“Jane you said you received this message 20 years ago?”

“Yeah, I did Clive. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to deliver this message sooner.”

Jane felt guilty that she did not deliver this message soon enough. She knew that Clive had not seen or heard from his father for a long time and felt guilty about it.

“It’s ok Jane. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know it was my father and you have been through a lot since you’ve been here.”

Clive tried to calm Jane down but he could still see that she felt guilty about it. Claire also saw this and went to console Jane. Clive began thinking about everything his father has done over the past few years. From all his messages, it is a warning to them that something major is about to happen.

“Mayor do you think this message had to do with the letters from a few months ago.”

“Mostly likely. Jonathan probably found out all those years ago that the city-state of Key had dealings with other countries and disappeared because they were hunting him. He was trying to warn us all those years ago and luckily nothing happened, but now that we also received those letters a few months ago, we are mostly likely coming into face with a great calamity.”

Everyone was quiet as the mayor spoke. They realized how dire the situation has become and how their country is willing to abandon them.

“Mayor, what is the Dragon’s Den. How come I have never heard of it.”

“Yeah, grandfather. What is this Dragon’s Den?”

The mayor thought a bit before deciding to tell them about what the Dragon’s Den was. This was a secret that only a few should know but considering the situation, he couldn’t hold his secrets back.

“The Dragon’s Den is a special formation creating by an ancient mage locksmith. No one knows who the true creator of this formation is but some people theorize that it was made by the founder of the Kingdom of Key. Only each passing mayor would learn the truth about the formation. Anyone else who learns of the secret will be silenced forever except the mayors most trusted aides. The special formation, once activated, is said to lock down all enemies within its range for weeks and sap all their energy and strength, which is given to all the residents recognized by the formation.”

“Why isn’t this formation on all the time then?”

“The reason why the formation is only used during emergencies is that it takes a long time for it to charge up. The formation must be activated and given a few years to absorb the mana from the world to fully function. The biggest drawback is that, in order for the formation to recognize friend from foe, it will take some life force of the residents. Even though this formation is powerful, there are also drawbacks from using it.”

Everyone thought about the uses of the formation and realized that it was quite risky to use. If activated it would sap their life force but protect them from enemies.

“I think we should activate the formation, Mayor. We have to prepare for the oncoming calamity coming within the next 5 years.”

“What calamity?”

Jane had asked that question to Clive who wanted to activate the formation. Just like Jane, Kan was also surprised about the talk of the calamity. Kan was surprised on how much everyone except Jane knew about the calamity. In all those memories he had been through, only in the last few memories were there any signs indicating that his parents knew anything about the calamity. Kan had assumed that it was just “Kan” who told them about it and that is how they knew about it but now it was different. Kan hadn’t told anyone about the calamity but yet they already knew almost as much as he knew.

‘Something very different is happening from the memories.’

Kan was getting anxious, everything was changing little by little but it was leading towards a different future. As Kan thought to himself, Clive and the mayor began explaining to Jane how they obtained the knowledge of the future calamity.

It was then that Kan realized something. The letters he had given to to his parents a few months ago was where they got their information. The one who gave him the letters was Nicole.

‘Don’t trust George...find Nicole...be prepared.’

Kan once again remembered the words that were said to him by those voices in the darkness. Nicole was the wild card that could change the fate of the village of Clear View. He had to find Nicole.

“Ok. Let’s get back to topic. Clive said that he wanted to activate the formation and I personally agree with him. Does anyone else have an objection.”

Claire, Dylan, and Jane began thinking about their decision. Their decision could determine the life and death of all the villages so they had to carefully choose. If they did activate the formation, the villagers would slowly lose their life force but if they did then they would be protected from the enemies.

“I disagree. We should find another way that doesn’t suck the life force out of the villagers.”

“I also agree with Claire. We shouldn’t involve the innocent villagers without their consent.”

“I support the activation of the formation. If the calamity is truly coming then, I believe the formation will save us in the long run.”

Claire and Dylan were opposed to the activation of the formation while Jane, Clive, and the Mayor were for it. It was 3 against 2 so it was decided that the formation was to be activated.

“I also don’t want to take away the villagers life force so I will activate the formation and make sure the formation takes only a small amount of life force away from the villagers. It might take longer to activate but it will keep the villagers healthy.”

The decision to activate the formation was decided and the meeting was soon coming to an end. The only thing left was to find the specific conditions of the formation.

“When will the formation fully be activated Mayor.”

“From what I know, it will take 3 years to fully activate or 4 at the most.”

“Is that enough time.”

“It should be. The letter said that within the time span of 5 years they will attack. The conflicts between the nations aren’t small, so we should have enough time to activate the formation.”

‘Yes, the formation will make it in time.’

Kan was ecstatic. He knew that the calamity will happen in three years and three months before he turned 9. The formation will be prepared before that happens and will help fight against the men who will attack the village.

After being overjoyed in knowing that the formation will be complete in time, Kan began to think again. He began to wonder if the events would turn out as smoothly as he thought it would. Different events from the memories were occuring and he was unsure whether everything will end ok. Kan then decided that he needed insurance in case something went wrong. He still decided that he needed to find Nicole and the sooner the better. She would be the key to stopping the crisis.

“Ok, since its decided we will activate the formation, Clive come back tomorrow and we will go to the Dragon’s Den where the formation is at.”

“Ok.”

“Can I do anything Mayor.”

“Its ok Claire, I don’t need your help immediately so just take care of Kan.”

Claire felt useless at the moment. She was burdening others just by being in the village. Everything the Mayor is doing is to protect her and the village. If she wasn’t in the village, then it wouldn’t be in this predicament.

“Ok, let’s end this meeting right here. Everyone go back and get a good night's rest.”

The meeting had ended and everyone went back to their own respective home and slept. The days before them would be long ones and this will be the best time to rest up.