Dawn of Night Chapter Seven: Rise of the Dawnsinger

Previous Chapter

Kylor stretched out his arms and yawned as the daylight streamed in through his window. As he got up from his blue bed, Kylor took in his bedroom. It was simple, with only sparse furnishings. In the center was his bed with a crafting table and chest beside it. The room was made of birch wood, and the floor was covered with a blue and white checkered carpet. Other than the windows and hanging lanterns, that was all he had. *And my armor stand.* The stand was right next to the door and currently held his father’s emerald glaive. As he walked out of his bedroom, Kylor grabbed the weapon and slipped it over his back.

Kylor walked down the hallway and went to the stairs. When he had climbed down the stairs, Kylor looked around the living room. It was massive, with a door at the right leading to the kitchen. In the center of the living room was a massive birch wood table with chairs lining it on all corners. Choosing the seat farthest from the kitchen, Kylor sat down and waited for breakfast. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long. Drakius soon came out and handed him a bowl of mushroom stew. Drakuis sat down on the seat next to Kylor and smiled as he watched the young Ardoni sip the food. When Kylor had finished, he nodded his thanks. “It was an excellent meal, Drakius. Thanks.” Drakius chuckled in response. “If you think that that is good, you should wait until you taste my wife’s cooking.” Drakius patted his guest on the shoulder. “Thank you, though. I’m not half bad at cooking myself. Now, you’d best go outside. Theseus and Nitrus are already waiting for you so that training can begin.” Drakius then stood, winked at Kylor, and then headed upstairs.

Kylor stood up and walked to the door leading outside. Curiosity burned inside of him as he went out the door. *I wonder what training is going to be like today.* Following the path that lead to the outskirts of the village, Kylor spotted Theseus and Nitrus on top of a hill with two strange individuals. *Nope, make that three,* Kylor thought as a new figure walked to the hill top. In seconds, Kylor climbed to the top of the hill. When he reached the huddled group, all discussion had ceased. Nitris beamed at him and draped an arm around Kylor’s shoulders. “Welcome to training! Today, you are going to be dueling Theseus.” Kylor looked at his mentor in confusion. “I thought you were going to teach me.” Nitris threw his head back with a booming laugh. He drew away his arm and then pounded Kylor’s back with it. “You are not quite ready for my level! Best you fight someone closer to your skill.” Kylor reluctantly nodded in agreement, then surveyed the other strangers. One was a male Nestoris while one was a female Nestoris. In addition, a female Voltaris was staring at him. Nitrus nodded with understanding at the young Ardoni’s expression. “Kylor, meet my friends. The large male Nestoris is Electron. Both he and the Voltaris female, Tigress, are helping investigate the matter of the Nightsinger.” Kylor studied the two females. The female Voltaris was pretty, he had to emit. But the other one, *She’s perfection!* The female Nestoris was a head smaller than him. She was lithe, with curves of perfection. Her blond hair was straight and long, falling around her like a waterfall. She held herself with the dignity of one who was graceful and knew it all too well. *If there was a goddess of beauty, this is who she'd be!* The female Nestoris smiled knowingly at Kylor when she caught him staring at her. Immediately, Kylor felt his face burn as though it was on fire. Embarrassed, he looked down at the ground, earning himself a glance of suspicion from Electron. Nitrus then pointed at the female Nestoris. “And this is Venus Nestoris, she comes from this village.” Kylor could feel his hands sweating as he nodded to Venus. She merely smiled.

Nitrus then put Kylor and Theseus ten meters away from each other. He held his hand up, and both boys got ready. Kylor, with a spinning flourish, pulled his glaive off his back and crouched into a ready stance. Nitrus gave him a curious glance. It took Kylor a second to realize why, but he shrugged when he did. "I'm left-handed." Nitrus nodded, and Kylor returned his attention to Theseus . Rather than looking concerned, Theseus merely pulled his sword from his back and used it as a leaning stick as he smirked. Kylor couldn’t help but look in amazement at Theseus’ weapon. *It's an iron broadsword with a diamond core! How is that possible?!* Kylor didn’t have time to ask, however, as Nitrus pushed his hands down. “Battle.”

