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Chapter Three - Realization: The Start of a Great Journey

Phonis just sat in silence for a moment totally agape at what he was just told by Ketrell, this crystal star on his arm was actually a vessel of supreme magical power and he was chosen by it to be Newlande's protector. When he went to Ketrell to see if he could help him find out what it was he never expected anything like this, he expected it to be something, but damn... if he thought his life was over before he definitely knew it was now.

"Are you all right Phonis?" Ketrell asked after sitting in silence for a few minutes,

"I don't know... should i be alright?" Phonis asked right back,

"I know it's not an easy thing to hear, but what i tell you is true... there isn't a dragon who doesn't know the legend of the star, especially ones of my age. I was around when it was last around." Ketrell said,

"When was that if i may so boldly ask?" Phonis said coming down from his shock,

"Two hundred years ago." Ketrell answered,

"Thats about the time Newlande was founded." Phonis asked feeling a touch confused,

"Exactly, it was the star that made it possible. That there Phonis is a thing of Legend. Once weilded by Vivian Vixen herself." Ketrell said seeming to get more and more excited,

"So your saying Saint Vivian founded Newlande using this thing?" Phonis asked,

"It's more than just a thing, as powerful as it is now it's nothing compared to what it can be... however i know only of the legend. There is one who you could... nay should seek out, he was the architect of the original Pilgramage." Ketrell said as he stood up and went looking for something,

"Original Pilgramage?" Phonis said even more confused,

"According to Legend, the star is but a vessel for seven sources of magic, when brought together the star achieves it's true potential. Other than that i have very little else to tell you... you need to seek out an old friend of mine." Ketrell said,

"Seek out... wait, i can't go anywhere... i have a life here which i should continue to lead." Phonis said feeling somewhat angry,

"Impossible i'm afraid, just having that will make it hard to live a normal life. The life you will lead from this point on will be one you can only dream of. Didn't you once say you wished you could save the world?" Ketrell said picking up a black book from his desk,

"Everyone wishes about stuff like that, but no one expects it to come true... i don't know the first thing about saving the world. How does one even process that?" Phonis said starting to become increasingly distraught,

"All i can say is seek out my friend, when you find him just mention my name and say i sent you, he should at least give you five minutes of his time after which you could easily convince him to help you." Ketrell said flipping through his little black book,

"You make him sound like he's a Council member or something." Phonis laughed,

"He was... you're looking for Master Keiver." Ketrell said tossing the book on the table in front of Phonis,

"Master Keiver as in owner of the Scarlet Coast Master Keiver?" Phonis said somewhat less amused,

"The very same, you'll have to head off for the Scarlet Coast tonight, you can't afford to wait." Ketrell said looking at Phonis with a look of regret,

"No waiting?" Phonis said feeling a lump in his throat,

"I'm afraid not... i'm sorry." Ketrell said somewhat heartbroken for his young friend,

Phonis sat in silence for a good few minutes as he tried to process the fact that he had to leave his home, his friends and his family and travel all the way to the Scarlet Coast and he didn't understand why, all he knew was that Master Keiver should be able to fill in any blanks he needed filling in when he got there. Thinking of this made him want to break down and cry, everything he knew just crumbled away in an instant, two days ago he was thinking that his life was just starting to get interesting, he'd met a girl and now... all was lost. He knew Ketrell wouldn't lie to him, he had no choice but to head off today. He wondered how he was going to make a journey like this since he had never left the city limits in his whole life. On that thought Ketrell came over to him and held out a small card.

"Take this Phonis, call it an advance on your salary." Ketrell said as he held out the credit pass,

"Thank you Ketrell... i know it doesn't seem it right now but i'm glad you're here." Phonis said as he took the card,

"I understand it's a lot to take in so quickly, i hate to give you this news... but i'm sure one day you will understand what all this means for you, for me and for the world." Ketrell said putting his hand on Phonis' shoulder, "And when you return victorious you will live forever in Legend, hahaha"

Phonis gave a slight smile at the last comment, as little as he knew so far he knew that being a legend was a long way off if at all possible. As he left he heard Ketrell wish him Godspeed and with that he set off back home. Hopefully he could think of something to tell his father and Teak as well as something bordering on genius to tell Brish and hopefully still be able to salvage something with Betinya when he'd finished whatever it was he was going to do... he highly doubted it but he held on to the hope anyway. He used the walk home to figure out his plan of action, a trip of that distance would take time to prepare, unless of course he just went on a whim and travel hop from station to station. Knowing that would be a bad idea since he had no idea what to expect outside the city he decided make a definitive plan, and choose a more direct method of travel. As he got home he headed up to his room and once again turned his computer on and started looking for travel arrangements, as he idly flicked from one page to the next the enormity of his situation returned to him like an eighteen wheeler hitting a jello mould. He sat back and stared at the ceiling a moment covered his face with his hands and was about to scream when he heard a chat window open.

