He was eager to finish his work. So Keenio got up early, he was careful not to wake Veronica, as he tiptoed out of their bed, and quietly slumped to his wardrobe. He was taking every precaution to not wake her up, after all, they went to bed late last night after the ball.

He fastened his black scaled jacket, then put on his armor fittings. He did everything he could to move quietly. After he tightened his armor fittings, he picked up Starfang from his mantle and sheathed it, then he equipped himself with both his Chimera gauntlets. They went nicely with his scaly jerkin. Once his boots and armored booth armor was equipped, he silently drifted to the door. He figured he had 2 hours before she would wake up. That meant two hours to finish his project in the war room.

As he traversed his palace halls, be made his way to the war room, and entered through its magnificent door.

It looked more like a workshop than a war room, he had tools all over the place. And he had several white crystals neatly arranged on his shelf. The war room also held many magnificent book cases filled with scrolls and books, but one book lay open on the war table. Opened to the page he left it on yesterday morning. It was an instruction manual, for the large mirror that was built into the wall on the left most side of the room, underneath it was a box filled with crystals, wires, and other assortments. Next to his box of junk, Keenio picked up his wrench again and went back to work on the mirror.

"I just need to touch it up a bit..." He told himself, as he turned the socket deeper into the mirror, he heard a small hum, "perfect... Now all that's needed is the crystals..."

He reached over to his shelf and picked up one of the crystals, and then screwed it into the slot he just installed on the mirror, as he did, the hum vanished, and the mirror's center swirled, and as the swirling stopped, instead of a reflection, he saw an entirely different building.

"It worked... Damn..." He humbled his excitement, ",..Atlantean technology really is something else..."

He touched the surface of the mirror, and his arm appeared to phase through. As he pulled his hand back out, he looked at it in awe..

"This is a good sign..."

He further tested it by stepping through to the other side. Instantly, he found himself in the place the mirror sowed him.

"Nice... So this is the Avalon branch..." Keenio stood there looking around, "perfect..."

He noticed the emblem hanging in the wall, and then realized that he was in the war room there too. It mirrored the Xenthos War Room, but it appeared that the room was cleaner and cut from marble. Even the War Table was Marble.

"Very interesting..." Be picked up a chalice from that war room, and stepped back through the mirror, returning to Xenthos, "oh nice.." Keenio looked at the chalice, "so we can bring things through it with us too..."

He placed it on the mess of a war table he had. Then he lightly touched the sides in a special sequence, the mirror's image shifted to another war room, but standing in front of it was the dark haired leader of that branch, Ai'sha. Keenio recognized her dark skin and dark hair immediately, even though he hadn't seen her in 5 years.

"Ai'sha.." Keenio spoke, "can you hear me?"

"Yes I can.."she smiled, tightening her leather armor, as if it were an attempt to make her look more professional and presentable, "...it's good to see you again.." her middle eastern accent was clear as can be, ".. so you finally got your mirror working now?"

"Yeah.. " he smiled, then stepped through the mirror, "and I made improvements..."

"I can see that my king.." she bowed, "this will make communicating with the other branch leaders allot easier.."

Eleon's war room was always the cleanest and cleanliness of the war room, Ai'sha kept this modest room framed with paintings, and trophies, while still also making sure there was plenty of room for her to give orders to anyone present.

"This means that we no longer have to send messages by horseback..." Keenio smiled, "the Atlanteans really did think of everything didn't they .."

"I'm glad you decided to continue Atlantean research..." Ai'sha smiled, "is this the only project you've been working on?"

"No I have a lot of new tools and gadgets I've learned.." he held out his arm and his Chimera gauntlet shifted into a spear, "see... Lemos used these, they are called Chimera Gauntlets.." he smiled, "these are still prototypes like Lemos's, but I'm discovering new things every day..."

"So when do I get a chimera gauntlet?" She eyes the spear, "that would be handy..."

"I only have these two prototypes..." Keenio reverted the Chimera Gauntlet to its normal form, "I'll send you the finished product when I perfect them..."

"Sounds good.."

"Anyhow, id like to stay and talk with you a bit longer .." he sighed, "but I'm preparing for an important mission, so I have to go.."

