Ashaedia and the group decided to stay in Sapherial for the night before departing for Faein. They rested in a three story hotel that was near the place where Marikai guided Ashaedia to. Ashaedia had heard Marikai call that place the Sapherial Trade Center. Firoh had asked for a night gown for Ashaedia to wear to bed when they settled into their room. Now her companions lay in deep sleep in their comfy beds, all but Ashaedia. She had thought about Ultheron’s fate and wondered if she would ever meet the boy. She prayed that night for his safety and asked God for him to return home unharmed. It was now midnight and Ashaedia looked towards Marikai’s bed. He was sound asleep and wrapped up in his soft blanket. Ashaedia sighed. She got out of bed and silently walked across the room to the balcony.
The stars overhead shone brightly in the dark sky. A soft breeze nipped the hem of Ashaedia’s silvery purple gown. Ashaedia looked up at the star-strewn sky and saw that red and blue star hanging between a white star and a yellow star. It was brighter than the last time Ashaedia looked up at it. She felt it had some sort of importance. Ashaedia put her hand in her gown pocket and pulled out the medallion Marikai had given her. Its eerily beautiful blue light seemed to be much brighter the last time she examined it. Ashaedia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A small stream of grey smoke was exhaled out of her mouth. Ashaedia stared at the small cloud she had made. She sighed and turned around to go back to bed when she caught sight of a small green light in the corner of the hotel room. Ashaedia slowly moved towards it.
When Ashaedia approached it, the light flew up by her face. It was a small fairy. Ashaedia cocked her head to one side and so did the fairy. To Ashaedia’s prediction, it was a boy and seemed to be no younger than fifteen. The fairy boy zipped past Ashaedia’s face and stopped by her ear.
“Follow me . . .” The fairy whispered, and flew towards the closed door. Ashaedia wondered why the fairy wanted to her to follow her.
“Why should I?” Ashaedia asked quietly.
“We want to talk to you. We want to give you something.” The fairy said, and snapped his tiny fingers. The door behind him opened without making a sound. Ashaedia sighed and followed the fairy boy. The hallway was filled with small colored lights that flew past her once in a while. Fairies, Ashaedia thought. They were all over the place! Ashaedia stared in awe as a rainbow of fairies zipped past in a flurry of bright colors. The green fairy boy led Ashaedia downstairs and out the back door to a beautiful garden.
The garden was filled many sorts of flowers that Ashaedia had never seen before. A vine archway led to a small lake. Healer fairies floated above the glassy lake water, illuminating the night. A dirt path lined with red and gold flowers led to a wooden bench surrounded by a half-circle of lush trees, bright colored flowers, eerie plants, and waiting fairies. The small fairy led Ashaedia towards the bench and asked her to sit down. Ashaedia did so and the fairy flew towards the waiting crowd. The air was eerily still, and Ashaedia wondered why the fairies became still.
Suddenly there was a flurry of colorful movement as the fairies whirled around her. The fairies were going so fast that a fierce wind started to pick up. Ashaedia’s hair whipped around her and Ashaedia covered her head. What were they doing? She gripped the bench tightly with one hand and looked down. A gold ring of light began to form around her. And suddenly, she disappeared. Carried off into another dimension. Not leaving a trace except for a silver and blue dragon scale.


Moments later Ashaedia appeared in a grassy meadow bathed in a strange milky twilight. Dark unusual clouds rested above Ashaedia but they didn’t have rain. There were no trees except for a few trees that bore fruits. Five trees dotted the meadow: an apple tree, an orange tree, an olive tree, a grape vine, and a banana tree. Ashaedia was still gripping the bench and opened her eyes. She saw the olive tree and dashed over to it. She plucked an olive from the tree and plopped it into her mouth. Ashaedia bit down on the black olive and was surprised about the taste. It was the best olive she had ever tasted! She looked up at where she plucked the olive and saw another grew in its place. The olive tree glowed a strange green light, and then it went away.
“Whoa,” Ashaedia said after swallowing the scrumptious olive. “That was fast. Didn’t think fruits grew that fast.” Suddenly, a small purple fairy peeked around a black olive. It was a girl with purple wings and hot pink hair and bright green eyes. She stared up at Ashaedia shyly.
“Oh, hello. How are you?” Ashaedia asked her softly. The fairy girl held her hands behind her back and flew towards Ashaedia. She was no bigger than an orange and Ashaedia had to get close to her to hear her tiny words.
“We’ve been expecting you . . .” The fairy said.
“We? You mean you right?” Ashaedia asked.
“No.” And the fairy faded away. Ashaedia was starting to feel uncomfortable. Why wasn’t anyone telling her what was going on? Why was she here in this strange place? She felt like she was being watched. She needed someone to be there with her.
“There, there . . . there is no need to feel panicked.”
Ashaedia spun around and saw a large silver dragon. Its emerald green eyes shone like shining nebulas’. The large muscular build was very intimidating. The dragon had sharp black claws that seemed like they can rip through titanium. Gigantic feathered wings outstretched about fifty feet while the swishing tail was about forty feet. Rows of sharp teeth lined its mouth. The dragon was hovering about ten feet from the ground with its wings. It had a soft teenage girl’s voice.
“How did you – where did – who are you?” Ashaedia asked. The dragon touched the ground softly and sat down in front of her.
“I am Myla. I am a Guardian of Dusk and I am from a realm that was created by my father.” Myla said.
