“And you need my help to stop this big old snake of yours, then?” Corvid clarified, pacing about in a somewhat erratic fashion.

  “Yes,” Luminous said frankly, seemingly not excited at the prospect of traveling with Corvid.

  He returned her gaze of concern with a grin.

  “You freed me, so I’ll help you. But when J?gumangr is defeated, our accord is no more.”

  “That’s fine by us,” Luminous replied, acting relieved by the idea.

  Standing in a clearing of tall trees where Corvid had left them earlier, the trio now needed to take their next course of action. Luminous, looking to Koga for guidance, waited for him to take the lead. Corvid, willing to follow their lead, did the same.

  “Time to find this Bombad character,” Koga relayed to Luminous using sign speak. It came as a surprise to him when Corvid understood what he communicated.

  “You mean Ziglad Bombad? That guy owes me a favor…” Corvid interrupted.

  “You know him?” Luminous asked, surprised.

  “I know that guy like the back of my hand… which I might be smacking upside his head very soon,” Corvid replied ominously, waving his hands about in an almost comical fashion.

  “What kind of favor?”

  “Doesn’t matter… Luminous, right? Pretty name, by the way. You two ready to go see him?”

  “We need to find a ship, first,” Luminous stated matter-of-factly.

  Corvid tilted his head curiously. Acting insulted, he all but pranced towards Luminous. Koga shifted his stance to face him.

  “My friends, I think you forgot who you’re traveling with,” he remarked in another accent.

  “I’m not your-” Luminous began.

  Grabbing them both by the shoulders, Corvid teleported them directly to OOBA , the capital city of New Skazland. Both Luminous and Koga were stunned at the sudden change. Corvid smiled at Luminous’ surprise, and what he assumed to be surprise from the dark armored figure.

  “...friend.”

  “Welcome to OOBA, the capital city of New Skazland! Home to Elves, Dùclock, as well as many Moorish and Doorish dwarves,” Corvid announced, raising his hands as he spun in the city street.

  Around them, air cars flew above. Also around them, all manner of humans, animia, and outworlders walked along the glassy street. Businesses, all with numerous customers, tried to outshine one another with their colorful, animated, and interactive signs. Luminous’ mouth flew agape in amazement at the wonder of it all.

  “Amazing… this place is awesome!” she said, a little louder than she intended.

  “Pretty cool, huh? This place has always been one of my favorites. See? Traveling with me isn’t so bad,” Corvid noted.

  Luminous tried to hide her excitement, not wanting to give Corvid the impression she was fond of him, or of what he had done. Her face soured, as she took a more reserved attitude. It was apparent she did not trust him.

  “It’s alright. Could’ve given us a little warning, though,” she criticized.

  “Now where’s the fun in that?” he replied deviously.

  Koga sensed the area around him. He gathered that they seemed to be in the right place. He also sensed Luminous’ continued distrust of Corvid. She was right to stay on guard.

  “This is the address,” Koga interrupted, grabbing the attention of the two. “Will we find him inside?” Directing his attention to Corvid.

  “We should. That slippery Dùclock never leaves his precious possessions for someone else to care for,” Corvid remarked.

  The three, Corvid leading the way, walked inside. As the door hissed open, the area they walked into became darker. It was cold. Musty. The room was as dimly lit as it was cluttered. It looked more like a hoarder’s home than an antique collector’s den. Over the piles of junk, a Dùclock’s all too familiar hissing voice could be heard.

  “Welcoooome frrrieeeeendssssss! Come in! Come, commmmmmme!” the scaly, eel headed creature hissed, his voice becoming more audible as he drew closer.

  Coming around the corner from a pile of junk, the Dùclock walked with a pep in his three legged step. He seemed excited for new customers. His excitement turned to horror when he saw Corvid.

  “Y-you! On no…” Ziglad exclaimed, running back the way he came.

  “Miss me?” Corvid laughed, teleporting in front of him to cut Ziglad off.

  “I- I don’t have it anymore, Corvid! I ssssssold it a yyyyyear ago!”

  “Oh I know you did. That’s why you’re going to pay me back, you slippery little eel!” Corvid said, grabbing him.

  Luminous moved to step in, fearing Corvid might hurt him. Koga stopped her, shaking his head.

  “How can I pay you backkkkkk? The item it’ssss-”

  “Never mind that. Tell me what you know about Gishni’s spear.”

  Ziglad looked stunned. He tilted his eyes in curiosity, as his eyes widened. It was as though he had seen a ghost.

  “Gishni, you sayyyyy?”

  “Yes.”

