Chapter Text
Callum gritted his teeth as he blocked another blow from Soren.
“You’re supposed to parry, not block with your sword,” instructed Soren.
“I thought swords are meant to slash and stab people,” said Callum snarky before pushing Soren back.
"They are. But should you be shield-less they can be used to parry your opponent and counter-attack. That is the whole point of this exercise," the older boy said and attacking Callum relentlessly until he found an opening and poked him in the gut with the wooden sword. "Dead," he said with a smirk. “You’re too slow and you need to anticipate where your opponent is going to strike if you want to parry successfully. You can’t do that even with a shield.”
Callum smirked. “I didn’t need to parry to beat you the last couple of times.”
Soren glared. “Congratulations. Out of 10 duels, you won 3. It's a good thing the elves will grant multiple chances to win on the battlefield. Oh wait, they won't,” he said sarcastically.
The young prince sighed. “I know. Sorry.”
“Let’s try again.”
They dueled multiple times and at one point Callum was forcing Soren back until the young knight deduced the prince's move and swiftly disarmed him before poking him in the head. Callum hissed in pain, but he noticed someone in his peripheral vision. Turning his head he saw Claudia walking around reading her favorite book. Suddenly his pain disappeared and his mood was elevated as a smile appeared on his face. Having noticed the dumb smile and the lovesick puppy look Callum had for his sister, Soren rolled his eyes. Callum smile dropped when he noticed the collision trajectory Claudia had with the tree and the fact that her nose was buried inside the book to notice.
“Hey, your sister is about to hit the tree,” he exclaimed, but Soren just shushed him. Not being able to stand by he shouted her name.
Claudia looked up and saw that she was a hair away from the tree. She turned around and saw Callum and her brother. “Hi Callum,” she greeted with a smile that made his heart quicken. “Is this new?” she asked, pointing at the tree.
“Relatively new,” he said with a chuckle. “Only 300 years.”
Claudia laughed before sitting down on the bench, reading her book but also paying attention to the two boys sparring.
“Hey, can we try again? I think I can do it now,” Callum said.
Soren went on offensive pushing Callum back. The young prince let out a battle cry and went low for Soren’s legs, but the young knight stepped back and caught the sword with his leg. “What was that?” asked Soren amused.
“I don’t know. Uh, I was trying to ‘sweep the leg’,” admitted Callum lamely.
"That's not a thing in sword fighting," he said before looking at his sister who was paying attention. Soren chuckled. "I see what's going on here," he said before releasing Callum’s sword. “Don’t worry, I’ll help. You come at me this time.” True to his word, Soren went easy on Callum and let him ‘stab’ him. He let out a grunt and fell to the ground dramatically. “Oh, I’ve been stabbed! By the stab-prince! Lord Stabbington! Why? Spurt! Spurt!”
Callum smiled. Soren was a good friend for helping him impress Claudia. He considered the young knight to be his best friend.
Claudia chuckled. “Nice worked Callum,” she said and Callum’s heart soar.
However, the fun would not last as Opeli came and informed him that the king requested his presence.
Their father is sending them both to the Banther Lodge… the Winter Lodge… in spring, with little to no explanation whatsoever. Both he and Ezran could figure out something was wrong, but being the good older brother that he is, Callum reassured Ezran that it was no big deal. Callum eventually figured what was going on, thanks to Soren's big mouth. So, finding some armor that fit him, a sword and a shield he met with the group of soldiers that Soren would lead to finding the assassins.
“Wait!” he called. “I’m coming with you!”
"You look terrific," said Soren sarcastically. "But, just so you know, that's ceremonial armor. It's three times as heavy and half as strong. Oh, but so shiny!"
“I don’t care. I know what’s going on and I’m coming with you,” the young prince said with determination as he struggled to get on the horse.
“You’re just a kid, Callum.”
"I'll be 15 in two months," he defended lamely.
“Oh, fourteen and three quarters! Wow!” Soren responded sarcastically.
“Five-sixths. Soren, he’s our King. And he’s my father. It’s my duty to help.”
Soren took a bite out of his apple. "Think fast!" he said and threw the apple at the young prince who blocked it and fell down his horse in the mud. The young knight let out a sigh. "You were supposed to catch that," he said before leaving the frustrated prince behind.
Removing the dirty armor, Callum returned to his room he shared with Ezran.
“Ez! What are you doing?” he asked annoyed.
