Leo enjoyed some blissful sleep. The type he hadn’t had since he left Solem. The mattress was firm, and the white sheets were soft and comfortable. A whole day had passed and daylight was just starting to bloom. The chilly morning mountain air was being warmed by the fire burning inside the fireplace, making the room have just the right temperature.

  Leo opened his eyes and found himself lovingly tucked inside the bedsheets. He got up and stretched. They were inside a cozy little bedroom with a few bunk beds, in what seemed like a mountain cabin.

  He felt refreshed and smelled good, indicating that someone had washed him. It seemed someone had changed his clothes too. Now, only if there was some good food that is not snake meat.

  “We need to save Areliam, he said. For that, we need Ivan Renegader, he said. So, let’s go to Kracten, he said. Well, you got your wish! We are here,” said Ethan.

  “Hello, friend. I see you are doing well,” said Leo as he turned around and saw Ethan angrily eyeing him from the top bunk of one of the beds. Ethan was bathed too and wore a new set of clothes. As was Lore, who was sitting next to him and playing with a toy. Des was by the window. She too seemed fresh and had a new set of clothes on.

  “Friends don’t kidnap friends and get them imprisoned for life!”

  “Yeah… It’s all part of the plan.”

  “Oh really? Then why don’t you enlighten us with the details of this brilliant plan of yours?” asked Ethan, while crossing his arms.

  “See, we already accomplished the first part, which was to find Mr. Ivan Renegader. Now we just have to do the second part, which is to convince him to help us at any cost.”

  Ethan got down from the bed and walked up to Leo. He stood mere inches away from Leo’s face and held up his right hand. There was a power-binding bracelet on it. Then he grabbed Leo’s hand and showed him the power-binding bracelet on it as well. After that, Leo took a closer look at the girls and saw them wearing the bracelets too.

  “Ok, so what if we can’t use our powers? We can still convince him with our words. All we need are the right words to persuade him to help us.”

  Ethan started massaging his temple in frustration. “What can you say to a stubborn man over a hundred years old to make him aid us?”

  “You tell me. You seem to have more information about this whole situation. Who or what has the power to convince him to come out of isolation and join our side?” asked Leo.

  “Nothing and no one. The only person who could make him listen was your great-grandmother Khalifa Hearth-Bringer. He stopped paying heed to anyone after she and your grandfather Kendall went to the Hearth-Bringers during the interclan exchange.”

  “What was the interclan exchange again?”

  “It is the Veiled One custom of exchanging members of one clan to another if they exhibit powers of another clan. Your great-grandmother and her son Kendall were exchanged from the Renegaders to the Hearth-Bringers. Then she participated in the Battle of Behemoths from the Elemental side and died in it. If she was alive, she could convince him to fight on our side to save Areliam. However, since she is dead, we are doomed,” answered Ethan.

  “Not necessarily.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Des, who had stayed quiet until now. Even Lore stopped playing with her toy and looked at Leo.

  “First, you tell me how you found out about me being related to Ivan Renegader?” Leo asked Des.

  “I overheard your parents speaking and did my own research on the side.” Replied Des.

  “You mean you eavesdropped, poked your nose around, and failed to inform me what you found out.” Leo corrected Des.

  “However, you wanna take it.” Said Des while shrugging her shoulders. “Now, how are we going to make your great-grandfather listen to us? I don’t want to be stuck here forever. I miss home.”

  “I just thought of something that might work. Everyone, follow me!” said Leo.

  Leo searched for Ivan throughout the cabin with the other children, but he wasn’t there. So, they went outside. It was lovely out. The greenery, the mountain view, and the fresh air all added to the beauty of the place. As soon as they went out, though, a huge lioness came out from the nearby trees and ambushed them.

  The lioness seemed to be extra fond of Leo and Ethan. She put each of them under one of her front paws and started licking them insistently while purring loudly. Ethan was barely able to pass Lore to Desdemona before that happened.

  “Hey! Let me go! He is the Gainsworth. His clan loves cats. So, shower all your love on him instead!” said Leo as he wiggled to get out from under the lioness’s paw.

  “What are you talking about? Your name is Leon, which literally means lion, you idiot!” Ethan yelled at Leo as he too tried to get out of the clutches of the lioness.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Stop fangirling and help us!” Leo snapped at Des and Lore, who were too busy admiring and petting the lioness.

  “Oh, look! The cat caught two little mice!” said Ivan Renegader as he came out from behind the building.

  “Hahaha, you have a great sense of humor, great-grandfather.”

  “You know what else I have? A sixth sense. Currently, it is warning me that my over-smart great-grandson is trying to fool me.”

  “Oh, great Anorea! What has the world come to? Innocent children like me are being accused of fooling others!”

  No one said anything back to Leo, but all of them glared intensely at him for a while. Finally, Ivan said, “Let them go, Krayola,” as he entered the cabin.

  ***

  The breakfast table was set in the basement, right next to another home-built snake pit. Ivan had arranged some simple food items for the children. There was freshly made bread, bird meat, baked potatoes, a salad, orange juice, and refreshing cold mountain spring water. However, Ivan was still only eating snake meat. None of the children said anything out loud, but all of them were thinking the same thing: why does this man love eating snake meat so much?

  Leo was the first one to speak. “Great-grandfather…”

  “No.”