"But you just got here.."

"Sorry Ai'sha," Keenio steps back through the mirror, "but hey, these mirrors mean that I can visit more..."

"Okay.." she waved, "be careful okay Keenio? I don't want us to lose another king..."

Keenio waved back, "don't worry, I'm taking every precaution now.."

He smiled, and pressed another button on the side of the mirror, and the portal vanished, reverting the mirror to its normal reflective surface. Then checked what appeared to be a blue liquid in the edge, sealed in a translucent cylinder of some kind.

"It seems purified Wyvern venom does have more practical uses..." He tapped it, "..hmm so the codex says that these mirrors can only send up to 4 living beings between them at any given time... That's fine.. but maybe with a little more studying, I can expand that amount.."

He sat their thinking, running through all the mathematics to try and find a way to send more than 4 people across at a time.

"Now I guess we need to find a name for this mirror..." He thought for a moment, "hmm maybe I'll ask Theseus when I have time..."

He looked back at the mirror, then looked back at his tools. Seeing that all the work was done, he began the long grueling task of cleaning up the war room. It was unpresentable right now, and he was kind of jealous of how clean Eleon's war room was. He then spend the biggest part of the morning picking up his tools and parts. He even put the crystals he wasn't using into a strong metal lock box along with all the codex and other pages and tools. It took him 3 hours to clean the war room, and when he was done, he decided he could use a drink.

He left the war room and made his way to the tavern floor. Selene was sitting in his favorite spot, right on the edge. He frowned slightly, but truly didn't care, as he made his way to the bar stool next to her.

"Well Selene, how's your morning?" He asked sitting next to her, "are you ready to go back home?"

"That's a long road you know, I keep telling you it took me a year and a half to get here..." She huffed, "by the time we make it back, the demons and shadow forces will probably already be sweeping the land... I should just stay here and live..."

"I can get us there almost immediately..." Keenio smirked, "I just perfected a piece of Atlantean Technology that will bring us there immediately..."

"You did?" Her depressing frown turned into a hopeful smile, "we can go right now?!"

"It's early.." Keenio huffed, "and I don't think I can do this mission alone..."

"But Keenio .. I need to return as fast as possible..."

"You were just saying it was going to take us a year to get to Elfame.."

"...yes but.. that's before I knew you had this wild idea... I still don't believe it..."

"Just wait for my friends to be ready okay... I already scheduled a meeting in the war room with them for 2 hours from now..."

"...2 hours..."

"Yeah..." He nodded, "I have to make sure at least my companions had enough sleep before this mission..." He blushed, "..though Veronica had me stay up later than I originally intended, and I think she's still sleeping it off..."

"You obviously are in love with her Keenio .." she sighed, "but... What's going to happen if she becomes a liability..."

"A liability?" Keenio gave an unapproving stare, "Veronica could never be a liability... Maybe back 6 years ago.... But not now .. she's really come a long way..."

"In just saying, you're the Starchild right?"

"That's what they call me... Why?..."

"With that destiny, do you really think it's wise to have love in your life?"

"What do you mean?"

"In Avalon, it's said the Starchild will fight Ahriman, the Primordial, with how evil Ahriman is," she continued, "wouldn't your love for Veronica get in the way of your destiny?"

"Get in the way?"

"Think of it like this, with how much you and that girl are on love, Ahriman could use her as a weapon..."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying," she gave a commanding tone, "is that love, can blind a person... As the Starchild, you can't allow yourself to be blinded by love, what's going to happen if you have to choose between her, or the world? And what if he captures her, or worse kills her? What then? Will you let your anger explode, and make you fight without thinking? In your rage, you would ultimately fail... So I'll ask again, what would you do if you were forced into a situation where you have to choose between her, or the world? "

That question rang loud and clear in his head. It was a good question, who would be picked? Her? Or the World itself? He would hope he would do his duty as the Starchild and protect the many over just the one. Even the tenant of the Xentidos warned him of this. But, could he live in a world without her? He didn't want to make that choice. How could he .. if it were up to him, he would find a way to do both. But what if that wasn't a choice, then, well, he wouldn't want to make that choice... Honestly he would rather lose everything than lose both.

