When Gandon arrived at Sirion was he alone. They asked him about what had happened, and Gandon said that they had been attacked by Goblins and that he had been the only survivor. He wrote to llmur right away and he regretted informing them about the tragic news, and a few of them had been so close to his father, what a pity.

When that was done, he went, he to the council chamber and felt at home immediately with the round table and the large glass windows and tapestries. Finally, he had a base for his operations. The rest of the council joined him shortly. It was going to be difficult to find out who was loyal to the king and who he could turn to his own side, but he had a dragon with him and they could read hearts better than anyone. The king… No Elram had told him that he was suspicious of tax fraud, perhaps everyone was in on it? But if they were they would never admit it out right, this needed to be handled delicately. He would probably be forced for a while to send back some money to avoid suspicions, but if Elram really believed that he was going to solve the money problem was he in for a wild surprise. When everyone was seated, were they a total of eight two of them women to his surprise. “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s begin,” said Gandon.

*

Ilmur was relieved to hear that Gandon was okay, but he had been really surprised to hear how deadly the raid had been, but according to their sources there existed more goblins in the eastern part of the kingdom, and that is probably something that they should have taken into consideration. He still couldn’t let go that Gandon had beaten him the last time they had fought. Gandon was good as so much was he going to take the fancing away from him as well? No, it was silly to think of it like that. Gandon was a good fighter you could rely on him in a pinch and even the best got dethroned once in a while. He missed Gandon terribly, but he had other duties that he tried to occupy himself with. He was going to be a father soon, and even though he was terrified, it was also exciting.

His father had also withdrawn himself completely now after the news about his friends’ deaths. The news had been the last straw and Ilmur could almost have seen his father’s spine shattered when he got the news. He never got out from his room, and he spoke only with the queen herself and with that had Ilmur finally accepted his role as the crown prince and the responsibilities on his shoulder. Besides, he could always ask Gandon for advice if he needed it. When the money from Alden arrived didn’t, he give it much attention. It looked fine to him, and he was sure that Gandon did the best he could. He imagined that problems like this weren’t something you could easily solve. Cecil had also appeared so suddenly as he had disappeared, and he had been asking Cecil for a lot of gold. He was true to his sword and showered him with riches. Ilmur asked if he could stay as one of the council magicians, but he told Ilmur that his job was done here.

He also felt guilty over Alexandra. He had worried a lot about Gandon, both regarding his health and the fact that he was going to move soon but now that was behind him, was he ready to focus on being a good husband and a loving father.

The months passed fast when he was so busy, he tried to write to Gandon as often as he could but the letters, he got in return were often short and Gandon apologised that he was under a lot of stress. Finally, their boy Daran was born, named after his brother, and nothing else seemed important to him for a while. Until one day on a council meeting. Taril informed the king’s council that the money they had received was lesser than ever, and no explanation had been given.

Ilmur was surprised. “I find that very hard to believe, check the books again.”

“Ilmur, you don’t get it. We have, several times already. Something is clearly wrong.”

“Well, send a messenger then, we can solve this if we only give him a little time,” said Ilmur.

Taril messaged his forehead. “I have never loved him as you do, and I believe that this is no mistake on Gandon’s part. There is a storm coming, I can feel it.”

“What the hell do you know,” said Ilmur. “I know him even better than I know you, Gandon is an ally, not an enemy, he is a part of our house.” Father gave him a new house, thought Ilmur to himself uneasy.

“Don’t you think that he has been a little strange recently? Since he woke up, he hasn’t spent nearly as much time with you as he used to. You say you know him so well, what is he planning?”

“Father sent him to take care of the corruption that is what he has been doing…” said Ilmur weakly.

“And yet, the corruption is worse than ever, and only Gandon came to the city alive. Awfully lucky of him.”

“You don’t know him. Gandon is an experienced fighter and even a better mage. That he survived isn’t strange at all,” said Ilmur.

“He is great you say, but he still wasn’t able to save a single person. None of this adds up, surely you must see that.”

