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Trent now stood at Saphron's door. He rhapped on it three times and waited. No answer came so he knocked again. The lights were on, he knew someone was home, but still no answer came. He twisted the knob and swung the door open.

"Saphron?" he said quietly, entering her home.

"I'm in here." She said flatly. Trent walked though the house and into her room. She had been crying, Trent could see the tear stains on her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" He asked, seating himself on her bed. She turned from him and burried her face in a pillow.

"Nothing." She said, drying her eyes on the pillow, which was virtually soaked. "Just worried. Mom and Dad haven't been home in two days."

Trent rubbed her back. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

She embraced him. "I love your optimism. Don't ever lose that."

He reached into his pocket and produced the pendant. Saphron's eyes lit up like she was her old self again.

"Is that for me?" She asked, holding it in her hands.

Trent nodded. "I Made it today. Dad tells me it's called a Trinity knot, a symbol for protection."

Saphron smiled, hung it delicately about her neck and kissed Trent's cheek. "Thank you."

"Hey, I better get going... But you keep smiling, okay?"

Saphron nodded and hugged him tightly one last time before he left her home and hapily walked back to his own house.

That would be the last time I'd see Saphron alive. I realized then that I truly loved her... but it was too late. I slept soundly that night, the last night I would sleep soundly for a long time.

The next morning came. Grey clouds hovered over the town of Eluria, threatening a thunderstorm. Trent saw his father that morning, a dark look in his eyes.

"Dad?" he asked.

Evrae didn't answer. It was as if he were frozen, his eyes ever fixated at the council building beyond his home.

A chill ran up Trent's spine as he looked with his father. He needed to leave.

Out in the streets Trent realized the town was silent. There were no people, no shops were open, no one left their house.

"What is this?" Trent asked slowly turning toward the council building, feeling eyes on him.

He stopped, seeing the stranger standing on the steps before the giant oak doors of the building.

The sickness in Trent's stomach returned. Who was this man?

Suddenly a heavy hand was lain on his shoulder. Startled, Trent turned seeing his father once more.

"Come with me..." He said. "Now!"

Trent obeyed, turning his head one last time toward the council building. The stranger was gone.

Evrae led Trent back to their house and into the basement. Immediately moving to the north wall. He placed hishand on a section of the wall which slid backward and to the left, revealing a long spiral staircase.

Evrae desceneded and Trent followed, emerging in a well lit room. Papers littered the room, glass tubes with liquid lined the walls, diagrams of a circular portal covered on ewall. In the center was a steel table with many instruments.

"Dad?"

"Trent, something terrible is about ot occur. I've urged the citizens who do not wish to fight to stay in their homes. What good it'll do, I do not know. I want you to stay here, it is the safest structure in the town, unknown to all but myself and now you."

"Dad, if something's going to happen, let me fight."

"No, you're staying here."

:"But..."

"NO!"

Trent fell silent.

"you must live. The rest of the town may die, but you must live."

"Why?!"

"Because your fate is not to die here."

Evrae quickly ran up the stairs and sealed the wall once more.

Trent was left in silence.

For an hour he parused the papers, but they were written in a dialect he didn't understand.

Then... it began.

Explosions rocked the little room, screams penetrated its walls, crying, clashing weapons, the crackling of great flames...

But the screams... Terror... anger...

All Trent could do was listen, all he could do was wait.

Minutes passed like hours as Trent sat huddled between a refrigerator and a table of test tubes, one of which spilled its liquid all over his clothing with a great rocking of the little room. He no longer cared of his surroundings, he onlyt wished for the screams to stop.

After what seemed like an eternity the explosions and screams dissipated and stopped all together.

Trent stood and listened a moment.

"Nothing." He said, a frown on his face.

Slowly he ascended the circular stairway. The doorway had been cracked, but still stood. He hoped his house did as well.

He ran his fingers around the stone wall, looking for some kind of latch or release, but he could find none.

