King, but no matter his efforts he never managed to squash the rumours completely. Elram felt many times during his life that Gandon made his life more difficult, but he never forgot his old debt and he grew fond of the boy, almost as fond as he was of his three sons. To the queen’s disappointment they never conceived a daughter.

Elram discovered early that Gandon was bright and had a knack for learning. He was well spoken and debated with the wise when he was only six years old. However, he also had a fragile ego and rarely forgave and never forgot when his honour or intelligence had been slighted and this was something, he carried for the rest of his life, but he grew better at hiding it when he got older. Even though the boy was carried away by the guards when his tantrums grew to large when he was still a small child.

Ilmur on the other hand was not as book smart, but he was kind and very charismatic. Hard to anger and always aware that the truth could be complicated and there was always more to learn. They were much different from each other but still they grew very fond of each other’s company. Complimenting their strengths and weaknesses on each other. Ilmur was even spending more time with Gandon than his real brothers. One thing they shared passionately about was their love for magic.

The queen noticed this and brought it up with the king. Elram had no problem with this at all, Ilmur’s older brother Saran was the one who would become a king one day so having his other son learning magic was not a bad idea at all. He spoke with his council how they should proceed with the matter at hand. For the boys to become blue mages were out of the question. It was long difficult road where you had to become one with nature and animals. They spent their time rarely in cities and the boys were far too important to cast down their other responsibilities. For them to become elemental mages seemed the right choice. Elemental mages ate berries that contained the element they were trying to master. The berries were rare and even lords could have problems obtaining them since the berries were so regulated and guarded by the mages. However, this was not a problem for a king at all. They found a good tutor and the boys could start as immediately as he arrived.

Yvon was a bald old man with white whiskers that came from an island far away from here that was called Oban. Normally a mage learned only one element, but Yvon had both mastered the art of ice and fire. This was frowned upon by the mages since it was very dangerous for the body to adapt to two different elements. Gandon whose ancestors came from a warmer climate decided to learn fire while Ilmur decided to learn ice. No one had attempted to teach two elementals before, but Yvon wanted to see if it could be done.

It was during this time the boys started to spend a lot of time at the courtyard as well. Ilmur was skilled with the blade, bow and spear and was learning fast. Gandon on the other hand felt that weapons like mace were weapons for brutes, but he got decent with the sword. But he never got good enough to defeat Ilmur in a match, which annoyed him greatly. However, the rest of the royal family only thought it was good for him to humble himself a little, because he had started to improve greatly with his sorcery and Yvon was impressed.

These were the happy years; it was written in queen Isilma’s diary that she often could hear the boys laughing in the courtyard from her chamber. They both grew rapidly over the years becoming tall and strong and both fair to look upon and they had great respect for each other.

When they turned eighteen things started to set in motion that could not be undone. Even though the men loved each other as brothers they were still much different from each other. They were both well-spoken in a crowd thanks to their tutors, but Ilmur spoke from his heart and tried to settle arguments through empathy while Gandon tried to rationalize and settle arguments through books and logic. Had they been a single individual they would probably have become the best king Feorn could have asked for but alas it was not so.

Gandon was also painfully aware that he was not a real prince which he hated, when people reminded him of that. The first cracks in their friendship would start because of a woman that would soon arrive in Everharn.

Elram had both great plans for Gandon and his son, but he had to turn to the later first. Ilmur was eighteen and was still not married or even engaged. The king had postponed this far too long and started to plan. Writing letters to an old friend that had an unmarried daughter that was the same age as Ilmur. He asked them if they could come for a visit and the king’s friend Ravon was eager to see his majesty again since they hadn’t seen each other in several years.

In a nearby room Gandon was making himself ready for bed when he could see a comment fall in the night sky. Suddenly remembering the old tales that said when a god died, they would come to Elnyr to live as mortals. Feeling quite uneasy, he wondered why he had seen it so soon after his birthday and it took him a long while before he fell asleep.

