That night Fox dreamt of stepping into the throne room of Sunstone Castle, the large silver broadsword with the lion hilt blazing in his hands, his own iron fox sword tucked beneath his belt. Far away, on the obsidian throne, Half-Ear Tom clutched his mangled ears and cowered, shivering, as he hacked through the guards with ease. Slash, duck, stab, block, die—Lord Fox danced on the rhythm of victory.

A scream came from behind. A guard clad in Greenlander green iron armour ran towards him, his sword held high. Fox grabbed him by the throat, knocked off the helmet, and squeezed all air out of him. As the man made the final noise he would ever make, Fox dropped him to the floor. Two new guards simultaneously attacked him.

He stopped the blow, pushing the deadly flames towards the men's eyes, blinding them. For a brief moment, he held the broadsword with one hand, his iron sword shot towards his free hand. He sliced through the armour, through the chain mail, and through the flesh.

The men sunk at his feet, lifeless.

An open road between him and Half-Ear Tom.

With his eyes, he extinguished the torches that illuminated the room. He left the broadsword burning. A little game before the final blow.

Fox soared through the air, leaping from wall to wall. "I'm here. I'm everywhere. You can't escape me."

"Please, don't," Half-Ear pleaded. "I beg you."

Fox landed in front of the throne. "Give me one good reason why I should let you live."

Heavy breathing. Panic in Half-Ear's blue eyes. Then came, "Because you need to wake up."

A kind female voice, not a deep male one.

Huh.

The darkness turned to light. Half-Ear Tom's hair grew longer and fairer. His facial featuring softened. 

A phantom finger brushed his cheek. "Wake up, Fox."

"I don't think he will, Mother," said a boyish voice.

A boy.

Felix.

Slowly, Fox opened his eyes. Half-Ear Tom was gone. Queen Cobra was sitting next to him on the bed, Felix stood at the foot of the bed.

"Morning. It's almost noon," she said. "Time to wake up."

"Already? I only needed a minute longer," Fox murmured. He stretched his arms, yawning.

"To do what?" Felix chuckled. "Beat Storm into a fight?"

"No, to become King of The Greenlands." Fox sat up, pretending to hold a sword. "I was going to kill Half-Ear and..."

"While I'm looking forward to hearing more of that..." Queen Cobra touched his shoulder. "You must get dressed. Caracal—Ariel's brother—has arrived. He wants to give us a demonstration of something a man in his town invented."

"A weapon, Fox," Felix blurted out. "Uncle Caracal says it will help us beat the Greenlanders when we go to war."

Fox forgot all about his dream. He slipped on his clothes from the day before, but when the Queen saw stains on his knees, she made him change into a fresh set. While she combed his hair, Felix gave him his fox sword. 

The meeting he would be attending was an official one.

Not much later, he arrived at the courtyard. The King was already there, as were Storm, Hawk, Leo and countless of guards. Wolf was missing.

And so was Katla. Fox half wished his master would appear through the gate, returning from his mission in time to watch the spectacle. Hawk crushed that hope by sealing off the gate with a wall of earth higher than the castle walls. Even though they were outside, this wasn't for the common Moondaler to see.

Queen Cobra introduced him to Caracal. The prince was a more slender and smaller version of the King, beardless and his long blond hair gathered in a single tail. He wore a red shirt underneath a blue vest, the silver chains he wore around his neck polished. From his leather belt hung a deer-skinned pouch. 

He didn't say much when the Queen said he was Prince Brandon's bastard and now a Lord of Silvermark. Instead, Caracal turned towards the servants who were mounting three faceless straw puppets on the other side of the Left Twin in between the flower beds of yellow lilies. He watched them meticulously as they clad the puppets in armour.

Fox sought Felix, who was standing by a table guarded by Bear and Jay. In between a regular bow and a crossbow laid a long stick, a crossbow without the bow, almost like a miniature barrel with a thick end. It was part wood and part metal. 

As Fox touched the alloy—stinging iron—Jay gently nudged him back with his lance. "Only for Prince Caracal."

"But Jay!" Felix whined. "Fox was just looking."

"You can look, but not touch," Bear said.

Felix grumbled, "I allow Fox to touch it if he wants to."