Ilmur shook his head. “You say that someone that I’ve known for nearly twenty years is suddenly our enemy. I can’t accept that. Gandon saved my life, he has always been looking out for me, and I have watched over him. “

“Wake up Ilmur! Are you just going to let him kick you and ask for more? Gandon is using the influence he has on you. You must see this, otherwise you will ram our country into the ground. I have to speak to father about this, if you won’t listen.

“It was our father who sent him out to begin with!” shouted Ilmur.

“He made a mistake! it happens. Father isn’t perfect, he loves him almost as much as you do, which clouded his judgement but now we have to remedy this.”

The rest of the people on the council was on Taril’s side. Ilmur sat down, feeling exhausted. “But why? What did we do wrong? If Gandon was feeling angry, why didn’t he come to me and say anything? Perhaps we can still fix this. I could ride there and talk with him.”

“So you have come to terms with that something is wrong, that is a good start, but not enough, if you ride to him you will either be killed or a prisoner to ransom with, and none of this would do us any good.”

“What would you have us do then?”

“We have to prepare for the worst,” said Taril. The feeling of uneasiness was in the air.

“It will be dangerous, Gandon is skilled when it comes to tactics”, said Yvanos, Gandon’s former master.

“That may as it may be, but we still have the men. I’m not sure if Gandon has all the lords under his sway, but it would be worth a try to see if any of them would be willing to betray him. If we know his plans it probably wouldn’t be too difficult to counter him,” said Taril.

Ilmur still found this hard to believe. Even their master hadn’t defended Gandon, did everyone see something in Gandon that he didn’t? Ilmur was worried over how their father would take the news.

“Now we need to know if he plans for a siege or if he will meet us upon the battlefield. I’m afraid that we are probably going to sit here for a while. Best make yourself comfortable, I make sure the servants bring in some beverages.

*

“I’m still not sure this was a wise decision my lord,” said Juliana. Juliana was the person on the council that had shown herself to be must trustworthy and competent of them all. She had quickly become his right hand in matters of ruling over the city. Other matters he kept to himself and the dragon. Juliana was a few years older than him. She was blond with her hair hanging down to her hips. She was clad in bright green clothes worthy of a woman of her station.

“It is not ideal I admit. But we have made our preparations, and we can’t afford to give the money to the enemy for all eternity. Hopefully we can give them a lesser amount for a while, but sooner or later they will pick up on what we are doing. Keep the council under close watch, they say they are loyal to me, but I don’t trust them. If Feorn would give them a good enough option they might reconsider.”

“They won’t dare to, they are too deep in it now,” said Juliana.

Gandon nodded. “You are dismissed, you have other matters to attend to, I’m sure.”

Gandon stood up when Juliana left the room. Everything started to come together now, it wouldn’t be long before he would be dead or be the new ruler of Feorn. Alden was a good start, but it was only the eastern part of the kingdom, the rest of the people deserved to be liberated as well.

Cecil hadn’t returned yet with the troops that had been promised and he needed more men, he was going to talk with Minrir as soon as he could. If the dwarves got wind that Ilmur had betrayed their trust perhaps new alliances could be made. The council had expressed their belief that they should make themselves ready for a siege, but Gandon had said no. He didn’t like it, but Feorn had much better food provisions than they did, they couldn’t afford a siege, besides Gandon knew if they met upon the battlefield Ilmur would become confident. But they still had too few men, and then there were the mages… This needed careful planning. He had worked on the plans quite a lot but he still wasn’t entirely satisfied. He poured another glass of wine when to his surprise Cecil walked into the room, but now he wore the black cloak that he had used when they had duel with him. His face was hidden in darkness under the hood.

Gandon raised his eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you knock or at least announce yourself when you are meeting with a king, and why are you hiding? I know what your face looks like.”

Cecil removed the hood. His face was the same except now his eyes were glowing. Cecil smiled. “I have stopped using the eye drops because I think you are ready to accept the truth about who I really am. “

Gandon had had more talks with Fornixia to learn more about the legends. According to Fornixia and the old scrolls he found in the library, will a god become almost a man in statured when he had been slain, their eyes however still gave them away and that’s the reason they are sent to Elnyr with a cloak that hides their face. It seemed like Cecil was the real deal after all, and he still hadn’t forgotten their last fight when Cecil had fought like nothing he had seen before.

“I guess, Cecil isn’t your real name then?”

