chapter 1 the dilemma

         Gorkan's          brother: A prophecy rises                    The Dilemma

Chapter 1

The dilemma

Darcey Stands in front of the stone wall that arches out in front of her where the council members sit high above the council floor. She was making yet another plea to the council to reinstate her family's honor.

"I's don't see why-n' we hafta' keep livin in shame fer somethin me boy did seventy-seven ago, he be long dead now; even me husbands business has failed because o' it. Isn't dat punishment enough? Let us be. Besides, yeh know it be takin us years an years te git back on da good side o' da people." She stood defiantly, her fists clenched at her sides, tears being held back by sheer rage and yet still one manages to find itself trickling down her hairy face. "We deserve da chance at redeemin our good name!" She says through clenched teeth. "We be triyin so hard te be good members of society."

"Dat don't matter Darcey, dat was da judgment they be seein fit at da time. An dat's all dare is te it." Lars tells her.

"Yeh be havin te do somethin pretty special te git yer honor back, an jest bein good aint good enough te git yer honor back, it jest isn't, I's be sorry te tell yeh."

"But I's be hearin about some prophecy about this stupid war outside an some crazy artifact, could it be dat's how we can redeem our honor?" She asked trying desperately trying to gauge what kinds of things they needed to do to get their honor back.

"I'm no fer knowin dat Darcey." Lars stated. "But it would hafta be somethin big, I's be knowin dat, an wit this king I's not sure yeh ever will, after all he be da one Gorkan tried te kill, remember?"

"An he be right te try!"

"Yeh know yeh can'no be sayin dat stuff out loud Darcey lest yeh be executed!" Lars yells. "Now i's gonna pretend i's never heard dat, I know yeh jest be mad an frustrated is all right now. Now jest go home an take care o' dat family o' yers, yeh know they need their mum. Now be gone wit yeh or yeh might be sayin more stuff dat be gittin yeh in trouble." As she turned and stormed out of the council hall she heard the council deciding to disperse as there was no further business for that day. 'No further business my big lumpy arse there aint'.

She bowed her head as she walked away. 'They can't keep me down forever!' She thought, with both tears and fire in her eyes. She could taste the salty shame as one of her tears made it to her lips. 'ugh! 'sI jest want to scream!' She just grunted and grumbled her way down the halls.

'Why can'no they jest reinstate our good name after all da good we do, thanklessly, for our community? After all dat they could at least give us a good reputation. Then Forge may jest be able te open up his business again. Gods this is killin him.' Her gut still wrenched in pain as she walked away from the council chambers.

Instead of heading back home or to the market, she decided to go to the sparring rink.

'Beatin up me son almost always gits me feelin better after a day like today, Maybe he be dare.' He was almost always sparring with B.C. Dargus after school.

She was the most feared mother in the entire citadel; she was so feared that the battle commander, Dargus, was afraid to face her at times. She often sparred with her son so she could make him stronger and smarter to beat the other boys with ease; now that he was older he had begun tutoring some of the other boys so he might win a chance at having a challenge with someone his own age. He had been awarded the armor for his merit proving that he was, indeed, the best in his class. In this way it gave Mortog some measure of arrogance. He would act invincible to his peers at the rink, in fact every time he donned the armor he would think himself invincible, then again he always thought himself indestructible even as a young boy. He would often pick fights with the other kids in class and had just become a nuisance at times at school. That's why Darcey took an interest in training him, she wanted him to fight smarter and with a good sense of honor, if that was even possible, and if nothing else it would give him the chance to fight at home with her, rather than in school against his peers until B.C. Dargus took an interest in him, then they both sparred with him.

She marched through the majestic halls; she marveled at the workmanship of the stone and mortar work and stared at the many statues of the honorable kings and heroes of the past that lined most of the halls. 'I's really hope our current king, Keldron, doesn't make it up here, but knowin him, he already be plannin his own bust right now. It's a wonder he's not be up here already.' She had to keep thoughts like this to herself lest she be executed for treason.

