Prologue

 

                They were standing on a grassy hill, and the sun was shining brightly overhead.  There was the touch of salt in the air, and the cry of sea birds could be heard in the distance.  All around them was a sea of green, grassy hills as far as the eye could see to the north and east, and to the west and south was an imposing wall of mountains, the foothills of which were not too far away.  The sound of many sonorous and high pitched whistles rang through the air, turning the wind into a kaleidoscope of musical sound.  It sounded strange, but beautiful to Erica’s ears.  She took a breath – and could tell instantly, they were back in Mercia.  It just felt like home – it was impossible to explain, but she knew it in her gut. 

 

                “I think we’re back.”  She said.  “Everyone okay?”

 

                The others took stock, and quickly agreed. 

 

                “Askeline?  Are you still here?”  Erica asked – she could feel a presence, but her patron hadn’t made herself visible.

 

                Yes.  There is little time to waste.  The fleet of Hserin is approaching the Gates of Harad.  The armies of Valris and Madragoor will require time to muster…  You must hold as long as you can.  Stop their advance if you can – and if you cannot, slow it as much as you’re able.  If Harad falls, so will all of Valris.

 

                  Askeline’s spirit summoned a magical orb, and within that orb, the heroes could see the doom that Hserin had been planning for them approaching – one it may well have been planning for over three thousand years.   Before them, on the other sides of the Gates of Harad, was a fleet like none other – greater than even the Sea Folk could muster.  Three thousand ships, armed with men, siege weapons, and supplies to make war upon the people of Mercia.  Above the fleet were scouts on Felldrakes, riding dragons of a lesser sort, in vast numbers, as well as three immense shadows.

 

                Behind the felldrakes, behind the fleet, flew three immense dragons!  Two of them were greenish-yellow in color, and the other was a deep crimson.  They circled lazily, waiting for the fleet to precede them, completely unworried.  Riding one of them was Vargas Elm, and on another was Mistress Awai.

 

                Sir Andred paled in terror – as did Maeve and Kai and Erica.  “This is a force that hasn’t been seen since the Days of Legend!  How can we stand against these foes?”

 

                I do not know that you can, Sir Andred – I only know that you must.  If you four do not find a way to stop the army’s advance, no one will and all of Valris will burn in dragonfire.  I entrust to you the safety of Valris, Sir Andred – I command you to go forth and rally what troops you can and aid in the defence of Harad.  You can do this… You MUST do this.  Hurry.  The dwarves will soon be closing the gates.  With that, Askeline was gone…

 

                “Dwarves?”  Erica asked.

 

                “Not now, Erica.”  Maeve said, shouldering her pack.  “We’ve got to go.  There isn’t any time to waste.”

 

                Sir Andred steeled himself.  “I swore in our next meeting that either Vargas or I would lie dead.  This is as good a chance as any to prove myself to The Twins.”

 

                “Right… Out of the frying pan, and into the fire.”  Erica said, trying to catch up to the others.  “Why the hell not?  Where are we going?”

 

                Kai spoke up, getting into a pace that could easily eat miles.  “The Gates of Harad, Erica… a Dwarven kingdom that has long since protected the civilized peoples of Mercia from Hserin.  It was said that nothing could breach their enormous gates – but no one has fielded three dragons since The Age of Legends.  This is an army, or fleet, like nothing the world has seen in an age.”

 

                Erica nodded…  So the crap has hit the fan, she thought.  I guess we had better go to work.  I wonder if we’re the ones who should be scared – or they are?  Time will tell, I suppose.  Erica hurried after her friends, wondering what new adventures tomorrow would bring.

 

 

 

Chapter 1 – The Janky Sprocket

 

                I had a hundred questions to ask – about the flute noises, the Gates of Harad, the Dwarves, and other things – but I had to hold my piece; keeping up with the others was exhausting.  Kai and Maeve, used to walking long distances quickly, had set a hard to match pace – and Sir Andred, even with his age, managed alright... but me?  My body was still weakened from being a dreamer for so long – oh, I had gotten stronger in the months since I found myself in my new body – but I wasn’t fit or athletic yet – just not emaciated and frail.  I struggled to keep up the pace, and found myself huffing and puffing from exertion – I simply didn’t have the stamina to waste on questions or conversation.