Three weeks later Ravon and his daughter Alexandra came to the court. Alexandra of house Bellouse was tall and clad in a light blue dress with long chestnut brown hair that reached to her waist. She had kind and warm eyes and it was like both men had been struck by lightning at the same time. They had not previously been interested in women and had promised that no woman would ever come between them, but such bonds can break easily. Both knew that the other had many good qualities and were afraid of each other as rivals. That was the reason no one told the other the truth even though both would know eventually. Elram had not told Ilmur about his plans. He knew there was a risk of Ilmur self-sabotaging if he ever caught wind of the plan. However, if he had known that Ilmur was already smitten by her he should not have felt any need to worry. But Elram wanted to see if this could happen organically before he interfered.

Alexandra knew about the plan, and she knew what part she needed to play. It was not hard for her to like Ilmur; he was chivalrous and son to a king, she could hardly get a better match, but even though she resisted she couldn’t help but be drawn to Gandon. He was a talented speaker and she felt it was next to impossible to beat him in an argument. Worrying about his father’s wish she tried to spend as much time with Ilmur alone as she could, but the task proved to be rather impossible since both were inseparable from each other. She had no choice; she had to accept that she needed to live with Gandon’s presence as well.

After a while Ilmur started to become bolder and asked Alexandra out for horse riding while Gandon was busy with his other duties. Yvon had accepted that Gandon was the more skilled of the two and made Gandon his personal assistant.

Alexandra noticed to her surprise that Ilmur was more relaxed when Gandon wasn’t nearby, and she wondered if he knew about the agreement their fathers had made. They spent the whole day riding and exploring, playing five towers, and even drinking quite a lot. If Elram knew no guards were nearby to protect them he would have been furious. But the kingdom Feorn had long been at peace with their neighbours and Ilmur had become one of the finest swordsmen the kingdom had ever seen. Which was something Ilmur was rather quick to point out to Alexandra. She laughed at the remark and even gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Elram saw the two of them returning when it was getting late, and he ensured his friend that he could stay as long as he wanted, already hearing the wedding bells in his head. Ravon was rather pleased himself but was hoping they could stop with the games soon and make an actual wedding.

On the next day Ilmur could not stop smiling while they were practicing in the courtyard. Gandon thought first that Ilmur was mocking his swordplay but realized quickly that Ilmur was probably thinking about Alexandra. Gandon knew now that Ilmur fancied her and that got him worried. He pondered on the thought if he should step aside but he had seen in Alexandra’s eyes that she wasn’t uninterested in him, and he simply couldn’t walk away.

Meanwhile Ilmur started to take on more duties so he could impress his father and Alexandra. He had never liked the council meetings but now he started to attend often than not, which surprised his younger brother Sirion and his father. Gandon saw the opportunity and started writing letters and poetry to Alexandra. She saw them as harmless at first, but before she knew it, she wondered if she shouldn’t be with Gandon instead. It was tough to choose both men were extraordinary and normally she could have turned down the other suitor and be happy with either Gandon or Ilmur but now it was more complicated. She decided she would take a walk so she could get a better feel around him. Her chamber maiden had warned about his ego, and she decided to test him.

They were walking in the royal garden, and they were laughing a lot. The sun was bright, and the flowers were in full bloom. It was a more romantic setting than when she had been with Ilmur.

“You’re quite sharp in your letters and no one would dare to question your intellect, is there nothing you can’t do?” said Alexandra teasingly.

“Not really,” said Gandon apprehensively.

“How about swordsmanship? I’ve heard that you have yet to beat Ilmur.”

Anger flashed in Gandon’s eyes but only for a second. “So what? I’m a better mage than him. No one ever talks about that, these simple knights have yet to understand the difficulties with becoming a mage. I would like to see one of them practicing with the art of fire without burning themselves to a crisp.”

“But you do not always have the berries at hand, I’ve heard that most mages practicing with weapons at least can hold their own in a non-magic battle. If troubles would occur with either shortages or fatigue.”

Now Gandon got visibly angry. “I can hold my own! Just because I’m not as good as Ilmur doesn’t mean I’m bad and what do you know about magic anyway?” said Gandon rather loudly.

“My grandmother practiced it almost all of her life before she passed away, and I’ve read a few books about the matter.”

“Oh! How interesting! Show me a bit of magic then!”

“I cannot.”

“Thought as much,” said Gandon fuming.

Alexandra was hurt and Gandon was awfully quiet, she decided that it was time to go back, it had been pleasant, but the moment had passed. She excused herself and made her ready to leave. When she turned, Gandon grabbed onto her hand.

“Where are you going? Do you have to leave so soon?” asked Gandon.