She already made one mistake already at the council chambers. She was just lucky he wasn't there.

She ran her hand across the smooth marble stone of the statues and could feel no imperfections, even after hundreds of years. The shadows of the torches seemed to make the statues come to life and dance on their own, though she knew they were just statues, still, she liked the effect.

This is one of the smaller citadels in the realms but no less magnificent or powerful and the king was meaning to prove it. It was true that the citadel was akin to a hole in the ground, but most people have never witnessed its beauty in all its glory. The stone statues, most of them, made of marble were of the utmost quality. The stone stairways that lead to the upper chambers were breathtaking; and carved with perfect precision. The churches and political buildings were all adorned with golden accents, even the marketplace was of incredible craftsmanship. They took immense pride in all of the work that went into building this citadel. Dwarves are certainly the most apt to work with stone and they are proud of it, in fact some people even think that dwarves bones were made of stone.

She walked past the market circle where people showed off their wares. It was dwindling since the threat of war, most of the people acquired goods from across the planes. Ever since the citadel closed its doors, there have been less and less of the more exotic trinkets and baubles. There has also been a drop in the exotic foods that many families have gotten used to, showing how this war is truly affecting the dwarves of the citadel.

Ahead and down the worn cobblestone street is where the council member's homes stood. They were expertly crafted and even had golden accents. They only got to live in the homes as long as they sat on the council, once they were off, they had to move out. It was that simple. Many of the council members had their own homes outside this street already but most stayed in office until they died.

She walked past the streets where the common dwarves resided. These were moderately built homes. Most had the main necessities such as refrigeration and some electric lights powered by the water turbines found on the river banks. Her house had some handcrafted furniture such as the dining room table and her handmade wooden desk as did many of the nobles and council members thanks to Forge. He had made them when he was a craftsman many years ago. He had always wanted to start up a furniture business and was doing very well until our son tried to kill the then Crown Prince Keldron. When they lost their honor, people stopped buying from him and another craftsman entered the picture; It will be very hard now to convince people to buy his wares even when they got their honor back. All wood stopped coming into the citadel. He now mines Mythril with most of the rest of the population. While most mined for the material, others were crafting the indestructible weapons that the rare element made. The craftsmanship of these weapons were unmatched even by the elves who made masterfully elegant weapons.

She wasn't headed home; she started off to the sparring rink where her son was honing his skills. She was hoping he would be there to take out a bit of her aggression. He would spar with his instructor on a frequent basis; when she got there this time he was nowhere to be found. 'Durned kid! I's be needin te git some aggression out, an he's not even here when I's needs him.' She wondered if he was with that wretched girl Telis.

She hated her; Telis thought herself better than everyone else. She pursued Mortog based on his fighting prowess and his cockiness, pursuing him relentlessly, even her parents were stuck-up snobbs so they were no help. In Darcey's mind, all she wanted was the fame in dating the head of his fighting class. She had known many girls like her when she was in school, and she hated them all. 'He's gotta learn on his own.' She had decided that he would have to learn the hard way that she was just a gold digging little bitch!

Dargus was the only one at the rink. He was leaning against the wall of the stone built classroom where he would teach textbook maneuvers. He looked at her with some concern. He was a big dwarf with a large blackened beard and red hair. He was odd looking to say the least. He was just standing there in his leathers. 'Must be a classroom day.' She was frustrated out of her mind and to look at her wrinkly face anyone could see the anger building up inside her so bad that even Dargus feared her.

"Well met Mrs. Darcey. Lookin fer Mortog? Yeh jest missed him." Dargus told her without moving an inch. With his arms folded across his chest, he continued. "It looks like yeh frustrated again. Da meetin wit da council ended da same way as last time, didn't it?"

"Yes, an I don'na know when they're gonna pull their heads out o' their collective arse's an look at things from me point o' view!" She snipped back. "We ain't never done nothin wrong! I want's me honor restored!" She cried.

