Uncle Knight sat down, as if a great burden had been placed upon his shoulders. ÒMatt, IÕm going to need to tell you something, and I donÕt think youÕre going to like what youÕre going to hear.Ó He began taking off his weapons and armor. ÒYou never had a mother and father. You were created, created out of ancient magic.Ó
Matthew was stunned. ÒBut, magic is just a legend- itÕs not real-Ó
ÒSo you know so much about the workings of the world, do you? Let me tell you something. When Arlmor- the Eternal One of Light-Ó
ÒI thought Arlmor was a Dragon! Do the Eternal Ones have the same names as the dragons that they represent?Ó
ÒYes, yes, they have the same names. Anyway, when Arlmor told us about the different types of ÔpowersÕ, sorcery and such, he told you about majick. Majick is an old, old art, stronger than the rest of them combined. I donÕt know why the Dragon Gods made it as such, but they did put a drawback behind it. For even the weakest act of majick left the body of the user so drained that he or she had to be put in medical care immediately. Usually the magician died. The drawbacks were so great that majick fell into disuse.
ÒFive magicians died when you were created.Ó He paused. He had just finished unstrapping the broadswordÕs scabbard from his back, and was completely unarmed and un- armored.
ÒBecause there is something wrong. You see, when the Seven Whispers came into being, that was an explosion of power, even though they didnÕt feel it, or even hear it. In that explosion, a new universe was created. It was the opposite of this world. Every side that is not seen here is seen in that other, black world. I call it the black world because there is no color in it. There is no light, not in our sense. It is too complicated to explain.
ÒBut the ruler there is a Dragon God. There are seven Dragon Gods in that limbo world, as in this, but there is another, a God of Gods. The Dragon God of Death. All dead souls are sent there, to him- it, and they would be endlessly writhing in pain, if not for the fact that dead souls can feel no pain.
ÒThe Dragon God of Death loves pain. It hates the living. It could be called the Dragon God of Hate as well, that is how much it utterly loathes the living. If it escapes, we will all be tortured endlessly and mercilessly, because our crime is living.
ÒIt is getting out. When I refer to it like this, IÕm speaking of the whole world of death, the twisted, black world of death that is another universe. It has created a rift, a rift of magic that is slowly leaking into our world and will consume it, if given enough time.
ÒYou were created to close that rift. You have been given enough power to stop the rift. You are the first true magician- a mage.Ó
This was overwhelming Matthew. But he had been trained, not only physically by Uncle Knight, but mentally as well, by Aunt Enira. He was able to take the emotional shock, and get back on the proverbial horse. Years of discipline and training took over MatthewÕs mind.
ÒYou think I can close this... rift?Ó
ÒYes.Ó
ÒWhat is the enemy situation?Ó
ÒWe donÕt know. All we do know is that we have to get a certain tablet that will tell us how to close the rift.Ó
ÒDo you know the location of this tablet?Ó
ÒWe have an idea.Ó
ÒAn idea.Ó Matthew was not impressed by his UncleÕs knowledge.
ÒWe know of someone who might- might- know the location of the tablets.Ó
ÒWho?Ó
ÒArcturus Zasz.Ó
Matthew was startled. ÒThe old historian?Ó
ÒYes.Ó
ÒHeÕs a legend. Either that or heÕs dead.Ó
ÒOh, heÕs very much alive. You see, he was a test Eternal One. The Dragon Gods needed a pattern to experiment with, so they found one, by trial and error. They came up with Arcturus. Do you know what that means in the ancient tongue? Rebel.
ÒThe Gods named him Zasz, but they didnÕt expect his rebellious nature. When he was set free by the Gods, he made the ancient tongue and wrote it down, spread it across the land. He named himself Arcturus because that meant rebel in his language.Ó
Matthew stood in thought a moment, taking it all in. ÒWhere do we find him?Ó
ÒNear the Great Border,Ó Uncle Knight stopped. ÒI have to confess that I have told you a lie about the world. The map. Go get it.Ó
Matthew went to the corner of the storage barn and found the map scroll. He brought it over and opened it up in front of Uncle Knight.
