Tarik, Lishay and Dorian all stood in front of the Greencloaks in their ceremonial armour. Olvan and his moose were at the altar, looking down at them. Today was the day that they would become warriors.

Tarik wished that Ricko could be here too. He felt a pang of sorrow in his chest. Lishay nudged him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He couldn't think about Ricko now, this was the day he had longed for.

Lumeo, Zhosur and Dorian's owl all stood in front of their partners. Tarik looked at the otter, and Lumeo returned his gaze with a cheeky expression.

"Greencloaks," Olvan's voice boomed in the Great Hall. "Today, we promote three recruits to warriors of Greenhaven."

The Greencloaks all cheered. The sound made Tarik shiver with excitement.

Once the crowd fell silent, Olvan continued. "These three recruits have completed their training with excellence. You all fought well in the battle against Lynk, but I am afraid this isn't your last."

Tarik saw Dorian gulp.

"But before I go on, I would like to ask Chinwe to step forward and join these three at the front," Olvan billowed.

Tarik heard whispers of uncertainty from the other Greencloaks. Chinwe had been Lynk's recruit, were they suspicious of her now?

"Chinwe, you have proved your loyalty to the Greencloaks. It is time you too, became a Greencloak warrior," Olvan said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Chinwe's eyes were wide with happiness. "Thank you."

Tarik couldn't help but also feel happy for her.

Olvan then looked down and read the vowels. "Now, repeat after me: I will put my loyalty to the Greencloaks before anyone else."

"I will put my loyalty to the Greencloaks before anyone else," the four children said all together.

"I will always be available to carry out Greencloak duties elsewhere, even if it is a last minute call," Olvan read.

They all repeated.

"I will stand to protect Erdas, even at the cost of my life."

As Tarik said the final sentence, he was once again reminded of Ricko. He clenched his fists, he would get revenge one day.

Olvan smiled widely. "Let us all congratulate our new warriors!"

A round of applause and cheering broke through the crowd. Tarik turned to his friends, smiling wide.

"We did it!" Lishay said excitedly. "We are officially warriors!"

"I couldn't have asked for a better team," said Dorian.

The four Greencloaks all hugged and continued to smile and laugh.

"A feast will be held in the dining hall, please join us!" Olvan announced.

Tarik looked up at Olvan and saw him making his way towards them.

"Will you all come to the feast?" the great commander asked.

"Of course!" answered Lishay.

"I'll be there," said Dorian.

Chinwe nodded, still speechless that she was made a warrior.

"Olvan, I actually wanted to talk-" Tarik was cut off.

"I know what you'll ask me, and I hate to say it but I cannot answer it until the time is right," Olvan said carefully.

Tarik stared at Olvan in disbelief. He said that he'd tell him what Lynk wanted from him!

"Besides," Olvan folded his arms. "It's a question for Lenori, not me."

Tarik turned and saw Lenori standing patiently next to a bench. The woman smiled sadly at him, then turned away and headed towards the dining hall.

"But..." Tarik began.

"The time isn't right. We can't be sure until the right time," Olvan reassured him. "Let's go and celebrate, shall we?"

Tarik watched as Olvan walked away. He stood there for a moment with the other Greencloaks and he felt Lishay looking at him, but he didn't meet her eyes. He had been let down by Olvan.

"It's all right, right?" Dorian tried to comfort. "He said the time isn't right... maybe we should wait."

"I do agree with Dorian," Chinwe added.

"Me too," Lishay said, but not as confidently as the others.

Tarik looked up at the others and nodded slowly. "I just don't understand why he'd tell me that he would if he wasn't going to."

They started to make their way to the Dining Hall.

"Maybe because Olvan thought it was easier to say that, knowing it would be difficult later," Lishay said.

"Maybe," sighed Tarik.

As they entered the Dining Hall, the Greencloak band was playing tunes and some Greencloaks were dancing. Others were either sitting down chatting or standing on the sides of the room.

If only Ricko could be here.

"Come on Tarik," Dorian grabbed his arm. "Let's grab some food!"

