Christopher had found a few books in the basement that he decided to skim through. One of which was a small notebook, slightly larger than his hand. After reading the first couple of pages he realised he was reading some sort of diary. It made reference to Skobex and mentioned things about preparations.

As he flicked through he realised that this notebook was a recount of the events that occurred between this person, the Lich as well as Cinderash.

He felt as though he'd hit the jackpot. He ran to tell Anastasia who was still in the basement.

Once he arrived he noticed she was holding something in her hand. He was about to talk but was interrupted by the sound of metal hitting a concrete floor.

'Is everything alright, Anastasia?' He asked concerned.

'No... that sword. It's... it's almost as though it showed me something.'

'What did you see?'

'Not a lot, it's a bit of a blur at the moment.'

Christopher didn't press her. He showed her the notebook, explaining to her this amazing find.

They looked for hours through all the boxes not finding much more that could help them. They both sat at the table and looked through the things they found.

Christopher flipped open a leather bound book, about double the size of the notebook he'd found earlier. After reading a few pages, he realised what he was reading. Anastasia glanced over to what Christopher was reading.

'How are you reading that?' She asked.

'I am?' He replied, confused by her question.

'It's just because I can't read any of it, it's all in different symbols I'm unfamiliar with.'

Christopher had another glanced at the pages in front of him. He did see all the symbols on the pages but he understood what they meant.

'As long as you can read it,' she continued. 'Anything helpful?'

'Spells. Lots of them.'

Juliana stopped Anastasia and Christopher after a while, telling them to get some rest since they were going to need it.

The truth was, Anastasia remembered vividly what she saw whilst holding the sword earlier. Now that she was alone the scene kept replaying in her mind. She knew she couldn't block it out anymore.

She was standing in the middle of the field located in the centre of Cinderash. As she looked around she saw green grass transforming into the unnatural grey colour she saw today.

There was also creatures heading straight towards her. It looked as though it was a skeleton but it still had some skin over various parts of their bodies. Grey clothes were plastered over the top part of their body with the bottom of them looking as though it had been chewed up by a wild animal. The bottom half of their bodies, instead of legs, disappeared behind black smoke. The black smoke shifted between looking like two shadowy legs and a tiny, dark tornado. She wasn't sure what they were but she felt terrified.

These creatures were approaching her, fast. She unsheathed the sword and charged at them.

Anastasia gasped and looked around, calming down when she realised she was in her room. It looked so real to her, she couldn't tell if it was some sort of trick or not.

That very sword that she used in the vision was sitting in its box on the floor at the foot of her bed. As much as she didn't want to have another one of those visions, she felt tempted to. Anastasia wanted to see what happened next.

The box was placed in her lap as she proceeded to open it and hold the sword again.

The sword's handle was a navy blue, embellished with gold swirls over the entire handle. The blade was silver but seemed to become a faint gold as it reflected the glow of the oil lamp. A few symbols were engraved on the blade but she had no idea what it read. It was a beautiful blade. Anastasia wondered how it remained in such excellent condition over all the years it had been living in the basement.

She took a deep breath as she clutched the handle in her left hand, steadying the blade with her right.

At first she saw nothing but then she was suddenly drawn into another vision.

She was now inside a cobblestone building. It was instantly recognised as the inside of the stone castle. Smoke and shadows were flying in every direction as a battle raged. A woman stood next to her, reciting words that she couldn't quite hear. Then the vision seemed to fast forward.

She turned her head and ran toward the same woman lying on the ground. She looked as though she had just been attacked. A large gash was seen across the back of her body, several red lines showed through her clothes, most of it inked crimson.

'You must say the words and trace the symbol,' the woman pleaded weakly. 'You must... I give you the power...'

The woman placed her hand in Anastasia's and muttered a few words.

Anastasia felt the woman's body go limp as her eyes slowly closed. A drop of water rolled down Anastasia's cheek.

'I won't fail you.' Anastasia replied, except her voice sounded deeper and more muscular. 'He won't hurt us again, not for a long time. I will do as you ask.'

Anastasia slowly placed the sword down as the vision faded away. She felt as though waterfalls flowed from her eyes. She wasn't exactly sure who the woman was in the vision but it was someone important. Seeing someone die isn't something that Anastasia wanted to see more than once in her life.

