Rise Up, Stand Together (KingdomCraft Story)

Chapter Twenty-Three - Into the Twilight

--------- Mesa Kingdom ~ Firestone Castle ---------

Scott sat in the Firestone Gardens, polishing his sword with a damp cloth. He takes a few deep breaths. He was not long back from Dahli Peak. He had been dealing with some arguments that had been going on between the North and South of the Capital City. He was also in a state of slight shock, since he learned that while the people who kidnapped him were in jail, they had given birth to a little girl. She's almost 7 years old now. Scott wants to find her, but the Police say that they haven't been able to find her ever since Scott's kidnappers were beheaded. She went missing, and then they never found her again.

Suddenly, as Scott opens his eyes, the back door to the castle opens. Scott turns around and sees a female guard walking out to see him. She bows, "King Scott, we received word on the whereabouts of the Twilight Portal that opened a week ago" she says.

Scott's eyes widen, he had completely forgotten about it. "Where is it?" he asks, standing up and following the guard into the castle.

"2 of the guards found it right in the middle of the hills on the West of the Castle grounds" she tells him.

Scott knew that he wanted to explore the Twilight Forest. He had been interested in it ever since he was a little boy. "Take me to it" he says.

"Are you sure? It could be dangerous" the guard speaks.

"I'm sure, this has been a dream of mine" Scott grins.

"Alright then, follow me" she says, taking the lead and leading Scott out of the castle and towards the Firestone Hills.

Scott was excited, but nervous at the same time. He wondered what he would find there. He was aware that dragons called the place home, but he doesn't know if any are left there. He would love to see one, but he knew he would need to be careful.

Soon enough, Scott and the guard arrive, and Scott looks at the portal in amazement. The portal was purple and bright. It was surrounded by an array of flowers. "Sasha, please stay here, I would like to go in alone" Scott says.

Sasha jumps in shock, "King Scott, I'm sorry for yelling, BUT ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" she asks in surprise.

"I am serious. I would like to go in alone" he says.

Sasha sighs, "I know I can't stop you, but please take this way-scroll, just in case you get lost in there" she says, handing a white scroll that was glowing purple to him. Scott nods and takes it.

"Please be careful" she says.

"I will" Scott says before jumping right in with no second thoughts.

Opening his eyes, he sees a canopy of trees above him. The sky was a beautiful dark purply-blue colour with stars, almost exactly like the twilight sky in the real world. Sitting up, he looks around in amazement. "It's just like I imagined..." he says quietly, standing up on his feet. The portal was right next to him so he stepped away from it so he wouldn't accidently fall back into it.

He began walking North from the portal, taking in all the sights he could lay his eyes on. Many trees, large mushrooms, even a couple tall towers. He knew what was in those towers, so he didn't dare go in one at the moment, especially since he wasn't wearing any armour at the moment.

He wasn't going to stay for long, probably just a couple hours and then he would head back. "I wonder what other creatures are here" he mumbles to himself as he hops across a shallow river.

Suddenly, in the distance, Scott sees a dark material in the shape of a sphere poking out from the ground. It was large and mysterious. Scott cautiously began towards it, his curious nature getting the better of him. Of course, he was very careful of where he stepped as he neared it.