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"Real friends don't let you do stupid things alone."
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Vasileio ton Drakon; in the words of Astinan, the Kingdom of Dragons. The name may be odd but the city itself isn't one to underestimate.

The dwellings of the kingdom are named in the dragonic tongue, but translated into Astinan as well to make it easier for those who do not know the language. Since the crowning of Prince Tobias, Ex-General Ty Ellis, the island in which the kingdom sat has changed for the better. Old villages and towns that once sat on other parts of the islands are now restored and functional.

Thanks to the aid of the Sky Army and Sacura Kingdom, two bridges were constructed to connect the island to the mainland since the waters needed to travel to get to the island are dangerous and hard to reach. The bridges, The Ashina and Serpent Bridges, are constructed to last and made from the earth much like the Land Bridge.

The capital city, Lydus, has been mostly restored with only a few places still be reconstructed. The city itself has become a place of great trade and craft. The ancient ways of the dragonmeres were never forgotten by its people, so the wares they produce are one of a kind and have attracted the eyes of Astina as a whole bringing in money and travelers from all around.

So far, the people are confident in their king, trusting him and following him. They see him doing a good job. But just because things seem to be on the upside does not mean that everything is perfect.

In the castle, Rosani is in the library with her brother Ty a.k.a Tobias. Ty decided that he will go by the name Ty, while he prefers to be called Ty, he will not correct those who call him Tobias since only the people who knew him two centuries ago call him that.

Rosani closes a book, looking at Ty. "Harvey would know where to look," she said.

Ty nods. "I realize that, he...he tends to know more than any of us do," he said.

Rosani stood up from her seat, holding the book in her hands. "Well, Harvey did basically live in this library, he loved reading. I use to always find him with a book in his hands. Sometimes I would find him in here asleep with a collection of books after him, which normally happened whenever our father needed answers and he would stay up all night researching. He...He always looked so cute when he is sleeping," she said as she set the book put on the shelf.

Ty's eyes soften, knowing what is troubling his sister. "I know you're worried about Seto--"

She gripped a book in her hands at the mention of Seto. "C-Can you blame me? He's gone MIA and none of you seem concerned or worried that we haven't heard from him in months," she said before looking at Ty. "He could be in trouble, hurt, or worse!"

Ty took the book from Rosani's hands, seeing that her dragon presence started to show meaning her claws were going into the leather covering. "I am worried about Seto, sis. But I know for a fact that Seto can take care of himself. Especially since he doesn't need to hold back over half of his powers anymore since his real identity was exposed long ago," he said.

She bit her bottom lip before she turned to Ty. "I know he can take care of himself, I know that. I am dating him after all. I know how reckless and stubborn he is. But I also know that he has a very big heart...he looks for the good in others..." Rosani said as she felt her emotions flood for a moment. She inhaled a sharp breath looking away from her brother. "Harvey...is too trusting. He's too curious. And he's too nice. I don't want something bad to happen to him and I'm beyond scared that could be exactly what happened to him and why he hasn't been heard from in months."

Ty's eyes soften at her. "You're way overthinking this, Rosani. If he was in some real trouble, he would have contacted us for help. And if we find out that Seto is in some type of trouble, you know that both Sky and I would immediately spring into action trying everything we can to bring him back home safe," he said but he can tell that didn't exactly put his sister's mind at ease. He smiled a bit. "You really love him, don't you?"

She nods. "O-Of course I do, I...I love him so much. And I was put at ease about him leaving since he promised me he would check in once a month," she said before looking at Ty. "Two centuries ago, Harvey and I never really got a chance to express our feelings for each other, father would figuratively burn Harvey alive if he found we were together. But our father knew that I had feelings for Harvey, our father knew that I loved him. He told me that it can't happen, that there is no way he can allow for me to date Harvey since Harvey was the Court Wizard, it would be inappropriate in his eyes. Besides, Harvey was dating Wendy at the time and he looked really happy with her," she said.