Kylor and Theseus circled each other, both planning defensively. Many tense minutes passed as they sized the other up. Theseus didn’t seem too concerned, but Kylor’s mind was racing. *Either he’s overconfident, or he really knows what he’s doing.* Kylor chose to air on the side of caution. Behind them, Tigress sighed in boredom. “Can someone just do something, please?” Theseus smirked at Kylor before flashing a grin at Venus. Venus frowned back, and Kylor couldn’t help but feel giddy about it. *Rejected!* Theseus then charged with an overhead swing. Kylor stepped to the right and swung at Theseus’ back, and was about to smirk. He was astonished when Theseus, with unimaginable speed, swiftly twisted and parried the back strike. With a back kick to the groin, Theseus knocked Kylor away. Then, with a crescent kick to the legs, he sent Kylor to the ground. Kylor, embarrassed, refused Theseus’ hand as he was getting up. Nitrus smiled at the flustered loser and told Kylor to follow him.

Together, they both went to a new hilltop. There, Nitrus had Kylor repeatedly summon his song in order to practice song-wielding and endurance. Nitrus was surprised by how strong Kylor was, but still was far from satisfied. “Kylor, when you use the song, remember where the power comes from. It comes from the core of the song, not your strength. You use so much power summoning the song that you have none left to use it. Draw from the song, not yourself.” This was a difficult concept to grasp, but Kylor closed his eyes. Instead of going into his core as he usually did, he imagined the song as another entity. *May I use you?* Instead of seeing the song as his, he saw it as a separate being, an ally who helped when help was needed. The results were spectacular. Even Nitrus was amazed as he shook his head. “You truly are strong, just like your father. You managed to do 300 repetitions! You remind me of myself when I was younger.” Nitrus stepped back and scrutinized Kylor, as though seeing him for the first time.

By the time the song training was over, it had become dusk. Both Nitrus and Kylor headed back home. When they entered, Kylor was starving. Luckily for him, Drakius had been prepared for his appetite and had a feast ready. Kylor devoured every last bit of it. *Man, I can’t wait to rest,* Kylor sighed. Suddenly, a rough hand grabbed him and dragged him away from the table. When Kylor turned around, Electron was glaring at him. “Stop,” Electron growled. Kylor replied in confusion. “Stop what?” Electron grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. “Stop going after my girlfriend! I saw you trying to impress her back at training, and I saw how you looked at her! And when you sighed with a dreamy look just now, you were staring at Tigress! If you know what is good for you, you’ll leave her alone!” Kylor was embarrassed when he realized his eyes had been facing her direction. *But I wasn’t looking at her, I was just thinking about sleep!* Kylor’s rage from the training session at how easily he was beaten now boiled over. *She is way older than me, her horns suggest she’s been around from since the second great war! She is way to old for me! And that blushing and staring at training was for Venus!* In anger, Kylor suddenly kicked Electron in the face. Before his tormentor could react, Kylor grabbed his arm and performed a take down, slamming Electron into the wooden floor. Everyone in the room had frozen in shock as they watched the confrontation. With a huff, Kylor went up into his room and flung himself into the bed. *How will I ever finish Father’s work if I can’t win in battle?* Kylor sighed with misery as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