“No, it’s Malkarth if you must know,” said Cecil.

Gandon almost dropped his goblet. He knew Malkarth, even though not much was known about him. Malkarth was the son of Nagrom, the good of night and hatred. The most dangerous god of them all. Gandon started to grow afraid, what would Malkarth do when Ilmur was beaten? Surely, he wouldn’t be content ruling with Gandon? Besides, Gandon wouldn’t be content sharing his power with anyone either.

“I find it hard to believe Cec… I mean Malkarth. But I believe that you are not a human for now.”

“You already know that I’m not lying, all evidence points to that. You are just having a hard time convincing yourself. But I am not here to argue, I’m here to give you what was promised. The goblins are ready, and with the gold Ilmur gave me I have bought mercenaries, a lot of mercenaries in fact.”

“And where are these mercenaries right now? And the goblins?”

“The mercenaries are in the south, Saldea in fact, while the goblins are underground like they usually are. They only await our orders. Are we ready for an all-out war?”

“I still think they dwarves can join us, but we are more or less ready then. When the dwarves have had their say, we won’t be able to do much about the amount.”

Gandon got up and went over to one of the shelves where he fetched one of the maps. “We need to decide where the battle is going to take place.”

Malkarth pointed at the northern part of Alden. “I would suggest the moon mountains, there are a lot of abandoned tunnels they’re abandoned by the dwarves, so the goblins can use them.”

The moon mountains… Gandon and Ilmur had visited the place as children with their master. They had promised each other that they would go together back there one day. Well, better keep my promise, and this place is as good as any.

“I’m going to leave for a while again, I can be of no help when it comes to the logistics, I’ll be back when the battle starts,” and with that Malkarth was gone again.

It was getting late and almost nothing could be seen in the dark when Gandon stood on one of the western towers of the castle. I have trained quite a lot with Fornixia, I hope I’m ready. Gandon concentrated as best as he could. The ring started to glow and from his back two transparent wings started to take form. Gandon flew up riding with the wind on the course of Belria, the dwarven stronghold.

Gandon flew the whole night and when he landed he was exhausted, but he had reached his destination. The dwarves were proud over their stronghold the mountains were tall and in them were there carved out great dwarven statues and even a depiction of a dragon here and here to Gandon’s surprise. The eastern guardians had spotted him and had slowly started to approach him. He hoped that they hadn’t seen him fly his way here.

He gave them a few coins each and said that he wanted to talk with Minrir, Minrir had a lot of influence, he wasn’t any dwarf, and he knew that the guardians would know who he was. It wasn’t long before he had an audience with Minrir who looked rather sleepy.

“Gandon why are you doing here this early?” said Minrir while rubbing his eye.

“I’m sorry but this can’t wait. I’m short of time.” Gandon held out his hand so Minrir could see the ring again. “Ilmur said that he never shared the secret, but he is lying. I saw in his eyes that he felt guilty when you asked him. Look at the ring, could Ilmur have produced a ring like this with such a little training? His wedding rings aren’t nearly as beautiful as this one.”

Minrir started inspecting the ring rather closely. “I believe you are right; this is a masterpiece that even many skilled dwarves would have trouble producing. Who helped him I wonder?”

“It was a man called Cecil, he aided Ilmur while I was unconscious. He betrayed his vow, Minrir.”

Minrir swore to himself. Gandon wasn’t sure but he thought it was ancient dwarvish.

“Ilmur isn’t a worthy ally. He doesn’t care about your ideals; can you truly work with a country that will have a king such as him?”

They talked for a long while and the discussion was back where it had left off in Everharn, about voting for their ruler rather than selecting them through lineage. Gandon pointed out that if they would aid him they would have a king in the future who shared their ideals.

Minrir wasn’t hard to convince but Minrir pointed out that it could take time to convince the others.

“Alert them as soon as possible, and let me in on the discussion if it is possible.

Ilmur’s betrayal was a hard blow to them and after a few hours of discussion they finally promised to aid Gandon for quite a large amount of the spoils, not all the clans had agreed in joining him in the war, but enough to make a considerable difference. Gandon had hoped that he could have made the amount lesser, but he was desperate and was forced to agree. He slept in Minrir’s room before he had to take off again.

