He barely had time to react when Aya lunged forward. He blocked the attack and parried with a swift hit to her ribs. She was still faster than him and blocked it. She raised the sword above her head faster than Rin could even blink and was about to pull it down onto him when he yelled out, "Steip mëirn!" her attack was stopped midway for less than a second, but that was all Rin needed. He shot the tip of his sword towards her neck and stopped less than an inch away.

Aya smiled at him and lowered her sword, Rin pulled Espada away from her. "Well done. I believe that is as much as I can teach you. Though there still is much you need to learn, it is not my place to teach you."

"Who's supposed to teach me then?"

"I'm not sure myself. Possibly a mage, maybe another dragon, who knows. You may even have to teach yourself. Experience is sometimes the best kind of teacher—" Faint yelling sounded out in the corridor. "Come, let's see what all the commotion is about." she walked towards the doorway to leave, Rin close behind.

He no longer had great fatigue going up and down the countless stairways, as he had been doing it for the past month. He still remembered how slow he felt before. It made him cringe slightly.

Standing at the bright yellow entrance of the tree was an elf that looked no more than twenty-five. He carried a rapier on his left hip and a leather satchel right. He looked tired, covered in sweat. Quickly opening the bag, he pulled out a letter and handed it to Aya. The two dragons stood to the left, in the center of the room, watching the transaction.

Rin watched her with anticipation. She eyed the paper for several moments before finally lowering it, contemplating its contents. "Rin, how long will it take to pack your things?" her sudden voice pulled him out of his trance with a startle.

"An hour, probably. What on earth are we packing for, though?" he already had an idea.

"It's Esdeath. Since the end of the Great War, and his disappearance, the elves have put sentries out around the world to search for him. For the most part, though, it has been in vain. He was much better at hiding than we had anticipated, whether it was through the means of magic, or some hidden base in a remote location. Though, without magic, I doubt he could stay in one place for very long.

"This is our first true find. We have had rumors in the past, but not much more than that. Now we know exactly where he is, and what he is doing." she turned back towards the messenger, "What is the name of the sentry who found him?"

"His name is Cleín, he's been posted in Greenland for the past fifty years."

Aya nodded her head slightly, "I'll have to give him my thanks later. Rin, you and Rex prepare for our travels, we leave in an hour."

Rin was confused then, "Where are we going?"

"To Antarctica, where else? Esdeath is building his army in Greenland, hidden from plain sight."

"Where is he getting all of his men from? How could anyone follow him?"

"Well, he either forces them, or promises them safety. Whichever it may be, he is doing it quickly." she pointed up to his room with her thumb, "Now hurry, get everything and don't be late."

Rin hurried up the steps, his sword swung wildly at his side as he forgot to tighten the belt hold. Rex flew up and was already waiting by the doorway when Rin got to it. He hurried inside of his room, the dragon poked his head in after him. Walking over to his wood-sided bed, he leaned down and opened a leather sack. He pulled out a silver mess of armor, he almost blinded himself when the sun's light struck the metal. Untangling the metal pile, he quickly fitted everything and stood back up, sounding almost melodic clangs of metal.

Picking up the saddle laying right next to the sack, he walked out of his room and set it on the ground, "I'll put that on you later, there isn't very much room up here." Rex nodded back at him. He then searched the room for anything else he might have been missing. The book! He realized. Looking around the room, there was no sign of it. Where could it be? He kept searching, but with little luck. He finally sat on the bed, trying to see if he could find anything from that angle. But as soon as he sat down, an oddly hard part of the bed made him uncomfortable. He stood back up, wondering what it was; it was the book. I'm such an idiot... He mentally smacked himself. He could hear Rex quietly chuckling to himself. Oh shush, you big bird. He told the dragon. It no longer hurt his head, or at least not enough for him to realize, to talk with his mind.

I am no bird! I do not have putrid feathers that fall off and rot away. My scales are much more... Rin broke off of the conversation, laughing at his silly rant. He was still amazed at how he was not able to see the book right away, it almost completely contrasted the color of the white bed.

I wonder if there actually is some magic to this book. Maybe it'll come in handy one day. He shrugged to himself and put the black, leather bound book in a metal slot in his armor. Clipping Espada back on to his belt, he walked out the doorway and was met with Rex's unamused face. Rin smiled at him and patted him on his snout. Rex let out an annoyed puff of smoke into the boy's face. He coughed while waving away the meat-smelling smoke, Rex cast him a toothy grin and jumped off of the ledge, landing with a loud crash at the base of the tree.