“Hi, Callum. Do you want a-“
“No, I don’t want a stupid jelly tart!” he snapped. “Why aren’t you packed? You know we have to get going soon.”
“But…you’re not packed.”
“What do you think I’m doing?” he asked rhetorically as he stuffed clothes into his backpack. As he put clothes inside his backpack, he felt something sticky. Pulling his hand out he saw that he shoved a shirt into the jelly tarts his brother put in, as a joke. Normally he could have taken the joke, but he was frustrated that he couldn’t do a damned thing to save his father. While he was decent with a sword and shield against regular guards, he had no chance against the elite troops and knights in the kingdom. From what he heard the assassins were Moonshadow elves, the strongest warriors in the world. He felt so useless! Ezran giggle was the last thing that pushed him off the edge. “Ezran! You don’t get it, do you? Why do you think they’re sending us away? Because they are coming to kill him!”
Callum watched as unshed tears formed in his younger brother’s eyes before entering his bedroom and shut the door. Callum sighed as he sat on the floor, feeling awful. He was supposed to support Ez, but all he did was hurt his little brother and worry him about their dad. He really sucked at everything. He got up and began packing again, letting Ezran cool off before attempting to talk to him again. When he was done, he knocked on the door. “Ezran, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I said. I’m sure everything will be fine. Come on. Later, you can call me a jerkface, and I’ll do the crazy jerkface dance for you. It is a dance of stuptidute and sorry-ness," he said, hoping that the boy would talk to him again. When the door didn't open, Callum's shoulder sag in regret. "Okay, well, I'm going to go grab some books for our trip. We don't have much time, so I'll be back to help you pack in a few," he said and left to the library.
In the library, the young prince search for a book that he looks interesting. Eventually, he picked up a book he found interesting. He opened it at a random page and before he could look at it, the page turn, making him gasp. Suddenly, the pages turned by themselves and the boy gasp again and back away. “How in the…” he whispered.
Claudia made her presence known by giggling. Callum gaped at the mage apprentice as she made a strange symbol in the air. “Aspiro,” she whispered and blew a current of air that threw the book away.
“I thought the book was hunted or something,” the young prince said as he got up.
“You should have seen the look on your face. It was completely adorable.”
“Ridiculous,” he said at the same time as Claudia and when he realized she said something else she looked at her. “Did you just say adorable?”
“Did I?” she asked with a cheeky smirk, making Callum blush and look away.
The young prince quickly cleared his throat to save face. "It's so amazing that you can do things like that."
"Nah, it's just a simple wind breath rune," she said as she drew the rune symbol in the air and cast Aspiro. “Can you smell the peanut butter?”
“Oh, yeah. Is that part of the spell?”
“Nope, it’s just what I had for lunch,” she responded and both laughed. “See this?” she asked as she lifted the strange globe. “It’s a primal stone. It uses magical energy from one of the six primal sources. Look,” she said and handed him the stone.
“Wow,” breathed Callum as he looked at it, feeling a pull towards it. “What’s inside?”
“It’s a storm, a real storm. Captured from the top of Mount Kalik.”
“That’s incredible. You’re so lucky you get to learn magic,” he said as he gave the stone back, feeling a bit sad that he had to part with it.
“Well, you get to learn sword-fighting,” she said trying to uplift the young prince’s spirit.
“I’d switch places in a second.”
Callum watched as Claudia's face lit up as if she got an idea. She tapped her nose, which he considered to be very cute before dashing off. The young prince didn't understand what that was about (or girls in general) but was happy that he could help his crush. Picking up the book he returned to his room and knocked on his brother's door.
“Ezran, we need to get going. It's almost sundown," he said but got no response. "Ez?” he asked once more before sticking his head through Bait’s entrance. “Oh, no,” he exclaimed as he realized Ez was not in his room.
“Prince Callum?” a guard asked, startling him, making him hit his head.
“Yes?” he said with an uneasy smile as he rubbed the spot he hit.
“The king wants to see you alone, prince Callum,” the guard said.
Callum thanked the guard and quickly went to the Throne Room. On the way there he relaxed. Ez is fine. He does that all the time when he is upset. He’ll turn up when it’s time to go. He opened the door and saw King Harrow in the middle of the room, his back turned to him, his hands behind his back. Callum recognizes his pensive stance. "You wanted to see me?" he asked as the king turned to face him, but said nothing. The young prince entered and approached the king.
“Prince Callum,” Harrow addressed him.