“I say we are, please let go of me.”

A few moments passed, their eyes looking at each other before Gandon let go. Alexandra rushed from the scene wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible. It was a shame really, she and Gandon had things in common she had not with Ilmur. Like discussing bigger problems, like how to govern, how to improve and ethical problems while Ilmur was living more in the moment. However, Ilmur hadn’t got angry when she had teased him; he seemed to have thought it was more fun than not. She had never thought Gandon would have reacted like that, but Ilmur seemed to be a sensitive topic for Gandon. She knew she couldn’t live the rest of her life like that, living with a man you had to walk around eggshells with. She hoped they could remain friends, but she wouldn’t hesitate any longer. Ilmur was the better match both for her and for the kingdom. Better that Ilmur marries her than someone that could steer her wrong. She felt calm, her heart didn’t feel torn any longer. Maybe this was the best thing that could have happened.

Gandon stood alone for an hour in the garden. Feeling angry at himself, he knew he had overstepped but also wondering why she had to attack him like that. He felt angry at Ilmur, knowing for sure that he had made a better impression on Alexandra. He went to bed furious, and it took him a long while before he managed to sleep.

He was in a much better mood when he woke up but feeling worried about yesterday’s events. He skipped breakfast and started writing a letter to Alexandra where he was deeply apologizing for his actions. He also wrote further on some thoughts regarding some of Alexandra’s ideas that he had thought interesting and deserved further development. He complimented her and finished the letter by saying she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. When he was done the letter was five pages long and he was satisfied. Believing it might be his best letter so far. He summoned a guard that brought the letter to her chamber.

When Alexandra received the letter, she knew at once that she couldn’t read it. The written page was his territory and if she read it, she might be unsure again who to choose and she couldn’t let that happen. She asked one of her friends if she could read it and tell her the gist of the letter instead. Her friend fell a single tear when she read it. When she was done, she told Alexandra the content of his letter. Alexandra sat quiet for a while unsure how to respond. She had to let him down gently, but she wasn’t sure how just yet. She knew she had done the right thing by not reading the letter.

The hours passed and Gandon got increasingly nervous. Why hadn’t a guard come with a reply yet? Hadn’t the letter been enough? Gandon didn’t eat or leave his chamber for the rest of the day. He tried to calm himself with some reading while he heard a sound from the courtyard. Ilmur was sparring with two men at the same time. Something he always did when he was in a good mood. Gandon thought about Ilmur standing next to Alexandra and got angry again. Why should Ilmur always have to come out on top? Gandon shut himself in, refusing to talk with anybody for a few days. Returning to his books.

Ilmur heard that Gandon had been absent and got worried. His father had grand plans for Gandon, planning to let Gandon govern over the eastern part of the kingdom a beautiful day, but it wouldn’t do if Gandon started to appear lazy.

Alexandra heard about this, and knew she couldn’t postpone the letter any longer. She wrote that she was flattered and thought highly of him as a man but that her heart belonged with Ilmur instead. She had now started to see Ilmur every night when they were done with the duties for the day. She didn’t bother hiding the fact that it was Ilmur, because she knew Gandon had already figured it out.

Gandon read the letter once and sighted before he tossed it into the mantelpiece. But something good came out of it. He left his chamber and started taking on his duties again and apologised for his absence, saying that he had been quite ill for a few days. Ilmur was relieved to see Gandon up and running again.

The days passed and things started to return to normal except Gandon tried to work harder to forget about Alexandra and the King was very pleased by his new devotion. Ilmur tried too not think too much about it, but he was self-conscious how often people seemed to ask for Gandon’s advice rather than his. Even his father did it. Elram had been worried when Gandon had been absent, and the king’s council had withheld some decisions for a while wanting to hear Gandon’s input before doing anything. Elram had decided now that he would give the eastern province to Gandon to govern over. He would announce it after his son’s wedding, and he was mighty pleased with it.

Three more weeks passed before Ilmur came up to his father and Ravon and asked him for Alexandra’s hand in marriage. Elram feigned his surprise. “This is news to me, but of course you have my blessing.” Elram looked at his old friend smiling. Ilmur just thought that his father was happy that house Avar and Bellouse would be united.