From then on, the days fell into a sort of routine. Drakius had Kylor do some chores around the house. “Since you live here, you might as well lend a helping hand while we train you.” That was what Drakius had told him. Now, Kylor had to bathe and feed the horses from the outdoor stable. Luckily, he had some company when he did this. Venus was now living with the Arcturus family. When he had asked why, Venus had explained. “My mother and father are traders. They move around for most of the year. While they are traveling, I stay with Drakius. I love it here, but there are some drawbacks.” At that moment, Theseus had come outside to feed the chickens and had started waving at Venus. She cringed as he waved and turned back to Kylor. “I don’t like Theseus. He wants me to, but I don’t. I’ve tried being just a friend, but he won’t stop chasing me. Then he gets mad at me for refusing him, and the cycle never stops. So now I just avoid him.” *I guess that makes sense. Theseus does seem to favor her.* Kylor just shrugged. “Maybe you should give him another chance.” Venus snorted at that statement. “Or perhaps you should try to talk to him again.” Venus just laughed. “I already have.” Venus patted Kylor on the shoulder. “Thank you for trying to help, but I don’t think anyone can make that boy see any sense. He’s much too full of himself.” Kylor did have to agree with the last statement. *Theseus does have a major ego.* Kylor stayed silent for the remainder of the time, and nodded a goodbye to Venus when he had finished.

His training session were not going great either. No matter what he did, Kylor couldn’t seem to beat Theseus. It also didn’t help that Theseus kept cheating. During their duels, songs were not allowed. Not that the rule had done anything. Once, when Nitrus’ back was turned, Theseus had used Mobiliflash to teleport to Kylor’s blind spot. *That fight ended quickly for me.* His song training was one of the only things that was going well for him. Nitrus had been so impressed with Kylor’s performance that he had chosen to give Kylor three new songs to train with. The three were Aggrofang, Mobilishift, and Supporohide. As usual, Nitrus had Kylor focus on endurance by seeing how long he could use the songs powers. At first, it had taken some getting used to, but Kylor quickly progressed, being able to use/maintain the songs for long periods of time.

In his free time, Kylor would go fishing in a nearby pond. It was here that he and Theseus became true friends. After one particularly hard duel, Kylor had retreated to the pond in bitter disappointment. *You always told me I was powerful, that I was special, Akatie.* Kylor frowned down at his fishing rod. *But maybe you were wrong. Maybe I really am nobody.* That had become his state of mind for the weeks he had been training. Kylor had become so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice as Theseus came and sat down beside him until Theseus cleared his throat. “How you doin Kylor? I know it must be rough. When I first started training, I was just as horrible as you are now.” Kylor couldn’t help but smile, even though he did feel a little insulted. “Oh, so I’m horrible?” Theseus laughed and trailed one hand in the water. “Not completely. Maybe just a little. But that doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to fight.” Kylor smiled as he responded. “It’s just that…I don’t want to let anyone down. I am now responsible for finishing what my father died for so long ago.” Kylor became sadly serious. “And I feel like I’m failing him. I’m supposed to be better since I’m Tysoar’s son. I miss him. Father always knew what to do and he always had the strength to do it.”

Theseus nodded his understanding and sympathy. “It’s fine to miss him, but don’t let that slow you down. He would be proud to see you training so hard.” Kylor wanted to believe him so bad. *But I’m still failing.* Theseus studied Kylor’s sorrowful face. “You know what,” he stood up and offered a hand to Kylor. “I’m going to train you. I understand what it's like to think you’re a failure. So I’m going to teach you what I know, so that soon you’ll see just how good you are. But first, are you going to eat that fish?” Kylor looked in surprise at where he was pointing. *It’s one of the fish I just cooked.* Kylor let out a joyful sigh as he grinned. “Nope, you can have it.” Then, taking Theseus’ outstretched hand, Kylor got up. After that day, Kylor and Theseus would always go fishing together. They would catch some food for dinner first, and then they would train in combat. At first, Kylor was horrible. But slowly, he began to catch on. After they practiced, they would swap stories in the night sky as they sat near the pond, eating fish they had cooked over a campfire. Kylor would talk about his past experiences. Theseus was the first person who had ever really listened to him and actually cared deeply. In return, Theseus would tell about his greatest heists and adventures, ones that always had Kylor on the edge of his seat. Once they had finished talking, they would head back home and crawl into bed.