Ah, so formal then. Callum bowed. “My king.”
“No, I…Please,” the king said as if he realized he made a mistake.
“Okay,” the young boy said, looking confused.
“Callum, I know that I’m not your birth father, but I what you to know that…” he said before taking a deep breath. “This isn’t easy. So, the most important things, I’ve written down,” he said and handed the boy a sealed letter.
“A letter?” he asked as he grabbed it.
“You’ll understand in time. I want you to break the seal when…Well, you’ll know when.”
“When you’ve been killed,” the prince said, his voice heavy with emotion.
"War is full of uncertainty," Harrow said putting his hand on Callum's shoulder, trying to give the boy hope but failed.
“Why can’t you do something about it? Can’t you just make peace with them?”
“It’s not that simple.”
Callum shrugged Harrow's hand off him. "It seems pretty simple to me. You don't want to die. I’m sure the elves and the dragon don’t want to die. So, everyone agrees.”
“There are centuries of history. Generations of wrongs and crimes. On both sides. I am responsible for some of those wrongs. I have done terrible things. I thought they were necessary. Now I don’t know,” Harrow said, voice heavy with regret. “But I do know that I will pay the price for the choices I made.”
“There has to be a way to make it right.”
“It’s too late. What is done cannot be undone.”
“But you’re the king. You can do anything.”
Harrow chuckled. “The great illusion of childhood is that adults have all the power and freedom. But the truth is the opposite. A child is freer than a king.”
“I’m going to give this back to you this weekend, okay? I’m not going to have to open this,” he said, trying to convince himself more than his adoptive father.
Harrow looked at Callum sadly. “Take care of your brother.”
Callum began to walk away sadly. When he was at the middle of the room he stopped and balled his hands into fists. To hell with this. He turned and faced Harrow who looked at him with the same sad expression. Tears began to form in his eyes but refused to let them fall. Instead, he hugged his adoptive father, conveying all his feelings towards him in that hug. Eventually, he left the throne room and went back to look for his brother. As he walked down the corridor, he saw something moving from his peripheral vision.
“Ez, is that you?” he called but got no answer.
He continued walking, but the hairs on the back of his head were straight. Someone was stalking him. Ez is probably trying to prank me for being a jerk earlier. He considered letting his brother have his revenge but decided against it. He wanted to properly apologize for earlier and if Ez considered he still wanted to prank him, he would let it slide this time.
He smirked. "You know you can't sneak up behind me," he said and turned. However, instead of his little brother behind him was figure dressed in light green armor with two swords drawn. Removing her hood the figure revealed herself to be a Moonshadow elf. “Uh, uh, you’re not who I thought…You’re one of those, with the pointy…”
The elf smirked. “Oh, you don’t like my ears?”
“No. I mean, yeah. Yes, I do, I guess,” he stuttered. “I mean…I meant the pointy swords.”
“That’s far enough,” she instructed, pointing one of her swords at him. “I’m looking for someone.”
Oh, I know who you’re looking for and I won’t let you hurt him. “Oh. Uh, did you check back there?” he asked pointing at a curtain hung on the wall.
To his great surprise, the elf looked at it, and Callum took advantage of the little distraction and dropped the curtain on her and started running to find help. The elf quickly catches up to him and no matter how many armored suits he knocked behind him, nothing seems to slow her down. Eventually, he found two guards patrolling, but they were no match for her. He was so amazed at how powerful she was that he blurted out. "Hey, you swept the leg.”
“What?”
“Uh, nothing,” he said and ran away again. As he ran he recognized this part of the castle.
Lord Viren’s quarters are nearby. If anyone can deal with her it would be him.
With his mind made up, he reached the High Mage's room and burst open the doors.
“Lord Viren! Claudia!” he yelled but to his despair the room was empty.
A second later the elf bumped into him, cornering him.
“You don’t have to die,” she said as she approached him. “There are only two targets tonight.”
“Wait, two? What do you mean?”
“I’m here for the king. And I’m also here for his son, Prince Ezran.”
Callum’s entire being just turned cold. “You can’t! That’s just not fair! Why would you hurt someone who has done nothing wrong?”
"Humans cut down the King of the Dragons and destroyed his only egg, the Dragon Prince. Justice will not be denied."
"I see," he said and took a deep breath, to strengthen his resolve. He was not strong enough to defeat this elf, but there is something else he could do to give his brother a fighting chance. I’m sorry Ez. “Then you found me. I am Prince Ezran.”