Rin picked up the saddle and hopped down the stairs, careful not to hit his head when he got to the level of the floor above him.

As he hopped down the last few stairs, he saw that Aya and Raven were already waiting for them. The messenger was nowhere to be seen, Rin assumed that he had left. Aya was leaning against the dragon's black, scaly leg with an impatient face. "Pëin fiore." she pointed a finger at him, then he felt a sharp pinching pain in his back, making him hunch backwards and drop the saddle. "That's for being late." she smiled at him, "Come along now, we have much to do."

Rin picked up the saddle with a sigh and set it on Rex's back. He grabbed the straps and pulled them around, attaching them in the middle. He then crouched down and jumped up, grabbing onto the saddle. He pulled himself in without much of a struggle and proceeded to strap in his feet.

"Ready?" Aya asked, Rin nodded back in approval. Raven walked calmly out of the safety of the massive tree and into the fresh, open world. She unfurled her wings and lifted them upward, making almost no noise. She then pushed them down with violent force and launched herself into the air. When Rin looked up, her could see that she stayed there, hovered in the air over them as Rex proceeded to do the same thing.

As they started their new journey, Rin asked Aya where exactly they were. He never bothered asking the question beforehand because it was never on his mind.

We are currently on the Southern tip of Argentina. We're going to go over the South Atlantic Ocean, it's the fastest route. She spoke in his head. We'll have to stop at least once during our flight, it may be a short distance, but not quite short enough. I can sense a storm heading our way as well. If we keep going the way we are going, then we are going to hit it while we are over the open water. It will force us to land anyways.

Rin worried then. He didn't feel like getting caught in a storm, much less one over the ocean. He was pulled out of his anxious feelings when Rex grunted and let out a puff of smoke, smother his face. He coughed and squinted his eyes, hoping Rex wouldn't do it again. What's wrong with you? Is it because I called you a bird?

No, of course not. I'm just worrying about what's going to happen. It seems strange to me that Esdeath has stayed hidden for so long and is only now starting to act.

Maybe because he hasn't been able to get the resources until now.

No, that couldn't be the reason... unless—

Unless what? Rin asked him with anticipation.

Nothing, it isn't important right now. I shouldn't dwell too much on these horrible subjects, they're bad for my health. He puffed another cloud of smoke into the air, filling Rin with discomfort.

Please stop doing that, it's bad for my health, he said, annoyed.

Rex hummed with a laugh that Rin hadn't heard before, it made him feel warm inside. A strange excitement came over him and he decided to do what he always wanted to, "Fenír sphane." he whispered to himself. A spark shot out of his palm as he held it up and a ball of fire roared alive. He smiled at it, relishing in the sight. Then he put his hand up and threw the fire out of his hand, it quickly dissipated as it traveled through the air.

Aya gave him a confused look, but he just smiled back at her. They flew in silence for a few hours; Rin enjoyed the calm sound around him, the heavy flapping of wings, the wind blowing around them, he could even hear Aya humming lowly, which made him dimly fall asleep.

Everything around him seemed surreal, some sounds were completely gone while others startle him and pulled him out of his daze, only to be put back into it shortly after.

After a short while, he started to notice the smell of salt water. He opened his eyes and lazily lifted his head up to see all around him. He started to panic but quickly settled down when he remember he was still riding on the dragon.

He looked back and saw that they had just passed the shoreline. He looked out to the horizon, trying to get a glimpse of an island to land on when the storm hit; he couldn't see anything except open water and the sky.

He noticed some motion in the corner of his eye and decided to look at whatever it was. There was a large, white sailboat that could have easily held at least thirty people. There were only two on it, however; one was a blonde girl around the age of eight, if he had to guess. The other was a burly man with black hair and a clean, shaved face. They both wore orange lifejackets, which made them stand out against the white background of the boat.

The girl was laughing and pointing at them, "Daddy! Daddy! It's a dragon! It's a dragon!" she didn't take her eyes off of them. The man seemed to pay little attention, as he was busy tying up one of the sails.

"It's just a seagull, hon." he said with a sigh, although he was slightly confused himself because he didn't hear any squawking, and its wings beat much heavier than a normal bird's would.

He decided to take a quick, curious glance at the bird. He turned his head and looked right at them, an instant shock settled over his face. He let go of the rope he was tying and ran over to the edge of the boat, next to the girl. He smiled then and waved his arms in excitement, "I knew it! They are real!"