Ty has heard everything about Wendy and what she means to Seto. And while Ty doesn't like that Seto is dating Rosani, it isn't that he doesn't trust Seto with her since that would be far from the truth...it is just odd to cope with the thoughts of that. But he can't exactly tell his sister who to love so he knows he is gonna just have to accept this. And besides, he would never step in between Seto and Rosani unless Seto gave him a reason, which he never has and never will. 

But something irked him and it was what she said about their father. "Why didn't father let you date Seto? That--"

Rosani looked at him. "He used that excuse, he used that Harvey was part of the Royal Court as the reason why. But later I found out it would be because of Harvey's past and who he was. Our father always said that he trusts Harvey with his life, he always defended Harvey and protected him from the magic community and their backlash due to his Magi ties. It was like they were old friends. But when our father found out about my true feelings for Harvey, he tried to keep me away from him, telling me to drop my feelings. He even threatened to banished Harvey from the city if that would be what it takes since he didn't want our family to have a relation with the Magi Family. He heavily disapproved of my feelings for Harvey. T-That's why I never told Harvey how I felt because I didn't want our father to banish him. That's part of why I encouraged Wendy so much to go after Harvey since I knew she liked him and Harvey liked her," she said truthfully. She looked away from him, not wanting to see his shocked expression. "And no, Harvey doesn't know of any of this and I rather he not. I know how much our father meant to him, so for him to learn how heavily he would disapprove of our relationship would hurt him deeply. Our father was like a father to Harvey as well since Vincent wasn't much of one to him. So please, just...keep this quiet."

Ty nods, agreeing with her. He may not know the full history between King Glyenn and Seto, but he knows that Seto looks up to him. He doesn't want to ruin that. "But I thought the Magi family wasn't that well known back then..." he mumbled.

Rosani shakes her head, looking back at her brother. "The Magi Family is known as the first dark magic users, they are the creators of the dark arts and have been known as that for 250 years. After all, Harvey did create over half of the spells used in the dark arts after his father and Tristan forced him to create them due to Harvey's skills in spell creation being as excellent as it was. Harvey is a natural in spell creation, I have yet to see him make a spell that doesn't work properly. Spell Creation is also a lost art, which makes Harvey's skills all the more valuable. I don't know if he still does spell creation anymore though," she said.

Ty shakes his head. "N-No, I've never known he could do that until I learned of his true past," he said.

"Well, I highly doubt Harvey would broadcast a talent like that. Spell Creation is a lost art in this century, so for Harvey to have such skills would definitely draw suspicion," she said as she took a book from the shelf, looking at it while Ty was lost in his thoughts.

He was trying to think back to any indication of Harvey's true skills. Of course, Ty and the others knew that Seto was a very skilled mage and a very powerful one. But they never really knew to the extent of how strong he was. And Ty always did find it odd that Seto could always find the right spell for everything...even when it has the oddest conditions. Ty smiled a bit. 'Aahh...so when we needed a ritual or special spell that had to fill unique requirements, Seto would create it. That would explain how Seto was able to find the ritual to seal Herobrine away and why no other mage had heard of such a ritual. It is because Seto created it for that purpose,' he thought before he looked at Rosani.

"Well...he hasn't lost his touch," Ty said.

Rosani smiled a bit to herself. "Honestly, I would be surprised if he did, Harvey never did like sitting still," she said. She looked at him. "But his heart was always in a good place, he always had good intentions. That's...That's one of the reasons why I fell for him. His kindness..." Ty smiled a bit. Sure it is weird to hear her talk about one of his closest friends like that, but he was happy that she was happy. He was glad that Seto made her so happy.

Before he could voice his opinion, his heard his com-link beep in his pocket making him take it out, seeing Adam's light flashing on it. He hooks the device on his ear before answering.

"Yeah, Adam? What's up?" he asked as he put the book in his hand back on the shelf.

"I need to talk to you face-to-face. Can you come over to the base?" Sky asked him. Ty paused for a moment. He loses his smile, not liking how serious Sky sounds. He knew that something had to be up.

"Yeah, I'm on my way right now,"

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*Thirty Minutes Earlier*
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Jason flipped a page, his eyes reading the material word for word. But he groaned, shutting the book and leaning back against the wall. Okay, so maybe he was wrong about where he thought he could find answers.