“I have to do this, I’m sorry. I don’t want to, but I have to.”
“Why? You know this is wrong,” he said, trying to reach out to the elf girl. Maybe he could find a peaceful resolution to this. Time to put my diplomatic skills to the test
“An assassin doesn’t decide right and wrong, only life and death.”
"That's very clever, but come on, really? How does this solve anything?"
“This is justice. Humans attacked us unprovoked.”
“So, it’s okay for you to do the same?”
“Well, no. It’s not the same thing because we are attacking you provoked.”
“Then it’s a cycle. You hurt me and someone will get revenge on elves. It will never end!”
“Callum,” a voice he knew so well whispered, making the prince's heartbeat twice as fast in panic and fear.
You idiot! What are you doing here?!
“Psst, Callum,” Ez said again from behind the painting.
“Go away,” he whispered back angrily.
“I found something.”
“Are you talking to that painting?” asked the elf.
He let out a nervous chuckle. “Why would I do that? ‘Cause it’s not a good time.”
“You mean because you’re with a girl?”
For crying out loud Ezran!
The assassin moved slowly towards the painting, as she kept pointing one of her swords at Callum and opened the secret passage.
“Uh…Jelly tart?” the young prince offered lamely.
“Kid, get out of here!” Callum ordered.
“Callum, what’s going on?” asked Ez and Callum fought the urge to facepalm himself.
“Callum? I thought you were prince Ezran. You lied to me,” the elf said angrily.
“Okay, how is that worse than trying to kill someone?” he asked trying one last time to appeal to her good sense.
The assassin looked at Ezran who was munching on a tart. “Have you met Bait? Say hello to my little friend,” he said and Bait glowed, blinding the elf. “Callum, follow me. I have to show you something.”
Callum wasted no time and followed his brother. He couldn’t help but be amazed at the secret passage and the secret lab.
“You sure she won’t be able to follow us?” he asked his brother.
"No way. It took me a month to learn that combination," Ez said proudly.
Suddenly the entrance of the lab opened and both princes froze in fear as the assassin entered.
“But, how did you…” Ez asked dumbfounded.
“I just pressed all the stones with jelly handprints,” she said with a menacing smirk.
Callum moved protectively in front of Ezran, looking around desperately for something, anything that could hold off the assassin to give his brother a chance to escape, but found nothing. He clenched his jaw, determined to throw himself at the elf.
“What is this place?” she asked angrily. “Runaan is right. There is nothing in humans worth sparing. Time’s up. Humans destroyed the egg of the Dragon Prince. There must be justice.”
“You’ll have to get through me,” Callum said with determination.
“Really?” growled the elf as she advanced.
“Wait!” yelled Ez. “You need to see something.”
“I’m falling for that flashing toad trick again.”
“He’s a glow toad,” clarified Ez. “But there is no trick this time. Please look,” pleaded the boy, pointing at a thing covered by a blanket.
The assassin agreed, surprising Callum. “Fine, you uncover it. Slowly.”
“I can hear something inside, something alive,” he said and moved the blanket, revealing a blue, glowing egg.
The elf gasped. “It…it can’t be.”
“The egg. It wasn’t destroyed,” Callum said and felt hope spark within him. If they returned the egg, maybe the assassins would leave Harrow alive.
“This changes everything,” the elf said, making the spark inside the young prince burn brighter.
“So, this is it? The egg of the Dragon Prince?” asked Callum for confirmation
“I can’t believe. If the egg lives…” the elf said.
“Maybe it can stop a war from happening,” finished the prince.
The assassin approached the egg to study it.
“He’s okay in there. I can feel it,” Ez said, making the elf relax.
“But how? Why wasn’t it destroyed?” asked Callum
“Because my father saved it,” said Claudia as she made her presence known. The assassin drew her blades. “Callum, Ezran, get behind me. I can protect you from the elf.”
“Your father didn’t save it, he stole it,” accused the assassin.
“That’s a lie!”
“Then, Claudia, why is it here?” Callum asked as he stepped forward, trying to find a way to resolve this without conflict.
“My father took it to protect us, Callum, so the elves and the dragons couldn’t use it against us,” the mage apprentice explained.
“What are you talking about? How can we use it?” asked the elf, finding the questions utterly ridiculous.
“Don’t play dumb! You know it’s a powerful weapon.”
“It’s not a weapon. It’s an egg!”