Before Fox could say that it was already, Jay said, "Lord Caracal—"

"—has to answer to me," Felix said.

"And he respectfully advises his nephew to take his place at his father's side," said Caracal calmly. His deep blue eyes turned wide. "The show is about to begin."

Felix cheered. He tugged at Fox's arm. "Come, Fox, you have to stand behind me."

While Caracal remained by the table, Fox joined the Grandmaster and Prince Storm in the line behind the royal family. He looked around, finding dozens of servants by the windows of the first floor. But no Wolf.

"Where's the little magician?" he asked Hawk, whispering. He didn't want others to know he was talking about Wolf.

"Standing next to me," she said.

Fox looked again, but there wasn't anyone standing on Hawk's other side.

"Not me. I'm not little. And I'm a man."

"Then I have no idea who you're yapping about." The Grandmaster's stare was unsettling, scary even. "Everyone who should be present is here."

Fox didn't say anything anymore, but when he secretly glanced at Hawk, she was searching the window panes as well, then closed her eyes, as if she was trying to sense him.

In front of him, Caracal had picked up the bow and a quiver containing a few arrows.

"Brother," he began, "Long has our nation fought with iron and wood. Our bows are powerful and effective." He grabbed an arrow, nocked it, stretched the bow, aimed, and fired. The arrow landed where the armour ended and the helmet began. A red spot appeared in the straw. "With a good aim."

He grabbed a second arrow. Haphazardly, he nocked it and fired right away. The arrow still managed to hit the scarecrow but bounced off the armour. "This is how a soldier under pressure shoots. At a height of every battle—no matter how well they are trained."

King Ariel gave a quick nod.

"Then we have..." Prince Caracal gave the bow and quiver to Jay and received the crossbow. "This one. A bit harder to carry, but easier to aim. Faster, longer distance, and more effective. A shot from a crossbow is twice more likely to end in death than a regular bow."

He aimed at the scarecrow on the right and shot right through the armour. The arrow remained stuck, a gulp of red water poured out.

"Did you see that, Fox? That's blood!" Felix gasped.

"A scarecrow with some well-placed bags of wine." Storm snorted. "What a waste of wine."

"But the arrow stops the blood," Fox remarked. "I was stabbed with a knife a few moons ago. The bleeding got worse when I removed the knife. It's the same here."

Prince Caracal had heard him. He pointed at him. "You take the words out of my mouth, Fox. Not only is the crossbow expensive to make, hard to carry, shots wound soldiers but don't kill them. Not immediately. The thrill of the war keeps them going, and they don't collapse until much later."

"And the invention will put an end to that?" King Ariel asked sceptically.

"Yes, brother." A smug smile appeared on Caracal's face. He exchanged the crossbow for the odd cannon stick. "This is what Master Tern calls a blaster. Inspired by the barrel of a cannon and the loading mechanism of a crossbow. Light, easy to reload, and the ammunition cheap to make."

He dug into the pouch on his belt and held out seven finger-long iron cylinders. "No more looking for arrows when we run out of them. We can make a thousand of these for the price of a hundred crossbow arrows. With tens of thousands, our men would have enough to wipe out the entire Greenlander army."

He clacked a small handle open and inserted the small iron arrow. He held the back of the blaster against his right shoulder and took a sideways stance as if he were to shoot an arrow. His finger touched the iron. 

A split second later, there came a loud bang that sounded like a cannon blast.

Fox could not follow the small arrow as it soared through the sky. He held his breath as the scarecrow wobbled, and out of the minuscule hole in its chest gulped the bloodlike liquid.

The King began clapping, impressed by what he had just witnessed, which was copied by Felix and Queen Cobra, the guards and the servants who had been watching the spectacle from the first floor. Fox took part in the applause until he noticed that neither the Grandmaster nor Prince Storm joined the celebration.

"Powerful, loud. But I don't think it'll be a useful weapon for a magician," Storm said. "For long ranges, we use our magic. For short, a sword."

"But your magic depletes," Prince Caracal pointed out. He refilled the blaster and aimed it at the right scarecrow. The sound reverberated through the courtyard as he shot the iron through the scarecrow's helmet, knocking it off. 