One training morning, Kylor finally earned his stripes in combat. He and Theseus were battling as usual, but this time the tide had turned. Kylor had trained as hard as he could and had finally learned Theseus’ technique. With a heat unfathomable, their blades rang and clashed. Towards the end of the battle, Theseus had knocked Kylor to the ground. Theseus smirked as he bent to put his blade against Kylor’s neck. “Looks like you still have some training to do, Kylor.” Kylor grinned with contempt. “You wish, Bands.” With lightning speed, Kylor kicked Theseus’ blade out of his hand. Using his feet, he pushed Theseus’ legs out from underneath him. Kylor rolled himself onto his feet, then grabbed his glaive from the ground. With a look of triumph, he put his foot on Theseus’ back and pressed his blade to his opponent’s neck. “Looks like I win, Bands.” Behind Kylor, Nitrus and Venus began to cheer. Nitrus smiled at Kylor as he let Theseus up. “Looks like you need a new partner for dueling since you’ve mastered this one. Looks like you get to be so unfortunate as to duel me now.”

At that moment, Theseus was trying to get to Venus, who refused to get near him. In anger, Theseus had used Mobiliflash to get in front of the Nestoris. He raged in fury at her refusal to see him. “You don’t get to shut me off! I’ve been trying to win you over and you won’t listen. Obviously you need incentive!” Theseus proceeded to grab Venus’ face in an attempt to kiss her. Rage and shock flowed through Kylor when he spotted this. *Dude! She doesn’t want to do that. Why are you trying to force her!* Using Mobilishift, Kylor speed over and grabbed Theseus. Pulling him off Venus, Kylor threw him to the ground. “Dude, what are you doing?! If she doesn’t love you, you should respect that! You can’t force her to like you just because you like her!” Theseus snarled in response. “And just because you want to steal her and stab me in the back doesn’t allow you to get into my business.” Kylor felt his voice rise in rage as he made his rebuttal. “No, its my business because she’s my friend, and friends help each other. Leave her alone or you’ll have me to answer too, and I think that today proved I have what it takes to handle you!” Theseus had stumbled back, stunned by the ferocity of Kylor’s response. “Just because you beat me once doesn’t make you the strongest or best!” However, Theseus still turned and fled.

Kylor turned to leave, when he was spun around. He found himself staring into Venus’ shining eyes. Without warning, Venus leaned up and kissed Kylor on the lips. Kylor froze in shock. He could feel himself turning bright red as he blushed. “Wha-What was that for?” Venus smiled as she turned the kiss into a hug. “It was for standing up for me. No one else has ever done that,” she whispered. “Thank you.” Kylor grinned down at her and hugged her back. “I’ll always stand up for you, evening star.” That sent Venus into a fit of giggles. Smiling to himself, Kylor turned and went to song training.

Once song training was over, Kylor had returned straight home rather than fish. There he stayed up and chatted with Venus about trivial things, such as the weather, animals, music, and other stuff. During that time, Theseus had come in with several cooked fish. Slowly, a flustered Theseus had come over and offered them the food. “Look, I’m sorry for earlier. I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you Kylor. You were just trying to do the right thing.” he then turned to a hesitant Venus. “And Venus, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to force you to like me. I know I’ve been mean, and I wish I haden’t been. I should have listened to you when you were trying to warn me of all this. I hope you can forgive me. I miss the times when we were just friends. Can we be friends again?” A few tense minutes passed, with Theseus becoming more and more devastated with each passing one. After what seemed like an eternity, Venus eventually agreed. After that day, Venus would come by and fish with Kylor and Theseus. At first, Venus was cautious and uneasy around Theseus, but he had become nicer. Now Theseus just acted like a friend, and made sure to stop persueing her. Becaue of that, she soon relaxed and the three became an inseparable trio.

