Koda’s head slammed against the grimy dungeon wall. He watched in a daze as a glowing golden collar was fastened to his neck. His thoughts were a jumbled mess. Cluttered. Clouded. Unable to decipher the events that were transpiring before him.

“Koda… wake… up...”

Wildeye’s words stumbled through his head. The Magi that bound them thinned out to a wisp of smoke, no longer strong as the iron chains that now shackled him.

“Wildeye… are you… there?”

Koda's half-focused eyes darted around the cell, searching for any signs of his familiar. He let out a sigh of relief finding the blue wolf bound to the adjacent wall.

A savage kick to his legs snapped him out of his stupor.

“Listen ‘ere now, elf!”

Koda looked up to where the heavy voice came from.

“I’m 'ead Jailer ‘ere. The name is Grune and we’s gonna be the best of friends.”

The man’s face was swollen. Round and pudgy, lips red and building. He spit with each word and slapped his cudgel into his hand to stress his sentences. He didn’t carry the same accent that a normal Estinian had, but like his name, it sounded crude.

Koda snarled, reaching his hand out and snapped his fingers. He wanted Grune to be tightly strangled by enormous vines, but to his dismay the jailer remained unharmed and untouched by any sort of vernal spell. Koda’s collar warbled, glowing gold once more.

“Ah, we won’t be doing that now, elf,” Grune chuckled, lifting his prisoner’s chin with his cudgel. “This ‘ere dampening collar will keep you from using any sort of magic nonsense.”

Koda grasped his collar.

“Don’t bother fidgeting with it. It’s on there pretty good.” Grune cracked another smile. He thrashed Koda with another kick. “I’ll let you get acquainted with yer new home. We have plenty to chat about later.”

Another man, pale and gaunt with a long, thin nose made an appearance before Koda’s heavy prison door shut for good.

“It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Mage King.” He rubbed a spindly finger down the ridge of his nose. “Make no mistake, you vill not be treated any different from the most petty criminal here in Aric City. I am Dalg Abathen and I take great pride in my vork as the varden here. Grune vill serve as your prison guard for the remainder of your stay. I trust you and him shall get along quite nicely.” He gave Koda a final smirk before slamming the door. A jingling set of keys locked both the cell and Koda’s fate.

Koda furrowed his brow and struggled to rip the dampening collar off his neck, but like Grune said, it would not budge.

“Wildeye, are you still with me?” Koda’s concentration was still muddled, but he had to make sure that the Magi that allowed Wildeye to communicate with him was still open.

He waited for his wolf to respond before attempting again. “Please, girl, please tell me I am not alone.”

However, what little magic that collar had not sapped before was now gone.

Koda slammed his fist against the stone wall. “Damn it, I am alone!”

“How odd, I was thinking the same thing.”

Koda’s eyes lit up. The voice was muffled coming from beyond the wall behind him, but it was a familiar voice all the same.

“Calsoon? Is that you?” Koda asked. He rubbed his hands along the wall, looking for a crack or peep hole to see his loyal Watcher.

The cell was cramped and dark. The musty air hung stale in the air. The smell of dried blood and piss filled Koda’s nostrils leaving him in a panic.

He needed to find Calsoon; with his presence, he wouldn’t be alone in this terrible ordeal.

Feeling the wall, his elven eyes cut through the darkness and found a crack in the wall. He dug away loose mortar from the wall with his nails. They chipped and bled, but he continued to claw a loose stone and jostled it. Pushing it forward, it scraped until Calsoon was able to pull it from his side. Koda crouched to his knees and peeked through the hole. He smiled as he spotted Calsoon’s icy blue eye.

“Calsoon, Alue shines upon us this day!” laughed Koda.

“Indeed, someone watches over you, my king.”

Koda’s smile slipped away, his face grew serious once more. “Do you think the others made it to Long Whisper safely?”

Calsoon raised an eyebrow. “A silly question, my king. Do I think Cypress’s greatest assassin and the Watchers he personally trained made it out of the city?” Calsoon paused but did not allow Koda to respond. “Of course they made it out, and they will return with the might of your army at their side.”

Koda rested his back against the wall and let out a deep sigh. “I hope so, my friend. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to last here.” He turned his head and watched Wildeye whine from across the cell. “I am not as strong as you, as strong as a soldier.”

“Nonsense,” Calsoon scoffed. “You commanded men in the Varis War. You are stronger than the mightiest warrior in Long Whisper.”

Koda hid a smirk. “I appreciate the vote of confidence. I really do, Calsoon, but even I have my limits.”

“We all do, my king.”

“I am sure Grune will find that limit as well,” said Koda. His voice shook grimly. He did his best to hold back his tears and show the courage that Calsoon said he had, but truthfully he was frightened. Never had he imagined being a prisoner in a foreign country. A prisoner to an Estinian.

He cursed under his breath.

This was the naivety that his lords warned him about. Once again he put his hopes, dreams, and trust into the hands of his enemies and once again he had paid dearly for it. How could he be so foolish? The good within all hearts? A concept for children!

“My lord? Are you okay?” Calsoon’s voice broke across his thoughts.

“Yes, forgive me.” Koda rattled his chains and adjusted his dampening collar. “I-I think I will try to get some sleep.”

“You will be rescued, Koda,” Calsoon said softly.