"This doesn't. With a pouch full of bullets, you can keep on going." Smoke wafted from the iron barrel as Caracal refilled it a third time. He aimed at the scarecrow at the far left side of the Left Twin. His finger moved.

A single click.

Then nothing.

Prince Caracal pressed his finger against the iron clacker.

Still nothing.

"And now you're dead," Hawk said in a monotonous voice.

"It's not perfect yet," he admitted. "Tern said this could happen—He's working hard on getting the issue fixed, a more sturdy spring should absorb the shock waves but..."

"What do you need, Brother?" the King asked.

"Money—a thousand silverlings—and a few extra moons. I'll build you an arsenal that would give you a head start in the war against Half-Ear."

"A thousand silverlings is a lot of money, Car."

"Wars are costly. But imagine all the gold you'll get when all the Greenlander taxes flow up north."

"That is true," the King thought out loud.

"I would advise against using such a weapon, Your Majesty," Grandmaster Hawk said. "It's a bad weapon for us, magicians."

King Ariel sniffed. "Explain yourself."

"Well, as long as the weapon remains in Silvermark hands, I have no concerns. But history has taught us that within a year of any new invention, the other kingdoms copy and improve the existing design. The blaster shoots so fast only the best Air Magicians can perceive the bullets. We can stop arrows, deflect them, let them change course. But that blaster—it will destroy us."

"Then we'll break Half-Ear and his brat nephew before the Greenlanders can steal our weapon."

"And then what? Once the technology is out there, The Greenlanders will use it. The regent we'll put in place will be defenceless against such a weapon."

"We'll train the boy." Ariel's eyes fell on him. "We'll train you, Fox. You don't have anything to worry about. Silvermark will prevail, and you, as Knight of Silvermark, will make that happen."

Fox nodded but didn't feel at ease. Storm and Hawk exchanged worried looks. They were the first ones to leave the courtyard.

While Felix praised the blaster, Fox's thoughts trailed off. Instead of him closing in on Half-Ear Tom, the Greenlander King stood on top of his throne, two blasters in his hand. He shot them at Fox, who dodged behind pillars to avoid them. The bullets moved so fast. He couldn't get out.

"Isn't it wonderful, Fox," Felix rambled on. "It looks so easy to use. When it works, of course, but I could always have one and then, if someone were to attack me. BOOM! I shoot a hole in their heart. I can maybe aim one at Wolf and watch him run." He chuckled.

"That's mean. Besides, I prefer swords," Fox muttered, "and magic."

"Don't believe everything Hawk says. Those blasters are great. They will make Silvermark great again."

"You think so?"

"Of course!" Felix yelled. "We'll have blasters and magicians. Both of those together, and we'll finally be able to penetrate the walls of Sunstone Castle."

That was the argument that Caracal also repeated during the three-meal lunch in the Queen's chamber. When the King praised the weapon but doubted the reliability, Caracal fished after silverlings again, which led to a conversation about silverlings, debts, and loans that lasted from the moment the servant cleared the bowls of parsley soup until long after she placed the plates of sweet bread and dried food on the table.

During desert, Prince Caracal had a hard time keeping the God of Wrath at bay when every turn the conversation took led to the realisation that Ariel had no silverlings to spare.

"First you must give me a working prototype that can shoot a dozen scarecrows in a row," the King said. "What you've shown me today is promising, but it's only that. It's not something I can invest money in at this stage."

"Ari, I need to give the man something. He knows what he has is good. If we don't pay him, someone else will."

"Half-Ear?" King Ariel asked. "If he does that, he's a dead man walking. I'll execute him."

"Aye, brother. But by then, Half-Ear will already have the technology."

"God of Greed," King Ariel muttered. "Does loyalty to the crown mean nothing anymore?"

"You could invite him to court," Leo said. "Let him work here at Moonstone Castle, but the promise of money when he has a reliable weapon."

The King hummed in thought.

Felix pushed his plate aside, on it still half of the bread and most dried fruit. "Mother, can Fox and I leave?"

"Yes, but Mage Tower is out of bounds," the Queen reproached. "Is that understood?"

"Why?" Felix asked.