"See, Daddy, see! They are dragons!" she copied him by waving her arms as well.

Rin smiled at them, let's land on the boat. He said to Rex.

Are you sure? I don't think it will hold me.

It should. Just watch the sail. Rin waved back at them.

As the dragon descended, Aya spoke to him, we don't have time for this, Rin...

It'll only take a few minutes, I promise. He reassured her, even though she wasn't thoroughly convinced. Raven slowly descended and allowed herself to land in the water with a loud splash. It used up much less energy than flying would have.

As Rex settled onto the boat, the man had a torn look of happiness and unease on his face. He was overjoyed that the mythical beast had landed on his boat, but that same fact made him anxious about whether the boat would hold the weight. Nevertheless, it held... after a few heart wrenching creaks of wood and metal.

Rin undid the straps that held his legs in place and jumped off of Rex's back. He walked up to the man—who was only about five feet away—while he took his helmet off.

"Ahoy there, lad! What brings you to these parts?" he had a slight Scottish accent in his voice, "You look as though you're about to join a war."

Rin searched the man's mind for any suspicious intents, but instead found only profound awe and excitement. "That is almost exactly what we are doing, although it isn't the same kind of war you are familiar with.

"I would suggest that you take your family as far away from Greenland—" he stopped talking when the man breathed in sharply and looked as though he was about to faint. "Are you alright?"

The girl, he noticed, was standing close to Rex, both of them eyed each other curiously. So this is a human's hatchling? Rex asked rhetorically.

Rin left them alone and returned his attention to the man in front of him, "No... my wife... they took her one day. About two years, they barged into my house in the middle of the night. I tried fighting back but they were just too strong. They knocked me out and I woke up the next morning with my daughter, Eilionoir, asking me where her mother was.

"I apologize, I've been so caught up with my feelings that I never told you my name, it's Marcas." he said with a nod of his head.

"My name is Rin, and this"—he pointed to the dragon—"is Rex."

He glanced at them for a moment and quickly looked back down to continue his staring contest with Eilionoir.

"Do you know if she's still alive?" Rin asked.

"No. I sincerely hope she is, but no. That was the last time I ever had contact with her." The man looked as though he were going to cry, and Rin quickly took action.

"Do you have a picture of her?"

He nodded slowly and reached around his back to pull a leather wallet out of his back pocket. The photo was laminated and clearly well taken care of. He handed it to Rin, "Her name is Lilias."

Rin studied the photo, it was a picture of her sitting sideways on a stool, the window of what seemed to be a barn was behind her. The sun was shining in from in. She wore a blue dress that hung down all the way to the floor and she looked almost exactly like her daughter, although there was no baby fat and her features were much more prominent, such as her more rigid cheek bones.

He looked back up from the picture, Marcas stood staring at the ground, most likely waiting for Rin to say something.

"If we are able to find her, we will bring her back to you," Rin said to him.

He looked up in disbelief, "How could you possibly find her? I've been looking everywhere but I can't find anything."

"With magic," Rin held up his hand, whispering the words of a spell he knew. An instant later bubbles came flying out of his hand, seemingly from nothing, but Rin knew that it was pulling moisture out of his skin. He would have used the water around him, but it was too salty for him to use for what he was going to do.

The water quickly formed into an undulating ball of water and he could feel himself getting much thirstier than he was before. Marcas had a look of awe on his face, and even Eilionoir looked away from Rex to see what Rin was doing.

It was time for the next part. He held up the picture and focused on it, "Sein mín Lilias." The water started to ripple with more intensity as the colors inside of it began to change. A picture started forming, he could see movement of it as well. She's alive.

At last the picture became clear and they could all see Lilias, or what they thought was Lilias. She looked almost exactly like the picture, although she looked much skinnier and famished. She was standing at a table with a granite top, chopping lettuce, tomatoes, and onions into a bowl.

Rin could see that she had a foot-long chain that held her legs together. "She's still there, but at least she's alive," he looked to Marcas.

He was staring at the orb in Rin's hand with a determined expression, "Let me go with you!"

"I cannot. It is much too dangerous for you. And besides, where we are currently heading, you cannot come, even if we wanted you to."

He gave him a pained look then, "It hurts my pride to say it but, you're right. I wouldn't last very long," he looked down at Eilionoir, "I have this kid to take care of too," he patted her head, she smiled back at him in response.

Aya and Raven came up beside the boat then, "We must head off soon. The storm is approaching and we need to find an island to stop on, or we'll be struggling to even stay in the air."