 

                We moved like that – in what amounted to a hustle – for about an hour, and I fell behind twice, then caught up.  By the time we took a moment to rest, we had covered maybe four fifths of the distance between where we arrived, and the foothills of the Haradi mountains...  I could see the gates of the dwarven city – and realized that if they were this large at this distance, they must be immense!  They were flanked by a giant pair of dwarven statues – easily half again the size of the massive gates.

 

                “Those gates – and the statues – are huge!”  I commented.

 

                “Aye.”  Maeve replied.  “Wait until you see them up close, Erica.  They’re something else.”

 

                “I’ll... Bet...”  I said, panting for breath.  “I... will be... very glad... when my stamina begins... improving.”

 

                Kai came over, and touched my shoulder.  “It’s no shame to be where you are, Erica.  You’ve come a long way since your body awoke.  It takes time to build strength and durability... You’re doing well.”

 

                I took my boyfriends hand, and kissed it.  “Thank’s Kai.  It’s just really hard sometimes when I hold everyone back.”

 

                “If it would help, Erica, I can cast a spell of stamina upon you so that you can endure the rest of the march.”  Sir Andred suggested.  “It’s not a normal ability of most Vigilants, but I learned it some years ago to help my steed travel long distances.”

 

                “To be honest, if I’d thought of it, I might have been able to do that to myself, too.  Yes, please, Andred.  I would very much appreciate it.”

 

                “If it helps, Erica, it can also remove fatigue from people who are also suffering it, as well as prolong the period they can go before fatiguing.”  Sir Andred replied, and approached me.  He muttered a prayer to the Twins – the Goddess Feana and her brother Hathor – and a moment later, I felt magical energy wash over me, and my fatigue fell away almost instantly.

 

                “I really need to learn that trick, Andred.”

 

                “I’ll teach it to you as soon as I can, Erica – but if you’re able to travel, we need to make haste.”

 

                “Aye.  The Goddess said they would be closing the gates soon – it would be better for us if we were on the inside rather than on the outside.”

 

                “Why aren’t the dragons already attacking?”  I asked.

 

                “They’re probably tired from flying over the entire western ocean.”  Maeve replied.  “Once they regain their strength, I’m sure the attack will be forthcoming.  We will be embroiled in it before long, have no doubt.”

 

                Peachy.

 

                We grabbed our packs, and started moving again – and this time, I was more able to keep up – Sir Andred’s spell giving me the fortitude I needed to not tire.  We made good time – almost running or jogging the remainder of the distance.  Even my pack, which was oddly heavier than I remembered it, didn’t slow me too much.  What the hell is in there anyway?  Rocks?

 

                As we entered the narrow valley leading up to the Gates of Harad, I couldn’t help but pause, in awe of the amazing sight before me.  The gates themselves were massive stone doors – cunningly hung on five great hinges – at least a hundred feet high and more than ten feet thick, all carved with the symbols of the Dwarven Kingdom – twenty five generations of Dwarven Kings under the mountain...  And if that wasn’t enough, flanking each side of the massive doors was a statue of an ancient dwarven King or Queen, at least one and a half times tall as the doors themselves, standing mute and monolithic as watchers and defenders.  They were literally huge enough to be skyscrapers carved to look like dwarven royalty – and other statues their size ran the length of the walls sealing this side of the valley, from the other side of the mountains where the dragon army awaited...  Six statues on this side, and possibly the same on the other side.  The doors were set into a massive wall, three hundred feet high and about three miles long – stretching from one mountain on the left, to another mountain on the right.  I could see tiny guardsmen walking the wall, far above.

 

                This wasn’t a fortress – it was a wonder of the world, akin to the Great Wall of China!  And every square inch of it was covered in carvings of dwarven history and culture.  It was incredible – and the sight of it took my breath away.  If this wasn’t the strongest, greatest fortress in the world of Mercia, then I didn’t know what was.

 

                And the goddess said the best we could do is hold for time...  I felt a chill run through me.  If this massive edifice couldn’t hold back the tide, then what could?  I honestly felt afraid.  I didn’t want to die – but if I didn’t stand up and do what was needed, we would fail – and then everyone else in Mercia would suffer too.  I pushed and swallowed my fear down into my gut.  I’m not going to let those Dragons destroy this work of art if I can help it, I thought to myself.

 

                “It’s something else, isn’t it?”  Maeve asked.

 

                “Yes – its amazing.”  I replied.

