Kilfer was deep in thought.

He had come so far from the Edge to this island which he never knew existed, just to earn hope for himself, for Ferhia, and for Mirdaff. He was so close, yet if everything was not real, if the tunnel they were walking to was a dead end? What if Bronswig lied to him all along, and the darkness was destined to usurp all he loved... what if Ferhia's prophecy was true all along?

Kilfer did not dare think further. Perhaps Mirdaff knew about the darkness, but he would never have known how dangerous they were, and the future of all the realms rested on their hands.

Then, Kilfer paused. He heard something as soft as the tiniest breeze that whistled across his ears, music that was so soft it was barely audible.

Behind, Mirdaff bumped onto him.

"Why did you stop?" Mirdaff asked but Kilfer turned back and placed a finger on his lips. Mirdaff immediately fell silent, but when Kilfer went back to listen, the music was no more.

Kilfer walked on in agitation that he had lost the music, but as he rounded a bend he saw a ray of orange light bouncing off the walls that illuminated what was in front. He slowed down and glanced ahead, and the tunnel widened out to an entire hall at the first glance but was more like a shaft when Kilfer finally stepped out.

There was no ground, and what Kilfer stepped on was only a ledge, and it opened up to an empty void beneath. When he glanced up, the blue skies were the only thing above him. The shaft seemed to lead to nowhere when he saw an opening on the stone face on the opposite side.

"Mirdaff," Kilfer spoke as Mirdaff came out of the tunnel behind him, "We are here, and the only way forward is the entrance there." Kilfer jabbed at the opening on the opposite side and Mirdaff saw it immediately.

"No! I'm not going flying with you again," Mirdaff shook his head, "Especially when it is a void below!"

"I don't mean that," Kilfer said, "No one said we're going flying. Look carefully."

Mirdaff stared at the entrance and Kilfer himself was also quite amazed to find the way to the entrance across the shaft, it was a thin stick connecting between the two ends of the shaft, the same colour, and shade as the stone wall of the shaft that Kilfer could barely make out the stick that was barely as thick as one of his foot.

"What? I see the opening, but there's nothing else," Mirdaff turned to Kilfer, frowning skeptically.

"I'll show you. Watch," Kilfer walked to the stick and placed a foot on the stick. He did not know why he chose not to simply fly to the other side, but he knew he could only walk for flying to the other side in such an enclosed space with a void below is dangerous, perhaps a fatal choice. Yet, while walking on the stick his life was also at stake, for any wrong step would result in him plummeting down into the darkness below.

Kilfer took another step. His foot landed on the stick. He held out his hands for balance, and the darkness below seemed to be extending its grasp towards him, slowly tugging him down. Kilfer did not know if it was simply a figment of his imagination or something else, but looked up and continued. On his outstretched hands, the weight of Ferhia in the box strained his strength and there was no support. It was just his determination and the void.

With every step, the entrance grew closer, and he could hear music and see light emanating from within. He felt comfort from the warmth of the orange light and hope from the simple melody.

"Kilfer!" He heard Mirdaff shout, "I'm coming!"

Kilfer did not reply. He did not want Mirdaff to walk behind him for he feared that Mirdaff might fall any moment, yet he could not utter a word for his life was at stake too.

Kilfer felt Mirdaff's weight on the stick. It shook a little with every step they took. It was so unstable, and it felt as if the thin, long piece of stone would snap under their combined weight at any moment...

The entrance was right in front of Kilfer now, he counted barely ten steps to the opening, and the dim light could already be seen, and the music was finally audible, louder than he expected. That was the first time he heard such music, sounds produced out of thin air, more magic than mimed voices.

The thin stone beneath him shook again. He felt it was getting unstable and it might break beneath their combined weight anytime unless he reached the other side in time...

Kilfer leaped forward. It was very risky, but he landed successfully at the mouth of the opening. He turned and found Mirdaff struggling on the thin stone.

"Need some help?" Kilfer yelled, and Mirdaff nodded. Kilfer focused on Mirdaff and lifted him into the air with magic and brought him through the air and placed him down beside him. Mirdaff's face was white, his knuckles the same color and he was shaking.

"C'mon, don't try walking on that yourself," Kilfer spoke, "Anyway, I believe we have reached our destination."

Kilfer's voice was filled with confidence, but below his strength, he was filled with uncertainty. No one knew better than Mizervon himself if they had really reached their destination, and he feared if it was a dead end, then all their hopes have come to naught.

The duo continued into the tunnel and it widened to an opening that led them out into the open. Nothing could have prepared them to what they were about to see, for the moment they stepped out an eagle with golden feathers streaked across their heads, landing on a tree on their right. In front, a slope lay dressed with flowers, and trees with leaves that glowed a bluish hue. A thin passageway cut across the slope to the top, revealing something like a door that they could not clearly make out there.

