Rash blinked, and suddenly he was back in the cabin, sitting at the table. He saw Kieren sitting across from him, deep in thought.

  "What happened to Rashiel? How did he do it?" Rash asked.

  "You will understand later," said Kieren. "As you’ve already realized, what I told you isn't just a story. It is the history of the world. Up until now, I’ve told you how this island we are on was established and how the Kingdom of Alrion was founded. From now on, I will tell you the history of the Kingdom of Alrion and how we reached the state we are in today. Additionally, you will understand why I attacked you."

  "Wait, so dragons, werewolves, dwarves, and elves actually exist in the world? I thought there were only a few monsters like the Heirespir or the Noctowicks," Rash asked.

  "Yes, but they are outside of Alrion, beyond our reach," Kieren replied. "Anyway, I will continue now. Alistriel's crew docked at the shore and carried the unconscious Alistriel to his family, his wife, and his two sons—the eldest, Aldor, and the younger, Umbra."

  Rash saw the ship docking at a city pier, where a large crowd waited. In front of the crowd stood two people: an older woman and a young man about twenty-five years old, who was tall and tanned. Behind them stood a pale man with black hair, who looked younger.

  "Alistriel never recovered from the loss of his father and the immense effort required to isolate the island," Kieren continued. "Five years later, he passed away. In his final moments, he called his wife and two sons to say goodbye."

  Alistriel lay on a bed, looking as if he had aged decades instead of only five years.

  "My dear Aldor, I leave Alrion to you—to lead, to guide, and to protect Alrion."

  Alistriel raised his hand, and a shield appeared out of thin air. He handed the shield to Aldor and said:

  "Remember: you are here to protect and serve, not for personal gain."

  After that, he hugged Aldor, and Aldor left the room holding the shield. Umbra started to follow him, but Alistriel called to him:

  "My dear Umbra, do not think I have forgotten you. Aldor draws people and is suited for leadership, but he will not be able to rule without you. He is too naive. I want you to be his shadow—protect Alrion from all the threats that Aldor will miss."

  Alistriel pulled a very familiar sword out of thin air and brought it to Umbra.

  "I trust you, because without you, the paradise we built will be destroyed."

  Alistriel hugged Umbra, then closed his eyes and signaled for him to leave him alone with his wife.

  "After Alistriel's death," Kieren continued, "Aldor was crowned the first King of Alrion, and Umbra received a large plot of land in the center of the island. He began to grow trees there. You know this area today as the Umbertok Forest. Over the years, the Aldor lineage developed—the great dynasty of the Kings of Alrion. And within the Umbertok Forest, the Umbra tribe grew, always there—protecting the Kingdom of Alrion from the shadows, while no one was even aware of their existence."

  "Thus, 950 years passed with the Kingdom of Alrion prospering, and then Moranthal Aldor was born—the last king of the Aldor dynasty."

  Rash saw a king sitting by a birth bed, holding a small baby with red hair.

  "When Moranthal was born, everyone rejoiced. His parents had tried to have a child for fifteen years until he finally arrived. As he grew, he befriended five spoiled noble children who thought they deserved more. Despite repeated warnings from the head of the Umbra tribe, Aegis Umbra, to Moranthal's father—Fulmir Aldor—Fulmir did nothing, because to him, Moranthal, the miracle child he had waited so long for, could do no wrong."

  Rash saw a pale man, wearing a cape, talking to an old man whose blonde hair could still be seen beneath all the gray. Although the pale man looked agitated, the King simply waved him off.

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  The image shifted, and Rash saw six teenagers sitting in a room and laughing. At the center of the conversation were two teenagers with red hair. In the middle, a maid entered and brought them glasses of wine. One of the teenagers with red hair tasted a bit, then spat the wine on her, threw the glass at her, and shouted:

  "When I say bring good wine, I mean good wine! Am I clear, or do I need to repeat myself?"

  The maid wiped off the wine and left, apologizing as she did.

  "As you saw," Kieren continued, "Moranthal grew to be a spoiled brat under the influence of his new friends. When he was twenty-five, his father Fulmir was killed in a hunting accident, and Moranthal was crowned king at age twenty-five. Immediately after the coronation, Moranthal summoned Aegis for an important conversation."

