prologue

 “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Of course. It’s the only way.” Tempest replied. His eyes sparked in regret, but nothing could stop him. It was too late to change anything now.

The voice in the dark sighed. “Okay, but this is the last recruit. The riskiest.”

“Yes, I know.” Tempest sighed and fingered his beard. He scanned the dark corner of the room. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t locate the speaker of the voice.

“Pardon, but won’t you please show yourself.” Tempest asked, slightly annoyed. His new ambassador had a hobby of hiding in the shadows. He wasn’t sure why.

“Oh, forgive me.” he stepped into the light.

Tempest’s eyes ran over the man again. He was rather young for an ambassador, but his letter from Cubal stated he was their best. He was incredibly mysterious, but he worked hard and was a great asset in Tempest’s eyes.

“Take the item as soon as it is light.” Tempest ordered, striding to the window and looking out over the meadow. The moonlight bounced off of the treetops and lit up the window with a soft glow. “Time is different there, so by the time you get there, the sun will be setting.”

“And by the time I get back here...”

“Enough time will have passed that our sun will be setting.”

The young man nodded.

“Remember,” Tempest said, looking back at Basil. “Denver, Colorado. Don’t let anyone see you.”

Basil put a hand on his sword hilt and bowed. “Lord Tempest.” and with that, he walked out of the room.

“Strange boy.” Tempest murmured to himself. He walked over to another window, one overlooking the stables. He watched Basil enter the stables and come out with the horse he’d brought with him from Cubal. It was a dapple gray Charger called Citrus.

He mounted the horse and galloped off in the direction of Satyr Grove. It was a quaint place and the Satyrs were solely responsible for keeping the Tests safe until Tempest needed them.

His brow furrowed as he thought about the task ahead. Without warning, the Aretian Code, a code his father had often recited to him, flew into his mind.

‘Five humans will find the key

One shall decipher

One shall weep

One shall question everything

One shall find the answers

And another will use them.’

He sighed. What could those words mean?

He looked out at the disappearing forms of Basil and Citrus.

“They’ll do fine.” he tried to assure himself. “They always do.”

As Basil and Citrus raced on, Basil kept an eye out for Skepts. He hated those things. He didn’t know why; they were virtually harmless once you got used to them. But something about them…

And they were the Challenge of Dynami, which is why he tried to stay on Agapi or one of the other islands whenever he could. All the islands had challenges, but he didn’t despise them so much.

Satyr’s Grove was just up ahead. Basil urged Citrus faster. No matter how close he was to the camp, he didn’t want a skept attack in the darkness.

When he got the Test from Nunar, the head Satyr and Camp Dynami director, he raced to the coast. Once there, he dismounted Citrus and walked over to a honey-colored Pegasus with a lustrous black mane.

“Knight, take me to Denver, Colorado. United States.” He said as he mounted.

Knight shook his mane and took off into the air. Basil directed him to a solar tunnel and they were quickly transported to Denver.

They landed on a roof and Basil jumped off of Knight before checking his surroundings.

They’d landed in the perfect spot.

“Stay hidden.” he told Knight, then jumped off of the low roof and sprinted into a nearby park.

He looked around for a proper place. Then, spying a tall cottonwood, he nodded to himself and walked casually over to it.

“This will do nicely.” he told himself. He checked his surroundings again. No one was watching. As quickly as he could, he nestled the object next to the trunk of the tree. Then he turned to leave.

And standing there was a girl.

Momentarily dumbstruck, Basil stared at the girl. She looked a year or two younger than himself and was strikingly beautiful.

“Hello...” he said quietly, hoping she hadn’t seen what he’d just done.

“Hi. What are you doing?” she asked, peering around him.

“Nothing. Yeah...nothing.” he stumbled. Ugh, he wanted to slap himself.

The girl was a head smaller than him, with dark hazel eyes and long, wavy hair that reminded him of caramel.

“I gotta go. He said reluctantly. She frowned slightly.

“Okay, but at least let me introduce myself. I’m Nyx.” she said, and offered a dazzling smile.

What a beautiful name.

He stumbled backwards a little. “Pleasure.” he stuttered, and nodded a quick farewell before disappearing as fast as he could.

On his way back to the Areti Islands, he suddenly remembered Tempest’s words about not letting anyone see him.

“Don’t let anyone see you.”

Something to that effect.

Well, he’d messed that up. Hopefully it wouldn’t matter too much.

When Knight landed he mounted Citrus again and let him go back through the forest. Once he was safely in his stall, he rode Knight over to Dynami, where his Wenti was.

“Of all places to put a Wenti.” he muttered.

When he reached his Wenti, he dismounted Citrus and prepared to enter.

But before he could, a bright flash illuminated the sky. His eyes widened at the realization.

The Test had been picked up by someone.

Someone in Denver, Colorado.

Author's Note

as usual, I appreciate any and all criticism!