"Because I don't like you going up there."

Felix cocked his head. "Not even when Fox is with me?"

"I prefer not. You have an entire castle to roam—isn't that enough?"

"Maybe." Felix eyed his mother, pouting.

"I know where to go," Fox blurted. The space beneath the castle. He would show Felix a real weapon, a weapon to be proud of, the weapon he used in his dream to kill Half-Ear. Well, almost, if he hadn't woken up.

"Where?"

Fox stood up, chuckling. "I'll tell you if you can catch me."

While Felix screamed his name, Fox raced down the corridors, not at the height of his speed. For one, he had to trace down the route Wolf had taken the night before, and two, Felix's breath already came in short, wheezing spurts, his fingers clenched as if that would help him to run faster. 

"Fox, where are we going?" Felix asked.

"You'll see."

Fox dived into a narrow corridor, either this one or the next, and kept a steady pace. There were cobwebs on the wall and the ceiling but not at the height of his head. At the end of the hallway, there were stairs that took him deeper into the castle.

"Fox!"

"I'm here. Just follow my voice," he said when Felix had disappeared from view.

"There's nothing down here, Fox. Let's return." Felix's voice was thin, frightened even.

"No, we're almost there."

"I don't think Mother wants us to play here."

"She said we had the entire castle apart from Mage Tower. This isn't Mage Tower."

Fox waited for a glimpse of Felix before proceeding further down, only guessing the way by the faint sound of rushing water in the distance. There was also a second sound; singing, faint but constant.

When he crawled through the hole in the wall, he found the source: Wolf

The boy was sitting on his knees by the riverside, his arm stretched. He sang, "Come to me, oh silver sword. I'll stay here until I'm cold and bored. I'm already cold, but not yet bored. I'll play until you come, dear sword."

Is this why he hadn't been present in the courtyard? Had he spent the day down here, trying to get the sword out of the water? Fox edged towards the hole. Blocking Felix's entrance was the only way he could prevent the brothers from meeting. His foot struck against a stone. A noisy accident.

"Fox!" Wolf chirped. "You're here!"

"What?" Felix barked on the other side of the wall. "You took me down to one of the seven hells to see Wolf. What's the meaning of this, Fox?"

"Wolf," Fox chuckled uneasily as he stood in front of the hole, blocking Felix's entrance. "What a surprise."

"I've been trying to get the sword out of the water, Fox. I want to give it to you."

"Sword? What sword? Move out of the way, Fox," Felix shrieked. The shriek turned into a cough.

The young prince clawed at Fox's ankles. Fox managed to stay put, his insides churning, his lips struggling to find words that would keep both brothers happy. "I'm... I'm..."

"It's not working." Wolf shrugged dramatically. "Did you come to help me?"

"I'm..."

Fox took a step forward. 

A mistake—Felix used the opportunity to squirm through. The boy was pale, pearls of sweat on his forehead. The God of Wrath flaring in his eyes. "What have you been doing, Wolf?"

Wolf cowered. "There's a sword here. I want to give it to Fox, Felix."

"You're imagining things again, Wolf!" Felix sneered. "There is no sword here. There's nothing here."

"He's right though," Fox said softly. "There is one at the bottom of the river, stuck between the stones."

"Why do you know all this?"

"Wolf took me here," Fox confessed. Before Felix could unleash his full Wrath, he added, "it's Panthera's sword, Felix. The silver lion one that you threw onto her ship."

"No." Felix shook his head. "The sword burned. She has it with her in the Seven Heavens."

"It didn't. I'm sorry."

"I don't believe it. How dare you, Fox! I thought you were my friend."

"I'm sorry. I am your friend." Fox felt cornered. It wasn't fair. Couldn't he be the friend of both princes?

"But the sword is really here, Felix," Wolf said, pointing at the spot.

"Let me see it then," Felix said.

What began as a confident march soon turned into stumbling over the slippery rocks. Fox followed right behind him, using tricks of air to push the prince back in balance when he tottered, which led to him falling on his butt.

He was still clambering up when Felix stared into the water, his breath a deeper wheeze than before.

"Why didn't it burn?" Felix mumbled.

"Because the Gods want Fox to have it," Wolf reasoned.