“Ezran, don’t be afraid. Walk towards, and if she moves an inch…” she said and drew a rune in the air, making lighting crackle around her.
Well, looks like there is no way this can be resolved peacefully sighed the prince mentally.
“Just bring that thing here.”
“It’s not a thing! It has a mother and it needs to go back to her.”
“You’re right. It wants its mother,” said Ezran.
“Ezran, be careful,” warned Claudia.
Callum looked at his younger brother ponder before choosing to lead the elf away.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hit Ez,” the young mage assured Callum
However just as she was about to shoot, Callum pushed her hand away and quickly chained her.
“Callum, what are you doing?” Claudia asked completely shocked that he would do such a thing.
The boy couldn’t bear to look her in the eye and see her betrayed expression. It hurt him so much that he had to this and he was sure that if he were to look at her now, it would kill him inside. “The right thing, I hope,” he said before grabbing the primal stone. “I’m sorry Claudia,” he said over his shoulder as he ran after his brother and the elf, choosing to ignore her calling out his name.
As he ran he heard wolves howling. He looked back, he saw two shadows wolfs right behind him making him ran faster.
“There’s something behind us,” he informed his companions.
“Keep running,” order the elf as she stopped and drew her blades.
Unfortunately, the princes accidentally walked into a dead end and the assassin tried to fight off the wolves, but since they were made of smoke she couldn’t hurt them.
“I can’t stop them. They’re just smoke. My swords pass right through,” she said, panic quite clear in her voice, as she stood protectively in front of the princes as the wolves moved forward.
Callum looked at the Primal Stone an idea forming in his mind. He recalled the rune that Claudia draw and the wind spell. “There might be something I can do, but I don’t know if I can do it,” he said.
“Is this a guessing game? Just do it,” replied the elf annoyed.
The wolves lunged, ready to pounce on the assassin. Callum stopped thinking, he just acted. He drew the rune and said the spell’s name, successfully blowing the shadow wolves away.
“You did it,” exclaimed Ezran happily.
“You didn’t mention you were a mage,” the elf said as he regarded the prince with curiosity.
“Who? Me?” asked as he snapped from his amazement. “I’m not a mage.”
“You just did magic,” said the little prince excitedly.
“Yeah, that’s what a mage is,” supplied the elf. “You’re a mage.”
"I'm a mage?" asked Callum, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "I'm a mage!"
The elf put her finger on his mouth to shush him. “Nobody liked a loud mage.”
“Sorry,” said the prince sheepishly.
I’m a mage
They had managed to get to the roof with no problem. He and Ezran were hidden behind a box as the elf, no, Rayla, tried to convince her superior, Runaan, to call off the assassination, explaining that she found the egg of the Dragon Prince. Runaan, however, would have none of it, calling Rayla a fool for believing such a thing.
“She’s not a fool,” said Callum as he stepped out from his hiding spot. He understood Runaan’s point of view, ‘seeing is believing after all’. Even he wouldn’t trust someone just because they talk sweetly.
“You’ve made a big mistake,” he growled as he notched an arrow.
“Ez, show him,” he said and his brother revealed the egg.
Runaan gasped. “It’s beautiful,” he said and Callum had to stop himself from smiling.
We’ve done it. We’ve stopped the assassination and probably managed to reach a peaceful agreement between Xadia and the Pentarchy.
“How can we take vengeance for an act that never happened?” Rayla reasoned. “You have to call it off.”
“Rayla, you know it doesn’t work that way. We bound ourselves. There’s only one way to release,” Runaan said and Callum’s body got tense.
No, don’t be an idiot!
“Runaan, please,” Rayla pleaded. “There has to be another way. This is a miracle, a chance of peace.”
“The humans stroke down the King of the Dragons. Justice will not be denied. Now hand me the egg,” ordered Runaan.
Instead, Rayla drew her weapons and stood protectively in front of the princes, a move that surprised everyone. “Callum, Ezran, go,” she ordered.
“But-“ Callum tried to voice his concern
“Just keep it safe,” she said.
Callum reluctantly led Ezran away. Once down from the battlements he hid Ez and Bait into a wagon of hay before going up to see his father. He didn’t know what his father would do, but there has to be something he could do. He was the king after all.
He quickly made his way past the guards, only for Soren to block the door. “Whoa, slow down there prince. Your dad is pretty busy. You know, trying not to die and stuff.”
