I stood outside of the military HQ in Seaport. It had been about two weeks since the defeat of the Dragon, and Nola's campaign from Kronos had been very quickly successful. All of Layrucia, excepting the northern border, had been thoroughly taken back from the North. People from Safe Haven Island were being brought back. We needed peopled working in the mines and the smiths to prepare us for war. I was waiting for Electro to come back from the ports.
Captain Shim happened to walk by me, with a woman and three children.
"Hello, sir!" he called when he saw me.
"Captain!" I replied. "How is your crew faring?"
He stopped to speak with me.
"They fare well, for the most part," he
told me, then frowned. "They are weary though, and want to rest."
"Of course. I think we have a pretty peaceful summer ahead of us, for the most part."
"Yes, I agree, Zano. I'm taking my family home. But I'll be in Seaport if you need me."
"Thank you, sir."
We saluted; then he left.
I smiled contentedly as I watched people file past me, on their way home. I closed my eyes.
"Zano!"
Electro's voice came to my ears. I opened my eyes again. Electro approached me, accompanied by Zipporah, whom he had gone to meet, along with four guards. I bowed to
Zipporah and shook hands with Electro.
"I understand you have something to show me," Zipporah said.
Her eyes were shining.
"Yes, your Highness," I answered. "Talia and Frozene are already inside. If I may ask, it
would be ideal for your escorts to stay out here."
"Of course," she agreed.
She acted according to my request, and we three walked into the HQ. Talia and Frozene were waiting for us. Besides them, the whole
building was empty.
"Your Majesty," Talia said, bowing.
Frozene followed.
"I am so thankful for your success in
the battle of Kronos. But I must know - what happened in the mountains?" Zipporah asked us.
"Allow me," I answered. "The Dragon was
indeed up in the mountains by Kronos. And, it is my privilege to tell you, that the Dragon is
dead."
Zipporah stood still, staring.
"You defeated the Dragon," she murmured to herself.
I nodded and continued,
"And - I have something to tell you."
I reached into my cloak and pulled
something out. Zipporah looked at it, then her eyes widened.
"That's - that's - " she stuttered.
"The Crystal of Fire," I said proudly.
"So - so you managed to receive it before Almeron," she said slowly.
"Yes, Zano did a great job," Frozene picked up. "But, may we ask, which Crystal do we get next?"
Zipporah blinked, as if awakening up
from a trance.
"I cannot be sure," she replied finally. "But I do know that you all need to rest. The summer should bring peaceful times, even if only
temporary. And I also know that no matter what happens in the future, you all will be regarded as - heroes."
Her voice and look softened.
"How about that... the heroes of Layrucia."
*   *  * * * *  * *
I stood in a field, alone. I looked out
over the hills and into the sky. There was fire, smoke, and death all around me. I was really distressed, but I didn't know why. I tried to look at the ground, but my vision went blurry. I thought I heard someone calling me, but I didn't know who. I tried to cry out, but my voice didn't work. I tried to move, but I wouldn't budge.
Then those dreaded words came to my
ears.
"You may be a general, but you are not
the hero everyone thinks you are..."
I snapped awake and sat bolt right in
bed. I looked over to my table. The Crystal of Fire had been glowing brightly. I groaned and stood up.
I picked up the Crystal.
"Fourth time all night," I told it, "you're proving Almeron right."
I placed it in an empty wardrobe against the wall. I knew this wouldn't do anything; if it
could give me visions from the mountains of
Kronos, it could surely reach me ten feet away from my bed.
I sat down, but I didn't feel like sleeping anymore. I stood back up and paced. Eventually growing weary of this, I walked out of my room and into the hall. I wandered in my
mansion a bit until I passed the door to my father's chamber.
I almost cringed when I walked by it. I still hadn't been able to bring myself to go in. Then I stopped.
"I just fought a dragon the size of a mountain," I said out loud.
I turned and grabbed hold of the handle
and, without time to think, swung the door open.
There was nothing strange about the room, but the flood of memories was overwhelming. After
about five seconds I resolved that that was good enough for today when a piece of
paper on my father's desk caught my eye. I walked over and picked it up. It was an envelope, with 'Zano' written in my father's handy scrawl.
I quickly opened it and began to read:
"My dearest son,
    I will first say how proud I am of you, and that you are becoming a great young man. You are skilled in the art of a soldier, and I know that you will fight and win glorious battles for Layrucia.
But, my son, there are things that I
must explain to you, things that I have hidden from you, so as to keep you safe. But now, I will tell you, who you really are..."

    ALMERON
"Fool! Idiot! Imbecile!"
My master's voice resounded off the walls.
"With all due respect," I said, trying to stay calm. "I didn't think they would survive the battle with the snake in Seaport."
I couldn't see my master lurking in the
shadows, but I could feel the anger coming from the voice.
"No," the voice seethed. " You should
have taken care of them yourself. But you couldn't, could you? You couldn't destroy -"
"No," I interrupted. "They are strong in their power. Especially the general."
"Of course Zano is powerful," the voice snapped.
"You should have taken him out before he obtained the Crystal. But you let him take it. And from this point on, they will only grow more powerful."
"I have other resources," I assured the voice, "that I can use to obtain the Crystals and defeat the heroes - and overthrow Zipporah."
There was silence for a moment. I stood
nervously.
"Yes," the voice said. "You can, and you will. Because if you don't, well..." here the voice
lowered menacingly. "I will take your powers
back, strip you of everything I gave you, and throw you to the heroes' mercy!"
I cringed in fear. I dropped to one knee. "I swear I will," I said shakily. "I swear!"
"Good," the voice said. "And I swear that before the end of this year, I will be ruler of the North and Layrucia. Now get to work, Almeron.
You couldn't take Zano down, but perhaps,"the voice settled by my ear, "perhaps, you can take her down..."

    END OF BOOK ONE