“Your dad made a realm? A world?” Ashaedia asked. How can someone create a new world by themselves?
“Yes, my father created a world called Dragonstar. An unknown portal in the world where you reside lies protected by a Dragon King.” Myla said. Ashaedia racked her brains if she knew one. Dragon King . . . Dragon King . . . Dragon King . . . and then an immediate answer came to her mind.
“King Ashnero! Of Faein! Yes, it all comes together now!” Ashaedia said in excitement. Myla cocked her head slightly to one side.
“What comes together now?” Myla asked.
“Ever since I met Ashnero he told me he’s a Dragon King. He has connections with many dragons and alliances with many of them. He must know where your portal is!” Ashaedia said. Myla looked away sadly.
“That was . . . what I was afraid of.”
“What do you mean?”
“A long time ago, my father became exiled when Draconia and Gyllia had a battle for more land. We dragons won of course, but my father was beaten by a horde of Gyllian tigers. When the other dragons heard of this, they called him a disgrace because he was defeated by a band of ‘rats’. My father didn’t have a fierce heart like some of the other dragons. He didn’t want to end their lives by torching them or slicing them in half with his powerful claws. He wanted them to live. So he and my mother were sent away and my father created a new world with the help of God. We wanted to keep our world a secret and not risk the lives of other dragons that came to our peaceful world.” Myla lowered her large head down to Ashaedia’s body.
“Wow, I never knew some dragons could be terribly proud of their power. But are you . . . a laguz?” Ashaedia asked. Myla reached out for Ashaedia’s small hand. When she touched her tiny hand, Myla shined a white light. White transparent orbs circled her, leaving trails of white mist behind. Myla’s whole body was bathed in white radiance. She grew smaller and smaller, and stopped at Ashaedia’s height. The shining white figure that stood before Ashaedia wasn’t a dragon anymore . . . it was a girl. Cloaked in a silver dress with turquoise feathers in her radiant silver hair and glowing ruby necklace, Ashaedia was awestruck. Myla looked up at Ashaedia, her green eyes eerily beautiful against the twilight that surrounded them.
“You’re . . . you’re . . . you’re my height? Are you like the same age as me or something?” Ashaedia asked. Myla smiled. She let go of Ashaedia’s hand.
“Ashaedia, we are both the same age. I am one hundred years old . . . and so are you.” Myla said. A light breeze weaved through Ashaedia’s hair. She can’t be one hundred years old!
“Me? One hundred years old? A century old? That can’t be so, Myla.” Ashaedia disagreed, shaking her head.
“Oh, I take it that Marikai hasn’t told you yet? That’s strange. He said to his uncle that he would tell you.” Myla said.
“You know Marikai?” Ashaedia asked.
“Well, not that much. I have been watching over you and your little group. It’s so cute how Nalia is so protective over Rafial. And Cailehis looks like a real brute at first, but he seems really kind. Tivarion and his wife Wynne seem real adventurous because while you and Marikai went to the Sapherial Trade Center they flew around the city a lot,” Myla said, smiling. “I really like you and your band of friends. You have so many . . . I wish I had as much friends as you.” Ashaedia frowned. How can someone as kind as Myla not have any friends?
“Don’t you have any dragon friends that live in your realm with you and your father?” Ashaedia asked.
“Yes, but I mostly stay within the palace grounds and I am part of an ancient dragon tribe called the Light Entities. I rarely receive visitors and I am always watching over your world to make sure that the Dusk falls when the sun sets,” Myla said, folding her arms and began to shiver. “That is my role in your world. I am the Dusk Bringer, I cloak your lands in darkness and raise the moon to its former place and hang the shining stars into the night sky.”
“That’s pretty cool, Myla.”
Myla looked up at Ashaedia.
“Y-You think so?” Myla asked.
“Yes, I bet any dragon would want that role.” Ashaedia said, smiling. Myla blushed.
“Well, um, yes. Many of the dragons are envious of my duty. But others would say that it’s a curse to be the Dusk Bringer. I don’t understand why. But enough about me. I am here to equip you with divine armor and to teach you about your past self.” Myla said, and she disappeared. Ashaedia looked around her to find her but she couldn’t find the Dusk Bringer.
“Over here.”
Myla had appeared next to the large grape vine. She beckoned Ashaedia forward.
“You see how this plant sometimes gives off a red glow? Watch now as I pluck this grape from its vine,” Myla plucked a small grape from a thick vine. The whole grape vine turned red and the glow disappeared. “See how another grows in its place? This is how the twilight fairies survive. They enchant these five trees and eat the endless fruits that grow from them.” Myla drew a large silvery circle with her index finger and when she was done, the inside of the circle swirled in a horizontal pool of silver light. Ashaedia stared into the newly made portal. She saw nothing but silver lights.
“Step inside, please. I’m taking you to your past and I will show you your future.” Myla said, motioning her to go inside the silver portal.
“Hmm, you sound like a fortune teller that’s about to show me my future through a crystal ball. That’s quite amusing.” Ashaedia said. Myla laughed.
“Yeah, I suppose so. But here on Tellios we don’t use crystal balls. We use ponds and lakes.” Myla laughed.
“That’s a good idea. You don’t have to worry about your crystal ball breaking.” Ashaedia commented.
“True, true.” And Ashaedia and Myla stepped inside the swirling portal.