November 16

Word Count: 1751

"So you unlock us and we can lift entire cities?"

"Not right away. It may take awhile for you to adjust and learn how to control your powers. A hundred years or so would do." The old man waved his hand as if the time was inconsequential.

"Older than all of you, and Snult together three times older… and Snult is no spring chicken."

"And what happens if we refuse?" Malek stated.

"Then you go about your daily boring unimportant lives and the power within you ends with your little death and will be lost for all Galadin. There are only eight of us now. It will be tragedy for all human kind to diminish the power any more. The world will weep for you and your selfish stupidity." The old man turned and headed towards the center of the clearing, and shooed the dragon out of his way. Snult huffed and moved off to the side of the clearing.

The old man raised his hands palms upward and a large book supported by a silver rod sprouted from the ground.

"So that's where it went," Snult said quietly.

"I, Nelyr, Great Mage, call upon the power of the Great Book of the Ages, on who's pages are written the deeds of human kind and who's binding holds the spirit of the Great Mages." Nelyr placed his left hand on the book and held the key in his right hand. "I unlock you now, Great Book of the Ages, so the powers can be free once again, and the old magic returned once more to Galadin." He plunged the key into the front of the book and suddenly a huge blinding light poured out like a fog and played in the wind. It swept around them, stopping at the tree line and circling back in until the entire world was a white fog.

Lynah looked around for Trevvie but she was gone, lost in the world of light. She opened her mouth to cry out and the fog crept into her lungs, forcing out the air. Lynah felt it tingle as it entered her ears and pushed against her skin. The dizziness overwhelmed her and she dropped to her knees. Her head spun, and all coherent thoughts became impossible. With a last gasp, she fell into unconsciousness.

The first thing Trevelyn noticed was that every time she took a breath, a leaf sucked up to her mouth. It was not the most pleasant sensation in the world. She tilted her head and noticed she'd developed a kink in her neck. Great. Just great. Trevelyn lifted herself up, supporting her upper torso on her hands. It was quiet. It was also daylight.

Trevelyn spotted the rest of their little group sprawled about the forest floor in a similar manner. The dragon was piled in a mound on the far side of the clearing. His tail swished like a cat. Snult opened his eyes and put a paw over his head.

"I hate human magic. It can be so over dramatic sometimes. Next time remind me to stay in my cave."

Trevelyn sat up. The dragon's voice had stirred some of the others.

"How long have we been asleep," Lasser asked as he rubbed his head.

"It looks as if it's near midday," one of the brothers said.

"Where's that man? I want to give him a piece of my mind," Lynah said as she rubbed her nose very unprincessly.

"He's gone," said the brother with the sword," and so's the book.

"And the key," added the dragon.

"And Mitty… where's Mitty?" Malek stood up and wandered around the clearing.

"Mitty?" he called out. His companions joined him.

"She's not here," said the dragon.

"Maybe she wandered out for something to eat?" suggested the brother.

"No, she's not here. Anywhere near. I could tell. I can't smell her."

"You could smell her?" asked Lasser. The dragon looked afronted.

"I have a very big nose. Head off in that direction and you'd find two very tasty deer." His stomach grumbled. "Your horses have run off in that direction… although I think two of them have been made breakfast by a lesser dragon. I wouldn't try and find them. It would be quite messy."

"So where did she go?" Malek demanded.

"How should I know? I have a big nose, not the cosmic greatness of a mage." Malek stood stock still as if pondering the weight of that thought. Trevelyn joined him. She looked at her hands. She didn't look any different. Her fingernails were dreadfully dirty though. She had no new memories or knowledge of how to raise cities or locate people or save the world.

"I don't feel any different," she stated to no one in particular.

"How do we know it worked?"

"Oh it worked all right," Snult said. "You've got the powers."

"And how do you know? You've been asleep for a hundred years. How are you so sure that the great mages locked the book twenty years ago," the brother asked.

"They left me a note. It said something to the effect of here's the book that holds our souls and the key is under your scale where no one can get it. When you wake up go to the clearing and we'll meet you there eventually."

