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Chapter 14

(Argthanaw 21st Year 672 of the 4th Age)

Morning arrives, and everyone is currently eating breakfast. Sylfinas gets up and brings back a map of Illyria and flips it to the continent of Myrith. "What are you looking for?" Jemeir asked.

"Looking for Canir," Sylfinas answered.

"What for?"

"Arven, Merrick, and I made a promise to bring Kaera back to her home." The Fenri picks her head up from eating her food and is not wearing any clothes as she warned them before. All but Jemeir are still not used to seeing her like that.

"Found where my home is on the map?" she asked, after she moved closer to look at the map.

"Yes, and it is a long journey," Sylfinas answered. "No matter how we do this, we're going to need a ship. The shortest way would take us into the territorial waters of Pheha. There's an isthmus connecting Adoran to Sennelan that will avoid the nation altogether, but it will be the longest expedition to her home."

"There's still time to think about it, son," Jemeir spoke. "How much time do they have, Kaera?"

"Three years to make any meaningful progress," Kaera replied.

"That's long."

"But I assume she wants to be back as soon as possible, so I was thinking after the festival, so you're all done with the busiest time of year, we can leave, and I want to plan our route," Sylfinas uttered.

"It better be quick because I have to be at Camp Echo in over a week," Arven spoke. "Otherwise, it'll just be you and Merrick taking her over unless Merrick can't."

"Since I quit my job, my schedule is wide open," Merrick responded.

"Still, don't worry about it, Sylfinas," Jemeir spoke. "It's time for fun. Gods know that the Darkened Seven won't provide any enjoyable entertainment. You should also be thinking about your performance for the talent show. What are you planning on doing?"

"I'll be singing and playing the guitar," Sylfinas answered.

"About what?"

"A cover from a popular musician about a famous military commander of Adoran, Malrina."

Arven ejects his drink in surprise, "You mean the 'Dragon Incarnate' Malrina?"

"Yes."

"Who's Malrina?" asked Kaera.

Sylfinas beats Arven to the punch. "She's known for taking down large numbers of enemies by herself without breaking a sweat. Her most well-known example was she reclaimed an entire city by herself after waking up underneath the rubble and noticed that her comrades left her behind. She's gone farther in the Infinite Labyrinth than anyone or group in history by herself, and rumors have it that she's still there to train. She's also one of the top 20 mages in the world known as Mage Lords."

"That's impressive."

Arven adds more to it. "She's also a Blade Master, which is the equivalent of Mage Lords for melee fighters. She's the Devil Dogs commanding officer, the elite group of Eldritch Knights of the already elite Ebony Legion."

"Sounds like she's terrifying," Kaera responded.

"According to stories from those that observe her, terrifying is an understatement. Avoid provoking her wrath."

"By hearing you two describing her, you'll have to give it your best for your performance, son, or she may have to leave the dungeon to give you her critique," Jemeir enunciated.

"Don't want that to happen," Sylfinas responded with a shiver.

Jemeir starts cleaning the table. "All of you can head to the festival after you get dressed. I'll catch up in a few minutes."

The time of the talent show arrives, and people pile into the audience area. Arven, Jemeir, Kaera, and Merrick are sitting in the back. The sun is going down, so lanterns are lit for the audience. A female high self steps onto the stage and motions everyone to settle down and be quiet. When the audience becomes silent, she speaks. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the talent show where people from here in Belburn and the rest of Adoran gather to compete to recognize being the most talented in the kingdom. I'm Larial, and I'll be the host for tonight. These are the rules. Contestants have five and a half minutes to perform. They can use as much as they wish, but a minute and a half is the minimum they have to do. Our four judges will rate the performance based on the score from one to ten for a maximum score of 40. The highest score by the end will win. In a tie, they will have to come up with another performance and be rated separately. The contestants may ask you to volunteer for their bit, and it would be appreciated if you accept it if you want to. Now all that's settled, the first performer will be out in a couple of minutes."