ÒYou see where the land ends right here? In the northwest?Ó
Matthew nodded.
ÒThe land doesnÕt end. There is a border that separates the Old World from the New World. Here, IÕll show you.Ó
He started to weave his hands in inexplicable patterns. The part of the map that he was concentrating on shimmered, and suddenly the ink began to recede, new ink tracing itself on the paper, until a land mass was formed where sea used to be. There was a gray line marked ÒThe Great BorderÓ, and on either side there were labels marking ÒOld WorldÓ and ÒNew World.Ó
ÒWe live in the Old World. We as humans didnÕt know about the New World until a few hundred years ago. When we get to the Boarder, I donÕt want you going any where near it. You hear me?Ó He started buckling his weapons back on. ÒGo tell En that I told you what you need to know. Go now!Ó
After Matthew had gone, Uncle Knight went out of the barn with his broad sword, needing time with only his weapon.

A few hours later, the small party was on its way. Cyrus, Matthew, and Uncle Knight were in the front of the small cart, with the Elder sleeping in the back.
Uncle Knight had to speak loudly over the rattling cartÕs din. ÒStart looking for a fairly large clearing, you two. Keep your eyes open.Ó
Matthew had spotted a very spacious clearing awhile back, and advised his Uncle of it.
ÒNo, boy, it must be farther on. That clearing is not it. Wait- I see it up ahead. DonÕt ask questions right now, just do as I say, with no questions. Is that clear? This is very important.Ó
When they arrived at the clearing, Uncle Knight drew the wagon to the very center, then shook the Elder awake.
ÒHmm? Oh- We there already? All right...Ó he murmured, then got up. He was dressed in a simple white tunic, and he had shaved his beard, cleaned his hair, and in all looked very nice for an old man. He stood up in the wagon, then jumped down, signaling the others to do so as well. He had them gather in a circle, holding hands around the cart. He spoke solemnly.
ÒNow, I am going to put a picture in your heads. DonÕt be alarmed, I am doing this through sorcery. Then I am going to take it away. Whatever you do, do not think of anything else other than the picture that I have shown you. Do you understand? This is a matter of life and death.Ó The small party nodded their assent.
Matthew closed his eyes. A picture of an extremely old and run- down mansion came into his mind. It was painted white, but the paint had long since flecked and peeled away, leaving a dark grayish look- an un- cared, rough look of a behemoth of a house that had withstood countless ages. He took one last, fleeting look at the clearing, and saw that it was not a clearing, but a massive white structure, with carvings-
And then it was gone, replaced by the image of that ramshackle mansion surrounded by woods on three sides. Matthew focused on that image with all his concentration- which was considerable. Suddenly the image began to waver, like smoke, and he felt like he was being torn apart!
The feeling lasted about three seconds, then was replaced by bliss- a frightening non- feeling, as if he had ceased to exist. He couldnÕt see, he couldnÕt hear, he couldnÕt smell, he couldnÕt feel. It was the same feeling as sleep- the absence of feeling.
Then came a sudden, rending crunch, and he was back to the world. He became sick, as Cyrus, looking much worse for wear, berated the Elder.
ÒWhat the hell was that?Ó he raged.
ÒCalm down, Cyrus- IÕm sorry I couldnÕt prepare you for that, but do you really think anything could have prepared you for your first teleportation?Ó
At those words, Matthew looked around, over his bout of sickness. There was the old mansion, gloomy and looking as if it was going to be swallowed up by the forest at any second.
ÒI- is that ZaszÕ house?Ó he questioned of Uncle Knight, while the Elder was still trying to pacify the usually quiet Cyrus.
ÒYes- that is his house- letÕs hope heÕs in a good mood.Ó Uncle Knight grinned. ÒToo bad for him anyway, eh?Ó