"What brought about this question?" Keenio answered back, "why would you ask me this?"

"..it's just..." She frowned, "..what if you had to choose? And there was no other choice, what would you choose?"

"I... Don't know...." Keenio scowled, "...what if I could do both... That would be the only option I could concisely pick... I would do everything in my power, to do both..."

The look of doubt began to fade away as she took a great interest in his answer. She could tell by the seriousness behind his words that that would be the only option. He wouldn't stop until he had both. It brought comfort to her uneasy feeling.

"..I think, I'll accept that answer .." she nodded, "..maybe you are human after all..."

He could tell she was teasing him with those words, it still irked him.

"Why do you keep saying that I'm not human..." Keenio asked, "..I look like them, I walk like them, and they see me inside of their minds... I am human, no matter what you say..."

"..I don't think I can give you the answer B-Keenio," she stopped her self, "I've tried explaining it over and over again... I guess you'll just have to see for yourself..."

They sat and drank for a moment, Keenio ate finally, and they were ready to leave the Tavern floor.

In the War Room, Keenio, Theseus, Elizabeth, Veronica, Balthazar, Akida, Zalpa, and Selene were standing now. Keenio cleared his throat.

"Okay, so, it's time to discuss the mission..." He began, "Selene has come at the request of the Fae. The job is simple, 4 of us, myself included will be headed to Avalon. This mission shouldn't take too long, it's simple... We are assigned to hunt down and kill these evil shadow creatures that Selene told us about, and find the source of their conquest. I've heard rumors that crops have been dying, and cattle have been sickly, these people need help.. " he cleared his throat again, "now, Elizabeth, can you stay in Xenthos for me?" Keenio asked, "you're the only one who knows how Xenthos works.."

"Really? You're putting me on the side? I really wanted to go back to Avalon..."

"Elizabeth.." Keenio whined, making his eyes droopy, "please? I really need you here... If something goes wrong, you're the only one I could trust..."

Elizabeth frowned, "...Bloody Hell..." She crossed her arms, "..fine..." She sighed, "but only because you used that you hit my puppy voice..."

"Thank you..." He smirked and gave a serious tone, "I will be doing regular check ups when I'm not at home, but thanks to this mirror, I can be back immediately if something happens..."

"I understand..." Elizabeth nodded, "it's a good thing you reapproved research into Atlantean technology, you crafted a miracle..."

"Thank you Elizabeth you're dismissed..." Keenio commanded, "I really appreciate it.."

"No problem... I'll be checking up on you too you know... Don't hesitate to ask me to come in okay.."

Keenio nodded, and waved at Elizabeth as she left the war room. He then turned his attention to the others.

"Now, we can only go through the mirror ,we can only go through in maximum of four at a time."

"Understood..." Theseus answered.

First Selene, Keenio, and Veronica stepped through, then Theseus, Akida, Zalpa, and Balthazar stepped through next. They were in shock at how fast they appeared in the other War Room. Though, Theseus was surprised nobody was waiting on the other side.

"Why is there no branch commander here?" Theseus asked them, "normally around noon the nesnch leaders are in the war room..."

"Keenio looked around, then looked at Selene," so where is your Xentidos Branch Master?"

"Master Baldwin tends to spend most of his time in the palace with Empress Annaleece..." She answered, "..he says that the courts of the palace are grander than the courts in Elfame.."

"Hmmm..." He scratched his chin,  "It's been almost twelve years since I've been in Avalon..."

"Twelve years?"

"Yeah..." Keenio answered, "father sent Elizabeth and I here to master our magic, which I instead mastered chi... Magic was always difficult for me..."

"But your fire magic is so powerful..." Veronica answered, "is that really the only kind of magic you learned?"

"Not exactly..." Keenio responded, "I also learned a specilization that I refrain from using..."

"Why?"

"For starters, the specilization magic that I learned is well .... Forbidden, amongst most kingdoms in Pangea... I've only used it twice since I mastered it, and it leaves a nasty out in my soul when I use it..."

"But you still mastered it?"

"I've never seen you use any magic before... Aside from yiru fire magic..." Theseus answered, "you mean you have a secret weapon aside from all your chi skills and weapon specialties?"