 

                “I still remember my first time seeing it about five years ago – another mission we shared, eh, Maeve?”

 

                “Aye – and no one died... well, except those who were supposed to.”

 

                “How long have you been adventuring with Maeve, Kai?”

 

                “Um...”  Kai paused to do some math in his head.  “Close to seven and a half years now.  Since I was Fourteen or so.”

 

                “You’ve been adventuring since you were fourteen!?”  I sputtered...  “Oh, wait – Mercian months are longer than Earths – so...” now I paused to do some math...  “That would be about 17 in Earth years... That’s not so bad then.  So you’re about 26 old in Earth years.  Or 22 in Mercian years.”

 

                “And you are just over 15 or maybe 16 in Mercian years.”  Kai laughed.  “At least, that seems to be the age of your body, Erica.  And I’m 21.  My Birthday is a few months away.”

 

                “Oh!.”  I said.  “Good to know.”

 

                “Less talk, more walk.”  Maeve chided.  “We need to get inside.”

 

                We nodded, and together the four of us walked towards the gates.

 

 

As we approached the gates, I could see a number of dwarven refugees fleeing a small town outside the gates – along with a group of six men and women and their horses, dressed in tribal colors.  The dwarves inside the mountain were welcoming everyone in – no one was being left behind – and we joined the floor of people carrying their belongings, or their children, and anything of value, with them as we entered the depths of the mountain fortress.

 

As we left the valley and entered the Dwarven kingdom, the sunlight faded – to be replaced with lights from massive stone braziers suspended sixty feet up by massive chains, heating and illuminating the cold mountain hall.  The braziers lit a path eighty feet across, about three hundred feet long, towards the other gates that exited the mountain kingdom to the south – which already lay shut and barred.  About halfway down the tunnel between the east and west openings in the mountain pass, were massive tunnels heading north and south – carved like open plazas, five levels high – with shops and homes and stores carved from the living stone on each level, with ramps and carved stairs climbing and descending up and down all over the cave system.

 

It looked massive – even bigger than the Eaton’s center back in Toronto!  An underground city!  And it was alive with movement – people – soldiers and refugees, workmen and scholars all moving about preparing for the battle that was to come. 

 

“Behold, The Kingdom of Harad.”  Sir Andred said, gravely.  “The protectors of the free peoples for many thousands of years.  Never before have they fallen to attack.  I sincerely hope this time is not the first.”

 

“Aye.”  Maeve agreed.  “We’d best get out of the way – there are more people behind us, and it looks as if they’re bringing in as much food as they can.  We’re part of the problem – let’s move and find an inn before they’re all taken and we’re sleeping in the streets.”

 

The ground floor was awash in urgent dwarves and men, so we detoured up to the second level via a ramp, and looked about.  Maeve could speak Dwarvish – and Sir Andred currently had the translation amulet – so I couldn’t understand what most of the locals were saying...  They seemed abrupt and terse – which made sense given the circumstances – but they didn’t seem angry or hostile. 

 

We found our way to a storefront that was marked with a sign showing gears and sprockets – along with a mug of ale, and Maeve motioned for us to enter.

 

Inside, the building looked much more like an inn – many wooden tables and chairs, a long bar with drinks and food – and a low ceiling that forced Kai and Sir Andred to duck to avoid bumping their heads.  The place was lit with oil lamps, and was a bit smoky.  Maeve spoke with a young dwarven lady, handing her several gold coins.  The young lady nodded, and put them in her girdle, and then directed us to a table, and then went to deal with other patrons.

 

As we sat, and took stock of the situation, it was pretty plain that the inn was filling up quickly, and that we were lucky to be here.

 

“We’ve got rooms.”  Maeve said.  “I rented a room for the four of us, for the foreseeable future.  Things are going to get really hairy here soon.  The young lady is named Donella, and she looks worried.”

 

“She’s got every right to be.”  Kai replied.

 

“Aye.  Apparently this attack is beyond anything they’ve ever faced.  Even they’re nervous and scared.”

 

“So what do we do now?”  I asked.

 

“My opinion?  Get a bowl of soup into us, and something to drink – then stow our gear and see if we can find anyone in charge we can talk to about your idiotic idea to kill dragons.”

 

“It worked.”  I said.