"Hold your tongue! It's your fault Pan's dead."

"It's not," Wolf cried. "Fox, tell Fe it's not true."

"Don't answer that, Fox," Felix yelled. "Fox is my friend, Wolf! I told you to hold your tongue."

"No, Fox is my friend too." Wolf made himself big, his hands on his hips.

"I'll teach you!"

Felix grabbed Wolf by the shirt and pushed him closer towards the water. The smaller boy flailed his arms in circles, whimpering, his eyes searching Fox.

"Felix," Fox tried.

"You don't choose Wolf's side, Fox. You just don't. It was he who helped to pick the tea in the kitchens to give to Pan and me. He killed her. He poisoned me. And he knew it."

"I didn't mean to. I didn't know!" Wolf screamed, kicking. "Fe, put me down!"

"I told you to hold your tongue!"

"Felix, Katla is going to kill the real culprit. You and Wolf—this isn't about choosing sides."

"But what would you do if I did this?" Felix pushed Wolf, lifted him off his feet and dangled him over the edge, his hand on his brother's throat. Uttering gurgling noises, the bastard clawed at his brother, who didn't flinch. "War is about choosing sides, Fox. You are a Knight of Silvermark, a man of my father and of me. Not of Wolf. He doesn't deserve anything or anyone."

"Stop it, Felix," Fox argued. "Wolf isn't your enemy. He's just a child. It's not his fault he's a bastard."

"Just a child, yes." Felix kicked his elbow into the boy's stomach. "Even weak and sick, I'm still stronger than my father's sin. But it won't stay that way, Fox. I need you on my side. You can't pick his side."

"You don't need to fear him, Felix. Be a brother to him, and he'll be your ally like your uncle Caracal is to your father. Please, put him down. Let us marvel at Pan's sword, the three of us together and tell stories about her."

"Why don't you pick me?" Felix gave him a sullen look. "You think I'm gonna die too, don't you? Is that why you brought me here? To show me you're betting on two horses, Wolf and me. So is Father—I overheard him. He's convincing Mother to turn him into a true son of Silvermark."

"You're not gonna die. You'll be a fantastic King. Remember what we said in Mage Tower, you and me both ruling over a united Silvermark and The Greenlands. Summers in Moondale, winters in Sundale, and Wolf as our jester. Please, don't strangle your brother."

"He's not my brother!"

"But you are killing him. Stop it."

 The younger boy was still flailing but the strength in him was diminishing. His eyes closing.

"I wasn't going to do this." Felix looked at his brother, his grip tightening. "But you leave me no choice, Fox. I can't trust you as long as Wolf is around."

"Felix, you're overreacting. I just wanted to show you the sword. I didn't know Wolf would be here. Please, don't do anything rash. I'm your friend. I promise you are my friend."

"Then show you are my friend."

To Fox's surprise, Felix let go of Wolf. The boy fell into the river with a loud splash where he was quickly caught by the rapid stream. His head underwater, his arms and feet thrashing.

"What is wrong with you!" Fox screamed at Felix. He darted towards the riverbank. How could a fun trip to the depths of the castle have escalated so quickly? How could Felix's hate be so deep? Wolf hadn't poisoned him and Princess Panthera. If that were true, then Katla wouldn't be riding south.

He stretched his arm, focus on the drowning boy. He had levitated swords so often; he should be able to lift Wolf out of the water too.

"Don't you dare save him, Fox!" Felix yelled in his ear, tugging his arm and breaking Fox's concentration. "You save him, and you're dead to me. You are my friend!"

Fox pushed the prince aside with such force that Felix fell to the ground. "You're despicable. What will your mother think?"

"She hates him, Fox. She hates that my father slept with another woman and that this child was dropped at the gate."

"Fo—!" came an awe-stricken yell that ended as soon as it had begun. Wolf had drifted towards the thick stone wall arched over the river. It was hard to see him anymore. Soon he would be out of the castle, out of reach.

"But that's not Wolf's fault," Fox said.

He couldn't use his magic, not with Felix preventing him and yelling at him. There was only one other thing he could do to save Wolf.

He took a giant breath, overcame all his fears, and jumped into the water.