When Gandon woke up had he a new idea in his head. He would fly over to Everharn to disrupt the mages supply of the berries. He once again acted during the night. They never suspected an attack from the air, and he could take out the guards easily. That night he burned the crops, but he couldn’t stay long before the guards appeared. He sadly hadn’t time to burn it all, but it would be a major setback for Ilmur. He flew back to Sirion, rather pleased with his success. When he landed again told he his generals that they should prepare the men. It was time for war.

*

Ilmur woke up to the screams of fire, in the middle of the night. He rushed to see if anything could be done but it was too late. Quite a substantial amount of damage had been done on the crops. This was no accident, not when they planned to march out so soon. He talked with one of the captains and apparently six men had been killed. The dead couldn’t say who it was, but the men who had rushed over there to quench the fire gave a description that sounded like Gandon.

Now Ilmur knew that he couldn’t deny it any longer. If Gandon wanted war, then war he would get. Ilmur saw Gandon as his responsibility, and he would be the man to take him out. When he returned to the bed Alexandra was awake.

“Darling, what happened?” said Alexandra.

“It appears that I have lost my best friend.” He hadn’t had the strength to tell her yet about the news he had received from the council.

He told her everything about the fire and the attack and the news and suspicion from the council, and when he was about to reach the end did the tears start to pour from his eyes. Alexandra stroked his hair the same way as when Gandon had been unconscious all those months ago.

“Gandon is even more dear to me than my own brothers. What did I do wrong? Why does he hate me so?”

“Darling”, and now Alexandra stroked his hair yet again with so much love and care that it almost made his heart burst. “I believe that no matter how much you get to know someone, even if it’s your wife or your best friend, you will never fully understand them. There will always be a part that is a mystery, in that way we are alone in this world, that no one truly can understand our experience. You have known him all your life, and you know him better than anyone, and not even you could have seen this coming.”

“They will expect me to go,” said Ilmur.

“Of course, and you have to. You know his tricks better than anyone else. You are the key to beating him. This will be between him and you, just be careful Ilmur. You have a son that needs his father.”

“Don’t you worry, he has only beaten me once with a sword and I will not let that happen again.” But how many times has he defeated me in five towers? I don’t even want to think about that, he thought to himself. He gave the order before he tried to get back to sleep but sleep never came.

When he went up could he see the troops marching in their splendid blue and white uniforms. It would take time to assemble the army, the kingdom was vast but they didn’t need all the troops right away. Gandon would never be able to compete with the amount they would be sending. Gandon was clever, but Ilmur believed that this time Gandon had bitten more than he could chew.

*

Gandon slept as long as he felt he was able to, which was shorter than he would have liked, but when this much was happening it wouldn’t do to sleep, no it wouldn’t do at all. When he woke up he was able to see from his window that much of the army already had left. Soldiers in Gandon’s purple could be seen but still a lot were still clad as Feornians which annoyed him more than he would have admitted but there was nothing to do about. He had help from one of his servants when he wanted to put on his plate body that had been painted purple for the occasion. He knew it would slow him down, but Ilmur was a fearsome opponent and frankly he needed all the help he could get. He could no longer see and respect him as a friend, but Ilmur still had his respect when it came to swordplay. Still, he knew he would win the war. Out of the two of them, he had the greater mind for strategy, Ilmur had never managed to beat him in the board game five towers. He liked the game since the towers were uneven making a draw impossible. Much like this war, a stalemate wouldn’t do. Out of nowhere Malkarth was once again back, Gandon gave a notion to the servant to leave, since they were done.

“I’ve given the goblins the orders that they should also follow your commands. It wouldn’t do that we would lose to a technicality if I somehow would be occupied during the battle and unable to order them. The goblins aren’t smart creatures, and they are nearly helpless without a leader.”

“Splendid,” said Gandon. He eyed the dagger on the table. Careful, careful now… If he messed this up he would be in big trouble.

“So, how did the business with the dwarves go?”

“A great amount will fight for us; as long as they get their share of the spoils,” said Gandon. Picking up the dagger and playing with it in his hands.