Ravon shook Ilmur’s hand and said, “much like you and Gandon, your father and I have been friends all our life. Nothing would please me more than have you as my son in law. I know you will make Alexandra very happy.”

Elram and Ravon celebrated almost the whole night. They were mighty pleased with themselves but now it was time for the wedding celebrations. They started planning the next day but got ill news from a messenger. Sungold, the city Ravon was governing, was in a mess. The dwarves from Belria had stopped their trade and rumours of guilds planning for open rebellion could be heard in the alleys and in the taverns.

Elram advised at once that they should send Gandon to handle the matter and Ravon thought it was a good idea, but Alexandra who had been in the room since they had started to plan the wedding advised the King that they should send Ilmur as well since the men were at their best when they worked together.

“It will delay the wedding but if Ilmur one day will rule in Sunstone, he needs to learn his people. This will be a good opportunity for him.”

They both nodded. “Very well, we continue with the wedding when Ilmur has returned.”

None of the brothers hesitated after hearing the news. They had spent their whole life in Everharn and their hearts earned for visiting other places. Ilmur was a bit hurt after hearing that Alexandra had suggested that Gandon should come as well. Did she believe like his father seemed to believe that Gandon was the better one at making decisions? However, he shook it off, he was glad his friend would join him; they had not seen each other so much lately, and he knew Gandon was an important asset. They woke early the next morning Ilmur was clad in Feorn’s white uniform while Gandon was clad in a tall purple robe that could often be seen in court politics, and purple was his favourite colour. Their pouches were filled with quite a lot of berries and gold if worst would come to worst.

They left in high spirits, forgetting for a moment their troubles, riding hard while the sun was rising.

“It’s going to be interesting to see some dwarves again, we haven’t seen any since we were children, I believe,” said Ilmur.

“The dwarves from Belria mostly trade with the nearby cities, why we don’t see more from the dwarves from Narda I do not know.”

They rode in silence for a while, Ilmur knew what he wanted to say but he needed to muster all his courage before he was able to do so. “I’m in love with Alexandra, I have asked her father for her hand in marriage. I think I have fancied her since the first time I saw her.

“Yeah, I know. You have been grinning like an idiot in the courtyard these past two months.”

“I have not!” laughed Ilmur.

They looked at each other and Gandon tried to smile as best as he could.

“Anyone you fancy Gandon? We haven’t really talked much about this even though we know each other so well.”

Images of Alexandra flashed in Gandon’s head. “No one in particular,” lied Gandon.

“The one you fall for will be very lucky, you know. I have seen how the ladies of the court looks at you.”

“Yeah, they sure are curious looking at the bastard child, aren’t they?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on Ilmur don’t play dumb with me, you know about the rumours.”

“But it’s not true, father would never do something like that.”

“Truth or lies it doesn’t matter, if enough people believe it, facts become irrelevant,” said Gandon.

“Don’t feel gloomy, father thinks very highly of you. Soon you will have your reward.”

“I’ve waited long enough.”

To that Ilmur had no reply. They said no more until nightfall. Gandon stopped his horse abruptly. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t ride a second longer.”

They continued the next day with the sun hot on their backs when they were getting further south. It took a couple more days before finally arriving to Sungold where, they received a warm welcome. But there was no time for celebration, and they were quickly escorted to the council chamber. Where they were alerted about the situation.

Gandon assessed the situation in Sunstone and decided that they would have to learn the ways of the dwarves if they would have any chance in improving the relations. Long enough have we been content to just do business with them but with that alone isn’t enough he declared. He asked the advisor and they got him in contact with one of the dwarves called Minrir. Minrir was as short as you could expect from a dwarf with a long grey beard that reached his belt, and jewels hanging from it to display his wealth. They shook hands and Gandon thought he was doing a fine job with making a good impression of himself when the dwarf declared:

“Already you have insulted me, but I do not care, because I know you come here to learn and not to scorn me.”

“What did I do wrong?” asked Gandon.

“When we meet as long as you are a guest, you should give me a gold coin. This is to show that my time is being valued. Then when you leave, I give it back, if I liked your stay. We dwarves do not care as much about the spoken word like you humans do. For us actions and contracts are everything. We do not understand when humans kill each other for insulting someone in their family. In the dwarven community that person would be held with scorn for uttering such nonsense, but he would never be attacked.”