  “That was what got me ssssstarted, you know. The ssssssearch for the ssssspear,” Ziglad reminisced. “I ssssstopped believing it existed for a long while… but yyyyou mentioning it… it givessssss Ziglad hope… why do you sssseeek it?”

  Corvid let him go.

  “Nevermind that. Give us what you have, and maybe we’ll give it to you once this young man here is through with it,” Corvid offered, incentivizing Ziglad to act out of personal gain rather than fear.

  “Yyyyyesssss… yyyyeeessss.”

  “Wwwweeeeellll go get whatever you got, you silly eel!” Corvid remarked.

  As Ziglad ran into the back, nearly knocking over some of his precious items in the process, Corvid turned to the two.

  “Looks like we’re on the right track.”

  “What item did he sell of yours?” Luminous inquired, curious.

  “My portal device. Which I specifically asked him to keep. Double crossing eel. Should’ve known better.”

  “How did you know he sold it?”

  “Educated guess. When the world moves on without you, you kind of imagine what everyone does with you gone,” Corvid shrugged.

  Ziglad emerged from the back with an item in his hand. As he drew closer, it became clear he held a key. It was metal, rusted, and old, all the way to a green, crystal tip.

  “Thisssss was my first collectible. It wassss my father’ssss before me.”

  “And how does it relate to the spear?” Luminous asked.

  “The inssssscription here, you sssssee?” Ziglad said, pointing at the base of the key. “Legend says it was most likely Gishni’s symbol. Legend hassssss it that Gishni gave the key to a messssssenger to give to her essssstranged lover. Legend alssssso says that the lover threw it away.”

  “Threw it away? But why?” Luminous wondered.

  “No one knowsssss…”

  “What’s the key to?” Corvid asked.

  “I- I don’t know… I’ve alwayssssss wondered…” Ziglad hissed.

  “Whatever it is,” Koga reasoned, “we’ll find it on Avila.

  *

  Avila was a strange planet. A planet of ancient ruins and desert plains. A place unlike anything he imagined Luminous had ever seen. He stared in wonder at the remoteness of it all. Of how deserted the whole planet seemed. It was eerie.

  “Strange, isn’t it?” Corvid asked Luminous, noticing her wondering.

  “I have never read about this planet before… what happened here?” she asked. Koga wondered the same thing.

  “I don’t know… only visited once. As you can see, there’s not much to do here,” Corvid admitted.

  “And do you have to visit somewhere before you teleport there?” Luminous inquired.

  Corvid chuckled, wagging his finger.

  “Ah-ah-ah! A secret for a secret, I always say!”

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  Luminous shook her head.

  “Whatever. Koga, is the key doing anything?” she asked, directing her attention to him.

  He held it in his hand, pointing it in different directions. He wondered if, by using the key as a direction finder, the crystal might glow. The rusted key, with its crystal end, showed no signs of glowing. No signs of any type of change. Corvid looked at the key with curiosity.

  “May I?” he asked, gesturing that he might hold the key. Koga remembered what Mitamin had told him about trusting him, and kept the key. Corvid faked being sad, and frowned.

  “What do you want to do with it?” Luminous asked.

  “Why, stick it in the sand, of course,” Corvid answered, grinning as he so often did. Koga and Luminous looked between one another. Deciding it could do no harm, Koga acted upon Corvid’s idea.

  Upon placing it in the sand, nothing initially happened. Koga wondered if his crazed travel companion was pranking him. Then, just as Koga was about to pull the key out, a burst of light shone forth from the ground. Shining into the sky, it then turned and shot off towards a series of ruins off in the distance. Corvid smiled in pride, as Luminous rolled her eyes.

  “I guess a blind gobber-squirrel finds a nut every once in a while,” Luminous remarked, folding her arms.

  “It’s as I thought. It’s a sand crystal,” Corvid informed them.

  “Sand crystal?” Luminous asked, always curious, despite not being fond of the Red Raven.

  “It’s a crystal which allows the user to find something the original owner of the key wanted them to find,” Corvid explained. “This is our ticket to finding Gishni’s spear.

  “Huh. So she must have left this behind for her lover to find…” she thought aloud.

  “See? I’m not as untrustworthy as you were led to believe, even for a blind gobber-squirrel.”

  “That’s yet to be seen,” Luminous retorted.

  “No pun intended, right?”

  As dusk approached, the three made their way along the path of light. Part of the time, Luminous sped up the process by transporting herself and the other two. Part of the time, Corvid did the same.

