Revelations

The walls shook violently as the ancient guardian fell. A cheer arose from those still standing when they discovered the precious treasures their opponent held.

Dust settled around the adventurers as they tended to their wounded. Though they had fought many great battles and achieved victories against seemingly unstoppable foes, something felt different this time.

"Did you hear what it said?" Yanix asked his friend as he healed her.

"Yes," Irisa answered. "But what could it have meant? What duty did it speak of?"

"I've learned not to trust things said by dragonkind," he told her. "Darathar, Nagafen, Venekor... they all seem filled with lies told only to serve their own greed and lust for power. But this Chel'Drak was not like them."

She nodded. "He seemed a noble creature. He fought with true purpose, almost as if he was testing us."

Yanix turned to look at his companions. They had paid a heavy price to achieve this victory, but he knew there was another task still before them.

"When you are able, use that portal to take us out of this place," he told them. "We must speak to the old man and find out what all of this means."

"Do you think he'll be able to tell us anything?" Irisa wondered. "He doesn't even know his real name..."

"I don't know," Yanix answered. "But it seems as if he is somehow at the center of all this."

Zhen Mei stirred suddenly, taking in a sharp breath.

"Is anything wrong?" Sensei Kozon asked, his brow heavy with concern.

"No," the old man told him with a slight smile. "Everything is as it should be."

The monk stared at his companion. A change had come over him. He could sense it. Though he trusted Zhen Mei implicitly, there were countless questions that remained unanswered.

"What is it? What has happened?" The sensei spoke with concern, and perhaps, for the first time since he had known the old man, with a touch of fear.

"I remember," Zhen Mei answered him, his eyes alive with an inner glow. "I remember everything."