Over the next few months, Kylor trained with Nitrus in combat, and he began to understand why Nitrus said he was unfortunate. At first, it was exhausting and disheartening. Often, he would go to the pond completely dejected. “I mean, what am I supposed to do? He beats me in mere seconds!” Kylor would always tell his friends this. Theseus would of course try to help through stories and practice. Venus would always give him encouragement. “You’ll get there eventually,” She would smile as she spoke, “It just takes time.” *But it doesn’t matter. If I can’t learn to win, I won’t ever be able to face the Nightsinger.* He would fall asleep feeling completely miserable. Weariness would take him over and he would have nightmares about his parent’s deaths all those years ago. He would be forced to watch, but be unable to save them. *I’m sorry father, I’ve failed.*

After one particularly turbulent night, he went to morning training with determination, determination to not fail again. Today, he had a large audience. Drakius, Theseus, Venus, Electron, and Tigress had all come to watch the duel. The stopped when Kylor entered and starred at him. Nitrus tilted his head as he studied his opponent. “You seem to have a fire within you today.” Kylor didn’t respond. Instead, he pulled out his glaive and crouched for battle. After several tense seconds, Nitrus attacked with a stab. Kylor deflected it away and used Mobilishift to sprint behind Nitrus. As Nitrus turned in surprise, Kylor used his blade to slam Nitrus’ into the ground. Using his glaive as leverage, Kylor performed a flying sidekick, knocking Nitrus back several paces. Nitrus pulled his blade from underneath Kylor’s glaive as he fell back. Surprise was written all over Nitrus’ face. With determination, Kylor feined a stomach stab, only to twist into a downward slash. Nitrus countered with a slash of his own before stepping forward with an overhead attack. Kylor was ready and blocked with his glaive before spinning around and slamming the blunt end of his weapon into Nitrus’ stomach. Enraged, Nitrus slammed Kylor with his sword hilt. Kylor fell back a few paces as his weapon flipped into the air and out of his grasp. Nitrus rushed forward at the same time as Kylor and stabbed. At the moment Nitrus stabbed, Kylor’s glaive reached Nitrus’ head in height. With a flying hook kick, Kylor kicked it, sending it into the ground in front of Nitrus just as Nitrus stopped his blade from piercing Kylor’s stomach.

Both opponents studied each other with amazed expressions. *I can’t believe it. I actually just tied with Nitrus!* Nitrus shook his head in amazement. “You truly have grown. You are no longer that klutz who came to us months ago. Mind you, you still would have been killed by my blow…but I would have died at the same time due to yours. To match me is a true accomplishment. There is no more that I can teach you.” Nitrus smiled at the young Ardoni who was still frozen in shock. Everyone else began to crowd around Kylor. Theseus pounded on his friend's back. “Look at you. You did it! You actually tied with Nitrus.” Theseus grinned. “I knew you could do it!” Venus kissed Kylor on the cheek and hugged him. Electron looked at him in embarrassment as Tigress watched on with amusement. “I’m sorry about how I acted.” Electron looked down as he shuffled his feet with nervousness. “Once you and Venus got close, I realized that you had been after her, not Tigress. I was too embarrassed to say it before but…I’m sorry about how I acted towards you.” Kylor shook his head with a smile. “Just forget about it. I can understand why you were protective. Tigress is lucky to have you.” Electron grinned with relief and the two shook hands. Tigress remained standing away from the group, but even she had to give a faint smile. “I have to admit, I was skeptical after seeing you in action the first time. Nitrus said you would be the greatest, but I didn’t quite believe him until now.”

The victory was short lived when a familiar Voltaris stumbled into the midst of the group. *Kora.* Kora was obviously exhausted, and had many deep wounds on her including an arrow protruding from her back. Her eyes were frantic as she stumbled to her brother. “Ky, You’ve got to run! The Nightsinger, he knows where you’ve gone! He’s coming to kill this entire village!” With her message delivered, Kora fell to the ground, too exhausted to remain conscious any longer. Kylor bent to her side and activated Protepulse. Kora sighed as her wounds closed and the arrow fell out. Ignoring the demands of explanation from the other around him, Kylor slung his sister over his shoulder and sprinted towards home.