She goes backstage, and a couple of minutes later, the talent show begins. The contestants are of various ages and races. Most were human, with the next highest being Elves and Dwarves, Dragonkin, and Halflings sprinkled in. The age range is seven to seventy-two. Juggling, singing, playing an instrument, and magic tricks are popular among the contestants for this current competition. One did voice impersonations atrociously that the crowd booed him off the stage. A pair of Dwarves did a dance, and so did a group of Halflings as well. Both earned high points, with the second group edging out the first dyad with 36 to 35. A child, age nine, got stage fright and ran off the stage, crying with the crowd and judges clapping sympathetically. Then Envarn has his turn.

"What's your name, sir?" one of the judges asked.

"Envarn Hearthrow."

"And what will be doing tonight?"

"I'll be playing on a violin."

"What song are you going to be playing?"

"Nimec li re Aciviž. Translated, it means Seasons Change." The name causes several audience members to gasp, and the judges look surprised.

"It's a complicated song to play. Best of luck. Begin." Envarn absolutely nailed his performance. The audience and the judges sat in their seats, barely taking any breaths as they are mesmerized by his work. When he finishes, everyone claps, including Arven, Jemeir, Merrick, and Kaera, and most stand from their seats. The score is at 39, with the judge giving a 9 saying that he detected a tiny part where a note was slightly off. Off! The only that's somewhat off is your nose. Envarn walks off the stage and goes past Sylfinas, who is up next.

"Break a leg," Envarn said.

"Thanks."

"I mean it literally, mutt."

Of course, asshole. Sylfinas doesn't bother responding and instead heads out to greet the crowd.

"Hello, and what is your name, sir?"

"Sylfinas Runestalker."

"And what will you be doing tonight?"

"I'll be performing Dragon Incarnate by Iron Fist. I'll be singing and playing the guitar." The crowd starts murmuring various words like "Dragon Incarnate? Malrina? Is he serious? Hope she doesn't hear this in case it goes bad. That's one tough song to do just by guitar and singing along."

"Well, it looks like we have another heavy hitter in our hands. Best of luck. You may begin."

Sylfinas starts playing the guitar. Several seconds later, he sings.

On a battlefield far from home, a dragonkin earns her fame.

On the 6th of Avrew, 495, a deed will go down in history.

In the Battle of Meybury, one being stands when all have fled.

Against the odds, she turned the tides of war.

Emerged!

A force from beneath the rubble.

Abandoned!

Her brothers in arms are nowhere in sight.

Putting faith and skill to the test.

She was among the best.

Patriotism at its finest.

She never caved in to fear.

Defying the odds at Meybury has earned her the title of

Dragon Incarnate!

For three days of fighting, she hardly slept or took a break.

Facing against a force of hundreds became a force of thousands.

Exhaustion and fatigue hard to beat; her life's in jeopardy.

General Larynda gave her a way out.

Surrender!

Give up, and your life will be spared.

Defiance!

Was Malrina's only reply to her.

Putting faith and skill to the test.

She was among the best.

Patriotism at its finest.

She never caved in to fear.

Defying the odds at Meybury has earned her the title of

Dragon Incarnate!

When her troops arrived, they found her in the ruined city.

Along with those she captured or slain

After the battle was won, a legend was born that day.

Her actions echoing throughout history

*Solo*

Emerged!

A force from beneath the rubble.

Abandoned!

Her brothers in arms are nowhere in sight.

Putting faith and skill to the test.

She was among the best.

Patriotism at its finest.

She never caved in to fear.

Defying the odds at Meybury has earned her the title of

Dragon Incarnate!

Putting faith and skill to the test.

She was among the best.

Patriotism at its finest.

She never caved in to fear.

Defying the odds at Meybury has earned her the title of

Dragon Incarnate!

Defying the odds at Meybury has earned her the title of

Dragon Incarnate

Defying the odds at Meybury has earned her the title of

Dragon Incarnate

DRAGON INCARNATE!!!

