Our Second World book three: Personal Truth

Chapter 13: Haren

After Riniyas explanation of their test, Haren and Sylviana went outside. They quickly made their way over to the Luirlan, who was waiting with his guardian, a brown warhorse with a green mane and tail.

Luirlan himself was a short boy with dark skin and long, forest green hair to match his emerald eyes. He wore a simple tan shirt and black pants, with a green sash draped over his shoulder.

"So, you two are my opponents?" Luirlan grinned," Are you ready? We're going to my domain."

"Yes. We're both ready," Haren nodded.

"Great. Let's go!" The boy snapped his fingers and the horse knelt down so the three of them could climb onto its back.

Luirlan sat in the front. Sylviana was behind him with Xeris in her lap, and Haren sat behind her. Rala, too big to fit on the horse, ran beside it. In no time at all, it seemed, they stopped.

"Welcome to my domain," Luirlan grinned and gestured to the vast field of hills spread out in front of them," just a moment, I'll prepare the battle ground."

The boy snapped, the ground shook, and in an instant, the terrain changed. The grass shriveled up and the ground cracked and parted. The lush, hillside was replaced with a dry desert and ravine dotted with steep cliffs. Another snap, and they found themselves standing at the bottom of the deep ravine.

"This will be the battle ground," Luirlan called from above. He was now in his true form. A dragon covered in tan scales with spikes all over its body," I don't like fighting much, so we'll test you this way instead," the dragon grinned," it's simple, really. You have to make it back up here."

"What's the catch?" Haren asked.

The innocent grin turned dark," I'll be doing everything in my power to stop you."

"So, we can just fly out if we wanted?" Sylviana asked.

Luirlan nodded," I hope you use every means available to you. I know I will. Oh, and you have five minutes to prepare." With that, the beast disappeared behind the ledge.

"S-So, What's our plan?" Sylviana turned to Haren, a nervous expression on her face.

"I have an idea, but you're gonna have to trust me."

After what seemed like no time at all, Luirlan poked his head over the ledge," times up, you two." With his words, the ground shook.

From all over the walls, stone spikes dot in and out in a seemingly random way. The previously still terrain was now constantly changing. In addition, several stone golem knights appeared from the ground and stood ready to advance on the two of them.

"Let's go Sylviana," Haren shouted, charging forward.

He and the girl swiftly cut down the first few stone knights and continued advancing forward. Luirlan wasn't lying about doing everything to stop them; the dragon continued to create golems every time one was destroyed, and any time Haren got close to the wall, Luirlan would melt any footholds nearby with his acid breath. He made no progress, but Haren wasn't worried.

The plan was simple: he'd create an illusion of Sylviana, and hide her real body in shadows. Then, the copy and Haren would distract Luirlan while the real Sylviana climbed to the top. There was one thing Haren could be sure of in this fight: Luirlan never said both of them had to make it out to win.

Due to his spell, Haren was able to tell where the real Sylviana was, and tried to avoid her as best he could. The only problem was, he needed to constantly feed the illusions mana. If he ran out, they would come undone, and their plan would fail. Thus, he decided to avoid casting other spells. As time went on, it proved to be a more difficult task.