"But we all got here at the same time. That wasn't coincidence."

"I suppose they left the note just in case Nelyr died before the magic came back. But he didn't so he must have got you all here and I just had to give him the key."

"I'd never seen him before we came into the clearing," Lasser stated.

"My head hurts. Can't we just find some breakfast?"

"I need to find Mitty." Malek demanded.

"Then go find her." The dragon said flippantly.

"How?"

"How'd you get here?"

"We just followed the glowing ball." Malek was definitely confused.

"Then follow it to her," the dragon stated as if his conclusion was obvious.

"But she has it… wait," Malek stated as he noticed his pouch on the ground. He scrambled to open in and pull out the ball. He examined it.

"It's a locator ball," Snult explained. "You tell it where you want to go, and it shows you how to get there."

"I want to find Mitty," Malek said and the globe blinked once. He stepped a few paces to the north. Nothing happened. He paced west and it began to light up. Malek stared at the ball intently and took off out of the clearing.

"I suppose I should accompany you," the brother with the sword said.

"I do not need a bloody entourage. Bugger off," Malek said before breaking off into a sprint out of sight.

"Iber, you should let him go," the brother said as he grabbed his friend's arm.

"It would serve him right to get eaten by a dragon, a lesser one, I mean."

"Oh, no insult taken here. It would probably serve the dragon right to eat him."

Trevelyn stared at the five left. They were a bedraggled bunch, and quite an odd company. Her curiosity got the better of her.

"Since when do brothers wear swords?" He blushed, and his friend smiled.

"I'm not a brother. My clothes were roasted. Let me introduce use, albeit a bit late. This is Brother Saratin of Ladona, and I am Iber Menymus, son of the noble by the same name."

Trevelyn could hear Lynah's eyes rolling back into her head at the mention that he was a noble. She crossed her arms and sighed. They were everywhere.

"Well, well, it's been a long time since I've seen a brother, a nobleman and a princess in this forest. I'm Lasser, a ranger who seems to have acquired a princess and her maid." Lasser pointed.

The smile on Iber's face grew as he approached and bowed to Trevelyn. "Then you must forgive me, your highness, for not paying my respects earlier. I've not yet been to court and have not seen your lovely face," he took her hand and placed a solemn kiss on it. Trevelyn had a hard time keeping a straight face. Lasser had pointed to her as the princess. The she remembered, Lynah had told him it was so. He wasn't the one making a mistake. They all thought she was the princess. She glanced at Lynah, hoping she would correct the misunderstanding, but Lynah just curtseyed back at her. Trevelyn sighed. If they were going to live for thousands of years, Lynah had better get her story straight. Trevelyn noticed everyone was staring at her, as if looking for direction. Of course, she had no idea what to do?

"So where do we go from here?" she finally asked.

"Where should you like to go?"

"Home. I should like to go home."

"Then home it is," Iber said cheerfully.

"Iber," Saratin called, "At Ladona, they have all the ancient spell books that I was never allowed to read as an apprentice. Now that I'm a great mage," he chuckled to himself, "I suppose the scribes now work for me. I could read the books and find out how all the magic works, but that means I have to go back to Ladona to do it."

Iber looked torn between his friend and his new opportunity.

"It would be a simple thing for you to escort your friend back to the monastery and then come pay a visit to us at court. I'm sure that Lasser would be happy to see us safely home."

"Yes, your highness, that sounds like an excellent plan," Iber bowed to her again. This was getting tedious.

"I could give you a lift," Snult rumbled. Trevelyn looked cautiously at the great dragon. By air the journey would take few minutes perhaps, and by ground they ran the chance of getting lost yet again. The king was already going to have her hide on a platter.

"That sounds delightful," she said regally. "Can you carry three?" He could probably carry fifteen.

"Without a problem."

"Good, then we shall say goodbye to Iber and Saratin, and we will welcome them back in court at the first chance they have to visit us. Shall we go?"

Trevelyn half expected someone to object or question her. No one did. They just stood there and bowed at her. Even the dragon seemed to be playing this new game of respect. The sooner they got home, the better.