The next two days were practical torture for Cyrus, having to go push on without food and water. The little he had left wasn't enough to be considered "food", as he found himself eating a few nuts every few hours to keep up his energy. He realized that he needed to find a sustainable food source soon, and hoped he would soon arrive at the Midlands.On the second day after he had run out of food was when he felt like his body was on the brink of giving up. He found himself falling to the ground and getting back up again, determined to keep going. It became so habitual that he lost count of how many times his body tried to give up on him but instantly got put under subjection by his sheer willpower.The last day felt like hell. The sun was high up in the sky at noon, heating the armor he wore and causing him to sweat profusely, losing the little amount of body fluids that had kept him going. This brought about a heavy sensation of thirst from within which almost made

Cyrus and the Emperor sat together at a table, situated at the far end of the long throne room. It was close to the large windows at the side, and Cyrus's wild imagination made him think the Emperor was just one move away from pushing him through it so he would fall to his death. A cup of wine was served before the both of them. It was almost evening, making it a while since Cyrus had come to the Midlands. And in less than a day, he was at his destination, one on one with the Emperor. The Emperor looked a lot different from what Cyrus had envisioned. Even the sculpted graven images posted at various places on his way here almost looked nothing like the person sitting before him now. Athanasius looked a lot younger than he had imagined, without the ever-present scowl or form of wrinkles on the edges of his mouth as depicted in the various art forms. The Emperor sitting before him didn't look like he was up to five years older than Cy

“You know I hate it when you do that”, Athalea, his mother said as she pulled back the black curtain covering her from being seen. The curtain was right behind the spot where Cyrus was seated, meaning she had been standing behind the Prince this whole time. She was in her middle ages, yet had the beauty and charm most men would seek, the only thing that gave her away was the tiny wrinkles at the edges of her eyes and lips with the little lines on her forehead. It seemed Athanasius got his blonde hair and blue eyes from her, as they looked strikingly similar in that regard. “Just had to get it off my chest”, Athanasius said. “Is that so?”, she asked. “For a while, it seemed like you had taken a liking to him.” “I still do”, Athanasius said. “It's just that it naturally infuriates me when... Never mind.” “You just hate it when you meet people who are smarter than you?”, asked Athalea. “You know

“Alright, get up”, Stephen yelled out loud as all the youths down below got up sluggishly, with almost every muscle of their body aching terribly while they did so. “Now it's time for the sacred part of the martial art - The art of breathing fire”, Stephen said, and all the students below murmured among themselves. “Is this a joke?” “How on earth are we supposed to do that?” “We can barely even do the choreography without missing some steps, now he expects us to become professionals all of a sudden?” Stephen took note of their grumbling and to bring an end to it, he hit his cane on a rock. It made a sharp, loud sound that reverberated around the cave. The sound was so sharp that it caused everyone in the cave to fall silent, including those spectating the event. “You all have absorbed the power of all the dragon eggs we have gathered. That magic has grown deep inside of you for years

After the additional two had given up on trying to join them, Zenos turned to Faora. “Why did you have to chase them off like that?”, he asked her. “Won't we be better off being five than three?” Faora gave him no response, keeping her eyes straight and barely even acknowledging his existence. Then Thornicus spoke up instead. “Those men weren't looking for a group of people to fight with”, he said to Zenos. “They were simply looking for strong people they can leech off of by sitting back and allowing them to go ahead and do the dirty work while they sit back and do nothing. Given the situation we are headed towards, I don't think we have that luxury. Besides, we are better off this way - there will be fewer to no liabilities, now that there are no weak, persons among us.” “I hope you are right”, Zenos replied. Then Faora spoke up. “He is right, Zenos.” It was the first time he heard his name come from Faora, and fo