He's in the army library, sitting on the floor with books either open or closed surrounding him. He's been there for a few hours he thinks, he sort of lost count. Jason sighed, looking down at the book in his lap. He stared at it. 'W-What's going on with me? I know something is wrong...but what is it?' Jason thought before he looked at his hand, staring at it.

"I hope you are planning to clean this up," a voice spoke breaking him from his thoughts and he looked up seeing Cassandra there which honestly shocked him. Seeing her in the library isn't what shocked him, it's that she is talking to him is what is shocking to him. He looked down at the book in his lap, not knowing how to speak to her. Cassandra's eyes soften at him. "I was almost expecting you to be Seto, Jason because this is exactly the sort of thing that I find him doing something. But he is usually passed out from exhaustion or surrounded by empty coffee cups and high on caffeine."

Jason gripped the book, staring at the floor. 'W-Why is she so forgiving towards me? I-I don't understand...I broke her heart,' he thought.

Cassandra crouches down, looking at him. "You doing okay?" she asked him. Jason didn't respond to her, making her sigh. "I know we don't talk much anymore...and I hate that we don't. But I want to repair our friendships because I valued that relationship so much with you--"

"W-Why are you talking to me after w-what I did to you?" Jason stammered. His eyes flickered up to meet hers. "Why? I-I don't understand how you can just forgive me."

"You wouldn't if you were in my shoes?" Cassandra asked. Jason looked away from her, not answering her. Her eyes soften at him. "I'm just as much as to blame as you are. I...I crossed a line, I pushed you too far and you snapped at me. You shouldn't feel guilty about it--"

He wanted so desperately to just take Mitch's advice and tell her how he feels, tell her that what he said before was lies and that he felt the same for her as she feels for him. But the words don't ever come out, his mouth remains shut, half-listening to her and not looking at her.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt her hand touch him, realizing how close she was to him. He felt a surge of panic hit his chest and he knocked her arm, pushing her handoff. "Don't touch me!" he exclaimed at her. She stared at him for a few seconds, lowering her arm down to her side. Normally, you would be shocked at a reaction like that...but Cassandra has gotten used to that sort of reaction from Jason.

She bites on her bottom lip. "Well...if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here, Jason," she said before she stood up, walking away from him.

Jason gripped the book in his hands, feeling his emotions welting up. 'I-It's for her own good that she just stays away from me...It's for everyone's good that they stay away from me. I don't want to hurt anyone else...' he thought as he put his book on the pile with the other closed ones. He let out a shaky breath before he picked up another book, opening it up. But before he could read it, he heard a voice making him look down the aisle and see Sky and Ian. Jason's eyes widen. 'OH CRAP! The captains list!' Jason thought. Unfortunately, there was no escape for him since Ian already spotted him. The two walked up to him.

"Wow, it feels like Seto never left," Ian said in response to the book nest Jason made for himself. Sky smiled a bit looking at the nest as well, but he loses his smile and crosses his arms.

"Is this where you have been for the past few hours? It is nearly 5 pm," he said.

Jason didn't look at Sky, looking at the floor instead. "I...Yes," he admitted.

Sky's eyes soften at him. "Why? I thought you said you had a lot of stuff to do today? Why are you in here?" he asked before he crouched down, picking up a book, and reading the cover. Sky's eyes widen slightly once he read the cover. He hesitates but looks at Jason. "Jason, why are you reading stuff about the Nether?"

Jason's eyes flickered up to Sky, staring at him for a few moments. He looks away. "I...feel like that is obvious," he said.

Sky frowned, setting the book down on the pile. "You requested that I don't allow you anywhere near the Nether Portal. I would have the damn thing destroyed if it were that easy. For some reason each time it dismantled, it is fixed when everyone's backs are turned--"

"I know, I can feel it whenever it is destroyed," Jason cut Sky off. His eyes flickered to the two. "I feel like I should go to the Nether, I--"

Ian shakes his head. "We allow that and that's when the bad stuff starts to happen. Seto himself said you shouldn't even be near the portal--"

"Ian, can you go gather the captain candidates in my office? I want to talk to them all before the trials tomorrow," Sky interrupted making Ian look at Sky with a questioning look. "Fine." He leaves the two.