"Hey Cutie." A familiar and rather sultry voice said,

"Betinya, Hi." Phonis said kind of at a loss for words,

"Brish gave me this address, i hope you don't mind?" She asked,

"No, not at all... i'm glad to hear from you." Phonis said feeling somewhat calmer,

"Brish said you've been iffy since we last met, are things okay?" She asked genuinely concerned,

"Just some things i gotta sort out is all." Phonis said trying to dance around the subject as much as possible,

"I'm glad, i gotta go... Valentia is waiting for me, i'm looking forward to tomorrow, see you then." She said as her window closed.

Phonis gritted his teeth for a moment as he worked on a solution to this nightmare scenario. Ketrell had told him to go as soon as possible but he didn't want to let Betinya down by just not showing up without any explanation. He sighed heavily and decided to book transport for after the party so he could at least say goodbye before he left, one day more wasn't going to be that big a deal... was it?

_The next morning he awoke before his weekend alarm call, he'd not slept very well since his mind was plagued by a million questions which he had no answers for. 'Soon' he thought to himself, 'I'll have all the answers i need... or i hope i will.' He was going to make this day one worth remembering, if his life was now indeed over he'd end it with his own terms and what terms they would be. _

He'd finished organising his trip last night and booked all the tickets needed to make it to the Scarlet Coast, but now he was going to enjoy his last day of normal life, he'd tried hard to convince himself that Ketrell maybe over exaggerated on the leaving immediately part but only succeeded in doing so partly, if only to convince himself that staying would stop Betinya from hunting him down. He had half the day before he was expected to show up and decided that he would keep a low profile just to be on the safe side. He spent the next few hours in his room re-reading some of the 'Heroman' webcomics to see once again what people expected of super heroes. This was apparently a waste of time as most of the panels were him just punching villains... and he knew for a fact that never actually worked in real life. With a rejected shake of his head he switched the computer off and headed downstairs, his father and brother were both sat watching the news. Wondering what could be so interesting on the news Phonis stood and watched on as it looped round again. The video feed showed the dragon he'd seen preaching a few days ago on the street corner, seemed like he'd escaped custody and began spreading his word again. Phonis would've just shook his head and moved on, but remembering what he'd seen in the Stars vision made him wonder if the old dragon was more sane than everyone put together. Several unrepeatable words sprung into Phonis' mind as he cursed himself for getting himself involved in whatever it was he now found himself stuck inside of. Teak noticed Phonis stood behind them and called him over.

"Your friend Brish called, said he wants you over at his place for some last minute updates." Teak said,

"My work never ends." Phonis sighed,

"Have fun kiddo." Torjin said as Phonis left.

The walk to Brish's house was uneventful, maybe he was being paranoid about being found out... it had only happened the other day, what are the odds they'd have singled it out and were looking for him already. Besides the Vanguard of Justice only had one hundred active agents at a time, what are the odds one of them would follow up such a minor lead. Thinking this put his mind somewhat at ease, it was probably true, besides they'd need more evidence to warrant an arrest anyway, and he wasn't going to give them an opportunity. He'd not been to Brish's house in a good long while, as they preferred to meet in town more often than not. He'd almost forgotten the size of the place, Brish's dad was loaded, being one of OmegaTECH Industries leading software analysts definitely had perks. He spied Brish by the gate to the back of the house and walked over.

"Gets you every time doesn't it?" Brish nodded slightly,

"Well at least i know i can always find it... things big enough to see from space." Phonis laughed,

"Gonna need that space for tonight, loads of people coming... you know how it is, dads friends, moms friends and my friends." Brish droned,

"A regular town meeting." Phonis said,

"I've made a strict statement that all guests are to stay within the said designated party area... but i guess one or two won't listen and sneak away to the hidden spot at the back of the garden." Brish said hardly trying to hide his implication,

"Very subtle." Phonis grinned,

"I don't know what you mean." Brish said as he turned and walked down the path._ _

A number of guests started to show up when Phonis found himself a bench to basically pass out on, mostly adults and work colleges showed up early on which Phonis didn't mind, since he was starting to have second thoughts about his whole idea. Maybe it wasn't second thoughts, maybe it was just nerves, he didn't know which but whichever it was made him feel sick to his stomach. He tried to force the thoughts aside and focus on having a good time, worrying about everything else could be done tomorrow when everything changed. Brish sauntered over with an extra shish kebab of barbecued vegetables for Phonis.