Malkarth turned and made himself ready to leave. “Perhaps you could inform the generals then about a council meeting? We could make some last minute polish to our plans. I’ll be there soon.”

I think not! Thought Gandon and jumped on Malkarth stabbing him three times in the back.

Malkarth tried to get up, it looked like he wanted to say something but only blood came out of his mouth. Gandon only watched until Malkarth laid there motionless. The glowing light in his eyes disappeared. Now there was only one more piece on the board that he had to defeat. He made himself ready to depart with the others. He would have Juliana to take care of the body, she was good at being discrete.

*

After all this marching, Ilmur could finally see the opposing army. It wasn’t as big as theirs and no cavalry was bigger than Feorns. What on earth was Gandon thinking? He couldn’t stop thinking about this, it looked like suicide. They sent out their riders first and he could hear how the generals screamed for the bowmen and pikemen to make themselves ready. The rest of the soldiers followed screaming for their enemies’ deaths. This all felt too bizarre, he had never been in a war before, and he was fighting Gandon. Gandon of all people!

He could hear the screaming of the men when they clashed into another. It was truly horrible, you hear stories, hear them since you were little about the horrors of war but none of the stories could give the war proper justice. He had planned to stay with the generals to plan, but he couldn’t bear it any longer. If he fought with the men, it would boost morale. The mages could aid the right flank, while he attacked at the left. He came in clashing like a thunderstorm killing everyone that dared to face him. He saved two lives by attacking their opponents. Two men tried to work together attacking at the same time screaming, but to no avail, they fell like the rest. The men were screaming his name. “Lord Ilmur!” and “House Avar!”

They pressed on and their enemy started to back, which only encouraged them further. They were now long in their enemy’s territory. The mages were doing a good job too but something felt really wrong, this was way too easy. Now the dwarves joined Gandon’s army and he felt a bit more at ease. Perhaps this was all they had? Suddenly a trumpet could be heard and out rushed goblins from the tunnels like flies attacking the rear guard, and suddenly they were all surrounded. Ilmur could hear how his men started to panic, he tried to press on harder but it was difficult. He hoped the rest of the men would come. He looked at the mountains and decided that if they wanted to win, he would be forced to take out their commander. Ilmur took his close guard and started making way for the mountain. They had to fight their way over there and many died at the attempt. When he came to the opening, he had the men protect his back. There was no idea to bring any men, Gandon would probably only flee then and that wouldn’t solve anything. He had a good guess where Gandon would be, there was a cave he was especially fond of a cave that was next to an outpost, from there he could watch over his army and send down orders. Gandon would wait for him there. The cave still had a shimmering blue in its rocks and on the floor laid broken pickaxes abandoned. It was a long time since the dwarves had used this colony. Torches were lit in some tunnels; in others he had to travel more carefully until he finally came to the cave where Gandon was waiting.

Gandon turned around. “Here you are at last,” said Gandon. He was clad in a purple painted platebody with his black cloak covering it. He could see the dragon ring shimmering faintly on Gandon’s right hand.

Ilmur was so angry he could barely contain himself. How could Gandon stand there so casually? Years of friendship and cooperation ruined. ”I defended you, you know. The others didn’t believe in you, but I did.”

”That was naive of you Ilmur, sometimes you have to look at facts because our hearts wishes deceive us.”

”Are you happy now? All of the soldiers dead because of your fragile ego, the dead are beyond counting and it’s all your fault. You could have been my closest advisor, but that wasn’t enough for you wasn’t it? Always more and you are never happy. You astound me Gandon, truly you do. Haven’t my father treated you like a son?”

Gandon scoffed. ”Some people believe that when a man saves another man’s life that man owes a life debt that must be carried for the rest of his life. My father gave his life, and I almost gave mine for you and still I must eat the breadcrumbs of the floor when everyone else is done. How is that fair?”

” So, you admit that all of this is because of you then and your wishes?”

”Well no, it’s not as simple as that. Do you truly believe that you would be a good ruler llmur?”

Ilmur couldn’t meet Gandon’s eyes. ”I... I don’t know.”

”Yet, Feorn is yours?”

”No, I serve the people, not the opposite, besides who else? I’m the eldest since Saran’s death.”