  The Red Raven did not seem bothered by Luminous’ or Koga’s power. It seemed normal to him, leading Koga to believe he was used to being around individuals who were in touch with the Machor. Luminous, however, was the only one of the two willing to ask questions of their vermillion skinned companion. Koga saw their partnership more as a means to an end.

  “May I ask you a question, Corvid?”

  “It makes the time fly,” Corvid responded.

  “How did they end up capturing you? Who captured you?”

  Corvid’s gleeful expression soured.

  “His name is Thanator,” he hissed with indignation.

  “And how did he-” Luminous began.

  “That doesn’t matter,” Corvid interrupted. “What matters is what I’m going do to him. Him, and the Triumvirate.”

  Koga stopped upon hearing the name. It appeared they were allied with someone with no ties to the group. At least, so it seemed. If what Corvid said was true, then perhaps Corvid would make a valuable ally in their mission to stop the organization. That was, if he could be persuaded.

  “They’ve hurt you too, haven’t they?” Corvid asked, seemingly able to read him.

  Koga did not bother responding. No sense in rushing to an alliance just yet. After all, the man had not proved himself fully trustworthy.

  “They have…” Corvid determined. “Make them pay, my friend. We’ll make them all pay.”

  “If they’ve hurt you and us, then why not help us defeat them?” Luminous wondered.

  “I am.”

  “I mean after you help us with J?gumangr.”

  “I’ll be helping you, but in my own way and time. The path I tread you cannot follow,” Corvid replied ominously, “Nor should you. It is one that can only lead to death.”

  “What does that mean?” Luminous asked.

  Corvid smiled weakly.

  “By my example, perhaps you will see.”

  The group did not speak again for a while longer. Between light travel and teleportations, it took the group two hours to reach the end of the path of light. There, they found themselves in the midst of more ruins, only these were covered in vegetation of various kinds. Vines cascaded down lofty, broken pillars, and the sound of running water could be heard. It was a stark contrast from the endless sandy brown of the rest of the desert.

  “The water must be coming from below these ruins,” Luminous concluded. “Its spewing up, almost like a geyser.”

  Koga could sense a tunnel below them. Its entrance was blocked a large pillar, which apparently had crumbled with age. He made his findings known to the rest of the group.

  “Can you teleport us past it?” Luminous asked Corvid, her arms crossed.

  “No.”

  “Ha! I knew it. You can’t teleport somewhere you haven’t already seen!” she exclaimed.

  Corvid shook his head. “You got me. Now, genius, how do we get past this pillar?”

  “Stand back,” Koga motioned.

  The two did as he commanded. Calling upon the power residing within him, he hoped a blast of lightning might clear the way. Sadly, his once dormant power, although awakened, was far from tamed. Without success, he extended his hand, and only sparks of electricity came forth.

  “Don’t think that’s going to cut it, sparky,” Corvid remarked.

  Luminous stepped forward, placing her hand on Koga’s back. She, too, extended out her hand. Together, the two of them looked at the pillar. He could feel she was guiding him in some subtle way, although Koga did not know how.

  “What were you thinking of when you tried to summon your power?”

  “Destroying the pillar,” Koga replied, using his other hand.

  “What else?”

  Koga paused, not sure of what to say. Usually he was able to foresee where conversations like this were going. To his surprise, he could not.

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Your power flows from your emotion, not your thoughts,” she explained. “Your power is controlled, executed, and amplified by three things: thought, purpose, and emotion.”

  “So, you’re saying in order to amplify my power, I need to draw on emotion?” Koga reasoned.

  “Yes,” Luminous spoke, smiling that her point had come across.

  “So… what emotion should I be feeling?” Koga asked, confused.

  “I find anger to be a helpful one,” Corvid grinned.

  “Excuse me,” Luminous spoke, aggravated, “I’m doing the teaching, here.”

  “Just saying. I draw on the Machor just like you, sister,” Corvid explained.

  “We don’t have time to explore the dangers of that,” Luminous explained. “While anger is a powerful emotion, it is the ability to draw from emotion itself which you need to learn. You must feel balanced to draw from the Machor. Otherwise, your various emotions will conflict with one another.”

  “Will it always be this way?” Koga asked. “Seems like times of stress would call for use of one’s power, and you can’t use the power if you’re stressed.”

  “Not exactly. It’s like driving a P.A.C. for your first time. You’re nervous and can’t operate it correctly, but once you master your nervousness, then you can start to get down the basics. After that, you never really forget,” she explained. “Now, try again. This time, drawing from the well of your emotions, not suppressing them.”

  It went against everything Koga had been taught to do. Morgath required mastery of the body, and in doing so, required emotions to be somewhat suppressed. Allowing them to flow freely was entirely foreign to him. Still, if he were to learn, he would need to try the foreign. He closed his eyes, and opened himself up to feel again.