  “But I haven’t said anything yet!”

  “I know, and that no was to keep things that way.”

  “I was just going to say you look really young for someone who is one hundred and twenty-five!”

  “No, you weren’t, and I am only a hundred and twenty-three.”

  “Still, we thought you would be a hunchbacked, feeble and wrinkly old man by now. Yet you don’t even have a single gray hair! Is it because of all the snake meat you eat? If that is it, can I have some, too?” Des butted in, putting her plate forward.

  “Ok, enough! I can’t stand this false flattery anymore. Let’s just get this conversation over with.”

  “I was being genuine, though. I did want to eat more snake meat,” said a dejected Des.

  Leo took this opportunity to try and persuade Ivan to help them. “Great-grandfather, Areliam is dying. After the Elementals were defeated, no new elements were created to keep Areliam going. The Anons keep destroying what is left through their Amassings. In addition, they have enslaved our whole race. We must save both Areliam and the other Veiled Ones!”

  “You want to save Areliam? You, who can’t even use both your powers simultaneously?”

  “Wait, how did you know that?”

  “I wasn’t born yesterday, kid. Even if I was, I would still be smarter than you. If you could portal out while healing yourself, then I wouldn’t have needed to save you from the scorpion.”

  “Oh! I can’t believe I didn’t say it before, thank you for saving me! Thank you for saving all of us,” interjected Des.

  “You are welcome. Child, you are extremely powerful. Given enough time, you will be able to single-handedly defeat strong foes like that and much more. The powers of Destruction Elementals work similarly to Renegaders. So, I can teach you how to use your powers to the fullest if you like.”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful!” replied Des.

  “The price of your teachings, however, will be a lifetime imprisonment on this planet for all of us, right?” asked Ethan.

  “You should have thought of that before coming here, Gainsworth. This whole planet is full of Renegaders thirsty for your blood. If it weren’t for me, they would’ve already killed you several times over.”

  “What Ethan is trying to say is that we don’t need to be looked after. Even with our limited powers, we have accomplished great feats! Like, we stole the Creation flames from the Volcano of Creation, right from under the noses of the Anons. Then used it to revitalize Ragonia! This proves that we can both take care of ourselves and others. So, you don’t have to keep us locked up for our safety,” said Leo to calm Ivan down.

  “After reinvigorating Ragonia, you proceeded to bring it here, in the same star system as Kracten. Bringing along with it the attention and ire of the Anons,” said, Ivan.

  “What? Ragonia is already here? No wonder I am feeling its presence. I kept looking at the skies all night last night, not knowing I was searching for it!” Said Des.

  “I knew Ragonia was close to Kracten but didn’t know it would travel here so fast. Also, I admit I didn’t know that the Anons will be able to track Ragonia!” said Leo.

  “I didn’t know that you barbarians could sense such things. If you are so afraid of the Anons, then let us go before my uncles catch you. You know, fall back on your isolationist policy, keep yourselves safe while the rest of the world burns,” taunted Ethan.

  Ivan remained quietly stoic and let the children say their fill. Once they calmed down, he just said one line: “The next one to interrupt me gets thrown into the snake pit.” Desdemona immediately smacked her lips closed and put one hand on each of the boys’.

  However, Lore picked this moment to speak up, “Gugugahgahgagaga?”

  “Of course, that doesn’t include you, little one,” said Ivan as he smiled for the first time while looking at Lore.

  Leo’s first thought was, Why does this man treat an Anon kid better than me, his own blood? However, he remained silent in fear of being thrown to the snakes. Even Ethan didn’t say anything more, but he was still giving Ivan the evil eye.

  “Much better. Now to answer your question Desdemona, yes, Ragonia is already in the space surrounding Kracten. I’ll show its position to you tonight. As for the abilities we possess, Gainsworth, remember that apart from Hearth-Bringers, Renegaders are the only ones unaffected by the curse. So, we are not afraid of the Anons, they are afraid of us. Lastly, Leo, seems like you don’t know a lot of things. For example, you are not aware of how far the Veiled Ones have fallen. If you knew, then you would never hope to save them let alone try and save all of Areliam.”

  ”What do you mean? Please explain in detail! All types of knowledge were withheld from us enslaved Veiled Ones. So, I didn’t get to learn about much of anything. However, I have a right to know about my people. So please, great-grandfather, tell me what is going on!” Leo pleaded passionately.

  “Out of the nine Veiled Ones Clans, three are completely out of commission. The Paradigms were wiped out, the Pathfinders lost their abilities long ago, and the Hearth-Bringer children are currently being brainwashed. Then the Warhammers, Craftmasters, and Keepers are used as slaves. Gainsworths are trying to save whatever little power they have left. The Renegaders are divided. Half of us want to live out the rest of our days in peace here. The other half is fighting a guerrilla war against the Anons and the Gainsworths. As for the Transenders, you already saw what happened to them.”

  “What do you mean? What happened to the Transenders?” asked a confused Leo.

  “The abilities of the Transenders allow them to change their physical forms. The curse only works on Veiled Ones’ physical forms. So, to escape the curse, they changed their forms. However, after remaining in their transcended forms for the past ten years, a lot of them have lost their former selves. They can no longer change back to Veiled Ones. The scorpion that attacked you and Krayola, and the giant lioness you met outside, were once Transenders.”