"..yeah... Ask Elizabeth about it sometime..." Keenio answered, "..I only use it as a last resort..."

"But you didn't use it against Lemos..."

"Because that kind of magic, wouldn't of been useful when I fought him... He would have countered it easily..."

"How many secrets are you keeping Keenio?" Akida asked him, "..are there other techniques you are hiding?"

"There's a few... If in being honest, but I specialize in 2 of the lost 7 arts of magic..."

"You're kidding me..." Zalpa responded, "it's not possible for a human to learn one type of lost magic, let alone two..."

"Obviously Akida mastered 1 of the lost arts... She's human.."

"That's different.." Zalpa boasted, "she had me teaching her, and she is 1/16th Wood Elf... On top of that, she's been a mage since she was born.."

Keenio smirked, and said nothing. Letting Zalpa's mind wonder. He figured he'd let Zalpa believe his words. He has no intention of showing ANYONE the magics he did know. He may only use flames when he uses his magic, but, he always kept his lost magics to himself. Only Elizabeth, Lemos, Stilphius, and Baldwin knew of his mastery. And he intended on keeping those magics to himself, only to ever use them when he knew there was no other way.

"Anyhow..." Keenio finally spoke, "id like to see master Baldwin... And I've heard so much about this Annaleece, as well as her court sorcerer, the Morgan le Fae." He opened the wooden door, and together the seven of them left the war room.

The stone and marble walls of the base was beautiful. Veronica especially was lost in the architecture. It was obvious that Veronica never has visited this land. It was wonderus and new to her. Different form the structures in Pangea.

The hall they were in was grand and wide, with a long red carpet that filled the whole room. Hanging form the ceiling were rows upon rows of curtains and tapestries. The odd thing was that there wasn't a single statue depicting the gods of old. There weren't even any references to them, not even in the paintings that lined the walls. As Keenio and the others made their way to the end of the hall, there next task was to walk down the large spiral stairwell. It was painted a beautiful brown, and made to look like wood, but it was metal. Keenio always enjoyed the Fae decorations. The end of the railing was capped with a carving of what appeared to be a serpent. Keenio and Theseus both recognized it from the books they studied and read in Xenthos, the scales and the face, resembled that of one of the three great beasts, the Leviathan. Which was said to be one of the creatures that protected Avalon from unwanted visitors. It was always said that it made its home amongst the shipwrecks in the center of the Mist of Titania. The Fairy Queen who vanished king Olberon and his followers to the main land, cutting off their wings, turning them into the first elves.

"Oh wow, I've never seen such a lovely stairwell..." Veronica ran her fingers along the scaly carving, "we don't have things like this in Athens..."

"There's Allot here that is different from Pangea..." Selene answered, "once we get down this stairwell, you'll arrive at the main floor of the Wingless Inn Tavern..."

"Is that so?"

"...yeah..." Keenio agreed, "you'll find allot of differences between most kingdoms in Pangea, compared to Avalon.."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." Theseus answered, "..just wait, you're in for a strange experience... I love it here.."

"You only love it here, because the Fairy Women are attractive to you..." Akida huffed, "just have to hope that Elaina doesn't see you again..."

Theseus frowned. He definitely didn't want to see Elaina, he broke up with her ages ago. He definitely didn't want to run into her again.

"Really Akida..." He mumbled, "..don't jinx me okay?.."

"Elaina?" Balthazar broke his silence, "..isn't that the girl you wrote to me about? You dated her when you were 14... Was it really that bad of a break up?"

"Trust me..." Theseus responded, "..it was bad..."

"Yeah.." Keenio laughed, "you cried like a baby for a month and a half..."

"Shut up..." Theseus blushed, "..don't remind me..."

"You literally purposed to her the first month you were together.." Akida teased, ".. such a helpless romantic..."

Selene looked at them as they teased Theseus. She couldn't help but to chuckle and laugh. Her six companions were definitely, not what she expected them to be. On the surface she thought they were tough, hardened murderers, atelast that's what the rumor was about the Xentidos, but, she knew as soon as she first saw Xenthos, that those rumors were false. These six people reminded her more about the jesters in the palace. Yet, it was widely believed that the Xentidos were always serious and dangerous. They had a reputation that always demanded fear and respect. The Xentidos order definitely wasn't what she expected it to be.

