A cold liquid ran down Eldwin's face. Opening his eyes, he jolted upwards and glanced around his surroundings. The walls appeared made from terracotta, with a dresser standing at the far wall across from him and a TV sitting on its surface. On his right was a door leading out to what appeared to be a balcony with an iron round table and two chairs. A hot breeze hit him in the face as he put his feet on the floor and stretched. Eldwin winced from the movement.

"Are you sure you want to visit the Valley of the Kings?" The voice he thought belonged to Reggie spoke from the left.

"In a manner of speaking, my time to return home is drawing near, and I would like to leave as soon as Eldwin is up to the journey."

Eldwin stood from being a bed and began wandering toward the balcony. He had always dreamed of visiting Ciro. He had to admit that traveling twenty hours with a bullet wound in his back without the possibility of ever returning home wasn't on the agenda. A sigh escaped his lips as he fell back down on the bed. His mind replied, the image of his house imploding on itself. Even that didn't kill the person it was meant to.

A golden orb appeared in front of him. Eldwin jerked his head upwards and pulled back from it. "Good morning, Mr. Carmicheal." The teacher's voice came from the orb. " Your mother has gone to the market, but please get dressed and meet us in the living room." Eldwin watched as it disappeared and glanced at the door on the same wall as the dresser.

"So what's the plan now anyway?" He heard Kirk's ask from the other side of the door. Eldwin opened the dresser, found clothes that fit him, and threw them on.

"It's hard to say, Mr. Anderson." Came the teacher's response. "I know Eldwin loves Egypt and will want to explore, but as I said, we need to get to the Valley of the Kings so I can return to Anderil before my time is up here."

Eldwin paused and glanced at the door. He had never heard of Anderil before now. "Can I go with you?" Eldwin approached the door and waited for the teacher's response.

"I see no reason why not. After all, that's why I put my blood on your bracelet. Both to power it and to allow you access to my homeland. If you're lucky, you might meet a woman willing to give you a transfusion to live there and work for me indefinitely."

"I would like that, Sir."

Turning the knob, Eldwin walked into the living room and glanced around. He noticed a couch and a small kitchenette off to the side, with a door off to the side of the sofa. Kirk sat on the floor as his teacher sat on the couch with a pudgy man, much more overweight than the teacher could ever dream of being. "Good morning, young man." The paunchy man waved with gusto, Reggie, he assumed.

"Mr. Carmicheal, this is my long-time friend and business associate, Reginald VonBargen."

"Nice to meet you." Eldwin nodded his head in his direction. Reginald waved as Eldwin took a seat beside Kirk on the floor. "You said Mom was out shopping?" He asked as he continued looking around the little house.

"Unfortunately, this house is for a single person or a couple without children at best."

"If you don't mind, why did you bring us to Ciro?" Eldwin asked, looking at the two men.

"Well, as I said a couple of days ago, during the fight, your amulet had a curse surrounding it and..."

"And the curse is correct; the story of Abraxas and Azeal happened in Anderil. Now, we must find a way there to return the amulet to the king before Azeal finds a way to escape his imprisonment."

A sudden pain shot through Eldwin's temple. He rubbed them as he moaned and closed his eyes, trying to fight it back. He heard his teacher calling for him but couldn't determine what was being said. Ice shot up his left arm as fire ran up his right. They met in the middle of his body, forcing one over the other. The ice sent daggers through his body, causing him to scream. He felt his body turn into an ice statue as the fire got pushed back down his left arm until it was forced back into the bracelet. 

A phoenix appeared before him as he was surrounded by snow. He gritted his teeth as he saw movement along the tree line. Gritting his teeth, he ran after the figure. He watched as a black figure traveled before him. He shot the ground with ice and rode on it until he was over the shadow person. "Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Eldwin yelled as he rode the ice around to block the shadow. 

Eldwin watched as the shadow separated and went through his ice. Falling to the ground, he raced through the snow and watched as a castle appeared ahead of him. The blue and white walls have a roof and parapets with bricks carved into the surface for texture. Eldwin watched as the shadow went inside. He stopped and gawked at the wonder before him. They felt drawn to the building, like something or someone was beckoning them to enter.

"Eldwin," a woman's voice called through the tundra. He whirled his head around and watched as his mother came into view. The snow picked up around him as he took in the castle again before heading in her direction. "Eldwin, come back. You're scared. I can see it in your eyes, but please return to me."

The wind howled as the snow began wrapping around. She let out a scream as the wind pushed her back. "Come and stop me if you dare." Echoed through the air. Eldwin glanced upward and said the red eyes had returned in the sky and bore down into him. He stepped forward when another figure with purple eyes grabbed his wrist. He spun around and wrangled his wrist, but the figure held tight. "Eldwin, focus on his face; please don't fight."

Eldwin calmed down and stared into the shadow. He watched as the figure began taking shape. The black hair with the close-shaven sides evened out, and Kirk's face appeared. Eldwin scrunched up his nose and whirled his wrist around, grabbing Kirk's wrist instead. "What is going on," he sneered.

"You are the son of a powerful mage from Anderil, and we believe Azeal is using your mage against you." Eldwin let go and pulled his hand back. He glanced over at his mother, who had turned her head to the side as her cheeks became rosy red.

"Where am I?"

"Remember, Azeal is the mage of Illusion, and when you wear the Amulet, it allows him to connect to you." The gold figure appeared before him. Eldwin focused on him and watched as he began taking the form of his teacher. "Take a couple of breaths and clear your mind. You already show control since you allow us access to your mind."

"Azeal is the mage of Illusion, and when you wear the Amulet, it allows him to connect to you." The gold figure appeared before him. Eldwin focused on the speaker and watched as the gold figure began taking the form of his teacher. "Take a couple of breaths and clear your mind. You already show control since you allow us access to your mind." 

Sucking in a deep breath, Eldwin turned back toward the castle and growled, and closed his eyes. He focused on the world around him. People talking in the distance came to his ears, filled with yelling, foreign singing, and vehicles backfiring. He felt his mother's warm embrace as she wrapped her arms around him.

 Opening his eyes, he noticed he was standing on a sidewalk as people scooted around him. Several manufactured stalls stood around with blankets covering them to keep the sun off their goods. His eyes roamed and grew wide as he stared into an alley from which he figured he had come. Pushing his mother to the side, he walked closer as his eyes rested on a solid ice slide that looped around several hydrants that had exploded and spilled water on the ground and went on as far as he could see until it made a sharp turn to the left and disappeared out of sight.

 Eldwin fell on his knees before turning to his mother, "Did I do that?"

Sari looked away as tears began welling in both of their eyes. The teacher approached him and got down on both knees beside him. Eldwin stared into his eyes as the teacher stretched out a hand with an ornate box. "We will talk more in a few days, but just know, these bracelets can fight the cold in your veins, helping you control it better. But I will do everything in my power to help you learn."

 Taking the box, he opened it and saw a similar bracelet with a giant red pendant on it. He glanced up at the teacher, who pulled him to his feet. "Now, let's forget this happened for the time being." Mr. Del Mastro.

"But," Eldwin protested. 

"I promise I will take care of everything." Mr. Del Mastro pushed Eldwin toward his mother. Eldwin looked at his mother and faced his teacher.

"Let's go back to the house, Eldwin. We can come back in a few hours." So many questions swirled in his mind, and he was more than okay with that. He had to sit down and think about what he had just heard. "Come!" His mother pushed him down the ruined street and let off a cold feeling as he passed by the wreckage.