***

Lexy woke up with a groan. She got up and went over to her dresser. Lexy pulled out one of her blue hoodies along with a grey shirt and black cargo pants. 

Lexy slipped into the cargo pants and pulled the grey shirt on. She pulled the hoodie on and zipped it up. Lexy looked at the dresser and her father's knife. She grabbed the blade and put it in her hoodie pocket.

Lexy grabbed her sneakers and put them on. Then she walked out of her room and closed the door behind her. She grit her teeth when her head had begun to ache while her stomach growled.

Lexy walked through the halls and made her way to the dining room. To see Thokath sitting at the dining table with his siblings. 

Thokath looked at her and gave a gentle smile when he gestured to an empty chair by Carin. Lexy sighed and walked over to the chair and sat down.

Carin looked to her and raised a brow,

“Are you feeling ok?”

Lexy groaned,

“Am i in pain from a stupid headache? Yes, yes I am but id say compared to the other things that I've seen so far in life that this is a cakewalk.”

Carin blinked,

 “Well then, we have pain meds for headaches.”

Lexy smiled,

“That would be nice.”

Lexy fell silent and fell into her thoughts as food was served. Lexy however was brought out of her thoughts’ by Thokath asking a question, 

“hey Lexy have you ever played chess”?

Lexy looked to Thokath,

“no, never had anyone to play it with.”

Thokath smiled,

 “well I can teach you if you would like”.

 Lexy gave a strained smile while she moved her legs back and forth,

 “Sure, it wouldn't hurt but can we do it in the afternoon? I was hoping to go exploring this morning.”

Thokath frowned,

“Alright, just be careful please don't go too far again ok?”

Lexy nodded, 

“understood.”

Lexy ate quickly and stood up. She looked to Thokath,

“Thank you for the food.”

Thokath smiled, 

“you're welcome.”

Lexy waved and walked out of the room. She rushed upstairs and grabbed the book Callum had given her. Lexy then swiftly walked out of her room and dashed to the front doors of the mansion to head outside.

The sun’s warm gentle rays fell down on her when she walked into the woods. Lexy walked along her chalked trail and then continued past it. Until she reached the clearing she and Callum had fought the warden in.

Lexy opened the book Callum had given her to see the lens. Picking it up she turned the page in the book to see an index. The words rearranged themselves and Lexy read it out loud.

“History, page five through one hundred. Bestiary, pages one hundred one through five hundred. Enchantment’s five hundred one through seven hundred sixteen.”

Lexy turned to page five to see an illustration of a battle between humans, wizards, dragons, and all sorts of mythical creatures.

She read  the title, 

“The war of fire.”

Lexy continued to read the text below the illustration,

“Long ago, there was no need to hide, all truths were told. The world was fresh, clean, and full of harmony. Peace abounded during this golden age.

Seven great tribes coexisted upon the land in tolerance of each other. There were the dragon-blooded, beast-blooded, Mystics, Wizards, Elves, humans, and witches.”

Lexy paused and looked at the illustration’s under the text. The dragon blooded looked like Jackson. While the beast-blooded illustration showed a man with fox ears that was transforming into a bipedal fox.

The mystic’s illustration showed spirits and a giant worm draconic creature. Lexy didn't bother too much with the last four and continued to read.

“The volatile, ill-tempered dragon-blooded revered and respected all the tribes. They had gargoyle-like forms but could morph into dragons at will! The magnitude of their dragon forms ranged between the size of a small pony to an enormous mountain! The dragons of the highest caliber could create a storm with a single flap of their wing.

 beast-blooded held human forms with animal tails and ears. They were able to morph into a larger bipedal form of that animal. 

 Mystics were pure magical creatures that held mostly equal intelligence to that of a human or lower. 

Elves were crafty masters of crime. Similar to the wizards they could wield magic. However, unlike the wizards, they must obtain and carry a magic item to use it.  An elf is limited to one type of magic. 

 Wizards, they are unique. They can create magic potions. Enchantments on weapons of all kinds were just a few of their specialties. They are limited in their magical abilities though.

Humans held no magic except the ability of immortality.

Witches, or the shunned, to do magic, had to sacrifice magical creatures to use their twisted version of magic. The cursed beings failed a coup d'état. Their attempt to overthrow the tribes decimated their numbers by a third. Even though they lost the coup, they had successfully cast fear into the hearts of the humans.  

 Humans retaliated with witch hunts and burned them alive at the stake. This was the human’s downfall. They were trapped in the witch’s web. Fear coursed through the humans, they began to condemn all magic, and soon after the witches, deemed the wizards equally evil.  

Wizards and the other tribes tried to come to a compromise with the humans but the humans were too narrow visioned to see the consequences of their sins. The wizards saw value in the humans and tried one last time to reason a compromise with them.

However, humans continued their retaliation out of fear. They irrationally burned the tribal wizard's family's two youngest children. Ceremoniously they burned them alive at the stake.”

Lexy stopped,

“Well that got dark fast. Then again when is any history roses and sunshine?”

Lexy then continued to read,

“Overcome with rage and grief the wizards lashed out violently at the humans. Nothing short of annihilation, they marched in the middle of night setting fire to cropland. Unmerciful, they ravaged whatever human villages they came across.

Human lands were ablaze with fire so bright it looked like the rising sun. In the aftermath of the first attack, the wizards burned a fourth of the human domain and persecuted the tribal family and their supporters.

Soon after the war of fire began. It spread across the land like a plague. The ground of what was left from the war looked like the underworld.  The Wizards knew that they couldn't kill the humans. So the most powerful wizards that served the king came together and created a magical spell called the veil with the goddess.”

Lexy stopped reading there and frowned,

“Ok that is enough history, let’s try enchantments.”

Lexy then turned back to the index and turned the pages to find the beginning of enchantments. Lexy started flipping through the pages for anything that would help. Lexy landed on the page of runes and their meanings. She looked at her father’s knife to look at the rune on it and looked back to the book.  Lexy looked through the runes until she found one that matched the one engraved into her father’s blade.

“Loyalty.”

Lexy sighed, closed the book and made her way back to the mansion. Lexy entered the building, went to her room and put the book back. Lexy then rushed back out of the mansion and went back into the forest.

Lexy went to the place Jackson left her last time and looked at her fathers knife. Lexy focused on it and the rune glimmered softly for a moment a dark purple. Lexy thought back to the moment she was sent flying into the tree and hummed. 

Lexy closed her eyes and focused on reality. With all of the sand storms, the rebels and Callum. Lexy thought long and hard about Callum’s library. She felt a warm sanded breeze go against her skin. Lexy snapped her eyes open to see a vibrant purple glow coming from her fathers knife and she looked around to see she was in front of Callum’s library entrance.

Lexy saw light emitting from inside of the cave and rushed in expecting to see Callum. But no, there sitting by the bookshelves was Niph with a tear-stained face.

Lexy walked up to Niph who looked to her with hope and desperation in her eyes.

“Is he with you? Lexy, where is my little brother?”

Lexy’s eyes widened,

“What do you mean Callum wasnt with me in the camps.”

Niph’s once hopeful expression went to one of despair,

“Oh, I see. Well if you came for a book. Enjoy, I'm not going to stop you.”

Lexy frowned and narrowed her eyes,

“Where was the last place you saw him?”

Niiph sighed and brought her knees to her chest,

“That’s just it, I saw him go into a shadow right as you left and he hasn't come back.”

Lexy frowned,

“I promise I won't return until I've found him. “

Niph shook her head,

“Don't make promises you can't keep.”

Lexy turned to the entrance of the cave,

“I know but this is one I plan on keeping.”