Nyal stood in what was probably Veridun's smallest library, facing rows of multi coloured books. His fingers grazed the spines of the books, gliding over the ornate gold writing of the titles. His eyes scanned for anything that popped out at him, anything that might seem helpful. So far, he had found absolutely nothing.

A common theme of the week, it seemed.

It had been two days since his run in with the winged woman and the fire breather, and only one since he found the feather. He had spent the rest of the day in Dreeva's library, but hadn't found anything of use. The only book he had found on the Key and the Gate Keeper, was one on the history if Veridun, and it barely went into any detail about anything, let alone the Gate Keeper themselves.

All he knew was that they were a powerful demigod, a child of Yararanje. No name, no appearance, nothing. It was almost like they didn't even exist. The book he had found only told him what he already knew, just about nothing.

A book of the species within Veridun only talked about the ones that inhabited the realm now, and nothing about the Ancient Ones. He thought it a good idea to know what he would be dealing with if the Gate was opened, but the books told him nothing.

He thought the Guild library would have some more information, as they dealt with the Key and Gate Keeper more often. So far, he was having no luck. The library was tiny, with barely ten shelves in the space. Only a few candles had been lit, leaving the room dim and making It hard for Nyal to see. Cobwebs dangled about the room, sticking to the books and shelves and attracting dust to the old tomes.

There was only him, the librarian, and one other person in the room. They sat at one of the old unpolished tables, occasionally glancing up at Nyal with a distasteful expression. Nyal only ignored them, focussed on his task.

Nyal sighed loudly, not caring if it caught the attention of the old librarian. He wasn't going to find anything this way, but he couldn't leave Skodur, not without jeopardising his career. He wasn't sure what to do any more.

The feather was tucked neatly in his coat pocket, the end of it jabbing him in the side whenever he turned. An irritating reminder of what he had to do.

He crouched down, facing the bottom shelf of the final bookshelf in the library. If he found nothing here... Who knows what he would do. He was sure the Gods had ignored his prayer, or just decided not to help him.

At the end of the shelf sat a large green book, the title written in faded gold letters on the spine. The back cover was starting to fall off, a ragged tear covering half the length of th spin. There was a strange stain on the corner of the spine and back cover, one Nyal did not want to find the cause of. Gingerly, he grabbed it, weighing it in his hand. The front cover looked more battered than the rest of it, the green faded to a sickly pale colour. It was huge, maybe the same size as both of his hands combined.

The History of the Zlohiel by Corpius Ringwild. Could this be what he was looking for? Not exactly, but there had to be some information he could use in there. Something about the title drew him in. He had no idea what Zlohiel were, but perhaps that was a clue. With a triumphant grin, Nyal stood straight, grasping the old book tightly in his hands.

Corpius Ringwild founded the Guild after he helped lock away the Ancient Ones. He would know everything there was to know about them. There was a chance that Ringwild had written about the Gate Keeper, seeing as he would have working with them.

Giddy with excitement, Nyal rushed over to one of the old table, carefully placing the book on the dirty wooden surface. Part of him wanted to rip the book open and find everything he was after, but there was a high chance he would break the book doing that.

He couldn't help the strange feeling in his stomach as he opened the book. Reading something written by the founder of the Warlock Guild of Protection was almost surreal. The book was so old, centuries old, and it had just been left in a library that no one went to.

The first few pages were just Ringwild talking about why he had written the book, which was unimportant information to Nyal. He did skim over it for the words 'Gate Keeper', but they only showed up once, in a brief mention that Ringwild had worked with them to stop what he called the Zlohiel.

We still don't know what the Zlohiel were like before we came along. Ringwild wrote, I've heard mixed stories; some say they were kind, while others say they were just as vicious. It does not matter anymore though, they are gone, forever, if I have any say about it. What is important is carrying on the knowledge of these terrible events, so that the people of the future are prepared, just in case.