Like Envarn's performance, everyone is silent as the half-elf shreds his guitar, especially the solo. His vocals pack a punch when he goes for the high notes. The crowd cheers and claps just as hard as Envarn's for Sylfinas, and judges give a combined score of 39, with the same judge giving a 9 last time doing it again. After the rest of the contestants have gone, the end result is a tie between Envarn and Sylfinas.

Larial gives everyone a ten-minute break to quickly relieve themselves, grab a quick snack, or stretch and give Envarn and Sylfinas some time to think about what to do for their next show. Jemeir and Merrick use this time to find a restroom, and coming back, they run into Radclyff and his family.

"Hey, Jemeir!"

"Radclyff. A pleasure to encounter you out here."

"Same to you. My offsprings have put enough pressure on me to bring them here that I finally caved. How's the other Fenri doing? Are the clothes fitting her well?"

"Kaera's fine," Jemeir answered. "The clothes fit her perfectly. She and the others are already discussing their trip to Canir."

"Speaking of the others, did I hear Sylfinas sing not too long ago?" asked Radclyff.

"You might have. He does an excellent job of projecting his voice."

Radclyff switches over to Merrick. "And how's young Merrick doing?"

"I'm doing well," Merrick answered.

"Glad to hear that. Say that's some tattoos you have on your arms."

"Uhh, thanks?"

"Know where you got them?"

"Not really. They just randomly appeared years and years ago and haven't gone away since."

"I like to stay and chat with you longer, but Merrick and I have to return to see Sylfinas perform again. He's doing a tie-breaker with another contestant."

Radclyff notices Aila and his children beckoning him. "And I believe I detect my wife and pups wanting my attention, so I must leave. Appears they are ready for pie." He can hardly contain himself at thinking about obtaining a slice. "Looking forward to our next meeting."

"Same here. Take care now."

"You too."

While the break continues, Sylfinas is backstage preparing for his round. He also heads to the restroom that only contestants and other people working backstage have access to. Seeing an opportunity, Envarn stealthily takes Sylfinas's guitar and destroys it. He leaves pretending nothing happened, and a few minutes later, Sylfinas comes back and beholds his prized possession in pieces. I have a sneaking suspicion of what happened. Not wanting to waste time accusing Envarn, he grabs the attention of one of the people working "Excuse me. My guitar just got destroyed. Is there any around here that I can borrow? I don't have much time."

"I'll see what I can find." The person leaves and arrives a few minutes later when Envarn heads out to wait his turn. "This is what I can find." The person hands the Half-Elf an ancient-looking guitar that doesn't appear it has that much life. While playing with the strings, he notices that this an acoustic-only guitar. Fortunately for me,_ I already planned on doing acoustics. Just hope to Aneryu that this will hold out just enough for me to play. Then it's time to retire this._

Jemeir and Merrick get back to their seats just in time. Larial announces the start of the tie-breaker round. Envarn is first, and he reveals his violin and begins playing. Instead of the more classical approach to his first performance, this one has more beat to it, causing the crowd to clap and stomp their feet to the rhythm and some to do a bit of dancing. It takes all of the four minutes allotted to Envarn to finish, and the audience claps and cheers. With a bow, he leaves the stage after hearing that his score is 36.

Sylfinas gets on the stage a couple of minutes later. In contrast to the rock approach he did last time, this time goes more of a softer tune with his guitar more acoustic and voice more melodic and calming. Sylfinas encourages the people to sing along with him on certain parts of the song. The show is halfway over when a problem arises. Everyone hears a guitar string snap, and Sylfinas does the best to make up for one less string to play. When he's all done, the judges give a score of 33. Envarn wins.

After the final ceremonies are over and the contest comes to an end, everybody pours out into the streets. An announcement about the circus starting soon plays out. Sylfinas meets Arven and the others outside.