"Give it more time Darcey."

"Time! How much more time do they need? It's only been twenty five years since da tribunal got disbanded!" She spat.

"Well Mortog's not here can I's offer my services as yer sparrin partner today?" He asked to lighten her mood knowing she could use a good fight to wipe her angst. He knew right away that he would most likely regret that move.

"Naw, I's be jest puttin yeh in traction again like me did last time." She said with her head down, almost sporting a smile remembering how awful she beat him before.

"Now now, I's learned a bit since last time, I know da move yeh used on me an have even begun teachin' me more advanced students dat maneuver." He said trying to encourage her. "It might'n jest help with dat pent up frustration I's see all balled up in yeh." Now he was hopping from one foot to the other with his fists up in the air, blocking his torso and chest. She knew he meant well, but she wasn't in the mood to spar anymore; now all she wanted to do was sit down at home and cry. But the worst part about it all was that Mortog would have no honor as well. She dreaded that thought greatly, after all he was a champion fighter, but he also excelled in his academic studies. 'He didn't even have a choice on who his brother was, poor Mortog, I wish Gorkan wouldn't have done it, but it's too late anyway. An me passive husband really didn't even put up no fight about it either! He jest be consolin me.' Oh how she wished Mortog was here now.

Dargus jabbed her shoulder once and went right back into the defensive stance with a smile on his face, daring her to hit him back. When he saw that she didn't respond he did it again, this time he saw tears begin to flow. 'I's sorry yeh's has te feel this way, but I's for knowin dat this'll help yeh.' He thought. She was still a dwarf and needed to get it off her chest by sparing with him or anyone else who felt up to the challenge, and she was a challenge.

Finally, she looked up at him, she was considerably shorter than he was, and jabbed him back with one arm, he easily blocked her jab. He let her hit him three or four times before he came in with a hit and a shoulder press almost knocking her over backwards. 'Durned council, now he caught me off guard!' she was so distraught that she almost gave up right there but she let that fuel her fight and she took it to him now using one of her knees to come up to hit him in the gut and then shoved him backwards. He stayed on his feet and prepared to receive more hits from her. He wouldn't fall for the limber Darcey's signature move again. She came at him this time with her shoulder and he ducked down low as to not get flipped again, but with all her grit and rage she was able to slide forward against his chest to grab his wrist, his eyes went wide with surprise; positioning her arm so she could grab it in a nerve hold and flipped him anyway, almost releasing his shoulder from its socket as he hit the ground hard on his back. 'Dat's it Darcey, I's feelin better already.' She told herself. He hit the ground dazed for a brief moment as she tried to step hard on his chest but he rolled away from that easily.

He made it to his feet once more as she immediately came in with another low shoulder push. He dropped his shoulder and ducked into it, the two slammed hard into one another. In all this time he made no move to attack, until now, as she came across the front of him, sidestepping a direct punch, he simply stuck his foot in between her ankles to send her wide eyed and tumbling to the ground landing on her face. Normally this would not have tripped her up, but for some reason the hearing she had just attended, had a more profound effect on her then she realized and she wasn't paying the proper attention that she needed too against a battle commander. 'Durnet girl! Git up an throttle him, it be what yeh be needin.' She thought in her own head but then, she smiled at him. He took up a strong defensive position knowing that she was now at full strength. That look in her eye told him all he needed to know. He felt the anxiety welling up inside him; this was the most dangerous time to be fighting with her. It was time to be extra vigilant with her knowing that she really could take him down, she was now focused. She came in with a flying downward punch that he stepped away from. She reached behind her in a flash with her elbow striking him hard in the face, to which he just shook off. She twisted on her feet and moved slightly behind him as she quickly and forcibly took out his legs from underneath him. Before he knew it, she was above him punching straight down at him while he lay flat on his back, moving to the side, her fist slammed into the ground hard. He twisted up and around to get her in an arm-lock behind her back as she tried to grab her own hand that was now in pain. She snapped her head backwards forcing him to let her go by slamming the back of her head right into his nose, breaking it. Not knowing what she had done, her eyeh's still full of tears and anxiety, she swiveled around to grab the back of his head which was already down due to the pain and blood that now dripped on the ground and slammed her knee right into his face bringing his head into her knee, making his nose explode with even more blood. He stumbled backwards with his head still down and brought his hands up to surrender, after all, this was just a sparring session. She snapped out of her angry tirade and looked at him in awe. She realized that he was too fragile to go on with this sparring session, she felt proud of that. She quickly ended her onslaught against him. She was by far the quickest opponent in this citadel and beyond. "I's could easily do his job, if'n it weren't for these stupid laws!' She would be a most formidable ally should the war be taken inside these walls.

