The bustle of Halstad Castle,

The four of them put on robes so that they would not be easily recognised by others and entered the castle gate.

"Jacquiz, how do we find this man Walter ?" Cyril asked Jacquiz. "Just follow me, I still remember where this person lives," Jacquiz replied to Cyril. "Alright then," Cyril said to Jacquiz. "Isn't this person always so cold ?" Rheya asked Phillian in a whisper. "As far as I know, Jacquiz is like that," Phillian replied. "Indeed, the dark elves are very mysterious," Rheya told Phillian.

Jacquiz headed for Walter's residence as well, he continued to walk through the streets of the fort and finally they arrived in front of Walter's residence. "This is Walter's residence," Jacquiz said as he showed Walter's house to his friends. "Are you sure this is the place ? This place looks like an abandoned house," Cyril asked Jacquiz. "It looks creepy," Rheya said. Jacquiz knocked on the door of the house, but there seemed to be no answer. "It looks like this house has been abandoned, Jacquiz," Phillian said to Jacquiz. But suddenly there was the sound of the door opening.

The four of them were very surprised and looked towards the door. Cyril, Phillian and Rheya were ready to fight. But Jacquiz immediately opened the door and went inside. Cyril, Phillian and Rheya carefully followed Jacquiz inside. "Hey Jacquiz, this place is dark," Cyril said to Jacquiz in a whisper. Jacquiz also raised his voice to call out to Walter, "Walter, this is Jacquiz. I have come as you said," Jacquiz said in a rather loud voice. "Oh it's you ..., I thought it was a stranger...., welcome everyone, my name is Walter de'Armaise and I am the former head of the Academics and Research Department of Dark Urkmar, who was also the servant of the late Princess Margareth Ellydyn Paleiah, the mother of Jacquiz Ar'han Marzilghar," Walter said to everyone as he introduced himself.

"Hey Walter, my name is Cyril, this is Phillian (pointing to Phillian) and this is Rheya (pointing to Rheya)," Cyril said as he introduced himself and his friends to Walter. "Thank God Jacquiz has friends now," Walter said with a smile. "Walter, I want to show you something," Jacquiz said while taking something out of his bag. "This is the Book of Escalodia, isn't it ?" Jacquiz asked Walter. "Where did you get this book ?" said Walter, who was surprised to see the book. "It doesn't matter where I got this book," Jacquiz replied. "Wow, that's a book I once saw in a house in the middle of the forest," said Cyril as he looked at the book.

"You're right, I saw it too," said Jacquiz. "Apparently, this is a very sacred book and much sought after by many people," said Phillian. "Isn't this book about the beginning of the creation of Escalodia and contains high level spells ?" said Rheya.

"You are right, this is a sacred book and not just anyone can open it and read its words. Because this book is written in the language of "Akhssharra" and there are three races that may be able to read the codex, the first one is the Giant race, because they are an ancient race that still exists today, but their existence is very rare after a hundred years of war. The second is the Angeo people because they are the first creation of the The Great God "Vast" [The Supreme God of Creation and Magic], but because they once opposed Vast they were destroyed and are no longer allowed to set foot in Escalodia, and the last is the Elven people, more specifically only the bloodline of Vymer (from Elven) and Paleiah (from Dark Elven), because the Elven people are a special breed before the Great God Vast, so with the Human, but they can't read the codex" said Walter.

[ The Angeo people is one of the ancient races besides the Giant race that once inhabited the land of Escalodia, they were the first creation of the Great God, but they were jealous to the Great God because he loved other creatures like humans and elves more then them. They eventually tried to destroy humans and elves at that time. The first chaos was in Escalodia. The Great God Vast, displeased with what the Angeo people were doing and finally destroyed them and banished them from Escalodia, but because of the Great God's kindness, he did not destroy them all, but those who remained were forbidden to set foot in Escalodia forever. They look like elves, but have wings to fly ].

