The night chill came swiftly the moment the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. Amadeus shivered as he pulled his Izenth wolf skin tightly over his frame, moving in closer to the camp fire to keep warm. Rei and Izumi kept busy, feeding the flame which was burning strongly, pushing back the icy darkness hovering in the night air.

Only One seemed to be unaffected by the change in temperature. He also happened to be blissfully oblivious to their disgust at his choice of food. He whistled happily as he scrapped a large piece of deadwood with his rocky fists, shaping a makeshift skewer. As the fire grew to a healthy size, he pierced the sand worm like giant marshmallow and held it to roast over the flame.

The pasty white skin of the sand worm gradually charred into a golden brown. One broke off pieces and distributed them to the less than enthusiastic group. The piece of cooked meat warmed up Amadeus' hands soothingly as he turned it over in his hands, looking suspiciously at it. His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him that he had not eaten anything since the night before.

Torn between hunger and disgust, he pulled back the sand worm's outer shell and hesitantly took a tiny bite. He was pleasantly surprised that the sand worm was indeed tender and juicy with a crispy texture. The flavor spread over his tongue as he took another larger bite. He looked over at Rei and Izumi who were both devouring their own pieces of meat. As large as the sand worm was, they quickly finished it until only its outer carapace was left.

Patting his stomach, Rei let out a satisfied sigh. "It looks like your pet does have his uses after all Amadeus," he laughed teasingly.

"One is happy that master's friends like One's cooking," One beamed with pride as he licked off the last bits of sand worm from his fingers. "Sand worm natural juices keep flavor inside strong and outside crispy!"

Amadeus yawned. The huge meal had made his eyelids heavy and body sluggish.

"Look, we can see the Jagged Peaks from here." Rei pointed towards the silhouette of a distant mountain range. "We're almost there," he grinned.

Amadeus could make out tiny lights that dotted the peak of the highest mountain on the mountain range. It looked like the Avianath did indeed stay on that mountain. They were so close – the legendary Avianath Exiles. I wonder if Uthaes made it too, maybe I'll see him there.

"Alright, we should get some rest; we have an early start tomorrow. We'll break the night into four watches – one for each of us. I'll take the first watch," Rei said. His words were music to Amadeus' ears. It was time to rest!

Amadeus chose the spot next to Izumi beside the campfire and lay down next to her. They lay there in silence for a moment.

"The stars are pretty tonight," a familiar voice whispered. Amadeus turned to see Izumi's pretty face being illuminated by the fiery hearth. She was looking at the stars and seemed to be deep in thought. He glanced up and saw One already snoring loudly and Rei was kneeling next to the fire; his eyes patrolling the surroundings.

"Yes there are," he replied with a contented smile, laying back down and crossing his hands over the back of his head.

"Every time I look at the stars I wonder, why are we here? You know what I mean? Like, what is our purpose in life?"

Amadeus thought about it in silence for a moment before he answered. "You know, sometimes I do think about that back at the commoner camp. We sleep in tents so we look at the stars often. I really think we are here to learn."

"Learn what?"

"Learn to love others. The world is filled with selfishness. I think it takes time for people to learn to care for other people. I know it took a long time for me."

Izumi moved closer to him, and he could feel her breath on his ear. "I'm sorry, I was wrong," she whispered.

He turned towards her and looked into her worried eyes. "What do you mean? Why are you sorry?"

"I was wrong about him," she said softly, pointing at One. "You did the right thing to save his life. I shouldn't have screamed at you."

"It's okay, you were hungry and tired. Don't worry about it." Amadeus replied in a hushed tone. He smiled reassuringly.

"Thanks." Izumi smiled as her tense face relaxed. She needed to get that off her chest. "Goodnight Amadeus," she whispered. She smiled and turned away to sleep.

What was that about? Amadeus wondered as he curled up and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before his fatigue had caught up with his body and he drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

*******

Rei brushed back his white head of hair and stood up. It was night watches that got to him the worst. Being alone in the dark made his mind wander and pull up memories of his departed wife. They had spent many hours together on scouting skirmishes and often were put on night watch together. He tried to push the images out of his mind.