Lishay and Chinwe both laughed as Dorian dragged Tarik to the food. There was so much, that he didn't believe it would all be eaten. Many different types of savoury and sweets were carefully laid out across multiple tables. Silver candelabra was placed in different sections, making the tables look elegant.

Tarik grabbed a meat stick before seeing Lishay secretly feeding Zhosur at the other end of the table. He smirked at her, and she caught his eye and looked embarrassed. Shaking his head, he walked back over to Chinwe and Dorian and Lishay joined them not long after.

They had found themselves a corner and ate their food, talking about their time as Greencloak recruits. Tarik barely spoke, as he didn't exactly have an amazing experience as a recruit. He sort of envied Lishay and Dorian, their experience sounded amazing at times, but he knew that they were really trying to cover up the parts when they had to look for him.

Listening to Chinwe's stories was interesting, having Lynk as her mentor. He sounded like a great mentor like Ricko. She didn't talk much and Tarik figured that it must be hard to talk about especially after everything that has happened. He looked to Lumeo and gave the otter the rest of the meat stick.

"I'm gonna grab some more food," said Dorian as he headed back to the food table. Chinwe followed, obviously feeling peckish.

Tarik and Lishay were left alone, noticing that Dorian and Chinwe were chatting at the table.

"It's been a wild journey, right?" Lishay said.

"It really has," Tarik agreed.

"I'm glad that we pushed through it," she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Especially you."

"I'm glad too," Tarik said after a while, his mind going back to Ricko.

"He's still here," said Lishay as if she could tell how he was feeling. "Just in here." Lishay tapped where his heart was.

Tarik smiled slightly before slapping her hand away. "I know, silly."

Lishay laughed a little. Tarik admired how brave she was. It sometimes gave him butterflies, perhaps he should tell her about how he felt.

But something caught his eye in the roof. Cold blue eyes staring down at him menacingly. He knew those eyes, but couldn't tell where from.

Then he remembered. Those eyes were Fang's, but how would it be possible? Fang died, he must be hallucinating.

"Everything okay?" Lishay asked, worried.

"Yeah, I just need to step outside for a moment," said Tarik before stepping out.

He made his way to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. He washed his face to clear his head and took deep breaths.

It wasn't real.

He heard the door open, but no one walked in. He drew his sword and slowly stepped towards the door, ready to strike.

The door opened again and an older Greencloak shrieked. "What are you doing?!"

"Oh I'm sorry!" Tarik put his sword away. "I thought..."

"You must be as crazy as everyone says you are," the Greencloak called as Tarik walked out.

He shook his head, feeling stupid. He swore the door opened.

As he went back to the Dining Hall, Lishay found him.

"Hey! We're going down to the beach and you're coming with us!" she said while grabbing his arm.

"At night time?!" Tarik questioned.

"Yes, come on!" Lishay raced outside with him and down to the beach. Chinwe and Dorian were already there splashing in the water. Spirit animals were running around. Zhosur was chasing Chinwe's wildebeest and Lumeo was playing in the water. Dorian's horned owl flew above them and watched.

Lishay raced into the water with Tarik, both laughing. When Tarik looked up, he could see Olvan watching them from the castle, smiling.

Tarik half-smiled back at the leader, before Lishay splashed him with water.

Tarik was actually enjoying himself and he realised that from this day forward that they were no longer recruits. They were finally warriors in Olvan's army and missions would now be harder, but they were ready. Whatever happened next, Tarik would be ready.

Facing Lishay, he ran after her along the beach with Dorian and Chinwe, all laughing and smiling. They finally felt home.

The End

"Lynk! He's escaped from prison!" the guard said, panting as blood dripped down his neck.
Olvan stared in horror. "Escaped?"
The guard nodded and turned to Tarik. "Please catch him. I beg-" he coughed roughly.
Olvan looked towards Tarik. "I certainly can't risk your life in times like this. You are needed to train the Four Great Beast summoners of Erdas."
"If Lynk is free, he will try to take them," Tarik said calmly.
"You are the Greencloaks' finest warrior, I believe you can take him, but... I believe he is now fighting for the Devourer. It will not be easy."