“You’re not stopping me,” the young prince said with determination as he pushed past Soren only to come face to face with Lord Viren.
"You should not be here," he said while glaring at the boy.
“I know what you did,” Callum said, matching the High Mage’s glare. “You stole the egg of the Dragon Prince. We’ve found it and we’re keeping it safe.”
Normally Callum wouldn’t have exploded like this but today have been a pretty long and bad day for him. The way he saw it, the reason assassins were after his father’s life was because Viren killed the Dragon Prince and stole their egg, regardless of Claudia's claims.
“’We’?” asked Viren, raising an eyebrow.
“The king will have you in shackles when he finds out about this!”
“What makes you so sure that he doesn’t know about this?” asked as Callum’s breath hitched.
No, that can’t be true.
“Grab him,” ordered Viren and the guards looked at him like he grew a second head.
“But, he’s the prince,” said Soren, unknowingly voicing Callum’s thoughts as well.
“Do it!”
Callum tried to run, but the guards quickly grabbed him and brought up to Viren. “Now, tell me. Where is the egg?”
“I’ll call out! I’ll scream!”
“Go ahead,” the High Mage said before performing a spell that took Callum’s voice, horrifying everyone present.
“You impudent little mongrel! You were spoiled and given everything and that has left you weak and helpless,” ranted the mage with venom. “Tonight, your world is changing, and there is nothing you or anyone can-“
Suddenly the wind began to howl as the torches were snuffed out.
“They’re here,” said Soren as the guards readied themselves.
An arrow sailed through the hall aimed at Callum, but Soren pushed the young prince out of the way and the arrow hit his shoulder. The elves poured into the hall and chaos erupted. In the attack, Viren got knocked down and dropped the recipient holding Callum's voice who returned to his owner. Callum desperately yelled for his father, but due to the noise of battle his voice didn't reach the king, nor could he reach the door to his chamber. Looking around the battlefield he saw Viren who backed away slowly.
What is he doing? Is he really going to leave King Harrow to his fate?
“Callum!” Ezran voiced called him.
From the window, Callum saw his brother and Rayla looking for him before looking back at the fight. Viren already disappeared. At that moment Callum came to a grim realization: he couldn't do anything to stop the elves or reach Harrow. But there were other things he could do: keep his brother safe and return the egg in hope of bringing peace. With a heavy heart, he ran down the stairs and in his hurry tripped over the dead body of a guard. He recoiled, unable to look at the poor soul and kept running.
“Callum. Did you talk to dad?” asked Ezran.
The prince shook his head and looked at the tower.
“Say the word and I’ll go back into that tower with you,” said Rayla with determination.
Callum truly appreciated the offer, but he had already made up his mind. “No. It’s up to us now. We have to return the egg. We have to keep it safe and carry it to Xadia.”
“And find its mother,” completed Ezran.
“We could change things. We can make a difference,” said Rayla.
"Just the three of us," said Callum, and Bait croaked at him annoyed. "Sorry. Just the four of us" corrected sheepishly.
And they were off with Rayla leading the way.
“Callum, do you think dad will be alright?” Ezran asked as they ran.
"He has the best-trained guards protecting him," the older brother said, trying to convince the both of them.
“Yeah, you’re right,” said the young boy happily.
As they ran through the woods, Rayla suddenly stopped. Callum noticed. “What’s going on? Something is wrong.”
“No, it’s…We should stop and rest soon. It’s a long journey to Xadia.”
Callum nodded satisfied with the explanation. “I’ll take the first watch. I’ll wake you up when in a couple of hours.”
“Are you sure asked?” asked Rayla. “You should rest. You had a long day.”
“I’m not tired yet. I’ll take the first watch,” said the prince with a note of finality.
As his companions rested, Callum replayed the events of the day in his mind, trying to see if there was something he could do to help his father, but he found nothing.
Viren was right. I’m weak and helpless. If only I had been stronger, faster, smarter maybe the situation would have been different.
He felt an emotion he hadn’t felt since his mother died: anger. He was angry at Runaan for his close-mindedness, at Viren for provoking the elves and the dragons, but the most anger he felt was towards his weakness. A light snore pulled him out of his self-loathing and looked at his little brother sleeping with a smile on his face, no doubt having a nice dream. He shook his head to get rid of negative thoughts. For now, he had a job to do. He looked at the Primal Stone with determination.
I had enough of being weak. I’m going to become strong to protect the ones I cherish. I swear it!