1 Chapter 1

. . . .

"How are we going to deal with the Zorzak?" Merlin wondered, his pale yellow eyes scanned the dark forest, searching for any sign of the hideous monsters prowling through the undergrowth.

Merlin tapped his black claws on the desk, thinking about how they were going to get rid of the murderous population of the Zorzak. They first appeared in the forest about twenty years ago, killing random passerby for no reason. Merlin, the head of defense was called to deal with the situation, but he didn't know where to begin.

So, the king had Merlin live in one of the many spare rooms of his castle. Even though the laws had been put into place, it didn't stop the vicious killing spree of the deadly creatures in the woods. What makes the job harder, is that no one has ever seen the Zrozak. They prowl the city streets at night, and if someone saw one, they would be killed immediately.

How many months has it been since my last meeting with King Andromida? About three? No, it's been more than that. Merlin was told to report any strange behavior to the king. But the only behavior has been the same for years.

"General Merlin," someone said, knocking on the door. Merlin looked turned around and saw one of the guards. His snout was covered by a dark violet mask that had eye holes with a marking the king uses. The same marking was branded into the warrior's back. "King Andromida wishes to speak with you in the castle throne room. Be there with your current report on the city of Kilo."

"Tell the king I'll be there," Merlin replied, smoothing his black and white fur to a respectable manner. He wagged his two tails to rid himself of any dirt, and shifted his choker with the king's sign on the front and many other magical symbols Merlin had written.

The guard and Merlin walked side by side to the throne room, passing by golden claw prints on the walls and tall red banners bearing King Andromidas sign. When the room came into view, Merlin had to close his eyes, the shine of the sunlight bounced off the burning pedestals. The king sat in the shadows of his midnight throne, holding the All Seeing Eye.

Merlin gave a deep bow, "Your Majesty, I hope this isn't a bad time."

"No, it's not," King Andromida waved a navy blue claw towards Merlin and dismissed his bow. He scratched one of his black ram-like horns and ruffled his dark turquoise fur. King Andromida looked down at Merlin with his one purple eye, the other was replaced with a large black X. "The Higher Lord wants to hear any further reports on the city, and if there is any information on our current allies, the Zorzaks."

Allies? They have killed countless citizens! Merlin bit his tongue, talking back to the king was high treason. "I have no further updates, Your Majesty. But, has the Eye seen anything lately, if I might be so able to ask?"

"Yes, you shall," King Andromida muttered, swiping his claws over the pitch black sphere. He looked down at the Eye and began whispering spells as the signs of the past, present, and future conspired from the mystical ball, violet smoke cleared and the king shook his head. "Nothing, Merlin. The Higher Lord hasn't been able to see anything either. Now, you may go."

How can we be so sure? The Higher Lord seems awfully secretive to me, it's almost like he's hiding something, Merlin bowed his head and left, wondering why the king had changed. What he was hiding. And why no one seemed to notice.

"General Merlin, how have you been?"

"Alma, what a surprise," Merlin smirked and turned, finding a ghostly white wolf standing in one of the balconies. He was looking over the city of Kilo with his eyes deprived of color. Alma glanced back at Merlin and smiled, walking over to him with a satchel hanging from his neck.

"I see you have just visited with His Majesty, any news?" Alma asked, pulling on the strap of his pouch. His creepy eyes searched Merlin over with a gleam.

"No, nothing to report," Merlin stood straight, arching his back in the perfect form of a knight. "But, I thought you knew that, Alma. You must've seen all the futures including this one."

"Oh," Alma smiled, hiding his disapproval. He laughed suddenly and shook his head. "I don't see futures, I see the present. Nothing else. But, I like how you think I'm so powerful."

Alma walked by Merlin and whispered, "You know something is coming, General. You've seen it in your dreams."

Alma walked down the hallway to the castle exit, leaving the palace. Merlin watched him leave, wanting to ask him questions. But, he knew deep down, that he wouldn't say anything. Merlin shook his head and walked off to the library, searching for clues on the old magic that used to consume the valley.

When Merlin entered, he had to wait a minute for his eyes to adjust to the dimly lit room. Merlin looked around and saw that the library wasn't much different since his last visit two weeks ago. Books and scrolls were scattered everywhere, on the floor, on tables. It was a total wreck.

"Oh, hello, Merlin!" Cosmo, the local blind librarian called out. He stumbled out, his fur the color of paper, with ink-like blotches all over his body. He was a walking scroll. "I've got the newest Pylon scrolls and books for you, if you want to read them! But, if not, you can look for more old magic. Not that I care for that stuff, but at least you take an interest in the past."

Merlin sighed, even though Cosmo lived in the castle for half his life, he was an accident waiting to happen. He was small and didn't get noticed by others. "No, I'll read them later," Merlin said. "Send them to my room, I'll have time to read them after supper."

Cosmos face lit up, "OK! I'll go right now! Oh, I have so much to do! Organize the binders for His Lordship, ship some spell books to the North Rivers Library, send the newest books to your room! I'm a very busy wolf, yup yup yup! Afternoon to you, good lad!" And Cosmo was off, with a schedule that will keep him up at night.

"Silly little wolfling," Merlin laughed, shaking his head. He walked through the huge row of bookshelves he had walked his whole apprenticeship. Merlin scoured the bookshelves till he found the oldest books around. "Ah, there they are. The Legends of Ka, A Wolf's' Guide to Monsters and Spells."

Merlin picked up the biggest book out of the dusty pile, and walked it over to the table and began reading. The pages were yellow and crumbling, Merlin's claws had to be careful or the pages would rip. And he would have to pay for them, three gold pieces each.

"Are there any old old magic books?" Merlin asked himself, turning to a page full of symbols like the ones on his choker.

"Ones concerning dark lords or creepy All Seeing Eyes...?"

The pages had the same things on them, Merlin had seen it all before. Magic, magicked items, scary kings that could live over a thousand years- wait. What?

"Huh?" Merlin glared down at the picture, a huge dragon was curled around the Eye, like the one King Andromida has, the same purple smoke curled around it. "The former King Scord was beheaded for theft, lying to citizens, and killing off children. He was replaced with his only living child, Leo. See Prince Leo pg. 55."

"The young prince led his kingdom with grace and wisdom, until his oldest son, Andromida, killed him and took over the power for the throne. To this day, no one knows who killed the rest of his family, and is still wondering if Andromida is really a good king…"

"That...might explain a few things," Merlin muttered, flipping through the pages, trying to find more information. But, he failed and was called into the grand hall for a feast with the King and few high class guests. "I'll finish my research later, I guess."