Gandon liked Minrir and he came as often as he could, and he never forgot to bring Minrir a gold coin when he entered Minrir’s establishment, and the dwarf always gave it back when they parted.

Gandon’s interest with the dwarves rubbed on Ilmur and he was beginning to think about learning smithing so he could forge the wedding rings himself and thought it would be very romantic. Ilmur went to Minrir and gave him two gold coins as instructed from Gandon to show Minrir how badly he wanted this request. Minir was apprehensive at first but knew Ilmur was son to a king. Doing this could greatly improve the relations for both kingdoms in the future. Minrir contacted his cousin for help. His cousin Kyr told Ilmur that they wouldn’t show him everything because the dwarves were mighty proud of their work, and he had to swear an oath to never teach any of their techniques.

“You cannot show it to your dear friend Gandon. Not even to your future children, if you would ever have such. Do I have your word? A prince’s word?”

Ilmur promised that their secrets would never be revealed from him and that he was honoured. Kyr believed the man and Ilmur started practicing with the forge two hours a day when he was done with his other duties. It was mighty warm in the forge warmer than in any forge a human would work with. It was difficult work, but Ilmur used his magic to keep himself cold as often as he could.

Due to the brothers influence things were starting to go for the better in the kingdom and it looked like a crisis could be averted. They both agreed that Gandon should be their spokesperson when dealing with dwarven affairs. Alexandra had been right: they were at their best when they were working together. They enjoyed their new tasks. It was refreshing doing something other than having to do their regular duties in the capital. But both knew that things should have to go back to normal soon enough. Ilmur was already planning for their trip back home, but he figured it could be good for him to stay in the forge a little while longer.

Two more weeks passed and now they couldn’t delay any longer. They had succeeded with their mission, and it was time for Ilmur to return to the wedding that had been postponed. The day before their journey they received ill news from a messenger. The capital was under attack by goblins. They couldn’t believe it, nothing like this had happened during their time. Ilmur spoke with the council to gather a large host as quickly as possible. However, this feat would take time and they wouldn’t be able to gather all their army right away. Ilmur decided to go in advance for he feared for his family and Gandon should come afterwards as quickly as he possibly could.

Ilmur rode the horse almost to the brink of death, but he managed to come back two days faster than their previous journey. The situation was bad. The goblins had forced upon the gates and the men did their best to draw back the monsters. Ilmur knew that goblins had no sense of tactic and strategy and figured that it must be someone else that was leading the goblins. He fought along with the few men he had at his disposal looking for their enemy’s camp, but he wasn’t sure where it could be. After a few hours of battle, he couldn’t bare it any longer and fought back to the city so he could learn of the state of his family. Hoping that everyone was alright.

The beautiful city was ransacked and Ilmur noticed that several of the jewels on the houses had been stolen. They continued the fighting while Ilmur tried to reach the castle. The goblins weren’t too difficult to kill but there were so many of them. The group Ilmur led became larger slowly but surely, when the men saw that prince Ilmur was back, hope was rekindled in their hearts, but many wondered why Gandon wasn’t present but there wasn’t time for such questions at the moment. He fought to Alexandra’s chamber and to his joy he found that she still was alright. He asked about his brothers, but she didn’t know. He ordered some of his men to search for the queen and the king. Ilmur stayed in Alexandra’s room where he tried to comfort her. The men were efficient about 20 minutes later the men were back with both the king and the queen. Ilmur asked again where his brothers where and then Elram told him that the last he had heard about Saran was that he had been heading for the throne room.

“Then it’s there I must go.”

The fighting in the castle was starting to calm down so he only brought a dozen soldiers knowing that every man he took would make those he loved less defended. There were some small skirmishes where the goblins had started to loot the treasure rooms, but they didn’t have to put up much resistance to take them out. When the group came to the throne room, he was astonished to see that the throne room wasn’t barricaded, he was fearing the worst but hoping that he would find his brother intact. The brother was intact, but he wasn’t alive; he was spiked to the wall with several large spears. He didn’t have an expression of horror in his face, he only looked sad like he knew that he had failed them while Ilmur had been gone.

Ilmur knew that he was going to cry later but he couldn’t do it in front of the men, that would have to wait. He ordered the men to take him down as gently as they could.