Jason looked back down at his book. "I know you aren't ever going to allow me to get near the portal--"

Sky smiled a bit at Jason. "Well, I wouldn't say that," he said making Jason look at Sky.

Jason stared at Sky like he had three heads. "What?" he asked unclear if he heard the commander correctly.

Sky sighed before he sat down on the floor beside Jason. "Let's just be honest here for a moment, even if I say no...you are going to go anyway and I rather you not go alone. I rather you take us with you so nothing happens," he said.

Jason looked away from Sky, knowing he is right. He was going to go to the portal regardless if he gained Sky's approval or not. And if he didn't get it, he was going to go alone. "But...Seto said--"

Sky shrugs his shoulders. "Seto isn't here, what he doesn't know won't kill him," he said making Jason smile a bit.

"Famous last words," he mumbled making Sky chuckled lightly. Adam smiled, he was happy to see Jason was acting a bit like himself right now as opposed to the stranger he has been seeing lately.

Sky nods. "I'm aware that this is probably going to be the stupidest thing we could do, especially without Seto here to help us--"

"You mean protect us from our stupidity?" Jason asked smiling.

"Yeah, that is usually how it works out," Sky said. Adam looked at Jason. "But I wanna know why you want to go? Is...Is it because of your Wither Servant ties? Is that it?"

Jason gripped the book for a moment. "I-I don't know. Maybe. But...I just need to go there," he said before he looked at Sky. "And no, before you say it, I don't want to go there to awaken Herobrine. I'm not that stupid."

Sky nods. "Good to know because that was going to be my next question," he said with a smile. Jason looked away. Sky loses his smile. "To Herobrine's Tomb?"

Jason hesitated but nodded. "Yeah," he said. He closed the book. "Adam, I'm not expecting you to approve this, so--"

Sky sighed and looked away from him. "Well, let me go ask Ty if he wants to tag along. Meanwhile, I'll just skip out on the meeting I had to go to in Alamut City tomorrow," he said surprising Jason.

Jason watched Sky get up. "W-Wait...you're actually going to...to do this?" he asked.

Sky looked at Jason and nodded. "Yeah, I know it is probably going to generate nothing but problems for us. We may even accidentally awaken Herobrine, but hey, look at the bright side, it will cause Seto to come out of hiding or whatever the sorcerer of ours has gotten himself too," he said. Sky loses his smile. "After the captain trials are over and done with, we'll head out for the Nether. Think you can sit tight for a few days?"

Jason smiled a bit, grateful. "You do know that Seto is gonna be mad at us for this?" he asked.

Sky nods. "Oh yeah, I know that. But...I rather you did not go alone, Jason. I rather you go with friends since well...we can take hard things much better with we have people who care about us at our sides rather than trying to take it on on our own. Seto and everything that happened with him is the best example of that," he said.

Jason pointed at Sky. "Let me guess when he yells at you, you are gonna use all of that against him. You are gonna use his experiences against him so you point more of the blame at him than at us," he said.

Sky nods. "That's exactly what I'm going to do," he said.

Jason smiled at him before he shrugs his shoulders. "Hey, maybe nothing will happen--"

Sky clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Yeah, that's highly unlikely, Jason. After all, it really wouldn't be us if nothing bad happened..."

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*Forty Minutes Later*
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"Are you out of your mind?!" Ty asked Sky. He stepped towards the commander. "Seto specifically said to keep Jason away from the Nether! You know he doesn't make those type of rules without a purpose. And we all know better than to break one of Seto's rules." Ty was shocked, he never thought Adam would agree to something like this. But yet again, Ty noticed a change in Jason but he hasn't been around enough to see just how much of a change. "Is Jason that bad?"

Adam nods. "Yes, I-I can tell. Something is tearing him up inside and it isn't just whatever happened between him and Cassandra. He's having nightmares more frequently and has drastic personality shifts. He could be himself one moment and turn into a completely different person the next," he said.

Ty sighed, leaning against the wall. They are in Sky's office, Sky sat behind his desk. He looked at Sky. "Adam, this might end very badly, you know that right?"