His heart was heavy and burdened as he scanned the area. All was quiet; too quiet. He patrolled around the campfire in silence, weighed down by memories of the past. How long had he been at watch? An hour? Two hours? He looked at the position of the moon in the sky; about two hours then, almost time for the next watch. He would wake Amadeus next.

In the corner of his eye, Rei's saw something approach. He leaned backwards as a dagger made of shadow flew past, slicing his left cheek. He spun around only to be greeted by the cold dead night. There was no light source around the camp except for their campfire. No one could survive in the sub-zero temperatures of the Crystal Plains at night without a source of heating. He dabbed the cut on his cheek with his hand. No, he hadn't imagined the dagger; someone had attacked.

The Izenth were master hunters and therefore had supernatural sense of sight, sound and smell. However, this stealthy attack was so refined and well-executed that if anyone else in the group (including Izumi) had been on watch, they would probably be dead by now. Rei detected it too late and had barely enough time to react.

His hands instinctively hovered over the icicles sheathed in the belt slung around his waist. He circled around the campfire, now regretting choosing such an open location for a camp site. Who would be crazy enough to traverse the Crystal Plains at night without a heat source? He made a mental note not to underestimate his enemies in the future if he survived this attack.

The shadows of the night flickered and danced around him, as the camp fire blew in the night wind. Fighting in the dark was not a problem for the trained Izenth; and certainly not a problem for Rei. He could "see" with all his other senses as though it was second nature to him. Another dagger emerged from the darkness of the night and he did a somersault in the air to avoid it. The second one caught him in mid-air but he easily deflected it with an icicle.

I can't use my ears. The daggers are made of shadow – silent; even when I deflect them. Look for the source, Rei reminded himself as he drew another icicle with his free hand. He prepared for the next assault. Taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound. All the physical senses were useless for these high level stealth attacks. He would have to use his sixth sense. He closed his eyes and steadied his heartbeat, and the Izenth sixth sense triggered.

Again, another dagger materialized from the darkness and cut through the air towards Rei. He saw it clearly in his mind's eye and launched two icicles towards the dagger; one to deflect it, and another to counterattack. The first icicle threw the dagger off course silently and the dagger landed harmlessly on the ground before disappearing in a puff of smoke. The second icicle soared through the night air and disappeared. He dodged it, Rei thought to himself, surprised.

"Show yourself." Rei muttered calmly under his breath. Two more daggers replied from the darkness which he half deflected and half dodged while bounding backwards. He felt an impending sense of doom and immediately spun around just in time to block a vicious attack. As blade clashed against icicle, Rei slowly opened his eyes. A chill ran up his spine when Rei realized who his opponent was. He was staring face to face into an onyx mask; The Onyx Order.

The black figure was fully clothed in a black cloak that melded in the night's darkness. He only became fully visible when he came in close to stab Rei. He held an onyx dagger in each hand. His daggers did not break against my icicles when I blocked against his attack, pondered Rei. Normal onyx would have shattered against the density of Izenth ice; they must be enchanted.

He is the real thing – an assassin from the Onyx Order. I'm disadvantaged at a close distance, but I should be able to hold my own. Rei pushed against the assassin's daggers with his icicles and the assassin was propelled away from him.

He swiftly sheathed his icicles and drew two blueish daggers from his belt. They glinted in the moonlight, leaving a trail of icy mist as he swung them in position. The Izenth had been trained to avoid close combat if possible but were fluent in the art of dual daggers. This was their chosen form of martial arts since wielding dual daggers were very similar to their icicle fighting style.

The assassin followed up with two more strong and fluid attacks in Rei's direction, which almost threw Rei off his footing. If I lose my footing and fall to the ground, I'm done for. Rei slid backwards against the force of the attacks, leaving a trail in the sand. The clashing daggers roused Izumi from her sleep; her ensuing shouts woke the rest up.

"What's going on?" Amadeus asked as he yawned and rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out what the commotion was about.

"We have visitors, and I'm welcoming them." Rei answered through gritted teeth while deflecting a stab with his right dagger. Immediately, he moved in close and counterattacked with an upward slash with his left. The left dagger cut off a piece of the assassin's black cloak and it floated harmlessly to the ground. 

Author's Note: Honest poll - Who do you think will win? Rei or the Assassin?