"Whats with you bud, you've really been out of sorts for days?" Brish asked concerned for his friend,

"Yeah i know, i've sorted it out now... but it's just led to more problems." Phonis said taking the shish kebab,

"And what problems may they be if i may be so bold?" Brish asked a touch confused,

"I think i'm gonna have to go away for a while." Phonis said before quickly munching on his food to avoid more talking,

"Go away for a while? Oh jeez, Betinya's not pregnant is she?" Brish said trying to lighten the mood,

"No, no, no... nothing like that... still, that all you could come up with?" Phonis smiled while raising an eyebrow,

"Knew it'd lighten the mood." Brish grinned,

"Maybe a little, still... i went to see Ketrell and he told me i gotta go see a friend of his." Phonis said,

"A special delivery? Or are you now a secret agent?" Brish pondered,

"If it puts your mind at ease i'm now Super Secret Agent W.D Forty." Phonis laughed,

"I can work with that... you told your dad about this or is it 'classified'." Brish asked,

"I'll tell him i'm going somewhere but i'd rather not explain why i'm going." Phonis said looking down,

"Can you at least tell me?" Brish asked sounding as serious as ever,

"I dunno if i can." Phonis said thinking about it a moment,

"Look you've been my boy for years, there's no one i'd put more trust in than you... i wanna understand whats troubling my best pal." Brish said feeling kind of mushy as he said it,

"True enough, i've gotta go to the Scarlet Coast as soon as possible to see Ketrells friend so he can tell me what i need to know about being Newlandes protector." Phonis said trying not to make it sound insane.

Brish just stood for a minute in silence as he tried to assess what he had been told, after a while he started to nod slowly.

"And why do you need to find that out? Why do you need to learn to be Newlandes protector... cos it sounds nuts." Brish said with a perplexed look on his face,

"Cos of this thing." Phonis said showing Brish the star on his arm, "It was... in the box i said i wouldn't open."

"Knew you couldn't resist... glad i didn't open it, i'd be pretty buggered in your position." Brish said slapping Phonis on the shoulder, "I said you could count on me bud and you can, not a word of this will leak... anyone asks i'll just say you went on vacation or something... speaking of which i should think about that sometime."

"As weird as you are i know i can count on you." Phonis smiled,

"Awws, i'm touched." Brish mockingly said,

"Just don't kiss me okay." Phonis chuckled,

"Spoiling my plans again. But i get it, only one set of lips for you i'm guessing." Brish said,

"How am i gonna break the news to her?" Phonis asked,

"I dunno bud, i leave that in your hands... if i ever get experience breaking news to women i'll let you know." Brish said as he headed off,

"I don't see this conversation going well." Phonis muttered as he got up to follow.

It was another hour before Valentia and Betinya showed up which Brish escorted to the designated party area as he called it. Upon seeing Phonis, Betinya split off from the others and snuck up behind him grabbing him tight with both arms which got a surprised cry from Phonis as he came out of his reverie.

"Heya bunny." Betinya grinned her cutish grin,

"Hi Betinya, didn't see you coming." Phonis said trying to calm his racing heart,

"A predator never announces it's arrival to prey." She said placing a hand on his chest,

"I didn't know you were out hunting today." He grinned back,

"I only hunt for what i like, and when i catch it i never let it go." She said leaning in closer, her eyes half closed.

Without any hesitation or warning Phonis grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her in close planting his lips on hers. She did not expect this sudden act of passion and was taken aback by the role reversal, she didn't care one bit because it made her heart flutter to experience such passion. They broke it off quickly when a whistle came from their right, they turned to see Brish and Valentia making kissy faces and panting like dogs. Phonis wished there was something nearby that he could throw at them so they would get the message and leave them be, alas there was none, so he made do with attempting to shoo them away which worked although Valentia was giggling as they left.

"I am gonna kill her when we get home." Betinya almost growled,

"She's just jealous." Phonis smiled at her,

"I can see why she would be." She smiled back,

"If anyone should be jealous it's me of myself for having such an exotic stripey Goddess clinging to me." Phonis grinned,

Betinya blushed obviously lost for words, "Wow... i've never been called that before."

"Then people obviously can't see what i see." Phonis said knowing it sounded cheesy but didn't care,

"Well then i think i'm going to have to find out what it is that you see." She said,

"Say what?" Phonis said as he was dragged off.