Sky nods. "I'm aware...but I can't let him do this alone. He was going to go regardless if we were going to tag along or not. He was going to leave not caring if I approved or not," he said before looking at Ty. "I don't want anything bad to happen to Jason, especially when I know I could have done something to prevent it. Letting him go to the Nether by himself? Something bad will happen to him if I allow that, at least if we tag along, we can protect him."

Ty's eyes soften. "Sky, how are you going to protect him? What exactly can you do? I'm more likely to be able to protect him than you are," he said honestly.

Sky looked away from Ty, hurt. "Just because I have no powers doesn't mean I can't protect my friends," he said.

Ty shakes his head as he stepped towards his best friend. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I know better than anyone here that you don't need powers to protect people. Sky, you're probably one of the best fighters I know. It isn't your skills I'm calling to question, no. I'm talking about your eyesight. You know, the fact that you are going blind. That's what I'm talking about," he said. Sky didn't respond to him making Ty sigh and go up to the desk, putting his hand on it to get Sky's attention. "Adam, I'm worried about you. I know you are a very capable fighter, I know that. But I know you, I know how you don't like to be tied down or sidelined. You hate being left behind...but you can't fight when you can't see--"

"I haven't gone entirely blind, Ty. And besides, Jerome has sight problems too," Sky said looking at him.

Ty shakes his head at him before he spoke, "Adam, Jerome is colorblind. That is completely different. And yes, you haven't gone completely blind...but you will. Sometime in the future, your sight is going to go completely. Knowing you, you probably won't tell us when that is. No, we will have to find it out for ourselves and I hope that when we do, I pray it won't be too late."

Adam bit on his bottom lip back, staring at his desk. "Ty, I'm going to resign from the Sky Army," he said catching Ty completely off guard.

Ty's expression softens as he stared at Sky, shocked. Of course, he isn't confident that Sky can fight and such anymore once his sight goes, but it sounds like Sky is going to leave regardless of his sight problems. "Y-You're...leaving? You're going to resign?" he asked him.

Sky looked at Ty, seeing his shocked expression. He gives Ty a little smile. "Don't worry, Ty. I'm not going to leave for some time now. I'll leave as soon as I'm confident that Jason is back to himself and Seto returns as well. So not for some time now," he said.

"You can't leave, we need you," Ty said stepping towards Adam.

Adam's eyes soften at him. "Do you? Do you really? Ty, this base basically runs itself. All I do is sign papers and issue orders--"

Ty shakes his head, slamming his hand on the desk. "No! No, that's...Adam, you are what keeps the Sky Army together. What if...What if we can cure your sight problems? Would you stay then?" he asked.

Adam hesitated. He wanted to tell Ty the real reason, but he doesn't know if Ty would be able to understand. His eyes looked away from the king. "My sight isn't the reason for me leaving...no...I just...need to get away from this life. I don't want to leave, Ty...but I think I should. I don't know, I've been thinking about this for a long time now and I just...I'm still thinking about it," he said.

Ty bit on his bottom lip. 'Adam's been this conflicted and never told me?' he thought as he clenched his hands into fists. He wanted to ask more, talking more about Adam's decision regarding resigning, but there was a knock on the door making Ty look at it frustrated.

Adam looked at Ty. "Don't tell anyone about my thoughts with me resigning. I haven't even told Jason and them yet about it. Come in!" he called out and the door opened. Ty saw six recruits and Ian come in. Ty crossed his arms, Ian looked at Ty, shocked to see him here.

"Ty, what are you doing here?" Ian questioned.

Ty shrugged his shoulders. "What? I can't visit, Ian?" Ty asked smiling at him. He looked at the six recruits, recognizing all of them. "Let me guess, Captain candidates?"

Adam nods. "Yep, the trials start tomorrow," he said.

Ty chuckled softly, he tapped lightly once on Adam's desk, looking at the commander. "I gonna get back to the kingdom, but this conversation about the last thing we spoke about isn't over," he said making Adam nod. Ty walked a few steps but stopped, looking at the recruits. "Good luck in the trials. I recommend growing eyes in the back of your head, you're gonna need it."