[Title in Progress]

Chapter 3

Back in Tricon, in Eraven's throne room, Rash stood before Eraven, presenting his plan that he had mentioned discussing with him, and a few minutes later...

"Well, Eraven, what do you think of my idea?" Rash said with a smile.

"Shrinking the size of the Council would help it to be more efficient, "Eraven mused, pacing around his throne, "and if I put my six most trusted in, I wouldn't have to worry about traitors anymore."

"Aren't you tired of the constant bickering when you're trying to get something done?" asked Rash. "If you want to get this war finished, you're going to have to do something about your Council."

"I'll consider it, Rash." Eraven said, with a subtle finality to his tone. "But I do agree that the Council does need... to be improved to say the least."

Suddenly the throne room doors burst open and a servant ran in, panting.

"I thought I wasn't to be disturbed?" Eraven asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I.. apologize Majesty, but I have a message for Rash." the servant said, catching his breath. "The Dengral are ready for you."

"What's this, Rash?" Eraven inquired, turning to him. "Assembling the Dengral and not mentioning it to me?"

"I was hoping to keep it quiet, "Rash apologized, glaring at the servant, "but we found a rebel camp and it's rumored to have one of the Veiled Ones there. It's not defended very well and a small force would be able to overwhelm them quickly with the element of surprise."

"A Veiled One!?" Eraven cried.

"Indeed, "Rash said, "and I know my sources to be true."

"Leave us!" Eraven shouted to the servant. The servant bowed, and quickly began to leave the room. "Make sure you don't kill the Veiled One, but bring them to me. Alive." Eraven murmured, so the servant couldn't hear.

"I'll try my best," Rash said, "but they're unpredictable, Eraven."

"I know, I know... but please, don't fail me on this."

"When have I ever failed you?" Rash chuckled. "By the way, I hope you'll have reached a decision about the Council once I get back." With a bow to Eraven, he left the throne room.

                                                      Three weeks later


After what seemed an endless trek through wilderness, Rash and the Dengral stood concealed in a thicket of trees , watching the rebels doing random tasks in a small camp.

"And now we wait for darkness." Rash whispered. He leaned back farther into the shadows and sighed. It's a shame I have to attack with the Dengral beside me, Rash thought, they may be efficient and they may be loyal to those who pay, but you can't trust anyone from Murzok of all places..

Rash's train of thought was cut off by an arrow suddenly striking one of the Dengral crouching beside him, then the next moment the thicket burst into flame.

What in Hythe just happened!? Rash thought wildly to himself, coughing as he ran out of the thicket. He gathered a few of the Dengral to him and fled to another concealed spot. Once they were hidden again, he turned back to glance at the camp.

"What's the use of hiding, Rash?" he heard a female voice say from behind him in a smug voice. He slowly turned around to see a woman standing with a bow trained directly onto his face.

"You really thought you could sneak into our camp and take us by surprise?!" she laughed.

"Yes, "Rash answered, "yes I thought I could. And I did." He quickly waved his hand and one of the Dengral, who had been keeping away from Rash for a purpose such as this, fired at the woman. The arrow struck her in the neck and she stood for a moment with her hands feebly reaching up to the projectile, stunned. After what felt like a while but was only a second, she screamed and fell to the ground.

"They definitely know we're here now, "Rash murmured to the Dengral, "but we have the advantage, due to your strength. If we strike before they can mobilize, we can take them out. And remember, don't kill the Veiled One, only neutralize him."

Rash and the Dengral charged towards the camp, but before they even started, the camp became enveloped in a white, misty substance. One of the Dengral cautiously touched it, and his hand immediately turned gray and dissolved into ash, but it seemed to be painless since the Dengral merely looked down in surprise.

"It must be the Veiled One, " Rash growled, "but he hasn't won yet." Looking around, he noticed that the Veiled One hadn't expanded the shield to cover the body of the female rebel. "Bring me the body," he ordered. Two of the Dengral complied, and threw the body at Rash's feet.

Rash took a deep breath, bent over and covered his hands in the blood of the woman, then straightened back up and focused on the shield in front of him. The blood solidified around his hands, and sank into his hands. He could feel the energy running through his body, and as he smiled, he began to tear into the shield with his own magic.

You may use the natural energy to power your magic, Veiled One, Rash thought, but you need to learn that there's more to magic than that. There's more powerful forms than utilizing the nature around you.

Less than a minute of straining later, the shield began to turn from a white color to a darker, gray color. "Give up already, "Rash muttered, "you can't hold on much longer." Cracks began to appear in the misty barrier, and the Dengral moved closer eagerly, with hungry expressions on their faces.

"Make sure Lance and Shade will make it safe to Tricon, Flo, "Rash heard a muffled voice from behind the barrier, "you're too valuable to be lost in this fight, you'll be of better use ensuring the two get to the city without getting intercepted. Locate Miss Jade once you get to the city, she'll help you."

Miss Jade, Rash frowned in thought, that name sounds familiar... Rash didn't have time to ponder who she was however, since the barrier suddenly collapsed, breaking his focus. The blood turned back to liquid, even though it was black now, and fell from his hands. Before Rash even made a move towards the camp however, the Dengral ran forward, began slaughtering everyone in their path, ignoring all their comrades who fell, and leaving a blood stained path behind them.

"So it turns out all the rumors about their efficacy were true, "Rash marveled to himself, "I'm actually beginning to like these Dengral." Rash wasn't here to watch rebels get killed; he had more important things on his mind, such as where the Veiled One had gone.

Surely they didn't escape? They wouldn't leave behind a whole camp of their fellow rebels... or would they? Rash thought. With a small tinge of worry, he began running through the camp, ignoring the bodies around him, searching for any trace of a veiled individual.

"I'm behind you, you fool." a male voice said.