Unable to sleep she headed back to the table with a small lamp in her hand. She grabbed the small notebook Christopher had told her about earlier and sat herself down.

Anastasia flicked through the pages seeing lots of information about the Lich. She stopped on a page close to the end of the book. The handwriting on this page contrasted the writing throughout the rest of the book, being more cursive and formal opposed to the quickly written pieces.

Her eyes drifted to a line at the end of the page.

"She was a great hero and sacrificed herself to save us all. Her powers saved us from Skobex and once again we will be at peace. Our partnership will never be forgotten".

It was signed off with a name that she couldn't work out. Anastasia closed the notebook slowly. This page closely matched to what she had seen through the sword. She proceeded to read through all the pages of the notebook, beginning to end.

'Anastasia, what are you doing up so early?' Her mother asked.

'Helena, she died fighting Skobex.'

'Yes...' her mother replied wearingly.

'And she had a bond with another person. Like an unbreakable one.'

'Indeed, Roger. They had to work together.'

'How did Roger know that he was the one that had to help her?'

'I'm unsure of the details, sweetheart. He was always with her, especially since they vowed to each other for life before the battle. I know it had something to do with the sword he used.'

Anastasia felt deflated. She wasn't sure why but she knew she had to do something.

'Mother,' Anastasia began. 'I think I understand.'

'Understand what?'

'What I need to do. After reading Helena's journal I know that Christopher can't do this alone.'

Juliana remained silent for a moment. 'Do whatever needs to be done.'

Christopher felt a hand touch his shoulder, grabbing his attention from the book he read.

'I have a question.' Anastasia said.

'Ask away.'

'Do you know how to use a sword?'

Anastasia placed a navy blue box on the table. Christopher opened it and pulled out the sword.

Christopher was lost for words. 'I've never seen anything like it.'

He found a relatively open area inside the house and gave it a few swings. The sword felt unbalanced in his hand but it was still useable. He almost broke a orange vase with one of the swings.

'You seem like you know how.' Anastasia commented. 'A pretty good swordsman perhaps.'

'You think I'm good? I'm bad compared to my father...' His voice trailed off. He was losing hope that he could leave Cinderash. He knew that by eliminating the threat of Skobex it would bring peace to this town but that couldn't guarantee he would leave.

'We'll find a way.' Anastasia said gently.

Christopher placed the sword back in its box. He puts aside his thoughts on his family so he could focus on the task at hand — finding a way to defeat Skobex.

'How about you teach me to use a sword.' Anastasia offered. 'I've always wanted to learn but no one would ever teach me. It might also take your mind off everything.'

Christopher agreed. 'Not in here though. I don't think we want to break anything in the house.'

As Christopher smirked, Anastasia let out a small chuckle.

'We're going to need a second sword if you want me to teach you.'

'I'll sort that out. I think I know where I can find one. Wait here.'

'Do you think anyone is planning to kill me if I go outside?' Christopher asked.

'If we just keep to ourselves it should be alright. I don't think anyone will speak to us anyways.'

'Christopher,' Juliana interrupted. 'Maybe you could learn how to use your power. I'll help as best as I can while Anastasia grabs the sword. I don't like this but it has to be done.'

Anastasia agreed and walked outside.

Christopher opened the leather-bound book of spells to a random page. He read the symbols and found that it was a spell to shatter glass.

He muttered a few words which easily rolled off his tongue. He was looking at the window as he said those words causing half of the glass to shatter.

'Sorry about that, maybe I can fix it.'

Christopher flipped a few pages to find another spell that could work.

Again he watched the window as he said the words. The glass that had shattered onto the floor rose up and fixed themselves in the window. Christopher brushed his hand over where the glass had realigned themselves. It looked and felt as though nothing happened.

Juliana was too stunned to say anything. She looked almost as though she was terrified of Christopher.

'That isn't going to be helpful against Skobex.' Christopher mumbled as he plopped back into a chair. He let out a sigh as he flipped through the pages to find anything that could be of use. 

After about half the book had been flipped through, he came across a spell that could be useful. He muttered the two words he found on the page and as he glanced upward, the front door had blown off its hinges and landed about ten meters away.