  Extending his hand, he felt the energy of his power flow through him. It grew, like a pale being filled with water. Then, in a moment, he let it all go.

  Lightning shot forth from his palm into the pillar, causing stone and sand to shoot everywhere. Luminous created a shield of light around them, protecting the three from the blast. When the dust cleared, the path was open to them. He had done it.

  “Well done, Koga! For your first lesson, you did really, really great!” Luminous cheered.

  Koga was not used to positive reinforcement from his teachers. He was not sure how to respond. Corvid’s following comment fell more in line with what he was used to.

  “Seen better,” Corvid jested, all too well knowing his comment would anger Luminous. She stewed in silent contempt of what he had said.

  An ancient stone staircase now stood before them, leading down into deeper parts below. With their pathway not being lit, Luminous offered to use her light to guide the way, but Koga insisted on going first. He could sense what was ahead, and something sinister lay before them. Corvid trailed behind in the rear.

  As they descended lower into the tunnel, the space around them became more open, as the stairs they descended became less and less worn. Being buried had preserved their stone surroundings, as opposed to their weather exposed counterparts.

  Hieroglyphs of various scenes aligned their path. A few were faded, but most were readable. They depicted the tales of the planet. Ancient battles, discoveries of note, and politics through the ages were the subjects of interest. Then, the hieroglyphs became larger and more intricate. They told the tale of the one whose spear they came for.

  “This must be Gishni,” Luminous guessed, up to the wall to her right. “From what I can tell, she was a sort of a queen to them.”

  “A goddess, more like. They’re not just bowing in obeisance to her. They’re worshiping her,” Corvid corrected, a hint of distaste in his words.

  “I wonder why the hieroglyphs stop here?” Luminous wondered, pointing to the wall.

  “Let’s move along. We’re running out of time,” Koga interrupted, refocusing the group.

  Koga had no desire to know anything about this witch, or the history behind this place. He had quite enough of witches for one lifetime. Besides, their time was running short, and this place had all the makings of being a death trap. They needed to get the spear, and get out of here.

  As the tunnel descended further and further into the earth, it split off into five different directions. Not sure which to take, the group deliberated as to which they should. To Corvid, the choice was clear.

  “We should go lower. Only one tunnel takes us that way,” he reasoned.

  “Why should we do that?” Luminous asked.

  “So when the tunnel collapses, I can teleport outta here and ditch you losers for good,” Corvid said with a devilish grin. Luminous glared at him, not appreciating his humor.

  “Whoever this key was meant for, it was meant to draw them deeper and deeper into this place. So, let’s get drawn in,” Corvid reasoned, taking a more serious tone. “If something bad happens, I’ll just teleport us outta here.”

  “Or you’ll just teleport yourself out of here…” Luminous concluded.

  “Maybe,” he grinned. “But I can’t help you finish this little quest of yours if you’re dead.”

  Luminous pondered his answer. Koga seemed agreeable to the notion. Gishni was waiting for her lover to return. Being a witch, Koga imagined she would try to punish him before embracing him. To go deeper into the catacombs only made sense.

  “Alright. Let’s go.”

  Descending further and further, Luminous pointed out that the crystal at the end of the key began to glow. Corvid was right. They were getting closer.

  “I’m surprised we haven’t run into any booby traps or anything like that,” Luminous noted as they entered a wider tunnel.

  “It only makes sense,” Corvid responded. “This isn’t some holo-flic. She wanted him to return safely, at least at first. Couldn’t really find this place without that key, and knowing where to use it.”

  “True,” she conceded.

  Finally, they were out of the tunnels. The area around them was too dark to see entirely, even with Luminous’ light. Deciding to brighten the area, she shot a self sustaining orb of light into the area out and above them. It illuminated a massive cavern, which had four pyramids, each across from another to make a square. In the center, a tomb covered in vines resided.

  “Do you think…?” Luminous began.

  “Only one way to find out,” Corvid responded.

  “We need to be careful. She was a witch after all,” Koga warned.

  The three cautiously approached the tomb, and the key began to grow brighter and brighter. At the end of the stone coffin, a key port resided. Luminous drew closer and closer to the port with the key, before Koga stopped her.

  “What? It’s what it’s for, right?” Luminous reasoned, her curiosity getting the better of her.

  “We should be cautious. Let’s look around first,” Koga cautioned.

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right…” Luminous reasoned, pulling the key back.