"Since only the Elves are likely to be found at the moment, that means we only have to look for the Elves of Vymer's bloodline, right ?" asked Cyril to Walter. "You're right, but unfortunately the Vymer family was annihilated by the former elven king Yarmirrel La'Fayin, who was also known as the grandfather of the elven queen Phariah Hymp Yarmirrel, who now rules the Sylverian kingdom," Walter replied to Cyril. "Then what about the dark elves of Paleiah's descendants ?" asked Phillian. "The same thing happened to the Paleiah family, but there is only one Paleiah descendant left," Walter replied to Phillian. "Who is he, Walter ?" asked Rheya.

[ Yarmirrel La'Fayin was a former elven king, he was known to be a good and wise king in the eyes of his people. One day there was chaos in the kingdom of Syv'Amar (before changed the name to Sylverian) where the holy descendants of the Vymer descendants tried to coup the kingdom and kill their brothers, the dark elves because they were considered a disgrace to the elves. Finally Yarmirrel made the decision to separate the dark elves and put them in Urkmar (before it was renamed Dark Urkmar) for safety reason, but still the uprising broke out in Syv'Amar then Yarmirrel ordered to kill the entire bloodline of Vymer to maintain peace between the elves ].

Walter looked at Jacquiz. The three of them were surprised and just realised that Jacquiz was the last Paleiah descendant. "WHAT, ARE YOU..., ?!" said Cyril who was surprised to find out. "Wow Jacquiz, you're so cool," Rheya said with a smile. "I already feel that you are different from the other dark elves," Phillian said. Jacquiz was silent and said nothing.

"Then who can open this book ?" asked Cyril. "Only one with a sincere and pure heart can open it. Only those who are favoured by God can open this book," Walter replied. "That means you only have to be a good person to open this book, right ?" said Rheya. "You are wrong, miss, cause not everything that is considered good has a good value and vice versa," Walter replied to Rheya. "Hm... I'm so confused to hear that," Rheya said after listening to Walter's words. "One day you will understand," Walter replied, smiling at Rheya.

Suddenly Cyril's stomach rumbled and Walter immediately said, "You must be hungry, let's eat first," Walter said. "Right Uncle, I'm so hungry," Cyril said. Walter prepared food for them and they all ate together, telling stories and jokes around the table. Until finally, a few moments after they had finished eating, there was suddenly the sound of someone knocking on Walter's door. Cyril rushed to open the door. After Cyril opened the door, he saw a group of Halstad soldiers standing in front of the door, "We from the Kingdom of Halstad would like to inform you that you must leave immediately and evacuate to the Sylverian Kingdom for safety reasons," said the soldier knocking on the door.

"What is it, sir ?" Cyril asked him politely. "The dark Urkmar kingdom is planning an attack on the Sylverian kingdom, and the fortress of Halstad is their first target, so we have been ordered by King Hyrion to evacuate the people of Halstad to a safe place," the soldier replied. "Where is the king at this moment ?" asked Cyril again. "King Hyrion is currently in the palace," the soldier replied. "Very well then, I will prepare to leave," said Cyril. "The caravan of refugees will be leaving tonight, so make sure you gather at the palace gate," the soldier told Cyril. "Alright, I understand, thank you for the information," Cyril said. The soldier nodded his head and they left to inform the other townspeople.

Cyril immediately went inside and told the soldier what he had just heard. "What are we supposed to do ?" asked Rheya. "All of you should evacuate with Walter, I'll help Halstad first," Cyril told Rheya. "When did you become the leader of this group ?" asked Jacquiz. "Don't just tell me what to do," Jacquiz continued. "WHAT DO YOU SAY ?!" said Cyril, annoyed by Jacquiz's words. "Don't act like you're my brother, you dumb kid," Phillian said to Cyril. " Well, well..., I know all of you are kind people. So let me and Rheya go," Walter said, trying to calm the three of them. "HUH ? I want to help them too, Uncle," Rheya said, surprised by Walter's statement. "No, you have to look after Walter and the group of refugees to make sure they are all safe," Jacquiz said to Rheya. "I agree with you this time," Cyril said to Jacquiz. After thinking for a moment, Rheya finally agreed.