"Sorry that you didn't win," Kaera said

"It's alright, Kaera."

"If it will cheer you up, I enjoyed yours much more than Envarn's. You won in my books."

"Appreciate it, but I'm not disappointed that I didn't win. All that matters is that the crowd enjoyed it. Plus, there are always other chances to win."

"I did notice one thing, son," Jemeir spoke. "Your guitar for the second show was vastly different from the first. What happened to the other one?"

"It got destroyed," Sylfinas answered.

"Really? That must've hurt when you saw it. You've worked hard to pay for it. How did it happen?"

The group sees Envarn and his group walking around, laughing, and celebrating Envarn's victory. "I'll give you three guesses on what I suspect happened."

Envarn notices the group. "Well, well, well. Look who's in my way. Begone loser! Your presence disgusts me."

Kaera gets in Envarn's face. "You sabotaged Sylfinas, didn't you?"

"Accidents happen. Unfortunately, it occurred at the worst opportunity. I would've preferred to won more fair and square, but alas. It's not like there's any proof I did such despicable things anyway. I need you to move away fleabag. Now!" He gets socked in the face by Kaera, and his nose starts bleeding. He falls to the ground. "My nose! You broke my nose!"

"That's not all I'm going to break if you continue to harass us. That goes for all of you!" Kaera growls as Envarn's friends pick him up and ambulate in a different direction.

Envarn glares at Jemeir, "My father will hear about this, Runestalker. It won't be pleasant when he gets involved."

"I'll be waiting. Sucks that you're just a pathetic child that relies on parents to deal with problems instead of by yourself like a man. Now I recommend getting your nose checked out and fixed. It seems crooked." Envarn and his crew leaves.

Merrick adds one final taunt. "And make sure to see what they can to fix the rest of your face. I highly doubt they can."

"That's enough, Merrick."

"Sorry, Jemeir."

Arven stares at Kaera. "That was one hell of a punch you threw."

"Thanks. Felt good getting it out of my system."

"As much as it did, don't do that to every person that pisses you off," Jemeir warned. "I know that Fenri are more aggressive than other races, but try to control it."

Kaera's ears frown. "Sorry about that, Jemeir."

"It's alright. What's done is done, and I'll be honest that I cheered on the inside when you did it. But now Malfias will be involved, and I'm giving all of you here this order. Do not confront him unless I'm around, and I give you the go-ahead. As much as this is hypocritical of me to say this, let me handle it. He's not the sort of person to bury the hatchet. Understand?"

All four say simultaneously, "We understand."

"Excellent. Now leave and enjoy more of the festival. I heard that circus is about to start very soon."

"What will you be doing?" asked Arven.

"Well, Arven, I'll be off looking at farming equipment, art, and other activities that you youngsters consider boring. I might have another chat with Radclyff if I see him again."

"He's here?"

"Yes. Merrick and I saw him and his family while coming back from the restrooms. Now, what will it be, running off and having fun or doing the boring stuff with me?"

"We're heading off," Arven answered.

"Thought so. Take care now. We'll rendezvous here to head back home or in case of an emergency." Jemeir leaves.

"So what does everyone want to do? Want to go see the circus?" Arven asked.

"I approve," Sylfinas answered.

"No complaints," Merrick responded.

Kaera shrugs. "I'm fine with it."

"Then we better get going before the good seats are taken."

They run off and arrive at the big tent near where the talent show took place. The place is illuminated by a bunch of bright lanterns; the line to get in is long. As they all wait to get in, they discern a raven standing on top of a pole before flying away.

"That's the third time in a short period that we've seen a raven, Kaera," Sylfinas commented.

"You letting the superstitious woman get to you?" asked Kaera.

"No! Besides, we've come across two others, and nothing catastrophic has happened."

"Your instrument broke, and you lost."

"That's a coincidence. Ravens are more associated with death and other things of that nature."

Arven interrupts. "Well, just to be safe, be on alert."

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