She backed away and saw the blood pouring from his face and all her senses returned to her in an instant, because she was female she felt more compassion than did males. If this had been a real battle, he would be dead already, but knowing that he was a friend made her pause for concern for his well being. She had done it again; she had hurt this monster of a battle commander whom she respected and cared for dearly. With all her wits about her she ran to get a cloth to sop up the bleeding and some bandages not knowing how bad it was. With tears in her eyes from all of . . . this, she began taking care of the dwarf who was, literally, twice her size.

"I's so, so, sorry." She whispered in his ear as she tended to his nose, now realizing she had broken it. She couldn't talk for fear that she would fully break down in front of him and she promised herself she wouldn't show that much emotion and weakness in front of anyone let alone a battle commander; she could wait until she was home and alone, or could she? She started to weep right then and there, at first quietly, and then fully when he put his arms around her comforting her with his own degree of compassion. For a male he had a much more developed sense of compassion than most males. She sobbed uncontrollably in his arms for what seemed like an eternity while he held her with one hand and his bleeding wound with the other. 'She really needed this, this time.' He thought. She cried for her boy and how he would end up bearing the shame for her families crimes and next for this kind and gentle man holding her now as she sobbed, that she had throttled so. He didn't deserve her wrath or her friendship. He had always been a good friend to her family, but he has always said that he is a tough dwarf and is always willing to help them in any way he can. She felt bad that she had taken out her grief on him so. Yet he sat there bleeding, holding her and comforting her as she struggled to get away from him as she sobbed. It wasn't until she stopped sobbing that he held her by the shoulders holding her at arm's length with a sympathetic smile on his bloody face. Seeing this made her chuckle a bit.

"Yeh' feel better now? I's sure hoppin so, I's don'na know how much more o' dat I's can take."

She busted out a laugh, spittle flying out of her mouth, tears still streaming down her face. She nodded and he hugged her one more time as her crying ceased.

"Let's not mention this te anyone, okay?" The old battle commander asked of her.

"Please, I don'na want anyone te know how I's broke down like this, I's fer bein strong fer me family yeh know." She told him with a weak smile on her face.

"Fergit dat!" He said with a bloody smile. "I's not fer wantin te let people know dat I's beat up by a girl!" Jesting, he made her smile once more. She grabbed him and held him to her.

"Yer secret's safe wit me, Dargus." She whispered close to his ear.

She helped him to his feet and walked him carefully to his classroom.

"Yeh should go an see a cleric fer dat Dargus. They will heal Yeh' up in no time." Concern rang out in her frail voice.
"What? It be only a small wound, besides it gives me character an it also serves as a reminder te meself te never piss yeh off." He looked back at her with a smile. "If'n yeh feel better yeh should go an git ready to welcome yer family home." He smiled and walked into his classroom. She can almost hear a hint of jealousy in his voice. "Next time yeh be needin me, feel free te come back an kick me arse again. Next time me be wearin full armor, let me tell yeh!" He yells from inside his classroom. She chuckles a little and turns to make her way home to her passive husband, remarkable son, and all three of her daughters, with her head down still feeling the shame of the day.



Unbeknown to Darcey and her husband, Mortog was down at the banks getting ready to have some fun of his own.


