Amos

Once he crossed the threshold, Amos found himself in a completely different atmosphere from the one he had been in until recently, i.e. surrounded by climbing plants armed with strong and tremendously sharp brambles. Almost certainly, a normal human being would not have come out of such a journey alive, but, fortunately, he passed the test, albeit not unscathed. The thorns had not spared his already wounded body, burdened by his previous clash with that damned impostor. He could count himself lucky if he could still stand on his legs, albeit with difficulty. 

The handsome dark-haired man had not the slightest intention of giving in to the temptation to take a moment to catch his breath and rest in such a calm and peaceful place, he still had to rejoin Clara and the group. He could not get the thought out of his mind that something bad might have happened to her or, even, the irreparable.

Unable to even conceive the idea, the warrior rose to his feet and, holding his brutally wounded arm, tried to drag himself along until he saw an exit, a gate or anything that would make him realise where he had ended up again!

It seemed to him that he had been walking for hours in that calm and peaceful grassy valley. Above him, white clouds were drifting towards the horizon line, the turf seemed even softer and more comfortable than a set of pillows filled with goose feathers...

Then, awakening from his numbness, he realised he was not alone, hearing voices beyond the hill on which he stood. With an impetus that cost him not a little, the beautiful dragon reached the top, seeing before him a vast enchanted city.

It was a real treat for the eyes, many of the buildings were made of crystal and shone brightly, radiating with sunlight. The rivers and streams that ran through it only accentuated this play of light. It was truly a magical place, looking very much like... the realm of the Golden Dragons!

"No, it's impossible that I'm really here, it must be because of tiredness, yes, that's undoubtedly the real reason." Amos thought, incredulous of what he was seeing with his own eyes.

After the Rebellion, the Dark Dragons had been banned from the kingdom, and if any of them attempted to gain access, they would face the most heinous of punishments: death. The dragons guarding the gate took the matter very seriously and were prepared to do anything to prevent their possible access. Flying was not an option, as the city was protected by a very powerful barrier. Although Amos would gladly have avoided the risk of being electrocuted by the end of the day, he had no choice but to continue on, certain that, once inside, he would find a way to rejoin the others.

"Well, I'll have to put a plan in place so I don't get caught. How could I do that?" He pondered to himself, leaving out the "tiny" and "insignificant" detail of being reduced like not even a boxer after a boxing match!

"Damn, if only they couldn't pick up on my aura, I could try to pass myself off as a mere human." He muttered to himself, taking out his frustration on a poor, unfortunate stone. Unfortunately, a skill of dragons and priestesses, was to pick up the magical auras of those around them; obviously though, it's something you develop with a lot of practice and dedication, certainly, you can't improvise it!

If he wanted to, he could even have attempted a confrontation with the guardians at the gate, the problem being that then the rest of the ranks would have joined in, especially if they had known he was also one of the dangerous fugitives they were eager to put to rot. It would have been like offering them his head on a platinum platter, rather than silver. No, something else was needed.

"In the meantime, I'd better start making my way down this hill, not least because, tanned as I am, I think it's going to take me a bit longer than it normally would." He realised sadly, still without a clue.

During the stretch, a blinding beam of blue light plummeted down from the sky, whereupon Amos, thinking that the defences had already detected his presence, prepared to draw his sword, but never expected what happened next.

Once gone, the light left behind a man, or rather, something similar: it looked more like some kind of projection, given his 'insubstantiality' and the fact that he was surrounded by a bright blue aura.

«Who are you, damn you? How dare you stand in my way? Know that if you do not retreat instantly, you will pay such an affront with your life.» He warned him, pointing his weapon at him.

In so many years, Amos could confidently say he had never encountered such a being.

«Please put the weapon away, I am here to help you.» The man declared, apparently not armed with belligerent intentions.

«You want to help me! You don't even know my intentions, yet you make such statements. I have a hunch there's something going on, but I can assure you that you chose the wrong person to fool, besides, I'm in a hurry, so let's wrap this up quickly.» He told him, before preparing to pounce on the mysterious figure, who dissolved.

«But he wasn't all that great, I had overestimated him. It is indeed true, never be fooled by appearance.» And after this realisation, he picked up his sword, putting it back in its scabbard and resuming his way.

A strange feeling, however, did not cease to tide him over; in fact, it was a real trickle. His sixth sense had not betrayed him this time either, for once he looked up, he found his opponent staring down at him from above, comfortable, as if nothing had happened!

«You would have done better to get out of my way, now I will really destroy you, there is no mercy for those who dare to mock me.» But this time, the blow did not even touch him. The "blue" man erected a barrier that hurled Amos' sword to the ground, leaving him unarmed. The dragon was stunned for a moment.

«As I have already told you, I am not here to fight, I could not even physically do so, nor would I ever do so against you. Right now, I really need you to listen to me; unfortunately, as much as I want to, I have very little time. I will make sure that the guards do not notice your presence, but my spell will have a limited duration, so you must hurry, or it will be the end.» He explained.

«How do you know...»

«Explanations later, now head to the temple, the girl is there, the others have already made it out.»

«Look if it's a trap...» Seeing that the young man still did not trust him, the man touched him and what Amos realised left him breathless.

«Impossible, you should be dead... father!»

«It is a long story: your mother and I managed to save ourselves in extremis, but we were imprisoned in a kind of limbo, a trap set by those vile traitors who thought they had finally defeated us, but they did not. I don't know for what reason, but a little while ago a door opened in this world; your mother is trying to keep it open as long as she can, but I don't know how much longer she will be able to, so do as I told you, all right my son? We know that you will not allow evil to win and so you, your brother and the maiden must join forces. We are counting on you and tell your brother that we love him very much.» The effect was beginning to fade, so the man momentarily rendered his son's aura imperceptible, and after that, he disappeared just as he had appeared, without even giving him time to say a word.

«Wherever you are, we will find you and set you free.» He shouted at the top of his voice. In the meantime, however, he had to go and get Clara and reunite with the others, then they would come up with a plan for everything!