“We have to hide him for now, so the goblins won’t do anything worse with his corpse,” said Ilmur.

Fighting further without a plan didn’t feel smart to Ilmur so he went back to his family so they could talk strategy. They didn’t take well to hearing about their eldest sons’ death and neither the king nor the queen spoke for a while.

“Father, do you have any idea why Saran was heading for the throne room?”

“The man in the black cloak told me to come to the throne room to discuss peace negotiation. Saran went instead of me saying it was too dangerous. I’m a coward had I gone instead my Saran would still be alive.”

Ilmur ensured his father that he wasn’t. “What man in a black cloak?”

“We don’t know the name of the man, but he leads the goblins. He has proclaimed the end to the human world saying that he is a god. I have no idea why the goblins work or him, they usually don’t like being told what to do.”

Ilmur remembered the comet that had fallen shortly before Gandon’s birthday. Could it have anything to do with that?

“Gandon is on his way with more men, but we need to buy him more time. Father, what should we do?”

The fire was gone from Elram’s eyes. “I want to be with my son, you lead the men. You are ready now, have been for quite some time I deem.”

“We have hidden Saran close to the throne room, we will bring him when the situation is more secure,” said Ilmur.

Ilmur left shortly afterward; he felt strangely inspired. All his life he had asked other for the answers, he had had good teachers and he felt like he was ready to carry the burden. They cleaned up the street slaying the last remaining goblins and put out a new defensive wall at the gate. The men outside were lost, apparently Saran had sent out some men to meet the goblins hoping to protect the city, a noble idea but foolish. They had underestimated the goblins strength, they all had. Ilmur asked for some berries and made an ice wall around the blockade.

“I want to see them get around this,” said he to one of the captains.

The battle continued and there seemed to be no end to the goblins. They came out of tunnels nearby they had been digging for God knows how long. The battle at the wall was fierce and they would run out of arrows soon if Gandon wouldn’t come to their aid. He was still saving the mages; they were his secret weapon, but he believed that he soon would be forced to use them.

Finally, a few days later, could the horn from the riders be heard on the battlefield and he knew that his brother had returned. The riders were crashing into the goblins making them flee from the siege. Ilmur brought out the mages to land the final blow and he could feel the winds of war change. His heart told him that he needed to find Gandon as soon as possible so they could together confront the man in black. He opened the gate and brought forth the men that had only been on the defensive for a week and they joined the battle.

Ilmur found Gandon while he was busy burning some goblins to cinder. He quickly explained the situation to Gandon about the man in black.

“I tried to search for him when I returned knowing full well that the goblins couldn’t have done this on their own, I couldn’t find him them but to be fair, I didn’t know what I was looking for and there is much less goblins now which would help us in our search, but I fear only more will come if we don’t do anything about the situation right now.

Ilmur spoke rather quickly but it didn’t take long for Gandon to put the pieces together.

“Let’s find some high ground so we can see better,” said Gandon reasonably.

Ilmur listened to his friend, and they started to climb. When they reached the top of a mountain were they able to see a sorcerer in a black cloak a little distance away flinging spells at those that came too close.

“Damn, we still have a bit to go, we need to hurry.”

“What if we can’t take him on our own?” asked Ilmur.

“We need to try, worrying can you do in your grave.”

Ilmur drew his sword. “As you say!”

They hurried as fast as they could, but it still took several minutes, and many had died before they arrived. When they were ready to attack, none of the soldiers were alive.

The man stood with a large black cloak, with the hood up, covering his face in darkness, but the darkness wasn’t natural because not even the shape of a head could be seen, the cloak was magical somehow. The man that called himself a god stood armless waiting for them.

“Hail Ilmur, well met. I hope you enjoy the present I gave to your brother,” said the man.

With that comment Ilmur completely lost it and started swinging like crazy at the man, but the man evaded Ilmur’s attacks with ease.

Gandon was astonished, if Ilmur couldn’t hit him, there would be no need for Gandon to draw his sword. He started to search in his belt for berries so he could assist his friend in other ways.

The man kicked Ilmur in his chest, so he flew back. There was no facial expression to be seen, but Gandon had a feeling that this man wasn’t impressed. Could this man actually be a god? Ilmur was one of the best, but this man played with him like a brother playing with a toddler. Gandon started to feel a bit nervous, but they had come too far to back down now. Gandon started to cast his fire bolts upon the man. The man created black holes that absorbed the fire.