"So, yeh think yeh's all dat an a box a cookies do yeh?" The leader of the three boys taunted.

"Yeah, are yeh dat good or are yeh jest playin us?"

"Or worse yet, payin off Dargus?" The third boy said.

Now Mortog, while well versed in fighting and knowing what his mother had taught him about multiple opponent fighting has never had to face multiple opponents yet, and this wasn't a normal situation. These kids were from the advanced fighting class. The way they held themselves, they were here to fight him, he knew it, and there was no talking his way out of this one.

'Dat's okay, mom taught me how to git out o' these situations.' He told himself. He had never actually been in this situation. 'I's gotten outta worse I's can git outta this After all, I's da best in me class.'

"Let's see how yeh do outta yer armor an against da three o' us." The leader said.

It was at this time that the other two moved to his sides, one left and one right, leaving the leader in the middle.

"Let me introduce me friends, on yer right, to cause yeh facial damage, Motradum, he's here so yer girlfriend won't recognize yeh in da mornin. An on yer left is "Grukrog da fierce" makin sure yeh donna walk away from this fight. We gonna give yeh some trainin lessons ourselves."

"And who might I's be speakin wit right now?" Mortog asks getting into a defensive posture.

"Why, I'm yer new friend Branthony, da head of me own class." Making sure that Mortog understood that point clearly. "Now lets see what da head of da classes can do amongst each other."

These were upperclassmen who wanted nothing more than just to keep their honor safe and maybe boost their reputations by beating him down, an honor-less rogue.

"Dat girl o' yers might think twice bout bein yers when yeh come home wit a bruised face an a limp in yer step." The boys laughed and he felt his blood run fast now as he got ready to face these three boys who were better than him, in most respects. His mom had taught him about multi-opponent battles but he had never actually been in one. This would be his first fight. He had to chuckle slightly as he knew that these foolish boys wouldn't recognize half of his moves. He just needed to get the upper hand at some point in the fight.

"I's heard yer ma went te see me paw today, did she cry when he told her te go shove it . . . again?" He hadn't known that she went to see Lars today. "She was devastated; I's bettin she even cried!" He told him trying to get Mortog to make the first move, that would be a rookie mistake, but he wasn't falling for it. He just gritted his teeth and clenched his fist and readied for an attack from somewhere. "To bad she really didn't name yer arse Gorkan, it woulda suited yeh nicely!" His mom had taught him not to be the first to attack, always wait for your opponent; you can more easily find weak spots that way. He also knew that these boys fought multiple opponents all the time in the rink at school and they would be somewhat seasoned. "So what yeh waitin for? Show us what yeh got." He knew that as Branthony stepped in for the attack at least one of the boys on his side would jump on him also. He wasn't prepared for the both of them to grab his arms as Branthony came forward; and so he got the wind knocked out of him as Branthony hit him in the solarplex. This brought Mortog to his knees where Branthony then connected his knee to Mortog's face as a splattering of blood erupted from his nose and sparks of lightning shot up Mortog's face leaving him hunched over on the ground as Branthony's fist came down striking Mortog in the side of the head sending him fully to the ground.

Mortog's muscles strained against the weakened form of his own body as he tried to get up to an upright position.
"Oh, he thinks he wants more! What a fool! Don't yeh be knowin when yeh's been beaten down?" Branthony says as he and his friends began to walk away. "An yeh didn't even show us any o' dat fightin prowess yeh be so proud of; it's be like yeh didn't even try. Looser."

Mortog made it to his feet, wiped the blood off his nose with the back of his hand and then on his shirt as Branthony and his boys began to walk off.

"Where yeh goin Branthony? We be jest gittin started." Mortog stated, and then he gave a light smile as he got fully to his feet. He was now stable and ready for another attack, but he knew what to expect now. The two other boys weren't in position anymore they stood one side of Branthony.