”You’re the oldest... True, but that’s the problem isn’t it? Both Saran and Taril would have been better for the job. Remember when we studied the dwarves’ customs? It seems so long ago now. You were in love, and learned rather ring making than to understand their culture or politics. You left that task to me.”

For Ilmur it felt like Ilmur had scoffed at the word love, but he wasn’t sure. ”Couldn’t you have come to me? I’m a man you can reason with.”

”You would have liked that wouldn’t you? You get to rule and spend your time with Alexandra while I make all difficult decisions? No, when an arm is infected, you cut it off before it infects the whole body, and I won’t let you infect this land any longer with your incompetence.”

”But why? You can’t win. I admit you are doing better than anyone else could have expected, but you can’t win, the whole army isn’t even here yet. All this bloodshed just so you can prove a point?”

”Your conclusion is false, you have never beaten me in five towers and you won’t do so today either.” Gandon held out his hand so Ilmur could see the ring. ”Ilmur I’m the perfect man for the job. Don’t you see? When you gave me the ring you also gave me the lifespan of a dragon. I will live for a thousand years. My sons won’t squabble over the power because I will outlive them and their grandsons by far. I can finally create a utopia. I wasn’t born a noble, but now I am, and I alone is worthy to lead this kingdom.”

”Gandon you’re mad, your ego has reached new levels even I didn’t think was possible. Surrender now, and I promise your life will be spared. We’ll lock you up, but you will have all the books you could ever ask for.”

Gandon looked absolutely mad now and he laughed. ”I have no desire to live out the rest of my life as a prisoner, my fate lies elsewhere. Haven’t you heard a thing I’ve said? Your story it at an end and mine can finally begin.”

Ilmur smiled mockingly. ”There is just one problem in your plan, you can’t defeat me in a fight.”

”Oh Ilmur, you and your nostalgia, I defeated you last time remember? And this time it’s not a duel, at least not in the traditional sense.”

They both drew their swords. Both ready in a fighting stance. Ilmur held his with both hands while Gandon held his downward with one hand, while he looked ready to cast magic with his other hand.

”Not even in my darkest nightmares would I have dreamed of this, but I guess I mean nothing to you any longer.”

”No, now you are just a part of the past that I want to burry. I can’t move forward with you any longer, I need you gone.”

Now Ilmur’s voice wasn’t steady any longer. ”Damn you, damn you. After all you done some part of me still respects you, even a little. I can’t stand it.”

”Enough Ilmur, enough. Words are useless now. You might feel the way you do, but for the first time in my life I’m truly free.”

”I’ll give you what you want then,” said Ilmur and attacked.

Gandon parried elegantly, meeting blow after blow with one of his own. Ilmur was surprised by this; he thought for sure that Gandon would have attacked with magic. How proud is he? Will he prove to me again that he can beat me with only his sword? Well, that will be the last mistake he’ll ever make then.

Gandon fought with rage and to his surprise he found himself backing to evade Gandon’s attacks. Ilmur decided to counter and now both screamed at one another when striking at the other. Ilmur found himself unable to hold back the tears any longer and an old memory returned to him.

Ilmur was on his bed in a fetal position, crying from the stomach pain. While Gandon entered the room.

”What’s wrong?” asked Gandon.

”I wanted to try out one of the fire berries, but now it feels like I’m going to die,” wimped Ilmur.

”Idiot, it’s only the master that can use two elements, your body is not adjusted to the fire. You could have been killed, Ilmur. I’m going to fetch master.”

”No! Please don’t! He’s going to yell at me, and he already thinks you are the better student!”

Gandon sighed. ”Alright, I’m going to look through the books, maybe I can fix something for you,” said Gandon while he rushed out. “You always cry Ilmur, we got to do something about that.”

The memory made Ilmur lose his balance, and Gandon was going to attack but hesitated, Ilmur could see that Gandon regretted it immediately, but it was enough time to not get killed and parry the next attack. He’s not truly gone then, thought Ilmur.

Their swords clashed yet again repeatedly, both swinging harder than they ever had done before until Gandon’s blade broke.

”I told you that you couldn’t beat me,” said Ilmur.