  Rash saw the ginger guy standing in front of the pale man and saying to him:

  "From today, you must start paying a land tax for the Umbertok Forest. And I don't want to hear you express an opinion unless you are asked. You are only an assassin, and nothing more."

  Aegis bowed and said:

  "As you wish, my King."

  He turned and left the room.

  "Moranthal’s second act was to divide the kingdom into five kingdoms—which you know today as the Holy Empires—and to crown his friends over each of the kingdoms, while calling himself the Supreme Ruler."

  Rash saw Moranthal standing in a throne room, holding Alistriel's shield. Above him on the wall hung Alistriel's shield. Moranthal placed a crown on the head of his red-haired friend.

  "Rise to your feet, King Cryolis."

  Cryolis stood up, wearing the crown, and sat in one of the five chairs placed behind Moranthal, slightly below his throne.

  "Following the coronation," Kieren continued, "Moranthal remained in his capital city, and no one saw him for twenty-five years—until he came out again for the 1,000-year celebrations of Alrion's founding. Moranthal appeared to the public once more."

  Rash saw Moranthal, who looked as if he had aged a hundred years, stepping onto the stage, held up by a young red-haired man, waving to the crowd. But although he moved and spoke, it seemed Moranthal didn't really know what he was doing.

  Suddenly a pale man stepped onto the stage, and two shadow arms—like Kieren's—shot out from him and drove into Moranthal. The young man, Cryolis, immediately jumped and beheaded the pale man. Rash noticed that the pale man had no blood.

  "Following what you saw here," Kieren continued, "Cryolis and the rest of the Traixis blamed the Umbra tribe for the shocking murder of Moranthal and his son, the crown prince. They mobilized all their armies and marched into the Umbertok Forest. At the entrance to the forest, the leaders of the Umbra tribe waited—hoping to resolve it peacefully—but the mob, incited by the Traixis, did not listen and slaughtered the entire Umbra tribe. Only an eleven-year-old boy survived."

  Rash saw an empty village and a pale woman holding the hand of a small pale boy. She entered a house with him, pressed on the wall, and the wall opened into stairs. The woman went down the stairs with the boy into a round room, the walls filled with shelves of glowing things, and in the center—a glowing black square on a table.

  The woman took the boy, sat him in front of the table, and said to him:

  "Wait here until I come to get you, or until it is quiet."

  The boy nodded, and the woman left. Now Rash saw the boy going up the stairs, and the wall opened. In the room outside, the boy saw the woman lying on the floor in a pool of blood. The image shifted—and Rash saw the peaceful village from before, full of the bodies of men, women, and children, going up in flames.

  "Now you understand who we are dealing with," said Kieren. "As you’ve already realized, the ones behind the murder were the Traixis, and not the Umbra tribe—which didn't help the Umbra, who were all slaughtered except for an eleven-year-old boy who had only started his training a year before. In order to pin it on the Umbra, Cryolis used illusions—but he always forgot the small details, which is why there was no blood for the Umbra assassin."

  Rash was now sitting back in the cabin and asked Kieren:

  "This is a shocking story… but it still doesn't explain why you attacked me the day before yesterday."

  "I’m getting to that," Kieren replied. "As you remember, I told you that the boy who survived had already undergone a year of his training. And when the Umbra begin their training, a restriction is placed on their Sylarin art—so that we can focus on controlling the shadow. Only after we have learned to control the shadow is the restriction removed. And when I tried to put energy into you, I felt something fighting me and pushing me out—exactly like the training restriction. But something there was different—as if this restriction was looking at me and examining me."

  "Now, there are two ways to remove a restriction: either the one who placed it releases it, or one enters by force and removes it. And since I didn't place the restriction—and someone was watching us through it—I had no choice but to go in and take it out. By the way, it’s right here if you want to see."

  Kieren pointed to a sphere of shadow floating above them, and the sphere descended to them and became transparent.

  "At this very moment, I am analyzing the restriction and trying to understand where it is transmitting to. If I’m not mistaken—it is transmitting directly to the Traixis."

  Kieren stood up and signaled for Rash to come outside with him. Rash went with him, and Kieren pointed to a tree trunk in the center of the clearing.

  "I want you to sit on the tree trunk and try to connect to the nature around you. Just sit and take deep breaths and listen to the environment. Do this until evening, because tomorrow will be a busy day."

  Rash nodded and went to sit on the tree trunk.