"Wow," Mirdaff was still staring at the trees and flowers, transfixed by its beauty, "This must be where Mizervon resided all these years, and this must be the work of art of Mizervon's magic! No other magician could paint nature in such an exquisite way!"

"Magic," Kilfer repeated slowly and deliberate manner. Mizervon's powers and grasp of magic meant that there is still hope for the light. The most powerful glimmer of light resides on this very slope that Kilfer stood on, thoughts raced through his mind as both boys sauntered up the slope, finally reaching a huge door made of jade, and Kilfer reached out towards the doorknob to open the door, yet it opened right before his hands touched the doorknob.

They stepped in slowly, and there was a cool breeze blew from inside just as they stepped in, and inside they found that it was a hall, much more spacious than it seemed outside, and at the sides of the hall there were seven granite statues of different men in different positions, some wielding a sword in battle and some in a robe, holding a cup of wine. On the opposite side of the hall, a huge altar of the Wolf God dwarfed any other object in the hall, and in front of the altar, a lone figure in an umber cloak sat, unmoving.

"Mizervon," Kilfer spoke, slowly walking towards the figure. He turned, and the moment he faced Kilfer, Kilfer saw the deep yellow eyes of a magician, his magic honed to perfection through thousands of years of deep practice, with a beard that cascaded down to the floor below him, and beneath his cloak was only a simple robe the color of ash.

"You have finally come, great human leader of the Pack," Mizervon spoke, his voice strangled as he stood, "And you have brought a friend. A young but worthy friend, hmm?  Welcome to the Hall of the Seven Kings, the center of magic and power that holds the tombs of the Seven Kings that helped the Pack and defended the realm with them a thousand years ago."

"Yes, I am Kilfer and my friend here is Mirdaff, but I come to you not to chat over tea. Something has happened," Kilfer decided to leap to the issue, but Mizervon simply swatted Kilfer off, "Nah, I already know about it. Ferhia's curse, the death of the Pack and the darkness being released from behind the veil. I see all and hear all, what makes you think that I do not know of such an important happening?"

"What? You knew..." Kilfer was suddenly filled with annoyance. Why did he not save Ferhia then, and why did he not save the Pack then? Why did he let Bronswig sacrifice himself against the darkness?

Mizervon seemed to sense Kilfer's annoyance towards him and spoke, "When I vowed to Wolf God, I swore I would not step out of this island or I will get killed by the darkness, and that exchanged my immortality. I did not have a choice, you see. Oh, I also created all beyond the wall of mist and added the boat for your safety. In fact, I did not want you to come, I wanted you to lose confidence but in the end, I knew that I had to give in."

Kilfer decided to keep quiet, and after a long, awkward moment Mizervon finally spoke, "Come, give me the box and we'll see what we can do to help your sister."

Kilfer released his grasp on the box the held Ferhia and it sailed through the air towards Mizervon, who then caught it mid-air and placed it in front of him. Mizervon opened it and there Ferhia was, and Mizervon took her out of the box, where Ferhia enlarged to her full size.

Kilfer and Mirdaff rushed forward towards Mizervon, and finally saw Ferhia's face, cold and white, lying as still as stone. Dead. Mizervon, however, did not seem too affected that a corpse lay in front of him and placed a hand on top of Ferhia's face, speaking chants in the Wolf tongue.

Mirdaff and Kilfer watched in tense silence as Mizervon reached into his tunic pocket and took out a red powder and sprinkled it lightly on Ferhia's tunic, and looked up slowly. Even before Mizervon spoke Kilfer knew that he could not save Ferhia, and Mizervon spoke, sighing, "Her lifeforce is within her body, she isn't fully dead yet, but I can't revive her unless the darkness stays within the Swamps, for Ferhia's spirit is covered with dark magic and she could not return to her mortal body."

"Then... if we succeed in exterminating the darkness, we can revive my sister?"

Mizervon nodded.

"Please," Kilfer spoke, "Save her, please. I can't let her just lie like this in front of my eyes. I can't let the darkness usurp all that I loved!"

"You see," Mizervon said, "I am weak and frail, no matter how powerful my magic is my mortal body is so weak I might not stand even a blow from the darkness, let alone fight against waves and waves of the madness. Now it is your time. You can lead all the world's beings and spirits into the battle that will determine the fate of the lands. There are magicians in the cities of the humans, and most have already prepared for battle, but I can see that with those mere skills their magic is totally useless against the darkness. They are hoping for me to arrive and exterminate them, and if you arrive they will listen and aid you against the fury of the darkness. About where you will achieve such powerful magic... I will pass the magic on to you."

Mizervon stood, "Come on, young lad. We've got tasks on hand."

Kilfer and Mirdaff followed him up a flight of stairs from a corner of the hall. Yet Kilfer was filled with nervousness, for he did not know who -- or what would become of him after he received Mizervon's magic. 

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