After putting Kora in his bed, Kylor went back downstairs to the living room. Everyone had assembled in there and was waiting for Kylor to come down and explain. Drakius was sitting patiently while Nitrus was madly pacing. Theseus and Venus were sitting beside each other and looking at their friend in confusion. Electron and Tigress were standing beside Drakius, with Tigress tapping her foot impatiently. Before anyone could stop him, Kylor launched into his explanation. “When I found my father’s note, a group of mercenaries tried to stop me. What I didn’t tell you, Drakius, is that a Voltaris was among them. That Voltaris was actually my sister. When we parted, she was going to confront the Nightsinger about this. Now, here she is. From what her message said, I assume that the Nightsinger is still hunting me and has come for me.” For a long time, the room was completely silent. *They don’t know how to take this.* Nitrus was the first to break the silence. “How do we know we can trust her?” As if to answer his question, screams could be heard from outside the village. In alarm, Nitrus rushed outside to see what the commotion was. All the others followed him.

When they got outside, the rest of the village was burning down. All around, mercenaries from the Unyielding Legion and Voltaris were moving around. Some were setting fire to the village, while others were killing the inhabitants. And leading them…was the Nightsinger himself. When the Nightsinger noticed them, he smiled coldly. “So the rumors were true, the son of Tysoar did go to this dump. I’ve been trying to hunt him down, as I thought he would surely know where the Prime Songs were. But now I have Nitrus Voltaris, the great Songsinger who hid them in the first place.” The Nightsinger scowled and spread his arms at the destruction all around him. “Tell me where the Prime Songs are, and I will spare what is left of this village. Defy me, and I will burn it to the ground and then kill all of you!”

Nitrus drew his sword from his back and pointed it at the Voltaris. “I will never give the Primes to you. If you were to have them, you would burn down all of the rest of the Ardoni in your quest!” The Nightsinger scoffed at this. “Come now, Songsinger. Of course I would get vengeance against the other Ardoni clans for what they did to my clan.” He spat as he continued his tirade. “They banished us for what the Ancient Ones did. They wrongly accused my tribe and slaughtered my kin! They even denied us the Prime Songs when our champion had rightfully earned them! They chose the war. They chose to keep the Primes away, and in doing so chose their fate. They forced us to fight for what was ours!” Nitrus sighed as he gazed at the Nightsinger. “Victor, fighting will not fix this. All it does is enforce the attitudes of the other clans. Ingressus himself understood that in the end. He chose Senn as a leader on purpose. But I suppose reasoning won’t work on you.” The Nightsinger looked at Nitrus with both disappointment and respect. “No, it will not change my mind. Senn is a weak Ardoni who won’t be master of my clan for long.” Victor sighed. “Kill them.”

With that, chaos broke out. Kylor’s allies drew their weapons and met the rushing attackers. Theseus was a boss. With contempt, he took care of any that came at him. One Voltaris attempted to kill him with a slash to the head, but Theseus was prepared. Grabbing the Voltaris’ arm, Theseus threw the enemy warrior over his shoulder and straight into an incoming spear. Venus was cowering behind the door of the Arcturus house. *I can’t really blame her. This is a real fight, and I don’t think she’s prepared or trained for this.* Electron and Tigress were fighting side by side, coordinating their attacks to defeat any who dared challenge. Drakius was dealing with a group of mercenaries with skilled ease. With a bash to one’s head and a stab to another’s stomach, Drakius took down his opponents one by one.

Nitrus, on the other hand, was facing the Nightsinger and a group of his Voltaris warriors. The standoff ended when a female archer shot an arrow at Nitrus. With lightning fast reaction time, Nitrus deflected it off his broadsword which had now caught on fire, sending the now burning arrow into a male Voltaris who was charging. Nitrus then summoned Supporograpple and snagged another opponent. Using the song, Nitrus threw him into an Agressium cone blast that was headed Nitrus’ way. The other warriors didn’t last long, and soon only the Nightsinger remained standing. With a snarl, the Nightsinger engaged Nitrus. Their blades met with a resounding clang, and their moves became nothing but blurs. An upward cut blocked by a side swipe. A kick to the face returned with a backfist to the jaw. An attack on the back parried just in the nick of time. Despite his speed, though, the Nightsinger couldn’t win. With an ill-planned stab, the Nightsinger lost as the Songsinger spun to the side and tripped his opponent with a downward slash. *He’s won!* Kylor was about to rejoice when a blast caught Nitrus from behind. As Nitrus flew forward, Victor stabbed upwards. The sword pierced Nitrus’ chest, and Nitrus looked at his wound in disbelief. Victor got up and kicked Nitrus’ body off his sword. With a smile, Victor raised his ax to end the Songsinger, but Kylor reacted first.