 

“It nearly killed you, Erica.  You’ve cast that spell three times – and each time you’ve nearly died.  None of us are willing to sacrifice you if it means your death.  We have to find another way.”

 

“I’m all for not dying, Maeve, but what if there isn’t another way?  You said yourself I’m getting better at magic – and each time I cast the spell I was hurt less than the time before.  Maybe all I need is practice.”

 

Maeve sighed.  “We’ll talk - after we eat.”

 

Kai squeezed my hand and I squeezed his back gently too.  I didn’t want to die – but I wasn’t about to let my newly chosen homeworld burn in dragonfire if I could do something about it, and he knew that too.

 

I sighed.  Maeve was stubborn, but she was usually right.  Maybe there was another way – but I had to be ready in case there wasn’t.  I sat back, and waited for our food to arrive.  It might be a long time before we were able to eat again.

 

One of the young barmaids approached our table... she was shortish and broad, like all the dwarves I had seen, and was wearing a pretty dress in browns and white that showed off her ample cleavage.  She also carried a massive tray with several loaves of hard crusty bread and several bowls of soup – so large, I wondered how she could carry it, let alone balance it with the ease she showed.

 

“Welcome to the Janky Sprocket, Sers and Serras.  My name is Melanine, but please, call me Mel.”  She said, setting down the massive tray on our table.  She spoke Valdan – which was rather nice.  I could understand her!

 

“Thanks, Mel.”  Maeve replied.  “How are things here – tense and worried, I assume?”

 

“Aye, mistress.  No one has ever seen an army like this at our gates before, and people are scared.  I think we might be in for a long siege.”  Mel said nervously.  “I have faith in our walls, and our defences, but even so, I feel a bit afraid, honestly.”

 

“Who rules in Harad, Mel?”  Sir Andred began.  “We may need to speak with him on certain matters.”

 

Mel looked a bit surprised, but quickly recovered.  “That would be Lord Grundle Hammersmash, King under the mountain, fourth of his line, long may he reign.”  She replied.  “He is a good king, and well loved by our people.”

 

“Excellent.  Thank you, Mel.”  Sir Andred replied, tearing a piece of bread off his loaf, and tasting it.  “The bread is very fresh.”

 

“We bake it every day in the community ovens, Ser.”  

 

“Thank you.”  Sir Andred nodded, while poking at his soup. 

 

I looked at mine. It was fairly thick – almost a stew – with lots of root vegetables like potatoes and carrots and parsnips, mixed with a healthy dose of chicken or some meat that looked like chicken. I decided I wasn’t going to ask if it was or not.

 

“Thank you for your help, Mel.”  Maeve said.  “How would we go about getting an audience with the King?”

 

“Honestly, mistress, I have no idea.  I’m just a barmaid!  I serve food and drink, and usually have nothing to do with the highborn, save making sure their beds are turned down and they’re well fed and supplied with drink should they visit our establishment.”

 

Maeve smirked.  “I suppose I should have guessed.  Sorry Mel.”

 

“It’s all right.  Does everyone have enough food for the moment?”

 

A chorus of “Ayes” went around the table, and Mel bustled off to serve other patrons with her massive tray.  Our soup, bread and beer lay before us – and we tucked into it with a passion.  The smells of the hearty soup made my belly grumble, and although the beer was a bit bitter to my taste, it washed down the soup and rye bread nicely.  Mel had even brought a small piece of hard cheese for each of us – and it paired nicely with the dwarven beer.

 

We ate quietly for a little while, dipping bread into our soup, and filling our bellies.  After half my serving, I felt so stuffed, I literally couldn’t eat another bite – so I pushed the rest over to Kai, who looked like he would finish it with ease.

 

                I’m so small now, I thought.  Small and still too weak and frail for my liking.  Even so, I was still stronger and tougher than when my old body died, and my spirit awoke in my current body – a Dreamer who woke.  I often found myself wondering who she used to be, before the dreaming sickness took her.  I never even knew what her name was.  Even considering the frailness, it wasn’t the biggest change.  I used to be a young man named Eric – and now I was a woman named Erica, in a very attractive package, if I must say.  Considering I was trans, I definitely considered it was a trade up. 