Others are writing about the events of the War, which is also necessary, but they believe that the Zlohiel will never return, when there is an absolute chance that it could happen. The only thing that needs to happen is the Key unlocking the Gate. I can not see why anyone would do that, but if the Zlohiel were any example, people can be dangerous.

Elora is staying with Gate, hereby becoming the Gate Keeper, Veridun's most important form of protection. I have been tasked with looking after the Key and the realm, a job I will take on completely, once I have written as much as I can down.

Nyal raised an eyebrow at the words. If he followed the events Ringwild spoke about, he could assume that Zlohiel was the original name for what were now called the Ancient Ones. Nyal had no idea the name had ever changed, let alone why. But that meant that his gut had been right, the book would be useful.

The rest of the introduction was mostly the same, explaining his reasons behind writing the book, and what it would include. What Nyal was most surprised about, was the name of the Gate Keeper. He had never known it, and as far as he knew, no one did. Elora, it sounded almost plain when compared to the person.

Flipping a few thick pages ahead, Nyal finally hit the place where the information on the Ancient Ones started. It was done alphabetically, and had drawing of each creature, detailed gorgeously in black and white. Apparently Corpius Ringwild was an artist as well as a writer and founder of a protection guild.

The book started with the Adlet, a strange human-canine creature that was supposedly cannibalistic. Nyal grimaced at the image of the strange creature, with canine legs and the body of a person. He flipped through the book, hoping something would catch his eye.

It took a long while, skimming through pages and pages of disturbing creatures, hoping something would pop out. He passed by the terrifying Behemoth, Centaur, and Chupacabra, growing more and more worried. Granted it had said that there had only been three Behemoths, as they didn't mate much, and two of them had been killed in the War, but even one looked to be a terrible foe.

He read and read and read until he found two words, two small, seemingly insignificant words that would mean nothing to anyone but him. Breathes fire.

Nyal stopped, staring at the page ahead of him. Dragon. Supposed population: Unknown. Features: Scales, wings, tail, red eyes, sharp teeth and claws. Attack Method: Breathes fire, can also move at faster speeds than warlocks and other species. Additional Notes: Be very, very wary of dragons, as they have the ability to hide themselves as warlocks with a fire affinity. The have the ability to create fire in their hands when in human form. The signs of a dragon shifting from human form to dragon form can include-

"Greetings, mud crawler," a voice interrupted, along with the sound of a slamming book. Nyal ripped his head up from his book, his eyebrows furrowing and his fists clenching. Whoever had interrupted him was not going to be in for a good time.

Azel stood in front of his table, hands on a newer looking book and leaning forward, a smarmy grin on his face. Once again, Nyal's eyes drifted to the mole. He couldn't help it.

"What do you want?" Nyal asked, gesturing Ringwild's book, "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"What, reading some old useless book?" Azel replied with a chuckle, "Yeah, I can see your certainly doing something important." Looking down at the other book on the table, Nyal saw that it was a book on the geography of Veridun.

"Again, what do you want, Azel?" Nyal repeated, giving the other warlock his best glare.

"Oh, nothing, just wanted to let you know," Azel started, looking down at his nails like he was some high class man, "That I'm going to Fiume instead of you. They took your mission and gave it to me. How do you like that? Because honestly, it should have happened ages ago, I mean, look at you, you're always covered in mud and dirt. You're hardly Guild material."

"Seriously, Azel, I couldn't care less," Nyal snarled, standing up from his seat, "I have more important things to do than deal with you. So, how about you leave, before I do something I've wanted to for a very long time."

Azel opened his mouth to reply, only to close it again when the pair of them heard a throat being cleared. The librarian stood nearby, giving them a disapproving look. Nyal gave an apologetic nod and sat back down, ignoring Azel's existence entirely.

"One day you'll learn to shut your mouth, Belthorne," Azel growled, "Before I break your face." With that, the angry warlock stormed out of the library, throwing a glare at the old librarian on his way past. Nyal shook his head, looking back down at his book.