Gandon helped Ilmur up. “This man is definitely using black magic, because he doesn’t seem to eat any berries to cast his spells.”

“Couldn’t he be a blue mage?”

“Perhaps, but I don’t think so”, said Gandon. “I know no animal he could have learned this darkness from.”

“We need to cooperate if we ever are going to have a chance of beating him. If I keep swinging at him while you attack with your magic, we might have a chance.”

“If only our master were here”, said Gandon.

But they had no more time talking because the man apparently wasn’t happy with them just standing there and discussing strategy. He brought out two knives and started swinging at Gandon, but Ilmur came in between to protect his friend. Ilmur was on the defensive this time instead of attacking. He would leave that part to Gandon now.

They were a little bit too close for Gandon’s liking, he could easily hurt Ilmur if he wasn’t careful, but he had been casting fireballs since he was eight and he was confident in his aim. The battle continued and they got a feeling that the man was no longer so cocky. Ilmur got a hit on the man in the black cloak, and he started bleeding from his hip.

“Press on Ilmur! Press on!” shouted Gandon, “for Everharn! For Everharn!” Gandon would have blown in a horn if he had one.

Gandon would soon have no berries left and Ilmur started to look tired, they didn’t have it in the bag just yet.

Ilmur parried a slash, but his own blade broke in the middle. The man seemed to summon more darkness ready to finish off Ilmur.

Gandon reached for a berry in his pocket, but there were none. Before he had time to think he acted on instinct and threw himself at Ilmur knocking him away. It was a brave deed, but Gandon took the shadow projectiles head on instead. Gandon flew quite a long distance and when he landed, he remained motionless.

Ilmur threw his sword as a knife at the man and started running to Gandon. He could use Gandon’s sword and keep fighting. He unleashed it, ready to fight for Gandon’s sake but the man was gone.

The man’s cloak had been red with his own blood on his right side and apparently, he hadn’t thought that it was worth it to keep fighting.

Ilmur held Gandon, believing for a short while that he was dead, but to his joy he discovered that Gandon still had a pulse, but no matter what he did, Gandon wouldn’t wake up.

He carried Gandon back to the castle not caring about the pain in his body nor how exhausted he felt. He put Gandon back on his own bead, not letting anyone else do it. He sat there for a while looking at Gandon’s expressionless face. Gandon’s eyes were closed, and his mouth was in a straight line. He didn’t know how long he sat there, but it couldn’t have been too long before their master entered the room. He took a quick look at Gandon and asked Ilmur what had happened.

Ilmur told Yvon about the battle with the man in the black cloak and Gandon’s noble sacrifice. “He will wake up right? He’s only sleeping!”

Yvon had three fingers on Gandon’s forehead while he examined him. “It’s impossible to say, I have never seen something like this. He’s in a coma, but how we wake him up I can’t say.”

Yvon removed Gandon’s clothes, and on Gandon’s chest two black slashes could be seen.

“Interesting, I will consult my order and my books, under the meantime you should get some sleep, you look like you could drop dead any second. You can’t help me in the state you are in right now.

Ilmur was angry at himself, he wanted to argue he wanted to scream, he wanted to punch something but what good would that do? He nodded to his master and went to his room where Alexandra was waiting for him. Now Ilmur broke down completely. He cried in Alexandra’s lap. He cried for his dead brother but most of all he cried for Gandon the brother that wasn’t a brother but was as beloved as one. Ilmur felt in his heart that the other mages wouldn’t know what to do, Gandon would remain sleeping in his room forever, not dead but he could as well have been.

Alexandra stroked his hair, held him in her arms and told Ilmur that he was loved, but nothing could ease his pain. He cried until he passed out.

Ilmur woke late the next day, but as soon as he did, he rushed to Gandon’s room. Gandon’s room was occupied by mages that were studying Gandon closely with their instruments and books.

Ilmur asked if they had made any discoveries, but they shook their heads. Ilmur left right away not able to bare their incompetence nor Gandon’s expressionless face.

He went to his father and mother and as he had guessed they were with his brother Saran. His father was still in shambles while his mother seemed to have regained some of her composure. He hugged them both for a long while. Trying to comfort them like Alexandra had comforted him.