  Before either Koga or Luminous could react, Corvid teleported in front of Luminous, and snatched the key from her hand. He then teleported towards the coffin, key in hand, and put it into the port. Turning back, he smiled.

  “Come on, kids. Let’s take a ride on the wild side,” he said, turning the key in the port.

  The earth below them rumbled as the stone lid on the tomb flew off in a fury, tumbling onto the ground beyond them. From the tomb rose a skeleton with a spear in its hand. It was the spear they were looking for: Gishni’s spear.

  From the corners of the burial chamber, vines and vegetation sprung towards the skeleton, which now stood fully erect. The vegetation began to envelope the skeleton, twisting and contorting about it until it was no longer visible to the eye. Then, a green plant in the form of a woman took shape, and stepped out of the tangled mess.

  “You… are not my beloved!” the woman hissed, her unearthly voice echoing through the chamber.

  “We’ve…” Luminous gulped, “we’ve come for your spear. We need to stop J?gumangr.”

  The woman, whom the three of them could only assume was Gishni, screeched in displeasure. She snarled at Luminous, and threw her spear at the young woman. Luminous barely dodged the attack in time. Extending her hand, Gishni called the spear back to her. It flew back to the hand of its master.

  “Don’t think she liked that idea,” Corvid noted. “Well, friends, it’s time for a boss battle. Cue the music.”

  From out of nowhere, Corvid teleported away and back again with foreign technology. From another foreign device he had brought with him, Corvid began to play “Don’t Tread On Me,” by Metallica over the devices. Koga had little time to note this strange development, as Gishni had decided to move her attack to the next level.

  Vines that had been spread across the room began to try to wrap themselves around Gishni’s foes. Using his swords, Koga cut any that came near him. Luminous, in similar fashion, created for herself two swords of light and followed suit. Corvid easily dodged the attacks by continuously teleporting away from them.

  Seeing she was getting nowhere, Gishni increased her efforts. She began to call down more vines from both below and above, launching them in waves at her enemies. In addition, she launched her spear at Luminous, who blocked it easily with her swords.

  Observing that the opportunity to counter attack was present, Luminous shot a beam of light at her. The beam was focused enough to be a laser, searing through some of the vines in the way. Gishni, not able to defend in time, took the shot directly through her abdomen. The attack did little to stop her, however, as she regenerated herself quickly.

  “She can regenerate!” Luminous cried. Koga was glad she was communicating well. Some often froze up during battle. She had good instincts.

  Telling him and Luminous to increase their attacks, Corvid teleported behind the witch and severed her head from her body with his axes. He smiled in approval, that was, until the vines collected her head and placed it atop her body once more. He quickly teleported away, and recalculated his strategy.

  Koga, to this point, had not used his new found power. From what he could tell, the witch used the planet’s vegetation to regenerate herself. This gave him an idea as to how she might be defeated. In the heat of battle, however, he could not communicate it to the others. He would have to enact the plan on his own.

  Gishni became more and more vicious as the conflict continued. Beyond the vines, he could sense Gishni was spouting an incantation in the old dialect. She was preparing a powerful spell.

  “That spell could wipe us all out! We need to stop her!” Luminous warned.

  The three desperately began cutting their way towards the witch, hoping to stop her before she could finish her spell. Gishni did everything in her power to keep them back, but they proceeded forward nonetheless. She began to speak faster.

  “She’s almost finished!” Luminous yelled, struggling to press forward. “Koga, now!”

  It was at that moment that Luminous unleashed a powerful laser into Gishni, nearly splitting her in two. Corvid teleported forward and chopped off her arms, separating her from her spear. Koga was glad they picked up on the plan he had in mind.

  Seizing the moment, he charged forward with unearthly speed. Slicing through twisting, writhing vines, he finally made his way to Gishni’s form. Dropping his swords, he grabbed ahold of the undead witch, and summoned his lightning. From his body, he electrified the witch, intensifying his voltage with each passing moment. Burning away her hold of the vines, Koga could feel her power dwindling, as her incantation became weaker. With renewed vigor, he burned her earthy form to a crisp.

  As the zombie-like witch fell back into her coffin, Koga quickly grabbed the spear before she could lay hold of it once more. Its aura was dark, rife with magic from ancient times. Instinctually, he wanted to release it, especially given it was somehow tied to Gishni’s very existence. Still, he clung to it. It was what they had come for after all.

  “What was she chanting?” Corvid asked.

  “No time! We need to go!” Luminous cried.

  The cavern was collapsing around them. As rocks fell and supporting pillars crumbled to pieces, Koga ran back to Luminous and Corvid. The Red Raven grabbed hold of them, and teleported them away from the danger.