"Let me take him Branthony." The one on the right asks him and Branthony just gestures for him to do so. Mortog was walking toward them as he came up to him. Mortog sidestepped a punch and grabbed the boy's head and threw it to the ground as the boy lost his balance and landed in the dirt hard, filling the boy's nose and mouth with mud and blood. Mortog could feel his strength returning to him as he took a few more steps closer to the remaining two boys. The other boy started to go after Mortog but Branthony held him back.

"Mortog knows what he's doin against one o' us, we both need to go after him together." The other boy just looked at Mortog and nodded. Mortog stopped. A small smirk appeared on his face as he wiped the blood off his mouth. Mortog now knew he could handle this fight.

'Thank yeh mum.' He thought to himself as he smiled.

Both boys now stood in front of him.

"We been through dis a hundred times in da rink, he can'no be dat good." Branthony told him as Mortog just looked back at the boy still squirming on the ground moaning in pain as a reminder to them of what he could do.

Mortog knew that they would both attack at once, they did. Mortog spun around Grukrog and elbowed him in the back of the head spilling him onto the ground as Branthony just slipped by. Mortog turned quickly as Branthony hit him in the ribs. Mortog knew that it was coming and prepared for the sharp pain that ensued. The other boy was now back on his feet coming at Mortog with some fury in his fight. 'Good, I's made yeh mad, now yeh'll make mistakes.' Branthony was as level headed as ever. He tried to get the other boy to stop but was too late. He ran up to Mortog and ducked at the last moment to grab him around the waist, picking him up and slamming him to the ground on his back. All that did was knock the wind out of Mortog. He reached up, grabbed the back of the other boys head and slammed it into his own. Motradum went dizzy and fell on top of Mortog, he rolled him off of him as Branthony came in to kick Mortog hard in the ribs. Arrows of lightning stung him all over his body. Mortog knew he needed to stop this fight soon because he was starting to feel the pain of this fight now and he still had Branthony to face off with. Grukrog had gotten up and ran off somewhere. Mortog couldn't see him but had to behave like he was still there; an invisible assailant. Just in case he was there somewhere to make a surprise move against him, he kept himself fully aware of his surroundings.

Branthony now had a stick in his hand.

"Yeh be needin a weapon? Really Branthony? yer da big cheese in yer class, can't even beat me one on one? So be it." Mortog realized that if the other boy were to attack from out of nowhere he could be in some real trouble.

The dance began. Branthony took a jab at Mortog's ribs, where he hit him before, he knew that spot had to be sore but Mortog just blocked it before he could even get it to its destination. He blocked several of his shots before he was able to grab the stick in his own hand. He tried to disarm Branthony but found that he was too stubborn and had to break the stick in half instead. Branthony just threw it down to the ground and immediately charged Mortog. Mortog was quicker sidestepping his charge and tripping up Branthony to send him hurdling to the ground next to his friend, in the wet mud.

When Branthony stood Mortog almost gave out a bit of a chuckle as he saw the scrapes and blood covered in mud, all over his face. The first boy now stood up next to Branthony.

'Great, there's two o' them again. Oh well, one an a half really.'

Grukrog stood next to Branthony ready to enact his own revenge. It seemed he knew what Branthony was planning because he moved about four feet away from him and faced Mortog with his hands out in front of him as if he were going to catch him.

Mortog's nose was still in pain as he gritted his teeth to try to ignore it. He saw both of them while still being aware of what was behind him, the other boy had disappeared, now would have been the perfect time for an attack from the rear as they were both in front of him, If the third boy was indeed gone then this would be a lot easier.

Branthony came forward first. Grukrog made a big movement to Mortog's left causing him to look toward him briefly. In that instant Branthony took this opportunity to elbow Mortog in the back of the head sending him directly to Grukrog and as he was on his way, he got his nose smashed again by Grukrog.