Betinya had dragged him off to the secluded area of the garden where they were away from everyones view which made Phonis curious but somewhat nervous. Betinya definitely had a plan for them this evening and he was quite interested to find out what, but that didn't mean he didn't have a slight case of jitters to be basically alone with this wonderful girl. They were stood in a small area with a high hedge obscuring the view of the main garden, with a swing seat looking at a fairly large water feature and the soft glow of a single lamp was the only illumination this far from the house. It definitely made the scene feel like something out of a romance novel which Phonis thought more certain of as the glow from the lamp on Betinya's slender frame made her even more alluring. After examining the water feature for a moment she looked back at him and her eyes seemed to sparkle in the lamps glow. After a few moments of staring at this visage of beauty he wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck and held each other closely. A conflict suddenly erupted within him as he regarded her delicate features, he knew he had to leave the following day but didn't know how to break it to her, a part of him just wanted to forget about the whole thing and just stay and be with her. As he thought about it more a realisation popped into his head, if he left would he ever be able to return and this notion scared him the most, he dreaded the thought of giving up the one thing he wanted only to pursue something he knew nothing about but Ketrell had made clear was important to more than just himself. As if reading his thoughts Betinya placed a hand on his cheek and looked deep into his eyes with deep concern reflecting back.

"Is everything alright bun?" She asked.

Phonis didn't respond immediately not knowing what to say, he fought as hard as he could but he knew if what Ketrell said was true and he didn't take Ketrell for a liar or to joke about something such as this he knew he couldn't be selfish and ignore the responsibility even if he never wanted it in the first place, but one look into her eyes made all that seem to fade into the background. But with a sigh of resignation decided on a course of action.

"Betinya i need to tell you something." He said taking hold of her hand on his cheek.

He walked her over to a bench next to the water feature and sat down, he knew he'd regret everything that came out of his mouth but he didn't want her to be mad at him if he just lied and said he wanted to just break up with her... he decided he'd tell her the truth, hopefully she wouldn't flip out.

"I'll be going away tomorrow..." He said first off waiting for a reaction,

"Going away? Where are you going? Why are you going?" She asked somewhat saddened by his remark,

"It's nothing to do with you Betinya believe me, i've been wondering how to break it to you in a way that doesn't make me out to be a jerk who just wants to stand you up... though why anyone would is impossible to imagine." He said giving a forced smile, "Something happened after we met thats... well... changed me a bit."

"I'm sure whatever has changed can't be as bad as you're making it out to be... i mean enough to skip town for a while." she seemed somewhat more amused than before,

"It's a bit more serious than you think, see this." He said pulling back his sleeve to reveal the star on his wrist,

"Wow, thats so pretty." she said momentarily transfixed on it, "And this is a big problem is it... a bit of jewelry?"

"It's latched onto my wristband which i can't take off now... and since it did weird things have happened." he said rolling his sleeve down again,

"Weird things in what way?" She asked,

"Well i set fire to Beano the other day... magically." He said mentally readying himself for the counter,

"Oh... i see." was all she said,

"Somehow i expected something else" He said relieved yet puzzled at her reaction,

"What am i supposed to say, the one guy i've liked in a long time turns out to be a spellcaster. Whats it like?" She asked a little curious,

"I dunno... i don't feel any different, i don't know how to cast any spells or even if i can. Ketrell says this thing is what gives me this power so it's not natural, anyway he says i have to go meet a friend of his at the Scarlet Coast to find out what i need to do. Maybe, just maybe i can get things to go back to normal and be rid of this... this curse." He replied shaking a fist at his wrist.

They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, the sound of the party on the other side of the hedge the only sounds carrying on the silence surrounding them. Phonis looked over at Betinya who was staring blankly at the floor, a lump of dread caught in his throat and then plummeted down to his stomach as a stone would down a well as she looked up at him a stoic mask covered her face and to his astonishment she smiled.

"Go for it Phonis." She said smiling all the time,

"You're not upset at all?" He asked still reeling from the unexpected event,

"Can't say i'm overly happy, but it's always said things happen for a reason and i'm a big believer in that, i mean if Valentia hadn't asked me to come out that night we might never have met. This could be a big part of your life, sometimes you have to sacrifice for the greater good." She said.

He loved this girl even more now, even after everything he'd just said to her she was still willing to take it with a pinch of salt and make a personal sacrifice. He thought about his own internal conflict and how hard the decision had been for him and knew it had to be just as difficult for her but she had the maturity to put others ahead of her own personal happiness and he wouldn't forget it everything he did from now on was not only for the people but for her too.

"We could even visit you in the summer time." She joked,

"That would be a surprise." He laughed,

"Well if you don't have to go until tomorrow... we can at least have some fun in the mean time." She purred as she leaned into him.

Meanwhile on the street across from Brish's house under a blacked out street lamp a lone figure stood with an ever watchful gaze upon the house. That was until a beep indicated an incoming call.

"89, report."

"Target located, orders?"

"Maintain observation and report findings, assess situation then if necessary move to intercept."

"Orders confirmed and understood."