 

                And I had a boyfriend.  Kai, was the archetype of “handsome woodsman” except that he was also an experienced adventurer who had spent more than seven years adventuring with Maeve Varda – the curly black haired woman sitting across from me.  Maeve was a “fixer” or problem solver for her government – what we back on earth would have called an “Agent Provocateur” like James Bond.  The government identified a problem – and Maeve, often assisted by Kai, would solve it.  She and Kai were some of the most dangerous people I’d ever met – including Uncle Harlan back on Earth.  Kai was tall, strong, and handsome, with short black hair and the greenest eyes I’d ever seen on anyone before, and I loved him so much it hurt. 

 

                My life had changed so much in the past six months... When all this began, I was a homeless schizophrenic man living on the streets of Toronto, and now I was a hot redheaded woman, who was mixed up with a group of adventurers trying to save their world from rampaging dragon armies.  I had learned magic – although I have a long way still to go to master it all, and I learned how to shoot a bow, sort of, as well.  The others handled the hand to hand stuff, because I had been too frail in my new body to assist for long.  I guess when you wake in what amounts to the body of a person who’s been in a coma for three or more years, you have to accept that the body is going to have atrophied muscles. 

 

                “Penny for your thoughts?”  Kai asked.

 

                “Just woolgathering, Honey.”  I replied.  “I was thinking back on how it all began, and how we got to this point.  We’ve come a long way, and I don’t just mean in distance.  We fought and defeated Vargas Elm and Mistress Awai at the House of Broken dreams – and then we almost stopped Vargas on Earth from resurrecting Tiamat, and now we’re here, in Harad, facing an immense army of badguys.  It’s a lot when you try to take it all in, you know.”

 

                “Aye, Erica, I suppose it is.”  Kai said, putting his arm around me.  I crooned and leaned into my boyfriend’s strong embrace.

 

                “You’ve handled it well, Erica.  To be honest, when we found you, you were more than a bit lost.”  Maeve interjected.

 

                “Yeah, me and Christine both.”  I wondered how Christine was doing on earth right now?  Probably getting her Wensin root Balm patented along with her Ballnut empire.  When we had returned to Earth, we had brought a bag of seeds for several medicinal plants and edible plants that did not exist on earth – and left them with Christine to manage, along with a pile of gold, not that she wasn’t well off.

 

                “And then, somehow,” Maeve continued. “You became the leader of our group and started telling us what to do and when to do it.”

 

                “I think that happened somewhere on Earth, around the time of the battle with the Biker Gang and the serpent men.”  Sir Andred chipped in.

 

                “I hate those guys.”  Kai muttered, and I squeezed his hand.  One of those serpent men had nearly killed both me and him several times, until Kai pumped the serpent man full of 9mm bullets from a handgun he’d picked up.

 

“You and Me both.”  Maeve muttered darkly.

 

The table grew quiet, and no one spoke for a moment, but Sir Andred put his hand on Maeve’s shoulder to comfort her.  He didn’t have to say anything – we all knew.  Maeve had a lot of guilt about her encounter with a Serpent man, and the death of her little brother.

 

Kai, Maeve and Sir Andred kept eating quietly, and I extricated myself from Kai’s embrace so he could eat, and looked around the bar room.

 

The bar seemed full of mostly dwarves, although there were some other people dressed as Valdans, and some dressed as the tribal people I had seen enter the city earlier – although I had no idea who they were or what they called themselves.  They were fair skinned, like many Valdans, but their facial features looked different – more angular, and they looked wiry and rangy in their musculature.  Their clothes were colourful – green and yellows abounded on the group I could see – but red and black had been more predominant on the ones by the cities’ gates.  They noticed me looking at them, and one man smirked, and winked at me...

 

I looked away, flushing, and heard their laughter.  I’m still not used to being a pretty woman, I thought.  Men are going to do that.  I hoped Kai hadn’t seen.

 

Just then, something shiny and small – a small mechanical owl the size of a grapefruit – flew erratically across the room from a perch, to land clumsily on our table, before tripping over his own feet and falling face first into my empty soup-bowl.

 

“I see you’ve made a friend, Erica.”  Sir Andred smirked.

 

“I guess so.”  I replied.  “At least my soup bowl was empty.  Do you have a name, little one?” I asked the little animated robot.

 

It clicked and whirred, and its eyes spun a little bit, and its head rotated 360 degrees.  It had a coin slot on its tummy, and looked at me expectantly.