"You guys definitely aren't what I expected you all to be.." she chuckled, ".. You all seem more human than your order's reputation leads people to believe .."

"..that's because we always get results..." Keenio gave a serious answer, "..we never fail our missions..."

"I believe that..." Selene answered, "..still, it's good to know you can all be less, well... Intense than the rumors suggest, Keenio especially, you are nothing like the songs and stories I've heard.."

"That's because, you haven't put me into a position where I have to be that version of me in the songs..."

They continued to walk down the stairwell, Veronica, Balthazar, and Zalpa were amazed by the carvings as they arrived in the first floor. He could tell it was a wall of names, but, he didn't really understand the written language of the Fairies, it differed allot from the Elf written languages. However, some of the characters appeared to be the same, proving that the Fae were his ancestors.

As they arrive on the main floor, there seemed to be a bar, but instead of alcohol, they appeared to be drinking a fizzy substance. Infact, the more Zalpa and Balthazar looked at the fizzy drinks, the more they realized. There was no alcohol. For Zalpa it was almost unbearable. He loves the ale in Xenthos, sometimes a little bit too much. Well, actually, allot of the time he drank to much.

"What dark magic is this?" Zalpa asked, "no ale? But this is a Xenthos headquarters..."

"Don't worry about it..." Keenio answered, then reached into his bag on his back, "here.. if you need alcohol that much.."

He handed him a bottle of what appeared to be vodka. Zalpa uses his magic to wiggle the cork free, and took a quick sip. He then put the work back, and smiled.

"By the Old Gods!!" He smirks, "you're a life saver Keenio .."

"Well, you can't drink it all .." he responded, "we need something to drink on the road that's not boiled water..."

Zalpa took another swig than righted the cork back into the bottle, and handed it back to Keenio.

"That's a good point..." He nodded, "still I appreciate it.. not many humans share alcohol with elves you know.."

"Believe me I know.." Keenio nodded, and carefully placed his bottle back in his bag, "now, let's get to Annaleece and announce our arrival.."

As Theseus looked around with caution, the first thing he noticed was the women, they appeared to be Elves, Fairies, and Humans, though it was always hard to tell the difference between the fae and the elves, he didn't see a single pair of wings like his books taught him about. Come to thin of it, he doesn't think he's ever seen any wings in the Fairies he knew.  The only noticeable difference was that Fairies seemed to be no taller than five foot three inches tall, not even the men seemed that tall. He also noticed that there were obviously more women in this branch than men. He's been to Avalon twice now, and it's still obvious that women far out number men here. The only other difference Theseus could see is that, all the Fairies had deep blue eyes.

"So Selene..." Theseus turned his attention to the snowy haired lass, " I thought the fae had wings ... Yet I've never seen any..."

"That's because, we only use our wings in combat..." She answered, "..until we use them in combat, we don't look that different from you humans... And we blend in perfectly with the Elves.."

"Except your people are much shorter..." Zalpa answered, "and form whay I've seen, far weaker too.."

"Then you can't have fought any Faires have you Wingless..."

"No..." Zalpa responded, a slight tone of frustration was in his voice, "..I'm just saying, how could a small thin girl ever even hole to compete with the raw magic talent us elves have obtained..."

"Only what your elvish mind can comprehend.." she responded with equal aggravation, "..we fairies hold magic beyond anything you Wingless land slugs can ever hope to dream of obtaining.."

They stared each other down. As short as Selene Silver was, Zalpa still looked the less intimidating one. There faces were red with hate for each other. Selene didn't show this side of her in Xenthos. It must have been because she was in familiar territory again.

"Filthy Wingless!!" Selene growled.

"Stupid Insect!!"

".. Insect!!" She clenched her fists "..I'll show you Insect!!"

Just as their tenoees flaired, Keenio stepped between them. And he gave them both a frightening glare. He was fruxtrsted, and he looked like he could kill them both.