"I guess I'll just have to make one." He said, placing his palms on the wall.

Light formed under his palms and spread to the wall. Brighter and brighter it grew until it spread to the entirety of the Doorway section of wall. The wall reshaped into a doorway, latch and all.

"Alchemy," Trent said, "I Love how I worked on energy manipulation more than anything else."

My father had dubbed the manipulation of Energy and matter 'alchemy' after the old fabled masters who experimented with the changing of one substance into the other. I never really saw him use it though, only enough to teach me how to perform the process of change. Though Energy manipulation isn't limited to only alchemy.

Trent turned the latch and pushed the doorway open. He heaved a sigh of relie, seeing his home was still intact, at least the basement.

Trent ascended one more floor and looked around the first floor. Everything was the same save a one foot diameter hole in the living room wall.

The second floor was a bit worse, all that remained was Trent's room and half of his father's.

Trent walked into his room and changed his clothing, not wanting to wear the chemical stained shirt he currently had. He wore a long sleve button shirt with a thin band collar, baggy dennim black pants and black dress shoes. He placed two criss crossed belts on his hips and one across his waist. He walked outside to see the damage done to the town of Eluria.

I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Nothing could have prepared me.
Trent stood horrified. Bodies lay in the streets, charred, dead, lifeless, bloodletted, gored, disembowled... Every possible horrid image you could imagine was within this town's boundries.

Trent stumbled around the city, searching for anyone still alive. HIs face was pale and he held back the bile that was collecting at the back of his throat.

Tret stopped in his tracks in the center of town. before him lay the cold, lifeless body of his best friend.

Saphron, the girl who wanted to leave the island and become a journalist, who's curious eyes intrigued him so... She'd never have that change, for her eyes were cold.

Trent fell to his knees and wept.

He reached for her hand and held it.

From her hand fell the Trinity knot pendant.

Trent smiled a little, it seemed a little ironic. A symbol of protection did little or no protecting at all. Yet Trent picked it up.

"The chain..." He said. The chain had broken and a mark on Saphron's neck showed it had broken while she was wearing it. She must have ran back to get it, being struck down as she picked it up.

Another tear fell.

Trent focused his energy and repaired the chain. He looked once more toward Saphron, torn between hanging it on her neck or his own as a momento.

He could almost hear Saphron telling him to take it, to remember her.

He smiled. "I don't need anything to remember you by, but I'll keep it as a reminder of your eyes."

Trent hung the chain about his neck and rose from his knees.

"Goodbye Saphron."

He walked a bit further, toward the council chamber, hoping to find some answers there, but he found something else...

"Dad!"

His father ast bleeding on the stepps of the council building.

Evrae smiled as Trent ran toward him."Hello, son. I'm glad to see you're safe."

"Dad, we have to fix that wound."

Evrae shook his head. "No, it won't help. The blade that pierced me was poisoned, and there is no anti-venom. I'll be gone soon."

Trent began to feel the tears again.

"Son, it's alright. As long as you're safe, it was all worth it."

Evrae winced in pain. "Now listen, this is very important." His father placed his sword in Trent's hands. "This is yours now. Take the scabbard as well. You have a great responsibility and this sword will help you."

Trent took the scabbard off his father's belt with tears and attached it across the back of his upper theigh so the handle would angle upward on the right side.

"I want you to go back to the laboratory under our house. There's a loose stone slab in the floor. under is a chest with armor made of a metal I alloyed myself. It's very durable, but as flexible as cloth. After I want you to seal the door. I know you changed it to get out."

Dad, the markings and papers down there... what language is that?"

his father was frowing weaker, slipping into the abyss.

"That is not important now..." He said. "You have to..."

Evrae spasmed in pain. The poison was working its way through his nervous system now. Trent shook him a little to keep him awake.

"you have to stop him." Evrae continued. "At any cost, you must stop him. You are the last Elurian."