 

“What is it?”  I asked

 

“It’s an artifice.”  Maeve replied.  “A mixture of machinery and magic.  Like technology on earth, except powered by magic.  They’re very popular in Madragoor and the Dwarves are also very good with them.  A good artificer can create constructs capable of fighting in battles, or make ships that can fly, or carriages move without horses, like your “Cars” on earth. 

 

“You have cars here?”  I replied, astonished.

 

“No – but the Madragans have this big iron carriage engine that pulls a dozen other carriages along an iron track and it can cross the country in a few days.”

 

“Holy cow!  That sounds like a railroad, from earth – a Train!”

 

Maeve nodded, agreeing.  “It’s a filthy thing, spreading smoke and soot everywhere, but it is more comfortable than a horse to travel, and faster too.”

 

“So what should I do with this little guy?” 

 

“I think he wants a coin.”  Kai suggested, pointing at the coin slot in his tummy.

 

I shrugged and grabbed a bronze penny from my coinpurse, and fed it into the slot in the tiny artifices stomach.  Immediately, the little creature began to glow, and its head spun around in circles several times... and then it bent over, and threw up... except it threw up a shiny black gear and several small golden sprockets, and looked quite satisfied with itself.  It look like it was smiling.

 

“Wow!  What the hell was that?”  I said to no one.

 

“I don’t know, but I would keep those little gears and things.”  Sir Andred told me.  “The little gears could be brass, but they look more like gold to me, and the bigger black gear looks like it’s made of spell-forged steel – star metal, perhaps.  It’s likely worth ten times more than the little coin you put inside it.”

 

“What?  How?”

 

“No idea, lass.”

 

The little creature stood up, and walked to the edge of the table, preparing to take flight.  It raised its wings, and leapt – and fell to the floor with a thunk, its head spinning literally from the impact.

 

“Oh!” one of the barmaids began.  “Trinket, what are you doing there?”

 

“Hoot!” it said.

 

The barmaid – a friend of Mel’s – came and picked up the little Artifice.  “He get’s a bit dizzy after taking a coin, mistress.  It’s nothing to worry about.  I’ll just take him back to the bar... there’s a good little fella.”

 

“Hoot!”  Trinket said, once more.  It turned to me and waved its wing – like it was saying goodbye.

 

“Excuse me, miss?”  I began,  “Is Trinket aware of us?”

 

“Oh yeah, sure.”  The barmaid replied.  “He likes giving trinkets to pretty girls.  He’s Rosie’s friend – she made him after all.”

 

“Rosie is an artificer?”  I asked.

 

“Yep... A new one at her trade, but learning fast.  If you stay long enough, you’ll meet her.  She’s always underfoot somewhere.  I’m Lissa, by the way.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Lissa.  I’m Erica.”

 

“Nice to meet you Serra.  I should get back to work.  Come on, Trinket.”  Lissa bundled up the confused but happy artifice and took him back to the barkeep, who seemed to have a special perch for him next to the coinbox. 

 

“He was cute.”  I said to no one in particular.

 

“Aye.”  Maeve replied.  “I think you made a little friend, Erica.”

 

“Well, whether I did or not, I’m going to keep these shiny sprockets and gears.”  I scooped the small pile of them into my coin purse for later. 

 

“What’s our next move?”  Sir Andred asked.

 

Maeve thought about it a moment.  “I think tomorrow we should attempt to meet someone important in the cities leadership – and let them know we’ve killed a dragon – and what it nearly cost us.  Maybe they have a way to make it less draining and damaging on Erica, so she won’t have to end up in a hospital this time.”

 

“And if they don’t, maybe we can still find a way to offer our services in defence of the city.”  I replied.

 

“Aye, true.”  Maeve nodded.  “I’ll ask around and find out what’s what.  Kai – you do what you do, and we’ll combine our information later.  Sir Andred, I hesitate to tell you what to do, but this might be a good time to teach Erica that stamina power you were discussing earlier today.  Is that okay with you, Erica?”

 

“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.  Would you mind, Sir Andred?”

 

“Not at all, Erica.  Let’s head to your room, and I’ll do my best to teach you how.”

 

I smiled, and took Sir Andred’s hand.  To think the first time we met, he tried to kill me and Maeve and Kai, and now he was one of my best and most trusted friends, and a mentor in some of the holy powers I seemed to be developing.  He was like the father I never had.  We walked off, leaving Kai and Maeve to their subterfuge.