'Well played, got me back.' Mortog's face, was now in excruciating pain with his nose being hit twice in the same fight. Mortog took the opportunity to take Grukrog down with him as he hit the ground. Grukrog tried to get up but Mortog brought his foot down to bare on his left ankle as he heard a loud snap echo in the corridor as well as the howling scream that followed. As he lay on the ground Branthony's foot came into Mortog's ribs again. Branthony kneeled down to strike Mortog's face. Mortog evaded the hit and in turn grabbed Branthony's arm and twisted it sending him to the ground as well. With that last movement Mortog used that momentum to get back on his feet. This time Mortog made the move that put Branthony's face into the ground with a loud thump, punching him in the face.

Mortog stepped back allowing Branthony the chance to get up to regain his balance. Mortog was nothing if not fair, besides he now knew that he had won this battle, he just had to wear down Branthony to the point that he would either give up, or be taken down. They both threw rudimentary punches at each other, seemingly neither of them wanted to throw any dangerous or damaging punches. It seemed that Branthony was almost afraid of Mortog or that he was just toying with him.

"Have yeh had enough Branthony?" Mortog asked knowing that it would just entice a more aggressive reaction from him. It came in the form of a rumble roll, a move whereby he rolls into the opponent on the ground taking out the legs of his enemy. Mortog simply sidestepped it. The problem with that move is that once you start it you can't see your enemy anymore. Mortog kicked him in the side hard enough to knock the wind out of him. That was also the danger of that move. The pace of the fight was now considerably slower and Mortog saw the end of the fight coming.
Branthony looked over his shoulder at Grukrog and watched him writhe in pain. Mortog saw the look of anger on Branthony's face and knew that this was his final desperate move. He charged Mortog, but like his mother showed him, he dropped his shoulder and landed it squarely in Branthony's chest as a gasp of air escaped his lips and his eyes went wide with pain, Mortog then grabbed his arm and flipped him landing him square on his back. Mortog kept hold of Branthony's arm and brought it up to his chest twisting it slightly and placing his foot on his throat.

"Yield te me, Branthony." Mortog calmly demanded. "Go tend te yer friend." Branthony, breathing hard, just nodded his head so Mortog slowly released his arm and watched him crawl over to his friend and picked up Grukrog by the waist wincing in pain as his shoulder popped back into place.

Mortog watched them hobble away before he turned to go to his own house to tend to his poor mother, he knew what to expect when he got home, he's seen this many times before.

He strutted home to the feeling of power, but as he neared his house he began to feel guilty as he realized what he was going to walk into. He wanted to tell his mom that he had just won a fight with three boys, he considered it three boys because he was able to scare the other boy away from the fight, thus defeating him without having to hurt him like he did the other two. This was a remarkable win for him because the fight started out so badly but he ultimately won in the end, like he knew he would. Now, if only he could find a way to win back his families honor he would be happy.

As he strutted home to the power of his own arrogance, a plan started brewing in his head, it would be a hard fought and perilous one, but if he could pull it off, he might just win his families honor back, at least he hoped it would.

He had never known his brother Gorkan but if Mortog learned one thing from him it was that he was ultimately right. How could you trust a king who would kill his own father to gain the throne early. Mortog worried now that he might try to kill his own brother, Melron, to stop him from taking over the throne. 'He be thinkin dat Melron's too week te take da throne by force, so he's not a threat. Somehow me's gotta git dat artifact into Melron's hands, it should be makin him powerful enough te be king Now me jest be needin te git me hands on dat durned book!'


Little did he know, that, Motradum, the one he scared away, had watched the remainder of the fight from afar. Not wanting to be part of the loosing team, he ran straight to B.C. Dargus to report what had just gone down.

"He took down two o' yer advanced student's sir. He was both thorough an honorable. I's could'no believe what I's seen. He could beat da best o' us, I's sure would rather be his friend than his enemy, i's tell yeh dat much."

"Thank yeh." Dargus dismissed him with a wave of his hand and sat down at his bench. 'Like mother like son.' He thought chuckling to himself and shaking his head. 'Now. . . what te do wit him?'





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