"Would you BOTH Shut the Hell UP?!!" He held out his hands, and applied a pressure lock on both of their shoulders, "..We are here on a MISSION!!" He turned to Zalpa, "We need to stay professional..." Then he turned to Selene, "YOU asked for my help! And I can easily have my friends and I go back home and refuse to take your request... Watch it..." Using his pressure lock, be moved then directly infornt of him, and continued to scold them, "you BOTH better not do this again UNDERSTAND?! I get that Elves and Fairies don't necessarily get along, but for now, we are allies. So shut the hell up, and put your recial grudges aside... Focus on the god damn mission, or Zalpa you can go home, and Selene, I will charge you triple to do this job for you... Are we clear?"

He continued his unholy wrathful glare, they looked at him and looked away, making sure not to look at each other. They didn't respond.

"I said..." He ejaculated the words with a hurricane in his voice, "ARE WE CLEAR!!!"

They looked back at him, and nodded, still saying nothing. Keenio's rage was all over his face.

"Good..." He calmed down, "now let's get to Annaleece 's palace okay?"

"Fine..."

"..okay..."

Keenio then let go of their pressure points. They could move again. For the rest of their trip, nobody said anything. They were all focused on the goal now. Plus, nobody wanted to aggravate Keenio again. Though, Theseus was tempted to. But Balthazar's look as he began to speak, shut him up before he could utter a sound.

"Damn it.." he mumbled, "..I guess I'll be good. " He told himself.

"What?" Keenio responded, as they all came to a stop, "did you say something Theseus?"

"..no.." he spoke softly, "..just thinking..." He scratched his head and smiled, "..I didn't realize I was talking..."

"It's fine.." Keenio responded calmly, "..let's just see this Queen.. I want to get this job over with already..."

Keenio, Veronica, Zalpa, Akida, Balthazar, Theseus, and Selene continued along their trail. The streets looked almost modern. Sidewalks crested foundations, foundations created buildings. In between them, there was a large cobblestone path. The engineering was unique, far different form all the roads in Pangea. Keenio always enjoyed this city. It was so different from Xenthos and Athens. It was very well engineered. The people walked along the sidewalks, crossing over the street anytime a man would hold up his hand and blow his whistle.

The thing that continued to stand out is how many more women there were then men on Avalon. Women seemed to run everything. As they passed the stores and shops, it was mostly women working at places. In Pangea, it was opposite, men ran everything. It was even further more different in Xenthos, where the genders didn't matter, women made just as much as men did, they owned just as many stores and shops. Still, it was a change, Balthazar especially wasn't sitirng to well with. He was always curious about other cultures. But even in his travels, the closest thing to this were the Amazon's deep south West in Pangea, where the thick jungle covered everything.

The structure of the city is what stood out most to both Keenio and Theseus. In Pangea there aren't many roads, and the roads that existed mostly served as identification areas to discuss where to build. The only place that Keenio remembered that was this orderly, was in the small Island to the east, the ones that crafted most his Tantos, katanas, wakishis, and spears. But even they didn't have sidewalks like this, nor such a smooth nicely laid out dirt roads that connected them. Elfame was obviously built to resemble a large square. It was the biggest city Theseus and Keenio ever did see, next to Babylon, Elfame was the largest city on Earth. But it was the Fae's only settlement. The whole population of Avalon was located here in Elfame. The two of them, in their similar mind sets, marvelled at the city's very structure alone.

Veronica and Balthazar felt as if they were on another planet. Elfame was so alien to them. It was nothing like the kingdoms and cities on Pangea. It overwhelmed them, and they thought Xenthos was alien.

Zalpa was unhappy. He hated Elfame, he couldn't believe that the original elves came from here. He questioned the whole territory. There was barely any folge. Elves live in mostly isolated forest. They were once Fae, but during Olberon's Rebellion, he was defeated, and as such, Olberon, and his followers were Banished from Avalon, and their wings removed, without their wings, the fae can't use magic.

It was a tale both were told growing up. Because their ideas are so different, the Elves and the Fae crafted many variations of the conflict. Because of this, difference in beliefs, elves and fairies have hated each other for almost 150,000 years.

As they navigate through the millions of citizens, Keenio and the others, continue to make their way to the Castle of Annaleece Silver, Queen of the Fae.