*No!* Activating Mobilishift, Kylor sprinted in front of Nitrus and slashed at Victor. Unprepared, Victor howled in pain as Kylor’s glaive cut a gaping diagonal wound in his chest. Filled with adrenaline, Kylor charged the Nightsinger, slamming him away from Nitrus and into the dirt. Kylor would have attacked again, if it hadn’t been for one fact. *My glaive, my father’s legacy…It’s broken!* The emerald glaive had broken upon striking Victor. Now, Kylor was left holding a tall stick. *Plus, I need to save Nitrus!* Kylor ran to the Songsinger’s side and was about to use his Protissium song, when Nitrus stopped him. “Don’t,” Nitrus croaked. “Your song can’t save me now. I’m too injured. You must stop the Nightsinger.” Kylor shook his head as Nitrus’ runes pulsed. *You can’t leave me,* Kylor thought desperately. *You’re the Songsinger! You can’t die! Who will lead us?!* “Kylor, it is up to you to lead them now. Only you have the power to stop the Nightsinger now. You are our only hope.” *The last words of my mother!* “Take my staff and sword. The sword was the blade of the Deathsinger, and the staff the weapon of the Tidesinger. You are the most powerful Ardoni I have ever met and you are their descendant. For their sake, and what they fought for, I can think of no other worthy of wielding these weapons. And when I die, follow the dark beacons. Akatie Mendoris can tell you what you must know about that.” Kylor shook his head violently. “NO! You can’t die! There must be something we can do!” Nitrus coughed as he lay dying. “You must save Ardonia. You must…” With that, the Songsinger gave his final breath and died. Kylor watched his runes go dark and his songs materialized beside him. Kylor looked up to see the Nightsinger pull the blade of the glaive from his body. Rather than attack, however, the Nightsinger stumbled away, his runes pulsing from the fatal wound he had been dealt. Opening a portal of Supporium energy, Victor shot one last glare of hatred at Kylor before stepping through his portal.

All around Kylor, the battle was going poorly. Even though Victor had retreated, his forces were still attacking. Theseus had been slammed to the ground and was frantically trying to not die as he rolled to avoid getting stabbed. Drakius had been stabbed in the leg and was now limping. Meanwhile, Venus was cornered and about to be attacked by a Voltaris. Desperate, Kylor grabbed Nitrus’ weapons and used Mobilishift to zoom to Venus’ side. With a slash, he dealt with the enemy from behind. Venus breathed a sigh of relief to be safe. She smiled her thanks, but Kylor merely asked her a question. “You have Supporoconstruct right?” Venus nodded. “Then use it to create a portal to Torville.” Venus nodded again, her face a mask of concentration as she activated her song. I’ve got to help the others!

Kylor used Mobilishift to dash to the center of the attackers. Then, he summoned all of his strength and poured it into Aggrofang. Instantly, fangs of Aggressium energy appeared in a massive radius around him, targeting the enemy while leaving his allies safe. The fangs dissipated as they sank into their targets, the destructive energy coursing into the enemies’ bodies and destroying them from inside out. Now free, his friends ran to the portal that Venus had made. Venus had, sometime during the last bit of the fight, grabbed Kora from upstairs. Now, with Kora over her back, Venus stepped through the portal. Kylor was the last to enter, and was surprised with what he saw once he went through the portal. Behind him the portal disappeared as he took in his surroundings. *We’re in Akatie’s living room!* Akatie was sitting in a chair, her face slack with awe as she gazed at the new arrivals.