He asked if they had heard about Gandon and Elram nodded. “We will do anything to get him back, Ilmur I promise.”

Ilmur nodded. Yes, he would do anything, anything to get Gandon back.

The next day Elram came to his room. “This is a really bad timing son, no one knows it better than I. But we made an agreement with Ravon, and we have already postponed the wedding once, it can’t wait any longer. There is no telling when Gandon might wake up and we can’t just wait for him. We will have the burial soon, then there will be one week of mourning, but then we must get along with the wedding.

Ilmur didn’t like it but there was no reason to argue.

They put Saran along with the kings of old. It was tragic really, Saran had looked forward to ruling all his life, but his life had ended before his reign had even begun. Ilmur had never even given it a thought, but he supposed that he would have to do it eventually. Ruling over the largest country on Elnyr the thought was inconceivable.

Ilmur didn’t do much regarding the wedding plans, he stayed most of his time in his room. Alexandra had assured him that it was no problem at all. He didn’t deserve her really, but when you love someone, and they love you back you don’t have to think about who deserves the other more.

On the actual wedding day Ilmur held his mask and he tried to look as happily as he could. This day was important, and the mourning would have to wait for a while. It was perhaps fortunate, Ilmur didn’t know it, but Gandon wouldn’t have liked to be at the wedding if he would have been awake. He would have come, do the best speech he possibly could, but he would have excused himself at the first best opportunity.

Ravon looked happy, and Elram looked better than he had ever done since he had lost his first born. But Ilmur guessed that his father held up the same mask he himself did. Alexandra was beaming in her white wedding dress, and she looked so beautiful that Ilmur felt genuinely happy that he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. When their lips met everyone applauded. Yvon held a speech talking about how Ilmur and Gandon had been like children and how privileged he was to have both got to teach them and got to know them and see them grow into the men they had become. Ilmur raised his glass to his master, appreciative of the speech.

Ilmur wanted right away to continue exploring Gandon’s condition, but Alexandra insisted on the honeymoon. It was going to be their only one and Ilmur couldn’t talk her out of it. After all they wouldn’t leave him alone, Yvon and the other mages were looking after him.

They travelled to some of the places Alexandra always had wanted to see and Ilmur tried his best to make her visits as pleasant as possible. But when Alexandra fell asleep, he studied his books that he had brought with him long into the night. Feeling that at least he had to do something. He suggested that they should look at a garden that was nearby and while they were there Ilmur studied the flowers and their properties. He didn’t believe that he found anything useful, but you could never know. Their honeymoon went fast, and Alexandra was sad that they would have to go back, but she couldn’t have held him back any longer even with chains if she would have tried.

When they were back in Everharn appointed Ilmur to a meeting with the mages immediately. He asked them if they had discovered anything useful. They all looked down ashamed. Until one spoke.

“The problem is my prince is that this is the purest form of dark magic we have ever seen. Whomever you were fighting he wasn’t a normal man that’s for sure. We believed that those who practiced dark magic had died out a long ago, but now we aren’t so sure. The archives are incomplete, we simply don’t know enough regarding the black magic.”

Ilmur nodded, they would have to change strategy. The finest mages from Elnyr had done their best and nothing had worked but that didn’t mean that no one else could. He would make an offer so generous that would flock all the mages from all the corners of the world to Everharn.

He had it decreed the same day and now a long and tedious process started to begin. Ilmur sat on his father’s throne while he looked over the mages that patiently were waiting in line. It felt weird sitting on the throne, but Elram had started to give him more duties. Elram was secretly thinking about abdicating, feeling older than he had ever felt before, but he kept it to himself for the moment. Not even the queen knew.

Ilmur had suggested that they could have brought another chair to the throne room, but Elram had insisted that he should sit on the throne. “You might as well get used to the throne because you are going to sit here a lot, I’m afraid.”

And so Ilmur did, he sat on the throne while going over all the mages. He guessed that some of them that had come didn’t know that he was a mage himself, because it wasn’t hard for him to discover the charlatans, which he dismissed immediately.

It took several days before he found someone that caught his interest. There were many skilful mages who had a great control of their element, but they did nothing that their kingdom’s mages already could not. He had hoped more blue mages would show up, but they were few and those who showed up left him even more dissatisfied than the mages before them.