"Well then, I'll get ready, we have to meet at the castle gate before nightfall," Walter said. "Walter, take the book with you, make sure it's safe," Jacquiz said. "I will," Walter said as he nodded to Jacquiz. Walter and Rheya prepared to evacuate while Cyril, Jacquiz and Phillian finally agreed that they would visit Halstad Castle and ask King Hyrion about the current situation.

"Then we will leave first," Cyril said as he said goodbye to Walter and Rheya. "Promise us, that you will meet us in the Sylverian Kingdom," Rheya said, holding back her tears. The three of them just smiled and said back, "Take care of yourselves," Cyril said, then the three of them left for the palace. "You too," Rheya said to her three friends as she waved her hand. "These are great boys, they remind me of the old days," said Walter, smiling at the three of them. "The old days ?" Rheya asked him. "Oh no, no, forget it," Walter said as he got ready again. "Come on, tell me about it," Rheya said and continued to push Walter. But Walter kept his silence.

Cyril, Jacquiz and Phillian arrived at the palace. But when they arrived at the palace gate, there were two soldiers standing guard, and one of the soldiers asked the three of them, "What brings children like you here ?". "We are not children !" said Phillian, who looked annoyed at the soldier's words. Jacquiz immediately restrained Phillian and said to the two soldiers, "We want to see King Hyrion. "What business do you have with King Hyrion ?" another soldier asked the three of them. "You don't need to know," Jacquiz replied to the two soldiers. "Then go home," the soldier said to Jacquiz.

"Are you going to let us in by subtle means or by force ?" Cyril asked the two soldiers as he drew his sword. The two soldiers also drew their swords and prepared to fight Cyril and his friends. So did Phillian and Jacquiz, who were already standing by. But soon there was a loud call from inside the palace, calling Cyril's name. "Cyril, Cyril..." said a woman from one of the palace windows. "Do you recognise her, Cyril ?" asked Phillian. "I don't really see her clearly," Cyril replied to Phillian. "Wait a moment, I'm coming," the woman said to Cyril.

"Who is she ?" asked a curious Cyril. "She is the granddaughter of King Hyrion. Do you know her ?" asked one of the soldiers. "I'm not sure, but she seems to know me," Cyril replied to the soldier. They put down their weapons and things calmed down. After a short wait, the woman finally got down and ran quickly towards Cyril, hugging him tightly. "It's you Samara, I'm so happy to see you again," Cyril said to Samara who was hugging him at the time. "Cyril, we finally meet again. Thank goodness you look well," Samara said, happy to see Cyril again.

"Who is she ? Is she Cyril's girlfriend ?" Phillian asked Jacquiz in a whisper. "I don't know for sure, but she's someone who knows Cyril quite well," Jacquiz replied to Phillian. "Jacquiz, Phillian, this is Samara, she used to help me in a lot of things, we even had adventures together," Cyril said as he introduced Samara to his friend. "Hi lady, my name is Phillian," Phillian said to Samara. "Hello, I'm Samara," Samara replied to Phillian."And this is Jacquiz, he looks very scary on the outside but he's very nice inside." said Cyril. As usual Jacquiz was silent. Samara also nodded her head to Jacquiz as a sign of introduction.

"How did you get here Cyril ?" Samara asked Cyril. "That's a long story Samara, I'll tell you later, but first, are you the granddaughter of King Hyrion ?" Cyril asked Samara. "That's right, Hyrion is my grandfather, what is it Cyril ?" Samara asked Cyril. "I need to ask your grandfather something, Samara," Cyril replied. "Then come with me, I'll take you to him," Samara said as she led the three of them. "Let's go this way," Samara said as she pointed in the direction. The three eventually followed Samara.

Then they arrived at Halstad's palace.

Next Chapter “Battle of Myrrie Valley (Part V)”