After everyone had settled down and Kylor had explained where they were, he told Akatie what had happened. She nodded in sadness and sympathy at their plight. “Yes, the Nightsinger is dangerous and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. You must not blame yourself for what happened, Kylor. There is nothing you could have done to save Nitrus.” *If I had been faster, I could have done something! I should have acted when I could! I should have seen the blast coming!* But Kylor refrained from bringing that up. “So it is true, you do know more than you said you did.” Akatie shifted uncomfortably as she nodded. *I knew she knew more than she was letting on!* Akatie continued after an awkward pause. “I can tell you what Nitrus meant, as well as some intel I have acquired. When Nitrus died, you probably missed it, but his shadow left his body. When that shadow left, it activated four beacons. These beacons are special beacons known as dark beacons. They radiate darkness so pure that they can’t be seen by any but those blessed by the one whose shadow activates the dark beacons. I assume you were blessed, which means you’ll be able to find them. Only you can see the beacons.” Kylor nodded. *I’ll have to find the beacons and get the Prime Songs before the Nightsinger can.* Akatie stood up and began cleaning the tabletop. “As for the intel, the Ardoni clans are taking action. Recently, the Necromancers made a return, and it is believed that they might be planning an alliance with Victor. There is also trouble brewing in the end, and of course the humans are in a civil war. Because of this, the clan masters have been forced to look for a champion to lead them past the danger that the Nightsinger presents. Since he has a mighty army behind him, and he is after the Primes, the Ardoni clans must unite. The plan is that a tournament will be held to pick a champion to be that uniter, as well as the leader of the clans. Until the Nightsinger is defeated, they will lead the clans since they will be the most powerful and thus the only ones able to stand against Victor. But, there is one problem.” Akatie sighed as she sat back down. “I believe that the Nightsinger will attempt to win the tournament. If he can, he can lead the clans and ensure that they can’t stop him. The only course of action I can think of is to have Kylor compete in the tournament. He is the most powerful Ardoni at this point, and he will need help to beat the Nightsinger. If Victor controls the clans, even Kylor won’t win that fight.”

All the others looked at Kylor for the game plan. This surprised Kylor. In truth, he had thought that Tigress or Drakius would have taken over as leader. Drakius seemed to know this. Placing a reassuring hand on Kylor’s shoulder, Drakius spoke softly. “I know you blame yourself for the deaths of those close to you, and I can’t stop that. But you have the most experience with the Nightsinger than the rest of us. Plus, you are the most powerful of us all and the only one who can defeat Victor. Despite what you think, Nitrus is right. He told me that you would be the leader when the war began, and I think he was right. I’ve watched you grow and I don’t think anyone else would be capable of this job.” Drakius peered deep into Kylor’s eyes. “Nitrus and your father both believed the same thing. Where the Nightsinger would plunge us into eternal night, you will stop him. You are the hope, the strength, the warrior that Ardonia has been needing. You are the one who will bring us a new sunrise, Dawnsinger. A dawn of a new day, a new light that will pierce through the night that Victor has brought.”

With new confidence, Kylor nodded. *I am now the Dawnsinger! I must finish this fight for my family and for all of Ardonia.* Kylor looked at his friends. *Drakius will be there to advice me, and the rest to fight with me. I may lead them, but they will still help me through this.* He smiled at this thought. *I’ll never be alone. I am the heir of both the Tidesinger and the Deathsinger. They were nobody before they had to step up and lead. Now I have to do the same.* Kylor pulled the weapons off his back and studied them. *The weapons of the two greatest Ardoni ever.* “Akatie, do you have a smithing table anywhere?” Akatie nodded. “In the kitchen.” Kylor walked into the kitchen and found the smithing table. Then, with a grin, he pulled out the Netherite ingots. *Time to update these diamond weapons.*

Next Chapter