He soon found that he couldn't concentrate on anything the book was telling him, instead, his mind drifted to what Azel had said. He was going to Fiume in Nyal's place, and it was irritating Nyal to no end. He couldn't help but feel jealous, it was his job, he was supposed to go to Fiume. He was the one that was meant to help out with the fighting, to try and make some kind of treaty, but no, Azel was going instead.

What was Azel going to do? Insult them until they do what he wants? Nyal's fists clenched and his face scrunched up. He wanted to slam his hands on the table, throw something, but he held back, taking deep breaths instead. Getting kicked out was something he couldn't afford right now, he had Ringwild's book to read.

He groaned a quietly as he could, and turned his gaze back to the book. The signs of a dragon shifting from human form to dragon form can include: eyes changing from normal colour to red, scales taking the place of skin, wings and tail coming out, and the reaquirement of their ability to breathe fire.

Dragons were one of the most dangerous adversaries we ever faced. They even gave Elora trouble. They continuously disguised themselves as one of us, gained our trust, killed us. They are the main reason why the Healers are gone.

Dragons are dangerous, deadly, and a run in with one would ultimately result in death. They are behind the Gate now, so they shouldn't be a problem. But, if the Gate was ever to be opened, and the Zlohiel are released, you need to know this. Their weakness is simply, water, but only water from a warlock, specifically, the water of a Healer. This is why they were killed, because they were the only thing that could stop a dragon.

Nyal stared at the page, mouth open like a fish. It couldn't be, it just couldn't. A dragon? That man in the woods. He couldn't be... But he fit the description. But the dragons were all gone, behind the Gate, right?

Apparently not.

The man in the woods, was a dragon, probably as old as the Gate. And, if Nyal was right, he had the Key, and was heading for the Gate. That couldn't be it though, it was impossible. How did a dragon survive? Why was he not behind the Gate? Was he actually a dragon, or something like it?

He didn't know. There were too many questions.

Nyal slammed the book closed, gaining the attention of the librarian again. He ignored the disapproving look and stood from the table so quickly, the chair fell over. He saw the librarian open his mouth to talk, but interrupted him before the old man even made a noise.

"I'm taking this," was all he said, rushing past the old man and leaving the library, the book tucked neatly under his arm. He needed to talk to Silas, or someone. Someone needed to know about this. They might not believe him, but it was worth the shot. He knew that if Silas didn't believe what he as about to tell him, he would still try to stop this supposed dragon.

The library was attached to the main lobby of the Guild building, but no one really went down the hallway anymore. When Nyal emerged at the side of the lobby, he was overloaded by the noise. It was the middle of the day, and warlocks were bustling about, trying to get their work done. Amidst the crowd, he caught sight of Marissa, who gave him a quick wave before she too went on her way. They all seemed so oblivious to what was going on.

Pushing through the crowd, Nyal finally made it to the opposite hall, following the same route he had taken only two days before hand. It seemed like it had been so much longer. He passed by no one this time, making it to Silas's office in record time. He didn't even both to knock, just grasped the door handle and pushed his way in, startling the occupants of the room.

"I'm dealing-" a familiar voice said. Nyal frowned, trying to think of where he had heard the feminine voice before. He knew he had heard it, but he was unable to put a face to the voice.

Silas sat at the end of the table, a glare on his face, staring straight at Nyal. "What do you want, Belthorne? What's so important that you have to barge in one of my meetings, huh? Care to explain?"

"Sir, it's important, I swear," Nyal started, walking into the room properly to face all its occupants.

He froze, staring at the only other person in the room. It was her, the woman with the wings. She was standing there at the other end of the table, her hood down, showing off her shiny black hair that fell down her shoulders in waves. Her cloak drifted along the floor, curling around her boots. Her wings were held close to her body, the injured one sagging towards the ground like a limp plant.

"You."