”Oh, but now the real fun begins, Ilmur,” said Gandon while darkness and fire started to appear from his hands.

”No!” said Ilmur. ”Don’t tell me you have been studying the dark arts! Remember the danger!”

”I don’t want advice from my enemy!” said Gandon while he threw his projectiles at Ilmur.

Ilmur blocked it with a shield of ice. ”I’ve gotten better! I needed to practice if I ever would have a chance at beating that dragon!” said Ilmur.

Gandon did his best at keeping the distance between him and Ilmur, because Ilmur was still deadly with the sword. Ilmur threw his ice spears, but Gandon melted them with ease. Ilmur tried to preserve his berries, if Gandon’s supply would run out before his Gandon would be defenceless. Or would he? Ilmur didn’t know much about dark magic, and he had never seen the man in the black cloak eat any.

After a few more minutes of casting spells reached Gandon for his pocket, but it looked like there was nothing left. Is it finally over? Now darkness appeared from both of Gandon’s hands turning the cave dark as night. None of them could see each other. But suddenly a fireball came at him, illuminating the cave for a few seconds. Gandon’s eyes were now glowing yellow like a dragon. The second one hit his ice shield and it shattered into a thousand pieces. Ilmur knew that if he was going to win, he needed to do it now. He couldn’t keep evading Gandon’s attacks forever. Ilmur feinted going left but made a right turn instead, when the third fireball came Ilmur knew exactly where to strike and pierced Gandon’s stomach with his sword.

The darkness disappeared and Gandon was crouching on the ground, doing his best to not fall to the ground. One of his eyes had turned back to normal, he looked sorrowful. “I guess you’re still the best.” He looked sad when he said it.

“Are you happy now?” said Ilmur with his arm’s out. “This is what you wanted isn’t it?”

“No… This is not what I wanted…” Gandon was struggling for words, Ilmur had never heard him so weak. None of them said anything for a moment just looking at each other.

“So, you truly didn’t know then?” said Gandon.

“Know what?”

“That I’m in love with Alexandra too.”

This took Ilmur off guard. “I had no idea, why didn’t you say anything?”

“What point was there? She chose you.”

“But we could have talked about it, come to an agreement. Now it’s too late, since I have a son. You can be so incredibly stubborn at times,” said Ilmur.

“I hate you; you know. I really do. You were the only one who could beat me, both in love and in war. You were the only one who stood in the way of a truly good life. Now I have nothing, you must feel awfully pleased with yourself.” Gandon tried to stand. Wings sprouted up from his back, some of his fingers turned to claws and both of his eyes were now golden yet again.

“I’ve killed dragons before you know,” said Ilmur.

Ilmur walked in front of him. “This brings me no pleasure at all, but I will remember the man you once were and not the man you became.” Ilmur pulled out the sword and he saw how all life drained from Gandon’s eyes. He took the sword and ring and left, unable to look back.

The war lost both of their commanders, since Ilmur was unable to continue, he travelled back to Everharn the same day, not speaking with a single person until he was back with Alexandra. Gandon’s plan to take the capital never came to fruition, but for the Aldean’s the fight wasn’t fruitless since they managed to get their independence from Feorn. Most of the goblins got slaughtered or fled and the dwarves never got the gold they were promised.

Ilmur embraced Alexandra when he was back. “It is done, Gandon is dead, I couldn’t save him.”

“Oh, Ilmur…,” said Alexandra.

“Gandon was right about one thing. I’m not fit to rule. Taril will take the position instead, he’ll be happy about it. My skills lay elsewhere anyway.

During the journey home Ilmur had a lot of time to think, and he had started dreaming about a simpler life in the country. He felt that he had had more excitement for a lifetime, however, he couldn’t do that. Alexandra lived for the people, to make the world a better place and he couldn’t just ask her to leave everything behind. They had to stay here for her sake but perhaps…

“Promise me one thing Alexandra,” said Ilmur.

“Yes darling?”

“When we get old, we withdraw to a cabin to live a simpler life, happily together.”

“Of course, that doesn’t sound bad at all.”

They embraced each other for a long while. Life wasn’t perfect but it was far from miserable. He didn’t know for sure, and it frightened him, but he thought that one day he would feel okay again.

The end