It may have been the comfort that Koda needed to hear, but it did not faze the dread that erected the walls of doubt in his mind. The only thing he saw in his future was the pain Grune was to inflict with his cudgel.

***

Books filled to the brim with ancient knowledge and tales of great heroes lined the walls of the royal library. The library didn’t just spiral up several flights of floors but also wound down hallways like a labyrinth. No collection of books was as grand as Tashna’s royal library, not even the Hall of Wisdom within the holy city of Jedeoheim. The queen had, of course, not read them all, but just as New Estinia's fortresses projected her nation's power, this library was meant to be a symbol of her wisdom.

Sable grazed her fingers along each dusty spine, reading titles and flipping through the golden etched leaves. Not even her family had tomes as rare as these. However Tashna obtained her selection of books was a wonderment. All that Sable could tell was that the books were pulled from all corners of Draak’Terra.

“Have you found any that suit your interest?” asked Tashna. She smiled as Sable tucked a red-bound book under her arm.

Sable smiled and hugged the book tightly. “Do you mind if I borrow this? I have not read it since I was a little girl.”

Tashna gently took the book and wiped away the dust from the front cover. It was old, perhaps older than any of her living relatives. The cover featured a pearl-colored unicorn standing upon a lake. The title read, Fables of the White Lady.

“Ah, yes, I remember this story. I know some of it by heart.”

“Under the heart of the dragon’s light

Danced a maiden, fair and white

Beauty unmatched, power untold

Silver mane, her eyes like gold

From the mists a legend was born

Youthful and wild, but never worn

I wish someday that I will see

Though I know it shall never be.”

Sable bowed. “You recite with such elegance, Your Majesty.”

Tashna handed the book back to Sable. “Please, keep it. I can alvays find another copy.”

Sable could only bow again. “Your Majesty is much too generous.”

Tasha lifted the runcarver’s chin. “I vish for knowledge in return.”

Sable blinked in confusion.“Knowledge?” But she knew what the Div’Rah alluded to.

“I vant to know the truth about your servant’s nature.”

“His nature? He is but a simple elf, my lady.”

Tashna sneered with dissatisfaction. She pinched Sable’s chin and jerked her closer. Her eyes sunk deeper and her voice fluxed into an entrancing song. “Perhaps he is more than just an elf, yes?”

Sable’s face loosened, her concentration drifted, mesmerized by Tashna’s words. “He is no mere elf…”

“For…?”

Sable attempted to fight off the siren’s spell, but failed as Calsoon’s secret slipped through her teeth. “For he is a demon in disguise…”

Tashna's face transformed into a ghastly smile. She pushed Sable away and let out a haunting cackle. “Of course he is. This Calsoon is an extremely talented shapeshifter.”

Sable shook away the hypnosis and snarled, “You are not what you seem either, are you?”

“You have a strong vill, runecarver. I am very impressed by your recovery.”

Sable lifted her hands and ignited her fingertips in a midnight-blue glow.

Tashan stepped back, her eyes warped into an amber-gold.

Sable slid a foot forward, posing her index fingers, ready to inscribe runes at a moment’s notice. “What are you, Tashna? What are you really?”

Tashna tapped her cheek in thought and smirked. “Very vell, I shall divulge a secret or two to you. After all, ve are friends, no?”

Sable narrowed her eyes.

“Vhat is vith this distrust, Sable?” Tashna approached her without caution and caressed Sable’s glyph covered cheek. “I am half demon. Calsoon serves you, I serve my mother. She is demon as vell.”

Sable shook her head in disbelief. How could she not have known these details about Estinia? Did her master, Wraslyn, know about this alarming information?

“What other seats of power have the demons infiltrated?” asked Sable. Her throat grew dry and chalky. Anxiety coursed through her body. She was no longer in control and it frightened her.

“Now, now, Sable. Don’t be so greedy,” replied Tashna, “I have given you two secrets already, you have given me but one.

Sable swallowed hard. “Yes… Forgive me, Majesty.” She desperately attempted to gather her wits. Demons shouldn’t be trifled with. “A final request?”

Tashna smiled curiously. “Yes?”

“The Mage King. He does not belong in a cell.”

“You convinced me to capture him in the first place, now you vant him to roam free?”

“No, you misread me,” explained Sable, her normal confidence rose to her standard once more. “I am merely suggesting that one of nobility would be best suited with better accommodations. A guest room—guarded, of course.”

“Of course, noble blood and vhatnot does not deserve a dank cell.” Tashna chuckled darkly. “I simply thought that Koda should be treated vith the same respect that my father vas given,” she spat coldly.

“I never saw the great Estinian people as petty.” Once again Sable snaked her way into Tashna's mind. “Koda would be broken easier if he thought he could trust you.”

Tashna pondered the choice of words carefully. “Perhaps I could instill an idea or two into our young king.” Tasha snapped a glare at Sable. “You have more to gain from this than I do, don’t you, dear Sable?”

Sable gave a long and low bow. “Ah, always the clever one, my Div’Rah. The Duke Alifinster Fen sees much potential in Koda that he wishes to use for personal gain. Thus, I would like Koda to be in good health.”

“Potential? I suppose his use of the Magi vould make him desirable to anyone,” sighed the queen. “Very vell, your request is granted.”

Sable nodded. “My master will be forever grateful, my lady.”

“I hope you enjoy the book, my friend,” said the Div’Rah as she turned around to walk. “Knowledge is alvays the most useful tool to have.”