Evrae gasped for breath and spasmed once more before his eyes rolled back and his head dropped sideways.

Trent rose to his feet, his face now emotionless. He bowed to his father and walked to the council building's door. It was unhinged and laying on the floor. Trent walked in freely.

I found several of the Elders there, as well as written documents detailing their agreement with the Stranger. In exchange for absolute power, the Elders were to destroy their own people. My guess is our people faught back and killed most of them, if not all. Whoever was left was taken care of by the stranger.

I went back to the lab and found the loose stone slab. I lifted it and found the chest, the top of which had a Trinity knot on it.

Trent opened the chest and found several items.

The first was the armor his father had told him about. It was in several pieces. First was the chest plate. It was shiney black and silver. Next were the forearm guards, which attached all the way around his forarm, again glistening black with short raked blade like pieces coming from the elbow. Each was studded with a cobalt diamond shape gem in the middle. Gloves were next, each finger was segmented, seperately armored. The back of the hand was also armored, with a Trinity knot upon the flexible plate, a circle knotted through the image just inside the points. The shin guards matched the forarm bracers, however the blue gem was set into the knee plate which was shaped as a rounded diamond. The boots were last. Leather inside, flexible black metal outside, segmented agian for maximum mobility.

Trent could see no way to fasten the armor. There were no belts, latches or hinges yet the armor opened freely.

Skeptically he took the chest plate and placed it on his body, closing it around himself. With a snap the armor sealed tigutly but comfortably around his chest.

"Magick." Trent smiled.

He fixed the rest of his armor to his body and turned back to the chest. The next item was a black silk cloak and a trinity knot brooch like those on his floves. Trent placed the cloak around his shoulders and attached it with the brooch.

Last was an envelope with Trent's name on it. It was quite thin. Whatever letter was within could only be a page or two in length. Trent attempted to open it, but he couldn't.

"Magickally sealed?" Trent asked, a confused look on his face.

He shrugged and put the letter in his pants pocket.

I still haven't been able to open that letter.

Trent rose and walked up the spiral staircase and sealed the door once more, changing it back into a wall.

I'm not exactally proud of what I did next. I knew I'd need money on my journey so I... went into every home and took all the gold pieces, rings, gems, chains, and anything else of value, as well as food and supplies, and a flask of water, an heirloom flask, magickally enchanted to never run dry. It belonged to one of the elders, but I doubted he' dneed it any longer. I raided the deard to follow the stranger. Like I said, I'm not proud, but I did it.

Trent, his pack full of valubles and suplies, walked toward the harbor, stopping at the village's boarder after hearing a faint cry.

Trent's pointed ears twitched, pinpointing the sound. It came from beneath a pile of wood. Quickly Trent removed the rubble to find a small silver-purple haired kitten, its eyes bright blue and its ears almost one and a half times the size of its head.

Trent removed his pack and withdrew a strip of dried beef. He picked up the kitten gently. Miraculously the kitten seemed unharmed and ate the beef greatly from Trent's hand. Trent took the flask from his belt and poured some water into his hand allowing the kitten to drink. It mewed greatfully.

Trent put the kitten on the ground, rose from his knees and replaced the flask to his belt and pack to his back. He began to walk away from the kitten, but with a mew and a long pounce it attached itself to the back of Trent's theigh and began crawling up his cloak to his shoulder.

Trent picked up the feline and put it on the ground again.

"Where I'm going, you cannot. It's too dangerous and you'd be a liability."

He began walkiung once more, but again the kitten pounced and crawled up to his shoulder, perching itself there.

Trent sighed. "Fine. I'll take you with me. Maybe we can find a good home for you."

I walked to the harbor, kitten on my shoulder. The last thing I would steal from the dead of my village would be a boat to go to Marintel, a city north of My island. I didn't know why, but something told me to go there, or near there.

These were my first stepps outside of Eluria. I'd always hoped I would leave because I wanted to, not beacuse I had to.

But we don't always get what we want.